Wouldn't it be awesome if someone invented a machine that could actually portray the contents of a book or fanfiction story into visual images to help our readers better visualize what we, the writers are trying to show them through our words? I know I would certainly like a machine like that, it sometimes feels a bit difficult to see what other writers are showing us. Especially when it comes to monsters, original mobile suits and battles.
Anyway, looks like my last chapter was well received. I will admit, I was planning on originally having Ironwood turn against his allies, like in canon but also side with the Empire, but after talking with a few of my readers, I decided against it. He will still die, but he'll die a hero's death rather than as a villain, like he did in canon. I tell you, Rooster Teeth should have showed us his semblance instead of just saying what it is.
And here is something I have been meaning to say in past chapters. The ages of the characters such as Ruby, Yang and their teammates are the same as canon, Galen and his teammates are nineteen, Ray and Neo are twenty years old and the ages for everyone else are the same. Don't want you to think they go through this story without aging.
Looks I've got a two tie between Return of The Power Rangers and Star Wars: Hyper Lethal Vector, while my Bad Batch story has only two. Depending on the final results of the poll, I write one of those three stories, but if end up being disappointed in the results, let me assure you that those stories will be published.
Alright, time for the final chapter of Volume 7. But first, some reviews.
Just a reader now a writer: Thanks, I figured I'd have Ironwood die a soldiers death rather than dying when Atlas crashes into Mantle. Not a fitting end for a soldier. It will be a while, but I can promise you that you will like my Power Rangers story.
SilverFox3456: Yep, there are going to be some Empire Strikes Back vibes this chapter, but no T-47's, but there will be some Ace Combat material, mixed with Star Wars tech. I agree, I wish I could go back in time myself and befriend Phoebe Prince, maybe I could have given her a real friend.
BlindFaunusGirl: Thanks, and I figured I would at least give Ironwood one redeeming act before he perished. Again, I think Rooster Teeth completely dropped the ball on Ironwood in the last two volumes.
Luffy L Deathwalker: You wouldn't be wrong, but probably not this chapter. Perhaps sometime down the road in volume 8. But with her attitude, she'll never be welcomed back into the ranks of the Ace Ops.
Monster King: Thanks.
Guest: Funny joke.
Songs this chapter, 'Two Pairs' from Ace Combat 7, 'Rise' by Madkid and the first opening for the Rising Of The Shield Hero, Vader's theme from Battlefront 2, the 2005 version and 'Had Enough' by Breaking Benjamin.
(Start Rise, Tv version by Madkid)
(The camera moves fast over the frozen tundra of Solitas before it shots up to the floating city of Atlas and the city of Mantle below it. As fighter jets fly past, the title card is revealed with two lightsaber blades surrounding it.)
Remnant Unleashed
In this empty void, I found the way to light. Can't find my way in this lingering world. Searching fo the answer- the one that I can trust in. I'm just wandering around.
(The title card vanishes as a shot of Ironwood addressing his followers is shown, standing in full military gear. Among them is Galen and his team, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Lop, Faye, Kara and Zett, the students wearing new combat clothing. Behind them in the corner with their helmets off are Rex and his brothers who eye the general with suspicion.)
Yeah, still stuck in the shadow ey, But I never follow that. This pain at last soon will pass. Turn into my own unbeatable strength. This guy or that guy -dead or alive by hiding alone, can't survive. I don't want to lie to myself.
(Behind Ironwood are his Ace Ops and Winter who then dissipate into mist before being replaced by Jacque who has a devious grin on his face, while Whitley and Serra stand behind him looking at each other with worry. The scene then changes to Mantle where Boba, Robyn, Ahsoka, the Fox, Maria, Grogu, Pietro, Penny, Artoria and the Happy Huntresses look up towards Atlas, Robyn crossing her arms before looking at a picture of her, Ray, Neo, and Amber.)
Keep on the fight, get right I'll never lose and cry. Keep run up day and night. Time to rewrite. No matter what anyone say's I find my way. Never go away.
(The Grimm charge towards from the tundra as Galen, Ruby, Jaune and their teams ready for their weapons for battle only for Ruby, Jaune and their teammates to vanish into mist while soldiers appear behind Galen and his team aiming their weapons at them. Galen's eyes are shown and then narrow as he ignites his lightsabers.)
Now, nobody can stop me no way. I will make sure not to forget those precious things. Yeah, I'll take a stand, get back all that I've lost. Rise suddenly in this word. (I don't look back yeah.)
(Galen and his team then charge in, now fighting a top a speeding train in the tundra against the Ace Ops while droids attack both groups. Galen slashes a droid and counters an attack from Harriet, Rose dodges Elm's massive hammer, Arthur clashes blades with his cousin, March trades fists with Marrow who looks unsure of his choices as Vine's giant hands try to swat away two human shaped machines flying alongside the train, with Clover trading blows Rex at the front of the train.)
This repetition will repeat 'till the end. And the regret that's still lingering in my head. Time to get it all back, now turn over. Rise suddenly in this world.
(The scene changes once again as Teams RWBY, JNR, Domino Squad, the Bad Batch, Fordo, Alpha, Cody, Waxer, Boil, Kara, Faye, and Able fight against the Grimm which then change into Imperial troopers as the shadows of Vader, Palpatine, Barriss, Jacque, Watts, Maul, Salem, Emerald, Mercury, and a mysterious robotic figure loom over them. Ruby's face turns to fear before her eyes shine and a silver light engulfs the screen before the title card returns.)
(Song ends)
Disclaimers are the same as always.
Chapter 116: The Fall of Atlas
Coming in at a length of four-hundred, three-three point three meters, a height of one hundred and two point thirty nine meters and a beam of nine hundred sixty three and point seventy-seven meters, the new Imperial P-1112 Heavy Command Cruiser, known as the Aigaion was relatively small compared to the size of the Star Destroyers which dwarfed them by greater lengths were the newest weapon in the imperial navy's arsenal, built after examining the remains of several airships destroyed during the fall of Vale.
Armed to the teeth with turbo-lasers, point-defense lasers and missile launchers, the ship served as the flagship of the Imperials newest anti-rebel task force, capable of launching devastating burst missiles in atmosphere and acted like a carrier. In the center of the massive ship, thirty-one TIE interceptors shot out of the massive ship and maintained a tight formation.
