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Chapter 80: Wipe Out
Gangrel let out a slow breath as he considered the plan he was about to put into action; since learning of the location of Tartarus he had worked without pause and pushed even the lax boundaries of the authority that General Winter Schnee had allowed him to act with. Eventually, though not without some subtle manipulation and less subtle strong-arming of those who opposed his way of doing things, his plan was approved in an emergency meeting of the Atlesian council in which he gave his case via transmission from the Gespenst; time was of the essence and he could not afford to be away from his vessel. Standing decidedly alone in the primary hangar bay of his ship, despite the numerous teams performing the various checks and maintenance on the various fighter craft and drop-ships stationed around him Gangrel closed his amber eyes for a moment and admitted to himself that his plan was was indeed risky for many reasons, including both the political precedent it could set in addition and the obvious and unavoidable possibility of death should he fail; but despite all of that it was, in the Bear Faunus's mind the correct choice both tactically and morally and so he would do it regardless.
"We're approaching the target T-Minus two minutes, drop zone is a little outside their walls. Payload is prepped in hangar two" hearing the familiar voice of his First Mate Gangrel opened his eyes and took in the sight of Chiffon who was clearly dressed and equipped for combat despite the events at Poly-Tech a little more than forty-eight hours previously. While Gangrel knew that his ship was fitted with the best medical equipment available and that his chief medical officer routinely worked what other doctors would be forced to describe as miracles the Bear Faunus still doubted that Chiffon's Aura had healed his broken ribs
"You're not cleared for duty soldier" he noted
"Fuck off with that 'soldier' shit" Chiffon snorted "Friends don't let friends go solo into enemy territory"
"Friends don't let friends air-drop out of a hangar from this height with no parachute" Gangrel countered "We don't know what they've got in terms of anti-aircraft guns and I'm not wasting one of the new fighters"
"Yeah well, court marshal me later 'cos I'll disobey orders over this if I have to" Chiffon shrugged, trying to hide a wince as he tugged injured muscles
"I pull rank on you over this and Winter will probably give Asteri your job out of of spite" Gangrel joked; a few moments passed by before the hangar bay doors opened with a deafening mechanical screeching and grinding followed by the howling sound of the wind which threatened to knock them from their feet, a fatal error at this altitude.
"We are directly above the drop zone, payload is ready and wings three and four are ready to provide aerial assistance on your command sir" the voice of Gangrel's third in command issued from a nearby speaker, rather than make any sort of gesture that would show to the bridge crew that he had received the message he simply strode towards the now open hangar door and spoke to Chiffon as he did so
"Keep the safety on your weapon"
"Gang-"
"Do not fucking argue with me on this one" the Bear Faunus growled "We should expect some resistance but we're not going down there to start a fight….there're non-combatants down there, kids"
"Got it" Chiffon nodded before engaging a locking mechanism on his signature weapon
"Now hold on" Gangrel ordered, gripping his old friend by the shoulder firmly despite his injuries and leaping out of the hangar. Wind whipped around them as they fell freely through the air and steadily picked up momentum; the height from which they were falling meaning that whilst the snow covered ground rushed up to meet them it still seemed to take far too long to do so. If Chiffon had any doubts he didn't show them, Gangrel himself was utterly unconcerned about this part of the plan; landing strategies were after all the first thing a student of Beacon Academy learned. Gangrel waited, counting down in his head until he decided it was time to use his Semblance, vanishing from the air with a dull booming crack and cloud of dark acrid smoke; reappearing behind one of the many snow covered rocks that littered the side of the mountain that the settlement of Tartarus, formerly an Atlesian Military base was situated on
"Little warning before you do that next time" Chiffon grumbled from beside him, massaging his shoulder which along with his chest was suffering from fresh waves of pain
"You knew it was coming" Gangrel growled "Now shut up, they definitely heard that" he took a few seconds to steady himself after taking a passenger along for his teleportation before unsheathing the cruel looking broad bladed and hooked sword from his back and holding it directly over his head for a moment before lowering his arm
"No snipers" he noted
"Or maybe they're just not that fucking stupid" Chiffon grumbled, rising to his feet and following the Bear Faunus who had already moved out of cover and was making his way towards their target; Tartarus itself
