The Toy Soldiers of Atlas
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One by one,
Fall in line
One by one,
Marched in time.
One by one,
Followed orders.
One by one,
Like Toy Soldiers.
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Great spires of dark rock twisted into the sky, the size of small mountains. They littered across the Dracul Isles, like signs of claimed territory. Their insides were hollow. Holes bore into them, where the Grimm Vlad crawled out, like bees from a hive.
The movements of the giant mosquitos were faster than their large frames let on. Their protruding beak blades shimmered in the light. And the buzzing reverb their wings made, put anyone who heard them on edge.
Soaring above the Grimm nests were the airships of Atlas. Flying galleons of modern innovation. Their cannons aimed at the Isles and fired round after round. The impact, not as effective as they might have liked, but that did not matter.
Because, while Atlas's airships were formidable in their own right, the true strength of their military lay with their technology in robotics.
The Atlesian Knights were one such example. Artificial soldiers mass-produced in high volume. They were the common foot soldier of their army. New models were designed each year, guaranteeing every generation better than the last.
This model in particular greatly outperformed the one before it, due to one significant change. They were adapted to the Dust Reactors installed in every airship's engine.
A hard-tensile wire acted as an umbilical cord that connected a Dust Reactor from any small hovercraft to several Atlesian Knights at a time. This gave them an output that was until recently, impossible. Resulting in an increased operation time, mobility, processing, and even energy fields.
These were the mechanical warriors that rained down from the sky, and onto the Isles without the need of parachutes or cushion. A veritable meteor shower of deadly robots. They sent dirt flying up from the craters they made.
At first, they collapsed like lifeless ragdolls cast overboard. But as soon as Dust fed into their systems, the androids stood with an unnerving likeness to puppets on strings. Their arms raised towards the Vlads and their nests, and machine gun fire roared from the muzzle protruding from their wrists.
In return, the monstrous mosquitos swarmed their invaders, both on the ground and in the sky. The Grimm's long-bladed mouths cut and pierced the androids, and converged on the hulls of Atlas's ships. Some of them managed to feed on the energy from the machines, but not so long before being shot down.
It would be difficult to tell from the first outlook which side held the upper hand.
The Vlad had difficulty working through the steel plating. Plus, their enemy was more varied in their arsenal. There was also human intelligence to consider. But the Grimm outnumbered the Atlesian Knights by miles.
They added an amount of chaos to the field. Gigantic fluttering insects filled the air and blanketed the warships, hindering movement and organization. Their flight speeds were fast enough that they could plunge into foes, like swordfish skewering a meal.
And while the great battle between Atlas and Grimm waged on, a third party was makings its arrival.
Countless, light-traveling boats sped their way towards the stage. Great streaks of white foam trailed in their wake, drawing lines across the waves. Each of them carried warriors representing the Kingdom of Mistral. They were divided into three formations, and flocked to the middle and edges of the Dracul Isles.
Riding on the left regiment, was the lead boat that transported Team ENMY, Inna's FIRE Team, Raven, and members of the White Fang.
They would be the first to touchdown, and carried with that, a heavy responsibility.
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While Mistral forces rode in transport, they watched—ennerved by the scene unfolding before them. Their projectors and scrolls provided visuals on the skirmish between machine and Grimm.
Before such a sight, even the most seasoned veterans harbored doubts. The army had momentum going into the battle, but that was quickly dissipating. An unease started to spread through their morale like contagious disease.
As if taking objection to that, one individual among the thousands never lost her composure.
She had seen far worse and stood in the face of more dire odds. Victory and defeat were ballads she was well-versed in. Never one to rely on fate or chance, which neither showed favor in return.
And strangely enough, her nature to remain steadfast and stoic spread to those around her. Something in the presence of the woman braced them, urged them forward. Even the pilot of their transport stepped down on the throttle harder, making for danger with as much haste as he could muster.
Raven viewed the projection of the Isles. Her hands operated the screen and zoomed on the beach front, where they were supposed to make landfall.
"We have hostiles along the shore. If we don't get rid of them, we could lose a lot of troops just trying to dock. I'll go ahead and secure our landing zone."
