As Team MODA sat in their dorm rooms, Oswald sighed and looked at his team. None of them had survived the previous year's 'incident' intact. Marcus lost an eye, with half his face and a decent portion of his body being burned severely in the first explosion. Aurellius had been peppered with shrapnel in a different explosion, not even realizing it until he turned his Semblance off for a moment after the fight. While his damage was the least prohibitive, the scars and pockmarks stayed. Diamond had had half of her ribcage shattered, shredding a good two-thirds of one of her lungs. The doctors had managed to replace most of the organ, but the recovery had been long, and was still ongoing.
Oswald had it the worst. He sat on his bed, his left prosthesis detached and being serviced by Marcus, while Diamond cleaned and lubricated his right. He'd lost his left arm and a good portion of his shoulder, while his right arm had been severed below the elbow. Having been far from the original explosion, he had taken part in the subsequent fighting, along with Aurellius, Diamond, and teams BAST, RPGD and SASG. Robert, Gren, Priscilla, Ben and Trad had all been killed in the fighting, and Oswald owed the leader of team RPGD his life. A debt he could only pay forward to the grieving Daniel and Greyson.
After his shield arm had been destroyed by a massive man wielding a warhammer, Oswald had given his all into a suicidal attack, driving his sword completely through the man's body, when another of the Order of Grimm had cut his arm off. Losing blood rapidly, Oswald could only stumble back in shock, looking around in a panic. The last vestiges of his Aura brought him to Robert, crumbling to his knees, and the team leader had fought hard to ensure Oswald's broken body was recovered.
Marcus's modifications to the interior of the Unsubtle had proven a godsend when team KESS arrived, awkwardly piloting the monstrous machine. Between its various weapons, the members of the Order of Grimm were subdued or eliminated in short order.
Oswald had only been cleared to leave the medical bay three weeks prior, his Schnee implants finally calibrated and the risks of infection reduced to a negligible level. Getting used to the cybernetics wasn't easy, but with the help of his team, he'd been able to manage. Fitting with his dark theme, the prostheses were both onyx colored, with chromatic “veins” running through them. They had been designed to mimic the appearance of his old gauntlets, something he was thankful for. Even if he couldn't wear them now, he was still able to see the familiar sight.
While he was in the medical bay, he'd been visited many times by the surviving members of teams RPGD and SASG. Sapphire had visited the most by far, often berating him on his failure to properly avoid either of the two blows that had cost him his arms. As for Greyson and Daniel, Oswald always tried his best to accommodate them during their visits as a way to thank them for Robert's sacrifice to protect him, but until his implants had been finished, he was mostly helpless, something that had bothered him greatly over the months.
The two had tried to assure him that he owed no debt, but Oswald wouldn't have that. He was only alive because their team leader had died to protect him. Even if it was their job, he still had to honor that sacrifice.
When they heard a knock at the door, all of team MODA turned to it, wondering who it could be. Aurellius, being the only one not preoccupied with Oswald's maintenance, stood and answered the door, silent.
“Who is it, Bell-end?” Oswald joked, waving his stubbed right arm at the stunned boy.
“It's you.” That got their attention, especially with the serious voice Aurellius made. Oswald and Marcus stood immediately, the latter dropping the prosthesis in his hands, much to the former's chagrin. Diamond was simply shocked.
Crossing to the door, Oswald gave their interrupter a long, hard look. He did indeed look almost identical to Oswald, but with a slightly less muscular frame and an extra inch or so in height. What stood out most was the same dull, brown eyes and flat black hair Oswald had. “I don't have any brothers or cousins my age, but you're a Connolly man, that much is certain. Who are you?”
“Well, this is gonna be hard to understand, but...I'm your son. From the future.”
A few chuckles broke out before Aurellius looked between the two. “The resemblance is crazy, but seriously, who are you, dude?”
Frowning, the young man slowly reached to his side and drew his sword, showing it to them. “Dad, you made this sword with your own hands. One of it. Only one. So how are there two right now?”