"They can see us" Chiffon noted as he took in the sight of the perimeter wall of the former base, noting that several hasty and slapdash repairs had clearly been made and that many of the weapon emplacements and watchtowers lining the structure which rose high enough to shield the building behind it seemed to have been added after the fact and constructed from whatever the White Fang could steal, salvage or trade for though that was not to say that they were in any way insufficient. They had clearly seen off whatever Grimm had necessitated the repairs to the wall and as a pair of double-barrelled high calibre machine guns were aimed at them both Gangrel and Chiffon noted that the weapons seemed to be in relatively good condition
"STAY RIGHT THERE HUNTSMEN!" one of the sentries manning the machine guns barked down to them and Gangrel saw that dozens more armed guards were aiming rifles at them from the wall
"WE CAME TO NEGOTIATE!" Gangrel shouted back up to the sentries. There was confused muttering between the guards, none of them quite sure how to deal with the response they'd received
"I really wanna tell them that their mother was a hamster and their father smelt of Elderberries" Chiffon muttered under his breath; Gangrel merely rolled his eyes before calling out something that ranked amongst the most dangerous words he could possibly utter in his current circumstances
"MY NAME IS GANGREL SLATE, FORMER CAPTAIN OF THE WHITE FANG! I WANT TO SPEAK WITH YOUR LEADER!" both he and Chiffon could practically feel the tension as sentries muttered among themselves, clearly debating the merits of shooting the traitor and his human accomplice where he stood; evidently deciding that killing without the explicit approval of the High Commander was more of a risk than they were willing to take as after a few moments the main gate of the base turned settlement allowing them entry. Gangrel and Chiffon moved forwards, getting no more than a few paces inside the perimeter before they were stopped and surrounded by armed Faunus
"Hand your weapons over"
"Absolutely not" Gangrel replied calmly "Your leader can have their own armed security with them for these negotiations if they want but we're keeping our weapons"
"I say shoot 'em" a clearly agitated young man whose hair appeared to be replaced with a porcupines' quills spat
"Shoot the arch traitor?" a Rabbit Faunus laughed "Nah, the High Commander will wanna do this personally"
"You're aware we can leave at any time right?" Chiffon noted "We're here to talk, that's all" the sentries shared concerned looks, the lack of fear in the humans' tone evidently unsettling them. One of them finally made a decision and spoke to a Faunus who was clearly their underling in some way
"Take 'em to Kuro. He can make the call, we still get credit for bringing 'em in either way" with no further discussion Gangrel and Chiffon were escorted through Tartarus, taking note of its' dilapidation and the gaunt, hungry expressions on the faces of those who called the place home; further convincing Gangrel that his choice had been the correct one. They were taken to a room that could only be described as a makeshift church of some kind, allowing for the crowd that had amassed around them to take seats as the pair were brought before a Tarantula Faunus whose entire body was covered in dark, fibrous hairs
"I am Kuro" the man, whom Gangrel guessed to be of a similar age to himself announced "And I speak on the High Commanders' behalf in her absence-"
"Which I'm guessing is more and more often lately?" Gangrel interrupted, putting his plan into motion "Seems like the High Commander has been spending less and less time here since Eisenstadt Siebte was sealed off; seems like she doesn't need you-"
"Silence traitor" Kuro cut him off harshly "You won't spread your poison here"
"You're right I won't" Gangrel sighed "I'm here to make sure you understand exactly how things are and offer you terms"
"You think we would surrender?" Kuro asked, everything about his tone and body language reeked of inexperienced posturing, he was a follower and a lackey struggling to play the part of a leader
"I think you're low on food, Dust, medical supplies and pretty much everything else….which is something I'll help you with as a show of good faith" before Kuro could demand an explanation the Bear Faunus opened a comm channel to the Gespenst and gave a single order "Deploy payload"
"What have you done?" Kuro demanded
"There are now twenty drop pods of resources being deployed to this location, twenty tons per pod. Consider this an act of goodwill on behalf of both myself and the Atlesian Council whom I am authorised to speak for….so let's talk about ending this war shall we?" the room in which Celeste Lupus held her sermons was filled with stunned gasps and a wave of frantic, disbelieving muttering as everything that the Ram Faunus who led them had claimed was shaken in an instant
