First off, I just got my hands on Aliens: Fireteam Elite and I have to say it's quite an interesting game to play, but it doesn't mean I am looking forward to Call Of Duty: Vanguard and Far Cry 6. I might be in my late twenties now, but I still like playing video games as a form of stress relief, though I am still trying to achieve the true ending for Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet and I'm also looking forward to the new Lego Star Wars game next year.
Second, I was debating on whether this chapter would continue to focus on the members of Teams RWBY and GARM or have it focus on Ray and Ahsoka taking down one of the floating war factories that Salem has constructed in her war against the people of Remnant, but I decided that will be the focus in the next chapter.
Third, I've been debating on what weapon from our current era in time that Noble Six should have for a personal weapon in my Halo/Star Wars story. I was thinking something along the lines of a pair of 92sf 9mm handguns like Revy from Black Lagoon or an M16A1 like weapon with the same magazine and grenade launcher combination from Scarface. I'm still trying to figure that part out, so if you guys have any ideas, let me know.
Forth and something I have completely forgotten, the story began in 2BBY the same year when Galen died in canon, but several months before the beginning of the actual RWBY series. Timeline wise, the Fall of Beacon occurred 1BBY, several months after Galen was supposedly killed. In other words, the timeline is now 0BBY and three months before the Battle of Yavin.
Now, let's get onto the reviews.
Luffy L Deathstalker: True, Raven is the Spring Maiden but with Qrow not keeping in touch with his sister for all these years, it would be hard for him to figure it out. Now as for Yang keeping the fact that her mother is the Fall Maiden a secret, I'm considering on having her tell the others. I do hope the issue is rectified in the next volume.
54godamora: After everything Ahsoka has been through such as leaving the Jedi order, being betrayed by Barriss and learning that Vader and Anakin are the same person, I figured that Ahsoka could use a little happiness in her life.
Darth Cody: Yep, Summer is going to tell Galen everything she knows about Salem. I think you must have forgotten that in chapter 31, Galen told Ruby that her mother is alive but doesn't know where she is but as for Ruby being upset or relieved, I don't quite know at this time.
Spartan-626: Yep, Neo is going to be happy for Ray and Ahsoka. As for Galen learning about Salem, he's going to be in for quite a surprise, but don't think that means when he learns about her immortality, he'll be angry with Ozpin.
BlackShade2567: Just like for everyone else, it's always hard to deal with the loss of family members whether they are pets or people. I've lost quite a few family members over the years, including family pets, but I've never once forgotten them and I know that while they are gone from this world, they are never gone from our memories. I am glad you agree with me about all this senseless violence. You'd think that people would have much more common sense when it comes to things like this.
Hawk: Luke and Leia turning to the dark side? Galen being the sole hero of this story? Buddy, I never once considered on having Luke or Leia turn to the dark side or not have a role in this story. They will be appearing and will help in Salem's defeat in the future.
Jack Smith 1: Shame about your computer, but good to hear from you again. Good luck in college.
Alright, reviews done, time to get started with the story. Be on the lookout for a special stealthy character in this chapter. They'll be giving Blake a new outfit in future and if I haven't stated it already, Zett's clothing is basically what Jak wears in Jak 2, minus the area where he carries his firearm.
Disclaimers are the same as before, please enjoy.
Chapter 50: Menagerie
After several more days at sea, the air horn sounded loudly as the ships offramp lowered to the dock in front of it allowing the passengers to disembark from the vessel. Among them was Blake, Sun, Rose, Zett, Fives and Jesse, the five of whom took notice of the town directly ahead of them. Numerous small buildings and homes sat among the dunes and palm trees as the town bell rang. The group stepped off the dock and entered the town, with Blake leading them while Sun looked at the town in awe.
Numerous Faunus meandered casually at the docks, some of them waiting for friends and family amongst the new arrivals while mobile kiosks sold food and other wares, creating a relaxed atmosphere on the sunny day. "I've never seen so many Faunus in one place!" Sun exclaimed.