Eyes widening, Oswald ran back to his bed, prompting Marcus to follow. As the former tried unsuccessfully to attach his right prosthesis, the latter intervened, affixing it with a practiced ease. After a moment, the pair had also attached the left prosthesis, and Oswald grabbed his own sword, which had thankfully been recovered after the incident.
“No...that...how is that possible?” Looking between the two swords, which were identical save for a small scar in the handguard of the mysterious boy's sword. “I forged the Trepanation Blade when I applied for Beacon. It was supposed to be a symbol, either of my success to get in, or a reason to drive me to fight harder if I failed. Obviously, I got in.”
“Frankly, I'm not even entirely sure myself. Colonel Goldstein never explained it.”
“Colonel? Not that I'm the least bit surprised, but....god damn. You're my son?” Oswald was still, reasonably, suspicious of the unknown man's claims.
“Yeah. You and mom named me Dunn.” Showing off a bit of pride, Dunn nodded at his shocked father. “I...need to tell you all something. About why I'm here. The how isn't important right now.”
Oswald nodded, prompting Marcus, Diamond and Aurellius to get ready for a long conversation.
“It started a year ago, your time. The Order of Grimm attack. You told me all about it when I was about eleven or twelve. When I decided to follow in your footsteps. About how you lost your arms, and how a lot of people lost a lot more than that.” Nodding grimly, Dunn continued. “They're not gone, not yet. Eventually, they absorb the White Fang. If you think they're violent now...you'd hate what the Order of Grimm does later. Entire towns, reduced to ash. Inside the Kingdoms. Outside...I think villages like ours were the only ones to last more than a few months. We were so far away, it didn't make sense to attack us. They just hit our supply caravans at first. We were dust-starved in less than a year. Lost power in two. I was ten when that happened. Those attacks were what made me want to be like you.”
Swallowing, Dunn reached out to Oswald, but held back, clearly conflicted. “Every time they came to the walls, you and the others would fight them back. With mom at your side, you were unstoppable. Between the two of you, I'm sure you could have done anything, fought off anybody. You were so strong, and she was so fast. My fighting style is based on both of you. Twin swords, one large and one short. Speed and power. You told me how you two used to spar all the time.” That earned Oswald a grin from his teammates, while his face turned bright red. He and Sapphire were widely regarded as a couple by others in Beacon due to their training sessions and close friendship, especially when the dark-themed boy was wounded in the medical bay, but neither had ever made an advance on the other.
“That's why they had to separate you. It took them a few hundreds of pounds of dust, but one day they blew clear through the walls. Destroyed them utterly, took entire houses with them. You and mom had to split up, fight where you could. I was in the bunker by then, watching the video feeds. I don't think you stopped fighting for more than a few minutes.”
Now, Dunn was on the verge of tears, and Oswald moved to him, laying his hand on his son's shoulder, giving the boy an encouraging nod.
“They kept coming! They just...they just never stopped! Vacuo was supposed to help, but by the time they got there...by the time they got there, you and mom were gone. They took you apart piece by piece. Prosthetics first. And mom...they did what we did to traitors. They fucking fed her to the Grimm.”
Oswald grimaced, knowing exactly what Dunn meant. It was a punishment he'd had to dole out on one occasion, after a shockingly similar incident. He still had nightmares about the screams.
“It's been so long, and I still have dreams about that day. About how I need to destroy them. I was a different person after that. Quite literally, as well. My Semblance changed.” At that, Oswald's eyes grew wide. A person's Semblance was a reflection of who they were. Even in the face of the worst kinds of disaster, few people ever experienced a shift in their Semblance. “I used to be able to manipulate the flow of time in a small radius around me. It was almost useless with how Aura-intensive it was, though, so I only used it a few times.”
Shaking, Dunn stood. “Now, I do this.” Taking a deep breath, Dunn breathed outwards, turning the air in front of him into a disgusting, green liquid which fell to the floor and began eating through the ground. “I am so filled with anger and hatred that I breathe acid.”
His demonstration and monologue over, Dunn fell to his knees, wracked with sobs. It was a minute or two before he could speak again. “Colonel-uh, Marcus, I guess. You told me that you'd know what to do with this.” Reaching into his pocket, Dunn retrieved a small stick-a memory drive, and slid it on the ground towards Marcus. “Then you said I'd never be able to go back. Vacuo gave me an identity. I did what I had to do. Now I have to go.”