Among these fighters, were the pilots of the Grun, Rot, and Indigo Teams, three of the Empire's remaining special operations squadrons. Detlef Fleisher, Bernhard Schmidt, Dimitri Heinreich, along with their squadrons and they're fallen comrades were veterans of the Clone War, but they fought on the side of the Confederacy as mercenaries, earning their wings in some of the bloodiest battles of the war, including Umbara where they destroyed four Republic cruisers in only five minutes.
When the war ended, their contract with the Confederacy had ended with its collapse, but it was at that moment they were approached by the newly formed Imperial Navy and offered a position in the special operations squadrons, placed under the command of Imperial Officers who found their tactics to be extremely effective against fleeing enemy units.
The same could not be said, for Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Voychek, leader of Strigon Team and also a veteran of the Clone War, and former member of the Republic's Special Operations squadrons, taking orders directly from the Chancellor when intelligence on CIS targets had been 'acquired' by clone intelligence. The targets were actually relief stations, set up by the CIS on worlds they had conquered which were claimed to be military targets, a closely guarded secret from even the Jedi Order.
It was on one such mission, that the Colonel planned to retire once the war was over, but the declaration of the Empire forced Viktor to continue conducting these very same missions on any targets ordered by people like Tarkin and the Emperor himself. Strigon Team, was the Empire's best Special Operations squadrons, engaging rebel convoy's deep in space and leaving no survivors, earning themselves the nickname 'Reaper Squadron'.
As his squadron formed up, the Aigaion's weapons control officer came over the commlink. "Aigaion to Strigon, Grun, Rot, and Indigo Teams, we are prepared to launch."
"Strigon Leader to Aigaion, we will commence operations once payload has been delivered." Voycheck confirmed as the weapons bays of the cruiser opened up and launched it's deadly payload of missiles towards Atlas. "Engage the enemy following Nimbus launch."
Back at Atlas Academy, the last of the remaining Sabre and Sentinel pilots scrambled into the air following the last of the Bullheads and Manta's transporting the remaining students to Fort Arrowfell. As the transports took off, the fighters followed suit heading in the direction of the fort when one of the pilots shouted a warning before a series of explosions lit up the sky, damaging or destroying any aircraft below five-thousand feet. Galaxy Eyes reported that the explosions were from a burst missile more advanced than anything ever seen before in Remnants existence.
Another salvo of these burst missiles was launched, causing the pilots to panic which drew the Grimm towards their aircraft. "All pilots, this is Starkiller! Climb to five-thousand feet and continue towards the Fort! Protect those transports!" Galen shouted over the radio. Hearing the voice of the Demon Lord filled many of these pilots with determination and did just as Galen instructed, but a great number of pilots didn't follow his instructions, many of them still believing the lies that Jacques had said about Galen and his team.
From inside the Academy, Galen watched as another series of explosions lit up the sky, sending more aircraft down in flames. "Damn it! Am I the only one who's faced off against burst missiles?" Galen cursed.
"Looks like they believed the lies that Father spread about you." Weiss remarked.
"His names been cleared, doesn't anyone realize that he's been cleared of all charges?" Elm groaned.
Harriet felt her anger building before she finally lost her patience and with a massive burst of speed, ran towards Galen and grabbed him by the collar. "This is all your fault! You brought your war to our planet! Because of you, I've lost everything! I was an Ace Operative and now because of you, I've been demoted to nothing but a mere grunt! Why can't you just die you damn Jedi!" Harriet yelled.
"Stop!" Marrow shouted, causing Harriet to stop all movement in her body, long enough for Galen to break free of Harriet's grip. "Get it through your thick head, Harriet! This isn't Galen's fault, neither is it the fault of Ahsoka, Rex and everyone else! They didn't bring their war to our planet. Salem did when she joined forces with the Empire. They aren't to blame!"
"Got to agree with the FNG, and what the General did was the right action. Your competitiveness has been really making me angry, even more so than before. You really messed up when you attacked Galen and his team on the train. We knew they were innocent, but you flat out attacked them because you wanted to prove that you're the better huntress than anyone else. I can't count the number of times I've almost been killed because of your actions and yet still, I kept on fighting alongside you no matter what, until recently." Elm chastised.
"Your motivation to prove you are the best has always been your flaw. Seeing us as coworkers instead of friends, you may trust us to have your back, but you would do anything to complete the objective, even if it meant abandoning us." Vine agreed. "Becoming an Ace Operative has made you blind to what is really important, our duty to protect the kingdom and it's people come first, not your personal score card."
"How can you just except this? You heard what Salem said, the Jedi attempted to take control of this Republic of theirs, using a war to gain power and now we have several of those traitors here, using us just to get more and more power, planning to try the same thing again! You're all a bunch of idiots!" Harriet scowled.
Yang finally got fed up and while Harriet was still frozen, gut punched her with her prosthetic arm. "Would you just shut up, for once in your life! You really expect us to believe anything that Salem said? I talked with Thire and he told me that the only reason the Jedi were declared traitors was because several Jedi moved to soon to take out the Emperor who was behind the damn war. They were being used by one of their enemies and they didn't notice it until it was too late. Thire and all his brothers, they had to live with their guilt of being forced to follow these orders because of damned chip injected into their brain during their birth! Galen, Ahsoka, Aayla, Kit, Plo, Rex, none of this is their fault. Either get it through your thick head and use your damn brain for once in your life, or go back and die a soldiers death. I won't have you mocking anyone of my friends!" Yang snarled.
"I'm with Yang on this one, it's no ones fault." Blake agreed.
"Perhaps we can save this argument for another time. In case you guys forgot, Imperial troops have entered the Academy and we need to find a way out of here before they cut us off." Rose pointed out.
"She's right." Ruby said. "Blaming someone for what's transpired now is just what Salem wants, she want's to divide us so we're easy to kill. We need to focus on surviving and regrouping so we can launch a counterattack against this invasion. There's no point in this."
"Agreed. We must move quickly before we lose any means of escape. Live to fight another day." Arthur agreed.
Reluctantly, Harriet agreed, but vowed to Galen that their 'discussion' wasn't over. "So, what's the plan?" Harriet asked.
"Simple. Kill any Imperial soldiers or Grimm that get in our way." Galen answered, igniting one of his lightsabers and threw it over Harriet's head, slicing off the head of a Imperial Shadow Trooper that almost got the drop on them. "Grab a blaster, you guys will need it."
