Either the notifications for when a new chapter is posted didn't come through to my readers, they haven't finished reading my latest chapter or they were away for Thanksgiving, I don't know. But what I can tell you all is that this chapter will be very surprising for you all, to say the least. At least, I hope.
But before I begin, I would like to say that I am dedicating this chapter to the late Jason David Frank, better known for his role as Tommy Oliver in Power Rangers, the original green and white rangers, Red Zeo and turbo rangers and black Dino Thunder ranger. He passed away at the age of forty-nine which has devastated many of his fellow ranger co-stars. I think I saw in a video that Amy Jo Johnson cried when she heard about this.
I'll be using a few Power Rangers songs from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as music scores this chapter. It's my way of paying tribute to a great actor and one of the reasons I was into martial arts when I was younger.
But first, onto the reviews.
Monster King: Thanks
Luffy L Deathwalker: Oh, you'll be surprised at what happens this chapter. Trust me.
Silverfox3456: Hope you had a great Thanksgiving as well.
The Guest Reviewer: Oh, trust me when I say Ironwood is going to be more than what he was in canon.
Spartan-626: Jacques will get a beating in the future, I promise. As for Nora, Wrecker and Scorch watching whatever recordings they can find of the explosion, that sounds promising.
SunPhoenix90: Glad you are all caught up and Jacques will answer for his crimes in the future, I promise you.
Guest Reviewer number 2: Amen to that! They are the most badass commando units in the clone army. If it were just one of those squads on Remnant, the Grimm wouldn't stand a chance.
BlindFaunusGirl: Glad you like it, although I am still trying to figure out what Trigger's semblance should be, he did indeed go on a Dark Jak like rampage when he saw Neo injured. The Amber A.I. will play an important role later on, I can promise you that.
Songs this chapter will be 'I Will Win' and 'Fight' by Ron Wasserman, 'Requiem For A Dream/ Requiem Tower or Lux Aeterna', from the movie Requiem For A Dream and finally 'Set it Off' by Skillet.
Que the intro.
(Start Rise, Tv version by Madkid)
(The camera moves fast over the frozen tundra of Solitas before it shots up to the floating city of Atlas and the city of Mantle below it. As fighter jets fly past, the title card is revealed with two lightsaber blades surrounding it.)
Remnant Unleashed
In this empty void, I found the way to light. Can't find my way in this lingering world. Searching fo the answer- the one that I can trust in. I'm just wandering around.
(The title card vanishes as a shot of Ironwood addressing his followers is shown, standing in full military gear. Among them is Galen and his team, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Lop, Faye, Kara and Zett, the students wearing new combat clothing. Behind them in the corner with their helmets off are Rex and his brothers who eye the general with suspicion.)
Yeah, still stuck in the shadow ey, But I never follow that. This pain at last soon will pass. Turn into my own unbeatable strength. This guy or that guy -dead or alive by hiding alone, can't survive. I don't want to lie to myself.
(Behind Ironwood are his Ace Ops and Winter who then dissipate into mist before being replaced by Jacque who has a devious grin on his face, while Whitley and Serra stand behind him looking at each other with worry. The scene then changes to Mantle where Boba, Robyn, Ahsoka, the Fox, Maria, Grogu, Pietro, Penny, Artoria and the Happy Huntresses look up towards Atlas, Robyn crossing her arms before looking at a picture of her, Ray, Neo, and Amber.)
Keep on the fight, get right I'll never lose and cry. Keep run up day and night. Time to rewrite. No matter what anyone say's I find my way. Never go away.
(The Grimm charge towards from the tundra as Galen, Ruby, Jaune and their teams ready for their weapons for battle only for Ruby, Jaune and their teammates to vanish into mist while soldiers appear behind Galen and his team aiming their weapons at them. Galen's eyes are shown and then narrow as he ignites his lightsabers.)
Now, nobody can stop me no way. I will make sure not to forget those precious things. Yeah, I'll take a stand, get back all that I've lost. Rise suddenly in this word. (I don't look back yeah.)
(Galen and his team then charge in, now fighting a top a speeding train in the tundra against the Ace Ops while droids attack both groups. Galen slashes a droid and counters an attack from Harriet, Rose dodges Elm's massive hammer, Arthur clashes blades with his cousin, March trades fists with Marrow who looks unsure of his choices as Vine's giant hands try to swat away two human shaped machines flying alongside the train, with Clover trading blows Rex at the front of the train.)
This repetition will repeat 'till the end. And the regret that's still lingering in my head. Time to get it all back, now turn over. Rise suddenly in this world.
(The scene changes once again as Teams RWBY, JNR, Domino Squad, the Bad Batch, Fordo, Alpha, Cody, Waxer, Boil, Kara, Faye, and Able fight against the Grimm which then change into Imperial troopers as the shadows of Vader, Palpatine, Barriss, Jacque, Watts, Maul, Salem, Emerald, Mercury, and a mysterious robotic figure loom over them. Ruby's face turns to fear before her eyes shine and a silver light engulfs the screen before the title card returns.)
(Song ends)
Disclaimers are the same as always.
In Memory of Jason David Frank
Chapter 110: Salem
Maul waited by his ship in the Land of Darkness as new winged Beringels flew around Salem's castle. The news from Atlas was good, Watts had managed to get Jacques Schnee onto the Atlas Council, using Tyrian to create mistrust between Mantle and Atlas by murdering those who spoke out against Ironwood, but had failed to kill Robyn Hill, the aunt of the pilot called Trigger.
More good news came with Watt's reporting that he had successfully turned on an old factory dedicated to the construction of the prototype Atlesian Knights, along with several other versions of them and had managed to take control of dozens of Ironwood's new drone fighters and best of all, the Demon Lord of The Round Table had been framed for the murders Tyrian had committed, forcing him to leave the kingdom and was now out in the tundra, away from Ironwood's eyes.
The failure at Haven, defection of Hazel and death of Cinder was a minor blow to Salem's goals but learning that Ozpin had been reincarnated into a new body gave Salem a new resolve, resulting in her focusing more on her training in the ways of the force and lightsaber, something that Maul found rather curious. Was she planning on taking to the field of battle and facing the Jedi and their allies herself? Rather unusual considering her plan was to divide humanity and force them to fight each other.
The same applied for the White Fang, who Maul observed as they trained in the military hardware that Salem had amassed over the years, which included the newer Atlas fighters that were developed to counter the fighters of Vale and Anima. She even managed to get her hands on several experimental aircraft that were being mass-produced, which was ironic considering that much of it's technology was used to develop the S35 and according to Watt's a new stealth fighter designated as the S-57.
