Cover Art by CHE3ZY
Better late than never I always say. This is the second longest chapter to date so enjoy it because it will be a minute before I can submit the next chapter. I do wish I could hear more feedback from different perspectives, but I can't force people to do anything. Everyone will do them I suppose. In any case, you all know the regular spiel. Like, share, review, and vote for your favorite OC on my profile. Enjoy!
Beacon Academy:
James stood on the edge of the landing docks of Beacon Academy as he gazed out towards the city of Vale.
The most powerful man in Atlas inhaled slowly, taking in the calmness of the night. Though he was not at peace, that didn't stop him from enjoying the serene moment.
The general had taken a much-needed break from planning potential contingencies for the events to come. The three persons of interest: Salem's pawn, Torchwick, and Taurus, still eluded his grasp, but he was never closer than he was now to dismantling Salem's little operation. All he could do now was plan and wait for Special Mission Unit 117 to return and double down on finding at least one of the three.
The sound of footsteps approaching got his attention. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Glynda, looking as beautiful as ever, walking towards him.
"Trouble sleeping?" She asked.
James gripped his shoulder with his non-gloved hand.
"My arm was acting up," he lied.
"Of course," she could always tell when he was lying, "so logically, you got out of bed, dressed yourself completely, and decided to gaze menacingly out into the distance." She stood next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong James?"
"I've trusted him for years. We both have. I just... I can't help but feel like he's keeping us in the dark about something."
Even he knew that he was being extremely hypocritical. If Ozpin was guilty of keeping secrets, then he was no better. The things he had done to give humanity an edge against Salem went against everything that Ozpin set forth as the foundations for the world order after the Great War.
As the King of Vale, and the victor of the war, Ozpin established the Huntsmen Academies and promoted the individuality of each person. Not only that, but Ozpin laid the groundwork for the dignity and respect for individual rights that the world was striving to perfect.
Project Guardian went against almost every single one of those ideals. Orphaned children who were kidnapped and indoctrinated into the military and then subjected to what was effectively enslavement and then human experimentation. The Guardians were not individuals, but rather the ultimate weapons.
Though he was proud of the soldiers they were, he couldn't help but feel disgusted with himself every time he looked in the mirror. His hands were filthy, and he was guilty of sanctioning such a barbaric program. But if he was honest with himself, he would do it again if he had to.
He would do anything to stop Salem, who sought nothing more than to see humanity destroyed. Ozpin's discrete actions had won them virtually zero progress against her, and so James decided to take matters into his own hands. He did what he thought was necessary and he sacrificed so much, including the life he could have had with Glynda.
"Don't be ridiculous James!" Her voice had snapped him out of his thoughts. "You know very well that we are not the ones in the dark."
James couldn't help but laugh.
"That makes it worse Glynda. I refuse to believe that a man that I've trusted for over eighteen years would act so... passively."
Glynda tightened her grip on his shoulder.
"You're a good man, James. You've always done what you thought was best for the people, even against strong protest. It's admirable. But it's high time you stopped talking about trust and started showing it. Ozpin has experience that the rest of us lack. And I think that's something worth remembering."
He placed his sole organic hand on top of hers, gently removing it from his shoulder before he turned to face her directly.
"You're right about everything except one thing Glynda," he stared long and hard into her green eyes, "I'm not a good man."
She placed her other hand on his face, pulling him slightly closer to her.
"You said that to me before at the dance, but I think you're wrong. Yes, you've made mistakes, many mistakes…done some things you regretted…"
Oh, she had no idea.
"…but I know that the Tin-Man truly has a heart deep down…"
She was as perfect as the day he had been fortunate to meet her. Despite the cold front she put on, he knew that she had never changed deep down. That coldness was his fault. He would have been furious too if she had left him abruptly and without a coherent reason. The two stood there, captivated by each other, with a pair of hands interlocked and Glynda's other hand on his face. James' robotic hand seemed to move on its own as it pulled Glynda closer by her waist. They both knew that they were about to do something they were going to regret, but in all honesty, they didn't care. In an instant, their lips crashed together, and years of repressed feelings and inner turmoil came forth.
The sound of a scroll ringing woke a certain blonde from his sleep. Jaune's eyes slowly opened as he reached for the scroll.
"Hello?"
The sounds he heard over the scroll were jumbled at first, but he was certain he could hear Ruby and Yang.
"Ruby? Yang? Hello?"
Without warning the call ended, leaving the blonde leader of JNPR looking confused.
"Jaune?"
He looked over and spotted a groggy-looking Pyrrha looking his way.
"What's wrong? Who was that?" Asked Pyrrha.
"I'm not sure, though I think it was Ruby."
"Do you think she called by mistake?"
"I'm not sure," he replied, "but I hope she and her team are okay."
"I hope so too…"
Pyrrha looked a bit pensive, something that Jaune took notice of.
"What's wrong Pyrrha?"
"Do you think that team PGRT is okay?"
Jaune blinked, clearly confused by her question.
"What makes you ask that?"
"I…I'm not sure honestly."
Jaune gave her a reassuring smile.
"I wouldn't worry if I were you, Pyrrha. Team PGRT is doing just fine, wherever they are."
Pyrrha smiled.
"You're right Jaune. Thank you."
"Anytime Pyrrha," replied Jaune.
Mountains of Vale:
A Beringel let out an ear-piercing screech as its body was bisected. Within seconds the Grimm's body dissolved as Rahm briefly twirled his polearm before bringing it back closer to him. On instinct, Rahm leaped backward to avoid a stampeding Megoliath. Rahm activated his weapon's missile launcher setting, ready to blow the Grimm to pieces. Before Rahm could fire a single missile, Terre cut through the Megoliath's neck with a hard-light sword that sprang forth from his gauntlet. The large Grimm let out a howling cry of pain before it faded from existence. Terre retracted the hard-light sword before he briefly locked eyes with Rahm.
