Chapter 72 – Arcturus Base – Pt. 2

Qrow

Qrow and Kragen both stood tall with wide eyes as they saw the bright golden light of the explosion, the very one that Starla single-handedly caused with her Bow. "Uh… Nora is still here with us, right?" Kragen wondered as they both stood there, which made Qrow chuckle. They both looked down the edge of the Balcony where they saw the Combat-Ready Nora Valkyrie down below.

"What was that?" She called out to them with Ren and Blake running out beside her, weapons at the ready. Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud as she stared ahead, her ears perked up to the direction of that massive explosion.

"I don't know, but it looks like we have a friend on the inside. This is it; this is our best shot." Kragen told them all, and Qrow vaulted over the balcony and he landed next to Nora. He looked at her and he smiled.

"You ready?" He asked her, she grinned and nodded her head. Qrow held her hand and he stared ahead, and his eyes glowed bright red, then he transformed into his Spirit Animal. One who knew how to use their Spirit Animal could bring another soul with them but only one, and he had the aura and strength to take Nora to where they had planned their attack. His Crow flew with great speeds towards the warzone that was still brewing up inside. Massive flames and pillars of smoke rose from the Headquarters where Starla blew up those fuel silos, and Qrow moved faster and faster, and he approached the Southern Gate, and once he was close enough, he transformed back into Human Form.

"Go!" Qrow yelled, swinging Nora with all his might and Nora grinned, firing off towards the wall with Magnhild held in her hands. One of the soldiers turned with horrified eyes, the giant pink Huntress held her hammer all the way back, channelling all the energy needed to topple down that gate for them all to get through.

"SSSMMMMMAAAA-"

On the other side of the Gate.

Two soldiers glance at each other, completely unbeknownst of what is coming for them. The Soldier on the right turned to the one on the left. "Hey." The Right started.

"Yeah?" The Left replied.

"You ever wonder why we're h-"

BOOM!

The Gate erupted and shattered behind them.

"-AAAAAAAAASH!" Nora cheered as she slammed her hammer into the gates, and the explosive impact shattered the steel like glass. The doors fell to the ground with great force, and Nora rode the sheet of steel as it crashed and slid across the tarmac, leaving sparks in her wake. The other soldiers, unprepared for an attack turned with wide eyes as Nora held Magnhild over her shoulders. "Hello, boys. Love to chat, but we're here for our BUDDIES!" Nora yelled, as she fired multiple glowing pink grenades from her grenade launcher. The soldiers dispersed in fear from Nora Valkyrie, some of them jumped out of the way from the explosives that came for them. Pink balls of fire erupted where they stood, throwing some of the thugs up in the air.

Those hit by the explosions hit the ground and Nora stared at the soldiers as they all began to rush out from their barracks. Nora transformed Magnhild back into its Hammer Form, and she leapt towards the soldiers to take them down. Qrow transformed and he rolled past her, swinging Harbinger upwards, cutting across the armour plating on the Captain's Chest Piece. He grunted and was thrown backwards from the attack, sparks thrown up into the air as the huge sword attacked him.

Qrow spun Harbinger through his fingers, deflecting the incoming bullets whilst Nora charged forward. She swung Magnhild over her head and slammed it down into the ground, causing the tarmac road to crack and crumble with pink energy travelling through the fissures. The incoming Bikers that roared towards them suddenly were thrown off the bikes, sending the Motorcycles flipping over their heads and crashing into the ground behind them. One of the soldiers drew his sword and swung it at Nora's face, only for her to duck and swing all the way around, yelling as the huge hammer smashed into his chest. The sheer blunt force of Magnhild broke apart the armour with incredible ease, throwing the soldier across the huge facility.

But they were not alone, and Qrow turned after he swung Harbinger round and took the head of another soldier from his shoulders. Blood smothered the steel grey blade of his trusty sword, and he looked back. Roots travelled through the ground and erupted upwards, launching an incoming truck up into the air and crashing down to the ground. Yenna was the first to walk in with burning violet eyes, prepared to unleash the power of the Spring Maiden upon them all.

Ren charged in with Blake, fighting alongside the Nora as they rushed the Acolytes of Lien. Nora and Ren both ran together, and Nora had Ren jump onto the head of Magnhild, then she swung round and launched him up into the air. Ren flipped through the air, focused and ready, and then he dove down towards the Acolytes who shot up at him. He aimed Stormflower towards them and he fired multiple shots of fully automatic green dust projectiles. One of the soldiers down there grunted as his firearms made their mark into his shoulder. It knocked him back, and as Ren descended, he aimed his plummet perfectly and he hooked the curved blades of Stormflower onto one of the cranes, swinging down towards the other soldiers.

He brought both his boots down onto the soldier's sternum, knocking him to the floor with immense force. It took the soldier out in one single attack, and the others came charging towards him. He blocked the incoming Baton from an Acolyte of Lien, before booting the other in the chest. The soldier staggered backwards whilst Ren swung his leg upwards into the chin of the soldier. The attack knocked his helmet off in one attack, giving him the chance to disarm him. He hooked the blades onto the baton, and he threw it to the ground, before he jumped upwards and he kicked the soldier in the head, knocking him out.

