Chapter 9 – Fleeing Vale
Ruby
She was sitting on a crate, her foot tapping against the floor as the thoughts kept bouncing around in her head.
What do we do?
I mean… I know we need to go to the Embered Grove… but after that? What if killing Umbra doesn't stop the Oncoming Shadow?
What if we're wrong and there is no way to kill him?
Or what if we aren't fast enough and he kills us all before we can even get to the Embered Grove?
Gods… I don't even feel safe in this ship…
She looked up when she could hear the others talking amongst themselves. Or some mercenaries aboard the ship. The dread was in the air. It was like you could actually feel the fear just in the entire room. Everyone was terrified. In fact, Ruby wouldn't be surprised if there was a swarm of Flying Grimm pursuing them due to how much negativity there was aboard the Drift of Wandering Star.
That alone felt weird…
Being aboard the very Dreadnaught that had caused them so much anger in the previous years, even when it nearly bombed them off the side of the tower back in Arkhonex. This thing had caused so many problematic moments in the past, held so many soldiers that would have tried to stop them from defeating the enemy.
It's been a damn long few years. The fact the Acolytes of Lien were now fighting for them and completely changed their name to The Acolytes of the Rose was strange on its own.
Honestly, I don't like it; I don't want Acolytes following me. Hell, I don't want anyone to follow me. I just want everyone to be okay.
I just want Vir Nominis Umbra gone.
She clasped her hands together and hung her head, breathing in and out. But every few seconds, her mind kept on getting dragged back to the scenes she saw in that city. Hearing the screams of so many people dying in unimaginable pain…
For some reason, though… there was one specific moment that stood out for her.
Vir Nominis Umbra's smirk at her just before that Reaper attacked.
It was his certainty, the way he did not look like he was even considering the possibility he may fail. And she could not help but think about the same possibilities.
He's done this countless times… destroyed more universes than we might fathom… and he is more powerful than we can comprehend…
… How…
… how are we gonna do this?
She pressed her hands against her head, tensing her muscles as she felt the thoughts and memories keep flowing in and out of her mind. She turned to see Qrow approach, and he sat down beside his daughter, gently smiling at her. He still had a few dried up stains of black blood on his cheek. Everyone had been cleaning themselves up after that battle, and they were all aching all over.
They had never felt so exhausted in their lives.
Qrow just gently put his arm around her and held her close, gently kissing the top of her head. "I know it's a stupid question… but how are you doing, kiddo?" Qrow asked her. Ruby just sighed.
"I… I can't stop thinking about it. All the people dying down there…" Ruby explained as she wrung her hands.
"I know… you're not alone in that, just so ya know." Qrow assured.
"I knew from the get-go that the Shivering Dominion was gonna be terrifying. We all knew it was gonna be the End we feared… but actually seeing it? I…" Ruby fumbled her words, only getting a sigh out.
"Yeah… hard to find the words, right?" Qrow assumed.
"Heh… yeah…" She sighed.
She sat there quietly, still tapping her foot against the metal floor and closing her hands into fists repeatedly. "Hey… if you ever need to talk, you know you can talk to me." Qrow assured, she smiled at him.
"I know… I just… I dunno." She sighed, then she turned when she heard the footsteps of Oscar. Qrow stood up and gently touched her shoulder. He was smart enough to know when to give her some space. She stood up and instinctively wrapped her arms around Oscar, who also held her equally tight. They shared a kiss together before pressing their heads together. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"A bit battered and bruised… but I'm okay." Oscar promised, holding her hands.
"Gods… when you went after Umbra… I…"
"Hey, it worked out. Kassius and Sun were hurt but… we're all okay."
Ruby nodded her head, then she sighed, shaking her head. Even with Oscar, she found her words were falling short again. She sat down and he sat beside her, listening to the fear that was in the air.
"There were so many…"
"How do we beat them?"
"Is this the end? The end of the world?"
