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Chapter 65: Side-Quest
It had been days since Team NEON had boarded the military vessel captained by Matte Skye, the Gerechtigkeit had spent those days prowling the steely grey skies above the Atlesian coast and the seemingly endless ocean; thus far the only creatures of Grimm the ship had encountered had been small flocks of Nevermore in search of cargo ships and fishing trawlers to harass which had been dealt with by the ships' considerable firepower without the need for the student Hunters involvement. Team NEON had been kept occupied by a frankly brutal training regimen and various other tasks such as minor maintenance that had been delegated to them but had still found time to both explore the Gerechtigkeit and integrate themselves with its' crew; it turned out that if one knew where to look the ship afforded some truly spectacular views of the Atlesian night sky and eventual sunrises.
Helios had seen none of own discomfort with heights making him uneasy and whispering doubts to his subconscious which kept him awake at night; as if one of the finest ships Atlas had every produced were somehow more likely to fall from the air than the anti-gravity platform which supported Halo Academy.
Currently Helios was laid in his bunk in the Spartan and cramped quarters that he had been assigned after a noise from the next room had awoken him, considering that the room in question was the quarters shared by Olivine and Ether it took little imagination to surmise what the noise had been and far too little imagine to conjure mental images that the redhead would rather not have entertained. Squinting as the almost blinding light from the screen of his Scroll pierced the darkness Helios saw that it was a little over three in the morning and decided that it wasn't worth the effort of trying to force himself back to sleep considering that he usually awoke at around five; when he had first arrived in New Vale he had struggled with certain aspects of the Kingdoms' technology, vehicles and industrial machines whose purpose was easy to grasp he could understand, weapons came naturally to him after being trained as a warrior since childhood but anything with a computerised or digital element to it had been an enigma to him for months and while he still argued that much of it was the needless product of a culture of laziness Helios was exceptionally grateful for the device keeping him in contact with the world beyond the ship, a wide smile forming on his tired and still bleary eyed face at the sight of a message notification from Felix. The two of them had stayed in contact as frequently as possible which was far less than either of them would have liked, little more then brief Scroll calls in whatever free time they could steal and sending messages for the other to wake up to. Opening the message Helios's smile widened as his expression softened, it contained a photograph of the Lion Faunus wrapped in several layers of clothing and clearly struggling to keep warm, which given the nature of his Semblance made the redhead feel a wave of sympathy and an urge to pull him close, the image was accompanied by the words 'It's freezing out here, I wish I could borrow some of your body heat….Can't wait to be back at the academy, I miss you' Helios stared at the message in peaceful silence for a few moments, his thumb idly brushing against the surface of the screen before he saved the photo and typed his own reply
'I wish I was with you, I would love to be the one keeping you warm Fluffy' he trusted that the message alone would be enough to bring an adorable smile and flustered blush to the Faunus's face and that he wouldn't have to stoop to any of the insufferable emojis that Nyanza's messages were always littered with; after another moment of consideration Helios decided to return the favour and send a photo of his own, pushing the not quite thick enough sheets his bunk had been provided with lower to reveal his muscular chest and broad shoulders, their skin covered in black inked tattoos that Helios knew Felix constantly found himself mesmerised by, the markings in turn marked by several scars ranging from discoloured lines barely the length of a fingernail to looping slashes inflicted by the claws of particularly vicious Grimm, raiders that his people had expelled from their lands or honour duels against members of his own tribe and several others. He took the photo and decided that it was satisfactory, even if his vivid green eyes looked a little bloodshot from lack of sleep and his scarlet hair was currently a mess; making Felix one of very few people outside of his team-mates and immediate family with the privilege of seeing him in a such a state of disarray. He sent the message, knowing that Felix would most likely not see it for several hours and quietly wondered how to occupy his time until his schedule for the day officially began though before he could make a decision the sound of footsteps reached his ears, booted footsteps judging by the sound and whoever those boots belonged to was running along the corridor at speed; the footsteps stopped outside his door at the same moment a fist thundered against its' metallic surface. Helios frowned and slid out of the small bunk and crossed his quarters in a few steps to press the button which would open the electronic door, it slid open with a hiss of decompressing air revealing a crewman with their helmet removed and a rifle pressed against their chest, held in place by a shoulder strap; their face anxious
"Nikos, wake your team and suit up; Captain wants your team in Hangar one in ten minutes" silent confusion played on Helios's face before he resolved himself to follow orders without question or hesitation, though the soldier must have seen the brief flicker of concern and decided to enlighten him
"Just got a distress signal from a Mistrali cargo ship, they've been attacked by Grimm in the water with more inbound, hull's been breached; they said they were going to drop anchor at a nearby island" the soldier gave a bitter laugh and donned their helmet, hiding their eyes behind its' visor lest their panic show to clearly before adding "There's no fucking island there….we've found our target Nikos, let's go"
Carcharodon saw Onyx's breath form a cloud of mist in front of him as the Puma Faunus let out a sigh of irritated boredom, and rolled his pitch black eyes at what he considered a childish display of impatience. Team GORE's mission had gone on for days and thus far yielded little in the way of results, the only Grimm to make their presence known had been the occasional Boarbatusk or lone, undersized Beowolf; Iskald's idea of using his own admittedly heavily armoured jeep as bait to draw out whatever Grimm had set itself upon the trucks appeared to have been unsuccessful. Carcharodon pulled his hooded cloak a little tighter about himself and cleared his mind, focusing his senses; he was one of the Shadow Cadre and he walk stalk his target for as long as it took.
