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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 52: Into The Cold
Oh-Seven-Hundred Monday morning had arrived and with it the first mission of Team FADE's second year. The teens in question had awoken at five o'clock to re-check their weapons, ammunition and other supplies before heading to breakfast; though this had not been done without complaint. Currently the four of them were making their way through still unfamiliar, pristine white tiled corridors leading towards the amphitheatre where they would be receiving their assignment; as they drew near they paused for a brief conversation with Team GRAY, the Haven students giving them a rough overview of their assignment before leaving for the landing pads where the small military strike team they would be accompanying would meet them. As they went the separate ways Team FADE entered Atlas Academies' amphitheatre, a cavernous hall whose rear wall was adorned with golden plaques bearing the names, rankings and honours given to every Atlesian Hunter, Specialist, Freelancer, Soldier and the various other servicemen and women who had fallen in the battle against the Grimm; the names of previous heads of the Academy more elaborately adorned, Arctus regarded the name "General James Ironwood" for a moment having heard stories painting him as both a hero and one of those responsible for maintaining Atlas's former discriminatory racist status-quo. Around the perimeter created between the stage and ascending rows of seating were several digital screens displaying the various missions and rendezvous points assigned to the various teams, it was a struggle for Team FADE to get close enough to search for their own mission owing to the larger than usual crowd, something that the realised was something they'd have to adjust to for the duration of their time in Atlas.
"Hey, you guys found your mission yet?" Felix called over to Team NEON when he picked out Helios's golden armour as the light struck it
"Guard duty" the redhead noted with some distaste as he and his team notes made their way over, his preference for taking the fight to the Grimm as well as anything that could be described as heroic was well known
"I mean at least it gets you out of the snow right?" Felix countered with a shrug
"Not even sure how this is gonna work out" Nyanza interjected "Apparently we're gonna be escorting Dust shipments to above ground settlements outside of the cities; we'll be working out of a refinery-"
"Oh that'll be the site in Stahlhafen in Lower Eisenstadt Zweite" Arctus interrupted, rubbing the back of his head when he saw everyone's eyes focus on him "I've heard Mum and Uncle Whitley talk about the place, it's one of the SDCs' biggest facilities"
"So those shipments are gonna be important" Olivine noted "See Heely, guard duty isn't so bad" Helios looked unconvinced
"You should be careful if you're going to the settlements outside of the cities" Arctus added, explaining as he saw the confused expressions from his friends "It's not something that's really spoken about too much but those settlements tried to secede from Atlas after they started developing their own economies after the war, the reintegration act basically strong-armed them into staying part of the Kingdom….A lot of people out there consider themselves Atlesian in name only so the laws don't exactly apply"
"Sounds a lot like where I grew up" Diamond noted with a snort "Before I moved to the capital, my old city has the nickname 'Hell on Remnant'"
"It earns that name" Helios growled with a shudder at the thought of the rumours of things that transpired within Doupeng-He Bishou
"Well just keep your eyes open out there man, I don't wanna get back here and find out that you got hurt" Felix's voice was a soft mumble but the redhead heard clearly on nodded his head quietly
"Likewise, take care Fluffy" there were a few moments of awkward silence before Nyanza decided to clear his throat and spare his two friends from their mutual ineptitude
"Okay, let's go I don't wanna be late….they might court marshal us for it some dumb shit" the rest of Team NEON shared a chuckle at his comment as they departed, leaving Team FADE to find their own assignment; no sooner had they reached the various digital displays and realised that they were sorted by school were they joined by Hellion of Team GORE who looked no happier at being awake but soon seemed to liven up upon spotting the blonde
"Hey" Eagle grinned "Looking for your teams' mission?"
"Indeed" Hellion murmured "It seems at least one of us being able to read will be useful after all"
"Can't believe we had so much trouble from people who can't read" Felix gave a derisive snort, only to be silenced by his partners' elbow in his ribs.
"Um guys" Arctus tried to get their attention, gesturing to what had captured both his and Diamond's attention
"Oh…." Eagle trailed off
"Fuck this" Felix scoffed with a shake of the head, refusing to believe what he was reading. The outburst was loud enough to draw the attention of the remainder of Team GORE who rapidly closed the distance between them in the slowly emptying amphitheatre, Raffia skulking around the periphery
"We have a problem?" Carcharodon asked, voice low
"No" Eagle answered before he and Felix could begin to antagonise each other "We're actually going to be working together, we have a joint mission" her answer was punctuated by the Raffia seemingly choking on air
"I think not!"
