Chapter 71 – Arcturus Base – Pt. 1
Whitley
Moments before the explosion…
Inside of the Arcturus Base H.Q Building, Whitley was stood inside with his robotic arms crossed. It was still strange for him, seeing the world this way, coding appeared in different places as he scanned the things that surrounded him. He looked at the Coffee Cup and it scanned the fluid inside, correctly identifying the solution as Granulated Coffee and Water, at room temperature at this point from how long the poor thing had been sitting there.
Whitley was not alone inside of the Office, sat in the chair that overlooked the entire facility was Kelham, holding a pistol in his hand as he spun back and forth in the chair. His Crimson Dawn Forged Blood Claws were sat on his desk as well, always near him in case he needed to use it – to open Crimson's Portals that he bestowed into the magical blades. Blood Blades were always very unique, and even a novice could tell the difference between a fake and the real thing.
Donovan was inside as well, stood against the wall with a glass of whiskey in his hand, whilst Kelham watched his forces working hard outside, completely unaware of the breakout that was under way inside of his own base for some reason. And finally, was the holographic projection fed live from Atlas – Jacques Schnee.
They were in the middle of a meeting, one that was summing up their efforts over the past two weeks – and Jacques had more on his plate than they realised. "What do you mean the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Atlas turned against you?"
"They follow a Huntress, called Robyn Hill, and they have joined together as their Happy Huntresses, down in Mantle. They are working together to try and over throw me and the Acolytes of Lien, luckily though our forces are holding them back for now. Unless they get reinforcements, Atlas is in the clear. But Mantle? Well that's a different story." Jacques sighed as he took a sip from his glass.
"Seems a lot has been going down all around us, hasn't it?" Kelham scoffed.
"Indeed – but when the Shivering Dominion begins, Mantle will be the first to be destroyed by the Grimm, so the plan is still a go." Jacques casually said, showing no remorse for the innocents down in Mantle who have no idea about the threat that is coming in the next four days.
"So, your plan is working back home then, brother? Project Ascension is green?" Donovan inquired.
"It is – Vir Nominis Umbra will think twice before he tries to take the Relic of Destruction from us when the Moon Shatters in the next four days." Jacques assured as he smirked behind that thick white moustache other his mouth.
"That's good to hear, we have Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, Oscar Pine and Pyrrha Nikos in custody too. We can hand them over to Umbra when he comes, wouldn't be surprised if he has killed them already." Kelham scoffed, shrugging his shoulders.
"Unlikely." Whitley responded.
"How so?" Donovan inquired.
"My father and I have been working with him for quite a while now, rarely spoke to him in person… but he never does things that simply." Whitley explained, and they sighed.
"Nothing is ever simple." Kelham sighed, shaking his head.
Jacques continued as he stood up from his chair and his desk, holding his tie pompously, which made Donovan scoff. His brother always hated how his brother was, he was always the one that dressed the best. But even here, Donovan did not wear a suit, he wore a normal jacket and some jeans. He did not care for appearances, unlike his brother – who spent all his life in the Higher Society of Atlas – not in a cell.
Jacques continued to speak as he walked around the room, the holographic camera allowing his image to act as if it was in the room with them. "It is not just Project Ascension that has gone according to plan. Many of my other precautions have added a certain level of… protection… for when Umbra tries to take the Relic from us. We will find the Relic of Choice and use it against him, if we can control him, none would ever rival us again. But if he does try? We will use it against him, such a weapon must be able to kill him, of course." Jacques explained as he walked around.
In truth?
Nobody knew, nobody had ever been able to test if the Relic of Destruction could do any damage to Vir Nominis Umbra. It would be one hell of a theory to test.
"How? I mean the dude does not seem like the kind of person to just pass by a lock and key. He would break the damn thing down." Kelham scoffed, turning back around in his chair to face Jacques.
"Indeed, however he will not be able to. I have coded the Vault to only open to the touch of a Schnee. Meaning only, I or Whitley can open the doors to the Vault without the Relic attacking us on sight. That is why nobody is able to get close to the damn thing, if someone manages to get inside it will attack the intruder as soon as they get in." Jacques explained as he stood by his brother.
"How am I able to open it? I don't have a human body anymore." Whitley questioned with confusion.
"Worry not, it is our souls that are the keys." Jacques said, but as he said those words, Kelham chuckled sinisterly.
"But you are not a Schnee, you are a Gele. Like you brother." Kelham stated, but Jacques chuckled in return.
