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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 76: The Toybox
Ever since their apprehending of the ringleader of the racist element within the police of the settlement of Geheimnis Team CLIR had found themselves worked to the bone and almost perpetually on patrols, being roped into the task of training new officers in the basics of Grimm combat when they were not. Winter Schnee had used her considerable political capital and an alliance with the chief of Atlas's police force to ensure that the corruption was investigated and expunged in its' entirety and funding was immediately found to rectify the situation; this naturally left the law enforcement which doubled as a Grimm hunting unit in the area dangerously short staffed and whilst senior officers from various other locations had been shipped in and new applicants and cadets were being trained at an accelerated rate the timing could not have been worse; the Vytal Tournament and the security risks it presented required officers in every city and settlement to be operating at peak efficiency, meaning that the students had been required to stay and assist until further notice, although they had heard some rumours from the officers who had been relocated from other branches that led them to believe that the order to return to Atlas Academy would be given any day now.
Currently Team CLIR were in the staff room of the Geheimnis police station enjoying a rare moment of rest, they were on call and would have to start a series of patrols soon but until then and unless they heard otherwise they could allow themselves to relax. The station was a stone building whose grand architecture was intended to evoke the style of old Mantle, its' interior however spoke of the lack of funding provided to the settlements and the neglect the Atlesian Council showed to those outside of the Hive Cities; their were at least a dozen empty offices due to staff cuts, maintenance was considered a pipe dream and the heating hadn't worked in years. Corvid forced herself to ignore all of the glaring problems that she was currently in no position to change, content in the knowledge that she would mention them to her Aunt when she returned to the Academy and distracted by both the excellent food, courtesy of the family whom they had rescued from Dijon Harrier and his unit, and the doubles round of the Vytal Tournament; the first match of which would be starting any moment.
"Can't believe we're missing this" Iris sighed as she reached over Corvid to help herself to some of the food from the restaurant that the Bull Faunus and his wife owned "We've barely had any time to train either….we're gonna be exhausted when we go up against Team RNBW and-"
"Hey" Corvid snapped irritably, before her expression softened a little "That attitude is gonna do more to beat us than Ranger Altan can….even if they are hot as-"
"Can you not, for like five minutes?" Iris chuckled, playfully throwing scrunched up napkin at her team leader
"The little lady's right though, you two have got your win in the bag….just don't let yourself believe otherwise" Rusty drawled from a nearby sofa where Lux was making himself comfortable sprawled across the taller and bulkier mans' chest
"One day you're gonna stop calling me that" Corvid sighed
"Not today though little lady" Corvid let out a growl and made a face she would vehemently deny was a pout whilst her team-mates shared a laugh at her expense
"Whatever" she sighed "Honestly though I don't mind having to wait for our match, it means we can watch without any pressure on us tonight and I wanna see Fluffy kick some ass"
"Fair….Good luck" Lux paused and gave a devilish smirk "Corey I kinda wish it was me and you going into the doubles again, I wasn't finished showing off"
"Are you ever?" Iris noted with a raised eyebrow; the friendly verbal sparring was cut short when the door was flung opened and a fresh faced new recruit burst into the staffroom, positively shaking with frantic urgency
"Just got a call that sounds like it needs Hunters"
"What's the situation?" Corvid demanded, tone becoming unusually businesslike; the recruit whom Corvid was almost certain was no older than herself and whose name she thought was Gardener or something similar audibly swallowed
"Shipment from Poly-Tech, coming from the capital to the warehouse just out of town….driver just called in because there's some shady looking Faunus following his truck-"
"THAT'S IT!" Corvid was on her feet "WHAT IS WITH THIS FROZEN FUCKING HELLHOLE OF A KINGDOM; WHY IS EVERYONE HERE SUCH A BACKWARDS-"
"Miss Xiao Long, you're not understanding" Gardener tried to calm her down "The driver said he's being followed by multiple trucks being driven by Faunus wearing masks…..y'know, those masks" the young man gestured to his face in a way that was clearly meant to evoke the angular masks that covered the eyes worn by White Fang grunts; Corvid's anger fizzled out instantly only to be replaced by a need for ruthless decisive action
"Iris, our Bull-Head?"
"Still needs refuelling" her dark skinned team-mate informed her with a troubled expression, her golden cybernetic arm whirring subtly as she hoisted her oversized mace 'Venus Rising' from the ground single handedly
"Suit up team, Lux you're driving" Corvid turned to the evidently unprepared and fearful new recruit "Have armed reinforcements follow behind us….people with combat experience only"
"Are we sure rushing in is the best idea?" Iris asked
"No" Corvid admitted "But I know it's a better idea than waiting" with no more to be said Team CLIR left the peace of the staffroom and began preparing for what they could each sense was likely to be a combat situation; none of them noticing as they left that the pre match analysis and discussions from various famous hunters had ended and now the distinctive drawl of Qrow Branwen was announcing Felix Xiao Long and Diamond Sustrai-Black.
"Hey" Arctus's cautious murmur caused Diamond to pause her last minute of Lex Talions which was currently laid across her lap in its' sniper rifle form and glance up
"Sneaking into changing rooms big guy? Classy" her sarcastic tone and eye roll telling a story that the bright smile on her face utterly failed to corroborate as the Bear Faunus took a seat next to her, Felix was elsewhere in the locker room and either unaware that he had entered or choosing to give them some space.
