The last council meeting that was held wasn't in good terms with him. Now that he had finally seen how incompetent the government was, the more he started to drift towards his own power. They kept pressuring him to go to different one of the four Kingdoms but didn't take into account that he had his own plate of shit to deal with. There might have been only one person in the entire room that had voiced their concern and even that fell on deaf ears. Douglass saw that everyone was starting to overstep their boundaries and start to take advantage of Walker, that's why he had voiced that they handle their own problems and not rely on the Gears so much. Every other council member disagreed with it.
Five minutes later and every council room that held Gears was suddenly vacant of them, each one of them wordlessly leaving without answering the questions they were asked. Everyone looked at him through the screen and just saw him lean back while crossing his arms, staring at them with that gaze of his.
"You really think I bend to you all? Like some common dog? Get real, without my help nor my Gears, you all would be dead where you stood from the Locust attacks. Stop acting like we're expendable or I cut ties with you all." He said.
"You wouldn't." An Atlas councilman said.
"Watch me." He said then shut his screen off and exited the meeting. It may have seemed petty but he was done giving fucks about what they thought. Those Gears would be put somewhere else where they could actually make a difference rather than sit there. A ping on his computer made him look to see an email from Douglass, wishing him to speak with him in private in about a week. That was fine, he wasn't leaving until another three due to some complications but he'd make it in time and be back with enough time to get ready for Mistral.
A reminder on his scroll made him look to see that he was supposed to train with the kids and he didn't have a problem with it. If they were going to be Gears then he needed to put them through the ring and treat them as such. They understood the gravity of the training and at first, cried like the others but he made it clear that it meant in no way shape or form he hated them. He treated all his Gears the same, with the exception of a few, and they were to earn their places to be Gears. The only thing that really bugged him was Tanya, who was a lot smaller than what she was supposed to be, normally he wouldn't have a problem but since her being at the orphanage that long without any long lasting food, it was understandable. Victoria was the same way.
It wasn't that they didn't like training, it was more along the lines that they were intimidated by him. It was like that with a lot of others too. They said that it was like there was a switch that was flipped when he was either on missions or training. He didn't fuck around. Despite it all though, he still treated them as kids.
Their training usually lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes each day and Saturdays they could relax. They did it early in the morning too, to get it out before they head to classes for the day which usually ended around two in the afternoon. As he headed to the gym in his truck, he received a text from Roman stating that there had been a complication within Vale that he needed help with. At first, he was irritated and was about to send a sarcastic reply but then he calmed down and thought about it, Roman usually never asked with assistance with anything.
"What do you need help with?" He asked.
"Junior's not cooperating. Says it'll cost extra to get him to cough up his information in Mistral." Roman answered.
"...Stall him for an hour and a half and I'll get back to you." Walker replied then set his scroll in the console then resumed driving. After a few minutes of travelling between the platforms, he finally arrived at the gym and went to the back seat to grab a duffel bag full of supplies slung it over his right shoulder before closing the door and walking towards the gym. The gym was open 24/7 but he was really the only one who took advantage of it, he often worked off stress here and it showed since he always kept himself in shape. It's just exercising was always a big thing with him, it was enjoyable when he had someone else with him. Even by himself it was still enjoyable, there was just something about working out that took a load off his shoulders.
When he finally walked inside and saw them there, he wondered how they actually got there, sure there was a little side walk area for Gears to walk around in but he seriously doubted that they actually walked here.
"How'd you all get here?" He asked.
"Yang drove us. She said that she needed to work out a bit while you were at your meeting." Ethan said.
"In what?" Walker narrowed his eyes a bit.
"Your truck." Ethan answered. A small tick mark appeared on Walker's forehead before he took a few calming breaths and decided that it wasn't worth the stress. All that was required was to teach the kids a bit and train with them. Minutes seemed to pass by before that turned to tens of minutes and eventually that stretched into an hour. The only noise that was heard was the sound of bodies hitting the mat below and groans as the kids fell again and again. It was next to impossible to land a solid hit on him without him either throwing them to the ground or hitting them hard enough to where they backed up a bit.
From an untrained eye, it looked like he was beating them senseless but to himself and other Gears, this was light work, almost child's play. They at least knew grapples and throws that had almost caught him off guard at one point had they not screamed loudly, he presumed it was a shout of effort more than anything. Two hours passed by and he pinned Rachel to the ground with her right arm bent behind her back and face in the mat below. She gave a growl of defiance and tried to get up but fell eventually after gritting her canines a bit.
The other three panted heavily on the ground and gave coughs when they tried to get up. He let go of Rachel then helped her to her feet before wiping away any grim she had on her face with a nearby towel before helping the other three up, keeping in mind that they would wince whenever he touched a upcoming bruise. He gave them options to become anything other than Gears, he even encouraged it, that they did something other than go on the front lines. They were dead set on it. He didn't want them to throw their lives away... he didn't want kids to die for him.
"Hey, Walker?" Rachel asked, nursing her shoulder.
"Yeah?" He asked as he ignored Victoria's whining while wiping some dirt off of her.
"Why don't you want us to become Gears?" She asked. He stopped wiping and cursed when Victoria scrambled out of his grip before sitting on the ground and thinking of an answer.
"It's not that I don't want you to become Gears. Just because you're not on the front lines doesn't mean you're not a Gear. You can be a doctor or an engineer, hell... I'd settle taking a psychiatrist if it meant you all stayed off the front lines." He answered truthfully.
"... How are we supposed to be of any use if we can't kill Locust?" She asked, giving a painful yelp when he chopped the top of her head. Her ears flattened a bit at the pain before she felt his hand on top of her head.
"Kid, I know what you're going through. I know you think that killing Grubs is the only way to be useful as a Gear but don't ever think like that. The reason I don't want you kids on the front line is because I don't want to see you all die. I don't want to see kids as young as you all die because the government sees you as their aces. You're not, you're kids that should be experiencing a good childhood, grow up with friends and family, and live the life the way you want to." He said. It went quiet for a while as her hair covered her eyes and tears started to stream down the side of her face. They eventually fell onto the mat with a soft dripping noise as he just knelt there to her level.
"What if that's all I want to be? To be a Gear and kill Locust? Kill them until they're all gone?" She asked.
"Then I'll put you through hell to be the best one yet." He answered. There was no dissuading her from her course, she knew it and he knew it. She had gone through it all and was tired of sitting there doing nothing. Ever since her grandmother died, she had been emotionally closed off, never letting anyone know what she was feeling. She liked the other three, considered them close to her, but she always considered Walker family. He was at this point, he was like her big brother that always had her back.
He heard sniffling and turned to see Tanya's lips start to wobble, along with Victoria's.
"Why are you two crying?" He asked.
