Chapter 27 – The Next Move…
Ozpin
Peace…
It was a feeling that Ozpin never expected to feel amidst the extinction event happening across Remnant. But walking through the wilds of Anima to reach Mistral? With not a Grimm in sight? Just the wind and rustling leaves in the trees? It was a very relaxing feeling, even with this unnatural snowfall which was forming in the air. He could tell almost immediately that this snow was not like any usual snowstorm from Anima's Mountains… no… this was very different.
Right now it was just a gentle sprinkling of snowflakes… but soon it would descend into the snowstorm that would bury the entire world in ice.
But…
… despite how peaceful this silence was, it was equally unnerving. Because there were no birds singing in the trees, in fact, he hadn't seen a single animal on the entire trip. Only the rotting corpses of deer and other creatures from time to time. The Grimm truly were acting abnormally to what was normally expected, but he still remembered seeing these signs weeks ago.
The Grimm were targeting all life.
Making survival even harder for people who escaped the cities now, with fewer creatures to hunt for food… and with the sky darkening from the storms? Soon, people would start dying from starvation, and as the temperatures drop, water would freeze over as well. Meaning dehydration would set in…
… Vir Nominis Umbra could bleed Remnant of all life until he got his hands on all four Relics now.
The strategist in Ozpin admired his brutality, the ruthlessness of his acts to achieve his goal… but the human being in him was disgusted, and terrified that he was watching the beginning of the end of the civilisation he vowed to protect.
Unless they killed Vir Nominis Umbra before that happened first.
He looked back, and saw both Maria and Carmine staying close behind him, but Carmine was at the back. Clearly, losing Bertilak still weighed heavily on her. It saddened Ozpin deeply. He had barely even got to know Bertilak, yet in that time he proved he was not just some selfish thug, and sacrificed himself to save them all. An act worthy of any true Huntsman.
As they continued to walk, his eyes drifted towards the mountains as clouds rolled across the peaks towards the wildlands of Anima… but he slowed down and tapped his cane against the ground. Maria raised a brow in confusion. "What is it?" Maria inquired.
He raised Mihi Vindicta and pointed at the base of the mountain, at the tracks and the train that was sitting motionless on the powerless track. "The Argus Limited…" Ozpin stated. That got the pair's attention, and they both stared at the still train. "That will definitely make this journey a lot faster." Ozpin stated, and he walked towards the sloping hill towards it.
"Is the thing even working?" Carmine asked, athletically running and jumping across the rocks to scale the hill. Ozpin just walked though. Despite being ageless, he still could feel like an old man in his core. He was swiftly passed by the more nimble Huntress, and Maria stood beside her, Scythes in her hands. But they immediately noticed something was wrong here, since the Gravity Track was not operational.
Carmine crouched down and touched the stones, finding none of them were floating. "Nothing… with Argus destroyed, it must have killed the Grav-Track." Carmine explained. "Although… there should be a way to get it back online, for a while anyway. Each of the stations along the way has a generator, power one up, they all come back on. A little safety measure in case of a city-wide blackout."
"Didn't expect you to know so much about locomotives." Maria chuckled.
"I've robbed a few. We always targeted these. Quickest way to deactivate the track, the other generators would synch up eventually and get the track going again. Although this won't last as long as the city power grid would… but… if Mistral is still standing… it may still be pumping a bit more energy in." Carmine explained.
"Do you think it'll be enough to get us there?" Maria asked.
"Maybe, either way, it will get us a bit closer in less time." She shrugged.
"That's better than just walking." Ozpin agreed, walking towards the station. Maria walked with him and she spun her Scythes through her fingers, and she nodded at him. She kicked the doors open and aimed the barrels of her scythes inside.
"Hello? Is anyone in here? Any survivors?" Ozpin called out, but there was nobody here. It was as silent as the grave.
The strangest part was the lack of Grimm, not a single one in sight. Perhaps they were all too busy focusing on the population hotspots to worry about substations. Maria checked each room with Ozpin, making sure that they were definitely alone. There was no blood or any sign of struggle, but it was clear that whoever was working here had run away once they learned about what was happening everywhere.
Maria opened the door to an office, finding the photograph of a man and his family… in Argus…
She closed her eyes in grief, realising that the odds of the person who worked here surviving were extremely slim, especially after Ozpin wiped the city out with the power of the spell he learned from the Relic. She continued to examine the area, and Ozpin opened the door to the generator. He crouched down and flipped the switches, which were still set to be online, so he flicked them down and back up.
