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Chapter 19: Fallout
A police issue Bull-Head had flown Teams FADE and CLIR back to Halo Academy, escorted by the undercover officer Brindle Bordeaux and Scarlet David-Vasilias. Rover Tan had sped off with one last withering look at his nephew before he left to return home. Upon arriving the eight students had been escorted to the headmistresses office where Professor Goodwitch had already been waiting for them, Lie Ren behind her regarding each of them from behind his glasses with a stern expression which Eagle seemed to collapse in on herself under. Then the almost literal inquisition had started.
"So in short" Glynda summed up the justifications she'd spent the first few hours of her Sunday morning being treated to between her furious lectures about proper conduct "You were deliberately searching for leads on a criminal group that has already proven themselves capable of facing fully fledged Hunters and furthermore has already hospitalised some of you. Upon finding a lead you choose not to present it to a Hunter; perhaps Mister David here as not only is the case part of his workload, he is readily available due to the fact he and his husband live on the campus. No, you choose to see to things yourselves and attempt to 'shake down' members of one of the most violent criminal gangs in New Vale and directly confront their leader, in the process destroying a drug lab they were operating, causing an explosion inside the city limits. Am I missing anything?"
"You're missing six months worth of wasted time!" Bordeaux barked furiously "Records and physical evidence has been completely destroyed! My cover was blown and now Torchwick knows who I am….Oh Oum….I have to move my family out of the Kingdom" the Mastiff Faunus paled as the realisation hit him
"Is it really that bad?" Felix dared to ask. Bordeaux gave a grim chuckle
"I asked that before I went deep cover" his whole body shuddered as memories he'd spent months repressing with hard liquor came back to him "The only reason I'm not demanding you eight be arrested for interfering with my case is because Torchwick would have his goons already in prison get to you within a week. I heard rumours about the things this guy has had done to people….I never thought I'd say this but; taking a hacksaw to people over debts is the tip of a very big iceberg"
"Fuck" Corvid breathed out
"Language Miss Xiao Long" Goodwitch snapped, removing her glasses for a moment as she pinched the bridge of her nose "Your actions may have been well intentioned, but they were also, misguided, reckless, arrogant and quite frankly stupid. As Mister Bordeaux has made clear to us it would be unwise to have this matter dealt with through legal channels. I trust you can explain to your superiors the circumstances behind what happened today and why these students are not being brought in?"
"I can, they won't like it, but they'll accept it" Bordeaux grumbled "Now if that's all I've gotta start a mountain of paperwork and book tickets for wife and kids" as he made to leave Scarlet spoke up
"Brindle, speak to Neptune" the Mastiff Faunus turned and gave him an incredulous look "You're not a Huntsman but you've clearly seen some things that you're struggling with. He might be able to help" Bordeaux merely snorted and opened the door to Goodwitch's office, offering a parting shot over his shoulder to the students who'd undermined his hard work
"You kids have got guts, no sense in denying that, but you're stupid. Stupid people have a nasty habit of dying young, remember that next time you decide to take on the mob" none of Team FADE or CLIR dared argue the point for fear of incurring the legendary wrath of their headmistress, though Rusty seemed sorely tempted until Lux's hand clamped down on his thigh and the man the gunslinger considered his better half gave him a warning look. Goodwitch gave a long sigh, the sound almost seemed to convey the decades worth of stress caused by the students in her care
"The Centenary Festival is mere months away and doubtlessly your actions have slowed down Torchwick and his gangs' operations but you failed to see the larger picture, now he's still at large and the relationship between the Hunters and police of our Kingdom has been subjected to yet more unnecessary strain. That is something we simply cannot afford….Yet I can't find it within myself to utterly condemn you" there was the briefest possible moment where the students looked to each other with hope
"However" and with a single word the moment ended and Goodwitch's stern tone returned "Your families are already being contacted and told of tonight's events. Also you are all confined to the academy for the next two weeks; failure to comply with this will result in your expulsion. Are we clear?"
"Yes Professor Goodwitch" they answered in unison, with the exception of Rusty who merely grunted, earning a harsh glare for his trouble
"Do not think I enjoy having to treat the future protectors of this Kingdom like misbehaving children Mister Blackwatch" she snapped venomously "I do this for your own safety, Torchwick and his people may not be the creatures of Grimm but they most assuredly monsters. I dread to think what would become of you were they given a chance to retaliate. Now leave, all of you" Team FADE and CLIR tried their utmost to not scramble out of their seats and flee the office with their proverbial, and in Felix's case literal tails between their legs. As they reached the door Ren spoke, his voice quiet as always but nonetheless capturing the attention of everyone who heard it
"Eagle, come with me please" the armoured Huntress visibly sagged before turning away from her team-mates and making her way back to her uncle. Felix managed to give her a reassuring smile before making his way past her and out into the deserted hallway. The seven students traipsed through the corridors of the campus towards their respective dorms in silence which was eventually broken by a yawn from Rusty
"Well that could've gone worse" the gunslinger noted, his south Vaccuan drawl becoming more pronounced "Hell, my Momma probably won't even answer the call. It don't make a lick of difference to her"
"Right" Iris snorted as she flexed the fingers of her golden cybernetic arm, which seemed to have suffered superficial damage in the skirmish "My parents are divorced. They're gonna be mad at me for five minutes then start using it as a chance to play the blame game, two weeks stuck here to avoid it sounds great" she laughed bitterly
"Yay for dysfunctional families then right?" Corvid mumbled with a wince, inwardly fighting the urge to pull her team-mates into a hug. They deserved better than the homes they came from
"Mum's gonna be livid" Lux sighed "Dad hates drug dealers with a passion though so hey, might be able to play it off as a job well done"
"It was a job well done" Diamond growled "Fuck Booster and fuck anyone who sells it" her hands found their way into their pockets and she stalked a few paces ahead of the group. Arctus watched her with a concerned expression and made to catch up but was halted by the sound of Corvid's Scroll, the elder Xiao Long siblings' naturally pale complexion lost what little colour it already had upon seeing the identity of the caller
"It's our Mum" she informed Felix, her voice a tense whisper
"Yang?"