"You would be right, if I did not have my men encode me into the Schnee Family. This way the Relic will see me as an ally just as it would for Whitley. His soul is still inside of the machine, even if his body is gone. It will open to us." Jacques explained as he walked past Kelham and stood before the window with his arms behind his back.
"And Weiss Schnee. She is the only one you have left – that is still alive." Kelham mocked as he stared at the machine that was Whitley. The Atlesian Knight that his soul was bound to glared at him, clenching its metal fists.
"Indeed, I could not erase her name. Or Winter or Willow's – but my daughter and my wife are dead, and my youngest is probably dead already. If not? Well… we still have time to burn the Embered Grove to the last blade of grass. Weiss had her chance to stand with her family, the only family she ever had, and she chose to abandon us for misguided fools." Jacques said as he turned.
He had no more doubts on where he stood – it was the Jacques Schnee that they all remembered, the one that was extremely dangerous, the one that was not to be crossed. And Donovan smirked, proud to see the monster let loose once more.
The father that had a good side died a very long time ago.
Now it was just a Businessman – hellbent on controlling everything that stands against him.
"Professor Ozpin gave my men one hell of a challenge when it came down to actually breaking through the security measures he put in place – we lost a few of them, actually. But now? The most powerful Relic is under our control, now we just need to find Creation and Choice, wherever they have hidden it. And Knowledge? Well we know that Ozpin has that one… but he cannot hope to defeat all our forces." Jacques said as he smirked.
"No, he cannot. Victory is in sight." Kelham smiled as he sat there, setting his gun down on the table.
"Tell me, did you always have this plan? To use the Relic against Umbra when the time came?" Donovan inquired out of curiosity.
"Of course – I am a businessman after all, I know how the game works. Umbra is only using us and our forces to get the Relics and the Four. We already have one end of the bargain; we can now use the other half against him. Alliances like these are important until they are null and void – and if Umbra thinks he is beyond me? Well he is about to learn the hard way; just how wrong he is." Jacques smirked as he stood there, his egomaniacal mind consuming him.
Jacques then turned to the Commander of the Acolytes of Lien sat in his chair. "So, what of you Kelham? Other than capturing the Four, of course?"
"We have successfully managed to locate five of the Power Cells for the Aura Destabiliser we located inside of the Emerais Labs. We are just missing one more." Kelham said.
"Was that thing really worth the effort it took? We lost a lot of soldiers trying to get past the Grimm." Donovan said as he scoffed.
"Oh, most certainly. Not only will I use it on myself to become too powerful to stop but imagine what a device like that could do for our soldiers. We would be unstoppable, no matter how many soldiers they throw at us, how large the Grimm numbers are? You cannot kill something that flickers between both the lands of life and death." Kelham explained with a smirk on his face.
"Except you can, Vyrryk Arc and the Knights of Grimm did." Donovan responded. "Raven fed us this information when they were in Argus, they learned a lot about the Congregation of Dawn. More than you did apparently."
"You would be surprised." Kelham said as he stood up. "You see the Father of the Congregation of Dawn was rash in the usage of the device. He wanted his men broken quickly, this of course meant that they were flickering between the realms of life and death. Their Astral and Physical Bodies both remained in the same plain, meaning that if someone timed it right, they could be killed. But the device is not made for quick usage, you need to be patient. They were not – I will be." Kelham assured, but Donovan did not seem as convinced.
"You do realise that this just means only the Spectres and the Higher Demons can kill you, right? This does not mean you are unbeatable, just from threats like us." Donovan explained as he gestured to himself, then Whitley and then Jacques.
"I do – but when we have the Relic of Choice under our control, we can use it against him. He will not be a problem. The world is ours." Kelham assured with a smile.
"All of this is naught if you don't have that final Power Cell though, isn't it?" He asked – the very Power Cell that Penny was carrying after she agreed to keep it safe for the Malachite Twins who uncovered it when they arrived here. Kelham smirked.
"It would be – if I had not just learned the location of the last Power Cell." He said, and a Holographic Map of Arcturus Base and its surrounding areas formed before them all. And there was a marker – in the Collapsed Highways – where Ortega and Penny were located. "It is on the move, meaning someone has got it first."
"Well then, have you sent your men to take them?" Jacques asked.
"I will be sure to, in the next few minutes. Been watching them for a while, they have been scouting around the area for about an hour now. And they are not the only ones." Kelham said as he ignored his Scroll that was calling him. He showed the same locations for Kassius' Team and Qrow's Team.
