Wow, I have reached my one hundredth chapter for this story. Talk about progress. I really have to thank all of the readers who have left positive reviews and have liked what I've posted. I am really doing a damn good job with this story.
Before I begin, I want to make it clear that things are going to be very different from canon, as they have been so far. I think I speak for everyone when I say that RT could have done better than they did with the last two volumes they released before they took a break from RWBY. Still, a little creativity can go a long way when it comes to creating a story, especially one like this.
But to avoid the risk of spilling any scenes from the future chapters, I just want to say that Vader will be returning in the future, so don't worry.
Alright, onto the reviews.
Monster King: Thanks
BlindFaunusGirl: Thank you and yes, Ironwood did take it well, but it's possible he's hiding something. Keeping Ruby in protective custody would backfire since she has the force. I agree, trains are cool, and I love them, especially steam engines. There's something magical about trains that I love, and I really wished that I took the train more often to visit my grandparents, did I mention that the railroad will play a role in a future part of the story? Of course, Jacque would try to replace railroad workers with computers, it would save him money. You'll like what I have planned for the future.
SunPhoenix90: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry, that's my Joker impression. But seriously, kicking Jacque in the balls and having him wear an ice pack for months, that would be funny.
Luffy L Deathwalker: First off, thanks for favoriting my story and you've given me an idea for when the Fox meets our heroes.
Darth Cody: Shotgun sword combo feels outdated? Honestly, in my opinion the Shotgun combo is perfect for close quarters combat, able to blast limbs off the Grimm. But I think maybe a pistols with hard light blades does sound interesting. I haven't played a lot of Final Fantasy games, but I do know about the Gunblade from Kingdom Hearts. Still, I think I might be able to work that idea around for March's new weapon. Don't really know a lot about One Piece, but my cousin loves that show. He's planning on doing a cosplay of a character for next Anime Boston, while yours truly is planning on doing a Mandalorian cosplay. I already have the helmet.
Spartan-626: Nope, The Fox is not Whitley and Ironwood amplifying Ruby's power to shoot laser beams from her eyes? As cool as that would be, it doesn't seem practical. You'll see how things change out from Ironwood learning the truth about Salem, but I got to warn you, it might not be what you expect.
Alright, reviews done, onto the intro.
(Start Rise, Tv version by Madkid)
(The camera moves fast over the frozen tundra of Solitas before it shots up to the floating city of Atlas and the city of Mantle below it. As fighter jets fly past, the title card is revealed with two lightsaber blades surrounding it.)
Remnant Unleashed
In this empty void, I found the way to light. Can't find my way in this lingering world. Searching fo the answer- the one that I can trust in. I'm just wandering around.
(The title card vanishes as a shot of Ironwood addressing his followers is shown, standing in full military gear. Among them is Galen and his team, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Lop, Faye, Kara and Zett, the students wearing new combat clothing. Behind them in the corner with their helmets off are Rex and his brothers who eye the general with suspicion.)
Yeah, still stuck in the shadow ey, But I never follow that. This pain at last soon will pass. Turn into my own unbeatable strength. This guy or that guy -dead or alive by hiding alone, can't survive. I don't want to lie to myself.
(Behind Ironwood are his Ace Ops and Winter who then dissipate into mist before being replaced by Jacque who has a devious grin on his face, while Whitley and Serra stand behind him looking at each other with worry. The scene then changes to Mantle where Boba, Robyn, Ahsoka, the Fox, Maria, Grogu, Pietro, Penny, Artoria and the Happy Huntresses look up towards Atlas, Robyn crossing her arms before looking at a picture of her, Ray, Neo, and Amber.)
Keep on the fight, get right I'll never lose and cry. Keep run up day and night. Time to rewrite. No matter what anyone say's I find my way. Never go away.
(The Grimm charge towards from the tundra as Galen, Ruby, Jaune and their teams ready for their weapons for battle only for Ruby, Jaune and their teammates to vanish into mist while soldiers appear behind Galen and his team aiming their weapons at them. Galen's eyes are shown and then narrow as he ignites his lightsabers.)
Now, nobody can stop me no way. I will make sure not to forget those precious things. Yeah, I'll take a stand, get back all that I've lost. Rise suddenly in this word. (I don't look back yeah.)
(Galen and his team then charge in, now fighting a top a speeding train in the tundra against the Ace Ops while droids attack both groups. Galen slashes a droid and counters an attack from Harriet, Rose dodges Elm's massive hammer, Arthur clashes blades with his cousin, March trades fists with Marrow who looks unsure of his choices as Vine's giant hands try to swat away two human shaped machines flying alongside the train, with Clover trading blows Rex at the front of the train.)
This repetition will repeat 'till the end. And the regret that's still lingering in my head. Time to get it all back, now turn over. Rise suddenly in this world.
(The scene changes once again as Teams RWBY, JNR, Domino Squad, the Bad Batch, Fordo, Alpha, Cody, Waxer, Boil, Kara, Faye and Able fight against the Grimm which then change into Imperial troopers as the shadows of Vader, Palpatine, Barriss, Jacque, Watts, Maul, Salem, Emerald, Mercury and a mysterious robotic figure loom over them. Ruby's face turns to fear before her eyes shine and a silver light engulfs the screen before the title card returns.)
