AN: This is a long one, reminder again to check out the version on Ao3 for maps visualizing the state of the battlefield. Have fun!

"Bullets may rend flesh, but they cannot kill ideals." - Violet Rose

"There's way too many people here," Hawk's voice echoed over the radio, "Good ones too, this must be their main effort."

Violet and Blake were running towards the northeast section of the front, where the main attack was, and where they had been ambushed just minutes ago and forced to eject.

"We'll be there soon, make your priority saving company 1, they've got most of our anti-armor weapons."

"We're doing our best, but many of them have died in the ambush. And the Atlesian numbers seem limitless… They're just pushing in more and more people. And the Paladins…"

He got it, the situation was bad. He focused all his efforts towards making it there while thinking of a solution. As they neared the fighting, Zero saw about a dozen of his men running away from it, but they halted as they noticed him.

"What's the matter, soldiers? Where are you going?"

"We… uh…" One of them gulped, "We're almost out of ammo, so we're returning to HQ." Almost out? Zero didn't buy it.

"HQ has no ammo," He lied. "There's no way out of this but through. I will lead an assault to turn this around myself, and you will follow. If ammunition is a problem, you will shall it from our foes."

The Knights gave tentative nods, accompanying him. In no time, they stumbled across a group of Atlesians exchanging fire with a distant target. Violet drew his scythe, charging alongside Blake while the soldiers provided support with ranged potshots.

He wasn't expecting to have to get up close and personal in such a large battle, but swinging his scythe into some terrified Atlesian privates did help ease his frustrations, and he was sure it improved morale among those that witnessed it. As he and Blake dispatched the small group, the rest went over to loot their bodies for munitions.

"Zero," Hawk called again, "We're really running out of men here. Glaston sent us a few more, but they've already compromised out formation, we- Aaargh," he screamed in pain.

"You alright? Hawk, come in."

"My leg's been shot, damn it. I'll live, but…"

"I'll handle things, you take care of yourself."

He turned to the rest of his people, "Hurry up, everyone. Blake, make sure these soldiers set up a blocking position here, I'll need to take care of this matter personally."

With Blake's affirmation, he left them. Turning on his radio, he spoke, "All units in the northeast sector, pull back 3 blocks from the original frontline and regroup. Form a solid battle line and ready anti-armor teams to prevent Paladin attacks. I've got a delaying rear guard action arranged."

He hated Atlas. He hated Atlas for being so cruel. He hated Atlas for forcing his hand.

He hated himself. He hated himself for being weak. He hated himself for resorting to such desperate measures.

He arrived at the place. It didn't look like anything special, just another establishment of ill repute they didn't get around to demolishing, lest they be seen as too zealous. As he approached, a rifle stuck out from one of the windows.

"Turn back, Zero," A gruff male voice said, "We're not getting involved in your little war."

"I'm not asking you to fight, though I am here regarding the battle. I will give you information regarding your safety, if you would let me speak indoors."

A few moments, and the door opened. The inside was that of a barren bar where almost a hundred people had gathered, huddling for safety and occasionally drinking. Most of them were visibly armed, and they looked at him with suspicion. The moment he laid eyes on them he had no doubt, it was a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

"I know what you'll try to do," One of the men stood up, "We… appreciate all you've done for this place, but you've also invited war into our city. This isn't our fight, and we won't fight it."

They might claim to just be ordinary people trying to survive amidst the chaos. As ordinary as one can be in the slums of Vale. He was certain most of them had committed some sort of crime, and that many present had committed quite serious ones.

Why was he getting so worked up about this? He was always one to value the greater good over due process, this wasn't anything new.

"That's fine by me." Even if some of them were innocent, many more would die without their sacrifice. Besides, I helped them. They owe a debt to me.

His helmet's eye slit opened up, "You do not have a choice. I will do what is necessary for the sake of the people of Vale."

He utilized the last charge of his semblance, "And so, I command you: Head out into the streets and kill every single person wearing an Atlesian military uniform."

The people started to shuffle out calmly. As they did, he laid eyes on a handful of the younger ones, they were in their late-teens, men and women that definitely didn't look like hardened criminals… He tried to shut his mind out. To push it all away, to think of all the people fighting out there, and what he would feel if they died instead of some nameless drunks.

After they'd left, he was all alone. Nothing remained. Moments ago, full of life- Now a dead ruin. It seemed that death followed him everywhere.

By the time he came back, he was greeted by a relatively calm line of his men, entrenched in the buildings and ready for action. Blake found him soon enough, "Where the hell have you been? You weren't answering to any of our communications."

"There was something I had to do." His voice was strained, but he couldn't show weakness at this crucial moment.

"Well, it was as you said, we haven't seen them pursuing us. Who did you send to delay them?"

"Now is not the time. I've gone all I can, but they're going to attack for real now."

"And we've prepared for them, Zero."

It wasn't long before he found a spot on a rooftop overlooking the area, from where he could observe the enemy approaching from the distance. "All units in the sector, hide and hold your fire until you receive the signal to shoot."

Indeed, the Atlesians had no idea how far Zero pulled back, and were racing to get to his fallback positions before the Black Knights could regroup. In doing so, they had to move quickly across open ground. So when they got into a close enough range, he ordered his men to open fire.

The initial volley absolutely devastated their scattered formations, and several squads were wiped out within the minute. But Atlas was not some second-rate force. They swiftly recovered, finding cover and returning with accurate fire of their own. As the gunfight developed and more people poured in, Violet did his best to direct soldiers from his vantage point for maximum effect.

