Chapter 35 - Troubled Triumphs


-EVERNIGHT CASTLE, LAND OF DARKNESS, TWO MINUTES BEFORE THE TRIUMPH-

As the ground suddenly appeared before her, Yang quickly spun her body around in mid-air, and Shouted: "FEIM!"

And, if anybody asked, Yang Xiao-Long, the legendary Last Dragonborn, had most definitely not be screaming as she'd been thrown into the Sun and plummeted head-first through Aetherius and into what she hoped was Remnant.

As her ethereal body stuck the three-point landing, she began quickly looking around, remembering what Akatosh had told her, of Alduin's memories of the foreign world.

No signs of mountains, hills, forests, the sea, or walled cities around her. And no signs of attractive blonde idiots with unworldly shields and enchanted dragonbone blades either.

Damn. It seemed that Sheogorath's aim (or should she call him Ozpin?) had been off by a fair bit.

In fact... Yang could safely say she had no idea where she was, but she wouldn't have been surprised if she was just in some Dragon Priest's tomb. The dark and gloomy atmosphere certainly fit, as did the dim glow above her (probably cave fungus) and the stone flooring under her feet.

The carpet was way too nice to be that old, though, and as her body became corporeal once more she turned to the room's other occupant, some white-haired pale-skinned broad in a black dress.

Salem, for her part, merely looked at the intruder who'd just portalled into her throne room and waited.

After a moment, when it became clear that there wasn't going to be any further uninvited guests, Salem raised an eyebrow in confusion and studied the newcomer. She'd certainly run into Team RWBY before, but Yang Xiao-Long seemed different, somehow, from how she usually did. This one seemed more intense, more focused.

More importantly, though, she knew Team RWBY had the Staff. She knew they used it to create portals. She knew they could have just created a portal into her room and try to assassinate her. But now that they had... was this all? Just one blonde brawler? Was it a trap? A trick?

Salem decided against calling upon the forces she'd concealed and left on standby near the room, just in case. Instead, staring back at the Raven's abandoned daughter, she began: "Welcome-"

"Hey, is this Remnant?" Yang asked restlessly, impatient to know whether she was on the right track.

"..." Salem's words died in her throat, as her mind desperately tried to make sense of the situation. She knew Yang Xiao-Long was not just some mindless brutish berserker. What did she hope to gain by asking such a simple question? Just what was Ozma planning? Should she play along, play for time while trying to figure out the intent behind the question?

Well, she wasn't pressed for time in any way, being immortal (much to her displeasure). And so, Salem chose to entertain her questions.

"... yes, we are in Remnant, child. Where else would we be?"

"Oh... good." Yang replied easily, getting up and dusting herself off.

Salem couldn't help but tense up at her movement, preparing to mentally summon the Grimm waiting around the room. Was that it?

"Do you know a Jaune Arc?" Yang pressed on urgently. She didn't know the weird creepy woman, but if Jaune knew her, she should probably try to make a good impression.

Salem blinked, utterly lost. Huh? Who? It seemed that Ozma's current scheme was cunning and devious and completely beyond her, because Salem could barely understand the question. Had Yang Xiao-Long just popped into the throne room of the Queen of the Grimm, the woman responsible for the Fall and everything that had happened in the past few years since, just to ask if she was still on Remnant and whether she knew some random nobody?

The name did ring a bell, though, and so the immortal searched through her long and distant memory. Arc... Arc... oh, right, some of Cinder's reports, from before and after the Fall. Hadn't he been the former leader and partner of the current Fall Maiden, Pyrrha Nikos? Indeed, she recalled, Cinder had described him in her initial reports as just lucky; a person of middling-to-average skill at best, who'd only gotten that far in Beacon thanks to having the good fortunate of being partnered with the Champion from Mistral. In short, not a threat in any way, shape, or form, but perhaps a person of interest, if she could exploit his relationship with his partner to weaken her somehow.

Of course, the way Cinder had described him after the Fall had been different. Oh, there had been a lot of delicious fury. Salem couldn't help but smile, as she remembered her fallen piece. She'd severely underestimated the "blonde buffoon", and hadn't realized how that would motivate his team, his partner, his friends. In the end, Salem could blame no one else but Cinder for her failure and death at Haven. A waste, perhaps, but not an unexpected one.

"I do know of Jaune Arc." Salem answered easily, still playing along. "What do you want with a dead man?"

"He's dead?" Yang asked in disbelief, clenching her fist in anger. Had she arrived too late? Had Alduin really managed to mortally wound Jaune?

Salem, unaware of Yang's inner turmoil (or that the Yang in front of her wasn't the Yang of Team RWBY), remained as confused as ever. Was Yang suffering from amnesia or something? She knew they knew he'd fallen; the Grimm inside Cinder had let her hear Cinder's final moments in Haven.

"Yes... my piece killed him, during the Fall of Beacon, years ago. What are you and Ozma even planning with this, anyway?"

Yang ignored the second sentence, focusing on the first one. The hag in front of her had him killed? Had her Jaune killed?! Beacon, years ago...

Then it clicked. Jaune had mentioned Beacon before. The school he'd studied at, training to be a Hunter.

