*Astral Plane; June 19, 2021; 10:06 AM*

"I'm sorry, I don't follow-"

Dozens of light-tendrils shot from the Titan, spearing the ground around Alex as he narrowly avoided becoming some Dimensional Leviathan's pincushion.

The tendrils of light swept Alex's legs out from underneath, wrapping around his ankles and slamming him onto the 'ground' of the plane again and again.

The Titan flung Alex several dozens of meters in the opposite direction as he hit the ground, face first, into a sort of spiritual ravine.

Alex realized he would have to strategize here.

Looking at the Spirit Titan looming towards him, Alex noticed it's entire structure wasn't concrete, moreso a collection of light threads wrapped and intertwined. Some 'pull' at the right spot should be enough to bring it down, at least temporarily...

"Only problem is, I have no power, and I'm entirely unarmed..."

Alex then realized something.

Those light tendrils were essentially wound up threads. If they could hurt him and damage the ground the way they did, then it's entirely possible to use more of that thread to hurt it back.

Alex ducked lower into the ravine, wanting a slight element of surprise as the Spirit Titan scoured the ground nearby in search for him.

Alex, being far smaller and therefore faster, should be able to take some of it's essence unnoticed, even if he was completely powerless at the time.

Waiting for his most opportune moment, he crawled out from the ravine, keeping his footsteps light as he approached the Spirit Titan's heel.

Alex reached for it's Achilles, seeing if he could grasp it, only to find it just passed right through...

Just in time for the Spirit Titan to raise his foot above him.

Alex stared in awe as the Titan's foot came plummeting towards him, careening at high speed as he narrowly rolled out of the way.

The resulting shockwave sent Alex reeling backwards, landing flat on his back and doing a reverse somersault onto his feet as he struggled to stand.

It's foot was stuck!

Alex charged towards it, careful to avoid more light tendrils before one pierced him directly through his heart.

Memories, flashes of his past came rushing to his head.

The Crystal Empire smoldering around him, Alex gaped in awe as he noticed a fist headed straight for him.

Yang pounded Alex's chest repeatedly as he found himself being punched almost through the crystal walls as he groaned in pain.

Yang then smacked him so hard the skin on his face started to rip off. And that was before she ripped out one of Alex's mechanical arms so he couldn't fight back as well, not that it would have counted.

Alex gasped, staring at his surroundings as that twisted mockery of his ex-wife further advanced towards him.

"How did I end up back here?! Wasn't I-"

Laughing as she continued beating the life out of him, Alex could only watch as his former wife kept bashing his ribs to dust and pried off another one of Alex's mechanical hands.

Yang eventually let up, glaring at him pitifully as he struggled to pull himself upwards.

Alex found himself in the exact same spot yet again... Completely powerless to stop what was coming.

Looks like Yang was about to stab his eye out once more...

Alex looked down, fully prepared to face what was coming for him...

Only to realize the other end of that Light Tendril was still pierced through his heart. Feeling the tip, Alex noticed it was decently sharp, and with a small tug he was able to loosen it.

As Yang raised him up by his neck, unleashing the usual spurge of bad-guy mockery, Alex yanked out the light-spear, taking Yang's hand with it.

"H-How dare you!!!"

Yang swung with all her might, narrowly missing as Alex ducked underneath her punch.

Alex felt the pains of that battle subside as he further broke the illusion, his fatigue fading as he struck Yang's side.

Whatever was in this Light Tendril was quickly sapping Yang's usual combat prowess.

"DO YOU THINK I'LL GO DOWN SO EASY?!"

Yang placed another hard punch at Alex's sternum, yet it only made him stumble backwards as Yang continued to press her attack.

Alex quickly grabbed Yang's other arm, hacking it off with his light-spear, lancing her in the liver, and kicking her to the ground.

Fully prepared to finish the fight, Alex had his weapon raised, poised straight for his enemy's skull, only for his perception to change completely.

The battlefield around him was in chaos. A munitions holding center was up in smoke, a massive trail of scorched earth led from the very spot to the end of the Island they stood upon, and the Inquisition's banner waved everywhere, though ripped up indiscriminately in the chaos.

His blade was pointed right at Yang's skull, as before, but... She looked much younger, much less suspect.. almost innocent by comparison as she held in a horrific wound at her side

Alex looked to his left to find Ruby standing next to him, almost in tears at the scene before her. It was as if it was the last time Ruby would see her sister..

"L-Listen... You two... Vanoss... And Twilight... You... You have to defeat Alpha.. It's the only way.." Yang gasped.

Alex's hand trembled as he found himself being flung across the room once again.

Landing on the hard, marble flooring, he struggled to stand as he found Alpha advancing towards him, his ceremonial blade raised to strike.

Alex narrowly blocked the attack, placing Alpha's sword hand in an arm-bar.

"Alpha's tactics were more based on power attacks. Trying to take me down before I could come close to hurting him." Alex recalled, sweeping the light-spear across his face.

