Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based crossover. Rwby and Anthem is owned by Rooster Teeth, EA, and BioWare respectively! Please support the official releases!
Kaigu-Hunter: No seriously, Anthem deserves better and RWBY needs a reboot.
(Freemark, 458 L.V.)
Outside the walls, a large battle was being waged, varies humanoid machines with digitigrade legs fought as minigun turrets assisted the defenders from above and quadruped walkers with plasma cannons and normal humans, wearing leather clothing and cowls with blue visors, aiding the invading force! Near the back of the infantry, four humanoids, one taller than the other three and wore a black cape with two draping the front, stood beside Arthur Watts, wearing a dark suit with gold accents and slightly bigger shoulder pads, and two grotesque creature with cybernetics and a bigger right arm. "We have the Freelancers pushed back. Soon we will have the Cenotaph, and its connection to the Anthem of Creation." Arthur declared as he witnessed the surviving Freelancers fall back and fly to the gate, shooting at the closest walker, which had five claw-like spikes on the 'head'. From above the wall, a launcher popped from the back of an orange Freelancer's shoulder and began firing down at the walker, causing it to buckle from the explosion as the other Freelancers opened fire from below! The resulting damage caused it to rear up, just as a leg fell off, before falling onto the wall, causing it to collapse and the Freelancer to be pushed deeper into the city with a cracked helmet, now revealing a human pilot, Raven, inside! Just then, the gate door fell open, alerting the Freelancers of the breach, making them fight harder as an orange bulkier one with large horns on the chest began pushing forward with a large red shield, knocking six soldiers and one enemy Freelancer away!
Meanwhile, Arthur and his escort strolled right into the breach as civilians ran for their lives as Raven tried to shoot at one of the abominations, only for the bullets to show no effect as it got close enough to knock the assault rifle out of her hands! Pulling out a pistol and shooting the creature in the shoulder, it became angry and charged at her while she retreated, grabbing a child and attempting to fly off as the abomination focused solely on her, however only able to make small bursts due to two damaged thrusters! Unfortunately, it caught up as Raven entered a series of alleyways, knocking her down a stairway before she and the kid tumbled into an exposed sewer where five white and blue were closing a giant, circular door. Running and flying as fast as she could, she just barely entered the other side as the door was fully closed! "SENTINELS, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING OF RETREATING THIS FAR?!" "Freelancer Raven, you don't understand what's really happening." A Sentinel told Raven when the door began to get banged on, getting everyone's attention. "That monster doesn't give up, does it?" She asked as all of the Sentinels took positions and trained their guns at the door. "The Dominion isn't here for the city." Another Sentinel told Raven with a woman's voice before the door bursts open seconds later, letting Arthur's whole escort in! The Sentinels tried to fend them off, but they were only able to kill most of the enemy Freelancers as the abominations swatted everyone but Raven and the kid away, the former of whom tried to shoot at Arthur, but the bullets ricochet off a barrier generated by the larger Freelancer. Seeing no other choice, she was forced to jump out with the assistance of thrusters on her legs as the abominations tried to reach for her. Afterwards, Arthur motioned his last two Freelancers to carry a large metal box over to the center of the room, an object that somewhat resembles a screw. Opening it, he reached in and pulled out a device of slightly smaller size with a plug on the end by the handles before walking up to, what must be the, Cenotaph, causing an energy to wrap around the object. Unfortunately, the energy began to become unstable as it grew brighter and the area shaked before the Cenotaph pulsed, capturing the escort!
Seeing the instability from the hole in the ceiling, Raven grabbed the kid once more and made a maddash out of the city as the multi-pieced tower shot a beam of light into the sky, alerting the surviving Freelancers outside the city before everything was engulfed in light!
(Freemark ruins, 8 years later)
In the now disastrous wasteland, a black walker with white accents that is a few meters bigger than the four others it's approaching, equipped with a turret on the sides and back, and a thick, bladed tail.
"Strider 3, this is Strider Argos. Here to assist." A helmeted man in a slim white, metallic suit with gold pauldrons said into a communication box as held a clawed finger to a button. "I was unaware special forces would aid us." "You wouldn't have gotten any notification. We were here at the previous attempt, my team wants a second crack at it. We'll be launching shortly." He informed a woman on the other end before ending communication. Afterwards, he removed his helmet, revealing Jaune Arc, and headed for the center of the Strider, where Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren, wearing similar uniforms. "Robyn has been notified. Nora, are you still certain that the prototypes will hold up?" "Oh please, the Dominion's tech is second to none. And Dr. Arthur personally made the blueprints for the hud displays and Anthem Dampeners before he left for this dump. We're gonna be fine, AREN'T WE VELVET!?" Nora, wearing studded leather pauldrons connecting to the pelt of a blue, hairless wolf-like animal over a black suit replacement, yelled out, causing Velvet Scarlatina, wearing a black leather dress with a headdress that has two flat tails on the back, to run from another room. "Yes, I have run a full diagnostic on both the Amplifier and the Javelins. Despite my skepticism, Nora's info is legitimate." She told them with a confident smile. "Then our mission is clear, minimize casualties and silence the Heart of Rage." Pyrrha, wearing her suit like a Greek toga with a single silver pauldron on the covered shoulder, stated. "Listen up, this Shaper Ruin is far deadlier than anything we've handled in the past two years. So I want everyone to exercise extreme caution when we get in. Ren, I want you to scout ahead of us and alert us of any Chimeras or Titans that will head our way." "Yes, sir." Lie Ren, wearing jade samurai-styled pauldrons, a magenta mask covering his mouth, and baggy pant legs, said to Jaune before climbing into a slimmer, mostly black with magenta and green accented Javelin, with a red skull on the forehead and over two narrow eyes, from the back, causing it to close up and come online, revealing four small wings evenly on the back between a single thruster, before being lifted past the ceiling, which opened up for him. "Pyrrha, Nora, you two will stick with me and help out any Lancers in trouble if you find them. We need this to go well, the people need something to believe in. Twilight Squad, move out!" He shouted as they entered their Javelins, a larger orange and pink suit with cyan on the shoulder joints, heavy armor-plating over the cyclops-like helmet and a large metal block with thick parts acting as a ring on its back, a suit similar to Ren's but green and red with a gold waist cape and two short, thin spears on the forearms, and an yellow and blue in-between suit with a cape over the two thrusters, that seemed metallic in nature, and a Bastardsword made for a typical human, before being lifted outside.