Standing, Dunn walked over to the door, his face still wet with tears. “Dad, don't worry about me. This world's not ruined, yet. Even if this doesn't change anything, it'll be okay. I wasn't alone. Marcus, your daughter is my team leader. The other two are from Vacuo. She couldn't bear to come see you. I told her I'd let you know that your Unsubtle is definitely awesome, no matter what your parents said.” Sighing, he turned to Aurellius and Diamond. “I don't really...know much about you two. Dad didn't like talking about you. When he and mom left Vale, you all had a big fight. Don't fight. I want the next Dunn to know more about everything.”
As he opened the door, Dunn gave a weak, but real, smile. “Good luck. Sorry I can't stay, I really am. I wanna go see Atlas. I passed by mom, but...I didn't tell her. Please don't tell her, dad. We both know she has enough to worry about. You were always the type to weather the storm. You've got worse secrets. Besides....I'll be fine. It took a lot to get us here, but there was nothing left for us. We got a second chance. We aren't gonna waste it.”
And he was gone. The door weakly closed behind him, and nobody gave chase. Instead, Oswald looked to Marcus, who had a wide grin on his face. “What'd you get from that thing?”
The reply was all he needed to hear. “Enough to destroy the Order of Grimm before they can do anything. Dates, times, locations of attacks. People who might be turned. And the location of their headquarters. Team...let's do this.”
-------------------------------------------------
A few days later, team MODA stood assembled in front of Ozpin, along with teams KESS and JMCL, the amalgamated team DAGS (Dangerous), and the three surviving members of team SASG. They were being briefed on everything the data drive had told them: where the Order of Grimm was, what they were planning, and what they had done.
As it turned out, the group was responsible for dozens of Grimm attacks in the kingdom of Vale, and several in Atlas, which had practically imploded after the implications of an intentional series of attacks, the exact nature of which was officially unknown, was revealed to the populace. Having such a powerful military did little to help the kingdom until they were given a target to fire at. However, once the Atlesian HQ had been discovered, Ironwood had sent half a dozen air-destroyers at it, much to the annoyance of Headmaster Ozpin. Given that the matter was of Atlesian security, Ironwood was given the go-ahead, and the Order of Grimm base had been reduced to a crater after a recon team recovered several scrolls worth of information from their computers.
Vale, on the other hand, had decided to let their Huntsmen and Huntresses handle the problem. This was partially out of tradition, and partially because the older network was much more complex, requiring a finer, more personal touch to dismantle. As such, the senior-year students, many of whom were personally wounded in the original attack, were being cleared to go on a massive Search and Destroy mission, chaperoned by none other than Bartholomew Oobleck himself.
“Alright, teams! Now that Professor Ozpin has briefed you on the situation, we must prepare ourselves! I want you in the Bullheads by Oh-Five Hundred Hours tomorrow morning! Am I understood?” Rapidly speaking, Oobleck seemed to blur across the room, still constantly energized despite the toll the staff and students had taken after the incident.
----------------------------------
The next morning, Marcus and Oswald were sitting on the hull of the Unsubtle, the former using his Semblance to manipulate his teammate's prostheses. “Marcus, I know you like using your Semblance, but I can feel you inside my arm. It's messed up.”
Returning to his own body, Marcus shook his head. “Sorry, I'll try to stick with the ol' can of whoop ass here.”
“Ready to go, boss?” Turning, Oswald saw Diamond and Aurellius approaching and gave them a wave.
“I think he is. Professor-”
“DOCTOR!!!!”
“Doctor Oobleck, can you help hook us up?” Ever since Marcus's alterations had been made, the team liked to stay inside the Unsubtle until shit hit the fan, as it allowed them to travel as a protected, cohesive unit. Also, it seriously beat walking.
“Of course, mister Connolly! We'll be leaving in five minutes, so be certain that you've packed everything that you'll need!” Carefully but quickly connecting the tow cables to the Unsubtle, Oobleck sped around, much to Oswald's amusement. He always wondered how the guy maintained such an endless reserve of energy, but had never had the chance to shadow him on a mission. This would be the perfect opportunity.
