Atlas Falls


AN: Here is the next chapter in the RotK arc of the story, ENJOY!


Jaune and his mother, Kida Atlantia-Arc, were walking through the hospital in Mistral. Pyrrha called them on their scroll that Grun was waking up. As they walked into the hospital room, Grun was sitting up in his chair and was about to pull the IV out of his arm.

"Grun Gräuel, you sit right back in that bed!" Kida exclaimed.

Grun looked at door and saw his aunt Kida yelling at him. He rolled his eyes and groaned, "I said I'm FINE!"

Jaune walked up to Grun and put his hands on his shoulders, "Bro, you've been out for two days, you're not fine!" Grun brushed Jaune off.

Kida crossed her arms and leaned on one leg as she watched Grun trying to get up, despite both Jaune and Pyrrha trying to keep him in bed. "Despite being a wolf, you always act like a rabbit that can't sit still."

Grun chuckled a bit, "Well, you'd feel restless too if you suddenly find out you have a special power and it knocks you out like a light."

Kida raised her shoulders, "Probably." She then walked over to Grun as she continued, "but I've had two generations of Star Knights worth of experience to know when a patient is not above their wounds." She put her hand on his chest, "Now sit!"

Before she could put pressure on his chest his back hit the bed. Kida smiled, "Good boy." He quickly crossed his arms and started to grumble under his breath.

Pyrrha quickly put her hand over her mouth to hide her chuckling but she couldn't stop herself. Jaune didn't hesitate to say to his mom, "You need to teach me that!" he then immediately felt a hand swat the back of his head.

"Shut up!" Grun exclaimed.

Kida sat down on the chair next to Grun, "How do you feel?"

"Confused," Grun replied, "I have no idea where those… those blades came from."

"It was weird, it was like…" Jaune added, "it was almost like you were manipulating the shadows of the room around you…"

"Shadowmancy," Kida said with a cold tone in her voice.

Grun cocked his head, "What?"

"You have tapped the ability to control shadows, both your own or the ones around you…" Kida tried to remember, "The few soldiers that ever survived facing Salem during the Great War reported that most of their squads were slaughtered by their own shadows before they ever got close to her…"

Grun's face just went pale, "You mean I… have Salem's powers…"

Jaune thought over the family tree, "Well, she is your aunt… I guess it kind of makes sense… sort of…"

Grun looks down at his hands, "I don't want to become like her!"

"You won't," Kida reassured him, "You are nothing like her, Grun."

Jaune looks to his mother, "Where is the Magus now?"

"On its way to Menagerie and Amazonia," Kida answered, "Hopefully it'll be safer there, now."

Jaune sat back in his chair, "Well, safe to say that Mistral is secure, for now…" he turned his head to Pyrrha, "Has the king changed his mind about helping Atlas?"

Pyrrha shook her head, "Unfortunately, no. His decision hasn't changed. But I know my uncle, he'll come around."

"Let's pray that it'll be in time to save them," Grun said under his breath.


On the flight to Atlas, Ozpin took a private call while Weiss fell asleep in her seat. Ozpin was using the emergency communication line that Ironwood set up after the Fall of Beacon. He has been talking with Queen Maleficent and Headmaster Elrond for the past hour.

In Vacuo, Elrond was speaking to the holograms of Ozpin and the Queen, and he looked to be annoyed. "I already told you, it's not going to work!" he exclaimed, "To do so now would only paint more of a target on Vacuo than we already have. And besides, we do not have the materials to repair it properly."

"The materials are already enroute," Ozpin countered, "I made the order for them to arrive tonight from Mistral."

"My friend, now is the time that we must make our stand," Maleficent spoke with a firm tone, "We cannot hope to win this war without Excalibur."

Elron shook his head, "I know he is a good man, but he can't win this war with a sword alone. He got lucky saving Mistral, but luck only goes so far."

Maleficent then spoke up, "I agree, he needs help. And that starts with us. That starts… with the sword."

"If James could speak in this meeting, I know he'd agree," Ozpin added.

Elrond shook his head, "I hope it'll be enough…"

Ozpin's hologram then showed him turning around, "I've arrived. Good luck to you both." The hologram deactivated with the words "END TRANSMISION" in his place.