As a flight of White Fang MG-29's flew overhead on a training exercise, Maul felt a presence behind him as walking towards him was Adam Taurus. The failure to take control of Argus and use it as the base to launch their attack on Atlas, resulting in the death of many of his soldiers, but with Adam's failure Salem gained a new pawn, one to replace the loss of Cinder although not one being able to take the powers of the new Fall Maiden.
"It seems my brothers and sisters are growing restless. When will we be ready to launch our attack on Atlas?" Adam demanded.
"Patience, young Adam. Patience." Maul advised. "Your followers are not yet ready for an assault on Atlas, not with Stonehenge in the possession of the brutish General Ironwood. Your assault would be doomed to fail the moment you made it over the mountains. The strategy in place set by Lady Salem has proven effective, thus far. The failure of the operatives we sent proved to us that the kingdom is already a powder keg, ready to blow. All we are doing is providing the spark that will light the fuse."
"I grow tired of this waiting. We should attack now while the humans are fighting against one another over insignificant issues such as who's going to be taking advantage of my people!" Adam snarled, drawing his sword. "My sword hungers for the blood of humans and I will not rest until they bow before their true masters and not before I make Blake suffer for what she's done to me."
"That suffering wouldn't happen to involve degrading her like a slave, would it? I've seen Cinder's collection of 'special gear' she had planned to use on Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee. I assumed that she planned to keep them as her slaves, tightly restrained with no possibility of ever being released from their bindings, much like the ones she saw in one of those 'clubs' she visited in Vale when posing as a student." Maul guessed.
"Even if she was a human, I will admit that Cinder and I had similar thoughts when it comes to the punishment of those who have betrayed and hurt us. I don't care about this Ruby Rose, but the Schnee and Blake are another matter." Adam answered. "The Schnee's have taken advantage of my people for too long, using us like slaves in their precious Dust mines, while Blake deserves a fate far worse than death."
"Such fates, will be given to our enemies when the time comes." Salem said from behind them. Both of them turned around to see the Queen of the Grimm walking towards them wearing reinforced black leather armor and a black cape. "When we succeed, you will have the two you wish to extract your vengeance on, Adam." She began, before she raised her hand and started to choke Adam with the force. "But remember, those goals are secondary to my goal of acquiring the relics beneath the academies. Continue to serve me and you will be given what you desire, Adam." She reminded, releasing Adam from her grip.
As Adam gasped for breath, Salem turned towards Maul. "Do you also have objections to my trip as Watt's and Tyrian did?" She asked.
"No, I will not. If you truly wish to proceed with your trip, then I will not interfere, but merely assist you in your trip." Maul answered as the two walked aboard Maul's ship, which then took off and headed for Solitas, leaving Adam behind.
Her departure from her domain did not go unnoticed. A tremor was sent through the force that was felt by all those connected to the force.
Darth Sidious felt this disturbance during one of his meditations in his palace on Coruscant.
Plo Koon and Rahm Kota felt the disturbance as they reviewed the list of casualties that were incurred during a failed raid on an Imperial Supply Convoy from the rebel base on Derra IV in the Mikaster system.
Vader felt the disturbance as he stood on the bridge of the Executor, gazing out into the blackness of space. "She's making her move, earlier then normal. Interesting." Vader mused.
On the swamp world of Dagobah, Yoda felt this disturbance and grew concerned for what Salem had planned. "Careful, you must be, my young friends. In grave danger, you are." Yoda said silently from within his hut as the rain poured down outside.
On Remnant, the disturbance was felt by everyone strong in the force. Sienna, Ahsoka, Kara, Faye, Lop, Kit, Aayla, Barriss, Ray, Galen, Ruby, and Neo felt it and knew that something was dangerous was making its move, and it was heading towards Solitas.
Even Grogu felt the disturbance as he sat in Galen's backpack as he, Galen and Arthur walked through the settlement that surprised Galen the most.
The 'settlement' was actually a domed city similar to the domed cities on Mandalore, built out in the tundra comprised of humans, faunus and various species from Galen's galaxy, such as Wookie's, Talz, Pantoran's, Rodian's, Mirialan's, Mandalorian's, and Twi'leks who had lived on Remnant for centuries in secret from those who would exploit them or use them as slaves.
In fact, many of citizens of the settlement were the descendants of those who had almost become slaves during the days of the Old Republic but were spared from such a fate when the slaver ships crashed on Remnant. The survivors from these crashes established these settlements as a safe haven from the Grimm and anyone who threatened their new home.
Over the years, other ships crashed on Remnant and established other settlements such as the one called Corinth, which featured an artificially generated environment that helped with both growing crops and acclimating other species to the environments they weren't used to, complete with artificial rain.
Only a handful of people on Remnant knew about these settlements, one of which was the Vega family who had a descendant find the settlement by accident years ago and Robyn Hill who nearly died shortly after she graduated from Atlas Academy, during a routine rescue mission in which she was caught in a snowstorm, only to be saved by one of the cities security guards that was out on patrol for any Grimm that managed to sneak into the city. They even had a lucrative deal with the railroad, allowing them to purchase supplies and pick them up at one of the other flag stops along the line, so long as it was those who were trust worthy and waited off to the side, to avoid any word of them or the settlements being sent back to the Kingdom.
Galen found the whole idea very interesting and promising, something that could prove to the world that humans, Faunus and even off-worlders could come together and live as a united people, something that could probably stand against Salem, with the right training and equipment.
"Excuse me, sir." A voice said from behind, braking Galen's thoughts as he turned around to see a Wolf-Faunus girl standing behind him. "You forgot your wallet back at our shop, sir." The girl explained, holding Galen's wallet in her hands.
"Really? I must've forgotten about it." Galen replied, taking his wallet back from the girl. "Thank you." He then walked into another shop and returned a few minutes later holding a drink that he gave to the girl. "Here, why don't you consider this my way of saying thanks for returning my wallet. Just make sure you keep helping others like you did with me."
The girl smiled before one of her parents came up and walked back to the store with their child, making Galen smile and wondering what it would have been like if his parents raised him like the parents of that child. However, his thoughts still lingered on the disturbance he felt not too long ago, wondering what it meant. It wasn't anything like Vader, Barriss or Cinder, but something much more dangerous. "Something bad is about to happen. I know it." Galen thought as he met with Arthur who had gathered the provisions that they came into the settlement to procure and was waiting for him by the gate to the settlement where his vehicle was parked.
"Something wrong?" Arthur asked.
"I sensed a disturbance in the Force. It was stronger than anything I ever felt since I've been on this planet. It's… I don't know what it is." Galen admitted as he loaded the supplies onto the Shark. "Did you purchase the ammo?"
"I managed to get everything from shotgun shells to rifle rounds, even picked up a few grenades. Not sure why we need all this ammo. We haven't really done much Grimm hunting since that job of clearing out that pack of Ursa near the road." Arthur answered and asked.
