(A/N) Hey there, been a while again, sorry. Some of you may know that my brother is in the US Army National Guard and, well, he deployed. So yeah, I was spending a lot of time with him before that happened and afterwards… I just didn't feel like writing for a while. I'm starting to get back into the swing of things now, though.
I do have something to say, though, something good and something I've wanted to say for a long time.
We are now on TV Tropes!
Special thanks to Flameal15k, MagicalGeek, Sierra-G343 and anyone else involved for setting up the page! I can't really link it here because of FFN's stupid no external links rule, but if you google "Ruby B-312 TV Tropes" it should come up.
Volume Two
Chapter Fifteen - Déjà Vu
/-\ Professor Ozpin /-\
I sat at my desk, a literal ton of papers scattered atop it. I sighed, hesitating as my eyes glanced over one of the many stacks I had to deal with this week. 'Vytal Festival Approval', the cover read. I rubbed my head; should we even have the festival this year, what with all the destruction wrought by the Covenant? Could we even have it without Atlas's engineers keeping the coliseum running?
A dull throb in my head started to form as I explored each of these questions. 'If we hold the festival, people will see that as disrespectful to those that perished in Atlas. On the other hand, many would be angry if we broke nearly eighty years of tradition by not holding it.' I shook my head, reaching for my mug and taking a sip of my-
…empty air.
I frowned, standing and grabbing my cane out of habit as I headed to the coffee machine. Unfortunately, the gods seemed to have it out for me today, and I'd somehow used the last hot chocolate canister without noticing.
I made my way to the elevator; the lobby had its own coffeemaker I could use. Besides, maybe going for a short walk would relive enough stress to get through today's paperwork quota. Soon enough, I'd arrived at my destination, refilled my mug, and was about to head back upstairs to my office.
However, the door's chime gave me pause. No one came here except to see me, so I instead chose to save them a stop and paused in the lobby. My assumption proved wrong, however, when I recognized Miss Autumnos and her mentor. Right then, I remembered another thing that needed doing; one that was fairly time sensitive.
"Miss Nikos, Miss Ironwood." I greeted, using her old name as to not arouse suspicion from the receptionist. "On your way to training, I presume?"
"Indeed we are." Embra responded.
"Very well. Miss Ironwood? I, unfortunately, have some private business to discuss with Miss Nikos, here. You are dismissed."
She shrugged. "Sure, okay. See ya, Pyrrha." She said, earning a wave before departing.
I gave the receptionist a glance. "Missus Gneiss? If you could please summon both Lieutenant Commander Rose and Professor Goodwitch to my office?"
She nodded. "Right away, Headmaster." She said, typing away at her terminal.
"Thank you." I said before motioning my student forward. "This way, Miss Nikos." We both filed into the elevator, arriving at my office not long after. "Please, take a seat." She did, pulling over a chair from the corner of the room. "Now, I'm sure you're aware of Beacon's upcoming first mission ceremony on Monday, though the title is not quite as… apt has it should be this year." I said, sipping at my cocoa.
Quickly pushing that thought aside, I continued. "Normally, you and your team would be expected to participate in the event, however, as you're aware, you are somewhat of a… special case." I rested my chin in my hands. "Attending the mission carries risks with you that it does not with others, yet staying here may also alert our enemy as to your identity."
"With respect, Grandfather," She began. "the… enemy has yet to make a move. Are they even here?"
"Unfortunately, Miss Autumnos, it is always better to assume the walls have eyes instead of assuming they do not." I said. "Your frequent visits with Miss Ironwood to my office have likely already been noticed. The best we can hope for is that they have concluded you are merely someone of interest, rather than someone with power." I leaned forward slightly. "So, Miss Autumnos, my question is this: how do you wish to proceed?"
She bit her lip. "What… what would you recommend, Headmaster?"
I hummed. "Both scenarios have advantages and disadvantages, though I believe it safer to assume that staying here will tip off Miss Autumn's assailant; whomever they may be." I frowned. "Have you remembered anything else about that day since we last spoke of it?"
She shook her head. "No. Just that one of them had dark skin and the other was wearing a glove that…" She shivered. "that had a Grimm inside it."
"Unfortunate." I said. "But we are still closer than we were before; even if the only description we have to go on is something as superficial as skin color. We can hardly arrest every dark-skinned person in the kingdom, even if that were an option worth considering." I chuckled. "Regardless, we are getting off track. Your answer, Miss Autumnos?"
"I…" She started. "…I would rather attend a mission with my team." She said.
I nodded. "Very well. I shall think on the problem more and let you know of my decision by the end of the day. I implore you to do the same."
She blinked. "I… very well, Headmaster."
"The best decisions are not made quickly, Miss Autumnos." I said as my desk chimed, informing me of another visitor.
"…I understand." She said. "Is there anything else you needed?"
I shook my head. "No. Please send Miss Rose and Professor Goodwitch up on your way out."
She nodded and stood up to leave. As soon as the elevator doors closed behind her, I frowned. "You may want to, Miss Autumnos…" I said to myself. "But that decision is not in your hands." A few moments later, the doors opened back up, admitting- "Miss Rose; Professor Goodwitch." I greeted, nodding to each.
"Hey Oz." Miss Rose said. "So, what's this about? Me 'n my team were just about to go to the range."
"'My team and I', Lieutenant Commander." Glynda said.
I cleared my throat. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I've had a lot on my plate and I'm afraid that this particular issue has gone unresolved for longer than it should have. I'm talking, of course, about Miss Autumnos's participation in the upcoming mission."
I stood up, pacing over to the window. "She has expressed a desire to attend, though I am not sure her combat ability is up to the task. However, I have not kept as close an eye on her training as would be ideal." I turned back to them. "Your thoughts?"
/-\ Embra Autumnos /-\
I yawned, filing into the auditorium with my team. Ruby hadn't held her usual workout session this morning and somehow, allowing me to sleep in made me more tired.
"Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!" Nora shouted. "Hey Ren, do ya think we'll use our awesome team attacks? Or maybe they'll let us capture a Nevermore and ride it there! That was reeeeeeeaaaaaaalllly fun when we did it! Oh, maybe-"
"Nora."
She paused. "Yes, Ren?"
"Yes, and no."
She pouted. "Awwww… c'mon, Renny! I know you had fun when I…" I stopped paying attention to their banter, instead turning to my partner.
"Can you see Team RWVB?" I asked.
He looked around for a moment. "I see Ruby over there." He said, starting to make his way through the crowd. We all followed him and soon enough, found our friends.
"Hey guys." She said, towering over all of us.
Valkea and Weiss gave a wave and a nod, respectively, while Blake sat in her wheelchair, nose-deep in a book.
