What the hell happened to this place?
Mistral, Suteppu
17 days since The Onslaught
Masa gripped a barrel from the village tavern, struggling in pain over the control of the airship he hijacked that flew from Menagerie. He stumbled and fell to the ground while trying to stabilize his balance. As he became unconscious like he got knocked out, one of the villagers picked him up and began to carry him to his hut. As he laid him on the floor, his conscience became silent as he entered a coma-like state.
The Ruins of Universe 2019-26-Xi-Cailyx
As Salem floated across the ruins of the universe she once protected, she felt sad and looked at the wreckage. Soon, the Bot-Boy that survived the destruction of his home planet zoomed toward her.
"Ma'am." he greeted. "I know this looks grim, but where are we going?"
"Nowhere," she replied. "This place is a dump now."
She flew towards a moon and landed on it, and the Bot-Boy followed suit. As she saw the planet's ruins that once orbited around it, she knelt on the ground, hoping that something would take her life.
"Is there any salvation in this universe?!" she screamed.
A cerulean portal in time and space opened behind her after he screamed. Out of the portal, a tall and skinny humanoid male figure emerged. The figure's skin was blue and cold, resulting from frequent travels through the cold and hostile vacuum of space and time, with long eyebrows, two equally long and skinny beards, and thin legs. It typically wears a golden-brown, smog-producing, piston-driven time machine obscuring its lab coat alongside a tall headgear with a small silver fork, and its left arm has a considerable metal glove with a clock on it. As it walked toward Salem, the cyborg witch aimed her blaster arm at it.
"Now, now, no need for hostility." it greeted.
Salem puts down her weapon, ceasing her attack.
"I know everything that has ever happened, ever will happen, and ever could happen on Remnant and everyone who lived and died on it," Salem said. Yet, I do not know yours, Martians. Explain."
"Madame Salem," the figure replied. "I am Nefarious Tropy. I, too, was once human, a precursor to humanity, not of this realm that you are on."
"Liar!" Salem yelled.
She then leaped toward Tropy, and he raised his hand as she prepared to strike him, and time paused. Tropy walked around the frozen-in-time witch and used his fork to tap her on the back slightly. As time resumed for her, Salem flopped to the ground. She then jump-kicked Tropy and staggered him, dropping his fork. She fired a blast at him, knocking Tropy down. With her foe down, Salem charged at him with her plasma blades in hand, ready to dissect him,
"ENOUGH!" Trophy yelled as he paused time by raising his hand.
Tropy stood up and picked up his fork. He walked towards the witch, thrust his fork through her chest, and threw her down to the ground. He then opened a portal in time and space and walked into it, leaving the witch down on the moon's surface. As time resumed, Salem then screamed in pain from the blows she received while frozen in time. The moon then slightly cracked as she met the impact of the ground. The Bot-Boy zoomed toward her location, and as he arrived, he saw Salem lying flat on her stomach, still and motionless.
"Get up, Mistress Salem!" he yelped. "Get up!"
Soon, Salem's senses started to fade as she fainted and entered a coma-like state.
The Blankspace Plane
Suddenly, Salem gasped and woke up like she experienced a nightmare. Waking up in a pitch-black void of nothingness, with the only source of light being the one shining above her, Salem got up and walked around the place.
"Hello?" She asked. "Anyone here?"
"I can ask you the same thing, Salem." another voice replied.
Salem turned around and tried to find whoever said that. She raised her cannon arm and aimed at the one who replied to her. Then, out of the darkness, Masa approached him.
"You show no hostility. Please put the arm cannon down so we can talk," Masa said.
Salem nodded her head and followed Masa's orders calmly. She then sighed and walked towards him.
"How do you know my name, human?" Salem demanded calmly.
"First, let me explain. I have a friend who knows all about Remnant," Masa answered. "Mine is a world where we see you as fiction."
"Fiction?" Salem interrupted.
"Non-existent, like Sherlock Holmes, Oshikuru, Spider-Man, and so on," Masa explained. "Anyway, unlike your world, mine is a world where video games are everything. But the biggest gaming utopia is none other than Silica City, located in northwestern California, miles toward the southern border of Oregon."
