Chapter 1: New Assignments
Evernight Castle, 28th February 16 BBY, 18:30 pm…
At least Maleficus' chair was comfortable.
Or at least; it was with how he was sat on it:
Leaning back, feet propped up on the table, hands clasped over his stomach as he relaxed, scanning the room around him:
Sat directly across from him was Hazel Rainart, who was currently slouched forwards, as if asleep, or in some form of meditative trance.
To Hazel's left was Arthur Watts, who was himself scanning the room.
Their eyes met, and Watts' eyes moved across the Baron's position before they narrowed.
"You know; it's rude to put your feet up on the table." Watts pointed out, staring towards Maleficus.
Maleficus faced Watts; replying: "Salem isn't here to say anything. So, until she does; I will not bother myself with you lecturing me on etiquette."
The disgraced scientist scowled, responding: "Such arrogance…"
"That arrogance is well deserved, Arthur." Snapped another voice from nearby.
The Baron and Watts turned to see Cinder Fall staring at them both.
"Maleficus not only facilitated the fall of Beacon, but he also killed Professor Ozpin." Cinder pointed out.
"Something you yourself failed to accomplish." Said another voice to Maleficus' right, where Tyrian Callows was sitting, grinning at them all.
Cinder's scowl deepened, at which Maleficus said:
"And any of you could have done better? Don't make me laugh." Pausing, Maleficus added: "Perhaps Watts would have had a chance, but his talents strictly lie in scientific and technological matters. Whilst mine are perfectly suited for what I did to Beacon."
"Then how come your forces are struggling to subjugate Haven? Or how come they failed to take Vacuo; despite your army's superior numbers?" Watts asked, a smug smile crossing his face.
The Baron fought down a surge of anger. "Vacuo might as well have been a victory. My commander failed to push forward and finish the enemy, allowing the enemy to rout us. As for Mistral… I have measures being put into place to counteract the frequent bandit raids ravaging our efforts."
Watts made to say more; but then the doors leading into the room swung open, revealing a familiarly sinister silhouette.
Everyone in the room stood as Salem herself walked in.
None of them dared say a word as Salem walked to her chair at the head of the table, standing there silently.
Until finally; she spoke:
"Watts…" Salem said, calling the disgraced scientist's attention to her. "Do you find such malignance necessary?" She asked, turning to face him.
"I apologise, ma'am." Watts responded politely. "I'm merely unfond of failure."
Salem said nothing; until she and Watts sat down.
"Then I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder." Salem declared. While she may have not done what our good friend Baron Maleficus did six months ago; she is still our Fall Maiden." Pausing, the Dark Queen added: "So I'm curious… to what other failures might you be referring?"
"Well; the girl with the Silver Eyes." Watts replied.
"Yes… we've dealt with their kind before." Hazel pointed out. "How is it a novice was able to best one of us?"
"My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power; it should have been effortless." Watts stated.
"She was preoccupied with Nathan Phoenix." Maleficus declared. "She would have killed him were it not for the girl with Silver Eyes. Thankfully; Nathan will no longer be a problem. Also; Cinder's defeat was nearly two years ago. With her training; the result will not be the same should Cinder and the girl meet again in battle." At this statement, his eyes met Cinder's, and they shared a nod.
"The Baron is correct." Salem declared. "Cinder's newfound power is the key to our victory. Speaking of…" Facing Maleficus directly, Salem inquired: "How fares your campaign in Mistral?"
"My troops have set up a base camp from which most of our operations will be run, and a Forward Operations base has been set up in an abandoned town thirty miles from Haven Academy." The Baron declared. "Your informant in Mistral proved very useful in helping me select those positions."
"And what about the frequent bandit attacks on your convoy, Baron?" Watts asked.
Maleficus scowled, turning his glare towards a smirking Watts, until:
"That's enough." Salem said firmly. "Watts; you, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury will be accompanying the Baron to his encampment in Mistral. You will all be subordinate to him whilst there."
"If I may, your majesty, I would like to request that Tyrian join us as well." Maleficus said.
"And why is that?" Salem inquired.
"I have it on good intelligence that Ironwood intends to send some of his best warriors to Haven to reinforce it; including the girl with the Silver Eyes." The Baron responded. "I can only assume you wish her brought before you. Therefore, I'm sure Tyrian will enjoy the assignment."