"So uhh…" My partner began. "How're ya feelin'?"
"Like my leg got stuck in a trash compactor." She said through clenched teeth. She sighed, closing the book. "Ruby, can I have some more painkillers?"
She checked her watch. "Not for another half-hour. Sorry."
Blake groaned. "Please? They do not last four hours like the doctor said they would."
"Remember he said these things were addictive. We do not want to deal with that, do we?"
"Ugh, fiiiiine." She said.
"I umm… hope you feel better soon?" I said.
"You and me bo-"
Suddenly, several loud noises resounded throughout the auditorium. Looking to the stage, I saw Ozpin tap the mic once more. "On this day nearly eighty years ago, the Great War, the single largest conflict in all of recorded history, came to an end." He began. "Today, few who remember such dark times still live. However, we now stand on the precipice of another conflict; a larger one. Much has already been lost due to the Covenant's invasion and the world will never be the same."
"We stand here today as citizens of the Kingdoms; citizens of Vale, of Mistral, of Vacuo… and of Atlas." He paused for a moment, bowing his head. "Students. Your actions during the Trial By Fire bought us time. Valuable time to relieve the parts of the kingdom that were in the most danger from our oldest enemy, but we are still spread thin. That is why I am authorizing the top twenty first-year teams to take more dangerous missions than normally allowed."
He clasped his hands behind his back. "While such measures are not as extreme as those taken last month, nor without precedent, they are also necessary. I would not do this if the situation did not call for it." He said. "So let me leave you with a final few words. You are the guardians of Remnant. Our future. Regardless of the trying times we find ourselves in, remember to be safe; remember your training; and above all else… remember to do your very best."
The room was completely silent as Ozpin disappeared off the stage. I glanced around and most people were just staring at the stage; some with expression of determination, others with saddened ones, and yet more that were simply shocked.
"So uhh…" Jaune started, bringing my attention back to the team. "Let's go get a mission… before they're all taken, I mean."
"Not a bad plan." Ruby said. "So, whaddaya girls want?" She asked her own team as they moved towards the boards.
Jaune shrugged and followed them. "What about you guys?"
"I don't have a preference." I said.
"If Renny's in, I'm in!" Nora shouted.
We all turned to our team's resident ninja. "Small villages tend to get ignored by huntsmen. We should see if there's anything we can do on the frontier."
As Ren spoke, Nora's usual happiness darkened a shade. "He's right." She said. "There's a lot of people out there who could use a helping hand right now…"
Jaune shrugged. "My hometown ain't the biggest either, but we still had our own huntsmen. I can't imagine what it would be like without them." He said, making a sharp turn and leading us towards the frontier boards. As we approached, we saw Team RWVB leave the same board, Weiss pushing Blake as they did so.
As Ren somewhat predicted, there were a lot of missions to choose from; most payments consisting of food, board, and only a small amount of Lien. "Do any stand out to you, Ren?" I asked.
His eyes narrowed. "Scroll back up to the missing persons mission." I did so, slightly confused. A frown crossed his face. "That's what I thought."
"What?" I asked.
"Five people disappeared in the Thessikon Bay region."
"Lot's of small towns there…" Nora said.
"Umm… why is that suspicious?" I asked.
"Small towns don't report things like this." He said. "They try to handle it themselves."
"So if they're asking for help…" Jaune trailed off. Ren merely nodded; his expression grim. My partner sighed. "…We should probably get going."
"A wise decision." Ren said as Jaune led us out to the airdocks.
Seven Bullheads and over a dozen smaller craft that I'd never seen before lay landed both on and off the pads. The smaller craft were… odd. The fuselage looked to be about the size of an average SUV, to large bay doors either side of a cargo bay slid backwards to open. Aside from the size and elongated cockpit, though, the design plan was quite similar to a Bullhead; twin jet engines mounted on pilons and attached to the craft's roof, all while the entire thing was painted gunmetal grey.
"Uhh…" Jaune let out. "…Which one's ours?"
"I'd advise checkin' your scroll, kiddo." A feminine voice called out.
Turning around, we saw it was none other than- "Professor Peach?" I said. "What are you doing here?"
"Ah, nothin' much." The Rabbit Faunus said. "Just gonna chaperone team RWBY… err-" She checked her scroll. "Roovb? Roovbee? Roofie? Do y'all know how ta pronounce that?"
"It's groovy, I do believe." I said. "Just out of curiosity, what mission did they take?"
"Ah, thanks kiddo. Also, they've got themselves set up for a niiiiiiice search and destroy mission up north; just past the Thessikon bay."
"Oooh, that's where we're headed!" Nora shouted, zooming over to the professor. "Do ya think we'll run into each other?! Oh, that'll be awesome! It'll be just like that one story we found! Y'know, the one with the squiddy dude and the-"
"Nora."
She paused for a moment before chuckling. "Oops, sorry… rambling again."
"S'alright, but if you kids can excuse me, I need ta get goin'. Toodles!" She said, leaving with a wave. A few moments later, she arrived at Team RWVB's craft: another of the small ones. The team themselves were all huddled around Blake, all of them, even Valkea, hugging the wheelchair-bound Faunus.
I turned back to my leader. "So, where are we going?"
"Huh? Oh, right! Uhh… just a sec." He said, pulling out his scroll and tapping a few buttons. "It says ours iiiiiiissss…" He pointed to one of the small craft. "That one." He said, leading us there.
As we approached, we realized that all the doors were closed on this airship and no signs of activity were outwardly visible. "So…" Nora started. "Should we knock?"
Suddenly, the door flew open. "That will not be necessary."
"Specialist Schnee?" Ren asked, receiving a nod. "I assume you're our chaperone?"
"Indeed." She said, flicking a stray strand of hair out of her face. "Load your supplies. We leave in five minutes."
"Uhh, yeah, sure, buuuut why are you chaperoning us?" He asked. "Wouldn't you want to help Team-"
"As a matter of fact, I would." She interrupted. "However, seeing as I will be determining your grade for this assignment, it was decided that, should I be assigned as Team RWVB's chaperone, my final assessment may be tainted by nepotism." She crossed her arms. "Now, instead of asking inane questions you already should know the answers to, perhaps you should consider stowing your belongings. We will be leaving whether they are packed or not."
We all glanced at each other of a moment before her words truly set in. Needless to say, we got busy. Thankfully, we packed light. This was just a search and rescue mission, not search and destroy. We'd probably be back in a couple days anyway.