"Blake"
"Oh fuck" Felix gasped "Answer it" Corvid did so
"Hey Mum"
"Don't 'Hey Mum' me Corvid Xiao Long" their mother growled, both of them braced themselves. Blake rarely got truly angry but when she did it was honestly a little frightening "I'm in New Vale right now. I was spending the weekend working on negotiations with a car manufacturer in the city discussing how to increase automation in the factory without laying off several hundred people. I was in my hotel, asleep, when I got a call from the academy explaining that you two were found at a police raid on a drug ring. Penny sent The Pearl to pick me up. I'm on the way right now, meet me at the academies' library and be prepared to explain yourselves. Yes Felix you too I know you're stood right next to your sister" Felix was indeed stood beside her, a fact which caused the other members of Team CLIR who as yet unfamiliar with Blake Xiao Long to stare at the Scroll with wide eyes
"Yes Mum" Corvid answered simply "Love you" the addition came easily, out of habit more than anything else. After a brief pause and a sigh Blake answered
"Love you too" as the line went dead Felix and Corvid shared a look before speaking at the same time
"We are so dead"
Eagle stared at the ground as she trailed after Ren into his and Nora's quarters, in truth an apartment of their own located on the campus, the pair had remained silent the entire walk from Goodwitch's office. That silence ended abruptly when Nora rushed over to her the moment the door closed, cupping her cheeks and tilting her head, seemingly inspecting her for even the most miniscule of injuries
"WHAT ON REMNANT WERE YOU THINKING? ARE YOU OKAY? WHAT HAPPENED?" the words poured out of Nora frantically until her husband gently placed a hand on her shoulder
"She's fine Nora, just a little shaken up. Eagle sit down please" the blonde did as was requested, making her way to the sofa and deploying Sentinel. The droid unfolded with a series of expressive chirps and animatedly stretched his small armatures as if glad to finally be free of confinement. Ren and Nora sat themselves in chairs across from her, a coffee table between them and Eagle noticed that Nora had already poured tea for the three of them. When Ren spoke it was in his usual calm, measured voice but Eagle could hear the deep concern behind it
"Eagle in the Headmistresses office you didn't say a word. You let the Xiao Longs' do the talking, but Felix is your partner; the two of you are responsible for each other. That's why students are partnered up" he took a deep breath "Just explain to us what happened and why. I'm not angry at you Eagle, I'm just disappointed"
"That makes it worse" she mumbled dejectedly before taking a sip of her tea while Sentinel had trundled over to Nora, apparently trying to get the redheads' attention as if it were a pet and not a rolling weapon
"Okay" She sighed, plucking up her courage "It's pretty much exactly what Felix said. After our mission with Uncle Flax we intercepted a call"
"His report indicates that he was originally going to ignore the emergency transmission" Ren noted, expression inscrutable, Eagle somehow suspected that Ren would have had something to say about that decision to the Rabbit Faunus in private
"Because he had students on board" Eagle admitted "We managed to convince him we could still fight"
"And nearly got yourself blown up!" Nora exclaimed "I saw you working on your armour after that Eagle, it was in pieces!"
"We had to Aunt Nora!" the blonde cried "If Uncle Flax ignored a call because of Team FADE and someone had died, that would have been down to us" Ren removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, a mannerism he'd inadvertently picked up from Glynda over the years he'd worked alongside her. Inwardly he was giving very serious consideration to calling Craven Arc and venting some frustration at the man who was clearly filling his grand-children's heads with the same extreme views on duty as his own children, as if he hadn't learned from the loss that they all shared.
"So after you encountered this group of thieves and they proved capable of holding their own against a former Atlesian Freelancer" Ren eventually sighed "Your team decided to look for them yourselves?"
"We thought it couldn't hurt to have more people" Eagle defended, realising how feeble the reasoning sounded
"And this led you into a fight with Rhodium Torchwick, how?"
"I wasn't even in the fight. I was hanging back like a coward" Eagle muttered as she slouched forwards "Corvid said there was no way to safely use Sentinel in there….we went to Torchwick's lab because we, well one of Team CLIR heard that his group had bought the truck that the thieves used to get away with the stuff they stole"
"Then why not give that information to us?" Nora gasped in exasperation
"Because I'm a Huntress!" Eagle snapped, shocking herself with the force behind her own words
"But are you prepared to kill someone?" Ren asked delicately
"I, what? No I don't want to-"
"Then you shouldn't have been anywhere near that place" he cut her off "There's a reason Goodwitch doesn't allow students to take missions that would bring them into contact with criminals until the end of their first year"
"Killing someone….it changes you Eagle, and there may come a day when you have to do it but don't seek it out. Don't go trying to take on people who've already answered the question of whether or not they could pull that trigger" Nora added as she made her way over to the sofa her niece occupied and sat beside her, squeezing her hand gently
"Have you ever killed someone?" Eagle asked in a hushed voice
"In the battle of Anquan-Jia" Nora nodded "Tyrian and his tribe had stormed Mistral's capital and were killing everyone in sight, I fought them like they were Grimm….not all of them had unlocked Auras"
"Oh my Oum" Eagle gasped softly, hands covering her mouth as she realised what she was being told "Magnhild at close range?"
"And that reaction" Nora booped her nose gently "Is exactly why you're going to leave this business to the police and Hunters like Scarlet who specialise in taking out Aura using criminals"
"I just wanted to help" Eagle sighed "I wanted to do the right thing" hearing this Ren crossed the living room and joined them, pulling Eagle into a hug
"Sometimes Eagle, the right thing to do is call for help….please remember that, I can't see anyone else I love get hurt because they didn't call for help" Nora joined the hug, her monumental grip enveloping both of them before she finally ruffled Eagle's hair
"Now go on, get to bed" as she rose to leave Ren gave her a parting comment
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier….I really am proud of the woman and the Huntress you're growing into Eagle"
Corvid and Felix had waited in the library in tense silence, the usual playful teasing and banter between the siblings absent with the arrival of their mother looming over them. Roughly twenty minutes after they'd entered the library the door creaked open once more. Blake Xiao Long's eyes glimmered as the light struck them and as she stepped into the library her children had taken in the dark rings around them and deduced that she would be in no mood for anything other than the truth and apologies, then promptly delivered them.
