I do not own RWBY or Warhammer 40,000, only my original characters.

Return of Faith

Chapter Eighteen: Returns and Choices

"Well, this day's certainly gone off the rails, wouldn't you say, Red?" Roman Torchwick quipped. "Saved from Atlas custody by Black Angels, finding out its Judgement Day, learning we have more in common than either of us thought, and now we get to enjoy a ride in this top-of-the-line airship," he leaned back in his seat, arms held behind his back and one leg placed over the other in an image of complete relaxation. "I'd almost think I was dreaming, if you weren't here."

The ice cream haired girl, Neo, raised her hand over her mouth in mute laughter as Ruby rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to respond to the thief's words. Instead, she turned her attention to Jaune. Most of his injuries had been taken care of by his Aura, and color had returned to his face, but she was still worried. Atlas was not kind to its prisoners.

Not to mention potential air sickness.

"He must have really pissed off the warden," Roman chimed in again, noticing her concern. When she shot him a glare, he raised his hands peacefully. "I'm just saying," he explained, his voice less mocking than it was before, "I'd hear the guards open his cell to "question" him. They did it a lot." Roman regarded Jaune for a moment, his gaze of one curiosity.

Before Ruby could snap at the thief to mind his own business, Jaune spoke up, "They wanted to know if there were any cults in Argus." He winced as he spoke.

Ruby's face scrunched up in confusion. Why would they think Jaune would know anything about Imperial cults in Argus? The city was a whole continent away. The blonde knight saw her confusion, "My… older sister lives there," he gave a weak shrug.

There was a moment of silence then, quickly broken by Roman's laughter. The thief clutched his stomach, nearly doubling over in his mirth. His sidekick also laughed, though as before, no sound left her lips, save for the intake of breath.

"And that's funny to you?" Ruby growled at the chortling thief, outraged he would mock her friend's suffering.

"Yes!" Roman answered between his laughs, before finally calming down, "they thought this kid would know about cults in Mistral just cus he has a sister there?" He nearly broke into another fit of laughing but managed to control himself. "Oh, sweet Emperor, I know Atlesians are a paranoid bunch, but that just takes the cake!"

"Paranoia can be a useful tool, Mister Torchwick," a voice called from the cockpit, seductive and threatening. "I would expect someone in your line of work to know that."

"Worrying about cops or Huntsmen ruining a job is different from thinking some kid knows about illegal activity in a city halfway around the world because his sister lives there."

"Details," was the pilot's response.

Ruby hadn't known what to expect when she, Jaune and Torchwick had been set free. The awe she had felt, being in the presence of one of the God-Emperor's Angels had kept her oblivious of her surroundings until they had arrived on the bridge of the Atlas warship. There, they were greeted with a massacre. The carnage of it had been enough to slam Ruby back into reality, and the presence of four more Angels had kept her from vomiting up her last meal, but only barely.

Like the one who had freed them, each wore black armor, trimmed with burnished gold and decorated with holy items. Upon the left pauldron of each, a roaring black lion's head sat against a field of dark crimson, while on the right, an ash grey arrow was visible and bore a stylized 2. They each carried massive boarding shields that looked like they could shrug off heavy mech rounds.

Among these giants, one stood out from the rest. Marked out from the others by his scarlet helmet, and the massive, clawed gauntlet he wore in place of a gun, this Angel had been talking with a woman when Ruby and the others entered. He addressed the Angel who brought them there, 'Battle-Brother Arin,' before regarding the four mortals before them. When those cold blue eye lenses fell on Ruby, he paused, and the girl felt like he was boring into her very soul.

Like they all could see into her soul.

Like Angel Arin had done in the brig, each of the black armored warriors stared down at Ruby with an intensity she did not understand. They had skimmed over Torchwick and Jaune, but had stopped on Ruby, not taking their eyes off her. It had scared her. Being the center of attention had never been Ruby's strong suit, but being starred down by five mythical warriors of the God-Emperor made the girl feel like dissolving into a puddle. No amount of rapture or awe she felt could overshadow the utter dread their gazes imposed upon the young Huntress, causing her to react in the only way she could.

"How do your guns work?"

Ruby's face flushed red as she recalled the memory and resisted the urge to bury her face in her cloak, (which she had retrieved along with Crescent Rose during their evacuation of the ship). Of all the things she could have said to the Emperor's Angels, she had asked about their guns?! God-Emperor, she had nearly died from the embarrassment alone.

