A/N: Oy, we're really doing this already, aren't we? Happy Friday the 13th, everyone. Thankfully this is the ONLY one we have this year, so hopefully going forward, we'll have some better luck. That said, not much to say before we get into this chapter, honestly, other than we've got a big fight scene before us, so it's gonna be pretty wild. But before we get into it, special birthday shoutout to 54godamora! He's a regular commenter and has suggested plenty of ideas for this story in the past, so I hope your luck holds out today, my friend. With that said, let's get started! This is…

Chapter 33: When at Home, Part 2

…..

"AAAAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!"

Screams of terror echoed throughout the streets of Bellwood, its citizens running as fast as their legs could carry them from the familiar threat. But while familiar to them, it was one that they hadn't seen in at least two years. Forever Knights were no stranger to Bellwood, but since their defeat at the hands of Ben 10, there hadn't been hide nor hair of them seen. Of course, that had all changed in a single moment after a rather large aircraft had flown over the city and dropped several knights down to the town below to wreak havoc.

On their speeding crafts came two knights each, with one dropping off as soon as they got close to the ground. The other would continue flying onward, armed with their specialized jousting lances that shot laser beams out of their tips. The knights on the ground, meanwhile, would pull out their patented Laser Lance guns and start blasting, careful to not actually harm any civilians. Rather, they sought intimidation, respect, wanting to strike fear into the masses so that they could get their attention. Some even just used their swords to start wrecking things like street lights or mailboxes. If it helped get their point across, it was worth it.

Overlooking the carnage from his own small hovercraft was the leader of the assault; a much bulkier Forever Knight who wore the group's Coat of Arms on his chest. He also had a helmet that had an exposed mouth and a guard that hinged down over his eyes. He also wielded a mighty bludgeon on his back, one that had pointed, red, glowing spikes on it. "C'mon you lot!" he shouted in a deep, cockney accent. "Put your backs in it! I wan'a see these people scared out'a their wits!"

"Sir Morton." A new voice rang through the knight's personal comm, one that was much more refined. "How are things proceeding?"

"Doin' good, Doc." Sir Morton replied, smirking at all of the screaming going on. "These lily-livered sods ain't got no'in' on us."

"Excellent, our King will be pleased, hmhmhm…" The doctor chortled sinisterly on the other end. "Now let us see if his hunch is correct and that underground city really IS in Bellwood. Have the knights proceed to the given coordinates, if you would please."

Sir Morton's lips curled into a devilish grin and he gave his own chuckle. "Hehe… wit' pleasure." He zoomed down toward the battle and took up his massive bludgeon, garnering his follower's attention. "Forever Knights!" The carnage stopped for a brief moment as they all bowed their heads to him, with even the hovercrafts coming to a halt. "We make fo' the location our King gave us! An' if we find this hidden city…" He made a serious scowl as he finished his order; "Show 'em no mercy!"

The knights raised their lances, guns and swords in a rallying cry before moving on down the street, making their way to their destination. As they went on, however, they failed to notice that part of the street behind them had started to lift up, the asphalt rising on a huge metal plate that hid a secret entrance. And from this entrance came a slew of large, armored vehicles, each with six tires and a big cannon on top of them. It didn't take long for the Knights to figure it out, though, since the roaring engines were hard to miss.

One knight gasped and spun around, his hands shaking as he held his Laser Lance. "AH! W-What in blazes?!"

Another knight near him seemed more annoyed than anything, though. "Agh! We should have expected this! Fellows, we're faced with Plumbers! Be ready!" He reached over and wrenched on the other knight's hand, steadying his grip. "And you, new recruit, hold fast! The Plumbers are a threat, but remember that it COULD be worse."

"Indeed." Another knight raised his sword toward the tanks as their doors started to open. "We chose this time to make our move because Ben Tennyson isn't here, remember? Hold your ground and stand firm!"

The first ones out of the tanks were the Alpha Squad, the red-suited Plumbers all armed and ready for battle. Brannigan, now with a helmet over his head, raised his hand and flung it forward to the enemy. "Alright, Alpha Squad, let's move, move, MOVE!" At his command, the platoon charged in without hesitation. "We have to protect these citizens—" PEW! "Agh!"

Brannigan narrowly ducked out of the way of a laser shot from a knight's Laser Lance, the armored man balking at him. "HA! You protect them? Please." His voice became dangerously venomous as he closed in on Brannigan. "The only ones they need protecting from is you, alien filth!" He went to raise his Laser Lance and backhand Brannigan with it… but was quickly stopped when Molly dashed in from the right and clubbed the knight over the head with an energy baton.

"ARGH! Nuh-uh, no you don't!" Molly snapped right back. "Ya'll Forever Knights an' yer xenophobia can just piss right off!" She whirled around to see the other members of the team approaching from yet another tank, with Max and Six leading the way. "Alright, Magister, we're on sight an' ready to rumble. What next?"

"Next is splitting duties amongst ourselves." Max informed before shifting his gaze to Ironwood. "General, I know you're usually the one to give orders, but could you, Tai and Glynda assist Alpha Squad in evacuating the citizens?"

Ironwood happily saluted and smile to the old man. "Max, so long as I'm on your planet, you can give me any order and I'd gladly follow it."

"Excellent. I'll meet up with all of you shortly."

Six stepped in, extending his arms so his folding swords came out and entered his hands. "If it's all the same to you, Max, I think I'll join this squad, too." He wore a slight grin as he focused in on Ironwood. "I've been wanting to work alongside you for some time, general. I get a distinct feeling that you and I will work well together."

The Providence agent's words intrigued James greatly. "Heh, well, I won't deny that I've been anticipating this team-up as well, Agent Six." He took Due Justice out of their holsters and smiled back. "Let's see if what you say is true." The general faced Tai and Glynda, giving them a nod. "Alright, let's move!"

"These knights won't know what hit them." Tai promised as Glynda took up her Disciplinarian. And just like that, all three of them were off, following Alpha Squad as they fought through the battalion of Forever Knights.

"An' what about us, old man?" Qrow asked as he slung Harbinger across his shoulders. "Where does that leave us?"

"Where do you think, Qrow?" Max retorted with a smirk. "Have at the knights. These people go against the very ideals we stand for; to help unify the galaxy and all of its species, so don't be afraid to rough them up." He pointed a stern finger at the Hunters of the group. "Just make sure NOT to kill or maim any of them. If you can apprehend them, that's good, and the same applies to everyone else. Set your weapons to stun and let's do this."

Raven unsheathed Omen and her eyes began to light up slightly, her Maiden powers beginning to show themselves. "Hm, so Molly calling them xenophobes was quite literal. Don't worry, Max, we'll be sure to get our message across."

Brannigan went over to Winter and Molly, the alien man giving the latter a nod. "First of all, thanks for the assist back there."

"No problem, Brannigan, sir." Molly saluted, making sure to keep her composure so as to not blush. "Just doin' my duty." She brought up her rifle and cocked it, making it power up. "So, let's start layin' down the law, huh?"

The Alpha Squad leader lifted his own gun in response. "You bet. Winter, want in on this?"

"With pleasure, Brannigan." Winter unsheathed her sword, pointing it toward the battle. "Now, let's go and—"

"Alright, alright, we got the idea." Bobo said as he took out his own large pistols, his patience wearing thing. "Now can we go an' kick some shiny, metal ass already? Bobo's gettin' antsy an' he wants to get back before lunch." The whole group rolled their eyes before charging toward the battle, ready to take down the medieval threat. "'Ey, whaddya want from me? I'm bein' honest here!"

