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Chapter 72: Agendas
The Cult of Taurus had no fixed abode, rather they simply travelled to whichever enemy of the cause the High Commander unleashed them against and if they would be stationary for any amount of time a member of the local White Fang cell in the area would find itself contacted and tasked with providing accommodations for the 'High ranking operatives' and given strict instructions not to interact with them unless told otherwise. Such an arrangement was part of how the Cult had maintained its' mystique and status within the organisation as a whole, coupled with the tremendous violence that had become their signature the fact that they could be seemingly anywhere at any time and existed outside of the normal structure of the White Fang, answering only to the High Commander herself had given countless rank and file grunts reason to stay committed to the cause despite their own doubts; they were 'Peace through tyranny' exactly as Celeste Lupus intended.
Alpha stalked through the current hideout that she and her followers had been granted use of, a dingy collection of units located on an industrial estate in a poor district of Lower Eisenstadt Zweite which had been knocked through and combined into a single workshop which made and repaired engines with its' attendant fabrication machines and offices. The workshop had been closed for business since the White Fang's attack on Poly-Tech in Gerat-Handlung with the official cause being listed as a fire which had in fact never happened. The High Commander of the White Fang had seen to it that the owner of the business and those staff who were part of the organisation had been well compensated for their lost earnings and while Alpha firmly believed that they should all be willing to make sacrifices for the cause the Lionfish Faunus also accepted that people who couldn't afford to eat would make for poor soldiers when the time came. She found herself humming a tune to a song she couldn't quite remember, an action which seemed at odds with the entirety of the rest of her being; her footsteps echoed through the empty workshop as she made her way passed benches, tools still messily scattered across them whilst the sound of some power tool or another intruded harshly on Alpha's thoughts; the sound of Delta maintaining their weapon with the same unsettling diligence and thoroughness that the Spider Faunus always had. Gamma had been recalled to Tartarus by the High Commander, her most capable doctors and engineers being tasked with replacing his lost right arm with something suitable; the Pangolin Faunus had wished to make the journey by foot and use it as an opportunity to search for Omega until Alpha had reprimanded him and reminded him that the will of the High Commander was supreme. The sound of metal screeching against metal as something was sawed away was dulled the moment Alpha crossed the threshold that separated the workshop itself from a series of offices occupying a narrow corridor lined with notices and production targets leading to the staff canteen, a somewhat cramped but well supplied area of the site where she knew she would find the final member of the Cult of Taurus. Injecting a little of her Semblance into her humming caused Beta to turn and face Alpha the moment she stepped into the canteen, even without Gamma they had work to do quieting a member of the White Fang who was beginning to ask questions in a particularly loud and unseemly tone of voice after the news had detailed their exploits and Alpha wanted her second in command paying full attention; the tables were turned however as she found herself staring passed the Snow Leopard Faunus and instead glaring at the television screen which had held his attention
"What is this?" she demanded, an unspoken accusation in her tone
"The Vytal Tournament"
"Does watching Hunters entertain you Beta?" Alpha's tone grew menacing, words reverberating unnaturally; Beta merely smiled
"It's informative, and the presumptuous overconfidence of our enemies certainly amuses me" the smile turned predatory "These are their best and brightest prospects and the academies have shown them to us; tactics, weapons, Semblances and all and given us years to prepare for their graduation. It would be remiss of us not to study them" Alpha nodded, satisfied with the answer though the poisonous spines intertwined with her hair remained raised a little as she spoke, her voice returning to normal
"Have there been any concern you?"
