Chapter 52: Faster Than the Flame

"When the fire lights the sky..."

Nex growled as they raced back to the mansion. Bombs rocked the world, embers licking the breeze. He could feel it. The heat kissing his cheeks. The spray of automatics—put put put—and the roar of cannons echoed past the hedges.

He leapt over them, his aura bursting from his feet and leaving trenches on the snow.

Dozens of masked White Fang goons took pot-shots at the guards. The tables of food were upturned, the goons huddling behind them. Three of the Atlesian paladins—no doubt the ones stolen by Roman—lumbered towards the mansion, their turrets spitting out shells of explosive dust bundled in shining hard light.

They crashed into a translucent, pale blue field, scattering more smoke in the wind. A defense system versus heavy artillery, no doubt. But still, they were horribly outgunned. All they had were a few huntsmen and huntresses and a fuckton of civvies probably scared out of their wits.

"Flank the ground personnel," Winter said, landing behind him. Her sword creaked. "I don't want any foolish heroics from the two of you."

A guard screamed as a hail of bullets mowed him down, green crackling as blood painted the snow crimson.

Blake nodded. She gripped her knife tighter, her form blurring, fading into stillness until there was nothing left.

"Here I go killing again," Nex said, his finger twitching. Hrunting shortened into a shotgun. He rolled on the snow, crouching behind a table and almost stepping on a creamy piece of cake. "Happy fucking birthday, Weiss."

He grinned and squeezed the trigger.

Hrunting howled, the volatile shell sending three goons into the air.

Pieces of them maybe.

Nex had to duck the fuck down before he could confirm, gunfire pinging off the steel table.

He peeked over it when the shots suddenly stopped.

Blake leapt out of the shadows, five of her clones distracting the goons long enough for her to knock two of them unconscious.

"What's the plan, boss?" Nex said as Winter weaved a glyph, the orange snowflake spitting fireballs at the paladins. "I've looked at their specs. Those bots are no joke."

Another shell shook the world, the ground under his knees wobbling. A crack. A small one at the bottom of the mansion's barrier. But it was there. Any more and it would collapse, leaving them defenseless against three of the military's best murderbots.

"My most powerful summons might be able to dispatch one of them and stall the rest," Winter said, "I need you to go inside. Find my mother."

"Your mom?" Nex said. "What about Ironwood?"

"General Ironwood has no doubt called for reinforcements," Winter said. "But I don't believe that this is an isolated attack."

Nex nodded, licking his flaked lips. "'Cause if it were, they'd definitely dump more goons into it."

"Go now," Winter said, a silver glyph tinkling beside her. "Find my mother."

He dashed to the barred doors, huddling behind Vigilance. Gunfire streaked. Blood and snow squished under his shoes. Hard light sprang from Vigilance—and he just kept running as more bullets bounced off his shield.

Halfway.

A paladin's cannon whirred.

Pareidolia screamed at him to hurry the fuck up.

Shit.

The cannon fired.

Nex gritted his teeth, shoved more aura into his shield, and braced his legs for the missiles already zooming towards him—dozens of them casting long shadows over white.

The doors slammed open.

"Nex!" Weiss yelled as she sprinted out of the mansion, Myrtenaster already dancing circles. "Watch out!"

Dark blue glyphs spun in front of him, the missiles lighting up the night with a deafening boom.

He winced, his extra pair of ears flattening as he turned and closed the gap between him and his fiance.

Nex panted, stopping at her side. "I could kiss you for that. Thanks."

Weiss winked. "You can kiss me all you want, Mr Shade." She glared at the paladins, brandishing her rapier. "But for now, I need to have some pointed words with whoever just ruined my birthday party."

"White Fang," Nex said. "Stolen paladins. Talk to you later."

He ran into the mansion, Ruby and Penny going the way he came. Ironwood had all the guests sequestered on the stage. No doubt trying to calm them down before they went off, panicked like headless chickens, and got themselves killed.

"The situation is well under control," Ironwood said. An obvious lie. But still. "Specialist Schnee and Developer Shade—"

"Is here, boss," Nex said, collapsing Vigilance. "They got us with illusions."

He had a nagging suspicion that it was Neo who teleported the goons and the paladins into the estate. As well as the one who cloaked those bodies and killed Winter's familiars. She could do it. Knowing his fellow rogue, it was child's play.