"Three intruders at the same time? Seems like an ambush." Whitley said as he looked at the map.
"A well-executed one too." Kelham added. "I believe that we did not kill all of them in our attack on the Spire. This is most likely their friends coming to rescue them. We also came across Kassius Locke's team in Queen's Cove, and they were also headed for Arkhonex as well. So, they are all headed this way and don't even know it."
"How would they know to come here if they were not with Ruby's team?" Donovan asked as he looked at them, and Whitley was the one that figured it out.
"Cinder survived." Whitley answered. "She survived and must have been found by Kassius and his team. She must have told them what happened – and where they would take Ruby and the others."
"Damn." Kelham sighed.
"We have defences to handle two Maidens, they do not have all of them in the field of battle. The Winter Maiden is missing, and Vir Nominis Umbra already took care of the Summer Maiden. Do not worry about them, the defences will make short work of them. Kelham, have you managed to get into Merlot's Lab?" Jacques asked.
This meant they finally found him.
"No, he's holed himself up in some kind of facility inside of the Underground Network, directly beneath the Embered Grove. It is contained by a powerful Hardlight Forcefield, one we believe is being generated from within. Meaning we cannot get through, not without some extremely powerful firepower." Kelham explained to them, and Jacques nodded his head. "He can't hide in there forever, though."
"It's possible Kassius is coming for his father too. Arcturus Base is one hell of a target for all of them to hit as it is. We're the only thing between them and the Embered Grove. They will hit us with everything they've got." Whitley stated.
"Stop worrying, like Jacques said – we have more than enough resources and people to handle an attack from a gang of armed Huntsmen." Donovan pointed out.
"It's not that – I want to fight." Whitley told them, but Jacques shook his head with a scoff.
"I think not." He said.
"Why not?" Whitley demanded, stepping forward with anger.
"You are my son, the last Heir I have left. And I will be damned if I am going to sacrifice my legacy because you died stupidly in a battle you were not prepared for." Jacques said, crossing his arms after her sat down. Whitley clenched his hand into a fist, his father sometimes showed compassion, but it was rare. It always came back to his Legacy, his Dynasty – and how it ends when he is eventually gone.
But then, both Kelham and Donovan spoke up. "I don't see why not; he's got a good body that can take a hit and knows how to use firearms thanks to the training we have been giving him. But I don't think you would last long in hand-to-hand combat with a Huntsman." Kelham scoffed.
"I've studied Weiss and Winter's fighting strategy to the letter, I know how to fight. I have been designing the Deimos to finally rid them from this world. Winter is already dead luckily, all that remains is Weiss. I can use the Deimos to destroy them all!" Whitley argued, some of them honestly forgot about the Deimos Body that he built, originally designed to be a suit but after he became a Robot, he knew he needed to change its design from a Battle Suit to a whole new body for him.
He brought up a Holographic Image of the Deimos Body – it was based entirely off the Arma Gigas and there were clips of footage from when Weiss and Winter trained, and when they fought at different points in their lives. His obsession over killing Weiss… it had reached a fever pitch.
All because he was isolated with nobody but his father throughout his childhood…
"And where is it?" Donovan asked him.
Whitley paused. "In… Atlas…"
"Then it is of no use here. So, shut it." Donovan clamped down. "Whitley technically has three lives now; he has already chewed into one of them when we transferred his consciousness from his shot body into this Knight. This means he can only transfer his consciousness two more times, into two separate bodies. Once a body is destroyed then that part of you is gone. Now if you do get destroyed here, your mind will be transferred through the Cross Continental Transmit Servers and back to Atlas in the Atlesian Knight waiting for you. But when you are out of lives? That's it, you're dead for good." Donovan warned as he walked around him.
Donovan stood next to his nephew. "So, don't waste them. I didn't pool all those resources into you so you can just die on a stupid suicide mission against your sister."
That silenced Whitley pretty quickly. "Donovan? What of you? What have your experiments bought us? What are the fruits of your labour?"
Donovan sighed, pressing his hands against the table as he leant forward. "Merlot… the bastard understands Aura better than I anticipated. No matter how hard I try, my methods are not working on the two Team C.F.V.Y Huntsmen. I torment them, put them through hell but I never have anything worth noting down. Would be easier to just kill them." He sighed.
"If Merlot wasted every single Huntsman or Huntress that he had on the table, then we would have never come this far. Get something from them, I don't care what. Just do your job, brother." Jacques growled as he stared at Donovan. The Gele Brothers glared at one another, there was plenty of bad blood between the two of them.