"I'll go too," Yang chimed.
"...Alright. We should be enough to cut an opening." Raven shifted from her daughter to the rest of them. "As soon as you touch down, make ready to clear the way for other arriving transports."
They all nodded in turn.
"Well, then. It's time we made our entrance."
Raven drew her long sword from its scabbard. The blade rung sharp, as it was freed and sliced through the air. Its tip cut a black hole in space, which grew and pulsated to the size of its conjurer.
"Let's go."
Yang gulped, and then clenched her fists. "Ready."
Together, Raven and Yang leapt through the portal.
…
From the other side, they reappeared in midair above the beach. Effectively traveling half a mile in an instant.
Below them, the battle between the Atlesian Knights and Grimm Vlads was going full force. Both sides kicking up sand and water along the tide.
Yang took a deep breath as gravity lurched her down. She gauged the timing in her head, readying to make use of the initiative.
The Ember Celica in her right arm shifted and torched with a blue light. Her torso winded back to their farthest fulcrum. She could feel heat collect in her fist. And a debonair smile plastered itself on the young girl's visage.
"RAARRRGGHHH!" Yang let out a roar. Her hair blazed with fire. The scarf around her neck whipped about like a dragon's tail.
On contact with the ground, great plumes of flame swallowed the beach. The nearby water boiled and steamed. Silicates in the sand heated to glass. A majority of the Grimm and androids were charred beyond recognition.
What remained met with Raven's sword, Akuma Shodo.
The swordswoman spared no moment after Yang's attack. Her focus homed in on the "survivors", striking them down one after another. Many of them, beheaded before they could mount any kind of resistance.
Raven's skill with the sword was chilling to behold. Her footwork moved her within ideal striking distance in a blink. As quick as her hand rested on her weapon's hilt, an enemy was severed in two within the same breath. The sound of a piercing ring was detectable only after the fact.
Again and again, she repeated this one slash-one kill technique on her foes. The motion embodied the elegance of an artist's brush. And painted a trail of "dead" bodies in her path.
Between the pair, the landing zone was cleared in a single minute.
Yang watched her mother's swordplay with a sense of awe. She always knew she was powerful, but to see her in action and up close. It was no wonder Neo, Emerald, and Mercury were so wary of her. Not only that, Yang could also sense something sinister in the blade Raven wielded. The Akuma Shodo was no ordinary weapon.
Yang's eyes started to gleam redder than normal.
Her attention suddenly drew to the ground beneath her feet. She used her boot to smoosh the sand with a graveling crunch. Something felt off.
"A rather flashy entrance," Raven remarked. "Make sure you conserve your Dust, Yang. This was one fight of many…..Yang? What is it?"
"…"
At first, Raven was curious, but her expression darkened with recognition.
"Yang. What do you see?"
"…" The young girl crunched the sand some more. "This island…It's weird."
"Is that all?"
Yang looked up to her mother. "You were also…"
Her body jolted with fear as she realized that Raven was looking back at her with red irises that mirrored her own. Something in that stare held something eerie and familiar. An omen of foreboding, if there ever was one.
As if to interrupt them, a group of five Vlads hovered closely. Their bodies tucked in, readying to dive in the next second.
Yang and Raven readied their weapons. A fresh cartridge slotted in to replace the spent one in Ember Celica. Akuma Shodo's scabbard revolved to switch in a fresh blade. And just when they were about to fire a round off, something peculiar happened.
The Grimm released the tension in their bodies, and began flying elsewhere.
"Did they just…ignore us?" Yang questioned, not believing her eyes. "I've seen other Grimm sorta act like that, but the Vlad aren't supposed to be that smart, right?"
Her suspicions grew when she saw more of the Vlads flocking away from the distant shores. Some of them seemed to take notice of her before leaving.
"What…is going on?" She walked beside her mother, and saw that Raven's face was furious. "Mom?"
But her mother ignored her. The woman was too caught up in her own thoughts to answer.
Is it her?
That's not possible.
She's never been able to influence the Vlad, they're too simple!
But if it's not her, then how?!
Raven bit her lower lip so hard, it almost punctured the skin.
…
Damn it!
