Chapter 79 – No More…


Ortega


"Not again…"

He cradled the destroyed body of his daughter in his arms, sobbing tears of grief. He held her close as she caressed her fabricated orange hair, feeling the sparks burning his skin… but he did not care. He never wanted to let her go. "Not again…"

But as he held her, there was a sound, one that brought hope into his heart as soon as he heard it.

"D-Dad?" Penny's voice softly whispered; it was barely even functional from all the damage done to her chassis. Ortega's eyes widened with disbelief when he heard the sound of her voice, he held her and stared at her body. Her face was lifeless, and the pupils had dilated… but her voice was still there. "I… I'm sti-still here." Penny assured, her stared at her body. Physically she was dead, as dead as you could get, there was no life at all. But Kelham's final shot into her head was not the killing blow that Ortega feared.

"H-How?" He stammered with shock and awe in his voice.

"His bullet… it… just missed… my Microchip in my… my head… I am still alive… but my body is no longer usable. But I am still with you, if you take me out of my head." Penny explained to him, her voice was the only thing still functional in what remained of her body. Ortega turned to the back of her head and he moved her locks of ginger hair out of the way, and he found the exit wound. It was horrific, blown open plates of metal and sparks bled from the opening, but as he rummaged around her internals… she opened up the panel, and found the glowing green microchip that his daughter was stored inside of.

He removed it from her body and all the sparks ceased to burst, as what remaining power that remained inside of her body drained away. He held the tiny chip in his hand as he stood up, letting her body fall to the ground with a heavy thud. "You haven't lost me… and I promised to make you another bracelet. I intend to keep that promise." Penny assured.

As Ortega held her, he did not even look at the old bracelet that Kelham ripped in half, he just held her close to his heart, before he literally shoved her Microchip into his breast pocket. "The only way they will hurt you, baby girl, is if they kill me." Ortega promised as he picked his Revolver up off the floor and he reloaded it. He clenched his hand into a fist, looking back at the body that Penny was inside of for so many years. He squeezed his eyes shut, wiping the tear away.

"Goodbye…" He softly said to the body that everyone knew Penny Polendina as. But he knew that his little girl was still alive. He opened the door of the Cargo Bay; he knew that he needed to fight his way back up to the bridge. Their forces still needed him to get the Drift of Wandering Star back under their control. "I will not lose you again, baby girl." He promised, sprinting down the long hallway that was in front of him, he turned round the corner and he charged up the stairs, where there were some Acolytes of Lien standing guard.

The Mercenaries turned and they gasped, immediately aiming their rifles at him but he jumped and ran across the wall, firing his Revolver and nailing both of them through the Red T-Shaped Visors of their helmets. Ortega jumped off the wall, tucked and rolled across the ground as he drew his Revolver and shot it towards three more soldiers. He did not miss a single shot, but then he holstered the Revolver and picked the rifle of the dead Mercenary by his feet.

He looted some of the magazines for the Assault Rifle and he checked the chamber, they had not even fired a shot before he took them down. He ran forward, and he took cover against the wall. He turned and saw how many weapons were inside of here, and he reached across and grabbed some of the grenades. He pulled the pin and threw it down the hallway, it rolled and detonated in a deafening explosion, killing the soldiers who were defending the next door.

Ortega went forward to advance… but then he realised something.

He stopped and turned, and his eyes widened… and a smirk formed on his face. "Of all the places you could have locked me up, Kelham." Ortega scoffed, because directly in front of him was a fully stocked and completely untouched Juggernaut Suit of Armour. He walked towards it and he pulled the lever on the back, which caused the huge armoured plates of metal to fold open so then he could get inside. He climbed in and pushed his limbs into their rightful positions, and it closed up behind him. He smirked as the helmet slammed shut over his head, the visor shone red.

The massive Machine Gun on the right arm of the Juggernaut extended and spun round, alongside the Swarmer Missile Silos and Mortars on the shoulders, and the Flamethrower and Blade on the left. He rolled his shoulder as he walked forwards. "Been a while since I used one of these, let's see if I've still got it." Ortega said as he walked towards the large doors, and he kicked them open. The door exploded off its hinges, designed for vehicles to drive on through to deliver their shipments. But the Juggernaut did not even stumble against it, it just continued to walk onwards.

The soldiers inside all turned and they gasped, some of them dropped their weapons in surrender alongside the non-combatant workers onboard the ship, whereas those that remained took their weaponry and opened fire on the Juggernaut. The bullets bounced off the armour and he stared at them with a scowl. "No more." He said, before he unleashed the hellfire that was the storm of bullets that came flying towards those hostile soldiers. Those that surrendered stayed back, safe from the battle as the rightful admiral of this ship and the company stormed forward to reclaim what was his.

Ortega walked forward and he shredded through the soldiers down on the ground that were in front of him, their bodies minced by the sheer amount of bullets that hit them, blood everywhere. But as he moved forward, he turned and saw a second Juggernaut charge towards him, slamming its massive shoulder into his side. Ortega staggered from the sudden impact and the enemy Juggernaut extended the long blade from the left arm and thrusted towards his gut, but Ortega reacted fast, hooking his arm around the forearm of the soldier and pulling him into his fist, punching the helmet with all his might.

Loud metallic bangs erupted from the pounding of the Juggernaut against him, and Ortega then swiped the soldier off his feet so hard that it managed to knock the Juggernaut onto the floor. Ortega grabbed the bladed arm of the Juggernaut and he twisted with force, breaking the arm inside and snapping chunks of metal and the blade itself with a high twang. The soldier inside of the Juggernaut screamed in agony as he felt his entire arm snap like a twig, and Ortega extended his blade and ignited it with the flames from his Flamethrower attachment.