"Do we are have a problem here?" a somewhat smokey voice from enquired behind them, quickly joined by a second chirpier voice
"We were wondering what was keeping you, hey Eagle" the eight students turned and were greeted with the sight of a pair of women; the first tall and immaculately dressed in outfit in various shades of black, gold and brown that blended the tactical with the ludicrously expensive, a single curl of her brown hair escaping from beneath her black beret partially obscuring her eye, the look being completed with a black and gold tote bag. The Second woman was shorter, though her height was compensated for by her Faunus attributes; a pair of chestnut furred rabbit ears which added at least another head to her height, or rather the left ear did while the right stopped half way having been neatly severed, her hair cascaded down to the small of her back and her own outfit was several shades of light brown and tan with golden armour plating adorning her shoulders, forearms and the heel and toe of her boot while an ornate camera hung from her neck. The colouration of both women's clothes suggested that they were more used to blending into a barren sandy environment while they sported tans which leant credence to that idea
"You know them?" Felix asked with a raised eyebrow
"That's uncle Flax's sister" the blonde confirmed; the other woman was the one to speak, addressing both teams of students before us.
"I'm Coco Adel, this is Velvet Scarlatina; you'll be working with us in the ruins of Eisenstadt Siebte….So no more bickering, we've got work to do and I wanna get it done quickly"
In the frozen tundra towards the East of the continent of Solitas was the mining town of Machen-Rustung; a town whose inhabitants supported themselves toiling in an iron mine and a foundry, working the Atlesian steel which proved vital to the icy Kingdom of Atlas. It's people were those who had been dispossessed from Lower Atlas during the White Fang's occupation and chosen not to return to their former homes; making the change from mining Dust crystals to ores. Without a naturally occurring source of Dust nearby or the ability and without capable Hunters to defend against the increasingly frequent packs of Beowolves or other creatures of Grimm scouring the frozen wasteland Machen-Rustung had been forced to sign onto Atlas's reintegration act even if they could trade with other settlements outside of the Hive Cities for essentials like food. This had bred nothing but resentment among those living in the mining town; a large percentage of whom were Faunus, first they had endured years of institutional racism within the Kingdom of Atlas then their homes were destroyed in the conflict only for their safety to be effectively held for ransom in exchange for exorbitant taxes. The anger towards the system which had promised change and fairness countless times and failed to deliver in each instance had begun to lead to dangerous words like revolution being whispered in smoke filled bars and secret meetings in basements; much like the one currently being presided over at that moment
"Everyone here then?" a Squirrel Faunus for whom the busy tail resting against their back seemed comically at odds with his squat, broad shouldered frame and square jawed face. The man went by the name Chestnut and was a shift manager at the foundry, he had also been ten years old when his home was destroyed; an experience that had no doubt influenced his decision to start 'The Freedom Union' one of the many cells which formed the New White Fang.
"Aye" one of his co-conspirators answered as they checked names of a list that would be burned after the meeting ended. Chestnut surveyed the men and women in front of him, weary faces and calloused hands with very little to show for it all around; many of the Faunus in the smoke filled basement would in fact be working alongside him later that day. He took a long drag on his cigarette in a futile attempt to steady his nerves before beginning
"We all know why we're here. We're here because we're done talking, the Coalition and all those other Faunus rights groups have been talking for twenty years, as soon as Atlas had to pay us the same as the humans they just found a new way to twist our arms and steal it back. We're here because we believe that if marching and singing songs and talking to people that hate us was gonna work it would of bloody well happened by now, am I right?" there was a chorus of agreement from those present while Chestnut took another drag
"Well now it's time for direct action, we're gonna send a message to them at the top of the mountains the same way old Taurus did. Steal from us and we'll steal it back. We're gonna hit a Dust shipment; what do ya say to that?" the smoky room was filled with the buzz of excited muttering before someone raised an issue, a young Faunus whom Chestnut was almost certain was still an apprentice at the foundry, barely more than a baby in his eyes
"I'm up for it boss but have we got the muscle for it?" there were a few that murmured similar sentiments, emboldened by someone else speaking out first
"We have" Chestnut grinned silencing the dissent with ease as he gestured to dozens of inconspicuous crates lining a wall "I'll admit I've been telling some fibs, that wasn't a health and safety inspector that paid me a visit on Friday. The High Commander sent someone to give us this job and give us the tools we'd need for it; ours to keep in case Atlas sends any Hunters with bright ideas"
"Oh aye?" a voice called from the back "And what have we to pay 'em for that then?" Chestnut bit back a retort, this wasn't the foundry and his people deserved answers; even if the speaker was one of the office staff and as such was by definition a shirker and a pansy who wasn't to be trusted in the Squirrel Faunus's mind.
"A seventy thirty split" Chestnut admitted through clenched teeth "We keep the weapons but the High Commander needs to reallocate the Dust to some of the other groups" there was an immediate uproar as several voices struggled to be heard
"Well what's the point then?"