"You look worried?" Arctus noted with some unmistakable concern, Diamond collapsed her weapon and holstered it at her back before shrugging and idly playing with the piercing in her nose as she answered, an old nervous tic of hers
"I mean a little bit dude yeah" she sighed "I mean I know me and Felix have trained almost every day and that we've planned for this but still….Razz has shown me some videos of these guys training and I'm not sure how this is gonna go-" she fell silent as Arctus cupped her cheeks and gently kissed first her lips and then her forehead
"Dee, you're amazing, you've already done great and I'm proud of you….and I'm sure you can win this"
"I just don't wanna get my teeth kicked in on live TV; I can't grow 'em back like you" Diamond grumbled jokingly before leaning into her boyfriend "Come on you managed to sneak in here, you gonna give me a kiss for good luck or what dude?" Arctus dutifully delivered and within second Diamond was straddling his lap and cupping his jaw; kissing the Faunus passionately and sighing with pleasure into his mouth as his hands trailed along her thighs. The moment ended with the sound of a fist colliding with the thing metal of the lockers making both of them jump; Diamond making an obscene gesture as both she and Arctus saw that it was Felix who had made the noise
"Dee-Dee, show time"
"Did you have to be a dick about it?" Diamond hissed as she planted one last kiss on Arctus's jaw before sliding off of his lap and falling into step with her team leader
"I mean if I'd waited another five seconds he would have had your shirt off so kinda" Felix shot back with a smirk
"You are such a bitch" Diamond laughed, playfully punching his shoulder as they prepared to step out into the arena itself; the noise of the crowd already deafening "How are you calm?"
"The drive here helped" Felix answered simply, the first day of the doubles round was being hosted in Freiheit, the above ground settlement often referred to as Atlas's 'other' capital city and Team FADE had chosen to abscond from classes that day and make the journey to the city in the Killer-Bee rather than take the flights provided by Atlas Academy
"I'm picking the playlist on the way back" Diamond chuckled
"Absolutely not" Felix countered with a grin and his own playful nudge "Come on let's not keep 'em waiting, we've got asses to kick" Diamond found herself smiling, between Arctus's encouragement, Felix's infectious cockiness and the knowledge that her parents were certainly watching right now she rolled her shoulders back and strode out into the stadium with her head held high; the sound of cheers hit her like a solid wall while the voice of Qrow Branwen boomed above it all
"AND THEIR OPPONENTS FOR THE EVENING, DIAMOND SUSTRAI-BLACK AND FELIX XIAO LONG OF TEAM FADE REPRESENTING THE HALO ACADEMY OF NEW VALE!"
"Holy Oum" Felix breathed out as he scanned the crowds, their size almost leading him to believe that the entirety of Freiheit was present inside the stadium
"I know right"
"I wish you had Faunus eyes" the Lion Faunus breathed out "There's people with signs, Team FADE flags, t-shirts….do we get Lien from this merch or what?" Diamond merely shook her head as they stepped onto the precipice of the arena, just clear of where the terrain would form itself; a feat Diamond still wanted to understand the workings of, she was certain that if Atlas could create artificial landscapes so easily they could effectively end homelessness with ease; though she kept her thoughts focused firmly on the task at hand, tuning out Bartholomew Oobleck's recounting of the competing teams previous matches as she took in her opponents
"Evening" Sandrock Wufei, leader of Team SABL greeted them calmly; average height with a wiry physique and glossy black hair tied back into a long ponytail, dark eyes framed by thin glasses his appearance failed to do justice to the threat that both Felix and Diamond knew him to be, he wore white pants, baggy enough to not hinder his movement and fastened with a black belt which indicated his rank as a martial artist, as the crowds cheered he slipped off the high collared black jacket he wore and revealed the simple white tank top beneath complemented only by the simple harness that held his weapon, the double ended bladed staff 'Jufeng-Yin' and a pair of dull metal bracers, far less ornate than Helios's though the designs of twin serpentine dragons whose mouths opened around the wrists could be seen through the scratches and dents covering their surfaces
"Dude did you really just dramatically throw your jacket off for the crowd?" Diamond fought the urge to laugh, it was Sandrock's team-mate who answered
"Right and the skintight shirt isn't playing up for the crowd's attention at all?" Diamond looked to Felix, sudden fury masked behind a too-sweet smile
"I'm gonna kill him"
"Go for it" Felix chuckled
"I was talking about you Xiao Long" the second member of Team SABL snorted; they were Brazen Taiyoko; a young man standing at roughly five feet and eleven inches and sporting a bulkier physique than their team-mate. Brazen's light brown skin was complemented by his outfit, ripped black pants and an equally dark hoodie whose sleeves had been cut away, over which an almost bronze sleeveless jacket with twin tails had been thrown, leaving his muscular arms which sported several sizeable scars on display as well as the collapsed forms of his weapons mounted on his wrists. His blunt and somewhat flattened looking face was framed by a black bandanna tied around his forehead, his hair protruding over the top in long and immaculately styled spikes which faded between black at their tips to their natural colour of a pale dusty brown.
"You look like a fucking try hard" Felix noted simply with a scoff; their trash talk could go no further as the commentary from Qrow and Oobleck which they had been collectively ignoring came to an end and the floor of the arena began to lower and slide out of view, soon to be replaced by the field of battle
"And we have sand dunes on Team SABL's side of the field" Qrow drawled
"And rocky outcroppings on Team FADE's" Oobleck finished "Not much in the way of cover for either team, I'm expecting this to be up close and personal" the crowd roared their support for this notion before for Qrow's voice rose over them once more.
"THREE! TWO! ONE! BEGIN!" Felix and Diamond rushed forwards, passed the small heaps of rocks that may have served as cover or vantage points; Felix drew Hack and Slash and shifted them into their machine pistol form and opening fire only for Sandrock to unfurl his staff and calmly deflect the bullets before bringing them both to a halt with words whose jovial delivery sent chills up their spines
"Hey Xiao Long, remember when we were sparring in class and you didn't get to see my Semblance?"