"Call it a precaution. You know those visions I've been having, the ones where this settlement is attacked by a large assault force of Grimm and droids. Every bit of ammunition and explosives we can scrounge up will give us a better chance of holding off the enemy." Galen answered.
"Spoken like a true warrior, Jedi." Came the voice of Vrex Hoggugg, the forty-five-year-old Mandalorian head of security said. With black hair showing earlier signs of greying and blueish white eyes and dressed in older Mandalorian armor that had been modified over the years, he was the settlements first line of defense when it came to protecting the people. "If my ancestors fought you back in the day, I probably wouldn't be here today to admire your skills as both a warrior and pilot." Vrex said, handing Arthur two-dozen whistling birds. "You're going to need these for the fights that are to come, young man."
"We Penwolfs are always ready for battle, no matter how challenging it is." Arthur answered.
"Even if you aren't a Mandalorian, you fight like one." Vrex said impressed with Arthur's commitment. "You're all cleared to leave, we'll be looking forward to your next visit, Demon Lord."
"Until next time." Galen said, turning the key and powered up the Shark. "By the way, I suggest you have all your rifles and heavy weapons loaded for combat. Something bad is coming this way and I have a feeling it will come here first." Galen warned.
"Thanks for the warning, I'll get it done." Vrex acknowledged as the Shark left the domed city and headed into the tundra. He then reached for his commlink and spoke into it. "I want all security personal on full alert, have all weapons loaded and ready for combat." He instructed.
Dusk had fallen when Galen, Grogu and Arthur returned to the safehouse with the supplies. "Where have you three been!? I've molted three times waiting for you to get back!" March scolded as the Shark was pulled into the garage.
"First off, you're not an avian based Faunus and second, we only just got back a few minutes ago ourselves." Rose reminded the rabbit Faunus.
"I know, I was just kidding with them." March said with a playful smile as Grogu leapt from the backpack and into his arms. "Well, it looks like someone missed me and I missed him to. Isn't that right, Grogu?" he said in a playful manner.
"We got everything you wanted on the list. We should be stocked for quiet a while." Galen replied, ignoring March's joke, and focused on the matter at hand. "What's the status of Atlas and Mantle?"
"Three weeks living out here in the tundra and it looks like things haven't changed one damn bit. Jacques forces are continuing to overstep their bounds, forcing people from their homes, and is still framing Robyn for crimes she didn't commit. The Fox is still fighting them, but it looks like Ray and Neo are getting involved as well. I can't tell you how many firefights between those two and the soldiers I've read about and don't get me started about Ironwood. Also, the cities are now teaming with Bounty Hunters looking for us. No doubt planning on finding someway to draw us back and bring us in dead or alive. Reminds me about some of the bounty hunters Pa encountered during his days." Rose answered.
"If I know Ray and Neo, they're probably doing a one hell of a job in kicking Jacque's ass." March smirked.
"Stop talking and help us unload the supplies." Arthur reminded his teammate, carrying several bags in both his arms.
"Alright, alright. I'm going." March answered, grabbing several bags from the vehicle. "We cleared out that cave of Grimm that were harassing those other settlements a few clicks, but we found something odd. Frozen bodies of a dozen Atlas soldiers, but it looked like they were killed by something other than Grimm."
"What do you mean?" Galen asked.
"He means the soldiers were executed with precise headshots or burned to death, almost like it was done by the White Fang, but we didn't find any spent bullets or tire tracks, not even a single footprint. Whoever killed those poor bastards, they were careful not to leave any trace of who killed them. The recent snowstorm covered up the bodies pretty good, we only found them when Archie here tripped over what he thought was a branch underneath the snow." Rose answered.
"Think it was Salem's droids?" March asked.
"I'll need to see one of the bodies before we jump to that conclusion." Galen said. "Unless Ironwoods men recovered the bodies and are keeping their deaths under wraps."
"An army patrol nearly spotted us, so we couldn't risk getting caught going back for the bodies and we didn't bother to photograph them either, but its possible there might be something we missed, so we should go back and check out the sight where we found the bodies. I marked the spot on my scroll." Rose said.
"You thinking it's the Empire, Galen? They may have left the planet alone two years ago, but it's possible they might be coming back." Arthur asked.
"Until we get a clearer picture of what really happened, we're blind. Maybe it might have to do with I just sensed, something dark and evil is approaching, and we need to be ready for it." Galen told his team. "But first, let's have some dinner. It's getting late, so we should eat and get to bed."
"Yeah, I'm with you on that one. Especially considering Grogu's hungrier than either one of us." Rose said, getting said child to coo at the sound of his name. "Hope you're all ready for some chili tonight."
"So long as it's not spicy, that's fine with me. Last thing I want to do is breath fire." Galen answered with chuckled, getting his teammates to laugh at his comment about being able to breath fire.
Hour's past after dinner and Team GARM was fast asleep while a warm fire kept the house warm as they slept. Except for Galen and Grogu, who woke up after feeling another disturbance in the force, this time stronger than before which made it difficult for Grogu to fall back asleep after the little alien woke up. "Something's approaching, I can feel it. It's the dark side, I'm certain of it. It's not Vader, it's something else." Galen said as he noticed that it was starting to snow outside. "Three weeks of living like this and now of all times have I felt a disturbance in the Force. I've got a bad feeling about this." He added before lying back down in his bed.
It had been about three weeks since he and his team had been living 'off-grid'. Though he was grateful to Robyn for allowing them to use her safehouse, but the lack of provisions kept in the cupboards was a little unsettling, but they were able to make ends meet by taking on jobs from the various 'off-gridders'. Moving freshly grown crops from their greenhouses for the railroad to pick up, clearing out the occasional Grimm horde approaching vital railroad junctions, chopping wood and other odd jobs helped provide them with the Lien they needed to purchase the basic necessities to survive daily life out in the tundra.
Most of the supplies purchased were from Corinth, which were all grown from within the domed city which allowed Galen and his team to avoid being spotted by any patrols from the Atlas military or Jacques private army which had just started widening its patrol radius to the current area. It also made the idea of venturing to Rosamond out of the question.
Though the port city had only a single garrison guarding it, most of the soldiers were on the payroll of the Schnee Dust Company and focused more on guarding the companies property more than the civilians, having grown complacent in only guarding the facilities owned by the company, save for a dozen platoons armed with some of the earlier versions of the weapons built by Kara's father and under the command of a woman named Shepard who cared more about the people of the city then the SDC's property.
Thankfully, Scroll signals still kept them updated with the situation in the kingdom, along with news from Whitman and Wally who were the only other people who knew about Robyn's hideout. "Jacques going through a lot of trouble to eliminate me and anyone else who knows the truth. He must have hired someone to hack the poll results and implicate me for murder. Why would he go that far just to get on the council and who was it who gave him his 'deserved victory'? There's a lot more questions than answers." Galen said silently as he fell asleep.
