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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 08: CLIR Things Up
Corvid Xiao Long wore a determined scowl as she kept a watchful eye on her teams' Aura levels which were shown on the HUD of her helmet
"Iris! Take some of the pressure off Rusty so he can reload!"
"I've got it!" Lux assured her, Corvid merely rolled her eyes at her partners predictability in the situation
"Iris has it, I need you to light the place up for a sec so- OUM DAMN IT!" her orders were interrupted by a Beowolf leaping at her from the darkness only to be deftly caught and blasted to shreds by her weapons; fading away in a flash of turquoise light and several streams of nano-bots rather than black smoke which gave it the appearance of melting like mercury at room temperature. In her peripheral vision she could make out the indistinct shape of what may have been an Ursa fly through the air, hurled by Iris and shattering into streams of miniature machines in much the same way as the Beowolf had; around them countless pinpricks of bloody red light filled the darkness
"I can never get a solid grip on these simulations" Corvid's team-mate lamented
"Okay little lady I'm ready to go" Rusty informed her
"One day you'll stop calling me that" Corvid growled "Okay Lux, get ready to give me a clear shot on the objective and-"
"SIMULATION CANCELLED. ADMIN ACCESS AUTHORISED" Corvid's eye visibly twitched in frustration as she removed her helmet; the protective domed forcefield around the training area dissipating, the tint that she'd programmed into it that had left Team CLIR fighting in near total darkness being replaced by the fading light of the setting sun
"Wow, we must have been out here for hours" Iris noted. Corvid's team approached her stowing their weapons, they had elected to use the arena situated on the rear of the hovering platform that Halo Academy occupied rather than one of the combat classrooms due to it's hard-light projectors allowing for a vast array of simulations to be run, including one that suited their needs
"Yeah you were" a new but not unfamiliar voice noted with a snort "That's why I turned that mission off early, I need this in working order for tomorrow"
"Professor Nora" Corvid's tense expression faded, replaced with a bright smile for her favourite teacher
"Are you okay Corey?" Nora asked giving her student a concerned once over, seeing nothing immediately wrong but still a little uneasy at the extremes that Corvid was apparently pushing her team to
"She's been working us like damned pack mules" Rusty drawled in his distinctive accent as he stretched and draped an arm around Lux's shoulder
"Team CLIR can't fight in the dark" Corvid answered simply "It's something that was picked up on in our assessment, spending so much time in Mistral last year means we never had any practice night fighting and we don't have any Faunus on the team so we don't have enhanced senses to fall back on. I'm just trying to remedy that"
"I understand that" the red-headed professor sighed "But you've had Team CLIR training after hours every day this week. You need rest to function" Rusty merely snorted at the gentle rebuke
"If I had my way we'd be doing that right now but Corey's ornery…..trying to change her mind once it's made up is like herding cats" Lux and Iris gave chuckles that indicated that they shared the sentiment, Corvid merely shrugged
"You'll thank me when it saves your damn lives one day" Nora watched the interaction between the team for a moment with a grin before giving them the information that she'd interrupted the training session to deliver in the first place
"Team CLIR is excused from all lessons tomorrow so you can catch up on some rest, report to my office at lunch break" this caught the teens attention
"We've got a mission?" Corvid asked eagerly, stormy grey eyes lighting up with enthusiasm
"Not exactly" Nora replied with a mischievous smile and a wink "Tomorrow is the first Friday of the semester….there are legs to be broken for the sake of tradition" with that she turned on her heel and skipped merrily away leaving the confused team of students in her wake; each of their eyes widening when they realised what they professor meant.
Team FADE had been the first to reach the combat classroom, they had the lesson on Mondays, Wednesdays and a double period last thing on a Friday and all four members would happily admit that the lessons taught by Professors Lie and Nora Ren were tied for position as their favourite. Being the first students present they were the ones to discover the locked door with a note affixed to it written in Professor Nora's messy scrawl
"There's an outside arena?" Felix asked with a confused expression "Did any of you three know that?"