Tyrian responded in the affirmative, cackling maniacally.
A thin smile crossed Salem's face, and she said: "Very well. Tyrian; you will join them."
Tyrian cackled some more and gestured to Cinder, pointing to his left eye. "Eye for an eye." He laughed wickedly, before breaking out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
As Tyrian's laughter died down, Salem turned to the Baron. "As a recommendation; I suggest you find out a way to liberate Adam Taurus from his incarceration in the White Fang stronghold of Menagerie. He will prove a loyal asset, and will cause hundreds of similarly feeling faunus to flock to his side. Which will bolster your forces a tremendous degree."
Maleficus nodded. "A recommendation I will heed, my queen."
Salem smiled. "Courtesy of your efforts… Beacon fell six months ago… and Haven will be next."
Atlas Academy, Ironwood's office, 19:00 pm…
General Ironwood's office had become a familiar location for Kanan Belladonna Khan.
Him, his girlfriend Yang, her younger sister Ruby, and his younger sister Blake had spent significant time there in the six months that had passed since the Fall of Beacon.
Ever since their close friend Nathan Phoenix had nearly died at the hands of the Empire.
Stepping out of the elevator, Kanan waited for Ruby, Yang and Blake to follow him, alongside Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren of Team JNPR; Nathan's team.
Which was missing its fifth member.
Much like there was a glaring gap within the group where a certain Ice Queen would usually be, holding her girlfriend Ruby's hand.
Kanan sighed. Remembering Weiss wasn't with them was already a hard pill to swallow. He still remembered how mere hours after their arrival in Atlas, Weiss' overbearing father Jacques Schnee had arrived with armed men, demanding Weiss return to their family manor with him.
And how he, alongside everyone else; stood ready to fight, until General Ironwood had joined them, ordering Weiss to go with her father.
The thought made Kanan's fist clench. He already disliked Ironwood; but recent months had made him hate the man.
With Blake being a key reason why.
He glanced over at his younger sister, and saw a lot of the same things he commonly saw with Blake nowadays:
The perpetually sad expression crossing her face; the resigned, slouched posture of her body, and what was worse; the dark circles around Blake's eyes, a telltale sign of little to no sleep.
The only thing Kanan knew to be missing was the sight of fresh tear stains covering Blake's cheeks, residue from night after night of crying herself to sleep.
Reaching over, Kanan pulled his little half sister close, something he did a lot nowadays.
Blake met his gaze, and a weak smile crossed her face.
Kanan smiled back, and looked to the others. "Come on. Ironwood's waiting for us." He said, stepping forward and leading everyone into the inner sanctum of General James Ironwood; Headmaster of Atlas Academy and military commander of the Atlas Military.
The office was precisely the way it had been the last time Kanan and the rest of the gang had set foot in there:
The office was large and circular, with dark metallic blue walls and windows.
The floor beneath them was decorated to depict constellations and stars, and in the centre of the room was a large table, from which a hologram of the entire kingdom was displayed.
At the far end of the room was a large rectangular desk, behind which was a chair. Upon which was sat General Ironwood himself.
Flanking him were Jedi Knight Jason Stone; a good friend of Nathan's who was always a comfort to see, and Specialist Winter Schnee, Weiss' older sister and Jason's girlfriend.
Kanan noticed Blake meeting Jason's gaze, sharing a short smile with each other. But he dismissed it and looked to Ironwood; whose electric blue eyes now rested on them.
General Ironwood looked terrible. Dark circles covered his eyes, under which were visible bags, a sign of a severe lack of sleep. A well-trimmed beard and moustache covered the lower half of his face, though his hair was more unkempt.
"You wanted to see us, General?" Kanan asked Ironwood politely.
Ironwood nodded. "I did." Standing from his desk, he walked towards the table in the centre of the room, pressing a command on his scroll as the map of Remnant shifted; with some areas of Remnant turning a sinister shade of red.
"Courtesy in part to the victory we won in Vacuo, that kingdom is now secure." Ironwood declared. "However, the Pyrrhic nature of the victory means much of my army is now either dead or wounded. And now the Empire looks to be planning on sinking its claws into Mistral." With another press of his scroll, Ironwood shifted the map so that only Mistral was visible.
Roughly a fourth of Mistral's land mass was that sinister shade of red.
