Trump Card (Rewritten)
Trump Card
Rainbow stared out of the cockpit window at the grimm that hovered in the air, silhouetted against the moon.
Blake and Ciel were both squeezed into the cockpit with her, Blake standing side on between Rainbow and Midnight, Ciel with one hand on Rainbow’s chair.
“Look at the size of that thing,” Blake murmured. “So far away, and yet, we can see it so clearly?”
“Lady’s Grace protect us,” Ciel whispered.
Rainbow’s eyes were wide. This thing was … it was massive. Blake was right; to be able to see it so clearly, from so far away, it was still almost as far away as the mountains that it had sprung out of — and what was that about, anyway, to burst out of a mountain like an overgrown mole? — and yet, despite being so far away that it was out of CCT range, it was still not only visible, but visible as more than a black spot in the distance. She could make out its wings, its tail; yes, she couldn’t see a lot of actual detail, but that was because it had the moonlight to its back. It was still ridiculous the fact that they could see so much at all, and spoke to the size of the grimm.
It wasn’t that big grimm, even giant grimm, were unheard of. They weren’t. Everyone knew that they were out there, mostly at sea but occasionally to be found on land too. They were called titan-class grimm.
But that ‘occasionally’ was the word. You didn’t see them very often.
Just like you don’t see grimm hordes very often normally.
Salem must be pulling out all the stops for this.
It had to be her. Rainbow didn’t know how she was doing it, whether she had, like, a magical or a mental link to the grimm, but there was no doubt in her mind that Salem was responsible. After all, the grimm had come up from a mountain not far from Mountain Glenn, if she was any judge; it hadn’t come out to play when the city was falling, when the grimm were sweeping down on Vale, when they were rushing through the tunnel, but now, now it decided to get on the dancefloor?
That was too much of a coincidence for Rainbow to accept. Yes, battles attracted grimm — and that was probably resulting in a flow of reinforcements to the attack tonight — but this wasn’t the first battle fought around Vale, and this particular grimm wasn’t even really around Vale in any sense, so that the fact that it had woken up now was not just a random happenstance or the consequence of the emotions of fighting.
Salem had done this; there was not a doubt in her mind. Not a one.
“She’s playing her trump card,” Rainbow murmured.
“What?” Blake asked.
“Salem,” Rainbow explained. “She isn’t making the progress that she wanted to with her other grimm — the attack on the right flank has just stalled out — so she’s sending in a game changer to … change the game.”
“That … makes sense,” Blake said softly. “But why? Why now?”
“Because she’s not making the progress that she wanted to,” Rainbow repeated.
“If it’s that important to her then, and she could send this grimm in whenever she wanted to, then why now?” Blake asked. “Why not send it in first, to spearhead the assault?”
“Because it is very rare?” Ciel suggested. “It stands to reason — or at the very least, it stands to hope — that grimm like these are few in number. Salem may have wished to avoid deploying it unless she had no other choice, in case of it being lost.”
“So you think it can be lost?” Blake asked. “You think it can be killed?”
“Any grimm can be killed,” Ciel said at once.
“Especially by Atlesian firepower,” Rainbow added.
“In any case,” Ciel added, “more productive than speculating on the motives of Salem for deploying this grimm here, what are we going to do now?”
“We’re going to follow our orders and return to the Atlesian lines,” Rainbow said, turning the controls to guide the Skyray in the direction of the Atlesian positions. “We can’t take that thing on, we don’t have any orders to take that thing on. General Ironwood will … task units as appropriate. He tasked us to take out that Apex Alpha on the hill; he’ll task someone else, air units most likely, to take out the … that thing there.”
“I hope so,” Blake said softly.
“Count on it,” Rainbow declared.
“Do you think…?” Blake trailed off.
“Do we think?” asked Midnight. “That is a very interesting question, Blake; I wouldn’t count on an affirmative answer from everyone in this cockpit.”
“Aha, aha,” Rainbow muttered. “I don’t know whether to be impressed you’ve kept your sense of humour at a time like this or to hate the fact that you’ve kept your awful sense of humour.”
“My sense of humour is not awful,” Midnight replied affrontedly. “My sense of humour is dry.”
“How can you talk like this at a time like this?” Blake demanded.
“Perhaps I have been programmed to lighten the mood in stressful situations?”
Blake’s eyebrows rose. “Have you?”
“No,” Midnight said. “I simply say what comes into my code without restraint.”
“You were about to say something,” Ciel prodded.
“Oh, right,” Blake said. “I was going to say … do you think that a grimm that size could maybe take the place of an Apex Alpha? Take command of the grimm on this flank?”
“Or even all the grimm,” Midnight added.
“Thanks, Midnight,” Rainbow muttered.
She paused for a moment. It wasn’t as though she couldn’t see what Blake was getting at, although she certainly wished that she could fail to see what Blake was getting at. It certainly wasn’t a comfortable thought, that all their hard work might turn out to be for nothing, now that a new, much bigger grimm had shown up from Mountain Glenn.
Or even worse.
“It’s not going to go down like that,” Rainbow assured Blake, and in the process assured herself. “It isn’t going to be that way because, even if that other grimm could take command of all the other grimm, it isn’t gonna get the chance. You’ll see; our airships are going to blow it out of the sky long before it becomes a threat. You’ll see. It’s going to be taken care of. The General has everything under control.”
Ironwood stared at the image of the grimm in the viewscreen. It was … it was a huge creature, a true titan of a grimm; it had to be the size of one of his cruisers, perhaps even a little larger — although it surely couldn’t be much larger than that.
The creature’s head alone looked substantial: triangular in shape, large enough to swallow a Skyray whole, the top of the head was covered in white bone, crisscrossed with blood red lines, while the lower jaw was the black, fleshy substance that all grimm were made of. A pair of horns curved backwards from the skull, and Ironwood found that he was in no doubt that the grimm’s jaw was full of teeth.
It obligingly opened its mouth to confirm that, yes, it was; no doubt, it had roared, although Ironwood couldn’t hear it. He could only see it; there was no sound.
