Walker leaned against the headboard on his bed, a small pillow behind his back to act as a cushion. In front of him was a children's book and Amiya sat on his lap, staring at the pictures while he read the words to her. Nearly every evening or night, when he wasn't deployed somewhere, he would read a story to her. It was nice in its own way and there was little one could do to put him in a bad mood.
He stopped mid-sentence when he felt her slump against him while grabbing a fistful of his shirt. The book was closed and set on the nightstand to his right while he just slid her off of him gently. She was lowered onto the mattress and he a few pillows were placed around her to keep her from rolling off the bed. It was better safe than sorry; she already bumped her head once while crawling around and he didn't want anything like that to happen soon.
He crept out the room and walked down the hallway, entering the kitchen and opening the freezer. A small tub of ice cream was seen in the back and he looked at it before grabbing it and quietly tossing it on the counter. He fished through one of his cupboards above the counter next to the sink and grabbed a small bowl, grabbing a spoon out of the drawer and scooping a bit into the bowl.
Before he could actually enjoy it, a knock on his door made him sigh and walk towards it, cracking it open to see the other three on the other side. He barely had time to react before Red's nose picked up the scent of ice cream and her tail swished from side to side, smacking the back of Blake's knee several times. Jaune had a board game in his hands while Blake had a bag of something.
"Reason?" Walker asked.
"Games." Jaune answered.
"My shower broke and I wanted to know if I could use yours." Blake gave her answer.
"No reason, I just want to spend the night here." Red finally answered.
"You wake Amiya up and I'm kicking you all out the window." Walker said as he stepped away from the door and went to the kitchen area.
"Don't you mean the apartment?" Jaune asked.
"No." Walker answered and grabbed the bowl before sliding it to Red then grabbed another one for himself.
"I thought she went to bed at nine?" Red asked.
"It's nine-thirty." Walker said and she looked at her scroll to see that it was actually nine-forty. He sighed as he grabbed the bowl full of ice cream and slid onto the couch, leaning back and scooping a bit into his mouth. Blake sat to his left while Red sat to his right, staying a bit away from him while Jaune just sat in the chair to the side.
"Have you been to the arcade yet?" Jaune asked.
"What arcade?" Blake asked as she looked up from her book and at him.
"Walker built an arcade recently." He answered.
"I thought you weren't going to build anything recreational?" Red asked.
"I wasn't. Jaune was being a pest and apparently the kids around here are getting restless." Walker said as he leaned forward a bit and ate some of the ice cream. His face soured a bit and he didn't like the taste before he passed the bowl to Red.
"Come on, you admitted that you wanted one too." Jaune said.
"No, I didn't." Walker responded as he turned on the TV.
"Now that I think about it, there's not enough entertainment activities to do around here." Blake tapped her chin.
"There's a movie theater and an arcade, what more could people want?" He asked. There were times when they remembered that Walker wasn't necessarily a person who interacted with civilians too much. He only went to the commercial district or residential district when it was needed, for groceries and to pick up Amiya respectively. Nobody really saw him go there for enjoyment. Granted, he was still polite, but there were times when people felt like he was aloof.
A majority of his time was spent in the Command, Combat, Intelligence, R&D Platforms, or the Metal Throne. The only people he seemed to enjoy talking to was his Gears, the three of them, the BSS, and a few others. Before, he was usually upbeat and could lift anybody's spirits through his presence alone. After the deaths, he was generally more reserved and quiet. He wanted to be left alone for the most part; it was sad to think about sometimes because people knew he was hurting but he didn't want to let them in.
It didn't help that he had a severe unhealthy obsession with the Locust. Just as they decided to commit a genocidal war on humanity, he did the same for them. He didn't care how much damage he did in the process and the methods he used violated several human rights treaties. He was the living embodiment of a person who seemed to thrive off of war, despite how much he wanted it to end.
"I mean, some sports would be entertaining. I feel like people would be looking forward to something to either watch or listen to when out on the field." Jaune mentioned and Walker's face soured a bit.
