The Lost Son

by OculiImperator

Jaune Arc wished to live his own life, a life not in the shadow of the Arc Family but a life where he could make his own choices. In order to escape that shadow, he decided to become a Huntsman. What he did not realize was that while Duty and Desire may not always share the same road they often share the same destination.

13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Arcadian High Command on the outside appeared as any other large three story building. Made from stone, concrete, marble and glass it was a clean if not mundane looking building.

Yet anyone could see that it was important as even within the High Citadel there was a twelve foot high wall with razor sharp barb wire and sentry towers that allowed a clear view over the wall. Not to mention the main gate and sentry towers were manned by fully armed and armored Variegatum.

The Arcadian Variegatum or Military Police are the internal judiciary units of the Military. These individuals are given the task of enforcing Military Law and Justice within each branch.

The Variegatum however cannot extend their judicial authority over the civilian population unless Martial Law was previously imposed. Nor are they able to stop a member of the Sisterhood and Praetorian Legion.

Inside the building however the three floors are filled with offices, meeting and examination rooms. Many of which function as places that handle a soldier's finances, deployment orders, medical evaluations, reassignments or transfers from or to a new unit or branch within the military.

Along with a small medical wing dedicated to help soldiers, active or retired, with mental or physical issues with enough room to simultaneous see up to a thousand separate people. Altogether there are enough people that work or staff the three floors that hypothetically if they all became frontline soldiers there would be more than two regiments.

However that was all just for the section of the building open to the public and unauthorized personnel. The Arcadian High Command had a few more layers to it but these ones were built into the mountain for a more secured environment.

The first sublevel was merely a security level; two companies of Variegatum occupy this level. Everyone excluding the High Lord and a select few such as the High Council must submit to security examinations. The process would take nearly twenty minute for each person and longer if a discrepancy occurs in their records or mannerisms.

On the second floor however are living quarters for the staff. Due to security concerns and the nature of their clearances, it was decided that those that work in the lower levels must live on site for the majority of their time there as due to the select and important nature of their work.

Those that chose or are selected to work there are there for life.

Once past the living quarters, the third sub layer is dedicated to military logistics within Arcadia. The people there work endlessly tracking, monitoring, shifting, ordering, recruiting and deploying assets whether it's flesh or metal within the borders of the Kingdom.

Below that is a slightly smaller layer that focuses on external military matters of the Kingdom, such as the maintaining contact with the Brigades, Surveyor Expeditions, Fleet Deployments, and any other Military Operation taking place outside the Kingdom.

The final level combs through the combined reports of the other two levels and processes the information put together then evaluates priorities and options while also discussing overall strategy for the various Armed Forces of the Kingdom.

Here Alexander stood with Lord Commander Thade, High Admiral Heth and General Tala with their respective attendants as they looked over a digital map of the known world with everything they knew marked out on it.

Various icons were displayed representing the Outlands with the numerous towns and villages regardless if they're still intact or overrun by Grimm taken from the census that had been put together the year before. There were also different colors that showed which ones were essentially allies of the Four Kingdoms. Along with a few that were allied to Arcadia.

The largest of which was the Hurin Valleys, Alexander could still remember the days of the Great War in which his people fought against the Four Kingdoms. He wished he had been there to lead his people but at the time there had been other matters that he needed to address as such he had dispatched Talbek to lead his forces on Sanus.

Though he was a little surprised that after a year and a half of fighting he had somehow managed to get them a pact with the Vale-Vacuo Alliance.

"I think we need to consider redeploying the Brigades, take the 2nd and 3rd Brigade out from the South Islands. They're the furthest from our reach and if anything hits them then we won't be able to support them." Thade said as he picked up a pen and used it to zoom down on a small cluster of islands to the far south.

"But we need to those islands, before we got a foothold on them it had been a haven to the Arch Enemy. Plus it's proven to be an excellent ground for testing new weapons." Kelsar pointed out, her feminine voice at odd with Thade.

"True, it's provided an ideal isolated area for weapon testing that I've set Rosenstock to do but I have to remind you General that the reason why it became such a thorn in our side was far before your time. It was when we still didn't have Irkalla under our control and a Lord of Change had managed to escape my hunt, hence why Irkalla became such an important part for our defense. However even with two Brigades on the ground we only control a small portion of the island. The rest belong to the Grimm and if the reports are coming in even a fraction true then time is against us here." Alexander said evenly and there was an uncomfortable silence in the room.

"Then maybe we should just stop them for now, if you ask me to put together something to help them then I wouldn't send anything less than a squadron but I cannot send anything more than that at risk of our own oceanic borders. As even now I've got several patrols that have sensor pings and a number of Captains that have put forth reports describing Atlas vessels within two hundred kilometers of the coast." Heth said pulling the map's focus all the way back up to look to the eastern sea of Arcadia.

"But even if I did send ships there are a lot of things that can happen on the open sea. As a few Sea Feilongs can prove dangerous if they're old enough to tackle the warships properly though we can still dispatched them with some caution but if something like a Kraken or even one of the ancient deep sea Leviathans attacks then we could easily see a third if not half of those ships sinking." Heth finally said.

"If sending more ships is dangerous then how can we move the two Brigades?" Thade asked.

"It's not like they don't have their own ships to use to besides I'd figured we'd just send them north to mainland Sanus." Heth said as he shifted the map down south before tapping an icon on the southern coast of Sanus near the islands.

"The harbor at Terrelan is large enough to accommodate the naval ships and Castellan Rallis can deploy some of his ships to aid in the transfer. He's got a Flotilla at his disposal combine that with the Squadron already assigned to the two Brigades it might be enough to protect the transport ships which he also has enough of to speed the process up considerably."

"Alright that sounds like a plan, now let's talk about what to do with the 9th Brigade. I've been in contact with Brigadier General Karsidottir; she says some of her battalions fought a number of skirmishes with Norsii Marauders. If what she's saying is true that means the Host is scattering or had already sent out probing forces that somehow slipped past us and made it all the way to Sanus without any of us knowing." Alexander said as he finally stepped forward to pull the map up towards the Vacuoan Desert.

"Since she's already fought with them has she been able to pin them down?" Kelsar asked but Thade shook his head.

"She lost track of them for a few days back in the western hills before finding this town razed, the signs left behind indicate that they assaulted the place and suddenly disappeared leaving no trace of where they have gone." Thade said highlighting a small icon of a town.

"What do you mean?" Heth asked.

"He means that the Norsii disappeared, a force of six to eleven hundred strong brutal fighters has gone missing on our watch. I've already dispatched Talbek and a Centuria to track them down but even with his skills it will take a while before he tracks them down and destroys them. Until then, Thade keep working with Litvinovich getting Irkalla secured, I don't want my north so exposed as it is right now."

"Actually, Rosenstock passed me a report yesterday saying that he can speed up the trench repairs for the Northern Line by drafting one out of every three companies to assist in the repair work." Thade interjected and Alexander tilted his head a little in thought.

"Okay but what happens in the short run?" Alexander asked.

"Well if there's another concentrated push on the Northern Line then we'll be caught with our pants down and could easily see the 3rd Field Army routed which would ultimately lose us Irkalla."

"I'm gonna say put a lid on that for now, it's not a bad idea but I would prefer you to do that when there's enough breathing room. Right now I'd reckon Irkalla is only just getting a breath in."

"Yes sir." Thade said as Alexander looked to his other commanders.

"Kelsar, Heth see what you can do about bringing the 2nd and 3rd Brigade back onto mainland Sanus as fast as you can. Tell them to secure the data for the experiments, I'll have an Umbra Contubernium go out and collect the data personally. Other than that destroy everything else, if or when we return to the Islands I don't want to risk the chance of another force occupying two viable fortresses." Alexander looked to the side when he saw one of his aides, a mouse Faunus, gesturing a data slate so he beckoned her over and she handed it to him.

"Ah right, I almost forgot. Heth, I do in fact need you to assemble a Task Group to head to Sanus as well."

"What for?" The High Admiral asked.

"I need to go to Vale."

"Oh right, that." Heth said.

"Wait what?" Kelsar asked.

"General Ironwood arrested Director Lilith along with six platoons of soldiers and an Umbra contubernium." Heth explained and Alexander rolled his eyes as Kelsar whistled.

"So are you going to give them an ultimatum?" Kelsar asked and Alexander frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Are we going to go in guns blazing if they don't release them?" She asked and Alexander shook his head.

"Kelsar now isn't the time to fight the Four Kingdoms. I'm going to go over there and defend them against the charges."

"So why is Heth preparing you a Task Group?"

"Well for one I don't actually know what Ironwood might do so it's better to be prepared. As such I've already got a Centuria of the Legion ready to move. I also wouldn't mind bringing a few regiments as they might prove to be valuable to the Brigade near Vale."

"You're talking about the Hurin Valleys right?" Thade asked and Alexander nodded.

"The reports are already coming in that they've been using their Air Wing to funnel the Grimm but even then it seems that there's a lot more Grimm than usual. In fact it seems that every Grimm around Vale is getting agitated, I don't know what it means other than that it bodes ill for not only them but my son as well."

"When will you be departing?" Kelsar asked.

"In three days." This brought a smile to Alexander's face as the three of them seemed to pale a little.

"Alright my lord, I'll see to it about getting a few regiments organized to go with you." Thade said.

"And I'll see to it that the Task Group gets organized, will you require Aeterna Virtus for this?"

"Of course, this is going to the first official appearance of Arcadia within one of the Four Kingdoms. I plan on making a show of it."

---

Elsewhere…

Pyrrha followed the others out of the Chimera; they had been on the road for the better part of the day. Her senses were assailed the moment she stepped out of the troop compartment of the armored personnel carrier.

The air was a little cool with the cold mountain air mixing with the exhaust of a few hundred armored vehicles. The sound of it mixed with the hundreds of soldiers exiting or attending the vehicles that the noise of it all was like a dull roar that made her almost think she was inside someplace cramped and crowded for it to be that noisy.

"Company form up!" A voice shouted and Pyrrha watched as the others lined up around her so she fell into line next to Jaune.

"Excited?" He asked and she just gave him a lopsided grin which he returned. At that point, Fusia, Nora, Ren, team RWBY and the other soldiers that had come with them from Toutatis were arrayed by platoons.

However Pyrrha began to look around, she could see that they were in a courtyard with large stone walls to the east with a pair of heavy looking wood gates. To the north and south the stone walls connected to large stone bastions and on the other side she could see several of the Arcadian VTOLs landing or rising out of view.

To the west up the mountain she could see the stone fortifications continuing up in a series of interconnected Keeps with bridges or maybe walls that led towards the top of the mountain where she stared in awe at the distant stone fortress that seemed to go forever to her left or right.

Pyrrha was so focused on inspecting the walls and fortifications that she didn't notice the other platoons were heading towards one of the structures nearby. However left behind besides them were twenty soldiers lined up in a single line.

"First Lieutenant Aster! Step forward!" Captain Madeg called out and Fusia stepped forward. While two other soldiers stepped forward, one was a short but thin man with dark hair and a pale complexion. The other was a tall well-built woman with short blonde hair with bronze skin and a scar on her right cheek.

"I've got you some volunteers to round out your platoon, Sergeant Comhnall Sgèin and Sergeant Trifina Martin. Both of them will assist you in operating in tandem with the Company so when they have something to say I really suggest you listen to them. Aside from that Duty Rosters will be handed out later and there will be a briefing at 2100 for all Platoon Commanders and their seconds so make sure you get there on time. Until then find your barrack and settle down." Madeg said before leaving them, the two groups slowly began to mingle amongst themselves in order to get to know each other.

"Alright, grab your kit and let's go." Martin calls out as she picked up her own bag and Pyrrha moved to follow her. Everyone else was grabbing their belongings as well and headed inside.

---

A Few Hours Later…

Pyrrha had to say she wasn't sure what she was expecting, at first when she saw the outside she'd figured the inside would match.

Which in part it did, it was clear that they were in a stone fortress but the way that pipes, wires, neon signs, ceiling lights, sliding metal doors, elevators, internal air circulation, heating vents, P.A. systems, fire suppression systems were littered around the area it gave the impression that while they were in a seemingly old fortress, the contents were much newer.

