Remnants of a Gold Gear (Rewrite)

by TheManThatWalksTheAbyss115

Humanity survived the war, at the cost of itself in the end. Sera was a shell of its former self and there wasn't anything left to do but rebuild from the ashes. One man wouldn't get to see that so soon; his curiosity leading him to something that was considered a once in a lifetime event, and a series of unfortunate events. Remnant would soon know of his tale through his actions.

20. Chapter 20: Vale Has Fallen

Two passed by and a Bullhead landed on the ground. Walker's boots slammed against the pavement and he looked up to see the others follow shortly after. He walked past a few Gears that had been at the city for the past couple months and pat their shoulders. It was time for them to finally go back and relax while the ones that just arrived did their jobs. He wasn't about to let his soldiers run themselves dry and he knew what it was like to be out there for so long.

He walked through the safe zone with the others and saw the countless VDF soldiers patrolling by. Their armor and weapons weren't as good as the equipment the BSS and Gears used, but it worked. Each one carried a bullpup assault rifle with a bayonet attached to it. Vale claimed it was easier to manufacture than the Lancers, but he didn't care at the end of the day. They mainly operated close to the safe zone and in the settlements beyond the walls. He held more respect for them than he did for Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Despite him not asking for their loyalty, they still felt a bit loyal to him. To them, he was a good example of what a leader should be. He was belligerent when it came to dealing with threats, but knew how to be civil enough to relate to the common man. Anything that was related to the Locusts, they reported to him and knew that Gears held more power over them. They listened to them because they knew that they'd get the job done.

It was another reason why Huntsmen and Huntresses didn't see eye to eye with him. He had garnered respect from people because they felt that they were more safe with Vale's army or the two mercenary companies than the previous "saviors" of humanity. Some of them couldn't fathom the idea of losing whatever status they held. It was a duty that they were supposed to uphold, and they couldn't even do that.

The Runners had established connections with the Gears and often provided them with intelligence, in return for supplies and favors. Any information that was collected found its way back to Blake then she'd relay it to him. They were fast, quiet, and not many people gave them respect but he did. It's what solidified their respect for him.

They all spread out and he entered his tent. There was a file with his name on it and he opened it up, seeing that it was from Glynda. He read the contents and saw that there was information regarding the students and he immediately chucked it in the trash. They weren't his concern and it was best not to mingle with their affairs, just as they should avoid mingling with his. He didn't have time to deal with them.

"Hey, Walker." Red peeked her head into the tent.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Ozpin wants to talk to you." She answered.

"About what?" He asked.

"He won't say over the scroll. He says it's urgent though." She said.

"Then I'm not talking to him. We don't have time for his cryptic bullshit and the Resonator still needs to be deployed." He said.

"Alright." She disappeared for a moment before coming inside his tent and sitting on his cot.

"Nothing to do?" He asked, sitting next to her.

"No. I thought we weren't doing anymore missions with those students?" She asked.

"We're not." He looked at her.

"Well a few of them are trying to join on the mission to deploy the Resonator." She crossed one of her legs over the other and leaned back, balancing herself on her elbows.

"What?" He looked at her, his tone was low and she could tell he wasn't in a good mood.

"Yep." She nodded and watched him quickly storm out of the tent. Her second pair of ears flicked a bit and flattened when she heard him verbally tear into the students. It was probably the most colorful choice of words anybody has ever heard him say, and it lasted for several minutes. She knew why though, because this mission was what would allow them to start planning further operations.

The last thing they needed was for some students to try and cut in, either screwing everything up or getting them all killed. All the Gears knew the importance of this mission and even the other company and Vale's army knew. So after several more minutes of verbal lashing, he returned to the tent and sat down at the edge while she just lied down on it.

"Where's Blake and Jaune?" He calmed down a bit.

"Blake's gathering more intelligence and Jaune's talking to that Nikos girl." She answered, flipping a Longshot round between her fingers.

"..." He just breathed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I don't think it was about the mission, more or less he wants to get to know her. She was laughing the last time I saw." She added, seeing him calm down a bit more. She didn't like seeing him so stressed out.

There were times when he had to remember that Jaune was a person too, and needed some interaction outside of Gears. He knew that the blonde wouldn't say anything that he wasn't allowed to. If he wanted to get close to the girl then Walker wouldn't stop him. Jaune trusted her more than Walker did, the latter wouldn't trust her to kill a Locust roaming about.

Walker didn't trust a lot of people outside of his Gears and the BSS. He didn't know why that was; some civilians reminded him of the Stranded and he already made several plans to deal with them just like some of the violent, distrustful people on Sera. The last thing they needed was another Stranded Insurgency on their hands.

He just lied down on the cot and closed his eyes while she looked at him, wondering what was on his mind this time. She knew that he had a habit of constantly getting lost in his thoughts because he would occasionally mumble out something or whisper so quietly that it sounded like an ominous rasp. Her right hand pat his shoulder and he looked at her before patting her hand and nodding, signifying he was alright.

"So are we still going on patrol?" She asked.

"Yep." He nodded before standing up. She followed him out the tent and yawned a bit before stretching, feeling her back pop. They'd get caught up regarding the status of the safe zone before heading out. Just a few weeks ago, they had sent a public message to the citizens stating that in case a major Locust attack, they were to be ready for a massive evacuation. Nothing but the bare essentials would be allowed and anything else was to be left behind.

"That guy still hasn't messaged Velvet back?" She asked.

"No, and I don't care anymore." He said. It was true because within the last few months, he forgot Yatsuhashi existed and was only reminded when he saw him again.

"What a deadbeat." She said.

"He really is." He agreed.

"Well, not like Velvet really cares." She said.

"She really doesn't. I think she's happier without him." He said, looking at the C-Droid and cycling through it. She laughed when she thought of something and he looked at her.

"You know... you'd be a great dad." She commented.

"No, I wouldn't." He shook his head, adjusting his armor a bit. It reminded him of Colonel Hoffman's armor a bit, only with a bit more pouches and extra knife sheaths on his legs and ankle. It was comfortable and he had to wear this since his original armor was too damaged. Not to mention it was too cold for any of them to be wearing short sleeved armor anyways.

"You really would." She said before bringing out her scroll and showing him a video. He saw it was him carrying little Amiya in his right arm while swaying side to side gently and cooking dinner. Her rabbit ears flattened when he put his hand on her head and he hummed a tune. It was one of those moments that the other three realized that he was a regular person at the end of the day.

"Don't see it." He shook his head and walked away, making her quickly walk after him.

"You're embarrassed, aren't you?" She asked.

"No." He answered quickly. A small part of him was embarrassed about that, because he didn't think any of them were recording, but he later found out that Blake had one as well. He should have guessed because the girls were always recording videos of him and Jaune. They loved having some form of dirt on the two, but didn't realize that they had dirt on them as well.

She stopped when he pulled up a video of her rubbing her face in his couch cushion. He scrolled to the right to see her rolling around in his sheets, then another one where Blake was having one of her cat ears scratched.

"Delete those." She said flatly.

"Nah." He shook his head and walked away, making her frown a bit and follow him. All he did was continue to walk and get updated on everything while she kept pestering him about the videos. They had a strange relationship, but it was one he wouldn't trade it in for the world.

---

The next morning came quicker than he would've liked and he sat in his seat as the five Bullheads flew towards Mountain Glenn. Three squads of VDF, two BSS squads, and him along with the other three. They'd go deep into the abandoned city and then deploy the Resonator before quickly getting out. There was still faint traces of Dust inside and the last thing they needed was to set off a chain reaction, caving them inside of it.

He read about this place, it was supposed to be an extension of Vale, but was overrun with Grimm and eventually left to rot. It didn't matter because there was no telling what was down there and he wasn't too keen on staying longer than intended. He looked down to see the countless leafless trees pass by quickly and flicked a piece of trash off the side of the Bullhead, watching it plummet down.

"Walker, we lost contact with the VDF squads posted at at the underground entrance." Blake informed. He looked up ahead and saw her in the other Bullhead, looking at her scroll.

"What about the BSS posted there?" He asked.

"No." She shook her head after a few minutes.

"You heard her, people. Keep your head on a swivel, there's no telling what's out there." He informed, hearing the various voices acknowledge him. No one said anything as the minutes seemed to slip by and he sat on the edge, buckling himself so he wouldn't fall down and felt the wind on his neck. It was a chilly breeze that made him shiver a bit but otherwise ignore the feeling.

