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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 28: Last Minute Plans
It had been almost two weeks since Team FADE, the team now regarded as veterans and living legends within the Hunter community had arrived in Port Alistair and in that time they had been kept busy by not only their own mission of discerning anything that they could about the identity, location and plans of the mastermind or possibly several actors behind the Grimm smuggling and the various other crimes that it entailed, an endeavour which they had admittedly made little progress towards thus far but also Team FADE had been kept occupied by the professors and students of Breaktide Academy, all of whom had been thrilled to learn from the veterans now amongst them who were, outside of Ruby Rose herself amongst the only people to face Salem in direct combat at live to tell the tale.
As such the four of them had told the tale, or at least a sanitised version of it that stuck to the agreed upon narrative in which Ruby had been the one to deal with final blow, to several rapt audiences over the course of several history lectures to all of the academies' year groups. From there the individual members of Team FADE had worked in rotation, allowing them to focus on their mission whilst also aiding in the education of the next generation of Hunters; with Felix Xiao Long and Professor Arslan engaging in a sparring match that promised to pass on into legend earlier that week whilst Eagle Arc worked alongside Velvet and the chief engineer who presided over the forge, workshop and fabrication facilities of the school.
It was another such teaching opportunity that had brought Felix to the office of his Aunt Ruby.
Currently the Lion Faunus was lounging on a chair, eating a cookie made from an old family recipe that reminded him of life on Patch where almost identical treats had been made by one of his adoptive mothers whilst gazing casually around the office which, given that Ruby was not one of the members of staff who actually lived at the academy was not quite the second home that it might have been, however there still plenty of personal touches that identified the space as hers including countless blueprints and technical drawings of weapons lining the walls, framed physical copies of her Hunters' license and teaching qualifications alongside other such keepsakes including the first piece of sponsorship for a brand she had ever done and a copy of the first textbook to make reference to her exploits, written by one of her former teachers. Lining the desk at which Ruby herself sat opposite her nephew were several smaller, framed copies of photographs which decorated her home, including the formation of Team RWBY, her wedding to Penny and several of her own children and the extended Rose and Xiao Long family, including one featuring a much version younger Felix himself, recently adopted and scowling as he hid behind his sister.
"I remember this" he murmured pointing at the photograph in question "It was before the twins were born….I really was a little shit back then"
"You'd been through a lot, too much and you needed all the love and support that Yang and Blake could give you" Ruby countered gently "There were times where you wouldn't talk to anyone except your sister for days at a time….How is Corey by the way?"
"Corvid's busy….she's always busy" Felix sighed, lamented how little he saw of the older, adoptive sister who he knew would have loved to be present, if not for the importance of the mission then simply because she was amongst Penny Polendina's greatest fans and had been since she was a child; however the life of an Atlas Specialist was a demanding one and Corvid Xiao Long had been recruited by General Winter Schnee personally.
"Still, Onyx managed to get back into Atlas again….there's even a rumour that Aunt Winter might drop that 'arrest on sight' order she's had out on him for the last ten years" Felix continued with a snort "I hope so, he did take our Bull-Head and we kinda need it back"
"I was wondering where the rest of the teams that're normally on the Nemesis Kharybdis are" Ruby noted conversationally "It's not like you to take an extended mission without Helios"
"Yeah well" Felix gave a toothy grin at the gentle and good natured teasing regarding his long term boyfriend and the leader of Team NEON "Olivine and Ether had their baby, Patina Arashi, adorable little thing and Helios didn't wanna leave….that's actually why Hellion isn't with us either, basically everyone born into one of the Anima tribes is a big believer in 'it takes a community to raise a child' so they stayed in Neo Vale-"
"Except Carcharodon Gore" Ruby noted, having already heard that the Shark Faunus who led Team GORE and the reimagined Frost River Tribe, becoming a trusted advisor and confidant to Syneffo Nikos, the young leader of the political movement that the diaspora of Anima tribes had become.
"Except Car" Felix confirmed "He was never gonna let us take his ship anywhere without him on it….Besides, you know how he gets about ancestry and things like that; he never actually met the Faunus side of his family but this is the homeland, that's where he is now, just prowling around the markets and seeing what it's become"
"Well I hope he finds something meaningful to him" Ruby answered quietly but earnestly, before her remaining eye shone with a bright smile "But I also really hope he's calmed down as much as you say he has"
"He's still a hard-ass and he still won't let anything slide from anybody but he's mellowed out, kinda feels like having people in his life looking up to him has done a world of good….You should see it whenever we report to Ren and Nora, you heard there's an orphanage on the Academy grounds now right? Every kid that gets to their edge-lord phase thinks Car is the coolest thing ever"
"Oh I've gotta see that!" Ruby howled with laughter at the mental image of her old friends who now presided over Halo Academy of New Vale and the orphanage that they had built to take in the children who had lost their families in the war against Salem struggling to cope with so many impressionable pre-teens trying to mimic the distinctive mannerisms and attitude of Carcharodon Gore.
"But what you said about it taking a community to raise kids" she finally managed to wheeze out "It reminded about something I was gonna ask you, mainly 'cos Astra's partner comes from a similar background-"
"I've met her briefly, she seems nice-"
"Have you met Astra's boyfriend yet?" Ruby asked conversationally
"I'm sorry their what now?" Felix choked out, stunned that he had been unaware of this development and suddenly eager to correct his oversight.
"Anyway" Ruby waved the topic aside with a mischievous grin "The important thing is this, Coco, Arslan and I have actually been considering giving additional training to Team MARZ; they keep trying to involve themselves in your mission and they've shown a lot initiative, it made more sense to encourage it discreetly rather than try and stop it, that's actually what the head to head training exercise was for-"
"The one where basically everyone got hurt?" Felix interrupted, having heard about that unmitigated disaster through the grapevine of his extended family already.
"Exactly" Ruby admitted "Well we still stand by the idea that additional training would benefit Astra's team, but obviously as Professors we can't be seen playing favourites like that; especially not so early on in the students careers….So-"
"So you want me to take on the responsibility?" Felix surmised, guessing where the conversation was heading.
"Would you?" Ruby asked hopefully, glad that she did not have to ask and impose on her already busy nephew "I mean obviously nothing that puts them directly in contact with the people you're tracking down, just give them some more practical applications for their studying-"
"Of course I'll do it!" Felix exclaimed, features brightening as his mechanical tail swished animatedly behind him.
"Are you sure you're not too-"
"Aunt Ruby, Astra has been bugging me to take him out Hunting literally since I got back in touch with my biological family, I am absolutely not gonna pass this up so when were you thinking of doing this?"
"Well….Are you free tomorrow?" Ruby asked, at least having the decency to look sheepish at the audacity of the sudden request; Felix for his part deflated visibly as he flopped back into his seat yet remained silent rather than dismissing the idea, instead he contemplated for several moments before running a hand through his mane of dirty blonde curls and sighing.
"Yeah, yeah that can work….Just let me organise a few things"
Currently it was a mid-week combat class for the first year students, a not unsurprising fact given that Professor Altan's chosen speciality was considered a core subject for younger students and a mandatory one for those who had taken electives, meaning that combat classes of some description were an almost daily occurrence for the freshman with a least a single period dedicated to it on most weekdays. Teams MARZ and WULF had, as expect taken their customary places within the lecture hall whose design more resembled an arena of sorts so that they and their classmates could watch and take notes on both Professor Altan's lesson and the practical demonstrations thereof which, as was often the case were being displayed in the form of a sparring match
Given this context it was equally unsurprising to see Zirconia Shadowmoon dominating her current opponent, the certainly capable but unfortunately hapless Chicken Faunus named Nugget who led Team NUGT.