"We signed up to stop getting shafted for Oum's sake!"
"Oh aye, we'll just use the Fire Dust in them bullets to cook with afterwards then shall we?"
"ALRIGHT SHUT UP!" Chestnut barked out in a tone those he worked with were well acquainted with, the expression he wore however was new to them "This isn't really a debate, it's happening….It was originally twenty, I tired to get us a fifty fifty split; that messenger told me that our 'Questionable faith and mistaken belief that we are the only ones with needs to be considered' has already been brought up in conversation with other branches of 'The Organisation'".
"So we're being strong-armed by our own fucking people as well now?" a rattlesnake Faunus demanded, her tail giving a clear indication of her thoughts
"We do this job we're back in the good books" Chestnut answered "There's a land-train leaving a depot today; we'll get the message from a man on the inside when he gets a look at their schedule. Gives us plenty of time to set things up. Thirty percent is still gonna be a fair bit of Dust we can stockpile and it puts us in a better position to bargain next time" quiet murmurs filled the basement once again, the enthusiasm replaced by evident tension and uncertainty until the apprentice who had spoken earlier offered his thoughts up again
"What if we do it and just keep the Dust?" several Faunus looked at him in disbelief, several more gave him their approval prompting him to continue "if Atlas's is extorting us and 'The organisation' is gonna give us scraps then fuck 'em both, if we've got the Dust and the guns what're they gonna do?" Chestnut raised a hand, determined to stop this nonsense in its' tracks before it built up enough momentum to get people killed.
"Lad, the High Commander isn't relying on us just turning the Dust over; I've already been warned that it's being collected….if you think you'll get a better deal than this then feel free to take it up with the Cult of Taurus when they get here"
Felix drove the Killer-Bee forward at barely more than a crawl, unable to overtake the transport that Coco and Velvet had apparently borrowed from an old friend of Flax's for their foray into the ruined city of Eisenstadt Siebte. Team GORE were travelling with Coco whilst Velvet had taken the passengers' seat beside Felix, leaving Arctus, Diamond and Eagle somewhat cramped in the back. The Atlesian military vessel had flown them to an insertion point along the bleak and freezing coast, from which they would be able to make their way into Eisenstadt Siebte by following an impossibly large tunnel network carved into the cliffs, wide enough for freight ships to pass each other unhindered with artificial walkways built into the walls which their vehicles were now traversing
"Couldn't have found a safer way in?" Felix noted as something beneath them creaked "This road doesn't sound too stable"
"I mean there's the massive hole where part of the city was destroyed; I doubt you wanna air drop your car through that though" Arctus noted with a chuckle from behind him.
"It's not meant to be easy to get in" Velvet answered "Every connection point between Eisenstadt Siebte and the other Hive Cities was sealed during the war and the above ground entrances into the mountain its' built into were closed, only way to get in is the docks or go in through the hole that Grimm made"
"I still can't believe one Grimm did that much damage" Arctus murmured "Seriously it's like a hole the size of a warship all the way from the bottom of the city to the surface"
"I was here when it happened" Velvet admitted "Slate right?"
"Yeah"
"Your parents helped stall for time before Adam Taurus could blow himself up to stop the thing, it's how your Dad lost his arm….tell him 'Thumper' says hi for me will ya. Team CFVY were in the city itself trying to hold the line while civilians were evacuated….I haven't been back here since"
"Eagle are you okay?" Diamond's question surprised everyone, Felix looked in his rear-view mirror and saw, with a pang of concern that his partner was wearing a troubled expression
"I'll be fine" she croaked out, taking a slow shuddering breath as she saw everyone's eyes were still on her "It's just….I know this sounds dumb 'cos I never met him but this is where my Uncle Jaune died. I've heard stories about the fighting in Eisenstadt Siebte"
"Oh, I'm sorry Eagle I didn't know-"
"It's fine" she waved off Arctus's apology with a forlorn sigh
"Nobody will think any less of you if this place gives you the creeps" Felix assured her
"I knew Jaune" Velvet's admission caused the attention to shift away from Eagle, something the rabbit Faunus had intended when she sensed how uncomfortable the blonde was under the scrutiny "He was in the year under me I had to retake first year history so we had that class together"
"What was he like?" Eagle asked, voice barely above a whisper
"He was a good kid, a little clueless sometimes but a good kid" Velvet gave her a small smile before her eyes took on a haunted expression for a moment "Team CFVY were the ones to find him, he got separated from his team….such a waste, eighteen is no age to go" there was a heavy silence in the car for a while, nobody quite sure of what to say; the knowledge that they were heading into a former war-zone that claimed the lives of several Hunters was inescapable. Felix turned his attention to the creaking rickety road suspended above icy waters whose depths he could only guess at; or more accurately what little of the road wasn't hidden from view by the APC directly ahead. The Lion Faunus, as something of an enthusiast for both vintage vehicles and modified cars had been impressed upon first seeing an old but highly upgraded Nashorn-N2; even if Coco Adel had merely complained that she would have preferred it with a turret. The vehicle carried its' bulky gunmetal frame on six wheels sporting oversized tires that reached Felix's shoulders, the entire chassis was covered in additional layers of armour plating. The rear of the APC, where the supplied for both Team FADE and GORE's mission were being stored was rectangular and boxy while the front of the vehicle was far more angular and sloping; the windows were partially obscured by roll-bars and the front of the vehicle was fitted with an angular attachment that served as both a plough and a minesweeper. Where the small turret that Coco would have preferred once sat there was now what appeared to be a small radar dish and several aerials; hinting that the APC could provide its' own CCT connection. Taking another look at the armoured transport caused Felix to realise something
"Miss Scarlatina, we should have asked this earlier but what exactly is our mission and why does it take two teams?"
