Down in Mantle, Yang, Hector, Jaune, and Ren made their way through the streets towards a garage, where Pietro said he had something for them that would help significantly. As they opened to door to the garage, Yang turned on the lights…and immediately lit up in joy.
"Oh yeah" she said, "The others are DEFINITELY missing out."
The boys looked over her shoulders, and Hector cracked into a fanged grin. "You got that right."
A few minutes later, the four were cruising down the street on hi-tech motorcycles that hovered with the use of gravity dust. Yang was thoroughly enjoying herself, wearing her sunglasses and a huge smile on her face. Hector was having his own amount of fun, popping a wheelie next to Yang.
"How bout that?" he asked.
"I didn't know you could drive that well!" Yang shot back.
"I've had some experience."
Yang grinned, "Yeah? Well, watch this!"
Driving her bike to a wall, Yang fired her gauntlets, pushing the bike into a side flip and landing on the opposite side of Hector, who nodded in approval. "Impressive."
Just then, Fiona's voice came over the coms. "Ok guys, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear" Hector replied.
"Good. There's a small cluster of Grimm close to where you are. Can you handle it?"
"You got it!" Yang and Hector replied in unison before the four sped off down the road. Sure enough, as they turned the corner, they could see a pack of Sabyrs in the street. However, they seemed to be facing something.
"Something up" Hector said. To further prove his point, one of the Grimm suddenly disintegrated while the others backed up.
Someone's over there Pyrrha said in Jaune's head, nearly startling him.
A little warning, next time? He shot back.
Sorry. I'll try to. I forgot you're still new to this.
"Look" Ren said, pointing to the crowd of Grimm. As the four watched, they could see the flashing of a sword, pushing back the Grimm until the figure came into full view. It was a younger man, but that was all they could make out as he was covered in white armor of a design they had never seen before. He held a shield that glowed with a blue energy at the edges and a sword with a blade that flared with blue light, a sword he was now swinging in deadly arcs at the Grimm.
"Get back!" he shouted, "Get back before I send you back to the Abyss!"
"Geez" Hector said, "What kind of red meat was that guy eating."
"No idea" Yang replied, "But I'm not going to stand here and let him fend for himself."
With that, Yang gunned the bike forward, plowing into the Sabyrs and killing a few. She then swung the bike around, dismounted, and raised her fists. The Sabyrs charged forward, only for Hector to materialize above them, impaling them with the blades on his arms and tail. Two Sabyrs managed to flee, but Jaune and ren easily dispatched them.
With the Grimm gone, Yang turned to the armored figure. "Who are you? Are you a Night Sentinel?"
The figure straightened up at the mention of the Night Sentinels: he wasn't expecting anyone to know of them, and she didn't look like one of his bretheren. He then answered, "No, but I am an ally. I am one of the Champions of Atlas. We are people who have been exiled from our home after the barrier was placed around it and have waited for nearly 18 years to retaliate against our enemy."
"You mean Salem?" Hector asked.
The Champion nodded, "Indeed. My name is Leonidas, and I am merely but one of those who serve under General Schnee and High Commander Hill."
"High Commander Hill…" Yang muttered to herself, "You mean Robyn Hill?"
"You know her?"
"We've met a few times. We also know her son, Damian. He's here too."
"If he's here" Leonidas said, "Than we already have an advantage. Now, there are more Grimm to clear out. The High Commander has given the signal and the Champions are already meeting the enemy in battle. Will you care to join us?"
Hector cracked his knuckles. "Gladly."
"Hold on! Time out!" Jaune interrupted, "Who's General Schnee?!"
"General Nicholas Schnee" Leonidas replied, "Our military commander, second only to High Commander Hill. You may know him as the one who created the SDC."
The four huntsmen looked at each other in surprise; Weiss was gonna freak out when she heard of this.
"Is he here now?" Yang asked, "We also happen to know two Schnees: Weiss and Winter."
"His granddaughters, yes." Leonidas said, "He knows they're here. Now, I'll explain more later if I can. Right now, we must hurry; time is not something the enemy will allow us."
Yang nodded and jumped back on her bike. "Need a lift?"
"I appreciate the offer" Leonidas replied, "But I've got my own ride."
He then waved his hand across the ground, creating a glyph that looked almost exactly like the one Weiss uses. A holographic dragon appeared out of it, which Leonidas promptly mounted.
"Ok" Hector said in amazement, "Now THAT'S cool!"
Yang was at loss for words. "Weiss can do that same thing!"
"Where do you think she got it from?" Leonidas asked, "She's descended from a Champion of Atlas. A Sentinel heritage is no small matter."
"Good enough for me" Hector said, "Now, let's go! We got monsters to kill!"
Leonidas laughed. "I like your enthusiasm!"
The group sped off down the street, and as they kept going, they could see that Leonidas wasn't kidding. What seemed like innocent people now appeared in full body armor, brandishing Argent weaponry as they ran out to battle the Grimm. Leonidas spurred the dragon into a dive, and it let out a blast of blue fire, killing a pack of Beowulves on one of the streets.
"For Sentinel Prime!" Yang heard one of the Champions shout as he charged forward. As Hector took a closer look, he could see that some of them were even faunus!
"Guys" Fiona said over the coms, "What the heck is going on?! I'm seeing all these new blips, but they're not Grimm!"
"Relax, Fiona" Hector replied as the four stopped the bikes next to a group of Champions, "They're with us."
"No, not them!" Fiona said, "Look above you!"
