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Chapter 38: The Bravest Kingdom

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The lower city of Mantle spread out beneath the massive hovering H-Shaped corporate headquarters. A sea of dimly lit orange lights among an urban jungle of greyish colored boxes. The view from Helios was actually somewhat melancholy. Mantle was dark and dimly lit, smoke and smog emanated from the various heating elements that kept the poorer neighborhood warm and livable in the arctic regions this far north. In the skies above, the shining city, adorned in silver and white, Atlas stood out. It shined like a beacon of hope and broadly stood as the true power in the northern realms. Something was going on. General Ironwood had deployed numerous battleships and multiple airships to surround Atlas itself, the large Atlas Academy and military base prominently in the center of all of it.

"Whoa... We're in Atlas!", Ruby exclaimed, taking in all the sights. She was amazed at the sight of the flying bastion of hope.

"Look, but don't touch. Atlas is a military-focused dictatorship. It looks pretty from here, but inside it's nothing but a vodka-scented hellhole.", Weiss noted. Ruby seemed to slouch slightly.

"Mantle is where all of the impoverished live. After the war, the people needed some kind of hope. Atlas was supposed to provide that. Maybe they did, but the majority of the working class lives down there; beneath a steel sky.", Blake mused.

"Why are there so many airships?", Ren asked to nobody in particular.

"There's some kind of embargo, kiddo. Atlas has Jacques' balls in a vice and is preventing any of Schnee Dust's Dust out of the kingdom. He put a ban on the sale of firearms outside of the kingdom and has yet to assist Leonardo Lionheart with the attack on the gourmet pancake factory back in Haven.", Handsome Jaune stated, he'd gone over some of the finer details of Atlas' politics with TARCNN earlier; best to know what he was up against.

"Right. We've finally made it to Atlas. First thing we should do is go and find James- General Ironwood. McDiarmid and his rag-tag bunch of misfits told us back in Haven to get here and find him. Second, we need to make sure the Relic is safe and sound and secure it in any way we can.", Qrow announced.

"I think we should be more concerned with why there are city-wide sirens blaring right now. Perhaps there's an attack?", Ozcar noted, he'd heard the sirens as soon as Helios had begun to descend towards its docking station in the Hyperion-owned town of Opportunity.

"It's nothing to worry about. It's probably just a proximity alarm. Helios is massive.", Jaune nonchalantly disregarded.

"Hm. If you say so. Considering your recent actions, I'd prepare for combat.", Ozcar noted.

Handsome Jaune shrugged. Alarms and stuff and whatever. It didn't really matter to him one way or another. He had the Eye of Helios and a Maiden. Atlas had a silly flying city and a bunch of Ace-Holes that thought they were big shit. Ozpin was being Ozpin again. He gave up listening to his friends and colleagues bicker and take in the sights and began to initiate the landing procedure for Helios. The flying-H had finally reached its destination, slowly but surely, and was ready to land for refueling. He pressed a few buttons on the control pad next to him and started to dock. Today was going to be an interesting day.

X

The Ace-Ops jumped from rooftop to rooftop, taking pride in their synchrony and using each-other's abilities to swiftly approach Opportunity, the Hyperion-owned town. Vine briefly saw some kind of hideous purple and orange truck approaching from the western side of town, but ignored it. It was probably just some kind of ridiculous delivery. The operatives had been warned that Jaune Arc was a bit peculiar and could be considered a bit 'off' at times. Despite what Agent Carolina had told them, General Ironwood himself had assured them that Jaune Arc was a normal, albeit odd, person.

Harriet dodged gracefully through the gates of Opportunity, a large land bridge of shining metal preceded the shining city. Opportunity had been built in Atlas' image, but with a more modern style. Multiple silver-colored buildings with angular geometric shapes dotted the frozen tundra. The entire city was using refined Dust, or Eridium as Hyperion had called it, as a fuel source for their heating. Tassiter Arc had refused to allow Atlas to use any of their refined Dust based technology until their freedom had been allowed; it had set the entire kingdom back several decades with the absence of new technology. There were many uses for what Hyperion had created.

Elm jumped around a large Hyperion Constructor, it was placing a new statue in the courtyard of Opportunity. This statue depicted the athlete Pyrrha Nikos obtaining the power of a Maiden, shining silver flames emanating off of her brow as she stood in a power-stance. Another statue showed Jaune Arc himself holding a nondescript Relic and a baby. One more beyond that statue showed Jaune Arc holding up a book in one hand and the Four Maidens in his other.

Marrow and Clover rounded the corner into the central courtyard to behold statues of both Jaune Arc and the presumed-dead Pyrrha Nikos locked into combat against multiple Grimm. The looked heroic in their frozen forms and exuded magnificence that couldn't be matched by any civilians. Jaune Arc had gone out of his way to paint a particular portrait and it showed.