Oh, right... he'd also mentioned that it had been attacked, and he'd died fighting a dragon atop a clock tower, hadn't he?

So, the droning broad in front of her didn't know that Jaune had returned to this world, then. And had also been responsible for him going to Skyrim in the first place.

A small part of Yang wondered if she should give her a small gift, since she was responsible for Jaune meeting her. You know, before she killed her for hurting Jaune.

"Who in Oblivion are you, anyway?" Yang demanded to know, as she finally took a proper moment to study the hag.

"... what is the point of this?" Salem shot back. She hadn't felt this confused in centuries; being caught on the back foot was a feeling she'd long-since forgotten. She didn't like it. "You know who I am! Salem?! Queen of the Grimm?! You and your team showed the entire world my face, remember?!"

Yang didn't bother replying, didn't bother telling her she had the wrong person. She was busy considering Salem's words. The Grimm... weren't they the things that Jaune had mentioned? Creatures of darkness and shadow, bent on wiping out humanity?

Well, there was definitely no way Jaune could complain if she killed their queen, then.

"WULD!" Yang Shouted, and as her body was suddenly and violently thrown forward, she threw her fist forward.

There was a loud and wet squelching sound, as her fist simply went through Salem's body.

Instead of blood, however, a black ooze slowly dripped out from the hole around Yang's fist.

At the same time, instead of lifelessly slumping, Salem grabbed Yang in a bear hug, and began squeezing, taunting her: "You already tried that once."

"I think you've got the wrong person." Yang spat back, staring her in the face, before Shouting: "FUS RO DAH!"

A wave of pure force smashed into Salem's head and upper torso, separating it from the rest of her body and hammering it into the throne behind her with a loud crack that shook the castle.

Yang didn't miss the opportunity and threw the two severed arms off of her, eyeing the body cautiously. She should have been dead... but Yang hadn't survived Miraak and Alduin by being careless.

Before her eyes, the lower half of Salem rapidly regrew a new upper torso and arms, which immediately raised themselves up in her direction.

Yang jumped out of the way as a torrent of flames flew out of the hands and towards her. Hadn't Jaune said his world didn't have magic?! What would he call this then?!

Whatever it was, the nasty surprise forced her to back up (if nothing else), buying time for Salem to regrow her head. Once she did, she glared at Yang, and gave a mental command to the Grimm nearby.

Winged Beringels descended from the ceiling, and Ursa and hacked Atlesian Knights burst through fake walls Watts had set up, charging towards the blonde brawler.

Then the castle shook violently again, numerous times, as explosions began rocking the structure.

Salem's eyes widened, and she looked away from Yang and out of the window.

Cannons and missiles were pounding her ancient castle.

How?! How had they snuck this close to her castle without being detected?! She spent a split second looking through the eyes of a Seer leading a patrol outside.

Ozma. Leading survivors of Atlas. Had this been his plan all along?! Send in Yang to distract her with inane questions, while he led a direct assault from the front?! Well, it wouldn't work! Mentally, she gave another command to all the Grimm nearby.

Loud howls rang out throughout the Land of Darkness, as every Grimm on the continent began making their way towards that single group.

While she was distracted, however, Yang was having a blast.

She ducked under the first Ursa's clumsy swiped, before quickly jabbing it in the stomach, sending it flying into a nearby drone as it disintegrated.

A Beringel roared, and jumped towards her, fists raised overhead. Yang easily jumped up and out of the way as it landed and hammered it's fists into the ground, cracking the ground where she'd stood a moment earlier. Yang landed on the Beringel's back, gripped the back of it's head, and pulled with her arms while pushing off with her legs.

A stray bullet grazed her, as Yang leapt off of the now-headless Beringel, and Yang hissed in pain, before glaring at the grey figures. Clearly, they were the bigger threat over the Grimm.

With another Whirlwind Sprint she shot towards the nearest one, and swiftly punched it's head off. Unlike the others, this one's body didn't disintegrate, and so she used it as a shield, holding it in front of her with both hands as she leapt towards the next, and swung at it with the body she was holding, sending it flying into one of those black bears.

She heard a hissing sound, and instinctively jumped out of the way once more, as Salem threw a fireball at her. Yang fought to keep her shock from showing on her face. The mage was as good as new, physically speaking. Well, it wasn't like she hadn't faced regenerating mages with summons before.

She dodged as one of the giant ape things charged at her once more, and kicked off of it as a fireball engulfed it, before launching a Fire Breath of her own at the largest concentration of enemies.

Salem was surprised. How? Yang Xiao-Long's Semblance was Burn! She'd never been able to do... any, of this, before! Had Ozma given her magic?

Yang quickly Became Ethereal, and Whirlwind Sprinted through the hordes towards Salem.

Before Salem could react, another fist was smashing into her face, followed by five more, and topped off with a kick to the knee before a leg swept hers out from underneath her.

As Salem began regenerating herself, she felt something grip her by her leg, and suddenly she was in the air, feeling pain.

Yang had decided to kill two birds with one stone, and she used the regenerating mage as a "human" weapon and shield, smashing through her forces while damaging her at the same time, keeping her distracted and unable to focus, to coordinate her forces.

