And I am back with another chapter of Remnant unleashed. Seems this story is really getting many people interested in reading it. That makes me very happy.
On another note, I love this time of year when families get together for the holidays. Shame that it won't be the same for this year with the stupid Covid-19 crap going around. I swear, if I lose my grandma this year before her birthday, I'll be a very sad man.
Anyway, onto the reviews
Sheploo: Ahsoka's been on Remnant since she and the others crashed seventeen years ago so its not like she traveled through time or anything. Plus, she's only been out of stasis for about a month in the story.
54godamora: Yes, I did use scenes from the 2003 Clone Wars micro-series. That, along with the 2008 series is among one of my favorite series. You are indeed correct that the mystery opponent isn't Grievous. If you'd been paying attention in this chapter and chapter thirteen, you will have noticed that Darth Maul is working for Salem and is the only other force user to have a double-bladed lightsaber that isn't dead. Krell bought the farm on Umbara.
RDDash: Does it really matter if Galen has been removed from the Star Wars universe when Disney bought the franchise? I like the guy and while Cal from Fallen Order is good, Galen is way more of a badass then Cal.
Jack Smith1: You're damn right the Morph Gun is a badass firearm! It almost makes me think that's one of the reasons old Monty decided to have many of the weapons in RWBY shift from Gun to melee. If you're doing a Mass Effect Clone Wars crossover and making it a heavy AU, I can't wait to read it. I just have one request for you, well make it two requests. One, you make sure Hevy survives the Rishi Moon incident, Echo doesn't become a cyborg or die at the Citadel and Hardcase and Waxer survive Umbara so they have their inhibitor chips removed. Second; and the one I really want you do, BRING IN THE BAD BATCH! Now in regards to the rebel fleet, they will have a few Venators in its ranks. As for Imperial Star Destroyers, I'll see what I can do, but they won't be full of TIE fighters.
Ok, reviews done, disclaimers are the same as always, please enjoy.
Chapter 21: Party Night
A glum looking Ruby rested her head on her hand, staring into the distance and thinking. It had been a couple of days since Team CVFY returned from their mission to Vacuo and based on what she heard from Galen, it seems the Grimm were getting more and more deadly. Not only had someone been able to order the Grimm to follow their orders, but they were working with the droids and had a lightsaber much like Galen's but with two blades and could split apart.
Even if she didn't know much about lightsabers, the Jedi or the force, something about this whole situation made Ruby feel rather uneasy. Not to mention there was the fact that Blake was still distancing herself from them was also bothering her greatly. Her thoughts were soon broken when someone slammed their palms on the table.
"I need you to pick a tablecloth." Weiss said, smiling and sliding two squares over to her leader, both seeming to be a similar shade of white.
"Aren't they both the same?" a confused Ruby asked.
"I don't even know why I asked!" Weiss sighed in frustration before leaving Ruby alone as Yang walked in, carrying a massive sound speaker on her shoulder which when she dropped it, bounced both her sister and the table she was moping on into the air.
"So, have you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked her younger half-sister, brushing her hands.
"Yes, I picked out a dress, but what's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?" Ruby answered.
"Oh, don't worry; she's going." Yang answered before she turned towards Weiss. "Weiss! I thought we agreed: No doilies!" she shouted, exasperated.
"If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!" Weiss responded, pointing in Yang's face. Before either of them could make a response to each other, the doors opened and who should appear but Sun and Neptune
"You dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked.
"We were thinking about it…" Weiss answered, becoming sweet.
"That's pretty cool." Neptune answered.
"You ladies all excited for dress-up?" Sun said acting suave much to Weiss' ire.
"Pfft… Yeah, right!" Ruby scoffed. Secretly, she was hoping that Galen would be there, like he promised
"Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night!" Yang declared.
"What are you three wearing?" Weiss asked.
"Uuhhh… this?" Sun answered, gesturing to his current attire.
