A/N: Sooo…. THERE'S ACTUALLY COVER ART NOW!...
Ok, calm down, don't explode from the awesomeness.
First; full credit goes to InsertSomethinAwesome for drawing it, it's something that I've been hoping would happen!
Check them out of Deviantart
Anywho, on to the story! This chapters a doozy. Lots more notes at the bottom.
Chapter 29
The crowd was silent, with mumbles here and there. Port and Oobleck were trying to cut the video feed, but couldn't for whatever reason.
"This, is not a tragedy." A female voice said on the loudspeaker, the screens changing from the arena to a red background and a black queen chess piece.
"This, was not an accident. This is what happens when you give your children, your safety, your kingdoms… to those who claim to be our guardians. But are, in reality, nothing more than men."
Murmurs were spoken throughout the crowd, questions were being asked, and fear was building.
"Our academies headmaster hold more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, but, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, viciously torn apart by another star pupil."
"What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as a little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference."
Penny found herself questioning the implications herself, why would Atlas need her the way she was?
"And what, I ask you, Is Ozpin teaching his students? Allowing toxic materials on school grounds, and now this? Huntsman and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin felt that defeating Atlas in the tournament would make people forget his colossal failure when the Grimm invaded Vale's streets."
"Or perhaps this is his response to a tyrannical leader who has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces."
Ironwood grimaced at the voices implications, still holding emeralds arm.
"Honestly? I haven't the slightest Idea as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know that the existence of peace is fragile, and that the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you that the situation there is… equally undesirable."
Pyrrha's eyes widened, now becoming worried for her family in Mistral.
"Our kingdoms are at the brink of war. Yet we, the citizens are left in the dark. So, I ask you, when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?"
Finally the camera's shut off, and the screens returned to normal. Ruby who was still standing outside the door to the arena dashed over to Penny.
"Penny! Are you alright?!" Ruby asked, eyeing the sparks coming off of Penny's arms.
"I'm fine Ruby, though, General Ironwood will not be happy about so many people knowing my secret now." She answered.
Pyrrha was just standing there, staring at Penny like she was a machine. Which she was.
"You-... You're a machine?" Pyrrha asked.
Penny smiled at her, "Yes! And don't worry, there is no need to apologize for the damage caused, my scans indicate that you are underneath high amounts of stress, and you simply used you're semblance as a reaction to my attack, not anticipating the dangers of doing so." She explained.
Pyrrha was still trying to wrap her head around the whole subject, but eventually just shook her head, knowing it would probably be explained later.
Instantly after that however, an alarm started sounding, "Warning, incoming Grimm attack, threat level: 9, please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."
Which no one did. Civilians started running through the halls to the airships, screaming and trampling each other.
The members of teams RWBY, JNPR, and SPHR however, jumped down into the arena to their teammates and friends.
"Are you guys ok?!" All of them asked in one form or another.
"I will be up to optimal performance once repairs have been made." Penny said with a smile.
Everyone stared at her until Hunter spoke up, "Since when did we have a robot as one of our friends?" He asked.
"Since we started living in an anime." Shade answered.
Ironwoods voice was soon heard over the loudspeaker, "Everyone, there is no need to panic-" but he was soon interrupted by the loud, ear piercing screech of a nevermore.
"That things huge!" Rona said as she pointed to the enormous Nevermore diving into the barrier surrounding the arena, trying to break it.
"We've got to stop that thing!" Jaune started.
The nevermore screamed once again before flying upwards and charging into the barrier, shattering it. It slammed into the ground, sending the students flying backwards.
It screeched loudly, until a bullet pinged of its beak. Pyrrha had her weapon in its rifle form, and was shooting the nevermore, for what little damage it would do.
Penny retook control of her swords, and even though she had no arms, she was still able to manipulate the strings.
The nevermore screeched once again, louder than before, but this time several rocket lockers rammed into its back. The rest of the students saw this and called their own lockers in, the lockers landing all over the arena.