Ortega punched the blade down into the chest of the Juggernaut, puncturing a hole directly through the body of the soldier and killing him instantly. Ortega pulled the blade from the suit that was now dead. More bullets hammered against the thick armour, but it accomplished precious little, and he continued to advance, rushing towards the upward slope. A catwalk stretched out above his head where there was also a crane used to move the heavy crates around the Storage Deck.

Some soldiers with missile launchers and high impact sniper rifles ran across the catwalk and they aimed at him. Ortega scoffed, his targeting system immediately locked onto them and he pushed his shoulders back as the swarmer missiles and mortars shot up towards them. The tiny yet highly explosive missiles shrieked as they flew towards the catwalk, erupting into flames, alongside the mortars that blew the cranes apart that carried heavy crates of ammunition and resources. A soldier beneath staggered and wailed as the crate crashed down on top of him, completely flattening him underneath the immense weight.

The ammunition inside of the crate exploded, fragile and very sensitive explosives that were set off from the mere impact of the crate against the ground. Ortega charged through the smoke, and the catwalk above him groaned, the burning corpses of the soldiers he launched those missiles at plummeted down towards the ground as the entire catwalk collapsed. Ortega ran forward and he jumped up the steps, firing the machine gun relentlessly at the Mercenaries that stood in his way. The soldiers screamed in agony as he attacked them, ripping their bodies to shreds with the amount of bullets that he was throwing in their direction.

"Dad! You have incoming!" She called out, Ortega took her advice and he spun around, seeing the Glider Jockeys flying round the corner, alongside some Atlesian Knights that were under their control. They fired their machine guns and grenade launchers towards the Juggernaut. Ortega grunted, one of the grenades exploded against his chest, and then one Glider extended the two blades from the front of the vehicle. The thrusters shrieked like the devil before they went blasting towards him. Ortega caught the large wings of the glider, holding it back despite the thrusters pushing right back. The power of the afterburners pushed the huge mechanised suit of armour across the ground.

The Jockey aimed his Submachine Gun at his helmet and was about to open fire, until Ortega twisted his arms and threw the glider towards the second Glider Jockey. Both of them screamed in terror and then in pain as they impacted, and their Gliders exploded into a large ball of flames, throwing smouldering debris all across the deck. Ortega rolled his shoulder inside of the Juggernaut, advancing forward towards the main elevator that would take him back up to the Operations Deck, which connected to the Bridge.

"I'm getting too old for this kind of shit." Ortega sighed, making the voice of Penny giggle inside of that tiny microchip she was inside of.

"Language." She said, which made him chuckle.

"Sorry." He apologised; the elevator flew up the shaft of the Drift of Wandering Star. And when the doors opened, there were some soldiers ready to go down it. They froze like deer in headlights when Ortega aimed all the guns packed into the Juggernaut at their faces. "I'm only gonna say this once – drop 'em." Ortega ordered, and the first soldier nodded his head, casually dropping his rifle on the floor.

"I hate working for Kelham, he is so rude." The soldier said, and Ortega chuckled.

"Good move." He said to them, letting the soldiers pass since they surrendered, and he ran forward to get closer to the Bridge of the Drift of Wandering Star.

"I don't remember this place." Penny pointed out and Ortega looked around. This was his ship; he knew every centimetre of it like the back of his own hand.

"I do. We're in the Central Operating Wing." Ortega answered, they walked through the skybridge that passed over the larger room that they were inside of, where the Broadside Cannons could be seen. The sound of their cannons firing endlessly at both the Acolytes of the Rose and the White Fang Dreadnaughts was almost deafening. Bang after Bang after Bang, it was like a lightning storm, constant thunderous cracks from the sound of those cannons.

And that was not all, there were more soldiers headed down there, and they still had more Rigs up here, being loaded up and prepared to be dropped in from up here. "Looks like they're planning to send in more reinforcements. That just makes our job easier. No time to lose." Ortega said as he rushed forward, but as he moved, he heard Penny speak again.

"Dad… What will I do now? My body is… it's gone." Penny asked, and he pondered on that thought… but then an idea came to him.

"Merlot… he always told me that he was close to creating the perfect version of you. One that would have your old memories and a human body… well… so to speak. He always made it quite convoluted, he basically was trying to continue Sylens' work. To create the perfect hybrid of Synthetic and Organic life. A body that was built and had mechanical elements, like your swords and your hacking capabilities, but also human traits. Like the ability to feel and taste, eat and drink… to have children of your own." Ortega explained as he walked through the halls of the Drift of Wandering Star.

"W-Why? Why was Sylens working on that?" Penny asked.

"I don't know… hell there's a lot of things about that man we don't know. All we know for certain is that Arkhonex is where it is today because of him and that he found something he shouldn't have found. I think Merlot has been trying to learn that secret too… and he must have figured it out for Umbra to turn on him like this." Ortega explained. "If anyone can give you a new body… it would be Merlot."

"I hope so. I don't like just being a microchip. It's… boring." Penny complained, making Ortega laugh again.

Relieved was not enough to sum up the emotions that he was feeling, but he was over the moon to know that his little girl survived Kelham's Punishment.

But that did not excuse the monster.

Kelham's story had to end here in Old Town.

Kelham had to die.


Ensemble Battle


The battle had begun, and Ruby was the first to launch herself towards Whitley who was jumping straight towards her. He brought his massive mechanical fist down with all his might, roaring as he attacked, and the ground shattered from the impact of his fist, whilst Ruby transformed into the cyclone of rose petals and she swirled around his body, before appearing right behind him and slashing her huge scythe down his back. Only for there to be a Hardlight Shield conjured from some kind of shield generator.

Whitley laughed as he stood tall, turning to stare down at Ruby Rose. "Come now… you didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" He asked her, suddenly kicking her in the chest like she was a football. Ruby grunted in pain, sent sky-high from the hard impact from the titanium foot, but she shot towards him again and slashed her Scythe against his body, to stagger him.

