Here we are at Chapter 25. Now the real battle begins as secrets become known and battle lines are drawn. I do not own RWBY or Gundam IBO. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 25. Enjoy.
Chapter 25: The Second Great War begins
It was chaos. In a matter of days, Grimm attacks all across the planet had suddenly increased without warning and the negativity was quickly spreading. Huntsmen were called back to their respective kingdoms to defend their borders, leaving many villages to fend for themselves, only to wind up destroyed by the hordes of Grimm that attacked them. Some huntsmen did not follow the councils' orders, and tried to help out these villages, but did not have much luck, and even a few of them did not make it back alive. Meanwhile, the huntsmen academies had to temporarily suspend the semesters as students had to be sent out to help with combatting the Grimm due to the sheer number of attacks that were taking place. Because of all this madness, the upcoming Vytal Festival was cancelled and students from the other academies had to return to their respective kingdoms to help out with repelling the Grimm attacks. Meanwhile, back at Beacon, students were talking amongst themselves. Those that were there were wondering how a Grimm could talk, and were wondering what the Hell were Agnika and Mikazuki and where did they come from. The ones who had the most questions were the members of Team RWBY.
The members of the team are currently in their dorm room, all wondering about what they're going to do next.
"This is crazy. I know that Grimm attacks get bad, but never this bad," Yang says as she reads a news report about another Grimm attack outside Vale.
"What's more, now more people know about Agnika and Mikazuki. They may not realize that those two are only here to help, and that may make things worse," Ruby says.
"…I think we need to talk to Ozpin. What that Grimm, that Andras, said earlier about some leader named Salem has me worried. It seemed like Ozpin knew what it was talking about. We need some answers from him. He wouldn't tell us earlier, but I just can't wait anymore without knowing. Not with all that's been going on lately," Blake says.
This gets the group thinking, until… "The let's go talk to him," Ruby says, getting their attention. "We all heard something that we probably weren't supposed to hear, but the fact remains that we need to know the truth. I'm sure Professor Ozpin had his reasons for keeping secrets from us, but, it looks like that's not going to work anymore. More importantly, this doesn't change the reason why we are here. We came here to become huntresses, to protect and help people. To make Remnant a better place for them. And those people need us now more than ever. But if we're going to help them, then we need to know what's really going on here. So, let's go talk to Professor Ozpin," Ruby gives an inspirational speech, stunning her teammates.
"…That's my little sister. Let's go for it," Yang cheers.
"I agree. It's time we get some answers," Weiss joins in.
"Yes. We're in this together," Blake adds.
"Then let's go team," Ruby says and they all leave to head to the headmaster's office.
…
"This is bad, Ozpin. I can't even begin to tell you how things are back in Atlas," Ironwood says as he stands in front of Ozpin's desk. "The council has order me and my men back to Atlas to strengthen our defenses. Grimm attacks are on the rise, and word is spreading about the existence of Agnika, Mikazuki, and the Andras. Luckily, they didn't learn about Salem or the Maidens, but that may change real son," he says.
"We are perfectly aware of that James. I've received news from Port and Oobleck who have just returned from their missions. Two more villages have been attacked outside Vale. Although they were able to fend off the Grimm, it was not without lives lost. And it's not just here, or in Atlas, but all across the planet. People have been flooding the kingdom walls, trying to escape to safety, but things have been slow. We've received word from the headmasters from Shade and Haven that they're using their schools as shelters for those that manage to get inside if they can't find anywhere else to go. Things are progressing, but like I said before, progress is slow," Glynda explains.
At this point, the ceiling opening opens up and Agnika and Mikazuki fly in to land into the office.
"Agnika, Mikazuki. Were you successful in your missions?" Ozpin asks.
"We were able to beat back the Grimm at our respective destinations and were able to get the villagers safely out of danger. Airships have already brought them to the kingdom. My concern though is all this negativity that's rising. It will only make the Grimm become stronger. Our numbers are spreading thin, and things don't look like they'll be getting better any time soon," Agnika explains.
"These Grimm are everywhere," Mikazuki notes.
