Chapter 32
Ironwood sent all the Knights to a dance where the Elite of Atlas gathered with the students who were about to graduate. There was fear that the Sith had infiltrated, but the fears were not fulfilled. Winter Schnee arrived back at Atlas.
Roman Torchwick was on his first mission. It was a simple one. He was setting up programs on the computers that were most at risk for Sith hackers. It dropped one of his burglary crimes from the record. He double-checked his work and leaned back.
"Still got it." Roman said. He still had time, so he found himself looking over some files that he got as part of his new job. He left the room carefully so as not to leave any tract he was there. He got out of the facility, one of the many facilities that kept Atlas in the air. He got to his stealth ship and pulled out the map of Solitas.
"Atlas and Mantle are covered by the shielding. If there are Sith here, there can't be many. Qrow's not back yet from taking care of that ruin." Roman said. He looked at everything he had. Some of the outlying cities were probably where the Sith would gather their forces.
"I really need to get that team Ironwood promised me." Roman said. He brought up his feed of the cameras in the cities most likely to be attacked by the Sith, including the few that have already been attacked by terrorists, most likely Sith.
There was nothing yet. Roman went back to Ironwood shortly after to report in. He had to use a different entrance than everyone else because of his infamy. Roman knew that the mission he went on was way too simple.
"The new programs are in?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes, they are Tin Man." Roman said. He knew it pissed Ironwood off, and Ironwood knew he knew it as well. They both knew that Ironwood could throw him in prison at any moment, but they also both knew that would mean Torchwick won. Something that Ironwood would never allow.
"Qrow reported back that he found evidence of Sith at the ruins. But that they aren't there now." Ironwood said.
"Bet he left all the good stuff behind as well. You know if you sent me there, I'd have the information and the riches." Roman said.
"But you don't have allies." Ironwood said.
"Not my fault." Roman said.
"I understand that. I have a few applicants I want you to look over." Ironwood said.
"If they're coming from the military you're not thinking right." Roman said before picking it up.
"The military does have some… less than savory characters in it." Ironwood said.
"Gods, I'd never thought I'd hear you say something bad about the military." Roman said. He looked through some of the applicants. He was focused on the reasons they were here.
"I understand some of them won't fit." Ironwood said.
"You're telling me. I need professionals, not sociopaths." Roman said. He opened a file and looked up at Ironwood.
"Really? What's he going to do?" Roman said. Ironwood looked at the picture and couldn't agree more.
"At this rate, I may need to find people on my own." Roman said.
"They'd have to meet some standards. Keep looking. There are a few more missions on the board. Once you have a team, there will be even more on the board that you can do alone, or together." Ironwood said.
"I'll see if I can find some gold in this pile of shit you gave me, but don't hold out hope." Roman said.
"The team shouldn't be large." Ironwood said.
"So, what are we, black ops? It seems like we're the opposite of your ace ops." Roman said.
"I have needs everywhere." Ironwood said.
Neo was being good. Mostly. Business was starting to slow down a bit. She had most of the contacts that Torchwick did, but she had a few things that limited her reach. She could pretend to be Torchwick through text and always had to make excuses for him. His training and missions were cutting heavily into his underworld operations time.
She was walking the halls of Atlas Academy, in her Atlas disguise. She was only here because she ran out of meetings to do today. She decided to see what they were serving for lunch here. They had a heavier lunch for today as it was the last day of the school week. It was a mostly meat dish, one of many that were so common in Atlas.
"Hello there, Neo." Oscar said, appearing next to her. Neo almost jumped but stopped herself.
"What are you doing here?" Neo signed as she got the dish. Oscar got it as well.
"I just saw you around." Oscar said. They paid for the food and found a seat.
"Are you Jedi following me?" She asked.
"No. I just saw you in the halls." Oscar signed.
"So you followed me." Neo signed back.
"I just wanted to check in on you." Oscar signed before taking a bite of the dish.
"Why?" Neo asked.
"Do I need a reason?" Oscar asked back.
"You know who I am. Your friends probably hate me. You don't have to be nice to me." Neo signed.
"I don't have to be. But why wouldn't I be?" Oscar asked. That stopped Neo in her tracks.
"You don't have a thing for me, right?" Neo asked. Oscar put up his hands but couldn't hide a blush. Neo didn't like that from him.
"Why is that where your mind first went to?" Oscar asked. Oh. He's just embarrassed about the question. Hopefully. Yeah, Oscar had a charm to him, but that 'I'm a boy who has even said a bad word in my life' kind of charm. Innocent and the kind of person she trained to steal from. But she didn't try because she didn't know if the force would give him a warning.
"You're being way too nice." Neo signed.
"You haven't done anything to me that would make me think being rude is okay." Oscar said. "You're a person too you know."
Neo was taken aback by that comment. Yes, of course she knew she was a person. Others... didn't. Especially not his friends. Though that was probably because she tried to kill Yang, and fought all of them before. She wasn't going to apologize for that. She was doing her job.
"I know I'm a person." Neo signed. She didn't get why she was being treated so nicely. People didn't do that for others. Not without either being too naïve for their own good, or for hidden ulterior motives. She didn't assume that Oscar had ulterior motives... but he was a teenage boy. And he was talking to a hot and dangerous woman. He did say he wasn't into that but she didn't know how much she trusted those words.
"What are you playing at here?" Neo asked.
"Nothing." Oscar signed. Neo looked at Oscar. She couldn't see any deception to him. He seemed genuine.
"People aren't just nice for no reason. Do you think I'm some sort of charity case?" Neo asked. There was that option. Some people felt so fucking bad for the poor mute girl who just never got to have her prince fucking charming come and save her. She had met a few of that type. She hated them the most.
"I'm just saying hi. Nothing else." Oscar said. Neo looked away from Oscar. He must have been naïve then. But he was a Jedi. But he was also young. If she needed to she could use this to her advantage. What boy his age wouldn't want to have someone like her around? She looked back at him and saw he was still looking at her concerned.
"What?" Neo asked.
"Are you okay?" Oscar asked.
"You're very nosy you know." Neo signed back at him.
"Sorry." Oscar said.
"Where are you from, because it obviously isn't a city." Neo asked.
"A farm in Mistral." Oscar signed back. Neo shook her head.
"That makes sense. You are just a naïve farm boy." Neo said. After he read her signs, he took a deep sigh. His face grew darker. He leaned back in his chair. Something was weighing him down heavily.
"I've killed people." Oscar said. There was guilt behind his eyes that Neo caught. Neo wished she didn't feel anything at that confession. But there was something. She didn't know exactly what it was. Maybe she felt his vulnerability.
"I have too." Neo signed back. Oscar shook his head.
"We both know what that does to you then." Oscar signed.
"I guess we do." Neo signed back.
They ate quickly and got up.
"Neo, I don't think you're irredeemable." Oscar said. That stopped Neo.
"There's always one of you out there. I don't need to be saved. I chose this life." Neo signed. She didn't know why that hit so much closer to home than she would like to have admitted.
"Every life is precious. Yours is included in that." Oscar said. Neo didn't say anything to that. Oscar left. She didn't know why that simple sentence annoyed her so much.
