XxX-XxX-XxX
Official Supporters:
Fanatical Fucking Reader, ScrubLord Yoda
Obsessive Reader, the Lizard
Compulsive Reader, The Impossible Muffin
Adeptus Militaris, Wilger
Commissioner, Gib, Espa Cole, Death Daddy
If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM me for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : /2UZncAm
Second link here, remove ( and ) and it SHOULD work : D(i) (slash)kfhkfUb
I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.
Beta(s) :
XxX-XxX-XxX
We're just going to pretend I didn't fucking spoil that Neo only had the Fall fucking Maiden's powers, okay? Just pretend, everyone.
Fuck me.
I'm angy.
XxX-XxX-XxX
"Move reserve droids onto the field." Ironwood ordered sharply into his comm-piece, "Draft the police's old Knight-110 units if you need to- Get me bodies on the field! The trench-lines cannot fall."
He cut the line before the expected confirmation and opened the next line, trying for Rose. She answered after a moment and said, breathless, "Y-Yeah?"
"You're still en route?"
"Y-Yeah." She answered, "We, uh, couldn't find any transport where we, ah, needed to get. So we're running. Fast as we can."
"Estimated time?"
"Uh, I don't kno-"
The line died in a shriek of static that made Ironwood flinch and turn, yanking the line out of his ear and dragging his Scroll out of his pocket. He flicked it open to a black screen and snarled, "No! What is this?!"
"A minor hiccup." Roland's voice echoed from it, "Handling the problem, General."
"What does that mean, Roland?"
No answer came and he threw the device down on his desk as he turned, looking out on the battle until a flicker of movement drew his gaze to the right. Far out to the West, dozens of ships soared away from Atlas and Mantle both. The larger, black silhouette of the Black Sun trailed above and behind them, point defense weapons firing on Grimm Ironwood couldn't see at such range as the SDC fleet made its first refugee run out of the warzone.
Thenn, he heard the grinding of metal and turned to watch in confusion as the heavy bulkhead slid down across the wall to seal his door. The sound continued and he turned again, watching the exterior bulkheads seal over his windows.
"Roland?" The AI didn't answer and Ironwood swore, "Damn it, Roland! What are you doing? What have you done?!"
"My job, General." The AI finally answered him, "Defending Humanity."
Ironwood roared, drew his Due Process, and annihilated the Scroll and desk both with a heavy shot. Bellowing, he raised the hand cannon and emptied it against the bulkhead covering his door as well.
XxX-XxX-XxX
"I've secured the General in his office." Roland said over their direct, private connection. "From the blueprints I accessed, it should come down intact, as planned, Sir. He won't be happy, but he'll be alive."
That was what mattered going forward, for all their sakes. Quietly, John slipped around the corner of his ship and stepped out into the vehicle bay and murmured, "Acknowledged."
"Branwen and Hill are in the forward left section of the bay, your approach."
The ship's bay had been emptied when they came down in the Crater, all their vehicles and most of their ammunition left behind in favor of Mantle's civilians. It had been unfortunate to lose their gear, but the objective came first - particularly when the objective was civilian rescue. Now, the bay was half-full of those civilians, crammed in towards the back while those who had survived the actual fighting were packed into the fore, either laid out on cots or piles of bags or tending to their friends.
Branwen was at the front where Roland had said, laid out on a bed made out of cardboard boxes and a piled coat for a pillow. Robyn's coat, he surmised - she was standing in just her white tee and trousers, and the pillow the man was using matched the color's. The woman herself seemed fine, aside from a bandage wrapped around her bicep, but Branwen was in much worse shape. His arm was in a slide, and his stomach was swaddled in bandages while his leg lay limp and the other bounced in the way he'd seen men on the ground do on a dozen planets.
"Robyn!" The woman spun on a heel as his Faunus charge shot by him and towards her, her borrowed mask in her hand and puffy suit bunching and ruffling as she went.
"Fiona!" She caught the Faunus when she leapt and spun a bit, wincing but smiling as she sat her down and rubbed the smaller woman's head while she nuzzled into her stomach. As he approached them the smaller woman backed away, only to be dragged back into the hug by the other woman who buried her face in her hair and trembled, "Gods, Fi, I was so worried about you…"
"I-I was scared, too." The Faunus stammered, reaching up to hold the woman's hands and relaxing into her hold. "Our friends got me through, though - and I definitely have you all beat on the craziest stunt, too."