"Squad, team 1 is heading for a wyvern flock." Ren informed the team as the rest of Twilight Squad flew over a charred plateau. "Pyrrha, stay close to Team 1 until one of them has trouble, Nora and I will clear out the flock." Jaune tells the team as they fly to Team 1's location, spotting three Freelancers getting jumped by Wyverns as they splitted up!
(Nora)
Forced to the ground, a Freelancer was doing what they could to keep a wyvern's head from biting their head off when it breathed fire on them, causing a close, thin layer of energy to crackle and pop! Before it could bite the Freelancer, the Wyvern was grabbed by the back of the neck and hoisted up by Nora! "Hey, Scarlet, right? You looked like you could use a hand." She claimed before jerking her hand suddenly, snapping the Wyvern's neck. "Thanks, rookie. I owe you one." "Just help us clear the Wyvern flock!" Nora told Scarlet as another Wyvern dove at them before Nora turned around and grabbed it before clamping its head in between her legs while lifting it upside down! "My goud!" She shouted before hopping onto her knees, breaking the poor thing's neck! Nora then grabbed the block from her back as the ring part of it straightened out as a jet on the main body came to life, forming a hammer with a rocket on the back, along with two thrusters on the feet!
(Jaune)
Meanwhile, Jaune flew towards a Freelancer being carried off by a Wyvern, catching up to them easily before he pulled out his sword and sliced it in half, causing the body to fall from the sky! He then put his sword away and grabbed onto the Lancer before cutting the latched legs off with a laser beam from his right forearm, freeing them! "You okay, Neptune?" "Yeah, I think so." The Freelancer, now known as Neptune Vasilias, told Jaune as he recovered from shock. "Good, get back to your team and head for the Cenotaph. My team will carve a path out if things go south." Jaune ordered Neptune calmly before flying back into the fight!
(Pyrrha)
Following the Freelancer that was grabbed and burned by a Wyvern, Pyrrha saw them shoot at its face before they both crash-landed into a canyon, with the Wyvern dead before the impact and the Lancer missing half their helmet, revealing a metal frame inside! "Cardin, you alright?" She asked as she landed next to him, only to get nothing as he tried to get back up, but froze midway with sparks coming off his Javelin. "Freelancer? Thank goodness you survived, but your Javelin needs a restart. I'll bring back systems one at a time. Starting voice recognition." Robyn told Cardin as he tried to talk, only to turn out static for a moment before his voice became crystal clear as the Javelin stopped sparking. "Robyn? Robyn, can you hear me?" "Loud and clear. That was a bad fall. How's your head, you remember the mission?" Robyn asked as Cardin got back up. "Not how amnesia works. But tell me regardless." "You're in a Cataclysm, a terrible storm called The Heart of Rage./You're in a Cataclysm, a terrible storm called The Heart of Rage." Pyrrha and Robyn both said, making it sound like stereo while getting his attention. "We weren't expecting Special Forces." "That's the point, rookie. Now, if you can fly, get back to the Striders." Pyrrha told him. "Your suit is still critical. You need to grab a repair pack when you can, get to the Cenotaph, and silence it, shutting down the storm." "Got it. Both of you." Cardin told them before heading down the canyon. "I need to grab a repair pack to fix my jets. If that doesn't work, I'll have to stick around." "For your sake, it better be enough." Pyrrha said before following him. "We've got a bit of a climb to catch up. Qrow?" "Yep?" "He's up and heading your way with a Twilight squad member." Robyn informed Qrow over the comms. "How's it going back there? What's your ETA?" "Don't know. Robyn?" Cardin asked Robyn after getting a call from another Freelancer as he and Pyrrha jumped over a river of lava. "Not too far. Just- oh no, sorry. Can't talk. Be right back." She told him before hanging up. Shortly after, they came across a pyramid-shaped first-aid kit near the exposed organs of an old Wyvern corpse. Approaching it, Cardin grabbed the pack and opened it, revealing a large vial of gray liquid. He then crushed it, causing the liquid to move around his Javelin and began repairing any damage it could before disappearing into the suit. "I'm back. Looks like you got partial boosters." "Yeah, but it's just that and the last of my weapon systems. I am gonna have to keep pushing until I can get another one." Cardin declared as Pyrrha sighed from the side while holding her helmet before moving her hand to the side of it. "Jaune, I have a grounded Freelancer from Team 1 with me. I'm going to escort him to the Cenotaph until we can find another Repair Pack." "Alright Pyrrha. Just stay safe, I can't replace our best sniper." "Boss, are you worried about me?" She asked teasingly as she and Cardin jumped up to a ledge before the jets kicked in and pushed them higher. "Team. The Cypher from Strider 2 is down, comatose." "His Lancers are flying blind?" Qrow asked as Pyrrha and Cardin began running as the former became worried. "Velvet, we just lost Cypher Sage, are you okay?" "Sage Ayana is in a coma? Fortunately I'm still alright, the Anthem dampener is working to near perfection." She told her over the comm! "Sky! Get your head in the game! Hurry up, rookie, we could use the help." "On my way, hang tight, everyone!" Cardin shouted as they raced to what looked like a cave blocked off by debris with red barrels around it. "Part of a Dominion Strider. I got this, just stand back." Pyrrha told him before pulling out a pistol as Cardin backed away, allowing her to shoot one of the barrels, causing a chain reaction that cleared the whole opening!
