Here we are at Chapter 109 and the start of volume 7. I'm going to try and get this story to the end of this volume before volume 8 begins, but we'll see how that goes. Time to see how the gang will do as they finally arrive in Atlas. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 109. Enjoy.
Chapter 109: Kingdom in the Skies
The gang fly their airship through the skies around the Kingdom of Atlas, watching the entire Atlas air fleet maintain a blockade around the kingdom, while the smaller airships fly all around them.
"Manta 5-1. Welcome home," they hear over the comms from a female officer. "Please maintain your current course and prepare for landing at Atlas docking bay Omega 12. A security team will meet you there. Over," the female officer says.
"Crap, well we can't just show up in STOLEN Atlas airship at that docking bay. We'll be arrested on the spot," Khazhak notes.
"I don't understand. What's happening here?" Ruby asks as they look around.
"I don't know," Qrow replies.
"What's happening here is it looks like Ironwood has gone off the deep end. First the Dust embargo, then the closing of borders... and now this," Edom says.
"But, we are HERE, right? We got the lamp to Atlas, so we just land and get some answers, right?" Jaune asks.
"Haven't you been listening? We're not on military payroll. What we are is in possession of stolen military property, trespassing, and vigilante bull-crap," Porphyrius notes, crossing his arms.
"He's right. I don't think it's that simple. I've never seen our forces deployed so aggressively before," Weiss says as she looks out the window. "The security team won't let us anywhere near Ironwood, even if we tell them who we are," she says.
"Which means we can't just walk in the front door," Voshkie'ahk adds.
"First, you humans make a kingdom along the side of a mountain, and now one in the sky. I don't know whether to be impressed, or insulted," Bahamut.
"Brother, we have more important things to worry about right now... Even if it does irritate me that they would encroach on MY skies," Tiamat adds.
"And if they find out who I am, they may and try and take me back to my father," Weiss laments.
"Over my dead body," Edom mutters.
"Wait, I have an idea. Maybe I could try and call Winter. Maria, put some distance between us and the fleet," Weiss says as she takes out her scroll.
"Roger that," Maria says.
Shifting the stick, she veers the airship away from Atlas and towards the ground below, to the former kingdom of Mantle. Flying overhead, the group get a better look at the city, seeing it being so desolate and almost... depressing. The streets are dirty, the workers coming from the mines are filthy, and everyone looks so... sad.
"Home sweet home," Porphyrius begrudgingly says.
"Porphyrius, you're from Mantle, right?" Blake asks.
"Yeah, born and raised, until my parents were killed. This place has been nothing but Hell for me. It makes me sick every I see it. All-the-while, the rich and powerful live it up in the skies, trampling on the backs of the poor. Just like Ironwood and Jacques Schnee," Porphyrius says.
"Hey, look who it is," Khazhak points out.
They look to see a big, tall screen of a recording of Ironwood on one of the buildings near them. His appearance has changed much. He now has a full grown black beard on his face, and his hair is more disheveled. He is wearing a dark-blue collared shirt and red tie, along with a white coat with blue and red accents. He is also wearing a white vest over the collared shirt, with two dark-blue belts, with one across his chest, and the other around his waist. He is also wearing blue pants and boots.
"...Many describe these as uncertain times, and while that may be the case for the rest of the world, I can tell you what is certain. The Kingdom of Atlas will remain strong, and it will remain safe. That is MY promise to you," the recording says.
"General Ironwood. He looks..." Yang trails off.
"Tired," Ruby finishes.
"James, what have you been doing?" Qrow asks himself.
"Nothing good, in my experience," Khazhak says.
"Are you sure it is wise to try and find Ironwood in this state?" Bahamut asks.
"Honestly, I'd rather we have nothing to do with him, but we don't have much of a choice. Beacon is still infested with Grimm, Haven's compromised, and Shade is in Vacuo, the crime capital of the world; leaving only Atlas as our one safe option. We need to get the Relic to Ironwood in order to keep it safe," Khazhak mentally replies.