"Come on Hops! You've got this!" the enthusiastic yell from the audience had, naturally come from none other than Athena-Jade Slate and been made at the exact moment her partner avoided an impressively brazen yet telegraphed and uncoordinated attack from Nugget by simply leaping over his charging backhand. It was a less common sight than one might expect to see Zirconia engage in hand to hand combat where she could not rely on the use of her weapon, which was almost certainly why Professor Altan had demanded her presence in the arena though the fact that the Grasshopper Faunus was yet to use her Semblance went unquestioned, it was after all counterproductive to hide the demonstration from the view of the teacher who had called for it. Whilst the most secretive and thus hard to predict member of Team MARZ did not favour unarmed combat she was by no means lacking in that department and proceeded to prove that fact the moment she landed behind Nugget in a crouch, her leap carrying her over her opponent; Zirconia's fighting style was based around swift efficiency that was given a more appealing appearance by her own natural grace though there was little that could have made the impact appear less painful when the insectoid Faunus used all the power her mechanical and inhuman legs could provide to fling herself backwards and drive her elbow into the Chicken Faunus's kidneys with devastating results.
"Push him back! Keep control of the pace!" Athena-Jade called from Team MARZ's usual place towards the rear of the lecture hall and far from the sidelines of the arena though Zirconia, either following her partners' direction or admittedly more likely simply due to her own understanding of combat continued to press her advantage, turning abruptly whilst still behind Nugget and using the unique structure of her legs to kick her opponents' feet out from under him and then follow up with an acrobatic, leaping kick that Athena recognised as being based on one of her own techniques that saw both of the Grasshopper Faunus's mechanical limbs crashing into Nugget's back, directly between the shoulder blades and sending him hurtling out of bounds.
"Get him Hops!" Athena's voice rose above the chorus of cheers and exclamations from the rest of the class as Zirconia was declared the victor of the sparring match by Professor Altan who helped Nugget to his feet and took a moment to give individual advice to each of the two combatants, as the blue eyed and snowy haired Bear Faunus continued to celebrate her partners' success she remained blissfully ignorant of several glances being cast in her direction and eyes being rolled at her expense.
With her own team leader being amongst the culprits.
"Okay I think we get it" Astra grinned from their nearby seat where they were leaning comfortably against Wolfram's broad shoulder, the teen having removed one of the spiked shoulder pads of armour he was wearing in anticipation of being called forward to accommodate the Deer Faunus.
"Heh, Zirconia's cool it's like watching an old ninja movie" Regalia offered.
"See, your partner gets it….it's just you who sucks" Athena teased jokingly leaving Astra grumbling incoherently under their breath with their arms folded across their chest as Team WULF collectively joined in the snickering at their expense, though Wolfram did at least drape an arm around them. The moment quickly ended however, cut short by a variety of sources with the first and most obvious of which being the silence and tension that came over Athena and Diabla when they briefly locked eyes, only for it to pass in turn as Zirconia rejoined the group and took her seat just as Professor Altan's voice boomed out.
"As we are running short on time I would like to remind everyone that normal lessons will once again be cancelled tomorrow" the tension spread amongst the first years equally now "As you will be undertaking the head to head training exercises, naturally they have been adapted from the previous experience so as not to give an unfair advantage….Also, Team MARZ, Team WULF; as you have already performed the exercise your presence will be optional; you are more than welcome to join us an observe if you wish however you will not be required to undergo the test again"
"Oh thank Oum for that" Athena-Jade breathed out, words barely audible even to those nearest to her whilst her friends seemed far more open in their enthusiasm, with Laser's eyes positively lighting up in sudden glee and Regalia fidgeting in her seat as ideas of what she might do with a long weekend came quickly to mind.
"Nice" Astra said simply, any additional comment they wished to make being pre-empted by Professor Altan speaking again.
"Now, I believe we should have time for one more lesson" her fierce yellow eyes raked the stands though it seemed to be for show as it became rapidly apparent that she had already decided, likely before the lesson begun who would be selected "Miss Fuego, I was pleased to hear from Nurse Kintsugi that you've been cleared for physical training. As congratulations on your recovery I'd like you offer you your choice of opponent"
The class fell silent, with the majority of the students wondering just what was going through their teachers' mind.
Diabla rose to her feet, Peace and Quiet which had been unused but still painstakingly repaired and lovingly cleaned and polished unfurling around her fists and forearms whilst the gruff and imposing young woman worked out a crick in her neck and adjusted her new armoured vest, an identical model to the Atlesian military surplus she had worn previously even though a newer model had been offered. It was clear that she could sense the eyes on her and that she could almost hear the thoughts shared by every classmate who watched here with bated breath, Athena-Jade could be heard swallowing thickly close by as she braced herself for what she must have felt was inevitable however Diabla made a deliberate effort to not allow her fiery orange eyes to wander in the direction of the wealthy Atlesian and instead met Professor Altan's stern, yet cautiously optimistic gaze; at which point the realisation hit her like a splash of icy water.
Whilst Counsellor Daichi insisted on far more talk than Diabla was used to Professor Altan was simply giving her a chance to act and thus be more than she had been.
"I'll fight anyone you want" she stated flatly, the scar along her right cheek pulling tight as she gave a feral smile "It doesn't matter who it is" at her words several cheers, more genuine that Diabla had expected from her classmates went up from various points in the stands and whilst she was far too proud to accept any pity that might have been offered the gesture meant more than she knew how to articulate.
"Very well" Arslan's features tugged into a smile and she nodded silently to a member of Team LEMN who leapt out of their seat, eager and still rightfully wary.
"Get 'em Diabla!" Wolfram cheered, rising from his seat enough to give the team-mate he felt he had failed multiple times with his hands-off style of leadership a fistbump and a single, meaningful look whilst Laser and Ursinia walked through the stands with her, taking the opportunity to move closer to the edge of the arena.
"I really thought she was gonna go for AJ there" Astra muttered quietly as Wolfram returned to their seat beside them "You wanna go get a seat nearer to the ring?"
"Nah, don't wanna crowd her….she's like a stray cat or something, she'll just get snappy" Wolfram answered with a shrug, a small smile crossing his features as he considered just how Diabla would react to that particular comparison.
"Is she okay?" Athena's question was unexpected, though after the training exercise nobody could say that her concern was out of character "She was hurt worse than I was, it's only been a few weeks"
"She's been cleared by medical" Wolfram shrugged, having no better answer to give "Besides, she was going stir crazy and….come on let's be honest here but is anybody on Team LEMN really a threat to Diabla"
"I really want to say that you're being overconfident" the Bear Faunus sighed, frowning and flopping back in her seat as she watched the match begin below "But I honestly can't"
"She's exactly as resilient as she's needed to be to get where she is" Zirconia noted thoughtfully, the conversation changed track a moment later as Astra spoke up again.
"So it's a good day for us; two wins, one for each of our teams and we've got a Friday out of class….Hey Wolfie, you wanna do something tomorrow?"
