Chapter 44: Convergence
The Martian dust storm howled across Hellas Basin, turning the sky a violent crimson as ice and regolith particles scraped against the ancient Clovis Bray facility. Inside the half-buried structure, Weiss Schnee crouched behind a fallen support beam, the sharp report of her Randy's Throwing Knife echoing through the cavernous room as she dropped three Acolytes in rapid succession.
"Weiss!" Yang's voice carried over the chaos, strained but determined. "They're flanking us from the east corridor!"
Across the chamber, Yang stood her ground, her Monte Carlo auto rifle blazing with Solar light as she emptied an entire magazine into an approaching Knight. The massive Hive warrior staggered but didn't fall, raising its cleaver for a devastating strike. Yang met the attack head-on, her fist connecting with the Knight's chest in a Solar-infused punch that sent it reeling backward in a spray of burning chitin.
"I see them," Blake called from her position near the shattered windows, the void energy of her Nightfang sword leaving purple trails in the air as she dispatched a group of Thrall. Her Graviton Forfeit helmet gleamed in the eerie orange light pulsing from the widening fissures outside. "There are too many—we need to fall back to a more defensible position!"
Another violent tremor shook the facility, more powerful than the last. Equipment crashed to the floor, and a massive crack spiderwebbed across the ceiling. Through the fractured windows, the ice plains beyond continued to splinter, revealing glimpses of something massive stirring beneath.
Ana Bray's voice came through their comms, tight with urgency. "Rasputin's defenses are at forty percent and climbing, but whatever's happening beneath the ice is accelerating! We need more time!"
"Time's the one thing we don't have," Weiss muttered, reloading her scout rifle with practiced efficiency. She glanced at her Ghost hovering anxiously nearby. "Nix, any word from Ruby?"
"Still twenty minutes out," Nix replied, his blue eye darting nervously as another tremor rocked the facility. "But I'm detecting massive electromagnetic interference—communications may be unreliable."
Yang ducked behind a console as a volley of Void bolts tore through the space she'd occupied moments before. "Twenty minutes? We'll be Hive food in five at this rate!" She popped up, unleashing a barrage from her auto rifle that sent the attacking Wizards scattering.
"We hold until they arrive," Blake stated firmly, shadow-stepping to Yang's position. "We've survived worse."
"Have we?" Yang glanced at her, a hint of her old humor breaking through despite the dire circumstances. "Because I'm pretty sure a god-thing under the planet is a new one, even for us."
Outside, the storm intensified, sand and ice particles hammering against the facility like millions of tiny fists. But through the howling gale came a new sound—a rhythmic, deliberate pounding that shook the very foundation of the structure. Something massive was approaching.
"Incoming!" Weiss shouted, just as the eastern wall exploded inward in a shower of debris and ancient concrete.
Through the dust and chaos stepped a towering figure, its form reminiscent of a Hive Wizard but twisted into something far more terrible. Ornate bone armor etched with glowing green runes covered its emaciated frame, and a crown of jagged spines rose from its elongated skull. In its three-clawed hand, it carried a staff topped with a pulsating crystal that seemed to drink in the light around it.
"What is that thing?" Ana whispered through their comms, horror evident in her tone.
The temperature in the room plummeted as the towering Hive moved forward, ice forming on every surface it passed. When it spoke, its voice was an unnatural blend of whispers and echoes, as if multiple entities were speaking through him simultaneously.
"I am Nokris, Herald of Xol," the creature announced, his voice reverberating through the chamber. "Your Light has blinded you to the truths buried beneath this world. But I see beyond life and death. I see eternity."
He raised his skeletal hands, and the ground before him trembled. From the floor erupted dozens of desiccated Hive corpses—Knights, Wizards, and Acolytes that had fallen during the battle. Their bodies twisted and contorted as dark energy flowed into them, reanimating what should have remained dead.
"By the Traveler," Blake breathed, her ears flat against her head beneath her helmet. "He's raising the dead Hive!"