"This is too emotional for me..." Tanya blubbered before she crashed into Rachel, covering her shoulder in snot and tears. Pretty soon, Victoria joined in the crying mess of a trio while Ethan just stared there uncomfortably. He really didn't enjoy stuff like that and it often made him uncomfortable whenever someone got too emotional. He enjoyed that Walker knew how he felt, it was rare that the young faunus could confide in someone.
Walker just shook his head and sighed a bit before leading them to the truck, he figured he'd just hang out with them until their class and he had to go to Mistral in the upcoming weeks. He didn't know how long he'd be stuck there so it was good to at least spend time with them.
He just couldn't help that building dread that seemed to fester in his gut.
He didn't like flying so much, and he wasn't about to put Ash through it either since it was for something so trivial as to having a conversation with Douglass. He was possibly the only councilman that he didn't hate since he felt the need to represent the people rather than line his pockets. If anything, he cared too much about them and wished to do everything in his power to make them comfortable. The place he was meeting was a simple diner, nothing too suspicious nor elaborate for a simple meeting.
As he walked the sidewalk casually, he was stopped by multiple people and had to remind them that he had places to be. It didn't require much talking for him to tell people off, and he didn't even have to be a dick about it, just politely remind them that he couldn't spare that much time. When he entered the diner, he spotted Douglass sitting there by himself and walked up to him after talking to the waitress for a few minutes.
"I'll admit, this isn't exactly an elaborate dinner with the family but it's something." Walker commented as he sat down.
"Hello to you too, Mr. Ronin." Douglass greeted.
"Alright, I'll bite... what gives?" Walker asked.
"What do you mean?" Douglass asked back.
"It's not like you to do something like this. What gives?" Walker tilted his helmet up to drink his tea when he received it.
"The Vale military is seeking to put the Gears into their ranks. To spread the training for future generations and rival Atlas as far as military power." Douglass commented as he drank his coffee with a soft sip.
"Let me guess, the other two have considered it? They think that I'll just hand over the Gears as if we're some chess pieces." Walker asked.
"Yes, there have been news of signing various bills with Kingdoms to get on board with this, Atlas is heavily reliant on the Gears." Douglass stated.
"I'm not handing the Gears over. I've seen how Vale operates, Atlas too. They follow too many rules of engagement against the Locust and it's been getting people killed. I'm not going to put the gloves on because the government is too afraid to get their feet wet and hands dirty. Half the time when we're deployed, it's on our own accord. I'll offer assistance if needed but the military needs to step up its game if they're going to survive a Locust attack. They can't just wait on us half the time." Walker explained truthfully and didn't need to look to see Douglass agreed.
"There's also the fact that we're changing how our government is going to be ruled." Douglass stated, making Walker look at him.
"What do you mean?" He asked, as he put more sugar in his tea.
"Instead of three councilmen, it will be one ruling. The other two will act like fall backs in case the current one perishes. I for one, do not care about such a change since I'm always up for it but the other two are bickering who should get the spot." Douglass said.
"Thought that was how it operated originally?" Walker asked.
"No, it's complicated to be honest. I have no idea why we're changing it now when we've never had to do such a thing before." Douglass shook his head.
"Some things need change. As much as I don't like it, it happens and sometimes it's for the better." Walker stirred his drink before nodding at the waiter when they received their food.
"There's also another thing. The academies are losing more people each year." Douglass informed.
"It's understandable. Training huntsmen and huntresses takes far too long and the payout isn't as good. Four years to battle an enemy that humanity has been combating for who knows how long, while military training takes far less time and can be mass produced. It's more cost effective in the eyes of some." Walker nodded. They talked for a while, about the status of the world, about where the Gears would be deployed next, anything pertaining about the future of mankind. Sirens sped by them and both looked out the window to see an ambulance down the street before taking a swift right turn.
"That has been happening a lot lately. Hospitals are starting to become overcrowded due to the amount of wounded." Douglass stated.
"How overcrowded?" Walker asked as he turned to the councilman.
"Severely. I've heard that some patients have had to be turned away since there is too many people. Some doctors and nurses haven't been home in days to a week at times. Supposedly to treat the wounded and sick." He sighed quietly. It went quiet for a while as the two of them ate. Some of the other people in the diner looked at them for a minute or two.
"I'll build a hospital." Walker said as he pulled out his scroll.
"What?" Douglass blinked.
"Don't believe I stuttered. I said I'll build a hospital. I have too much money that I'm not spending and I'd rather not just let it sit there when I could be contributing. The workers will consists of knights from Atlas and personal as well. Granted, it'll take a few months but it'll eventually get up and running while I'm over at Mistral. When I get more income in the future, I'll start expanding upon it so it's larger to accommodate more people." Walker said casually. He looked up when he heard coughing and saw Douglass choking on his coffee and waited for him to stop before wiping his mouth with the napkin. The older man seemed to blink in surprise.
"Are you sure? I mean it'll cost maybe fifty million lien." He said.
"Councilman, I'm not about to let people die because they have to be turned away. Fifty million is just sitting in my account right now and is just pocket change. I'm not a good person, I'll say that right now, but I'll be damned if I let a bunch of civilians poor or rich die because they couldn't get treatment. This is the type of shit that government needs to understand. This isn't like battling Grimm or White Fang. The Locust are out to maim or kill, by any means necessary. If it means contaminating someone through blood then they'll do it. We can't afford people dying left and right. I'm sure you all can't either." Walker leaned back in his seat.
"I... I don't know what to say." Douglass said.
"Consider I'm doing you all a favor. Which means you all owe me a favor too." He shrugged before throwing some lien cards the table before walking out the door.
When everyone boarded the Drop ship and got in their seats, it was quiet when they took off. It was going to be around a sixteen hour flight from their base to Mistral. They were going to the academy first to discuss about the relic then going to head to a military fort located about fifty miles from the academy. Eventually, everyone fell asleep while he just sat next to Ash, but eventually even he fell asleep and Walker took the controls. It was silent for a while and he looked back to see if anyone was awake and looking before sighing quietly and clicking the side of his helmet.
The compressed air released from it with a hiss and he pulled it off, wiping his face a bit before blinking several times. His facial hair seemed to be growing a bit and pretty soon he needed to shave. He left his helmet off for a couple of hours before putting it back on when he heard someone shuffle a bit and by that time, they were almost at Mistral. It was nice having his helmet off for more than just a few minutes, but having it on felt more comfortable. Maybe when he gets back to Sera, if he got back there, then he could put it on a shelf. Despite putting on a brave face for everyone and acting like he was fine so they didn't have to worry about him, he wasn't actually okay.
There were times when he couldn't sleep and would just lie there staring at the ceiling thinking about what he would have been doing with his life after the war. Would he be getting a civilian job or would he try to be part of the military like he intended. In reality, he'd probably just go back in the military just for the hell of it, there probably wasn't anything that he was good at besides that. Really the only family he needed was his brother and granddad, and his team but a family of his own? He didn't see it. He couldn't see himself having his own family without bringing his problems onto them.