"Let me be clear" Gangrel stated firmly "This conflict will end today one way or another, I would prefer to do so without more bloodshed therefore I am offering the following terms-"
"More lies and tricks from Atlas!" Kuro bellowed, suddenly desperate, Gangrel paid him no mind at the moment, instead delivering what he had fought the governing body of his Kingdom for
"Atlas is willing to allow Tartarus to exist as an independent settlement and provide material and financial aid to make this settlement self sustaining. Beyond that point Tartarus will be recognised as an independent Kingdom in its' own right and will be willing to make trade agreements with the Kingdom of Atlas if its' governing body so chooses" the shocked whispers reached a new intensity as the White Fang seemed to realise that Atlas had effectively just handed them Adam Taurus's vision of 'New Menagerie' on the continent of Mantle and offered to help them make it a reality; Gangrel then delivered what he hoped would be the most decisive non-lethal blow he could in this war "In return the Kingdom of Atlas demands the extradition of individuals using the alias 'High Commander of the White Fang' and 'The Cult of Taurus' for trial for various crimes; in addition to this should Tartarus continue to aid terrorists acting within Atlesian territories this will be taken as an act of war…..In short we're offering you peace; we're offering you freedom and a way of life that doesn't mean sending your kids to war. All we want in return is good faith and justice for people that your current leader has murdered. Decision's yours Kuro" the Tarantula Faunus looked at the Specialists, then to the mass of tired, worn and hungry Faunus waiting with baited breath and then to the armed and masked members of the White Fang surrounding both himself and the Atlesians; it took him almost no time at all to decide that if something sounded too good to be true then it was most likely a lie, especially when considering the Kingdom of Atlas whose racism and hate he was more than familiar with
"I believe nothing these men say and any of you who would consider committing treason against the High Commander and abandoning the cause for whatever scraps they're willing to throw us should be ashamed, you have no right to call yourselves Faunus" he nodded to the armed sentries "Guards, kill these men" Gangrel sighed and prepared to use his Semblance but the bullets never came, the guards hesitating for what must have been the first time in years
"I SAID-" Kuro's furious demand went unfinished, the tarantula Faunus both silenced and sent crashing to the floor as a Scorpion Faunus brought the butt of his rifle crashing against the back of his skull with a sickening crunch, repeating the action another dozen or so times with bloody results which mothers in the crowd shielded their children's eyes from; the Scorpion Faunus then jabbed the stinger of his tail into Kuro's chest seemingly to make sure that the man wouldn't live to speak of his treachery before turning to Gangrel and removing his mask, revealing eyes that held both unspeakable terror and the faintest flicker of hope
"You mean what you said? We don't have to fight any more?"
"All of it" Gangrel assured him "As long the terms of our peace deal are honoured" the young man, Gangrel guessed him to be no older than his early twenties nodded before adding
"My brother and sister didn't come back from missions….none of what we've done seems to have helped us; it's time for new leadership in Tartarus" as the Scorpion Faunus finished speaking a few others cheered and mirrored his sentiment. Gangrel reached out and shook the mans hand and offered words that he thought might just resonate
"Before Adam Taurus lost his fucking mind there was something he used to say to me before every mission, I think it needs to be said before we sign these peace treaties between our Kingdoms"
"What was it?"
"Let's go save the world"
The cheering of the crowd was dulled to a distant roar in the locker room as Corvid Xiao Long and Lux Lumière made their final preparations; both to their equipment and to their own mental state, silently preparing themselves for the battle to come. Team CLIR had been defeated in the doubles round of their previous appearance in the Vytal Tournament, they had only had a weekend to recover from the mission that had seen them facing off against the Cult of Taurus and both of them knew that their opponents were highly capable Hunters. Corvid forced her doubts aside with a single slow exhale and reminded herself of who she was, she was Corvid Xiao Long, she was a stubborn refusal to budge given form and today she would be stubbornly refusing to budge until her opponents were beaten and her team were victorious. The sound of the locker room door opening was something Corvid almost expected at this point, the security had been laughably lax regarding students coming and going during their Team CLIR's first year as well, which Corvid recalled several students using to their advantage.
