Episode 3: Chapter 3: March

Chapter 3 of Episode 3 of War of Seasons

            Ozpin stepped into his office where everybody was waiting.  Natalie, Evan, Christy, Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha and Beanie were all present.  Ironwood, Weiss and Sun were all there via hologram projectors.

            “Where’s everybody else?” Weiss asked as she looked around.

            “The Xiao Longs are with Ember as she recovers” Ozpin said as he took a seat at his desk.  “I couldn’t reach Blake, or her daughter, Brooklyn and Ty are with Jacob, Terra and Arri are with Bovia, and the members of Team GASH are not necessary for this conversation.”

            “Fair enough” Sun said with a sigh.  “So what have you got for us?”

            “What happened out there Oz?” Ironwood asked.  “Everybody here seems completely distraught.”  Ozpin and everybody else who was in Beacon fell silent, nobody wanting to speak up fully.  Finally, Ozpin broke the silence.

            “During the battle, we lost the Relic of Life to the Order.  Miles was lost to a cave-in while fighting the masked figure.  And we have also learned, that said mysterious masked figure that serves the Order, is in fact Nathan Grover.”  The room returned to silence for a brief moment before Weiss screamed out,

            “WHAT?!”

            “How is that possible?” Ironwood exclaimed.  “We saw him die!”

            “Why would he serve the Order out of all groups?” Sun exclaimed.  “It makes no sense!”

            “We don’t have all the details yet” Ozpin continued.  “But given some of the evidence we have received over the course of the last few months, it stands to reason that this is indeed the true Nathan, and he is standing against us.”

            “So not only did we lose the Relic,” Ironwood said fuming, “but we now have a traitor to deal with as well?!”

            “We have to deal with this one thing at a time” Ruby said stepping forward.  “We still have two of the four Relics.  That means that the Order will be coming to us.  If we prepare, we can….”

            “How well can we prepare?” Weiss said with an annoyed tone.  “Did you forget how easily they tore apart Mistral?”

            “We weren’t expecting them then” Christy said folding her arms.  “This time we are prepared for the Order to attack.  If we rally our forces together here at Beacon….”

            “Then the other four kingdoms are exposed as well” Pyrrha said cutting Christy off.  “It’s the same issue we ran into back when this all started.  If we put all of our resources in one place, the others are left defenseless and vulnerable.  And if we sit around with our defenses in each of our respective kingdoms in their current state, we are considerably underprepared for when the Order does decide to attack.”

            “So I say we take the fight to them” Evan said speaking up.  “We had that new spy drone that Jacob mentioned.  Did anybody manage to activate it before the Order got the jump on us?”

            “Maybe?” Jaune said scratching his head.  “Nobody confirmed that they managed to activate it from the beginning.  If they did, we need to confirm that with the team.”

            “I’ll get on that” Ironwood said pinching his forehead.  “We can remotely access that information from the airship.  But we are still stepping around the important issue.  And what I want to know, is why did Natalie keep this from us for so long?!”
            “Excuse me?” Natalie said in an angry voice.  “I just found out about this myself!”

            “You were the last one to see him before the war began!  The Order let you go while they publicly executed Nathan to the world!  And yet he’s still alive!  How do you explain that simple factor?”

            “I’m not sure!  One minute I’m getting ready to help Nathan storm the Order’s base, the next I’m in the middle of the desert, fighting for my life, with no memory of what happened!”

            “Calm down James” Ozpin said raising his hand.  “We’ve come across individuals who serve the Order who can alter and remove memories.  This was our original theory back when this first started.  I don’t see any reason why it would lose any merit now.”

            “It doesn’t make sense though” Beanie said scratching his head.  “If they wanted to send a message, and if Nathan was on the side of the Order but Natalie isn’t, why would they just let her go?”

            “Family ties perhaps?” Weiss pondered.  “Despite everything that’s happened, Nathan always had a solid foundation with his family.”

            “Ember has a broken arm that would disagree with you” Ruby said with a sigh.

            “Maybe he thinks she’ll join him later on?” Christy pondered.

            “I’m sitting right here guys” Natalie said struggling to keep from turning invisible.  Everybody fell silent, not sure how to respond.

