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Chapter 30: The Day After
The room, to those occupants who were conscious and aware of it had the same harsh, glaring lights and overpowering smell common to all hospitals, a smell of medicine that did nothing to inspire faith in the medicine itself. The occupants of the room consisted of half of a dozen armed guards, prison security rather than police, all of whom seemed to be enjoying the fact that their authority had been temporarily extended beyond the confines of New Vale Correctional Facility. While the guards stood at ease, weapons hanging from their shoulder straps rather than being in hand, their gaze remained watchful as if they expected the other two occupants of the room to turn on them at any moment. One of the individuals currently subject to their paranoid scrutiny was Poly-Esther Scarlatina, younger sibling to the admittedly far more famous Flax and Velvet; her Faunus heritage was much less obvious than theirs, a small cream furred tail which barely protruded from a hole in her uniform and slightly larger than average front teeth, however beyond the lack of rabbit ears adorning her skull anyone who knew Velvet Scarlatina would see the resemblance between the sisters instantly. The last occupant of the room was currently laid on a hospital bed, dead to the world. A fact which Poly had mixed feelings about
"I'm still not happy with this, this is more than the recommended dose" she huffed in the chief guards' direction "And whoever made the decision to let that wing heal naturally while she wore a dampener should be fired"
"Look Doc" the chief guard waved her off dismissively "I get that you take your job seriously, but she killed four people. As far as I'm concerned you could give her enough sedative to make sure she never wakes up and you'd be doing as all a favour"
"No she'd be doing you specifically a favour" the low voice caused all six guards to turn in alarm, hands instantly flying to their weapons; nobody had heard Qrow Branwen enter. The older man stalked into the room, using his scythe as a cane and looking to the guards every part the legendary bringer of destruction that he was rumoured to be while fixing each of them with an icy stare.
"Branwen" the chief guard managed to compose himself, though he noticeably seemed to be stood to attention "What're you doing here-"
"Relieving you of your duty" Qrow's calm tone almost dared the guards to be stupid enough to challenge him; predictably one of them was, equally predictable was the fact it was the rookie of the group; a young woman with hair cut short in attempt to give inmates nothing to grab if it came to a physical confrontation
"You can't do that!"
"Really now" Qrow's eyes narrowed and his face morphed into a smile that held no warmth of happiness "Because I have video evidence that says I can. Video evidence of you smuggling in drugs to other inmates at Torchwick's request"
"Now you listen-" Qrow turned on the guard that had interrupted
"You having some very inappropriate relations with your inmates" he then turned his attention back to chief "And you meeting with Torchwick an hour before you called the guards away from solitary confinement so his crew could do this" he finished as he gestured to the unconscious form of Hellion Eudialyte laid on a hospital bed
"So what's it you Branwen?" the chief guard demanded furiously "She's just some fucking Bandit bitch who sailed too far. Who cares-"
"That bandit bitch" Qrow snarled, resting the blade of his scythe against the mans' jugular and watching him pale at the realisation that none of his comrades dared move to help him "Was involved in the kidnapping of Antonia Arc. Now you tell me, since you're so smart, if Torchwick's crew had killed her what would happen to Miss Arc"
"Oh" what little complexion he still had drained away as the implications made themselves clear in his mind
"Exactly" Qrow took a deep breath as he removed his scythe from the mans' throat "I'm gonna give you two hours to get out of Vale; all of you. Then I make sure that video evidence finds its' way into the right hands. Get out of my sight" all six of the security guards hastily made their way out of the secluded room that the lone Faunus was being treated in, revealing that there were two more Huntsman waiting in the corridor with hands on their weapons. Poly couldn't helping gaping in surprise at the identity of the youngest
"Flax? What're you doing here?"
"Seems everyone owes Qrow a couple favours" Flax Scarlatina smirked as he entered the room, beside him was Scarlet David who was calmly sheathing his sword, having drawn it in case the guards weren't compliant "Besides, I wanted to make sure you were okay"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Poly raised an eyebrow "She's out cold-"
"Because Rhodium Torchwick wanted your patient dead and those guards are corrupt enough to kill a witness and say the prisoner did it when their Aura dampener was removed" Poly paled at the realisation, physically distancing herself from her patient
"Oum Flax, how do you and Velvet deal with living like this all the time?"