His dad usually mentioned that he liked listening to the Thrashball games and was always a Cougars fan, often buying merchandise when he had a bit of extra money. One of his favorite things was a signed Thrashball from one of his favorite players. Walker made his personal mission to find it but never did after Jacinto was sunken below the depths. The only thing he managed to salvage from his home was a little notebook and he kept it on him constantly.
When he thought about it, he really didn't have too much to remember his parents by. Maybe three pictures in total of them and his dad's COG tags as well as his mom's pendant that she always had. Little things like that held no purpose other than sentimental value at this point but it was all he had left of them.
"You okay?" Blake asked.
"Just thinking." Walker dismissed and crossed his arms as he looked at the TV. There was news updating people about the daily life and what's been happening recently on the mainland. Although the Locust were possibly recovering and staging an attack, people were still looking for trivial things to do. He didn't necessarily care what Ozpin and his company did, so long as they stayed out of his way and helped him kill the Locust, he'd find a way home after that. His plan on leaving with Amiya didn't change and he longed to see the faces of his family.
"I saw that another platform was built." Red said.
"It is." He confirmed and switched the channel.
"And you're building another?" She raised an eyebrow.
"More homes, more people, more soldiers, more resources we can acquire, and more dead Grubs in the end." He listed.
"I've noticed that these platforms are being built faster than normal." Blake chimed in. She rested her head on the pillow on the left side of the couch and slung her legs over his lap.
"There's a reason I bought hundreds of knights and had them modified. The less heavy lifting our people have to do, the less accidents that are prone to happen." He replied.
"Aren't you worried about people not learning how to build, repair, and maintain the platforms?" Jaune asked.
"The more experienced workers are tasked with teaching the younger ones and the future generation as well. It's important to keep knowledge like this." Walker answered.
The three of them just looked at him, sometimes admiring how confident he seemed in things. Whenever things seemed to go south and they couldn't find hope, he was there to encourage people. Although, there were times when he let his darker aspects slip out. The absolute cruelty he held towards the Locust was unsettling. Whatever treaty was in place for wartime was blatantly ignored when it came to their underground counterparts.
He didn't care how much suffering he caused their species, his only goal was to annihilate them from the face of the planet by whatever means necessary. It's what made the Council and Atlas hesitant to get in the way of Walker's campaign against them. They knew that if they got in his way, he was well capable of getting rid of them. People had seen him take the fighting head on and knew that he wasn't an individual who cowered away. Sometimes they think that he enjoys it; to feel the sick sense of adrenaline course through his veins from the conflict.
Sometimes everyone thought that was a Locust wearing human skin.
The three of them shook their heads and turned when they heard the sound of small footsteps. Walker was the last to turn and saw Amiya waddling down the hallway with her arms up.
"Hey, you're supposed to be sleeping." He said as he stood up and walked around the couch, scooping her up into his arms and looking at her. She just rubbed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck before nestling her face into his shoulder. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep and he sighed before going back to the couch and sitting down.
"I want to hold her." Blake said as she tugged at Amiya.
"No." He replied instantly and adjusted himself .
"Come on, I know you're tired. Let me just hold her a bit." She said.
"The answer is still no." He said and lightly smacked her hand away.
"Fine..." She scoffed and rolled her eyes before returning back to her spot. Sometimes he was extremely protective of Amiya, to the point where they thought he would snap if anyone tried to touch her. To him, he was his responsibility and the other three couldn't help but admit that it was sweet in some way. When they saw him interact with her, he seemed to find a sense of happiness.
Something they wanted to see more of.
Theresa arrived at Ozpin's office with Myers and the two of them spotted the Headmaster's party already inside. They saw Walker already inside, sitting in a chair while two diplomats of the Gears stood off to the side, leaving as soon as she arrived. Her lips pressed together when she saw Ironwood but avoided saying anything.
"Ah, glad you could make it." Ozpin said.