As the pilot secured the cargo hatch under the airship's tail, we all headed for the passenger bay. I ducked under an oddly placed rail before taking my seat next to Jaune, the space being cramped enough for us to practically be squished up against each other. Ren and Winter took the seats across from us, having much more room as they were separated by the door leading to the cockpit.
The craft lurched upwards only a moment after we were all buckled in, sending us skyward. I craned my neck under the machinegun mounted on the ceiling to see out the window, catching a glimpse of Vale quickly receding into the blue.
I yawned, still tired despite sleeping in this morning. After a moment's hesitation, I made my decision. "Hey, Jaune? Can you wake me up when we get there?"
"Uhh, yeah, sure." He said, looking away from his scroll for a moment.
I smiled, relaxing my head onto his shoulder and trying to make myself as comfortable as possible. A few moments later, the slight turbulence and the dulled hum of the engines lulled me to sleep…
/-\ Jaune Arc /-\
"Attention passengers!" The pilot said over the intercom. "We are now five minutes out. Also, Specialist Schnee, could you uhh… come up here for a moment?"
Winter's eyes narrowed as she complied, disappearing into the cockpit. I, instead, shrugged, shaking my girlfriend's arm slightly. "Embra?" I whispered. She groaned, curling into me further. "Embra? We're almost there." I said with another shake.
She yawned, her eyes fluttering open. "Nyeh… wha…?"
I smiled. "C'mon, sleepyhead. You've been out for like… three hours now."
She sat upright, rubbing her eyes. "That's it?"
"Yeah, these things are fast." I said.
"So, did I miss anything while I was out?"
Nora popped up, kneeling on her seat, and peered over me. "Juuuuuust the awesome forest!" She said. "Oh man, you shouldda seen it! All the trees were shooting by like bullets! They're all like, nyooom! Oh! And we saw a heard of Goliaths down there and they looked soooooooooooo tiny! Wait, you haven't heard the best part! We found some-"
"Nora…" Ren said, not opening his eyes as he sat cross-legged in his own seat.
Her mouth froze mid-word before she plopped back down in her seat a moment later. "Whoops!" She said. "Sorry mister ninja man!"
His mouth twitched for a moment, the ghost of a smile appearing before vanishing. "It's okay."
Suddenly, Winter burst back through the door. "Arm up, students."
I slowly reached for Crocea Mors, currently tucked under my seat. "Uhh… okay… but why…?"
She readied her own weapon. "Our pilot has been trying to raise the village's comms officer for several minutes without success." She said, causing us to glance at each other. "You are to assume the town is overrun with Grimm. Something about this does not seem right to me, as our pilot did not pick up a distress signal nor were we informed of any deviations to the mission in the past three hours."
She pulled out her scroll and began typing away on it, but soon frowned. "What is it?" I asked.
"My scroll does not have a signal." She said, eyes focusing on me. "Pull out your scroll and dial OZ-001-0001."
I did so, somewhat confused on how someone got that low of a scroll number. "Huh, mine's dead too."
"Same." Nora said, followed by Pyrrha and Ren.
"This is… suspicious…" Winter said before ducking her head back into the cockpit. "Find us a place of light Grimm concentration and remain on-statio-"
"There are no Grimm!" He shouted back. "At least, no hordes or anything. As far as I can tell, the town's clean!"
She paused for a moment. "Set us down in their courtyard; just inside the town's citadel."
"The… citadel?" Embra whispered to me.
"Yeah, I dunno about Mistralian ones, but Valerian border towns all have an internal wall around the town's center; it's a last line of defense if the outer walls are breached."
"Cut the chatter! When we land, I want three-sixty coverage around the Kite. Arc, front and center. Valkyrie, Left. Nikos, rear. Lie, Right. Landfall in ten seconds!" I drew my sword and raised my shield. A moment later, the doors opened and I sprinted to my position, heart pounding in my chest.
…only to see nothing.
The engines of the craft roared behind me, but that was the only thing out of the ordinary in this entire town… except for the lack of people, that is.
The buildings in front of me looked completely intact; no claw marks or accidental blazes, just… deserted.
"Students!" Winter shouted. "Report!"
"C- clear here!" I shouted.
"No sign of the enemy!" Embra said.
"Aaaaaaall clear over here!"
"Clear!"
She landed right next to me and put a finger up to her ear. "Pilot, take off. Give us overwatch." A moment later and the craft shot into the sky, now circling like a buzzard over the town. "Students, fall in behind me. We'll search for survivors."
Winter marched towards the town hall, all of us following her. Despite the fact that there were no people around whatsoever, I still found myself staring at the weird houses. Instead of the log cabins of my own hometown, these buildings had stark-white plaster walls with orange roof tiles. Weird, but not as weird as the town hall. It, instead of bricks and wood, seemed to be little more than an orange-tiled roof someone plopped on top of marble pillars.
We strode inside the building, coming face-to-face with a stone wall and a slightly ajar door… neither of which had any claw marks or anything like that. Winter carefully pushed the oversized door open, head whipping around as she stepped inside. A moment later, her free hand beckoned us to follow.
Inside was much more like what I expected a town hall to be; a main lobby with half-a-dozen chairs in front of a receptionist's desk and several doors leading to various offices. There was even a staircase leading upwards to a second floor, a big sign hanging down from the ceiling reading 'Shelter' in big bold letters underneath an arrow pointing upwards. Winter made a beeline for the desk in the center and, after another look, I saw why.
A hand was sticking out from behind it.
The rest of us rushed forward, only to hear her sigh. "She's gone." Winter said before bending the body's wrist slightly. "Still warm, but rigor mortis has already set in. Likely cause of death…" She trailed off, glancing down to her torso…
…and the twin scorched holes in it.
She stared dumbly at the body's wounds for several moments. "W- we need to leave…" She muttered.
"What's wrong?" Embra asked.
Suddenly, Winter shot up. "We need to leave! Now!"
"Wait, what?" I let out as she ran past me. The team and I chased after her as she ran to the courtyard.
"Pilot! We're aborting the mission! Land in the courtyard and extract us!" She shouted as the airship's howling engines came into earshot once more. She frowned. "What do you mean, you can't raise Beacon?!"
Just then, a spear of light shot through the Kite and a massive explosion as bright as the sun engulfed the craft. When it faded, nothing remained. We all looked on, horrified, as a Covenant ship descended from the clouds, its triple hull bristling with weapons.
"Hide!" Winter commanded, running towards one of the houses.
"C'mon!" I shouted, dragging Embra with me as Ren and Nora took off. Just as we entered the building that Winter had, I saw her get thrown back onto a table, a large ape-like alien planting its foot on her stomach as it aimed a spiked weapon at her face.
