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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 24: Pest Control
The office Neptune David-Vasilias practised his trade from was comfortably warm despite the chill outside, which was only worsened by the height Halo Academy hovered above the Kingdom of New Vale at. Neptune himself sipped coffee and took notes while his current patient lounged on the leather couch in the corner of the room; Felix Xiao Long had approached him roughly two weeks ago and explained that he felt his temper was an issue that needed to addressed before it created or exacerbated a problem for either himself, his team or any civilians unfortunate enough to be caught in the way. After the Lion Faunus had explained, in detail, the events surrounding Rhodium Torchwick's arrest Neptune was compelled to agree.
"Would you like to tell me what's bothering you Felix?" Neptune eventually asked, the silence in the room had grown somewhat oppressive "My door is open to students at any time, but this wasn't a scheduled visit"
"I know" Felix sighed, running his hands through his curly and somewhat messy blonde mane while his tail twitched rhythmically, tapping against the couch as it did so. Whatever the issue was vocalising it was clearly difficult for the young man, which gave Neptune some clue as to its' nature. After a few seconds he was proven correct when Felix continued
"I'm….I don't know if scared is the right word; I'm worried man"
"About tomorrow's mission?" Neptune surmised, jotting down a few more notes
"Yeah. I haven't spoken to my team….I don't wanna worry 'em"
"Your team know you Felix, they'll know that something is wrong. I'd suggest talking to them about your concerns; trust in your team-mates is essential for a Hunter"
"Of course I trust my team-"
"But can they trust you if you're keeping secrets that you think affect your ability to lead them?" that silenced him, after a few moments of watching Felix clearly weighing up his options in his head Neptune decided to enquire further "What exactly is it you're worried about happening on your mission?"
"When I go into my Balrog state, really max out my Semblance, I'm not thinking straight….Like I'm not gonna turn on my team or anything but all I can think about is tearing whatever I went Balrog to fight apart" Neptune watched as Felix sat upright before slouching forwards, resting his elbows on his knees "I can't go on a mission and not be prepared to use my strongest attacks….but what if I mess up? I mean I'm literally on fire in my Balrog state; I plough a Grimm into something flammable and I've just caused an explosion that could kill someone. What if I just go nuts like I was about to with Torchwick?" Neptune took down yet more notes, a Semblance that warped ones perception of the world around them or affected their agency would naturally raise certain questions and concerns in the hands of a student worried about their own self control
"Am I correct in assuming that you have full control over when you enter your Balrog state?"
"Yeah, as long as I've got enough Aura to keep it up" Felix nodded "When I first figured out that I could convert all the excess thermal energy I absorb into Aura Mum wouldn't let me stop practising until I could turn it on and off at will"
"I see...which of your mothers was that just out of interest?"
"Yang" Felix answered with a small smile. Neptune suppressed a small snort, he really shouldn't have had to ask.
"So even if your, how to put this….faculties are diminished when using your Semblance at its' full power; doing so is still entirely at your discretion. I have to ask you a frank question, do you trust your own judgement on when to use your Balrog State?" Felix's brow furrowed but none of the biting comments that Neptune had half expected were forthcoming, the Lion Faunus was clearly giving the question serious thought. Eventually he nodded almost imperceptibly
"Yeah, yeah I try not to use it unless we're up against something extra hard to put down….like the Dungeon-Master from Initiation" Neptune nodded silently in understanding, he was well aware of the trials the first years had been put through. In his mind the fact that none of them sought him out immediately afterwards spoke more to the blasé attitude the Hunter community seemed to have to mental trauma than their toughness.