They heard so many soldiers muttering the same thing to each other, and Ruby held her hands together and closed her eye. Then she took off her eye patch, holding it in her hand, staring at it. "To think all of this started when I lost my eye." She said, gently touching the scarring over where it used to be. "Back in Mistral… heh… after Beacon, and then Mistral… and then Vacuo… you'd think I'd be used to seeing hundreds of years of civilisation being destroyed. But I'm not… I don't think I ever will be."
"No… I don't think anyone can be prepared to see this. You can't start blaming yourself for any of this. We did the best we could, prepared as best we could. We all knew this was gonna be bad… but we filled up the Vault… and some people could still escape the city and survive out there." Oscar explained, then he held her hand, getting Ruby's attention. "We're not done yet."
"No… not yet." Ruby agreed, then she stood up and cracked her neck. She found her powerful resolve once more, staring ahead with certainty. Then she saw her team. The three of them were all sitting down looking just as shellshocked as she felt. Penny, Cinder and a few others were here as well.
Ruby walked ahead, and Oscar smiled proudly, feeling the little gift he had in his pocket.
Not yet…
… some other time, a better time…
"Hey…" Ruby said as she approached them. Yang smiled as she looked at her little sister. But the smile was weak, understandably so. Weiss held Myrtenaster down against the floor. She had this look in her eyes… it was like a combination of anger and sadness, alongside a bit of fear as well. "Are you okay, Weiss?"
"We're heading to Atlas… I haven't been back there… well… not since I ran away and found you all at Mistral. I doubt I'll even recognise it." Weiss explained.
"Yeah, Blake and I are gonna go through the plan with Mazen and Ortega later to figure out a plan of attack. But first I wanna make sure you're all okay." Ruby said as she sat down on a crate.
"There were so many…" It seemed like the saying of the day, Ruby had heard it and thought it herself so many times. Blake too was saying it, running her hand down her black ponytail. All of their hearts were beating relentlessly fast. But Blake was breathing steadily to maintain their composure.
They all were.
"I know…" Ruby agreed, and she rested her hands on her knees. "And I won't lie to you… seeing all of that when we left? Those Airships getting shot down by the Grimm? It stung… knowing that there were families aboard it." Ruby explained, then she let out a shaky breath. "But, we have to keep going."
They all lifted their heads to Ruby. "For the first time since we left Beacon… we actually have a solid plan of what to do this time. Everything until now, we have made things up as we went along. But this plan? It can work… I know it." Ruby explained.
Yang crossed her arms as she leant her back against the crate she was sitting against. "I know Umbra's not gonna make this fight easy. He's gonna throw everything he has at us, because the son of a bitch is scared. He is constantly sending huge forces our way and has always been hounding us ever since Mistral." Ruby explained as she paced back and forth. "It's because he knows we know where to find his secret. And now that the Shivering Dominion is here, we can actually get there. But first we need to get as many Relics there as we can, inside the force field to stop him from destroying everything before we get there." Ruby explained.
"But Ozpin left us… again." Yang commented.
"I know – but honestly? He's right." Ruby admitted.
"How?" Weiss inquired.
"We're gonna have our hands full, they're no doubts in my mind about that. He will know we have the Relics and he is gonna throw everything he's got to stop us. But we will stand a better chance at winning if we have another Relic far away from us, forcing Umbra to split his efforts. I'm not saying it will improve our lives by a great deal… but it's something. And if anyone can keep that Relic safe, it's Ozpin." Ruby explained, and Oscar nodded in agreement.
"I know for a fact he has so many tricks up his sleeve we don't even know about. And he needs new ones the Relic can teach him them whenever he needs it to. It's how he became so powerful with magic." Oscar explained. Weiss nodded her head, agreeing with their statements.
Yang stood tall, and a smile graced her face. "You two always know just what to say. No wonder you're perfect for each other." Yang chuckled. Ruby's cheeks reddened and so did Oscar's, making the rest of Ruby's team chuckle.
"Doesn't matter how many years pass, you two never change." Weiss laughed. They all stood tall and looked at Ruby. Then team R.W.B.Y shared a warm embrace. As they broke, Blake checked her scroll, seeing a message from the medic.
They're okay. If you want to check on them, they're decent.
She gasped. "They're okay." She sighed with relief. Yang blew out a breath as well.