"I know I'm being played here but yeah" Felix called back
"Watch closely" Sandrock growled before sinking his weapon into the ground and dropping into a crouch as he punched the sand
"FELIX MOVE!" Diamond called out as she leapt onto the nearest outcropping and used her Semblance to keep her balance as a solid wall of sand rose like a tidal wave to meet them, cursing fluently Felix made to retreat only to find the ground unsteady beneath his feet as rocky pillars surged upwards throwing him to the ground. When the Dust settled Felix dragged himself to his feet with the crowds cheering ringing in his ears, Oobleck's commentary adding insult to injury
"A big opening from Wufei, I don't know if either member of Team FADE has an answer for that"
"A fucking Geomancer" Felix spat, throat dried out by sand which had managed to get everywhere. He called up to Diamond "Mind dealing with that for me? You can stay off of the ground easier"
"Got it" Diamond nodded, leaving Felix free to turn his attention to Brazen; a moment before the Hunter in question delivered an axe kick from a mid-air somersault that would most likely have fractured Felix's skull if he hadn't rolled aside and frantically converted his weapons to their chainsaw bladed sword mode and began mirroring Sandrock's technique of using them to deflect projectiles as Brazen opened fire with his own weapons 'The Striking Tiger' a pair of golden gauntlets which reached to the elbows which each sported a trio of blades mounted on the back of the hands, styled to resemble the claws of some jungle predator and a compacted shotgun along each forearm
"Congrats, you look like an edgy version of my Mum" Felix taunted
"Then hold still and take this spanking" Brazen quipped back before launching forwards at blinding speed and launching both arms forwards in a stabbing motion, Felix locked his own blades between those of Brazen's weapon and found himself sliding backwards under the force of the attack; having only a brief warning in the form of his opponents' smile and wink before Brazen threw his arms to the side, Felix being forced to follow the motion which left is chest utterly unprotected against the punishing kick Brazen delivered. Felix fortunately managed to retain his grip on his weapons as he was sent flying backwards and sunk their blades into the ground to bring himself to a stop with a feral growl
"Okay" he grumbled to nobody in particular as he delivered what could be considered the understatement of the year "Not quite going to plan"
"That's the truck" Corvid noted tensely as she shape behind a pair of approaching headlights became discernable; she had been expecting one of the gargantuan land-trains whose individual carriages were each the size of a comfortable apartment but had instead been confronted with a simple eighteen wheeler of the mundane variety
"I'll flash him so he knows to pull over" Lux murmured back from the driving seat of the patrol car that Team CLIR had taken; far less armoured than the personnel carriers that Dijon and his thugs had used the vehicle was more suited to rapid response and intervention
"Good idea" Corvid answered, voice hushed as she glanced down at the bulky gauntlet on her left forearm which sported a screen currently displaying the location and condition of the Omega Wing as well as a live feed from its' main camera; the aerial drone had been too big to be thrown in the car and Corvid had decided that she would be too easily seen by the suspected White Fang tailing the truck if she were in the air, instead the Omega Wing flew low trailing behind the police interceptor and barely a foot above it.
"Lux, foot on the peddle until I say different; Iris keep your head down and be ready to grab something with your Semblance; Rusty cover me when I get out" the truck came to a stop and Lux spun the patrol car as he followed suit, leaving Corvid's passenger side door directly next to the drivers' side of the truck, the leader of Team CLIR leaned out of the window rather than exit the vehicle entirely, the knowledge that Rusty was aiming High Noon directly through the rear window giving her some cold comfort in a situation that otherwise gave her nothing but bad feelings.
"This all?" the driver, a somewhat rotund man with a patchy beard covering his multiple chins asked nervously
"Hunters. We've got backup on the way." Corvid answered, forcing a calmness she didn't quite feel into her tone "What're we looking at?"
"About half a dozen trucks….not trucks like mine, think like mail vans" the driver explained "I saw the masks and stepped on it when I called the police; I think they didn't want me to be certain they were following 'cos they hung back-"
"You're sure their still following?" Corvid asked, typing a few commands that would put the Omega Wing on standby until she gave a verbal command whilst the driver, whose eyes bulged with fear nodded
"Yeah I'm sure, I know what I saw….the fucking masks man….I was a kid when Taurus took Lower Atlas….spent a few months in the secure zone" the panicked rambling was cut short by Rusty's harsh tone
"Here they come"
"Omega Wing, battle mode" Corvid hauled herself out of the car window and despite the limited space between the two vehicles the drone managed to close the distance between them and unfurl into a mass of shifting components before reforming around her in its' battle-suit form, forcefield charging and weapons primed. The moment the helmet had slipped into place and her vision had been enhanced by several displays and readings she zoomed in on the first of the trucks Rusty had seen approaching, they were exactly as described and she had no trouble identifying the White Fang masks for what they were.