"The Xiao Long bastards and their teams won their respective bouts, though I expected nothing less and there was nothing new to be learned….I would suggest that a few of the Atlesian teams should be monitored and their Faunus members be approached-"
"Understood" Alpha hissed, irritable at the mere mention of both the traitors to the Faunus race that had openly defied the will of the High Commander and their human cohorts "I will make the High Commander aware of this, in the meantime we have duties to attend to this evening. Delta is preparing their weapon as we-" her words came to a premature halt, distracted once again by the television. Beta turned his attention to the screen for a moment and felt a wave of icy cold dread wash over him; it was not the overly boisterous commentators or the roaring of the crowds that had caught his leaders' eye but instead the sight of of the teams competing in one of the final matches of the night, one of which consisted of four Faunus who were instantly and horrifyingly familiar to both Alpha and Beta; they had presumed that the small Axolotl Faunus, the towering Puma Faunus, the slender Dragonfly Faunus whose wings buzzed at her back and the dark eyes Shark Faunus with grey tinged skin whose face was partially obscured by a dark cloak had perished along with the rest of their group who dared claim to be the true descendants of the White Fang.
"Impossible" Beta whispered, voice wavering somewhat
"We complete our task here by morning" Alpha spoke firmly and decisively as if there were no possible course of action other than what she dictated "And then we travel to Tartarus to present ourselves to the High Commander and receive our punishment for this failure-"
"We killed them" Beta spat "I carved their leaders' skull from their neck in single stroke-"
"And now they have a new leader" Alpha whispered dangerously "And the High Commander must know that the Shadow Cadre of the Frost River tribe have returned to Atlas and allied themselves with the Hunters"
"If only they knew who they were really cheering for" Carcharodon mused as the frenzy of the crowd reached new intensities, he lowered his hood before removing his cloak all together and casting it aside to display The Red Waves in their collapsed sate and his frankly intimidating physique whilst he took the measure of the students who would stand against Team GORE; he found them to be unimpressive.
"They're right to cheer" Hellion mused "We're going to solve their White Fang problem for them"
"You sound like one of them" Raffia snarled "Is your blonde such a good f-"
"Finish that sentence at your own risk" the Dragonfly Faunus cut him off
"All of you be silent and focus….Choose your targets" Carcharodon rasped, taking a moment to survey his team, crew-mates and the only surviving family he had before following his own advice. Onyx looked imposing as ever, tall and muscular with his hair and admittedly patchy beard freshly cut, tamed and styled into something presentable by another student whom he had traded a favour with, the Puma Faunus rolled his wide shoulders back and made a show of working out a crick in his neck as he chose his opponent from the team opposing them. Raffia shifted his weight so rapidly as to be almost bouncing as his fingers curled around his swords and his caudal fins lay flat against his skull, his wide mouth set in a fierce snarl; the Axolotl Faunus had been more volatile in lessons than usual of late though Carcharodon supposed it was simply all the bottled up rage and grief that he had clutched onto and used to push himself forwards coming to the surface as their plan to draw out their enemies came closer to fruition. Hellion would have looked calm and collected were it not for the perpetual buzzing of her wings behind her; she had been forced to leave Marauder behind as it was obvious that the bird of prey would be at too much risk trapped within the protective shields of the arena, Carcharodon watched her exhale slowly and ready herself, hands dipping into the folds of her sleeveless jacket and grasping several throwing knives with smoke bombs and Dust crystals worked into their handles; exactly as she and Carcharodon had planned. The Shark Faunus turned back to their opponents, Team TEAL of Haven; his lips peeled back displaying rows and sharp fangs and his bottomless black eyes narrowed while his whole body seemed to coil and tense in anticipation to unleash his fury on a Mistrali Huntsmen; taking in the sight of his opposite number his temper flared without warning at the sight of what he supposed was their weapon
"You mean to mock us?"
"What? No!" the leader of Team TEAL exclaimed in obvious confusion, before it could continue the exchange was interrupted by the drawling voice of Qrow Branwen being magnified to deafening levels
"Ladies, gents and others it's been a long night full of great matches and I want you all on the edge of your seats because we've got a few more left and one of 'em is coming up right now!"