The ground was covered in a thick sheet of white and there was an animal or two roaming around, quickly darting off when the vehicles soared above. It was almost peaceful in a sense. He adjusted himself a bit and started to think about a few things. Mainly about the squads that were posted there, they had been there for a few days, but there was something about them suddenly going silent that made him wonder.

Jaune stood next to him and held the handle above his head, his hair blew to the side and he yawned briefly. He had been talking to his family recently and had found out that they were in their family bunker on the estate. His sister and her wife along with their son made it with the rest of his family and a part of him felt uncomfortable with them being cooped up in there. There was also a faint sense of irritation building up in him and he didn't know why.

Maybe because he was constantly out here fighting while they simply sat there, hoping this whole thing would blow over.

"What crawled up your ass?" Walker asked.

"What are you talking about?" Jaune asked back.

"You look like someone pissed in your cereal." Walker answered.

"You got a minute?" Jaune asked as he sat down and clamped the belt over his lap.

"I got several until we reach Mt. Glenn, so you might as well say it now." Walker answered.

"I guess I'm a little pissed about my family." Jaune muttered.

"What about them?" Walker asked.

"They're in some bunker back on my family estate. Last night my parents were urging me to come back home and stay there with them, but I told them that I didn't want to. My sisters got involved and things got a little heated." Jaune explained.

"..." Walker just stayed silent and gestured for him to continue.

"I might have said some things I'm not proud of and then hung up. It's just... to them, I'm still that useless, dorky little brother that always had dreams of becoming a hero. They don't really see me as anything else." Jaune sighed.

Walker just looked at him and saw him lean forward a bit, putting his face in his hands and sighing. He didn't really see Jaune as a useless individual overall, he just had bad confidence in himself and his abilities. It was clear nobody really tried to do anything with him, and his public rejection from Beacon only made his confidence dip further down the drain.

"They're probably worried for the most part." Walker said, opening up a snack and tilting his helmet upwards.

"What makes you say that?" Jaune looked at him.

"The way they constantly tried to get you to come home, it doesn't sound like they see you as useless, but more or less they want to make sure nothing happens to you." Walker said as he chewed on his snack.

"It just feels like they're trying to hold me back though." Jaune said.

"You're one of the youngest siblings. It's hard for family, decent family to be specific, to watch their sibling go fight a war and possibly never come back. All it takes is for your name to pop up on the deceased list in order to confirm their worst fears." Walker explained.

It was a horrible thing to experience, and he's seen families essentially destroy themselves because their loved one didn't come home. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and whatever relation that person held; it didn't make the news hurt any less.

"I don't know..." Jaune looked down.

"They're worried." Walker said, eating the rest of his snack before balling the wrapper up and tossing it behind him.

"Have you had to do that?" Jaune asked.

"Tell people's families? All the time, it's a horrible feeling." Walker admitted.

Jaune nodded and looked ahead at the countless Bullheads soaring through the air. He respected Walker, sometimes more than he respected his own father, because he was willing to take the time out of his day to help him. His father tried in the past, but he gave up after a while. It wasn't due to the lack of love, because he loved his son, but he could see that Jaune wasn't as skilled as some.

He didn't treat him any differently from before, but whenever Jaune tried to do it again, he was always denied. Which caused a slight rift between the two, since Jaune wanted to be a hero and would do whatever it took, which is why he stole the family heirloom and tried to cheat his way into Beacon. He didn't get very far since they caught his false transcripts easily and made an example out of him by denying him from stepping foot inside the academy.

In a way, he was lucky they didn't imprison him because they had every right to do so. He felt that public embarrassment was sometimes worse because back then, the jeers and fingers pointed at him almost broke him as he was escorted out the door. The same happened to Blake, and some other people who were unlucky enough to be denied.

Walker was the one person who took the two in, building up their power from the ground and establishing their faction as one of the strongest forces in the world. He gave people purpose and for that, they were forever grateful to him.

Jaune, Blake, and Red had trusted Walker with their pasts and he listened, saying his piece to them before eventually deciding to let it all go. There was no use in dwelling on the past and he made sure of that. They trusted him with their lives and he never once steered them wrong, and if he did then it was unintentional. He never talked about his past though; he trusted them with his life, but his past was another story and he'd take it to the grave.

Jaune was thrown out of his thoughts when they arrived at their destination and the Bullheads lowered. They landed on the ground and the two of them slid off the edge, and their boots hit the soft snow below. Others followed and the Bullheads started to ascend back up into the air and sped off towards the distance. Snow blew in several different directions before it came to a standstill.

The group crowded around him and he looked around at the abandoned city before spotting the entrance to the underground portion. The broken buildings seemed to be in worse condition than before and they could faintly see signs of previous battles. The sky seemed more gloomy than what it originally appeared for some reason. That seemed to be the norm nowadays.

"VDF squads will remain out here. The BSS and us will deploy the Resonator before we head out." He briefed simply. They already knew their objectives from the briefing from earlier, but it was good to remind them what their goal was.

"What about the missing squads?" One of them asked.

"We'll look for them on the way." He answered. They nodded and followed him for a bit before heading to their designated spot and guarding it. He just opened up the entrance to the underground and held it for the others before looking at the VDF standing nearby. The door was slammed shut and it went quiet for a while, the only sound was the faint noise of the wind blowing the snow.

It felt colder today for some reason.

---

The underground portion of Mt. Glenn was dark, now more than ever. Each one of them saw the countless buildings broken down over time and not a single soul could be seen right now. They walked in the empty alleyways, carefully looking around at the dark buildings. So many vacant spots for an ambush and none of them had wanted to get caught in the open just in case something was lurking in the dark.

It was a surprise that the Locust hadn't found this place yet, but he wasn't willing to bet they hadn't. Crush a couple hundred in one spot and they'll show up in the next, just waiting for their numbers to replenish.

"I thought we were deploying it in a Dust mine?" Jaune asked.

"There's a spot that will map their tunnels just as well. Not to mention, that mine is still full of Dust. The Resonator would only set it all off and possibly trap us." Walker answered as he led the group.

"Makes sense. Usually the mines get abandoned if there's too many casualties." One of the BSS operatives chimed in. Jaune nodded and continued to walk with the group, carefully scanning the area and looking at the empty place. The color of this place seemed to have been sucked out and it was dim, the only sense of illumination was the opening in the underground ceiling.

They stopped and took residence inside one of the abandoned buildings on the third floor, allowing Red to launch her skull-drone. Her goggles were placed over her eyes and she controlled it, adjusting the magnification by the knobs on her goggles. It was quiet and she just simply switched to thermal and continued to gather information. There wasn't a sign of life, and she was about to tell them it was all clear before she stopped.

Her skull-drone was hidden off to the side when she saw a couple of signatures hiding inside one of the buildings. She zoomed in on them and saw a couple of people huddled inside, chained up and beaten. It was the missing BSS operatives, but the VDF were dumped on the side, their bodies cold and still.

"I found the missing operatives." She whispered.

"Alive?" Walker asked.

"The BSS are, at least some of them. The VDF posted here aren't breathing." She informed.

"What's their situation?" He asked.

"Taken hostage by some White Fang." She answered, tapping the side of her goggles a few times and staring at the group.

"I thought the White Fang disappeared?" One of them asked.

"The White Fang usually disappear when everyone isn't paying attention and pop up when they least expect it." Blake answered, staring at the screen from her skull-drone. They all saw what was being seen through Red's drone on Blake's screen since they were connected for this mission. For the next few minutes, they simply observed them carefully before the screen was folded and the drone went attached itself onto Blake's back.

"Echo, guard this position. Alpha, you're rolling with us to get those hostages free." Walker said. The two teams nodded and one of them stayed here while the other followed him and the other three.

They quietly crept through the dark tunnel, being mindful of the faint noise they made. It took a few minutes, but they managed to get to the edge of the tunnel and came across a little station. The hostages were on the left side inside a building so they quickly made their way to the building on the other side of the station. It was a large three story building that was still standing strong after being abandoned for so long.

Blake led the group and took cover behind a corner, sliding into cover when a White Fang roamed the area. She made a quiet whistling noise and caught their attention, making them perk up and slowly make their way over towards the group.

She still kept onto Gambol Shroud, but used it more pragmatically. The blade was slid out of its sheath quietly and when the White Fang member was close enough, she sprang around the corner and backhanded them. They whipped around and she placed her hand over their mouth before sliding the blade across their throat, then started to drag them around the corner.