Their room or barrack had enough beds to fit fifty people with an adjourning shower and locker room. Team RWBY surprisingly had a little bit of an issue with it, mainly Weiss along with Yang on behalf of Ruby at the idea of grown men sharing the same showers as them.

As such the other female soldiers had to sit them down to talk about the rules or regulations of men and female contact in the Arcadian Military.

Pyrrha and Nora hadn't really minded since they already shared a bathroom with two guys. The thought of a naked Jaune made Pyrrha feel rather warm so she shook her head as Trifina walked past her bed.

"How you holding up kid?" The older woman asked and Pyrrha stood up straight.

"I'm doing fine ma'am." She said evenly while keeping her eyes straight but Trifina just laughed as she waved her down.

"Don't worry about that formal crap kid; since you're all just temporary soldiers all you have to do is make sure when we're in the field you watch the back of the person next to you." Pyrrha couldn't help but look down the barrack room where Jaune was talking with Ms. Aster.

"Ah, I see you're already comfortable with watching someone's back." Trifina said as she followed Pyrrha's look.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Pyrrha said as she looked back at the taller woman.

"Oh come on Pyrrha, we can all see it." Nora chimed from her bed which was on Pyrrha's right and the red head just sighed.

"Can we not talk about this; I'd rather know when we're going to go fight." She asked but the other two shrugged, in the corner of her eye she could see Ms. Aster and Jaune leave the barrack.

"You'll just have to wait till they get back then." Trifina said.

"I bet we're gonna be put on the line first." A new voice said and Pyrrha turned to see a man with a scraggly beard sit down on Jaune's bed which had been on her left.

"Jaffrelot you always say we're on the line first." Trifina said.

"Yea but when have I been wrong?" The man asked.

"Do you want the month or the yearly count?" Another person called out from the other side of the room.

"Ah, you don't know what you're talking about Fodla I've been right more than I've been wrong."

"We'd be here all night in order to figure that out Jaffrelot."

"Hey! I was the one to tell you all about the muster orders? Where's my thanks for that."

"That doesn't count." Another man said this one a tanned man with a barrel chest and arms thicker than most men's thighs.

"Of course it fucking counts, you'd still be snoozing at home you fat shit." The two men started to bicker and Trifina just sighed.

"Ignore those two, they always argue." The taller woman said and turned to walk away leaving Pyrrha alone.

"Hey, want to go explore?" Nora asked and Pyrrha thought for a moment.

"Sure why not." The shorter girl smiled and looked over her shoulder at Ren who was lying down on his own bed.

"Get up lazy bones, we're gonna look around."

"I guess it would be nice to familiarize ourselves with the area." The three of them got up and started to walk towards the barrack entrance when Ruby looked over at them.

"Where are you guys going?" She asked.

"We're gonna take a look around." Pyrrha said and Ruby hopped up from her bed.

"Oh, can we come?" She asked gesturing to the other three members of her team.

"I don't see why not." Pyrrha said.

"I for one would like to reach the top of the mountain, I'm curious to see how they expect to fight from up there." Weiss said as they left the barrack.

"Well judging from what we've seen so far I'd imagine they have some sort of weapon that they use to fight the Grimm." Ruby said.

"Ah, that sounds boring." Yang said.

"But it must be effective if that's what they're doing."

"Though that wouldn't explain why they would need so many soldiers here." Blake said.

"Well I guess they might need them to help man the walls or even cover the exposed areas; we didn't see any castle on the mountains when we were at Nimedos Keep."

"True and Jaune seemed to describe it as they have the soldiers patrol the mountains or valleys which would make sense if they had to cover the gaps in the fortifications." Ren said as they reached a metal door that opened up automatically as they neared it revealing a three way intersection. The seven of them stood in the center and looked at the signs before Ren pointed at what they assumed was the right one.

They went past another set of metal doors which revealed a long hallway that was illuminated by a series of pale white lamps built into the walls. At the far end was a metal door like they had just come through.

As the seven of them walked through this one they found that they were outside and Pyrrha looked around guessing they were on some sort of battlement. So she stepped forward to look out between the crenels.

Below them she could see a sea of tall trees, which they had seen so often in the Hurin Valleys, were not so far below them. As the sun set, a soft glow was cast over the mountains shining through the occasional cloud that hung low near the mountains.

Pyrrha shivered a little as the cold wind blew softly and she couldn't help but notice the smell of smoke mixing with the earthy smell of the forest. Looking to her right she could see a large wall or bridge considering its size that led to another stone Keep.

"It's not a bad view." Weiss said as the others looked out at the mountainside.

"Yea, I could actually get used to this." Yang said as she took a deep breath before exhaling, a tiny white puff of air escaping her mouth. No one said anything as they stood there their previous destination forgotten as they watched sky.

It was at that moment that Pyrrha heard something odd; it was the sound of thunder. Looking up at the sky she couldn't see any hint of rain or a storm in the darkening sky.

"What was that?" Ruby asked but none of them had the answer.

"So it's started." Someone said near them and the group turned to see Sergeant Sgèin.

"What's started?" Pyrrha asked.

"The fighting obviously, the Creatures of Grimm must be within range now of the Earthshaker cannons. To me that means you all should be heading back to the barracks now."

"Why?" Yang asked as she folded her arms and Pyrrha glanced at her as even she could hear the note of challenge in her voice.

"Well for one, temporary or not you're a soldier within the Arcadian Army and thus you shouldn't be asking why when I tell you to do something. The second reason is because the Grimm weren't supposed to be within range for at least another day or two."

"Wait, so they're attacking early?" Ruby asked and the man nodded.

"So what does that mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"It means this is your last night here in Kovas Keep, so get back to the barrack room and pack what you need to be in the field." The man said so the seven of them left with quick apologies though Blake and Ruby had to drag Yang along as the blonde hair girl seemed to be getting riled up for no reason.

It wasn't until they got back to the barracks that they started to realize just how serious the others were taking this. While before the atmosphere had been a little tense but overall relaxed as everyone settled in now it was tense with a subtle hint of fear in the air.

All of the soldiers were overlooking their equipment which was either set on their beds or the floor at the foot of their bed. Sergeant Martin and the two corporals of the squads were going from soldier to soldier checking the gear of the soldiers.

"So you guys are back." Jaune called out from his own bed, he was sitting down on it with Crocea Mors unsheathe on his lap. He had a piece of cloth and was rubbing down the blade of his weapon.

"When did you get back?" Pyrrha asked as she reached her own bed then picked up her stuff to pull out Miló and Akoúo.

"I just got back here a few minutes before you did, did Sgèin bring you back here?" He asked and Pyrrha nodded.

"Yea, I don't think Yang likes him." She said and Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"How come?"

"I don't know, I guess she didn't like him ordering us."

"Well I guess I can understand that but at the same time that's sort of expected of us." Jaune said and Pyrrha nodded as she began to take apart Akoúo to inspect the internal mechanisms.

"Which I totally understand but I guess not everyone likes getting told what to do."

"You can say that again, if anyone tried to command us other than you or the Professors at Beacon I would be a little testy as well." Nora chimed in from her own bed; she already had Magnhild out and was opening it up as well. While Ren set Storm Flower out on a white cloth on his bed which he began to take apart.

"Again, we all know why we're here and Captain Madeg and Governor Kagiris told us that we need to follow the Army's structure so I'm hoping you three won't make any trouble once we're in the field tomorrow." Jaune said.

"Speaking of tomorrow, what's going on Jaune? From what Sgèin said it seemed like something unusual has happened." Ren asked.

"And you're right; Ms. Aster and I were in the Company briefing room when runners were sent to inform us that the Creatures of Grimm have pushed straight towards the western mountains. Something that should have taken them longer to do since the Turin twists side to side in those valleys which makes going in a straight path impossible. "

"Impossible?" Pyrrha asked and Jaune nodded.

"Remember what I told you back in Nodens?" He asked and Pyrrha shrugged.

"The Turin River is massive; it stretches from deep within the Hurin Valleys right to the coast. There are vast stretches of it so deep that you'd run out of air before even getting halfway down."

"Really?" Nora asked and Jaune shrugged.

"Okay, I'm not sure about that one but I know it should be pretty hard for anything but the largest type of Grimm to cross."

"So I've got a question." Yang called out as she joined them as well and Jaune looked up at her.

"Sure, what is it?"

"How are we going to fight?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Yang gestured to the other soldiers and Jaune realized what she meant. The Arcadian Military fought with guns or pure firepower. For them there was no room or no need for universal bladed or other melee weapons to issue to their soldiers.

Though that didn't mean all of them didn't have such items, some soldiers especially those that do have their Aura unlocked sometimes take long daggers, short handle war axes, or even single edge Messer swords in battle as a backup weapon.

"I suppose that's something we need to figure out." Jaune said and Yang nodded as she sat down next to Pyrrha.

"I mean, we've got our methods in fighting and I'm sure you guys do as well but I can't imagine what we'll be doing with them." Yang said.

"It's simple really." A new voice said and the five of them looked up to see Fusia standing there in her usual outfit. The professional Huntress gestured for Ruby, Weiss and Blake to come over soon the eight of them were around the huntress.

"I've been talking with some of the other platoon leaders and they've suggested that our platoon combat doctrine be based around fire and maneuver only. The Arcadians have the better firepower so they'll pin or draw the Grimm in while we attack from the sides or in reserve we'll engage first until they get into position then to attack from the sides creating a kill box." She explained.

"Alright but that seems like it would only work for a relatively small group of Grimm." Weiss pointed.

"And you're right but you have to remember we're only one piece in this battle and considering our circumstances we might not even face the brunt of the Grimm attack." She said.

"Why not?" Ruby asked.

"The entire battalion is going to be deployed in the field however the companies aren't all put into one line of defense but two. Three companies will be sent to the first line which in the valley means that one company will be to the far south, the second will be by the river in the center with the third company at the base of the far northern mountains. Each respective area is supposed to have an outpost to anchor their defense around." Jaune explained.

"And the second line?" Blake asked.

"The second line really is more of a rapid response force; the two remaining companies will react accordingly to the situation. For instance if one of the positions is being overrun then one or both of the companies will fly in Valkyries to support the position. If multiple positions are under hard pressure then companies will split up sending at least two more platoons to assist. In addition to being in the Valkyries there's going to be a five strong Flight of Vultures attached to each company to provide close air support all while the Cybele Line provides overall artillery support. Plus there should be a Tank Company already on the ground in addition to other units that occupy the Outposts." Fusia explained.

"What?" Nora asked after a moment and Fusia sighed.

"Look Nora, just follow Jaune's lead." Fusia said after a moment before looking at Jaune.

"Ruby, Jaune, come with me and we'll talk with Sgèin and Martin about further breaking down the platoon if we need to split up. Afterwards I'll see about getting us some gear when we're in the field." Fusia said as she stood up, Ruby and Jaune stood up to follow her as well. Pyrrha watched as Jaune walked to the far end of the barrack room to talk with Sgèin and Martin.

"Ya know, now that I think about it, they have some funny names." Yang said and Weiss looked at her.

"Really?" She asked.

"I've never met anyone with a name like Sgèin even Trifina is an odd name."

"Well we must have some strange sounding names to them as well. Your name is Yang Xiao Long, I don't think we've met anyone with a name like that here, if anything I'd say Pyrrha and Weiss have the most similar name." Blake pointed out.

"What about Jaune?" Nora asked.

"Honestly I don't know but it's funny that his last name is also a part of the Kingdom's name." Yang said.

"Actually I asked one of the soldiers, he claims that Jaune's father was given that name by the previous ruler when he passed down the position."

"So Jaune's family only became royalty and wasn't born into it?" Weiss asked and Blake narrowed her eyes at the white hair girl.

"Thinking of marrying into it?" Blake winced however at the look of disgust that passed over Weiss's face but it passed quickly and she looked up to see that everyone was staring at her.

"It's nothing." She said and they looked away from her. As it was clear to see that there was indeed something there but none of them wanted to push.

"Hey the Sergeant said ya'll need some gear." A new voice said so they looked up to see a rather handsome young man with green eyes, pale skin and black hair.

"Mama likes." Yang whispered to Blake who just rolled her eyes.

