RWBY is property of Roosterteeth! I only own my characters.
CHAPTER 29
Ryland opened his eyes and groaned weakly. He immediately recognized the room he was in as the academy infirmary. The young soldier coughed on thick dust that hung in the air. As soon as he had made a sound, a certain blonde student rushed to his side to check him over worriedly.
"Ry! You're okay!" Yang shouted happily. She sat on the edge of the bed he had been placed in, helped him sit up, and leaned in to kiss him. She sighed in relief. "I thought..." Yang trailed off and shook her head.
"Well, I'm still in one piece," Ryland suddenly recalled his missing arm, "mostly, anyway... So, what happened?"
"That... that bitch, she-" a frightening look crossed Yang's face as she thought of Europa. "She killed Carbon..." She saw Ryland's expression fall.
"I see..." the soldier said sadly. "How about you? You're not hurt too badly, are you?"
"I've got a lot of nicks and cuts, a couple fractures, but nothing my aura can't handle..." Yang felt Ryland grasp her hand tightly.
"Good... I'm glad... that..." Ryland trailed off and began to shake. "Damn it... Yang, I'm so sorry..." Tears rolled down the young soldier's face. "I was so useless, I-"
"Hey," Yang wrapped her arms around him, "no talking like that. You did your best."
"Who else? Yang... Did any of the others die?"
"There... There was another woman that showed up after that Lord," Yang hesitated. "She- Anika-"
"Oh, God..." Ryland put his head in his hands. Yang tightened her embrace, tears rolling down her face as well now. "This- This can't be happening..." He suddenly tried to stand, stumbling as the wound in his chest released a lance of pain. Yang hurried to support him. "Can... Can you you help me walk?"
"Ry, you're hurt. Are you sure you should be-"
"I- I need to... I need to say goodbye to Carbon..." Ryland said between heaves of pain and grief.
"Okay..." Yang hooked his arm around her shoulders. "We'll go together..."
Ryland limped weakly down Beacon's halls while leaning on Yang's shoulder. The blonde stopped frequently to let the exhausted soldier catch his breath, before their pair would continue towards the entrance of the academy.
When they arrived, the couple was greeted only by the sight of dozens of bodies, their forms covered by sheets. Ryland picked out four familiar faces among the living who silently stood beside their fallen friends. Arthur and Emerald sat together in a corner, the latter with her face buried in the Guardian's chest as she visibly shook. Pyrrha stood at the doorway into the school, looking completely lost. She clearly wanted to stay near her friends, but had no idea what to say. Cinder knelt beside the body of Barnes, her eyes seeming to ask the veiled General what she should do.
Ryland felt the pit in his stomach continue to swell as he and Yang passed the various groups of mourning friends. Yang guided her boyfriend to a stop and helped him sit on the ground next to Carbon's covered form. She knelt beside him and grasped his right hand tightly. Ryland gulped and took a shaky breath.
"Hey, Gramps..." the soldier croaked out. "I- I thought... that I still had time... to say this... but, I just wanted... to say 'thanks'... Thanks for being a friend, and... hell, even a role-model for me. You... You just rest, Old Man...I think you've earned it..."
Marcia stepped over the threshold of the infirmary. The beds were filled with students and staff that had been wounded during the fighting. Alex had asked her to wait to talk, which the EDC General had hesitantly agreed to. She had so many questions and things to say, but she had held her tongue when she had seen how worried her old friend looked. Still, she'd waited long enough.
Marcia looked around, quickly spotting the pair she was looking for. Alex and Dimitri were seated next to two women the General recognized from the fighting before, though she didn't know their names. Dimitri noticed her, and whispered something to the woman with a white rabbit ear poking out from her hair. The Russian tapped Alex and directed his attention to their old teammate, who crossed her arms impatiently.
"Luna," Alex turned towards the woman with blue hair. "We've got to go talk for a while."
"Alright," she answered. "I'll keep fixing up Firo and the others while you're gone." Alex nodded and rose to his feet. Both he and Dimitri followed Marcia as she turned and strode out the door silently.
"I think it's safe to say she's upset," Dimitri whispered, nudging his head towards Marcia's back as she guided the pair of soldiers down the hallway to a quiet corner of the academy.
"Considering how quiet she's being?" Alex replied in an equally hushed voice. "I don't think 'upset' quite covers it, D."
