A Pyrrhic Victory

AN: I KNOW! I KNOW! This chapter is overdue, no thanks to school and work…

Anyway; on to the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy.

All of the populace of the capital attended the funeral of Theodred Nikos, son of King Theoden. He was loved by many of the populace and military officials; some thought he'd be the one to lead Mistral out of the war for his father. Now all of Mistral will mourn for the loss of their prince.

Pyrrha was sitting in Theodred's room, alone. She sat on the bed, thinking back to old memories of when they were children; she, Theodred, Eowyn and Eomer were all like brothers and sister to each other. Theodred was only older by two years, and yet Pyrrha tried to be his 'big sister' whenever she had the chance. Now he was gone.

Pyrrha heard a knock on the door and saw Jaune standing at the doorway, "They're waiting for you…"

Pyrrha wiped her tears off her face and stood up, her traditional Mistral funeral dress flowing to her ankles. She walked up to him and took the hand he offered her as they walked out of the room.

The Mistral cemetery was still and quiet as Theoden and Pyrrha, accompanied by the rest of JNPR, served as pallbearers and slowly brought the prince's coffin to its final resting place. The only sounds heard were the soft muttering of wind and the dirt moving beneath their footsteps. Once the coffin was laid on the pulley that would lower it into the ground, Pyrrha stepped up to the stand and cleared her throat, Eowyn standing beside her.

"Theodred was a kind and noble man," Pyrrha said, her voice trembling, "He was more than just a prince, or a brother figure. All his life, he only wanted to be able to fight and protect the people he was preparing to rule. One day he finally got to live his dream and went to help escort refugees to the kingdom, when they were suddenly ambushed. My cousin gave his life to make sure that those people got here safely, and I couldn't be more proud of him for that. My only regret is that we couldn't get here in time." Eowyn couldn't hold her tears back any longer and began crying, Pyrrha holding her close and letting her cousin vent. After a minute, Eowyn let go of Pyrrha and took a deep breath, showing that she was feeling better. With that, the two walked over to a small wooden stage where a band was sitting. Eowyn nodded to them, giving them the hint they were ready to sing their farewell song. After a minute of preparation, the pianist played a note as Eowyn and Pyrrha began to sing. After harmonizing, Eowyn went first.

(The song of choice is "The Soft Goodbye" by Celtic Woman.)

"When the light begins to fade

and shadows fall across the sea,

One bright star in the evening sky

Your love's light leads me on my way."

Jaune and the others were impressed at how well Eowyn could sing, and were taken by surprise when Pyrrha sang quite skillfully.

"There's a dream that will not sleep,

A burning hope that will not die,

So I must go now with the wind

And leave you waiting on the tide.

Time to fly, time to touch the sky,

One voice alone, a haunting cry

One song, one star burning bright

Let it carry me through darkest night.

Rain comes over the grey hills,

And on the air, a soft goodbye

Hear the song that I sing to you,

When the time has come to fly.

When I leave and take the wing,

And find the land that faith will bring

The brightest star in the evening sky

Is your love far for me?

Is your love waiting far for me?"

The people cleared out within an hour. Theoden was one of the last people left in the cemetery after the funeral was over. He turned to see Ozpin still standing there; he was a welcomed friend who knew he needed company now more than ever, so there was no reason to say anything. Theoden walked to the nearby flowerbed that was placed next to Theodred's tombstone and brushed his hand on the pure white petals. "Simbelmynë. For centuries it shed its petals on the grave's of my ancestors… now it will cover the grave of my son." Ozpin could tell he was just as angry as he was sad, "It should have been me… I was supposed to go with him but…" "By that time, Saruman took hold over you." Ozpin clarified. When heard what Theodred was doing prior to the attack, he could tell by the reports that the early stages of Saruman's possession were shown. And now they stand witness to the aftermath of their former friend's betrayal. Ozpin walked up to Theoden slowly and rested his hand on his shoulder. Theoden began to tear up; after hours of holding in all his grief in front of his people and guards, the king wept, "No parent should ever be forced to bury their child…" Theoden fell to his knees as he placed his hand over his eyes. "He was a brave man, and he will find his way to the Promised Land. I'm sure," Ozpin stood by his friend's side until he was ready to leave.

Hours later; Theoden walked into his son's room and found Pyrrha sitting on the edge of the bed, Jaune was sitting at the table opposite from her. Jaune stood up, "I'll leave you two to catch up." Jaune turned to Pyrrha, "Come and find me in the courtyard when you're ready to talk."

Jaune walked past Theoden, "Your Grace."

"Supreme Commander…" Theoden allowed Jaune to pass him as he turned back to Pyrrha on the bed. He walked towards her and stopped right at the desk. He brushed his hand across the table, looking at some of the papers and notes that were still in place since the day he left.

"I'm glad you were here…" Theoden said with a bittersweet voice, "He loved you like a sister."

"Remember my 14th birthday?" Pyrrha asked. Theoden turned to face her; he had little memories of that day. "It was when I was starting Combat School. They told us to gather materials for the weapons we were going to use when we passed… Theodred gave me a check that covered all of it…"

Theoden smirked; he nodded to that memory, "You were so excited, you kept jumping like a rabbit."

"I nearly tackled him with that hug," Pyrrha said with a bit of a laugh.

They both laughed for a second, Theoden then added, "He was happy that you were on your way to achieve your dream… Looking back on it now, maybe he should have joined you… That way he may have had a chance…"

Pyrrha stood up from the bed and walked up to her uncle and hugged him before he could say something else out of regret. Pyrrha rested her head on his shoulder, "None of it was your fault. I know that, and so did he."

Theoden lifted his hands and held her for a minute, "Your father was always the most compassionate…"

Pyrrha let go, "I had to take after him in some way."

"He'd be proud of what you've become." Theoden rested his hand on her shoulder, "I am proud of you."

Pyrrha smiled warmly. Once he let go she sat down on the bed as he remained standing, Theoden cleared his throat as he asked, "So, you and Arc… Are you official yet?"

Pyrrha rolled her eyes as she smirked at him, "No." Pyrrha looked him in the eye and saw something that she wasn't expecting; instead of interest or joy, he looked worried. "Why?"

Theoden pulled out the chair from the table and sat down, "I have unfortunate news. Now that Theodred is gone, you are next in line for the throne."

Pyrrha's eyes widened, she froze. "No… I can't be…" She shot up off the bed, "I mean, Eomer and Eowyn are at least 2-3 years older than me! How come one of them isn't next?!"

Theoden could understand her shock, "Eomer can't be a king; no Star Knight can ever be king. Eowyn may be older than you but your father was older than hers."

Pyrrha put her hands to her head as she paced back and forth, "This can't be happening, not like this… I don't want the throne!"

Theoden stood up fiercely, "It's not about what you want!" After realizing his outburst he took a breath, "The family line must continue, Pyrrha. You will become the next queen."

Pyrrha turned away from Theoden and looked out the window. He sighed, "I know you love him, Pyrrha… but your duty must come to family before yourself."

From the window she could see the courtyard and see Jaune talking to Grun out front. "He is my family…"

Theoden pinched the bridge of his nose, not in frustration of her, more in himself. He knew she loved him, and that if she were to become queen, they can't get be married or have children together. A Star Knight cannot become a king, that is why the second son in any of the royal families becomes the knight, and the first-born become the King or queen. It isn't so much a 'rule' it's a fact; and if ever married into a monarch position, it results in the potential of said knight becoming a Black Knight.

