If any of you like Gundam, Robotech or any other mecha anime, I suggest you watch the series Muv-Luv. It's a series set in an alternative world where the Cold War never ended because the Earth is attacked by aliens called BETA and one of the ways to combat them is with Tactical Surface Fighters, mech suits named after some familiar aircraft. It's also a novel and game, while its genre is a romantic comedy and mecha series, but I have to warn you there are times it can be extremely bloody. Well, at least the anime is and it's more on the mecha side then the romantic comedy.
Aside from that, I posted that poll I mentioned, so feel free to cast your votes.
Anyway, let's proceed onto a part that I'm sure many of you have been dying to see. But first, let's answer some reviews.
Jack Smith1: Thanks. I'm glad you like this story so much.
Luffy L Deathwalker: Yes, the Fox will be getting back into action, but I'll have to look back on that argument between him and Ironwood.
BlindFaunusGirl: Jacques and Watts will certainly get what's coming to them. Whitley and Weiss working together, well considering I've got Whitley on a different path it would make sense for him to help Weiss find out what their father was up to.
Guest Reviewer: There's a remake of Empire at War? I didn't know that, but then again, I never played the original game along with a dozen or so other Star Wars games.
Monster King: Thanks
Let's que the into
(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.
Chapter 113: As Above, So Below
"And that's everything. I've been using my resources to turn Amity Coliseum into a new CCT Tower so I can tell the world about Salem and her plans. I ordered the closure of the borders so that our army would be able to deal with the impending panic that will follow when I tell the world about Remnant, and I had our forces retake Stonehenge so we could use it as a means to counter Salem's advance on our kingdom. I kept you all in the dark because whoever hacked into the CCT was someone who knew the systems inside and out, that's how they were able to create the virus." Ironwood told the council, standing in the dining of the Schnee Manor. "If I went public with this before the tower was completed, the results would have been more devastating, but after hearing things I didn't know about Salem from the students and soldiers who made the long journey to deliver an item that is key to defeating Salem."
"Which is why you told Camilla and me after you secured the abandoned mine." Sleet surmised.
"Yes. I've learned that trust is a two-way street. If I wanted your trust, I had to be willing to trust you two about Salem and her plans." Ironwood answered.
"A very amusing story." Jacques scoffed from his end of the table. "You expect me and Miss Hill to believe that this 'Salem' is real and has been living for thousands of years, controlling the Grimm and having them attack our kingdom because she want's to destroy the gods who cursed with immortality, she has her own 'droid' army, was the one who recruited the White Fang to her cause by Cinder Fall, who killed the sister of that ruffian 'Trigger' because she craved the power of the Fall Maiden, the soldiers who attacked Beacon and Vale are part of some 'Galactic Empire' and that Galen and many others are these 'Jedi'? Obviously, you must think we're stupid, General."
"Excuse me?" Ironwood demanded.
"It's obvious that you must think me as being born yesterday." Jacques scoffed again. "General, since the day you were appointed Headmaster, there have been Atlesians who are skeptical of one man holding two Council seats. We're supposed to have checks and balances, but lately you've been running roughshod all over them, making unilateral decisions without us and now you make up this tale about a greater threat that is planning to destroy all life on Remnant. It's obvious that you're just using this as a ploy to take complete control of Atlas."
"I would never—" Ironwood began before a loud bang was heard on the table. The source of the bang was Ray.
"You think, Salem is a ploy? I lost my sister to Cinder! You here that? My Sister! You know nothing about our struggles while all you do is count your money and don't care about your family! My aunt is a better person that you could ever be!" Ray shouted, grabbing his rifle and pointed it at Jacques. "Call me a ruffian or insult my sister and I'll riddle your body with so many bullets that you won't be recognized!"
"Stand down, Ray!" Robyn said, putting her hand on Ray's rifle and lowered it. "I'll agree that what Ironwood is saying does sound a little hard to swallow but insulting my nephew and calling his claims false is going to far. My niece is dead at Cinder's hands, and I can personally guarantee that those claims about the Empire are true. I shot down who knows how many of their fighters at Beacon and the piloting of some of those Atlas fighters that attacked Vale is beyond anything I've ever seen before." She then turned to Jacques. "I may not agree with Ironwoods methods, but it's pretty obvious that he's trying to prevent Atlas from becoming another Beacon, another Haven."