"This is the one place everyone can feel safe, no matter who or what they are." Blake answered as Sun dodged a Faunus carrying a box and wondering why it's so cramped. "Well, when you try and take an entire species and put them on an island that's two-thirds desert, yeah, it tends to be cramped." Blake explained.
"What! You guys have that much more space? Why waste it? A little desert never hurt anyone!" Sun questioned and stated.
"Wow, you must be pretty dense, or something aren't you monkey boy? Vacuo is completely different than the desert here I wager. If my knowledge is correct, the wildlife on this island is more dangerous than most other regions. Right, Blake?" Rose asked, smacking Sun on the back of the head.
"That pretty much sums it up." Blake answered.
"So they give the Faunus a island with hostile creatures in the corner of the planet to try and appease them?" Zett asked in disgust.
"That's a pretty good summary, but yeah." Blake stated.
"Huh. Jerks." Sun with an equal amount of disgust as Zett.
"Obviously the people who gave the Faunus the island were just hoping that it would be enough to appease the Faunus. They just ignored the problem and we all know what that led too." Fives stated before he noticed several new buildings being constructed. "Looks like the money Trigger gave this place was a big help."
"We try to make the best of things and we do have help from those in the kingdoms who see our people as equals." Blake said with a smile before the group walked further up the road. The road went downhill to the side, bordered by palm trees and homes with either canvas or wooden roofs. The vista of the palm trees spread out to the edge of the distant mountainous dunes where a large house with an open courtyard stood in the middle that the road led to, at least three stories high and with a sophisticated roof.
"Whoa…" Sun said in awe.
"This, is Kuo Kuana." Blake told the group, as Fives and Jesse removed their helmets as did Rose with her hat.
"It's… beautiful. I take it back. This place looks great! Why would anyone ever want to leave?" Sun questioned, getting the other four to facepalm themselves, all of them wondering if Sun even had a brain.
"That's not the point, Sun! We asked to be equal, to be treated just like everyone else! Instead, we were given an island and told to make do. So, we did the best we could. We came together and we made a home where any Faunus could feel welcome. But this island, this town, will always be a reminder that we're still not equal. That we're still second-class citizens." Blake exclaimed before lowering her face.
"Well, hey, thus guy's feeling pretty at home." Sun assured Blake, putting a hand on her shoulder. The moment was soon shattered when a tomato was thrown at Five's hitting his chest plate.
"Get out of here you damn, humans!" One Faunus shouted from a nearby store.
"We don't want your kind here!" another shouted.
"Take your fancy armor and go back to Atlas!" a third shouted, this one a female.
Another volley of tomatoes was thrown at the two Arc Troopers and Rose who didn't even retaliate. Zett on the other hand maintained his composure and ignored the fruits being thrown towards them. "I believe that is enough." He simply said only to catch a tomato to the face which splattered all over him.
"Who the hell do you think you are, human? You come to our island and walk around like you own the place. This is our home, and we won't take any of your crap!" one of the tomato throwers snarled. Zett didn't say anything as he took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face of tomato juice.
"Are you finished?" Zett asked. "I understand your dislike for humans, but my companions and I are not like the humans you dislike. We are not from Atlas nor are we here to cause any trouble for your people, we are simply here to visit. If you wish to insult us, then I will not fight back because I think you are superior to me." He continued.
Those who were preparing to throw tomatoes at the humans were quick to back down at Zett's words. "I have nothing but the utmost respect for your people and one day, I hope that the rest of the world who simply see your people as 'animals' will finally come together in peace." He finished.
The Faunus soon dropped their tomatoes in surprise. Unlike the other humans who had come to Menagerie before to drop off supplies, they were rude, ignorant and racist, the one standing before them was respecting them for who they are and wasn't showing signs of bigotry. One of the Faunus children standing nearby rushed towards Zett and handed him a piece of fruit they had just purchased. "Thank you, little one. Be sure to spread your kindness to the others you encounter and remember, never judge a book by its cover." He told the child.