He could see two Paladins coming in, ready to reinforce the growing mass of infantry assaulting their positions. He ordered the anti-armor teams to reposition and strike them, while the mortars covered their movement. He instructed machine gun teams to switch positions, anticipating attacks from certain streets he saw activity in. They followed his instructions like a well disciplined force, finding and exploiting vulnerable infantry and Paladins, the latter of which had withdrawn after getting hit one too many times.

He doubted they were permanently gone, the things were incredibly durable, but without them, the assault faltered. After a harrowing episode, both sides had again exhausted themselves into a stalemate. For just a moment, the battlefield went quiet.

Blake found him as the fighting lulled, and by her disheveled appearance- messy hair, bloodied clothing, and the exhausted look in her eyes, he could tell she got her hands dirty.

"How's it looking, Zero?"

"I should be the one asking you, no?" He took off his helmet, "You were the one on the ground."

"It came down to the wire," She said between pained breaths, "I did a lot, but my aura's almost gone. Not sure I can continue like this."

"That's fine, take a rest and recover. It looks like we'll be here for a long time."

"You think so? We've lost nearly half our men already."

"Yes. About 400 dead or wounded, by my estimate."

"That's not at all sustainable. Face it, there's no way we can beat them."

"I never said it would be easy. This is becoming an attritional conflict, but also one we can win."

"Violet," She glared at him with a pained expression, "As someone who lo- likes you, I will say it when you're being delusional. They've got us surrounded, outnumbered, and they can always just wait us out. Time is on their side."

"Is it though? Their goal here is to project strength. Not just to us, not just to Vale's citizens, but also to the world. An operation taking a couple hours is a surgical strike to quickly dismantle an upstart enemy. A prolonged battle against a puny rebel band? Resorting to siege tactics in the heart of Vale? They would be seen as weak, which would give others the confidence to defy them."

"So what? Them attacking us harder doesn't help us."

"I admit, I may have underestimated the numbers they would bring against me, but the city is a fortress. Every building is a bunker, every window is a firing slit, every street is a potential ambush. One couldn't imagine a better environment to fight an aggressor in, especially as the civilians support us, or at the very least despise them."

He put his helmet back on, descending the building, "So, the strategy is now as follows: We will absorb their attacks, withdrawing slowly while bleeding them dry. Then, we will assemble at a singular point and break out of the encirclement. We'll be back to raiding them in no time, while they'll have nothing to show for it besides a massive humanitarian mess, which will further drive our recruitment."

"I don't like that sort of thinking, but it does make sense."

"I know," he sighed, "Catch a break for as long as you need. I'm going to visit other areas of the front, we can't let our guard down for a moment."

She nodded, and they were off.

"Status report."

"I'm alive," Hawk said through the radio static, "But my leg is fractured. I'm afraid I won't be of much help today."

"On the contrary, you're perfect for the job I need. Have the medics take as many of the wounded from our field hospital and cram them into a bullhead. Fly it outside the city, to hideout Lima."

"Huh? We're not fleeing, are we?"

"No, but I want them to think Zero is. Possibly they'll detach some of their people to pursue it. And when you do arrive, I want you to contact any elements outside the encirclement and coordinate efforts to harass the enemy and take care of the injured you bring."

"I'll try my best, but don't hold your breath for anything big, they're likely being hit hard as well."

"I know I'm asking for a lot. But I picked you for a reason and I know you can make a difference. Good luck."

"Likewise."

He turned off the radio, and he was left in silence, only broken by the occasional distant shot or artillery explosion. He walked past the streets, deserted save for a few shuffling soldiers and the many corpses littering it. Some were enemies, others his, many civilians… But they were just left there, no one had cared to move them. He saw the Atlesians try to retrieve their dead a few times at the start of the fight, with predictable outcomes. He scoffed at the foolishness.

What peace did a mauled body bring to a grieving family? He never understood it, personally he wished for his body to be left on the battlefield where it fell. Burn it maybe, but let him persist there.

What the hell am I thinking, ruminating about my ideal death? Have really I lost it? Just another idiot growing hysterical now that a battle wasn't going exactly as I wished it to.

"Violet!" A woman called out. He turned to see team CFVY waving at him from the distance.

"Finally, about time I found you." He approached them, taking off his helmet, "I didn't get to see you in action, but I heard from Azul you did well."

"Yeah," Coco said, though her enthusiasm wasn't all there, "It does feel odd being commanded by him, he's way younger than us."

"It sure beats being commanded by out of touch professors, though?" he chuckled, "I've visited him just now, helped reorganize our forces somewhat. I think we can still hold on, if just barely."

"I hope you're right," Yatsuhashi said.

Violet hummed, "And are you four needed here? What's the situation?"

"There's two squads in this building block," she said, "And the attacks have subsided for now."

"Good. I'll need you to follow me westwards, Glaston said they had sightings of Paladins there."

"Of course! We'll finish this at once," Velvet said. Her voice was surprisingly firm, and her eyes betrayed a desire to move forward at any cost. He was glad to see the huntress beneath all those layers of kindness and civility.

"Let us hope so."

He put his mask back on and continued on his way. He could hear the sounds of battle intensify a little, with some additional explosions, but not quite at the level of their initial clashes. Velvet proved quite useful, as she could hear incoming jets before anyone else, and she had them take cover to prevent being spotted and targeted.

"If you still had that Paladin," Coco said, "We could have dealt with their aircraft easily."

"It did more good engaged on the ground, especially as we couldn't rapidly rearm the machine. I tried obtaining handportable anti-air missiles, but no luck so far..."

"It's a strictly regulated item," She said, "I wanted one for a mission. We were supposed to go into nevermore territory, but the authorities didn't budge."

"Right. Getting enough dust and explosives for anti-armor rockets was hard enough."

