Still technically on hiatus for Legion due to how busy I am for work, but that doesn't mean I can't add more stuff on the side.
Y'all can expect the occasional DLC and some oneshots and will occasionally find me on discord. Though it'll be a lot longer for any chapters of Legion to come out.
Does that count as a hiatus?
Hello everyone, this is a special chapter dedicated to those from the discord that have provided their own input to the story.
"Chronicle?" Mand'alor calls as he looks over the screen, sees the entries from his brothers and understands their value.
"Yes, Mand'alor?"
"These logs…make sure they stay somewhere safe, so that future generations can look upon our words and struggles, and see that we gave it our all."
That they were human…not just clones.
"Yes, vod." Chronicle said as he looked over some of the entries, waving his brother goodbye as he left.
WAR JOURNAL - UNFORESEEN SIMULATIONS - By Burk
'Burk', Chronicle thought to himself. He recalled his brother as someone who transliterated another word like Cody. Burc'ya…which meant friend.
If he wasn't mistaken, he arrived during the USJ.
Which, now that he thought about it, was obvious considering the title of the log entry.
-It was the early days of spring when the Vode first appeared as a fighting force. It was supposed to be just another training exercise, but, apparently, plans change.
Like many of my brothers, I had been itching to get out on the field of battle, but none of us could have predicted the unrelenting force at the USJ. And none of us were happy with how Ori'vod opened the gate in the first place. Despite the training before we entered the world, nothing could have really prepared us for the carnage of war.
I will never forget when I first looked into the unblinking eyes of my own face…
Remarkably, we made it out of the USJ that day, but not without heavy losses. Thanks to the work of CT-782, now "Hevy," that monster was brought to its knees, but not before the deaths of 1,138 of our brothers. Including Jango. That one possibly hurt the most. He was the first, and that loss will never be forgotten. Those of us who survived, however, emerged battle-hardened. Ready to face the threats that lay before us. And as we marched off into our new lives, there was no expecting what would come next.-
Chronicle sighed with his nose…nothing could have prepared them for that travesty.
And Ori'vod had been so angry during the Sports Festival.
He shook his head and focused on his task again, scrolling through more entries as he catalogued and organized them.
"Another one from Burk?"
WAR JOURNAL - FESTIVITIES - Burk
-The next time we were brought into the spotlight wasn't a battle. No one feared for their lives that day. Instead, the war we fought was in the sphere of public opinion. For many people, we were nothing more than Ori'vod's quirk. Expendable and worthless.
It was our job to prove them wrong.
UA was going through some trouble themselves, since the world thought they might have a security threat. UA decided to combat these two birds with one stone. As such, it wasn't long before we were gearing back up, our armor polished to a spit shine. We would protect the Sports Festival, and we would make our first personal impressions on the world.
The Sports Festival went off without a hitch. Ori'vod showed the world that he would fight to the bitter end, but he wasn't the only one to show that we are here. We may have helped spectators and patrolled with the heroes as they worked, but what made an impression on the world was our performance. I still tear up thinking about the thundering of our armor and our chants ringing out into the heavens. If sound could travel through space, I bet that we could have shaken the stars. And while we may not end up having peaceful lives, it's these moments that make our war worth fighting.-
Chronicle softly smiled at the entry, making a note to write down the war songs and save them as entries for the future before grimacing as he found one of his own logs.
JOURNAL ENTRY - BEAST'S FOREST - Chronicle
-The Battle of Hidden Beasts, the Siege of The Beast's Forest, the Ambush of the Metal Legion. Those were only a handful of names that came from the utter disaster that occurred today.
We of the Vod'e knew that the League of Villains would not stand idle as the students of 1-A continued to live. So, when the decision to send the hero classes to train at a secluded training camp was made, security was not taken lightly. Detachments of the U.A Battalion were sent as part of a safety precaution to better protect the students of both classes 1-A and 1-B. I digress that even with the seriousness of the situation, some of us were glad to have a chance to blow off some steam, especially the ner vod's clones. Nonetheless, if anything were to happen, rest assured that they were in good hands. With all our training, our weaponry, and our tactics as well as the assurance of the nearby heroes, we thought it was enough.