“Alright, teams! Your assignments are as follows: team KESS is to infiltrate and sabotage the Southwestern side of the primary compound to create a diversion, while teams SASG and DAGS lead a full-scale assault against the North side of the secondary compound. Team JMCL will attack the East side of the primary compound, while team MODA and I break down the front door! Much as I prefer subtlety and historical analysis to open combat, I too was seriously affected by the attack last year! I am a Huntsman, and I cannot abide such an egregious attack on my place of study, on my home! On my students! Now, who's ready to stop these criminals?”
Met with a cacophony of cheering, Oobleck sped onto team MODA's bullhead before radioing in to them, coming through the Unsubtle's speakers. "Alright, primary assault team, we are go!”
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Explosions and gunfire rocking around them, Oswald and Diamond turned a corner, the latter driving a shadow knife into a guard's chest, while the former did battle with a pair of Order cultists. “Damn, these guys are a lot tougher than White Fang! A little help, Diamond?!”
Oswald's call for assistance was met with a pole of shadows colliding into his enemy's groin, knocking the man to the ground and allowing Oswald to bat him aside with his shield. “Alright, asshole, now the odds are in our favor! Give up.” Trapped between Oswald and Diamond, the cultist tried to fight, but was run through on both sides by the teammates, who didn't stop to check on the other fighter. They had more important things at the moment.
Marcus and Aurellius were currently dealing with a gunship, much to their leader's ire. “Damn bird keeps dodging my shells! You need to ground that thing, Aurellius!” Aurellius, meanwhile, was unleashing a torrent of ammo, but to little effect. The gunship was too heavily armored for his rounds to penetrate it.
Oobleck, meanwhile, had stopped to fight the main host of the Order's manpower. At least three dozen men and women had stopped the trio before the doctor politely pushed them aside, saying that he would be fine.
Their job was to incapacitate the group's leader, a woman who went by “Chimera.” She had proven evasive in the first assault by the professionals, but after being hounded between bases for days, she was running on steam at this point.
Dodging to the side as Chimera fired blindly behind herself, Oswald called out in anger, “Give up, dammit! Your twisted world view isn't worth dying over!” He was met with more gunfire. “Fine, have it your way!”
She could have predicted Oswald's Semblance. Had she found a way to communicate with the members of her order in prison, she'd have known that one of the students of Beacon Academy could teleport. Chimera, however, was not aware of this fact, and the sword that pressed against her throat proved that.
“Damn, Chimera, your Aura's completely gone, huh? Shame. I was looking forward to kicking your ass.” Instead, he simply headbutted the cloaked woman, knocking her to the floor as Diamond ran up. He wanted so badly to kill her. As vengeance for everybody who'd lost their lives. As personal revenge for his arms. As penance for her actions. But his orders were to capture her alive, so that was what he did.
“Nice one, Oswald.”
“Whatever, Let's get her to the Unsubtle, ground that fucking bird, and go home.”
-------------------------------------------
“I wonder what Dunn is up to with his team.” Oswald, once again having his prostheses serviced by his beleaguered teammates, mused aloud.
“Whatever it is, he better not be up to anything with my alleged daughter.” Oswald chuckled at that. The idea that Marcus and his family survived to the end of the war in the blighted timeline was one they'd discussed, but ultimately discarded, as that world existed only in the minds of four people now. People who would eventually grow old and die, leaving the impossible notion of destruction and treason behind. A world had vanished with their actions, and a new future had been forged.
Oswald had finally decided that “fraternizing” with the leader of team SASG was an acceptable breach of his code, much to the joy of most of the student body. Oswald had a few questions, but one stood out above all the others.
“Still, I wonder how Dunn got his hands on my sword. He did say they tore me apart. Why leave my weapon?”