…..

The battle proved to be intense right off the bat as Winter, Molly and Brannigan found themselves in the midst of a fire fight. Laser blasts shot through the air all around them, making them keep their heads low and weapons up. Brannigan and Molly started blasting back in response, though from the sheer numbers alone, it was obvious that Alpha Squad seemed outmatch. "Gah, this isn't starting out great." Brannigan pointed out. "We're outnumbered and outgunned right from the start."

PEW! PEW! PEW! "ACK!" "ARGH!" "WAAAOOOOH!"

The Alpha Squad's leader perked up at the sight of Molly hitting several targets consecutively, not once missing a shot. The brunette was concentrated solely on the enemy in front of her as she dashed across the battlefield, keeping her weapon up and her eye on the goal; blasting back all of those knights. "…Er, on second thought, I guess the number of weapons doesn't matter."

"Exactly." Winter affirmed as she inserted a vile of Lightning Dust into her primary sword. "It's all in how you use them." She then pulled out her secondary blade from her rapier, holding both swords as she created a Time Dilation glyph beneath her feet. "Now, watch how a master does things."

Before Brannigan could ask, Winter suddenly went off like a shot, moving so fast that he nearly missed her. She left behind a trail of yellow light as she went through and started slicing and dicing the enemy weapons, leaving Laser Lance barrels lobbed off and several knights stunned. After that, she spun around and used her secondary blade to send a wave of energy at them, which just so happened to freeze several knights upon contact.

"W-What trickery is this?!" One knight proclaimed. "Is it… witchcraft?!"

Winter came to a stop, getting a chuckle out of the assumption. "Hmph, no… but now that I think about it, tales usually tell of knights defeating mythical beasts, right?" She raised her primary blade and created a Summoning Glyph directly in front of her, and from out of it clawed her massive Manticore summon. The knights all gasped in horror at the white, icy behemoth as it roared at them, its breath cold enough to cover their armor in a light layer of frost. "…Then try defeating this one."

As the Manticore began its rampage, tossing Forever Knights around like they were simple toys to be played with, Brannigan went slack jawed. He had seen some incredible things, but a human being able to call upon a creature that fearsome was something he'd never thought possible. "…Guess THIS is what Remnant's people are really capable of…" he figured… before punching an approaching knight in the jaw.

"Ha! Nice one, Captain." Molly laughed as she came back over. "Ya really gave him a wallop." She then noticed how he was staring at the Manticore running amok, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh, Winter's pulled out that trick already, huh?" She saw how the Atlesian woman kept fighting even as her creature took out several knights, making her nod in approval. "Yeah, just what I expected. She's somethin' else."

"That's for sure. On your left, by the way."

Molly glanced to the side and raised her pistol, shooting a knight down as he raised his sword at her. "Thanks, I—oh." Molly's eyes widened as many more knights started to circle around them, causing the two of them to go back-to-back with one another. "Uh… there were a LOT more than I thought."

Brannigan narrowed his eyes at the enemy. "You're right… but it's nothing we can't handle." He sent her a smile over his shoulder. "Right, Lieutenant?"

With a determined gaze of her own, Molly reloaded her weapon eagerly. "You bet, Cap, let's go!" The duo let out a simultaneous battle cry and started blasting away, with the knights returning fire.

Winter, meanwhile, was just finishing up on another knight, slicing his sword in half thanks to her now burning blade before kicking him down. "Hmph, how disappointing. Can any one of these knights present a proper challenge—AH!" The Military Specialist gasped and jerked her head to the side as she saw the shimmer of a blade come racing past her, just narrowly missing her eye by about an inch.

She spun around and, much to her surprise, she saw a much more… decorated knight standing across from her. Their armor was stark white and they had the Coat of Arms cast in gold on their chest, along with many other stylistic gold details in other places along their armor, including a Fleur de Lis on each pauldron. They were also shorter and much lither than the other Forever Knights, and their armor seemed a lot less bulky as well. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to move so fast. Their head was covered with a much fancier helmet than the other knights wore, complete with a long, blue plume sticking out the back.

But it was the choice in weapon that caught Winter's interest; a halberd that the knight seems to wield masterfully, showing off a choreographed twirl to show their dexterity with it. Winter raised a brow and smiled, quite intrigued. "Well, you're a different one."

"Indeed, as are you." The knight said in a… "deep" voice along with a French accent, pointing their halberd at Winter. "And you are quite ze skilled swordswoman yourself. I believe a duel is in order."

"Why of course." Winter took a combat stance, ready to engage. "Just promise me one thing."

The knight took their own stance. "Zat is?"

"Quit putting on the man voice." Winter grinned knowingly, making the knight flinch. "It doesn't suit you, sister."

The knight seemed to hesitate for a moment… but then a light chuckle escaped their throat, much lighter than the voice they were putting on. "You are very observant, m'lady." The knight removed their helmet, revealing the visage of a beautiful young woman underneath. She had long, blonde hair and fair skin, her eyes a stormy grey color. She raised her halberd again with a challenging glare. "I am Lady Emily of ze House of Clotilde. And I have ze distinct privilege of being one of ze Forever Knight's higher ranked Lieutenants." She slammed the butt end of her halberd onto the pavement, managing to leave a crack in it. "You may refer to me as… ze White Knight."

If anything, this just made Winter all the more eager. "Hm, interesting. Well, my name is Winter Schnee, if you must know. We actually have our own "white knight", but he's on vacation. But I'm sure I'll be more than a challenge for you, ma'am."

"Confidence is good, but it will NOT save you." Emily took up her weapon and narrowed her eyes at Winter. "But enough chatter! We must commence ze battle! YAH!"

"Of course, your majesty! RAH!" And just like that, the two charged toward one another, their weapons colliding as they met in the middle.

…..

As that fight was going on, some other knights found themselves dealing with a pair that they quickly found out were MUCH more dangerous than even the beast-summoning woman. Two Forever Knights had charged this duo with their swords… only for their blades to be immediately sliced in half by their opponent's own blades. And taking one look at them, it was easy to see why. One was a buster sword that seemed to have a segmented blade along with… a double-barreled shot gun in its hilt. Meanwhile, the long katana that the woman wielded was blood red in color, though her sheath for it seemed to have SEVERAL colored blades inside of it, meaning she hand a hearty supply.

"Boys, fair warning." Raven said as she leveled Omen them. "We were trained from childhood to be some of the best swordsmen in our tribe. Our father sought to that himself."

"So unless ya wanna try yer luck, ya might wanna walk away." Qrow added as he slung Harbinger across his shoulders again, wearing a knowing smirk. "Hehe, but trust me, knowing me… yer luck ain't gonna be good."

However, one brave knight raised his sword. "The Forever Knights do not scare easily, heathenistic invaders! Come, brothers, let us show them why WE are worthy of knightly status!" The other knights cheered and raised their own swords as well, charging into the fray to do battle.

Qrow simply shrugged at the man's words. "Eh, we warned ya." He swung his sword down and slammed it into the ground, implanting its tip before pushing a button and pulling back on the handle. Harbinger's inner clockwork-like mechanisms started working and the blade curved back on its segments, allowing the double-barreled shotgun to face forward. "An' now yer gonna get it." BAM!