"You took my kill," Rahm stated with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Should've been faster."
Rahm gave a slightly amused snort.
"Your sense of humor is getting better Terre."
Terre said nothing, instead giving a casual shrug before he ran off to deal with a Nevermore. Rahm merely gave a light smirk before he too hurried off to engage a pack of Ursas. When team PGRT arrived on the scene they'd been met with the sight of Professor Ozpin and the other Huntsmen and soldiers engaging the Grimm.
A few soldiers and a Huntsman had sustained severe, incapacitating injuries, leaving the line of defense weakened and in desperate need of reinforcements. Before the Grimm attacked, four Huntsmen and ten soldiers had been standing guard around the camp's perimeter and Team PGRT was to assume the second watch per Professor Ozpin's instructions. Upon their arrival, some of the soldiers retreated with the injured to ensure that the refugees and medical personnel were safe now that they had been relieved by team PGRT.
During the fighting, Penny remained relatively close to Professor Ozpin while her brothers took off in different directions to handle any Grimm they encountered.
Penny summoned her swords as a pack of Beowolves surrounded her. The Grimm were cut down almost immediately by Penny's swords as they attempted to attack her.
"Excellent work Ms. Polendina."
"Thank you Professor Ozpin."
"Keep this performance up. The Grimm are still coming."
He wasn't wrong. The Grimm had been flooding onto the camp in what seemed like waves. However, despite the seemingly endless waves of Grimm they had managed to keep them at bay.
The sound of an explosion followed by screams caused the Headmaster and the synthetic girl to turn their heads in the direction of the noise. From Penny's calculations, the noise came near the safety zone established for the refugees and the medical personnel. Seeing how the remaining soldiers and Huntsmen as well as the other members of team PGRT were preoccupied with fending off Grimm, Professor Ozpin looked to Penny.
"Ms. Polendina go and ensure that the refugees are safe!"
"Yes sir!"
Without another word, the artificial human ran off in the direction of the safety zone. She took extra care to not move faster than a regular Huntress could. She had already blown her cover once and she knew that General Ironwood would not be as forgiving as he was when Ruby learned of what she truly was. Penny silently hoped that the refugees were okay as she continued to run in their direction.
A Sabyr was reduced to ash as it found itself decapitated by Jai's sword. The super soldier quickly enabled his weapon's assault rifle function and proceeded to mow down a few Beowolves that had been advancing on his position. With the Grimm momentarily dealt with, Jai glanced at his watch, which read 0500. When he and his teammates were discussing the underlying philosophy of Ozpin's question it was just past 2100. They'd been fighting for almost eight hours now and the waves of Grimm were only now beginning to slow down.
"If you hadn't shown up when you did, we'd have been overrun. We owe you our lives on that one."
Jai looked over to the weary soldier and his squad mates. They looked exhausted and he had yet to even break a sweat. Jai's timely arrival proved to be the aid that the soldiers in question desperately needed. They had held off the advancing Grimm for several hours before their numbers proved to be too much. Jai's sword made quick work of the ones closest to the soldiers before he began to whittle away at the Grimm and give the soldiers some breathing room.
"Don't mention it," he replied before he slung his weapon over his back and began to run off in search of more Grimm or anyone that needed help.
Beneath Mt. Glenn:
The silent, short, and deadly, assassin known as Neopolitan pulled a hidden blade from within her umbrella, Hush, as she approached the unconscious form of Yang. Neo prepared to deal the finishing blow, grinning sadistically while doing so.
Without warning, a Grimm-masked warrior with black hair and clad in red and black – came out of nowhere and knocked Neo back with a perfectly delivered kick to the torso.
Neo's eyes changed from brown and pink to white, mirroring her fearful expression. The mysterious swordswoman slowly drew her sword again - long and crimson red - and held it up intimidatingly.
The mysterious woman's sinister garb and mannerisms reminded her of a similar assassin she encountered twice. The mute girl began to question just what was going on in her head.
Adam said there was more than one. Is she one of them?
Neo didn't want to stick around and find out. If this was one of the Harvesters then she didn't stand a chance in hell. Realizing the imminent threat before her, she wasted no time and disappeared in a flash.
The mysterious swordswoman observed as Neo vanished.
The masked woman let out a scoff.
"Coward," she whispered.
She looked down at the still-unconscious Yang for a moment before she then slashed her sword to the side, opening an eerie red portal.
She walked away from Yang and into the portal. At that moment, Yang regained consciousness and slowly got back up. As she opened her eyes again, she got a brief glimpse at her rescuer before the woman disappeared. Yang rubbed her head, still reeling after just regaining consciousness, before standing up and leaving the scene.
Mountains of Vale:
"It looks like that's the last of them," said Jai as he configured his assault rifle back to its sword function.
Terre observed the dissolving remains of the Grimm before them. His eyes scanned the ruins of the town briefly before he looked back at Jai.
"I think you're right. Let's go and check on the refugees."
Terre took off in a sprint with Jai following close behind. It didn't take long for them to arrive and find the refugees huddled together in the safe zone. The Grimm had attacked from all sides and trying to move the refugees to another location would have been impossible without neutralizing the Grimm first.
As they came upon the safety zone, their eyes immediately went to Penny and Professor Ozpin first. Upon further examination, the soldiers and other Huntsmen were also there.
"Mr. Verte, Mr. Gris, excellent work," said Ozpin as he rested his hands on his cane, "where is Mr. Tangerin?"