High above the Ace-Ops, Helios began its docking procedure with Opportunity. The massive H-shaped structure came to a halt and turned, the front side of the building facing the city of Atlas, no doubt due to the new weapon they had demonstrated a few weeks ago. Better safe than sorry. The docking pad sent up multiple tethers and hoses, presumably to allow the station to refuel and anchor itself to the ground. A few moments later, all was still. Helios was docked and the Ace-Ops were ready to enter the docking station itself. The four of them looked at each-other and proceeded into the station, they readied their weapons just in case Agent Carolina was correct.

X

Inside Helios, Handsome Jaune and his teammates and friends had headed downstairs into the Hall of Heroism, the official lobby and main hall of the massive structure. The Hall of Heroism depicted various tapestries embroidered with scenes from Hyperion's history. All of the tapestries once showed Tassiter Arc, but now they were redesigned with Jaune's image instead. They painted the blond-haired gunslinger as a hero alongside Pyrrha Nikos, a few vague shapes in the background of each image represented the others.

Jaune had been busy as it seemed. While everyone else was either exploring the Vault of the Emperor or taking in the sights of Atlas, he was busy instructing TARCNN to redecorate the entire corporation and erase his own father from the records. The largely circular hall was now primarily gold and crimson, instead of bronze and brown and a large statue of Jaune and Pyrrha stood in the center, the two Huntsmen standing back to back in a combat pose. A smaller desk nearby had a single 'clapper' robot behind it acting as a receptionist.

"Hellooooo travelers! Oh, Mr. Arc, you have some visitors outside of the front door. Shall I let them in?", the tiny square robot announced.

"Yeah sure. Go ahead... Prep defenses while you're at it.", Jaune commanded.

Pyrrha and the rest of Team JNPR turned towards Jaune. Was he expecting some kind of trouble? The red-haired spartan wanted to ask the receptionist-robot what was outside, but kept silent for now. She just turned towards her teammates and friends on Team RWBY and gave them a slight nod; be ready for anything, but don't do anything stupid.

X

The Ace Ops stood ready and at attention. They had finally walked up the 37 flights of stairs to the entrance of the main hall of Helios. Apparently, the elevator was out of order for 'brake failure' or something. One of the small square Hyperion robots had explained that they could still use the elevator, but once the elevator stopped, they wouldn't. Helios had rocket-propelled elevators designed by Merlot Industries that were prone to failure like this. Clover valued not being smashed into the ceiling at terminal velocity and had decided to simply use the stairs instead, such luxuries such as elevators, escalators and bidets were meant for the ignorant.

Upon finally reaching the entrance to the so-called Hall of Heroism, the Ace Ops were presented with a massive door with an 'H' emblazoned onto it. A small doorbell button sat to the right of the overly decorative door depicting, once again, Handsome Jaune in some kind of victory pose. Marrow excitedly ran up and pressed the button.

"Ding! Heya, Kiddos! Handsome Jaune here, welcome to Helios!", the door buzzer announced.

"Ooh! I wonder what else it says!", Marrow exclaimed and hit the button again.

"Did you know that your chances of being disemboweled horribly by Grimm increases almost eight-thousand percent outside of Titania? It's a scientific fact! Trust Hyperion and trust Handsome Jaune!", the door buzzer stated.

Marrow pressed the button again, hoping for another fun-fact from Hyperion.

"Do you know what your mommy and daddy paid to live in Opportunity? Nothing! You're all being paid to live here by Handsome Jaune! Remember to thank General Ironwood for this chance at freedom, but don't forget you're all here due to me, Handsome Jaune!", the door buzzer stated again.

Marrow went to press the button again, but his hand was slapped away by Harriet, who had grown tired of the Hyperion-Doorbell Propaganda. Handsome Jaune had some deep seated issues that everyone was now aware of. General Ironwood was correct when he mentioned that Jaune Arc was a bit 'off'.

Elm broke the awkward silence. "Well, we're here. Better be ready for anything! Get your gifts ready and let's give Jaune Arc and his friends a warm welcome to Atlas!"

X

Meanwhile... Back in the Atlas Academy... General Ironwood paced around his office. Team VRML had been retrieved from the pub in Mantle where they had been staying and enjoying the time off. Undoubtedly, they had expected Ironwood to contact them, they just didn't know when. So, in the meantime they had decided to get drunk and reminisce about the times of yore. As it was right now, the entire team stood at attention, or as much attention as they could give, in Ironwood's office.

"You have some things to report, Team VRML. I'd like to hear what you've discovered.", Ironwood stated.

"Indeed. The Relic from Haven is safe, as safe as it's ever going to be, Qrow has that covered. Pyrrha Nikos lives, as far as we can tell, since she was just standing around next to Jaune Arc... She is also a Maiden, so that's one less we need to try and find... Everything is going according to your plan.", Clarkson McDiarmid reassured.

"I'm not certain anymore. There has been a change in plans, as of late. Perhaps the world shouldn't know what we're up against just yet..."

"Really? I thought we were trying to secure the Relics, make sure the Maidens are on our side of things and prepare to tell the world about the 'White Witch'. We have found two of the Maidens and know of the locations of all of the Relics. Why not tell the people what we're up against? You told us and we're more than for this."