"Ignore him for he knows not what he says." Neptune said, stepping up and holding a hand in front of his friend's face. Sun countered his friends' statement that while he moved to Mistral, he grew up in Vacuo, like Rose and it wasn't exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place, which Yang found to be pretty obvious, as was Ruby and Weiss.
"Soooo… what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, y'know… Blake-y?" Sun asked, rubbing the back of his head. The others did confirm that Blake was still indeed acting the same way she had been for the last few days and none of them had any idea as to make her come to the dance. Well, everybody that is except Yang who assured them that Blake would be at the dance.
Speaking of said Faunus girl, Blake was sitting at one of the tables in the library with a holographic screen in front of her, more sleep-deprived than ever and barely focusing on what she was looking at, until a small bright red light appear on the screen moving up and down. Her eyes followed the light down to her had before it disappeared entirely.
Blake looked around for the source, irritated but she couldn't find the culprit and turned back to her computer and started to type of the keyboard before the laser dot appeared on her hand again, prompting her to once again look around but still found no one. The red point then moved to the screen, in circles no less causing Blake to scowl and pound her fists on the table before she stood up from her chair, finding the light on the floor and started to blindly follow it through several shelves of books until both she and the dot turned a corner only for Blake to bump into Yang, who was holding a laser pointer. "He-lloooo!" Yang said in a sing-song voice before she grabbed Blakes arm and whisks her partner away from the library.
Meanwhile, Artoria had gotten a clean bill of health after her battle against both the Grimm and the one who commanded them. Needless to say, Ironwood and Ozpin were surprised to say the least. In the entire history of Remnant, no one has ever been able to control the Grimm since they are primarily drawn in by negative emotions such as fear. Many would assume that they were drawn in by the hatred of one of the Schnee company officials that were with Team CVFY when they were preparing to leave, which Artoria did confirm, but they didn't arrive until after the droids attacked them.
Even though they were able to lure the Grimm away from the mine, losses were high amongst Artoria's men and in turn, gave her the resolve to become stronger in many aspects. As such, she was currently training against several combatants in a virtual reality training program developed by High-Tech.
Closing her eyes, Artoria drew her sword before lunging towards several enemies, cutting them down with her blade before configuring her sword into its rifle mode, took cover and fired off several rounds towards the enemies. Some of her rounds were a little off target, but the rest of them did manage to make their mark. A quick reload of two five-round charger clips into her weapons magazine allowed Artoria to return fire, this time her shots were more accurate than before and she nailed her targets without missing a single shot.
A quick change of her weapon from rifle to sword mode was what Artoria did before she pulled out her lightsaber and gripped it in her left hand while her sword was in her right hand as her new opponents arrived. Her opponents were all swordsmen, some of whom were armed with lightsabers. Without saying anything, Artoria blocked several attacks from her opponents, cutting down several of them without any hesitation and quick slashes across the chest.
Raising her blades to block another attack, Artoria soon started to feel exhausted as her aura was nearing the red zone before she managed to counter another attack from another opponent before she took a hit from behind, putting her aura in the red and shutting down the program. Panting and sweeting as if she was in the hot desert, she walked over to the nearby bench and grabbed a water bottle, drinking the cool water before wiping the sweet from her brow. "It seems that someone is ignoring the general's orders to get some rest." Serra Kato said as she walked into the training room.
Since she was human, it wasn't all that uncommon for someone to see her or Zett around Beacon, as the appearance of those like Aayla or Kit would probably freak someone out at seeing an alien for the first time. Though it didn't mean they couldn't be on campus and say that they were a rare type of Faunus, but it was still risky for them.
"I find that training keeps one in shape." Artoria replied.
"Still, you should take it easy. I know you fought against someone who claimed to be a Sith and held your own, but you don't know anything about them like the rest of us do." Serra added.
"And what exactly are the Sith? I know they use the same weapon you Jedi use, but their blades are a different color then yours." Artoria asked.