"You know you don't have to stand out in the cold all night right?" the hunters' cheery voice noted from behind him; turning Carcharodon saw that the jeep whose original paint had been hidden beneath extra layers of additional armour and which sported a high calibre machine gun on its' roof, indicating that at some point in the past Iskald had worked with a partner who manned the weapon; currently Iskald's face was illuminated only by the lights of the vehicles' dashboard which cast deep shadows though the image which may have been sinister in other circumstances was offset by the steaming flask of strong tea that he was drinking and the smell of the vaguely cinnamon scented air fresher wafting through the cold air. Carcharodon snorted
"I was born in the cold"
"Suit yourself" Carcharodon distinctly heard Iskald mutter further comments under his breath in the mistaken belief that he wouldn't be heard, something about 'edgy kids'. The Shark Faunus paid him no mind and cast his eyes around the bleak and almost featureless landscape; Onyx had perched himself on a snow covered rock and slung Jotun Fang from his shoulder, the sound of stone scraping against metal carried hauntingly in the darkness as he sharpened the gargantuan battleaxe. Raffia was flanking Hellion while shooting frequent glances over to Carcharodon and Iskald, the silent question of how and when they would take what they needed from the Hunter remaining unanswered; something that the leader of Team GORE knew would have to change. Hellion stood stock still, eyes wide but unseeing; their irises and pupils hidden beneath a milky white glow as her 'Warg' Semblance allowed her to see through the eyes of Marauder, the bird of prey was currently stalking the skies with keen eyes searching for any sign of Grimm. Iskald had wisely taken advantage of the opportunity Hellion's abilities presented, using her to widen the area he was able to effectively search.
"SKREE!" the distinctive high pitched shriek alerted Carcharodon to Marauders' return a moment before he spotted a dark shape against the falling snow, the bird landed on Hellion's armoured left forearm and the Dragonfly Faunus shuddered as her senses returned to her own body, wings still buzzing behind her she turned to face her leader; Iskald saw the concern in her jade coloured eyes and asked the obvious question first
"You spotted something?" Hellion nodded silently "What was it?"
"Definitely Grimm, other than that I can't say" Hellion sighed "It was at the edge of my Semblances' range and heading away"
"Then we head after it" Carcharodon rasped out simply, the urge to unfurl the Red Waves and tear through Grimm flesh suddenly overwhelming
"Agreed" Iskald nodded before turning to Onyx "You're the big gun of your team I want you firing the- Oum damn it, who is it?" He grumbled for a moment longer before answering the two way radio, garbled voices and static filled the air; though the sound of gunfire on the other end of the transmission could be heard with unsettling clarity
"-able Hunters, I repeat this is an S.O.S for any-"
"This is Iskald Grey, certified Grimm Hunter. What is your location and emergency?" several more gunshots preceded an answer
"-Convoy about….Freiheit….Beowolves" Iskald paused for a moment, his own knowledge of the area filling in the gaps in the information he'd received
"Keep driving and keep shooting, help is inbound" with that he brought the jeeps' engine roaring into life "Same plan, Onyx you're gunning, Hellion use your bird and scout ahead when you can. There's only one road a convoy will be coming down; Beowolves might not be a problem for the defences but they can crash a truck if there's enough of them and-" he trailed off upon seeing that the Faunus were yet to move; Raffia, Onyx and Hellion staring expectantly at Carcharodon making it clear that they would follow the Hunters' orders on his command only
"Why are we helping them?" the Shark Faunus demanded in low rasp "We have a mission, this isn't it. Let them fend for themselves; they have weapons you heard them as well as I did"
"What the fuck kind of Hunter are you?" Iskald demanded, making no effort to hide the disgust in his voice
"I'm not a Hunter; you however are clearly the kind of Hunter who can't focus and lacks discipline"
"People could very well die if you don't move!"
