Key:
Normal text is for the reactions of the Freelancers and their host
Bold is the footage they are watching
[Text in Brackets denotes Maine using the tablet Ivan gave him]
-Line Break-
"Firing main cannon."
-Sheila, RvB
-Line Break-
"It'll certainly be interesting to see you dealing with these guys, Tex." remarked York as Ivan started the episode.
"Technically," replied Tex, "I only said you'd see the reason I show up at Blood Gulch in these next few episodes, but whatever."
*Begin episode 8*
Don't Ph34r the Reaper
Flowers couldn't help but frown, why did that title fill him with such dread?
The camera fades to Sheila's turret pointing at Grif, and then turning to Simmons.
"Why is it just sitting there?" Grif asked aloud.
"Just trying to mess with our heads." Simmons said slowly, "Let's get back to the Warthog."
The camera then cut to a view of Sheila's HUD.
"This tank is equipped with an auto-fire sequence that can be activated by pressing the auto-fire button." explained Sheila.
"Auto-fire, auto-fire, here, here!" said Caboose, "No, wait... okay, that's more a switch than a button…" In his search, Caboose proceeded to ignore Sheila's warning.
"This will end the tutorial, and should only be activated if proper safety procedures-"
"There is no way that ends well" commented York.
The camera cuts back to Simmons and Grif.
"Okay, you ready?" asked Simmons, "Let's do this on three. One…"
"Wait. On three? Or three and then go?" interrupted Grif.
"On three. It's always faster to go on three." explained the maroon soldier.
"Okay, okay. On three."
The camera cuts back to Sheila's HUD.
"Here!" Caboose says triumphantly as a 'click' is heard.
"Tutorial deactivated. Auto-fire sequence activated." said Sheila.
"Definitely not gonna end well."
"What tipped you off?" Wyoming asked sarcastically.
The camera cuts back to Simmons.
"Ready?" he asked.
Back to Sheila's HUD.
"Acquiring target."
The camera then cuts to Church and Tucker.
"I'm going for the jeep. Cover me." Church said to the technically-aqua-but-currently-covered-in-black-shit-soldier.
The camera cuts to Simmons and Grif.
"One…" Simmons began his countdown, but failed to notice Grif slowly backing away. Grif then turns around and starts running away. The camera cuts to Sheila's HUD, her crosshair following Grif.
"That backstabbing-!" Connie started to shout.
"I'm not sure you should talk, Connie." South interrupted, causing Connie to whirl on her.
"What's that supposed to-"
"Both of you stop." Tex cut in, the authority in her voice causing both Freelancers to back down. "South, all I'm going to say is that Connie had a good reason for what she did."
"But-"
"Now drop it. It's in the past. That, and we're all dead regardless, so there's no point in holding grudges about that stuff." South wanted to argue, but had to admit Texas raised a good point.
"Target acquired." said Sheila.
The camera cuts to Grif running towards the Warthog.
"Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit…" said Grif, panting heavily as he ran. The camera cuts back to Simmons, who is still unaware of Grif leaving him behind.
"Two…"
The camera cuts back to Sheila's HUD just as her targeting system locks onto Grif.
"Target locked."
"Incoming karma." said Connie, eyeing the screen with slight anger. Despite the argument that almost broke out between the two, South agreed with her.
The camera cuts to Church running towards the Warthog, panting loudly.
[I know these guys aren't real soldiers but come on.] said Maine, [How out of shape are these people? They're barely even running that far and yet they're already so out of breath.]
The camera cuts to Simmons just as he finishes his countdown.
"Three!" He says as he turns around, only to see the already fleeing form of the orange soldier. "Oh, you backstabbing cock bite!"
"Firing main cannon." was all Sheila had to say. Sheila then fired causing the Warthog to explode right in front of Grif.
The camera cuts back to Simmons.
"Son of a bitch!" cried the maroon soldier, crouching at the sound of the tank firing.
The camera cuts to Grif.
"SON OF A BITCH!" He cried in shock.
The camera cuts to Church, who is near the explosion when it occurs.
"Son of a bitch!" shouted Church.
Flowers sucks in a small breath as he sees how close Church was to the explosion. He could only pray that the Alpha didn't get damaged.
"Firing main cannon." Sheila repeated
"Shit!" cried Simmons, he and Grif tried to run for cover as Sheila fired again.
"Shit, god dammit!" Simmons and Grif were still scrambling all over the place.