The only known knight that ever married into the monarchy was Radcliffe Smith; it wasn't until he officially became king that his thirst for power started. It may have started for love, but it ended badly for all of Vacuo.

And what was worse, Jaune and Pyrrha were of different kingdoms. Nothing said such relationships were forbidden; however it just made the bloodline ties a bit more complicated.

Theoden watched as his niece gazed at her lover, and he knew that only a few words he just broke her heart again. "I'm sorry, Pyrrha. I'll let you be the one to tell him."

(AN: I know not everyone is a fan of plot twists, but there IS a long-term plan for this.)

Jaune and Grun were walking together in the courtyard. As they were walking, they were discussing some of the recent events in Vale and Menagerie.

"Cardin says that Vale is suffering a full scale Boarder War," Grun said with sadness in his tone. "Any boarder-town has been attacked, under attacked or wiped out…"

"I knew Vale didn't fully recover from the Reclamation… But this…" Jaune gripped his hands tightly, "I never should have left home…"

Grun rested his hand on Jaune's shoulder, "You had a mission to fulfill."

Jaune looked up to him, "How's Menagerie?"

Grun shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing too bad. The Grimm along the boarders haven't made any major attacks. So far people have seen it as a good omen."

"But?" Jaune added to Grun's sentence.

Grun sighed when Jaune called him out on it, "But I feel that it's only the calm before the storm."

Jaune cocked his head, "Is Menagerie ready for war?"

"John Smith has been making progress with military defense, I know he'll keep them safe." Grun said with a bit of optimism, "But Menagerie is far from ready to face Full Scale War." Grun then looks out to the city and could feel the fear in the atmosphere, and if he can, so would the Grimm. "These people aren't ready either, Mistral won't united until Eomer gets back."

"Did you send the message?" Jaune asked.

"How? The towers are still down. Can't even get anything on the emergency channel," Grun said with slight frustration.

Jaune then got confused, "Then how did you get the progress report from Cardin?"

"An antique communication, 'Morse Code'." Grun replied; he was surprised that the ground lines were still usable.

"Those ground lines haven't been used for nearly a century," Jaune said with a bit of awe in his tone.

"Well, back then, things were built to last," Grun said with a bit of sass in his tone.

"Thank you, our ancestors," Jaune said as they both fist bumped.

Grun then remembered what else he needed to tell Jaune, "Sienna Kahn, one of the founding members of the White Fang, turned herself over to the authorities a few weeks ago."

"Really?" Jaune remembered hearing about her being in charge of the fang after Adam was defeated at the Spire, "So with her out of the way, would the Fang still stay together?"

Grun shakes his head; "She may have had power at first, but she became a figure head, someone to take the fall when things got more… aggressive." Grun's ears lowered in anger, "Her brother, Umber, was the true master behind the Fang's decent into chaos. Gira never did trust him."

Jaune started thinking back to when he last heard that name, "Umber Kahn… I think I heard about him once in my dad's files, something about being a Faunus zealot?"

Grun's ears lowered in with more fury, "A Faunus Supremacist, more like. His hatred of humanity makes Adam seam like a simple human-hater. Adam wanted to enslave humans out of revenge, Umber wanted to do it to 'put humans in their place'…"

Concern and fear started to go though Jaune's head, "Now he has absolute control of the White Fang… You think he'll side with Salem in this war?"

"It was his idea for Adam to side with Cinder, I wouldn't put it past him." Grun said with a hateful tone. Grun was reluctant to share more bad news, but Jaune needed to know this, "There's more: Corsac Albain and several other Fang members escaped Zartacla Prison a month ago."

(AN: Zartacla is "Alcatraz" spelled backwards)

Jaune was shocked; that prison was considered the most secure in the world, no one who was ever put there ever survived an escape attempt. "Well, that's just perfect…"

Both continued to walk until they reached a bench that stood under a shady tree. Jaune's mind then began to fall back on a thought he had before. Grun could see it in his eyes, "What's up?"

Jaune snapped back to reality, "Not sure…" Jaune then had a strange question he felt he had to ask, "Hey, you and Yang share everything right?"

Grun squinted his eyes, "For the most part, I like to think we don't keep secrets. But we are, after all, human."

Jaune chuckled as he pointed at Grun's wolf ears, "Most of us, anyway."

Grun's ears lowered to his head as he chuckled back, "A few extra genetic markers don't make us any more or less human, Jaune." Grun looked at how Jaune's face went from a smile to a straight face quickly, "What's wrong?

"I think Pyrrha is hiding something from me… something important," Jaune said with an unsure tone.

Grun cocked his head, "Important how?"

Jaune thought back hard with detail, he's been going over it in his head for the past two days since they arrived. And he was never truly sure of what he saw, "When we fought the Geists in the Throne Room, one of them possessed a torch. And when it formed a ring of fire around Pyrrha, she froze…" Jaune looked Grun in the eye, "I have never seen her freeze like that before. And the moment I knocked the Grimm out of the fire and gave her an opening shot, she was back to her old self…" Jaune relaxed a bit and leaned back, "I don't entirely know what to make of it."

Grun could see the turmoil running though him, "Have you asked her about it?"

Jaune shook his head, "No. She's still mourning Theodred." He stood up from the bench and turned to face Grun, "I think I know what it is, and if I'm right, I may have to sideline her."

Grun's eyes lit up, he stood from the bench, "Jaune, don't go making rash decisions. You can't just choose what to do with her before you even ask her."

"That's why I'm waiting until I ask her. And if I'm right then she can't keep fighting," Jaune said with a bit of a serious tone.

"You can't set a course of action that extreme without looking at all avenues, it might not be that cut and dry, brother," Grun knew that Jaune was trying to do what was best for her, but pulling her out of combat would cause tensions to rise.

Jaune nodded in understanding to Grun's point, "I know, but this isn't just about her, it's about the Kingdom. If they see another royal member die in front of them, all the Grimm in the whole continent will be gunning for us."

"Jaune, they already are," Grun said with a serious tone, "Don't let your fear decide your choices."

Jaune didn't respond to that statement, mostly because he didn't know what to say. Grun walked up to him and rested his hand on his shoulder and gripped firmly, "You, better than most, know that you shouldn't remove someone entirely just because something seems off. Did Ruby do that to you after Beacon? Both times?"

Jaune lifted his head, "Alright… When we get a chance, I'll ask."

"And at least hear her out?" Grun asked with a bit of a brotherly tone. Jaune nodded and smiled, Grun then let go of his shoulder and brushed his hand across Jaune's head.

Just then they both heard Nora running towards them, she stopped right at them and almost shouted, "The southern villages are being burned, and two survivors from Anemone's farms barely made it out to tell us. We need to tell the king."

Grun and Jaune followed Nora back into the main castle; this war appears to have escalated for Mistral.

In the Throne Room, the two survivors were treated with medical care and food as Eowyn got as much information from them as she could. She then walked over to the others with all the information the children could offer.

"They had no warning. The armored vehicles factory was severally damaged, same for the air-shipyard and the Dust factory. According to the boy, less then a day after the fist sabotage, the Grimm swarmed in droves," Eowyn said with sorrow for those who have died because they had no way of knowing until now.

"Eomer said that the factories in Anemone, Tustsuji and Saboten saw strange activity, but their factories sabotaged?" Grun said with disbelief, "How could that happen?"