Shuffling brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to see Blake stumble up to him and blink away the fatigue.
"How long until we get there?" She yawned.
"In about an hour or two. Won't be long." He said.
"That's good." She hummed and sat near him as he just quietly flew the Drop ship, readjusting himself every few minutes.
"Hey, Walker?" She looked at him.
"Yeah?" He hummed.
"We're not helping the academies out, are we?" She asked.
"No. I agreed to help Amber simply because she was a victim in this. She didn't chose to be a maiden nor did she probably want to, Ozpin basically crammed his ideology down her throat until she believed that throwing her life away was necessary. The academies had countless years to fix their problems with this woman and they didn't do a damn thing up until now. As I told you all before, I'm not about to waste my resources nor time on defeating her when the Locust are still wreaking havoc on the world." He answered truthfully. It wasn't their problem, nor was it ever going to be.
"What about the White Fang?" She asked.
"If they get in our way, then we eliminate them. Blake, there comes a time when you need to make a decision if it boils down to it. You either kill them or let them kill you, and I'll be damned if they kill you first. Everyone else needs to understand that." He said. That was what he was trying to get through everyone's skulls. If push came to shove then they needed to be the one to survive in the end. Every single one of them except one needed to survive the war.
"What about Sienna Khan?" She asked.
"What about her?" He asked back.
"I mean, how are we going to handle her?" She asked.
"Already got a plan for that." He reassured.
"Can I be in on it?" She asked.
"Negative. You'd be made the second you stepped foot in the headquarters." He denied.
"She'll know it's you. Your face is everywhere. Pretty much everyone knows you're a human." She pointed out.
"I'm aware. I never said I was the one who'd be doing the mission. None of you are. That's the benefit of having hundreds of Gears underneath your command, there are choices." He said vaguely.
"What are you planning?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Quit narrowing your eyes or I'm cutting your pay. Besides, that's for me to know and for you to not find out. It's nothing bad so stop glaring." He answered. A huff escaped her lips and she turned away from him.
"You can't keep killing everyone, it's not healthy." She sighed.
"Sorry to disappoint but killing is in my nature. I don't see why you still care so much about the White Fang. The ones that left are happy they did and the ones that threaten us already made their choice to stay. If talking doesn't work and they attack then I'm fully obligated to kill them. They made their choice." He said finally then went quiet when he heard her huff.
"Walker..." She groaned.
"You need to make a choice one of these days, Blake. It's either you or that person that lives in the end. I can't be here to hold your guys' hand anymore." He said then turned back to the air. The sound of her sitting back down in her seat made him shake his head then sigh quietly before nudging Ash a bit, waiting for the older man to stir awake.
Silence seemed to bask in the air again as the two of them just flew towards the academy. Eventually, they broke out of the clouds to see the famed school. Ash announced for everyone to wake up and some took longer than others but eventually they all woke up and started talking. They even brought Ash in on some of their conversations while he just remained quiet for the most part. He was too busy thinking about dealing with the Headmaster to hear what they were saying half the time. The only time he snapped to focus was when they landed and the doors started to open up.
The glare of the sun seemed to enter the dark compartments of the vehicle and everyone winced at the sudden assault of light and let their eyes adjust while he just walked outside. Shortly after he did, everyone else followed and began to walk down towards the main building. Countless eyes seemed to watch their every move and some whispered to their friends before that one person decided to break the ice, when she recognized Pyrrha. Almost as if she were a lonely light in the middle of a dark night, countless students seemed to flock her and begun to start asking for her autograph, taking pictures with her, and even asking for her scroll information.
She gave that same rehearsed smile and polite attitude that she had done countless times before. Fame never seemed to escape her and no matter where she went, there was always that one person who decided to break the peace and cause others to flock towards her like moths. She didn't know why but she just couldn't say no to them. It was like this practice was engraved into her mind and it just came automatically.
Jaune was going to step up but Walker held his arm out and kept his eyes locked on her.
"Walker, she's uncomfortable. Can't you see?" Jaune asked.
"I can see perfectly fine. I need to see if she can tell them no. If she can't tell them no after all this time then we have a problem." He said calmly and watched as more people started to flock. He saw that she wasn't saying no despite how uncomfortable she looked, it seemed that he needed to help her more.
"Walker-" Jaune started.
"Go get everyone and find out where the Headmaster is." He ordered.
"But-" Jaune tried again.
"Now, Jaune." Walker ordered again. He didn't miss the agitated look on Jaune's face but after a couple of seconds he felt him guide everyone else while he just stood in the back of the crowd with his arms crossed, just staring at Pyrrha. Eventually after a few minutes of just waiting for her to look at him but fail miserably; he just sighed and brushed through the crowd before gripping the back of her collar on her armor and begun to drag her away. There were shouts to let her go but he ignored them and continued to drag her while she just apologized with that rehearsed smile. Again and again. This went on for a few minutes before he brought her to a secluded hallway and put her against the wall.
"Thank you..." She sighed.
"Pyrrha, you need to learn to say no." He said. She swore he sounded a little disappointed.
"I did." She said.
"I watched you as you signed autographs. There's a time and place for that and this wasn't it for either. We have a job to do and we need everyone there." He said.
"I did say those things but it's hard." She said.
"Then learn to be more forceful. We're not here to make friends with them. Tell them that you have a job to do and leave it at that. Stop sugarcoating everything with people who recognize you, just tell them that you're not here for pleasure and leave." He said as he looked at his scroll when he received a text from Jaune saying everyone was waiting on them.
"How do I do it and not come off rude?" She asked.
"Pyrrha, you're a saint and all but please, for the love of all god above, grow a pair. You're an expert at eliminating Grimm and Locust but when it comes to people you're awful. If this is a problem then we have issues. I didn't train you all to be pushovers." He said bluntly, ignoring the violent flinch from her.
"Well um..." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.
"Work on it, either with me or your team. Don't let people push you into a corner because you can't show a little aggression." He said in the same tone. She looked a little hurt but eventually nodded at his words before following him as they navigated through the hallway and eventually came across everyone as they passed by the main atrium. He looked to see everyone standing there, looking at him.
"Why are you all just standing here?" He asked.
"Waiting on you and the Headmaster won't open the door." Cardin said.
"Why?" Walker asked.
"Dunno. He said something about being presentable." Russel shrugged.
"Oh for fuck's sake." Walker scoffed before pounding on the door loudly. He heard shuffling and a voice inside before it went quiet again. Pounding on the door some more and still hearing shuffling, he sighed quietly and everyone thought he was going to wait patiently before he slammed his foot against the door and practically threw it off its hinges while splinters flew from the impact.
"Why?!" Everyone practically shouted in unison.
"Care to explain why you were stalling us?" He asked the Headmaster, who was on the ground in a flipped chair.