"Right. Where do you start looking?" Velvet asked, "I can't imagine how you'd even start something like this, do you just wake up one day and start recruiting?"

"Close enough."

She giggled, "I'm just trying to imagine the conversation. 'Hey, wanna overthrow the government? I'm the only one here, but I'm sure it'll work out.'"

"You're not that far off," He smiled, "Velvet, you… You seem to be doing rather well today."

"She's stronger than she looks, alright." Fox said.

"I know it's an ugly conflict," Velvet responded, "But someone has to stand up and do the right thing."

Violet knew. He felt a kindred soul within her, someone constrained by their environment, wishing to prove themselves to the world. Or maybe he was reading too far into it.

Regardless, they eventually made it to where Glaston was at, picking up extra troops along the way. Stepping inside the basement from where they were commanding, he noticed the rather grim mood in the room, more so than usual.

"Glaston."

"Zero."

"I brought you some reinforcements. I also thought it prudent to come here, it seems to be the area they're focusing on now. I want an updated status report."

"Zero," Glaston repeated somberly, "Have you noticed it? There's something very wrong here. We'd only just figured it out, but there definitely was a change."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Atlesians… They're attacking everyone. We'd just pulled back from a cluster of residential buildings, but once they'd taken them we could hear the sounds of shooting and struggle for a long time. Some fleeing civvies earlier said they were making mass arrests. Zero, they're emptying the apartments, the basements, and the slightest resistance is met with execution."

He was taken aback, "Are you absolutely sure of this?"

"As if that wasn't enough, they've started systematically firing heavy artillery and conducting airstrikes on civilian buildings. They've totally stopped caring about the collateral damage."

"I see." He was stunned. He didn't expect them to do so, but what did he think was going to happen after that stunt he pulled with his semblance? Of course they'd change their rules of engagement. The people would still have suffered had that not happened, and yet…

His step faltered. He stumbled, just barely catching himself. The people took attention, the huntsmen and the soldiers tried to see what emotion laid beneath that mask of his.

"I promise you this, one day… one day I will bring Atlas out of the sky. But not before tossing every person responsible for this from its height."

"A bold declaration," Glaston said, "But it sounds like empty posturing from here. Everything we've worked for is being wiped out before our eyes, Zero, and you stand here and make delusional claims of retribution in the far future?"

"Don't talk down to me!" The faunus' eyes widened. Zero rarely used such a scathing tone, "I asked you for a status report."

He sighed, "…We've confirmed that both Paladins are present here, but they're no longer assaulting as they did before. The enemy is leveling the buildings and sending small teams to probe the line. If we man our positions, we take huge losses. And if we don't, their infantry probing attacks take yet more ground."

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't, huh?" He turned to team CFVY behind him, "You guys passed stealth class, right?"

They nodded, and he continued, "Glaston, I want you to give me four squads of your best men." He turned to address the team from Beacon, "Huntsmen, you will spread out and scout ahead for incoming attacks, coordinate with the men you are given to resist the enemy. Make them pay for every building they take."

They gave him resolute nods.

"We'll have to pull back little by little as they level the area, while conducting counterattacks and ambushes as they advance. If we remain disciplined, we can be effective even as we're spread out. And if their troops move too far ahead, they'll find themselves trapped in a chaotic melee where our knowledge of the terrain will prevail."

"Maybe it's a good plan on paper, but…" Glaston sighed, "It will put a lot of civilians in danger. Hundreds, maybe thousands will die. Do you realize that?"

"Glaston, will you carry out your orders or not? The only guarantee of peace is surrender. If you want to give up, then say it already."

He glared at him, his words barely making it out of his mouth, "I'll do it."

"Good. Remember, Atlas is on our ground. They started this. This is all on them."

His plan worked for a while, by the time an apartment complex got severely degraded and was in danger of collapse, the Black Knights would pull out of it. Probing attacks to check occupancy would often face ambushes by small, mobile teams led by his huntsmen-in-training, or even armed civilians who didn't want to get arrested. He was afraid that Fox Alistair's blindness would hinder him, but it turned out he was uniquely suited to feeling the movement of the massive Paladins by their seismic signature, and so he worked to alert Anti-Armor teams of their whereabouts.

Suffice to say, it had been two hours by now since the cursed machines had last dared show themselves. That wasn't to say the enemy hadn't advanced, they had. They'd carved out a salient with their bombardments all the way to HQ by now. They tried shelling the building again, but it held strong, and they quickly gave up.

Or perhaps it wasn't a choice. All shelling stopped, and there must have been a reason as to why they only managed to advance on the west side. It was entirely possible that they ran out of shells. They had exhausted their advantages, and now they'll have to commit their forces for real. Meaning that soon he'd enact his breakout plan, leaving them empty-handed.

He looked up from the top of yet another apartment complex. The sky hadn't brightened up from the gray it was in the morning, in fact, a gentle rain had started falling. Point being, the day was in full swing by now. If they were hoping to get this finished before people noticed, they were wrong. And with the scale of the damage… They couldn't possibly cover it up.

"Zero," Alistair called on the radio, "I detect two Paladins heading for HQ from the north."

He was surprised they hadn't broken down by now. Regardless, he had a feeling they would attempt a large attack at some point, in an attempt to break them. So he relayed the warning, "All units, the enemy is preparing an all out offensive. Stay strong. I want all nearby huntsmen defending the HQ."

It took barely two minutes for the silent air to be torn asunder by the crackling of thousands of gunshots, all at once. This was it. The final test. Their baptism of fire.