"White Fang, most likely," Robin suggested. "After their attempted coup in Menagerie, they haven't been as strong in this country. They must have enough for just guerilla warfare, and the Grimm are just insurance that we can't get those factories up and running sooner."

"Where is Mom?!" Everyone looked to see the little black-haired girl cry out in fear. Her cousin wrapped his arm over her shoulder as Eowyn walked over to her.

King Theoden sat on his throne, listening to every word. Ozpin spoke up, "Whatever Saruman is planning for Mistral this is just the beginning."

"Something tells me he'll get more dangerous now," Everyone looked to Ren, he elaborated, "He had the King on a leash, now he's free. Salem wont take kindly to that failing, so Saruman is going to do whatever it takes to make up for it…"

"Like wiping out an entire kingdom," Grun concluded.

"We need to face him, head-on!" Pyrrha suggested, "If we face him on the open field, his forces will be distracted enough for our civilians to get to safety."

Theoden said nothing; he was weighing their options in his head. So far, none of them seamed good.

"Eomer is still patrolling the border," Jaune stated, "call him back and he'll muster more than 2 thousand to our fight."

Theoden stood up from his throne, "Call him with what? And besides, by this time he would be weeks away, we don't have that kind of time." Theoden looked around the room and looked everyone in the eye, he then turned to Ozpin, "I know what you want from me, but I am not going into risk my people. Mistral is not fighting in another Great War…"

Jaune stood out from his group, "The Great War has already started, Your Grace… Hide in this castle or fight on the field, it doesn't matter. People are dying out there, and we need to fight!"

Robin scoffed, "If I remember correctly, Eomer Nikos is the Star Knight of Mistral, not Jaune Arc."

Jaune gripped his fists as he stared Robin down, "No, but if I'm mistaken, you were the one who kicked him out?"

"I was following order from the king," Robin exclaimed.

"Orders that originated by Saruman and Slate!" Jaune almost yelled. Pyrrha grabbed his shoulder and stopped the argument before it could escalate further.

Pyrrha looked to her uncle, "What would you have our people do then, Uncle?"

Theoden could only think of one place that had the strength and the space to save what was left of Mistral, "We make for the Mountain Fortress of Helms Deep." Theoden then turns to Robin and the other Mistral generals, "Ready the airship-fleet, and evacuate the capital. Send word to all the villages beyond the capital that are less than a day's ride from us to follow, tell all others to scatter."

Robin and the generals bowed their heads and left the room to follow their orders.

The capital was in constant motion as the civilians were loading up into the airships by the dozens. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of airships in the air, mostly civilian and large cargo carrier-ships. The military fleet was less than 1/3 of the fleet, but they were adequate enough to protect the fleet from any attacks from the air.

Ozpin was walking with Jaune, Sun, Grun and Cardin as they were walking though the courtyard, they watched the fleet lift above the ground and hover over the capital like metal clouds.

"Helms deep, they run when they should stay and fight," Cardin exclaimed.

Grun rolled his eyes, "He's only doing what he thinks is right. Helms Deep has saved Mistral in the past."

"But that fortress is outdated, and its weapons are antiques," Sun added with a bit of concern in his tone.

"And there is no way out of that fortress; if it is to be under siege, they would have nowhere to go," Ozpin had been there before and saw it as a possible death trap, if anyone ever managed to breach the fortress.

"We could be walking into a trap then…" Jaune started to piece it together in his head, Mistral is ravaged hard and the people are forced to flee into a fortress that has no back door, a perfect way to wipe out a kingdom with one battle.

Ozpin turned to Jaune, "Theoden is strong, but I fear for him, and all of Mistral." He then looked Jaune dead in the eye; "Theoden will need you in that battle, Jaune. The defenses must hold out."

Jaune nodded his head, "They will."

Ozpin then walked over to an auto shop that had some spare motorcycles that Ozpin intended to use. He pulled one out and sat down on it, Grun looked at Ozpin's posture and felt he had to ask, "You do know how to ride one of these right?"

Ozpin looked to Grun, "Who do you think rode the first one ever built?"

Everyone started to laugh. After settling down, Ozpin looked to Jaune, "I estimate I'll meet you all there in five days, if we're lucky, we'll be there by sunrise of the fifth."

Grun crossed his fingers, "Here's hoping."

"Good luck to you all." Ozpin revved up the engine and rode off down the street, making his way to the edge of the capital and riding out beyond the wall, heading west.

Meanwhile in Haven Academy, Peter Slate rode into the dark fortress and rode up to the tower that his master claimed as his home.

Saruman was furious at Ozpin's intervention and steeling Mistral's monarch out from under him, he growled in anger as he threw a table over with fury, "Ozpin is a fool if he thinks I'm going to let this deception lying down…"

As Slate entered the room, he explained what happened, "I summoned the Geists as you told me, but the ones who were with him, this team 'JNPR', they defeated the Geists."

"JNPR?" Saruman was surprised to hear that name again, "Ah, Jaune Arc's team…"

"You know him?" Slate felt curious if there was a story behind this.

Saruman rolled his eyes, "He is just a boy that was born lucky, nothing more." Saruman turned to Slate, "If I am to fulfill my mission to Salem, we must wipe out the remaining members of the Royal family."

Slate smiled, "And I know JUST how to do it…"

As the shuttles full of civilians lifted off the ground, they ferried the people up to the cargo carriers that were refitted to be Noncombatant Transports, NCTs. Meanwhile all the military dropships used some of the cargo-haulers to carry any remaining military supplies, weapons and vehicles they would need to help hold the fortress.

It may have saved Mistral from destruction in some of the wars of the Old Kingdoms, but its defensive armaments are severally outdated and/or obsolete.

The royal Flagship, Sleipnir, hovered over the castle, there was a wide ramp that lowered down to the front gate and allowed the heads of military and royal family to board without trouble.

Theoden stared at his throne, Pyrrha walked up to her uncle, "The ship is ready, uncle."

Theoden turned to her as she was turning away, "Pyrrha…" She turned to look back at him, "This is not a defeat. We will return." Pyrrha smiled back at him and nodded in agreement.

Theoden walked out of the castle and saw the ship above him. As he set foot on the ramp and walked up, Pyrrha exited the castle behind him. She walked on as well while waving her hand for them to take off. Half way up the ramp, as the ship was lifting off the ground, Pyrrha turned back at the castle as they were getting higher and then continued up the ramp.

With the Sleipnir taking off, the flotilla of Mistral began flying northeast, for Helms Deep.

"Theoden knows that Mistral's capital city is weak," Slate had been an informant for Saruman for almost a year before Saruman did his magical manipulation of the king. He knew him better than anyone, "Thanks to the reports he would be getting from the rest of the country, he'll expect an attack on the main city."

"Where would he go then?" Saruman asked in curiosity.

"The only place they can go for sanctuary, or at least the illusion of sanctuary. Helms Deep," Slate said with a smirk. "They would take the airship-fleet, it would take them weeks to get there by land. The fleet would be forced to fly across the Great Lake of Anima, and most likely through the floating islands. They will be flying fast enough for the passengers to be comfortable; men, women and children alike."

Saruman began to smirk; this news couldn't have come at a better time for them.

Making his way into catacombs of the Tomb of Isengard, Saruman reached an open area with aviary Grimm flying around it. He approached an Uruk Hai that had Nevermore features, beak mouth, feathered arms and talon feet.