"Well, I'm sorry to say that I can't help you much now. I need to return to Atlas and help with the defense efforts there. We need to make sure that the CCT towers are kept operational. As long as they remain standing, we can at least coordinate with each other long-distance. It's best if I leave now," Ironwood says.
"You need to go and help your kingdom. We'll do what we can here. Keep us informed of any changes over in Atlas. Good luck to you, General Ironwood," Agnika says.
"Thank you, Agnika. Best of luck to you. I'll keep in touch, Oz," Ironwood says before he goes to leave the room. However, when he reaches the elevator doors, they suddenly open up to reveal Team RWBY on the other side. "What are you four doing here?" he asks.
"We need to talk to Professor Ozpin. We want some answers," Blake says as they walk in.
"Please, Professor Ozpin. We just want to help. If you can tell us anything, that will help us do our jobs as future huntresses. We need to know," Ruby pleads with him.
"I'm sorry, now is not the time for this. I suggest you four return to your room for the time being," Ironwood tells them.
"No James. That will not work…I believe I can't keep this a secret anymore, at least from you four. It's time for you to learn the truth…about what's really been going on in Remnant," Ozpin says. The four walk up to his desk. "Tell me, have you four heard the tale of the seasons?" he asks.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Weiss asks.
"Please, answer the question," Ozpin encourages them.
"…Well, yeah, we've heard of it. The tale of four sister who met this old wizard, taught him how to appreciate life, and in gratitude he bestowed upon them magical powers that they use to protect the people. The four Maidens, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. I still don't see what that has to do with our situation," Blake explains.
Just then, the elevator doors open up behind them, and in walks Qrow and Amber.
"Uncle Qrow, what are you doing here? And who is she?" Ruby asks.
"I'm here to help out. And this…is Amber, the current Fall Maiden," Qrow introduces her.
Amber bows to them, "It's a pleasure to meet you all," she greets them.
This gets their attention, "Wait, you're joking right? This has to be some joke. That story was just that, a story. It's not real…right?" Yang asks.
"Actually, Yang…it's true," Agnika says, getting their attention. "The truth is that the four Maidens DO exist. Amber here is the Fall Maiden," he says.
The four girls turn back to Ozpin, "What is all this? Who are you guys?" Ruby asks.
"You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon," Goodwitch tries to calm her down.
"Except we've got a little part time job," Qrow adds.
"We are the protectors of this world," Ironwood adds.
"And we need your help, but first let us explain more about the Maidens. The Maidens have existed for thousands of years, but much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold onto the power forevr," he explains.
"So, they really do exist. But, how does the power choose its host?" Weiss asks.
"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules," Qrow begrudgingly replies.
"Qrow," Glynda practically growls at him.
"Hey, don't get mad because I'm right," Qrow retorts as he looks forward.
"At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed onto young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more…intimate," Glynda says.
"Intimate?" Ruby asks, confused.
"As we understand it now, when a maiden dies, the one who is in their final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power," Glynda explains.
"Unless it's a dude, or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random, and our jobs get a lot harder," Qrow adds.
"Only this time, things became more complicated. You see, Amber here was recently attacked by an unknown group of assailants, and for the first time in our history, a part of her power was stolen," Ozpin says, making Amber look away in discomfort at the memory. "We were worried that if she died, that her power would go to her assailant. Luckily, we were able to avoid that scenario thanks to Agnika here," he says, gesturing to Agnika.
"Agnika?" Weiss asks.
"I was able to locate the assailant, a woman named Cinder Fall, and her cohorts. After apprehending them, we were able to get things ready for Amber to get her powers back. With her powers restored, Amber recovered from her injuries, and Cinder was no longer a problem. But now, it seems that we have a more pressing issue at hand," he explains.
"Salem..." Ruby says, making everyone look at her. "Who…Who was she?" she asks.
"Salem is…was…the queen of the Grimm," he admits, shocking them. "The people you see here, the headmasters of the other two academies. We have been fighting her for a long time. She is the true darkness that has been plaguing Remnant for so long. It is clear that she was the one behind Cinder Fall's attack on Amber, and their plans here in Vale. Agnika had been interfering with their plans, so it would seem that Salem decided to create something that could fight back against him…the Andras," Ozpin explains.
