Fucking miserable.
If anyone were to come into his office, they'd find him that way. He'd already received the reports of unknown creatures attacking people all across Remnant. He'd already read the reports of soldiers trying to silence the people that witnessed these attacks. And he'd certainly read the reports of people actively fighting back against the soldiers. Sometimes even killing them.
Ironwood wasn't entirely sure what to think of the so called "mercenaries" that had offered their "support" to Remnant. They trotted around like they owned the damn place, and sometimes acted with complete impunity. And, if the rumours are to be believed, they committed unspeakable acts in their own world. Acts which would make even the most sadistic of Grimm quiver.
The door burst open as a man walked in, followed by two men, who adorned the uniforms of the very foreign forces Ironwood hated.
"What do you think your doing, Ironwood? I told you already, these gentlemen have the situation entirely under control!" The man spoke in a furious tone.
"I know damn well what I'm doing. It's my job to protect Remnant, and revealing the existence of these monsters is the only way." Ironwood responded, in a much more calm and collected tone.
"If you show these creatures to the public, there will mass panic! We can leave it up to these gentlemen and our own soldiers to clean up the mess that these creatures have left behind."
"Does that include the people you arrested for knowing about these creatures? Does that include the faunas that you soldiers chose to kill? I'll be honest with you, Jacques. It's impossible to cover up the things you've done to keep these monsters a secret. The world knows of the horrors of the Grimm, I'm sure it can handle the horrors of these invaders as well. And I'm sure it can deal with the horrors that you and your men have committed along with that."
"Damn it, Ironwood! I'd have you fired if the government didn't have it's uses for you." Jacques was about to continue his rant, but one of the officers that accompanied him whispered something into his ear.
"You know what? I think it would be best if the situation was handled entirely by these men. I already put in a formal request to have your forces pulled off this assignment. I guess I'll have to rush it through before you fuck up any more!"
"Fine. But know this, the worlds not going to go along with you. I've already read reports of some of your soldiers being killed. There was that officer who bled out from the neck a few days ago. In time, the number of incidents will only increase."
"Don't threaten me! I have more influence over these people than you do!" Jacques responded in anger. He went towards the door and ushered the two officers to follow. "Good day!" Jacques opened the door, sent the two officers through and then slammed it behind him.
Ironwood had to do something. He couldn't let Jacques and his men act with impunity any longer.
He had to make a choice.
It was a busy day. A new shipment of strange crystals had come in from some unknown place that he couldn't care less about. He quickly got to work, carrying box after box of the crystals and loading them into the back of a truck.
"Hey, Arthur!" A voice shouted from across the large hall that they were working in. The man that was carrying the boxes looked around to see one of his fellow soldiers come up to him.
"You have any idea where these came from? Half of my shipping log just says 'unknown crystals'" The man from earlier asked.
"No idea, Jack. I've heard rumours, though." Arthur responded.
"Do tell."
"You know-" He leaned in a little closer. "-Those creatures?"
"What, the swarm? Yeah, I've heard of them."
"Apparently, they come from a different world. The same world where these crystals come from."
"And how would you know that?"
"Some of the men who come back with the crystals always have weird alien spikes jammed into them. You know, like the ones the creatures that have been attacking people use."
"I see. Why are they hiding it from us, though?"
"We don't need to know apparently. Usually the soldiers that do know are forbidden from seeing anyone outside of their own expeditionary force."
"Huh, interesting."
"I know, ri-"
"Oi, get back to work!" An officer shouted from a distance. He was one of the officers that came from the foreign militaries that offered to help. At least, that was what most people were told.
"...Tight ass. Well, back to work then." Both men let out a chuckle and got back to their duties.
What he was about to do was practically treason.
Then again, is it treason to put the survival of your own world above the orders of a man that didn't even own it?
Ironwood went at a fast pace towards the communication tower that lay at the centre of the base.
He knew full damn well that Jacques had the support of a foreign military and a lot of support from the Atlesian government.
