Chapter 4: Tomorrow and Never Again
I'm back once more with another story you may know about, this one being on the net for a good while. Written by PaulXion, his story is one of the favs of being about time travel. Involving the clumsy blonde knight. However, this chapter will not be about him. Sorry folks, Jaune will be featured from time to time, but in this cinema, he won't be the star. Anybody can be the star.
And this chapter will actually involve two chapters merged into one. I'll explain the rest on the bottom. For now, enjoy.
The next scene was about to show, but nobody really seemed to be paying attention to it. Blake in particular, but for very good reasons. Why? Because she could feel the cold hard glare being given to her by General Ironwood. A man who has been dealing with the White Fang's terrorism for years to come. Making certain they were all punished.
The only thing stopping her from running was that Ozpin, Qrow, and Glynda got him to no longer try to arrest her. Unfortunately it didn't deter the man from keeping a good eye on her.
'Come on stupid screen, play already.' The huntress-in-training begged. Thankful when the screen changed from black to a new image. Everybody else now ready to see what was about to happen in the next universe.
Vice Chancellor Martha Sinclair pinched the sides of her nose that morning to fight a migraine that was making its way to her head. She had lost count to how many pills she took to numb the pain but from the sound of things happening around her she can tell that it certainly wasn't enough. The shouting match that occurred has been going on for days now and neither side seemed to be backing down from the fight.
"Somebody you know sir?" The specialist asked her commanding officer.
"No. I recognize some of the men there, but not her." Mayden did say some of these worlds would have differences.
Ever since the destruction of Mantle, the council of Atlas has been on a near nonstop assembly trying to find a solution for the recent events. Or at least that would've been the original purpose until someone started arguing over the use of their now very limited resources.
"Destruction?" Weiss gasped at such a notion. Ironwood and Winter none to pleased hearing this news.
"Um, Keeper," Ruby hoped the entity could help them out here. "Did the lady just state that their was destruction to Atlas?"
"Correct." Mayden answered causing a few in the audience to gasp. Recalling their own experience during the fall. The 'bad' side of course not caring, Cinder of course wondered if her side had anything to do with it. The universe may provide her answer as she continued watching.
With the destruction of one of their great cities and the mandatory evacuation of outer settlements due to the fog Grimm attack, the supplies of the kingdom have been stretched thin. Not only have that but the trade with Mistral and Vale which have been two of their greatest lifelines in supporting their consumers ceased completely. Now the capital itself was flooded with refugees all seeking sanctuary and protection behind its massive impenetrable walls. But that of course only stretched their resources even more.
But not just that, the negative emotions that have been brewing seemed to have only grown since then drawing in more Grimm attacks frequently. Now the council bickers with one another throwing propositions and accusations in equal measures. Paranoia and fear control their every thought leaving little room for arguments.
"We have to strike now while we still have a chance!"
"You're mad! Attacking another kingdom now will only spark war!"
"We are already at war!"
"I agree. Our scouts already report that Mistralean forces are marshaling at the borders. If we don't strike now they will attack."
"Strike with what? Our armada was obliterated in Mantle."
"Then why don't we send our defense fleet!?"
"You'll leave the city defenseless!"
"No army has ever breached Fort Lagune before. Not even during the peak of the Great War!"
"We must use what little forces we have left to defend our borders and our interest! Sending them now will be a fool's errand!"
"You forget that most of our senior military staffs were lost in Mantle as well. Our army, our Huntsmen are without a leader."
While those like Cinder enjoyed the turmoil the Atlas kingdom was apparently in, the rest weren't so sure how to feel. From what it appeared, Atlas was ready to start a war with Mistral. Yet it didn't look like they had a choice in the matter. Things looking rather desperate in this world.
"Mayden," Ren had his interest piqued, and wished to know what was going on. "Can you explain on what's happening in this world."
"Likewise. As general, I also wish to know so I may avoid such a thing." Ironwood added in, not wishing his country to end up in a state like this version of Atlas. The Keeper humming wondering if he should answer. Then made a non-existent shrug and figured why not.
"Why not." The screen paused momentarily. Not like it was anything important anyway, just a bunch of men and women arguing. Nothing more. "Alright, how to explain this in one word: Time travel."
"Time travel?" Emerald herself said out loud. The rest also in agreement at this confusing statement.
"Yeah. Time travel." The Keeper then began a small explanation so the cast could understand. "Small story short, a certain someone sends your blonde knight here in the past, and changes everything."
