Rwby: of Guts and Blood: Chapter 22: Volume 7: Act 3: The City in the Clouds.
Hello and welcome to the next chapter enjoy.
Trigger warning Berserk this should not surprise you.
Key
Grimm-Apostle talk
Angry talk
Ozpin talk
{Text Chat/ phone call}
flashback
Chapter start
Manta airships patrol the skies around the City of Atlas, keeping in communication with each other over radio. As Maria Calavera pilots the group's stolen Manta toward the city, they receive radio contact.
Atlas Air Traffic Female {"Manta 3-7. Welcome home. Please continue your approach to Atlas docking bay Omega-12. A security team will meet you there. Over."}
Ruby Rose and the others aboard Manta 3-7 look around at the large military air fleet surrounding the kingdom's capital.
Ruby stepped forward, Guts with her "I don't understand. What's happening here?"
Qrow shook his head "I don't know."
Jaune shrugged "But we are here. We got the lamp to Atlas, so I guess we land and get some answers."
Qrow narrowed his eyes "I'm not so sure. I've never seen our forces deployed so aggressively before. If we land in a stolen ship, there's no way the security team will let us anywhere near Ironwood." He said
Blake Belladonna gains a saddened look, while Ruby and Yang Xiao Long look at each other, uncertain of what to do.
"So…" Yang started
Weiss stepped forward "Guys I'm telling you just land the ship and we can go to Ironwood I got the codes."
Weiss points out her Scroll on the dash.
Qrow ripped it out much to Wiess's dismay and tossed it at her.
"Hey!" Weiss called out as she caught it.
Qrow turns around "Ironwood is acting as if a war is going on, I'm sorry Weiss but we can't risk it." He turned to Maria "Put some distance between us and the fleet."
Maria nods "You don't have to tell me twice."
Weiss huffs and sits down "Damn it."
As Weiss walks to the back of the ship, Maria steers the ship toward Mantle. As people wander the streets of Mantle, the group looks over the city through the Manta's windows. They fly past a giant screen on the side of a skyscraper. Ironwood's voice comes from the screen, catching Ruby and Yang's attention.
Ironwood spoke on the Jumbotron {"I ...cannot express our appreciation enough. Many describe these as uncertain times, and while that may be the case for the rest of the world, I can tell you what is certain. The Kingdom of Atlas will remain strong, and it will remain safe. That is my promise."}
Ruby and Yang look saddened.
Yang sighed "General Ironwood. He looks…"
"Tired." Ruby finished.
Qrow shook his head "James, what have you been doing?"
Four Atlesian Knight-200s and several Atlas guards are seen walking down a street in Mantle, while civilians around them complain about their presence.
"Ugh, not these again."
"Why can't they just leave us be?"
The guards came over, "move along citizens just pretend we are not here." He said
The civilians move away as quickly as possible.
A small drone floats along a sidewalk, while a pair of small children hide in an alley. One of the children picks up a rock and throws it at the drone, which spins around to look, prompting the children to hide against the wall. Weiss sadly stares out of Manta 3-7's window with her Scroll in her palm. Her Scroll is set to call Winter, who does not answer.
Weiss sighed "This isn't right. None of this is right, what happened while I was away?"
Once again, the stolen Manta receives contact over the radio.
Atlas Air Traffic Female: {"Manta 3-7, we've noticed a detour in your route. You are to make your way to docking bay Omega 12 immediately. Do you copy? Over."}
Maria looked back "We're kind of running out of time here, kids."
Yang looked around "We need to ditch the ship."
Qrow nodded "Agreed. Get lost in Mantle and buy ourselves some time."
Weiss turned around "I'm telling you, Ironwood is fine."
Blake, who has been staring out of a window, looks over her shoulder and speaks up.
"Uh, Weiss?"
Weiss walks over to Blake's side and looks out the window with her as a familiar voice plays from a giant screen.
Winter {"A reminder."}
Weiss looked up "Huh?"
{"Failure to cooperate with Atlas military personnel is a punishable offense. If your sector is under lockdown…this is not against you this is for your protection."} She said
Weiss sat down shocked "Winter?"
Qrow leaned back "No offense, Weiss. I'm not sure that's a good idea anymore."
Weiss tenses her shoulders and turns to Qrow, fists clenched.
Weiss turned to him "There's obviously something very wrong. If we can just talk to her, then we-."
Qrow cut her off "Look, I'm not even sure we should be talking to Ironwood until we know exactly what's going on with Mantle."
Weiss hesitated "But-."
Maria cut her off. "Everyone, calm down." sighs "I know someone who can help with both."
The Atlas Air Traffic Female snapped angry {"Manta 3-7, you are to make your-."}
Maria shut off the radio, annoyed "Geez, lady, take a hint!"
After landing the stolen Manta in Mantle, Maria cautiously exits an alley by slowly shuffling along with her cane. When she sees the coast is clear, she picks up her cane and walks normally, and everyone else exits the alley with her. In the distance, a small group of Atlas soldiers run down a street in the direction that Maria and the others came from.
Soldier's moved down the road. "It landed over there, let's go!"
"Damn Separatists trying to sneak in, when will they just give up!" Another Soldier said
Weiss gasped, The Separatists were still an issue no wonder Atlas was on high alert.
The group begins walking through Mantle together. Trucks drive past, and Atlesian Knight-200s stand on various sidewalks. A small child places a poster of a white-haired woman on a street lamp. There is a hologram board displaying news articles with the following headlines:
{"Missing Journalist Found Slain"}
{"Election Imminent: The Separation from Atlas."}
{"Embargo: The Right Call? Pressure and Criticism Continues to Mount on Council"}
{"Outer Wall Damaged: Resources Stalled"}
The group walks past a garage with graffiti art reading "Show Your Teeth"
Maria looked at them and waved them down. "Come on now, hurry! It shouldn't be much of a walk." She said
Jaune looked around "Is this many soldiers normal?"
Weiss Shook her head and huffed "No! because you didn't listen to me, Qrow they think were Terrorist because we didn't listen."
"I highly doubt that's the case" Qrow said
At the back of the group, Yang notices a whirring sound and stops to take a look.
"Huh?" She asked.
There is a small drone hovering to her right. The camera part of the drone lifts up, focused on her. When Yang shrugs it off and resumes walking, the drone follows her. She stops again and looks at it in surprise and confusion. As she leans in to take a closer look, the drone takes a photograph of her face with a bright flash, which Yang recoils from. In response, Yang kicks the drone, knocking it out of the air and causing it to tumble into the street, where it is struck by a car.
Yang cringes at the drone's destruction "Ooh…"
Yang turns to see everyone else in the group staring at her. She awkwardly shifts her posture with a sheepish smile.
"Maybe we should pick up the pace." She said
Weiss groaned and held a hand to her face, "gods damn it Yang if the soldier's shoot first, I'm pushing you up front." She hissed
Everyone resumes walking.
Maria looked around, "You have to remember, the Kingdom had just lost the Great War. The people of Mantle needed a sign of a brighter future, and that sign was Atlas. After all, a home in the clouds is as bright as it gets." She said
The group approaches a building with a glowing green plus symbol above its front door. The side door opens, and a Faunus with a prosthetic arm exits, waving cheerfully to the man who speaks to her from inside.
Pietro sighed "And no more heavy-lifting, yah hear?"
Maria stepped forward "Ah, it's good to see you again, old friend."
An older man is sitting behind the desk, shuffling things around in a drawer. Maria clears her throat, startling him, and he lifts his head to look at her, shutting the drawer. Maria smiles at him.
Pietro sighed "Ah, yes, yes." pushing a stack of papers aside "Have we met?"
"Wait I know that voice," Weiss said
Maria pointed to her eyes "Cybernetic optical implants. You adjust them. Every ten years or so?"
He stares at her for a few moments before throwing his hands cheerfully into the air.
Pietro cried out "Maria!"