We thought wrong.
They came at night, hoping to catch us unawares. Fortunately, flares sent by the outlying patrols alerted us to their presence and did what we were trained to do. We prepared the best we could and evacuated the students swiftly. We of the Vod'e thought we would only fight against a handful of villains, elite as they might be.
Then we heard the marching.
Metal crunching on wood, stone, and earth. Emerging from the shadows of the forest came the soulless legions of droids marching in lockstep towards us, all of us. I admit that there was a small sense of awe when we saw with our own eyes a number that far outstripped our own.
A legion against a legion.
Then we heard, saw, and felt the torrent of blaster fire emerge from the tree line. Many of us were cut down in the opening exchange of fire. It was no small miracle that I survived but that is not the point. One by one, we fell. One by one, we felled scores of the droid legion. Quality versus quantity. We stood undaunted. We would protect our charges, even if we had to lay down our lives.
That is our duty.
And yet, we failed that duty.
Many of the students were injured with some still unaccounted for. Ori'vod, Mand'alor, taken. Many of my fellow brothers were killed or wounded, some even still missing in the after-action reports. We did our duty, but it wasn't enough. We failed to protect the students from harm. We failed Mand'alor.
We will not fail again. We must not.
We can't.-
He sighed deeply, his fist clenching around the terminal as a part of him wanted to crush the metal in remembrance of what had been their darkest hour.
He shook his head, scrolling through more entries, he needed something to take his mind from-
Oh…well…why not make another?
And so, he began to write.
JOURNAL ENTRY - CAMINO WARD - Chronicle
-Legacy.
The Battle of Camino Ward, as if it could be called that after what we've all seen, began much like the battles of old used to be heralded by. The deafening, thunderous boom of cannon fire, or, in this case, a single swing of All Might's fist crashing down onto the hideout of the League of Villains. With that one swing, the entire world turned its eyes onto Camino. No secret could remain veiled from such scrutiny. No innocence and naivety could remain in, what I fear to be, the rising flame of war.
Whether it be physically or mentally, no life was spared. There were those of us that hoped that it would be a simple snatch and grab. The plan, on paper, was simple: Overwhelm the villains with a rapid series of devastating strikes using All Might as the tip of the spear. From there, the heroes and the attached clones would locate and extract Ori'vod and ensure his safety.
Unfortunately, life is never that simple. Ori'vod was whisked away, mere moments from rescue and it all went downhill from there. All Might leapt away in pursuit, using the information gathered by Sentinel and his team to reconvene there. From testimonials I've gathered from members of Sentinel's squad, it was a nondescript warehouse that its appearance belied its intent.
A veritable Nomu factory hidden in plain sight.
A hero strike team was sent to dismantle the operations, but the situation escalated quickly when the Devil made its appearance.
All for One.
A monster ripped from the nightmares of generations. The heroes fought valiantly but it was ultimately a losing battle. Only through the might of All Might could we have expected to be a match. And when All Might finally arrived, we began to hope. But the Devil is not without its tricks and the doors of Hell swung right open the very moment the Devil smiled.
From fire and ruin, the metal legions of the Droid forces arose and spread death onto the residents of Camino Ward. Whatever sanity that was preserved was now lost to the panic of death and strife. Valiant were the heroes who gave their lives to slow the metal menace. Tragic were the lives lost to the cascade of blaster fire that knew not mercy or restraint. Man, woman, and child were lost in the opening minutes and many more continued to lose their lives with every minute that passed afterwards. The heroes and the sanctioned clones that were a part of the raid were not enough to defend Kamino, let alone themselves. Those still alive were rounded up like lambs to the slaughter. There will be those who ask:
How did they get captured so easily?
Well, we must remember that there is a certain quality that quantity can provide, and the Droids had that in spades. The battle would have ended for them, for us, there if it were not for the reinforcements.
And what a surprise those reinforcements were.
Descending onto the battle like Valkyries of Old Norse mythos, gunships and jetpack troopers arrived with vengeance in their hearts. Scores of Droids were torn asunder, and the tides of battle shifted once more in our favor. It, also, appears that the students of both hero classes 1-A and 1-B were not found wanting.