Qrow was at the ruins, checking everything out. He had cleared the Grimm out in front of the ruins and decided it was the right time to go down. He needed to find out what was in there. Right before he went into the ruins he heard a noise behind him. A ship landed. The doors opened and five people left the ship.
"Are you Qrow Branwen?" The leader of the group said. He looked them up and down. They were Hunters, he could tell. They were Atlesian Hunters. They wore white, red, and blue. Three men and two women. One of them was a faunus.
"Who the hell are you?" Qrow asked.
"General Ironwood thought you could use some help with this. We're the Ace Ops." The leader said. "I'm Clover Ebi."
"Do any of you have a connection to the force?" Qrow asked.
"None of us are trained to use it like the Jedi are, but we all have some skill with it." Clover said.
"That might just do. Come on." Qrow said.
"Before you go in, the rest of the ace ops are Marrow Amin, Elm Ederne, Vine Zeki, and Harriet Bree." Clover said. They were standing in order, so Qrow was able to easily recognize them.
They entered the ruin. It was old, and the others were starting to look for anything on the walls that could tell them when this ruin was created.
The Grimm were everywhere here. The further down the group went, the more Grimm appeared.
"Look for any artifacts of writings you see. Anything that can help us determine if the Sith were using this as a base." Qrow said.
"We know how this works." Elm said.
"Good. If you find any Sith artifacts don't touch them. Leave them where you found them. The older the artifact the stronger the pull from the dark side." Qrow said.
"This isn't our first mission." Clover said.
The group spread out as they searched the ruins. All they found along the way were more Grimm.
Qrow found a wall near the bottom of the ruins and took out his lightsaber to read the characters on it that he didn't recognize. Which meant these weren't Sith. He heard a noise come from behind him. He spun around and saw a group of Sabyr Grimm. He was surrounded by them.
The first pounced. Qrow turned to the side and brought his lightsaber up, slicing the first one in half. He heard the noise of a group of Razor Wing Grimm.
"How many are down here?" Qrow asked. He swung his lightsaber again, decapitating a Sabyr Grimm. He brought his hand forward and sent a force wave, knocking many of the Grimm back.
"Whatever is behind that door must be attracting the Grimm." Qrow said.
"Close your eyes." Marrow shouted down to Qrow. He covered his eyes and felt the grenade go off. There was a flash that killed some of the more annoying Grimm they were facing. Qrow looked up.
"We got something down here." Qrow said.
"A few hundred Grimm." Marrow said. Qrow brought his lightsaber around, cutting into the body of another Sabyr Grimm. He saw the jump he needed to make. He gathered the force and jumped. Marrow stretched out his hand and grabbed Qrow, bringing him up easily.
"There's a wall down there with a text on it I can't even begin to read." Qrow said.
"Is it one of the old languages of Remnant or an Alien language?" Marrow asked.
"How would I know?" Qrow asked.
"Were you able to get a picture of it?" Marrow asked. He took out his weapon, Fetch, and started shooting at the Grimm that were moving toward the massive hole.
"We're not going to get down there like this. It'd probably take Ruby to take all of them out." Qrow said.
"Ruby Rose, your niece?" Marrow asked.
"Yes." Qrow said.
"The Silver eyes?" Marrow asked.
"How much do you five know about that?" Qrow asked as he looked into the hole. He raised his hand and sent out force lightning at the Grimm. Marrow stepped back from Qrow. The Grimm moved back down.
"Why do you do that?" Marrow asked.
"It's a tool. It keeps them back." Qrow said. "Now answer my question."
"We don't know much. We know that at Argus, Ruby used some power to kill the overcharged Leviathan." Marrow said. A Sabyr Grimm jumped up, but Qrow just raised his lightsaber. The Grimm landed headfirst into the blade.
"We should move away. Mark this place though." Qrow said. They stepped away from the hole in the ground, and Marrow brought out his scroll. The team was making a 3D map as they moved to different parts of the ruins. Marrow added a caution symbol above where they were. He also put a question mark over the hole.
"We've got a few places of interest." Marrow said. Qrow took his scroll out and looked. He had gotten the map as well. But since he wasn't using the program they were, he could only see their work.
"If we can get back in there and discover what those ruins say, we may be able to mark this off our list of concerns." Marrow said.
"I'm not thinking the Sith are here. I don't sense the same evil as I do with other Sith ruins." Qrow said.
"But we know they're here." Marrow said.
"They're hiding. Like they always do." Qrow said.
"There are still things here." Marrow said.
"Yes, there are. Which is why I didn't say just to blow the whole place away." Qrow said.
The six left the ruins disappointed.
"Just Grimm." Elm said.
"I've been wondering. Does Ironwood have drones that can look underground?" Qrow asked.
"There are those mining probes." Vine said.
"Those are looking too far and are way too slow. At Menagerie, the Sith and the White Fang made a massive underground base, which was hidden in plain sight." Qrow said.
"I read some of the reports." Clover said.
"I'm wondering if the troops we suspect of already arriving are doing something similar. It wouldn't have to be too deep down. Let's say two hundred meters down." Qrow said.
"We'd have to check with the General on that one." Clover said.
"I might be off with that one. They could be putting their troops in some of the unclaimed zones." Qrow said.
"Most of those are even more frozen than right here." Marrow said.
"I know. But if we can find where they're staging we can pre-emptively strike at them." Qrow said.
"That is a massive if." Elm said.
"I'm just trying to think how they're handling this. Is there any possibility they have an underwater city?" Qrow asked. "I know that's a massive long shot, but that would explain where they are."
"How would we even find an underwater city?" Harriet asked.
"Rosa talked about her home planet before, Naboo. They have a species on the planet called Gungans. She told us about the massive underwater cities they have. Massive hydrophobic bubbles that keep the water out." Qrow said.
"I don't think we have that kind of technology." Vine said.
"Not on large scales like that. But I wonder… there are a lot of underwater caves, right? We know they have access to Faunus who can breathe underwater. They have Grimm that could hollow out the caves. They could easily get explosives and droids. Draining a cave like that shouldn't be too hard if they use the right calculations." Qrow said.
"You've thought about this a lot." Elm said.
"Mostly thinking out loud right now. We know they are coming here. We know they aren't here yet. They have to be somewhere. We have searched the cities and ruins and still found nothing. We're missing something." Qrow said.
"I do see the logic in that." Clover said.
"Why wait so long to make a move?" Vine asked.
"They must know about the shields that cover Atlas and Mantle. Their main objective is the maiden power and relic. They will destroy Atlas and Mantle to get those two things." Qrow said.
"Which is why Atlas and Mantle are having the massive defensive upgrades, and why we have so many military units here." Harriet said.
"I feel like we're going to experience a siege." Qrow said.
"Is that why we've been storing up so much food in Mantle?" Marrow asked.
"What?" Qrow asked.
"In Mantle, we've been storing up lots of food. Those droids have made the soils in certain cities very fertile. Those cities also have been getting shield generators built for them." Vine said.
"Ironwood is preparing everyone for a drawn-out war." Qrow said.
"That means we're going to be very busy soon." Clover said.
Ruby ran into Oscar as he was coming back from the cafeteria. He looked like he was deep in thought.