They get a closer look at the city, seeing Atlas robot soldiers and drones throughout the city, and none of the civilians are quick to wave at them in appreciation.
"This isn't right, none of it is," Weiss sadly notes.
"I agree, but unfortunately, this is what has become of our home, Weiss," Edom says.
"...Manta 5-1, we noticed a detour in your route. You are to make your way to docking bay Omega 12 immediately. Do you copy? Over," the female officer calls out.
"We're running out of time. We need to ditch this ship and disappear in Mantle for a little while until we can figure out what to do next," Khazhak says.
"I second that notion," Lloyd says.
"Guys, I'm telling you. I know that my sister can take us to Ironwood," Weiss says.
Porphyrius looks out the side window, "... I wouldn't be too sure about that, Weiss," he says, pointing out the window.
Weiss steps up to see a recording on one of the big screens, this time showing her sister, Winter Schnee, also with a new look. She is now wearing a white, collared undershirt, a necktie connecting to her brooch, and a girdle underneath the lapels of her coat. She is wearing navy blue gloves and pants, and has a Dust pouch around her waist.
"A reminder: failure to cooperate with Atlas military personnel is a punishable offense..." the recording of Winter goes on.
"Winter?" Weiss mutters, shocked by the change she sees in her older sister.
"Why am I not surprised. Winter has always been Ironwood's lapdog. No wonder she would be fine with all of this," Khazhak notes, crossing his arms.
"Sorry Weiss, but we should probably avoid your sister for the time being," Voshkie'ahk notes.
"There's obviously something VERY wrong. If we can just talk to her-," Weiss defends her sister.
"Look, I'm not even sure we should be talking to Ironwood right now. Not until we know exactly what's going on around here," Qrow stops her.
"He's right. We need more information before making any rash decisions," Khazhak says.
"Listen up people, I know some who can help with our little dilemma," Maria say.
"...Manta 5-1, you are to-," the comms come back on before Maria turns them off.
"Geez lady, take a hint," Maria says and moves the ship lower to the city.
After finding a spot to ditch the airship, the group make their way onto the city streets, following Maria at the head of the group. Khazhak moves his tattered cloak around to cover his dragon arm, so as not to raise suspicion since they need to remain on the down low. As they move through the city, they see the people going about their business, though, they can feel the melancholy in the air.
"Come on, it's this way," Maria says.
"They've got a lot of troops here. More than usual. That's not normal," Edom notes.
As they move, a hovering drone comes by and focuses on them, causing Lloyd to stare at it. The drone then takes his picture, making him flinch before he growls and then smashes the drone into the ground, shattering it.
"Yeah, maybe we should pick up the pace," Khazhak notes.
"You have to remember: the kingdom of Mantle had lost the Great War. The people needed a sign of a new, better, future. And that sign was Atlas. After all, a home in the clouds is about as bright as it gets," Maria explains.
They stop by an intersection, watching a truck drive by with mine workers, human and Faunus, in the back, covered in dirt and looking sad.
"It's only bright for the people rich enough to get a seat in it. Not so bright for everyone else," Porphyrius notes, crossing his arms.
"Welcome to the reality of Atlas and Mantle. Just down here, the crap is plain as day to see," Lloyd notes.
"Yeah?" they hear and look back to see a drunk man approach them a flask in his hands. "You don't like it here? Well, there's plenty of space out in the tundra," the drunk man argues.
"Maybe they should send you there," Porphyrius notes.
"Atlas it the greatest kingdom that ever lived!" the drunk man yells.
"Hey-," Ruby begins before Blake stops her.
"We can't cause a seen," Blake stops her.
A second man on the steps, drunk like his friend, speaks up, "The Dust embargo has us all on edge right now, but it'll blow over," the man says.
"We try and help the other kingdoms and this is how they thank us? I say let them rot!" the drunk man says.