"The Andras was obviously made to defeat me, and with each time I fought against it, it only got stronger. This means that Salem must have been pouring much of her power into the Andras, making it stronger and smarter. However, it would seem that she made it too smart, smart enough to break free from her control. If what he said is the truth, then Salem is now dead, but now a more terrifying threat looms over Remnant," Agnika explains.
"We recruited Agnika, and later Mikazuki into our group to help us combat this threat. Though, it seems we can no longer keep this all secret as we'd hoped," Ironwood says.
"But…why keep this from everyone? Why not tell them about any of this?" Ruby asks.
Glynda steps forward, "From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge," she says.
"Excuse me?" Yang asks.
"How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere," Qrow says, taking out his flask and taking a drink from it.
"Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the maidens. Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength," Glynda says.
Qrow finishes drinking his flask, "And as you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the kind of people you'd want to have UNIMAGINABLE power," Qrow adds.
"And so this brotherhood chose to remove maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legend," Ironwood says.
"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history. Religion-," Glynda begins.
"No one would want to believe us. It'd cause an uproar-," Ironwood interrupts her, before Ozpin does the same.
"It would cause PANIC. And we all know what THAT would bring clawing to our kingdoms' walls. Which is why we had to keep it secret, in order to prevent chaos and another Great War from erupting…Though it seems war has now come to us. Now that this Andras has apparently taken over as the new ruler of the Grimm, we need to change our tactics. When Salem was alive, she would work in the shadows, using others to do her work for her. This made it so that when things become dark, people would only blame each other while she'd watch from the darkness. However, the Andras does not share this tactic, preferring to wipe us all out with open war," Ozpin says and then sighs. "I am truly sorry for keeping this from all of you. I never wanted you to become a part of this conflict. I wanted you all to become huntresses without going into war. Sadly, that will not happen now. Again, I'm sorry," he apologizes to them.
The room gets real quiet after Ozpin finishes his explanation to Team RWBY. The four girls needed a moment to take this all in. To know that a simple story that they read as kids was in fact real, that the four Maidens actually existed, and that there used to be some mysterious woman that led the Grimm, and that Ozpin's group had fought against her over the years. To know that there were so many secrets being kept from them, from everyone, it was a little difficult to accept.
"Okay…" Ruby suddenly says. "Honestly, this is a lot to take in, and everything you just told us is a little hard to believe, but…I trust you, Professor Ozpin. I trust you, Uncle Qrow, Professor Goodwitch, Agnika, and Mikazuki; all of you. If you say that you were only trying to protect the people from knowing all this, then I believe you, even if it's a little hard to accept. But, right now we can't waste time mistrusting one another. Grimm are attacking places all over Remnant, and a lot of people are getting hurt. If we're going to help them, then we're going to have to do so TOGETHER. That's the only way we'll win. I don't know about all this secrecy, with this Salem, the Maidens, and anything else the people don't know about. But I do know that the people out there need our help right now. This is what we've been training for, to become huntresses to protect the people and change the world for the better…So I'll fight. I'll fight for the people, for what's right, and for Remnant. Because that's what it means to be a huntress," Ruby declares in an inspirational speech.
Everyone in the room is moved by her words. To see one so young act so mature and so brave under these circumstances. To keep going after everything that's been revealed to her. It made everyone in the room, even Ironwood and Goodwitch, smile.
Yang slings her arm around Ruby's shoulders, "That's my little sister. You're right. No matter what's going on, we're still huntresses, and we still have a job to do. So let's go out there and kick some Grimm butt," she cheers.
"I agree. We have a duty to uphold. Whatever may be going on, it is our job as huntresses to stop it. I'd expect nothing less from our leader," Weiss adds.
"You're right, Ruby. Whatever we do next, as long as it's together, than nothing can stop us," Blake agrees.
"…Thank you. All of you. I am extremely proud to call you four my students. And believe me when I say I will do everything in my power to make up for my secrecy," Ozpin says.
"Well, what can we do to help?" Ruby asks.
