Hi everyone

Welcome back to the memorial story

So, now that we've established greetings

Onto the rest of the notes

So

We've seen the army of ghosts from Atmos

Now we're heading over to Atlas soon with a fleet

But

Here's the big question

How are they getting a fleet of ships from all the way inland to the sea?

Well you'll see

Also

At the start here, we'll be returning to Ruby and Ozpin

Need them in the story if this is going to be a retelling of a tale

Let us begin

"Wow."

Ruby's eyes were wide, her mouth dropped down farther than it had ever been before. Zwei, whom had slept next to her, had begun circling her now, running energetically and joyfully. Ozpin smiled, tilting his head slightly with an amused expression before he began standing.

"Um, where are you going?"

"I have much work to do as you have much learning to do as well," he answered and nudged his head towards the cavern ceiling.

Several beams of sunlight shot down into the cavern, pouring a golden ray on the duo, trio if Zwei were to be counted.

"Oh," the petite crimsonette spoke, shocked at how much time she had spent listening to the story."

As the two moved towards another entrance to the cave, presumably a more discreet exit than the one in Beacon Avenue. The headmaster, student, and pet dog stood together in a compact elevator, letting the lift send them up to the surface.

"So, uh, Ozpin?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"What happened next? How did they get a fleet all the way to the ocean?"

"That, my dear Ruby Rose, is a question for another time. Perhaps later tonight in my office?"

"Really?" she gasped, excited at hearing the rest of the first huntsman's tale.

"Of course, I'll have Glynda fetch you."

"Cool!" she squealed, but blushed a shade of red at seeing his amused face.

Finally, the elevator stopped and doors opened to reveal the Beacon Cliffs. Stepping out, Ruby observed the dilapidated stone bricks of some ruins close up, sewing itself back into its original form. Leading her towards her class, Ozpin held a smile on his face, placing his foot and cane in front of him with every step.

"Hey, Professor Ozpin?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, tilting her head with a confused look. "I mean, you already told me its because I have all this potential and stuff, but why this story exactly?"

"Because," the silver haired huntsman began and turned, his face a solemn one now, "a hero is not measured by his strength, feats, or mind. They are measured by their strength of will, on their loyalty and determination, the perseverance they utilize to finish their quests."

A bitter smile had appeared on her lips, but it as a smile nonetheless.

"Take this into mind, Miss Rose."

Ruby flinched at hearing his change of tone, from the jolly one to the more solemn voice. His eyes showed a certain weariness and a numerous amount of suddenly visible creases showed his seriousness.

"The past is as connected to the future as your scythe is a part of you."

Those words became embedded in her soul, forged into her inner most thoughts as she realized what he exactly meant.

With great effort and large breaths of air, several of the Gold Legion soldiers managed to pull the blockades off the massive metal doors. Monty and Mavis breathed in awe at the sight that revealed itself to them. Large ships hovered, suspended with cords of metal from the ceiling and docked to large stone docks built into the chamber.

"Of course!" Mavis shouted, her face brightening up with a kind of revelation. "The Kingdom of Atmos was known for its air superiority!"

"Meaning?" General King questioned, lighting a smoke pipe and sticking it in his mouth while scratching the sparse amount of beard hair he sported.

She sighed and put a hand over her face, but answered nonetheless, "Atmos was superior in aerial power, thus flying ships!"

The warrior princess pointed at the ships, all docked with enormous, deflated balloons lying on their decks.

"Whoa," both men exclaimed, taken back by the advanced technology the older kingdom had used.

The young woman sighed, walking towards the ship while muttering on about "stupid men" and "why are there not more woman in the army".

Before the general or champion could move with her, however, a soldier ran in. Gasping and heaving for breath, he sat on his knees, hands on his legs as he took in gulps of air at a time.

"Whatcha running for, soldier?"

"Th-the... the valley, sir..." he gasped out and coughed a bit before standing, his legs wobbling slightly. "Grimm, an entire horde, headed this way."

"What!" the dark skinned man thundered, his armored hands clenching. "How!"

