Chapter 20
The noise of rustling fabric was heard as Team MARS prepared for the day ahead. Jameson had granted them the use of a spare house for the evening and the lack of furniture meant that the team had to unfurl their bedrolls.
Mauve, being the only female member of the group, once again took the first opportunity to get changed. While the house had a functioning water system, it had been agreed that showers would only be taken if necessary in the interest of saving time.
The day prior had been defined by physical labor and a minor skirmish. Mauve stayed to deal with the team's accomodations for the night and to receive vital intelligence on the targets. Asher, Rust, and Sage had parted ways with her to investigate the Western wall. Rust had been a great help during the construction efforts, his massive physique and construction knowledge had resulted in a far more efficient operation.
There had been a minor incident later in the evening when a small pack of beowulves charged from the forest. Sage and Asher had been standing guard and were quick to notice the disturbance. Sage reacted by deploying his shield and retreating to protect the workers, Asher held his ground and dropped the pack from a distance with his rifle. The attack couldn't have been coincidental or random… a large section of the wall had been left vulnerable and in need of replacement timbers, the Grimm had clearly capitalized on the opportunity.
Once the team had all taken the opportunity to dress in the privacy of the bathroom they took a seat on the floor to prepare breakfast. Because villages weren't always prosperous, student teams were issued MRE's as rations. They were repulsive and tasted nothing like the meals they were meant to emulate… but food was food…
"So, Mauve…" Rust mumbled as he chewed. "Did Jameson give you that write-up he mentioned?"
"Yesh," Mauve swallowed with a grimace. "He delivered it to me when I finished unpacking our bedding… it's good information."
"Well… what did it say?" Rust questioned. Mauve set down her meal packet on the floor and rummaged around behind her, pulling out a piece of paper scrawled with messy handwriting.
"Both targets live in a cave to the West, roughly two kilometers from the village. The terrain consists of rocky ridges and uneven slopes, so we need to exhibit caution while hiking." Mauve said aloud, her eyes scanning the page.
"Anything else?" Asked Sage.
"Yeah, the cave opening should be directly visible to us. There is a nearby waterfall that we can use as a reference…" Mauve muttered, before neatly setting the page behind her.
Once finished, Team MARS secured their equipment and swung open the door of the spare house. They were greeted by Jameson, the leader of the town was still sharply dressed in his suit.
"Good morning!" The bearded man called. "You four all set to head out?"
"Yes, Mr. Jameson," Mauve replied. "Thanks for the information by the way!"
"It's no problem," Jameson replied in a chipper tone. "Although… there was something I forgot to mention, hence why I'm here."
"Oh?"
Jameson reached down and pulled up his right pant leg. Where a regular foot should have been was a makeshift prosthetic, fitted with a spring to compensate for impacts. The prosthetic led into what was presumably a false foot. Asher was satisfied that his observations of the man had been correct. Mauve and Sage seemed genuinely surprised but Rust looked unaffected, the perceptive guy had probably put two and two together pretty early.
"The bigger of these two deathstalkers, 'Eeny' did this to my foot." Jameson warned in a low tone. "The smaller one, 'Meeny' is a bit of a dullard… but Eeny is far smarter than he looks… don't underestimate him."
"Noted," Asher mumbled as he nodded his head in affirmation.
"Good, if there are no more questions… good luck you four!" Jameson called. The man turned on his good foot and hobbled away back in the direction of his office.
"Damn," Sage muttered.
"It's good that he mentioned it," Mauve replied. "Any information is good information!"
The four began their walk towards their mission destination, bidding a quick farewell to the gate attendants as they left. The information about the local area proved to be correct; while the forests were relatively calm, the ground was wobbly with rocks and gravel. Asher spared a thought towards Weiss, he had no idea how that girl could ever balance on those heels…
Mauve had taken point, given that she was the leader and also possessed their only map. Rust had moved up slightly to trail behind her, the two were engaging in a quiet banter. Asher and Sage fell back towards the rear, both with the intention of watching out for threats that came from behind. The only sounds were the chirping of birds and the crunch of gravel under their feet, something Asher was hoping to change.