On the other side, they spot six large scorpions with two tails. "Get your grenade ready!" She shouted before she twirled her pistol across while firing, killing four out of six before Cardin threw a grenade, that resembled an advanced WWll German grenade, at the remainder, blowing up the rest! "Team: update. This is not going well. Many casualties. Freelancers down, Cyphers in comas." "Comas?" "From hearing the Anthem." Robyn told her team as Pyrrha and Cardin resumed running, climbing up a slope before spotting a charred Javelin! "Twilight Squad! We have comatose Cyphers, only Robyn and I are left and she can hear the Anthem's voice!" "Damn it! Pyrrha, we're coming to you! The skies are clear of most Wyverns, so get Team 1 out of there." Jaune told Pyrrha over the comms urgently! "Understood, Jaune!" She said before hanging up and swapping her machine pistol for a sniper rifle as a large humanoid construct walks past them, leaving carnage behind. "Cardin, you have downed Freelancers up ahead, sending distress signals. They're the ones from Strider 2! Their Javelins need a jumpstart." "On it!" He told Robyn as they sprinted to the nearest one before Cardin had a cable shoot out of his left wrist and into the Javelin, causing all three to crackle with an orange electric spark until the cable retracted and the Freelancer was back on they're feet. "I've lost contact with my Cypher!" A woman shouted over the comms as Pyrrha flew onto a high-standing piece of debris and laid down cover-fire while Cardin ran to the next one on top of a slope! Seconds later, the second Freelancer is back on their feet! "Hang tight!" "Thanks, brother." The Freelancer said gratefully with a woman's voice as she joined in the firefight. "Your Cypher's in a coma!" "Damn, then Brawnz and I'll head back to the Strider when Freelancer Roy's back on his feet." She claimed before they began containing the skorpions while Cardin got Roy back up. "I got you, Freelancer!" "We aren't gonna make it to the Cenotaph." Roy told him with certainty. "Twilight Squad's gonna try!" Pyrrha declared as she pulled out four tiny mirrors with a straight crack in the middle of them.
She then leaped into the air while throwing two of the mirrors at two separate pieces of debris in front of the scorpions before landing behind them and tossing the last two on some rocks behind them! Seconds later, Pyrrha shot three laser bolts at the mirrors, causing them to bounce off each other and kill the last of the scorpions! "Skorpions down. There's a deceased Freelancer from your team. Grab em' and fly east to safety so we can give him a proper burial." "Yes, ma'am." All three Freelancers said before they flew to where they came from. "Robyn, Team 2 is up and heading your way. How's Team 1?" "They're tangling with one of the Titans. Get over there." "How long? Which way? We've got a Titan on the bridge above!" Cardin stated as he just noticed another Titan walking on the remains of a bridge. "Leave it, we've got one up here, too!" "They're all over the place!" Qrow and another female voice claimed as Pyrrha aimed and shot at the Titan's eyes, causing it to freak out in pain. "I'll need to go around. Which way, Robyn?" Cardin asked just as the Titan's chest began to open up slightly before it fired a beam out blindly, blowing up much of the area as he and Pyrrha took cover! Shortly after, the blast stopped and was replaced with an explosion, allowing them to come out of hiding and see the Titan was gone and an opening in the bridge was made as the rest of Twilight Squad stood in front of them with their backs turned to them. "Having fun back there?" "Now that you're here, I am." Pyrrha told Jaune as she and Cardin walked out from their hiding spots. "Looks like you got our Titan friend to make a shortcut for us." "Oh yeah! He was real considerate." Nora stated while holding back a laugh and putting an autocannon on her left hip. "We gotta move now, Team 1 is fighting a Titan up ahead." "We'll take care of it, you need to head back." "I can't! My flight systems are still down!" He told him before running past him. "Guys, I found a shortcut. I'm on my way!" "Good, we really need your help." Sky told Cardin as he ran through the hole! Not far behind, Twilight Squad followed as Pyrrha threw some more mirrors onto any walls she could find. "Velvet, how much further?" "Not far, but I'm starting to hear the Anthem. Whispers, but just enough to notice!" Velvet told Ren as they approached a crevasse with ruins hanging off the sides and lava flowing from below. "How close are we, Robyn? Robyn?" Cardin asked as he started jumping platform-to-platform. "May, get around to his left!" "The Anthem. It wants to consume me. To show me-" "Robyn, snap out of it! What've you got for us?" Qrow asked as Robyn was briefly in a trance and Twilight Squad were attacked by more scorpions after crossing the gap. "Oh, sorry. Uh. The whole team from Strider 3 is gone. Half of Strider 4's team is in retreat, if they make it. Mission seems doomed." "How far back!? Damn! I'm freaking out!" Sky stated as Robyn gave the bad news! "Then get out of the way. I'll do it!" "Hurry up, Cardin! Where are you?!" "I'm trying, May! I swear!" He told May desperately as he and Twilight Squad approached a straight path filled with scorpions made of fire! "Initiate plans 11 & 23!" "It's all wrong! It's all done! Come back, retreat! I… I can hear the Anthem of Creation!" Jaune and Robyn told everyone as Pyrrha and Ren jumped and ran to the top of the plateau before Nora passed her hammer to Jaune! "ROBYN! ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FALL BACK?!" "Get behind us, Rookie!" Jaune shouted to Cardin before pushing him back and jumping onto Nora's shoulders, who had put away her minigun and activated a retractable, rectangular shield from her left arm! "We're fine! We push on! Right, Lancers?" Qrow asked determinedly, unwilling to give up! "I'm in." Sky and May said as Ren and Pyrrha threw a grenade each at the scorpions, creating a cloud of green smoke as Jaune activated a rocket booster on the back of the hammer, using it to help propel Nora closer as a large booster on her back fired off! Now acting as an improvised battering ram, Nora plowed through the swarm while Jaune killed the stragglers with a few energy bolts from his right forearm, causing the Skorpions to explode with a gold flash! Seeing the way clear, Cardin bolted to the end where a doorway was, seeing his team fighting a Titan!
