WaterDragonMaverick here with the newest chapter of "Sideline: Another Story". When we last left off, Fragment Hunter managed to defeat most of the cult, including the three leaders. Now with them beaten, they have a new enemy in the form of a Grimm called a "Gargoyle". With this massive bat-like monster on the move, how will our heroes be able to defeat it? Find out in this chapter, "For Whom The Bell Tolls".
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum (R.I.P)
I only own my Original Characters.
The members of Fragment Hunter and the conscious members of Fandango's cult were shocked to see the Grimm that began flying toward Notremodo. The giant bat-like Creature of Grimm screeched loudly for all to hear as it made its way toward them. "That Gargoyle is going to destroy the town," Azalea said as she, Rua, and Terracotta saw the monster. "We have to do something!"
"First, we have to make sure we have some backup. We can't take on that thing alone," Terracotta instructed.
"Not to mention it looks like it's heading for the church," Rua noted.
"Pierre," Azalea said as her thoughts returned to the hunchbacked Bat Faunus.
"Guys, can you hear me," Sunset telepathically asked.
"Yeah, we hear you loud and clear," Azalea responded.
"That Gargoyle looks like it'll be a problem. We need to get together and deal with it. Who can still fight after everything," Sunset stated before asking for a headcount.
"We've just been dealing with those hooded creeps," Silver said as he stood by Lapis and Vixen with their weapons drawn. "But there's still too many Grimm around here for us to help."
"Layla's helping me and Percival out against the rest of the Grimm," Rebecca responded.
"We're a little busy at the moment, too," Vinyl stated as she and Gin kept fighting enemies.
"Same here. Besides, I need to make sure Pinkie's safe," replied Slate.
As everyone reported in, Sunset made note of who could fight and thought of a plan to battle the Gargoyle. "Okay. Whoever can make it to the church, get there immediately. I'll explain more there," she told them.
"On it," Rua said as she teleported herself, Azalea and Terracotta to their destination.
The townspeople of Notremodo were scared of what was happening and their fears grew when they heard the Gargoyle's screeching. Bianca, Ivy, and the members of the church tried to keep everyone calm as they took shelter in the cathedral. Soon, a flash of light filled the room to show Rua teleporting Azalea and Terracotta inside. As she did, her Aura was depleted and she needed to rest after the damage she took from Dracule's Semblance. "Is everyone okay," Terracotta asked as he scanned the room.
"Everyone that was at the festival is here now," a priest said. "But that giant Grimm..."
"My friends can handle it," Rua told everyone. "We just need them to show up."
Suddenly, Smoke Shadow phased through the doors of the church with Sunset and Celadon. "Sorry that I'm late. Just had to help these lovely ladies," he joked.
Sunset began to think over her plan more as she looked at all the available fighters. While she did, Azalea looked up at the ceiling of the church and was worried about Pierre. Celadon saw Azalea's concern and looked at her feet as her thoughts returned to everything that happened before the cult and Grimm attacked. "If we're going to beat that thing, we need to make the first move," Sunset said and caught the attention of the fighters. "Follow me," she told them before going up the stairs toward Pierre's room in the bell tower. Smoke, Azalea, and Celadon all went up with Sunset while Terracotta stayed behind to defend the church doors from any Grimm.
As the four made their way up to Pierre's room, they noted that he wasn't there before moving to the balcony. Standing outside with the statues, they watched the Gargoyle fly toward them and let out another screech. "Now what," Azalea asked as she watched the gargantuan bat monster get closer.