As he hoped, this simple method reactivated the generator, and they heard Carmine laugh outside. They walked out of the station to see the gravel lightly floating off the floor around the track which now was glowing purple, thanks to the Gravity Dust that was now charging the rails. The Argus Limited came online as well, lights flickering on across all of its carriages.
"Alright, let's get this thing moving." Ozpin said, opening the side door and walking inside. Maria aimed down the carriage and walked into each one, checking for any sign of occupation. But like the station, it was completely abandoned.
Even if they won… the world was going to become a very lonely place once the war ends, so many were dead already and surely more were going to follow. Carmine walked to the front of the train and she fiddled with the controls, remembering the things that she learned from previous heists, and eventually she got the Argus Limited moving. A holographic screen popped up, and she chose Mistral as their destination.
"Gods… if Mistral is gonna be like everywhere else… we really are heading straight into the fire, aren't we?" Carmine asked.
"Most likely… so if I were you, rest and prepare." Ozpin advised, walking to one of the seats and sitting down. The Argus Limited slowly edged forward, gradually speeding up across the track in the direction it was headed. Carmine looked out the window as the snow continued to fall all around them.
She looked at Ozpin. He was gripping his cane tight, tapping his foot against the floor. She grabbed the stool that was sitting in front of the bar, and dragged it across the floor, setting it down in front of him. She hopped on top of it and rested her arms across the back, leaning her chest against it with her long red hair draped over one side. "What's up, old man?" Carmine asked.
He exhaled. "I destroyed an entire city… with a single spell. No man should ever wield such a level of unquantifiable destruction in their hand." He said, staring at the cane, knowing how much power was stored inside of its pommel.
"You did the right thing… you didn't have much of a choice, either. It was either that, or everyone else would have died. We bought the people time, just as you planned." Carmine assured.
"You don't understand, Carmine… I walked with Vir Nominis Umbra for centuries. And I loathed him for how he used his power to create destruction. Yes, my reasons were to buy time and protect people… but nobody should ever wield a power like this. It is too much… I fear I would end up like him. And that is a fate worse than any defeat…" Ozpin explained, despite the fact that Carmine only was brought into the fold on all this recently. She could tell what was really eating away at him.
"You were stuck serving him, doing his bidding and committing terrible things… you're afraid of ending up that way again, aren't you?" Carmine asked.
"More than anything. Death? I have been waiting for the end for a very long time. The only thing that prevents it for me is knowing that he is still out there. That more people will die unless I make sure he dies." Ozpin explained, tightening his grip on the cane.
Carmine struggled to find the words. This was a subject she could never fully comprehend. But their attention was pulled away when the door opened, and to their surprise, it was a large trolley filled with food and drinks being pushed by Maria. "Lookie what I found, been starving ever since we left my home. Might as well fill ourselves up fat." Maria joked as she pushed it over to them and.
The aroma of all that food was more relief than any of them could describe. The three of them picked out what they wanted, and luckily, thanks to the dust powered heaters in the trolley, the cooked food was still warm. They enjoyed their food, eating succulent meat, juicy fruits and vegetables and even better… the sweetest deserts they could ever imagine.
Maria sat on the bar with a plate of chocolate cake on her knee, whilst Ozpin enjoyed a cheesecake and Carmine had an entire bowl of chocolate mousse. The Argus Limited continued its journey across the vast continent of Anima towards Mistral, but as they waited, Maria looked at Ozpin, finishing her cake and setting it down on the side.
"I'm curious, Oz…" she began, getting his attention.
"About which subject?" He inquired.
"You were a Knight, right? One of these… Knights of Grimm?" Maria asked. He nodded his head.
"Correct. I was the Knight of Vengeance." He answered.
"How did you break the curse? Like… are the others able to be freed like you?" Maria inquired.
"That's a good question, actually. Been wondering that myself." Carmine agreed.
"Good people helped me be freed. The Silver Eyed Sage – Kragen Nox, and ancient Artificial Intelligence from our home called the Architect. They put a significant amount of research into my curse and my actions and discerned what the crux of it was." Ozpin explained to the two of them.
"What was it?" Carmine inquired.