Blood leaked from their wound and once the two were around the corner, she stuck the katana in their back and watched it jut out of their torso. They struggled a bit and tried to claw at her, but she just pressed the blade further into their back until they stopped resisting, slumping down as they bled out. She ripped the blade out and flicked the blood off before tossing the body to the side and leaning around the corner.

Walker tapped her shoulder and she looked at him before he gestured towards an open window above them. She nodded and he leaned against the wall before clasping his hands together. He grunted quietly before boosting her up to the window, where she latched onto the sill and wormed her way inside. The upper half of her body leaned out he window and she held out her arm while he boosted Red up, watching as she clasped onto Blake's hand and was lifted inside.

The two of them quietly made their way to the top floor and planted their Longshots on the edge of the building, staring down at the station. Blake's skull-drone popped off her back and the small openings on the top of it opened up, releasing a small mist to conceal the group's presence as they made their way to the door.

Walker and Jaune stacked up on both sides of the door with one of the operatives, the other three covered the exits and waited for the signal.

"Flash and clear." Walker whispered almost silently and Jaune nodded. The operative tapped Walker's shoulder in confirmation and brought out a flash grenade. He slammed his foot against the door and bashed it in before the pin was pulled and the grenade was thrown in. There was a cry of surprise and the grenade detonated, blinding the occupants.

Jaune was the first to pour in, killing the stunned White Fang on the left. Walker was the next, shooting two on the right and watching their bodies crumble on the ground. The operative was the last one to pour in, killing the last remaining White Fang.

They heard the other operatives storm the building and kill the remaining White Fang, but kept one alive for information. The six of them regrouped in the room and the last White Fang was thrown into the middle, a boot planted on their back to keep them from moving.

There was groaning and he looked at the hostages, waiting a few minutes to let them recover from the flashbang detonation. He brought out his knife and cut their restraints before offering his hand to each of them and lifting them up.

"You alright?" He asked.

"We have some spots in our vision, but we're alright. Thanks for that." One of them answered, rubbing their eyes a bit.

"Good. Get some gear and tell us what happened." He said.

"We were guarding this station like you ordered when we got jumped by these guys. Took us by surprise and killed the VDF that were posted here." The man briefed as he slid on his body armor. He nodded and radioed for Blake and Red to get down to their location and simply waited several seconds before the two strolled in. They all surrounded the White Fang member and stared down at him.

"Belladonna?" The member gaped a bit.

"Yep." She nodded, staring down at them.

"Why the hell are you with these mercs?" He asked.

"None of your concern. However, I'd like to know what you're doing here." She said before kneeling down next to them.

"Why the hell should I tell you-" He didn't get to finish when she brought out a knife and stabbed his hands, pinning them into his lower back.

"We're on a tight schedule right now. So either talk or it gets worse." She said, twisting the blade a bit. He gasped in agony and tears started to well in the corner of his eyes. Just as he was going to come up with a snarky comment, he screamed in pain when Walker stomped on his ankle and broke it easily. A loud snap was heard and the member cried out in agony, thrashing around a bit.

"Okay! We were tasked with creating a hole in the tunnels!" The member cried out.

"For what reason?" She asked, ripping the knife out and planted her knee onto his back, gripping his hair and jerking his head up. The blade was pressed against his throat and she stared down at him coldly.

"So that we could move supplies into the city easier!" He answered.

"Who gave you this order?" She asked, pressing the blade into his neck.

"Khan! She gave us this order!" The member shouted.

"The Locusts could already have a way inside the city." She looked at Walker then down at the tunnel.

"Have you breached the tunnel yet?" Walker asked.

"No! It was scheduled for tomorrow!" The member wheezed out. They all listened to the member tell them more information before Blake slid the blade across his throat and put it back in its sheath. He gasped gurgled on his blood and thrashed around a bit before he slowly started to go still. Once he was dead, they all looked in the direction of the tunnel and Red launched her drone again.

It flew through the air silently and she scouted the dark tunnel before noticing an opening in the ground. She told them that there was a hole, it didn't look like a Locust E-Hole, but they weren't willing to stick around and find out. It seemed to go deeper underground and she sent the drone further down, getting a clear layout of the tunnel. They looked at Blake's screen and saw the layout and decided that this would be the perfect spot to deploy the Resonator.

He sent the previously captured squad back to Echo while the other squad continued to follow them to the designated spot. All of them jogged further down the tunnel, only stopping when the operative carrying the Resonator ran out of breath. They didn't stop for long before continuing to jog towards their destination. The only sound in the quiet cave was their breathing and footsteps impacting the ground.

They eventually made it to the hole and a flare was dropped down it, making them look at one another before heading down it carefully. There was a small open area and he grabbed the Resonator before setting it on the ground, punching in the timer and grunting as he pulled the crank. It made a warbling noise and started to float in the air, the others quickly climbing out of the hole as the timer counted down from ten minutes.

He followed them as they quickly rushed back to the surface, not intending to stay when it eventually went off.

---

The group quickly rushed away from the underground entrance and flew forward when a large, blue pulse knocked them onto the ground. They slid forward a bit before standing up and brushing the snow off their torsos. The VDF squads posted nearby carefully looked around as they approached the group and looked in the direction the pulse came from.

"Resonator is deployed. Good work, everyone." Walker said, making them breath in relief. There was a collective, small cheer and he started to call the Bullheads back, only to stop when the radio was heard.

"Boss... we got bad news." Control said.

"What is it?" He asked, gesturing for the others to stop and they looked at him.

"It... it didn't work." They said slowly. Nearly everyone felt their moods drop significantly and he just clenched his fists tightly.

"What do you mean it didn't work?" He asked quietly.

"It only covered a small portion of Vale." They answered.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" One of them asked, pacing around stressfully. He turned away from them when they started to go on a rant and snapped at them to shut up, allowing him to listen further.

"Is there any good news?" He asked.

"There's more data." They said.

"Where?" He asked.

"..." They stayed silent and nearly everyone grew suspicious.

"Where?" He asked again, his tone more forceful this time around.

"Beacon." They answered. The others backed up a bit when his knuckles popped loudly from how tight he was clenching his fists and he simply cut the feed before ordering a few Bullheads to arrive. He just quietly seethed and they took residence inside one of the buildings when the frigid wind blew against them. Not a single one decided to break the silence and it seemed to be the best option because it looked like a single word was going to set him off.

The minutes slowly started to pass by and it turned to tens of minutes before the Bullheads arrived and landed on the ground. All of them piled in and he simply sat on the edge of it and felt it take off. His feet dangled over the edge and he saw the countless trees covered in snow pass by quickly as they sped towards the city. Several minutes went by and he climbed in before sliding the doors closed and sitting in his seat.

Blake tapped her tablet and saw more information regarding the new information, reading through it carefully and showing him the screen. Red and Jaune looked at the screen as well before looking at them and one another. Blake had several people get into Beacon's files and review the information. It was extremely illegal, but not a single one of them cared.

"So what are we going to do?" Jaune asked.

"We're taking the data." Walker answered.

"You know they won't give it willingly." Red mentioned.

"I don't care. We spent the last several months creating the Resonator, only for it not to work like we thought it would. Then we find out they had mapping information of their tunnels this whole time? I've had it up to here with their bullshit. We're taking the data, whether they like it or not." He shook his head and scoffed at the mere thought of it all.

"We don't exactly have the hardware to extract the data." Blake said.

"Hal is going to do it." He responded, and they looked at the bot appear and give a few beeps.

"Commander?" One of the BSS operatives raised their hand.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Won't this put more distance between us and the academies?" She asked.

"There was already a distance between us. I've been sharing information this whole time and none of them have been doing the same." He answered evenly.

This just sealed the deal with the academies and they were officially dead to him at the moment. Right now, his top priority was the civilians and Vale's military. He wondered how many people had died because they were busy playing defensive for so long. If they had this information months ago, then they could have started planning various counterattacks or going on the offensive for once.

"Boss, we got a problem." Command suddenly spoke on the C-Droid.

"What is it?" He asked after bringing it out.

"We're detecting seismic activity in numerous spots." Command informed.

"How many?" He asked, standing up and opening the door. They had gotten closer to the city and could faintly see the massive walls in the distance. It had been nearly half an hour since they boarded the Bullheads and the ride to the city usually took forty minutes to arrive.