(Song ends)
Chapter 100: Ace Operatives
A strong wind blew snow across the cloudy sky as three Manta's and the Marauder flew together. Days had past since Ruby and her friends had arrived in Atlas and delivered both the lamp and the information they had gathered about Salem to Ironwood. During those days, the three teams and their allies were able to relax after their long journey and were given both new combat gear and their upgraded weapons. Inside the lead Manta, Team RWBY sat wearing their new combat gear and holding their upgraded weapons.
Ruby's outfit consisted of a black and red laced up corset with four buckles hanging loose over a mesh sleeveless top over a white cut low-sleeved blouse, black chocker, red pleaded skirt that was split apart by a small brown belted strap, bright red shorts underneath her skirt, black bracers with large brown buckles, black fingerless gloves, a brown belt around her waist with several bullets and a buckle showing her emblem and a pouch with a Zwei emblem on it, black thigh-high steel-toe boots with red soles and heels and a new cape to replace her torn one.
Aside from her hair which was now braided, Weiss now wore a pale blue sleeveless dress with a deep red lining, two diamond-shaped pieces hanging from the corners of the hem, over a white diagonal hemmed strapless dress. Above that was a vivid blue shrug with a raised collar, puffy sleeves with the Schnee emblem on the left sleeve fastened by a blue, silver outlined strap, a pair of long navy-blue gloves with silver top trim surrounding a red gem at the top. Over her dress, she wore a light blue, corset styled belt with three white belts and a medium-sized pouch attached to the lowest belt and another pouch attached to the middle belt with the lower belt crossing over the middle belt. On her feet were long, pale blue wedge-heel boots with a white frill detail at the top on the front, grayish blue coloring on the toes of her boots and navy-blue heels. Completing her outfit was a pair of ruby earrings that matched her icicle-shaped tiara with a diamond shaped ruby in the center.
Yang's new attire primarily consisted of khaki overalls with the golden zipper unzipped below the breast, revealing a low white low-cut cropped tube top, another golden zipper, this one around the thighs with a buckled strap that allowed for the pants leg to detach. The right leg was unzipped but still strapped to the overalls but was partially folded over. Over the top of the coveralls was a baggy, dark brown crop aviator styled jacket with a white fur trim around the neck along with black-and-orange straps along the sleeves. Around her waist was a black-and-orange belt with black-and-yellow folded fabric on the sides, which ran behind a pouch attached to it and a golden buckle of her emblem. Dark brown knee-high boots with black laces and top were worn on her feet while her accessories consisted of her orange scarf around her neck, a purple scarf around her right leg, a black/brown strap with a golden trim and a pouch around her thigh, yellow and black socks that also showed her emblem.
Along with his new hair style, which was upswept and somewhat spiky, Jaune's new clothing consisted of a high collar black shirt underneath a remodified pure white chest plate that covered more of his abdomen, bracers of a similar color trimmed with gold, two shoulder pads, his old gloves and Pyrrha's sash which he now wore as a means to honor her courage in fighting the empire, dark navy jeans and dark brown boots.
Her hair back to the length it was before Beacon was destroyed, Nora now wore a long, pink and white sleeveless coat with light blue lapels and white collar belted closed by a black belt with a pouch on the left side, over a short black dress. The front of the coat had the same two heart shape cutouts as her previous outfits, this time near the bottom while on the upper back of her coat was a small pair of decorative metal wings with a magnet in the middle for her upgraded hammer. Long detached white sleeves and black fingerless gloves were worn on her arms while white stockings with light blue socks, a pair of black boots with silver heels, sole and toe plates, matching metal bands with her emblem on the bands around her thighs along with black shorts under her dress completed her outfit.
As for Ren, he braided his hair and now wore a sleeveless dark green top, long white sleeves underneath, a black half jacket/arm guards with his father's dagger etched into it on his right arm, a single detached black long black fingerless glove on his left arm and black leather boots.
The only one who didn't change their outfit, was Blake who explained to Ironwood that the clothing she had was a gift to her from her master, who the general knew only by name and reputation, so he agreed to allow her to keep her current attire.
As for their weapons, Crescent Rose was upgraded to form a war-scythe, Myrenstar could now be reloaded with a speed-loader and the Gambol Shroud had been repaired.
Both Yang's prosthetic arm and gauntlet were modified to fire sticky bombs, Jaune's shield was upgraded with a hard-light Dust shield which could expand to the sides, making it wider.
Nora's hammer could now fire pink smoke allowing her to ride it while Ren's pistols were now upgraded to fire in a semi-auto manner, while the blades could act like grappling hocks and had the ability to rotate and be shot out while attached by a cable.
As their Manta flew over the tundra, their thoughts turned to the current mission at hand. The area they were flying to, was an abandoned Dust mine which was now teaming with Grimm since it's closure. The untouched Dust that still remained inside the mine was what the science team needed for the first phase of the launch. While Atlas military Huntsmen were clearing out the surrounding tundra, one of them had reported a powerful Geist had managed to evade death and had taken several lives and had retreated into the mine itself. As for the mine itself, it was a labyrinth filled with tunnels and chambers for the Geist to move between, so the plan was to split up and corner it. That was the plan, but as expected there was an unexpected snag.
