Well folks, another chapter. Hopefully this one will live up its predecessors expectations and make you all happy. Also, finally got around to doing a front cover. Sorry for the poor quality, my scanner combined with the lack of editing effects available on this site make for a real crap quality front cover it seems. Now, review response time. ChidoriKilledTheBatman- Glad you liked the action scenes, had a great time writing them up. As for your question, Nick Valentine is loosely based on Rick Valentine from Fallout 4. I admit, it did help imagining the voice actors voice when writing his dialogue. OutlastTheDark- Glad you liked the chapter and thank you for the compliment. Also, I'm happy their deaths pleased you. As for the fight scenes, a lot were inspired by Halo 5 assassinations, the first Matrix and the part where he 'sucks' the guy into his Semblance was slightly inspired by the intro to X2. As for your comment on the last speech in the chapter...maybe you should call social services or maybe, I don't know, hire a bodyguard...Now, on with the show!
"I don't see eight million listeners. I see them as individuals – the man listening in his lorry, the woman getting her children ready for school, the husband in his car." Sir Terry Wogan, 1938-2016. You shall be missed.
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Chapter 9- The Message
Deep in the streets of Vale's Old Town, the ruins of the once majestic Overwatch Academy stood proudly. Whilst time had been less than kind for the majority of the buildings in the area, it still had an almost otherworldly glow emanating from its concrete walls. The Academy was almost completely forgotten by the people of Vale, its many accomplishments overshadowed by its dark downfall. The Academy itself was now a broken shadow of its former glory, with only the occasional scrounger scavenging for any supplies. Yet still it was not completely abandoned…
Winston sat in what was once the IT suite of the Academy, multiple computer panels of all shapes and sizes hanging from the wall. Winston sat on an old tractor tire, which was utilised as a seat whilst he typed away on the keyboard in front of him with his hand like feet whilst in his main hands he held both an unpeeled banana and an open jar of peanut butter.
One of the many benefits of being a Gorilla faunus; your feet acted as a second set of hands. He grunted to himself as he dipped the banana into the peanut butter before taking a bite out of it. As he quickly devoured the remainder of the yellow fruit and nutty spread, he quickly turned to face his Arc gun, Lunar Storm, and began tinkering with it as he quickly began ensuring the modifications he had recently added were still functioning properly.
"WARNING! STORAGE DEVICE CORRUPTED! DATA PREPARING TO BE DELETED!"
Winston's eyes widened as he heard the automated voice blare from the speakers as the monitor in front of him flared red as multiple messages appeared on his screen.
"Oh crap..." Winston muttered as he turned his full attention to the task at hand, jumping up as he began to use his main hands to perform the necessary actions.
Judging from the messages dancing across his screen he had just activated a 'sleeper virus', a nasty program that remained dormant until activated, usually by opening a file of some form. And judging by how fast it was spreading through his system, it was a nasty one at that. He had to act fast if he wanted to contain it, or else who knew what other data could be lost.
First things first, he had to disconnect the system from the main network, therefore isolating the program. This proved no easy feat as the virus was already distorting the screen, making it nearly impossible to make out what he was clicking.
After fruitless seconds of trial and error, he finally managed it, the program now isolated onto the main monitor. He had to act fast now, he had no idea how long it would be until all the files were deleted. Quickly bounding towards one of the older computer's stationed in the old classroom, he quickly inserted a disk into the CD-ROM and switched the computer on.
He waited for a few seconds for the screen to come to life, but to no avail. He violently shook the monitor yet still nothing. His eyes scanned the power cord, only to see it had been frayed beyond repair.
"Dammit all!" Winston shouted as he slammed his fists on the floor in frustration.
He looked around for any alternate power source, when his eyes landed on Lunar Storm. He had recently added a new generator that gave the weapon the ability to discharge electricity at a direct source. The new design was built for the purpose of depositing lethal amounts of electrical energy into Grimm or raiders, but he had yet to try the weapon on an electrical device…
He quickly grabbed the Arc Gun and began the charging system. One of two things were bound to happen. One; the computer would receive enough energy to activate for a short time, allowing him to download the necessary anti-virus programs and install them onto the affected device. Or two; it would just blow up in his face.