"Reports indicate that the Empire plans on assaulting and taking the kingdom of Mistral next. With Haven being their primary objective; much like with Beacon in Vale, and Shade in Vacuo." Ironwood added. "With my army in the state that it's in; we'll be hard pressed to send men to defend Haven when our forces are desperately needed here."
"Have we any externally operating units we can utilise?" Jaune asked, his tactical mind coming into play.
"None that aren't already engaged." Ironwood said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Except for you. Your stand at the Battle of Vacuo proved your worth on the battlefield; and as such; I'm sending most of you to Haven to reinforce Professor Lionheart and the rest of Haven's defenders."
"Most of us?" Yang asked quizzically.
"Yes. Because I'm sending Mr Belladonna Khan and Miss Belladonna to the White Fang stronghold in Menagerie." Ironwood replied. "Sienna Khan has agreed to open up negotiations towards forming an alliance against the Empire. Her forces could be a formidable asset in defending Haven Academy."
Kanan nodded, looking at Jaune as they both agreed it was a solid plan. Meeting Ironwood's gaze; Kanan said: "We're in. When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow." Ironwood replied. "I would prefer you all left as soon as possible, but I know that's too little time for some of you to spend together before parting ways." At which he cast his gaze over Kanan and Yang.
Kanan felt a pang of anger at Ironwood's insolent tone, but a calming hand set him straight. Looking to his right, Kanan smiled as he saw Yang staring back at him, a calming, gentle smile crossing the blonde brawler's beautiful face.
"It'll be okay." Yang mouthed to her boyfriend, pecking him on the cheek.
Kanan nodded softly before looking back to Ironwood. "Okay." He said, placing his arms behind his back.
"You won't be going alone, either." Jason said as he finally stepped forward. "Ghost will be joining all of you on this mission, too. Me and Winter would join you as well; but we're needed here to help Ironwood."
"Not to mention our work on returning Weiss to action." Winter added, something that earned the former heiress to the Schnee Dust Company a smile from Ruby. "Someone has to keep Jason here from storming the Schnee Manor."
"Hey!" Jason protested as the whole group laughed.
"Enough." Ironwood said firmly, silencing everyone in the room. "You have your orders. I expect all of you to be on the landing pads at oh eight hundred hours tomorrow morning." With that, he sat back down, and made to say something else, until suddenly:
"How's Nathan?"
Everyone looked to see Blake, staring expectantly at Ironwood.
With Jason…
Jason could sense Ironwood's anger rising the moment that question left Ironwood's lips. That question had become a constant part of Blake's vocabulary ever since they had gotten word that Nathan would indeed survive the injuries suffered when Beacon fell.
"He's doing well." Came Ironwood's answer.
Jason fought the urge to groan. That had been Ironwood's answer every single time Blake had asked him how Nathan was doing. Of course Ironwood knew more; Jason, Winter and Ghost constantly updated the general on Nathan's progress.
He just chose not to.
Jason made to say something when Blake spoke up again:
"You've said that for months." Blake said, folding her arms. "And with all due respect, I'm getting tired of hearing that same answer every single time I ask."
"And besides…" Kanan interjected, standing next to his sister. "We won the Battle of Vacuo for you. You owe us for that, and we're calling it in."
"How about not having the both of you disciplined for not accepting my answer!" Ironwood suddenly snapped.
Jason felt the anger within Ironwood rise within moments, and scowled at Ironwood's response.
Ironwood continued: "Like I told you; you have your orders. I expect you all to be gone by oh-seven-hundred tomorrow morning. Dismissed."
Jason sensed a surge of anger within the entire gang, especially within Blake, Kanan, Yang and Pyrrha, but they said nothing; their furious facial expressions telling Ironwood exactly what they thought about him and his failure to update them.
"I said; You're dismissed!" Ironwood shouted angrily.
With that, the gang all left, leaving Ironwood alone with Jason and Winter.
Taking a deep breath, Jason said: "Well; there goes what little goodwill you still had left." He caught a look from Winter upon saying this; but ignored it.
Ironwood's scowl deepened. "I don't recall asking your opinion, Stone." He said.
"You're getting it anyway." Jason said, stepping in front of Ironwood. "You've told them barely a thing save for the fact Nathan's 'doing well' for six months! They deserve to know!"
