RWBY Gray Dawn: The Probe

October 19th, 2028, 3:35 PM, Vale’s coast.

Pyrrha scowled as she looked seaward. She was really starting to hate overcast days. The Gray Dawn leaks happened on an overcast day and now that she was thinking about it, it was a gloomy day when she’d left Mistral for Vale years ago too. Both times, the danger was insidiously social, enrolling as an unknowing pawn of Ozpin’s and then scapegoated as a cheater by her home kingdom. At least on this overcast day, the danger was physical.

Grimm, of course. Atlas drones spotted a 61-foot Leviathan rising out of the sea about 400 miles off of Vale’s coastline a week ago, making a slow, almost deliberate, trudge towards what was left of the city. Fear and panic surged like a tidal wave throughout the last week. The constant blaring of the Grimm disaster sirens only added to the distress, inadvertently causing more Grimm to roam. Though that wasn’t the worst of it. Not by a long shot.

At about 250 miles away from the coast, about 100 Seer Grimm emerged from the sea, seemingly escorting the Leviathan toward the shore and interfering with scouting drones. This wasn’t random or even remotely natural. An S-class Grimm was a threat in itself, but an S-Class Grimm with a hovering, coordinated swarm of lesser Grimm? Salem. Her first move after the Fall. And maybe their last stand on the beach.

There’d been a council of sorts, between Glynda, the Supernovas, and Winter Schnee. Leviathans had missile resistant scales, meaning Atlas could (or would, if Pyrrha was being cynical) only do so much. So a plan was formed; Glynda suggested that Orion lead a front-line response team on the beachfront, and she’d back him up. The optics and Beacon’s soured reputation made it the only way to rally any kind of cooperation and volunteer effort, given the scarcity of trust these days.

Pyrrha frowned and turned her gaze from the sea back to the beach behind her. The last of the Atlas transport vehicles just arrived a quarter mile away. As the last of the volunteers walked up and joined the crowd, Pyrrha did a silent headcount. From Beacon, herself, Glynda, Yang, Weiss, and Jaune were here. The rest of Beacon was either dealing with the Grimm surges or helping with evacuation routes back in the city proper.

Then there were the Supernovas: Carol Mayes, Orion Silvers, and Tyler Streak. Carol, Orion and Glynda were going to be leading a coordinated attack against the Leviathan and the bulk of the Seers. Carol Maye’s Semblance let her grow to 50 feet, a blessing against an S-Class Grimm. That coupled with Glynda’s telekinesis should be enough to defeat the Leviathan. On paper. Tyler Streak—he was here for documentation. At least that’s what he called it. His drones were going to be live-streaming the entire battle to secure relief donations.

Lastly there was everyone else that made up the bulk of the volunteer front-line defense. Rogue Semblance users, gang members, vigilantes, and everyone in-between. A rag-tag group of Vale’s toughest survivors. Pyrrha recognized a few of the faces in the crowd, Rachel Battles—one of Cat’s Cradle’s vigilantes. She was tough, able to morph into a hulking 7 foot honey-badger at will. Pyrrha knew Rachel was going to fight to the bitter end. Then her eyes fell on Nock and Launch—the archer twins from Mistral. They didn’t have Semblances according to Beacon’s patrol reports, but they had good combat sense and were crackshots with their bows.

Pyrrha finished her headcount. 53 people altogether, including herself. Glynda Goodwitch, three Supernovas, a partial Maiden(herself), and hardened survivors. If Pyrrha was feeling optimistic, she’d call these good odds, but optimism was as scarce as Dust these days.

As the last transport vehicle drove off, and the last of the volunteers joined the crowd, Orion stepped forward and projected his voice. “Howdy everyone,” Orion said, giving everyone a tight smile. “We all know why we’re here. We’ve got an overgrown lizard and a swarm of squids making their way to shore.” Orion gestured back behind him, past the crashing waves. The Leviathan was a speck on the horizon, the Seers a mass of tiny black dots from this distance, but they’d make landfall soon. “Guess that old witch is an awfully sore loser, huh?”

His comment earned a few chuckles from the crowd. It wasn’t that it was funny in itself, but Orion was a dad-humor man, so his tone came off as campier than he realized. The crowd then quieted as Orion continued. “The plan is simple. Ms. Goodwitch, myself, and Carol will intercept them once they’re four miles out. Carol will engage the Leviathan once I carry her out far enough. After that, Glynda and I will take out as many of the Seers as we possibly can before they make it inland. You all are the last line of defense. If for whatever reason it all goes FUBAR out in the water, you all, with the help of Ms. Nikos, will step in. Best case scenario, none of you will have to do much fighting today.”

