Oh my days, when I said this would be a long chapter, I meant a LONG chapter. Urggh, kill me now. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy.

"Ten men wisely led, will beat a hundred without a head"

Euripides

Chapter Nine—Attack

"You want us to attack that!?" asked Finnegan, incredulous, "are you mad?"

Beta section had spent a full day and the better part of a second one following the low flying Atlesian bullheads that swept overhead at an alarming frequency, until finally, as the sun began to kiss the tree tops, they stumbled across their best chance of surviving. Their best chance of surviving, of course, being a heavily guarded hostile enemy outpost. Go figure.

The forward base sat hunched in a large clearing, a bullhead launch pad lounging in its centre. Near to the launch pad stood a jumble of metal rods, corrugated iron and wooden boards, which may have resembled a large shed. A temporary command centre, Naomi had deducted. Scattered around the clearing were ordered rows of tents; some small, some large, some huge, but all showing signs of being recently set up. A radio mast rose from the clearing like a spear, likely to boost radio signals all the way back to Atlas. That would be a problem if the enemy were to get a distress signal out when Beta section attacked them. Jaune was flabbergasted at how ruthlessly quick Atlas worked – they had invaded Vale less than three days ago, yet they already had a fully operational refuelling station. It was incredible. Incredible, and very, very worrying.

Looming over the whole outpost, like some granite sentinel, rose a menacing outcropping of rock. It jutted into the sky like a titan's finger, jagged and sheer, more like a cliff really. It was far too steep for a large group to scale without being seen, but Jaune realised that a small team, might be able to get to the top without being spotted.

The clearing was crawling with Atlas soldiers.

"I hate to agree with Flea on anything," admitted Cat, apparently having found a new nickname for Finn, "but we can't attack that many enemies with…" Cat made a vague hand gesture towards everyone around her.

"Don't worry guys," Buzz reassured, "Jaune's got a plan, right?" Eight heads swivelled around to track Jaune. "Thanks Buzz," he thought. It wasn't that he didn't have a plan. In fact, he had a very good plan; elegantly simple: stage one, find an Atlas outpost. Stage two, attack said Atlas outpost. Stage three, steal whatever supplies they needed.

However, looking at the expectant faces before him, Jaune realised it may have been a little too simplistic. He was going to need to think of something better. He tried to think tactically.

"We need to know more about this place," began Jaune carefully, "how many people there are, what kind of weapons they have, any weak points, that kind of thing. But we can't really tell that accurately by watching from the trees."

"So you're suggesting…" prompted Cat.

Jaune winced. "I'm suggesting we send someone into that base."

Lance-Corporal Topaz was bored out of his mind. He stood just within the treeline of the forest, his back to the outpost. Thankfully, his shift on sentry duty was coming to an end, but it had been mind-bogglingly dull the entire time. He began walking, making his final sweep of the area he was supposed to be guarding. He could barely see a few feet ahead of him thanks to the dense undergrowth, but he doubted he had much to worry about. He'd be able to hear Grimm coming a mile away, and besides, the first thing they'd done once they'd arrived was to clear the forest of neighbouring unfriendlies. And no bandit tribe would dare to attack an Atlesian outpost. So who else was there? The Valesian army? As if. High Command had told them all they were a pitiful affair, consisting of old men and children playing soldier. They'd have to be more stupid than the bandits to attac-

A twig snapped.

Topaz ignored it, and continued walking. Probably just some stupid animal. Anyway, as per usual, the Atlas army operated on a need-to-know basis, which basically meant that the only thing the common soldiers like him knew was what was on tomorrow's menu. He had no idea why there were in Vale, or why they were fighting its army, but it wasn't his job to question orders, and it certainly wasn't his job t-

A man-sized bush rustled off to one side.

Topaz raised an eyebrow, and finally stopped a few feet away from the plant. He didn't come any closer.

The piece of shrubbery rattled furiously in front of him, demanding his attention.

Topaz sighed, then levelled his rifle at the offending scrub and blasted three rapid shots into it. The bush ceased all activity immediately. Really, did they think he was born yesterday? What idiot would fall for that one-

A meaty fist slammed into the side of his head from behind. The last thing he heard before everything went dark was a gruff voice saying, "Lights out, sunshine."

"It worked!" crowed Buzz.

"Of course it worked," snapped Naomi, dropping the string she'd tied to the bush, "it was my plan."