"Firing main cannon." Sheila repeated again.
"Dammit!" Simmons and Grif run somewhere off-camera as Sheila fired yet again.
"Firing main cannon." Sheila repeated for a fourth time as she fired another round.
The camera cuts to Church running back up to Tucker.
"Hey dude, the jeep blew up." commented the technically-aqua-but-was-currently-covered-in-black-shit soldier.
"Cue sarcastic remark." joked York.
"No kidding. Thanks for the update, Tucker." Church replied sarcastically.
The camera then cuts to Grif and Simmons, who are currently hiding behind a rock.
"There is no way that's going to protect them for long." muttered Ivan.
"Firing main cannon." Sheila said for the upteenth time as he fired, hitting the rock.
"Hey, I have a GREAT idea." Simmons said in a mocking tone, "Let's get out of the jeep and sneak around the back of the rock."
"Firing main cannon."
"Great plan, you idiot!"
The camera cuts to Sheila's HUD looking at the rock.
"All targets eliminated. Acquiring new target." said Sheila after her systems could no longer detect the two Red Troopers. Her crosshair then starts to pan up and to the left.
"What is she even expecting to hit?" South asked with a slightly incredulous tone. Flowers had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't like the answer for some reason.
The camera cuts back to Church and Tucker with Church standing in the open looking down at the tank.
"Hey, Tucker, look at this, man - it's the rookie!" Church said, clearly impressed, "And he brought tank out to scare off the reds."
"What? No way!" Tucker replied.
"Hey, rookie! Good job, man! Why didn't you tell us you knew how to drive the tank?" Church called out.
"New target acquired." said Sheila as her turret spun around to aim at Church.
The camera then cuts to Sheila's HUD as her crosshair is slowly panning up the cliffside to aim at Church.
Flowers' eyes widened.
"What?"
"That's not a target. That's Church!" said Caboose.
"Yeah, that's right, it's me, Church!" the sky-blue soldier shouted, "What's going on, man?"
"No." Flowers said quietly, but still drawing a few stares.
"Target locked." said Sheila.
The camera cuts to Caboose in the driver's seat.
"What!? No! Target unlock!" the Blue rookie shouted frantically, "Unlock! Please help me, nice lady!"
"No no no no no no nononononONONONONONONONONONO!" was the only thing the normally calm Freelancer could shout in his panic. By now everyone was staring at him in confusion and slight fear, none of them could understand why usually zen Flowers now seemed on the verge of a panic attack.
The camera cuts back to Sheila's HUD.
"Firing main cannon." Sheila said simply.
The camera cuts back to Caboose.
"Uh oh…"
Cut to Tucker.
"Uh oh…"
The camera finally cuts to Church.
"What? ..Oh, son of a bi-" was all Church could say before Sheila fired, launching him into the air. His body hit the rock face before landing back on the ledge.
"NOOOOOO NONONONOOOOOO!" screamed Flowers, clutching his head in horror.
"Stop the video, stop the video, STOP THE VIDEO!" shouted Tex, Ivan scrambled for the remote in response before hitting the pause video. Tex had quickly made her way over to Flowers and was trying to get him to calm down. The rest of the Freelancers (and Ivan) couldn't understand why Flowers of all people was freaking out like this over a Sim Trooper (although Ivan still had no idea what the term meant).
"Flowers, Flowers, listen to me. Listen to me." said Tex in a gentle but firm voice, "It's okay. It is okay. Church is going to be okay. Trust me, he is going to be O. K." Wyoming stood up from his recliner and made his way over to Florida as well.
"She's right, old chap. I can attest to it, Church is going to be fine." said the mustached Freelancer, although he did add a "mostly" under his breath, but Florida didn't hear that part.
"I can confirm it too." added South, causing them to look at her, "Remember, earlier I said I recognized some of these guys. Church was one of them." Florida slowly looked from Tex, to Wyoming, to South, and back to Tex. Seeing no hints of lying in their eyes, he slowly took a deep breath as he calmed down.
"Are you going to be okay?" asked Ivan. Florida was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes." he answered, then looked around and saw that he had spilled some food during his freak out, "Sorry about the mess." Ivan snapped his fingers in response. As soon as he did, the mess vanished. It looked like nothing ever happened.
"It's no big deal. Now, are you going to be okay if we continue watching? Or do you need more of a break?" Flowers thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.
