Well, we now have to start wearing masks again folks. I swear, I was hoping that we would be finished with this pandemic in a couple of months after the vaccine was distributed, but no it seems that people aren't getting the vaccine because they believe what some conspiracy idiots are saying about the vaccine being used to track them. What a load of bull and I've heard a lot of stranger bull, believe me. Seriously though, for those of you who haven't gotten the vaccine yet, go and get it. It's better than dying.
Anyway, it's time for another exciting chapter of Remnant Unleashed. Before I begin though, for those of you who have Disney Plus, a certain Clone Commando from Legends made an appearance in the Bad Batch.
Alright, lets get to the reviews.
Monster King: Thanks.
Luffy L Deathwalker: Thank you.
Chaotic Skunk Demon: Yeah, I think Wrecker is kind of like Scorch when it comes to blowing things up.
Jack Smith1: Thank you. When I did my Lone Wolf series, I decided to have Boba change for the better. True, seeing one's father getting killed in front of his own eyes is not something one can easily forget or deal with, but after seeing what Cinder was capable of, I figured Boba wouldn't want to be working with someone like that, even if it was a job for the Empire. Plus, I like how he killed a bunch of Imperials in the Mandalorian. If you do end up doing a Starship Troopers/RWBY story, give Ruby the sniper version of the Morita assault rifle.
42: Thanks and I'll try to do that with the songs.
Alright, time to start. And before I forget, Wrecker's shotgun was the AA-12.
Disclaimers are the same as before, please enjoy.
Chapter 48: Of Runaways and Stowaways
A flock of Seagulls call overhead as the ship moved over the peaceful blue waters. Passengers strolled across the upper and mid decks while Blake Belladonna rested her hands on the rail and stared out at the ocean. Blinking her eyes, she looked over her right shoulder, somewhat startled as two kids laugh over a joke, causing her to almost smile before turning back to the ocean.
After Beacon fell, Blake ran from her friends after Adam made a promise to hurt everyone she ever cared about. Fearful of what he would do, she decided the best course of action would be to leave them behind, hoping that Adam wouldn't go after her teammates if she stayed far away from them.
As a result, she became much more cautious and changed her clothing to avoid anyone from the White Fang recognizing her. Her new clothing now consisted of sleeveless black crop top with rectangular and diamond shaped cutouts, thigh-high black heeled boots with gold edging, long white tail coat with dark inner lining and a magnetic strap where her sword was sheathed.
As she stared out over the ocean, she heard footsteps approaching her from behind. "Traveling alone?" the captain of the ship asked, causing Blake to jump and grip the hilt of her weapon, ready to strike until she noticed who was speaking to her. "Now, now, no threat here. Just here to chat." He assured, holding his hands up in a reassuring manner. Blake hesitated for a moment before she relaxed her posture, rolling her eyes.
"And why is that?" she asked.
The captain lowered his arms before twisting to lean idly on the rail. "Well, not many people travel by boat on their own. It can be quite a lonely voyage. But I found those that do tend to have the more… interesting stories." He answered.
"Maybe it's just… better for some people to be alone." Blake admitted, jumping again as the two kids from earlier run behind her, laughing, turning around and blinks at the two kids, trying to reset her calm.
"Maybe, but with your paranoia, I think a few friendly faces wouldn't hurt." The captain responded with a laugh.
"Who says I'm paranoid?!" Blake snapped. The captain laughed again, before heading back to the bridge of his ship, giving the Faunus a warning that trips such as these can be awfully boring. When the Captain left, she turned looked at the ground before reaching up undid her bow. "Won't be needing this anymore." She said to herself, letting the ribbon go which swirled in the air before it landed in the water, turned and walked away. As she passed inside, five hooded figures watched her from a distance while large scales of a sea creature moved just above the surface, taking the ribbon with them.
