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.

15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Pyrrha stumbled through the trees; daylight was just starting to creep over the horizon. Behind her Ren and Nora were not far behind with team RWBY somewhere off to their right.

In front of them was a sizable creek, according to some of the soldiers they weren't far from the Turin River which also meant they weren't far from the central outpost.

On the other side of the stream were more Arcadian soldiers and from what Pyrrha gathered was that they were apparently the reinforcements that are supposed to cover their retreat.

She wished though that they had simply come to them instead. As the three of them along with team RWBY had been a part of the Arcadian rearguard fighting in a number of skirmishes with the encroaching vanguard of the enemy or Norsii as she heard many of the Arcadians call them.

While Nora and Ren didn't seem to have a problem with it, Pyrrha found in that time that fighting the enemy was challenging. Though not in the traditional sense, she was training to be a Huntress, the shield against the dark yet she couldn't bring herself to strike out at the harassing cavalry as the others had.

It reminded her of what warrior from the Outpost had told her about her lack of conviction. Even Jaune had killed a number of men in that fight. Sure she probably crippled everyone she fought against during that time but she was fairly certain that she didn't intentional draw any blood.

Though she didn't know the feelings or thoughts from team RWBY but she suspected that the only others to have a qualm would be Ruby and Weiss. Even then she wasn't sure as Weiss seemed like she was more than able to come up with a rational explanation for this while Ruby she couldn't even come close to hazard a guess.

The young girl was even more idealistic than her so she might have similar troubles with it while at the same time she might have some weird ideal of a necessary evil.

At first she believed that it was the right thing to do regardless of how they were killing the Arcadians. As to her doing that would mean dropping to their level yet her friends did just that.

Then during the night more people died in the fighting but she still held herself back from killing any of them willingly. She didn't know how much longer she could justify it as it seemed like every hour someone else died that she might have been able to stop if she tried harder.

A part of her rationalized that Huntsmen and Huntresses also killed people but to her the option should still be avoided at all cost.

Yet even more telling was a part of her that told her not to become a murderer.

"Pyrrha?" Ren asked interrupting her thoughts and she looked at him. The magenta eyed teen looked exhausted but there was something about his eyes that spoke of a certain level of resolve that for some reason baffled her.

"Is there something you need?" She asked and he shook his head.

"Not really, I was just going to ask if you're doing alright."

"I'm fine Ren."

"Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because it would be normal for you to not be fine Pyrrha, you've experienced something that very few people our age have ever experienced." Ren said as they looked around. Nearby was a stream and on the other side were more Arcadian soldiers who were helping them across.

"You say that but these people apparently fight like this all the time." Pyrrha said.

"That's true and it's both awe inspiring and terrifying." Ren said.

"It makes you wonder who would win in a stand up fight, Atlas or Arcadia." Nora said from the side and Pyrrha shuddered.

"I know it's something I wouldn't want to see."

"You think we should go find Jaune now?" Ren asked as the three of them stood there watching the soldiers cross the stream on top of a bridge of logs that looked to be freshly cut.

"Excuse me." Someone said and the three of them turned to see female soldier without a helmet on and Pyrrha couldn't help but notice the green scales around her neck.

"Yes?" Ren asked.

"Your presence has been requested."

"Requested by whom?" Ren asked.

"High Prince Arc." Pyrrha exchanged looks with Ren and Nora who gave her a wink.

"Take us to him."

---

Ten Minutes Later…

The Beacons students approached a relatively small clearing. A number of soldiers were wrapping razor wire along most of the perimeter. The majority of them however were digging dozens of small holes into the ground at the base of a small hill.

As they reached the hill Pyrrha looked up to see a familiar figure sitting on a rock. Jaune had Crocea Mors on his lap as he rubbed what looked to be a rag over the blade.

Pyrrha felt a wave of relief flood her, she didn't realize how much stress was in her as she saw her partner alive and moving.

Though at the same time she couldn't help but think back to the look of agony on his face as he lay on the blood soaked ground after getting hit by that strange bolt of energy from the Mage Warrior as the other Arcadians had called him.

"Oh good you're not dead." Yang said as they reached Jaune.

"Thanks for the concern Yang." Jaune said dryly and the buxom blond put an arm around him.

"Think nothing of it; we blondes have to stick together." Yang said before squeezing Jaune's right bicep.

"Though I can think of some else we can do together." She said only to have Ruby come between them.

"That's gross Yang."

"What? I was gonna suggest we spar." She said.

"Yang, we're in the middle of the forest with an enemy army somewhere behind us that's fighting the Arcadians to the death. I don't think we have time for you to beat up Jaune, who might I add has already gotten beaten up badly." Weiss said placing her hands on her hips, the heiress unsurprisingly looked the least dirty out of everyone but Jaune couldn't help but note the darkening under her eyes from the lack of sleep.

Taking a second to look at all of them he could see that all of his friends looked exhausted, even Pyrrha and Yang looked like they were ready to fall over. He didn't say anything as they looked at each other.

"So, do you think you can fight?" Nora asked breaking the relative silence between the eight of them.

"I'm not sure, can you check for me? It seems my Scroll got busted when I got hit earlier." Jaune asked and Ren pulled out his own scroll.

"Well, the good news is your Aura isn't broken or if it was then it's already recovered but honestly Jaune you don't have a lot to work with at the moment." The magenta eyed teen said showing his scroll to Jaune, looking under his image Jaune could see that there was barely any red left in the bar.

Though Jaune could also see that after him Nora had the least amount of Aura as it was dark orange with Ren coming next and lastly Pyrrha who also had a noticeable portion missing.

"So what's the plan now?" Blake asked and the others nodded as well.

"Well, for one we're going to continue northward on Wiscard's orders while the 2nd and 4th start pulling back to draw them in. Supposedly three more companies were shifted out from under Major Hauck's push on the Grimm up north and are going to either help Wiscard defeat the Norsii or hold them in position until more units are deployed here."

"So what exactly is the plan to win this fight?" Yang asked and Jaune shrugged.

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Blake asked and Jaune shrugged again.

"What do you want me to say? That we've got a full proof plan that will sweep the enemy off their feet before finishing them off before they even realize what hit them? Because that's not something I can do since I'm not in command here nor do I have any real military experience so I wouldn't trust myself to command these soldiers and lastly I'm a student of Beacon trying to become a Huntsman not a field commander of the kingdom of Arcadia." Jaune said and Blake held her hands up.

"Don't go snipping at me Jaune Arc; I'm not the one that's ignorant to my Kingdom's enemies." Before Jaune could say anything Pyrrha stepped in front of him.

"Jaune relax, she didn't mean anything by it." The tall red head said and narrowed her eyes at Blake who looked down at the ground before looking back at Jaune.

"I'm sorry Jaune." She said and Jaune slowly nodded.

"Blake its fine, we're all stressed out here; anyways I can say that we're not the only ones getting sent north. The 5th Company is in no shape to fight out in the open like this, the count is already in and there are only sixty of them left. So in a little bit there should be some Valkyries arriving to take us to the Central Outpost." Jaune explained and Ruby grimaced.

"As great as that sounds, I don't exactly relish the thought of being back within an Outpost here." The young girl said.

"I can't blame you but the Central Outpost is closer to a fort than anything else."

"You know, you say you don't know anything but here you are just spouting random facts like that." Yang said and Jaune rolled his eyes.

"Yang, Martin told us that same thing when we were at the Outpost." Ren said and Yang looked at her partner with confusion.

"Did she really tell us that?" She asked and Blake shrugged.

"Well to be fair, you four had already left the Outpost by that point." Pyrrha said and Yang just stood silently for a moment before shrugging.

"Meh."

"Come on, let's go find Martin." Jaune said as he turned around.

"High Prince." Someone called out and Pyrrha looked to her left to see a tall man in full armor watching them.

"Ah, Captain Sayer, what can I help you with?"

"I just came here to inform you that the Valkyries are on their way so get ready for dust off in ten." The Captain said before turning to walk away leaving the Beacon students standing there.

"So I guess we should just sit here?" Blake asked and no one said anything as they just sat down on the ground. Jaune noticed that the others didn't really pay much attention to the soldiers that continued working nor did they really pay much heed to the distant crackles of small arms fire in the forest.

A part of him realized that something in all of them had stripped away and for that he felt nothing but remorse.

---

Elsewhere…

Centurion Lais Tava stood nearby as Governor Kagiris went over the military report for a second time. Outside of the building, the capital of the Hurin Valleys was abuzz with activity at the news that the Archenemy had been not only spotted but also how they put the 13th Brigade's forces in a tight spot in the western valley.

In keeping with her duty she now stood silently behind the Governor, her claymore held point down while four of her Comitatus Praetorians stood in each corners of the room.

Outside the other sixteen Legionaries protected the immediate hallway along with the floors both above and below where the Governor was located. In addition she had ordered the building's Variegatum Company to be in full kit for additional security.

"Fucking damn it." Kagiris snapped as he threw the data slate across the room only to shatter against a wall.

"How the fuck did they sneak up on us?" Kagiris snapped looking around the room. Lore, Mir, Verdot and Major Rappiot representing Meidner who was still in Toutatis monitoring the battle stood before the upset Governor. Along with his assistant, Aina, the quiet girl stood beside Tava.

"I thought we had Irkalla under control? There shouldn't have been any way for an enemy force to make it through the Northern Provinces let alone given the chance to construct a fucking fleet to land on Sanus without someone noticing."

"Sir, if I may say something." Rappiot said and Kagiris waved away.

"Just spit it out already."

"Yes sir, well, it might be a possible that during the initial stages of fighting that the Host was able to break off a smaller force that went east till they found the coast. Plus in those earlier days the other Northern Provinces were contending with Grimm skirmishes which would have kept long range reconnaissance patrols from spotting them traveling."

"That's not entirely implausible but judging by what Meidner is saying there has to be at least four to five thousand of them. With a force like that they would have had to stop and raid in order to get the supplies which means they would have needed to be raiding supply depots or small towns to get the needed materials which should have put them on someone's auspex." Kagiris said after a moment's thought.

"Wait, didn't the 9th Brigade report that they had encountered Norsii just south of the Vacuoan Desert attacking Outland towns? Those towns would have given ample supplies to them." Verdot ask chiming in for the first time since arriving.

"I read that report from Karsidottir and while that's true there's a catch to that. The report wasn't that long ago, the time it would take to have gotten that far south let alone be here at this time from the initial date on that report means that either they have another means of travel outside the norms of reality or someone else is helping them." Mir countered.

"So what I'm hearing is that they're traveling by some abnormal method which to me would suggest one of three things. First there are other rifts that are now emerging throughout Remnant, second they have a Sorcerer that's allowing them to jump from place to place and last but not least one of the Four Kingdoms has somehow been tainted." Lore finally said and Kagiris ran a hand through his hair.

