After the opening, Mistral airships descend down from the western side of Evernight. Below them is a river of red water currently with the Menagerie Fleet floating down. March and Ghira both wave their hands and their ships cannons continue to fire towards the Citadel and the surrounding areas. A few Grimm are hit with the cannon balls, slamming into them, killing them instantly. The Mistral airships slowly descended down, the doors sliding open to reveal Mason, Evie, and Bazaar. Bazaar kneels down and aims with his crossbow, getting ready to fire.
Mason: Rain fire!
Bazaar begins to fire down at the few Grimm along the top of the Citadel. The Mistral airships begin to fire off their guns down onto the structure. Nikko jumps off of the landing platform with his pack. He spreads his wings and darts up towards one of the Mistral ships. He grabs onto the stern of one of the ships, tearing it apart and smashes through the mask of the same ship, bringing it to the ground.
A few Lancers and Nevermores shoot from the Citadel, launching up towards the Mistral fleet.
Mason: Mistral has engaged! Atlas, Vale! You are clear! Requesting assistance!
The fleet of Grimm are met with Mistral gunfire until a massive blast goes off in the middle of the Lancers. Six Atlesian Airships descend down from the south and four BIC cruisers slowly move around from the east. The Lancers divert themselves into three smaller groups and fly towards each fleet.
On one Manta, Team SSMR opens their bay doors. Regen walks out with a new rocket launcher, pulled from the designs found at Fort Frollo. He sits down and aims down sights. Solomon playfully hits his shoulder.
Solomon: Hey...frontal horde assault.
Regen: I noticed.
Solomon: You just want to fire that thing?
Regen: I just want to shoot it.
Solomon: Then fire away, brother.
Regen smirks and pulls the trigger twice. Two rockets fire out and slam down on a group of Creeps. A massive explosion goes off and dust crystals spike from the blast and stab and kill multiple Grimm. Regen hollers in joy.
Regen: BIC weaponry! Almost as good at Atlas stuff!
He laughs as the ship continues to fly off.
Inside the Citadel, Lavenza marches into the command post. He presses a few keys on his scroll and gets a holographic monitors and controls. He presses a few keys, turning dials and getting monitor views of the battlefield. Lavenza cracks his neck and brings up a few cannons along the Citadel. They begin to open fire onto the fleets attacking the Citadel.
From the Vale fleet, bullheads drop down and begin what seem like bombing runs along the ground, blasting apart the ground. From the lead, the doors open and show Glynda, Peter Port, Bartholomew Oobleck and team JNPR. Glynda turns back to JNPR. She gives them a nod and she, Port and Oobleck jump from the ship.
Jaune: Bank up!
The pilot nods and banks upward, going vertical to get a mass amount of height. Glynda, Oobleck and Port land onto the ground as bullheads and Mantas open and allow for ground forces to hit the earth.
Glynda: Burn them all!
Glynda uses her semblance and breaks apart one of the red crystals, reforms it into a spike and throws it towards the waist of the Citadel. Port kneels down beside her, opening fire as well until the lower doors to the tower open up slowly. All three huntsmen look to see an army of Grimm charging towards them. Glynda takes a deep breath and slowly begins to march towards the monsters.
Glynda: With me!
The charge begins as numerous huntsmen, soldiers and more charge in and attack the incoming Grimm. Manticores take off from the landing platform on the Citadel and dive down to join the fight. A few bullheads circle around the incoming masses of Grimm and the doors open up.
Soldier: Governor? Your orders?
Leading this squad is Governor Jet Ombre. He draws his sword and cracks his neck a little.
Jet: Cry you Canarians! Cry for victory!
Jet yells and jumps from the ship, stabbing his blade into the neck of a Manticore and pulling it to the ground. A few of his own troops join him, landing down onto the ground and opening fire at the Grimm. The battle continues to rage as the BIC cruisers begin to unleash fire upon the surrounding areas. Inside the lead Atlas ship, Elsa and Winter Schnee stand atop at command, delivering orders.
Elsa: Break onto Sector 2!
Winter: Have the Hydra bank and fire its port side guns. Aim for the waist and main gates!
The two women look at one another and nod as they continue to dish out orders.
From far off south, three more ships fly into the area. At the bridge of the lead ship is Theo, glaring forward. Beside him are Isaac, Qrow, and Sienna. Isaac walks over to a comm station and presses a key on it.
Isaac: Vacuo moving in for ground assault. Brace for a hard landing people!
Inside a massive cargo hold, there are numerous troops inside. Some who are clearly huntsmen. Others who are just civilians. At the head of the pack is Teams VILE and FLME. Fred pulls his glove down, tightening it. He glances around the room to see the others getting ready too. Ember cracks his knuckles and takes in a deep breath. Fred leans in towards him.