"If I were you, I'd shut up right about now. With how Atlas looks down on the rest of the world, Faunus especially, you're damn right they don't like you," Porphyrius says.
"Porphyrius, don't," Blake says.
"Stupid Faunus like your friend there wouldn't-," the drunk man begins, before Porphyrius uses his semblance to push the man with a gravity pulse, right into the dumpster behind him.
Everyone looks to him, "He had it coming," Porphyrius says before they suddenly bolt when a few Atlas robots show up to check the scene.
After ditching the idiots and the military trash cans, the group follow Maria to one building with a bunch of posters of a woman with short blonde hair in a ponytail with the words "Protect Mantle" on them. Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk focus on the posters, with Khazhak narrowing his eyes at the posters for a moment.
"Khazhak, isn't that..." Voshkie'ahk mutters.
"Yeah, it's her... Not surprised considering she put every ounce of her time to this place instead of somewhere else," Khazhak mutters back, clenching his fist in slight rage.
Just then, the front door of the building opens up, with a female Faunus with a prosthetic left arm walking out, smiling as she happily waves to whoever is inside.
"And no more heavy lifting, you here," they hear a jolly male voice from inside.
Maria nods to the door and walks inside, "Ah, it's good to see you again, old friend," she greets the man inside, who is behind a desk with some piles of papers on it. "Ahem," she calls out.
An elderly man with dark skin appears from behind the desk, wearing a green cap and oval-shaped glasses. He is wearing a red vest over a cream shirt with a pink bowtie, dark mustard pants and leather boots. Finally, he has balding white hair. The man stares at Maria standing in front of his desk, before smiling.
"Ah, yes, yes," he says, moving some papers out of the way. "Have we met?" he asks, not remembering her.
"Well, this meeting is off to a great start," Ren jokes flatly as the rest of the group come inside.
"Cybernetic optical implants. You adjust them, every ten years or so," Maria says.
The man stares at her intently before he finally remembers who she is, "...MARIA! Yes, with the cybernetic optical implants," he says, moving around the desk to show he's in a wheelchair that has four legs instead of wheels for motion. "My apologies for not remembering right away. Has it been that long already, old friend?" he asks as he takes her hand and they walk over to a long seat you would see for patients in a doctor's office.
"Hah, I know, I age like a fine wine. Would've been here sooner if I hadn't run into these crazy kids. At the time, I thought they... might need my guidance while fighting off a Sphinx," Maria says as he helps her onto the seat.
"Oh, did they?" he asks.
"Oh no, they had much more complicated issues. However, you remember that friend of mine I told you about. The one that helped get me here, Celadon Kazeryu?" Maria asks.
"Oh, yes, I remember him vaguely. It's been a long time since I heard you mention that name," the man notes, stroking his bearded chin.
"Well, two of these kids are his grandchildren, and they sure have come a long way. I know he would be proud of them," Maria notes as she looks at Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk.
The man looks at them, "You don't say. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, all of you in fact," the man greets them.
Qrow fake coughs to get their attention, "And THIS is..." he gestures to the old man.
"Hah, so impatient. I didn't think I'd need to introduce one of Atlas' finest minds," Maria says.
"And yet, he works here?" Voshkie'ahk asks, just in time for a piece of the ceiling to fall down and hit the floor near them.
"He likes to keep a low profile. Something, I've come to realize, none of you know ANYTHING about," Maria says.
"You may call me Pietro," Pietro introduces himself.
"Finest heart, too. This pharmacy is just where he volunteers when he's not 'building the future of Atlas', alongside Ironwood up in the clouds," Maria explains.
"Oh, it's stuffy up there. Down here, I can help the locals out, and have a little fun while doing so. I'm, uh, currently working on shoes that can make you dance. You, uh, want to try them on?" Pietro asks.
"Maybe another time," Voshkie'ahk says.
"But, before we talk about that, we were wondering if you could help us. We came to Atlas hoping to talk to General Ironwood, but-," Yang begins.
"What exactly has been happening here?" Blake asks for her.