"Uh….yeah" Eagle admitted
"Dude seriously?" Diamond shook her head "I know our dorm is facing the other way but how do you miss a big arena in the back yard?" the question was met with a derisive snort that caused Team FADE to turn and see Team NEON leading the rest of their classmates to the usual classroom, the snort having come from Helios
"Got something to say?" Felix snarled, volume increasing with each word as he rounded on the Mistrali; tail raising in agitation. Helios merely cocked his head and stepped forwards
"Suppose I did?"
"Oh for Oum's sake. No" Diamond stepped between them "You two are not butting heads every few days. Nyanza help me out here" she implored the feline Faunus who slung an arm around his partner and leaders' shoulder gently pulling him back while giving his old friend an apologetic smile
"Come on guys, it'd be fun if I wasn't in the middle of it….but I am" the assembled crowd shared a collective laugh at the pale Faunus's comment, Ether and Olivine put themselves between the would be combatants as Arctus placed a firm hand on his cousins' shoulder; all earning themselves a silently mouthed 'Thank you' from Diamond. The class of first year students began the relatively short journey from their usual classroom to the rear of the campus, Team FADE trailing behind.
"Damn, how did I miss this?" Felix wondered aloud as he entered the miniature colosseum where Professor was already waiting with them, wearing a bright smile and holding what appeared to be an absurdly oversized tub of popcorn; a sight which caused more than a few nervous glances between the class
"Come on, come on….we've got an interesting lesson planned for today. That everybody? Good" Nora's eyes glinted with barely contained anticipation and glee as the sixteen students took seats, congregating in one section of the stands looking down at the arena which was far larger than the one in their usual classroom and had several more advanced looking banks of machines and computer terminals rigged around it. Seeing that her students were ready Nora rocked back on her heels and began
"Congratulations on completing your first week at Halo Academy, you've done well so far but now it's time for a lesson that's something of a tradition. This is where any cockiness you've developed gets knocked out of you and you get an idea of how far you've got to go and how fast you need to get there" turquoise eyes scanned the small crowd, surveying students that seemed equal parts nervous and excited "Today a class of first year students will be facing off one on one, one at a time against a team of second years so that you can understand what's expected of you….I pick Team FADE!"
"Go time!" Felix could be seen in the crowd, seemingly raring to go. That would change, looking over her shoulder to she continued "Their opponents will be Team CLIR!"
Arctus's heart leapt into his throat and stomach plummeted as the four older students emerged from behind pillars at the opposite end of the faux colosseum. Turning to face Felix revealed that the blood had rushed from the Lion Faunus's face
"Fuck" the single word escaping Felix's lips utterly failed to capture the dread that had consumed the pair of them
"So we're up against your sisters' team, that's cool. Any tips on how to fight 'em?" Eagle's bright tone fizzled out as she caught sight of the harrowed expression her partner wore. Felix responded with a grim laugh
"You don't fight Corvid, you run from Corvid"
"Oh come on dude" Diamond snorted "She can't be that-"
"She is" Arctus assured her, expression slowly becoming as bleak as his cousins', it was at that point that Corvid herself decided to remind the first years of her presence
"Come on Fluffy, let's not make this any more painful than it has to be" the sweet smile on her face utterly failed to match that sentiment as she continued "I'm gonna count to five and if one of your team isn't down here I start telling your whole class embarrassing childhood stories"
"Okay I might just stay here then" Diamond laughed
"One" Team FADE shared looks, each silently willing someone else to go first
"Two" Arctus seemed to half rise from his seat before his nerve failed him
"Three"
"Oh for Oum's sake we look like a bunch of idiots here" Diamond snapped, her patience finally running out, she leapt to her feet and withdrew Lex Talionis from its' usual resting place on her back and made her way towards the arena.