Jaune gulped when he saw the still smouldering bullet holes burnt through the plant. He had originally intended to hide behind it and lure the sentry over to him, but Naomi had suggested a better plan. He thanked his lucky stars he'd listened to her.

"Nicely done, Naomi," congratulated Bounty, dragging the unconscious sentry with him. He unceremoniously dumped the body in front of the emerging group of troops. "Now then, who wants to steal this guy's clothes and dress up as the nice unconscious man?" For some reason, no one seemed to want to volunteer for that.

"We should probably make sure it's someone who looks like him," figured Naomi, "if someone decides to randomly check him, we have a better chance of avoiding suspicion if they're similar."

"And that means us girls are off the hook," cheered Cat, high fiving Naomi.

"Take off his helmet," ordered Jaune, "and see if he has some ID on him or something." Terry quickly complied, removing the soldier's headdress and pulling out some kind of Atlas identity card. The squad crowded around Terry, looking from the card, to the body, and back again.

"He kind of looks like… Buzz," said Terry.

Buzz felt an odd feeling settle in his stomach at the sound of his name. It consisted of a strange combination of nervousness, fear and— was that excitement? Going into an enemy base with nothing but his wits to survive was pretty terrifying, but also thrilling. It was just like those video games Naomi had hated, but which he'd lapped up like syrup when he was younger; knowing it was bad for him but oh, so good! He could actually do something helpful for the team. Something only he could do.

Unfortunately, Naomi. "No, Buzz can't do it," she immediately declared.

"Didn't you just say it should be whoever looks most similar?" noted Bounty innocently, so sickly sweet it made teeth rot, "except for the hair, which will be covered by the helmet, Buzz and this guy could be brothers."

"Well they're not," snapped Naomi, "and forget what I said. Buzz is not doing this," she maintained. She turned to Jaune, hoping to find an ally there. "Jaune, please, tell them. Buzz is too young. I won't let him do this."

Wait, what?

Normally, Buzz didn't mind his sister's sometimes… overprotective… nature. She just liked to worry. It was who she was. But something about the way she'd said that last part. Not 'Buzz shouldn't do this', or 'Buzz shouldn't have to do this' but 'I won't let him do this.' She'd said it as if it were her decision to make. As if he were still a baby, not old enough to make his own decisions. For some reason, that made him suddenly angry. Naomi wasn't even letting him have a chance to prove himself to everyone. He wanted to prove himself. He wanted to do this.

"Alright Naomi," sighed Jaune, "maybe you're right. I guess maybe I could pass for this gu-"

"I'll do it," cut in Buzz. Naomi barely even graced him with a glance.

"No you won't," she chided, "you're too youn-"

"Yes, I will," Buzz insisted, "Jaune's only a year older than I am. And you said it yourself, I've got the best chance of going unnoticed in there. I can do this. Please Naomi, let me show you."

"Buzz…" tried Naomi, "you can't… you don't…" A hand fell onto Naomi's shoulder.

"Let him try this Naomi." Aiden spoke softly, carefully, but there was a deep weight behind each word. "He's right. You're not that much older than him yourself, and he's just as capable of doing this as anyone else here. I believe he can do this. Let him prove it to you." Aiden believed in him. That was enough to make Buzz's chest swell with pride. Aiden was normally silent, and rarely spoke, but when he did it was always something worthwhile.

"Oh come on, Jaune," cried Cat, exasperated, trying to appeal to their leader, "you can't actually be considering this. He's just a kid!"

"Not anymore, he's not," rumbled Bounty, clapping Buzz on the back in a way that was probably supposed to be a friendly manner, but which just made Buzz's back hurt. "He's now a soldier, and a proud member of Beta section."

"Oh right, because we've been doing so well so far," Cat snarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Don't tell me you're getting a soft spot for Buzz," teased Bounty.

"Absolutely not," replied Cat, far too quickly, "I just want him to survive this for Naomi's sake."

Buzz droned out the ensuing argument and locked his eyes onto his sister's, sending her a silent plea. If he didn't do this, then someone else would have to, and if they were discovered as a fake, they'd be killed for sure. Buzz couldn't see that happen to anyone. He had the best chance of surviving this mission. It had to be him.

All this he tried to send to his sister telepathically. She didn't seem to understand everything he was begging her, but she seemed to get the gist, because finally, after an age of consideration, she nodded her head once. That was all the confirmation he needed.