The robotic chair he is sitting in begins walking out from behind the desk.
Pietro smiled "Yes, with the cybernetic optical implants! I adjust them every ten years or so."
He offers his hand to her and leads her to an examination table.
Pietro laughed "Oh wow, has it been that long already?"
Maria smiled "Ah, I know. I age like a fine wine. Would've been here sooner if I hadn't run into these jokers. At the time, I thought they might need my guidance while fighting a little old Sphinx."
"Pietro!" Weiss said stepping forward.
"Weiss, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the Omega-12 pad. And greet General Ironwood personally what happened?" He asked
Weiss grit her teeth and pointed behind her, "This moron here got spooked about the Military parade in the sky, Since when did the Separatists become such a problem?" She asked
Pietro sighed "about two months after you left, hold on let me call this in to James I'll sort this out." He said
Weiss nodded "thank you sorry about the mess also tell Penny I say Hi." She said
"Pietro smiled "you can tell her yourself when she arrives." He said
Suddenly the alarms went off, "oh no." He said
"What is it?" Ruby asked
"There's an attack happening." He said
"We're on it!" Ruby said as she ran out,
"Wait!" Pietro cried
Weiss looked back, "I'll take care of them, you just make sure we get our ride to Atlas without half the military on our ass." She said as she ran out,
Pietro sighed and looked at Maria "you always like getting me in trouble women." He said
Maria smiled "hey, I get spooked easily you know that." She said
Outside in the street, team RWBYJNPR, Guts, Qrow and Oscar saw an Atlesian knights 200' get slammed into a pole as a Sabyr Grimm roared,
"Let's go, team!" Ruby said as they charged
Ruby jumped and fired crescent rose to get into the air before she sliced the Grimm down Weiss duel wield her A1 pistol and rapier, and even at some points punched them squarely killing them in one shot, as Blake and Yang used rage teaming to counter there grimm,
JNPR had a better time with two shield users on them they could block basically anything.
Qrow changed into Avaion form and back again, slicing at any Grimm he could, and Guts was…well Guts.
Finally the Grimm finally stopped coming, and they painted,
"Alright clear let's head back," Guts said
As they made their way to walk back Guts spun around sensing something which he cut with Dragonslayer, as two ends of a Bolas landed behind him.
"What the!?" He asked he looked around and saw Team JNPR, Oscar, and Qrow were wrapped up,
He looked and saw a Five uniform-clad people come out of hiding and surround the group.
Clover looked at everyone and said, "Good work, team."
"What is the meaning of this? What are the Ace-Ops even doing down here in Mantle?" Pietro asked
"Clover!" Weiss called
"Weiss?!" Clover called before he looked around and noticed who was bound
"Aw crap we got the wrong people. FUCK THEY GOT AWAY AGAIN!" Clover hissed
"Sir?" Mallow asked
"Untie them they are priority targets to see General Ironwood." He said
The Ace ops went to untie them apologizing profusely.
Clover walked up to Weiss and Pietro.
"Can you explain to me why your Manta broke off and took a skydive to mantle?!" He hissed
Weiss shook her head "my teammates got spooked seeing the massive army. sense when we're the Separatists such a massive problem?" Weiss asked
"Sense Blue team got ambushed 3 months back there as militarized as the White fang or now I should say Black fang. It's even believed they are working together to try to undermine Atlas." Clover said
"What?!" Weiss hissed
Clover nodded "Which is exactly why you need to see Ironwood proto." He said
Weiss nodded "we're on our way." She turned to Pietro
"Come with us and you can fit our team with SENTINEL." Weiss said
Pietro however looked down
"What's up?" Weiss said to Clover
Clover stepped forward "SENTINEL III was shut down due to a leak of info, we're on SENTINEL IV now." Same concept but more loyalty." Clover said
"Seems close enough to the same thing, why can't he come?" She asked
Clover nodded "We believe he's being targeted by the Separatists trying to steal Him for their own project to counter ours." He said
Weiss growled.
"Do they have a counter for us yet?" She asked
"We don't believe so. No but we believe it's only a matter of time Blue team has been working their asses off trying to locate the Facility." Clover said
Weiss nodded "you can explain more on the way. Come on, let's go." Weiss tapped Clover and they made their way to the transport.
She looked and found a fanuas handcuffed looking back at her with a smile and a joyful wave.
Weiss turned to Clover "explain to me what a civi is doing in the transport?" She asked
Clover shrugged "possibly Separatist ties we had to check."
Weiss groaned
"We don't have time for this!" Weiss said as she drew her A1 Pistol. And pointed it at the guys head who flinched away
Weiss however held him firm.
"Now I'm going to ask this once if I feel you are lying I will blow your brains out understand?" Weiss growled.
The fanuas nodded
"tell me do you he have any intention of the destruction of Atlas?"
The fanuas shuddered "n-no madam!" He shuddered
Weiss sighed as did Clover he tore the Handcuffs off harshly making him yelp "Get out of here I don't want to see you again!" The fanuas ran down the street terrified.
Weiss looked over to everyone to see her change of demior, shocking "everyone in, we've got a lot to talk about…" she said
The Craft was in the air and Clover stood up watching everyone.
"About 7 months ago. General James Ironwood got a call on his priority one Scroll it was From Weiss Schnee…" Clover explained
Everyone sat in awe as the story unfolded before it moved on.
"After Weiss left, the mission was simple: Keep Atlas standing until you arrived." Clover said
"So where the Hell did that go wrong?" Qrow asked
"Well to understand that you have to understand the Separatists and for that means you have to Dig into Project SENTINEL." Clover said
Clover explained project SENTINEL and its mission and to say everyone was impressed.
"Damn James, you actually did the impossible." Qrow said
"If this force worked so well why is this place a Demilitarized zone?" Guts asked
"2 months after Weiss left Atlas to group up with you all at Haven. The Separatist lead their biggest offensive yet. Going after the Civilian Government. And even so far as to besiege the Council building." Clover said
Everyone gasped
"Where was Blue team?" Weiss asked
"They had got a call saying that Marko was leading another offensive to the west of the mountain's of Solatas." Clover said
"But wait…you said before when you attacked the Schnee manor. Marko died right?" Ruby asked
Clover nodded "yes we confirmed his body to his DNA matched. The thing is. When Blue team returned they also took a sample of the DNA. And that too was a match." He said
"H-how?" Blake asked
"We don't know we speculate, either that Marko has made Clones of himself. Or he's found a way to keep his body revitalized whenever he dies." Mallow said
"Blue team is working around the clock to bring him in."
Elm said
"So again what's the deal with the military?" Qrow asked
"The Separatist have been making multiple raids on Atlas to stir up panic. Whether it's. Letting Grimm into the city. Attacking themselves and killing any in there way. Or releasing Grimm for them to do the work." Vine said
Weiss grit her teeth.
Ruby stepped forward. "Once we get confirmation on Ironwood about this we will be happy to assist." Ruby said
Clover shook his head "No your job now is to safeguard the Relic of Knowledge." Clover said
Everyone but Weiss Tensed "you know?" Ruby asked
"Team RWBY and JNPR are considered Black ops teams in the Huntsman directory. For a reason, your war against Salem is the most important. Anyone who knows of Salem is considered Black ops. We are too. Although that's mostly thanks to Weiss and Blue team." Harriet said
"Approaching Omega 12!" The pilot said
The manta landed As the doors opened Clover and Weiss walked out first followed by The rest of the group Clover had his hands behind his back as Weiss walked poised.
"So what's the ground game looking like?" Weiss asked
"Greet the General, Take questions, give the surprise head down for testing." Clover listed
"What's the ETA?" Weiss asked looking at her Scroll
"30 minutes?" Clover said as the Elevator doors opened behind them Clover turned around as did everyone else and walked out. They arrive in a room just as Ironwood walks through, speaking to someone else.