"Uh, yea but we don't know what it is that we're supposed to need." Pyrrha said standing up and the man scratched his chin.

"Let's see, I guess you all need a fire starter kit, some cookware, a bed roll, water purifying tablets, flashlights with extra batteries, I think we have some spare vox sets, some field rations and water canteens." He listed off and frowned when he looked down at their weapons.

"We definitely don't have anything that would work with those." He said pointing at the weapons.

"Ah don't worry about it, we'll be fine." Yang said and the soldier nodded slowly before squatting down.

"Say, is it true that you Huntresses can crush a man's skull with one hand?" He asked and Pyrrha exchanged looks with the others.

"I supposed we could do some serious damage but none of us have every fought someone without Aura." Pyrrha said and again the man frowned.

"Really? What about bandits or marauders?"

"Well we're only students besides which our true enemies are the Creatures of Grimm." Ruby said.

"So, you've never killed a man?" He asked all of them shook their heads and he rubbed in mouth in thought.

"Well, ain't that something." The soldier stood up and extended his hand out to Pyrrha which she took.

"I forgot to introduce myself, Private Kaeso Culleolus, I'm in Martin's squad."

"Pyrrha Nikos, member of team JNPR under Jaune Arc." Kaeso seemed to pale a little at that out of excitement or fear she couldn't quite say.

"Why, it's, uh, an honor to meet you ma'am." He said stiffly and Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh a little.

"You don't need to say that, I'm pretty sure you're older than me." Kaeso nodded then gave a crisp salute to them.

"I'll see about getting you all your supplies before we head out tomorrow." He said before leaving them and Yang whistled after he was out of ear shot.

"Wow Pyrrha, wooing another man behind's Jaune's back? Scandalous." The blond hair girl said and Pyrrha threw a dark look at her which made Yang close her mouth. They soon broke away as Martin and Sgèin walked down the barracks calling for everyone to get to bed.

Jaune was soon getting to his bed and Pyrrha watched from under her blanket as he stripped off his Pumpkin Pete sweater to a black shirt that clung tightly to his form. When she had first seen the sweater she couldn't help but laugh a little at seeing how one of his prized possessions was from the brand she had posed for.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked softly and she snapped out of it when she could see that he was laying down now as he looked at her.

"Oh, sorry." She said but couldn't help but notice the smile that grew on his face.

"Don't be." He said and Pyrrha could feel his heart beat a little faster.

"You should get some sleep now Pyrrha, we're going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Jaune finally said after a few moments of silence. She nodded before turning onto her back; the lights in the ceiling of the barrack were off now so she closed her eyes trying to sleep but her mind raced with the possibilities of tomorrow.

---

The Next Day…

Pyrrha double checked her backpack as she waited with the others to go inside a Chimera, whether it was the same on they arrived on or not she did not know. Prior to this they had been given backpacks and other supplies then spent most of the morning packing it up to the standards of the two Arcadian Sergeants.

Then they travelled up the mountain side through the various Keeps, using bridges, stairs and elevators until they reached the top where they were gathered in another square with high walls surrounding them.

She also found it was a little startling at having to hear the multiple long barreled cannons, Earthshakers if she recalled correctly, fire and they weren't quiet weapons either each time they fired she felt a small vibration in her chest.

"Company! Mount up!" A voice that she vaguely recognized as Madeg's yelled along with a chorus of other people yelling the same thing. Immediately, the soldiers pushed forward climbing into the back of their Chimeras so Pyrrha followed Jaune as he climbed in.

She quickly took a seat ignoring the discomforting of leaving her backpack on as the rest of them piled in. Nora and Ren sat to her right while team RWBY sat across from them, the last to enter was Fusia who pulled the hatch closed then sat down.

With all of them in there it was a little cramped as they had their stuffed backpacks and weapons out. Yang and Ren had it the easiest to carry as their weapons were the most compact followed by Gambol Shroud which lay between Blake's legs.

Ruby, Nora, and her own weapons were a little more difficult since even in its compact form Crescent Rose wasn't a small weapon, Magnhild however was relatively large even in its compact grenade launcher form which made it difficult to sit comfortably for Nora.

As for Miló and Akoúo they had to sit on her own lap. Jaune and Weiss however were forced to keep their weapons upright between their legs. Which made it difficult as the interior of the Chimera was barely enough to stand up.

"We've been assigned to the southern outpost, it should take us about an hour to get there but be mindful this is a race against the clock." Fusia said finally said a little while after the Chimera jolted forward, it along with the dozens of other armored vehicles made a tremendous racket that it made listening to her difficult.

"A race?" Yang asked loudly over the noise of the transports.

"We have to get there between attacks; if we don't get there at the right moment then we have to fight them off immediately before reinforcing the inhabitants of the Outpost."

"Wait, I'm confused, if there's already someone in the Outpost why send us out at all?" Blake asked.

"The reason is because the wall isn't a full proof defense, while it's an impressive structure, it's only covers so much territory. If you haven't noticed this then let me just point out that when we arrived at Nimedos Keep that was the only fortification there. So they've set the Outposts out as a screening defense for the mountain walls." Jaune explained.

"So what you're saying is we're a distraction?" Weiss asked.

"No, it's taken them nearly a decade to construct the wall and even then they had to do it in sections since the Grimm occasionally attack makes it difficult to build as they're fighting them off. Even now construction is going on, however if construction stops every time to Grimm attacks then it just adds on the amount of time till complete plus if the Grimm do attack the unfinished walls then any damage will only further slowdown construction."

"So wait, if the boundaries for the Hurin Valleys don't have fortifications to protect them either why is this one so important?" Weiss asked and Jaune shook his head.

"No, Nimedos proved that wasn't the case but they're nowhere as extensive as the western wall is at the moment as the priority is the western wall for the amount of times the Creatures of Grimm have advanced from the west into the valleys."

"Why do the Creatures of Grimm attack from the west so often?" Ren asked and everyone noticed Jaune hesitating.

"Honestly I don't really know other than that there's supposed to be a large congregation of Grimm in a region to the northwest. Even before the Great War it was considered a no go zone for the Kingdoms as no matter how many times they tried clearing it out the Grimm always returned in high numbers that meant holding ground there was next to impossible." Jaune explained and everyone just sat to think about that tidbit of information for a while.

"Wait a minute, if the Brigade mostly deploys its forces to guard the north, east, and southern boundaries of the Hurin Valleys who's guarding the western wall and these Outposts?" Ren asked.

"Ah, well that would be the Defensive Companies that mostly man the fortifications of the Hurin Valleys."

"Defensive Companies?" Pyrrha asked.

"Ah, right, well Defensive Companies fall under the same category as Heavy Weapons or Support Companies whereas they're independent of the general organizational structure while still being a part of it. Man, that sounded confusing even to me, anyways, they form their own operational units that assist others in the field."

"Wait, that doesn't make sense, if these companies are needed to support the other army units why have them separate at all?" Weiss asked and Jaune shrugged.

"I wondered the same myself, the best guess I can come up with is that the nature of battle means that certain tools aren't needed on every front simultaneously but that doesn't mean they're not needed at all. While every army unit having everything it needs on hand is useful the logistical and tactical strain I'd imagine would be a lot. First you need to take care of the needs of your infantry, how many are there, are they all armed and armored. Do they have all the ammunition they need to face other infantry or light armor but then you have to make sure they're fed, watered and have medical supplies as well. Then there are things like Chimeras, and Tauros Rapid Assault Vehicles. Do they have enough fuel, spare parts, their own ammunition, even trained operators? The same can be applied to the various types of tanks. Why have all of these things clustering one chain of command when you can break the various tasks and needs down to separate units." Jaune said and Weiss nodded.

"I see, it reminds me of looking at the logs of the day to day operations in the SDC. There were more than a few hundred incoming or outgoing shipments along with the endless requests for new equipment and shifting of personnel from department to department." Weiss said.

"So I've got another question, how exactly are we supposed to use these again?" Blake asked as she lifted her chin to point at the device around her neck. Two small black pads pressed up to either side of her throat as it wrapped around behind her neck with a small translucent earpiece that dangled off it.

"That's a throat microphone or a laryngophone, since we don't have helmets which are normally used that means we have no means of communication over long distance. These nifty little things however absorb vibrations directly from our throats via these two sensors which you can click to send and to receive you use the earpiece. Though be mindful they've got limited range even on open ground so try not to get too far away or else there's no way to communicate safely." Jaune explained by tapping the two sensors with his thumb and forefinger then gesturing to the earpiece.

"So how long till we arrive?" Nora asked.

"We must be there already; it feels like we've been in here forever." Yang added and Fusia pulled out a watch from a pant pocket.

"We're still about thirty minutes away." She said and Nora groaned while Yang just sighed.

"Well damn."

---

Elsewhere…

He watched as the captured man was flayed alive, though in truth it was nothing more than a mercy has he had already broken the man's mind. At least now his body would be of use to the Pantheon where his mind was not.

Below him he had a five thousand strong force or a Legion as he liked to call gathered amongst a cluster of hills. He needed to give them some time to rest before pushing them any farther north; he could feel it in his bones, battle was close.

As he knew how to read the wind and stars so when they told him that danger was nearby he was no fool to ignore such signs. A part of him also knew that he was still recovering from his near death at the hands of the Pale Witch.

He knew what her name was but something about it rang differently than most. Names were symbols of Power both in the materium and Sea of Souls. Whenever he said hers, ills omens would emerge, ones that even he were unfamiliar with and while he enjoyed a challenge he knew that this world operated on a different set of Laws than his own though he wasn't sure that they were exclusive.

Nonetheless to ignore them would only lead to his death.

His thoughts were interrupted however at the sound of thunder to the north however he knew it was no storm of nature but of battle.

His blood boiled at the thought of having to serve at the whims of that Pale Witch. Yet being able to strike at those that would otherwise stand in their way of instilling the proper worship of the Pantheon on this world was something he would not pass up even if it meant helping another enemy.

Ever since he made that infernal pact, he's been gathering scattered groups from the Great host. First he picked up eight hundred Warriors in some frozen land by a sea. Then was transported to a coast where another three thousand Warriors and Marauders were gathering at the Pale Witch's command.

He had to fight two others that tried to take the mantle of command which ate up the better part of a day. Now though he had a legion of harden warriors, marauders, knights, siege engines and even a few Bloodbeasts at his back. With such a force he would be able to strike a deadly blow at these; Arcadians as the Pale Witch weakened them with her own creatures.

"My lord." A voice said from behind him and he turned to see one of his new lieutenants bowing. The Warrior had blue plate armor with golden swirls that seemed to move on his armor.

"What is it Ukxorkart?" He asked turning away from the now still corpse of a man.

"Your Outriders have spotted the valley; it's at most half a day's march north."

"Did they see any of these Arcadians?" He asked and Ukxorkart nodded.

"Yes my lord, they spotted three structures that were spaced out within the valley but they weren't able to get closer in fear of being spotted."

"Good. Once we crested those mountains I want Akerba to take six hundred Warriors and eight hundred Marauders then swing east to cut off any line of retreat. Then tell Krimval he's got command of the legion's banners and he's to head west to draw their attention away from us. Though tell Blaokrazyx and Ghemzetts to have their Great Companies meet me as Az'gelloth and his brothers are coming with me along with Drukthich's riders that way we can hit them in the flank. Now go, you've got an hour to spread my orders." Ukxorkart nodded then got up before heading back down the hill. He looked towards the north where more thunder rumbled and smiled.

Yet it was no smile of joy or relief but of excitement.

It was a smile that held the excitement for war.

---

The Previous Day…

Captain Bertram Hoffman was lying next to the heavy stubber on the turret of his Sicaran Command Tank Lion's Pride; around him his tank platoon was arrayed out in a grassy field behind the South Valley Outpost.

The Sicaran Heavy Tank had an overall length of ten meters with a width of nine meters and a height of nearly seven meters which made it a massive tank. Or in some cases a massive target.

For protection however it had a little more than a foot of Syn plating for armor making it strong enough to take hits from Shaped Charges, HEAT Rounds, and most Kinetic Penetrators.

In addition it had a hundred and thirty five millimeter smoothbore main cannon. Along with a coaxial assault stubber and a pintle mounted heavy stubber making it able to dish out a lot of damage while taking a lot in return.

