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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 66: Envoy
Eagle arc weaved beneath a wild right handed slash, her opponents blade passing over her head with an audible woosh of air; instantly she turned and shifted her balance onto her back foot to avoid the follow up back-handed swipe at her gut, the blade and her pristine white armour screeched as they connected and left a plainly visible mark along the surface of her chest-plate. Eagle paid no mind to this, at the same moment her opponent had attacked she had used his closeness as a chance to stab at his unprotected shoulder; her opponent leapt back and managed to narrowly avoid the blow. The two fighters leapt at each other once again, the air filled with the sound of clanging blades as they both blocked and parried blows that were delivered enough force to make their swords spark on contact; after several exchanges of blows with neither combatant making any real headway towards victory Eagle's crimson eyes narrowed and a feral smile spread across her face, looking strangely out of place on her usually bright features; an idea had struck her, one inspired by a trick she had learned from Xiangya, one of her Uncles by marriage, a Hunter who wielded a pair of ornate knives. When her opponent made their next strike, another back-handed slash aimed at her chest, Eagle made to block but loosened her grip on her sword somewhat and flipped the blade into a reverse grip, allowing her opponents' blade to pass her with little resistance; she then grabbed their wrist as they made a hasty stabbing motion and drove her sword towards their chest, putting her entire bodyweight behind the motion
"Alright, alright you win that one" Felix exclaimed, a somewhat grumpy tone to his words as his golden and fiery Aura became visible around the tip of Eagle's sword, preventing her from running him through "That was just dirty, Hellion teach you that?"
"Nope, Uncle Xiangya" she corrected him as she sheathed her sword and made her way over to Sentinel who had been left on sidelines chirping animatedly while the two sparred, Felix in return had only used one of his swords and refrained from shifting it into its' machine pistol form.
"I haven't actually heard from Hellion today" Eagle noted conversationally, trying and utterly failing to hide her disappointment at that fact "Team GORE are working at night though so I guess she's just still asleep"
"I heard from Heely this morning" Felix shrugged "Honestly can't wait to get this job over with; I mean what're we actually learning besides just how much a bitch Kafsi is?"
"It's true but you shouldn't say it….she might hear you" Eagle replied with a gentle giggle as she sat on the floor and leaned against the wall of what would become a factory floor when the plant was completed, Felix followed suit with an annoyed sigh, the two of them still breathing heavily and coated in a sheen of sweat. Thus far their mission had been nothing but prolonged boredom as their assigned Hunter made sure that every task delegated to the students kept them almost perpetually busy but provided them with little educational value; something Eagle had decided she would be making a written complaint to General Schnee about. Team FADE had spent the last few days patrolling the exterior of the as yet incomplete SDC processing plant, suspiciously always at times when the weather was at its' worst, escorting the engineering firms responsible for installing the machinery to and from parts of the site that they needed to work in, something that Kafsi had stated was a potential security breach; and shadowing members of the Specialist team as they went through the painstaking process of assessing the existing and proposed security measures around the site and made recommended improvements; a mountain of paperwork Arctus noted would most likely find its' way into a shredder the moment whoever was in charge of managing the new plants' budget got a hold of it, the SDC had contracted Poly-Tech to provide a comprehensive security system as well as hiring several people native to Gerat-Handlung with suitable skills, anything else would simply be considered overkill.
"What's she gonna do if she does hear me" Felix growled "Punish us with the exact same shit she's had us doing anyway"
"Most likely yes" a new voice answered, making both blondes jump in surprise "And considering that the Coalition are actually arriving today it's the one time that it's actually a threat" Whitley Schnee added as he sidled into the empty machine room, his entire body language that of complete calm and relaxed control; understandable considering that he owned everything in sight.
"How come they've delayed the meeting so much?" Eagle asked
"A little bit of power play" the slender man replied, stroking his beard as he spoke "The head of the Atlesian branch of the Coalition has a habit of flexing his political muscles before a negotiation. This plant won't open until the SDC and the unions that the Coalition organise come to an agreement; making me wait is his way of reminding me that I don't have all the cards. This site will have a lot of automation when it opens but I still need good workers and he can make sure I don't get them if he's not satisfied with conditions"
"Hey Uncle Whit" Felix spoke, a hint of anxiousness creeping into his voice as he addressed the man that while he may not have been related to by blood or marriage he still considered family in the same way he considered Arctus his cousin "I need to ask you something"
"Sure"
"Having the military show up, having all the Poly-Tech security robots delivered before the Coalition get here…." the Lion Faunus paused, internally struggling as his hesitance to make what could only be taken as an accusation battled with his need for a clear conscience "Is this you trying to shake down the Coalition and their workers union?….I mean if it is you need to come out and say it; one of my Mums is the head of the New Vale branch, I can't be involved in-"
"Felix" Whitley spoke gently, his voice nonetheless halting Felix whose words had begun to take on a slightly frantic edge; he strode closer to the Faunus and enunciated each word slowly and clearly "Please never mistake me for my Father again. You know me better than that" Felix looked up, his deep blue eyes meeting Whitley's pale sapphire and the Faunus realised that he had been worrying himself into a frenzy over a bad feeling and nothing more; indeed he knew that Whitley was on good terms with both of his mothers and had a lot of respect for Blake.