Ironwood sighed "I swear if I have to sit through one more council meeting like that…" he hissed
"The separatists are pushing in further and further each time." Winter said as she followed
"Yes but we still can't stop them until we realize what there after." Ironwood said
Clover stood at attention Weiss followed
"Sir!" Clover barked
Ironwood turned "Clover…I see you were successful. Good work." He said
Clover nodded, Ironwood smiled "everyone into my office." He said
As they entered Ironwood Shut the Door "Ms Schnee do you realize how panicked you got the people with that stunt with the Manta what was wrong with you? If the Separatist had attacked at that point we'd have a level 5 crisis on our hands!" General Ironwood said
Qrow stepped forward "James it's my fault. Blame me. I didn't listen to Weiss, I got spooked because of the amount of ships, I thought you lost it." He said
James sighed "no it's my fault I could have at least made it easier of you. Give you an alert to Weiss what to expect. It's just…planning and fighting two wars at the same time is tough." James said
Qrow looked confused "Two wars? James Wha-?"
General Ironwood stepped over. "The war with Salem is on the back burner but it doesn't mean it's not president. I'm training news Huntsman and huntress as we speak." He said
Clover approached "we already spoke to them about project SENTINEL IV." Clover said
Ironwood nodded "very well. Then that saves a lot of explanations and I can get to the briefing. "Blue team has believed they found the lab." He said
The Ace-ops cheered "Woo!" "Nice!"
Guts step forward "believed?"
James' smile fell. "Unfortunately when they got there the place was abandoned and all the data had been purged. And no samples remained." James said
"Sir, what's Blue team's ETA?" Weiss asked
"Unfortunately unknown." We've lost sight of them recently… speaking of…why was it that your transponder was received on a verified Stolen transport from Argus." Ironwood
"Weiss huffed "long story short the commanding officer of Argus had a stick so far up her ass she wouldn't even validate my codes you gave me we had to steal a ship. Then turn back around to save Argus. Finally getting her permission afterwards to leave with her promise that she would not mark it as stolen by the time we get here." Weiss ranted
Ironwood huffed "very well." He said
Winter stepped forward "Wait let me hear this again you stole an Airship?" She asked
"What other choice did I have if I was to call you or Ironwood it would've gone through the Argus/atlas base CCT. And she would have shut that down instantly. We were on our own." Weiss said
Winter was not pleased "still" you could've-."
"Winter…enough." Ironwood said as he turned back around
"Of course sir." Winter bowed
Weiss I understand why you did it and I congratulate you on your ingenuity. However next time please use official channels first before drastic action."
Weiss nodded "yes sir."
Qrow stepped forward. "Also James what the hell is with all the Black ops shit anyways?" He asked
James sighed "if Atlas is to stand up to Salem then it needs to be united and in order for that to happen they need to believe. They are fighting for one goal. Which can't happen until this rebellion is put down." James said
"How many more people know?" Qrow asked
"Only those in this room, Penny obviously. Pietro and Blue team are the only ones considered Black ops. There are other Huntsman which are listed as Spec ops. Which means they know of the Separatists and the higher Spec teams know of Marko. Only Project SENTINEL members know the full story of what happened. That includes you to Weiss for now sorry." James said
Weiss nodded "I understand I kinda figured I wasn't getting the whole picture." She said
"So in that case how do we get the picture?" Qrow asked
"Soon there will be something else first." It's suddenly but it's necessary. It will help you traverse the city's and not be stopped Penny?" James asked
He looks over at Penny, who happily begins humming and walking past JNPR and RWBY, stopping in front of each person to tap on her Scroll. With each tap, her Scroll emits a beep and someone else's Scroll buzzes. Ren's Scroll is the first to buzz, and he removes it from his pocket and opens it, checking the screen. It displays his student license, which displays a photograph of him in his new outfit with his emblem in the top left corner and a barcode below the photo. The Vale symbol is in the background behind the license information.
"Wait is this?" Ren asked
Winter nodded "You are being granted your Huntsman licenses, today."
"I mean we just got here." Ruby said
James approached "I know but with the current circumstances. And everything. I need people who I can trust. That means you guys. Besides due to the Attack on what was Project SENTINEL III we've beefed up our software. Only licensed huntsmen can be admitted into the project unless you were already slated for it before." James said
Pyrrha looked up "before?"
James nodded "previous candidates for the SENTINEL project included Spec ops members of the general military. But the evolution of the project can be discussed on our way down suffice to say we need more trust in the project." James said
Ruby looked around. "General, before we go down there there is something we need to tell you." Ruby said
"One. Ozpin has had…several secrets he was keeping some that might change your outlook of the War." Ruby said
Guts shrugged as James looked to him "I still feel it's possible but it's slim." Guts said
James nodded "go ahead…" he said
Ruby turned around and Oscar stepped up.
"This here is Oscar pine. He's the next reincarnation of Ozpin…" he said
James nodded " I'm holding my breath here." He said
Oscar sighed "turns out Ozpin lied when he said he sealed the lamp away with no questions there were two left." Oscar said
"We're?" James asked
"Ozpin was acting suspiciously and defensive. Ruby cracked it." Qrow said
"Ozpin has no plan to defeat Salem…because Salem can't be killed." Ruby said
Ironwood, Winter and everyone else stood there shocked
"What?" Winter asked
"She was cursed…by the brothers. To suffer." Oscar said
James looked at Guts "what do you think?" He asked
"You know what I think." Guts said
"You think you can do it?" James asked
Guts nodded "it will be tough but not as hard as killing a Sea god from inside itself." Guts said
Everyone relaxed "oh yea I forgot you killed the Sea god…why do we keep forgetting that?" Ruby asked
Guts shrugged "I don't broadcast my achievements." He said
"Very well if Guts can feel confident in knowing that he can take down the brothers then we have our path. But first we need to know you can stand up as his equal." James said
Guts looked over "I know Weiss can she hit me at 20% power and it felt like being hit by an apostle." Guts said
James smiled "good then it means the project has worked. We can continue and have you guys Added into the project register as well. But first, I think we need to get those weapons of yours up to our standards." He said as Penny comes around with a hovering crate and takes each of the groups weapons Ruby, Blake and Yang's and dumped them in the box Followed by Ren, Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune.
Penny moved to Guts and Qrow but James stopped her
"They are the exceptions, Penny." He said
Penny looked at Guts sword "I can see the weapons you use can be reforged to be 15% lighter are you sure?" Penny asked
Guts nodded "I like heavy swords." He said
Yang Nudged Blake "he's not the only one." As she looked at Ruby who tried to hide a blush.
Penny nodded as she went to reforge the weapons.
Winter spoke "Remember, this is Atlas. While assisting the military, we will provide you with the best equipment our scientists can devise."
Nora thought about the cool upgrades "Ooh!"
Ren was curious "Really?"
Yang pumped her fist in the air "Yeah!"
"Now follow me." James said as he lead everyone down to the elevator leading them to the lower levels
"Welcome to Project SENTINEL IV." He said as everyone looked out of the elevator to see the expanded floors of Ambers pods.
"You've expanded sir." Weiss said
"SENTINEL III's scope was only 3 battalions, SENTINEL IV is 4 Corps." General Ironwood said
Everyone not a part of standard Atlas stood appalled.
"James is insane." Qrow said
"Four Corps? Are there enough people in atlas for that? Without people noticing?" Weiss asked
"It's Atlas Weiss, the only place where the military runs the state." Blake asked
"I'm trying to change that. But desperate times call for desperate measures." Ironwood said
"That brings the question where are you getting the numbers then." Ruby asked
Yang shrugged "only one way to find out." She said
The others followed and reached General Ironwood
"Sir, where did you get the body count for the project?" Guts asked
"The Separatist were not The only ones focusing on long time cloning…" James said
So they are all one person?" Ruby asked
James shook his head
"Project SENTINEL is a way to be able to modify people's DNA. So while they have the genetic template of two people one male one female. They are considered distinctive individuals." James said
"I've noticed there are not any fanuas here." Blake said
"Fanuas DNA is too influx for us to get solid results yet once we know that it's possible and not accidentally make something that is destined to die or won't be born inside out. Then you will See Fanuas enter." James said
"What does that mean for Blake and Project SENTINEL?" Ruby asked worried about her teammate being left behind because she got another set of ears.