"We can't say for certain. The number is growing and-" They didn't get to finish the sentence before he stumbled back and fell onto the ground when the Bullhead swerved suddenly. He sat up and held onto the handle before looking out to see Nemacysts speeding towards them. They fired at the oncoming organic mortars and saw them explode before they all saw the other Bullheads carrying the VDF squads suddenly explode.

The flaming aerial vehicles plummeted towards the ground quickly before slamming against it, causing loud explosions to be heard from miles away.

"Get us towards the city!" He ordered the pilot, watching as they nodded quickly before speeding up. The lone Bullhead sped through the air like a rocket and avoided being hit by the Nemacysts, narrowly avoiding a few at the last second.

Red and Blake climbed on the mounted guns and fired at the ones closing in on them. The heavy fire of the Chain Gun was heard, ripping apart any cysts that got too close and the countless spent casings fell against the Bullhead and some into the air, falling down towards the ground outside.

Jaune and Walker took cover against the the door and fired at some of them, destroying them and faintly hearing the wet splatter beneath the loud stream of gunfire. They managed to soar over the city walls and the mounted guns on the walls took care of the Nemacysts trailing them.

They all looked down to see Locusts running through the streets and Red aimed the Chain Gun at a group, squeezing the trigger and ripping their bodies apart. The pavement below was cracked easily and chunks were seen flying up as she continued to fire at them. Twenty Locusts were killed by her hands alone and the Bullhead swerved to the side and avoided a few rockets launched at it.

A Brumak roared loudly and aimed its guns at them. A stream of gunfire trailed the aerial vehicle as they circled it and fired at it, hitting it in the face with hundreds of heavy rounds. Its mask cracked and a large piece fell off, revealing its eye to them. They focused their fire on its eye, causing copious amount of blood and chunks of flesh to fly off of it while avoiding its fire.

It gave one last roar before launching rockets at them. They narrowly avoided them and the pilot shot a rocket at its fuel tank, causing it to spew a large stream of fire. A few seconds later and the tank started to explode, causing it to jerk around from the force before the second tank exploded. It tried to roar once more but was cut off when a series of explosions were heard and its body seemed to scatter in a large shower of gore.

Colossal body parts flew through the air and slammed against the pavement, crushing cars and parts of buildings with ease. Blood splattered against the various surfaces and coated them in a thick layer of red while its organs slid off the walls and other surfaces.

Their small celebration was short lived before Walker ordered the pilot to head back to the safe zone, making them nod and speed towards it.

---

The safe zone was breached and a large number of bodies littered the streets. Walker fired the Chain Gun and killed the Locust that were trailing a group of civilians and VDF before turning around and shooting at another group pinning some Gears down. They radioed their appreciation for the assistance before falling back to a more secure position.

They flew around and provided support from above, killing Locust that chased after civilians, Gears, or any BSS that were stuck in the street. Red aimed her Longshot at a Sniper on a building and squeezed the trigger. The round struck its skull and made its head explode into a red mist. Its body crumpled to the ground and she continued to kill any Snipers that were targeting people below.

The Bullhead landed on the ground and the occupants were dropped off before it took off shortly after to go assist some of the others. He ordered the BSS to go find the others from their company while he led the other three towards the museum, carefully weaving their way through the massive crowd. People shoved and pushed each other out of the way, trying to flood into the building.

Gunfire and explosions echoed across the sky and a nearby explosion threw the civilians into a panicked frenzy and tried to forcefully get inside the building. The four of them managed to get inside the museum and quickly looked around before spotting the council. They carefully weaved their way through the crowd of people, making sure to avoid the injured ones lying in certain spots in the main area.

"Councilman!" Walker shouted loudly and caught Douglass' attention, making the man look around before spotting him. He picked up his son and jogged over to Walker before looking at the other three and giving a nod in greeting.

"Commander, they-" Douglass tried to say but winced when another explosion was heard.

"Listen, we need to get out there and deal with this clusterfuck of a mess. I need you and the others to get the civilians situated." Walker told him.

"What about Beacon? They should be here soon-" Douglass stopped when Walker shook his head.

"We can't go anywhere until we deal with the Seeders. They're knocking out our communications and keeping any aerial vehicles from safely flying. If we don't deal with them first, then there's no point in an evacuation because we'll be dead before we're even airborne." He said.

"A-Alright..." Douglass nodded shakily and listened carefully as Walker told him what needed to be done. The other councilmen listened as well, it was best to listen to the one person who was essentially keeping them alive. They respected him simply because he was willing to get his hands dirty to get the job done and had the willpower to go through with it all.

The civilians kept flooding in and found spots to huddle in while Vale's military, his Gears, and the BSS were doing their best to get as many people inside. They were slowly falling back to the museum, taking as much supplies as they could to prevent the Locusts from getting their hands on any. Anything that couldn't be obtained, it had to be destroyed or rendered useless.

The four of them weaved their way through the hundreds of people and eventually found themselves back outside. They rushed through the safe zone, dashing through several blocks and occasionally seeing a body or two before they came across a small trench created using explosives. He took cover behind a destroyed car and listened to the Hammerburst rounds impact the metal.

On the other side of the street was a group of Gears along with some civilians. They used their bodies as shields when a round or two got too close and he sprung up, firing into a couple Locusts and killing them. Ruthless roars were heard and they started to fire at him, allowing the Gears to spring up and kill a couple more Locust before diving back into cover while he stood up again with the other three.

Several Locusts fell onto the ground as the large, explosive rounds ripped through their bodies, easily penetrating their thick hide. They had to duck back down when more Locusts sprang up from a hole nearby and Jaune chucked a grenade near a group, killing three of them. His skull-drone popped up from the clamp in the middle of his back before floating above, firing incendiary grenades at the Locusts.

A few of the grenades hit a few of them and they all watched as the few flailed around and roared in agony as the flames killed them. Walker's drone detached itself from the clamp on his back and the small gun on it charged up with a blue light. It launched a blue ball of searing energy and superheated matter at one of the Drones and it struck its torso.

A agonized roar was heard as it clawed at its torso as the sludge-like shot started to melt its armor and flesh. It momentarily stunned some of the others before the drone shot its weapon three more times, striking three more Drones and melting their bodies. His drone's weapon beeped before clamping itself back onto the middle of his back, letting its weapon cool down.

Three more Drones and a Grenadier remained and Blake, Red and Jaune killed the Drones. The Grenadier sensed it was the last one and took cover behind the car they were located at. Just before any of them could shoot it, Walker threw his body over the hood of the car and kicked it, making it stumble. He grabbed his knife and slashed the back of its neck before stabbing it in the throat.

The body crumbled to the ground and he flicked the blood off his blade before sheathing it. He looked and grabbed a few grenades off the dead Grenadier's belt and tossed them into the E-Holes. There was a faint beeping noise before both grenades detonated and kicked up large amounts of dirt and rubble as they sealed the holes. There was a small amount of breathing room and he made his way to the Gears and civilians.

"Get them to the museum." He ordered.

"What about you four?" A Gear asked.

"We're taking care of Seeders. Emergency Bullheads will be shot down if we don't do something. Get back to the museum and start getting the civilians there situated and keep them stable. The last thing we need is an uproar and I'm sure the VDF at the walls are dealing with enough Grimm for the next several weeks." He said, faintly hearing explosions and gunfire.

They nodded and escorted the civilians towards the museum while the four of them looked in the sky and saw Nemacysts launch into the air several blocks away. He nodded towards them and gestured towards the Seeder with his head before jogging towards its location.

The countless bodies that littered the street coated the ground read and there were some areas where there was barely any pavement to be stepped on. He stopped when he spotted an Armadillo lying stationary and looked around, he froze when he saw a Gear lying still against the wheel. A family of four was near him and Walker collected the tags before carefully moving the bodies out of the way, fishing through the Gear's pockets and grabbing the keys.

He placed the Gear's hands over his chest after moving his body and stood up, staring at the people for a few more seconds before climbing inside with the others. The loud roar of the engine was heard and the wheels spun quickly before taking off towards the direction of the Seeder. He had to steel his nerves and take a few breaths as he ran over several bodies in the road.

They all bounced around as the heavy vehicle crushed the corpses underneath its weight. If he could avoid them, he would but there were so many bodies in the street that it was unavoidable. If they listened close enough, they could almost hear the snapping of bones and they eventually stopped before climbing out and he locked the door.

They stopped a few blocks away and decided to continue the rest of their destination on foot, carefully taking the alleyways to avoid any massive groups of Locusts that could be stalking the streets further down.

