Mantle civilians ran from the horde in terror as the Locust gunned dozens of people down. The horde continued to swarm the mass of civilians, the terrible roars mixed in with the gunfire made an absolute nightmare to the average person. Dozens of wretches galloped towards people and a few quickly overwhelmed a few poor souls, ripping them apart with their razor sharp teeth and claws.
Several squads of Atlas soldiers lied dead on the ground, their bodies mangled from their violent wounds and mixed in with the civilians they tried to hard to protect. Several more fell from the horde's attacks and more people fell.
An Atlas soldier stumbled and fell forward as another one from his platoon was swarmed by wretches right next to him. Several others provided him with covering fire as they fell back to a safer position. The civilians they were guiding to safety were in front of them and they all pushed them to a safer place.
"We lost the square, we can't hold them!" One of them said over the radio as he took cover behind a fallen pillar. He peeked out of cover to see another one from his platoon be lifted into the air after being impaled by a piece of rebar.
He looked up when he heard the sound of rotors and saw a black King Raven hover over them, causing the Locust to be momentarily stunned. It was all the occupants in the aerial vehicle needed to open fire on the horde below, tearing up chunks of concrete as well as the tough bodies of the Locust. Ropes were thrown over the edge and Gears in pitch black armor started to rappel down, shooting into the horde with exceptional accuracy.
Several of them landed on the ground in different intervals and the concrete cracked when each one slammed their boots into the pavement. The sound of a chainsaw was heard from the one in front as the bayonet spun, causing smoke to appear in the cold air.
Dozens of Locust roared and began to charge but the group lifted their weapons and aimed them at the horde. The sound of heavy weaponry being fired was like music to their ears and the Atlas soldiers stopped firing and watched the Gears kill their genocidal counterparts with ease. They felt a mixture of awe and relief at the sudden appearance of the Gears, but they felt a instinctive drive to fight harder as well.
The wave of Grubs that initially surprised them started to drop as Gears took cover to avoid being shot. They exchanged gunfire, with the Locust slowly dying when a Gear got lucky and managed to kill one.
Walker's skull-drone popped off his back and fired a superheated shot of sludge at a Drone, causing it to flail around in agony as its armor and flesh melted. It made a beeping noise and attached itself back onto his back before one of the heavier Gears stood up and squeezed the trigger to the Vulcan Cannon.
Heavy gunfire drowned out any other noise as the countless nearly explosive rounds started to sweep across a group of Locust, splitting their bodies with disturbing ease. Hundreds of casings scattered across the ground and the others stood up to fire into the horde, causing the remaining Drones to turn away and avoid a grisly death.
A Grinder started to spin the crank on it Mulcher, only to fall short when they all focused their fire onto it. Their attention turned to a Kantus swinging an ink grenade and they shot it, causing it to drop the grenade and dive to the side before firing at them. It shrieked loudly and two Drones were engulfed in a whitish aura before standing up and firing back.
One of the Atlas soldiers shot the Kantus and killed it before several others started to take cover across the street from the Gears. They fired into the horde and noticed that their numbers started to decrease bit by bit. Bodies started to drop onto the ground and Walker turned when a grenade was thrown at the group of Atlas soldiers, causing them to look down before looking at him in dread.
The grenade exploded and killed four of them, causing him to look at the laughing Grenadier and point towards it. A sniper round easily went through its skull and the horrid laughing stopped almost instantly. Its body crumbled to the ground and he saw that there were two left and had his drone launch two shots of superheated sludge at them.
Roars and wails of agony were heard and everyone saw the Drones flail around as the melted before their very eyes.
"All clear!" He announced and lowered his Lancer slightly. The Obsidian and Onyx Guards reloaded their empty weapons and started to look around for ammo or whatever they could find.
"Gears? What are they doing here?" Someone asked.
"You three, what's the damage?" Walker asked the Atlas soldiers, making them jump.
"Well, sir... they just popped up and we don't really know. There's a lot of dead people around here though." The soldier answered. Walker saw that they looked fairly young, possibly straight out of basic and he pitied them a bit.
"You did good. Take these people and head to city hall. Get in touch with Ironwood and inform him of the situation." He ordered.
"With all due respect, sir, we're not supposed to take orders from anyone other than our superiors." Another one said quickly.
"Where are you superiors?" He asked.
"Well..." She looked around before spotting them dead in the middle of the street. He followed her gaze and looked at each one of them before looking at the terrified civilians behind them.
"Get them to safety. Standing here is only going to get more people killed." He ushered them roughly and they stumbled a bit. A few Hammerbursts were tossed in their hands and they were pushed towards the direction of city hall. More civilians followed the soldiers and he turned back to his Gears.
"What about the other three?" One of them asked.
"We'll deal with them later. Ten of you are heading to city hall to defend it against the Locust. A couple of King Ravens will provide air support and transport wounded to safer locations." Walker briefed.
"What about us?" The other five pointed at themselves.
"You're with me." He said.
"Understood." They nodded in unison and followed him. He called a Bullhead in and one arrived shortly after, they all quickly entered it and he sat on the edge as it started to take off into the sky. Smoke rose into the air in different locations and he knew that the Locust were starting to pour in faster than what he had initially anticipated.
He quickly realized that even after smuggling people out by the dozens, there were so many people dying because he was afraid of getting caught and screwing everything up. The many people, and many more to come, were dead because of his inability to take action sooner.
"Boss, we're detecting multiple emergences across Mantle." Control said.
"How many?" He asked.
"Dozens, it might even be more than a hundred." They responded.
"Shit..." He muttered and they all snapped when they saw Nemacysts flying towards them. One of the Obsidian Guards quickly got on the mounted gun and started to fire at them, managing to hit several of them. Unfortunately, several more sped towards them and they all jerked around before two hit the tail of the Bullhead.
The aerial vehicle spun out of control and they all held on tightly to avoid getting thrown out. He jerked around as the Bullhead hit the ground and rolled several times down the street. All of its occupants were thrown around and his vision spun along with the Bullhead. After several seconds of rolling, they slammed into a building at the end of the street and stopped.