Her question was ignored thankfully(?), with the scarlet-helmed Angel informing them that the ship was going to be set to crash into the Grimm hordes attacking Vale and that they would need to leave. He had told the woman, – who held a disturbing resemblance to her former partner Weiss, – to go down to Beacon Academy and take her, Jaune, Torchwick and Neo with her, along with a bound and unconscious General Ironwood.

Few words were spoken by the former prisoners during this exchange. Mostly because they had nothing to say. What could mortals say to near mythical beings telling them to get off a warship about to crash into the ground?

All they could do was obey, following the woman down to the hangar, climbing aboard the out of place SDC sky-yacht, and flying out into the open sky. Barely five minutes later, they heard a terrible, earth shaking 'BOOM' as The Dauntless, flagship of the Atlas navy, crashed to the ground. More explosions followed it, and their pilot revealed it was the rest of the fleet, falling prey to the same tactic which had taken and destroyed The Dauntless.

"How many do you think there are?" Jaune asked, breaking Ruby out from her recollection. "They only needed five to take the ship, how many do you think they have in Vale?"

"I don't know," Ruby replied truthfully. "But the ship didn't have any Huntsmen on it. At least, I don't think it did."

The thought of an Angel fighting a Huntsman or Huntress was something Ruby found both undeniably cool, and downright terrifying. Huntsmen were almost like one man armies, capable of slaying dozens, if not hundreds, of Grimm. But the Angels were holy warriors of the God-Emperor, His righteous fury made manifest. Naturally, her faith told her the Angel would win, but a Huntsman was capable of anything, especially if half the stories her father and uncle told her growing up were true.

"A hundred," Torchwick said, and both teens looked at him. "That's my wager. One hundred Angels. Enough to take the city and deal with any Huntsmen or Huntresses stupid enough to try and fight them."

"You're an expert on how the Angels fight now," Ruby challenged, still not comfortable with the knowledge that Roman Torchwick was a fellow member of the Faith.

"No, but I am a realist," he offered, gesturing toward his diminutive partner, "Neo told me how they steamrolled through the ship, crushing everything Jimmy could throw at them. Barely even scratched the paint on their armor. But down there," he tapped his can on the floor of the cabin, "in a city full of soldiers, cops, mechs, and Huntsmen visiting for the Vytal Festival, not to mention any Grimm that managed to get through, they're going to need more than just a couple squads to take Vale. Angels or not."

"Vale's already been taken," their pilot cut in, this time causing all heads to turn her way. "The Council Building was seized roughly ten minutes ago, and the surrender broadcast has been on loop for the past six. All Vale citizens, militia, police officers and registered Huntsmen are to stand down or face judgement." She turned her head around to look back at them, smiling like she was remembering a good joke. "That's the basic summary of it anyway."

"Vale's… taken?" Jaune repeated, not sure if he had heard her correctly. She nodded, then turned back to her controls. Jaune looked back toward Ruby, the shock on his face mirroring her own. Then both looked back toward the woman as they heard her speaking again, but in a language none present could understand. Another voice answered her, understandable, but laced with static:

"Confirm Agent Lond, you are clear for landing, over."

"Inform Inquisitor Kress I have the General in custody, as well as some… unexpected guests." Before whoever was on the other end of the call could respond, she shut off the comms unit and started bringing them in for a landing.

As they descended, a bump shook the cabin and Jaune wretched. He grabbed onto Ruby's arm, gripping it tightly as his face turned a sickly green hue. Roman and Neo frowned, and Ruby began rubbing the blonde's back, trying to alleviate the nausea he felt.

"It's okay Jaune, it's okay," she said, pulling her feet up off the floor, just in case. "We're almost on the ground, just hold it together for a little bit longer."

"Red, I swear, if he pukes on my shoes, I'll make him regret getting out of his cell," Roman threatened, moving himself to the far left of the cabin, narrowed eyes glued on Jaune. Neo followed him, her diminutive stature letting her walk along the seats without fear of bumping her head against the cabin's roof. "At the very least, aim him toward Jimmy over there!" He said, pointing with his cane at the tied up and unconscious general.

Ruby was thinking up something witty to throw back at Torchwick, when Jaune raised his hand up. He gulped something down, then shuddered. "I'm… I'm good," he said with some effort, leaning back against his seat with a loud sigh of relief.

Everyone else did the same, then felt the ship's landing gear deploy. A few seconds later, they landed with a gentle bump.