"People die every day Huntsman, I've seen people like you kill plenty" Iskald took several deep breaths, clearly fighting the impulse to draw his weapon and demand Carcharodon's compliance at gunpoint
"Look, I don't know what you've had to deal with an I'm gonna be honest right now I don't care. There are trucks being chased by Grimm heading this way right now, the mission is a bust for tonight either way; now you can either meet the Grimm on our terms or wait until they come to us and have us pinned against a wall" Carcharodon took his words in and admitted they made sense, or they would to someone with a softer heart than Carcharodon allowed himself to have but the urge to argue further was robbed from him as he caught sight of the dog-tags around Iskald's neck glinting in the limited light. The Shark Faunus exhaled slowly and took a moment to centre himself, shaking away the nonsense that had started to take root in his mind after being around the Hunters for too long and reminding himself of exactly who he was and what he was here for.
"Get in the jeep" as his team-mates did as they were instructed Carcharodon glanced at the thin chain dangling from the humans' neck one more time.
He was one of the Shadow Cadre and he walk stalk his target for as long as it took.
The tension in the air was palpable as Team NEON assembled in the main hangar of the Gerechtigkeit, crew members flitted about frantically bellowing orders and information to each other while the four teens took their place alongside a small group of soldiers whose outward calmness as they went about their pre-battle rituals spoke of experience fighting horrors that the students' could only imagine; turning away from the men and women rechecking their weapons, applying greasepaint and affixing whatever items they considered to be lucky charms to their armour; Helios examined his own team, Olivine had lowered her goggles and deployed Buster Bravo, the almost comically oversized weapons system integrating itself to the cybernetic brace around her right arm which allowed her to wield it with a single hand. Ether was currently double checking the guitar picks fashioned from Dust crystals he had in his possession, making sure he had an acceptable number and variety while Nyanza simply fidgeted on the spot, trying to distract himself from the inevitable cold lump of fear in his stomach. Distraction came in the form of Captain Matte Skye marching towards them, causing those under their command to stand a little straighter and breathe a little easier; Matte's tailcoat had been discarded and they approached without their customary retinue of bodyguards and Atlesian Knights, instead a group of people who could easily be identified as scientists trailed after the Captain looking somewhat out of place.
"Engines are hot Cap'n, let's cook some Grimm!" a rough sounding voice called out, several cheers following as soldiers expecting to be deployed mentally prepared themselves. Matte surveyed their troops and gave a silent nod of approval before speaking with body language and mannerisms that if Arctus were present he would have noted were clearly borrowed from Winter Schnee
"You are some of the finest the Atlesian Military has to offer, this is nothing but another fact to demonstrate that fact. Team One?"
"Aye Captain!" the soldiers chorused
"Your duty is to take Knight squad four aboard the ship and make your way into the lower decks; exterminate the Grimm and secure damaged areas so that the ships own engineers can make repairs. The Baba-Jaegers will be acting as air support against the Nevermore that have congregated; Team Two
"Aye Captain"
"Your job is to assist and protect the research team….this many Grimm that can't survive on land is too good of an opportunity to let pass, we're testing Project Snare" Helios paid attention to the tasks that had been distributed thus far and realised that there was one duty which had yet to be discussed, his suspicions were confirmed with Matte's next words
"The reported 'Vanishing Island' has decided to make an appearance this morning. Team NEON, you're with me….Silent approach, no engines; no signal flares we're going to be using landing strategies directly from the hangar"
"I see" Helios answered stiffly, his stomach plummeting at the thought though he tried to show as little outward discomfort as possible.