"After everything we've fought? We never expect anything to be easy anymore." Ruby replied, then Weiss jumped over Ruby's head and she blasted her Glyphs towards her brother. He stared at her and he gasped, suddenly being hit by the powerful icy blizzard that pushed him back. He crossed his arms over to try and hold the gales back, but they continued to force him across the road, crumbling the tarmac underneath his heavy feet. His legs transformed and powerful pistons pounded anchors into the ground.

He extended a powerful cannon front his right arm and fired, launching a powerful fireball of dust towards Weiss. She gasped and dropped down from her Glyph, narrowly avoiding the fireball. She slid across the ground whilst both Blake and Yang attacked him. Blake threw herself towards him and she vanished into a shadow, casting one completely engulfed in flames that exploded against his head. The Hardlight Dust that protected the Advanced Paladin's body flickered as it blocked the flames from harming it. He staggered backwards, where Yang shot towards him and swung her cybernetic fist up his jaw, knocking him backwards. He slammed his fist into one of the buildings next to him, slowing himself from being thrown into his back. He stared at them and his shoulder plates opened up, and large missile silos aimed at them.

"Uh-Oh…" Yang grumbled, her lilac eyes widening as Whitley launched the many highly explosive missiles towards them. Yang jumped and flipped up in the air, whilst Ruby and Blake both sprinted towards him, and Ruby flew high in the air, but as she threw herself up there, a crow flew alongside her. He transformed into his human body, and Qrow winked at her, staring at the huge Paladin that Whitley was inside of.

"It has a power source for that shield, it has to be on his back somewhere!" Qrow called out, and Ruby nodded, and they both launched down towards Whitley. They both hooked their scythes onto the neck of the Paladin and slammed it down against the ground with all their might. They both held him there to make sure that he could not get back up, and Whitley let out a furious roar of rage as he pushed his hands against the ground to try and stand back up, but the Father and Daughter refused to let him stand back up.

"Hold him down! Blake try and find the Shield Generator!" Ruby called out as she strained, holding the enraged Whitley Schnee down. Blake sprinted across one of the rooftops before she threw her Grappling Hook, it latched onto one of the catwalks and she swung towards Whitley landing on his back. She looked around for a weak spot, turning as Ozpin landed next to her, giving her a hand.

"Whatcha find?" Ozpin asked her, they both looked at the swollen plates on the Paladin's Spine.

Shield Generator

It literally said it on the body, obviously the designers of this Paladin Make did not really think about getting rid of that sign in case the enemy needed to destroy it. "Well that's convenient." Ozpin chuckled, and they both took their weapons and slammed them down against the panels of metal, snapping the attached bolts off and freeing the metal from the back of the Paladin. As soon as the Shield Generator they fired everything that they had into it. A powerful explosion erupted from the generator, and Whitley yelled with anger.

"I have had enough of you animals!" Whitley yelled, suddenly pushing himself free from the two Scythe Wielders, he grabbed Ruby and threw her up in the air, and he punched down at Qrow, only for him to roll out of the way.

"Nice try, douchebag!" Qrow sneered as he pointed Harbinger in its gun form at his head, firing a round that cracked the glowing blue visor. He grunted from the impact, staggering back up to his feet. Qrow looked at Ozpin and they both nodded to each other, and the Headmaster of Beacon sprinted towards him, slamming his cane down against the ground and using the Relic of Knowledge's power to reactivate his Knight Form, the cogs of metal forged across his body and over his head, creating a green glow as he charged towards Whitley, his Cane forming into the Mihi Vindicta, the ancient mace that he was now able to control, instead of the old curse controlling him.

Ozpin launched towards the huge Paladin and he swung his mace across the side of Whitley's head, breaking off chunks of metal from the Paladin's skull. It staggered away from Ozpin as he made his attacks. He darted from side to side, avoiding the sudden machine gun fire from Whitley's M.E.C.H. Multiple turrets folded out from the armour plating, locking onto all of them at once as he stood tall, firing at them all, stood in the centre of the battlefield as he clashed against them.

His optics stared directly at Weiss as he stood there, and he snarled. "You know what? I'm actually glad you're still alive… gives me the pleasure of killing you myself." Whitley growled, but Weiss stared back at him, soft eyed as she walked towards him, all guns pointed at her.

"It does not have to be this way, Whitley. I know I made my mistakes… hell our entire family has at this point… but I know that not for one second there is no malice in your heart." Weiss said… but she had been trapped back in Vale for quite a while, and she had no idea of the things he had done.

"You know fuck all, sister – I'm not that small kid anymore who was jealous of my sisters who shunned the little runt. No… I'm stronger now… and the only thing left for me to kill? Is you… especially after Raven's help with big sis." Whitley said, Weiss, Yang and Ruby both squeezed their eyes shut because they knew about what Raven did.

"Raven? And Winter? What the hell are you talking about?" Qrow questioned with anger, Blake and even Ozpin looked at each other the exact same way. Ruby stared at Ozpin, since she knew about Salem and that he was the one that turned her into a monster. He looked at her and he could tell from that glare she was giving him. Ozpin looked away and stared back at Whitley.

"Oh you know… killed her for us. Your sis has been helping our cause ever since the Mountains, in fact." Whitley said, and Qrow's eyes widened with horror and disbelief.

"No… No you're lying." Qrow stammered.

"Oh? Then, where is she?" Whitley asked him with his huge arms held out. Qrow stood there, and he felt his hand shake.

No… no it's a trick… a lie… please tell me…

He looked at Ruby and he saw that look of grief in her silver eye. He knew that look, she was grieving just as much as Weiss was and had that look of hate too, she hated Raven for what she did and wanted to kill her. And that was the moment that he knew… Raven betrayed them. "I wish I could have been there to see Winter die… I just wish it could have been slower. Oh, my apologies… you are her were an item, weren't you?" Whitley challenged, chuckling cruelly as he stared down at Qrow. The Branwen glared at Whitley before he transformed Harbinger back into its Scythe Form.