"Lord Saruman, to what do I owe this pleasure?" the Uruk asked with a grin, as best that can be made with a beak for a mouth.

"How many Hoard-fliers do you have ready, Theta?" Saruman asked.

Theta began to smile, "Three dozen Lancers, half dozen Nevermores and a full dozen Griffins."

"Good. I have a mission for you," Saruman then pulled out a small pistol and knife; the knife was made of obsidian, and the pistol had obsidian bullets. "Take these." "Arc will be with them, what better way to make Ozpin suffer than to have one of his favorite students die for his sake?"

Meanwhile in the continent of Draco, Ruby, Yang and Smeagol were following a creek that would lead them to their detour.

Smeagol was hopping though the water, trying his best to catch a fish as it kept slipping out of his hands. Yang felt that he was moving too fast and too far from them, "Hey, stinkweed, don't get too far ahead of us!"

Ruby squinted her eyes at Yang, "Why do you do that?"

Yang looked back at Ruby, "Do what?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Call him mean names, put him down all the time. Really, it's not like you."

Yang felt a bit sad that Ruby didn't see it from her point of view, "Because that's all he is, Ruby… He isn't here because he likes us, or helping us because he wants to… All he wants is the Ring, what do you think he'll try to do when he learns what we're really going to do with it?"

Ruby lowered her head, "Why are you so sure that he is nothing more than a creature of anguish?" She then lifted her head to look at him not far away, holding the fish in his hand, "There is hope for him, and I want to help…"

"Why?" Yang asked in confusion, "What has he done for us?"

Ruby gestures to their area, "He got us this far? If not for him, we'd be going in circles back at the mountains… And if not for him, I would have died in that swamp."

"It's because of him that we went into that swamp in the first place," Yang said with a skeptical tone, "A creature like him isn't one worth trying to save, Ruby."

Ruby looked at Gollum as he was panting in the middle of the river, "I have to believe someone like him can come back…"

"Why?" Yang asked in confusion.

Ruby looked to Yang with a bit of optimism in her eyes, "Because if someone like him can come back, then there's hope for the rest of the world… some of it, anyway." As Ruby walked off, Yang couldn't help but smile at her sister; despite all they've been though, she still has the some of that innocent look on the world.

That night, Smeagol and Gollum had a bit of an argument. The girls were asleep, so Smeagol had the privacy of his conversation with himself.

"We wants it. Must have the precious…" Gollum snarled under his breath. "They stole it from us, sneaky little huntresses… Wicked. Tricksy. FALSE!"

Smeagol shook his head, "Not, mistress…"

Gollum didn't hesitate to scorn Ruby, "Yes, mistress is false… She is evil! They both are evil. They will cheat you, hurt you, lie!"

Smeagol shook his head, trying not to think of them that way, "No. Mistress Ruby is my friend…"

"YOU DON'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS!" Gollum hissed, "No one likes you…"

Smeagol put his hands to his ears, "I'm not listening. I'm not listening."

Gollum spoke softly, "You're a liar and a thief…"

Smeagol turned his head, "No…"

"Murderer…" Gollum spoke with a dark and demented tone; this was something that haunted Smeagol for decades, and decades more to come.

Smeagol began to start crying, putting his hands to his head, "I hate you… I hate you."

"Where would you be without ME?" Gollum began to growl, "We survived because of ME!"

Smeagol opened his eyes, as he came to the realization, "Not anymore"

"What?" Gollum asked.

"Mistress takes care of us now… I don't need you anymore," Smeagol began to have hope in his voice.

Gollum growled, "You will always need me!"

"Leave now and never come back!" Smeagol spoke loudly.

Gollum was furious, "NO!" He growled as he pounded his hand on the ground.

"Leave now and NEVER come back!" Smeagol said with a bit more spirit in his voice. After a minute, nothing happened; he didn't hear Gollum anymore, he looked around as if he'd be right behind him but saw no one. "I told him to leave, and he goes…" Smeagol started to jump around happily, "GONE! GONE! GONE! Smeagol is free!"

The next morning, Smeagol ran up to Ruby with a pair of rabbits in his teeth as he dropped them next to her boots. Ruby was looking though her bag for food, and was happy to see that Smeagol brought them food on his own.

"I has food for mistress!" Smeagol said with joy as he took one of them and started to bite into it.

Both Yang and Ruby started to get disgusted by the sight of him eating a rabbit raw; Yang pulled the rabbit out of his mouth, "If you're going to bring us food, don't act like an animal." She then walks over to the other rabbit and picks it up, "If you're going to eat rabbit, you have to cook it!"

Yang and Ruby cooked the rabbits in a pot and turned them into a soup. Smeagol started to moan in sadness and anger, "Stupid yellow huntress! You ruins it!"

"What's to ruin? There's more fat than meat on these," Yang said as she stirred the pot. Ruby passed her some seasoning, even some of that salt that Yang brought from Patch. "Not a roast chicken, but this'll do."

"What's a 'roast'?" Smeagol asked in confusion, he had never heard the term before.

"Well, you take a chicken, put it in an oven, heat it up until it turns brown." Yang trying her best to sum up the steps to someone as uneducated as Smeagol, "And be sure to mix salt and pepper with it to make it more flavorful."

"Ok, who are you and what have you done with my sister?" Ruby asked in a bit of surprise, mostly joy.

"Ha. Ha. When I was in Menagerie with Grun last year, Blake's mom taught me a few cooking methods that I got down quickly." As Yang stirred the pot she smiled as she said, "She even told me a good recipe for red-velvet cookies."

Ruby's eyes started to sparkle, "Red-velvet… that's one of my favorites!"

Yang chuckled, "All cookies are your favorite!"

Meanwhile Smeagol was completely clueless to what they were talking about.

After they were finished eating breakfast, they continued their journey. As they climbed up a hill, they started to hear loud noises, large motor vehicles and the sound of large animals walking nearby.

All three of them got down and crawled under a bush to stay out of sight. As they watched down the hill below them, they saw a small army of soldiers marching; they were wearing a familiar symbol on their shirts and vehicles.

"White Fang…" Yang hissed in anger.

"Why are they in Draco?" Ruby was confused, there were no settlements that belonged to any kingdoms on the continent, why would there be an army this large here?

"When Adam led them, they served under Cinder." Yang remembered what Grun said to her about why the Fang were at Beacon during the battle. And now they serve a new mistress, "Now that both are gone, maybe they follow Salem…"

"But why are they here?" Ruby asked.

"They leaving Mordor…" Smeagol assumed; he's been around long enough to know when an army is regrouping instead of attacking. "Big black knight is gathering as many armies as he can…"

"Gathering them where?" Ruby asked.

"Atlas… Big Black Knight wants to take back his homeland…" Smeagol was referring to Rourke; he remembered when Rourke would often talk about taking his home back from the 'spineless fools' that own it now.

Yang gripped the grass beneath her hands tightly, "Whatever Vale is facing, Atlas is going to get the full blunt of it first…" She looked to Ruby; "We are so close to Atlas, here, with an army of Grimm and now White Fang joining… Salem has all she needs to cripple the kingdom in massive invasion."

Ruby's fear began to grow, "I don't even want to imagine what these guys are capable of if they are going to siding with Salem."

As if things weren't bad enough, they saw something else appear behind the hills. A pair of massive Goliaths walked along the army of White Fang troopers. On their backs appeared to be a large platform, big enough for 20-30 people to be on it's back. The Goliaths themselves were a lot larger than the ones Yang and Ruby have seen before. These were almost 3 times bigger, and their tusks were longer, more to the ground.