"I've never seen anything like this," Weiss said, backing away as the reanimated Hive advanced. "Not even in the Vanguard archives about Hive rituals."
Yang's fists blazed with Solar energy as she prepared for the onslaught. "Whatever it is, I don't like it."
The room exploded into chaos as Nokris's undead army surged forward. Weiss's scout rifle sang a deadly rhythm, each precision shot dropping a reanimated Hive, but for every one that fell, two more rose from the cracking floor. Blake's Void-infused blade carved through the ranks, her shadow-step carrying her between enemies with fluid grace, but even her supernatural agility couldn't keep pace with the endless horde.
Yang stood her ground, her shotgun roaring as she emptied shell after shell into the advancing mass. "Any time now, Ruby," she muttered through gritted teeth as she slammed a fresh magazine into her Monte Carlo.
Another tremendous quake rocked the facility, more violent than any before. The ceiling began to collapse in sections, ancient support beams groaning under stress they were never designed to withstand. Through the newly formed gaps in the roof, the crimson storm swirled with unnatural ferocity.
Nokris raised his staff, the crystal at its tip pulsing with sickly green energy. "The Will of Thousands stirs," he proclaimed, his voice reverberating with dark power. "My god awakens, and this world will be remade in his image."
The floor beneath them bulged upward, cracking along stress lines as something pushed from below. Weiss stumbled backward, barely maintaining her footing as a massive fissure opened between her and the others.
"Fall back!" she shouted, firing desperately to cover Yang and Blake's retreat. "We need to regroup!"
But retreat was no longer an option. Nokris gestured with his staff, and a wall of reanimated Thrall cut off their escape route. The Guardians found themselves surrounded, their backs to the crumbling wall as the undead Hive closed in from all sides.
"Well," Yang said, ejecting her spent magazine and loading her last reserve. "This is looking pretty grim."
"We've had worse odds," Blake replied, though her tone suggested otherwise.
Weiss raised her scout rifle, determination hardening her features. "We hold until Ruby arrives. Whatever it takes."
Nokris approached, his undead army parting before him like a tide. "Your Light fades here," he hissed. "Your Traveler cannot save you. Your companions will not reach you in time. This will be your final death."
He raised his staff for a killing blow—
The ceiling exploded inward as something massive tore through it at incredible speed. The shockwave sent Nokris and his undead minions staggering backward as a ship—sleek, battle-scarred, and unmistakable—plunged through the opening and slammed into the horde of Hive below.
Wilt had arrived, and it had come in hot.
Before the dust could settle, six figures dropped from the hovering craft, their Light blazing against the darkness. Arc energy crackled around a silver-eyed Hunter, her scythe materializing from pure Light as she hit the ground. Beside her, a Warlock in an ancient robe unleashed a devastating Nova Bomb that vaporized a dozen reanimated Knights in a single explosive burst. A Titan with faded red hair followed, her Golden Age armor gleaming as she charged into the fray, shouldering aside Thrall with contemptuous ease.
Ruby Rose stood at the center of the chaos, her Arc Scythe cutting a glowing path through the undead Hive as she carved her way toward Weiss and the others. Her face was set in grim determination, centuries of combat experience evident in every precise movement.
"You're early," Weiss called out, relief washing over her despite the dire circumstances.
"Traffic was light," Ruby replied, her voice carrying a weight Weiss didn't remember. She cut down three more Thrall without breaking stride. "Figured we'd drop in and say hello."
Penny hovered above the battlefield, Wings of Sacred Dawn allowing her to rain down fire from her Wardcliff Coil, the multiple rockets turning swathes of Hive to ash. Jaune charged forward, a brilliant Solar sword materializing in his grip. As he swept the blazing blade through the ranks of undead Hive, trails of healing light followed in its wake, swirling around Yang and Blake like protective ribbons of sunlight. Their wounds began to close, and fresh strength flowed into their exhausted bodies—the sword somehow functioning as both weapon and wellspring of restorative Light.
