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I am making no money from this.

Chapter 42: Summer

The morning beat down on the island of Patch as its' inhabitants were subjected to a heatwave that had gone on for weeks and seemed to show no signs of stopping. Far from the small but bustling port city and closer to the woods where Grimm still lurked the garage of the Xiao Long household offered some protection from the harsh and glaring sunlight though if anything it was even hotter, airless and stifling as music blared from a small portable radio while the Xiao Long siblings worked on the heavily customised muscle car within; both of them stripped down to tank-tops in the oppressive heat, Corvid's shorts clad legs protruding from beneath the rear of the Killer-Bee while Felix was working on the engine from above. The summer vacation had given the Lion Faunus time to restore his car to its' former glory and his efforts had begun to show results.

"As far as I can tell this is pretty much done" Corvid called "Just gonna need to take it somewhere to test it out"

"Sweet" Felix answered distractedly "That's probably not gonna be for at least another day….then there's the paint job" he sighed the last part as he stepped back and gave the car an appraising once over, its' glossy black and yellow paint was still ruined and Felix had finally begrudgingly decided against replacing the panelling with armour plating due to the time and expense it would entail. In his distraction he failed to notice two people approaching the already open door of the garage until someone gently nudged his shoulder causing him to whirl round and come face to face with Nyanza Angora, the feline Faunus wearing a cap bearing the logo of a local sports team low over his face and Amethyst Wukong, the monkey Faunus seeming a little uncomfortable around Felix

"Hey what's up?" Felix casually wiped his hands off on a rag before fist-bumping his old friends

"Not too much" Nyanza shrugged "Thought I'd come and see if you wanted to hang, we've barely seen you all summer"

"I know man, I've been trying to get the Killer-Bee fixed before we go back to Halo y'know" Felix gestured to the car behind him and gave his best apologetic expression

"I thought it might be personal" Amethyst mumbled, seeing the Lion Faunus's confused expression she continued "I mean we haven't really seen each other since your birthday and y'know….look I'm sorry for being a bitch okay" it took Felix a moment to realise what she was talking about, then it hit him, she had found out that he was gay and the crush that she'd been harbouring had no chance of being requited

"Oh that" he laughed "Oh wow I'd actually forgotten about it. It's cool" Amethyst visibly relaxed at that and Nyanza pressed on

"So are you doing anything tonight?"

"I'm not sure, one sec" he turned down the still blaring radio and called to Corvid who was still underneath the Killer-Bee "Hey sis we got any work tonight?" the two of them had been venturing onto the mainland at least twice a week over the summer, lending their services to the recovery of New Vale as several of the workers insisted on having Hunters accompany them into the lowest regions of the hive like city where the Grimm attack had stemmed from; naturally Felix had spent his earnings as fast as he made them on repairing his car.

"Nah not tonight" Corvid answered as she slid into view "I'm probably heading onto the mainland though; dinner at Lux's place" since her partner Lux Lumière had convinced his parents to allow his boyfriend and fellow Team CLIR member Rusty Blackwatch to move in with them both Corvid and Iris Ramal had been regulars at the penthouse apartments Lux's affluent family called home; Iris however was currently spending a few weeks away from the Kingdom, visiting her father on Menagerie.

"Well if you're free you should come with us" Amethyst suggested

"Yeah man, there's a charity gig raising money for the relief effort" Nyanza explained "Ether's band are playing, a few of the old Signal crew are coming it's gonna be fun"

"I might do" Felix shrugged "Not sure though, I still need to-"

"Bro for Oum's sake go out and party!" Corvid interjected "You've been anti-social all summer"

"She's kinda right man, I've barely seen you" Nyanza noted with a somewhat hurt expression, Felix had been to his house to see how he was coping after the injuries he'd sustained during the breach but other than that the Lion Faunus had been absent for most of the summer

"Alright, alright" Felix relented before a thought occurred to him "Hey speaking of your team, have you heard anything from Helios? I spoke to Diamond a couple days ago and she says she hasn't heard from him"

"Oh my Oum your crush on the guy is adorable" Corvid taunted

"Wait Felix's crush?" Amethyst's expression became one of pure mischief "Got a picture? I've gotta see this" Nyanza happily complied and produced his scroll quickly finding a picture of his team leader, the younger Faunus took one look at the tall, muscular redhead whose skin was covered in scars and tattoos

"Oh" she breathed out "Oh yeah, I definitely approve"

"You guys are dicks" Felix grumbled "So you heard from him or not?"