"I mean Grimm are at least honest about it" the elder Scarlatina sibling shrugged before giving Hellion Eudialyte a disgusted look "So that's her then? She killed four people and put another eleven in hospital, all that on top of Antonia…..Oum she's a piece of work" Qrow stepped closer to the hospital bed and gave her a critical once over; her dark flesh was still marred by several lacerations and discoloured by bruising almost from head to toe whilst bones that Aura was healing faster than naturally possible were still held in place by splints
"How long until we can move her?" he asked, his calm tone masking the maelstrom of thoughts and emotions inside his head.
"It's gonna be a few more hours at least until she can be discharged. I'd suggest waiting until the Aura Dampening Collar can be put back on and the sedatives wear off. You don't want her to wake up and react unpredictably in transit"
"I can't believe Goodwitch is okay with this" Scarlet sighed, what they were preparing to do seemed anathema to everything the Headmistress stood for
"You'd be surprised" Qrow murmured "We both worked for Ozpin and we were both involved in some pretty shady shit before the war. I pulled up everything I can find on the tribe she comes from and showed it to Glynda. They've never attempted an aerial attack before and the students won't know she's there. Glynda gets it, the Anima tribes are loyal to their own so now we have to keep out prisoner out of harms way in case anyone they've crossed takes a shot at her and they decide to retaliate"
"Fine" Scarlet relented "I can't say I'm happy with it, but I trust Goodwitch"
"I know what you mean" Flax muttered, waving at Hellion "She's the reason my wife can't sleep at night, even my daughter knows something's wrong. I fought her people a few months back….I didn't realise how young they were"
"Don't get emotional Flax, it won't make the job any easier" Qrow warned, inwardly laughing at his own hypocrisy as he gave Hellion another glance and tried to stop the bile rising in his throat and hands trembling at the realisation that this hardened killer was really a beaten girl who was barely older than his own daughter.
Team FADE were utterly exhausted. Eagle and Corvid had held onto the interior of the Killer Bee for dear life as Felix tore through the streets at breakneck speeds to find Arctus and Diamond. Upon finding them the five teens had prowled through the lowest levels of New Vale in search of the Shadow Cadre themselves or any indication of where the illusive raiders were hiding; by the time they were finally willing to admit defeat there were no flights heading back to Halo Academy until the morning. Felix had driven them to an airship terminal where they had milled about fuelled by caffeine, junk food and fading adrenaline as he explained the results of the meetings with the Scavenger Guild and Melanie Malachite to his team-mates who had been absent.
Finally, before the sun had yet risen the first flight for the day had carried the five teens back to their airborne campus where they had at least had time to shower, change into their uniforms and enjoy breakfast before being beset by their fellow students and the workload that came with being a student of the Hunter Academies. Corvid had told the younger students in no uncertain terms that she was going to her dorm and waking her for anything less than a life of death emergency would prove fatal. Team FADE, perhaps unwisely decided to try and plough through their tiredness.
Which led to their current situation of exiting the library, each of them suffering from monumental migraines after forcing themselves to work on assignment after assignment. Turning a corner on the route back to their dorm they were confronted by a sight that quite frankly took a while to process and would have done even if they were properly rested. Professor Ren, the embodiment of calm and composure pinning Professor Nora against the wall and kissing her passionately while her legs wrapped around his waist and hands tangled in his hair
"OH MY OUM. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!" Eagle's frantic tirade as she covered her eyes was enough to get the attention of the teachers, Ren hastily putting Nora down
"Eagle, I….we were" the fact that Lie Ren seemed to be struggling to find words spoke volumes to how mortifying the situation was to all involved
"We were just looking for you" Nora chirped unabashedly
"Where were you looking, in his mouth?" Felix snorted, earning himself a punch in the ribs that was only somewhat playful from Eagle. Nora continued on as if he hadn't spoken
"I was going to offer some help with those test sheers you need to retake, we couldn't find you so we checked your site access card on the system; you didn't come home last night" there was no accusation in Nora's tone yet growing up with Corvid had left Felix ready to cover for someone if needs be
"My fault, needed to fill the car up and the usual place was closed. By the time I'd managed to find another gas station we'd missed the last flight" if either Ren or Nora suspected anything they gave no outward signs, Nora merely wrapped an arm around Eagle and frogmarched her back towards the library that Team FADE had just left
"Come on, we're gonna get you back into the straight A student we know you can be. This is happening!" Ren stopped and gave the remaining teens a pleading glance before following
"I'd really appreciate it if you can forget what you saw"
"Oh don't worry we'll all be trying" Diamond muttered before she Felix and Arctus continued on their way back to their dormitory. Before they could reach their destination Felix received a text message that made him groan in resigned annoyance
"What's up?" Arctus asked, preparing for news about Melanie Malachite's demands which thankfully didn't come
"Corvid's awake and back in the workshop" Felix sighed "Lux wants me to come and help out, she's determined to get the Omega Wing up and running again as soon as possible….She's apparently just disintegrated half a bench by testing the new shield generator"
"See you later" Arctus chuckled "Be careful man" Felix merely grunted in response before turning and leaving
"Come on big guy" Diamond yawned, taking his hand and pulling him in the direction of their dorm "If anyone else wants a favour from us we just turn our Scroll off"
"Agreed" the Bear Faunus grinned.
