Black Clovers and Rising Remnants
An: Sorry it took so long on this chapter, guys. I had trouble with parts of it, unsure of how to word part of it exactly. However, it's done, and I hope y'all enjoy it! And thanks to my friends who helped with getting this chapter out!
Chapter 3: Worlds collide, Part 1
The inside of the vessel was spartan, but sizable. The five Magic Knight Captains entered the vessel ahead of the Ace Ops and examined the seats on either side of the room, like something akin to a carriage. A small room was at the front of the vessel, with two seats in front of a glass window and several nobs and other measuring devices. Clover entered last and shut the door behind him. "Alright boys," he said to the men in front. "Let's head home and call General Ironwood and inform him we have guests with us."
"Sir!" The men saluted and went to work.
Turning to the captains, Clover said, "You're welcome to take a seat, or if you want to stand, there's straps above you to hold onto until we reach cruising altitude." The five nodded as Fuegoleon, William, and Yami reached up and grabbed the straps while Nozel and Charlotte took a seat on the right side of the vessel. The remaining Ace Ops opted to sit opposite of them while Clover grabbed a strap opposite of the captains.
Soon enough, the airship began to rise, giving only a slight lurch as it did. Their speed and altitude increased until they reached their preferred height, then the vessel gave a tiny lurch forward. Soon, the ship was flying off at impressive speeds.
Clover released the strap and smiled at the Magic Knights. "Ok! We're good! Now all that's left is smooth sailing to Atlas!"
"Fascinating," William commented as he observed the vessel's interior. "A vessel that requires no magic to fly! What do you use for fuel? And how does it stay at this height?"
"Our fuel is a crystalized energy called Dust," Vine answered, speaking up, making the Golden Dawn captain turn to him. "As for the airship, it has specialized propulsion engines keeping it off the ground."
"What is Dust, exactly?" Fuegoleon asked curiously.
"Well, that's up for debate," Marrow responded, scratching the back of his head. "Even more so now that…uh, more information has been revealed to us, but what Dust really is has been a wildly discussed topic for years."
"Yeah, anything from remnants of our moon, to crystalized magic, to even the souls of the deceased," Elm said. Charlotte turned sharply to Elm at that. Elm raised her hands in defense. "Some are more believable than others…"
"So, you don't know?" Nozel asked in disbelief.
"Trust us, it's not for lack of trying," Vine told him.
"Anyways, this will be explained better once we get back to Atlas," Clover said. "It's a very long story, and I'm sure you'd like to hear it all at the same time."
"Hmph. I suppose that's true," Nozel agreed.
"What can we expect from your leader?" Fuegoleon asked. "I think it will be beneficial to know who we will be dealing with."
"Fair enough." Clover shrugged and said, "You'll most likely be dealing with our Council, the group of people that helped us get through our greatest trail to get here, but the main leaders are General Ironwood, Councilman Sleet, Glynda Goodwitch, and Ghira Belladonna."
"A council? So, we'll be meeting these four?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes. Among others, but those are the four main ones," Clover confirmed. "The general is a hard man, but not a heartless one. He is willing do what it takes to ensure the safety of our people. Councilman Sleet is more of the same, but is more by the book, so to speak, whereas the general is willing to bend the rules if it means the protection of our people. Glynda is a Huntress, kind of like our people's magic knights without the magic part. She was chosen to represent our Huntsmen population because she is one of the few Huntresses that truly represents what they stand for. And Ghira is the leader of the Faunus and a very accomplished peacekeeper."
"Faunus? What's that?" Yami asked.
"You don't have Faunus here? I guess that's not surprising," Marrow commented, rubbing the back of his head. "Basically, we Faunus are humans with at least one animal trait. I'm sure you guys saw my tail, right?"
"Ah, yes. I was wondering about that," William said. "So, there's a different branch of humanity where you are originally from?"
"Yeah."
"Huh. What a weird place you guys come from," Yami commented with a deadpan.