"Jaune," he said, silencing the arguers, "I'll do it." Jaune looked at him, then Naomi, then at the infuriated faces of those in front of him. Finally, he sighed.

"Sure," he said, "why not."

A few minutes later, Buzz was dressed up in Atlas military uniform and was strolling down towards the base, trying to look inco- inconspi- inconspicus-

Trying to look normal.

He pushed the last strands of his purple hair up under his helmet and closed the visor. His heart fluttered in his chest. His palms sweated profusely.

He tried to stop the grin that wanted to spread across his face.

Buzz walked into the outpost and tried to look like he was meant to be there. So far so good. Now he just needed to see what he could find.

He wove between the tents, immediately spotting the rickety hut in the middle which Naomi had said was the command centre. There was a thick, black wire snaking away from it. He followed it, eventually finding it connected to a large generator which rumbled and sputtered reminding him of an old man having a coughing fit. Buzz remembered that Naomi had once told him that generators converted unrefined dust into useful energy. She'd also tried to explain how they actually did that, but Buzz hadn't really been paying attention by that point. Other wires diverged from the ecological monster, but Buzz didn't bother following them all. They were probably just for some small lights or something.

Buzz stared at the generator for a moment longer, then moved on. No time for sightseeing. He had a job to do.

Buzz saw lots of the camp that day. He saw the landing pad, currently unoccupied. He saw a well-worn grass path running between the pad and a large tent, but that was guarded by two men, so he stayed away from that. He saw a row of smaller tents where the soldiers seemed to sleep, and he saw several stern looking men enter and exit the command centre.

But he didn't see anything that could help Beta section attack this place. No secret weak point. No big red button that had 'blow up base' written on it. But that didn't make sense. There was always a weakness. There was always a secret way for the video game character to beat the final boss against the odds. But if there was one, Buzz couldn't find it.

He tried counting the Atlas soldiers he passed, but that soon became impossible. They all looked the same to him. Same blindingly shiny armour. Same bulbous, alien helmets. Plus, every time he started counting, he soon got distracted, and lost count. It was at least thirty.

Buzz was beginning to get strange looks from the other soldiers. He could feel their accusing gazes piercing his back as he walked past. It was getting dangerous. He had to pull out.

Or at least, he would have done, if it wasn't for the bullhead which suddenly appeared over the clearing and began to lower onto the landing pad. Buzz fought the urge to dive to the ground.

"You there!" a voice called. Buzz kept walking towards the treeline. "Hey! You! Get over here soldier."

A weight settled in Buzz's stomach, but he ignored the voice again. "Please don't be talking to me," begged Buzz. "Please not me."

"Are you deaf, soldier?" a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Buzz tried not to whimper. "Where's your identification, soldier?" the man demanded.

With wobbling hands, Buzz pulled out the stolen identity card, and handed it over. He didn't trust his voice to not crack if he said anything. The man snatched the card from him and pulled up his visor. Buzz bit down on his tongue and tried to look Atlasy. The man looked down at the card, then at Buzz's face, then to the card, then back to Buzz's face, scrunching up his own face as he searched for any discrepancies.

Finally, he grunted in acceptance. "Alright Lance-corporal Topaz, I'll let you off this time. But if I ever see you ignoring a senior officer again, I'll have you running laps till you puke. Understand?" Buzz nodded furiously. "Now get over there and held them fuel up the bullhead."

No, wait, that wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to get back to the others. The longer he stayed here the more likely he was going to get caught.

But he couldn't very well say that to the frowning man in front of him. So he merely nodded his head and trudged over to the bullhead, where he was immediately shouted orders at by another man. This was going to be a long day…

"He's been in there too long," hissed Cat. For once, Jaune was forced to agree with her. Buzz had only meant to make a quick incursion, then get out with whatever information he had. But the squad had been waiting long enough for the sun to go blood red and dip below the horizon. Soon it would be pitch black. Jaune and the others hadn't seen any commotion in the clearing, except for the bullhead landing, but that didn't mean Buzz hadn't been captured. He could have been shot as an intruder. Did Atlas shoot prisoners? He might be lying in a ditch right now with a bullet between his eyes. Had Jaune sent him to his death?

"If you've gotten the kid killed on this hare-brained scheme of yours, Arc," growled Finnegan, "I swear to Oum-"

"Don't talk to the Sergeant like that," demanded Terry, ever the loyal unofficial second.