James smiled "not to worry. The DNA is only when breeding is involved or when cloning. Seeing as your DNA yourself is set you can Join the tests." He said
Guts stepped forward "this Project is a massive scope. How long has this been going on for?" He asked
"Before Qrow found you. Now each of you has your own pod. Guts. Qrow, Team RBY Team JNPR." He said as the pods opened to reveal the boxes.
He turned to Oscar "we're unsure about what your magic will do to the Machine so we chose not to risk it.
Oscar nodded "that's fine."
"What about those ones?" Yang pointed to Ambers life support racks.
"Those are for members to go in the opposite way as you. You are Huntsman in the military and thus get the genetic modification. There are others who go the other way." James said
"Please enter a pod and strip down if you feel uncomfortable being seen like this we can darken your glass." James said
Everyone stripped and out there clothes in a box.
"What's the rate of rejection on the IV's?" Weiss asked
"Rejection?" Jaune asked as he laid down. On the bed
"None Ms Schnee, it's been isolated and eliminated." James said
"Now that I'm worried what would happen if you were to have a rejection?" Yang asked
"You would Throw up your insides until you died." James said bluntly.
Weiss looked over "sir Is there a hormonal injection in this batch?" She asked
"Hormones?!" Ruby asked
James nodded "te side effects of the modifications is that low sex drive is observed which if left untreated can cause brain issues to counter this a hormonal injection is put in first which will stabilize the rest of the experience." James said
"Alright, give us the injection. Ruby just deal with it and I will fuck you after." Guts said
"Ms Rose. Do you think you will have the likeliness to touch yourself if your arousal were to increase.
Ruby nodded "yes I'm a nightmare when it comes to shit like this." She said
"Very well we will most likely have to restrain you." James said as the injections began.
As expected Ruby was the worst off with the hormone. Kicking and flailing trying to touch herself but the restraints held her down
"Ahhhhh gods please I need to cum arghhhhh!" She moaned
Finally the genetic modification hit and everyone calmed down to standard levels.
All except Guts
Ruby looked over and noticed Guts was sweating and his injection tubs stopped pumping.
"General what's up with Guts?" Ruby asked
"It appears he's having a minor case of rejection but wait, that doesn't make sense." He said
"I thought you said there was no rate of rejection in the IV's?!" Ruby yelled betrayed and fearful of losing Guts.
"There shouldn't be Ms Rose now, give me a second to try to sort this out!" James said
Guts looked over. "I'm fine James, just finish my doses." Guts said
James shook his head "not until we figure out what's wrong."
"James, trust me…" Guts said
James huffed "you better not die on me." James said as he hit the big red button in the center of the console. Guts roared in pain as all the genetic material entered all at once.
Guts pulled out all the stuff before he passed out
Guts came too a second later to hear Ruby screaming
"GUTS PLEASE WAKE UP!" She pounded on the glass as Ironwood was trying to calm her down
"Ms Rose, please you don't know your own strength!" James said
Suddenly Guts shot up in a roar making Ruby fly back and hit the other side of the glass
Guts sat up "Ruby I'm fine."
"What happened?" James asked
"I'm not sure but if I were to guess I'd say my two realities were crashing together making it harder for me to accept the modifications. I could be wrong through." Guts shrugged
James nodded "well…as long as you're alright."
Guts nodded as he stood up
They all stepped out and looked at themselves
"Now you're going to feel weird for a bit. Don't push yourself, your aura will be able to heal most of the damage but it will still hurt." Weiss said
"Yes in fact Ms Schnee, why don't you take them to the training room and get them used to their bodies." James said
"Yes sir." She nodded
The General looked at them. "Because of your work here we have a chance but we need to Stop the Separatists movement now." James said
He looked down to his buzzing scroll to see the caller Id been Ghost.
"Excuse me. Schnee walk 'em through." He said as he turned away.
"This Is Holland, go for secure."
Weiss turned back to everyone. "Alright we're taking a trip I must ask no one to use their semblance until we've reached the training area." Weiss said
"Who put you in charge, Weiss?" Qrow asked
"Because I survived this already once and while I had no accident in training I had the ability to Break someone's arm in five seconds and I'm the weakest member of team Rwby." Weiss said
Everyone gulped and while they didn't say anything they looked to Guts
They reached the Training area. And found Winter and the Ace-Ops training.
"Weiss held her hand up to stop them as Winter noticed them.
"Weiss, good to see you… how was the procedure?" Winter asked
"Bog standard, I'm just getting them used to their new bodies." Weiss nodded
"Do any of you remember seeing any flashes when you were injected
A few raised their hands. Yang, Qrow and Pyrrha.
Winter nodded "good that will be vital for this. In time those will become clear picture's of another person training that is an implanted memory. Allow your muscles to follow that memory."
Ruby raised her hand
"I um…I didn't see bright flashes but I got a 10 hour video…" Ruby said
The Ace-ops looked confused.
"You were only in there for 10 minutes." Clover said
Weiss however stepped forward "it was probably because of your semblance, you metabolized the injection quicker thus you got the entire training in one go instead of bursts like you're supposed to. I think we should test it?" Weiss said
Ruby shrugged
"Ok…how?" She asked
"Prepare yourself." Weiss said Brahe vanished and reappeared before Ruby and flew a blur of punches
While others could perceive the speed as a blur Ruby saw it as if Weiss was punching underwater and she was standing on dry ground. Ruby didn't even assess the threat as a need to react; she just leaned away from All of it.
Weiss delivered a full powered punch to Ruby's gut but instead Ruby slapped her hands off either side of Weisses arm and gave a twist.
The result was a Dislocated shoulder and a scream from Weiss
"ARGHHHH!"
Ruby looked down surprised
"Weiss! are you ok?!" She asked
Everyone looked shocked
Weiss looked up excited
"AM I EVER GODS DAMN RUBY THAT WAS BRILLIANT?!" Ow but did you have to dislocate my shoulder?" She asked
Ruby laughed "sorry it was just instinct." She said
"Weiss nodded "very well Winter a little help here?" She asked
Winter strode forward and gave her a stick to bit down on.
"3…2…1!" Winter slammed her fist into Weisses shoulder as she growled
Weiss flexed her hand and her aura appeared on her shoulder healing the dislocation.
Weiss smiled "I'm happy that you got the full training. That means you can help us train the rest of us." Weiss said
Ruby nodded "ok…what do you want me to do?" She asked
"Yang your more of a hand to hand fighter. We don't really have a good match up for you but I think Ruby will be best because she's your sister." Weiss said
Yang nodded Ruby strode forward "imagine all your punches now have rockets at the end of then and adjust accordingly." Ruby said
Yang's eyes shot open but smiled "gotta sis."
Weiss looked at Pyrrha and Jaune.
"Winter I know you use a sword and dagger but how are you on shield?" She asked
"I feel comfortable enough to teach those two." Winter said
Eventually everyone had a group being paired up with either Ace- ops, Weiss or Ruby.
The only one not was Guts which was understandable.
He sighed "if you can produce a holographic program for me that might be best." Guts said
Everyone looked around
"Probably." They said as they realized no one wanted to face a Supercharged Guts even as they themselves were supercharged. And Ruby didn't feel Atlas would survive if they fought.
The training went as a breeze. As they got use to their strength by going into hand to hand combat they returned their skills to their respective weapons and they became even more lethal.
Jaune, being a more standard sword and shield fighter, realized that even his lightest strikes now, unless grouped with another Superhuntsman, had killing power to it.
Eventually James and Oscar entered the Training room and saw there progress.