"Are you insane?!" Sun asked as he went to the downed older man.
"You know I am." Walker drawled. Seriously, did the dipshit really think that his mental health was getting better?
"You can't just burst in doors like this. He doesn't have the best heart condition." Sun scolded.
"Is that so?" Walker tilted his head as a grin seemed to stretch across his face. That was a nice thing to know. For some reason, he really wanted to rip the Headmaster apart, limb from limb. He needed him though, to get to that relic so he could destroy it. Nothing good came from that kind of power and he'd rather deny both parties of it. If he was going to be here then he'd be the one to take the relic and see if there was a way to destroy it.
"I'm glad you are here, Mr. Ronin." Lionheart breathed a bit.
"You called upon me for assistance and the payment checks out so I offer my services." Walker shrugged.
"Ah, yes, well Headmaster Ozpin has recently told me that you'd help us fight Salem-" Lionheart started.
"I never said I'd fight her. Seems his mind is starting to deteriorate. No, I remember specifically stating I would take the relic if I could and do something with it. I never said that I'd help you all defeat this woman, who I give absolutely no shits about, and I never said I cared about this whole shadow war." Walker said as he begun to step closer to the desk until he placed his hands on it and leaned forward. Lionheart could feel his chest thumping rapidly as he stared into the blue helmet lights that was inches apart from his own before they were suddenly separated.
"I-I see..." He gulped.
"I'm here to kill Locust and White Fang if they provoke us. So let's get a couple of things straight. If you sacrifice people for some leverage on this woman, I'll rip you in half. You double cross me and I'll make you wish you never met me. You get any of us killed and I'll take your tail and cut it off before shoving it so far down your throat you're shitting out fur for the next month, clear?" Walker smiled. The room suddenly went silent. Did he just threaten one of the most influential people on the planet?
"Yes." Lionheart nodded.
"Good. Anyways, I'll see you later. Remember old man, double cross me and I'll mutilate your corpse." Walker sang as he turned and exited the room. He wasn't bluffing either. If the bastard did double cross him then he'd happily mutilate him in front of everyone.
Everyone else profusely apologized to the man and followed him out the door while scolding him. Each one claimed that he could've acted like a professional in there but he acted like a child with too much power. None of them knew what was wrong with him lately. He was more prone to violent outbursts than before and often resorted to violence before he finally calmed down but half the time the damage was already done. When there was Locust around, he always ordered them to kill them quickly and brutally, not wasting time on unnecessary things such as comforting civilians.
They scolded him all the way back to the Drop ship while he just brushed them off and continued to fly towards a military base that was located an hour and a half from the school. Ash could only shake his head at them talking to Walker like that because he agreed with the kid. The academies had years to sort this out but couldn't and it had gotten people killed and would continue to kill more as time passed by. It wasn't that Walker didn't have respect to military officials, he just didn't have any more respect to give to the academies because of what he learned.
All of them continued to argue with him while Ash just tried to state his identification but couldn't seeing how everyone was being loud. Walker tried to shut them up and ordered them but they weren't listening. He understood that threatening the Headmaster was a little childish on his part but it was necessary. The man was too cowardly and would turn tail and run at the first sight of a Locust. His actions were justifiable. Pretty soon, he just gave up and let them vent while continuing to ignore them and get them cleared for them to land and set up.
From then on, they'd be sent on missions and get people to safety if they could. More Gears would arrive in the next couple of days and he'd eventually take control of any Locust related topics if he could. Some of the Mistral military hasn't dealt with the Locust yet and he'd be the one to show them the ropes if needed. He didn't care if they some of them didn't like the Gears, he wasn't here to make friends and he'd rather have people hate him and be alive then dead on the battlefield somewhere. Lives could not be played with and it showed that he was willing to do anything if it meant keeping some people alive.
The bay doors opened and he grabbed his duffel bag of supplies and strapped his weapons onto his back before heading outside. He wasn't going to waste time because they wanted to keep an argument going. They were here for a job and that was what he was going to do. It wasn't long before he found the highest ranking official in the base and sat down in the room. Only Jaune and Cardin were in the room with him, standing in the corners of the room next to the door.
"Good evening, Commander Ronin." One of them addressed.
"Good evening gentlemen. I'm sure you all are ready to leave and go home, so let's cut to the chase." Walker said as he adjusted himself.
"Yes. While your contract with us is mainly to deal with Locust, we will also appreciate it if you assist us in other matters." A colonel said.
"What matters?" Walker asked as he tilted his head a bit.
"Some of our bases have been getting raided by White Fang, some by bandits, there are even rumors of other PMC companies scouting the bases." The colonel said as he handed a large file over to him, and let him look over it.
"I see. While I will offer my assistance to you, keep in mind that my main focus is to eliminate Locust." Walker reminded as he handed the large file to Cardin over his shoulder.
"We're aware. We're also aware of how the councils are trying to place the Gears into their military-" The colonel started.
"I don't mean to be rude but I'm not putting the Gears into the military. After the war, maybe, but while I'm in charge there will be no bullshit to try to get the Gears into the military. I'm sorry that's not what you wanted to hear but that's my choice in the matter. If that is all, then I bid you all farewell." Walker said as he walked out of the room. Judging by the look on the colonel's face, he guessed that they thought he didn't know. Of course he knew.
People thought he was stupid because he didn't say anything. Truth was, he knew they would try to use him all along, which is why he made safety precautions. He ignored the looks on Jaune and Cardin's faces as they exited the building and grouped up with the others, each one looking at him.
"Come on. We got a job to do." He said then began to walk towards the Drop ship. He really wanted to go home now.
The base wasn't anything special to be honest. Just a plot of land with a few some barracks, an armory, a vehicle bay, a cafeteria, and a headquarters. It wasn't anything special because he didn't want anything special. Worst case scenario and they could just lose some weapons and armor but nothing special. Everyone was doing their own thing but he was alone like usual, maintaining his weapons and armor. He just put on music and cleaned his equipment and inspected it before setting it down and picking up some more.
Some of the others came and gave him a greeting while he just gave them one back and did his own thing for the next couple of hours. Time seemed to slip by and he didn't realize it but dinner had soon arrived and someone had come to get him. It was Nebula, to be honest their relationship was about as good as the girls. She usually called him Boss and only called him by his name whenever she needed help with something or needed to get his attention. He valued everyone to be honest, he valued her as much as he valued every one of his original Gears. Well, all except one.
"Since we don't have a cook, Ren decided to do it for us." She commented.
"That's nice." He sighed.
"Something wrong?" She leaned forward to look at him as they stepped outside.
"Just hungry and tired." He answered.
"On the bright side, it's dinner and we can go to bed soon." She said.
"Right... you all hang out with Ruby too much." He commented.
"I mean, we have been with her since the start of the war. She's kind of like the rainbow sun child of the group." She said.