The grimm had a thick, round torso, with bone ribs visible running down the outside of its flesh and a pair of immense wings protruding out on either side. The wings were made up of black fingers, as one might call them, black spurs descending back from the main strut of each wing, strut and spurs alike ending in a white bone claw. Between the spurs stretched a red, leathery-looking substance, so thin that it had holes in it in places, and yet, the grimm seemed to have no trouble at all remaining airborne.
A pair of legs fell from the back of the grimm’s torso, ending in a pair of avian feet with vicious-looking claws of bone, while a long tail stretched out behind it, growing thinner as it did so, until it ended in three clawed points, more like an extra limb than a tail.
The grimm’s armour was mainly concentrated around its muscles, with long spurs of bone emerging out of its powerful shoulders, with other, smaller spurs emerging from thick thighs; the rest of its body had some bone visible, but not a lot; its body was mostly black and unprotected.
Hopefully, that would work to their advantage.
Fitzjames rose half out of his chair, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the arms. “What…?”
“Look at the size of that thing,” murmured des Voeux.
“That’ll do,” Ironwood said sternly, or at least putting the appearance of sternness into his voice. “I know that this thing looks big, and I know that its appearance is unexpected, but it’s still just a grimm, and gods know that we’ve killed plenty of grimm tonight already. Whatever its size, whatever its capabilities, it is as mortal and as vulnerable as the youngest beowolf or ursa, and like them, we will take it down. Cunningham, what’s it doing?”
“It’s moving on a course that will take it in front of the Green Line, sir.”
“Across the face of the line?” Ironwood asked.
“Yes, sir,” Cunningham replied. “If it doesn’t change its course, then it will pass across it and continue north.”
“I see,” Ironwood murmured. He would bet a lot that the grimm was not going to continue on its present course indefinitely. More likely, it would wheel to the left at some point and assault the Green Line, or the Atlesian air units position overhead. Assuming it was still alive by then.
“Des Voeux,” he said. “Patch me through to all units.”
“Aye aye, sir,” replied des Vœux. “Putting you through now.”
Ironwood cleared his throat. “Soldiers, sailors, and pilots of the Atlesian forces. Specialists. Students of Atlas Academy. You have fought and displayed bravery that will resound throughout the annals of our kingdom and the history of its military. Were this battle over, you would have already done deeds worthy to be remembered on the colours of your battalions.
“Unfortunately, the battle is not over yet.
“You will have all felt, and many of you will have seen, the emergence of a new, large grimm from the southeast of Vale. I am designating that grimm a ‘dragon.’ It is heading in our direction, and I have no doubt that it means to join the battle here.
“I’m not going to pretend that it poses no threat. What I will say to you — what I will remind you — is that the hordes of grimm confronting you across the field when this battle began also posed a threat, the grimm who continue to assail your positions continue to pose a threat, but they are threats that you have withstood, your courage buttressed by superior firepower and tried and tested battlefield tactics. We will withstand the dragon in the same way.
“Ground units, continue to hold your positions and trust in your cruisers and supporting air squadrons to protect you; infantry commanders, you should be prepared to rely more heavily on ground fire from the spiders just in case air support is disrupted. Air units, be prepared to engage the dragon as directed.
“We have the firepower, and we have the resolve to use it. So trust your ships, trust your weapons, and trust your comrades, and this dragon will be just one more incident in a long night. Ironwood out.” He paused for a second, to let des Voeux cut off communications to the other Atlesian units, before he said, “Get me Spitfire on the line.”
A green laser beam burst from the cannon mounted about Spitfire's cockpit, flying over her head and into the darkness to hit a nevermore square in the breast. The grimm was punctured like a balloon, exploding in a burst of black feathers barely visible in the night sky.
"Wonderbolt Lead, this is Valiant."
Spitfire hauled back on her stick, turning her Sky Dart upwards and to the right, angling the airship a little away from the battle momentarily. "This is Wonderbolt Lead, reading you loud and clear, Valiant."
"Spitfire," General Ironwood said, "I need you to take your squadron and intercept and destroy that dragon before it reaches our positions."
"Copy that, sir; we'll get it done." Spitfire said calmly.
It wasn't an unexpected order, really. It was obvious from the moment that that thing — the dragon — appeared in the sky that someone would have to take it out, and it was no real surprise — at least not to Spitfire — that that someone ended up being the Wonderbolts.
When you had an elite squadron lying around, or flying around, why not use it, after all?
Nor was it very surprising that the General wanted the dragon destroyed sooner rather than later. With a grimm that size, you didn't want to give it too many chances to show what it could do.
There was the issue of having to engage it over the heads of the grimm, but you had to take these risks sometimes.
"Good hunting. Ironwood out."
Spitfire immediately switched to the squadron channel. "Okay, Wonderbolts, listen up. We are going to engage and destroy that dragon. Disengage and form up on me in arrowhead formation by flight.”
Spitfire climbed higher, higher than the Atlesian cruisers, higher than the rest of the aerial battle, before she levelled off and waited for the rest of the squadron to break off the action — they had split up by pairs, and it would take some of them longer to clean up and form up than others. Nobody wanted to just turn around and leave a nevermore or a griffon or, worse yet, a teryx hanging around in the sky to possibly follow them.
None of her pilots were in trouble, nobody had called for help, nothing looked alarming on her sensors — except, of course, for that dragon — and she hadn't lost any pilots since the incident with those two Valish fliers around the Amity Arena, but some of the Wonderbolts were dealing with trickier grimm than others and would take a little longer to take care of business.
From her holding position, hovering above the battle, Spitfire could look down — although she had to angle her Sky Dart just a little bit to get a decent look — and see the fighting raging in the sky below. While there was fighting going in the skies even beyond the Atlesian front lines, as fighter pilots sought to protect the bombers and stop the flying grimm from intercepting their strafing or bombing runs, the aerial fighting was heaviest around the cruisers. The grimm weren't stupid, especially when they were gathered in these numbers, and they knew that Atlesian success — and their own inability to break the Atlesian line — owed a lot to the firepower that those cruisers could rain down on the ground in support of the infantry. And so, while the grimm were making some efforts to intercept the bombers — mostly failing efforts — the majority of the nevermores and the griffons and the teryxes were preoccupied with throwing themselves against the cruisers, trying to break through the fighter screens and overwhelm the point defences and claw their way inside the vessels.