"How do we know you're not working for them?" some guy in a fancy blue suit said. "You all saw the masks. They're White Fang."

The crowd murmured, even as Mekel cracked some joke about cosplay stores and rabid fanboys.

Nex rolled his eyes. "You'd all be in trouble if I were White Fang. And seeing as you're still alive..."

The man gasped. "Did you hear that? He's threatening us—"

"Enough," Ironwood said. "Developer Shade has proven his loyalty to Atlas time and again. I will not condone you slandering military personnel."

"Tch." The man clicked his tongue, averting his eyes. To Whitley of all people.

"Now, now," Jacques said. He grinned at the crowd of fancy suits. "A little bit of trust isn't too much to ask for, is it? Why, Mr Shade here has thawed the heart of my ice-cold daughter, after all."

Nex rolled his eyes even more. Weiss never really was ice-cold. In fact, she was more of an ice cube with a warm center, thawing itself out the more he got to know her.

He was the one who was ice-cold. Not Weiss. Despite the fact that he seemed warmer—with all the smiles and grins he fenced himself with.

Nex nodded at Jacques, sheathing his sword as he climbed up the wide stairs. He jogged down the hall. Paintings. One. Two. Four. Seven. Twelve. There. Willow's room, the door ajar.

Nex barged into her room, his eyes taking in the darkness. And his nose, the stench.

"Are"—Willow dropped a bottle of wine, the glass thudding over the carpet—"the fireworks already here?"

"Not fireworks," Nex said. "White Fang with bombs and murderbots."

"Oh." Willow shut her eyes, the strap of her dark, glittering dress dangling off her shoulder. "Shit."

Nex crossed his arms. "Yep. Shit's the best word to describe it."

"I'm not dying sober," Willow said, uncorking another bottle of wine. "Want a drink—"

Nex snarled and slapped the bottle away, the shards spilling across the far wall. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Willow said, staring at her empty hand. "That was the last Mistralian Red."

"Screw the Mistralian Red." Nex gripped the collar of her dress. Gods. He really was trying to throttle some sense into a raging drunk. "Your family's down there. Whitley. Winter. Weiss. Jacques. Are you really gonna be drinking while they could be possibly dying?"

"What does it matter"—Willow belched—"we're all going to die anyway." She sniffled. "Mom did it. Dad did it. Mary did it. We're all trapped in an endless cycle of—"

"Shut up," Nex said, releasing his grip. "You're drunk and hopeless." He sighed, shaking his head as he walked out of her room. The door shut with a creak. "Fine. I'll do it myself."

He closed his eyes, tugging on the manifestation of his soul.

First. A sweep. Just to be sure Neo was nowhere near, doing something that could fuck them up even more. His aura trickled into his semblance, the static filling his mind. It buzzed down the hallway, through all the nooks and crannies of the mansion, washing over every single rat and servant cowering in the dark.

Nothing.

Good.

Second. An assessment. His eyes snapped open. He strolled to the window, parting the curtain away. The battle raged below, a pure white Ursa Major duking it out with one of the paladins. Penny, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake weaved around the other two. Harrying the bots with their attacks, they must have managed to distract them long enough for the guards to outflank the goons lying on the snow.

They needed something to turn the tide against the paladins. Something that could pierce through their armor. Something to make their grav-boots slip. Something that could destroy—

No.

He resisted the urge to slap his forehead. Since when was destruction the only path to victory?

Nex pulled up his sleeve.

Third. A contingency. He tapped his watch, activating the built-in scroll. A golden wolf flashed across the hologram.

Paladins were Atlesian tech. Not magic. There had to be some logic behind them. Some way they could be hacked and exploited. He had their programming—of the very same prototypes outside—filed somewhere in his scroll.

He swiped at it, his eyes narrowing.

Numbers raced down the hologram. Thousands of it, his finger blurring as he scrolled through the specs.

Static. His semblance formed another spider web in the darkness of his mind.

"There." Nex paused, his index hovering over an innocuous string of letters and numbers. A vulnerability. Something microscopic and easily missed. But not with his semblance humming at the back of his skull. "Maybe they got stolen before the eggheads managed to plug the holes."

Good for them, if it were true. For the White Fang behind the remote control, not so much.

He smirked and tore his way down the hall, taking the stairs three steps at a time.