His building was just east of HQ, and he could see the attack from early in the day replaying itself almost identically- massive fire support from the Atlesian side making cover for assault teams to charge the base. He had already placed people in anticipation of this, painstakingly positioning each fire team by hand. Truly, he was reaching the human limits of how many people a single person could micromanage. He was glad to hear the sound of a rotary gun, as Coco annihilated several enemies from a position just two floors down.

Then the Paladins charged in, blasting everything away and trying to force the HQ defenders into submission. But they received ample retaliation, with a barrage of rockets of all kinds. It was the last of their arsenal, but it just barely managed to destroy one of the mech legs. But as it collapsed in the middle of the street, he realized that they couldn't even finish the immobilized, exposed, Paladin, who was still firing away. That was just how depleted they were.

He called up Glaston, who was in charge of defending here, "Do you have any explosives left at all over there?"

"We've fired all our rockets. At best, we could scrounge up some hand grenades."

"It'll have to work. Get an aura user to jam a nade belt or two at its guns."

"I'll get Blake on it."

"Right. Azul, come in- How are your guys doing in the east?"

"We're being hit hard. We won't be able to hold for long, especially as you took almost a full company from me."

A sigh, "We don't have anything to give."

"Well find it. We won't hold otherwise."

"Alright, alright. I'll send the river scouts and some of the less severely injured to aid you."

"Thank you, Zero. Truly. Make sure they bring more ammo on their way."

"About that… It's gone. We're out."

"I see. Still, the men are better than nothing, and I'll do everything I can. Any word on Hawk?"

"He's radioed in to say he's got a couple teams working to sabotage supply and troop movements in the wider area, but they're not as effective as we hoped."

"We'll take what we can get. Good luck, Zero."

The transmission ended. Violet looked on at the battlefield, and he desperately wished to descend down there and help, but he knew he would be more useful here. He turned to see Coco come up the stairs as the battle raged on around them.

"I'm out of ammo, Zero."

"You're not the only one, I suspect." He watched as a handful of recruits fanned out from a building, firing in all directions while Blake ran up to the immobilized Paladin, drawing fire but still dodging most of it with her semblance. She threw a batch of explosives in one of the artillery tubes, triggering an ammunition explosion and turning the machine into a smoking mess. And yet, the assault persisted. More men charged in, and more men were cut down. Again, and again, and again.

"Yatsu is out of aura and Alistair is injured. Velvet is with Glaston, I believe, though still in fighting shape."

"She's a brave girl, and she knows when to hold back. That's important too."

"She really is something… It's a shame she had to sully her hands with human blood."

"I know. Seems I'll have to get my hands dirty again, the way this is going. You any good at melee combat?"

"Not enough to fight an army."

He took out his pistol, handing it to Coco, "I've only got the one mag, make the best of it."

She nodded, before crouching next to him and taking aim at the distance. While his marksmanship was decent at best, Coco managed to use the gun like it was a sniper rifle. She made every shot count.

As the fight wore on, it seemed to almost lose it's meaning. No longer did he feel the rush of excitement like when it started, he had instead grown used to the pattern of soldiers moving and fighting, of him giving out short instructions to shore up the line here and there. He thought it would never end. But it did, eventually. The waves of men thinned out, the gunfire died down, and he smiled in triumph.

"Winter, 1st battery has reported that they're out of shells." The officer gulped, "And the air wing says they won't be able to perform more sorties until they're resupplied."

Winter Schnee studied the map on the table intensely. The atmosphere of the new command tent was tense. The few personnel that survived were hesitant to speak up.

"The 3rd battalion has reported that they've taken too many casualties to continue advancing. 5th battalion has been repulsed in the northeast, and the police force says the civilians are resisting them with increasing lethality."

She stared ahead in silence. They weren't really even sure if she was listening to them.

Clover added, "There's too many for it to just be Black Knight activity, Specialist Schnee."

"That's Lieutenant General to you, Operative." She glared at him, before sighing, "But you're likely right."

"Huh?"

"What the hell did Zero think would happen if he sent his men to fight in civilian uniforms?" She stood up, "That we'd just ignore it, wait for them to fire on us before retaliating? No, I gave the order to treat all military aged adults as potential combatants, and I will stand by it. He broke the norms of war, and so we are no longer beholden to them." Her look was one of pure hatred, her stoic persona having gradually slipped away as the battle wore on.

"So far, almost every searched household was in violation of Vale's gun regulations. It's high time we enforced the laws that Ozpin and his inept council were unwilling to!" She looked positively deranged as she paced around the tent, neither of the people present willing to tempt her wrath.

"I shouldn't have doubted Ironwood when he said they would resort to such despicable tactics." She turned to the officer, "What of the 4th battalion? And the armor?"

"They say they're not making much progress," he said, "And… we've lost another one of the Paladins. They say their difficulties are due to a delay in resupply caused by insurgent attacks in-" He shut up as she slammed her hand at the table.

"Get out." She said, glaring at them with red eyes.

"Excuse me?" Clover said.

"We're going outside. Tell all the troops in the south to prepare for an attack."

"Winter?"

"This day has been a colossal disaster already, we have to take drastic measures. And my aura has recovered enough to do so."

Winter stood by the Paladin, watching it perform a series of mobility checks. She turned to one of the engineers, "Is it ready?" She asked calmly.

"As much as it'll ever be. We were extraordinarily lucky it didn't explode. We've managed to restore its combat readiness, rearm it in record time, and-"

She nodded, "You did well, as expected of Atlas. Now get it moving, we're about to cross the river."

She walked the street towards one of the bridges, her troops lined up on each side. All were eager to fight, though they were a little confused at the same time.

She turned on her own radio, "Battalions three, four, and five, commence another assault."