"Sorry Uncle Whit"
"It's fine" Whitley exhaled "The old days are over. Giving my Faunus employees equal pay and protections was literally the first thing I did when I took over this company….had to twist the arms of half the board of directors to do it as well" there was a silence in which any tension that may have been between them slowly faded away; eventually it was interrupted by the sound of footsteps echoing through the emptiness of the factory floor. Felix muttered a string of several expletives as the telltale sound of Kafsi Aster's respirator reached his ears.
"Xiao Long! Your team were expected for a briefing ten minutes ago; explain your absence" Felix had nothing to offer, his sparring session with Eagle had simply gone on longer than intended
"My fault" Whitley intervened "I kept 'em talking, was just looking for Arctus and ended up distracting them"
"Where are Slate and Sustrai?" Kafsi demanded
"Probably waiting back at the briefing wondering where you are" Felix noted, making his utter lack of respect for the Specialist as plain as he could without outright insulting her "If not then they're sleeping" at those words Whitley began coughing and Felix was certain that the words 'Sleeping, sure' were being masked, he privately resolved to never ask what that was about. The unfinished refinery did not contain ideal places to sleep, instead the Hunters had simply taken their sleeping bags and laid claim to whichever future office or conference room they wanted; Arctus and Diamond had taken a room notably further away from where the majority of their work was taking place then Felix or Eagle had and the Lion Faunus could make an educated guess as to why, judging by her blush and the fact she was hiding her mouth behind her hands so could Eagle.
"Find them and get to work" Kafsi ordered bluntly, her usual lack of regard for her students opinions of the mission or her readily apparent. Eagle made to rise to her feet until Felix placed a hand on her shoulder while glaring at Kafsi
"Yeah sure we'll get right on that, as soon as you apologise for the attitude and ask us properly"
"Felix" Eagle warned, Whitley merely watched with an interested expression
"Xiao Long I won't repeat myself. Either follow orders or take yourself back to Atlas Academy, I have no interest on dealing with a whining Faunus with a victim complex" Felix was suddenly on his feet, hand almost at the hilt of his weapon when Eagle's arms wrapped around his and pinned them to his sides, her grip impressively strong as she pulled him away
"Don't" Eagle warned "Don't give her what she wants" Felix let out a wordless snarl of fury before relenting and stalking out of the room with his partner, Sentinel trundling along behind them
"Arctus should have shot that bitch" the Lion Faunus spat as he set off in search of the Bear Faunus, enraged that he had no real option other than do as Kafsi Asteri instructed despite her obvious vendetta against his team.
Alpha watched, utterly enraptured as Celeste Lupus strode into view before the assembled White Fang fighters in full armour, her face hidden behind the mask which echoed the one worn by Adam Taurus himself. The Cult of Taurus stood in full uniform behind Celeste and to the side, at the High Commander's right hand where they belonged; their meeting place was a disused warehouse in a small settlement close to their target; owned by one of the White Fangs' older and more 'respectable' members who had been using the premises to launder money and hide illegal and stolen goods for close to a decade. The force gathered before the makeshift stage numbered roughly two hundred Faunus, each of the White Fangs' numerous cells scattered throughout the Hive Cities and settlements sending perhaps half a dozen members each; no one sub faction sending enough of their number to be noticeable or suspicious to their local community, the end result however was a sizeable force which due to their partnership with the human Ozymandias Eldritch would be exceptionally well armed and equipped. Alpha brushed thoughts of the human aside, the High Commander's word was absolute thus she would tolerate having to work alongside the natural enemy of her people.