"Yeah?"
"We jumped out of the ship hundreds of feet up!" She squealed as she backed up and held up her helmet and mask, "I had to pack oxygen! It was insane… Definitely beat's Jo for top slot, yeah?"
"Ah…" Robyn flinched at that and Fiona stilled and cocked her head to the side in an obvious question. Robyn sighed, and said, "Fi, Jo…"
"No…" The Faunus murmured, backing a step away as Robyn's face twisted in pain. The Faunus only shook her head and backed up and into him, turning to look up at him with wide, terrified eyes. She shook her head, and like she was pleading with him, murmured, "N-No… Not Jo."
Silent, he turned a look on Robyn who only nodded gravely and crossed her arms.
Slowly, unsure if he was doing the right thing, John pulled his rifle around in one hand and wrapped the other around the Faunus to hold her. He heard her helmet clatter to the ground and felt her slam a fist into his stomach - and then another, as she started to sob. But they didn't hurt, and even had they, he wouldn have let it happen.
Silent, he stood and took her blows and her tears until she calmed down and pushed against his chest-plate.
"Thanks." She murmured, eyes red and cheeks puffy.
He only nodded, and looked down at Qrow, who was sleeping and breathing raggedly - a broken rib, probably. Quietly, he reached for the bio-foam on his belt and pressed it into the small woman's chest. When she took it and looked up, he said, "Call me if you need me. I have work to do."
"A-And the can…?"
"Bio-foam." He nodded at the downed man meaningfully and added, "It has morphine, too, in the small needle on the side. I can trust you with Branwen?"
"Y-Yeah…" She nodded and turned away, pulling the little injector out and moving to kneel beside the injured man.
Robyn met his eyes, smiled thinly, and nodded.
He returned the gesture, turned, and strode away quietly.
XxX-XxX-XxX
Finding a set of armor that fit him well enough had been a pain in the ass- he'd had to kill a whole squad just to pull it off - but with the chaos, no one had questioned Mercury when he stumbled up the ramp of one of Atlas' shuttles and hitched a ride up to the city in the sky. They'd been dropped off behind the wall, fed, and told to wait for the signal to head out and take to the trenches.
But Mercury had a more fun idea in mind…
Once the call went up, he moved out as he was told, but lingered in the first trenches. Then, while everyone was distracted by the oncoming Grimm, he turned and pulled himself out of it. Staying low, like a soldier would be trained to, he slunk back to where the artillery was and held up his rifle, tapping the side of it urgently - a jam, and one he couldn't deal with in the trench.
The idiots let him get behind them!
Hiding behind the sandbags they'd erected, he worked on 'clearing' the rifle until the soldiers stopped paying him any mind. Then, slowly, he reached over and took one of the arm-sized artillery shells. A little twist of the base ensured that when they fired it, the Dust would ignite and take the gun with it. Along with the crew…
He couldn't wait.
Suddenly, though, he heard one of the men shout, "What is that?!"
Curious, Mercury stood and followed their finger to…
"What is that?" He murmured as the great whale erupted in violet light.
XxX-XxX-XxX
"We can't make the elevator go down without her, so we have to wait." Ruby repeated for the fifth time, watching Weiss pace by the entrance to the alcove that hid the lift down. "Unless you want to, um, jump and slide?"
"Without knowing what's at the bottom?" Blake shook her head, "Not bright."
"I just…" Weiss sighed, "I dunno."
"I do." Yang murmured, leaning over to catch the Schnee when she paced too close. She dragged her into a hug and let the other woman relax against her. "I know it sucks, but just hold on for a bit longer. 'Kay? Then it all comes out."
"Yeah…"
"Ruby!"
"Penny!" Ruby pushed off the wall and spread her arms as the android rocketed forward and into them, nearly bowling her over for the force - now, though, Penny had learned to throw her legs to either side of the lighter gurl to catch herself. Penny stole a quick peck on the lip and then pulled away and turned to Weiss with a sadder, more comforting smile, "And… Weiss, I'm so sorry."
"Me too…"
"We need to get this done." Ruby hated to do it, but she knew they had to get their job done - for everyone's sake. Stepping aside, she pointed at the door that blocked the way to the Relic and asked, "This is the door, yeah?"