"No offense, Weiss – but you're brother has got to die." Qrow said, and Weiss looked at him.

"So does your sister." She told him, Whitley stood at the ready, chuckling as he readied his many weapons.

Team R.W.B.Y, Qrow and Ozpin all charged towards Whitley, whilst the rest of their army advanced on the Acolytes of Lien. The Grimm were charging straight through their defences like a flood. Kassius sprinted at the head of the army, whilst the three Maidens flew overhead, blasting their powerful gifts down from the sky. Fire and Ice obliterated the Grimm that were pouring over the barricades, freezing some of them and the heat shattered them into a thousand pieces. Yenna floated over the Acolytes of Lien and she rained hail and lightning down atop their heads, destroying one of the trucks that roared down the hill towards the army. The front left wheel of the trust exploded, shattering the bonnet and it tumbled down towards the soldiers.

Mazen slammed his fist down and engaged his semblance, crystallising his aura into that unbreakable shell that the burning wreckage of the armoured car stopped dead against, protecting the soldiers that ran with him. He burst through the broken shards of crystallised aura, and he drew his Chainsword, jumping up in the air with Kaa beside him. Neither knew that Arkaas was dead after he tried to kill Ortega and Penny for his own personal gain, and Kaa threw one of her daggers down into the chest of an Acolyte of Lien. The soldier fell to the ground, and Mazen swung his Chainsword across the throat of the second, killing him instantly.

He turned and heard the shrieks of their enemies being eaten alive by the Grimm, bodies ripped open by teeth and claws. And they just kept on coming, tramping the screaming soldiers under their weight. He saw Beringel jump out from the crowd and slam its fist down into the ground where Mazen was stood. The High Leader of the White Fang jumped up into the air, and he landed on the ground, and swung around, slashing the Chainsword across the chest of the armoured Ape Grimm. It barked with rage at him, taking some damage from the fast and sudden impact of his huge sword that cut through that armour like it was a hot knife through butter.

It went to swing its fist at him again, but he ducked under the fist and he rolled underneath its other fist, slicing the sword across its fleshy thigh. It roared in anger and pain, staggering into a limp from the attack. The Beringel roared viciously before it jumped at him, again, and Mazen swung his Chainsword and beheaded it in a single swing. The Beringel crashed to the ground behind him, and he turned, wide eyed as Cordovin charged nearby, and she jumped over the Grimm, using powerful thrusters in the legs of the Colossus.

She fired the powerful Dust Cannon down into the monsters beneath her, managing to eradicate a large amount of them in one shot with them all clustered together like that. But as she landed, she turned as the Warden shrieked a deafeningly loud metallic screech, and it charged towards her, easily scaling the many decimated buildings of Arkhonex before it jumped towards her. The huge three-legged machine landed onto her large robotic body, digging its pointed legs into the Hardlight Dust with great force, shrieking as held onto her, and started to blast powerful beams of red energy together from three conduits that came together to form one extremely powerful beam of energy.

It burned against her Hardlight Shields, and quickly broke them. Hardlight Dust could only withstand so much punishment before the Generator would be forced to recall all of the particles back to where they came from, before recharging. The Warden stabbed its legs into her armour as it held on, burning through the steel with great speed. Cordovin growled with anger and grabbed onto the Warden, she swung round with all her might and smashed it through one of the decimated towers in the city. The tower shattered into dust and the huge Warden crashed down onto the ground, writhing like a spider before getting back on top of its three legs.

Cordovin fired her cannon at it again but it was much faster, jumping out of the way, it was weaker than her Colossus was but could move much faster and could attack faster as well, which made it just as challenging to bring down as she was. Cordovin sprinted at it and fired missiles from the launcher that locks in and out from the powerful cannon. The missiles howled as they flew towards the Warden, and one of them managed to hit it, whilst the others exploded onto the ground around it due to its impressive speed. But the single explosion barely even dented it or even did anything at all, since it still jumped towards her.

But Cordovin took the chance whilst it was in the air and she uppercutted it with her massive mechanical fist, sending it crashing back down into the ground. As she fought the Warden, keeping it away from the others, Cinder flew overhead, banking around and she blasted fire down towards the Hellfire Tanks that continuously barraged the sprinting Huntsmen and Huntresses, and soldiers. As Kassius sprinted towards the main battle, he stumbled during his sprint with Jaune beside him, the shells and mortars from the Hellfire Tanks relentlessly exploded around them, killing some of the brave soldiers who ran alongside them.

The Rigs were firing too, launching so many mortars up into the sky, sending them right back down. But worse than that were the Javelin Missiles that were doing the same, shooting up at ninety degrees before diving back down towards them. The soldiers on the Rigs were all using missiles launchers on them, repeatedly bombarding them with explosives to try and stop them from getting any closer.

Cinder flew over the Acolytes of Lien like a carpet-bomber, blasting rays of fire down on them and burning some of the soldiers to embers. Kragen sprinted forward with Pyrrha sprinting alongside him, moving with great speed, and they manged to finally break through the line, thanks to the Grimm for buckling their defences. Pyrrha jumped up in the air and she held onto her shield, slamming into the first soldier that she could see. She bounced off his body and threw the discus shield, hard and it bounced back towards her hand, using her Polarity to summon it back into her grasp. She ducked down and avoiding the slash from a Seeker that shot towards her. The soldier darted forward and grabbed her by the neck, only for her to wrap her legs around his arm and twist with all her strength, breaking the arm and some of the plates of metal armour that he wore.

He fell to one knee in pain but stabbed his sword down to the ground as Pyrrha rolled off his arm, still standing to fight even with his arm broken. He drew his Submachine Gun with the very arm he drove the sword into the ground with, and he shot at her repeatedly, only for Pyrrha to call Akoúo back and block the bullets, before she threw Milo at the Seeker. He vanished into thin air, an orange glow leaked from his backpack, like always, and she turned with shock, suddenly being punched in the face by the same soldier. She tumbled across the ground and the Seeker went to charge towards her again, but Pyrrha suddenly stopped him in his armour with her Polarity. The soldier strains and she clenched her hand into a fist, crushing the backpack of the soldier, causing it to explode in a blindingly bright flash of incredible colours.