Salem felt bullets and claws and teeth tear into her, felt an Ursa rip her torso and arm off with a swipe of it's paws, felt a Beringel punch her half-grown her clean off her neck, even as she felt herself smashed into what felt like a rock again and again and again.

Finally, Yang threw her at the last enemy, an ancient Ursa Major, before leaping forward and punching them both, sending it stumbling back a few steps.

As it stumbled back, Yang Shouted: "FUS RO DAH!"

The wave of force once again sent Salem tumbling through the air, before her ruined body hit her throne and fell to the floor.

Then the Ursa Major landed on top of her, crushing her.

Then Yang finished it off with one more Shout: "YOL TOOR SHUL!"

As Yang walked up to the burning corpse, finding herself both surprised and not surprised that it hadn't been reduced to a pile of ashes, arms, legs, and a head suddenly shot out of the charred body, which quickly began repairing itself.

"A valiant effort, Yang Xiao-Long." Salem congratulated her sarcastically, in a rasping voice. Her vocal cords had also been burned in that final attack, and there were more important things to regenerate. "But ultimately futile. Ozma has tried that and a thousand other ways to kill me, in the countless millennia we've been at war. Only the Gods can end my immortality."

Ah, so she wasn't just a regenerating mage. She was blessed by the Gods with immortality...

Yang's feral grin grew, and she stepped forward, as an idea came to her.

"JOOR ZAH FRUL!" Yang Shouted.

Dragonrend, the Shout created by mortals to overthrow their immortal overlords, struck Salem, and she gasped in pain and surprise.

Suddenly, her body was no longer regenerating.

Suddenly, the score of wounds Yang had inflicted on her were taking their toll.

Suddenly, the inhuman vigor that had kept her going since the beginning, that had unwillingly shackled her to the Remnant, was gone, cut off from her.

All that was left was the weak girl from the tower, before the Gods, before their judgement, before their curse.

Yang walked up to the shocked Salem, not willing to give her a chance to do anything. She knew Dragonrend didn't last forever.

Two hands gripped Salem's head, and forced them to look up.

Salem weakly stared back into the violet eyes coldly staring down at her, unable to resist.

She didn't want to, anyway.

Tiredly, she whispered: "Do it."

Yang squeezed.

This time, instead of a black ooze, blood stained her hands, along with bits of bone and brain.

She let go, and Salem's headless body lifelessly slumped to the floor, unmoving.

Yang stared down at Salem, wondering what she was supposed to do next. Sure, she'd avenged Jaune (again, she supposed), and the old hag was clearly hostile to her, but now what? How was she supposed to find Jaune now-

The doors to the room burst open, snapping her out of her thoughts.

As two women ran into the room, and suddenly came to a stop, Yang just sighed, and turned towards the red-headed Amazonian and the red-caped ravenette, cracking her knuckles.

Great. More distractions. More obstacles between her and finding her Jaune.

-THE CITADEL, SIXTEEN HOURS AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF RAVEN ROCK-

"What a story..." Elder Lyons said incredulously, rubbing his temple, as he looked around at the group in front of him.

Honestly, the debriefing session had felt more like a story than reality, and more than once Owyn Lyons had asked Sarah to repeat herself, unsure as to whether his hearing had been correct.

Their story did have some credibility, however, if only because it was the Lyons' Pride, led by his own daughter.

Also, his daughter wasn't in power armor, and he could see the holes, dents, scorch marks, and scratches that covered the rest of the Pride's power armor. The injuries and the wounds they'd sustained for him...

Owyn Lyons struggled to fight down his guilt, his horror at the fact that he'd almost lost even more soldiers, including his only daughter.

Not for the first time, he cursed his age; he was far too old to do what he had done as a Star Paladin at the Pitt, when he had led his men into that hellhole and purged it in a night of fire and destruction that the survivors called the Scourge.

As the people of the Wasteland thirsted and suffered and died, as the Western Elders refused to even acknowledge his existence, as the few soldiers who had remained loyal to him over the Codex continued to fight and die in his name, on his orders, all the feeble old man could do was sit in the safety of the Citadel and order more of it.

He had no choice.

Even if Sarah was right, and the Enclave weren't planning on wiping out humanity again, they would use the promise of Project Purity to control the Wasteland, to throw wave after wave of desperate souls at their enemies, all in the name of a glass of clean water.

Too many of his men had bled for the Capital Wasteland.

He would not see their sacrifices go to waste.

Owyn Lyons closed his eyes, pretending to think about his next move, even as he recomposed himself. He would not fail his soldiers by letting them see their Elder in a moment of weakness, not when they needed him to lead them through the worst crisis in the history of the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel. It was the least he could do for the men he ordered to their deaths, not failing them.

"I suppose we have Ms. Ironwood and Mr. Arc to thank for their timely assistance, as well as you, Fawkes." Owyn Lyons gestured to the three.

Honestly, that was putting it lightly.

Apparently, they might have all died in Vault 87, if not for the friendly Super Mutant (the fact that one existed still boggled his mind) that they had given the benefit of the doubt (despite the fact that the Pride had spent the past decade or more killing Super Mutants).

And then, when they'd found out Sarah had been taken, along with the GECK, they'd decided to follow the Enclave's Vertibirds on foot, and consult a map to see if they could there was a military base in the direction they were heading to.