Only one way to find out…
He quickly felt the weapon power up, vibrating gently in his hands. He hefted it up slightly and gripped the trigger. As soon as his finger squeezed the trigger, a concentrated beam of electrical energy shot out the device, hitting the computer head on and causing the device to glow brightly as it gently shook on the table. The computer continued to glow as it hummed loudly, multiple high pitched beeps indicating the system was activating...before it promptly stuttered out sparks and exploded, sending the metal frame flying in all directions.
"Well...should have expected that really..." Winston muttered as he quickly placed the Arc Gun on the floor, turning around to deal with the virus the old fashioned way.
He quickly activated the anti-virus system on the affected monitor, though the virus appeared to be doing everything in its power to stop him. This is what he had been afraid of, which was why he would have preferred to use a newer program to stop it. As the anti-virus program attempted to combat the virus, he glanced and saw the files were being prepared for deletion.
His eyes narrowed in concern as the program neared the end of the progress bar, the files forever lost…
"DELETION CANCELLED! REBOOTING INTO 'SAFE MODE'!"
Winston turned and let out a sigh of relief. The program had successfully stopped the virus. No doubt he would have to wipe the systems memory and ensure no traces of the virus lingered. He turned back to the monitor as the system rebooted. He resumed his work and began scanning the video file, making sure there was no lingering traces of corruption present.
He didn't know what Jack would-no, what 'Soldier 76' would do if he ended up loosing the data. Honestly, he didn't know. He wasn't Morrison any more, he had made that abundantly clear…
Once he was confident the file was no longer corrupted, he pressed the document, awaiting for whatever footage may appear…
"THIS DEVICE WAS RECENTLY CORRUPTED. TO ENSURE DOCUMENT SAFETY, THIS FILE HAS BEEN LOCKED OFF FOR: TWO HOURS! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE."
Winston groaned loudly as he slumped back in his make-shift chair, quickly throwing the empty jar of peanut butter against the wall, the glass shattering upon contact. At least the file was still viewable, not that it was any meaningful consolation.
He sighed loudly as he instead used one of his secondary hands to grab a nearby TV remote and switch said device on. He needed a break, that much was for sure. He flicked through the multiple channels to see what was on. Channel 2 had a re-run of one of the old 'X-Ray and Vav' cartoons, Channel 4 had some show about a black armoured 'elf', whatever that was, and a red robed human attempting to get large amounts of 'Gold' whilst he skipped straight to Channel 9 which was re-running one of his favourite shows about two separate armies attempting to gain control of a box canyon.
He chuckled to himself as he watched the antics of the two armies, only for the show to abruptly stop as blaring music resounded out the loud speakers as the show was replaced by the symbol of the Vale News Network.
"We interrupt this broadcast to bring Breaking News, live from VNN HQ!" a male voice announced as the image was replaced by that of News Anchor Olympia Shaw.
Winston leaned forward curiously as he looked upon the News Anchors face, which was clearly distressed.
"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you tragic news." Olympia Shaw announced, her voice trembling slightly. "Just hours ago, a strike force composed of both Atlas Military and the Vale Police Department was attacked, leaving no survivors. Detective Sergeant Richard 'Rick' Valentine was amongst the deceased whilst General James Ironwood, head of the Atlas force in Vale and headmaster of Atlas Academy, is missing and presumed dead. Whilst the White Fang have been labelled as the main suspects, Police have not ruled out any connection to the serial killer, The Vale Reaper."
Winston's mouth went agape as the broadcast continued, before he switched the TV off and sighed loudly. Soldier 76 needed to know about this. He turned and bounded towards the monitor, checking the security feed for the building. As he expected, Soldier 76 was in the sparring hall, honing his skills. He quickly turned and sprinted out the room, sliding slightly as he stopped and turned the corner. The sparring hall was on the other side of the Academy, usually it would take nearly half an hour to get there. Fortunately, he had his ways…
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Soldier 76 strolled into the old sparring hall as his mind went back to the old days. He would spend countless hours training as he aimed to be the best of the best, whether it be against other students or robotic training dummies. His hand brushed away some of the dust on the main control panel, his hand lingering slightly as he felt it hum beneath his fingers.
"Must still be some power left..." Soldier 76 whispered to himself, quickly tapping the touch-screen to see if his assumption was correct.