The downside to them is that they're expensive and take time to make along with being a little slow in comparison to the Tempest or Predator tanks. As such in their current form he'd doubt if they would ever become the main tank of the Arcadian Military.

His crew was lounging around a pot that had some stew bubbling in it on the ground next to the Sicaran. Around them the other tanks of the Command Platoon were resting as well with their crews lounging about.

The field was normally used for mustering or as the landing zone for incoming airdrops and Valkyries. Though for the time being it was where his tanks were waiting as being hold up in the Outpost would make quick reaction difficult.

Some of his old Commanders would be irate at the lax attitudes of the tank crews but Hoffman knew it would be better to have his crews be relaxed but alert before a fight than tense. As there was always the chance of someone snapping under the pressure which would distract the entire crew leaving them open to getting hit badly in a fight.

"Aslac come on, it's obviously done." Michael Forbor, his driver, whined.

"No it ain't now shut your face." His gunner, Aslac Niven, snapped back.

"He's ruining it! Dolan please; don't let him burn it again." Michael said addressing the largest man amongst them, his loader Dolan Coryn. The youngest of them who was also his Vox Operator Tissot Cowne snorted before bursting out into laughter.

"Alright, alright fine, give me your damn bowls." Aslac said with a little more restraint as the normally choleric man had a soft spot for the young girl. Some would attribute it to desire but Hoffman knew the man long enough that it was because the young girl reminded him of his older sister. She had died three years prior to him joining the Army on the sea when her frigate was ambushed by several Sea Feilongs.

"Captain." A new voice called out and Hoffman turned to see a soldier with the emblem of a Sergeant on his right shoulder pad standing on the other side of the Sicaran.

"What is it?" He asked.

"The Creatures of Grimm were spotted at Phase Line Red" The man said and Hoffman sighed. Phase Line Red was the final point of the Arcadian Forward Observation Line to monitor the movement of the Grimm and how close they were.

"Thank you, you can return to the Outpost." The man nodded before jogging back up to the Outpost and Hoffman picked up his helmet. Unlike the standard infantry helmet, tank crews had helmet that emphasized ear protection as such they weren't enclosed like their infantry counterpart but had slightly larger sides around the ears.

"Alright, pack it up we've got work to do!" Hoffman shouted and there was some grumbling but he noted with satisfaction that everyone moved with practiced efficiency to put out the camp fires or pack their things as they got back into their tanks.

The Command Platoon had a fighting strength of five tanks, three Sicaran Heavy Tanks including his own and two Predator Battle Tanks. It was enough firepower to take on all but the heaviest armor or the largest of foes.

Yet with his Company spread out, Hoffman couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about being the only unit in support of the Outpost. An Infantry Company was supposed to be stationed here tomorrow but it seemed that the Creatures of Grimm had other plans.

As his crew took their respective spots inside the heavy tank and it roared to life he knew that no matter how strong they were to get bogged down with no infantry support would be a nightmare for any crew.

While most tank commander would argue that infantry support is only paramount in urban environments. Hoffman's experience showed that shallow patrols with infantry support allowed maximum killing potential in the infantry's or small unit fire and maneuver tactics along with tank survival.

As more often than not its tank crews that buy into their hype at how strong or tough they are that they end up biting off more than they can chew.

As he situated himself in the command hatch, he got distracted as the Hydra battery in the Outpost opened up. There were four of them located on the east side of the Outpost and even from out in the fields behind the position Hoffman could feel the rapid thumping of the heavy caliber shells in the air.

Looking up he could see around thirty Nevermores of various sizes beginning to scatter however at least half a dozen were already falling towards the ground.

"Captain, orders?" Michael asked, his voice buzzing in Hoffman's headset

"Take us south four hundred meters past the Outpost then swing us west another eight hundred then wait for further orders. Tissot relay orders to 1-2 and 1-3 to push north with similar instructions with 1-4 and 1-5 following us." Hoffman said and Tissot quickly spoke into her Vox Caster before long the five tanks jerked to a start moving in their respective directions.

Lion's Pride and the two Predator Battle Tanks pushed southward as the other two Sicaran Heavy Tanks pushed north around the Outpost. The South Valley Outpost a relatively large fortification however it wasn't as strong as the western wall or main fortifications mainly due to the fact it was largely built out of wood with some stone foundations.

The overall shape of the Outpost was that of an isosceles trapezoid, the long side of the wall facing west with several towers spaced out along its length. Each tower held a Lancer Field Gun on top while in-between the towers on the ramparts were two Serpent Infantry Guns and one Sabre Platform.

Off to the south and north walls the ramparts only held one Serpent Infantry Gun with one Sabre Platform. On the eastern wall were four towers that held Hydras Platforms for anti-air protection along with the Outpost's gate entrance.

With a central Keep that serves as the Outpost's headquarters, three separate lines of barracks each capable of housing more than two hundred men each and a vehicle depot. The Outpost as a whole however was manned by the three hundred soldiers of the 203rd Defensive Company.

In every direction around the Outpost for at least one mile was cleared of the various Spruces, Oaks, Pines and Fir trees a long time ago many of which ended up being used in the Outposts construction.

To the west a few hundred meters out from the Outpost was a trench line fifteen feet wide and ten feet deep filled with barbwire along with caltrops all of which was meant to impede smaller creatures. This trench line stretched to the far north and south into the distant trees.

As the trio of tanks approached the line Hoffman couldn't help but wonder about its effectiveness but Hoffman knew his history, the origin of the trench was supposed to be occupied by the Arcadian Army.

Alas, the amount of soldiers needed to man the trench was very impractical for the amount of soldiers they had on hand. As such it was decided a smaller number of soldiers could be used on three points than a ridiculous amount of soldiers along a single line too long to maintain with their resources.

He looked northward as the Lancer Field Guns opened up; the heavy caliber cannons let loose a deep boom that seemed to roll over them like thunder. Hoffman lowered himself down into the Sicaran's command chair.

"Tissot patch me through to the platoon net." He said and the younger woman nodded as she hit something on her caster then pointed at him.

"This is 1-1 to all Elements how copy?" Hoffman said clicking his throat microphone.

"This is 1-2, loud and clear." Lieutenant Fevre, commander of the second Sicaran Heavy Tank, responded.

"1-1 this is 1-3, read you loud and clear." Lieutenant Pichon commander of the third Sicaran responded.

"1-4 here, you're good to go Captain." Lieutenant Herve of the first Predator Tank said.

"1-5 to 1-1 your signal is loud and clear." Lieutenant Govig of the second Predator tank and last tank in the command platoon said.

"1-2 what's your 10-77"

"10-77 is two minutes."

"Roger, stand by for orders." Hoffman said before turning to Tissot.

"Patch me to the 203rd C.P."

"Yes sir." She said before adjusting the vox set then pointed to him again.

"Oak this is Timber, how copy?" Hoffman said using call sign that his Company had been given.

"Timber we read you five by five." A familiar voice said.

"Roger that Oak, is that you Murphy?" Hoffman asked.

"Yes sir, the Captain wants to know your position?"

"We're southwest about three hundred meters out just past the forward trench line, what's the field looking like?"

"Hang on." Hoffman winced as a large Nevermore fell a few hundred feet away knocking down a few small trees.

"Hoffman, its Riada." Abigail Riada, Captain of the 203rd Defensive Company, answered and while she was still at the rank of Captain she was at least a decade older than him.

"I've got eyes on three Ursai packs heading in your direction right now; I'm directing an Earthshaker Battery to fire on them let me know if they get too close though."

"Roger that, keep me posted if or when the Grimm make it within a hundred meters of the wall." Hoffman said before nodding to Tissot that she could take over.

"Contacts at 3-3-7!" Michal called out and Hoffman immediately stood up raising himself out of the hatch before grabbing onto the pintle mounted heavy stubber. In the distant trees he could see the hulking black and white forms of Ursai moving amongst them.

"Gunner! High Explosive target lead Ursa Major, range 500!" Hoffman called out.

"Identified!" Aslac shouted shortly after the turret turned in the direction that was shouted earlier.

"Up!" Called out Dolan indicating the proper round was in.

"Fire!"

"Firing!" The Sicaran's hundred and thirty five millimeter cannon fired. Even with his helmet on, the sound of the large caliber cannon firing rang in Hoffman's ears. In the distance the lead Ursai disappeared in an explosion that ripped apart the trunks of two trees that it had been near. The two Predators fired shortly after with a pair of explosions blossoming in the distance.

Overhead a few bright red streaks came in impacting the ground near the advancing Ursai Pack, no doubt from the wall. Hoffman gripped the heavy stubber as the Creatures of Grimm came closer then opened up, while not as loud as the cannon fire, the constant thumping of the heavy caliber machine gun was hard to miss up close.

Whether or not he managed to kill more than one Ursai was tough but as the two Predators added their own heavy stubber fire it became nothing but a mess of things far too complicated to keep proper track of.

However he noticed that a number of Ursai were starting to swing wide, the Predators to either side tracked these diverging foes with their turret and heavy stubbers. Yet Hoffman knew that even with the long range support of the Earthshaker Battery he needed to shift positions.

"Michael! Move us back 200 meters, Tissot relay my orders to 1-4 and 1-5." Hoffman said as he pulled out another box of ammunition for the heavy stubber. The Ursai were getting closer now, several Ursa Minors were less than a hundred yards from them.

The trio of tanks were pulling back slowly firing everything they had. However Hoffman couldn't help but notice that the Earthshaker Battery fire had lessened.

"Captain, the Outpost is requesting fire support!" Tissot called out and Hoffman cursed as he fired a ten second long burst at an Ursa Minor. Under the sustained assault of heavy caliber rounds, the Ursa Minor's white carapace head shattered.

"Tissot tell Herve and Govig to get across the trench line first, Michael stop the tank and Aslac fire at will and Tissot once those two are across the trench we'll be going next so tell them to be ready to cover our retreat." As Hoffman looked up he was surprised to see an Ursa Minor coming from their left less than a dozen meters away and closing.

He cursed as he gripped the pintle mounted heavy stubber with both hands bring it around before letting loose with it. However the heavy stubber was barely slowing the Grimm down as it finally reached the tank.

As its claws scrapped against the armor in its attempt to climb up, Hoffman could hear his crew shouting as the sound was no doubt very noticeable inside the tank. He cursed as he dropped back into the turret closing the hatch with him as a few seconds later the sound of claws scraping indicated that it was probably the smart move.

However something started rattling loudly against the hull but it didn't sound like claws. Instead it sounded like small arms fire.

"Govig says he got the Ursa on us!" Tissot called out.

"Spend my compliments now get us moving Michael!"

"Aye!" The driver called as Aslac sent a canister shell down range, a dozen Ursa Minors died as they were struck by a shower of tungsten balls going at forty six hundred feet a second.

Once his Sicaran was across the trench line Hoffman received two reports from his other two tanks and the Outpost.

The two Sicaran Heavy Tanks had to retreat after a brief engagement with Beowolves that ended up being reinforced by four Death Stalkers.

As for the Outpost the Grimm were battering away at the wooden walls, the Serpent Infantry Guns and Sabre Platforms were the only things holding them away as the Nevermores had returned heedless of the anti-air fire of the Hydras.

"Those fuckers are hitting the trenches!" Aslac called out and Hoffman looked through his view port. The optical camera was a little fuzzier than normal but he could see a wave Beowolves falling into the trenches. He couldn't get a reasonable count but he had to assume at least a hundred or more of them fell.

A few of the Beowolves could be seen trying to claw their way back up but the entanglement of barb wire did its job in trapping the panicking creatures.

However the next wave of Grimm were aware of this trench, the more nimble Beowolves were leaping across it while Ursai knocked over trees in attempt to use it as a bridge to get across.

Cursing softly Hoffman ordered the tanks to fall back to the Outpost; the three of them wouldn't be able to hold off the swarm of Grimm by themselves. He did fear a little that they might swing past them ignoring the Outpost altogether opting to head further east but he knew that the three of them couldn't hold the forest alone.

As the tanks pulled back towards the Outpost before coming to a stop on a small hill that lay at the edge of the large western clearing and Hoffman could see how things were getting out of hand.