"I'll talk to him however I like, Terrier," retorted Finn.

"Don't think you're getting any favours by siding with me on this, Flea," warned Cat, but Finn just shook his head.

"I don't give a shit about you or your favours," he spat, "would it surprise you so much to learn that I actually care whether the kid lives or not?"

"You didn't when you abandoned us, Flea," snarled Bounty. Finnegan shook his head again.

"I wasn't thinking straight then. I just wanted to survive this. But now you've come up with this insane plan of yours, Sarge, and Buzz might be dead now."

"Shut up, Finn," growled Naomi, "Buzz is not dead." She almost, almost kept the wobble out of her voice.

Beta section were rapidly spiralling into a heated argument, but Jaune couldn't let that happen. Raised voices might attract the attention of one of the sentries, and besides, arguing wouldn't help Buzz. He had to take control of his squad, like a leader was supposed to do.

"Everyone be quiet," Jaune ordered, "this isn't getting us anywhere. We need to save Buzz."

"And what if he's already dead?" sneered Finn. Naomi flinched. Cat clutched her rifle until her knuckles went white, likely wondering how hard she could hit Finn with it without killing him.

"That's not an option," stated Jaune. Finn scoffed, but Jaune kept going. "We need to attack that base. But we can't risk a frontal assault. There's too many of them, and anyway, we might hit Buzz in the crossfire."

"So, what?" demanded Finn, "we go in there and asked them nicely to surrender, maybe over a pleasant cup of tea?"

"No," explained Jaune patiently, "but we do need them to surrender. If we can scare them enough, convince them they're completely outmatched, then they'll have to surrender."

"Yeah, except for one problem," interrupted Finn, "there's only eight of us, and a few dozen of them. So how're we supposed to make them surrender?"

"It's simple. We just need to make them believe we're a bigger force than we are," said Jaune, and he began to explain the plan he'd been conceiving ever since he'd sent Buzz into the clearing.

Buzz knew he was going to be in trouble with Naomi when he got back. He didn't like to worry his sister, but he had just never found the right moment to escape. It seemed every time he'd finished one job, he was shouted at by another man to do a different one. He'd scurried from place to place around the base, the threat of discovery looming over him at every instant.

But at least one good thing had come out of Buzz extended infiltration. He'd discovered something that Jaune might be able to use against the base. It turned out the large, guarded tent he'd seen earlier was full to bursting of ammo, fuel and dust. He'd been allowed entry when he'd refuelled the bullhead.

And now it was dusk, and Buzz finally found he wasn't being yelled at. Buzz realised this was the perfect moment to get back to the others and tell them his discovery. He began to hurry towards the edge of the base. Once he was reunited with them, they could come up with a plan together and then they could take the base, and maybe they could even-

Light exploded around the perimeter of the outpost.

"No," whispered Buzz.

Jaune had just finished explaining his plan to Beta section when everything changed.

Suddenly, streams of light sliced through the trees and struck the squad. Beat section instantly shied away from the blinding rays, sinking further into the shadowed shrubbery. Blinking against the burning beams, Jaune watched through watery eyes as one by one, floodlights surrounding the clearing burst into life, throwing harsh, white light around the base, flushing the darkness out and illuminating everything right up to the trees and then some.

Crap.

"What do we do?" hissed Cat, "we'll be seen if we try anything."

A sickening feeling twisted in Jaune's stomach. The chance of his plan failing just quadrupled with the lights illuminating the surrounding trees. Did he risk the lives of his whole squad to save the life of one, or did he condemn Buzz to death by not trying to rescue him? What should he do?

Jaune looked at the frightened faces around him. If he attacked now, some of them might die. But then his gaze fell upon Naomi. Her eyes weren't scared. They were… begging. Imploring. If he didn't attack now, then Buzz would definitely die.

"Stick to the plan," mumbled Jaune, his eyes down. He couldn't face the betrayed looks before him. "Get into position. Wait for my signal." For a moment, there was silence. And then slowly, as if coming out of a surreal dream, they began to disperse, first Naomi, then Phil, then Cat. Soon everyone was moving to their positions in grim, accepting silence, but their blaming eyes burned into Jaune's bowed head nonetheless.

Just as Aiden was about to move off, a thought popped into Jaune's mind. He quickly pulled Aiden aside and whispered to him his idea. Aiden nodded once, and then moved off to fulfil his duty. Jaune hoped it would work. They would need every advantage they could get.

