Still waiting for some readers suggestions about a semblance that would work more towards entertainment rather than combat. No, it's not for Trigger, I'm thinking something along the lines of Dark Jak for his semblance. The semblance I'm asking about is for a magician I will be introducing during the double date chapter. I sort of got that idea from looking at someone's OC on DeviantArt who's an escape artist and magician. Won't say their name.
But before I begin, a warning for you all. This chapter contains graphic content that one would never see in a Star Wars fanfiction unless it was rated M for mature if it was like a horror story. Reader discretion is advised, but I will say that Galen will be meeting the Fox.
Now, onto the reviews.
Monster King: Thank you.
Luffy L Deathwalker: Yep, it is getting interesting, and I think you'll like this chapter, seeing as how the Fox will finally get a proper introduction.
BlindFaunusGirl: Finally! The reviews you are leaving are showing up as notifications on my email account when you post them. Don't know what the problem was, but I think it's been resolved. I hope you aren't squeamish because this chapter might be a bit graphic when it comes to some details. Still working on my Bad Batch/RWBY story and the second season airs in a week. Hope you are excited for it like I am. Now as for Ironwood barring Ruby from missions, I think we all have a good idea why he's barring her from missions that don't directly involve the Ace Ops and Galen will be talking to Robyn, trust me on that.
Mooncake: Ghost in The Shell is one of my favorite anime's to. I like the whole idea of cyborgs and prosthetic bodies. It'd be kind of cool if such things were real, wonder if the Deus Ex Machina games were inspired by that series. It's cool that you like the original chapters I write the most. As Cut said 'To each their own.' And thanks.
StormMarine: AT-AT's and AT-ST's for the Empire's return? Now that is a great idea. Thank you for that suggestion, but don't expect it to be a one-sided battle.
SunPhoenix90: What can I say, I love that 2003 micro-series. I always wanted the Jedi Starfighter that Anakin flew in that series when I was younger, same with Fordo and the other ARC-Troopers of his unit, plus their gunship but never got them. I will say though, if I can find them on a site like E-Bay or Amazon, I'd buy them as a collector. I've seen people do stop-motion videos with them and the older Lego Star Wars sets, but I don't think I would be any good at them. And I do plan on checking out the Tales of the Jedi series.
Spartan-626: Yeah, things are starting to get intense. Ironwood taking Robyn's supplies is one thing. Speaking of Ironwood, they never really explained why part of his body is metal. Was he in an accident at some point or is the 'Good General' actually a machine created by someone? Rooster Teeth never did give us an explanation as to why his body is metal or how anything else, especially with the background on characters like Sienna, Tukson and many others. I will confirm that Watt's will not pull any punches when it comes to facing Tech in cyberwarfare. He'll probably want to pull his mustache hairs out at some point.
AngelGodess4000: A lightning or fire-based semblance for a magician, huh? Sounds promising. You got a name or description of what this semblance consists of if lighting and fire weren't taken by Cinder and Nora.
Darth Cody: No need to apologize. Seriously, there's a rumor that the site is shutting down. I don't believe in rumors because they are mostly farfetched and based on false information or in some cases, lies. I can understand why some people upload their stories onto other sites, but I'd rather not believe it because it doesn't sound possible. If the site were shutting down, it would be because no one is posting stories or something like that.
Alright, 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)
Disclaimers are the same as always and once again, reader discretion is advised for this chapter.
Chapter 103: The Fox
Things had officially gone from bad to worse in the last few days. Jacques shut down of all 'non-essential SDC operations' had resulted in riots in Mantle. Without Dust the people of Mantle were starting to break into these closed SDC stores to steal the Dust they needed to survive, break into weapon shops to arm themselves against 'the oppression of the Atlas tyrants' as one rioter shouted and even raided the supply convoys going to Amity.
The theft of supplies and the riots resulted in the halting of the towers construction, forcing the General to turn his focus on quelling the riots in the lower city, which meant he had no choice but to allow Ruby to accompany her friends into the city to stop the riots.
Though the rioters weren't planning on fighting back against the Atlas army, fights still broke out between the rioters and the SDC's private security group. Consisting of ex-soldiers, mercenaries, war junkies, a few huntsmen and some of Jacque's 'new and improved Atlesian Knights' which were actually battle droids, the security forces were given free reign of using whatever means necessary to handle the rioters, the most common means being the use of weapons.
The rioters weren't the only ones getting caught in the crossfire. Civilians who wanted nothing to do with the riot or were trying to calm down their friends who were involved in the riot were caught in the crossfire when the SDC security soldiers opened fire on a peaceful protest in the northern sector of Mantle where the main yard of the Atlas Railroad was situated. Men, women and even children were injured or killed in these protests and the negative emotions brought more and more Grimm into the city, causing more mayhem.
Luckily for the people of Mantle, the Fox was always ready to defend the people from the Grimm along with a woman known as Lady Bella who was said to be not only a gifted fencer, but also a gifted illusionist and close friend to Artoria. But despite their best efforts, the tension between the people of Mantle and Atlas was continuing to grow.
As if things weren't bad enough, reports of a serial killer plaguing Mantle were continuing the spread like a wild-fire and in each murder the victim was someone who was speaking out against Ironwood and the blame was being shifted to Ironwood, who then shifted the blame to the Fox. However, Robyn Hill was able to calm the people of Mantle down. She urged them not to lash out in violence or else more lives would be lost, promising them that when she got onto the council, she would call out Jacque for his illegal and selfish actions and promised to give Mantle the help it needed for the people to survive. She also promised them that she had assurance from someone she knew and trusted that Ironwood wasn't responsible for the recent murders that had occurred in Mantle, and she made the promise that she would provide the Dust Mantle needed personally through her contacts in the other kingdoms, where they were then shipped from the coastal cities to Mantle.
This calmed down the people of Mantle, but many of them were still angered by Jacques actions and continued to riot, some of them even thinking that Robyn had betrayed then and sided with Ironwood. There were even reports of White Fang members hiding in Mantle and using the chaos to steal supplies for an impending attack, but they were only rumors at best.
Despite the setbacks, work continued on the Amity Tower as best as possible with the limited supplies, but it still made those like Ahsoka, Faye, Zett, Serra, and Kara feel a strong darkness coming from both cities.
Now, dusk had fallen onto the kingdom as Galen and his team returned from another search and destroy mission down in Mantle. Grimm had managed to infiltrate the sewer system and the sentry guns used to hold the Grimm back were shut down, so they had to trek through the damp, murky water to eliminate the Grimm and restore the sentry guns, but it left them exhausted and smelling of raw sewage.