Diamond and Corvid faced each other, the formers' face a mask of grim determination while the latter wore a confident smile. Between them Nora was preparing the shielding to prevent any stray shots inuring bystanders, as the transparent domed forcefield began to form Corvid tapped a series of commands into the touch screen of the hefty band of metal around her left forearm; in response a highly synthetic and toneless voice sounded
"Omega Wing inbound" within seconds a low thrumming sound could be heard as Corvid Xiao Long's weapon came into view. The Omega Wing was an an unmanned drone hovering in the air supported by a pair of broad wings housing turbines and thrusters that suggested it was capable of vertical take off. The whole thing was a mix of glinting silver and glossy black
"Combat mode" Corvid ordered calmly, at the sound of her voice the Omega Wing flew behind her and Diamond was left slack jawed as it began to unfold and form what could best be described as an exoskeleton or battle-suit. A glossy black armoured plate slid over her chest, leaving the fur collar of her flight suit and bright yellow scarf around her neck visible. The wings of the drone split into two pairs, the first mounted on her back and incorporating the jet turbines; the second, larger pair were positioned over her shoulders on mobile armatures and housed the directional thrusters. Exoskeletal armour, glinting in the sunlight encased her limbs while the disproportionately long barrels of a pair of rail-guns hung from the underside of her arms connected the rear of the battle-suit by thick cables and ammo feeds. The suit was finished by a black helmet, the dark glossy surface reflective enough that the visor set into the faceless mask was hard to locate, a gap in its' rear allowed Corvid's single braid of hair to trail down her back. The forcefield around them muted the sounds outside but not enough to hide the uproarious cheers from Diamonds' classmates at the sight of her opponents' weapon, as she watched Corvid kick off of the ground and began to hover a few feet in the air she admitted that it was a fair reaction
"Ready?" Nora helped herself to a mouthful of popcorn as she gave both fighters a moment, Diamond unfolded Lex Talionis in its' sniper rifle form and nodded, at which point Nora stepped back towards the edge of the arena; her admin clearance allowing her to create a gap in the forcefield and speak into an intercom
"Begin!"
Diamond was forced onto the defensive the moment the match began, the opening salvo from Corvid's twin rail guns impacting against the ground less than a foot away. In response she leapt to the side and activated her Semblance, wincing as her feet began to burn almost instantly from running along the surface of the protective dome while firing her rifle from the hip and weaving between blasts from her opponents' weapons
"Not bad newbie" Corvid called, voice distorted somewhat by her helmet "Quick question, is my cousins' blatant crush on you mutual?"
"What the-" Diamond found herself cut off as she was an explosive Dust round detonated against the forcefield scant inches away and hurled her to the floor. Gritting her teeth as she rose to her feet she realised she'd been played; rolling away from yet another round of gunfire her cherry red eyes narrowed as she decided how she planned to retaliate
"So you're just gonna stay up there? Scared to fight up close?" Diamond blew a strand of silvery hair from her face and, stood arms wide as she shifted her weapon to its' glaive mode
"You'll have to Sus-try harder than that" Corvid replied with a soft chuckle before firing again
"Okay how about this" Diamond, managed to deflect the shells before they could explode with the flat of her blade "The fact your brother is that scared to fight you isn't healthy; I think-"
"Yeah that'll do it" Corvid almost snarled at the implication before using the propulsion system of the Omega wing to hurtle downwards and deliver a punishing kick to Diamonds' chest; Diamond staggered back attempting to counter with a wide slash, only for Corvid to use the barrel of the rail-gun on her left arm to block before pressing the right directly under the younger Huntresses chin
"Okay just to clarify-" Diamond started
"Don't worry, I know you didn't mean anything by it" Corvid snorted "But still" with that she opened fire.
Arctus watched as his cousin utterly dominated his partner with ruthless efficiency, the match drawing to a close when Corvid dropped to the ground, countered Diamonds' attempt at forcing her into close quarter combat and simply corralled her into position from which she couldn't escape while unleashing an endless barrage of explosive rounds. He wasn't consciously aware of jumping to his feet and making his way towards the arena, only becoming aware of the fact he was moving when he heard Eagle calling to him
"Aunt Nora will break it up, she's not going to get hurt!" that was not a chance the Bear Faunus was willing to take. He broke into a full sprint as Diamond dropped to the ground, smoke rising from her defeated form; only partially aware of the shielding powering down and Nora announcing Corvid as the winner in an enthusiastic tone that would have assured him that everything had gone as expected. Diamond managed to roll over and pull herself into a sitting position as Arctus reached the arena, clambering onto it and crouching down next to her
"You okay?"