-------------------------------------------------------
In the recesses of the time traveler’s mind sat a single, blurred memory, reviewable only in grayscale. An infuriated young man stood over the corpse of a cloaked assailant, a twisted sword in one hand and a short blade in the other, as the attacker slowly began to melt. Bodies were strewn about haphazardly, save for one: a man with black hair, several limbs missing, and a metallic hand placed on his ruined, scarred chest. He was lying against a stone, moved there with care by somebody who loved him dearly. It was the last time Dunn had seen his father, as Vacuo evacuated the survivors immediately afterwards.
Oswald had it the worst. He sat on his bed, his left prosthesis detached and being serviced by Marcus, while Diamond cleaned and lubricated his right. He'd lost his left arm and a good portion of his shoulder, while his right arm had been severed below the elbow. Having been far from the original explosion, he had taken part in the subsequent fighting, along with Aurellius, Diamond, and teams BAST, RPGD and SASG. Robert, Gren, Priscilla, Ben and Trad had all been killed in the fighting, and Oswald owed the leader of team RPGD his life. A debt he could only pay forward to the grieving Daniel and Greyson.
After his shield arm had been destroyed by a massive man wielding a warhammer, Oswald had given his all into a suicidal attack, driving his sword completely through the man's body, when another of the Order of Grimm had cut his arm off. Losing blood rapidly, Oswald could only stumble back in shock, looking around in a panic. The last vestiges of his Aura brought him to Robert, crumbling to his knees, and the team leader had fought hard to ensure Oswald's broken body was recovered.
Marcus's modifications to the interior of the Unsubtle had proven a godsend when team KESS arrived, awkwardly piloting the monstrous machine. Between its various weapons, the members of the Order of Grimm were subdued or eliminated in short order.
Oswald had only been cleared to leave the medical bay three weeks prior, his Schnee implants finally calibrated and the risks of infection reduced to a negligible level. Getting used to the cybernetics wasn't easy, but with the help of his team, he'd been able to manage. Fitting with his dark theme, the prostheses were both onyx colored, with chromatic “veins” running through them. They had been designed to mimic the appearance of his old gauntlets, something he was thankful for. Even if he couldn't wear them now, he was still able to see the familiar sight.
While he was in the medical bay, he'd been visited many times by the surviving members of teams RPGD and SASG. Sapphire had visited the most by far, often berating him on his failure to properly avoid either of the two blows that had cost him his arms. As for Greyson and Daniel, Oswald always tried his best to accommodate them during their visits as a way to thank them for Robert's sacrifice to protect him, but until his implants had been finished, he was mostly helpless, something that had bothered him greatly over the months.
The two had tried to assure him that he owed no debt, but Oswald wouldn't have that. He was only alive because their team leader had died to protect him. Even if it was their job, he still had to honor that sacrifice.
When they heard a knock at the door, all of team MODA turned to it, wondering who it could be. Aurellius, being the only one not preoccupied with Oswald's maintenance, stood and answered the door, silent.
“Who is it, Bell-end?” Oswald joked, waving his stubbed right arm at the stunned boy.
“It's you.” That got their attention, especially with the serious voice Aurellius made. Oswald and Marcus stood immediately, the latter dropping the prosthesis in his hands, much to the former's chagrin. Diamond was simply shocked.
Crossing to the door, Oswald gave their interrupter a long, hard look. He did indeed look almost identical to Oswald, but with a slightly less muscular frame and an extra inch or so in height. What stood out most was the same dull, brown eyes and flat black hair Oswald had. “I don't have any brothers or cousins my age, but you're a Connolly man, that much is certain. Who are you?”
“Well, this is gonna be hard to understand, but...I'm your son. From the future.”
A few chuckles broke out before Aurellius looked between the two. “The resemblance is crazy, but seriously, who are you, dude?”
Frowning, the young man slowly reached to his side and drew his sword, showing it to them. “Dad, you made this sword with your own hands. One of it. Only one. So how are there two right now?”
Eyes widening, Oswald ran back to his bed, prompting Marcus to follow. As the former tried unsuccessfully to attach his right prosthesis, the latter intervened, affixing it with a practiced ease. After a moment, the pair had also attached the left prosthesis, and Oswald grabbed his own sword, which had thankfully been recovered after the incident.