Several students burst through the doors, jumping onto the stunned Grimm to grab their weapons. As soon as they had grabbed their weapons, the nevermore lifted itself up knocking everyone off its back.
It took everyone to take it down, slicing smashing, and shooting it until it died.
"Now that. That was a thing" Hunter said with a smirk.
"Hey Ruby, where's your weapon?" Yang asked.
Ruby frowned, "I lost my scroll when I was fighting that ice cream girl who was trying to keep me out of the arena. Now I know why she was." She explained.
"Here, you can use mine." Yang said as she handed Ruby her scroll.
Ruby thanked her and called down her own weapon.
The moment Ruby's rocket locker landed, both Shade and Hunter's scrolls rang.
"Shade, Hunter! Get to the Jaeger! Now!" Professor Polendina called over the scroll.
Everyone soon heard a loud, but distant roar.
"Is that what I think it is?" Petra asked.
"Kaiju." Both pilots said in usion.
….
Several bullheads with white fang emblems landed all over school grounds, releasing Grimm into the area.
One bullhead however, flew over all of the chaos, heading straight for the Jaeger standing on the coast.
"We've gotta get to the Jaeger before the Kaiju makes land!" Shade yelled to the pilot.
The pilot nodded and pushed the throttle forward, making the airship go even faster. After about thirty seconds, they landed at the base at the feet of the Jaeger, with Geppetto running out to meet them.
"Come on! We've got to get you two into your armor!" Geppetto called out.
"How long until the Kaiju reaches land?" Hunter asked as the two pilots exited the bullhead.
"With the two arships we have under our control, less than fifteen minutes!"
The two pilots hurriedly put on their armor inside the tent, which took about five minutes due to the fact that they didn't have the proper equipment to put it on quickly.
After their armor was secure, they began to climb up the scaffolding to enter the Jaeger. They paused when they looked out in the distance, the kaiju reached up and grabbed an airship and pull it down into the water.
"What the…" Hunter stared wide eyed at the destruction the kaiju caused. It was bigger than anything the pilots had fought before.
It had six clawed legs, while being able to stand on its back two. It's mouth had rows of sharp teeth, and it's head had two inward curving horns. It, of course, was black in coloration, but it's claws and horns were white, and it was covered in several white bone like plates. But what was most terrifying, was the mask that sat on its face. With curved and intricate grooves, each glowing a deep red.
"Let's go! That things not going to stay out there for long!" Shade shouted to his partner.
The two pilots rushed the final stretch of the scaffolding, and climbed into the Jaeger. Pressing a few buttons on the panel, the Jaeger booted up, the engine roaring to life.
"You ready to be in my head again?" Shade asked.
"Always." Hunter smiled.
The drift initiated, and their minds collided. Their most recent memories taking the forefront of the drift. But once again, they found themselves looking through a red landscape, as well as down on the school grounds, which was being attacked by the Grimm.
But before it finished, there was a lady with pale white skin, wearing black and crimson clothes, and solid black eyes standing over an army of Grimm. Several voices and screams could be heard, muttering unintelligibly, except for the words, Queen, goddess, and 'Salem'.
Finally, they came back to reality, and only two minds being melded.
"Ok, now what kinda crap was that!" Hunter shouted.
"Error, unknown entity has attempted to disrupt the drift." The Jaegers AI stated.
"Yeah! We noticed! Did you or Geppetto figure out what that was?!" Shade asked.
"Negative. Professor Polendina and myself have made no progress in identifying the entity." She responded, "Warning, Kaiju approaching."
Diamond Banshee turned, only a few seconds before the kaiju started rushing towards it. The kaiju slammed into the Jaeger, its horns covering both sides of the Jaegers torso, its head slamming into its chest.
Beneath them, soldiers and scientists scattered like flies, running from the battle of titans above, or the Grimm below.