By morning, a fresh blanket of snow had covered the tundra ground as the horn from a distance freight train echoed in the distance as the twin sharks revved up their engines before driving towards the northeast where the bodies were found. They had no idea that passing directly above them, Maul's Sith Infiltrator flew overhead before it landed.
The wind blew past Salem's face as she looked towards the domed settlement. "My lady, forgive me for asking this, but how do you plan on drawing in the Jedi? He could be anywhere on the continent." Maul asked.
"The same way you and your brother lured Kenobi to Raydonia. Slaughter of the innocent. Mercilessly and without compromise." Salem answered, get an agreeing grin from Maul to appear on his face as the witch unleashed her powers to all of her minions nearby. "First we shall create some chaos, then we will strike." She added as a howl of Beowolf echoed below.
Meanwhile, Galen and his teammates drove through the tundra, keeping an eye open for any patrols or Grimm as they neared the area where Rose and March cleared out the Grimm the other day. "No sign of any hostiles. Grimm or otherwise. Normally the Grimm would be attracted to the noise of a vehicle's engines, yet we've seen nothing." Arthur noted from the passenger seat of Galen's vehicle.
"Maybe we got lucky and they're all asleep." March said hopefully over the commlink.
"Just because you can't see them with the naked eye, doesn't mean the Grimm aren't there. They might be waiting for the right moment to attack!" Galen shouted as snow whipped past his face before he felt another disturbance just as Rose brought her vehicle to a stop. "This the place?"
"Yeah, it's above us, close to the cave entrance. Better hope that those Atlas idiots didn't remove anything important." The cowgirl replied as she started walking up hill. "We're at the foot of mountains, so it's natural that Grimm would be living in a cave to avoid the cold, even though their fur is a lot more suited to the climate than for us humans and Faunus." Rose said, her shotgun at the ready.
"Kind of makes you wonder if the God of Darkness made the Grimm to be the dominant species on the planet. Probably wouldn't find a lot of food if it's just them." March questioned, noticing a horde of Grimm running in the distance. "Somethings got the Grimm running like bats out of hell. Probably a lot of negative emotions being emitted from someone or somewhere." He observed.
"We may have to deal with the monsters later." Arthur agreed as they continued their climb until they came to the mouth of the cave and the 'naked' trees. "Is this the place?"
"Yeah, this is the place alright. Looks like Ironwood pulled his soldiers out of here once they recovered the bodies, probably didn't even do a through sweep of the area. Cave's the size of a tunnel and I bet they didn't even look inside the damn thing before they bugged out." Rose said. "A lot of powder here, I don't think we'll be able to find anything without a couple dozen shovels, or a one of those Dozer's with the bladed plow."
"Master Fisto always said a second glance usually pays off, so it's a safe bet that the soldiers didn't find everything." Galen told his team, scanning the area with his eyes, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Soon, he spotted a something black sticking out from the snow close to a tree. "What's this?"
He walked over towards the tree and brushed the snow off the object, which was revealed to be an E-11 blaster rifle. "Question: Why is an imperial blaster buried in the snow when the Empire only made landfall on Vale and not on anywhere on Atlas?" March asked.
"Don't know, but I doubt this guy can tell us anything." Rose said, dragging the frozen body of an imperial soldier. The armor of the dead trooper included a breather hood to facilitate for extreme cold, white, rugged body gloves, a utility belt, boots designed specifically for winter terrains, polarized snow goggles built into the helmet, a backpack, white pants, and an insulating belt cape. "Found this poor bastard fallen over the ledge back there, looks he took a hit in the chest plate and took a nasty fall, the trooper's neck was broken from the fall."
"I found some blast points on the rock wall by the cave entrance. If it was indeed Stormtroopers that killed these soldiers, why are they here?" Arthur asked.
As his teammates talked about the theories they had about the imperial troops, Galen closed his eyes and listened to the force about the events that the blaster had witnessed. "They weren't just any Stormtroopers, they were Cold Assault Stormtroopers of the Imperial Storm Commando's, an elite special operations unit of the Imperial Army, similar to the ARC-Troopers." Galen said. "That trooper and his patrol encountered the soldiers from Atlas during one of their patrols. They detained the soldiers from Atlas before they could report back to Ironwood, only for one of the Atlas soldiers to grapple with the trooper for their blaster, resulting in the soldier getting the upper hand and knocked the trooper back with a shot to the shoulder, only to be gunned down by the other troopers who then executed the remaining soldiers."
"How do you know that?" Arthur asked.
"Jedi can use the force to see into the impressions and traces of information about an object that's been touched." Galen explained. "The Empire must have sent them to Remnant after the attack on Beacon, to keep an eye on the state of the planet, so they could plan another invasion." He surmised.
"But why come here?" Rose asked.
"The division between Atlas and Mantle." Arthur answered. "With the kingdom on the brink of civil war, the Empire might use this as an opportunity to take control of the planet and this time be seen as saviors."
"If that's what they're planning then where…" Rose began before she noticed something in the distance. "Uh, does anyone know if there's an active volcano nearby?" she asked.
"That's not a volcano! It's coming from Corinth!" Galen realized. "Let's go! They need us!" His teammates nodded and ran back down the hill towards their vehicles, which they powered up, turned around and sped back towards Corinth.
As the team drove through the tundra, the smoke continued to rise into the sky as a large horde of Grimm ran into the opening in the dome, created by the six solar ionization cannons at a single point which the Grimm were now using to pour into the domed city. Though Vrex had taken Galen's warning seriously, there wasn't enough time to fully arm the security forces or make the necessary repairs to the Basilisk war droids that had been repurposed as mobile turrets to protect the city from the Grimm.
Fortunately, Corinth Security forces were able to find and recover a lost shipment of Landstalkers and modified their weapons system, allowing them to use pulse wave cannons, shatter missile launchers and reinforced their armor. The downside was that the security forces had only about eighteen of these modified walkers and not enough trained pilots, leaving the security forces unprepared for the arrival of the Arachnid and Manti based Grimm.
A Widow fired a pair of missiles at a hastily built makeshift barrier set up by the security forces, killing them while another Widow opened up with its anti-personal laser cannons and mowed down the retreating security guards and a few unlucky civilians. Another group of security forces fired at some charging Beowolfs and Ursa while jetpack equipped forces flew overhead and fired down on the Grimm with blasters and rockets. Multiple Grimm were gunned down as the jetpack users landed on the ground, drew their vibro-swords, and proceeded to cut down the Grimm, trying to regain the ground they had lost an hour ago when the attack commenced.