Ozpin tapped Weiss' shoulder to wake her up, and she rubbed her eyes, "We're here?"

"Yes," Ozpin replied as he walked to the door of the Cockpit. Weiss walked up behind him and looked on to see Minas Tirith.

Weiss squints her eyes, "Wait, why is the city on the ground?"

Penny answered, "Reports of a frost storm gave General Ironwood no other choice but to activate the 'Witch-Mountain Protocol'."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "Frost storms?"

"It started a week ago, before I left for Mistral, the storm made landfall to the East," Penny explained, "There were scout fighters that flew through it to see if there was any danger to the city. All three went down because the fuel in their engines froze."

"Froze?" Weiss exclaimed, "How's that possible?"

Ozpin answered with one word, "Jadis."

Penny nodded, "That storm has been on a course straight for Minas Tirith, and it'll reach it in a few days. Fearing what that storm could do to the city when it's in the air, Ironwood made the call. That, and reports of the Spring Harpy being in Aletsch has Commander Numenor spooked."

"But doing so puts the city at risk for a ground assault," Weiss said with worry in her town.

Ozpin shook his head, "Better to stand on the ground and fight than hide in the sky and freeze to death…"

"Sit down, I'm setting us down on that landing pad," Penny said as she maneuvered the plane to land at the peak of Minas Tirith to land on the landing pad in front of the castle.

Weiss and Ozpin walk off the plane, Weiss turns around to see Penny still on the ramp, "You're not going with us?"

"Commander said I had to come right back after I dropped you off," Penny said with a bitter tone, "I should be able to come back tomorrow."

"Thank you, Ms. Polendina." Ozpin says as he bows his head to her.

Weiss walks up the ramp and hugs her one more time, "See you around." Weiss walks back down the ramp and stands beside Ozpin.

"Good luck, you two." Penny says before she closed the ramp and took off again.

Ozpin and Weiss turned around to see two figures walk up to them. Weiss recognized their uniforms.

"Clover Ebi and Marrow Amin," the white-haired Huntress said in disbelief, "The Chancellor sent the Ace Operatives to meet us?"

"Headmaster Ozpin and Weiss Schnee, Chancellor Numenor is expecting you in his office. Please follow us."

The four walked towards the castle, halfway there, Weiss spots the Tree of the King in the center, "Symbol of House Numenor…"

As they continued, they reached the main doors to the castle and were escorted to the throne room. Weiss had been here only a handful of times; her father would often bring her here to show her what the home of a King looked like.

Before they reached the Chancellor's office, they got a glimpse of the throne of the "Kings of Old", now more used as a symbol than a real throne. The Chancellor's office, however, had a modern flair to it.

The elite Huntsmen that lead them walked to each side of the door and opened it with a hand scan on the wall. The doors opened up and revealed the Chancellor looking down on his desk. The two walked in and stopped just few feet away from the desk, "Chancellor," Ozpin spoke respectfully.

Chancellor Denethor looked up from his desk and looked at the two new arrivals, "Headmaster Ozpin… and Weiss Schnee… I've been… expecting you." They could see that there were tears dripping down his eyes, and in his hands, he was clutching a fragmented piece of Boromir's chest plate, with a few holes in it. Instantly, Weiss flashes back to the moment she saw Boromir getting shot by the Obsidian bullets from Locus.

"I'm sorry, Chancellor Numenor…" Weiss spoke up without even thinking, "Boromir died saving me and my friends. I promise, on my family's name, that I will atone for his sacrifice."

Denethor looked at Weiss with both pain and rage in them, "You can atone right now, if you can tell me why my son died."

Ozpin tried to stop Weiss, but she spoke out before he could, "Obsidian… I believe the enemy that attacked us used Obsidian bullets. And from what I've heard of the caliber used… it took three to bring him down."

Denethor reacted as any father would when they learned how his son died. Weiss lowered her head in sorrow, she felt a hand touch her shoulder as Ozpin took a few steps closer to the Chancellor's desk.

"You have my deepest condolences for your loss, Chancellor, but now is a time of urgency," Ozpin spoke with fear, "The Enemy is on your doorstep and the armies of Atlas are scattered. It is only a matter of time before Salem's top generals set their sights on Minas Tirith itself. Send word to Mistral; activate the Beacons of Marathon."