"Well since our last date ended with us getting shot out of the sky by Grimm, sure why not" their boyfriend and fellow leader chuckled, leaning close to kiss Astra on the cheek "It's a date, now let's watch Diabla kick this guys' ass; she at least deserves us to pay attention, even if it is gonna be one-sided"
Astra could not argue with that even if they had the desire to and instead simply made themselves comfortable against Wolfram once more and allowed themselves to feel entirely satisfied with the way their day was going thus far.
Out in the barren and desolate expanse of brick-red dust and cracked, scorched and craggy earth that was the wasteland between Menagerie's settlements several dozen men and women, human and Faunus alike were hard at work, with the aid of heavy and yet portable machinery as they set about an incongruous undertaking. Vast scaffolding had been erected and a temporary, but impressively sturdy structure had been erected with an appearance that resembled a three dimensional maze with a total area that amounted to several square miles with an electrified fence forming a perimeter around the site to keep those working on it free from the attention of the Creatures of Grimm, there was another and far more potent form of protection to found however; namely the unmistakable figures of both Velvet Scarlatina and Penny Rose, formerly Polendina both patrolling and aiding in the finer details of the construction, their presence being attributable to the fact that each and every member of the engineering and maintenance staff of Breaktide Academy, as identified by the high-visibility jackets that each of them wore; meaning that whatever was afoot here was official business.
And yet none of those working on the site and realised that they were being observed from afar.
"Any idea what they're doing….Because it looks to me like they're setting up a trap, which is what I argued for; without your support" Carmesi snarled, frustration and anger colouring his deep and rumbling voice as he lowered the binoculars which bolstered his already greater than human vision and turned to Major Grapeshot who merely gave a wordless and indignant harrumph at the accusatory tone.
The two of them had continued as their benefactor had dictated they must, searching for the hybrid Grimm now dubbed the 'Hell-Hound' manually and with little to show for it, the pair doing little more than maintaining their approximate knowledge of the monstrous creatures' location and that of the largest splinters of the vast pack of Beowolves which it now seemed to command; their already limited progress being slowed further by the Major's unwillingness to continue sending scores of men and women to die on reconnaissance missions that were doomed to failure from their offset, a decision that Carmesi had begrudgingly agreed with even if his reasons were more practical and utilitarian.
"Preposterous old chap" Grapeshot shook his head, adjusting his safari hat to use his own binoculars, holding them with one hand whilst he leant on his cane with the other.
"Then what is it" Carmesi growled, drawing each word out as his eyes narrowed into a snarl made for fierce by his scales and sharp teeth "The academy know that our target is loose, Coco Adel has a seat on the Council. She has to be seen to be doing something and now the academy is setting something up right after she called in Team FADE-"
"A rather sloppy set of observations, no doubt made by working backwards from a conclusion that you think would justify acting more rashly" Grapeshot admonished firmly, taking the opportunity to remind the Komodo Dragon Faunus that no matter how well acquainted with their benefactor he might be it was still the Major himself who was the senior Huntsman on the ground.
"Team FADE have indeed been summoned to Menagerie to interfere in our business, however since we're both still in good standing and have no warrants out for our arrest it would be rather foolish to assume that they've made any progress" he continued, taking on a brisk and snappish tone he had often used with fresh-faced recruits during his time in the Mistrali Air Force "Furthermore whatever is being built here is in entirely the wrong place to be of any use against our target; in fact, according to information I requested from Hammerfall Observation Outpost this area is largely clear of Grimm, with only a small presence in the area which would make it a Capital location for the academy to continue training their students"
"Grimm Hunters trained in the absence of any Grimm" Carmesi scoffed "If those First Years we took with us were anybody else then they would've been dead….you think that's what they're doing here?"
"Just so old chap" Grapeshot nodded, a fond smile tugging at his lips beneath his moustache "In fact, unless I'm very much mistaken I'd wager that what they're building is their own take on something Haven Academy used to subject freshman to back in my day; jolly good for them keeping the tradition alive"
"Then if you're certain that this isn't a problem for us we should move, we don't have any official reason to be out here and I don't want to be caught" Carmesi noted gruffly, turning to leave and stalking towards where the vehicle that the two of them had driven out in was parked whilst Grapeshot waited a few moments longer, studying the construction to satisfy his own curiosity before turning and following, only for his younger companion to bring him to a halt with a single raised hand.
"Wait" the Komodo Dragon Faunus breathed out quietly, hands flying to the handles of his weapons, 'Vindication' the forward curved and serrated machete and 'Retribution' the broad and flat bladed implement that could be described as either a sword or a cudgel. After several moments of tense silence Grapeshot finally heard what had drawn the reptilians' attention, namely the sound of several engines drawing rapidly closer.
Soon enough the source of the noise came into view and Grapeshot hoped that the sound wouldn't travel to where the representatives of Breaktide Academy were at work, it was a group of dirt-bikes which had been heavily modified to contend with both the terrain and the particularly aggressive wildlife of the wasteland and both the appearance of the vehicles and their riders and the amount of weapons being carried by the group made it clear that this was a band of criminals.
As the bikes came skidding to a halt both Grapeshot and Carmesi realised that it was Rowan Oralie at their head.
"You!" Carmesi spat as the redhead removed her helmet and swaggered over to the pair of Hunters, her cohorts fanning out behind her allowing her to at least she was unperturbed by Carmesi's weapons being unsheathed with a scrape of metal on metal.
"Hardly the time or place for a duel" Grapeshot noted in a conversational, yet almost habitual pompous tone as he stepped between the pair "Miss Oralie my dear, to what do we owe the pleasure of an unscheduled visit out to a location we didn't tell you we would be at"
"You told somebody and that's the same as telling me old man" Rowan sneered "Now cut the shit and listen, 'cos I came here to renegotiate some terms and the wasteland is a great place for getting rid of bodies"
"Really now, because if I recall it was your inability to just that which attracted the attention of the Council in the first place, rather a poor show" Grapeshot answered, clearly delighting in needling at the crook despite the dignified way in which he carried himself; Carmesi however had no tolerance for such games.
"Too much talk, let's just solve the problem" he snarled as took a single step forward.
"Enough" Grapeshot stated bluntly and firmly, turning back to Rowan; entirely uncaring of the fact that her fellow criminals had begun raising their weapons "It's only sporting of me to point out to you that there are senior members of Breaktide Academies' staff, veteran Hunters little more than a few miles behind us who could quite easily come to our aid if this were to become suddenly uncivilised, now again I ask you Miss Oralie; to what do we owe the pleasure?"
"Some of the most famous Hunters on Remnant sailed up to Port Alistair a couple weeks back and you've given us nothing" Rowan spat "No new work, no compensation for the added problems and funds we're losing 'cos we can't hustle with them sniffing around, nothing beyond orders to sit it out. Not good enough, we're getting sick of it….It's always been a risky business but at least it made lien before; now we're sitting in the dark acting as your lookouts and delivery drivers and getting nothing out of it"
"I see" Grapeshot huffed, not caring for the tone at all yet forcing himself to not simply allow Carmesi to unleash his wrath and fury the way that the younger man clearly wished to; instead the Major took a moment to gather his thoughts and realised, with a moment of clarity and relief that as neither her or his benefactor intended to be a continuous part of the island Kingdoms' criminal underworld he had no reason to engage in the petty power struggle that Rowan was attempting at all.