"So you're telling me that now only do I have a Grimm horde to deal but now a Norsii attack with either access to a network of portals throughout Remnant, a Sorcerer, or one of the Four Kingdoms has fallen. Fuck me in the ass guys, we can figure this one out later. Rappiot what does Meidner have in mind with dealing with this cluster fuck?" Kagiris asked and the obviously nervous Major cleared his throat.

"Well sir, the plan as far as I'm aware of at this point is to redeploy Wiscard's Battalion to handle this threat along his southern flank while maintaining a hold on the remaining two Outposts. With the Grimm still not broken in the northern ranges he's hoping to either buy himself enough time for the Air Force to not only defeat the Grimm as Hauck pins them in but resupply and rearm in time to provide overwhelming air support for units engaging the Norsii."

"Okay but why has Meidner pulled three whole companies out from under Major Haucks? If Hauck is supposed to pin the Grimm down long enough for the Air Force to bomb the shit out of them how is he going to do that with less than half his battalion?"

"Well, in truth, there's a catch to the plan. Hauck brought this up during the initial planning of this strategy that the most surefire way to draw the Grimm in was to put the initial Battalion in a difficult state prior to the start of the operation thus by rapidly reducing the force in question this would put the remaining troops on edge thus giving the Grimm their main source to hone in on. Originally this was to be done by splitting the battalion up by having three companies put off to the sides with the excuse that they were only to engage anything that was trying to flee from the bombardment. Though now with the Norsii incursion Meidner and Hauck now have a legitimate reason to tell his Battalion about why they were losing three of their companies at the last moment before deploying against the Grimm." Rappiot explained and Kagiris just watched before opening a drawer from which he pulled out a cigar.

"So, what you're telling me is that." He began as he lighted the cigar up then took a deep drag.

"You're all fucking crazy. Who else knew about this?" Kagiris asked and Rappiot shrugged.

"All the Battalion Commanders and their seconds though they were given liberty to discuss this with any of their Company Captains since Meidner had said that any of the battalions could be in that situation later down the line if it worked."

"Do you realize how fucked up that sounds? If it wasn't for the situation we were in now I would have Tava drag Meidner in here to explain what the fuck she's thinking."

"Sir, with all due respect." Rappiot began but Kagiris slammed a hand down on his desk rattling the contents on top interrupting the Major.

"Let me finish damn it." No one said again at that moment as Kagiris leaned back in his chain rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"If word somehow leaked out that Hauck's battalion was about to be essentially put up as a meaty bait for the Grimm to gnaw on, I'm willing to bet that a decent amount of the soldiers would probably protest or in some fringe cases rebel. You have to remember that they're not all like the diehard veterans of the 1st Army or loyal lunatics like Karsidottir has on her leash. Forget about those that have a shared ancestry with Arcadia as that doesn't mean the goals of everyone else within the Hurin Valleys align with ours." Kagiris sighed once as he leaned back in his chair.

"Look, I've had enough of this; I want all of you to be on top of your shit. So that means keeping me informed about anything that pops up on your radar or if you decide to do some crazy military strategy as I've got enough problems on my table as it is. Rappiot tell Meidner that she's to see me at her earliest convenience. Now get out of my sight." Tava watched as the four of them left the room, as soon as the door was closed Kagiris started to curse softly to himself but her helmet was able to pick up the words easily enough before he spun around in his chair to face her.

"Well then, let's talk about your request."

---

Elsewhere…

Jaune held onto a strap as he stood on the lowered back ramp of the Valkyrie, several hundred feet to the south a cluster of explosions boomed out as the withdrawing Infantry Companies let ripped with their planted explosives.

He didn't know how many they got with that trap but he didn't doubt that it bloodied the nose of the Norsii advance. A part of him still felt oddly uncomfortable with that term, something about it seemed to make his ears ring.

"And here I thought they were gonna stand and fight them." Pyrrha said loudly from behind him as she slowly moved next to him making sure to keep a hand on the strap that the rear gunner had handed to her.

"I'm glad they're moving away from this, there weren't enough of them to hold a proper defense against Norsii. Remember what we saw at the Outpost? There had to be more than a thousand of them and considering how quick they caught up to us I wouldn't be surprised if there were other groups waiting beyond our sight amongst the trees when we broke out from the Outpost." Jaune replied before looking over his shoulder as the gunner tapped his arm.

"Sir! We're closing the ramp; I need you to step back." He called out, Jaune and Pyrrha both moved back as the ramp began to close. A small strip of interior lights turned on bathing the group with pale light. Aside from the Beacon students there was an Arcadian squad that was seated across from them.

Sitting down Jaune looked across from himself to see the soldiers were almost entirely asleep, though he didn't really blame them. As far as he was aware, none of them had gotten any sleep save for himself when he was unconscious.

Inspecting the soldiers visually Jaune could see that they were in various states of appearance. The most intact looking of them merely had some dirt and faint scratches on his armor. Going down the line the dirt and scratches became bolder with rustic stains on their armor or clothes which Jaune was able to identify as dried blood.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha's voice cut once more across his thoughts and he looked at her. The pale red head was watching him with her vivid green eyes and Jaune had to shake his head a little to remember that she seemed to want something.

"Yea?"

"I haven't really asked how you've been feeling since our fight in the Outpost." She said and Jaune looked down at his hands. They were covered in grime and dried blood though Jaune was certain that it wasn't his.

"I know it must have been tough." Pyrrha began and Jaune chuckled softly.

"Pyrrha, I don't think I'm the only one that had a hard time during this. You were carrying that fight for me and even then the others had just as difficult fights if not harder. Look at Yang, she lost her Aura and has a bandage across her midriff, half a centimeter more and she would have been gutted instantly."

"Yea okay but that doesn't mean I can't ask you how you're doing."

"No but that doesn't mean I can't ask why you're so intent on asking me."

"What do you want from me Jaune? I'm trying to be a good friend and partner here."

"Which I appreciate but please Pyrrha, I just don't want to talk about it. There are so many things that have or are happening that I can barely get my head around."

"I know that's why I wanted to talk to you."

"Look if you're trying to see if I have any answers to what's going on all I can say is what I've been saying forever. Which is I don't actually know what's going on."

"That's fine; I accept that but that doesn't mean I don't want to know what you do know."

"That's a little bit harder to explain but fine, I'll play along, let's talk. First the Creatures of Grimm were seen advancing from the west towards the Hurin Valleys in numbers that had Army worried about. Right?"

"Right and the Arcadians seemed to have been able to handle the threat pretty well."

"Yet from what from what I was able to discern they were completely caught off guard not once but twice. They didn't expect such a larger force in the first place then they were surprised when they appeared so close to the Outposts." Jaune said and Pyrrha nodded.

"Right I get that but what about what happens afterwards."

"And that's where it gets tricky, it seems as if everyone here is fully aware who and what sort of foe we're fighting against."

"Like, I'm not surprised that these, Norsii, have melee weapons as that's something we have as well. Yet despite the apparent difference in the sort of technology both sides were using it seemed as if their weapons and armor were a match. The plate armored warriors apparently can withstand a decent amount of small arms fire and even taking a hit or two by the likes of Nora or Yang."

"Plus, it seems that none of them have Aura."

"That's true none of them had their Aura unlocked yet they didn't seem baffled when they fought against the soldiers with their Aura unlocked from Madeg's company or us for that matter."

"Do you think it has to do with their leader? He didn't have Aura but it appears that he's got more than one semblance."

"That's something I don't know Pyrrha, that's the end of whatever I can think of rationally."

"Well, then where do you think those monsters came from? They couldn't have been Grimm right?"

"No, I think they're something else entirely. I remember that someone said Neverborn when they appeared."

"So what are they?"

"I don't know but that's something I hope to discuss with either Meidner or Kagiris."

"What are you two youngsters talking about?" Nora asked leaning into view from the other side of Pyrrha.

"Just recapping the events I guess." Jaune said and the short hammer wielder nodded.

"That's cool but did she tell you about how I single handily saved the day?"

"Uh, well, I, uh, no, she didn't." Nora narrowed her eyes at Pyrrha.

"That's pretty rude."

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said as she looked down and Nora punched Pyrrha's arm.

"Sheesh Pyrrha, I was just kidding."

"Oh."

"I don't know who's worse at jokes, you or Weiss."

"Hey!" The white hair girl cried out in indignation but Nora ignored her.

"So, how long do you think it'll take for us to win?" Ruby asked as she leaned forward from her seat.

"Bah, don't you kids worry about it, once the battalion rallies we'll be able to deal with this incursion in no time." A tanned skin soldier said but Jaune didn't recognize him.

"Fanach, how many times have I told you not to say stuff like that." Another soldier called out further down the line.

"Ah come on Noluen, name one time that something bad has happened when I've said that."

"Weren't you on a Valkyrie that suffered major mechanical failure earlier this year?" Someone else called out.

"Yea but we were already about to start landing when that happened so really it just sped that up."

"I don't think that's a good thing." Blake commented and Fanach dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

"It was totally fine."

"I'm pretty sure the pilots were in traction for like three months or something."

"Sure but didn't one of them get engaged to a nurse at the hospital?"

"I don't see the relevance of that."

"That's because you didn't get invited to the wedding."

"Well neither did you."

"I'm fine with that, my handiwork in setting them up was all that I needed to concern myself with."

"Anyone else lost by this conversation?" Yang asked and another soldier chuckled.

"You'll get used to it." The conversation as a whole dropped away as they either went back to sleep or just sat there talking to each other.

Pyrrha didn't know how long they were in there but it felt like the trip was a short one as the moment she closed her eyes she was nudged awake by Jaune just in time to notice the shift in pressure as the Valkyrie began to descend.

"I feel like I just was about to close my eyes." She said and Jaune smiled.

"Well you were asleep for a good ten minutes." He said and Pyrrha nodded as the Valkyrie jerked upon contact with the ground. Standing up with the others Pyrrha walked out of the aircraft and shielded her eyes as the sun was now visible in the sky.

They were in a field once again with dozens of other Valkyries either on the ground or flying overhead. She could smell smoke, oil, sweat, and something metallic in the air as the group headed away from their Valkyrie.

Nearby the other remaining soldiers of the 5th Company joined them as they headed towards higher ground and Pyrrha finally noticed the large structure on a hill a few miles north of them.

Unlike the South Valley Outpost, this fortification seemed to be mostly built out of stone or concrete and was definitely bigger.

"If the Outpost is up there, why are we here?" Pyrrha asked looking at Jaune.

"I guess it's because Wiscard's forming up most of the Battalion here so there might not be enough room to accommodate this many Valkyries."

"That seems like an oversight, a smart opponent would have a clear shot at taking out a lot of the Arcadian aerial units in one go." Weiss said and Jaune glanced at her.

"What? I'm not an idiot." She said and Jaune held his hands up.

"I didn't say that."

"You had that look on your face."

"What look?"

"The moronic kind."

"Show me."

"I wouldn't know how to." Weiss said and Nora snorted with laughter.

"Doesn't that make you the moron since you can't imitate a face?"