"Rookie, there you are. Get in here." "Robyn's calling a retreat for us." Cardin told Qrow, who was in a large, orange Javelin, as he was hovering above the Titan. "We got this." "You got a death wish, Qrow! Pyrrha, Nora, surround and disable the Titan!" Jaune told Pyrrha and Nora before they went to action as the former flew up to a wall and began shooting at the Titan's head and the latter rushed in with her rocket hammer to knock its shin from underneath it, forcing the Titan to kneel! "Team 1, you need to retreat!" "Team, you need to retreat!" Both Jaune and Robyn told them as Pyrrha had taken another shot, one that would've taken out an eye, but Sky, in a blue and orange Javelin, got in the way and was shot in the back, staggering him just long enough for the Titan to smack him away! Unfortunately, Sky crashed into a pillar before bouncing off it and hitting the ground! As Cardin jumped over to inspect Sky, he found that he was motionless as his suit sparked. "He's gone. I'm sorry." Robyn told him mournfully as everyone saw, leaving Nora to be suddenly knocked away. "Team 1, I am ordering you to fall back. Now!" "No way! That thing is going down! Come on!" May, in a white and orange Javelin, declared as she ignored Jaune's order and began bombarding the Titan with missiles from her shoulder launcher, only for the, to do nothing as it proceeded to swing its fist downward! "MAY!" Cardin yelled out as she tried to fly out of the way, but was too late, and was pulverized into the ground. "No!" "May!" Qrow and Lie shouted in shock as Nora soon recovered and saw the Titan pulling its arm out! "Get back to the Strider! This mission is over!" "I can do it! Look at this, Robyn! We have to silence the Cenotaph." "You have to leave! You've put your whole team in danger!" "Please! I'm barely holding it together." Jaune and Robyn respectively shouted to Qrow when the Titan's chest and back opened up, preparing to fire at him, when Nora bolted to Jaune and blocked the blast with her shield as Velvet shouted at them! "Guys, kill that Titan and get out of there! There's three more coming!" "Retreat isn't an option. Not now!" Qrow declared as a large launcher popped out from his shoulder and began firing rockets into the Titan's back, causing it to stop firing and fall down dead as Nora, currently on one knee, slowly recovering while inspecting her critically melted shield before ripping it off! Seconds later, the Titan exploded as everyone braced themselves! "We got this bastard-" "We have to get out of here!" Cardin tells Qrow urgently, just as he landed next to him, and Jaune approached them. "No, we push on!" "There are three Titans heading our way!" Jaune shouted angrily as he pointed to the other side of the area, getting Nora to look around as Pyrrha leapt down to them. "And we're the only one's left!" Cardin stated, equally frustrated! "Think about Sky and May, all the others! You're both being cowards!" Qrow claimed before pointing an accusing finger at them, right before Jaune grabbed it and bent it backwards in seconds, causing extreme pain! "AT LEAST I'M NOT A CRAZED GLORY HOUND!!!" "AHH! MY GLITCHIN' FINGER!" Jaune and Qrow yelled before the latter was kicked down by Cardin! "You want to push forward until I get killed!? U-until we all get killed?!" He asked angrily before everyone heard a loud whistle, getting everyone's attention as they saw Nora with her face revealed!
"HEY! What about Plan 7!?" She shouted, getting Pyrrha and Ren to look at each other in confusion. "Plan 7 has nothing to do with this situation whatsoever! And even then, we don't have anything to bring down on these Titans!" "Then we won't bring a building down!" She stated as she dropped her shield, took both hands on her hammer, and used her booster to jump high into the air before crashing down onto a random part of the center with the hammer slamming down, leaving a crater that cracks the ground! She then jumped and repeated this two more times as they formed the three points of a triangle, getting her team to see what to understand what she was doing while Qrow painfully fixed his finger. "Everyone, drop all your explosives into the center! We'll slow them down and fall back to Shadowmark." "I already told you, we are not turning back under any circu-" Qrow was telling Jaune when he was suddenly knocked back off his feet by Nora, who came back and hit him in the face with her hammer, only this time knocking a piece covering his head and knocking him out cold! "Thanks Nora. Cardin, grab as many ordinances as you can off him. We don't know how long we have." He told Cardin as he and Nora ran over to the center before dropping frag grenades, missiles, and other ordinances as Pyrrha and Ren placed down hand-sized mines, linking the craters. Seconds later, Cardin dropped off the last of the explosives before Jaune held up a device and crushed it over the stockpile, creating a shield over a meter radius. "The Titans are almost on top of you!" "Ren, get to cover and fire when they're in the trap! Everyone else, grab a limb of Qrow's and move out!" He shouted as he leaped over to Qrow with his boosters and grabbed his back, getting Nora, Cardin, and Pyrrha to grab his legs, and arms respectively before hurrying back to where they came from while Ren took cover, just as three Titans appeared overhead of where they were! Seconds later, as they walked into position, Ren swiftly came out of hiding and shot one of the mines, causing a chain reaction that caused the ground to give way and bring the Titans down into a sinkhole! "So long, suckers!" Ren shouted as he made a break for the exit, leaving the Titans to struggle out of their hole!
Meanwhile, the rest of Twilight Squad and Cardin were crossing the crevasse with Qrow in-hand. "Velvet, contact Bulwark Squad at Shadow Lock, tell them to begin evacuating the people. We'll meet on the other side to hold the line!" Jaune told Velvet as Qrow began to wake up with a groan. "Ugh. What happened? Did we win?" "No. We're returning to the Striders." Cardin told him just as he had fully recovered, getting ro start struggling. "Let me go! It can't beat us! Rookie, don't you dare pull me out of here!" "With all due respect, IT ALREADY HAS!!!" Cardin yelled to him as they entered the area where most of team 2 was saved. "Trust me, Qrow, you'll thank us. We'll stand our ground in Shadowmark and use it as a new staging ground to better prepare." Jaune told him calmly as Qrow got madder, struggling harder as the cannon on his right arm suddenly turned on! "Get! OFF OF ME!" "Cardin, look out!" Nora shouted as Qrow was finally able to free his arm from Cardin's grip and blasting him away, ripping through his Javelin as everything went black!
(Jaune: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?)