"My hatred and desire for revenge against Axzura Vex – the Knight of Fury – after I believed he was responsible for my entire family being killed during a siege on our home, Arkhonex. But as they learned, it was never him who was responsible, but it was simply a stray cannon shot from the forces who opposed our people. A mad cult called the Congregation of Dawn." Ozpin explained.
Most of this went over their heads, but they listened anyway.
"It was just an accident?" Maria asked.
"Precisely. They learned where they fell, and they laid gravestones for them, but also one for Axzura himself, and drew me to the location. Seeing their graves, and his? It proved to me that I could never get revenge, and that I had to understand the truth of what happened." Ozpin explained.
He then pressed his cane against the floor. "And in that moment… when I understood it? Something happened to me. I had a… vision… this black smoke surrounded my body like I was being set on fire. Like I was fighting something within my soul… and I saw them. Their dead bodies with Axzura stood over them with his axes in his grasp." Ozpin explained. "I had seen this vision many times before this moment, and every single time I would attack him… every single time."
"What about this time?" Carmine asked.
"I nearly went for him again… but I remembered what they told me, and how I could never get the vengeance I wanted. And that I had to bury the hatchet, and let it go." Ozpin explained. "And so I did… I took the bodies of those I cherished, and walked past Axzura, and he disappeared. I buried them, and in that moment… I felt it all wash over me, this freeing feeling. And within a single blink… I was back… the curse was gone, but I still had the same form, but now could fully control my powers and direct them at my real enemy." Ozpin explained.
"How did you… get this body?" Carmine asked.
"The Relics of Knowledge and Creation. I used Creation to give me a new form, whereas I used Knowledge to help me learn new spells. Since all the old tomes were lost… that was the best I could hope for. And one of those gifts was the ability to control time." He explained.
"Could the others be cured like that?" Maria asked.
"I believe so… I hope so. Starla Schnee – the Knight of Loss – is the one I believe is closest to being freed. But all of them can be… well… except for Death. He is the only one I cannot quite place. But if my curse could be lifted… then so can theirs. And they can finally fight back against the monster who made us this way… and destroyed our home." Ozpin explained.
"We just need to find out what makes the curse tick… then the rest… will be up to them."
Ruby
The storm raged on around them. Qrow held his daughter close as they braved the blizzard.
Blake helped Yang walk despite her extreme head injury. "How are you feeling, Yang?" Blake asked.
"About as good as I look… okay, that's… not strictly true…" she joked, making Blake shake her head. "I'm… I'm seeing three of everything." She groaned, shaking her head as blood dripped down her blonde hair. Weiss looked at her with Penny's arm over her shoulder. She limped on her injured leg but kept Floating Array rotating behind her, just in case. But as they walked, they could hear the sound of a blade cutting through Grimm nearby.
A familiar sound… but not one they expected to hear defending them.
"Who is that? We've been hearing that for ages now…" Weiss trembled, shivering from the icy cold air. But as they walked, they heard the sound of a Nevermore be silenced as a bolt of black and red lightning carved through its wing and sent it crashing into the ground directly in front of them. Their eyes widened, especially Weiss'… because she had nothing but traumatic memories of that bolt of lightning. She looked into the snow to find him, but there was no sign.
"It's Death…" Blake confirmed.
"No… Krekras Blackridge. The fact he's covering us from the Grimm… means he's fighting the curse right now. We can't let this opportunity go to waste. Come on." Qrow explained, keeping them moving. They could hear the sound of Krekras slashing the Grimm apart with ease, and as they progressed, every now and then they found the disintegrating corpses of different species. All of which were far too powerful for them to kill on their own… it made them extremely grateful that Krekras was able to fight off the Curse of Death for so long.
Ruby held her side in pain. Luckily, there was no open wound, but it still hurt a great deal from the crash. "You okay, kiddo?" Qrow asked her.
"Y-Yeah… that crash hit us all pretty hard." Ruby answered.
"It looked like it. What happened up there? On Atlas?" Qrow asked. Ruby winced and looked up at him.
"The Ace Ops turned on us. They wanted to take the Relic of Destruction themselves. Wanted the fame, I guess…" Ruby sighed. "We never saw what happened to them but… Vir Nominis Umbra showed up when we were fighting…"
Her eyes widened when she remembered the Hound, looking at Qrow. "What?"
"Oh, gods… Qrow…" Blake stammered.
"What is it?" Qrow asked.