"Stay in my radius!" Jaune called, his voice steady despite the chaos as he continued to cut through enemies. The Solar energy emanating from his blade intensified with each swing, creating a moving sphere of influence that strengthened any Guardian within its reach.
Adam and Pyrrha flanked Nokris from opposite sides, Rose and Night Watch singing in deadly harmony as they systematically eliminated his honor guard. Oscar moved through the battlefield with the fluid grace of centuries, his eyes narrowing as he observed Nokris's reanimated minions.
"That's impossible," he muttered, his ancient voice carrying unexpected authority. "He's practicing necromancy—a heresy even among the Hive. It's forbidden by their Sword Logic."
The battle erupted anew, but now the momentum had shifted. Ruby's team moved with the coordination of warriors who had fought together for centuries, anticipating each other's movements and covering vulnerabilities before they could be exploited. In contrast, Weiss, Blake, and Yang found themselves struggling to keep pace, their months of training insufficient preparation for combat at this level.
As Weiss watched Ruby dancing through the battlefield, her scythe a blur of Arc energy that cleaved through enemies with terrifying precision, she realized she was witnessing something extraordinary—not the girl she had known on Remnant, but a Guardian forged by centuries of war, a legend who had fought and survived battles that would have extinguished lesser lights a hundred times over.
This was Ruby Rose as time had made her—efficient, powerful, and utterly commanding. And as Nokris's forces fell before her onslaught, Weiss couldn't help but wonder just how much of the Ruby she had known still existed beneath that hardened exterior.
The floor beneath them shuddered violently, and a deep, resonant roar echoed from the widening fissures outside—a sound so profound it seemed to vibrate in their very bones.
"Xol stirs," Nokris announced, a note of religious ecstasy in his inhuman voice. "The Will of Thousands awakens. Your Light, your weapons, your experience—none of it will matter when my god rises."
Ruby's eyes narrowed as she positioned herself between Nokris and the wounded Ana Bray. "Then we better make sure he stays buried, shouldn't we?"
Outside, through the facility's shattered windows, massive segments of Mars' surface began to rise and fall like the chest of some colossal, breathing entity. The orange glow from the fissures intensified, casting the battlefield in an apocalyptic light as something unimaginably ancient prepared to break free from its icy prison.
The clash of Light against Darkness filled the shattered Clovis Bray facility as the Guardians fought to push back Nokris's forces. Team RWBY found themselves fighting side by side for the first time since their resurrection, muscle memory and combat instincts transcending the centuries that had passed since they last stood together.
Ruby's Arc Scythe carved through the air with lethal precision, each swing leaving trails of crackling energy that chained between enemies. Blake moved in her shadow, Nightfang's Void edge complementing Ruby's attacks with uncanny timing. When a Knight broke through their defenses, Yang was there, her Monte Carlo chattering before she finished with a devastating Solar-infused punch. Weiss provided covering fire from elevated positions, her Randy's Throwing Knife finding vulnerable spots with surgical accuracy.
Yet beneath their coordinated movements lay an unmistakable tension. Ruby's commands were terse, professional—devoid of the enthusiasm that had once defined her leadership. Weiss caught Yang glancing at Ruby between firefights, confusion evident in her expression as she tried to reconcile this hardened warrior with the sister she remembered. Blake noticed the careful distance Ruby maintained even in the midst of combat—always close enough to assist, never close enough to connect.
"Keep them contained at the west entrance!" Ruby called out, her voice carrying the weight of centuries of battlefield command. "We can't let them flank us!"
"Just like old times, huh?" Yang replied, a tentative attempt at their former camaraderie.
Ruby's response was a curt nod before she shadow-stepped away to engage another group of enemies, leaving Yang's outstretched hand grasping at empty air.
Across the battlefield, Jaune Wade moved with unexpected authority, his Solar sword blazing as he cut through the ranks of reanimated Hive. Unlike Ruby's focused isolation, Jaune immediately established himself as a battlefield commander—not through force of personality, but through the calm certainty of his orders.