The moment they hit solid ground, Jaune's complexion began returning to normal. Their pilot disengaged herself from the cockpit and came into the passenger cabin, hitting a button on the way over, opening the yacht's main entrance hatch and extending the embarkation ramp.

Outside, a squad of soldiers was waiting for them. They wore heavy black and red armor and carried long rifles that were attached with thick wires to bulky looking powerpacks on the soldiers' backs. Each soldier was decorated with skulls and aquilas, like the Angels were, but there was another symbol there too, one that Ruby had not seen on any of the Angels armor.

It looked like a stylized "I" with a skull in the middle.

Their pilot made her way down the ramp, then turned. "Come on now," She said, with a smile that made Ruby wary, "there's someone who would like to see you."

~o0o~

"…message will repeat. Cease all resistance. Lay down your weapons, and you shall not be harmed. To protect the citizens of this Kingdom, we, the Vale ruling Council, hereby surrender to the… the Imperium of Mankind, and their Emperor. All militia and police forces are ordered to standdown. All Huntsmen and Huntresses are asked to cease hostilities with the Imperium and focus on pushing back the approaching Grimm. Those who continue to fight against Imperial forces will be regarded as traitors of the Kingdom and suffer the consequences. Please… do not fight them. This message will repeat. Cease all resistan-"

Blake collapsed her Scroll, cutting off the broadcast as it began its loop again. It did her little good however, as she could still hear it from the Scrolls of the others she was sharing the emergency shelter with.

From the outside, the shelter appeared as a squat, angular structure concrete and steel, like a bunker from the Great War. Inside, a set of stairs would lead one down into a vast chamber easily large enough to house over a hundred people. There were collapsible cots stacked away in a corner and crates filled with supplies. Hidden cameras gave those inside a view of the shelter's exterior, and an emergency radio provided with a means to call for rescue. There were even toilets and showers. Given the unpredictable nature of the Creatures of Grimm, this shelter had been designed and supplied to endure weeks, possibly months of active use before ever needing to restock, an act of foresight that was currently lost on the shellshocked inhabitants.

It was mostly civilians, those fortunate, or unfortunate depending on how you looked at it, souls that had gotten onto the same ferry as Blake and Weiss had. Some were Academy students, but not many. When the call to run had gone out, most of the students who had come with them ran off to help in the defense, leaving on a few behind to guard the civilians.

Weiss had wanted to join them, to add her not inconsiderable skill to the defense of the school, but Blake had talked her out of it. The Faunus explained that they could not leave the civilians defenseless, and that others would come here looking for safety. She had been hesitant, but the heiress eventually relented to her logic, much to Blake's relief.

Blake, of course, fervently denied the little voice in the back of her head, whispering that the real reason she wanted to stay was because she was afraid. It was for the safety of the civilians, not herself. It was for them.

And when the students came back, fewer, terrified, and badly wounded, Blake knew she had been right in keeping Weiss and herself from joining them. It wasn't cowardice, she told herself. It wasn't.

The survivors told them what happened, those who still had their wits about them at least. The invaders had deployed some kind of boxy assault mech to clear the path, followed by squads of the black armored giants, and what they thought were normal soldiers and grey armored women who sang as they killed. Details about these new combatants were scarce. Things had happened so fast that most weren't able to focus on anything except keeping themselves alive.

Then came the part that Blake… Blake just couldn't believe had happened.

Weiss had accused them of lying or seeing things. Blake was sure she'd accuse them of cowardice or something worse, when Penny, who had arrived with the rest of Team (J)NPR, verified it.

Professor Glynda Goodwitch, the assistant Headmistress of Beacon Academy, one of the strongest Huntresses they knew, betrayed them.

No one knew why she did it. She just suddenly started killing students and teachers, screaming like a lunatic as she did so. Already battered by the brutal assault of the invaders, Goodwitch's betrayal routed the defenders, leaving the school open for the enemy to take.

Blake had activated the shelter's lockdown mode then, sealing both the main entrance and the stairwell behind heavy armored blast doors. No one questioned the decision, even when Blake knew it meant any other stragglers would be unable to get inside, leaving them at the mercy of those butchers. They knew that too, didn't they? Surely, they knew, and understood she was protecting them. Surely…

That had been mere minutes ago, though it felt like hours. And now, the Council had surrendered Vale to the Invaders, throwing everyone under the bus to save their own damned lives. There was no way she was opening those doors, not with those monsters still out there.