"Mum?" Felix asked nervously, Blake had been silently massaging her temples for a few moments after listening to his and Corvid's explanations
"I can understand what you did, I really can. It's the how and why that bother me; Felix please don't insult my intelligence and pretend that the main reason you've been trying to find this group is anything other than your own pride" she sighed before giving her son a disappointed look that he physically crumpled under, fidgeting guiltily on the spot "I hoped we were passed this Felix, I really did"
"Mum come on-" Corvid found herself cut off by a stern glare
"I expect better from you Corvid. You've left Patch and New Vale, you spent most of last year in Mistral. You're more experienced. You should have known better"
"She tried to talk me out of it" Felix came to his sisters' aid. One thing Blake and Yang had learned early on in their relationship with the adopted children was that they would without fail cover for each other
"And you chose not to listen, because you let your temper and need to get even get the better of you"
"I don't see what the big deal is honestly" the Lion Faunus shot back defiantly as he rolled his shoulders back, he loved his mother, he loved both of them. But there was a limit to how much he was willing to take from anyone, he knew Blake had a point but she needed to understand he was trying his best
"That's because you're not from a city like this" Blake sighed, her Lower Atlesian heritage showing as she placed her hands on his shoulders "You don't tackle groups like this head on they have too many resources, you have to make them make mistakes and capitalise on them"
"Like you did with the White Fang?"
"Exactly like the White Fang, destabilise them piece by piece. Turn their people into informants" Blake nodded, Felix's expression turned sour
"Mum, I get where your coming from, I really do. But these people have already hurt Amethyst, already hurt Arctus….If I have to beat answers out of some drug dealers and gangsters to stop anybody else being on that list then fine, it's worth it. Nobody I know is gonna lose an arm like Yang-" he was cut off by Blake's arm pulling back for a slap across his face before she managed to control herself, it was at that moment the Lion Faunus realised just how badly he'd transgressed by mentioning Yang's prosthetic. Blake had never raised a hand to either of them before
"And that" she spat, Felix looked at her and was disgusted at himself when he saw the tears in her eyes "Is precisely your problem Felix! You haven't changed from when you were getting into fights because someone made a joke about Faunus when you were twelve! The ends always justify the means to you don't they? Do you know who else thought like you do Felix? Adam Taurus! So go on, you carry on down the path you're on and see just how proud Yang is of you when you turn into something like him!" Blake's voice had risen with every furious syllable until she was screaming at him while tears streamed down her face. The words hit Felix harder than the slap Blake had refrained from could ever have hoped to, the stunned gasp from Corvid informed him that she'd been just as surprised as he was. As exactly what Blake had said to him and the implications of the accusation sunk in Felix felt his eyes beginning to sting, a sensation he steadfastly ignored until the first tremor shook his lip. It was at that moment Blake seemed to return to her senses somewhat
"Felix, I didn't-"
"I'm gonna go" with that he barged past her, the library door slamming shut behind him before Blake could even register that he'd left the room. She stared silently after him, listening to his footfalls fade into the distance before a loud thud that sounded distinctly like someone punching a wall reached her ears and fresh tears welled up in her eyes
"What on Remnant is wrong with you?" Corvid hissed "How could you tell him that?" Blake shuddered as a single sob escaped her. The sound, despite the rage etched into her face, broke Corvid's heart and she pulled Blake into a tight hug
"Mum, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything"
"You're both good kids, don't let anyone tell you any different. Not even me" Blake choked out through tears "I have to go find Felix. I can't let that be the last thing I say to him tonight" wiping the moisture from her eyes her expression became one of pure determination, one of Blake Xiao Long, formerly Belladonna with a clear mission ahead of her and Blake, as her opponents both on the battlefield and in the political arena had learned; did not fail a mission.
Arctus and Diamond had arrived at their dorm and changed for bed, Eagle and Felix were yet to arrive but both of them had said their good nights and clambered into their respective bunks. Though as Arctus Slate lay on his back, having given up on finding a comfortable position, sleep simply would not come. His head filled with too many frantic and unpleasant thoughts, after a few more moments of laying in the dark and staring at the bunk above him, his eyes attuned to the gloom well enough to make out the grain of the wood, he decided to tackle the one thing denying him sleep that he currently could
"Hey Diamond, you awake?"
"Yeah, what's up?" his partners' voice was a low, somewhat raspy murmur when tired, a sound he enjoyed as much as everything else about her
"Are you okay?" he paused for a moment "It's just you seemed really bothered by what it was they were making in the drug lab….you wanna talk about it?" after a brief pause where the Bear Faunus thought she'd simply chosen to ignore the question there was a rustling of sheets above him, followed by Diamond making her way down onto his bunk and sitting next to him. Arms wrapped around her knees as she leaned against his headboard. Arctus pulled himself into a sitting position beside her, concern once again rising to the forefront of his emotions as he saw the sombre expression the silver haired sniper wore
"Diamond?" he slid an arm around her waist, which she moved to accommodate and leaned into his shoulder; partially because he knew that the weather in New Vale was colder than her native Mistral and partially because frankly, if Arctus could make her feel better in any way at all then he was going to.