"I don't see how that's funny." Pyrrha looked around ignoring the group as they joked amongst themselves. She could see more of the Arcadians crowding around a column of six wheeled open back trucks. Some of the soldiers were guiding the trucks over to the waiting Valkyries while other soldiers hopped on the trucks before they started gathering together.

As the soldiers of the 5th Company grouped up on a dirt trail they formed a column three people wide and twenty ranks deep. The Beacon group moved behind them as Martin had them begin marching.

Looking around Pyrrha could see that the clearing they were in was in fact pin by trees to their north and south. Yet to their east and west the clearing stretched out for a while before curving out of sight.

It wasn't long before they reached the tree line, it turned out that the trees were purposely picked then cleared as it was only about thirty or forty yards before they reached the other side.

Yet she had an inkling that this was done on purpose as the first line of trees they had gone through she had seen soldiers digging up the ground then setting odd looking devices in them before covering them with dirt.

As they walked towards the second line of threes she also noticed that the filed had a number of craters each of various sizes dotted the ground, some looked fresh while others look like they've been there long enough for grass to grow in them.

Once they passed through the second tree line they finally reached the last stretch of road to the Outpost Pyrrha noticed two things immediately, the first being a few hundred soldiers with a few dozen Chimeras and at least fifteen tanks were idling in the field before the walls of the Outpost.

Of which if she had to guess the stone walls had to be nearly fifteen meters high. When they got close enough to the wall they stopped and she looked at what she assumed was the main gate that looked to be made out of metal but she could also clearly see that the Grimm must have attacked it in force successfully as it was bent unnaturally inward.

A small group of soldiers stood outside the gate however as if they were waiting for them, a tall man with silver hair that stood with them stepped forward.

"Good to see you Sergeant." The man said and Martin who had been ahead of them cracked a confused smile.

"Jodok? When did you get here?" She asked.

"I got here just now but Wiscard's already had his marching orders ready for everyone, it seems he's impatient to meet our special guests." The man said before gesturing to a soldier that stood off to the side.

"Kanna, show 5th Company to their quarters." The man looked over towards the Beacon group before zeroing in on Jaune then looked back at Martin.

"Is that him?"

"It must be important if the Major wants to see the High Prince." Martin said as she nodded and Jodok shrugged.

"Probably but he also wants to see all of them."

"Let me guess, I'm not invited." Martin said and Jodok smiled apologetically.

"Sorry Martin but whatever that's going on is way above my pay grade."

"It normally is but thanks, let me go talk with the High Prince then I'll send them your way." Martin said and the man nodded as she turned to head back to the group.

"Who is that?" Ruby asked as Martin approached them.

"That's First Captain Jodok Mézec, second in command of the Battalion under Major Wiscard; his Company was with Sayer's Company out in the forest." She explained, Ruby opened and closed her mouth with a finger raised as if to make a point about something then shrugged.

"Yea that sounds important." Martin laughed.

"It is and it seems this is also where we're going to be parting."

"Wait, why?" Weiss asked and Martin gestured with a thumb over her shoulder towards Mézec.

"He's got orders to bring you all to the Major and I'm not needed for that." Martin said as she ran a hand over her hair.

"Honestly at this point I wouldn't be surprised if 5th Company gets folded into 1st Company to fill up their own gaps since they got hit by the Grimm harder than us."

"Did he tell you what the Major wants with us?" Ren asked but Martin shook her head.

"If I needed to know they would have told me but it seems that I don't need to know so your guess is as good as mine."

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye." Jaune said sticking his hand out and Martin looked at it as if unsure whether or not she should take it before finally grasping it.

"It was a pleasure High Prince." She said and Jaune gave her his own weary smile.

"The pleasure was mine Sergeant Martin." He said and they watched as Martin walked towards another soldier before heading inside the Outpost. As the other soldiers left them, the group walked up to the waiting man who saluted them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, as you may already been informed by Sergeant Martin my name is Jodok Mézec, I'm here to escort you all to Major Wiscard. We've got a tight schedule to keep so let's get going, if you have any question you may ask them along the way." He said before turning away to walk inside the Outpost without waiting for a confirmation from the Beacon students.

As they followed him however they could see that immediately inside the Outpost that it was just as different in its layout as well as material. There was the first wall which they already passed through but it was interesting to note that it had to be at least ten meters thick however there seemed to be a second wall that was taller than the first with small bridges that connected at spaced out intervals along both walls.

Right behind the second wall was what seemed to be a castle like structure that was more or less connected with the second wall.

"This place is massive." Yang said as they followed Mézec.

"It has to be almost twice the size of the first year dormitories." Blake speculated.

"To answer your questions, the Vestri Outpost has an outer perimeter of roughly two hundred and fifty meters with the inner wall and castle being about a hundred and twenty five meters in its perimeter. As for the occupants, the Outpost has room for three full infantry companies, a full tank company, and three flights of Valkyries or Vultures on top of the 205th Defensive Company which is stationed here." Mézec explained.

"Look Captain that's fascinating but I was wondering if you could tell us what this is all about." Jaune asked but Mézec didn't answer him right away that Jaune thought he was just going to ignore the question.

"You know very well what this is going to be about High Prince."

"I can guess but I can't really say for sure what it might be going on in the mind of Major Wiscard."

"Then by all means guess."

"There's a few ways that this could go, one he might give us command of a small unit either to defend the Outpost or to join in as he stages a counterattack if not that then he might pull us completely out of the fight."

"What makes you think that?" Pyrrha asked looking at Jaune who shrugged.

"I mean, aside from my own position within Arcadia there still is the fact that we're technically representatives of Beacon which by extension represents Vale and the Four Kingdoms as a whole. So having us exposed for that long to the dangers of a battlefield, one that we shouldn't have been in the first place isn't going to be a good thing plus Fusia died out there so that might complicate things even more. Then with my Aunt being arrested in Vale for covert operations within another sovereign Kingdom without permission means that there is going to be a serious strain on the diplomatic lines between the Four Kingdoms and Arcadia which are now going to be opened about that."

"Ya know I swear this is Déjà vu." Nora said to Ren and the magenta eyed teen just shrugged.

"You make an astute point High Prince but in the end you'll just have to wait to find out." Mézec said as they reached another gate. Like the first one this was made of metal and Jaune could see dozens of scratch mark that had left shallow furrows in its dark surface. With a groan the metal gate parted and the group headed inside.

Pyrrha was reminded of the mountain fortification as they walked through the corridors of concrete. Inbuilt wall lights gave off a pale light showing the numerous pipes and wiring that traveled along the upper corners of the ceiling. Arrows and other markings indicating sections or rooms that had no real meaning to her as armed soldiers navigated the corridors with practiced familiarity.

When they emerged into yet another corridor Pyrrha could see in the far end that there was a single set of stairs with two soldiers in full gear standing guard on either side. As they walked up to them, the soldiers saluted as they headed up the stairs.

Passing through one final door Jaune could see that they were in a rather austere room with a metal desk at the far end next to a window that had bars on the outside. In the center was a table with a glass like surface, then a weapon rack on the right side of the room with three different variants of the Agripinaa Infantry rifle.

Standing by the window however was an older man, much older looking than even Mézec with a balding buzz cut head with lines that looked like a cross between aging wrinkles and scars.

"Captain." The man said without looking at them in low but still powerful voice and Mézec snapped a crisp salute.

"Major, I've brought you the Beacon group." The man looked at them and Jaune met the cold winter blue eyes that shone brightly in spite of his apparent age.

"You're dismissed Captain."

"Yes sir." Mézec said before walking back through the door they had come from.

"I know what you're wondering, why has the Battalion Commander to an Arcadian Brigade called for you when he's got the enemy at his doorstep." He said calmly as he walked around the table to them. Yang narrowed her eyes however as she noticed something, the man seemed to be walking oddly.

As he came closer however that's when the group realized something, every step he took there was a soft buzz of machinery. Jaune, Ren, Weiss and Blake kept their eyes on him as the others instinctually looked down at the source of the sound.

"I see you've noticed my, how do they say, condition." The man said with the signs of a smile on his lips.

"It's nice to meet you Major Wiscard and yes we've noticed that you've seen some action." Jaune said hesitantly and the man nodded.

"Indeed, I was serving with the 1st Army's 12th Division under Major General Lutherius during the Incursion of '55." Jaune frowned as he tried to recall his reading under Areto but Ruby spoke up in the meantime.

"So are you going to explain why you wanted us here?" She asked and Wiscard nodded.

"Ah that, well, I would have assigned you command of the 5th Company but orders have come down the line regarding you all, Governor Kagiris is ordering your withdrawal from the fight."

"What?" Yang asked looking confused.

"You're heading back to Nodens." Wiscard said looking at the blonde brawler.

"I know that but why." She said and Wiscard shrugged.

"Not my place to question the orders of a Governor and I would in fact send you right now if I could but I would rather hold onto as many aircraft as I can. So someone should be here in an hour or so to retrieve you."

"Who's coming?" Jaune asked and Wiscard looked at him.

"I think we both know who he'd send to retrieve you." Jaune rubbed his chin.

"Centurion Tava, she'll definitely make sure to follow her orders then." Wiscard nodded as he turned to walk towards the table in the center of the room before tapping it. The surface erupted in a green glow before holographic projection of the Outpost and the immediate surrounding area popped up.

"Is that a Hard Light table?" Weiss asked stepping forward and Wiscard tilted his head a little as the Heiress inspected the holographic display of the Outpost. It was extremely detailed showing simple things such as grass to the heavy weapon platforms on the walls.

She reached out and as her hand came close to one section of the wall her hand was bathed in a green glow as that particular section fuzzed away. That's when she noticed that the glassy surface of the table was covering layers of tiny green light sources.

"Interesting." She mused as Ruby joined in her fascination, as the two fawned over the table Jaune walked up besides Major Wiscard.

"So what are you going to have us do until Tava arrives? Are you going to force us inside while the Norsii attack?" He looked Jaune squarely in the eyes, while he wasn't as tall as Jaune he still had a commanding presence that made Jaune want to look down.

"Governor Kagiris would like that and maybe even Brigadier General Meidner but I'm already short on manpower with 5th Company being combat ineffective at the moment so I won't confine you to your quarters but I can't take you out into the field as well as that would be directly defying my orders."

"And I understand that but what plan do you have?" Wiscard touched a control on the side of the table and the holographic map expanded to show a long stretch of the forest near the Outpost. Several dozen red blips spread out in a semicircle popped up.

"These are the known locations of the Norsii force, each one represents anywhere from three to eight hundred bodies. Right now in Vestri, I've got a little more than five hundred soldiers with another three hundred of the Defensive Company. Then there's the three tank platoons at my disposal, two standard formations and a Tempest Platoon with the Actaeon Platoon still coming southbound from the north but they won't be here for a few hours still. However I expect we'll have engaged them long before they arrive."

"Wait, strike them? As in go out and attack?" Blake asked but Wiscard didn't look at her as he centered the image back on Vestri."