"I see" Neptune gave him a small smile "Then I have no reason not to clear you for active duty tomorrow. I'll be frank and open with you Felix when you explained your reasons for coming to me I requested that your team be placed on a mission with as little chance of interacting with civilians as possible-"
"Confidentiality bro?" Felix gave an affronted gasp
"Can be overlooked if I have reason to believe you may pose a risk to yourself and others. I'll re-evaluate the situation closer to your third mission of the year" there was a tense silence in the office as Felix stared Neptune down, the older man making no effort to look away or reach for the panic button under his desk; the teen before him was far from the first to be annoyed by his actions. Eventually the blonde slumped back onto the couch with a sigh that almost made Neptune mutter 'Teenagers' under his breath. A moment later Felix was on his feet and making his way to the door while giving the counsellor some final words over his shoulder
"Y'know what fine. I can deal with that. Cracking Grimm heads is what I signed up for anyway"
Monday morning had come and Team FADE were slowly making their way towards the atrium to receive their mission. They'd stayed in the canteen a little longer than was strictly necessary but were at no risk of running late, all of their weapons and equipment had been thoroughly checked and rechecked several times over the course of the weekend and all academic work that needed to be completed before their mission had been done, each of the four of them passing with flying colours. Yet despite all of this there was no shaking the cold and vice like grip of the borderline panic gripping each of them. Eagle's gait was an energetic skip as her excitement and trepidation fought for dominance. Felix's expression was one of grim determination, though he was nervously fiddling with his car keys while his hands were in his pockets and out of view. Arctus and Diamond were, naturally hand in hand, giving each other reassuring looks and squeezes. They were brought from their private introspection and mental preparation by a familiar voice cackling at their expense
"Holy Oum you guys look like you're being sent to South Vaccuo!" Nyanza Angora was doubled over with laughter while pointing at them, his team-mates shaking their heads at his antics, the feline continued undeterred "Seriously it's a training mission. Go, kick some ass, come back. Not difficult"
"And yet you made it look as if it were last time" Helios noted with a disdainful glower, his words sobered his partner instantly
"You didn't see the size of the thing we were up against last time" Diamond noted before deciding to change the subject "So what did you guys get"
"A few more hours sleep, thank Oum" Ether answered with a yawn, his partner and girlfriend Olivine DeGrasse rolling her eyes and explaining
"We're going into the exclusion Zone with Professor Ren"
"Professor Ren's taking a mission? That's not fair I'd have asked if we could go with him!" Eagle exclaimed
"They can't all be with your uncles Eagle" Felix chuckled, his partners pout an odd mix of adorable and hilarious. He turned his attention to Helios, the scarlet haired warriors' armour and weapons had seemingly been cleaned as thoroughly as his own if the way they caught the light was any indication "Be careful down there. I've been in the exclusion zone since initiation, it doesn't get any more friendly"
"We can handle it" Nyanza waved his concerns off dismissively, Felix snorted at his old friend
"And keep this idiot alive for me"
"I'll try, though I make no promises" Helios answered with a faint smile before placing hand on Felix's shoulder as he made to pass him "And you too. Stay safe out there, whatever you find yourself facing"
"Thanks man" as Teams NEON and FADE went their separate ways Felix found himself staring after Helios, admiring the intricate webs of tattoos and the scar tissue from what he assumed was countless battles that intersected it. After a few moments someone nudged him
"You were totally staring after him" Arctus noted, Eagle's hands were over her mouth as she fought the urge to squeal with delight
"I did spend a whole summer with him a few years back" Diamond reminded him "Want me to talk to him for you?"
"I wasn't staring after him….was I?" Felix eyed them all in surprise. Seeing their unanimous nods he merely shrugged, unsure as to why he was suddenly so defensive "I was just thinking about getting some more ink, his tats are cool"
"Right right, his tats" Arctus chuckled as they finally reached the atrium
"What?" Felix demanded with his arms outstretched "What?" he was reduced to barely coherent grumbling as they reached reached the holographic noticeboard that had been set up for the various student teams to find their assignments on
"Huh, looks like some of the third years are on missions as well" Eagle noted, beside her Diamond was scouring the list for their names
"Team PYRE, Team NOIR, Team GRSS….Dude what order are these even in?"
"Found ours" Arctus informed while pointing to the mission in question "Combined preliminary sweep and search and destroy"
"Now that sounds fun" Felix grinned, his nerves beginning to abate somewhat
"Isn't that what you and Corey do on Patch?" Arctus noted, sounding almost bored at the prospect
"No" Felix sighed, his tone that of someone speaking to a child "That's a defensive sweep of a populated area. What were those private tutors teaching you?" Arctus responded by playfully shoving him, Diamond rolled her eyes at the pair before chiming in
"So who's our Hunter?"
"It doesn't say" Eagle answered "If Uncle Lie is taking a mission maybe Aunt Nora is as well, that would be so cool" Team FADE collectively searched the atrium eventually spotting Professor Dove Bronzewing and making their way over to the armour clad Huntsman
"Good morning, Felix I'm glad to see the improvement in your work. That last assignment was much better than your previous written projects"
"Thanks" Felix subconsciously puffed up his chest at the praise "We've found our mission on the board but we don't know who we're working with, any chance you can help?"
"Odd" Dove murmured while producing a handheld tablet and checking his own copy of the mission assignments, where there was no such redaction
"Ah here you are, your assigned Hunter is meeting you in the atrium rather than the Bull-Head terminal. They should be here any moment- In fact there they are now" the four teens turned, Felix and Arctus's jaws dropping in recognition at the sight of the coppery haired woman. Her usual sundress replaced with a suit of urban camouflage fatigues, her chest and extremities encased in matte black carapace like armour and a black bladed sword with green detailing of the shade as her eyes hung from each hip. The image of a battle hardened warrior being somewhat lessened by the fact the Huntress was waving and smiling from ear to ear.