A large, disgusting gurgling noise was heard and they saw a Nemacyst launch in the sky, floating in the air while spewing ink all over the place. He saw a pipe on the side and put his back against the wall, clasping his hands together and gestured for the girls to climb on. Blake jumped up in the air and threw Gambol Shroud onto the edge of the building, using it to climb up while leaving the ribbon down below.

Red climbed up quickly and helped Blake tug the boys up when they held onto the ribbon tightly. They helped them over the edge of the building and all of them stared at the Seeder below, seeing a dozen or so Locusts keeping it guarded. None of them said anything but just brought out a grenade and each one swung theirs a few times, tossing them forward into different spots.

They heard the Locusts shout in alarm and a few managed to dive out of the way in time before the explosives went off. The four of them sprang up from cover and fired down upon the remaining Drones, their angles from the rooftops giving them an advantage. They ducked down when several more Locusts sprang out from nearby, their bullets chipping away at their cover.

Jaune's drone launched a shield that gave them a chance to look up and fire from it, allowing them to kill several Locust before going back into cover. A Grenadier swung its grenade in its right hand before its head exploded when a Longshot round went through it, causing it to drop the grenade. The explosive clattered against the ground before beeping a few times and exploding next to a few Drones.

Walker stood up and fell back when a stray round bounced off the side of his helmet. The others stopped momentarily and were about to call his name before he shook his head and went back into cover. It was a good thing he constantly wore a helmet because that shot would have gravely injured him or killed him.

He found the one that managed to skim the side of his helmet and fired over two dozen rounds into it. Large chunks of its body ripped apart and he kept firing until it was nothing but a mass of steamy flesh and organs.

There were three left and they barely got a chance to fire at them before he killed the remaining Locusts, tearing their bodies apart with the explosive ammunition. The wet sound of body parts slapped against the ground as they made their way down and towards the Seeder. Blood and organs spilled across the ground and other various surfaces while he just grabbed some grenades and threw it into the Seeder.

The other three did the same and a series of explosions were heard, ripping apart its internal organs and it gave a dying squeal before sliding back into the ground.

"Communications a bit more clear. A few other teams killed some Seeders." Blake informed.

"Good." He breathed in relief.

"So what's the plan?" Jaune asked.

"Deal with any remaining Seeders and get communications back up. We save who we can and-" He stopped and shoved Jaune out of the way when he saw a shimmering light from the corner of his eye. Nearly a second later, a Torque Bow bolt struck the ground and exploded right after. A Theron hissed in agitation from the second story window behind them and started to reload.

Red quickly whirled around to the direction it came from and looked through the scope of her Longshot, squeezing the trigger half a second later. The Theron's head exploded and splattered blood and brain matter over the window and walls. Its body slumped forward and slid out of the window before plummeting towards the ground, impacting it with a wet splat.

"Thanks." Jaune said as he was helped up.

"Sneaky little fucker." Walker looked at the Theron's body.

"Comms are back online." Blake said

"Good. Get on them and notify the council that the evacuation is now in effect." He told her, watching as she nodded and her drone popped off the middle of her back.

"So what are we doing?" Red asked.

"Extermination." He answered, ejecting the empty magazine before loading a fresh one in.

---

An Armadillo ran over a pack of Wretches and the turrets constantly swiveled around, killing any Locusts that crept inside the nooks and crannies on the streets. The turret on the right side honed in on a Boomer and a barrage of heavy rounds tore into its body, shredding it apart and causing its organs to spill out.

It resumed its course and eventually stopped at the entrance to the museum. The doors opened up and the steps extended, allowing several civilians to quickly exit and rush towards the entrance of the museum. It was put into reverse and sped off back towards the small barricade set up. Countless dents and scrapes were seen on it from the constant rounds that hit it

Walker simply drove it while Blake and Jaune were on the turrets, killing any Locusts that tried to ambush them. Red's drone was placed in a little slot above the Armadillo and she constantly provided them with updates. She twisted the knobs on her goggles and would mark targets for them, allowing the other two to kill the Locusts in the buildings and streets.

He drove for the next few minutes and turned the corner, suddenly braking when a group of VDF were in the street. They waved their hands in the air frantically and gestured towards a pile of rubble. He lowered the shovel and slowly drove forward, lifting it before backing up and dumping the rubble onto the ground. The process was repeated several times before he saw several injured that were buried inside, more of them were dead though.

The Armadillo opened up and the injured were loaded inside while the VDF hopped on the side of the vehicle where they kept their duffle bags, holding onto the handles while he closed the hatch and drove back to the museum.

He looked at the injured and noticed Blake and Red tending to them the best they could. It didn't take long to reach the museum and he opened up the hatch, allowing a few medical personnel from the BSS to quickly grab the injured and load them onto gurneys, hauling them inside to a safe location.

"Get inside." Walker ordered to the other three, making them look at him.

"What... and leave you to deal with the Locusts by yourself?" Blake asked.

"I need you three to help get everyone situated. Everyone's confused, scared, and most likely feeling something else. The council need your help and I need you guys to get into touch with Beacon." He explained, looking at each one.

"So you're just going to go back out there by yourself?" Jaune asked.

"Two more Armadillos are rolling with me. We're looking for survivors and doing some more extermination. Now go, we're wasting time and people are dying." Walker said, roughly guiding them out of the vehicle. They just allowed themselves to be directed out and simply turned back towards him, staring at him for a few seconds.

"Walker-" Blake started.

"I'll be fine. Now get in there." He reassured. They just looked at him one last time before he closed the hatch and put the APC into reverse, pulling back into the street and taking off.

None of them knew how he sounded so confident during times like these. People were scared out of their minds, confused, and most likely angry; all negative emotions that would draw in a horde of Grimm. Yet he didn't sound like any of those. He was always so confident when tackling a situation; he never faltered or showed fear when dealing with these genocidal monsters from below.

He was possibly the only person who knew what the hell to do during these dark times. The people that followed him knew that he wasn't the perfect leader, he had his flaws and he's made plenty of mistakes in the past. Yet, people still followed him because he gave them drive. His commanding presence filled his soldiers with determination and they fought harder by his side.

They'd go to the ends of the world for him and they knew he'd do the same.

"We should probably go meet up with Douglass." Red threw them out of their thoughts while adjusting her grip on her Longshot.

They carefully weaved their way through the crowd and saw the countless people crammed together. People looked around for their loved ones and friends; some found theirs while others were either still looking or didn't find them at all. It was hard to step in certain spots without encountering a group of people. A lot of them were dirty from the rubble and the floor was slick from the snow.

The main lobby area was full and even more people stretched into the large halls. It was hard to say how many people were in the museum, but they knew it stretched well into the thousands. Even more numbers in city hall, which connected to their current location through a large corridor. There was still the faint sound of gunfire and explosions in the distance and it only made their worries skyrocket.

"Councilman." Blake called out when she spotted Douglass carrying his sleeping son.

"Where's Mr. Ronin?" He asked.

"He went back out there." Red answered.

"I thought he would have stayed." He said.

"We did too." Jaune said.

"Okay... okay..." Douglass took a few deep breaths.

"Are you alright?" Blake asked.

"Yeah... this is just... a lot." He breathed shakily. They looked at him and merely reassured him that everything would be alright. It wasn't much, but it did calm him down a bit.

He started to explain that they had gotten a majority of the crowd organized, but there were still a lot who needed help. Cots were being set up for people sleep on, but some had to either sleep on the floor or in sleeping bags. There were a lot of injured being tended to and the three saw the BSS doing their best to tend to everyone. Whatever windows were seen were quickly boarded up.

They had recently gotten in touch with Ozpin, and the Headmaster claimed it would take some time to get everything prepared for the mass amount of arrivals. A several dozen airships would have to be used in order to transport all the people, but some knew that it would take too long and wasn't safe. The aerial vehicles were too slow and had no defenses to repel any Seeders or Reavers that roamed the sky.

"Ms. Belladonna!" A voice rang out, making Blake turn to see Jessica weaving her way towards her.

"Jessica? I thought you were out there with Cardin's team?" Blake asked.

"Commander Ronin and the others sent me back here." Jessica said.

"When was this?" Blake asked. She saw that the younger Faunus was covered in dirt and there was dried blood on her forehead.

"Forty minutes ago... or was it fifty? It might have been an hour or so..." Jessica winced as she held her head.

"You don't know?" Jaune asked.

"It's a little hard to remember some things." She said. The other three looked at her confused face and it could tell she wasn't lying to them. It really did seem like she was having trouble remembering.