"Just what are you implying, Miss Hill? These claims about a woman who can control the Grimm are nothing more than a blatant attempt to justify his actions and cover the truth. James is planning on taking complete control of Atlas and is using this 'Salem' as an excuse while he orders the military to…" Jacque began before to his surprise, a blue light emanated from Galen's direction. "What in the world is that?"
"This is a lightsaber." Galen said. "The weapon of a Jedi Knight. Nothing on your planet could ever be used to create such a weapon. I've used these blades to defend the Kingdom from the Empire, The White Fang, Salem's droid army and most recently, Salem herself. She is real and I've seen what she's capable of in battle." Galen explained, shutting down his weapon and placing it back on his belt. "You seem to be thinking that everything Ironwood is saying is nothing but a plot against Atlas and you're claiming that you're the one who has the best intentions for Atlas at heart? Well then maybe a test is in order." He then turned his head to Robyn.
"A test?" Jacques questioned aloud as Robyn calmed down her nephew.
"You're all aware of my Semblance. Let's settle it here and now." Robyn said before she walked towards Ironwood and held out her hand, but before the general could do anything, the double doors on the other end of the room opened with a loud swing.
"Wait! You've got the wrong man on trial." Weiss said as she and Whitley entered the dining room.
"Whitley!? What the hell are you doing here? Go back to the party at once!" Jacques demanded.
"Sorry, father. Actually, I'm not sorry." Whitley smirked. "And I am doing what's right for the family. We know who's been framing Galen, who rigged the election. And our father does, too. He's been working with him." the youngest Schnee said as Weiss placed the scroll down on the table and tapped the screen, causing a hologram to be projected into the air, depicting the video of Jacques and Watt's meeting. Whitley noticed their father looking nervous.
"Wha—W-w-what is this?" Jacques demanded, trying to hide his guilt.
"Is that… Arthur Watts?" Camilla asked in surprise.
"That's impossible! Dr. Watts died in the Paladin Incident years ago!" Sleet exclaimed.
"He's not dead." Rex answered. "Watts is still very much and he's after one thing, revenge for being passed over for the position of head Atlas scientist. He invented the systems in Mantle and Atlas, so it made it easier for him to cover his tracks and the tracks of Tyrian Callows. Seeing as not one of you suspected him actually being alive, it was easy for him to join up with Salem."
Ironwood stood up and looked at Weiss. "Play it." the General instructed. Weiss did so and as the video played, Jacques started to become more and more nervous, fidgeting with his hands and then his mustache as sweat started to appear on his brow.
"That bastard is costing me more money every day with this embargo. I'd lay off every employee in Mantle if I wasn't trying to get their damn votes for this Council seat!"
"What if I said you could have your cake and eat it, too?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"James Ironwood never recognized my genius. After everything I gave him, he still disgraced me."
"What's in it for me?"
"A seat on the council. All I need is your login credentials for the Atlas network. You promise to make Ironwood's life a waking nightmare, and I will guarantee you victor at the polls by giving the voters down in Mantle a little… digital push, if you will."
"I always knew you were a good scientist, Arthur… but I never thought you were such a good salesman. However, I have a request I would like to make of you."
"I'm listening."
"Have you ever heard of the Demon Lord of the Round Table?"
"I don't think there's a person alive who hasn't heard of him."
"If you want me to make Ironwoods life a waking nightmare, then I want you to eliminate the Demon Lord. Thanks to him, my operations in Anima have stopped completely. I want him to suffer for what he's done to me. Frame him for murder, have him murdered, I don't care what you do, just make him pay for what he's done to me."
"Oh, Jacques. I'll be more than happy to oblige you."
"Enough." Ironwood said.
Weiss paused the video and looked to see that Sleet was stunned by what he had seen, Winter narrowed her eyes in disapproval, while Robyn gripped a nearby chair in anger. All the while, Jacques was still sweating and looking more nervous. Ahsoka, Galen, Neo and Ray could all sense his fear and anxiety as he was discovered. "That, that is—I—I can explain that. That… isn't real." Jacques tried to say in defense.