"Go, get to safety and if you pass our backup, tell 'em to step on it" Corvid instructed the driver and as the tires of the truck crunched against the poorly maintained road she raised her right arm, aiming the rail-gun mounted on her shoulder directly at the cab of the first of the White Fang convoy
"This is Corvid Xiao Long of Team CLIR; you're all under arrest as suspected members of a terrorist organisation. Step out of the vehicles and get down on the ground" a moment later the doors of the trucks were flung open and dozens of masked and well armed Faunus poured out, many wearing tactical armour of surprisingly good quality
"Can't kill us all Huntress!" a woman with the pincer like mandibles of a stag beetle sprouting from her cheeks called out as she cocked a shotgun and aimed
"Our backup is close" Lux told Corvid with some hope creeping into his voice "What's the plan" Corvid took in the sight of the several dozen armed attackers facing them, weighing it against the knowledge that the reinforcements would be arriving from behind the White Fang and surrounding them before answering slowly and clearly
"Non-lethal force unless there's no other option. We hold the line until backup gets here and then we bring 'em in"
"Yes bring them, bring them all" a melodic and hypnotic voice almost sang, Corvid was sure that the sensors of the Omega Wing were malfunctioning as her own perceptions seemed to be narrowed down to nothing but the voice and its' source as the masked woman stepped into view, weapons forming around her hands
"Bring all of those who stand against the will of the High Commander" Alpha raised strode out from between Gamma and Beta who flanked her, Delta slinking out of view "We will punish them for all of their crimes against the Faunus race….and you will suffer the most Corvid Xiao Long"
"Corey what do we do?" Iris demanded "These are the maniacs from Gerat-Handlung" before she could answer Gamma stepped forwards, spittle flew from the cage like mouthpiece of the mutilated Pangolin Faunus's mask as he spoke
"You can take the Xiao Long brat….I get anyone of rank; I wanna know what they did to Omega"
"By all means" Alpha cooed, through sheer force of will Corvid allowed to force herself to focus on Gamma despite the Lionfish Faunus's Semblance. The arm he had lost to Kafsi Asteri had been replace with a cybernetic whose attachment point was still raw and unhealed, a dull gunmetal grey thing whose sleekness seemed at odds with Gamma's grotesque form; the brute of the Cult of Taurus evidently noticed the attention he was being
"I was commanded to be well" he gloated and Corvid didn't need to be able to see his face to know that he was grinning like a madman whilst Alpha remained inscrutable behind the mask that obscured her entire face and Beta remained poised and collected.
"THIS IS THE POLICE, DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" a voice, clearly projected through a megaphone ordered, signalling the arrival of the Geheimnis police department who had finally managed to get behind the White Fang and double back. Not one of the masked terrorists made to follow their number despite the way the odds seemed to be turning against them and seeing this filled Corvid with an indescribable sense of dread which she forced herself to plough through
"Orders Corey?" Lux asked urgently, prompting Corvid to think fast and be decisive
"Iris, Semblance on any tucks that try to go after the Poly-Tech truck. Lux, Rusty it's kinda obvious who's in charge of these guys; we'll focus on them while the police sweep up the rest" it seemed inevitable in Corvid's mind that it would soon come to violence, her worries were proven correct as the last of the police cars came to a stop and the armed officers took their position in a semi-circular firing formation focused on the White Fang; Alpha spoke with utter calmness
"Gamma, compel whoever is leading the police to give us the information we want….Cull the rest" the Pangolin Faunus gave no verbal response, only hacking and snarling sounds as his Semblance took effect; Gamma grew whilst his muscles bulged and shifted. his scarred and burned flesh becoming a deep scarlet as the Atlesian steel coated keratin plates adorning his back, shoulders and remaining forearm lengthened; to complete the horrifying sight his cybernetic form revealed its' hidden function and unfolded, reshaping into a four pronged claw which resembled a sadistic parody of an arcade game, each of its' prongs fitted with a series of what could best be described as modified mining drills. Gamma turned and regarded the officers and took a single step in their direction before Corvid leapt into action
"YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!" she used the propulsion systems of the Omega Wing to launch herself over the White Fang as the remainder of the Cult of Taurus readied their weapons; a high pitched shrieking noise followed by a flash of white light, both muted by her weapons sensors, informed her that Lux had followed her orders with gusto; Corvid aimed and fired both of her rail-guns at the ground in front of Gamma as the monstrous Faunus stalked towards the police who were in no way prepared to deal with him; the ground was torn apart and his advance was halted though he remained upright and let out a distorted and terrifying laugh in response
"Scared to kill me and scared to die at the same time….you humans are a weak species" Corvid landed, placing herself directly between Gamma and his intended targets, calling back to the officers
"Deal with their footsoldiers, I'll handle this guy"
"You'll die trying!" Gamma roared as he charged; the officers scattered and began engaging the bulk of the White Fang forces, adding to the cacophony of gunfire as Gamma leapt into the air and pulled back his cybernetic claw for a devastating blow. Corvid engaged the Omega Wing's forcefields and her own Semblance of immovability, bracing herself as Gamma's attack landed. Corvid remained resolute though the ground beneath her cratered, her forcefield held though it flickered and Gamma's mechanical limb sparked and screeched in protest as he attempted to overpower the shielding through brute force. Corvid's rail-guns slid back over her shoulders as she deployed her forearm mounted blades and prepared to do battle in the face of odds that most would consider insurmountable; scared she may be but she knew what needed to be done and refused to accept less than a victory.
Felix's world had shrunken down until his perceptions encompassed nothing but his immediate surroundings; Qrow's commentary and the sound of the crowd cheering on each of the combatants had ceased to register in his mind, he was only dimly aware of Diamond's continued outmanoeuvring of Sandrock's Semblance fuelled offensive; all that mattered to the Lion Faunus right now was Brazen Taiyoko and the furious blows that the two were trading at lightning speed. Sand erupted outwards in a wave as the Vaccuan Hunter collided with Felix's hastily raised defences, Felix parrying the clawed gauntlets aside with his swords and delivering a punishing spinning kick to his opponents ribs as Brazen's own momentum forced him to stumble forwards several paces; pressing his advantage without hesitation Felix made a backhanded slash with his left and stabbed downwards with his right, forcing Brazen to use his Semblance to evade; it had become apparent over the course of the battle that Brazen was capable of compressing the air around himself and using it as a means of propulsion. The sand covered ground seemed to crater as the grains were displaced when Brazen flung himself backwards and Felix gave no quarter, rushing in after him
"Too eager" Brazen smirked as he collapsed his weapons, Felix's eyes widened as he drew close and the realisation that he'd been played hit him; the Vaccuan Hunter cupped his hands together and stepped aside before his Semblance at full strength, using to blast Felix backwards and send him crashing into one of the many rocky outcroppings that had adorned Team FADE's half of the arena and been moved from their original positions by Sandrock's geomancy.