"Seems they've gotten pretty good." Oscar said
"Yes. They are people now to be feared." James said
Oscar looked at James
"You said these mods were designed to go up against people with magic. Can we see it?" Oscar asked
James nodded "Winter!" He called
Winter and the Other Ace-ops spun around
"Set up for battle simulation Aries Omega." James said
Winter nodded "everyone off the grid!" Winter ordered.
Everyone stood by James. Oz wanted a demonstration of the capabilities you have now against Magic. Now these are simulation's run by data recorded of how a maiden would react if confronted with danger. Inputted into a computer. There's no danger here so you're free to go all out." James said
Winter nodded. "Begin simulation!" She said
Suddenly the grid morphed into a open field and a dirt path.
Qrow recognized the Area.
"Wait this is?" He asked James who shook his head " just an open area, nothing more."
Winter walked down the road and found herself confronted with a young woman confused
Winter narrowed her eyes and charged at the women
The women couldn't react in time as Winter appeared in front of her and delivered two powerful punches to her gut before bringing up her knee
The women was unaffected just stunned and used her magic to blast Winter back
Winter grit her teeth as she drew her sword
James watched the fight "Winter underestimated her opponent."
Back in the battle Winter rushed forward again as the women dodged the strike and danced away before throwing a fireball Winter jumped up and away from the blast as it exploded
Both women landed on opposite fences as they staired each other down.
The two charged and clashed in the middle with the women using a staff to block the attack.
Qrow and the others were shocked they didn't see a real fight with a maiden or with Cinder but the actual fight seemed unreal.
The women waved one hand and leaves turned to ice and shot towards Winter.
It was only because of her superhuman perception that she was able to dodge and that was just barely her aura flickered.
"If she didn't receive the Modifications she would have been swept aside." Qrow said out loud.
Winter grit her teeth and threw her dagger down and on the ground where the dagger landed appeared a glyph.
The women shot a fireball at Winter which she cut apart with her sword.
Winter grit her teeth and launched forward using time dilation which with the addition of her already increase of speed made her a line to everyone but Ruby
Ruby sighed "she's getting reckless." She said
Guts looked over "she's looking ok to me." He said
Ruby kept watching "you can barely keep up but with my semblance I can see everything. She's missing more than she's hitting. One falter and her opponent will capitalize on it." She said
Sure enough that's what happened as the women waved her hand and made a patch of ice appear on the ground sending Winter flying.
Ruby grit her teeth at being proved right.
Winter however made a glyph appear in the air and used it to save herself as she launched off it back at the women
The women shattered as She landed in a crouch.
Winter sighed as she walked forward trying to end the simulation…
Until she noticed the simulation was still running behind her
Winter Narrowed her eyes her opponent wasn't dead.
Suddenly the ground around her rumbled and a pillar sent her flying in the air as her opponent came back firing icey leaves as well as fireballs at her.
Winter parried everything but a few got through. And made her bleed but she didn't realize it.
Ironwood however did as he looked to the side to see a red box flashing on the screen "safety disabled"
"How the-?" James asked
Oscar looked "what is it?"
"The safety measures have been disabled. WINTER ITS REAL NOW!" James warned her
Winter looked down and realized she was bleeding and grit her teeth
"Understood General. disable the Cameras." She said
"Thy have been for the entire fight." Ironwood said
Winter nodded as she summoned a man with armor and an Atlas rifle
Weiss looked shocked "W-Winter?" She asked
James looked at her.
"All the Ace ops went up against Marko once. She was one of the few that killed a clone of his. It was traumatizing for a bit. But she learned to live with it. It's her most powerful summon she has." James said
"Winter looked to Marko summon and nodded
Marko couched down and started to fire.
The women held her hands up to block the bullets
Winter used this chance and Rushed the. And with one swing Cleaved her in two as the background of the area vanished into the black and green grid.
Everyone clapped as Winter strode off the Marko summon holstered his weapon and vanished as Winter picked up her Dagger.
Winter sighed
"Good show Ms Schnee." James said
"It was sloppy." Ruby said making everyone turn
"Huh Ruby, that was amazing!" Yang said
"what are you talking about?" Weiss said
Ruby spoke. "I saw everything in crisp details you saw blurs. When you rushed at her repeatedly you left basic openings that could have easily been exploited with just one misstep. In Fact it's because of that that your opponent at all was able to trip you up on the sleet of ice." Ruby said
Winter sighed "yes I noticed that too. I'll be more careful in the future."
"Thank you for that insite Ruby. With you guys watching our backs I feel we cannot lose this war." James said
"we?" Jaune asked
James smiled "I've just received word that Blue team has returned. The Naval personnel of the Red Fleet are on overwatch. And those who were at the Vytal festival have been reallocated into the Newly formed Black Array." James said
"Black Array?" Qrow asked
Winter spoke up. "The branch of the military Containing Project SENTINEL. And as of now…you." James said
Everyone looked at each other "let it be known you're not going to be trained militarily but you will be armed as such. Your missions will be treated like any other Huntsman mission and you will have no Command over site." James said
"Is SENTINEL IV registered into The Black Array?" Weiss asked
James nodded "They're the Foundation for its operations that's why we feel so comfortable launching the attack." James said
"Attack?" Qrow asked
"We're changing the tide of this war. And wiping the Separatists out!" James said
Guts nodded "when do we go?" He asked
"Briefing is in my office at 03:00 hours." James said
He turned away "until then your time is your own."
Everyone looked at each other and shrugged.
Ruby and her friends walk down towards the Ace-Ops who approached them.
Clover sighed "I'd like to sincerely apologize for the miscommunication down in Mantle. We didn't intend to-."
Suddenly, Elm Ederne pushes her way past Clover and Marrow and begins frantically shaking Ruby's hand, accidentally flailing her about in the air.
Elm "I feel so bad, honestly! If we had known who you were, we'd be laughing over a hot meal right now and-."
Partway through her second sentence, Elm drops the now-dizzy Ruby on the floor. And squeals
"AHHH I got to talk to Ruby Rose!
"Yes Elm. We all got that so far." Harriet said
Ruby, just sighed "I understand. You were just following orders."
Ruby gets to her feet, groaning, only to be spun around by Weiss. Who holds her protectively which Ruby was grateful for as a way to stabilize herself.
The rest of the Team and The Ace-ops talked Qrow talking to Clover and the others chatting amicably.
Ruby came close to Guts and hugged his arm,
Guts looked to Ruby and noticed she was a lot more clingy than normal he rolled his eyes teasingly, and said to the others,
"We will be in our room." As they walked away
Winter and the Ace-ops looked at Team WBYJNPR, Oscar and Qrow questionably,
All they Said was "rabbits."
It was all that needed to be said.
In Guts Room which was a single room with a large desk and a bed only Guts and Ruby stripped off. There armor
Are you ready for this love?" Guts asked
Ruby grimaced "fuck I've wanted this for at least when we got to Argus." Ruby said
"Why didn't you?" Guts asked as he brushed across Ruby's chest making her moan and try to lean away but Guts brought his other arm around her keeping her in place.
"Ruby?" Guts asked
Ruby groaned trying to keep decent thoughts as Guts played with her tits.
"I-nnnn- didn't want to b-mmmmeeee-Rude!" Ruby gasped as Guts let's go of her chest as she slouched forward panting.
Guts threw Ruby on the bed completely done with the foreplay as Ruby grunted as she landed Guts landed on top of her and thrust himself in hard
Ruby let out a scream of Shock, pleasure and slight pain from the sudden forced opening.
Guts just began to pound her hard.
And Ruby's brain turned to mush.
On the city streets Carrying a bag and an umbrella, with a set of new rings on his fingers, Arthur Watts walks along a sidewalk while talking to Hazel Reinhardt through a communication device that is placed in his ear.
Watts sighed "For the last time, a singular hideout makes us susceptible to discovery."