They hadn't been wholly unsuccessful. They'd brought down the Third Squadron's Gallant, which had been formed on the flank of the line and vulnerable to attack from two sides. Now that the Fourth Squadron had moved into position on the wing, it was the Daring that was catching the heat at the lynchpin of the formation, although it was getting covering fire from the Endurance and seemed to be holding out.
That had been where Spitfire had been fighting, around the Daring, to keep the grimm at bay at the corner where the lines of the Third and Fourth met. Looking down, it seemed that, even in her absence, the Daring was holding strong, protected by the other squadrons and by its own formidable array of weapons. It would still be there when the Wonderbolts returned.
"That's a big grimm, Leader," observed Silver Zoom.
"You worried, Two?" asked Spitfire.
Silver Zoom took a second to reply. "It's big for us," he said.
"It's just a big target, that's all," Spitfire reassured her wingman. She didn't mention the other reason for a fighter squadron being given this assignment, that being the difficulty of pulling a cruiser out of the line to engage the dragon. Silver Zoom didn't need to be told that they were being given this task because it was more convenient to use smaller airships.
Especially when that wasn't the main reason.
He wasn't wrong; it was a big grimm, and it was only getting larger as Spitfire waited for her squadron to form up. But big grimm, however rare they might be, were a fact of life, and just because they were big didn't make them invincible. Big though it was, the dragon didn't look very heavily armoured — it would probably struggle to get off the ground if it was — with most of its bone concentrated around one half of its face. Shots to its body, where it was a lot less well protected, would hurt it; shots to its wings would drop it to the ground.
It was not an insurmountable obstacle.
Pair by pair, the Wonderbolts — the remaining Wonderbolts, after they'd lost Lightning Streak — formed up behind Spitfire, sweeping back from her on either side like an arrowhead. One and Two Flight formed up in diamonds; Three Flight, with only three airships, formed a miniature arrowhead of their own, with Blaze in the lead and Sun Chaser and Fast Clip on his wings.
Soarin' and Misty, Wonderbolts Five and Six, were the last to arrive, forming up in front of Seven and Eight at the head of Two Flight.
"Took your time, Five," Spitfire remarked.
"It was a tough old bird, leader; it made me work for the kill," Soarin' replied.
Spitfire didn't respond; instead, she said, "Wonderbolts, move forward." She levelled off her Sky Dart as she urged the airship straight forward, opening up the throttle, not to the maximum — she'd save that for when they were actually engaging — but to a fast speed that would carry them over the heads of the grimm hordes to intercept the dragon before it entered the combat zone.
They headed out, beyond the line of Atlesian cruisers and even beyond the airships fighting beyond the Atlas line. Below them, the grimm were spread out; although this horde, over on the right, had gotten a little less frisky just before the mountain burst open and the dragon popped out. Fleetfoot had reported seeing a lone Skyray heading out over the heads of the grimm a little while ago — Spitfire had been too distracted by a teryx to notice it on her sensors — but if the General had ordered a strike force out to locate the Apex Alpha of the horde, then that would explain why the grimm on that side of the battle had suddenly started acting like a bunch of penguins.
One of the reasons to kill the dragon quickly was to make sure that it stayed that way.
"Okay, Wonderbolts," she said. "On my mark, before we get into range, the squadron will break by pairs — or by flight, Three Flight — and move around the grimm. Two Flight, break to the left; Three and Four, Nine, Eleven and Twelve, move to the right. I will engage the grimm first and draw its attention. When it's focussed on me, the rest of you will engage with lasers and missiles and destroy this thing with sustained fire."
"What about me, Leader?" asked Silver Zoom.
"You will stay in front of me at all times, Two, as we run away," Spitfire replied, prompting a round of chuckling from the pilots of the squadron. She had designated herself as the bait because it would have been a rough business to order anyone else in the squadron to expose themselves to the grimm's teeth like that, but she had no intention of having Two be between her and those same fangs. If he got eaten by the grimm, it would only be because she had been devoured first, and she had no intention of that.
"Is there anyone who doesn't have any missiles left?" Spitfire demanded.
"I've only got one left, Leader," High Winds admitted sheepishly.
"'One'?" Spitfire repeated. She wasn't entirely happy about that, but High Winds wasn't a rookie pilot that she could — or should — demand an account of what he'd been shooting at off him. She had to trust that it had been necessary at the time. Sometimes, a missile really was your best option.
Which was why she only had three of them left.
It would do, especially since she wouldn't be doing a lot of shooting if things went to plan.
Sensors showed that the Wonderbolts and the dragon were on an intercept course, and the view from the cockpit showed that the dragon was aware of them; having descended at first, it had now risen up, level with the Atlesian airships. The moonlight shone on the bone of its head and on the spurs of its shoulders as it beat its wings furiously. It accelerated in the air towards them.
"Wonderbolts, break off; be ready to engage on my command," Spitfire said.
With her eyes fixed upon the approaching dragon, Spitfire could only glance down at her sensors, which told her that the rest of her squadron was moving away from her, circling around and above the dragon.
Only Silver Zoom remained, tucked in behind her.
"Stay tight, Two," Spitfire said. "And be ready to turn and run eastwards."
"East, Leader?"
"Copy that, east," Spitfire said. "I don't want to lead this thing right towards our line; that would defeat the object. If we have to give it the runaround, then let's lead it away from the battle."
"Understood, Leader; east it is," said Silver Zoom.
The dragon turned its head and long neck to the right, starting to look up after half the Wonderbolts.
Spitfire opened fire with her laser cannon. The range was long, the first of the green beams fizzled out without quite hitting the target, and even as Spitfire got closer, they made no impact as they struck the dragon's skull. But she got the grimm's attention back, that large skull swinging back down to glare at her.
"Yeah, that's right," Spitfire muttered. "Here I am."
The dragon opened its mouth; Spitfire couldn't hear it, but she imagined that it must have been roaring at her as it surged through the night sky, enormous wings beating furiously.
It was kind of amazing it could stay airborne at all with those wings, what with the holes in them, let alone fly so fast.
The dragon raced towards her, and Spitfire soared forwards to meet it, still firing her laser cannon to make sure that she held the grimm's attention.
Silver Zoom was firing too, his laser beams passing over Spitfire's wing; both beams hit the dragon square in the head, the green energy dissipating upon impact, washing over the white bone, doing next to nothing that Spitfire could see.