The new Arachnid based Grimm had moved into vicinity of the mine during their brief respite and were already making attacks on the railway and the outlying settlements away from the kingdom and had managed to create a secondary entrance on the right side of the mine. The plan now called for a different approach, one that required heavy firepower. That firepower came in the form of a Landstalker piloted by Able and a Puma driven by Galen. The two would use the vehicles machine guns, cannon, and plasma mortars to hit the Grimm from a distance and with hit-and-run attacks, while Ahsoka, Fordo, Alpha, Rex, and his brothers in the 501st would accompany them, using their jetpacks to blast the Grimm from the sky. The rest of Team GARM, Cody, Waxer, Boil, Thire, Stone, Jek, Rhys, Thorn, Zett and Lop would hit the Grimm on the right side with Marrow and Vine. As for the Bad Batch, Kara, and Faye, they were to enter the mine through one of the ventilation shafts and hit the Grimm from inside the mine, cutting them off from charging one of the other teams.
"Let's make it happen, people." Clover said over the radio while Team RWBY, Jaune, Nora and Ren looked at each other, smiling before they leapt out of the Manta. Ruby used her semblance while drawing her upgraded weapon, transformed it into it's scythe mode and started to fire, using the recoil to slow herself down as the boys in blue jumped out of the second Manta in what they called a HALO jump. Weiss leapt back and forth between glyphs and then launched herself towards the mine, summoning the sword and arm of her Arma Gigas', sliding down the blade.
Blake drew her newly repaired katana, shifted it to its sickle form and then threw it, hooking it onto one of the metal structures outside the mine, swinging from building to building while Yang continued her freefall with a laugh before firing into the ground and flipping to land on her feet, sliding across the snow between two minecart tracks before she was joined by her teammates. Ruby then used the force to catch Jaune, Ren and Nora while Harriet tucked and rolled with slight bounce.
Elm leapt out of the third Manta facing backwards, followed by Clover and Qrow who slid down a sheer icy incline just outside the tunnel. The bug-based Grimm took notice of the intruders on their territory and the lead Grimm let out an ear-piercing scream that alerted the other Grimm to the intruders. As the Grimm began to charge, blaster fire from above them caught the creatures off guard while plasma mortars slammed into the rearmost Grimm as the Landstalker walked onto the scene, firing its twin machine guns at the Grimm while the Puma flew over the tank, landing with a thud before opening up with its own machine guns and began to rain lead onto the Grimm.
On the right approach, Cody's team had just landed and were already engaging the Grimm. Marrow and Vine watched impressively as Jek and Thorn sprayed the Grimm with blaster fire, keeping the Grimm from advancing while the others moved in. March, now wearing a light green winter jacket with faux fur lining around the collar, green ski pants with yellow accents, dark green olive boots, green-rimmed snow goggles and black ski gloves with green accents used his semblance to zip past the Grimm and fired his new pistols at the Grimm, catching them by surprise.
"Penwolf! Let 'em have some whistling birds!" Waxer shouted to Arthur, throwing a grenade towards several Grimm. Arthur flicked his wrist as the grenade exploded, launching a salvo of whistling birds at the Grimm, killing several of them before he activated the new light-shield feature of his gauntlets just in time to avoid getting acid spit over his armor from one of the Grimm that Tech identified as being based off the Tiger Spitter. "That's just nasty."
Rose didn't waste any time in firing her rifle at the nerve stem, killing one Grimm, and sending the remains of the bullet through another Grimm and killed it. Marrow fired his rifle and took out a few Grimm while Vine used his semblance and grabbed two of the Grimm, lifting them into the air allowing Thire and Stone to gun them down with their rifles. Blaster fire from above the secondary entrance caught the Grimm off guard again as the Bad Batch, Kara and Faye landed on the tunnel's edge as Zett and Lop dashed in and cut the legs of several Grimm off. Their blades hummed to life as they slashed through the Grimm, impressing the two Ace Operatives.
Back at the primary entrance, Galen leapt out of the Puma and landed in the middle of a large group of Grimm. Activating his lightsabers, he used the force to send them flying around him, ducking down to avoid having his head taken off by his own blades as the Grimm started to fall back into the mine. "This is Alpha Squad. LZ's clear. Proceeding on foot." Clover said over radio. "You've all got fancy new Scrolls, so don't forget to use 'em. Keep your eyes and ears open. I want an update if your encounter the target. Alpha out."
"New Scrolls, new weapons, new clothing. Looks like Ironwood is trying to buy your loyalty. General Skywalker never had to do that. He always led by example and got us through the toughest missions." Rex said to Galen who only recently felt a disturbance in the Force. "You think he's hiding something from us?"
"No, I don't think he is. At least, I'm not entirely sure." Galen answered, glancing over at Ahsoka who only recently heard the message that the inquisitor had asked him to pass onto her. "I still can't believe that the inquisitor I fought was actually a fallen Jedi that Ahsoka once knew. Barriss Offee, did she ever give a reason why she framed Ahsoka?"
"I don't know. I wasn't at the trial when former Commander Offee made her statement." Rex answered.
"I did not sign up to be a babysitter, yet we keep babysitting Marrow all the time." Harriet said with a groan, looking at Galen. "Let's get moving rookies."
As she and Elm started to head into the mine, Ahsoka stopped them. "We should have Rex and his brothers take point. Getting up close to the Arachnid Grimm is dangerous. I've seen them rip apart a soldier with their jaws and it's not a sight you want to see." She advised.
"I don't take orders from you. I only take orders from Clover and the general." Harriet told Ahsoka with her eyes narrowed.