Banshee responded to the kaijus attack by grabbing its horns, and tossing it to the side, one horn grazing the Jaeger's torso.
The kaiju swiped a large claw at the Jaeger, but Banshee's left hand grabbed the clawed arm and twisted it, causing the kaiju to roar in pain. With its right, the Jaeger pulled back its fist and slammed it into the kaijus head with a resounding 'CRACK'.
The kaiju once again roared in pain, but this time it lunged forward, sending the Jaeger barreling several meters away, crushing Grimm, atlesian knights, and whatever else was beneath it.
The Jaeger rolled onto its side, before getting itself back to its feet, grabbing a stray atlesian paladin, and throwing it at the kaiju.
"Dude! Do you realize how expensive that was?!" Shade asked.
"Since when do you care?!" Hunter shot back.
"I don't! I just don't want to get yelled at by Ironwood." He explained.
The two were interrupted by the kaiju wrapping four of its limbs around the Jaeger, knocking it to the ground.
….
Down on the ground, many of beacons students were either running for their lives, or fighting the many, many Grimm. And to top it all off, someone had hacked into Atlas' secure network, and had taken control over the many mechs and androids.
Petra and Rona had been separated from the majority of students, and were slowly making their way through the waves of Grimm, to the safe zone.
"How many of these things-" Petra Sliced a creeps head off, "-Are there!?" She exclaimed.
"I have no idea!" Rona said as she backflipped away from a Beowolf that swiped at her. She responded by tossing several shurikens, killing the Grimm.
"But we need to get to the safe zone!"
"What about Shade and Hunter?" Petra asked a bit worried.
Before an answer could be given, a loud screech was heard, and the sounds of metal hitting bone and flesh made their way towards them, and the kaiju flew overhead, having been thrown by Diamond Banshee.
The Jaeger ran after the kaiju when it was down, punching the kaiju in the head, before being knocked away by the kaiju's tail.
"They're getting closer to the school!" Rona shouted.
Petra looked and saw that the battle had indeed made its way from the ocean, all the way to the school grounds.
'Please stay safe Hunter…' Petra thought to herself.
….
Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ozpin made a hasty trek into beacon tower, and into the elevator which lead down to the basement below.
"Where are we going?" Jaune asked.
No answer was given.
The elevator went down, farther than Jaune had ever been. Until it finally stopped, and the trio got out and started to walk to the other end of the room. When the reached it, Jaune saw two chambers, one empty, and one with a young dark skinned woman with a scarred face. Ozpin ordered Jaune to stand guard, which he did.
A few moments later, Pyrrha climbed into the empty chamber, and closed herself inside it. Ozpin typed a few words on a keyboard, before turning to Pyrrha.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked.
Pyrrha nodded.
Ozpin lowered his head, "I need to hear you say it."
She stated a muffled 'yes', which was enough for Ozpin, as he nodded and began typing on the keyboard once again.
The machine started up, and the woman in the chamber next to Pyrrha began to glow, and several cables began to glow the same color. Pyrrha's aura began to flare in a mix of her natural Crimson, and the strange amber color of the woman.
Pyrrha began to scream in pain, and the machine began to go faster, pumping the woman's aura faster and faster. Until it came to a stop, as a black arrow lodged itself in one of the cables, halting the process.
Ozpin and Jaune turned to face the one who had fired the shot, and saw a young woman, young enough to be a student, with black hair, pale skin, and amber eyes. She wore a red miniskirt with red tracings, as well as ornate glass heels.
The woman drew another arrow and fired it straight through the darker skinned maidens heart, killing her instantly. Jaune charged her, but was knocked away by a blast of flames.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out as she climbed out of the chamber.
Jaune picked himself back up and retreated to Ozpin and Pyrrha.
"You two, leave." Ozpin ordered his students.
"But-"
"Now." Ozpin ordered.
The two students ran past the assailant, who didn't seem to pay any attention to them, instead focusing on Ozpin.
….