"I managed to recover my Aura, so let's get a little help from Weiss," Sunset said as she waved her hand and several glyphs materialized in front of everyone, making a series of platforms toward the Grimm. "Come on!" Following Sunset's lead, the four began to jump from glyph to glyph as they approached the Gargoyle. When they got close to the Grimm, Smoke Shadow was the first one to act as he used his cane's grappling hook function to catch onto the monster and swing onto its back. As he did, he pulled out his Phantom Magnum and began to fire at the Gargoyle's back. The powerful Dust shots were able to distract the Grimm from its intended path, but weren't enough to make it fall to the ground. As the Gargoyle flew over the town in an attempt to shake Smoke off its back, the girls made their own moves against the Grimm. Celadon used her spear's whip form to stab into the beast's side before pulling herself onto its back, Azalea jumped onto the Gargoyle and stomped down on the monster's shoulder where its wing began, and Sunset used the Fire Dust in her jacket to burn away at the Gargoyle's face.
The combined effort from the four was able to force the Gargoyle down to the ground, but the Creature of Grimm was able to shake the four off just before it crashed down to the courtyard in front of the church. When the Huntresses-in-training and thief landed on their feet, the Gargoyle stood up and screeched loudly at the fighters. The monster immediately began to swipe at them with its claws and bladed whip-like tail. Sunset and Smoke dodged the claws while Azalea avoided the bladed tip before grabbing at the monster's tail. With a firm grip, she began to hold down the Grimm before the others tried to slash at it with their weapons. Unfortunately, the natural armor on the Gargoyle was too strong and they barely did any damage to its torso. Azalea grunted as she tried to keep the tail steady, but the Gargoyle flailed its tail around before smashing the Cow Faunus against the floor. "Argh! Take a shot, now," Azalea called out as she bounced off the snowy ground and attempted to recover.
Hearing Azalea, the others prepared their projectile attacks with Celadon's Semblance, Sunset's sniper sword, and Smoke's Phantom Magnum. Blasting at the Grimm's body, they were able to push it back away from the church a little, but weren't able to do too much damage. "This thing's probably as tough as Kun," Smoke remarked as he watched the Gargoyle flap its wings to blow back the smoke made from the Phantom Magnum shots. "Maybe if I try a new setting," he said to himself while turning the dial on the weapon he carried. After putting in a new combination and pulling the trigger, Smoke fired blasts of wind and electricity at the Gargoyle to try damaging it. The powerful shocks caused it to cry out in pain, but the monster only retaliated by using its tail to strike at Smoke. Using his Phantasm Semblance to avoid being hit by the Grimm's bladed whip-like tail, he then jumped and aimed his gun at the monster's face. Before he could pull the trigger, the Gargoyle screeched loudly and Smoke shouted in pain as he covered his ears, dropping the Phantom Magnum as he did. While he was distracted by the noise, the Gargoyle grabbed the Raccoon Faunus with its claws and slammed him into the snow before slamming its tail into him. Smoke grunted in pain as he was knocked back into the church walls, prompting some of the civilians to look out and see what was happening.
When the girls saw Smoke get knocked out, they began to fight back against the Gargoyle. "Cover me! I have something that can help out," Sunset said as she started to create another glyph to summon a Grimm. Celadon and Azalea immediately began to attack the Gargoyle just as it began to approach the church and all the panicking bystanders watching the fight. Jumping onto the Grimm's back and grabbing its wings, the girls made it back away from the cathedral as it tried to shake them off. Slamming her baton into the Grimm's face as she held onto the wing, Azalea was able to goad the Gargoyle into attacking her and Celadon. Throwing them off of its body, the Gargoyle was about to attack when a large white and blue fist punched it in the chest. Seeing what happened, Azalea and Celadon were shocked to see that Sunset had used Weiss' Semblance to summon a Beringel to battle alongside them. "Just figured it out earlier," Sunset remarked.
"Whoa," Azalea said as she watched the Beringel beat its chest before continuing to attack the much larger Gargoyle. The gorilla-like construct began to attack the bat monster by punching and grappling it, even grabbing the Gargoyle's tail and slamming the monster against the ground. The sounds of the fight caught the attention of Vixen and Lapis, who were already heading toward the church while Silver fought off the cultists. As the two Grimm fought, the Gargoyle caught the summoned Beringel's fists with its claws and soon bit down on the ape's head, decapitating it. Seeing the damage the Beringel caused to the Gargoyle, everyone was ready to finish the job before they watched the Grimm grab some of the destroyed stone from the pavement and starting to bite into the chunks of rock. "Is it eating rocks," Azalea questioned as she and the others watched the sight.