What Donovan did not realise though?
Yatsuhashi was messing with him the whole time, using his Semblance to force him to forget everything he had collected from their experiments to make him lose his mind, and to slow his role.
And it was working from the bags under his eyes.
"What if he cannot get anything from them? What if they are just bad test subjects?" Kelham asked, so Donovan just smirked as he walked past them and stood at the window, crossing his arms.
"Our Grimm are hungry… and our men could use a good distraction. Make them fight to the death before the Grimm rip them to shreds? Should be good for their morale against the brats. Might be the one thing from Merlot's Research that worked like a charm." He said, staring at the glowing green Grimm that were kept in their cages, viciously roaring at the soldiers patrolling the facility.
He was sick… to his very core.
"Well then, we all know what we must do. Conclude your operations as soon as you can, make sure Merlot is dead. No matter the cost, starve the fucker if you have to. Burn the Embered Grove to ash and kill our enemies. After that, return to Atlas with all our forces. We must be ready for when Vir Nominis Umbra atta-"
BOOM!
The massive explosion erupted outside the window, breaking the feed they had with Jacques Schnee and shattering the windows instantly. The eruption of fire threw Kelham across the room, crashing against the wall with a groan, holding his side as pieces of glass cut deep into him. He ripped them out and his aura began to heal the wounds. Donovan groaned, his ears ringing from how loud that was, and Whitley slowly stood back up.
"What the hell just happened?" Donovan questioned. Kelham pulled his vibrating scroll out and he answered it.
"The fuck is going on down there?" He yelled.
"We've been trying to contact you! The Prisoners! They have been let out, by the Knight of Loss!" The soldier screamed, he looked out the window at the flames, and he heard the sound of more people fighting, and he saw Kassius Locke launch his sword into the chest of a soldier.
The attack had begun.
Kelham growled as he crushed his scroll in anger. "Donovan, get to… DONOVAN?" He called out, noticing he had already fled for his labs to hide from the coming battle. He was a coward to the bone, and Whitley picked up the pistol on the floor, and Kelham stared at him.
"What do we do?" Whitley asked.
Kelham looked out the window at the assault as it began. He was not calm and collected like Ortega was… he was rash… and that was exactly what Ortega was counting on.
"Kill them all."
Ruby
Just before the explosion…
Ruby staggered out from the cell with the others as Starla walked forward and she drew her bow down the hallway. "How much time do you think you have?" Ruby asked nervously since she knew how the Curse worked on the poor woman. Starla winced, it was like a searing hot yet freezing cold pain in the side of her head, nearly blinding her.
"Not long, ten to twenty minutes." Starla responded, but she still managed to fire three arrows down the hallway that split apart and nailed three of the alerted soldiers that were sprinting towards them. The three arrows punctured through their helmets, killing them instantly. The rifles slid across the ground towards them, and she turned to Ruby, throwing her one of the rifles. "Come on, I'll take you to where they are holding your weapons." Starla told them as she ran ahead of them. "Try to keep up."
Starla sprinted ahead of the four and she launched herself towards the Acolytes of Lien. She spun through the air and broke her Bow into her Tonfas, slashing through their armour and knocking them down to the ground. The soldier died swiftly from her merciful form of combat, making sure that they died as quickly as she possibly could. She connected her Tonfas together and the bowstring formed from thin air, and so did the arrow that ignited. She launched it and it dug into the Flame Trooper's backpack. The soldier exploded into a fiery blaze, making his body shatter like a porcelain bowl. Starla rolled out of the way and she pulled her dark veil over her face, that turned her white hair black, she then channelled the Ultimate Ability of the Knight of Loss, and she revealed her face, glowing blue eyes burned into the eyes of the three soldiers in front of her.
They all broke down into tears, howling from immense sorrow as they fell to their knees, her hair turned white once more and the normal Schnee Blue returned. She turned back and saw that Ruby, Jaune, Oscar and Pyrrha were easily keeping up with her. Jaune's Rifle also had a grenade launcher attached to the lower rails, so he used that to his advantage, firing it towards the Modified Atlesian Knights that marched towards him, firing their guns repeatedly at them. The grenade erupted, the shockwave and shrapnel broke them into a hundred tiny pieces of metal. Jaune took cover behind one of the pillars as the bullets shredded through the thin concrete that held them up.