"That's a nickname I'm gonna start using." He said as they neared the building and he opened the door for her. They began to walk the hallways for a few minutes in silence before she looked at him then looked away when he looked at her.
"I already know what you're gonna say but... why did you treat the Headmaster like that?" She asked.
"Imagine finding out that your dreams of helping people fight Grimm and keep them safe didn't even matter except to look good in books. Now picture that you build something up so much to help the future, only to find out that the people that were supposed to guide you were nothing but liars. Lionheart may be a lion faunus but he's a coward at heart. Shouldn't have taken him so long to respond to us and he's hiding something." He explained.
"Still doesn't really explain why you treated him so poorly." She deadpanned.
"Like I said, he's a coward who looks like he sells people out and he knew about this whole shadow war horseshit. All the Headmasters knew yet they didn't even inform their students. Then, when their students graduate and probably have families of their own, they decide to use them like some pawns and not consider the damage they could do to the people they care about." He explained some more. It went quiet again and she sighed a bit before looking at him again and entered the cafeteria, taking her seat along the others while he did the same. There were times she couldn't help but look, along with some of the other girls.
Despite being Gears, they did have a night for them where they would act like school girls. Often about the boys or about the status of the world or even their common interests. He always appeared in their conversations though, sometimes for hours. The girls knew that he was suffering though. Even though he commonly brushed off any help from people or kept stating that he was fine, they all knew he was silently suffering. It wasn't uncommon for them to catch him leave the building and step out after he had a nightmare or stay up late just doing work. Some days they would worry about him because if the war wasn't going to kill him then overworking himself was. They just didn't realize that he couldn't help but work to get rid of stress.
He always put others in front of himself to the point where it was unhealthy, half his injuries were just keeping them safe and he stated he'd do it all over again. He shouldn't have that many injuries for a twenty-one year old man and he shouldn't disregard his life so carelessly. They couldn't get him to talk about his problems so freely because he always stated that his problems shouldn't become theirs. Nobody could do a damn thing about helping him because he wouldn't let the storm in his mind break out free. He could save them from themselves countless times and would do it a hundred times over but he didn't want anybody saving him.
Walker Ronin could fight thousands of Locust by himself and come out with a few injuries. He could change the world to fight a common enemy that threatened to push both humanity and faunus to extinction. Hell, he could even save tens of thousands of lives without a care in the world and would do it over again if it meant that the Locust lost in the end. People came to him for their problems and he presented a solution that they ended up eventually taking and came out better than before.
So why couldn't he save himself?
Any thoughts were cut short from everyone's minds as dinner started to progress and they started to share stories. It was times like these that made them smile at the small things in life. Some of their stories were often filled with laughter and a joke while some were filled with tragedy that made them comfort one another. All of them shared stories with one another and were having a blast. Walker just kept to himself though, just silently listened to everyone enjoy themselves a bit before he bid them goodnight after a couple hours of eating.
"He barely ate." Ruby looked at his spot. That seemed to silence everyone as they looked at the spot. He seemed a little different now. Some brushed it up as he was always tired but he seemed more fed up with everything now, like he had lost some of his will to help people. Deep down, they all knew the reason. Dropping the news of the shadow war onto him proved to not only stress him out more but present another problem that he had to factor in. Jaune and Cardin, even Russel knew that it brought a new set of problems that were eating at him.
"It's because of this whole shadow war bullshit." Cardin said.
"How do you know?" Sun raised an eyebrow.
"Because I'm actually on good terms with the boss and I don't fuck around with him like you do. We all know that dropping that load of news onto him stressed him out more, and bugging him about it is making it worse." Cardin retorted.
"Seems fine to me." Sun shrugged.
"Maybe because you're too busy shoving bananas up your ass and not paying attention to the boss one bit. I'm surprised he's even letting you continue to be a Gear now considering you're always fucking around." Cardin said.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Sun stood up.
"You. Ever since the Fall of Menagerie, you've done nothing but slack off. All of us are doing our best to give him some slack and here you are, fucking around. You've gotten people injured because you want to look good in front of others. When we're on missions and lives are at stake, you're too busy worrying about your status as a Gear instead of people's lives. Fucking hell, even Jaune does a better job than you, and he went from barely being able to hit me to one of the best Gears. No offense, Jauney boy." Cardin said.
"None taken." He waved off.
"You just take your job too seriously." Sun dismissed.
"... I really hope one of these days, you fucking die. I hope a Grenadier bashes your skull in." Cardin said.
"Cardin!" Coco scolded.
"No, he needs to hear this. You keep getting people killed and you think it's funny. Do you realize the trauma you put on people because you don't take your job seriously? You're about as bad as the other PMC companies that just want nothing but money. I actually respected you at first, shame to see that it was wasted on a filthy prick like yourself." He narrowed his eyes at Sun.
"Fuck you." Sun narrowed his eyes back.
"Sun!" Blake said.
"No, fuck you. You're part of the reason why Dove got killed. You and that fucking scout. As far as I'm concerned, you're both nothing but failures. At least one of you fucking died." Cardin scoffed as he stood up and threw his remains in the trash before storming out of the cafeteria, Russel following him shortly after. It went quiet for a while before Jaune sighed and stood up.
"Everyone, go to bed." He said.
"We'll go to bed when we want." Neptune said.
"I'm not asking, I'm telling. Go to bed. We have work to do in the morning." Jaune retorted.
"Who died and made you leader?" Neptune said.
"I've been Walker's second in command for the past year, so when I give an order, you follow it. Now go to bed." Jaune ordered. Everyone slowly started to disperse and head off to their beds. The whole dinner started out good and was going good up until Walker left. By now he should be asleep, slumbering peacefully while listening to the faint noises of nature. That's what everyone assumed. In reality, he was tossing and turning in his sleep. This lasted until two in the morning before he eventually got fed up and sighed before getting up and going outside.
Nightmares were always a pain to deal with...
By the time everyone was up and ready in the morning, he had already been up. Already preparing the next mission they would go on and had planned everything out. Every exit, killshot, even down to the very deepest secrets of the complex they were going to be going through. He already knew what they were doing. It wasn't Locust but White Fang. Their next mission would be a Locust tunnel that had been observed for the last couple of months. He had seen the thing and concluded that there was hundreds, if not thousands down there and they were planning something, something big. He wasn't going to waste time like he had in Menagerie, he knew the Locust were planning a large scale attack but he hadn't anticipated it would be that large though.
The White Fang were planning something too, recently his supply trucks had gone missing in Mistral and there had recently been a bombing and it was starting to irk him. Someone was revealing those supplies and when he found out who it was, he was going to rip their entrails out from their throat and display them for all to see. Those supplies weren't meant for the Gears, they were meant for people that had been displaced from their homes because of the Locust. An entire camp of people had died because the supplies weren't delivered and some went out looking for food and water. Some starved and others died from dehydration while some inadvertently led Locust back to the camp while scavenging for food, which then led to the Locust bringing more to the camp and slaughtering them all.