“No...that...how is that possible?” Looking between the two swords, which were identical save for a small scar in the handguard of the mysterious boy's sword. “I forged the Trepanation Blade when I applied for Beacon. It was supposed to be a symbol, either of my success to get in, or a reason to drive me to fight harder if I failed. Obviously, I got in.”
“Frankly, I'm not even entirely sure myself. Colonel Goldstein never explained it.”
“Colonel? Not that I'm the least bit surprised, but....god damn. You're my son?” Oswald was still, reasonably, suspicious of the unknown man's claims.
“Yeah. You and mom named me Dunn.” Showing off a bit of pride, Dunn nodded at his shocked father. “I...need to tell you all something. About why I'm here. The how isn't important right now.”
Oswald nodded, prompting Marcus, Diamond and Aurellius to get ready for a long conversation.
“It started a year ago, your time. The Order of Grimm attack. You told me all about it when I was about eleven or twelve. When I decided to follow in your footsteps. About how you lost your arms, and how a lot of people lost a lot more than that.” Nodding grimly, Dunn continued. “They're not gone, not yet. Eventually, they absorb the White Fang. If you think they're violent now...you'd hate what the Order of Grimm does later. Entire towns, reduced to ash. Inside the Kingdoms. Outside...I think villages like ours were the only ones to last more than a few months. We were so far away, it didn't make sense to attack us. They just hit our supply caravans at first. We were dust-starved in less than a year. Lost power in two. I was ten when that happened. Those attacks were what made me want to be like you.”
Swallowing, Dunn reached out to Oswald, but held back, clearly conflicted. “Every time they came to the walls, you and the others would fight them back. With mom at your side, you were unstoppable. Between the two of you, I'm sure you could have done anything, fought off anybody. You were so strong, and she was so fast. My fighting style is based on both of you. Twin swords, one large and one short. Speed and power. You told me how you two used to spar all the time.” That earned Oswald a grin from his teammates, while his face turned bright red. He and Sapphire were widely regarded as a couple by others in Beacon due to their training sessions and close friendship, especially when the dark-themed boy was wounded in the medical bay, but neither had ever made an advance on the other.
“That's why they had to separate you. It took them a few hundreds of pounds of dust, but one day they blew clear through the walls. Destroyed them utterly, took entire houses with them. You and mom had to split up, fight where you could. I was in the bunker by then, watching the video feeds. I don't think you stopped fighting for more than a few minutes.”
Now, Dunn was on the verge of tears, and Oswald moved to him, laying his hand on his son's shoulder, giving the boy an encouraging nod.
“They kept coming! They just...they just never stopped! Vacuo was supposed to help, but by the time they got there...by the time they got there, you and mom were gone. They took you apart piece by piece. Prosthetics first. And mom...they did what we did to traitors. They fucking fed her to the Grimm.”
Oswald grimaced, knowing exactly what Dunn meant. It was a punishment he'd had to dole out on one occasion, after a shockingly similar incident. He still had nightmares about the screams.
“It's been so long, and I still have dreams about that day. About how I need to destroy them. I was a different person after that. Quite literally, as well. My Semblance changed.” At that, Oswald's eyes grew wide. A person's Semblance was a reflection of who they were. Even in the face of the worst kinds of disaster, few people ever experienced a shift in their Semblance. “I used to be able to manipulate the flow of time in a small radius around me. It was almost useless with how Aura-intensive it was, though, so I only used it a few times.”
Shaking, Dunn stood. “Now, I do this.” Taking a deep breath, Dunn breathed outwards, turning the air in front of him into a disgusting, green liquid which fell to the floor and began eating through the ground. “I am so filled with anger and hatred that I breathe acid.”
His demonstration and monologue over, Dunn fell to his knees, wracked with sobs. It was a minute or two before he could speak again. “Colonel-uh, Marcus, I guess. You told me that you'd know what to do with this.” Reaching into his pocket, Dunn retrieved a small stick-a memory drive, and slid it on the ground towards Marcus. “Then you said I'd never be able to go back. Vacuo gave me an identity. I did what I had to do. Now I have to go.”