"What happened to your head?" Red asked.

"A piece of rubble hit me, but I'm alright. I tried to say that I was alright but they sent me back here. Commander Ronin seemed a little angry though." Jessica scratched the top of her head.

"You need to lie down for a while." Blake said as she lifted a bit of Jessica's hair and saw the large cut on her head.

"I'm alright. I just have a small headache, nothing I can't handle." Jessica said.

None of them look convinced and Red bandaged her head while Jaune led her to the medical portion, having them look at her head. It took a few minutes, but they eventually concluded that she had a concussion. Despite her claiming she was fine, none of them were letting her go back out there. She had done her part and now it was time for her to rest a bit.

Jaune came back and talked with Douglass again, turning his head a bit when Walker contacted him and told him to meet him that he was going with him to kill more Locusts. The girls just watched him leave before walking with Douglass as he stepped up to the balcony and looked at the mass of civilians. Hundreds upon hundreds of souls trying to find the safest spot

The air of despair was so thick that even they could practically feel it weighing them down. So many people died within the last few hours that even some portions of the street barely had any pavement visible. They could see the VDF and BSS doing their best to quell the scared citizens, but things were starting to get hectic as more people flooded in. People started arguing, some started shoving which eventually turned to fighting.

Only when the Gears got involved did some of the conflict come to an end. Nobody wanted to try and take one of them on, mainly because they were strong enough to literally beat a Locust to death with their bare hands. Not to mention, why would they try and fight the people that were the only thing standing between them and the horrid monsters outside.

"Where is Atlas when you need them?" Douglass sighed quietly.

"Up in their little city." Blake answered.

"Must be nice." He said.

"Must be." Red added, looking below at the many faces. The walls must be flooded with Grimm trying to get in and judging by the sound of distant explosions, the personnel at the walls had their hands full.

They didn't bother telling him about the giant Grimm they found in the past buried beneath Mountain Glenn. It took countless explosives and a large amount of data and lien, but they destroyed it a month before E-Day. The thing wasn't moving and it was easy to kill it in its dormant state rather than let it wake up and cause a catastrophic amount of destruction.

The sky started to darken a bit and the people that looked outside could see the flames illuminating the area. It was a dark time for Remnant, and the people in the city felt their whole world begin to crumble.

---

The fighting died down and all was quiet in the streets. Not a soul could be seen wandering them and everything seemed to come to a standstill. Buildings collapsed due to the damage they sustained, countless bodies from people of all ages littered the streets, and mutilated Locust corpses mixed in the sea of the dead. The night sky was cloudy and areas were faintly illuminated by the fires from destroyed cars and buildings.

Walker stood over the corpse of a Kantus and ripped his knife out, wiping away the blood with his forearm before sliding it back into its sheath. Jaune sat on the ground and leaned against a nearby car before standing up and stretching a bit. Cardin, Russel, and Dove quietly stared at the bodies around them before grabbing Sky's cold body and carrying it.

It was placed in the Armadillo carefully and his tags were collected. His body would be cremated back at base and his ashes placed in the memorial. Nobody in his family was alive at this point and he was the final male in his bloodline.

Nobody said anything and Walker just had them drive back to the museum while he and Jaune continued to look for survivors. Blake and Red had messaged him, asking if he was safe and he simply sent them updates every now and then. They had come across a group of dead Runners and moved their bodies a bit, giving their silent respect before looking through a hidden crate and grabbing some ammunition.

"Hey, Walker?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah?" He asked back, taking a few magazines and putting them in his pouches before tossing Jaune some.

"Why are the Locusts doing this?" Jaune asked.

"Doing what?" Walker asked as he shut the empty crate and reloaded his Boltok.

"All this... death. We didn't even do anything to them." Jaune gestured to the bodies around the area.

"It's because they're a genocidal race of monsters. No empathy for people that look even remotely human." Walker answered.

"How do you know so much about them?" Jaune asked, making Walker stop in his tracks. It was quiet for a minute and the snow blew against them, making Jaune think he asked a forbidden question. Despite him following Walker to the ends of the world, he was always curious as to how he knew so much about the Locusts. Their names, their appearances, tactics, and even how they thought.

"This ain't my first rodeo." He looked at Jaune from over his shoulder and started to walk away. There would be one day when he knew that they'd eventually figure out he wasn't from Remnant. He hated being cryptic and lying, but there was no telling how they'd react if they found out he wasn't a native from their planet. The one thing he always despised Ozpin for, and he was doing the exact same thing.

The only difference between him and the old fool, was that he was willing to give information that could potentially tip the balance of the war. The people didn't need to know where the Locusts originated from; the first reason was because he knew they'd blame Sera and try to stage something, and the other was because even he didn't know where they originated from.

He looked at the C-Droid and added a dozen Gears' status as deceased. They weren't invincible and this just proved they weren't. Men and women he trained personally had died underneath his command, but it was something he had come to terms with. He cared about them and each of their deaths chipped a little bit of him away. It was even harder to go back and tell their families the news, to see them react to their loved one ripped away from them.

"So what's the deal with Ozpin?" Jaune asked, stepping over a piece of rubble and vaulted over a blockade.

"The old bastard said the Airbships would be here in the morning." Walker said.

"Those slow pieces of shit? That's just asking for it to be shot down." Jaune commented.

"I told him several months ago, those things need defenses and more speed. He just brushed me off and now it's biting us in the ass." Walker said. He didn't even bat an eye as he kicked a Drone's head out of his way and walked back to the museum. The faint explosions in the distance made them perk up before slowly speeding up their pace. It was better to get inside and get at least some rest before going back out into the zone.

"Boss! We got a problem!" Control said quickly.

"What is it?" He asked.

"A mass of Locusts are heading towards the museum and Atlas launched the Spear!" They answered.

"How long until impact?" He asked, starting to jog towards the museum.

"Seven minutes." They answered.

"Notify everyone. Now!" He said quickly and started to sprint towards the museum with Jaune. Their lungs burned as they dashed through the streets, vaulting over cars and pieces of rubble in their way. They slid around a corner and sprinted towards the building when they saw it further down. Both of them saw the combatants posted outside quickly look towards the sky and both turned around.

They could faintly see the large missile through small openings in the clouds, making them turn back towards the others. Walker waved his hand towards them and shouted for them to get inside. Their eyes widened and they started to quickly dash inside, leaving the two of them the only ones out in the open. They left footprints in the red snow and their lungs felt like they were on fire from sprinting for so long.

Jaune was ahead of him, but was starting to slow down a bit as they drew closer and closer to the building. The missile started to quickly descend towards the ground. Its cluster missiles detached from itself, containing a mixture of every Dust type and began to speed towards the ground. It was getting closer to the ground with each passing second.

Walker put his Lancer on his back before tackling Jaune inside and the two of them slid inside. He quickly stood up and slammed the door shut. Numerous people helped him barricade the door and he ordered people to get away from the windows and further into the building. They were confused at first until a series of explosions rumbled across the distance.

The force obliterated countless buildings outside and flipped cars across the roads near the blast zone. The final explosion shook the ground and windows exploded from the force, throwing everyone back and onto their backs. It was as if the world was struck by the hands of the gods with all their might and cracked the planet open with a simple swipe.

The ones near the windows hit different surfaces; some against the walls, others on the floors, and some against the stairs. All the windows burst and sent miniscule shards of glass over the place; into people and landing against the ground. The wind seemed to howl as it blew the air violently for the next few minutes. A bright fire several miles away illuminated the dark, night sky.

The bodies outside froze solid before burning to ash. The remains hardened with another type of Dust that was loaded in the missiles before black crystals started to form onto them.

Walker coughed as he flipped onto his stomach. His hands slid under him and he heard the glass crunch from his weight as he slowly stood up and dusted himself off. He looked around at the terrified, sobbing faces of some and confused faces of others. There were so many people her, so many lost souls not knowing what to do or what was happening.

Vale's military, the BSS and the Gears surrounded the civilians and formed a sort of protective barrier around them. The ringing in his ears started to subside a bit and he shook his head before stumbling forward and falling onto his knee. He breathed deeply a few times before his senses returned to him. There were people still knocked onto the ground and he helped them up carefully for the next several minutes.

After everyone had recovered a little bit, he carefully opened the door after moving some of the barricades. In the distance he could see a massive cloud in the sky, the fire illuminating it and giving it an appearance of hell on earth. He walked down the steps and through the streets, looking at the various bodies turned into statues while some were mere ash.