"Do you know what Booster actually is and what it does?" she asked, not meeting his eyes
"No" he admitted "Honestly I don't really know a lot about things like drugs and organised crime. I grew up in Upper Atlas. Felix says Schnee Manor looks like a supervillain should live there"
"Sounds nice" Diamond replied, the slightest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth "Drugs are pretty common where I lived in Anquan-Jia, Mistral's capital...even more common in Doupeng-He Bishou. Booster's actually a fairly new thing, I can't remember seeing it before maybe three years ago; all the dealers make it differently as well, trial and error"
"That sounds risky, why would anyone take something like that?" Arctus was genuinely surprised at what he was hearing
"The effects" Diamond answered bluntly "It's Dust infused narcotics straight into your bloodstream. The amount of power someone on Booster has in the short term is insane….there was also a rumour that it could unlock your Aura if you hadn't already done it. For some kids who either want to attend Mirage Prep or are worried they might not make the grade for Haven Academy the risks probably seem worth it" there was an edge to Diamond's voice that Arctus caught and instinctively held her a little tighter, hand trailing to her hip and tracing small circles against the fabric of the t-shirt she slept in
"It wasn't worth it was it?" he dared to ask, Diamond gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head
"There was a guy in the year under me who lived in the same apartment block, our Mums knew each other. His name was Colby" she gently wove her fingers between his and gave a slow shuddering sigh before continuing "He bought some Booster made with Gravity Dust, his mum found his body in his room when she came home from work. I don't know the exact details but apparently his circulatory system imploded because of the Dust"
"Holy Oum" Arctus breathed out, unable to hide his wince at the thought of such a horrific death
"Yeah" Diamond breathed "Fuck anyone who sells that shit, it's evil"
"Agreed, I'd love to know where they got that much Eco-Dust from as well" the Bear Faunus mused "Seriously it's only been on the market for about three years and it's way more expensive than standard varieties"
"Wanna add it to our list of ongoing investigations?" Diamond snorted
"I would have said no" Arctus answered "But honestly what you said about Booster really puts things into perspective, I was worried about my parents being mad….or Oum forbid Aunt Winter hearing about tonight"
"You are such a dork big guy" Diamond couldn't help but laugh
"Oh please, you adore me" Arctus was unsure what prompted the sudden burst of cockiness but he felt his heart hammering in his chest the moment the words left his lips
"Yeah, yeah I do. You're adorable" Diamond murmured gently pulling his arm tighter around her waist, the Bear Faunus felt his face begin to heat up and turned to face her wearing an expression that was equal parts incredulous and hopeful
"Diamond?" she didn't answer verbally, choosing instead to reposition herself so that she was facing him; his arm still around her waist while she draped an arm around his shoulder, gently pulling his head down. Arctus's mind went utterly, blissfully blank as they drew closer, his free hand brushing a few stray strands of silvery hair away from her face, trembling slightly with nerves
"Hey guys- OH MY OUM I'M SORRY" the sound of Eagle Arc entering the dorm sent the two of them flying apart sheepishly, Arctus colliding with the wall and Diamond almost falling off of the bed
"Nothing happened!" Diamond clarified
"Nothing at all"
"It looked like you two were-"
"We weren't!" the pair of them answered in unison
"Okay okay, I mean it's okay if you were as well, if you want I can go and give you two some privacy and-"
"It's fine" Diamond hurriedly cut her off, Arctus could see her cheeks colouring even in the dark "It's almost three in the morning, so I'm gonna go to bed" before either Arctus or Eagle had a chance to comment she'd began climbing onto her own bunk where she promptly connected her earphones to her Scroll and Arctus could faintly hear the sound of her music clearly being played loud enough to drown out any attempts to communicate
"Yeah I'm gonna get some sleep as well Eagle" the Bear Faunus sighed, still too stunned at what he thought had been about to happen to process anything else. He slipped back beneath his sheets and buried his head below his pillows while fighting the urge to let out a groan of frustration at what may have been a wasted chance he'd desperately wanted since he'd first met Diamond Sustrai-Black.
Blake didn't run through the hallways but the sound of her heels clacking reverberated as she walked as briskly as she could manage towards her destination; she'd called Ren and asked if he could access Halo Academy's security cameras to locate her wayward son. The answer had come soon enough and she'd judged roughly how long it would take Felix's temper to subside, silently hoping she knew him as well as she thought she did, at which point she'd set off without any further hesitation. After descending a flight of stairs the rear doors of the campus, just as large as the main entrance but far less grandiose became visible and were thankfully, as she found upon opening them, were unlocked. Stepping out into the cold air which years of living on the island of Patch rather than her native Kingdom of Atlas had left her sensitive to she shivered slightly, her eyes instantly homed in on the Colosseum that formed an outdoor training area; something that Beacon which Halo was based on hadn't possessed. It was where Felix was.
"Felix!" She called out as she entered the training area, were her mind not currently preoccupied she would have admitted it was an impressive facility. Her eyes scanned her surroundings until she found him; sat in one of the seats in the bleachers hunched over himself and seemingly not paying attention. As she made her way towards him her heart clenched and stomach plummeted as keen eyes picked out the tear tracks staining his face. He made no attempt to acknowledge her and Blake thought he was purposefully ignoring her, until she was almost beside him
"Hey" his voice came out as a weak croak and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand
"Hey" she repeated gently as she took the seat next to him "I think we both said some things we didn't mean. I'm sorry son"
"Mum?" the solitary word came with such apprehension that Blake knew that whatever followed would most likely speak volumes as her abilities as a parent
"Do you ever regret adopting me?" whatever she'd expected it had not been that, as her eyes widened in shock the Lion Faunus continued "I mean Corey's a genius, she can do pretty much anything she sets her mind to and I'm just-"
"Felix" Blake cut across him firmly as she reached over to him and gently pulled at his shoulder so that he was looking at her "Neither Yang or I have ever or will ever regret bringing you or your sister into our lives. I could not be more happy with the children I have" his eyes filled with tears again and Blake gently pulled him closer, stroking his hair the way she had since he'd been a four year old boy who'd only recently left the orphanage as was filled with an anger that no child should have known
"It's just that well" he paused, sniffling as he tried to put his feelings into words "You're Blake Belladonna. Every Faunus in New Vale if not Remnant knows your name, you stand for something….I just want to make you proud and I don't know how, I keep messing up" the admission somehow managed to break Blake's heart while at the same time filling her with pride
"Felix, you're doing fine" she assured him "You've got a good heart but you sometimes rush in without thinking, it will come. You've got fire in you Fluffy, I see so much of what made me fall in love with Yang in you and I couldn't be more proud"
"Even when I try and fight the Mob" he gave a watery chuckle as he pulled back, returning to his hunched over position
"Even when you try and fight the Mob" Blake admitted "Just promise me you'll let the authorities deal with this now Felix, focus on your training"
"Okay" he breathed out "And I'm sorry for what I said, it was a low blow"
"I know you are" there were a few moments of calm silence between mother and son, the outpouring of feelings between them leaving them both physically and emotionally drained. Eventually Felix gave a yawn and Blake checked the time, realising she had work in the morning and that she should probably return to her hotel
"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, Felix nodded
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna head back to the dorm" as Blake pulled him into one last hug a thought occurred to her, a gesture that would hopefully clear up any lingering ill will between them
"Give me your car keys"
"What?"