Jaune wouldn't leave Buzz for dead, like he'd almost done to Phil. Not without trying to save him first. He just prayed he wasn't sending his friends to their deaths.

"Please don't let them die," he prayed to whatever mystic being was watching over them, "not them too."

Buzz stared at the hateful, crushing, mocking lights. There was no way Buzz could sneak past them without being spotted by someone. And worse, if Jaune and the others tried to do anything, they'd be seen and shot for sure. He was trapped, and whilst those floodlights remained on, no help was coming.

Unless…

Buzz remembered the generator near the command tent from earlier. The floodlights must be connected to it somewhere. If the generator was damaged or destroyed, then the lights would turn off, and it would cause enough confusion for him to escape. Plus, it would make Jaune's attack easier. Buzz grinned. Forget reconnaissance, imagine what everyone would think of him if he sabotaged the Atlas base! How cool would that be. He just needed enough dust to cause a big enough explosion to destroy it.

Buzz turned to face the dust tent. He could just make out the two guards in front of it. They looked sleepy and bored. They weren't expecting an attack on their supplies from within their own base. They probably thought they were safe.

Buzz grinned again. Time to put an end to that.

A few minutes later he was on his stomach, inching his way towards the back of the tent. The lights were all turned outwards, so he was practically in pitch darkness. Plus, most of the soldiers had returned to their tents a while earlier, and most of those still awake were guarding the perimeter. But Buzz still hugged the ground closely. There was always the possibility that one of the enemy might happen to look in the right direction and notice him.

When he reached the tent, he pulled up the fabric and crawled inside. Before long, he had a box full of powdered dust. Perfect for an explosion. He crawled back outside and tiptoed up to the generator. He poured the majority of the dust over and around the gurgling machine, then crept away from it, leaving a trail of dust behind him as he did so.

Once he judged he was far enough away from the generator, he dumped the rest of the dust and prepared to light it. That was when he realised he didn't have a match. Oh well.

Buzz pulled out the pistol that he'd stolen from the unconscious sentry and pointed it at the fuse. "Here goes nothing," he thought, and pulled the trigger.

The gun bucked in his hand. For an instant a glowing red flash appeared where he'd aimed, and then it raced down the fuse like a hare, disappearing from Buzz's view. Well that worked better than exp-

BOOM!

A pillar of fire blossomed upwards. An instant later the seismic clap blasted Buzz off his feet. He smacked his head against the ground and his helmet came flying off. His vision swam. He tasted blood. There was a deafening ringing in his skull, pulverising his brain into mush.

That. Was. Awesome!

When Buzz was finally able to sit up without puking, he saw that where the generator had once stood was now a smoking crater. Better yet, he saw that the floodlights had sputtered into darkness. Soldiers raced around screaming orders at each other, or dragged themselves out of tents looking confused and frightened.

Amid all the chaos, sat Buzz, dazed and frazzled, but somehow managing to smile like mad. At least, he was, until an unfamiliar set of legs stopped in front of him. Buzz followed the legs upwards to a uniformed chest studded with medals, then higher to a set of arms gripping a rifle, and then even higher to the furious face of an Atlas soldier looming over him.

"Purple hair isn't permitted in the Atlas military," the soldier roared, levelling his rifle at Buzz, "saboteur!"

Bounty, Cat and Phil were almost in position when a fireball erupted from the centre of the base and all the lights inside the clearing went out.

"What the hell was that?" demanded Cat.

"That," decided Bounty, "is the signal. Ten lien I can shoot more Atlas than you."

"You're on," grinned Cat, "get ready to eat shit, old man."

"Old man?" asked Bounty, incredulous, "I'm fifty-two!"

"Basically ancient," smirked Cat.

"Uh, guys," cut in Phil, "shouldn't we, y'know, focus on the mission rather tha-"

"Shut up, Lightning," Bounty and Cat both interrupted, as they opened up on the base.

"What was that?" asked Terry.

"I… I don't know," admitted Jaune, "that couldn't have been…"

"Buzz," whispered Naomi. Her face was a mix of shock, awe and terror. "It's him."

"How do you know?" accused Finn.

"I just do, ok," snapped Naomi, "we need to act now, Jaune."