Denethor looks to the Headmaster with less than patient gaze, "You think me a fool, Ozpin? You do not intend to just bring an army here to aid us, you intend to seize my army from me. I know who it was that saved Mistral at Helms Deep, and I will tell you now that I will never allow the armies of Atlas to fall under the command of a boy that has no right to his name, let alone his presumed title."

Ozpin stood up straight and spoke with a more cold and aggressive tone, "Even as Chancellor, you have no authority to deny the call of the Zenith Star Knight. Jaune Arc is the Lord Commander of Remnant's Armies, whether you like it or not."

Denethor stood up from his chair quickly and shouted, "The armies of Atlas are MINE and no others!"

Ozpin took one more step towards the Chancellor, but then the guards surrounding the room aimed their rifles at Ozpin.

Denethor smirked, "You have come to say your peace, Ozpin, now leave."

Ozpin gripped his hands tightly and turned around sharply, Weiss followed after him, not sure what else to do.

As they walked out of the castle, Weiss took one last look at the Chancellor and saw him clutching Boromir's armor plate again.


Ozpin and Weiss walked out of the castle and walked towards the front courtyards. To say Ozpin was frustrated would be an understatement.

"For over a thousand years this city has stood," he spoke with anger and frustration, "and now it's under the control of a man that would rather hunker down and ignore the problem than join us all and help fight!"

Weiss tried her best to keep up with Ozpin, "How could he let it get like this? I was here six months ago, and the city was livelier… now it almost feels like a ghost town."

Ozpin stopped at the edge of the courtyard and could see the whole city below them, he sighed, "Nobody of this generation has ever seen a war of this scale, but I have… and this city is just as scared of what is to come as it was 80 years ago…"

"You were here?" Weiss asked with pure shock.

Ozpin nodded, "It was before Isildur rallied your people to stand up and take the fight back to the Grimm. Many of the Nobles of Mantel wanted to cut and run, some committed suicide believing it was preferable to death by Grimm… and there were a few that tried to make secret deals with Salem for their won survival. It took a Zenith to keep this city from devouring itself, it'll take a Zenith to save it."

Weiss walks to the edge and looked on to the city she loved, "I imagine it'll be a while before anyone comes here to help… What should we do, in the meantime?"

Ozpin looks down at Weiss and smiles, "What we can."


Sundown came quick for them. Luckily, Winter had already ordered a two-room apartment for them to stay in for the time being. In the living room of the apartment, Weiss was looking over the armor and uniform of Atlesian Sky Knights. Winter wanted to make sure she had the best gear she could wear for the coming battle, and she was given a special request by Chancellor Denethor to be among his personal guard, should things escalate. He had heard tales of her capabilities and already knew how powerful she could become through what he's read about Winter, this was as much a political move as it was self-preservation.

Ozpin pulled out his Vale flask and poured some liquor into his coffee cup as he looked outside of their balcony.

Weiss was inspecting her gear and was surprised how well made some of it was. The armor wasn't too heavy so it wouldn't slow her down, and in places she could have armor she was given Atlas-Grade carbon fiber inlay; strong enough to stop a bullet and durable enough to take a cut from an Ursa.

"Winter doesn't think the battle will reach all the way to the City, does she?" Weiss asks with a nervous smile.

Ozpin chuckles, "You know you didn't have to accept the Chancellor's request to be his bodyguard. He's just using you as a means to show the masses he's in control."

Weiss rolls her eyes, she knows all about the political theater, "That may be true, but I'm using him too. With this status, I could listen in on what they plan to do, maybe even find ways to call for help."

Ozpin then realized what she meant, "You're looking for the 'Beacons of Marathon'?"

Weiss then smiled, "If the Chancellor won't call for help, then we'll have to." Ozpin then gave her a prideful smile and nodded in agreement.

She then set the armor down and poured herself a mug of coffee and sat down beside Ozpin, staring off into the darkness beyond. She looked up at the sky and was shocked, "No stars… The storm is almost on us…"

"Indeed," Ozpin replied plainly.

Weiss looked on to the city below, "It's so quiet. It reminds me so much of Beacon… right before the Battle of the Five Armies started."

Ozpin nodded in agreement, "It's the deep breath before the plunge, as some call it."