            “Regardless,” Ozpin said standing up, “we should really be making preparations for the Order’s next move.  They hold the two most powerful of the Relics.  But we still have the Relic of Connection.  If we can find out where they’re hiding, we can use that to scale a massive assault.  Catch them by complete surprise.”

            “I’ll get on that” Ironwood said pulling up the information on his Scroll.  As the data came through, Ironwood’s face began to grow more and more distraught.”

            “What’s the matter General?” Weiss asked.

            “Well, the tracker seems to be working, and managed to find itself latched onto the main flagship of the Order.  But something’s wrong.  According to the locator, it’s heading straight to Beacon.”

            “What?” everybody jumped up in shock and surprise when Ironwood said this.

            “Why are they attacking us so quickly?!” Jaune yelled running his hands through his hair.  “We just had a big battle!”

            “We need to prepare!” Pyrrha snapped.  “General, you and your men should be fairly close to Beacon now, correct?”

            “Yes, we haven’t gotten very far from when we left.  We may be low on supplies and dealing with a great number of traitors in the brig, but we can be there to help in any way we can.”

            “I’ll mobilize the forces here as well” Weiss said pulling out her Scroll.  “We won’t get there quickly, but hopefully we’ll get there in time.”

            “That’s all we need” Ozpin said standing up.  “I’ll put the word out to let our allies know that the Order is coming.”

            “Too late” Christy said looking out the window.  Everybody who was physically at Beacon looked out the window to see the Order’s flagship with several other attack ships flying over the city of Vale.

            “Find who you can” Ozpin said grabbing his cane.  “My magic might be able to slow them down.”

            “Uh, guys?” Sun said over his hologram.

            “This is hardly the time or place Mr. Wukong” Ironwood said as he continued to go through his Scroll.

            “I know, it’s just that the Order’s here in Vacuo too.”

            “What?”

            “But why….” Weiss was cut off as she looked off into the distance.  “The Order’s in Atlas.”

            “I just got a text from some of my professors back at Haven” Pyrrha said growing pale.  “Mistral is under attack as well.”

            “General,” Weiss said with a wave of her arm, “how many Atlesian Knights do you have stationed in each of the four kingdoms right now?”

            “Enough to form a small army for each kingdom, but they won’t be enough to stop the attack.”

            “They shall do for now” Pyrrha said readying her weapon.  “All they have to do is buy time before innocents are hurt.”

            “Give the order” Ozpin said looking directly at Ironwood.  The general nodded his head and sent out a command on his Scroll.

 

 

 

            Lord Imperia looked down from the command deck as several police officers, local militia, and several Atlesian Knights formed up along the main street of Vale preparing for battle.  She smiled and looked back to see Nathan standing there prepared for battle.  However, this time, his mask was gone.

            “You do not wish to go into battle with your helmet, Lord Tenebris?” she asked.

            “They know who I am now” Nathan replied with a clenched fist.  “Besides, we are in the final stages.  And I have nothing to hide.  I will show the world that this is the true me.  That nothing else matters other than my goal.  I will not stop until I bring my true family, Ember, back.  And if they don’t support me, then they will see the truth.  Then they will die.  Besides, it seems poetic that a former slave of Ozpin’s tyranny is now leading the charge against his oppression and evil.  I wish to see the terror on his face when I finally face him.”

            “Very well Lord Tenebris, do you have what is needed then?”

            “Yes my lord.”  With that, Nathan pulled out his medal from the Battle of Vytal and handed it to Imperia. She took it, and placed it into a central computer console.  A program then sparked to life as soon as the medal was inserted, and a voice came online.

            “MEDAL RECOGNIZED.  USER RECOGNIZED.  NATHAN GROVER, MEMBER 4 OF TEAM NEMN.  ACCESS GRANTED.”  The computer then pulled up several files and programs linked to one big network.  Imperia smiled, and pulled up a secondary program that was already running on the Order’s computer.  She pressed a few buttons, and the program then started copying itself into the program that Nathan’s medal opened up.  From there, where the original program was white and covered with the symbol of the four kingdoms, the new program caused it to turn red, replacing the old symbol with the symbol of the Order.  Then, Imperia opened a program called “ANDROID PROTOCOL”, and pressed a few buttons.