The explosion threw the soldier up in the air and he screamed, but as he was up in the air, Pyrrha slammed him down into the ground with her Polarity still gripping his armour, and the impact knocked him unconscious. She called Milo and Akoúo back, turning to see Kragen sprinting forward. He was an old man, but he was still spry as hell, sprinting at full speed towards the Acolytes of Lien and rolling across one of the soldier's backs. He landed on both feet and he swung Ebony Duchess all the way round and smashed the helmet off the head of the soldier, shattering the visor instantaneously.

He channelled the power of the silver eyes into the glyphs inscribed into the Isomacium Staff and he slammed it down into the ground, and the powerful white pulse froze the incoming Grimm to stone. He looked at Pyrrha and nodded, until the soldiers gasped as they stared at the sun.

"Sun's out with his guns out!" Sun cheered as he dropped down from the sky, launched up in the air thanks to Nora's hammer, throwing him so high that he used the sun's rays to mask his approach. He spun Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers, and he slammed it down against the ground with all his might, creating a powerful shockwave that knocked the soldiers off their feet. Sun Wukong sprinted forwards and he slammed the long staff across the side of a Tremor Trooper's head, causing him to stumble, and then he punched another soldier in the face. He slid under the Tremor Trooper's fist and he jumped up with a spin, kicking a third soldier multiple times before thrusting his foot worn with a sneaker into the skull of the soldier so hard it sent him flying.

The Tremor Trooper suddenly slammed his powerful fist into Sun's back, throwing the skilled Huntsman across the battlefield. But as he tumbled, he quickly bounced off his tail and he spun Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers before he rushed towards the Tremor Trooper and the other soldier. He jumped over the Tremor Trooper and he swung the Bo-Staff up the jaw of the other soldier, before the long weapon detached into the Gunchucks, and he relentlessly shot them over and over again into the Tremor Trooper. The shotgun shell fragments cut clean through his body, causing the Trooper to stagger back until Sun finished him off by jumping upwards and bringing his boot down the top of the soldier's head.

Sun connected Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang back together into its Bo-Staff Form, resting it over his shoulders with a cocky smirk. "Ah… just like old times." He chuckled, he turned, and his eyes widened when he saw the glowing purple energy of the one and only Glynda Goodwitch as she lifted the rubble up into the air and launched it down towards the Hellfire Tank that clambered over one of the flattened buildings. She launched the sharp chunks of rubble and they cut the Tank to pieces, blowing it apart. She turned and saw a Gunship bank round one of the buildings and it fired its many missiles at her, but she stopped all of them mid-flight with the crop. She rotated them and sent them shooting right back at the Gunship. The missiles flew directly into the Gunship and it violently ruptured into a huge plume of flames, and she kept on advancing, whilst Hazel sprinted past her and he threw his dagger straight through the chest of one of the soldiers.

He caught the fist of a Tremor Trooper who swung at him, absorbing the impact in his massive arms, glaring at him with gritted teeth. Hazel slammed his own head into the soldier's helmet, causing him to stagger back. He grabbed the soldier and punched him in the gut extremely hard, before breaking his arm with the sheer force of the second punch, ripping the Tremor Gauntlet from his forearm. He then punched the Tremor Trooper with the gauntlet, sending him flying backwards and into the wall. Hazel sighed, turning to see a furious Beowulf charging towards him, but he stopped it by grabbing the Wolven Grimm by the throat. He lifted it off the floor and proceeded to grab it by its bottom jaw and pull it downwards, ripping the jaw off, but he also peeled the front of the Beowulf's torso off like one peels an orange.

The obliterated Beowulf faded away and Hazel continued to fight both the Grimm and the Acolytes of Lien with great s peed and force, taking his Dagger back and battling as hard as he possibly could. Neptune sprinted with Trishula in its rifle form across the battlefield, making short work of the ruins of Arcturus Base in his path, jumping from chunk of concrete to chunk of concrete. He aimed down the sights and he lowered his gold goggles, firing multiple powerful rounds that nailed the Mercenaries were they stood. He turned and gasped as an Ursa Major suddenly jumped at him, slashing its claws at him. Neptune rolled out of the way, transforming Trishula from its Rifle form and into the long Trident, and he threw it towards the Ursa. The beast roared in pain and rage as it punctured clean through the thick fur and muscle.

The Ursine Grimm staggered back but it proceeded to charge towards him, and Neptune smirked as he started to use his semblance once more… the first time in a very long time as well. His blue hair crackled as the electricity channelled into his fists and as soon as the Ursa jumped at him, he grabbed Trishula and ripped it from its chest, and twirled round to uppercut the Ursa. The beast was thrown backwards from the thunderous punch, creating a bright flash that killed it instantly.

Neptune chuckled as he stood there. "Oh man… it feels good to kick some ass again." Neptune chuckled, but as he stood there, his eyes widened as one of the Rigs started to approach the area, and there were machine gunners at the very front. The gigantic vehicle was in position right in front of him, and he heard the voice of someone he knew could take that thing down.

"Neptune!" Nora called as she ran to him. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Nora asked him and his blue hair crackled and his blue eyes glowed brighter.

"Oh hell yeah." Neptune assured, making Nora grin with excitement.

"I've missed you old buddy old pal!" Nora giggled, and she sprinted past him with Magnhild in her grasp, dodging the bullets and missiles that fired directly at her. Neptune clapped his hands together, the static charge built and built, and he blasted a powerful beam of lightning into Nora. She grunted but then she grinned almost maniacally, and her pink aura glowed brighter and brighter. Just like their plan to use her nuclear strength on Fear back in the Volcanic Chain Isles – which did trigger the Chain Isles to erupt as well – she felt her body become unstoppable. She leapt up in the air, so high that she blocked out the sun, with Magnhild rested beneath her feet. She saluted them as she blasted towards them.