"Jacques, take your seat." Sleet demanded angrily.
Ever the coward, Jacques frantically made a run for the double door only to be stopped by the sight of an Arma Gigas summon. Sputtering a little, he turned to see that it was Weiss who made the summon. "Weiss…" he started to say before his second child held up her Scroll.
"Jacques Schnee, you're under arrest." Weiss declared. She then looked back at Ironwood over her shoulder. "Can I do that?"
Meanwhile, down in Mantle the rain continued to pour down on the city as more explosions rocked the lower city to its core. Residential buildings collapsed in clouds of dust and glass as citizens ran to get away from the destruction while Watt's watched from a nearby roof top, grinning at the chaos.
Pulling out his Scroll, the doctor sent a signal to all of the hidden Death Bots he had placed throughout the city, activating them before he set them loose on the city as Grimm continued to poor into the city through the openings in the wall and crawling out from the sewers from the containers that Watt's had smuggled into the city.
One horde of Grimm caught the scent of a group of children cowering behind a dumpster. The children heard the growls and closed their eyes, only for their ears to hear the sound of blaster fire as Fordo rolled in from behind them and downed the Grimm. "Go! Run!" the Arc Captain shouted to the children as more Grimm came into view, this time accompanied by Death Bots.
"Fordo to all personal! We've got Grimm in sector five. Civies are heading towards the air pads! We need birds for evac now!" Fordo shouted into his commlink, firing away with his pistols at the Grimm and Death Bots as they charged towards him.
"Captain Fordo, this is Atlas Command. We can't spare anymore personal to your location. The Grimm are spilling into every opening in the city! We don't have enough firepower to deal with them!" an Atlas soldier shouted through the commlink.
"Focus on protecting the civilians! We'll hold off the Grimm!" Fordo shouted as the rest of his brothers, Faye, Lop, Ocho, Boba, Artoria and Belle arrived. They were soon joined by Bella and Mordred who smashed through the hostiles with a Dozer at top speed and its heavy machinegun roaring as several Rattlers from Sicario dived in with their own cannons buzzing to life, annihilating more of the horde. "We'll hold the line here! We're not letting anything get past us!" the Captain said, twirling his pistols around before he and his brothers, plus their allies opened fire while the Dozer charged through the horde of Grimm with Mordred at the wheel.
Back at the Schnee Manor, Jacques was now sitting in a chair at the side of the room while Winter, Ironwood, Sleet, Camila, Rex, Ray, Neo, Robyn, Team RWBY, Clover, Ahsoka, Whitley, Serra and Team GARM stood at the end of the room just as Clover received a contact on his communicator. "I knew you'd stoop low to get what you wanted, Jacques. But this?" Ironwood said to the soon to be former council member.
"This is all a great leap, James." Jacques said in his defense.
"No, it's quite simple really – now that I know Arthur Watts is alive. Working with a madman like Tyrian Callows, it would be easy for someone like him to coordinate an unthinkably heinous act like the ones that have been occurring all over the city, not just the warehouse. Watts designed Mantle's entire security network. He used that access to hack the surveillance system and frame someone else for the job. All while stealing an election." The General summarized, moving closer to Jacques who became more nervous. "And once you became Councilman, your newly granted clearance gave him a backdoor into Atlas' secure network. But you probably hadn't even considered that, had you?"
"The People that died that night, and all the days since, their blood is on your hands." Robyn added with disgust.
"Jacques Schnee must be tried, not only for treason, but as an accessory to murder." Sleet added.
"I can think of many other crimes he should be tried for." Arthur said with a smirk.
"These are outrageous accusations! I only intended to win the election. I had nothing to do—" Jacques began to say.
"ONLY!?" Robyn shouted, grabbing the nearest chair and slammed it into the wall. "People are dead because of your greed and desire to get whatever you wanted! How many homes have your men destroyed? How many families have you 'relocated' because of your security forces? How many children witnessed seeing their parents gunned down right in front of them? How many lives did you destroy just to become a councilman!?" Robyn yelled in anger, so much so that she grabbed Jacque by the collar of his jacket and slammed him onto the table. She then proceeded to punch the man in the face.