The western wall was ablaze with cannon or heavy stubber fire that the field before it was littered with the dead bodies of Grimm.

The collective miasmic smoke coming off their bodies made it seem like a large fire was happening. Explosions ripped apart the fallen and still alive while arcs of heavy stubber fire chewed away at the Grimm.

However more of them were clawing at the wooden walls, some of them even attempting to climb up it. Defenders on the walls however were firing straight down at them keeping them from getting to far up.

Relaying quick orders Hoffman placed the two Predators to guard the flank from the Grimm that were after them as he position his Sicaran to fire from the flank of the Grimm.

Hoffman opened the hatch again; thin scratches covered the turret as he grabbed the heavy stubber quickly checking it for damage. Satisfied that it was in working order he reached down to grab another box of ammunition then began to load it up as another shell was fired at the battlefield.

As the shell exploded taking a handful of Beowolves and an Ursa Minor Hoffman worked the charging handle of the heavy stubber. Letting off a quick five second burst though it didn't really have any visible effect like the cannon fire or torrent of gunfire unleashed by the Sabre platforms.

In the distance however something came smashing through the trees, on the far side of the field was a large Death Stalker, which seemed to be coming straight for them.

"Gunner, H.E.A.T, target the Death Stalker at 3-5-5, distance 1800 and closing!"

"Identified!"

"Up!"

"Fire!"

"Firing!" The tank fired and Hoffman watched as the right side of the Death Stalker was obscured by an explosion. The Grimm screeched in pain and as the smoke cleared Hoffman could see that the right pincer was in shambles however it was still alive.

Before they could fire another shell two more Death Stalkers came out of the forest. These two looked like they just got out of a fight; one had cracks visible on its carapace while the other had a mangled tail. Hoffman felt the blood drain from his face as the three Death Stalkers moved towards them together.

"Shit."

---

Present Time…

No one said anything as the Chimera rocked side to side as it moved faster. Even inside the armored transport they could hear the sounds of battle even outside.

Jaune couldn't help but feel a little nervous about going into a fight. Now he was no stranger to a fight but dueling in a controlled environment and panicking in a flight or fight situation like when Areto dumped him into a forest alone seems a lot different than this.

"Alright listen up, we have our deployment orders, our platoon will deploy further south from the Outpost. We're to come up on the southern flank to help secure it with some tanks that are supposed to be in the vicinity. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Platoon will push the center to reinforce the Outpost while 4th Platoon pushes north. Now here's how I want us to deploy, Ruby take your team and attach yourself with Sgèin's squad. Jaune your team is with Martin's squad, don't clump up, spread out to make sure you cover as much ground as you can but don't go too far if either section needs support the other has to go in and help them. Understood?" Fusia asked and everyone kept silent except for Jaune.

"And what are you going to be doing?" He asked.

"Simple, I'll be my own squad."

"Wait, is that a good idea?" Weiss asked.

"Maybe but trust me, I'm a professional." Fusia said.

"30 seconds!" A voice called out from and Pyrrha mimicked Fusia as she put her earpiece in.

"Go!" Fusia said as the Chimera jerked to a halt, the hatch dropped and the nine of them flooded out the transport.

Pyrrha immediately looked around; they were in a small clearing, to the northwest was what she assumed was the Outpost. She also noticed that the air was filled with booms and crackles of conflict with the dull roar of what she had to guess was hundreds if not thousands of Grimm that were supposed to be attacking the area.

"There!" Ruby called out and Pyrrha spun around only to see a dozen Beowolves coming out from behind a cluster of trees a few hundred feet away. As the Beacon students readied their weapons, the two squads of Arcadian soldiers knelt or lay down on the ground as they began to fire along with the three heavy stubbers on the Chimeras.

The combined firepower of the Chimeras, rifles and what Martin had called Assault Stubbers slammed into the charging Grimm. Pyrrha could see the Grimm slow down considerably as they were hit by a hail of gunfire, three immediately went down while the others progressively got slower and slower.

Pyrrha not wanting to be considered a liability switched Miló to its rifle form as she wanted to fire as well along with Nora, Weiss and Blake reading their own weapons.

Jaune, Ren, Blake and Yang however waited for the Grimm to come closer as their weapons didn't have the range or a weapon at all that could hit at range.

Yet she could see that it wasn't necessary for them to engage as the Arcadian soldiers eliminated the remaining Beowolves before they even got within a hundred feet.

"Alright let's move out!" Fusia said before jogging in what Pyrrha assumed was the direction they were supposed to go.

"You heard her." Ruby said to her team as she took off in the same direction, Sgèin's squad getting up to follow them.

"Let's get moving we don't want to lag behind." Martin's voice came through into Pyrrha's earpiece; she had a hard time telling who was who was with their helmets being all the same plus the armor seemed to tone down their figures.

"Come on guys, five meter spread." Jaune said as he took Crocea Mors off his belt and expanded his sheath after pulling the sword out. They jogged towards the trees with the others; the Chimeras had already turned to head towards the Outpost.

Pyrrha didn't say anything as the group jogged through the trees; occasionally Martin would call for her squad to stop. This prompted Jaune to stop and gesture for them to get low to the ground which of course she'd do.

A few times they would run into groups of Grimm but none of them were larger than the first group they saw which the Arcadians would dispatch without their help. Now and then they would see team RWBY and Sgèin's squad mopping up an area of dead Grimm.

They would continue to run through the forest for what seemed like forever. That is until the thin crackles and soft booms of explosions she had heard earlier became much more pronounced. Now she could hear sharp cracks and thunderous explosions that made her insides shake a little even at a distance.

"Sounds like things are heating up out there." Martin said as she took off her helmet. Most of the squad was spread out to watch the surrounding forest along with Ren and Nora. Jaune, Pyrrha, Martin were kneeling down next to her corporal and Vox Operator as they listened to the chatter of other platoons that had already engaged the Grimm.

Pyrrha looked to see a few dozen feet away team RWBY and Sgèin's squad were coming to join them interestingly enough Fusia had yet to show up or answer their hails.

"What's going on?" Sgèin called out as he, Ruby and Weiss joined them. Yang, Blake and the rest of Sgèin's squad joined the perimeter watch.

"We're trying to figure out what's our next move since First Lieutenant Aster hasn't responded or shown up." Martin said as she held out the Vox-caster's handset to the other sergeant.

"Then why are we standing around? Sounds like someone's already in a messy fight over there." Weiss pointed out after they listened to it for a few seconds.

"I think we should go looking for Ms. Aster, she might be hurt." Ruby said.

"No." Martin said and Ruby frowned.

"No? None of us know where she is nor has she said anything so she might need help." The younger girl said.

"While you have a point Ruby, you have to realize we've got a job to do. We need to support the rest of the Company in beating back the Grimm. The Outpost is the only thing that's drawing the full attention of the Grimm, if it falls then we'll have no way of completing stopping the Grimm from going further east." Jaune said gesturing in its direction as a rippling sound wave of loud explosions washed over them.

"Then we should split up, I'll take my team and looked for her while you take the two squads with you." Ruby said but this time Pyrrha shook her head.

"I think we should listen to them Ruby, it seems like they'll need every person they can get their hands on to defend the Outpost and if what you said is correct then it's out of our hands so we should focus on who we can save now and that's these soldiers." The taller girl said and Weiss put a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Ruby, I can't disagree with them on this, it might be best if we stick with them." The younger girl frowned as she looked away but all of their attention was soon turning as one of the Assault Stubbers opened up in a ten second burst followed by a few other bursts of rifle fire.

"No more discussion, we're going to the Outpost, now." Sgèin said as he stood up and fired a five round burst in the direction the others were shooting in.

"We'll take point Sgèin." Jaune said before looking at Pyrrha who nodded before following him as he called out for Ren and Nora to follow him.

The four of them along with team RWBY took off in the direction of the fighting though Jaune cursed at how fast everyone else was as he was soon in the back of the group.

Of course he also noticed Pyrrha dropping back and it irked him since he was painfully aware that the tall red head was much faster than him.

As the others slowed down Jaune knew that they were close to the Outpost. Though seeing how the Outpost was larger along with being in greater detail that he could see the various weapon platforms firing as well as the damage it had sustained would have told him the same thing.

Most of the fighting however was still obscured by a small hill that lay between them and the Outpost. As they got to the foot of the hill, Jaune noticed three different sets of tracks. The tracks looked like small trenches within the soft ground of the forest.

"Look out!" Pyrrha said as she stopped abruptly as Beowolves appeared to either side. Jaune brought his shield up at an angle as one came dangerously close with a paw, as it slid away from his shield Jaune stabbed at the Grimm's exposed torso.

His blade buried itself a foot deep and reacting by instinct he pulled the sword up before swinging upward taking the Grimm's arm off at the elbow before bringing it down again only to hit it in the shoulder.

More Grimm started appearing around them as Jaune pulled his sword out of the now dead Grimm. He ducked under another swipe before jumping up and forward barreling into the Beowolf.

He was a little surprised as the Beowolf stumbled back a little giving him the opening to stab upward impaling his sword through the bottom of its jaw out the top of its head.

Behind him Pyrrha flipped over a Beowolf, slicing with Miló in its javelin form in a backhanded swing as she flung Akoúo at another Grimm.

The bronze shield slammed into its face breaking it's maw before coming back to her hand as she landed twisting around with her hand on the end of Miló coming around to cut across the throat of the Grimm.

Something snapped, while the noise of the fight made hearing things a little difficult, this particular sound was something that Pyrrha noticed as it quickly went from a simple snap to a loud creaking.

Glancing up she could see one of the large spruce trees near them toppling towards her, she jumped aside as it finally crashed down conveniently slamming down on a Beowolf that had been trying to attack her from behind.

Jaune looked over his shoulder at the sound and found that a large tree was separating him from his team. To his south team RWBY was slowing making their way towards him but the sheer amount of Beowolves was slowing them down.

A Beowolf snarled as it lunged at him, Jaune angled his shield up as he quickly crouched then jumped up slamming the flat of his shield against the bottom of its jaw. His sword quickly followed embedding itself in its throat before pulling out to slash at a reaching paw; the sword edge took off four of its digits.

He followed through with the blow bringing the sword up in a diagonal cut going across the Beowolf's torso. He couldn't deliver another blow as another Beowolf came at him, the large Grimm barreled into him and Jaune struggled to stay on his feet as he used his shield to protect himself.

Alas he was too close to the fallen tree and it made his footing difficult as his legs got tangled amongst the branches before his legs hit the trunk of the tree he fell backwards with the Beowolf lashing out to get at him.

He gritted his teeth as he swung frantically at a low angle hitting something though for all he knew he was hitting the tree.

However the Beowolf finally howled in pain as something gave way after his tenth strike and he took the chance to push his sword up towards him. The tip struck the Beowolf in the side under the arm burying itself into its chest.

In the corner of his eye he saw another Beowolf coming at him on all fours but he had yet to get the current one off him. Jaune wiggled hard, pulling frantically to get his sword free as the Beowolf got close to him now in a charge, its mouth open in anticipation to bite him.

As the sword came free the only thing Jaune had time to do was simply raise it point first at the charging Grimm.

In a moment, Jaune found that his sword arm was embedded deep within the Grimm. He could feel his arm in something that felt far too soft for comfort then noticed the teeth around his elbow and he would have felt relief at it being dead had it not also had said teeth clamped painfully down on his arm.

Looking at his arm he could see a white light rippling across his arm like water when a rock had been dropped in it. The pain of was becoming unbearable as his mind began to panic at the situation he was in.

He was his back with both arms being hampered with no way to actually get a look at the fight, a part of his brain was screaming at him how he was going to die.

Something pressed down on him and he gasped before wheezing at its weight. Above him another Beowolf was climbing on the back of the now dead Beowolf, the black miasma leaked out from the open mouth and eyes of the Grimm obscuring his vision a little as the red eyes of the other Beowolf appeared.

Jaune didn't say or yell anything; it surprised him a little that he didn't as he watched the Beowolf open its mouth. At that moment Yang came into his vision screaming, she struck from the side with the left gauntlet of Ember Celica destroying the lower jaw of the Grimm before following with an upper cut that took the rest of the head off.