"Nah" Nyanza answered, seemingly unconcerned "Diamond lives in Mistral's capital remember. Helios is gonna be out in the middle of nowhere. No CCT reception"

"That explains it" Felix shrugged, he'd had no contact with Eagle and that had hurt, Arctus had been unavailable after his eighteenth birthday which had been expected but he'd been a little shocked at how much he'd missed his fellow team leaders' company over the summer

"Anyway" Amethyst broke his concentration as she turned to leave "Dad's not working today and it's my last year at Signal; he said he's gonna help me work on my weapons"

"Sweet, you'll have to show me what you come up with" Felix grinned, Amethyst was one of Yang's star students and he was genuinely interested to see what kind of weapons she would create for herself.

"I'm gonna go get a shower" Corvid informed him as she made her way passed and out of the garage "Honestly its' just a matter of tightening a few bolts and giving it a test run" she indicated to the Killer-Bee before leaving and Felix caught the way Nyanza's gaze followed his sisters' toned legs

"She'd kick your ass" he snorted and Nyanza instantly looked away guiltily

"As long as it's not in the tournament I can live with that"

"So you're entering then?" Felix asked, referring to the Vytal Tournament that would be taking place over the course of the upcoming school year

"It's Helios's call but I can't imagine him saying no" the ivory haired feline shrugged, an assessment Felix wholeheartedly agreed with

"True….hey what do you think he's doing all summer?"

"Probably being just as gay as you are" Nyanza laughed "Seriously just admit you have a crush and do something about it" Felix tried to insist that he had no idea what his friend was talking about, even as a blush crept across his face and the two of them merely continued to torment each other good naturedly until a new topic of conversation presented itself.

A hand clamped around the lower jaw of the Beowolf and forced the Grimm's jaws short, leaving it unable to howl out to the rest of its' pack when the blade of Olympus Enforcer burst through its' neck. Helios released the Grimm as he felt its' body began to lose cohesion beneath his fingers and crouched low to the ground behind a tree trunk

"Good boys" he whispered as he held out a handful of treats for the pair of large and muscular hounds with dark fur and powerful jaws trailed behind him, Milo and Akuo were indispensable to the Nikos tribe as they could smell the creatures of Grimm, a feat that not even the impressive senses of Faunus could accomplish; Helios for his part had simply missed his dogs after being away from his people for so long.

"Stay" the redhead breathed out, casually scratching each of the dogs behind the ears as they sat with their tongues lolling out; he then slipped from behind the tree he was using for cover and moved silently through the dense forest that was common to much of Anima before reaching a road cutting a swathe through the trees, in truth barely more than a dirt track smoothed down by the countless wheels that had passed over it, his vibrant green eyes narrowed as he caught sight of his quarry. The Nikosi acted as guides and guards for travellers and convoys that passed through their land as an alternative to hiring Hunters who were far less acquainted with the land and would routinely be at odds with the tribes whose territory they entered. Their current benefactor was a mining company moving resources from one of the smaller settlements outside of Mistral's major cities to another and Helios had been sent to scout ahead and dispose of any Grimm he encountered; currently he was doing this without his armour which had yet to be fully repaired since the events of the breach of New Vale, he had also foregone the use of his shield choosing instead to rely on his sword and his skill. The Grimm ahead could barely be considered a test of said skills, the remainder of the pack of Beowolves had made their way onto the road itself and were sniffing and pawing at the ground in agitation; Helios counted four Grimm and decided that there was nothing to be gained by lurking in the treeline, checking that Milo and Akuo were still sat obediently he rose to his feet and rushed out into the open, sword at the ready and a wordless war cry on his lips. The Grimm turned towards the sound and rushed towards him, jaws snapping hungrily. Helios's Aura became visible as they drew close, an intangible darkness swirling around him; the first Beowolf pounced only for Helios's gravity manipulating Semblance to force it back to the ground with a crash where he proceeded to bury his sword in its' skull. The remaining trio of monsters fell back and circled him warily, Helios attempted to keep track of all three Grimm but the attack predictably came from behind; Hearing movement he dropped to one knee and thrust his sword into the ground as his attacker lunged over him. He responded with brutal efficiency, grabbing the hind legs of the Beowolf and pushing his Semblance further as he slammed the Grimm into the ground with enough force to crack the ground below and deliver a punch to the back of its' head that reduced its' bone armour to a web of hairline fractures; the Beowolf remained unmoving for a few seconds before finally fading away while Helios turned his attention on its' remaining pack-mates. The Beowolves looked to each other, some unspoken signal passing between them as they split up in an obvious attempt to flank him, Helios stepped back up pulled his sword from the ground before bracing himself; knowing from experience that they would attack at the same time. Experience proved correct as simultaneous attacks came, Helios delivered a powerful kick to the chest of the first Beowolf, sending it staggering back as he sidestepped the second and swung his elbow into its' snout while turning to face it; the Grimm snapped and made to lunge at him again but was quickly despatched as Helios stepped into its' guard and buried his sword in its' chest. The final Grimm snarled, demanding his attention as it reared up to its' full height; only to let out a pained yelp as a crossbow bolt tipped with an Ice Dust crystal tore into its' shoulder, slowly freezing the Grimm solid. Helios let out a somewhat annoyed sigh as he watched a figure descend from the trees and draw close; Shattering the frozen skull of the Grimm with an almost casual backhand he stepped towards the newcomer and gave them a stern glance