"Everyone understands their duties" Matte looked around and saw no objections before bellowing orders to the crew who ran the hangar and into a headset for the pilots of the remote drone fighters to hear
"Open hangar doors! I want Baba-Jaegers airborne in thirty seconds! Clear a path for Team One and engage Grimm at will!" the orders were followed and the groaning, clanking protest of metal drowned out all other sounds only to be replaced by the howling of the wind outside and the roar of engines flaring into life; the eerie green glow of Eco-Dust engined left sinister after images in the still dark sky as the Baba-Jaegers tore from the hangar, their weapons immediately being turned on the Nevermore that circled above the damaged cargo ship that had sought their aid. The soldiers had already clambered into the Sturm-Kralle drop-ships, one of which had modified landing gear to accommodate the bulk of the experimental Grimm Containment unit being stored beneath it, within moments the craft followed the fighters out of the hangar leaving Team NEON awaiting the Captain's go ahead to leap into the unknown.
"Understood" Matte said simply, obviously responding to a voice in their own headset before addressing the students "This is an investigation but combat is still a possibility, if anyone wishes to back out this is your last chance" Team NEON collectively squared their shoulders, faces determined.
"Good choice" Matte grinned before making a running leap out of the hangar, plucking the twin pistols at their hips as they went
"Fuck it, I didn't get woken up this early in a morning to stand around" Nyanza grumbled and followed suit, drawing the Pharaoh Mafdet in their tonfa form and shifting them into pistol mode in a display that was obviously intended to emulate or perhaps one up the captains' own exit. Refusing to show any sign of cowardice in front of his team Helios ran and leapt from the hangar, his dark Aura invisible in the pre-dawn gloom as it gathered about him; he waited until he felt his momentum reach a peak before triggering his Semblance and warping gravity around himself enough to slow his fall which in turn gave him time to get his first look at his destination. The island was an oval shape roughly ninety feet long and forty feet across at its' extremities with a large mound rising from one side, thick black smoke billowing from the mound suggesting some sort of volcanic activity while a large portion of the remaining chalky white surface was covered in what appeared to be dead trees of some sort. Helios landed in a crouch and swiftly drew Olympus enforcer, the sword and shield combining into their Tommy-gun form; out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Nyanza making acrobatic leaps and flips through the trees to slow his own landing and coming to a halt beside Matte. A moment later Helios saw the mist that Ether's body dissipated into when he used his own Semblance gathering ahead of him; the guitarist reforming as Olivine landed and making adjustments to her weapon which also acted as her landing strategy.
"Everyone here?" Matte barked as they strode over, weapons sweeping the area
"We're here" Helios confirmed
"What in Oum's name is this island?" Ether whispered in stunned confusion as he took in the sight of the islands odd fauna; now that they had landed the students could see that the trees had trunks and branches of a chalky white colour identical to the ground, adorned with black and oddly jagged leaves
"Hey we're city kids" Olivine noted "Helios, have you ever seen trees like this before?"
"Never" the redhead answered without hesitation, Anima was home to some amazing geography but this was utterly alien to him.
"Captain Skye, any idea what this island is?" Matte turned to face the students, almost absently unloading the standard ammunition from their pistols and replacing it with high explosive rounds as comprehension dawned on them and a look of abject horror formed on their face
"It's not an island" rather than explain Matte turned and opened fire on the trees, Team NEON stared in collective shock as the trees exploded into black mist; exactly like Grimm at the moment of death
"Oh fuck-" Nyanza's crude epiphany was cut short as a deep rumbling cry of animalistic fury came from below and the entire island shook. If Team NEON had still been aboard the Gerechtigkeit and privy to a birds' eye view they would have seen six vast obsidian flippers coated with countless pebbles of bone white armour unfurling; the Grimm's turtle like head rose above the icy waves, its' many eyes protected by a crown like chitinous crest while fissures spread across the surface of the island whose true nature as a gargantuan shell had now been revealed. The smoking mound towards the rear angled forwards with a cacophony which sounded like the snapping of bones amplified to a terrifying degree and a gout of flames burst from the opening.
"Captain!" Helios roared as he clutched his weapon "What is this Grimm"
"This" Matte snarled as they readied their pistols "Is a Krakatoa, prepare yourselves to engage hostiles".