"This is for Katie! For Ray! For Neo! For Everyone who died at your hands!" she shouted as she punched Jacques a dozen times before she finally relented. By the time she was finished, Jacque's face was bruised and one of his teeth was knocked out. "What can Watt's do with the access this bastard gave him?"
"Not a thing." Rex said, getting everyone to turn and face the 501st captain. "Tech and Fixer were able to create an anti-virus program that not only destroyed the virus that Watts used to take control of the systems, but also revoked Jacques Councilmen authority. We blocked him out before he could block us out."
"That's all well and good, but we got another problem." Clover interrupted. "It just came in on the emergency channel. Multiple explosions have been reported through out the city, Death Bots and Grimm are pouring in through the opens in the outer wall and coming out of the sewers."
"Watts must have planned for this when Tech revoked his access to the systems. I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to smuggle in a hundred thousand battle droids or if the White Fang is about to attack." Galen surmised, casting a glance at Jacques. "You didn't know about this, that's obvious, but it's clear that Watts had something greater planned for Mantle had we not been able to stop him, and I think I know what it was."
"Let me guess, he would have shut down the heat and get the people of Mantle to riot, creating who knows how much damage that bring the Grimm out in the tundra into the city, and they would go to blame Atlas for shutting down the heat, trying to kill them." Neo guessed.
"I think that sums it up perfectly." Ahsoka agreed. "At least he doesn't know about the tower, but I've got a feeling that Salem is on her way and Maul is probably with her."
"Problem is, Watts is mobile so we need to track him down and get a rottweiler to sink their teeth into his shoulder and pin him down so he can't run. We need to get him into the open." Rose sighed.
"Okay, so let me get this straight. How do a disgraced scientist and supposed to be dead serial killer find each other, General? How can someone survive a fatal blow from a lightsaber and somehow come back from the dead looking like something out a horror novel? I get that you're working so hard to hide the Amity Communications Tower from them, but if I had to guess, they're going to try and keep world communications from coming back online." Robyn said. "Before you ask, I already knew about Salem and the tower. Galen trusted me a hell of a lot better than you did, General."
"He did?" Ironwood asked in surprise.
"I don't keep secrets from my allies." Galen answered.
Back down in Mantle, Grimm sirens began to go off as a large horde of Megoliaths charged through the break in Mantles wall. A group of Mantas flew towards the horde and fired a barrage of missiles at the creatures, but the Grimm appeared to be unaffected. Below them, a group of Sabyrs ran towards the AK-200's guarding the hole in the wall, knocking down the machines down as several blast bots self-destructed at the hole, enlarging the opening for the Tankers and Widows waiting for the moment to enter the city. A Teryx flew overhead, ready to gobble up one of the soldiers on the ground but was quickly blown out of the sky by a well-placed wrist rocket from Alice who flew in with a Hellcat. "This is a nightmare." She said.
Pitching her craft to the left, she dived towards the incoming Tankers and Widows dropping several bombs on the larger Grimm, killing dozens of them with the bombs. She was about to make another pass, but multiple Hoppers and Yellowjackets fired at her, forcing her to divert her attention to them. Her Hellcats gun roared as she fired a burst of fire, downing a few airborne hostiles but more kept coming.
Missile Crawlers, Maulers, Rhino's and Timber Wolfs operated by Sicarios ground forces rolled out of transport planes and parachuted down towards the ongoing battle as Hitman Team, the remnants of the Schnee Team, the 501st and 502nd squadrons of the mercenary group rocketed into the air to engage the airborne hostiles with the Galm Team, Shamrock, Dante and Mickey to aid the few pilots Atlas had left once they started switching to unmanned fighters, along with the pilots killed by Tyrian during Galen's status as a 'wanted criminal'. "Galaxy Eyes to all pilots, incoming Grimm and Death Bot fighters are vectoring in from all directions! There's no one else out there to assist, make your shots count and give it everything you got! We've got to buy time for the transports to evacuate the civilians!" Dominic shouted into the radio as more Grimm continued to appear on the scopes along with multiple rebuilt Trade Federation Landers, now bearing a black paint job.