"Out of the way!" Nex hollered, skipping around Whitley—who scowled at him.

Ironwood shot him a sweeping glance. "Developer Shade, what—"

"The paladins may have a bad port," Nex said, pointing at his watch. "You know what that means."

Ironwood quirked an eyebrow. "No, but I assume that it's pertinent to our current situation."

"Get me close and I can probably take over the bots," Nex said. "Are we the only ones being attacked?"

"Unfortunately not," Ironwood said. "The residential and commercial districts of Atlas are under siege by White Fang operatives. To make matters worse, a horde of Grimm has breached sectors thirteen and fourteen of Mantle. Likely drawn to the panic."

Sectors thirteen and fourteen. The Bone Alley. Mekel was gonna have a field day with the Grimm threatening his little investments.

Nex licked his lips. "What about the military?"

"We need five more minutes before we can deploy the troops," Ironwood said. "If you can wrest control of those paladins, Developer Shade, then I would take a raise into consideration."

Nex shrugged, already halfway to the door. "No need for a bribe. It's what you hired me for, right?"

He stormed out into the maelstrom of guns and explosions. His ears rang as he huddled beside one of Mekel's goons. The woman earlier. Reloading her rifle. Prime dust rounds. The expensive kind. How many more did she have in that tiny purse?

"Think you can cover me?" Nex said. His shield expanded with a click, his sword still sheathed inside. "I gotta get on top of those paladins."

Penny skidded to a halt beside them, before she growled and threw herself at a paladin yet again—probably her strength semblance in action.

"'Fraid my baby don't do much," the guard said. "But I got 'em masks handled, eh?"

Nex nodded, flexing his shoulder. "On my mark..." His calves tensed. "Now!"

The goon lifted her rifle, firing short bursts at the last of the White Fang.

Nex lunged out of his cover, scrambling past Weiss. She swished her sword, huffing as spikes of ice flew over his head. He grinned as they coated the paladin's elbow and slowed it down. Just enough for him to dodge its punch, the fist chunking nothing but snow.

Pareidolia twitched. Guns. Aimed at him.

Nex raised Vigilance, covering his torso. Dust rounds clanged off his shield. He twisted, hopping onto the murderbot's fist. His feet clung to wet steel.

He yelped, his arms flailing as he tilted backwards. Falling off the mech. Vigilance slipped off his grip, crashing into thick snow.

Shit.

His shoes were ordinary dress shoes. Not the roided out boots he normally wore—

White flashed.

Weiss' arms looped over his stomach, black glyphs halting their plunge. Her heels pressed against a dark blue glyph. They bounced off, swerving past the paladin's head.

"Nice save, partner," Nex said, pressing his watch. The hologram spun as Weiss chuckled and flipped them around. "I just need to..."

His watch blinked.

Nex swiped at the hologram, fingers tapping away. "Got it."

Winter's Ursa growled, poking a paladin as it toppled over, its back sinking into snow. The other two did the same. One of them even pinned an unlucky White Fang goon with its arm, the guy squirming under the cannon.

"Fuck yeah," Nex said when they touched ground, Weiss patting some dust off his chest. "You know what? I really could kiss you right now."

Weiss giggled, leaning against him. Their noses brushed, the wine in her breath warming his lips. "Then kiss me."

Nex smirked, cupping her cheek—

Blake groaned behind them. "Don't do it in front of the kid."

"Hey!" Ruby said. "I'm not a kid! I know all about the kissy stuff—"

"I didn't say you were a kid," Blake said, snickering. "Did I?"

"Negative, friend Blake!" Penny said, snow splashing as she skipped towards Winter. "You haven't classified friend Ruby as a kid!"

Nex laughed. He shot Weiss a wink and pulled away, her cheeks flushing red.

"Miss Belladonna is correct," Winter said, strapping her dagger back to her thigh. "We have important things to attend to."

Nex picked up his weapon, collapsing his shield and attaching it to his belt. "You wanna know how they got us, paladins and all? Codename Neopolitan. That's your girl."

"I see," Winter said. "Does her semblance have limitations? Perhaps a countermeasure we can implement?"

"You mean you don't have anything already in place?" Nex asked. "Aren't you supposed to be in charge of Atlesian security?"

Odd. For the so called forefront of technological advancement, they were awfully behind the game.