"Watch this moment child" the Lionfish Faunus instructed the small child beside her in a hushed tone; the little girl named Coral Scylla she had been given and ordered to train into the fighter that the cause needed nodded silently with pale brown, almost amber eyes wide, clearly more intimidated by the crowd than the quartet of killers surrounding her; Alpha thought such innocence was precious, it was a shame it would have to be stripped away. Currently the girl looked far more well cared for than she had done, while her parents had doted on her they lacked the means to provide adequately for the six year old. Coral's shoulder length rose gold coloured hair and been combed and tied into pigtails, something that the Crab Faunus would never have been able to do on her own and had been given new clothes, she had marvelled over them upon learning that they had not been worn by anybody else first; a black pea-coat with polished silver buttons, a black and white striped dress with warm black leggings and fur lined boots intended for the snow, the ensemble was completed with a pair of mismatched earmuffs, one side black the other white, Coral while young had been astute enough to notice that her new clothes were the same colours as the uniforms the Cult of Taurus wore, as she had put it 'Cool, we match….like a team'
"If the High Commander uses any words you don't understand Alpha or I will be happy to explain them to you" Beta promised, the Snow Leopard Faunus crouching down to her level to speak; while Alpha had been entrusted with Coral's care and training Beta would be overseeing her general education, after all she would need to be capable of more than simply massacring whoever was deemed a threat or a traitor
"Pretty easy to get the gist of anyway" Gamma rumbled, the cage like mask which covered the lower half of his mouth showing enough to see that he was grinning "Humans have done us wrong too many times and now we've stopped playing nice. High Commander is gonna make the world better for Faunus and beat the crap out of anyone who tries to stop us. Everyone here is gonna help her do it; 'specially us, 'cos I'm good at kicking the crap out of people"
"Crude, but not wrong" Alpha noted dryly; still perplexed at how the Pangolin Faunus who had subjected his own body to horrors only exceeded by those he inflicted on his enemies and whom Alpha had seen soaked from head to toe in the blood and viscera of someone he had torn in half on one memorable occasion, could be so endearing to children; Coral stifled a giggle and Delta silently gestured to Celeste and then to their own watch, reminded their comrades that while the High Commander's speech to the troops would be starting at any moment they still needed to leave in order to prepare for their part in the mission.
"Five minutes" Alpha stated bluntly, the mission was paramount but she relished watching Celeste speak to the White Fang at large; the air became electric when the Ram Faunus she had pledged herself to took command, this morning was no exception; among the cheers which continued to grow in enthusiasm a chant could be heard gaining traction
"Come little one" Alpha murmured to Coral as she turned away "It's time for us to go….You know what you have to do today"
"Uh huh" the Crab Faunus nodded earnestly, she had memorised exactly what the people the High Commander had told her to go with had asked her to do
"Good" Beta chimed in with his usual cultured tones as Gamma picked the girl up, resting her on his shoulders; finding a place where the edges of his sharpened keratin plates wouldn't cut her. The Snow Leopard Faunus peered up at her and asked "You remember what to tell people if they ask your name"
"Coral Scylla" she beamed; Alpha gazed at her from behind her visored mask
"And what's your real name?" the little girl paused for a moment before giving the answer; she didn't understand how exactly someone could 'give up' their name and get a new one, even if the new one was cool
"My name's Omega"
Team FADE stood among the majority of the Specialist strike team they had been assigned to in what would eventually be the main entrance of the new SDC refinery; as it was intended for visitors as well as staff it had been designed with aesthetic in mind as much as practicality, the majority of the wall containing the main doorway being made of glass which the Specialists had been relieved to learn was at least bulletproof. The pristine and almost futuristic minimalist finish was somewhat lessened by the fact that the floor was yet to be completed and several wall and ceiling panels had been removed by electricians, however what could be cleaned and made presentable had been, naturally by Team FADE as the veteran Hunters of the Specialists had unanimously delegated the task to them. Kafsi Asteri was mercifully absent, she was waiting at the main gates with Donner the Huntress that Arctus recognised from his fathers' ship and Whitley Schnee was waiting in the conference room frantically double checking his notes before the meeting alongside the rest of the SDC representatives. The Coalition were finally due to arrive at any moment
"I know what Uncle Whit said" Felix murmured, mainly to Arctus whom he had recently informed of the earlier conversation "But this really does feel like a show of force"
"I get what you mean" the Bear Faunus conceded with a shrug, while he didn't want to believe his Uncle were the sort of man who would use such tactics, the fact that he routinely got what he wanted in negotiations was hard to ignore
"It's the robots" Diamond grinned, clearly hoping to lighten the mood "The shoulder mounted gun is a bit much"
"It's not even a Poly-Tech design" Eagle pouted "The stuff my Mum designed herself looks way cooler; these are just something one of the companies Poly-Tech bought out had lying around with a new operating system" she gave the closest thing to a sneer she could manage to the dozen or so security robots with a vaguely humanoid design, too spindly in some places and too chunky in others featuring a small shoulder mounted weapon and a faceplate that was featureless save for its' cameras which were positioned where eyes would be.