"And I thought Raxus Prime smelled worse than the sewers in Mantle." Galen said as he exited the shower, while his teammates were fast asleep. He was about to join them when he noticed a note was on his bed. "That wasn't there before I left." He said to himself before he picked it up and opened it.
"Meet me tonight in the slums. We need to talk about what's to come, Demon Lord. F."
"F? That's got to be the Fox. It can't be Faye." Galen said quietly, grabbing his clothing which had already been cleaned before he got in the shower, changed, and quietly left Atlas Academy without the Ace Ops, Winter, Ocho or the others knowing about. However, he didn't count on Ruby having trouble sleeping and saw him preparing a Hellcat. Immediately, Galen explained the situation and showed her the note from the Fox, assuring Ruby that he wasn't planning on running away because Salem was immortal. Ruby believed him and watched as her boyfriend headed for the lower city.
The shattered moon shined brightly as Galen landed his Hellcat in the slums district of Mantle. The horn of an outbound freight train echoed from the nearby railyard as Galen walked towards the meeting point. His eyes darted one way or another, keeping his guard up for any sign of Salem's followers or anyone else who might try to jump him.
He soon came to a stop in an alley close to the railway line and spoke. "I know you're here. Come out and show yourself." He said aloud.
His answer was received when leaping down from a building was the Fox himself. "So, you're the mysterious Fox that's made Ironwood's wanted list. Funny, he claims you to be the one responsible for the recent murders, but I can tell you have a strong sense of justice." Galen remarked.
"I am, Galen Marek or do you prefer to be called the Demon Lord of the Round Table?" The Fox asked. "So, did you seek me out on your own or did headmaster Ironwood send you to catch me?"
"I came of my own free will and I brought no back up. Tell me, why is it that Ironwood want's you arrested?" Galen asked back.
"Because I am doing the one thing he REFUSES to do: Protect Mantle. If I had joined the military, I would be in the same situation as Winter and the Ace Ops are. Too afraid to question Ironwoods orders let alone go against him. But why am I telling you? You're working with Ironwood." The Fox spat.
"I wouldn't exactly say I like the idea of working with Ironwood." Galen began, unclipping his lightsabers and tossed them to the ground, followed by placing his gun on the ground and kicked it towards the Fox. "I don't exactly trust him either, considering that he's keeping us in the dark about more than he knows. Not to mention when we requested from him personally to enter the kingdom, he refused to listen to us." He added.
The Fox chuckled. "Sounds like Ironwood hasn't changed one bit since my days at Atlas Academy. He refuses to listen to anyone but himself and tries to force his students into military service once they graduate, rather than letting them forge their own path like I have done. He claims it's for the good of Atlas, but it's a lie. He just wants bodies to throw at the horde of monsters in hopes they kill Salem"
"Who's this…" Galen began.
"Don't play dumb. I know all about Salem, her immortality, and the relics she seeks." The Fox spoke.
Galen stood silent for a moment before another freight trains horn echoed from nearby and then spoke. "How do you know about Salem?" Galen asked.
"It's because of my semblance." The Fox answered.
"Your semblance?" Galen questioned.
"My semblance is called Omens. It's a precognitive semblance. By making eye contact with someone, I can see their future choices and if it ends up being a bad outcome, I push myself to do everything I can to either help others endure it or completely prevent it." The Fox answered, walking towards Galen, and picked up his weapons.
"So that witness you saved…" Galen started to say.
"Was to give you a clue as to who is behind the recent murders." The Fox finished, handing Galen his sabers and gun. "Tell me, does the name Tyrian Callows ring any bells?"
"That's impossible. I killed Tyrian myself in Anima. I slashed him across the chest myself with my lightsabers! No one could survive that unless they were wearing something like Beskar!" Galen exclaimed in shock.
"Evidently, Salem seems to have brought him back to life. Possibly with other worldly technology from the same place you're from." The Fox answered.
"Well, that's just great! I managed to kill one psychotic killer and he ends up not being dead. Then that means…." Galen began before he sensed another presence behind him. "It seems we are not alone." He remarked before he turned around to see Robyn Hill walking from around the corner.
"If you think I eavesdropped on your conversation, then you don't know me that well, kid. I only just arrived to return this guy to you." Robyn explained, as Onyx walked past her with a sleeping Grogu in a side bag. "Little guy was cuddling with Onyx before he woke up. He didn't want the dog to leave him, so I put him in a side bag and draped it over Onyx's back. The kid really likes it." she then noticed the Fox behind Galen. "Hey, mask. Looks like you managed to meet with Galen before I did. So, you tell him everything you told me? About the killer?"
"I did and I would prefer it if you didn't call me 'mask'." The Fox answered, a bit annoyed by Robyn's nickname for him. "I'm sure you're well acquainted with Robyn Hill. The hero of Mantle?" The Fox asked.
"I know her. I even know her nephew, Ray Autumn. Better known as Trigger, leader of the Garuda Team and the one they call Three Strikes." Galen answered, just as a light snowstorm began. "You held out your hand to Clover so you could get him to tell you what Ironwood is doing with the colosseum. I'm guessing that's how your semblance works?" Galen asked.
"That's right." Robyn answered, holding out her hand. "Are you going to come clean with me about what the General is doing with the colosseum when the Vytal festival isn't going to be held anytime soon?" she asked.
"I already planned on telling you the moment I arrived in Atlas." Galen answered and took hold of Robyn's hand.
"Why is Ironwood diverting so many resources to Amity?" Robyn asked.
"Because Ironwood is building a new communications tower in secret." Galen answered.
Both their hands were coated in a pale lilac glow before Robyn's aura turned green and then let go of Galen's arms. "So, that's what Ironwood is doing out in the tundra? I can understand restoring global communications, but why all the secrecy? What is Ironwood so afraid of that he can't tell the people that he's trying to restore communications?" Robyn asked.
"Because of Salem." The Fox answered.
"Salem?" Robyn asked.
"Cinder Fall, Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. They weren't the true masterminds behind the attack on Beacon, neither was the White Fang. Salem was the one who ordered it all. She's been alive for a thousand years and has complete control of the Grimm. She's trying to divide the world against one another so she can weaken the kingdoms and destroy the academies. There's something she wants underneath them." Galen explained.
"You're telling me some dead woman is controlling the Grimm?" Robyn asked skeptically.
"It's not just the Grimm she controls, she has an entire droid army in her possession and has created newer Grimm based on aliens from the galaxy I was born in." Galen added.