"… All Huntsmen and Huntresses are asked to cease hostilities with the Imperium and focus on pushing back the approaching Grimm. Those who continue to fight against Imperial forces will be regarded as traitors of the Kingdom and suffer-"

"Will you shut that off already!?" Blake snapped at the students who still had their Scrolls out. They jolted up, spooked by the sudden demand, then stared dumbly at her, expectantly. "Turn off your Scrolls!" She hissed, and to her relief, they obeyed, collapsing the devices or opening different tabs, finally silencing that damned message.

Blake glared at them, then stormed over to one of the cots that had been set up in a faraway corner and sat down, her arms wrapped around herself as she took a deep breath.

"You alright?" the familiar voice asked. Blake looked up, and saw Weiss standing in front of her, holding two bottles of water. She held one out for Blake. "Here, drink." The Faunus accepted and took several large gulps. She had not realized she was so thirsty. Weiss sat down next to her as Blake drank, her fingers clutched around the plastic bottle she held.

"I checked the shelter's inventory manifest," Weiss said, "there's enough food and water to last three weeks, maybe five if we're careful. There're medical supplies here too. Some of the other students have first aid training and one of the civilians is a nurse, so I have them looking after the wounded. Their Auras protected them from the worst, but…"

She trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish her sentence. Then, Blake heard her let out a long, heavy sigh of exhaustion and defeat. "I still can't believe it's all real…"

Blake turned to look at Weiss. The Heiress was leaning forward, elbows resting on her knees and fists pressed hard against her temples. "None of this should be real," she hissed, "none of it!"

"I…" Blake began, then stopped. What could she say in a situation like this? That Weiss was right? That she was wrong? That this is all just some bad dream or elaborate hoax? Maybe that this was Roman Torchwick and the White Fang's master plan?

No, she could say none of those things, because she was just as lost as Weiss was, as lost as everyone was, expect for those damned zealots. The old man on the hacked broadcast had told everyone to watch the… invaders come down from the sky.

How had he known about them? They couldn't be the real thing, right? It had to be something else, like mercenaries, or a new type of combat robot, or the White Fang, or, or some sort of Imperial enclave that's been in hiding for the past eighty years wait for the right moment to reveal itself. It had to be something else! They couldn't be real…

Because if they were real…

Then Ruby and Jaune…

Blake's thoughts were gratefully interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. She turned to see the remainders of Team JNPR. Unlike most in the shelter, the three students had managed to escape serious injury, sustaining a few cuts and bruises that their Auras had quickly dealt with. The only indication that they had fought at all was the damage to their clothes and the haggard look in their eyes.

"Hello," greeted Pyrrha, though she said it without her usual enthusiasm.

"Hey," Weiss responded. Blake only nodded. She tried not to look them in the eyes, and an awkward silence fell over the five.

NPR had not spoken or even acknowledged WBY in the wake of their leaders' arrests, not that Blake could blame them. While she did not approve of Weiss' decision to involve the Atlas military, she couldn't say Ruby and Jaune didn't ask for it. Nora and Ren hadn't seen it that way, and it had only been thanks to Yang breaking Weiss' nose first that had stopped the hammer-totting ginger from breaking the heiress' legs herself.

Today was the first time the two teams had spoken to each other since Ruby and Jaune's arrest, and neither truly knew what to say to the other.

Instead, NPR pulled out one of the spare cots and sat on it, across from Weiss and Blake. Pyrrha sat with her hands held together on her knees while Nora pressed herself against Ren, who wrapped his arm around her.

"Quite a way to start the Vytal Festival, huh?" It was Pyrrha who said it, after what felt like an eternity of silence. "Definitely not what I was expecting to happen, right?"

"I'd have made Ren make more pancakes if I knew this was how today was gonna go," Nora said, contributing to this clumsy attempt at small talk.

"Did you come over here just to make jokes about all this, or did you have something actually important to talk to us about?" Weiss' reply was as cold as a Solitas blizzard.

The weak smiles worn by Pyrrha and Nora faded into frowns, and their expressions became as serious as Weiss' own.

"What happens now?" There was no desperation in the Mistral Champion's voice, no pleading tone or lost confusion. She was above that. Instead, Pyrrha asked the question that was lingering in the back of everyone's mind since the surrender broadcast went out. It was an obvious question. A good one, in fact. And Blake answered it before Weiss could even think up a response.