"I never thought I'd feel this again…" Weiss said as she sipped her coffee, "Being in a battle was bad enough, but waiting for one to start in a city that I love and don't want to see burn is even worse!"

Ozpin put his hand on her shoulder. Weiss then asked a question she dwelled on for months, "Was there ever any hope for Ruby and Yang? I mean, given what they are up against and where they have to go… I want to believe they're ok, but don't want to get my hopes up and be proven wrong."

Ozpin let go of her shoulder and spoke the truth, "There never was much hope for them… only a 'fool's hope'. And I still hold onto it, even today." Weiss smiled.

Ozpin's smile goes away as he speaks of what is to come, "This battle will be the end of Atlas as we know it. Salem will send everything she can here, not just Orcs or Grimm but people too. She's rallied the entire northern faction of the White Fang to this battle and she's commissioned every mercenary that is willing to answer her call. One thing is for sure, this will be a battle that will be known throughout history as the moment Remnant's fate was tested."

His gaze then looks down at Aletsch, "If the 'ground city' is taken, and the garrison of Aletsch falls, the last stronghold defending this city will be gone."

"What about the others?" Weiss was confused, "Juneau, Grinnell, Sperry? They all provide the defense of Minas Tirith too? Have they fallen already?"

"No, in fact, Aletsch is the only one getting hit this hard," Ozpin answered, "The others have been too busy dealing with Grimm attacks that they don't notice that Aletsch is getting the full brunt of the siege. This strategy can only be the work of Rourke Numenor."

"The Black Knight of Mantel…" Weiss said with a cold tone.

"I only wish he was the only Nazgul Salem was sending…" Ozpin said with a groan in his voice.

Weiss began to feel fear, "Who else?"

"I talked with Maleficent an hour ago," Ozpin answered, "she feels that Salem will order Jadis to lead this assault, as redemption for failing to retrieve the item in Mistral. One thing I know about the Winter Witch, she is even more dangerous when she's angry…"

Weiss clears her throat, "I've read the stories… she blanketed the countryside in a layer of snow that killed over fifty thousand people…"

Ozpin nodded, "The Long Night, your people called it. I dare say we will be facing one of our own, soon enough."

"I don't get it, where can Salem be getting all these armies?" Weiss tried to rationalize it.

Ozpin pointed outward, "Salem has been breeding her armies for this war since Beacon fell. All she really needed were key positions taken and strongholds decimated. Had the world started getting ready right at the fall of Minas Ithil, Atlas might have had a better chance than this."

"Penny told me about that, it was terrible," Weiss remembered how scared Penny looked when she explained what happened.

"They call it Minas Morgul now, and it's the staging ground for Salem's entire war," Ozpin gripped his hands tightly.


Ruby, Yang and Smeagol exited the forest and continued their trek west to the Wall of Mountains around Mordor, when he was sure they were close enough, Smeagol told the two huntresses to start hiding among the rocks with him.

They continued sneaking through the large rocks until they reached a road, Ruby's eyes followed the road until she saw where it began.

"The Dead Fortress of Minas Morgul," Smeagol said with a hiss in his voice, he hated the sight of it.

Yang squinted, "I've never heard of this place…"

Ruby recognize the structures, "Minas Ithil, Penny said this place was taken almost a year ago."

Smeagol added, "It is the home of the Witch. Very nasty place, full of… enemies."

Smeagol then crawled onto the road and motioned for them to follow, "Quick! Quick! They will see! They will see!"

They followed the road for a few yards until Smeagol went off the road again and started to climb up rocks that resembled stairs. "This is it, the secret stair! The only other way into Mordor."

Ruby looked back at the fortress, it was a terrifying sight. What was once an incredible castle fortress that had characteristics of ancient Mantel architecture, now had worn down walls, fling red and black flags and the sounds of Grimm and other monsters echoing in the distance.

Before Ruby could turn around, all a sudden a loud rumble began to shake the ground beneath them, making them loose their footing. The rumbling abruptly stopped, and a green glow started to rise at the center of the castle and then shoot straight up into the clouds. The storm overhead started to thunder, lighting and snow.

A Sphinx Grimm climbed to the top of the tallest tower of the castle, and on its back was the source of the green energy. Jadis held her right hand up and blasted green energy into the air, making her storm stronger with every second.