Watts hacks the traffic post across the street to change it to allow pedestrians to cross as he walks across the street.
Hazel hissed back "But what if we're seen? What if we're recognized?"
Watts looked over his shoulder "We stay mobile."
The sound of multiple scratches like writing can be heard over the communication device.
Hazel "We're walking around a city with a thousand eyes, one step out of place and we are caught. And it's because of you I'm wanted." He said
Watts changes another traffic signal and crosses the street without pause, causing cars to come screeching to a halt.
Watts sighs "While cybersecurity has been stepped up in Atlas, as usual, none of the code was updated in Mantle."
He walks across another street, hacking another system to make a blockade of posts rise up from the road, which a car crashes into as it swerves to go around him.
A Woman ran up to the driver "Oh no! Gosh! Are you okay!?"
Hazel sighed "That certainly sounds it could be useful."
Watts sighed "It should be."
Watts pauses and presses his thumb to one of his rings, which glows cyan. All nearby security cameras power down.
Watts smiled "I helped write that code, after all, have you reached the end yet?"
Muffled screaming is heard from inside a building, while the camera next to its door powers down. The door opens, and Hazel steps out, slamming the door behind him on someone's neck he sighed.
"Well, I suppose we all have our talents."
"I didn't expect you to be one to get violent. I thought you didn't condone it because of your sister?" Watts asked
"This is different." Hazel said
"Different how?" Watts asked
"It's a splinter group, trying to cause mass death in the city." He said
"And your trying to stop them?" Watts asked as if he was out of his mind,
"No one has to die…" Hazel said
"You-…blithering idiot we can use them." He said
Hazel stayed silent on the other end for a moment then asked
"How…?"
Watts sighed "send me your location I'll meet up we will need to find a cell leader and perhaps we can get something rolling to cause panic and give us an opening." He said
Watts growled as his ear peace sparked, he looked to his scroll and saw an image on it. It was a basic family photo.
Watts laughed "ha and I thought you knew nothing about cyphers!" He said as he opened the image file and found what he was looking for.
Watts closed the scroll
"Now…where do we start?" He asked
Above the city Femto stood on the rooftop overlooking the city the bright lights and screaming noises.
He stared out deeply into the city as if willing it to crash on its own…after a few moments he spun away and blinked out of existence.
Watts found Hazels location and found an empty alleyway
"Only you could think of hiding in a big ass shadow." Watts sighed
"And you don't know who truly run the city?" A voice not Hazel said
Watts dropped his bag and spun around pointing his revolver at the person, he wore Black Battle armor, and a fully encased face,
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Another voice said from down the ally
Watts spun around and saw another man walk out in similar gear with an Atlas A1 pistol pointed next to Hazels head, "unless you want your partners head splattered across the masonry."
Watts sighed "always one to choose the best spots aren't you Hazel." He said
Hazel shrugged "you wanted me to have a meeting with them so I did." He said
Watts sighed "well points for efficiency."
"Enough flirting you two. It's clear your here for a reason, I'm just wondering why?" The guy with the helmet said
"Because according to my intelligence, your trying to cause mass murder on the scale never before seen." Watts said
The man scoffed "you intelligence sucks then. We're not trying to cause mass murder, we're trying to overthrown the government, James Ironwood is corrupt and will lead the place to ruins." He said
Watts smiled, "yes…which is exactly why I wanted to meet you." He stuck his. Hand out "Arthur Watts. Nice to meet you."
The man slammed Arthur against the wall, "you TELL ME ONE GOOD FUCKING REASON I DONT SPLATTER YOUR BRAINS AGAINST THE WALL FOR WHAT YOUVE DONE TO ME!?"
"D-done to you, I've swear I've never met you in my life!?" Arthur begged.
Hazel was tense, this was not how this meeting was supposed to go
The man pushed his harder against the wall. "You don't remember!? Oh I guess that's how you can sleep at night, you however haunt my dreams, every waking moment is torture because of you!"
"I swear I didn't mean to do anything to you!" Arthur cried
"Oh but you did, after all." He said as he took off his helmet and dropped it on the ground "you were paid for it." He hissed
Arthur pailed pure terror plastered on his eyes.
"M-Marko."
At James Ironwoods room, everyone was gathered, including Blue Team, Ace-ops Team RWBY JNPR Oscar Guts and Qrow,
"Alright, here's the briefing." At 02:00 hours we lost contact with a vital outpost in Mantel Outpost 73-BC. No communication has been heard of sense. It's believed all inside had Been killed." James said
"Do we have an idea who did it?" Ruby asked
"They haven't claimed it but we expect the Separatists?" James said
"What is so important about the Outpost that the Separatists would attack?" Ghost asked
"Outpost 73-BC is an outpost near one of the few mountains of Solitas. And that outpost, sits on top of a lab that's working on a part of Phase II for Project SENTINEL which will be adapted into the SENTINEL V project." James explained
Ruby stepped forward,
"Sir I need to ask, why are there so many different names?" Ruby asked
James turned around,
"Because of security, we can't risk Salem finding out of the SENTINEL project less she finds a way to perhaps counter it, thus once a new project is claimed, all the information about the previous project is Inked, and sent to be filed away, and with each iteration of a new project all those papers are inked again." James said
Everyone gasped
"James…that's a lot of ink…perhaps too much?" Qrow said
"No…I don't want anyone to be able to reverse engineer any of our work, especially Salem." James said
"Which is what makes the Separatists so dangerous." Winter understood
"There leader Marko, as explained, was a part of SENTINEL I. If he makes contact with any of Salem's men, the project is screwed. And if he Locates any part of SENTINEL V he can reverse engineer the other layers, and even they might be able to get there own super Soldiers, or more horridly, Grimm." James said
Ruby gasped "surely that's not possible?" Yang asked
James sighed "I think we both know the answer to that, after all you encountered the same research after the Attack of Vale, by Dr. Merlot" James said
"You used that Madman's research!?" Blake called
"Only to reverse engineer it, And hope to locate a Golden bullet for the Grimm." James said
"And?" Jaune asked
James shook his head "no such luck."
"Officially, Outpost 73-BC was used to check weather patterns, Spec ops teams were told it was a base for Grimm research, You here know the real reason, it's an important base and it cannot fall." James said
Greg stepped forward "how is it reasoned that the Separatists found out of the Outpost?" He asked
"I don't know, all I do know is that contact must be established." James said
Everyone nodded "ok what's the plan?" Ruby asked
"Well that's the thing, there is so much happening at once, we can't deploy all of you, not for the fact it you would be spotted but your needed in other places. Weiss for one needs to Claim her spot as CEO of the SDC." James said
"Me?" Weiss asked
James nodded "yes Before we can officially Indicted your father for treason there must be a Schnee taking over the company, another one of your fathers stupid policies." He said
Weiss nodded.
"And then there's the issue of the Winter maiden." James said
"What's up with her?" Yang asked
"Other than the fact it's Ironwood's wife?." Guts said,
James nodded, "yes, but even now we got a time limit as, it's been discovered that She has cancer terminally." James said
Ruby gasped, Everyone hung their heads.
"Pietro must be devastated." Weiss said
"He is…whenever he's not working down in Mantle he's by her side." James said
"Weiss stepped forward." Then I will do it, I will take my role as Schnee Dust Company CEO, and my first order of business will be to void those Policies that my father put into bar divorce. And as soon as I do that, please Frie should remarry Pietro."
James smiled, his eyes tearing up as he turned away, voice breaking "t-thank you." He wiped his eyes with a pocket cloth and looked back at them,
"Weiss will go to Schnee manor to claim her spot, While everyone else will head to Outpost 73-BC and reestablish communication." James said
Oscar stepped forward. "Who is slated to replace the Winter Maiden?" He asked
"That would be me." Winter said
Weiss looked over, "sir. If I may announce a modification to the plan?"
James nodded "I'll at least take it under consideration go ahead."