Small arms fire began to ring out like thunder as the Arcadian squads caught up though Jaune was mostly ignoring the fighting now. As Yang now stood watch over him as he managed to tuck his legs in then push out lifting the dead Beowolf off him.

"Jaune?! Are you okay!?" Pyrrha called out as she appeared in his sight.

"I'm fine." Jaune grunted as he let go of his shield in order to pry the other Beowolf's jaw off his sword arm. Yang sighed as she reached down and grabbed helped him pry it open. Everything below his elbow including his sword was wet with moisture and Jaune felt like gagging a little but kept it down.

"That was a fun fight." Yang remarked casually as the soldiers walked among the corpses of the Grimm occasionally firing into one. Jaune rubbed his arm slowly which ached despite his Aura though he was worried about it after seeing the white simmer earlier.

"Are you alright?" Sgèin's voice called out as they turned to see a soldier jogging up to them.

"Yea, the Beowolves ambushed us but we held our own." Jaune said.

"Well most of us." Yang said and Jaune shot her a look before looking up at the hill. Grabbing Crocea Mors he started to push up the hill, Sgèin and Martin barked out orders while his team followed him with team RWBY moving up to his right.

Dead Grimm littered the top their forms twisted and broken as they lay sprawled upon the churned ground. As they reached the top, Jaune saw the battle raging below them and he could hear some of the others gasping in surprise.

Below them was a clearing littered with dead or dying Grimm the collective miasma of their dead or dying left a black fog that obscured their vision a little as it hung over the over like a blanket. To their right was the battered looking wooden walls of the Outpost with the defenders that still fought on but Jaune could see they've taken some serious hits.

Nevermore feathers were embedded in various places and he could see that on some of the towers small fires were blossoming from destroyed if not crippled weapon emplacements.

At the foot of the wall he could see that's where the bodies were thickest, enough Grimm had died under the guns of the Outpost that other Grimm could climb up the bodies to get within jumping distance. He looked at the others and could see that they collectively all had different reactions.

Blake and Weiss were giving the battlefield a cold calculating look as if they were shutting part of themselves down at the carnage. Ren and Nora looked almost pained as if they were remembering something that they wished they didn't.

Ruby and Yang looked determined for very different reasons. For the youngest member of the two teams she looked determined to just go in there and if Jaune had to guess is was no doubt because she wanted to save the soldiers in the Outpost. Yang on the other hand looked like she was about to explode in more ways than one from excitement.

Glancing at Pyrrha he could see that if anything she looked like she was studying the fight. That didn't seem so surprising; aside from Yang she was the most attuned to picking apart a fight.

"Down there!" Someone called out and Jaune's attention was drawn down to the bottom of the hill. There he could see a Predator Battle Tank sitting helplessly as four Ursa Minors worked to get inside.

"Sgèin, Martin, hold this hill top and cover us everyone else with me." Jaune called out, the two Arcadian Squads spread out with four to either side while the two Assault Stubbers were set up in the center with the rest covering the rear or flanks.

Jaune however was already moving down the hill with Ren and Pyrrha as Nora fired twice with Magnhild. Two streaks of pink zoomed overhead before landing near the disabled Predator. The twin pink explosions killed one Ursa outright before knocking the other one aside.

The other two Ursa Minors were protected by the tank itself which had shielded them from the explosions soon came over the tank to start moving up the hill with the third one following shortly behind after getting up.

Jaune didn't even get a chance to raise his shield as Ruby came zooming past him, taking the lead Ursa by surprise when she hooked Crescent Rose under its chin before taking its head off by sheer momentum.

Ren was the second to respond, firing StormFlower at the second one but the Ursa merely covered its face with one large arm. Only to lower it down to find Ren had jumped up as well landing down on it.

With his feet on either side of its shoulders he stabbed down with both of his pistols into the Ursa Minors eyes before back flipping away as it roared in pain for swiping back and forth blindly.

The magenta eyed teen waited a second before dashing back in ducking under the first then rolling forward inside the reach of the other arm before spinning in a clockwise motion cutting once across the chest that left a deep furrow across the chest before the second strike disemboweled it.

Finally the third one was crippled by the Assault Stubbers and Jaune continued running down to the tank. As he closed in on it he could see how badly it had been damaged.

There were a number of large dents that he could see; some of them pierced the armored skirts cracking two of the road wheels along with breaking the track. Other dents were just as devastating as he could see some of the dents were in fact punctures even the barrel had been rendered inoperable as it was bent upward.

"Hello!" He called out.

"Who's there?" A voice called out after a few seconds.

"Jaune Arc! We're here to help!"

"Arc? Like High Lord Arc?" The voice called back and Jaune rolled his eyes.

"Jaune, hurry up there's more Grimm coming." Ren called out as he fired a burst from both of his pistols adding to the growing staccato fire of Sgèin's and Martin's squads up on the hill.

"Just get out of there, it's not safe." Jaune said and after a few moments the hatch at the top of the Predator.

A man in a grey uniform with a First Lieutenant sigil on his right sleeve appeared; he looked haggard and tired with what Jaune knew to be blood stains that made parts of his uniform seem darker than it should it. Behind him three other people came out just as haggard but all four of them were armed with carbines versions of the Agripinaa Infantry Rifle, with the First Lieutenant armed with a handgun and Messer.

"Not safe he says, mother fucker it's not safe out here." One of the crew members said a woman as she took off her helmet revealing short black hair and a pair of dog ears.

"That's enough, grab what you need and let's move." The First Lieutenant snapped and the woman had the sense to look abashed as they jumped down.

"Sorry about that Sir, we've been stuck in there for the better part of a day so they're a little testy at the moment." The man said and Jaune nodded as he figured it had to do with the blood plus the fact he knew that they were missing a crew member.

"It's fine, just get your crew up that hill there are two squads of soldiers there that you can attach yourself to for now." Jaune said around him the fighting was dying down as the Beacon students beat off another attack from the Grimm.

As they made their way back up the hill under the cover fire of the Arcadian soldiers Jaune looked over the battlefield, now that he took a second look he could see how close the fighting actually was.

While the Grimm delivered tremendous blows to the Outpost while getting in close enough that they could reach the top of the walls before getting killed.

The Arcadian defenders however had also held out long enough that their firepower had taken a heavy toll that the amount of Grimm attacking versus the amount of dead was vastly different. That being said, the fight could still go either way.

"We've in a prime position to attack from, the Grimm are focused on the Outpost and seem to have exhausted their numbers for the time being. With skill, coordination and some luck we might be able to crush them against the walls of the Outpost." Martin said as the Jaune and the other rejoined them at the top of the hill.

"Or we can draw their attention away from the Outpost and give them some breathing room." Ruby said.

"While the hill does give us a terrain advantage there's still enough Grimm that they could easily swarm us." Sgèin pointed out.

"He's got a point Ruby, there has to be hundreds if not more than a thousand Grimm attacking that place even if we draw some away there's still a lot for them to deal with." Pyrrha said.

"Clear!" Someone shouted nearby and there was a loud thump as a soldier fired something called an Accatran Rocket Launcher. In the distance three Ursa Minors died as the rocket hit amongst them as they were tightly packed together definitely killing two while wounding the third.

"Sergeant!" Another soldier called out, the same Vox-Operator as before came running up to Martin with the Vox-Caster's handset being held out for her to take and she did after slinging her rifle over her shoulder.

"5-3 here read you loud and clear Captain. We're on a hill to the south of the Outpost's western clearing.

"Standby 1-1." Martin said before looking at Sgèin.

"The Captain wants our coordinates." She said and he took out his own copy of his map and listed it out for her which she relayed.

"Wilco, 5-3 out." Martin said before handing the handset back to the soldier.

"Alright, we've got our new orders." She said turning to face everyone again.

"We're to hold position here for the time being."

"Why?" Ruby asked instantly.

"We're not a significant force even with the eight of you besides which Air Command has reported in saying they won the aerial fight in the north and are dispatching three Avenger Flights to us."

"So we do nothing?" Ruby asked and Jaune shook his head.

"No, I assume we're gonna just hold this hill probably because the Captain wants us to keep as much of the Grimm pinned into the western clearing. It's much easier to hit them in one group than many scattered groups." Jaune said looking at Martin who nodded to confirm his thoughts.

"And don't forget that 4th Platoon is to the north of us probably has the same orders so just sit tight and kill anything that comes to us." Sgèin said as he looked at everyone, none of them voiced any protest if they had any so he nodded his helmed head and back to the soldiers.

"Well, you heard them let's pick spots and wait." Jaune said and began to turn away.

"Wait a minute." Ruby interrupted and he sighed as he looked back around at her.

"We still don't know where Ms. Aster is." They young girl said and Yang put a hand on her younger sister's shoulder.

"Ah come on Ruby, she's a professional, so she's probably fine."

---

Elsewhere…

Fusia slumped against a tree taking deep breathes, before her the last Death Stalker twitched a little and each time she saw one of the legs move her heart stopped in fear.

Though she immediately clamped down on that feeling, she had gotten separated from the others after running into a trio of Death Stalkers with at least several dozen of Beowolves and Ursai. How they didn't notice her fighting was far beyond what she felt like thinking about at the moment,

More importantly she was who knows how far from the Outpost but she knew that the fighting had pushed her further south than she wanted. She needed to move however her body protested at the movement and she knew that her Aura was all but gone.

She had been slammed three times by one of the pincers after getting knocked down to the ground and prior to that thrown through a rather thick Spruce tree.

As she sat there collecting her breath she couldn't help but remember that during the fight most of the smaller Grimm seemed to have vanished. She wasn't sure why but for some reason it felt as if it just happened to them all at once, as if they had the same thought to leave her to fight the Death Stalkers alone.

She didn't understand why but was still a little grateful for it as she had some doubts that she would have been able to beat not only the Death Stalkers but a hundred Grimm as well.

Though she assumed that they had to be going north which might mean they could hit the students in their flank or rear if they turned to hit the Grimm assaulting the Outpost from behind. She had tried the laryngophone but she didn't know if it was in range or broken as no one seemed to respond to her.

Taking a deep breathe she began to get up only, to stop when she hear movement nearby. She stopped to listen but founding that it wasn't the sound of creatures but of men as she could hear the sound of metal clinking and people singing or maybe humming together.

As she stepped out from her tree she was greeted with a sight that she wasn't prepared for. In front of her seemed to be a large crowd of wild but strong looking men with round shields, spears, axes, and swords that wore a motley amount of fur lined leather or metal armor over bare skin.

Yet there was a significant portion of the crowd that had people in large red plate armor, each both at least a foot taller and wider than the average man. On top of that the more she looked at the plated warriors the more it felt like her head was starting to swim till she finally looked away closing her eyes as she counted to ten till she steadied herself.

When she opened her eyes however one of those large plated warriors was standing in front of her with a jagged edge halberd raised up poised to strike. Fusia took a sharp intake as she jumped to the side as the weapon came down smashing into the tree truck she had been leaning against.

The weapon knocked out a sizable chunk of the trunk spraying her in chips or fragments of the tree. Not wasting anytime she pulled her weapon out from its holster and fired in one swift movement.

She narrowed her eyes as her shot sparked off the warrior's breast plate, the halberd came up and she stepped back avoiding it again.

A clink of metal was the only warning she had as a flanged mace struck her left arm from behind and she went sideways to the ground before rolling to her feet again.

Spinning around she lashed out with her whip, the metal cord wrapped around the flanged mace of the second armored warrior. With a click of her thumb however electricity sparked down the length till it reached the mace.

The warrior jerked violently but was unable to let go of the mace then Fusia pulled hard on the whip sending the twitching warrior to the ground. The first warrior came at her with surprising speed and she ducked under the first swipe from the halberd before spinning to her right to avoid the follow up strike.

She raised her shotgun and fired hitting his chest plate again before spinning it one handed working the lever action then firing at his helmet. The warrior jerked back from her strike and Fusia knew she killed him as blood fountained from the crumpled faceplate of the helmet.

Looking around she could see more armor plated warriors surround her; these ones however wielded large shields along with their swords, axes or maces. She fired at one and the dust round cracked off the shields though it looked like it left a dent the size of a golf ball in it.