"I don't take orders from you." Harriet scoffed, but still picked up the fallen blaster from the ground before the twelve of them continued towards the hanger.
Out in the tundra, one of the burst missiles knocked the Manta transporting Robyn, Rex, Clover, Qrow, and Tyrian out of the sky, sending it crashing into snow and giving Tyrian the chance to escape, but not before he used his robotic tail to stab Rex in the back, right in the shoulder and poisoned the 501st captain. Thankfully, Clover had the antidote for Tyrian's poison and administered it to Rex before just as they saw multiple Imperial Ships descending onto the city. "This is horrible. We have to go back and…" Robyn began.
"We can't. The General's issue a full retreat. We can't deal with that kind of firepower heading towards the kingdom. We're to regroup at Fort Arrowfell and plan a counterattack." Clover interrupted.
"So that's it, Ironwood is going to just abandon Mantle like the Fox said he would do? I thought he was better than that." Robyn scolded.
"No. We will come back for them, but we need to regroup and plan our next move. Fighting without a plan is only going to get us killed. I don't like it anymore than you do, Robyn, but we don't have a choice." Clover explained.
"He's right. Launching an assault when we don't know what the enemy has brought with them is a suicide mission. I might love a battle, but only on my terms. We need reinforcements and I know just where to get them from." Rex said in agreement.
"Well, it's going to be a long walk to the fort. Not unless we fine a vehicle or something." Qrow pointed out. As luck would have it, they did find a ride in the form of an old handcar in an old shed, near the railroad line they crashed near. "You got to be kidding me." He groaned.
"It ain't a luxury train, but it'll do." Robyn shrugged, getting on the handcar and helping Rex onto the car, who was still a little groggy from the antidote. "Start pumping, we'll keep an eye out for the enemy."
"You heard the lady." Clover said to Qrow, jumping onto the handcar, taking position behind one of the pumps while Qrow did the same on the other end. They then started to pump the car and rolled down the line.
At the same moment, back in the skies over Mantle and Atlas, the pilots who had listened to Galen's warning about the burst missiles continued to engage Salem's forces as Dante flew his Longsword straight towards another one of Salem's frigates, promptly sending the targeting data back to Stonehenge but no sooner had he pulled up, expecting a blast from all of those railguns, nothing came. "Mobius One to Stonehenge, I sent the targeting data, why aren't you firing the guns!?" he shouted into the radio, but no reply came. "Stonehenge! We need fire support for the remaining transports! Do you copy?" Again, no reply came from the major. "Mobius One to all craft, I've lost contact with Stonehenge! I repeat! I've lost all contact with Stonehenge!"
Suddenly, a blast from Stonehenge slammed into one of the remaining Atlas Airships, cutting the ship in half. "Stonehenge! You just shot down one of our own ships! Cease fire!" Dante shouted in alarm.
"Mobius One, this is General Ironwood. Stonehenge has been taken by the Empire! I say again, Stonehenge has been taken by the Empire. Imperial Special forces have taken control of Stonehenge and have turned the guns against us. Provide cover for the remaining transports and head to Fort Arrowfell at once. Our forces can't withstand an imperial onslaught." Ironwood said over the radio.
"Sir, are you ordering me to abandon the people?" Dante asked.
"No, I'm ordering you to save who you can, regroup and plan a counterattack. Our forces are depleted and we won't be able to complete the evacuation." Ironwood clarified. "Dante, you are the leader of the new Mobius Squadron, and they need a leader of your caliber. We can't afford to lose you."
Dante gritted his teeth under his flight mask, angered that he was being ordered to retreat, but deep down he knew that Ironwood was right. "Understood, General. I'll provide cover for the remaining transports, then head towards the fort." He replied, switching the frequency of his radio so he could reach all the other pilots. "Mobius One to all craft, assist the remaining transports and then head towards Fort Arrowfell. The General ordered us to retreat and regroup. We've got more hostiles approaching the kingdom."
"Garuda 3, copy that, Mobius One." Mickey replied over the radio. "Man, I don't like running away from a…" he went on before his transmission was suddenly cut. An explosion off Dante's 9'o clock confirmed Dante's worst fears, Mickey had been killed.
"Garuda 3 is down!"
"Where'd that shot come from?"
"I didn't see anything!"
"What the hell is going on?"
"I'm getting the hell out of here!"
Dante heard the calls of these pilots and looked for the enemy that killed Mickey, then soon spotted the fighter. "Mobius One to all pilots! It's Mr. X. I say again, Mr. X has returned."
(Start Two Pairs)
Spinning through the incoming laser fire from an Atlas Airship, Vader fired his cannons at the airships bridge, engulfing it in flames before he pulled up from his run, climbed several hundred feet then maneuvered his fighter one-hundred and eighty degrees to the right and sped back down towards the airship, firing his cannons once more, fully destroying the ship for good.
Pulling up from his attack run, Vader noticed a formation of ten enemy fighters, designated by Barriss as MG-35's, the more advanced version of the MG-29 and the fighter that Hamilton flew before his death at the hands of Three Strikes. Vader dived after the enemy fighters that were to busy chasing after some of Salem's bombers to notice him sneak up on their tail and fire a series of cluster missiles at the fighters. Half of the fighters exploded in mid-air while two of the fighters panicked and crashed into a build. The last three fighters however, slammed on their brakes and slowed down, forcing Vader to overshoot them and were now on his tail, but Vader soon managed to get back on the enemy fighters tail after toying with them, firing his cannons downward as he looped over the fighters, downing two fighters while the last fighter quickly sped away.
Vader sensed the fear of this pilot and opened up with his cannons once more, downing the last fighter before he climbed back above the buildings and flew through a formation of Sicario fighters, firing his cannons and downing several aircraft in a single pass before he leveled out, and turned his attention towards another Atlas Airship that was providing cover for several smaller transports. The airship was already heavily damaged and only half it's guns were operational, which Vader noticed as he sped towards the flaming ship, launching a salvo of cluster missiles that took out the rest of the airships guns, followed by an explosion that snapped the ship in half.
"These pilots are inferior next to the power of the force." He noted to himself, turning his attention towards a familiar F22 he had encountered months ago. "So, we meet again, Mobius One. Your efforts to avoid bloodshed have been noted, but you have chosen to side with the Jedi and the Rebellion. I will ensure that you suffer for your death is quick."
