The Day

"Atlesian Juggernauts incoming!" A Dream Horde soldier yelled as three large egg-like shells flew through the sky. Each one crashed into the white snow causing the ground to shake. They were miles away from Mantle and Atlas but the entire region was completely surrounded. It should have been a simple battle of simply squeezing them until their ranks shattered.

After all, Number wise Shen's forces had the advantage, but the Relic of Creation was the deciding factor. The shell-like eggs cracked in half releasing a thick jolt of steam. Inside a four-legged mech appeared. Their frames were completely covered in slick white metal that was extremely thick.

Two Energy Cannon's were attached to their backs with their arms being two normal cannons. They even had turrets mounted to the upper section of each of the four legs. Not only that they were fifteen meters tall, completely towering over the battlefield. Inside of them, the pilots were communicating with one another.

[Comm's check?]

[Communications are working just fine, Commander.]

[Alright then, let's get rid of these bastards.]

[Yes, Sir!]

Each Atlesian Juggernaut began taking steps forward while opening fire. The Energy Cannon's shot burst, burning anything in their paths to ash. All the while the cannon's on their arms fired raining flames and explosions across the snow-covered grounds. It didn't matter if you had Aura or not in front of machines like this.

The Third Atlesian Juggernaut rained down fire, targeting everything in sight. Both cannons attached to its arms were firing in unison causing periodic explosions. But suddenly the pilot inside heard an alarm go off.

[Error! Connection to Right Arm Cannon severed, external damage received!]

The Pilot frowned as they turned to look at their right arm. Their eyes became shot wide open as they stared at the arm fallen into snow. Flashes of wires and electronics zapped from where it used to be.

"How… These things are capable of surviving a skyscraper falling on top of them." It was then that the severed right arm of the Atlesian Juggernaut became surrounded in a dark fog. It was like a void, devouring everything it touched within seconds the right arm was gone. Seeing that the pilot yelled into the comms.

[Commander she's here-]

Before the communication could finish the pilot froze. Their upper body began to slide diagonally along with the rest of the Atlesian Juggernaut. Just like the arm it had been cut clean before anyone could even realize. The other two pilots who heard the communication watched as a dark fog engulfed the destroyed Atlesian Juggernaut.

"Everything created by the Relic tastes good, of course, it's the gooey center that tastes the foulest…" The two remaining Atlesian Juggernaut turned and spotted a woman standing right behind where the third Atlesian Juggernaut was standing.

Long black hair blew in the wind along with the falling snow. Her skin was almost deathly white, making her skin seem as smooth as silk but inhuman all the same. The black boots that extended up her thighs couldn't be called clothing. They were seamless and looked attached to her body rather than being worn.

Yet the insignia attached to the band on her shoulder and the clothes she wore made her identity clear. No one who had seen her before could forget the whites of her eyes which had turned black. The piercing gaze from her yellow irises. And most of all the Grimm-like red marks that trailed her face.

A black hilted yet crimson bladed katana was in her hand, with a sheath attached to her waist. At the top of the sheath was the main body of a gun, with the magazine still inside. It was easy enough to tell it was Adam's sword and not Blake's normal weapon.

[When the hell did she get here? Wasn't she on the northern flank?]

[I'm not sure sir we were not alerted of her moving or switching battlefields.]

"Don't bother trying to figure it out. You won't be able to think at all for much longer." The two pilots were shocked when they heard Blake's voice. She could listen in on their communications from out there in the snow? Sheathing her blade Blake took a crouched stance as a black and red aura resonated from her body.

It felt as if the entire sky had blackened and even the snow had lost its beautiful white color. Gritting his teeth the commander turned his sights onto Blake.

[Forget about it, just fire. This is our chance!]

Pulling down the triggers on his weapons he opened fire on Blake, the second Atlesian Juggernaut followed their commander doing the same. Cannon Shells and bullets flew towards Blake like rain. In that instant Blake drew her sword and disappeared, becoming like a shadow. Second, 's seemed to pass by slowly.

Black streaks of aura appeared everywhere at once, as a deep silence engulfed the two pilots and the Atlas Soldier that was nearby. By the time anyone could blink Blake had returned to where she was standing sheathing her sword. The moment the hilt hit the sheath everything ripped apart.

Long deep gashes appeared across the snow, every Atlas Soldier came apart like a puzzle and the Atlesian Juggernauts had been cleanly sliced to ribbons along with their pilots. However nothing ever hit the ground, instead, it was enveloped by a dark fog. Within five seconds of her attack, every enemy in the area disappeared entirely.

"Even in the majority they still taste horrible…" Turning around Blake prepared to leave, she had dealt with the main threat. But her face twitched as she looked up in the sky above her. Her eyes narrowed in on a figure as she frowned.

"Who are you?"

…

Back in the present day, Shen snapped his fingers as Life Fibers came together recreating all of his clothes to pristine condition. Turning around he spoke to Neo, who was fixing her hair and clothes.