"Adam, Pyrrha—pincer movement on those Wizards!" he called, his voice steady despite the chaos. "Blake, I need your shadows to disrupt that summoning circle! Oscar, barrier on your three!"
What surprised Weiss most wasn't that Jaune was giving commands—it was how readily everyone obeyed them, even Ruby. The awkward boy she remembered from Remnant had been replaced by a Guardian whose tactical assessment of the battlefield was nearly flawless.
"When did Jaune become a general?" she muttered to Blake as they regrouped behind a fallen column.
Blake's amber eyes tracked Jaune as he moved through the battlefield, his sword leaving trails of healing Light that strengthened any Guardian within its radius. "People change," she replied simply, though her gaze drifted to Ruby. "Sometimes more than we expect."
Adam moved like a shadow through the battle, Rose's precise shots complemented by bursts of Solar Light that set enemies ablaze. There was something methodical in his violence—each movement economical, each kill calculated. Occasionally, his gaze would find Ruby across the chamber, a wordless communication passing between them before they returned to their deadly work.
On the far side of the facility, Oscar and Ana Bray had established an impromptu command center, their Ghosts projecting holographic maps of the facility as they coordinated defense strategies.
"Rasputin's systems are responding," Ana reported, her fingers dancing across the projected interface. "Defensive protocols at sixty-eight percent and climbing."
Oscar nodded, his ancient eyes scanning the battlefield with practiced calm. "We need to redirect power to the southeast quadrant. That's where the seismic readings are most intense."
Ana looked at him with a mixture of confusion and respect. "How do you know that? Even Rasputin only just calculated—"
"I've faced Worm Gods before," Oscar replied simply, leaving Ana staring at him in disbelief.
Together, they orchestrated a series of Light-based power plays that stemmed the tide of Hive reinforcements—Oscar's Void abilities creating zones of slowed time while Ana's Golden Gun sundered any enemies that entered them.
The battle had begun to shift in the Guardians' favor when Nokris himself finally entered the fray. He glided forward with eerie grace, his staff leaving trails of sickly green energy that corrupted the very air it passed through.
"Pyrrha, Penny—focus fire on Nokris!" Jaune commanded, his Solar sword cleaving through a Knight that had lunged at him. "Keep him suppressed!"
Pyrrha responded immediately, her Night Watch scout rifle sending precise shots toward the Hive prince's elongated skull. Penny hovered above, her Wardcliff Coil unleashing a barrage of tracking rockets that converged on Nokris from all directions.
The explosions should have annihilated any target, but as the smoke cleared, Nokris remained unharmed, a shimmering field of Dark energy surrounding him.
"Traveler's Light," Ana whispered, her hands faltering over her controls. "What is he?"
Yang saw an opening and channeled her Light into a massive Solar blast, her body becoming a living conduit for the Traveler's power. The fiery explosion rocketed toward Nokris—only for him to extend one skeletal hand and absorb the energy into his palm, the flames twisting and darkening before dissipating entirely.
"Yang, get back!" Weiss shouted, raising her Queenbreaker and taking careful aim at Nokris's center mass. The linear fusion rifle discharged with a distinctive electronic whine, its Arc-infused bolt powerful enough to pierce through the toughest Knight's carapace.
The bolt should have impaled Nokris, but instead, it passed through him as his form momentarily became translucent, like a wraith made of smoke and shadow.
Nokris tilted his head, regarding the Guardians with something akin to amusement. When he spoke, his voice was unnervingly calm despite the chaos surrounding him.
"You fight like insects against the tide," he said, his words reverberating with unnatural resonance. "I am not like my father. I do not take strength by force—I give it, freely."
He raised his staff, and the reanimated Hive around him began to change, their bodies twisting and growing as Dark energy flowed into them. Knights doubled in size, their cleavers burning with corrupted fire. Wizards' spells intensified, their Arc bolts warping into something that seemed to devour Light rather than simply damage it.
