A/N: I have a surprise for you guys if you make it to the end of the chapter.
Drake: Is it cake?
Soap: What is it with you and food? And no, it's not cake.
Drake: Then what is it?
Soap: Get to the end of the chapter and you'll find out.
Edit: 3-26-2015; Although I will be, if I haven't already finished, rewriting the chapters to be in first person up to this point; this chapter will remain unchanged as a testimony of sorts for just how far I have come as way of writing this story.
Chapter 14: gives us the
Now back in the room that was provided to them by Ozpin; Soap was laying on his bed, typing out a message to his teammates regarding their next mission. They would be visiting Soap's home away from home. An abandoned, Grimm War era, military stronghold situated in the mountains west of Atlas and north of Vacuo, (see A/N at the bottom of chapter) to make their yearly maintenance of said base. Sending the message, Soap thought back to when he found the base.
3 years ago, he was chasing a bounty that originated in the kingdom of Mistral, when the criminal fled to the base in a last ditch attempt to lose Soap. Needless to say, the criminal failed to escape him; Soap secured his bounty and returned to Vale to retrieve his reward. Afterwards, Soap returned to the base to uncover clues as to the possible whereabouts of his bounty's cohorts. What he found, was something else entirely. He found what was once the largest military base in the world.
Smiling, Soap thought to himself, '3 years and the thing's so damn huge that I still haven't explored it all. Oh well, something for me to do later.'
About an hour later, all of Team BNTY was gathered in the hanger of Beacon Academy.
"Alright guys, over the next couple of days, we will be visiting my home away from home for routine maintenance. This will be Sam and Drake's first time there, so Sarah and Bucky, you two will be in charge of making sure that they don't get lost." Soap said, starting up the ramp of their Bullhead.
"Is it really that big?" Sam asked, following him up the ramp.
"Actually, yes it is. It was once considered the largest military stronghold in the world. Even I still haven't explored it all." Soap said.
"How long will it take to get there?" Drake asked.
"A couple of days. Why do you ask?"
"A couple of days. Couldn't you and Sarah just teleport us there?"
"No." Soap responded.
"Why not?" Sam asked.
"I wish we could teleport there." Sarah said. "However, it's just too damn far; if we were to try, we would end up in the ocean."
"Oh. O.K." Sam said as she sat down in her seat.
"You guys get some rest, Sarah and I will swap out flying." Soap said, starting up the Bullhead's engines. Before he took off, he sent a message to Team RWBY and Ozpin telling them that they would be out of contact for a couple of weeks, the round trip combined with the maintenance time would all together take about three weeks, and that he would send for RWBY if he needed them. The message sent, he pushed more power to engines and took off.
A couple of days later...
Soap and his team arrived at their destination, Delta Base. Entering the base, they headed to what was the command center.
"Why is it that when I think I've finally seen it all, you decide to bring us to another part of your mysterious past?" Sam asked as they entered the room.
'That's right. Sam and Drake haven't been here before today.' Soap thought to himself, "Because I have perfect timing like that." he responded.
"What is this place anyways?" she asked.
"It used to be an old military base nearly 100 years ago during the Grimm War. This is Delta base. Legend has it that this was the very place where a General sacrificed himself to save the men and women that he commanded. It was that sacrifice that ended the war." Soap said, turning on the power for the base.
"Wow. What was his name again?" Sam asked.
"General Gunnel."
"I got that he was a general, and that his last name was Gunnel, but what was his first name?"
Soap turned away, "I don't know, nobody does. After all, they're only legends; not fact." Looking at the screen in front of him, he selected a few floors for the cameras to scan. Soap had, since finding Delta base, overhauled all the major systems. And although he technically "explored" the entire base while doing this, back then, he didn't have an aura or semblance. All he had was his Desert Eagle and a flashlight; needless to say that he strayed as little as possible from the systems he was upgrading.
The scan that came back showed an irregularity on some of the lower floors; there was a massive hole in them. (A/N)
"Hey guys. Why don't you all get settled in? The barracks are down the hall and should be through the third door on the left." Soap said, trying not to create any worry.
"Sure. You coming with?" Sam asked.
"Nah. I got to check on something on one of the lower floors." he turned to Sarah, "You want to come Sarah?"
She shrugged, "Why not?"
"We'll see you guys in a bit." Soap said, extending a hand to Sarah which she took. Soap teleported them to the lowest floor showing the holes.
"What did you want to check out down here?" Sarah asked.
"Some of the floors I selected the system to scan, showed a massive hole in them." Soap responded.
"Where at?"
"Down the hall, left at the intersection."
"Alright." Sarah said, walking the direction Soap had pointed out.
They couple made their way down the hallway, rounded the conner and stopped dead in their tracks.
Soap 1st Person
'Wow' was all that I could think to say when we turned the corner; we weren't ready for what we saw.
Sarah let out a low whistle in awe, "That's some hole."
"I'll say!" I responded, very impressed with the hole's size.
Walking forward, we reached the first doorway where we would be able to inspect the hole. Upon entering, I could see that this was no ordinary hole, it was a hole that would have been left after some sort of massive explosion. As I moved towards the wall, the atmosphere around me changed. Almost like the universe was judging me as to whether or not I could be there.
As I closed in on the wall, time seemed to slow down. I stopped for a second and looked around. I swear that I saw the apparition of a woman, a solider, standing by one of the consoles, staring at me. I just stood there, watching her.