"Relative concept" Diamond managed a laugh which was cut off by a wince of pain "Pretty bad for an average Friday, pretty good considering I just got shot that many times" the two shared a brief smile as Arctus helped her to her feet. The soft hiss of decompressing air caught both of their attention, they turned and saw Corvid removing her helmet wearing a grin of her own
"She's fine Arctus, she's pretty tough….pretty damn fast as well. But since you rushed down here that makes you next" Arctus froze, he hadn't intended to nominate himself
"Go get 'em big guy" Diamond playfully nudged him before limping out of the arena
"Lux you're up!" Corvid called as she began removing the rest of her exoskeletal armour, the Omega Wing returning to its' aerial drone form and hovering above Team CLIR, as she left the arena she turned and silently mouthed 'Good luck' to her cousin before placing a hand on her partners' shoulder and murmuring something. A human wouldn't have been able to hear the exchange, Arctus's Faunus senses picked up on Corvid's order not to 'Light him up' though he wasn't sure what it meant.
"Okay then" Nora announced enthusiastically "Arctus Slate of Team FADE against Lux Lumière of Team CLIR. Begin!" the two fighters merely circled each other cautiously, Arctus drawing his great-sword while Lux unsheathed his twin rapiers with a flourish and a slight bow. Lux had a slender body and stood at five foot nine with a somewhat waxy complexion pale lilac hair and vivid orange eyes which stood out in contrast against the black of his tuxedo and the muted pale gold colour of the shirt he wore beneath it
"You know you're not supposed to use two of those right? it's been bothering me is all" Arctus noted conversationally as he indicated to his opponents paired blades, trying to convey a confidence he didn't feel
"Oh you're going to show everyone here what swordplay should look like?" Lux noted with a raised eyebrow as he twirled his weapons. Arctus watched his body language intently, seeing the way he redistributed his weight and braced himself
"I might just have to" Lux merely smirked
"Be our guest" he lunged forward, swords aiming to skewer through Arctus's chest. Having anticipated the attack the Faunus threw a glyph in front of himself blocking the attack and robbing Lux of his momentum before swinging Gefroren-Erbe at the older students' neck in an overhand slash. Lux sidestepped gracefully, the blade of the sword in his left hand grazing Arctus's cheek and connecting with his Aura before he thrust forward with the right. Arctus responded with a firm kick to the chest and a backhand slash of his sword which Lux parried with both of his own, a confident smile passed across Arctus's face and he decided to press the advantage and hurled a Glyph forward, catching Lux in the stomach and sending him skidding across the ground. As the older student rose to his feet he connected his swords at the pommels causing to shift into a mechanical bow which was fired without hesitation. Arctus merely shifted his blade into its' plasma pistol mode and blasted the Dust tipped arrow out of the air
"So one all then?" Lux looked affronted at the mere suggestion
"Highly unlikely" returning his weapon to its' sword form once more he charged, Arctus rushing to meet him as Lux prepared to unleash his Semblance. Arctus saw a flash and heard a high pitched scream before his entire world erupted into pain.
His eyes burned as he opened them and his ears were filled with a dull ringing
"Hey" Arctus struggled to make out the word over the sound in his ears and his vision was blurry, colours muted to the point of being almost indistinguishable. It was Diamond who had spoken, sitting in a chair beside a bed that was not his own. Eventually he realised that he was in the medical wing of the academy
"My eyes and ears-" he started
"I know" Diamond's voice was barely perceptible "The nurse said that you should be okay in a few hours with your Aura….how're you feeling?"
"Relative concept...not great" he admitted "What even happened, all I can remember is a flash"
"Corvid's partner, Lux. His Semblance basically makes him a living signal flare of flash-bang grenade. Apparently he didn't realise just how much more sensitive Faunus senses are. When you hit the ground screaming and Professor Nora had to anaesthetise you Corvid dragged him out of the arena….you're sure you're okay? 'cos that hurt to watch dude"
"I'll be okay, thanks" Arctus couldn't help but smile slightly at her evident concern "Where are Felix and Eagle"
"They had their own matches" Eagle informed him with a sigh and a shake of the head "Eagle got demolished by Iris, her Semblance is telekinesis. She just picked Sentinel up and turned him around to fire on Eagle when she deployed him"
"Ouch" Arctus said simply
"Yeah, that left Felix with Rusty….the guy dressed as a cowboy. Turns out Lux and Rusty are a thing so their fight got really up close and personal" that left an uneasy feeling in Arctus's stomach even if couldn't see his cousin in the medical wing he was doubtful that the leader of Team FADE had fared any better than the rest of the members
"How bad was it?"