(2 years later)
In an arena carved inside a cave, fifty people, atleast, in black and dark red clothes were standing and cheering on as they watched a hairless giant, grayish blue beast with bear and gorilla characteristics, spiny bristles on its arms, four glowing eyes, and a shell on its back, fighting an equally-sized theropod with humanoid arms, a black carapace covering everything but the knees, elbows, and neck, and two sharp tusks made of ivory in an electric, reinforced fence! "What a spectacle this is turning out to be! I believe neither the Regulators nor the Bloodwind Pirates have seen such a brutal battle in a looooong time!" An male-sounding announcer shouted as the theropod rammed into its opponent, only to be grabbed by said tusks before grabbing the wrist and slowly crushing them, releasing its grip! "The fearsome Coercitor is proving to be a formidable challenger to the Ursix! Its owner must be thrilled, whoever he is." He stated as the Coericitor swiped its tusks across the Ursix's head, taking out an eye before latching its jaw onto the Ursix's thick neck, getting it to break out of the Coercitor's grip and try to claw its back, only to leave light scratches! "Has Miss Malachite's champion finally met its match tonight!?" The announcer asked as the woman herself was watching the fight from a floor suspended from a wall about a few meters from the ground, looking antsy. "Damnit, boy, where are you?!" She asked herself as she looked around frantically as the Coercitor was pushed back and punched in the face before the left side of the back of its jaw sparked, causing it to roar in anger and ram back into the Ursix! "The champion is in trouble!" He stated just as the Coercitor gored the Ursix in the stomach while forcing it into the wall, electrocuting its back as it fell onto its side! "Ow, what a blow!" He declared before the Coercitor then stabbed into its opponent's arm, specifically its joint, paralyzing it! "And another! It looks like it's all over!" The announcer claimed just before a gray, silver, and red pot-bellied Javelin with a masked skull helmet and a machete and knife on his hips fell into the arena with a controller next to him as Jaune, in a Sky Blue and white Javelin with two glowing eyes, the outlines of a mouth full of long, sharp teeth, two long horns curled upwards underneath a hood, and a chipped longswords on his back, and a smaller Javelin that resembled his but is clashingly colored with white, brown, and pink and a closed umbrella on her back! "What's this?" "Nice try, Freelancer!" The Pirate shouted with a deep voice as he grabbed the controller and got back up as Jaune pulled out a Marksman Rifle. "Dead or alive, you're coming with me, Meeko." "He's holding a remote! That's cheating and cause for elimination!" The announcer declared just as Jaune was swatted in the back by the Coercitor, knocking him onto the floor while leaving a large cut in his Javelin as Meeko ran for the over side of the fence while trash was being thrown at him! "You want me? You gotta go through him first!" He declared as he flew over the fence and continued to control the Coercitor! "Neo, go after him! I got his pet." Jaune told his partner, now known as Neo, getting her to silently nod and fly after Meeko, leaving him alone as he drew his swords.
Taking aim, Jaune fires a few shots into the Coercitor, only for the bullets to bounce off the carapace. He then put away his rifle just as the Coercitor charged at him, getting him to roll out of the way before jumping onto its back and running to its head while it thrashed around! While trying to throw him off in vain, Jaune struck the side of its head before jumping off, causing the device to spark uncontrollably and fall off while the Coercitor shook its head before it looked around, acting like it was in a trance. Seeing it act more curious than hostile, Jaune placed two fingers on the right side of his head. "Neo, I've subdued the foreign fauna. Looks like it was under Meeko's control. I'm heading your way." He informed Neo over a comm before he took a running start and jumped into the air, attempting to turn on the thrusters, only for one to ignite while the other sputtered and died, making him slowly fall to the ground as he continued running.
Minutes ago, Neo and Meeko were flying out of the cave as the former pulled out her umbrella and held it like a gun before gripping the handle, causing it to fire bullets at the latter as one of them bounces off his overshield! "Hey, watch the suit!" Meeko shouted as he and Neo approached some ruins as the former took a sharp left through a building in the wall. Landing nearby, Neo looked around as she carefully entered the ruin with her rifle ready when her comm went off. "Neo, I've subdued the foreign fauna. Looks like it was under Meeko's control. I'm heading your way." Jaune informed her just as Meeko jumped out of nowhere and attempted to strike her with his machete and knife, only for Neo to jump backwards and open her umbrella just as Meeko threw his knife at him, causing it to bounce off a hard-light shield! He then rushed at her with the machete, getting her to twist and pull the handle out, revealing a short rapier inside, before blocking the strike and forcing it to the side! In that moment, she elbowed Meeko's face before reversing her grip and attempting to stab his shoulder, only for the blade to be stopped by his shield! Laughing at her misfortune, Meeko tried to raise his arm to strike her down, but was grabbed and pushed back into a wall! Neo then pulled him back, activated her thrusters, and slammed him back into the wall, causing the pack on his back to spark! She did this two more times before Meeko's pack shorted out completely as his shield fell, allowing her to get her blade right next to his neck! "Fine, you win." Meeko declared before dropping his machete and raising both hands up.