"Well, let's not keep them waiting."
Kassius
"THAT BALD HEADED BASTARD!" Kassius growled in anger, rolling his sore shoulder.
"Yeah, but is he bald?" Nora asked.
"What do I care? Asshole messed up my arm. Definitely gonna kick his smug ass next time I see him." Kassius grumbled, but not everyone's spirits were as high as he and Nora. Pyrrha was pacing back and forth with her scroll pressed to her ear.
"C'mon, c'mon… please mom, pick up!" Pyrrha begged desperately as she walked around. Jaune was doing the same from his bed, repeatedly trying his mother and father and any of his sisters who were still out there.
Last they saw them was their home. It was outside the city in the wilds, so at the very least, they were safe from the brunt of the attack. But they were still getting nothing.
"Guys… the C.C.T is down… Beacon Tower was destroyed. There's no point, the only signals we can reach now are local." Ren explained, showing his scroll.
"No!" Pyrrha yelled with fear in her voice, nearly throwing her scroll, but she quickly calmed herself down. "I don't know if she's okay… we don't know if your family is… if any of them…" Pyrrha stammered, then she sat down on the end of Jaune's bed, pressing the heal of her palm against her head, gritting her teeth. Jaune reached over to her, cushioning her hand.
"They're not in the city. The Oncoming Shadow is throwing everything they've got at the cities right now. They're not gonna be focusing on small isolated homes, and my family took in your mom, remember? I know things are bad… but right now they could be the safest people on Remnant… for now at least." Jaune explained to her. He turned and sighed when he saw Sun was not in his bed.
"Jaune's right. The world's on fire right now, so take some peace in any hope you might get. And besides, a Nikos and a bunch of Arc's in the same place? The Grimm will have their hands full." Kassius chuckled, always able to lighten the mood in hard situations, no matter how dark they could get.
The doors opened and Kassius smiled as he saw Yang see him. She immediately rushed to him and hugged him, kissing him affectionately. Ruby approached Jaune, gently giving him a hug and then Pyrrha. They all shared touching reunions. Then Ruby turned to Neo, who was standing in the corner. She nodded her head at her, keeping her arms crossed.
"Where's Sun?" Blake asked.
"I dunno, he wandered off. He'll probably be back in a sec." Jaune answered, groaning from the pains after the collapse.
"How are you all feeling?" Weiss asked.
"Eh… about as good as we look." Nora groaned as she rolled her shoulder.
"Yeah… falling off a collapsing building isn't as fun as it sounds." Jaune said.
"We've done it a few times before, let's be real here." Ruby joked, making Jaune laugh.
"You're not wrong." He coughed slightly, holding his side where it hurt the most, but luckily it was nothing too serious and was already feeling better now he was on better meds.
Yang gently checked Kassius' wound. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, bastard got me good. He won't be looking as pretty as me when I'm done with him next time." Kassius chuckled, smirking. Yang rolled her big lilac eyes, shaking her head as well.
"Idiot…"
"Never denied it!" He joked, leaning back against the wall, raising his cybernetic hand and moving the fingers with ease now his arm was repaired. Then he sighed, resting it on his knee, thinking about Vale again. "After everything we've been through… you'd think I'd be prepared to see what we just fought through… but…" Kassius explained, then he looked at Oscar. "Did you tell her?"
Ruby turned to Oscar. "Tell me what?"
"We ran into this Grimm… it's unlike anything we've ever seen." Oscar explained, sitting at the edge of Ren's bed.
"After what just happened, I think we've seen a lot of that." Blake said, crossing her arms.
"No, this was different." Oscar assured. "It was this big… Hound… stood upright like a person, but it could transform its body at will. And it was intelligent… really intelligent." Oscar explained.
"It went straight for Oscar, picked him up like he was nothing, but used him like a shield to stop us from attacking it. We only just fought the thing off… but… that wasn't the scariest part." Kassius explained, Ruby couldn't help but look at Oscar with worry after hearing the monster tried to take him.
"What was?" Yang asked.
"It… spoke." He answered.
"It spoke?" Ruby asked.