The knights gasped as a powerful blast of Fire Dust shot out at them, causing many to stumble back in shock. Others were sent flying from the force before Qrow shot again, making the knights scatter before he pulled his blade out altogether. He pressed another button and in mere seconds, the handle extended, transforming Harbinger fully into scythe mode. The Forever Knights were left stunned as Qrow pulled off an impressive technique, spinning his scythe all around himself before slamming its blade once again into the ground… right between a knight's legs.

"…Eep." The impish knight squeaked.

"Yeah, "eep" is right." Qrow smirked. "But were you payin' attention?"

"W-What, I—oh lord!" CRASH! "AAAAUGH!" As it happened, that spinning move hadn't just been for show. Qrow had subtly used it to slice through a street light that wasn't too far away from him, bringing the structure down to crash onto several of the knights.

Qrow put Harbinger back into its sword mode, snickering at his little trick. "Ahaha… ah, they never see it comin'."

Raven, however, was taking a much more direct approach. She had decided to just charge headlong into the knights. And with many quick, successive swings, managed to cut through not just their swords… but their armor as well. Several metal pieces came falling off of them; gauntlets, grieves, breast plates, even helmets were sliced cleanly in half without any scratches on the knights themselves. "AH! H-How did she—"

"Oh, did you like that trick?" Raven asked, whipping around with Omen at the ready. "Well, let me show you what ELSE I'm capable of." She started running forward again, only this time, trailing the tip of her blade across the ground. …And within seconds, that blade caught fire. With a powerful technique, Raven swung Omen and sent a wave of fire out at the knights, knocking them all down in one fell swoop.

"AH! More elemental attacks! Knights, raise your Lances and fire at will!" At the knight's command, he and his fellows raised their weapons, ready to fire at the woman.

For her part, Raven pursed her lips and hummed in thought. "Hm… I don't think so." She sheathed Omen and went for a different blade, exchanging it for one made of Earth Dust. Raven spun Omen downward and then stabbed the blade into the pavement, all while her eyes began to glow with her Maiden Power.

It didn't take long for the Dust and the earth itself to bend to her will, with several stones flying up into the air around her. Raven raised her hand and brought the stones all together, creating a barrier just in time before the Lance's laser blasts could even hit her. The powerful lasers still destroyed the rock barrier, but the raining debris forced the knights to double back… all while seeing Raven's glowing eyes coming through the cloud of dust that had been kicked up.

"Hm, like my trick, boys?"

The knights were trembling in their metal boots. "You have to be joking! First a beast-summoner and NOW a woman who controls the Earth itself? This MUST be witchcraft!"

"Alright, this is ridiculous." Raven grumbled. "I'm a Maiden, not a witch. Winter is simply using her Semblance and—"

"AH! Run! Here comes another!"

Raven was slightly confused… until she saw all of the rocks and debris starting to float on their own again, surrounded by a purple aura. The pieces of earth began to spin around in a funnel-shape and made a beeline for the knights, chasing after them no matter where they ran. The horizontal tornado of debris finally caught up to them and blasted into them full-force, sending them hurdling into a nearby building all at once.

The Spring Maiden turned to her left just in time to see Goodwitch come strolling up next to her, the headmaster having used her Semblance to do the deed. "…Alright, you are debatable on being a witch, I'll give them that."

"Very funny." Glynda rolled her eyes.

"Ah, come on, Glyndie. Just trying to lighten the mood."

Glynda sighed and facepalmed. "And there it is."

Qrow came over to the two women, eyeing Glynda questioningly. "Huh, the civilians already safe or what?"

"The Plumbers have successfully escorted them all to safety." Glynda explained. "They told us to help all of you instead." She went over to a nearby Forever Knight and nudged him with her foot, making sure he was unconscious. "And honestly, not sure if you really NEEDED it. These knights are not a challenge in the slightest."

Just then, however, metal scraping against metal caught the attention of Raven, causing her to crane her head over to a nearby battle. "…Oh no? Well, tell that to her." Qrow and Glynda quickly saw what she was talking about as they saw Winter doing battle with a female knight in white and gold armor… and the halberd-wielding knight seemed to be giving the military specialist a run for her money.

"Well… she might be an exception to the rule." Glynda admitted.

"She needs our help." Raven deduced.

Qrow, however, just shrugged it off. "Ah, what're ya talkin' about? It's the Ice Queen, she can handle—" KLINK-CLANG! The three were taken off guard when the White Knight suddenly charged in with her halberd, stabbing it through the empty space in Winter's primary blade and yanking it out of her hand, sending it clattering to the street. "…On second thought, maybe we SHOULD help her. C'mon!"

…..

As this happened, though, Sir Morton continued to watch from his hovercraft, sneering down at the Plumber's below. 'Damn. An' 'ere I thought they'd take a while 'fore showin' up.' His grip tightened on his bludgeon, ready to do something about it. 'Looks like it's time to take drastic measures, then…'

"Sir Morton!" The commander's train of thought was broken, and he resisted a grumble as one of his knights flew up to him on his own hovercraft. "Sir, what do we do about this? The Plumbers present a substantial roadblock to our plans, so how should we dispose of them and proceed?"

Morton grumbled at the annoying questions. He never was one for strategery, he usually left that to the doctor. But in this case, he definitely needed a plan. "YOU won't be doin' anythin', knave." He reached out and prodded the knight's chest, making him grunt at the amount of force he poked him with. "YOU are gon'a take the other jousters an' make for the location that the King gave us. Once we're done 'ere, we'll join ya, but until then…" He leaned in to emphasize his point. "If you find the underground city, dispose of any alien scum in its streets. That clear?"

"Yes sir, of course, sir." The knight saluted before spinning his hovercraft around and raising his lance. "Jousters! We make for the destination as planned! Sir Morton will hold them off for now, but we MUST make for the underground city!"

…..

From the street below, a keen ear had heard the order, and Max's eyes widened. 'Good lord, so THAT'S what they're after.' He spun toward the rest of his team and the Alpha Squad, hoping to get their attention. "Everyone! They're after—" CRACK! "OOF!" Unfortunately, though, the old Plumber was struck in the back of the head with the butt end of a Laser Lance, bringing him down to the pavement.

The knight that had hit him chortled menacingly, placing his foot over the man's chest. "Hmhm, so, YOU are the great Max Tennyson." He raised his Laser Lance and aimed right for Max's head. "Wonder how Ben 10 would feel after I kill his beloved grandfather? HAHAHA—" CLANG! "OOF!"

With surprising speed, Max brought his leg up and kicked the knight in the groin. And while the armor itself helped mitigate the pain… it still hurt a lot. Max grabbed the knight's foot and twisted his whole body, bringing the armored menace down to his level. "You won't get to find out, punk."

"Agh! How DARE you?!" The knight and Max got up to a vertical base once more, the former raising his gun. "I will MELT you into a heap of—" SHINK! Once again, the knight was cut off, this time by the barrel of his gun being sliced off all together. He slowly turned his head to see Agent Six glowering at him, his silent glare sending a chill through him.

"I wouldn't try it, buck-o." Another voice said as the knight felt the barrel of a gun press against his back. Out the corner of his eye, the armored man saw Tai and General Ironwood taking a resolute stance, the latter's weapon at the ready. "You and your friends are on thin ice already." Tai noted

"Your plan, what is it?" Six demanded, pressing his blade up against the knight's neck.

Ironwood's glare also hardened. "Believe me, son, you don't want to know what we're capable of."

The knight seemed to tremble, but nonetheless, kept his silence on the matter. "I'll never talk, you hear?!"