Whatever Iskald Grey may have thought of the Team of students entrusted to him as people, he could not fault their capabilities when it came to disposing of Grimm; the moment his armoured jeep came to a halt, spraying snow as its' wheels skidded' the four Faunus flew into action and launched themselves at the pack of snarling Beowolves who had turned away from the still moving trucks and began stalking towards the now stationary target. The sheer ferocity of Team GORE was astounding and Iskald felt that were their quarry anything other than Grimm he may have retched as he watched it unfold; Onyx had rained fire upon the Beowolves with a combination of the Jeeps' machine gun, his own artillery piece and his Semblance for long enough to Carcharodon to draw close with the use of his Semblance, the air being filled with howls of pain as the Shark Faunus burst from the snowy ground; his forearm mounted blades doing unspeakable damage to the spines of a pair of Grimm before he lunged at his next target. Using Onyx and Carcharodon's onslaught as cover Hellion and Raffia burst from the jeep and joined the fray, the overall approach of the team being to separate the pack into smaller groups and destroy it piecemeal. The Dragonfly Faunus's Dust infused throwing knives disposing of several of the monsters through freezing, electrocution, small explosions and incineration in addition to the inherent lethality of the weapons. Raffia showed no such finesse, simply drawing his swords and charging at the Grimm with a feral war cry; Onyx following close behind evidently having grown bored of killing the Beowolves at range. It was over in no more than a few minutes, an entire pack of Grim reduced to nothing but an obsidian mist which slowly dispersed
"Okay" Iskald admitted, hopping out of the drivers' seat and trudging through the ever present snow "You've definitely got skills, I'll give you that"
"Yet to see yours" Onyx noted with a gruff snort while hefting his axe over his shoulder
"Then leave something for me next time….all over in seconds, I feel sorry for whoever you're sleeping with" Onyx gave a hearty laugh at the quip and slapped a meaty paw on the Hunters' shoulder; Carcharodon however was in no mood for pleasantries
"Should we not be heading back to our previous location? Our actual mission is still-" he was cut off by a low and eerie sound; something between a roar and a slow exhale which echoes unnaturally; Carcharodon merely had to glance at Hellion before she turned her Semblance on Marauder and sent the bird soaring overhead, the sound of dull thumping steps could be heard faintly at first, but drawing closer at a disconcerting rate. It took only a few moments for Marauder to swoop back to Hellion and the raiders' eyes to return to normal
"It seems our target is coming to us….it kicks up too much snow when it moves for me to see clearly"
"There it is" Iskald noted, motioning to a rapidly approaching shape whilst reaching inside his coat with his free hand to unsheathe his weapon; a spear which could reform itself into an icepick or a rifle "Ready! Aim!….No, scatter!" Iskald's orders changed as he got a more accurate idea of the side and speed of the incoming Grimm, Team GORE followed his order and dove aside with the sound of screeching metal and an earth-shaking crash ringing in their ears; followed by the same haunting sound.
"Damn it, that was my jeep!" Iskald snarled. Team GORE hurriedly scurried back to their feet and took stock of the situation; standing before them on four muscular legs that ended in armour covered and wide-set hooves was a Grimm roughly three times the height of a human at the top of its' armoured skull from which malevolent blood red eyes peered; its' body was the typical black affair with chitinous white ribs visible on its' underside and armour protecting several areas of its' body, however its' most notable feature were the massive, broad and many pronged antlers sprouting from the top of its' ugly blunt-snouted skull; giving the Grimm the image of a monstrous and corrupted moose
"Shame these didn't stalk the banks of the Frost River" Raffia noted with a manic smile "They would have been fun to hunt" Iskald fixed him with a disbelieving stare while the Grimm sized them up, one of its' forelimbs pawing at the heavily damaged jeep which now rested on its' side several feet away from where it had been; the chassis clearly out of shape
"That's an Elkaiju….not much by the way of tricks, just a lot of muscle and stamina" Onyx appeared ready to make a glib comment but the Grimm, as if summoned by its' own name huffed once and then charged again
"Bring it down!" Carcharodon Rasped, diving to the side and slashing at the beasts' legs as it passed; the booming report of Jotun Fang answered him, Onyx opening fire as he rolled away with little discernable effect. The Grimm circled around and the five Hunters regrouped, Iskald limping in a way that suggested that the Elkaiju had clipped him as it charged.
"Any suggestions?" Carcharodon asked, eyes never leaving the Grimm
"Looking for a weak point" Iskald answered tersely, on his other side Raffia managed to get eye contact with Carcharodon and make a gesture that the Shark Faunus recognised easily, it was one he had made countless times himself which translated roughly as 'Follow my lead'
"The armour on its' neck only covers the front" the Axolotl observed while gesturing towards the icepick blades of Iskald's weapon "Iskald the two of us can get on its' back while Onyx distracts it….Hellion, put out its' eyes, Car can you hold it?"