"General Schnee. We can't possibly attack anymore, we're too exhausted, we need to evacuate our wounded, consolidate units, and-"

"Do as you are ordered. It is of critical importance that you keep up the pressure for only a few more minutes."

She reached the blown bridge, seeing the damage for herself. A whole 5 meter span of it was just gone. Clover caught up with her, "Are you alright, Ma'am? What's the plan?"

She looked out across the river, seeing smoke billowing from the buildings- hearing the sounds of bullets and screams. She didn't like it all that much, truth be told, but she had a duty to uphold, "This was once a neighborhood of Vale. A miserable one, to be sure, but people could still live out their lives, find happiness, and progress out of the mass of criminal scum that proliferates here. But not anymore."

She drew her sabre and stabbed it into the ground. A massive glyph appeared, and slowly a glowing white suit of armor rose from it. Under Winter's direction, it started seeking and uprooting trees on the sidewalk, and placing their trunks across the gap. After a few minutes, it had made a crude log bridge from several fallen trees.

She turned to the soldiers, who had already gathered to start the crossing. "The time has come for us to end this mess. Make them pay tenfold for everything they've done to us."

Violet had to admit, the Atlesians were persistent, even if it was getting to the point of suicidality. Their attacks were unrelenting, whenever a wave of theirs was driven back, another one would take its place. It seemed to lose all sense at some point, he was certain they were overexerting themselves, running out of ammo, and not taking the time to coordinate their assaults. He could understand the desperation to report results to an increasingly impatient commander, but if things continued this way he might even win the conventional way instead of running. He smirked. Wouldn't that be something?

"Zero," Glaston said, "We're forcing them back. One of our counterattacks has found a hole in their line, we're outflanking and routing them."

"Huh?" That can't be right.

"Don't worry, I know how to handle this. Requesting permission to pursue."

Something deep inside didn't like it, but he saw no logical reason to deny him such an opportunity, "Request approved."

As it turned out, the counterattack went well. It was on the westernmost section of the front, but even the troops near HQ pulled back to prevent encirclement. As his soldiers pushed forward, they captured extra ammunition, while their enemies were running lower and lower as they were forced into a fighting retreat. According to most reports, they were inflicting significantly more casualties than they were receiving, and morale had risen sky-high.

Zero turned to Coco, "Get Yatsu and Fox, we should support the advancing troops by taking care of enemy stragglers and our wounded." She nodded and made her way downstairs, while he had a final look from the rooftop.

And from the corner of his eye, he'd just barely noticed it through the rain. One of the blown bridges had been repaired and people had started crossing it in small batches. He cursed himself for taking the few scouts from there, no matter how useful the fresh troops might have been. Still, from the looks of it, they had only begun moving. He could salvage the situation if he acted quickly, it would be just like at the start of the battle.

"Green-1, stop the pursuit. We need people in the south now!"

Glaston responded, "We're making amazing progress here, Zero! We're completely routing them, and we can't let them regroup."

"You don't understand, they're attempting a crossing right now. They're pouring in quickly!"

"Well if that's the case, it's too late. I think we should instead break out towards the north."

"I don't care what you think, I order you to send me people to halt them."

"I-" He paused, "As you say, Zero. I'll pass the order down to our units."

He called out to Azul, "Blue-1, We need reinforcements to repel a crossing in the south."

"No can do, we're fully committed in this sector. You'll have to make due with your reserves."

"I gave the last of them to you! So give them back. Obey my orders, dammit!"

"Fine, no need to get angry. I'll send three of my squads your way."

He ran down the stairs, calling every unit he could reach. His mortar team was first, "Reserve-2, this is Zero. Any chance you could lob some shells over at the eastern bridge?"

"Sorry, boss, but we ran out of ammo a while back. Not to mention, the whole crew has joined the counteroffensive."

"Come back to HQ then, we need you to defend an incursion here."

The crewman replied, "But Zero, we're doing so well here. We should exploit this gain."

"I am well aware of the situation, and still I request your squad's presence here."

"Alright, alright. We'll be there." He sounded disappointed.

Zero tried calling several squads personally, but he ended up having to argue with each of them for way too long. Most unenthusiastically agreed, while some stopped responding outright.

He caught up to Coco, telling her of the situation. They, alongside Yatsuhashi and Fox, made their way towards the south, hoping to meet up with as many reinforcements as they could find.

Zero estimated over a hundred men would join him for a counterattack, but in reality, only 30 or so actually arrived. Azul had sent him his three most depleted squads, while Glaston claimed that several officers had disobeyed his orders and continued the pursuit. A pursuit which had bogged down by now, according to him. At least Blake had made it, though one person wasn't enough to turn the tide of things. Maybe if it was Pyrrha instead, she would have been capable of disarming their whole army.

By now, over a hundred people had crossed the improvised bridge, with many more on the way. Violet was still waiting for more of his Knights to come, when the Atlesians were reinforced by a Paladin that had forded the river.

And once it arrived, they started moving ahead. He ordered his men to position themselves in the surrounding buildings for an ambush along the main street, though he knew it would only delay the inevitable.

It wasn't long before his soldiers fired upon the passing Atlesians, and though the initial attack was effective, the enemy returned an enormous amount of fire, on account of being fresh and not expending their ammo during the fight. In just a few minutes, it was obvious this wouldn't work, and Zero saw that many more elements were bypassing the battle altogether and heading for the HQ.

The final straw was him seeing the fully functional Paladin blazing past them, firing wildly as it went northwest, followed by a giant glowing suit of armor, likely the result of some powerful semblance. He turned on the radio, and spoke somberly, "All units disengage and head east immediately, we are being flanked from the south."