"I have been there before," Salem sighed. "Just before Vekk-Torr destroyed your world."
"That fiend?" Masa snapped.
He then turned his right forearm into a long, sharp blade that reached to his ankle and pointed it at her.
"What about my friends? Did you kill them too?" he demanded.
"Your friends are alright, Shimamoto. No need for bellowing." another voice interrupted.
Then, another figure emerged, and it walked toward the two. This one is a human skeleton with cybernetics across it and a pair of neon green eyes. It wore red, white, black, and yellow medieval soldier armor with the clothing torn up and its armor dented, as it survived numerous battles. On its hips were two asymmetrical axes, rusty but functional.
"They're… alive?" Masa gasped.
"Why, yes, they are. Your friends are safe on Remnant." the skeleton replied.
"Who are you, and what is this place?" Salem asked.
The skeleton then took a deep breath, summoned a chair made from the void, and sat on it.
"My name is Daver-Net, guardian of the Blankspace Plane." he introduced.
"Blank… space? As in the Taylor Swift song, or emptiness in general?" Masa asked.
"What do you think?" Daver-Net scoffed.
"You're right. Empty, like this void." Masa sighed.
"Well, not this place," Daver-Net responded. " Around here, I, and whoever has a dark heart that saw the light, can shape this plane into anything."
"So, somebody evil who went through a babyface turn?" Masa questioned the Knight.
"What now?" Salem interrupted.
"A term in wrestling when a bad guy becomes good," Daver-Net answered.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Salem said. "When Vekk-Torr arrived before he invaded Remnant, he spoke to the headmasters of each academy, offering them peace and protection across Remnant: no Grimm, no injustice, nothing."
"A utopian society." Masa defined. "He wanted to turn Remnant into a utopia."
Masa then started to create a monitor for all three to see from the void of the plane.
"What are you trying to do?" Daver-Net questioned the Meta Runner.
"Showing a glimpse of the past," Masa answered as he raised his hand to the monitor, letting the Nevermore Energy activate it and display what was showing.
"I see." The Knight nodded as he soon raised his hand towards it, his magic intertwining with the Nevermore Energy.
Confused by this, Masa looked at the Knight.
"What are you doing?" Masa whispered.
"I'll assist you. After all, this is my domain," the Knight retorted.
Masa nodded his head, and the two continued. As their energies merged, the monitor grew, becoming the size of a sedan. As it did that, the two stopped as the screen displayed an image of a figure from Masa's past.
"Lucks?!" he gasped. "What is he doing in this glimpse of the past?"
"The origins of how these events unfolded on Remnant all began in this reality," Daver-Net explained. "A reality of Meta Runners."
"If that is the case," Salem noted. "Then let's watch how those events have folded."
"Watch?" Daver-Net laughed as he prepared to run towards it. "Why watch a moment in history when you can examine it?"
Then, the Knight ran away and then toward the screen.
"Razakabool!" he cheered as he jumped into it like it was a portal.
Confused, Salem and Masa turned to each other and shrugged before they walked into the screen-like portal. As they did so, they immediately saw they were in Silica City, before it came to Remnant via the Dimensional Compass, before Tari existed, and before the Project Blue Incident, which put Lucinia in a coma. More notably, it was the headquarters of TAS Corp.
Universe 2019-26-Xi-Cailyx, Silica City, TAS Corp Headquarters
Two days before the Project Blue Incident
"Daver-Net," Masa pondered. "Why here? Why TAS Corp?"
"You want to get to the bottom of this whole predicament, correct?" clarified the Knight. "Follow me."
He then walked toward Derek Lucks' office, and as he did so, his body phased through it like a ghost.
"Did you see that?" gasped Salem. "He just walked through those doors!"
"Must be one of those ghost forms," Masa noted.
"Like a Geist… sort of," she replied. "Come on, let's follow him."