"I've heard that Gargoyles can actually heal their wounds and repair their natural armor by eating rocks and stone," Lapis remarked. "It would be interesting to actually see for myself," Lapis added with an annoyed tone as she held her hand in front of her face, seeing nothing but a blurry appendage in front of her and the black smudge she was facing.
Everyone watched the Gargoyle's damaged armor suddenly repair itself and the injuries it took from the earlier attacks healed as it ate. As it returned to full health, the Gargoyle screeched loudly and everyone recoiled from the sound. After crying out, the Gargoyle began to attack the Huntresses-in-training by swinging its tail. The girls all managed to dodge the tail, then counterattacked by using what Dust they had while Celadon opted to use her Semblance. With the elemental attacks and gemstones striking the Grimm, the girls were able to make it back away from the church before it flapped its wings and took flight again. As it was in the air, the Gargoyle charged toward the five girls and they had to jump out of the way. As they did, the Grimm grabbed at Azalea and Celadon in its claws as they tried to avoid the flying tackle. Celadon tried to get her arms free from the monster's grip, but Azalea had one hand free and was about to strike at the Grimm with Gladion before it slammed her into the ground. As she cried out in pain from the attack, the Grimm followed up with a swing of its tail that sent Azalea crashing through the doors of the church and broke them open. Moaning in pain as she tried to get up, Ivy immediately went to her daughter's side and began to use her Semblance to heal any wounds she sustained.
"Azalea," Celadon cried out as she and the others saw Azalea get hurt. They knew she was tough enough to take those hits from the Gargoyle, but they weren't sure if she could still move until Ivy was finished healing her. Before they could worry about Azalea more, the Gargoyle tightened its grip on Celadon and began to fly up to the church's bell tower. Celadon's thoughts returned to her fight with Azalea earlier and she regretted everything that she said to the girl and Pierre. "I wish I could take everything back. This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, Azalea," Celadon thought to herself as she began to cry. Opening her eyes and letting tears fall down her cheeks, she saw something move past the church's windows and soon heard something above her and the Gargoyle. "What?"
"GET OUT OF THIS SANCTUARY," yelled somebody as they fell from the bell tower balcony. Celadon watched as a cloak fell off of their body and she immediately recognized the newcomer as Pierre Laiton. With a large hammer in his hands, he swung the weapon into the Gargoyle's face and broke off one of the Grimm's red horns from its mask, causing the monster to let go of Celadon as it cried out in pain. Pierre immediately grabbed Celadon in one arm, then activated his hammer's secondary form. With the handle of his weapon turning into a cable, he threw the head of the hammer toward the Grimm's tail and a set of claws extended out of the weapon in order to grab onto the monster. As he caught the Gargoyle's tail, Pierre got above the bat-like creature using his athletic skills and wings before he used his Semblance to turn to stone. Celadon watched as his heavier body fell through the Gargoyle's red leathery wing and ripped a large hole through it, making it cry out in pain. Changing back and reforming his hammer, Pierre threw the grappling hook again and used the church's walls to safely get himself and Celadon to the ground just as the Grimm landed painfully. "YOU WILL NOT DESTROY MY HOME," Pierre shouted to the Grimm as he let Celadon down and had his hammer ready again.
Years ago...
A young Cereza Fujita giggled to herself as she searched around the bell tower of Notremodo's church. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," she said as she kept looking for somebody. "You two can't hide forever." As she made her way over to a bed in the bell tower, she saw something blending in with the blanket and moved it slightly, causing a small kitten to mew as it was discovered. "There you are, Chesire," Cereza said as she gently picked up the kitten and held it in her arms. "Now, where's Pierre?"