Just then, the four heard the noise of a jet engine, and looked up to see multiple bullheads appear, coming down and landing in the streets. Hector took a look at the symbol painted on the side of the engine and gave a whoop of joy; it was the White Fang! Sure enough, the side door opened, letting out nearly a dozen armed White Fang soldiers. The other bullheads did the same, and Hector ran out to meet the familiar tiger faunus coming from the lead ship.
"Sienna!" Hector called out. Seeing him run up, Sienna broke into a grin as the two friends shared an embrace.
"Glad you could make it" Hector continued, pulling away.
Sienna chuckled. "Well, I think I speak for everyone here when I say we intend to restore our honor after the events of Haven."
"You got that right" said another voice. Hector turned to look and smiled even wider as Ilia walked up, wearing her combat gear. As Hector and Ilia embraced, Leonidas dismounted from his dragon and approached Sienna.
"Are your friend or enemy?" he asked, his sword warily raised.
"We are here to fight the Grimm and help get the people to safety" Sienna replied. This satisfied the knight and he nodded. "As you were then."
As he walked off, Sienna turned to Hector, who was still talking with Ilia. "So, what's the plan?"
"We need to help get as many people as possible to the crater." Hector explained, "It's the safest place to go as of right now."
Sienna nodded. "There are more than enough squads; we can split up and cover more ground."
"Let's go then." Hector said. Suddenly, a massive tremor rumbled throughout the area, causing everyone to stumble and regain their footing. After a few seconds, a gust of wind blew through, and then it all stopped. The Champions all tensed up, as they heard something else in the wind, but then one of them let out a whoop. "The Barrier! It's broken!"
The others realized he was right and began cheering as well.
"Stay strong!" Leonidas shouted, "We must keep the Grimm at bay!"
Sienna then turned to the Fang soldiers. "Listen up! It seems like the Grimm will be handled for the time being, so our job is to get all the people we can to the crater! Split up and spread out to everyone you can! Hector, you, Ilia, and your three friends will stay with me."
Hector nodded in agreement. As the soldiers spread out, Jaune watched in amazement.
"It's just like what Ruby wanted" he said.
Ren agreed. "The people are starting to work together. It's what Julius wanted too."
Yang nodded. "Speaking of Julius, I wonder what he's up to now."
As if in answer, Yang's scroll went off, and she answered it to reveal Julius's icon on the screen.
"Yang!" he said, "You there?"
"What is it?" Yang asked.
"I did it! The barrier's gone! Oscar and Novus came out and I'm heading back to Mantle to help you guys out."
"You found Oscar?!"
Oscar's voice came over the scroll. "I'm here! Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll explain more later. We're heading back to Mantle on a White Fang ship. Novus is heading for Atlas to get to Penny, but the rest of us will be with you."
"Well, you better hurry" Hector said, "You're missing quite the spectacle."
"We'll be there soon" Julius said, "Don't worry."
Yang then hung up as Sienna waved the team over. "Okay. Just like them, we'll head out and help evacuate, just like you were planning. We'll need to hurry though. There's a second wave of ships coming, so I'll need to let them know of what's happening. For now, let's move out!"
"Champions!" Leonidas announced, "Onward!"
Sienna mounted the bike with Yang while Ilia joined Hector. The group then sped off towards another sector of the city.
"Look!" Ilia shouted, pointing above them, "The second wave!"
Sure enough, more White Fang bullheads appeared above them, and inside one of them was Julius and Novus. Novus already had his new combat shotgun out and was making sure it was loaded.
"I have Penny's location locked." VEGA said, "Would you like me to open a portal there?"
"Yes, and fast!" Novus replied. As the bullhead came to hover over the city, a blue portal opened next to the door.
"Good luck." Julius said, patting Novus's shoulder.
"To you as well" Novus replied. Then, he jumped out the door and through the portal, which closed with a flash. Once it did, Julius pulled out his sword.
"Ready, Taurus?" he asked. Adam readied his own sword. "See you at the bottom."
The two then simultaneously fell out of the ship, falling down right in the middle of a Sabyr pack. Julius was ready, and channeled his magic through the blade of Hell's Bane before stabbing it into the ground, causing a shockwave that sent most of the Grimm flying. Meanwhile, Adam managed to land on top of one of the remaining Grimm, stab it through the face, then swing his sword in a deadly arc, decapitating the Grimm around him.
"Huh, impressive" Julius said, "You've gotten faster."
"You're not so bad yourself." Adam replied as the bullheads landed, depositing the soldiers within as well as Anton and Oscar, "So, shall we keep hunting?"
Julius hefted his sword. "Gladly."
The two ran down the street, just as another pack of Grimm charged out to meet them.
…
"What the hell is going on?!" Ironwood demanded. He had just been shown footage of Mantle and on both the amassing champions and the White Fang. Winter stood behind him, slightly leaning away from him. She now wore and armor-like brace around her torso.
"It seems like they're trying to protect Mantle" Winter replied.
"Yes, but who's behind it?!" Ironwood shot back. As he looked at the various screens, he then noticed Julius on one of them fighting back to back with Oscar and Adam. As he watched, Ironwood gritted his teeth.
"Julius and Ozpin" he growled, "Those two and Ruby were always the ones who had the wrong ideas in situations like this. As long as they're around, Atlas is in greater danger of being abandoned, and therefore destroyed. The Ace Ops are busy retrieving Penny, so Winter, I need you to take Julius down."
Winter looked surprised. "Me?"
"Is there a problem?
Winter was silent for a few moments before saluting. "Yes sir." And then walked off. AS she did, she formulated her own plan. She was. going to find Julius, but Winter had other plans for when she found him.
Let me know what you think so far!