Smeagol pulled on Ruby, "Come! Come! We climb, we climb!"

At the same time, the main gate of Minas Morgul opened slowly, and with it a large army of Orcs and Uruks marching in like a parade of evil and malus.


Meanwhile in Atlas, the clouds over the city began to crackle and screech with lighting, and it began to snow.

Ozpin knows what it means, "It's time… the board is set, and the pieces are moving."

Weiss was never one for analogies, but this one made her scared.


Yang, Ruby and Smeagol climbed as the army marched on the road beneath them. They did their best to climb slow enough to not be seen and keeping to the shadows of the rocks.

"Brothers, I hope they're going to be ok…" Ruby said under her breath.

"They'll find a way, Ruby, just focus on what we have to deal with," Yang said as she climbed.

"Up, up, up the stairs we go. And then, into the tunnel!" Smeagol said.

"So what's so special about this tunnel?" Yang asked, "Faramir didn't seem happy when we brought it up in Atlas."

Smeagol nodded, "There is a beasty in the tunnel, but I slipped past her once before. Stay close to me, and we'll slip past her."

Yang rolled her eyes and groaned, "And you waited till NOW to tell us?!"

Smeagol cowered and held his hands up, "There is no other way…"

Ruby put her hand in front of Yang, "Its ok, Yang. Whatever it is, we can deal with it."

"He could be leading us into a trap, Ruby…" Yang whispered.

"Then we'll deal with it… we literally have no other options…" Ruby said with a stern voice and tired of setbacks.

Ruby then continues to climb ahead of the others, before Smeagol could follow he was pulled by the leg by Yang, "If anything happens to her, I promise you, you're going to wish I threw you off this wall…"

Smeagol gulped and nodded. Yang let him go and they continued upward.


The following day, Weiss was able to tour the castle with other guards so as to know where to go in emergencies, and there she discovered the "Beacons of Marathon". Once her tour was over, Weiss pulled Penny aside.

"Penny, we can't just do nothing, you know that, right?" Weiss asked.

Penny nodded, "But what would you have us do, Weiss?"

"The Beacons, if we ignite them, we could call for help," Weiss suggested, "I can activate them, but you have to get me in there."

"You do realize breaking into a military instillation is treason, right?" Penny asked genuinely.

Weiss rolled her eyes, "It won't matter if the city is destroyed."

Penny then gave a look that showed she did not think of that, "Even so, it's not like we can just ask them to let us use it. I don't want to hurt our own people."

Weiss smiles, "I may know a few words you can say to convince them to."

Penny lead Weiss to the control room, inside were two operators. One of them approached the two, "You're not authorized to be here."

"Do you know who I am?" Penny asked the operator.

"Lieutenant Polendina," the Operator said with a bit of a nervous voice.

Penny stood at attention, "Then you know I can technically do what I want here and you can't stop me, but I am choosing to ask the two of you to step aside and let us save our city."

The two operators look at each other and back off. Penny signals Weiss to begin, prompting her to smile, "Thank you, Lieutenant."

Weiss started by setting up the power relays and pressed 'charge' and then initiated the beacon activation process.

The two walked out, not before Weiss looked to the Operators saying, "The people of Atlas thank you for your hard work, gentlemen."

As they walked away, Penny looked at Weiss, "That was sensational, how did you know that would work?"

Weiss smiled, "If there's one thing I ever learned from my dad, intimidation can go a long way."

Starting at the tower, a stream of light shined to a thin tower and stopped, then another beam sot out and hit a second tower and then another. The beam was connecting several towers in a series of connection, shining bright under the cloud cover of Jadis' storm.

Ozpin looked out onto his balcony and sees the beacon come online, leading off into the distance, sending word to all that can see that Atlas is calling for help. Ozpin smiles, "Hope is kindled."


Down in Aletsch, Faramir talked with Winter about the placements of their troops. It had been over 12 hours since the Orcs or any Grimm attacked their side of the river. Just by looking at it, it almost looked deserted, but they weren't buying it. Jadis' storm created enough of a cold front to make a fog bank roll over the enemy side of the river, and it is slowly creeping towards their side.

Winter gestures on the map, "If I were to guess, they moved half their garrison to the north to out flank us, we could change the angle of our mortars and make sure any attack can be short lived."