"We run," she said instinctively. "Take what supplies we can and at the first opportunity, make a break for the Emerald Forest and-"

"Run away? Seriously?" Nora interrupted, offended by the idea, as were her teammates.

Ren nodded his head in agreement. "The wounded and civilians wouldn't last long with all the Grimm in the forest. It would be a slaughter."

"And where would we even go?" Added Pyrrha, "It's unlikely Vale was the only Kingdom hit. For all we know, the other Kingdoms have already-"

"We know," Weiss snapped back, cutting Pyrrha off. In defense of Blake, the faunus wondered, or to avoid thinking about the high possibility that her home Kingdom of Atlas was suffering the same fate as Vale? Probably both, she figured.

The thought of Atlas suffering briefly caused Blake to think of her own home, and her family there. But she quashed those thoughts as quickly as they appeared. She did not want to think about religious fanatics burning Menagerie.

Weiss recomposed herself and said, "we know. For now, we sit tight and wait for rescue. There is enough food and water to last us until then. We just have to wait."

"And what if they get here first," countered Nora.

"The blast doors-"

"Won't be enough," interrupted Ren, earning a withering look from Weiss, which he ignored. "Those doors will hold against Grimm, but not soldiers, especially not ones with that level of firepower. We've seen what their guns can do, it's only logical that they have something capable of breaching the blast doors too."

"Then what do you think we should do," Weiss responded, no longer even trying to hide the agitation she felt. "Roll out the red carpet for them?"

Pyrrha, Nor and Ren silently exchanged looks between one another, and Blake's heart dropped. "You can't be serious," she breathed, eyes wide with disbelief.

"We've all heard the broadcast," Pyrrha began, but was cut off by a furious Weiss.

"You actually believe that garbage!? That they will just let us live if we surrender to them," Weiss spat, her outburst drawing the eyes of others.

"I don't like it anymore than you do," Pyrrha continued," but we have to think about the others. If we fight back, we'll be putting everyone in here in danger. But, if we surrender, there's a chance they can make it out of here alive."

Both Weiss and Blake couldn't believe their ears. "You watched them gun down our classmates and teachers without mercy," Blake said, her voice shaking with outrage, "and you think they won't do the same to us, just because we'll be surrendering? They won't care! They'll gun us down the second we open those doors!"

"Guys," Ren trying to defuse the situation as more heads turned their way. But his attempts were ignored.

"You don't know that!" Pyrrha countered, desperation, exhaustion, and frustration bleeding into her voice.

"Neither do you!" Weiss said, standing from her seat and getting in the Mistral Champion's face, her ice-blue eyes glaring into Pyrrha's emerald orbs. "You'd put our lives in the hands of monsters who've turned this city into a warzone out of retribution for actions none of us are responsible for!"

"Guys."

"You haven't seen what they can do," Pyrrha said, her voice raising to match Weiss'. "You'd have everyone in here die in some heroic last stand all because you are too afraid to face the consequences of your actions!"

"The consequences of my actions?!" Weiss squawked with outrage.

"For what you did to Jaune and Ruby!"

"GUYS!"

Both girls' heads whipped around to glare at Ren, "WHAT!?" Both shouted, their anger for each other now directed at the one who had so boldly interjected their argument.

"They're here!" The shout came just as Ren opened his mouth. Everyone in the sheltered turned to see an Atlas Academy student at the base of the stairs, clutching his weapon tightly as he looked out at the crowd of terrified civilians and students.

"They're here," he repeated, softer, his words still carrying through the underground chamber.

And the dread that swept over the emergency shelter in reaction to those words would have been enough to draw a herd of Goliaths down on them.

~o0o~

The dragon roared, black spittle spraying from its too wide maw and impacting against the ruined street with wet slaps. In seconds, the puddles of black tar rose, took shape, grew fangs and claws, and added to their progenitor's voice with their own terrible birth cries before rushing Abysswalker.

The Knight's heavy stubber opened up on them, as did the Black Lions devastators still occupying the buildings on either side of the dueling giants. Within moments of coming into this reality, the Grimm were dead and evaporating into the air. Not that the beast cared.

It held no love or care for the things it spawned. They were tools, lesser extensions of itself. The charge had merely been meant to distract the Knight long enough for the dragon to propel itself up with a single heave of its massive red wings. Healing membrane tore open and regenerating bones shattered as the beast lifted into the air and landed atop the line of hab-buildings to Abysswalker's left, crushing a squad of Black Lions beneath its bulk.