"I'm fine, you can resume the video." At that, Ivan raised the remote and hit play.
The camera then cuts to Tucker.
"Holy fuck! Church, are you okay? Talk to me! Church!" Tucker cried in surprise. The camera cuts to Sheila with Tucker still in view.
"You shot Church, you team-killing fucktard!" shouted Tucker.
All of the Freelancers (and Ivan) couldn't think to do anything but stare at the screen incredulously. This guy's teammate just got blown up by a tank right in front of him and that was his response?
"Auto-fire sequence deactivated." said Sheila.
"Tucker! ...T-Tucker!" Church gasped out as he was dying.
"Church! It's going to be okay, man." said Tucker, trying to reassure his teammate.
"Ummm, no." Ivan said bluntly, "The amount of people I know, or at least know personally, that can be shot by a tank and walk it off can be counted on one hand. And that includes myself." At this point, the Freelancers weren't even going to react when he said stuff like that anymore.
"No. Ah... I'm na-I'm not gonna make it. Tucker... there's something I need to tell you." Church said weakly.
Everyone leaned in at least a little.
"What is it?" asked Tucker.
"I just want you to know.." said Church.
Everyone leaned in farther
"I always hated you. I always hated you the most."
"Yeah, I know you did. Now hurry up and die, you prick." Tucker deadpanned.
"Okay." replied Church, "Herk!...Bleah…" With Church's death, the screen fades to black.
*End Episode*
Everyone sat there in silence trying to process what happened. None of them were unfamiliar with death, and no, that's not just because they were all dead (with the exception of Ivan). Florida was more than upset about what he just saw happen to the Alpha, which he had been tasked with protecting. Then again, he himself remembered seeing Church when that alien had revived him. As in, Church had a physical body. Wait, did that mean… ? With a new theory in mind, Flowers was eager to find out if he was right.
Tex had already known that Church would end up a 'ghost', but it still wasn't easy seeing someone she cared about dying like that.
South was personally hung up on Church's last words to Tucker, thinking about what her last words to North would have been if she had died first. Of course, both of them were already dead, so no use dwelling on it. Right?
"So…" Ivan said slowly, "Next episode?" after not hearing any opposition for a few seconds, the prince lifted the remote and hit play.
*Begin Episode 9*
After Church
Florida frowned, did whoever title these episodes have to rub salt in the wound like that? Wait, did Vic title these?
The camera fades in to Simmons and Grif running up the ramp to Red Base, where Donut is waiting for them with the Blue Flag.
"What happened?" asked the recruit.
"Big… Tank…" Grif panted out, "Shooting… Whooooh!"
"Damn, man, we only ran like three hundred feet. You are really out of shape." commented Simmons.
[That's what I said!] Maine pointed out. [And before anyone says it, I know they can't hear me.] York was in the middle of raising his finger and opening his mouth, but stopped after hearing Maine.
"Fuck... You…" said the orange soldier, still breathing heavily.
"Where's your car?" asked Donut.
"General Patton here had a great strategy to leave it behind." Simmons said sarcastically.
"Hey, it would have worked if that tank hadn't shown up." Grif shot back.
"Actually, I don't think it would have." pointed out North, "Before Phyl- I mean, Sheila, showed up, Church was just about to steal the Puma."
"Warthog." corrected South.
"But it does look like a puma, though." said Flowers.
"You lost the jeep? Oh man, Lopez is gonna be pissed." said Donut. "Where is it?" As if on cue, the Warthog suddenly lands on the base after being propelled by an explosion, landing between Donut and the other two.
"There it is." said York.
The camera cuts to a different angle to reveal Sheila in the background.
"What the hell..!?" Grif wondered before he is cut off by Sheila firing.
"SON OF A BITCH!"
"Oh crap!" Donut shouts in surprise as he grabs the flag, "What the hell is that thing?"
"That's the tank!" Grif answered as he crouched by the Warthog/Puma.
"Hey uh, Grif, uh, you wanna hold the flag for a little bit?" offered the Red rookie as Sheila fired again.
"No, keep that away from me!" Grif shouted over the resulting explosion.
"I'd argue that you actually would want to be near the flag." said Tex.
"Why's that?" asked Connie.
"She has a point," said Ivan, "Even if it's for stupid reasons, that flag is very important-slash-valuable to the Blues. They aren't gonna want it damaged."