"Indeed" Oobleck chimed in, similarly magnified "Making their way from Mistral and representing Haven Academy, we have second years Scarlet La-Bamba, Echo Star, Amarillo Espada and their leader Kori Teal, make some noise for Team TEAL!" the crowd did as they were bid with gusto only to quieten down the moment the announcers continued
"Facing off against them we have second years representing the Halo Academy of New Vale-"
"Not sure how these match ups were picked but it feels like someone's trying to start a little rivalry between Vale and Mistral" Qrow quipped, Oobleck continued regardless
"Show you appreciation for Hellion Eudialyte, Raffia Dirge, Onyx Ursabane and their leader Carcharodon Gore of Team GORE!" the crowd gave the all Faunus team an equally monumental round of applause as a welcome while in the arena below Scarlet La-Bamba of Team TEAL called out across the arena
"Hey um, I don't suppose you guys have met a Hunter called Scarlet David? I heard he works at the Academy is all…..I'm actually named after him-" they were waved off by Kori Teal with a gesture clearly intended to convey that now was not the time. As featureless arena began to lower from view in preparation for the battlefield that would soon replace it Team GORE shared brief glances, each coming to the conclusion that this match would be a victory that bordered on a massacre if their enemies' lack of cohesion were anything to judge by.
"What did you mean about me mocking you?" Kori called over to Carcharodon "I've never even spoken to you in class man"
"Your weapon is a toy" Onyx growled, voice low and rumbling enough to be felt as well as heard "You brought a toy to a tournament, the arrogance will get you hurt"
"They face me Onyx" Carcharodon reminded his partner, raiders and pillagers they may have been but the Shadow Cadre and the Frost River tribe as a whole still respected the tradition of honourable single combat and the Shark Faunus had already stated that he would engage the leader of any who opposed them himself. Onyx merely grunted before Kori answered, clutching the Dust powered hover scooter that allegedly served as a weapon a little tighter
"It's a family heirloom" Carcharodon suddenly found his anger momentarily pushed aside by the frankness of the admission and the small brittle voice it was delivered in "The Sky-Strike, it was my Dads'…..He didn't come home from a mission when I was eight, they managed to find his weapon at the edge of Haipa-An Forest" the implication that no body had ever been found alongside the weapon hung in the air and Carcharodon nodded in solemn silence, the leader of Team TEAL understood loss in a visceral way that the Faunus could appreciate; his own weapons had been gifted to him by the elders of the Frost River Tribe after all. He took a moment and made sure that his people had never ventured into that area of the continent and that the Hunters' death was not their doing before he spoke
"Then I give you my word Kori Teal" he rasped out slowly "That whatever happens to you and your team I will do no harm to the Sky-Strike" his words were punctuated by the arena forming, both sides of the battlefield featured water though with starkly different qualities; closest to Team GORE was a bank of course rough sand leading out to shallow and clear blue water, Team TEAL had been given dead trees scattered amidst what could only be described as a marsh whose discoloured water seemed almost certain to be poisonous. Carcharodon braced himself and the moment the command to begin was given he surged forwards, unfurling his weapons and preparing to fall upon his enemies as he had countless times before; in his mind everything depended on it.
General and Headmistress Winter Schnee gave an annoyed huff as she reclined in the admittedly very comfortable chair in her office at Halo Academy; her left leg, cybernetic below the knee making several muffled sounds as internal components adjusted and recalibrated themselves. The vast amount of work whose importance to the Kingdom couldn't be overstated had kept Winter from attending the opening ceremony and first matches of the Vytal Tournament in person though she did hope to be able to make an appearance at the stadium the following evening when the first round continued. Currently she was reading reports from the heads of each of the branches of the armed forces under her control and prioritising the suggestions each had given in order to increase the overall efficiency of the Atlesian Military; at the same time a Scroll whose security was simply a matter of course was kept close at hand in case she