Fred: You ok?
Ember: Yeah. Just...you know. Fight of our lives. The whole planet is essentially here too. So, at least I know I won't be dying alone.
May slightly elbows him.
May: You're not going to die.
Ember: Prepare for the best, expect the worst.
May looks over to Ember and gives him a glare. He sighs and nods a little.
Ember: I'm not going to die. Happy?
May: Little bit, yes.
Leia and Fred cant help but chuckle a little. Ember rolls his eyes but allows for a smile to spread across his lips.
_______________________________________________________
Inside the command center of the Citadel, Lavenza is typing away, coordinating efforts and guns from the central console. The doors to the room open and in walk Damson and Onyx.
Onyx: Status report?
Lavenza: Coordinated effort. Three prongs. Nikko and his pack have the initial charge. Stier and Venom's signatures place them along the Eastern cliffs.
Onyx: Landing zones?
Lavenza: Scattered all over the plains and mountains. No set point.
Onyx: Focused fire?
Lavenza: Base of the Citadel. Our guns are working on taking out their cruisers.
Onyx: Keep them on point. Deploy any and all Grimm we have!
Lavenza: Already sent the signal out.
A portal opens behind them and Salem, Cinder, Tyrian and Mercury walk into the room. Onyx glances back but says nothing as they all walk up to him.
Salem: So, Ozpin and his forces decided to lead the charge? Predictable.
Onyx: Not exactly as predictable as we would like it to be.
Lavenza: No set attack pattern. No reason. Just engagement.
Onyx: Their targets are either our heads or the relics. Are they secured?
Salem: Creation stays within the tower. Knowledge, locked away in your labs.
Onyx: Keep it that way. Heavy armaments are going to continue to bombard us. I have no idea how much longer the Citadel can or will hold. My Queen, could you be so kind as to give us more of a fighting chance? Just for the time being. I would rather not send our Maiden of Choice against a Maiden of Destruction...especially considering her last encounter with the Maidens.
Cinder snaps to look over to Onyx, some anger on her face.
Cinder: I can kill that girl.
Onyx: Your previous experience in this field tells me otherwise.
Cinder gripped her fist but Salem walked past her. She nodded at Onyx who nodded back at her. Salem walked over to the windows and waved her hand, shattering the glass to the command center. Dark red orbs form around her hands and Salem flies up and slowly outside of the tower. She powers herself up and yells, unleashing a beam of energy out, crashing through a BIC cruiser and one of her own, crashing both down to the ground.
Onyx forms a fist as he watched the chaos unfold. He marches back and up to Lavenza, speaking to him softly. Cinder rolls her eyes and walks over to the broken window. Damson wraps his tail around her wrist to stop her. She snaps back and glares at him.
Damson: Stay put.
Cinder: You dare!
Onyx: For the sake of the mission, yes.You stay.
Cinder's eyes flare up a bit. However, Onyx pulls his blade out and the purple, destructive energy from it leaks out into the room. Cinder huffs and backs off. Mercury chuckles a little to himself.
Cinder: What was that?
Onyx: Ms. Fall, if you have something you would like to say, say it now or stay silent.
Cinder glares back at Onyx as he oversees the battle unfolding. Lavenza fires off another volley of rockets, slamming into one of the cruisers. They fire back and take out one of the silos. Lavenza grits a little before typing rapidly to regain some control over the defenses of the Citadel. Onyx paces a little before the windows.
Onyx: Damson. Prepare a launch.
Damson snickers and unties his tail from Cinder's wrist. He smirks at her, winking before laughing as he walks down the hall. Cinder shudders a little in discomfort at the sight and thought of Damson.
________________________________________________________
Back in the lead Vacuo ship, Theo is with Sienna and Isaac as they fly across the battlefield.
Vacuoan Airman: Sir! Massive energy spikes coming from our stern!
A massive beam of red and black energy soars past the ship, clipping some of it. The whole bridge crew shakes.
Theodore: Get salvage teams on that break!
Theo looks up and gasps a little. Floating out on the battlefield is Salem herself. She throws balls of energy and magic, slamming into both the Grimm and into ground forces from Vale and Atlas. They blow up in massive dust clouds that Salem uses to slice through some bullheads. Theo grits his teeth and leans forward.
Theodore: Full speed. We need our heavy hitters out there now!
Vacuoan Airman: Aye, sir!
The helmsman pulls on the throttle and charges forward. Inside the lower decks, FLME and VILE still stand together. They feel the brunt of the ship dashing forward. Fred quickly readies himself, licking his lips a little as they charge. Ember, meanwhile, takes a deep breath. He glances around to see a few Mistral huntsmen and others with clear signs of where they are from. He takes another deep breath and hums a little.
Ember: (Singing) Veni venias, veni, sancte puer.
