Ace Operatives.
Clover stands in front of the central table in Ironwood's office, looking at a hologram screen that displays mission details. The teams along with Qrow and Oscar were gathered around the table, taking in everything he said.
"All right, gather 'round. Our mission today is to secure the launch site for the Amity Communications Tower. The designated area is an abandoned Dust mine. Since its closure, the Grimm have moved in. The good news is all that untouched Dust is still down there, too. Science team says they'll need it for the first phase of their launch. Atlas military Huntsmen are already hard at work clearing out the surrounding tundra. But recon has identified a powerful Geist that's managed to evade destruction and take several lives." He explained.
Uniformed Huntsmen are seen gunning down Grimm while the three Mantas fly past overhead.
"After we increased our numbers, the Geist was smart enough to retreat into the mine itself, meaning it's old and extremely dangerous" Clover withdraws a compact Scroll and presses a button, causing the photograph of Huntsmen battling the Petra Gigas to take up the entirety of each screen "This is our target".
Geists were always a pain to deal with. And if this one is as dangerous as Clover said, they need to deal with it quickly.
"General Ironwood says you've seen your fair share of combat. I trust that man with my life, so tomorrow, I'll be trusting you all, too. Let's make it happen, people" Clover said.
"Apologies for the mess and for holding onto your weapons for so long" Pietro enters a laboratory, followed by the Teams "The upgrades you requested were, uh… well, they were more than I anticipated. Your new weapons and armor should be as requested, but I also took the liberty of reviewing your combat footage from the Vytal Festival Tournament".
The teams stand in front of a series of narrow shelves, each of which have cases on them. Nora shifts eagerly on her feet, letting out an excited giggle as she snatches up her case. Everyone else calmly picks up their cases.
"There's some additional enhancements I'd like to suggest. Oh, but for now, these should serve you well enough" Pietro said before looking at Lucina "Though I am surprised you never wanted an upgrade".
"My weapon is to precious to my family to be tampered with. And trust me, it doesn't need an upgrade" Lucina said before opening her case and smiled "But some extra protection never hurts".
Ruby opens her case and smiles. Nora opens her case and looks amazed, pupils dilating and eyes shimmering from her excitement. Jaune opens his case, and his eyes widen.
A while later, they were preparing for the mission and Severa noticed Blake had cut her hair... which earned a blush from the red head. Blake noticed her staring and blushed as well.
"Does it look bad?" She asked shyly.
"Ah! No! It looks great! Real great!" Severa assured before mumbling "You look so sexy...".
But then she remembered Blake's catlike hearing and blushed even more while Blake giggled before blowing her a kiss and walked away. Well Severa had made a complete fool of herself, so now the grimms shouldn't be to bad... she hopes.
Lucina walked up next to her "Severa, time to go".
"Right, time to kick some Grimm arse" Severa declared.
Lucina gave her a curious look "You're different. You look... more relaxed now".
"Let's just say I finally released a lot of pent up tension, so yes, I am indeed very relaxed" Severa said before walking away.
Lucina thinks for a moment before she blushed a little "Oh, that kind of tension".
She shook her head before rejoining her team.
Team RWBY's Manta soars through a cloud and opens its side door, with Team RWBY standing in the doorway wearing their new outfits.
They look at each other, smiling. Yang chuckles, and Ruby nods. The four leap from the Manta, with Ruby immediately using her Semblance, laughing as she falls. She draws Crescent Rose, changes it to scythe form, stands on it and begins firing it, using the recoil to slow her fall. Weiss makes her way downward while leaping back and forth between glyphs, before launching herself toward the mine and summoning her Arma Gigas' arm and sword. She then uses a glyph to send herself onto the sword and slides down the blade.
Blake draws her newly-repaired katana, shifts it into sickle form and throws it, hooking it onto one of the metal structures outside the mine entrance. She then uses it to swing from building to building. Yang freefalls, laughing as she does so, before firing at the ground and flipping to land on her feet. She slides across the snow between two minecart tracks and is joined by Ruby, Weiss and Blake when she comes to a stop. Harriet lands nearby with a slight bounce, tucking and rolling. Marrow lands on his boomerang, rides it across the snow and leaps off of it, causing it to fly through the air and then return to him. The boomerang shifts into rifle mode when he catches it.