Ironwood cleared his throat, the general towering beside him. "Teleportation as a semblance has only appeared three times in recorded history. It isn't something fully understood."

"Well, Neo can't teleport to a place she hasn't seen before," Nex said, scratching his temple. "She's a visual creature. Explains the illusion bit, really."

In hindsight, it also explained why she ported him into the huntresses' restroom.

Damn.

Who was he kidding?

The mute minx probably did it for the shits and giggles.

"Let's put that thought on hold for now," Ironwood said. "We have two cities to protect."

Weiss stepped forward, dragging him along and raising his arm. "Team Snowbear volunteers for the defense of Mantle. Don't you agree, team leader?"

Nex swallowed thickly, licking his chapped lips. "What Weiss said."

"Whipped," Blake muttered. "We're going to Mantle, huh?"

"I'm coming too," Ruby said. "I wanna help."

"Absolutely not," Jacques said, marching out of the mansion along with Mekel. "You, my dear daughter, will stay in your room until it's safe."

"I dunno, Jack," Mekel said, kicking a paladin's arm. Thunk. "Mooks and murderbots? Doesn't look very safe to me."

"It's still safer than sending them out there," Jacques said. "You of all people should know that."

Weiss scowled, raising her chin. "You can't stop me from going, father. It's our responsibility as huntsmen and huntresses to shield those who cannot defend themselves."

Jacques scoffed. "If only they'd do the same for you."

"If I may, old friend," Ironwood said. "Your daughter is correct." He stared Jacques in the eye. "We need every able-bodied huntsman and huntress on the field."

"Bah. Very well then." Jacques waved at Weiss. "Carry on. See where your path leads you."

Weiss sighed, smoothing over the bottom of her dress. "If you truly wish to keep me safe, then come with us. You're a huntsman as well, aren't you?"

Jacques' eyes darted towards her.

"She's got you there, Jack." Mekel let out a small laugh. "Yo! Selene! Rowan!"

"Aye?" the goon with the gun—no, Selene said.

"Take care of the place," Mekel said. "Fuckers gonna get their skulls caved in if they touched the counter."

Nex chuckled. "And their balls busted if they raided the fridge."

"Aye!" Selene said, strapping her rifle to her back.

She and the other goon—Rowan—jogged past the hedges, fading down the slope to the gates.

"A noble sentiment, asking me to come with you." Jacques shook his head. "Unfortunately, my dear, I have business to attend to. You see, the company requires my leadership in these tumultuous times."

Mekel clapped Jacques' shoulder. "I'll make sure the kids don't kick the bucket. Don't wrinkle your suit over it."

"You're the only one wrinkling my suit, partner," Jacques said, smirking as he swatted Mekel's hand away. "Well, what are you waiting for? Off you go now."

It took them five minutes to change into their combat outfits, scarves and hoods in place. A bullhead took them over the raw chaos below, screams, explosions, and gunfire banging on his ears.

Nex tapped Weiss' shoulder, wrapping an arm around her waist. The seats were the hard, metal ones, but they could definitely make do. Well, them along with Mekel and the rest of his team.

"Why Mantle?" Nex whispered. "I expected you to rush over your company or something."

Weiss rested her head against his. "I can't fix the SDC just yet. I'm going to have to start with something else."

Nex quirked an eyebrow. "You do realize that fending off Grimm won't fix decades of organized crime and who knows what, right?"

Mekel chuckled from the cockpit. "Honestly, dunno why you kids are so obsessed with fixing stuff. Maybe some things aren't meant to be fixed. Maybe some things just are."

"I disagree," Weiss said. "I think we all deserve to live in a better world."

"Now that's something worth fighting for," Mekel said. "I can respect that."

The engine stuttered, a little bit of turbulence rocking their ship.

"You. Summer's kid," Mekel said. "Why'd you become a huntress?"

"Err..." Ruby said. "How do you know mom?"

"I axed her in the face once," Mekel said. "Vytal Festival. So, you gonna answer the question or what?"

"I want to be a hero," Ruby said. "Help people. Catch the bad guys. Slay the monsters. Save the world just like in the fairy tales."

Nex stifled the urge to snort out something terrible, pushing it deep, deep down inside his withered heart.

"Right." Mekel clicked his tongue. "You. Ex-terrorist. Why be a huntress? You want the plebs to treat you faunus better, right?"