"Hey, Sage?" Asher said, his voice muffled by his helmet.
"Whats up?" Sage replied.
"I just wanted to thank you for bringing Mauve and I breakfast two days ago, it was really thoughtful."
"No worries, the cafeteria was about to close, figured that it was a good call."
A comfortable silence fell over the two before Asher began speaking again.
"So… Mauve mentioned it in passing to me… are you and Honey a thing now?" Asher asked, grunting as he jumped over a small rock.
"Officially, yes… although it's still very recent."
"Congratulations!" Asher nodded. "I'm happy for you two… although I have yet to actually meet her."
"We'll have to fix that," Sage smiled. "Maybe we could invite her team over one night!"
"Sounds like a great idea!" Asher replied, but he changed the subject not long afterwards. "Hey… what about Rust? Mauve mentioned that he's seeing someone now?"
"Her name is Vermillion, she was with Rust as the dance two days ago." Sage explained. "I'm not sure if its my place to talk about his business though…"
"I can ask Rust later…" Asher relented. The two settled back into another comfortable silence. Team MARS had to slow down when they came across a particularly uneven gravel slope. The next time they spoke, it was Sage who initiated it.
"Asher?" Sage questioned. "I know Rust and I made fun of you for it… and you can tell me if this isn't my business… but did you and Mauve… you know… in the dorm?"
Sage couldn't see Asher's face, but he would put lien down on a bet that he was blushing.
"It's really not your business," Asher stuttered. "But seeing that we all live together and share a room… no, it didn't go that far."
"I'm only asking because you two have settled into this whole relationship thing really quick…" Sage explained.
"I know what you mean… but I'm comfortable with it and Mauve seems comfortable with it. If either of us thinks that it's moving too fast… we'll tell each other."
"Makes sense…"
"Yeah…"
Up ahead, Mauve and Rust were oblivious to the quiet conversation their teammates were having. The two were speaking about an entirely different subject… battle tactics.
"So what is the plan exactly?" Rust questioned, shifting Ruination to a more comfortable spot on his back.
"In its most simple form, we find and kill the deathstalkers and then we're home by tomorrow…" Mauve replied.
"That's the plan? Find and kill?" Rust muttered.
"Obviously not!" Mauve snapped back. "Once we actually find this cave we can strategize… we were never going to run in blind…"
"Alright then," Rust muttered. "But we're dealing with two fully grown deathstalkers! We should at least plan along the way!"
"Fine… I have been thinking about it," Mauve replied as she maneuvered around a tree. "Deathstalkers are already pretty powerful on their own… maybe we should try to isolate them?"
"Good," Rust responded with a smile. "I like this so far…"
"Do you remember the beringel? Back during initiation…"
"Of course!"
"We defeated it by limiting its mobility…"
"You want to do that again?"
"Well… there are a lot more legs… but if you disable enough then it's a sitting duck."
"What about the stingers? Those are always a threat…"
"Asher can use explosive or freezing rounds in his weapon… he could use that to disable the stingers…"
The two were interrupted when they mounted a ridge, awed into silence at the sight before them. Their other two teammates did not witness the sudden stop and bumped into them. Before Team MARS lay a massive valley, dotted with small lakes and creeks. The hidden grove was protected by massive cliffs.. Far in the distance, almost hidden by the trees, was the mouth of a massive cavern. Several hundred meters to the left of the opening was a thundering waterfall, an indication that they were in the right place.
"So…" Asher mumbled. "Are we going to stare all day or what?"
Interrupted from their observations, the rest of the team began making their way down the rocky hills. Sage put his foot down on a rock and felt his balance shift. He let out an awkward yelp as he lurched uncontrollably to the side. He was stopped by a gloved hand that clamped down onto his shoulder. Sage turned and peered into the face of his saviour, revealed to by the helmeted form of Asher. Sage could only just barely see Asher's eyes through the red visor, but he could recognize the concern.