"I can assure you we're here in connection to a suspected terrorist threat, nothing else" one of the Specialists assured them, a young woman whose age in comparison to the other members of the group indicated that she had only recently been recruited to the Specialist Branch; her tone became less formal and a little nervous as she turned to Felix and asked "Hey Xiao Long, this might be a weird question but is your Mum's name Blake?"
"One of 'em is yeah" Felix told her nonplussed
"Oh my Oum, the Blake Xiao Long? I read her book 'Til All Are One' during basic training….I came up through the army; honestly I used to believe a lot of stupid things before I signed up and I think that book helped" Felix suddenly felt a little awkward; the book on human and Faunus relations in a post White Fang political climate was something the blonde knew his mother was immensely proud of; however the unspoken truth was that the 'stupid things' this soldier used to believe were most likely racist. Felix was spared having to answer by Diamond chiming in
"Dude, your Mum who does union work wrote a book? Tell me you've got a copy I need to read this"
"I'm pretty sure I brought it over from New Vale" he assured her; the conversation died when a senior Specialist raised a hand and motioned towards the main entrance; beyond the glass door Kafsi could be seen leading a small troupe of a little more than half a dozen Faunus along a pathway that had been swept free of any snow and ice that had managed to accumulate
"Who's the blue guy?" Diamond asked with a slightly raised eyebrow "He looks a little out of place" it was easy to see what she meant; the 'blue guy' in question was a blue ringed Octopus Faunus with black eyes an an unreadable face whose Faunus attribute served in place of normal body language and expressions, his skin had a rubbery texture and was slightly translucent; luminescent blue pigment dancing across its' surface in an ever changing pattern reminiscent of an inkblot test. The man wore an obviously expensive suit and several items of ostentatious gold jewellery.
"That's Ringo Umi" Arctus answered "Supposedly ex-mob, he's the head of the Atlas branch of the Coalition"
"Mum really doesn't like him, but apparently he's good" Felix added with a toothy grin before becoming distracted by something else as Kafsi and Donner escorted the group inside
"No way" Arctus mouthed, obviously seeing the same thing which Eagle and Diamond were yet to see the significance of; Felix's reaction was more noticeable
"Holy Oum!" heads turned in his direction at the outburst, prompting a dark skinned man with a full and bushy grey beard and a few remaining tufts of hair upon his skull of the same colour who must have been eighty years old and supported his hunched frame with a cane to turn his acid green eyes toward them, a scale covered tail easily twice as long as he was tall unfurling partially as he gave them a broad smile, unnaturally broad as the boa constrictor Faunus's lower jaw separated a pair of long curved fangs could be seen
"Who's that?" Eagle whispered, a little ashamed of herself for not following politics as well as she perhaps should have
"The Founder of the Coalition, Aunt Blake's boss" Arctus explained
"Mister Eadala" Felix held out a hand as the older Faunus made his way over at a shuffling pace and shook it enthusiastically
"Felix my child, I've told you that you must call me Obsidian; my people are my family" he stopped, blinking several times before catching sight of Arctus "Young Arctus, forgive me I saw you among the Specialists and thought you were your father for a moment….and I presume these two ladies are your team-mates"
"Yeah, these are Eagle Arc and Diamond Sustrai-Black" Obsidian peered at them for a few moments before jovially noting
"My age must be catching up with me, the years all start to run together after a while but I'm sure your faces are familiar" Obsidian returned his focus to the pair of Faunus "I trust your families are well? Unfortunately I do not get to interact with them as much as I would-"
"Mister Eadala" Kafsi's tone, while firm, was far more polite than any she had used to address the students or even her fellow Specialists thus far; a clear sign of the importance that Obsidian had despite his affable, grandfatherly demeanour "The representatives of the SDC are waiting for you; I was tasked with escorting you to them personally….Team FADE, sentry duty at the front gate. You'll be relieved in eight hours"
"Not learning much doing that are they?" Ringo Umi noted, apparently able to read a great deal into Kafsi Asteri's character by watching the short exchange and deciding he liked none of it
"Indeed" Obsidian nodded sagely "Perhaps they would be better suited to acting as security inside the meeting….after all, young Mister Slate here has a stake in the future of the SDC does he not?" Kafsi's eye visibly twitched in frustration and her laboured breathing beneath her respirator mask became harsher; Team FADE collectively watched with shared glee as she weighed up the pros and cons of both relenting to the suggestion or refusing to do so. When she turned on her heel and gestured for the students to follow they were stunned, glad for both being spared eight hours in the freezing weather for no real purpose and that someone had finally put Kafsi in line, if only temporarily; that happiness was somewhat marred by the Specialist's snide comment as they made their way towards the conference room
"Bring refreshments. Since you need to be coddled and protected from the snow you're infinitely more suited to work as waiters than Hunters, consider this your training"