"Here sir," came the voice of Rahm as he approached from behind Ozpin and Penny.
"Excellent. It appears that everyone is accounted for then?"
"Not quite," said an unfamiliar voice.
Professor Ozpin and team PGRT turned their attention to what appeared to be the ranking officer among the soldiers.
"We ran a head count, and it looks like three refugees are missing."
"Are you sure about this?" Asked Ozpin.
"Positive."
Before the Headmaster of Beacon could say anything, the voice of a certain energetic girl was heard.
"Professor Ozpin, with your permission may we go and search for the three missing refugees?"
The ancient man smiled warmly before he nodded.
"Thank you for your proactiveness Ms. Polendina."
Penny's eyes were closed as she beamed another one of her trademark smiles.
"In the interest of time, I would suggest you four split up to cover more ground. Meanwhile, the Huntsmen, the soldiers, and I will remain here and keep the refugees and medical personnel safe until the bullheads arrive to evacuate them to a more secure location. It's clear that this area has been lost to the Grimm."
The three super soldiers nodded in agreement.
"Yes sir," they replied in unison.
"Good," replied Ozpin, "get a move on then."
The four undercover students watched as the Headmaster of Beacon walked away. Terre turned his attention back to his comrades.
"Penny, you head North, Jai you head South, Rahm you go West, and I'll go East. If anyone finds anything alert the others to your location. Let's move."
The three nodded before they all took off in their assigned directions.
Beacon Academy:
The ringing of his scroll forced his eyes to open slowly, the morning light causing slight discomfort. James looked down at the head of blonde hair that rested on his chest. He carefully maneuvered his free arm to not disturb his partner's slumber. He couldn't help but admire the blonde beauty in his arms. She looked so peaceful while she slept. With great reluctance, the general answered.
"Go for Ironwood…"
"Sir it's Captain Jade! We've got a situation."
James' eyes widened slightly.
"What is it, Captain?"
"Sir, we've detected a large Grimm presence within the city of Vale."
"What?! How?!"
"We're unsure sir, but it appears there are already Huntsmen on the scene."
"Send in a squadron as backup. We need to neutralize the Grimm as soon as possible. I'll be in the command center soon."
"Yes sir."
James hung up, placing his scroll back on the nightstand.
"Do you have to go?"
James mentally cursed as he saw a now fully awake Glynda looking up at him. He reluctantly nodded his head. He gently stroked her perfect face. The years had certainly been kind to her. He wanted nothing more than to stay here and be with her, but Vale was under attack.
"I just got a call from one of my Captains," he said, "there's been a breach in Vale and Grimm are pouring out."
Her head shot up in surprise.
"What?!"
"That was my reaction too. I just ordered a squadron into the city to help the Huntsmen on the scene contain the threat."
She forced herself up and out of bed as she moved to get dressed.
"We need to go now, James."
The general had to snap himself out of the trance-like state he briefly entered upon seeing her nude form in the morning light. After all this time, she still possessed the body of a goddess. Every inch of her was mesmerizing. James forced himself to cease admiring her body and make eye contact. He cleared his throat semi-awkwardly.
"You're right Glynda. Let's go."
Mountains of Vale:
Jai found himself kneeling to get a closer look at the leaves from a fern. Upon closer inspection, the Guardian noticed that there was blood on it. From the looks of it, the blood was still fresh.
"Heads up team, I think I may have a lead," Jai spoke into his scroll.
Rahm responded over the scroll.
"What'd you find?"
"Blood," Jai replied, "and from the looks of it, it's still fresh. I'm proceeding forward."
"Copy," said the voice of Terre over the scroll, "keep us updated. We'll continue searching as well."
"Roger," replied Jai.
Guardian Zero-Three-Seven picked up the pace as he followed the trail of blood. He found himself running for no more than a few minutes before he halted dead in his tracks. Sprawled out on the ground before him were the still forms of three children. Their bodies were littered with gruesome, bloody injuries. Without another thought, the super soldier sprinted over to them before he knelt to get a closer look. They were still breathing, but barely.
"I've located the targets" three children in dire need of medical attention. They need to be stabilized before they can be moved."
"Copy," replied Terre, "we're on our way to your position."
Jai went back to providing first aid. He needed to get them stable before they could be moved. He wasn't a medical specialist like Rahm was, but he knew how to provide basic medical care to battlefield patients. All Guardians were required to know this. General Ironwood taught them that medics could not be everywhere at once and so if you found yourself in a situation without a medic you needed to be able to handle the situation until they arrived.
"A-Are we…going to die?"
Jai's eyes darted from the boy whose wound he was treating to the girl next to him. Jai's pupils dilated slightly as he found himself staring at the little girl from yesterday. She was almost unrecognizable. Her blonde hair was stained red from blood and the vicious claw marks on her face had left her with only one eye.
For reasons he could not explain, the girl before him seemed to morph into the frozen corpse that he hallucinated yesterday.
No! This isn't real!
The super soldier shook himself out of the stupor, and the girl's original appearance returned. He took a deep breath to steady his accelerated heart rate.
"No," he simply said, "help is on the way."
The visibly shaking girl seemed to calm down slightly at the mention of that.
"What happened to you three? Why are you here instead of in the safety zone?" Jai's questions came as he continued tending to the boy's wounds. He was working as fast as he could, knowing that he had two others to attend to.
The girl's single eye glanced down before she looked back at the super soldier. Her eye was red with tears at this point.
"We went to find food, but there was an explosion and…it injured Jack," she looked over to the boy next to her before returning her gaze to Jai, "we went to find help but the Grimm came and so we ran."