Pushing his fighter to full power, Vader would have caught up with Dante had he not spotted squadrons of XFA-27's, CFA-44's, X-02 and X-02's below him, firing a swarm of missiles at him. Turning is fighter sharply to the left, Vader broke off his pursuit of Mobius One and dived down towards the empty streets of Mantle with the missiles tracking his every move.
Vader had to cut his speed in order to make several sharp turns, causing some of the missiles to slam into the abandoned buildings while the rest continued to track him. The pilots of the newer fighters continued to watch him from above, keeping their missiles glued to Vader's fighter which then suddenly stopped and turned to face the missiles, as the dark lord fired his twin cannons.
The missiles exploded, making the pilots believe that they had killed 'Mr. X' but they were proven wrong when their deaths came in the form of cluster missiles and cannons fired by Vader who soon began to give chase after one of the XFA-27's who's pilot was more smarter than the others and retreated. Vader wasn't about to let the pilot escape and gave chase, catching up to the fighter which tried to shake him, but failed and ended with their death at the hands of Vader's cannons.
"A valiant effort, but all for naught." Vader remarked, climbing back above the lower city and resumed his pursuit of Mobius One, who he soon spotted after they had downed a squad of imperial pilots. His missiles depleted, Vader circled around to the left and sped after Dante, who spotted his tail and executed several random evasive maneuvers in an attempt to shake Vader's aim.
His targeting computer soon gave him a lock on the enemy fighter, but before he could fire a barrage of enemy fire from directly ahead of him slammed into his shields. The firer was the F15 of PJ who was moving into assist the Longsword. Vader pulled up, leveled out and then fired his cannons at PJ, hitting the jet fighter, which then exploded in mid-air, but this allowed Mobius One to escape from Vader's sight. "Our paths will cross again, Mobius One." Vader said, turning back to the ongoing battle.
Other pilots met the same fate as the third members of the Galm and Garuda Teams, as Vader turned the tide of battle in the Empire's favor, using his years as a pilot from his former life, a life that he had left behind long ago.
(End Song)
Cipher and Pixy could do nothing as they watched their wingman die in an effort to save Mobius One and vowed to get even with Vader, the next time they met. "He'll pay for what he did to PJ. He made a big mistake making an enemy of the Galm Team." Cipher snarled as he and Pixy continued to provide cover for the remaining transports, using their laser cannons in an effort to save their bullets and missiles.
Back at the Academy, Ironwood rushed through the halls of his school, activating the AK-200's inside the school, hoping that they would buy him some time and delay the imperial forces as he continued to run through the school towards the server room where all military projects were kept, on a secret mainframe that had been placed following the Fall of Beacon.
Entering the server room, he placed his scroll on a bare part of the wall and waited for a few seconds before the 'wall' shifted and revealed a hidden elevator that took him down to the secret server, placing his Scroll in a slot by the active terminal and commenced with the deletion of everything regarding the tower.
"I won't let Salem use the tower for her own gains. Not when others have a chance to unite the world and they have a chance to defeat her once and for all." He said as the deletion process commenced. As it started, his Scroll buzzed and much to his surprise the ID was that of the Fox, the last person he expected to have called him. "Hello."
"Calling to let you know that Watt's is dead, but I'm guessing Salem's message got through anyway." The Fox asked from the other side of the Scroll.
"Yes, it did, unfortunately it's gotten much worse… The Empire is coming." Ironwood replied.
"Okay, that is something that I didn't expect. What's the plan now?" The Fox asked, in surprise.
"I'm staying behind to delete everything regarding the tower and to lead a resistance movement when they take over the kingdom." Ironwood explained as the deletion process continued, now reaching forty-five percent, and increasing fast.
"You'll die… you know that right?" The Fox pointed out.
"I know, but if I am to die as a soldier, I will redeem myself. Qrow and Ozpin were right, bringing my military to Vale two years ago only made things worse. If I could go back in time and stop myself from bringing my military, I would do it in a heartbeat." Ironwood countered, checking his rifle as the process continued. "For what it's worth, I wanted to say thank you."
"Thank you?" The Fox asked perplexed.
"For setting my head straight… Winter told me that if I had done what you said I would have done, she would have turned against me. If it weren't for your plan, we wouldn't have been able to get these evacuations going and for that I owe you a debt of gratitude. One that will be repaid tonight." Ironwood said.
"You're welcome, general and for what it's worth, I think you should know who's under the mask." The Fox said, shocked by Ironwoods words.
"I already know who you are, my old student." Ironwood clarified, "I knew from the moment that Winter told me that you fought the White Fang during Jacques pre-victory party that the Fox had to be one of my own, it was only after that I saw the footage of your fighting skills, that I knew it was you, Diego. For what it's worth, I didn't want to bring you in dead, I had let my anger get the better of me when Jacque won the election, I did however want you out of my way, but I see now that I made a mistake."
There was a long pause before Diego removed his mask and smiled. "Just to let you know, this is the first time I'm going to say this, but it was an honor to have you as an instructor during my academy days."
"You're welcome. Now go, head for your tunnels, or regroup with the troops at Arrowfell. They'll need all the help they can get against the Empire." Ironwood said with a smile.
"Very well, and as Galen and the Jedi say, May the Force be with you, General." The Fox said, ending the call as Ironwood looked to see that the deletion process had been completed. The general then walked back to the lift and headed off into battle, but not before he tossed a grenade towards the servers which exploded as the lift ascended.
Above him, Stormtroopers were moving about the academy, taking any remaining soldiers and students still on campus into 'custody' while eliminating any resistance that stood in their way. Blaster fire echoed through out the hallways as Stormtroopers engaged both Atlas soldiers and AK-200's. One such squad of troopers was engaging a group of soldiers in the cafeteria, using the overturned tables as cover.
Several Stormtroopers were cut down by gunfire from the Atlas forces, but the tide soon turned in the empire's favor when a squad of shadow troopers managed to flank the soldiers by blowing a hole through the wall to the right of the soldiers, then tossed in several smoke grenades that blinded the Atlas soldiers, allowing the imperial soldiers to cut down most of them while the rest of them surrendered.
The sounds of fighting continued to echo through out the school all the way towards one of the hangers where a Manta was being prepped by Marrow. "They're getting closer with each passing second. How much longer until you get this bird in the air, Marrow?" Harriet asked impatiently.