As expected. Grimm armour could be tough, especially when the grimm was this big. But it wasn't armoured everywhere.
"Two, fall back," Spitfire instructed.
"Copy that, Leader, falling back now," Silver Zoom replied. Spitfire's sensors showed him turning away, heading away from the dragon but also eastwards, toward the mountains that marked the edge of Vale.
Spitfire stayed on course, flying straight at the dragon as it flew straight at her. She kept on firing her laser cannon, green bolts splashing harmlessly against the white bone.
"Leader?" Silver Zoom asked.
"Not yet," Spitfire said. "Just a little more."
The dragon was looming very large now; it was close enough to seem pretty much life-sized, its head larger than Spitfire's Sky Dart, its body the size of a cruiser, its wings immense as they spread out from side to side. Its long neck was outstretched, and it opened its mouth to swallow Spitfire whole.
Spitfire spun in place, reversing thrust on the left side to spin her airship a full one hundred and eighty degrees in the air. She reversed the direction of her thrusters again and punched it to maximum speed, the Sky Dart jumping forwards one step ahead of the dragon as its jaws closed.
A quick glance down at the sensors confirmed that the dragon — a large red blob on the scope — was following her; it wasn't getting any closer, thank gods, but it wasn't losing ground, either.
Maximum speed, and it’s managing to keep pace.
Spitfire turned, angling eastwards, following Silver Zoom. The dragon turned too, but it was turning on the inside track, so it began to gain on her, forcing Spitfire to turn away again more due north in order to keep her distance from it.
But, as another glance at her scope confirmed for her, the rest of Wonderbolt Squadron was in position, arrayed behind and around the dragon, ready to attack.
"Wonderbolts," she ordered. "Fire at will!"
"Wonderbolt Five, missiles away."
"Wonderbolt Six, missiles away."
"Wonderbolt Three, missile away."
"Wonderbolt Four, missiles away."
The chorus of 'missiles away' from all the members of her squadron was matched by the indicators on the scope as missiles — multiple missiles in the case of all save High Winds, who only had one missile and had now shot it — appeared on the sensors, streaking through the air towards the dragon. The grimm didn't realise, its attention fixed on Spitfire, bent on her to the exclusion of everything else.
The missiles closed in.
Spitfire risked a glance over her shoulder, angling her airship slightly to give her a view of the dragon as the Wonderbolts' missiles streaked through the night sky towards it from all directions, getting closer and closer.
The missiles struck home, not all at once but pretty close to it, explosions building upon explosions as the dragon's body was consumed in fire; the explosions wrapped around its immense torso, neck and wings and tails sticking out of the fireball as the grimm opened its mouth, neck twisting left and right.
Spitfire could imagine it howling in pain.
The dragon emerged from out of the fireball unharmed, at least visibly unharmed, none of its black flesh damaged, none of its bone cracked, looking no different than before the missiles had struck.
It was still coming after Spitfire.
Spitfire turned east again; this allowed the dragon to close in on her, a little, but the alternative was to lead it towards the Atlesian line, and that wasn't something she was willing to contemplate.
Besides, the dragon would be brought down soon.
"Keep firing," Soarin' said. "We have to be hurting it. Wonderbolt Five, missiles away."
"Wonderbolt Four, switching to the heavy laser; everyone, stay clear."
"Wonderbolt Nine, switching to laser."
"Wonderbolt Twelve, missiles away."
Spitfire could see the missiles on her sensors, streaking towards the dragon before disappearing as they struck. She could see, reflected in the glass of the cockpit, the dim sheen of the lasers — the green lasers of the ordinary cannons mounted on every Sky Dart; the red beams of the larger, cruiser calibre cannons carried by Fire Streak, Fleetfoot, and Fast Clip — as they illuminated the darkness.
And in her sensors, she could see the dragon, the malevolent red blob on the scope, continuing to pursue her.
"Leader, this is Two," said Silver Zoom. "I can see something in its mouth."
"Two, can you be a little more specific?" asked Spitfire.
"It's something yellow," Silver Zoom began. "Leader, I think it's charging an attack; you need to evade, now!"
Spitfire yanked the stick hard to the left in a move that would pull her Sky Dart downwards, just as a yellow beam, thicker than the laser from a cruiser's main gun, tore through the air right past her airship.
It passed so close that, even through the visor on her helmet, Spitfire could feel the intensity of the blazing yellow. It passed so close that she could feel the searing heat through the cockpit.
It passed so close that it burned her right wing and engine block off, searing the side of the airship and leaving black scorch marks down the cockpit. Spitfire was shoved violently to her left, slamming her shoulder into the side of the cockpit as her airship rocked and bucked like a wild mustang.
Red lights flashed on Spitfire's dashboard. Alarms blared in the cockpit.
"Warning. Warning. Starboard side engine failure," said the airship's computer in a deceptively soothing voice.
Engine disappeared, more like, Spitfire thought as she fought for control. The stick wrestled with her, jinking up and down, left and right as the Sky Dart began to plummet through the air.
"Warning. Warning. Losing altitude."
"No kidding!" Spitfire snapped, as she hauled back on the stick with all her strength.
She could feel the nose of her Sky Dart trying to rise, jerking up a little to the left, but it wasn't enough; she wasn't getting the lift.
"Leader, what's your status?" Soarin' demanded.
Spitfire could see flames burning on the right side of her airship. "Going down," she said. "Repeat, going down, trying to regain altitude."
"Regain altitude so, what, the grimm can get you?" Soarin' said loudly. "You can't fight with only one engine; punch out now."
"Punch out with that thing in the sky?" Spitfire replied.
"Leader," Silver Zoom said. "It's coming around for you!"
Spitfire's sensors were a bit on the fritz as a result of the damage, the image distorted by static, but despite the rippling across the screen, the way that it blacked out and then back on, she could still make out the red blob of the dragon swinging around and coming back towards her.
Spitfire gritted her teeth, continuing to pull on the stick.
It continued to have no effect; the airship just wasn't responding.
"Warning. Warning. Losing altitude."
"Leader, this is Five; I guarantee you a safe landing, but you need to eject!" Soarin' insisted.