"You can call me Velvet" the soft spoken Rabbit Faunus told him before choosing her words "Our missions are separate but connected. Since the war there's been a steady stream of military grade weapons and restricted tech coming out the ruins, people like the Scavenger Guild sell what they find to museums and private collectors but not all of it is ending up in the right hands. Atlas council wants to put a stop to it so Coco has a map of likely weapons caches, her and her team are going to be rigging them with explosives and cutting off this route after we leave; make so the only way into the ruins is by air-drop so fewer people risk it"
"So what are we doing while they're helping set bombs?" Diamond asked, choosing not to mention her distaste for the Scavenger Guild, while Felix kept his eyes straight forwards willing himself not to think about his previous interactions with their New Vale branch.
"Search and rescue, there's a group of about a dozen 'treasure hunters' that were supposed to came back over a week ago, nobody's heard from them since"
"That's a lot of ground to cover" Arctus noted tonelessly, being native to the Kingdom he understood just how deep underground the Hive City reached
"They're flashing us" Felix interrupted, indicating to the APC whose indicators were indeed flashing
"That's a signal" Velvet assured him "It means she's seen some signage for the city."
"So we're getting close?" Eagle breathed out
"Exactly" Velvet nodded, ears brushing against the roof of the car "So get ready, with the noise our engines make the Grimm already know we're here."
The Hunter Team NEON had been assigned to work alongside was a bearded and ruddy faced man in his late forties by the name of Villsvin Stein, his physique was that of someone who had once been a towering slab of muscle but had since allowed himself to soften; his bushy ginger beard was beginning to show traces of white and the outfit he wore, resembling a fur-lined boiler suit clearly intended for freezing temperatures was covered in countless small and seemingly old stains and had been purchased when Stein had a much smaller waistline if the way it was strained gave any indication, his receding hairline was hidden by a woolly hat and a pair of what looked like ski goggles while his weapon hung from strap around his shoulder, his protruding stomach providing some support for the assault rifle. Helios had been unimpressed with the man and was currently walking in lock-step, seemingly performing an impromptu inquisition to determine exactly how capable Villsvin Stein was; the rest of Team NEON trailed behind with Nyanza bringing up the rear as he took in their surroundings with some interest. They had reached their destination of the SDC Dust refinery in the Stahlhafen district of Lower Eisenstadt Zweite and were currently being led through the sprawling complex after each of them had filled in dozens of pages of paperwork, effectively allowing the company to distance itself from any injuries that befell them for the duration of the mission, the fact that the representative of the SDC that had greeted them had seen fit to allow Stein to take the students to the relevant part of the plant suggested that he was no stranger to working here. Nyanza took in the steady bustle of activity around him with a mix of comfortable familiarity and slight homesickness; growing up Nyanza had often joined his father at the various jobs the man had held when he wasn't at school, in direct violation of labour laws people like Blake Xiao Long strived for. Nyanza decided he'd have to call his parents when this mission was over and see how they were, he was snapped from his musings as he saw a worker step under an overhead crane and directly into the path of its' hook
"Mind out!" he called over, bushy tail standing erect as he hopped over the railings marking out the walkways for visitors to the site and bringing the crane to a stop with a screeching of gears in a display of Aura fuelled strength
"Thanks lad" the member of staff gave him a well meaning slap on the shoulder "Don't suppose you could help me sling this?" he indicated to crate roughly three feet deep and almost and long and wide as he was tall
"Yeah sure….should probably be a latch on that hook" Nyanza noted conversationally before taking in the somewhat eerie green glow emanating from within the crate "This Eco-Dust? You'd think this stuff would be secured better with the price it sells for-"
"OI!" a new voice bellowed, a precedent for a thick set, bull necked older man thundering over and pulling Nyanza away by the scruff of the neck "Who the fuck are you? Daft bastard you just about wrote that crane off you dozy fucking fleabag-" Whatever else the man had intended to bellow in Nyanza's face remained a mystery as a blur of golden movement collided with him and he was sent staggering back clutching his cheek when Helios's backhanded slap connected with an impact that echoed around the factory floor.
