The doubles round of the festival was now underway as Weiss and Yang prepared for their match against team DNGO. As the two were getting to the battle area they we're approached by Alex and Ryan.
"Hey guys!" Yang greeted. "You here to watch us kick ass?"
"Hell yeah! We just wanted to give you some quick motivation before the fight." Alex said.
"Yeah, the good kind." Ryan added.
"What kind of motivation?" Weiss asked curious.
"Well... we know you'll win, but just fight well!" Alex said. "Fight like devil dogs!"
"Yeah!" Ryan added.
"Devil dogs huh?" Yang asked. "Well, I think that can be arranged."
"I don't know." Weiss said as she wasn't sure.
"I'll take you out on another date if you do." Ryan said causing Weiss to blush.
"W-w-what?" Weiss stuttered.
"I'm sure you heard me, I don't like to repeat myself." Ryan stated with a smirk.
Still blushing Weiss looked away from Ryan before giving him her answer.
"F-fine." She said. "But you better make good on that date!"
"You know I will.~" Ryan replied making Weiss blush more before the two girls went on their way to the battlegrounds. As the two marines watched the two girls head off to their battle they also made their way to their seats to get a good view of the fight ahead.
"You just love teasing her don't you?" Alex asked.
"I can't help it, she makes it too easy." Ryan replied.
As the pair of marines went about finding their seats Ryan then noticed that Michael and Nick were nowhere to be seen.
"Hey where's our WW1 and gulf-war veteran?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know, last I heard they said they were doing something." Alex said. "They didn't say what though."
"I'm sure whatever it is must be important." Ryan stated waving off the thought.
With Michael and Nick...
Ryan was somewhat accurate with his statement about the two other marines on their team as they were with the Major going over plans on how to defend the school from the attack.
"You are sure that she will go along with-it lieutenant?" The major asked.
"Well, we did offer them both the best deal we could offer to turn them to our side." Nick explained. "And I did warn them of what would happen if they continued to work with her."
"That is a good point." Michael added.
"Having those two on our side will help turn the tide of the battle." Major Gordon said as the noise of a scroll going off.
Nick then pulled out his Scoll to see what the notification was and as he read it he then grew a smirk on his face reading the notification.
"It seems she got it done Major." Nick stated as he showed him the message on his scroll. "Our hackers now have access to Cinder's scroll."
"Excellent, with any luck we will get rid of that virus she planted in the system." Major Gordon said.
"Without that virus she will have no more control." Michael said.
"Correct Private, by the way how are the rest of the devil dogs from your time doing?" Gordon asked.
"Well, with a bit of therapy from me they have managed to adjust to their new environment." Michael replied. "Considering I've been here the longest out of all of them, they seemed to have accepted what has happened to them."
"Well, that's good it is important for them to stay mental considering what has happened to them." Gordon said. "But in order to succeed in this battle ahead of us we are going to need all the men we can get."
"Your right about that Major." Nick said. "BTW how is your recruitment plan coming along?"
"It's going pretty well; we are expected to start recruiting the locals in Vale within a couple of months." Gordon explained. The idea of recruiting from the local population within the kingdom to boost their numbers. The Major had spoken to Ozpin about this and thought that it was a good idea to ensure the kingdoms security. Apart from that students from Beacon could also decide to enlist if they were interested and gain more benefits. The headmaster even convinced the council to provide funding for the idea as they saw it as a necessary for the kingdom. "We've also secured contracts with some weapon companies to produce the weapons we need the most."
"These new weapons are the so-called AR-15 platform I've heard about?" Michael asked.
"That's correct, mostly M4's and M16A4's." Gordon answered. "Once we have enough of those, we will replace most of the old wooden rifles we have."
"And the ammunition for them as well?" Michael asked.
"Well for the time being, we have had a couple of military supply convoy's shown up here on Remnant with ammunition and fuel to last us at least a few months." Gordon explained. "We've also had a plan for our small fleet of ships that have turned up in the past few weeks."