Masa and Salem followed suit and soon saw the office of Lucks, Masa's former boss. As Lucks entered his office, he was carrying a regular octahedron-shaped device unknown to him and Silica City at the time.
"One day, after a business meeting in Los Angeles, Derek Lucks found one VekkTrooper's dead body on the road back to Silica City. While he saw the body as useless, the gadget he obtained, the footsoldier's Riftmaker, caught his attention. What happened next would change the bastard's life forever." Daver-Net explained.
As Lucks placed the Riftmaker on his desk, he examined it from every angle.
"What are you, you mysterious trinket?" he asked it.
"Yeesh," Daver-Net jeered. "And I thought Gary Busey was a weirdo."
"Correction, he's crazy," added Masa. "Not to mention the company from top to bottom."
As he touched one of the object's sides with his left thumb, it scanned his thumbprint. Suddenly, he paused and saw the object scan his thumbprint. Then, it flashed green repeatedly in three half-second intervals, transforming into its portal gun form. Surprised, he grasped the device, now in its gun form, like a firearm.
"Impressive," Lucks said. "Let's test this. I always wanted our Meta Runners to dominate Neon Outlaws."
He stood from his chair and aimed the Riftmaker at the door.
"Those damn ScrewAttack Industries punks have been sitting at the top for so long," Lucks smirked. "By the time our Meta Runners get training with this, those damn dirty apes will get sent back to the stone age!"
When he fired the Riftmaker, the recoil knocked him back, and the projectile created something he hadn't seen before—a portal between dimensions.
"Scratch that," Lucks groaned. "VR games still run through Texas."
He then recovered from what happened and saw the result of his testfire.
"What the hell?" he gasped.
Soon, he walked toward the portal, and the three figures watching this entered it. In a moment, they went from Lucks' office to an abandoned laboratory on an island on Remnant.
Merlot's Laboratory (or what's left of it), Merlot's Island
Three days before The Onslaught
Amazed by this, Lucks wandered around the place like a tourist. Taking in the sights of the abandoned facility, he was stricken by what he could do to renovate this place.
"Now, to make amends and expand TAS Corp's horizons." he grinned.
He then opened a portal to his office, walked into it, and informed any scientists and agents off duty to enter the portal he created and examine what he found. Moments later, two dozen TAS Corp scientists and agents entered and inspected the facility Lucks discovered. As Lucks entered the engine room, he saw two figures standing in his way: Yang Xiao Long, the rouge Huntress, and her boss, Cinder Fall. Enraged, Lucks demands two agents to protect him and aim their weapons at the interlopers.
"Yang, kill them," Cinder ordered.
"No." retorted Yang.
"That is an order." Cinder countered as she turned to her. "Follow them."
"I don't want to." snickered the blonde. "We should ask this guy what he is up to."
"She's right, Cinder." Another voice acknowledged.
Suddenly, Arthur Watts arrived on the scene with him, siding with Yang.
"Miss Xiao Long has a point," Watts said. "Let our guest introduce himself."
"Thank you, sir." Lucks acknowledged. "I am Derek Lucks, founder and CEO of TAS Corp."
"TAS Corp?" Yang interrupted. "What the hell is that? A company focused on cosmic travel?"
"Video games," Lucks explained. "In my world, video games are everything. My company excels at it, as we have the best Meta Runners. But when it comes to this, not so much."
He then showed the Riftmaker to the trio. Cinder took it from his hands and aimed it at Lucks.
"Now's the chance to say your prayers, Lucks." Cinder boasted as she aimed it at him. "So say farewell to your days of peace because it is time for you to die."
"Cinder, don't!" shouted Yang as she tried to push Cinder so that she shot away from Lucks.
As the blonde pushed her boss, her shot went wide left, and a portal opened to the left of Lucks' group. As it opened, two TAS Corp agents saw a hallway of a spaceship within the portal. The agents cowered and ran away, leaving the four in conversation, approaching said portal.
"What the hell is that?" Watts questioned.
"It's… some sort of spaceship," Yang answered. "A futuristic one."
Suddenly, a figure started walking toward the portal—a large Camylonian.