"Split lip and eyebrow is all actually. Rusty went for choke holds and submission instead of straight up damage" Diamond explained with a shrug "Felix got a few good hits in as well. They're both at the dorm now, I think Eagle might be trying to keep Felix from going and restarting the fight. If you're feeling okay you wanna head back to the dorm?" Arctus considered it for a moment
"How're you feeling?"
"Pretty good" she rose from the chair and stretched "I mean it doesn't hurt to move"
"Pretty sure you're right about Felix and I'm also pretty sure that his temper won't help my headache….wanna hang out?" Diamond considered it for a moment
"The view from the roof is cool, you can see almost all of New Vale" with that they set off.
The sound of someone pounding against the door of Team FADE's dormitory caught Felix's attention, causing him to slide from his bunk where he'd been silently seething after his initial plan to track down Lux Lumière had been halted by Eagle imploring him to stay calm with an expression that could best be described as 'kicked puppy' Eagle herself was currently in the shower having claimed that the hot water would do her sore muscles some good. Opening the door and seeing the people on the other side elicited an instant reaction from the Lion Faunus, he lunged forwards attempting to deliver haymaker to the jaw of the tuxedo clad second year before he was forcibly restrained
"Fluffy calm down, he came to apologise, we both did" Corvid released him
"What the fuck was that out there?" he demanded "That wasn't a sparring match that was a beating!"
"And how hard are you going to train now?" Corvid asked bluntly
"What?"
"How much harder are you going to train" she repeated "I'm willing to bet you're gonna be in the gym first thing tomorrow" Felix remained silent. The fact his sister knew him so well was no surprise to him, they'd been inseparable since before their adoption
"What's your point Corey?"
"That's what's supposed to happen. Happens every year, a first year team gets dragged up and given a beating" Corvid sighed "Thing is, that wasn't us being extra harsh on you that's just the level Team CLIR fight at and it's the level you'll be at next year. It's literally just a really simple way of making sure first years don't complacent before they get sent into the field"
"Okay I get it" Felix admitted through clenched teeth before turning his furious gaze back to Lux "But you though-"
"I already gave him a piece of my mind so save it" Corvid interrupted
"I'm sorry about that" Lux seemed to fold in on himself "I didn't realise my Semblance would affect him that badly, I only meant to stun him for long enough to get around those Glyphs"
"Even though I specifically said not to use your Semblance" Corvid muttered. A low growl escaped Felix's lips before he shook his head and relented
"Y'know what fuck it. I've lost both of my sparring matches this week, I just wanna get my shit together. I don't have the time for grudges"
"Smart choice" Corvid beamed as she ruffled his mane of hair "We'll have to work out a schedule so that your team can train with Team CLIR" Felix was about to enthusiastically agree to the idea, wanting both the time with his sister and the advantage training with second years would give his team, however he was interrupted by another knock on the door
"For Oum's sake what now" he grumbled, opening it revealed Nyanza, the feline Faunus's choice of clothes clearly implying that he was going out
"First Friday night living in New Vale" his pale green eyes sparkled with mischief "I'm heading out into the city to find some clubs. No bouncers ever ask me for I.D….I'm just lucky like that" Felix rolled his eyes knowing full well that his old friend used his Semblance whenever he entered nightclubs and had been doing so since he was fourteen, Nyanza cast a brief glance over his shoulder before continuing
"All of Team NEON are heading out….except Ether, he said he's got band practice. You coming with?"