received any word from Gangrel Slate, her brother in law being visibly present for the first round of the Vytal Tournament with a large number of Specialists having interspersed themselves amongst the crowd, security, maintenance crews and vendors whilst a heavy contingent of warships circled the mountain which contained the city hosting the bouts courtesy of Winter's own former First Mate, Commander Matte Skye. A soft buzzing emanated from the Scroll at her desk and Winter gave it a brief glance knowing that it would be nothing major, any emergency would warrant more than a text message and even then Gangrel would already be taking countermeasures before contacting her; the Bear Faunus had already sent her an earlier message informing her that Team FADE had won the opening match of the tournament, though Arctus had been as he put it 'A bit mashed up'; taking the device and opening it she saw that the message brief and read simply 'They're on' there was no need to specify who was meant and Winter allowed herself a brief pause from her work and opened a livestream of the ongoing tournament match, allowing herself to believe that it was strictly professionalism and that she wasn't fondly recalling her own exploits as a student. After watching for a few moments however she pursed her lips and frowned, Team GORE were evidently every bit as vicious as they had been when Gangrel had recruited them and were conducting their battle against Team TEAL with unseemly levels of ferocity that left as many fans hiding their mouths behind their hands as there were cheering and was sure to give any children still watching nightmares. Only a few moments passed before a Scroll rang, this one a more accessible line that Winter allowed people to contact her own
"Damn it" she breathed out as she saw the identity of the caller and made the instant connection between the match taking place and the subject of the upcoming conversation; pressing a button that would project the video call from the wall mounted screen in her office Winter answered
"What the hell are they doing in Atlas? What the hell are they doing at a school, with my daughter?" the barely restrained scream filled the room before the image had fully flickered into life and revealed the furious form of Antonia Arc
"I need you to calm down-"
"CALM!" Antonia spat "MY KIDNAPPERS ARE ON TELEVISION PRETENDING TO BE HUNTERS AND YOU CLEARLY KNEW ABOUT IT!" Winter bristled at the implication, a trait she was sure she had picked up from spending too much time with her brother in law
"I will remind you who you're speaking to" she stated bluntly "Now did you call for answers or to scream at me, if it's the latter I can simply end this call right now-"
"And I can just as easily go the press and tell them everything" Winter raised an eyebrow at that, she hadn't expected Antonia to have threats and leverage premeditated though considering her famed intelligence and results driven way of thinking she probably should have.
"You will tell the press nothing or I will have you declared an enemy of the state" the General asserted before allowing her expression to soften "What do you know of Team GORE's life before they turned their attention to New Vale" she watched as Antonia struggled to push her own anger aside and recall what she had gleaned from the Faunus who had kidnapped her during their time together
"They were part of a tribe of pirates….some of them came to Atlas after they were attacked by Hunters" the blonde woman's eyes widened in sudden comprehension as she remembered what had befell the Shadow Cadre in the icy Kingdom "You sick bitch, you're using them as bait to draw out the White Fang"
"Precisely" Winter nodded making no effort to dispute the insult "And as such they needed to be integrated into one of the foreign academies, having them in Atlas from the start of the semester presented too many variables"
"There are children in that stadium-"
"I have taken every possible precaution and will continue to do so. Your daughter is safe while her team are in my care." Winter said in a way that while meant as an assurance also made it perfectly clear that the matter was finished in her mind; taking the initiative she changed the direction of the conversation "Now regarding underhanded approaches, are there any developments you wish to inform me of?" Antonia was evidently unhappy with the situation but answered nonetheless
"I'm almost certain Doctor Eldritch was involved in the disabling of our security robots….I've limited the scope of his work to Project Snare alone whilst back tracking through his records"
"Any results?"