"It is." Penny nodded and stepped forward, finger opening to reveal a drive inserter while she yanked a panel off the wall below the keypad. She slotted it into the blocky access unit there and asked, "Roland? Do you have access now?"
"I do." Hie voice echoed out of her mouth, and her lips moved with them - which was weird, but Ruby pushed it aside. After a second, the doors opened and he grunted shortly, "Hurry - the plan is moving forward shortly."
"Got it." She nodded, "And thanks, Roland."
"Any time."
"Yang, Blake-"
"We'll guard the top. Someone coming to stop us would be a disaster, and we can fight easier up here in the tighter space." Blake cut in, smart enough to know her plan before she even said it. Ruby smiled and nodded and turned to step onto the lift with the other three.
As it descended, Yang called, "Shout when you want us to jump down, Sis."
"Will do!"
It descended into a wide, open room with a platform in the center and great falls to every side of it - she could see white when she leaned over, so it must have led all the way down to the surface. Which was far enough to kill any of them, regardless of their Aura. Which was a scary thought all by itself…
And that was without the bomb at the end of the Kingdom counting down...
"Okay, Neo, you open the gate for us, and do it quickly. We've only got a couple more minutes before, uh, the big boom happens. So, you know… Don't dawdle." Ruby instructed as they crossed the platform, "I'll use the Staff to make us a way out onto the tundra. Then Roland comes and gets us. Got it?"
The short, silent woman nodded as the other three came to a stop at the bottom of the steps and she climbed up them. As she reached out for it, the light of the great, magical door glowed brighter until her fingers played across it. Bright sigils flared to life as they did, and the door glowed brighter for a moment, as if sensing the power inside the woman. The meaning of it.
Then, all the light died, and Neo staggered back as if she'd been struck.
"What?" Ruby murmured, "But… Cinder had both Maidens' powers. They should have been together, right?"
"Evidently not…" Weiss murmured before her eyes widened and she turned, "Yang, Blake! Get down here before-"
The world trembled and the lights around them flickered as the two women leapt down, rolling with flashes of Aura that flared to protect them. Yang flicked a look from Neo to the door and then her eyes widened.
"Penny!" The android's arm wrapped around her and the other wrapped around Neo, holding them tight enough it hurt Ruby while Weiss summoned her Lancer. Yang and Blake both leapt onto it.
Then the world suddenly tilted, and everything went black-
Aside from the shining white Grimm and Penny's thrusters. Ruby buried her head in her girlfriend's neck and gripped Crescent Rose tight in her hand as Penny turned and angled, rocketing down through the chamber beneath the Vault as it groaned and fell to pieces around them. She opened her eyes when she felt the cold wind of the tundra and looked down at a sea of ever-expanding white.
Then, she felt the heat of the fire that swallowed them all.
XxX-XxX-XxX
"Arbiter." Thel turned and caught the silver and white rifle in one hand, turning it over in his hands and then looking up at the Spartan with confusion written across his face. The titan only shrugged, "I'm done being the only one with a gun. Ammo's in the locker behind the pilot seat - take what you need."
"Indeed." The trust was great - and meaningful - and he bowed his head in thanks as he did as he was instructed and then practiced reloading the weapon. As he did, he rumbled, "We must make haste."
The Spartan agreed and called over, "Pilot, what's our estimated time of landing and heading?"
"Max speed with these winds, Specialist." The pilot answered sharply, "Heading is forty two degrees west, five north, estimated landing in two more minutes. Recommend you - hold."
"Pilot?"
"What the hell is that?!" The pilot shouted as the two waylaid warriors moved to the front of the cabin.
"No…" The Spartan murmured, "Not now… We aren't ready, and the leviathan is too close! The explosion will-"
"Bring down Atlas." The Arbiter rumbled, eyes widening as the scarlet rift expanded. It was twice the size of the gargantuan whale, and consumed nearly a third of Atlas's mass before halting. It stuttered, then, and he snarled, "Pilots, take us down! Now! As fast as you can before it-"
The rift closed with an emanating shockwave that rolled out, shattering the nearest sections of Mantle's wall and collapsing entire districts in a rolling tide of fire and sky-thrown dust. Atlas itself heaved back and raind sections of its mass, buildings and generators tumbling as the city drifted to the side and fell towards the tundra. The shockwave reached them before Atlas reached the ground, though, and the Arbiter was thrown back as the aircraft lost power and was hurled away.