"Try not to kill them if you can!" Ren called out.

"No promises." Kragen responded as he emerged with Ozpin and the Architect. The Knight of Vengeance blasted forward, using Time to his advantage, bringing his cane forward in an attack that nearly knocked a Juggernaut onto the ground. The huge armoured soldier lumbered backwards, using the extendable blade in the forearm of the armour to prevent it from toppling down to the ground. Ozpin stared at the Juggernaut as it's other arm opened up and long barrels protruded out from it.

"One way or another? We end the Acolytes of Lien here! Jacques will not have enough men in Atlas to protect him for long. This is it! Do whatever you have to do to bring these Soldiers for Hire to their knees!" Ozpin yelled, sounding an awful lot like Wymerus Ozymandias just then as well. The Juggernaut unleashed a storm of bullets towards Ozpin from the huge and powerful machine gun built into the arm, also firing missiles from the pods on the shoulders. Ozpin slammed his cane down to the ground, forming a bubble of unbreakable glowing green energy around him, one so strong that all that firepower could not even make a dent on him.

The moment Ozpin had the chance, he blasted out from the bubble and his eyes shone green, and he slashed the cane straight through the machine gun. The whole arm exploded into a hundred pieces, flames and smoke trailed from the eruption of fire, staggering the Hulking Mechanised Armour Suit backwards. The Juggernaut pilot groaned inside of the huge piece of weaponry, but he was not about to go down without a fight, and he stabbed down at Ozpin, only for him to swing his cane against the long blade and breaking it in the single attack.

Ozpin then thrusted his arm upwards, stabbing the Juggernaut Pilot through the amour. Killing him instantly, and the Juggernaut collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. Ozpin spun his cane through his fingers, turning around and cracking his neck. He walked towards the many other soldiers who had their weapons at the ready and aimed them all at him. Ozpin slammed his cane down to the ground and the metal in the road and the buildings came flying towards him, forging his Time Armour, plates forged from the cogs of countless different clocks. The eyes glowed bright green within the Knight Armour, and the soldiers whimpered in fear at first, until Ozpin pointed his cane at them which formed into a Sceptre.

"This is the one chance I will give you – to stand down." Ozpin warned as he aimed the sceptre at their faces. The Acolytes of Lien whimpered with fear, until something hardened their resolve. Their fingers found the triggers and they desperately opened fire on the Knight of Grimm. Ozpin sighed and he spun the Sceptre through his fingers. "As you wish."

Time slowed and he sprinted towards them, and he slashed straight through the paused clock. The bladed edge of Mihi Vindicta towards them with great force, one of the few Knights of Grimm weapons that had up to Three Forms. Cane, Sceptre and Mace. He slashed the sceptre clean through the chest of one of the soldiers, crimson blood spewed up into the sky, and he rolled underneath the attacking Tremor Trooper. He swung at the Knight, only to look shocked of where he went. Mihi Vindicta erupted out through his ribs, killing him instantly, and Ozpin twisted round, using that very soldier's corpse as a shield to block the burning hot bullets that flew his way.

Ozpin threw the body aside and his eyes glowed a bright green before he blasted through Time itself and cut clean through that soldier, the gore smeared across part of his visor for a moment, and he landed on the ground. He turned and threw the Sceptre towards a soldier, pinning him to the wall.

Qrow charged and slid under Mihi Vindicta that was pinning that dead soldier to the wall, sprinting alongside Blake who vaulted across a crate of food that had not been taken inside for shelter. Blake threw Gambol Shroud and swung away, towards the enemy, whilst Qrow transformed his Sword into Scythe Form. Multiple soldiers were taking cover behind sandbags and they all started to fire on Qrow, he spun the Scythe with great speed to deflect the incoming bullets, and he was held back by them for a few moments. Until Blake swung round behind them and cast a Shadow with Fire Dust embedded inside of the Semblance. The Shadow Clone exploded in the middle of the group, killing a couple and wounding some others. The few that were not harmed were too shocked from the explosion that just hit them.

They turned and gasped as Qrow zoomed towards them and he slashed straight through the throat of the soldier, blood everywhere as his head rolled across the floor. He shifted the size of his sword down and he blocked the jabbing attacks from the Acolyte of Lien, sparks flew from every single attack. Qrow stopped the blade of the attacking sword with Harbinger, catching onto the blade with his hand and pulling the sword from the hand of the soldier. He then drove Harbinger through the soldier, using his Bad Luck Charm to his advantage against them. The soldier gasped, and fell to the floor, killed instantly from the attack. Qrow gasped and turned as a Seeker suddenly shot forward and punched him in the chest with both fists.