"That creature Kassius and Oscar told us all about? The Hound?" Ruby asked him.
"Yeah?" Qrow answered.
"Well… we found out exactly what it was. It showed up on Atlas and attacked us when we tried to get into Schnee Manor. The body was… made around someone… the person inside… was Raven." Ruby revealed. His eyes widened, and he slowed down, staring at Ruby.
"W-What? What does that mean?" Qrow asked, and they all looked at each other.
"When we… when we thought we killed her? When we threw her into the Tar? I don't think she died… I think Vir Nominis Umbra twisted and turned her into something else… something horrible." She revealed.
"She was barely even alive in there… I nearly didn't even recognise what was left of her." Yang added, pressing her hand against her bleeding head. Qrow kept them moving when he heard Krekras cut down yet another Grimm that was flying above, eventually crashing into the ground nearby. He shuddered, but not from the cold, trying to comprehend his sister… being turned into such a monster.
"Qrow?" Ruby softly spoke up.
He closed his eyes and shook it off. "Did you kill her?" He asked.
"No… she got away with that bastard Kannix." She answered.
"Well… when we see her again… hopefully we can stop her for good this time. For her good… not just our own." Qrow said as he continued to walk. "I may hate her for betraying us… for trying to kill you… but she doesn't deserve that. Nobody does."
Qrow turned to her, and he exhaled. "What happened after that?" He asked, clearly wanting to move on from that subject of Raven Branwen.
"Umbra attacked us… wiped the floor with us… and went into the Vault and took the Relic." Ruby explained.
"What about Jacques? And Whitley?" Qrow asked, looking at Weiss.
"They're both dead… I had to kill my father… he left me no other option." Weiss explained as she walked.
"Well… forgive me if it sounds insensitive… but the bastard has had it coming for a long time." Qrow said to her, and Weiss nodded her head in agreement.
"I know."
As they continued, they heard the sound of Krekras' attacks fade away, and the snowstorm thinned. As they walked through, they could feel the magic in the air, and in the distance they could see the burning eyes of Pyrrha, Cinder and Coco, all of them using their powers to try to clear the air. And even with their combined powers, it still was not enough to quell the storm of the Shivering Dominion.
And seeing the Drift of Wandering Star was a welcome sight indeed… but Ruby stared in horror with Weiss when they finally saw what was left of Atlas. Nothing at all… just a large hill and the glistening of water. The entire city was sunk into the ground and swallowed by water. Weiss stared at the devastation in horror… this Kingdom never really had much warmth in her heart, because of everything she went through here…
… but… seeing it completely destroyed like this?
Sunken into water?
Like it never existed.
It was quite the terrifying sight.
"It's all gone…" Weiss stammered, falling to her knees as the snow drifted against the side of her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Weiss." Qrow said to her. Ruby walked over to her and gently touched her shoulder. Weiss squeezed her eyes shut and stood back up, joining them. She could not bear to look at the view of what remained, and they just kept walking. It felt like the walk took hours, with the destruction of Atlas just staring at them constantly. But eventually they reached the Evacuation Zone.
As they approached, Oscar turned and his hazel eyes widened. "RUBY!" He screamed with relief, sprinting towards her and immediately wrapping his arms around her in a warm hug. He spun her around in the hug, immediately kissing her. She returned the kiss with equal passion, pressing her head against his.
"Thank the gods…" Ruby stammered.
"It was close…" He admitted. Sun ran to Blake and held her tight, crying into her shoulder, and Yang collapsed to the ground, only for Kassius to catch her.
"Yang!" Kassius stammered.
"Hey…" she weakly replied with a small smile, looking up at him. He pressed his hand against the bleeding wound on her head, and hugged her close, looking around. Hazel raised his scroll to his ear the second he saw Yang.
"Ortega, we need a medical team. Yang has sustained a serious head injury." Hazel requested.
"Copy that, sending one down in the next Airship." He assured.
"What happened? Where did you end up?" Sun asked with concern.
"We only just managed to escape. The shock wave from the explosion sent us crashing into the tundra." Blake answered. That was when team J.N.P.R emerged and saw them, smiling with relief.
"So that's where you went." Nora said to Qrow.
"I'm sorry I left you… but when I saw that airship crashing… I needed to know if my hunch was right." Qrow explained, and it was enough of a good reason to explain him leaving them like that. Jaune walked over to Ruby and gave her a warm hug as well.