"Thanks," Sage muttered.
"No problem," Asher replied as he hefted his friend back onto even ground. The team navigated their way past the creeks until they came near the mouth of the cave. To stay hidden the team crouched down on a nearby hill, surveying the soon-to-be battlefield.
"Alright Mauve, the floor is yours," Rust spoke quietly. The lynx girl turned to address her team, satisfied that they were giving her their full attention.
Alright," Mauve began. "We need to seperate the two targets, we have a better chance of taking them individually."
"How can we do that?" Asher inquired.
"You have an ice dust option for your rifle, can you freeze their legs?" Mauve questioned.
"I can…" Asher replied. "But deathstalkers have a lot of legs… I don't think it will last very long."
"Can I add something?" Interjected Rust. The large man pointed up towards the cliff face above the mouth of the cave, where a large pile of rocks was present. "Asher, if you use an explosive round and I help with my semblance… do you think we could start a landslide?"
"And trap them!" Sage cheered.
"That's a solid plan," Mauve interrupted. "But I don't think there's enough rocks for the both of them… maybe we could trap just one?"
A look of realization dawned on Mauve's face.
"I've got it!"
Mauve explained her plans to her team, incorporating Rust's suggestion into the steps. There was one minor problem… how were they going to lure the deathstalkers out?
Rust suggested that they use negative emotions but Mauve rebuked this, not wanting to lure more grimm to the area. There was only one other way to lure a territorial grimm out of its hole… loud noises.
And so it was that Asher found himself standing in front of the caverns, whooping at the top of his lungs and firing his rifle into the air like an angry Vacuoan. The team had taken positions around the mouth of the cave, ready to pounce at the first sign of danger.
It took a few moments, but the lure was working. The ground below them began to rumble, vibrating due to the impacts of many heavy legs. The first of the deathstalkers charged from the cave, letting out a roar as it focused its eyes on the helmeted huntsman. Asher already knew the plan and set the sights of his rifle on the rubble above, quickly switching the rifle to its alternate fire.
The deathstalker took one step forwards and Asher let loose a single explosive round. The shot hit true, dislodging the thousands of pounds of rocks and sending them on a collision course with the massive grimm. Rust, who was hiding behind a tree, focused his semblance to increase the velocity of the projectiles.
The payload smashed against the grimms armored carapace, collapsing the creature onto its belly. It's legs and stinger remained uncovered and thrashed wildly, the grimm letting out an ear piercing screech.
It was probable that this noise was a call for help because the second deathstalker emerged from the cave. This one had to be "Eeny"... it was noticeably larger than its friend and its many eyes burned with malevolence.
But this was all part of the plan….
Sage leapt from his hiding spot and deployed his shield, belting out a roar of challenge at the hulking grimm. Mauve helped by holding up Proton and letting loose a bolt of electricity that crackled against the deathstalkers side. The massive creature turned away from Asher and its trapped friend to fix its attention on its newest challengers.
Asher and Rust wasted no time fulfilling their end of the plan. Asher collapsed into a crouch and switched his weapon back into its regular firing mode. He unleashed a storm of armor piercing rounds at the stinger of Meeny, shredding the thick flesh into ribbons. Rust also swept forwards from his hiding spot, using swift attacks to mutilate and detach Meeny's many legs. Rust succeeded in destroying three of Meeny's legs on its left side, destroying the last leg with a point blank shotgun blast.
With Meeny's screeches ringing in his ears, Asher took aim and let loose another explosive round, obliterating the deathstalkers stinger.