"Can't all by my cool aunts and uncles….right" Eagle teased. Felix and Arctus paid her no mind as Penny Rose, formerly Polendina called out to the students she had offered to take on a training exercise
"Salutations!….Ruby is flying us to our insertion point I hope you're all combat ready"
Helios rose to his feet from his crouching position on the frost covered asphalt, Olympus Enforcer found its' way to the young mans' hands, being shifted from sword and shield to Tommy gun mode as his eyes swept the landing area. He and Professor Ren stood back to back, having elected to be the first ones to leap from the Bull-Head they had been carried towards their objective aboard. They were swiftly joined by Olivine, who used the mechanical exoskeleton that helped her support her oversized weapon to cushion her fall, her hand moving to Buster Bravo as she returned to her feet; ready to bring its' obscene firepower to bare. Ether, whose Semblance made the fall inconsequential as his body dissolved into a mist like state and reformed on the ground, Ghost Reverie at the ready. Finally Nyanza landed in their midst, a combination of his Semblance, enhanced senses and reflexes alongside his natural showmanship had led to him flipping from one half ruined roof and wall to another.
"Nyanza, do you hear anything?" Helios asked, yet to stop sweeping their surrounding with his weapon. As much as his partner infuriated him with his lax approach to his studies there was no denying that the felines' senses were one of Team NEON's most useful tools
"We're clear" Nyanza murmured, drawing the Pharaoh Mafdet and shifting the tonfa to their silenced pistol forms.
"Good" Professor Ren nodded, holstering his pistols and removing his reading glasses, giving the students a more clear view of the scar that ran from his right temple to his jawline, narrowly avoiding his eye. He removed the rucksack he'd been carrying and deposited it between the students before explaining the nature of the mission that they were being tasked with.
"I'm sure that you realised that during your initiation the staff of Halo Academy were able to keep tabs on you all, we wouldn't just hurl you into the exclusion zone and hope for the best" Nyanza muttered something incomprehensible and was rewarded by simultaneous elbows to the ribs on opposite sides from Ether and Olivine "Halo Academy has a sizeable network of hidden cameras located in the area surrounding the ruins of Beacon and the landing area of the gyroscopic launcher-"
"And let me guess, the batteries are flat?" Ether snickered. Ren nodded
"Indeed. Under normal circumstances the cameras are maintained and recharged by the staff close to the start of the school year. As it is we're not dealing with normal circumstances"
"What are you expecting us to encounter?" Helios enquired, clearly bracing himself for the worst. The ruined city was a far cry from the wilderness between Mistrali settlements that the Nikos tribe claimed as their territory
"We're honestly not exactly sure" Ren admitted "A concerning amount of the cameras have been disabled and none of them managed to capture footage of what did it, we think something spotted the cameras and specifically attacked from their blind spots" Team NEON took a few moments to absorb this revelation
"Is it possible that perhaps criminals from the city could have found their way into the exclusion zone?" Helios's brow furrowed "What you're describing suggests intelligence, I've lived beyond the protection of a Kingdom's walls my entire life and I've never seen a Grimm that can think"
"As far as I'm aware there haven't been any since the war and they were rare even then….Though there were some unconfirmed Shadow-Stalker sightings in Atlas a few years ago" Ren answered while internally hoping none of the students saw the shudder he struggled to repress.
"So are we just here on a maintenance job or are we hunting the Grimm down as well?" Olivine asked, clearly eager to make a start
"Halo will air drop provisions for the next five days. We repair the cameras and then we begin looking for signs of whatever it was that attacked them. Helios, you're the team leader how do you want to proceed?" many Hunters in training would have quailed under the sudden responsibility of a decorated war hero deferring to them, thankfully Helios had been raised since childhood to do two things; destroy Grimm and lead others to do the same.
"You lived in Vale before the war yes?" the redhead asked, recalling something Ren had mentioned in passing as he weighed up his options
"That was twenty years ago and honestly it looks different to when I lived here. But if you're asking if I can serve as a guide, the answer is yes. Between the map and memory I can find our way"
"Good" Helios nodded "Professor, lead us to the first objective. Nyanza take point, Olivine cover him. I'll guard the rear and Ether, be ready to flank anything that approaches"
"You got it" Nyanza gave a half-hearted salute as he moved ahead of the rest of them, Team NEON moving into formation with practised ease that spoke to how rigorous the extra training Helios put them through was. The trek through the urban wasteland was filled with oppressive silence, each of their senses straining to detect any sign of Grimm nearby; the weather doing nothing to detract from the bleak atmosphere. Eventually Ether decided to speak
"This place is probably the only shithole I've ever seen that's worse than the bottom of tower complex forty five" the dim appraisal he gave the part of the city he hailed from conflicted with the pride in his voice "What was it like when you lived here?"