Jaune nodded. At least the lights were taken care of. He unclasped his rifle from his back and handed it to Finn. Finn's eyebrows shot up and would have disappeared if he had any fringe to speak of. "I'm trusting you, Finn," Jaune told him, "don't let me down." Jaune gazed at Finn steadily, demanding the truth from him. Finally, Finn nodded once, and took the rifle.

"Let's give them another problem to worry about. Light them up, Nuke," commanded Jaune. Despite herself, Naomi grinned as she hoisted her bazooka and loaded it with a rocket.

"I like Nuke," she muttered, and then she fired the bazooka. The rocket streaked away from her and arced towards the outpost. Somehow, defying all the physics that Jaune knew, it found its mark. The radio mast instantly erupted into flames, a monstrous inferno that reached fiery fingers up to caress the sky. Jaune would like to see them send a distress signal from that.

"Let's move!" shouted Jaune. He raced out of the cover of the trees without looking back and prayed that Terry and Finn were following him.

The double explosion had the exact effect that Jaune was hoping for. Soldiers who had raced towards the initial explosion now raced towards the second one. No one knew what was going on. There was chaos. Panic. And then Bounty, Cat and Phil opened fire, their bullets raking across the clearing, amplifying the turmoil tenfold. Step one was going perfectly. But it wouldn't last. Atlesian soldiers were praised on being the most disciplined on Remnant. It was only a matter of time before they reorganised and turned on their attackers. If that happened, Beta section wouldn't stand a chance.

Hence Jaune's role: step two.

Jaune sprinted from the woods towards the tents. The darkness and the confusion ensured he wasn't spotted as he crossed the open ground. He finally reached the cover of the line of tents, and turned to see that Terry and Finn had indeed followed him.

"This is madness," panted Finn, wide eyed. Terry didn't look any less terrified.

"Just cover me," Jaune commanded. "Make sure they don't notice us."

"Don't… don't worry Jaune," said Terry, looking very worried, "we'll cover you."

Jaune turned back to the tents and drew Crocea Mors. From one of his pockets he pulled out a piece of flint he'd found in the forest, and from another he removed some dry leaves. Jaune struck his steel sword with the flint. A single spark fell onto the leaves.

Several attempts later, Jaune held a lit leaf to the fabric of the nearest tent. It finally caught alight, and before long the tent was merrily burning away. The tents were practically touching each other, and before long the blaze would be able to pass between them. It was time to go.

"Alright, we're done here, let's move," said Jaune.

"Slight problem there, genius," grunted Finn, "they're coming for us."

With a start, Jaune realised Finn was right. The idea had been to set the tents on fire to try to pull soldiers away from their duty to save their possessions, but now Jaune realised the flaw with his plan. Atlas soldiers were racing to the tents to save their belongings. The same tents which they were now hiding behind.

"Oh crud," whispered Jaune.

That was when they were spotted. The first few bullets flew over their heads. Finnegan and Terry blasted back in return, equally inaccurate. Bullets also flew out of the trees, far more accurate, forcing the soldiers to duck behind cover. Naomi was doing her best to help them, but one rifle couldn't stop all of them, and the soldiers seemed determined to punish the intruders who had torched their tents.

Jaune frantically looked around for an escape. The fire was spreading quickly, eating away their cover. Soon the inferno would be too unbearable to stay near, and they'd be forced to flee into the open. But that would mean certain death. Even with covering fire from Naomi, the distance to the trees was too great. Jaune's aura might be enough to protect him, but Terry and Finn would be easy pickings.

Jaune extended his sheath into shield form. "We have to try to make a run for it," he told them, "try to stay in front of me."

"There's no way we're surviving that," exclaimed Terry, "maybe if we give ourselves up, they won't kill us."

"They'd kill us for sure," whimpered Finn.

"Well I'm open to suggestions right about now," said Jaune rather hysterically. The all too familiar fear had begun to pump through his veins like poison, clogging his arteries and making his limbs feel like lead. The blaze was spreading wildly now, sucking the moisture out of the air and making it hard to breathe. "We need to move now, or we die." Finn and Terry whimpered again, but made no further objection. "Alright. On three." God this was a terrible idea. "One." What was he thinking? "Two." They were all going to die. "Thr-!"

An ear-splitting screeching filled the air as bullets whizzed by and slammed into the earth. Jaune dived to the ground, thinking another bullhead was opening up on them with its minigun. He scanned the sky for the familiar shape of the airship, but he didn't see it. Instead he saw a…a…

Was that a drone?