Seconds later, the screen lit up as the Academies symbol appeared on the screen before multiple selection tabs appeared above it.
"Welcome to the Overwatch Sparring Hall, please select your challenger!" a soft female voice ordered, distorting slightly as the screen crackled.
Soldier 76 played with the idea of going through the training program again. Not that he needed it of course, he was an expert when it came to the art of combat. Still, those two girls had nearly shown him up back at the warehouse, his technique was sloppy. Not to mention he had nearly been caught by the VPD when he infiltrated their HQ almost three weeks ago.
No, he needed to be on form when he came face to face with the Vale Reaper. And the only way to be on form was to train.
He quickly tapped the tab labelled 'A.I' as more tabs appeared, reading 'Novice', 'Apprentice', 'Adept', 'Expert', 'Master' and 'Grand Master'.
"A.I combatant selected. Please choose a difficulty level."
Almost immediately, he clicked the tab titled 'Grand Master', causing a warning message to play.
"Warning, this difficulty is for third year teams and teachers only! Are you sure you wish to continue?"
Soldier 76 instantly clicked 'Yes' before having the stage set to 'Random'. He heard the sound of gears grinding as the amphitheatre below him changed. The once barren arena was now replaced by a ruined metropolis, multiple buildings having collapsed, offering cover for him.
On the other side of the amphitheatre was a robot, no taller than him. Its legs were digitigrade in design and its rusty metal hull was painted tan and green. Light blue highlights that flickered slightly were dotted around its body whilst a large blue eye the same colour sat in the centre of its head. Its right hand was replaced by a Machine Gun whilst a large Gatling Gun rested upright on its back. On its left side were painted the code 'E54'.
Soldier 76 grunted in surprise at the sight of the old 'Siege Automaton E54 "BASTION"' unit. They were the main choice for training during the old days and if the school ever came under threat, were the first line of defence. He was surprised the unit was in such a good condition, let only still functioning.
The 'Bastion' stepped forward onto a small platform hanging over the amphitheatre before descending into the Arena. Soldier 76 did the same, quickly pulling out Helix Strike and shifting the weapon into its rifle mode.
"Combatants ready! Beginning combat in; 5...4...3...2...1..."
Soldier 76 tensed as he slowly raised Helix Strike, the 'Bastion' doing the same with its Machine Gun.
"Begin!"
The 'Bastion' fired immediately, the spray of bullets streaming forward at an alarming pace. Soldier 76 rolled to the right, returning fire in quick bursts. The 'Bastion' moved to the left, ducking under shots whilst also returning fire. Soldier 76 continued to move, focusing on getting to cover rather than attacking. Swerving behind a corner, Soldier 76 quickly loaded a fresh clip into Helix Strike before popping out the corner and firing relentlessly at the 'Bastion'.
As the bullets came forward at an alarming pace, the 'Bastion' immediately reconfigured itself, its head sliding into its body as it folded its arms in on itself, spinning its body around as the Gatling Gun on its back pointed outwards towards him, a rectangular blue shield suddenly appearing as the bullets bounced harmlessly off it.
Recognising it as the units 'Sentry Mode', Soldier 76 quickly sprinted from his cover as the Gatling Gun quickly reduced it to dust. Whilst in 'Sentry Mode', the 'Bastion' was immobile but could turn 360º and was protected by a one way shield. Soldier 76 continued to sprint until he found a cover that was thick enough to survive the Gatling Gun.
Soldier 76 panted as he quickly raised Helix Strike close to his chest, pumping the weapon in order to activate the rifles secondary weapon, its rockets.
Breaking cover, he fired three rockets at the 'Bastion', the first two shattering its shield whilst the third damaged the hull of the automaton. Quickly re-entering its main 'Recon Mode', the 'Bastion' quickly moved to the safety of cover as it fired at Soldier 76's position. Easily dodging the shots, Soldier 76 took cover as he reloaded a fresh batch of Dust Propelled Rockets into the weapon. Rising quickly, he aimed at where the 'Bastion' had taken cover and fired the rockets, the building quickly collapsing on the 'Bastion', burying it.
"Hmph, didn't make the cut..." Soldier 76 grunted, turning into the open courtyard as he made his way over to the lift.
