Reaper of Remnant Volume 3 (A RWBY Fanfiction)

2. Welcome to Mantle

Weiss: This isn't right. None of this is right.

Yang: I think we should check out what's going on down there. This doesn't feel right.

Qrow: Agreed.

Reaper: I'd rather we land and wait for Atlas to pick us up.

Pilot: I'm pretty indifferent to whatever you guys do, though I would do what the Grimm says. Ugh, that sounded weird.

Weiss: Well, my sister can take us to Ironwood when we are finished scoping out Mantle.

Pyrrha, who has been staring out of a window, looks over her shoulder and speaks up.

Pyrrha: Uh, Weiss?

Weiss walks over to Pyrrha's side and looks out the window with her as a familiar voice plays from a giant screen. They all see Winter on that screen.

Winter: A reminder.

Weiss: Huh?

Winter: Failure to cooperate with Atlas military personnel is a punishable offense. If your sector is under lockdown...

Weiss: Winter?

Qrow: No offense, Weiss. I'm not sure that's a good idea anymore.

Reaper: I... suddenly am agreeing with Qrow.

Weiss tenses her shoulders and turns to Qrow and Reaper, fists clenched.

Weiss: There's obviously something very wrong. If we can just talk to her, then we--

Qrow: Look, I'm not even sure we should be talking to Ironwood until we know exactly what's going on with Mantle.

Weiss: But--

Maria: Everyone, calm down. I know someone who can help with both.

Pilot: Alright, you guys have fun with that. *sighs*

After landing the Manta in Mantle, the group exits the craft and Maria cautiously exits an alley by slowly shuffling along with her cane. When she sees the coast is clear, she picks up her cane and walks normally, and everyone else exits the alley with her. 

The group begins walking through Mantle together. Trucks drive past, and Atlesian Knight-200s stand on various sidewalks. Reaper notices a small child places a poster of a white-haired woman on a street lamp. There is a hologram board displaying news articles with the following headlines:

"Missing Journalist Found Slain"

"Election Imminent: Mantle Hometown Hero vs Atlesian Tycoon"

"Embargo: The Right Call? Pressure and Criticism Continues to Mount on Council"

"Outer Wall Damaged: Resources Stalled"

The group walks past a garage with graffiti art reading "Show Your Teeth"

Maria: Come on now, hurry! It shouldn't be much of a walk.

Jaune: Is this many soldiers normal?

Weiss: No. At least, I didn't think so.

Reaper: It isn't normal. I usually see this many troops in a city when the guy in charge is a paranoid dictator or the kingdom is at war.

Jaune: You've seen this before?

Reaper: I visited Mantle plenty of times before the Great War. I've seen it deal with troops on the streets in the past. But nowadays I try to keep my distance from here.

At the back of the group, Yang and Pyrrha notices a whirring sound and stops to take a look.

Yang: Huh?