"I could certainly try" Carcharodon rasped, noting that Raffia's plan was workable but there was certainly another angle to it
"Then let's move!" Iskald barked, charging forwards and converting his weapon into its' icepick mode. Raffia followed behind him while Onyx took aim and fired past them; Carcharodon engaged his Semblance and sink into the floor, his body taking on an oozing viscous consistency as he did so while Hellion drew knives with smoke bombs worked into their hilts and took aim. Raffia stayed behind Iskald solely to keep the gleeful smile on his face hidden from view as his impromptu plot took shape; the Elkaiju rushed at them again, howling in frustration as the first of Hellion's knives narrowly missed its' mark but still pierced bone and blew smoke into the Grimm's eyes. Carcharodon's shadowy form could be seen rising partially from the snow and grasping at one of the beasts' hind legs before sinking back below the ground, trapping the Elkaiju in place and causing it to thrash wildly, trying to tear the ground apart to free itself
"Now! Go, go-" Iskald's frantic order was cut short as Raffia rushed passed him, bringing the two swords of the recently named 'Infernal Avenger' around in wide arcs to combine them into their experimental laser lance form and in doing so sweep one of Iskald's legs from under him; while it could easily have been construed as an accident there was no masking the evil grin on his face when the Hunter staggered forwards and into the path of the Grimm's furious thrashing only to be sent hurtling through the air when the antlers collided with his chest and landed in a crumpled heap in the snow. Raffia delivered the coup d'etat by leaping onto the beasts' forelimb and aim the laser lance directly at its' eye and firing from near point blank range; the beam of destructive light bursting through the back of its' skull signifying the end of the brief battle.
"Not exactly the plan" Carcharodon noted as he resurfaced, a mildly accusatory tone in his rasping voice
"It was always the plan, just not the one I said out loud" Raffia almost giggled as he stalked over to where Iskald lay unmoving, Carcharodon followed
"He lives"
"That can change" Raffia cooed, holding the longer of his swords over the human as he crouched down to steal the dog-tags from around his neck; Carcharodon shook his head
"It serves no purpose, let him think that they were lost when the Grimm hit him….Well done Raffia, I'm proud of you"
"What now?" Hellion asked as she and Onyx approached, he thought for a moment
"We right the jeep and see if it can still be used; return to Freiheit with Iskald; we draw suspicion to ourselves if we leave him here" his team-mates nodded in agreement; Onyx and Hellion silently deciding that there was no sense in leaving the man to die in the cold if it could be helped; even as raiders they hadn't been needlessly cruel. Carcharodon then gave Onyx his undivided attention
"When we return I want you to get in touch with your contact….It's time that the Scavenger Guild faced the consequences of their actions"
The moment the Krakatoa had revealed its' true nature Creeps had began to worm their way out of the fissures in the monstrous turtle Grimm's shell; only to meet unceremonious ends at the hands of Team NEON and Matte Skye; this was not to say that it had been an easy thing, the fighting had been a crowded and frantic mess; the remaining false trees atop the shell of the Krakatoa had needed to be burned to cinders to prevent their attempt to join the fray.
"We could really do with some air support here!" Nyanza noted, eyes glowing with pale light as his Semblance of good luck allowed him to turn the snapping and clawing mass of Grimm bodies into countless opportunities, limbs and weapons lashing out at blinding speed
"Agreed" Helios grunted as he batted a Grimm aside with his shield and skewered the beast that leapt forward to replace it; Matte had obviously heard the comments as they chimed in, voice fighting to be heard over the discharging of their pistols
"I'm not ordering the Gerechtigkeit to fire on the Grimm with students still in the area" the captain stated bluntly "Any available fighter pilots, break off and perform a strafing run on my location" another Creep used their momentary distraction as a chance to attack only to be bisected by Ether while Olivine unleashed a steady stream of firepower into the tide. A dark shape against the slowly rising sun was the only indication Team NEON had that the Baba-Jaeger was approaching, its' flight silent and menacing; the Krakatoa had evidently seen it as well, as evidenced by the horrific sound of shattering bone as the naturally formed anti aircraft weapon growing from its' back took aim
"PULL UP! PULL UP!" Matte bellowed into her headset to no avail, a moment later the faux volcano fired with a sharp intake of air followed by a deafening boom as it launched something resembling a meteor at the angular craft; the Baba-Jaeger exploded on contact, its' smoking form spiralling down into the icy depths while debris was flung across the impromptu battlefield of the Grimm's back.