"The fighting," Monty spoke and gestured at the men reloading their muskets at the ruins below, "we must've attracted them with the sound of our fighting."

The two looked at each other for a brief moment before the general turned to his men, shouting orders to build up a defense. Mavis ran over, fear in her eyes as she unsheathed one of her swords.

"How are we supposed to take out an entire Grimm horde?"

The dyed blonde quickly looked around, searching for anything to help them win the coming battle. Down below, he could see and hear the soldiers toppling pillars and turning them into barricades, doing the same with buildings and piles of rubble. Makeshift walls were built out of the rubble and whatever stable buildings used as bunkers from which to shoot out of.

"The ships," Monty finally spoke up and looked over at them, eyeing the ancient cannons sticking out of their sides, "can we still use those guns?"

"I don't know, maybe," the princess spoke, scratching her head of scarlet hair, "might have to check if they're clogged with stuff. I don't even know if there's any ammunition lying around."

"Probably is," General King spoke and made an ordering motion with his arm, "come on men! We got some ships to fix up!"

The howls of monsters resounded through the night, battering the lonely mountain with their resonating terror. A mass of black began climbing the rocky faces, claws digging into stone as the Creatures of Grimm hunted the source of the sounds and smells. Deathstalkers and Ursi marched up natural staircases, fighting amongst each other at times as they bunched up. Beowolves, being the more versatile of their kind, climbed the mountain by hand. However, their plan failed as the moment their heads peered over the cliff faces, muskets went off.

Gun smoke filled the air as the soldiers reloaded and the sounds of bodies hitting the ground reached their ears moments later. The many howls, roars, and hisses of other Grimm rang up to the summit ruins in which General King watched. His axe sat on his shoulder as his men stood on either side of each other. He put out the smoke of his pipe and set it back into its bag before lurching his arm, holding his axe for proper combat.

"Come on, boys. Time to slaughter!" he boomed and leapt off the building, landing on his feet as a soft glow of aura encased him. "To battle, sons of Vale!"

"Nuva!" they shouted in unison, locking metal shields together and holding muskets or spears over them. Every soldier continued chanting the war cry, bellowing it out as the first Grimm came into sight.

Once a full line of the monsters appeared, the first row of guns opened fire. Flashes of burning colors filled their eyes as gun smoke reached their nostrils. They quickly reloaded as the second row stepped up, aiming their muskets and firing again to kill the next line of Grimm along with any survivors of the first line. This continued on until the assortment of black and white reached the shield wall, battering into the metal sheets.

The soldiers desperately held the line, holding their natural enemy back as they clawed and snapped at the locked shields. When the first soldier fell under the feet of the monsters, the rest of the wall fell, most of it falling back as guns fired off and blades or blunt heads were swung.

General King chopped and cut, slicing off limbs and heads, making body parts roll as he bore his grit teeth. Black blood splattered over red blood, mixing into the darkest of hues that stank of pure death. It almost seemed as if Death was there, the corporeal form of Death that hovered some measure off the ground with his void black cloak and skeletal features, a scythe in hand. The Grimm were relentless, merciless, full of rage and rage alone. That battered and cut open metal armor, ripping open the soldiers of the Gold Legion.

"Retreat!" King ordered, waving his axe in the air as his men fell back, running for their lives to the second wall.

After the last man had jumped the makeshift wall of rubble, a line of gunman opened fire. Muskets sounded off with bangs and more gun smoke permeated the air. The Grimm fell, heads barely attached to their bodies with the musket rounds embedded in their skulls and upper torso.

Monty raised his head, hearing the gunfire and looked back, watching the entrance with a haunting dread in his gut.

"Monty!"

He snapped his attention back to the princess, her teeth grit and baring.

"We can't save them if the ship isn't moving!" she angrily yelled and cut off another rope with her sword.