As Cereza searched the tower, Pierre silently laughed to himself as he carefully climbed down from the rafters of the tower and headed for the balcony. A bird flew away as he approached, alerting Cereza and her kitten. They turned around to see what scared it off, but Pierre quickly hid by ducking underneath a tarp that covered recently carved statues. Standing still and pretending to be one of the sculptures, Pierre easily blended in and didn't arouse Cereza's suspicions. As she walked away from the balcony, Pierre sighed with relief before the cover was pulled off and Cereza found him. "I thought I had a great hiding spot," the young hunchbacked Faunus said.
"Chesire found you," Cereza told him, looking down at the kitten that began to rub against Pierre and purr. "Let's play again! This time, I'll hide and you try to find me."
"Perhaps another time, my child," voiced an older man as the two children saw somebody walking up the stairs and recognized him as Lucifer Fujita. "It's time for Pierre's lessons. Why don't you go down and have lunch with Sister Zora?"
"Okay, Daddy," Cereza said with a smile. "Bye-bye, Pierre. See you later. Come on, Chesire." Cereza picked up the kitten and headed down the stairs as she hummed a song to herself.
After Cereza left the tower, Lucifer put down a set of books as he started to teach Pierre. "Now then, we last left off at the origins of the Vytal Festival," Lucifer said as he opened up a history book. As he was about to say more, Lucifer saw Pierre looking at the scale model of Notremodo that the child had started working on a few days ago. "Is there something wrong, Pierre," Lucifer asked.
"Do you ever think I'll ever be able to leave the church? You've explored Remnant as a Huntsman, but I'm stuck here because of my face," Pierre said and put a hand over his wart-covered eye and flapped his wings briefly. "I just want to help people like you and everyone in the church does. But who would want to be saved by something everyone would see as a monster?"
Lucifer listened to Pierre's concerns about his appearance and what he wanted to do in his life. Placing a comforting hand on the boy's back, the Huntsman spoke to him. "There are plenty of people with their own concerns in Remnant, but it's a diverse place. You'll find people who are willing to look past your appearance and see the kind heart you have, Pierre," Lucifer stated. "You'll be able to give people sanctuary when they need it. You just need to take the first step to show your true self to everyone. You'll find the right moment for it." Pierre listened to Lucifer and nodded as he heard what he said. "Now then, the origins of the Vytal Festival," Lucifer reminded as he opened the history book again.
Everyone watched in awe as they saw Pierre Laiton wielding his hammer, Sonnerie, and defend the church from the Gargoyle. The monster's broken horn soon fell to the ground and shattered to pieces as Pierre glared at the Grimm. Rushing toward the demonic creature with an enraged shout, he swung his hammer into its chest and was able to push it a good distance back with one strike. The Gargoyle screeched as it began to retaliate by swinging its tail once again, but Pierre slammed his hammer onto the bladed appendage and left it open for an attack. "Cut it off, now," Pierre exclaimed to the others.
"You heard him," Sunset said as she prepared her sword and Azalea pulled out one of Penny Polendina's swords from the Atlesian girl's weapon set, Floating Array. The two ran toward the Gargoyle and slashed the monster's tail to pieces. As soon as the Creature of Grimm's tail was severed, Pierre slammed his hammer into the monster's leg to knock it down. The Gargoyle screeched in pain and anger before it faced the fighters and sparks of fire began to come out of its mouth as it breathed heavily. "Oh no, get back," Sunset shouted as she jumped out of the way. Just as she gave the warning, the Gargoyle unleashed a torrent of flames from its mouth and began to attack the others.
Azalea was quick enough to use one of her Gladion batons with her Semblance to avoid damage from the flames. "Behind me," Pierre said as he got in front of Lapis, Vixen, and Celadon. Using his own Semblance to turn to stone, the flames were deflected from his rocky form boosted by his Aura's defenses. When the Gargoyle stopped breathing fire and started to eat at more stone on the ground to heal itself, the fighters tried to figure out a plan to defeat the Grimm. "How should we take this thing out," Pierre asked.