"See?" Tex said, giving Ivan a smirk, "The kid gets it."
The camera cuts to Caboose in Sheila with Tucker standing beside them just as Sheila fire another round.
"Why do you keep firing at the jeep?" Tucker asked Caboose.
"Because it's locked on!" answered the Blue rookie, slightly irritated.
"Target locked." Sheila confirmed.
"Well, unlock it." Tucker said with an irritated voice of his own.
"Last time I unlocked it, I KILLED CHURCH!"
"Oh, right... keep shooting the jeep then."
The camera cuts to Donut.
"I hate to be the one to point this out guys, but I think we're screwed." Said Donut as Sheila causes another explosion.
"What tipped you off? Is it the tank currently destroying your base?" South asked sarcastically.
"Yeah. I have to agree with the rookie on this one." admitted Simmons. All of a sudden, radio sounds can be heard. The camera cuts to a Pelican with Sarge's voice being heard over the radio.
"Blood Gulch Outpost Number One. Come in, Blood Gulch Outpost, come in. Do you read me? This is Sergeant-"
"Oh my god, Sarge, is that you?" Grif interrupted.
"Roger that, Private." confirmed Sarge "I am currently in-bound to your position from Command."
"Wait," York said in realization, causing everyone to look at him, "Do any of us know Sarge's real name?" Everyone, except Flowers, thought for a minute. And realized they didn't. Not even Tex. "Sooooooo… does that mean-"
"I know what his name is." Flowers cut in.
"Then what is it, old chap?" asked Wyoming.
"Not gonna tell you."
"What? Why not" asked South, which caused Flowers to grin.
"Because spoilers." his response caused everyone to groan, which in turn caused them to not hear the "maybe" he added under his breath.
"Come on man." complained York, "We already have Tex messing with us, don't you start too."
"Sir," Simmons said, with Sheila firing again and narrowly missing his head, "this is Simmons."
"Hello, Simmons." acknowledged Sarge, "I hope everything's gone alright while I've been gone."
"Actually, sir, things are kind of hectic right now. The new rookie arrived, and somehow he managed to-" Grif started to explain, with Sheila periodically firing and causing explosions, "-infiltrate the Blue Base, and now we have their flag, the Warthog is damaged, one of their-" BOOM -guys is dead, and there's this huge fucking tank about to destroy our base." This response causes Sarge to say nothing for a moment, with the camera cutting back and forth between the Pelican, and Simmons and Grif, as he tries to process what he has just been told.
"...Am I talkin' to the right base?"
Just you wait, Sarge, thought Tex, Soon enough, stuff like this is going to become a norm for you guys.
"Sarge," BOOM "WE. ARE GOING. TO DIE HERE!" shouts the orange soldier.
"Well then hold tight, boys. I think I gotta solution to your little "tank" problem."
The camera cuts to Tucker as he looks up to the sky.
"Uh oh." said the covered-in-black-shit soldier as the Pelican flew over Red Base.
"Hey, Caboose," he said nervously, "you might wanna get out of the tank. Like right now."
"I can't figure out how to get this thing open!" Caboose responded.
"Night vision engaged." was all Sheila had to add.
"Rookie, get out now!" Tucker insisted as shells were exploding progressively closer to the tank.
"Okay, open the do-" Caboose said in a panic, "Okay, I, Sheila, will you please open the door?"
South snorted.
"Like that's going to work."
"Driver canopy open." Sheila replied as Caboose got out and ran away.
"Huh," said North, "It actually worked."
"Thank you for using the M808V Main Battle-" Sheila is cut off by a shell hitting her and exploding, which causes her to flip upside down.
"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! Running, running, running!" said Caboose, "Man, that was close." he said once he was a fair distance away.
"Look at your tank though." said Tucker. The camera then cuts to Sheila.
"I'm scared, Dave. Will I dream?" Sheila asked aloud, "Dai-sy…" Sheila began to sing, her voice becoming elongated and distorted, "Dai-sy…"
"Maybe those dreams will be of electric sheep." muttered Ivan with a smirk.
The camera cuts back to Caboose and Tucker.
"Sheeeeiilaaaaa! Noooooo!" cried Caboose.
"What? No! Sheila! Sheila!" Tucker shouted, before realizing he had no idea who 'Sheila' was, "W-Wait... Who's Sheila?"
"Sheila's the lady in the tank. She was my friend…" Caboose replied sadly.