Ozymandias Eldritch took a certain amount of twisted pride in his ability to blend into the surroundings and conduct parts of his grand plan under the noses of those around him; even in the headquarters of Poly-Tech, a beacon which served to draw in undisputed geniuses from all of Remnant he was seemingly above suspicion, merely respected for the steps he had taken towards his goals that the uninformed considered to be achievements in their own right, or occasionally the subject of jealously from his younger colleagues owing to his relationship with Antonia Arc which while remaining something private had still been the topic of many hushed and muttered discussions among staff on their lunch breaks. Presently Ozymandias was nestled away in his office, a rarely used room located in the upper echelons of the building only a few floors below Antonia's penthouse; the wizard had delegated what tasks he could before retreating to the dimly lit and disorganised room, judging by the winks and knowing glances his underlings had made several vulgar and wildly inaccurate assumptions which he had no intention of disabusing them of, their ignorance was one of his greatest tools after all. Instead he produced the untraceable Scroll he kept on his person for dealings that he couldn't afford to be discovered and opened a program on the computer at his desk, a feeling of anxious helplessness that was distinctly alien to him setting in as his pervasive control of events around him was stolen and he was forced to wait, like a mere mortal. He watched the seconds tick by on the clock mounted on the opposite wall, the sound seeming to mock him the longer it went until finally the Scroll in his hand lit up with a silent notification; he quickly opened the device and saw that the text message he had received from Celeste Lupus was comprised of a single word; 'Proceed' and a small grin tugged at his lips as he glanced at the clock once more, it's mocking far less offensive now
"Right on schedule" he murmured with some satisfaction and swiftly turned his attention to the task at hand; maximising the state of chaos that the White Fang would bring about. His fingers danced across the keyboard as he implemented several subroutines and lines of code; his part of the plan was simple in essence but would require some finesse to achieve, he needed to tip the odds against the Specialist strike team that had been stationed at the Gerat-Handlung SDC plant which was still under construction. The obvious answer had been to simply turn the Poly-Tech robots inside upon the Hunters and the civilians they were protecting; combined with the White Fang's presence the result would be a bloodbath that the general public would be unable to avoid comparing to the events leading to the battle of Vale and the destruction of Beacon Academy over twenty years ago, this idea had been dismissed; while it had a certain undeniable appeal in its' ruthlessness Ozymandias had no desire to reveal himself or his plans for Remnant just yet. How he had decided to achieve his goal instead was in his mind beautiful in its' simplicity, he had simply made a few changes to scheduled updates that could easily be explained away as the result of a loss of focus caused by overwork and lack of sleep. It took no time at all for the date and time of a routine update to be changed, the order changed from a test batch to a general roll-out of the software which would be automatically downloaded to the machines and the data itself to be altered in such a way that would prevent it from functioning correctly, leaving the thousands of Poly-Tech security robots in service around Remnant immobile and the company itself flooded with calls from customers demanding an explanation; Atlas's Specialists may have been some of the finest that the icy Kingdom had ever produced, but now they were alone and most likely vastly outnumbered against a foe filled with righteous fury.
"Good afternoon" Antonia greeted him as she entered the office "Still working?"
"Just scheduling some updates" he informed her, discreetly hiding the evidence of his actions behind several other windows as he spoke, feigning surprise when he next looked at the clock and giving a soft sigh as he stroked his goatee "One day I'll actually eat lunch during lunch break and not work through it"
"One day you'll give up trying to convince yourself" Antonia replied glibly
"Did you need anything….or want something?" Ozymandias let the possible implications of that question hang in the air, bringing a seductive smile to Antonia's lip and a slight rosy tinge to her cheeks
"I'm sure I'll want something later" she assured him "But I actually came to inform you that we've had word from the Atlesian military's research and development division regarding Project Snare"
"Oh?" Ozymandias raised an eyebrow
"It succeeded in part" Antonia continued, giving him a moment to brace himself for the bad news before continuing "It managed to capture and disable a Grimm for a limited amount of time but the Grimm expired before it could be studied; causes are naturally unknown due to the lack of a body"
"I'll clear my schedule as soon as we receive the relevant data and begin working on improvements" Ozymandias assured her keeping his face as neutral as possible; internally he was as close to joy as he ever felt since he had taken on the power of the Wizard; he had no intention of using the containment unit for research purposes and the fact that it had worked so well marked a clear step forwards towards his end goal; meaning that it was time to begin laying the foundations for other plans that would not come to fruition for some time, his thoughts were intruded upon by Antonia making her way across the office and depositing herself in his lap
"I think we've both worked hard enough on Project Snare for the moment Oz….perhaps we should enjoy the rest of our working lunch" Ozymandias, still struggling with this base and far too human part of himself simply feigned a smile before nipping at her neck and silently giving thanks for the fact that his office had no windows.