"Naturally I cannot have my benefactor's employees seeking out work from other sources" he noted, something which caused Rowan to shuffle and grimace darkly, however he pushed onwards "And naturally smuggling anything that would draw the attention of Team FADE, or the authorities in general is unacceptable….However I'm willing to accommodate"
"What?" Carmesi demanded
"Shut up before I make shoes out of you" Rowan interjected forcefully, voice laced with venom and confidence that she clearly did not feel and Grapeshot once again made to stop the two from killing one another, as fun the affair would be to watch.
"I understand the importance of morale amongst the troops, indulge in your vices as you please….Just as long as we have an understanding that you will still report to my benefactor and I and you will do nothing that jeopardises our work-"
"We'll smuggle through Blackwater Cove, it's only you that tries to move valuables through the Capital" Rowan interrupted coldly before turning on her heel and making to ensure that the show of power she had put on for her underlings was successful by being the one to dictate when the negotiations started and ended.
Then a murderous shriek split the sky.
"Airborne Grimm" Carmesi growled.
"Yes, most likely drawn by our spot of bickering don't you think?" Grapeshot noted, hefting Magnificent Ivory and switching it into its' high-calibre rifle form whilst also preparing to use his Semblance in order to make each individual shot a volley in its' own right as the monsters came into view. Scree, avian horrors that resembled vultures which were, despite their fearsome appearance one of the lesser threats that the wasteland presented, seeing the incoming Grimm for what they were Carmesi turned to Rowan and let out a low, mocking chuckle.
"You were one of Persian's Grimm-catchers….Are you going to just stand there or are you going to prove that you're actually worth something"
"I promise I won't deliberately shoot you in the back, at least not today" Rowan replied with an equally mocking sneer as she unfastened the upper half of her black boiler suit to reveal that she was wearing lightweight and tactical body armour over her tank-top which covered her torso, from there she withdrew her signature weapon, one that she tended not to use inside the settlements lest become to easily recognisable. The weapon had once belonged to a hunter and in one mode was a double barrelled shotgun, its' twin barrels appearing shortened and encased in a deep scarlet cowling whilst a broad and curved blade, black with golden detailing was wedged between them to give the weapon a sleeker appearance; when transformed the barrels unfurled to become the shaft of a naginata which Rowan used far less artistically than the weapons' original owner.
She had dubbed the weapon 'Insolence'
"It's not bad" Rowan mused, seeing Carmesi's eyes on the weapon "I might take one of yours as a replacement though" before the Faunus could retaliate to the obvious threat the incoming Grimm shrieked again and the pair gave each other one final, hateful glare before charging forwards, each determined to be the first to cut down one of the flock of monsters.
Classes had ended several hours ago at Breaktide Academy and the setting sun painted the horizon with golden streaks as later afternoon faded to evening in Port Alistair though this sight, as pleasant as it was meant little to the pair of students currently exiting the library after spending several hours secluded away within it.
"Not that I have any right to complain, but many people would consider it strange that you came to the library and studied specifically because we were given the day off tomorrow" Zirconia Shadowmoon rasped quietly, still clad in the school uniform that she had changed back into after Combat Class as she and her partner emerged from the library, free to talk at last without the threatening presence of a strict librarian looming over them. Athena merely shrugged, adjusting a bag which heavy with books as she did so.
"I just wanted to handle business first, the day off is nice but we can't enjoy it if we've got assignments hanging over our head" she answered reasonably.
"Oh, did you have plans?" Zirconia asked quietly
"Nothing set in stone" the shorter of the young women answered "It's such short notice that we didn't have chance to plan anything-"
"Not that it stopped Astra" the Grasshopper Faunus noted
"Let 'em have it, they've been dating Wolfram for weeks and they haven't had a chance to actually go on a real date" Athena replied with another shrug, her drive and demanding standards not being so absolute that she would rob the team leader she had come to appreciate of their well-earned enjoyment.
"But I thought I might go down to the docks" she continued after a moment of thought.
"Surely you don't want or expect to find smugglers there again?" Zirconia noted in a dry tone that her partner recognised as her way of joking.
"I was thinking of heading to my brother's ship" Athena answered, pouting slightly as she added "He's been in Port Alistair for over a week and I haven't had chance to hang out with him"
"And I suppose if you're already near the beach you could always show him where we saved people at an illegal rave….Or perhaps find another party" Zirconia noted with a sly smile.
"Oh we heard about that, baby's first time in the papers for a Hunting job" the familiar deep voice, Atlesian accent refined with high society pronunciation all of which had been eroded away slightly by years away from the icy Kingdom and the amused edge to speakers' voice all bringing Athena-Jade to a halt, wide-eyed and suddenly stunned, yet ecstatic with a comically large smile spreading across her face until it threatened to spill over the edges of her cheeks at the sight of none other than Arctus and Diamond Slate no more than a few dozen feet ahead of her.
There was a single beat of silence before Athena was in motion.
"OH MY GOSH YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK SO BAD, YOU ARE THE SUCKIEST!" she laughed hysterically as she sprinted towards her brother and promptly launched herself at him, a flying tackle that ended in a hug with her limbs wrapped tightly around his broad torso "OVER A WEEK! WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU SHOW UP TO CLASSES AND THEN VANISH!….DIAMOND I'VE MISSED YOU HOW ARE YOU?"
"Hey AJ, sorry we haven't been able to stick around. We've been busy with work, the talks and seminars have been a favour to Professor Adel" Diamond answered, ruffling her sister in law's hair as Athena-Jade clambered down from where Arctus was holding her aloft "Dude I like the cut, I knew you'd gone for a new look"
"Really?" Athena positively beamed with pride at the praise "I just thought it was time for something new y'know, something different….more 'me'"
"You look tough, which you've gotta be since you're a Hunter now" Arctus chimed in, making to ruffle his sister's hair only for her to playfully swat his hand away and stick her tongue out at him "But since we're here and Mum and Aunt Winter aren't you know I've gotta ask the questions, are you eating properly, have you taken up any hobbies, are you making new friends"
"Well now I've gotta give you a 'Mum' answer and call you a dolt" Athena rolled her bright blue eyes before pointing at her partner who had been left several paces behind "My partner is right there, Hops come over here and say hi the third coolest of my parents' kids; this is Zirconia Shadowmoon"
"AJ you pest don't make me tell you partner about why you wear the band-aids" Arctus mirrored his sisters' eye roll perfectly before turning to face Zirconia "It's a pleasure to finally meet you properly"
"Likewise, a pleasure to make your acquaintance" Zirconia murmured quietly, mismatched eyes downcast in a sudden and rare display of something akin to a nervous shyness that went beyond her usual quiet demeanour.
"Relax kid, the big guy's nowhere near as scary as he looks" Diamond assured her, picking up on the hesitance quickly and patting her shoulder with her cybernetic left hand.
"So…." Athena sidled back into her brothers' personal space and looked up at him with an innocent expression that conveyed the exact opposite "Now you've finally paid me, the clearly forgotten middle child a visit, what're you doing here?"
"Really milking this for all it's worth to show off for your partner huh?" Arctus noted, seeing the way Zirconia stifled a laugh at his sisters' antics, only for the older Faunus to wince as she quickly straightened out the moment he brought attention to it.
"We've just been reporting to Coco, Felix was helping Ruby teach a final year class today so he hasn't been on the ground; now we're free we were gonna meet up with Ruby….We came looking for you 'cos we thought you might wanna come?"
"Wait, does this mean I'm getting brought into mission briefings?" Athena gasped out, eyes like saucers with hopeful disbelief, only for her earlier pout to be restored and increased a hundredfold by her brothers' reply.