"Shit!" Diamond's frantic curse as she fell from the outcropping as it was shattered; the pair rose to the feet and braced themselves
"Got a handle on Sandrock?" Felix growled as he twirled his swords, the two members of Team SABL had regrouped but had yet to press the advantage
"He's good but he can't use that Semblance all day, it's wearing him out" Diamond informed him "What about Brazen?"
"He needs to be held in place" Felix offered "More your thing, if you wanna switch?" Diamond nodded and collapsed her weapon, charging forwards with every intention facing Brazen Taiyoko in hand to hand combat.
"Let's play!" Brazen cackled before launching himself forward with a woosh of air Diamond leapt into the air and attempted to bring her knee crashing into his face, an attempt that was thwarted when Brazen managed to wrap an arm around her midsection and send her crashing down into the ground with a thud; he attempted to follow up with a punch to her face only for Diamond to wrap her legs around his arm and throw him aside whilst kicking him square in the mouth
"Well this is fun" Brazen spat, a thin trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth which curled up in a manic smile as he charged forwards again.
"Let's see what you've got" Diamond popped her knuckles and raised her fists as Brazen leapt into the air to deliver a crushing downwards blow, Diamond stepped back just enough for the attack to miss and blocked the follow up left hook only for her cheek to erupt in pain as his right connected, followed by a left to the ribs that threatened to leave her gasping for air; her training had given her enough resolve to push on however and she saw the glinting metal of Brazen's weapons as he redeployed them and raised her arm, her left elbow colliding with the inside of his right, her right hand connecting with the side of his head before she joined her hands behind his head and forced his skull down into her knee before delivering a solid punch between the shoulder-blades. Diamond's momentum was brought to a forceful halt as Brazen surged forwards as if to tackle her, his elbow lashing out and colliding with her gut before a backhanded slash caused her Aura to ripple as the blades caressed her face, Brazen followed his momentum into a spinning kick which connected with her knee, tearing a scream of pain from her as she collapsed to the ground; instinctively she drew her weapon from her back and snapping off half a dozen shots the moment Lex Talionis had configured itself, none found their mark but it was enough to force Brazen back for a moment.
"AND THAT'S A BIG HIT FROM TAIYOKO!" Qrow's voice exclaimed
"Indeed" Oobleck concurred "Sustrai's Aura is holding but that clearly hurt and she's struggling to get up"
"Yeah no shit it hurt" the silver haired sniper hissed through clenched teeth as she dragged herself to her feet, collapsing her weapon once again and re-evaluating the situation; Brazen was strong, fast and possessed a ruthless streak that should have been indicated by his weapons. As she took stock of the situation, including the fact that her opponent was clearly reading himself for another attack Diamond's own subconscious chose to speak to her in a voice that sounded very much like her fathers'
"Fighting dirty it is" she breathed out as Brazen charged again, this time attempting a flying kick which Diamond side-stepped and turned to avoid. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Brazen threw a left handed stab at her face and she reached out to grab his hand, saw his eyes widen as she twisted his wrist to a painful degree before taking his ring finger and bending back with an audible snap as her Aura and his fought against each other; his howl of agony was both interrupted and increased in volume as she kicked the inside of his knee with enough force to buckle the limb before she silenced him a knee to the face as he fell and a powerful kick to the chest sent him crashing backwards
"AND SUSTRAI-BLACK IS BACK IN THE GAME!" Qrow bellowed over the roaring of the crowd, Diamond could clearly hear the boos and jeers mixed in with the applause, many of the viewers deeming her approach too brutal
"Bitch you broke my finger!" Brazen snapped at her as he rose to his feet and the two circled each other
"You've got nine more" Diamond countered, blinking sweat out of her eyes and daring to glance at the overhead monitors displaying each of the competitors Auras; the display informed her in simple terms that she and Felix needed to land a decisive blow soon or their time in the Vytal Tournament would be over.
"DEE GET CLEAR!" Diamond simply flung herself to the side as one of the rocky outcroppings from Team FADE's side of the arena was sent into the sand dunes of Team SABL's half where it protruded like a sharks' fin from water, Sandrock having used his Geomancy to place the obstacle between Diamond and Brazen, giving his team-mate time to recover
"We're getting killed here" Felix noted as he retreated to Diamond's position, the spray of bullets he was unleashing at Sandrock failing to reach their target as the ground rose up to absorb the impacts "We need a change of plan"
"Well if it's desperate times, desperate measures we can always so that thing….we'll only get one chance though"
"Let's do it" Felix concurred, using more controlled bursts of fire to corral Sandrock, his opposite number retreating towards Brazen and taking cover behind the pillar of rock he had moved; exactly what Felix had intended.
"Go" Diamond instructed as she drew Lex Talionis "I'll give you a top up" Felix nodded in understanding and surged forwards, racing towards Sandrock and Brazen's position and engaging his Semblance; barely a second later the first of Diamond's Fire Dust rounds collided with his back, the thermal energy being absorbed and added to the reserves of power the Lion Faunus was yet to tap in to
"AND XIAO LONG IS GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE!" Oobleck's voice echoed throughout the stadium
"They tend to do that" Qrow quipped before adding "AND SUSTRAI BLACK IS DEFINITELY UP TO SOMETHING!" Felix gave a savage smile at the commentary, he wanted them to know he was coming. Sandrock used his Geomancy once more, shunting the rock pillar that he and his team-mate were taking cover behind directly towards him in an attempt to slow his advance; exactly what the Lion Faunus had wanted, Felix leapt upwards and used the blades of Hack and Slash to quickly scale the rocky surface
"An interesting turn of events" Oobleck noted, clearly on tenterhooks as he waited to see Team FADE's strategy unfold; the rocky outcropping shook and began to crumble as Sandrock realised he'd played into Felix's hands, Felix himself simply leapt from it and reached upwards; Diamond, who had used her Semblance to traverse the inside of the domed forcefield and was now suspended overhead while inverted, reached out and caught him.