"Hey there darlin'" Rusty drawled as he sat beside Lux and took his boyfriend and partners' hand in his own "Give 'em hell out there y'hear" he drawled before kissing Lux's cheek, his own lips and cheeks still sporting clearly visible cuts from the battle they had found themselves in.
"Wish I could be out there with you Corey" Iris sighed prompting Corvid to look up at her from where she sat on one of the benches; she found herself unable to take her eyes off of the spot where her friends' prosthetic limb should have been, which prompted Iris to scowl at her upon noticing
"Corey it's fine for Oum's sake stop staring at it!" she snapped uncharacteristically harshly before her tone softened "Sorry….the new one should be ready soon"
"I'm sorry Iris, I should've-"
"Hey" Lux gently placed a hand on her shoulder "People get hurt in this job….we're all okay, you did everything you could and we couldn't ask for a better leader"
"But if you really wanna help" Iris shrugged "I'm thinking of working on a secondary weapon, maybe something that I can build into the arm when I get it, you wanna help?"
"Of course" Corvid beamed, steely grey eyes lighting up with enthusiasm "I'll have you armed and ready in no time"
"And you ruined it" Iris sighed, though her smile and the gentle punch on the shoulder she gave her friend said otherwise. Corvid, filled with fresh enthusiasm rose to her feet and waited for the Omega Wing to hover into place beside her before turning to Lux
"Let's go turn some heads" with that the two of them strode out into the arena itself, their match would be one of the last to take place in Freiheit before the tournament moved to another city but the crowd was no less enthusiastic or numerous, a deafening chorus of cheers sounding out as Qrow Branwen and Bartholomew Oobleck announced them. Corvid and Lux however focused solely on the pair of Hunters standing across from them; Ranger Altan and Blowzy Glimmer of Team RNBW a Mistrali team whose exploits the crowd loved just as much as they did Team CLIR's own. Blowzy was a small, petite slip of a young woman with pixie cut pastel pink hair and wearing a flowery dress which stopped just above the knees; everything about her seemed almost obscenely cheery and saccharine until Corvid took note of the bulky headphones slung around her neck which were clearly more than they appeared to be and saw the smile on her face which toed the line between mischievous and predatory. Ranger was tall and athletic, boasting a powerful build and slight curves, light brown skin and shaggy platinum blonde hair which reached to their shoulders; their outfit which gave the impression of some kind of master martial artist was a mix of dark greens and black with the exceptions of the white bandages around their knuckles and a necklace of ornate red beads hanging around their neck; they sized up their opponents with deep chestnut eyes and a soft smile came to their high cheek-boned face. Corvid had noted on more than one occasion that Ranger Arslan was ridiculously attractive and merely shot them a wink in return
"Heard you're fresh back from a mission?" Ranger enquired gently "Shame we can't do this while you're at your best"
"You wouldn't last five minutes with me at my best" Corvid shot back suggestively, expression making it clear that Ranger was free to interpret that comment however they wished
"For Oum's sake Corey" Lux muttered from beside her
"Distracting your opponent is a valid tactic" Ranger purred "Though I do hope that's not all that's going on here"
"Oh sweet Oum there's two of them"
"Welcome to my personal hell" Blowzy snickered from across the battlefield
"What can I say, I've hoe-ned my skills to perfection" Corvid added with a grin that could only fairly be described as 'shit eating' fortunately the arena began to sink out of view as the battlefield was selected, the noise being enough to bring the banter between the four of them to a halt.