Max stood up and locked his eyes onto him. "You won't have to. I heard it loud and clear from another knight up there. They're going to—wait!" The old Plumber spun around, just in time to see the group of knights on hoverbikes go flying off into the distance toward their intended destination. "Ah! No!"

"Hmhmhmhahaha!" The knight laughed victoriously, making Ironwood and Six harden their glares. "You're too late, scoundrels! Sir Morton has given the order and now you are too late to save your precious town of alien freaks! You've lost—" KONK! "Aaahh…" The knight collapsed onto the ground, Bobo having leapt from out of nowhere to knock him on the head with his heavy pistols.

"Pfeh, can't stand jokers who think they've won before the fight's over." The EVO chimp scoffed. "So, now whadda we do?"

The magister's brows furrowed, going over everything in his head. "Well, first of all, have the civilians been escorted to safety?"

"They have." Ironwood affirmed. "Your Alpha Squad was pretty efficient about that, Max. We helped them out, but for the most part, they had it covered." He smiled and gave a nod of approval to the Tennyson. "I'm impressed, really."

"Thanks, but we can save the praise for later." Max scanned the battle, trying to see the status of every combatant from his vantage point. "We need SOME way to—" WHAM! "AUGH!"

"AAAAH!" The group hollered as a massive body came falling down from on high and landed on the pavement feet-first, the impact so powerful that it left a small crater. Ironwood, Six, Bobo and Max were practically blown back by a wave of red energy, the source being a massive, glowing bludgeon that seemed to crackle with crimson lightning. In fact, it seemed… somewhat familiar.

However, the man who wielded the weapon wasn't. "Woah… now THAT is a big guy." Tai muttered under his breath.

A deep chortle escaped the knight as he stood to his full height, his slightly duller armor and massive physique setting him apart from the other knights. "Hehehe… well, well, well, wot do we 'ave 'ere?" Sir Morton picked up his bludgeon and held its business end with his other hand, ready to do some damage with it. "A buncha' yanks chit-chattin' wit' no'ing much else goin' on? Shoudn't ya be focused on the bat'le an' all that?"

Bobo grimaced at the sound of the man's accent. "Man, an' people think my street talk's a bit much."

"Sir Morton." Max glowered, slowly getting up to his feet. "So, you're behind all of this? You're responsible for the Forever Knight's return?"

"HA! Hardly, guv." Morton shook his head. "Our new king's the one you oughta be lookin' at for that. The man weren't me first choice, but he's turned out to be not a bad pick so far." He lifted his bludgeon as it continued to surge in power. "'Specially since he's lemme wield THIS beauty…" He pulled a massive shield off his back and raised it up to them, ready to do battle. "You lot might've stopped these knaves, but'cha won't best me, no sir!"

Surprisingly enough, a certain man was quick to challenge him. "Is that so?" Ironwood stepped up to the plate and raised his cybernetic arm, pulling the glove off his hand. In moments, the hand started converting and pulling back into his arm to allow a long handle to come jutting out, one that had a whole Light Dust crystal embedded inside of it. The crystal began to shine and from the handle, a pair of twin axe blades sprang forth, glowing bright blue. "Well then, maybe I'll be a match for you, Sir Morton. Unless you don't have the spine to back up your claims."

Tai held a hand up. "Jim, wait, don't—"

"AH-HAHAHA! Challenge accepted, Robot Man! GRAAAAUUGH!" Morton came charging forward with his bludgeon raised above his head, ready to strike down on the general.

"AAAAGH!" James belted out his own battle cry as he met the strike with his own, swinging his energy axe upward. The two weapons collided and another power surge came bursting out from the impact, this one much more powerful than the one before. James' cybernetic leg actually made the pavement beneath it cave in, but still, he didn't buckle. "Everyone, get out of here! I'll hold him off while you stop the other knights!"

"Ironwood, hold on!" Six brought his blades up, ready to assist once again. "You'll need help. Bobo, get Max and Tai back to the others!"

"'Ey, whadda I look like, a babysit—"

"NOW."

Bobo raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, sheesh. An ape can't get no freedom 'round this place. Let's go, boys!"

As much as Max and Tai didn't want to leave the two by themselves with the behemoth of a man, they also knew that the two were also the best in their respective fields and could handle Morton. Thus, they followed Bobo quickly over to where the action was happening… and were taken aback by what he saw. A knight clad in white and gold armor standing over Winter, having just knocked away one of her rapiers with her halberd. "Tsk, tsk, such a shame, cherie. I was hoping you would be more of a challenge." the blonde woman said in disappointment.

"Hah, well, you'll find that I'm full of tricks, Miss Emily." Winter countered before swinging her remaining rapier up… only for Emily to block it.

The Frenchwoman threw her head back and laughed. "Hon-hon! And what exactly were you planning to do zere, madame?"

Winter smirked, seeing that the blade had notched itself into the wooden handle. "This." With a simple twitch of her finger, Winter activated the last vial of dust she had put into the rapier, and within seconds, the blade started to heat up and catch fire. As a result, the fire quickly spread up the wooden handle and Emily gasped, taking her hands off the weapon… but only managed to get herself tripped up by Winter after the fact.

"Oof!" Emily landed with a thud on the pavement, her lips in a snarl as she instantly made to get up. "Non! Zis is not yet… over?" But her voice was lost when not only the other members of the team gathered around her… but the massive Grimm Manticore did as well, growling as it held an unconscious knight in its mouth. "…Oh, merde."

"Hm, I suggest you come quietly, Miss Emily." Winter advised, picking up her main rapier. "Otherwise this could end very badly for you."

However, much to everyone's surprise… the woman merely chuckled to herself, reaching down to her hip. "Hmhmhm, oh, I do not think so, Miss Winter. For you see, we do not intend to be caught so easily." She brought her eyes up to Winter, a smile coiling its way to her lips. "We WILL meet again, though… zis, I promise." From her waist, she pulled out a small device and quickly pressed the button before any one of them could get to her. And, in many flashes of light, the unconscious Forever Knights all disappeared at once.

"W-What in the…" Glynda muttered. "She just disappeared!"

Raven scanned the area before her attention was brought skyward, seeing a massive aircraft go flying overhead as it retreated. "…I have a feeling she didn't go far, though. Come on, we can catch them if we—" But she was quickly proven wrong as the jet, in the blink of an eye, disappeared, fading into the clouds. "…You must be joking."

"Cloaking technology." Max concluded. "How in the world did the Forever Knights get so much technology? I'm fairly certain the Plumbers gutted all of their bases of every piece of alien tech that they ever got their hands on."

"Not too sure myself, sir." Brannigan shrugged. "But hey, at least we beat them back… right?" But the captain quickly silenced himself the second he saw Max move to the side… and show them all the scene going on down the street.

The fight between Ironwood, Six and Morton had only escalated in scope, with the general keeping to close quarters, but also using one of his guns interpedently with his axe. They could see bullet holes in Morton's armor, but the man wasn't bleeding from them. In fact, he seemed to be still nearly at full strength as he kept swinging his bludgeon at the man. Six, in the meantime, had chosen a more "hit-and-run" approach, sticking to dealing damage with his swords quick and efficiently in several gaps in the man's armor.

"That answer your question?" Tai countered with a serious face. "But Six and Ironwood have that handled. Right now, our bigger concern lies in getting to Mr. Baumann's as quick as we can."

Everyone grew curious at that. "Mr. B's?" Molly questioned. "Why do we gotta head over there?"