The kid simply smiled as they ran back towards their family before everyone who was watching nearby left the area before Blake mentioned going home. Sun was quick to try and guess which one was Blake's house and it came as a surprise to Sun that big house on the hill was her home.
The group walked up the stone steps to the front of the house and Zett could sense Blake's hesitation as she moved to the knocker. "I sensed much hesitation from you, Blake." He observed.
"I um… it's just been a long time since I've seen my parents." She explained.
"Well, you came all this way, no backing down now." Sun assured Blake, who took a quick breath for courage and banged the doors knocker. It made a loud heavy resonating sound on the large door, which caused Sun to stare up and stepped back with Blake from a few paces. "Okay, if we're being honest, that's kind of intimidating." He stated.
The group was then given a start when the doors opened up and from the other side was a female cat Faunus with short black hair, wearing a black hakama, sandals with white tabi style socks, black shrug with a long right sleeve and short left sleeve with gold-leaf trim adoring the front, black arm warmers with a purple band tied around the top, gold bangles around her wrist and a black and gold sash that trailed behind her along with three gold piercings on her cat ears. The moment they saw Blake, they looked in disbelief. "Blake?" they asked.
"Hi, mom." Blake said awkwardly lifting her arm in a greeting.
"My baby girl." her mother said as she stepped forward and hugged her daughter. Blake hesitated for an uncertain amount of time before she hugged her mother back with a gentle smile.
"Kali? Who is it?" A loud voice said from behind. The source of the voice was a tall, muscular Faunus wearing an open dark-violet coat with white fur trim that exposed his patch of black fur on his chest, beige pants with a matching sash around his waist with a large silver belt buckle, a silver metal spaulder over his shoulder and black leather boots with white toes.
Ghira Belladonna soon had a smile on his face while his daughter and her friends exchanged sideways glances at each other while, but his eyes turned towards the four humans with her but unlike those in the town below, Ghira welcomed them into his home.
Everyone sat down at a table in the living room as Kali put her cup of tea on the table. "We were horrified when we heard the news. The Kingdom of Vale isn't perfect, but it certainly didn't deserve what happed. Oh, we were both worried, especially with the new Grimm we heard about." Kali told her guests.
"Please, I knew she'd be fine!" Ghira stated.
Kali scoffed at her husband's statement. "That isn't true the slightest bit true. You should have seen him pacing."
"It could have been much worse with the Empire throwing their hand into the battle, well before it began." Rose added, taking a sip of her tea.
"You guys have nothing to worry about. I've seen your daughter in action before! And trust me, she's got some moves!" Sun assured Blakes parents only for Blake to abruptly lift her head and swallowed at her friends last choice of words, while the two Arc Troopers, Rose and Zett groaned.
"And what exactly do you mean by that, Mr. Wukong?" Ghira asked, glaring at the young man on his right who was quick to try to correct his choice of words.
"I… uh, well, you see sir, it's just that, you know, that she's such a good fighter and all, uh, and as a fellow fighter, I have a lot of respect for her…" he began while Kali leaned in to ask her daughter a question.
"Why is he here again?" she whispered.
"…And her fighting. But also for her…" Sun continued.
"He just followed me home." Blake answered her mother.
"…because of her fighting. Not for her looks. I mean, not to say she's not good-looking. She is! Very! Or…"
"I see." Kali observed as Sun continued to speak to Ghira.
"…slightly, I mean she's definitely above average. I mean, uh…" Sun continued, struggling for words as all three Belladonna's and the guests watched him and waited for him to either get out of the hole he dug for himself or keep digging it. In an awkward silence, Sun used his tail to pick up the tea kettle and poured some more tea into his cup. "This tea is really good. Heh-uh." He said finally breaking the silence.
"I like him." Kali said, though not quietly enough for an aside, only for Blake to moan in complaint.
"Now as for your four." Ghira began, turning to the four humans that came with his daughter and her 'friend'. "It's not everyday that Humans come to visit our island. We have only one human living on the island, Blake's sensei and our liaison with Sienna Khan. I want to apologize for the actions of my people in the town. Many of them… have very little acceptance to humans, even if we have a few human friends, like the one you call Trigger." He apologized.