"Stand down, Jason!" Ironwood snapped. "They need to focus on their mission, and that alone! Now get out of my sight before I have you arrested for insubordination!"
Jason's glare turned to daggers as he stared Ironwood down. "And risk pissing off Nathan? Good luck convincing Nathan to comply then."
Ironwood glowered at Jason furiously, with Jason holding the general's gaze for what felt like ages, not backing down.
"Jason…"
Jason ignored the voice, keeping his eyes focused entirely on Ironwood.
"Jason…"
A hand found Jason's shoulder, and he looked to find himself staring into Winter's eyes.
"Let's go back to the office. We're not needed." Winter said.
Jason turned his gaze back to Ironwood, who was still glaring daggers at him. "Fine." He said before turning and leaving with Winter.
He could still feel Ironwood's eyes boring into the back of his head as he and Winter left the office, and fought the urge to flip off Ironwood. Nothing frustrated him more nowadays than Ironwood being a prat for what felt like no reason.
Especially when it involved someone Jason deeply cared for.
Later, Jason and Winter's office…
They entered their office in relative silence, with Winter walking straight over to her desk and sitting down, taking a deep breath.
Jason remained standing, looking to Winter as she looked up at him with a sad look on her face.
Winter was the first to speak, saying: "Jason; the general wouldn't be making these decisions if he didn't think they were the right ones. He's only doing what he thinks is best."
Jason scoffed. "He might think that, Winter. But I don't. Our friends deserve an update, Winter. They deserve to know. Because if Ironwood keeps going like this… he's going to have a mutiny on his hands."
Winter sighed. "And if you keep speaking out against him; he'll have you arrested and imprisoned for insubordination, repercussions be damned!". She protested.
"Then let's go to our friends and tell them what they want to know." Jason said. "Screw Ironwood's mandate."
Winter took a deep breath and stood up, staring deep into Jason's eyes. "Jason… please. The last thing I want is for you to be in a prison cell the next time we see one another."
"Oh, they can try and arrest me." Jason responded. "But anyone he sends won't stand a chance."
"Even if Ironwood sends me?" Winter asked softly; raising an eyebrow and folding her arms.
Jason sighed. "You wouldn't do it though, right?" He inquired.
"I won't have a choice. I swore an oath when I joined the military." Winter replied.
Jason nodded. "I know." He said sadly, before adding with a smirk: "But if he does send you; I hope you're wearing that sexy cop costume you wore for our six month anniversary."
Winter giggled and stepped closer, wrapping her arms around Jason's neck. "Perhaps." She replied, leaning in as she and Jason shared a passionate kiss.
Wrapping his arms around Winter's waist, Jason pulled his girlfriend closer and deepened the kiss, holding her as close as he could until the kiss was eventually broken.
The two lovers looked at each other gently, at which Winter said:
"Go. I won't stop you."
Jason nodded, kissing Winter again, saying: "I love you." Before turning and leaving the office, hearing a soft whisper of:
"Love you too…"
Jason smiled and kept walking. He never tired of hearing that.
Team RWBY's dorm…
"That fucking asshole!"
Kanan sighed as he watched Blake sit down on her bed, anger and hurt visible on her face.
"Six months! Six fucking months of knowing nothing! Six months of 'he's doing well'. Six months of… of… ARGH!"
Blake sank down on her bed, sniffling as tears threatened to fall.
Kanan stood up from the bed he shared with Yang and sat with Blake, pulling her close and stroking Blake's raven black locks as his little sister started crying.
"I want him back, Kanan… I want Nathan in my arms… I want to be in his arms… But with Ironwood… I'm starting to think he'll never tell us anything!"
Kanan looked at Yang and Ruby as Blake vented, both of them with sympathetic looks on their faces.
The early months after Beacon's fall had rendered Blake a near emotional wreck; bouts of immense nightmares reliving the events of Beacon's fall; sleepless nights, crippling depression, guilt and self-loathing, things that had since been eased now that Blake at least knew Nathan was alive.
But months of little to no updates on Nathan had weighed heavily on Blake, and Kanan found himself spending a lot of time just easing Blake to sleep at night whilst she cried her eyes out.
Finally, Blake said: "Well… I'm done waiting for Ironwood to speak up. Until he gives us a definitive update on Nathan… I'm not going anywhere."