Before long they finally managed to return to the safe haven from stress that was their dormitory, both of them realising how completely drained they were; something they both agreed was unacceptable on a Sunday. As they debated putting a movie on and curling up together, both knowing that they would be asleep before it ended, Diamond's scroll rang
"Ignore it" Arctus groaned
"Hang on" she murmured, the number seeming familiar. When she answered Arctus only heard her side of the call which made deciphering any meaning all but impossible. What he could tell however, was that when the call ended Diamond's eyes were alight with happiness and she wore a smile that seemed to stretch from ear to ear
"Big guy you didn't tell me you donated to the Mercy Foundation after we left" she laughed, sauntering over to where he sat on the edge of the bed
"Is that what that was about?" Arctus was honestly a little confused, Diamond's smile widened even further
"That was the Mercy Foundation offering us jobs. I mean unpaid volunteer work, but they want us to act as official Hunter grade security guards. We were requested specially after last night"
"So wait?" Arctus's eyes widened as a thought hit him "Does this mean we have an actual job to our name now instead of just training missions?" the thought brought a toothy smile to his own lips, it was definitely a mark of pride for any student, let a lone a first year to be specially requested for a job that required Hunters. Diamond nodded in confirmation as she positioned herself on his lap
"Come here" she murmured with a soft laugh as she cupped his cheeks and pulled him into a slow kiss, coaxing a low rumbling growl of contentment from him; the sound made her shiver and without thinking she'd pushed him backwards and leaned down, continuing the kiss while straddling Arctus's waist
"Babe" he managed to pant out between kisses, his hands trailing down Diamond's lower back
"Don't worry" she whispered, turning her attention his neck and peppering several light kisses "The others won't be back for hours" hearing that any reservations Arctus may have had vanished and he repositioned himself on the bed, allowing both of them to get more comfortable. Diamond used this an opportunity to pull the black tank-top she wore over her head and cast it aside before resuming her previous slow passionate kissing of Arctus's lips, exploring his mouth with her tongue while his hands roamed over her now exposed skin. The Bear Faunus finally took the initiative, hands cupping Diamond's breasts through her bra while he trailed kisses down her neck and collarbone, tearing ragged gasps from her as his sharp teeth grazed her flesh
"Can I?" his whispered request needed no clarification and Diamond hastily unfastened her bra and discarded it before tangling her fingers in his shaggy locks as he took a sensitive nub into his mouth and slowly swirled his tongue over its' surface. Diamond was reduced to groans and half formed curses, cut off each time Arctus found a new nerve to pleasure. Before long she found herself grinding against him, one of his legs between her thighs as he leaned up to kiss and suckle at her breasts. Desperately in need of more friction she unfastened the pants she wore and pulled them down a little, too impatient to remove them completely, this caught Arctus's attention and Diamond capitalised by taking one of his hands in hers and pulling it beneath her underwear
"Touch me baby" her words came out in a needy whine and Arctus eagerly did as she asked, his inexperience quickly becoming apparent, though Diamond remedied this by lacing her fingers through his and showing exactly where and how to touch her. The Bear Faunus took her lower lip between his teeth and paid close attention to what caused her to moan into his mouth the loudest. Before long Diamond found herself bucking and thrashing against his hand, planting sloppy and uncoordinated kisses on any part of his pale flesh she could reach until he took one of her breasts in his free hand while curling his fingers back on themselves inside her with the other; Diamond climaxed with his name on her lips and collapsed, shuddering against his body as her thighs clamped around his hand, her release coating his fingers. It took her a few moments to catch her breath as she rode out her orgasm, then she pulled Arctus close and planted gentle kisses on his cheeks while she gazed at him through half-lidded eyes
"That was great"
"Promise you enjoyed it?" a small blush crept across the Bear Faunus's face "I haven't done this before-"
"Babe" Diamond silenced him with a kiss "You were great" she pulled his arm around herself and nuzzled into him, fully preparing to allow herself to drift off into a fully contented sleep until something occurred to her; she hadn't returned the favour. Planting yet another kiss against Arctus's lips she fumbled with his belt buckle, breaking apart just long enough to give him a sultry smile as her hand dipped below his waistband, then she leaned close and whispered in his ear
"Just relax and enjoy this babe" taking his earlobe between her teeth she wrapped her hands around the surprisingly thick stiffness she found and gave a few experimental jerks, taking note of the way he growled in pleasure. Settling into a steady rhythm Diamond decided she was going to conduct a symphony out of those sounds before she was done.