"And the ships that attacked Beacon? The ones that killed Boris and Greg?" Robyn asked.
"Those ships belong to the Galactic Empire. A military dictatorship that was born from the ashes of the Galactic Republic, which was brought down from the inside by the emperor who used a conflict known as the Clone Wars to lay the foundation, probably even long before the war." Galen continued.
Unsure of what to believe, Robyn took Galen's hand once more and she learned that he was telling the truth before she let go again. "I should probably mention that Salem is also immortal, so she can't be killed in a conventional means, but there is a way. Those with…" Galen began before Robyn's scroll rang. "Trouble?"
"Another murder. Same MO as the last ones." Robyn said and ran off with Onyx following her.
"Hold on, we'll…." Galen began before he turned around and saw that the Fox had vanished from sight. "Must have made a quick exit." He mused before he sprinted after Robyn who was already far ahead of him. Pulling out his scroll, he inputted a few commands and called his Hellcat to his location before he caught up with Robyn. "Get on!" Robyn was quick to get onboard, followed by Onyx while Grogu still slept like a log.
The Hellcat flew over the roof tops of Mantle before Galen's own scroll beeped and the id was none other than Ironwood himself. "Go ahead, General." Galen said.
"Galen. Where are you?" Ironwood demanded.
"I'm down in Mantle flying a Hellcat over the city. I don't need to report everything I do to you, General." Galen said, having taken the Fox's words to thought. "I don't have time for this right now, so make it quick."
"I need you to head to these coordinates. There's been another murder in Mantle." Ironwood ordered.
"I'm already ahead of you general. I sensed something was off, that's why I'm in the city." Galen lied.
"Good work. Report back once you've arrived at the scene. The clone you call Thire is already on the scene now." Ironwood ordered, terminating the transmission.
"For someone who doesn't trust Ironwood like me or mask, you seem to be following his orders without question like you're one of his tin cans." Robyn observed.
"I don't trust him! He's keeping Ruby locked in the academy like she's some kind of military secret." Galen spoke over the roar of the Hellcats powerful engines. "You ever hear about the legend of the Silver-Eyed Warriors? Salem's been hunting down anyone with silver eyes because it's said that they can turn a Grimm to stone with the power of their eyes. You ever hear of the Grimm Reaper? She's one person that Salem's followers took down, blinded her, and almost killed her had it not been for a Jedi named Yoda." Galen explained.
"So, the pipsqueaks silver eyes are the key to defeating Salem and Ironwoods keeping her locked away? Doesn't he realize that she'll be killed if she doesn't get experience as a huntress?" Robyn asked, shocked by what Galen had told her just as the Hellcat landed in the market sector of the city, where the police had quartered off an area with police tape while officers kept the crowds back. "Looks like things aren't looking to well for the people." Robyn noted as she exited the Hellcat the moment Galen powered it down.
Galen exited the craft shortly after and the two of them were met by Thire and Ruby. "Glad you could make it, Galen. We've got a really bad one this time." Thire said as Ruby walked over. "Police wouldn't let the kid in despite her license. Probably thought she was a freshman, but you might want to prepare yourself, smells nasty down there, but the sight is worse." The trooper said as he led Galen, Ruby, Robyn and Onyx to the crime scene, the basement of an old building.
When they reached the basement, they found the police telling Vine everything they knew about the murder and taking notes on the victim's body which was covered by a tarp. "You the guys from Atlas? The chief said the General would be sending some huntsmen down, but I didn't figure you would be so young." One of the officers said before he noticed Robyn. "Miss Hill, I really think you should leave. This isn't something you should see."
"Why the hell not? I'm from Mantle and if there's something going on down here than I have a right to know." Robyn protested, her voice starling one of the officers who tripped and accidentally pulled the tarp off the body. What they saw shocked them to their very core. "Katie!" Robyn exclaimed the moment she saw the body.
The victim was a twenty-five-year-old human female with dark brown hair and blue eyes, but the skin from the upper part of their torso was stripped off in the pattern of a t-shirt, indicating they were skinned alive and then left to die. The sight body made Ruby's face turn pale as a ghost before she ran out of the basement and out into the alley. "Like I said, the sight is worse than the smell." Thire said, thankful he was wearing a helmet. "You knew her?" he asked Robyn.
"Yes. Her name was Katie, she was a reporter who was investigating the recent murders and how they were all connected. She was also looking into those new androids that the SDC developed, the ones you call droids. I warned her to be careful, but she disappeared a few days ago. Now I know why." Robyn said, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes. "I knew her since she was only a few years old, and she saw me as an older sister."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Galen told Robyn, while Onyx sniffed the air, catching the whiff of a foul stench that even woke up Grogu who sensed Robyn's sadness, hopped out of the bag, and put a hand onto her leg, as if he was telling her through the force that he also understood Robyn's pain. "Body looks pretty decomposed; I'd say the victim… I mean Katie, has been dead for a while now. Looks like her skin was removed with a very sharp blade. What type, I don't know." Galen noted, before he put his hand on the ground and listened to an echo in the force which he kept to himself. "Thire, see if you can get a blood sample and have Kix run some tests on it. I want to know if anything else was in her blood stream." He instructed the clone commander.
"You got, Galen." Thire replied and went to take a sample of Katie's blood while Galen led Robyn out of the basement and into the alley where Ruby was heaving chucks into a dumpster from her disgust of the sight.
"How are you not disturbed by that sight?" Robyn asked Galen.
"Who says I'm not?" Galen asked back. "I've seen something like this before, back on the moon of Wasskah, one of the moons of Trandosha, home of the Trandoshans. It was during my time when I was with the rebellion after Beacon. Reports of people being kidnapped from across the galaxy were filling both rebel and imperial com traffic. Each time, ships were seen leaving the site of where the people were abducted and were tracked to the moon. With the rebellions efforts focused on the Empire, they couldn't spare anyone to investigate, so I went to check it out with Ray and Neo. We found the bodies of the kidnapped victims in a similar state and learned that it was a band of Trandoshans who were hunting them down as a rite of passage. They didn't even give their victims a chance to fight back. Something inside Ray made him go on a rampage and he nearly killed them all until he found himself facing a Rancor. But this… this is not what I expected."
"I've seen worse." Thire said as he walked out of the basement.
"What could be worse than that?" Ruby asked after she finally stopped heaving chunks.