"I'll pick the Killer Bee up. You can't leave Halo for two weeks and it's either still at the parking lot or impounded. I'll get it back to Patch for you and you can come and get it later" a weak smile crossed his face as he saw the sense and he retrieved his keys from his pocket, removing the one for his car he handed it over
"Okay, see you soon mum. Love you"
"Love you too son. Never forget that"
The next morning came far too soon for Arctus, who on top of the limited sleep he'd managed to get due to the hour he went to bed combined with the multitude of thoughts keeping him awake; was struggling to open his eyes, a sign of the lethargy that he suffered from every winter beginning to set in. It took his sleep-addled and sluggish brain a few moments to recognise the noise that had awoken him as several distinct sounds, longer still to make out what those sounds were as he forced himself into a sitting position
"Will someone get that before I have to break someone's arm" Diamond snarled from above him, dragging himself from his bunk and rising to his full height allowed him to see that his partner was currently hidden within a cocoon of blankets, head sandwiched between her pillows to stave off the noise.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
The sound of someone drumming against the door to their living quarters made itself known again, followed by grumbled and almost incoherent threats from Diamond and Felix who was also beginning to stir
"Dee Dee are you in there or have I got the wrong room?" an unfamiliar voice that Arctus assumed belonged to a man asked "If so, oops my bad" Arctus was about to make his way to the door and inform that speaker that there was in fact no 'Dee Dee' here. The he heard Diamond gasp
"No way!" he turned to see his partner rapidly shedding the multitude of blankets she'd been enveloped in before using her Semblance to run across the wall of the dorm, the baggy t-shirt she slept in riding up her toned thighs just enough to drag the Bear Faunus's thoughts back to the night before. Diamond pulled the door open, standing behind it was a man Arctus guessed to be around forty years old wearing a pilots' uniform; sporting a pallid complexion and a naturally cocky smile that seemed to soften the moment the door opened, the mans' shaggy silver hair instantly caught Arctus's eye; the connection he was slow to make in his tired state was confirmed when Diamond slung her arms around the visitors' neck with a squeal that none of her team would have thought possible of her
"DAD! Oh my Oum, what are you doing here?" her usual low and somewhat husky voice was bubbling with giddiness, sounding almost as if she were trying to impersonate Eagle "These are my team; the big guy is my partner Arctus, the blondes are my team leader Felix and Eagle"
"Wait" a bleary eyed Felix yawned out, smirk forming on his face "Dee Dee?"
"Dude shut up" Diamond returned her attention to her father "How are you here?" while Arctus loved seeing his partner happy, the way her eyes seemed to light up never failed to make him smile, he was unable to shake a feeling of something akin to dread and he was almost positive that her dad was keeping a watchful eye on him while addressing Diamond
"Well I am I pilot Dee Dee" he pointed out with a grin "Took a little last minute overtime, late night flight from Mistral to Vale. Return trip isn't until this afternoon so I thought I'd surprise you" Diamond's smile widened to almost comical proportions, faltering only slightly when Mercury raised an eyebrow and continued
"And then I got a call from Em, your Mum tells me you four blew up a warehouse last night. So you managed to surprise me, well played" his daughter huffed, blowing stray hairs out of her eyes
"Okay, first of all-" at this point Mercury merely laughed and rolled his eyes
"Come on, get dressed and you can explain it over breakfast. I mean in New Vale, I'm not eating any canteen or mess hall crap from anywhere unless I have to" as Diamond hurried into the bathroom, stopping only to pick out some clothes Arctus's mind finally seemed to co-operate with him and the arrival of Diamond's dad and the mention of the events at the warehouse turned drug lab set a train of thought in motion that led to the Bear Faunus taking his scroll and making his way out of the Dorm, still clad only in the baggy sweatpants and vest he slept in
"I've got my eye on you boy" the silver haired man whose name he hadn't learned murmured, quiet enough that even Arctus's sensitive hearing almost missed it. Having no clue how to react to a threat from his partner, best friend and crush's father he simply ignored the man and began roaming the hallways in search of a quiet nook in which to make a Scroll call.
Eventually he found a secluded spot away from what few students were awake at such an hour on a Sunday morning and withdrew his Scroll, suppressing a yawn before dialling his father's number and setting the device to video call. After a few rings Gangrel Slate came into view, sitting on his knee was Athena-Jade
"Well this is a surprise" Gangrel noted bluntly, a slight grin forming at the edges his mouth causing Arctus to inwardly curse 'He already knows'
"Arctus is in trouble" his sister added in a singsong voice and sticking her tongue out at him, confirming his suspicions
"You are such a germ" he grumbled in retort, sticking his own tongue out at the girl whose hair he had in instinctive urge to ruffle, he turned his attention to Gangrel once again "I'm guessing you've heard from Halo then?"