Eagle Arc stepped out of the main entrance to the academy, relishing the way the cold fresh air hit her face; managing to at least momentarily relieve some of the bone deep weariness she was suffering from. She'd been surprised when Nora had simply walked by the library and led Eagle to her and Ren's living quarters; the two professors did indeed want to make sure that she was performing at her best academically, they also wanted to make sure that Eagle herself was coping. Eagle had found herself with several textbooks and a cup of Uncle Ren's tea thrust into her hands and countless assurances that they were here whenever she needed her. With a little coaxing from Eagle, Ren admitted that some of her other Aunts had been in touch with concerns of their own about how she was handling the situation regarding Antonia Arc's abduction. The freckled blonde had been forced to lie to Ren and Nora and assure them that she had every intention of doing as they asked and letting the professionals conduct the search. Eagle loathed herself more and more with every lie that passed her lips and when she finally departed was in desperate need of somewhere to clear her head before returning to the dormitory.
"Hey" Eagle breathed out as she came to a stop before one of the golden statues that lined the road to the entrance, resting against the plinth it stood on and staring upwards at the image of Jaune Arc, the uncle she knew through stories alone; the statue leaning out to the one beside it depicting Pyrrha Nikos
"How did you do it Uncle Jaune?" she sighed "You came here with no transcripts and still ended up a hero….How did you lie to the people you love all the time" her words began to take on a bitter edge, in all honesty Eagle had never really considered that aspect of her late Uncle's story before. She was however, spared the indignity of ranting at an inanimate object whilst alone in the dark by the sound of an approaching craft, turning her head in the direction of the sound of wing mounted Dust engines she was greeted with a familiar sight; Flax Scarlatina's personal transport the Jackrabbit was making its' way around the perimeter of the airborne campus to the terminals to land; seeing this Eagle began a light jog in the same direction with a bright smile tugging at her lips.
Slowing to a regular pace, suffering from no more than a slight shortness of breath she reached the terminals and made her way towards the only transport currently manned as it's side hatches began to slide open
"Hey uncle Flax" the Rabbit Faunus in question promptly hopped out of the craft and made his way towards her wearing a nervous expression
"Hey Eagle, what're you doing out here?"
"Just needed some air, studied tell I gave myself a headache" she shrugged, cocking her head to the side as she took in how uneasy her uncle looked "What's wrong? Is it about my Mum?"
"No" Flax's ears rabbit twitched, a sign that Eagle had learned to be suspicious off since childhood when she pestered him about where her birthday presents were hidden "I just need you to go back inside for a sec, I'll catch up with you in about an hour or so I've just gotta bring-" he trailed off, realising that Eagle had stopped listening; her eyes focusing on something over his shoulder. Eagle's knuckles clenched as she saw the figure being led off the Bull-Head, initial surprise at the sight of someone being escorted from her Uncle's craft in cuffs by a pair of armed Hunters turning to deep boiling rage that demanded release as the recognised the dark skinned young woman with hair that faded from magenta to deep indigo, piercing jade eyes and four gossamer wings adorning her back. Eagle saw Hellion Eudialyte and her world was reduced to a red haze as she charged
"Little canary" Hellion sneered, feigned composure as best she could when she saw the familiar blonde rushing towards her "As much as I've missed your pretty face I don't think the Hunters will-" she found herself silenced as the older Huntsman, the one with the scythe, simply stepped aside and allowed Eagle to deliver a punch that sent Hellion spinning and crashing to the ground, with her Aura dampening collar in place and no way to brace herself while cuffed she suffered the full brunt of Eagle's furious haymaker and was left spitting out several mouthfuls of blood; her attempts to force herself to her feet cut short by hands roughly gripping the back of the prison jumpsuit she still wore and smashing her face first into the side of the craft she'd been brought here aboard, she was turned around and had only the briefest glimpse of her attackers enraged, tear streaked face before another blow connected with her skull with enough force to leave her seeing double for a few seconds after
"WHERE'S MY MUM?" another punch "WHERE IS SHE?"