Pietro coughs roughly for a second before speaking, "The Fall of Beacon... took a toll on all of us. Jame was no different. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was he saw there, but it changed him. He's..." Pietro explains.
"He's scared," Qrow says.
"Paranoid would be the more appropriate term. You have to understand, it wasn't just the Grimm. Someone completely dismantled Atlas security code, made it their plaything, and made us look like traitors to some and buffoons to everyone else. Whoever managed to do that is either a genius or... one of our own," Pietro explains.
"Considering how much the world hated Atlas, even before the Fall of Beacon, I wouldn't be surprised if someone from the inside with knowledge of that stuff would stab you all in the back," Lloyd notes.
"You may be right; it could very well be both. And the General believes it so as well," Pietro adds.
"...Maybe Atlas isn't as safe as we first thought," Ren says.
"It's never been safe, except to the rich who walk on everyone else here," Khazhak says.
"But, we came all this way. We can't just leave... can we?" Oscar asks, worried.
"What about the council? What's their opinion on all of this?" Edom asks.
"Or Winter Schnee? Do you know anything about her?" Weiss adds.
"Well, the council's so scared that they'll let Ironwood do just about anything he wants, though some representatives of Mantle aren't so keen on going along with him... Wait, you're Weiss Schnee," Pietro realizes, making Weiss back nervously.
"Wait, what did you say about Mantle?" Yang asks, trying to distract him.
Pietro stares at her prosthetic arm, "You... painted it?" he asks about the arm.
"Okay, what's going on here?" Khazhak asks.
Pietro looks at them, "You girls are... Team RWBY. And I guess that would make you boys there... Team KEPL," he realizes.
"Wait, how do you know about us?" Porphyrius asks, getting defensive.
"It's okay, my boy. I do know about you, all of you in fact. I'm just sorry that I feel like such a fool for not recognizing you all sooner. My daughter has told me so much about you," Pietro explains.
This further confuses them, "You're... daughter?" Ruby asks.
Just then sirens start going off across the city. They look out the door to see civilians panicking and running away. They run outside, seeing red lights cascading the city as they hit the streets. Feeling trouble looming in, the group all take out their weapons, though Khazhak keeps his dragon arm hidden under his cloak still, and Blake is forced to keep her weapon in its pistol form since the blade itself is still broken from her previous fight with Adam Taurus.
"I guess the city defenses aren't doing so well," Oscar notes.
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Nora notes dryly.
"What else is new? Atlas may be safe, but Mantle is left to fend for itself, like always," Porphyrius adds.
They look ahead as they hear some roaring beyond, seeing several Atlas robots firing off in one direction, only for each one to get taken out by Sabres, Sabertooth tiger-like Grimm, before they charge down the street towards them.
"Well, we didn't come this far to give up now," Ruby says, aiming her scythe at them.
"Team KEPL, take them out!" Khazhak orders and charges ahead, with his teammates doing the same.
Yang and Ren race with them while Nora uses Jaune's shield as a spring-board and launches off of him. Khazhak slices through one Grimm, followed by Edom and Porphyrius slashing their way through two more. Yang punches one into the air while Ren stabs his blades into another's skull, and Lloyd lets one get close before smashing his steel foot onto its skull and into the ground. Jaune swings his sword, killing one as it runs by, and then uses his shield to block a second that tries to pounce on him before stabbing it in the throat and throwing it off. Qrow spins around, swinging his blade through two Sabres, followed by turning it into its scythe form and twirling it around as a third comes close, slicing it in half. He then punches a fourth into the air and then stabs it through the chest with his blade and then slicing it in half. Three Grimm charge at Voshkie'ahk, but she throws two ice Dust cards, freezing two in place by their feet, and then hardens her cards with her semblance to behead the third, followed by throwing two fire Dust cards at the two that are pinned, taking them out.