"Oscar." Ruby called out his name. He looked up and waved at Ruby.
"Hey, Oscar, we were wondering where you were. We're going to one of the museums in the city today." Ruby said.
"Who's going?" Oscar asked.
"Rosa, Weiss, Blake, Jaune, and me. It's one of the art museums." Ruby said.
"I didn't take you as someone who liked art that much." Oscar said.
"I can appreciate art." Ruby said after folding her arms over her chest.
"Sure, I'll come." Oscar said.
"So, what were you doing before this?" Ruby asked.
"I had lunch with Neo." Oscar said. He felt something like a disapproving feeling coming from Ruby.
"Any particular reason?" Ruby asked. Oscar didn't know where she was going with these questions.
"I saw her and realized I hadn't talked to her in a while." Oscar said.
"Are you two becoming friends?" Ruby asked, trying to sound disinterested, but not fully succeeding.
"Ruby, I get the impression you don't like that." Oscar said.
"I know she's technically on our side, but she did try to kill us before. She almost killed Yang before Quinlan Vos saved her.
"Ruby, That's her past." Oscar said.
"I know people can change." Ruby said. "But they have to want to change. Do you really think Neo wants to change?"
"I have no idea. I didn't know her before meeting her at the library." Oscar said. "I know we threw a massive wrench in her plans. I know she walks around here nervous and thinking everyone is out to get her."
Ruby turned away from Oscar.
"I know she did bad things." Oscar said. "But I also want to give her a chance to grow. To move on past those mistakes."
"I don't want you to get hurt." Ruby said.
"I won't." Oscar said.
"Oscar, I know you want to see the good in people, but this is Neo we're talking about." Ruby said.
"I know who she is, Ruby. I just… don't think she's as simple as you want her to be." Oscar said.
"I'm sorry." Ruby said.
"For what?" Oscar asked.
"You are trying. I know that you see good in people." Ruby said.
"I'm not naïve Ruby. Despite what she thinks of me. Perhaps despite what you think of me." Oscar said. Ruby turned to him.
"I don't think you're naïve. I think you want to see the best in people. I try that most of the time, but I'm worried she's going to hurt you." Ruby said.
"I know that someday I will be hurt. But that's the price of caring. If there is love, there will be hurt but that doesn't mean we should avoid love." Oscar said.
"Is that Ozpin talking?" Ruby asked.
"Actually, it's a book I read. The author talked about the distinct aspects of love." Oscar said.
"I thought you liked sci-fi and fantasy. That doesn't sound like either." Ruby said.
"Yeah, I really like the author." Oscar said.
Neither of them felt Neo staring at them. She expected those words to come out of Ruby. Of course, that's what Ruby would say. She experienced her more violent side. And it explained why Oscar didn't hate her. He was stupid. He was a stupid optimist who believed in love and let people get in close just to hurt him.
He was naïve. No matter what he said, he didn't know how the real world worked.
"I've killed people."
The confession replayed in her mind. She knew it was a confession. He was shaken by that fact. He… she saw that familiar self-hatred in his face. He judged himself for having to kill people. He felt too much.
Idiot.
Roman was looking through the catalog of rejects and wannabes. He already rejected so many. Ironwood knew he was looking for people with a record. But he didn't know what record they needed. He needed muscle. That was going to get them through a lot of bullshit, but not just any muscle. He wanted Mandalorian muscle. That was the problem though. Finding a single Mandalorian who was willing to work against the Sith, work under Ironwood in a clandestine series of operations where honor is the first thing out, who also has experience in the underworld.
He picked up his scroll and texted Neo. He had one in mind, but he couldn't remember his name. They had a job together before, and Roman saved his life. That left him with a massive debt.
He texted Neo everything he remembered about the big boy.
"Do you mean Brick?" Neo sent back.
"Yes! That's the one. Gods that has been gnawing at my brain for hours." Torchwick said to no one.
"You remember his number?" Neo sent it. She sent his profile too. Torchwick sent that along to Ironwood. He called up Brick.
"Big boy! Turns out, I'm alive! And I need to cash in that massive favor you owe me." Torchwick said.
"What is it?" Brick asked.
"Let me give you all the information I can before you say yes."
Ironwood looked over the report sent to him by Roman. Torrin "Brick" Korr. Mandalorian and ex-bounty hunter. Extensive list of crimes but noted for extreme loyalty. Most of the crimes were intimidation. One murder charge. It's not bad, not amazing, but not bad.
Ironwood needed to get to Roman to go over the details. Penny tracked Roman everywhere he went not. He was not allowed to tamper with his scroll.
He found Roman at a desk chatting with Brick.
"And the best part is that you get to get all the revenge you want on the Sith. They say an eye for an eye makes the world go blind, but you know better than that." Roman said. Roman turned to see Ironwood. He gave a thumbs up. Brick accepted.
Ironwood stood there.
"Now, we're the first two members. You get to give me recommendations on all the rest of the team." Roman turned the scroll on speaker so Ironwood could listen in.
"Is there no interview or anything?" Brick asked.
"This was stage one. I can personally guarantee that General Ironwood would love to meet you in person." Roman said.
"I'll be there." Brick said. They ended the call.
"You work fast." Ironwood said.
"That's why I get paid so well. I know these types. It's obvious from the list you gave me you don't. I got maybe twenty in that whole thing that wouldn't be a total waste of time." Roman said.
"Twenty is more than enough to fill a squad." Ironwood said.
"That was round one where I was finding the bare minimum. Most of those twenty are still shit." Roman said.
"Brick mentioned someone we might want to find. Kyra Solari's name popped up as people we should look out for. I knew I recognized that name from somewhere and went digging. Found her, in a prison only a few cities over." Roman said.
"She's a drug runner." Ironwood said.
"Was. And that was after she was kicked out of your military for… let's see… "Disrespecting a superior officer, refusing a direct order at Vettom, fighting with another pilot, stealing private property." Which In my eyes doesn't look too bad." Roman said.
"Vettom. That was what she was reprimanded for? Did she fire, or not fire?" Ironwood asked.
"Her ship didn't need a deep clean. Which means she's got rules. Bet you didn't know that." Roman said.
"She would still have to accept working for me." Ironwood said.
"Make her crimes go away and I think you have her." Roman said.
"You'd have to spring her out." Ironwood said.
"Please Bossman, it's a simple prison. I could empty one in my sleep and the guards still wouldn't notice." Roman said.
"We still have a few more spots left." Ironwood said.
"I was hoping we could get someone with force powers. Not holding out hope for that, but that would make things so much easier." Roman said.
"That's not likely to happen." Ironwood said.
"It'd make a royal flush, but we sometimes have to play fair." Roman said.
"Is there really no one who caught your eye on the list?" Ironwood asked.
"There was one, but I need to look into him a bit more. Vance "Ghost" Damaris. At one point he was a member of the White Fang and somehow joined your army. Chameleon Faunus. Tech skills out of this world."
"He's been complaining a lot to his higher-ups about racial discrimination. He was kicked out of his unit once his past with the White Fang was discovered." Ironwood said.
"Perfect. Where is he now?" Roman asked.
"We'll bring him in." Ironwood said.