Back in the Schnee Manor, Robyn stood face to face with Ironwood. "I used to think you were hiding something to protect yourself. But now I know there's something out there that's bigger than Atlas and Mantle combined. You were trying to protect us… Atlas, maybe even all of Remnant. And you were afraid of what might happen is you told the truth." Robyn said. "I lost my niece and so many others whom I considered family, and I nearly lost my nephew because of Salem. I needed answers and when I heard about the tower, I focused my efforts because I wanted to make life better for Mantle without resorting to criminal actions." Robyn explained, casting a glance towards Jacques whose face had become swollen. "After this bastard won by cheating, I never once targeted Ironwoods convoy's because I knew what they were needed for. But forcing Mantle to bear all of the burden of this secret war, it has to stop."
Ironwood frowned at Robyn's words but before he could say anything, the double doors were swung open with Harriet and the rest of the Ace Ops beside her. "General, the Grimm are all over Mantle. The air fleets doing everything they can, but they can't target the Grimm in the city without risking casualties. Sicario's forces are already engaging the Grimm, but we've got multiple enemy craft landing outside the city. Kalani has already confirmed them as those C-9979 landing craft." Marrow reported.
"Those clones and the others are doing all they can as well, but they can't hold off the enemy for much longer." Elm added, just as Ray, Ahsoka, Rex, and Neo looked towards each other and crashed through the dining rooms windows. "Where the hell are you four going?" she asked.
"Isn't it obvious? We're going to kick ass and take names." Neo smirked as glass fell of her armor
"I've got a lot of pent-up rage because of that bastard over there." Ray added, pointing towards Jacques. "I think it's high time we give Salem a taste of some real firepower." He then spoked into his commlink. "Ready the Blood Asp and Star Adder for battle! We'll be down in three minutes!"
"Acknowledged." Amber replied from the other side of the commlink as they, Rex and Ahsoka boarded a Bullhead piloted by Kalani that landed on the manors ground, which then took off into the air and headed for the city.
Ironwood watched as the four left the manor grounds before Harriet spoke up. "Sir, we need ground support now. Authorize the fleet to use heavy ordinance against the Grimm, it might level some buildings, but it's more important to stop the Grimm."
"What we need is to start evacuating Mantle. If it's completely overrun, it's not going to be safe anywhere. And don't say if you move the fleet, then Atlas will be vulnerable! There are other evacuation routes besides the air." Robyn said pointed out, stopping Ironwood before he could even speak. "And don't even think about leveling Mantle, those people have lost enough homes already." She told Harriet who just rolled her eyes.
"I think Ozpin would advise you to keep your secrets." Oscar spoke up. "When we first got here, you already knew that wasn't the right course. You had a new plan. The panic you're worried about. It's already happening, but the secrets you've been keeping have been told to everyone in this room."
"You're not alone." Ruby added. "We can do this together."
Ironwood nodded and smiled before he turned to Galen. "What about you? After all of the hell you've been put through by Jacques, do you still plan on working with us or going to fight your own way?" he asked.
Galen snorted before he answered. "My life was hell before I came to this planet. I've been used by someone who took everything away from me, my father, the life I would have lived and my home. I lost that once; I won't lose that ever again. I'm not one to run away from a battle. I'll fight no matter what." Galen answered.
"What about Watt's and Tyrian?" Yang asked.
"You leave them to me. Right now, you're needed down below." Ironwood answered.
"Alright everybody, it's time to do our jobs. All of us." Ruby said, stepping towards everyone.
"What she said. Let's make it happen, people." Clover said in agreement, leading the others while Robyn, Camilla and Sleet remained behind. The last of the party guests had already ran out of the manor, following an announcement from a certain man who had disappeared shortly after Jacques treachery was revealed, claiming an important matter had come up. Only Oscar remained behind, with Ozpin claiming that it would be best for him to be present with Ironwood, Robyn, and the rest of the Council.
Once the teams and Ace Ops boarded the Manta that Harriet was piloting, they double checked their weapons before Clover turned to address them. "Alright, everyone. I need to stress to our new Huntsmen and Huntresses; we are prioritizing citizen safety over killing Grimm. Got it?" All three teams nodded their heads in acknowledgement, knowing their objective. As their Manta flew towards the city, a Teryx began to trail them and uttered a small screech before it dived after the transport.