Without thinking, I buried Crocea Mors in its thick thigh, the tip of my blade barely poking through the other side as I fully hilted the weapon. The ape screamed, its aim thrown off as the weapon spat spikes all over the room.
"Baaaaatter up!" Nora shouted, swinging her hammer in an arc and punting the alien's bodyless head through the wall and into the next room.
The body slumped over and I offered a hand to Winter, who took it instantly. "Much appreciated." She said. "That Brute caught me off guard. Let my mistake be a lesson to you; don't go charging into buildings without first-" Her eyes widened and she dove for Embra as Ren raised his weapons.
I whipped around, only to hear her scream as a glowing sword grazed her arm. Ren opened fire, making a blue aura flare to life around a giant alien. Without thinking, I charged it, jumped, and shieldbashed it right in the face.
It let out a guttural whine as it stumbled back, its aura shattering a moment before Nora's Magnhild caved in its chestplate. The monster coughed blue blood as it collapsed to the floor. It whined as it tried to raise a horseshoe-shaped device towards us, but the limb fell limp before it could.
I turned back towards Embra and Winter, rushing for them. "Are you alright? You looked like you took a hit."
"I'm fine." Winter said through clenched teeth, examining her arm. "My aura took it, but I don't think I can take another one of those hits." She shivered. "Dear gods, don't let those swords touch you, students. They make short work of aura." She said, retrieving the horseshoe-shaped thing the reptilian was holding. "Arc, retrieve your weapon. We're moving out ASAP."
"Uhh, yeah, sure!" I said, running over and tugging on my sword. With a grunt of effort, I pulled it free, the blade sheening in globby purplish-red blood. I shivered, wiping it on the alien's fur. "L- let's go…"
She nodded. "Stack up on me; wedge formation after we leave the building." She said, continuing on to another room with both her sword and the horseshoe thing raised.
"Winter? What are we going to do?" Embra asked as we strode into another room; the kitchen.
She glanced at my girlfriend. "Find a transport and evac ourselves. We can't stay here." She opened a door at the far side of the kitchen, causing daylight to flood in. She poked her head out for a moment and looked around. "Clear." She said, turning back to us. "Listen. I want partner groups on either side of me. If I say 'scatter', I want you to duck into the nearest building with your partner. If you see something, call it out, whether that be a vehicle, an alien, or… anything else that might change the situation. Clear?"
We all gave our affirmations and set out down the street…
/-\ Ruby Rose /-\
I racked the bolt on Onyx Rose, opening fire on the Beowolves in front of me not a moment later. As they fell, my motion tracker noticed two more groups of enemies converging on our position. "Weiss! Grimm at bearing two-seven-three!"
I glanced over at my helmeted partner, who just decapitated her last Creep. "On it!" She shouted, whipping out a frost bomb.
I turned towards the other group as the trio of Ursai exited the forest and smashed their way through the pasture's fence. Smirking, I loaded a high-explosive round into my weapon's underslung grenade launcher.
As the beasts charged, their mouths agape as they roared, I took aim at the leader: the only Major. One pull of the trigger later, and the grenade exploded inside the Grimm's gullet, launching its head right past my own like a rapidly evaporating missile.
Completely unfazed by their elder's demise, the two minors each swiped at me. I dodged in a flurry of rose petals, reforming just in time to see them hit each other instead of me. They growled, turning towards me.
As they lunged, I leaped forward as well, shoulderchecking one, rolling to the ground, and magdumping the other's belly. It slumped to the ground, the twenty-seven new holes in its body apparently too much for it to handle.
I rolled to the side, popping up to my feet just as the last Ursa's claws gouged four trenches into the ground where I laid just a moment ago. Not giving it a moment of respite, I flipped my weapon in the air, grasping it just as the mechashift finished.
Just as it raised its paw to strike, my mace found its shoulder, a sickening crunch resounding throughout the field as it howled in pain. With a flourish, I buried one of my knives at the base of its skull, retrieving it as the light left its eyes.
"How ya doin', Weiss?" I asked over comms…
…just as she flew past me, rolling across the ground.
She slowly got up, dusting off her dress. "I certainly wouldn't refuse some assistance…" She muttered.
"Heh, all you've gotta do is ask." I said, casually backhanding an approaching Beowolf with my mace. "So, how unfair do ya wanna make this?"
"Considering they actually hit me?" She said, tossing me a shock bomb. "Very."
I tisked, slotting it into the head of my mace. "Your wish is my command." I said, launching the bomb into the approaching dozen or so Grimm. As it impacted, chain lightning spread from one foe to another, outright killing several smaller monsters and slowing down the lone Ursa. "I'll take the left."
"And I'll take the right." She readied a glyph under her feet. "Do try to keep up." She said before rocketing off.
"Hey! That's my line!" I shouted, reforming Onyx Rose into its assault rifle form as I charged forward.
With a new magazine slotted in, I opened fire, downing a dozen lesser Grimm in one fell swoop. As I reloaded for the second time, a pair of Boarbatusks rolled out from the frozen remains of several Grimm in the distance.
I dodged them, hitting one with the stock of my gun and putting a quintuplet of rounds into its belly. The other squealed, charging at me with its tusks lowered and ready to gore. I would've taken it down right then and there, but my motion tracker forced me to dodge an attack from behind.
Rolling back to my feet, I put a few rounds into the Beowolf that thought it could ambush me. I immediately jumped into the air, avoiding the Boarbatusk as it charged beneath me. Still airborne, I loosed yet more rounds into its lightly-armored back. As we both fell, switched out Onyx Rose for Noble Rose; I needed more practice with my scythe anyway. I looked around and, seeing my own sector was clear, moved to help my partner.
Just as I turned in her direction, I saw a massive ice bloom impale several Grimm around her. As it dissipated, she sprinted out, cleaving away the horde of darkness with the grace that I came to expect of her. I smirked, charging into the fray myself.
Ten seconds, and half as many Beowolves, later, I noticed the single Ursa sneaking up on her. With a quick burst of my semblance, I was there within moments. Just as my blade decapitated it, Weiss finished off the last Grimm.
After making sure the coast was clear, she glanced at me. "There are a lot more than I thought there would be." She said.
I shrugged. "Welp, it is a search and destroy mission."
"Fair." She said, refilling her Myrtenaster with more vials of dust.
I cued my mic. "Fireteam Whiterose here; the farm is clear. How about you guys?"
The line was silent for a moment before Valkea's voice came through. "We could really use some backup over here! The gates are barely holding!"
"Roger, we're on the way." I said before turning back to Weiss. "Never a dull moment…"
She depolarized her visor, showing her smirk. "Not since you got here, no." She said. "Well, let's not keep them waiting."