"Arbiter!" The Spartan bellowed, leaping towards him and pulling Thel against his armored chest as he knelt, holding him like a child while his magnetic boots held fast to the bottom of the transport.
A moment later, something slammed into their craft and ripped the floor apart and their craft in half. As they fell, the Arbiter spun through the air, flailing and trying to center himself, to find which way was down - if only to see death coming. Their transport and its escort fell away and to the side, spinning and ablaze, and the Arbiter watched it crater in a flash of scarlet and orange fury.
He would soon join it, if he did not act…
He reached out and flared his Aura, hand outstretched below his waist. A moment later he slammed into the wall he had formed with enough force to draw a cry of pain from him and slid off of it at an angle. He repeated the process three times, landing on self-made platforms to slow his descent until he was about four meters off the ground, where he grit his teeth and free-fell.
The tundra itself looked flat, and the snow was - but beneath it the ground rolled gently as it might anywhere else.
He hit the ground through the snow and found the curve of a hill, which threw him off his balance and into the snow with a snarl and a lance of pain that flared up from his ankle. When it did not fade, he knew it was sprained, but forced himself up regardless - his Aura would see to it, but for now, he had more important things to see to.
"Arbiter." he turned, limping slightly on his injured leg, and watched the Spartan come towards him. His heavy gun was gone, scattered in the crash, but the old soldier held his sidearm at the ready in its place. He eyed the Sangheili and asked, "Are you green?"
"Mostly." He nodded, turning to the fiery hulks, "Our allies?"
"Dead." He turned back and the Spartan tapped his helmet, "Team feed - those were my pilots."
"I am sorry for your loss."
"I am, too…" The Spartan sighed and turned, watching the dust settle around Atlas' broken form and the flash of fresh fires igniting across it and Mantle. "What did they do…? The plan had to have been scrubbed when it landed on Atlas!"
"What happened is irrelevant."
"What-"
"We must get there regardless - that is what is important at the moment." Thel explained, laying a hand on the Spartan's shoulder and then raising it in a sign of peace when the man spun towards him. "Peace, Spartan. I only mean that when we arrive, we will find out - but for now, we must focus on the 'arriving'. It is cold, and my Aura will not protect me forever. Will your armor?"
"No."
"Then let's move, Spartan."
The large human only nodded and turned, stalking off ahead of him quickly. He was infuriated, Thel could tell, and he sympathised - what had they done up there? And why? Surely they had good reasoning for their decision, but for now, he feared the sheer amount of loss that had come to Atlas' people.
XxX-XxX-XxX
Poofy Ohio :
Yes, I do. As I said, I only do it sometimes, for deaths that don't SUPER matter. For plot deaths, those decisions are made chapters in advance if not at the start of the story. But I find it adds some SPICE to big battles and conflicts.
Also, I did, in fact, hint at Ruby liking Penny - or do you normally leap into your bro's arms, press your forehead against theirs, and snuggle up against them? XD
G119 :
Nah, lots of fandoms develop it - our issue is that people like Vexed and co have been allowed to cohabitate and are protected by other RWBYtubers. So we can't solve the toxic problem. It just festers.
Sucks, but eventually, Vexed will get called out and that will start the tumble that fixes it. Seen it a dozen times.
Steel rain 66 :
About Weiss being happy - .
Atomic Ray (Guest) :
Fuck you mean? I'm teasing a TRIPLE SHIP. XD
KMPH2001 :
Roland. Does not. Play games.
Joe Cola :
Mhm! And with my name, surely that isn't foreboding AT ALL right? Nah, nah, not at all.
AI Proposer (Guest) :
They… Literally do not. The Black Sun does not have any of that. And even if they did, SHE would not be an AI - it would be a copy of her neural patterns which formed a WHOLLY SEPARATE ENTITY.
Winter is dead.
Dragon Lord Draco :
'Arbiter' is a title, Thel is his name, so both are correct. Also, I definitely recommend at least watching the cutscene compilations on Youtube and maybe reading some books - Thel is interesting af.