Oscar stopped time and he sprinted towards the Atlesian Knights that stood in front of him, punching them with great force, so hard that they shattered like glass. He seemed to zigzag through them, leaving nothing but destruction in his wake. He slid to a stop and he turned, smirking as a group of soldiers all opened fire on him. He through a time bubble that caught all their bullets in the air, then he thrusted his fist forward, launching all the bullets right back at them all. Killing each of them instantly, filling them with lead. Until a Seeker suddenly shot towards him with a crackling orange beam of energy trailing behind him, punching Oscar in the face so hard he tumbled backwards.
The Mercenary drew his sword on his back, and he spun it through his fingers, slashing it repeatedly at Oscar, of which the Young Adult bounced backwards on his toes to avoid the incoming blade. A rushing cyclone of red petals blasted into the side of the Seeker, causing him to stagger and Ruby rolled across the soldier's backpack. She landed and swung round, slamming her leg into the side of his helmet, so hard that it knocked his helmet from his face. Oscar thrusted forward through time and kicked the soldier in the face as well, whilst Ruby jumped and she wrapped her legs around his neck, pulling her whole-body weight downwards so then it slammed him down to the ground. Oscar then grinned and he shot forward and grabbed the Seeker by the throat, dragging him across the floor with great speed before smashing him against the wall.
Taking care of him.
Ruby smiled at Oscar and they both gave each other a playful fistbump. "Gotcha back." Ruby giggled, before she shot away in a burst of petals. Oscar smiled, smitten to his girlfriend. Ruby swirled around the room of which they were battling in, and around her she saw Jaune and Pyrrha both fighting side by side. Even without Milo and Akoúo, Pyrrha was still a force to be reckoned with. She fired her Designated Marksman's Rifle and nailed every single shot, knocking the Glider Jockey in the head, throwing the Acolyte from his vehicle that spun out of control. She held her hand out and her Polarity wrapped around the metal body of the Glider and she launched it straight into the Tremor Trooper that charged through the doors. The soldier was killed instantly as the Glider broke apart from the impact.
Pyrrha rolled down the stairs and she slid to the bottom, kicking a soldier in the head with the heel of her boot, cracking his visor. The Descendant of Ares Nikos rolled across the floor and she pulled the metal from the wall and launched it straight through one of the soldiers. Just like all of the, she did not enjoy killing soldiers, but she did what she had to do. These soldiers would not hesitate to kill her after all. The soldier fell to the ground with a huge shard of metal stabbed through his body, and Pyrrha ran further, whilst Jaune vaulted over the hand rail and he slammed his shoulder into the chest of the soldier in front of him. The Acolyte of Lien staggered back, and he slammed his rifle across the warrior's face like a baseball bat. He ducked under the Acolyte of Lien's punch and he punched up his jaw, making him stagger back, before Jaune rushed him again and he grabbed the soldier, and slammed his body down into the ground with all his might.
The action knocked the soldier out, whilst Ruby's petal burst launched down the spiralling stairs and she tackled a Mercenary as he walked up them. She rode him like a skateboard, his head bounced off each step that they went down, eventually knocking him unconscious. Ruby jumped off him and flipped through the air, bringing her boot down onto the top of another soldier's head. The Acolyte of Lien grunted, staggering back from the sudden attack, before she shot towards them again and she kicked the soldier in the chest repeatedly.
As she landed, all the soldiers aimed their weapons at her, until multiple arrows shot right past Ruby's face. Even though she knew Starla was on their side right now, it still scared her. Making her remember how an arrow was the very thing that took out her eye. The soldiers fell to the ground, swiftly killed by the Knight of Loss who transformed into her Mourning Dove Form which flew over Ruby's head. She transformed back into her Knight Form and aimed her bow – Arcus Autem Trisitia – and she fired, and the arrow found the chest of another Mercenary that tried to stop her.
She landed and there were six more, the last ones in this area before reinforcements showed up. This was when Kelham was ignoring his scroll, and where they were in the building? They could not hear the chaos going on downstairs. Starla stood before the many soldiers that rushed towards her and she raised a brow curiously. She then broke Arcus Autem Trisitia into her Tonfas and she held them forward, before she launched herself forward with a Glyph, one that sent her flying towards them.
Starla yelled as she spun through the air like a Buzzsaw and she cut through every single one of them, killing them all and splattering the blood all over the walls, and she landed behind them, on her feet with her eyes closed. She stood back up and their bodies collapsed to the ground. Ruby peeked round from the corner and her eye was wide with amazement. "Okay… that was awesome." Ruby giggled, and Starla smiled back at her, until the Curse brought her more pain. She winced and fell to one knee, grabbing her head. "Starla?"