"Interesting," it said. "A new world ripe for the taking."
"Close it. Close it!" Lucks demanded.
While examining the device, she tried to find anything to close the portal. She panicked until she found the touch screen and tapped on it.
"I don't know what this does, but screw it!" Cinder panicked as she fired at the portal.
As the shot fired at the portal, everyone was in awe that it had closed.
"Holy shit," Watts gasped. "Mr. Lucks, what is that thing?"
Watts then took the Riftmaker from Cinder's hands and returned it to him.
"First off, something isn't right here." Masa interrupted. "Yang shouldn't be with Cinder and Watts. She should be with team RWBY!"
"In another, she would," replied Daver-Net. "In this reality, Yang Xiao Long defected from her team after a mission gone wrong."
"We must find out why Yang joined Cinder in the first place," Masa demanded. "Everything else is irrelevant."
"We may want to pay attention, Masa," noted Daver-Net. "We want to know how we got here in the first place."
"I agree with the skeleton." Salem bespoke.
"I am a Camylonian." corrected the Knight.
"Fine," sighed Masa.
The three then walked toward the doorway leading to the hall Lucks walked before. As they entered it, they entered a hall of Salem's Evernight Castle.
"Home," Salem gasped.
Then, she saw herself seeing the conversation between Lucks and Watts at the table of the conference hall.
Evernight Castle, Land of Darkness
In the Evernight Castle, Salem sat alone, watching the events at Merlot's abandoned island through a Seer. Unbeknownst to her, a black mist filled the air, and a humanoid dark purple dragon with silver horns and golden yellow eyes walked out of it. He wore an outfit similar to a warlock, with cloth colored black, purple, silver, and gray. He also wore an amulet of a faction from another world. As he approached Salem, the mist began to fade.
"I know everything on this planet, everyone, and every known event in its recorded history," Salem said as she slowly turned to the dragon. "Yet, your presence is unknown to me, beast. State your business and why you are here."
"Madamme Salem," began the dragon. I am Malefor. I am a visitor to this realm for one reason. I come from a world beyond your reach—one endless, full of magic and wisdom, all protected by forces of good."
"What do you propose, dragon?" questioned Salem.
"Refuge—My family is in a losing battle against the forces of good back where I reside, but I need objects to bring me ultimate power," Malefor explained.
"The relics," whispered the witch. "But why?"
"To change my world, my realm, hell, even the universe." the dragon explained.
"This undertaking you speak of rivals mine, and you do not know what monsters you will unleash upon your realm," Salem warned. "They will wipe you out when you obtain all four."
"Pure destructive power?" the dragon marveled. "I like the sound of that."
"Then we are considered enemies, Malefor," Salem responded.
"I was hoping you would say that," smirked Malefor as the black mist surrounded the conference room once more and walked into it.
As the room went back to normal, Salem was worried about Malefor's despicable plan.
"Malefor?" questioned Masa, "Who's he?"
"A despicable creature from the Dragon Realms," Daver-Net said. "You should not cross him. It's a good thing Salem did the same."
"If I did," added Salem, "I would join his alliance of chaos in this universe."
"I'm glad you didn't do that, Salem." smiled Masa as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "That's what heroes do: ignore the chance to succumb to darkness."
"I appreciate the compliment, Mr. Shimamoto." Salem responded, "That's something I haven't heard in a long time."
As the trio walked away from Salem's past self, Salem turned around and sighed as she saw it one last time.
"Do not fall for anyone more sinister than you," she whispered.
Salem's past self heard the whisper as she left, disappearing to another point.
"Who's there?" her past self asked.
Universe 2019-26-Xi-Cailyx, Silica City Prison
Two days before The Onslaught
A jailbreak was in progress in another universe, where Meta Runners dominate the gaming landscape. As Masa, Salem, and Daver-Net arrive on the scene, they see the security guards knocked out and injured and the cameras destroyed, knowing that someone escaped.
"Evelyn," Masa grunted.
"Who is Evelyn?" Daver-Net questioned the Meta Runner.