On her fuzzy, fritzing scope, Spitfire could see Soarin's Skydart racing towards her.
Well, if Soarin' says he's got my back.
"This is Wonderbolt Leader, ejecting now," Spitfire said, and pulled the handle beside her chair.
"Misty, hang back," Soarin' said as he gunned his Sky Dart downwards towards Spitfire's stricken airship — and towards the dragon that was bearing down on it.
"Wonderbolts, continue firing," he said. He wasn't quite ranking officer of the squadron — Spitfire wasn't technically out of the fight, although it was only a matter of time — but nobody was going to quibble with that at a time like this. They all knew that Spitfire would be fully preoccupied fighting with her damaged airship.
Come on, Captain, get out of there.
Soarin' didn't fire. He'd ordered everyone else to keep firing in case they managed to get the dragon's attention, but from where he was, heading downwards like he was, he didn't want to accidentally miss and hit Spitfire's airship by mistake.
"Warning. Waring. Altitude decreasing."
"That's the idea," Soarin' muttered, continuing to hold the stick down and keep his Sky Dart in a steep dive no matter what the computer said.
He was closing the distance. Both the dragon and Spitfire's airship were growing closer. An intact Sky Dart with all systems go was definitely faster than a damaged Skydart with one engine gone and a side on fire, and at full throttle, he was faster than the dragon too.
Just so long as Spitfire's airship was also faster than the dragon.
It was a little slow on the descent, or maybe it had slowed down. That made sense. A thing that big might be fast, but it couldn't turn easily — just to turn back on Spitfire it had to take a laborious way around — and it would be even worse pulling up from a dive. It wouldn't want to go too fast to catch Spitfire just to plough into the ground face-first afterwards because it couldn't change direction.
That was keeping Spitfire alive right now.
There was no sign of an ejection. The Sky Dart kept twitching, the nose moving just a little to the right; Soarin' could imagine Spitfire pulling on it, fighting with the controls to no avail.
It's no good; that thing's done. Sky Bolt pilots might boast endlessly about the survivability of their machine — two engines down and the body on fire and all that — but the Sky Dart was a more fragile animal; it couldn't take that kind of damage.
And even if it could, an airship that damaged would be a liability in this fight.
Soarin' was coming up alongside the dragon now; he could look out of the cockpit and see a red eye burning in its bone skull. Considering how tough even its unarmoured flesh was proving to be — Soarin' could also see laser blast slamming into its back, none of them seeming to have any effect on it whatsoever — Soarin' wasn't sure it needed any bone at all, even on its head.
It did add to its air of menace, though.
The dragon glared at him, or looked as though it was glaring at him; it was still going after Spitfire. Maybe it was just the way its eyes were placed made it look like it was looking at him.
It was gaining on Spitfire's damaged airship.
"Leader, this is Five," Soarin said. "I guarantee you a safe landing, but you need to eject!"
There was a pause.
"This is Wonderbolt Leader, ejecting now!"
Soarin' saw the canopy burst off Spitfire's airship, seconds before Spitfire herself erupted out of the cockpit, rocketing into the sky as the rockets of her chair fired. The dragon looked up.
"Oh no, you don't," Soarin' growled as he swerved his airship to the left, passing right in front of the dragon's face.
"Wonderbolt Five, defending," Soarin' declared as he slammed one fist down hard onto the flares button on the side of the cockpit.
There were no missiles in the air, nothing tracking him that might be thrown off by the array of flares that burst out from behind the airship — but they flew out right into the dragon's face, and while he wasn't expecting them to hurt it any, Soarin' thought they might get its attention.
Given the way the dragon rounded on him, turning in pursuit, Soarin' thought that he might have been right.
Soarin' was going at maximum speed; since Spitfire had been able to keep ahead of it moving that quickly, his main concern was that beam attack that had crippled Spitfire's airship. He kept his own Sky Dart moving, swerving to the left or to the right, not presenting a straight and level target for the dragon to aim at.
He switched comms to the command channel. "Command, this is Wonderbolt Five; Wonderbolt Leader has been forced to eject; requesting recovery at her beacon." All airship pilots carried a transponder so they could be picked up if they were shot down.
"Copy that, Wonderbolt Five; recovery team will be dispatched shortly."
"Also," Soarin' went on, "the dragon has some kind of beam attack; it is not harmless from a distance; repeat, it is not harmless from a distance."
"Wonderbolt Five, this is General Ironwood; what kind of beam are we talking about?"
"Some kind of energy beam, I think, sir," Soarin' replied. "It's hard to be clearer."
"I see," said General Ironwood quietly. "How's it going out there?"
"We're hitting it with our best shots, but no luck yet," Soarin' admitted. "But we haven't given up yet, sir; I'm about to try something new. If you'll excuse me, sir."
"Of course."
"Thank you, sir; Wonderbolt Five out," Soarin' said, switching back to the squadron channel. "Two, stay with Leader. Make sure she lands okay, set down, wait with her until recovery arrives."
"You want me to land, Five?" Silver Zoom asked incredulously.
"I don't—"
"Move, Soarin'; it's charging up!" Misty shouted.
Soarin rose, the Sky Dart bursting up into the air as the dragon's energy attack passed by underneath it. It was bright, but it didn't actually touch his airship; there were no reports of damage, no alarms.
But Soarin' let out a breath afterwards. He took a breath, to get it back. "Thanks, Six," he said. "Two, I don't want Spitfire to be waiting alone in the dark in grimm country with only a pistol for company until the lifeboat shows up. Do you have your DMR in the cockpit?"
"Yeah, I do," Silver Zoom said. Being Specialists as well as pilots, each member of the Wonderbolts had a custom weapon, but the risks of it getting destroyed if your Sky Dart went down meant that most members of the squadrons took only basic guns with them for company in the cockpit, just in case.
"Then that's why I want you on the ground with Leader," he said. "Do it."
"Understood, Five; descending now," Silver Zoom said.
Soarin' nodded. The dragon was still coming after him, rising up after his airship much faster than it had followed Spitfire on the descent. But the Sky Dart was not only faster but more manoeuvrable, and when Soarin' rolled to come down behind the dragon, the much bigger grimm didn't have much recourse — except to flick its tail Soarin' way, the three claws at the end of it reaching out for his airship like fingers on a hand. Soarin' rolled away but felt the Sky Dart bump as at least one claw scraped along the undercarriage.