"I know… after the Knights of Grimm, you'd think it wouldn't surprise us. But they're not Grimm, not really – this is the first time I've ever seen a Grimm speak intelligently. Not mimicking our speech… it heard Sun tell it to let Oscar go and it flat out said no." Kassius explained.
That left them silent…
"Umbra… he's getting more creative every second." Ruby sighed, pushing her hands through her hair.
Yang sat there, thinking about this thing, and she looked at them. "What did it sound like?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" Oscar asked.
"The voice? Did it sound… I dunno… familiar?" She inquired.
"Not really, no… it was… growly and nasty. Best way I can describe it, to be honest." Oscar shrugged.
"I just can't believe how many Reapers were out there…" Jaune sighed. "You remember how much firepower it took to kill the one over Old Town? Same with the King Wyvern… took us years to kill the thing. Now they're everywhere." He sighed, his hands gripped the bedsheet underneath him.
"Umbra's good at breaking people's spirits… I'll give the bald fucker that much." Kassius growled, scratching the back of his neck. Ruby stood there, and she felt her hand quiver, picturing that little girl who was bitten by a Thrall and became one right in front of her. She jolted and gasped.
"Ruby? What's up?" Pyrrha asked, spotting her jolt a mile away.
"N-Nothing. Sorry, just zoned out." Ruby lied. They could tell she was lying, and they all knew exactly what was going on. She was suffering just like the rest of them all were suffering. They just watched Vale crumble in just under an hour.
Blake turned and approached where Sun was sitting, touching the bed. "He still isn't back yet." Blake sighed.
"I dunno… he's not really been saying much. Kinda weird, honestly." Jaune admitted. Kassius sighed, though.
"I think I have an inkling why." He revealed. "I saw him out there, Blake… the guy's losing it."
"What're you talking about?" Blake questioned.
"I know exactly what's happening in his head. It's the same thing that happened to me. You all saw it. Yang saved me from it… you all did." Kassius explained. "He lost Neptune, the last member of his team – his best friend. And he's pissed."
He got up from his bed and walked to the window, looking at the peaceful clouds… from up here you'd never know that civilisation itself was being ground down into dust. "When we were out there, he was going berserk. Attacking Grimm with an anger I've never seen him show. Picking fights he didn't need to pick, and getting sloppy in his attacks. I was in the same place after I lost my team. You all saw me. I wanted to die. I tried to die. Because I felt like I failed them all… every Team Leader who experiences that kind of loss knows the feeling."
Jaune sat there… even he understood that feeling to some extent after he lost Pyrrha. But he hoped he would never have to feel the pain of losing Ren and Nora, or Pyrrha again…
"Shit…" Jaune sighed, shaking his head.
Blake immediately walked towards the door he left through, but Yang hopped off Kassius' bed and followed her. "Hold up." Yang called to her partner. "I think I know where to find him."
The two of them approached the mercenary by the door. "Hey, you guys have a gym or something like that aboard the ship?" Yang asked.
"Yeah, just down this hall and to the left." The soldier answered.
"Thanks." Yang said, walking with Blake down the hall, feeling the humming of the Dreadnaught through the walls and the floor.
"Heh… why am I not surprised?" Blake sighed.
"When we were quarantined… he always used to go straight to the gym. To let out some of his anger."
"Yep… sounds like Sun to me."
Sun
First Sage…
Then Scarlet…
… and now Neptune?
He threw his fists relentlessly into the thick boxing bag, smacking it back and forth, not even giving it the chance to swing back at him. He gritted his teeth. Despite how much he was sweating, he still had so much energy to take out on his back. He growled as he punched it repeatedly, like he was trying to blow the thing off its chain. But he didn't care. All he could see were the faces of them.
The faces of his team, his brothers…
The faces of those who took them from him.
Specifically Leonardo Lionheart and the Knight of Death. One was dead, the Cowardly Lion, but Death just kept on coming back. And that made him angrier all the more, like he was some sort of dirty mark on the tiles that you could never scrub away no matter how hard you tried.
The bag swung back towards him and he screamed out with hatred, seeing the face of Death coming right at him.
Why?