He groaned hoarsely as he hung upside down and looked around, seeing the others hold their heads. The sounds of screams and gunfire were muffled and a terrible ringing noise pierced their ears, even through the helmets that managed to keep them from suffering any serious cranial damage.
"Everyone alright?" He asked. There were several pained noises of confirmation and he nodded before looking at his lap and unbuckling himself. He slammed against the roof of the flipped Bullhead and got up to check on the pilot. His head dropped a bit in despair when he saw her hanging upside down with a large piece of metal embedded in her face.
Blood leaked from the fatal wound and he grabbed her tags and looked at them, muttering an apology and putting the tags in his pocket. The sound of everyone falling onto the ground made him look to see them all collect themselves. They grabbed their weapons after he helped a few of them up.
He pried the door open to the hole they created in the building after the one to the street wouldn't open. They collected whatever supplies they could carry before setting a bomb for any Locust that dared to loot the vehicle.
When he got on the radio, all he was met with static and sighed when there was a Seeder nearby. There was always a Seeder that had to jam the communications. If the Locust knew how to do one thing during a siege, it was that communications came first. That was what was probably seared into each of their minds.
"There's a Seeder nearby. Three blocks down." An Obsidian Guard said.
"How can you tell?" Walker asked.
"I can smell it." The Obsidian Guard pointed towards his nose where his nose was on the helmet.
"Well how about that. You're taking point." Walker said and the other man nodded before leading them through the lobby area. They took the hallway to the right and ignored the state of the place for the most part. At the end of the hall was an emergency exit and they quickly exited it before coming into the alleyway.
A dead body was in the middle being feasted on by some Wretches and they quickly killed the pack before coming into the street. Looking both ways, they quickly dashed into the other alley and started to make their way through it. They stopped when a group of people were seen running through the streets, only to be gunned down by a Brumak. Their bodies were ripped apart easily causing blood and organs to spill across the pavement.
The last person fell and raised his hand, pleading for mercy before being stepped on by the massive foot. They all heard the sound of bones snapping and the Brumak pilot's horrible laugh as it continued to direct its war beast through the streets.
Each one of them waited for the rest of the Locust patrol to finish walking through the streets before quickly entering the next alley, vaulting over a large piece of rubble and then dashing into the final alley. He gestured to an open window and bent down a bit for two of his Onyx Guards to use him as a springboard and climb through the window.
He pointed at the other buildings surrounding the Seeder and motioned for three of the others to go around. They nodded and quickly circled around to the positions they were assigned and waited. He began to mark the Locust one by one, until he had ten marks that glowed blue in his helmet. His mark was the last one and when his turned blue, he fired at the Theron and killed it.
Simultaneously, ten other Locust dropped instantly and the area was clear, leaving only the Seeder. It shrieked and shifted around while waiting to fire another Nemacyst in the sky. He pointed at it and two Onyx Guards brought out some explosives and threw it in its secondary mouth. It shrieked in agony briefly when the explosives went off and it slid back into the ground.
The communications cleared up a bit, but he knew that there were more in the surrounding area. Once they got done looking around for more supplies, they continued on to the next Seeder to hopefully allow everyone to finally communicate.
The second Seeder was already dealt with by the time they reached it and they decided to move onto the last one. Finding the last one was easy since all they had to do was follow the sound of gunfire. They all found Red, Blake, and Jaune dealing with the final Seeder and decided to help them finish the job. They had already dealt with a majority of the Locust and the Obsidian Guards following him finished the rest.
Walker flipped the Theron onto its back and raised his boot, slamming it down on its skull and crushing it. He threw two grenades into the Seeder and all went quiet as it slid into the ground.
"Walker, we're sor-" Red started.
"You three are headed to the Heaven's Spear launch site with several others. A King Raven is arriving to pick you. I want it secured, and if needed, launched." He ordered.
"What? What about the people in Atlas and Mantle?" She asked.
"Mantle's fucked and Atlas is next. There's more E-Holes popping up by the second and we're not able to contain all of them. Now stop wasting time and get to the launch site." He said as he shoved them in the direction the King Raven was arriving at. They just gave him a worried look then at each other before nodding hesitantly and jogging to the location.
"Where to next?" An Onyx Guard asked.
"You seven are going with them. Keep an eye on them and make sure they aren't displaying any weird behavior." He answered.
"If they are?" Another one asked.
"Knock them out and transport them back to base. There's no telling if that piece of shit is still influencing them." He said.
"Understood. We'll get it done." The Onyx Guard said before leaving with the rest of them.
All that was left with him was the Obsidian Guard and he gave them the task of killing any Locust they came across, hopefully to do at least contain a little bit of the damage that was done. Two of the Guards stayed by his side and he requested an ammunition drop.
The crate arrived after five minutes and they all resupplied before he received a call on his scroll and picked it up.
"Hello?" He asked.
"This is Clover Ebi of the-" Clover started.
"I'm not in the mood for introductions, what do you want?" Walker asked.
"General Ironwood has requested your assistance in transporting civilians up to Atlas. After that, he wants you to finish mopping up the rest of these things. Despite him saying otherwise, I personally think you all should be arrested for-" Clover was cut off when Walker hung up and put the device away.
He'd assist with helping evacuate the civilians, but he wasn't about to go die since the General wanted to hide up in his city and cower away. After he got as much of the people up to Atlas, he was going to launch the missile at the glacier.
"Are we helping with the evacuation?" One of the guards asked.
"We're helping as much as we can and when we're done, we're flooding their tunnels." Walker answered.
"How?" Another one asked.
"The missile. We're going to launch it at the glacier that's holding all that water. Once it breaks, it'll hopefully flood the tunnels and buy us some time." He answered.
"What about the civilians that don't make it?" The first one asked.
"Not everyone can be saved. Control, track where the Ace Ops and the civilian transports are." He ordered.
"Copy that. They're seven blocks to your west." Control responded and he nodded before jogging to the location. The other two jogged after him and they cut through the alleys to avoid the streets.
He noticed that the sky was darker than what it was supposed to be and the fire from the buildings and cars provided a phenomenal source of light. A charred corpse on his right on the sidewalk made him realize that there was a Flame Grenadier nearby, the heat was felt even from this far away and when they rounded a corner, they stopped when they saw it burning a group of people.