He knew full damn well that going up against him with the forces that would remain loyal to him was suicide.
The thing is, he's not going to overthrow Jacques anytime soon.
He'll come back with a full army and do it later.
The walk up to the landing pad was a rather boring one. He occasionally chatted with the two officers that accompanied him. Sometimes he'd see someone that stuck out from the people he walked by. Usually, it was one of those disgusting faunas that tried so desperately to get the rights that they thought they deserved. When he had control, those disgusting creatures wouldn't even have time to think. The officers that accompanied him told him of the many ways they dealt with those they considered less than human. He'd have to utilise them someday.
As he approached the helipad, he felt a sense of pride. He'd shown that bastard Ironwood. No one would stand in his way now.
That was, of course, until a voice came from all the speakers.
"Soldiers. Many years ago I joined the army with the sole goal of defending Remnant. I sought to defend it from those that would undo what we've built here today. I joined to defend the people of Remnant. And when I say people, I mean all people. Human. Faunus. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that within these walls is a man who has chosen to betray those values. I'm sure he thinks that whatever he is doing may save humanity, but I believe it won't. Soldiers, you've already heard of, and perhaps even seen, the atrocities that Jacques soldiers have done. We cannot allow this to go on any more. I know you all have families to get back to. Families that rely on you. And I won't blame you if you choose to ignore my call to action. Whatever you choose, at least hear me out. Know that Jacques soldiers aren't here to help, they are here to conquer. Know that they are just as they seem. They are a ticking time bomb that could destroy our whole world. And know that Jacques will use them to commit unspeakable acts in the name of power. So if you are willing to sacrifice your lives as you know them, join me. Join me, and we can strike back at those that threaten our world! Our families! Our lives! Follow my lead, and we may have a shot at saving all we cherish!"
"...What the fuck?" Jacques said, with a clear sense of hatred in his voice.
"How can that man be so fucking naive!" Jacques was pissed. Really pissed. He turned around and faced the officer. "Tell your men to turn off the machine at the bottom of the facility. I can't have this man fuck up my plans any more!" The officer nodded, and pulled out a radio. Jacques didn't bother listening in. He went straight for his transport.
"…Well, shit. Got anything good going in this world, Jack?" A young soldier spoke.
"Ain't got shit, Arthur." Another soldier responded.
"Well, the choice is easy then. The portal room should be this way." He pointed in the direction of a large set of doors. Both soldiers knew what they had to do.
Many other soldiers followed suite.
"Stop right there!" An officer shouted from across the hall. A small squad of soldiers followed close behind him. "You are ordered to stand down. Any traitors will be shot on sight."
"So be it." Jack responded. He pulled out his rifle and aimed it at the enemy squad.
"It's treason, then." The officer pulled at his pistol and aimed it at Jack's head. Before he could pull the trigger, a shot was fired from the crowd of Atlesian soldiers. The bullet landed right between his eyes, knocking him to the ground and killing him.
Immediately, both groups began opening fire on each other. Rounds came buzzing from each side of the room as both groups ducked for cover.
Jack found a crate nearby and ducked behind it. Rounds peppered his position, but he held his ground. As soon as the enemies fire was focused elsewhere, he popped out and fired a few rounds towards the enemy. An unaware soldier took a round to the head, and fell to the ground. He went back into cover as more rounds came towards him.
Arthur popped out of his own cover and shot at the enemy. He missed all his shots, but it forced the enemy to stop firing for a few seconds, giving him enough time to retreat to a crate behind him.
"Someone needs to open that door!" A soldier shouted over the sounds of gunfire. Arthur looked towards the door they were talking about. It was one of the only ways into the room that housed the machine they were looking for. There was one small problem, though.
It was located between the two groups of soldiers.
Arthur had to think, and fast. He popped out of cover again and fired a few more rounds at the enemy. He bolted for a crate which was closer to the door. As he hit it, grenades fell out of it.