Kanan looked at his sister with shock, seeing a look of angry determination on her face. Looking at Yang, he saw his girlfriend nodding agreement.
Ruby though; looked unconvinced.
"Are you sure? Ironwood won't be happy." She asked. "He might even have you arrested and thrown in jail for insubordination."
"And risk pissing off the White Fang? Fat chance of that happening." Yang pointed out.
"I don't give a fuck what Ironwood thinks." Blake said. "I'm sure. Because…" Tears threatened to fall again as Blake added: "I don't think I can keep on going unless I find out more about how Nathan's doing."
Kanan held Blake close as she started crying again, knowing how dearly Blake missed Nathan and pined for him.
"If you want me to; Blake… I'll stay here with you." Yang declared.
"Really?" Blake asked, perking up.
"Blake; you're my best friend." Yang declared. "I'm not leaving you here all alone."
Blake opened her mouth to respond when suddenly; there was a hard knock on the door, drawing everyone's attention.
Looking up, then at one another, Kanan gently let go of Blake and approached the door, opening it as soon as he unlocked it; finding Jason stood there.
"Hey Jason!" Yang called out.
"Hey." Jason replied. "Mind if I come in?" He asked.
"Yeah, sure." Kanan said as he stepped back, allowing the Jedi Knight to enter the room.
He watched as Jason sat down with Blake, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"You okay, Blake?" Jason asked softly.
Blake nodded, tears still leaking from her eyes. "What's… what's up, Jason?" She asked softly.
Jason sighed. "First of all… I want to apologise for taking so long to do this. But Ironwood mandated that I was not to even breath a word of what I'm about to say."
"Fuck Ironwood." Yang snarled. "That asshole can go suck his nonexistent dick."
Jason snorted. "Yeah. Which is why I've decided to piss all over his terribly thought-out mandate and give you guys the update you deserve."
"Whoa, are you sure? What does Winter think of you doing this?" Kanan asked.
"She's all on board." Jason responded.
"Winter agreeing to you giving orders the finger? Is she feeling alright?" Yang inquired.
"I assure you; she's fine." Jason replied, smirking at Yang's joke. "But in all honesty; do you guys want to hear the update or not?"
"We're all ears." Blake said as she sat up, wiping her tears away and looking intently at Jason.
Jason nodded, and took a deep breath. Fuck you, Ironwood, he thought.
"First of all." Jason began. "Nathan is doing well. Ever since he woke up; he's been scratching and clawing his way back into shape. I daresay he's in the best shape of his life up to this point." Looking at Blake, Jason added: "He's made a full recovery from his injuries suffered when Beacon fell; and by all intents and purposes, should be returning to combat sooner rather than later." Pausing, Jason added: "Or so Ironwood says."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked, amber eyes narrowing. "What is he not telling you? Or us?"
Jason shrugs. "Might be that he's saving Nathan to be a sort of secret weapon; an ace up the sleeve, if you will."
"Given how pretty much all our enemies think Nathan's dead, that isn't a bad idea." Kanan points out.
Blake scowled, but nodded with a sigh. "Can… can I write a letter to Nathan?" She asked shortly thereafter.
Jason nodded, and so Blake stood up and walked to the dorm's desk, pulling out some paper and a pen.
Sitting at the desk, Blake soon began to write.
Jason stayed where he was, watching Blake writing with an intense look on her face, wiping tears from her eyes every once in a while, before grabbing and applying lipstick and planting a gentle kiss on the paper, leaving a lipstick stain on the paper and grabbing her perfume, spraying some of it onto the paper.
Finally, taking an envelope, Blake sealed the letter and handed it to Jason.
Jason took it, saying: "I'll get this to him as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Jason." Blake replied, smiling. "I'd suggest letting Pyrrha do the same. She is Nathan's closest friend besides you, after all."
"I will." Jason vowed before turning and walking out of the room.
Blake watched him leave, a smile on her face that could light up the darkest of caves.
"There's something I've missed seeing over the past few months." Kanan said gently, walking over to Blake. "My baby sister smiling."
Blake then hugged Kanan tightly, saying: "Because I finally have a reason to. Nathan will be in my arms before I know it."
Kanan smiled and hugged Blake tighter, followed suit by Yang and Ruby.
Whilst Weiss was still a glaring hole in the group, Kanan had a feeling that wrong would soon be righted as well.