He nodded and swung his own sword, a heavier, sturdier one that was far larger in size comparison to her slimmer, streamline one. On the occasion, he would curse as he swung to far and/or hard causing wooden splinters to fly from the posts he had embedded his blade in. Pulling it free, he cut the last rope and the ship lurched, rising higher than it had before. The massive inflatable balloon was at full size, filled with the heated air of a dust crystal, finely cut.

"Okay, how do we steer?" Monty asked and the redheaded Remnant Knight gave him a surprised look.

"I, uh, you don't know?"

"Wh-what? You think I know how to steer a ship?"

"You came in on one!"

"I was a watchman in the raven's nest!"

"Didn't the captain teach you anything?"

"No!"

"Then let's try this!" she yelled and pulled a lever next to the captain's wheel.

It lurched again, this time moving forward and out as rotors at the back began spinning. Air was controlled then, used by the knight and champion to move the ship. Large canvas and wooden wings like those of a fish waved up and down on the great floating ship.

"Whoa!" they both shouted as their balance was lost, sending them stumbling into the railing.

"Look!" Mavis shouted and Monty's eyes turned towards the summit ruins they floated by, the Gold Legion slowly being drowned in darkness. "Arm the cannons... Arm the cannons!"

The dyed blonde went to work immediately, stuffing ammunition into the cannons with whatever gunpowder was needed. The princess and several soldiers followed, filling them up and stuffing them. The fuses sat atop them, yellowed and browned with age, but still flammable.

"Come on, come on!" Monty silently yelled, scraping the fire dust crystal on the stone block, trying to ignite the fuse.

"Get out of the way," Mavis stated and snapped her fingers, a tongue of flame lit in between her thumb and pointer.

Placing the tongue on the fuse, she began running down the line, igniting each one. They waited in anxious silence as the sparks disappeared into the iron cannons, and then they jumped. The resonating booms that followed the gun smoke and blazing flashes shook them to the core. Blurs of grey and black flew through the air before utterly destroying the Grimm horde.

Buildings crumbled and edifices exploded raining rubble and dust everywhere. Fires ignited and burned with a vengeance as they seared flesh, either that of Men or of Grimm. The duo watched from the floating ship as the Gold Legion managed to make a foothold, holding back the black tide of death.

Suddenly, however, the ship lurched again as they rose higher than they should have.

"The controls!" Mavis shouted and a soldier ran to the helm, grabbing the wheel and turning it.

Another ran up and gripped a lever, pushing it forward which caused the balloon above to slightly deflate. He pulled back and stopped the flow of air, holding them at an elevation close to the ground.

"You alright up there!"

They turned to look down at General King who was swinging his axe, embedding the steel blade into the bodies of any Grimm ignorant enough to be near him.

"Yeah, fine!" Monty shouted back, caressing a bruising side as he leaned against a wooden post. "Alright, now what?"

"Well, now we reload the cannons," his princess partner answered, but looked down upon realizing a fact. "The ammunition."

"What?"

"We used all the ammunition!"

"What! How?"

"The cannons, we used all the cannons!" she stated and pointed at the side they had fired from. "We used all the ammunition in the cannons, we're out!"

The dragonslayer stared at her, shock and horror etched on his face as he slowly turned his gaze to the wall of soldiers with their shields and weapons up. The Grimm were rallying, joining around a howling Beowolf, an alpha. They were preparing to storm the Summit Ruins and wash any life away with death.

"Oh no," was all the dyed blonde could muster from his breath and leaned down against the railing, "what do we-"

He bit his tongue, a plan, a desperate plan was forming in his head.

"I need something loud," he exclaimed, jamming his hands into the knapsack he carried.

Tossing around whatever he had in there, he could only find old paintings of his family, of Sheena, little trinkets, some leftover food, and nothing else that could help him.

"How loud?" Mavis asked, her arms crossed as she nervously squirmed on the balls of her feet.

"Louder than the cannons," he claimed and got up, grabbing her shoulders. She stood stunned at the proximity he was at, the suddenness of his face that close to hers. "Something loud enough to wake the dead."

"The dead?" she asked and her eyes widened as the knight realized his plan. "The Atmosian Army of Ghosts."