It didn't seem to have damaged any systems.
"Wonderbolts," Soarin' said, "hitting the body doesn't seem to be doing anything, so we'll try hitting the wings, see if we can knock it out of the sky."
He glanced at his scope. The dragon was moving away from him.
In the direction of the battle.
"It's ignoring us," Soarin' said. "It's going for the cruisers. We need to bring it down now."
He turned his Sky Dart after the dragon as the Wonderbolts raced in pursuit of the grimm.
Is it leaving because it can't catch us or because it has better things to do? Soarin' asked himself. Since when do grimm turn their back on prey?
Since when has anything tonight been normal?
Laser fire lanced out from the Atlesian Sky Darts, flying past the dragon as they missed the thin, constantly moving wings.
Sun Chaser closed in, Fast Clip not far behind him.
"Eleven, Twelve, watch its tail; you're too close," Soarin' warned.
"If I can get close enough, I can shred its wings with my machine guns," Sun Chaser insisted.
"I know what you're planning, but that tail is dangerous," Soarin' said. "Fall back, now."
Sun Chaser ignored him, in a way that he never would have ignored Spitfire — that was the problem with being only a full lieutenant instead of a captain — he and his wingman pressing onwards. Sun Chaser passed the tip of the dragon's tail to get closer to the beating wings.
"Nine," Soarin' snapped. "Get your people under control before they—"
The words were ripped out of his throat as the dragon's tail lashed out, slamming into Fast Clip's Sky Dart hard enough to send it pinwheeling through the night sky, turning round and round in circles, nose over tail.
Sun Chaser belatedly tried to move away, rolling to the left and away from the dragon. It was too late. The three claws of the tail wrapped around his Skyray. Soarin' fired, and he wasn't the only one; laser blasts from the remaining Sky Darts struck the tail repeatedly, but none of them did anything. None of them stopped the tail from crushing Sun Chaser's Sky Dart in its grip.
The airship exploded, a burst of flame enveloping the claws at the end of the tail. Sun Chaser survived the blast, his aura protecting him from it, but leaving him falling through the darkness — until the tail caught him.
The moonlight showed him struggling in the grimm's grip, trying and failing to break free.
The Wonderbolts kept firing, hitting the tail over and over again in the hope that it would force the dragon to drop Sun Chaser. It didn't. The dragon's tail moved, flicking Sun Chaser upwards and forwards, his arms and legs failing as he was hurled over the dragon's body, over its head—
Its head which rose up on its long neck and closed its jaws around him.
Sun Chaser disappeared as the dragon lowered its head once more.
There was a moment of silence amongst the Wonderbolts, broken by a howl of rage from Blaze as she charged, there was no other word it; she must have been holding down the boost with one hand because she was moving consistently faster than the Sky Dart was meant to, machine guns and twenty-millimetres blazing away, the tracer rounds lighting up the night as they blew past the dragon's wings.
Blaze was moving quickly enough that she managed to avoid the dragon's tail, rising over it as it tried to swipe her, staying ahead of it as it reached for him. Blaze dived, getting down underneath the dragon's wings, then pointing her nose upwards so that she could fire straight up into its left wing.
Bullets from the nose and wings of the airship shot up, piercing the red membrane between the dragon's … fingers, for want of a better word.
"Yeah!" Misty shouted. "Get it, Blaze!"
The dragon rolled, and for a second, Soarin' thought — or hoped — that the holes Blaze was tearing in its wings were making it hard to stay airborne. But it wasn't; it was just the dragon rolling so that it could more easily reach for Blaze with its jaws, mouth open to swallow the Sky Dart whole.
Blaze shot up, past the open jaws, only to be hit by the black strut of the dragon's wing as the grimm rolled again, wing dropping, striking the Sky Dart squarely on the nose. The airship crumpled from the nose down, the upward thrust of the engines fighting against the downward force of the huge grimm, before exploding in a fireball that was soon extinguished.
There was no sign of Blaze; certainly no sign of a parachute. The dragon hadn't eaten her like it had swallowed Sun Chaser, it didn't even seem interested, it turned away immediately. But there was no sign of her.
"Nine?" Soarin' said. "Nine, do you copy? Twelve? Twelve, please respond."
There was a crackling on the line. "I can't control it. Ejecting now!"
"Understood, Twelve," Soarin' said, relief in his voice. Only two dead instead of three. I'm doing a great job, aren't I, Spitfire?
He switched to the command channel. "Command, this is Wonderbolt Five; we have another pilot ejecting, requesting recovery. We have also lost two pilots dead or missing, and our weapons are having no visible effect on the grimm. Request permission to break off the attack."
He didn't know if Spitfire would have made that request. Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't, but the Wonderbolts had now been reduced to six pilots, seven if you counted Silver Zoom, and that was before he sent anyone to find Fast Clip, which he probably should, considering that he'd sent Silver Zoom to keep an eye on Spitfire until the rescue wagon showed up.
But that had been easier when there were still ten of them.
Regardless of whether he actually gave that order or not, the fact remained that there had been eleven Wonderbolts when the fight against the dragon began, and there were now just six of them in the air. And in that time, their best shots hadn't even slowed it down. The dragon was ignoring them now, continuing on towards the Atlesian line, smug in its invulnerability, while the remaining Wonderbolts kept their distance, firing at it from range with lasers that did nothing to either its body or its wings.
Puncturing the wings hadn't dented its ability to fly at all — perhaps the fact that there were already holes there should have been a clue — while laser fire just washed off the skull, and the grimm's body seemed to just absorb damage.
There was nothing they could do. Therefore, in his opinion as ranking officer, continuing to press the assault would only result in the pointless deaths of more Wonderbolts.
But would General Ironwood agree with him?
General Ironwood's voice came over the comm; it sounded heavy, weighed down. "Understood, Wonderbolt Five; we'll get your other pilot out. And your request is granted. Fall back."
Soarin' tried to hold in his sigh of relief. "Understood sir. Thank you, sir. Retreating now. Wonderbolt Five out." He switched back to the squadron channel. "Six, see if you can track Twelve, stay with him until recovery arrives. All other Wonderbolts, follow me; we're breaking contact. We'll head west towards Vale then turn north and return to the Atlesian line from behind."