"I can't believe that worked" Felix laughed, taking a moment to adjust the sudden reversal of up and down as he became subject to Diamond's Semblance
"It hasn't yet" Diamond noted. Felix chose not to answer, simply reloading Hack and Slash and converting them to their machine pistol forms as quickly as possible, Gravity Dust in one weapon and Fire Dust in the other; before he was quite finished the domed shield rippled, a salvo of shells colliding against it as Brazen opened fire from below
"Hurry up dude!" Diamond urged "If my Semblance fails it's a long way down"
"Ready" Felix answered, suddenly calm as he aimed directly at the barely perceptible, but certainly present surface of the forcefield and fired, the Gravity Dust sending him hurtling downwards at incredible speed whilst the Fire Dust served as more fuel for his Balrog State, which he promptly entered. Felix hit the ground between Brazen and Sandrock like a golden, glowing and molten missile; his explosive impact with the ground sending a shock-wave through the stadium which flattened many of the features that had been present and filled the air inside the forcefield with sand, dust and falling debris
"Felix! Felix you okay dude?" Diamond called out as she dropped down to the ground and cautiously readied her weapon; slowly the dust began to settle and Diamond struggled to believe what she saw, judging by the thunderous applause the audience could scarcely believe their own eyes either
"A REMARKABLE FINISH FROM FELIX XIAO LONG WITH AN INCREDIBLE ASSIST FROM DIAMOND SUSTRAI-BLACK!" Oobleck announced
"That one is definitely gonna be a crowd favourite" Qrow added, unmistakable pride creeping into his voice "He's gonna be a legend back on Patch for that" Oobleck seemed to realise that the actual result had yet to be announced and quickly rectified that
"Both Sandrock Wufei and Brazen Taiyoko are removed from the arena and their Auras have been depleted" Felix, whose own Aura was merely a sliver above the disqualification point gave Diamond a thumbs up as a bright but dazed smile, leading Diamond to believe he may have given himself a concussion. Sandrock and Brazen were laid unmoving on the ground where the blast from Felix's gambit had thrown them
"Team FADE take the win!" Qrow announced, his voice barely audible above deafening cheers.
The long road leading to the settlement of Geheimnis had devolved into a battleground and blood was spattered across the snow as combatants from both sides fell clutching at grievous wounds. The local police, heavily armed due to their regular encounters with the creatures of Grimm had the White Fang outgunned and outflanked, what should have been a one-sided battle was prolonged and made all the more bloody by the weapons that someone had supplied the extremists with and their own propensity for simply closing the distance and fighting at close range with whatever makeshift or naturally occurring weapons they had at their disposal. Corvid, in a brief respite from the furious onslaught waged against her by Gamma, was horrified to see an officer whose helmet had been removed be dragged down by a feline Faunus, screaming as their aggressor clawed at their eyes. The horrified Huntress found her attention redirected a moment later as the surrounding area was illuminated by the harsh light of Lux's Semblance; her partner had found himself locked in combat with Delta, several of the Atlesian steel spikes their weapon fired buried in the ground at his feet; Lux had realised that the key to circumventing the Spider Faunus's Semblance for long enough to focus on them and return fire was to break their focus, blinding and deafening them for a few seconds at a time was effective way to do so and had the added bonus of disorienting any other White Fang fighters nearby. Alpha, the Lionfish Faunus leading the attack had found herself engaging Rusty in single combat; the Vaccuan gunslinger having managed to land a decisive victory early in the fight as he had grabbed her wrists and engaged his Semblance, the torture devices and weapons adorning her hands known simply as 'Judgement' were currently sparking and inoperative, it still wasn't enough however and Rusty's tenacity and ruthlessness were all that kept him from being utterly overwhelmed as he gave more and more ground in the face of Alpha's furious advance. Corvid took in all of this in barely a second only for time to seemingly halt and her blood to run cold as she caught sight of Iris, or more importantly who was behind her. Iris had been hanging back on the edges of the skirmish and using her Semblance to both wreak havoc and save lives; her telekinesis had pulled police officers out of the path of lethal attacks and dragged vehicles with ease, using the cars and trucks that the two factions had arrived in as both impromptu shields and battering rams; Beta had taken notice of this had intended to put a stop to it
"IRIS BEHIND YOU!" Corvid found herself forced to take her focus away from her team-mate as she came under attack herself, Gamma having launched himself at her once again.
Iris turned and used the elbow of her golden cybernetic left arm to knock the blade of Beta's weapon 'Indominus' aside as he swung at her chest with it in its' broadsword configuration.