"Hopefully, they're just sleeping," he said and looked around, "but we still need something loud enough to wake them up."

Together, the champion, the knight, and the soldiers searched the ship, trying to find something, anything that could help them. They opened up cabinets, old barrels, and ancient chests. At one point they discovered the flying ship's inner workings, a set of gears, belts, chains, and old dust crystals being used to power and move the aerial transport.

"Here!" he finally shouted in relief, finding a barrel of gunpowder, but gunpowder alone. "We can rig this in a cannon!"

"That much gunpowder could blow up a cannon," Mavis stated as they rolled it onto the deck.

"Exactly!"

"What?"

"We drop it full of gunpowder while its lit."

"And use it like a bomb!"

The mischievous two began their plan, their smiles dropping to frowns as the sounds of battle recommenced.

"That's it!" one of the soldiers shouted and plugged the cannon with a wad of old cloth.

Hoisting it onto the railing, Mavis quickly moved a tongue of flame near the fuse. Monty drove the ship over the battle, aiming the drop zone over the alpha Beowolf.

"Wait for it," he said and the arms of the soldiers holding the makeshift bomb trembled from the weight, "wait for it." Mavis' hand twitched, the tongue of flame barely centimeters from licking the fuse. "Now!"

She moved her hand forward, then back as the soldiers dropped the gunpowder filled cannon. They watched it disappear into the sea of Grimm, landing with a satisfying squish before an enormous explosion tore through the air. The whole of the ship creaked and groaned from the force, sending them a little ways off from their initial position.

"Come on," Monty murmured as he ran to the side, holding the railing with his hands as the Grimm got back up and the soldiers repaired their wall of shields. "We need your help."

They listened to the sound of stomping feet, furred legs striking the ground with claws scratching stone as the Grimm charged. Beowolves were the fastest of the horde and so were in the front of the mass of black and white color. The Ursi were slower, waddling in the back while giving loud roars from their maws. In between them sat various kinds of other Grimm, the most prominent being Deathstalkers.

"Stand yer ground!" King shouted as he slowly paced back and forth behind the shield wall. "Stand yer ground! Stand! Stand for Vale! And for yer families!"

"Nuva!" his troops roared and let go of their tension, taking their stances and preparing for the final onslaught.

Suddenly, however, a loud, terrifying noise cut through the air like a sword through paper. At first, they had feared that a flock of Nevermore had arrived onto the scene, but they were mistaken. Monty watched with awe as clouds of black smoke like figures descended down, appearing in skeletal, silver armor before the army of men. The army of ghosts charged, diving into the Grimm horde and slaughtering them.

The Gold Legion watched with shock, but quickly acted up on the general's orders.

"What are ye waiting for? Charge!" the dark skinned man bellowed and leaped over a fallen, stone pillar.

With axe in hand, he and his brothers-in-arms followed the deceased Atmosian army into the fray.

"Come on!" Mavis shouted and dove off the ship, erupting in flames and incinerating the Grimm she landed on. "Nuva!"

Her blades were blurs of silver as she swung and slashed, cutting Grimm up with wounds or even dismembering them. From above, Monty Oum watched, a smile on his face as he observed the waning battle.

"Victory is ours," he murmured as the last Grimm fell upon a blade of steel.

"So, can we understand you?" General King questioned as he stood in front of the ghostly form of the Atmosian general, at least, what remained.

The deceased general let out a series of hisses of unintelligible speech before shaking its helm donned head. Monty crossed his arms, putting his weight on one leg while the other lazily sat next to it. Mavis sat atop a stone pedestal, her legs crossed under her as she sat her hands on her knees.

"Can we at least get a name?" Monty questioned and the ghost turned its haunting blue eyes towards him.

"Glenn," it spoke and looked back at its troops.

Letting out another set of hisses, it stepped back and trio nodded.

"You should get some rest now, old boy. Ya defended this place to the last soul," General King suggested and the shadow of a being seemed to nod before evaporating into the trails of black smoke, disappearing forever into the afterlife as did his army. "Glenn... sounds like a nice name."