"You were trailing behind, we didn't realise you'd gotten separated" Helios murmured to his partner before turning to the man still clutching his face "You, apologise"
"They're with me Ash, sorry about this I'll square it up with you later mate" the voice belonged to Villsvin Stein, the rotund man wiping his brow as he hurried over to try and defuse the situation, Ether and Olivine beside him "You need to apologise and come with me" he hissed in Helios's ear as he clamped down on both the redhead and Nyanza's shoulders
"No" Helios answered bluntly, steadfastly refusing to move
"Heely" Nyanza sighed "Just let it go man….he's not the first racist prick I've met" the last part spat venomously at the man, apparently named Ash whom Helios had backhanded. Reluctantly Helios turned away and allowed the older Hunter to lead them away, towards the shutter doors at the rear of the plant they had initially been heading towards
"Right, you" Stein pointed at Nyanza "What the fuck was that, I heard something about you breaking a crane?"
"That other guy walked under it and the hook swung, the safety latch was missing so it would have done some damage if it had hit him in the back….then that fuckwit just came over grabbed me and started screaming in my face" Nyanza shrugged, hands in his pockets
"Right" Stein grunted "It wouldn't been a problem if red over here had popped anyone else but Ash is a chargehand, this is gonna come back on all four of you"
"I won't have my team take racist abuse to make your job easier" Helios answered matter of factly, Stein bristled at the accusation
"Right lad, you can fucking listen to me right now; I don't know how things are where you're from but this is Atlas, over twenty years I've been working for the SDC and I'll tell you now sometimes you've gotta go along to get along-"
"It's not me you have to justify your cowardice to" Helios shot back
"It's not cowardice to wanna keep my job, I've got kids to think about"
"And I'm sure they're proud of a father who refuses to stand for anything" at that Stein finally lost his temper and rounded on the golden armoured teen, stepping directly into his personal space
"Right you listen here lad, you're on thin fucking ice and we're not even on the truck yet. I'm trying to be as understanding as I can seeing as you're not from round here" he let out an annoyed sigh "I get that you wanted to jump in when you saw someone giving your mate a hard time, I don't like racists myself but that's just how things are. Right now we've got a job to do so let's go to the truck, find our driver and get to work….I'll call Ash's foreman and get this smoothed over and there'll be no more said" he offered out a hand which Helios hesitated to shake, only doing so when he saw that his team-mates seemed willing to accept the situation. Team NEON made their way out of the plant itself into the yard where countless tire tracks cut through the still falling snow
"Big beasties aren't they" Stein nodded at the trucks "Had to rethink how we shipped when all the settlements started popping up and this is cheaper than airships" the four teens were forced to admit that the vehicles were impressive, each truck was a little less than two stories tall and supported by eight wheels with a diameter equal to Helios's six foot height, three pairs spaced evenly towards the rear supporting the trailer hitch, the front pair located beneath the trucks' smooth and swept back cab, the rear of which was fitted with dozens of huge fuel tanks and a pair of smoke stacks, from what could be seen from the ground the cab of the truck seemed large enough to contain a small one room apartment.
"This is the efficient way of doing things?" Olivine demanded with a disbelieving stare
"Cheap, not efficient" Ether grinned as he brushed away snow that had fallen on her shoulder
"Either way" Stein shrugged as he gestured to the row of vehicles "One of these at the head of a land train, one trailer is a portable base of operations and then there's about a dozen trailers full of Dust. That's gonna be your home for the next two weeks and the job is to make sure nothing happens to the cargo; should be quiet work provided none of you lot manage to pick a fight with the snow"
"Don't rule it out" Ether chuckled as he nudged Helios who admittedly saw the funny side to the comment
"Right then, just gotta find the yard marshal….there he is" Stein waved over a short and stocky Emperor Penguin Faunus clad in a parka jacket with a high-vis vest worn over it
"What's up Stein?" the Penguin asked in a businesslike tone, withdrawing a clipboard from inside his coat
"Looking for my rig and driver" Stein answered "Got a Team of students with me, it should be marked up"
"Mmm….gimme a minute" the yard marshal flipped through several pages of documents, muttering under his breath that this would have been easier with a digital copy of the records "There it is, number fourteen; the Ansturm model that needs repainting" he eventually informed them, pointing at the truck in question
"Driver?"