Some of the others called his name but he wasn't paying attention and continued to walk through the street. The air was hot, and the snow had melted and evaporated from the heat, leaving the stained pavement as the only thing left. He shouldn't be out here, and he knew that but he stopped when he saw more remains. People trying to run towards the only place that was considered a safe haven, only to be caught in the aftermath. It was the furthest he walked before he stopped.

There was the sound of sobbing and he turned to his right and inside an apartment complex. He walked towards it and grunted as he pressed his shoulder against the door and slammed it a couple of times. It was cracked enough for him to worm his way inside the dark apartment and he saw a little fort made of furniture. The crying had stopped and he looked around then spotted two pairs of terrified eyes from the little furniture fort.

He knelt down and looked at them while they seemed to shrink a bit.

"You alright?" He asked, only to receive silence as an answer. He asked more questions while they just stared at him and flinched when he adjusted himself a bit. When he asked where their parents were, they just quietly told him they left. He froze for a second and clenched his fists before releasing them and nodding. The parents were either in the safe zone or dead, leaving their two daughters to defend themselves.

Some people on Remnant seemed eager to leave their children if it meant to save their own skin.

"Where are we going?" The first one asked, taking his hand and tugging her out.

"A safer place." He answered while tugging the younger sister out. Both were a rare Faunus breed. Dragon Faunus were considered an oddity among their community and the ones who had both horns and a tail were considered a genetic gold mine.

"Are you going to leave us like mom and dad did?" The younger sister asked.

"All alone? No. Do you have any relatives?" He asked, helping them gather some supplies in their backpacks before helping them put on some gas masks. They watched as he easily moved the furniture and he picked the younger sister up, holding her in his left arm while he held the older sister's hand in his right hand.

"We had an uncle... but he's gone." The older sister looked up at him.

"We'll get you out of here." He reassured.

"Promise?" They asked him.

"Pinky promise." He held out his pinky and they wrapped theirs around his gloved finger. The three of them walked out of the building and through the street, their small gas masks did their best to filter out the ash in the sky. They looked at the fire in the sky that was still there due to the Dust and he did as well before gently tugging the older sister to get her to look away.

He picked her up and carried the two of them while the others quickly spotted him and rushed towards him, asking if he was alright. All he did was state that he was, but in reality... he wasn't. It was the Hammer of Dawn strikes all over again, and although he wasn't old enough to remember the experience, he did see the aftermath of it. A mass of scorched bodies and whenever he came across a city, he did his best to avoid touching the remains.

He wondered how many people were still out there. If they survived the blast that is.

---

Two days had passed by and Walker returned to the museum and city hall after a supply run, and saw the look of utter despair and tiredness on everyone's faces. They looked tired and some even looked like they had lost the will to live... he didn't really blame them sometimes. Squads of Gears had went out to look for supplies to help the people while the BSS simply tended to them with what little supplies they had left. They were running short with all the injured, the resources they had were burning at an alarming rate.

The Airships would arrive in another day and the Gears' Bullheads were constantly moving back and forth in transporting the people to Beacon. The pilots were tired from all the flying, and he ordered them to get some rest since there was no use in flying if they couldn't even keep their eyes open. The Locusts roamed in little packs, but ultimately backed off for now. It wouldn't last long and now was the best time to evacuate the people.

Hundreds of people had approached him within the last two days, requesting to join the Gears. They did it to get revenge or to have a place for their families to stay. Every single one of them knew that in order to live with the Gears, they had to essentially join the faction. He was straightforward with them, telling them that if they joined then they would pull their weight or be sent back to the mainland.

He explained to them that what they did wasn't heroic and he didn't need people trying to act like heroes either. They weren't Huntsmen or Huntresses, and he explained to them that they were to individuals who got the job done. Glory hounds would be kicked out almost immediately and if they got people killed, then he'd put them down himself if they were doing more damage than good.

He sat down on a cot and set his weapons to the side before lying down and closing his eyes. The fatigue from the past few days was starting to catch up to him and once he lied down on the temporary bed, he fell asleep. Blake sat in the chair next to his cot and read a book quietly It was good to let him sleep for a little bit, he was one of the few people that constantly went out.

The doors opened up and Red slid inside, her hair and armor wet from the rain and her gas mask on her face. She pulled it down and a few others entered the building before shutting the door. Water flicked from her hair as she shook her head before spotting the two of them and making her way towards them. There wasn't a seat available so she just sat on the ground in front of them, reaching near the cot and bringing out a large cloth.

She set her Longshot on the cloth and dried it thoroughly before drying her Lancer as well.

"There's a lot of people here..." She said.

"A lot of people are going to Menagerie while some are going to Beacon." Blake said as she turned a page in her book.

"What about the ones joining us or the BSS?" Red asked.

"Once we get everyone dealt with, they're being sent to the ship or the base." Blake answered.

"How's your parents taking this?" Red asked.

"Well... mom is alright with it, dad on the other hand is stressed." Blake admitted.

"How many people are going there?" Red asked.

"Whatever can't fit in Beacon without it being too overcrowded. A lot of people are coming with us and the BSS." Blake answered. Before either of them could say anything, Walker's watch beeped and he woke up, swinging his feet over the cot and putting his head in his hand. He didn't say anything, but just let his fatigue slowly fade as he woke up.

"You know the Airships won't arrive for another day and a half, right?" Red asked.

"How the hell are we supposed to get them to the airport if it's probably been reduced to rubble?" He asked, making them stop. He had a point when it all boiled down to it; none of them knew where the citizens were supposed to go since Atlas launched the Heaven's Spear and obliterated a large portion of the city. Not to mention, something was wrong with the air.

Some areas it felt like it was boiling while others felt like a frigid blizzard and the rain didn't help in the slightest. The most they could do was use the Armadillos or the trucks that were far enough away from the blast, that's if they worked that is. There wasn't telling how many vehicles still worked or weren't reduced to mere piles of scrap.

"Aren't our Bullheads transporting people?" Red asked.

"They've been transporting thousands over the last two days, but we need something that can transport a large amount of people. The Bullheads aren't going to cut it if they supposed to transport all these people to Beacon and Menagerie." He said.

"What about the Airbuses?" Jaune walked up to them and put his Lancer on his back.

"What about them?" Walker asked.

"I mean, they're smaller than the Airships, but they can hold more people than a Bullhead." Jaune answered.

"What about the speed and armor on them. Last time I checked, they were slow and barely had any armor on them." Walker raised an eyebrow and leaned forward.

"The speed is alright, not as fast as the Bullhead but not slow either." Jaune answered.

"It's a great plan and all, but here's the catch... the hanger containing them was destroyed in the blast." Walker said, throwing the four of them into silence. All of them knew that the Locust would simply use this opportunity to stage another onslaught and finish the job. There was a chance they wouldn't, but he wasn't willing to hold his breath on that thought.

"What about the docks?" Jessica slurred tiredly. A bandage around her head was replaced with a fresh one and she winced as she sat up.

"You're supposed to be resting." Walker said evenly.

"Sorry Commander... I just couldn't help but overhear." She sheepishly admitted and winced at the slight pressure in her head.

"Hey... hey, hey, hey." Jaune tapped his head.

"What?" Red raised an eyebrow and saw him quickly look around before spotting a large map He quickly excused himself as he took the map down and politely ushered people to move a bit so he could plant it flat on the ground. It was a map of the city and Walker stood up, walking over to him and looking at it. People looked at them curiously and blinked in surprise when Walker took the C-Droid and scanned the map.

A large, holographic line brushed over it and smoke could be seen coming off the map. He clicked the side of the device and sent the data back to base. No one said anything as it was processed and they saw a holographic map appear on the device.

"Marker... anyone?" Walker asked and looked around. People looked in their pockets and someone brought him a few colored markers, making him nod in appreciation before scribbling on it. Blake came over and bent down, drawing a large circle over the blast zone and quickly coloring it in with a black pen. She drew pathways that were safe for transport and had were least likely to be attacked.

Red knelt down next to them and pointed at certain spots for the Snipers to provide overwatch. More Gears approached them and provided information, allowing Blake to draw arrows for multiple pathways that eventually led to the dock. Several ships were located there, enough to house the thousands of people here. From that point on, they'd start getting things situated for the future.

"So we're not following the evacuation protocol that was issued to us?" Douglass asked.