"Don't worry, just keep moving. I still have time." Starla assured as she forced the Curse away. Oscar, Jaune and Pyrrha caught up and they dropped their empty weapons on the ground and ran with them.
"How are you able to fight the curse for this long?" Pyrrha asked.
"My Curse is different; it controls my body not my mind. I am fully aware when I kill people, but I do not want to spill any blood. But the Curse forces me to – but there are moments where I am me – completely, me. I fight for those moments for as long as I can." Starla assured as she walked around the corner and they found the Armoury, where they were holding their weapons.
Crescent Rose, Traveller's Atrocity, Milo and Akoúo – and Crocea Mors. All of them just shoved in a corner.
Ruby picked up Crescent Rose and she looked at Starla who stood by the door. "Well… thank you, Starla. I know all of you are good… and we will help you." Ruby promised with a loving smile. And Starla smiled back.
"It's good to see you smile." Starla said kindly. Oscar walked up to Starla with Traveller's Atrocity at the ready.
"You said you were there? At Vale?" He asked.
"Yes." Starla responded.
"Are they okay?" Jaune asked as well.
"Weiss does not have long left, she has at the very least twelve hours, at most? Twenty-Four. You need to get that Aphax Violet back there as soon as possible." Starla advised, and Ruby's heart started to pound with fear. Pyrrha gently squeezed Ruby's shoulder with a bright smile.
"We will." She assured.
Ruby smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah. We will."
But as Starla stood there, her eyes widened and she looked around, sensing something as she turned her gaze. "Rylen…" She softly said.
"What?" Jaune asked.
"Rylen Vazquez… The Knight of Fear? He is here… he must know about me helping you… I don't know if he will attack me or not, or you – be ready. We're about to face more resistance." Starla advised and they all nodded, and Ruby transformed Crescent Rose back into its Scythe Form. All of them were ready for whatever was beyond that door.
"Let's do this." Ruby agreed with the nod of her head.
"Alright then, let's move." Starla said, she spun her Tonfas round and she ran ahead of them, and through the opening doors was the largest room of the entire Facility. It held multiple Aircraft in the hangers alongside multiple large Fuel Tanks. And beneath them was one large Aqueduct that ran cold water, connected to the one that flooded the District that Kassius and his team navigated through earlier.
Starla sprinted across one of the bridges headed towards the base and she jumped up and bounced off one of the walls, firing more arrows down towards the Acolytes of Lien beneath them. There was a Juggernaut down there as well, huge and armed to the teeth. It recoiled from the impact of the arrows, but it was not enough, and she blasted the Armoured Suit's powerful machine guns at the Knight of Loss who jumped through the air. Her Wings opened up from her back, just like all the Knights of Grimm, except hers were like that of an angel. Glowing white like a Glyph with beautiful feathers extended.
Vir Nominis Umbra acknowledged her beauty at the very least and wanted her cursed form to show the same. Ruby blasted across the catwalks and she yelled with anger as she slashed the curved blade of Crescent Rose through the soldiers that were in her way. Blood trailed from the extremely sharp blade, killing them as she carved through them like a butcher. She swirled around them and kicked another soldier in the side of his head, so hard that the metal rippled, and the visor cracked. She shot downwards to gain some height, riding the recoil before spinning through the air and bringing the curved blade of her scythe down with a vengeance.
The bridge collapsed, the impact snapped the supports and the catwalk fell and crashed down into the ground, sloping down a path for the others to take. Pyrrha slid down the slanted catwalk and she threw Akoúo towards the Acolytes of Lien, and the shield bounced off the armour plating of one of the soldiers. The Mercenary staggered back with a growl, only for Pyrrha to rush forward and slash Milo through his chest, cutting him down in a single swing. Her eyes widened when she turned and a Tremor Trooper rushed her, and slammed his fist into her chest, blasting her across the room. Pyrrha grit her teeth and she threw her shield with great force, bouncing it off the wall, it returned, and she landed on the flat side of it, thrusting her legs against it.
The action of this shot her straight back at the Tremor Trooper and she launched Milo in its Spear form straight at the soldier. He stepped aside and she called Akoúo right back, only to duck, so it slammed into his helmet. She landed and called it back, blocking the incoming attack and calling Milo back with her Polarity. She swung it round and cut across his armour plating, launching sparks up into the air, she spun it round and rested it over her shoulders and fired a bullet through the open spearhead. She spun it round and the blade collapsed down into sword form, and she slashed across his leg to bring him down to one knee, and she rolled out of the way of his Piston Gauntlet, avoiding the devastating impact. She finally finished the soldier off but bringing the sword round and taking his head off, left no other choice. The soldier crumpled to the floor and she flicked the blood from her blade.