Without saying another word, I took off, my partner behind me…
"Αυτό είναι το φαγητό σας?" The waitress said as she plopped our food down on the table. "Ehh… iiiizz theeezz… yorrrz?" She said, struggling with the words.
All around us, conversations were happening in a different language; the same one the waitress spoke to us in. Professor Peach called it Tykon, but I didn't really care about what it was called; it was all Greek to me. It was honestly a miracle that we were even able to order; the menus having pictures being our only saving grace.
I nodded to the waitress. "Yeah, looks good." I said, grabbing my food off her serving tray. The others followed suit and the waitress quickly took off.
Just as we were about to dig in, Professor Peach's scroll vibrated on the table; three tones, silence, then three more tones. She set her burger down, sighing, before checking her message. Almost immediately, her eyes widened. "Finish yer food quick, kiddos! There's been a change in plans…"
/-\ Winter Schnee /-\
I crawled through the undergrowth, trying to be as silent as possible. An hour into our dilemma, we'd abandoned our search for a vehicle and set off into the woods ourselves after finding none. Right now, we were looking for a place to sleep; all our camping equipment, as light as we'd packed, had been destroyed with the Kite.
If the lights on the horizon turned out to not be a safe place to rest, the hollow log we found, and where I'd left JNPR, would have to do. After five minutes of slowly approaching the lights, I finally poked my head above the small hill that hid the lights' source from view…
…only to frown.
The source was a house, like I'd hoped, but the squad of Covenant infantry made this a non-viable option. Even if we killed them, more would likely come. There was, however, a vehicle in the garage; a beat-up pickup truck. If I could take that, then maybe…
I paused as the two Brutes in the alien squad moved to the back of the vehicle and started pushing. Despite the brakes doing their best to keep it from moving and the tires squealing against the concrete, the truck was soon left in the driveway about a dozen meters from the house.
'…why on Remnant did they just do that?' I thought. As if hearing my thoughts, a bright light shot down from the heavens, though this was more diffuse than the one that destroyed our Kite. Slowly, the vehicle began to rise up into the sky, as if being raptured like in the myths of old.
Following it up, I saw the rapture beam was coming from a Covenant ship. The same three-hulled one we saw at that village. Now that I wasn't actively concerned with keeping the students and myself safe, I realized that this was an unusually small ship; roughly the size of a Resolute-class line cruiser.
Just as I was about to slink back through the underbrush, I heard one of the apes shout "I FOUND A SURVIVOR!" in its deep, guttural voice.
A moment later and it collapsed, a spear embedded in the alien's throat. Stepping out from the building, a man dressed in armor that shone like the sun retrieved his weapon. The other Brute roared and charged with a warcry, the half-dozen Grunts engaging from a distance. As they did battle, my eyes caught a flicker of movement off to the side.
Turning my full attention to it, I saw a child skirting the edge of the forest, running away from the battle. In that moment, I understood what was happening. Glancing back towards the huntsman, I saw that he had wounded the Brute and killed a single Grunt, but my ears picked up the faint humming of a Phantom approaching. I gave the huntsman a nod of respect as I ran for the boy, counting on the battle to hide my approach from the enemy.
I saw the boy duck into the treeline just as the Phantom appeared overhead and as it came to a stop, a single tall, black-armored and lithe figure dropped without a sound. It then drew a staff out of seemingly nowhere with blades very similar to an energy sword at each end.
In the time it took me to blink, the lithe one sped over to the huntsman and with a feint and a strike, had its blade through his heart. A pang of fear washed over me as I realized I couldn't even truly track its movements; it was all just a blur.
I shook my head; I had to avoid this… this thing at all costs. With that in mind, I slowed my approach, being careful make as little noise as possible. After only a few more seconds, I reached the point where the boy entered the woods, his trail obvious even to me. Glancing back, I saw the thing speaking with the surviving Grunts, completely unconcerned of the bodies strewn about.
A Beowolf howled in the distance, giving me pause. 'Shit!' I thought, realizing just who I was chasing. I took off, still trying to be stealthy, but in my haste, I made the occasional audible noise. I was well into the forest now; I just had to hope it would obscure the noises from the thing.
Soon enough, I could hear the angry growling of Beowolves. I quickly drew my sword and dagger, abandoning any attempt at stealth as I caught glimpses of blood red eyes ahead. As I neared, the alpha of the three perked up, growling at me specifically instead of the small log that held its attention before.
I summoned a propulsion glyph under me, sending me airborne and allowing me to leap off another glyph. The alpha howled in rage, sidestepping my strike, but I was never aiming for him. Instead, my blade decapitated one of the others, my dagger plunging into the other minor's eyesocket.
The alpha swiped at me even as its comrades evaporated, but it still lacked the speed and precision or a true elder Grimm. I plunged my dagger into its tricep, my sword aiming for its neck next. It barely dodged, my blade carving off a clump of fur as it whistled past.
As it moved to retaliate with a bite, I skewered the roof of its mouth with my saber. Its eyes grew dark as it slumped, turning to smoke and ash a moment later. I scanned the area, making sure that no more had been drawn here.
When I was sure, I turned to the spot the Beowolves had been so preoccupied with. The log was full of deep claw marks and a few even translated into outright holes. Inside was almost pitch black, but I could faintly hear something inside…
I softly knocked on the wood before giving a quiet and drawn-out whistle; the universal signal for 'I'm not a Grimm'.
A faint sob reached my ears before I heard a whistle from inside the log. A moment later, a boy climbed out the end of the log, sitting on the ground. I could barely make out his features even with the full moon overhead, but I could see a faint streak of red falling from his cheek.
I knelt down to eye-level with him. "I'm Specialist Winter Schnee. We can't stay here, the Covenant are too close." I said quietly.
"E- Eh?" He let out. "Þεν'τη σου'σσυæ…"
I gave him a blank look before sighing. "…This is going to be a problem…" I let out before beckoning him forward. "Come. We must leave."
I stood up and walked backwards for a few steps, seeing if he understood me. Instead, he looked back the way we came. "…Paa…"
I frowned. "We can't stay here. Follow me." He turned back to me and I beckoned him forward once more. After a moment's pause, he finally nodded, standing up.
I quietly led him back to our quote-unquote 'camp', looking back every so often to make sure he didn't wander off or lose his way. We did stumble upon a pack of Creeps, though I dealt with them easily. I wasn't surprised by their appearance, either, knowing the boy's emotional state.
Soon enough, we reached the hollow log. Even under the forest's shadow, Embra's fiery hair was clearly visible. I gave a short but loud whistle, causing her to jump slightly and almost fall off the log. She whipped her head around as the others started stumbling out of their shelter. "Oh, you're back." She said, eyes drifting behind me. "Umm… who's this?"