"I had that under control"

"Mother told you to bring me hunting with you. You don't get to have all the fun just cos a Grimm cut your pretty face" Helios's hand twitched as he stopped himself from reflexively touching his left cheek where a relatively fresh and in his opinion ugly scar ran, a souvenir of his time in New Vale. He settled instead for giving the newcomer his harshest glare for as long as he could maintain it, it would have silenced his classmates at Halo Academy with ease; however his little sister was far less affected and merely rolled her eyes. Syneffo Nikos, now fourteen stood at five foot nine with wiry but defined muscles that were offset by the sort gangly out of proportion physique that only puberty could produce, she shared her brothers scarlet hair though hers cascaded over her shoulders framing a face that was a little on the thin side and eyes that were an almost unnaturally bright silver in colour; something that had perplexed their mother. She wore a small quiver of Dust tipped crossbow bolts slung over her shoulder, loose fitting sleeveless top and pants with a pair of capes hanging from her hips, armour that was lighter than Helios's but made of the same gleaming golden metal etched with tribal markings over her chest and shoulders and a near identical set of golden bracers over her forearms. A difference Helios had been quick to notice upon his return to Anima, besides just how tall she'd gotten were the tribal tattoos adorning her entire right arm which declared her a warrior with confirmed Grimm kills and pathfinder of the Nikosi as well as a member of the tribes' ruling family. Helios couldn't have been more proud of his sister, even if she was infuriating.

"I get all the fun because you can't keep up. I'm not leaving Grimm to roam our lands just because you insist on climbing trees"

"I insist on getting a vantage point and not rushing in" she shot back as she took her weapon 'The Harpy's Claws' and split the ornate crossbow in half lengthways, each half shifting into an equally ornate axe, twirling the axes in her hands as she whistling out to Milo and Akuo who bounded out of the treeline to join them

"For Beowolves? I thought you were one of our fighters now Syneffo?" Helios teased, sheathing his sword and fixing leashes to the excitable dogs

"Well we can't all be students of a Hunter academy and learn how to kill Grimm from textbooks for months at a time" Syneffo rolled her eyes yet again and pouted as she spoke, her tone bitter and sarcastic

"Did you miss me?"

"Yes" her words were barely audible, as if she wasn't sure whether she wanted her brother to hear them; growing bolder as she continued "None of the other pathfinders take me seriously, I have to stay in cover because they're all scared of what Mother will do if I get hurt"

"They shouldn't be" Helios ruffled her hair, earning himself a glower that was eerily similar to his own "They should be scared of what I'll do….even if you are more than capable" an annoyed huff escaped Syneffo as she sheathed her axes at her waist and took a step in the direction of their peoples' encampment

"So what's it like living in a city?"

"Claustrophobic" Helios shrugged "And the other students took some time to get used to. Perhaps Mother will send you to one of the Academy's as well"

"I bet you hated it really" Syneffo's voice took on a singsong tone

"At first I did" a fond smile crossed Helios's face "Then I made friends"

"Who are they?" his sister seemed gob smacked

"Who?"

"Whoever it is that has my big brother smiling like that, you have to tell me!" she insisted

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

"You're a terrible liar" she laughed "Don't worry, I'm sure they still think you're pretty even with your face scarred" Helios frowned at that at and the two of them bickered in the way only siblings could as they made their way back towards camp.

An incessant stream of barely audible grumbling escaped from Arctus as he continued to sweep a floor that had already been cleaned to a ludicrous degree several hours ago; Arctus knew he was being punished but this was just insulting. His eighteenth birthday had early in the summer vacation, it had been a fairly quiet affair; Eagle had flown over to Schnee Manor but had been far from her usual cheery self, something he'd tried his best to help with; the highlight had been hearing from Diamond and receiving her gift of several pictures that were saved to his Scroll and hidden inside a password protected folder with an unassuming name. It had been soon after that that Arctus had begun his unpaid service to the Kingdom of Atlas as a consequence of his altercation with Special Operative Kafsi Asteri; he had expected his service aboard his fathers' ship, the Gespenst, to at least be interesting and grant him a deeper insight into the lives of high ranking Hunters; in reality Arctus had found himself relegated to menial tasks such as cooking, cleaning and any miscellaneous tasks that the engineering crew demanded of him, granted he'd learned a fair deal working alongside the engineers but he grumbled under his breath nonetheless. Eventually his mutterings caught the attention of the head engineer whom he was currently answering to