"Well, that's good major." Nick said.
"Anyways, I hope you two have been keeping a low profile around Cinder and her underlings?" Gordon asked.
"Yes sir." They both replied.
"We are sure to only chat a little bit with them and not to make too much conversation." Nick said.
"Good, as long as we can make them think they still have the advantage." Gordon said. "We can then catch them off guard and stop them before they even make it to Beacon."
"They won't even see it coming." Michael said.
"That will be all you two, you are dismissed." Gordon said as the two marines then stood up and saluted him before leaving him alone in his office to deal with some paperwork. But as he went about going through the paperwork on his desk he noticed that there was one that stood out. It was a small envelope with only his name written on the back of it. Opening it up he unfolded the paper that was inside of it as it read;
'I know what you think you're doing is the right thing Major,
But for the sake of the timeline, you have to let Beacon fall, too much could change the fate of Remnant in a bad way. I cannot tell you who I am but know this, if you do go through with whatever plan you made to prevent the fall of Beacon me and my team will be there to ensure its downfall. I hope you can forgive us in time and if not, oh well. I'll see you and your Marines on the battlefield Major.'
-DK
After reading this short message Major Gordon was then starting to question as to who wrote him this letter. However, he shook his head and ripped up the letter throwing the shreds of paper in the trashcan. Getting back to the paperwork on his desk he didn't know that someone was watching him from a distance through some binoculars. The person in camouflage then put his hand to his ear before talking to someone on the other side.
"Sir the major just tore up you're warning." The guy said.
"I thought he would." A voice on the other side said.
"Why bother with the warning if you knew he was going to rip it up?" The spy guy asked.
"Maybe to try and make him reconsider, but I guess he doesn't have the bigger understanding to the timeline." The guy on the other side said.
"Yeah, so when do we make our move?" The spy guy said.
"Soon, soon." The other guy said.
Back with Nick and Michael...
After meeting with the Major, the two decided to head back to their dorm room to relax for a bit, as they were walking, they conversated with each other to help pass the time.
"Are you really thinking about that Michael?" Nick asked.
"Yes, I am, and Ruby can help me with it." Michael answered. "My M1903 just isn't cutting it for me."
"I mean that makes sense, it is a bolt-action rifle after all." Nick said. "There's only so much you can do to improve it."
"That's why I'm going to make the BAR my primary rifle." Michael said. "But not in its current configuration."
"And that's where Ruby comes in?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, she can help me make it better." Michael explained. "She can help me make it a better battle-rifle."
"You're sure you don't just want to switch over to the AR platform?" Nick asked.
"As much as the AR platform offers, it just isn't for me." Michael answered. "Besides since I'm a student here, I have full permission to make improvements to my weapon as I see fit."
"Well, if you ever feel like switching over let me know." Nick stated.
"Thanks Nick." Michael said.
As the two continued talking Michaels scroll sudden started ringing. Pulling it out to see who was calling and it turned out to be Ryan.
"Oh, hey Ryan how's it going?" Michael asked as he answered his scroll.
"Hey Michael, you just missed out on Yang and Weiss's fight!" Ryan said through the scroll.
"How did it go?" Michael asked.
"They won of course." Ryan stated. "We knew they would win."
"Of course, they won, I never had a dough." Michael said. "Though the next one is Coco and Yatsu against Mercury and Emerald right?"
"Yeah." Ryan answered. "They know what to do."
"Good." Michael said.
"Any update on the hackers progress?" Ryan asked.
"They are getting it done, so to speak." Michael replied. "It should only be a matter of hours before the job is complete."
"That's good." Ryan said deciding to change the subject. "Anyways you guys want to watch the fight between Yang and Mercury when it comes up?"
"Maybe." Michael answered. "I'll have to see if we have nothing else to do when the time comes."