"Let's wait a moment for everyone to get out here." I said, earning a nod of agreement. When everyone was present, I continued. "I have good news, bad news, and worse news. Which would you like to hear first?"
"Uhh…" Arc let out. "I guess the… good news?"
"Very well. I did find a vehicle at the lights in the distance." I said. "However, the bad news is the Covenant took it before I could. Worse, they've deployed a new unit which I sincerely doubt I could best."
They shared a nervous glance at each other. "But uhh… who's this?" Arc asked, gesturing to the boy behind me.
Glancing back, I stepped aside, gesturing to him. "As it turns out, his house was the source of the lights. He escaped while his father distracted the Covenant. Worse, though, he does not speak Valerian."
"Well… that's a bummer…"
I gave him a deadpan look. "Indeed." I said before turning back to the boy. I gestured to myself. "Winter." I said before gesturing to the students. "Jaune. Nora. Ren. Pyrrha." I said, moving my gesture between them as I spoke before finally settling on the boy himself. "You are…?"
He stood silent for a moment before catching on. "Kory..." He said. "Kory'Chloros." He opened his mouth to say something, but a barely audible buzz emanated from his wrist. He raised his arm, a small orange rectangular hologram springing forth.
He tapped it a few times before he froze. "Þαν'σύθ'φτάς…" He muttered. "Þαν'σύθ'φτάς!" He whipped his hologram around so it faced us, pointing to the graphic of a radio tower transmitting as he smiled.
"Wait, you can get reception out here?!" Arc shouted, pulling out his scroll. "Aww… I still got nothin'…" He said before perking up again. "Hey uhh, Winter? I'm gonna go climb one of these trees, see if I can get a signal."
I sighed as he walked towards the nearest tree. "That won't be necessary, Mister Chloros already has a signal on… whatever device he's using."
He turned around, his back now facing the way I entered the makeshift camp. "Aw, c'mon! I mean, we don't really know who he called and I've got Ruby's number right here!" He said, holding up his scroll. "She could bring that one dreadnought thing that floats above Vale!"
I crossed my arms. "Indeed, however, you are also pointlessly exposing yourself to danger by climbing atop the tre-"
Just then, a giant, plasma-sheathed spear thrust his way through Jaune Arc's chest.
The air shimmered behind him as the tall and lithe thing from the homestead appeared right before our eyes, its T-shaped visor glinting in the moonlight. Jaune glanced down at the blade protruding from his chest, weakly pulling at it as his eyes dulled before he finally fell limp.
The monster showed no remorse as it twisted the blade, the plasma cutting easily through his ribcage as it exited his left side with a sickening sizzle. His body hadn't even hit the ground before I was engaged with the enemy.
/-\ Ruby Rose /-\
I sat, hunched over in my seat as we flew to our new AO in the Kite, my rifle propped up between my legs. The others were apprehensive at the prospect of our mission being changed, but neither I nor Peach had told them everything yet.
I checked my GPS and decided that now was the time. "Alright, we're about ten minutes from the drop zone, time for brief." I said, causing everyone to look up from their scrolls. "At about fourteen-hundred hours yesterday, the village of…" I glanced at my display. "Yeah, I'm not even gonna try with that name. Anyways, a village went dark, but a huntsman team was already en-route to investigate a series of disappearances. When command didn't hear back from them at sunset, they sent in a squad of VDF Rangers; they've gone dark too."
I clasped my hands together. "So now we're being redirected there. Limited orbital recon has some…" I nodded to Weiss. "strange weather suddenly appearing in the middle of the night. Objectives are simple; find out what happened to the village and retrieve a priority-one asset. Thankfully, I talked Witherson into loaning us a pair of 'Hogs to make this a little quicker; Peach and Valkea'll get one, Weiss and I've got the othe-" I paused, getting some weird interference. "…I just lost contact with HQ."
Weiss shot me a worried glance. "…Doesn't this situation seem a little… familiar?"
I frowned, the HUD telling me that all backup channels were dead as well. "Yeah…" I muttered. "All we're missin' is a busted relay dish…" I said before an idea struck me. "Hey, how many bombs ya got?"
"Still half-a-dozen; four infernos, one gravity, and one shock." Weiss said. "Why?"
"We might need them."
I kept trying the comms while we were en-route, but still had no luck. Soon enough, we touched down in the drop zone. I stepped out into a patch of mud, gun raised and already scanning through the light rain.
"Pilot, RTB; we'll find our own way home." I said into comms, the short-range still working, thankfully. He gave his affirmations and took off. Only a few seconds later, a pair of Pelicans touched down, depositing their cargo. "Pelicans, return to the Odinsdottir and tell Witherson we have possible contact with Covenant forces and to prepare a counterattack if he doesn't hear from us in twenty-four hours."
"Wilco, Lieutenant Commander. Good hunting." He responded, taking off back into the atmosphere.
I glanced around, my motion tracker clear. "Alright people, mount up! Valkea, I know Peach can drive so you're on the gun. Weiss, take ours." I said, climbing into the driver's seat. Once they were mounted up, I took off, the tires flinging mud behind us.
Oddly enough, we did not encounter any Grimm whatsoever; the forest being eerily silent. After a few minutes of driving, we came to a road; the sparse forest being easy enough to drive through, although rough.
I took the vehicle at a relatively slow pace, trying to keep the noise down as much as possible. If Weiss and I were right, it wouldn't matter, but we could always be wrong…
…right?
I shook my head, trying to keep it on a swivel. My thoughts drifted to our friends and how they've been here for over half-a-day now without reinforcements. As we approached a house, I noticed something… odd with the trees.
All of them were tilted in one direction.
On closer inspection, the house had several windows broken, leafy branches sticking out of them. Several lighter things were toppled over, pinned against the house. Some roof tiles were even peeled back.
I frowned. "Weiss, with me." I said, dismounting. "The rest of you, stay here. We'll be back soon."
She hopped off the gun, drawing her rapier as we headed deeper into the forest. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"Look at the trees."
She scanned them for a moment, giving me a confused look before I pointed upward. She paused. "…What do you think did that?"
I shrugged. "That's what we're gonna find out…"
As we ventured further into the forest, the damage became more apparent; more extreme. The trees went from having a slight but noticeable tilt to them to being a forty-five-degree angle… or worse. A lot of the larger trees were outright snapped, some smaller ones being completely uprooted.
We continued on and finally found a place where all trees, regardless of size, were snapped… both facing away from us and facing towards us. "Looks like this is where it happened…" I said.
"Whatever it is…" She said.