The three of them shot its tank before dashing off into the alley, listening to it roar in alarm as its tank caught on fire. After several seconds of roaring, they heard the sound of an explosion and body parts scattering across the pavement. Their lungs burned briefly as they continued to jog towards the destination. Everything started to look more familiar and he realized that they were at city hall.
Gunfire was heard and the three of them peeked around the corner to see two or three dozen Locust shooting at the people at sandbags in front of city hall.
He saw a Grinder start to crank up the Mulcher and whistled loudly, making it stop and turn its head at them. Its eyes widened when two Vulcan Cannons started to spin and he aimed his Lancer at it. All three of them fired at it and its body jerked around as the countless rounds hit it and ripped holes into its torso and skull. Its body spun around and thumped onto the ground, causing the other Locust to look at it.
A grenade was tossed around the corner and bounced against the ground, causing a group of Locust to shout in alarm and a few dive out of the way. The grenade beeped and exploded shortly after. One of the Obsidian Guards dashed out into the street and slid into the side of an armored truck. He looked at it before gripping it tightly and grunting as he tore it off its hinges.
Walker watched as he flipped it vertically and used it as a shield before he dashed behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. The two of them started to slowly walk forward, stopping every so often in order to steady themselves. Walker would fire at the Locust from behind the door shield while the Guard would hold the door.
While they drew the fire, the second Guard dashed out of the alley entrance and dashed next to a parked car, peeking up and firing at three Locust. Their bodies jerked around and they collapsed to the ground before he ducked back down when the Locust began to fire at him. He slammed his fist into his chest a few times as the adrenaline started to pump through his veins and he growled underneath his breath.
The Ace Ops and Atlas soldiers behind the barricade just stared at the three dumbfounded before they started to fire at the Locust. One of the soldiers jerked his head back when a Hammerburst round went through his skull, causing him to collapse to the ground. A Locust laughed at his death before it raised the Hammerburst and managed to kill two more soldiers before it was killed by an Onyx Guard.
The final Locust was a Grenadier and it looked at both parties before pulling its grenades out and charging at the barricade. Bullets entered its body but it ignored the pain and continued to charge at them. It fell when one of the Onyx Guards shot it in the skull, causing it to fly backwards and fling the grenades towards the building.
Both grenades exploded mid-air and everything was quiet in the immediate area. Gunfire could still be heard in the distance and everyone felt a bit of the adrenaline leave their systems.
Walker heard a pained groan and looked to see an injured Atlas soldier leaning against a car. He went to them and saw their leg broken in two places, causing him to throw them over his shoulders and carry them to the barricade. The other two with him kept looking around while he jogged with the soldier over his shoulder, arriving at the barricade after thirty seconds.
He saw Lucas standing behind one of the barricades and glared at him before turning away. Now wasn't the time to deal with the bastard, but he'd deal with him some other time. People were dying and he needed to help with the evacuation.
"Are you Ronin?" Clover asked.
"Yes, now move so I can lower him down." Walker responded as he lowered the soldier on the gurney and watched as he was wheeled away.
"Boss, we found more wounded." An Onyx Guard said as he carried two soldiers. Four more people were seen on the backs of the others, all Atlas soldiers that were left to die somewhere.
"Get them inside, they'll be shipped up to Atlas." Walker pointed at the building and the Gears nodded before carrying the wounded up the stairs. He watched as some of his regular Gears provided aid to the wounded or helped civilians into the building while others stood guard just in case another attack happened.
"The transport is running late." Clover said.
"How late?" Walker asked.
"Two hours late. Ironwood wants to speak with you-" Clover started.
"Then tell him to get down here. I'm not about to waste time when all these people are stuck down here with the Locust." Walker interrupted and started to walk away. He didn't care if he was being an asshole; the Ace Ops were people he held no respect for.
"He's busy. The council are at his throat and he's moving supplies from the SDC." Lucas said. He noticed Walker just staring at him for several tense seconds before turning away from all of them.
"Idiots." Walker muttered and helped an elderly man up the stairs. The man stumbled and Walker quickly caught him, putting his hand on his chest to steady him.
"Thank you, young man. You Gears are different from the some of these Atlas soldiers and those Ace Ops idiots." The man said.
"In what way?" Walker asked as he helped the man reach the top step.
"You actually look out for the common man. Plus, you still manage to kick enough ass for people to look up to you." The man said.
"Appreciate the compliment, old timer. Not enough of those going around nowadays." Walker laughed a bit.
"I'm not that old. You know, ladies used to flock towards me back in the day and even now." The older man chuckled, he brought up his arm and flexed weakly. The two broke out into brief laughter and Walker appreciated the older man giving him a good laugh.
"I bet... listen, get inside and keep your head down. We'll get you out of here." Walker said as he pat the older man's shoulder gently.
"Thank you. Try not to be too hard on some of the Atlas soldiers. Not all of them are bad people, just being led by some." The man said.
"I'll try. Now get in there, old timer. We'll deal with the Grubs." Walker pointed over his shoulder at the streets. The older man nodded and was helped inside by a Gear before the doors shut and the distant sound of gunfire drew his attention.
He walked down the stairs and went back up to the front barricade then stood in front of it. Nearly all the Atlas soldiers saw his interaction and felt their respect towards him raise a little bit. From what they heard, he was a power-hungry mercenary that didn't care about the common man, but this interaction proved them wrong. The Gears were completely different from what the Ace Ops and Ironwood described them as, which meant they had been lied to the whole time.
Walker saw Lucas approach him from the corner of his eye and subtly flicked on the recording button on the C-Droid.
"You didn't have to do that." Lucas said as he stood next to him.
"He was an older man that needed help. None of you were helping him up the stairs; you all just watched him struggle." Walker responded as he scooted away.
"Well, you beat us to it." Lucas shrugged.
"You all could have done that while I was putting that soldier on the gurney." Walker said.
"What's done is done, no point in arguing." Lucas said.
"So you all were just going to leave those men to die out there?" Walker asked the Ace Ops.