The sound of rubble shifting quickly made him stop as he turned to face the rubble, which was bouncing up and down. Without warning, the 'Bastion' erupted out of the rubble, completely unscathed, even from his previous assault.
"What the..." Soldier 76 muttered as he staggered back, clearly surprised.
The 'Bastion' quickly used the opportunity to fire its Machine Gun, sending Morrison flying back as he was hit by the bullets until he impacted a wall, sliding down as the 'Bastion' stepped out of the rubble around it. Quickly regaining his senses, Soldier 76 growled as he shifted Helix Strike into its melee form, a large Machete.
Sprinting forward, Soldier 76 lunged up into the air as the 'Bastion' raised its left arm in defence, blocking the blow. It then thrust its right arm forward, hitting Soldier 76 in the gut and causing him to stagger backwards before it followed through with its left arm, Soldier 76 just managing to duck beneath the blow. The two then exchanged blows for a short while, each one parrying the other.
Eventually however, the automaton slipped up. It swung both arms forward in an arc, attempting to hit Soldier 76 in the gut. Soldier 76 easily parried the blow, holding Helix Strike with both hands with the blade pointing down. Before the 'Bastion' could recover, Soldier 76 quickly moved his right hand down to his pistol and aimed at the automaton's optic.
Firing the pistol swiftly, the 'Bastion' was quickly blinded as it staggered back uncontrollably, randomly firing its Machine Gun in all directions. As it continued to fire blindly, Soldier 76 raised the pistol and fired at one of the joints in its leg, crippling it immediately.
As the 'Bastion' attempted to drag its body away, Soldier 76 quickly rolled a grenade on the floor, the explosive bouncing off of the automaton's foot. As it looked down at its foot, the grenade exploded, sending the 'Bastion' flying into a wall, its body severely damaged. Soldier 76 quickly activated his Semblance as he charged forward, giving him both a boost in strength and speed. As the 'Bastion' attempted to rise, Soldier 76 quickly spun clockwise and swung out in a horizontal arc. Seconds later, the 'Bastion' slumped to the floor as its head clattered onto the floor, the shattered eye dimming into darkness.
"Match complete! The winner is: Unknown Combatant!" the voice announced, causing Soldier 76 to grunt in amusement as Helix Strike shifted back into its rifle form before he placed the weapon on his back. "Will the combatant please vacate the arena!"
Soldier 76 strolled over to the platform that he descended from as it slowly lifted him back next to the control panel.
"Floor cleared!" the voice announced as metal shutters began to rise around the amphitheatre, blocking his line of sight. "Resetting arena floor!"
"Never gets old, huh?"
Soldier 76 turned at the sound of the voice, and was met by Winston who was standing by the doorway with a sombre look on his face.
"How's the decryption going?" Soldier 76 asked.
"The files been decoded, but we can't view it yet for at least two hours." Winston replied. That was good news in Soldier 76's eyes, which was why he was surprised by the Gorilla faunus' expression. "But that's not why I'm here..."
"What is it?" Soldier 76 asked, folding his arms as he spoke. He preferred to be 'to the point' and all this dancing around was doing him no good.
"See for yourself..." Winston replied, tossing a Scroll over to Soldier 76 who easily caught it.
He immediately caught the device and activated it, gasping silently at what was displayed on the screen. A task-force entrusted with finding the Vale Reaper had been completely annihilated, with many key leaders either dead or missing.
"You think this was him?" Soldier 76 asked, looking up to Winston as he spoke.
"How can it not be him?" Winston asked, shrugging his shoulders. "If it was White Fang, they would have bragged about it by now...not to mention there were none of their symbols left behind."
Soldier 76 groaned loudly as he continued looking through the news reports. 'Tragedy in Forever Falls', 'Huntresses go missing' and 'Vale Reaper still on the loose' were amongst the top results.
"I'll look into it when I get back..." Soldier 76 announced, tossing the scroll to Winston as he walked past him.
"Back? Back from where?" Winston asked, yet he received no reply as Soldier 76 strolled around the corner. Moving quickly after him, Winston turned the corner, only to find no trace of the vigilante. Winston let out an unamused growl as he shook his head. "I hate it when he does that..."