Qrow grunted, pushed across the ground by the attack of the Seeker, and the Mercenary did not give him time to react. As soon as he tried to get back up the Seeker blasted towards him again and drew the sword inside of the armour and swung it towards Qrow. He parried, backing up from the skilled soldier that battled against him. Qrow rolled backwards to get away from the Seekers attacks, rolling across a crate behind him to escape the soldier. But the Seeker kept coming for him, and he drew the second weapon, the One-Handed Submachine Gun holstered on his belt. He fired it in his other hand, fully automatic but Qrow deflected all the bullets with Harbinger's sword.

The Seeker shot forward again with a blinding golden flash of powerful dust crystals inside of the armour. He turned and slammed his sword down against Qrow's so hard that it knocked him down to the ground. The soldier pushed the sword towards Qrow, and he held him back with Harbinger, straining to hold the Mercenary back. But as he held the strong soldier back, his eyes widened with relief. Directly above him was a crane with some supplies that was coming loose, and Blake slashed across the cable, bringing the crate of heavy things down towards them both. Qrow kicked the soldier in the chest to get him away, and Qrow rolled away.

The Seeker yelled with rage, and he shot forward at Qrow, but he was not paying attention to his surroundings, and was crushed by the huge crate of goods, killing him instantly. Qrow flinched from how brutal that was, blood pooled from where the crate flattened him. "Run from that." Qrow spat, before he returned back to the Assault.

Blake landed down and she roundhouse kicked the Sharpshooter inside of one of the Sniper Nests, the soldier staggered back, and she drew her sword, which opened up on the lower end. She spun her sword and slashed across Blake's Aura, and ran the blade through her eye, only for Blake to vanish into thin air. The Sharpshooter gasped as Blake kicked her in the spine, knocking her backwards, and then she took her Sheathe and whacked the soldier across the face to knock her unconscious.

They did not want to kill anyone, not if they were left with no other choice. End of the day? The Acolytes of Lien were not going to hesitate to kill them either. Blake flicked her long locks of black hair from her eyes, looking down to see the Architect fighting alongside Ren. She turned and saw more soldiers coming out from the bases, but from up here? She could see more than she bargained for. They were not the only ones fighting in Arcturus Base, that was certain.

"Whoever is fighting over there? Good luck to you." Blake said, before she jumped down and swung towards the Mercenaries. She kicked one of them in the chest with both feet, knocking him down to the ground. She cartwheeled aside, avoiding damage to her aura as best she could from the many bullets coming their way. Nora looked across the battlefield to Blake.

"How's it looking?" Nora called.

"Terrible! We knew this was crazy, but this base has thousands of Mercenaries here!" Blake called back.

"Crap…" Nora groaned.

This was not going to be an easy battle – because they could take a lot of them down… but they needed more if they had any hope to win this.

They needed Ortega's reinforcements to show up soon, even though they had no idea that it was coming in the first place. The Architect fired shot after shot towards the Acolytes of Lien, using his enhanced Targeting Systems in his head to help him aim, but these soldiers were good. There was a clear difference between the ones that Kelham freed from cells and the ones who received proper military training from Ortega. The ones who served Ortega were smarter and knew how to fight in a battle like this.

A soldier sprinted up one of the buildings in the street of the facility and he fired his missile launcher towards them, the explosive rocket shot down towards them and Blake gasped as it flew straight for her. Until Ozpin appeared, protecting her with his Magical Abilities. He looked at her and he nodded.

He was untrustworthy for the amount of lies… but he was on their side… that was something they knew.

Kragen and Yenna looked at each other and they both nodded, and he closed his eyes, then when he turned. He opened them and a bright silver light partially blinded the Acolytes of Lien that had them pinned. The Architect vaulted over the cover whilst Yenna flew towards the Military Forces. The Architect sprinted with great speed, slamming his metal body into one of the soldiers, so hard that it knocked him out. The Architect rolled across the ground and he spun round on the floor, firing his rifle in one hand, picking up the unconscious soldier's machine gun in the other and he sprayed around him. The soldiers that surrounded him were gunned down swiftly, but that Missile Trooper aimed at the Architect.

He realised and turned, sprinting to cover and avoiding the whistling missile as it came for him, until Yenna shot it out of the sky with a well launched Fireball. The missile erupted into flames, launching shrapnel everywhere. She then held her hands out and the clouds darkened above her head, turning to the Acolytes of Lien who were sprinting down the street towards them. She grit her teeth, flames of purple bled around her eyes, before she brought the heavens down upon them. Lightning and hail crashed down in one moment. Explosive shards of light shattered the ground and killed a few soldiers whilst the Hail forced them into cover. Yenna turned and she blasted lightning up and straight through the Missile Trooper.

The clouds parted as she cleared the skies, and as she looked up… her eyes widened from what she saw. It was the Drift of Wandering Star, now up in the sky with many Airships pouring out from the Hangers, and then the huge Anti-Air Cannons came online, ready to shoot down anything that came near. And they knew what that meant – it was either Human/Faunus Reinforcements… or the Grimm. And they could hear the howls of the monsters in the distance, and the Nevermores were coming. But the Anti-Air Cannons could hold them off for now.