"I thought we lost you, Crater-Face." Jaune chuckled.
"C'mon… you know me… takes more than that to kill me." Ruby's attempts to lighten the mood helped, but even she could see that morale was at an all-time low. And how could she blame them? Everyone just witnessed an entire Kingdom… the richest and most advanced of all the Kingdoms… be wiped out in a single moment. Penny limped past and sat down on the snow, holding her leg in pain.
Cinder approached and helped her with it, cauterising the slash in the skin with some flames. Penny yelped in pain, but it stopped the bleeding as she hoped it would. Ruby refused to let go of Oscar, looking into his eyes with a smile. Kassius continued to hold Yang close, looking at Neo and Velvet, who also were happy to see them all still alive.
Then finally, the Airships made their descent once more to pick up the people who remained. They all landed, and they helped the injured Team R.W.B.Y and Penny into the Medical Airship, where the nurses could start treating Yang's head injury. Everyone else, however, needed to get aboard other ships, whilst Qrow simply used his Crow Form, and the Maidens all followed to the ship.
Once aboard the Drift of Wandering Star, Ruby looked out over the hangar as the Hardlight Shields activated, and stared from high above at the massive lake which concealed Atlas.
As the Dreadnaught departed, the storm swept through the tundra and over the lake, and in a few moments, they could see nothing.
Now to be completely buried in ice and snow… forever.
Kassius
He sat beside Yang, who was still asleep on the bed with a bandage wrapped around her head. He held her hand tight, not wanting to let go of her. He lowered his head and pressed his cybernetic palm against his forehead.
"You better not start blaming yourself here." Hyde's voice appeared. Kassius looked across the bed to see him there, sat in the other chair, looking out the window at the clouds which passed by them.
"She's strong… she'll be okay… doesn't stop me from worrying, though." He chuckled, rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand. She was so cold earlier, but thankfully the warmth of the Dreadnaught was helping her a lot more. "That's… not really what's on my mind though…" He sighed.
"I know… you're thinking of your team. The old one." Hyde said, and Kassius nodded his head.
"I may have moved on from what happened… but I'll never forget them. Vetra, Draven, Rajah…" Kassius said, closing his amber eyes.
Hyde stood up from the chair and walked around the bed, he may not have physically existed in the real world, but he had grown so much since the days where he was just his dark side that he really felt like his own individual person now. Hyde sat down on the edge of Yang's bed, resting one leg over the other. "I sometimes like to wonder what they would have thought of all this." He chuckled.
"Draven probably would have enjoyed it." Hyde joked, making Kassius chuckle.
"Yeah… he always enjoyed a good fight." Kassius agreed. "I also wonder what Vetra would have thought of Yang… I told her stories about her… this beautiful golden-haired warrior who was never afraid of any fight. I honestly think she would have admired her." Kassius said to him. He stared at her with pure adoration in his amber eyes, reaching over and caressing her cheek, moving some strands of blonde hair from her eye. "I know I do."
He was so tender with her, and he looked at the dry blood in her hair. He wanted to clean it for her, but with her still in this bed, it would be difficult to do it… plus with Yang? She may be fine with him touching her hair, but even Kassius knew there were some lines you'd never cross.
"She's one of the strongest people I know… and we know some very strong people." Hyde said as he looked at her.
"If it weren't for her… I don't know what would have happened to me." He said, looking at his cybernetic hand. "Trapped in… guilt and pain over what happened to them… she was the one who pulled me out of that pit. Who helped me see through my rage and stopped me from murdering Ilia." Kassius recounted.
He sighed, leaning against the side of her bed. "I just wish she'd stop getting herself put in these beds so much…" He sighed. He looked at her cybernetic arm and then at his own, then exhaled, closing his amber eyes.
Kassius looked at Hyde, who was looking at him already. "You're right… Vetra would have liked her." Hyde said with a chuckle.
It made Kassius smile, but then he looked at his reflection again. "Sun wasn't wrong back there… I failed my team that night. I accept what happened, how I should have protected them…" Kassius sighed, shaking his head.
"Kassius…"
"… it's true, Hyde. A leader is supposed to keep their team alive, and I failed… being a team leader again after all these years it… it still makes me nervous, afraid that it will happen again." Kassius stated.
He clenched his mechanical hand into a fist.