"What do you mean?" Clover asked.
"I'm talking about the injured men my Gears brought back. The one I carried on my back, the ones that were dragged back here after their legs were found missing, the ones who have shrapnel in their eyes... the list goes on." Walker listed and looked at each of them. He internally bristled at the lack of apparent care on their faces.
"We gave them their orders, it's not our fault they couldn't carry them out properly." One of them said. She said it loudly enough to where the soldiers in the general vicinity could hear her and they shot her a dirty look.
"Have you all been training these people properly?" He asked.
"They passed basic training, yes. This battle will be enough for them to learn from the experience and teach others." Clover said.
"Half of these soldiers look like they're either in their teens or early twenties. The one I saw inside is too young to be fighting, he barely looks like he's in high school." Walker gestured to a few with his head.
"They came from the academy, yes. What's the point in all of this?" Clover asked.
"The point is that you haven't been training these people. You've been throwing them to the Locust and seeing who makes it back alive. Their lives mean nothing to you because you don't care about them." Walker pointed out.
"And you care about your Gears? Be realistic, you just train them to be your little weapons." An Ace Op scoffed and stretched her legs. He knew who she was, her name was Harriet, and apparently she was the fastest one on the Ace Ops.
"I do. Every single Gear underneath my command is my responsibility, just as every civilian at base is. I don't train them to be weapons, but to be decent people that get the job done. I don't brainwash them or manipulate them..." Walker said as he stared at Lucas.
"What?" He asked.
"How long have you been playing with Red's head?" Walker asked.
"Catherine? I'm not playing with her head at all. Like I said when I met you, her and I go way back to when we were kids." Lucas said.
"Mmm, right. Last time I checked, neither Jaune nor Blake would choose you over me. Especially when it came to Atlas' program." Walker said and the tension started to grow thick.
"Alright... you caught me." Lucas said as he started to get close to Walker and leaned next to him, walking alongside him to a secluded part of the barricades.
"..." Walker just subtly grabbed his knife handle and clutched it tightly.
"In truth, she was always easy to toy with a bit. While I do care about her, I just needed to get close enough to her for my Semblance to activate, use a bit of my second Semblance to poke at some hurtful memories and stoke the flames a bit. Your team wasn't so hard either, you all are just a merry band of broken individuals... aren't you?" Lucas revealed quietly.
"Good to know that you're a terrible infiltrator. So that's all she was to you? A tool to be thrown away when her use was up?" Walker asked. He knew that no one else heard Lucas, but the C-Droid picked up everything he was saying.
"Don't act like you're any better. Sending informants to Atlas to gather information on us." Lucas responded.
"Did I say I was any better? The only difference is that the information I wanted was strictly about the Locust. The people that work underneath me are my responsibility and I'd never put them in a position if I knew they couldn't handle it." Walker countered.
"You done?" Clover called out and Lucas turned to him. While he was turned away, Walker stopped the recording and sent it to his team.
"Yeah! Just needed to have a word with the Commander!" Lucas answered and turned back to Walker flashing him a small smile and walking back to the others.
A few Obsidian Guards walked next to Walker and stood next to him, glaring at Lucas underneath their helmets. All Walker did was prepare to send the recording to Blake, Red, and Jaune before standing at the barricade again.
"Ammo drop is coming soon. When it gets here, load up... we're going hunting for Locust and civilians." Walker said. They nodded and went to the other Gears, whispering the plan to them and watching as they nodded as well. They'd get as many people out before the transport got here.
The transport arrived and people were being loaded up quickly. A family thanked him for doing something before finding their seats and sitting down. Him and the Gears waved as the transport started to ascend towards the sky and fly off towards Atlas.
Distant gunfire and explosions were still heard. They appeared to be getting closer by the hour and it just made people load into the aerial vehicles faster. Hundreds of people had been transported now and hundreds more were to be sent to Atlas shortly after this wave was finished.
In the distance, a black mass could be seen and he narrowed his eyes at it. He gestured for some binoculars and brought them up to his eyes, looking through them. His arm went slack when he saw the mass of black in the distance and the other Gears took a turn looking. They had the same reaction and their movement speed increased with their tasks.
"The Gears afraid of a little bit of bad weather?" Harriet laughed a bit.
"Get those people in the transports now!" Walker ignored her and ordered, his Gears nodded before quickly ushering people in the transport Bullheads.
"Okay, what crawled up your asses?" She asked.
"Come on." A Gear said as she helped a family of three into the Bullhead before rushing out and helping some more people.
"What is it?" Clover asked and grabbed Walker's shoulder. His hand was slapped away and a pair of binoculars were thrown into his face, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"Look at the sky, dumbass." Walker ordered and quickly rushed off to help some of the injured.
The Ace Ops looked at the sky and Clover raised the binoculars to his eyes, widening them when he saw the mass of black. It wasn't clouds like he thought, but Grimm. A rare breed of Grimm that shredded their victims apart with razor sharp teeth and sheer numbers. Usually they ate one another and kept their numbers low, labeling them as a somewhat rare species, but to see this many was like a catastrophe.
"General, we have a swarm of Shredder Bats heading for Atlas." Clover said.
"How many?" Ironwood asked.
"Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? I don't know." Clover said quickly. He stumbled when the ground shook and an E-Hole opened up, causing him to look down the street to see more Locust start to emerge. They roared and he wondered if he was living in some sick nightmare; a nightmare where a horde of genocidal monsters stormed the surface.
"Boss! The last of the transports are away!" A Gear shouted.
Walker gave a quick thumbs up and ducked behind a sandbag, wincing as bullets flew over his head. He looked up in alarm when a swarm of the flying Grimm collided with the last transport. They started to rip into the steel like paper and devour the occupants inside, stripping them down to the bone in mere seconds.
The Bullhead spun out of control and people crying in agony could be heard before they were forever silenced. The fire from the explosion was seen over the building and he cursed under his breath. When he looked over the cover, he saw a large Locust. It wasn't a Boomer though, this one was different by leagues.