(1 hour later)
After a while, Jaune and Neo were standing on one side of a desk with Miss Malachite, holding a cigarette stick, and her daughters on the other end, handing over some purple, isosceles triangle-shaped coins with slits connecting from the corners to the center on them, to them. "Well done, Jaune! Meeko's bounty, courtesy of Corvus!" She told them as they looked at the money. "You're short, Mal. Not trying to swindle me, are you?" "Hey now, you're forgetting my finder's fee. Plus I need to make arrangements for my late champion. I'm just glad to be rid of that sky-loving scum, but Meeko wasn't the only reason I asked you out here." Miss Malachite told them as she pulled out a rectangular device and placed it on the table. "A modified Archive came for you. it's personal, I didn't even open it." "Alright, let's hear it." Jaune said while taking off his helmet, revealing a new scar over his left eye, as Mlita tapped it, turning it on. "Hello, Freelancer Jaune Arc, remember me? I'm Grandmaster Adam. Corvus has a proposition for you and the rest of Twilight Squad. They have a very important contract for you with a very special pay. If you take this job, you'll all be given new, up-to-date Javelins, and the reward will be, up to, five million shards " Adam's voice informed them, getting Miss Malachite to cough up smoke while Jaune held a shocked look under his helmet. "5 million?! That could make you for life!" "Why go through this, and why not tell me when I was at Fort Tarsis?" Jaune asked as the recording continued. "Now you're probably wondering why I didn't speak of this to you personally. It's because I know of your disdain for the Sentinels for abandoning the civilians back in Freemark, this was the best they could come up with. One of the parts of said contract may involve the Dominion. Please, come to Fort Tarsis to accept or decline the offer. Adam out." Adam told him before the Archive turned off. "No no, Jaune, not the Dominion. It'll be too dangerous, even for Twilight Squad!" "But like you said, this contract could make us." "Or break you! It took a whole city's worth of Lancers to slow them down, imagine your team against that scale!" Miss Malachite shouted in panic as Jaune gathered half of the shards and Neo gathered up the other before the former scoffed humorously. "Worried about losing your finder's fees and Princess Khan's good grace?" "Now that's not fair! You know I worry about cha!" She told him as he looked smug. "Eitherway, we'll exercise great caution. Got any word on who's there?" "Only a description, a blonde woman wearing it in a bun with blue eyes, wearing a red suit. But I've got a bad feeling about this one, Jaune. I think you should take my daughters with you, their Interceptor Javelins are freshly tuned." Miss Malachite told him as one of the daughters took a step forward and crossed her arms. "You know I'm a married man, Mal. See you around. I'll keep in touch." Jaune told her before he and Neo took their leave, leaving Miss Malachite looking concerned.
(Fortress of Dawn)
Meanwhile, Nora, in a rustic brown version of her Javelin with a Swiss Army knife of tools replacing the cannon, was hovering underneath a metal bridge that looked out of place compared to the ruins as she punched some rivets in place on the support rails. "Welding torch." She said to herself before a torch folded out of her right arm, allowing her to weld the rivets into place. "NORA, IS EVERYTHING SET DOWN THERE?!" "YEAH, I'LL HEAD FOR THE OTHER SIDE!" Nora and someone else on the east side yelled to each other before the former flew over to the west side of the bridge, where a lever, surrounded by four 3ft-tall metal panels guarding it, was before she pressed a button with a speaker just above it next to the lever. "Alright, on three, we'll flip the switch and see if everything works." "Understood, Nora." The person on the other side told her before the line cutted out.
"1. 2. 3!" Nora counted as she threw the switch, causing the bridge to slowly split down the middle seamlessly and lift up from said slit. After a minute, and the bridge had fully risen, Nora pressed the button again. "Okay, drawbridge's opening sequence is all good. Now beginning the closing sequence in 1… 2… 3." She said as she returned the lever to where it was, causing the two sides of the bridge to slowly close. Afterwards, she walked over the bridge and met a woman wearing beige clothes and a mask with multiple holes on the front. "Alright, the bridge is completely operational. With this, we can now ferry materials more efficiently to restore the Fortress of Dawn." "You know, when I heard you were looking for engineers to help with returning this ruin to its former glory, I thought you were nuts." The engineer claimed. "Well have you seen who I used to work for?" Nora asked rhetorically as they began walking off the bridge. Just then, they stopped when they heard the sound of jets getting closer, getting Nora to turn to where the sound was coming from and pull out her Autocannon from her side, aiming it there as the barrel spun! Moments later, she was able to get a better look before putting down her weapon as a Sentinel landed in front of her. "What do you want, Sentinel? We were about to get a Strider to bring in supplies… after gunning you down of course." "Then I'll cut to the chase." The Sentinel told Nora in a man's voice as he handed her an Archive before it played. "Hello, Freelancer Nora Valkyrie, remember me? I'm Grandmaster Adam. Corvus has a proposition for you and the rest of Twilight Squad." A similar recording of Adam's voice told Nora.
(South of Fort Tarsis)
Meanwhile, Pyrrha, in a worn down Interceptor Javelin with a vertically-grated mask replacing the original one, revealing her bob cut hair, and missing the waist cape, and a second Freelancer, that wore Jaune's old Javelin with missing arm pieces, a pair of curved swords on her hips, a ruined cape, and a couple inch-thick, forearm-length stick on their back, were standing near large pyramid-shaped device with a console on one of the sides as a green holographic circle surrounded the object and them. "Wait there while I get a reading." "No sign of Skorpions, at least. They're aggressive today." Velvet and Pyrrha said to each other as a dog-sized rabbit-like animal ran past her and the other Freelancer. "Skorpions are always aggressive. You saw back at the first beacon." They claimed with a woman's voice just as a loud hum was heard with a few second shake, causing blue birds to fly away from the scene. "What was that, why are the birds leaving?" "She's working on it." The woman told Pyrrha while looking around for a few seconds before quietly gasping. "Got a reading, not good. Velvet, I'm sensing possible Shaper energy detected." "Okay. Get to the next sensor and we can narrow it down." Velvet tells her and Pyrrha before they took a running start, jumped, and flew through a waterfall. "The birds might've had the right idea." Pyrrha muttered as they flew through a canyon full of ruins. "Girls, how bad could this get?" "You two were at the Heart of Rage, weren't you?" "Don't even think it!" She told her partner aggressively, getting her to raise her hands. "I'm just saying, it could make that look like a joke. See these ruins were flying past? There's a theory that a Shaper Relic flipped the localized gravity for a day." "Then let's not let that happen." She told her as they began approaching another sensor, which was swarmed by Wyverns. "Last sensor's nearby." "With Wyverns circling. Take out as many as possible, I'll cover you." Pyrrha tells her partner as the former landed on a ledge and pulled out a sniper rifle and the latter pulled out her swords and connected them by the pommels, revealing a port facing where the blades arc, before pulling out the stick and inserting it into said port. Using the new weapon as a bow, she fired three bolts of energy at the flock, killing two in a single shot each as the third missed but was taken out by Pyrrha, before she landed near the sensor, turning it on before taking another shot at a fourth Wyvern. "Give me a second for a reading. Heads up, more Wyvern." "Everything's in a bad mood today!" She claimed as she and Pyrrha continued shooting down Wyverns!