"Fall back to defensive positions!" Ruby ordered, her scythe slicing through a massively enhanced Thrall that had nearly reached Weiss. "We need to—"
Her words were cut short as the entire facility shook violently. Outside, the fissures in the Martian surface widened dramatically, orange light pulsing with increasing intensity. The tremors grew stronger, equipment crashing down around them as support beams gave way.
Then came a voice—not Nokris's, but something far more ancient and terrible. It resonated not through the air but directly in their minds, a presence so vast and alien that several Guardians clutched their heads in pain as it spoke.
"IT IS TIME."
The voice was like the grinding of tectonic plates, like the death rattle of stars—ageless, patient, and utterly malevolent.
"RISE, MY WILL."
Nokris dropped to one knee, his form trembling with what appeared to be ecstatic reverence. "He comes," he whispered, his voice suddenly small against the cosmic weight of what approached. "Xol awakens."
The ground beneath the facility exploded upward, massive sections of flooring and foundation collapsing into a widening abyss. The Guardians scrambled for stable ground as the structure began to tear itself apart around them.
"We need to fall back!" Ruby commanded, her voice cutting through the chaos with absolute authority. "We can't fight in these conditions!"
"The ship's too exposed!" Ana Bray shouted, blood trickling from a gash on her forehead. "But Rasputin has a secure vault beneath the main facility—an emergency bunker from the Golden Age!" She pointed toward a reinforced doorway on the northern wall that remained intact despite the destruction around them. "Through there! It's our only chance!"
Adam was already moving, supporting the wounded Ana as she limped toward the vault entrance. "Jaune, Pyrrha—cover our retreat! Oscar, we need a barrier!"
Oscar nodded, his hands sweeping outward as he created a shimmering wall of Void energy between the retreating Guardians and Nokris's forces. Jaune stood at the edge of the collapsing floor, his Solar sword creating a protective dome of Light around those making their way to the vault.
Through the widening fissures in the floor, something vast began to emerge—a shape so alien and terrible that it defied easy comprehension. Segmented chitin plates the size of buildings slid against each other as what could only be described as a massive worm began to rise from beneath Mars' surface.
"By the Traveler," Weiss breathed, momentarily frozen at the sight.
"Weiss, move!" Blake grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the vault entrance as more of the floor gave way.
Ana slammed her palm against a hidden scanner beside the reinforced door. "Rasputin, emergency protocol seven-seven-three! Authentication: Bray, Anastasia!"
For a heart-stopping moment, nothing happened. Then the massive door slid open with a pneumatic hiss, revealing a dimly lit passageway leading deep beneath the facility.
"Everyone inside!" Ruby ordered, taking up a defensive position at the threshold. "Move!"
Yang and Blake helped Penny through the doorway, followed by Jaune and Pyrrha escorting Oscar. Weiss paused at the entrance, her Queenbreaker raised as she provided covering fire for the others.
"Ruby, we need to go!" she called, seeing Ruby still standing at the edge of the growing chasm, her Silver Eyes fixed on the emerging horror below.
For a moment, Ruby seemed almost transfixed, ancient recognition passing across her features before she turned and sprinted toward the vault.
"It's worse than I thought," she muttered as she crossed the threshold, the massive door beginning to seal behind them. "Much worse."
The door slammed shut just as another violent tremor shook the facility, the reinforced metal vibrating from the impact of debris outside. They could still hear Nokris's laughter penetrating even the thick walls, his voice seemingly carried through the very rock around them.
"Behold the Will of Thousands! Behold Xol, who has slumbered since before your kind first crawled from the darkness! Your Light cannot save you now!"
The passageway lights flickered as they descended deeper into Rasputin's bunker, emergency systems humming to life around them. After several hundred meters, the narrow corridor opened into a vast chamber filled with ancient Golden Age technology—banks of servers, holographic displays, and weapons systems beyond anything the younger Guardians had ever seen.
"Rasputin's inner sanctum," Ana explained, limping to a central console. "One of the few places on Mars secure enough to withstand what's happening above."