Alpha's helmet fell off, clattering against the floor as he looked up to face Alex...

Only Alpha looked far younger than when he was defeated all those years ago.

Alpha had been in his fifties by the time Alex had fought him, an old man well-versed in battle against a near novice by comparison. But Alpha's face now...

He looked far more like Cade... Scared, lost, just like Alex long ago.

Alex found himself once again flung onto the ground, looking up to find...

Something... He was honestly caught by surprise, uncertain of just what he was looking at.

The being was a twisted, disjointed mish-mash of an average human, a pony, an angel, and whatever horrors lay beyond, but even in the smog and darkness, his attacker was made very apparent.

Osiris.

"You truly are daft if you think you can avenge them." Osiris mocked, raising it's hands towards Alex and blowing him away with a dark energy blast.

In absolute agony, Alex examined the wound, only to find red crystals jutting out of the wound.

"You've failed. Time and time again, you've failed to save them. To save your family. To save yourself."

Another blast sent waves upon waves of agony ripping through Alex's flesh as sanguine crystals formed in his wounds, further searing his flesh.

"But you can't live with it, can you? You can't live with your failures. The disgusting stench of it all either driving you into some forgotten corner of the universe, into the arms of another far more desperate than yourself, or out into the battlefield in the hopes you'll die before you even have to contemplate your resounding downfalls."

Another shot, another caustic shock through Alex's system as he saw his entire life now flashing before his eyes.

"Ever since I've known you, all you've ever wanted to do was to tie off your loose ends, and finally rest. I'll spare you the displeasure of further dealing with your so-called friends... Permanently."

Anger swelled within Alex as he staggered upwards, finally throwing the light spear at Osiris..

Only to light-spear an abnormally shaped embryo in some sort of stasis tank.

Shaken by this vision once again, Alex grabbed the light-spear again, sharply closing his eyes, and raised it into the air.

"MAKE IT STOP!!" He roared, piercing his own chest with the light spear, his vision turning white.

Alex found himself, on his back, returned to the astral world.

"You have passed your First Trial." The Spirit Titan solemnly stated.

"T-Trial, what are you talking about?" Alex demanded.

"Something deep within is preventing your spirit from uniting with this world, and the omniverse as a whole." Artemnas explained, reappearing within the Plane.

"Huh... Didn't think I'd have to delve that deep again.." Alex nodded, somewhat shocked.

"Nevertheless. You have passed the First Trial: The Trial of Understanding. You've faced a reality of your circumstances, and faced a flaw you may yet conquer." The Spirit Titan explained.

"And are there any more trials? I have no idea when I need to get back to the fleet, who knows what could be-" Alex asked.

"Time passes slower within this plane. You will have plenty of time to pass your next two trials." Artemnas answered.

"And what's my second trial?"

"The Trial of Reflection." The Spirit Titan replied.

*Concordian Trenches, June 19, 2021; 10:10 AM*

Adenkorps charged over their trenches advanced towards the fifth wave of enemy troops. Bayonets in hand and with covering fire from the battlements above, lined mostly by volunteers and Team RWBY, who had been wounded, but not so much as to be counted out of the fight.

Fighting had gone on for 9 blood-soaked hours. The beaches had long since turned red, and the horrifying air battles above had not dwindled in their intensity. 1 of Remnant's Airships had been lost, and their fighters had long been diminishing.

Most of Remnant's armed capabilities either on Washington or destroyed in the previous battle on Vytal meant that their fighters were much older models, some of which dating back mere decades after the Great War. The Hussar I models, apparently designed by Alex Walker himself, easily out-maneuvered the aged enemy airfleet, only losing 10 to their 80.

That did not leave the Carolus Dreadnought unscathed, however. The proud vessel was billowing coal-like fumes into the blackening skies above as it's engines kept puttering on, firing it's cannons at ground targets as well as the opposing Airship.

The line of Adenkorps again charged headlong into the enemy line. Bayonets piercing flesh, clubs bashing skulls, and gunfire ripping men asunder. Dozens more Adenkorps stood close to the group, carrying large barrels with them.

And through the haze, leading the charge, was Alex S 1-14

"KEEP PUSHING, MEN! CHARGE!"

The 60 Adenkorps continued their push, felling soldier after soldier as they continued their push towards a rough approximation of a bunker overlooking the beachhead.

Ruby and Yang followed close behind, accompanied by Alex O 9-72 and Alex B 0-12.

"Keep moving! We have to get to that beach-head!" Alex O 9-72 ordered, his sole weapon, Blitzklinge, hacking apart an Atlesian Knight into metallic shreds.

"Bomber! 1 o'Clock! High!" Alex B 0-12 called, sending waves of electricity rippling into the sky, shorting out the bomber as it crashed behind them, detonating whatever payload was inside.

"PALADINS INCOMING!"