Why?
WHY?
Why could I not do better? Why did I fail them? What kind of fucking leader am I that couldn't protect his friends?
He swung again and again, not even thinking about how much the blows brought him a great deal of pain. He just blocked it out, and kept on beating the bag, no matter how much it kept coming back at him. Watching in the background were a couple of mercenaries, both of which looked concerned but did not want to get on the wrong side of Sun's wrath.
Perhaps they had the right idea. This was not the goofy Sun Wukong everyone was familiar with.
Not anymore.
It came back at him and he growled more aggressively as he kept punching it.
I left them repeatedly!
I left them after Beacon when they needed me most!
I left them when we were coming to Beacon in the first place!
All I ever did was leave them behind!
AND NOW THEY'VE LEFT ME!
Finally, he smashed his fist into the bag so hard that it disconnected it from the chain, sending it hurtling across the hanger bay and sliding across the metal floor. He panted, pulling off his shirt as he stood there, clenching his hands into fists. Steam rose from his sweating torso as he panted. Then he sat down, pressing his hands against his forehead.
No matter how many times he would fight the boxing bags, no matter how hard he would punch them… it would never be enough. He stood up and walked over to the bag and dragged it back over, connecting it back up to the top. He raised his fists, not even noticing the bruising over his knuckles.
Then he prepared to go again.
"Sun?" Blake's voice made him stop, but he sighed, shaking his head, throwing some more punches.
"Are you alright?" Sun asked her. Hitting the bag, Yang crossed her arms as she looked at him.
"I wanted to check if you were… are you okay?" She asked. The burns on his pecks, abs and back still looked pretty raw after Umbra created that pulse. She walked over to him and gently touched his shoulder. "C'mon, sit down."
"No." Sun told her, shrugging her off.
"Sun… you need to heal. This will not help." Blake told him.
"Will you back off?" Sun quickly snapped, Yang lowered her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"Sun…"
"I don't need to be fucking babied, alright? Just let me do this." Sun said. Yang scoffed, shaking her head. Blake had a lot of things she wanted to say, but Yang caught her eye.
"God… really, Sun? Are you gonna pull this bullshit?" Yang questioned. Sun scoffed.
"Don't, Yang. You have no idea what it's like…" Sun stated.
"No, I don't, but that doesn't mean you get to be an asshole." Yang stated.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." He sarcastically replied, stopping the bag with his hand. "I'm so sorry that I don't want anyone else I care about to die. I'm so sorry that I can't sleep, thinking that I'm gonna lose anyone else because I wasn't good enough." Sun explained. Blake closed her eyes with grief for him.
"Sun… it wasn't your fault… what happened to Neptune… to Scarlet and Sage…" Blake explained.
"I KNOW! It was that bastard… Death! He took them from me… and I'm gonna rip him apart." He said, turning away and throwing more punches into the bag.
"Yep, that's some Grade A bullshit right there." Yang suddenly said. Blake stared at her, but Yang walked past. She stood beside Sun as he punched at the bag. "I know what you're doing. It's the same thing Kassius was doing… the same thing I was doing. You're looking for a fight, you're pissed off. And I get it. But this shit? Ignoring Blake when she is trying to help you? Trying to be there for you? That's the bullshit." Yang explained, but he kept on punching at the bag. Then her cybernetic hand caught the bag and slammed it into him, knocking him back a few paces.
She walked into the centre of the room, clenching her hands into fists. "So c'mon – you wanna take out your anger? Take it out on me… take it out on something that can actually fight back." Yang challenged, raising her fists. Sun tightened his fists and walked out to meet her, raising his fists as well. Blake watched as the two of them began their sparring session to vent their anger.
No doubt Yang needed this, too.
"Alright then, Xiao Long. Let's dance." Sun challenged, Yang smirked.
"Careful, Wukong. My good looks aren't just for show, there's a reason my face isn't all mangled up." She commented, throwing a couple of light punches at him, but he batted them aside quickly.
"Heh, you sound like my old Combat Instructor in Haven." He chuckled. It was easy to forget Team S.S.S.N came from Haven originally before transferring to Beacon. He also threw a couple of hits at Yang, but she blocked them both easily.