Coco spoke from behind him, "Where's Velvet?"

"Hm? She was fighting alongside Glaston. She'll make it."

"I need to get ahold of her."

"If you want to search there alone, by all means. We've delayed the Atlesians as much as we could have, we should make a break for it now. You might be in fighting condition, but your other two teammates aren't. Now get moving."

Zero himself descended into the street alongside his men, slashing through several enemies before making his way eastward. Many of the people that joined him had died, and only about a dozen made it out of the engagement.

"Glaston, what's your status?"

"We've already been bisected by the Atlesians. Some of us managed to break out, but there are many men still trapped on the other side."

Coco took the radio out of Violet's hands, "Where's Velvet?"

"I'm not sure, it's very chaotic here. Last I heard she was rotated to tend to the wounded at HQ. That's all I know."

Coco went to Alistair, who was clutching his wounded chest while Yatsuhashi was helping him walk.

"Fox, use your semblance to contact Velvet. I need to know where she is."

"My aura's gone. If I stop using it to heal, it'll still take some time for it to recover enough to use my telepathy."

"Violet!" She turned back to him, "The Bullhead. Send it to recover her."

"Not a chance," he dismissed her, "It'll never work."

"You… You have to do it. She's going to die!"

"And?" He glared at her, "I'm not going to risk more of my men on an impossible rescue. That Paladin will shoot the craft out of the sky the moment it tries landing near headquarters, not to mention that by the time it makes it there, HQ will be overrun."

"You can't be sure of that," she grabbed him by the collar, "You have to try!"

"I said it's too risky. If she truly is trapped, it's safer for her to surrender. Your friend is not any more important than a pilot of mine, and certainly not more than our last major asset. The loss of a Bullhead would be the final nail in the coffin for us."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be-"

Blake intervened, pushing Coco away, "Stop it! Velvet can find her own way out, it's possible she's not even at headquarters. Evacuating the Bullhead in the first place was greatly risked its destruction, what you're suggesting would be suicide, Paladin or no. You should be more concerned about Yatsu and Fox here, their lives are at risk too."

Coco turned her head away, trying to hide her sobbing. Violet tried to reach out, but she swatted him away and joined up with Yatsu and Fox.

"Hurts. It hurts." A man groaned. Both of his legs were crushed, and though immediate death was stalled, Velvet doubted he would walk again.

"I'm sorry, but we're out of painkillers," she said before moving on to the a new patient that was being carried in. A soldier had brought in a comrade whose uniform was completely drenched in blood.

Velvet was absolutely distraught at the theater of horrors that was the Black Knight field hospital. She had very quickly learned a harsh lesson in triage, as they were out of almost all medical supplies. So she took the soldier in to console the person who had brought them, but it was an obvious write-off at this point.

She heard an explosion close by, accompanied by many gunshots. She took her weapon and ran to the roof to survey the situation. She was put in here because she was one of the few people with both medical and combat knowledge. Someone had to guard the base, after all.

What she saw upon climbing up took the air out of her lungs. She wondered what was wrong, what disaster had to have occurred for so many Atlesians to have made it here. Swarms of soldiers poured into the streets, and a Paladin had started collapsing the base walls with cannonfire. Nevertheless, she had to defend the place. There were only a few soldiers stationed here, but they would have to make due until reinforcements could arrive.

With her mind made up, she prepared for battle. Taking out her trusty camera, she channeled the hard-light dust stored inside to form a weapon. She focused on the form of Ruby's scythe, leaping from the roof and onto an incoming Paladin.

She cut one of the cannon barrels on her fall, before running to its other side, cutting down a soldier that was in the way and slashing at the leg joint. Many shots flew by her, and the Paladin tried to distance itself, but she used the handle of the scythe as a vaulting pole to jump high into the air. The pilot tried to intercept her with the machine guns, but it was too late and he only succeeded in sending his friends running for cover.

As she landed on the Paladin's cockpit, she made eye contact with the pilot. It was a hardy man, with a look of cold malice. She was glad to see it, for it made things easier on her. She summoned Ren's pistol-daggers and tried to smash the glass with repeated strikes, to no effect. The Paladin moved to charge headfirst into a building and crush her, but she jumped away to the very top of the machine, making it just before it slammed into a wall.

Once there, she noticed the rocket artillery module was still armed. Dozens of explosive rockets, just waiting to be unleashed. She summoned Yatsuhashi's massive sword, jumping off the Paladin, and hitting the many rocket fuzes all at once with the flat of the blade.

The ensuing blast triggered a chain reaction, knocking the mech down in a blaze of secondary explosions. Though she was still close by, her aura managed to absorb the damage. As she landed, she wasted no time in dispatching Atlesians with the sword on her way back to safety, using it periodically as a shield due to its large size and her slender frame. Some of the Black Knights at the base helped suppress enemy infantry to a degree, but it was still a hard fight. She had almost made it, until a glowing blue blade almost cut her in half.

She found herself facing a giant, glowing, suit of armor. She did not have the time to ponder its nature, as she came under fire from many sides and had to take evasive action. She tried to strike it with Yatsu's weapon, but the suit blocked it effortlessly with its own sword, before moving to counterattack.

She had just barely dodged a sword slam from the suit, before facing a volley of machine gun fire from yet another Paladin, though this one looked worse for wear, with many scorch marks and smoke coming out of it. She had barely put the sword up, taking many shots and dropping her aura down to dangerous levels.

By the time the barrage had stopped, the Knight swung again, and she barely escaped it, abandoning her summoned weapon and letting it be shattered by the slam. She spared no time in running up the Suit's giant sword, up its arm, and jumping at its helmet. She summoned Weiss' rapier, and stuck it through a hole in its visor, making the whole thing disappear.