Jaune and Pyrrha ran out of the elevator, and out of the tower, only to see Diamond Banshee stumble into it, causing debris to fall, forcing the two students to run as fast as their legs could carry them.
They ran, and the kaiju roared as it leapt onto the Jaegers fallen form as it struggled to get to its feet.
What was happening above them could only be described as a clash of Titans.
The Jaeger forced the Kaiju off of itself, before transforming its arm into its ion cannon, and unloading the entire clip into the kaiju's underbelly.
The kaiju roared in pain, as one of its arms fell off, completely disconnected from its body.
"Come on! That all you got!" Hunter challenged the Kaiju.
Both pilots were exhausted. The fight had lasted longer than either pilot had anticipated, and while they were winning, error messages were coming up all over the place. The coolant was low, the left claw was jammed, and the ion cannon was completely drained.
But before the battle could begin again, a loud rumble could be heard, and the pilots turned to face the mountain, where the sound had come from. The face of the mountain cracked, as pieces of it fell off, revealing a large, not quite kaiju sized Grimm.
"Oh come on! A dragon?! A freaking dragon?!" Hunter yelled.
While the kaiju backed off to recover itself, the Grimm Drago- Wyvern, flew towards Diamond Banshee, and bit into the Jaeger's left shoulder, causing Hunter to scream in pain, as he was the one piloting left.
"Hang on Hunter!" Shade called out, as the Jaeger reached around, grabbed the wyvern's tail, and pulled it off of the, slamming it into the ground where the remains of beacon tower lay.
Hunter let out a sigh of relief once the Grimm was off of them.
"You ok buddy?" Shade asked.
Hunter huffed, nodding slightly, "Stupid thing bit my bad arm…" Hunter said, his exhaustion clear in his voice.
The two pilots looked down at the Grimm wyvern to see that it was no longer moving, and it was starting to disintegrate.
"Dead already? Dang… these things aren't very durable." Hunter remarked.
When they turned to face the remaining threat, the kaiju jumped, knocking the Jaeger to the ground, and biting into the Jaeger's head, breaking the window that separated the pilots from itself.
Both pilots screamed in agony, the Kaiju's teeth entered the cockpit, getting startlingly close to the pilots themselves.
Shade quickly activated the remaining claw in the right arm, and stabbed the kaiju in its lower abdomen, before tearing upwards, through flesh and bone, all the way to the neck. The kaiju was thrown from the Jaegers broken form, much of its lower body torn to shreds.
The kaiju tried to get up, only to fall once again, this time black mist coming off of its disintegrating form.
The Jaeger, once a proud machine. Laid still as the reactor slowly shut down. Inside what remained of the cockpit, Shade and Hunter relaxed, finally satisfied that the Grimm was dead.
"Ya'know… I could really go for a sandwich right about now." Hunter remarked.
This sent both pilots laughing, still connected to the unpowered Jaeger.
"We actually did it." Shade said when the two calmed down.
Neither Pilot was in much better condition than the Jaeger itself. Hunters left arm hung limp, both their helmets were shattered, and their armor was scratched and dented in a number of places, Even their aura had been completely drained.
Shade made his way unhooking himself from the Jaeger, before climbing his way over to Hunter to help him as well. Hunter was a bit of a puzzle, as a shard of metal had lodged itself in the locking mechanism, causing hunters feet to be stuck in the clamps.
Fortunately, Shade found and removed the metal, which instantly removed the clamps causing Hunter to fall to the back of the Jaeger.
"Ow." Hunter said as Shade picked him off the ground and onto his feet.
The two climbed up and out of the Jaeger through what was left of the windshield. At least, Shade did.
"Hunter! What's the hold up?" Shade asked.
Hunter was only looking down at his left arm, "Uh, we may have a problem." Hunter said.
Shade climbed back down, and stood in front of his partner, "What's up?" Shade asked.
"I… Can't feel my arm." Hunter said as he gestured to the limb.