A couple minutes and six more Wyvern corpses later, the sensor was complete as the same thing that happened at the last sensor happened here. "Oh, no. Freelancers, Shaper energy off the charts! An unstable relic in the area. A bad one, and I've got a probable location." "On it!" Pyrrha said as she and her partner dove into a lake with a huge metal pipe sticking out of it, discovering that the pipe also acts as a tunnel. "Watertight seals are holding up. Shall I call in more Freelancers?" "No time, we can't risk this getting worse." Pyrrha told Velvet as they rocketed out of the water and into a room with a small pool of black ickier with five long tips sticking out like spikes in front of a closed door. "Shaper ruins. We're on the right trail." "Looks like an Echo Lock we need to open." "Cinder, you've dealt with these before. I'll leave this to you." Velvet told Cinder, who nods before looking around the room until she spotted a glowing orb of light behind them to the right. "Look for some of these floating lights. They're the Echoes. We grab enough and bring enough of them to the door, we'll have it open in no time." She explained as she walked up to the Echo, causing it to attract and hover right next to her. "Just remember, our Javelins can only carry three at a time." Cinder added as they searched the room, gathering up five in total. Afterwards, Cinder walked through the Echo Lock, causing the Echoes to be absorbed into the Lock as two of the spikes to recede and sink into the pool, before motioning for Pyrrha to do the same thing. After walking through, getting the same reaction with the last three as it began faintly glowing blue and the door opened. "That's it. We're in." Cinder declared as she and Pyrrha flew further into the ruin. "Impressive, even for a Shaper Ruin." "What's it for?" "Raise a mountain? Carve out an ocean? Spawn some… new monstrosity?" She theorized with a bewildered tone. "There has to be some reason for it all." "It's the riddle of Coda." "And this one's waking up. I detect intense energy deeper in." Velvet and Cinder tell Pyrrha respectively as they enter a room with a ramp leading to an opening door and an empty Javelin lying on the floor. "Someone else made it down here. Though it doesn't look like they made it back out." She claimed mournfully before she crouched down to reach into it, only to be stopped by Cinder. "No. We'll bring the whole thing back to the fort." She declared as she too crouched down and picked up the Javelin. "How do you propose we get the Javelin out and silence the relic?" "I'll put it down after we reach it." Cinder explained before as they got back up and flew out of the room, coming up on five rows of segmented energy walls coming at them. "What is all this?" "Unknown. This ruin's never been mapped." Velvet informed Pyrrha as she and Cinder took their time flying through, making sure not to hit the walls until they reached a hole in the floor that goes deeper. Unfortunately as they jumped down, they were electrocuted by a sudden wall, causing Pyrrha and Cinder to jerk in pain as they held their respectively exposed body parts! Afterwards, they finally entered the room with the relic but couldn't fly over! "We've lost flight controls!" "I'm trying to reset! Hang on!" Velvet told Pyrrha as she and Cinder panicked a bit until they suddenly found themselves a few feet deep in water!
"Good news! It's just normal water!" "Better news! Controls restored! That water helped cool you down!" Cinder and Velvet respectively claimed as the former and Pyrrha rocketed out of the large pool, spotting a smaller platform with an Echo Lock and three small towers surrounding a ball of energy with a solid-looking inside. "That's the relic up ahead. Big one, too. Let's silence it." "Same as before?" Pyrrha asked as Cinder gave her a thumbs up before the latter landed on the platform and dropped off the Javelin. She then flew back into the air and began collecting Echoes. "Let's keep the Echoes coming, that will collapse the energy pocket." Cinder told Pyrrha just as they grabbed the first and second Echoes. "What's the relic doing?" "Can't tell, but the energy pocket's getting bigger. Something's forming in there!" Velvet informed them as they grabbed their third and fourth! "What is it?" "Anything's possible! Look at the waterfalls, they're going backwards!" Cinder hastily stated as she began to feel pressured, getting her to double time her efforts as she collects the fifth Echo and races to the Lock, letting it absorb them before Pyrrha began noticing the snow as she obtains the sixth Echo! "Just got a lot colder!" "Yeah, that's not a good sign. It's drawing energy to form a Cataclysm." Velvet told her before she flew down and fed the Lock the last of the Echoes! "Just think, the Anthem's being harnessed in there. Pure creation, something totally new forming." "I just wish it wasn't so dangerous and unpredictable." "Blame that on the Shapers, they didn't think to leave any instructions." Cinder told Pyrrha as they waited for the energy to calm down… only for the energy to pulse and form a portal, spawning in creatures that appeared to be made of ice and wolf-like creatures. "Well glitch me with your husband's dick." "Just take care of the Wolven until Velvet figures out what to do!" Pyrrha shouted to Cinder as she began gunning down the slower enemies while the latter pulled out her swords and started striking down any that got too close! "Velvet, hurry up, Shaper energy's still increasing!" Cinder told Velvet as she connected her blades and fired a shot at a Wolven that snuck around and tried to take a lunging bite at Pyrrha! "This is a great prelude to the main event." "I'm working on it. It's been a while since we silenced a Shaper Ruin." She told Cinder as the latter began swinging her bow at the Wolven, knocking one into one of the small pillars! "Wait, that's it! Pyrrha, remember the Shaper relic from Duner 4 years ago?" "The one that fell apart? We had to put that thing back together!" "Exactly! Look for anything that belongs to the relic and put it back together!" Velvet told Pyrrha as Cinder sprinted