"Beacon was the first place Nora and I really felt at home" he answered, a faint smile crossing his face "Vale had wide open streets, it wasn't claustrophobic like the new city is….there was actually a really good noodle place not far from here, Simple Wok"
"Was it always this cold" Helios snarled, fighting a losing battle to keep his teeth from chattering. The biting cold being one of the few adversaries that could find their way through his armour. The complaint earned him a soft chuckle from Ren while his team-mates openly laughed
"Oh my Oum, there's an actual person in there after all" Olivine teased, Nyanza naturally deciding to contribute
"Oh he's definitely alive...I can hear his heartbeat whenever Felix is nearby" bright green eyes narrowed
"I still have no idea what you're talking about-"
"Bro you managed to snuggle up under the covers together while you were both asleep, that's actually adorable as hell"
"It really is" Olivine added, smiling brightly "Seriously, ask him out or something it'd be-" she stopped talking when Nyanza raised a hand, bushy tail standing erect behind him as his eyes scanned the vicinity
"Incoming" he hissed out, pointing beyond a pile of burned out cars that had clearly been used as a makeshift barricade "That way" Ether and Helios shared a look before the rocker moved into position, Ghost Reverie being reverted to its' guitar form as he drew a pick made of refined Ice Dust
"Orders Helios?" Ren asked
"They know what they're doing" was his only reply, moments later the sound of paws against the ground grew closer. A monstrous shape, made of living darkness pounced over the cars in a single bound roaring in fury and bloodlust. The Grimm met an anticlimactic end as Nyanza merely rolled aside at the same moment Helios used his Semblance as Ether brought the Dust pick down on the strings of his guitar in tandem. What followed was a large section of the ground being frozen solid, towering stalagmites of ice rising upwards at the time as the Grimm was enveloped in the darkness of Helios's gravity warping abilities and hurled downwards at terminal velocity
"Lemme make sure it's dead" Olivine chirped as she deployed Buster Bravo, her team-mates sensibly taking cover as the vast array of weapons joined by a single pistol grip connected to the exoskeleton around her arm. A moment later the entire street was illuminated by a single salvo that tore the ground apart where the Grimm had been
"Holy shit" Nyanza breathed out "Never gonna get used to her doing that"
"Oum I love that woman" Ether grinned. Ren looked from Ether to Olivine and couldn't help but be reminded of himself and Nora a little before turning his attention to the matter at hand
"Grimm eliminated, very well executed. Though perhaps next time something a little more subtle than a crater?"
"We need to get moving" Helios growled "Other Grimm will have heard that, we can't afford to get bogged down"
"Agreed" Ren nodded "This way" not allowing themselves to savour their first defeated Grimm of the mission they continued onwards, Nyanza casting a glance at the devastation Olivine had wrought
"It's gonna be a long day….And damn that's a big hole"
The Pearl departed Ruby visible waving at them from the cockpit, leaving Team FADE stood alongside Penny at the designated insertion point for their mission; a vast expanse of desolate land with several signs warning that trespassers would be fired on littering it. Any pretence of professionalism had long since been disregarded, Eagle in particular unable to stop herself from babbling excitedly
"That was Ruby Rose, like Ruby Rose guys! The Ruby Rose, how is this not the best day ever? She's so cool!"
"Felix, your partner is Sensational" Penny chuckled. Felix was doubled over in silent laughter, tears streaming down his face. Eagle had flushed the deepest shade of scarlet he'd ever seen when his Aunt Ruby had offered her a cookie, followed by staring in something close to reverence when she'd spotted Crescent Rose secured in the rear compartment of the heavily modified Bull-Head.
"It is pretty cool" Diamond came to her aid
"Oh I'm not saying Aunt Ruby isn't cool" Felix managed to gasp out "But it makes sense why Corey practically adopted you as a new sister, you're both fangirls" Eagle pouted, arms crossed over her chest until Penny cleared her throat to get their attention
"Okay team, our theatre of operations is close. Before we begin, does anyone know where we are?"
"I think I do" Arctus volunteered as he looked around, pointing at a collection of gargantuan buildings emitting smoke nearby "Those are power stations, but they don't look like the ones in Atlas. We're heading into the power grid?"