"Oh yeah? And who was that?" Yang asked.
"Heather Shields. Kinda like you, hot but didn't take shit from anyone." Sun replied. Blake raised a brow.
"Heh, best be careful, Sun. Your girlfriend's listening." She jabbed.
"Oh c'mon –" Before Sun could defend his words, Yang took a swing, hitting him in the face, making him take a couple of steps back.
"Wait… what do you mean was?" Yang asked, moving the subject on.
"She died, killed during that attack on Mistral, when we first fought the Knights of Grimm. The same battle I lost Sage and Scarlet." He explained. The two circled each other, taking the odd punch from each other. "She was helping get some kids out from a burning building, but was caught out in the street when Fury flew over and burned the entire street down. I only found out how she died a few days ago."
"And the kids?" Yang asked.
"What do you think?" Sun questioned, and judging by his tone, they didn't make it.
"Damn… I'm sorry… it was a tough time." Yang said.
"Yeah… but you wanna know what pisses me off the most? Not only did she and all those poor kids die that night. But we all thought we were getting somewhere when we took Mistral back. Took Vale and Beacon back. When we got those fives years of peace? We all actually thought we made it so then their deaths weren't for nothing!" Sun was getting angrier, the way his tone of voice got terser and terser was enough.
And it stung for Blake to hear him like this.
"And now? Now it's all happening again! Everything we fought for! Everything we got back has just been burned away!" Sun yelled with anger, swinging suddenly hard at Yang, but she bounced back, easily avoiding him.
"None of us could've known, Sun. You can't blame yourself." Yang replied.
"Who says I'm blaming myself?" He grilled back, but Yang hit him in the face, pretty hard that time. It even cut his cheek and his nose bled. But they kept at it, anyway.
"I do." Yang answered. "We all saw how you were down there, you're throwing yourself at the Grimm. Killing as many as you can, wanting to take out all of this anger on them. I saw it with Kassius. I saw it in myself. I saw it in Ruby. I see it now with Weiss and I'm seeing it with you. But Weiss is keeping it together, unlike you – you're getting reckless. Throwing yourself at Umbra like that was stupid. You knew damn well that you wouldn't stand a chance against him and you nearly got yourself killed. And would have left Blake alone, too. How does that honour your team if you get yourself killed over nothing?" Yang questioned over and over as they circled each other.
"So what?" Sun questioned.
"It means you clearly don't give a shit about whether you live or die. But you don't get to decide that when there are still people out there who love and care about you." Yang explained. He gritted his teeth.
"Or maybe… I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF BEING THE NICE GUY AND WILL DO WHATEVER THE FUCK IT TAKES TO KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Sun yelled in anger, he swung at Yang but she caught his arm and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him down against the floor.
"We will. Not you alone. We work together, as a team, as a family. It's how we've done everything before… and that's not changing now. We do this smart, we get the Relics to the Embered Grove – and only when we know how… only then do we take the risk." Yang explained. She walked around him and extended her cybernetic arm to him.
Sun sighed and took her hand, and she pulled him back up onto his feet. Yang then warmly smiled at him, patting his shoulder. He walked back to the gym, but this time, he walked past the boxing bag and sat down on the bench.
"Thanks for the pep talk." Sun said.
"Thanks for the dance." Yang shrugged. Blake smiled.
Sometimes it took a bit of a sparring match to get to some people.
"Sorry, Blake… I shouldn't have been…"
"It's okay." Blake assured, she went to sit down with him, but they all looked up and heard the intercom.
"Rose, Belladonna – head up to the Bridge. We need to discuss our plan of attack on Atlas." Ortega informed. She sighed and shook her head.
"Go on. I'm gonna clean myself up… then get one last check up with the doc to make sure my burns are all good." Sun assured. Blake nodded, then kissed him lovingly before she turned and walked away.
Time to be the High Leader…
Ruby
Ruby walked up the hall, following the glowing red lights in the floor that illuminated the shadows, and she quickly met up with Blake. "Hey." Blake greeted.