She needed to get out of there so she tucked her whip away before readying herself then charged forward firing her shotgun to keep their shields up before leaping forward. Her free hand grabbed the top of a shield as she hoisted herself over it and the warrior holding it.

However she wasn't expecting to see a second line of warriors, several of them were holding heavy looking short spears which they raised up. She cursed as they threw them at her just as she took hold of her whip again then lashed out twice with it knocking away two spears before rolling out of the way of the others.

Glancing to the side she could see that some of the spears had hit some of the warriors in the first line. She didn't stay long enough to see if any of them were dead as she started to run in the direction she believed was north.

Behind her she could hear a strange sound, almost like a tight string being release and the next thing she knew an arrow past over her shoulder hitting the tree in front of her. As she ran by it she could see that the arrow was so deep into the tree that the fletching was nearly touching the tree trunk.

A second later, something painful struck her square in the back and she fell forward before rolling to her feet before taking a sharp turn as two more arrows flew through the air where she had been. Yet now she had more armored warriors in front of her so she took a sharp left jumping over a fallen tree then started to climb up a hill.

The breath in her lungs was starting to burn now as she could hear loud guttural shouting of what she assumed was their language as they went after her.

As she crested the hill she was relieved to see that she wasn't that far from the Outpost. She could see the flashes of explosions as in the air above it multiple planes were zooming towards the ground firing whatever weapons they had before they climbed away.

She spun around as she heard something coming up from behind her, time seemed to slow down as her mind or all five senses struggle to comprehend what was coming at her.

The one on her right was a mass of muscle or flesh with various human limbs jutting out from the bottom like a centipede with several large tentacles on top or the sides covered in human teeth and fangs of beasts. A single black eye was situated in the center of its bloated mass.

On her left was something like a beast, a beastly head with a mouth of razor sharp teeth and two mad eyes adorned with a single large horn jutting out from the center of its head.

There were two large curved ebony bones on either side which she suspected was for goring anything in its path with its body like a skinless mass of muscle and tendon with strips of rusted looking plates that were growing out of it.

The last one was biggest; easily six meters tall, it looked both inhuman and human at the same time. As this one was on two legs that at first glance looked human save for the inverted knee joints and ridiculous mass of muscle.

It had an enlarged torso of muscle with skulls that seemed to be growing out of it. Though what disturbed her the most was the fact this skulls still had moving eyes and were in the state of open mouths as if they were screaming.

Its arms were grotesque muscular imitations of a man with the left one ended what seemed to be a blade with sharp looking canine teeth as an edge. The other arm end in a three claws with lastly its head for the most part being mostly smooth bone except for its mouth which opened in a vertical slit of human teeth layered on the inside.

She did the only thing that would come to mind, she fired her shotgun. There was a gush of blood as the dust round struck the lead monstrosity in the chest it gave an all too human scream of pain or roar of angry. She couldn't tell which as it seemed as if multiple people were making those sounds.

The bestial creature roared as it came at her and Fusia jumped over it slinging her whip down to catch onto what she believed was the tusk before pulling herself down onto it's back. It roared in angry before rearing up on its hind legs and she fought to keep her foot.

Behind her three tentacles from the grotesque monster lashed out at her and she fired keeping two away but the third wrapped around her leg. It yanked hard on her leg and she gasped in pain as she fought to keep her grip on her whip but the longer she held it on the more it felt as if her leg was going to rip off.

So she let go of her whip and as she fell away she fired once more into the tentacle that was wrapped around her leg. Blood fountained from the gunshot as it ripped through it splattering her leg in it and as soon as it came into contact she realized that it wasn't normal blood as a burning sensation crawled up her leg.

As she fell to the ground she immediately rolled away as the same tentacle slammed down after her. Getting to her feet she spun the shotgun in one hand before firing it again this time at the main body of the tentacle creature.

More blood squirted out but she jumped aside only to feel something slam into her back and she was propelled forward only to smash into a tree. Her chest hurt and she found it difficult to breathe as she looked over her shoulder then jumped back as the largest monster swung its clawed hand down.

The tree trunk exploded as the monster's clawed hand ripped through it effortlessly. A second later the bestial monster's horn struck her in the side and Fusia was launched a dozen feet back and rolled a few more feet before slamming into a rock.

She struggled to get up and looked down to see her Aura flickering across her body before disappearing. Her blood ran cold as she knew that it meant that it was spent. Looking up she could see the three monsters arrayed before her and she realized that she was dead so she closed her eyes waiting the inevitable.

Yet it never came so she opened her eyes to see that she was surrounded by the red armored warriors from before however there was a different one standing in above her on the rock she had hit. Every instinct in her body screamed at her saying that he was dangerous.

"Take her." A voice, one that she realized came from the warrior above her, said.

Fear gripped her heart as metal gauntlets grabbed her, she heaved and struggled while screaming but she was unable to shake them all off as she was dragged back down the hill.

---

Meanwhile…

Jaune watched as the Avengers zoomed down again strafing the clearing and surrounding forest. Thankfully Martin had ignited a green smoke canister to indicate that they were friendly as the Avengers strafed the trees behind their hill.

Though that didn't stop some of the Grimm trying to attack them but team RWBY and his own team took the brunt of the attack. Excluding Fusia who was still missing Jaune thought it was a miracle that no one was injured or killed yet.

As he looked at the smoldering wreck of the Outpost's west wall, he realized that their good luck was in the minority in this situation.

Overhead the Avengers moved along strafing further and further out into the forest. The soldiers around him started to get up so he did as well.

"What's going on?" Ren asked as he appeared next to Jaune.

"I'd reckon we've got out new orders." As if on cue Martin's voice came through their ear pieces.

"Form up by squads and move out." She said so Jaune collapsed his shield before returning it to his belt thought he kept the sword out just in case as the group moved down the hill.

The clearing had been torn asunder by the relentless firepower of both the Outpost and Avengers. There was very little of the ground that was still even, as holes and ditches had formed from the multiple detonations of high explosive munitions.

In those holes and ditches they could see the mangled forms of the attacking Grimm. While the strafing runs of the Avengers had eliminated a great deal of bodies which subsequently cleared the air. There was still a small dark fog in the area and Jaune found it difficult to see in some places where the slowly dissolving bodies of Grimm were the thickest.

After what seemed like forever they ran into the fourth platoon led by a Faunus woman by the name of Trita Shimman. Her platoon looked much more haggard than their own, Jaune could hear a collective gasp from his friends when they saw that a number of soldiers were carrying or helping wounded comrades.

"How many did you lose?" Sgèin asked, though he kept his helmet on supposedly the sheer concentration of the black miasma made people without their Aura unlocked sick, as the two platoons closed in on each other. Jaune was close enough so he pretended to look away as he listened.

"Six dead and twelve wounded, though I reckon it's going to be eight dead. Cicedu and Vello are in pretty bad shape. What about you Sgèin?" The woman asked through her own helmet, which made her voice sound a little distorted.

"We got lucky, aside from one missing we've got no injured or dead and even managed to pick up a tank crew."

"I ain't surprised that the High Lord's son is good in a scrap but what about those other kids." The Lieutenant asked.

"Honestly from what I've seen, it feels like the High Lord's son is probably the weakest amongst them." Sgèin said and Jaune winced a little at the brutal honesty as Shimman whistled.

"Damn but I guess that's to be expected; even his sister was giving proper training before she left the Kingdom but you also said you were missing someone, who is it?"

"It's the professional Huntress that came with them; we don't know where she is."

"The Captain isn't going to like that."

"Yea well, we had other problems at the time to deal with."

"Speaking of problems, we need to get inside before it gets dark." Shimman said and the two parted.

"Alright, fourth squad takes points; second and third focus on the wounded while first takes the rear." Shimman called out as Sgèin and Martin gathered their platoon.

"We'll take the sides, Jaune's team and Martin have the left flank and Ruby your team will be with us on the right remember to watch your surroundings." Sgèin said as the tank crew went to assist with carrying the wounded soldiers.

"Uh, Sergeant, what's with this precaution? The area is clear of Grimm." Pyrrha asked.

"Sort of, we know that they aren't attacking but there's a chance that not all the bodies here are actually dead some of the smarter Grimm may have used the bodies of the slain to conceal themselves."

"Why would they do that?" Weiss asked.

"Obviously so they can ambush us, failing that they use them to hide so they can live. Though that thought only occurs to those that are smart enough to do so." Martin explained.

"That's enough; we need to get going Martin." Sgèin said and the group split up. Pyrrha walked behind Jaune as they traversed the broken ground. Off to the far north and west they could hear the soft thunder of what they now figured to be fighting.

Pyrrha couldn't help but note the piles of mangled corpses of Grimm whenever they passed by a crater or ditch. Remembering what the others had said she kept Miló and Akoúo in hand. She couldn't help but feel a sense of unease and urgency.

One part due to the battlefield they were in and the other part in regard to the injured that they trying to get back to the Outpost.

Speaking of which she could see just how damaged it was as they came reached less than a hundred feet from the walls. Everywhere she looked she could see chunks of wood ripped out or frayed with claw marks covering almost the entire surface.

High above the walls black smoke billowed out from the now smoldering towers that had been damaged in the fighting. However the more she focused the more she swore she could hear people yelling or crying out on the inside, looking around she couldn't see the faces of the soldiers but she could tell by their body language that they were tensing up in anticipation.

After what seemed like forever they found themselves outside a gate on the east side with the surrounding walls relatively intact in comparison to the western wall.

The gate swung inwards and the groups walked inside, the scent of something metallic hit Pyrrha's nose like a sucker punch. But it wasn't like most metallic sensations that she was used to but it was something that she still recognized.

"Blood." She whispered and in the corner of her vision she could see Jaune, Nora and Ren glance at her.

On either side they could see soldiers sitting around small fires in front a row of wood lodges, most of them had their helmets or parts of their upper armor off. They all looked exhausted with more than a few staring off into some unknown distance.

As they walked past them they came to a small clearing around the tallest structure within the walls. There they could see tents had been set up and it was here that they saw a sight that they would never forget for as long as they live.

Under those tents were the dead or dying, men and women in grey overalls with white aprons that worked diligently to save as many people as they could. Each one had so much blood on them it was easier to believe that someone had just tossed a bucket of red paint on each of them.

A dozen of these people came out from the tents towards them, stripped down to undershirts and trousers. Pyrrha watched as they shouted out things as they checked the wounded that the soldiers had been carrying, of the twelve only eight were taken.

"Wait, what about the others?" Ruby asked as the soldiers around them started to walk away, the four people that hadn't been taken were carried away.

"It's best if you pay them no heed, now come with me." Martin said after a moment and their platoon followed Shimman's platoon.

When they finally reached the edge of the field hospital Pyrrha could see another group of soldiers huddled next to the southern wall where dozens of Chimeras had been parked. Though she did find it was kind of strange to not hear the armored transports not rumbling loudly.

"We'll take our break here. Jaune, Ruby, make sure your teams get food in their bellies and check your equipment before getting some rest." Martin said.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ruby asked and Martin jerked a thumb over her shoulder at Sgèin.

"Gonna have to go tell the Captain that we're missing Fusia." She said and Jaune grimaced at that as the two sergeants left them.

"That's right; we need to go find Fusia." Ruby said softly and Jaune glanced at her.

"I wouldn't do anything rash Ruby, there's still probably a lot of Grimm out there besides we don't know where she is."

"Come on Jaune, she's one of us, if she's lost it's our duty to find her."

"Ruby our duty is to hold this Outpost, I know that, you know that and Fusia knows that. Abandoning the mission to look for her wouldn't help that."

"Jaune you can't be serious." He rounded on her but the young girl stood her ground looking at him.

"I'm very serious Ruby can't you see how many people are dead or dying here already?"

"Fine then, we'll go look for her and you stay here to help defend the Outpost." Ruby said calmly and Jaune shook his head.

"You don't know the terrain like them and they're not going to give you a guide to go running around the southern forest looking for Fusia." Ruby just shook her head as she walked back to her team. Over the next thirty minutes Jaune found a spot sit and watched as the soldiers checked their weapons, armor or ate some food out of vacuum sealed rations.

There were also moments when he could hear Valkyries outside the Outpost and after asking some of the other soldiers about it they told him that they were dropping off supplies since the Outpost was nearly empty of munitions.