Half-way across the world, back in Patch, Yang sat on couch in her home on Patch, looking at the stack of books on her right before she picked up the remote control for the TV, turning it on and revealing a news segment from the VBC channel showing Professor Goodwitch unsuccessfully piecing together a building while across the bottom of the screen read 'Beacon Inaccessible'.
"…with no end in sight. Try as they might, the local Huntsmen and Huntresses along with the military can't seem to get a hold on the situation at Beacon Academy." A reporter said. Yang clicked the remote as more reports about the current situation in Vale continued to pour in along with report that the CCT was still down and preventing any contact with the other four kingdoms.
Another report, this one on the VOX network reported that air traffic not in direct correlation with the evacuations would be banned while Lisa Lavender of VNN reported on the rumors of the ones behind the attack were still unconfirmed, though the officials have confirmed that Adam Taurus himself was present at Beacon and all efforts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal force, but no reports were given about the Empire.
What they did report on was the appearance of the numerous floating war factories that appeared several months ago. For days, the war factories continued to produce large quantities of droid infantry, armor, aquatic ships and air forces that were attacking the transports arriving to assist in the evacuation of Vale. Thankfully, the Vale armed forces along with the rebel and clone forces were able to keep the droids at bay, but their actions were only defensive as a direct attack against the war factories was ill-advised due to the large number of defenses stationed around the factories and on the factories themselves.
Having grown annoyed with the news, Yang turned off the tv and sat on the couch holding the remote as the door clicked opened and March, Alice and Taiyang returned carrying a few boxes and bags. "I'm home!" He announced.
"Hey, dad." Yang greeted. "March, Alice."
"Guess what came in today!" Taiyang exclaimed, shutting the door as he walked into another room, leaving Yang confused. "I can't wait for you to try this." He said excitedly. Yang looked somewhat interested as her father came back carrying a long white box that he set on the coffee table, revealing the symbol of the Kingdom of Atlas on the box. Yang lifted the lid of the box, revealing a robotic arm which made her somewhat wide-eyed while her father gushes. She blinked and her eyes dropped a bit, revealing to March and Alice that she was more distressed than pleased.
"Brand new, state of the art Atlas tech. You know, I thought I was gonna have to pull some strings, call in a few favors, but you earned this one all on your own, kiddo." Tai explained, leaving Yang confused. "Before I could even talk to him, General Ironwood already had one of his top scientists working this, for you. He wanted me to tell you that you fought admirably. You should be proud of yourself." He added.
But rather than try her new appendage out, Yang just said she wasn't feeling up for it. Her father deflated a bit, putting his hand on the back of his neck, sighing and accepted Yang's response, visibly disheartened by her response as his daughter walked up the stairs.
Later that day, while she was rinsing a glass Yang suffered a panic attack and a flashback to the attack, rearing back with a cry after she heard the sound of Adam's sword loudly resonating and saw the red markings of Adam's mask glow. The blonde brawler clung to the countertop, panting out of breath from the fright before she got herself under control, this however didn't go unnoticed by Tai, Alice and March who didn't say a word.
It wasn't just Yang who was dealing with her own issues. In the woods behind the Rose-Long residence, Ahsoka mediated while her new prosthetic arm, made from Beskar and a gift from Bo-Katan was dealing with the realization that her former master and Darth Vader were one in the same. Much like anyone else dealing with an issue close to them, Ahsoka tried to deny it with all her resolve, but it proved to be no use.
"Ahsoka… Why did you leave?" Anakin's voice echoed behind her. "Where were you when I needed you?" the voice demanded.
"I made a choice. I couldn't stay." She replied sadly.
"You were selfish."
"No." she denied as tears started to fall from her eyes.
"You abandoned me! You failed me! Do you know what I've become?" the voice of Anakin shouted in anger before it was replaced by the breathing of Darth Vader. Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Ahsoka screamed as she finally broke down into tears, crying that someone she looked up too, had become her enemy.