"AND THAT'S ANCIENT RUINS ON TEAM RNBW'S SIDE OF THE ARENA-" Qrow announced
"NOT AN EXACT OR ACCURATE RECREATION OF THE RUINS SEEN IN VALE'S EMERALD FOREST BUT CERTAINLY FIT FOR PURPOSE" Oobleck added seemingly unable to stop himself from talking about his passion of history
"AND TEAM CLIR HAVE….I'M PRETTY SURE I KNOW THAT EXACT LAKE IN MISTRAL" Qrow noted with some surprise before recovering "NOTHING TOO CRAZY TO GIVE ONE TEAM AN ADVANTAGE HERE BUT THERE'S STILL SOME OPTIONS"
"Huh" Corvid noted as she looked at the relatively peaceful landscape that now covered half of the arena "Looks like where Team CLIR had a mission in First Year….Thinking about it, I think your Mum was our Hunter for it Ranger"
"Did you flirt with her too?" Blowzy asked mockingly. Corvid let out a sigh that anyone who knew her would have recognised as a precursor to a violent response
"THEE!" Qrow's voice boomed out and Corvid surreptitiously prepared the computerised gauntlet on her left arm
"TWO!" Ranger and Blowzy readied themselves, Blowzy donning her headphones while Ranger merely adopted a fighting stance
"ONE!" Lux's hands tightened around his twin rapiers
"BEGIN!" Lux moved impossibly fast, his paired swords being drawn and combined into their ranged form and a single Dust tipped arrow aimed and fired in a single breath. The crowd were left in stunned silence before erupting into cheers as Ranger Altan simply plucked the arrow out of the air scant millimetres from their face and promptly crushed the Dust crystal tip in their hand and made a 'come' gesture. Corvid however had used the brief opening to don the Omega Wing in its' battle-suit form and take to the air
"AND XIAO LONG HAS BROUGHT HER PRIMARY WEAPON THIS TIME FOLKS!" Oobleck announced
"IT'S BEEN UPGRADED SINCE THE LAST TIME THESE CROWDS SAW IT….PRETTY SURE THE GUNS WERE STILL ON THE ARMS BACK THEN" Qrow added
"Hey Corey!" Blowzy called up to her, ducking between simulated ancient ruins to deny the airborne Huntress a clear shot "It's not as flashy as your but I've got something for ya!" Blowzy slipped out of cover and Corvid watched as her headphones expanded and reshaped themselves, an opaque and reflective black tactical visor covering her eyes before several mechanical components unfurled over the visor forming the weapon itself; a split second later Blowzy was wearing a head mounted laser battery and fired a wide beam of crimson light from directly in front of where her eyes would be. Corvid let out a low whistle as she was forced to evade the attack
"That's pretty flashy" Corvid called down from behind her own featureless mask "It's literally a big flash-light" seconds later she was forced to take evasive action again; all the while taking note of her adversaries' speed, range and capabilities.
A single coach with wheels and suspension modified for crossing all manner of terrain made its' way up the steep incline of the mountain whose peak was perpetually snow-capped, though the destination of those aboard was not quite so high. The vehicle had been reported stolen but its' license plates had since been changed and coaches travelling the long roads criss-crossing the barren Atlesian landscape were a far more common site since the settlements above ground had begun to flourish; nobody would pay any mind to such a vehicle until it reached a suspicious proximity to the mountain which housed the ruins of Eisenstadt Siebte by which point it would be a moot point as there would be no one there to ask questions. Celeste noted idly that the vehicle was comfortable and had room to store her wheelchair which she found herself needing to use less and less as her augmented spine restored what had been taken from her, though the primary benefit it provided her with was privacy; its' windows were heavily tinted and due to the size of the coach situated a little higher than passengers in most other vehicles on the road would be able to peer into, helpful when ones' travelling companions wore distinctive masks marking them out as terrorists who had murdered Hunters and police alike at all times.
"It's a shame we'll most likely have to dispose of this vehicle" Celeste mused out loud "Perhaps I should invest in something similar" the Ram Faunus had been relishing the thrill of her almost total complement of victories against Atlas; the misinformation which had led her most faithful into a trap at Geheimnis being the sole instance of the White Fang not completing their objective, the sting it left on her pride easily assuaged by the fervour of the crowds she had been speaking to across the Kingdom for the last two days almost without pause or sleep. Despite her exhaustion Celeste felt as though she were unstoppable, as though she would soon be able to lead the White Fang marching to victory through the streets of Atlas's city as they laid low their oppressors. Such thoughts were brought to a halt as she noticed that the coach was slowing down, Alpha who had sat by her side watching her revered leader compose and amend their magnum opus 'Peace Through Tyranny' snapped her head towards the drivers' seat where Beta was situated
"What's going on?"