"Seeing a body completely skinned alive with their skull and spinal column removed is a lot worse that what we just saw. But the thing is, Trandoshan's never did that or even had the technology to preform such things. The only thing that was capable of doing such a thing was a creature from far beyond our galaxy, a type of hunter that hunted for sport and used it as a rite of passage. Our Mandalorian instructors on Kamino told us all about these creatures, these Predators who hunt in times of heat and great conflict. I've heard quite a few prisoners talking about their encounters with unknown ships or something they couldn't see with the naked eye." Thire explained. "There are always copycats who try to imitate these hunters, but they've always left out a small detail." He continued as the body was wheeled out of the basement, loaded in a body bag before it was taken away in an ambulance. "But this, this was done for pleasure, whoever killed that girl did it for pleasure the sick bastard."
Hearing about bodies that Thire described made Ruby's face turn pale once more and once again she threw up into the dumpster before she passed out. "I'll get her back to the Academy." Galen said, loading Ruby into the Hellcat while Thire took the gunner's seat. "Robyn, keep me updated with anything you hear about the murderer. If the guy is as dangerous as I think, he's too much for you to handle and try and keep Grogu out of trouble." He advised before he powered up the Hellcat and took it back to Atlas.
When he returned to the Academy, he brought Ruby to her room put her to bed before he went to his team's room to get some sleep, but he couldn't help but think about what the Fox told him. Was Ironwood hiding something from him and the others? Were Winter and the Ace Ops too afraid to question his methods and follow their own path? Once again, he had more questions than answers, but he knew that he made the right choice in telling Robyn about the tower, Salem, Ruby's eyes and the Empire. He owed her that much and, in a way, it was like he was paying Trigger back for the flight lessons. "I mean to learn all I can about this murder." He said to himself before he fell asleep.
The following morning as everyone went about on missions, Galen waited for Tech to gather all the data on Tyrian, who he found very hard to still be alive having witnessed Galen kill Tyrian in the ruins of Oniyuri. They couldn't use the terminals in the academy or else they would have Ironwood questioning their actions, so they had to discretely hack into the militaries database from an access point that Tech created from the Marauder. It didn't take long for Tech to pull the data on Tyrian and transferred it to Galen's Scroll. "Let's see what we got on this monster."
The file identified Tyrian as a Scorpion Faunus with a poisonous tail. His age was presumed to be his mid to late thirties and he was wanted for murder, assault, kidnapping, rape, premeditated murder, torture, and other crimes that involved killing. He was considered armed and extremely dangerous. "Skywalker wouldn't let that stop him from taking him in." Galen mused to himself before he continued looking at the data and clicked on the link titled 'Incident Report'.
Accessing the report, it was said that Tyrian was apprehended by Atlas and Mistral officers in a joint operation with a Huntsmen named F. Pickerel. Prior to Tyrian's transport to Atlas, Pickerel was insistent that additional officers were needed considering Tyrians' reputation, but his request was denied. Pickerel knew that Callows would attempt to escape but was removed from the transport team after he failed to cooperate with the local authorities. "They had no idea who they were dealing with." Galen said with narrowed eyes, remembering how Heather was almost killed by Tyrian had it not been for the arrival of himself, Boba and the Bad Batch.
He continued to read the report and noticed something about incident. On the day of the transport at 0331 hours, a distress call from the transport pilot T. Cornetto was received with reports of a swarm of Grimm had engaged their ship, despite the activity in the area had been declared as 'minimal to none' twelve hours prior to the event. More audio from the transport continued for another six minutes and thirteen seconds as the ship suffered extensive damage before it was split in two. The bodies of the officers and Huntsmen were never found, but Cornetto continued to speak despite his injuries, talking to someone before he was fatally attacked, and Tyrian said beautiful before the transmission ended immediately.
With no survivors being found and Tyrian's body wasn't recovered, he was presumed dead but days later, the body of F. Pickerel was found in his home and Tyrian was then declared missing. "I think we know who rescued Tyrian that day." Galen said to the Bad Batch.
"Salem." Crosshair stated.
"But why would she rescue some psycho killer? Wouldn't he try to kill her and end up getting killed himself?" Wrecker asked.
"Perhaps he was infatuated by Salem's power to control the Grimm and to serve her for other reasons." Tech theorized.
"More likely, Tyrian is following Salem because she is power and working with her means he can kill as much as he wants. It actually makes her job easier, using others to do her dirty work and taking out anyone whom she considers a threat. Huntsmen, those with silver eyes and in turn, the panic brings in the Grimm." Hunter spoke.
"Which is nothing new, except for the Grimm created from long extinct alien species, some of which have been modified with weaponry, making them more deadly than they were before." Tech added.
"Well, at least they aren't zombies." Wrecker pointed out.
"The probability of Salem creating zombies is unlikely, but I have found something rather odd in the Atlas military database." Tech said, catching everyone's attention before he punched in a few commands on his data pad and brought it up on one of the Marauders monitors. "I've been looking through the files of all the graduates of Atlas Academy since Ironwood became headmaster and I noticed that the file of graduate has been erased. But I was able to recover it and I think I've learned the identity of the Fox."
The monitors of the Marauder showed a young man with the same body type as a Fox, dressed in the Atlas Academy uniform from years ago. "Diego Vegas. Comes from a family of ranchers before he attended Atlas Academy, claiming he wanted something more than the life of a rancher. Says here he developed a friendly rivalry with Winter Schnee during his time at the academy, which later ended up with the two of them becoming close friends and later lovers, much to the dismay of Jacque. During his years at the academy, his semblance didn't activate until graduation and disappeared some time later. Looks like he followed the same path as Robyn and her merry band did." Galen said, looking over the file. "You sure this is our guy?"
"I am ninety-nine percent positive that Diego Vegas and the Fox are one in the same. In fact, it appears that in each of the fights the Fox has had with Winter, they've always ended in a draw after the vigilante gives her a kiss. It is most likely that he still harbors feelings for Winter, but still has made Ironwood out to be his enemy." Tech said.
"Looks like he's also targeted the SDC for their mistreatment of the Faunus working in the mines. Says here he's been at several collapsed mines to help those trapped inside." Hunter added.
"So, is he an ally?" Wrecker asked.
"I don't know. But he knows about Salem." Galen revealed.
The enhanced clones looked at Galen, almost thinking that he was the one who told the mysterious vigilante. "He said his semblance showed him a person's future and act's depending on what that future is, trying to help others endure that future or prevent it." he explained.
"Don't take it the wrong way. We knew you didn't tell him. We trust you after all." Hunter clarified. "Kix finished analyzing the poison sample. The poison matches the same one found in Heathers body. It's Tyrian alright."
