Here we are at Chapter 132. The war for Atlas has begun, but will our heroes be able to save everyone? Let's find out. I do not own RWBY. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 132. Enjoy.
Chapter 132: A Choice
Outside the city walls, on the outskirts of the kingdom, the Monstra Grimm opens its mouth, releasing waves of black ooze from its jaws. From the ooze, swarms of Grimm of many types sprout forth and charge ahead towards the city. Awaiting them is the Atlas military. Soldiers, robots, Paladins, and ships alike stand ready, their weapons aimed at their dark foes. The Grimm charge forth, undaunting, and soon enough, shots ring out as human and Grimm clash in the biggest battle since the Great War. Within the city, the intercomms activate.
"Citizens of Atlas, please calmly evacuate to the nearest underground subway station for safety," Ironwood calls out.
It's not long before the people of Atlas begin panicking as they race to the subway stations. But, that panic only attracts the aerial Grimm over the city, which are met by squadrons of Atlas airships to face them.
At the Schnee Manor, Khazhak looks out the window as the sounds of war can be heard.
"So, it's begun," Bahamut notes.
"Yes... War. The Atlas military should be able to hold the Grimm back for a time, but as long as that giant monstrosity can keep churning out more Grimm, they'll eventually be overwhelmed. The panic from within the city will draw the Grimm in, and then the bloodshed will really begin," Khazhak notes.
"What do you propose we should do?" Bahamut asks.
Khazhak sighs, "I don't know. We can't link up with the others down in Mantle, not in this mess. And Nora is far from fully recovered. Both problems will take time to solve... and time something we do not have right now. Still, we have to figure out how to do something... And soon,"
Meanwhile, outside the battle itself, Winter and the Ace Ops fly over the city as they approach the battlefield, with Yang, Jaune, Ren, Lloyd, and Porphyrius all tied up with them.
"We can't get the hard-light shields back up sir! They've taken too much damage!" they hear over the comms.
"Then don't waste resources on them. Beta squad, the creature?" Ironwood asks over the comms.
"We've tried bombs, missiles, but we can't even make a scratch on that thing, sir," one soldier calls out.
Winter then radios in, "Sir, Schnee here. Penny is still MIA, but we've apprehended Arc, Xiao-Long, Ren, Darkwing, and Jyousai,"
"Stand by for further orders, and don't let those fugitives out of your sight," Ironwood orders her.
"Yes, sir, understood," Winter replies before ending the communication.
"Still just following orders," Yang says condescendingly.
Lloyd grunts, "Forget it Yang. That's the only thing they know how to do. Follow orders like good mindless robots. Never once thinking for themselves, or figuring out what side they're on, or what they're really fighting for. They're no different than the machines they've got down there,"
"That's rich, coming from you. Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Elm fires back.
"At least I still have my soul, unlike you, and unlike your spineless boss who quit when things got too hard for him," Lloyd retorts, making Elm growl.
However, before they can escalate, they fly around the city and see the Monstra, along with the battle going on around it.
"So that's it, huh. That's where that new Grimm you were talking about went? After it took Oscar?" Porphyrius asks Yang, who nods sadly.
"That's impossible. Grimm don't take prisoners. They're not that intelligent," Vine says.
Yang looks at him, "Well, this Grimm is, and it did. It came straight for Oscar, and took him straight to that thing. It never tried to kill him, only capture him. If you would just let us go and-," Yang sits forward, only for Vine and Elm to hold her back.
"You're really willing to let him die just because of your damn orders? Are you that devoid of humanity? You talked about my face, well what about you guys? How do we know there's no metal parts within your heads, making you do what Ironwood tells you to with no say in the matter on your side?" Lloyd says.
"You'd better watch your mouth, runt, before I rip off the other side of your face myself," Harriet threatens him, only for Lloyd to growl back in defiance.
Just then, the comms come back, "Cease fire. Manta squads, concentrate fire on secondary hostiles. Command is working on another solution for the creature," Ironwood says.
Winter joins in, "What solution do you have in mind sir?"