"I could say the same about you, magic knight," Harriet countered. "One of the villages close to where we arrived has a flipping monster skull next to it!"
"Yes. The Demon's Skull," Fuegoleon explained.
"Demon's skull? Oh man! You got demons here?! Grimm were bad enough!" Marrow cried out, grabbing his head in fear.
"Grimm?" William asked.
"No time to explain," the pilot said to everyone. "We've arrived!" Everyone turned to the window of the cockpit, and the Magic Knights were wide eyed in amazement. Before them was, as the reports claimed, a floating city!
"Incredible…!" Fuegoleon gasped.
"It's…It's really floating!" Charlotte exclaimed.
'Amazing!' William thought. 'I can feel the mana from here! No wonder Lord Julius and Marx couldn't get a look of this place! The mana is incredibly dense here! Is it like Gravitos Stones? Or is it something different?'
"Holy shit," Yami breathed as he reached for his cigarettes. Nozel's eyes were wide in disbelief for a moment. However, he quickly regained his wits and narrowed them at the city before him.
'So, the reports were true, then. There really is a floating city here in the Forsaken Lands,' the royal thought. 'And by the looks of it, it's highly advanced. Buildings of steel and glass, as far as the eye can see doting that giant rock. They imply they have no magic, but the feel of the mana…I find that hard to believe.'
"Welcome, Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom," Clover said, breaking Nozel from his musings, "to the Kingdom of Atlas! The last bastion of hope for our people!"
"You were a kingdom as well?!" Fuegoleon asked in amazement.
"Yeah. One of four kingdoms of our former home," Clover explained solemnly. "The general and the others will explain in full but understand we didn't intend to invade your kingdom. We bet everything we had on a fool's gambit, and it ended up saving countless lives."
"I see. I look forward to this explanation," William commented in understanding.
'I'll get my answers soon,' Nozel thought resolutely as the airship climbed higher.
The airship climbed until it reached almost level with the tallest structure: a metal tower with a light blinking at the top. This drew the eyes of the Clover natives. Clover noticed this and explained: "That's the CCT, or the Cross-Continental Transmit Tower. It was our main communications system back home. It also serves as General Ironwood's office." He looked down at the ground. "And there he is now."
The five knights looked down at the group of people assembled. In front was a tall man with black, military cut hair that was turning white at the sides. He wore full military regalia and sported a black beard. He stood tall as he gazed up at the ship. Behind him were a large, bulky man with catlike ears and amber eyes standing next to a blonde woman with green eyes staring at the ship intently.
The ship slowly started descending. Everyone braced themselves until the airship finally touched down with slight thump. Clover smiled and walked over to the door, opening it by lightly rapping on it. "Shall we?" he asked. Everyone nodded and exited the aircraft.
The black-haired gentleman at the head of the group regarded the group as they made their way towards him. He gave them a curt nod. "Good work, Agent Ebi," Ironwood complimented the Ace Ops leader before turning to the five newcomers. "Welcome to Atlas," he continued. "My name is James Ironwood." He motioned to his colleges. "From left to right, Ghira Belladonna, Sleet, Glynda Goodwitch, Robyn Hill, Taiyang Xiao Long, Qrow and Raven Branwen, and the last two are Ambrosius and Jinn."
Again, Yami laughed. "Seriously?! First Clovy here, now Goodwitch?!" he asked, utterly amused. William chuckled aloud at her name while Charlotte looked amused and interested in her fellow blonde.
Glynda's eyes narrowed at the burly man. "I beg your pardon?" the green-eyed woman demanded sternly. Fuegoleon cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention.
"Forgive him. He finds amusement in…anything, really," the noble apologized. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances. Allow me to return the favor. My name is Fuegoleon Vermillion. And my companions here are Nozel Silva, William Vangeance, Yami Sukehiro, and Charlotte Roselei. We are Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom."