"Wait, he's not full-time. Not anymore. Let's see if I can find out where he goes." Roman started using his slicing skills to find any information about Ghost.
"If you can do this, why do you need him?" Ironwood asked.
"I'm a Jack-of-all-trades. These guys are specialists. It's like he wants me to find him." Roman said. He brought up a pinpoint from his scroll. He was in an abandoned building. Roman got up.
"What are you doing?" Ironwood asked.
"Meeting our next member." Roman said.
Torchwick went exactly where the scroll was telling him to go.
He found a massive warehouse down in Mantle, one on the very edge of the city. He told Ironwood not to send any backup. If this was going to happen, he needed Ghost not to think he was outnumbered. Roman sliced one of the side doors and sneaked into the warehouse. He had a visual enhancer over his eye, hidden by his hair.
He knew exactly what he needed to do. He made it look like he was here for something else. He knew that this warehouse had some particularly important bits of tech that were being stored. He found someone unconscious on the floor and he went over and checked the body.
Roman looked up and around. He saw the outline standing just off to the left.
"Roman Torchwick. You're alive." Ghost said.
"Come on out Ghost. I got an offer." Roman said.
"I know what happened after you promised the White Fang that in Vale." Ghost said.
"What did you expect? I had the Sith up my ass and on my dick." Roman said. "And they still never paid me a fucking cent!"
"What are you here for?" Ghost asked.
"You. I'm here to offer you a job."
Ironwood may not have sent his men in with Torchwick, but he never said that he wouldn't be there to make sure everything went over smoothly. He waited outside and didn't hear the gunshots he was expecting to hear. He wasn't expecting the main doors of the warehouse to open up and Roman to walk out, an arm around Ghost's shoulder, puffing on cigars.
"And here's the boss man now." Roman said.
"General Ironwood? Does that mean I'm going to outrank those assholes who kicked me off my squad?" Ghost asked.
"Not necessarily. You will have more authority and precedent, but your rank will stay the same." Ironwood said.
"As long as I get to point out all the racist bastards I had to deal with, that will be enough." Ghost was on board.
Ruby was with everyone in the art museum. She liked the paintings. They looked nice. But she wondered why her mind kept going back to Oscar talking about Neo. She stood next to Weiss as they saw one of the paintings on display.
"What's this art style called?" Ruby asked Weiss, trying to get her mind off that uncomfortable thing she just noticed was there. Weiss turned to her a bit surprised. Ruby hadn't asked about the other pieces.
"This is called Surrealism." Weiss said. "This piece shows one of the battles of the War of Fools."
"Why was it called that again?" Ruby asked.
"Because both rulers ignored something obviously in front of them and suffered greatly at the expense of others." Oscar said. "Both kings were fools. They were hated. The painter wanted to show the waste of fools."
"Is that why it looks like everything is melting?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah." Oscar said.
They moved on to another section of the museum. This section was brighter than the other sections they had been through. Lots of red, oranges, and yellows. Rosa was staring at one painting in particular. Ruby looked at the painting.
"I like this one. It kind of reminds me of the forever fall." Rosa said. Ruby looked at it. She could see where she was coming from. It looked almost like a mountainside, but she looked closer and saw people. Ruby moved on to another painting. She saw a nude painting. She knew that Weiss made sure they were serious when a nude painting showed up because there were going to be nude paintings.
"Artists are trying to show the beauty of the human body." Weiss said. It was a woman ringing out her hair after leaving a lake, Ruby assumed. The woman wasn't sexualized. Ruby looked at the water around her. There were a lot of cooler colors used for the water, but there was also some yellow, almost like sunlight hitting the water. There was an orange hill behind the woman and behind that was a purple hill, like it was in a shadow.
"One caught your eye?" Oscar asked. He turned and saw the painting.
"I'm looking at everything besides the naked woman." Ruby said.
"Did you see the tree It almost looks like a signature." Oscar said. Ruby looked up and saw it.
She remembered Oscar talking about Neo again. She didn't know why that bothered her. Oscar was seeing the best in a person. She didn't like Neo, but she didn't have to like her. Oscar wanted to be friendly with her.
She didn't mind that he was friends with other women. She didn't mind that he shared a room with Rosa. It must have been that Neo was going to try and hurt him. That was it. She was protecting her friend.
Qrow and the Ace ops came back from the mission to the ruins and made their way to his office. The Ace Ops reported what they learned and showed the map.
"Good. No Sith presence. We are going to have to go back in here at some point. That is a lot of Grimm to just allow to wander free." Ironwood said. The meeting ended shortly after that. Qrow stayed behind.
"Did they report anything that I've been thinking?" Qrow asked.
"If this is about the Sith going underground, then yes. I was going to ask you about it." Ironwood said.
"The Sith are coming here. You know that. But we can't find them." Qrow said.
"Your line of thinking has merit. With all the warnings we've received from the seers, I know that they have to be near. But there's no evidence of them anywhere." Ironwood said.
"So either don't trust the seers, who have already proven to have foreseen things, look underground, or assume they have completely taken over a city. Those are the three options we're looking at." Qrow said.
"Where did that last one come from?" Ironwood said.
"Just saying. With the amount of resistance we're expecting as an opening salvo, we must expect a lot of them." Qrow said.
"I fear you are right." Ironwood said.
Kaiser went to the underwater base. This underwater cave had been almost completely set up before the Sith Civil War. They rediscovered it when looking for a place to house troops. It was a high-quality base. They had everything they needed to keep the thousands of troops alive and healthy until they were given the command to start the battle of Atlas.
This was one of the bases they had around the kingdom of Atlas. He walked through the base. The electronics were replaced, and the air filters were replaced, but it was almost ready to be used as soon as they rediscovered it. They had a technology that used gravity, light, air, and fire dust to keep the water out of the bubble. They had a docking station where the ships the troops took were camouflaged.
The troops were ready for the war. They prepared every day of their lives for this. Kaiser was one of the key leaders of the war effort. Requiem was another key leader. Kaiser stood next to Requiem. They were examining the outposts they had for this war.
"These troops are ready and willing." Kaiser said.
"That willingness will only take them so far. We still need more information. Memores is taking too long to get those shields lowered." Requiem said in a low enough voice that only Kaiser could hear.
"Atlas has fully integrated with the technology of the aliens. He has to relearn everything. That takes time." Kaiser said.
"I know Salem was okay if we took out time on this, but these troops are doing nothing." Requiem said.
"We may just have to lay siege on the city with the shields still up." Kaiser said.
"There are the other cities. I believe that the outer cities are also shielded. But they cannot be as powerful as the shields of Atlas. Test the men on those cities." Requiem said.
"We don't need other cities." Kaiser said.
"Mistral was lost because of the chaos of losing one of the leaders at the start. It was lost because of overwhelming numbers. It was not lost because our troops were overprepared." Requiem said.
"Salem has made no final judgments on the attack plan yet. She is waiting until the last four seats are filled." Kaiser said.
"We have had years without those seats being filled. Why do they need to be filled now?" Requiem asked.
"I believe that we expect Atlas to be their final stand." Kaiser said.
Salem was with Sun Wukong. He was still chained to the wall naked. She saw the blood and filth around him. She was reminded of a wounded animal when looking at him.