"No he's not" Corvid answered for him "We're training tomorrow morning" she added sensing Felix was about to object; then something caught her eye and she felt both her brother and partner move to restrain her as she stepped through the doorway and began stalking towards Helios Nikos
"Let go, I just want a quiet word….with his kneecaps, the word in question being hammer"
"Corey come on, let's just head back to our dorm" Lux implored her
"Yeah yeah in a minute, hey ass hole, heard you had a problem? Heard you took a shot at my baby brother after the match was called? How about you try that shit with me?" Corvid continued to advance despite several people attempting to hold her back
"Corvid just go, it's fine" Felix insisted, eventually she stopped with an annoyed huff
"Whatever" she made to leave, squaring up to the six foot tall Mistrali as best someone of her stature could as she passed him. Helios's usual haughty attitude had abandoned him, having seen Team CLIR fight earlier he knew better than to answer. As Felix watched Lux lead Corvid away he turned his attention to Helios
"So you wanna tell what your problem with my family is?" he demanded, Helios took a deep breath
"Your mother killed the warlord Tyrian"
"Who?" Helios raised an eyebrow, honestly surprised that the Lion Faunus was unaware
"He was the one who united dozens of tribes to attack Mistrals' capital during the war, he sided with the ones who killed Pyrrha Nikos"
"Right?" Felix was utterly baffled at this point
"Your mother cheated us" a hostile note crept into Helios's tone "Tyrian wasn't hers to kill, the Nikos tribe had justice stolen from them-"
"Are you being fucking serious right now?" Felix demanded incredulously "You're problem is that somebody whose official job title was warlord ended up getting killed in battle by my family instead of yours?"
"I-it's"
"Nyanza" Felix turned to his old friend "Get your partner out of here before I actually let Corvid kick his ass" with that he turned and went back to his dorm, silently wondering to himself if he would have been better off just staying on Patch where people were at least somewhat sane.
Authors Notes:
Okay this Chapter was actually intended as an homage to Chapter 08 of The Downward Spiral, where Team GRAP met Team RWBY and before anyone asks why I didn't have Corvid and Felix face off against each other….I plan to play that card, just not here.
Chapter 09 will have some team bonding, a little fluff and a catch up with our antagonists.
Now let's summarise:
Twenty years of technological advancements being shown again, Halo Academy has a secondary training area that can be used to run simulations, a good way for Professors to make sure their students are ready before being taken into potentially life threatening situations.
Rusty of Team CLIR is based on McCree from Overwatch and will be speaking in as much of a country/red-neck dialect as I can without it becoming a caricature.
Night fighting training seems like it'd be essential for dealing with Grimm considering that they're pretty much made of darkness.
Ren and Nora are everyone's favourite teachers (There are other canon characters working at Halo, Dove Bronzewing has Port's old job as there's one other person….)
I can't imagine Felix just letting what Helios did to him slide, even if he is trying to stay out of trouble.
If Nora brings popcorn to a combat class you know someone is getting fucked up.
Corvid's weapon, the Omega Wing. I hope it's worth how long I've been holding off on showing it; In my mind it sort of looks like Vulture in Spiderman homecoming with a cleaner and sleeker aesthetic.
Literally everyone knows Arctus has a crush.
Lux Lumière….I was so tempted to make Rusty a Cogsworth analogue.
"Be our guest" I sincerely hope somebody reading this started singing.
Lux's Semblance is called Flash-bang, it's basically a burst of intense light and sound that works either as a stun grenade, signal flare or a distraction.
I was originally going to have all four fights in this chapter but the other two wouldn't really have added anything, we know Iris has a telekinesis Semblance now but this allows me to hold off on Rusty's Semblance until it can be used for dramatic effect.
"Turns out Lux and Rusty are a thing" that's literally how easy it is to confirm a character as LGBT Cough RT cough.
Seriously I realised writing that scene that the roof of New Vale would have an amazing view.
Corvid Xiao Long is every bit as protective of her younger sibling as Yang was.
Helios's reason for having a grudge against the Xiao Long family; it's a sign of him coming from a very different culture to the rest of his classmates, it will be a source of contention but Helios isn't an antagonist in this story by any means.
Thank you to Shadowalex2000, FleetOfWarships and Ferrous for their reviews on the last chapter.
Helios now knows better than to fuck with Corvid.
Arctus's crush is adorable and you know it.
I've got a couple of LGBT ships in mind for this story already….I also have like four different ship-names (When you find yourself tempted to make a shipping spreadsheet for your OCs you've gone too far down the rabbit hole)
I will obviously write the Qrow/Eagle reveal, though I'm thinking of making it towards the end of the first year.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.