While some PMC companies were at a conflict with him, they didn't go as far as to steal supplies when they found out it wasn't meant for the Gears. Not all of them were that ruthless. To be honest, he was probably the most ruthless out of all of them. He didn't fuck around and he didn't take kindly to people trying to swindle him of money.
His thoughts were abruptly shaken when he saw everyone arrive before sitting down in their chairs. It was around nine in the morning but he didn't care at the moment, the more sleep they got, the less tired they'd be for tonight.
"Due to some of the special forces in Mistral oh so graciously providing us with some intelligence, we've found a White Fang cell group holding out in an townhouse. There are three floors to this and all of us will surround them. Half of teams will enter through the back alley and cut through the garden while the other half will take the front entrance and enter through the front door. The teams will ascend each floor and eliminate any White Fang that we encounter. When each floor is secured, two of us will secure the attic and secure it finally. When we've secured the townhouse, we'll perform a SSE of the location and give the rest to the Mistral military. From that point on, we'll continue to work with them while also dealing with the Locust." He briefed while pointing to the board. Everyone was silent as some of their faces paled a little bit and one of them coughed into their hand.
"What other factors are there?" Jaune asked as he adjusted himself in his seat.
"Check your shots, there may be non-combatants in the area." Walker added as he revealed a picture of a woman with two infants. He watched as some of them moved around uncomfortably and saw some of the color drain from their faces. It was time for them to grow up, this was life. As much as he didn't like taking a human or faunus life, it was necessary in situations like these. These people knew what they were doing so it was fair game for them to be punished for their crimes.
With the simple wave of his hand, he watched as they all seemed to disappear from the room while he sat down in a chair and put his hands on his helmet. Things were starting to get out of control now, the war was starting to take a toll on him as was this whole war with the White Fang. Nobody had the stones to deal with the White Fang but him and it was starting to piss him off.
It wasn't long before he had gone out for some hours, seven at most before he even returned and had already prepped the Drop ship and was waiting patiently. No one knew where he was but when they boarded, there was something on their seats. Ruby immediately recognized it and inspected it carefully before putting it on her belt. Everyone else, who wasn't familiar with some weapon attachments, simply inspected them as the bay doors closed with a loud hum.
Minutes passed by before that turned to tens of minutes then that eventually turned to hours. Silence basked over all of them and the gravity started to weight them down as time passed on. It was like they were stepping into new territory. This felt like uncharted waters to them and it was scary; like they were simple fish in the sea of sharks. The day slipped away and the night became evident before he told them to reach into the boxes under their seats with their names marked on them.
Each one flicked the clamps off the box then tilted their heads when they saw a balaclava with two eye holes, a combat helmet with a pair of goggles. Everyone got some except: Blake, Velvet, Neon, and Sun. The four of them tilted their heads and looked at him, asking why they didn't get goggles like the others.
"You four can see in the dark, we can't." Walker explained briefly.
"The White Fang can see in the dark too." Blake said.
"I'm aware. Cutting the power isn't meant for them." He said.
"Then why are we doing it?" Velvet asked.
"So no one knows that we were here." Walker finished. Silence seemed almost welcoming at this point before the ride continued for the next several minutes. When the ship landed onto a pad, they were greeted with two assault trucks and the driver waved at them before they begun to climb in. The streets were practically hollow due to the curfew being set and they could see that houses were beginning to shut off their lights for the night. After a ten minute drive in silence, one of the trucks finally stopped and begun to reverse into the alley. The other parked near the street and looped around into the other side of the alley for later extraction. Ruby and May were on the roofs providing overwatch like they were ordered.
Jaune's boots impacted the ground as he took point with Walker following him shortly after, followed by some of the others. The two of them led and Jaune took cover on one side of the back gate before getting out a pair of bolt cutters and looking at Walker. He nodded once and watched as Jaune snapped the chains with ease before pushing the gate open and watching as everyone filed into the back alley.
"Ronin entering the rear garden." Walker called out quietly as he took point and slowly entered the rear garden and down the stairs.
"Boss, this is CR(DL). About to enter the west alley." Russel called out as he led the others through the alley.
"Copy." Walker responded as he went to the downstairs door and waited for everyone to enter the garden. He watched as an extendable ladder was passed towards them before nodding when Jaune took it and extended it, placing it against the open window quietly before climbing it.
"Ronin, entering interior." He said then opened the door, followed by the rest of JNPR and the others. They climbed the stairs that eventually led to the kitchen and saw that Jaune was at the window, aiming his sidearm at the door before climbing in quietly when he saw the others enter the kitchen. Ren took cover one of the doors right after Walker entered the kitchen and stood on the other side of the counter. A voice was heard and everyone tensed up when the door to the right opened up and a female walked through.
"Wha-" She didn't get to finish before Ren cupped her mouth with his gloved hand then practically threw her to the ground.
"Quiet!" He whispered as he fished out some zip ties then begun to restrain her tightly. Brawnz came in with some tape and began to tape her mouth shut before following the others. Walker entered the barely lit hallway, followed by Jaune, and peeked into the dining room. Three assailants were talking about the different cells spread across the Kingdom and didn't see him nor Jaune since they were too focused on one another.
"Drop em." Walker ordered quietly. Jaune aimed his suppressed Lancer and fired three shots, each one hitting the target and making them drop. The first man he shot went down instantly, the second one was shot in the neck and fell onto the ground, while the woman crumbled to the ground with a loud thump. The second man tried to balance himself and lift up onto the table but was too busy holding his bleeding neck to even focus correctly. Although, he managed to grab the snub that was on the table and tried to aim it at them. The others watched as Jaune planted his foot on the man's chest and aimed the muzzle of his weapon at his head before pulling the trigger shortly after.
A pit seemed to form in their stomachs at that. He didn't even hesitate with that.
"Secure." Jaune called out. He waited by the front door and watched it open while Walker went up to the stairs and waited for them to follow.
"This is Winchester, entering through the front door." Cardin called out as he entered through the front door with the others. He looked at the dining room and nodded before flicking his goggles over his eyes and heading up to the stairs and tapped Walker on the shoulder. Once everyone was inside, they could hear the panicked footsteps of the White Fang and their spirits seemed to drop a bit.
In this situation, they felt like monsters.
"Ronin, moving to the first floor." Walker called out as he slowly ascended up the stairs followed by Cardin. Several others followed up and heard panicked breathing faintly followed by shuffling. There was a door at the end closest to the stairs to the left and Walker opened it, seeing it clear before seeing Cardin go to the room next to it. He entered it and checked both ways before seeing another room adjacent to it. As he opened it slightly, gunfire suddenly splintered part of the door and he quickly shoulder checked the door open and begun to fire his suppressed Hammerburst into the White Fang while entering the room.