The Atlesian climate was as harsh and inhospitable as ever, the premises of the Gerat-Handlung SDC plant being subjected to freezing winds and a light but consistent snowfall which left everything in sight dusted with the powdery substance. The main building of the plant itself was separated from the roads that led to it by a wall whose surface had been treated to make it more difficult to climb and had been topped with razor wire, the only way in or out of the site was through a single sliding gate made of heavy Atlesian steel and flanked by a gatehouse constructed of materials that could survive several minutes of sustained gunfire. Within the gatehouse a pair of guards sat comfortably, making the occasional disparaging comment about the visitors currently on site or the security robots flanking the driveway between the gates and the main entrance whilst watching sports on a television that had been smuggled into gatehouse and hidden from the Hunters when they inspected the security protocols. The guards' names were Spider and Dijon, Spider was a short but stocky human who was heavily tattooed beneath his uniform and was privately surprised and grateful that he'd managed to pass the requisite background checks for this job; Dijon or Jonny as he was more commonly called was a feline Faunus with a pair of ears protruding from messy crew-cut hair that had grown out a little, the Faunus had been working as security since failing to be accepted into Atlas Academy at seventeen and was glad to finally find a secure and well paying job where he wouldn't be dealing with drunks and criminals on a nightly basis.
"Oh come on that was a blatant foul!" Spider exclaimed, gesticulating furiously at the television
"You gonna be like this the whole way through the Vytal Tournament as well mate?" Dijon asked with a snort and shake of the head
"Whatever, I had money on that" the human sighed, muttering several curses about the referee and aspersions about his mother before pausing as he caught sight of something outside the gate
"Hey Jonny" he nudged the feline "There's a little girl at the main gate"
"What?" Dijon asked, deciding to move over to the window and see for himself rather than wait for an answer; sure enough just beyond the heavy steel gate was a small child with rose gold coloured hair who was dressed for the cold and clutching a brown paper bag in one of the pincers that she had in place of hands; while the feline didn't know of any crab Faunus locally and talk of a child born with such an unfortunate Faunus attribute would most likely travel fast the bag she held seemed to suggest an obvious answer
"Are those sparkies still working on site?"
"Yeah I let 'em in this morning" Spider confirmed
"That's probably one of their kids bringing their lunch….can't let her in though can we" he paused to consider, giving an annoyed huff at the confines of bureaucracy "Fuck it open the gate and ask her who that package is for"
"Why am I going out in the cold?" Spider demanded
"Just do it" the human grumbled at the reply as he threw his coat on over his uniform and left the warmth of the gatehouse, the light snow that had already accumulated on the ground since it had been swept clean crunching underfoot as he trudged over to the gate
"Hey kid" he greeted the Crab Faunus, trying his best not to look as intimidating as he'd been told he could be "What's your name?" he asked as he entered the security code that would open the gate, it could have been done from the gatehouse but it would be logged on a database, one of the many problems that the Specialists had identified with the current security systems.
"My name's Coral Scylla" the little girl answered
"Okay Coral" Spider crouched down to her level and speaking in the slow voice that all adults seemed to reserve for children "I can't let you inside 'cos I'll get in trouble but if you tell me who you need to give that package to I'll see that they get it straight away"
"Unnecessary" Spider made to rise to his feet but was halted by the barrel of a heavily modified sniper rifle held by an individual wearing a featureless white mask with far too many eyeholes. Rather than question how he had failed to spot them Spider made to call out to Dijon
"CLOSE-" Spider's panicked scream to his colleague was cut short as Delta fired and in a single instant Spider ceased to be, the snow and Coral Scylla's clothes and face been spattered with blood as the steel spike that 'Prae Dolore' used in place of regular ammunition sunk into the ground some distance away, the humans' limp body being flung backwards as the projectile exited the back of his skull.