"It'll heal its injuries by eating stone, so we can't let it get close to the church for several reasons," Lapis stated.
"What if we let it," Vixen remarked with a mischievous look in her eyes.
"What are you talking about, Vixen!? We are not letting that monster anywhere near Pierre's home," Celadon exclaimed, surprising the others because of her previous interactions with the hunchback.
"No, I think I get it," Sunset said as she joined the group with Azalea.
As the girls began to go over the plan Vixen had, Celadon turned to Pierre and nervously played with her hair. "I'm... sorry for everything before. And I... Thank you for saving me," she told Pierre.
"Y-you're welcome," Pierre said before everyone heard the screeching of the Gargoyle, seeing that its wings and tail have been healed by eating what stone it could. "We'll talk later," the Bat Faunus stated as he prepared Sonnerie again.
"We've got a plan, so let's deal with this Gargoyle once and for all," Sunset told the group.
"Right," Pierre and the girls exclaimed as they split up from each other and surrounded the Gargoyle. The monster's breath began to release sparks again before it swung its tail around. With a swift motion, the Grimm tried to strike and burn the Huntresses and Pierre all at once, but missed as they dodged both attacks. After avoiding the flames, Lapis managed to get close enough to the Gargoyle's tail and used the Ice Dust in her trident, Typhoon. With ice forming on the Grimm's tail, it could barely move and was left open to attacks from Celadon and Sunset. As the girls of Team SAFR slashed at the Gargoyle, Azalea went in for an attack with her batons. The Gargoyle screeched as it pulled its tail free, grabbed Azalea in its claws, and swung its whip-like appendage around to hit the girls. It was about to use its fire breath on Azalea, but the Cow Faunus only grinned as she used her Semblance to unleash a brilliant light that blinded the monster.
Releasing Azalea from its grip, Pierre went in to get her away from the monster while Lapis made her next move. Using her Semblance to unleash a sonic scream at the bat-like Gargoyle, it recoiled in pain as its senses were assaulted more. Unfortunately for her, it smacked her aside with its tail when it flailed around. Soon, the Gargoyle's sight began to return and it took to the air in order to attack the church. Pierre immediately used Sonnerie to grab onto the Gargoyle's tail and was taken with the monster. "You won't hurt anybody in the church," Pierre shouted to the Grimm just as it began to divebomb the tower it aimed at. But instead of crashing into stone and damaging the building, the Gargoyle harmlessly passed through an image created by Vixen's illusionary Semblance. As the Grimm was confused by what happened, Pierre began to retract his hammer's grappling hook to get closer while Azalea took to the skies with the Dust in her weapons and armor.
"You heard the bell ringer," Azalea shouted as she attacked the Gargoyle. Kicking at the monster's wing, she managed to break its limb while Celadon unleashed a barrage of gemstone projectiles from below, putting holes in the monster's leathery wings. As soon as it began to fall, Sunset and Vixen unleashed wave after wave of Fire Dust attacks to burn at the damaged wings of the Grimm. "PIERRE! FINISH THIS," Azalea called out.
Pierre immediately sprang into action and got above the Gargoyle. Spinning around and around in the air to gain momentum, the Bat Faunus tightened his grip on Sonnerie and slammed the hammer's head into the Grimm's masked face. The impact of the swing was able to break off the second horn and crack most of the monster's mask-like face. After dealing that critical hit to the Gargoyle, Pierre flapped his wings to push himself toward the monster, used his hammer's grappling hook form to latch the monster's jaws shut, then pulled himself toward the demonic beast. "THIS IS MY SANCTUARY," Pierre shouted as he turned to stone and finished off the Creature of Grimm with a powerful punch to the face and let gravity bring him and the monster down with a resounding stomp echoing through the village along with the Gargoyle's death cry. One final fading screech was all that came from the Gargoyle as Pierre stood on the Grimm's neck and it began to evaporate in front of the church for all to see. Pierre panted as he stood in the small crater created from the final attack against the Grimm. "I will protect my home and all who live in it," Pierre said as he put away his weapon and turned to face the members of Fragment Hunter.