Everyone could hear him fire several times followed by a body dropping loudly. The pit in their stomachs seemed to grow more when they heard that and a few of them had to blink away that uncomfortable feeling that begun to eat at them. This wasn't like taking a Locust or a Grimm's life, they were stripping people of their only life and it felt wrong.
There was a door opposite of the room Cardin was in and Bolin entered it, opening the door and quickly taking cover when shots fired into the wall and he saw a White Fang holding another one hostage. He quickly fired into the one with the gun and breathed in relief then begun to walk towards the person on the ground, only to widen his eyes in horror when they reached for the gun on the bed and aimed it at him. His body seemed to take a mind of its own and before he knew it, his rifle was raised and he started to fire into them, watching as the rounds entered and exited their body then watched as it crumbled loudly.
"First floor secured." He coughed out. A wave of nausea seemed to hit him and he felt like vomiting. He just killed someone... he just took someone's life...
Nothing was said as Walker took point in the hallway before going to the bottom of the stairs and looking up it, waiting until he felt the others behind him before slowly ascending like he did before. Jaune followed him after, followed by Nolan then Cardin. As hesitant as the last boy was, he knew that missions like these were bound to come which is why he mentally prepared himself at times.
"Ascending to the second floor." Walker whispered as he climbed the stairs. The green effects of the night vision in his goggles made him blink a few times before he was fine again. There was only one door on this floor and he went past it as quietly as he could, along with Jaune. The only sound was their faint footsteps and the quiet creaking of the wood floor below them.
"Fuckers are outside the door!" Everyone heard a White Fang shout loudly before a torrent of gunfire erupted loudly throughout the complex. Countless rounds stripped pieces of the door off and several of them went into Nolan's legs. He grunted loudly in agony and instantly collapsed on the ground, his legs bleeding heavily. Jaune quickly bent down and dragged him out of the way as a trail of blood on the ground was quickly left.
"Penny, I need you up here! Winchester, get a flash in there." Walker ordered.
"On my way." She said.
"Got it." Cardin nodded then reached on his belt and pulled the pin, throwing it in one of the holes created by the gunfire and listened to it detonate shortly after. He heard groaning and quickly burst open the door and aimed his weapon in the room. The White Fang pleaded for him to wait but he didn't listen and fired two shots into their torso then one in their skull. Roy entered the room and quickly shot one that was hiding behind the couch, going up to him and making sure he was dead. They heard a door open behind them and quickly turned around to see another White Fang aim a Gnasher at them, only to fall when Cardin shot him multiple times. Everyone heard him fire four rounds into the body for good measure.
"Second floor, secure." Roy said. Cardin and Roy stepped closer to the door and saw Brawnz drag Nolan towards the edge of the stairs while some of them went past them.
"Hang on, man. I got ya." Brawnz whispered as they approached the edge, they could hear Penny's footsteps get closer before some saw her reach him. Walker started to ascend to the third floor, Cardin taking point followed by Jaune and Sun with him behind them. All of them heard panicked shouting between a woman and a man and what sounded like two infants beginning to cry. Slow, yet methodical, they reached the top of the stairs and stacked up outside the door. Sun bashed the door open and saw the woman jump in fright before rushing over to the crib.
She seemed to be grabbing something and he quickly raised his rifle and shot her in the shoulder. Blood splattered against the wall and mobile hanging above the crib, making her scream a bit. His eyes widened a bit when he realized she was just going to shield her infants before an angry voice met his ears.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Cardin whispered angrily. Everyone could hear it over the radio and looked towards him as he entered the room and went to the woman. She tried to fight him off but he quickly restrained her then began to tend to her bullet wound. Sun couldn't see it but he could just feel the angry eyes of the Winchester searing into him from behind the goggles. They crying of the infants still met his ears as it did everyone else's.
"You had better sort yourself out or I will!" Walker snarled. A cold shiver had seemed to flow across everyone and they couldn't help but wince violently. They had heard him pissed before but this was a whole new level. Their eyes widened when he flicked his goggles up and revealed his eyes. Those that had the goggles over theirs could only see the glowing reflection but they saw how livid he was, it was like looking at a demon from a horror movie. Sun though, he saw the absolute murder in those brown eyes and it personally scared him.
"She looked like she was going for a gun." He reasoned.
"Jaune, secure the floor. Sun... you had better hope she doesn't bleed out from that wound you gave her because if she does... I'll skin you like a fucking rat." Walker snarled before flicking the goggles back over his eyes. Jaune nodded then opened the door to the next room and quickly saw the White Fang peek around the corner before scrambling under the bed and looking at him. He aimed the gun at him but Jaune was quick on the trigger and fired a round into the man. The round quickly entered his skull and splattered blood and skull fragments onto the wooden floor.
"Floor secure." Jaune called out.
"Copy. Blake, take point." Walker called out. She blinked a bit before shakily nodding then going in front of everyone and climbing up to the attic. She tried to open the door but saw that it was heavily locked and tried to bash it open with her weapon.
"It's locked." She said.
"I got it. Try to take them alive if you can." Walker said as he made a gesture. She saw the others pass a breaching hammer the stairs and finally to him. He placed the flat part of the hammer in the crack of the door and begun to force it open with a loud creaking noise. Eventually the door was forced open and he nudged it, gesturing for her to go in there. She took a deep breath and nodded before going in the room and aiming at the woman in there.
"Don't move." She ordered. As much as she tried to sound brave, she wasn't at this moment. It was like she forgot all her training over the years and choked up. Walker entered the attic and aimed his weapon at the woman.
"Please, I'm not a hostile. I-I was locked up here. They're keeping me captive." She said while backing up towards the desk.
"Stop!" Blake pleaded when she saw the gun on the table. Both of them saw that she was heading towards it and his finger began to tighten around the trigger.
"Drop her." He ordered. Nothing happened and the woman suddenly lunged for the gun on the desk, she quickly turned around and aimed it at them, only to stumble when a round entered her chest. He looked over to see Blake's Lancer suppressor smoking slightly before she fired again into the woman's skull, watching as her head jerked back and her body crumbled on the desk. It eventually slumped over on the ground with a a loud thump and the blood began to pool under the wound.
Blake's eyes were wide and her breathing suddenly became ragged when the realization hit her. She just killed someone. Not a Locust or a Grimm like she had in the past but an actual person that had a life. Her knees felt weak and she suddenly fell onto the ground breathing hard. This felt wrong. These people were White Fang sure, but they were so terrified of them. Suppressed shots were still quite loud and they heard them from the floors above which threw them into a panic. They knew death was coming and there was nothing that could save them.
"Blake..." He called out.
"..." She said nothing but felt the sweat begin to pool on her face. The helmet and mask she was wearing suddenly felt suffocating and she quickly threw the helmet off and ripped off the mask. It did little to comfort her and she felt like crying.