"He'll be in the canteen" the yard marshal answered as he signed various relevant paperwork in triplicate before handing it to Stein to do the same "I'll get one of the loaders to run upstairs and find your driver. Have a safe trip"
"Thanks mate, come on kids" Stein led Team NEON away, as they left the yard marshal let out a sigh of relief before readjusting the coat sleeve that had ridden up when he'd pointed out the truck; quickly hiding a tattoo that had become visible for a brief moment, a wolfs' head on top of three claw marks adorning the inside of his right wrist. Taking a quick look around he made sure that there was no one nearby who could listen in before taking his Scroll from his pocket and dialling.
"Whoa" Felix breathed out as Team FADE got their first real look at the ruins of Eisenstadt Siebte, the Killer-Bee still trailing behind the APC Coco was driving; the prows of rusted and sunken ships protruded from the rippling surface of an impossibly vast harbour whilst Felix kept a watchful eye out for whatever was causing those ripples
"We need to keep going" Velvet instructed "Keep following Coco"
"We're looking for somewhere to set up camp?" Diamond surmised
"Exactly" Velvet answered "If we set up here and there's Grimm in the water we'll get surrounded" Felix complied and kept his car close on the tail of the vehicle in front as they moved beyond the ruins of what had once been the cities' commercial docks at a cautious and deliberate pace.
"This is what New Vale could have looked like" Eagle whispered, stunning her friends with the morbid thought as they passed buildings that had clearly suffered the brunt of a sustained conflict; piecing together what information he had Arctus came to the conclusion that the majority of the damage he saw had been caused by Atlas's own military as they attempted to round up the last of the escaping White Fang
"I never imagined it looking like this….I never really gave it much thought" he admitted, causing Diamond to gently squeeze his hand. They continued on in silence for a while longer, passing into what had once been a nearby residential area; Felix followed the Nashorn-N2 APC as Coco brought it to a stop in the car park of what had once been a large supermarket
"Everybody out, weapons ready" Velvet instructed, clutching her camera close, the four teens did so; Felix, Arctus and Diamond readying their weapons in their ranged modes while Eagle stood ready with her sword and shield. The rear doors of the APC opened, revealing Onyx, Raffia and Hellion while Coco and Carcharodon exited from the front of the vehicle
"How're we doing this?" Velvet asked, eyes darting around warily. Coco paused for a moment weighing up her options
"Have a quiet run through this place and clear it out, then we can use it as a base camp. We've got lines of sight if we set up a watch point of the roof"
"Leave that to us" Carcharodon offered, deploying the Red Waves along his forearms "Hellion, with me….we do this quietly"
"Wait" Coco raised a hand to stop them "There're some dangerous Grimm in this city, we do this carefully"
"Woman I killed my first Grimm before I was a teen, do not attempt to coddle me" the Shark Faunus hissed, nodding to Hellion who twirled a pair of throwing knives in her hands as she made to follow him into the super-market
"Wait" Felix murmured "Does anyone else hear that?" the ten of them fell silent, ears straining for a moment before the sound that Felix had heard came again, something akin to barking in the distance followed by low rattling clicks and hissing
"Fuck" Coco breathed out, her deep concern showing on her face
"What was that?" Felix asked
"Shadow-Stalkers" Velvet answered "Intelligent Grimm, they hunt in packs and co-ordinate their attacks"
"It sounded pretty far away though right?" Eagle sounded hopeful, her face fell when Velvet shook her head
"Doesn't mean anything, everyone stay focused….Coco" the fashionista didn't need to be told what to do merely withdrawing a silvery fist sized spherical device and making her way cautiously to the main entrance of the super-market where several glass panes had been shattered
"Cover your eyes but be ready to fire" with no more warning she rolled the metallic sphere inside and silently counted down from five. The moment she reached zero the darkness was transformed into a bright summers' day for a fraction of a second by the light of the flash-bang; if any of Team FADE or Team GORE had been able to open their eyes without being blinded the illumination would have shown them the true extent of the destruction around them. The moment the light faded a deep, insistent buzzing sound began to emanate from within the super-market, followed by the scrabbling of countless feet.