Galen's scroll soon buzzed in his pocket. Answering it, he learned from Robyn that they found a lead on Tyrian from the Fox. She already sent the rest of the Huntresses out on patrol, but a homeless man spotted a cloaked figure walking into one of maintenance lifts that led into the sewers, and she was waiting for Galen and whatever backup he could spare. "Looks like we got a lead on Tyrian or whatever that thing is." He said, turning to the Bad Batch. "Hope you four don't mind trudging through the sewers."
"It couldn't be worse than that time on Felucia. We trekked through mud so high, that the only part of our armor that wasn't dirty was our helmets." Hunter joked, heading to the Marauders cockpit where he powered up the ship and took it to the coordinates Robyn provided them.
When they landed by the lift, they found out during the flight that Ruby had somehow stowed aboard the Marauder, dressed in the clothing she was given by the rebellion and Crescent Rose 3.0 in her hands. She claimed that she was going crazy with being stuck at the academy while the rest of her friends and teammates were off on missions gaining experience as Huntsmen and Huntresses while she was being treated like a bird in a gilded cage. Galen and the others understood and after some deliberation, decided that Ruby would accompany them on an 'off the books mission'. Ruby was happy about this, but not happy that they would be trudging through the sewers looking for Tyrian, something that even she couldn't believe.
They found Robyn waiting for them and wasn't exactly too keen on letting Ruby accompany them into the sewers where a serial killer was probably lurking, but she could see a fire of determination in Ruby's eyes, finally relenting. Due to her only weapon being her crossbow, Hunter gave Robyn one of the spare rifles they requisitioned from the Vale army before Galen returned to the planet. "It's been a while since I used a gun, I don't think I'll need it but it's better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it." Robyn mused as they walked onto the lift which powered up and took them down into the sewers. "Better say it before I forget, the Fox is already in the sewers now. He's gotten a head start, but I heard that old man Schnee sent some of his forces into the sewers. If we see them, they'll probably shoot first and won't ask any questions." She warned.
"That won't stop us." Hunter told her as the lift came to a stop and the door opened, letting in an awful smell. "What do you got, Tech?"
"I'm clocking in multiple heat-signatures twenty klicks to the north. I can't say for certain it's the SDC forces, the Fox, the Grimm, or the killer. I suggest we move quickly, before the SDC forces destroy any evidence that could link Tyrian to the killings." Tech reported, checking his scanner with his carbine in one hand.
The rest of the group followed Tech down the sewers, the light of Galen's lightsaber illuminating the tunnel as they walked along the walkway past pipes, aqueducts, exhaust vents and valves. The water was filled with sludge, broken and rusted shopping carts, wet cardboard boxes, discarded clothing and a few crates marked with the SDC logo. "Looks like someone got rid of their product. Can't imagine Weiss's dad being very happy about that." Ruby observed.
"I'm not so sure. These crates look like they've been down here for a short time." Hunter said.
Galen had the same feeling and used the force to bring one of the crates onto the walkway to get a better look at it. The crate wasn't opened, but from the sound it made when it was brought ashore it sounded like it wasn't empty. "Wrecker, break the lock." Galen told the muscular clone.
"This will be easy." Wrecker said, pulling out his knife and broke the lock off. When he opened it, he was surprised to find the crate full of Dust crystals, bullets, and powder. "I'm not the only one seeing this, right?"
"That crate was full of Dust." Robyn said, before she used a rusted pipe to pull one of the other SDC crates towards the shore, with Ruby doing the same with the other ones. Like the first one, the crates were filled with newly produced Dust. "This doesn't make any sense. Why would these crates be tossed into the sewers when the people of Mantle are suffering?" Robyn questioned.
"Its because Jacque is preparing for when the embargo is lifted." Crosshair said, having just taken the scope off his rifle to clean it. "Without any Dust being shipped out of the Kingdom through normal means, he's dumping all of the readied product into the sewers, probably to give the people the sense of a Dust shortage. If and when he gets on council, he'll try to break the embargo and with less Dust in the stores, he'll increase the price allowing him to make a larger profit. It's a resource that the people need, and people will pay anything for an invaluable resource that's both fuel, heat, and ammo." The sniper explained.
"So, Jacque is destroying his own product to give the illusion of a Dust shortage that he'll blame Ironwood for all because he doesn't like the idea of loosing millions of lien because the General is afraid that people will use that Dust to wage war against Atlas. I'm starting to think he's this planets version of the Banking Clan." Hunter mused.
"All of this Dust is much too valuable to be left floating in the sewers where no one would find it. Jacque may have gotten rid of this Dust, but Mantle needs this more than he does." Galen said, turning to Robyn. "If you're going to take the Dust, do it after we find what we're looking for. There might be more crates down here and Mantle needs them more than that old man does."
"I was already planning on asking you if you wouldn't notice a few crates of Dust missing from your report to Ironwood. That is, if you plan on reporting this to him." Robyn said with a concerned look in her eyes as if she was expecting an attack.
"Squeezing Mantle isn't going to solve our problems. They need this Dust more than we do. Ironwood maybe the General of the Atlas army, but he's not the ruler of Mantle." Ruby said. "Those people need it more than we do. My mother would give the Dust to Mantle."
"Ironwood wouldn't see it that way, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him, especially considering he's sitting on all that Dust still in the mine." Robyn said knowingly. "Yeah, I know about the mine and the tower. Galen told me, because he knows I want what's best for Mantle and if I didn't know what Ironwood was up to and I some how lost the election, I'd probably go from hero to vigilante. That's not the kind of person I want to be, and I'd probably be playing right into Salem's hands."
"You must trust her a whole lot if you told her about the tower and Salem like that." Hunter said to Galen as Robyn pulled another crate from the water.
"Ironwood demands trust, but he hasn't shown us a lot of trust ever since we arrived in Atlas. He's hiding something and I don't like the idea of secrets that could result in his plans backfiring on him. Besides, I sense a lot of hatred towards Ironwood and it's not from Jacque, but someone else." Galen answered.
Ruby wasn't so sure, but she trusted Galen and knew that he good intentions, as did Ironwood, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel like Ironwood was keeping her in the academy because of her power.
After the last of the crates were pulled from the water, the seven of them continued down through the sewers until they arrived at a pumping station directly underneath the slums. The pumping station was turned on, but they found one of skin t-shirts that Tyrian taken as a trophy. "This guy is one sick bastard; bet he would even kill a puppy for kicks." Wrecker snarled in anger, thinking about Onyx.