"Your friends aren't going to save you. Why hold on? You can end all this pain and suffering at any moment you want. Just give up the light." Salem said.
Sun couldn't look at Salem. He didn't have the energy to fight back. She had been starving him. With Kaiser gone, there was no kindness at all.
"Please…" Sun said.
"Begging now, how you have fallen." Salem said. She watched Sun's emaciated face looked up at her. The pain in his eyes was evident. She had broken his body. She was moving onto his spirit.
She had a meal next to her. She had seen his desire for food. He hadn't eaten in so long. He saw the fresh fruits on her plate. He saw a fine meat on her plate. Everything was cooked to perfection.
"You still have a will to live. But you still have pride." Salem said. "Somehow you still have pride. It is still unbroken."
"Why are you like this?" Sun asked. The question hurt his throat to ask. Salem grabbed the cup next to her. She brought it to his lips. It was wine. One of the strongest she had. Even this was meant to make his torment last longer. Wine and other alcohols make the body lose water.
Sun drank it, gagging almost choking. He coughed as the cup left his mouth. He dropped to his knees. Salem grabbed the plate of food and dropped it. She saw Sun look at the food, so close now.
"Any animal would eat whatever food it can get, especially when starving. Enjoy this, Sun." Salem said. She knelt down as he finally gave in and started eating the food on the ground. She ran her fingers through his hair, every second of her touch, sending cold shocks down his body. He wanted to get away, but he needed to eat.
He couldn't eat too much. He remembered that as well. It could kill him if he did. He would have to watch the food sit in front of him. He would have to smell it. She was stealing every bit of humanity he had. He wanted to cry. But he knew that he had to save every drop of water in his body.
"You can give up the idea that you control any part of yourself Sun. Give up the light. This whole nightmare will be over. You will no longer suffer the humiliations of the Jedi." Salem said. Sun chewed the apple slowly. He was trying to get every drop of juice he could get. He had to take in any liquid he could.
"You have lasted much longer than I thought you would. You are a durable pet. But we have barely begun." Salem said.
Sun stopped and looked up at Salem, fear in his eyes. How was this only the beginning? How much more would he have to endure? She grabbed his face and licked a tear that fell.
"Your body is broken, but your spirit is still intact. After I break that, your mind will still be intact. After that, well, there will still be one thing left for me to break. It will be my favorite part. You will learn to enjoy it too." Salem said. Sun looked at her.
"W-What do you mean?" Sun asked. Salem smiled and kissed Sun. She pushed him back against the wall.
"I will use you however I want. Because you have no power here. Not over your tears, not over your blood, not over your hunger, not over your thirst, not over your mind. And when I want something, I will take it. Until I break you. Every day I will come to you. Every day I promise you that it will get worse. Every day I promise you that you will beg for death. But it will not come. Not unless I get bored of you. But you have proven to be such a fun toy. Begging for help. Thinking that Blake will save you. She won't. She has abandoned you. She went to a dance while you suffered. You never mattered to her. You don't matter to anyone except me now." Salem said. Her hand was on his chest. She held him back. Her hand started to lower. She watched as he started to fear and tried to escape her touch.
"Please! No! Please!" Sun cried out.
Salem stopped.
"All you had to do was ask." Salem said. She laughed as she stood up. She placed a bucket of water at the very edge of his reach.
Blake felt her chest hurting. She felt fear and panic enter her. She looked around, but she was back in her dorm.
"Sun." She was feeling what he was. She had no idea what to do. She knew he was still alive by feeling this, but she felt everything and all the pain he had.
Yang was in the room and turned to Blake. She rushed over and grabbed Blake.
"Blake, you're okay." Yang said. Yang was feeling the aftereffects of what Blake felt from Sun.
"He thinks we abandoned him." Blake said.
"We haven't. Are you able to send him back anything?" Yang asked. Blake grabbed onto her chest and started feeling the panic settle in.
"I'm sorry." Blake said.
"Blake. Take a few deep breaths. Help Sun. Tell him we're trying to get to him." Yang said. She ran her hand through Blake's hair. She tried to help Blake however she could. She didn't know what else to do. She knew that this wasn't her fault. This wasn't Sun's fault. This was Kaiser and Salem's fault.
"Sun… We're trying."
Sun heard Blake's voice. He looked up. He had to have hope, but how could he have hope here? It would be easier to die. It would be easier to fall.
His Grandfather appeared in front of him.
"A Jedi's life is never the easy option. Stay strong." His voice boomed in Sun's head.
"I'm losing my mind." Sun said. Sun looked down at himself. This wasn't him. He was a Jedi. Not an animal. He had to hold out longer. He had to believe that Blake would come for him. He had to.
There was a single ship flying toward Atlas right now. It was piloted by a single Jedi. The ship landed at the Atlas docks. The Jedi stepped out. She brought down her cowl.
A lot has changed in the last month. She had to mourn her friend's death. She had to face their families as she explained that they were murdered by the Sith. She passed her final trial. She abandoned Vacuo to join in the fight against the oncoming Sith siege.
Arslan Altan, Jedi Knight and sole survivor, was going to Atlas. She knew that the Sith attack was imminent. She lost everything in Mistral, and she was determined not to lose anything else to the Sith in Atlas. Especially not everything.
Her scroll connected with Atlas and the Penny AI popped up on her scroll.
"Salutations." Penny said.
"I know you are able to contact teams RRWBY and JNPOR. Tell them that Arslan has returned." Arslan said.
"I'm sorry, but I am not…"
"Arslan Altan, Jedi Knight. I spent a long time with those two teams. Tell them, Penny. Please." Arslan begged.
"Just this once, I will break that protocol." Penny said.
"Arslan's here?" Yang asked herself. The feelings had left Blake and she was drinking one of her teas to calm down.
"What?" Blake said.
"She asked for that message to be sent." Penny said. "She also said she was a Jedi knight." Penny said.
"It's been a month." Blake said.
"Yeah, we really shouldn't be talking right now." Yang said.
"Where is she going to sleep?" Blake asked. Ruby was knocking at the door. Yang used the force to open it.
"Arslan's back." Ruby said.
"We just got the message too." Yang said.
Ironwood learned that the Jedi Knight, Arslan Altan had arrived in Atlas, and was coming to Atlas Academy to offer her services to the Alliance. That was unexpected. He realized that this could help. He hadn't offered Neo a room because he didn't trust her to be alone, but if Arslan Altan, a Jedi knight, and a powerful physical fighter, was there, he could give another one of the two-bed dorms to keep them in check.
He asked Neo and Arslan to meet him in his office.
The two met soon after. Arslan had only a brief meeting with the knights before arriving in his office. They both actually came.
The meeting went better than he thought it would, but he could tell neither girl was exactly thrilled to have the other with her. Apparently, they knew each other by reputation. Ironwood also hoped that Arslan caught on to the fact that she was going to watch over Neo during their time together.
"We are all here against the Sith. Neo, I've seen where you are sleeping. This is an improvement and a privilege. Don't misuse this." Ironwood said.
"Jedi Knight Altan, this is a stressful and new situation for Neo here. Understand that she has no love for the Sith. She isn't going to betray you or us. She is here under my supervision." Ironwood said.