"Qrow we should stop this" one of the Hunters, Hellion couldn't discern which as she struggled against the barrage of punches raining down on her
"Not yet. She's got every right to be angry, let her get it all out"
"Oum's sake Qrow she's gonna kill her!" those words, coinciding with yet another earth-shattering blow finally caused something to snap in Hellion and despite her lack of Aura she surged into action. Eagle's next punch connected with steel and left the blonde with bloody knuckles as the Dragonfly Faunus ducked under it and threw her body against Eagle with as much force as she could muster, creating enough space to perform a handstand uninhibited by her cuffs and lock her legs around her attackers neck, Eagle found herself hurled face first into the side of the Jackrabbit with a resounding clang and the feeling of blood flowing from her nose
"That's it!" one of the Hunters lunged into action. Eagle realised with a start that it was Scarlet David, resident of the academy and that as he dragged Hellion away he injected her with something, Eagle guessed it was a tranquillizer of some sort given how she instantly began to lose the will to fight
"Flax, talk to her for me" Eagle, the blood no longer pounding in her ears leaving her in a state of dizzy aftershock, couldn't account for the pleading tone and desperate look in the older mans' eyes as he helped Scarlet carry the now prone Hellion Eudialyte towards the academy
"That-" Flax sighed as he handed Eagle a rag to gingerly wiper blood from her face with "Was not clever. But I get why you did it, considering some of the shit I did before the war I can't blame you either"
"What is she doing here?" Eagle demanded, voice wavering as tears that had begun during her onslaught continued to fall. Flax looked at his niece, heart breaking at the sight of her and decided to give her as much of the truth as he could, grand schemes and conspiracies be damned
"She was attacked at the prison she was in. We're keeping her here so that her people can't rescue her and so that nothing else happens to her….We don't know what might happen to Toni if she gets shanked" Eagle's crimson eyes widened and Flax had know way of knowing that she was inwardly trying not to show signs of abject terror at the realisation that the leader of the Shadow Cadre had promised her mother would receive the same treatment as Hellion
"I nearly did something stupid" she eventually managed to force out in a strangled sob
"I don't know what Qrow was thinking" Flax admitted as he gently pulled her into a hug and let her cry on his shoulder "But I need you to promise me something Eagle, I need you to promise me you won't go looking for the prisoner"
"But she knows where my Mum is" Eagle demanded
"Eagle" Flax sighed "I don't think she does. The tribe she comes from; they're nomads, they move all the time. Wherever they were hiding when she was captured, they've already left" the news washed over her like icy water and the fact that Eagle knew several parties were now invested in finding the Shadow Cadre proved little comfort. Sensing that her uncle still needed an answer from her
"Fine, fine I won't go looking for her" she snarled out, Eagle truly hated lying to the people that were important to her.
Arctus found himself woken by the sound of the dormitory door opening, light from the corridor outside finding its' way in. Several failed and garbled attempts to speak later he was answered by Eagle's voice and were he more aware of his surroundings the hollow tone would have concerned him
"It's just me, I'm going to bed. Talk tomorrow" there were a few minutes where the only sound in the room was that of Eagle changing for bed, Arctus facing away from her quietly hoping that human night vision, something he always had trouble accounting for, wouldn't allow her to notice the fact some of Diamond's clothes were still on the floor by his bed. Eventually Eagle clambered into her own bunk with a deep shuddering sigh, the kind made by someone who'd recently been crying and Arctus was forced to take notice
"Hey, you okay? If you wanna talk-"
"It's fine Arctus. Thanks" Eagle mumbled. Arctus let the subject go, laying in silence as sleep remained elusive long after the sound of the blondes' breathing had become slow and regular. Arctus's eyes naturally focused on Diamond who lay next to him, still topless beneath the sheets; the pair had intended to shower together that evening, however they had ended up simply falling asleep wrapped around each other before even Felix had returned. The Bear Faunus made himself comfortable, idly brushing away a few strands of hair that had fallen in front of Diamond's face and simply watched her sleep while he thought about their relationship.