"Sounds like a plan!" Ryan replied. "Anyways talk to you later!"
With that the Vietnam veteran hung up on the other end followed by Michael putting his scroll back in his pocket.
"Well then let's get back to the room." Michael said as he started walking back to the dorm room with Nick following close behind.
Time skip to much later...
Following the defeat of Coco and Yatsu match Ryan offered to take Coco out on a drive through the city to help pass the time as the single matches were scheduled in an hour. In the meantime the Vietnam veteran decided to help her manage her frustrations for losing the match because they were ordered to do so.
"I still think we should have kicked their asses." Coco groaned.
"I know your angry Coco, but we have to give Cinder the idea that she's still in control." Ryan explained.
"I still think we should have won that fight." Coco argued.
"Well, nothing you can do now." Ryan pointed out. "That's why I'm taking you for a trip around town."
Ryan then pulled up the roadrunner to a parking space in the middle of the city square.
"Well, let's go." Ryan said as he got out of the car followed by Coco.
As they started walking to the various stories in the center of town Coco then decided to ask the Vietnam Veteran some questions.
"So Ryan, since you and your fellow marine teammates are all from different time periods from your planet." Coco started. "What kind of combat do you see during your conflict?"
"What kind of combat I went through?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah." Coco replied. "If you don't mind me asking of course."
"Well, most of my fighting took place during the Tet offensive." Ryan explained. "Some parts of it was pretty stupid, like asking permission to shoot at the enemy sometimes in buildings."
"Really?" Coco asked. "Asking permission to fire at the enemy?"
"Sometimes." Ryan asked. "It was variety on where the enemy was hiding, I normal would smoke them out with my M60 by just shooting through the windows of the buildings where the enemy was hiding."
"Did you get any lucky hits?" Coco asked.
"Surprisingly, more often than not." Ryan answered. "When I was told where the enemy was in a general location I just dumped a whole lot of 7.62 x 51mm into the building where they were hiding and got hits."
"Huh, and this was way before you came to Remnant." Coco pointed out receiving a nod from the Marine. "Getting lucky hits by firing blind, are you sure you didn't have some sort of ability that allowed you to get lucky when you were shooting your gun?"
"Nope! Nothing special about me." Ryan said. "Just got lucky."
Then as they were talking Ryan's scroll started ringing like crazy as he then pulled it out and then answered it.
"Hello, yes this Ryan." Ryan said. "Oh, hey Weiss how's it going?"
"Oh, just wanted to let you know that Yang's match against Mercury is happening in a matter of minutes." Weiss explained.
"Oh okay, and btw does Yang know what to do after the match?" Ryan asked.
"Yep, Colonel Matthew Hogan even instructed her not to do anything once the match was finished." Weiss said. "Whatever she sees she is just going to ignore it."
"Good, after that if Cinder tries to move the plan forward, we can move in and stop them." Ryan said.
"Exactly." Weiss said as some sort of other sounds came from Weiss's end. "It looks like the match is about to start, I'll keep you posted."
"Alright I look forward to it." Ryan said. "Cheer on Yang for me."
"Sure thing, see you!" Weiss said.
"Bye Weiss." Ryan said as they hung up.
"You seem to be friendly with Weiss." Coco pointed out.
"Oh well um... I've been taking her to the shooting range from time to time." Ryan said. "She seemed to be interested in learning how to handle a rifle."
"Oh really?" Coco asked raising her brow.
"It's not what you think Coco." Ryan said. "I like you both equally."
Coco then made the face of 'are you sure about that' while still raising her brow at the Vietnam veteran.
"What?" Ryan asked causally.
"I'm not sure I'd believe that." Coco said as she stepped forward to the marine making him back away a little. Soon Ryan was backed into a wall in an alleyway with Coco blocking him with putting her hands on both sides of him. "Is it just me or do you and your teammates seem to attractive a lot of attention from other girls?"