"Nothing conclusive, but I have a suspicion that he's searching for something….Winter perhaps it would be better to find some pretence to fire him-"
"No" the General answered simply, taking a moment to puzzle the situation out in her head before continuing "If he is indeed an ally of the White Fang then perhaps a similar strategy will suffice….I want to see what exactly is going on here. I'll be in contact when I have more concrete plans, keep me informed" the request was phrased as an order and Antonia despite answering to nobody but herself for years found herself nodding and ending the call, sensing that she had been dismissed. Winter gave a frustrated sigh, she was taking on too many of the qualities she had disliked in James Ironwood; before she could give the subject any further thought her Scroll began to vibrate once more, prompting her to bite back an irritated curse; giving into temptation as she saw the identity of the caller
"Good evening" she put on the faux politeness draped over dripping contempt, an art she'd mastered as a child in Atlesian high society "And how may I help the chairperson of the Scavenger Guild?" though the Scavenger Guild had sold many of its' find in Atlas back to the military or public museums, occasionally handing over titbits of information in exchange for leniency in other matters the fact remained that Winter, like almost all soldiers held the organisation of thieves and grave robbers passing themselves off as art dealers in the lowest possible esteem. the voice that replied was as distorted as it always was though Winter knew the speakers' identity and they knew that she knew, the refusal to drop the pretence a barely veiled insult and was understood as such
"Watching the Vytal Tournament has alerted me to that fact that I have business to conduct with Team GORE and I would greatly appreciate your presence"
Since exiting the locker room following Team FADE's victory Eagle Arc had been having what she supposed would be one of the most memorably pleasant nights of her life. With Diamond and Arctus seeking medical attention and Felix heading off to speak with his mother she had originally intended to watch the remainder of the first round in the stands and catch up with whatever fellow students she could before hopefully getting chance to speak with Qrow. The naturally shy blonde however had been subjected to an utterly unexpected turn of events; namely that the crowds had utterly adored her, her first inkling that her teams' performance had captured the imagination of the fans had come when a group of teens only a few years younger than herself had nervously but excitedly asked if they could take their picture with her, this group had been the first of many and Eagle began to realise that she would be leaving the stadium with something of a fan base after a little boy no older than four had asked for her autograph and given her shield concerned glances before asking if her 'pet robot' was going to be okay. It had gone on like this for the duration of several tournament matches, Eagle utterly distracted from events in the stadium below and her attempts to get something to eat halted by a steady stream of supporters asking her to pose for pictures or sign various items, some of which made her freckled cheeks darken; a few bold individuals had either brazenly asked for her number or attempted to slip her theirs, and while their were some admittedly very pretty girls counted among them Eagle had politely declined them all, stating that she was dating someone and waiting to see their fight; the news that their new idol was dating another Hunter apparently more than enough to dissuade any further flirting.
Currently Eagle was in the stands, having managed to position herself near the front row and mercifully shake her newfound followers, as grateful as she was for their support it was frankly overwhelming for her and she simply wanted to watch Team GORE, or more precisely Hellion perform. Their bout against Team TEAL of Haven had been one sided to say the least though Eagle found herself in the clear minority by supporting the Halo Academy students, a diplomatic way of describing the situation would be that Team GORE had approached the tournament with a mentality carried over from the previous life as raiders and focused on dominance over showmanship; a more blunt way of saying things was that they had fought so needlessly brutally that the crowd had been compelled to cheer for the obvious underdogs.
Carcharodon had opened the match with a horrifying display of ruthlessness by using his Semblance to move across the arena and appear behind Kori Teal before dragging them beneath the surface of the water covering much of the battlefield; while the Shark Faunus was not truly aquatic despite what some less informed people thought, he had been part of a seafaring tribe his entirely life and had developed enough lung capacity to simply hold his opponent underwater and wait until they forfeited.
Onyx had been a rampaging juggernaut, his Semblance, weapon and sheer brute strength tearing the arena apart around him as he fought; his opponents' best efforts proving fruitless as they found themselves smashed into the ground with their Aura flickering and the blade of Jotun Fang pressed between their shoulders, before either Qrow or Oobleck could announce the victory Onyx had simply kicked his downed opponent in the face and left them unconscious just to be sure.
Raffia had fought like a madman, the demented cackling of the berserk Axolotl Faunus clearly audible from where Eagle stood; his opponent was currently still struggling to mount some sort of a defence against him but it was clear this fight would be over in moments and would most likely end in an incredibly painful manner.
Hellion was similarly dominating her own fight, Echo Star of Team TEAL had fought well but the Dragonfly Faunus simply outclassed him in terms of skill and experience and while Hellion's display of acrobatic kicks and artful dodging of blows were certainly closer to the tactics expecting in a setting such as the Vytal Tournament the throat punches, moves intended to cripple an opponent and the fact that many of her throwing knives had been clearly aimed at her adversaries' eyes, neck and crotch had turned the crowd against her somewhat. Eagle however remained steadfast in her support, her cheers only stopping when she found herself biting her lower lip almost subconsciously and blushing in flustered embarrassment as she realised just how attracted to Hellion she was at that moment.