"We aren't making any progress attacking that thing from the outside. But, if we attack it from the inside, it could be vulnerable. The science team is putting together a bomb," Ironwood says, stunning Winter. "When it's complete, we'll drop it off as close to the creature as possible. Then your team will deliver it on foot," he says, as Winter closes her eyes, realizing the implications of such a plan. "We're sending you the coordinates now,"
Winter opens her eyes, "Of course, sir. We will hold the point, and we will get it done. Over," she ends the call.
Her words shock the group, "But, Oscar's still inside that thing!" Jaune yells.
"You can't do this!" Yang tries to get up, only for Vine and Elm to stop her again.
Winter's expression becomes somber, and her right hand starts shaking before she clenches it to stop. Something Porphyrius notices from the beginning. Then he turns to Vine and Elm.
"Get your hands off of her," Porphryius threatens them, and they face him. "Touch her like that one more time... and I'll make sure you never reach the drop-off point," he narrows his eye as purple flames erupt from his eyepatch.
Elm doesn't buy it, "Please, you're bluffing. You do that, and she'll be in danger too,"
"Are you so certain? This entire space is mine to control as I see fit. I can make the airship crash, but keep my friends and loved ones safe, but you are not on that list. Besides, you've never seen me go all out with my semblance. You really want to find out what I can do when I get serious? Especially in such a small space like this?" Porphyrius gives her a look that says he's willing to take that chance.
Winter stops it before it goes that far, "Elm, Vine, stow it. We've got bigger problems right now," she orders them, which they do, but they still keep their eyes on Yang, while Porphyrius and Winter have a stare down of their own.
"I wonder what Weiss would think if she saw you now. What you've allowed yourself to be reduced to... Nothing more than Ironwood's mindless puppet," Porphyrius taunts her.
Winter narrows her eyes at him, but says nothing as she turns her back to him, focusing on the battle in front of them, and her expression becomes sadder.
…
Khazhak and Edom stare outside the windows, watching the battle unfold before them.
"So, any crazy ideas come to mind yet?" Edom asks.
Khazhak sighs, "For once, I wish I did have one of my crazy ideas right now. Our forces are spread too thin. We could try and help the military, but you and I both know that the moment Ironwood finds us out there, he'll immediately order his soldiers to either arrest us or kill us. He's always been stupid like that. We can't leave Nora unguarded either. And we still haven't been able to get in contact with any of the others down in Mantle. There might be interference in the air due to the chaos going on around us," Khazhak crosses his arms.
"From what we've seen, any kind of attacks made against that giant Grimm's exterior does little to nothing. It's the biggest Grimm I've ever seen. Maybe the biggest anyone has ever seen. Do you think maybe it might be vulnerable on the inside?" Edom inquires.
"All creatures have one weakness or another, and that includes the Grimm. Even Ironwood might have an idea to fight that thing. My only concern is how many innocent people will be sacrificed in the process. Ironwood has made it clear he will sacrifice anything, and anyone, for victory. It is precisely that way of thinking that has led him right into Salem's hands. The hopeless fool," Khazhak narrows his eyes.
Edom stares at him, "...You want to kill him," he figures out.
Khazhak clenches his fists, "Had he listened to us before. Not try these stupid ideas of his, then maybe things would've been different. But, he is beyond redemption now. No one threatens Ruby's life. Or the lives of countless innocent people. I do not know how, and honestly, I don't care who, but before this war ends... Ironwood will die," Khazhak declares.
"Hey guys," they look back as Ruby and Blake approach, carrying a few cups of warm tea for them. "We're going to see how Nora's doing. Come on," Ruby says as she hands Edom and Khazhak their cups.
The group move on to head to Weiss' room. They enter Weiss' old room to find Weiss sitting next to Nora as she tends to her injuries.
"How is she faring, Weiss?" Edom asks as Blake walks up to the window, sippng her cup.
Weiss sighs, "I've done all I can. She's better now than she was before, but she needs a doctor," she notes as she accepts the tea that Ruby gives her.