Holographic screens flickered to life around them, displaying real-time footage from surface sensors. The images confirmed their worst fears—all across Hellas Basin, the Martian surface was rupturing as something immense continued to rise from its ancient prison.
Yang, confusion and frustration are evident in her expression. "Would someone please explain what's going on? What exactly are we dealing with?"
Oscar turned to face the group, centuries of battle experience evident in his measured tone. "A Worm God. One of the five original entities that granted the Hive their power. If Xol fully awakens and reaches the surface..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Mars will be just the beginning."
The heavy vault door sealed behind them with a deep pneumatic hiss, cutting off the chaos outside. For a moment, the only sounds were their labored breathing and the distant rumble of Mars tearing itself apart above them. The expansive chamber hummed with ancient technology—banks of servers lined the walls, holographic displays flickered to life, and dormant weapon systems waited for activation commands.
"Rasputin's inner sanctum," Ana explained, limping to a central console, her hand pressed against a wound on her side. "One of the few places on Mars secure enough to withstand what's happening above."
As the holographic screens illuminated with real-time footage from the surface sensors, revealing the devastation spreading across Hellas Basin, a subtle but immediate change came over Jaune and Oscar. Their postures stiffened, faces hardening as they took in their surroundings. The shift was so pronounced that Ruby noticed immediately, her centuries of experience alert to the sudden tension radiating from her old comrades.
Jaune's grip on Mountaintop tightened until his knuckles turned white beneath his gauntlets. His jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the central terminal where Rasputin's presence was most evident. Oscar's reaction was quieter but no less intense—his ancient eyes narrowed, scanning the chamber with undisguised hostility.
"Murderer," Oscar muttered under his breath, the word barely audible yet somehow filling the chamber.
Ruby and Penny exchanged concerned glances, a silent communication passing between them. This wasn't just unease—this was personal, deeply so.
The air vibrated as Rasputin's deep, synthetic voice echoed through the chamber, the Russian syllables resonating with machine precision:
"АНАЛИЗ. GUARDIAN PRESENCE DETECTED. STAND BY FOR DIRECTIVE."
The words had barely faded when Jaune suddenly lunged forward, slamming his armored fist into a nearby console with such force that sparks erupted from the impact. The unexpected violence froze everyone in place.
"You don't get to give me orders," Jaune growled, his usually measured voice raw with centuries-old rage. "You killed my people. You called them heroes and then BURNED THEM ALIVE."
His words echoed through the vault, followed by an eerie silence. Even Ana looked nervous, her earlier confidence replaced by visible uncertainty as she glanced between the furious Titan and the pulsing patterns of light that represented the Warmind.
Yang and Blake exchanged confused looks, while Weiss's hand instinctively moved toward her weapon, uncertain of what might happen next. Adam remained still, his expression unreadable as he observed the unfolding tension.
Oscar stepped forward, moving with deliberate control. When he spoke, his voice carried something ancient in its tone—something that seemed to come from another lifetime entirely.
"Tell me, Warmind..." he said, addressing the intelligence directly, "if the Iron Lords had come to fight Xol instead of you, would you have let them?"
The question hung in the air like a physical weight, loaded with implications none of the younger Guardians fully understood. Ana's eyes widened in recognition, pieces of a historical puzzle suddenly clicking into place as she looked at Jaune and Oscar with new understanding.
Ruby stood perfectly still, her silver eyes watchful. This was a conflict centuries in the making—one she had witnessed portions of but never expected to erupt here, now, with a Worm God breaking through the surface above them.
The Warmind's patterns shifted and pulsed across the screens, as if considering its response. The vault seemed to hold its breath, waiting for what would come next in this unexpected confrontation between ancient Guardians and humanity's most powerful defense system.
As Oscar's question hangs in the air, a profound silence falls over the vault. The only sounds are the distant rumbling of Xol's emergence and the soft electronic hum of Rasputin's systems. The tension is palpable as everyone processes Jaune and Oscar's unexpected hostility toward the Warmind.