"TAKE COVER!" Coco bellowed, leaping aside before a lightning bolt ripped through the space she had occupied followed by the monster responsible; roughly thirty feet long with a tubular body made of rounded segments whose upper halves were covered in overlapping plates of chitinous armour, each segment supported by a pair of legs which tapered down to a jagged point and sporting an arrowhead shaped skull with countless glowing compound eyes, an oversized pair of serrated pincers and a pair of antennae still crackling with electricity. The infinipede let out a furious buzzing hiss of anger before rearing up on its' hindquarters, preparing to lunge at the Hunters; only to struck by a maelstrom of bullets as Coco deployed her Mini-Gun 'Satani Arbor' and opened fire while issuing orders
"Heavy weapons open up on it! Do not get hit by that ranged attack and don't let it start burrowing, keep it pinned!" Eagle Deployed Sentinel whilst Onyx Shifted Jotun Fang into its' artillery piece mode and began aiming at the Grimm's skull, Arctus aimed Gefroren-Erbe and discharged burning plasma into its' armoured carapace, burning through it with ease
"I can get in close and rip the thing in half if you've got Fire Dust handy?" Felix offered, Velvet shook her head
"Stand back" she then activated her own weapon, leaving the Lion Faunus with his mouth agape as the camera, 'Leporidae Rampant' created a hard light constructed that he instantly recognised as a rendering of Magnhild in its' Grenade Launcher mode, Velvet's first shot found its' mark squarely between the mandible of the Infinipede and the resultant explosion rent the Grimm's skull apart leaving it fading away into nothingness as its' headless corpse fell to the ground with a thud
"Well we're off to a great start" Coco noted with a snort "Every Grimm for miles around probably heard that
"We have a scout, she can keep watch" Carcharodon informed her, opening the rear doors of Coco's borrowed APC and allowing Marauder to fly over to Hellion; the bird of prey gave a warning screech a moment too late as the Dragonfly Faunus found herself tackled to the ground by a pair of dark shapes and struggled to defend against the slashing attacks of clawed feet and bladed tails
"SHOOT THEM!" Raffia demanded, preparing to connect to the two swords that formed his new weapon before Carcharodon stopped him
"You fool, you'll hit her!" he had a moment to take in the sight of the Grimm that had managed to catch them unawares; bipedal and roughly six feet tall and ten feet long with a birdlike body and a powerful tail ended in a jagged blade, one toe on each foot was raised upwards and curved like a serrated sickle, a row of small spines trailed along their spines and their heads were decorated in bony armoured crests. Hellion managed to kick one of the beasts away momentarily before Eagle leapt into action, producing a Lightning Dust crystal and feeding it into a hidden port on her automaton
"Sentinel, lightning claws!" the droid bleeped angrily before launching its' clawed appendages forward on their retractable cables, Carcharodon had seen this before but what came next was new, rather than try and drag the Grimm away lightning arced and crackled along the length of Sentinels' arms and the Grimm hissed and shrieked as its' form began to lose cohesion; it was put out of its' misery by Diamond who placed a bullet squarely between its' eyes. The second hissed and snapped at the Hunters before fleeing into the darkness, Velvet created a replica of Crescent Rose and joined the silver haired sniper in her attempts to shoot the Grimm to no avail.
"Oh my Oum are you okay?" Eagle demanded as she rushed over to Hellion, pulling her to her feet and checking her for injuries, it seemed that her Aura had held and she had suffered no more than miniscule scratches
"I'm fine little canary, but thank you"
"I mean it was Sentinel that did all the work" the blonde mumbled as she began to blush, suddenly self conscious "All I did was upgrade him a little when I repaired him over the summer"
"What the hell was that thing?" Felix demanded, turning his attention to the older Hunters
"Shadow-Stalker" Coco answered bluntly "Told you they're nasty"
"Is it a bad sign that we saw them before we've seen any sign of the people we're looking for?" Diamond asked, Velvet shook her head in response
"No, this place was the site of a massive battle so the residual energy draws Grimm; kinda like Menagerie. Doesn't mean that the Grimm got our people"
"That being said" Coco interjected "I'm pretty sure that this place is clear now, we're gonna set up base camp. I want two people up on the roof keeping watch in case the rest of that pack get curious….you and you, we'll rotate every few hours" she seemed to pick out two of the students at random, settling on Felix and Carcharodon; earning tense expressions from the rest of their teams. The Shark Faunus merely stared at his opposite number among Team FADE, he disliked the Lion Faunus as much as he disliked any Hunter on principle but he knew Felix Xiao Long was capable if nothing else, and the ruins of Eisenstadt Siebte had already proven that they held monsters which would care little for his feelings towards his supposed allies. Finally he let out a slow breath
"Can I rely on you to not attack me from behind the moment it becomes convenient?" Felix merely snorted in response
"Can I rely on you to not try and kidnap anyone while we're here?" with that the Lion Faunus began searching for a way to climb onto the roof; Carcharodon decided that was the best he could ask for and followed.
Authors Notes:
Okay ladies and gents; we are on a mission, we are officially on the final stretch of Vol.4
I know I've said this a few times lately (And the reason for that is that some recruitment agencies are about as much use as cock flavoured popsicles) but I'm starting a new job on Monday so my upload schedule might be out of whack for a week or so while I get into the new routine, just bare with me.