The 'platform' appeared to be made of metal plates that stood on the Goliath's back like a saddle; it had heavy armor plates for the passengers, machine gun turrets along the sides, and the front had a smaller platform just above the Goliath's head for a driver to stand and steer the beast.

Yang and Ruby looked with both awe and fear; Ruby couldn't help but say, "That is scary and awesome at the same time…"

"They still have their 'Grimm-control' bands… This is not good." Yang said under her breath with anger.

Just then they started to hear gunshots, several Fang troopers went down instantly, then the firefight started. Troopers started shooting blindly at the hills, some bullets almost hit Ruby and Yang.

One of the Goliaths started to roar as it was being peppered with bullets and dust rounds. One of them began to charge and escape the ambush, while the other ran in another direction, right for Ruby and Yang.

Ruby and Yang saw it was coming for them, when Ruby looked to grab Smeagol he was gone, with no trace. Ruby looked back to see the Goliath come right towards them. "Fire Lily!"

The two started shoot fire dust rounds in a pattern that, when looking from behind, looked like a flower. The barrage of bullets hit the creature in the face, forcing it to slow down, and then a glowing bullet hit the creature's right side of its head and exploded, causing it to turn hard left.

Ruby and Yang were surprised to see a Goliath turn so quickly, Ruby recognized that kind of explosion, "Jaune is here?"

Just then they both heard guns cocking and foot soldiers approaching. They surrounded them on all sides and had their guns pointing at them. "Make a move and it'll be your last…"

"Drop your weapons," said another soldier. Ruby and Yang complied, Ruby lowered her scythe and Yang dropped her gauntlets.

They were forced to turn towards the troopers and had troops pat them down; they weren't just looking for concealed weapons, but for animal traits too. Once they were done patting down, the girls saw hooded man with a sniper rifle on his back that approached them, "Probably the one in charge," Yang thought.

The man removed his hood, and looked to the other soldiers, "Well?"

"They aren't Faunus, Commander Faramir," Said one of the soldiers who was holding Yang, "They almost look like Huntresses."

"Huntresses, on Draco? Why?" Faramir asked the two girls. "The only reason anyone would be out here is to serve the Dark Queen or kill her servants… So which are you?"

"We don't serve that witch!" Yang spat, she hated the thought of someone thinking she worked for her.

"We are on a mission to help bring an end to her…" Ruby exclaimed, hoping it would get them to ease off of them. "We're all on the same side!"

"Are we?" Faramir gave them a skeptical look, "Whatever mission you are following, is over." He then motioned for the troops to grab the girls and take them with them.

A few hours have passed since the flotilla left Mistral's capital. Jaune talked with the captains of the fleet and organized regular squadron patrols. As big of a fleet as it was, it was vulnerable to air attack from any Grimm or otherwise.

Pyrrha was in her cabin, she was thinking deeply on what her uncle said. "I am going to be the next queen… But that means I wont marry Jaune…" She gripped her hands tight, she didn't notice that the chair next to her bed began to crush under invisible pressure. "It's not fair…"

She opened her eyes to see the chair broken beside her, "Oops." She tried her best to fix the chair with her polarity, but it was clearly dented all over. "I need to tell him…"

Outside, on the main deck of the Sleipnir, Jaune was contemplating how to confront Pyrrha about what he saw in that fight. "I need to hear her out, how did dad say it? 'To keep something important from your partner in the middle of a life-or-death struggle isn't so much a betrayal, it's a failure of communication between partners.' Either way, I have to know."

Jaune then heard the tap of Pyrrha's heals approach. He turned to see her in a bit of a sad mood, she could see that he had the same mood on his face. "What's wrong?" they both asked in unison, they chuckled.

"You go first," Pyrrha suggested.

Jaune nodded, "Ok, there's something I think we should address, Pyrrha."

She then started to get scared, "Does he already know?"

"During the fight with the Geists…" Pyrrha gave a near invisible sigh of relief, Jaune continued, "you froze when you were surrounded by fire… Are you pyrophobic?"

Pyrrha's fear came back as quickly as it left in only two seconds, "I… well," She lowered her head in shame, "Yes…"

Jaune bit his lower lip, he was hoping she was going to say 'no', "How long? When did you notice?"

She lifted her head as she answered, "I didn't officially notice until about a year ago…"

"ALMOST A YEAR?!" Jaune couldn't hold in his outburst, "I could understand if you discovered it a few weeks or months ago, but a year without telling me?"

Pyrrha was surprised he was being so offended by her reply, "I'm not completely afraid of fire, only when we're in combat! My body just freezes up on it's own."

"In combat is the most crucial time to know if you can move, Pyrrha!" Jaune started to sound like a seasoned soldier yelling at a rookie, "Something like this should have been shared on the first day!"

"What's the big deal? I'm fine." She then gestures to their current setting, "We made it this far, didn't we?"

"Pyrrha, it's not about if we made it this far or not, it's about trusting each other in combat. I shared everything with you…" Jaune turned to the side of the ship and leaned on the railing, "Why did you keep this from me?"

"I didn't want you to have to worry about me," Pyrrha walked over to him and rested her hand on his shoulder, "You had the Fellowship, Ruby, the mission, Vale, I just didn't want to pile all of it on your shoulders."

Jaune shrugged her hand off his shoulder as he turned towards her, "But it's not just about us anymore, Pyrrha." He then points out to the fleet around them, "There is an entire kingdom around us on the run, and they just lost their prince. Imagine what would happen if they lost their princess when her partner failed keep her safe? Think of what your uncle would do?"

Right then, Pyrrha's mind went sour as she began to get angry, "Since when did I ever need you to protect me?" She was fed up with talk about royalty and her being a princess; all the drama that skep kept hidden just flooded out on this subject. "I protected you when you were pretending to be a huntsman in our academy days!"

Jaune began to get irritated, "I'm not just trying to protect you, Pyrrha. Mistral is on the verge of collapse in only a week, if we're not careful... And if they lose you, they lose their spirit."

"Well I don't need a 'strong man' to protect me, I've done well on my own since I was 10 and I don't need one now," Pyrrha said with a snarky tone.

Jaune gave her a serious glare as he exclaimed, "You got your ass kicked and declared dead for two years, are you sure about that statement?"

"Well I don't need YOU to protect me!" Pyrrha said with anger.

Jaune then just flung his hands up and shouted, "FINE!"

Pyrrha then stormed off, stomping her feet on the deck. She passed by a door and saw Ren, Nora and Grun standing behind it with fear in their eyes. She glanced at them and continued down the deck.

Grun came out form behind the door and looked to Pyrrha before looking back to Jaune, "God, Jaune, did you at least hear her out?!"

Jaune rolled his eyes, "Shut up." He walked away and made his way to the bridge, looking over holo-maps often cleared his head.

Nora looked to Ren and Grun with tears in her eyes, "What happens now?"

Grun crosses his arms, "I'll go talk with him, and you two talk with her. Something tells me that wasn't just about her combat problems."

Grun found Jaune standing at the very front of the ship, overlooking the waters ahead, in deep thought. Grun approached Jaune and stood beside him, "That was a train wreck."

"She started it," Jaune said with a childish tone.

"How old are you?" Grun asked with an irritated tone.