A drone was hovering above him, spraying the enemy soldiers with rounds from its front. It looked somehow… familiar to Jaune, and was it… was it yellow?

"Oh you cannot be serious."

Somehow, Aeron Wasp, Phillip's weapon, was not only flying, but also shooting on its own. The cross over the ammunition drum was now spinning too fast for Jaune to follow it, somehow keeping the weapon airborne. The hand crank was positioned vertically underneath the drone, and the grip was pointing towards them. Phil had once told Jaune that there was a camera attached to the handle. Jaune had no doubt that that was pointed towards him right now.

"Thanks buddy," he whispered, deciding to ignore the absurdity of their situation for the time being. "Let's move it!" he yelled at Finn and Terry, who seemed in awe of the hovering life saver. Both of them scrambled to their feet at Jaune's shouting and the three of them scrambled back to the safety of the trees, Jaune going last, his shield raised to protect their backs. He heard Aeron Wasp covering their retreat, but his shield still jerked against him as rounds slammed into it. Jaune gritted his teeth and ran faster.

The trio finally reached the safety of the trees and burst through the undergrowth, gasping in relief. Naomi was waiting for them there.

"Oum, Jaune, that was cutting it a bit fine don't you think?" she asked. Jaune was too busy panting to answer. Naomi turned back to the clearing. "Hey Jaune, come check this out."

Jaune joined here at the forest edge and watched as the outpost burnt.

The plan had worked, if not perfectly, then at least effectively. Soldiers ran between at least three separate fires, desperately trying to put out the flames. Others were torn between fighting their attackers and saving their possessions. Everyone was shouting, but the roaring fires drowned out their voices.

"You wanted to cause some chaos Jaune," grinned Naomi, "I think you did a pretty darn good job of that." Jaune smiled. Somehow, his crazy, insane, maddening plan was working. Now he just had to-

"COWARDS!" screamed a voice from the clearing, somehow piercing through the night. "SCUM! RATS! SHOW YOURSELVES LIKE MEN AND FACE ME!"

"Not likely," whispered Naomi, searching for the source of the voice. Suddenly, her face went bone white and she choked on whatever snarky remark she was going to say next. A second later, Jaune also found the man shouting.

"COME OUT YOU DOGS, OR YOUR MAN DIES!" There, standing in the clearing, was a man dressed in an ornamental uniform dangling with medals, and in front of, gripped by his purple hair, a pistol shoved against his face, was Buzz.

"YOU HAVE TO THE COUNT OF THREE!" Naomi leapt to her feet, but Jaune dragged her down.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, "he's got Buzz!"

"ONE!"

"I'm the leader, it's my responsibility to go down there," Jaune replied.

"TWO!"

"Jaune he won't just give him over. He might just kill you the moment you appear."

"That's a risk I'll have to take," he said, his mind already made up. He wasn't going to abandon Buzz to his fate. He was done with abandoning friends.

"THREE!"

"STOP!" shouted Jaune, revealing himself from the trees. Instantly every rifle in the clearing spun around and trained on him. Jaune sheathed Crocea Mors and walked forward with his hands raised. Every single soldier watched him, the fires momentarily forgotten. Jaune watched all this despairingly. Even if he got out of this alive, there wouldn't be the chaos Beta section needed to beat these guys. He'd lost the one advantage he had.

He kept walking, coming deeper and deeper into the belly of the Beowolf, until he stood in front of the man holding Buzz captive. Buzz looked horrified to see him here, but he didn't look hurt.

"Are you the leader of this place?" Jaune asked.

The man smiled triumphantly. "I'm asking the questions here, scum. How many of you are there in those trees? Are they going to show their faces too or am I going to have to flush them out?"

"They're under orders to stay in the forest, unless I give the signal," Jaune lied, "then they'll attack."

The man spat on the ground. "Alright then, here's what's going to happen. You and your men are going to come out of hiding with their hands up and their weapons on the floor. Then I'll decide whether to kill you all for the trouble you've caused me. Otherwise I'll shoot your infiltrator, and then you. Understand?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Jaune, with far more bravado than he felt, "I've got a counter proposal. You and your men all surrender, and I give you my word that none of you will be harmed. If you don't do this, then you are all going to die."

The man looked at Jaune as if he were insane, then threw his head back and laughed cruelly. "You're bluffing! Do you think we're that stupid?"

"This is your last chance," warned Jaune, "surrender now."