"Wait, me?!" The said blonde knight asked in surprise.
"Yes you. Your actually rather popular for reasons I don't understand. Most Keepers like me showing you a lot." While Jaune tried processing this information, with him being popular for some reason, Oscar continued his question.
"Okay, but what does that have to do with anything involving this war?"
"I'm getting to it. Basically put, by traveling back in time, Jauny boy here causes a massive ripple that changes things. Some good, some bad, none under his control. Point in case," A light shined on Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald. "These lovely folks helped destroy an entire city again. Congrats lady."
Now this was interesting. To think she destroyed not one, but two cities in this world. Cinder had to admit, this information was rather impressive. Ironwood showed none of that.
"What!" He yelled.
"First Vale and now this? I need another drink." Qrow muttered still comprehending what the Keeper guy just said. Winter having a furious expression on her face. Contorting in anger.
"How could this have happened?"
"Yes indeed. And why are you congratulating a known criminal." Weiss added in, unpleased by the Keeper and his nonchalant attitude.
"Okay, for Winter, it fell because one: Ironwood was dead." That got a reaction from the usual stoic general. To hear he died somehow, ouch. Yet the Keeper kept going on anyway. "Jaune and his team were totally unprepared for the assault happening there."
"Hold on, my team?!" Now Jaune was really getting confused. Again the Keeper didn't bother stopping.
"There was also Watts that helped." A small frown grew on Cinder's face. She could already imagine that arrogant scientist acting like he did the more important parts.
"Heck, even with two Maidens on your guys side, sorry but, Cinder and her team just had it all ready." Maidens! Now Ozpin and his inner circle were really interested. For the Maidens being involved in this battle warranted information.
"But none of that's really important, back to the screen.' Yet the Keeper gave them no additional information. Resuming the screen leaving the cast with questions as they watched on.
The debate goes around and around and in the end all anyone can agree was to disagree with the other party. Martha resisted the urge to plug her ears. She felt like a nursery teacher sitting with a bunch of hyperactive toddlers on sugar rush. It was mentally exhausting just to listen to their side of the argument. She certainly didn't envy her boss' position, his head buried in his hand having no control over the escalating situation.
"Why don't we recall the fleet we've stationed at Vale?" Another of the councilors proposed. "They can do more good here than in that fallen kingdom."
Of course they would do that. Qrow darkly thought, not really having much respect for the military. Glynda had similar thoughts, but only because how Atlas would be leaving a city at its weakest.
"If we do that we'll be giving them the opportunity to ally with Mistral. We'll be exposed." Ugh… just listening to their paranoia was enough to make her sick to her stomach. How did thing turn out so bad so quickly? A few weeks ago she was enjoying tea at home with not a worry in the world. Now it seems like the whole Kingdom was about to go into a great crisis.
"Well we have to do something!"
That they all can agree on. Everyone here knew that action must be taken but what to do falls to a vote. If they attack, they would be solely responsible for causing the next Great War and the Four Kingdom barely survived the last one. But if they remain on the defensive then their resources will thin and the people will be forced to do something drastic.
"Why don't we send a representative to Mistral?" A calmer one suggested. "Have them negotiate a non-aggression treaty."
"After what happened to their ambassador in the New Beacon… I doubt they'll be forthcoming with any kind of talk." Heh… that was an understatement. There wasn't even a body bag to be sent home. The ambassador and his whole entourage were blown up scattered along with the rest of Mantle somewhere in the snow.
A good bunch glared at Cinder. The Fall Maiden ignoring such stares, and instead taking mental notes. Never before had she respected someone else, and to think it was her. Maybe when she returned to Salem's side, she could tell her of these stories of this dimension. Surely the dark witch would be interested.
"Then it seems we are at an impasse." Martha spoke finally after the others calmed down from their bickering. "As I see it we only have two options. We can either stay on the defensive and hope for things to die down – or we can strike now, sparking a war with another kingdom. Either way we must act soon. Unless our supplies dwindle. This decision will not come easy. Fellow Councilors, in accordance with the bylaws of the senate, a voice vote is required. Those in favor of launching our last fleet against Mistral's army and declaring war, say aye."
"Aye." More than half of the table raised their hands in favor.
"And those oppose?"
"N…" The few councilors who would declare their intentions never got the chance to speak when the door to the room whished open. All heads turned to the source wondering who had the galls to interrupt the highest authorities in the kingdom.