Tall and the way it walked made everyone stop momentarily. It pointed once and a horde of Wretches poured out of the hole and towards the group, causing them to fire at the wave of rabid beasts. He narrowed his eyes when it caught a grenade and threw it to the side before it could explode. It was if nothing bothered it very much and this was just another day.
The two locked eyes and he narrowed his before kicking a Gear out of the way when a knife was thrown at it. He killed the Locust that threw it and then caught a grenade by its chain and whipped it back to the Grenadier. With his left hand, he pointed for everyone to focus fire on the large Locust, but they lowered their weapons a bit when it summoned horde of Grimm bats to use as a shield.
"Inside! Gears, get inside and radio Atlas! Ace Ops, get us a transport!" He ordered everyone and they all started to fall back into the building. While they all quickly dashed behind him, he killed any Locust shooting at them before going back himself. They all covered him as he ran up the stairs and revved up the chainsaw and swung his Lancer around.
The teeth of the chainsaw started to rip open the tough hide of the Drone as he dragged it across, nearly beheading it. His boot slammed into its chest and kicked it down the stairs, causing two others to fall and break their necks from slamming against the surface too hard.
Just as he got to the door, a hand gripped the back of his neck and he suddenly found himself flying down the stairs. His vision spun as he tumbled down the steps and landed on his back. He shook his head before quickly moving it to the side when a Drone raised its foot and stomped down hard enough to crack the pavement. An angry snarl was heard and he ignored it.
His fist collided with the side of the Drone's knee and knocked it down before he shoved his knife into the side of its skull and ripped it out. He took the limp body as a meat shield and fired into three Drones, killing them instantly.
The bats swarmed closer to him and he brought out his Skull-Drone then raised it up. Both optics in its eye sockets and mouth flashed a bright light, burning the swarm and causing a few of them to disintegrate. The hundreds of bats gave him some breathing room and kept their distance from him as the light was flashed at them. He could feel the wind from their flying and the mass of black wings and white teeth made his heart beat rapidly.
He put the skull back on his back and turned around when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps. Bringing out his Boltok, he whipped it towards the noise and fired once, ducking underneath a swing and firing again. A hand gripped his wrist and lifted him into the air easily, it squeezed tightly and the gun slipped from his grip. It was kicked away under the car and a dark chuckle was heard.
He planted his left foot on the Locust's chest and slammed his right foot into its chin, causing its head to jerk backwards. He was let go and rolled backwards before reaching for his Sawed-off but found it missing, making him curse underneath his breath.
"Hmm." A deep hum was heard and the Locust rubbed its chin before spitting to the side.
"..." He just brought out his knife and spread his feet a bit. The air swished as a mace was swung at him and he ducked underneath it, twisting to the side when it was swung downwards and stabbed his knife into the side of it, twisting the blade and making the Locust give an agonized noise. He spit up when he was backhanded into the car to his right and bounced off of it.
The mace was raised above the Locust's head but he slammed his fists into its torso three times before delivering a swift uppercut. It slammed its left fist into the side of his helmet, making him fall spin around and fall onto one knee. A hand wrapped around his throat and lifted him into the air easily and slammed the mace into his chest, causing him to fly backwards and skid across the pavement.
Pain erupted in his chest area and he coughed before rolling onto his stomach and started to crawl to a weapon. It was kicked away and a foot stomped on his left forearm, breaking the bone and making his eyes widen in agony.
He refused to scream though, to give this Locust the satisfaction of hearing him in pain. His gloved fingers clawed at the pavement as a hand gripped his foot and he found himself being swung onto the hood of a car. He groaned in agony as he was tossed into the middle of the street like a ragdoll.
It took a massive amount of effort, but he managed to shakily climb to one knee. The fatigue from the previous battles and the pain he was experiencing right now were working in tandem. It was a struggle to even move, much less breath but he had no choice.
A mace was swung upwards and he suddenly found himself flipping through the air, his helmet being knocked off from the impact. He landed on his back and the wind was knocked out of him when he hit the ground. His helmet slammed on the ground near him and he turned his head to his left to see it damaged.
There was a large slash near the right eye, cracking the helmet light and he watched it flicker before shutting off, as did the left one. Everything hurt, and the swarm of Grimm bats that surrounded them kept the others from reaching him.
Yet... he still managed to shakily stand to his feet. He still managed to slowly stumble towards the Locust leader and clench his right fist weakly, rearing it back and throwing it forward. He knew he wasn't doing any damage to it, not with its armor and muscular body. All it did was stand there and he kept looking down at its feet while hitting it weakly.
He just needed to keep it distracted enough for the others to get away. No weapons, his armor was damaged and some pieces were missing, leaving him with torn clothing and wounds that the cold air kissed. His body was in so much pain but he endured, because he had to, there wasn't another choice.
The Locust just looked at him and grinned when it caught the sweet scent of blood. Not just any blood... Seran blood; sweet, rich, Seran blood that was the life essence of actual warriors. This man was the one person that kept getting back up and fighting, despite his body being broken. He read the tags and saw the name of the man before him, giving it his all without so much as cowering once.
"You have my respect, Ronin. You have earned Scorn's respect as a fighter." Scorn said as he slammed his knee into Walker's stomach, making him spit up and choke. He kicked him in his side and flung him down the street a bit, watching as he tumbled and lied on the ground for several seconds.
"N-Nice to know you... I-I'll be sure to remember yours as I kill you..." Walker coughed out painfully. Blood dribbled from his mouth as he shakily stood up and he stumbled forward again, falling to his knee and staring at Scorn. Was he shocked to hear a Locust speak so eloquently? He sure was, but that just meant that this one was different from the others.
"You don't cower like these pathetic inhabitants. In fact... you managed to make me bleed." Scorn said as he put his hand on the wound to his side. The thick blood dripped from his claws and onto the ground.
"T-Too bad I couldn't finish the job..." Walker chuckled to himself before wincing in pain. His vision was getting dark and he started to wobble a bit.
"Mantle's supplies will assist the Horde's conquest. I applaud you for defending it to its last breath." Scorn said and walked up to Walker before raising his mace. He thought that Walker's face would shift to one of fear but it didn't, not even in the face of death did he cower away. All he did was give him that defiant, angry look that was regretful he couldn't take him with him. So Scorn did something no Locust has ever done before.