"That's right" Penny nodded "Vale didn't just borrow Atlesian technology to rebuild itself, a lot of Vaccuan resourcefulness went into making the city what it is. Those power stations aren't purely Dust based, a lot of the Hive cities water is purified and recycled; it's also used to generate hydro-electricity at the same time, it's estimated that it saves the people of New Vale over a billion Lien a year collectively"
"That's actually really smart" Diamond noted, having grown up watching Emerald Sustrai help the poor and the needy through various charities she appreciated the idea of more renewable and affordable energy
"So wait….does that mean that the power grid is connected to the sewer system?" Felix asked, dreading the answer
"In a lot of places yes" Penny answered "Though our mission isn't going to take us back into the city itself so we may possibly be able to avoid the sewers. That being said it will still smell bad, I'm assuming that's what you're concerned about" Felix nodded with a resigned sigh. Humans never seemed to grasp just how much more sensitive a Faunus's nose was
"So we're on a search and destroy mission inside the power grid?" Eagle asked, intrigued at the sound of the idea
"There's been a noticeable increase in power failures and blackouts in certain areas, the working theory is that Grimm have somehow managed to find their way into the tunnels. It's reached a level where paying Poly-Tech to send down nanobot swarms to patch things up is no longer cost effective. Combined with the fact that the Centenary Festival is approaching and will attract visitors from all over Remnant; the council has decided to send Hunters to search and destroy"
"Oh this is gonna be cool" Eagle chirped
"In a slasher movie 'let's see who dies and how' kind of way" Felix snorted "Faunus guy always die first. Arctus are you taking one for the team or am I?"
"I think we've seen some different slasher movies" Diamond muttered
"Don't ruin this you guys" Eagle insisted "We're hunting monsters through abandoned tunnels, where's your sense of adventure"
"I sent it to go look for a bag to throw up in"
"Dude, suck it up. Arctus is a Faunus as well-"
"I'm just trying to keep my mouth closed" the Bear Faunus shrugged
"Which was clearly never an option for Felix" Diamond added without missing a beat, a playful smirk assuring her friend that it was ll in jest
"Fuck you guys" Felix growled, before suddenly realising who was leading them on this mission "Sorry Aunt Penny. Anyway, let's go"
"Sensational. The entry point is this way" the copper haired Huntress led the students through the frozen mud
"Is it the power plant that does this to it?" Diamond asked, gesturing at the barren land
"No….It's actually arable land as far as I'm aware, it just isn't used" Penny answered distractedly before coming to a stop and crouching
"Here it is" before the sarcastic response on the tip of Felix's tongue could form she lifted a chunk of the ground away, revealing it to be a hatch made of reinforced Atlesian steel covering a hole large enough for them to crawl down one at a time, a ladder visible descending into the darkness
"The lights are activated by movement sensors, it should actually help locate Grimm. If the lights are on somewhere we haven't been, the target is nearby" Penny explained as she caught sight of the apprehensive expressions the members of Team FADE without the night vision of a Faunus were wearing.
"Okay, how about I send Sentinel down first?" Eagle offered "That should turn the lights on and he can cover the rest of us"
"Good thinking" Penny beamed before addressing the team as a whole "Team FADE, Operation Pest Control is now underway"
It was late afternoon and the sun was already mostly below the horizon, painting the sky dull gold between the expanse of darkening clouds. Team NEON however were unable to appreciate the view from their current location, hunkering down inside one of the rare buildings whose walls and roof had remained relatively undamaged. The day had been a long slog, moving from hidden camera to hidden camera, repairing what they could and replacing what they couldn't; worried by Grimm at an alarming rate. The packs were small but the frequency of the attacks had left the students exhausted, Ren was faring worse than he'd like to admit; years away from the field having sapped his stamina.
"How come we're calling it a night?" Nyanza enquired from his position by the portable Dust based cooker that Ren had brought with him "I mean it's not like I can't see in the dark, Olivia's goggles have got night vision. Ether grew up in the hives, he's fine. Hell Helios has probably stalked a Goliath by moonlight with nothing but a loincloth and a spoon-"
"It's not about being able to track Grimm" Helios chose that particular part of the irreverent stream of consciousness to interrupt, turning to Ren "You expect snow?"
"It's looking likely" Ren nodded, pleased to see that Helios had caught on. The armoured teen continued explaining to his partner
"If it snows and settles we'll leave a trail for Grimm to track. It's not about us finding them, it's about them finding us when we inevitably have to sleep. Better to lose a few hours than take a needless risk"
"Precisely" Ren nodded "Especially considering we don't know exactly what we're up against, only that it's smarter than the average Ursa"
"Okay yeah that makes sense" Nyanza conceded, at that point Ether and Olivine returned from the upper floor of what appeared to have once been a small clothing store. Ether hurling a mass of fabrics at Helios, narrowly avoiding the open flame
"I know you're not used to the cold, it's probably moth eaten as hell but it's what we could find"
"We managed to black out and barricade the windows upstairs as well" Olivine informed Ren
"Good work, after we eat we're going to sleep in shifts. We need to be on the move before dawn"
"I'll take second or third watch" Nyanza offered "Natural night vision" his teacher merely nodded in understanding
"I'll take first watch" Helios volunteered
"As will I" Ren replied while moving over to the cooker and checking the condition of their food "My Semblance should mask us from anything that picked up our scent until the trail goes cold" This put a small smile on Helios's face, the chance to talk to someone who had known Pyrrha Nikos; a woman whom he had spent his childhood listening to stories about was something he would never pass up, the fact they could speak privately was a bonus he appreciated. He was brought from his musings by his partner shoving a plastic plate full of something Helios couldn't identify
"Grub's up"
"What is this?"