"Harriet!" Clover shouted as he and Qrow landed on the ground. "I suggest we listen to Commander Tano's advice. They faced these Grimm before and have more experience in fighting them. We're all on the same team so we should take the others advice to heart." Clover reminded the shortest member of the Ace Ops. Harriet rolled her eyes and walked into the mine, following the other Arc Troopers.
"She could be a problem." Ahsoka whispered to Rex.
"I agree." The captain concurred.
As they talked, Galen noticed Weiss wiping the snow off a piece of metal, revealing the Schnee company logo, letting out a frown and sad groan while the rest of the Beacon students followed the others at a distance. Able stayed inside the Landstalker to keep the entrance covered, which Ruby pouted about since she was shivering. "Oh, it's freezing out here!" she exclaimed.
"Without heating or projected Aura, the cold of Solitas can kill you in a matter of hours. At least, it was until people started to leave Mantle and live off grid, adapting to the cold and establishing flourishing communities. Communities that depend on the railroad for supplies and have been serving them for years. You'd be surprised at how many settlements are gifted supplies taken from trains carrying supplies for the elite of Atlas." Weiss explained.
"At least it's not Tatooine. Except the only thing worse than sandstorms are snowstorms." Blake said, lowering her mask. "I suddenly don't feel as bad about leaving Oscar behind." She added.
"Those three have a lot to catch up on. But while we're on that topic, why did we decide to tell Ironwood the truth about Salem?" Yang asked.
"Ironwood would have a difficult time building the new tower even if we didn't tell him about Salem. If we kept it hidden, he'd probably find out sooner or later and then brand us as traitors. Rex said that an army is built on trust and if Ironwood leads an army, we should be willing to trust him and tell him everything we know." Ruby pointed out.
"The General's heart seems to be in the right place, but that doesn't mean we should trust him yet. What if he's trying to make us follow him without question? Sure, Ozpin kept plenty of secrets from us, your uncle, professor Goodwitch and who knows how many others, but he came clean and trusted us with the truth. But Ironwood, I don't think he trusts anyone but himself." Blake added, seeing a brief similarity between Ironwood and Adam when it came to trust.
They weren't the only ones discussing the General's actions. As Kara cut through the grate of the ventilation shaft, Tech was expressing his doubts about the General's choices. "All I am saying is that if the General appointed Pietro's daughter as the protector of Mantle, it's highly possible that he plans to abandon Mantle when things take a turn for the worse. I've looked at the combat records of Jedi like the former General Krell. Whenever one of the battles he fought in turned to the enemy's favor, he would pull back and leave the troopers still fighting to die or become separatist prisoners of war. It's possible that Ironwood would leave all of Mantle to die." Tech told his squad.
"You really think chromedome would do that? Leave all those people to die? Even the kids?" Wrecker asked.
"It sounds like something he would do." Crosshair said.
"Tech, once we get back to Atlas, I want you to plant a bug in the academy systems. I want to know what Ironwoods plans are, I won't let him abandon all those people. Maybe we might be able to shed some light on the virus you pulled from the CCT." Hunter ordered Tech just as Kara finished cutting into the ventilation shaft and they entered the mine.
Below them, Marrow was speaking with March as they walked through the mine. "So, what's it like, being on a team led by the Demon Lord of the Round Table? Sounds like it's pretty awesome, right?" he asked.
"Honestly? I feel like I am fighting beside the original Demon Lord before it was a title earned by pilots. But seeing him fight with those sabers of his, blasting the enemy with the Force. He's like a symbol that I can believe in, a ray of hope. That's what rebellions are built on." March answered, raising his googles over his helmet. "Believe it or not, it's because of him that I don't act as insane as I used to be in combat." March answered with a chuckle.
"The boss acts more like a team leader than those idiots in Team CRDL had. Cardin was nothing more than a bully who always picked on those who he thought were beneath him, especially the Faunus. I'm glad that I'm following Galen instead of Cardin. He is far more honorable than Cardin could ever be." Arthur agreed.
"It sounds like you hold him in high regard. Your leader, not this Cardin." Vine said as blaster fire echoed around them. "And it appears as if the clones have encountered more of those Arachnid based Grimm. It's odd that Salem has created Grimm based on extinct alien species. You said it was this Maul who told her everything about these creatures?" Vine asked.
"Yeah, that old Witch and that horned head bastard really created some nasty looking Grimm, and some of them have damn weapons built into them! Didn't Ironwood tell you about those bastards when he got back from Vale?" Rose asked.
"He did, but we assumed that because of the cold climate, those Grimm wouldn't be seen in Solitas." Marrow answered sheepishly. "What? This kingdom is the coldest in the world and insects don't thrive in the cold!" he said in his defense.
"When it comes to the Grimm, Salem, Maul and the droids, don't expect them to play by the rules." March warned, reloading his pistols before he combined the two of them into a large sword. "And here I was thinking I would be missing my old shotgun." He mused.
Back in the main tunnel, Alpha team followed the clones as they made quick work of the Arachnid Grimm while Qrow and Clover stood back and watched. "No matter how many times I see those guys in action, I can't help but forget their all an army of one man." Qrow mused as Rex fired his rifle at one of the Grimm and killed it. "I gotta say, I'm still not really used to working with other Huntsmen in the field."
"But you were on a team before, weren't you?" Clover asked.
"Long time ago. I just found working alone tends to be for the best." Qrow answered with a sigh.
"Well, I think it's a shame." Clover replied, catching Qrows arm after the later slipped and fell forward. Clover walked away, using his communicator to get in touch with Bravo team while Qrow frowned. "Alpha here. Give me an update."