"HA! No" Arctus shook his head "You've gotta sneak around and do things undercover for a little longer yet, it's tradition….not that I'm condoning that of course"
"Of course, Mister 'I shot at an Atlas Specialist when I was in First Year and only got community service because my family's connected'" Diamond interjected with a scoff which left her husband sputtering before she turned to Athena-Jade "Look here's the deal, your team did good work helping break up that fight club and helping find the smugglers so I'm gonna unofficially tell you what's happening because you've earned the right to know"
"And you didn't hear this from us, or anyone" Arctus added pointedly.
"Naturally" it was, surprisingly Zirconia's quiet murmur that answered him.
"Okay so, I know that nobody has come out and said it to you but you must have realised that the Professors are putting extra pressure on you and the syllabus was moved around a little….That's because they've taken an interest in your team specifically and are trying to subtly give you extra training; do not repeat that to anyone" Diamond noted "So you're not in the big leagues yet and you don't get to know everything that's going on behind the scenes….But you've obviously figured out that Team FADE are here to help track down the rest of the smuggling operation; that's why we've been busy, we've been trying to act covertly whilst at the same time making a show of being seen to force them to act and make mistakes"
"But that's not why we wanted you to come with us" Arctus grinned "We just happened to hear how little you actually visit Aunt Ruby and Penny when you're not in class….Have you actually properly introduced her to your partner?"
"Intro….Arctus you goof Aunt Ruby teaches us both!" Athena-Jade sputtered out indignantly
"I have never visited your Aunts at their home" Zirconia intoned matter-of-factly, whilst her mismatched eyes shone with quiet mischief.
"Okay, that settles it….Come on Hops, let's go" Athena declared brightly draping an arm over her partners' shoulders and making a show of marching her passed Arctus, only to pause when she drew level with her brother, the two Bear Faunus locking eyes and speaking in perfect tandem.
"Think fast!"
With no more warning each of them conjured one of their glyphs and produced a sliver of Gravity Dust, feeding the glimmering obsidian mineral into the surface of their glyph and attempting to press its' now ebony surface against their sibling to hurl them down the corridor, the fact that both of them had done so at the same moment caused the floor to tremble slightly and the air between the two glyphs warp and thrum as the simple prank turned into a battle of wills which ended promptly when Athena-Jade was flung backwards and off-balance, though Zirconia caught her before she could topple to the ground.
"I taught you that trick pest!" Arctus laughed good naturedly.
"You suck!" Athena called over her shoulder as she was led away by her quietly chuckling partner, the snowy haired girl making a rude hand gesture in her brothers' general direction.
"I'm telling Mum!" he called after her, only for Athena to add a second finger to the gesture. Rather than set off after them immediately he and Diamond remained in the hallway for a few moments, sharing knowing and yet curious smiles as they watched the younger pair continue on without them until finally it was Arctus who broke the silence
"Okay….So we know that the stuff in the media is trash, but do you think they're…."
"Honestly" Diamond leaned against a wall, blowing hair from her eyes and appearing thoughtful "I don't think they are, but I get why people think they might be"
"Okay" Arctus nodded slowly, matching his wife's pondering expression before adding "You think we should help 'em along-"
"Absolutely not!" Diamond gasped, affronted at the very notion "They've gotta work it out on their own, they'll figure things out at their own pace and we're not gonna interfere….It'll be more fun that way"
"And apparently I'm the sappy one" Arctus murmured as he wrapped an arm around Diamond's waist and the two of them set up, slowly catching up to Athena-Jade and Zirconia who had likely not even realised that the older pair had been left behind yet.
"Oh you definitely are" Diamond replied, rolling her cherry red eyes in a way that both Arctus and Athena-Jade had unconsciously learned to mimic.
Elsewhere within the vast campus of Breaktide Academy, specifically within the dormitory of Team WULF its' leader paced agitatedly; an impressive task given the limited space available to him.
"I am a fucking moron!" Wolfram, who was currently clad in a vest and sweatpants bearing the academies' name and emblem and allowing his smokey blue-grey hair to fall about his shoulders declared irritably. There were a few seconds of silence following this outburst as Ursinia, who had been dutifully polishing her well worn and yet well maintained leather boots stopped for long enough to lock eyes with Laser, the wiry scavenger pausing and looking up from Permadeath, whose bade he had been inspecting with a magnifying glass whilst debating if a trip to the workshop was needed; the two of them fighting back smirks' as each of them silently willed the other to be the one to bite the proverbial bullet and give the response that they both wanted to say.
Only for Diabla to speak up first.
"Not that anyone here is disagreeing, but we're gonna need some context" her usual broad accent and gruff tone were tinged with a rare and almost imperceptibly faint hint of amusement. Wolfram stopped his pacing and gave her an incredulous look that was not quite a glare as he was abruptly stunned and dragged from his own thoughts.
"Wanna try that sentence again?" he offered, making only a token effort at his usual threatening glower and tone to which Diabla responded with a disinterested scoff.
"Not especially" she slipped off of her bunk where she had been using a pair of grip strengthening aids to work fingers which had been broken during the training exercise weeks prior, the most physical exertion she could bring herself to endure after her first sparring match following her accident and brought herself up to her full height, she was shorter than Wolfram but not by much and the gesture made it abundantly clear that his attitude would have no effect on her "I didn't-"
"Come here to make friends, we fucking know-"
"You're right I didn't" Diabla interjected, raising her own voice louder than Wolfram's attempt to talk over her "But since I'm stuck with you anyway and I'd actually like to get some peace and quiet tonight why don't you quit your bitching and actually tell us what's wrong so we can help?"
"Well I'll be darned" Ursinia drawled out slowly, breaking a silence that lingered for a few seconds, a broad grin that displayed a slightly gap-toothed smile splitting her face; seeing this Diabla felt her own hard expression, one which had become natural to her over years of unpleasantness beginning to soften and hastily redoubled her efforts to seem stern and imposing, counselling and therapy be damned she was not quite ready to give up something that had become a key part of her identity and start letting her team-mates know just how much she had come to appreciate them just yet.
"I don't if we should get something to commemorate the occasion….I dunno plates, people in the Kingdoms do commemorative plates right, or coins….But I'd just try and spend those? Or should we all agree to never speak of this moment again; Remnant must never know" the nasal tone and rapid-fire pace of Laser's chattering drew Diabla's focus for just long enough for her to turn her fiery orange eyes in her partners' direction and she offered him the slightest ghost of a smile that tugged at the scar that curved along the length of her right cheekbone before turning back to Wolfram and silently making a gesture that made it clear that he should speak; which he finally did whilst running his hands through his now untamed hair.
"Okay so I said I'll take Astra out on a date-"
"You've been dating for weeks" Diabla huffed
"Yeah but we haven't actually been on a date, we've been too busy with assignments and stuff" Wolfram grumbled "So now it's our first real date, I've got less than twelve hours work something out and no idea what I'm gonna do"
"Dinner and a movie dumb-ass, problem solved" Diabla shot back, managing to keep the sneer in her words to a minimum.
"And that's why you're single" Wolfram countered with equally playful venom " Seriously, the most predictable and basic shit ever for a first date….with Astra, come on now?"
"Oh honey you've got it bad" Ursinia chimed in, stopping polishing her boots once again to almost coo the words out and thoughtfully adding "You've spent more time with 'em then us, what're they into?"