"What's this about?" She asked.
"We're discussing the topic of reclamation of territory." Walker said as he nodded in greeting.
"Oh." She said as she pulled up a chair and sat down in it, scooting away from Qrow a bit.
"How much territory?" Myers asked as he crossed his arms. He knew that it was a fool's errand to try and reclaim a lot, and when he heard those few words, he often thought about Vacuo.
"Fourteen nearby settlements, by what the Commander has said. He's also talking about building a network of fortifications that all connect to Beacon." Ironwood said.
"Walker, do you know how much time that'll take? It'll take years at least." Theresa said.
"A year or two if we have the knights and personnel build." He responded.
"You're really trusting those rust buckets to defend these territories?" Qrow asked.
"I'm entrusting them to help build the network." Walker said.
"These settlements don't hold anything though. It's just abandoned territories that have been picked clean." Glynda said as she looked at the pictures. Each picture was nothing but a glimpse of an abandoned or somewhat destroyed territory, either done by the Grimm or the Locust. Some were even occupied by bandits who have managed to evade the Grubs and stealing from others.
"What's still standing?" He asked and they all looked at the pictures. There wasn't anything except empty buildings and things that could be seen as useless junk.
"Raw materials and seeds. There's also a lot of farming equipment." Myers said.
"That's not it, there's some machinery that hasn't been touched. It could be used to produce some manufactured products." Theresa added.
"Not to mention, the location. It's relatively close to Beacon and will allow us to relocate people there if needed. Don't think I don't notice that it's starting to get more crowded here." Walker said as he looked at Ozpin. The man stared at him intently and Walker did the same, neither one willing to break their gazes.
"Why are you telling us this?" Qrow asked.
"That's because I need your help. I'm not going to sacrifice all my Gears and the BSS to regain lost territory when I know the VDF and Atlas have troops waiting on standby." Walker answered. That was another reason as to why the BSS respected Walker so much, he never left them out of the loop and always made sure they at least benefited in some way.
It was why they were able to conduct operations efficiently against the Locust and Glowies, mainly the latter. When it all boiled down to it, the Gears still excelled at handling their underground counterparts. Nobody came close to them when it came to that aspect. Just as they excelled at creating and holding defensive positions. The only reason as to why the city fell was due to the Gears not having nearly as much manpower as they do now.
"What makes you think that I can just spare that kind of manpower?" Ironwood asked.
"You have nearly half a million people in Atlas before the fall of Mantle, and another several thousand after. I'm not asking for your entire army because I don't want it. I'm asking for some manpower to reclaim territories and defend them." Walker explained calmly.
"..." Ironwood stared at Walker and sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose before rubbing his beard. He hasn't found the time to shave recently due to always finding a way to tackle whatever problem decided to come out of the dark.
As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew deep down that he was no match for Walker's expertise regarding the Locust. For the first time in a long time, he was actually intimidated by these beasts. He's dealt with Grimm of all shapes and sizes, but they were no match for the amount of evil the Grubs displayed. These abominations were straight out of a nightmare; they didn't want land, they didn't want resources, they didn't even want to talk.
Their main goal was the suffering and annihilation of humanity. As opposed to the Grimm, they weren't idle about it and were quick to capitalize on people's fear and confusion. Ironwood had nightmares sometimes when he first saw what they did to an unfortunate Atlas soldier through his helmet; taking their time torturing the man before ending his life by ripping him apart. It wasn't even for information either; it was simply to take joy in his suffering and death.
"You're not seriously thinking about this?" Qrow asked skeptically. He wasn't on board with the whole reclaiming territory and attaching it to Beacon. Too much could go wrong with it and he had seen what the Locust were capable of.
"We need to have some sort of foothold on this war, Qrow. We're backed into a corner at this time and it's only a matter of time before they come back and we won't have anything standing if they succeed in their attack." Ozpin said.
"Fine, whatever." Qrow rolled his eyes as he leaned on a part of the wall.