Soon, the townsfolk that watched everything from the church began to exit and circle around the crater that Pierre stood in. Everyone muttered to themselves as they saw that the hunchbacked Bat Faunus most of them believed to be a monster saved them all from a giant Grimm. As the bystanders kept talking, a young girl made her way into the crater and approached Pierre. The Bat Faunus was hesitant to do anything and stayed still, but the little girl hugged the man that protected the church and everyone inside. Pierre was surprised by the embrace, but hugged the little girl back and carried her out of the crater. Returning the girl to her mother, everyone began to cheer for Pierre's victory just as the rest of Fragment Hunter arrived with all the cultists bound together. "What did we miss," Ventus joked as he looked at the crowd.
During the next few days after the Snow Spirit Festival, Huntsmen from Vale managed to reach Notremodo and took the cultists into custody. With everything settled down after the attack, the village was repairing all the damage done during the massive battle. Luckily, Fragment Hunter was able to help out with Layla's Semblance easily placing materials where they needed to go. "I swear, Professor Goodwitch needs a raise with everything she does. She can basically rewind damage back to before it happened with a flick of her wrist," Layla mentioned. "While I'm getting tired after all of this," she added as she finished repairing the craters in front of the church.
"We appreciate your help very much," one of the nuns said as Layla turned and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. "It would have taken everyone much longer to finish these repairs if it wasn't for you and your friends."
"We're happy to help, Sister," Ventus said as he handed Layla a drink.
Soon, the rest of Fragment Hunter gathered at the church with Smoke Shadow and his gang following behind them. "Well, the boat should be here soon. Everyone has their stuff from the airship, right," asked Terracotta. Everyone replied that they did and the Bull Faunus turned his attention to the mayor as he approached everyone. "Thank you for letting us stay in town, sir."
"Oh, think nothing of it. If you didn't help during the Snow Spirit Festival, things would have been pretty bad for Notremodo," the mayor said.
"If you really want to thank somebody, thank Pierre. He's the one that took out that Gargoyle," Azalea said.
"Where is he, anyway," Pinkie questioned. Before anybody could answer, Slate pointed to the Bat Faunus playing with some of the local children just outside of the church.
Smoke chuckled as he saw the man smiling in happiness as the townspeople interacted with him. "Looks like he was worried over nothing after what happened," the Raccoon Faunus remarked.
As the children said goodbye to Pierre, Celadon went over to speak to him for herself. "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for saving me... again. I didn't think you'd want anything to do with me after everything," she told him.
"I was told I had to be a hero, not a monster. A monster wouldn't have saved anybody," Pierre said.
"Yeah, I realize that now," Celadon replied. "I'm so sorry for how I acted. I was acting just like these jerks that Azalea had to deal with growing up. Judging innocent Faunus because of their looks and treating them like they weren't people at all. I'm not like them, but was just as bad."
"Celadon, I'm sorry too," Azalea said as she and Percival joined the two. "I'm sorry for what I said and what I did, but I had to make my point. At least now, you've learned your lesson on not judging a book by its cover."
"A lesson I was told that I should have learned since Beacon," Celadon whispered to herself as she remembered her first thoughts on Terracotta Gaia.
"Well, we're all friends now, right," Percival said as he put his arms around Pierre and Celadon's shoulders, pulling them into a group hug. With Percival's friendly attitude being particularly infectious at the moment, the four laughed a bit before they separated. "We have to get going soon, but I know we'll all come back whenever possible," Percival said as he held out his hand to Pierre. The Bat Faunus nodded before they did Percival's secret handshake.
Waving goodbye to Pierre before he went back into the church to help with something the deacon asked for, the members of Fragment Hunter then turned their attention to Smoke Shadow's gang. "So, what are you going to do now," Azalea asked the Raccoon Faunus.