Kragen sprinted past her and he beat one of the soldiers down with his staff, before he ducked down and he slammed the Isomacium Stick down into the ground. Ebony Duchess channelled his Silver Eyed power into the Glyphs that were engraved into the beautiful craftsmanship of his weapon, and as he slammed the stick into the ground, white light surrounded the rubble from the lightning that shattered the roads. He then launched it towards one of the trucks that came charging around the corner.

But as they stood there, their eyes widened…

… because an entire Battalion was headed their way, one that they could not beat. Yenna could do some damage but not enough on her own. And there were at the very least… Three Hellfire Tanks coming for them. And Arcturus Base had more than enough weaponry and arsenal to take them on, as many huge Armoured Personnel Carriers came roaring out from the different garages across the base, armed to the teeth.

And more and more soldiers, higher ranked than the ones they surprise attacked.

"Fall back! GO!" Kragen commanded as the Hellfire Tank turned the corner, aiming the powerful turret at them all. The huge four treats transformed, powerful mechanical legs opened up from the hull of the Tank, slamming the treads down to the ground and they acted like the legs of a horrific beast. The Hellfire Tank rose higher up than some of the small buildings, and it opened fire on them.

The other two Hellfire Tanks did the exact same thing, forcing Qrow's team back from where they were heading. Those things?

They could easily stop them from getting to the Embered Grove.

Yenna and Ozpin used their Magical Abilities as best they cold, blocking the firepower… but they were running out of time.

But they were not the only ones here at Arcturus Base.

Penny

The gates exploded the same time as when Nora attacked, and Penny charged through, green energy trailed from her many spinning blades. She looked at the huge burning Headquarters, they were much closer to the blaze than the other team were, they were on the opposite side of the base.

Ortega drew his Revolver and he looked at Junior, Melanie and Militia.

They were all ready for war.

"The Anti-Air Cannon Control room is our priority, then we clear out the Landing Pad and take an Airship so we can get to the Drift of Wandering Star. Clear?" Ortega asked them all, but they were unaware of Qrow's team being pinned down by the Hellfire Tanks.

"Clear…" Penny stammered; Ortega looked at Penny.

"Are you ready for this?" He asked her. "You will have to kill people." He warned.

"Only if I have to." Penny answered, she knew the stakes. She knew what this meant… but getting blood on her hands? She would rather avoid that at all costs… but sometimes… you have to turn off the switch.

The Acolytes of Lien all started to come for them as well, and Ortega aimed his Revolver at them all. Before he was an Admiral. He was a Soldier… and a damn skilled one at that.

Penny turned to face the Acolytes of Lien as they all came charging towards them and her swords folded out from her back, connected by many cables that held them up in the air. "Stop! There does not need to be further conflict! Lay down your weapons and we will let you go!" She called out to them all, Ortega kept his gun on the soldiers. He could tell that some of them recognised him, and those very soldiers looked like they were scared, and did not side with him for a simple reason.

They were terrified of the consequences. "Ortega? I…" The soldier stammered as he slowly began to lower his rifle that was aimed at him.

"She's right. I do not want to have every single soldier here dead – I know that not all of you are deserving of it. Those of you who throw down your arms will not be harmed, this I promise." Ortega told them all, and some of the soldiers looked at each other with concern. But others stared at them and refused.

"The hell are you doing?" The other soldier yelled, against Ortega's statements. "This bastard is trying to get us all killed! Kill them!" He ordered, aiming his gun at Ortega's head, until one of the soldiers still loyal to Ortega turned his gun and fired it into the side of that soldier's skull, killing him instantly. The soldier collapsed to the ground whilst the others who were not as certain just dropped their guns on the ground.

"That guy was an asshole, I had nothing to do with him." The soldier responded with his hands in the air, Ortega smiled.

"Good move." He responded, until the doors to more of the buildings opened, and more Soldiers came charging out from them with vehicles and high tech. Seekers shot out with great speed, crackling orange lightning trailed behind them as they moved in their Exo-Suits. Juggernauts emerged as well, alongside Paladins that were armed to the teeth with powerful weaponry on the hull and arms that aimed at their heads. Ortega looked at Penny and they both nodded, since they knew that these guys were not gonna be like the rest of them. The soldiers however ran up the stairs to one of the buildings and he aimed the machine gun up there at the soldiers.

The Juggernauts' arms opened outwards, forming a pair of Hardlight Dust Shields that blocked the bullets from hitting their men. The Malachites got ready for a battle to be unleashed, since they stood between them and the Anti-Air Cannons that surrounded the Perimeter of the Facility. Penny's swords formed around her shoulders, and her eyes glowed bright green, whilst Junior extended his Baton into its Missile Launcher Form. Whilst Ortega spun his Revolver through his fingers and had his Knife in the other hand.

Then… the Juggernauts closed the shields, and gunfire reigned upon them. The Paladins launched explosive mortars up into the air, which arced over their heads and came crashing down into the ground. The explosive impact broke the tarmac apart, and the skilled warriors darted away from where they landed. The Malachites stayed close and they rushed the Mercenaries.