"How's Sun?" Ruby asked her.
"He's… doing the best he can." Blake assured Ruby, nodded, and they approached the door, setting foot on the bridge of the Drift of Wandering Star. Ruby remembered one of the last times she was here, wrapped in chains and being brought to the Volcanic Chain Isles with Salem to clear the Maelstrom so they could get inside to find the Relic of Choice.
Those days felt so cataclysmic then… yet feel so long ago and tame compared to what they were up against now.
Ortega and Mazen stood at the bridge alongside Qrow and Penny. There was a live feed of Vale's situation, and it was chilling. The entire city was red, filled with more Grimm than they could count. "What's the situation?" Ruby asked.
"By the looks of the last reports… only a few Airships escaped Vale… I hope more made it, but this was the last update. My scouts got killed by Grimm, so this is the last we know of Vale. And with the C.C.T down… we're completely in the dark now." Ortega explained.
"Gods…" Blake gasped, pressing her hands against the Holo-Table.
"There's nothing more we can do for Vale now…" Ruby stated. "We can only hope we can end this before the people in the Vault run out of food. Do we have any information on Mistral?"
"Last we heard, they were beginning evacuations into the Vault. But then the C.C.T was cut off when Beacon Tower fell. We're gonna have to hope that enough people made it in time." Ortega explained.
"What about Atlas? What's the situation?" Ruby asked.
"Mazen and I agreed we needed to send the bulk of our forces there. Have we heard anything back?" Blake asked him.
"We have, and things are looking quite promising." Mazen answered.
"That's a first." Qrow commented, crossing his arms.
A new image came up. "This data was sent to us a few hours ago. The green area is Mantle. They have secured nearly the entire city, except for the Schnee Dust Company facility, the one that has also acted as the central hub, separating Mantle from Atlas completely." Mazen explained. "Our forces are already down there, helping the local resistance, lead by Robyn Hill."
"Seems things have really escalated back in Solitas after the Acolytes of Lien split… and after I shot Whitley in the face. Still can't believe that little shit is still alive. So to speak." Ortega stated.
"Mantle still has its own independent shield defence system, however Atlas has its own as well, twice as advanced and far larger. But that's not the most concerning part here." Mazen explained, bringing up a new filter on the map, showing lots of red dots.
"What are those?" Penny asked.
"Dust Shipments. The Resistance informed our people that Jacques Schnee has been planning something – Project Ascension." Mazen explained.
"Project Ascension? That sounds ominous." Ruby commented.
"According to our intel, Atlesian Mining Teams have been drilling away at the Dust Mines so much in the past few weeks, day in and day out, running the poor Faunus Slaves dry. It's got so extreme that those old mines have gone completely dry as well. They have taken every crystal, and they've been sending them all to these select areas around Atlas. For what reason, we have no clue." Mazen explained.
"We're gonna have to get to Jacques, and that bastard isn't gonna give up without a fight. What are our options?" Ruby asked.
"Assisting the Resistance is our best chance. They're planning to attack the S.D.C Facility at the border between Mantle and Atlas. We take that place down and it will allow them to launch a full scale attack on Atlas. The civilians in the major city are basically being held hostage. The second they break through, they'll either join the Resistance or will be escorted to safety if they're too afraid to fight. Most of the Atlesian Military have already joined with the Resistance alongside mercenaries that stayed loyal to their paychecks. But Jacques still has a massive army of soldiers left in the city still loyal." Mazen explained.
"One last fight against the Acolytes of Lien." Ruby sighed.
"Getting to the Relic will be hard, and I'm pretty certain Jacques has put some sort of extra security in place to stop people from taking it. We're gonna have to either convince him or eliminate him. I'd prefer the latter, but this isn't about justice anymore. It's all about that Relic." Mazen explained, shrugging his shoulders.
"Did we get any information on the Oncoming Shadow's presence in Solitas?" Qrow asked.
"Nothing. I'm hoping that's because they haven't shown up yet, but we warned them of their arrival. They have access to the Shield Defences and The Resistance raided lots of old Atlesian Military Bases. They've got a hell of a lot of firepower. And will join us after the Atlesians are safe and Jacques is dead or beaten." Mazen explained.