"Grun…" Jaune didn't want to start an argument with him but it was happening anyway.

"Come on, Jaune. I know you better than that!" Grun leaned against the rails as he punched Jaune's shoulder, "It was clear that she was aggravated by something else than you being too prideful."

"I wasn't being prideful!" Jaune almost yelled, "When I got her back, I swore to her and her family I'd keep her safe… And when I saw her at Theodred's funeral, I felt that she'd be a bit more venerable than usual for a while…"

"So you thought that the best way to protect her is to put her on the side lines for lying to you?" Grun asked in hoping to get clarity.

"NO! Yes? I don't know! I just want what's best for her…" Jaune said with a bit of sadness at the end.

Grun put his hand on Jaune's shoulder, "No one can survive alone, Jaune. And benching the woman you love out of desperation is the fastest way to die." Jaune still wouldn't budge, until Grun brought up something he hadn't in years, "My only regret is not being by Arianna's side before the end… You have a chance that was taken from me, don't let it pass you by."

Jaune slowly turned to Grun, "You cheated…" He didn't so much as smirk but gave him a 'you're right' glare.

Grun smirked, "Regrets weigh as heavily as any chain, brother… And they are twice as taxing. If you have a chance to alleviate yourself from them, do it."

Jaune might as well have been wound up like a toy soldier as he walked away in search of Pyrrha to apologize.

Two soldiers were walking though a corridor of the ship and then they heard a loud yell, "You can't MARRY HIM!?" Nora shouted loud enough for them to hear her though the metal door of Pyrrha's quarters.

Pyrrha held her hands out to them, "Keep it quiet, this ship's walls are thinner than you think."

Nora sat back down, "Sorry… But seriously, why would your uncle do that?"

"It's not his choice," Ren stated with understanding of monarchy, "In matters of the royal family, if the immediate family dies, the closest relative must take the mantle."

"So that was the reason why you freaked out on him?" Nora asked in slight hope, when she heard what Pyrrha said about Jaune she didn't want to believe she meant it.

Pyrrha sat on the bed and made a guilty look, "When he brought up what was best for the family… I almost felt he would side with my uncle if I told him, but I took it too far."

"You can still apologize to him," Ren recommended, "Grun is with him now, I'm sure he can convince Jaune to hear you out."

Pyrrha felt a bit more at ease, "Grun is one of the few people in the world that can budge though Jaune's pride." Not that she has too much of a problem with it, she often found him being proud against other high ranked officials to be cute.

As she walked past him, Ren recalled the last time Grun 'got through' to Jaune, "He doesn't much 'budge though' as he does 'break it with a hammer'." Pyrrha chuckled as she remembered the same thing.

On the bridge of the Sleipnir, the radar operator started to see a haze of red specs east, coming out of the floating islands they were passing by. He zoomed in on the haze and found it to be a massive hoard of flying Grimm, "Captain! We got incoming!"

The captain of the ship and King Theoden approached to see what ensign was seeing, Theoden looked to the captain, "I want all civilian vessels to head to Helms Deep at top speed; Sleipnir, three cruisers and a fighter squadron will be their escort."

"It will be done, Your Grace," the captain saluted his king.

Theoden then looked to the communication's officer, "Order all fighters in the air, I want all the remaining combat ships to wait here to engage them, we must hold them off as long as we can!"

Jaune and Pyrrha were on opposite sides of the ship when they were looking for each other, but then they heard the same thing on the intercom, "General orders, ALL HANDS, MAN YOUR BATTLESTATIONS!"

Jaune looked around to see other ships with lights blinking red; fighter jets launched from hangers on carriers, dropships fitted with turret men lifted off large transports, he could hear fighters launch from below deck.

Jaune was standing near one of the docking platforms for shuttles, he saw Robin climb onboard. Robin saw Jaune standing there, "Arc, move it, we have a fleet to save!"

Jaune snapped out of his daze, "I'll have to apologize after the fight." Jaune ran to the shuttle and walked on right as it dethatched from the docking clamp.

On the opposite side of the ship, Pyrrha saw her uncle walking out of one main structure of the ship and walked towards a nearby shuttle. Pyrrha ran up to him, "What's going on?"

"A Grimm hoard is on its way, we are going to make a stand here and give the fleet a chance to reach the fortress," before Pyrrha could say anything, Theoden motioned for her to stop. "You're not coming with us."

"But I can fight, Uncle!" Pyrrha said with bit anger in her tone.

"I am leaving you to lead the fleet to safety. Don't argue with me," Theoden walked onto the shuttle and motioned for the pilot to take off. Pyrrha watched as the shuttles and fighters stayed stationary as the civilian fleet moved on.

The remaining members of JNPR and GMBL hopped onto dropships as the fleet left them behind. Team SSSN and CRDL remained on the ship to help the escort fleet in case any Grimm stragglers made it though the blockade.

Some of the shuttles dropped off large anti-air turrets onto the floating islands, with them a few dozen troops were dropped off to stage machine gun sentries to protect the turrets.

Meanwhile all the fighters and shuttles with turrets were set up in defensive formations in the area.

Theoden landed on one of the floating islands that had a gun emplacement, "Wait for them to be in our weapons range. We hold the blockade for as long as possible. Engage at will and stay out of our turret's line of fire," He said on the radio as he stood by his soldiers.

Jaune was standing in one of the shuttles, looking out to see the hoard of flying Grimm fly though the islands, "This is going to be a wild fight."

Within minutes the Flying Hoard was right on top of the blockade. The sound of gunfire and throttling engines made it sound like a hurricane hit overhead. Aside from the dozens of Grimm being ridden into battle by Uruks. There dozens of Grimm, including some giant Nevermores and swarms of Lancers.

The fighter squadrons were having dogfights with the Lancers while the gunships were providing fire support for the turret emplacements. Some of the Grimm were fast enough to evade the turret's fire and land on the islands, enabling them to attack them directly.

Theoden and his men did what they could to defend the turrets; without them, this fight would end quickly. A few turrets were quickly overrun, so the few that remained had to hold out. Every hunter in the battle lashed out with everything they could in this fight, there was too much at stake to be holding any punches.

Ren jumped out from his shuttle and jumped onto a Nevermore and towards the Uruk rider with so much speed, it didn't react in time as Ren decapitated it. Ren then fired several shots into the neck of the Nevermore and then jumped off onto a Lancer.

Nora jumped off her shuttle, formed her hammer, and 'flew' though the air, with her feet on the hammer. She flew a few seconds until three Lancers intercepted her. She was forced to land on a small floating island; she then converted her hammer into its secondary grenade launcher mode and fired her "Heart-grenade" barrage, all three Lancers were blasted to nothing, and their riders with them.

Robin was on the ground with one of the turrets and saw four Griffons making a run for the turret he was protecting. Robin ran fast, drew four arrows rapidly and shot them two at a time; two hit separate Griffons that were in front of the other two and set them on fire, the last two jumped over the first two and were hit in the gut by the second set of arrows, they froze solid and landed on the ground in pieces.

Grun jumped from his shuttle and launched the blades on his gauntlets like grapples and latched onto one of the Nevermores. He pulled himself up onto its back and then kicks the Uruk of it's back. He then held his hands out and activated his gravity semblance to pull a few large rock along with him and then threw them at some of the Lancers that were flying by, and then pulled two more towards himself and jumped off as the two rocks crushed the Nevermore he was riding.