Eyes widened, but none so than two white haired sisters, who never thought they would see such a thing in a million years.
"Apologies for the rude interruption fellow councilors… but I would like to put my vote as well as part of our… democracy." The white haired boy and his entourage entered with a smug nosed grin.
"Whitley!" The two sisters shouted in pure bewilderment. Ironwood raised a brow, having seen this boy before in a few talks. Qrow hearing a bit about him whenever Winter complained.
The rest not really sure who he was. But considering his hair color and similar appearance to the two sisters, they could guess who he was.
"Wow, Weiss. I didn't know you have a brother."
"Yeah," Yang said with Ruby. Blake nodding a bit. "How come you never told us about him?"
"Yeah Weiss, how come?" Nora butted in with Jaune and Ren also listening. The former heiress not sure what to say.
"Well…..because…." She wasn't certain what she could say. That the weasel stole her title as the SDC heir. That he was a rather cold individual that she didn't like. Inter came in at the last second.
"If you continue watching, you may have your answer." That seemed to get them to back off. Weiss giving a small 'Thank you' to her. Winter couldn't blame her, even she didn't have much good thoughts on her younger brother. Still, she may as well see what this version of him was up to.
"How dare you barge in here unannounced!?" One of the louder councilors spat. "Who do you think you are? This meeting room is for the members of the Atlesian Council not for some child to walk in whenever he wants. Guards! Get rid of this rascal immediately!"
"Wait…" Martha raised her hand up making the guards pause. She cocked an eye at the new arrival noting his trained posture. "Mr. Schnee, I presume."
Whitley bowed his head politely in turn. "Yes, Vice Chancellor. I did not come here to start trouble. I merely came to voice my own opinion in the matter regarding your… solution."
"This matter regards politics, not business."
"Are they not one and the same?" The young Schnee waved his hands around nonchalantly like it was an obvious thing. "Whether you put it in a different name in the end it all comes down to profit does it not? Why do anything at all if it won't benefit us? However your decision making today is contrast to our goals."
"We are merely doing what we think is best for the kingdom."
"And I agree." He nodded. "But I must ask you all. Do you really believe that your choice now is a good decision?" The boy took their silence as a sign to continue. "Think about it. You were all there at Mantle. You all saw how our own soldiers fired at one another. How our own weapons were turned against us. Surely you must've seen it."
Ironwood frowned. While the Keeper didn't explain all the details, from what Winter's brother said, soldiers were firing at one another. It reminded him of Beacon and his troops-the droids.
"What are you getting at, boy?" The irritated member of the council inquired.
"I'm saying that the Atlesian Army cannot be trusted with the security of Atlas or its people."
"Well the kids blunt." Qrow said actually agreeing with the young Schnee. Ironwood growling where Qrow just chuckled at his reaction.
"How dare you!" A senior staff burst out with a red face. But again he was stopped by the Vice Chancellor.
Klein gave a weak whimper as his master went on. "I saw with my very own eyes our own army fighting each other. Traitors have already slipped into our ranks and used our own strength against us. Can you truly say that you can put your safety with the soldiers that walk through our streets? How can you say for certain that the very guards your pay won't stab you in the back if it profits them?"
The council gave pause on that thought. As much as they hated to agree with him, the boy was right. There have been many reports of turncoats during the battle of Mantle. Soldiers fighting soldiers, entire battleships firing on friendlies. Even guards turned on civilians when pushed.
The audience cringed, realizing this battle really was like Beacon.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Another spoke against him. "It was your company's droids that turned against us first in Vale! What responsibility have you taken for that!?"
Whitley's expression remained unchanged except for the slight curl on his lips. "I will admit the devastation caused by our droids was unexpected. But I must remind you that these are machines, not people. They are weapons, and like all weapons they can be used against us. However it takes a mind to make such a change. It takes a single traitor to turn our arsenal to our enemies. And it already seems like our ranks have been infiltrated."
Martha raised a brow. He was right, again. Droids were droids they can just be reprogrammed. It takes a human to make such a change. She turned to her boss who gave a silent nod before asking. "What are you proposing?"
The boy's grin lengthened in turn as he took his place by the council's table where Ironwood would sit. "I propose we disband the current army and reform them under the SDC…"
The room practically exploded verbally at this point with the whole council throwing threats and insults in buckets. If they weren't so civil they probably would've shot him already. But surprisingly enough Whitley didn't seem all that impressed or threatened. He just took their spiteful looks and brushed them off like snow in Atlas.