Team JNR's Manta soars overhead toward the mountain. Inside the ship, Elm and Vine look at JNR and prepare to jump.
"This is my favorite part!" Elm said happily.
Vine steps out of the ship, while Elm leaps backwards. Ren hops out, followed by a laughing Nora. Jaune takes a deep breath, gets a small running start and leaps out. He dives for a moment, then deploys his shield while activating its new Hard-Light Dust upgrade. The shield begins acting as a hang glider, with the sudden slow in momentum causing Jaune to yelp. He then drifts over to the cliff, before turning his shield downward and using another Dust upgrade to create an outward burst that cushions his landing. Standing alongside Nora and Ren, Jaune draws his sword.
"Ha ha! Perhaps you kids won't get yourselves killed after all!" Elm enters a tunnel, while Jaune looks disappointed and Nora pouts.
"She meant that as a compliment" Vine assured.
Team LSBL's Manta flies over an opening at the side of the mountain. It opened up revealing the team in their new outfits.
They along with Edelgard, stand by the opening. The older Huntress looks at the team and nods for them to go. The Team jump out with Lucina taking out her sword and charged it up with her semblance and unleashed the energy in to the ground, sending her upwards a bit so she could land safely. Severa put her shield under her feet and used it to slow her fall enough to land with a roll. Lyre made sure to time her jump so she could slide down the side of the mountain, using her new clawed cloves, she slowed her slide by digging the claws in to the ice and she landed perfectly on her feet. As for Bernadetta she was nervous but as she descended towards the ground, she fired and arrow of wind dust, which created a small spinning wind current which made her float down on the ground.
The team looked pleased with their landing strategy, until they noticed Edelgard landing perfectly on the ground and did nothing to slow her fall. She seemed to simply flex her aura to withstand the landing, a nice showing of aura control.
Qrow and Clover slide down a sheer icy incline, landing on a cliff just outside of a tunnel opening.
Clover activates a communication device in his ear while Qrow brushes off his new outfit "This is Alpha squad. LZ's clear. Proceeding on foot. 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 you encounter the target. Alpha out".
"You heard Clover, time to head in" Edelgard told the team as she began heading inside.
Lucina looks at her team "Ok, time to go".
"Wait, before we head inside, shouldn't we discuss the goliath in the room?" Lyre asked.
"What do you mean?" Lucina asked.
"We are working with Ironwood and he has given us much more than we could ask for. And we still don't tell him about Ozpin and the relic?" Lyre asked.
"She's right, we gave Ozpin hell for keeping secrets from us. Yet now we are doing the same?" Severa asked, making it clear she did not like it.
Bernadetta rubbed her foot in the snow "We should... but maybe after we're sure he can handle it".
Lucina sighed "I will talk to Ruby and Jaune later. This isn't a decision we can make on our own".
"Hey! Get a move on!" Edelgard called out.
"We'll talk about this later" Lucina said before she and her team head inside the tunnel.
Once inside, Edelgard looked around "Be careful, these tunnels could be crawling with hidden grimm. Bernadetta, stay in the back, your bow will be less helpful in such a narrow tunnel".
Lucina frowned and almost wanted to tell Edelgard that this is her team and Edelgard doesn't give them orders... But she held herself back, knowing it would be pointless to argue with an idea she actually agrees with. As they walked deeper inside, Edelgard stopped and held up her hand making everyon else stop as well. When Edelgard took out her axe, Team LSBL did the same and everyone kept their guard up.
Suddenly a swarm of centipede looking grimm called Centinels appeared out of the ground and walls. The grimm quickly charged at the huntresses, Lucina dashed forward cutting through three of them with swift slashes, before killing another by stabbing behind her. Severa blocked one with her shield before showing of her upgraded weapon by splitting her shield in to two swords, duel wielding them as she slashed through several Centinels with fast and powerful strikes. Lyre dashed forward on all four, using her semblance to move at blinding speed as her claws inflicted fatal wounds on the grimm.