Standing, Dunn walked over to the door, his face still wet with tears. “Dad, don't worry about me. This world's not ruined, yet. Even if this doesn't change anything, it'll be okay. I wasn't alone. Marcus, your daughter is my team leader. The other two are from Vacuo. She couldn't bear to come see you. I told her I'd let you know that your Unsubtle is definitely awesome, no matter what your parents said.” Sighing, he turned to Aurellius and Diamond. “I don't really...know much about you two. Dad didn't like talking about you. When he and mom left Vale, you all had a big fight. Don't fight. I want the next Dunn to know more about everything.”
As he opened the door, Dunn gave a weak, but real, smile. “Good luck. Sorry I can't stay, I really am. I wanna go see Atlas. I passed by mom, but...I didn't tell her. Please don't tell her, dad. We both know she has enough to worry about. You were always the type to weather the storm. You've got worse secrets. Besides....I'll be fine. It took a lot to get us here, but there was nothing left for us. We got a second chance. We aren't gonna waste it.”
And he was gone. The door weakly closed behind him, and nobody gave chase. Instead, Oswald looked to Marcus, who had a wide grin on his face. “What'd you get from that thing?”
The reply was all he needed to hear. “Enough to destroy the Order of Grimm before they can do anything. Dates, times, locations of attacks. People who might be turned. And the location of their headquarters. Team...let's do this.”
-------------------------------------------------
A few days later, team MODA stood assembled in front of Ozpin, along with teams KESS and JMCL, the amalgamated team DAGS (Dangerous), and the three surviving members of team SASG. They were being briefed on everything the data drive had told them: where the Order of Grimm was, what they were planning, and what they had done.
As it turned out, the group was responsible for dozens of Grimm attacks in the kingdom of Vale, and several in Atlas, which had practically imploded after the implications of an intentional series of attacks, the exact nature of which was officially unknown, was revealed to the populace. Having such a powerful military did little to help the kingdom until they were given a target to fire at. However, once the Atlesian HQ had been discovered, Ironwood had sent half a dozen air-destroyers at it, much to the annoyance of Headmaster Ozpin. Given that the matter was of Atlesian security, Ironwood was given the go-ahead, and the Order of Grimm base had been reduced to a crater after a recon team recovered several scrolls worth of information from their computers.
Vale, on the other hand, had decided to let their Huntsmen and Huntresses handle the problem. This was partially out of tradition, and partially because the older network was much more complex, requiring a finer, more personal touch to dismantle. As such, the senior-year students, many of whom were personally wounded in the original attack, were being cleared to go on a massive Search and Destroy mission, chaperoned by none other than Bartholomew Oobleck himself.
“Alright, teams! Now that Professor Ozpin has briefed you on the situation, we must prepare ourselves! I want you in the Bullheads by Oh-Five Hundred Hours tomorrow morning! Am I understood?” Rapidly speaking, Oobleck seemed to blur across the room, still constantly energized despite the toll the staff and students had taken after the incident.
----------------------------------
The next morning, Marcus and Oswald were sitting on the hull of the Unsubtle, the former using his Semblance to manipulate his teammate's prostheses. “Marcus, I know you like using your Semblance, but I can feel you inside my arm. It's messed up.”
Returning to his own body, Marcus shook his head. “Sorry, I'll try to stick with the ol' can of whoop ass here.”
“Ready to go, boss?” Turning, Oswald saw Diamond and Aurellius approaching and gave them a wave.
“I think he is. Professor-”
“DOCTOR!!!!”
“Doctor Oobleck, can you help hook us up?” Ever since Marcus's alterations had been made, the team liked to stay inside the Unsubtle until shit hit the fan, as it allowed them to travel as a protected, cohesive unit. Also, it seriously beat walking.
“Of course, mister Connolly! We'll be leaving in five minutes, so be certain that you've packed everything that you'll need!” Carefully but quickly connecting the tow cables to the Unsubtle, Oobleck sped around, much to Oswald's amusement. He always wondered how the guy maintained such an endless reserve of energy, but had never had the chance to shadow him on a mission. This would be the perfect opportunity.