"I understand." Arslan said. She didn't like being talked down to, but she really got the sense that Ironwood needs Neo protected but he doesn't trust her at all. They weren't a team. That was obvious from the start. Arslan didn't need a team. She lost her team already and she alone was left alive.
She remembered that Neo couldn't talk. She brought out her scroll and exchanged contact information with her. They left Ironwood's office.
"I know this isn't ideal. For either of us." Arslan said. Neo turned to her with a questioning look.
"Go on." She texted.
"That's it." Arslan said.
"Let's get this over with." Neo texted.
Neo didn't like having a roommate that wasn't Torchwick. She didn't like that this roommate was assigned to her. She didn't like that this roommate knew about her through the words of her enemies. She didn't like that this roommate was obviously not interested in anything to do with her. She didn't like that all this preparation for War was going on and she was stuck in Atlas because she wasn't Torchwick. Yes, she was able to do a lot of the business, but she couldn't do it all. And what she couldn't do is what Torchwick excelled in. Now she was hurting the business, trapped with a roommate who she would never be comfortable around, and stuck doing nothing.
She was a prisoner here.
She could have joined Torchwick on his spy missions. But he said no to her. HER! She was his partner; she was his protector. She can't even communicate with her roommate like she could with Oscar.
Damn.
She was missing that ball of sunshine. She was missing that optimism.
Damn. Damn! Shit!
What was wrong with her? She got up and texted Arslan.
"I'm going to the roof." Neo said.
"Are we allowed up there?" Arslan asked. Neo just shook her head.
She was surrounded by these optimistic people who thought they were going to change the world and save Remnant from an ancient evil with their force powers. She was just a fast fighter who made good illusions. They didn't match! She was just a petty criminal who got sucked into this because she decided to get one too many books. They had a quiet life. A good life, but a quiet one. They didn't have to fear and get ready for war.
She found her way to the roof. She wasn't like them. But she was stuck here. And so was Torchwick. They came out in the open, and now this was their reward. The roof door opened a few minutes after she found a seat near the edge. She looked out at the city at night.
Oscar was the one who opened the door. He went to the railings and looked out. He smiled as he looked out at the city. She didn't know what it was. She didn't know how anyone could be so happy all the time. She turned to him.
Her shifting was enough for Oscar to recognize someone else was there. He jumped as he realized he wasn't alone.
"Neo! Don't scare me like that." Oscar said.
"I just turned." Neo signed.
"I guess so. Sorry." Oscar said.
Oscar turned back to the city skyline. She didn't understand him.
"I don't think I've ever seen you just… sit still. Outside of lunch of course." Oscar said.
"What do you see?" Neo signed.
"Atlas. Home to heroes, soldiers, and way too many rules." Oscar said.
"Prison." Neo signed.
"You really see it that way?" Oscar asked. Neo shook her head. She put her hands on top of each other, and used her semblance to show Oscar her in handcuffs. She changed her clothes to look like a prison jumpsuit.
"I don't think Ironwood would let you stay if he really thought of you as a prisoner." Oscar said. She mimicked a leash.
"Okay, fair point." Oscar said. Neo dropped the illusion.
"I don't fit in." Neo signed.
"I know. But that doesn't mean you aren't needed." Oscar said. Neo hated that optimism. How could someone be so hopeful? She didn't get it.
"What am I needed for?" Neo asked.
"I don't know. Not yet at least." Oscar said. Oscar truly believed it. Why did he had to be so nice? Why didn't he just give up like everyone else had on people like her? What made him so different? At least when people looked down on her, she could look down on them back. But Oscar was treating her as an equal. Like someone who didn't used to steal for a living, barely making ends meet sometimes. He didn't treat her like a charity case, which was hard for Neo to admit. He just treated her like a person which she didn't understand at all. And Neo hated puzzles.
"I don't want to be here. I have to be here." Neo said. She knew what she was sounding like. But dammit, she deserved to complain.
"I know what it's like having all your plans thrown away." Oscar said.
"Really?" Neo signed while rolling her eyes.
"Hey, I got Ozpin in my head who forced me to leave my home and go on this trip which has been extremely traumatic." Oscar said. Neo didn't know what to say to that. She didn't know what he was talking about. Where did Ozpin come into this? Maybe he was crazy after all and that solved everything. But he didn't seem crazy. And she had to admit that when it came to the Jedi and Sith, this might not be the craziest thing of all.
"What?" Neo signed.
"Stick with us, like you have to, and you'll find it all out." Oscar said. He gave her a reassuring smile. She felt warmth from it. Gods, was she getting soft?
"No one wants me here." Neo signed. "I don't want to be here."
"That I can't say I went through. I know everyone still sees you as the criminal who they fought. But I never met that person. Never met Umbra at her worst, but I knew that she could return to being Rosa. I never met you at your worst, but I believe everyone can change. You aren't born bad. Bad things happened to you, I assume." Oscar said looking out at the city. Neo didn't want to hear things like that. What did Oscar know? Neo bet he was so innocent he hadn't even seen what life could give. He'd probably never even kissed a girl he's so innocent.
"This city is the exact opposite of what I'm used to. But we change. We always change. It's up to us whether it's for the better or worse." Oscar said. Neo didn't look at him.
"Sorry. I have no idea where that came from." Oscar said. Oscar laughed at himself. Neo let out a sigh. She had to admit. She liked that there were still people like him. People who didn't see the worst in everything. The worst in her. They were the easy targets. She thought of robbing Oscar... but it didn't feel right. She didn't feel right. He was affecting her.
"Thanks" Neo signed.
"Good night, Neo." Oscar said as he left the roof.
He was an idiot. He was stupid. He was dumb. She wasn't meant to be here, and she wasn't meant to change.
He didn't even know her. Why did he have to say stuff like that?
Requiem and Nihil went to the ruin that Qrow Branwen recently attacked. Salem realized that there were hordes of Grimm inside, and she wanted to test the cities around Atlas. Requiem raised his hand and activated his semblance. The Grimm all throughout the ruin started moving at his command.
"Nice one Requiem." Nihil said.
Requiem strained to get the Grimm to follow him. He grunted and felt his aura going down.
"Potion!" Requiem yelled.
Nihil found what he was looking for. It was one of her golden Miasmas. She popped open the vial and used her semblance to wrap the golden light around Requiem. His aura was being replenished.
The Grimm were coming out of the ruin. Dozens at first, but there were hundreds, or thousands in the ruins.
They surrounded Nihil and Requiem. The Miasma ended. Nihil took out four vials of the supercharger. She tossed them in the air and used the force to shatter them. The four clouds slowly go over all the Grimm. Nihil quickly created a portal and grabbed Requiem. They vanished before the Grimm could do anything to them.
Salem had Requiem and Nihil watch as she controlled the Grimm. She directed them to some of the different cities. But a vast majority were moving toward Atlas. Not to bring it down, there were nowhere near enough Grimm for that, but to see the weaknesses and strengths in the Atlesian defense system. She needed to see who their first defenders were. She needed to see how quickly the cities responded to powerful Grimm. She needed to see how Atlas would help the other cities.
This was how she gathered all the vital information she needed to launch the siege.