"For now, we need you and the other students to assist the evacuation efforts in the surrounding villages outside the kingdoms. Unfortunately, we may not be able to get to all of them in time, but we can still try and save as many as we can. All the airships we have are currently out at the moment, and the closest ones won't be back for a short time. I suggest you all get ready for departure in the meantime. I'll be having Agnika join you on this mission. Meanwhile, I'll have Mikazuki help another team. It won't be easy for the other students to accept that they're allies, but hopefully after fighting alongside them for a time will change their opinions. I'll send Mikazuki out with Team JNPR for the next mission. I'm sure they'll be more accepting much like you four. We don't have a lot of time, so you'd best get going now," Ozpin explains.
"What about her?" Weiss asks, gesturing to Amber.
"I'll be helping out as well. I can still fight, even without using my Maiden powers. Even though times are dire right now, if the people see me using them, it may end up making things worse. I'll only use them as a last resort," Amber says.
"And I will be handling things back in Atlas. But, I'll keep in touch and inform you all about any updates in Atlas. Meanwhile the huntsmen here will assist the students. They have more training and experience, so they'll have to fight more closely to the frontlines. We want to save as many lives as possible, so we can't send students into the toughest fights unless we have no choice. I'd better get going. Good luck to all of you," Ironwood explains and then is the first one to leave the office.
"Well, then I guess we'd better get ready. Let's go team," Ruby says, pumping her fist before they all nod to others and leave to prepare.
"I only hope they'll be ready for what awaits them," Glynda says, a little worried.
"They're gonna have to. As much as I don't like the idea of sending my nieces into a war, we just don't have a whole lot of options right now. I'll be keeping an eye on them know whenever I get the chance. I'm tired of losing people that I care about," Qrow notes.
…
A little later, Agnika is seen on the balcony, watching the sky as airships fly by. A moment later, he hears footsteps behind him and looks back to see Weiss walking towards them.
"Weiss, shouldn't you be getting ready for your mission?" he asks.
Weiss comes to stand next to him. "OUR mission. And yes, I'm prepared, and so is the rest of the team," she says.
Agnika looks back out into the sky, "…I'm sorry for keeping all this a secret from you Weiss," he apologizes.
"Don't apologize. You were only doing what you thought was right. You were only trying to protect us, and everyone else. I can't blame you for that," she says, shaking her head a little. "What's really bothering you?" she asks.
Agnika sighs, "This war. The Andras. All of this…was because of me. The Andras came to be because I came to this world. And now things have become worse for the people of Remnant. I wanted to protect them, but instead I only caused more suffering for them," he admits.
Weiss stares at him for a moment before she gets a determined look in her eye, "Agnika Kaieru. This is not your fault," she says.
"You don't understand, It is-," he begins.
"IT IS NOT!" she yells, surprising him before she calms down. "You didn't create the Andras, or the Grimm, or kill Salem. None of this is on you. So instead of moping around, let's do what we need to do. It's the duty of the strong to protect the weak, your words. Well, now it's time to live up to them," she tells him.
Agnika stares at her for a moment before he starts chuckling, much to her confusion.
"Heh-heh-heh, to think that you'd be teaching me one of my own lessons. You are extraordinary, Weiss Schnee. You're right, the time has come to do what I came to this planet for in the first place. To protect the people. Thank you for reminding me of this Weiss," he says.
"Of course, but, um, one more thing," she says, suddenly becoming a little nervous.
"What is it?" he asks.
"Could you kneel for me, please?" she asks, her cheeks blushing a bit. Though confused by the question, Agnika kneels to her anyway. However, when he does, he is even more surprised when Weiss moves in and kisses the right side of his face. "T-that's for good luck. I-I'll see you out there later," she says and quickly makes her exit off the balcony.
Agnika touches the right side of his face, where Weiss kissed him, "Wow…" he mutters.
And that's the chapter. Now things are really heating up with the war beginning, and a little more fun between Weiss and Agnika. I also fixed that little issue with calling this the 2nd Calamity War, my bad on that part. Will Team RWBY survive their first mission in a war? What does the Andras have in store for them? Until then, please Read and Review.