 

 

 

            Ironwood was tapping away on his Scroll, sending out more and more commands, when suddenly, his screen turned red.

            “What the….” Ironwood exclaimed in surprise, “What’s happening?”

            “Can anybody access their Scrolls?” Ozpin asked as he tried to deal with the red screen on his Scroll as well.

            “I can still access communication,” Ruby said as she flipped through all her screens, “but I can’t access the critical files.  I can’t get into defensive protocols, I can’t access security protocols, I can’t access Atlesian Tech files, I can’t access anything.  Not even my Vytal Medal is letting me override anything.”

            “Oh no….” Ozpin said as his eyes widened.  “We never removed or revoked Nathan’s Vytal Medal Priorities.”

            “How could you forget something so major Ozpin?!” Ironwood yelled.  “We thought he was dead!  That should have been the first thing to deal with before this all started!  For Remnant’s sake, that should have been done when he was with the Sons of Aequo and a vigilante!”

            “The Order hit the ground running, and we never had a chance to catch our breath early on.  And once we did, it must have slipped my mind.”

            “So what does this mean?” Christy asked growing more and more concerned.

            “It means that Nathan used his Medal privileges to access the computer, and has overridden all of our access to the important key features that is necessary to defending our kingdom.  Such as emergency control override of the Atlesian Knights and Paladins.”

            “And since Nathan still had access….”

            “That means he has given the Order the key to ensuring that our emergency defenses are theirs to control.”

            “And we’ve already deployed the knights into the field, right next to the innocent bystanders.” Ironwood said.  Everybody remained in shock, not sure how to react.

 

 

 

            The carnage was something that had not been seen in many years.  The news stations were still up and running, so everybody around the world could see what was happening.  Everywhere, from Vale to Atlas, the machines that were built to protect the people of Remnant, now were turning on those same people.  Human soldiers and local police did what they could to try and stave off the attack, even local Huntsmen and Huntresses took up arms to face off against the growing threat.  But while the Atlesian Knights were easy to dispatch, it became a challenge to defeat them while also protecting the civilians caught in the crossfire.  And amidst the fighting, the Order began deploying their own troops to the ground, taking to the streets and attacking the innocent.  Everything was chaos.  Those at the hospital watched on from the news coverage, others like Blake and Aurora could see everything happening from where they were at the top of Beacon tower.  Before anybody had a chance to truly and properly react, Ozpin flew out of his office and towards the enemy airship, his cane in hand.  As he approached the airship, he stared down the bridge of the ship.  Neither side moved for a split second before Ozpin took his cane, held it out, and let it go, causing it to fall to the ground.  As soon as this happened, the Atlesian Knights stopped firing on civilians, but they still corralled everyone that they could into the streets to be held hostage, as did several Order soldiers who pushed further into the city with great speed and swiftness.  Around the world, the other kingdoms followed in Ozpin’s footsteps, surrendering to the Order to stop any more bloodshed.  Finally, Lord Imperia descended onto the streets with Nathan on her right and Lord Sangui on her left.  The two of them marched from the main street towards Beacon with an army of soldiers marching behind them.  The flames and carnage everywhere did not deter nor slow them, and no one made any attempt to try and stop them.  As they approached the cliffs beside the lake that separated Beacon from Vale, Imperia took her staff, and raised up enough water to cover the distance between the two entities, then froze it solid, creating a bridge for them to march across.  They finally reached Beacon and the central courtyard, where Ozpin, and everybody else was waiting.  Some students were hiding in their dorms, others were trying to see if they could get the jump on the Order, but Ozpin waved them away, not wishing to cause any more bloodshed.  Imperia approached Ozpin, a sick smile on her face.

            “My, how the mighty have fallen” she said pointing her staff right at Ozpin.

            “What do you want?” Ozpin asked trying to keep his composure.

            “A rather broad question professor.  But for the sake of convenience, I will tell you what I want in the here and now.  Give me the last two relics.”

            “Is that it?”

            “Not quite.  You will accompany us to our final destination.”

            “Why?”