Oscar watches from the back until one Sabre faces him and charges. He runs at it, flipping into the air and swinging his cane across its skull. They both land, but only Oscar remains alive. A second Sabre tries to attack from behind, bur Ruby fires her sniper-scythe, taking it out. Ruby fires her scythe behind her, rushing past everyone as she slices through one Sabre and then runs towards Khazhak.
"Khazhak!" Ruby yells.
Khazhak glances behind him after slicing another Sabre in half. She jumps into the air, and he follows her into the air. He swings his sword around as she plants her feet on it, and swings, launching her towards a small group of Sabres. She spins with her scythe in the air before smashing it onto the ground, sending out a shockwave that knocks all of them back. Khazhak lands behind her and charges up his semblance, swinging his sword to send out his Lightning Oblivion technique, the lightning bolts taking out several more Grimm. Meanwhile, Porphyrius fires his rifles, taking out a few Grimm, before Lloyd runs by him and jumps into the air, encasing his right arm in steel before he smashes it into the ground, sending out steel spikes that skewer a few more. Off to the side, Weiss slashes her rapier through one Sabre before turning to face a few more running at her. She creates a few black glyphs to catch and ensnare them and then lifts them into the air. Edom comes by, separating his weapon into its dual form, and then throws them, the blades spinning as they shred through each Grimm in mid-air before returning to him. Meanwhile, Yang punches one Grimm into the dirt, but another comes in from her rear. However, a shot rings out, killing the Grimm and saving Yang as she looks back at Blake as her savior. However, a Sabre suddenly attacks HER from behind, only for a sudden green beam of energy to fly in and slice the Grimm in two before it can hurt her.
This gets the group's attention as more green energy beams come in and kill the remaining Grimm in the area, causing the red alert lights to switch back to normal. They look up, seeing the silhouette of a teenage girl flying in the sky. The figure lands and they get a good look at who it is, much to their shock.
"It... It can't be..." Khazhak mutters in surprise.
The girl has long orange hair and curled at the tips, with a black bow. Within the bow is a pink centerpiece shaped just like it, though more angular, and with a power button at its knot, and an ahoge at the top. The girl is wearing a Victorian-styled dress, with the abdominal region having four gold buttons. The upper blouse is silver, but the vertical lining extends well down the collar. The collar comes with a black ribbon at its center. She is also wearing black fleece gloves with circular golden accents at the knuckles. She has on black jet-powered boots, with green lines on her stockings.
"Is that... Penny?" Ruby gasps.
Pietro walks up behind them, "Daughter, why don't you say hello to your old friends," he says.
"Daughter?" Lloyd mutters, glancing between the two.
Penny turns to them, and instantly gets a huge smile on her face, as does Ruby.
"SAL-," Penny begins. "-U-," she says, getting into a sprinter position, worrying Ruby. "TATIONS!" Penny yells as she runs at her, and then flies at her.
Ruby screams, only for Khazhak to suddenly push her out of the way and get mega-tackled by Penny to the ground. Everyone sheath their weapons as they gather around them.
"Oooohhh, I'm gonna feel that tomorrow," Khazhak groans in slight pain.
Penny stands back up, "It is such a pleasure to see you all again," she notes happily.
Ruby helps Khazhak up and then faces her old friend, "Penny... I-I thought you-," she begins.
"Died? Well, I guess in a manner of speaking, she did. But, we were able to recover her core from Amnity Arena, once it had made its way back to Atlas. It took me some time, but-," Pietro explains.
"I'm as good as new, better even. And now, I'm the official protector of the city," Penny adds.
"That's my girl. We're not going to let a little 'ripping to shreds' stop us, are we?" Pietro says.
"And here I thought I've seen everything," Lloyd notes.
"Eh, this is strangely pleasing to me for some reason," Porphyrius says.
"I'd say that's definitely Penny," Edom adds.
Penny grabs and shakes Ruby's shoulders, "We have so much to catch up about. I cannot wait!" she cheers, only for more sirens to go off in the distance. "It seems we will have to wait," she says and steps back. "Let's talk more later-," she says as she shoots up into the sky, her words growing quieter as she flies away.