Weiss looked over "have Winter take over as the CEO of SDC. She will have armed Guards and be able to be near the Winter maiden for her last moments." Weiss said
James nodded "acceptable, however you still need to be there to transfer power as Winter was Disinherited by your father," James said
Weiss nodded "I know,"
Ruby stepped forward. "Ok so, we have two people, I highly doubt you need 16 superpowered Huntsman and Black ops teams to need to clear one outpost, what are the rest of us doing?" Ruby asked
"Perceptive Ms. Rose. Yes you will not all be going to Outpost 73-BC to check it out, however you will be going into Mantle." He said
The team awaited expectantly.
"It's believed the Separatists are going after Pietro as he was the main scientist behind the mind of the SENTINEL project." James said
"But not the biggest mind, who was that?" Guts asked
"A scientist who we later figured out was in it for his own gain, a man known as Dr Arthur Watts," James said
"Watts…Qrow wasn't that note Raven gave us at Haven saying a person named Arthur Watts visited her to try to convince her to attack us at Haven." Guts said
Qrow looked in his pocket "yea…it seems so. Looks like he joined Salem after all" he said
James sighed "then it's most likely that he is most likely going to be here, to try to undermine the systems in place, a lot of lives will be in danger. Blue team will Raid outpost 73-BC, while Weiss and Winter go to the Schnee manor, the Ace ops will go look across the city for other insurgents, as Team RWBY JNPR will patrol the Streets of mantle Protect Dr. Pietro, if he dies SENTINEL falls."
Qrow stepped forward "we have an old lady who's staying with him she can protect him." Qrow said
Ghost looked to Qrow, "I highly doubt a old women can beat several Armed insurgents if they come knocking on the door,
"She's the Grimm reaper." Qrow countered,
Ghost was quiet "ok fine nevermind." He said
James nodded "still I'd feel better if someone else was watching her, Guts, you go with RBY until Weiss returns, and even after, Qrow. Your going with Clover." James said
"Insurgent hunting? Don't you think I'm better with Blue team I can scan from the sky in my bird form." He said
"You're a bird for semblance?" Greenhorn asked
"No magic." Qrow said
James shook his head, "No, Holland specifically wants Blue team to go alone." He said
Qrow shrugged, "fare enough." He said
"We all have our orders, get suited up and get it done," James said
Everyone nodded and left, all but Guts,
James looked up.
"What is it Guts?" He asked
"I'm wondering why you're deciding to hide from your best team." Guts said
James looked up.
"After the Injection Blue team called you answered as Holland…" Guts said
James hissed "fuck! Slip of the tongue," he said
Guts raised his hand "hey I'm not blaming you I just want to know." He said
"Blue team Knows I'm Holland, it's a keyphrase for them to know that if a mission goes south, it cannot be traced back to me." He said
"Because of the Grimm?" Guts asked
"That and the Civilian government thinks I'm reaching for power enough as it is. If It looks like someone else is in charge of them they won't question." James said
"Why not elevate someone else to Holland, that way you can focus on others tasks.
James laughed humorously "who else is there? Oscar is a stuttering Mess, Winter is in the field, no one else is a high enough rank to even command such a large structure." He said
"Why not Ghost?" Guts asked
"Ghost?" James asked
"You said before Marko is the best of the Best of SENTINEL I, so why not Counter him with the Best of SENTINEL III?" Guts asked
James rubbed his chin, "I admit the delegation task would lessen my work load, and I've also noticed he's been issuing orders, that I wouldn't be if I was there but got better results then what I would have gotten, I'll have to ask him if he accepts, there's also an issue as to who will lead the team, if I elevate him to Desk duty, the other members won't just follow anyone…unless…" James said
"Sir?" Guts asked
"It's fine. I'll figure out someone to replace Ghost in time," you better get to Team Rwby." James said
Guts nodded and left,
The two teams were being lead by Penny to the armory where there new weapons and gear were stored.
"Your new weapons and armor should be as requested, but Father also took the liberty of reviewing your combat footage from the Vytal Festival Tournament." Penny said
Teams RWBY and JNPR stand in front of a series of narrow shelves, each of which have cases on them. Nora Valkyrie shifts eagerly on her feet, letting out an excited giggle as she snatches up her case. Everyone else calmly picks up their cases.
"There's some additional enhancements he'd like to suggest. Oh, but for now, these should serve you well enough." She finished
Ruby opens her case and smiles. Nora opens her case and looks amazed, pupils dilating and eyes shimmering from her excitement. Jaune opens his case, and his eyes widen.
Ruby spun Crescent Rose over her Shoulder and held it out like she was about to shoot
Before she pulled back a slide behind the blade and Cresent Roses blade Spun 180 degrees to face the opposite way." Ruby smirked as she closed the scythe again and rested it on her back.
The rest of her team were looking at their gear.
Then found that each of them had one last box in there crate
Well all except Weiss.
Ruby and the others opened them up
And found a white Sleek Atlas A1 Pistol with 4 Pistol Mags in a case padded on all sides
Ruby drew the pistol and clicked the slide forward and looked down the sights before she went about moving the magazine's into her pouches.
Ruby looked at the wall to examine her new Armor set.
She liked to see the others as well which had a new style as well as Ruby had a major role in designing it. And because she was paranoid she made sure they had enough gear to Stand up to Apostle's should they come across them.
Ruby's new outfit, comprised of a black red lined lace-up corset with four buckles hanging loose over a mesh sleeveless top over a white low cut long-sleeved blouse, as well as a black choker around her neck which was actually the one that Tai gave her to help control her semblance which had begun to act erratically. She wears a red pleated skirt that is split at the side with a small brown belted strap across the gap, and bright red shorts under it. On her arms, she wears black bracers with large brown buckled straps around the wrist as well as black fingerless gloves.
Of course she also added a mix of the Gear from her Apostle Hunting Armor. With a Bandolier of both Throwing knives and Bombs Ruby could throw at a moment's notice.
Around her waist, she now has a brown belt with several bullets with a buckle of her emblem on it alongside a pouch on the right side with a Zwei based emblem and one on the other side that was always open so she could quick drop her mags in it so she didn't have to police her brass. she wears black, thigh-high steel-toe boots with red soles and heels, a single buckled strap, rear seam and a large brown buckled strap with attached pouches near the top, over a pair of brown mesh tights. In addition, her torn cape is replaced with a new cape that has a hood
Weiss: Weiss' hair is now braided, and she has grown out her bangs and styled them to frame her face more closely.
She wears a pale blue sleeveless dress with deep red lining, bow detail fixture, and two diamond-shaped pieces hanging from the corners of the hem, over a white diagonal hemmed strapless dress. Above which she wears a vivid blue shrug with a raised collar, puffy sleeves and the Schnee emblem on the left sleeve, fastened by a blue, silver outlined strap. On her arms are a pair of long navy blue gloves with silver top trim surrounding a red gem at the top.
Across the chest is a bandolier of Grenades that she can use at a moment's notice.
Over her dress, she wears a light blue, corset styled belt. Around her waist are three white belts with a medium-sized pouch attached to the lowest belt and another 2 pouches attached to the middle belt, one is always open as a dump pouch. The lowest belt crosses over the middle belt. She wears long, pale blue wedge-heel boots with white frill detailing at the top at the front, alongside grayish blue coloring on the toes and navy blue wedged heels.
In addition, she wears a pair of ruby earrings that match her icicle-shaped tiara with a diamond-shaped ruby in the center.
Blake's attire is a purple sleeveless catsuit with attached boots that has light purple soles and trim. The catsuit has a high neck with a single short silver zipper alongside matching zippers that run from her thighs to her ankles on the front of the legs. A pair of knee pads, matching color to the catsuit with silver studs on them are attached to the knees of the catsuit.
Her long, white tailcoat has desaturated purple detailing on the chest, sleeves, sides and collar alongside a dark purple detailing on the back.