Ironwood was about to retire for the night. It had been a long day, but he started getting warning sirens about an oncoming Grimm horde. He opened the drone footage and saw that these Grimm looked like they had been overcharged, like in Atlas.
His exhaustion has left him completely.
He saw that the Grimm were mostly coming toward Atlas, but smaller groups of them broke off and went to the other cities. He knew what he had to do.
Winter finished her sparring session with Karel Allusis. He was a strong Jedi knight, which helped push Winter. He was a master of Soresu.
"You're getting harder to block." Karel said.
"You still feel like an impenetrable shield." Winter said.
"Bora's been in my ear our entire fight telling me every mistake I made. I think she wanted you to win this one." Karel looked up outside of the training room where Bora was sitting. She waved down at him.
"General Schnee. We have overcharged Grimm moving toward Atlas and some of the outlying cities." One of her officers called out.
"Like the ones at Argus. The Sith are behind this. Does Ironwood have forces moving to the outlying cities?" Winter asked.
"One of the Venators is moving now." He said.
"Good. We'll move out with them." Winter said.
"Salem's giving us a rude wake-up call." Karel said.
"That she is." Winter said.
Torchwick was once again standing in front of Ironwood. Their levels of energy completely swapped from the morning.
"Now would be the best time to break her out of prison." Ironwood said. That was all that needed to be said. Brick had already arrived.
"Alright boys, we're getting number four." Roman said.
"Kyra Solari is an amazing pilot." Ghost said.
They left his office. They needed to fill two more positions. They needed someone who could interrogate, and their tech guy. Ghost wasn't what they needed for that. He was the man who got inside. He was their ghost.
"Any suggestions for our next few members?" Roman asked Ghost.
"I learned that there was this arms dealer, one of the first to get their hands on Republic gear and figure out how it worked, who found himself in a bad spot. Heard he was being sold soon. Luckily, it's in a black-market deal in Atlas." Ghost said.
"When's the buy?" Roman asked.
"Last I saw, forty-eight hours." Ghost said.
"Perfect. Send me the asking price." Roman said.
They got on the ship. They started flying, knowing that the next time it was flown, it would be by their new pilot.
The Grimm were advancing. The Venator saw them and started firing. They launched their bombers. There were thousands of Grimm probably. Each shot wiped out many Grimm. Each bomb wiped out many. But there would be some that would get passed.
The Fourth Fleet was next to the Venator and started firing at the Grimm hordes as well. With this many Grimm, each shot from either ship was killing so many.
"This is nowhere enough to take out Atlas. Why are they doing this?" Winter asked herself.
Ironwood gathered his night forces and had them go down to Mantle. Teams RRWBY and JNPOR were about to join in the fight when Quinlan Vos stopped the group running down the hall.
"We're handling this. They sent only a small fraction of the Grimm they should have." Quinlan said.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"The fourth fleet and a Venator are tearing the Grimm apart." Quinlan said.
"But I thought thousands were coming." Rosa said.
"And there are, but they're not near even in range of the city's turbo lasers." Quinlan said.
"Then why is she attacking at all?" Pyrrha asked.
"Probably as a way to check our defenses." Jaune said.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Think about it. I'm guessing the shield generator uses Republic tech." Jaune looked at Quinlan.
"Probably, but I can't say for sure." Quinlan said.
"Memores wouldn't know how to attack Republic tech." Rosa said.
"Memores? Why do you think it's him?" Quinlan asked.
"He's the one who created the virus that brought Vale down during the Vytal festival." Rosa said.
"Which means he's probably here now." Jaune said. "And he's not able to get the Data Salem wanted."
"I see where you're going with this." Quinlan said.
"Exactly. She needs information about the shields. And sending the Grimm is just as good as sending any scout, but with the added effect of fear of the citizens. But then if the Grimm are beaten back quickly, then that could also make people care less about the next attack. Until we get cocky." Jaune said.
"Jaune, how did you think of all that so quickly?" Rosa asked.
"This isn't even a warning shot then. This is just a reminder to us that Salem is still out there." Jaune said.
"So… they don't need us and we got up for nothing." Nora said.
"Penny will alert you if you are needed." Quinlan said. Everyone turned around and started moving back, except Rosa.
"You should be going back to bed as well." Quinlan said. Quinlan looked at Rosa. He felt a connection to her. He wished Maku didn't exist. Perhaps there was a universe out there somewhere where He was Rosa's master. Perhaps that universe also had no Clone Wars. But then they never would have gone to Remnant, and Rosa alone seemed wrong now.
"Master Vos…" Rosa said. Quinlan refused to correct her. Rosa knew that he wasn't a Jedi master anymore. But that didn't change anything.
"Yes?" Quinlan asked.
"I just wanted to talk for a little bit." Rosa said.
"You'll have to walk and talk. I'm still keeping things in line here." Quinlan said.
"Sure." Rosa said as she and Quinlan started walking.
"What is it? Something's troubling you." Quinlan said.
"It's Arslan. Maybe a bit of Neo as well." Rosa said.
"This is new." Quinlan said.
"Arslan knows about my… past. She was there when I came back. She seems more distant than before. To everyone, but even more so to me. Like she can't stand to be around me. Like I shouldn't be here." Rosa said.
"That's… interesting." Quinlan said.
"Before we left Mistral, she and I didn't exactly get time to talk, but she wasn't hostile to me. She's not hostile now per se but she doesn't want to be around me." Rosa said.
"Why do you think that is?" Quinlan asked.
"I don't know. There wasn't anything that I did that she didn't know about. I don't understand why she's changed now." Rosa said.
"When I… fell, there were people who looked at me differently. People who thought I didn't belong. They looked at me like I was a disease. It was like they thought that even touching the dark side made you broken goods. Maku was one of them." Quinlan said. Rosa knew that firsthand from Maku, though he hid it for a while.
"But she has just started acting like this." Rosa said.
"I don't know her that well. I could be way off the mark with that." Quinlan said.
"I sent her away." Rosa said.
"What do you mean?" Quinlan asked.
"After her team was killed I used my… powers to send her away so she wouldn't lose her life over nothing." Rosa said.
"There's probably stuff we don't know about. You can talk to her if you need to." Quinlan said.
"I think I might have to at some point." Rosa said.
Arslan was in bed. She was having the same nightmare ever since that day. She saw each of her teammates die. She smelled the burning flesh. She smelled the blood. She saw Reese's body. Her eyes looked at Arslan accusingly.
"You should have stopped this." Reese said.
"I'm sorry! Please don't go!" Arslan shouted. She tried to grab Reese's body, but Rosa was there.
"You're too weak to be of any help. You let them die." Rosa said. Arslan felt herself being thrown away from her friends. She landed in that building. She felt their ghosts around her.
"Why didn't you lead?" Nadir asked.
"We followed you to our deaths." Bolin said.
"We died. Because you were too weak." Reese said.
She heard the snap-hiss of a lightsaber being activated. She turned and saw Kaiser. She took out her lightsaber and rushed, but he just swiped her lightsaber aside. He kicked her through a wall.
"Rosa led you right to me." Kaiser said. "Too bad you're so pathetic."