Faramir nodded, "Problem is, if this storm keeps up, we'll never get a resupply for our men."


Undenounced to them, several small makeshift boats full of Orcs were paddling towards the opposite side of the river. At the head of the boats, Rourke sat patiently.

The Orcs paddling were doing so slowly and quietly. One orc had the misfortune of paddling too hard and splattering the water on his hand, it began to sizzle on his skin, burning it. He was about to scream but another Orc put their hand over his mouth.

Rourke turned around and saw the two, "Quiet!" he hissed.


Faramir started to feel uneasy, he could sense the energy of rage and bloodlust drawing closer and closer. But he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from on the map. He then looked to Winter, "There were no boats left on that side, right?"

Winter nodded, "As soon as we knew they had that side, I ordered all boats to be destroyed. Why? You don't think-?"

"What if they're not coming from the north?" Faramir asked.

Winter's eyes widened in fear. Faramir then grabbed his radio, "All dock squads, be ready for invasion."


The Squad leader that heard it on the radio immediately ran to a balcony that looked over the river, as soon as he could see the boats, he raised the radio to his mouth an arrow ran through his throat.

Rourke looked up at where the soldier was, he smirked, "No more sneaking, paddle faster."


Faramir ran down to the docks and watched as the makeshift boats were on a collision course with the docks.

Several boats smashed through the docks and lowered their ramps to release their soldiers, others stopped at the buildings along the river and raised their ladders for troops to climb up.

Faramir and other Atlisan rangers hid between columns as the Orcs passed right by them, once enough passed, they attacked. Troopers shot the Orcs until their magazines were empty, then switched to hand to hand. The Orcs were not giving them any chance to reload. Ace Operative Harriet Bree used her speed to dash straight through enemy lines, leaving something on the boats as she ran. Before the Orcs and Grimm could figure out what just happened, a series of explosions rang out. Pieces of wood and metal flew in all directions, and Grimm began falling into the enchanted water below.

Rourke saw the development and was not happy. "Open fire on that Huntress!" Orc gunners on the remaining boats turned their weapons portside and let loose a hail of bullets.

"Damn! Didn't think they'd catch on so quickly!" Harriet griped as she turned around and dove behind a fallen pillar for cover. Rourke, believing the threat to have passed, took control of his boat and steered toward a vacant dock. The Black Knight walked onto the deck and saw Ace Operative Elm Ederne fighting Grimm on the nearby bridge. Drawing his sword, Rourke made his way to the bridge and sized up his new opponent.

"You're a tough one, Huntress. We could use someone like you in our army," the Black Knight said, not taking his eyes off Elm's large war hammer. The Ace Operative stood her ground and held her weapon at the ready.

"That'll be a cold day in Hell, bone bag!" Elm shouted as she lunged forward, swinging her hammer with all her might. Rourke held his sword rigid and deflected the attack, then swung it sideways in a wide sweep. Elm activated her Roots and held herself in place as she blocked the sword strike. As the two warriors locked weapons and began to push each other back, Elm opened the face of her hammer to reveal several primed rockets inside. Rourke had no time to react before one of them shot straight out and hit him in the face. As the knight stumbled back blind and disoriented, Elm reared her hammer back and swung it as hard as she could. The weapon struck Rourke in the center of the chest and made him stumble backward. Not one to waste time, Elm raised her hammer over her head and swung down again, but then she felt her hammer stop halfway.

"A clever trick," an irritated Rourke said as he stood to his full height and pulled the hammer upwards. Elm activated her Roots again to keep herself from being lifted as well. "Your Semblance gives off the illusion that you're unmovable, but I can see one fatal flaw that comes with it." Rourke thrusted his sword into the bridge beneath Elm's feet, making the bricks and stone fall out from under her and leaving Elm hanging from her weapon. "You need a solid foothold!" Angry at having his time wasted, Rourke flung his arm to his left, sending Elm flying away from him and into the river below.

Snipers and machine guns gave it everything they had, but the Orcs moved too quickly. Rourke lead a group of Orcs to the control room of the bridge that used to connect the city. He made short work of the soldiers guarding it, one even shot him right in the head and it only pissed him off. He grabbed that soldier and broke his neck, brutally twisting his head all the way around.