"Ramen and tinned meatballs….I call it ghetto bolognese" Ren explained with a smirk "Look I love cooking but sometimes you just have to do the best you can with what you've got"
"I am genuinely afraid of this concoction" Helios dead-panned, to a round of laughter from his team-mates
"Spoken like someone who's never tried airline food" Olivine quipped. Helios, always ready to respond to anything he saw as a challenge took his fork and helped himself to a mouthful of the rations, managing to force himself to swallow
"It's not bad….If one were looking for a way to keep the rats from a camp" at this point the rest of Team NEON made no effort to contain themselves, it was rare for their leader to makes jokes and each instance managed to catch them off guard.
"If anyone needs me I'll be upstairs" with that he rose to his feet, taking the plate with him; he didn't waste food regardless of the quality
"Why?"
"Training" he shrugged simply "A light session, a few hundred sit-ups and push-ups. I trained while my tribe were on the move, there's no excuse for laziness" he left with his team-mates staring after him, even Ren raised an eyebrow. The silent consensus between them being that no matter what happened Helios would still be Helios.
Team FADE and Penny had been roaming the underground tunnels which housed countless miles of armoured cables, walkways on either side sporting several hazard warnings. In places where the power grid and the sewer system intersected the cables were suspended above the torrent of filth by makeshift bridges. The five of them had been searching for any sign of a noteworthy Grimm for hours, the only monsters they'd encountered being the occasional Creep and a disturbing amount of small rat like Grimm known as Plague-Bearers, each of them as long as a persons' arm, with a spiny tail and fangs that prevented their mouth from fully closing
"More damage" Arctus noted as they rounded a corner, the size and depth of the gouges cut into the wall and floor indicating markedly bigger than anything they'd seen so far
"We're on the right path then" Felix growled, twirling Hack and Slash in his hands anxiously as he strained his ears "I can hear water again, we're near another sewer" the Lion Faunus had gradually and begrudgingly become desensitised to the stench
"Do you think that's how the Grimm are getting in?" Eagle suggested "Through the water supply?"
"It's possible" Penny paused to consider before continuing "Or that one of the expansions beyond the walls that was connected to the main city, but never actually completed and inhabited has been infested and the Grimm have burrowed down. The other option is a spawning pit somewhere within the Power Grid itself"
"That would be terrifying" Arctus said, he'd heard storied from his parents about how hard it was to destroy a spawning pit, more importantly the kinds of monsters they spewed when threatened
"Thankfully it's unlikely" Penny assured him
"I just can't get over how much it takes to power New Vale" Diamond admitted, her voice an awed whisper "I've lived in the two biggest cities in Mistral and they seem tiny next to Vale" The five of them continued on through the tunnels, eventually reaching the running sewage that Felix had alerted them to, rats of the mundane variety scurrying away from them as they approached.
"Stay alert" Penny warned them "Just because there're things living here other than Grimm doesn't mean we can get complacent" the students nodded silently, those of them who hadn't yet deployed their weapons did so. Sentinel chirped animatedly as he unfolded, Eagle having returned the droid to shield during their search to conserve power.
"Taking point" Arctus sounded out, moving to the front of the group with Gefroren-Erbe in one hand in its' sword form while the other was held ready to create a Glyph.
"Covering" Diamond replied as she shifted Lex Talionis into sniper rifle mode and raised the weapon to fire.
"Aunt Penny, how far ahead do the lights activate when we trip the sensors" Felix enquired, fingers drumming against the triggers that would bring the chainsaw blades of his swords screaming into life
"Not that far" Arctus murmured as he spotted the light in the distance that had caught his cousin's attention
"Weapons ready, prepare to engage" Penny instructed as she unsheathed her swords, shifting them into a pair of laser pistols "No explosive rounds, we avoid damage to the power grid at all costs"
"Got it" Felix growled, the remaining magazine of nanobot rounds he'd received months ago from Penny and Ruby wasn't currently loaded into either of his weapons and that would clearly not be changing. To their left, beneath the suspended cables of the power grid the water began to ripple; the noise being drowned out by the cacophony of running water, as such Team FADE failed to notice the shape approaching from below until something breached the surface and lunged at the walkway they were situated on. The wall to their right being smashed to rubble as a monstrous shape collided with it, hissing and shrieking with murderous intent. Team FADE found themselves separated, Diamond and Arctus to the front of the Grimm, Eagle, Felix and Penny to its' rear
"Dude, what the fuck is that?" Diamond gasped
"Offensive to look at" Felix called back. The Grimm's body was a gargantuan bloated mass, the bone armour around its' ribcage seemingly bending out shape and the obsidian flesh beneath it bursting at the seams. Beneath its' nauseating mass its' limbs could be seen, feet ending in disturbingly long spindly claws. It sported several tails, at least a dozen spine like appendages intertwined for almost half of their length before branching out, the individual tips thrashing independently. The beast stood at almost eleven feet tall on all fours, not including the row of arching spikes jutting from between its' shoulder blades. But it was the Grimm's head that had stunned Diamond, or rather heads. The monster had three of them. Each of them rat like in appearance and sporting six eyes which glowed crimson, set in bone armour which varied in appearance between each of the skulls, the mouths were filled with teeth like broken swords and a thick smog escaped its' mouths with each breath.