Starla on the other hand sprinted across the hanger, and she used her Glyphs to gain an advantage above her enemies. She blasted up into the air and formed a second above her, landing on it feet first, before blasting back down to cut clean through one of the soldiers, taking off his arm in the process. The Juggernaut she rushed yelled, the pilot turned, and her eyes widened as the Knight of Loss launched towards her and slammed both feet into the chest of the armoured suit.
But as she fought, she heard his voice from the rafters. "Starla, this is madness! Just think about what you're doing!" He yelled down at her with wide golden eyes.
"Something I should have done for Ruby and Oscar five years ago!" She shouted back, she slid under the extended burning blade of the Juggernaut and she stabbed one of her Tonfas up into the armpit of the soldier, right where it was softer than the rest of the armour. Blood leaked from the opening and her arm fell downwards, not yet severed but that was not her goal. Only to immobilise the Juggernaut.
"This is a betrayal! This is beyond caring for Weiss! He will submit you to immense torment for this!" Fear yelled with horror in his voice, but Starla did not care for that.
"There is nothing he can do to me that he has not done already!" Starla yelled back, she rolled backwards and connected both her Tonfas together, forming the Bow and she fired two burning arrows that exploded into the shouldered of the Juggernaut. The huge suit of armour staggered back in pain as the flames trailed from her plates. Starla broke the bow apart and the Tonfas hummed as they scrapped together.
"What is the cause of this betrayal?" Fear yelled.
"For Arkhonex! For the countless souls he massacred! For this generation! For Weiss! FOR WINTER!" Starla yelled, a Glyph formed behind her and she launched herself from the conjuring and she slashed straight through the body of the pilot, killing her instantly. The Juggernaut crashed to the ground and Starla stood atop her body. The Knight of Loss looked up at Rylen who watched from up there, his eyes glowed bright gold but… he still did not attack her.
She sighed. "So… how is this going to go, Rylen? Are you gonna attack me? Or no?" She asked him.
Rylen Vazquez stared down at her and then at Ruby, Jaune, Oscar and Pyrrha. He sighed, looking back at his friend. "I hope you know what you're doing." He responded, vanishing as she blinked. Starla smiled but the Curse continued to eat away at her, but she still had time, she just needed to help them escape this place.
Jaune stopped the incoming blade from one of the Seekers, sparks flew as the soldier brought the weapon down at him, but Jaune swung his shield upwards, slamming it across the Seeker's jaw. The soldier staggered back, and he growled, firing his Sub Machine Gun in one hand at Jaune. The Descendant of Vyrryk Arc charged forward, shield up and he sprinted towards the soldier, before he twisted round and slashed the sword down at him. The Seeker shot round and just dodged his attack, but just as he avoided the attack, Oscar suddenly darted right past him, ripping the core from his backpack, severing the Seeker's ability to move at such advantageous speeds. Jaune took his chance and he swung the sword straight at the Seeker, of which the Mercenary blocked the blade with his own.
The Seeker kicked Jaune in the chest to knock him back and the Mercenary continued to slash the red blade at him, over and over again. It was no Blood Blade like what Raven, Adam and Kelham had – but it was still a sword, just painted red. Just like Junior's Thugs. The Seeker kept on attacking until Jaune blocked it perfectly and hooked the blade onto his crossguard. Jaune grabbed the blade of the sword and pulled the whole weapon from the hand of the Seeker.
He then drove Crocea Mors straight through the ribs of the soldier, killing him instantly, and dropping the sword. The soldier collapsed to the ground and Jaune looked at him. "Well fought." He honourably said to the soldier.
Oscar charged through time with far more improved skill than he had the first time he was captured, and with Traveller's Atrocity, he used his semblance to his advantage. He yelled, cutting through the soldiers in his path, jumping and arcing the blade downwards with great force. He exited the speed of frozen time and he slid across the metallic floor, and he split the blade in two as it was designed, and he aimed the dual pistols at the enemies who dropped two cages down into the field in front of them. A pair of Mutated Beowulves bellowed to the sky, glowing bright green and they rushed Oscar and the others.