"She was on the reserves in TAS Corp's Meta Runners. However, her rise was all thanks to Sheridan," explained Masa. "Her arrest for her crimes followed after Tari sacrificed herself.
"Now it seems someone has broken her out." noted Daver-Net, "Someone unpleasant."
The Knight pointed to a security camera that had short-circuited moments ago. As Masa ran inside the prison hallway, he saw one prisoner leaving her cell: Evelyn Claythorne. The one helping her was a humanoid skeleton wearing red and black armor akin to an Egyptian warrior, with a black ponytail and bright yellow eyes. He used his ice and electricity powers to incapacitate the guards so they could get out.
"Thank you, kind sir. You are a knight in shining armor." Evelyn praised.
"Not now. We must leave." the figure warned.
As more guards ran toward the duo, the armored figure raised his hand and started emitting electricity. As the electricity reached the lights on the ceiling, the building blacked out as if lightning struck it. The guards gasped to see the duo mysteriously vanish as the lights turned back on. As the rest of the group arrived on the scene,
"Who the hell was that?" Masa questioned.
"Arkenghis," the Knight answered, "He's an Arkeyan warlord of another world, and he shouldn't be here."
"How is it possible that he was here?" asked Salem.
"Either it is an unknown force to this world or something malicious," Daver-Net answered.
Then, Masa sniffed the air and started to pick up a scent. He then proceeded to bolt to wherever the scent he attracted was.
"Follow that nose!" shouted Daver-Net.
Soon, the Knight and witch followed wherever Masa was going.
The Deathstorm, Remnant's Orbit
One day before The Onslaught
As Masa arrives in the vessel Vekk-Torr calls home, the Deathstorm, the warlord watches a test run of one of his weapons. As it touches down on an individual stuck in the middle of nowhere, it hits it with the force of a kiloton of TNT.
"That's from the animation industry, Valsaz!" he taunted, "Soon, your real-world counterpart will meet the same fate!"
"Sir," one of the crew members interrupted, "We are in Remnant's orbit."
"Excellent," he responded, "Soon, this world will falter towards me."
"Not if I can do anything to cease it." a voice said, interrupting Vekk-Torr.
The warlord turned to see Roa-Nyn ready to battle with his former friend. He paused and chuckled at this attempted attack.
"Old friend." he started, "When will you ever learn?"
"You were a monster once your reign of chaos began," Roa-Nyn demanded. "Why do you continue to destroy the omniverse?"
"Because you all rejected me!" retorted Vekk-Torr, "However, they saw potential in me."
Just then, the warlord's quarters started to get covered by the black mist. Suddenly, the figures in the past visions appeared behind him as it cleared, alongside a cyborg humanoid mantis and a feminine Camylonian wearing armor and tattered clothing appear behind him. As he turned around, he gasped at the new allies Vekk-Torr had made.
"No," gasped Roa-Nyn, "Not them."
"Roa-Nyn, I would like you to meet my new colleagues in chaos," Vekk-Torr reckoned, "Lii-Fain, Arkenghis, Malefor, and Bloodscythe."
As Salem and Daver-Net arrived, they saw what was happening.
"The Order of Shadow," gasped the Knight, "But how?"
Just then, Arkenghis fired lightning at the Knight of the Core, paralyzing and knocking him out. As Roa-Nyn fell to the ground, the five villainous figures circled the warlord's former friend.
"What should we do with him?" Bloodscythe, the cyborg humanoid mantis asked.
"Jettison him to that mud ball, then he'll see how worthless his cause is," Vekk-Torr responded.
As Bloodscythe placed his foot on Roa-Nyn, the black mist covered the room. Once it cleared, the warlord was again alone and turned to the world of Remnant.
"Remnant, prepare for a hostile takeover." He smirked before he gave a sinister laugh.
Vale, Cinder's Faction Hideout
Elsewhere on Remnant, things got chirpy between two members of a group of criminals. Mainly between the group's leader, Cinder Fall, and their newest member, the rouge Huntress, Yang Xiao Long.