"Oum damn it!" Matte spat, venting their frustrations by ejecting what passed for the brains of the nearest Grimm out the back of its' skull with a well placed bullet; a victory that was short lived as the sound of the Krakatoa's weapon realigning itself grated against the ears of all who heard it once more, the skill of Atlesian pilots being put on display as the next car-sized fireball flung by the Grimm was narrowly avoided by the Sturm-Kralle drop-ship carrying Project Snare
"That was targeted" Matte spat "Team One, we need immediate evac ASAP, I want the Gerechtigkeit main batteries hot….Team NEON, our priority is to take down this Grimm by any means. Project Snare must be protected"
"Understood" Helios caught the last of the Creeps scrabbling from the shell of the Krakatoa by the neck and punctuated his stone faced reply by crushing its' spine through sheer force "Leave it to me"
"Heely don't be stupid man-" the redhead waved off Nyanza's concerns and merely stated his plan
"Captain, have your troops get everyone off of this Grimm but stay close enough for Olivine to shoot….Ollie, can you take a shot at this things' head from a moving craft?"
"Not a problem" she assured him, her usual cheeriness admittedly strained with tension and fatigue
"Ether prepare to pull me out, you'll know when yo act. Nyanza….as much luck as you can give it; if this goes wrong then tell-"
"I aint telling anyone shit 'cos you're coming home safe" the bushy tailed feline spat, tail standing straight in irritation while his eyes glowed a little brighter as he tried to push his Semblance a little further; whether it was luck, the skills of the pilot or both the next fireball flung by the Krakatoa went wide giving the craft originally charged with depositing soldiers onto the cargo ship, which had since been secured, chance to swoop low enough for Matte, Nyanza, Ether and Olivine to make Aura fuelled leaps into its' opened rear hatch; leaving Helios alone atop the shell of a gargantuan sea monster
"I've said this to many of your kind" Helios boomed, hoping that this Grimm was at least somewhat cogent, hopefully with similar intelligence to the Beowolf that scarred his face "BOW!" with the single roared word his body became almost entirely engulfed in darkness, his midnight coloured Aura becoming visible with strain as he pushed his Semblance to a degree that he would never had considered under normal, saner circumstances. The shell fractured and shattered, leaving Helios standing in a crater of broken carapace with viscous black Grimm matter seeping through the cracks; the Krakatoa let out an agonised sound, followed by one of something akin to confusion as Helios plan took shape. He had chosen his position carefully before using his Semblance and as gravity was warped and amplified the turtle Grimm began to sink; water beginning to splash over the sides of the shell that had hidden it, more importantly the Grimm sank at an angle that forced its' faux volcano towards the depths first and made it impossible to aim at the Atlesian fighters, while at the same time forcing its' head above the surface
"Take the shot, take the shot" Helios urged through clenched teeth, head pounding while blood flowed freely from his nose and waves of nausea washed over him; as his vision began to blur and his control over his Semblance began to falter with the last of his Aura he was almost sure he saw the telltale display of lights signifying Olivine opening fire with everything Buster Bravo had in a single volley. Moments later the ground began to vanish under him
"Good work" he managed to murmur before collapsing forwards onto the slowly fading body of the dying Krakatoa. There was an indeterminate amount of time where Helios had no understanding and would later have recollection of what happened; his mind unable to process the jumble of sensations beyond simply; cold, dark, wet, moving. He came to and promptly rolled over to dredge up the contents of his waterlogged lungs onto a cold steel floor
"Thank Oum he's okay" a voice he recognised as Olivine gasped
"Hey Heely, got your weapons right here" Nyanza added. Helios needed to blink several times and take a dozen deep slow breaths before his senses came to him enough to realise that he was aboard one of the Sturm-Kralle Matte had deployed for the mission, Matte themselves helping him to his feet and confirming the hopeful suspicions forming in his still hazy mind
"You did it, you crazy bastard you did it" there was a moment of silence while Matte received some news in their headset, a satisfied smirk crossing their face "That was Team Two….they managed to scoop up an aquatic Grimm. Team NEON, your mission was a complete success. You'll be debriefed after I inform Winter Schnee and Doctor Eldritch that Project Snare can contain Grimm"
Authors Notes:
Back to the action I've missed writing it; the rest of Vol.5 is gonna make up for it and Vol.6 is a tournament arc so BOY
I know I said I'd be posting this chapter a day late but here we are….things happened.