"We got incoming!" Rose shouted, spotting the Teryx as it got closer to them. "Open the door so I can take it down!" Harriet opened the doors to the Manta, allowing Rose to use her rifle and semblance to take the Grimm down with a headshot, it's body dissipating as it fell to the ground below. "This is going to be one hell of a fight."
"Lucky for us, we got a few war machines down in the city." Galen smirked, referring to a certain pair of Mandalorian Assault Class mechs piloted by a certain pair of siblings. Suddenly, the Manta shook violently as swarm of Yellowjackets bracketed the transport with fire. Harriet tried to shake them off, using every evasive maneuver she knew, but the Grimm/droid hybrids managed to hit the engines and sent the transport down to the ground. "I don't think we're staying airborne." Marrow pointed out.
"Yeah, no shit!" Harriet shot back as the ship became more unsteady from the damage to the engines. The Yellowjackets were about to fire another barrage, but a volley of missiles from directly ahead of the transport downed multiple hostiles as flying past the transport at top speed was Dante and his Longsword. "Show off." Harriet said to herself.
"You have your team assignments. Let's go." Clover told the teams before he hit the airships door as another Teryx's appeared and screeched at him, but the Ace Ops leader stood confidently with his back to the creature and a smirk on his face. Just then, half of left wing snapped off and slammed into the Teryx, knocking if off the ship before he turned to Harriet. "Harriet, don't stay too long." He told the pilot.
"Yeah, thanks for the tip." Harriet answered sarcastically.
The first to jump out of the ship were Marrow, Yang, Blake, and March. Elm and Clover clasped hands with each other before Elm jumped up, grabbed onto the ship, and swung herself out, followed by Arthur, Rose, and Weiss, then the rest of Team JNPR Glass from the front of the ship shattered and flew back towards Clover, who shielded his face with his arms. Harriet stood on the pilot's seat with her weapon deployed, having shattered the windshield, and looked back to Ruby, and Galen with a smirk on her face. "Try to keep up, kids." She smirked.
Ruby laughed and grinned excitedly as Harriet used her semblance to jump out, ran along the top of the ship before jumping off the tail, with Ruby following her through the air with her semblance. As the ship continued to descend towards Mantle, Qrow opened the other door, getting a salute from Clover who fell backward from the ship before Qrow scoffed with a smile, calling Clover a showoff before he leapt out of the ship into a freefall.
The last to exit the ship was Galen who once he was also allowed himself to freefall as the airship soon exploded while the Grimm turned their attention to him. Using the force, he blasted the Grimm back as the ground came closer and closer into view, where a pack of Grimm were waiting for them. Channeling the force, he landed on the ground with a slam, sending the Grimm flying into the walls. Igniting his lightsabers, Galen rushed towards the sounds of battle with the others following close behind.
Back at the Schnee Manor, Whitley in the front of his home with a smile on his face with Serra standing beside him, finally back into her regular clothing while Atlas soldiers escorted his father a prison transport while another soldier spoke to Willow. "How dare you! This is highly unnecessary. I will not stand for this. Don't touch me like that. I'll be reporting this rough treatment. What is your name and badge number?!" Jacques protested before he turned to Whitley. "Do something, Whitley! I'm your father! I'm ordering you!" he demanded.
"Sorry, father. But I've been done following your requests for some time. I'll make my own choices and live my life my way. You've destroyed our family and now is the time for us to regain what we have lost, what was taken away from us by you. I hope you enjoy prison and that it gives you a chance to reflect on your actions." Whitley said, walking back into his home with Serra while Willow looked at her son and smiled.
As Jacques transport flew away, Sleet, Camilla, Oscar, and Ironwood were soon greeted by the Fox who landed in front of them. "I've heard of the situation in Mantle and we must evacuate everyone in Mantle." The masked vigilante said.
"As much as I hate to agree with you, you're right." Ironwood said reluctantly.
"What do we do? Bring everyone up to Atlas?" Sleet asked.
"No. That would give Salem more targets. It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel." The Fox said, shaking his head before he pulled out his Scrolls, displaying a map of Remnant. "I've spent the last several years taking disgruntled and laid off SDC miners, asking them to help dig a series of tunnels from Mantle to the other continents, such as Vacuo, Anima, and Vale. The tunnels are big enough for the people to get into and out of."