It hissed in pain and fury, its many eyes focused on the source of its agony. From within his glorious steed, Artoris smiled. "Finally showing some cunning," he said to himself as he raised Abysswalker's Thermal Cannon.

It started moving, crawling across the hab-buildings like an Nukuni bat lizard. Artoris could hear the whispers of his ancestors from within Abysswalker's throne, urging him to fire, to let it get closer, to be cautious. Their ancient wisdom was a boon, but right now he could not spare his attention to heed their words. He fired. Designed to blast open fortress gates and wipe out entire tank companies, the blast from Abysswalker's Thermal Cannon melted through the hab-building, disintegrating wood and reducing stone and metal to molten slag.

But it had missed its target.

At the last second, the dragon had leapt from the rooftops, letting the deadly thermal blast pass right under it as it pounced at the Knight. Artoris brought up the Reaper Chainsword to meet the beast but was too slow. It collided against Abysswalker, sending the Knight tumbling backwards. He barked in sympathetic and physical pain as Abysswalker was forced onto its back by the massive Grimm's weight and momentum.

Warning lights and klaxons blared around him as damage reports filled his vision. He wiped them away with a thought, focusing on the monster pinning Abysswalker to the ground before a fresh wave of pain ripped through his right arm. He could hear the sound of tearing metal as the Grimm's jaws bit into his Knight's arm, wrenching the Thermal Cannon from its socket and hurling the weapon away with a twist of its head.

Artoris slumped back, gasping for air. His head turned to his right arm, of flesh and blood. It felt broken, crushed, but it was still there. It was not uncommon for Knight pilots to take on the wounds suffered by their war machines; a side effect of the link forged by the Throne Mechanicum. He had endured such psycho-stigmatic wounds before, but nothing of this intensity.

It had felt so real, he almost expected to see a bloody stump instead of an arm.

Krak missiles and lasbeams smashed against the dragon's hide as it held Abysswalker down. Predators and Land Raiders fired into its back, racking it with heavy fire, but it remained focused on the Knight. It pinned Abysswalker to the ground, one clawed wing limb keeping the Reaper Chainsword from rising, the other pressing hard against the Knight's chasis.

It leered down at its prey, thick droplets of drool leaking from its exposed fangs. Artoris had read the data gathered on the Grimm, how they began as mindless but became more cunning and intelligent the longer they lived. The Freeblade had dismissed them as mere beasts, monsters to be slain, but as it looked down on him and his Knight, Artoris was sure he saw something in those six glowing eyes, something that made his blood boil.

Victory.

It was savoring this moment, this triumph over a champion of humanity. This was no simple beast, but a creature of cunning and sheer, unrelenting malice, and it was proud of this fact. Artoris knew that this would be his death, but he would not give this damned thing the satisfaction of an easy kill. He opened up with the heavy stubber, firing into the dragon's face, breaking fangs and blowing craters in its black flesh. It hissed and shrieked in fury and pain, and Artoris smirked.

"I will not go easily, vermin!" He rasped out, broadcasting his defiance in the booming voice of Abysswalker. "I have walked upon the edge of darkness! I have seen that which lies beyond the veil! I have fought those who lurk in the shadows of reality! I AM THE ABYSSWALKER. And you are nothing compared to them!"

The dragon roared in fury; its triumph spoiled by the Freeblade's spite. He doubted the thing could understand him, but it brought some measure of satisfaction to Artoris to imagine that it did. He wanted it to feel spurned. He prepared to overload the plasma reactor. The beast had proven hardy, but he doubted even it could survive this, not with how close it was.

But just the dragon began opening its jaws to bite down on his Knight's head, it stopped. Confused, Artoris watched as the Grimm writhed atop him, hissing and shrieking, tail thrashing and head arching. Something was causing it pain, but he could not see what from where he lay. On an open vox, he asked, "What is going on?"

A moment later, one of the Black Lions answered. "A group of mortals have jumped onto the beast's back and are trying to kill it."

Artoris could only say one thing in response. "…What?"

~o0o~

Yang slammed her fists over and over into the back of the massive Grimm, Ember Celica barking with each punch and ripping into the thick hide of the beast. Her uncle Qrow ran past her, Harbinger in its sword form as he dragged it though the monster's flesh, before raising it up with a flourish and plunging the massive blade back into the Grimm's back. It roared in response.