"There's nothing to apologize for, sir. If anything, we should be apologizing for Mr. Monkey Boy over there." Rose said, whacking Sun on the backside of the head. "He doesn't really have a brain when it comes to the correct choice of words, especially when it comes to talking to the former leader of the White Fang and Blake's father."
"That's very kind of you to say, Mrs. Henry." Ghira acknowledged before turning to Zett. "You, young man, I've seen that look before. You've seen many friends and comrades fall at a young age and even now, you are fighting in their memory. I do not know where exactly you come from, but I find your will to fight in their memory admirable." He spoke.
"Thank you, sir. I'm also hoping you might be able to help me with the reason I decided to follow your daughter." Zett said thankfully.
Ghira then turned to the two Arc Troopers. "I noticed the two of you share a similar face, are the two of you twins?" he asked.
"No, sir. We're clones. We may look alike but were different than most humans and, in this case, Faunus. My name is Fives and this is Jesse." Fives explained and introduced.
"A rather unusual name for a clone." Kali noted.
"It's my name, ma'am and it makes me an individual rather than just another number." Fives said proudly.
"I didn't mean any disrespect." Kali apologized.
"No apologizes necessary, ma'am. It's alright, this is the first time the two of you have seen a clone before." Fives assured.
"Probably also the first time you two have met a Jedi as well." Sun chimed in.
"A Jedi?" Ghira asked in surprise, turning to Zett.
"I'm not really a Jedi, I'm still a padawan learner. My master died long ago and many of my friends were killed when the Jedi were betrayed. Like you said, I fight in the memory of my fallen comrades in my heart every day." Zett clarified. "Tell me, Mister Belladonna, how do you know of the Jedi?"
"I met a Jedi once, a long time ago. I never did get their name, but I ow them my life when they saved me from an assassin, at the cost of their own life." Ghira said, remembering that day. "If it weren't for that Jedi, I wouldn't be here today, and neither would Blake and Kali." He added, looking in the direction of where the fallen Jedi's lightsaber was kept above the mantle piece.
The knocker on the front door resonated, catching everyone's attention. "Darn it, I completely forgot about the meeting!" Ghira exclaimed, hitting his fist on the table before he got up and walked out of the room, assuring Kali he would be only a moment.
"Is everything okay?" Blake asked.
"Yes, dead, just poor timing. He can reschedule. It's just been hard dealing with them lately." Kali assured her daughter, who along with the others raised to their feet when Kali told them that her father was meeting with the White Fang. Hearing this, the group quickly rushed to the front door, where Ghira was meeting with the two visitors from the White Fang.
"Dad!" Blake shouted.
"Miss Belladonna." One of the Faunus addressed.
"We had no idea you had returned." The other said, both of them maintaining a formal posture and keeping their hands clasped together, but not without noticing Rose and the others. "And you've brought humans with you."
"What are you doing talking to these people?" Blake demanded.
"This is Corsac and Fennec Albain. They represent the White Fang here in Menagerie now." Ghira explained.
"Those psychos are here, too?!" Sun exclaimed.
"Young man, I'm not sure what you've heard of our organization, but I can assure you, we're not nearly as ferocious as the media would have you believe." Fennec assured the group, but Zett could sense their true feelings.
"What we've heard? We've seen firsthand. Your fanatics slaughtered people!" Blake snapped. This caught Ghira's attention and wanted an answer from the two Albain brothers, who claimed that they came to him for precisely that reason.
"Is everything alright?" Kali asked as she approached the group.
"Wait, you guys seriously don't know?" Sun asked.
"Know what?" Ghira asked dangerously.
"These bastards know exactly what we're talking about, sir." Rose began, ready to draw her revolvers at a moments notice.
"The White Fang was at the Fall of Beacon. They attacked innocent civilians, worked along side the Galactic Empire and released Grimm into the school." Blake replied. There was a brief silence as Fennec made an innocent, sideways glance towards his brother while Ghira turned to the two brothers.