"I know they're big into Faunus rights and politics, they don't talk about it much but they're whole family's big on it….there's a little festival in a few weeks but that's no use to me now though" Wolfram spoke in a tense and hurried way, showing his friends just how far from his usual commanding comfort zone he was "Martial arts, but come on we have combat class almost every day, fast cars and engineering but I haven't got a driving license-"
"Don't need one, I can get you a car" Laser offered, only Diabla to reach over and swat him around the back of the head.
"Do not steal a car" she stated bluntly, every syllable tinged with exasperation.
"Darlin' I think you might be overthinking this a little" Ursinia noted, still smiling broadly at the rare display of softness and uncertainty from her partner "We're both from little village in the middle of Grimm country and hell, Astra might be from bigger city than this but I don't think they're gonna expect a big showy gesture anyhow"
"It's me taking them out, always expect big and showy" Wolfram snorted before allowing himself to flop back onto his bunk dramatically with a wordless growl "But thanks….I'm not saying you're right, but thanks"
"You don't wanna do something basic and predictable fine" Diabla sighed, determined to make herself useful to her team-mate somehow "It's Astra, you're always yapping about how cool they are and the plans they come up with on the fly-"
"Okay firstly fuck you and the tone you're using" Wolfram interrupted without sitting up or looking at her "Secondly, those plans are awesome and you know it. Remember initiation?"
"So do something that Astra wouldn't expect from you and make it look like something you thought up on the fly" Diabla finished without conceding Wolfram's point; following her comment there was a few moments of silence as Laser and Ursinia looked from Diabla to Wolfram whilst blinking in stunned silence whilst Wolfram himself slowly rose into a sitting position and looked her first curiously, then with a slow smile spreading across his features which almost seemed at odds with their natural state.
"Well holy shit" he murmured slowly "The thing is I know that you've probably just taken some bit of Atlesian battle tactics and tried to apply it to dating….But at the same time it's actually kinda smooth; how the hell are you single?"
"Literally everything else about my personality" Diabla retorted without hesitation, enjoying the laughter at her own expense more than she thought she ever could and allowing herself to finally feel at home despite still being so far from what she worked for and envisioned for herself.
All whilst privately resolving to never admit out loud that Wolfram had been entirely accurate about where her idea had come from.
Night had long since fallen over the vast wastelands which made up much of Menagerie, it's few cities and sparsely scattered settlements being far in the distance, leaving the endless expanse of blackness to be illuminated by the stars, broken moon and the blinking lights affixed to wings and underside of the occasional aircraft flying overhead; each of them being reflected by the bone armour of the Hell-Hound and the largest and most dangerous of its' pack of Beowolves who had come to form an honour guard of sorts around it, the armoured carapace of the former having a silvery, metallic hue and all of them casting a bloody light around them with the glow of their eyes.
Forming a fitting ambience as the Hell-Hound stood atop its' latest kill and took its' prize from them.
The hybrid Alpha Grimm had found, hunted down and corned its' latest kill on one of the few, rarely maintained and scarcely patrolled roads that cut through the brick-red, cracked and dusty and wove a web that connected the various settlements, plainly marking where Faunus and humanity had fought to retake the island from the Grimm that had controlled it ever since its' original inhabitants had been killed in the fires of the great war. This prey specifically had been slim pickings, an individual who had made the foolhardy decision to travel alone and whose motorcycle had offered them little protection when the Hell-Hound and its' pack of monsters had set up them on a stretch of road where the lights had either been damaged or simply allowed to fall into disrepair, the only warning their victim received being the sound of snarling and hellish red eyes rapidly drawing near before a shell fired from the Hell-Hound's back-mounted cannon had flung them from their vehicle. With its' victim downed and too dazed and injured to resist the hybrid Alpha Grimm had savaged the biker without mercy, spilling blood and shattering bone as it sought out anything on their person which might provide what the Grimm required until finally it had let out a shrieking howl of victory whilst stood upon its' victims' body, its' honour guard of Beowolves growling in steadily mounting rage with every moment they were denied their share of the kill.
Yet the Hell-Hound did not see them.
The Cyclopean eye of the monster was as unfocused as it was possible for such a baleful crimson orb to be as its' ragged and flattened vestigial tendrils enveloped the device the prey had been carrying, splitting and growing into smaller roots and capillaries of obsidian flesh that forced their way into the scroll and broke its' pristine surface open, merging with the various minute components in a process that would inevitably break them in a matter of moments yet for the few, fleeting moments that the Hell-Hound managed to pervert the devices' function to its' own will the Grimm was left in a state of almost euphoria as the insatiable hunger that made up the core of its' being was, for the briefest possible moment sated.
It was not without consequence however and the Hell-Hound, still on the cusp of true self and sentience yet unable to truly cross that threshold found its' mind and consciousness slowly eroded with each exposure to the incomprehensible influx of information. What it had felt during its' initial exposure to the man-made network, at the fight-club where it had been captured and unleashed upon Hunters had been immense, yet somehow focused, anchored and secured whilst every subsequent attempt that the Hell-Hound had made to reattach itself to that infinite well of rage, fear, grief and sorrow from which it could gorge itself had been something else entirely, the Grimm's still forming and incomplete psyche had been simply cast adrift into a space that was both a screaming, raging maelstrom and at the same time an intricate web of vast and ephemeral architecture and the monster, previously untroubled by matters such as the nature of reality was promptly driven insane as this vast network began to superimpose itself over the connection to the sliver of the fractured Grimm Hive-Mind it shared with its' pack of lesser Beowolves, allowing it to control them through the Alpha Beowolf that it had consumed. The final result of this was that the Hell-Hound was left blind and almost comatose despite standing upright, its' four overlong and clawed arms raking into the ground and its' tail of lashing, interwoven tendrils lashing as its' entire body shuddered, ragged breaths misting as they were expelled from its' armoured and skeletal maw with a pained keening sound.
Until, sensing weakness a pair particularly bold Beowolves decided that they would wait no longer and pounced; some burgeoning intelligence beyond animal fury convincing them that greatness would come to whichever of them slew the Alpha.
The spike of murderous intent through their shared mental connection broke the Hell-Hound from is' feverish delirium and sent it into a hateful fury of its' own; the cracked and arid earth cracking beneath its' grasp as it lurched forward on all six limbs and widened its' stance, the arcing mast of jagged bone that rose from its' back and shoulders like obscene wings to encase its' ranged weapon twitching like flexing fingers as it fired at the first of the pair of would be usurpers as they came rushing in headlong; the Beowolf perished in cloud of jet black viscera that quickly faded into smoke and intangible fragments as a projectile of dense and solid, yet streamlined and sharpened bone tore through its' skull.
The second Beowolf drew close enough to leap at the Hell-Hound, earning itself a far more gruesome end.
It was plucked unceremoniously from the air as the hybrid Alpha sensed its' intentions and reared up, taking one of its' limbs in each of its' four arms and, as the lesser monster continued to thrash it reached out with its' vestigial tendrils which fell about its' form like rags; the urge to consume and destroy still running rampant through its' savage mind after being wrested from the high of the man-made network. The tendrils bored and tore into the Beowolf, one of them slithering down its' gullet to silence its' howling and in mere moments the smaller Grimm was gone, consumed and unmade from the inside out with its' mass added to the Alpha that had destroyed it.