Taiyang Xiao Long punched into one of the Grimm's dorsal spines with his knuckle dusters, the specialized gauntlets leaving cracks in the bone with each punch. He channeled his Aura into each strike, empowering his blows while aiming for the weakest sections before he finished with a roundhouse kick that snapped the spine off and sent it flying. Yang's father leapt up after it, changing its trajectory with a kick before he used another to send it hurtling back down to impale the Grimm.

The beast wailed in pain and irritation, rearing up and shaking wildly to rid itself of them. Qrow held onto Harbinger, the weapon acting as an anchor, while Tai grabbed onto another spine. Yang had been too focused on hurting the Grimm, and by the time she realized her mistake, she had lost her footing and was sent flying.

She tried to grab onto the Grimm's hide, but it was like trying to grab peanut butter or mud and just melted through her fingers before solidifying again. She prepared herself for a hard landing, reinforcing her Aura to take the brunt. Maybe the impact would give her enough punch to actually hurt this damn thing.

"I got you!"

Taiyang flung his arm out as Yang tumbled past him, grabbing his daughter and pulling her close to his chest. The Veteran Huntsman kept his hold on the spine and Yang, using his Aura to strengthen his grip.

"Some fucking plan you came up with, Tai!" Qrow shouted as he did the same, enhancing his grip to keep hold of Harbinger. "Run up the back of a Wyvern Grimm while it's fighting a giant mech with a chainsaw sword the size of a building. Real smart!"

"It's working isn't it!?" The blonde man shouted back, a cocky grin flavoring his words.

He was right though. They knew that against a Grimm this size, there was no chance they could kill it with what they had on hand. The only thing that seemed like it could actually defeat this thing was that hunchback-looking, blue and silver mech with energy cannon and house-chainsaw sword. But when the Grimm managed to the upper hand and had pinned the mech to the ground, they had burst into action.

There was not much they could do to actually hurt the thing, so they did the next best thing.

Piss it off.

Running up its back, staying out of reach, and doing everything they could to cause as much pain as possible, the three warriors hoped it would be enough to distract the Grimm long enough for the mech to recover.

And it had worked. As the giant Grimm shook and writhed, the mech slowly got back up on its feet. Its gun arm was gone, the joints leaking oil like black blood, but it still had its chainsaw arm.

None of them saw this, however. The only sign they got that the mech was back in the fight was when it bellowed out a wordless roar, like a foghorn but a hundred times louder and far more intimidating. The mech charged, a lumbering gait that propelled it forward, chainsaw arm revving. The Grimm had reared up onto its hind legs, wings spread out as it shook itself, leaving itself completely open.

Yang felt the impact as the massive war machine slammed into the dragon's exposed belly, followed by the huge chainsaw erupting out from its back, foot long metal teeth ripping and churning Grimm flesh. The dragon shrieked.

"Time to go!" her father called out, and Qrow nodded. As the terrifying weapon tore through the black flesh, the three of them leapt off the beast, their Aura propelling them further than would have been naturally possible for a human. They landed on the roof of an apartment building, tucking and rolling to lessen the impact of landing.

Yang got to her feet fast, running over to the edge of the roof to watch, bracing her hands against the parapet wall. Her father and uncle joined her there, and together, they watched the huge Grimm meet its end.

The Grimm screamed as the massive chainsaw arm pulped its insides. Its whole body shook and spasmed, like in the grip of some horrible seizure. Its cries grew louder as the mech applied force, pushing the weapon deeper inside and slowly moving it through the Grimm's body until, in a welter of black ichor, the blade came free.

A massive gash had been made in the beast, too much for it to regenerate back. For a moment, it remained standing, swaying like a drunk. Then the mech swung its chainsaw arm high, catching the monster in its thick neck. Whatever noises the Grimm tried to make were drowned out by the roar of the mech's weapon as it carved through yards of flesh, bone, and muscle in a dramatic decapitating strike.

As its head fell to the ground, crushing a car that had until now somehow survived the duel between these two giants, the headless monster took one step back, then slowly, almost gracefully, crashed to the ground.

"Gods…" Yang heard her uncle mutter, as they watched it fall. Black smoke evaporated from its body as it began to disintegrate, forming a dark cloud that the wind was already dissipating. It was halfway gone when it finally hit the earth, the force of it shaking everything around them.

Her father and uncle held their arms out to steady themselves as the building shook beneath them. Yang had already been braced against the parapet however, and was no-

Her only warning was the cracking of stone, muffled by the echoing thud of the Grimm's body crashing to the ground. The parapet gave out, crumbling to rumble, and causing Yang to fall forward.