"Your mother has" Gangrel corrected "So is this you calling me and hoping I'll get you a free pass?" the older Faunus gave him a bemused grin which Arctus returned with a confident smirk of his own
"I mean I can grovel if you want, but I thought you'd like information on one of the two groups that attacked that weapons shipment before I left Atlas. I'll bet Lien you're still looking for at least one of 'em" Gangrel's face slowly morphed from shocked, to thoughtful to somewhat impressed
"Athena, go play for a while. I have to talk to Arctus alone"
"Aww, but I want to talk to Arctus"
"I'll call you later, pinky promise" Arctus held up his little finger and his sister seemed to acquiesce and vanished out of view. A few moments later Gangrel spoke again, convinced she was out of earshot when he heard the family dog running along the hallways, clearly in response to Athena throwing something for it to fetch.
"Okay, you've got my attention. What have you heard and how….and what exactly happened last night" Arctus gave a toothy smile, more than a little pleased with himself and the pieces of the puzzle he'd seemingly managed to put in place while mulling things over the night before
"You're most likely looking for a group of Mistralis that imitate the nomad tribes' tactics, we're pretty sure that they're not from one of the tribes because everyone we've seen in this group is Faunus. As far as we know they're actually heading back to Mistral"
"How sure are you?" Gangrel asked while searching for a pen and taking notes
"Pretty sure. The groups in Atlas were looking for weapons. There was a stolen ship registered to an Atlesian company found off the coast of Patch, these guys were on Patch; as well as a warehouse they broke into Signal"
"They were looking for weapons at a Hunter academy, not unreasonable" Gangrel surmised
"That's what it looks like. They didn't find any so now they've turned up in New Vale and stolen some laser batteries from an old warship that the Scavenger Guild was going to sell to a museum, that's where my team ran into 'em. We heard they were planning on leaving Vale from Rhodium Torchwick. That's why we were in that warehouse, he'd turned it into a drugs lab and the Shadow Cadre, that's what these guys call themselves, sold him the truck they used to move the stolen weapons"
"So it sounds like I should send a couple of specialists undercover to Mistral's largest cities and ports and see which gangs suddenly seem to have a lot more muscle. This is good work kid, really good work, I can use this"
"So you're not mad?" Arctus dared to ask
"Pfft, please" Gangrel laughed "I've got no room to talk, I was in the White Fang at your age. I'd burned a few warehouses down and it was honestly for less noble reasons….How did that happen anyway?"
"Okay, in our defence Torchwick blew his own place up. I was busy using my Glyphs to stop everyone getting cooked, including his guys" Arctus was honestly a little confused when his father burst out laughing at the information, as it subsided into soft chuckles the older Faunus explained
"Well that settles it, he's definitely Rome's spawn. Crumbles and informs under the slightest pressure, blows his own base up and gets his day ruined by first years; only a fucking Torchwick. So how harsh was Goodwitch with punishment"
"Two weeks confined to campus" Arctus shrugged
"Could be worse" Gangrel noted "I'll talk to Weiss, let her know the specifics. All things considered she'll understand. Anything else?"
"Yeah" Arctus nodded, reminded by the mention of his mother "Tell Mum that she might need to take a look at who buys in bulk from the SDC. Torchwick had Eco-Dust, a lot of it. He was making a drug called booster"
"Oum's sake, that's all Weiss needs. Right I'll let her know someone is using her work to make rocket-fuel" Gangrel sighed, referring to the Aura enhancing drug by the street name it was more commonly known in Lower Atlas, where the problem had also been arising
"Good name for it" Arctus noted "Eco-Dust really powers up my Glyphs" Gangrel looked mortified
"Tell me you didn't-"
"No, Oum no" Arctus shook his head vehemently, knowing what the question would be "Just used the crystal normally….I actually managed to summon an Ursa and hold it"
"Nice, proud of you kid" Arctus couldn't help but smile hearing the words. There was a moment before Gangrel sighed
"Right, I'm gonna go see if your Granddad can look after Athena. I've gotta go and chase this up" he indicated to the notes he'd taken "It's been nice talking kid, wish I could do it more often. Y'know how it is"
"Yeah" Arctus nodded regretfully. He appreciated that his parents work was important to Atlas and Remnant as a whole, but he still wished he could be as close as Felix was with Blake and Yang "I get it Dad it's fine. Let me know if you catch these guys"
"And hey" Gangrel gave him a stern look "Call your sister more. She misses you"
"Will do"
"I really wish I knew where you put it all" Mercury snorted as he watched his daughter polish off a second helping of breakfast from what she assured him was the best Mistrali place in town; which he'd paid for, naturally.
"I'm not sat in a cockpit all day" she snarked with a roll of her eyes as she finished her meal
"Smart ass" Mercury chuckled, shaking his head. They'd discussed Team FADE's involvement in the destruction of a warehouse owned by a criminals organisation on the journey, which had involved a Bull-Head flight onto one of the gargantuan towers that housed most of the inner capital city, a small trek from the landing pad jutting from the side of the building to a monorail station followed by a ride to another of the tower complexes, this one being home to Diamond's new favourite place to eat. She'd been surprised at just how understanding Mercury had been, her mother always joked that he was wrapped around his daughters' little finger but she'd been preparing herself for at least a little scolding and a lecture
"What's up Dee?" her fathers' voice made her focus, wrinkling her nose and frowning in irritation
"I cannot believe you called me that in front of people" Mercury's face split into a cocky smirk, one that most people would instantly recognise as something his daughter had inherited
"Awww was I embarrassing you in front the big bear who can't take his eyes off you?" her face coloured and she promptly buried it in her hands
"Oh my Oum, Dad you are such an….ugh" she sufficed with a wordless groan rather than actually finishing the sentence
"Oh so you like him back then?" Mercury's smile turned mischievous and Diamond let out another groan, a little annoyed at how easily he could read her "Good….I would have hated to have 'had a word' with him for no reason"
"What did you do?" she demanded harshly
"Just let him know I saw him trying to check your legs out….Not to sound like a total 'Dad' but have you considered wearing actual clothes in your dorm?"