"Well, this day sure has been filled with surprises," Khazhak notes.
Pietro chuckles, "Heh-heh, hopefully not anymore for today. My old heart can't take much more. Come on inside, if you have any more questions, then I've got more answers for you," he says as he turns and walks back to his office.
"Okay, someone want to explain to me who that girl was again?" Maria asks as she follows him.
"Well that was unexpected," Jaune notes.
"At least it's not boring," Lloyd adds.
"But not unwelcome. I was honestly expecting things to go a lot rougher," Qrow says.
The group make their way back to the office. However, Khazhak, Voshkie'ahk, and a few others feel something change in the air. Khazhak turns, but can't react fast enough as some kind of grappling cable wraps around his body and arms, making him fall onto his back. The rest of the group are summarily ensnared just like him and they all fall to the ground. Khazhak growls as he looks up, finding five people joining the party. They all have Atlas military uniforms on of various design, but all have the colors of red, white, and blue. Two are female, and three are male, with one of them being a dog Faunus. The two woman have deep tanned skin, with one being shorter than the rest, while the other has large muscles on her arms. The Faunus has dark skin with dark gray hair. A second male has extremely pale skin, beads in his forehead, and the third male has short brown hair with fair skin.
"What the Hell?!" Khazhak yells.
"Good job, team," the male with the short brown hair up in front of the group says.
"Hey, pal, I'm a licensed huntsman. Just helped save everyone!" Qrow argues.
Just then, more Atlas robot soldiers arrive and help confiscate the group's weapons, flipping Khazhak onto his stomach to retrieve his. The apparent leader even grabs the Relic of Knowledge from Ruby and inspects it for a moment.
"Hmm, let's get them onto the next transport," he says.
"Please, we were just trying to help!" Ruby pleads.
Khazhak growls, "I won't be a prisoner in an Atlas jail cell," he mutters angrily and manages to kick himself back onto his feet.
He runs at the leader, throwing a roundhouse kick, but the man sidesteps the attack. Khazhak then gets blindsided by one of the women, who moved incredibly fats with lightning coming off of her body. He gets knocked to the ground, only for the second woman to smash a large hammer onto his back, keeping him on the ground. The Faunus comes in and aims his rifle at Khazhak's face.
"Now, now, no need to make this any more difficult. Just be a good boy and cooperate," the Faunus taunts him.
Khazhak growls, but then Ruby speaks up.
"Khazhak, stop! Just do as he says, please," Ruby orders him.
Khazhak stares at her for a second and then he concedes.
"That's more like it," the Faunus says.
Just then, Pietro and Maria come back, "What is the meaning of this? What are the Ace Ops even doing down here in Mantle?" he demands.
"Ace Ops?" Ruby asks.
The leader turns to him, "Doctor, good to see you. Well, we heard a report about an unauthorized ship, followed by an unauthorized landing, followed by an unauthorized use of weapons by non-licensed huntsmen," the man explains.
Maria shakes her head and heads back to the office.
"Can't we at least talk this out?" Pietro asks.
"They'll be able to talk this out once they get up to Atlas. Let's move out!" the man says, pulling out a fishing pole type weapon and flinging the fish hook out far, pulling on the line to reach a nearby roof, while the rest of the group disappear as well.
The group is then pushed into a transport vehicle, with Qrow being the last one to be pushed into it.
"Now this... THIS is much more of what I was expecting," Qrow says, not helping at all to lighten the current situation the group is in.
"Glad we didn't disappoint, Master," Voshkie'ahk deadpans.
And that's the chapter. Volume 7 begins and the group are now in handcuffs, heading for Atlas. I know some wanted Ace Ops OCs, but that would feel like too many members for a huntsmen team. I can't come up with that many at once for major characters, and it would make things way too easy for the group during the first half of the volume. Anyway, will the crew still get to Ironwood, or end up in a jail cell in Atlas? Until then, please Read and Review.