When he'd first met Diamond he'd been instantly attracted to her, she was in his mind, stunning beyond words and seemed to exude an effortless confidence that made it all but impossible for him to keep his eyes off her. That had soon grown into friendship and partnership, he trusted Diamond without question and had found himself acquiring her tastes almost by osmosis the more time he spent around her. After working with her at the Mercy Foundation however Arctus was struck by just how passionate she was about causes that mattered to her and her almost instinctive ability to know where and how to help, frankly he was in awe of her. Mulling these thoughts over in his head Arctus was left with a question, one he wasn't sure he had an answer to. Realising that sleep wasn't going to come he carefully slipped out of the bed, taking care not to wake Diamond and found his Scroll before making his way out of the dorm, moving silently as he padded along Halo's corridors until he found a secluded place where he could make a call. The question was who could he turn to for advice, his Father would have answers but would most likely be busy. Uncle Rover and Aunt Artemis had a child on the way, he didn't want to bother them. Uncle Whitley's advice would be dubious at best; then it hit him.
There really was only one person he could ask.
Blake Xiao Long, formerly Belladonna, was doing something she wished she could do far more often; sleeping beside her wife. Working for the Coalition often saw her sleeping in hotels both on the mainland and in other Kingdom's and while Yang was more than understanding both of them would have preferred that the current arrangement be constant; that being Yang behind Blake with her arm slung around her waist holding the feline Faunus close, their legs still somehow intertwined beneath the sheets. The moment was ruined when Blake's Scroll rang, it's harsh tones echoing in the bedroom and waking both occupants; Yang's mumbled and barely coherent protest was muffled as she buried her head in Blake's neck, Blake herself gave an almost feral growl as her eyes opened and searched out the offending device
"Just put it on mute" Yang whined, hoping to influence the decision with a soft kiss against Blake's neck
"It's Arctus" Blake answered with a sigh "I've gotta answer this" Yang nodded in understanding, if Arctus was calling it could be urgent, she braced herself for the worst as Blake put the call on loudspeaker, audio only
"Hey Aunt Blake"
"What's wrong? Is Felix okay? Corvid?"
"Yeah, yeah everyone's fine" Arctus seemed confused, comprehension dawning on him with his next words "Oh sh-I mean oh sorry, I didn't realise what time it was….I was calling because I need some advice" Blake took a long breath to steady herself, she loved her nephew dearly, she really did. But she really did not appreciate being woken up in the early hours of the morning for less than an emergency. After a moment she sighed
"Sure, what's wrong?" Arctus remained silent and Blake's sleep addled mind seriously questioned if this was some kind of prank until he spoke again, nervousness creeping into every syllable
"How do you know if you love someone?" another brief pause "I kinda think….I think Diamond might be 'the one' y'know?" a muffled squeal came from behind her as Yang clamped her hand over her mouth, her prosthetic had been removed for the night
"Oh my Oum I think that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard" Blake could almost feel Arctus's embarrassment at the realisation that his confession hadn't been made privately, rolling over she briefly kissed Yang's lips
"Can you go make some tea while I talk to him" she murmured; when Yang nodded and got out of bed, smiling the whole time, Blake turned her attention back to Arctus; her inner romantic eagerly finding its' way to the surface
"Love's a pretty serious word to be throwing around….tell me more"
Phobos stalked through the darkness of the exclusion zone, a pack of perhaps a dozen or so Beowolves at the Alpha's back. The weeks since the Hunters had wandered into Phobos's domain had been almost catastrophic for the burgeoning legions of Grimm; the bombing and strafing runs from New Vale's warships had cut down vast swathes of their numbers in a persistent campaign that had lasted over a week.
But the Kingdom had made a critical error.
Phobos still lived. The Alpha prowled in search of more places for the packs of Grimm being spawned to refill the ranks to take shelter, the long abandoned buildings proving little defence against the weapons levelled against the Grimm. As Phobos sniffed the sniffed the ground the faintest traces of residual emotions hung in the air, something alive had been here, something had fought to stay alive; letting out a low guttural snarl Phobos gestured and the pack of Beowolves began sniffing everything nearby. Phobos knew the trail was almost certainly cold, with so few living beings entering the exclusion zone, most of them feeling some emotion in the extreme those that did tended to leave their presence behind for longer. A mournful howl demanded the alpha's attention and Phobos made it's way over to whatever the Beowolf had found, intelligence far greater than that of the Grimm around it being put to work at the sight of a crater far deeper than those left by the Kingdom's aerial assault.