"Wait" Delta said simply and stalked forwards, cleaning stray blood from themselves and their weapon as their Semblance made them melt into the background and become impossible to focus on, simply fading out of the perceptions of those around them. Coral was left staring in wide eyed shock, pincers clacking with fright while within the gatehouse Dijon stared in abject horror at the rapidly spreading crimson stain in the snow where is friend lay, his senses returning to him in a flurry of movement as he began activating every alarm he could think of and breaking the emergency glass that would alter the security robots' programming and parameters, making them much more lethal. As he pressed the button that caused the steel gate to begin sliding back into place with a screech of metal against metal he realised two things with a sinking sense of dread; firstly that the Poly-Tech robots were not responding, instead they merely stood slumped slightly forwards with their arms and heads hanging limp. The second and instinctively far more terrifying realisation was that three people, all masked and clearly Faunus were standing outside the gate as it closed. One a woman with a visored mask covering her face who patted the little girls' blood soaked hair, the second a tall and muscular man with a tail and hair with the colouration of a snow leopards' fur; currently unsheathing a pair of katana from his back. The third was a monster, a bare-chested man whose flesh was covered in burns, scars, tattoos and branding and whose back, shoulders and forearms sprouted keratin plates which had been sharpened and sheathed in steel, fashioning them into blades. Outside Alpha turned to Gamma and though her face remained hidden her voice made it clear that she wore a truly evil smile
"They think we're monsters. Show them how right they are….use your Semblance" Gamma's only response was demented laughter which devolved into inhuman snarls and hacking grunts, spittle and mucus escaping his cage like mask as Alpha and Beta moved back, pulling Coral whom they had renamed as Omega with them. Gamma grew, his already impressive physique and height of a little under six feet expanding outwards into an almost eight foot behemoth, his red raw skin darkening to a deep burgundy as his muscles visibly bulged, rippled and shifted beneath it. The plates adorning his body grew in length until the Atlesian steel encasing them only covered roughly half of their surface, the scales which had now become monstrous spines angling outwards to make him appear even larger, all the while the same ragged snarling escaped from him. This was Gamma's Semblance, known as 'The Monster Within' and as the transformation completed he stared through the bars of the gate with grey eyes that had lost none of their cruel intelligence, purposefully allowing the barrier to fully close before reaching out with hand now the size of a mans chest and wrapping fingers that ended in black, jagged and claw like nails around the bars and simply tearing the gate free of the wall entirely. Behind the bulletproof glass Gamma could see the feline Faunus pale and attempt to hide beneath a desk, the monstrous Faunus roared and hurled the gate at the window and while it may have been bulletproof it was no match for Gamma's Semblance fuelled might, the window gave way and part of the front wall collapsed inwards.
"Come" Alpha intoned as she stalked through the opening, stepping over the body of the human Delta had killed without a second thought, beside her Beta had combined his swords, collectively known as 'The Indominus' into their broadsword form and was currently shifting the weapon into its' rail-gun mode.
"Beta, Gamma; Hunters will begin attacking at any moment, hold them at bay until the High Commander arrives with the main force"
"Understood" Beta nodded while Gamma merely growled, breath misting as it billowed from his cage like mask. The Lionfish Faunus then steered Omega towards the ruined gatehouse, while her gauntlets, named 'Judgement' unfurled around her hands and forearms, their many torture implements whirring into life with mechanical sounds that promised agony.
"Come Omega" Alpha purred, subtly using her own Semblance to focus the child's attention onto her "It was a Faunus that closed the gate to us, I want you to see what has to happen to those who betray their people"
Authors Notes:
And boom, the finale is now officially underway.
Two, maybe three chapters left of Vol.5 depending on how big the battle gets.
I've been planning this one for a while and I had fun writing it so I hope you all enjoy it.
The chapter name was based on a line from Star Trek Discovery "Prepare to receive my Envoy"
Anyway, let's summarise:
I specifically didn't use Felix's name for the sparring match scene, I wanted to keep it vague who she was fighting.
Seriously try and imagine Eagle with an evil grin, it doesn't work.
Also I don't stress this enough but as well as being smart enough to make Sentinel, Hellion is amazing with a sword; between her Grandpa, Aunts and Uncles she probably has at least a passing knowledge of almost every style of sword-fighting on Remnant.
Yeah Kafsi is basically acting like everyone's bitchy manager at this point.
Eagle writing a written complaint would actually carry more weight than you'd think, considering that Team FADE are actually foreign exchange students and Kafsi's performance reflects on Winter as both the head of Atlas Academy but on the Atlesian military as a whole.
I'm imagining Team FADE basically having to act like the wardens did when I was part of the engineering crew that fitted a new heating system into the local prison.
I mean realistically, under normal circumstances following Kafsi's suggestions for new security probably would be overkill. Shame today isn't normal circumstances.
As we saw with his outright refusal to turn The Shadow Cadre/Team GORE over to the Scavenger Guild in First Year, Felix has a firm moral compass and he won't budge on his principles; his conversation with Whitley was just another example of that.
Seriously Whitley is a devious little shit sometimes but he's no Jacques Schnee….almost like comparing Tyrian and Tywin Lannister; different types of ass-hole completely.
"Sleeping, sure" enough said.