"The secondary tunnel seems clear. We're about five clicks from your location now, sir." Marrow said over the communicator before Hunter called in and reported that they had entered the mine ahead of the other teams and were dealing with the current inhabitants of the mine.
Alpha team continued a bit further before they came to a stop at a wall of boulders in the tunnel. "There's been a cave-in in the main entrance. Not sure if it's recent or caused by the original accident. Either way, we'll have to do a little problem solving." Harriet reported, not noticing that Blake's ears had perked up and her eyes had widened.
"Blasting through all this rock is out of the question. We set off an explosion, we could cause the whole mine to collapse." Rex advised, turning to Galen, Ahsoka, Ruby and the recently arrived Lop and Zett. "Think all of you can move some of these rocks out of the way?"
"We can make a gap wide enough for us to pass through. Let's do it." Ruby said enthusiastically, beginning to concentrate on one of the boulders and started to lift it, with the help of Galen and the others. As they worked to loosen one of the rocks, Blake realized where they were.
"I know this place. This mine was closed after an explosion. The head foreman of the mine authorized the usage of explosives, creating another tunnel to access a larger deposit of Dust. The workers protested because the structural integrity of the mine wasn't stable, but the foreman ordered the demolition. As predicted, the explosion caused a cave in and killed many workers, including Ilia's parents." Blake said sadly.
"I remember this disaster. Or rather, I remember how furious it made my father. He blamed the workers for mishandling the explosives and didn't even lift a finger to send rescue workers to help those trapped on the other side. The foreman got off rather easily, despite his methods and it was said that someone, probably a Jedi was the one who rallied the other workers to help free those trapped behind the rocks." Weiss explained. "I wish I could take back the years of pain my family caused the Faunus and all of my complacency in it, but I can't. I may not be able to change the past, but I can work to a better future." She said with determination.
"This society is set up for Faunus to be at the bottom, and humans are willing participants. They benefit from doing nothing to help us." Marrow said as he walked over to the two of them. "But there are still those who actively abuse us and more recently, those who are trying to change it. Anyway, I didn't come over here to solve systematic societal issues. Harriet found a gap in the rubble we think one of you could fit through, ideally someone with a knack for seeing in the dark. She's getting really impatient on waiting for your friends to create an opening." The Faunus admitted. "Oh, and your friends went with Elm and Vine down the ice tunnels. They'll catch up with us."
Blake made her way through the crevice between the boulders, drawing her katana and lightsaber once she had enough room quickly shifting her katana into its sickle mode and ready to fire. "Is there any Dust in the immediate area? What about Hunter and his team?" Marrow asked over the communicator.
"Mine carts… debris… no Dust, though." Blake reported as she looked around. She then heard the sound of an automatic shotgun in the distance. "Sounds like Wrecker and the others are ahead of us. Heading ba—" she started to say when the Geist suddenly swooped down and reached for her. Her reflexes kicked in and she used her semblance, jumping into a back handspring while the Geist swiped at her clone with its claws. Upon landing on her feet, she began to fire at the Geist.
From the other side of the pile, the groups heard the gunshots and without even giving the Jedi a warning, Harriet deployed her weapon onto her arms and blasted through the boulder. "How about a little more warning next time?" March scolded as he and the others ran forward with their weapons drawn. The Geist moved back and looked at them before it flew away down another tunnel while Blake kept shooting at it.
The Pack was about to go after the Geist but were soon stopped by a Centinel burrowing its way out of the ground directly in front of them. "Watch that acid!" Rex shouted as the Centinel lunged at Yang who yelped and fired directly into the Grimm's mouth. The Grimm threw its head back with a pained squeal, looking at Yang with a hiss as green fluid dripped from it's wound. It was about to recede into the ground, but March got the drop on the Grimm and used his pistols new hard light blades and his evolved semblance to latch onto the Grimm and fired two full magazines into the Grimm's body, killing it. The moment of rest was short lived as more Centinels emerged from the ground and walls around them, hissing and screeching, along with more of Arachnid based that also emerged from the ground. "That's a lot of hostiles." Rex pointed out.
"That means we're on the right track." Fives added.
"And that means more Grimm for us to kill." Hardcase said with enthusiasm. "Hey, Archie. You still got that Imperial blaster?"
"You know it." March smirked, holstering his pistols and drawing his heavy blaster. "I've been waiting a while to use this bad boy."
"Let's get this over with." Harriet said, only for Rex to put his hand out in front of her, stopping her from moving.
"I'm always first, rookie." Rex stated and checked his rifle. It was fully loaded and ready for battle. "Take 'em down!" Rex ordered and pulled the trigger.
Ruby zoomed away with her semblance, picking up Galen in the process while Weiss and Blake charged forward with Arthur and March. The four of them slashed at the Centinel while Ruby slammed her scythe into another one and Galen beheaded two more.
Harriet punched several Grimm while Yang, Marrow, Arthur, and Rose started firing at the Grimm. Their firepower decimated the Grimm, but two of the Centinels were getting ready to attack Yang. The brawler of Team RWBY readied her weapons and repeatedly punched each of them in the head while she hopped away. A slight beeping noise emitted from each of her hits as the sticky bombs she attached to the Grimm and with a backwards thrust of her arms, the sticky bombs exploded and killed the Grimm.