"Hopefully May can get in touch with the others. I hope... I hope they're okay," Blake looks solemnly out the window.
"We just have to keep believing that they are. We can't give up yet," Khazhak says.
Edom looks out the window, "Yes, however, as long as that giant Grimm is still alive, we are at a disadvantage. It keeps creating more Grimm faster than the military can kill off. If we don't do something about it, eventually the military will be destroyed and the city will be defenseless,"
"But, how can we take it down? It's way bigger than a Leviathan," Ruby notes.
"Standing around here, doing nothing, certainly won't kill it," Bahamut notes.
"Penny sent out our message to the world, but do we just sit here and wait for help to come? If they even come," Weiss wonders as she sits next to a lit fireplace.
Ruby stares at her cup, "How did things end up like this?"
Khazhak is about to comfort her when May walks into the room, "Fiona said your friends haven't been heard from in a while. Unfortunately, the last thing on their minds right now are a couple of kids. Come one, I've got the ship ready to head-,"
"No," Khazhak stops her. "We can't just leave. Not like this. Not now,"
"It is chaos at the crater. Atlas has its army, but we are all Mantle has. People are dying down there," May retorts.
"In case you haven't noticed, people are dying here too. If we abandon them, then we are no better than Ironwood. And I will NOT make the same mistakes as him," Khazhak says.
"May, don't you have family here in Atlas?" Weiss asks.
May narrows her eyes, "...No. Mantle needed me, and to the Marigolds, that meant that I was no longer their 'son' anymore. And I made sure that everyone knew that I was no longer their daughter. So, they're on their own. They've got Henry. Yours has Whitley. You understand what I'm saying,"
Weiss looks sad, "I wouldn't be so sure about-,"
"Whose side are you on anyway?!" May stops her.
"We've heard that before," Blake gets her attention. "Ironwood and the Ace Ops said the same thing to us,"
May stalks towards her when Ruby steps in, "There are no sides here. We want to help everyone,"
"She's right. This isn't about Atlas or Mantle. This is about Humanity. All of us. Standing together to stop Salem. Because together is the only way we're going to stop her. She works to divide us because when we are divided, we are weak. But, when we are united, we are strong. And that SCARES her. That's why she's acted the way she has up until this point. If we run because things got too difficult, then we've already lost," Khazhak stands with Ruby.
May takes a breath and calms down, "Fine. Then what do you suggest we do to get out of this mess?" she crosses her arms.
The others are unable to say anything immediately. Meanwhile, Whitley listens in on their conversation from outside the doorway before a thoughtful expression appears on his face.
…
Meanwhile, back with the others, things are only getting worse.
"You can't possibly be thinking of blowing that thing up with Oscar still inside it!" Yang stands up, only for Elm and Vine to hold her back.
"That creature causes more damage by the minute. We cannot wait," Vine says.
Lloyd rolls his eyes, "Typical Atlas military bullcrap. Sacrifice the few to save the many. Do you enjoy leaving not only the people you're supposed to protect, but your own allies to die just to gain one victory? Are you that empty inside?!" Lloyd stands up.
Porphyrius stares at Winter, who's back is to the group, "Oh yeah, a true soldier to the end. Always mindlessly following orders, no matter how wrong they are, or how many innocent people die in the process. You're a 'true' hero, Winter," Porphyrius mocks her.
"Watch your tone, half-breed," Harriet warns him.
"How you and try and make me, lap dog," Porphyrius fires back.
Jaune steps up before things escalate, "Winter, wait, please give us a chance to try and rescue Oscar first before you drop the bomb. We could... We could be your test run," Jaune comes up with an idea. "You don't know what's waiting for you inside that thing. So, we can go in first ahead of you and scout it out... and look for Oscar while we're inside," Jaune suggests.
"He's got a point. Send in the scouts before you send in the flag bearer. Besides, this way, you won't have to worry about us anymore if something happens to us. You don't care about us right?" Lloyd says.
Marrow looks back at him, "It's not... It's not like that at all. But, you can't go inside that thing alone. It's suicide!"