But none of that mattered to him, Yang or Ruby right now.
What mattered was that for the first time in six months, Blake was genuinely happy, something Kanan had been hoping to see for six months.
And that was something that made Kanan happier than any man on Remnant ever could be.
Atlas Academy Training Room, at the same time…
Neon Katt was usually one of the bravest people in Atlas Academy.
She was normally one to get in the face of her enemies, insult them to their face, then skate away giggling like a schoolgirl.
But here? In this maze within the training room?
She was more scared than ever.
Scooting around the corner, Neon yelped as she came across the unconscious body of Flynt Coal; her team leader and good friend.
Backing away, Neon looked around worriedly. Whoever was doing this knew what they were doing; and how to do it very, very well.
Rolling a few more feet down the maze, Neon was horrified to see her other two teammates lying unconscious across the floor.
She was the only one left…
SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE LEFT!
Anxiety built up in Neon's psyche as she backed up into a corner of the maze, looking in both directions to make sure she was safe.
It felt like hours passed, until Neon finally felt herself able to relax.
"Boo."
The sudden whisper in her right ear drove Neon to scream in terror, as she made to speed away from her attacker, hoping to outrun them.
Only to find herself held in place mere feet away, utterly helpless against whoever had been hunting her and her teammates in this maze.
Uncharacteristic whimpers escaped her as whoever had seized her in this telekinetic grip held her there for what felt like an eternity.
Until finally, Neon felt herself be thrown as if by an immensely strong person, finding herself in what felt like freefall until she slammed into a wall, crying out in pain as she felt her aura threatening to break.
Confused, dazed, and scared, Neon tried forcing herself to her feet, just as she heard gunshots ringing out, and felt bullets strike her with every shot fired.
Falling to her knees, Neon tried crawling away, only to be seized by the same telekinetic force that had thrown her like a ragdoll what felt like aeons ago when it had really only been a minute, feeling herself being dragged back.
Towards her attacker.
Screaming in fear, Neon tried grabbing at anything, even the unconscious forms of her teammates.
But all this did was dislodge them from their former perches, dragging them with Neon towards their assailant.
Finally, the pulling sensation ceased, and Neon got to her feet, prepared to bolt.
When all she heard was a sinister snap-hiss.
Whimpering, Neon turned around just in time to see a flash of blue light.
Nathan watched as Neon sank to the floor, unconscious.
Lowering his lightsaber to his side, he switched it off and attached it to his belt before calling out: "They're done!"
Nathan wiped the sweat from his brow as the maze around them vanished, and the lights; previously switched off to give off the impression that it was the dead of night, switched back on, bathing the arena in light that made Nathan squint as his eyes readjusted.
Taking a deep breath, Nathan reached up and brushed the hair from his face, glancing in a mirror.
Six months of gruelling physical training and rehabilitation had torn Nathan apart and reassembled him:
Where he had previously been built for agility and speed alone, his muscles showcased a newfound physical strength that hadn't required for Nathan to sacrifice his speed and agility.
The scars from Beacon's fall joined the other scars that littered Nathan's more muscular form, telling the story of how Nathan once more had nearly fallen; but risen from the ashes as the bird he had adopted as his surname would do.
Nathan had been destroyed when Beacon fell.
But now; he had been rebuilt.
Better… faster… stronger.
And one day; hopefully very soon… he would be back in combat.
And he would be back in Blake's arms… and she in his.
Pushing all thoughts of Blake aside, Nathan took a deep breath and looked towards the door as it opened, with Ghost striding through.
"That was bloody brilliant, Nathan." Ghost said proudly. "Get some rest; you've earned it."
I'm back...
First of all; I owe you guys an apology for the extended hiatus from posting. I was intending on posting on the first weekend of February, but then the announcement that RWBY: Volume 9 was releasing soon gave me the idea to post this chapter around the premiere of Volume 9.
That said; I would like to formally welcome all of you to Book Five of my RWBY-Star Wars Series: The Dawn After Darkness.
This one's going to be another long story at thirty-two chapters, but after When it Falls, I think I'm in a good spot to do more like this.
Regardless, thank you all so much for taking the time to read my story. If you enjoyed it; you all know what to do.
I will see you this Sunday with the second chapter, where more about Nathan's current state of affairs will be revealed.
T-Rock14