"Combat is not a spectator sport little girl" the Snow Leopard Faunus admonished her in his cultured tones, twirling his oversized weapon with ease and finesse as Iris readied Venus Rising; Iris chose not to respond though her eyes glowed pale blue with the light of her Semblance, Beta lunged forwards with a precise stabbing motion only to be flung backwards by Iris's telekinesis and sent staggering away as the spiked head of her mace collided with his shoulder, the Faunus retaliated by carrying his momentum into a graceful spinning slash which Iris leaned back to avoid, sensing her misstep as a cruel smile formed on Beta's lips; a moment later she found herself being smashed back-first into the ground and the air being forced from her lungs as a second Beta appeared above her, landing a devastating kick to her chest
"What the hell?" she gasped whilst frantically using her Semblance to put some distance between the two of them as she returned to her feet; Beta was not so easily discouraged however and gave chase, sending his Semblance clones ahead to close the distance. The clones were frail things, despite the speed and skill they fought with; the first shattered as the head of Venus Rising imploded its' skull, the second being torn clean in half as the mace ripped through its' midsection and a third finding its' attack parried before it was destroyed
"A valiant effort" Beta mused, announcing his presence a fraction of a second before Iris's world exploded into agony as the Faunus impaled her cybernetic arm, the blade bursting through the forearm in a shower of sparks and sending a wave of painful feedback that left Iris dropping to her knees
"But in the end" Beta sighed "Ultimately futile" with that he shifted Indominus into its' twin katana form and ripped the now separated blades free of the limb, in opposite directions, tearing the mechanical limb apart below the elbow.
"NO!" Corvid let out a horrified scream as she saw Beta kick a now defenceless Iris, clearly relishing the position of power he had over before delivering a killing blow.
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT HER!" Gamma roared as he charged again, his own cybernetic limb whirring threateningly "WORRY ABOUT ME!" Corvid acted on instinct, lowering the Omega Wing's forcefield and triggering her Semblance, as the Pangolin Faunus, still in his monstrous Semblance powered form leapt into the air to deliver a lethal strike Corvid caught him, the Atlesian steel blades he had forged his own keratin plates into gouging into her battle-suit as she did so; then she hurled him with all her might into the nearest vehicle and deployed her shoulder mounted rail-guns; the vehicle exploded in a ball of flames and Corvid wasted no time on turning her attention to Beta
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" she opened fire on the Snow Leopard Faunus who managed to leap away and land with what could only be described as poise
"Ah, perhaps you'll be more challenging and entertaining than your friend" Corvid saw nothing but red and launched herself at him with a feral scream; Beta swiftly reformed the Indominus into its' rail-gun form and fired at the centre of the rapidly approaching mass, Corvid came to a sudden, jerking stop as her momentum was robbed and her hastily re-activated forcefield flickered under the assault, several warnings flashing up on her HUD
"Perhaps not" Beta lamented with a sigh before engaging his Semblance and sending a pair of clones out to flank her "Still, you will make a most pleasing gift should we deliver you to High Commander" Corvid braced herself and waited for the attack to come, the clone to her left charged and she readied her weapons; only for the clone to be removed from existence by a rapidly expanding and moving wall of a forcefield which ploughed through everything in its' path without resistance.
"I AM SPECIALIST KAFSI ASTERI! GET ON THE GROUND WITH YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD OR YOU WILL BE MET WITH LETHAL FORCE!" Corvid remained in stunned silence as the veteran strode passed her, Aegis Thunder shearing away limbs and vaporising the bodies of White Fang fighters who failed to comply with her orders; one grunt made the mistake of attempting to rush her, a second later her cybernetic arm lashed out, its' ultrasonic blade deploying and they were on the ground clutching the space where their eyes had once been; a second was dispatched with equal ease as she buried the blade in their neck. Beta, seeing this, looked to Alpha for orders rather than continue his attack; the Lionfish Faunus gave a roar of frustration as she kicked Rusty, who sported countless minor injuries aside, her Semblance ensuring that all present heard her
"IT WAS AN AMBUSH, FALL BACK!" Gamma's primal roar confirmed that the behemoth was still alive a moment before he burst from the flaming wreck of the truck, running over to the nearest White Fang vehicle that could be used as a means of escape, righting it by hand before climbing inside; Alpha, Beta and Delta close behind.
"Detain them" Kafsi seemingly paid the Cult of Taurus no mind, instead ordering those who had followed her, which Corvid now saw included a pair of tanks, to focus on the still breathing grunts who could prove to be a valuable source of information. Seeing this cold ruthlessness in action convinced Corvid that she had made the right choice by declining her Aunts' offer.
"I want my daughter back!" a Crab Faunus staggered behind Kafsi and attempted to reach into their bloodstained white jacket with pincers in place of human hands
"Don't do it" Corvid pleaded as she aimed on of her rail-guns at the attacker before Kafsi could react "She will kill you" the Crab Faunus spat blood at her
"You give me back my daughter, you already killed my wife tonight….I want my daughter…..and if I have to die getting her back then you're dying with me!" he produced what was clearly an improvised cluster bomb from a hidden pocket, its' mechanism modified for the mans' use.
"Get back!" Corvid yelled before aiming and firing; the Crab Faunus hit the ground screaming in agony as the pincer that held the explosive landed several fit away
"Medic!" Kafsi barked "Attend to this man" the scarlet haired Specialist marched over to Corvid, surveying the carnage around them, burning vehicles, blood-stained asphalt, bodies littering the ground and all.
"It was never our intention to involve students in this operation and you have my sincere apologies" she promised solemnly
"I just wanna get my team the hell out of here"
"Understood" Kafsi nodded "Help your injured, I'll have a ship inbound to take you back to Atlas Academy within the hour. Go home and rest soldier, you earned it"
Authors Notes:
And we are back with a mother-fucking bang ladies and gents
Okay so due to issues with the organisers I won't be taking part in the OC Secret Santa project this year.
However I do have an idea for a short story/one shot involving Tock.
Also, I posted the theory that inspired this story idea on Twitter, Tock's voice actor has re-blogged it and expressed support.
I feel like I need to come out and say that RWBY Vol.6 is the best the show has ever been and even though my own universe has branched off in a completely different direction that renders certain characters and concepts unusable to me; I do love what Rooster Teeth are doing.
And I want to take a moment to say good luck to all my readers who are dealing with exams right now.