"The Sith are the ancient enemy of the Jedi Order." Plo said as he walked into the training room after finishing a talk with Ozpin and Goodwitch, with him was Ahsoka. "They are driven by emotions such as hate, anger and greed, obsessed with gaining power by any means necessary. Thousands of years ago, the Jedi and Sith fought in the wars for the fate of the galaxy, many of which brought devastation to the galaxy. The last war gave us the impression that the Sith were destroyed and for a thousand years, the galaxy was at peace. But we were wrong. Thirty years ago, it was discovered that the Sith were in hiding when a Sith Lord by the name of Darth Maul fought Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Master Qui-Gon Jinn on Naboo. It confirmed their reports that the Sith were still alive and operating in secret. By the time the Clone Wars, we learned that the Sith somehow managed to take control of the Republic, under the command of one named Darth Sidious, the man the public knew as Chancellor Palpatine. In our blindness to end the war quickly, we were unknowingly doing the Sith lords biding allowing him to turn our own troops against us when we discovered who he was. Hundreds of Jedi were killed during the Jedi Purge and Sidious had succeeded in turning the galaxy against us and turning the Republic into the Galactic Empire." He explained.
"So, the Sith are the opposite of the Jedi then. If the Sith use negative emotions, then that means the Jedi use positive emotions like love?" Artoria surmised.
"Attachments such as love were forbidden by the Jedi code for it was believed that such attachments were a sign of the Dark Side. As a result, while the galaxy continued to move forward, we were stuck in the past, not willing to adapt to the changing galaxy. That is one of the many reasons we were almost completely destroyed." Plo admitted.
"Love is not something to consider a sign of darkness. If anything, love and attachments show that you care about someone." Artoria said.
"Perhaps, but nothing can be done to change what has occurred in the past. But should the Jedi order be rebuilt; I believe that we may need to change the code to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again." Plo admitted. Ahsoka agreed, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel like her old friend was hiding something from her.
Meanwhile, Yang had taken Blake to an empty classroom. "Yang, if you're going to tell me to stop, you may as well save your breath." Blake stated to a cross-legged Yang who was sitting on the central desk.
"I don't want you to stop; I want you to slow down." Yang admitted. Blake who continued to pace around with her arms crossed and still irritated simply told Yang that she didn't have the luxury to slow down, which Yang said it was a necessity.
"The 'necessity' is stopping Torchwick." Blake countered.
"And we're going to. But first you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say." Yang replied. Blake looked away for a moment before relenting and gave Yang her answer. "Ruby and I grew up on Patch, an island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and out mom took on missions around the Kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was, like… Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then… one day she left for a mission and never came back." Yang began, looking down as she said this. "It was tough. Ruby was really torn up, but… I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? And my dad just kind of… shut down. It wasn't too long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he lost; she was the second. The first… was my mom. He wouldn't tell me everything, but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and she'd left me with him right after I was born. No one had seen her since." She continued.
Blake looked amazed at the information and asked what happened to Yang's mother. "That question… Why?" she answered, walking to the chalkboard and picked up a piece of chalk. "I didn't know the answer, but I was determined to find out. It was all I thought about. I would ask anyone I could about what they knew about her." she said, starting to draw on the board and remembering something from her past. "Then, one day, I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers, or maybe even my mother. I waited for Dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out. I must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn't care; I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes…" she continued, hearing the noises of the Grimm from that day.
"There we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time." she said, drawing a clockwork eye on the board. "My stubbornness should've gotten us killed that night." She added.
"Yang… I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different. I'm not a child, and this isn't just a search for answers! I can't just-" Blake began but Yang interrupted her. Again, Yang told Blake that she wasn't trying to get her to stop, even going as far as to tell Blake that she was still searching for answers about why her mother left her and what happened, but she wasn't going to let the search control her. She assured Blake that they were going to find the answers they were looking for, but reminder her teammate that destroying themselves in the process wouldn't do them any good.