Blake nodded. "Being a huntress lets me show the world that faunus and humans can work together. We don't need to fight amongst ourselves. Fighting amongst ourselves is dumb when the real enemy is out there."

"Always the quiet ones, huh?" Mekel said. "That's nice and all, but good luck convincing the average guy that the acid-spitting girl next door is harmless."

"Huntsmen aren't harmless too, you know," Blake said. "Faunus shouldn't be treated differently."

Mekel whistled. "It's all about perspective, little cat. Huntsmen are heroes. Celebrities. Pop open a history book and it's the first thing you'll see. But faunus? You're lucky if you don't trip over war or genocide on the first page."

"That's exactly why," Blake said. "I want to change that."

Mekel hmphed. "You. Nexus Shade. The boy-wonder. Ever find the why to your what?"

All eyes turned to him.

"I'm a simple guy." Nex stroked Weiss' brow, brushing away some stray locks. "I'm already looking at her."

Ruby gagged into her palm.

Weiss snorted, a splash of pink dusting her cheeks. "Whatever happened to being Mister Big Picture, oh partner of mine?"

"What can I possibly say?" Nex laughed, warmth bubbling in his stomach. "I'm terribly selfish."

"Meh," Mekel said. "You know what? I liked you better when you were all brooding and edgy. At least then you didn't spout—"

Their ship shook.

Weiss jolted off him, snatching Myrtenaster.

A Nevermore shrieked. Bone raked over steel.

Above.

It must have dived when they zipped towards Mantle.

"Fuck!" the pilot said. "We're hit! Abandon ship!"

"Alright, guys and gals." Mekel cracked his knuckles. He swept his thick brown cloak to the side as he strode out of the cockpit. The bronze bear keeping it pinned to his shoulder blinked. "Landing strategy. You've all done this before, right?"

"With Grimm raining like cats and dogs?" Nex said, fingering Hrunting and Vigilance. "Nope. Not suicidal."

"Suck it up, edge lord," Mekel said, flinging the side door open.

Freezing winds howled and barged into their ship—along with a swarm of black feathers.

Mekel jumped off their ship, his cloak flapping behind him. He crashed into a Griffon's back. The thing wailed as Mekel's fingers dug into its neck, the grizzled man taking it along for a ride to the city below.

Crap. That was badass.

Nex grinned, even as smoke rose from the walls and stung his nose. He stood up and tapped a few buttons on his watch.

Hrunting and Vigilance gave a quiet groan as its engines came to life. The shield expanded into a hoverboard, grooves jutting out its surface. Hrunting's shaft popped out and bent upwards—looking a lot like the stick of a car.

The Atlesian Contender MK2—integrated with his weapon—floated a few inches off the floor.

Just enough for him to anchor his feet on it and fly.

He did just that, the grooves fitting his boots like magic.

Nex snickered. He gripped the remains of Hrunting's hilt. A translucent cone of gravity and hard light fizzled around him. He drifted out of the ship, flashing Weiss a giant, shit-eating smirk.

"That's unfair," Weiss mumbled. "That is so—"

He zoomed off before he could hear the rest.

Nevermores chased after his tail, like black stars in the night.

Nex tightened his jaw. He thumbed a button on Hrunting's pommel.

Gear shift.

Or, more like, concentrated flares.

Tiny fireballs whooshed, cutting a swathe towards his unwanted tag-alongs. They smashed against the Nevermores and sent them spiraling into one of Mantle's apartments, the flaked walls cracking.

Three blurs streaked after him just at the corner of his eye.

Ruby and Weiss bounced off glyphs, roses fluttering around them. Blake had her weapons stuck in a Nevermore's neck—definitely doing what Nora did during initiation.

The pilot caught up to him, mounting a more avian design of the first contender, shaped after a hawk instead of a dog.

"Looks sick!" the pilot said. "When are they gonna release that one?!"

"Dunno!" Nex said. "Haven't handed Ironwood the prints yet!"

They swerved around a Nevermore, the pilot's contender shooting it out of the sky.

"You mean you're the one who made this?!" the pilot said from above. "Fuck! Dude! This thing's smarter than my wife! Way better than that manual crap!"

Nex laughed, the roofs blurring past him. "Glad I could help!"