"Blake." He called out again.
"..." She still said nothing and stared at her hands, there wasn't blood on them but it felt like she had just dipped them in a bucket of it. Her eyes then saw the body near the desk and the urge to vomit suddenly met her. Only she couldn't. Her lungs started to burn and there was a pit in her stomach that formed.
"Blake!" He raised his voice and watched as she looked at him. His goggles were up and she finally saw his eyes.
She saw those brown eyes of his, ones that held a thousand emotions yet still remained calm somehow. She could finally see how much more mature they were than hers and frankly, it saddened her. It's probably been years since he's looked anyone in the eyes that wasn't behind his helmet.
"..." She still didn't say anything because she couldn't, her throat seemed to clog up and her lungs burned.
"Breath." He said calmly. A wave of relief met her and she clutched her chest tightly, her armor felt constricting but it could be dealt with. Oxygen filled her lungs as she inhaled and exhaled slowly, letting her respiratory system function correctly. He knelt down to her level and placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her until she could breath on her own without him coaching her. It took a few minutes but he just looked her in the eyes the whole time until she calmed down. Her heart was still racing like before but it wasn't as bad as before.
"I didn't want to do it..." She said distantly.
"No one would want to." He said before clicking his tongue and picking up her balaclava and helmet, handing both to her then instructing her to put them on. Eventually, she stood up and shakily picked up her weapon as he looked around the attic before finding a laptop and setting it on the desk. He cursed quietly as he looked before plugging in a flash drive that Penny had given him and started to copy the files down.
"Walker..." She blinked back some tears and rubbed her eyes.
"Take a look at this." He said, waiting for her to try and step around the body. After waiting for her to do so, he made her look at the laptop. Her pupils seemed to shrink a bit and her breathing started to become erratic again. He knew she was in a state of shock from both having her first non-Locust or Grimm kill and seeing the content that was on the laptop.
"N-No." She swallowed hard.
"Still think the White Fang can be redeemed?" He questioned. She didn't want to look at him for some reason. Maybe because she was in denial at what she saw. There on the screen was countless plots against people. Bombings, stealing supply routes that had supplies, assassinations, torture of government officials, and opening up Locust tunnels that would cause them to flow through again. It was as if all the crimes, horrors, and sins of the White Fang were tied into one little bundle. It wasn't even about spreading equality between the two races anymore, this was about spreading terror and death wherever they could.
"No, no, no, no, no." She shook her head. This wasn't the organization her father created, this wasn't a peaceful group anymore, this wasn't even people that cared about rights. These atrocities were being committed around the Kingdom and the other three also. Most happened in Atlas but others happened in the other three.
"Now you see why I don't bother saving them?" He tilted his head at her.
"Stop." She clutched her ears with both her hands, only for him to grab them and force them down before forcing her to look at him.
"Blake, I'm going to say this once and only once. I'm not going to hold your guys' hand anymore, I shouldn't even be on this mission because I wanted you all to grow up and face life like this. This is real life and it gets so much worse. These people made their choice and are sticking with this. As I said before, it was either you or them and you made the choice." He said.
"We could've done something different. She didn't have to-" She stopped when he squeezed her shoulder hard enough for her to wince.
"Stop trying to justify their actions!" He snapped suddenly which shut her up. She saw his eyes shrink in anger and her flight or fight response started to lean towards the former. She was so used to looking at his helmet lights that seeing his actual eyes felt alien to her.
"I'm not." She said, only to violently flinch when he narrowed his eyes at her. It made her look away.
"You are. Every time I bring them up, you always find a way to justify their actions. Look at the screen, Blake, they're killing innocent people and you still want to defend them? At this point, they're not going to change nor care to change. So here's what we're gonna do, either you grow up and face this shit like an adult or I take you off and you can go home. I'm not gonna fuck around with you anymore." He said harshly. This was it, he wasn't going to treat her like a kid anymore when it came to these things, she needed to grow up and act like an adult.
"I'm sorry..." She said quietly.
"Teams, townhouse secured, perform SSE." He sighed then radioed on the comms.
"Understood." They all said in unison.
"Wukong... get back to the fucking truck. I'll figure out what to do with you later." Walker seethed quietly. He heard a quiet confirmation from the faunus before he turned back to the laptop and had started to sift through it. "At least something good came from this whole thing." He sighed.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Got a location on Sienna Khan." He answered as he turned the laptop to her.
"Are we going after her next?" She asked.
"No, we'll handle the Locust next. Come on... let's get out of here." He said then closed the laptop and started to exit the attic. She followed shortly after and he saw everyone start to finish collecting anything worthwhile and then began to leave through the rear garden. Half the teams climbed into the truck on one exit of the alleyway while the other half went to the other one. There were sirens in the distance and he was the last one in the truck, staring at the townhouse one last time before slamming the back door shut and feeling the driver put it in drive.
As soon as the trucks got down the street, they saw cop cars begin to speed towards the townhouse and past them. When the police finally got inside, all that was left was a string of dead bodies and an injured mother with her two infants.
So... yeah. It's been a while everyone and for that I'm sorry. I'd like to apologize for not uploading as much as I used to and sincerely wish to make it up to you with this chapter. I don't have much to say other than happy late new year and I hope it has been eventful for you all. Also it's ironic since this is my very first story and it's newest chapter is on the start of a new decade. Anyways, onto reviews.
Ferno16: Yeah, he's sick of everyone's shit at this point and figures if they aren't doing something that he'd be the one to step up. It's why he's starting to look out for things that benefit him and innocent people rather than some of the less deserving others. He figures that unless Remnant gets its shit together and managed to become competent then it has not a single chance against the Locust.
Disabled-doctor: Shush.
Janne Rolfe Jalandoni: Only things the things he has on him, maybe a little bit more. I don't think I'll add too many weapons for him to keep track of.
jkdelta38: I mean, what would you do if you found out that people were literally pissing away their lives over something that could have been solved thousands of years ago?
Wolf: That's a possibility that might happen.
Guest: Thank you for giving this a chance.
Kepp1n1tFr0st1e: Negative, won't die until this is finished. Here's the other one.
Blaze1992: Noted. About the pictures, he doesn't know about them and he'll probably smack the shit out of Tai for trying to.
jetjedi: Thank you.
brandonleewolfe1: No. Although Myrrha commanded the Locust through the hive mind, Skorge will find another way to command them. Myrrha's influence is still hammered into the Locust so they're the same terrifying race as on Sera.
R3WY: You only have to wait a couple of months, friend. If it took me a century to post a new chapter then we got some issues. All jokes aside, here's what happens next.
That's all, again, sorry for not uploading this in a while. If this chapter isn't up to your standards then oh well, it's hard to get back to something when you've left it for so long. Anyways, have a good day and I'll catch you all on the flip side. Take it easy.