"More like a counter attack, I want to draw them in first, during the initial moments I believe their advance will be overstretched drastically for a short bit before they reach Vestri as you may not have noticed this but the main gate was destroyed in the Grimm attack, more than a dozen Death Stalkers had charged it and we managed to kill nine of them but the rest were more than enough to break the gate that even if we tried closing it there would be a hole big enough for a Sicaran tank to roll through. Which on that note we don't have any since Hoffman's platoon were all killed though fifteen tanks seems like a sizable force to hold off a large portion of the Norsii infantry."

"And I would agree with you Major as this seems like a well thought out plan but we know that they have creatures that stopped Hoffman's Sicarans in their tracks." Jaune pointed out as he circled the table examining the hologram.

"Ah yes, the Neverborn, how many did you see out in the field?"

"We saw three of them but before you go on can you tell us what those things were? I've never seen anything like them, there was just something off about them, I can't explain what but it seems you Arcadians know what they are." Ren said as he stood at one corner of the table with Nora next to him.

"I shouldn't be the one to explain this to you, the High Prince here should know more than me in either case." Wiscard said nodding to Jaune.

"I'm afraid I'm just as in the dark as they are Major Wiscard." Wiscard looked visibly confused at that.

"My father never told me much about the Kingdom, everything I did learn was only introduced a few months before I came to Beacon." Wiscard didn't say anything at first before finally nodding though Jaune wasn't sure if he was nodding to himself or to Jaune's response.

"Well then, that's a discussion you'll be having with someone much more important than me at some point soon." He said and Jaune tilted his head a little at that but ignored it as Wiscard turned off the display.

"Well, I believe it's time to end this little get together, I've met a High Prince for the first time in my life so I'd say that this was rather productive." Wiscard said gesturing for them towards the door that they had come in.

"Wait a second, you haven't told us what we'll be doing. We can at least help; let us join with 5th Company again in the field." Yang said stepping next to Jaune but Wiscard shook his head.

"I am not putting the 5th Company back out into the field with the other companies, they're been beaten enough already."

"You can't do this." Ruby began but Wiscard glowered at her shutting the young girl up.

"Do not dare tell me what I can or cannot do young lady." Weiss held a hand up.

"Major Wiscard, forgive the impetuous of my team leader but we're all fighters and knowing that we could fight but being told that we cannot stand with you and your men as they fight for their lives sits ill with us." The young heiress said though Wiscard's facial expression did not change as he directed his gaze at her.

"Willingness to fight is a valuable thing in a soldier but knowing your own limitations is just as important."

"And limitations are merely mental barriers that people tell themselves when they seeing something they believe is impossible when in truth it's not." Yang countered.

"Arrogance and pride is the downfall to more warriors and soldiers than an enemy's blade." Wiscard said evenly then waved away any other response that they had as he walked back the barred window.

"Mézec will be waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs with orders to take you to your temporary quarters. Now if you excuse me I have a battle to prepare for." Wiscard said as he looked back out the window, Jaune gestured for them to away and the eight of them headed back out the room then down the stairs.

"I can't believe this." Yang said.

"There's nothing we can do." Weiss said from behind the blonde girl.

"Well that's not necessarily true." She said and Jaune glanced over his shoulder at them.

"If you're referring back to your escapade in the forest before the attack on the South Outpost, I'm gonna say that's a stupid idea."

"I wasn't gonna suggest something like that."

"Right."

"Guys, honestly, I'm kind of okay with this." Blake said from the back of the group.

"Really?" Weiss asked and the black hair Faunus girl nodded.

"The Arcadians aren't exactly incapable. The South Outpost was only a disaster because they didn't expect to be attacked by another force aside from the Grimm. We saw how they handle the Grimm attack, can you imagine how screwed we would have been if even a fraction of that number came at just the eight of us? We'd be dead."

"I wouldn't say that but I agree they didn't actually need us." Weiss said.

"What about that sparky guy?" Nora asked.

"I mean, you looked like you got a decent hit in before we got out, I doubt he'll be in the fight if he didn't already die from his injuries." Blake said.

"Well that makes sense but I think it kind of feels anticlimactic that we won't be a part of something that we've experienced from the onset." Nora said.

"Sometimes in life you won't be able to see everything to the end, sometimes, the end happens long after you're gone." Pyrrha said softly and Jaune glanced at her but didn't comment on what she said as they reached the bottom of the stairs where Mézec waited for them.

"Ah, you guys are done, what did Major Wiscard talk with ya'll about?" Mézec asked and Ruby shrugged.

"Well, we're gonna sit out this fight but at least we might get a good seat for it." She explained and Mézec nodded.

"Makes sense to me."

"Does it?" Weiss asked.

"I mean, I don't think I could blame him, he's got his orders." Jaune said and Mézec nodded as they walked through the corridors.

"That's right and a good soldier follows orders."

"Really now? I'd imagine that would be a little oppressive wouldn't it?" Pyrrha asked and Mézec shook his head.

"It's easy to think that because in some cases it might very well be true however more often than not a great deal of combat leaders don't care how you do something as long as the objective is taken with the least possible amount of casualties. Though that doesn't mean they aren't prepared to use the lives of their soldiers to defend, take, or complete their objective." The older man said as he led them down another series of unfamiliar corridors. When they finally emerged into a large room that had beds set across one wall with a few tables and lockers to either side that Jaune realized that this was where they would probably be waiting until Tava came to retrieve them.

"Alright, I'll have a runner come soon with some food and beverages in a little bit. Showers are to your right and there's laundry room next to it." Mézec said as they spread out save for Jaune who took a step closer to the man with his hand held out.

"Thank you First Captain." Jaune said as the man gripped his hand.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you sir." Mézec said then pulled Jaune in closer.

"We'll be moving out soon to engage the Norsii if you want to watch, go the southwestern Hydra tower if you get lost just ask someone to give you directions, you'll be able to see the fighting from up there." The man said softly and Jaune nodded as they separated. Mézec saluted him one last time which Jaune returned as he left them. Turning around Jaune could see his friends all spread out on individual bunks.

Ruby, Yang, Ren and Nora were already sleeping as Weiss tended to her own dirty clothes as she talked to herself. Blake was sitting on an empty bed looking at the floor as Jaune walked up next to Pyrrha who was tending to her weapons.

As she looked up at him, Jaune couldn't help but notice the obvious dark bags under Pyrrha's green eyes. It only served to remind him that out of the eight of them he was the only one to truly get some semblance of rest within the last twenty four hours before now.

"You should get some sleep." Jaune said and Pyrrha smiled as she set her weapons aside.

"True but I don't really feel like sleeping at the moment." She said as Jaune took the belt holding Crocea Mors off and set it on the bed opposite of her. The two of them sat next to each other, Jaune looked at his shoes while Pyrrha continued cleaning her weapons.

They sat there for who knows how long but Jaune looked up at the sound of a door opening, turning his head he saw a soldier with Dog ears on the top of his head pushing a cart into the room. Jaune stood up and moved over to the soldier who saluted him as Jaune came close.

"Sir, First Captain Mézec sent me here with food and drinks." The soldier said before gesturing to the various containers on the cart.

"I was able to procure some leftovers from the main mess; we've got eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, some toast, a few oranges and apples. Then for refreshments there's milk, juice and water though I took the liberty in scrounging some instant coffee packs and a few nondairy creamers that you can use with the water since there's also a camp stove to heat the water up. Then of course some plates, paper napkins and utensils." He said before looking at Jaune who nodded as he held a hand out.

"Thanks soldier."

"It's not a problem High Prince."

"So what unit are you with?"

"I'm with the 205th Defensive Company, is there anything else you need?" He asked but Jaune shook his head so he took his leave. Jaune stood staring at the cart before looking back at his friends none of them were really making a move to come and eat so he pushed the cart closer to them.

"There's food here, you should all get some to eat or drink." Jaune said and Weiss looked at him.

"I'm not sure if I have the stomach to eat right now." She said but surprisingly Blake stepped forward to grab a slice of bacon before shoving the entire piece into her mouth.

"He's right; we need to keep our energy up so we should eat on top of resting." She said so Weiss and Pyrrha who hadn't said anything stood up then grabbed plates before piling as much food as they could on them.

"Jaune aren't you going to eat as well?" Weiss asked and Jaune shook his head.

"I had an MRE earlier."

"Are you sure?" She asked but at that moment the others began to stir as well.

"Oh shit, when'd that get here?" Nora asked as she made her way over with Yang, Ren, and Ruby behind her. Jaune watched as his friends ate silently and for some reason felt a little left out. He decided he needed to go out and grabbed Crocea Mors before heading to the door.

"Where are you going Jaune?" Pyrrha called out and he looked over his shoulder to see the others looking at him now.

"I'm gonna get some fresh air, I'll be back soon." In truth he wanted to go find the tower Mézec had mentioned as he felt the need to watch the upcoming battle nag at his mind.

---

Elsewhere…

The Sorcerer watched as several dozen Marauders moved through the open clearing between the lines of trees with three lines of his plated Warriors in step behind them, as he looked around he couldn't help but feel a stark resemblance to the lands of Gisoreux.

To either side of him nearly four and a half thousand Marauders, Warriors and Knights were spreading out into three groups. To his far left were his three Marauder Jarls, Ragzask the Blood Bathed, Tryzze Shadoweater and Nhikka the Serpent Tongue who led the bulk of Norsii Marauders.

Originally he had seven Jarls under his command but three of them had died in skirmishes with the Arcadian infantry while Stryzon Bloodcaller died after the Arcadian rearguard had unleashed some sort of spell or device that killed nearly four hundred Marauders and Warriors earlier that morning.

To his right he had Akerba moving back south with eight hundred Warriors and the last few hundred Knights in his army. In the center he had over a thousand Warriors, two hundred Marauders, along Az'gelloth but the Spawn was becoming more uncontrollable by the hour lastly he had a little less than two dozen Hellcannons.

Yet he felt unnerved, not by the enemy beyond the trees but by omens. Everywhere he looked in the corner of his vision something seemed to flicker, now he was no stranger to being watched by those that dwell beyond but something about this was different.

A part of him felt as if he should take a step back to think yet he knew that if he couldn't dislodge the grip the enemy had on this valley he would be forced to fight them from a weak position whereas they have the defending advantage.

"Master, the Marauders are waiting for your orders to advance through the tree line." Ukxorkart said as he knelt down before him, the Sorcerer said nothing as he let ethereal energy crackle down his arm as a small sign of strength. He knew that Ukxorkart was still nursing his pride after he had brought the Warrior to his knees when he inquired about his supposed injures. He knew too well that had he not done so Ukxorkart may have tried killing him.

"Send the signal to the others to begin their advance I want to cut off any breathing room that they might have had early." He said and Ukxorkart nodded before getting up to move away from him. The sound of thousands of booted and sabaton feet marching in relative step sent a wave of elation down his spine.

If he only had a third of this force when he took residence in the Forest of Arden before he was driven out by the Errants then he knew he would have done some serious damage to those blasted Southerners.