"Ha!" From behind Ironwood, Qrow started laughing. "Clover's got Glynda's homeland named after him!" he giggled childishly, making Tai snicker beside him while Raven slammed an elbow into both of their sides in annoyance.
Glynda's eye twitched at Qrow's loud voice. "Must you?" she asked exasperatedly.
"Yes! Otherwise, I'll have to take up drinking again!" Qrow responded.
"…I think I might have liked you better drunk."
"Anyways," Ironwood said, clearing his throat. "I wish to thank you for coming and hearing us out. We greatly appreciate it." Ironwood held out his hand, which Fuegoleon took it, and the two shook hands.
"We'd like to thank you as well," he replied as the two's handshake ended. "We weren't sure what to expect when we received the reports about your city and are immensely grateful that you all are willing to file for peace."
"Yes. We would like to apologize for our unexpected arrival," Ironwood said. He motioned towards the CCT. "Let's head inside, and we can discuss everything in length."
The Crimson Lion King Captain nodded agreeably. "That sounds like a good plan. Lead the way," he said. Ironwood nodded and turned around and walked towards the building. The group broke apart and followed him, with only Taiyang, Raven, and Qrow hanging behind. The Magic Knights took notice of this, but they did not acknowledge it verbally. They knew the tactic. The three fell in line behind the Knights as they walked off with the group.
The trip into the CCT was silent. The Magic Knights noted several teenagers in similar clothing off to the distance watching them, as well as other men and women, soldiers most likely, stationed around the area on patrol. The five made note of this as they entered the building, and they were again in awe of the architecture on display. Many devices they couldn't describe, or name caught their eyes as they made their way to an elevator.
They all couldn't fit into it, so multiple trips were needed to reach the top. Eventually, though, the group found themselves into a large conference room with a large circular table. Ironwood, after everyone entered the room, turned to the Magic Knights. "Before we begin, there is one thing we must get out of the way first," he told them, then he turned to Robyn and nodded.
She returned it and walked up to the closest Knight to her, which was Nozel. She held out her hand and asked, "May I?" He raised an eyebrow, but he complied nonetheless and grasped her hand. A shining green glow surrounded their conjoined hands, startling the mages a bit and placing them on guard.
"Relax. It's nothing harmful; just got some questions I want to ask, and I ask you answer them truthfully," Robyn commented. Nozel gave her a look before nodding. "Excellent! First off: what is your name?"
Nozel glared at her for a moment before answering. "Nozel Silva."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-nine."
"And your occupation?"
"I am a Magic Knight Captain for the Clover Kingdom."
"And your sibling's name?"
"Mereoleona," Nozel lied, not wishing to reveal his siblings' names to this woman. Suddenly, the light around their hands turned red, and Robyn smiled.
"And that last one is a lie!" she proclaimed. Nozel raised an eyebrow.
"You have a skill to detect lies, I would take it?" he questioned.
"You catch on quick! Yep, this was necessary so you can know what we tell you next is the whole, unabridged truth," Robyn told him.
"Is the truth really that unbelievable?" William asked curiously.
"Considering we don't know much about how your world works, we can't say for sure," Ironwood admitted. "However, I believe assurance that we are one hundred percent truthful in our account will be better than idle speculation." Fuegoleon nodded at the general.
"I agree. This could aid in furthering our talks without bogging it down with too much politics involved," he agreed. He looked to his allies and asked, "Are we in agreement?" They all nodded. Ironwood smiled at this.
"Excellent!" He gestured to the table. "Shall we take a seat then? It's a fairly long story…"
Schnee manor
"You sure we can't get you girls anything? I'm sure General Ironwood would understand if we're a few minutes late," Jaune offered, but he was quickly cut off.
"Yes, we're sure, Jaune. Unless you can get us back on active duty, we're fine," Yang told him in slight annoyance. Almost immediately after arriving in this new world, Ironwood ordered them to mandatory medical leave until their injuries healed. They had protested, but it wasn't long before their injuries decided to make the decision for them. As such, they were confined to Weiss's room in her family's manor to recover in peace.