Faramir saw the bridge slowly lowering and ran for the control room. He saw Rourke inside, switched to his sniper rifle, and fired several shots past Rourke's chin to get his attention.

Rourke let go of the bridge controls and looked out the window to see where the bullets came from, looking through the holes he saw Faramir, "Ah… if it isn't my great-great Grandnephew." He walked out of the control room, leaving the bridge half down.

Faramir reloaded his rifle, "Finally coming home after all these years?"

"It is more my home than it is yours, boy," Rourke smirked.

"If you hadn't had gone made with conquest, Mantel would have named you our best warrior in history," Faramir said with disappointment in his tone.

"I AM the greatest warrior…" Rourke growled.

Faramir fired several shots at Rourke, only for the Black Knight to block them with his bastard sword. Faramir fired one more shot, it bounced off the sword, ricochet off the ground and came up at Rourke's jaw, making him back up a few steps.

"Certainly not the brightest…" Faramir smirked.

Rourke looked back at his descendant, forcing his jaw back into place with his fist, "Must hurt being a 'second son', huh? Never the favorite? No matter what you do, it will never be enough."

Faramir switched his rifle into sword mode and charged at Rourke, only for him to dodge the first swing and grab Faramir by the neck. He lifted him up and squeezed at his neck, "So much for 'more intelligence'."

Rourke began to squeeze harder, but then he was tackled by a white colored Beowulf. He was forced to let go and was pushed back to the half-lowered bridge. "What the?"

Winter ran up to Faramir to help him up as he was gasping for air. Rourke smirked, "Oh, a Schnee… I remember your family. Always the meddlers."

Faramir stood back up, this time at the ready, with Winter by his side. They stood between Rourke and the bridge controls, he started to laugh, "If it were up to me, I'd let you two live, but unfortunately, orders are orders."

Rourke then looked at the hydraulics holding the bridge up at the top, he ran up the bridge and cut both of them, causing the bridge to come down and land on the opposite platform. Hordes of Grimm then began to swarm past him, going around him like water around a rock.

Faramir and Winter immediately turned around and ran. The Orcs were dealt with at the river, now they had a new problem that was much, much worse.


As the battle continues, the Beacons of Marathon continue to ignite their towers for miles and miles. they reach the ocean they scatter into three different directions in the sea. Continuing to ignite more towers that were either standing on small island or on floating buoys in the middle of the ocean. They continue to form a stream of light all the way to Anima and Sanus, going for the capitals of Vale, Vacuo and Mistral.

Jaune happened to be sitting at a balcony in the main castle, and he spotted the last tower in the beacon go off, shining a beam of light straight up. Jaune stood up and ran into the castle, running past several guards, almost knocking over Sun and Neptune when they were in his way. He ran all the way to the King Theoden's throne room, where he was talking to Pyrrha, Eomer and Robin. "THE BEACON'S OF MARATHON ARE LIT!" He panted heavily, "Atlas calls for aid!"

Everyone quickly looked to Theoden for what was to happen next. He glanced at Pyrrha briefly, then to Eomer, and then back at Jaune, "Then Mistral will answer." The King looked to his generals, "Muster the Rohirrim." The generals salute their king, while Eomer nods in agreement.

Pyrrha looks to Jaune and smiles, he returns the smile with one of his own. Mistral is back in the fight.

Theoden gave the standing order to all his generals and Eomer, recruit as many soldiers they can and meet at Argus in three days. From there, they'll fly to Atlas and join the coming battle.

Blake approached the King, holding her sword in its sheath across her hands, "Your Grace, I would like to offer my aid to you. It is possible we may face White Fang in the coming battle, I would like the permission to stand with you in the coming battle."

Theoden raised an eyebrow, "Do you come to stand to defend me against Faunus? Or to do you intend to prove that not all are like the Fang?"

Blake lowers her head, the bow on her head began to twitch a bit, "I hope to make up for the sins of my people, for what they did to Mistral…"

Theoden motioned for her to stand, "You have nothing to prove to me that my niece hasn't already convinced me of. But if you believe this will fix relations between our people, I won't stop you. As long as you are in my service, you shall attain the rank of Lieutenant Commander."

Blake smiled, "Thank you, your Grace."