Her cries didn't go unnoticed. Echo and Kix heard her scream and kept watch from a safe distance. Both ARC Troopers were now becoming to be greatly concerned for their former commander who despite receiving her new prosthetic arm, decided not to return to active duty. "What are we going to do Kix? We need the commander." Echo said to his to brother.
"There's nothing we can do, Echo. Her battle wounds may have healed, but the mental wounds have yet to heal. It's tough on her, knowing that her master is Darth Vader and she now has to fight him. It's not something that anyone can deal with." Kix sighed.
"Rex would know what to do, maybe even Trigger. Both of them are close to the commander, even that Neo girl. If Trigger could get through to Neo, maybe the commander…" Echo began.
"That's not possible. Skywalker… no Vader didn't hesitate to try and kill her. The man we all knew is gone, replaced by Vader. I doubt any of us could get through to him, he'd kill us without a second thought. I wish I could do more, Echo. I really wish I could, but things like this… they take time to heal." Kix interrupted. "We're soldiers and this is something we were never trained for. Losing a brother is one thing, but she lost more than just her arm, she lost her teacher and friend." He added.
Both ARC troopers just watched as Ahsoka continued to cry her eyes out.
Back out at sea, dusk had fallen as the passenger ship continued its journey on the smooth water. As the ship plowed through the water, it passed several Icarus-class aircraft carriers, Prometheus-class battleships, Vulture-class cruisers, Corvus-class destroyers and Cougar-class frigates belonging to the Sicario Mercenary Corps heading in the direction of Atlas, no doubt on a job for some big-wig in Atlas.
The sight of these warships amazed many of the children onboard the ship while a faunus couple walked behind Blake, who watched them, less twitchy than she was before. It was at that moment when she sensed she was being watched from the upper deck. Immediately, she pulled out her sword and demanded who the mysterious figures were, only to have them run for it. Blake stared up at the deck, not noticing the dorsal fins of a giant sea creature momentarily surfacing, she did however feel the boat rock from the wave the creature made, struggling to keep her balance.
She soon saw the long-necked shadow of the monster looming over her and the crew member on duty in the crow's nest with a look of horror in their face. "RED ALERT!" he shouted. The alarms immediately sounded as two red lights next to the speaker pulse with sound. The captain and first mate came running out and look at the water from the upper deck, just above Blake as the shadow falls over them.
"By the gods…." The captain murmured as the long-necked Sea Feilong, with its glowing red lines along its scales and yellow eyes swung its head back and forth, roaring and spreading out its short forearms. "All hands to battle stations!" the captain called to his crew.
"Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!" the first mate reminded.
"We've never seen something this big! But we'll giver 'er a fight nonetheless!" the captain exclaimed.
Blake was quick to spring into action, running off the boat and into the air. Creating one of her clones to give her some added upward momentum, flinging Gambol Shroud forward in its kusarigama form. Attaching it to the ribbon on her wrist and embedding it into the Grimm's neck. She swung above the Grimm and started to shoot it in the back of the neck. It roared as Blake landed on the crow's nest while the brave captain steered the ship from the bridge.
The captain kept the ship stabilized in the Grimm's wake, stepping outside to get another look at the massive sea creature and watched as Blake continued to shot the creature. The sides of the ship open up as its cannons come out.
Blake continued her assault on the sea creature, swinging and shooting at the creature as the ship's cannons opened fire, but were ineffective. Blake fell back onto the ship, landing on her back and bouncing before she quickly got back to her feet, only to discover that her left shoulder was hurt.
"Hold steady men, it's not done with us yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!" the captain shouted to the first mate who was nervous, but after hearing the order from her captain, she was battle ready. From a trapdoor on the deck, the ships large cannon raised up from below deck, extended itself and aimed at the sea Grimm, which let out a roar as it flew into the air sending a gush of air at the ship, causing Blake to cry out in pain as she hung onto the ship with her hurt left arm.