Despite being low on ammunition, wounded, and having their power armor compromised by battle damage.

And somehow, Jaune Arc and Ruby Ironwood had met up with them, despite them easily being days away from Vault 87 by any conventional and safe routes from the Citadel.

And somehow, Fawkes, Arc, Ironwood, and the rest of the Pride had managed to reach Site R, slaughter their way through the base, and get Sarah out before the base self-destructed.

Put together, it was nothing short of miraculous.

There was a lot that didn't add up, and he would need to interview each of them personally when this was all over (especially Fawkes; if he could find out more about Super Mutants, they might just be able to finally end the war).

For the moment, though, Owyn Lyons allowed himself to indulge in relief, at the fact that his daughter and her squad had survived.

The moment passed.

"Now, what do we do?" Elder Lyons asked, choosing to listen to his advisors, as well as the soldiers who were actually in the field. "Any suggestions?"

"Well, we know that the Enclave have been fortifying the hell out of Project Purity." Sarah pointed out, as Scribe Rothchild helpfully pulled up pictures they'd taken earlier that day, showing flocks of Vertibirds flying towards, and landing around, the Jefferson Memorial. "And we know they have the GECK."

"If they have the GECK, there's nothing stopping them from starting the purifier." Dr. Madison Li helpfully pointed out. "They'll figure out the code eventually."

"What about the tunnels Ruby and I came through?" Jaune suggested. "What if we snuck back into Project Purity through there?"

"No good." Elder Lyons shot that down immediately. "We sent in a scouting party; the Enclave that pursued you through the sewers also mapped them out, fortified them, and trapped them."

"Well, we have to do something, and fast." Sarah pushed on. "The longer we wait, the more they can dig in."

"I'm afraid you're right, Sarah. We need to act now while we can." Elder Lyons agreed, before rebutting: "But we barely have enough men to defend the Citadel and key outposts."

He couldn't risk sending the entire Brotherhood in an all-out assault; not with the Enclave's Vertibirds controlling the skies. Leaving the Citadel undefended would just be an invitation for the Enclave to come in and take the Pentagon, and from there flank the Brotherhood's forces.

"Then let me and the Pride go!" Sarah shouted desperately. "Send us in! We can win this!"

Elder Lyons studied his daughter's face, and then looked over her men.

The members of the Pride had clearly been through hell. They were exhausted, wounded, battered and beaten after fighting off the Enclave in Vault 87, destroying Site R, and returning to the Citadel within 24 hours.

But they were also his best squad, the best chance he had of taking Project Purity back from the Enclave. He saw their strength, their determination, their unrelenting resolve to achieve victory. They were willing to fight through the gates of Hell if he gave the order.

Their loyalty to him once again touched him.

His duty to the Wasteland, to all the men whose hopes he carried, warred with his duty as a father, to both his daughter and the men under his care. Would one squad be enough? Or would he just be wasting more lives, sacrificing them on the altar of his ideals? Was there anyway he could even the odds?

Something in the room caught his eye.

"Rothchild, is it ready?" Elder Lyons asked, turning to his old friend.

"What?" Rothchild sputtered, realizing what Elder Lyons was referring to. "No, I mean, Li and I have solved the power problems, but we've only barely finished diagnostic tests!"

"So?" Elder Lyons pressed.

"It's not ready for field tests, let alone live fire situations!" Li explained. "The weapons haven't been calibrated, the navigation detection system is offline..."

"Can you make it work?" Elder Lyons pushed desperately. Time was not on their side.

Rothchild caught the tone in his old friend's voice, and sighed. "Honestly? I don't know. I think we can scrape by. And I suppose, if we can't, it won't matter in the long run anyway..."

"Then it's decided." Elder Lyons announced. "Sarah, take the Pride, and use it as support. Secure that purifier at all costs."

"Yes, sir!" Sarah snapped off a sharp salute to her father as he left with Rothchild and Li, presumably to oversee its activation. Then she looked around at the Pride. "Squad, you have fifteen minutes to re-arm yourselves. Get a new suit of power armor while you're at it. Reddin, check yourself into the infirmary. You're sitting this one out."

"That's bullshit!"

"Vargas, make sure she gets there."

"Yes ma'am."

"Alright, meet me topside in fifteen, and we'll go over the plan then! Now move out!" Sarah barked, and as the Pride scrambled to fulfill their tasks while they could, she turned to Jaune, Ruby, and Fawkes, who just looked confused. "Jaune, Ruby, Fawkes... can I count on you to support the Pride through this mission?"

"Of course!" Ruby nodded enthusiastically, determined to see her father's legacy fulfilled.

Fawkes also nodded determinedly. He did not like violence, but it was his nature, and he owed the Pride a debt. He would assist them through their war.

Jaune, however, asked: "I'm in, but... what is "it", that you guys keep talking about?"

Sarah simply pointed a finger.

Jaune followed it, his gaze travelling upwards.

"Oh..." Jaune breathed, unable to say anything else.