"Hey! I'm not the one who put this thing on lock down. Besides, clamping down these Mantas was the only to keep the students from taking these things out for a joyride!" Marrow snapped from the terminal.
"You locked down the Manta's because some students took them for joyrides?" Rose asked.
"Yeah, well you'd be surprised at how many students get cocky and took these things out for fun. Even wasting whatever ammo they had on Grimm out in the tundra and even banging them up. After one of those joyrides resulted in the deaths of a few freshman, the general had them placed under heavy guard to keep an incident like that from happening again." Elm explained, dragging a few crates onto the Manta. "How much longer until we can get out of here?"
"I've almost unlocked the clamps, but we still need to refuel this Manta before we can go anywhere." Marrow answered, casting a glance over to Vine who had attached the fuel pumps to the Manta and begun the refueling process. "I estimate about ten minutes before we're ready to leave."
"Might have to make it five, I sense we're about to have company." Galen said from nearby, sensing the presence of the incoming Imperial forces heading towards them. The doors to the hanger were sealed tight, but Galen knew that it wouldn't stop them from getting into the hanger. "Ready your weapons, they're coming."
"I don't take orders from you." Harriet snarled, but still readied her weapon for battle. Teams RWBY and GARM readied their blasters, while Ruby drew her lightsaber and separated it into two sabers. The tension mounted in the hanger as they waited, taking cover behind empty supply crates. "Looks like you were wrong, they're not coming." Harriet mocked after a few tense minutes.
Harriet was proven wrong when the door was blown open, sending pieces of it flying in every direction as no less than five platoons of Stormtroopers entered the hanger and started firing at all twelve individuals. "Get that transport fueled up and ready for take-off! We'll hold them off!" Galen shouted, drawing his lightsabers and ignited their blue blades, as did Ruby with her green blades.
(Start Rise)
"Focus your fire on the Jedi!" the lead Stormtrooper shouted before they took a blaster bolt to the head from Rose. The others started to fire back while Galen and Ruby dashed towards the troopers, deflecting the enemy blaster fire with their blades, sending a few bolts back towards their shooters. As Galen continued to dash towards the imperials, he leapt into the air and used the force to propel himself down, landing with a hard crash that knocked multiple troopers away.
Ruby zipped through the blaster fire with her semblance, slashing at the troopers with her dual blades. One trooper had her in his sights, but Ruby called on the force and ripped the blaster from the troopers hands, while the trooper themselves was soon sent flying when Harriet barreled in with her fists and semblance. "Watch and learn how a real huntress fights, kid." Harriet mocked, cracking her knuckles as she ran with a burst of speed towards the Imperial forces, knocking several into the air that were quickly taken down by blaster fire from the rest of Team GARM and RWBY.
Harriet skidded to a stop, right in front of a Stormtrooper commander and threw a hard punch that cracked their breastplate, literally shattering it before grabbing and twisting the commanders arm, then threw them into several other troopers. Blaster fire flew towards her, but Harriet dodged the blaster fire, ducking down to avoid the fire and landing several blows on multiple troopers. "I've taken down more than you both." Harriet bragged.
"This isn't a competition." Galen scolded before he remembered something. "Keep them busy, there's something I need to do." He shouted, leaping over the stormtroopers and ran down the hall they came from.
"Figures," Harriet said with a snarky remark. "The moment things get tough, he runaways leaving us to handle the enemy on our own. He really is a coward."
"Galen isn't a coward!" Ruby snarled. "If he said he had something to do, it means he's going to come back. I know him better than you do, especially considering I love him." Harriet only rolled her eyes at Ruby's comment, but before she could respond more stormtroopers came pouring into the hanger and the hanger doors were soon blown open. "Incoming!"
As the dust settled from the recent explosion, Imperial Jump troopers flew towards the hanger as imperial shuttles landed outside the hanger and deployed more troopers. "Protect the Manta!" Arthur shouted, sheathing his sword and extended his arm blades before charging towards the enemy reinforcements.
The newly arrived troopers immediately opened fire in an attempt to gun down Arthur, but the Penwolf knights armor was far stronger, thanks to the modifications it had received. Once he was close enough, Arthur began to cut down the stormtroopers, slashing at them like they were Grimm. Activating his semblance, he coated his blades with fire and continued to cut them down. "This should be fun."
Blaster fire flew towards the troopers as Rose knelt down on top of the Manta, taking aim with her blaster rifle. "Don't go hogging them all for yourself, save some for the rest of us." She teased, firing her blaster once more as the Jump troopers began to shoot at her. "We got flyers, watch yourselves!" she shouted, firing a shot that slammed into one troopers jetpack that send them flying around the hanger uncontrollably before the jetpack exploded.
The airborne imperials soon began to focus on Rose, but the gunslinger called on her semblance and aimed at them for a few seconds, shifting her blaster from one to another before she fired, sending seven of the flying troopers down in to the ground. "Yeehaw!"
Below her, March sprayed the enemy with his repeating blaster, forcing the troopers to turn their attention to him instead of Marrow who was still working on unlocking the ship from the hanger. "Where do they find these guys? Are they drafted into whatever chicken outfit that needs manpower or are they so willing to give their lives for their emperor and his lies?" March complained, ducking back down behind the crate he was using when his blaster overheated. Popping back out of cover, he resuming firing at the troopers when he saw Galen running back into the hanger with chest in his hands. "Galen's back!" he shouted.
Running back into the hanger, Galen tossed the chest onto the Manta just as Weiss casted a series of glyphs and skated on them, firing her pistols, and taking down a few troopers before another series of glyphs appeared on the wall and launched several ice shards at the enemy troopers, killing them. "Yang! Heads up!" Galen shouted, grabbing a surprised Yang with the force and flung her into the air. "Smash them!"
Yang knew what Galen meant by smash, and punched her fists together before flying down directly at a large group of troopers and sent a powerful and fiery shockwave through the ground that sent multiple troopers flying in all directions.
Blake fired her pistols at the imperials as they fired at her, scoring hits on her body but said body was nothing but a shadow clone that allowed the real Blake to take out a few troopers just as Marrow finally unlocked the now fully refueled Manta. "Let's go!" she called out as the Manta soon powered up. But before they could clear the hanger, three AT-ST's appeared in front of the hanger and open fired with their blasters, forcing Marrow to halt their departure.