Outside the city, Yellowjackets and other airborne Grimm flew overhead and dropped bombs on other parts of the dome while Aurek-class tactical strike fighters and Davaab-type starfighters rocketed from one of the hanger bays located near the entrance to engage the airborne creatures. One of the strike fighters opened up on a Yellowjacket with its heavy laser cannons, downing one of the Grimm before going after a formation of Hoppers. As the strike fighter sped after the Grimm, it exploded as three Yellowjackets bracketed it with weapon fire, sending the fighter into a death spiral before it crashed into the ground in a massive explosion.
From a distance, Salem watched as her Grimm attacked the city that had evaded her detection until Watt's was able to reveal its location to her, curtesy of hacking into the flight data from one of Ironwood's Falkens that he had sent out to search for Galen. "It appears that the defenders of this previously hidden city are putting up quite a fight." Maul said as one of the Dark Eye probes he dispatched into the city recorded the ongoing battle. "Seems they were well trained, perhaps by those skilled in the art of war, but their fighters seem to be from the days of the Mandalorian and Jedi Civil Wars." He observed as a Davaab fighter gunned down a Yellowjacket with its cannons. "Its possible that they have been living in secret for years and no one has ever found them. I suspect they have some impressive cloaking technology."
"Clocking technology or not, this will draw in the so-called Demon Lord and those that follow him. Let them fight the Grimm, it will only render them exhausted, making it easier for them to be killed." Salem noted as she watched her minions continued to attack the domed city. "Remember, Maul, Galen is mine, but the rest of his allies are yours to eliminate."
"I wouldn't deprive you of your objective, my lady." Maul acknowledged as footage from one of the probe droids showed one of the spitters launching its acidic spit at a Landstalker, killing the pilot as more Grimm charged towards the city center. "But it will be for not if he does not arrive. In fact, I believe he is arriving now." Maul added, taking notice of two approaching vehicles heading towards the city, followed by the sound of machinegun fire. "Now, let the slaughter begin."
Their machineguns roared as Galen and Rose kept their fingers on the triggers, ripping through the Grimm horde with their boosters activated and roaring as March and Arthur fired at the Grimm with their ranged weapons. "I can't believe we didn't see this coming! A swarm of Grimm this size is a death sentence for anyone even if they have armor or heavy weapons!" Rose shouted into the commlink, hitting a Beowolf with her vehicle that was sent flying through the air before it was killed by several shots from March's pistols. "Nice shooting, Archie!" she praised.
"That's only one of them and there's more than we can handle. We need to get inside the city!" March shouted.
From his own vehicle, Galen heard March's words over the commlink as Hoppers flew overhead trying divebombing tactics on them only for Arthur to gun them down with Excalibur's rifle mode. "Listen up! Plow right through the Grimm and get into the city! Use the guns to clear a path and get them to the city center. Once Vrex gets these vehicles, we'll hit them head on! Let's take the fight to the Grimm!" he yelled into his commlink as his Shark's machineguns continued to rip through the Grimm. "Don't engage the Widows, Spitters or Yellowjackets unless it's with your guns! Everything else, rip and tear them apart."
"Are you sure that's wise?" Arthur asked.
"We need to save as much ammo as we can. Besides, heavy weapons against the newer Grimm sounds like a better use than on the smaller Grimm." Galen answered as he hit the boosters again and sent his vehicle into the city, followed by Rose and March. "Let do this everyone!" he shouted as both vehicles flew overhead and landed on several Ursa before they pressed towards the city center.
(Start Fight)
"Keep up the pressure on the left flank! Don't let the armored ones through! You four, reinforce the right flank with those rocket launchers! Stay clear of the Landstalkers or you'll be crushed!" Vrex roared to his men, thrusting his knife into the head of an Ursa while firing his blaster at another Ursa, hitting it in the head. "What's the status of those turrets!?" he shouted to the Rodian who was trying to fix the auto-turrets that had been set up just a half-hour before the attack.
"Another couple of minutes if it weren't for the poo-doo hardware on these turrets!" the Rodian replied as their fingers ran rapidly over the console, trying to activate the turrets but his efforts were constantly blocked by a constant stream of error messages before he was only able to activate one of the turrets. "Only one! We won't stand a chance against those monsters!" they said in panic before a Beowolf pounced on him and mauled him to death.
The Beowolf was killed by one of the Mandalorian security guards, but more Grimm continued to run towards city center. "There's too many of them! We have to retreat!" another guard shouted.
"I will not run like a coward and leave the civilians to die at the hands of these monster! We will fight them no matter the cost! Let us show our ancestors that we have kept our warrior heritage and have become not conquers, but protectors of our great city!" Vrex shouted as he placed his helmet on leapt over the barricade with his twin vibro-swords in both hands before he charged towards the horde.
A battle cry escaped from his mouth as he slashed a Beowolf across the chest with one blade before thrusting his second blade into the chest of an Ursa. A pair of Beowolfs charged towards him, but Vrex threw both his swords towards the Grimm, quickly drawing his blasters pistols and gunned down several Grimm with his blasters, but more of them continued to arrive. "Don't just stand there like Hutts! Take the fight to them! The rest of you, protect the citizens!" he shouted.
The security forces who weren't injured all rallied behind their commander and ran towards the front with blasters and blades in their hands, all of them with a newfound will to live as they rushed towards the hole the Grimm had made. "Fight my brothers and sisters! Fight like true warriors!" Vrex shouted as he fired his blasters as he ran down the street with his men behind him.
Security forces armed with jetpacks flew overhead, firing everything they had at the Grimm, but the Widows that had gotten into the city were swatting them down like flies, save for a few who were able to fire their grenade launchers at the Widows and destroy them, but more of the hybrid creatures continued to decimate their forces. "All heavy weapons! Focus your fire on those hybrid creatures! Take them out!" one of the security guards, a Twi'lek shouted before they were mauled by an Ursa.
The airborne guards redirected their focus onto the Widows and fired. Dozens of grenades and rockets slammed into the Widows, killing the hybrid creatures, but winged Beringels soon arrived and forced the airborne units to engage them.
A few of the modified Landstalkers smashed through the remains of several barricades down below, raking the Grimm with machine gun, pulse wave cannons, shatter missiles and plasma mortars as they cleared a path towards the hole in the dome. One of the Landstalkers had just fired all of its missiles at a group of Widows, before it opened up with its machine guns and cut down dozens of Grimm before multiple fireballs from further away slammed into the vehicle, destroying it and killing the security personal beside it. "Sir! We've confirmed the sighting of Tankers acting as mobile artillery! They're launching fireballs at us!" One of the airborne guards shouted before they were slammed by a winged Beringel and then killed.