Also we'll be back to Team FADE next chapter….Brace yourselves.
That last scene was literally written in an hour (I got stranded at work due to weather then came home and typed like a man on a mission)
So anyway let's summarise:
Not every mission involves being super heroic all the time and I always enjoy highlighting that.
I also love bringing up Helios fear of heights, it humanises him a little more; also it's kinda reasonable. The Nikosi tribe roam forests and open countryside, being that high up is insane.
Olivine and Ether's sex life must be infamous at both Atlas and Halo academies.
Yes Helios wakes up at five and subjects himself to a fitness program that even Yang would be impressed with.
Helios and Felix leaving each other messages to wake up to is the cutest thing (And yes me and my girlfriend do that).
Nyanza types like a parody of a teenage girl from 2009. Canon.
Let's just be clear, Helios did not send nudes. He was only shirtless and he trains shirtless so often that everyone on campus has probably seen his abs.
Also yes, Helios looks like a bad-ass…..and is secretly just as bothered about his hair as Felix is.
Considering the cult following that Pilot Boi amassed I'll come out and say right now that "Random Ensign" survived.
Edgy Shark Faunus is edgy.
Note that even Carcharodon is having doubts about how long he can keep Raffia contained for.
We don't see enough of Hellion's Semblance.
Team GORE take orders from Car and nobody else, if it looks like they're taking other peoples' orders it's because Car told them to.
"People die every day Huntsman, I've seen people like you kill plenty" is quite possible up there with "We choose death" in terms of bad-ass lines delivered by Carcharodon.
Car's having mixed feelings, all that worrying about his people losing their identity might not have been total paranoia.
I feel like NEON and the soldiers checking their gear would be one of those shots with no dialogue and dramatic music with plenty of close ups of little details like the lucky charms on peoples' armour if this was an actual show.
Matte was Winter's First Mate, they definitely learned everything they know about the job from "Captain Bad-ass" herself.
"Fuck it, I didn't get woken up this early in a morning to stand around" Nyanza is growing from a lazy kitty to a total bad-ass.
Surely people could guess where I was going with the whole "Vanishing Island" thing?
The Krakatoa is based on the (I think it's) Japanese myth about the turtle with an island on its' back with an appearance at least slightly inspired by the Deepkin Leviadon from Warhammer AoS.
I feel like watching Team GORE go completely ham is probably something that's just a little unsettling.
"Then leave something for me next time….all over in seconds, I feel sorry for whoever you're sleeping with"…..Iskald casually channelled one of my co-workers there.
I had to look up the noise Moose make…..what the actual fuck Canada?
Elkaiju….Elk Kaiju…..I'm not sorry, not at all.
Sinking things into the floor is one of Carcharodon's nastier tricks but I imagine it's really draining; especially for something that size.
'Infernal Avenger' Raffia finally named his new weapon.
So Team GORE now have a means to meet a ranking member of the Scavenger Guild and the plan to bring them into contact with The Cult of Taurus will come to fruition next volume.
The Baba-Jaegers are good but they're not indestructible, they don't have forcefields and since they're remotely piloted drones rather than an AI they're only as good as the pilot.
Helios having another cinematic moment, just causally snatching a Grimm out of mid air and breaking its' neck.
"I aint telling anyone shit 'cos you're coming home safe" that's the spirit Nyanza.
Helios doing the absolute most.
So Project Snare works, the question is…..is that a good thing.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, iSassenach, Funlander, FleetOfWarships, ShadowAlex2000, PyroJr and FluffyFirefly for their reviews on the last chapter.
They can make her stronger and faster, but can they make her more of a bitch.
Nah, the I of Team FNKI will always be "Indigo Montoya" from my one-shot "Get FNKI"
The Quacken…..you have no idea how tempted I was to swap the Krakatoa for a giant fire breathing duck Grimm.
If the Cult of Taurus could be compared to any of the original Space Marine Legions it would be the Night Lords. They exist to make an example and just the rumour that they might be sent is enough to silence dissent.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.