The ghost turned to the console beside her; when she did, I could see on the shoulders of her uniform, a symbol that signified a Colonel status. As she sighed, she hit a button on the console and disappeared.
I honestly thought that I just was seeing things, it had been a long past four days after all. Giving a shrug, I continued with Sarah towards the wall.
About 10 feet from the wall, I saw something on the ground. A box or plaque of some sort. I knelt down to get a better look. "Hey Sarah, come take a look at this."
"What did you find Soap?"
"This." I said pointing to the mysterious plaque, accidentally touching it in the process. It moved. "What the hell?" I watched as a column, with the plaque on top, rose from the ground stopping about chest height. Carved into it were the words: In honor of he who died to ensure that we would not.
After I finished reading it, a voice came on over the speakers; a recording from the sound of it, "You gave up your life for us, for me. In the midst of war, you kept us all together. Human, fanus, men and women - everybody. No matter how many times we lost, it was you who told us to get back up again, and we did. We fought with all that we had. Yet, our efforts weren't enough and we were massacred on the battlefield. You watched it happen time and time again, and you were tired of it. So, you took matters into your own hands; you gave up your life so that we could live on. Your sacrifice led us to victory in what will henceforth be known as the Grimm War." My blood froze. So the legends were true. "And for that, we are all grateful. General Gunnel, you will be dearly missed. I am proud to say that I served under you." The feminine voice stopped to take a breath. Who are you mystery voice? "By the time, you, my child find this, the truth of who fought the war, how we fought it, and ultimately how the war was won, will have been lost to the whims of time. I pray that you are able to put the pieces back together and let the truth be known about this godforsaken, fucked up war. This is Colonel Amanda Silverlight, signing off. Good luck to you, whoever you are." The recording ended.
I turned to Sarah with wide eyes, "We need to get Dr. Oobleck in here! Now!"
A/N: Delta Base is located in the mountainous region of the giant dragon shaped island at the top of the map.
By a massive hole, I mean that part of the base and part of the mountain was missing.
Now, for the surprise that I promised at the beginning of the chapter, I give you...a sneak peak of an upcoming chapter. Enjoy.
"What is it?" I asked entering the room.
"To be honest Soap, I don't know. Nor do I want to know, the answer is yours to know and those who you choose to share it with. I'd best be leaving." the man said as he swiftly left the the room, leaving me alone.
I turned around to look at the screen, "Well, time to find out what the hell happened here." I pushed play on the screen and watched.
VIDEO START
"Why?" a feminine voice asked a disfigured person lying on the ground, pieces of his lower body thrown all across the room.
"Why what, Colonel?" the man asked.
"You gave up your life to save us; why General?"
The man on the ground sighed, "Amanda, please address me by my name."
The woman, Amanda, looked confused and angry at the same time, "Dammit Chris! You're dying! Why would you possibly care about what I call you?"
The man on the ground said nothing.
Amanda sighed, "We could have spent the rest of time together; we could have lived forever. Now, now neither of us can."
Chris let out a sigh. "This war had to end one way or another; I chose another."
The woman knelt beside Chris, grabbed what was left of his right hand and looked him in the eyes, "I do not resent you for what you did. If anything, I am jealous that you acted instead of I. But you still have not explained your reasoning."
Chris let out a soft chuckle, "For 10 generations I have lived; during this time, I have seen victory and I have seen defeat. I have experienced happiness, joy, sorrow, anger, sadness, hate," he turned his head in the direction of Amanda, "and love. I have seen my men slaughtered before me. Thousands of men and women that served under me, lost their life fighting to try and end this war. Each and every one of those soldiers thought of me as a father; just as I considered them my children. I watched as they ran to their deaths'; but ultimately their deaths were to of no avail and amounted to nothing. I was tired of watching needless death."
"So you did something about it."
"Exactly." Chris said with a smile.
"For what?"
He laughed again, this time bringing up some blood in doing so, "I have seen both sides of the grave, multiple times. Life and Death. I have gained lifetimes of wisdom during these cycles, knowledge that I refuse to let be wasted." Chris coughed up some more blood, it wouldn't be long before he was gone and he knew it. Amanda gripped his hand tighter. "This knowledge must be passed on through the generations." He reached up to his neck and grabbed his necklace, yanking it off. His hand was shaking now. He grabbed his loved one's hand and placed the necklace inside. "This war is far from over. Give this to our children, and tell them to pass it on to their children. Let it serve as reminder that this war is far from over. When the time comes and it enters the hands of he who is able; he will will end this war, once and for all. Promise me," He coughed again, "Promise me that you will do that."
"I promise." She said as she planted a kiss on his lips.
With all that was needed to be said, said; His strength began to fail him. He went limp and let go of Amanda's hand. Before all of his life left him, he uttered one last phrase, "I love you Amanda."
"I love you too Chris, and I always will." The woman broke down into tears as the video ended.
VIDEO END
I was left speechless. This was the General's last moments. I was amazed that such a video existed. I thought about what he had said when a thought hit me. I re-wound the video to just before the General finally bled out. I reached the spot and paused the video. Searching the screen, I found what I was looking for. Seeing it, a chill went down my spine.
"What the hell?"
Well, I hope I didn't give away too much plot. Let me know what you think. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.