He let Walker live, not out of mercy, but out of the sheer exhilaration that he would come back stronger and face off against him again. Walker was the one person that Scorn wished to duel again. It was a shame he was a human and not a Locust... he would've made the perfect member of the Horde, leading them into glory.
"Get back here... I-I'm not-" Walker wheezed out in agony and gripped Scorn's leg. The Locust leader chuckled under his breath before shoving Walker away with his foot and a Reaver landed on the ground. It shrieked loudly and waited for Scorn to climb on before he took off.
Walker's vision started to darken a bit and the sound of gunfire and explosions were muffled in his ears. All that was present was that loud ringing noise as he stared up at the night sky. He could see groups of the Grimm swarm flying through the air. The anti-air guns did their best to kill any flying Locust beasts that soared through the sky.
Snowflakes fell onto his face and the ground next to him, making his wounds sting some more. The metallic scent and taste of blood were heavy on his nose and tongue, making him cough weakly and wheeze out painfully. He just barely managed to roll onto his stomach and crawl towards the C-Droid and look at the recording, sending it to the other three and all of his Gears as well as the BSS.
He wanted to make sure they at least knew the truth in case he didn't make it. His hand reached in his pocket and stared at the pictures of Dead-Echo and his current team, rubbing his bloody thumb over himself on the picture before his vision started to fade. The last thing he saw was the spiral of Shredder Bats above him, only being kept at bay by the bright light of the Skull-Drone.
After a while, the swarm dispersed and started to head back to Scorn under his command. The doors to city hall opened up and the Gears saw Walker lying in the middle of the street. Their mighty boss was there in the cold, snowy street, his body broken and lying motionless. They all quickly rushed to him and started to tend to him, shielding him away from the Ace Ops and even threatening to kill the latter if they took another step.
Mantle was lost to the Locust, allowing them to gain a major foothold on their next target.
Red heard the message Walker sent her, the other two did as well. She fell to her knees and clutched her chest as the guilt started to claw through her chest. They felt the guilt eat at them too and felt like the worst people on Remnant.
To hear that someone she knew from her childhood was manipulating her was heartbreaking on its own, but to hear him say it so callously and claim that he cared about her was another feeling. It was like her heart had been twisted, pulled, and finally ripped out without a shred of mercy.
Blake and Jaune had to walk away for a minute and collect themselves before coming back. Due to their combined effort with the Obsidian and Onyx Guards, they managed to defend the launch site from the Locust and at least prevent one disaster from happening. Their next step was to either obtain the missile or launch it at the glacier, which would flood the tunnels but also cause Atlas to possibly fall.
"Director..." Control said.
"Yes?" Blake asked as she moved a corpse away from the launch controls.
"..." They didn't say anything and the others looked at her.
"What?" She asked.
"The boss is down." The revealed grimly. Time seemed to come to a halt and their worlds felt like it shattered.
"How bad?" Jaune asked quickly.
"He's in critical condition. The Gears' medical personnel are tending to him in Atlas as we speak." They answered.
"..." She dropped the C-Droid and it clattered against the ground. Her world was spinning and she collected herself when the others went to help her.
"Ma'am. Mantle's under Locust control and if we don't do something then they're going to start spreading to Atlas." They said.
"Get Brock and Simon on." She said.
"Understood, patching you through." They said and there was the sound of a tune. Normally, she enjoyed that little jingle but now wasn't the time and it just made her feel even worse about the situation. Walker made it their little waiting song because he enjoyed it so much.
"What?" Brock's tired voice drawled on the other line.
"Brock, where's Simon?" She asked.
"Well hello to you too, how goes the war-" He started.
"Where is he, Brock?!" She shouted suddenly, making him stop.
"Oi! String bean! We need your nerdly expertise!" Brock called out loudly and the sound of Simon rushing over and background noise stopping made her sigh in relief.
"Hello?" Simon asked.
"The Locust and in Mantle and we need to launch the missile, how do we minimize the damage?" She asked quickly.
"What? Have you forgotten how much damage that thing caused in Vale? That thing would sink that whole city instantly." Brock said.
"Ma'am, are you sure launching it at the city is a good idea?" Simon asked.
"We're launching it at the glacier." She said.
"That'll still sink the city, you know? The amount of force that thing would generate is enough to knock those fancy cables out of their placement." Brock said.
"That thing, along with the cluster missiles, is meant to cause as much damage as possible. There is no minimizing it." Simon said.
"What about if we just use the cluster missiles?" Red asked quietly. Her whole body felt numb but her heart throbbed with so much pain it was agonizing.
"That could work to a certain extent, that's if you manage to separate them from the actual missile first. That's impossible though." He said, not realizing that it just made them feel so much worse.
"Now hold your horses, what about that code we made?" Brock asked.
"What code?" Blake asked.
"We wrote a code just in case we wanted to minimize the damage at the last second. They must have incorporated it into the actual missile, otherwise the damned thing wouldn't work." He answered and the sound of notes shifting could be heard.
"Found it! Do you have seven people?" Simon asked. Blake looked at the dozen people in the room before nodding and sighing in relief.
"Yes." She answered.
"Good, you need two people at terminal five, one at terminal eight, and the last four at terminal one through four." Simon instructed.
She snapped her fingers and pointed; two people went to the middle row, one went to the row right in front of them, and the last four went to the row furthest from them. They sat down in the seats and waited their next instructions.
"They're at the terminals." She said.
"Good, now for terminal five, the code is 9-1-8-7. Terminal one's code is 5-7-3-4. Terminal two's code is 8-8-4-3. Terminal three's code is 9-1-3-6. Terminal four's code is simple, it's 2-1-8-7. Finally, terminal eight's code is 2-0-2-2. These will override the clearance level and allow you all to put the coordinates in." Simon instructed carefully.
The sound of buttons being pressed was heard and they all looked up to see the cluster missiles extend from the largest one, they spun around slowly before picking up speed and creating a loud swooshing noise.
"It's done. What next?" Jaune asked.
"There should be a big green button next to the control pad. Do you all see it?" Brock asked. The Gears looked at the button and nodded in unison.