"Because, the Knights' goal is to get to Undertown… and the only clear way to get there is right next to the store." Max stared off into the distance. "And considering they were all on hovercraft when they left, I have a feeling they're probably already there."

Glynda eyed the Magister with a raised brow. "What exactly IS this "Undertown"?"

"Basically what it says on the tin, Glyndie." Raven affirmed. "An underground city directly beneath Bellwood. Only thing is that this city houses aliens…" A grim expression took hold of her features as she realized what would happen if the Knights had their way. "…And considering what the Knights likely have planned, now we HAVE to stop them, and soon."

"Alright, so we know what we gotta do to take down these assclowns." Qrow said as he got ready to take off. "Rae, you an' I will fly over there an' take care of those bucketheads."

Winter quickly stepped in, pointing her sword at him. "Not without us, you aren't. We have to make sure that every alien in that town stays safe." She whistled for her Manticore and it lowered its head for her, allowing her to climb onto its back. "We're all going with you. Molly, Brannigan, Max, Taiyang, and Glynda, you all are with me."

The five of them climbed onto the massive beast and made sure that they held on securely to it… only for Tai to suddenly reach down for Bobo. "You're comin' too, Monkey Man!"

"Gah! 'Ey!" Bobo was snatched up by the back of his unitard and heaved up onto the Manticore, flailing in protest. "Are you NUTS?! Chimps ain't made ta ride bareback! Lemme go, ya crazy blonde!" However, he was promptly plopped onto the flying lion's back, his grouchy expression making his feelings clear. "Seriously? I'd rather take my chances with the dumbass knight than ride THIS thing!"

Glynda sneered down to the EVO, already feeling a headache coming on. "Do you ever stop complaining?"

Bobo cracked a smirk to her. "Depends, ya free for lunch?"

"Eugh! You little—"

"Alright, ENOUGH!" Raven barked as Qrow transformed into his corvid form and flew off. "We have a job to do, people, so let's get it done. We make for Mr. Baumann's, on the double!" With that, Raven took to her own bird form and flew up, with the Manticore beating its wings and taking to the skies after the Branwen twins.

…..

Meanwhile, just a ways across town, the small squadron of knights had made it to the alien grocery store, landing their hovercrafts before taking up their lances. They all brought up their own red energy shields as well, just in case they should encounter any resistance. It didn't take them long to spot the massive crater that had been blown into the earth almost a week prior, though, and immediately, the lead knight pointed to it with his lance. "There! Over yonder. We make for that hole and follow the sewer systems."

"…Really? The sewers?" One of the other knights cringed.

"An unsavory task, yes, but one that will be well worth it!" The lead knight proclaimed. "Once Sir Morton and the others arrive, we shall—" BLIP-BEEP! "Hm? Doctor Chadwick?" The armored man reached up to his head, activating the comm in his helm. "What is it?"

On the other end, Chadwick didn't sound all that pleased. "Mmm, an unfortunate turn of events, good sir." he replied. "It would seem that a majority of our forces were overwhelmed by the Plumbers and their rather skilled allies. Lady Emily has returned them all to the ship."

This took all of the knights by surprise. "W-What?! What about Sir Morton?!"

"He remained behind, but is currently engaged in combat with two unknown agents."

Another knight stepped up with his hand outstretched. "Sir, what do we do? Do we proceed with the mission or fall back as well?" He gestured over to the dozen or so knights that made up their squad. "As much as I hate to admit it, our forces are not enough to lay siege to an entire city underground, not anymore, at least."

The lead knight's grip tightened around his lance, his frustration growing. Everything had gone south remarkably fast, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. 'If only His Majesty or… dare I say it, the Black Knight were here to assist.' he thought to himself. 'Surely, THEY would be able to come up with…wait.' It was then that his attention went back to Mr. Baumann's store, along with the fact that a couple of aliens just went inside. He could tell because they took off their ID Masks just as the front doors slid shut. "Hm… perhaps this isn't a lost cause, gentlemen. Follow me, I have a backup plan."

Doctor Chadwick buzzed in over the comms again. "And what would that be, good sir?"

"This mission was about instilling the same fear that the Forever Knights once had into the populace, both Earthling, AND alien." The lead knight took up his spear as its tip began glowing red. "Now, with this opportunity, we shall do just that. Forever Knights! Today, we lay siege to the occupants of this establishment. Many inside will perish… and those who do not, will live to warn the denizens of Undertown that we WILL come for them soon enough! ARE YOU WITH ME?!"

The knights roared in approval before charging in all at once, many not even bothering to wait for the sliding door as they crashed their lances through the glass. At the loud sound of the doors breaking, the customers inside the shop all gasped, astonished at the sight. The lead knight stepped up again, taking aim. "Greetings, alien filth! I'm sure you remember US, don't you?!"

All at once, the aliens began screaming and running in terror. "AAAAAAAH!" "FOREVER KNIGHTS!" "Where did they come from?!" "I thought they were GONE!"

"Hmhmhm, just what I was hoping for!" the knight laughed maniacally as he fired a red energy beam from his lance. "Open fire, all of you!" At his command, his fellow knights started shooting up the entire store, causing displays and entire shelves to start getting knocked over and even blasted clean through. The alien patrons all sprinted to the other end of the store, hoping to find some safety there. "You can run, but you cannot hide, extraterrestrial scum! Follow them and—" PING! "AH! Hey, what the—"

"HEY!" The knights were taken off guard by the sound of a rather crusty old voice, and it didn't sound too happy. Standing near the produce was a large, spectacled man with white hair going around the back of his head. He was donned in a red and yellow-striped store uniform and had a matching apron, mostly crimson with gold buttons on the straps. "Forever Knights, I don't know what you're doing here or even HOW you're here, but you are TRESPASSING!" Mr. Baumann said as he threw a potato up and down in his hands. "And more importantly, you're threatening MY customers. Now LEAVE before things get ugly!"

The lead knight simply laughed. "Ahaha! Mr. Baumann, it's certainly been quite a while. But if you think YOU of all people are going to intimidate us, then you're sorely mistak—" KONG! "OW!" Something significantly harder than a potato hit him this time… an entire folding chair to be precise. The knight crumpled to the floor as the chair hit him in the back, but while it WAS painful, he was more enraged than anything else. "AGH! Who did that?!"

"Ahem, that'd be me." The knights all rounded about to see an Aerophibian girl standing not too far away… and she was donned in similar clothes as Baumann. Only difference was that she wasn't wearing an apron and her sleeves were shorter. Still, given that fact that her face wasn't the friendliest and she had multiple piercings in her ears, the uniform didn't exactly go with her. And yet still, she kept glaring at the knights as she told them off. "And you'd all be wise to get the HELL outta here, capisce?" Swift spat.

Rather than eliciting fear, however, the knights… all laughed at her. Swift's eyes widened in shock before narrowing again in contempt, all while the armored men kept pointing at her in amusement. "Ahaha! Are you serious?!" the leader balked. "A lone alien girl in a ridiculous uniform is going to chase US off?! Hah! That must be the most hilarious thing I've heard all day."

Swift's eyes stared to glow, ready to blast her eyebeams… only for her to get a brief headache when they wouldn't work. 'Oh shit… the anklet.' She glanced down to the annoying device that was part of her parole, one that dampened her natural abilities. 'Guess I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way.'