"-AND TEAM GORE TAKE THE MATCH!" Oobleck announced, a hint of distaste in voice preceding a notably less enthusiastic round of applause; not that it seemed to matter much to Team GORE as Onyx paraded to the jeers almost out spite whilst Carcharodon and Raffia had begun exiting the arena the moment Oobleck had began speaking, evidently uninterested in the opinion of the crowd
"Excuse me, excuse me" Eagle murmured as she made her way to the front row of the crowd while bumping into as few people as possible before making her way around to the space nearest to the locker rooms Team GORE would be using; silently hoping that Qrow wouldn't draw attention to her she slipped through the railings, her armour inhibiting her more than she would like and slunk into the doorway of the locker room, Carcharodon and Raffia passed her without comment and Onyx gave her a broad smile, equal parts jovial and bloodthirsty which was a concept Eagle struggled to comprehend until a pair of jade coloured eyes pushed all other thoughts from her mind
"Well hello there little canary"
"You were….wow, I mean you just….that upside down heel kick was-" Eagle stammered, words falling over themselves as she struggled to form a coherent sentence. Hellion merely sauntered over to her, wings fluttering lazily as she gently pushed the blonde back against the wall where they were thankfully hidden from the view of the crowds
"Did you come to congratulate me?" Hellion almost purred, prompting Eagle to nod; in response she simply wrapped her arms around the blonde's shoulders and pulled her down into a fierce and possessive kiss, Eagle whimpering in pleasure when Hellion's tongue slipped into her mouth only encouraging her to continue. Eagle melted into Hellion as much as her armour would allow and in return Hellion turned her attentions' to her neck and collarbones while her hands trailed across the scuffed and chipped white armour of her thighs until the reached her hips where she grabbed roughly and relished the moan Eagle tried to muffle and the look in her half lidded crimson eyes
"Miss Eudialyte-"
"I will carve out your tongue!" Hellion snapped, hand flying to her knives at the intrusion only to stopped by Eagle's hands clamping down on her shoulder and forearm and to a lesser extent the realisation that the person who had interrupted them was an Atlesian Soldier
"What do you want?" she demanded, clearly angry though the soldier seemed to take the menace she exuded in their stride
"Team GORE are to report to Atlas Academy immediately. Orders are directly from General Schnee; a transport is waiting"
"Hey….I'll see you later" Eagle promised, voice permeated by the sheer mortification of being caught in such a compromising position whilst her cheeks flushed scarlet; Hellion simply reached up and kissed those blushing cheeks before turning on her heel
"I hope so" she shot over her shoulder before glaring at the soldier as she passed them. A moment later Eagle Arc was alone, still breathing heavily in a heady mixture of excitement and embarrassment as she tried to figure out how Hellion managed to make her throw her inhibitions and doubts aside without a second thought, eventually Eagle decided she didn't care; she simply liked it.
Following the indescribable awkwardness of their initial meeting Felix had been introduced the members of the Nikosi tribe who had joined their leader across the icy waters which had previously been considered the domain of the Frost River tribe; Kataigida Nikos had brought a small contingent of no more than a dozen of her most trusted and capable with her and Helios's happiness had only been briefly marred by the fact that his hounds had been left behind; Felix had found himself smiling as Helios's contagious enthusiasm spread to him while at the same time gently squeezing the redheads' hand as he realised just how homesick Helios must have been.
"Wait" Felix murmured to his boyfriend as an idea occurred to him "How is your Mum gonna find the rest of the Nikosi tribe when she goes back to Anima, I thought you guys were always on the move?" the Lion Faunus was suddenly aware of the eyes of every Nikosi present turning on him while the tall and imposing form of Helios's mother loomed over him from behind and despite her polite and genuinely welcoming mannerisms Felix couldn't help but feel a little nervous in presence
"We have a settlement we call home, I wouldn't expect the elderly, sick, pregnant or injured to march with our fighters and merchants"
"Okay, that makes sense" Felix nodded "So who's holding the fort now if you brought your best with you?"