He just hoped … well, there were a few things that he hoped, including that Spitfire and Fast Clip were both picked up in one piece, but he also hoped that, the Wonderbolts having … having failed — and wasn't that a wonderful thing to admit? — but they had, they'd failed; the dragon had been too much for them.
Which was why Soarin' hoped that General Ironwood had something stronger up his sleeve, for the sake of their entire force.
And for the sake of Vale too.
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I am expecting Grimm to enter the jail and sunset to brake her seal and kill them
9894109
My hypothesis is that neither Amber not Cinder will live past the battle of Beacon/Vale... I'll leave it up to your imagination who the Fall Maiden's power goes to.
Oh dear...
9895539
I call sunset!
9895045
I don't think she'll replace her but if SAPR is going to end up separated from her for a time then I'd say Weiss is a good fill-in until they're reunited. The show had volumes 4 and 5 with RWBY separated and JN_R didn't replace WBY. Plus they'll need a fourth and as I said a few chapters back, some time apart could give them all some perspective and time to grow. That and Weiss's development has fallen to the side a bit in this story so her playing "substitute mage" for a spell could be a nice way to catch her up a bit.
But no, I wouldn't worry about Weiss stealing Sunset's spot. Sunset's story might not be as directly intertwined with the team for while (or maybe it will, there's still so much in the air and I'm not writing the story
), but Replaced? Nah, the story is still called SAPR after all 
Look out at all this carnage, Amber! Breathe it in, burn this into your memory! Brave and noble warriors taking up arms to fight back and prevent this kind of devastation from ever happening... Suddenly, the reason why some people would want to stop such a thing doesn't seem so stupid and foolish now, does it?
And you want to give a Relic to the one responsible for this slaughter?
- Sir, dragon inbound, ten minutes, what to do?
- UNLEASH THE PONY!
Okay not bad, I have a feeling this was more of a filler chapter than anything else. The next chapter is most likely going to be huge.
9895650
Well, from her point of view the fighting and killing itself exists because they are fighting Salem at all. Her hope is that by giving Salem everything she wants she wont kill them all.
Stupid, as it leaves everything entirely on the whims of someone who has already shown that doesn't really care about the innocent people killed, but that is the way fear thinks.
9895861
There's just one thing I don't get, Amber. You claim Ozpin controls and manipulates people. And your plan is to pawn off the Relic that magically controls Remnant's free will to Salem?
9895867
She probably doesn't know what each Relic does.
9895920
It's called the Crown of Choice. He explained what The Relics are capable of even to SAPR. Especially when he gave the key to open the vault to Pyrrha.
Either Amber really has lost a lot of her memories during her coma, or she just doesn't care enough about others to think very hard about her 'plan'.
9895942
She might remember the relic name but not what it does.
Mind Control? That's it? I thought it would be something like showing you events in the future and letting you change them, at a price. Hence giving you a choice.
Considering Ozpin created the Relics, why the fuck is the the Big Good if he created a mind control device?
9895920
She barely knows her own name...
9895960
What? No, the God of Light created them. Volume 6, Episode 3.
Creation, Destruction and even Knowledge are all worthless without the ability to decide and act upon them. A crown is meant to command and influence the direction of others, and this is also one of the reasons why Ozpin has been going on throughout the story about the value of Free Will and why our own ability to choose our own path is so sacred. This is why out of all of the relics, this is the one he must guard personally.
The Battle of Vale rages, victory not in sight. The cause sits in wait for the opening they desire. The great beast has awoken, and will possibly be met in battle by a phoenix. All the while children fight to their last breaths, all to protect what once was a great city, now filled with malice and panic.
9895985
But the crown REMOVES choice.
Are we sure the Dark brother was the evil one?
9895992
Not in the same sense that we mortals perceive or define as what is 'good'. Gods always think in absolutes.
9895988
Well spoken!
9895527
Plot twist: the magic of the Maiden might not to an equestrian, for whatever reason, and, as such, it goes to Human Sunset, wherever she may be.
9896000
Just like the Jedi the so called good guys of Star Wars think brainwashing is perfectly okay but killing using Force Lighting is evil?
...So, this battle has been fantastic to read, but I question a couple of things. One, to the huntsmen in training too cowardly (and not influenced by Amber) to actively participate in Vale's defense: Why are you at a Huntsman Academy if not to defend humanity against the Grimm? And two, why is aura seemingly only present in those who go to combat school? Why don't the foot soldiers have their auras unlocked too? If nothing else than just to stall injuries.
9896018
Is one thing to fight some Grimm, is a different one to sent a barely trained kid to their deaths.
Last year students are basically hunters already, first year students? Not so much.
9896012
First, Jedi are not gods either and they only give a subtle nudge to avoid a conflict. They do not rewrite your mind or even control your desires like Amber does. (And Force Lightning only works by projecting your most hateful and savage feelings through your fingers). Second, that's all I'll say on that matter. I don't want to drag old debates from Star Wars, Harry Potter or other things into this. That's a whole other can of worms. I'll stick to RWBY and MLP.
Bottom line? Neither Ozma or any mortal ever had a say in the creation of the Relics, the Grimm or anything else of the Brother God's design. This is the hand they left us with, and what matters most is how we act upon what we have. As with all things in life.
Oh boy, its heating up. First wall breached and Dragon incoming? Sounds like its almost time for the phoenix to join the fray. Anyways, good writing and I look forward to the next chapter!
9895867
She is mind-controlling the entire Bluebell team while deluding herself that she is not doing it. Amber self-awareness is not exactly her most developed virtue.
9895539
9895527
I don't think that will happen for a more meta reason.
Right now, the team is somewhat balanced in the power scaling and their growth potential:
Sunset has impressive magical powers and by her own admission, with some some preparation and counterspells she could have faced Cinder as half a maiden. If she ascends into a Alicorn (she has noticed that her magic is much stronger since the Amber thing) then she would be a match to a full maiden.
Pyrrha is by far the best fighter, with a powerful semblance she has finaly let off the leash and the potential of magical powers after becoming the guardian of the Choice vault. She is not at maiden level but she is as close as a mere mortal can.