-POTOMAC BRIDGE, FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER-

As the Enclave squad kept watch at their end of the bridge, behind a force field and piles of sandbags and rubble and wrecked cars, they couldn't help but look across the mined and trapped bridge, over the river, and towards the fortified ruins of the Pentagon on the other side of the Potomac.

Honestly, none of the squad had any idea what to think. Things had gone so well, initially. They'd taken the Purifier, albeit with heavier losses than expected, and pushed the Brotherhood of Steel back on all fronts.

Of course, even then, there were rumors. There were always rumors. The men always had stories, and the men always talked.

The men who'd been at the purifier, and the ones who'd been assigned to intercept escapees, spoke of a monster in human form. A creature with an unearthly blade, bathed in an unearthly light, able to shrug off everything they threw at it, as it slaughtered with every step, leaving a wake of power-armored corpses in it's trail.

They even had a name for it.

Crocea Mors. The Yellow Death.

Most of them had initially dismissed it as nonsense. Sure, there may have been a few Wastelanders who could have given even them a good fight; they'd all been briefed on the Brotherhood's cyborg, and her relationship with James Ironwood. But even she wasn't immune to plasma bolts. And who'd even heard of a sword that could pierce through advanced power armor mark II?!

It had gotten to dismiss it as the week had passed, and they'd continued gaining ground in the Capital Wasteland. After all, if the Yellow Death really had existed, and it had attacked them at Project Purity, then how had they managed to take Project Purity? Why weren't they encountering it anymore? Where was it as they fortified the land from the Potomac to the Jefferson Memorial, set up force fields, and turned the Memorial into a veritable fortress?

And then the past twelve hours had happened...

The air-traffic controllers at the Jefferson Memorial had suddenly received dozens, if not hundreds, of requests to land. Fleets of Vertibirds had almost blocked out the sun as they'd come in hot, bearing soldiers, civilians, and anything and anyone that could fit inside the aircraft.

At first, they'd been excited. Had reinforcements come from Chicago and Adams Air Force Mobile Base Crawler? Was it finally time to stop sitting around and actually do something? Were they finally going to march across the Potomac and retake the Pentagon?

Then the first of the Vertibirds had landed, and they'd heard the news.

Raven Rock had fallen. The Yellow Death had led an assault on it.

President Eden had sacrificed himself to overload the facility's reactors, to stop the base from falling into enemy hands.

These were all the survivors of Raven Rock.

Not all was lost, however.

The Yellow Death was at least a day away from the Jefferson Memorial. And they had the GECK, the last piece of technology needed to activate Project Purity.

As soon as they drained the radiation from the chamber and figured out the code to activate the purifier, they would have succeeded where Ironwood and the Brotherhood had failed.

They would be the heroes of the Capital Wasteland. The people would flock to their banner, abandon the false promises of the Brotherhood of Steel, and united together they could win the war!

And yet, from the purifier to the Potomac, there was no sense of optimism.

All they had was a sense of apprehension, of urgency.

Even as everyone who could hold a gun was sent to bolster the defenses, the fear was palpable in the air.

They had to activate the purifier before they were attacked.

It was their only hope.

Nobody dared to look at their fortifications and proclaim: "That should stop them."

None of them wanted to be the ones to tempt fate.

It didn't matter, in the end. The Wasteland had a cruel sense of humor.

A harsh grinding sound caught the sentries' attention first.

"Jefferson Memorial Control, come in, over." The squad's lieutenant quickly radioed in on the command frequency.

"This is Control. Send, over." Colonel Autumn's voice came back over the radio.

"We're hearing something from the Pentagon. No visuals. Recommend aerial reconnaissance, over."

"Copy that. Scrambling Vertibirds, over."

"Keep an eye on the Pentagon, boys." The lieutenant quickly kept his squad in the loop. "They're sending some of the birds to take a look-"

His words died in his throat, as it quickly became apparent what was causing the noise.

It was the sound of the rusty gears of a crane, lifting something over the former Pentagon's walls.

They couldn't believe their eyes, seeing what was attached to the crane by four steel wires, swinging dangerously as it moved against the wind.

The bottom of the object clipped a small chunk of the reinforced walls of the former Pentagon, and simply knocked it off, without doing anything to the object.

As they watched in morbid horror, too stunned to move, to speak, the crane eventually stopped moving, leaving the object swaying gently outside the walls.

The wires released their payload, which fell to the earth.

There was a loud thud, and the ground under their feet shook, all the way across the Potomac.

The two scrambled Vertibirds finally reached their destination, and immediately began firing upon the object.

Their nose-mounted Gatling Lasers, designed to provide fire support to the troops they embarked, had proven themselves more than capably of dealing with anything the Capital Wasteland had thrown at them before then.

The high-energy laser beams barely even singed the object.

The object's... "eyes", flashed blue.

Two blue laser beams suddenly came out, striking the nearest Vertibird, detonating its onboard reactor and causing it to explode in mid-air.

Its eyes flashed again. And again. And again.

The pilot of the second Vertibird was slightly better than the first, and quickly performed evasive maneuvers.

He dodged the first set of blue lasers.

The second and third, however, were a hit.

As the Vertibirds, once considered basically untouchable by anything in the Capital Wasteland (save perhaps for slow-moving rockets), fell into the river, unrecognizable scraps of flaming metal.