"You mentioned there was a meeting room here right?" Neo nodded before taking the lead with Shen following in tow. The HQ in Vale was quite large with the main building alone spanning over a mile. Going through multiple halls they soon reached a place that was extremely tight on security.

At the end of the hall was a door, Neo placed her hand on the scanner next to it ignoring the guards posted there. They were in complete shock upon seeing Shen, not knowing what to say or do. Walking inside Shen saw it was a sealed-off room, no windows, and only a single light. It was hanging over a large round table with seven seats.

"I thought it was just Atlas but it looks like technology has advanced quite a bit." Taking a seat in the center chair Neo took her seat as well. After they were seated it only took a moment before flashes of light appeared at four other seats.

"So the report really wasn't lying…"

"It's wonderful to see you alive Master Shen, quite a scare you gave us."

"Looks like all that digging was unnecessary, we wasted a lot of money on that."

"Hehe, you should have seen what happened when he appeared. It's a shame you all missed it."

Appearing as holograms in each of the seats Venti, Sienna, Torchwick, and Taella were all there. Including Shen and Neo, almost every single seat had someone sitting in them. Shen's brows perked up when he realized that.

"Where's Blake?" It was his speaking that brought everyone's attention to the empty seat.

"That is strange, I mean her little murder obsession with you should have had her first in line." Torchwick looked over to Sienna who shook her head.

"Actually our communications with our entire northern force went dead a few hours ago. I thought maybe it was a communication issue." Not able to contact Blake and their northern force cant be contacted? No matter how bad the weather was, that's too much of a coincidence. At that moment yet another hologram appeared in the center of the table.

It wasn't one of them or anyone on their side for that matter. But Shen, who had watched the RWBY series, immediately recognized the man in front of them.

"General James Ironwood…" Hearing Shen, the rest of them were slightly surprised. Ironwood was in charge of Atlas military and upon declaring martial law also in charge of Atlas and Mantle, the two central cities of the Kingdom along with its council.

[This is a Live Broadcast being sent across Remnant. If you are someone who is still fighting, still resisting even if it's in silence. Then let this be your beacon of hope. We have successfully defeated and captured one of the Dread Horde's Generals, known as Blake Belladonna. We've also captured over forty percent of the forces under her control. The rest were killed, the ones remaining will be taken in as prisoners of war.]

"If what he's saying is true… Then this is concerning." Venti nodded.

"Beside Taella, Blake is most likely the second strongest out of all of you. The fact she was defeated and they managed to deal with our northern forces so quickly means they have either a new weapon…" Venti's gaze shifted to Shen.

"Or they might have someone comparable to a Master." Taella didn't mince her words making Venti sigh but nodding all the same.

"Before you all start coming up with theory's it looks like there's more to this." Torchwick interrupted as Ironwood turned, and just so happened to face Shen. His gaze turned serious and his voice hostile.

[I know you're watching this. You've been hiding away in your palace for years now. Spreading your army across Remnant without lifting a finger. From what we know about you there are only two possible reasons. One is that your battle with Ozpin left you more severely injured than we had originally thought. Or two, your simply a coward who can't fight his own battles.]

That last part made the meeting room feel frosty. Neo was staring dagger's as Ironwood's throat while Taella let out a chilly laugh.

[In any case, it doesn't matter. We can both agree this war has gone on long enough. That's why we should end it here and now. Tomorrow, we will allow one ship to fly into Atlas Airspace without getting shot down. You and your people are against me and my own. No armies, no schemes, no tricks. Well be waiting.]

And just like that, the broadcast ended.

…

"Are you ok?" A white-haired woman in her late twenties walked up to Ironwood as he walked from in front of the cameras posted in the room. She was dressed in a female military uniform with a rapier-like weapon attached to her waist.

"I'm fine Winter, It's been stressful." Shaking himself to focus he looked around before asking Winter a question.

"Where are the others?"

"If I had to guess, Ruby and her team are getting ready. There is a lot on their shoulders although their no longer children it's still a heavy burden. As for 'her' I can only imagine she's preparing herself as well." A tan-skinned teenager with dark brown hair and hazel-colored eyes answered Ironwood.

He was dressed formally, holding a staff out in front of him. It was Ozpin's staff making the boy Oscar, Ozpin's reincarnation after his death.

"Still I do wonder if he'll actually come. Unlike many tyrants I've met in the past, he's cautious along with being cruel. He knows how to keep his emotions in check when need is, but…"

"But?" Ironwood and Winter turned to look at Ozpin.

"No matter how much of a monster he may seem, he's still human. It's hard to latch on to but he's arrogant, push on him just right and you can utilize that. And more importantly, he's prideful, it's like he sees the entire world around him as a game. Based on this and what we had you say… I'm positive he'll come."

…

After Ironwood's broadcast Shen and the others sat there in silence for a moment. No one spoke or proposed anything. They all looked toward Shen, waiting on his order. Leaning back in his seat Shen grinned.

"They're sending out an invitation, so why should we turn them down? Let's make tomorrow a day they'll never forget…"