"I want all available aerial units to target those ancient monsters and blow them back to where they belong! We will not be beaten by the creatures that killed so many of our people thousands of years ago! Fight!" Vrex shouted into his commlink before he came to a stop in the middle of the marketplace where the biggest horde of Grimm he had ever seen had gathered and ready for fight.
(End song)
"Stand your ground, men. Don't let the sight of these monsters frighten you! Remember, we are warriors and the protectors of this city! Show these monsters what a true united city can do!" Vrex ordered as the remaining security forces readied themselves for battle. When they left the security center, they had about sixty remaining personal, now their numbers were cut in half, and they were running low on ammunition and stamina.
One of the remaining security guards, a polar bear Faunus heard something with his ears. "Sir, I hear something approaching fast."
Suddenly, both the security guards and Grimm heard the sound of engines roaring and machineguns firing as an Ursa was sent flying through the air, impaled by a flaming blue fire sword, much to the bewilderment of everyone. "What in the name of Mandalore did that?" Vrex questioned, soon getting his answer as the twin sharks turned a corner and skidded to a stop in front of the security guards, the barrels of their machineguns steaming from use. "Jedi." He smirked.
(I Will Win, starts)
Exiting the vehicles, Team GARM looked towards the Grimm. "That's got to be the largest Grimm horde I've ever seen in my life. Probably in anyone's life." Arthur noted, his gauntlet blades extended and sharp as ever.
"Wonder where they all came from?" Rose asked, readying her pistols for battle.
"I think we all know the answer to that." March added, the hard light blades of his pistols already activated. "So, what's the plan, Galen?"
"You all know the plan. We fight." Galen answered and turned to Vrex. "Have a few of your guards mount the Sharks and use their machine guns on the Widows and other Grimm of that size. We managed to take out a few of those Tankers, so that's one less problem to deal with." He said.
"Do you really think you can handle a horde this size?" Vrex asked.
"A wise old man once said that size isn't everything. A horde this size, it's nothing. We just have to push them out of the city." Galen answered, igniting his lightsabers. "March, show them your speed." He instructed.
"You got it." March answered with a smirk and in an instant, ran towards the Grimm with such a speed that when he came to a stop, some of the Grimm were killed as the Rabbit Faunus began hit the Grimm from behind. "Don't let me have all the fun, how about some backup!?" he shouted from the other side.
The rest of Team GARM rushed into battle, not wanting to be outdone by their teammate and attacked. Arthur's arm-blades became coated in blue flames as he thrusted both blades into an Ursa, killing it before he charged forwards, slashing at the Grimm with his blades. "None of you monsters will harm these people! So long as I live, you will have to face me before getting to them!" he roared as he carved a path through the Grimm with his arm-blades, before drawing his family's sword, blocked a pair of claws with the sword, then slashed the arm off the Beowolf before its head came next.
"I know you said use our blades, but I'm the kind of gal who likes to use bullets and keep her distance when it comes to fighting the Grimm." Rose said, using her own semblance to paint several Grimm as targets, then pulled the triggers of her pistols, landing twelve headshots on twelve Grimm with precision, proving she was the gunslinger she claimed to be. A quick reload of her pistols, she quickly shifted her weapons into sword mode and proceeded slash through the Grimm with her blades. "But in this case, I'll make an exception go with the slice and dice style." She finished, cutting the arms off an Ursa before thrusting her blades into the body of another Ursa.
Blurs of green, yellow and black repeatedly zipped through the horde as March slashed through the horde of Grimm with his twin pistols hard-light blades, severing the limbs of the Grimm before meeting the same fate as their comrades. Tossing his weapons into the air, they combined into their great sword mode, catching it in one hand. "Hey! What are you guys with the guns doing just standing around? Let's push the bastards back!" March shouted, once again calling on his semblance and dashed through the horde of Grimm, cutting down dozens Grimm in a single dash.
"You heard the boy! Open fire! Kill them all!" Vrex shouted, taking to the skies with his own jetpack and opened up with his blasters, raining down a stream of bolts down onto the Grimm while the rest of the ground forces followed his lead, slowly starting to push the Grimm back towards the hole in the dome.
Blaster fire and bullets ripped through the Grimm as Galen blasted the Grimm back with the force, sending many of them flying through the air, throwing his sabers towards one of the winged Beringels, literally clipping the creatures' wings. Reaching out with the force, he concentrated on all of the dropped blades that littered the ground and sent them flying towards the Grimm with a literal storm of blades impaled hundreds of Grimm, killing them all with a single effort. "All these Grimm wouldn't have converged on this city unless they were ordered to. It's possible that…" Galen said to himself, leaving him distracted long enough for an Ursa to send him flying with a swipe of its claws, crashing into one of the stores which caused his aura to flicker from the sheer impact of the throw. "Going to fell that in the morning." Galen groaned, getting back to his feet as quickly as possible.
Running towards the Grimm, he leapt over his teammates and landed in the center of the horde, creating a massive shockwave that sent the Grimm flying in several directions, killing them all as the security forces rejoined him. "Move out!" he shouted as they continued to clear a path towards the opening.
(End Song)
The Grimm horde was soon reduced to only several hundred monsters by the time the security forces and Team GARM. Galen and his team panted with exhaustion after all the fighting they had done to get to the dome, but their work wasn't done yet. "Do these monsters ever give up? Why am I asking that question? Of course, they don't." Rose sighed as she stared out the dome at the remaining Grimm.
"This… Rabbit… Is…. Over…. Worked…" March panted before he noticed the approaching Grimm horde came to a stop. "Hey…. Why…. Are… They… Stopping?" March asked.
"I think we're about to find out." Galen pointed out, also exhausted from the fighting as the Grimm moved aside as if they were making way for someone. They sound found out who it was when approaching them with Maul by her side, was Salem. "Salem." Galen snarled.
"You must be Galen Marek, The Demon Lord of The Round Table and Jedi Knight. The one who has caused me quite a headache over the last two years." Salem said, chuckling at the sight of Galen's team. "And it seems you are not alone, you have an insane Faunus, a half-breed knight, and a cowgirl as a team. I honestly find that rather amusing, a rag-tag team of mismatched students, then again, you did decide to follow Ozpin in his foolish crusade against me. Did you all enjoy the present I left for you all?"
"You call this a present? People are dead! Men! Women! Even children! You're one heartless bitch, you know that!?" Rose yelled, pointing her pistols at Salem only to be sent flying backwards with everyone else when Salem extended her hand.
(Requiem For A Dream starts)
"This is a conversation between two users of the force, rabble like all of you have no place in this conversation." Salem hissed as she lowered her hand and returned her focus to Galen. "You come from out of nowhere over two years ago and have caused me no end of trouble. Stopping Cinder's plans at Beacon, bringing your rebellion to Remnant and the Empire to the very planet you were sent to, becoming the Demon Lord of The Round Table, you accomplished much in the short time you've been on this planet, yet you use your powers to help others rather than yourself." She listed.