Militia charged towards the Mercenaries and the Captain yelled as he drew his sword and swung it straight at her face, only for her to slide underneath the attack and drive her red claws up into his gut. The Captain gasped in agony as the razor-sharp blades protruded out through his back, and she swiped her leg across his to knock him to the ground. She then picked up his sword and threw it right into the chest of a charging Seeker. The soldier grunted in agony as the blade stopped him in his tracks, killing him instantly. Militia slashed her blades together, sparks burst from the serrated claws before she sprinted forward, dodging the incoming bullets as her sister ran alongside her.

Melanie bounced up and ran across the crates left behind, and then she leapt towards the other soldiers. She swung round and slashed her bladed heels across the throats of two soldiers, their blood sprayed out from underneath their helmets. She landed down and her sister vaulted over her shoulder, kicking the other soldier with the shotgun directly in the chest, knocking him back, She parried and slashed the red sword away from her face, and she then took her claws and swung them up his wrist, cutting his hand from the forearm off, then Melanie jumped upwards and slammed her knee up the jaw of the soldier. The Mercenary grunted in pain from the sudden impact, until his life was extinguished by the bladed heel that was brought down into the back of his head, pinning him to the floor.

Melanie pulled her foot from the corpse and she walked ahead, Militia crossed her claws over, blocking the fiery rounds that came her way, until a missile shot right past their heads. The missile exploded into the ranks of the platoon that was attacking them, taking down quite a few of them. Junior roared, jumping high above their heads and the Rocket Launcher transformed into his huge Bat, and he slammed it down into the ground with all his might. The road exploded and he swung all the way round, taking out two soldiers in one swing, before he punched the bonnet of a car so hard it was thrown upwards into the air. He slammed his shoulder into it, and he used it like a shield.

He was easily the strongest of them all, and he used that to his advantage. He looked at the twins and they smirked back. They both jumped onto the car, and Junior roared, for his Semblance was – Enhanced Strength. He bellowed as he launched the truck towards the Acolytes of Lien, and the Twins jumped off from the vehicle. Militia dove down and she drove both her clawed gauntlets into the ribs of a soldier, killing him instantly, before lifting his cadaver upwards and using it like a meat shield. Melanie sprinted with great speed, sliding underneath a table that some soldiers were using as a place for lunch. Melanie jumped upwards and she swung up onto the catwalk of a building, and she slashed her heel across the chest of the Sharpshooter who was up there, firing down at them. She kicked down the barrel of his Sniper Rifle, cutting the barrel clean off, before she grabbed his head and she kneed him in the nose, knocking him unconscious. Melanie spun round and she kicked him in the chest for good measure, knocking him onto the floor.

Militia took cover and her eyes widened as she saw Ortega and Penny rush forward, and the swords that spun around Penny built up an extremely powerful glowing green ball of energy. She then punched both her fists forward, unleashing an almighty beam of green light that took out multiple Mercenaries in a single strike. The beam moved and carved clean through the thick armour plating of the Paladin, and eventually blowing it to smithereens. She ceased her storm of power upon her enemies and she sprinted alongside her father.

Ortega rolled away from the bullets that flew his way, and he aimed his Revolver, firing shot after shot at the soldiers that had betrayed him. He flicked off the switch that made him feel good and human, and he only focused on the mission. Destroying the Acolytes of Lien that Kelham had created and taking the ones that were still his back. Shot after shot he hit his targets, then the door suddenly opened next to him.

He was no Huntsman, but he could still hold his own in a Warzone. And for that? All he needed was a Sharp Knife. The soldier punched Ortega across the face then managed to disarm him, knocking the revolver from his hands. Ortega punched him in the face once again, before grabbing the Fire Extinguisher behind him, and throwing it at him with all his might. He yelled as the red Fire Extinguisher clanged against his chest. The soldier tumbled backwards, and five more soldiers rallied round the hall of the building they were inside of.

Ortega stared at them all, then he calmly unsheathed his Combat Knife, holding it tight as he waited for them to attack. The soldier that he just fought got back up and he drew his red sword, yelling as he sprinted towards him, but Ortega deflected the incoming sword with the knife. He cut across the chest of the soldier then drove the knife straight through his damaged helmet. Blood splattered against the visor, then he pushed the knife upwards with great force, so hard that it split the helmet in two.

The other five were ready for a fight and they all charged him at once, and Ortega backed up, bouncing on his toes as he prepared to battle them inside of this hallway. One of them took his Electrified Baton and swung it right at the Admiral but he ducked under the attack and slashed the knife across his armpit, taking his arm out in one attack. He turned and drove his knife through the throat of the next soldier that charged him. The soldier that staggered past him went to hit Ortega, but he slashed the Knife across his face, so hard that the second slash killed him. The soldier he stabbed in the throat choked in pain, then Ortega swung round and pulled the body towards the soldier that he stopped, moving aside as he drove his sword through the corpse of the soldier that the Admiral just killed. Ortega thrusted the knife into the visor of the soldier, but it did not go all the way.