Currently, four Mistralian Queen beds decorated one wall, each with a member of team RWBY resting atop it. Though, only two were awake. Blake was collapsed in a seemingly uncomfortable angle in an effort not to agitate her wounds and not sleep on her partially removed cat ear. Ruby, meanwhile, was propped up by several pillows. She was also outfitted with a respirator because the last strike from Salem hit her lung, and now it was hard for her to breathe when she slept. Weiss was still awake, but due to her jaw being wired shut, she couldn't take part in the conversation, so was currently reading a book. Yang herself was lying flat on her bed with only her head elevated, eyes dully staring at the ceiling as she conversed with Jaune.
Jaune grimaced, but he sighed. "Alright, if you're sure, just…" He hesitated for a moment, looking to his team.
"Get well soon!" Nora cheered, jumping in the air with a fist pump.
"Yeah…that…" Jaune turned to them and waved. "Well, we've got a patrol to do. Hope you girls get better soon." Yang raised her arm lethargically and gave him a thumbs up. Jaune and Nora walked out of the room and shut the door before walking away.
"Man, I hope they get better soon! Patrols without them are boring!" Nora complained.
"Yeah, but we shouldn't rush them," Jaune responded. "Ruby, in particular, might not be cleared for missions for at least a month, if not more, because of her fight with Salem."
Nora's cheerful expression dimmed at that for a moment, but in true Nora fashion, she perked up quickly. "Yeah, but Ruby gave as good as she got, though!"
'Did she though?' Jaune couldn't help but muse. RWBY was permanently scarred, and though they would recover back to full health, they only stalled Salem. At best, maybe Ruby left her with some kind of scarring after using her Silver Eyes point blank on the Grimm woman, but that was only speculation.
He sighed. He shouldn't worry about Salem. She was worlds away by now, and it was time to focus on the here and now. Team RWBY would be fine; they were too stubborn to let this take them down.
Meanwhile, he had to focus on his team's upcoming patrols. Hopefully, it'll be peaceful.
Not far from Atlas
"Dammit, you battle maniac! How did I let you talk me into going to this dungeon?!" a rowdy teenage boy wearing dark sunglasses shouted. He wore black clothes with a black robe over his shoulders; his hair was light grey and black as he rode a bizarre broomstick adorned with a bull skull and rib bones. This was Magna Swing of the Black Bulls.
His companion only laughed. He was a young man with spikey blonde hair and blue eyes and wore a teal robe with matching pants under the Black Bulls robe. This was Luck Voltia, also of the Black Bulls, and a friend to Maga. "Come on, Magna! It was fun!" the mage giggled madly.
"Fun? FUN?! You tripped twenty traps that I had to navigate through! Then you pushed me into twelve of them!" Magna shouted back at him.
"That's what makes it so fun!"
"Laugh it up, crazy! Once we're back at the hideout, Imma beat your face in!"
"Oh, that sounds like fun! Let's hurr-" Luck suddenly stopped midsentence and turned eastward.
"Huh? What's gotten into you now, Luck?" Magna asked.
"Odd. I sense the Captain over there, with some super powerful people," Luck commented. "Yet…their mana feels…different. Like it's fluctuating from very high to nonexistent…" Magna looked at his friend strangely.
"Uh…You ok, Luck?" he asked. However, he was taken aback when Luck's face broke off into a wide, slasher smile.
"There's something exciting going on there! I've got to find out what!" the Smiling Berserker shouted as he coated himself with lightning and darted to the east.
"H-Hey wait-LUCK! Agh, dammit! Why me?!" the mage cried as he turned his beloved Crazy Cyclone around to chase after the wayward Luck.
An: Things are picking up now! And Luck and Magna are on their way to Atlas too! Uh-oh! Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!