At that moment a flash of ice passed down his spine as a terrible pressured built in his mind he summoned power to him before bringing forth a shield and far ahead of him a series of thunderous explosions ripped across the clearing making cloaks and eight pointed sigils flap in the warm wind.

From the distant hill fortification series of soft booms could be heard, though the Sorcerer knew what was coming as thunderous detonations of explosions blossomed amongst the ranks of his forces.

A handful of explosions ripped up the ground nearby, destroying two of the Hellcannons. Broke bodies and debris showered his shield but as it cleared away he dropped only to point at the distant foe.

"Charge!" He shouted a roar broke out from amongst the ranks as thousands of eager blood thirsty Norsii charged forward.

---

Meanwhile…

Jaune stood next to several soldiers as they peered over the crenellations of one of the taller drum towers in the Outpost. Behind him was a fully loaded Hydra Anti-Air gun with its quad barrels pointed at the sky.

He only managed to get to the tower after running into a pair of soldiers that were pushing a cart laden with munitions that Jaune figured were meant for the wall guns.

"Fucking shit man; those assholes really want us dead." One of the crew members muttered as they watched as the first tree line slowly was engulfed in fire. Yet despite that more and more of the enemy were pouring through heedless of the flames.

A dozen Lancer Field Guns and nearly twice that many Serpent Infantry Guns that resided on the western side of the Outpost were shelling the oncoming enemy at a steady rate as they advanced. Jaune however knew that the guns on the north and south side of the Outpost were firing as well since they saw the enemy splitting their forces up earlier.

"They're about to hit the second line." Someone said and Jaune peered over the crenellations again just in time to see the last tree ring erupt in a series of explosions once more as a significant portion of the leading enemy moved into its confines.

It didn't occur till he arrived at the tower that when they had passed through those trees earlier that they were in fact placing mines instead of setting up defensive positions to fight from.

As in the field just outside the walls of the Vestri Outpost was the 1st, 2nd, 4th Infantry Companies with fifteen tanks along with two dozen Chimera Transports and a dozen Tauros Rapid Assault Vehicles.

Jaune knew that while they couldn't match the attackers with force they more than made up that number discrepancy with raw firepower.

Jaune watched as the infantry began to split by what he assumed were by companies with four Tempest Tanks moving with them. As well as a eight Chimeras and four Tauroses to each one also moved to attach themselves with the separating Companies as they went to check the three prong front of the Norsii army.

In the center the remaining armor began to pelt the advancing enemy as the infantry spread out by platoons, the crackle of small arms fire so began and it was loud enough that if Jaune closed his eyes he could imagine being in the field next to them as they fired.

"If Major Wiscard put all these units out to face down the Norsii, what happened to the Valkyries? Wouldn't they be useful in this fight?" Jaune asked looking at the other soldiers.

"Why are you asking us?" One of them replied.

"I'm just asking what you think he did with them."

"Ain't our job to know battle plans, we just shoot anything that flies that we don't want to fly."

"Actually shouldn't we be asking you what the plan is sir? I mean you are the High Prince." Another soldier said.

"Come off it, he may be the High Prince but he's up here with us instead of out there." One of them said and Jaune felt his eye twitch at that as the others fell silent before looking back at the battle.

In the center the infantry and accompanying armor were slowly moving back as the enemy tried to get in close but failed to get within range as the Arcadian Infantry and Armor moved quick enough to just avoid getting caught in a melee.

Beyond the battlefield Jaune noticed a number of bright orbs that looked to be made out of purple fire rising into the sky only to strike the first wall or the ground near it. The ones that hit the wall ripped out sizzling chunks of concrete while the ones that hit the ground left burning purplish red fires. Jaune however kept an eye out to see if he could spot the same monster from the first battle but they were nowhere in sight.

A part of him was glad to not see them but the rational part of his mind couldn't help but feel worried. Since they weren't where he felt they should be then they must be someplace where they shouldn't be.

---

Meanwhile…

The sorcerer watched as a handful more of his cannons blew up as the enemy artillery zeroed in on them. The subsequent explosions engulfed and annihilated the squat creatures that control them as the pent up entities were unleashed before quickly returning to the realm beyond.

What he didn't know was the fact that the Arcadians had a Telamon Aerial Reconnaissance Plane running a Joint Tactical Air Control mission overhead. The aircraft was actively relaying the positions of the Hellcannons and infantry formations to the 205th in Vestri along either Wiscard or his infantry and armor commanders.

The sorcerer however knew that they were getting beaten. They've taken ground as the Arcadians drew back and at first it seemed he would be able to crush them against their own walls.

However unlike in the previous encampment they were able to avoid getting into close combat and thus slowly began to negate any advantage his numbers had over them as they kept whittling away at his army.

To the south his runners had relayed that his right flank was starting to falter as the Arcadian war machines were able to go toe to toe with his Warriors and Knights. In the north it was much more disastrous as the bulk of his Marauders were falling apart as the enemy war machines and infantry had the advantage on open ground.

He could send in Az'gelloth to take on the enemy war machines and most likely could defeat all of them. Yet if he did that he would be deprived of his most valuable tool but one that would no doubt draw the attention of the enemy who would no doubt bring down everything they could on it.

This might create an opening that he needs to gain the upper hand but one that was too unpredictable. An idea popped into his mind as an explosion ripped up the ground nearby pounding him with its concussive waves as dirt and shrapnel rained down on him.

He had to act fast as he knew he only had a short time and power to do something like this.

---

A little while later…

Jaune lowered the pair of binoculars that one of the Hydra crew members had given him, he had just finished watching the broken enemy infantry and cavalry retreat back to the forest leaving most of their strength behind as dead or dying.

The Arcadian forces however were holding back from pursuing no doubt because that would overextend the flank and leave them with inadequate fire support from the Outpost.

To the center and the western side of the Outpost the enemy was also struggling under the firepower of the Arcadians as they finally positioned themselves under the aegis of the walls. Upon which the Sabre Platforms were now adding in their own quad barrel heavy stubber fire along with the Lancer Field Guns and Serpent Infantry Guns.

At the same time to Jaune it seemed like it might turn into a close fight as despite their casualties the Norsii were slowly but surely gaining ground on the Arcadians who were now backed up against the walls of the Outpost with no maneuvering room left.

He hoped that if they get in close to his people then hopefully they would be able to put up a better fight than before in the south outpost.

It was at that moment that something started to happen, the wind began to pick up but it there was odd Jaune felt like the wind was going down not so much as a regular flow but as if it was being pulled.

"Look!" One of the Hydra crew members shouted and Jaune moved over with the others to see where he was pointing. Down on the ground between the outer and inner wall was a purplish black orb that seemed to be expanding. Blue arcs of lightning danced across its surface as it began to expand.

Soldiers on both the outer and inner wall near the expanding orb began moving in response. On the inner wall two Saber Platforms turned to aim their quad heavy stubber barrels at the anomaly. Jaune put his hand on Crocea Mors hilt as the orb stopped growing and seemed to grow still.

Then figures started to emerge rapidly and the Saber Platforms opened up on them. Jaune drew his sword as he watched half a dozen armored plated warriors fall to the ground under the withering heavy weapons fire.

However as more warriors appeared rifle fire began to crack down on them as soldiers that weren't manning or reloading the various artillery pieces and heavy support weapons turned their attention to them.

Jaune felt the blood drain from his face however as the lumbering form of one of the monster that ripped apart Hoffman's tank platoon came through the orb as it began to shrink.

"Fuck! Neverborn in the perimeter, sound the alarm!" Someone said from behind Jaune and he could hear them scrambling but he continued to watch as the orb shrank to nothing. Yet before it disappeared one last figure emerged and everything else seemed to disappear as he recognized the Mage Warrior that he and Pyrrha fought.

Jaune watched the Mage Warrior raised his arms before bolts of lightning shot out, one striking the inner wall blowing a meter and a half sized hole in it. While the second struck near the top of the wall, Jaune watched three soldiers explode into clouds of blood and broken armor fragments.

Turning around Jaune began to sprint down the stairs that had led him up to the tower in the first place. Behind him the high pitched cracks of lightning strikes and gunfire continued to roar out with the clatter of metal.

There weren't a lot of people inside the Outpost now as Jaune ran through it. Occasionally he saw groups of soldiers but they were heading in the opposite direction from him.

When he turned a corner he recognized it as he began to follow it before reaching another hallway where he saw the others standing out in. Ruby was the first to see him and ran up to him.

"Jaune!? What's going on?" She asked Jaune knew she meant the fighting since it was pretty easy to hear the thumps and crackles of combat.

"They're inside the wall, the Neverborn and the Mage Warrior is with them as well. Get ready to fight." Jaune said ignoring her question as he looked around at everyone.

"Do you really think we should go out and fight them?" Pyrrha asked and Jaune shrugged.

"Probably not but I don't want to sit here and do nothing."

"Fine, let's go crack some heads then." Yang said from behind the red head as she cracked her knuckles.

---

Meanwhile…

He raised his arms to protect to summon a shield as a flurry of bullets rained down on him. He grimaced as he watched the purple blue shield ripple like rain on still water as around him his soldiers were slowly getting cut down.

Az'gelloth was the only thing that was really keeping his small group from keeping routed as a good deal of Arcadians were paying attention to it yet he knew that if he didn't get inside soon before it died then it was all for naught.

The Neverborn roared in rage at the moment and the Sorcerer snarled in annoyance as a few dozen small orb like things started dropping down before exploding. Sending Warriors stumbling or to the ground with broken plates and missing limbs.

"MOVE!" He shouted before sending a bolt of lightning up at one of the bridges that connected the two walls above them. The side exploded and he could hear new screams of pain as debris rained down. High above them he spotted several more bright iridescent orbs crashing down onto the walls or castle spraying heated fragments through the air.

As the group slowly continued pushing through the kill zone with dozens falling dead or injured from the intense firepower every minute he finally spotted what looked to be an entrance.

"Az'gelloth!" He roared and the lumbering Neverborn looked at him. Foul blood was leaking from dozens of minor and some not so minor wounds yet the creature of abyss seemed to not notice them at all.

"GO!" He shouted pointing at the door and the Neverborn didn't give any acknowledgment but the Sorcerer knew that it understood what it needed to be done.

As the creature charged the gate, he watched in satisfaction as with the first thunderous strike against the gate already showed signs of bending to Az'gelloth. Renewed small arms fire raked his line however and he stepped forward as a powerful force struck his back, spinning around with another bolt ready he flung it at the first of the defenders he saw.

In the distance a handful of soldiers disappeared as the bolt imploded shredding their bodies and hopefully peppering anyone nearby with debris.

His warriors formed a semicircle around him, a number of them locked their great shields together as those armed with Greatbows began to let loose with their arrows.

The Arcadian defenders began to take more losses now as a number of them were getting hit by arrows a little longer than a meter and as thick as two fingers.

Jaune and the others emerged out onto the inner wall as the Neverborn began to pry one of the metal gates back. Pyrrha yelped in surprise as an arrow narrowly missed her and cracked against the concrete wall next to them chipping it.