"SMMMMMMAAAAAAASH!" She cheered, diving down and slamming the huge hammer down to the ground, creating an almighty explosion of pink light, knocking the Rig over and killing multiple Grimm around her. As the smoke cleared, she looked back at Neptune and smiled, and he smiled back.

"Never fails." Neptune chuckled.

Neptune turned and he gasped. "Bravo Team moving in!" One of the Acolytes of the Rose soldiers called out, and the cavalry of trucks and tanks advanced, firing powerful shells towards the other Hellfire Tanks, blowing one of them up in a single shot. The allied cars and trucks drifted across the terrain, shredding the Grimm that were in their path, and one of them flattened a Creep that tried to stop it with its little head, only getting splattered across the ground in the process. Stood on top of the bonnet of one of those vehicles was Ren with his father's dagger in his grasp, staring at the Nuckelavee that was killing the Acolytes of Lien.

The truck drifted and he jumped from the bonnet and yelled with fury, since it reminded him of the Nuckelavee that killed his parents and destroyed Kuroyuri. He slashed the dagger through the neck of the Imp that screeched at him, killing it, and as he landed, the horse roared at him, only for Jaune to suddenly sprint towards it and slam his shield into the side of its head. Pyrrha also launched Akoúo into its side to stagger it, and finally Nora jumped directly at it and crushed his head with Magnhild, killing it instantly. The Horse collapsed under the sheer power of the hammer.

Coco flew overhead and she blasted ice down onto the Grimm and the Acolytes that shot up at her. She dropped down to the ground and slammed her fist against the floor with all her might. She stood tall and she held Gianduja in one hand, with Velvet, Yatsuhashi and Fox alongside her. Team C.F.V.Y sprinted towards the Acolytes of Lien and continued to clash against them. Coco swung the bag across the jaw of the soldier that swung his red sword at her face, only for his helmet to be broken instantaneously from the impact. She then kicked the same soldier up into his crotch, so hard it made him fall on both knees, crying from the pain. "Rub some ice on it, honey. You'll be as fit as a fiddle in the morning." She assured, patting his head.

Fox sprinted forward and he dropkicked the attacking Beowulf, knocking it down to the ground with great force. He jumped back onto his feet and slashed the Grimm to pieces, and then a huge burning Hellhound charged towards him, jumping directly at him. He dropped to the ground and slid underneath its fiery claws. It slid across the road and sprinted towards him again and he slashed Sharp Retribution against each other, sharpening them. The Hellhound roared with magma saliva drooling from its jaws, and he flipped the backward facing blade forward and punched it through the mouth, cutting it clean in half as it split around him. He walked forward and smirked, even blind he could still fight like every other Huntsman or Huntress.

Yatsuhashi nodded to Velvet and he threw her high in the air, she used Anesidora and she conjured Cinder's old Bow and Arrow, firing three arrows down towards the Grimm and the Acolytes of Lien, creating Hardlight Replicas of the Salem Eye spell that she would use. The explosions killed the Grimm and knocked the Acolytes onto the ground. She dove down and she slammed her fist into the ground, shifting weapon choice to Ember Celica, shattering the ground around her. She smiled through the dust and rubble, and Yatsuhashi sprinted past her.

He took Fulcrum and he slashed an Ursa clean in half with one swing, and he grabbed one of the attacking Acolytes of Lien by the neck and he threw him through one of the buildings, causing the wall to shatter. Team C.F.V.Y continued to advance through the warzone. Coco looked up and she watched as the air force roared overhead, battling against the Nevermores, Sphinxes and many other Grimm. The Acolytes of the Rose pilots performed incredible flying skills, firing their missiles and knocking the huge beasts of darkness out of the sky.

She then turned when she saw Kassius battling against the Acolytes of Lien on his own, and at first, she went to help him. But then she remembered that he was never alone, he had Hyde. Kassius launched Lash Equinox into the chest of one of the soldiers, killing him instantly, and he rolled across the back of the second that went for him, slicing his throat open with the other sword, before he fired Vulcan Nox over and over again at the attacking soldiers.

Until something massive landed behind him, he turned, and he heard the roar of the Teryx, and it went to slash its claws at him, until Kassius stopped it with his cybernetic hand. He glared at the beast as the embers floated from the fissures of fire cracked from his eyes and across his face. Hyde and Kassius, both merged as one smirked at the creature of Grimm, and Hyde pulled the Teryx down with great force, and he swung his other fist up its jaw. The Lesser Draconid staggered backwards in pain, when they grabbed the sword in the ground and sprinted towards the monster. The Teryx charged at him and snapped its jaws down at him, but Kassius slashed the sword across the heel of the beast, causing it to topple over and crash into the building. It opened its wings and flew towards him, but Kassius jumped up in the air and threw his sword, slicing the wing open and the monster crashed down into the ground.

Hyde and Kassius both sprinted towards the Teryx, and it snapped its jaws at him again, but this time Hyde used Kassius' body to catch the jaws, and he twisted with great force, snapping the neck and the bottom jaw of the Teryx off with great ease. The creature faded from existence and Hyde released control over his brother.

Kassius looked over and he saw the Witches of the Restless Marshlands also battling together, and they had some impressive skills under their belt. The Sorceress formed two swords that were forced from both ice and fire. She cut the Grimm apart with them, jumping in the air and flipping, slamming her heel down the top of a Beowulf's skull, killing it instantly. She then held her hand out to a pack of Creeps that were burrowing towards them, lifting them from the soil, and she closed her fist, crushing them into balls, snapping every bone in their body. She threw the ball of Grimm with impressive ease, killing more Grimm nearby.