I hummed. "Spread out and search for clues." I said before cuing my mic. "How're you guys doing?"
"Just fine, Miss Rose… though I am wonderin' just who put'cha in charge o' this little expedition."
I blinked. "Eh, sorry; force of habit." I said, turning back to the investigation. I glanced around, moving to the exact center of the event. As I did so, the mud became substantially more viscous and I sank deeper with each and every step.
By the time I actually reached the epicenter, I was up to my mid-thigh and struggling to take even a single step forwa-
I hit something.
I paused, bending down slightly and reaching into the mud. Through the ODST BDU, I felt something… squishy. It felt organic, but it probably wasn't alive; not anymore, at least. I was about to just leave it, thinking a deer or something just got unlucky, but then I grazed over something unsettlingly familiar.
A Human hand.
Fearing the worst, I immediately reached down with my other hand and pulled the body to the surface. Though I couldn't recognize his mud-caked face, and it was definitely a he, his outfit… his armor was instantly recognizable. As was Crocea Mors, still strapped to his hip. I took a moment to examine his injuries, as it was very apparent he didn't drown in the mud…
/-\ Embra Autumnos /-\
"JAUNE!" I screamed as my boyfriend fell to the ground.
I rushed over to him as the sounds of combat echoed around me.
I knelt by him, feeling for a pulse. My veins turned to ice when I found none…
My eye flared, a [Burn]ing hatred for the monster that killed my boyfriend becoming the only thought in my head.
I screamed, unleashing everything I had…
/-\ Ruby Rose /-\
"Ruby, I found something!" I heard over comms.
I sighed, taking one last look at Jaune Arc, retrieving his weapon, and letting the earth reclaim him. I glanced over to my partner, who was none the wiser of what I just found. "What is it?" I asked, wiping the mud off his still shining blade as I slowly made my way towards her.
"Tracks." She said. "Vehicle tracks."
I hummed. "Covvies don't use very many things that leave tracks."
"Exactly what I thou-" She stopped as she saw me. "…Where did you get that?"
"Where do you think?" I asked, finally stepping onto somewhat dry land as the rain continued to fall around us.
"I…" She started. "But…" She cut herself off. "d- do you think… do you think anyone else…?"
"We just found one body." I said, trying my best to divorce my friend from the body I found. "Plasma through the chest; looked like an exit wound." I pushed past her, examining the tracks she found. "Tracked vehicle; probably an APC or maybe an IFV."
"You're just going to move on? Just like that?" She asked. "I mean, I know I wasn't the nicest to him, but he still deserves-"
"We don't have time for that right now!" I shouted, wheeling around to face her. "He'll get a funeral, that's for damn sure. But right now? Right now, we've got covvies and Grimm crawling all around us. We have to keep a clear head." I said. "When we're back at Beacon… Then, then we can grieve."
She stared at me, her face unreadable behind her polarized visor. "Yes sir." She said, marching back the way we came.
I sighed, strapping the sword to my free hip and following her. "We're on our way back." I said over comms. "Found a clue."
Soon enough, we silently climbed into the Warthog and took off. We found the tracks after only a minute or so of searching; the vehicle making a deep depression in the waterlogged gravel road. The wind damage tapered off completely as we drove on, but then both plasma damage and that from conventional weaponsfire appeared on the trees…
…along with a destroyed Ghost.
/-\ Lie Ren /-\
I had my hands full.
With one, I cradled a sobbing Nora as she buried herself in my chest. With the other hand, I did my best to assist Specialist Schnee in bandaging her wound.
Above us, the cannon roared; the vehicle's purple-skinned crew yelling at each other in their incomprehensible language.
The vehicle lurched to the side moments before an explosion shook us around the cabin. I glanced over at the only Human in the vehicle's crew, who was applying some sort of gel to Embra's unconscious body. I sighed, getting back to work…
/-\ Ruby Rose /-\
We passed a large scorch mark in the road, glints of glass shining in the black as we continued on.
"I'm… still not comfortable with just moving on, buuut…" My partner trailed off. "You said an IFV made these tracks, right?"
"Yep."
"Umm… Remnant has no IFVs."
"…Shit." I let out. "And the UNSC sure as hell didn't bring any with. Alright people, stay frosty. Best case scenario, we've got locals with some serious hardware on their hands. Worst case? Another first-contact."
As we continued on, the tracks became shallower but still easily visible. Eventually, the light rain turned to drizzle, then to nothing as the morning sun poked out from the clouds. As we continued to wind through the forest, we came upon another destroyed Ghost, making me smirk.
We continued on for another half-hour, not encountering any more Ghost wrecks, but also still seeing no sign of the IFV. Suddenly, my scroll rang in my pocket. I answered immediately, not even checking who it was.
"This is Sierra-B3-"
"Oh t-nk -e g-s…" I heard from the other end. The connection was very robotic, but I could still recognize the speaker.
"Ren?" I let out. "What's your status? Do you have any injured? Where are you?"
"I'm-" He coughed. "…al-ght… all thi- -sidered." He said. "-ere's… the- a m-ns-r. -ve b-n u- -ll -ight t-in- -o-" Suddenly, the connection dropped. I cued my mic. "Just got off the phone with Ren. He's alive, but he might need help." My scroll pinged again. "Aaaand he's just activated his scroll's emergency beacon. Double time it, team!"
Gunfire resounded off in the distance, just barely audible over my vehicle's engine. "Hang on!" I shouted, flooring it.
"R- Ruby!" Weiss shouted from the turret. "Slow down! This isn't safe!"
I dodged another tree. "Remember what I am, Weiss?" I asked, using a rock as a ramp. I didn't even bother looking down at my scroll, only following the ever-increasing sound of gunfire and explosions.
"Yes! You're a psychopath behind the wheel!"
I was about to retort when a flash of blue sailed out of its cover. "Enemies! Front!" I shouted shortly before the chaingun roared to life, the other 'Hog's weapon joining it not long after.
Confused, a Grunt ran out into the open, arms flailing in panic; it became a speed bump not long after. In the corner of my eye, I saw an Elite's shields pop, the alien falling after another split-second of 50-caliber lead rain.
We charged into a slight clearing, an armored and smoldering wreck off to one side as multicolored bolts of plasma assailed a small ditch on the other. As I headed for the ditch to load up any survivors, I noticed a slight shimmer in the air.
I turned the wheel to swerve around it just as a solid white outline appeared around the tall and lithe figure as it squatted down. The 'Hog missed it by an inch or maybe even less as it skidded into place right on the edge of the ditch.