On the captains' orders, the heavy cannon fired at the Grimm, only for the Grimm to easily evade the shot, opening its mouth as an electric ball began to form. Blake readied to launch herself at the Grimm, when the Grimm suddenly took several hits from ranged weapons while one of the hooded figures landed on her head, using her as a springboard while another jumped off the ship and used some kind of jet-board to move themselves closer to the Grimm.
To her surprise, the two figures that leapt of her and the ship were Zett Jukassa and Sun while the three on the ship were Fives, Jesse and Rose. "Guys!?" she exclaimed in surprise as Sun activated his semblance, creating several energy clones two of which pulled on the topmost tendrils while Sun grabbed the lip.
"Not today pal!" Sun quipped as the electric blast went harmlessly into the air, instead of the ship. Zett skated in with his lightsaber active and slashed at the Grimm's lower body. The Sea Feilong roared in pain, enraged as Sun continued to hold onto the snout. It then started to buck Sun around before a blast caused the ship to shake violently. "WATCH OUT!" he shouted.
Swimming towards the ship and jumping onto the ship were dozens of Aqua droids that no doubt came with the Grimm. "Clankers are climbing onto the ship!" Fives shouted, turning his attention to the droids, as did Jesse while Rose kept her focus on the Grimm.
"What are you all doing here?!" Blake demanded, just as Zett leapt back onto the ship and began to slice through the droids.
"Oh, uh, you know, just… hanging out!" Sun shouted from atop the Grimm, only for a small electrical charge around the monkey faunus which caused him to let go of the snouts and started to fall. Blake gasped and immediately sprang into action. Jumping onto the railing, she leapt off and used the kusarigama form of her weapon on the crow's nest to swing herself around and caught Sun in midair. The two of them landed on the nearby walks, with Sun being held bridal style. "My hero!" he exclaimed, putting his hand over his heart.
"You're not supposed to be here!" Blake said angrily.
"Yeah!? Well, it looks like you can use all the help you can get!" Sun stated.
Blake glared at him, rolled her eyes and dropped him. "Ugh. Just shut up and fight!" she said reluctantly before running towards the ship.
"Yes, ma'am!" Sun exclaimed, striking a pose and saluting her as if she were in the military.
Back on the ship, the captain continued to steer the ship while two of the crewmen continued to look at the displays. Their starboard defenses were down and while they still had the heavy cannon, the Sea Feilong was moving too fast. Thankfully, the engines were still online.
On the deck, Rose spotted a couple of Nevermore's approaching from the starboard side and once she finished reloading her rifle, pulled out her revolvers and activated her semblance. With pinpoint accuracy, she fired her revolvers at the airborne Grimm, hitting them and forcing the Grimm to break off their attack on the ship while downing one of them. "Damn, we've got a couple of these airborne bastards. I really wish I had a gatling gun!" she cursed.
"Just keep them busy!" Jesse shouted, firing his carbine at the droids that were trying to kill the two children from earlier. "I'm not going to let these scrapheaps touch the kids!" he declared. He downed two of the droids, but the third one fired a shot that destroyed his carbine. Another shot hit him in the lower left leg, causing him a great deal of pain. "Blast it!" he cursed.
"Jesse!" Fives called out and rushed to his brothers' side, firing his pistols at the droids. "Come on, brother! We can't let these droids get the better of us!" his words ignited a spark in Jesse's soul, who despite the pain pulled himself back to his feet and continued to fight. They didn't need to worry about the droids much longer when Zett started to attack the droids from behind. Carving a path through the aqua droids, he destroyed the last of them just as the Sea Feilong was about to fire an electro blast at the ship.
Blake was prepared to counter the hit, but Sun beat her to the punch, jumping in between the blast with a laugh of triumph, using his nun chucks to deflect the blast as he landed on the heavy cannon, resting his weapon on his shoulder with a crooked grin. "Huntsmen! Soldiers!" the captain shouted to the group. "If you can clip its wings and draw it out towards the bow, we could take it out!" the captain explained.