"Hahaha… oh, alright, we've had our laugh, but now, back to business." The lead knight raised his lance, pointing out toward the patrons. "Fire when read—EEEE!" But he was suddenly pulled out from under his own feet when a certain red tail wrapped around his ankle. With surprising strength, Swift whipped herself around and sent him careening into his fellow knights, many of whom dropped to the floor with him.

"Alright, I may be on parole… and the uniforms might suck, but I'm lucky enough to even HAVE this job." Swift stated firmly, her fists balled up and ready for a fight. "So I'm gonna defend this place with everything I have, even if I can't use my powers." Out the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Baumann initially astonished by her words, only for a small grin to form soon after. She gave him a nod and took a battle-ready stance. "You wanna kill all these good people? You're gonna have to go through ME first, freaks!"

"Bah… if anything, YOU are the freak around here, miss." The lead knight scoffed as he got up and prepared his lance again. "Everyone, on my mark! We will kill this wench first to make an example out of—" RRRRROOOOAAAAARR! "…Oh no."

CRASH! All of a sudden, the entire storefront came falling in on itself as the Manticore from before came plowing in, its mighty roar reverberating through the whole place. Winter, Tai, Glynda, Brannigan, Molly and Bobo all dismounted the beast as Raven and Qrow came in for a landing, all of them prepared for battle. "Sorry to drop in unannounced." Winter remarked. "But I'm afraid we MISSED a few of you!"

"AH!" Baumann yelled, his hands flying up to his head. "No! Not the storefront! It's already taken so much!"

The lead knight grumbled and raised his lance. "Damn you, wench! You dare to follow us and besmirch our moment of glory?!" The tip of his weapon started to light up again. "I should blow you to atoms for—" CHRINK! "AH! What the devil?!" Before he could fire any sort of laser blast, Winter sent a wave of ice at their feet, freezing them all in place.

And the white-haired woman herself wasn't all that impressed. "Sir, if you want your evil plans to succeed, it probably isn't the best idea to go around monologuing all the time. It just wastes your opportunities."

"Yeah, an' I can think of a few OTHER things that're gonna get wasted, too." Bobo raised his guns up toward the knights, a wild smile forming on his lips. "Arrivederci, ya sad sack pieces o' crap!" BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM! The EVO chimp unleashed several blasts upon the knights, hitting them in several places around their bodies. Bobo laughed at how their jerking forms seemed to dance in place. "AHAHA! Ah man, I love this job."

"GAH! Must… stop this!" The knight activated his lance and fired its laser at his and his comrades' feet, blowing away the ice and freeing them from their frozen prison. "Knights, take up your arms and ATTACK!"

"What he said, only less fancy!" Qrow quipped back, pulling out Harbinger in scythe mode once again. The two sides met in the middle, with Bobo still blasting, but at closer range. Molly and Brannigan had joined him in that regard, but Qrow, meanwhile, had gone up to a random knight and dodged a beam from his lance, leaping toward him with Harbinger in full swing.

SHHHING! In one quick slice, the scythe cut through the lance, leaving the knight apoplectic. "AGH! You cur!"

Qrow just shrugged it off as the man charged him. "Eh, I've been called worse. Now let's see how we can handle you." As the knight threw a punch at him, Qrow slid to the side and began performing another spinning technique, one that took the man completely off guard. Within seconds, he had stopped… and the knight was intact.

"Ah-ha! You didn't have the NERVE to kill me!"

The former drunkard shook his head. "Nah, not really… but I didn't need to. I've already got the last laugh."

"What? What do you—" CLANG! The knight gasped as he suddenly felt an unwarranted breeze… and more importantly, a key piece of his armor falling off. He went to cover it… but then his movement caused the REST of his armor to come falling off, including his helmet which split in half down the middle. He was left in nothing but his tighty-whities. "AAAAAAAHH!"

With that shriek, the man shot right out of the store, leaving many of its patrons… and even the clerks amused. "AHAHA! Oh my god, I'm SO glad I was recording that." Swift laughed, holding up her phone.

"Might want to get THIS then, Swift!" Raven advised before she leapt over a knight that was firing at her, took his helmet, and then spun it around on his head so he couldn't see anything. As he hollered for anyone to help him, Raven struck him in the backside with a kick, making him fall flat on his face. "Tsk, tsk, these knights are sad. Did they only have a few years training?"

"Not sure." Glynda replied, sending one knight into another with her telekinesis. "Though they certainly act like it." As they kept it up, though, Glynda noticed that many of the knights were getting their weapons forced out of their hands, either from the sheer force of the attack, or from getting shot. And it gave her an idea. "Molly, Brannigan, Monkey, hold your fire!"

Bobo narrowed his gaze at her. "'Ey, I've got a name, ya know!"

"And I'll use it when you've learned some respect." Glynda emphasized with a whip from her riding crop. CRACK! "Now STOP, I have a plan."

"Ow—ouch! Okay, okay, have at it, ya crazy dame." Bobo grimaced as he walked off, rubbing his backside as Molly and Brannigan stopped blasting.

Glynda huffed back at him before waving the Disciplinarian up, focusing intensely on her Semblance. A purple aura began to surround the lances on the ground as they all floated up into the air, almost flying in a choreographed manner. They chased each other in a line before forming a large circle in the air, where they then straightened themselves out to look like some sort of star shape. …That is until they all pointed forward toward the knights, their tips all lighting up at once. The knights, especially their leader, all stared at this in horror. "…Good lord, she IS a witch."

The headmistress sneered in response. "To you, maybe. But in reality…" BLAAAAAAMM! A huge red blast was sent out at the knights, though only at their feet. The laser's impact was powerful enough to send them all flying back, straight toward the front of the store again… and right into the waiting Manticore, which growled down at them. Glynda smirked as she let the lances fall. "I'm simply a teacher."

Brannigan and Molly were both stunned by the move. "Woah… she's good." The Alpha Squad leader mumbled.

"Yeah, she'd make a great Plumber." Molly deduced.

"I appreciate the compliment, but I'm fine being a teacher, thank you." Glynda smiled. "Now, shall we wrap this up?"

Back over with the knights, Max was doing just that, approaching the fallen warriors with Brannigan and Molly in tow. They aimed their weapons down at them, the magister putting a commanding edge in his voice as he said; "By authority of the Plumbers, you're ALL under arrest. I suggest none of you move, otherwise…" He briefly glanced up to the Manticore Grimm, its blue eyes glaring daggers at the knights. "…it won't end well for you."

"You… believe us beaten?" The lead knight snapped, his helmet partially destroyed to that his left eye could be seeing glaring back at Max. "You are very mistaken if you do, old man. Our forces that stormed the streets of this city? They are only a small part of what we have to offer. We have more, MUCH more, and I'm certain that any moment now, the good doctor will— ah!" All of a sudden, however, a flash of light began to envelope the knights, taking the Plumbers… and the lead knight aback. "W-What?! No, Chadwick, what are you do—" SHUM!

And, in the blink of an eye, the dozen or so Forever Knights were gone, leaving no trace of their presence besides a few pieces of fallen armor and their recovered weapons. Max was astonished… and frustrated, to say the least. "NO! Damn it, they got away again!" He raised his hand and bowed his head. "Pardon my French."

"It's alright, Max, I completely understand." Winter assured, her brows furrowing at where the knights once were. "The fact that they have teleportation technology like this is disconcerting. It means that they can pull any of their forces back any time they wish."