The soldier shrieked in agony, glass and the knife deep in his face but not deep enough to kill him instantly. As he wailed in pain, Ortega turned and he threw one of the guns at the soldier that rushed him, before turning back to that soldier and he grabbed him by his head, and kneed the knife right through his skull, finishing him off. Ortega ripped the knife from his head before he rolled underneath the gunfire that came for him, catching and pulling his sword from his hand, throwing it into the chest of another soldier. Ortega rolled across that soldier he stole the sword from and turned, ramming the knife into his heart, before turning around and rushing the next soldier, throwing his knife which stabbed straight through him and pinned him to the wall.

Ortega stared at the Mercenary as he picked up the sword on the floor, then he swung it hard and fast, cutting his head off from the neck. Ortega sighed as he looked at their dead bodies, rolling his shoulder and listening to it pop. "Getting old, Ortega." He sighed, before he returned back to the battlefield, picking up his Revolver on the floor. He kicked the door open and he immediately fired the Gun at his enemies, hitting an unknowing soldier in the back of the head, turning swiftly and nailing another between the eyes.

Penny shot across then street and slammed into the Juggernaut, dragging him across the ground, digging her feet into the floor with her swords jammed into the armour plating of the Heavy Ordnance Trooper. She pounced off the huge suit of armour, spinning her many blades with great speed, deflecting the incoming bullets like it was a shield. The bullets bounced off from the impact and she held her ground, before she launched the rest of them towards a crate and they stabbed into it. She saw that inside there was ammunition inside, fragile Dust Crystals. She used the cables and swung round, launching the crate towards the soldiers.

As it crashed into them the crystals erupted inside their containers, creating an incredible explosion of fire, ice and lightning, huge chunks of rock were thrown across the sky. Penny lowered her many swords and she thrusted them towards the Acolytes of Lien owned Atlesian Knights that fired on her, driving the blades into their bodies, then she made the many swords spin like a motor. The Robots were blown to bits by the attack, leaving nothing but shredded remains behind on the ground. She pulled her swords back, looking around to see the Paladin that was with the other that she blew apart.

The huge M.E.C.H aimed its powerful guns at the Android and opened fire, blasting thousands of bullets towards her, too many for her shield of blades to protect her from. So, she ran as fast as she could, avoiding the bullets but the massive Suit of Armour blasted rockets from the arms as well, ones that exploded right in front of Penny, throwing her up in the air. Ortega's eyes widened. "PENNY!" Ortega yelled with fear, gritting his teeth at the Paladin.

The Paladin recoiled as a missile exploded into its side, but it did not bring it down. The Paladin turned and stared at Junior who pointed at it, commanding the Malachite Twins to attack the huge Walking Weapon. Ortega took that chance to get to his daughter, sliding to her side. "Penny! Are you alright?" He stammered, she rebooted and gasped, then a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Yup! That hurt." She joyfully said, which made Ortega chuckle, pulling her up to her feet. Then they heard the sound of the Anti-Air Cannons coming online to shoot down the incoming Grimm. They could hear the Nevermores nearby, hell they could see them coming. Attracted by the gunfire and the chaos.

"We don't have time; we need to change the Targeting Systems in those Guns before our Reinforcements get here!" He told her, helping her back up to her feet. They both turned to the Paladin that Junior and the Twins were up against.

"What about Junior and the Twins?" She asked with concern.

"Don't worry about us! Get those guns on our side!" Junior replied, stopping the incoming fist of the Acolytes of Lien Paladin that swung at him. He grit his teeth and growled, staring back at the huge Paladin. He spun his Baton round and clattered it upwards, smashing some of the plates of armour in the attack, whilst the Malachites handled Hit-And-Run attacks, slashing the armour and doing as much damage as they could to bring the thing down with their speed.

"Alright… come on." Ortega told her; Penny followed Darren as they both charged up the stairs with great speed. Ortega made it up the first flight and immediately fired his revolver at the Thug stood there, hitting him in the heart and killing him quickly. They ran into the Control Room for the Anti-Air Cannons, there were many confusing controls for those who were unfamiliar but luckily Ortega's history of using this kind of technology meant he could decipher this dead language.

"Okay, what do we do?" Penny asked.

"I need to get into the mainframe… once I'm in… I can change the Targeting Systems to the one I have come up with. I just need to get through this firewall." Ortega softly said, Penny looked at him and she gasped.

Ruby said I could hack anything!

She walked over to the systems and her fingers opened up, revealing the Hacking Equipment she had, and she inserted the device into the slot where it fit. "Give me a second, I can break through." Penny assured as she started flooding her consciousness into the Network. She moved through it like a fish in water, and she started to tear down that firewall, cracking every failsafe at her disposal, and sooner or later, Ortega was in.

"That's it! Heh, seems Merlot gave you quite a few little toys, didn't he?" Ortega chuckled.

"And I am grateful for it. Saved our butts a few times." She giggled with an adorable smile. Ortega typed his coding into the system, and as soon as it was entered the Systems accepted it, allowing the Guns to only target Kelham's Airships and not the ones were coming to their aid.