"I mean, you're the one with the swords." Sun stated, getting Blake to roll her eyes with a groan before he leapt into action. "Now or never!" he exclaimed and activated his semblance, creating three clones that jumped into the air. The first clone launched Blake upwards towards the second clone which did the same as the second while the third swung her up. Sun waited and laughed, opening his arms with a smile, but his smile soon faded when he spotted Blake directing herself to his shoulders. They sunk a few feet, grunting before Blake leapt off him in an upwards direction, getting directly above the Sea Feilong.
She then began to descend towards the creature, avoiding the electric blasts it was sending her way before landing on the right wing and sliced through the thin membrane. Sun smirked at the sight and waited for her on the rock she was going to land on and caught her. The impact caused the rock surface to crack around them.
This time it was it was Blake who was being held bridal style, smiling at Sun before the monkey faunus said it was Blake's turn to say, 'My Hero'. Blake groaned in annoyance as the Grimm moved around them, causing the rocky area to collapse before she went on the move again, leaving Sun behind. "Okay, maybe latter!" he called out, jumping after Blake and getting the Grimm to follow them. By now, Zett was back on his jet-board and was speeding towards the Grimm.
The captain watched the three of them from the bridge through his spyglass before throwing a handle and increasing the ships speed. The ship sailed after the destructive Grimm, keeping apace as the two faunus continued to lure the Grimm the ships line of fire, with Zett catching up to them. Sun continued to dodge each of the Grimm's attacks until one of his dodges put him directly into the path of the Grimm's mouth. Thankfully, Blake was able to swing her ribbon and managed to get Sun out of the way, just as the Grimm was about to blast them, only to have it stopped by Zett who used every ounce of strength he had to keep the Grimm in place as the bowsprit of the boat impaled the creature.
"FIRE!" the captain shouted. The heavy cannon fired and hit the Grimm dead center, blasting its upper half to pieces before it died. The crew of the ship and passengers all cheered for the efforts of those who helped defeat the Grimm. Zett let out a sigh of relief, jumping onto the rock where Sun and Blake were standing on, but he sensed that Blake was very angry at Sun. He was proved right when he watched Blake slap Sun across the face.
When nighttime fell, Blake was once again at the railing, this time facing sideways while Sun was talking to a couple of the passengers who praised him for his efforts in protecting the ship. Zett and Rose were tending to Jesse's wounds while Fives checked the status of the destroyed Aqua Droids before kicking them into the ocean. "You'd think they'd never seen a fight before." Sun said as he walked casually towards Blake.
"What are you all doing here?" Blake demanded.
"Diggin' the new outfit by the way! Never did like the bow." Sun complimented, pointing to her ears.
"Sun!" Blake snapped, slapping his hand away. "Have you all been following me?" she asked.
"I saw you run off. The night Beacon Tower fell. Once we landed in Vale, you made sure everyone was okay. And then you just took off, without saying anything." Sun began. Blake said she had to and that Sun wouldn't understand, but what he said next surprised her. "No, I get it! The moment you left; I knew exactly what you were doing!"
Blake smiled at him, feeling pleased that someone understood her, but that smile soon faded when Sun spoke again. "You're going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!" he exclaimed.
"What?" she questioned in disbelief, getting the others to shake their heads in disbelief as well.
"You always felt like the Fang was your fight. They show up, trash your school, hurt your friends. It makes perfect sense! And let's not forget about those Imperial guys either." He exclaimed. "But there's no way I'm letting you do this alone! It's an honorable approach, for sure, but you're going to need someone watching your back. And that's where I come in! Us Faunus got to stick together, after all." He added, putting his arm around her.
"You're wrong, Sun. You're so wrong." Blake corrected, pushing him off her. I'm not going anywhere near the White Fang. Not yet. I need to sort some things out." She clarified.
"What are you…" Sun began.
"She's afraid." Zett answered. "When Beacon was attached, Adam made her a promise that he would kill everyone she cares about. You saw what he did to Yang, a promise like that would make anyone afraid for their friends. That's why she left." He explained.