Anyway let's summarise:
So that's what Team CLIR have been up to, they might have dealt with the racists in short order but there's still work to do.
I feel like as callous as Atlas is towards its' own citizens there are still a few good people in power genuinely trying to make things better for the people and Winter is definitely one of them.
I also feel that Atlesian architects, when designing settlements that are above ground for the first time in generations would naturally fall back on whatever Mantle's aesthetic was.
Bringing back Rusty calling Corvid "Little Lady" 'cos she's like more than half a foot shorter than him.
I feel like Corvid, after being exposed to the Atlas level of casual and institutional racism that still exists despite Blake's best efforts would finally reach a snapping point.
Of course Corvid tried her best to make sure she watched her baby brothers' fight.
Seriously, for all the security the Vytal Tournament does have a lot of sneaking into changing rooms going on….I'm assuming it's like an Olympic village and the staff know better than to interfere with horny Hunters who may or may not be fucking pre/post game.
I forgot about that old habit of playing with the stud in her nose that Diamond has.
I need to write more Diamond and Felix interactions, I can't imagine them not bickering and being best friends despite it.
Seriously, I wonder if the Vytal Tournament students made any money...there was definitely merch being sold.
I had Sandrock and Felix spar in Vol.5 just to give some context for his appearance here; I don't like when tournament fodder students appear from nowhere and then vanish again after their match….his whole character is also a Gundam Wing reference.
The trash talk was fun.
Brazen's character design and weapons just popped into my mind fully formed, not sure where the idea came from….probably a collection of different anime ninja characters; he most certainly does look like a "Fucking try hard"
Yes Sandrock just blocked machine gun fire, he's good.
And now it makes sense why he held back from using his Semblance in the sparring match, he didn't want to pay for the property damage it would have done to the academy.
I wanted Team FADE to struggle, to really feel like they could lose.
I was originally going to have the truck be one of those giant land trains then I decided against it, it wouldn't have added anything.
I feel like it can't be overstated just how many lives were ruined and how many kids were traumatised when Adam took over a sizeable chunk of Atlas in the The Downward Spiral.
You all knew shit was gonna go bad as soon as you knew it was the Cult of Taurus running the show.
"I was commanded to be well" I felt like the religious language there worked, they are a cult after all...Also Hozier gets played on the radio at work a lot.
"Cull the rest" pretty much sums up Alpha's view on human life in one sentence.
I've been waiting to show off Gamma's new arm….imagine the claw as an arcade claw with fracking drills built into the pincers.
Gamma and Corvid going all out would do some DBZ levels of scenery damage.
I feel like Brazen kicking Felix through the same boulders that Diamond was sniping from is a level of teamwork and co-ordination we need to see more of from Team FADE.
Okay so the trailer for Mortal Kombat 11 dropped a few days ago and it really informed the fight between Diamond and Brazen, just visceral and nasty (Like the fight between Maria and Tock, which I loved) in particular the finger breaking.
I feel like Merc (And most likely Em as well) definitely taught their daughter that in a real fight anything goes, Brazen is lucky she didn't kick him in the balls.
I feel like an Aura functions kind of like AT Field from Evangelion, which is why its' possible for one Aura to overpower another….and why Hunters use close combat weapons….I mean we all know it's anime logic and rule of cool but whatever.
Let's be honest she'd get booed for that, it's the same level of dirty that Team GORE got booed for.
"They tend to do that" I mean he's not wrong.
Diamond and Felix haven't really had a combo attack before, seemed like a good place to change that.
Yeah the fight between the White Fang and the police got nasty.
Lux and Rusty are both lucky they're not dead.
Iris always works best from the back, but she can fight if needs be.
"Combat is not a spectator sport" I hope someone knows who Beta quoted there.
So, who forgot that was Beta's Semblance?
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"….Runs in the family.
The truck was a decoy to lure the White Fang into a trap, where Kafsi would be waiting….you knew she was gonna turn up to this fight at some point.
Alpha may be bloodthirsty but she isn't stupid.
Kafsi does not show mercy, she fights to kill without hesitation and it is probably enough to leave Corvid a little shaken up.
Okay in case it wasn't obvious; the Crab Faunus was Coral's Dad, his wife who died in the skirmish was her Mum….which frees up some things.
Next chapter will be a continuation of the doubles round and slowly setting up for the grand finale of second year.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, iSassenach, Garthraxxus, Funlander and FluffyFirefly for their reviews.
Nah, I'm not gonna wave death flags for two of the main characters when we're half way into the story….this isn't Game Of Thrones.
The thing with Raffia is that he's very, very hard to kill; even the usual "Remove the head or destroy the brain" might not be enough to kill him considering he's been shot in the face by Ruby and Flax.
Prototype of Penny….well you're on the right track.
Salem hasn't escaped yet; Oscar didn't trap her in a time loop, he disconnected her from the normal flow of space and time….subtle difference.
Indeed they would/will.
Yeah when Car talks like he's seen some shit it's because he's seen some shit.
The Apathy are an interesting Grimm though I honestly prefer the unused concept art that had them looking notably less human; I don't think they'll make it into this story but I will most definitely be including more of my own Grimm once we return to New Vale.
I would love more Cyberpet art, thank you very much.
Yeah I think the abuse of power needs to be brought into the story if you're going to include something like the White Fang….I mean I know we never saw it in canon but the Atlas soldiers who were stationed around Vale during the tournament almost certainly gave Velvet grief.
Yeah for the different languages I just use google translate so it may well be butchered but; Atlas = German, Mistral = Chinese, Anima Tribes = Greek, Vaccuan = Arabic, although the language and aesthetic may not always match up….And Menagerie is a melting pot of different cultures so there are all kinds of settlement names.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.