"Good thing Onyx and Grogu aren't with us. They'd probably puke if they smelled all this shit." Robyn cursed, glancing down at a trail of bloodied footprints heading further into the sewers. "Looks like we're on the right track."
"Those heat-signatures are closer now. I estimate we have about three-hundred seconds before we make contact." Tech reported. Just then, gunfire echoed further down the sewers, confirming a firefight was in the process. "Make that one-hundred and twenty seconds now." Tech corrected.
"Let's move, double time it!" Hunter ordered his squad, running in the direction of the gunfire followed by Galen, Ruby, and Robyn. The noise grew louder as they rounded a bend and found SDC security forces firing on the Fox who had taken cover behind a sewer pipe. The security forces kept firing at the Fox until they spotted the new arrivals and shifted their fire onto them. "Hold your fire! We're not enemies!" Hunter shouted to the security forces, but they ignored him and kept on shooting them.
"The boss doesn't want anyone seeing his plans. Kill them all and continue with the operation." The leader of the soldiers ordered. Their armor appeared to be a cut down version of the standard issue one worn by Atlas soldiers, but their weapons were a more advanced version of the basic rifle.
"Tech! Jam their transmissions!" Galen shouted, leaping into the water, and started cutting the bullets with his lightsabers.
"I was already planning on it." Tech responded and pressed a few buttons on his gauntlet, jamming the communications of the SDC forces.
"Take them down." Hunter ordered, raising his rifle and fired a burst that cut down one soldier. The others followed suit, allowing the Fox to use his whip to pull down a loose drainage pipe down on the soldiers, covering them with raw sewage before Ruby used her semblance to disarm the leader of the soldiers, after the other men were killed by one of Wreckers grenades.
"Nice work, Ruby." The Fox said as Galen lifted the soldier up with the force and tossed him over to Hunter.
"You bastards are dead! You killed my men and when the boss finds out, he'll be mounting your heads on pikes!" the soldier snarled.
"You didn't really give us much of a choice. You fired first at both us and The Fox. You didn't leave us much of a choice, even after we tried to convince you not to fire on us. Let me guess, you're dumping as much Dust down here in the sewers so your employer can raise the price of Dust when the embargo is lifted and if he gets on the council." Robyn pointed out.
"I do what I'm paid to do, I don't listen to a bunch of Faunus loving bastards like all of you. Especially a girl who's only good for pleasing clients as a hooker. She'd…" the guard started to say before he found his windpipe being crushed by an angry Galen who didn't like the idea of Ruby being called a hooker.
"Don't. You. Ever. Insult. My. Girlfriend." Galen snarled, dropping the guard who gasped for air. "You are so lucky that I didn't decide to snap your neck. The old me would do it, but not now."
"You might as well have killed him." The Fox said, walking over the group after grabbing one of the rifles the security guards had and all the ammo he could find. "He and his squad had just executed some homeless to make it look like Ironwood was killing innocent people. Not just the men, but the women and the children too. They've got innocent blood on their hands."
Hearing this made Wrecker angry, angry that he grabbed the guard and raised him just inches away from a ceiling fan. "You killed children! You sick bastard! NO ONE KILLS CHILDRED AND LIVES TO BRAG ABOUT IT! WHAT! DID YOU RAPE THEM TO AND CUT THEM TO PIECES LIKE THAT BASTARD SKINNING PEOPLE ALIVE!? YOU'RE ABOUT TO END UP AS MINCEMEAT!" Wrecker shouted, lifting the guard closer and closer to the fan blades.
"W-wait! I was only following orders. T-they were just a bunch of Faunus! N-no one would care if they were killed. T-they have no place in this world." The guard begged, but Wrecker was far too angry listen. The last thing the guard ever saw was the fan blades slicing his head into pieces, spraying blood all over the blades and the ground below while the others looked away.
"Bastards like that make me sick." Wrecker snarled, tossing what was left of the body into the water before he looked back at his allies. "What? I don't like it when kids get killed. I maybe a soldier, but I don't like it when the little guys get killed by those like him." he explained.
"Just never thought I'd see you do that to another person. Droids are one thing, but the living… that's something I don't think we ever expected you to do." Hunter admitted.
"That man should have been arrested for his crimes. Killing him that way, while it may have allowed the victims to rest in peace, it was murder." The Fox said.
"It may have been murder, but he did much worse than the White Fang ever did." Galen said.
"Those soldiers might not have called for backup, but the gunfire will draw the others towards us any minute now. We need to keep moving and secure whatever crates we can find. Mantle needs them and we need to find Tyrian's hideaway." Robyn reminded.
Ruby wiped the blood that splatter on her face off, a bit disturbed by what Wrecker had done, but knew things like this happened daily in parts of the world, probably something even her mother, father and uncle had seen. Galen put a hand on her shoulder, assuring her that he would be there for her if she had any nightmares before they continued on in the sewers, passing the sentry guns that Galen and his team had repaired the day before. Lucky for them, the guns registered them as non-hostile, and they kept on following the blood trail.
After about an hour or two of trekking through the sewers, they found the rest of the SDC security forces in the sewers. A large number of SDC guards, roughly the size of four platoons were dropping crates into of Dust into the sewers from a bridge near a large aqueduct that connected to a large system of water ways that fed the sewer water from the other parts of Mantle into the main section of the sewers. "Looks like we found their main operation." Hunter observed, taking cover behind a wrecked car that somehow managed to get into the sewers with the rest of the group.
Crosshair used his scope to examine the forces dropping the crates. "Looks like we've got more of those guards. They've got heavy firepower." Crosshair pointed out, handing the scope to Hunter. "I'm seeing heavily armored soldiers with machineguns, sniper rifles, swords and some regs. Looks like they also got some AK-200's at recharging stations ready for activation."
"I've got eyes on a terminal on the third upper walkway. That's our objective." Hunter said, handing Crosshair his scope back. "That terminal will have all the information about Jacque's activities down here. We can't let them erase that data or else we won't have anything to serve Jacque's head on a platter. However, I'm more worried about the AK-200's. Those things get turned on; they'll start attacking us."
"Then let's just start shooting!" Wrecker exclaimed in a whisper, eager to get some more payback for the people that were already killed in the sewers. He was about to start shooting when Robyn pulled him down.
"Easy there, big guy. You forget why we're down here; we're looking for that murderer that's prowling all over Mantle. With the panic he's causing, the noise is bound to attract the Grimm that are lurking in the sewers, just waiting for the call to come charging towards us. We need a plan." Robyn reminded him.