"They see it." Jaune answered.
"Good, now it's important that they press the buttons simultaneously. Otherwise the damn thing will restart the launch sequence and you'll have to put the codes in again." Brock said.
"Got it." Jaune said and looked at each of them. He counted down from five slowly and they waited patiently before he closed his fist tightly. They all slammed the launch button in unison and all of them turned to see the cluster missiles start to spew out fire.
The cluster missiles suddenly sped into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke. They turned their heads to see the screen tracking the missiles progress and saw it getting closer to the glacier. When the first missile struck the glacier, it cracked it, but each one that exploded upon impact chipped it away little by little until suddenly a large crack was heard across the distance.
Large chunks of ice flew and slammed into the ground as the glacier broke and released the water that it was holding back. The flood of water sped towards Mantle and swept up anything unlucky enough to be caught in its violent current. Countless Locusts roaming the city started to run away as they were swept under the waves and drowned.
Water seeped into their tunnels and the cables connected to the bottom of Atlas jerked around from the force of being hit, but otherwise remained fine. Everyone knew that those cables weren't used for much, but for show for the most part. While some claimed it was keeping Atlas from floating off to space, most people didn't believe that lie and it was debunked later.
"Did it work?" Brock asked.
"It did... thank you." Blake closed her eyes and nodded.
"Hey, when you get the chance, tell the kid to see if he can bring missile here. While it'll cause some tension here, it's better safe in our hands than Atlas or in the Grubs." Brock said and they all went silent.
"Walker... he..." Red struggled to get out.
"He what?" Brock asked.
"We'll tell you later." Jaune quickly said and the silence returned.
"Alright... well tell him that I have a new weapon I need for him to test out." Brock said and the connection was cut shortly after, leaving them with nothing but the quiet room.
Nobody wanted to say anything and it eventually got to the point where they just dropped their heads in despair. Just the mere thought of Walker, their nearly invincible leader, in critical condition made their hearts sink. After several minutes of wallowing in shame and despair, they stood up to their feet and marked the missile for retrieval.
They ignored the stares and whispers as they made their way to through the hospital. The doctors and nurses moved out of the way, not daring to say a word to try and stop the Gears, especially the Obsidian and Onyx Guards. They had heard rumors that these people were living and breathing death machines, and they weren't too eager to be met with an early grave.
Two Obsidian Guards shoved an Ace Operative away roughly before they aimed their weapons at him. He stopped when he saw the others stare at him with lethal intent and backed away from them, disappearing down the hall and out of sight.
Red and Blake felt their hearts nearly shatter when they saw Walker's unconscious body being tended to in the ICU. The ones tending to him were Gears themselves and they flashed the two a look of pity before moving out of their line of sight. His head was wrapped in bandages and a ventilator mask over his face to help him breath properly. His left arm was wrapped in a cast from being broken while more bandages were around his torso.
"Oh man..." Jaune whispered as he stared at Walker. His battered and broken body was an awful sight to look at and he subconsciously gripped his pant leg.
"Red?" Blake looked at her and noticed her grip the collar of her shirt tightly.
"..." She just stayed silent as her hair covered her eyes. Tears started to slowly slide down her cheeks and she hiccupped briefly.
"Red... he's going to make it." Blake said.
"..." She just shook her head before walking off, rubbing the tears from her eyes. It was too painful to look at, to see him that hurt. She wondered what would've happened had she been there. If she didn't bring Lucas to the safe house and allowed him to charm her or the others, which in turn ended up causing Walker to send them somewhere else.
Had she been more cautious just like she's always been, then Walker wouldn't have been in the hospital. He would have been finding a way to help more people when he rested a bit. Her, Blake, and Jaune would've been by his side like they've always been and always will. She knew she should've just kept her mouth shut when Lucas revealed Sera to her.
"Red!" Blake called out and she looked up to see her quickly making her way to her along with Jaune.
"It's my fault." Red said quietly.
"Red, we all screwed up." Blake said.
"No, it's my fault because I-" Red choked out and cut herself off. It was rare to see her this upset, but they knew how much Walker meant to her. How much he meant to all of them.
"He'll make it. He always does." Blake reassured and sat next to her. Jaune did the same and they both pat her back several times, doing their best to comfort her. However, they too needed comfort because they were in equal amounts of pain as her.
The one person Jaune viewed as an older brother was possibly on death's doorsteps. A person that took him in, gave him a path to walk on until he found his own, and had told him multiple times that he was like family.
Blake held Walker in such high regards a majority of the time, both her and Red, he had given them a new life and made them to be the best people they could be. The both of them really-
Now wasn't the time to get caught up in those thoughts. All three needed to figure out the next step on what to do, it was time to take a page out of his book and apply what they learned from him.
"We need to kill Reed." Jaune whispered.
"Jaune, not now." Blake turned to him.
"He's right." Red muttered quietly.
"Now now." Blake said.
"So we're just going to let him live?" Red asked.
"No... we need to think this through. Figure out a way to get him far enough away from Atlas to where we won't immediately label ourselves as enemies." Blake answered.
"We need to take care of the civilians first though. Walker did promise the people from Mantle that they'd get a place to stay." Jaune said.
"How are we going to get Walker out?" Red asked as she stared in the direction of his room.
"We're transporting him when he's stabilized." Blake answered.
"So we have a plan?" Jaune asked.
"Walker's transport, civilians... then Reed's head." Red listed evenly. Whatever loyalty or childhood friendship she held for the man was washed away like Mantle below. To her, he was just another head to be collected.
"Have you figured out how you're going to kill him?" Blake whispered.
"Give me a day and I'll figure out how I'm going to collect his head." Red responded and put her hair behind her shoulders.
All three of them perked up when the medic approached them and informed them that he was transferred to another room. They quickly sprang up and carefully weaved their way through the crowd, eventually coming across his room and seeing the guards standing as still as statues, opening the door for them quietly.
The room was deathly silent with the exception of Walker's pained wheezing. His chest rose and fell deeply with each breath and they had to force themselves not to flinch when a particular painful breath met their ears. Red and Blake pulled up two chairs and pulled them up to him, sitting down and placing their hands in his right hand.