Galen and Ruby saw the walkers and dashed towards them, zigzagging between the blaster fire, got close to the walkers, leapt up into the air, kicked off the front of the walkers, dashed towards them once more, then leapt up and sliced clean through the walkers.
With two of the walkers down, Ruby and Galen stood with their lightsabers and continued to lay down protection as their teammates, friends and the rest of the Ace Ops boarded the Manta. Once the others were on the transport, the two turned to each other and then unleashed a powerful Force Push that sent multiple troopers flying out the hanger and the last walker wobbling to regain its balance before they jumped into the transport. "Punch it!"
Marrow didn't waste any time in flying the Manta out of the hanger and climbed quickly to a higher altitude before heading towards Fort Arrowfell. "That was intense." Marrow sighed with relief.
"It's not over yet." Galen said, looking back towards the academy. "We'll come back to the academy and retake it from Salem and the Empire, one day."
The others were in agreement as the Manta flew towards the east, all the while Harriet just kept on glaring at Galen with fire and anger.
(End Song)
Their escape didn't go unnoticed. Voycheck spotted the escaping Manta and immediately turned to engage the transport. As his interceptor moved into attack position, he was suddenly greeted with a barrage of blaster fire from the rear of the transport that forced him to zigzag in every direction to avoid the small arms fire. Some of the blaster fire did slam into his fighter, damaging the shields that all special operation pilots had equipped on their fighters.
Undaunted, Voycheck continued to pursue the transport before he was in clear view of the open transport bay, where he saw Galen aiming his gun at Voycheck, in it's launcher mode as an electrical sphere of energy was fired and then slammed into his fighter, sending an electrical current through out the fighters systems before a lightsaber was thrown and sliced one of it's wings, forcing the colonel to eject when his fighter was only inches from the ground. 'It's just as intelligence said, The Demon Lord is a dangerous opponent.' Voycheck thought to himself as tumbled through the snow, which injured his leg.
As Voycheck waited for rescue, back in the city the Blood Asp and Star Adder 'walked' onto the flatbeds connected behind Big One, allowing Ray and Neo to leave their mechs as Atlas soldiers started to reload the massive weapons with ammo. An building by the station was leveled as the massive AT-AT's crashed through the city, laying waste to any resistance that challenged them. "We can't fight those things right now! Get this thing moving, John!" Ray shouted into his commlink.
"Don't need to tell me twice!" Whitman shouted over the commlink as the long train pulled out of the station just as the AT-AT's came into view. The massive walkers heads turned and targeted the train, and were prepared to fire when Neo in her battle armor came in low to the ground and sliced through the lead walkers legs with the dark saber, causing it to tumble to the ground, giving Shamrock a clear shot at the walkers neck for a gun run. The walker exploded, sending pieces of it flying across the sector of the city as the train began to pick up speed. "Damn, remind me not to piss you two off."
"Noted." Ray acknowledged as Neo flew overhead before landing back down on the train while her battle armor attached to the train as the rest of the Happy Huntresses arrived. "Glad to see you three are still alive."
"Can't say the same for the people on the train." May sighed. "A lot of them lost family members to the Grimm, droids and now the Empire. We weren't prepared for this, and I don't think we could have anticipated this. I heard a lot of them were blaming Atlas for this and were even talking about throwing the Atlas soldiers off the train, same for the clones."
"Normally, I wouldn't be blaming them, but this isn't Ironwoods doing or anyone in Atlas. This was because of Salem and her pawns." Johanna said with sorrow. "If we had just taken into account what happened at Vale, we might have been better prepared for this."
"Nothing could have prepared us for this, we didn't think they would be coming back to our planet, let alone with a force this size." Fiona agreed, looking up at the massive starship out over the tundra. "That things nothing like anything we faced before and in a matter of minutes, the mere sight of that warship forced those soldiers to flee and run for their lives, valuing themselves rather then the people they were supposed to protect."
"That Super Star Destroyer is nothing to underestimate. We've seen entire starships crumble at that monster's firepower. Only an idiot would launch a full frontal assault on that thing, it's a suicide mission, even for the Galm Team." Neo pointed out. "Trust me, when I say it's not something you can easily take out easily."
There was silence amongst the group as the train continued to roll through the tundra towards the old fort. Through out the train, the people of Mantle were trying their best to stay strong after the recent events, but it was easier said then done. A brother was comforting his sister, after having witnessed their parents killed by the Grimm. The younger sibling was crying her eyes out, while the older sibling did everything they could to assure them that everything would be alright.
Onyx noticed this, as did Grogu who placed his small hands on the child's leg, and smiled at the girl while Onyx nuzzled up next to them, comforting the two as Kix tended to the injuries of those who were hurt when the Empire launched it's surprise attack. As the medic wrapped bandages around a wounded mans leg, Hardcase's voice came over the commlink.
"We got company! Looks like our friends from Mantle decided not to let us go without a fight! I've got droids and Grimm flying right towards us and they don't look none to pleased at our escape." The clone shouted over the commlink.
"Anyone with a weapon get on the roof of the train cars! We've got to protect these civilians!" Cody shouted as he ran through the passenger towards the front of the train. Most of the surviving Atlas soldiers onboard the train were too afraid to even fight, even the SDC security forces that joined with them in evacuation didn't move. However, a few soldiers did get up and climbed onto the roof of the train cars.
Ahead of them and behind the engine, Wreck stood on top of the auxiliary tender with his weapons armed and ready, with his boots magnetized to the tender. "I'll keep the enemy off of you three, just keep this thing on the tracks." He said to John, Stan and Wally. "Man I wish I had a big gun."
Fur back, running a top the cars, the surviving soldiers, clones, Happy Huntresses, Ray, and Neo looked on as a massive swarm of enemies descended onto them. "Snipers and heavy weapons in the rear. Everyone else, hold this position and give them hell!" Cody instructed the soldiers as they raised their weapons as the incoming swarm rained down on them. "OPEN FIRE!"
(Had Enough starts)
Blaster fire and bullets lit up the early morning sky as Salem's forces streaked towards the train. Smoke from the funnel of the locomotive obscured the view of several Grimm that were taken down by weapons fire, including several droids, but their numbers were far greater than those fighting on the train, which was about three platoons' worth of men, most of which didn't even come out to fight.