"Three-thousand personnel." Walker said.
"That's too steep." Ironwood shook his head.
"I'm not going lower." Walker responded as he leaned forward a bit.
"That's three thousand less to defend Atlas if another attack comes. You and I both know they'll come back to Atlas to finish the job." Ironwood shot back.
"How many do you have that are willing to join?" Walker asked.
"How does that have to do with anythi-" Glynda started but stopped when he held a hand up.
"Too little." Ironwood answered.
"Then make them. If you don't then I will." Walker said. His voice was straight to the point, no-nonsense, and held a hint of malevolency in it surprisingly.
"It's not that easy." Ironwood said.
"You're the general of the world's largest and possibly strongest military... act like it." Walker ordered and he didn't care if he sounded like an asshole now. His goal was to eradicate the Grubs and it was getting harder and harder, especially when the leaders on the mainland weren't doing their jobs correctly.
He knew Ozpin knew more than he let on but he didn't care anymore. So long as he stayed out of Walker's way and assisted in the war then he wasn't concerned with whatever problems the old man had. They weren't going to have another opportunity to branch out and gain more power unless the other leaders pulled their heads out of their asses and made an effort. It was hard enough pulling a majority of the weight, and he didn't want to be too absent from Amiya's life.
"We'll assist with the humanitarian aid and wellbeing of the inhabitants." Theresa chimed in after a while. She knew that Walker and Myers were constantly busy, both men finding different ways to combat their enemy and train more troops to fight. They had a deep respect for one another through several occasions.
"Thank you." Walker nodded in appreciation. The BSS were the main ones he was grateful for since they lessened the load on his shoulders.
"We'll provide assistance in the security and intelligence regarding the Glowie plague." Myers added.
"Much appreciated... I hate to cut this short but I have to call Amiya and wish her goodnight." Walker said as he excused himself.
"How is little Ms. Daichi-" Ozpin started but stopped when Walker glared at him from over his shoulder.
"She's not that deadbeat's daughter and she's none of your concern." He said instantly. Everyone quickly caught the hidden threat and backed off.
"How is the little tike though?" Myers asked.
"She's good. Growing up big and strong, thanks for the advice on getting her to sleep better. I was struggling for a while." Walker thanked sincerely. His tone was more friendly when it came to Theresa and Myers.
"It's not a problem. I didn't know if it would work on her like it did on my son." Myers dismissed.
"How is Tommy?" Walker asked.
"He's doing great. Started second grade yesterday. I owe you one for letting him enroll in that school." Myers thanked as he pulled out his scroll and showed Walker. His son was in a small uniform, his hair was a bit messy but he looked neat otherwise.
"You should see Abigail." Theresa chimed in as she took out a picture of her and Abigail together. The latter looked surprisingly happy despite Walker's initial assumptions and it was a stark contrast to what she looked like when he first met her years ago.
"I take it you and Michael have her looking spiffy?" Walker asked.
"Are you sure you're only twenty-two? That's a word us older people use." She commented.
"I'm sure." He nodded and looked at more pictures the two leaders showed him; he even brought out his scroll and showed them some pictures of Amiya.
The other four in the room only looked at one another as they watched them interact. If they didn't know any better, they would have sworn they were just normal people discussing how they've been doing lately. None of them had kids, Qrow could say he did since he was watching over his nieces, but they forgot that the other three were people at the end of the day. They had people waiting for them back home and it was foolish to think otherwise.
They were usually so no-nonsense when it came to work that they assumed that was their whole personality. Yet, here they were discussing pictures of their kids like it was another day.
A buzzing on the scroll made everyone look at theirs until Walker fished his out of his pocket and saw that it was Blake. He answered it and balanced it on his shoulder and chin while writing something down on the notepad.
"Hey, Blake... whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down..." He said as he scribbled something down and ripped it off before walking to Ozpin.
"Commander, can this-" Ozpin stopped when Walker held up his hand.