This is no time to worry about that!
For now, it's working in our favor.
We just have to be careful from here on out….
"Mom?" Yang's voice called again.
"There's a large deposit of Bane beneath the Isles," Raven suddenly explained. "That's why some things are coming off as odd. They have a certain effect on members of our family."
"What?" Yang stared at the sand again. More questions were forming in her head. "But how does that—"
"Stay focused. Our fight's not over yet," Raven warned sternly.
At the same time, their boat washed ashore behind them.
Emerald, Mercury, and Neo hopped off the deck to join Yang. FIRE Team spread out to take up shooting positions. The White Fang members regrouped with Raven.
Their landing point was cleared, but the others needed securing for the rest of the arriving forces.
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"Sir, we have reports of Mistral soldiers landing on the southern beaches," the officer announced.
General Ironwood's jaw tightened.
"So, they're finally here. I was really hoping the Grimm were all we would be fighting today."
He rested his arms on the console in front of him, leaning on it for some sort of support. His despondency was apparent, but allowed only briefly.
The General straightened, resolute once more. He donned the stone mask of an army officer. Always trying to set the best example for his soldiers.
Ironwood opened the communication channel and spoke. His orders echoed in the minds of the Atlas soldiers.
"Drive them into the sea."
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"Take the Isles."
Raven's orders resounded in the Mistral forces, as they desperately fought to gain a foothold on Dracul.
The Commander warped between positions, assisting in clearing landing zones. Sometimes, securing them single-handedly. And with her success, more of Mistral's troops arrived safely to shore. Soon, it would be time to push for the center.
Meanwhile, driven by their instinctual need to protect their territory, the Vlads—rather ironically—vacated their nests for a full offensive. An action that was predicted and made use of. This was the edge humanity possessed against the mindless creatures of Grimm.
With their nests left unguarded, a number of Atlesian Knights were deployed towards destroying the mosquitos' homes. And were able to remain uncontested in their mission for an extended period of time.
That is, until Mistral saw the opportunity to combat the Atlas forces, while staying out of the way of the Grimm.
Inna's Team rushed up the towering structures to gain overwatch positions, while Team ENMY and the White Fang engaged Atlas on the ground.
"Robots," Emerald spat. "I. Hate. Robots."
"No hallucinating them, huh?" Yang commented.
"Yeah…"
Neo's not so good with them either.
It'd be different if they were living—living things have organs and can die a thousand different ways.
Androids are built with redundancies…
Light attacks can cripple them, but not enough to take them out fast.
So, if we want to play this right…
Emerald's eyes narrowed with scorn.
"Queen's Gambit."
On command, Mercury and Yang fired off simultaneous bangs to launch them into the fray. They were the team's direct contact elements. The pair with the most destructive force.
Yang's fists smashed through the Atlesian Knights' shields and shattered their inner components with it. Compared to her mother's clean slashes, her strikes were more brutal, but just as vicious.
Mercury pummeled his adversaries with his trademark kicks. His body never remaining still for a second. The flow of his attacks always led to the next, as if it were one choreographed move instead of separate ones.
Being the team's designated frontline, Yang and Mercury learned to blend their moves seamlessly. They covered each other's backs, called out what the other could not see. When they picked out priority targets, the two would overwhelm the mark in an instant. Often times, Yang coming in from the right, while Mercury dove in from the left. Together, they were Team ENMY's one-two combo.
Meanwhile, as Neo and Emerald provided support, Emerald observed the umbilical cords that stretched from the androids to the compact-sized airships.
That looks interesting.
Bet those aren't piloted by robots.
"Neo," she called over. "Time to play saboteur."
The pig-tailed girl followed Emerald's direction to the hovercrafts above and nodded. She disappeared into a mirror with a flash.
A moment later, Emerald could see the chaos occurring inside one of the Atlas dropships. It wavered and eventually crashed to the ground. The Atlesian Knights connected to the one in particular, weakened to the point of being clunky paperweights.
Emerald smirked.
She released the chains on her weapon and latched her hooks on the next nearest hovercraft.
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Fluttering wings covered Atlas warships, head to toe.