"You still here? You were done half an hour ago I was just wondering how long it'd take you to speak up about it. Go on, I'll send word if I need you for anything tomorrow" Arctus was equal parts thankful that he was finally allowed to leave and irritated at the constant pranks and busywork he was being subjected to, his first introduction to the engineering crew had involved them sending him to search for a left handed screwdriver, bubbles for a spirit level and a 'Long weight'. He finally fell silent as he stepped out into the corridor, the door to the engineering deck sliding shut and sealing with a mechanical hiss while Arctus took a moment to adjust himself to the drastic change in lighting and temperature; while engineering was dark, lit only by relatively small bulbs which were mostly obstructed by equipment and the light of various consoles the rest of the ship was furnished in pristine minimalist white and chrome, it was also a temperature comfortable to most natives of Atlas which was far cooler than the almost sweltering conditions he had just left. Arctus subconsciously brought a hand to the back of his neck, still unused to his recently cut hair; upon returning home his mother had commented that he'd let it grow far too messy while he was in Vale, his sister sarcastically offering to brush his hair for him seeing as he'd clearly lost his comb was a step too far and Arctus was now sporting a much cleaner and shorter style. Thoughts of how much Diamond was going to torment him when she saw this made him realise just how much he missed his partner and girlfriend though those thoughts were banished as he made his way towards the quarters he'd been assigned and found a familiar face waiting for him

"Baby Slate" the man greeting him was Specialist Commander Cimmerian Chiffon, his fathers first mate; Chiffon stood at just taller than Arctus's own considerable height of six foot three and was clad in the predominately white uniform of an Atlesian Specialist which had been stripped of any unnecessary decorations and replaced with countless ammunition pouches, holsters for various weapons and several grenades with designs Arctus was unfamiliar with. His skin had a leathery, weather beaten look to it and a perpetually wary expression; his dark crew-cut hair, moustache and beard were starting to grey and he sported several old injuries gained over the course of his career, the most prominent of which were a nose that had clearly been broken more than once and a thick line of scar tissue running from just above his right eyebrow along the side of his skull allegedly caused by a stray bullet that failed to kill the man.

"Commander" Arctus saluted him

"Come on kid, briefing in the war room. Your old man wants you there" without waiting for an answer Chiffon set off towards the briefing leaving Arctus to catch up after standing in confused silence for a moment

"So wait are we going on a mission?" he asked, his enthusiasm evident

"No idea kid" Chiffon sighed "If it is I wouldn't be bouncing up and down like that if we are though. We don't get called in for milk runs" the truth of that statement caused Arctus to fall silent for the remainder of the way to their destination, when they arrived Gangrel Slate was already present; as were several other Hunters in Specialist uniforms, looking around Arctus recognised them all as members of his fathers' personal strike team; Hunters considered the best of the best even by the high standards of the Specialists.

"Now everyone's here" Gangrel began as Arctus took his seat at the semicircular table the Hunters were seated at, facing a screen that flickered into life and displayed a map of the continent of Solitas "I'll keep this as brief as possible. There's a small settlement here, Freiheit, small iron mine and a foundry. Unfortunately this place is on the wrong side of the reintegration act" the atmosphere in the room changed noticeably at this news. With the destruction of one of Atlas's major cities in the war against Salem several small settlements above ground had formed, many of which had become self sufficient and began trading exclusively with each other; declaring themselves outside of Atlas's authority. The reintegration act declared that settlements that those settlements would receive no aid from the Kingdom of Atlas, be it financial, military or material and while the law had brought many of the settlements including the city of Wiedergeburt back into the fold the tensions between Atlas and those who chose to remain outside of its' rule were hard to overstate.

"So is this a surgical strike or a charity case?" one of the Specialists asked, a woman who Arctus would have guessed to be in her late twenties to early thirties with an electric blue Mohawk that seemed at odds with the uniform she wore

"Charity case" Gangrel answered, the strike team seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief and Arctus decided quickly that he simply did not want to know what a surgical strike entailed; his father continued speaking as he indicated a point that seemed to be several miles away from the town "Local militia have been encountering Grimm at a rate that suggests a spawning pool nearby. Our Bull-Heads have been performing recon all day and have found a spawning pit here. I have authorisation from General Schnee to take out the pit in direct contradiction of the reintegration act, that being said if anyone here is more loyal to the will of the council than the needs of the people then speak up now and I'll have you reassigned to another ship with a personal recommendation" there were a few moments of deathly silence before Chiffon spoke up, his voice an amused snort

"General Schnee is the only voice on the Council worth listening to, fuck the rest of 'em" a sentiment that was echoed by several other specialists before Gangrel gave a nod of approval

"Good. We attack at dawn, everyone here will be taking part in the mission-"

"Even the kid?" the Huntress with the Mohawk gestured towards Arctus with a raised eyebrow "No offence kid but we don't need a community service meat shield" the taunt got a chorus of laughter

"You gonna take that kid?" the Specialist next to him asked

"Meat shield?" Arctus asked in faux confusion as he leaned back in his seat "Funny how I didn't see you in New Vale until after my team had dealt with the big Grimm for you"

"You mean where you got opened up?"