"That" Penny answered dispassionately "Is a Rat-King"
"Eagle let Sentinel light it up!" Felix barked
"Dibs on the middle head!" Arctus exclaimed as he created a Glyph in his palm, the glowing disc expanding and rotating as it was hurled forwards, the Grimm screamed as high calibre rounds from Sentinel's Mini-Gun and smaller bullets courtesy of Felix shredded its' back and flank, leaving bone armour pock-marked and fractured. Arctus's Glyph sheared through the neck of the middle head with ease, leaving a clean slash billowing smoke. As the remaining head screamed, each of them at a different pitch, they put out of their misery by Penny's laser pistols and Diamond's sniper rifle blasting holes through them. As the echoes of the Rat-King's unholy din died down the five of them were left to survey the situation
"Well that was easier than I thought it'd be" Felix sounded almost disappointed
"It's not fading away" Eagle noted hesitantly
"Arctus! Glyph now!" Penny ordered, Arctus made to question her but was halted when he saw the barely perceptible twitch of the Rat King's bloated body. He was still forced back despite managing to raise a Glyph as a shield, feet sliding along the wet floor and mouth hanging open in disbelief as three new heads burst forth from the severed neck and another two slithered out of each of the mouths of the ruined skulls. The new heads were smaller and supported by slender necks giving the Rat-King a more reptilian appearance
"DUDE WHAT THE FUCK!" Diamond demanded, her shock not enough to stop her from firing Lex Talionis, threading shots through the gaps between her partners' defences and the wall of the tunnel. The trio on the Grimm's opposite side came to their senses and opened fire, gaining its' attention, it turned to face them with speed and agility that contrasted with its' bloated frame
"MOVE!" Arctus called out, Diamond's semblance allowing her to run along the wall and suspend herself from the ceiling as the a mass of bony tails ripped through the space they'd occupied, ripping chunks from the wall as they hit. Arctus himself had leapt without thinking, a hastily created Glyph the only thing preventing him from falling into the running sewer water from whence the Grimm had come
"It's shrugging off too much damage!" Felix snarled, he and Penny each having returned one of their weapons to sword mode while firing with the other, Eagle using her own sword they fought of the seven heads the Rat-King was now assaulting them with
"You've fought these things before right?" Eagle asked as she parried heads with the flat of her blade, taking care not to rip through the Grimm's flesh for fear of it growing more
"Ruby neutralised it" Penny answered, somewhat predictably, however what none of the students could see was that she was accessing files that she hadn't used in years. As an Atlesian android she was equipped with a vast amount of information pertaining to all Grimm that may appear in her home Kingdom, thankfully Atlas had encountered the Rat-King the before and had a stratagem in place
"The base of the spine is its' weak point, destroy that and it can't regenerate any more" she called out
"On it!" Diamond, still stood inverted on the ceiling took aim and fired; to no effect
"The neck is too heavily armoured, I need to switch to-SHIT!" she was forced to leap aside, returning to the ground beside her team-mates as one of the tail raking along the ceiling.
"Okay fine" Felix snarled, replacing his weapons on his back. A slow sigh escaping him "Who's got Fire Dust? Balrog time"
"I'm not currently carrying any" Penny answered, deflating the Lion Faunus somewhat "I didn't want to risk smoke inhalation in an enclosed area" Felix made to roll aside from a lunging Grimm head, only for a Glyph to appear between himself and it
"Okay, slight change of plans" he muttered "Arctus! When I say I want you to soak the Grimm's back in plasma, I'm gonna jump on it"
"That's insane!" Arctus retorted
"Not really, my Semblance works with thermal energy. Doesn't have to be fire" without waiting for a response he clutched onto the neck of the next Rat-King head to attack him, allowing himself to be hurled into the air, landing on the Grimm's back.