The object merely stared at the sinking wreckage.

And then it declared: "++LIBERTY PRIME IS ONLINE. ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL. WEAPONS HOT. MISSION: THE DESTRUCTION OF ANY AND ALL CHINESE COMMUNISTS++"

The 40-foot-tall giant death robot began marching towards the bridge, the ground quaking with every step.

That finally shook the Enclave men out of their horrified trance, and they quickly began aiming and firing at Liberty Prime.

Rockets flew through the air, laser beams flashed across the bridge, and plasma bolts whizzed.

As it turned out, it wasn't hard to hit the giant death robot.

Actually hurting it, however, was a different story.

Liberty Prime had been designed with the Liberation of Anchorage in mind, and subsequent campaigns on Chinese soil. His armor had been designed to withstand the main gun batteries of Chinese battleships, and he could even theoretically survive a ballistic missile from a nuclear submarine, albeit badly-damaged. And while his armor had degraded with the passing of time...

"++INITIATING DIRECTIVE 7395: DESTROY ALL COMMUNISTS++"

Liberty Prime continued his inexorable journey towards the Potomac Bridge, shrugging off everything the Enclave were throwing at him. Every time he saw an Enclave soldier, his eyes flashed blue, and they died.

Meanwhile, behind him, the Lyons' Pride watched in awe, as they saw Liberty Prime in action for the first time. They'd been meant to support Liberty Prime as he cleared a path to the purifier.

All they'd been able to do so far, however, was snipe the occasional Enclave soldier on the other end of the bridge, while Jaune, Sarah, and Ruby followed closely behind, mopping up the few survivors Liberty Prime missed. Honestly, the biggest issue had been making sure he didn't accidentally step on them...

Finally, Liberty Prime halted, as he came across the force field protecting the Enclave's end of the bridge.

"++OBSTRUCTION DETECTED++" Liberty Prime boomed, as it's optical scanners studied the force field and analyzed it's internal databases. It quickly came to a conclusion: "++COMPOSITION: TITANIUM ALLOY SUPPLEMENTED BY PHOTONIC RESONANCE BARRIER++"

It simply continued it's march, walking into the force field. The force field's generators short-circuited, unable to handle the strain, and the force field fizzled out and died around it.

"++PROBABILIY OF MISSION HINDRANCE: ZERO PERCENT++"

Jaune and Ruby both observed Liberty Prime as it continued shaking the ground with every step, both sharing the same thought - that giant death robot was awesome! Just like something out of a comic book!

Jaune found himself wishing he still had his scroll. He knew Ruby Rose would've probably given up cookies for a week, just to see it in action. Nora probably wouldn't have given up Ren's pancakes, though.

More and more fire poured out of a nearby building, as Liberty Prime stomped down the road.

"++COMMUNISTS DETECTED ON AMERICAN SOIL++"

Liberty Prime reached towards his back, and pulled one of the Mark 28 tactical nuclear warheads from the bomb rack attached to his back.

Their designers had intended for them to be dropped in large numbers by strategic bombers.

Liberty Prime simply threw it like a football at the building.

Weakened by centuries of neglect, exposure to the elements, and the initial bombs that had struck DC, the building collapsed.

"++LETHAL FORCE ENGAGED. EMBRACE DEMOCRACY, OR YOU WILL BE ERADICATED++"

Okay, maybe Nora would give up Ren's pancakes for a day, to see it in action.

Blue laser beams continued to flash, and more explosions occurred, as it simply battered its way through the Enclave's defenses, flattening fortifications with every step.

"++THE LAST DOMINO FALLS HERE++"

... definitely a week's worth of pancakes.

"++DEMOCRACY IS NON-NEGOTIABLE++"

Finally, Liberty Prime reached the perimeter of the Jefferson Memorial, the squad following in his wake.

Unlike the previous force fields, however, they'd set up a single continuous barrier around the entire memorial, with numerous generators powering it.

"++OBSTRUCTION DETECTED. COMPOSITION: TITANIUM ALLOY SUPPLEMENTED BY ENHANCED PHOTONIC RESONANCE BARRIER++" Liberty Prime announced, pausing once more as it quickly studied it. "++ESTABLISHED STRATEGEM: INADEQUATE++"

It's auditory sensors noted movement behind it. It's main priority had been to clear a path through Chinese communist forces to the designated target. as quickly as possible. If it had a mouth, it would have smiled grimly, as it's processors came to a conclusion at speeds only a computer could have managed.

"++REVISED STRATEGEM: INITIATE PHOTONIC RESONANCE OVERCHARGE++" Liberty Prime boomed, as it gripped the two nearest emitter towers, and began channeling energy from its internal reactor into them.

The generators, unable to compensate for the additional power, overloaded and blew up.

All across the perimeter, the blue shimmering force fields faded away.

Liberty Prime collapsed to its knees.

It was now operating at minimal power, and would continue to do so until the engineers could perform maintenance on it.

It didn't matter.

It had fulfilled it's mission.

Communist aircraft whined overhead, and the few remaining Chinese communist soldiers rallied for a desperate charge to the memorial, determined to stop his fellow Americans from completing the mission.