"We have to know what Watts is up to." Yang argued, "We have no clue what he and his new friend are cooking."
"Your prattle means nothing, child," responded Cinder, "Watts and his associate are confident about what they are up to."
The duo and the rest of the group then entered the hangar. Roman, Neo, Emerald, and Mercury waited for them there, ready to discuss the next phase of their plan to destroy Beacon Academy.
"Roman," Cinder said, "Analysis."
"We now know what to do," stated Roman, "We'll send in the blonde bruiser to rejoin her team for the tournament. Once the tournament reaches the quarterfinals, we will rig it so that Red's cyborg friend and golden child square off. Once the latter kills the former, we will broadcast the message throughout every device in Vale."
"What about Em and Merc?" Yang interrupted, "What about them?"
"They'll supervise everything and ensure it goes smoothly. Once my message gets through, the White Fang and I will attack Beacon and claim the power that was mine in the first place—the powers of the Fall Maiden."
"That's if you survive today." bellowed Yang.
"Excuse me?" Cinder retorted.
"You heard me. I have been your lapdog for the past few days, doing the dirty work for you. It's time for some new blood to lead the charge."
"She's right," Mercury smirked. "It's time for a change."
"Mercury, what is going on?" Emerald asked.
"It's a trap!" Roman exclaimed.
Suddenly, a portal opened behind them, and a chrome medieval knight emerged, pointing his sword at Cinder.
"You." Cinder snarled.
Before she could move, Yang punched Cinder in the face, sending the latter flying across the hangar. Emerald and Neo ran toward her. Yang activated Ember Celica and fired at her two assailers, but they immediately dodged her shots. They soon grabbed her arms, resisting Yang's attempts to lay her hands on Cinder.
"Get those three out of my sight," Cinder demanded.
The chrome figure sprinted toward Cinder, and the Maiden fired a fireball at him. He then dodged the projectile and lunged his sword into her chest.
"H–how?" Cinder groaned.
"To a master of Metallikato, that cheap special effects is almost slow motion." the chrome figure responded. "Now, Yang!"
Yang smirked as she activated her Semblance. She then threw Emerald and Neo aside and rocketed toward Cinder. However, as she got tossed aside, Neo pursued Yang and made an illusion of Ruby using her Semblance, Overactive Imagination. Seeing this, Yang then punched the illusion and continued toward Cinder. Seeing Yang progressing her way to him, the chrome figure threw the unconscious Maiden to her. She then gets Cinder in an armlock and unleashes her shotgun gauntlet one last time, using the recoil to snap the Maiden's neck, killing her.
"NO!" Emerald yelled as Cinder's lifeless body fell to the ground.
Hearing this, everyone turned to Yang. The rouge Huntress blasted a hole in the roof and escaped with Ember Celica. The chrome figure then opened a portal in time and space and walked into it before it quickly closed. While traveling through space and time, he opened a portal to Remnant again, hoping to find salvation. What he found was the starting point of Vekk-Torr's takeover of Remnant.
Evernight Castle
Day One of The Onslaught
In the recently destroyed Evernight Castle, the armored individual saw what was happening: the beginning of The Onslaught.
"Let the invasion… COMMENCE!" Vekk-Torr ordered.
The loud sound of Grimm roaring and VekkTroopers cheering caused the armored individual to open a portal to the city of Vale, ready to warn every known individual about what would happen. As he entered it, he was too late. In all four kingdoms, including the island of Menagerie, Vekk-Torr's forces were in their ships, hovering over the planet's skies, ready for the signal for the invasion as every student of the planet's significant academies, Beacon, Haven, Atlas, and Shade exit their classrooms and head outside to see what is happening. At Beacon, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and team JNPR exited the school and stormed to Beacon Cliff to see what was happening.
"Ruby," Jaune trembled, "What is going on?"
"It can't be…" Weiss gasped.
"It might be aliens, just saying," Nora responded.
"Nora, there's no such thing as aliens." Ren interrupted, "They are just fictional creatures."