"Oh great… these things are still a thing? Great." Oscar groaned, spinning his pistols round before he rushed towards the beast. The Beowulf roared with fury, slashing its razor-sharp claws at Oscar's face but he ducked down and just avoided them, firing both pistols up into the gut of the beast. Green blood poured from the open wounds that burned the ground, and he rose up, connecting the two guns together. The sword extended and he held it forward, aiming it towards the creature that charged towards him. He blasted towards it, the hands of his clock slowed, and he cut straight through its chest. The Beowulf roared in pain, and it crashed into the ground, its body began to crack and crumble as the bright green light glowed within.
"OH YEAH THESE THINGS BLOW UP!" Oscar remembered as he dashed away from the detonating Grimm that exploded one of the cannisters, causing one of the Bullheads to fall from the cable that held it from the ceiling. It crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, and Oscar spun his sword through his fingers with a smile.
Ruby ran across the hanger and directly ahead of her were the many other soldiers who turned the face her. Ruby narrowed her eyes and she pulled her red hood down, and she shot towards them. She slashed straight through their bodies, cutting clean through their armour plating from the force she struck them with. She then blasted towards one of the other soldiers who engaged his ability. He was a Quartet Trooper and the three extra holographic clones of himself emerged from his body and they all fired Hardlight Rounds towards her. But Ruby did not stop, and she gained enough speed to carry the junk on the ground with her.
She arched Crescent Rose back and yelled with rage, cutting through all four of them in one swift attack, the blood of the real soldier splattered over her eyepatch, teeth gritted as she landed on the ground. She spun her scythe with speed to block the incoming bullets from the Glider who entered, firing weapons from both the Vehicle and the Machine Gun he had in his hands. He fired a missile at her, but Ruby fired her rifle at the perfect moment, nailing the missile out of the air. The explosive projectile erupted into flames in the air, then Ruby launched towards the Glider Jockey and she threw Crescent Rose.
The huge scythe stabbed straight through his chest, killing him but Ruby grabbed onto the handle and brought him down to the ground with incredible force. Ruby ripped the curved blade from his corpse, and it collapsed back down into its Default Form. Ruby turned to the rest of her team, seeing them all stood before Starla. She caught up and their eyes widened.
Starla was running out of time, and she had her Bow on them, but her eyes said so much more. She was stopping the hand holding the arrow with all her might, fighting the Curse. "Starla…" Ruby softly said, and Starla looked at the Aqueducts.
"Can you swim?" Starla asked her with a strained voice, before turning to the large Fuel Tanks that were inside the building to fuel vehicles that came here. The same ones that Ortega was eyeing up outside.
"Yeah." They all answered, and Starla slowly turned her aim towards the Tank.
"Then you better go… because it's… about to get hot." Starla strained, aiming the Bow slowly at the tank, and the Acolytes of Lien started to sprint into the building, the ones closest to hear the loudest parts of that conflict.
"Starla… thank you." Ruby said to her as they all got ready to jump.
"Don't thank me yet – We will meet again – But I can't promise we will be on the same side." Starla told her as the arrowhead aimed at the Tank.
"Not yet… but you will be. I promise." Ruby assured and Starla smiled, hopeful that she could keep that promise one day.
For all the Knights of Grimm.
"Go! Get the Aphax Violet! Save your sister! Save my incredible distant Niece for me." Starla begged her and Ruby nodded.
"We will." Ruby promised, and the four of them all jumped into the Aqueducts, and Starla turned, able to see Fear watching.
He smiled… and nodded his head.
She nodded back and stared at the soldiers. "Fry you bastards." Starla snarled, releasing the arrowhead with a smirk.
And the massive explosion shattered half of the Headquarters, killing many soldiers – beginning the Assault on Arcturus Base.
Author Note - Starla you really are the MVP, you know this won't kill you (since you cannot technically be killed, only able to find peace if the curse is lifted) so... screw it... this will be a sweet distraction
BOOM
And Rylen too, he didn't try and attack her, sure he didn't help - but that still says something. Shows all of them still have their true selves buried away deep inside, they just need help with the curse first. This was an awesome chapter to write, and I think I will be saying that for quite a few chapters now. Shit is about to get EPIC, honestly missed doing awesome battles like these. But that is a good thing... because I got so many awesome stuff planned for the Battle of Arcturus Base.
Also it was pretty funny seeing it from Whitley, Kelham and Donovan's point of view when Starla blew up the Fuel Tanker.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite! All the support has been so appreciative!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
- Matt