Shade stared wide eyed at his partner, "What? How?" He asked.
"I don't know, but, let's just focus on getting out of here." Hunter said with a nervous smile.
Shade helped Hunter Climb down the head and shoulder of the Jaeger, avoiding the many torn shards of metal found on the it. Finally, their feet touched solid ground.
"Well… time to find the others I guess." Shade remarked.
….
Petra and Rona were walking through the debris of the school. It had been almost half an hour since the Jaeger fell, and when Atlas had sent a bullhead to where it was, it had radioed in that neither pilot was inside. But that their helmets and pieces of their armor were found.
The two girls feared the worst, as they fought their way through the ruins of the school. Pyrrha and Jaune had shown up not long before the Jaeger fell, and had told them that Ozpin and someone else were fighting inside beacon towers basement.
Yang and Blake had also returned, though, not unscathed. Yang's arm had been severed, and Blake had been stabbed in the abdomen.
Fortunately, both would survive. Blake had tried to run off, but Rona had convinced her to stay.
But in any case, now the two female members of team SPHR had heard gunshots echoing from a building not far away.
"Think that's them?" Rona asked, her voice shaking.
Petra only grit her teeth and sprinted off toward the source of the noise, Rona following close behind.
The two found the building the sound came from, which turned out to be the remains of the combat class arena. Inside they found both pilots leaning up against the back wall, holding stock rifles.
"Hunter/Shade!" Petra and Rona called out respectively.
The two pilots perked up at hearing their voices and stood up. Hunter rushed to Petra and the two embraced each other.
Shade smiled but was taken by surprise when Rona wrapped her arms around him, her lips connecting with his. The two had not officially started 'dating', but they had been growing closer ever since the dance.
Instead of panicking, Shade relaxed into the kiss himself, hugging her back. A few seconds later and they broke off the kiss and looked at each other. Neither said anything, as they stared at each other, grins painting their faces.
They probably would have stayed there longer, if Hunter had not cleared his throat, inadvertently gaining their attention. The two turned to face the other members of their team, and saw Petra begrudgingly hand Hunter several lien.
"What are you two doing?" Shade asked.
Hunter only coughed, while Petra's frown turned into a smirk, "Hunter made a bet on how long it would take you two to kiss."
Shade turned toward Hunter, who laughed nervously.
"OH YOU SON OF A-"
….
A/N: And that's the end of the chapter! And the battle of beacon! Penny for your thoughts claymore?
RS: *Runs around in a mini scrap Jaeger from the pacific rim uprising trailer carrying a ship*
Finally the Shade and Rona ship is here!
R: yes my friend, yes it is. Also! RWBY Vol.5 launches tomorrow! So any of you guys with RT first… I envy you.
RS: same here i have to wait an extra week. oh well, we get to see yang's trailer tomorrow.
R: Yep. Also, probably caught it earlier, but the new pacific rim: Uprising trailer came out! And the Jaegers are awesome looking! Just hope that they don't turn the series into a cash cow. Or if they do at least make it a good one like the marvel movies.
RS: well I already got my money saved up to see it. I'll be there day one.
R: same, I might even drive up somewhere to see it in Imax!
Anywho, reviews!
54godamora: Don't worry, whether they did or not will be revealed next chapter.
nopetie nopetie nope: no, no she did not.
Chomper from PVZ: well, here ya go. Not really a Grimm vs Kaiju fight, but still worth it yeah?
Lavasioth: yes. Sucky pun indeed.
RS: Tis just a flesh wound. XD
JumpingToaster: thanks for the feedback! Myself and RS_Claymore are always working to try and fix mistakes and make things better.
Slayer-326: yeah, yeah he did.
Anywho, thank you all for reading this mess of a fic! I'm hoping to get more chapters out faster, so one will probably be out next week, maybe even next Friday if I really push myself.
Don't forget to favorite and review! Review's make my day, so please do more!