Ironwood was also the same. "Winter, what is your brother doing!"
"I-I have no idea sir." Winter had never thought her brother would do such a thing. Weiss on the other hand simply snorted. Already thinking her brother was doing the same thing as he did to her.
Her friends of course were really just confused, yet also excited to see what he was up to.
Adam, he just hoped those ouncil men would kill him after all.
"You must be mad thinking we would hand over our armies to a child!"
"Preposterous!"
It took the room a full minute before the Vice Chancellor spoke again. "Mr. Schnee. What you're proposing is unacceptable."
"Darn right it is." Ironwood muttered. That boy always did remind him of Jacques. So he could bet that boy was undoubtly doing this by that man's command.
"That's because you never let me finish." He smiled coyly before adding. "I don't expect you all to just hand me the army for free. I have no leadership experience whatsoever and have only seen my first battle a few weeks ago. Therefore I do not wish to command the army personally. Which is why I am hereby bringing another proposal to the table."
"And that would be?" Martha raised her brow expectantly.
"Merge the Huntsman Academy and the Army into one." A row of confused looks passed between the councilors. "For too long now we have been lenient with the independence of Huntsmen and Huntresses. While many loyalists are pressured to take up arms within special units, a large number of our greater talents seek to use their gifts elsewhere becoming vagabonds and pretend heroes in stories. I'd say we eliminate that notion completely. There will no longer be a difference between the two. If we are to make our army the mightiest in all of Remnant, we will need the strength of the Hunters in our ranks. Should anyone in Atlas seek to become a Huntsman… they will do so as a military operative, not some common mercenary."
"Okay, what the hell." Now Qrow didn't look like he was in support of Whitley. That brat seemed to be taking control. Something those idiots on screen actually seemed to be listening to.
The students not liking how Whitley wanted to get rid of the Huntsmen and turn them into military soldiers. Ruby especially disagreeing with the boys view on the Huntsmen.
Again he was right. While Atlas Academy does pressure many students to join the army, many of the students there still find it in their hearts to go out and seek no allegiance but those they choose. General Ironwood called them a 'Wasted Asset' or something along the line. If he was standing right here he would've agreed to that idea on the spot. It was one of the reason why he wanted control of both groups in his political seat.
"Of course you would agree Jimmy." Ironwood just ignored the old Huntsman. While he couldn't vouch for Whitley's behavior, he did agree with the view on Huntsmen.
"Merging the Huntsman Academy and the Army together. Wouldn't that be a violation of our treaty?" A more sensible member of the council pleaded for conscious.
"This is a state of emergency!" Another reasoned. "We cannot afford to be lenient anymore. The old treaties don't apply here."
"But how will we even do that? We don't have a standing force to even use anymore!"
"I will make one for you." Whitley continued again earning the attention of the table.
Huh?
Now this was getting interesting. Many now wanting to see what the young Schnee was planning.
"You're going to what?" Martha asked.
"The losses we sustained in Mantle were horrible. And many of our airships and battle cruisers were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Refitting the whole army will be expensive and I doubt the council has enough lien to even commit half of it." He turned to meet their surprised look. "But if you were to give them to me… I will pay for every soldier, every ship and every Dust fired on every gun. I will remake our armies stronger than it ever was before… I will turn it into a force that all the other kingdoms will fear. Of that… you have my word."
"..." While most members here where to frozen to wonder what the heck this child said, none so than Winter and Weiss. The two sisters hardly even believing that Whitley would make such a word….that Jacquess would do such a thing.
The Keeper inwardly smiled. Looks like those girls don't realize that their father in this universe is a bit….indisposed at the moment. Oh well, they'll find out in just a bit.
His ominous promise only seemed to turn the council silent. Silent glances were passed on to one another in contrast to their earlier behavior. Still… there was no voice of opposition.
Martha turned to her fellow council members and saw that this proposal needed some debate. "It seems the council is at odds." She motioned to dismiss the guards. "We will have to discuss this proposal for a length before we give you a clear answer, Mr. Schnee."
"Of course." He waved off, departing from his seat leaving a room of stunned adults. "But do hurry. Lives are at stake here."
The scene then went dark. With a few words popping up next.
Lake Matsu Floating Islands
"What could be happening their?" Oscar asked, feeling something was about to happen. Ozpin feeling exactly the same thing.