The moans and crying of the injured also started to die down but even still he had a hard time shutting them out. Pyrrha who had taken a seat next to him shut her eyes as she turned her head towards him and he felt terrible at seeing the anguish on her face.

Nora and Ren weren't doing so much better the two teens looked rather pale. When Jaune looked around for Ruby and her team he couldn't find them all he could see were soldiers.

"Uh oh." Jaune said and the others looked at him.

"What?" Pyrrha asked

"They're gone."

"Who's gone?"

"Team RWBY."

"I'm sure they just went to go look around the Outpost."

"I would be inclined to believe that if Ruby hadn't suggested that they go looking for Fusia out in the forests." Pyrrha seemed to think a moment before replying.

"Oh."

---

Elsewhere…

Team RWBY moved through the trees with grace, Ruby did feel a little bad at leaving behind Jaune and the others but she knew that they would have stopped them from looking for Fusia.

However Jaune was right that there were still quite a few Grimm left in the forests even after the Arcadians strafed with forests. Twice they had run into smalls groups of Grimm which they swiftly eliminated but the sheer amount was surprising after the defeat they suffered at the Outpost earlier.

She shook her head clear of those thoughts as she jumped over a rock and nearly slipped on the ground when she saw Blake signaling for her to stop.

The team's organization for moving had been Blake at the front as she had the necessary speed, maneuverability, and eyesight to spot things first.

While Ruby came second with her speed and reaction timing with Weiss coming in third since she was slower but had much better control at moving through the trees than Yang who brought up the rear.

"What is it?" Ruby asked as she crouched down next to their Faunus teammate as they hid behind a rock cluster.

"Movement, four hundred feet ahead of us, I'm not really sure what or who they are but they're coming this way." Blake said softly and Ruby stood up to look over the rock. She could see a line of shadowy figures, at first she thought they were Grimm but after a moment she realized that they were people. Admittedly dressed in strange clothes and armor but people nonetheless.

"Do you think they're Arcadians?" Blake asked as Ruby crouched down again.

"I'm not sure, they look, odd."

"Why are we stopped?" Weiss called out as she appeared now from behind a set of trees and Ruby beckoned her over with a wave of her hand.

The white hair girl crouched as she ran forward; the normally pristine girl was a little sweaty now. Ruby remembered how she was out of breath during their Beowolf encounter in the Emerald Forest, maybe she should come up with a cardio regime for the two of them to work on together.

"They're getting closer, what do we do?" Blake asked and Ruby realized she was looking at her.

"We should stay out of sight." Weiss said.

"Maybe but they could see Outlanders, I remember Jaune telling me how Outlanders were fleeing north from because the Grimm were attacking villages and towns so maybe they're refugees." Ruby said.

"I don't know about that Ruby, they're all relatively well armed and armored plus they look rather, abrasive." Weiss said as she looked over at that point Yang joined them as well.

"What are we looking at?" She asked casually as she strolled up to them and Weiss pointed in the direction of the oncoming mass. Yang peered out and Ruby could see after a few moments of looking her curious expression turned sour before turning into rage before she crouched down.

"We need to move." She said and the three girls looked at her at the sudden seriousness in her voice.

"Yang?"

"They're bandits or marauders." Yang said as she active Ember Celica and Blake frowned but she pulled out Gambol Shroud as well.

"How do you know?" She asked, Yang looked at them and they could all see that her eyes had changed colors.

"Look again, to our 1 o'clock, there's something you have to see." The three girls stood up to see what was in that direction. What they saw was something that made each one of want to vomit.

A few hundred feet away, six of men were pulling a cart of sorts along behind them was a familiar person that was strung up on a wooden eight star symbol.

"It can't be." Blake whispered as it became clear that the person strung up was Fusia Aster. The Huntress was tied by arms and legs with her head down.

Her hair obscured her face but it was clear that she wasn't at alive at how loosely her head moved as the cart wobbled on the uneven ground. Though the more telling sign was the fact that her torso had been mutilated with her ribs broken open and her entrails hung loosely from her body or on the limbs of the star symbol.

It was at that moment that Blake picked up another sound, at first she wasn't sure what it was as it seemed like a low rumble but as the oncoming mass came closer she realized that they were humming. She didn't understand what they were humming about but the more she tried to listen the more her head felt fuzzy.

As the sound rose Blake screwed her eyes shut as she tried to shut the sound out, yet it continued to grow louder and louder. She became aware that her heart was beating so loud that it along with the humming was all she could hear.

Someone put a hand on her shoulder and started to shake her but she didn't hear them as she just focused on the sound. Then there was a voice, she wasn't sure whose voice it was but it started as a whisper the words were indistinct but she knew it was talking to her. She rose up breaking out of the grip of whoever had a hand on her.

The voice shifted from one to two then to four then began to grow almost like a chorus of voices. She looked out to the trees and noticed something in the corner of her vision just enough to get noticed but not enough to be seen clearly.

At that moment something hit her cheek and she took a deep breath as if she just surfaced from underwater. Blinking rapidly she looked around to see Yang grabbing her shoulder with her right hand stretched back to slap her again.

"What was that for?" She asked and she could see Ruby swallow as if she was startled by something.

"Blake, are you okay?" She asked and Blake frowned.

"Of course I am." She said but Yang shook her head.

"Trust us when we say it didn't look like that."

"What like what?"

"Blake your eyes kind of just glazed over like you weren't really there." Ruby said.

"What?"

"It looked like you were in a trance." Weiss explained.

"I was?"

"Huh, I guess I was." She said aloud in a matter of fact tone after thinking about it for a moment then Weiss cleared her throat.

"There's something else." Weiss added and Blake looked at her.

"You were humming." At that moment the four of them realized that the humming had died down. Yang was the first to react by spinning around.

On the other side of the rock she could see several of the large armored warriors. Their armor had a rusted red look while being adorned with spikes, horned helmets, with intricate carvings on the armor with large square shields and various large weapons that they held in one hand.

She yelled as she swung twice, the movement trigger both gauntlets which fired red dust based shotgun shells.

Two of the warriors brought their shields up and didn't even staggered back from the force. Yang narrowed her eyes as she could see that the shield had points that glowed a soft red where the shells hit but didn't look close to being breeched.

She charged forward slamming a fist at the closer of the two; she gritted her teeth a little as she put a dent right in the center of the shield that sent stress fractures up and down the shield. While at the same time feeling a sharp pang that traveled up her own arm.

In the corner of her eye she saw the other warrior swinging down at her so she twisted her body and swung up hitting the sword arm halfway down. The vambrace crumbled a little and a part of her mind realized something very important but she lost that thought as the warrior slammed his shield into her with a grunt.

As Yang jumped back the first one stabbed at her and she twisted aside again then sent a left hook that took the man in the side of the head. Yang felt something wet hit her cheek as he fell away from her but she ignored it as she charged the other warrior.

When she was close to him again this time the warrior changed tactics as he pushed to meet her, she slammed her right fist forward expecting to send him back but instead he angle his shield to the side letting her fist slid off the shield.

As Yang stepped past him she stopped and sent a back kick at where she figured he'd be while she was right her kick didn't land as he battered her leg aside but she used that momentum to spin quickly around to see that she had an open shot at his chest.

Her fist hammered in leaving a relatively small dent that left a noticeable horizontal crack in the plate roughly the size of her fist. The warrior dropped to one knee and turned his horned helm to her Yang was surprised that she couldn't actually see his face.

Yet she didn't let that stop her from hammering another fist into the face plate and finally realized what she had done. The helmet along with the head inside crumpled under the impact of her strike and the warrior fell limply onto the ground.

As she stared in shock at her fallen foes, Weiss had already leapt up using a glyph before launching herself down at one of the warriors but as the warrior raised his shield to block she had already summoned another glyph to use a platform to jump over him.

As she landed up the ground behind him she stabbed downward with Myrtenaster to form a large shard of ice that struck the warrior from behind. Then she stood up and summoned more ice glyphs before pelting the other warriors behind him with shards of ice that drove them back.

Ruby sliced at a pair of warriors as well, her weapon giving her all the reach she needed to keep them at bay which was all she could do. As despite her obviously more advanced weapon she would have figured it would have given her the advantage but they blocked her strikes with relative ease.

However the two warriors began to push together towards her. Ruby had to backpedal constantly keeping them at an optimal range as she had the feeling that being too close would go poorly for her.

As one parried her scythe she spun it around quickly hammering the backside into his knee which made an oddly satisfying crunch of what she assumed was metal. Before spinning around slam the back end into the side of his helmet.

She then jumped up with the help of her semblance and Crescent Rose in order to avoid the low sweep of the second armored warrior.

In the moment she hung in the air she quickly aimed Crescent Rose down at him and fired. She first hit his pauldron which jerked him to side before firing two more times the second hit the gorget which sent him to his knees while the final shot hit the back of his head sending him to the ground completely.

Blake on the other hand took her frustration and confusion from earlier out on the two armored warriors. As she evade a counter thrust to sneak a quick slash under the guard of one of them that only left a long furrow across his plate, she had to admit they weren't half bad their sword and shield work was far above Jaunes.

Though to be fair he was the only real sword and shield person she could think of, as her old partner didn't fit the role while Pyrrha was a mixed bag of skills.

"We need to fall back!" Ruby called out from the side and Blake looked around to see that they were getting surrounded by dozens if not hundreds of armored warriors.

"Go!" Yang called out as she turned to run. Weiss readied her weapon before summoning a large ice wall that spread out in a semicircle from her as the others run.

As she turned around however she saw what had happened to the person she had struck earlier, he was impaled on the end of her ice shard with blood trailing down the sides of the ice staining it.

Her head began to swim as she stumbled past the rock, behind her she was vaguely aware that these strangers were coming after her. However she was able to steady herself long enough to summon a glyph then began to move after the others gaining distance between her and the mess that they had left behind.

Behind them the warriors surrounded their fallen, walking up to the scene the Sorcerer Lord was flanked by two of his Lieutenants; he looked upon the corpses then up at the ice wall and laughed softly.

"What does this mean?" Ghemzetts asked by his side. The taller red plated warrior was seething with anger, though whether it was based on the fact his men had lost or died at the hands of what seemed to be a fellow sorcerer he was not sure.

"It means that the Winds do blow here." He replied and the third warrior nodded as he inspected the body of a warrior whose helmet had been smashed flat with the head inside nothing but pulp.

"I saw them fight my lord, there were four of them, each wielding unique weapons and fighting in peculiar manners that I dare say it suggests an indirect if not just an unaware connection to the Pantheon." Blaokrazyx said and the sorcerer frowned inside his helm. Of the two with him he did not trust him of the two as he was far smarter than he let on while also being very observant.

"So what is it that you're suggesting?" He asked evenly.

"I believe that some of these people can, perhaps, be swayed to recognize their folly in fighting us."

"That may have some merit that we may investigate later on but for that is out of our reach." He said and Blaokrazyx looked puzzled.

"Can you not smell that fear in the air?" He asked and Blaokrazyx shook his head.

"Emotions have power just as names or truths though here they hold a much greater weight than what we've experienced as here there are creatures that hunt using them for in this world those emotions have shaped it to a certain extent."

"What does that mean for us then?" He asked and the Sorcerer sighed contentedly before turning to look out at the assembled warriors that waited for his orders.

"Fear is a powerful emotion as it is the one that drives men to the madness of self-preservation that cannot be reasoned, they'll fight to their dying breath or seek out power to control life or even cheat death. As such we cannot show them the truth." He smiled inside his helmet as the anticipation began to build.

"Instead we shall show them the error of their ways with blood and death!" He called out and the forest rang with the calls for war.

---

"I guess I should post this chapter up, I wonder what's the last day I updated the story?"

*Last update 11/23/2018*

"Hmm and what's today's date?"

*Checks*

Fuck...

Oh boy, it's been a while, what's worse is the fact I've been sitting on this chapter for a better part of six weeks I just got distracted because of the fact I've finally transfered into a University but don't worry I swear I'll get the next chapter out soon (I hope)

Anyways go ahead and leave a review about what you think about the chapter, was there anything you liked, disliked, curious about, or if you want you can just berate me for taking so long to post the chapter.

Till Next time!