Also the Transformers story, I have a very rough plan of a three volume plot and an epilogue….It may end up actually becoming a thing.
Anyway, let's summarise:
Seriously waking up at 5am for a 7am start is some bullshit.
I imagine students in Atlas work with the military as well as qualified Hunters on their training missions.
For everyone who read The Downward Spiral, Neo's name is on one of those plaques; Winter insisted on it.
I just imagine a younger Atlas in a really expensive private school where his history teacher asked if anyone had ever heard of General Ironwood, Arctus raised his hand and answered "My Dad thinks he was a dickhead".
Helios hates guard duty lol.
Of course Arctus can reel off SDC plants from memory.
The Reintegration Act was mentioned while Arctus was on Gangrel's ship.
Felix and Helios are the hottest gayest mess.
Is Nyanza slowly become a responsible adult?
Speaking of hot gay messes; Eagle and Hellion.
You've gotta admit you can see why Felix finds that a little bit galling.
Team FADE & Team GORE on a joint mission, what kind of buddy cop antics is this.
Cross-hares mother fucker! Told you I'd be bringing back some fan favourites.
Also yeah Eagle is distantly related to Velvet due to Flax marrying into the family but they're not exactly close due to Velvet living on Menagerie (Why they're in Atlas will be explained).
Coco may have come across a little blunt there but you'll hear the reasoning next chapter.
Machen-Rustung = Make Steel.
People like the Coalition, Gang, Weiss and even Whitley try to change Atlas but politicians will always be politicians.
For the way the White Fang grunts spoke I took inspiration from Northern English factory workers I've worked with.
You can't exactly argue with Chestnut's reasoning.
Factory floor lads and office rats don't get on under any circumstances.
'Questionable faith and mistaken belief that we are the only ones with needs to be considered' is the polite way of telling someone to get in line or they're gonna get hurt.
I imagine being told the Cult of Taurus will be the ones inspecting your work is a strong motivator.
Only two ways into a city, through the caves system that holds the docks or a giant hole that a Grimm ripped into the side of the mountain.
Velvet's nickname 'Thumper' now that's a callback.
Poor Eagle, she heard stories about Jaune growing up and this is where that story ended.
Nashorn-N2 or a Rhino N2 APC
Of course Coco wanted one with a turret.
The Scavenger Guild are back baby.
So it's search and destroy, Team FADE are searching while Team GORE are destroying.
Villsvin Stein….or stone pig.
I imagine Helios being thoroughly annoyed every time he has to deal with the unglamorous side of being a Huntsman.
One thing you can rely on is for workmen to look out for each other, because God knows the management won't….yes that scene with Nyanza was partially drawing from personal experience.
The disrespect of a backhand slap cannot be overstated.
Yeah miss me with that "Go along to get along" bullshit, if something's out of order then speak up about it.
Atlas loves it's tech and I imagine the land-trains they use to ship dust across a tundra would be immense, I'm imagining the trucks looking something like Optimus Prime in the "War Within" Transformers comic series.
And there's the inside man; so Team NEON are gonna have to deal with a White Fang cell.
Eisenstadt Siebte is probably a haunting place to look at.
Hunting in a dark and enclosed space is easy for someone like Carcharodon even before you factor in his Semblance.
He does not take well to orders.
Infinipede and Shadow-Stalkers, two breeds of Grimm I made for The Downward Spiral, back by popular demand.
Shoot them? Or "Shoot her! Shoot her"….I hope someone gets that reference.
Shadow-Stalkers are raptor Grimm if anyone is unsure.
That's Sentinel's upgrade I promised, let's see Carcharodon try and cut his cable arms off now.
Does that count as a shipping moment?
Felix you sassy bitch lol.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Araniladin, FleetOfWarships, Funlander, TigerRose, Bulletproof Vanguard, Ferrous, iSassenach, FluffyFirefly and ShadowAlex2000 for their reviews on the last chapter.
I have no idea why Ao3 was having problems with reviews.
Cinnabar is shit-bag and I love how much you all hate him.
He's going to be a low level irritant while we're at Atlas.
I think we both know that Helios immediately went in search of the gym.
I never thought I'd say this but I might start listening to Pol Pot to get into character then.
I'm glad that the Cult got the desired effect….don't worry we'll see them again soon.
Where else would the drama collide.
The Shadow Cadre and the Cult of Taurus do have some parallels, the difference is that the Shadow Cadre while everyone outside of their tribe saw them as a ghost story they were loved and respected among their own people. The Cult of Taurus are only known to people in the new White Fang and the people that know about them are horrified and disgusted.
Celeste in twenty-seven and her cult are too old to be students.
The New White Fang are surviving members of the old White Fang who started recruiting, in effect the problem never went away they were just biding their time until a new figurehead rose to prominence.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.