Lake Matsu was an - and probably still is an anomaly for the world. Situated at the northern most border of Mistral, the lake itself was riddled floating islands, the smallest being the size of a small hill. It served as a lucrative location for Dust mining operations many times before with its rich deposits but was left abandoned after the Grimm moved in. Now a days it serves as a smuggling route that only the fiercest and skilled pilots traverse.
"Is that a real thing?" Blake asked the others. All of them shaking their heads since none of them lived in Mitral. Mercury, Neo, and Emerald gave a glance at Cinder. Recalling her speech that involved her saying she was from Mistral.
The Maiden only shaking her head 'No.'
"Such a place doesn't exist. This must be a variant on this world."
Until now…
"This can't be good." Glynda's worries were correct from what they saw next.
Now the Floating Islands of the lake serves as the stage where the introductory battle for the war between Mistral and Atlas.
Columns of Atlesian and Mistralean warships dotted the sky, trading fire with one another in an array of cannons and missiles. Fighters and transport vessels buzzed around endlessly, each side slaughtering the other to take control of the floating land mass around them. It would've been a battle for the ages were it not so one-sided.
Ruby looked away with her sister Yang covering her. Aside from the grown ups and those on the 'bad' side, the students have never seen a battle this ugly. Or at least, not one unlike Beacon. But even then it wasn't really people fighting people.
Here though, in this world, it was a massacre with blood spread everywhere. One coming from the Mistralean side the most as the screen showed with full detail.
Arthur Watts watched from a safe distance on board the Atlesian Air Fleet's newest flagship, The Heart of Woe. He always enjoyed battle especially when it was his enemies doing the fighting. He inspected the ship and Atlas' latest weapons making sure that they were working properly. It would make a poor review if any of his tech malfunctioned at such a crucial time. Still that didn't mean he couldn't revel in how the forces of the kingdoms clash with one another, each determined to win this pointless war.
'Wattsl.' Cinder frowned, not liking that the man was there. Still, she did wonder what he was doing on the Atlas side. Most likely doing something for Salem since she doubted the man would returned since he was a disgraced scientist.
Unknown to her, Ironwood was thinking the same thing.
To be honest, the disgraced scientist was kind of disappointed in how the Mistralean were holding up. He was sure that their numerical advantage and knowledge of terrain would at least give them a fighting chance, but he was wrong. In fact, it was rather surprising how their armada simply wade through their pathetic attempt of resistance.
"Of course such a coward would think that when he isn't fighting." Glynda remarked with disdain. Not liking the man already for some reason.
Sure the SDC upgraded many of their ships and weapons and provided thousands of drones but come on! Looking at the casualties they were inflicting was just making him feel sorry for the other guys. Either the Mistralean army was far more inept than he thought or they were luring them into a false sense of invincibility and spring a trap when they least expected it. But no. The amount of deaths and destruction they've been causing outweighs whatever damage the enemy hoped to deal.
There was an incident with a nest of Lancers but they were easily swiped off the face of the world.
Dear gods. And this wasn't even the main army yet. They were simply the vanguards poking and prodding into the defenses. If the Mistralean army can't even fight them off now the northern territories of Anima was good as theirs.
"Comfy?" A familiar voice asked bringing the scientist out of his disappointed daze.
He turned and found his employer donned in a military uniform, his loyal butler by his side. "Ah. Whitley. Finally decided to show up?"
"No way...your brother is leading this war?" Yang asked rather surprised by this. Not even Weiss could hold back this revelation she is seeing.
"No...I mean….how…?" She knew her brother was cold, but never did she think he would lead a full scale invasion. "I don't get it…..how is he even doing this?"
"Simple, because he can now that he has a good control of the military."
"He what!" Ironwood once more yelled in outrage at the Keeper's comment. Adam himself sneering, always knowing a Schnee would be nothing but trouble.
"Yeah. Thanks to the council he has control over the new military army and academy. Pretty sweet huh." None of them thought so at all.
"This is impossible." Winter rubbed her temple, still processing this. "Just how, why…..how did father do this?"
"Nothing."
"What do you mean nothing?" Qrow knew about Winter's father, and he's a major ass. The reason why faunus were mistreated badly that started the White Fang. How could the man have nothing to do with this?
"Because your dad's in a coma." Another piece of shocking news. "Yep, after the battle in Atlas, your dad fell in a coma and the inheritance went to Whitley."