"We still have that airship that we 'borrowed', but it needs to get repaired enough for us to fly back to Vale," Smoke said.
"How you managed to hide it from those Huntsmen picking up the cult is the biggest question I have," Celadon remarked.
"We have our tricks," Smoke told her with a sly grin on his face. "I regret that we must part ways, but we'll see each other again some time."
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to another match," Kun Agate said as he looked at Azalea.
"You'll get it when we actually have to fight them," Oliver Electrum told the larger man.
"When we do see each other, I'm looking forward to it," Veronica Moonstone told the group.
"At least we can check out more of Notremodo for ourselves, boys," Smoke said as he smiled at his childhood friends.
"Yeah! Let's get something to eat," Kun exclaimed as he headed off for the newly repaired bakery with Oliver following after him.
Smoke chuckled to himself as his friend was always thinking about food when he wasn't occupied with anything. "We might see you guys back where we used to live," Smoke told the members of Fragment Hunter. "We enjoy returning to Mistral from time to time, so it's possible we'll see you if you're going that way."
"Who knows," Sunset remarked with a smirk on her face. "We'll have to deal with some other stuff first," she added as she turned her attention to Lapis. "Just don't get caught by anybody but us," she told the thief.
"Wouldn't dream of it, Sunshine," Smoke replied with a charming smirk of his own, then left with Veronica to follow Kun and Oliver.
"Bye," Veronica said with a flirtatious smile and a wave of her hand before the four thieves were out of sight.
"They were quite helpful to us since the Vytal Festival," Ivy remarked.
"There wasn't really anything for them to get in trouble for by doing that anyway," Sunset said before checking her pocket to see that her pet gecko was fast asleep. "Come on, let's get going."
As the members of Fragment Hunter and their traveling companions made sure they had their supplies, Pierre and Lucifer exited the church. "If you're heading off, we can at least show you to the harbor," Lucifer told them. "We deserve a proper goodbye after everything."
"Thank you, Father," Cereza told Lucifer before everyone made their way down the river's path until they reached Notremodo's harbor. Seeing a ship docked and letting passengers on, Cereza turned to her father and childhood friend. "It was nice seeing you again, Father. You too, Pierre."
"Yeah, I'm glad that I met all of your friends," Pierre said. "Without them, I wouldn't even be standing out here."
"You're always welcome in Notremodo again when you stop by," Lucifer told Fragment Hunter.
"It would be nice to spend some time here without any fights breaking out," Layla remarked.
"Okay, let's get on the ship now. It won't wait forever," Terracotta said and got everyone's attention before taking a headcount. "Team SLVR, Team FCSA, Team SAFR, Percival Ivory, Pinkamena Momo Quartz, Gin Aurum, Dante, Diana, Drei, the love of my life, and Birdbrain."
"Hey," Ventus exclaimed in annoyance while Terracotta and Ivy laughed at the Falcon Faunus' reaction to the nickname. "Don't call me that, Meathead!"
"You do realize that I've gotten better grades than you in school, right," Terracotta remarked.
"Then why did you take 5 years to graduate when I only needed four," Ventus countered.
"Blame Orchid. She's the one that decided to be sneaky and get my team held back a year to enter the Vytal Festival again," Terracotta stated.
Upon hearing his mother's name again, Percival remembered what Terracotta said about the Gecko Faunus' last known whereabouts. "Maybe we'll be able to find her in Anima," he said.
"Possibly. For now, our main priority is Lapis," Ivy replied. "Come along, everyone. We should keep the captain waiting," she told the members of Fragment Hunter and was the first to board the ship. "Good day, Captain," she said to the man that was greeting other passengers.
"Hello, Ma'am," he greeted with a tip of his hat. "A pleasure to see you again."
"Is the ship going to be approaching any harbors associated with the Stonehaven Foundation," Ivy politely asked.
"We're actually planning to stop by the closet one in Anima in order to pick up some more supplies," the captain answered. "The ship's defenses need more ammunition, but I'm sure that with what I heard earlier, your group will be a big help in case of any trouble."