"What kind of firepower?" Blake asked.
"Multiple Colossus, Advanced Paladins, Hellfire Tanks, advanced Exo-Suits, technology… all sorts. Plus, with the help of some scientists, they've made their own weapons to boot." Ortega explained.
"That's good. It may give us some time when the Oncoming Shadow shows up." Ruby explained.
"Can we use the Relic of Destruction against them?" Penny suggested.
"Only as a last resort, the thing is insanely powerful. There's a reason we secured it in Atlas. It's got the highest security." Qrow stated.
"Once we get the Relic, we bug out and head straight for Dragonspire Keep. After that, we continue as planned. I'll help amass as many reinforcements as I can with whoever is left from the Resistance. And we'll give Umbra everything we've got." Ortega assured Ruby, nodded her head in agreement.
Once we get all the Relics, we just need to get to the Embered Grove.
Why do I get the feeling it's not gonna be that easy?
"Until then? Well, there's not much any of you can do… so rest. Do whatever you need to do to get your heads in the game when we get there. We've got a hard fight ahead." Ortega informed.
Ruby exhaled, and she wrung her hands together, panicking internally.
But she closed her eyes and breathed slowly.
We can do this…
Ozpin
Back in Vale…
The sound of the Evacuation Sirens still echoed in the Fallen City, filled with smoke and embers, but the sirens were growing weaker and weaker. Ozpin crouched down beside the corpse of a woman who was crushed by fallen debris. He gently closed her eyes and then closed his own, tightening his grip.
He stood tall, and they both took cover. He looked at Glynda as she looked around. "We can't stay here Oz. What's the plan here?" Glynda questioned.
"We need to find some old friends. People who can help us… well… one of them is an old friend, the other two are more like old enemies."
"Oh, good… that fills me with confidence." Glynda sighed, ducking down as a Nevermore roared overhead.
"First, we have to escape Vale, there are still some Airships we can use, but I'll have to keep the Grimm off you. And I have a few ideas for that." Ozpin assured, looking at the Relic, knowing it will get their attention. "Then we need to head out to a place out in the wilds."
"For who?" Glynda asked.
"Maria Calavera. She's still there and is one of the best Huntresses out here. And she is a Silver Eyed Warrior, we need her help. And she owes me a favour." Ozpin explained.
"Okay… and the other two?" Glynda asked.
"Carmine Esclados and Bertilak Celadon." He revealed her eyes widened.
"Those two? Team C.F.V.Y put those two assholes away years ago. Why the hell are we getting their help?" Glynda questioned.
"Yes, they caused some carnage during our five years of peace – and yes, I know I was not here for that entire ordeal, but now we need their strength. Their skill… and besides, they're not gonna want to be in their cells in Queen's Cove. Not if it has been hit as bad as I think it has been." Ozpin explained.
Glynda sighed.
"I should've stayed on the ship."
Ozpin chuckled, then she smirked at him. "Alright – let's do this. And hope we can save as many people as we can… and get as many reinforcements as possible."
Ozpin stood tall, spinning his cane through his fingers.
"We will not fail."
Author Note - Time for Ozpin to get his team together
Ozpin isn't wrong in his logic, and Ruby knows it, this way he can keep Umbra guessing and make his life trying to get all the Relics even harder. Even if he has all but one of the Relics, they are still in the game. They just cannot let him get all 4, and Ozpin is no fool. The Relic is safe with him, and maybe they can save more lives this way and even get more reinforcements to help survive the Oncoming Shadow
And this means Maria Calavera (Flashback version from the canon) is joining the story! Alongside two characters from the expanded lore! Can't wait to play around with these two. But that means returning to Queen's Cove.
It was nice to write a more chilled chapter after everything they just went through, they needed some time to just think about what just happened. Also writing Sun's anger was really fun, gonna enjoy showing more of what he's going through in further chapters!
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it took a while to come out, was gonna write it last week but I got my second jab and the effects knocked me down for a few days XD Finally was able to write it today!
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Stay tuned for the next chapter!
- Matt