"Wh-Butt-but...shouldn't it be Winter or I that gets it?" Unless that little weasel did something. Als her suspicions were proven wrong.
"Nope. They would have gone to you, but you and Winter are considered dead and haven't yet gone back to Atlas. As such, only Whitley became the heir." Winter and Weiss were unsure what to say. Their father in a coma, and them considered dead.
Some like Ironwood and Ruby watched in concern.
The boy shrugged, walking pass the man to get a clear view of the battle raging up front. "The war plan took a lot longer than I thought. The commanders are anxious. It's surprising how much you can learn from the field."
"Is that so? Well I always did prefer a hands-on experience. It does provide a better lesson."
'So he isn't the leader, but is still involved.' Ozpin decided if he should help Ironwood when they got back. If Atlas is attacked, a war could start just like this universe.
Whitley nodded in agreement. "Is that why you insisted that I come personally to the battlefield?"
"You are the new Head of Atlas' military force as well the Huntsmen Academy. Despite having no experience in warfare the council voted to elect you to those stations."
"They only put me on those chairs because I have money." He scoffed which the disgraced scientist agreed. "Rebuilding the Atlesian Army from scratch wasn't exactly cheap and the Huntsmen needed to be brought to order."
"Just how rich is that kid?" Mercury seethed with a bit of envy. Whitley had enough to rebuild an army, man he was rich. Mercury wondered if he could somehow get in on that.
"Which is why you'd best learn fast… or die fast."
"I'm not here to get a lecture from you, Watts." Whitley scoffed back at him. "How are things progressing?"
Arthur turned towards the giant console next to him and pushed a button displaying footage in various areas of the lake.
"So far things have been progressing smoothly for our fleet." He pointed at a screen where a Mistralean carrier was on, its deck ablaze and slowly losing altitude. "With the destruction of their support ships, the fighters and transports will be unable to refuel. They will be forced to withdraw or risk crashing into the lake. As for our ground force…" He turned another screen showing a bunch of Atlesian drones overwhelming an enemy garrison. "As you can see, they are finishing with their mop up operations. It should only be a matter of time before the enemy withdraw and we can bring in the rest of the army in without resistance."
"I find it rather too easy."
"Of course he would say that when he's safe and sound doing nothing." Weiss angrily whispered, yet knowing she was powerless to do anything. After all in this world, Whitley was actually helping unlike whatever her counterpart was doing. Actually, what was she doing?
"I thought the same thing." Watts agreed. "But then again, Mistral controlled territory is far larger than that of Atlas. Protecting every town and city under its control must've stretched its armies. Perhaps we should consider this chain of events to be pure luck.
"Is that so?" Whitley sighed disappointingly. It sounded as if he was expecting more from his first taste of battle. "Then let make the most of it. Tell the main force to begin preparations. Once we've mopped up the stragglers, we can begin our invasion in earnest."
"Of course. We might even be done before…"
"Master Whitely!" A com office spoke up from his station. "We have a situation sir. Our vanguard units on the ground are being pushed back. Reports say that they're Huntsmen!"
Oh dear." Klein gasped.
But Whitley didn't look all that alarming. He maintained his posture, turning towards the new holo-screen that popped up displaying the battle below them. And much to the officer's truth, the droids they sent in as advance parties were indeed being mowed down by a ragtag group of warriors. The machines did their best but they were no match for the prowess of skillfully trained Huntsmen.
"I was wondering when they'd show up." Whitely grinned smugly, a part of him somewhat amused to see Huntsmen and Huntresses in action. "These warriors always do love to make a dramatic entrance." He turned to the scientist. "Watts. Send in the Templars. It's time your new toys get a field test."
The man's grin widened. "As you command, Master Schnee."
"Templars?" Must have been a new machine, because Ruby never heard of this before. Ironwood now paying extra attention, to see what improvements Watts and Whitley did to the army.
The screen went dark and then showed another group of men, the Huntsmen, destroying a bunch of machines. The bulky Halberdier, who seemed like the leader of the group scanned his surrounding piercing the bottom shaft of his weapon on a poor machine that struggled to reach him.
"That's the last of them boss." The gunner behind him muttered, emptying the rounds on her six-shot-pistol. "This should buy the fly boys some time to get the wounded out of here."
"Indeed." The large leader muttered, eyes fixed upon the floating islands. "We've bled the enemy today but regardless… this battle remains a loss to us. I always knew Atlas had superior forces but I never thought the difference would be this large. We must prepare ourselves for the worst."