"You ask the sort of questions I'd expect from a spy Felix" Kataigida stated, Felix paled for a moment and only realised that the woman was joking when he caught sight of some of the other Nikosi; Helios's sister Syneffo amongst them snickering. Kataigida continued with a genuine answer "Currently our homestead is being watched over by my advisors, the Nikosi council of elders with Syneffo's father acting in my stead" Felix nodded in understanding before noticing a detail in the answer that stood out
"I didn't realise you two had different dads" the offhand comment was directed at Helios; he and his sister had remarkably similar features in the Faunus's mind, with the most notable difference being that Syneffo Nikos had eyes of a startling shade of silver that reminded him oddly of his Aunt Ruby
"You never told him?" one of the older Nikosi warriors growled out, the accusation being met with a silent glare of a challenge from Helios.
"Enough Sidero" Kataigida admonished sternly "Helios will tell his boyfriend what he chooses to" Felix gave Helios an expectant glance while at the same time making no effort to pressure the redhead who waited for a moment, not speaking until the older members of the tribe stepped aside and gave them a little privacy
"My father died in battle against another tribe a few weeks after I was born….I never knew him"
"Oh my Oum" Felix mouthed out before pulling Helios into a tight hug "I'm so sorry man"
"I'm not"
"What?" Felix sputtered out, almost certain he had misheard. Helios pulled back a moment and gently wrapped his arms around Felix's shoulders
"You still don't fully understand fluffy. Life is hard beyond the Kingdoms' walls, people die but 'Aimatrios the red spear' of the Nikosi died in battle like a hero. Had things happened any other way I wouldn't have Syneffo for a sister….her father raised me as his own son; even if I was an ungrateful whelp"
"I get that" Felix murmured resting his head of Helios's shoulders "It's like when people ask if I ever think about my birth parents; why would I when I've got the best family I could ever ask for" they stayed like that for a moment, gently holding each other until they were interrupted in a way that could only truly be accomplished by ones' siblings
"Well this is adorable"
"What do you want Syneffo?" Helios made no effort to move, his sister rolled her bright silver eyes
"Well mother wants to speak to you in private" her attention turned to Felix "And I want to get to know the boy putting that smile on my brothers' face a little better and maybe actually see some of this festival. I see Helios wasn't exaggerating how claustrophobic your cities can be" she gestured around them to the endless sea of bodies, stages and stalls that formed the Vytal Festival which would continue on until the early hours of the morning
"Yeah this is the capital….a lot bigger than where I'm from, and it's probably the busiest it'll ever be" Felix noted
"Shall we?" Syneffo smiled sweetly while she spoke in a tone that made it clear she would hear no argument; Felix gently kissed Helios's scarred cheek before allowing the younger Nikosi sibling to take the lead. Helios merely waited and was rewarded a moment later when he felt his mother return to his side
"Our fighters are getting ale, we have privacy" her vibrant green eyes studied her sons' face before she added "So….the Xiao Long boy?" Helios let out a slow breath before answering, his voice as firm as he dare with the woman who was both his mother and leader
"The honour debt the Xiao Long family owed us was settled"
"Indeed it was….though tell me, is Yang Xiao Long here to support her son, I would still like to face the woman who bested the Warlord Tyrian in single combat; if only for my own vanity" Helios shook his head
"I don't believe so. He has two mothers but from what I understand only one is present in Atlas" he waited for her to process the information
"No matter, perhaps another time" Kataigida shrugged before her tone turned serious "Does he understand your position among our people Helios. Not just that you are my son, does he understand what that entails?"
"That one day I will be called back to lead our people and there is nothing that can prevent that. He is aware, he understands" Helios nodded and gave a proud smile "I think he would do well amongst our people"
"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself Helios" his mother reprimanded gently
"You don't approve?" Kataigida Nikos lowered the hood of her bearskin cloak and fixed her son with a genuine smile
"I approve greatly I can see that he makes you happy" she gave a brief pause for adding in a teasing tone "And he is a very handsome boy Helios, it must be said" Helios's only response was a wordless groan.