to where she threw one of the Wolven, noticing a pillar had an empty triangular hole on the side! "Look for a tube-length object and shove them in place!" Cinder shouted as she hastily looked around, spotting the object in question, before running towards it and returning it to the pillar, putting it in place! Seeing this work, Pyrrha looked around and spotted another piece behind a Wolven! She then sprinted towards it while pulling one of the spears from her forearm before jumping over the Wolven and throwing said spear into the back of its head, killing it while she landed and grabbed the second object! Just then as she got to the second pillar, she and Cinder heard a deep growl. "Did anyone hear growling?" "It's biological. That's all I can say for sure." Velvet told her as the latter placed the object in. "Velvet, what's happening in there!?" "The "something" has teeth, lots of them! Hurry!" Cinder shouted in a slight panic as she briefly looked into the forming energy before shaking her head and turning back to the task at hand, grabbing the last before rushing towards the third pillar, only to be tackled by the last Wolven, knocking the object out of her hands as she was forced to hold its jaws back! "GET! OFF ME!" She yelled as she began to roll and switch places with the Wolven as Pyrrha rushed over and grabbed the object! "Okay, last one. Here goes…" she paused just as she noticed the object stopped halfway as ice and frost began to form around it, just as Cinder forced the Wolven to the ground and proceeded to snap its neck, using both jaws as leverage! Just then, the surrounding area began to be covered in snow as Cinder got back up. "Y'know, I heard a relic made a guy vanish into thin air once, no idea where he went. Which isn't as lucky as the Freelancer who's guts were turned inside out." "Now how's that lucky, and why are you telling me this?" "At least he died and got it over with! Besides, I figured you needed a distraction while you milked silencing the relic." "I'm not milking this, there's ice jamming the fragment!" Pyrrha shouted in frustration just as they heard heavy footsteps behind them, getting her and Cinder to turn around and see the largest Ursix anyone's seen, which also seemed to be radiating with ice, forming! "You're out of time, SILENCE IT!" "What do you think I'm doing?!" Pyrrha shouted in a panic as she banged on the fragment with the bit of her rifle before noticing Cinder staring at the Ursix, shaking very subtly! "IT'S STUCK!" "Haymaker it if you have to! It's a Chimeric Ursix!" Velvet shouted to Pyrrha as the latter saw it get closer! As the Ursix pounded its chest, it got ready to leap at them as Cinder screamed in pure fear, getting Pyrrha to use the pillar to propel herself to Cinder, accidentally dropkicking the fragment in place, and push her out of the way just as an electrical pulse erupted from the relic! As Pyrrha and Cinder rolled on the ground, stopping with the former on top as the latter hyperventilated in emotional exhaustion, the Chimeric Ursix suddenly dropped to the ground, motionless. "Are you ok?" Pyrrha asked as Cinder, still panting, gave a nod before the former got back up. "Alright, after that, your Javelin most likely locked up. I want you to take deep breaths while I jumpstart your suit." She calmly told her as she walked off before shooting out a cable to Cinder's chest.
A few minutes later, Cinder and Pyrrha began flying out of the ruin with the empty Javelin in-tow. "Good work, you two. I'll notify the client that the contract was completed with a Shaper Relic silenced. And sorry about your first mission turning into a nightmare." "Don't worry, it was going smoothly until the Ursix showed up." Cinder told Velvet, reassuring her as she and Pyrrha were now out of the ruin.
As they returned to Fort Tarsis, a white city with towers similar to Freemark's, the scene faded to black before it closed into four triangular shapes, a volcanic river, a jungle with a waterfall, a bird's eye view of a valley, and finally a white screen with the word 'ANTHEM' forming.
Character Bio
Lie Ren V1 (Pre Heart of Rage)
Parts
Head: Default Helmet
Torso: Default Torso
Arms: Default Arms
Legs: Default Legs
Weapons
Sniper Rifle: Whirlwind
Machine Pistol: Fulcrum
Melee: Venomous Blades
Gears
Assault System: Venom Bomb
Strike System: Plasma Star
Support System: Target Beacon
Paint
Primary Hard: Painted: Clean (Black)
Secondary Hard: Rubber: Hardened Plastic (Black)
Tertiary Hard: Painted: Clean Metallic (Magenta)
Primary Hard: Leather: Artificial (Black)
Secondary Soft: Leather: Fine (Black)
Tertiary Soft: Rubber: Hardened Plastic (darker shade of Green)
Vinyl: Decal: Trophy Hunter
Wear State: Clean
Jaune Arc (Bounty Hunter)
Parts
Head: Ice Crush Helmet
Torso: Guardian Torso
Arms: Guardian Arms
Legs: Ice Crush Legs
Weapons
Assault Rifle: Hammerhead
Marksman Rifle: Guardian
Melee: Thermal Sword (My idea)
Gear
Grenade: Frag
Assault Launcher: Spark Beam/Pulse Blast
Support Gear: Bulwark Point
Components
None
Paint
Primary Hard: Painted: Old (Black)
Secondary Hard: Painted: Clean Metallic (Sky Blue)
Tertiary Hard: Metal: Rugged (Titanium)
Primary Hard: Fabric: Tactical (White)
Secondary Soft: Rubber: Hardened Plastic (Black)
Tertiary Soft: Fabric: Heavy Cloth (Sky Blue)
Vinyl: Graphic: Reaver
Wear State: Dirty
Nora Valkyrie (Constructor)
Parts
Torso: Excavator Body
Arms: Excavator Arms
Legs: Excavator Legs
Weapons
Autocannon: Torrent
Shotgun: Constrictor
Melee: Shock Glove
Gear
Heavy Assault Launcher: None (Replaced with tool kit)
Ordnance Launcher: None
Heavy Support Gear: Shield Pulse
Components
Colossal Storage Augment
Colossal Stock Augment
Heavy Shield Reinforcement
Heat Sink
Structural Reinforcement
Overclocked Regulator
Paint
As seen on Excavator Armor Pack's image
Wear State: Clean
Vinyl: None
Note: Hello everyone, and welcome to something I find interesting. You know how there're Fanfictions of characters reacting to their counterparts in another universe, taking on roles that were originally filled in by someone else? Well I'm making one for anyone to use for that, albeit with my own spin as you saw.