Ruby silver eyes are super effective against the Grimm. If she gets full control over them she becomes a maiden level fighter, even if only against the Grimm (the most numerous and dangerous enemy they have).
Jaune has a powerful semblance and aura for days, plus the possibility of extra magic down the line by getting her sister geodes.
If Sunset becomes the new fall maiden, she would go so far beyond the rest of the team that it would become a DBZ (or most shounen really) where she is the only one that can realistically do anything when the chips are down.
9896169
Well, you could point out what you consider to be the hints, that does make it easier to debate over it.
While I can see why people would think that she would get the powers, being the person in the mind of both parts of the maiden, I see that more as being the natural outcome of Sunset being heavily involved in their lives and the focus of both of their character developments, and not a foreshadowing that she will get the powers.
9896182
Well, Ozpin saying that she would be a great maiden is just admitting that Sunset has better morals that he gave her credit.
And about where the powers would go, if they both die then it would definitely go to Sunset, as I doubt that the author would go through the trouble of adding another character just to become the fall maiden. But that depends on both dying, and that is not certain yet.
9895985
Wait... it's a crown that can mind control in a story with Sunset Shimmer... well, I guess we can't see Daydream without the Demon first, right?
I kept thinking how despite how the main characters are all worried, this is going objectively better than the canon Battle of Beacon. The bad guys are missing several key advantages and neither Sonata nor Amber are on Cinder’s level for combat skill or evil schemes. I thought maybe the good guys could pull a somewhat decisive victory.
Then I realized I forgot about that stupid dragon... ugh
9896202
I think she is with one foot on ascension already. I also think that when she completes the process there will be a lot more of pomp and splendor, probably with a nice Daydream Shimmer (temporary) transformation.
9896040
Jedi are followers of a God called the Light Side Of The Force.
See Episode One: Negotiations broke down because the Senate sent Jedi to brainwash people.
And Lukas made episode One so is canon.
Uh, Sunset? If you're thinking of breaking out now, here's some advice: DO IT. You know Cinder wouldn't hesitate for a second.
9896240
Mcgregor and Neeson were more than willing to negotiate, the point where negotiations broke down was somewhere between when the Trade Federation turbolasered their ship with the crew onboard and when they sent droidekas to assassinate them. (You could argue that the initial droid attack doesn’t count as the B1 battle droids were so incompetent they couldn’t reasonably be expected to kill anyone, even Jar Jar)
I find myself skipping over whole paragraphs just to get it over with.
I can't even pinpoint when the story started to lose impact to the point where nothing seems to matter apart from delivering so e boxes to check.
This starts to remind me of the old R.A.Salvatore novels where one single fight between two character stretched over dozens of pages, with the end result being that one of them won.
9897982
The way I remember the movie is the Trade Federation taking the fact the negotiators were Jedi as a hostile act because Jedi infamous brainwashing powers.
So of course that's because Palpy warned them of the Jedi and it wasn't even a lie.
I wonder if Sonata was able to tell that Dove and the rest of Bluebell have been mentally influenced by Amber?
9899114
Maybe? Or maybe she thinks Amber just seduced the whole team.
9901376
Also possible. Either way, a Siren like her knows manipulation when she sees it. It's almost certain Sonata sees that Amber has Dove and the others wrapped around her finger.
9901381
It could be that Sonata doesn't see Amber's enslavement process as a threat as her own method is stronger and that she sees Amber as a novice in managing her thralls
Sonata own thralls, Mercury and Lightning, are more powerful than BLBL so that threat can be manage if Amber decides to make a run for it
9903450
That wasn't clear at the time I made that comment.
Oh my god, I have finally caught up. This has been fantastic.
Rereading the chapters showing both the Atlesian soldiers/regulars and the Mistralian conscripts got me wondering....... even if they aren't huntsmen/huntresses, would it still be worthwhile to at least have awakened Auras for increased defence, strength and the ability to use even simple Dust rounds and Dust-imbedded swords, stun batons and sword bayonets?
Or at least awaken the Auras of the more skilled, full-time Atlesian and Mistralian soldiers/regulars?
Attack on Titan reference?
Have to agree with Ironwood. An National Army could be useful in world like this.
And so we have the first rewrite in a long while, I almost forgot that the comment session isn’t empty on the rewritten chapters, lmao.
The Dragon is ferocious and powerful, and it seems like it won’t stop until it encounters its prey: The City of Vale. I am excited to see the battle against it and how it will unravel on this version, but I have a bad feeling that Atlas may suffer some big losses before the day is over. What will happen now? Who knows, but I hope we may see some of the OG’s plot points reinvented in the Rewrite.
Excited for next chapter!
That was an excellent battle. And sobering too. After the magnificent previous chapters with the Wonderbolts, the elite splendor of Top Gun has been brought low.
But while the Wonderbolts were unable to make a scratch, they have bought us precious minutes. Time for Ironwood and the rest of Vale’s defenses to be alerted and prepare formations. Because we’ll need to milk every advantage we can get.
Hurry to the front line, Sunset. Salem has deployed her game changer, and so we need one of our own.
Another rewritten chapter in quite a while.
Just as before, the Wonderbolts had little effect, about as effective as the pony Wonderbolts against giant Spike.
11917543
Indeed, it's time for Salem's trump card to meet Oz's wild card.
11917583
Couldn't have said it better!
I doubt that (pre-ascension) Sunset can take down the dragon, but I hope that she'll do marginally better against it than originally, either through magic or leadership, to show how far she's come. And to demonstrate before many other Huntsmen and Huntresses why she is a worthy leader and warrior.
11917587
All she needs to do is stop being scared of what Ruby thinks of her.
11917587
True, she's proven herself to a few who have heard of her accomplishments so far tonight, so how about something a bit more public to dispel doubts of her (no matter how true the accusations against her may be).
A great deal of leadership has come from Rainbow, which is good since she's become a great leader since Sunset chewed her out for being a bad one back at Mountain Glenn, but Sunset could still solidify herself as a good leader as well.
Though, if it goes anything like the original, Sunset will drop a major power bomb comparable to Oz's. Whether the strategy to defeat the dragon will come from Jaune or Sunset will be good for either as both are competent strategists