"Come on!" Jaune shouted as the others moved out from the doorway onto the wall, Pyrrha knocked the next arrow out of the air with her shield as Jaune made his way onto the closest bridge.

Taking a second to get a quick glance at the battlefield outside he could see that things were changing rapidly. As the Arcadian flanks were finally starting to pull in on the center.

He reckoned that it meant that either the Norsii flanks had been both overturned allowing for the Arcadians to pincer them or Wiscard was drawing his flanks in because the Norsii were about to overrun him but Jaune couldn't say for sure as he turned his attention back to the Warriors that were holding out between the walls.

A soldier nearby turned to him and Jaune reckoned he or she might have had something to say but whatever they might have said was lost as an arrow hit the soldier in the back of the neck. The large arrow punctured through with enough force that the gleaming arrowhead stuck out a good six inches, blood trailing down the arrowhead to splatter on the stone floor.

The soldier made one last choking sound before falling down, Jaune ran forward towards the railing with his shield raised and stumbled a little as an arrow hit his shield hard. Below them the Norsii were getting close to breaching the gate as the sound of metal groaning was loud enough to easily be heard.

"We can't let them get in!" Ruby shouted as she leveled Crescent Rose before firing twice. Nora stood up with Magnhild in its compact form and fired off a canister. Below them a tiny pink explosion briefly opened up a gap in the Norsii formation.

"What are you kids doing here?!" Someone shouted and Pyrrha recognized the helmet distorted voice of Martin. Looking over her shoulder she could see an armored soldier move to them as four other soldiers took up a place along the sides of the bridge. One of the soldiers was rose up with an Assault Stubber and fired a ten second long burst before ducking down as a large arrow passed through the air space his head was a moment before.

"We came to help!" Ruby shouted, the noise of the battle both out in the field along with the racket of stationary guns, cannons, and small arms fire on the walls made it difficult to really hear anything that wasn't a yell.

"You're not supposed to be out here!" Martin shouted back.

"Never mind that, don't you see that big fucker ripping open the gate? We've got to stop him!" Yang said then looked at her teammates and Jaune could see that they seemed to come up with an unspoken agreement.

"Nora! How many shots do you have!?" Ruby yelled out and the hammer wielder held up three fingers.

"On my signal empty them out on the shield formation!" Ruby called out and Jaune watched incredulously as the four of them backed up for a running start.

Yet something more important caught his attention as five figures emerged out of the same entrance that they had used to get onto the wall.

Jaune recognized the crested helm of Centurion Lais Tava along with four Comitatus Praetorians at her back. The four Praetorians quickly moved to step in front of team RWBY stopping them from running forward.

"Stop!" Tava called out, Jaune jerked his head back as Tava raised her sword which pointed at him. Unlike her subordinates she didn't carry an arming sword and shield instead she carried a large claymore.

"High Prince your involvement in this battle is over. Now withdraw from here." The large Centurion said and Jaune glanced over at his friends. He couldn't read their expressions but knew a choice needed to be made.

"Don't have a choice in this matter Centurion; we need to stop them now before they get inside so you can either watch us fight or help." He said and he might have said more if the roar propeller engines didn't drown him out. Looking over his shoulder to the sky Jaune could see dozens of Valkyries and Vultures coming into view. The lead Vultures let loose a volley of rocket fire before firing their nose mounted Autocannons at unseen targets.

Further above the Vultures, the Arcadian Valkyries soared overhead; many of them had their rear ramps open allowing their gunners to fire down on the field of battle.

"Fine! But follow our lead!" Tava shouted and Jaune jumped aside as the four Praetorians that had stopped team RWBY turned to jump off the bridge to land on the ground facing down the armored formation. Tava however ran along the inner wall, far quicker than anyone in a suit of armor that as far as Jaune knew weighted more than both Beacon teams combined.

Pyrrha however watched in fascination as the four Praetorians slammed into the shield wall, surprisingly knocking down the foremost Warriors before quickly killing them as the others behind them pushed forward to attack. She also noticed that they fought in a fashion similar to how Jaune fought.

Yet there was a fundamental difference between the two, she believed that when it came down to it Jaune tended to fight rather passionately. Sure he thought things through but the longer the fight went the more it felt like whatever discipline he had would break down.

Looking at these Praetorians she could see the practiced ease of the fighting style she'd seen Jaune use. Strike, block and parry all with their sword-shield combo at the same time yet unlike Jaune's Crocea Mors these Praetorians had much more unique weapons in comparisons. She could see the arming swords leaving white hot furrows in the armor of the enemy.

However something felt off at the same time as she watched them. Maybe it was just how she's been training and fighting with the others but she couldn't help but notice that the Praetorians seemed to be completely ignoring each other if Pyrrha had to describe it, to her it was like they were islands in a sea of enemies.

As she looked up however she spotted the Centurion right above the gates with her claymore in hand. Pyrrha watched as the Praetorian raised the weapon with both hands and seemed to tap the blade to her forehead before it became shrouded in a blue haze then stepped off the wall to fall down toward of all things the monster ripping open the gate.

"Go!" Ruby shouted from behind them and Pyrrha turned to see team RWBY run before leaping off the bridge.

"Are you with me?" Jaune called out from nearby and Pyrrha readied her own weapons.

"Always!" She replied before following him over the side of the bridge.

---

Meanwhile…

Tava's claymore slammed nearly two feet into the shoulder of the Neverborn. The creature roared out in anger and she barely managed to pull her sword out to use it to stab at the clawed hand that rose to smash her away.

She watched as her blade cut through only one claw before the rest of the appendage smashed into her torso sending her flying off it. Twisting around she was able to level her claymore just as she slammed into the back of one of the Warriors.

The two of them fell to the ground though the Warrior was dead as her sword had plunged into his back. Around the blade the metal was bright red and smoke wafted from the wound.

Three other Warriors turned to regard her as she stood up pulling the sword free; she turned aside the thrust of a halberd before rising into a high guard to let a sword slide off her own in a shower of spark before elbowing the warrior in the face with a loud crunch.

As he fell back with his helm and face caved in she swept her sword down to lock the third Warrior's sword with her crossguard before hammering a fist into the middle of his chest.

The blow sent the Warrior stumbling back giving her the chance to turn around and block the strike from the first Warrior's halberd as he tried to overpower her Tava raised her left foot then slammed it down on his right knee with enough force to bend it backwards.

Sliding her claymore free she slashed downward taking his head off before turning around just in time to push the sword blow of the third Warrior aside though not before it cut through most of her black surcoat.

As she stepped inside his guard pushing her blade into his chest she could hear the sound of the Beacon students joining the fray. A part of her felt annoyed that they still decided to fight but at the same time she reckoned that being as young as they were recklessness was in their nature.

In the corner of her vision however she saw the clawed hand of the Neverborn soaring for her, twisting to face the monstrosity she braced herself as the hand slammed into her lifting her off her feet only to soar several meters back into more of the Warriors.

However unlike the first three these ones moved aside as the Neverborn moved away from the gate towards her. She was vaguely aware of someone shouting in the crude language that no native of Remnant should be able to speak.

As the Neverborn roared from its unnatural mouth before raising both arms to slam down on her Tava ran forward through its legs but not before carving deeply into its left leg. Yet as she turned around she only had time to duck one of its arms as it came at her before rolling to the side as the other arm came straight down.

Getting to her feet she quickly parried the sword of another Warrior who tried to get a hit in expecting her to be completely distracted. Yet she wasn't able to finish him off herself as she had to back away from another swing from the Neverborn came for her however it ended up ripping the Warrior in two.

As she squared herself against the Neverborn she suddenly found two people on either side of her, it was the blonde girl and the orange hair girl with the large hammer from the Beacon group.

"We've got this!" The blonde girl called out slamming her gauntlets together. Tava however had other concerns as a single Warrior in odd armor stepped forward next to the Neverborn. She didn't have time to shout a warning as a bolt of lightning struck her in the chest sending her flying backwards.

She found herself on the ground but as she tried to get up she found that she was breathless, the display on the inside of her helmet showed that her chest plate was flashing red meaning it sustained moderate to severe damage.

Above her the High Prince and his red head partner were to either side of her. The High Prince however was kneeling next to her and it took a moment for her to realize that he was saying something.

"Tava!? Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine!" She replied as she forced herself to sit up and inspect her chest. Her surcoat was in tatters as there was a fist sized dent located over her heart that seemed like it was just a centimeter short of fully penetrating her chest plate with the edges glowing bright red from the heat.

"We'll take him together!" Jaune said and Tava shook her head.

"Stay back!" Jaune looked puzzled yet Tava could see his partner looked a little relieved by the way her shoulders shagged.

"Do not fight him, cover the flanks or engage the others but leave him to me." Tava said as she stood up, the Norsii were losing badly now. In the sky above them a Vulture appeared over the wall before firing its nose mounted guns. Autocannon rounds peppered the armored infantry before several rockets slammed into the formation shattering it completely.

Coming out from side gates only accessible from inside the walls, the Arcadian 5th Company under the temporary leadership of Sergeant Trifina Martin began to press in on the ground as well. There couldn't have been more than six or seven dozen Warriors were left standing, most of who were charging the Arcadian infantry or were engaged in a losing melee against either the Praetorians or Beacon students.

Tava stood up with her claymore in hand, the blonde and hammer wielding girl were in a running fight with the Neverborn. To which Tava was surprised to see that they were doing an acceptable job against it as despite looking frail or weak she could see the two of them giving rather powerful blows for ones their size.

Ahead of her however was her biggest concern, the Sorcerer was more than a few dozen meters away and leisurely walking towards them with electrical arcs crisscrossing his right arm.

She said nothing as she sprung forward closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds as her claymore descended towards the Sorcerer's helm he reached up with his hand to catching the blade in a shower of sparks.

Tava reacted instantly reached out grabbing the Sorcerer's vambrace, her armor's system flashed a multitude of warnings as she touched the lightning covered arm but she still held on before pulling down.

Her energy shrouded claymore began to inch further down as she continued to pull the blade began to bite down in the Sorcerer's pauldron.

The area around the site of contact was beginning to glow red. Yet instead of anger or pain from the Sorcerer he began to cackle and Tava looked down to see a ball of electricity in his other hand.

She let go of her sword completely as she grabbed his other hand before it could touch her.

As the sword fell to the ground, hissing as it touched a puddle of blood from a nearby dead Warrior. Tava didn't waste any time as she lashed out with a foot pushing them apart, in the background the Neverborn continued to roar in rage adding to the cacophony of battle like a fog horn in a storm at sea.

The Sorcerer raised his hand again but Tava was ready this time as she jumped aside avoiding another bolt of lightning before rushing the Sorcerer but had to break right as he flung a second bolt of lightning. Behind her a meter sized hole was blasted in the ground showering her back with rock and concrete.

However the moment she had moved aside the Sorcerer charged her and opened with an upper cut but Tava leaned back reflexively watching as electricity seemed linger in the air like a trailing afterimage of his gauntlet. She pushed his arm aside with her let forearm then sent a short jab aimed at his head but he spun to the side.