"You don't understand! I'm the only one who can do this!" Blake shouted.
"NO, you don't understand! If Roman Torchwick walked through that door, what would you do?" Yang asked, turning around sharply and revealed her red eyes.
"I'd fight him!" Blake answered.
"You'd lose!" Yang said, pushing Blake away.
"I can stop him!" Blake countered, tiredly trying to do the same to Yang, but the blonde brawler didn't even budge.
"You can't even stop me!" she countered, pushing Blake again and this time knocking her to land on the desk. Yang, still angry-eyed walked towards Blake as she got back up, but instead of going after Blake again she embraced her in a hug as her eyes returned to their normal shade of purple. "I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about." Yang said, stepping away from Blake walked past the startled Faunus. "And if you feel like coming out tomorrow, I'll save you a dance." She added with a wink and left the classroom with a heavy sigh.
Later that night, Arthur was walking from his own practice session when he came face to face with Weiss who much to his surprise, asked him to the dance. Despite not getting along with the Schnee Heiress in the beginning, Arthur began to realize that Weiss was indeed changing into her own person and after much thought, agreed to take her to the dance. "I'll be waiting for you outside your dorm room, if you wish for an escort, my lady." He said, getting Weiss to blush and except his offer. Jaune was nearby and heard everything, smiling at what he heard.
Meanwhile, at the secret Rebel base on the planet of Dantooine, Jedi General Rahm Kota, the only general during the Clone Wars who used his own militia along with several high-ranking rebel officers were discussing recent imperial activity in the outer rim when the general felt a disturbance in the force, one strong in the light side. "Everything alright, General?" one of the officers asked.
"Yes, everything is fine. In fact, I think our founder is alive." He answered, getting some confused looks from the other officers.
Back on Remnant, the day of the dance had finally came. Standing at the podium to great the guests, Yang wore a short yellow qipao dress with yellow heels and long yellow gloves as she greeted the guests for the dance. The doors soon opened and she practically flipped out at the sight of who walked in. "Ooohh, you look beautiful!" she said excitedly.
Wearing a short, sleeveless red dress with black lace, belt, stockings and pumps, Ruby walked groaned as she walked into the ballroom. "Can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?" she asked, trying to maintain her balance, much to her sister's amusement. She almost fell flat on her butt had it not been for Galen who caught her. Being caught by him made Ruby blush redder than her dress.
"I'm not one who knows anything about fashion, but I do have to agree with your sister, you do look beautiful." Galen said again making Ruby blush. While he did wear the Beacon Prom outfit that the other males wore, but he kept one of his lightsabers with him
Outside, Sun walked around now wearing a new black jacket which was closed up along with his jeans, bracers and sneakers as he fought with his white tie. "Stupid… dumb… neck trap!" he groaned.
"I knew you'd look better in a tie." Sun stopped his struggling before he stared at Blake, wearing a dark purple dress, black collar, black pumps and teal bow. She stepped forward and took him by the arm, prompting the Monkey Faunus to ask if this meant they were going together but Blake said that her first dance was spoken for.
Back inside the ballroom, other students both in suits and dresses stepped in rhythm together as the music played. Blake was spun around by Yang, curtseying to each other before Sun came up and tool Blakes hands while Yang hanged back with Ruby, Galen, March and Rose. The last two members of Team RATH were wearing the same Beacon Prom suit as the others in the case of March, while Rose wore a strapless green dress with her hair tied in a bun. All four of them watched as Blake laughed and enjoyed herself, dancing nearby with Arthur was Weiss wearing a short and sleeveless white dress who were also dancing and enjoying themselves.
"I told you she would come." Yang said to those who weren't dancing.
"Mission accomplished." March said with a fist pump.
"Soooo, what do we do now?" Ruby asked.
"Just have fun!" Yang answered before she walked away with the others, leaving Galen and Ruby alone.