That explained why they had gotten separated from the safety zone, but it didn't explain how they were still alive. The Grimm had been relentless and the injuries the children received were extensive.
"How did you three survive?"
She glanced down at the boy he was currently patching up. She began to visibly shake.
"W-We would have died if Azure's semblance hadn't saved us."
Jai nodded. So that's how it happened. They were in the middle of being torn to shreds when the kid's semblance kicked in and eliminated the Grimm. Jai was mildly curious as to what the boy's semblance was. He mused it must have been offensive in nature, effectively killing the Grimm and buying them time to escape. The Guardian didn't get to think on that for long because the sounds of rapidly approaching footsteps caught his attention.
He looked up and spotted Terre and Rahm running towards him before they stopped dead in their tracks and knelt to assist. Terre quickly glanced over at Jai and spoke.
"What's their status?"
"Critical," replied Jai, "the boy I'm working on was the worst of the three. The other two still need medical attention."
"Let me handle him," said Rahm, getting Jai's attention, "I can take over. His injuries look pretty bad, and they might need a more experienced hand."
Rahm wasn't wrong.
Jai simply nodded before he carefully handed the boy, known as Azure, off to Rahm. While Terre tended to the boy called Jack, Jai tended to the young girl.
"Where's Penny?" Asked Jai.
"On her way," replied Rahm.
Jai nodded before looking back down at the girl as he began to treat her injuries. He set about stopping the bleeding from her arm, which had been severely torn up. The girl cried in pain as Jai went to work on her. The other two boys were still unconscious as Terre and Rahm treated their injuries. The girl's legs began to flail about in pain.
"Stop," said Jai, "you need to stay still otherwise I can't treat your injuries."
She was sobbing at this point.
"B-But it…hurts," she said.
"I understand, but you must endure."
She reluctantly nodded her head and seemed to settle down a bit. Her pained moans continued to be heard as he worked.
"I…I remember you," she said.
Jai looked down at her questioningly.
"You…you gave me the extra…blanket…I remember. Thank you again."
"What's your name?" Asked the super soldier.
"Sa…Sapphire," she replied, clearly in great pain.
"Remain strong Sapphire."
When Terre got a closer look at the boy his hand tightened into a fist. The boy was hanging on by a thread. His legs looked like they had been caught in a shredder and the boy was missing a few fingers on his right hand. The injuries, while gruesome, were nothing that Terre hadn't seen before, and these wounds were nowhere near as bad as the ones he had inflicted on those who had earned the wrath of the Guardians. The injuries were certainly not what caused his anger to manifest in the form of a fist. No, it wasn't the injuries. The boy before him was the same boy he encountered yesterday. The one who looked just like him when he was younger.
As he administered the medical care, the leader of the Guardians began to think about how difficult the last 24 hours had been. They certainly weren't difficult in the physical sense. No. The last 24 hours had made him relive memories he thought were long since forgotten. Not only did the boy before him remind him of himself in the physical sense, but the boy, like him, had also lost his family to a Grimm attack. The boy wasn't the only one, though. Several children in the camp had been left orphaned by the Grimm and that fact only served as a dark reminder of the origins of Project Guardian. Terre hadn't spoken to his brothers about this and neither had they, but he was certain that they too had similar memories resurface during the ordeal.
Terre ignored the thoughts running through his mind as he continued to provide first aid to the boy. He vowed to save this boy. He had failed to protect his comrades once, and he would not allow himself to fail again.
Rahm had finished treating the boy's wounds, but the boy and the other two kids weren't out of the woods yet. Jai's assessment had proven correct. The children needed to be stabilized before they could be moved. But the treatment they received here would not be enough to save them. They needed more intensive care that could not be provided by a field medic.
Guardian Zero-One-One found himself examining the boy that now rested in his arms. He had never seen him before, but despite that, the boy reminded him of his past. The boy was like him in that they were both left orphaned by a Grimm attack and the boy's young age served to remind him of the brothers and sisters he had lost in the program.
Rahm exhaled as he shook those thoughts out of his mind. Right now, they needed to get the children to an actual doctor that could save their lives. Time was of the essence. Without another word, Guardian Zero-One-One spoke up.
"We need to get them back to the camp ASAP. They're stable for the moment, but they won't make it if we don't get them back now."
Terre nodded.
"Sounds like a plan. We'll double-time it back to the camp," the leader of the Bad Batch scooped the boy known as Jack into his arms. "Penny," he spoke through their commlink, "we're on our way back to the camp. Meet us there."
"Understood Terre!" The voice of Penny echoed through their communicators.
Rahm and Jai followed Terre's example by carefully picking up the children into their arms. Now that the children were stable enough to be moved, they had a race against time to win if they wanted to save the children. The three ran back towards the camp while taking care to not be too rough with the children.
Beacon Academy:
General Ironwood marched through the corridor of his airship with haste. Along the way, soldiers cleared a path for the general by moving out of his way. It wasn't long before the general came to a stop in front of a door that was guarded by two armed soldiers.
The soldiers stood at attention and saluted the general, who returned their salutes.
"Leave us," the general commanded.
Without another word, the two soldiers made themselves scarce as General Ironwood opened the door.
"I've been informed that you've refused to cooperate with the authorities," said General Ironwood as he walked into one of his ship's holding cells with his hands clasped behind his back.
Roman Torchwick was seated in a chair at one end of the table and was currently shackled to the floor in steel chains and handcuffs.
Roman smirked, leaning slightly forward in his chair. James narrowed his eyes at the prisoner's actions.
"I know this might be hard to believe, General, but uh... I'm not the biggest fan of local law enforcement."
"Well, that's probably for the best," replied James with darkness behind his voice, "you won't be seeing them at all."