The worst indeed. Perhaps Ozpin could make a few counter measures against such an army like the Atlas military. While he felt that Ironwood would never do such a thing, that wasn't to say he couldn't be overruled. Best to be safe than sorry.
"Oh don't be a sour puss, boss man." The Axeman chuckled raising one of the droid's severed head pulling a William Shakespeare pose of To Be or Not to Be. "It ain't our fault they decided to go on this suicide mission. I mean what else where they expecting when they charged straight into the enemy?"
The Halberdier groaned. "This was supposed to be a scouting mission not a skirmish. Every casualty we suffered here is pointless." He turned to the skies watching as the Mistralean carrier ripped in half with its debris falling towards the surface. "And now the soldiers suffer."
"What now?" The gunner sighed. "Do we strike? We can take the fight to the enemy fleet."
"No way, it's best to retreat." Qrow mentioned his own thoughts, most of the rest agreeing with his assumptions. A fight against such a force would lead to their deaths. Something the leader apparently agreed on.
He raised his hand in decline. "No. We've done enough for today. The retreating army will need a rearguard protecting it. We will return to headquarters once they are safely away from the battlefield."
"Whatever you say boss man." The Axeman laughed. "I might be up for a little killing spree. Just as long as I don't have to…" He stopped mid-sentence when a giant metallic pod dropped onto the battlefield. "Well… speak of the devil. Looks like they didn't waste any time at all." But he slouched in disappointment when he realized that they were just more of Atlas' mechanical weaponries. "More droids? Really? Did they not see what we did to their last batch?"
"Careful." The Gunner warned noting that the designs were eerily different from the last hundred or so they've destroyed. "These ones don't look like the usual models."
Ruby took note of these new machines. Seeing the differences between the usual model and these new ones. While the Atlesian Knights looked like your usual generic forward-marching-droids, these ones were completely new. They didn't have the same visors that their counterparts have. Instead their heads were drawn out like a UFO saucer and each of them had different looks and different weapons to boot.
Weapons that looked very familiar.
"Doesn't matter if they sent the deluxe version." The Axeman cockily stated readying his weapon. "They break just like everything else!"
"No… wait!" But the leader's words were left on deaf ears as the Huntsman charged forward with reckless abandon. He swung his axe down expecting to split the droid's body in half… but to his surprise it simply caught it with one arm.
"What the h…" He never got far in his shock when the droid produced a giant hammer and smashed his face with it planting it firmly to the ground. The machine then pulled a trigger on the tip of the pommel and created an explosion rocking the man down for the count.
"No way...those jerks stole my hammer idea!" Nora stated with rage. Upset Atlas machines took her weapon.
And it wasn't the only one either. The robots having other weapons in the form of a giant sword and the third… a scythe. Like Ruby's? Either way, that was the ending as the scene then went dark again. This time ending. An ending that nobody could fathom in understanding.
"Well….your brother seemed to have things….under control…?" Oscar told the two sisters, who weren't in any mood to speak. Their minds to overloaded by the chaos they had just seen Their brother, leader of the DSC, the military, and this new academy. It was to much.
"Wow...I can't tell if I should compliment your brother, or not." Even Nora was at a stop on what to say.
As for Ironwood, he decided he could question all of this later, much later. Instead focusing on how to create these new machines. Their power looking rather impressive since it could deal with a trained Huntsman. And while he wouldn't say it out loud, maybe he could do something like Whitley did in uniting the army, SDC, and academy.
'...To think I'm taking ideas from a boy….'
The Keeper saw the mood and decided to lighten them up. The screen lighting up to show a more light-hearted world. "Don't worry everybody, the next scene will be more cheerful."
And that's the end of the current war...for now. Using two chapters from the story and merging them to one, I liked it, hopefully you did to. I can't wait to see what the author plans next though. Especially with how Winter and Weiss will be dealing with Whitley who's a lot more powerful. I never did get the reason why people hated him.
Also, thank you to one reviewer who pointed out a mistake here. My grammar. Not sure if I mentioned this, but I am rather new to writing fanfiction. So don't expect everything to be super professional. I have a hard time typing word-to-word. Next chapter will be magical from an anime I saw. It will be ridiculous.
If anybody has their own t.v. suggestions and what not, then send them in and I'll see what I can do. Until then, bye.