"Have you considered wearing shorts more?" Diamond shot back before sinking into her seat a little more "Yeah, I like the guy….he's sweet, we've had each others' backs since initiation"
"Can't be any worse than the last cretin you brought home" her father grumbled
"Daaad" she stretched the word out "Let it go"
"Fine, fine" Mercury sighed "Just remember to use protection"
"The condoms or the knife you gave me?" Diamond retorted with an eye roll
"I trust you to make your own choices" her father shrugged "So besides finding a few new things for me to worry about, how've you been?"
"I've been fine, it's been weird not living with you and Mum though" Diamond admitted, what she meant was that she missed her parents; a message Mercury seemed to receive "And it's freezing here!" she added
"I know what you mean, it's strange not having your music blaring all the time….I can actually hear myself think" her father teased, Diamond had a rebuttal ready and waiting to be delivered with a smile
"I thought you hated awkward silences"
"That's my girl" Mercury beamed, privately lamenting the fact he'd produced a child with more sarcastic comments than he and Emerald combined.
"So….the whole thing last night?" Diamond asked, far from eager to broach the subject again but in search of confirmation
"I wish Vale's Hunters had learned from the war and could do their own fucking jobs instead of relying on students. I wish you hadn't been caught but there's no planning for bad luck. I'm not sorry in the least that you dismantled Torchwick's drug ring….and not just because his old man was an ass-hat. Booster ruins lives"
"Yeah it does" Diamond murmured, Mercury's expression became concerned as the smile slipped from her face
"You wanna talk about it?" he asked, reaching over and squeezing her hand. He knew all too well that the death of the kid in their apartment block had shaken her. Diamond shook her head
"I'm fine, promise"
"Okay" he rose to his feet, stretching as he did so "Well it's probably another long walk to terminal my airship is in. Wanna come with your old man?….you can tell me all about your new crush on the way, I'll decide whether or not to dump him in the ocean with concrete boots on" Diamond made no effort to refrain from letting loose another annoyed groan at his antics.
Felix and Eagle had dragged themselves out of bed not long after Arctus and Diamond had left the dormitory. Dressing in casual clothes and making their way groggily to the canteen for breakfast to where they were currently sat; surrounded by the dull drone of conversation from the other students currently awake. Eventually the ambient noise was pierced by the sound of trays being set down opposite them as Team CLIR joined them at their table
"Rough night?" Nyanza asked, noticing Felix's somewhat puffy eyes and overall worn down expression
"Could say that" he grunted out, having had far too little sleep after the emotional and eventful night before to be considered great conversation
"Anything interesting?" Ether asked as he slung an arm around his much shorter partner and girlfriends' shoulders, Olivine leaning into him; the pair were considered by most of their classmates to be sickeningly cute together
"We blew up a mob drug lab" Eagle answered with an earnest smile, unable to stop herself from giggling at the stunned expressions of Team NEON. None of them could connect the image of inner city gang crime with the shy freckled blonde who spent most interactions either rambling enthusiastically or blushing while staring after people.
"So that's what that noise was" Helios noted "We were at a concert with Ether's sister, it must have been nearby"
"I'm surprised you noticed" Nyanza snorted "You were busy with your tongue in that guys' mouth" eyes were drawn to Felix as he started coughing uncontrollably, seemingly having choked on a mouthful of bacon. Both the Lion Faunus and the scarlet haired warrior both oblivious to the glances their friends were casting between them.
"So….you blew up a drugs lab?" Olivine prodded gently, genuinely intrigued
"Well technically they blew it up themselves" Eagle admitted
"They?"
"Drug lord called Torchwick and his crew" Felix interjected "We were chasing up a lead about that thing" he gave Helios a look as he trailed off, silently asking how much his team knew. The leader of Team NEON nodded
"They know about the thieves pretending to be my people"
"We couldn't miss the ranting" Ether snorted
"Did you find anything?" Helios asked, brow furrowing as he leaned forwards in anticipation
"We got a name" Felix confirmed "The Shadow Cadre" Helios spat a curse in the language of the Nikos tribe that none present could understand, though the intent was clear
"You've heard of them?" Eagle enquired
"Skia-thirio apo Pagonia-potami" the unknown words were hissed, the emphasis on certain syllables giving it a dialect distinctly different from when he spoke in his native tongue. Seeing the confused stares he was getting Helios translated "The Shadow Cadre of…. Frost River" the latter part of the sentence taking a moment for him to find the words for
"You know them?" Eagle asked excitedly
"I know of them" he corrected "They're a myth"
"You think someone would use that name for the status?" Felix shrugged as he offered the suggestion, Helios looked thoughtful
"Perhaps….though they'd have to be an interesting blend of brave and stupid" he paused for a moment before realising he probably needed to explain things, even citizens of Mistral's cities didn't know much of the internecine conflicts of the tribes.
"The Frost River tribe settle further north than my people ever venture, doing so would violate treaties we have with other tribes. From what I know of them they're raiders and pirates, they like to sail their ships into the ocean between Mistral and Atlas and pick of fishing boats. They've been known to launch attacks on land as well"
"That sounds like our guys" Felix growled "So if that's the Frost River Tribe, who're the Shadow Cadre?"