"No, she won't go to bed if you don't read her something with pictures. She likes the Detective Hare series." Walker said as he stuffed the notepad in his pocket and tapped the paper several times.
"..." Everyone was silent as they just listened to their conversation, faintly hearing whining in the background.
"There should be a few books in the living room. Either that or ask Jaune since his youngest sister likes those books too." He continued and paced around the room. The scroll away from the side of his head and tapped a few buttons, pulling up the video and seeing Blake's face appear. She was in his living room with Amiya next to her on the sofa. Both were in their pajamas and the toddler held the remote in her hand, pressing a few buttons but nothing happened since the batteries were taken out.
"Which one does she like the best?" Blake asked as she flipped the camera around and showed him a few books spread out on the coffee table.
"The second one-" He stopped when Amiya leaned against Blake and fell asleep instantly.
"So much for that." Blake sighed as she put the book down.
"Did she go to the bathroom?" He asked.
"Yes." She answered.
"Food?" He asked.
"She ate before we washed up and brushed her teeth. I just needed help getting her to sleep. She's been restless since you've been gone." She said as she stretched a bit.
"Yeah, I'll be back soon." He said.
"You better." She said.
"I know what you're going to say next, and I'll be safe." He voiced her thoughts before she could say them out loud.
"Good... well, I'm tired and it's late. So goodnight." She waved.
"Alright, goodnight." He waved back.
"Goodnight, Blake." Theresa's voice came from his right.
"Goodnight, Theresa." Blake said back.
"Goodnight, Ms. Belladonna." Myers said politely from Walker's left.
"Goodnight, Myers." She said back politely.
"You want to say goodnight to Ozpin and his company?" Walker asked lightly.
"..." Blake just gave him an unamused look before suddenly hanging up and he laughed quietly.
It was so... unfamiliar to hear him laugh that Ozpin and the others thought they were dreaming or hallucinating. He never laughed nor seemed to smile all to much often, not that they ever seen his face, but it was clear how close he was to Blake and the others.
"Well, I'm tired too and I want to get some sleep. So bye." Walker said as he turned around and waved at them from over his shoulder. Theresa and Myers agreed and followed him shortly after, entering the elevator with him.
The doors closed and the four in the office were left with an unfamiliar silence.
Ruby, Yang, and Weiss sat in a Bullhead and tiredly looked out the window. The two sisters saw that they were on Patch and wondered how long it's been since they've been home. Too long in their opinion, but they weren't here on leave, they were here because they were doing a mission with Walker, Red, and Cardin. It wouldn't have been so bad had they not been wearing uncomfortable camouflage clothing.
Apparently the Gears had more resources than what the girls originally thought, and that heavy armor wasn't the only thing they possessed. It explained why they were so successful in their missions. No matter how much the VDF tried to compete, they just weren't on par with the Gears in effectiveness. The mercenary company didn't know how much it put Vale's army down, whether it was intentional or not. Everyone paid attention to the Gears or the BSS, and nobody really paid attention to them.
They were brought out of their thoughts when they arrived at a spot covered in tall grass and other spots of deep foliage. Unfortunately, they knew what they were doing and jumped out, landing on the ground and the Bullhead ascended before suddenly flying off. The clouds above their heads was something they had always seen now and wondered when the last time there was a sunny day.
Ruby froze when the barrel of a gun was placed at the back of her head while Yang and Weiss did the same. Before they could react, it was brought away and they looked to see three individuals covered in clothing that consisted of loose strips of burlap, cloth, and twine. It blended in with the background and they didn't even spot them when they were landing, and it was the same type of clothing they wore.
"I told that idiot to drop you off at the designated location." A familiar voice met their ears and they quickly recognized it as Walker's.
"He said something about running low on fuel." Yang shrugged.
"Bullshit." Walker shook his head and looked at the time before gesturing for them to crouch.
"Is Jessica here?" Ruby asked.