"If you're trying to get me to join your side and tell you what we have planned, then you're wasting your breath." Galen snarled; his hands ready to draw his lightsabers at a moment's notice. "I already served one dark lord long ago, and he betrayed me twice. I won't serve one who I know will betray me the moment my use to you is done. I already have something worth fighting for, someone worth dying for."
"You refer to Ruby Rose, the daughter of Summer Rose?" Salem asked. "Yes, I know all about your love for her, repulsive. If you think that I'm here to make you my newest ally, then you're mistaken. I have no use for a beacon of hope to five the people of Remnant. No, I'm here to eliminate you." Salem stated.
"Let me guess, I'm a threat to your plans to gather the relics, summon the gods back to the planet and then destroy them, getting the revenge you have sought for them making you immortal." Galen surmised. "You won't stop until everyone on Remnant is dead, and you've exacted your revenge. That's why you're going after the schools, not only for the relics to but to eliminate any resistance that oppose you."
"You're very perceptive, for a Jedi." Salem praised sarcastically. "You may have been able to learn of what my plans are from Ozpin, but how can you be sure that Ozpin isn't hiding anymore secrets from you? He's lived many lives and has seen many things; how do you know he's not keeping you in the dark more than you know?" Salem questioned.
"Because he's admitted his mistakes and he's learned to trust others. He's not keeping anymore secrets from us and I for one will do anything I can to stop you. I will not rest; I will not rest. You can't stop me, neither will Vader or anyone else! I will protect this world from the likes of you!" Galen roared.
"This talking is meaningless. It's time that I eliminated you once and for all." Salem declared, drawing her lightsaber and ignited its crimson blade. "A trophy taken from a wayward Sith that challenged my rule two-thousand years ago. Thanks to Maul, I have learned how to properly wield a weapon such as thus." She said, before turning to Maul. "Keep the others busy while I tend to this thorn in my side." She instructed.
"As you wish, my lady." Maul acknowledged, moving towards the still downed Team GARM.
Salem didn't waste a moment to launch herself towards Galen who barely had a second to raise his sabers to block Salem's blade. A barrage of Juyo attacks forced Galen to try and counter each of the strikes, but some of them managed to hit his body, followed by a swift and powerful kick to the stomach that sent him flying into the dome and left him dazed long enough for Salem send a large rock flying towards him.
Galen was quick to recover and moved out of the way to avoid being crushed by the rock. His aura slowly started to recover, but not fast enough as Salem slashed at his body with her saber, canceling the recovery process. Despite his low aura, Galen was able to leap over Salem and land a few feet behind her before he flung several pieces of debris towards her, but once again Salem countered him with the force and sent the debris flying away from her. "Funny, after hearing everything about you from Qrow and Ozpin about you operating from the shadows, I can't help but wonder what made you decide to come out into the open." Galen said aloud.
"You're the reason." Salem answered. "Ever since you've arrived, your actions have spread across Remnant like wildfire, inspiring the hope and determination of those who believe in a brighter tomorrow. I would have preferred to kill you with the Grimm, but I find it much more entertaining to kill you personally, then hang you by your entrails and display your body for all to see, as their hope dies!"
"I don't plan on dying anytime soon. Not when I have someone waiting for me when I return." Galen countered, dashing towards Salem and attacked her with lightning-fast saber strikes that kept Salem on the defensive and forced her back. A powerful Jar'Kai attack from Galen nicked Salem's arms, but the Queen of the Grimm was unfazed.
"If you mean, Ruby Rose. Then I'll take even more pleasure in getting rid of her." Salem said with a sadistic smile.
"Killing her won't be as easy as you think. She's stronger than you know." Galen retorted, unleashing a torrent of lightning on Salem who blocked it with her saber.
"I never said I planned on killing her. I can think of several other uses for her." Salem clarified. "Cinder always had an interest in what the people call S&M, so I think degrading the daughter of Summer Rose would be a better fate. Tell me, does being tightly bound in harsh bindings and forcing her aura to her limits sound like a fitting fate for her?" Salem asked.
"You won't get that chance!" Galen yelled as he charged in, angry at what Salem would do to Ruby. This left him vulnerable to Salem's own barrage of Force Lightning that shattered his aura. "I won't let you take her away from those she loves!" Galen shouted as Salem dashed towards him, attacking with a fury of Juyo attacks that kept Galen blocking each of her attacks with barely any openings for him to make an attack of his own.
By now, Salem had pushed inside of Corinth and away from his teammates. The burning buildings brought a smile to Salem's face as she kept Galen on the defensive. "I've often wondered what it would be like to clash blades with the likes of you, young Galen. But if this is the best of your abilities, then I'm greatly disappointed." Salem noted, swinging her lightsaber hard and knocking Galen's weapons from his hands. "It appears that the rumors I've heard about you are false exaggerations. A pity, I was expecting more." Salem said as she grabbed Galen by the neck and flung him into one of the burnt-out shops which she then brought down on him with the force.
(End song)
As the building crashed down on Galen, his teammates were brought before her having been bested by Maul's skills. "I did as you asked, my lady. But I thought it would be more fitting for you to finish them off." Maul said to his master.
"I thank you, Maul." Salem replied, looking at Rose, March and Arthur who were battered and beaten beyond recognition. "It's been a long time since I killed some of Ozpin's students, I was beginning I would never again here the screams of the children as they begged for their lives and mercy, only to get none in return." She began. "I've heard from my associates in Atlas that Ironwood is moving a great deal of supplies out of the kingdom. Tell me what he has planned, and I'll make your deaths swift and painless."
"Why don't you go ask Ironwood yourself!" Rose spat.
"Ah, the audacity of youth." Salem said with sarcasm, placing her blade to March's neck. "I'll start with this one first. Any last words before you join your parents?"
March snarled at the remark about his parents, but his snarl turned to a chuckle when he noticed Galen's sabers move. "Yeah, I got some final words for you, lady and they'll be words you'll want to consider. Don't underestimate a Jedi Knight!" he exclaimed.
Emerging from the collapsed building with the girl from the other day in his hands, was Galen. The girl was separated from her parents when the attack began and was hiding in a closet when Salem threw Galen into the building and brought it down on them. The girl was injured, but Galen's aura had long since recharged which he transferred to the girl. "Impossible." Salem said with both disbelief and excitement in her voice.
Galen placed the girl down, recalled his lightsabers to him before Salem or Maul could even react and glared at the Queen of the Grimm. "Dropping a building on me to kill me, that's one thing. But trying to kill a child, that's low for you Salem." He declared.