Grimm and droids were swatted out of the sky like flies, but several Sphinx's and Manticores landed on the roofs of the train cars further towards the rear, charging towards the defenders as they focused their fire on the boarders. Neo and Ray fired back with their guns, riddling the frontmost Grimm with bullets, but more of the creatures continued to charge towards them, launching fireballs at the two. Thankfully, the shields on their armor took most of the damage, but the strength of the shields had been reduced. "Damn it! We need more firepower than this!" Neo cursed, loading her shotgun as quick as she could, only for one of the Sphinx's to tackled her down, knocking her shotgun out of her hands and close to the gap between cars.
The massive claws of the Grimm came down upon her, but Neo rolled to the side several times to avoid them, reaching for one of her blaster pistols with her right hand while the Grimm continued to try and maul her. Another lunge from the Sphinx allowed her to pull out her pistol and fire a single shot, right into the head of the Grimm, killing it before the body dissipated into mist. Getting back to her feet, she scooped up her shotgun and placed it on her back, drawing her second pistol and started firing both weapons at once.
Ray loaded a fresh magazine into his rifle, diving forwards as a Manticore's fireball nearly slammed into him, riddling the creature with bullets before another Manticore met the same fate as it's companion. Behind him, Delta squad ran towards him as Alice's Hellcat flew behind the swarm of hostiles with it's cannons blazing. "At least we have a bit of air support." He said with relief as the train rounded a bend near a frozen lake.
The air support was short lived as several fireballs slammed into the Hellcat, which exploded in mid-air, but Alice was able to jump out of the craft before it exploded and landed on the train, slicing through the Grimm already on the train with her swords. "You've got to be kidding me! This can't get any worse." He groaned.
He was wrong as a Manticore landed in front of several Atlas soldiers and swung it's massive paws, knocking the soldiers off the train. The creature was eventually destroyed by Delta Squad, but the enemy continued to land on the train, forcing everyone back down the train and closer to the passengers.
Atlas soldiers fell to blaster fire as the Grimm continued to land on the train, clawing at the roof of the passenger cars in an effort to get into train. One Sphinx dug it's claws into the roof, but was stabbed in the eye by Hunter's knife, then downed by blaster fire from Fordo. "Thanks, Captain." Hunter said, grabbing his knife and running back down the train as more and more enemies arrived. The two clones almost lost their heads when they flew through a short tunnel while jumping down onto one of the flatbeds carrying Bella's Dozer.
Said magician loaded her rifle with fresh ammo, took aim and fired, taking down a Manticore with a single shot while the Penwolf sisters fired their own weapons at the horde. Hardcase, Hevy, Jek, and Thorn unleashed a barrage of fire from their rotary blasters, acting like an anti-aircraft shield, clipping the wings off the Grimm while Kara, Faye, Lop, Zett, and Ocho climbed back to the roof of one of the cars.
The four Jedi reached out and grabbed the droids with the force, flinging them back towards the Grimm while Ocho provided suppressing fire with the half-dozen remaining Atlas soldiers. Gunfire and blaster continued to fly towards the horde, but the droids had already landed on the train and were making their way through the coaches towards the evacuees. Kara saw this and jumped down from the roof, past the surprised soldiers and ran through the cars, slashing through the droids with her lightsaber, with the occasional blast of force energy.
One of the rocket droids she knocked back managed to hit her in the leg, causing her to scream in pain before another shot hit her in the arm, causing her to drop her lightsaber. The droids would have finished her off, but before they knew what hit them the droids were sent flying back through the cars, courtesy of Grogu who arrived with Onyx barking at the droids. "Don't be so reckless, my Padawan." Faye said as she rushed to Kara's side, deflecting the blaster fire from the remaining droids, pulling Kara to her feet and helped her back to the front of the train. As they crossed the gap between the coaches, Zett uncoupled the occupied cars from the train which disappeared as the train continued down the tracks.
Ahead of them, standing on the auxiliary tender, Wrecker fired away with his blaster, swatting droids and Grimm out of the sky, but more enemies continued to fly towards them. "YEAH! Come and get it!" Wrecker shouted with excitement as he kept on shooting.
The last of the Atlas soldiers and SDC security forces who joined in the fight fell to the enemy and for a moment it looked like they were doomed, but just as the train approached another short tunnel, they backed off. "Looks like they've had enough." Cody observed as the train entered the tunnel.
"For now, but they'll be back and we'll be ready for them." Able agreed as the train exited the tunnel a few seconds later and continued towards the fort.
(End song)
Back in Mantle, Diego had saved a few more people from Salem's forces and the imperial forces, guiding them to one of the underground shelters or to whatever vehicles remained operational, sending them towards either the fort or one of the tunnels. "That's all I can do, for now." He said, taking out his Scroll and called his father.
"Hello?"
"Father, it's me. Listen, start moving everyone still at that tunnel down toward it and hurry, the Empire is on it's way along with Salem!" Diego exclaimed to his father.
"Are you sure, son?" his father asked.
"Yes, I called Ironwood earlier, he's staying behind to defend the academy. Guess he's decided to go down fighting."
"I see, what about you son?"
"The surviving troops are heading for Arrowfell to regroup and plan a counterattack. Just get everyone still with you into the tunnel and out the continent. And be careful dad… I love you." Diego said.
"I love you to, son." His father said before ending the call. Diego pocketed his scroll, hopped onto his ATV and drove out towards the tundra at top speed, leaving the city behind him as more imperial ships arrived.
At the same time, at Atlas Academy, Stormtroopers were escorting the capture students and prisoners out of the academy while other troopers ran into the academy. Pockets of resistance inside the academy were preventing the Empire from capturing the objective completely, indicated by the wounded troopers that were being brought out with the prisoners.
As more prisoners were brought out, a shuttle landed in the courtyard and exiting the shuttle was Darth Vader who made his way towards the academy as the commander of the forces assaulting the academy approached him nervously. "Lord Vader, we were ambushed upon arrival, but we are making progress in capturing this…" the commander said, only to be on the receiving end of a force choke from Vader.
"I have no interest in your failures, commander. You are relieved of duty; I will handle the mater personally." Vader said, snapping the commanders' neck, letting the body fall the ground with a thud. The troopers nearby were quick to take the body away as Vader entered the academy.