"ARCTUS NOW!" the Bear Faunus gulped as he shifted Gefroren-Erbe to its' rarely used plasma gun mode and fired. The Grimm shrieked as its' flesh was evaporated in several places, he nearly dropped his weapon in panic when his cousins' howls of pain joined the cacophony. The the golden fire began to form around him, the plasma coating both the Faunus and the Grimm ceased to glow with heat. Then the Rat-King turned its' attention to Arctus and leapt from the walkway, missing him but taking Felix who was still holding onto the monsters' spiny back under the surface of the water with it
"FELIX!" several horrified voices sounded out at once, steam billowed from water flash boiled by the Lion Faunus
"I'm going after him!" Eagle informed them as she took Sentinel's claw like appendages and attached them to her armour, knowing that the droid could reel both herself and her partner back in. She was spared the trouble of diving in when the surface of the water was breached, the first thing Penny and the rest of Team FADE saw was a mane of messy blonde hair
"That was awesome!" Eagle congratulated Felix as she helped him out of the putrid water, noting that his clothes were ripped and burned in several places "It is dead right?"
"That was dumb as fuck dude" Diamond laughed, punching his shoulder playfully.
"Are you okay?" Penny asked, cupping his cheeks and checking him for injury "Any cuts that could become infected?"
"I'm fine….dirty blonde with extra dirty" he laughed, staggering forwards with exhaustion only to be caught by Arctus who'd returned to the walkway "And please nobody tell Corey I just made that pun….Aunt Penny, please, please never tell my Mums about this" the request was met with a chorus of exhausted laughter
"So, another quick mission then" Arctus noted "Problem solved right?"
"No" Penny answered, expression darkening as she examined the gouges left by the Rat-King "This wasn't the Grimm we're here for. These marks are too small" the silence in the tunnel was deafening.
Authors Notes:
A couple more chapters of Vol.2 to go (Either two or three depending on how I cut things) I'm debating taking a week off writing 'cos feeling just a little burned out at the moment but I'm still confident that at the very least Vol.2 will be completed by the end of the year (As much as I miss being able to write a volume in two weeks, a chapter a day. Work takes my time and I enjoy having money)
Just watched Vol.5 EP07 and Vol.5 is rapidly becoming a contender for best volume.
So let's summarise:
Two weeks since the last chapter and Felix followed through on the plan to speak to Neptune about anger management.
Felix is keeping his issues to himself, as much as people think of him as Yang's kid, he's Blake's son in a lot of ways.
Neptune was in the right, if Felix is worried about losing control then there is definitely a question about whether or not he should be going on missions.
Nyanza is a shit-post.
The "What?….what?" is a direct callback to Chapter 07 when Arctus said the same thing when Felix called out his crush on Diamond. I can hear the Battle-Cat shippers squealing from here.
Cool Aunts and Uncles are going to become a running joke.
Notice that we've never actually seen Helios's landing strategy, all I'll say is that it involves his Semblance but not in the way you'd think.
Oh who or what could possibly have taken out those cameras.
Simple Wok call out.
Helios and Ether's combo attack was cool and you know it, they killed that Grimm before we even really saw what it was.
Also we haven't seen Ether use a Dust pick since initiation.
What if I told you that hole that Olivine blew into the ground is gonna be a plot point later on?
Fangirl Eagle is the best Eagle.
A little world building….Which is obviously gonna be used as a plot point.
The slasher movie joke, if you get it you get it.
Helios has probably stalked a Goliath by moonlight with nothing but a loincloth and a spoon. Admit it, you love Nyanza.
"Ramen and tinned meatballs….I call it ghetto bolognese" I believe I actually invented that abomination, I'd recommend it at least once, just so you can know true regret.
The Rat-King, there's an urban legend of the same name but I didn't think it was even nearly disturbing enough.
Felix takes MVP here, I was actually going to have a slightly different combo attack involving Felix and Arctus's Semblances but I'll save that for another time.
Yes, yes you read that correctly. Felix "I have suffered puns for years" Xiao Long just made a pun.
And yes, I have something bigger than the Rat-King. It's another Greek Myth (The Rat-King being the Hydra) what Greek monster lives in a maze?
Thank you to SumoSnipe, JollyTheImmortal, FleetOfWarships, Ferrous, FluffyFirefly, ShadowAlex2000, TigerRose, Arkanes Shippou, ShadowWolf, LightingDusk and Merendinoemiliano for their reviews on the last chapter.
Eleven reviews on a single chapter...Holy fuck I feel like I have ascended to a level where I can tell god to shine my shoes.
The sibling dynamics are fun to write, I have plenty of memories to draw upon.
We still haven't heard Felix's middle name yet.
The Yang vs Corvid pun off will have to happen now it's been suggested, it will dwarf even the Yang vs Squish pun off in The Downward Spiral.
The Omega Wing will be amazing.
The Qrow Eagle reveal is being saved for Vol.3
The Shadow Cadre's motivations have actually been hinted at.
I wouldn't say Diamond Dust is rushed, they just didn't do the whole awkward early dating stage. They're still early in their relationship but you've also got to consider that they're partners, they literally live together and are with each other almost all the time and have been for months at this point.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.