As the two boys were massacring one of the deathstalkers, Mauve and Sage were having intense difficulty with theirs. Jameson had been correct, Eeny was far smarter than Meeny. The massive scorpion was constantly moving and rotating on the spot to deny Mauve any openings. It's stinger thrashed around, striking the stone ground with enough intensity to shatter it, forcing Mauve to stay highly mobile. Sage had a blade attachment on his weapon, but still stayed behind his shield to give Mauve cover. He stuck his hand around the riot shield to provide covering fire, aiming for the creatures eyes but unable to land a hit. Even his semblance wasn't helpful, whenever Sage fired at the ground to redirect the rounds Eeny spun around to avoid the ordnance.
Frustrated, Sage rushed forwards to receive a hit from Eeny, hoping that he could stun the beast like he did to the beringel back in initiation. However, Eeny once again proved to be more intelligent than the average grimm.
Instead of slamming down on his shield as expected, Eeny turned its claw to grip Sage's shield. With a roar, Eeny flung Sage at a nearby rock face, his back impacting with the rock at high speeds. Thankfully, his aura soaked up the damage and prevented actual injury, but his ringing ears left him unable to hear Mauve's cries of concern.
Sage's arm was still locked into the shield, he tried to stand up but his vision was spinning. Sage felt strong arms clasp around his shoulders, he turned his face up towards the helmeted form of Asher.
Rust had already broken off, assisting Mauve by rushing forwards and slicing off two off Eeny's back legs. The monster roared in rage, turning to face the axe wielding boy. Mauve took the opportunity to spring forwards and badly mutilate another one of its legs, singing its dark flesh with electricity.
Sage turned his head towards the other deathstalker, evidently still alive from its wriggling and roars of agony. Thick black blood seeped from the stumps of its severed legs, its stinger was a mutilated mass of flesh. Despite these grievous injuries, Meeny had succeeded in shucking off most of the boulders that had trapped it.
"Moving wall?" Asher yelled, startling Sage.
"Not going to work! It knows to grab the shield!" Sage cried back. "Try to disable its stinger, I'll aim for its eyes!"
Asher nodded and swapped the magazine in his weapon for a fresh one. He immediately opened fire, intending to shred Eeny's tail like he had Meeny's. This was a difficult task, as Eeny wasn't conveniently pinned down like Meeny had been.
Sage lifted his shield again and began firing his weapon, once again aiming for Eeny's many eyes. He was far more successful, taking out several of them and rendering the beast half blind. With the combined assault of his teammates Eeny was becoming overwhelmed.
With an explosive crack, one of Asher's explosive rounds made contact with Eeny's stinger, leaving the glowing pustule hanging by a scrap of flesh. Eeny roared in pain, Mauve and Rust taking the chance to leap forward and destroy more of its legs, leaving only two operational. This immobilization allowed Sage and Asher to destroy the rest of Eeny's eyes with concentrated gunfire.
Everything was going great until a massive claw smacked Asher and Sage from behind. Meeny was still alive! Despite the incredible blood loss and the destruction of its limbs, the beast had crawled forwards with its claws to close the distance.
"I've got this!" Sage yelled to Asher as he jumped to his feet. Asher stood up and turned back towards Eeny, using his semblance to close the distance between him and his teammates.
Meeny was living up to its reputation of being a dullard, smashing its claws against Sage's shield instead of gripping it. Sage redirected every strike with his semblance, stunning Meeny again and again. Sage took the opportunity to stick his gun out and destroy Meeny's eyes, blinding the already mutilated creature.
Rust, Mauve, and Asher were delivering the finishing blows to Eeny as Sage covered for them. As planned beforehand, Asher unleashed a storm of armor piercing rounds at the bone plating above Eeny's head. The rounds did not pierce the carapace, but chipped and weakened the bone plating until it was brittle. Asher used his semblance to dash back in a flurry of smoke towards his leader, who was in the process of charging her semblance. Rust rushed forwards to do his part, delivering a wind assisted downwards strike onto the weakened carapace. The axe blades sank deep into the bone plating, creating a fissure in the howling deathstalkers flesh that exposed internal organs. Rust let off a shotgun blast for good measure before his world became a blur, courtesy of Asher carrying him to safe distance.