Bernadetta tried to get a clear shot with her bow, but the narrow tunnel and everyone else fighting made it next to impossible for her to get any clear shot at all. Edelgard walked towards the remaining five Centinels as with one single strike from her axe, all of them them were dead. The team looked impressed. Edelgard was strong, very strong.
"Be careful, there could be more" Edelgard warned.
Clover calls in over their communicators "This is Alpha! We've engaged the target!".
Edelgard looked at the team "Come on!".
She and Team LSBL began rushing through the tunnel.
Qrow fires repeatedly at the Geist, which swerves and spirals around in the tunnel, avoiding the bullets.
"All squads head toward our position!" Clover deploys his fishing rod and sends the hook out at the Geist, just barely missing it.
The Geist swoops into a giant chunk of ice with a minecart embedded in it and rises up, gathering more ice, rocks and metal to form its body. Clover runs forward to combat it, while Qrow stands back and observes. Qrow notices a chunk of ice pressing against a metal support beam, steadily pushing the beam off of the tunnel wall.
"Wait, stop!" He called out.
Clover turns to look at Qrow, then notices the beam, which falls and lands between Clover and the Geist. The impact creates a large cloud of dust, and when the cloud settles, it is revealed that the ground beneath the Geist collapsed. Clover looks down the hole, frowning, while Qrow runs up beside him.
"Darn it" Clover said before using his communicator "Target escaped, last seen headed east".
Back with Team LSBL and Edelgard, they finished of some more grimm while searching for the Geist. However, Lucina landed on a bad spot and ended up collapsing through the ground. She slid down an small ice tunnel and hit the ground hard. She hissed in pain before sitting up... only for the Geist to appear and dashed towards her. Lucina reached for her sword but she wouldn't be able to grab it in time.
"STOP!" She shouts out of reflex... and to her surprise, the Geist did stop "What the...?".
The Geist looked at her for several moments, as if it knew who she was somehow. The sound of the others coming down made the Geist retreat deeper within the mine. Lucina was utterly shocked by what just happened... Why did the Geist not attack her?
"Lucina! Are you ok?" Lyre asked as she helped her partner up.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. It was a close one" Lucina said, still trying to wrap her mind around what just happened.
"Glad to see you are alright. Ready to continue the mission?" Edelgard asked.
Lucina nods "Yes, let's go".
They hurry deeper inside.
Team JNR, Elm and Vine exit their tunnel onto a raised walkway in a giant mine chamber filled with Dust veins and huge Dust crystals. Raised minecart rails, walkways and stone arches span across and around the edges of the chamber. As Ren comes to a stop, his foot slides across the ground, and the dust particles he kicks up drift slowly into the air. A bead of sweat drips from Jaune's forehead and evaporates upon hitting the ground.
Team RWBY, Harriet and Marrow arrive in the same chamber at the bottom level, while Team LSBL and Edelgard arrives through an opening on the other side.
Ruby looks up towards the other teams "Guys!".
"Everyone use caution. This room is highly active with Dust energy. Triggering it could ruin the launch site" Vine said.
"And vaporize us. How is that always second with you?" Marrow asked.
Nora looks around "I thought the target was supposed to be in here".
A low rumbling noise from above causes everyone to look up. The Petra Gigas Geist is clinging to a chunk of ice on the ceiling. It turns to look down at everyone, showing purple Dust crystals embedded in its body. It jumps down from the ceiling, crashing through a stone arch on its way to the ground in front of Team RWBY.
"It added Dust to its body? How are we supposed to-" Ruby was cut of when Harriet speeds past her, and Marrow follows suit. Elm jumps down from the cliff and runs toward the Petra Gigas, as well.
"Elm!" Vine reaches out with his Semblance, wrapping an Aura arm around one of the Petra Gigas' legs.
With his other Aura arm, he reaches behind him, grabs onto a support beam and pulls. Elm runs over to the leg, stomps to root herself in place with her Semblance and grabs onto the leg "Vine!".