"The kid's aboard the Saving Grace." He answered as he continued to crouch through the grass. The others followed him quietly, very faintly feeling the grass shift around from their movement. Nothing but grass was seen for a while but Walker knew that their destination was a lighthouse a couple of miles away. Locust were rumored to be on the island and he wanted to confirm whether it was true or not. If they were on then they'd be dealt with accordingly, if not, then they'd finish helping the VDF establish their forces here.
"Hold up, Boss." Cardin whispered as he stopped, causing the others to do the same.
"I see them." Walker whispered back as he spotted two individuals in the distance. They were covered in shoddy camouflage and he narrowed his eyes a bit before slowly bringing out his Longshot.
"I thought they couldn't be here?" Jaune asked as he looked at the two snipers on top of a hill.
"You're not talking about who I think you're talking about?" Yang asked, slightly louder than what she thought. She was quickly shushed harshly, but quietly, and clamped her mouth shut.
"Jaune, get a drone up in the sky." Walker ordered quietly and the blonde nodded before reaching in his pocket and grabbing a small drone. It shot up in the sky almost silently and he brought out a scroll, gaining a bird's eye view and spotting a group of Locust moving somewhere. However, the two snipers on the hill were isolated from the rest of the horde.
"Their by themselves." Jaune informed.
"On my mark." Cardin said as he aimed at the Locust to the right. He waited several seconds before firing once from his Longshot. The suppressed shot entered and exited the first Grub's skull while the other one quickly stood up. It opened its mouth but nothing managed to get out in time. Blood sprayed in the air and on the grass while its body collapsed to the ground with a dull thump.
"We're clear." Walker announced as he began to crouch through the tall grass. His tone barely above a whisper but it was clear through their specialized earpieces; another piece of the many gadgets the Gears possessed. The girls were starting to think that they had more than they let on.
The others followed him, remaining at a reasonable distance but still close enough for them to be comfortable. This wasn't their first mission with him, but it was their first one that required them to actually remain silent. They weren't here to cause mayhem like during raids, this was merely reconnaissance and allowing them to expand their horizons when it came to their capabilities.
It was the Colonel who had recommended them for this and they were eager to prove themselves. If they were lucky then they'd get to go to somewhere with a bit more life, like Menagerie. Even aboard the Saving Grace if they had the chance. Anything to get out of Vale.
After a while of crouching, they came across a road that was used for a wide range of vehicles. It was cracked in some places and weeds grew on the sides but it was still in relatively good conditions despite it being years since someone's maintained it. Yang had taken it countless times when she would ride her bike, something she dearly missed and decided that was the first thing she'd do when the war was over. Unfortunately, that'd be a while with all the abominations that plagued this world.
Walker suddenly went prone and the others followed suit. Just before they could ask him what the issue was, they saw it in the distance. A large convoy of Locust with cargo in the middle. Ruby and Yang felt an unfamiliar sense of anger boiling in their systems and the latter was about to stand up but Weiss quickly stopped her. She understood what the blonde was going through, but now wasn't the time to be so hotheaded. There were dozens of Locust that they could see in front of them and no telling how many were further down the road.
A Drone must have seen movement to the side because it stopped and set the crate in its arms down. It grabbed its Hammerburst and started to walk down the side of the road, keeping its footing on the slightly damp hill. A few others watched it start to walk towards the area the six of them were at and it stopped, scanning the slightly tall grass field carefully.
"Easy... conceal your weapons... no sudden movements... if you're going to move then do it slow and steady..." Walker's voice crackled quietly on the radio. It sounded slightly hoarse and gruff, but it had a calming effect to it somehow and they did what he was told. He held his breath as the Locust walked next to him, stepping near him and Cardin. It sniffed the air deeply and looked around before its eyes locked onto Ruby's camouflaged figure.
The tension was suffocating at this point and she held her breath deeply while remaining absolutely still. Her muscles tensed as she forced herself to mask whatever fear gripped her soul and she closed her eyes.