Blue bolts from Excalibur downed several Grimm before Arthur brought up his shield to block the acid from the Tiger Spitters that would have eaten through his armor. Drawing back his fist and punching the air, he unleashed his flamethrower burning the Grimm to ashes. "Thank you, Boba Fett for upgrading my armor." Arthur praised.
Rose activated her semblance and painted her targets before firing an entire magazine from her rifle, killing several Grimm with shots to the nerve stems and burned them. Grabbing a stripper clip, she worked the lever and loaded a new clip into her weapon through the charging bar. Chambering a new round, one of the Grimm managed to knock her down, forced her to drop her rifle and started to claw at her. She looked and saw her rifle was a few inches from her and rolled out of the way, grabbed her rifle, and thrust her the bayonet of her weapon into the creature. "Good thing I asked for an overhaul of my rifle and shotgun." She smirked, drawing her new shotgun which had been upgraded from lever-action to pump-action, also equipped a bayonet and used electrical dust for ammo. "Suck on this!" she snarled and fired her shotgun, blowing off the limb of a Grimm and sending an electrical arc coursing through several more Grimm.
Weiss used her rapier to send an ice crystal at a Centinel while beheaded another one with her scythe. However, the Centinel head was still but Ruby just smirked and used her scythe's upgrade, spinning the head one-hundred and eighty degrees while firing the rifle component while swinging her weapon, slashing through the Centinel head. She rotated the scythe head again and slammed it into the ground, steadying her weapon parallel with the ground and fired the rifle component again, only to gasp as Marrow jumped ahead of her.
The Faunus member of the Ace Ops gunned down a pair of Centinels before shifting his weapon into its boomerang form and threw it. The boomerang bounced of a wall and flew against the back of a Centinel before it returned to Marrow who leapt into the air and then slammed the blade down onto a Grimm, cutting it in two. Ahead of him, a pair of Centinels twisted around each other and headed right for him, but Marrow only held out his hand and snapped his fingers with a smirk. "Stay." The two Grimm suddenly slowed to a stop, but Marrow held his pose allowing Harriet to speed over to the Grimm, trailing electricity. Brushing her nose with her thumb and then smirking, she grabbed the two Grimm and slammed them into the ground.
Rex and his brothers fired hundreds of rounds at the Grimm, shredding them to pieces while Galen, Ahsoka and Lop slashed through the Grimm with their lightsabers. The three Jedi threw their lightsabers bisecting the Grimm, but one of the Grimm was able to move itself in front of Galen's lightsabers knocking them to the ground. "Well, now's a good a time as any to try this out." Galen said and pulled a gun from the holster on his back, shifting it into a smaller version of a gatling gun with a blue ammo clip. The laser sight on his weapon came to life as he put the sight onto a target and pulled the trigger. The barrel of his weapon slowly began to spin before it unleashed a fury of lightning dust infused rounds that ripped the Grimm to shreds as he slowly moved forward, flanked by Hardcase, Hevy, Jek and Thorn with their own weapons.
"Suppressing fire! Keep the pressure on them!" Thorn shouted as the number of Grimm continued to dwindle down, but more kept coming. "They just keep coming." Thorn noticed as the Grimm continued to charge at them. Suddenly, the Grimm started to take fire from behind and the former Coruscant Guard Commander recognized the voice of a certain trooper who had a love for explosives. "There they are."
As he thought, the Bad Batch, Kara and Faye were running towards them and firing their weapons at the Grimm. Wrecker fired his rifles grenade launcher, blowing several Grimm to bits while Crosshair took aim and snipped the Grimm from behind a minecart. Hunter, Tech, and Kara opened up with their rifles and carbine while Faye grabbed one of the Grimm with the Force and slammed it into the ceiling and then the ground before she thrusted her blade into the downed creature. "Remember this shit at Christmas!" Wrecker hollered with excitement, now firing both his rifle and shotgun with both hands. "AW YEAH! THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"I love that guy." March said with a smirk while Harriet reported their current situation to the rest of the team.
Inside the ice tunnels, Elm, Vine, and Team JNR heard Harriet's report and soon started to slide along the ice, with Nora giving Ren a slight smack and sent him down with a small shout before following after her boyfriend, laughing as she slid down tunnel. As they slid down, the ice tunnel gave way to Dust mine and three Centinels began to burrow out of the rock. "Contact!" Vine shouted, deploying his semblance to grab onto the walls of the ice tunnel, stopping himself while Elm stomped on the ice and deployed her own semblance, rooting herself into the ground while Team JNR continued past them.
As they approached the bottom, Jaune deployed his shields Hard-Light barrier and stabbed the ice with his sword to slow himself, reaching out and used the Force to catch his teammates while igniting his lightsaber as a blast from his shield knocked the Centinel's back. Once Nora and Ren caught up with their leader, Ren leapt into the air and fired his guns blades at one of the Centinels, using the wires to keep the blades tethered to his guns, slamming his feet into the Grimm and then fired his guns at it.
Another Centinel rose up from behind him, but Nora was quick to slam her massive hammer down onto its head, emitting a blast that allowed her to swing her weapon backwards onto the remaining Centinels head just as Vine and Elm slid down the ice to meet up with them. "A very… head-first approach." Vine said.
"That's just our kind of style." Jaune said with confidence while the two Ace Ops walked past them.