May cocks an eyebrow and looks over at him. Ember nods a little more and begins to sing again.
Ember: (Singing) Salva nos-
Fred: (Singing) Tuo lumine pereunte.
Ember stops himself and looks at his brother. Fred just gives a nod that Ember returns.
Fred and Ember: (Singing) Dirige nos ad lucis exitum. Salva nos a tenebris morientibus. Adesto o sancte puer.
Eadwulf: (Singing) Tuere nostros. Salvos fac filios nostros. Ostende nobis quantam audaciam defeceris.
Both Fred and Ember turn in some shock to see Eadwulf singing traditional Mistralian. Eadwulf looks at them and he gives them a nod and a smile. They both nod and all three continue the song. A few other Mistralian soldiers join in as well.
All Singing: Humilis pharus, qui pereuntem noctem te lucis tuebitur. Adesto o sancte puer.
Leia and May glance at one another. A few soldiers begin to stomp their feet in tune to the song. Violet smirks a little and cracks her neck, loading up her shotgun staff.
All Singing: Peccatores combure, dominos interficie, a nostris meretricibus sordida resuscita. Adesto o sancte puer.
Ember raises his fists in the air, each clenching his knives.
All Singing: Libera nos de vita mortali. Ad supera nos perducas. Lumine sancto tuo cuncta crema. Adesto o sancte puer.
The song comes to an end as the doors to the hang slowly being to open below them.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Menagerie fleet is coming up to a large coast, several clicks from the main tower and the Citadel. Lune swings from the helm down to the stern of the ship to meet with Ghira, Kali, April and March.
Ghira: How much closer can we get?
Lune: Not very. Unless we run the risk of going to ground.
Kali: We cant cut ourselves off like that.
March: Agreed! Form up! Circle round and get our armor on the ground!
Lune nodded as the dozen ships line up around the cove at a distance. They are safe from running ground. From each ship, motorcycles and trucks roll out with White Fang, Wolf Tribe and a few members of the Menagerie Militia charing forward. Leading them all is Ghira and March.
The the main ship, the Bluejay 2, April stands with Lune.
April: Continue firing Mr. Wukong. We haven't ended this battle yet.
Lune: Yes Ma'am!
Lune laughs and runs off, relaying April's orders. Gunfire erupts from the ships as a small pack of Grimm make their way towards the water.
Back on the Vacuo flagship, Ember continues to hype up the soldiers.
Ember: Warriors of Mistral! Heed my call!
All the ones singing raise their arms. Fred and Eadwulf included.
Mistral Warriors: We heed the call of our fire!
Ember: Out of the darkness, these blades will light our way. Glory and honor guide our ascension!
Mistral Warriors: Even to our dying breath!
May leans over a little to Leia.
May: Mistral tradition?
Leia: If I'm translating it right from memory, then it is a song of the holy child of light.
May: Gee. That's pretty spot on.
Leia: In some respects, yes.
They both look over to Fred to see him continuing the battle cry with Ember and the others.
Ember: Then stand together men of Mistral! Servants of the Sun! For on this day, we ride to a new dawn! Fight for the rising sun! We fight! As men of the East!
They all roar. Fred is the first to jump out of the ship. He engages his Guardian Armor and flies off, darting towards the Citadel. Ember and the rest all jump out. Eadwulf grows in size and quickly begins to attack the Grimm surrounding him and the rest of the landing zone. Leia, May and Ember land in Eadwulf's palm.
Eadwulf: You sure you want to do this?
Leia: Not like we have much of a choice now! Do it!
Eadwulf runs forward, getting away from the cruiser. He grows a little more and throws the three huntsmen out towards the cliffs. Quickly afterwards, he begins to attack the Grimm around him, stomping them as Violet and Llew join in afterwards.
The three members of FLME who were thrown try to stay close to one another. Leia activates her semblance and forms a bubble around the trio.
Leia: Brace for a hard landing!
The three land on the cliffs to the east. The bubble shatters and all three roll along the ground. Leia groans a little as she slowly gets to her feet. Ember stretches, cracking his back a little too.
Ember: Damn...I use to be good at these falls.
Leia presses a key on her wrist scroll.
Leia: FLME is in position on the cliffs. Keep the distraction up.
A beeping sound effect goes off.
Leia: JNPR is already inside the Citadel. FLME is moving in to support. Fred, burn the bastard!
Fred: (Over radio) Done. Good luck.
Leia: Was about to say the same to you.
Leia gets off of her call and walks over to Ember and May. May is perched, aiming down sights.
Leia: How we looking?
May: Some Grimm in our path. Nothing we cant handle.
Ember draws his knives.
Ember: Then what are we waiting for girls?
Ember laughs and leaps down into battle. Leia and May quickly join him.
Scene cuts to Black.