He'd seen them in action before, but never used one himself. He grabbed one and went through the motions of priming it. After pulling the pin, he chucked it and went flying towards the enemy squad.
BANG.
Screams could be heard from the other side of the room as soldiers tried to run away from the explosion. They were quickly gunned down by the hail of bullets coming from the soldiers on the other side.
"Damn it, retreat!" A soldier shouted. All the enemy soldiers followed him as he moved away from the battle.
"This is our chance!" Arthur spoke to the soldiers. They all ran for the door to the other room, firing off shots into the few enemy soldiers that stayed behind to fight.
Jack went for the door as well. Whatever lay ahead of it had to be what they were looking for.
Ironwood ran through the facility as he went towards the one thing which would give him a fighting chance against Jacques and his men. A large group of soldiers rallied behind him as he went towards the control room.
Gunfire could be heard all around the facility as nearly all the Atlesian soldiers turned to Ironwood's side, and the few that didn't stayed out of the fighting to tend to the wounded.
Fresh bullets holes could be found on every wall, and the group came across quite a few dead bodies on their journey.
The group found the entrance and kicked it down. A small group of enemy soldiers were inside the room.
Ironwood's group opened fire, taking the enemy by surprise. The few soldiers that weren't caught in the volley of fire ran towards one of the exits.
"Don't fire at them!" He ordered his men. They all complied.
Suddenly the door on the opposite end of the control room burst open. Ironwood's men readied their weapons, but we're relieved at the sight of their fellow soldiers coming through it.
"Lieutenant Jack Bulldog, reporting for duty!" One of the soldiers from the other group spoke.
"Nice to meet you. I assume this is everyone?" Ironwood replied.
"I believe so. I think most of the fighting has died down now. The enemy will be swarming this room soon."
"I know. How long until you can get that machine working?"
"That thing? I'm sure the engineers can get it online within a few minutes, if the damned thing is kept intact."
"Alright then. Get to work. Everyone else, listen up!" Ironwood grabbed the attention of all the soldiers around him.
"Men, I'll be honest with you. I have no clue where this machine will take us. If the recent attacks by those creatures is any indication, then it will probably led us to their home world. All things considered, I'm sure your ready for anything at this point. If not, I suggest you walk out now. You still have families to go back to, and Jacques can't cover up what happened here. The worst case scenario is that you'll be sacked or locked up for a couple of years. It's your choice to make and yours alone."
None of the men elected to leave.
"Good, then let's get to work."
The soldiers began to fortify their position as the engineers got to work. The machine came to life as the engineers worked on it. Soon it was up and operational. A massive portal appeared, sending a shock wave through the room as it opened.
"Alright, that went by without any trouble. Get into the portal, men!"
As the soldiers entered the portal, a group of enemy troops broke down one of the doors to the room. Another door was broken down and another squad poured in. A firefight broke out as the Atlesian soldiers made their escape.
"Go on through, men!" Ironwood shouted, as he fired his revolver towards an enemy officer that came rushing through the door.
Soon the room was completely surrounded. A stray bullet wizzed past Ironwood, but he remained unphased.
"Sir, you go on through, we'll hold them here!" Jack shouted towards Ironwood. "I'm staying, too!" Another soldier butted in.
Ironwood simply nodded towards them before making his way towards the portal.
"So this is how it ends. Good knowing ya, Arthur!" Jack talked with his comrade. "You too, jackass!" Arthur responded.
Ironwood rushed through the portal after the last soldier went through. He looked back one last time and gave both of the soldiers a salute before jumping through.
They were the bravest bastards he'd ever seen, but their odds of survival were next to none.
They decided to stay behind to close the portal, and that was there choice, not his.
He hoped to God that his plan worked, for all his soldiers sake.
The world… No… Every world counted on him now. If Jacques got his way, then every world would only know suffering. Ironwood had made his choice, and he was going to see it through to the end.