"++FREEDOM IS THE SOVEREIGN RIGHT OF EVERY AMERICAN++" Liberty Prime boomed, knowing it could do little else for the time being. It did not even have energy to stand, let alone protect his fellow Americans by shooting down the aircraft that were threatening them. And so, it engaged it's encouragement protocols. "++TACTICAL ASSESSMENT: RED CHINESE VICTORY... IMPOSSIBLE! AMERICA WILL NEVER FALL TO COMMUNIST INVASION++"

"Liberty Prime!" Colvin couldn't help but cry out in concern, as it's head slumped down.

"I guess they weren't kidding about the power issues..." Glade murmured, staring at Liberty Prime.

"Guys, it's just a robot!" Dusk pointed out, rolling her eyes. "Now, what do we do about the rest of the Enclave coming straight at us?!"

"Squad, you and Fawkes take up defensive positions, buy us some time!" Sarah began barking out orders. "Jaune, Ruby, you're with me. We retake the control room, and radio back to the Citadel for reinforcements! Pride, think you can handle it?"

"Ma'am, we'll hold out until the next Judgement Day if we need to." Vargas said, before he began hastily organizing the defensive action.

Ruby, Jaune, and Sarah, meanwhile, simply burst into the Project Purity's Control Room, with Jaune taking point.

Colonel Autumn reflexively turned around and aimed his laser pistol at Jaune, before pausing.

His pistol had killed a deathclaw with a single beam, but he knew it couldn't do anything to the Yellow Death.

Ruby, however, instinctively reacted, raising her rifle and aiming it at Autumn, prepared to defend Jaune.

There was a tense silence.

Finally, Jaune stepped forward, and tried: "Give up, Colonel. It's over. The Enclave has lost."

"I beg to differ, mutant." Autumn refused to listen. "Once this facility is operational, the masses will flock to the Enclave for fresh water, protection, and a plan for the future. Once I figure out the code, we'd have won."

"I won't let you!" Ruby snarled, trigger finger itching. She would not let her father's murderer pervert his life's work!

Jaune, meanwhile, continued beseeching him to see sense. "There's nothing left of the Enclave! Site R's been destroyed. Eden's gone. You're fighting for nothing, damn it"

"The American people are worth fighting for." Autumn shot back. "The future must be secured. I won't let you stand in the way of that."

"The same people you killed?" Ruby retorted angrily. "What about them?! What about their futures?!"

"Some sacrifices must be made, for the good of the people-" Autumn began, reciting the justification indoctrinated into him by rote.

"And who decides that?" Sarah asked furiously. "Who the hell elected the Enclave to be the United States government?"

For a moment, Autumn struggled, as logic warred with loyalty.

In the end, though, he was loyal to the Enclave, to the true successors of the United States government.

He moved, pointing his arm towards Sarah Lyons, refusing to listen to the treacherous lies of the pretenders.

Ruby fired once.

A thunderclap echoed throughout the room.

Colonel Autumn's body fell to the floor, bleeding from the gaping hole in his head.

Ruby lowered her smoking rifle, staring at his body.

She'd done it. She'd avenged her dad.

So why did she just feel empty?

Would James have been proud of her for it? He was a doctor, after all.

"Damn it..." Jaune cursed, as Ruby moved next to him. "I really thought he might have surrendered."

"Would you have let him live, if he did?" Sarah couldn't help but ask.

"I... I don't know." Jaune admitted. "He hurt a lot of people... but just killing someone who'd surrendered..."

Sarah nodded, as she saw the boy from another world clearly. In combat he was swift and merciless, but once it was over...

"Anyway, let's get this place locked down." Sarah changed the subject, troubled that she couldn't figure out what the correct answer was. Frontier justice was common in the Wasteland, since it wasn't like there was a functioning legal system in place, but that didn't make it right. After all, cannibalism was common too.

She would have to remember to ask her father about it.

"Hello?" The intercom suddenly buzzed, getting their attention. "Hello, is anyone there?"

"Dr. Li?" Sarah asked, walking up to the intercom. "It's Sarah Lyons, what's going on?"

"We've been remotely monitoring the facility from the Citadel." Dr. Li quickly explained. "The facility has sustained some damage during the fight, either on accident or due to sabotage.

"There's pressure building up in the holding tanks. If we don't release it, the facility is going to explode. Do you understand me? We need to activate the purifier now!"

"Well, so much for celebrating." Sarah murmured, turning away from the intercom and towards the horrified Ruby and Jaune.

"Isn't it still dangerous?" Jaune asked, pointing to James's body, as well as the two power-armored Enclave soldiers, still inside the sealed chamber.

"... I'll do it." Ruby volunteered, stepping forward. "It's my dad's project. I should be the one to do it."

"Ruby..." Jaune murmured, staring into the T-45d's visor.

"Jaune, Sarah... thank you. Thank you for everything." Ruby said, trying to sound brave. Honestly, she just wanted to run. She just wanted to throw up. But the Brotherhood needed Sarah, and she couldn't let Jaune risk himself. He'd been the one to protect her all this time, a guide for her to rely on. "But it has to be me."

"Do you even know the code?" Jaune challenged.