Dozens of Atlesian Paladins were dropped from Bullheads along with thousands of Atlesian Knights reinforcing the front.

Ruby and Yang moved alongside Alex S 1-14, raising their weapons.

"You think we can take them?" Ruby grinned, raising Blood Rose at the nearest Paladin as it clamored towards her.

"You bet. You ready?" Yang smirked, looking towards Alex S 1-14

The Kommandant of the Adenkorps merely smirked, looking towards the advancing mecha-horde as he let out a mighty shout, instantly transforming to the bright-blue hued Mythic Warrior.

"Let us begin."

The three charged out into the fray, their Auras alight as they proceeded to singlehandedly wipe out the Paladin forces.

Alex S 1-14 slid underneath a Paladin, letting the targeting systems of the six beside it launch every weapon in their disposal as he appeared to teleport away and brutally disarm each and every one before sending wave after wave of electricity to short out and eventually ignite the other 10.

Yang charged, punching through several Paladins in a single strike before launching destructive fireballs and shotgun blasts at dozens more.

Ruby proceeded to blitz through all of them, hacking and slashing all of them to pieces and blowing them apart with Ray Gun blasts.

With all the Paladins down, they began to make short work of the remaining Atlesian Knights around the bunker, all of them landing atop the concrete hull and charging their final attacks.

"NOW!"

The three of them sent everything they had against the hordes of drones advancing upon them. Bullets, electric blasts, energy waves. Everything.

Alex S 1-14 powered down.

"That... Should be the last of those Knights for now... Adenkorps, set the tankards over the beach, wait until I give the signal!"

The troops began to place the tankards at strategic points along the trench overlooking the beach. Hundreds, even thousands of Remnant's troops continued landing upon the beach, a subtle wind to the southeast blew against Alex S 1-14's face.

"The wind is not yet on our side! Hold this position! Gunners take point, and protect these tankards WITH YOUR LIVES!" Alex S 1-14 continued.

"What's in those barrels..?" Ruby asked.

"Wait... Isn't German-me from World War 1 days?" Alex O 9-72 asked, his voice trailing away in shock.

"Yeah. Why do you ask..." Alex B 0-12 replied, her voice slowing to a quiver.

*Washington, DC; June 21, 2021; 10:08 AM*

Alpha stood upon the bridge of the Nemesis Aerial Dreadnought, followed closely behind by the World Eater and Revenant battleships, along with 20 smaller airships fleeting them.

The Inquisitor glared out at the Adenienite battle-fleet, scowling as he glanced over upon the Aurora and the Ericsson.

"Send a communique to those aboard." Alpha coldly ordered.

"Yes, sir..!" A Red-Star ensign nervously replied as communications opened up.

The faces of the acting commanders of the Aurora and Ericsson, Chūkan and Russell Leone.

"Attention, This is Commander Romulus Walker with an urgent communique for the Auroran Fleet and those aligned with Alexander Walker."

"The hell do you want, Alpha?" Chūkan demanded.

"As much as I utterly despise you and your men, we have more urgent matters regarding our new friend, The Emperor. I'm calling for a temporary, let me stress this, TEMPORARY ceasefire for the time being as we eliminate the threat."

"Like hell we'd ever work alongside the likes of you!" Russell spat.

"My orders to the fleet are to not open fire unless you fire upon them. These are the terms, and I highly recommend taking them." Alpha scowled.

"I will say this once, Commander. We-"

A black portal opened from the back edge of the battlefield. Almost immediately following the portal's emergence came thousands upon thousands of newly-revived Grimm and Furies, along with hordes of undead and beings of pure shadow.

"Steady, men!" A Millenturion ordered his ground forces as the Shock Troops quickly attempted to fortify their positions and lay fire upon the new enemy.

"For Emperor Julius!!" came the resounding battlecry of thousands of Shock Troops.

The Emperor himself stood ready to engage as Cade, Auburn, and Ultimus stood ready to oppose him.

"Holy..." Ultimus shivered.

"Is that-" Cade gasped in shock.

"..Lillith.."

Staggering out from within the portal's bounds came Lillith, looking as monstrous as ever. It's tentacle arm wrapped around a dark scepter as hundreds more abominations charged from the abyss.

"Seems we're all in this together now." Cade scowled.

"As much as I hate to say this, I agree." Alpha murmured angrily.

The two fleets became one as they charged upon the Adenienites and Lillith's army.

"A̷r̶m̵i̴e̶s̶ ̸o̷f̴ ̸D̷a̷r̸k̶n̵e̸s̴s̸ ̴a̴n̸d̶ ̸L̸i̶g̶h̵t̵ ̵s̸h̵a̶l̷l̵ ̶j̵o̵i̸n̴ ̵f̴o̸r̸c̶e̵s̵ ̸a̸s̵ ̷r̸e̶a̵l̷i̸t̴y̵ ̴c̴o̵l̸l̷i̸d̷e̵s̷.̴"