"Then what the hell are we looking at?" Jaune demanded.
"Those look like aircraft. However, none we are familiar with." Weiss answered.
"I told you those were aliens!" Nora exclaimed.
"Not now, we got to hitch a ride!" Ruby ordered as she pointed to a Vale airship.
The seven Hunters ran toward it and boarded it, ready to figure out what was happening all over Remnant.
Meanwhile, on The Deathstorm, now stationed on Remnant's moon, Vekk-Torrorr entered his quarters, ready to deliver his message to the planet. With a slam of his fist on a big red button on his console, he fired an EMP to hijack the CCTS and display his message.
"Attention inhabitants of the planet Remnant, my name is Vekk-Torr, and I come in peace. Me and my army mean you no harm. We are here to protect you," the warlord began. "However, IF there is any problem with my rule, you may ask nicely about changing a few things about it."
"Oh, that's a load of crap!" ranted Jaune.
Inside the airship, the seven Hunters are seated, ready for takeoff. The only problem is that they can't seem to start the craft.
"Don't just stand there, you damn, dirty apes! Give us a hand up!" Weiss commanded team JNPR.
"At least I am helping," Pyrrha responded.
Jaune and Ren then headed to the control panel, trying to start up the airship itself. The EMP from The Deathstorm struck Remnant, affecting everything connected to the CCTS, especially the Scrolls. As Vekk-Torr's message displayed on the Hunters' devices, the seven members pulled them out and watched the warlord's message.
"Nope! I'm okay, thank you very much!" Nora jested.
Nora then closed her scroll, but as she did that, her scroll shocked herself. But thanks to Semblance, High Voltage, she absorbed it and placed herself on the ship's panel, which miraculously started itself up.
"Nice work, Nora!" Weiss praised. "Now we go into town and see what the fuss is about."
As Weiss and Ren headed to the ship's controls, it took off and headed toward Vale.
"No, your planet isn't scheduled for demolition. It's going to be the same once operations here finish. However, there will be changes. My troops will make this dystopian hellhole into a utopia. It's more of the lines of under new management." Vekk-Torr concluded. "To recap, we mean you no harm, and we come in peace."
Everyone in the airship sighed in relief about the message Vekk-Torr gave.
"This alien invader may be friendly. He gave us a fighting chance against the Grimm." Ruby smiled.
"And we can live happily ever after." Pyrrha nodded in agreement.
"NOT!" Vekk-Torr jested. "ATTACK!"
All seven members gasped at the psych out by the warlord. As they saw the ships descend to attack, Weiss and Ren dodged the gunfire from the invading vessels. However, one of the invading crafts focused on theirs and shot the left wings and the hull's right side, sending it to start crash landing.
"Guys," Ruby gasped. "BRACE FOR IMPACT!
As the crash-landing vessel headed toward the docks, it proceeded to crash land on the port. Soon as they recovered from the crash, Nora took charge of escaping the crashed vessel by smashing the windshield with Manghild and leading the way toward the city.
"Follow that hammer girl!" Jaune ordered.
The remaining six followed Nora's lead and soon entered the urban warzone. As they did so, Yang looked at them on the roof of a building.
"Look at you, Ruby. You act foolish even in moments of crisis." She scorned. "You will leave a mark of failure once this is over."
Neo, Mercury, and Emerald suddenly arrived atop the roof to confront their former ally as she looked on.
"Yang," Emerald snarled with her weapons in her hands, "You'll pay for taking Cinder's life."
"Same," Mercury added, "Besides, Evernight Castle got wrecked by some mechanical tyrant who makes everyone dwarf him and—"
Just then, the four felt tremors, like an earthquake had struck Vale. As they looked down, they saw cracks in the street, and as they grew, Neo gasped and used Hush to escape from what was coming, using the air dust she secretly hid.
"Neo! What the hell?" Emerald snapped at the escaping crook.