Across her chest was a Bandolier of grenades where she held Her weapon across her back
It has a narrow belt around the collar and a wide white belt loosely secured around her waist through the coat's belt loops. The belt has two pouches attached to the back and one on the side always open as quick drip pouch. The coattails end in a point and the inside lining is vivid purple. The front zipper of the coat is upside down and extends to the very bottom of the coat, and there are additional zippers along the lower half of the sleeves with a single purple line running between the zipper and her shoulders. Around each wrist is a dark purple belted wristband and has a desaturated purple magnetic backpack on her back.
Yang's new outfit primarily consisting of khaki overalls, the gold zipper of which is unzipped just below the breast to reveal a white low-cut cropped tube top. Around the thighs of the overalls is a gold zipper and buckled strap that allows for the pants leg to be detached. The right leg is unzipped but still strapped to the overalls but the lower part is partially folded over. Over top of the coveralls, she wears a baggy, dark brown crop aviator styled jacket with fur trim around the neck and black-and-orange straps along the sleeves.
On the Arms she has Several Armbands with pockets which hold extra ammo and gear for emergencies.
And across her body like everyone else was a bandolier of Grenades 20 in total half smoke half Deadly. and this time it's a pull trigger so no need for an extra action.
Around her waist is a black-and-orange belt with black-and-yellow folded fabric on the sides, which runs behind her with a pouch attached to it and a golden buckle of her emblem. She wears dark brown knee-high boots with black laces and top trim. For accessories, she has resumed wearing her orange scarf around her neck and her purple scarf around her right leg, like she did with her original battle outfit. She also has a black/brown strap with golden trim and a pouch wrapped around her left thigh. Yang wears yellow and black socks with her emblem
Blue team got ready in the armory, as they equipped there gear, James walked in,
"GENERAL ON DECK!" Ghost snapped to attention as did everyone else.
"At ease." James said as they packed there gear,
"Ghost, I want to talk to you alone for a bit before your launch." James said
Ghost nodded as he looked down the sighs of his A1 pistol and clicked off then slid it on his holster, before grabbing four mags. In each hand, "you guys if your set head for the helipad." He said
The rest of the team walked off,
"What is it General?" Ghost asked
"May I call you your first name?"
Ghost shrugged "you've given me my new name and I'm as use to it as any other." He said
"Henry." James said
Ghost sighed and he took off his helmet, "yes General?" Ghost said as he revealed his shaved head with a massive scar, on his cheek,
"If your willing, this might be the last mission you spend on the field, I don't know if you notice, but there are a lot more missions coming from me than from Holland, I can't take both roles anymore. When the Separatists were hiding in the shadows maybe but now out there like this I need someone countering Marko's tactics from someone who thinks like him." James said
Henry nodded. "I understand sir. I accept." He said
James put a hand on his shoulder, " this isn't the last you will see of the action. I've seen plenty of combat myself while I'm a general. So don't think your going to sit still and be in an office all day." James said
Henry nodded. "Sir." Henry said
James nodded giving him permission to speak freely,
"I just hope you give my team a good leader." He said
James nodded "I'll lead them myself if I have to." He said
Henry nodded and put on his helmet, "ghost out." He said as he took his Rifle and headed for the door,
"Ghost!" James said
Ghost turned, "Holland will give you his final briefing this mission personally." James said
Ghost nodded
Outside Blue team was waiting, for Ghost, "team Take one Manta, were going silent running, but keep coms open," ghost said
"We expecting a call sir?" Elsa asked
Ghost nodded "Holland is wishing us a happy hunting trip."
The others looked at each other as they boarded the ship and flew off, doors closed, and cloaked,
Time: [04:00]
Location: [above the flats of] Solitas
Ghost sat on the Bench of the ship. There was no friendly banter, no teasing, this was serious work.
Suddenly the pilot turned back "your getting an incoming call."
"We'll take it here," he said
Suddenly the face of Holland's avatar a flat bust appeared free floating,
"Greeting SENTINEL's… General Ironwood has told you the basic briefing, I'm here to tell you the rest. The outpost you're going to is in the Valley of two circular mountain ranges, making entry to the Outpost basically impenetrable except for air." Holland said
"What is in there that is so important to keep from the Separatists?" Greg asked
"That is the last part of Project SENTINEL IV, and why you were sent, codenamed "Vice Grip, the Atlas power Armor your use to seeing is hardly considered Armor, it's more like a Powered harness, and it barely protects you, what is being tested there, is a set of Armor like the more standard Military uses, except it connects and is hooked up to your aura, to help amplify it in combat. As well as other things, if it were to be used by a member of the public, without aura, it would rip them apart. As it would drain there life force while they use it, only giving them 30 minutes of use,
If a huntsmen where to use it, they would be able to fight in it but they would be most likely to break themselves, Only SENTINEL's can use it to the full potential, and each suit costs as much as an Atlesian airship," Holland said
"Holy shit…" Elsa asked
"These must not fall into the enemy hands if we only have enough suits on hand to outfit Blue Team, and one other individual." James said
"Who is that person?" Greenhorn asked
"Classified." Holland said before he got on topic
"Your mission is to get in there, secure the facility, and in case you have to scramble, the Base Suit up and Evac to atlas." He said "I also wanted to let you know that it's been an honor serving with you even." He said
"You make it sound like your leaving boss?" Verity asked
"Because I am, it's no secret you know who I really am, but with the other wars happening, I can't be running both at once, after this I will no longer be your handler." James said
"Sir in that case who will?" Romulo asked
"Settle down Blue Team, you already know the answer," Ghost said
"Ghost…" Elsa said
"Marko must be dealt with but even so we're on the back foot of this war, we need to think like him, we need someone who can get into his head." Ghost said
Elsa looked over. "Sir if Ghost is to become our handler, who will lead the team in combat?" She asked
"Elsa your just as good as I am at leading the team." Ghost said
"Elsa sighed "I know sir it's just…it just won't seem right." She said
Ghost nodded. "I know. But we don't have a choice," he said
"The Black Array and those under that will all be Under your preview. Ghost."
"Sir if I am to be the new handler I won't need a suit." Ghost said
James nodded "no you will not. However the Armor is needed so it's best you bring it back to keep it out of the Hands of the Separatists as well as a way for us to mass produce it." James said
Ghost nodded
"Nothing else Blue team Holland out."
(Schnee Manor)
Weiss and Winter sat on another transport in silence.
"Weiss I-." Winter started but Weiss raised her hand to shut her up,
"Winter you deserve this role more than me. You know it, I've always played catch up to you, but at the same time, I'm fine with it, I've found my calling." She said
Winter nodded.
Weiss looked over "looks like it's still a war zone." She said as they flew over the Schnee manor, the machine gun batteries were still there, as were the several broken windows
Weiss landed in the courtyard, and both sisters walked out,
"Ms Schnee!?" The head of the security guards asked
"Why is this trash out here!?" She asked
"Um madam there were no orders. Jacques told us to keep them in place." He said
"He used that as a reason to keep me held hostage in my own home! I am leaving Winter here as acting On my behalf you obey her orders as if they were my own, and clean this trash up." She said as she stomped up the stairs and inside.
"Winter glaired at them. "You will find I'm not as forgiving as my sister, keep the machine guns at least we can use them and deploy them as a home defense system, but get rid of the sandbags, and other trash." Winter said
The Schnee guards nodded "yes madam." He said
Weiss headed to her fathers office and transferred all the files from her fathers computer to her scroll then to General Ironwood and Winter.
She was about to walk out when she heard a call from down the hall "Weiss?"
Weiss looked over and gasped "mother?" Weiss asked as she walked off,
(Eoc)
Here we the Start of Arc 3 and moving into Atlas. As you can see this is going to be longer than before because yes I'm showing both conflicts Team RWBY and Blue team. Also expect a cannon Omake next chapter. Keep reading. Bankerrtx01.