"YANG!" Both her father and uncle cried out, running to try and catch her, but they were a second too slow. Yang saw the ground coming up to meet her, saw the debris, shattered glass and jutting poles of rebar. At the height she'd fallen, her Aura would protect her from the worst the fall had to offer, but if she landed on one of those poles, Yang wasn't so sure. She could probably tank the damage, but given the state of things, it was probably better if she adjusted her course.

With a yell, Yang fired Ember Celica at an angle, letting the recoil push her over the rebar and toward the street. She tucked into a ball, arms covering her head as she hit hard cement and rolled. It was not a controlled landing, not like when she'd leapt from the Grimm's back, and she was sure her Aura had taken a dip from it, but she was alive.

And at the feet of the giant mech…

Yang craned her neck to look up at the massive machine and it too tilted its head to look down at her. Standing so close to it, and without the chaos of battle to preoccupy her, Yang noticed things about the mech that she had not before. Firstly, its head was shaped to resemble a knight's helmet, like something from the fairy tales. Secondly, its armor plates were decorated with all manner of symbols and images, most predominant being a grey wolf with a long sword its jaws.

She couldn't even begin to try and understand what any of the symbols meant, but she could recognize their importance to whoever piloted this thing from the level of detail in which each image was rendered.

And, she would admit, it did make the already cool looking machine look even more badass.

The weird, hunchback design did take some of the coolness away though. At least to her.

"I thank you, my lady," the voice that came out from its speakers was amplified but retained a noble and appreciative tone, if not exhausted. "I am in your debt. Were it not for your aid, I would be dead, and the beast free to run amok through the city."

The mech bowed its head, and Yang suddenly felt embarrassed, not expecting such a reaction.

She rubbed the back of her head and cracked a smile, "it was nothing," she said, and nearly jumped out of her skin when the machine emitted a noise that might have been a bark of laughter.

"HA! Nothing?" Yang could have sworn the thing's shoulder rose and fell when he let out another laugh. "It was far from nothing, my lady. Reports are flooding in even now. The Grimm's assault is faltering. With their champion dead, they no longer have the stomach to face us. And you have saved my life. What is your name?"

"Uh, Yang. Yang Xiao Long," she answered, not sure what else to say.

The mech moved, clumsily getting down onto one knee. "Yang Xiao Long, I, Ser Artoris Ollacile, Freeblade Knight and sworn sword to Inquisitor Oscar Kress, do solemnly swear to repay this debt. Should you seek anything of me, ask it, and it will be done."

Yang stared up at the massive, bowing war machine with shock. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to figure out a proper response. Instead, she blurted out, "th-that's not really necessary-"

"It is necessary," The pilot replied resolutely. "My honor as a Knight demands it. Name it, and if it is within my power, it will be done."

Yang was quiet, just looking up at this machine, trying and failing to look through its metal chassis at the pilot, the knight, within. What was she supposed to ask this guy? To lay waste to her enemies or be crowned queen of Vale? Could he make it so that her family was well off in whatever new world tomorrow would bring?

There was so much to process, but so little time for any of it. She couldn't think of anything to ask this man.

Maybe that's why she said what she said next, because she didn't need to think about. It had been at the back of her mind all day, steadily creeping its way to the forefront of her thoughts.

Without thought, she asked the knight, "where is my sister?"

~o0o~

Author's Note: Well… I was able to get it done before the month ended, so there's that. For real though, I apologize for how long this has taken for me to write. I'm going through some stuff right now, trying to find a new job and dealing with banks and other real life bull crap like that. Not to mention, coming up with a bunch of homebrew Imperial Guard regiments and Space Marine chapters that have taken my attention away from this fic. But I have been able to finish this chapter before the end of the month, as I had said I would.

This one was hard to get started, but once I got steam with writing it, it was like when I first started writing. It just came to me. Ended up writing over 3000 words in about just two days. I do apologize for all the cliffhangers though. I have a problem with those, I know.

Still, this was a blast to write. The fight with the dragon grimm especially was a lot of fun to write, allowing me to mix in some of the weird anime stuff of RWBY with the epic dramatic fighting of 40k that felt more refreshing than just throwing huntsmen at space marines and watching what happens.

This chapter was originally going to be way longer too, but I decided to end it here as it just felt more organic. I hope you all had fun reading it! This story is almost done!

As Always, Please Fav, Follow, and Review! Thank You!

DeadRich18 Out!