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Ozpin sat in the gardens of Beacon, drinking a cup of coffee as he read the book he held aloft, detailing a small fable about a Huntsman who used the powers of the Grimm against them, and was shunned by society as a result. He took another sip from the coffee as he continued to read, only stopping when he felt a presence nearby.
"You may come out now Glynda, there is no use hiding..."
True to Ozpin's suspicion, Glynda Goodwitch soon strolled out, standing almost a foot away from Ozpin.
"Care to join me?" Ozpin asked, gesturing to a space on the bench next to him, though judging from her expression, she was not here to enjoy the serenity of the gardens.
"You know why I'm here, Ozpin." Glynda stated, her voice as stern as ever. "I implore you to reconsider your decision!"
"And what decision is that?" Ozpin asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
"You know full well what I'm talking about!" Glynda sternly replied, stepping forward slightly. "Please Ozpin, for the students sake, close Beacon Academy!"
"We will not let this terrorist control us Glynda." Ozpin replied, slamming the book shut as he quickly rose. "If we close the school, the students will be more vulnerable! Who's to say the Vale Reaper knows where they live? At Beacon, we can better protect them."
"I don't want to see our school turn into a slaughter-house!" Glynda protested, holding her arms out widely. "If the Reaper was bold enough to attack a military task-force, then what's to stop them from attacking Beacon?!"
"We do not know for certain if the Vale Reaper is responsible for the attack in Forever Falls." Ozpin corrected, turning to leave as Glynda followed.
"And what of Team FRYA?" Glynda asked as she quickly caught up with Ozpin. "No one has seen them for days! Whoever they are, they're getting bolder!"
Ozpin sighed at the mention of the missing Huntresses in training. Snatched away in broad daylight, no one having heard or seen them since.
"My decision is final!" Ozpin finally replied, stopping and turning to face Glynda. "Beacon Academy will remain open!"
"If you will not close Beacon for the students safety, at least close for your-"
Glynda suddenly stopped as her face contorted to one of horror, her hand going to her mouth as she staggered back in shock. Confused, Ozpin turned to see what had made the usually stoic teacher pale, and recoiled at what he saw.
"Ozpin..." Ironwood managed to say as he limped forward, nearly collapsing from exhaustion.
Ironwood's body was littered with cuts and bruises that even a Beowolf would be jealous of. His left eye was covered in bruises whilst his right eye looked as though someone had attempted to cut it out. His right arm had been severed below the elbow whilst his left arm cradled his stomach, no doubt to stop its contents from spilling out.
Ozpin quickly rushed forward, catching the General before he could fall over and leaning him against a nearby tree.
"James! What happened?!" Ozpin asked as he looked over the wounded General.
"Vale Reaper...ambushed us...killed everyone..." Ironwood gasped, nearly passing out from the pain.
"Glynda, call an ambulance immediately!" Ozpin ordered, which Glynda happily obliged to. As Glynda sprinted off inside the Academy, Ozpin turned his attention back to Ironwood. "Don't worry, everything is going to be all right."
"Ozpin..." Ironwood said, gasping for air as he grabbed the Headmasters jacket and pulled him closer. "He wanted...to give you a message..."
"What sort of message?" Ozpin asked, clearly confused.
"He said...'reap...what you sow'..."
Ozpin paled at the words. It couldn't be him, that was impossible. He was dead!
"What?" Ozpin asked, to which the General chuckled slightly as his eyes grew heavy.
"He said...you would understand..." Ironwood managed to say, before his eyes closed and he let out one final breath before slipping into unconsciousness.
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The plot thickens yet again! Where is Soldier 76 going? How does Ozpin know that phrase? Will Ironwood survive? Find out soon! As I mentioned in the last chapter, I would give more details as to what my next RWBY crossover would be. So without further ado, here's the clue…
"The rules for what I like to call the Reaver Team Spirit Award are these: firstly, anyone who so much as murmurs another complaint will be shot! Second, anyone who takes more than a three second break will be shot! Third, anyone who breaks any other rules I have yet to formulate will, yes, you guessed it, be shot!"
If you haven't guessed it, it's a RWBY/Fable crossover. I'll be releasing it next Sunday and bumping Reap What You Sow onto Saturday. But until then, I hope you enjoy.
Raging Archon out.