Back in the main tunnel, the horde of Grimm had been whittled down to only a few Grimm left, many of which were downed by Galen using his gun, this time as a long-range rifle with a yellow ammo canister. Picking his shots and remembering the lessons he was taught by Ruby, Crosshair and Rose he fixed his laser sight onto one of the Grimm and fired a shot that blew off a Spitters head. The Demon Lord moved forward, firing his rifle as he made a move to grab his lightsabers before the acid from another Spitter almost melted his weapons. He sprinted and slid across the ground, firing several shots at the Spitter while grabbing his lightsabers, but came to a stop directly underneath another Spitter which almost skewered with its mandibles, only for the Grimm to be killed with a shot to the nerve stem. "Thank you, Kara." He said to himself, jumping back to his feet and holstered his weapon, then igniting his lightsaber.
One Centinel was all that remained, but as Ruby was about to get it, Harriet sped past her and Weiss, plunging her fists straight through a Centinel, killing it. "Whoa! Your Semblance makes you super-fast, just like me!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Very cool. Though, based on your reaction time, I'd say I'm a little faster." Harriet said with a wink.
"Pretty sure I have you both beat." March said.
"This is Alpha! We've engaged the target! All Squads head toward our position!" Clover shouted over the communicator. The squads ran further into the mine while ahead of them, Qrow was firing his weapon at the Geist which swerved and spiraled around the tunnel to avoid the bullets. Clover used his fishing rod and sent a hook out towards the Geist, barely missing it. The Grimm swooped down into a giant chunk of ice with a minecart imbedded in it and rose up, gathering more ice, rocks and metal to form its body. The leader of the Ace Ops ran towards the creature, while Qrow stood back and observed, but noticed a chuck of ice pressing against one of the support beams and steadily pushing the beam off the tunnel wall and called out to warn Clover
To his surprise, the beam fell between Clover and the Geist, creating a large cloud of dust which after settling revealed the ground beneath the Geist had collapsed. "Darn it. Target escaped, last seen headed east." He said into the communicator before he turned to Qrow. "Thanks for the call-out. That could have been bad."
"Don't thank me. My semblance brings misfortune. Sometimes I can't keep it under control." Qrow said with a sigh.
"That so?" Clover asked, looking at Qrow, smiling at him while Clover checked his scroll and then looked at the bent support beam next to the hole. "Well, hey, don't beat yourself up about it. My semblance is good fortune. Lucky you, huh?" he said with a wink, casting his line around the beam and jerked it down, the beam pulling a large number of rocks down with it.
After he contacted the squads and told them they could cut the Geist off at the heart of the mine, he turned to Qrow. "So, what's your opinion on the Jedi? I've heard the General blaming them for the situation the planet's in. I mean, I haven't really known Galen, Ahsoka or the others as long as you have, but do you really think it's their fault that the Empire came to our world?" he asked.
"I was the one who first met Galen when he arrived on the planet, but it wasn't his choice to come here. He told me himself that he should have died when he risked his life to save Kota and the other senators from the Emperors attack. I think it was Plo Koon, the guy with the mask who said that the force works in mysterious ways. Not sure why he was sent here, but he's here now. But to hear that James is blaming him for the Empire's arrival, it's not like he could have just found someone in the kingdoms and just say our planet would be attacked by an alien empire, could he? People would probably think he's crazy." Qrow answered. "Anyway, I trust him. Especially considering he and Ruby are a pair."
"I thought Jedi were forced to forgo all attachments and couldn't fall in love?" Clover asked.
"Yeah, well. The kid wasn't raised during the old Jedi Order." Qrow remarked.
At the same time, Alpha, Bravo and Charlie squads arrived in the central chamber which was filled with Dust veins and huge Dust crystals. Raised minecart rails, walkways and stone arches spanned across and around the edges of the chamber. "That's a lot of Dust." Hevy said in amazement.
"I would recommend we use caution. This room is highly active with Dust energy. A stray shot from one of our weapons would not only ruin the launch sit, but also vaporize us as well." Tech said, having scanned one of the crystals.
"I thought the target was supposed to be in here?" Nora asked, looking around the chamber.
"It's close, I can feel it's presence." Jaune said, his eyes darting around and looking for any sign of the Geist. He stopped looking when he heard a low rumbling noised from above them and looked as the Petra Giga's Geist was now clinging to a chunk of ice on the ceiling. It turned to look down on the group, showing the purple Dust crystals embedded into its body before it jumped down and crashed through a stone arch, directly in front of the group, the size of a Gorag.
"It added Dust to its body. How are we supposed to—" Ruby began to ask when Harriet sped past her, followed by Marrow and Elm. "They didn't even bother to wait for us to come up with a plan." She muttered.
"You take care of the Geist! We can't risk shooting it!" Alpha shouted. "Don't worry about us, we've got plenty of company to keep ourselves busy." He added as the shrieking of Grimm from the tunnel echoed around them.
"You heard the trooper, blades only!" Galen shouted and followed after the four Ace Operatives with his lightsabers ignited. Ruby, Jaune, Lop, Arthur, Kara, Faye, Weiss, Blake, Yang and Zett followed suit, igniting their own lightsabers. As the students jumped down, Elm reached out with his semblance and wrapped one of his Aura arms around the Petra Gigas' legs while using his other arm to reach behind, grabbed onto a support beam and pulled, allowing Elm to run over the leg, stomp on the ground and rooted herself in place with her own semblance and grabbed onto the leg. "Let's not let them show us up."