"Why did you construct these tunnels?" Camilla asked.
"Because I have already seen how it ends. Trying to bring the people of Mantle to Atlas will not end well. Which is why half of the army must go down to Mantle and evacuate the city and go with them to Vacuo while the other half will stay here and hold the line as long as possible. If my visions of correct, Salem is on her way here." The Fox answered.
"How so?" Ironwood demanded.
The masked vigilante turned towards Ironwood and frowned. "It ends with you giving into fear of Salem and abandoning the people of death while using the staff to launch Atlas into space, leaving Mantle and all of Remnant defenseless against Salem's wrath. You'll declare martial law, kill Sleet and then, when Salem is incapacitated for a couple of hours, you'll threaten to destroy Mantle with a bomb you've stored away in the armories, unless those teams hand over Penny, who will become infected with a virus by Watts, who you back alive thinking you could use him to your advantage, only for the doctor to undermine and outwit you again! Why does this happen, General? Because your semblance has a drawback: Tunnel vision. You see only one option when other options are available. Perhaps you can see your actions as the only option, I however cannot allow anymore people to die." The Fox explained.
"Why did you mention Penny?" Ironwood asked, taken aback by what he was told.
"Because she will become the Winter Maiden following Fria's death and the virus Watts infects her with will cause her to terminate once she opens the vault. That is not what kills her. What does kill her is that she becomes a real girl and then hands the power over to Winter, shortly after Cinder fatally wounds her and she in turn asks Jaune to kill her so she can pass the power to Winter." The Fox continued.
"Cinder Fall is dead. Killed by Trigger at Haven. Your vision is wrong." Ironwood pointed out.
"That doesn't mean you won't go down this path. All the aspects of that future were not erased. In any case, after Ironwood, Robyn and myself send the message to the people of Mantle to head to the tunnels, I'll be heading to Amity Tower. Watt's will be heading there." The Fox finished.
Camilla looked in horror as the masked vigilante explained his vision of the future before she spoke. "How long do we have until Salem arrives?" she asked.
Ironwood was taken aback by Camilla's question and looked at her. "Councilwomen, surely you're not going to trust the word of a vigilante?" he asked in shock.
"A vigilante who has nothing to gain from this, James and has been keeping a much more level head than you have." Camilla pointed out before she turned back to the masked man. "How long do we have?"
"At the best, we have until dawn to evacuate the people. At worst, she'll be here before the end of the night, but for now I'll take my leave and go after the doctor." The Fox explained.
"If anyone is going after Watts it's me." Ironwood protested.
"Were you not listening, Chrome dome!?" Robyn exclaimed. "If you bring him back here, you'll try to use him to undermine Salem and the only thing he'll do is just help her. That man is more dangerous than you think. I don't care if you claim he has to stand trial, he has to die."
"Miss Hill's right. But if you are so insistent about this, then how about a bet." The Fox said, pulling a coin out from his pocket. "I'll flip you for it. If it's heads, I'll go after him. Tails, it's you. Sound fair?"
"Very well." Ironwood relented.
The coin was flipped and caught by the Fox, revealing that its result was heads. "I'm going after him. Also, it was a trick coin. Sorry, General. It's for your own good. Perhaps you should consider calling the one they call Skywalker to help protect the kingdom." The Fox chuckled, quickly disappearing after dropping a smoke bomb.
Unknown to anyone, not even the Fox a certain Inquisitor watched the unfolding chaos and pulled out a commlink. "Lord Vader, now is the time to begin the operation."
And done.
I just want to say, that the new season of the Bad Batch is awesome. I can't wait to see what happens next. I am so hoping that we get to see them kill some troopers that are meant to be the first generation of Imperial Stormtroopers. Using Stun on the regs, I can live with that but with the new imperial soldiers, I show them no mercy.
Looks like Rampart is more underhanded than we thought. I so hope he gets what's coming to him, I certain that a lot of clones aren't going to be happy with the Empire's destruction of their home.
Alright, next chapter is going to be full of action. Until then, please read and review. Oh and that poll I mentioned, I posted it on my profile.