"I think 'confused' sounds more accurate," Marcia said, stopping in front of them and turning on her heel to face her old friends. "I mean... I'm not even sure if you two are real right now-" She stopped as Alex placed a hand on her shoulder with a small smile.
"Real enough for you?" he asked. Marcia's fist collided with the his cheek, and her right foot kicked Dimitri in the stomach shortly afterward. "Agh- Geez! What was that for!?"
"That was for shoving me onto a Dragonfly and making me leave you both behind!" the woman replied. Dimitri began to chuckle, then broke out into full-on laughter.
"It seems our little Marcia's edge hasn't dulled with age," the Russian laughed.
"I'm pretty sure I'm still younger than you, jackass," Marcia aimed another kick at her squadmate, though this time with a smile. The EDC General hooked one arm around each of her old friends and pulled them in for a hug. "Speaking of which, how old are you two? It doesn't look like its been twelve years for you."
"It's been three years since we got here," Alex answered.
"So that makes D... thirty-nine. And you..." a smirk broke over Marcia's face. "Thirty-two. Hah! Guess you're the youngest now, Al."
"You realize the reason we called you 'little Marcia' wasn't because of your age, right?" Alex grinned as the woman in question punched him in the shoulder. "Hey now, don't go around hitting injured people."
"You've survived countless battle and a blast that leveled half a city. You'll survive me slapping you around a bit." The three of them laughed, the sound echoing off the smooth walls. Alex smiled to himself, remembering the old days they'd spent just like this. It took a moment, but the trio quickly sobered and returned to the matters at hand. "I'm sorry we had to meet again like this. Barnes... Anika... and God knows how many others..."
"Knowing Anika," Dimitri said softly, "she was probably happy to get to spend time with you, even if it was short."
"And from what I hear, the General went out the way he wanted," Alex added.
"We're all that's left, you know..." Marcia whispered. "You, D, Ryland, and me... we're the last four members of STRD First Infantry... I- I thought I was all alone... for so many years." Alex and Dimitri both hugged her as tears of both joy and grief leaked out of the corners of her eyes.
"Miss Evans," a woman's voice interrupted. Marcia disengaged herself from her old teammates and stood straight to address the newcomer, Glynda. "The headmaster would like to speak to you about arranging quarters for you and your companions"
"Y-yeah," Marcia nodded, hastily wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I'll talk with him right away."
"In that case, if you would please follow me," Glynda motioned her hand down the hallway tiredly. Marcia turned to Alex and Dimitri to say a quick farewell, then chased after Glynda's departing figure.
"She's still the same as ever," Dimitri smiled.
"Yeah," Alex nodded, "good to know not everything changes."
"Well, you two aren't dead, so Marcie can't be that mad at you," Jerloh greeted Alex and Dimitri as they returned to the infirmary. The Bloodline had arrived sometime while they had been out. Ruby and Blake had also shown up at some point, the latter seemed to be trying to explain what a Faunus was to Lex.
"I think she has too many conflicting emotions to be angry right now," Dimitri sighed.
"That's probably true," Jerloh nodded. "So, Luna and Firo have been doing their best to catch me up to what's been going on since you both got here. You guys just can't not get involved in things, huh?"
"Something like that," Alex replied, taking a seat in a wooden chair next to Luna. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm just worn out from using my semblance so much. I'll just listen in for a while..." Her eyes fluttered shut, and Alex could tell Luna had fallen asleep almost instantly.
"Professor Oobleck stopped by while you both out," Firo spoke up quietly from the bed she was sitting in. Her chest was wrapped heavily in bandages. "He's sad that General Barnes is gone."
"He also said that he checked on the hangar with the Corvette," Blake added, patting Lex's head as the little girl settled down in her lap. "It looks like the Order found it during the fighting and did their best to sabotage it."
"I ran down to take a look," Ruby shifted her position so she was sitting at the foot of Firo's bed, next to Blake. Alex reached out to brush a stray rose petal from her cloak. "The ship didn't look too bad from the outside. We might have to scavenge parts from some of the other EDC vehicles, but I think we might be able to fix it."
"Someone as young as you is an engineer?" Jerloh asked.
"Sorta," Ruby scratched the back of her head. "I just figured that 'not blown up' was a good sign. I'm better with weapons than larger machines."
"The Huntsmen and Huntresses of Remnant would give the Guardians a run for their money," Dimitri stated proudly.
"Sounds like something we should test at some point," Jerloh replied with a kind smirk. "But that'll have to- What is that?" The Bloodline moved to a nearby window, where a large dark shape moved towards Vale on the horizon.