"Yeah, maybe I should have used you as a meat shield?" the Specialists cackled at Arctus's comment, the specialist he was responding to grinning

"Well shit, he thinks he's ready to play with the big boys"

"Enough" Gangrel silenced the room, while still wearing a small smirk "Yes he's coming with. Unless there are any other questions you're dismissed" there were none and the specialists began to file out of the room, Arctus making to join them until he heard his fathers' voice

"Arctus stay behind for a minute" the younger Faunus stepped back and closed the door as the last of the Strike Team left

"Kid don't get cocky like that. Spawning pits are not first year material and being able to talk back to Donner doesn't mean you're prepared"

"Is that why I've been scrubbing floors for half the summer? Because you don't think I'm ready?"

"No you've been scrubbing floors because I have to make this look like a punishment, even I do enjoy actually getting to see more of you" Gangrel's answer robbed whatever fight Arctus had in him

"Alright I'm sorry, want me to apologise?"

"Fuck no" Gangrel snorted "It's banter, you've gotta give as good as you get with this crew; just don't start believing your own hype while we're out there tomorrow….you don't need any more new scars"

"So do you do this kind of job often?" Arctus asked, diverting the conversation away from the injury he'd sustained in the Breach "Just casually ignoring the law I mean"

"I'm a Hunter first, if the law stops me from saving people from the Grimm then it deserves to be ignored. Thankfully Winter agrees and lets me run these jobs off the books….we get one every three or four months"

"And it lets you score points with the Freelancers" Arctus noted with a sly grin, the rivalry between the Specialist Branch and the Atlesian Freelancer program was well known to most within the Kingdom

"That's an added bonus" Gangrel chuckled as he rose to his feet "Come on, mess hall is still serving up let's get something to eat….Oh and one other thing tomorrow"

"What's that"

"We'll be out of jamming range" Arctus's eyes widened a little at that, the Gespenst being designed for covert missions was fitted with a signal jammer that shut down all communications except for military frequencies, unfortunately this affected the ship itself and left those stationed aboard unable to use their Scrolls to contact their families while away; seeing his sons' face Gangrel added "Yes that means you'll be able to talk to your girlfriend. Just make sure you send Weiss and Athena a message while you're at it"

Diamond's fingers danced over the strings of her bass guitar as she perched on the roof of her apartment block in a lower middle class area of Anquan-Jia that was still far more affluent that the city she'd been born in. The sun set over Mistral's capital bathing everything in a golden glow and Diamond enjoyed the cool breeze on her skin until she stopped herself, realising that she'd played the wrong note with an annoyed sigh. Her Metal-Man Coal Z bass had been covered in a layer of dust when she'd returned home and to her extreme displeasure she hadn't retained as much muscle memory after a year without playing as she would have liked, she was half considering asking Ether Arashi if he wanted to practice with her when she returned to Halo; though that would require paying extra to take the instrument with her. She was distracted from her annoyance by the feeling of her Scroll vibrating in her pocket. Turning and hopping off of the raised ledge around the roof which she was sat on only to lean against it she searched through her pockets and found the device in question, stopping for a moment and smiling fondly at her background image, a selfie of her and Arctus taken early on in their first year at Halo Academy before they'd started dating; they'd both known that it was going to be hard to stay in contact once his punishment in Atlas began but it was still jarring to go from speaking daily to weeks of silence, she missed him. She was brought to her senses upon seeing the name of the person messaging her, 'Razzmatazz'. Diamond's cherry eyes widened a little at the sight as there had been an almost tangible distance between herself and her old friends since her return to Mistral, many of whom had taken her lack of contact while she'd been away more personally than she'd ever intended, she quickly opened the message and grinned to herself as she read its' contents

'Hey I know it's your birthday tomorrow, wanna hang? Unless you've got something already planned' Diamond typed out a reply without thinking

'No I'm definitely free tomorrow, it'll be great to catch up…..and sorry for ghosting everyone while I was in New Vale' she didn't have long to wait before her Scroll buzzed in her hand again

'No problem and I'll try and get everybody else to stop being bitchy with you about it (No promises). But there's this club that opened up while you were away, ex Hunter that runs it, you've GOTTA see this place'

'Sounds like a plan' Diamond's grin broadened as she sent the message, her mood having been improved in a few shorts minutes; out of the corner of her eye she saw that the door leading to the stairwell into the apartment block from the roof was ajar and leaning in the doorway with body language almost identical to her own was Emerald Sustrai

"So what's gotten you to stop brooding?"