"I've heard worse from lesser beings. You failed to impress me before and now your teammates will pay the price." Salem remarked.
"You're wrong. They're not just my teammates, they're my family. Something you had long ago before you destroyed it in anger." Galen spat, igniting his lightsabers. "I think it's time I show you what I'm really capable of, my true strength."
"True strength? Tell me what this strength is so I may possess it and maybe I'll consider sparing your family." Salem said, intrigued by Galen's 'true strength'.
"You'll never posses what I have." Galen sneered. "My strength comes from within. From something you gave up long ago! I have a heart!"
(Set It Off starts)
"You think because you have a heart means you're stronger than me. You truly are a foolish boy." Salem scoffed. "A heart is nothing compared to my control over the Grimm and the power of the Dark Side of the Force." She then focused onto the destroyed pieces of her hybrid Grimm and flung them towards Galen who caught them with the force and stopped them before they could even reach him. "Interesting, it seems that you have more strength than you did before." She mused.
"I just got my second wind." Galen retorted, casting a glance at his teammates who smiled at the sight of their leader's comeback. "You guys take breather; I'll deal with her."
"Have you forgotten that she's immortal!? She can't be killed!" Rose exclaimed.
"I don't plan on killing her." Galen answered, launching a powerful blast of force energy directly towards Salem which the Queen of Grimm tried to block only to skid back a few feet along the ground. "You may have had a longer time to master the Force, but you're nothing compared to Jedi like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and so many others!" Galen shouted.
Salem snarled and ignited her lightsaber, then charged towards Galen who rolled out of the way before she could bring her blade down on him. "It seems that you were deceiving me in our first fight. You were gauging my abilities, trying to see my strengths. Very deceptive of you." Salem said impressively.
"I've never fought someone like you before, so it's better to understand an opponent rather than just rush recklessly to one's death." Galen spat, igniting his lightsabers, and dashed towards Salem. Blue met red as their lightsabers clashed and their fight resumed once more. "I know you've been hunting those with silver eyes over the years, you're afraid of them! That's why you sent your lap dog Tyrian after Ruby. You hope to kill her before she can master her abilities! That won't happen!" Galen yelled, swinging his sabers at Salem who backstepped to avoid the blows.
"What makes you think that you can protect her when you're not even with her right now?" Salem asked, raising her hand and shot another arc of lightning towards Galen who raised his sabers and blocked the lightning.
"Because I'll always be with her!" Galen answered, swinging his blades, and sliced through the debris that Salem sent his way before she ran towards him only for Galen to grab her, then slammed her into the ground hard before he pushed her back. "Even if we are lightyears away, we'll always be thinking of each other. We love each other, and no matter what happens, we'll always be together. No matter what, I will keep my promise to her!"
As Salem got back to her feet, she noticed that her cape was torn up and face was covered in dirt. Discarding her cape, she glared at Galen. "You're referring to Summer Rose, aren't you?" Salem surmised. "Well, I'm afraid that you're too late to reunite her with her daughters. I killed her myself years ago."
Galen didn't answer, sprinting towards Salem and attacked her hard and fast with powerful lighting infused Niman strikes, followed by multiple Shien strikes that pushed Salem back outside of the domed city. "You're lying. You didn't kill her. I've meet her once, in person and she told me about you. About how you plan on destroying the world. Well, I won't let you tell those lies to Ruby, she already knows her mother is alive and no matter what you say, you won't make her lose hope!" Galen exclaimed, attacking with aggressive and randomized mix of attacks that kept Salem on the defensive.
Galen seized the opportunity to grab Salem and then slammed her into one of the destroyed Landstalkers, knocking the wind out of her briefly, but just long enough for Galen to thrust his sabers through Salem's body, which didn't faze her in the slightest. "I know I can't kill you, but I can at least slow you down." Galen finished while Salem groaned as she got back to her feet.
(End Song)
Salem just smiled deviously as her horde of Grimm was wiped out. "We'll finish our duel another time, Galen Marek. But know this, you won't be able to protect Ruby forever. I will eliminate her, and I will greatly enjoy it." Salem said, backflipping into Maul's ship which had just arrived and soon sped away from the domed city.
Galen deactivated his sabers and fell backwards into the snow as his teammates, Vrex and the surviving security forces arrived. "She's… a lot… more… challenging… then… I thought…" Galen panted.
"You were able to hold your own against her, but I think she was just holding back." Arthur surmised.
"Who in the Nine Corellian Hells was that woman?" Vrex asked while a certain small green child walked up towards Galen.
"It's a long story, but to make it short, that woman is called Salem and she controls the Grimm." Rose said. "Guess we got to tell the story again." She shrugged.
Vrex and the security guards listened as Rose, Arthur, March, and Galen told them everything about Salem. "So that's pretty much it. Salem is targeting the academies to get these relics so she can summon the gods back to Remnant all so she can kill them and the rest of us along with them. She's lived thousands of years and she's targeting anyone who she sees as a threat, like Galen and those with Silver Eyes. She can't be killed, but those with Silver Eyes are the only ones who can kill her. This war's been waged for years in secret and now it's been brought to your city." March finished.
"We'll understand if you want us to never show our faces around here again. We just figured you should know the truth." Rose added.
"After what we've been through, I think it's best that we don't forbid you from entering Corinth." Vrex said with a smile, getting the attention of Galen's team. "You saved many lives today and with all those Grimm that were killed, it will take time for that woman to create new Grimm. I think, it's time we start helping out the other settlements in the tundra. They don't have the firepower or training to fight the Grimm like all of you do, the more help we give, the more of a fighting chance we have against Salem." The Mandalorian warrior said, handing Galen a type of homing beacon. "Take this beacon and use it whenever you need our assistance. You are all honorary citizens of Corinth." He finished.
"Thank you, Vrex. We'll call for assistance when we need it. I promise you." Arthur said.
Though an alliance was forged between Team GARM and the people of Corinth, in one of the warehouses in Mantle, Watts had found something he believed that Salem would find most interesting. "My Lady, I have an idea that I think you will find most intriguing." He said into his scroll.
Alright, chapter done. I think I captured how dangerous Salem is with a lightsaber and the force. Though I think I might be wrong, but I hope I did ok.
But now it looks like Galen and his team have not only a hidden settlement of the various species from the Star Wars universe but have also discovered that Imperial Storm Commandos are on the planet. What could that mean?
Anyway, like I said, this chapter is dedicated to Jason David Frank who was a hero to many of us. May he rest in peace with all the other Power Rangers stars and voice actors who have passed over the years.
Next chapter will be something I have really been looking forward to writing for some time now, but until then, please read and review until next time. Also, a silent prayer to the ones who died at Pearl Harbor and the survivors who fought to avenge the fallen.