"Then why not do it with her team? Her friends?" Sun questioned.
"You're one to talk! Assuming Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren't hiding below deck!" she snapped.
"You really think I could get Neptune on the ocean? They flew back to Mistral! I told them I'd catch up! It's not the first time I left them to take a boat!" he stated. "So, if you're not going after the White Fang, where are you going?" he asked.
"Home, to Menagerie." Blake answered.
"Well, I'm coming with you, The Grimm are getting worse; you saw it yourself! And just because you're not going after the Fang doesn't mean they won't be coming for you! Besides, I'm… kind of already on the boat." Sun stated.
Blake then turned to Rose and the others. "What about the rest of you? Have you been following me, thinking that I'm going after the White Fang?" she asked.
"No. I just figured you could use a friend to talk too… After you've sorted things out." Rose said, catching Blake by surprise. "I understand you need to sort things after what has happened, and I did the same thing after my pa was killed. As for the clones… they were given orders by Rex to help you out in case you ran into some droids. Zett on the other hand…"
"I wish to see Menagerie myself, perhaps even meet the old leader of the White Fang if they have taken up residence on the island. I want to hear their opinion on the current status of White Fang and if at all possible, make contact with the current leader, Sienna Khan." Zett stated.
"You want to meet with Sienna Khan? Why would you want to meet with her? She's…" Blake protested, but Zett interrupted her.
"I only want to speak with High Leader Khan. Galen told me that he met her long before the Fall of Beacon and from he said, it appears that Sienna isn't the violent leader that the media is making her out to be. Plus, I believe there is more to the ones that Clone Force 99 encountered in the Round Table." Zett assured.
Blake sighed with relief before she spoke again. "There's really no stopping you?" she said to Sun.
"Nope! This is going to be great! Never been in Menagerie before! It'll be a regular journey to the east! Yeah, I like the sound of that." Sun said excitedly. "Say, I've been meaning to ask, some of those moves you pulled off, where'd you learn them?"
"From my sensei." Blake answered.
Back in Salem's domain, Cinder, Maul and Salem sat alone at the long table while Mercury and Emerald stood by the door. Cinder began to breath heavily with effort while Salem held her right hand out casually. "Do you feel it? Don't fight it, girl. It can sense your trepidation. You must make it dread you." Salem told the young girl.
A click from the door made Cinder turn towards the door as a jellyfish-based Grimm with a yellow glow, long red tentacles and a black and white body moved slowly towards Salem. Emerald and Mercury reacted in fear while Maul looked impressed at the creature as it glided towards Salem's side of the table. She then leaned in close to the creature before turning her attention back to Cinder.
"Cinder, I am going to ask you this one more time, and I except a clear answer. Did you kill Ozpin?" she asked. Cinder held up her hand and called Emerald over to speak for her, but Salem slammed her hands onto the table and demanded that Cinder be the one to tell her. Cinder answered with a hoarsely 'yes' causing Salem to look at the fall maiden with for a long moment before she spoke to the jellyfish Grimm. "Reinforce our numbers at Beacon. The relic is there." She instructed the Grimm, wondering what Ozpin is planning.
And done.
Now, it appears that Ahsoka is also dealing with her own issues in regard to accepting the fact that Anakin and Vader are the same person. How will she overcome this development? Should Trigger and Neo make a return to Remnant and help her through this?
Will Yang's new arm be the same as canon or upgraded with some extra features? Who is Blake's sensei? Find out as the story continues.
As for the ships, I'm going to be using the basis of the Nimitz class aircraft carrier, Ticonderoga-class cruiser, Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and Constellation-class frigate currently in service with United States Navy and currently being developed, plus the Iowa-Class battleship with the modern weapons and armor of present-day ships, with Remnant technology.
Zett's jet-board is basically the one from Jak 2 and 3.
Alright, until next time, please read and review and I'll see you all next time.