"It wouldn't be the first time we helped protect a boat from any aquatic Grimm," Azalea mentioned to Percival.
Soon, the passengers boarded the ship and it began to head out of the harbor. As the vessel began moving, the members of Fragment Hunter bid farewell to the village of Notremodo and their newest friend, Pierre Laiton. "So long! Best wishes on your travels," Pierre called out as the ship departed.
"May your journey be blessed with good graces," Lucifer said as he waved goodbye to his daughter and her friends.
The passengers waved back to everyone on the dock before they were out of sight. As they made their way across the water, Slate began to feel sick and leaned over the side of the boat. "Not again," he moaned while Azalea rubbed his back for him to give her boyfriend comfort.
"Let's get to our cabins," Azalea said as she had Slate lean against her for support.
"Yeah, we're another step closer to getting help for Lapis," Sunset added as she looked out across the water. "Anima and Mirabelle aren't far now."
A while after Fragment Hunter left, the village of Notremodo returned to its peaceful days and the locals were going about their normal business. Some children were playing around the village entrance when they heard something unusual for them. A motorcycle began to approach the town, slowing down as it entered the village. The townspeople saw the blue-colored vehicle was bulkier than similar models, meaning it was likely customized by the rider. Soon, the mayor of the village stepped forward to speak with the rider. "May I help you," he asked as the person stayed on their bike.
The rider took a Scroll out from their pocket and showed the mayor a picture. "Have you seen this girl around recently," they asked, showing they were a female from their voice despite their helmet hiding their face.
The mayor looked at the picture and saw that the mysterious woman was searching for Lapis Ondine of Fragment Hunter. "She was in town for a festival recently, but she left town with several others," the mayor answered. "They went toward Anima on a boat. They said they were heading toward a harbor associated with the Stonehaven Foundation."
"There's only one that's close to this village, then," the rider said to herself.
"You can stay in town and wait for another ship to take you. The harbor is just down the river. We have an inn for people to stay in around there or you can stay at the church," the mayor offered.
"No. I need to find this girl now," the woman stated. Revving her motorcycle's engine, she startled everyone around her into backing away before she sped toward the water. As everyone was shouting for her to stop, they watched as she raced into the river and her bike began to transform. The bulkier parts of the machine and the wheels began to reposition themselves, changing the motorcycle into a watercraft that splashed down into the water. "Thanks for the information. I can find my way toward the harbor I need. Goodbye," she said to the mayor before speeding off. "I'm coming for you, Lapis. Nothing is going to stop me," she said to herself before she raced down the river and out of Notremodo.
Alright! I finally finished up the Notremodo arc of Sideline! Now I can focus on some other stuff, like my RWBY Rangers fic. I haven't updated that in a while, but I have plenty of notes for the next chapter of it. If anybody reads that story of mine, you'll enjoy what I have in store.
Now for the fight scene of the chapter. The Gargoyle Grimm is something me and a friend came up with together using the Wargoyle from Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance as inspiration. I thought that it would have been a perfect enemy for the story arc. For the fight with it, listen to "Majestic Wings" from Dream Drop Distance after Pierre makes his appearance in the fight. I enjoyed having Pierre fight against that monster because it showed that despite his looks, he has the heart of a hero. It also gave Celadon some character development that she needed after the start of this story arc.
Now with Fragment Hunter leaving Notremodo, Team SMKE has stayed behind for their own reasons and so that I can limit some more characters I have to work with. They'll be back in the future because they're some of my favorites. Until they do, we have this new arrival appearing. For those wondering what sort of motorcycle she had, it's a modified version of Yang Xiao Long's Bumblebee. I plan on explaining more about it when she shows up again in the next chapter.
Who is this mysterious rider? What does she want with Lapis? How will our heroes do against her? What awaits Fragment Hunter at sea? Find all the answers to these questions next time on "Sideline: Another Story."
Until then, WaterDragonMaverick signing out.