Roman couldn't explain it, but there was something in the general's voice that he didn't like. On the outside, he continued to showcase a calm and collected demeanor.
"I'm going to give you one chance," said Ironwood as he walked around the table and stopped until he was in front of Torchwick.
The general's eyes stared deep into those of the thief.
"Tell me everything."
Roman laughed, earning an unamused look from James.
"What's there to tell?" Asked Roman. "I'm just an agent of chaos is all."
Roman's head snapped back violently thanks to a firm punch to the thief's nose.
"FUCK!" Roman howled in anger as he writhed about in the chair in pain.
Blood was oozing from his nose at a steady rate now.
James grabbed Roman by the shirt and forced him to look at him.
"Consider that a warning Torchwick," the general's tone was eerily calm. "How about we stop playing games? I'm not ignorant of the situation. I know you're working with the White Fang under the direction of another. I know that everything you've done has been in accordance with her orders. What I don't know is who she is, what she has planned, or where to find her, and that's where your usefulness begins."
Roman had composed himself and was now carefully deciding his next course of action. Had it been anyone other than Cinder, Roman wouldn't have hesitated to make a deal to save his skin. However, this was an entirely different case. He had to also think of Neo. If he sold out Cinder, then Neo was dead. Neo had admitted that she wouldn't have stood a chance against the Harvester, and for Cinder to successfully kill it meant that Cinder was the most powerful, most dangerous person on the planet.
"You know as much as I do, General," replied Roman, lacking any sort of wit in his tone. "She wears a mask and tells me what to do. She doesn't tell me why and I've never seen her face."
Without warning, Roman found himself gasping for air. James had delivered a swift blow to his throat, leaving the thief coughing and struggling to breathe.
Torchwick falling into his custody was owed to team RWBY's efforts. He mentally thanked the girls for delivering the criminal. The general was so close to stopping Salem's plans, but he needed to know just what exactly was going on. Torchwick's silence was among the final obstacles that needed to be overcome, but he would break in due time.
"Fine," said James, "if you want to play it that way then I'll play along. Get comfortable, because we're going to have plenty of time for this."
The general walked out of the cell, leaving the thief to look on in anger and a hint of fear.
As James walked back to his office, he let out a tired sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose in mild annoyance. While having Torchwick in custody was certainly a victory, he knew that he was going to earn the ire of Ozpin by getting the Council of Vale to side with him. Though, he was willing to accept it on the basis that he was doing what was necessary to protect the people. Today, Ozpin's inaction proved James' suspicions correct.
The ancient warrior was slipping.
James didn't take joy in going against his long-time friend and occasional mentor. He did it because there was no other choice. Ozpin had brought it all on himself. If Ozpin wouldn't act, then he would.
He hated this part of the job the most. He hated how he had to make the decisions no one else could make, despite knowing that they would hurt those closest to him. But it was part of the job as a general. In the end, all that mattered was defeating Salem. Every second that evil witch lived humanity was at risk. His duty to defend humanity outweighed everything else: his relationships, his image, his life, etc. He would sacrifice everything he held dear, and he would do anything, even the gravely unethical if it meant that humanity survived.
The general looked ahead with a new resolve in his eyes. He put those thoughts aside as he continued back towards his office. Vale's Council requested that he be present in the virtual meeting with Ozpin, informing him of their decision.
Once that was done, he'd need to brief Special Mission Unit 117 on the current situation once they arrived. Moreover, he wanted to hear the details of their mission with Ozpin.
"Well, we did it."
Yang was currently petting Zwei as she and her teammates and friends sat on the edge of the landing platform by the lake.
"We did it," said Blake.
Sun nodded in agreement.
"Damn right we did. You were amazing out there Blake!"
Blake couldn't help but blush at the monkey faunus' compliment.
"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm going to be seriously disappointed," said Weiss.
"Knowing Professor Goodwitch, I wouldn't count on it," replied Ren with his ever-present monotone voice.
Weiss couldn't help but scoff in slight annoyance which caused Nora to laugh.
"Oh, cheer up Weiss, at least we got to take out a lot of Grimm today," the energetic ginger spoke with much enthusiasm.
Weiss rolled her eyes at Nora's comment. The heiress turned her attention to Pyrrha and Jaune.
"How do you put up with her constant energy?"
Jaune was the first to reply to Weiss' question.
"It grows on you."
"I find it quite welcoming," said Pyrrha.
"Thank you Pyrrha! Redheads stick together!"
Nora enveloped the champion of Mistral in a bone-crushing hug. Pyrrha found herself a bit short of breath.
"You're…welcome…Nora…"
Nora quickly let Pyrrha go as soon as she realized she was crushing her. Ruby, who had been silent, suddenly spoke to no one in particular.
"A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this, or who that mystery girl was."
"Things don't always end with a happy ending, Ruby," replied Blake.
"What mystery girl?" Pyrrha asked with genuine curiosity.
"Some short girl with pink and brown hair showed up while we were on the train. She was a really skilled fighter, but I couldn't beat her," replied Yang with a hint of frustration in her voice.
"What happened?" Asked Jaune.
"She knocked me out after toying with me. I'm not sure what happened but I think someone else showed up to help. I'm not entirely sure though."
"That's strange. Well, the important thing is that you're okay," said Jaune.
Yang smiled. She opened her mouth to say something witty and playful, but the sound of an approaching bullhead cut her off. Teams RWBY and JNPR and Sun looked up to see the bullhead touchdown on a nearby landing pad. The main doors opened and out stepped team PGRT followed by Professor Ozpin. The usually cheery Penny did not look as bubbly, instead looking a bit downcast, and the three boys looked a bit…different…
"Is it me or does team PGRT look a bit…off…?"