I dismounted, immediately drawing Wilt to counter the spear-wielder. As soon as it cleared the sheath, the enemy was upon me and I threw myself off balance just so I wouldn't be skewered. I felt a slight burn in my arm; I hadn't been quite successful.
I rolled on the ground, avoiding another strike as I slashed at my opponent; it dodged the moment my muscles moved and was already counterattacking by the time my attack would've landed.
I burst into rose petals, the sword already in motion when I rematerialized. This time, I just barely nicked its shield. "Weiss! Gravity!" I shouted, dodging yet another counterattack. My heart was already pounding a mile a minute, everything having slowed down substantially…
…except my opponent.
I put all my strength into my next strike, every ounce to convince him that this is where I'd strike next. It took the bait, sidestepping right into my trap. I shot it with Blush, still mounted on my hip. Its shields were barely phased, but it bought me enough time to adjust Wilt's trajectory and land an actual hit on the alien.
It flinched, but not as much as I hoped. That didn't matter anymore, though, as the gravity bomb went off right at its feet.
Both of us floated skyward and with my off-hand, I reached back and retrieved Noble Rose, quickly lining up a killshot and opening fire…
…only for it to jerk to the side, flying towards me spear first.
I twisted, pushing the blade aside with Noble Rose as I struck him with Wilt's pommel. It grabbed my wrist and crushed. I screamed, feeling my carbide-coated bones creek under the pressure. My aura flared and I kneed it in the groin, breaking its concentration.
I quickly burst back into rose petals, stowing the bulky Noble Rose on my back. Finally, concentrated 50-caliber fire rained down on it. The enemy dropped from the sky, defying the gravity bomb and seeking refuge back in the forest. Within moments, it was gone.
I turned back to the battlefield and saw that it had instantly become silent, no weapons firing on either side. "Quick! Into the 'Hogs!" I shouted, looking into the ditch.
What I saw in there was a sight I'd seen many, many times during the war.
Bodies. That and wounded that were nearly just bodies.
No one in the ditch was uninjured. Embra had a charred hole in her side, glassy eyes barely seeing. Nora had the outside of her left arm completely charred down to the bone. Ren had a huge hole in his right chest. Winter was the only one even remotely upright, but had still lost a chunk of her leg from a plasma wound. Aside from them, there was a single purple-skinned… thing laying there, its head having been mostly burned away by plasma.
"Peach! Get over here! I need help loading the wounded! Valkea, Weiss! Keep watch!" I said, already grabbing Embra and buckling her into the passenger seat of my 'Hog.
"Oh, gods!" Peach shouted, peering over the edge.
"Get a move on!" I shouted, running back and grabbing Winter next. I quickly shoved her into the bed, earning a scream from Weiss. "Keep your eyes peeled!" I shouted. "They could attack at any time!"
"R- r- roger!" She stuttered as I grabbed Ren, buckling him into Peach's Warthog as she helped Nora into the bed.
"Mount up! We are leaving!" I climbed into the driver's seat, peeling away from the scene.
/-\ Hostile Contact /-\
I meditated on the fight with the Demon Witch.
They were tricky prey, both Demons and Witches, but a Demon Witch?
I caressed the single scratch on my armor.
She will pay for that…
(A/N) Aaaand we now have our first Covenant-aligned enemy that can match a Spartan!
…and severely fuck up an entire team of huntsman trainees. RIP Jaune.
Also our first main character death; well, main-ish character death. Jaune hasn't played that big a role in the story, tbh. Also, I didn't forget about the boy that Winter saved, he's dead and RWV didn't find the body. Not that they even knew to look, but whatever.
And with this chapter, the Volume 2 Finale is underway! Either two or three chapters and this volume will be finished.
One more thing, the translations!
"Αυτό είναι το φαγητό σας?" (Af-toe ee-nay toe fa-geeto sahce) Is this food yours?
"Þεν'τη σου'σσυæ…" (Th-en-tea soh-sooah) I don't understand your language.
"Þαν'σύθ'φτάς!" (Thaan-seeth-ftaas) They're coming soon!
So yeah, the eagle-eyed among you will notice that these are not the same language. The first one is plain ol' Greek and the bottom two are a conlang I'm in the process of cooking up… even if those are the only two phrases I have so far…
Aaaaaaaanyways, onto the reviews!
C313st14 said – "I've kinda shipped Winter and Ruby ever since they came back to beacon, and thanks to Winter being bi that just gives me green light to do so"
Welp, this is the RWBY fandom, ship to your heart's content.
Raw666 said – "Well, it felt a little over the place, as though it belongs in other chapters but good job getting everything up to date and perspective. Especially we learn what happen to the rednecks, as Ruby calls them, and we see Vale's joke of a tank. And did it seriously need ten people or where some of them in there to train in the usage of the tank with their superous keeping watch."
Yep, it does actually need 10 people.
4 dedicated gunners, 1 commander (also radio operator), 2 mechanics, 1 loader who also moonlights as a gunner, the driver, and the assistant driver who also operates the forward machinegun.
Yep, ten people. For reference, the British mk1 had a crew of 8 and the A7V had 18-24 crew. Somehow.
McDouggal said – "Caught up with this and its sister fic.
I'm definitely interested. The first person perspective is not one that you see often in fanfic, but it's done fairly well here. Nothing stood out to me as a mistake (aside from Alice initially sounding way too much like Cortana for my tastes).
I will admit, I wasn't sold on the whole "Covenant invasion" thing. That was probably my biggest problem with the fic; when it comes to universes with this much power differential, I tend towards keeping the crossover as limited as possible (as I did in my own RWBY crossover). That being said, you've made it work so far.
The only real big problem I had was Raven's attack on Kuo Kuana. It fails to make any sense to me, and the only reason for it occurring seems to have been to send Yang to Summer and break Ruby's armor. Also, frankly, the commenter who thought Yang was being to harsh with the "egg donor" comment was kind of dumb. That sentiment is very popular among children whose biological mothers abandoned or abused them, especially if they had another mother figure step in."
Glad you're enjoying it!
Yeah, the whole "power differential" thing is pretty much why I decided not to touch the Flood in this fic; if they can wipe out the Forerunners, Remnant doesn't really stand a chance without feeling *amazingly* contrived. That's also why I only sent a small covvie fleet for the invasion and even then, had them do a force split while justifying it as the fleetmaster thinking "It's just a lightly defended Human world, we won't need our full might to secure the Oracle."
One minor correction: Raven and her merry little band didn't attack Kuo Kuana; they attacked a random Mistralian port town that I pretty much made up exclusively to be burned down by them and the Grimm.
So yeah, that's it for this chapter! See ya next time in "We Never Went Quietly"… chapter title is a WIP.