Vine lets go, leaps off the cliff and uses his Semblance to swing onto a minecart bridge. He then uses his Semblance to grab onto one of the Petra Gigas' arms and pull "Marrow!".
Marrow throws his boomerang at the exposed Geist arm between pieces of ice and rubble, severing it. A Dust crystal flies out from the released rubble, and Marrow's eyes widen.
"Huh?" The crystal falls toward the ground, and Marrow catches his boomerang "Harriet!".
Harriet charges her Semblance and then speeds after the crystal, maneuvering around falling rocks. She runs up a rock, jumps off the side of a raised walkway and catches the crystal in mid-air, landing on another walkway. The team watch the Ace-Ops in amazement as they continue fighting.
The Geist swings it's other arm towards Edelgard who began glowing in powerful aura before holding up her hand and stopped the grimm's blow without as much as flinching from the impact. This gave Marrow the opening to cut off the Geist's other arm, sending another Dust crystal flying through the air.
"Crap!" He said.
The crystal is caught by Clover, who just arrived with Qrow "What would you guys do without me?".
He tosses the crystal to Qrow, who looks at him with an eyebrow raised. Clover salutes to Qrow and jumps backward off the cliff. Harriet speeds around the Petra Gigas' feet, while Vine swings himself around and punches the Petra Gigas in the chest. Harriet speeds to the middle of the room, whistles and waves at the Petra Gigas, then speeds away when it tries to hit her. Elm takes this opportunity to slam her hammer onto the rock composing part of the Petra Gigas' arm. The rock becomes stuck, and as the Petra Gigas struggles to pull it up, Marrow severs its arm once again.
Clover lands on the ground, deploys his fishing rod, and runs over to the Petra Gigas. He jumps off its leg, launching himself into the air. He bumps his clover pin with his thumb, swings his pole and pulls on the fishing line, directing it to wrap around the Geist's mask and hook onto it. Team RWBY's eyes widen in amazement, and Clover pulls, forcing the Geist out of the ice block. Edelgard throws her axe like a boomerang, cutting the Geist clean in half and finally killing it, and her axe soon returns to her hand.
As purple Dust crystals begin raining down, the Ace-Ops catch them. One crystal is sent flying through the air on the other side of the chamber.
"Harriet!" Clover calls out.
Harriet uses her Semblance to speed across the room, but she has to maneuver around the falling ice and rocks. The crystal comes close to hitting the ground, and with Harriet mere feet away. Suddenly, a red blur flies past, taking the crystal with it. Surprised, Harriet tumbles and stops. Ruby deactivates her Semblance and falls to the ground in a sitting position, hugging the large crystal tight. She opens her eyes and laughs. Harriet walks over and pulls her to her feet.
"Thought you said your Semblance was like mine" She said.
Ruby looked confused "It… is?".
"I've seen other speed Semblances before, but that was different. I think there's more going on than you think" Harriet said.
"Wait until she sees what she can do with her eyes" Yang said.
Blake laughs. Qrow jumps down to the ground next to Clover, who puts his weapon away.
"Lucky catch, huh?" Qrow asked.
"Hm. No. I'd chalk that one up to talent" Clover said.
Ruby and Nora begin celebrating on the other side of the chamber, with Elm holding Ruby up on her shoulder.
"Atlas Control, this is Clover. Mission accomplished" Clover said in to his comm.
Lucina was in awe. The Ace Ops were good, very good... And Edelgard was so strong. She barely had to do anything to affect the outcome of a whole fight, just a few moves was all she needed... Lucina couldn't deny the fact that Edelgard was much stronger than her... which shows how far Lucina still needs to go before she can ever call herself a true huntress.
.
Ok these are Team LSBL's new suits.
Lucina has her armor from Brave Heroes in Fire Emblem Heroes.
Severa has her armor from Fire Emblem 0 Cipher.
Bernadetta has her looks from Three Hopes.
Lyre has next to no other looks so you will need to use your imagination for her.
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Tell me what you think.