Seconds later, the neck of a Behemoth, a Grimm dreadnoughtus, busted through the asphalt and roared so loud it flung Neo away from the three on the roof. Another Behemoth emerged from the ocean and unleashed another roar. The second roar awakened hordes of dinosaur Grimm, including Slitsails, Scytheclaws, Miragequills, Macefrills, and dozens of other species. Surprised, the VekkTroopers headed downward to the city and fought the Grimm themselves. It was not just the kingdom of Vale that was affected. All over Remnant, Behemoths were awakening and summoning hordes of the prehistoric Grimm to attack all four kingdoms, and even Menagerie was in their crossfire. Back in Vale, Yang was still in conflict with Emerald and Mercury. As the blonde rushed into combat, her two opponents evaded her attack. As Mercury was about to attack, a Teryx struck him from behind using its tail. The blow knocked him, and he tumbled on the roof. As Mercury groaned as he got up, the Teryx managed to lunge at him, and seeing this, Emerald fired at it with Thief's Respite.
"Back away from him, you piece of shit!" Emerald yelled.
The Teryx then turned its focus to Emerald, ready to slash at her. But the creature of Grimm suddenly converted its forelimbs into sharp blades. The beast then slashed her forelegs, severing them. Yang and Mercury's faces went from anger to shock over the attack.
"You menace," Mercury scoffed as he coughed blood. "Prepare to die!"
"Mercury, NO!" Yang shouted as Mercury charged at it.
As the silver-haired crook charged at the Teryx, the latter proceeded to skewer him through the chest and slit his throat, killing him. Yang jumped from the building and ran from the Teryx as fast as possible, leaving Emerald to fight for herself. Using Thief's Respite, she shot the monster in the chest and the right eye, staggering it. Then, the armored figure jumped from the building next door and thrust his sword through the beast's chest, killing it. As the Teryx evaporated into a mist, Emerald approached the chrome figure, crawling to him while he sheathed his sword.
"W-who are you?" she asked.
The figure then took off his helmet and revealed his face to Emerald.
"You're him!" she gasped. "Derek Lucks. Yang told me about you!"
"She has?" Lucks gaped, "Interesting. One visit, you crooks were planning on something big, and the next, chaos. Funny how dimensional travel works, both standard and cross-dimensional."
"Dimensional travel?" the master thief questioned as she struggled to sit up.
"Save your strength, young one," Lucks responded as he used a freezing agent to numb the pain in Emerald's severed legs.
"Thanks," she smiled. "Before you leave, I have one small favor. See that dead body over there?"
Emerald pointed to Mercury's dead body, and Lucks walked over to it and dragged it to her.
"Thanks," Emerald replied.
As he opened a portal to another universe, he picked up his helmet and walked into said portal before it closed.
The Ruins of Universe 2019-26-Xi-Cailyx
As he arrived on the moon in the destroyed universe that he once called home, Lucks saw the unconscious body of Salem. He picked her up as he approached it, and she regained consciousness. As she did, she saw the man who helped her up.
"It's you!" she gasped.
"Glad to see you awake, ma'am!" the Bot-Boy who accompanied her cheered. "And what is this? Derek Lucks, alive and well, even in this bleak and ruined universe?"
"Yes," he replied. "Yes, I am. With a surprise to show you."
With a wave of his hand, he opened several portals to numerous worlds in Universe 2003-01-Eta-Cailyx, including, but not limited to, a world ravaged by a nuclear winter, a world with floating islands filled with wonder and wisdom, one similar to Remnant but much like Lucks', a shining metal, technological world, and Remnant itself.
"To stop Vekk-Torr, we need to find all the help we can get." Salem marveled.
"Agreed," but where do we start?" Lucks questioned.
"Home." Salem smiled, "Let's start there. Let's keep moving forward."
Salem then walked into the portal to Remnant.
"Right behind ya, Excelsior!" the Bot-Boy cheered as he entered the portal.
As Lucks was about to enter the portal, he turned around toward the reader
"For those of you who are reading this, remember this: Move well, study well, play well, eat well, and rest well—that is the Turtle Master way!" he said as he entered the portal before it closed alongside the others.
To be continued in… Chapter 15: Division!