From this act of cannibalism the Hell-Hound was gifted the closest thing to an epiphany that it could comprehend in its' current, unfinished and not truly sentient state; it had focused entirely on stalking and hunting prey that would give it access to the mental high of whatever man-made connection that it was being subjected to every time it merged its' form with one of their devices, yet the Alpha had neglected to add more Grimm matter to its' form and suffered the consequences for its' burgeoning addiction with the steady dissolution of its' hard-earned intelligence.
Realising that it was surrounded by sources of Grimm matter it rounded on the remainder of its' pack and let out a single piercing shriek that sent them scurrying back several paces, their own survival instinct overriding even the mental tug of the Hell-Hound's control.
However the Hell-Hound forced itself to halt before it could give license to its' urges and butcher its' own pack; some faint echo of sanity and intellect arguing that there were untold other Grimm on Menagerie, plenty more Grimm to be brought into the fold of the pack, more to be added to itself so that it could chase it what it truly sought.
In all regards the Hell-Hound simply needed more.
The following morning had come and with it a fresh wave of enthusiastic yet unspeakably nervous energy which Astra's attempts to mask from their team-mates had been unconvincing to say the least.
"Will you sit still" Athena-Jade grumbled as she knelt in front of the Deer Faunus as they sat on Regalia's bunk, the Bear Faunus barely containing the urge to grab them by the antlers and physically hold them steady so that they could apply a more intricate and stylised variation of Astra's usual dark make up, with winged eyeliner that featured both the customary black and a fiery red that matched the dyed tips of their Mohawk.
"You know I could do this myself right, I've been doing my own make up for years….but thanks for this" Astra replied, the wavering note to their brief chuckling betraying just how nervous they truly were.
"Yeah well, your hands were shaking. You would've turned your face into art nouveau"
"Art what?"
"Never mind" Athena sighed, sapphire blue eyes rolling before being narrowed as her brow furrowed in concentration once again and she continued to work with more finesse and careful delicacy that one might suspect her large hands and bulky, muscular frame to be capable of until, after several minutes of intense focus she leaned back and let out a sigh.
"Okay, eat something before you put anything else on-"
"I don't know if I-"
"Heh you've got gotta eat" Regalia interjected from where she had made herself comfortable, pressing a large tray of food that she had procured from the canteen into her partners' hands before giving them a quizzical expression "You're not getting all dressed up again? You looked super cool last time"
"Yeah and last time I got shot out of the air by the Grimm" Astra snorted "The odds of it happening again are a million to one but those clothes were borrowed, nobody is gonna lend me stuff after that"
"Between that, our first mission and the head to head training exercise we do have a habit of ending up surrounded by wreckage" Zirconia observed quietly from where she sat on her own bunk, revealing that she was paying at least some attention in her team-mates' affairs and was not wholly invested in the anime that she was currently watching on her scroll, something that Athena-Jade had initially found hilariously at odds with her partners' mysterious and brooding demeanour despite the fact that the Grasshopper Faunus often played haunting renditions of the shows' opening themes on her violin.
"Okay fine….But you're lucky I didn't call Coral to help us pick an outfit for you" Athena-Jade shook her head in despair, Astra refusing to dignify that particular comment due to the fact that they were eating and also the fact that they did not know Coral Scylla well enough joke about her in her absence, especially given how protective Athena herself could be of her younger sister.
"So, any idea where Wolfram's taking you?" Regalia asked, taking a seat beside her partner and letting her usual curiosity for all things roam free "You think he's gonna bring flowers"
"Can you actually picture Wolfram with flowers?" Athena snorted, falling silent at the annoyed look Astra shot her.
"I honestly don't know" Astra admitted "It was short notice, all I know is that it's a surprise"
"You stayed up all night texting him and bugging him to tell you didn't you?" Athena asked with a toothy smirk.
"Obviously, yeah" Astra replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Our dorm is right across the hall from theirs!" Regalia noted somewhat incredulously
"Your point being?" Astra countered before setting the breakfast that she brought for them aside "Okay, lemme finish up the warpaint, I am not doing a half assed job on-"
The sound of knuckles rapping firmly against the door cut them off.
"He's early" Regalia grinned
"Don't let him in in yet I'm not ready!" Astra hissed out in a rapidly mounting panic, to which Athena-Jade responded with the kind of smirk common to all younger siblings about to engage in mischief
"Oh I'm letting him in" her voice took on a sing song quality and a glyph thrown up between the two of them stopped Astra from interfering as she almost skipped to the dormitory door and pulled it open in a dramatic, sweeping gesture.
"Hey Wolf-You're not Wolfram"
"You're right I'm not" Felix Xiao Long answered with a grin that flashed overlong canines as he stepped into the dorm, accepting the one-armed hug that Athena-Jade gave to her cousin as he did so.
"Y'know, it feels like treason to say it but I think this dorm might just be a little bigger than the ones at Halo Academy….and seriously, why do they not just make bunk beds as standard, every single team stacks their beds"
"Hey Fluffy" Astra gave an audible gulp as they realised that the plans they had made were about to come crashing face first into an unexpected reality "What're you doing here? Giving another talk?"
"Nah not today" Felix's grinned broadened into something almost predatory "Arctus and Diamond are working today and Coco wanted me to get a little more hands on with training you while I'm on the island….so get your gear ready, all four of you; Eagle and Carcharodon are already on location and I'll be driving you out to meet them for a little field trip"
"Carcharodon's here?" Athena-Jade's expression morphed through several stages as she processed that information, she had a feeling that the Shark Faunus had never truly forgiven the unwitting mockery she had subjected him to once as a child.
"Bro!" Astra's voice came as a defeated whine "I've already got plans"
"Plans?" Felix raised an eyebrow almost theatrically "It's a Friday, there's classes on Fridays and class is most definitely in session today kid….Unless you've got something else you'd rather be doing?"
"He's going on a date today" Regalia declared happily, earning herself a betrayed and almost comically imploring gesture from Astra whilst Athena snickered in a corner of the dorm, happy to simply watch the situation unfurl whilst Zirconia observed silently from above.
"Oh right" Felix breathed out, crossing the dorm and slinging an arm around his younger siblings' shoulders "You've got yourself a boyfriend now, I heard about that, I heard it's cute….Funny thing is that I didn't hear it from you though, what gives kid?"
"I haven't even told my parents yet" Astra countered.
"Is that better?"
"Fuck you man, I was gonna….We've only been dating a couple weeks, haven't even been on a proper date, that's what we were planning for today"
"Ah, I get it, I get it" Felix relented a little, deciding that tormenting his younger sibling could wait for a more suitable occasion, however his role as protective older brother would wait for nothing "So spill, tell me about him"
"Wolfram Ironside, he's the leader of Team WULF-"
"Another team leader, weird that we both went for that….don't think about it too much" Felix chuckled "So I'm guessing he's a bit of a bad-ass and you've gotten each other out of some scrapes, met during initiation?"
"Before it actually" Astra answered
"I almost ran him over with my bike, they started talking after" Regalia added, the comment dubious in its' helpfulness.
"Well big brother protocols have to be followed, AJ you can ask Arctus if I'm lying" the Lion Faunus laughed, his mechanical tail swishing behind him and deep navy blue eyes shining with mirth.