Sun's question wasn't unfounded.
It was difficult to explain, but the three quiet, emotionless, boys had what appeared to be rage or some other negative emotion in their eyes, though their facial expressions were neutral. Professor Ozpin lacked his usual mug of steaming hot chocolate and looked a bit weary. The group watched as Professor Ozpin shared a few words with team PGRT before he shook each of their hands and walked back towards his office while team PGRT walked in the direction of the group.
Ruby, with a worried look on her face, immediately stood up and ran over to team PGRT.
"Penny, Terre, is everything okay? What happened?"
Penny looked up at her brothers, silently asking if she could tell them what happened. The three super soldiers did not say or do anything. In fact, they didn't even look at Penny. It was as if they were looking off into the distance, beyond anything anyone else could see. Seeing as she wasn't going to get a response, Penny merely put on her usual cheery face and nodded.
"Of course Ruby. We're simply a bit tired after having fought Grimm all night and all day without sleep."
That was a blatant lie and Ruby knew it. Though, Ruby knew only part of it was a lie. Ruby knew that Penny did not need sleep like a normal human, because she knew Penny was an artificial human.
Terre, Rahm, and Jai were not tired in the slightest. Not only were they used to operating in the field for days without any rest, but their bodies were able to perform at maximum efficiency for far longer than any Huntsman or soldier could. Ruby's eyes narrowed slightly as she examined Terre more closely. Her eyes widened when she noticed blood on his clothing. By this point, the rest of the group had since walked over and joined Ruby.
"Is that blood?"
Terre merely nodded without a word before he walked off.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that Rahm and Jai had blood on their clothing as well. Pyrrha moved closer to Jai and put a gentle hand on his arm.
"Jai?"
Jai said nothing. Instead, he gently removed Pyrrha's hand from his arm and walked away after Terre.
Weiss watched the two brothers walk away before she turned her attention to Rahm.
"Rahm, what happened?"
The Schnee's question was filled with genuine concern. She had never seen him or his teammates like this.
Rahm briefly glanced at Weiss before he too walked off and followed after his brothers.
The group of students turned their attention to Penny. All of them looked worried; they had never seen the three massive first-year students like that before. The absent look in the eyes of the three Guardians suggested some form of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Penny," began Pyrrha, "please…tell us what happened. I'm worried for them. We all are."
"She's right," Weiss chimed in, "we just want to help."
Penny looked at each of the faces in the group before her.
"I…"
The artificial girl hiccupped, covering her mouth as she began to hiccup even more.
"I am sorry…it is not my place to tell. Please forgive me…"
Penny wasn't lying. After they had cleared the refugee camp of all the Grimm and after they had buried the dead, her brothers sat her down and told her to not speak of what had happened.
"Let's go talk to them then," said Yang.
"NO!"
Yang and the group looked at Penny with looks of surprise. They had never seen the girl speak out like that.
"I am so sorry for my outburst…but please…I beg you to not speak with them about what happened. I fear that you will only drive them further away and…," Penny's expression began to sour into one of utter sadness as she hugged herself, "…and I do not want that to happen."
The sweet, ginger-haired girl looked crushed. The artificial girl quickly found herself enveloped by the warm embraces of Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and Nora. Penny smiled as she relished the much-needed affection. After what she went through last night, she would need all the hugs she could get.
"It's okay Penny," said Ruby as she held onto the synthetic girl tightly, "we won't press it further. Just please tell me one thing."
"Yes Ruby?"
"Are they going to be okay?"
"They did not sustain physical injuries, though I think they may have experienced some form of psychological trauma. Knowing them, however, I know that they will be fine after some time."
Pyrrha and Ruby shared a look of concern with each other before Weiss spoke up.
"I don't like it, but if you say that they're going to be okay then I will trust you. You do know them the best after all."
"Thank you," replied Penny, "I greatly appreciate your understanding."
Without another word, the synthetic girl walked away to follow her teammates.
To say that Ozpin was having a bad day would have been an understatement. When he arrived for the meeting with the Council of Vale he was already in a sour mood. Though the humanitarian mission was an overall success, it ended in a bitter tragedy.
While team PGRT walked away from the mission without physical injuries, he was certain they walked away with trauma of sorts. Ms. Polendina looked devasted. While her three teammates maintained the same emotionless gazes, Ozpin could see the turmoil in their eyes. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, those three boys did not walk away mentally unscathed.
Now the Headmaster of Beacon Academy was sitting at his desk, pondering the message relayed to him from the meeting he had just attended virtually. He had sat and listened to the council tell him how General Ironwood was the better choice to run security for the Vytal Festival. The ancient warrior rubbed the bridge of his nose in mild frustration. Although he had lived for far longer than any mortal could imagine and how he had endured more things than anyone on the planet save for one certain woman, he wasn't immune to fatigue.
And the truth was that he was tired.
He was made more aware of his eons worth of fatigue when he looked into the eyes of the three male members of team PGRT at the end of the mission. They reminded him so much of himself and that terrified him. He didn't wish his suffering on any person, and he could tell that those boys were broken at their cores.
Ozpin sighed before he took another sip from his steaming mug. The Headmaster looked out the window and up at the few Atlesian airships. He knew that trouble was approaching; he just hoped that more needless suffering could be avoided. Unfortunately, some suffering would unable to be avoided. Ms. Nikos would soon take on the mantle of the Fall Maiden and Professor Ozpin knew that she would bear a burden that would undoubtedly cause her suffering in one way or another.
Ozpin sighed again. The sins he had committed during his countless lifetimes only continued to pile up. He prayed for the day when this caseless conflict would end so that he could finally die and rest in peace. Not only so that he could rest in peace, but so that his followers could finally rest too.