A Griffon wailed, springing up from under him. Its beak hinged open. Like a shark about to gobble up its prey.

Nex tugged his board backwards, the Griffon's chest skidding over its surface.

The pilot screamed as the Griffon almost crashed into him—still in mid-spring.

His hoverboard spat out bullets.

The Griffon only shrieked even louder.

Nex grunted, his extra pair of ears flattening. "Need a bigger gun..."

He swiped over Hrunting, his very own personal cannon peeking out the front of his board.

Black feathers buffeted his shields, accompanied by dozens of ear-piercing caws.

Damn. The Nevermores were back in business.

"You're a huntsman!" the pilot yelled as the Griffon scratched his board, spilling bright static—like the dozens of lamps lining the street. "Do something!"

Nex thumbed Hrunting's pommel, his aura molding thunder.

Vigilance roared. A ball of lightning smashed into the Griffon's beak, searing the mask clean off. Its body sank, flopping on the streets and bowling over a stall.

Nex veered into snow. He hopped off his board, his weapon clicking. It shrunk back into a spear. He spun it over his head, firing a blind shot with Pareidolia guiding his aim.

The buckshot flew true.

The Alpha Beowolf growled and turned away from the woman, her quivering frame pressed against an upturned car.

"Get yourself to safety!" Nex gripped the shaft of his war spear, flaring his aura. Screams filled his ears, along with ringing of steel against steel, as he said, "Leave the fighting to us!"

He grinned when the woman scrambled off, the Alpha's eyes fixed on him—drawn to the manifestation of his soul. Almost like a wolf staring down another wolf. Its eyes burned with the color of life.

Only one thing left to do then.

Nex rushed at the beast.

Thunder twisted around his spear.

The Beowolf lunged at him, claws poised to tear out his throat.

He swung his spear to the side, swatting the Beowolf away. Sparks flew from its chest as it rolled across the sidewalk. It lumbered to its feet, baring its fangs, growling.

It galloped towards him, kicking up snow.

Nex bent forward, lifting his spear to meet it head-on with a thrust.

A bolt whooshed through the dark.

It pierced the Beowolf's throat, its bloodied tip shining the brightest of silver.

The Alpha slumped on the street, black smoke already wafting off its corpse.

"Thanks." Nex glanced at the huntress perched on a broken car. "How many of us are there?"

The huntress fiddled with her crossbow, tossing away a mag. "Hopefully enough. Robyn's organized the ones willing to fight... So, yeah! Hopefully!"

"Willing to fight for Mantle and not Atlas you mean," Nex said, gritting his teeth as the huntress sniped a Nevermore. "My team should be here right about—"

Ruby gasped as Weiss retched on the pavement, wine and roses staining the snow red. "Are you okay?"

"I'm never doing a toast again," Weiss said, wiping her lips with her cuff. "Where's Blake?"

Said ghost-ninja fell from the sky, landing spread-eagled on dirt.

Ouch.

"Oof..." Blake grunted, pushing herself to her feet. She raised her hand. Snow peeled off her scowling face in waves. "Present, team leader."

"Oh! There's more of you!" The white-haired huntress beamed, her sheep ears twitching. "I'm Fiona." She coughed, shooting down another Nevermore. "Fiona Thyme. At your service. Oh! I mean, in the I'm ready to fight way and not in the... in the..." She flushed, her lanky shoulders sagging in on themselves. "Nevermind."

Dozens of huntresses and huntsmen scurried around the ruined street, fighting off Grimm and rallying the poor sods who called Mantle their home. He was definitely willing to bet that half of them had a record in the Atlesian precinct.

Not that he was judging. Nope. Not at all. He was one of them rats, after all.

"Who's in charge here?" Weiss said. "Where are you taking the civilians?"

"Uh... No one's really in charge in-charge," Fiona said, fidgeting with her crossbow. "But we're taking 'em civvies to the dust mines. You're welcome to tag along!"

Nex shrugged, his war spear shortening into a sword. He drew Hrunting from Vigilance, the shield expanding with a soft shink. "Anyone seen Mekel?"

Of course, there was a high chance the man went to the Bone Alley to gather his army of gangs and mount some sort of vigilante resistance, but there was also a chance that he was lying in a pool of blood somewhere.

"Who's Mekel?" Fiona said, jumping off her perch. She gasped. "Oh! You don't mean that Mekel, do you?"