"It will not happen again. Not this time… I will not fail Oscar, Penny or Sun." Kassius promised, and Hyde just looked at him and nodded his head.
"Well… I've got your back. To the end." Hyde promised, and Kassius nodded at him.
Yang moaned as she started to wake up again. His eyes widened, and he turned to her. Hyde vanished from Kassius' mind and he put all his attention on his girlfriend. "Yang? Are you okay?" He asked her, caressing her cheek.
She immediately sat up and looked around. "Where are we?" she asked, but he eased her back down against the pillow.
"Easy… we're on the Drift of Wandering Star… you've been patched up." Kassius assured, and she smiled, nodding her head.
"Oh, yeah… I remember now… sorry…"
"You took a heavy hit. No need for apologies." Kassius assured, still holding her hand. He chuckled when he thought about that, though. "What is it with you and always fighting things way more powerful than you? Can you just… learn when to back down?" He asked with a smile, which made her chuckle.
"Well then, I wouldn't be the chick you fell in love with, would I?" she asked.
"Calling me out straight to my face." He chuckled, making her laugh as well. She still sat upright though, slowly and pressing her hand against her head.
"I'm okay… better than I was. Umbra really thrashed me…" She sighed.
"Y'know considering you even survived a fight against him… it's impressive." Kassius said to her. "Imagine that on your resume? Picked a fight with a False God and didn't die." Kassius said, making her chuckle.
"I'll have to remember that one." She said. Yang then looked at him and wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug, kissing his cheek.
"Whoa… what's that for?" He asked.
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have just… kept going ahead like that. You must have been terrified when Atlas started flying." Yang said to him. He held her tight as well.
"I was… but I knew you'd be fine. All of you… you're the strongest people we know." Kassius said, then they broke their hug apart and stayed close together. She pressed her head against his, closing her eyes.
"How about from now on… we stick together in fights?" She asked.
He chuckled. "I like the sound of that." He promised, then she kissed him lovingly on the lips.
So long as they had each other…
… they felt unstoppable.
Ruby
She still ached from the crash but felt well enough to head to the Bridge with Oscar, Blake and Jaune. They needed to discuss with Ortega, Mazen and Qrow on what they needed to do next. But as Ruby walked through the halls of the Dreadnaught, the effects of this great defeat weighed heavily. Some were losing hope, and they could even see some people brandishing guns in their hands in ways that were already causing alarm.
To the point where those in a better mental state were having to take the guns away from them before they did something rash. The most disturbing part was the fact that the Drift of Wandering Star was all they had left. And everyone aboard it was all that remained as well. Their army had been decimated at Atlas.
Things were not looking good, and Ruby had just accepted that things were going to be looking a lot worse.
Very few words were spoken between them as they walked to the bridge and moved their way up the steps, eventually reaching the top of the ship. Stood at the deck was Ortega with the holographic map of Atlas in front of him, and nothing but endless thick clouds stretching out for miles as they continued their journey away from Solitas. Mazen was standing waiting for them, and Qrow was leaning against the wall.
"Sorry we're late." Ruby said, walking up the last set of steps, rubbing her side.
"Truth be told, I'm surprised to see you here. I assumed you were still recovering." Ortega chuckled.
"I'm still breathing… so are we headed for Dragonspire Keep, keeping to the plan?" Ruby asked.
The plan…
The damn plan was to have the Relic of Destruction, not watching helplessly as Umbra wiped out the entire Kingdom with the goddamn thing.
"That's right, we still have two Relics in our custody and we can still get them to the Embered Grove. And we can just hope that Ozpin is still kicking and has Knowledge. I'm hoping he's getting closer to the Embered Grove as well." Ortega explained.
"Still think it was foolish of him to just go off on his own." Mazen stated.
"I understand why… if we all had the Relics with us at once, he'd send the entire Oncoming Shadow after us. Splitting up like this forces Umbra to choose where to send what." Oscar defended, crossing his arms.
"I hope his gamble pays off… we could have used his help today." Mazen said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, either way, the plan continues. It's still our best option. Last we heard from Kragen, they were preparing for a battle at the Castle, and were setting up defences. I'm hoping that his defences are enough to buy us some time." Ortega explained.
"Why? I thought Dragonspire Keep was hidden from Umbra's gaze?" Qrow asked.
"It has been, but with two Relics there, I doubt it's going to keep it hidden for very long. Assuming he hasn't already known about to begin with." Ortega explained, shrugging his shoulders.