They didn't have time to think of a plan before one of the guards spotted them. "Intruders!" they shouted and opened fire at them, alerting the rest of his allies. The soldier at the terminal saw this and began to erase the data on the terminal while also activating the AK-200's.
"Guess they know we're here now." Tech pointed out.
"We need to get to that terminal!" Galen exclaimed before he realized that the Fox, had already started to sneak his way up to the terminal before the gunfire had started. His eyes gazed at the Fox who carved his way through the soldiers towards the terminal, chuckling and coaxing the guards with blades to engage him in swordplay, only for them to fall short of his skills. "He's got a head start. Ruby, let's go!"
"Right!" Ruby said, grabbing hold of Galen and used her semblance to get them to the second walkway to assist the fox while the others started to shoot back at the SDC guards. As they engaged, they noticed that the Fox was avoiding lethal blows on the soldiers, preferring to wound and disarm them rather than killing them. "Guess he prefers not to have blood on his hands." Ruby noticed, firing Crescent Rose 3.0's shotgun mode at one of the guards, dazing him before he fell backwards over the railing and died when their head hit the ground with a snap. "These guys are a way different then the Empire's soldiers." She mused.
Galen caught several grenades lobbed towards them with the force and sent them flying to the right where they exploded in mid-air before his blue blades cut through the armor of the SDC guards, killing them without any regret, save for one who lost a hand and cried out in pain. "Try to take as many of them alive as possible. We need as much information as we can get our hands on!" he shouted, throwing his sabers at the catwalk supports above them, cutting it and knocking the guards above them down when the catwalk collapsed.
Below them, the Bad Batch and Robyn fired back at their attackers, blasting the weapons out of some guards and killed the rest, but one of the guards armed with a machine gun kept them pinned down until Robyn managed to take them down. The guard fell to the floor, but Robyn then noticed that the AK-200's had powered up and joined the fight. "Oh great, those tin cans have joined the fight! More fun for us." She groaned sarcastically.
Ruby saw the AK-200's and used her semblance to position herself in front of the drones before she ignited her lightsaber, separating it into two hilts and then started to cut her way through the drones. The Fox followed suit from behind, this time not holding back on the machines. With two attackers from both the front and back, the knights couldn't determine which threat needed to be eliminated first, resulting in them being reduced to scrap. "These things have nothing on battle droids." Ruby remarked.
"I hope I won't have to face those battle droids." The Fox said with a smirk as the last SDC guard was eliminated. Those that were only wounded were to be interrogated, but they had already bit down on a pill in their mouths and died. Worse still, the data on the terminal had been erased and all around the section of the sewer, bombs had been placed around them and were already counting down. "We have to move now!" the vigilantly shouted to the others who wasted no time in running back down the sewers just as the bombs blew.
Lucky for them, the sewer barriers had detected a threat and were starting to close, but not fast enough for Wrecker to hold them open long enough for everyone to make it through. "Well, that's just great, we had evidence and we now lost it. What are we going to do now!?" Wrecker groaned.
"I wouldn't say we lost the evidence." Galen said, taking Hunter's light and pointed it to section of the sewer wall that looked like it had been recently moved. Using the force, he lifted the loose piece of the wall, revealing Tyrian's hideout where the skin shirts were hanging from the pipes like trophies. "We found Tyrian's hideout and his trophies." Galen said.
The sight of the skin shirts made Ruby vomit like she did the other day while Hunter grabbed one of the 'shirts.' "This freak has one messed up hobby. Chopper collected battle droid fingers, but this is more disgusting than anything I've ever seen." Hunter grimaced.
Tech soon spoke up. "We have a situation. The sentry guns are offline. They've been sabotaged. It looks a computer virus of some type has managed to infiltrate the systems and it's one we are very familiar with." Tech reported. "It's the virus that was uploaded into the CCT before we removed it. This one seems to be more advanced than before, but I can erase it. However, is appears the Grimm are entering the sewers and without those guns to hold them off, they'll reach the surface."
"Where's the nearest access point?" The Fox asked.
"The nearest terminal is for the guns. We passed it earlier." Tech answered.
"Alright." The Fox began. "I can get the turrets back online. I know a thing or two about the Atlas security systems, but my skills might be a little rusty." He admitted.
"Rusty or not, we don't have a choice. We need those turrets back online!" Ruby exclaimed before she started to run in the direction of the turrets, followed by the others who soon joined her.
"You soldier boys better take cover and let them come to us." The Fox advised. "Your guns will make quick work of them from a distance and once the sentry guns are turned back on, they won't stand a chance."
"I don't think so, kid. That's not our style. We prefer going to them." Hunter said, turning to his brothers. "Tech, upload your anti-virus program into the terminal. That will help with the turrets. Time for plan twenty-eight: Firestorm." The clones of the Bad Batch nodded as Wrecker grabbed a large piece of metal, while the others readied their weapons. "Galen, Robyn, Ruby. Give us some covering fire, might be the right time to use the last mode of your new weapon." Hunter advised.
The three of them nodded and drew their guns while the Fox started to work on the turrets as the Bad Batch charged towards the incoming horde Grimm. The horde consisted of Sabry's, Ursa's, Beowolves and Boarbatusks, all of which had ice on their bodies and small coating of snow. "Let's get to work." Hunter said.
The Grimm roared as they charged towards the humans in armor just as blaster fire and bullets soared towards them, cutting down several of them before the large human planted the metal down into the water.
Tech lowered his goggles to calculate the trajectory of incendiary grenade Hunter held. "Thirty-two, Mark thirty-eight!" he told Hunter who then threw the grenade towards edge of the waterway before Crosshair shot the grenade. The destroyed grenade exploded, the volatile gel spewed out over the Grimm, burning them as Wrecker unleashed a barrage of gunfire that cut down several more Grimm. "Forty-Seven, Mark Forty-Three!" Tech shouted.
Again, Hunter threw the grenade towards the edge of the water way, landing directly on the edge before it was blasted by Crosshair, sending out another explosion of volatile gel that burned the Grimm to ashes, but more Grimm kept on coming. One Sabry leapt over the Bad Batch before it was blasted back by a sphere of electricity, killing it and the other Grimm close to the blast arc.
The source of the sphere came from Galen, who held his gun in its fourth and final mode which was a cross between a rocket launcher and high-powered sniper rifle. Mounted on the head of the barrel was a skull that connected to two additional chambers above the barrels. "Well, that was a blast." Galen joked, switching his weapon into its machine gun mode and pulled the trigger.