"Things changed when that missile hit. The Grubs aren't going to wait forever and I doubt they'd be willing to wait until the crap in the air clears. It's either we move in the next few hours or we die." Walker answered as he stood up and looked at him.

"I understand." Douglass sighed before nodding.

"Blake, notify Ozpin and update him about the changes. Jaune, you're helping get everyone ready. Red, you're with me." Walker ordered. People watched as he started to give orders; how he went from confused and lost one moment, to confident and steadfast the next. With the help from the others, he had come up with a plan to get whatever people were alive out of there if he could.

It wasn't a full proof plan, but it was better than them sitting here and possibly dying.

---

They left early in the morning, as soon as the sun was rising and he stood on top of a building. He stared down at the mass of people heading towards the ships, seeing trucks escort some while others walked. Whatever Armadillos weren't destroyed, they were being used as an armed escort. The guns constantly swiveled around. Groups of Locusts were dealt with before they could reach the group of people, but they did lose some.

Some had ran off out of terror and paid the price when a pack of Wretches or the occasional Hunter stalked the streets. The Grimm had managed to get inside the city and barely got close to the group before they were killed by the Gears or Vale's military. For once, it seemed that the Grimm were on their side when they constantly attacked the Locusts and kept them busy for the time being.

It just made him order everyone to move a bit faster, and they didn't seem to disagree with him. It was their final chance to make it somewhere safe and they weren't about to waste that opportunity. The Gears' Bullheads took people to Beacon and would later bring more to the academy from the ships once they were further off coast while the rest would find a safer location or go to Menagerie.

"So where are we headed next?" Red asked, standing up once the last of the civilians were on the ship.

"Beacon. We still need that data." He answered as he started to walk towards the stairs and take them down. She gave a signal to the others positioned on the other roofs before following him shortly after. They jogged after the the others and watched as the Armadillos were parked near the ships.

Blake and Jaune approached them and helped secure the hooks from the Bullheads to the vehicles. It took a few minutes but he turned when he saw the people waving at the Gears in appreciation. It ranged from all types of people. Both young and old, from the simple civilian to the higher ranking personnel from Vale's military. They were grateful to be alive for at least another day and some of the Gears waved back.

Once the people were far enough away, they turned towards him and looked around at the desolate city. The life seemed to be sucked out of it now that the people were gone and the only thing that was left standing were the broken buildings and remains from the Heaven's Spear strike.

Multiple Bullheads landed on the ground and they boarded them before taking them to Beacon, giving them a good view of the damage.

"Holy shit..." Cardin muttered distantly.

"..." The others just stared, seeing a large hole in the ground. Certain areas were nothing but giant piles of rubble and a thick cloud of Dust seemed to cover the hole. The bodies down below were in different states; some were ashen remains while others were statues with blackish blue crystals forming on them. Cars were flipped over and destroyed.

Vale city used to be a lively place... now it was simply a ghost town.

Between the strike, Grubs, and Grimm... they had last over thirty thousand people within the last two days. The city was no one's territory and he wasn't about to risk his Gears trying to take it back, especially with whatever was down there from the strike.

Walker brought out his device and checked the list of names, updating the status of his Gears and noticing a lot had a deceased icon over their names and picture. Dozens of his loyal Gears were gone and it was hard to force down, but he managed to do it after several minutes.

No one said anything as they rode to Beacon. The frigid air as they got closer to the academy made them shiver, but they ignored it simply shut the doors. Dried blood and dirt clung to their armor and the stress from the last few horrid days seemed to catch up with them, hitting them all of a sudden like a freight train. They had stayed up for the past sixteen hours, making sure everything was alright for the evacuation.

Walker just leaned back in his seat and fell asleep while Blake leaned against his right shoulder and fell asleep. Red did the same against his left shoulder while Jaune sat across from them and sent a text to his family. He sent a picture of himself giving a smile with his face covered in some dried blood and dirt, but otherwise alright in the end.

The rest of the ride was quiet and nobody seemed to want to wake up, able to sleep a bit longer due to the pilot having trouble finding a place to land. Once a spot was available, he carefully landed the Bullhead and waited for them to get out. He did a double take when he saw them all sleeping and as much as he wanted to let them rest, he knew that there were more people he needed to pick up.

So with great reluctance, he woke them up after a few minutes.

Walker nodded in appreciation before stepping out along with the others. Cardin and a few other Gears went to find some place to rest while him and the other three went to Ozpin's office. They ignored the lady trying to stop them from entering the elevator and simply got inside, pushing the button to the top and leaning against the walls. The doors closed and they felt it start to ascend, playing a little tune as it went up.

None of them were particularly in the mood to deal with his shenanigans so they'd just get the data, get something in their stomachs, then get some rest for a while then leave.

The elevator stopped and the doors slid open; they saw Ozpin sitting at his desk while Glynda stood off to the side along with Qrow. The three of them looked at Walker's group and widened their eyes a bit, almost as if their mere presence was a shocking experience.

"Ah Command-" Ozpin started.

"The mapping data." Walker ordered tiredly.

"I'm sorry?" Ozpin asked.

"The data regarding their tunnels... where is it?" Walker asked.

"Listen pal, we don't know what you're talking about." Qrow said.

"I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to the fool sitting at the desk. The Resonator picked up data regarding the layout of their tunnels." Walker responded.

It was quiet and tense and his mood started to slowly morph into cold anger. He could handle lying because he'd call the old bastard out, but the silence was pissing him off more than anything. Blake simply brought out a tablet and unlocked it before scrolling through the files and showing Ozpin the screen. When he tried to grab it, she snatched it away and simply showed it to him again.

He looked at it, seeing that the data that was presented on the screen was similar to the one on his computer. They had somehow managed to track it back to his location and he knew that lying would just officially burn the already fragile bridge.

"It's true. We've recently received information on their tunnels." Ozpin sighed.

"Give it." Walker ordered bitterly.

"You can't just waltz in here and start ordering us around." Qrow stepped up. He bristled when they ignored him and continued to stare at Ozpin; their armor was covered in ash, dirt, and dried blood. There signs of damage on them as well, ranging from scrapes and dents, to pieces missing.

"Hal, pull the data." Walker ordered and the bot appeared. He went up to the computer and Ozpin blocked the way, making the Hal give a confused beep before pulling out a scalpel and threatening Ozpin.

"Move." Glynda shoved the Headmaster aside and let the bot start pulling the mapping data. She watched as he pulled all the data regarding the Locust for the next several minutes before floating back to Walker and disappearing shortly after.

"See? It wasn't that hard." Walker gestured before turning away.

"How many people died?" She asked.

"I don't know the exact number. Tens of thousands?" He answered before entering the elevator and leaving with the other three. The doors closed and he leaned against the wall with the other three as the elevator descended. It was quiet and none of them wanted to say anything until Blake looked at her tablet and noticed another copy of data pulled from Ozpin's computer.

"This is more than the mapping data." She said.

"I know. I had Hal make a copy of it. What's on it?" He asked.

"Heaven's Spear information, emails between Ozpin and Ironwood, and some other things." She answered.

"You think he knew about the strike?" Red asked.

"Of course he knew, how else would the missile know where to strike? I'm more pissed about the fact that neither of them bothered telling us that they intended to launch it; which not only fucked the evacuation plan up, but also killed more people." Walker said.

"You think they'll find out we have more data than intended?" Jaune asked.

"I don't give a shit. We got what we came for." Walker answered.

"Menagerie after this?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. You ready to meet your parents after so long?" He asked back.

"No." She sighed.

"Well... suck it up, princess." He said as the elevator doors opened and they all started to walk out. She gave him a deadpan expression before huffing and crossing her arms.

"Oh yeah. I forgot you were considered royalty." Jaune said.

"I don't need a reminder." Blake rolled her eyes. By legal standards, she was considered royal blood and it was something people usually found out after doing some digging into her past. It was one of the reasons she left home, because she hated being treated like royalty and she wanted to forge her own path.

"Do you live in a mansion?" Red asked.

"I did." Blake answered.

"Awesome." Red responded.

"Not really. It got boring and was too big in my opinion." Blake shook her head.

"Well, we're headed there next. So you might as well brace yourself." Walker said. He chuckled a bit at her expression before walking towards the refugee camp.

They should consider themselves lucky to even be breathing at this point. That the missile wasn't closer and wasn't as destructive as the Hammer of Dawn, otherwise none of them would even be speaking right now.

---

Sorry if this chapter isn't good enough. I tried, everyone.