"This cannot be happening right now" Astra gave a resigned sigh
"Oh trust me, as Professor Nora always said….This. Is. Happening" Felix stepped away from his sibling and addressed Team MARZ as a whole "Okay, you've got fifteen minutes to be suited and booted, weapons ready….And one of you needs to tell me where Team WULF's dorm it, I wanna invite their leader along and show him where I'll bury him if he fucks up"
"Well, this promises to be a pleasant Friday" Zirconia dead-panned as she hopped down from her bunk, the sarcasm masking the fact that she was not entirely sure how serious Felix was being.
Author's Notes:
Not too much to say here, just a filler chapter that's setting up for some more fun stuff.
Although it wasn't particularly important in this chapter, despite being directly stated I think that the decision to have the Professors take a direct interest in Team MARZ and bring them, if not into the fold at least on the periphery of it was one of my smarter choices, just for the options it opens up and the amount of skirting around things that I can avoid.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Almost two weeks, which means that for once we're not starting on a Monday, Friday or weekend.
If you want the real story of what happened between Team FADE, Ruby and Salem then I can only assume you haven't read FADE: Legacy yet.
Ruby and Yang both no Summer's cookie recipe, feel free to cry.
Felix was a difficult kid.
Honestly I'm enjoying all the little nods to FADE that I'm working back in.
Okay so Vol.01 of this story is roughly a year or so after the epilogue of FADE where Olivine was pregnant, so the baby's been born and that's where the other characters are (I didn't mention it because he isn't usually on the ship but if you want to imagine that Nyanza came back to Vale then do so).
Just so you know, this story will be travelling to Neo Vale at some point, so we will see Halo Academy again.
Of course Team FADE are gonna interact with Team MARZ and give 'em some training, that was the whole point.
"Well….Are you free tomorrow?" family be like.
Team NUGT are basically a background team that exist to get rag-dolled….and yet there is fan-art of Nugget but none of Team MARZ or WULF, the mind boggles.
Seriously, we really never see Zirconia fight unarmed.
Athena-Jade is the hype-person you need.
And that's how you create an opportunity for plot to happen, give your main character the day off, then proceed to ruin that day off.
So Diabla is back in action and is slowly taking the first steps toward being a better person, and yeah AJ gave the audible gulp because no matter how sad her background is Diabla is a beast in a fight and AJ is scared of her no matter how tough she wants to look.
I mean when your first date goes that badly there's a benchmark for shit dates that's gonna be hard to beat.
Honestly this scene being set in the wasteland was partly to show that Grapeshot and Carmesi have eyes and ears pretty much everywhere and partly just to give them a neutral location to meet with Rowan.
Hammerfall Observation Outpost, the initiation launch site, that Zirconia's guardian has some involvement with….We'll be going back there before too long.
"If those First Years we took with us were anybody else" Y'know, it's not the first time Carmesi has made a comment like this….Do you ever wonder which member of Team MARZ it is that gives him that opinion?
I finally named Carmesi's weapon.
"You told somebody and that's the same as telling me old man" not even hiding that it's a power play.
"Really now, because if I recall it was your inability to just that which attracted the attention of the Council in the first place, rather a poor show" followed by an excellent comeback, it was after all the bodies being found at the side of the road that drew attention to the Desert Claw fight club.
"Before I make shoes out of you" of course she made a casually racist comment about his scales.
So just last chapter Rowan was considering taking over and getting back in touch with the old backers and Grapeshot just made the mistake of giving her more free reign.
I mentioned last chapter that Rowan does actually have her own weapon, there it is.
Oh her fight with Carmesi is just inevitable.
AJ is right, handle business first and then enjoy a long weekend.
Callback to the beach party, which reminds me that we do need to see more Little Fox.
That is the proper AJ meeting up with Arctus for the first time in the story reaction, complete with glomping.
Diamond liking AJ's undercut was fun, just because AJ spent literal years styling her hair like Diamond and looking up to her.
Of course Arctus quoted Winter's line to Weiss from canon.
Suddenly nervous Zirconia, that's gonna be fun to unpack later.
Of course AJ played the middle child card.
"You've gotta sneak around and do things undercover for a little longer yet, it's tradition….not that I'm condoning that of course" are you even an older sibling if you don't do this.
Arctus and Athena-Jade using small Gravity Dust glyphs to knock each other over when they walk passed is just some peak sibling shit that occurred to me as I was writing the scene.
Oh come on, Arctus and Diamond are so similar to AJ and Hops that they had to pick up on it….even if AJ and Hops haven't yet.
Oh come on, Wolfram set them up, someone had to take the shot.
I didn't give Diabla crutches last chapter, but her recovery is still ongoing.
Ursinia is right, he's got it bad and Wolfram is also right, he can do better.
"Literally everything else about my personality" she self aware enough to know just how fucked up she is and, outside of the joke….that honestly just makes it sadder.
And now for a catch up with our favourite abomination.
So I haven't outright stated what the Hell-Hound is connecting to, but I'm also not being subtle about it either….Also the fact that every time it merges with a scroll or something similar takes a toll on it gives the Hell-Hound something to do whilst the rest of the plot is happening.
I'm sorry but Grimm on Grimm violence is the perfect opportunity for body horror.
So, sounds like we might be getting another upgrade to the Hell-Hound before it fights any of the main cast again.
Team MARZ getting each other ready for dates and parties is just gonna be a ritual they share.
Of course AJ knows what art nouveau is, she did go to museums with Zirconia.
Zirconia makes a point….I feel like "Member of Team MARZ gets buried in wreckage" is gonna be this stories' equivalent to "Felix gets his nose broken" in FADE.
Y'know I realised something writing this scene…..Astra is almost certainly a brat, I had never considered their kinks before.
So Felix proceeded to ruin the date before it even started, we'll also be getting Eagle and Carcharodon next chapter….I debated having Car in this chapter but it would've been too much.
Also, if you read FADE I want you to remember the scroll call between Car and a much younger AJ….He has not forgotten that.
I will never pass up a chance to quote the esteemed Miss Valkyrie.
Also, I feel like Felix is coming across a little mean here….Just remember, he gets his idea of how to be a good older sibling from Corvid and she definitely has a mean streak, that being said the Xiao Long siblings are good people….However the big brother protocols are very real and will be followed.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Funlander and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
I think even Diabla has enough survival instinct to not try and fight a Hunter who has literally thrown hands with Salem herself and walked away from it….Diamond is gonna be as pissed as anyone but professionalism, she can't backhand a student when she's giving their class a seminar.
The key to non-lewd hand-holding is too give these idiots lots of feelings about a lot of things and not enough braincells to compute even half of it.
Damascus was absolutely giving Zirconia some shit, half seriously but yeah….AJ and Hops, I have plans, really long game plans and you know I mean it when I say it.
Oh Carmesi isn't gonna go off the rails, he has his beliefs and principles.
Yeah I should have given more nuance to Eagle's comment but it was honestly just a flippant aside in casual conversation….But I love how popular she managed to become with my readers.
I can be wholesome sometimes.
Funny thing, Diabla just doesn't apoloise often due to the way she is but I actually have a hard and fast rule when writing Wolfram that he can NEVER be allowed to apologise, it's just something he does not do.
I feel like Gang would definitely let Diabla just rant at him for like twenty minutes without even pausing for breath before explaining exactly why what happened happened, because at the end of the day, Atlas Academy only had so many vacant spots; as heart-breaking as it is for Diabla there was no foul play...Also, final say on application does not go to Gangrel, he has the same job as Arslan.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.