"There. Thank the gods for good technology." He said with a sigh of relief. "Now, we just have to wait for my men to get here. No time to change the coding of one of their Airships now. We need to wait for the right moment to get back to my ship." Ortega said, looking up at the Drift of Wandering Star.

Once that Dreadnaught was under their control?

Kelham's forces would have two options, join them or die.

In other words?

The Acolytes of Lien would be finished…

Kassius

The Huntsman who came from Vytal launched Lash Equinox with a roar, the blade stabbed straight through the chest of the Mercenary, knocking him down to the ground with a heavy thud. He ran to his corpse and pulled the sword from his chest, his blood covered the blade and Kassius ducked under the Tremor Trooper's punch, feeling the gust of wind from that powerful piston that shot forward from the attack. He slashed his sword across his leg, bringing him down to one knee, before cutting his head from his shoulders and charging the next soldier. He yelled with rage, jumping up in the air and stabbing both swords down into the chest of the third soldier he attacked, pinning him to the stone. He turned and he saw more Acolytes of Lien Atlesian Knights walking towards him, all firing their rifles at him with great precision.

Kassius used his Cybernetic Arm as a shield, blocking the bullets with the powerful metal that stopped them from doing any real damage. The bullets bounced off, then he engaged Vulcan Nox and he spun round, firing fully automatic at the machines that walked towards him, blowing them all to pieces. He ejected the empty mags after the Drones were all destroyed, steam burst from where they were once locked into place and he reloaded them. He could definitely use more ammunition right now.

Cardin roared as he jumped high in the air, thanks to Coco who flew past him and pushed him a bit higher up. He engaged his semblance – the Wickerman's Fury – which made his attacks that much more powerful, and he slammed the Mace down to the ground with immense power. The explosive impact of the mace broke the road into a thousand pieces and caused the truck he slammed it down into to flip over his head. The Winchester spun his Mace, deflecting the bullets that flew towards him before he sprinted towards the Captain and his squad. He slammed the mace into the Captain's chest, knocking him back and he grabbed one of the soldiers by the helmet, lifting him off the floor and slamming him down to the floor. He then channelled the flames that coursed across his body and it all met into the Red Dust Crystal inside of his Mace, and as he swung the Mace towards the last soldiers it blasted fire into them, taking them all out in one genius attack.

The Acolytes of Lien were not prepared for two Maidens either who both flew towards them. The sky darkened and the eyes burned hot, Cinder dropped down and she dug her feet into the ground, sliding past them. She pushed her hand to the floor which melted the tarmac into molten tar, which she lifted up into the air with her Maiden Power. As Coco landed, she froze it into shards of rock, which Cinder blasted into one of the Armoured Personnel Carries that fired a shot at them. Coco froze the water vapour in the air and formed a shield of ice that protected the two of them, and Cinder held out her arms, eyes burning hot as she rose up into the air, and she brought forks of lightning down form the storm that was summoned. The bolt of lightning went straight through the B.T.R, blowing it apart in a huge fiery explosion, whilst Coco flew past her.

Gianduja may had been out of ammo, but it was still a pretty deadly weapon on its own, and she swung the handbag across the jaw of a soldier, knocking him out alongside his teeth. He fell to the floor and Coco grit her teeth, unleashing the power of Winter upon her foes. More Acolytes emerged, ones that were called Flamers – which had Flamethrowers. The huge clouds of fire blasted towards her, but Coco held her hand forward, blasting icy cold blizzards towards the soldiers that extinguished the flames before they could even reach her, and eventually the soldiers were frozen solid, and Coco lowered her hand.

Their frozen statues shattered as Emerald shot them away with Silent Judgement. She swung round the battlefield and landed onto the chest of a Quartet Trooper, stopping him from using the ability that once belonged to the long dead Flynt Coal. She held the chains of her sickles and she slashed them across the bodies of the Soldiers who fired on her, they managed to do a bit of damage to her aura, but it was not enough before she cut them down. Emerald vanished from the vision of one of the Acolytes of Lien, who looked around with widened eyes, tricked by her Hallucinations. She jumped up behind him with her sickle and slashed it across his body, taking him down.

Finally, Velvet was the last one to arrive at the battle, as she road on Reese Chloris' Hoverboard and fired her own version of Gianduja down to the soldiers below. She changed her weapons, jumping off from Reese's weapon and she landed between multiple enemies, conjuring Mercury's Boots that were named Talaria and she sprinted towards a Whiplash Trooper who backed up from her attacks, and she fired multiple shots at him. The Whiplash Troopers spun the electrically charged cables with great force, tearing up the ground before he launched one of them towards her, but Velvet kicked the cable out of the air, causing him to stagger. The Hardlight Talaria boots shifted and she formed Wilt and Blush, blasting towards the Trooper and slicing straight through him, killing him instantly.

The others all battled against the Mercenaries, they were getting tougher, more prepared, the element of surprise was beginning to wear off. But as she looked around, her eyes widened, because she saw him.

Donovan Gele…

He ran like a coward towards his Labs and she sprinted after him. "THERE! IT'S HIM! HE CAPTURED YATSU AND FOX!" Velvet yelled as she sprinted after him, Cinder's eye widened as she turned.