Jaune just sat at the other side on the chair and put his head in his hands, closing his eyes. The girls put their foreheads on Walker's forearm and silently prayed that he made a healthy recovery, closing their eyes and falling asleep shortly after.
Jaune helped load the last of the people heading to Mother Base into the transports. He watched as the people from Mantle left as did some of the former soldiers from Atlas. They felt their kingdom had failed them in more ways than one and were openly disgusted by the choices from its leaders.
After hearing the recording from between Walker and Lucas, all of the Gears openly despised the Ace Ops and treated them with nothing but hostility. Tensions were high but the former had managed to contain their hatred and focused on tending to the on people from Mantle. The soldiers that still remained loyal to Atlas would send their silent prayers to Walker.
He had done more for them in the span of a night than Ironwood and the Ace Ops had done in the last month. Soldiers of all ages had lost respect for the Ace Ops after what Harriet said about them and realized that they were no better than Huntsmen and Huntresses. Which prompted the ones stationed in Mistral to leave Atlas' army and join the Gears.
Despite bolstering the numbers of the Gears, they'd be under deep suspicion after the message was revealed. Extensive background checks would be done and if they turned out to be an informant or spy, then they'd be dealt with accordingly.
Jaune glanced over his shoulder and clenched his fists tightly when he saw Ironwood start to approach him, it took everything in his power not to draw his gun on him. He knew that wasn't what Walker would've wanted though. So he pushed aside his pride and let the man stand next to him, hiding his disgust just enough for him to notice.
It wasn't enough though because Ironwood could still feel it rolling off the younger boy's shoulders. If looks could kill then he would would be six feet under already with the stare he was being given.
"I'm sorry." Ironwood apologized.
"Why would you be?" Jaune asked.
"I shouldn't have let my pride get the best of me." Ironwood answered.
"It took you this long to realize that? To realize that we were here to help avoid a Locust takeover?" Jaune asked and turned to the General.
"Yes." Ironwood said shamefully.
"All you had to do was give us information regarding the Locust and cooperate with us. No, instead you sent a fucking informant to spy on us and cause a rift in between us." Jaune said as he shoved Ironwood away.
"That wasn't my intention." Ironwood shook his head.
"..." Jaune just glared at him before turning away and watching as Walker was inside a pod and carefully put inside of a heavily armored Bullhead. The Onyx Guard glanced at Ironwood in hatred and turned away as they entered the aerial vehicle.
"We would have kept him safe here." Ironwood said.
"Why? So you can get that little piece of shit to poke through his memories some more?" Jaune snapped.
"..." Ironwood just turned his head.
"We're not leaving Atlas completely." Jaune muttered.
"Why?" Ironwood asked.
"More information was revealed that the Locust possibly sealed off the tunnels before the water could flood all of them. Which means that they're still occupying Atlas and probably planning another attack soon. The job's not done, so neither are we." Jaune explained evenly.
"I suppose it's too much to ask for assistance?" Ironwood asked.
"We got bigger fish to fry and as much as we hate you all, we know that if Atlas is taken over then the war is practically lost." Jaune said.
"Then why are you all leaving?" Ironwood pointed to the Gears loading into the King Ravens and Bullheads.
"We need to recuperate and heal from what we went through. Unlike you, our leader was on the front lines and we need to make sure he's okay." Jaune answered and began to walk away.
Ironwood just watched him go and saw the Obsidian Guards drag Lucas away. He was gagged and a bag thrown over his head. His hands were bound together tightly and he struggled before he was kicked in the back of his knees and put on his knees.
As much as he wanted to intervene, he knew that if he did then not only would the Guards kill him as well, but they'd kill the Ace Ops. He's heard about the Obsidian Guards, they were considered legends among the Gears, but something was deeply wrong with them. So he allowed Reed to be taken into the custody of the Gears, just as Pyrrha was.
Atlas couldn't afford to loose what microscopic trust they had left with the mercenary group, especially if there was a chance of another attack. They already had a shaky relationship with the BSS, but if they lost the Gears then the BSS would leave too. The two companies had stuck with one another through the thick and thin, forging companionship through their shared conflicts.
"You're just going to let them take him?" Clover asked as he watched the Gears practically throw Lucas into the Bullhead.
"They have too much leverage over us, and if we didn't hand him over then they would reveal to the public about us knowing about the Locust's existence for over a decade." Ironwood answered.
"Understood." Clover nodded in understanding and looked at the many people. Mantle was a pyrrhic victory at best, and that was being optimistic. They had lost a major city, but at least it pushed the Locust back for some time, they didn't know how long though.
Atlas didn't have enough fighters and things needed to change, or else they wouldn't survive the next time the Locust showed up. There were over five hundred thousand people in Atlas now, fifteen thousand from Mantle alone, which would have been more had the Locust not invaded.
Dark times had fallen on Remnant and it would only continue to get worse as time passed.
Wow, a lot of people hated last chapter, huh? You're gonna hate this one as well, so sorry if you don't like it. Not every chapter is always going to be fantastic. Believe it or not, I've been receiving numerous PMs wanting me to rewrite the previous chapter.
I'm not rewriting the damn chapter because you didn't like it. I stick to my stones when I write my stories and tough titty if you didn't like an update.
I already know some people are going to bitch and complain about how I supposedly "nerfed" Walker this chapter and I'm here to tell you that I didn't. He's tired from the previous battles, lost his weapons, and doesn't have an aura. Not to mention Scorn is stronger than him physically so that's a factor to take into account.
Oh well, it's expected in hindsight.
Anyways, I've seen people be worried that he's going to become some rogue and lose the trust of his Gears and whatnot. Why would I go down that route? He's not invincible, he may be a badass sure, but he's not invincible. Him losing the trust of all his Gears means he has no support in order to get rid of the Locust... come on, be realistic.
Some of you said you might be reading too much into last chapter? Yeah, you kind of are. I'm not even going to sugar coat it and sorry if that sounds rude. I did say I wasn't going to filter what I say to people.
I'll see you guys in the nearby future. Hopefully.