"I wasn't brooding I was just practising" Diamond gestured to her bass

"Uh-huh….on the roof, on your own. You were brooding" Emerald teased, earning an exaggerated sigh and roll of the eyes from her daughter

"Whatever"

"So come on spill"

"Nothing much, just gonna be going out tomorrow night"

"Be careful" Emerald warned her "I know you can look after yourself but-"

"But keep an eye on my drinks, don't accept drinks or drugs 'cos I don't know what they've been laced with, stay with a friend and if anything happens call you or dad" Diamond recited warnings that had been given to her since she was thirteen, nothing was taboo in the Sustrai-Black household as both Emerald and Mercury would rather have honest and open discussions with their daughter and know that she could come to them with any problems she faced

"Good girl" Emerald nodded approvingly "But if you're not brooding up here then you know you can call your boyfriend inside right? I'll tell Merc to stop teasing"

"Oh for Oum's sake" Diamond's exasperated sigh was met with an amused grin from her mother

"But anyway I came up here to tell you that there's a horror movie marathon on tonight, the old ones that you and your Dad love"

"Awesome"

"And Merc's cooking tonight, I think he's making poutine" Diamond quickly made her way back into the building alongside Emerald and prepared to settle in for a night of cheesy unhealthy goodness.

Penny Rose, formerly Polendina came to slowly at first but quickly gained her bearings after her vision lost the green tinge and lines of scrolling code superimposed over everything faded away returning her senses to something comparable to normal human levels; rebooting after entering repair mode was always a little more disconcerting than her sleep cycle. Sitting up she took stock of her surroundings and saw that she was still in the same clinical white room that look like a hybrid of medical facilities and a laboratory that most people would find more than a little disturbing; no sooner had she made to pull the white sheet covering her aside than a voice called out to her

"Ah Miss Rose good to see you're awake, your clothes are in the drawers beside your bed"

"Thank you" Penny hastily pulled the covers around the metallic slab of a bed she'd been situated on and found the garments, noticing that her synthetic skin was already healing over the exposed inner workings below her left breast "And you can call me Penny Doctor"

"Just as you may call me Oz" the jovial voice of Doctor Ozymandias Eldritch countered. In a matter of minutes Penny had dressed and stepped out to meet the man, Doctor Eldritch was tall and spindly with pale skin and prematurely silver-grey hair adorning his head in a messy mop with a thin moustache and goatee upon his face, dark tinted glasses obscured his eyes and sat on a long crooked nose. The man was pleasant and professional and if rumours amongst the staff of Poly-Tech were to be believed the relationship between Antonia Arc and her right hand was something a little more than professional; nevertheless something about him didn't sit quite right with Penny

"The procedure was a success, quite routine actually, or as routine as anything can be in your unique circumstances" Doctor Eldritch chattered almost absent mindedly as he read from a tablet in his hands "I understand that you would much rather have had Doctor Arc perform the procedure but-"

"Thank you Doctor Eldritch" Penny interrupted as politely as she could manage "Antonia assured me that you were more than capable and internal diagnostics are showing the issue has been resolved. Speaking of Antonia do you know where she is?"

"I believe that she and her daughter are in her apartment, I'm sure she'll be glad to see another familiar face after that business in New Vale"

"Thank you Doctor Eldritch" Penny calmly left the laboratory and set off towards an elevator that would take her to Antonia Arc's private Penthouse situated at the top of the complex that housed the headquarters of Poly-Tech as well as the companies' primary research and development facilities. Ostensibly Penny had come to Atlas in need of repairs, during the Breach of New Vale some of her inner components had taken damage that the nano-bots swarming within her body were unable to fully repair; nothing life threatening but more than a little uncomfortable. While that reason may not have been a lie Penny was far more concerned with seeing Antonia Arc, her late fathers' former assistant had been a part of Penny's life since her creation and had been Penny's only frame of reference for what a sister was meant to be before she had met Yang; following the events of her kidnapping at the hands of the Shadow Cadre the copper haired android wanted to ensure firsthand that Antonia was coping. Eventually she found the elevator and typed in a sixteen digit code that would allow her into Antonia's home, finally allowing herself to relax somewhat as the doors slid closed and she found herself wondering how Ruby and the twins were; Ruby hadn't taken any missions since the Breach and was understandably reluctant to be away from their children for any amount of time. As the elevator came to stop and Penny stepped out into a carpeted hallway which was a clear departure from the rest of the facility the sound of raised voices reached her ears and she found herself slowing to a stop as she took in what was clearly a heated exchange between mother and daughter

"I DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS FOR THE BEST, YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH THAT BUT DON'T TRY TO PAINT ME AS SOME KIND OF VILLAIN EAGLE!"