“Alright, teams! Your assignments are as follows: team KESS is to infiltrate and sabotage the Southwestern side of the primary compound to create a diversion, while teams SASG and DAGS lead a full-scale assault against the North side of the secondary compound. Team JMCL will attack the East side of the primary compound, while team MODA and I break down the front door! Much as I prefer subtlety and historical analysis to open combat, I too was seriously affected by the attack last year! I am a Huntsman, and I cannot abide such an egregious attack on my place of study, on my home! On my students! Now, who's ready to stop these criminals?”
Met with a cacophony of cheering, Oobleck sped onto team MODA's bullhead before radioing in to them, coming through the Unsubtle's speakers. "Alright, primary assault team, we are go!”
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Explosions and gunfire rocking around them, Oswald and Diamond turned a corner, the latter driving a shadow knife into a guard's chest, while the former did battle with a pair of Order cultists. “Damn, these guys are a lot tougher than White Fang! A little help, Diamond?!”
Oswald's call for assistance was met with a pole of shadows colliding into his enemy's groin, knocking the man to the ground and allowing Oswald to bat him aside with his shield. “Alright, asshole, now the odds are in our favor! Give up.” Trapped between Oswald and Diamond, the cultist tried to fight, but was run through on both sides by the teammates, who didn't stop to check on the other fighter. They had more important things at the moment.
Marcus and Aurellius were currently dealing with a gunship, much to their leader's ire. “Damn bird keeps dodging my shells! You need to ground that thing, Aurellius!” Aurellius, meanwhile, was unleashing a torrent of ammo, but to little effect. The gunship was too heavily armored for his rounds to penetrate it.
Oobleck, meanwhile, had stopped to fight the main host of the Order's manpower. At least three dozen men and women had stopped the trio before the doctor politely pushed them aside, saying that he would be fine.
Their job was to incapacitate the group's leader, a woman who went by “Chimera.” She had proven evasive in the first assault by the professionals, but after being hounded between bases for days, she was running on steam at this point.
Dodging to the side as Chimera fired blindly behind herself, Oswald called out in anger, “Give up, dammit! Your twisted world view isn't worth dying over!” He was met with more gunfire. “Fine, have it your way!”
She could have predicted Oswald's Semblance. Had she found a way to communicate with the members of her order in prison, she'd have known that one of the students of Beacon Academy could teleport. Chimera, however, was not aware of this fact, and the sword that pressed against her throat proved that.
“Damn, Chimera, your Aura's completely gone, huh? Shame. I was looking forward to kicking your ass.” Instead, he simply headbutted the cloaked woman, knocking her to the floor as Diamond ran up. He wanted so badly to kill her. As vengeance for everybody who'd lost their lives. As personal revenge for his arms. As penance for her actions. But his orders were to capture her alive, so that was what he did.
“Nice one, Oswald.”
“Whatever, Let's get her to the Unsubtle, ground that fucking bird, and go home.”
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“I wonder what Dunn is up to with his team.” Oswald, once again having his prostheses serviced by his beleaguered teammates, mused aloud.
“Whatever it is, he better not be up to anything with my alleged daughter.” Oswald chuckled at that. The idea that Marcus and his family survived to the end of the war in the blighted timeline was one they'd discussed, but ultimately discarded, as that world existed only in the minds of four people now. People who would eventually grow old and die, leaving the impossible notion of destruction and treason behind. A world had vanished with their actions, and a new future had been forged.
Oswald had finally decided that “fraternizing” with the leader of team SASG was an acceptable breach of his code, much to the joy of most of the student body. Oswald had a few questions, but one stood out above all the others.
“Still, I wonder how Dunn got his hands on my sword. He did say they tore me apart. Why leave my weapon?”
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In the recesses of the time traveler’s mind sat a single, blurred memory, reviewable only in grayscale. An infuriated young man stood over the corpse of a cloaked assailant, a twisted sword in one hand and a short blade in the other, as the attacker slowly began to melt. Bodies were strewn about haphazardly, save for one: a man with black hair, several limbs missing, and a metallic hand placed on his ruined, scarred chest. He was lying against a stone, moved there with care by somebody who loved him dearly. It was the last time Dunn had seen his father, as Vacuo evacuated the survivors immediately afterwards.
She's just so friggin lovable!
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