"Does that mean I can change out of these stupid things and into my hood now?" she asked, but received no answer, waddling around in her painful footwear. "Stupid lady stilts!" she added,
"Not enjoying yourselves?" Ozpin asked as he walked over to the two of them.
"Oh, no, everything's fine! I'm just not much of a fancy pantsy… dancey girl." Ruby admitted.
"I've never been one for this kind of events myself." Galen said in agreement. Ozpin then went on to tell the both of them that while they may want to spend their lives on the battlefield, they shouldn't, which Ruby mentioned that she had been hearing that quite a bit these last few days. Ozpin even went on to say that dancing and fighting were a lot alike, suggesting that the two enjoy the night. Both of them then noticed Seyden and Professor Peach who was wearing a very elegant black dress with gloves, dancing together and they looked to be enjoying themselves. Even Artoria was at the dance, wearing a white dress with gloves, also enjoying herself.
Meanwhile, back the Galm Team's airbase, Rick had finished checking over his S35 when he began to feel something he had never experienced before. It felt like a warning and it was telling him that something or someone with dark intentions was at Beacon and somehow, it had something to do with his sisters' disappearance. "I could be walking right to my death or be one step closer to finding the answers I seek. Either way, something is telling me to go to Beacon." He said to himself before he grabbed his guns and sabers. He then hoped into the Screamer that was at the base and quickly raced towards Beacon, leaving a very confused Cipher and Pixy behind with his aunt. He didn't know that watching him from the cliff above was Boba Fett who had taken an interest in the boy.
Back at Beacon, students and faculty were enjoying the dance, Glynda was offered a dance by General Ironwood and Team CVFY had arrived at the dance. Coco wore an elegant strapless white dress, gloves and scarf while Velvet wore a simple blue dress. Both second year students looked and smiled at the all the first years enjoying themselves, remembering their first dance. "This takes me back; you know what I mean Velvet?" Coco asked. Velvet agreed, but couldn't help but feel a bit lonely.
As for Galen, his thoughts turned to Juno. He wondered how she and the rebellion were doing without him and if they knew about the Empire coming to Remnant. The planet might have the same technological capabilities as the Empire or even the Rebellion, but they had determination to protect the people, even if they weren't military. Still, something greatly bothered him about what the Empires interest in Remnant could be and in turn, made him worry about Ruby's safety. It started to become clearer and clearer to him that he might possibly have feelings for Ruby, but he wasn't so sure.
He continued to watch as his friends and teammates continued to enjoy themselves, thinking about Ozpins words when he spotted Mercury and Emerald overlooking the festivities from the second tier much he was. Still unsure about their intentions, he closed his eyes and listened through the force to their conversation.
"It appears all the dancers have partners." Emerald said into the ear-bud he had. Galen then heard another voice asking how long they had, with Mercury answering that they should be back by midnight, to be on the safe side.
Galen then watched the two head back down to the dance room and quickly followed after them, but then stopped when he noticed Ruby leaving the dance in a hurry. He soon gave chase and soon found her outside the CCTS tower with her Scythe at the ready and noticed that some of the guards were knocked out but a few of them seemed to have been killed by a lightsaber. "Seems we both know something's up." He said, causing Ruby to almost jump out of her dress. "Come on, let's go."
The two of them then found more guards knocked out and a few of them dead just like the ones outside the tower. Quickly they entered the elevator and prepared their weapons as they reached the top floor where the computers were kept. "Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?" Ruby called out, stumbling in her high-heels while Galen drew his lightsaber, but kept it deactivated. The two of them then came face to face with the person who broke into the CCT. "Excuse me? You know, it's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take off that-!" Ruby began before the intruder produced a container of Dust from their belt which expelled into a glowing cloud.
The cloud then condensed into glass shards that went flying towards Ruby and Galen, the later of who quickly ignited his lightsaber and slashed several of the shards apart while Ruby shot a few of them down. Their attacker blocked each of the shots that Ruby fired afterwards, before parts of their outfit glowed and summoned a pair of blades, just as Ruby and Galen launched themselves forward. Their opponent quicky dodged, combined both of their blades into a bow and fired three arrows.