"Um... well..." Ryan stuttered. He didn't know what to say as he then realized what Coco had said and it turned out to be truer than what he originally thought. He then realized that his other teammates had attracted a lot of attention from girls. Notably Alex mostly hanging out with Yang and Blake, along with Ruby and Penny hanging around Michael while he was training, and Nick hanging out with Velvet from time to time. "I won't say your wrong in that statement."
"How is it that you four marines are getting a lot of attention?" Coco asked leaning in closer to Ryan who now was slightly blushing.
"Uh..." Ryan tried to find the words but couldn't. Then his scroll started to ring interrupting the moment. "Can we talk about this later?"
Coco then backed off a little allowing Ryan to breathe a little as he answered his scroll.
"Hello?" Ryan answered putting the scroll to his ear.
"Hey Ryan." Weiss replied on the other end.
"Oh, hey Weiss how did the match go?" Ryan asked.
"Yang won." Weiss answered.
"I figured, she didn't fall for the trick did she?"
"Nope! She remembered the advice from the colonel." Weiss replied confidently.
A few moments before Weiss called Ryan...
"Yang Xiao Long Wins!" The Oobleck said when the match ended. Seeing that she had won the match she dusted off her shoulders as a sort of victory jester before turning back to Mercury.
"Better luck next time!" Yang said as she turned her back to him.
"There isn't going to be a next time blondie!" Mercury yelled as Yang turned around to see him charging at her. But remembered what the colonel had said to her before the match had begun warning her not to engage Mercury if she sees him charging at her after the match. Yang blinked as Mercury jumped at her face but as she opened her eyes again Mercury was just standing in the same spot as before.
"Um sorry... did you say something?" Yang said shaking her head while scratching her head. "Because I didn't hear you."
Mercury just stood there dumbfounded as he knew that she was supposed to attack him and make it look like she had done it out of angry. As Yang walked back to the stands Mercury headed back to where his colleges were with Emerald also looking a bit surprised. As the two made they're way over to Cinder she had more than a displeased look on her face as they then boarded a flying bus.
"What happened back there?" Cinder asked in a venomous tone.
"I don't know." Emerald replied still shocked at what happened. "It's almost like she knew I was using my semblance."
"But how could she have known that?" Mercury asked.
"It doesn't matter now." Cinder said pulling out her scroll. "We'll just have to make a few adjustments."
As she typed into her scroll to change who will be fighting who a notification then popped up when she tried to change the opponents with a 'Access denied'. Surprised by this she tried putting in the opponents she wanted again and again until something else popped up on her scroll. The screen then suddenly turned black and in the center of the screen glitched in the USMC logo with a sentence saying;
'Your technology rights have been removed, courtesy of the USMC, have a nice day Cinder Fall.'
It was then Cinder gripped the side of her chair shredding it a little bit as her minions soon noticed her raging aura around her.
"Um... Cinder?" Emerald asked a little scared. Cinder then smashed the handle on her chair as she stood up looking out the front window.
"We've been cut off!" Cinder exclaimed in anger. Meanwhile Neo kept a calm but neutral face as she had to keep to herself about her involvement with the Marines.
"Cut off?" Mercury asked.
"We no longer have access to the opponents." Cinder said before dialing a number on her scroll. "We're changing the plan."
However, as she was calling someone the group was completely unaware of two US Marines who were hiding in the back of the airbus tracking the group of where they were going. One of the marines was wearing a Korean-war era uniform while the other was wearing one from Vietnam. But the one from the late 60's conflict had a white feather placed in his hat and armed with a bolt-action sniper rifle.
"So, we just follow them back to the base?" The Korean war marine asked.
"Yeah, and to call in an air strike to surround them so they can't attack Beacon." The Vietnam war Marine said. "And if any of them do make it to Beacon, we will be ready for them."
============================================================================
And done finally another chapter done!
I bet some of you can guess who the marine with the white feather is!
Stay tuned for more!