Arslan tried to get up, but she was kicked again. She rolled along the grass. She saw everyone, Teams RRWBY, JNPR, SSSN, ABRN, and Oscar looking down at her. Mocking her. Kaiser stood over her.
"Please… make it stop." Arslan begged.
"You killed them because you were so weak." Kaiser said. He planted his foot on her chest. Over her heart.
"You let everyone down." Kaiser said. She felt him press down with his foot. She felt the pain come. Kaiser lifted his boot off her chest and put it on her throat. She opened her eyes wide as she started to choke. Kaiser transformed into a monster.
Arslan jolted up in bed. Her heart felt like it was going to burst. She grabbed at her chest. Her throat was hurting. She felt sweat dripping down her face. She threw the blankets off and went to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror.
"I am in Atlas." Arslan said. "The Sith aren't here. Kaiser isn't here."
Neo opened her eyes. She saw Arslan leave her bed. She heard Arslan.
Arslan gripped the sides of the sink.
"I'm okay. It's just a dream." Arslan kept telling herself. "You're different now. You're stronger."
Neo didn't move. She didn't want to get involved. That's not who she was. People had nightmares. She must have had one about this Kaiser, who evidently was a Sith.
"There is no death, there is the force." Arslan said.
Now she was repeating some Jedi mantra. Neo shifted in her bed. This was her handler. This was a Jedi who would rather not have anything to do with her. Neo closed her eyes and saw Oscar in her mind.
"I've killed people."
Neo didn't want to think about these Jedi.
Winter watched as the Grimm slammed into the shield. The horde was massively depleted. Some were able to get through, but they were quickly killed by the defensive structures around the city. The city had many new automated turrets that were able to take down the Grimm quickly, and the hunters who were watching over the city were able to take out the last of the Grimm. They were able to take out the supercharged Grimm.
"Whatever Salem planned seemed to fail." Karel said.
"This wasn't the attack." Winter said.
"I know." Karel said.
"We're still no closer to finding out what we're the Sith are." Winter said.
Salem took a step back and looked at Requiem and Nihil. The two had witnessed her use the Grimm, something few got to see. They watched as the fourth fleet arrived. That was news. Winter Schnee was in Atlas.
"I wonder what she's doing in Atlas." Requiem said.
"It is her home." Nihil said.
"The Winter Maiden. She here for the Winter Maiden." Salem said.
"What shall we do?" Requiem asked.
"I'm going to need to get my report from Memores." Salem said. "Leave."
Requiem and Nihil did so. Salem activated the Seer Grimm she had with Memores. He was in the middle of something.
"Report Memores." Salem said.
"Lady Salem. I've gotten closer to discovering how the shield generators are working." Memores said.
"The fourth fleet is in Atlas." Salem said.
"What? They're not scheduled to come back to Atlas for weeks." Memores said.
"Ironwood is doing something with the Winter Maiden." Salem said.
"We can't attack yet. We would need you here to break down the shield. They are doing something unique here." Memores said.
"What are they doing?" Salem asked.
"They have multiple levels of shields. I think there are at least three here. All from various sources and all with republic encryptions that keep changing. If I break one, another one appears. But it could be up to seven shields." Memores said.
"How do you not know?" Salem asked.
"They aren't using any script that I can recognize. I'm having to learn the language on the spot. And it seems they keep swapping between the languages of the alien species they brought along with them. If it is seven, four are weak shields." Memores said.
"What about the key points in Atlas? Have you been able to do anything about them?" Salem asked.
"I can't Lady Salem. Damn!" Memores slammed his hands on the desk he was at. She had never seen the brilliant Darth Memores like this. It intrigued her.
"What's going on?" Salem asked.
"The codes shifted again. It's not possible alone. I can't connect my scroll because of Ironwood's AI spyware that's on every scroll in the kingdom. It's based off Penny… whatever her last name was. The robot girl killed at Vytal." Memores said.
"Calm down." Salem said.
"I don't know if this is possible alone." Memores said. For him to say that Salem realized how this must have been. They weren't going to get the shields down by hacking. She realized punishing him now wouldn't solve anything. She could reward him. Memores was loyal and did everything he could. She knew when to punish, and when to praise.
"Return here for a night. You aren't doing any good there now." Salem said.
"Lady Salem?" Memores asked. He knew what he heard but he never would have guessed she would have said something like that.
"You heard me." Salem said. Memores didn't question again. He knew better than to question her a second time.
Author's Notes: Next chapter done. I really like Arslan, so I decided to bring her back, but she's going to have to do a lot of soul-searching to deal with her trauma. Neo and Arslan are roommates, which came about because those two are the most different characters I could think of. I had to see what they were going to be like together.
The Ace Ops are characters that I will have to do a lot of research on, for their personalities. I think you may have been able to tell in SGW that I didn't really know who they were, which is why Clover didn't appear and why they didn't have a massive role to play in that story. Similar story to Robyn Hill. I do believe that Volume 8 was out at the time I finished SGW, but I may have written their parts during Volume 7.
Sun is being tortured by Salem. This will probably have one of the darkest moments in the series. Salem wants to break him completely. She wants him to suffer. She wants him to know that in her realm, he has no agency. She treats him as an animal that she can abuse however she likes. He has to rely on her if he wants to live. And she wants him to know that. She wants him to know that she has total control. So she will continue to do the most vile things to him.
Torchwick is a spy, and Neo is forced to be with the good guys. Both in very different positions than they have ever been before.
Salem is preparing to launch the Siege of Atlas. But she wants to make sure she can win. So she's taking all the prep time she and the Sith need. But when it starts, it will be bloody. She's looking to fill the last seats on the dark council. There are 13 candidates left alive with only 4 seats between them.
Oscar is such a good person. He is an optimist, despite everything he's gone through. He knows that there are bad people out there that will never change. But he also knows that some bad people can change. He's rooming with one.
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Torchwick is a spy for Ironwood. Ironwood needs someone with his skills and connections to do the dirty work that the Alliance nor Atlas can be involved with. Torchwick gets to continue doing his crimes, gets his past crimes wiped away, mess with the Sith who he hates, and secures Neo a safe place to stay.
Ironwood right now is politically the strongest person on Remnant, as he leads both the Alliance, and Atlas. When the Sith abandoned him to die on Ironwood's ship during Vytal, he saw how far all his work for them got him. He hates the Sith. I don't really see him as a sociopath, but as a criminal way over his head. He did punch Ruby during Volume 2, but he also tried to stop Rosa's torture.
This story is dark. It is still a tragedy after all. But there are chapters that are light as well. This story does need both light and dark. I don't want to write stories that are all dark. But I do want to write stories that are dark, so the light shines in comparison.
Jasper can get all those guns. Should the car be already made, or should it be built in Atlas?
The first attack on Atlas was kind of like 9/11. There's been at least a year and a half since then, with all the cleanup done, and everything advancing so fast. The people in Atlas did skip this dance a year prior, but events like this do go on. People need to feel normal again, the economy would need to start moving again and people would need to continue on with their life. Yes they know that people like Jacques are dead, but they are continuing on.
Plus I wanted a chapter that was a bit light. So I decided a dance would be good. It's got one of my favorite lines from Rosa in it.
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May the Force be With You
-DragonZlayerx12