"An elite group within the tribe" Helios answered "Nobody from the other tribes has ever met a member of this 'cadre' but victims of their attacks say they announce themselves clearly. They specialise in night attacks, no terms offered, power to lights and CCT relays cut while they fight in the dark….the stories only started a few years ago, the Nikos tribe honestly dismissed them as a fairy tale"
"Except Faunus can see in the dark and this was a Faunus group that Team FADE fought with" Nyanza pointed out, remembering the details he'd learned from his partner. The revelation stopped Helios dead in his tracks, vibrant green eyes wide and mouth working silently as he attempted to process the information
"Seriously is it that weird for a tribe to have a handful of Faunus?" Nyanza asked with a raised eyebrow, Helios simply nodded
"It's rare for members of the Anima tribes to have children with anyone outside of the tribes, and even then they're almost never raised as part of the tribe. Pyrrha Nikos's mother was a Huntress and her father, my grandfathers' brother, left the tribe to be with her. I've never heard of any of the tribes having Faunus in their ranks"
"So what makes these guys really easy to spot then?" Felix realised brightly "The show up on a boat, go for the whole horror movie 'cut the lights and communications' vibe and they're the only tribe with Faunus….seriously, we could have 'em found in a week now we know who to look for" the Lion Faunus's hopeful expression as Helios gave a grim chuckle
"It's not that simple I'm afraid" he leaned further forwards "The Shadow Cadre are a myth because they're a ghost story….The Frost River tribe were wiped out almost a year ago. They're all dead"
Authors Notes:
Okay this was a gargantuan mother fucker of a chapter to write and I'm glad I've finally got it out of the way.
Also Chapter 20 should be released on 'schedule' (As if I have one of those) but I'm doing a little reworking on the rest of the Vol.2 arc to work in things that readers have liked about the last chapter seeing as they don't directly contradict what I wanted to do anyway.
Vol.5 Premiere, since it isn't on Youtube at the time of my writing this all I'll say is: Nora Valkyrie's facial expressions give me life and I love my super-duper-booper-trooper dearly.
Now let's summarise:
So yeah, Goodwitch is pissed. Bordeaux is rightfully pissed and Rhodium Torchwick is a lot more ruthless than his old man; he doesn't monologue, he dismembers people if they owe money.
Iris and Rusty come from less than ideal backgrounds, Iris's backstory is coming next chapter.
I can't help that imagine despite Yang being a teacher Blake is the one who has to deal with Corvid and Felix's bad behaviour most of the time, they talk Yang into seeing things their way if given a chance.
Imagine getting told "I'm not angry I'm just disappointed" by Ren, it's like getting called a cunt by Jesus.
Ren kind of has a point, blowing up Grimm en mass is one thing but most first year students do not have the fortitude to kill someone and although this academy may actually have some sort of help available for traumatised students, going out looking for situations where you may have to kill people and the people you're fighting have no such reservations, is a very bad idea.
The battle of Anquan-Jia is from The Downward Spiral, Nora caved a bandits' chest in with Magnhild and didn't realise the guy had no Aura until she saw the bloodstains.
I'm writing Scarlet as a Hunter who specialises in dealing with human/Faunus criminal (Almost like a detective yes?) I know he took Team CLIR on their mission, but I'll write that off as a favour to Goodwitch seeing as he lives on the campus.
I didn't have to mention Jaune at all in this scene, just allude to him and you all felt it.
Let's be honest Blake was right, Felix may have wanted to catch the Shadow Cadre for honourable reasons, but it was also about the fact he wanted another swing at Raffia and has done since Patch.
Felix crossed a line with the comment about losing an arm, Blake canonically will slap people if provoked so I don't think the having to hold herself back part was out of character.
I think being compared to Adam Taurus is probably the most offensive thing Blake can say to someone, but I also think it's something Felix needed to hear sooner rather than later, again based on my Downward Spiral timeline, Adam started out with noble intentions but kept on justifying crossing more and more of his own boundaries.
Writing that argument broke me, it really did.
Yeah Booster is a risky business, seriously kids don't buy drugs….and if you're going to buy drugs buy from a dealer that someone you've seen high can vouch for. Never buy from random people, they could be cutting down with anything.
I don't know if anyone caught it but Booster and Weiss's Eco-Dust came onto their respective markets at around the same time.
HA! You thought it was going to be Diamond Dust but IT WAS ME GIBLE!
More heartbreaking Blake and Felix….because I'm nothing if not consistent.
Everyone thinks of Felix as "Yang's kid" but he really looks up to Blake in a lot of ways.
One does not simply wake Diamond Sustrai-Black on a Sunday Morning.
Yes Mercury Black calls his daughter Dee Dee….yes she will murder anyone else who calls her that.
We haven't seen Athena-Jade Slate since Chapter 01, that had to be rectified.
Gangrel is definitely proud of Arctus, I imagine Weiss trying to be mad and failing miserably.
Also Arctus has managed to connect most of the dots with the information he had, he's exactly correct in what he told his Dad but he was close as he could be without the last few pieces.
Everything about Merc and Diamond's interactions was fun to write, I can't help but imagine that the ex contract killer with a mouth and an attitude problem mellowed out into such a total 'Dad'.
"I can actually hear myself think" "I thought you hated awkward silences" Diamond has no mercy at all.
Ether and Olivine (Still love the ship-name 'Gunmetal' for those two) are sickening in public. I honestly could have wrote this scene without them, but it was starting to feel like I was just shoving them in a corner all the time.
Team NEON were out with Ether's sister, the one Ether was in a band with, just a little indication that they're starting to become a more cohesive and functional team, most likely a by-product of Helios having some heart to hearts with Ren and Nora.
Also actual confirmation that Helios is attracted to men, it hadn't actually been explicitly stated thus-far; also Felix's reaction was priceless.
And there's the information Arctus didn't have. The Shadow Cadre are Faunus that are somehow members of a different tribe to Helios, that was apparently wiped out; the explanation for how they exist ties into why they went to Atlas.
Thank you to TigerRose, FleetOfWarships, ShadowWolf, Ferrous, ShadowAlex2000, FluffyFirefly and SumoSnipe for their reviews on the last chapter.
I have plans for Rhodium that stretch to at least the third year.
He is indeed Roman's kid although they never actually met.
The move was made, it did not work….yet.
I didn't have too much planned for Bordeaux but I can work him into the rest of First Year.
They're isn't a ship-name for Iris x Eagle yet because Iris is actually straight….I have an end game ship for Eagle already, trust me you'll love it.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.