He turned to look up at the peak of the mountain above before sliding the end of his smoke pipe into his mouth. Letting a puff of the grey smoke out, he nodded his head slowly.

"Mountain Glenn, has a nice ring to it."

"Sure does, now," Mavis began and jumped off her pedestal, landing right on her feet with grace. "We should load the ships up, get them out of here. I don't know about you guys, but one horde was enough for a long while."

She walked backwards with fingers pointed at the duo before she tripped and landed on her back. However, she jumped back up and pretended like she hadn't fallen. The two men laughed at the comical action and followed her to the flying fleet's docks where the remains of the Gold Legion was camped out. The bodies of their fallen lay under the decks of the ships, under tarps and respectfully laid to rest for the moment.

"Wonder how mom will react to this," Mavis questioned as Monty walked up behind her, hands in his pockets as he nodded.

It was a rather unique sight as Queen Mavis Vale stood before her castle. Floating above her kingdom was a fleet of at least a hundred ships, the front most holding her eldest daughter and her champion along with the general of her armies. It as the first to land and she as the first to approach her.

"My, my, you do deliver," the queen spoke as she smiled, amused at seeing the blushing face of Monty Oum.

"Thank you, malady," he said and bowed respectfully as did the others around him.

"Rise, heroes."

She motioned her hand up and they all obliged as she moved her head to her daughter.

"Mavis, your siblings are anxious to hear about the outer lands. I'd sate their desire for knowledge before they hunt you down," she suggested and the redheaded princess immediately ran off, disappearing into the castle.

Turning her head to the general, she bowed her head before she spoke, "General King, yet another victory. I do hope more troops lived through this ordeal than the last expedition?"

The dark skinned general shook his head, a frown on his face as he puffed another ring of smoke from his mouth.

"I'll need to borrow some of your messengers. Got a lot of letters to write," he bitterly said and walked into the castle with his axe on his shoulder.

Finally turning towards the dyed blonde, her smile seemingly dropped. He noticed and took a cautious step forward, his tense arms at his side.

"Is something wrong, Queen Mavis?"

"No, no," she lied and looked up at the fleet that moved to find a place to land, "I just... these are troubling times, young master Oum. The people are anxious as ever to return to their homelands and it falls upon me to help them do so."

"I'm sure that you will succeed, malady-"

"Monty," she spoke and he was taken back by her informality, "you are a friend of the royal family. You may call me Mavis if you so may choose." She pursed her lips as she paused and then shook her head, chuckling as she did. "Actually, that may confuse my daughter and I together, perhaps it would be best if my title remained with me."

Monty let a shy smile show and she smiled brightly back before aiming her eyes to the distance, far towards the docks beyond.

"Master Oum," she began and pulled up a small scroll she had been clutching tightly in her hand, "I am truly sorry, but I have yet another quest for you."

"Another?" he asked, confused as one of his eye brows rose.

"Yes," she began and looked towards the ship he had come from, "my advisers and those who are higher than my advisers all agree that if we were to replicate the air superiority that the old Kingdom of Atmos held, and then apply it to our own modern fleet, then we could easily cross the open seas and retake our home."

The dragonslayer pondered on that, contemplating on that plan and slowly he began nodding.

"This is an issue for the dock workers to begin working on one of the grandest ships in the harbor," she explained and he took the scroll, "it is known as the Ark, rumored to have cleaved its way through the seas with the remnants of Atlas aboard it. If we are to create our own flying ships, the Ark would make a find flagship."

Monty smiled and nodded before turning to head towards the docks.

"The quest need not be complete by tonight, however," the queen called and he stopped, looking over at her. "You deserve some days of rest with family, friends... and perhaps a love."

A blush crept onto his cheeks and he quickly left to meet with his brothers, sisters, and father again. He smiled at the memory of his family, then of those he had befriended, and then he blushed at the thought of Sheena.

There it is

The end of chapter 5

So, thanks all of you for reading

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Sincerely,
Lord Revan Flame