"What's the state of our forces? What do we have left?" Jaune asked.
"Two Colossi. And some vehicles and weapons… and only a few hundred soldiers. Kragen already has quite the defence force for the castle, but it's still a fraction of what we had at Atlas." Ortega stated.
"Well, I'm just hoping that the Architect has finished decrypting Merlot's data by now. We need the information he found if we're gonna find the Fountain of Creation. If it's such an important location odds are we can't just walk in, and we don't even know where it is… it's been hidden by some kind of illusion until now." Ruby explained.
"There's another factor we need to consider." Ortega began, pressing his hands against the railing. "The Drift of Wandering Star was badly damaged in the last battle by the Mass Accelerator Cannon. We got it operational and our repair drones and still fixing it up… but we're all we have. Only us and a couple of Dreadnaughts. If Umbra sends the Oncoming Shadow to the Shivering Dominion… I'm not confident in our ships surviving such an attack." Ortega explained.
It hurt to hear him sound so pessimistic. "So I will arrange to have some Airships land in the escape tunnels on the other side of the mountain. If things go bad and the Keep falls… and I go down? You get your asses on those Airships and get yourselves and the Relics out of there as fast as you can." Ortega explained.
"I pray that this doesn't happen… but… odds are it will. And it will be an ugly fight… escape won't be like it was in Atlas. The Fortress is against the peak of a mountain we'll be penned in." Ruby stated.
"Kragen knows that Keep like the back of his hand. He has ways out of there in case it falls. We'll have to talk to him about it." Ortega stated.
"Let's just hope the old man's ready…" Oscar sighed.
"It's Kragen Nox. He's been preparing for the Siege of Dragonspire Keep his entire life. He'll be ready." Ruby confidently said.
Kragen
And she was right.
The old Silver Eyed Warrior stood atop the wall of his Keep with his wife Yenna Azula by his side. The raven haired Spring Maiden looked across the land with him, as their forces continued to reinforce their defences. With a massive blockade a few miles down the slope of snow made from chopped down trees, and at the very end surrounding the mountains they had already set up Hardlight Shield Pylons, bought from Argus, to create a protective barrier against the Oncoming Shadow when they arrive.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Yenna said to him, and he looked at her, holding her hand.
"As do I, my love." Kragen answered.
Kragen spun Ebony Duchess through his fingers and turned to the courtyard where the Silver Eyed Warriors and other brave soldiers who were here, including Acolytes of the Rose Soldiers who brought their forces here after the other Kingdoms fell and from their other outposts. They already had a few vehicles and artillery in place alongside old-fashioned trebuchets and catapults.
Everyone was working together, training and preparing for the brutal and definitely suicidal battle that was ahead. But none of them showed an inkling of fear.
For this was the day they had all been waiting for, for a very, very long time. He and Yenna both walked past Mistraalian Forces as well who were helping set up barricades and even set up sniper towers, whilst Mistraalian Airships flew across the sky, dropping spike traps into the ground, alongside trenches being dug and filled with traps to slow the Grimm down when they eventually came.
He opened the doors, finding the Non-Combatants all preparing medical equipment, readying ammunition and weapons, and most importantly – cooking food. Everyone needed to be at their best, and they were even barricading the windows to make sure that when they arrive, the Grimm would struggle to get inside.
He walked up the steps, heading for the Chamber where the Relics were being held in their respective Canes. Statues of Silver Eyed Knights stood where they had stood for centuries, and he opened the last set of doors, where he found the Architect inside. "Please tell me you have good news, old friend." Kragen said to him.
The Architect turned, his mechanical brow raising with joy, projecting a screen of information.
"I have – Merlot's files have been cracked." The Architect answered.
Kragen smiled.
"Finally."
Author Note - Our old Silver Eyed Badass is back!
And here we go... Dragonspire Keep. Been a long time since we came back to one of my favourite locations in Knights of Grimm. And this is going to be where one of my favourite sections in the whole series will take place soon. Can't wait to get further into this Act!
And with Solitas left behind, they are all returning there. Hopefully this time things can go according to plan. I also really enjoyed that first part with Ozpin, Carmine and Maria on the Argus Limited. Was very interesting to explore the moments in detail that Ozpin experienced when Kragen and the Architect helped him break the curse.
Let's hope the same can be done for the other Knights.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
- Matt