"Velvet!" She called out, but Coco was running with her – they desperately needed to find the rest of their team. And Kassius looked at the three of them: Cinder, Cardin and Emerald.

"Go with them, we can hold this place. Take that bastard down and save them." Emerald told him and Cardin nodded with a smile. Cinder looked at her brother and she nodded back.

Kassius turned and he sprinted with the others, trying to catch up with Velvet and Coco, and Donovan turned with widened eyes. "GET BACK HERE, COWARD!" Coco yelled as her eyes ignited. His eyes widened, realising that it was she who was the Winter Maiden.

"So, it's you?" He chuckled, then he smirked. "I would love to stick around… but I'm afraid we must depart." Donovan said, holding his scroll to a bunch of cages, and they all stopped as they saw the green glow. The cages opened and Donovan fled into his Laboratory, closing the doors behind him. The Mutated Grimm erupted through the cages, snapping their jaws with rage, they were tested on Sabyrs, glowing green with razor sharp fangs. Alongside a Beringel as well, which pounded its chest with fury.

"Oh… shit…" Kassius groaned as he saw the Beringel coming around the corner – Velvet and Coco had no clue. "Okay, you guys take care of the Sabyrs, I'll handle the big boy." Kassius told them.

"Big Boy?" They both asked, when suddenly the hand grabbed Kassius. He looked at them and waved.

"See ya!" He cheered, before he vanished around the corner with a scream.

"Oh, Big Boy… gotcha." They both realised.

The Mutated Beringel roared, throwing Kassius across the courtyard but the skilled Huntsman drove both his swords into the ground, staring right at the Grimm as it pounded its fists to its chest with a deafening roar. Kassius cracked his neck with a smirk. "Alright, come at me you overgrown dick." Kassius challenged as he spun Lash Equinox through his fingers, and the Beringel charged towards him, jumping up in the air and slamming its fist down into the ground right in front of him.

Coco and Velvet on the other hand battled against the Sabyrs that leapt towards them. Coco caught the open jaws of the beast in her hands, staring down its glowing green throat. She twisted its head round and slammed it down to the ground. She did not want to use too much of her Winter Maiden Powers on these things, she could easily handle them with her Handbag. She swung Gianduja downwards with immense force, crushing the skull of the beast into the ground. She gasped and rolled away from the creature as the green glow strengthened in brightness before it violently exploded in a green flash.

"Forgot Merlot's Grimm exploded!" She called out, whilst Velvet slid out the way of the attacking Sabyr that roared and jumped at her. She conjured Gambol Shroud and she launched the hook into its chest, and she pulled herself towards it, kicking it in the head with both feet. The beast roared in pain, staggering back from the impact, then she slashed her sword across its head, killing it in one attack. The Sabyr erupted in an explosion but she also jumped away from the destructive beast. There were four more of the Sabyrs being released from their cages to attack them.

She narrowed her eyes as the Sabyr charged towards her, and she changed her loadout, summoning Flynt's Trombone that she blew into, blasting a supersonic and deafening tone into the Sabyr. The Grimm roared in pain until she blew it into the second, causing them both to explode. Coco on the other hand paced back and forth and waited for the two Sabyr's to make their move. The Grimm made their move too, and they both charged her at once, and she backhanded one of them out of the air, before upper cutting the second with Gianduja, snapping one of its teeth.

She caught it and as the one she backhanded went back for revenge, she stabbed the tooth up the throat of the Sabyr, killing it instantly. She then kicked it in the chest, pushing it away from her before it exploded. She finally waited for the Sabyr that was still in the air to come down, swinging Gianduja downwards with immense effort, killing it instantly. She walked away with a grin on her face, the explosion erupting behind her.

"Damn I'm good."

Kassius on the other hand charged the Beringel, sliding underneath its swinging fist and he sliced across its leg with Lash Equinox. He then jumped upwards and landed onto the spines that covered its mutated back. He jumped up in the air and drove both of his swords down into its shoulders. The Beringel bellowed in agony as he dug them deep, then he twisted them hard. He jumped over its head and slashed both blades across his head, cutting it in half. The Beringel bellowed in agony, howling to the sky as the body started to explode.

The body cracked and eroded, glowing bright green as small explosions erupted throughout the body, blowing one limb off at a time, before finally exploding in a huge boom. Kassius stood back up, and he wiped the green sludge from his shoulder. "Gross." He groaned, turning back to his two friends. There was fear in their eyes, they were so close to reuniting with Yatsuhashi and Fox.

"Kassius… we need to save them." Coco begged.

"And I'm not about to stop you. Come on, let's go get them out of there – and kill Donovan." Kassius pledged.

Author Note - Hopefully they can save Yatsu and Fox before Donovan tries anything... and hopefully... they can kill him

Another cool chapter, love writing the action in chapters like these and there is a lot more to come. So many characters to play around with and all their abilities too. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Not much to say really, I guess. These chapters to be mainly action, so not too much to summarise XD

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Stay tuned for the next chapter!

- Matt