(Vader's theme starts)
AK-200's and Atlas soldiers continued to hold the line on the fifth floor of the academy as imperial soldiers continued their assault on the academy. A grenade from one of the Atlas soldiers killed a few imperial soldiers, making them believe that they now had the upper hand, but the moment they heard the noise of Vader's respirator, they panicked at the sight of the Sith Lord.
His lightsaber ignited, Vader casually walked towards the defenders who focused their fire on him, deflecting the shots from the blaster rifles they scavenged while those with the standard issue Atlas army weapons had their melted when they came into contact with Vader's blade.
Several AK-200's moved towards Vader, but were reduced to scrap when his blade sliced through the metal soldiers. Grabbing the remains of the robotic soldiers with the force, he flung them towards the Atlas soldiers and breaking through the barricade they had set up with desks from the classrooms. "Fall back! Fall back!" the captain of the soldiers shouted in fear before Vader cut them down with his blade.
"Feel the power of the dark side." Vader said as more soldiers rushed to challenge him. Gunfire flew towards him, but Vader held out his hand and caught the bullets and sent them back towards the soldiers, killing most of them while those left standing were cut down by his blade. As he killed, he sensed their fear and desperation as they continued to retreat further into the academy.
As the retreating soldiers continued to fall back, they heard the screams of their comrades as they were killed, one who's body was flung into the nearby wall as Vader rounded the corner. "That man's a monster!" one soldier said in panic.
"Kill him!" another shouted as Vader made his way towards them. He swung his saber, deflecting the shots sent towards him while the bullets melted the moment they made contact with his lightsaber. Two soldiers armed with swords leapt at him from the side, but they were cut down within seconds. One of the Atlas soldiers armed with a blaster fired at him, but had their shot deflected as the dark lord continued towards the soldiers. Reaching out, he grabbed one soldier and slammed them into the roof, slicing them across the torso, then sent another shot back towards another, then disarmed more soldiers which he proceeded to cut down without any hesitation. "Your strength is nothing compared to the dark side." Vader said, throwing his lightsaber down the hall and sliced through multiple AK-200's while a few unlucky soldiers had their heads taken off.
Recalling his saber, Vader continued down the hallway, cutting down any opposition that dared to face him while the soldiers behind him took whatever prisoners they could find. "He's above." Vader said, moving towards a staircase that was crawling with Atlas soldiers. "It would be wise for you all to surrender." Vader implored the soldiers, but they fired at him.
Vader's onslaught of the Atlas soldiers echoed through out the radio as Ironwood stood with his men in front of his office, training their weapons on the door, ready to fire the moment the enemy came into view. The door to the stairway did open and the soldiers fired instantly. Bullets clattered to the floor, but the sound of a body hitting the ground didn't come, what did come was the bullet riddled body of one of their own which was then flung towards them and appearing in front of them was Vader.
Try as they might, the Atlas soldiers tried to take down Vader, but were cut down in a matter of seconds. Ironwood on the other hand charged towards Vader, only for the dark lord to grab him with the force and slam him into the wall, causing his rifle to fall out of his hands while his revolvers clattered to the ground. "It is useless to resist, surrender, General and I may show you mercy."
(End song)
"Even if I die, others will continue the fight in my stead. They are the best of the best, more elite than your soldiers and everyone of them has something worth fighting for. As long as they live, hope will survive and they will triumph, against you and against Salem." Ironwood spat as he stood up, battered and beaten.
"Then you will be the first to die." Vader said, quickly slashing Ironwood across the chest with his lightsaber. As his foes body fell to the ground, the clouds outside gave way as a massive sperm-whale like Grimm with giant, purple crystalline spikes composed of Gravity Dust and gray rocks on its upper and lower body and five pairs of bat like fins.
Inside the massive Grimm, atop the creature's skull, Salem, Adam, and Maul watched as Atlas had finally fallen to them. Adam's delight showed on his face with a devilish smile as he ordered his forces to hunt down every human hiding in both cities, like the Faunus hunts of old.
"Though we have lost Cinder and Watts, Ironwood is dead and Atlas is ours. Although, we will not be able to access the vault without the Winter Maiden, who I suspect has been moved to a new location." Maul said.
"It matters not." Salem began, looking down on the cities as they came into view. "The relics will be mine and our enemies, will bring them to us. It is a matter of time." She added, turning her back towards the cities as she walked away.
Hundreds of miles away from the cities, the Manta carrying the Ace Ops, Teams RWBY and GARM landed at Fort Arrowfell where they reunited with everyone else who managed to escape the fall of Atlas. Just as they were about to ask where Tyrian went, a voice spoke up. "Are you Galen Marek?"
Everyone turned to see none other than Mara herself walking towards them. "My name is Mara Jade, and we need to talk."
And that's it.
Updated voice cast.
Clover Ebi-Chris Wehkamp
Elm Ederne- Dawn M. Bennet
Marrow Amin- Mick Lauer
Harriet Bree- Anairis Quinones
Vine Zeki- Todd Womack
Mordred Penwolf- Erica Lindbeck
Bella Jones- Cassandra Lee Morris
Sleet and Camilla- Chad Jones and Anairis Quinones
Diego Vega- Johnny Yong Bosch
Alejandro Vega- John Sawsey
Ocho Yasaburo- Romi Dames
Robin Kuo- Madeline Dorroh
Peter Kennedy- Ben Balmaceda
Evelyn London- Mikell Dover
Viktor Voycheck- Paul St. Peter
Sorry for the long wait, I was hitting a bit of a writers block and I also got distracted in replaying Resident Evil 2 and 3, the remakes in anticipation for the Resident Evil 4 remake next month, it's not for the original Xbox One, so I'll have to get an Xbox One X/S so I can play it, I love those games. Word of advice for those who play the games, don't sell your handgun and save your magnum ammo for tougher and more deadlier foes.
For us Bad Batch fans, the last few episodes have been interesting, and I was surprised to see Riyo return. I wonder what will happen next and if anyone would like to know, Star Wars visions season 2 airs May 4th.
For those of you wondering, the Aigaion is from Ace Combat 6.
I've got the next intro planned for Volume 8, and a few new ideas for some more heavy firepower, but you'll all have to wait until I come back to this story.
My poll about my next story will be up until the 18th when Volume 9 airs, so please continue to cast your votes for which story you'd like me to focus on until Volume 9 ends, the poll is still in a tie between Star Wars: Hyper Lethal Vector and Return of The Power Rangers. So, until I return to this story, please read, and review.