"Is this true?" he asked.
"Sadly, Your Grace, it is." Fennec replied.
"Don't act like you're s-" Blake started to protest before Ghira told his daughter to stop before demanding an explanation from the two brothers.
"Though it pains us to admit, it has become apparent that the Vale branch of the White Fang is no longer operating under orders of High Leader Khan. Rather, they've elected to follow the rule of one Adam Taurus. I believe you're all familiar with the young adept and his… extreme philosophies." Corsac reported.
"You know, Beacon wasn't the first time the Fang started shooting up Vale!" Sun reminded.
"I can think of many times when the Fang went on a rampage." Rose added, still ready to draw her weapons at a moments notice, as were Jesse and Fives while Zett kept a calm demeanor.
"The High Council had their suspicions of a splinter group, but they could prove nothing until this latest incident." Fennec said agreeing with his brother, but the fact that they called it an incident upset Blake who reminded them of the dead people. "As for this Galactic Empire, we had no knowledge of their existence until Beacon."
"That's a load of crap and you know it! You were receiving imperial weapons and vehicles for months now. Cinder struck a deal with them and Torchwick and you were going to transport that gear for an attack, but we found your little hideaway in Mountain Glenn and that forced your pal Torchy to ram a freight train into the barrier and release the Grimm!" Jesse pointed out.
"Your Grace, we came to assure you that Brother Taurus and his followers do not represent the will of the White Fang." Fennec again assured Ghira, completely ignoring Jesse's words. Ghira wasn't so sure that he could believe what Fennec had just said, but Corsac understood the man's skepticism about the claims, mentioning that the White Fangs tactics had become more aggressive since he stepped down as High Leader and became Chieftain of Menagerie, despite Sienna's attempts to use less than violent actions to get their message across since the incident several years ago that claimed the life of Triggers father.
Fennec even said they had ample proof and strategies to apprehend Adam and his followers. Ghira said he would take a look at them, but at a later date so that he could reconnect with his daughter. The Albain brothers agreed, telling Blake that it was a pleasure to see her again and mentioning that a Sister Ilia would be elated to see Blake return to the White Fang. Blake however assured them that she wasn't done fighting.
As the two Faunus left, Sun felt like he had to say it. "So… those guys were creepy." He stated bluntly.
"Creepy is putting it lightly." Rose agreed.
Ghira just turned to Sun and simply told the Faunus boy that he didn't like him.
"Those two were lying." Zett said to the group. "I could sense it. They knew full well that Adam is behind the attack on Beacon and completely agreed with his actions, they just didn't say anything because they knew you would be against it. As for the Empire, they were telling the truth about that much. I have a feeling that Sienna Khan might be in danger." He told them.
"I'll never doubt your abilities, Zett. If you believe that they are not who they claim to be, I'll send someone to keep an eye on them." Ghira told the young Jedi before he went to the back of the house. He soon found himself looking at a man dressed head-to-toe in black with a silver visor, red markings on their shoulders and a pair of swords on their back. "I have need of your services, old friend." He told the individual.
Meanwhile, back in tavern at Higanbana, Galen found himself drawn to one of the closets in the back of the tavern and opened the door, finding the waitress bound and gagged in a hogtie. Instantly, he freed the waitress. "What happened?" he asked.
"A man asked me if I had seen a girl with silver eyes recently. I told him what I know and then he grabbed me, tied me up and locked me in the closet." The waitress explained.
"Ruby." Galen said to himself before turning back to the waitress. "Which way did they go!?" he demanded.
"They were heading towards Mistral. They'll have to pass through an abandoned town in the west." The waitress answered.
"Thank you." Galen said to the waitress before running out of the tavern to Boba and the Bad Batch. "Someone's after Ruby. We need to move now!" he exclaimed.
And chapter is done.
Anyone want to guess who the man Ghira asked for help is?
Next chapter will be the attack on one of Salem's war factories, so until then please read, review and I'll see you all next time.