The Enchantress used her magic to her advantage as well, their tattoos glows bright colours as they fought, and she blasted powerful bolts of magic from her hands. Fire, lightning and ice all came erupting from her palms, annihilating the Grimm with every single shot that she made. One of the creatures jumped towards her but she caught it by the throat and winked, suddenly using her powers to channel dark magic into its body, and she turned it into a bomb. The eyes burned hotter and hotter, and then she used her telekinetic magic to launch it like a missile towards the Acolytes of Lien that were inside of one of the Rigs, killing a lot of their soldiers with those machine guns.

The Alchemist reached into her satchel and she threw the vials of potions towards the attacking Beowulves and they shattered into a bright green explosion, and the flames consumed the Grimm and erased them into nothing more than dust. She looked up to the sky and saw a Nevermore diving down towards them. She clenched her hand into a fist and her tattoos glowed bright and suddenly a bright golden aura version of her arm extended, and she grabbed onto the wing of the beast and brought crashing down to the ground. The Nevermore was killed instantly from the impact, and with that long ethereal arm she swung round and smacked multiple Acolytes of Lien off their rigs to keep them from killing any more of their soldiers.

The Undertaker was fighting as well, swinging that huge shovel like it was a sword, and it was definitely as dangerous as a sword would be. He managed to cut down the Grimm with every single swing. He slammed his fist down to the ground, and the cold dead hands of ancient dead Arkhoni reached up from the rubble, pulling the Grimm down to the ground, burying them alive.

The seismic activity was off the charts, and Cordovin continued to battle the massive Warden that was leaping straight at her again. It dug its razor-sharp legs into her armour, but she suddenly drove her cannon up its armoured body, so hard it broke through and she lifted up it up in the air. "Die!" She yelled, firing all cylinders of the Dust Cannon into the body, blowing it apart from the inside, before letting the giant machine crash to the ground and explode with a heavy thud.

At the other end of the battlefield, Ruby slashed across the massive armoured leg of Whitley's Advanced Paladin. He grunted in pain as he fell to one knee, but he continued to fire everything he had at them all. As Ruby went to slash Crescent Rose at him once again, he took the Paladin's fist and punched her in the chest, sending the Rose flying backwards. She groaned in pain as her already weakened aura crackled… and then it broke.

But Weiss and Yang could still fight all day thanks to the cure concocted by the Witches. Yang punched Whitley in the chest, causing him to stagger backwards whilst Weiss stabbed her sword down into the ground and summoned the Arma Gigas. The huge glowing white Knight charged towards Whitley and swung the sword against the fist that punched Ruby. The arm broke apart instantly from that attack, and sparks and flames erupted from the stump. Whitley groaned inside, and then the Arma Gigas drove the sword straight through the chest of the suit, but not where Whitley's body was located.

Weiss launched herself towards the Paladin and she stabbed Myrtenaster into the chassis of the huge robot. She ripped it open with the Gravity Dust, and she pointed the sword at him inside… but this was the first time she had seen what Whitley had become. "Whitley?" She gasped, only seeing the Atlesian Knight inside that stared at her. The Arma Gigas' sword cut his mechanical arm clean off when she had it stab the Paladin in the chest.

She did not know that he had three lives left and considering that he had lost this fight – that meant he could only transfer his consciousness two more times.

But after that? He would be dead forever.

"Like Ortega's handiwork?" He asked her, and Weiss looked at him softly.

"Please… just stop this…" She begged him, but he scoffed.

"It's a little late for the loving sister bullshit, Weiss. There's no heartstrings left for you to tug on." He snarled, and Weiss squeezed her eyes shut with grief… for what he had become.

But as she held him there… the voice of a man filled their hearts with relief.

"Acolytes of Lien Forces… stand down." Ortega commanded from the Bridge of the Drift of Wandering Star.


Ortega


He stood there, back where he belonged, with his hand still holding Penny's Microchip. The soldiers all stood down and all the Operatives were… more than happy to transmit his commands for him. They never respected Kelham, but they always had a lot of respect for their true admiral.

"This is Admiral Darren Ortega. There does not need to be any further conflict. The man who took you all from my command – Kelham – has abandoned you. He fled from the Drift of Wandering Star for his own selfish ambitions. I will stop him, I promise you all that, but first I want to make sure that this conflict ends here and now. I do not want to have to watch what is left of you die." Ortega explained as he stood there, looking at Penny's Microchip.

"When all this started, Jacques Schnee offered me a deal I could not refuse. Those of you who were with me back then would remember how severely bankrupted the company was… and we were facing collapse. He gave me a way out, and for a long time… for far too long… I believed that I owed him everything. So I followed his orders, even when I knew that his campaign was dealing with something far more dangerous than we have ever known. I was a coward for not seeing the dark truth of it sooner… that and a man made me a promise. A promise he still intends to make good on – but that is not what this is about. This is because I do not want this needless conflict to continue!" Ortega spoke proudly, no longer having to lie after working with Jacques Schnee for so long.

"Ruby Rose is a leader I would follow to the ends of the Earth. I always respected her, even when we were enemies, and even after everything that has been thrown at her. All the suffering she has endured – she has pushed forward. She has never given up hope, she has always fought to protect what is right. And if you ask me that is more than enough reason to follow someone into hell. I do not ask any of you, who once followed Kelham, to follow us there too. That is your choice – you can join us, or you can leave this conflict behind and return to a peaceful life." Ortega explained.

He stared down at them.

"But there will be no more conflict. No More." He told them all.

The soldiers down below all looked at each other as the conflict came to an end, all the Acolytes of the Rose and the White Fang kept their weapons on them, the Maidens floated in the air, and Cordovin stood atop the wreckage of the Warden. The Acolytes of Lien all looked at each other as they heard what Ortega said.

And they knew…

… it was over.