Orion paused, looking out into the crowd as they muttered among themselves. “There are lots of people who want to see us fail today,” Orion continued. “People who don’t believe in this city anymore. We’re gonna prove them wrong! Today, we’re going to show the world why Vale is still here!”

It didn’t generate applause, but it did earn some approving nods and defiant smirks from the crowd. Sometimes even just a little bit of confidence can go a long way. Orion nodded and stepped to the side, gesturing for Glynda to step forward.

After Glynda gave Orion a curt nod, she turned her attention to the crowd. “We understand that some of you still have reservations about taking orders from Beacon. That’s not what this is. Pyrrha Nikos will be coordinating with all of you to ensure the best possible odds of survival, should the fight make it to the beach. You may not like me, her, or any of my students, but I trust you all like living enough to listen to reason. Ms. Nikos will organize you all into squads with respect to your talents and abilities. Please listen to her like your life depends on it.”

“And if any of you have questions about compensation after all of this, feel free to approach me,” Orion said, playfully rolling his eyes.

Pyrrha was quiet, her expression outwardly stoic despite the bags under her eyes. That had gone well enough. No one left, not that they could. The Atlas transport vehicles were one way trips. If you volunteered to join the front-line response team, you were stuck here, miles away from the city until the battle ended one way or another.

But Pyrrha couldn’t shake her nerves. It wasn’t the fact that Beacon had been working overtime patrolling the streets these days. Or the fact that her sleep had been restless since the Fall. It had more to do with Jaune, just to her left, subtly glancing at her with those expectant blue eyes of his. If he wasn’t looking at her like she made the sun rise, he hovered like she was made of glass. Calling it emotionally grating would be the nicest way to put it. Especially now, when he was trying to catch her eye.

There was one twisted silver-lining to all of this though. There was a very good chance the seventh Supernova was either here among the crowd or back in the city, trying to help with the lesser Grimm surges. Pyrrha took a small breath, stepped forward, and spoke to the crowd. “We don’t have much time, so listen carefully. We're going to keep it simple, but effective. I'll be dividing you all into four squads; close-range, ranged, support, and high mobility skirmishers. When I point to you, please tell me your preferred name, Semblance, and your combat style so I can place you appropriately.” Pyrrha pointed to someone on the left of the crowd, her gaze expectant.

October 19th, 2028, 3:50 PM, Vale’s coast.

“Objective and hostiles in range. Fifty-three Semblance-active volunteer fighters, three Supernovas, and Goodwitch’s presence confirmed. Awaiting Seer signal.” Emerald murmured into her earpiece. Despite the Atlas stealth suit that cloaked her, Emerald Sustrai still re-positioned herself among the vegetation that overlooked the beach. Not out of fear, but caution. If she were caught now, she’d be outnumbered and compromise the mission.

The mission itself? Operation “Virgin Hunter”; kidnapping Pyrrha Nikos with the entire world watching due to Tyler Streak’s drones live-streaming the battle for relief donations. Tricky, given the opposition, but not impossible. The Leviathan would distract the heavy hitters, Glynda, Orion Silvers, and Carol Mayes. Then the Seers would distract everyone else on the beach.

Then Emerald would strike, using her Semblance to distract Jaune Arc, which would distract Pyrrha. It would cause just enough chaos for the newbie, code-named “Agent X”, to run counter offense so they wouldn’t sniff her out right away. From there? Hazel Rainart would drop in via Nevermore, grab Pyrrha, and head for the extraction point. Cake.

Emerald kept her eyes on the horizon, on the Seers. The signal came five minutes later, with twenty Seers breaking away from the Leviathan towards Pyrrha’s improvised squad formations. Emerald sprang into action.

She moved like a ghost along the beach, positioning herself behind an Atlas supply crate. With a finger, Emerald tapped her earpiece again. “Agent X, stand by until my signal...” She focused on Jaune, still bracing himself with the front-line squad, then she triggered Hallucinations, forcing Jaune to hallucinate a barbed Seer suddenly behind Pyrrha—just as the real Seers were cresting the shoreline to their front.

“PYRRHA BEHIND YOU!” Jaune shouted. True to Cinder’s predictions, Emerald watched as Jaune took the bait and broke formation to attack the imaginary barbed Seer.

“That’s your cue, Agent X.” Emerald whispered into her earpiece, her eyes snapping to the tree line she had just emerged from.