Rahm stood atop the roof of the dormitory building, looking out over the grounds of Beacon Academy. The super soldier's eyes closed for a moment as he pondered the events that had transpired earlier. To say he had returned to Beacon unscathed would have been a lie. He felt himself relive painful memories that he mistakenly thought were gone.
He opened his eyes and looked off to his side and spotted his two teammates, his brothers, staring off into the distance. The three of them hadn't said a word to each other or Penny since they stepped on the bullhead back to Beacon.
During the flight back to Beacon, they received an encrypted message from General Ironwood, summoning them to his office upon their return. On the way to meet the general, they had been approached by teams RWBY and JNPR, and Sun Wukong. It wasn't hard for all of them to determine that the three boys were not their usual selves. They tried to pry and figure out what was wrong, but the truth was that neither Rahm nor his teammates were in the mood for conversation.
All they wanted was to meet with the general and hear what he had to say, and the general had some optimistic news. Roman Torchwick had been taken into Atlesian Military custody thanks to the assistance of team RWBY. With Torchwick in custody, they would be one step closer to uncovering Salem's plot regarding Beacon.
Only Penny showed her elation at the news. The boys remained quiet. To be fair, it wasn't like they would have been jumping for joy if the mission with Professor Ozpin hadn't ended in tragedy. In all honesty, they would have been just as quiet, but at least they wouldn't have been dealing with the inner turmoil.
It was clear that all three of them had walked away from the refugee camp wounded in some aspect. While all of them were shaken by what they had experienced, it was clear that Jai and Terre had it worse than Rahm.
Rahm sighed just as he heard footsteps approaching from the stairwell. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Penny step onto the rooftop. At this point, Terre and Jai had also glanced over at her.
"I hope I am not intruding. I wished to see how you all were doing."
"We're fine Penny. Thank you," replied Rahm.
Terre and Jai remained silent.
Penny's brow furrowed. She didn't buy it.
"I think I have come to know you three very well by now. I know what constitutes normal for you three and your recent behavior is not indicative of normal."
Again, the three remained silent.
Penny sighed.
"Please…" she stated, "I merely want to ensure that you are well. The three of you have been acting differently ever since we spoke with the field surgeons."
The three super soldiers ceased looking at her. They turned their eyes back toward the campus grounds.
She'd struck a nerve.
"I…I am sorry…I did not mean to open an old wound. I merely wish to engage in dialogue because I believe that talking about what happened may help you."
The Guardians looked at each other briefly before looking at her.
"We've never been ones to talk about such things," replied Rahm, "you shouldn't press it further."
Though he wasn't wrong, the irony of Rahm's statement was that out of the three remaining Guardians, he was the most "human" and the most "talkative."
"Please," she pleaded, "I just want to be sure that you all are okay."
This time it was Jai that spoke up.
"Rahm is right. There is no need to press this issue further. We're fine."
Penny looked at him with doubt.
"The three of you have taken the lives of other humans without remorse in the name of the defense of our kingdom and humanity," she replied, "and the three of you acted as though nothing happened when we returned to base."
She wasn't wrong. Her brothers were nothing short of killing machines when they were let loose on whoever was unfortunate enough to get on General Ironwood's list. She'd been on only one actual mission with them before the assignment to Beacon, and so, thankfully, she did not know the full extent of what the Bad Batch had done in their previous assignments.
If she had seen, let alone known, the countless horrors that they were responsible for then she probably would not be the same innocent soul she was. In all fairness, the people they killed were White Fang members, bandits, rebels, and terrorists, but the way in which they killed them was horrifying. Superhumans tearing apart normal humans was a sight straight out of a nightmare.
"Forgive me for I am still understanding the metaphysics of human emotions, but I am trying to understand why the deaths of the children in particular were different from the others you have witnessed die."
Penny was genuine in her quest to better understand what exactly had happened. She meant no disrespect; she was merely confused as to why they felt nothing for the others they had killed but clearly felt something for the children.
Wait a minute.
That was it. She couldn't believe she hadn't realized it earlier.
"I believe I understand now," she said, her teammates looked at her with the same emotionless gazes as before.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that you were never tasked with saving the lives of innocent bystanders before. You were always tasked with the elimination of dangerous individuals and therefore are unfamiliar with the deaths of innocents. Is this analysis correct?"
Her tone of voice suggested that she was sure of her deduction. She could not come up with a more logical explanation.
"No," replied Terre.
Penny blinked.
"No?" She sounded dumbstruck.
"Civilian casualties are common in our line of work," Terre's eyes seemed to gaze directly into her soul, "some, indirectly because we could not go against standing orders."
Penny looked so confused.
"...I... do not understand. Our mission is to protect all of humanity, yes? That would include civilians, as well. Why would that directive go against a standing order?"
"That's enough, Penny," Terre's voice became sterner sounding.
Penny looked down with a saddened expression. The increased volume of Terre's voice left her a bit hurt.
"I merely wish to understand is all," she said, "I did not intend to anger you."
Jai and Rahm gave Terre looks of concern. Terre was not oblivious to the silent reprimand of his brothers.
"Penny," said Terre, "I'm not angry with you. None of us are. You simply still have much to learn."
"Then teach me," she replied, "how can I understand if you do not speak to me?"
The three looked at each other again. She did have a point.
"Very well," replied Jai, "listen closely. In war, there's always the goal of ensuring the safety of civilians, but the reality is that oftentimes there will be those who can't be saved."
"But that does not explain what you said about standing orders," she said, "how would saving the lives of civilians go against orders? Is it not our duty to protect civilians?"