"Hunters" Phobos snarled as the memory resurfaced, a memory from another Grimm, the first to encounter the Hunters that had marked the start of their troubles; a minute female with an oversized weapon. She must have left this crater in her wake when she destroyed the Grimm
"Come" Phobos demanded, leaping down and gazing around in confusion. It seemed that the hole wasn't simply a gouge in the ground, rather an opening to something that had been there all along. Setting off in the direction it knew the nearest of the Kingdom's walls to be, Phobos followed a pair of warped and twisted metal rails that had been left to rust beneath the ground years ago; had the Grimm any reason to have been familiar with train tracks it would have recognised them easily. The cavern Phobos and it's pack found themselves in bore scars of a battle, empty shell casings could be seen littering the ground and on the ground around them several bodies wearing white vests and masks had been left for rats to pick clean. Searching beyond that the pack came to something that caused Phobos's glowing eyes to widen; a solid wall of concrete filling the cavern from floor to ceiling. The Alpha may not have been intelligent in the manner most sentient beings were, but what intelligence Phobos did have, combined with low cunning and predatory instinct allowed it to guess what lay beyond this obvious attempt at a defence.
Phobos growled out a single command that echoed ominously in the confines of the underground tunnel
"Start digging"
Authors Notes:
Managed to get this one out a little quicker than I thought, nice. Also there may be a small break at the start of next month due to the Monty Oum Project coming around again. I wrote the one shot "Get FNKI" last year and feel like contributing again.
Anyway let's summarise:
I love than old Qrow just Batman's the fuck out of people, enters without a sound and growls them into submission.
Yeah Hellion got fucked up.
Qrow's emotional state is probably not the best right now.
Okay I don't know where the Ren and Nora thing came from, but I honestly imagine that Nora can talk Ren into anything given time and would love the idea of sneaking off and making out in secluded corridors the way they never got a chance to as students.
Also Eagle's reaction is priceless.
Felix is 110% down to give an alibi at a moments' notice. Get yourself a Felix.
So Arctus and Diamond will be in the shady part of New Vale fairly often now.
So yeah, we're changing this story to an M rating. I won't be overdoing it with smut scenes (Probably) but if I feel like one isn't out of place then I'll write it.
Also Diamond having a slight voice kink confirmed
The problem with having a big family like the Arcs is that they can look out for you even when you don't want them to.
Qrow can't be the parent he wants to be yet, but he can at least let Eagle let off some steam on one of the people responsible for her problems.
Yeah Eagle is not in a great place.
Flax was actually in the White Fang for a little while in The Downward Spiral, when Junior ordered a drive by shooting on Adam where Flax and Velvet were caught in the crossfire Flax begged Adam to be allowed to go on the retaliatory attack, despite the fact he was thirteen at the time. So yeah Flax gets it.
Eagle is most definitely going to go looking.
Headcanon that Faunus are never exactly sure how good/bad human senses are and sometimes massively overstate how bad human night vision is.
If you didn't "Awww" at the Blake and Arctus conversation, you're a liar.
So some of that ten thousand strong Grimm horde Phobos had at its' disposal has been destroyed, not all of it and the numbers are being replenished daily.
Yes the hole that Olivine blew into the floor became a plot point, trust nothing, foreshadowing is everywhere.
Yes those were the tracks towards Mountain Glenn, the train was removed after the battle and the tunnel was sealed off by the Kingdom (They also left the White Fang bodies down there as a final 'fuck you') now Phobos has found it and realised that there's a way out.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Araniladin, TigerRose, Arkanes Shippou, CanadianCavalier, Ferrous, Rskuat, FleetOfWarships, ShadowAlex2000 and FluffyFirefly for their reviews on the last chapter.
The thing is, when you get the Shadow Cadre background, some of Raffia's berserk rage will make sense.
It's Helios that warps gravity not Hellion.
I love how much people love the Xiao Long siblings.
I will gratefully accept your high praise.
Oh I have a Melanie Malachite reveal that will fuck with the Xiao Longs' even more planned.
No, Dark Eagle is unnatural, cinnamon roll Eagle is the best Eagle.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.