The students rushed in, slashing at the legs of the Petra Gigas but did little damage to the creature. Vine on the other hand, released his grip from the beam and leapt off the cliff, swinging onto a bridge for the mine carts, then used his semblance again to grab onto one of the Petra Gigas arms and pulled. Marrow then threw his boomerang at the exposed Geist arm between the ice and rubble, severing it but a Dust crystal flew out from the rubble and fell towards the ground.
Marrow saw this and shouted to Harriet, who charged up her semblance and sped after the crystal maneuvering around the falling rocks. She ran up a rock, jumped off the side of one of the walkways and caught the crystal mid-air, landing on another walkway and almost got hit by a large blue flaming broadsword created by Arthur's semblance. The other teams continued to attack the Petra Gigas while Marrow cut off the Geist's other arm, sending another crystal flying through the air, this time caught by Clover. "What would you guys do without me." He chuckled, tossing the crystal over to Qrow. "You kid's fallback, you've done enough for now." Clover shouted to the students.
After a salute to Qrow, Clover jumped backwards off the cliff while the students reluctantly backed off and watched as the Ace Ops took on the Grimm. Harriet sped around the Petra Giga's feet while Vine swung himself around the chamber and punched the Gigas in the chest. Harriet continued to use her semblance, whistling, and waving at the Petra Gigas which tried to hit her.
Elm took the opportunity to slam her hammer into the rock composing part of the Gigas' arm, which became stuck, and the Grimm struggled to pull it out. Marrow severed another arm as Clover landed on the ground and deployed his fishing rod before running towards the Petra Gigas, jumping off its leg and launching himself into the air. Bumping his clover pin with his thumb, he swung his pole and pulled out the fishing line and directed it to wrap around the Geist's mask and hooked it. The teams watched in amazement as Clover pulled hard and forced the Geist out of the block of ice, where Harriet killed it with a punch from her weapon as purple crystals began to rain down and the Ace Ops moved to catch them.
One crystal was sent flying through the air on the other side of the chamber which Harriet tried to catch the crystal, but as it came close to hitting the ground and Harriet a red blur flew past her and caught the crystal. Ruby had caught the crystal and was now hugging the large crystal tight, while Harriet walked over to her. "Thought you said your semblance was like mine." Harriet inquired as she helped Ruby up.
"It… is?" Ruby answered confused.
"I've seen other speed Semblances before, but that was different. I think there's more going on than you think." Harriet said.
"I still outclass the both of you." March boasted as the others dropped down into the chamber while Clover contacting the General, that they had completed their mission.
Meanwhile back in Mantle, a police airship had dropped the man they called Forest off in the city, making him annoyed with the treatment he had received, but brushed it off as he walked down an alley and kicked a rock, muttering angrily to himself before he heard something, stopped, and turned around.
The man looked around and started to back up to the door when the face of a hooded figure appeared in front of him, smiling menacingly and caused Forest to stumble back against a dumpster, startled. "Whoa! Who are you?" Forest asked.
"Me? Oh well, I'm… someone just like you. Someone who… wants to mix things up around here." The figure said as his eyes turned purple as a tail appeared from underneath the cloak which Forest noticed and was about to scream when he heard the crack of a whip wrapping around the tail. "Who the hell are you?" the figure demanded as he turned around and gazed on a tall, thin but muscular man in his mid-twenties, with brown eyes, black hair, black boots, black gloves, black hat, black mask and black shirt with a rapier on his waist.
"I am the Fox. The true protector of Mantle and I will not allow you to kill this man." The Fox answered, giving Forest enough time to escape before the Fox pulled his whip back and drew his rapier. "Let's make this interesting, shall we?" he smirked while the hooded figure readied himself for battle.
And finished.
First, let's talk about upgrades.
March's shotgun has been disassembled and turned into a pair of dual pistols with blade emitters beneath the barrels that can produced hard light blades and can link together to form a large sword while the handgrips double as cross guards with a retractable hilt that emerges from barrel, like the Gunblade used by Leon in Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. The pistol model is based on the pistols used by Dante in Devil May Cry.
Arthur's wrist gauntlets have been upgraded with shields and extended blades while his armor received upgrades from Boba using the armor he acquired in New Argus. Excalibur has no upgrades.
Rose's weapons received a major overhaul, going from the Winchester 1873 and Winchester 1887 to the Winchester 1895 and Winchester 1897, with upgrades like the one's players are able to give to the weapons in Zombie Army 4: Dead War.
The weapons and clothing of Teams RWBY and JNR are the same, save for Blake but as for Galen's new gun. It's essentially the Morph Gun with the Vulcan barrel and Blaster mod, but what about the Peacemaker and Scatter Gun modes? Well, let's just say I figured with the new bug Grimm Salem made I would give him something with a bit of range.
Now, the teams and Ace Ops have secured the mine, but there's distrust in the air. Hunter doesn't trust Ironwood and the General doesn't trust the Jedi, believing them to be responsible for bringing the Empire to Remnant. Even if Galen didn't arrive, the Empire would still arrive on Remnant.
On the plus side, Forest is still alive thanks to the mysterious Fox saving him from the man who slaughtered an entire Atlas listening post in Mantle, we all know who the man is, but who is the Fox? Those answers will have to wait, but I will take ideas for how Galen will face the Fox. No, he won't be killed.
Anyway, I got to lie down. I've got a bad head cold so until next time. Please, read and review.