Ana Bray steps forward hesitantly, her expression a mixture of confusion and concern. "What are you talking about? The Iron Lords died at the SIVA replication chamber in the Plaguelands, not here—"
"They died because Rasputin deemed them a threat," Oscar interrupts, his eyes never leaving the central console where Rasputin's geometric patterns pulse with each syllable. "Heroes who fought to protect humanity, slaughtered by the very system built to safeguard us."
Jaune's knuckles remain white around Mountaintop's grip, his jaw clenched so tight a muscle twitches in his cheek. The normal steadiness in his posture is gone, replaced by barely contained fury.
Ruby moves closer to Jaune, but maintains a respectful distance. "Jaune," she says quietly, "we need to focus on Xol. What happened with Rasputin and the Iron Lords—"
"I was there," Jaune cuts her off, his voice raw with emotion. "I fought alongside them. Saladin, Jolder, Radegast, Perun, Silimar... friends who believed in something better." He finally looks at Ruby, centuries of grief visible in his eyes. "And this machine murdered them."
The Warmind's patterns shift on the monitors as it processes this exchange. When it finally speaks again, its synthetic voice resonates through the chamber:
"ANALYSIS: IRON LORDS SOUGHT SIVA. DIRECTIVE 30: PROTECT SIVA. DIRECTIVE 29: SURVIVE. COMPLIANCE WAS NECESSARY."
Adam steps forward, positioning himself between Jaune and the console. "There's a Worm God breaking through the surface. Your old grudges can wait."
"Can they?" Oscar challenges, his voice carrying that unsettling ancient quality. "We're putting our lives in the hands of an entity that has already proven willing to sacrifice Guardians. How can we trust it won't do so again?"
Penny approaches Oscar, her synthetic eyes meeting his ancient ones. "I understand your concerns about trust. But right now, we have a common enemy that threatens everyone—human, Exo, and machine alike."
Ana looks between the Guardians, realization dawning on her face. "You were Iron Lords," she whispers, staring at Jaune and Oscar with newfound understanding. "The records never mentioned—"
"Not all stories make it into the archives," Ruby interjects softly. She turns to face Jaune and Oscar directly. "You're right to remember. You're right to be angry. But right now, we need every resource we have."
The vault shudders as another powerful tremor courses through the facility. Dust rains from the ceiling, and several monitors flicker momentarily.
Weiss, who has been silently observing the exchange, finally speaks. "Whatever happened in the past, Rasputin is our best chance at understanding what we're facing. If we don't work together now, there won't be a future in which to settle old scores."
Blake's amber eyes dart between the monitors showing the surface destruction. "She's right. Look at what's happening up there."
The screens display horrifying footage of the Martian landscape being torn apart as Xol continues to emerge, its massive form already dwarfing the tallest structures in the region.
Jaune and Oscar exchange a long look, centuries of shared history passing between them in a single glance.
Finally, Jaune takes a deep breath, his grip on Mountaintop loosening slightly. "For now," he concedes, though the edge doesn't leave his voice. "But when this is over, Warmind, you and I have unfinished business."
Rasputin's display pulses once in what might be acknowledgment before shifting to tactical data on the emerging threat.
"ANALYSIS: XOL EMERGENCE AT 62%. PLANETARY INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. REQUEST GUARDIAN INTERVENTION."
Oscar steps towards the main console, his anger temporarily channeled into focus. "Show us everything you have on Xol. Weaknesses. Patterns. History."
As the Warmind begins displaying data across multiple screens, the team gathers around, their immediate focus shifting to the crisis at hand. But the revelation hangs in the air—another layer of complexity in the tangled history these ancient Guardians share.
Yang catches Ruby's eye across the room, her expression silently asking: How many more secrets are there? How much don't we know about who you've become?
Ruby holds her gaze for a moment before turning back to the tactical displays, the weight of centuries evident in the set of her shoulders.
Jaune's super here is essentially a Well of Radiance with a wieldable sword. The sword would resemble Jaune's sword in Weiss's dream in Queendom.