Molly cleared her throat, pointing over to a nearby corner. "Ahem, not ALL o' them, sugah. Take a looksee." The group curiously went over to where she was pointing… only to find the knight that Qrow had stripped of his armor, the half-naked man trembling behind one of the fallen shelves.

"AH! S-Stay back, please!" The man tried crawling away, only to find himself bumping into someone's legs. He slowly craned his head up and locked eyes with Baumann and Swift, the two glowering down at him. Trembling, the knight hid behind his hands. "P-Please, don't kill me! I-I never wanted to be a part of this, I—AH!"

Baumann had yanked him up by the arm, boring his dark eyes into the younger man. "Well ya should've thought about that before you and your pals tried destroying my store, PUNK!"

Swift came up and socked the guy in the stomach before hitting the knock-out blow with an elbow to the face. With him firmly unconscious, she shoved him back to the floor, her lips curled into a snarl. "And THAT was for threating the lives of our customers, jerk!" As she huffed and went to walk away, though… she noticed that everyone was staring awkwardly at her. "…Oh, was I not supposed to do that?"

"Well, it would've been helpful if he was conscious for questioning." Brannigan pointed out, crossing his arms as he eyed her warily. "Plus I'm fairly certain that physical confrontation is a BIG violation of your parole, so—"

"Now you wait just a second there, kid." Baumann interrupted, pointing a stern finger at the Alpha Squad leader. "Sure, knocking someone out ISN'T exactly what she should've done, but she stood her ground in defending this store. The fact that any employee of mine would be so brave to do something like that… it's commendable." With a sincere smile, he nodded over to Swift in gratitude. "Swift, thank you. You helped defend this store, even without using your powers. If I wasn't certain about hiring you before, you can be darn sure about that now."

Swift's eyes brightened up, and her lips turned up into a small grin. She… actually did something good. The last time she felt something like this was went she helped out in the Battle in Vale, and she had to admit… she really liked it. She bowed her head back to her employer gratefully. "Ah, it's no biggie, Mr. B… and thank you, too."

"Well, at least now we know that there's somethin' in the armor that helps these idiots teleport away like that." Qrow pointed out as he and Raven picked up the unconscious knight, with Molly bringing over a pair of cuffs to put him in.

The Spring Maiden wore a thoughtful expression, thinking back to what the lead knight had said. "Yes, but it also sounds like that the knights themselves had no control over the teleport. Whoever this "Doctor Chadwick" is sounds like he has the control."

"So we must find this doctor." Glynda concluded, bringing over the lances so that they could be properly confiscated. "Only question is… where would he be?"

Just then, Bobo came up, hopping onto a nearby vegetable display to get their attention. "'Ey, uh, not sure if you guys remember, but if all these shmucks're gone… then're Six an' Cyborg Soldier still fightin' the big galoot?"

Everyone's eyes widened in realization. "…We have to get back there!" Max said before pointing to the Manticore. "Everyone, on the double!" The Plumbers and Hunters went back to the massive beast while the Magister activated his comm, hoping to get in contact with the two. "Six, do you read?! Please, answer!"

…..

Back at the battle itself, Ironwood and Six were still holding their own fairly well, even as Morton kept putting on the pressure. The large knight and the general kept clashing their respective weapons, with energy pulsing repeatedly with each strike. However, Ironwood's main goal was to deflect all of Morton's hits, it was Six's job to actually do some damage to the man, and he was succeeding… in a way. While the chinks in Morton's armor were big enough to slice into, it was only enough for Six's blades to leave small gashes and nothing more substantial.

Still, they could tell they were still wearing Morton down, especially when he paused to take a short breather. "Hah… I've 'ad ENOUGH o' you wankers!"

"The feeling's mutual." Ironwood said, quickly pulling up Due Process and taking aim at Morton. "But we're NOT giving an inch!" BANG! A bullet came bursting out right at Morton and he raised his bludgeon to block it… only for the Lightning Dust round to shock him the moment it hit, making him scream and writhe in pain. "How's that for a shock?!"

"AUGH! That's IT!" Morton bellowed as the shock stopped and he started spinning in place on his heel. "You're givin' me a 'eadache, guv, so 'ere's my RECIEPT!" With a mighty throw, Morton launched his massive bludgeon straight for Ironwood, giving a hearty laugh at his enemy's inevitable demise.

…At least that's what would've happened had Six not gotten in the way. "Got you." he muttered before putting his swords together, activating their magnetic properties. He raised his tuning fork-shaped weapon at the bludgeon before immediately swinging himself around as well, causing the flying weapon to round about the duo. Six separated his swords and let the bludgeon fly… right back to its sender.

WHAP! "AAAAUGH!" With a powerful energy burst on contact, the bludgeon struck Morton right in the torso, making him careen down the street before landing in a heap on the pavement.

Ironwood stared in awe at this before eyeing Six's blades. "I've got to get me some of those."

"Hm, sorry, standard issue." Six grinned back briefly before going back to serious mode, the two approaching the downed knight. Right at that moment, though, Six paused as the comm in his ear activated;

"Six, do you read?! Please, answer!"

"Wait, it's the other team…" Six reached up to his ear and answered; "Max, what's the situation at—"

"Six, listen, if you're still fighting Morton, you need to get his armor off, it's the only way we can keep him detained." Max said quickly. "The key to the knights being teleported away is INSIDE their armor somewhere. It needs to be taken off before he can get away!" Six and James looked to each other after hearing the message before starting a mad sprint toward Morton, hoping to detain him before he could get up.

Morton, remarkably enough, was still conscious, and was about to get back up… when a certain voice came back over his comm. "Sir Morton, do you read me?"

"Ugh… doc, not a good time…"

"It does seem that way." Chadwick said in slight disappointment… but there was also a knowing hint to his voice as well. "The knights you sent to the crater have been defeated. I told them of our force's defeat and they attempted to take the nearby grocery instead… only to be soundly beaten by the Plumbers." A sly chortle came from him as Morton saw Ironwood and Six coming his way. "Hmhmhm… Fortunately, the Black Knight has already completed our primary objective. I've been told by our king to fall back, immediately."

Morton's smirk returned. "Hm… so the operation was a success, then?"

"Indeed. All that's left is for you to leave our parting gift behind."

"On it, doc." Morton said as he stood up, raising his bludgeon up above his head.

"Stop right there, Morton!" Ironwood warned as he pulled out his second pistol. "Remove your armor and relinquish your weapon, otherwise we'll have to—" WHUP-BAM! But it was too late. Morton slammed his bludgeon hard upon the pavement, sending a shockwave through the ground that upturned the blacktop and made the very earth tremor beneath them. Ironwood lost his balance while Six stabbed one of his blades into a nearby car to steady himself.

Once the trembling stopped, Six pulled his sword out and started toward Morton, only for the knight to raise his hand. "Ah-ah, just a moment there, guv…" He pointed toward the sky… just in time for the massive airship to reappear in a shimmer of light. What's more, it had an absolutely massive cannon that emerged from its underside, making Six grit his teeth. "Take one mo' step an' I'll tell 'em to blow this whole block to rubble."

Six sneered at the man. "You wouldn't."

Morton reached up and pulled his metal visor up, allowing Six to see the seriousness in his eyes. "Does it look like I'm kiddin', bloke? Besides, we're done 'ere anyway." He went to his hip and took out a metal disk with a lens in the center of it; a holo-viewer. "But 'fore we go, get this lil' trinket to Ben 10, yeah? An' give 'im our regards."