Within hours, all of the capital was working around the clock to get their troops read for the coming battle. As the Sleipnir lifted off the ground with its flotilla, this time it wasn't leaving the capital to escape, it was flying to war.


Back in Mantel, Aletsch is under siege. Winter redirected the mortars to bomb the river side of the city, but the Grimm just keep coming. The Orcs and Uruks aren't making it any easier either, taking out sniper perches and hitting mortar stations hard.

At this point, Rourke didn't have to do anything but watch as his army ravaged what remained of the city and its defenders.

Faramir fell back to one of the last sections of the city that was still theirs, he ran right into the line of fire of several gun emplacements and dove to the ground, pulling some of his men down to the ground with him. The gunners fired at the Grimm and orcs behind him and scared off the rest, for now.

Winter ran to him and helped him to stand, "Faramir, the city is lost."

He clenched his teeth, punched a concrete wall with an aura enhanced fist, putting a hole in it. "Pull everyone out, full sprint for home, NOW!"

The Atlas soldiers and Sky Knights went for their vehicles, trucks and airships alike. Some were brought down by Nevermores and Griffons before they could start heading for Minas Tirith. Faramir and Winter were among the last to evacuate, using up their aura to ensure the evacuation shuttles and trucks could escape the city.

The last shuttle flew right over them, its main door opened for them to jump in. Once inside the shuttle joined the evacuation fleet and convoy, all running straight for Minas Tirith.

Rourke walked on the landing pad where Faramir was standing not 2 minutes prior, and he smiled at the sight of the retreating soldiers. "The days of old world have reached their climax… the time of the 'superior men' has begun."


The evacuation fleet and convoy were being attacked by Griffons and Lancers, they tried to fight them off as best they could go up the roots of the mountain, but it was a mess. One shuttle left Minas Tirith, flying right toward the evacuees.

The shuttle door opened, and Ozpin stood there, his cane in hand and holding it tightly. With one burst of green energy, he scared away the Grimm from chasing the remaining survivors. Penny smiled as she turned the shuttle back around and followed the other ships into the city.

The shuttles land in the primary landing pad in front of the castle gate, while the truck convoys entered the city's outer gate.

Faramir exited his shuttle and walked straight for Ozpin, "Ozpin! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Ozpin smiled, "I'm glad to see you alive as well, Faramir."

Winter saw Weiss with Ozpin and ran straight for her, "You made it!"

Weiss ran up to her and hugged Winter hard, "Of course I did." Both were on the verge of tears.

"I knew you were coming but I was never told whether or not you were in the city," Winter stated.

Ozpin looks to Faramir, "How bad is it?"

Faramir shook his head, "Two hundred dead in the first hour, we're all that's left. At least a thousand."

Winter looked to Ozpin, "Rourke lead them across the river, he brought down the bridge and let the Grimm through. The city was gone in hours."

Faramir cursed himself, "I thought we could hold it…"

Weiss put her hand on Faramir's shoulder, "You did what you could, Commander."

Faramir glances at Weiss, then he remembered, "Has she told you yet?"

"What?" Weiss was confused.

Faramir gave Winter a look that meant 'go ahead', she then answered, "We saw Ruby and Yang, less than a week ago."

Weiss and Penny's eyes grew, "They made it!" Weiss exclaimed. She then calmed down, "How did they look? Were they hurt? Are they ok?"

Faramir didn't look to happy, "Yes… but they weren't alone."

Weiss cocked her head. "Golem was guiding them."

"Golem?" Penny asked.

Weiss didn't understand, "Why would Ruby be traveling with him?"

"That's not all…" Faramir added, "Ozpin, they are taking the root through the Morgul Veil…"

Ozpin's eyes widened in horror, "And into the pass of Cirith Ungol…" Faramir nodded.

"Oh no…" Penny said with fear in her tone.

"What's that?" Weiss asked.

Winter answered, "It's the home to an ancient primordial Grimm… its name… 'Shelob'."

Ozpin spoke sharply, "Faramir, you need to tell me everything. Tell me all you know." Ozpin was now more afraid for Ruby and Yang's safety than before, now he hopes that it is not too late.


And that, ladies and gents, is that for this chapter.

Sorry for the extended delay, but you can't rush good work.

Next chapter will come soon enough, that I promise.

ARKOS!