"Didn't think a weapon like that was even possible." Robyn said in amazement before she opened up with her rifle as well, followed by Ruby with Crescent Rose 3.0 in its sniper mode. Bullets and blaster bolts flew towards the Grimm, gradually making quick work of the Grimm but more of them kept on coming through the grates. "Why the hell are all these Grimm down in the sewers!? Did Ironwood lure them all into the sewer to keep Mantle under control!?" she demanded.
"Ironwood cares about the people! He would never do this!" Ruby exclaimed in defense of the General. Her focus was broken when a Beowolf managed to get past the clones and swung it's claws at her. Ducking down to avoid the claws, Ruby shifted her weapon into its shotgun mode shoved the barrel underneath the head of the creature and pulled the creature, blowing it's head off. Sheathing her blaster into its collapsible mode, she pulled out her lightsaber and ignited both blades, leaping over Hunter and his squad before she threw her weapon at the Grimm, cutting down no less than a dozen creatures with a single throw. Recalling her lightsaber back to her, Ruby swung her blade, decapitating an Ursa before she used her semblance and in a flurry of rose petals and green energy, carved a path through the Grimm not once, but twice.
"Way to go kid!" Wrecker exclaimed, firing his last grenade from his rifle's launcher, blowing several Grimm to bits as Galen loaded his weapons machine gun mode with a new magazine. "Better not let your girlfriend get all the fun." The muscular clone teased.
Galen smirked, holstering his weapon before he leapt into the middle of the Grimm horde, concentrating on the Force before he unleashed a very powerful telekinetic explosion that ripped apart the Grimm into dust, just as the sentry guns came back online. The motion sensors on the guns targeted the Grimm and then roared to life, unleashing a burst of bullets that ripped through the Grimm like they were made of tissue paper. "Guns are back online!" The Fox shouted, cracking his whip and wrapped it around a pipe, swinging towards the battle where he drew his rapier and attacked the Grimm.
He slashed an Ursa across the chest, stabbed a Sabry in the head and cut down several Boarbatusks with a series of lighting fast thrusts before he raised his rapier and blocked a Beowolfs claws with his blade, long enough for Robyn to riddle the creature with bullets. "If I ever had any doubt about your skills before, I've been proven wrong. Your skills are always top quality." Robyn praised.
"One must keep up their training." The Fox quipped, rolling out of the way as a Boarbatusk tried to roll into him, only for the creature to fall short and die from the sentry guns.
The Grimm horde continued to charge at the group, when they suddenly took fire from behind, courtesy of Thire, Jek, Rhys, Stone, and Thorn along with Rose, March, Arthur, Artoria and Ocho who were investigating the reports of an explosion from underground. "Looks like we got back up." Hunter stated, stabbing a Beowolf with his knife right in the head.
"Then it appears that I must go now." The Fox said, glancing at Ocho's armor. "Ironwood would rather have me arrested for a crime I didn't commit, rather than admit that I am right about him." he said, throwing down a smoke grenade to cover his escape.
When the smoke cleared, The Fox was gone, and the Grimm were all dead. "I hope you have a good explanation as to why you came down into the sewers without informing the General." Ocho said as she walked towards the group. "Especially you, Miss Hill. I don't think that a possible councilor should be causing trouble in the sewers." She said to Robyn.
"For your information, I was following a lead on the killer, and we found his hideout not far from here as well as a SDC operation to increase the price of Dust because of the General's embargo. I don't care about the SDC or the general's motives, I'm only after the killer." Robyn explained, gesturing for Ocho to follow her to Tyrian's hideout while the Bad Batch discretely loaded the crates of Dust onto the Marauder.
Later that night, Galen stood on the roof of a building in Mantle overlooking the railyard when the Fox arrived. The Dust had been distributed to the people of Mantle and the information about the killer's hideout and identity had been delivered to Ironwood, but Galen wasn't completely convinced that the General would act against the SDC. "I assume you have concerns about Ironwood's plans, Diego?" Galen said to the Fox.
Diego chuckled before he removed his mask. "So, you recovered my files from the Atlas Academy database. I made sure to delete them from after I left the academy. Your man, Tech, I believe you called him, he must be very skilled with computers."
"He does." Galen answered and turned around to face Diego. "I know you don't trust Ironwood, but you can at least trust me and my allies. I don't trust the General either, but no matter what your opinion on him is, we both want the same thing. Protect the people and stop Salem."
"The General's methods are wrong. They will only bring destruction to those he means to protect. Atlas and Mantle will fall if he continues down this path. You're just expendable to him." Diego said.
"Unlike him, I trust my allies and I trust you." Galen said back, tossing a commlink to Diego. "Use that if you find anything else about Tyrian's whereabouts. Don't engage him if you see him, I have a feeling he might have been turned into a cyborg like a certain Jedi Killer during the conflict my father fought in." he added, leaping off the building.
Diego watched as Galen vanished, thinking about what his semblance showed him about Galen's future. Soon, the Demon Lord would become public enemy number one and he was determined to prevent such a future from happening.
And done.
Yeah, this chapter was a little bloody. I kind of took a que from the Punisher game from 2005 with one of the interrogations, the one where Wrecker turned that guard into a bloody mess and a que from Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex season one, the episode where a man killed people and skinned them to create fear in Japan. Told you it was bloody.
Well, it seems Jacque is trying to raise the price of his Dust by getting rid of the readied product so that when the embargo is lifted, he can make more money to replace what he lost when the embargo began.
Galen has told Robyn about Salem and the tower instead of it being Blake and Yang. I figured I'd have Galen tell her, seeing as he knows and has fought alongside Trigger several times. Compared to Ironwood, Robyn is someone she can trust as she cares more for the people of Mantle rather than those living in the floating city of Atlas.
Speaking of Galen, his weapons final mode is the Peacemaker from Jak and Daxter, but it's more of a rifle instead of a rocket launcher, but it does feature the same skull on the barrel as the one in game does. Still need a name for the weapon and I haven't found the right one.
Anyway, remember that magician I asked you all about for their semblance? Well, what kind of magic tricks would you like them to preform on the double date chapter? I have a few ideas already planned, including escape artistry, hypnotism, and quick-change acts, as well as the magician's assistants they will call from the audience plus the outfits she will have them wear, but do you have any tricks you'd like to see? Yes, I said she.
Please read, review, give me your ideas for magic tricks you'd like to see, your ideas for the magician's semblance and I will see you all next time. As for me, it's time for the second season of the Bad Batch.