When it didn't smell anything or see anything, it turned around and started to walk back to its spot. However, it stopped when it saw a baby rabbit flop around before picking it up and squeezing tightly. It squeaked and struggled before going silent and limp as it placed its head in its mouth and bit down. Raw flesh and blood caked its horrible teeth and some of it splattered against the soil.
The Drone walked back to its spot in the convoy with its new snack, briefly kicking a Wretch in the jaw when it tried to snap and swipe its food away. It didn't take long for the convoy to resume and the six of them waited patiently for the next several minutes. After a while, it ended and they slowly got up from their spots before looking around to make sure nothing was left.
"Good thing we didn't engage." Jaune commented.
"We're not supposed to yet. We need more information. Come on, we can crawl through the drain pipe underneath the road." Walker said as he went back into the prone position and crawled on the damp ground. The other five followed him in a single file line, with the girls cringing at the feeling of mud caking their torsos. It didn't help that there was leftover trash from whoever left it.
"What do we do when we get to the lighthouse?" Weiss asked.
"You three are going to spread out and find important points of interest and document them. We're going to do the same." He answered as he crawled through the grass, getting his legs a bit wet from the mud but he didn't even care in the slightest.
"Then what?" Yang asked.
"We send in the Destroyers to exterminate the fuckers." He said as he continued to crawl towards the destination.
"Sounds badass." She said.
"Grass is taller in this area, we can crouch the rest of the way there." He said as he got up from his prone position and began to crouch. A broken stone wall was taken cover behind and he looked at the road before observing a few Locust scouting the area, or they were simply on patrol.
Cardin grabbed a device out of his pouch and held it up in front of him. It pinged several times and he looked at the abandoned buildings in front of them before spotting nothing. There wasn't a single trace of movement and he sighed in relief, especially when that meant no Tickers or Wretches. Those were always the two enemies he loathed with a passion. The latter took Dove's life...
Walker slid away from the stone wall and began to walk in the small street in between the houses to the side of the road and continue to make his way up a large hill that overlooked the coast and a large road that curved towards the lighthouse. To their right was a cliff that had a higher elevation and overlooked the lighthouse from a different angle, this time allowing them to look at the sea and pier on the other side of the building. He gave a curt whistle and caught the attention of the girls.
All three of them looked at him and he pointed towards the cliff. Ruby nodded before having the other two follow her towards the location while lied down on the ground and he just set up his Longshot on the bipod before aiming in. He set a little notepad next to him on the ground and put a pen on top.
Jaune and Cardin sat down on their rears while bring out some binoculars. Their bodies were low to the ground to continue to conceal their presence.
"Front gate is heavily guarded." He said before writing it down.
"There's a cage full of Tickers near the parking lot to the west of the lighthouse." Cardin said as he looked through the binoculars. He adjusted the zoom a bit before writing it down on his own notepad.
"Heads up, the Grubs at the front gate switched rotations." Jaune informed as he saw two Boomers take the place of the Drones at the front. He quickly wrote it down before writing the time down as well, every detail was crucial.
"There's a boat arriving. I forgot they knew how to drive." Weiss said.
"Write it down." Walker ordered quietly.
"We don't have anything to write it down on." She responded and the disappointment in his sigh made everyone falter.
"Jaune, go take her my notepad so she and the other two can write the information." He drawled and Jaune nodded before swiping the notepad up and crouch-walking to Weiss, handing her the notepad and pen before returning back to his spot.
For the next forty-five minutes, they wrote down nearly every detail about the lighthouse stronghold. Every exit, guard rotation during this time, how many there were estimated to be inside and outside the compound. Not a single detail was spared and all was going well; the weather was on their side fortunately and the wind was blowing against them. If it was blowing towards the Locust then they would've caught their scent if they focused hard enough.
"Hold up, we got something." Cardin notified and they all looked towards the entrance to the lighthouse. They saw a group of people being shoved outside roughly. A circle was formed by dozens of Drones and Grenadiers, all of them shouting their terrible roars and insults. Saliva dripped off their fangs in excited bloodlust and they could only watch as each one took turns torturing the people.