"THE BEST FOR WHO?" a voice that was clearly Eagle's demanded tearfully "YOU SENT ME AWAY AND KEPT SECRETS BECAUSE IT WAS EASIER FOR YOU!"

"YOU THINK IT WAS EASY FOR ME TO SEND YOU TO VALE? IT WAS THE HARDEST THING I HAVE EVER HAD TO DO!

"REALLY? BECAUSE IT NEVER FELT LIKE IT, IT FEELS LIKE YOU COULD HAVE CARRIED ON LYING TO ME MY WHOLE LIFE IF YOU DIDN'T NEED TO DO DAMAGE LIMITATION WHEN SOMEONE ELSE FOUND OUT!" Eagle's furious tirade was punctuated by the sound of something being slammed followed by thunderous footsteps approaching the door to the penthouse apartment which was forcefully ripped open, revealing the teen herself whose crimson eyes were filled with tears that had spilled down cheeks that were currently puffy

"Oh….hey" she croaked out somewhat nervously as she caught sight of Penny "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough" Penny answered simply, apparently confirming Eagle's suspicions as she leaned against the wall of the hallway and slowly slid down it while running her hands through her hair

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Penny asked as she positioned herself next to her "I know we're not close Eagle but I grew up in my fathers' research facility when your mother was his assistant. When she took over the company and formed Poly-Tech she threw herself into her work and it's a shame….she was like a sister to me"

"Great so would have been my aunt" Eagle snorted bitterly "More family she cheated me out of" the venom in her voice stunned Penny for a moment, this was seemingly a very different Eagle to the chatty and enthusiastic if somewhat awkward teen she knew her as

"Although" Penny was thoughtful for a moment "All things considered we are technically family by marriage, Qrow is Ruby's uncle which would both her and Yang your cousins….you can claim Ruby Rose as your cousin" she hoped that would at least get a smile in response, Penny knew that Eagle was a prone to something she'd heard Yang describe as 'Fangirling' over her wife

"I really don't wanna think about it right now" Eagle sighed as she wiped her eyes and sniffed "It's been like this since I got here. I know my Mum went through a lot and I know she loves me in her own way but it's like she can't see from anyone else's point of view….she can't accept that at some point it stopped being her decision to make"

"Where were you planning on going?" Penny asked quietly

"I don't even know, anywhere but here" Eagle's reply came out as a hoarse croak and the copper haired android beside her thought to herself for a moment before making a decision

"I'm heading back to New Vale tonight, I only came to Atlas because I needed to pick something up and have some work on my cybernetic implants finished" she was annoyed at herself for giving the blonde more lies but the her own mechanical nature was still classified and the excuse that she had several cybernetic augmentations following the events of the Vytal Tournament was a cover that she'd maintained for years "If you really don't want to be here I can take you back to your grandparents?" Eagle remained silent for a few moments before finally nodding slowly

"I think it's for the best, I think I need some time away from Mum to try and figure things out for myself"

"Okay, I'll talk to Antonia" Penny made to rise then paused, as if she realised she'd made a miscalculation "Although I should probably warn you I have to stop at Patch on the way….at Yang and Blake's house"

"Where Felix is" Eagle surmised with a sigh as she thought about the partner who'd done as she'd asked and not contacted her all summer "It's fine"

"Sensational"

Authors Notes:

And we're back ladies and gents, I'm pretty sure that if I put all four years of FADE in the same story this is going to end up being longer than The Downward Spiral so brace yourself.
Also Downward Spiral took me 8 months to write, Year one of FADE took me 10….we're gonna be here for a while.