Macht could see a giant Nevermore destroy one of the turret emplacements and was now attacking the soldiers around it. He ran fast and hard and jumped with all his strength to the island below him. He used his sonic vibration semblance on his feet, giving him a bit more of a boost towards the island. He held his arms out wide and switched his knives into their whip mode; he landed on the beast's back and then slung his whips to wrap around the creature's neck. And with all his strength he pulled both whips and decapitated the Nevermore with one great tug.

Blitz and Leere were defending another turret emplacement that was being attacked by three Griffons and four Lancers that were coming up from under the island they were on. Blitz opened the parts of his tonfa to reveal the gun barrels as he starts shooting at some of them as they climbed over the edge and start charging at them. He then fired at the Lancers and damaged their wings, forcing them to the ground and as their Uruk riders jumped off to attack him he knocked them down with his tonfas with ease.

Leere moved fast and slashed at two of the Griffons that ran past Blitz and cut their legs and damaged their wings. She then converted her sais into their pistol form and shot the riders in their necks before they could jump off. She then quickly turned to find a Lancer rush her, she switched back to her sais and blocked the bug's stinger just a few inches from her face and was holding it there with all her strength. She then pushed the stinger up and over her head and then turned quickly as she shot it's driver off. Without a driver the Lancer went up on it's own but was shot down by the Turret the duo were protecting.

Theoden lead his troops with strength and true leadership. As he was protecting the turret nearby, a Griffon charged at him and tried to bite him. He held his shield up to block its beak from chomping down on him. After pushing it off, he quickly stabbed his sword down its throat.

A few other Uruks that jumped off their Grimm charged at the troops protecting the turrets. Marauders proved to be harsh in one-on-one fighting, while Marksman were proven to have earned their names. Marauders were merciless to the soldiers they encountered, it took two or three men to take just one of them down. Marksmen used their Grimm like gunships and shot at those on the ground to make it easier for the Marauders. Were it not for the other aircraft, they would have over run four turret emplacements.

The air battle in between the islands was fast and loud. Not just form the gunfire but from engines gunning and the loud clashes of wind resistance on sharp turns. The fighter jets were able to take on Nevermores and Griffons with no real problems, but the Lancers proved to be just as dangerous at high speeds as they were stationary.

Jaune ran as fast as he could and spread his light wings, using his 'need to protect' the people on the transports, he was able to fly fast and take on the Grimm along side some of the air craft. He flew up behind a giant Nevermore's back, drew his sword in Long-sword mode and stabbed it in the neck. Just then he saw several fighter jets in the air above him getting decimated by something moving fast, it was a Queen Lancer, and some kind of Warlock Uruk riding it. "That must be the leader…"

On the ground, Ren was trying his best to keep up with the almost continuous swarm of aviary Grimm. Just as he landed on one of the islands to catch his breath, two Uruks surprised him by jumping off their Grimm as they flew by. Ren blocked their blows and gunned them down, but then he felt a sharp object hit him in the shoulder. He hit the ground and found himself looking up at the head of a Lancer, it bared its mandibles at him and prepared to eat him, but then an arrow of pierced it's head from behind and froze it solid.

The Lancer disintegrated but Ren could hardly move, the stinger it hit him with injected some of the paralytic venom in his system. Robin was on one of the turret emplacements above where Ren was, so he made his way down to him to keep him safe as long as he could.

Nora flew more with her hammer and then landed near Theoden's position. When she was making her way, she felt something go threw her left thigh. She hit the ground hard in both shock and pain; she looked up to see a Griffon with a Marksman pointing its rifle at her. She quickly rolled as more bullets flew in her direction.

The Marksman was about to get a lucky shot off but his Griffon was suddenly pulled down by something. Nora could see Macht pulling the Griffon down with one of his whips wrapped around its neck, and the other around its left wing. He then tugged hard to allow the whip's blade to cleave the Griffon into pieces. As the Uruk fell from that height, it then saw Macht above it and grab on to it as they landed on the floating island. Macht away from the impact without so much as a scratch, "I've had better landings," he said as he walked away from the flattened Uruk.

Jaune followed the Queen Lancer in the air, it moved faster than the other Lancers and but was slower when turning. Jaune was still getting the hang of flying, so this became a challenge for him.

With his sword in it's sheath form, Jaune fried his pistol as he was chasing the Queen. Theta noticed Jaune shooting at them as they were evading his shots. Theta fired a bolt of lighting from his staff, Jaune missed it by a hair; he heard one of the islands behind him get hit with a powerful blast.

This was Jaune's first 'dog-fight' in mid air. Right now his main priority was just to follow his enemy and not get shot down. He continued to evade every bolt of lightning that was shot in his direction, while simultaneously trying not to run into any of the floating rocks in the area. As he flew above the Lancer, he fired three explosive shots at them but the Lancer banked sharply, dodging every explosion.

Theta fired a lighting bolt at the floating island above Jaune, as the rocks came down above him he fired an explosive round at the largest above him, the blast caused a lot of dust and smoke. Theta turned around sharply and made his way towards the dust, looking for Jaune as he flew into it.

As Theta and the Queen Lancer looked around, they couldn't find the winged knight. Just then Theta felt something land on the Lancer's back and quickly turned around to see Jaune running up its exoskeleton with his long sword.

Theta stood from his saddle and blocked the sword with his Dust staff; the Lancer reacted to the clash and started flying forward, to knock Jaune off.

Jaune lost his footing when the Lancer moved; he slipped off the side and barely had the chance to grab one of its lower legs. The Queen Lancer tried to accelerate in speed to get Jaune to let go, but his grip was tight enough. He quickly stabbed his sword into the abdomen of the Lancer; it slowed down in pain.

Jaune looked up to see Theta pointing the lighting dust at him and saw a bolt strike his left shoulder. Jaune lost his grip after he was hit, but he quickly spread his wings. Jaune drew his pistol and fired an armor-piercing round and broke Theta's staff into pieces, while also exiting though his right shoulder.

Theta quickly pulled out what appeared to be a glock pistol and fired several shots at Jaune, a few hit his armor plates but nothing hit his body. Jaune then flew upward and then sharply forward to tackle Theta onto the center of the Queen's back. Theta lost the gun full of obsidian bullets and was left with only the knife.

Jaune then swiftly swung his long sword to cut one of the Queen's left sets of wings; it quickly began to loose altitude. Before Jaune could react, he felt a pinch in his right side; he looked down to see a black hand stabbing a knife into his side. "That black glass again?" He knew that blade had to have been made of obsidian if it was able to pierce though his aura so easily.

Jaune reverse gripped his Long sword and stabbed Theta through the belly. Just then they both lost their balance as the Queen Lancer and fell on it's back, the creature was skidding against the side of a floating island. They both looked to ahead to see it was on a collision course for a floating island with a large Gravity Dust shard sticking out of it.

Theta slipped off the queen and landed on an island that was below them, with Joyuse still in his belly. Jaune on the other hand got back up and jumped off the lancer and tried to spread his wings but nothing happened. As he was falling he turned to see the knife still in his side, with the wind resistance and him freefalling rapidly, he tried to reach for the knife.

Above him he heard a loud explosion of the lancer clashing with the dust shard above and then suddenly he was engulfed by the smoke and debris of the island's destruction.

Back at the civilian fleet, Pyrrha watched the whole battle play out on the radar screen. There was no clear reading on whom among all the allied dots on the screen were, but she was able to make out the hunters by how fast they moved. Just then they saw explosion on the radar, "What was that?"