"I have no interest on dealing with a whining Faunus with a victim complex" Felix was ready to throw hands….he would have lost, just putting it out there; he's a kid who can kick-box against a navy seal. Different league.
Two hundred people might not sound like much compared to a full army, but compared to the dozen or so people actually armed and trained to fight stationed at the SDC plant?
I realised I hadn't actually given Coral a description so she's getting one now.
Also I've made some changes to the plan for the story, nothing massive but Coral was originally literally only going to be in one scene, now she has a character arc.
I feel like the fact that the Cult of Taurus are good with kids makes them scarier in a way, they're not just constant psychopaths. They can take their masks off and seem completely normal and you'd never know how much danger you were in until it was too late.
Yes you read that right, Gamma has literally picked someone up and ripped them in half.
"My name's Omega" Did your heart just break a little bit? Good lol.
If it's any use to anyone I used the main entrance of the Amazon warehouse I worked at a few years ago as a reference for the SDC plant main entrance; a lot of places have a designated staff entrance, this place didn't so they had to make the entrance we used look nice for guests.
Even though they're not as close as they'd both like, Eagle is proud of her Mum and her work.
Yes Blake has written a book, of course she has.
Yes it's called 'Til All Are One' I said that Adam's unfinished book was called 'Towards Peace' and Celeste's is called 'Peace Through Tyranny' it's a transformers reference, specially the IDW comics. Blake is the Optimus to Adam's Megatron….and Celeste is most definitely Tarn (Although it was the Cult of Taurus that I based on the DJD).
Remember Emerald does a lot of charity work to make sure that nobody ever has to go hungry like she did. In first year Diamond and Arctus worked at a soup kitchen; Diamond would most definitely love to read Blake's book and talk politics with her sometime.
Ringo Umi, if you didn't read The Downward Spiral he was a prominent figure in Atlas's criminal underworld; also "Club Depth" that Corvid and Felix visited is his club, he's basically the Junior of Atlas and was the only Faunus criminal of any note to not either willingly join or be conscripted into Adam's White Fang army.
Obsidian Eadala is another OC from the Downward Spiral, the original founder of the White Fang; based in equal parts on Kaa from the Lion King and a street preacher from my city, a complete pacifist who nonetheless stated on live TV that Adam Taurus's parents would "Hate everything about the man the son has grown into".
"Young Arctus, forgive me I saw you among the Specialists and thought you were your father for a moment" Obsidian just did the grandparent thing….seriously I get confused with my Dad so often it's unreal. I honestly doubt Arctus minds it though.
"My age must be catching up with me, the years all start to run together after a while but I'm sure your faces are familiar" he met Jaune, Mercury and Emerald.
"Bring refreshments. Since you need to be coddled and protected from the snow you're infinitely more suited to work as waiters than Hunters, consider this your training" Kafsi has no manners at all.
It's official, Antonia Arc is both a cougar and a MILF, do with this information what you will.
'Like a mere mortal' I'm dropping hints and you still won't believe it when it hits you.
So, who else's master plan (If you read Downward Spiral) involved maximising chaos prior to a decisive attack?….Get it yet.
'time to begin laying the foundations for other plans that would not come to fruition for some time'….Like, third year perhaps?
Y'all ever met guys who work security? I promise you that ninety percent of the time they have long since stopped giving a fuck about security protocol.
Did anyone get a sinking sense of dread, knowing what was about to happen the second they realised that Coral/Omega was there?
Sparkies = Electricians, not sure if American tradesmen have the same slang as Brits.
Delta is a straight up savage….also Coral/Omega is definitely traumatised now.
I've been waiting since Vol.4 to show off Gamma's Semblance….this is literally why he's called Gamma: 'Cos he can Hulk out.
Oh yeah R.I.P Dijon, also it's probably safe to say that Alpha is going to start by ripping his cat ears off.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, iSassenach, Bankerrtx01, Funlander, FleetOfWarships and FluffyFirefly for their reviews on the last chapter (And also to iSassenach for going back and reading Downward Spiral again and reviewing every chapter)
I know I hear every reaction….doesn't meant I don't still want written evidence.
Iskald is never gonna give the jeep up, never gonna let it down….
I mean if you wanna get technical he held it in place while Olivine took it down.
What is it with you wanting to fuck my characters? Get your dick out my psyche pal.
I don't actually have a reference for Helios's tats; I imagine them as something between the stereotypical "Tribal" tats and a Greek key design. I actually do have a reference for Team GORE's tats though, Carcharodon's specifically; they're more Polynesian in origin because I wanted the different tribes to have a distinctly different appearance. The actual image I used was Warhammer 40k fan art of a Space Marine from the Carcharodon Chapter, which is where his name comes from….His weapons are also named after one of their characters.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.