"Oh, dude! I knew you could pick up chicks in a tank!" Tucker said as the screen faded to black.
"Goddammit, Tucker." groaned Connie and South simultaneously, before giving each other a light glare for the accidental synchronisation.
*End Episode*
"So," said Tex, "There you have it, the reason I was called to Blood Gulch."
"Is that what that canyon is called?" asked Ivan.
"Yes."
[You sure you're okay?] Maine asked Flowers. Flowers nodded.
"Yes, I'm fine." he said, "Just let me get some more popcorn to replace the stuff I spilled and we can start the next episode."
Author's Note:
Well, shit. Once again I've gone for a long time without updating. On the upside, Think of this chapter as a nice little gift for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Whatever you celebrate. Hell, this might even be a Birthday present for some of you. So as per usual, I'm really sorry this took so long, but I've had school and stuff. Also, I've been sort of working on other stories that I hope to put out this month. This includes:
-A Persona 4/RWBY crossover based on a crossover prompt I found a while back. The premise is that the Investigation Team failed to stop Izanami, but instead of being killed, Yu and his friends (that includes Social Links) were sent to Remnant for a second chance at life.
-A Persona 5/RWBY crossover where Adam is taken from Remnant and replaces Akira Kurusu/P5 Protag as the protagonist.
-A Pokemon/ATLA crossover I started way back when that will have a sequel where it crosses with RWBY.
-Another story idea I have is one where RWBY crosses over with multiple other series, including Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Asura's Wrath, and Star Wars. This one isn't as set-in-stone, though. Characters that would be sent to Remnant would include: Dio Brando, Kira Yoshikage, Asura, Yasha, Anakin Skywalker, and Obi-wan Kenobi. Those are who I have in mind so far. What other two people should I include? They don't have to be from the same franchise. Tell me what you think of this idea.
-A RWBY story where four very powerful people, one of which is Ivan, end up on Remnant. They attract the attention of Ozpin, who offers them positions teaching at Beacon. They accept, and from this point on, the story becomes very AU with eventual OOC-ness. It would be a crack fic in a way, but there would be a method to the madness.
-A RWBY story where a guy, let's say he's… an associate of Ivan's ends up on Remnant and, knowing the events of Volumes 1-3, decides he wants to change these events somewhat. And he does this by adding a new piece to the game. Butterfly Effect ensues and a few destinies are changed, some for better, and some for worse.
So, if any of these catch your interest, be sure to keep an eye out for them! With that stuff out there, on to replies!
Shiranai Atsune
I guess that piece of equipment didn't count in Wyoming's eyes since he could only seem to go back a few minutes at most.
As for wanting to know why Tex got to Blood Gulch, I just figure they want to know why Tex seems kind of attached to the Blood Gulchers
Zedlyfier
Thank you for being understanding, I'm glad you've enjoyed the series so far. Anyway, yeah, Angry Caboose is gonna be fun.
djmegamouth
Neither do I. Oh well.
RWBYSTRQ
I'm glad to hear it! Yeah, waiting for that sounds like a good idea.
Ender the multiverse Detective
I'll do my best, I'm glad you've enjoyed this so far.
D3F4LT
*crying* I'm trying.
Beta117
Ummm… sorry, I guess? I'll keep it in mind, but no one else has been complaining…
MKDemigodZ-Warrior
Probably.
ultima-owner
Yup, I like to think everything worked out for the better though. The Blood Gulch Crew has grown so much.
The Richmaster
I'm happy to hear that! Yeah, just wait until we get to the actual time-travel shenanigans.
Tristin
Thank you for that.
Knight
Yeah…
TheCrystalWolf
No big deal, just remember that I have a life outside of this Fic. As much as I enjoy writing it, I do have other stuff I need to worry about.
Kaiborg
Relax, I don't plan on quitting anytime soon. I'm really sorry about the wait but I have school and I'm also trying to work on other Fics is all.
Leonard L. Church
Thank you so much for understanding. It's an honor to have this praised by you of all people.
key
I'm working on it. I'm also working on other fics, so maybe keep an eye out for those if you like my writing! I'm glad you enjoy this.
As always, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! If you enjoy this Fic and want more, be sure to Follow and Favorite it. If you enjoy my writing, be sure to check other Fics I put out. Keep an eye out for them by following me. Constructive criticism is always welcome. See you next time!
-Finch Daemon