Anyway let's summarise:
The Killer-Bee is (More or less) back in action.
Amethyst Wukong still exists don't worry I haven't forgotten about her (She'll be starting at Halo in FADE's third year along side Professor Dove Bronzewing's son).
And that's how Felix has been getting money to put the car back together (It's on Yang's insurance but I doubt that's gonna cover everything) helping with the clean up after the Breach.
And that's how the rest of Team CLIR are doing, a pretty good summer all round for them.
"The old Signal crew" I mentioned in Vol.1 that Felix and Nyanza are the only students from their class attending Halo, a few of them probably left education at seventeen and got some kind of work but a few of them probably went to other academies, more on that next chapter.
Felix going straight to Helios, oh yeah Battle Cat shippers are gonna enjoy second year.
I already know what Amethyst's weapons are gonna be.
Felix totally caught his friend checking out his sister.
Nyanza is either a living shit-post or best wingman.
And we transition straight to Helios kicking ass with his two dogs, yes they're named Milo and Akuo after Pyrrha's sword and shield; in my head I'm imagining them as Rottweilers, also yeah a tribe like the Nikosi has probably got some way of alerting them to nearby Grimm, hunting dogs seems like a fitting choice.
Helios does not hesitate, just casually kicking ass.
And here's our first new character this volume, Syneffo Nikos; Helios mentioned her in Vol.1 but we obviously hadn't seen her and in true younger sibling fashion she's playing the "Mum told me you have to bring me with you" card.
She's also something of a prodigy at Grimm killing.
Okay about her silver eyes, because I can here objections coming: This is in the Downward Spiral timeline where Ozpin wasn't as all knowing and the Branwen's weren't part of any tribes (Because I'd already stated that they were from Vale before Vol.4 contradicted me) so it's entirely possible for their to be other people with the potential to become silver eyed warriors out there, especially in a tribe that doesn't interact with the Kingdoms much. I say 'Potential' because Syneffo hasn't unlocked those powers yet and also, Mercury and Ilia both have eyes that could look silver in some light; are they Silver Eyed Warriors now?
Also the whole Helios hunting Grimm in the woods with his younger sister at the start of Second Year is actually a parallel to Felix hunting Grimm in the woods with his older sister at the start of First Year.
Yes Syneffo spotted that Helios was thinking of someone in particular within 0.3 seconds.
You know exactly what kind of pictures Diamond sent him.
left handed screwdriver, bubbles for a spirit level and a 'Long weight' yeah engineers are dicks, we will send an apprentice to look for all of those (For anyone unfamiliar the routine is: you send an apprentice to ask someone for a 'Long weight' that person then goes to fetch one and never comes back, the apprentice stands around until a foreman or chargehand asks them what they're doing and responds to their answer with "You're gonna have a very long wait you daft bastard, get back to work!")
I can honestly imagine Weiss telling him to cut his hair when he got back to Atlas (After spending a few days fussing over him).
I didn't give Chiffon a physical description when we met him last volume so he's getting one now, honestly I just imagined him as Jon Bernthal (The Punisher, Shane from The Walking Dead).
Freiheit = Freedom.
The reintegration act seems like something Atlas would do.
Wiedergeburt = Rebirth….I think we might end up seeing the place, Atlas's first city above ground.
Winter has Ironwood's old position and I can see her using it to send black ops teams to deal with Grimm against orders…..Also yeah the Specialists are loyal to Gang and Winter first.
A little father son moment with Gang and Arctus.
Diamond totally plays bass on the roof and pretends she's not trying to look edgy.
Diamond is in the opposite situation to Felix, she's the one of who left her Kingdom to study abroad without her old friends; as I said we'll see some of that next chapter.
An ex Hunter running a club in Mistral…..If you know me at all you can guess who it is.
I imagine Merc and Em being the kind of parents who are open about everything with their kids and want them to know they can talk to their parents about anything without judgement.
Dear Canada, I just learned what Poutine was only to find out that literally everyone in the UK already eats that, chips with cheese and gravy is sold in literally every chip-shop in the country….also just thinking about it makes me hungry.
Doctor Ozymandias "Call me Oz" Eldritch, I mentioned him a few times before and I'm not even being subtle about who/what he is….but if you think you know where I'm going with this then oh boy; third and fourth year are gonna shock you.
Antonia is a workaholic, of course her apartment is at the top of her companies main facility.
Yeah Eagle's summer is not going great….sorry about that people.
Okay I know Ruby isn't technically Qrow's niece because they're not related by blood but are you really going to argue semantics when that's how they say each other in canon; besides Arctus and Felix aren't related by blood (Neither are Felix and Corvid actually) but they're still family. And yeah, being Qrow's daughter makes Eagle Yang's cousin.
And we're getting a reunion next chapter.

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Araniladin, FleetOfWarships, Arkanes Shippou, ShadowAlex2000, TigerRose, FluffyFirefly, Ferrous and Unstoppable Cyborg for their reviews on the last chapter.
Hellion's out of reach….Or IS SHE?
Blake acting like a union boss….yeah but a good union boss, not a Mafia front, she's seen enough corruption.
Speaking of sick rides, what if I told you I have something in mind for Arctus.
The Pearl is a write off but Pearl her/itself still functions.
We'll be getting our first glimpse of what the Cult of Taurus are capable of next chapter, but we won't be seeing them in person yet.
Qrow has a ton of awkward conversations and Antonia doesn't which seems a little unfair considering she was the one who kept the fact he was a father from him.
We're probably not going to see Weiss until we head back to Atlas for the Tournament but I'll find more scenes to write her into (She still hasn't met Diamond in person yet).

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.