Tava followed up with an elbow to keep the pressure on him before ducking a counter jab only to hammer a fist into his torso. The metal of his plackart bent inward and this elicited a jarring cough from the Sorcerer before she hammered another blow into his side.

The Sorcerer began to stumble back yet he didn't fall like the others instead Tava could see the lines of power crossing over his body. She needed to end this fast, spinning around she scooped up her sword as the Sorcerer straightened up, in his left hand was a ball of congealed lava while the right seemed to be charging up another bolt of lightning.

She raised her sword into a high stance then advanced towards the Sorcerer. The Sorcerer flung the bolt at Tava but she jumped aside avoiding it but didn't break pace as she ran at him.

As the Sorcerer began to back up he flung the ball of congealed lava to the ground and it exploded. Tava immediately crouched into a ball as she was pushed back from the force of the blast.

Her armor registered the rising heat from the close proximity of the blast but she pushed her claymore into the ground which anchored her against the brief but powerful pressure.

The moment the force was gonna she was up again running through the smoke, the Sorcerer was waiting however on the other side but this time he had a large sword in one hand.

He started with an upward slash but his opponent blocked then locked their crossguards however they broke as he lashed out with his free hand that was sheathed in ethereal lightning. Tendrils of lightning left scorch marks on the white armor of the swordsman but other than that he didn't seem to notice the damage on his armor.

The swordsman then pressed him with his own upward slash but as their swords met he pulled inward to avoid locking it then broke contact as he twisted his wrists to bring the large sword back around in a downward diagonal swing.

The Sorcerer backed off avoiding the strike before coming at him with a return thrust but the swordsman swiped his sword in a clockwise motion turning his thrust aside. He quickly backed off again knowing that the swordsman would either try to grapple or hit him with another powerful free hand blow.

However his chest was starting hurt badly and breathing was becoming more difficult by the second he reckoned that the blows from before had either broke his ribs with the high chance of internal injuries.

Looking to the side quickly he could see that last of his Warriors go down fighting with Az'gelloth facing the other four armored swordsmen along with those wretched women that had escaped him the day before.

The sword came for his face and he turned it aside in a shower of sparks as he backed away. A quick glance at the weapon he had picked up and he could see that the blade edge was horrendously damaged by whatever sorcery or technology that covered his opponent's blade.

As he parried another strike and backed away from his opponent he also had to admit that not only was the swordsman stronger but he was much quicker.

The only thing that kept him alive this long was the whispers that warned him of where the strikes were coming from yet the voices were getting louder and louder as the seconds ticked on with more coming in to whisper the many paths that lay before him making it difficult to understand what they're saying or to think in general.

All he knew was that he needed to get out of there before it was too late but he had a problem with that.

He no longer had the strength to draw power from the Ether, the boundaries being as strong as they were ensured that the only real way to take the fortification was through blood and steel. In addition he had found that some sort of ward was built in around the structure making teleporting him along with the small force with him a one way ticket to try to take the walls behind the enemy that were out in the field.

What strength he had left was then used to try buying time for Az'gelloth to break the final gate. It might have worked had the creature not gotten blinded by rage. The gate was malformed by the damage the daemon had done but not enough to get in, though he shouldn't be surprised that a vaguely sentient spawn such as Az'gelloth had lost control.

The swordsman came at him with a thrust aimed at his face and he raised his sword to block it but as their blades came into contact his opponent ducked left then pulled his sword down before slashing at his leg. The edge of the strange blade cut into his cuisses then the flesh underneath and pain flared up his body as the blade dug deep before breaking his femur.

Searing pain flashed both up and down his leg as the swordsman slid the blade free. As it cleared his leg he fell backwards with more pain flashing through him as his mostly separated leg pulled at the remaining skin that held it together with the broken plates pinching his mutilated leg.

Above him the swordsman held his sword with both hands as he looked down at him. Around them, the fighting was starting to die down, none of his Warriors alive even Az'gelloth had fallen, the blonde, white, red and orange hair women were standing on its corpse.

Tava was taking deep breaths inside her helmet as she looked down at the Sorcerer; it had been a tough fight at first. She suspected that he used whatever unnatural means he had to put up a reasonable fight as he had been able to block or evade her strikes.

Yet at the same time it gave him away as he couldn't overpower or move faster to gain the edge or even playing field between them. She leveled her claymore point down at the Sorcerer, he began to whisper something.

Tava knew that letting his kind speaking freely wasn't a good idea, so she plunged her sword into his neck cutting him off from saying anything else before twisting the blade back and forth severing his head.

Jaune stood with the others as he looked down at Crocea Mors; once more the blade was stained with blood that dripped off the tip. Nearby some of 5th Company's infantry were putting more rounds into the dead bodies of the Norsii but as far as he was aware they had won the fight.

He had to assume that they won outside as well since aside from the noise that dozens of Valkyries and Vultures were making there didn't seem to be a lot of fighting going on. Though the occasional Lancer Field Gun or Serpent Infantry Gun fired off a shell but Jaune assumed that they were just firing at any fleeing enemy.

"I feel like that was a lot easier than yesterday." Ruby said as she walked up to him, the younger girl was trembling a little and Jaune couldn't blame her. She had been the only to deliver the fatal blow to the Neverborn, sure Nora and Yang did most of the legwork but Ruby had a role to play in it as well.

"Well I suppose they were more ready for the enemy this time." Pyrrha added in from the side though Jaune could see her arms twitch a little as Arcadian soldiers continued making sure everyone was dead. He did find the idea of killing anyone that may be wounded left a bitter taste in his mouth but he knew better than to voice his thoughts.

"So what's going to happen now?" Blake asked as the others finally began trickling in only for them to look at the incoming Praetorians.

The Centurion looked as bad as he felt. Her surcoat was in ruins and her normally white armor was singed black in various areas with a noticeable blackened crater in her chest plate from where she was hit earlier from the lightning blast.

"I can't believe you took that lightning hit from that guy, Jaune got hit with one and he was out for the rest of the day." Weiss remarked and Jaune had to admit he was a little jealous of that but he supposed a Praetorian Centurion was leagues better than him.

"Your time here is up." Tava said curtly before the other four Praetorians fanned out around them.

"Once we've secured transportation we'll be returning to Nodens after which you will be departing the Hurin Valleys back south to Vale." The Centurion said and Jaune could see Yang getting visibly upset but Ruby restrained her as the taller girl stepped forward.

"Can we at least rest before hand?" Blake asked but the Centurion shook her head.

"No, I'll send word to one of the Valkyries to pick us up outside Vestri." So the eight of them followed the Centurion as they picked their way to the main gate of Vestri Outpost, a few of the 5th Company soldiers waved them goodbye to which they responded. Though none of them came up to give a proper farewell as they quickly turned back to their duties either checking for fellow wounded soldiers or making sure the Warriors were completely dead.

Outside the scene was reminiscent to what they saw at the southern outpost. The ground was torn up in various areas with smoke curling out of fresh craters. Unlike the dissolving field of Grimm, they could smell burning wood from the rings of trees in the distance and the heavy metallic tang of blood.

More importantly however was the dead bodies, hundreds were if not thousands of bodies were strewn about in the field before them. Tanks rumbled slowly forward crushing the fallen bodies without care as soldiers combed the field though teams of soldiers were attending the wounded or dying as the Valkyries began to land in the clear areas for them.

Jaune watched as soldiers carrying wounded comrades on stretchers came towards the main gate where soldiers from the Defensive Company were waiting to assist them.

He had to shut his eyes as he focused on tuning out the moaning, shouting, whimpering of the men and women that had been injured.

"This is horrible." Ruby said from nearby.

"War is a horrible thing Rubes." Yang said.

"This isn't war." Tava replied from ahead of them.

"What would you call this then?" Weiss asked.

"A skirmish."

"Seriously?" Yang asked, Tava turned to look at her and Yang recoiled a little as for a second the woman in her battle worn armored felt as inhuman as the Norsii.

"There hasn't been a true war in these lands since the Great War. Peace has softened you." Tava replied curtly and Jaune felt he had to step in before someone said something they might all regret.

"Tava that isn't fair nor is it true and you know that. The Four Kingdoms fight everyday against the Creatures of Grimm a foe that even Arcadia couldn't defeat on its own."

"I'm cannot deny that the Grimm aren't a serious threat but to claim fighting the Grimm is akin to war is something that I wouldn't agree with." Tava said as a Valkyrie began to descend nearby, loose dirt began to be kicked up by the downdraft and Jaune had to shield his eyes as it settled onto the ground and the rear ramped open.

"Come." Tava said simply as she stepped aside and gestured towards the aircraft's interior. Without a word the eight of them walked into the interior before they sat down. The five Praetorians weren't that far behind them.

As the ramped closed Jaune just sat in silence as the Valkyrie took off, Jaune didn't even look around at anyone as he put his head back and closed his eyes.

Deep down he felt relieved to be off the battlefield and heading towards safety knowing that the Norsii army had been routed. Though he didn't envy the Arcadian units still on the ground as he figured Wiscard would have them combing the lands in force to locate any stragglers.

---

Twelve Hours later…

Pyrrha stood by the Valkyrie's side hatch, the mounted heavy stubber was tucked inside allowing her to get a better view of the hills, dense patches of trees and grassland as they passed over them. About a hundred feet away from the aircraft, a Vulture, if she remembered correctly was flying in formation with them.

When they had left Nodens a flight of these gunships accompanied them, it seemed Governor Kagiris wasn't taking chances of lingering Grimm or who knows what else. Though they hadn't gotten the chance to ask him as they were only in Nodens long enough to change Valkyries.

"Honestly, can someone remind me why we were in the Hurin Valleys again? I've been thinking about it and I can't remember." Yang said from behind her.

"Really? It was a pretty big deal." Blake said and Yang arched a quizzical eyebrow at her.

"Oh yea? Then tell me Yang, why were we there?" Blake opened her mouth to say something but stopped before closing her mouth as well.

"Told you." Yang said with a triumphant grin.

"We're almost to Vale right?" Weiss asked ignoring the conversation as she looked at the closest Praetorian but they didn't say anything.

"Yes, we should be landing in another ten or so minutes." Tava said from the front of the interior, the five Praetorians were spread out amongst them. Two sat next to the rear ramp door with another two sitting in the middle of the seats with Tava up front next to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha could see that she was right, to the far west the sun was just starting to hit the horizon but she could see clearly that they were near the sea. While it was still mostly unfamiliar territory to her, she was at least aware that it felt familiar to what she had grown accustomed to in Beacon.

Looking down at the ground she could occasionally spot a small town or village. Territory this close to one of the Four Kingdoms it was a lot safer since Huntsmen and Huntress tended to live out in these areas along with the odd Valean Military patrol on the roads between them.

However she remembered in her readings for Oobleck's class that the Valean Army had been reduced to something more akin to a National Guard or well-trained Miltia than the professional Army of the Great War. Looking up she noticed a familiar line of red tree tops starting to come into view.