Authors Notes:
Okay so I know I said that the Blake and Corvid scene would be this chapter, that was a genuine mistake on my part. Next chapter it is definitely happening.
It almost feels like Team FADE are losing the spotlight with how the volume has played out thus far, I assure that is not the plan and they are still very much the main characters.
The actual tournament matches of the first round are finished, so next chapter will be some fallout and then we move forwards with the tournament and the plot as a whole.
Also I've just signed up to the "Prompt Mayhem Challenge" and been giving the pairing of Sun and Neptune, so expect to see a little something including those two next month.
Anyway let's summarise:
A little in to how the Cult of Taurus function within the Fang itself, effectively they're their own separate group that answers only to Celeste and only interacts with the White Fang on her orders.
The idea of them being the end result of Celeste's philosophy occurred to me as I wrote the scene but honestly it's obvious considering who they're based on.
The workshop was based on my place of work.
Alpha would make a terrible leader, she can only lead the Cult because they're as nuts as she is; she doesn't have the practicality or understanding of people that Celeste does.
Yes we're gonna see Gamma with a robot arm soon.
Beta has a point, anyone wanting to kill Hunters could learn a lot from the Tournament (And Atlas routinely does keep files on students detailing countermeasures for dealing with them).
And now the plan is in motion, The Cult of Taurus and by extension the New White Fang know that Team GORE are still alive and in Atlas.
Like with the other teams, Team GORE preparing for the match reflects the character of each of the members.
In the Downward Spiral Scarlet David led a charge in the final battle, so now there's at least one soldier whose life he saved with a kid named after him; there are probably a lot of Ruby's in Remnant after the war as well lol.
Kori Teal is the child of a character who was mentioned in the Downward Spiral but never actually seen, Raiser Teal of Team MURK; team-mate to Malkavia Pitch (Whose weapons were actually referenced back in Vol.1) that's how in depth my lore is at this point.
Carcharodon has a moral compass, it's a different set of standards to most other Hunters but it's undeniably there.
Gang's people are everywhere in that stadium.
Wonder if we'll ever meet Winter's team-mates, probably not. Headcanon that they were called Team WNTR though.
Team GORE didn't come to pander to crowds they came to fuck people up.
There's the thing, broadcasting that Team GORE are still alive means everybody can see it.
So Ozymandias is partially blown; nobody else knows that he's the wizard yet and Winter is going to use something as bait to draw him out so she can try and see what his goals are.
Oh dear, this type of shit is exactly why Carcharodon told Raffia that they couldn't kill any of the Scavenger Guild.
Eagle became a crowd favourite and I grinned like an idiot as soon as the idea hit me.
I'm sure you can imagine some of the things she was asked to sign.
Car literally just grabbed the other team leader and drowned them into submission.
Yes you read that right, Hellion tried to stab a guy in the dick on international TV.
Flustered Eagle is best Eagle.
And thus the cock-blocking continued and tradition was upheld.
Felix is right to be scared, he's meeting the mother of his first boyfriend and she's basically royalty and also could probably kill him one handed.
I've actually been looking for a place to drop the little backstory about Helios and why he doesn't actually have a Dad; it was originally gonna be at the dance but it didn't flow right.
"Well this is adorable"…..In the highly unlikely chance that my younger brother ever reads this; fuck you, you know what you did.
So Syneffo has silver eyes, Qrow has taken up Ozpin's mantle….they're both in the same place.
Kataigida Nikos is 100% ready to throw down with Yang for shits and giggles.
Even mama Nikos teasing Heely, because it had to be done.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, iSassenach, Funlander, FleetOfWarships and CanadianCavalier for their reviews on the last chapter…..In the politest way possible where the hell did the rest of my regular reviewers go?
I hear you on the feeling old thing, my little brother is a legal adult and my little sister has a kid on the way; I feel like a relic.
Cats always land on their feet unless they're lucky and there's something warmer and softer to land on.
I mean Felix and Arctus call each other cousins (Blake and Gangrel growing up in care together and Weiss Blake and Yang all being on Team RWBY) and Eagle is Qrow's daughter so….there's a convoluted chain there.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.