"Could have been one of the Gravity Dust igniting, princess," the ensign said with an unclear tone. "I've seen dust explode on screen before, but none as big as that…"

With that explosion and the loss of their leader, the remaining Uruks and Grimm fled the battle out of self-preservation. Those that were left behind were quickly dealt with by the hunters and surviving soldiers.

As the fighting died down, some of the shuttles settled down near the turret emplacements and picked up the soldiers and the wounded. As Grun got onboard he tapped his comlink, "Hunter head count, sound off."

"Nora, here, Ren's here too but he can't move too well." "This is Blitz, Leere and I are ok." "Macht, here, helping Nora get Ren on the shuttle."

Grun waited for a second and didn't hear Jaune respond, "Jaune, do you read?" For a few seconds there was no answer, "Anyone got eyes on Jaune?"

Grun heard Macht speak up on the radio, "Last I saw of him, he was chasing that Queen Lancer near where that explosion happened."

Grun turned and ran to the cockpit of the shuttle, "Pilot, get me to that smokestack NOW!" The pilot did not hesitate to follow the orders of the hunter that helped them.

Nora's shuttle flew along side Grun's and followed them to the smokestack. As they flew close to the smoke, Grun spotted a figure moving on a nearby island in a trail of black liquid and a white object though it's body.

The shuttles landed, Grun and Nora made their way to what appeared to be an Uruk that they saw from up high. Nora more or less limped with Grun helping her, as they reached the Uruk, Grun pushed the Uruk on it's side to get him to look at them.

Grun let go of Nora so that he could extend his claws from his gauntlet and place their edges against Theta's neck, "Tell me where the owner of that sword is, and I'll make your death quick."

Theta vomited some blood and coughed loudly, he then started to chuckle under his breath, "He's… dead. If it wasn't the explosion, then hitting the water would have finished him…" he continued to laugh under his throat.

Grun removed the blade from Theta's neck and slashed a bit of Theta's chest in anger, "Tell me the truth, you little prick!"

With all the pain and loss of blood, Theta went silent and then went limp. Before they knew it, his body began to dissolve, leaving a human skeleton behind and a puddle of black goop. Grun picked Joyuse and pressed the button to change the sheath back into standby mode.

Another shuttle landed near the two, King Theoden exited and saw Grun and Nora stair at the smokestack. He could tell they were trying to see if they could find Jaune in the smoke or in the water below, but they couldn't see anything.

Theoden talked into his radio on all frequencies, "All ships, collect the survivors and recover any and all equipment we can still use… leave the dead."

Grun turned to glare at Theoden, he could see that he meant what he said and had no intention of changing his mind. Before he could even start an argument, Grun felt Macht grab his shoulder, "Come on, boss… we have to go."

Grun turned back to Nora who was staring at the smokestack; Nora didn't say anything, not even when she began to limp back to the shuttle with the help of Macht.

Back with the civilian fleet, the Sleipnir lead the ships to the mountains and could see the fortress of Helms Deep. The captain addressed Pyrrha, "Princess, we are making our final approach."

As they got closer, Pyrrha was amazed how large the fortress was to the ships. She could see smaller ships already there, "Captian?" She was confused; originally she thought they'd get there first.

"Other's who heard King Theoden's call to come here in the time he gave us: Shion, Marigold and Larkspur village," the captain then turned to the helmsmen, "Bring us into the mountain, lieutenant."

As the fleet moved above the fortress, the mountains behind it began to open up several large doors to reveal large hanger bays for ships of their size. As the ships landed the people onboard disembarked and went on to carry out their duties in the mountain fortress.

Pyrrha walked off the ramp and heard on a soldier's radio that the King and the survivors from the blockade are about to land. She quickly ran to the next landing field they were going to land in.

As the shuttles landed, Pyrrha saw her uncle get off first. He started making his way to the command center from there and was met by Pyrrha, "My god, there are so few of you…"

Theoden stopped and looked her in the eye, "Our people our safe, many brave men and women paid for it with their lives…" He wasn't scolding her; he just hated losing people in battle, as would any commander.

Nora was limping along side Ren, who was on a gurney, he was awake but his body wouldn't move. Pyrrha ran up to them, "Ren are you ok?"

"He'll be alright." Said the medic, "Once in the medical clinic we can give him the antivenom, he'll be right as rain within a day."

Nora pulled aside to be placed on a wheelchair as they took her to get her leg treated; Nora was even given a chance to speak to Pyrrha, but when she saw that Grun was walking up to her, she knew Pyrrha would get the news.

Grun walked up to Pyrrha, she turned to see him standing there, holding Jaune's sword in his hand. "Where's Jaune…?"

Grun gripped the sheath tight, "We couldn't find him…"

Pyrrha didn't even think, she just stood there for what felt like an hour. She then quickly turned and ran as fast as she could after King Theoden. Grun ran after but since he was still worn out from the fight earlier, she ran faster.

Pyrrha barged into the command center; she saw her uncle and Robin discussing what to do next on the holo-map. "We are going to find him!"

Theoden looked to her, "By the time we knew he was gone, there was no sign of him. Searching for him now would only dwindle what resources we have left."

"Besides, our focus must be on the safety of our people over the life of one man," Robin said with his arms crossed.

"That man saved you, saved EVERYONE HERE from Saruman's control over our king!" Pyrrha practicaly shouted at the top of her lungs.

Theoden walked around the table to walk up to his niece, "I understand your frustration but he made his choice, Pyrrha. He knew what he was getting into when he joined in the defense."

"Well I'm not going to just abandon him!" she turned around and walked towards the door.

"You aren't going anywhere, I FORBID IT!" Theoden ordered with slight rage.

Pyrrha stopped and gave her uncle a glare, "Try and stop me." Just as she turned around the guards at the door closed their swords in front of her. She stopped and gave them both a very serious and scary glare. They both reluctantly removed their swords and let her pass.

In one of the garages in the fortress, Pyrrha was preparing a four-wheeler for a long trip, and then she was approached from behind. She turned to see Grun standing there, "If you're here to talk me out of it, don't waist your breath."

"On the contrary, we're going with you," Grun said with a serious tone.

Pyrrha turned around to face him, "You're needed more here, Grun. I have to do this on my own."

Grun slightly chuckled, "Now that's a load…" he then gave her a serious glare that even made her sweat bullets, "Look, I've known him since he was 12, and hell will freeze over before I out live him."

Pyrrha then gave him a nervous smile, "Ok…"

Grun smiled and walked off to go and order a truck. Pyrrha saw the others walk up to her and whispered to them, "And here I thought being betrothed to Yang would have made him calmer…"

All three of Grun's teammates looked to each other, then Leere spoke up, "Are you kidding? That is him being calmer."

"When before, he would have just knocked you out at the start of the argument and put you in the truck with us," Blitz said with a nervous chuckle, the others agreed with him.

The main gate to Helms Deep opened up and a four-wheeler bike and an armored tuck drove off down the causeway.

Pyrrha and Grun both though the same thing as they throttled their engines down the causeway, "Hang on, Jaune."

AN: AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!

After two months of work, school and people whining about me being too late to post, here is the newest chapter…

I hope it is satisfactory, a lot of stuff happened at once, but I wanted the chapter to be more meaningful to have all this stuff happen.

Have a happy Spring Break everyone, and as always ARKOS!