"Penny," said Rahm, "if we're given a mission, we must complete it. If saving the lives of a few civilians would compromise the mission, then we have to make the tough decision to not save them if it means completing the mission."
"But why?"
"Because," replied Terre, "more civilians will die if the mission is not completed. The lives of many outweigh the lives of few. Our ultimate mission is to ensure that humanity survives, and we accomplish that by eliminating those that would further divide it and plunge it into war. Bandits, the White Fang, violent rebels, and especially Grimm are the greatest threats to humanity's survival."
Penny looked like a child that had just been told her favorite fairytale was not real. She simply looked defeated. Her hands balled up into fists as she looked back at them.
"Are the lives of the few meaningless then?"
"No," replied Jai.
"Your words seem to imply that they are," she said with some disappointment.
"It is a harsh reality Penny," said Rahm, "we aren't gods that can be everywhere at once and right all wrongs."
Penny blinked. Rahm's words were true. When her father began to instruct her on the basics of human nature, she was confused about the concept of mortality. Her father explained to her that she could theoretically live forever while organic humans died of natural causes such as old age and disease. In some cases, humans would fall victim to unnatural causes such as Grimm attacks or even being killed by other humans. She had asked her father why death existed, but he would always say that it was simply part of the natural order of things. Her father said that it didn't matter if you were the richest, most powerful person in the world or the poorest, weakest person because either way, the two would feel the embrace of death.
She looked Rahm in the eye.
"I agree with your words Rahm," she said, "do you?"
Rahm looked at her curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"You stated that we are not able to be everywhere and cannot right all wrongs. I agree with those words, but I feel as though none of you agree with those words due to your behavior after learning that the children did not survive."
The three said nothing as Penny looked at them with a slight smirk. She had them cornered and she knew it.
"Rahm's words are still valid," said Jai.
"Then explain your behavior earlier. Defend your position."
Jai exhaled audibly, clearly beginning to lose patience with Penny's questions.
"Let's just say that when we found the children there were some memories that surfaced. Memories that the three of us would rather not have lingered around."
Penny eased her way towards them, stopping just in front of Jai.
"Is it safe to assume that upon learning the children did not survive that there were even more painful memories that surfaced?"
Jai merely nodded.
Without a word, Penny enveloped Jai in a warm embrace, leaving him surprised. For once, Penny wasn't squeezing the life out of him, and it was a strange feeling.
"I am sorry," she said.
Jai nodded and returned the embrace.
"There's nothing to be sorry about Penny but thank you."
Penny looked up at him and smiled. She let go of him and walked over to Terre and hugged him gently as well. Terre awkwardly returned the embrace.
"I was unaware you were capable of hugging someone without suffocating them."
Penny smiled.
"I can see that your humor is continuing to develop Terre."
"That's what Jai and I have been saying," Rahm said with his arms folded across his chest.
Terre merely rolled his eyes in minor annoyance.
Penny let go of Terre and finally gave Rahm a warm, gentle hug too.
"Thank you for trusting me," she said.
Rahm hugged her back and smiled.
"You earned our trust a long time ago," he replied, "you're one of us, Penny."
Her green eyes lit up once she heard him say that. She smiled and gently tightened her grip on the hug.
Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald stood atop a rooftop in Vale as the sun began to set. Cinder had a confident look about her while Emerald and Mercury looked a bit uneasy.
"All in all, I call today a success," said Cinder.
Emerald couldn't believe what she was hearing. This wasn't part of the plan. The Grimm breach wasn't supposed to happen for another few days.
"Those stupid kids really made a mess of things. The Breach wasn't supposed to have happened so soon," said Emerald. "On top of that, Roman got captured."
Mercury nodded.
"Yeah, and a lot of Faunus didn't make it out of the tunnels," said Mercury.
Cinder smirked.
"It doesn't matter," replied the half-Maiden, "even though the timetable was moved up, it still puts us closer to our goal. As for Roman, I wouldn't worry about him talking. He cares too much for Neo's safety to say anything." Cinder's smirk turned into a sinister smile.
"You still think the White Fang's going to listen to us?" Asked Mercury.
"No," said a fourth voice. They looked over and saw a red-haired bull faunus dressed in black approach them. "but they'll listen to me."
"Glad to see you could make it Adam," said Cinder with a playfulness in her voice.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," his sarcasm wasn't hard to detect. He was here only because Cinder would have killed him and his troops if he said no.
"Wonderful," replied Cinder, "in that case, we can begin discussing the next phase of the plan."
The sound of boots landing on the rooftop alerted the four immediately. They turned around to see who had snuck up on them.
Cinder smiled as she made eye contact with Neo. Mercury, Emerald, and Adam visibly relaxed upon seeing the mute girl.
"I'm happy to see that you made it out," said Cinder.
Neo didn't look happy. She'd been forced to flee the train and was therefore unable to help Roman against those annoying kids. She would get Roman out but it would take some time, even with her semblance.
Neo retrieved her scroll and began to type out a message while Cinder and the others merely looked on.
Once she was done, Neo moved closer to them before she held up the scroll for Cinder and the others to read.
We need to talk. I think I encountered another Harvester.
Terre saw himself but Jai and Rahm saw different people in the children. Who are they? Well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out. This chapter is probably the darkest one so far. I hope it gave you all some deeper insight into the tone of this story. James and Glynda have rekindled the old flame a bit. I always felt the Tin Man was tired, but Glynda being next to him might give him some renewed vigor. Roman is in custody and General Ironwood has some plans for him. Neo mistook Raven for a Guardian and I think that now her fleeing the scene makes more sense. Next chapter will be the start of Volume 3. See you next time.
-Dude64