The helmeted boy dashed away, his body wreathed in smoke, and carried a crackling Mauve to the top of the deathstalker before springing away. Mauve roared and slammed her two blades into the flesh of the deathstalkers frying the beasts internal organs. Eeny twitched, but it was because of the electrical currents ravaging its ruined flesh.
As Mauve recovered from the strike Rust and Asher rushed forwards to help Sage deal with Meeny. Rust jumped towards the monster's left claw, severing it with a single strike. Asher dashed to its right, using his pistol and knife to mutilate the joints until it stopped flailing.
Team MARS stopped to catch their breath, regrouping in front of a still roaring Meeny.
"I've got this," Mauve chuckled, her muscles still crackling with electricity as she raised her blades.
"Hang on a moment!" Rust interrupted, stopping his leader in her tracks. "Why do you always get the finishing blow?"
Mauve gave Rust a confused look. The situation would have been comical if it wasn't for the still thrashing grimm.
"Let Sage have this one!" Rust offered, leveling a grin at his green haired friend.
Sage shrugged and folded up his shield, "I don't see why not…"
Sage yelped in surprise when Asher slapped the Jackhammer into his arms.
"You remember how to fire it? It's still got some fire dust in there…" Asher chuckled under his helmet. Sage grinned at his friend and switched the rifle to its alternate fire, holding down the trigger to charge the round. Sage stepped forward and shoved the barrel of the weapon into Meeny's gaping maw as he let loose the charged round.
As it turned out… explosive rounds and soft innards make for an explosive combination. Grimm blood and guts exploded from the carapace and showered the area, coating the ground and trees with viscera.
Team MARS wasn't spared…
"What the fuck, Sage!" Mauve roared in rage, her hair and clothes drenched in gore. Sage spun around and wiped black blood from his eyes, blinking as he faced his team.
"I uh… expected you to shoot it from a distance." Asher laughed. He reached up his messy hands and twisted off his covered helmet, his face and hair had been spared from the blood rain. Asher coughed a little at the smoke that still rose off his body, but it wasn't enough to stifle his breathing to the point of suffocation.
"Sorry," Sage sputtered with a grin. "I couldn't resist…"
"It's cool man…" Asher grinned.
"It's not fucking cool!" Mauve roared. Asher clasped a gloved hand on her shoulder, prompting his girlfriend to spin around and face him. Mauve glared into Asher's flat look, her anger too great for even Asher to placate.
"Wait…" interrupted Sage. "Wheres-"
"Your handsome friend, Rust!?" The big man called, causing his entire team to face him in surprise. Rust was the only member of Team MARS to not get splattered. In fact, Rust was completely spotless, his white shirt and jeans unsullied by the viscera.
"How?" Mauve muttered, clearly referring to his clothes.
"I can redirect wind…" Rust began, sliding Ruination back into its resting place. "I figured out pretty quickly that I can use my semblance to keep my clothes clean…"
"That makes sense actually…" Asher nodded. "Come on, let's get a picture of these two for proof and start heading back."
The team quickly got to work, snapping two pictures of the slowly disintegrating grimm as proof of their deaths. With their business in the area done, the team began the hike back to Rifugio.
Mauve grimaced when the sole of her blood soaked boot squeaked off the ground. The spare house back in Rifugio had a working shower and she was eager to take advantage of that… and maybe a change of clothes if it was possible.
Team MARS whipped around when they heard a ground shaking crack. From their vantage point where they entered the valley, the team watched in horror and fascination as the massive cave entrance collapsed. Clearly, Asher's explosive round had shaken more than just a few boulders loose… the once gaping cavern was reduced to a massive pile of rubble. The air around what was once the cave became obscured by thick clouds of dust.
"Well… we can't say that we were nowhere near the cave," Rust muttered.
"But we can blame Asher…" Mauve added with a grin, getting a glare from her boyfriend.
"Blame Asher!" Sage agreed, wilting under the combined glares of his helmeted friend and his still angry leader.