"No. A... A little birdie told me... 'Those who feed on carrion, shall feast for a fortnight' if we continue down the path I've made. I know it sounds like insanity, but... I have my reasons for changing our plans...", Ironwood stuttered. He knew who he was addressing, and he'd known those people for many long years, but tensions were so high and he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

"Cryptic as usual, Clarkson... We did what we were supposed to do. We found Qrow and located the Maiden and Relic...", Risha complained.

"I know it may be cryptic. You have to trust my judgment here. Things are in motion beyond our control. I need to know what Jaune Arc and his companions know before we continue. They were the first onsite as far as the attack on Haven goes. They even managed to defend Argus from the threat of Grimm invaders.", Ironwood noted.

"I'm fairly certain Arc and friends know what's going on. They know of the Maidens and Relics. No doubt they are aware of the 'White Witch' as well...", McDiarmid assured.

"They may know... I'm not sure of their motives, however. Agent Carolina tells me that Jaune Arc is a deranged psychopath. Winter Schnee tells me that Qrow is a stumbling drunkard with no short-term memory. We need to be absolutely sure of what their motives are and if they plan on betraying us. We must speak to Arc's teammates.", Ironwood pondered. He wasn't wrong.

"Pfft. Fine, James, ask their friends. You'll just be meeting a bunch of rowdy teenagers who won't know what to say to you given your place of power here. They'll say anything to cover their asses when it's their heads on the chopping block!", Liana goaded. She wasn't wrong either. Team RWBY wasn't even sure whose side they were on right now. There were too many sides to consider at the moment.

"Hmm. Valkyrie, do you have anything to add?", Ironwood asked.

"No sir. I'm afraid the proverbial 'excrement has hit the rotor'.", Tonar Valkyrie stated.

"I'm not sure it's that bad yet. Keep being my eyes and ears for now. You're all Black-Ops agents starting immediately. Deep cover, more than the Ace Ops now. Do what you feel is right and report back to me.", Ironwood stated.

Team VRML stared at each-other before walking out of Ironwood's office. James Ironwood seemed overly stressed out about something going on. Something was going on and nobody could place it. The phrase he'd used to describe the situation though, was one used by the 'Mad King', and all of Team VRML knew who that was and what would eventually follow if he was right.

X

Back in Helios, the massive H-shaped door opened allowing both Team RWBYJNPRROQ and the Ace-Ops to meet. Handsome Jaune stood ready and hopeful for their meeting; Clover Ebi was the first to take a foot forwards.

"Welcome to the Greatest Kingdom, the Kingdom of Atlas. We are the Ace Ops and we warmly welcome you to our great kingdom. I am Clover Ebi, the leader of the Ace Ops."

"Nice to meet you in person. I've heard so much about you...", Jaune mused.

"Of course, we bring gifts and wish that you will contribute to the Kingdom in many ways..."

Jaune turned to his teammates for a moment, he was right again. The Ace Ops had brought gift baskets and party hats for the momentous moment of welcoming. Qrow and Ozcar just stood silently in disbelief.

"Of course, why wouldn't we? We're the newly crowned Kingdom of Titania within the greater Kingdom of Atlas. I can guarantee you, that Hyperion and Titania will be providing the highest levels of support for our fatherland.", Jaune stated. The Ace-Ops seemed to relax for a moment.

"As it should be. Let me introduce my team: Over here is Marrow Amin; a Faunus and another trusted associate of mine. He's new to the Ace-Ops, but is highly skilled where it counts.", Clover introduced. Marrow waved to the younger group.

"Next up is Elm Ederne, our heavy support. Don't be afraid of her stature, she has a heart of gold. The shorter one next to her is Harriet Bree, she's the fastest fighter of our team. I'm sure you've already met Vine Zeki, he's our specialist. Unlike yourselves, we didn't go to the academy together; we were handpicked from the elite by General Ironwood himself. The best of the best...", Clover continued.

"Great to meet all of you. I'm sure we don't need any introductions, though. You've already got my file and know of all of my teammates and friends from their transcripts. I'm glad we're going to be working together, Clover.", Handsome Jaune noted. He wasn't wrong, the Ace-Ops and General Ironwood were already aware of who Jaune had come along with.

"Well then, since introductions are taken care of, perhaps you'd accompany us to see the General himself. He has requested a personal audience with you.", Clover announced. Jaune and friends didn't hesitate, they needed to speak with the General and this was their chance to do exactly that. An expressway to see the head of state.

Soon, the two teams of Titania Huntsmen and Ace-Ops departed from Helios. They had called upon one of the official Atlas transport ships and had climbed aboard. General Ironwood awaited them. From the viewports on the airship, both teams could see a few other Huntsmen far down below getting out of a hideous purple and orange monster-truck. Jaune couldn't see who they were, but it wasn't like it mattered much. They were one step closer to the end of their mission. If anything ever threatened either Atlas of Titania, then Jaune knew exactly what to use.


Chapter End. Handsome Jaune meets the Ace-Ops. More to come.