"We have to do something." Ruby said.
"Stand down." Walker ordered instantly.
"Are you serious? Look at them down there." Yang looked at him.
"I can see them. There's nothing we can do though." He responded calmly. There were too many down there and that didn't include the Grimm they saw stored away somewhere. Once they fire, they had to fight their way out and there was a chance that the prisoners wouldn't even have the chance to escape.
"We have to try. If we give them an opening then we can-" Ruby started.
"Then what? Once you firing at the first one, there's no telling how they'll react. There's a chance the prisoners won't even know what's going on and they'll either end up being tortured somewhere else or killed right then and there. We'll stir up the hornet's nest for no good reason." He interrupted.
"So we're just going to leave them?" Weiss asked.
"We have no choice. I'm not going to risk our position and lives. Not this time." He said and he was well aware how cruel he sounded. Nothing was stopping him from having them all fire into the people and put them out of their misery, but if he did that then the Locust would know that they're there somewhere and extraction would be ten times harder. Not to mention they didn't have the necessary firepower or support to take on this many and come out on top.
"So you're just going to leave them like you did with Velvet?" Yang asked bitterly. Walker froze, as did Cardin and Jaune, both at what she said and what they feared what Walker was going to do. Ruby and Weiss slapped their hands over Yang's mouth and the blonde realized her mistake but it slipped out faster than she could reign it in.
The tension was thicker than when that Drone walked near them, but they could sense the aura of malice and anger that rolled off of Walker's shoulders. His grip on the Longshot tightened considerably and he felt like it could snap at any moment. People knew that he didn't have aura, but he was an extremely strong individual regardless. Stories of him ripping Wretches, and sometimes Drones, in half weren't false.
If he was strong enough to rip them in half then they feared what he could do to a regular person, regardless if they had aura or not.
"We've got enough for now." Walker said calmly, too calmly in their opinion. His voice was devoid of all traces of his humanity and he didn't even look at Yang.
"Shit... hey, look-" She tried to say but she was silenced by her sister and Weiss.
"We'll rendezvous with the transport at Stone top Ridge. Let's move." He ignored her attempts and collected his things. His footsteps were utterly quiet as he walked off and both Cardin and Jaune looked at Yang before shaking their heads in disappointment.
Yang on the other hand felt like absolute shit and she knew what she said was wrong. It was just that she was so upset that about recent events and that the Locust were at her doorstep that she wasn't thinking straight. Ruby shook her head and Weiss hit her in the side of her stomach before walking past her.
"Goddammit..." She muttered and quietly left her spot. Nothing was left behind fortunately but the screams of the tortured in the distance continued to reach her ears and sear its way into her mind.
It was at this moment did she realize that war truly was hell and they couldn't save everyone. She wanted to desperately believe that they could save everyone, just like Ruby did, but that wish was slowly starting to fade away. Forming bonds was next to impossible because the people she always talked to were always away or they died. All her old childhood friends were either to make ends meet at Beacon or dead.
A part of her felt jealous at the Gears too, because that's all everyone talked about. Sure they gave her and the other two praise for delivering the bomb, but the rest went to the Gears and mainly Walker. It was to be expected, since he was the leader of one of the strongest factions on Remnant; so much that not even the council wanted to touch him. If they did something then not only would his Gears retaliate, the BSS would too. Not all of his Gears were necessarily sane and she was sure a few of them had a few screws loose.
That could be said about all of them. It took a different type of person to go head to head with genocidal monsters and want to go back for more. They had the best pay, the best standard of living, and even the best equipment and supplies. That came with hard work though. Even though they had all that, they still were the ones who took the fight to the monsters and constantly adapted.
"Yang, let's go." Ruby called out.
"Coming." She shook her head to clear her thoughts and followed the others. She just knew that she was going to get chewed out when they got back to Beacon, it was to be expected...
Hello, here's another chapter for you all. I don't have much to say other than thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.
Bye.