"But wouldn't you do it for Elm? Vine? Harriet? They're your teammates, aren't they?" Yang asks.
Marrow looks at Harriet, who stares back, but says nothing.
"Forget it Yang. Remember what they said, they're just coworkers, nothing more and nothing less. All they care about is following orders," Porphyrius says, earning a growl from Elm.
"We can't let our emotions get in the way of making the right call. There is nothing to gain by sacrificing three lives for one. To do so would be foolish," Vine says.
"No... It's not," Ren says for the first time in this conversation, gaining their attention. "Oscar is our friend. We will do whatever it takes to find him. Because we CARE about him," Ren looks at all of them.
Harriet scoffs as she gets out of her seat, "You know, I thought you were the most level-headed out of all your little friends, but you're just as naive as they are. Your feelings don't matter; the job matters. When you lose someone on your team, you move on. Replace them. Like Marrow replaced Tortuga and Winter replaced-,"
"NO!" Ren shouts as he stands up. "No one. Is. Replaceable," he says, but then his eyes widen when he suddenly sees red flower petals flowing around Harriet. He stares at them for a moment and realizes it's his semblance evolving. And that's not the only thing he realizes. "...You don't actually believe that. You are FURIOUS about losing Clover, and... You miss him," he speaks her true feelings.
Harriet tries to play it off as she gets mad, "You don't know anything about me!"
Ren looks from her to Marrow, seeing blue petals around him. He then sees orange/red petals around Elm, and green petals around Vine, and then finally pink petals around himself.
It then dawns on him, "That's why you lost to Team KEPL. They embrace how they really feel about each other. They fight not as a team, but as a family. But you guys... You fight how you really feel about each other. So, you'll never truly work as a real team,"
Elm cannot accept the truth, "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!"
She goes to punch Ren, but Winter gets in the way, "Everyone, calm down!" she stops Elm, who calms down. Winter stares at the others, seeing the determined look in their eyes. "Fine. We will drop you as close as we can to the monster," she agrees to Jaune's idea, much to Harriet's shock.
"You can't be serious. They're fugitives. And traitors!" Harriet disagrees.
"I outrank you," Winter stares her down, forcing Harriet to back off. "If you aren't out in time, we drop the payload. No matter what," she tells them.
Jaune nods, "We understand,"
Lloyd shrugs his shoulders, "A mission with insurmountable odds, high chances of death, and little to no chances of success. How can we resist," he smirks.
However, Marrow seems to be the only one that doesn't like this idea at all aside from Winter. The airship flies in and lands on the outskirts of the battle, near the Monstra. The side door opens up and Yang's group are set free and given their weapons.
Ren walks up to Marrow, "I know you don't like this. In fact, you don't want to be a part of it at all anymore,"
Marrow hesitates, "I... I have a job to do. And I'm going to do it," he then walks back to the cockpit.
Yang is the first to leave, firing off her gauntlets to shoot her out of the airship. Lloyd follows her by jumping out of the airship. Jaune tosses Ren his pistols before drawing his sword and joining them.
"I know you don't either," Ren says as he looks back at a solemn Winter, seeing petals of all colors flowing around her, showing that her emotions are all over the place.
Ren then leaves, but Porphyrius looks back at Winter, "Winter, before this battle ends, win or lose, go see Weiss again. Not as a soldier, but as her sister. Aside from Team RWBY, you're all the family she has left," he then uses his gravity boosters to fly out of the airship, leaving a despondent Winter to watch them go, with so much on her mind.
…
Back with the others, The group is walking down the main steps to the front door of the Schnee Manor, trying to figure out what to do next.
"Wait, what about Qrow and Robyn? If we can break them out, thrn we-," Ruby thinks.
May facepalms, "No, see, you just don't get it! This is not a situation where everyone wins. Now, you all can come with me and we can help Mantle, who actually needs our help. Or, I can drop you all off at the front lines if you still want to help Atlas. Your aunt and uncle can't help us. We have to choose. So, choose," May tells them.
The members of Team RWBY are unsure of what to do, but Khazhak steps right into May's face.