Leading the charge was none other than acting commander of the Vo'de, Uravity herself, with members of 1-A and 1-B joining the fray to beat the Droids back. I had no doubts that this was unsanctioned by U.A, but at that time, every moment, every person counted to save as many lives as possible and rescue Ori'vod.
Victory, however, does not come without sacrifice. Kaminari Denki, otherwise known as Buurenaar, was also kidnapped along with Ori'vod by Relampago, formerly known as Flashover. That villain did something to Kaminari and forced him to almost commit on matricide. It was only thanks to the quick actions of both Blitz and Bes'laar that Kaminari pulled through and saved his mother instead.
The scars, however, will take far longer to heal.
The night grows longer still, and the battle continues. What Kaminari experienced was only a drop of this roiling ocean and more continues to flood the streets. Sorties were organized by the clone squadrons to save as many civilians as they could, but success varied wildly between groups.
Some were fortunate enough to save groups of people at a time while others were only a second too late in their search with only corpses and metal scrap as their tombstones. I could only think of what the last thoughts were the people had when the end finally came. Do they scream for help from a hero that never came, or did they go gently in the night, closing their eyes and accepting that this was their end?
And that was not the end of it. The scouring of Camino by the Droid army was nothing compared to the visceral brawl between All for One, the greatest villain, and All Might, the greatest hero. Both titans pitted against each other where only one could walk away. All of us who saw that fight, whether it be in person or behind a screen, knew that every hit, every drop of blood, held a story generations in the making.
Everybody of this modern era knew of the story of All Might. The greatest hero of this era and the Symbol of Peace. He was the symbol of stalwart heroism, and his legacy was one of victories and overwhelming courage in the face of insurmountable odds. People had faith that All Might would come out the victor. He's All Might, after all.
Then All Might's secret was revealed to the world and people couldn't believe their eyes. Where the familiar hero once stood was now a skeletal remnant of a man too stubborn to die. He remained unyielding and it was no doubt that All for One would have finished him off but the timely intervention from Ori'vod himself stopped that from happening. In exchange, Ori'vod's recklessness – or was it bravery? – caused him to nearly perish on the field of battle.
Imagine, Ori'vod, our progenitor, leader, and friend to many, falling due to what made him a hero. I shudder to imagine what would have happened if Kaminari did not arrive and did not immediately render aid to the fallen hero. In true irony, Ori'vod's sacrifice is what gave All Might the push needed to annihilate All for One. With a single, magnificent punch, it was all over.
They say to fear the quiet before the storm but the same could be said once the storm has passed. With the help of other heroes, more sorties were organized to look for any survivor; our heads held high but the more we looked, the more devastation we could see and the more people we were too late to help. Relief efforts organized from other clone squadrons provided the salve to nurse the wounds obtained throughout the night. Food stations, shelter, and aid stations were what we brought to Camino and the people were grateful.
And I am grateful when I see my brothers together and alive. Is it selfish to think that way? When I heard that not a single one of us perished in the onslaught, I was astounded. It was a miracle.
To whomever is listening and is watching over us, thank you.
Yet, this is not the end. The battle is won but this war is not over, not for a long time I fear. The clash between All for One and All Might was both an end and a beginning. With All Might's declaration, it is up to us, all of us, to bear the burden of the mantle of hero and await the new dawn.
How will we be remembered though? Us, clones, I mean. The topic of legacy has been buzzing around in some form or another and it got me thinking. The people of Camino Ward would etch this day in their soul forevermore. The whole of Japan too. They saw us in action and what will they see? How will we be remembered for our actions tonight? What will our legacy be?
I like to think that we were heroes.-
Chronicle blinked as he finished typing in the terminal before sighing again in satisfaction.
"Heroes…" he whispers before saving the entry and turning off the screen.
He left the system open, in case any more of his brothers wanted to add their own words for the historical record. Hopefully they would.
Credit to the entries goes to Burk (DudeDude319) and Chronicle (WriterforFunandBoredom)