"Hold on," Ruby said, rushing to the window and squinting at the shape. "I think it's an Atlesian dustplane... but what's it doing here?"
"My Lord, the Lord Agony is asking for you on comms," an Order Acolyte said nervously, entering Europa's quarters aboard their ship. The female Lord had been in a foul mood ever since they had been forced to pull back. The Acolyte ducked as an icicle buried itself in the metal wall next to his head.
"Don't you know how to knock, idiot?" Europa snarled at her subordinate. While she wasn't in any major sort of undress, more of the Lord's peachy skin was visible than normal. She had exchanged her armor for a black tank-top and a pair of dark gray cargo pants. The stump of her right arm could be clearly seen, though the bleeding had been stopped by an Order healer.
"B-but..." the Acolyte stammered. "Lord Agony was quite insistent." He made a small "eep" noise as Europa walked over to him and stared at him menacingly. Even with one of her arms missing at the elbow, Europa could still probably kill the acolyte with little effort.
"Fine," the Lord muttered. The Acolyte let out a breath he had been holding. "Tell, Agony I'll be there in a minute." The Acolyte nodded his understanding rapidly and retreated from the Lord's room with haste.
"What do you want?" Europa demanded as she entering into a private communications room. Agony's face was displayed across a flat monitor that covered the wall.
"I intended to inquire about the result of your attack, but I find myself more curious about your arm," Agony replied.
"There were... complications... during the assault," Europa winced. "You underestimated how strong people of this world could be."
"You were cornered and defeated by a group of school children?" Agony quirked an eyebrow.
"No," Europa decided to omit the fact that a single blonde student had managed to fight her on even terms. "There was a woman. She was easily as strong as a Bloodline."
"I see. Would you say that this person a threat to our forces?"
"She didn't look that interested in fighting my troops. She was after her own target, though she was about to fight a group of EDC soldiers before I was extracted."
"Good, that means that she is likely to not to be a disturbance to anyone besides our enemies. This could work in our favor." Agony rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully. "Have you destroyed the communications tower in the Kingdom?"
"Of course," Europa huffed in annoyance. "It was the first building we hit."
"Then your business in Vale is concluded. We have deprived the Kingdoms of an effective way to coordinate any sort of counter-offensive. Return to Mistral at once."
"How did the other attacks go, anyway?" Europa inquired.
"Both Carnage and Golem's assaults went relatively unhindered. However, from what I understand, Golem's forces had even greater trouble with combating the residents of Atlas than you did in Vale."
"That ought to deflate his ego," the female Lord smirked.
"Quite. Enough talk. Return to the rest of the fleet. I must begin work on a way for us to return to our own world. We will see about replacing your arm when you arrive."
In a field of dark gray ashes, far away from the rest of the world, a Beowolf crawled over the collapsed ruins of a once-great structure of polished black stone. The creature did not understand the significance of this place, nor the importance of the perfectly clear shards of Dust it occasionally knocked about with its feet.
The Grimm looked up as it sensed electricity crackle in the air. In front of the creature's red eyes, a small circular portal tore open a few feet above the ground. A female Human stepped through and dropped onto the ashen ground with a soft thud, kicking dust into the air. The Grim tilted its head and growled. Normally, it would have wasted no time in attacking a potential meal, but this Human smelled too strongly of light. It gave one last snarl before fleeing into the rotting dead forest in the distance.
The Human woman shook her head, trying in vain to remove ashes from her long blood-red hair. She took out a small round device and pressed it once, causing it to beep quietly. She looked around her at the solid expanse of varying grays that made up the landscape and sky. She patted some dust off the shoulder of her white armor.
You are of the other side. A voice echoed across the breeze, causing the woman to turn.
"Who's there?" she called out.
I was once an inhabitant of these lands. Long ago, when they were rich and green. May I know your name? Why have you come?
"My name is Elise," the woman answered. "And I'm here to rescue my friends."
A/N: Well, my productivity kicked back in, so now we're returning to chapters being uploaded as I finish them. I might take one day a week off still to let myself rest, but that means you guys'll probably be getting 4-6 chapters a week until this story finishes.
Reviews, Follows, and Favorites are always appreciated! Let me know what you think! Got a question for me? Go ahead and leave one in a review, or if you don't want to share the answer, send me a PM. I will answer as quickly as I am able.
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