They stabbed at the hulls, like annoying woodpeckers. Their initial assault accomplished little, but over the course of battle, the Grimm were starting to chip away and cause serious damage. This prompted the captains of the airships to deploy the Atlesian Knights on their own decks.
The mechanical dolls climbed up the sides and drilled bullet after bullet into any insect in sight. The Grimm's onslaught was put to a hard stop, but more were on the way.
From one of the dreadnoughts, Ironwood watched the multiple monitors on his interface. A radar that created a virtual map was on display for everyone on the bridge to see. It was clear that between fighting the Grimm and the Mistral forces defending their nests, they had reached a stalemate.
The General judged the timing to be optimal for phase two of their strategy.
"Send out the Second-Tier Units."
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Atlas's dropships were beginning to perform complicated maneuvers, and shifted away from full-on assaults.
By using the umbilical cords attached to the Atlesian Knights as sky lines, they could pull the androids away from unfavorable fights, andredistribute them in more advantageous ones. Like a game of hopscotch, they picked and dropped wherever they pleased. And because of their high elevation, it was almost impossible to stop them.
FIRE Team had found their vantage points at the top of a Vlad nest, and were taking out aircrafts when they could. The problem was, there weren't many squadrons dedicated to marksmanship or possessing of anti-air artillery.
And then, arrived a new threat.
Great metal lockers were launched from the larger aerial carriers. Most of them specifically aimed at the feet of the Mistral force's vanguard. The doors hissed loudly as they popped off the containers. And from them, heavy mech bodies stepped out. Their frames almost seven times the size that of an Atlesian Knight.
They were the new Paladins. Goliath-sized robots built with an arsenal and defense to match a miniature fortress. Every step they took, made the earth around them quake. Guns and missile launchers were mounted on each shoulder. Remnant bore witness to the mayhem the predecessor models caused during the Fall of Beacon. It could only be imagined how much more powerful these upgraded versions were.
One of the juggernauts landed itself right before a regrouped Team ENMY.
At the sight of it, Yang found herself remembering when RWBY fought one piloted by Torchwick. A fight that was far from easy according to memory.
Before she could finish the train of thought, the Paladin began its attack.
The lids on the machine's rocket launchers opened. Smoke poured from the barrels as a barrage of missiles were fired all at once.
In the face of the streaming projectiles, Yang, Mercury, and Neo's first thought was to dodge. But Emerald's voice swiftly dismissed them of the idea.
"Fan the hammer, people!" she called out.
The members of Team ENMY kept their cool. Their back feet planted firmly into the ground. Together, they brandished their weapons in fire-arm mode. Even Neo flipped Torchwick's cane with a flare. The sound of hammers cocking could be heard echoing across the line, followed by a wall of unrelenting gunfire.
The four of them never shot wildly. Every round was picked and placed in their own designated areas. Nothing excessive, nothing left to waste.
The Paladin's missiles detonated all around it, causing a cloud of smoke to form. Red laser sights from the robot's tracking system activated. The beams were on the verge of focusing and relocking targets.
"Stiletto Heels," Emerald ordered.
Neo and Mercury skipped the distance, and harassed the Paladin from different angles.
The two were the team's fastest and most precise instruments. Able to flip and turn on a dime, they showered the Paladin with surgical strikes. Though the mech had an array of optic sensors, every one of them was disabled before it could recalibrate—effectively making its armaments useless.
"Burn and Turn!"
On the signal, Neo and Mercury withdrew to recover stamina, while Yang and Emerald took their place.
With an onslaught on the main torso, the new pair traded out their attacks after the other. Yang launched an artillery-triggered haymaker that stuttered the Paladin. Then, followed Emerald, who rotated her body to shred into the machine like a circular saw. They chained the sequence to leave no gaps in between. The same spot in the armor was aimed for until a clean break appeared.
Emerald noted it and responded.
"Hollow Point."
She made her next spin attack last a little longer, while Neo layered pointed glass over Yang's right fist.
"Live!" Yang shouted.
Emerald backed off and Yang narrowly ducked under one of the Paladin's punches. Her foot dug into the dirt as she loaded her knees. Right in front of her was the gash they made in the mech's armor.