They dropped their weapons on the floor and they surrendered, every single one of them. Ortega smiled as he saw the cameras of all the soldiers standing down now that the Acolytes of the Rose had the Drift of Wandering Star back under their control.

Everything was aces for them…

… until…

Seismic Activity Alert!

Seismic Activity Alert!

Leviathan-Class Entity Detected!

Leviathan-Class Entity Detected!


Ruby


Ruby knew that something was waking up, because the tremors were constant now. She looked around with disbelief as she saw the ground shaking at terrifying levels, and all the buildings around them started to collapse. "What the hell is happening?" Yang stammered, and Ozpin looked at the distance and his eyes widened.

"By the gods…" He gasped, and Qrow turned beside him, and he looked just as shocked. Team R.W.B.Y stood together by the truck that was parked next to them, and they watched as Old Town… began to move. It was like the ground was slivering, and buildings began to rise off the ground. That's when they saw the gigantic white bony plates of armour emerge from underground. And the gigantic Creature of Grimm emerged from underneath the Grimm Infested District, and it had to have been at least two hundred and fifty meters long. It was shaped like a giant serpent, but it could fly, with many small fins instead of wings, it was like it defied gravity.

It was armoured from head to tail, completely covered, practically untouchable by the looks of it, and it flew across the sky, dropping massive buildings from the armour as it woke. It had four massive mandibles in front of its huge jaws filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. It roared so loud that it made them cover their ears, and it turned towards Arcturus Base, moving directly at them with glowing red markings across its entire body. Its shadow smothered the land, and Ruby watched with her silver eye bulging.

"What the hell is that thing?" Yang gasped.

"It's the biggest Grimm to date… it's a Leviathan-Class… but bigger than any Leviathan-Class Grimm we have ever seen before." Ozpin said, the team looked at Ozpin and even he had never seen a Grimm like this before. The massive Grimm was headed straight for them.

"It's like a damn Reaper of Death." Qrow said, and Ruby scoffed.

"Reaper… that's a damn good name for it." Ruby said as she looked at Crescent Rose. Weapons won't do a damn thing against a Grimm that size. How the hell do we take this thing down?

Ruby looked up at the Drift of Wandering Star and the twenty-three other Dreadnaughts that were in the sky, all armed to the teeth. She immediately grabbed her Scroll and contacted Ortega. "Do you see this thing, Ortega?" Ruby asked him.

"Yep… kinda wish I hadn't." Ortega answered as he watched the Leviathan-Class Grimm flying towards Arcturus Base, and even from all the way up there the Grimm looked utterly gigantic.

"I have an idea; your ships could kill this thing if we shoot it enough. It must have a weak spot. We just have to find it." Ruby explained as she watched the giant float through the sky, moving like a snake would slither.

"Okay… how the hell do we find it?" Ortega asked.

"I will. I'm gonna lure the Leviathan away from Arcturus base, the rest of you get everyone into the Embered Grove. Every single soldier, everything we have. I guess we will have to test the legend of that place… if the Grimm really can't get inside." Ruby explained as she stood there.

"No." Weiss sharply said, Ruby turned and saw her Team stood beside her. "We will lure it off." She corrected.

Ruby smiled, seeing Weiss, Blake and Yang stood by her side once more… it was just like old times.

"Are you with me, Ortega?" Ruby asked him.

"You've got it, General." Ortega assured from above, Ruby let out a shaky sigh and she stared at the Reaper as it moved closer and closer.

"Come on!" Weiss called as she jumped into the driver seat. Yang and Blake sat down in the other seats.

"I guess we now know what was luring the Grimm here ever since Arkhonex fell…" Ruby said, she turned and saw Qrow walk over to her. He held her shoulders gently as he looked at her.

"Please… be careful, kiddo." He begged, and Ruby smiled, sweetly kissing his cheek.

"Don't worry… dad… it'll be fine. Just make sure everyone gets inside of the Embered Grove. We'll take care of the Reaper." Ruby assured, and Qrow nodded, running with Ozpin to get back to the rest of their Army. Ruby jumped onto the back of the truck, holding onto the mounted Machine Gun.

"Uh… how are you gonna get it's attention?" Yang nervously asked, but Ruby took off her Eyepatch as she stared at the Reaper.

"Like this." She answered, blasting the Silver Eyes at the Reaper. It snarled and turned, sensing the presence of a Silver Eyed Warrior, her gaze did nothing to a Grimm that size, but she knew it wouldn't. All that was meant to do was get its attention.

"That worked!" Blake yelped.

"Drive!" Ruby begged, and Weiss slammed her foot down against the pedal, and the Reaper was directly behind them, roaring so loud it echoed across all of Arkhonex. Whitley stared at the Reaper and he gasped as it moved directly towards him, and its deathly jaws opened up, channelling dark red energy through its teeth.

It brought them down, and completely obliterated his Advanced Paladin, shattering the body and Whitley's Atlesian Knight in the process.

Now Whitley only had two lives left.


Author Note - The Reaper has been unleashed!

God I love this thing's design, easily the biggest Grimm in the series, makes the Kraken back in Act 2 like tiny, and it is also one of the most dangerous as well due to how huge, armoured and simply how devastating its damage can be.

The Acolytes of Lien are finally over, we may still have the ones back in Atlas with Jacques... but they are now all back with Ortega, and Ortega is on their side. It has been a long time coming but now the Mercenaries are no longer the enemies. And Penny is alive! Just. She was very lucky that Kelham's last bullet did not hit her Microchip, but her body we all knew and loved is no longer with us.

Whitley has lost one life, which means he can only transfer his consciousness into two more bodies. Kelham is now the last of Jacques' people in Arkhonex.

And he needs to pay for what he did.

God this was another awesome chapter to write, so epic with everyone fighting together and showing the Acolytes of Lien's story as the enemy coming to an epic end.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!

Stay tuned for the next chapter - Leviathan-Class

- Matt