"You want to go help Mantle?" Khazhak points at the front door. "There's the door. No one's stopping you. But, I'm staying. You don't get it. If Salem takes Atlas, then she gets the Staff of Creation. And once she uses it, Atlas will fall on top of Mantle, and the crater, and everyone down there. We can't take them out into the tundra because we all know they won't survive. We have to stop Salem here, in Atlas. But, if you still want to go, then go,"
May and Khazhak have a staredown, only to get interrupted when they hear a knocking on the door. Everyone takes out their weapons and slowly approach the door, in case their visitor isn't the friendly kind. Weiss slowly opens the door, and gasps in joy when she finds Klein standing outside. By his sides are Azula, and surprisingly Edom's uncle Onyx.
"Klein!" Weiss happily greets him.
Klein nods to her, "Miss Schnee. I believe there is a patient here that needs my help,"
"I-I'm so sorry, Klein. It's my fault that you were-," Weiss apologizes.
Klein takes off his hat, "Pleas, do not worry, my snowflake. It had nothing to do with you... And everything to do with Jacques," Klein says as he and the others walk inside and he slams the door.
"Well, thank you Klein. But, Azula, why are you here?" Weiss asks.
"Well, I couldn't let my personal butler go off on his own. Besides, with things as they are, my music can't keep the people down in the crater calm anymore. The negativity is too strong now. I figured I'd be able to help out more here," Azula turns to Khazhak. "Where is Lloyd?"
Khazhak sighs, "I don't know. We haven't heard from him or the others in a while now. But, I'm sure they're okay. Lloyd's strong. Not many people can take him down,"
Edom steps up, "Uncle Onyx. You came,"
Onyx smiles, "I wasn't there for you when you needed me before. I'm here for you now,"
"Edom, you called them?" Ruby asks.
Edom shakes his head, "No, I only called my uncle. But, how'd you meet up with Klein and Azula?"
"We met Dr. Onyx while on the way here. We decided to come here together," Klein explains.
Weiss is perplexed, "But, wait, if you didn't call them, then who di-,"
"Ah, Master Whitley, I'm so glad that you rang," he says as Whitley walks down the main stairs. "May I please see the patient? I heard that it's urgent,"
"Yes. She's in Weiss' room. Just go down the-," Whitley points up the stairs.
"I haven't been gone THAT long, Master Whitley. I believe I can find it," Klein then heads up the stairs along with Azula so she can help.
This leaves an awkward silence between Weiss and Whitley, "You're the one who called Klein?"
Whitley looks away, "That girl needs a doctor. It was... just on a whim. I didn't do it for you,"
Weiss smiles, "I know. That's why it means so much to me," and then she walks up and hugs her little brother, much to his surprise, though he returns the hug.
Khazhak crosses his arms, "Oh man, makes me almost regret punching him in the face,"
"Really?" Edom raises an eyebrow.
"I said ALMOST," Khazhak waves it off, but then they hear an explosion and the sounds of something crashing outside the building.
"Whitley, did you call anyone else?" Weiss asks, but Whitley just shakes his head.
Khazhak takes out his sword and approaches the door. He opens the door, only to find a smoking crater out in front of the manor. The group run outside and approach the crater. When they look within, they are shocked by what they see. There in the center of the crater, is Voshkie'ahk and Penny. Though both survived the crash landing, they did not survive unscathed as burns and bruises appear around Voshkie'ahk's body, and Penny is leaking a green liquid from one injury in particular. Penny is out cold, but Voshkie'ahk opens her eyes and looks up at the group.
"Please... Help... Penny," Voshkie'ahk begs before she passes out.
And that's the chapter. Porphyrius and his group head inside the Monstra to find Oscar, but they don't have much time before the bomb arrives. Meanwhile, Voshkie'ahk and Penny reunite with Khazhak and Ruby's group, though not unscathed. As the war for Atlas rages on, things become more complicated for our heroes. Will they be able to heal Penny, Nora, and Voshkie'ahk? Will Porphyrius' group save Oscar? Until then, please Read and Review.