With a lightning snap, Yang loosed an uppercut that cracked hard into the Paladin's lower carriage. The shockwave alone, elevated the heavy machine a few feet into the air. And with Yang's punch, the glass covering her fist shattered sharp daggers throughout the Paladin's insides. The mech's systems were decimated, as it fell to its knees, devoid of any function.
Yang stepped back and looked down on the now, giant piece of scrap metal.
It was an odd feeling for her.
When she fought with Team RWBY, she had to build all her Aura and Semblance in order to deal the final blow. In contrast, this battle left Yang with plenty of energy to spare. In fact, she barely activated her Semblance whatsoever. She wondered if the lack of difficulty was due to her increased strength, or her improved Ember Celica, or some other factor of growth.
But when she turned to the rest of ENMY, she was confronted with the disconcerting truth.
Emerald, Neo, and Mercury carried their battles with a sort of ruthless execution. Every action and reaction was done with cold technique. They fought dirty. They fought with calculating tactic.
And though, she wouldn't exactly call them friends, an indescribable amount of trust existed between them. Else they would never be able to coordinate so well in concert with each other.
Whether Yang chose to admit it, she was now part of that deadly synergy. A sentiment that brought her a sense of pride, but also a bit of shame. It was difficult to digest but ENMY was the better team—at least when combat was concerned.
Yang silently wished she was part of Team RWBY again.
Her Aura flared smoothly, and her Dust reserves remained intact. She incurred little to no damage since the start of the battle. There would be time to think later. The fight for Dracul was far from over.
"Hey, is anyone else starving?" Yang heard one of her teammates ask.
"Mercury, you just ate half your weight in energy bars two hours ago."
"I think they were nutritional. Healthy food never fills you up."
Emerald rolled her eyes. "Sure, let's just pass by the nearest fast-food joint while we're here!"
Yang glanced up at one of the flying dreadnoughts in the sky. "Bet they have a cafeteria."
"Yeah. Now, if only we could blast it out of the sky so it can rain some hamburgers and—Great, now I'm hungry."
Neo tugged on the three of their sleeves. Her hands were holding weeds picked off the ground. To which, Mercury shrugged, took the offering, and shoved them into his mouth.
…
"…What? They're the edible kind."
"I can't, man. Just—What can I even say to—Oh, thank god. Here comes another one."
On Emerald's word, a second Paladin landed before them.
Team ENMY switched into their fighting stances once more.
Yang banged her gauntlets together. The scarlet in her eyes gleaming fiercely.
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Raven's eyes glinted a deep scarlet, as they observed the Paladin before her. She foresaw the mech's demise as clear as if it were destiny.
Her blade beat like an excited heart.
She warped above the Paladin and slashed once, straight down the middle. Her landing quieter than a whisper. Upon sheathing her sword, the machine collapsed in halves.
Raven scanned her surroundings, trying to gauge the battle situation, listening to the reports coming in…
It wasn't good.
Compared to Raven and Team ENMY, the rest of Mistral's forces were struggling to combat the Second-Tier Units. Not only were they routing their army, the machinations were succeeding in destroying the Grimm nests. The left regiment was holding due to their efforts, but it would mean nothing if the other ranks completely stalled. If Raven didn't come up with a solution soon, the battle would quickly snowball into defeat.
It was at that moment, she received an urgent communication on her scroll from Prime Minister Argent.
"What's our status, Commander?"
"Bad. The Grimm are being wiped out, and the same goes for their nests. Our troops are being suppressed. We need reinforcements."
"…I need a no bullshit assessment, Raven. You know we have a limited capacity to operate. Can we salvage the situation?"
She paused. "Unless we can commit a lot more troops under the hour, we're going to lose the Isles."
Her head ached when she thought of the travel time, the number of transports and soldiers they could deploy at a time. If only the stage of battle didn't have such limited space, it wouldn't be such a problem.
Raven breathed a heavy sigh.
"Our people are dying, Argent. I'm preparing to order a full retreat."
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NOTE
Because it's kind of special, there will be a new chapter released tomorrow as well.
(At least it should, barring nothing strange happening with the queue.)