"You know what? I don't think I will," leered the man, "in fact, to show you I'm not to be messed with, I think I'll kill one of you right now." The man pushed Buzz to one side, so the man was standing between Jaune and Buzz and raised his handgun in the air. "Why don't you decide who bites a bullet, huh? You," he pointed the gun at Jaune, "or the kid?" he waved it towards Buzz.

"You brought this on yourself," said Jaune. Slowly, deliberately, he raised his hands up high and made a triangle shape with his fingers. The man laughed again.

"If that supposed to intimidate m-?"

A gun shot rang out across the clearing. The man clutched his chest, his face a mask of confusion, and looked down at his torso. "Oh," he muttered, before he toppled over dead.

Jaune closed his eyes as the man fell, but he still flinched as the body thudded against the ground. Metallic saliva seeped into his mouth like lead. Bile rose in his throat like acid. His stomach roiled and heaved.

It shouldn't have ended like this. One more person shot down in their prime. One more life stolen by Jaune's actions. First the faceless soldier in the forest who had shot Sarge. Then anyone who had ended up getting killed in the crossfire of Jaune's plan tonight. And now the leader of this outpost, dead at his feet. How many destroyed lives was he already responsible for? How many more would he have on his conscience before this was all over.

Jaune swallowed. Swallowed down the urge to retch, swallowed down his guilts and his regrets, swallowed down everything. Right now, he didn't have the luxury to be Jaune Arc the person, with all his sympathy and kindness and pity. He needed to be Sergeant Arc the leader, capable only of feeling confidence and surety and fortitude.

One day he'd face what he'd done, he promised himself. One day he'd stop hiding behind his leadership persona and recognise what Jaune Arc the person had become. He only hoped when that day came there would still be a person in there to look at.

Finally, as if the hardening of his resolve had flipped off the freeze button, life shot into action around him. The soldiers around him dropped to the floor, their arms uselessly covering their heads, cowering away from the vulnerability of being exposed. The nearest Atlesian soldier leapt at Jaune, grabbing his arm and pulling him in front of his body as a human shield. His eyes darted around frenziedly, trying to locate the source of the shot. "What the hell was that?" he hissed, shoving his rifle against Jaune's back whilst his other arm wrapped around Jaune's throat.

"Sn-snipers," Jaune managed to gurgle, his windpipe constricted by the soldier. "We've got dozens in the trees." The man's eyes went even wider, and he pulled Jaune's body even closer to his own.

"Tell them not to fire," he hissed.

"If you surrender, I guarantee you won't be hurt. None of you. But if you kill either of us now then they have orders to slaughter the lot of you." Jaune could see the soldier's brain working behind his eyes, judging, assessing, calculating. He knew Jaune might be lying, but was it worth the risk to call his bluff, especially having just seen what had happened to his superior? Maybe, if this man had been in charge of the outpost, he would have held his ground. But he wasn't. That man was lying dead on the ground in a growing pool of his own blood. This man was just plain scared. Jaune could tell by the frantic jerking as he scanned left and right for the unseen threat. This man didn't want to die. And right now, upholding the honour of Atlas wasn't at the top of his priority list.

"All right, all right, I surrender," he said, dropping his rifle and stepping back, "just don't shoot me."

Jaune rubbed his sore throat and looked to the other soldiers. "Do the rest of you want to end up the same way as your leader?" Thirty rifles clattered to the ground, followed by sixty hands rising into the air.

And just like that, the outpost was now in Jaune's hands.

Woohoo, Jaune and co finally succeeded in something. It's about time their luck turned.

Also, not sure if you can see this, but yes, I have changed my username on this website. Everyone knows that every good author has a good writer's name, and... I honestly couldn't think of a better one. From now on, just call me Dust. Doltish Dust. I totally haven't killed the last author and hijacked his story heh heh heh. Why would you ever think that...?

So unfortunately these past two weeks have been really hectic for me. I've had, like fifteen exams at school this past fortnight so I haven't been able to write ANY new chapters, I've only had time to polish this one up a little. Thankfully they're all done now, so I should be able to get back to writing fanfiction pretty soon. I'm really excited with where this story is heading, and for all my complaining about how long and arduous this chapter was to write, it was really good fun at the same time.

Ok, that's enough of me talking. Follow and Favourite if you want to remain in the loop for the rest of this story. I'll see you all in two weeks. Until then!