"Yep," Nex said. "I meant that Mekel."

Ruby and Blake rushed off, covering for an old woman as she fled from a pair of Beowolves.

"That Mekel?" Weiss arched an eyebrow.

"The kingpin of Mantle's underworld," Fiona said. "How do you know him?"

"He's my ex-boss," Nex said, licking his lips. "He also likes leaping off bullheads and riding Griffons."

"Nex..." Weiss heaved a soft sigh. "How come you've never mentioned this?"

Nex chuckled, turning away from her gaze. "Let's talk later. I still have a lot of things to tell you, huh?"

Weiss hmphed. "Evidently. Lead the way then, Miss Thyme."

"Oh! My! Just Fiona!" Fiona said. "But you're Weiss Schnee... So, uh, I guess you can call me Miss Thyme?" She stammered as they ran off, trailing after a crowd of huntsmen and civvies. "I guess I'll call you Miss Schnee!"

Weiss cleared her throat, winking at him—and he winked back. "On second thought, I'll call you Fiona and you can call me Weiss."

"Yep. I'm Nexus, by the way," Nex said. "But you can call me Nex. Everyone does."

A Griffon swooped down, shrieking.

Fiona raised her crossbow. Her finger almost pressed the trigger. Yet she rolled aside, a Griffon's claws skittering over stone. It would have taken her head off had she failed to dodge.

Weiss swished Myrtenaster. Black glyphs tinkled above the Griffon.

It plummeted into snow, flapping its wings furiously.

Nex heaved, leaping over the oversized bird. He sheathed Hrunting into Vigilance. One quick press and it transformed into its heavier—and deadlier—form.

Light shrouded Hrunting and Vigilance as he fell towards the Griffon.

The glyphs shattered like glass.

The Griffon flew right at him, its maw gaping. Red swirled within. Like a pool of never-ending blood.

He slashed and brought his weapon down as if it were hammer striking steel.

The blade of light tore through the Griffon's head, splitting the monster in half.

Nex groaned, blood and other Grimm bits sticking to his trench. "Great."

It was the only coat he had too. Maybe he could get another one?

"Leave it to the servants," Weiss said. "The estate has—watch out!"

A black cloud swooped down from the skies. Red above them, the beating of wings buffeting his ears. Flesh. Tearing. Screams. Talons hooked into dozens of the civilian, Nevermores snatching them up.

"No!" Fiona's eyes widened. Her crossbow darted to one of the birds. Then another. And then another.

Too many.

Nex tackled a woman, batting the cackling Nevermore away. He followed through with a stab to its throat. Blood coated Hrunting and Vigilance as he dashed from one civvy to the next. Glyphs tinkled behind him, spurring his speed to greater heights—more than he could ever achieve on his own.

Roses swarmed, Crescent Rose flashing. Wherever Ruby went, two pieces of Nevermores followed. It was efficient. Bloody. Fast. By the time he killed ten, she must have killed fifteen already.

Still, the Grimm kept coming—from the sky, the alleys, and even through the manholes littering the broken street.

An endless tide of red and black.

"Form up!" a huntress screamed. "Civilians at the center! Marksmen, mages in the middle! Everyone else, you know what to do!"

Nex nodded at his team, splitting Hrunting and Vigilance apart. His shield hung heavy on his arm—more than usual.

"Do as she says," Nex whispered.

Three nods.

Then they were off.

To fight and possibly live another day.

Author's Notes:

Surprise. Because the 19th of January is my birthday, Artificer gets a bonus chapter. But don't worry. It's still gonna get its monthly scheduled update on the second week of February, Valentine's Day style. Or I might just update on the first week and put up another bonus chapter on Valentine's like I did with Guardians last year. That way, you guys get two chapters instead of one. What do y'all think?

Grins and eats a strawberry shortcake.

So, anyway. We just have two more chapters before we reach the end of Book 2's first act. This time, the team drops into Mantle, Jacques and Weiss have their little moment, and one of the (future) Happy Huntresses gets introduced. Fiona. Fiona Thyme. People who also read Guardians of the Unknowing should be buzzing right now. Well, speaking of Guardians, the next scheduled update for it is on March since I just updated it this month. I'm currently ironing out the party's adventure in Elf Weiss' world and whatever happens after.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review.