Main theme: Metro Exodus rap by Jt Music, featuring Andrea Storm Kaden
Theme: Suspicious Events by Jordan Rees Music
"Look."
"Where?"
"Down there. In the crater. More of them."
The Huntsman known as Galen Arman looked at his partner, the Huntress known as Kami Telex, for a brief moment, before nodding and looking down his binoculars once again, down into the crater of the old settlement once known as Sumire, the town now reduced to an empty hole in the ground, punctuated by a series of skeleton buildings and burnt wrecks of old homes, standing as ugly displays of modern art to the people within.
The pair were not supposed to be out here. Not originally. They were originally planning on hopping ship to Anima in order to stir the Bandit Confederation against the Grimm (As per their secret orders from Ozpin), But had decided to make a quick stop down in Vale and take one of the bounties that had been posted in the Hunters den below.
As it turned out, there were dozens of bounties for lesser Grimm factions, bandit groups, and criminal elements being posted in the dens, with most of them being taken by amateur Hunters, fellow criminal groups, and even ordinary citizens trying to make a living for themselves.
So, the two Hunters figured that before they left, they might as well take up a quick bounty for old time's sake. They got to stretch their muscles and kill some Grimm before a long flight out to Anima, and if they got paid for it, then all the better.
Besides, who else was going to take up this bounty? The kids from Beacon? Please.
Really, there wasn't really anyone else with the same level of training as them who could take this job. The council had sent most of the Hunters of Vale out with contingents of Atlesian forces to beat back the Grimm forces that had swarmed them at the beginning of the war, and stop them from encroaching further on their borders. Everyone else was either keeping watch over the inner settlements and the city itself with the rest of the local Atlesians, or secretly loading themselves up in Bullheads, ready to go to Anima and meet the Grimm forces that were about to invade the Mistralian cities.
So, perfect time for them to step in, no?
And yet, as they looked down at the crater below from their hiding spot amidst a gathering of trees and bushes, they realised that they were stepping into something so much bigger than themselves.
Usually nowadays, it would be the Grimm armies who captured and stole away humans and Faunus alike.
Not the other way around.
Grimm captives were being loaded onto Atlesian dropships in grey and white colours, all of them bound together by electroshackles and explosive harnesses (All of them bearing the logo of Ella Industries), Chained to the walls and floors of the ships by human guards dressed in black combat uniforms.
All of the guards and ships wore the snowflake logo of the Schnee Dust Company.
The SchneeFall guards (SchneeFall being the private military company that served as the protection of SDC assets and operations) Continued to load these Grimm onto their ships, as a large, gun shaped SDC freighter hovered low over the ground, casting a dark shadow over the grounds below, and staying underneath the radars of any sensors nearby.
(It was surprising that this ship hadn't already been appropriated by Atlas' council. It didn't take a genius to understand that the Alteisan government had no doubt annexed the SDCs fleet of airships for retrofitting and military service, so it was surprising that they were able to hold on to even just one.)
As the SDC and SchneeFall dropships continued to ferry Grimm captives to and thro the freighter stationed low over the ground, Kami looked over to Galen, and said, "Gal, we need to go."
"What, right now? No way."
"Yes way- What do you mean, 'No way'?!" she quietly looked and hissed at him, "Gal, this isn't normal! What we're seeing isn't normal! This is huge! The SDC and their dogs are capturing Grimm! Grimm! I don't know what for, or why, but this is huge, Gal! Immense! And it's telling me a lot about what's going on over in Solitas!"
She looked back to the SDC and their Grimm captives below.
"Something's wrong in Atlas. Something is very wrong in that place. We need to head back to Vale and report this to Ironwood- To Ozpin! They need to know that the SDC is rounding up Grimm!"
"You think I don't know that, Kami? I do know that," Galen readjusted himself from where they were laying in the bushes, his belly pressed against the dirt beneath him as he put down his binoculars, "But we can't go back without proof, can we?"
"I- Ah, dammit, you're right," Kami went as she pulled out her scroll, tapping away at the screen before frowning, "Dammit, no signal. We went too far out."
"No problem," Galen said as he pulled out his scroll and began to record the scene below, "We just need to get some footage, and-"
He was interrupted by the snap of a suppressed pistol, and a bullet going through the back of his skull and out of one of his eyes, splattering the ground in wet red fragments of gore and ichor, and leaving his body to fall limp on the ground below.
Before Kami could even raise her aura in response, another bullet went through the side of her head and came out the other side, covering the bush with blood as she too went limp on the floor, the figure above them twirling the gun in his hand smugly as he looked over their fresh corpses.
His comms opened up to a familiar voice, "Malcom? Where are you?" the Tinkerer- Hephaestus- Asked.
The mercenary known as Malcom Croft looked down at his handiwork and smiled, before responding with, "Oh, nothing much. Just swatting a few gnats."
"...Witnesses?"
"None."
"Good. Return to ship, Have enough numbers for joining, now. Time to make return for Sky-Mantle."
Malcom sent a affirmative back, and switched off the line. He then crushed the scrolls of the two Hunters underneath his boot, and walked away.
There was still much work to do, after all.
Just finished planning not just one, or two, but the next three arc! One or two more short stories after this, and then we'll be getting back into the main story!