            “That’s for me to know, and you to find out.”

            “And if I refuse?”

            “Come now Ozpin, that answer is obvious.  If you do come with me and your little children back there don’t attempt to stop us, I can promise that I won’t order the machines to kill every last person in all four kingdoms.”  Ozpin looked out at the burning city of Vale, then nodded his head.  He waved at Beanie, who already had the two relics prepared and in a case to be transported with.  He handed the case to Ozpin, who in turn handed the case to Imperia.  She smiled, and turned to leave.  During this entire exchange, everybody behind Ozpin wasn’t looking at that exchange, but were busy starting at Nathan, now in full plain view of everybody, glaring at each and every one of them with contempt and hatred.  As Imperia walked away with Ozpin in tow, Nathan stepped up in her stead and faced them all.

            “You are all slaves of a system that favors one man over your fellow brothers and sisters!” Nathan yelled towards his old friends and family.  “Wake up!  Ozpin isn’t creating peace!  He is creating a mockery of human achievement and decency!  He is creating a world that makes him king and you his slaves!  We in the Order are actually changing the world!  We are creating a world where you never have to lose those who you truly care about again!  We are creating a world where there is no true death!  There is no betrayal!  There is only support for one another!  No backstabbers or liars!  Just a world with one true family!  A world where we can support one another and not bring each other down!  If you are truly my family, if you are truly my friends, then you will stop with this charade of Ozpin’s, and join me.”  Nathan extended his hand, for people to join.  Everybody stood there in silence.  Some staring at him in shock, some in fear, and some in anger.  Natalie, clenching her fist, walked forward and faced Nathan.  Nathan started to smile as she approached him.

            “I knew you would come around in time sister.  Like me, you were trained by our true mother, Ember.  You and I are a part of a greater….” But before Nathan could finish, Natalie smacked him across the face.  The Order’s soldiers trained all their weapons on Natalie at that moment, ready to fire.  Natalie didn’t make any other moves after that, just letting the tears roll down her face.

            “Ember would be disgusted by what you have become” Natalie said choking through the tears.  “And so would mom.”

            “I don’t care what our birth mother thinks” Nathan said wiping his chin after the slap.  “She never supported us like Ember did.  She never loved us truly.  If she did, she would have supported us in our endeavors.”

            “Just because you didn’t always get what you wanted didn’t make her a bad mother Nathan!  Ember always urged you to listen to her!  She always…”
            “Shut your mouth!” Nathan yelled as he slapped Natalie back.  This hit caused Natalie to fall to the ground in some considerable pain, including some bleeding from her mouth.  Arri and Hera rushed over to help her get up, while Natalie wiped her chin.

            “You didn’t love her like I loved her!” Nathan yelled as Natalie retreated back to the group.  “You never did!  You’re as fake as the rest of them!  I look forward to seeing how you react to when I create a better world and you realize I was right all along!  I look forward to seeing you grovel before me and my new world, begging for a place in it, only to be denied because you refused to accept the truth!”  Nathan turned to leave, as did all the other Order soldiers.  There was a silence between all of them, nobody was sure what to say.  As they started to reach the ice bridge however, Ember let out a scream that echoed throughout the entire kingdom of Vale, and some say still echoes in the halls of time;

            “WHY?!”  Nathan stopped, and turned to look at his daughter.  She was on her knees, tears falling down her face, every ounce of her being was wracked with pain.  Some from her broken arm, but most of it from the pain of seeing her father in this state.  Nathan glared at Ember, and simply replied,

            “I don’t expect an imposter like yourself to understand the true nature of what I am trying to accomplish.  You bear the name of someone who was true family to me.  For a time, I thought that would be enough.  But I have seen the truth.  You are not my family.  If you don’t truly support me, then I want nothing more to do with you.”  With that, Nathan walked away, leaving everybody completely distraught.  Ember started slamming her non-broken hand into the ground repeatedly, screaming as Nathan and the rest of the Order flew off into the night sky.

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Shep]

Well, that was interesting, to say the least, the order almost has everything it needs to rule the worlds you got yourself quite mess going forward in how you are going to turn all-around into our favor. Looking forward to reading more. Please be kind and return the love.