The arrows caused Ruby to stumble back from the explosion as was Galen. All three soon stared at each other before Ironwood arrived. Ruby turned around, glad to see him but it wasn't until Galen noticed their attacker was starting to run away. "No, you don't!" he shouted and dashed towards his opponent who quickly brought up a lightsaber hilt, ignited its red blade and clashed with Galen's blue blade. "Where did you get that!?" he demanded.
His opponent said nothing and broke the saber lock and smirked at Galen. "You won't talk? Fine! I'll make you talk." He said and clashed his blade with his opponent's blade. The two of them continued to clash blades until his opponent produced another canister of Dust which took the form of glass shards again and launched them. This time, the shards were sent flying towards Ruby and Galen was forced to turn his attention to the shards, which he caught with the force but this allowed the mysterious intruder to escape the tower.
Said intruder was actually Cinder, who discarded her two bracelets and mask in order to change her stealth suit into black formal evening gown with gloves before entering the dance. The two guards that were alerted by the threat of an intruder unknowingly crushed her bracelets underfoot before they entered the dance, confused as to where the intruder went.
Cinder was quick to cut into Emerald and Mercury's dance, Cinder assuring Mercury that they had nothing to worry about. What she did was insert a program into the CCT systems that would be the downfall of Beacon, but what she didn't know was that Galen who felt like something was wrong had contacted Ahsoka and asked her to send High-Tech to Beacon so he could analyze the CCT systems for any sign of a virus or some type of tampering.
No one knew that Rick had somehow managed to get attacked by the White Fang, who forced him to change course and now found himself in the one place he'd never thought he would set foot in. A place full of Grimm and the voices of those who died because of the Grimm. "Shit!" he cursed, readying his rifle before he opened up on a group of Creeps.
And chapter is done. I will admit, at first, I was going to have Rick attend the dance, but I changed my mind at the last minute and decided to have the OC try to make his way Beacon and end up in place far worse then Hell. Anyone care to take a guess where that is?
So, while Galen doesn't know it was Cinder who infiltrated the CCT, he has decided to ask a Clone Trooper to check out the systems. Whether they find the virus and can remove it, that's up for debate. If I do decide to have the virus removed, it means that the Empire will be bringing more ships for the Battle of Remnant.
Speaking of battles, it appears that Rahm Kota is aware that Galen is alive and while I haven't mention it, is on his way to Remnant with an old Friend of Galen's. No, it's not Juno, but you'll find out her fate in the story later on.
Now as for the Buggies, here are the names.
The Sand Shark is called the Shark.
Dune Hopper-Hopper.
Gila Stomper-Stomper.
Slam Dozer-Dozer.
Heat Seeker-Seeker.
Dust Demon-Demon.
Desert Screamer-Screamer.
I know they are not the most original of names, but this was the best I could come up with.
Now onto the reviews I got while writing.
To the guest who calls himself Galen Marek: Thanks.
Milkduds100: Look, I appreciate the constructive criticism, but everyone writes their stories their own way, so please cut me some slack.
Spartan-626: About Fulcrum being Sienna, you'll have to wait and see. Thanks for saying that my dogfights were great. I try my best with writing air-to-air combat, as you well know. The scene from the Clone Wars Micro-Series that you are referring to, that is one of my favorite scenes with Fordo and his brothers. I love watching that scene. As for Arthurs Cousin having the lightsaber, more will be revealed on that later on.
Now, before I sign off, I have one final thing to say… THE BAD BATCH TEASER TRAILER LOOKS AWESOME! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SERIES TO GET AN OFFICAL RELEASE DATE! Sorry, big Bad Batch Fan and I will say that the next Star Wars/Rwby Story I plan on doing focuses on those Badass soldiers. Until next time, please read and review and if I don't update in ten days, happy holidays everyone.