"It's Forever Fall forest." Pyrrha called out and the others began to chat animatedly though when she looked over her shoulder she spotted Jaune staring at his hands as they trembled a little.

She remembered that there were some rather important things going on in Vale that involved him since he was what some of the other Arcadians called High Prince. More importantly the fact that Gideon Nauo knew his secret meant someone high up probably in the Council is going to take notice at some point soon.

Who knows how things might be for him at Beacon, a part of her felt sorry for him as the soon to be unwanted attention would surely take its toll on someone who didn't want it at all. While she did dislike it she also knew it came as a cost at her desire to fight in tournaments.

She didn't say anything as the flight continued, there was a flurry of voices from the cockpit but Pyrrha mostly ignored it as she looked once more back out at the sea of red trees. However to the south west she could see some of the vague shape of what she knew was Vale.

In the skies above Vale were the noticeable shapes of Atlas Naval ships but more importantly was the fact that one of these ships seemed to be coming towards them.

"You should get seated." A voice said behind Pyrrha and she looked over her shoulder at Tava. The Centurion however wasn't really looking at her but Pyrrha knew she meant her.

"I think I'll be fine here."

"If you say so." Tava said and Pyrrha cocked her head a little at the strange implication in Tava's voice. It wasn't long till the edge of Beacon came into view, several of the Atlesian Attack Transports were in the air but they seemed to move away as the Arcadian aircraft came in to land.

Pyrrha turned away as they began to descend however to grab her weapons which she had left next to Jaune. Her partner didn't seem to notice her however as she sat down next to him.

"Jaune?" She whispered and he snapped his head up so fast that it startled her for a second.

"We're here." She said, Jaune gave a quick but albeit strained smile as he nodded.

"Thanks Pyrrha, I'm just…nervous."

"I think I can understand that feeling, no one would have guessed who you were before but now that it's out everything seems like it's going to change." Pyrrha said and he nodded.

"I'm not surprised you understand what I'm feeling since you have had your fair share of troubles."

"That's true but if I had to be honest if I knew that dealing with them would lead me to you then I would be happy to do it all over again." She wasn't sure why she said that but she could feel her face heat up and seeing Jaune look away with his own face looking a bit red meant that it had some strange traction with him as well.

This feeling Pyrrha had was something she wished she could explore, ever since meeting Jaune she's felt a strange connection.

She wasn't sure why that was the case but a part of her also knew that her emotion capabilities have been hindered over the years. Despite that she was confident that what she felt or at least what she thought she felt were genuine.

The only problem was she had no idea what to do from there.

At that moment the Valkyrie shifted under its weight as it settled onto the ground, the roar of the engines began to whine as they spun down. Everyone stood up as the rear ramp lowered itself, as they stepped into the dying light Pyrrha could see a relatively small crowd of onlookers at the edge of their landing platform.

More importantly however was a small group of people nearby, Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, and Gideon Nauo. With them were also six men that looked to be Valean soldiers in full combat gear standing behind them.

"Something tells me this is trouble." Ren said from behind Jaune and he couldn't help but agree a little. As they got closer the five Praetorians outpaced the Beacons students before planting themselves between the two groups. The Valean soldiers stepped forward as well but Gideon raised a hand to keep them back.

"It's good to see all of you again." Ozpin was the first to say as he looked at each of them.

"From what I've heard you've all survived a harrowing ordeal which is why I have Professor Goodwitch here to escort you to the infirmary for a checkup." He said upon which the blonde woman stepped forward but the four Praetorians wielding shields raised them as one. In any other situation Jaune might have enjoyed the look of surprise on the otherwise strict Professor's face but alas this was not one of them.

"Tava, she's on our side." Jaune hissed knowing that the Centurion would be able to hear them. In response, Tava reached up with one hand and there was a hiss before she removed her crested helm.

"As long as we're with the High Prince, anyone that wishes to approach him and his companions must first request an audience with them through us unless specifically stated prior by him that they may approach." Tava said evenly as if she was talking about a shopping list.

"Excuse me? This is Beacon property and while he may have authority where you're from but here he's a Beacon student first and prince second." Goodwitch said and Jaune stepped forward.

"Centurion Tava, have your legionaries stand down." Jaune said mustering the best commanding tone he could manage though to his own ears it felt like his voice was more than a little wobbly. Yet the Praetorians including Tava straightened up.

"High Prince I know you're unfamiliar with this but this is something that falls under our mandate and therefore not something we can just ignore." Tava said looking at him with a still passive face and Jaune nodded.

"I understand that Tava but for the time being anyone we meet is to be considered exempt to such rules." Jaune said and the woman nodded before looking at Goodwitch again.

"Apologies ma'am, you may approach." Tava said and Goodwitch gestured for the others to come forward.

"I already have a select group of faculty and medical staff set aside to run you through medical examinations and counseling." Goodwitch called out but after a second she lowered her voice to a surprisingly comforting tone.

"I don't know what you all went through out there but rest assured we're here for you." Jaune wasn't sure who let out a loud shaky breath but for some reason it seemed like that was what they wanted to hear. As the others followed Goodwitch Jaune stayed back as he turned to Tava.

"Well Centurion I guess this is goodbye." He said and the four other Praetorians slammed their fists to their breastplates while Tava nodded.

"It's been an honor meeting you High Prince." Tava said but Jaune saw the Centurion look over his head before her face became inscrutable.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Gideon called out from behind Jaune as Tava made her way around Jaune with a hand on her claymore's hilt. Coming up to them was a group of people; Jaune however recognized them as Atlas Military.

At their head was none other than General Ironwood as he led a detachment of Atlesian Knights and soldiers. Ozpin stepped forward as well as the Praetorians surrounded Jaune.

"Where is he?" Ironwood called out as they got close.

"Where is who?" Ozpin asked evenly and Ironwood sighed.

"Ozpin, you know who I'm talking about. Ambassador Nauo's report mentioned that it came to light that you had a member of the Arcadian ruling family amongst your student body."

"I don't see what that has to do with you." Ozpin asked instead.

"You know fully well that I have to be involved in this Ozpin, he's a member of an enemy Kingdom."

"They're not the enemy and neither is he and you know this."

"His people were acting on their own and got Valean citizens killed yet you're still defending him? Ozpin this is exactly why the Council chose me to oversee Vale's safety for the Vytal Festival." Ironwood said before looking at Gideon.

"And before you even say anything Mr. Nauo let me just inform you that the Council orders your withdrawal from this matter as such any attempt of authority shall not be recognized." He said before finally fixing his gaze on Jaune and the Praetorians.

"You will either surrender to my authority or be subject to arrest in either case you will be coming with me." Jaune could feel Tava and the other Praetorians bristle at demand.

"Take one more step towards the High Prince and you won't be leaving here alive." Tava said as her Praetorians not only raised their shields but drew their swords as well. The Atlesian Knights and soldiers began to spread out with their rifles raised but Ozpin stepped forward once more.

"Enough!" He called out as he slammed his cane onto the ground with a crack that made Jaune flinch and everyone else pause.

"I do not care what the Council has to say on this matter, Jaune Arc is my student and as long as he's my student he shall not be taken into custody over a matter he had no reasonable connections to. Now leave my sight and my school before you do something you'll regret." Ozpin said and Jaune thought Ironwood might challenge him but the Atlesian general's shoulders sagged as he shook his head.

"For the sake of our friendship Oz, I'll leave for now but if the Council orders me to come back." Ironwood said before taking a deep breath.

"Then I will have no choice but to arrest Jaune Arc."

---

Later That Night…

Viskryrd Rotsunder looked before the assembled survivors of the Norsii Army; many of them were tired and wounded. On top of that their morale was at an all-time low, they had suffered far too many defeats. First in the frozen wasteland now here sure they had razed a few towns and villages but they never put up a proper fight.

Then they assembled en mass once more over five thousand strong and felt strong with a renewed purpose. It was however short lived which now saw them cowering in a forest during night as the victors from earlier hounded them.

If he had to guess there was a little more than a hundred of them, mostly other Warriors with a few dozen marauders and Knights. Not a remarkable force but enough that it would no doubt be strong enough to continue razing other towns and villages like before.

"What should we do?" An Aesling Warrior called Ghaoka asked

"We travel west once more and strike along the coast. These infidels cower behind their stone walls and we haven't the strength to challenge them but given time with raiding, pillaging and breeding we might someday come back to rain down our revenge against them."

"How are we going to do that? They're still looking for us after the battle."

"For the next few days we'll travel during night then rest during the day that way we'll be able to escape their search in no time." He said and Ghaoka nodded before stepping in close.

"I don't think the others will take kindly to being given orders."

"Do not worry about that, any opposition that springs up will be taken care of." The moment those words left his lips something splashed his armor. Ghaoka tittered forward a few steps and Viskryrd could see the faint shape off an arrow protruding out of his horned helm.

As if a dam broke, commotion overtook the assembled group as more arrows began to pelt them. Viskryrd cursed as he hefted his shield in time for another arrow to bounce off its surface.

The forest came to life as cloaked figures riding great horned stags that rode through with expert grace in between the spread out warriors riding them down or lopping off heads before disappearing into the trees again.

"Form up!" Viskryrd shouted and his ever decreasing warband closed ranks before they finally started fighting back. The shrieks of animals in pain soon began to ring out couple with the occasional cry of pain of their unknown attackers.

Within seconds however the attack stopped but Viskryrd kept his shield up as an intense wind began to blow down shaking the trees as if a storm was brewing nearby. Yet there was something off about the wind, the night had been cool and comfortable yet the air was now hot like a desert during a mid-summers day.

He looked up at the shattered moon and saw something that he sent a chill down his back. Silhouetted in the light of the broken moon was something massive he never thought he'd see in person.

As the shadow moved closer, growing bigger and bigger that it soon seemed to eclipse the shattered moon it began flapping great wings that sent powerful winds before it. A single source of light emerged in its shadow and before Viskryrd could even begin a pray to his infernal gods, fire consumed him and all around him.

As the last member of the warband succumbed to the flames, a series of powerful gusts beat down on them putting them out leaving nothing but a smoldering mess of cracked glassy like surface.

The creature gave off a beat of its large powerful wings before ascending into the sky once more, its shadow evident against the backlight of the broken moon then finally disappearing as a whole into the dark sky.

---

Well it's been a while huh?

I just wanna say sorry for taking such a long time to get anything posted, I'm finally in Uni and it unsurprisingly has taken up a lot of my time. From presentations to papers to more presentations in addition to legitimately making a small game based on the real life of a young German Communist boy in his struggle to flee Germany to Soviet Russia was a long time consuming process. Even won a small reward in recognition of my participation and work on it which felt really odd for me but I digress.

I hope that this chapter isn't too shitty considering how long you all had to wait to read it.

Feel free to leave a review of what you thought of the chapter or the story as a whole in the comments as I always take the time to read and address any thoughts or concerns you might all want to bring up.

Anyways, I'm gonna go celebrate my birthday by doing something, I don't know...

Till Next time!