It caught her off guard, though, and she fell onto the muddy ground unceremoniously, expending the last of her aura. Before she could get up though, the Paladin had its dual Gatling guns pointed at her. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

It never came, and when she opened them, she saw the barrels spinning, but otherwise silent. It was empty. It shouldn't have surprised her, the damn thing looked as if it had gone through hell and back. But that didn't stop other soldiers from approaching, nor did it stop the Paladin, as it went forward, trying to stomp on her.

She rolled out of the way, getting up and running to the safety of the base, bullets following her. She had made it inside, seeing traces of brutal fighting as she traversed the halls of the building. She followed the sound of gunshots, finding two Atlesians who had their backs turned to her, too busy exchanging fire in the hallway.

She tried to summon a weapon, only to notice she was out of hard-light dust. No matter, she picked up a pistol from a dead body and dispatched them with ease, before continuing down that same hallway.

"It's me, don't shoot!" she spoke as she advanced through a passage absolutely littered with Atlesian corpses. The fighting must have been intense, but also very one-sided in this sort of terrain.

A black knight cautiously peeked from around the corner with a gun, only to relax once he saw her uniform.

"What the hell is happening?" Velvet asked as she tried to get the mud off her uniform, to little effect.

"We heard a transmission to leave eastwards, but it came too late. We're trying to hold these hallways with a couple guys from the northwest who were pushed here, but it's not looking good."

"I can certainly see that. Don't worry, I'll do everything I can to help. Even if no aid arrives, our fight will give others the time to escape."

The man nodded, and so they prepared for the next attack.

As it turned out, the next assault did not come. At least, there was no storming like last time. Maybe the Atlesians could swarm the base, but they did not want to take massive casualties in tight corridors if they didn't need to. So they resorted to surrounding the place and trying to find weaknesses in its defenses. Velvet found out that even with the backup, they had maybe 50 able-bodied soldiers guarding the place, assuming one stretched the definition of able-bodied quite a bit.

The enemy tried various forms of chipping at them. They tried climbing to the roof, climbing through the windows, or blasting through walls- forcing the defenders to pull back further into the facility. Velvet fought them ferociously, and though a takeover had been prevented, they were tired out by the sheer number of attempted entries. Minute by minute, more and more of their members being picked off. The Atlesians must have thought them broken, for they eventually launched an attack aimed at destroying them.

They threw smoke grenades into the halls, obscuring vision, before following up with frag grenades, and only then an entry with infantry. The close-quarters combat in the smoke was brutal and confusing, but Velvet was engrossed in it, so full of adrenaline that she didn't even feel it when a shrapnel wound had hit her hand.

Fighting without aura was something else, she could appreciate how Violet and Pyrrha felt now. It was a short fight, but when the smoke cleared, they had pushed them back at the cost of almost a dozen casualties on both sides.

They had done it, at least for now. The assault was over, and they held. They defied them. Now, they were back to the waiting game. She swiftly bandaged her wound, and she was hoping to have enough time to recover her aura somewhat. But once the excitement wore off, the tiredness hit her and her previous enthusiasm faltered. She thought hard about her situation, about a possible escape plan, when a loudspeaker voice came from the outside with an answer.

"Attention, Black Knights. Surrender at once, and your lives will be spared. You have ten minutes before your lives are forfeit."

Surrender? Were they mental? Everyone knew how Atlas treated its prisoners… But what other choice was there? She really didn't like the idea of surrendering, no one wants things to end this way. The soldiers around her were having much the same dilemma, it seemed. It was a demeaning thing, to surrender, something that only happened to others. She wished she were braver, that she could fight to the bitter end.

One of the soldiers dropped his gun and headed out the door, another followed suit. She did the same, discarding her pistol. She took a step toward the exit, "Velvet?" She could hear Fox's voice from all directions, a sure sign of his telepathic semblance.

"Fox? Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine… probably. But where are you?"

"I'm at the base. It's surrounded."

"You- you've gotta get out somehow." His voice was panicked, "Use your aura to escape, hide somewhere, blend into the people."

"I don't think that's possible now. I… I've already decided to surrender."

"What? But they'll-"

"I know." She continued walking.

"It won't be easy for us to rescue you, we won't have any idea where they'll take you."

"I'm aware. You'll figure it out, alright? One day, I'll be free."

Free. These are my final moments of relative freedom, at least for some time. Even if the Knights do succeed, how long will it take? Months? Years? Decades? She shuddered at the thought. She stopped in her tracks, taking out her camera and hastily looking through her album one last time. She had to wipe tears from her eyes in an attempt to commit everything to memory, but she knew it wouldn't be enough. As she reached the end of it, she regretted not taking one final photo of her team with Blake and Violet. But she didn't want her photos to incriminate them. To that end, she hid the camera well, before heading out to meet her fate.

She stepped through the hallway, her hands held up, trying to blink away her tears. Immediately upon turning a corner, she had several assault rifles pointed at her head. With her aura down, it felt way more terrifying than usual. The room was already filled with about 15 or so detainees, lined up on the floor or against the wall.

One of the Atlesians, a young soldier with a disgusted expression walked up to her. He grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her around and roughly slamming her face against the concrete wall, eliciting a yelp of pain.

"Just a few minutes ago, you thought were hot shit, eh?" He spoke through barred teeth, tying her hands behind her back, "Not so tough now, are we?"

She remained silent, not wanting to indulge him.

A bang, and she felt an excruciating pain hit her knee as she collapsed onto the floor, her face hitting a puddle of water that grew ever more red. She had to strain her head to prevent drowning.