"If I know my dad right, it's probably 216." Ruby answered. "It was my dad's favorite passage, from the book of Revelations."

Jaune merely nodded, unable to answer.

Instead, he plunged his sword into the ground.

Ice erupted from the ground, cutting off Sarah and Ruby from Jaune and the bulkhead's doors.

""Jaune!""

Ruby rushed up to the ice, and began pounding against it weakly, desperately.

Sarah, however, only pressed her hand against the chamber's glass, watching in muted horror.

Jaune pulled the lever at the chamber's entrance, cycling the airlock, before rushing in as the bulkhead in front of him began to close.

The emergency bulkhead behind him closed.

A hiss of air.

Suddenly, as the door in front of him opened, Jaune felt like he'd stepped into a desert, or a volcano.

His Aura began flaring up wildly around him, desperately trying to protect him from the highly-energized particles around him.

Jaune forced himself forward, even as he felt the heat leech his strength away.

Ruby and Sarah were natives to this world.

He wasn't even meant to be here.

It was for the best, really.

Idly, Jaune wondered if this was why he'd been brought here after his death. To die again, protecting a friend from death.

Well... there were worse reasons to die.

And it wasn't like it was the first time, anyway.

And it wasn't like this was the worst world he could think of. Sure, things were a little bit ruined, but at least there were comics and video games, even if he hadn't seen them.

All in all, it hadn't been a bad month.

Jaune reached the console, and pressed "2".

Ruby stopped pounding against the ice and instead began pounding against the window, shouting at Jaune, trying to get him to stop.

Jaune pressed "1".

Watching through the glass, a tearful Sarah promised: "I won't forget what you've done here! Nobody will! Thank you..."

Jaune pressed "6".

The next thing Jaune knew was the sudden burst of heat and light.

Then, as his vision faded, the ground rushing to meet him...


Author's Note: One more chapter for the week. This chapter was hard to write...

Originally, this Remnant section, and one other, were part of the Remnant section from Chapter 32, and would have served as a foil of sorts to Pyrrha and Ruby's POV. Also originally, they were all one standalone chapter by themselves. But I decided to split it into three sections, and tease the audience by using them to punctuate the end of each act of the current arc, each major climax.

Honestly, I have no idea if Salem is supposed to have Aura. On one hand, she's part-Grimm now, and Grimm are soulless abominations. On the other, she can use magic, and we can assume that magic is tied to Aura (if Maiden powers could be transferred by Aura, at least). But, well, based on the latest volumes... it doesn't stop her body from taking damage at all. So I guess I'll just say she has Aura, but it doesn't protect her at all, either because it's corrupted, and she uses it purely to fuel her magic, or because she doesn't see the point in activating it, since she's immortal.

And yeah... remember, Dovah-Yang doesn't have Aura. She can very easily get cut and grazed by bullets. She can fight big clumsy monsters any time, but bullets are a lot faster than arrows, and guns fire a lot faster than bows and crossbows.

Also, hey, who didn't think Dragonrend would be coming back like this? Remember, in Skyrim Dragonrend works by forcibly inflicting mortality on dragons, limiting their abilities. Dragonrend, a Shout, an ability gifted by the Divines, which was used to basically kill a god itself (Alduin)?

Wow... the Fallout 3 storyline progressed really quickly, didn't it... in my defense, it's a lot more focused, neater and tidier, and Fallout 3 feels a lot more on-rails than Skyrim was. In Fallout 3, Jaune's main goal is getting Ruby to James. Once that's done, he plans to leave, but before he can escape the railroading the Enclave arrive, and now his goal is to keep Ruby safe and stop the Enclave from... well, taking over the Wasteland. And that ends with the activation of Project Purity...

And yes, there isn't really any reason for most of the rank-and file to know about the Yellow Death. Of course Autumn and Eden are going to try and suppress rumors about Jaune. What are they going to admit, that there is a seemingly-invincible Wastelander running around, capable of slaughtering whole squads in the blink of an eye? And of course, they can't suppress all the rumors. Word spreads... but for those who weren't at Project Purity initially, they wouldn't know the truth. When the survivors of Raven Rock arrive, however...

And behold. LIBERTY PRIME. I don't think I need to say anything more about him. LIBERTY PRIME should speak for himself. And yes, he's actually in the game. Yes, those are actual in-game quotes. Yes, those are all things he uses in the game. I was cackling like a madman as I was transcribing his jingoism into ALL CAPS. The parts about him surviving hits from battleships, though... I'm just extrapolating from the fact that he was designed for the Liberation of Anchorage. Enemy fire support from nearby Chinese naval assets would have to had been a design concern. And we all know the Navy has bigger guns than the Army and the Air Force.

And yes... Jaune does legitimately try to talk Autumn down. Sure, he's willing to kill in combat, but in cold blood, against a basically-harmless enemy? Even he'll try to give them a chance.

Also of note... in the base game of Fallout 3, for some reason, the Lone Wanderer can't send Fawkes (a Super Mutant who is immune to radiation), Charon (a ghoul who is healed by radiation), or Sergeant RL-3 (who is a fucking robot) to activate Project Purity. Sure, they fixed it in Broken Steel, but still...

Also, if you know Broken Steel, I'm sure you know what comes next.