The knight tossed it to Six, who caught it with ease. "What is this, Morton?!" he demanded. "You come to Bellwood, wreak havoc, and then you just leave? What's your game here?"

"Oh, you'll find out." Morton smirked. "Inna 'bout a minute or so… but if you want the full story, you're gon'a wan'a 'ave Tennyson use that holo-viewer." At that second, he started to be enveloped in light, and his last words before he disappeared were; "Our new king wants to chat with 'im." Once he was gone, the ship began to fly off again, though not before cloaking itself once more.

Ironwood came over to Six, glaring after the ship before noticing what he had. "What's that?"

"A holo-viewer." Six answered. "Apparently the Knights' new king wants to speak to Ben." At the sound of flapping wings approaching, Six craned his head up to see the others returning, the Manticore coming in for a landing and letting the group disembark. As the Grimm Summon disappeared, Six lowered his head to the approaching Magister. "I'm sorry, Max. They got away."

"I know, but don't worry, Six." Max assured. "I saw the Grav-Cannon they had on their ship. If that thing had fired, you, James and a large chunk of the city would've been vaporized. You did the right thing." He craned his head over to Molly and Brannigan as they escorted the half-naked knight over to the Plumber Tanks, where the rest of Alpha Squad had just regrouped while helping civilians. "Fortunately, we did capture ONE of them, so he'll be brought in for questioning."

Glynda went up to James, noticing that his robotic arm was heavily damaged. "James, please tell me you aren't injured THIS badly anywhere else." she said with a raised brow.

The general chortled and smiled at her. "Glad to see you care so much, Glynda."

"Ahem." Raven cleared her throat, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Not that I'm not enjoying the love-fest, but given the size of that airship, it has to appear on SOME sort of radar, right?" She eyed Six in particular. "Maybe a certain whiz-kid can get a lock on it?"

Six reached up to his comm and called in to the Plumber base. "Cesar, this is Six. Can you get that ship's signal?"

"Cesar here, Six." The genius replied. "And… lo siento, but that's a no-go. Whatever cloaking tech the Knights are using, it's somehow scrambling their signal. Whatever they got, must be top of the line."

Qrow kicked a piece of debris in frustration. "Damn, there goes THAT plan… but I still don't get all this." He folded his arms as he went deep in thought, the others shifting their focus to him. "The Knights literally just showed up outta nowhere, caused some mayhem, almost destroyed an alien store on their way to Undertown… and then they just leave?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, Qrow has a point." Winter conceded. "They didn't even USE that giant cannon when they easily could have. Something's going on here…"

Just then, Holiday interjected over the comms. "Six? This is Holiday. Unfortunately, our problems with the Forever Knights don't stop there." This caught everyone's attention as they listened in. "The Plumbers just received a report about a lone assailant having forced his way into the Bellwood History Museum on the other side of town… and he was dressed in all-black knight armor complete with energy weapons. …And he got away just a few minutes before the airship left."

The Plumbers, Providence agents and Huntsmen were stunned by the revelation. "…God dammit, we've been PLAYED!" Ironwood bellowed. "All of this was just a distraction for what they were REALLY after!"

"Woah, woah, let's not blow our tops yet, Jim." Tai tried to settle his friend down. "Doc, did they steal anything important?"

"Not many items, just one… a stone tablet that was recently found near ancient Sumer." Holiday paused, wincing on the other end as she delivered the unfortunate news. "…One that's said to be the key to finding unlimited power."

It took a moment for that fact to process in everyone's minds… only for Bobo to summarize what they all thought; "…Well, shit, there goes the neighborhood."

…..

Ken couldn't help but feel a pit of worry form in his stomach as he made his way home, resisting the urge to drive just a little faster. He had stopped by the Plumber base to pick Winter up at Five… only to find her not there. Thankfully his grandpa had told him that she actually already went home, but given the fact that everyone seemed to have been run ragged for some reason, he only hoped that she hadn't left because of something bad happening. He pulled into the driveway and hurriedly went up to the house, wasting no time in opening the door.

"Hey, mom, have you seen—" But Kenny's voice caught in his throat the very second he laid his eyes on her. Standing across from him in a white and black casual dress with matching heels… was Winter herself. And in that moment, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid his eyes on. "W-W-W… Winter?"

"Welcome home, working man." Winter replied with an eager smile, approaching him with her arms outstretched. "I hope you had a good shift…" She placed her hands on his shoulders, her face mere inches from his. "Because now, it's time for BOTH of our rewards."

The boy's cheeks started heating up, but he couldn't lose himself now. "O-Oh! Great! I, uh… I was kinda worried when Grandpa Max said you went home early after a mission and—"

"We can talk about that later, Kenny." Winter assured. "Believe me, I have a lot to say about that, but for right now…" She traced a finger down his store clothes, taking note of the random splatters across it. "You should probably change out of that. Looks like the food didn't agree with you today, hm?"

"Haha, y-yeah, tell me about it." Ken chuckled before moving toward the stairs. "Give me a few minutes, I'll be right back." The redhead rushed to his room and put on his best blue button-up shirt, a white undershirt, jeans, and shoes, all of them nice and neat thanks to his mother teaching him how to iron. 'Phew, okay… here it goes.' He came back down and went up to Winter immediately, offering his arm. "Better?"

"Much." Winter affirmed as she pulled him toward the door. "Now come on, after a day like today, I could definitely use some time to relax."

As much as Kenny loved to hear that… it also left him just that more concerned as well. "…Can I at least ask if everything's okay, Winter? The mission wasn't… terrible, or anything, was it?"

"Oh, no, don't worry Kenny." Winter said as she and him entered the young man's car. "Everything's fine, believe me. It's just… well, things could've gone just a little better if we had paid more attention." She reached for his hand and gave him a bright, genuine smile. "But right now, I know that things are alright. I'm with you, aren't I?" This made Kenny beam back at her, his excitement clear in his eyes. "So, shall we begin?"

…..

A/N: And there you have it, folks! The Knights have returned, and it's obvious that they've added a WHOLE lot more members to their ranks, that's for sure. Though we DID see that Sir Morton is still there, so at least there's SOME familiar faces as well. Plus, Chadwick seems to be there as well… but he's NOT the new king, interestingly enough. Hm… wonder who the new king could be, then?

But in terms of NEW members, meet Lady Emily Clotilde, a FRENCH Forever Knight and the first woman to ever been SEEN in their ranks. Heck, she's even got a high rank as their White Knight… and seems to already be forming a rivalry with Winter. Interesting… wonder what HER motivations are? That said, we've also heard reference to a Black Knight as well who's been doing some sneaky things away from the battle, so don't worry, we'll be seeing him soon enough.

With that said, while the Knights managed to do some substantial damage to the town AND to Baumann's store, our heroes still managed to drive them off. Sure, capturing them would've been better, but at least no civilians seemed to be hurt in the process. …Though the fact that a valuable Ancient Sumerian artifact has been taken has also been stolen by them is quite disconcerting. What COULD they be up to?

Also, here's to Swift stepping up in the face of danger to protect her new job! Even if she's risked violating her parole, it's good to know that Mr. Baumann now has his full trust in her. That said, with the knights back in business and an artifact now stolen… I think it's time that we bring back the BIG guns. Next time! Our heroes finally come back to Bellwood and meet up with Max to hear about the situation… as well as find out exactly what that holo-viewer is all about. Just who IS the Forever Knights' new king? We'll find out soon, but until then, thanks for reading everyone, and I'll catch you all next week! And of course, as always, stay safe out there!