"I asked you a question, miss. Answer it."

She started hyperventilating from the agony. She could barely stammer out a response, "No…"

"That's what I thought."

"Hey!" Another soldier shouted, "She surrendered, what are you doing?"

The first soldier sneered, "She should have surrendered before she cut up my buddies. Isn't that right?" She felt the pressure of the gun pointed at her back.

"Yes… Please don't… You promised safety-" A second shot shut her up.

"She may have promised it, but I didn't."

The second soldier approached the first, he started shouting something… She couldn't make it out, her head was dizzy. She couldn't focus over the pain, she couldn't hear…

"Velvet. What's going on?" Fox's voice appeared to her again, she couldn't be sure if it was real or just a figment of her imagination, "Is everything alright?"

What was she even supposed to say? Laying in a pool of blood and filth, with no hope in sight, "I'm… I don't think I'm gonna make it. Tell everyone…"

"Velvet! Stay with me, Vel. Please don't-"

"Tell them I don't regret it…" She wasn't sure if she believed it herself, but she liked to think it would bring some relief to her friends. She wished for it to be her last selfless act before the darkness took her.

"VELVET!" Coco screamed, "Velvet! Come on, Vel. Please answer him."

"I'm afraid I can't reach her anymore," Fox said. Coco was hysterical, and one of their men had to keep pulling her along so she wouldn't get left behind.

"Keep it together," Zero said, before charging forward with his scythe. The police squad had put up a good fight, wounding two of his men before they arrived. He and Blake took several of them out in short order, making the rest run away.

Zero was definitely worse for wear, his pristine costume marred by the rain, the filth, and the blood. He started with about 200 men, but he had no idea how many there were now, on account of them all moving forward in a scattered formation, dissolving into the city. The important part was that they'd broken through the line of soldiers in the east, and were now fighting through the various police checkpoints and the Atlesians that were giving chase.

They were tired from the constant fighting, and almost all had taken some kind of wound. People fell from exhaustion, and none bothered to pick them up. The rain had intensified into a full blown downpour by now, hampering both movement and visibility. He felt a creeping dread as his radio died from the wetness, and he was left totally clueless as to the whereabouts of his officers. Still, he had no choice but to push on.

They moved further and further, dispersing into the city. Eventually, he looked around to see barely 20 people with him in a peaceful, deserted street of Vale. They hadn't encountered combat for several minutes, and were in some sense of the word, safe.

He had them go into an alley and discard their uniforms, telling them to meet up in a week at a specific address, and to spread the word of it. He knew many of them would not come back. He just hoped there would be at least some Black Knights by then.

Blake had led him to shelter at a place she said she knew from her White Fang days. The sign said, 'Tukson's bookstore,' but it was closed for the time being, and the windows were concealed behind shutters. They were lucky the rain, lockdown, and sporadic Black Knight presence chased away any potential onlookers, as he waited in the rain, still in his attire, for Blake to get the door opened.

It was quite surreal, in all honesty, to stand in the middle of the street like this. Though he wasn't exactly in the mood to appreciate it, for when Blake opened the door, he rushed in immediately, taking off his helmet and collapsing to his hands and knees in equal parts exhaustion and anger.

"Damn it! How could this have happened?"

Blake turned to look at him.

"Curse them all! If they'd just obeyed all my orders to the letter, this would all have been prevented. If only… If only Pyrrha wasn't such a picky bi-"

"Violet…"

"They were traitors! Cowards!"

"Calm down, Vio. There's no need to disrespect the soldiers who gave their lives to-"

"They were undisciplined rabble, the lot of them!" He shouted, before sinking into himself and crying.

Blake looked down on Violet, who had now curled up into a fetal position. He looked so small, it was hard to believe that just hours ago he had so easily dealt death to hundreds. It disgusted her.

"You're pathetic. Get up."

No response came, save for yet more sobbing against the backdrop of the rain. She felt anger… She didn't hate him, no. But she did desire to hurt him.

"You failed, and you led many people to their deaths. You have to face it."

"Shut up," Came his raspy voice.

"Make me. You know I'm right."

"So what if you are?"

"You started this mess, I expect you to fix it. Weren't you supposed to be Zero, the man of miracles? The unflinching force of nature?" She said in a half mocking tone, "I didn't take you for someone so weak."

"Get lost."

She stormed up to him, kneeling and grabbing him by the collar, "I will not do so. You gave us a vision, a promise. You have a duty to see it through."

They looked into each other's eyes for an extended moment, neither willing to say another word. And then, he embraced her, sinking into her form.

"I know I do. It's just… whenever I think of the future, it is so overwhelming. I'll have to gather the surviving Knights, somehow convince them to continue despite everything that's happened. Half of them have probably sworn to never return, not that I could arm them if they did."

"That's true…"

"But even before that, I have to explain to my family why I snuck out to Vale on the day of the battle, and where Yang's bike is. And as I'm being investigated by Beacon, this will make things so much worse, and-"

She hugged him tightly, silencing him up for the moment, "It's okay. You may have a great task ahead, but you don't have to shoulder the burden alone. We'll take it one step at a time, together."

AN: Whew! That was a far larger battle than anything I tried before, so let me know how I did. I tried my best to not make it confusing for those not seeing the Ao3 maps, but I may have repeated myself too much in some parts.

This is on the further end of the personal fights/battle commander spectrum, and I think I may have overdone it a bit. So don't worry, I will continue to maintain both styles all throughout the fic. There are plenty of conflicts that don't need thousands of soldiers to solve.

Also, I'm terribly sorry if I got parts of Fox's semblance wrong, I didn't read the novels and the wiki wasn't exact on how it worked.