"There are Faunus approaching….they seem to be coming from Tartarus"
"Stop the coach" Celeste ordered, her voice calm despite the cold weight of dread seeping into her gut and her paranoia screaming into her subconscious to be wary as she rose to her feet and donned the black power armour that had became as much as a symbol as her mask or the sword which had once belonged to Adam Taurus. The armour moulded itself around her and sealed itself, the now familiar rush of power surging through her as it integrated with her own cybernetic implants; fixing her mask into place and with Alpha at her back Celeste made her way to the front of the coach and opened the door
"Oh thank Taurus you're back!" Celeste was somewhat taken aback by the sight that greeted her, roughly a two dozen Faunus of all ages clustered around her, wearing terrified expressions and little else; the lack of suitable outerwear and general air of panic around them suggested that they had simply abandoned everything and ran; this combined with the fact that they seemed glad to see the Cult of Taurus raised countless red flags
"What has happened?" Celeste enunciated each syllable carefully, tone dangerous enough to force even the most terrified and adrenaline fuelled mind to focus and comply, one of the Faunus finally spoke up
"The arch traitor Gangrel Slate came to Tartarus" the words hit Celeste like an icy wave; there were few Faunus considered worse traitors to Adam Taurus and thus the Faunus race than Gangrel Slate, Blake Belladonna certainly, perhaps Velvet Scarlatina and Obsidian Eadala though the order such individuals were ranked in meant little compared to the scale of their treachery.
"How many dead?" Celeste murmured mournfully, genuinely sorry for the losses it had doubtless taken to bring the traitor down; though she assured herself that each of her fighters' had willingly laid down their lives for the cause and that if Slate still lived she would have the Cult inflict pain on him like nothing experienced in all of history. Then she saw the terrified glances those fleeing from Tartarus were giving each other, none of them daring to answer her question
"You High Commander has spoken" Alpha warned, Semblance seeping into her words and forcing the attention of the Faunus onto her
"Kuro's dead High Commander….and a few of the sentries were cut down buying time for us to escape" the insectoid Faunus's lip quivered and they found themselves unable to go on, a Mouse Faunus continued in their stead
"It wasn't Slate that killed them….he came and offered peace terms….our people wanted to accept them and killed Kuro when he ordered-"
"Enough" Celeste breathed out, hands balled into white knuckled fists "The traitor has come into my home and sown his treason….this demands justice"
"What would you have of us?" Alpha asked in a hushed whisper, both incandescent with rage and stunned by the unrepentant gall of their enemies, behind her Beta, Delta and Gamma had congregated and were similarly making their readiness known. Celeste spoke the escapees from her settlement first
"Take this coach, drive to one of the outer settlements and contact one of our cells there. Tell them I have sent you to be integrated into other cells and you will find yourselves with homes and employment….You are to say nothing of what has happened" she stood aside and allowed the now refugees from her fallen Kingdom to make their way aboard, even in their current state all of them were careful not to touch or stare too long at the masks of the Cult of Taurus; to whom Celeste said simply
"Come with me" the Ram Faunus didn't wait for a response simply marching purposefully towards Tartarus, hand tightening around the shaft of Wilt as she stalked towards her target. Within minutes, which passed in cold, murderous silence perimeter wall of Tartarus came into view and Celeste finally spoke, hissing out commands.
"Beta, Gamma flank the main entrance and wait for the signal. Delta, attack from behind….Alpha, announce my presence" the Lionfish Faunus was filled with sadistic glee at those words and the two woman advanced towards the main gate of the repurposed military base, fully aware of the weapons being aimed at them. Celeste gave a silent nod and Alpha spoke; voice carrying and reverberating unnaturally and hauntingly
"CITIZENS OF TARTARUS, YOUR CRIMES ARE SERIOUS AND UNDENIABLE, YOUR DEFENCE OR JUSTIFICATION IS IRRELEVANT….YOUR SENTANCE IS CLEAR!" satisfied that the traitors would now be afraid and scrambling without a plan Celeste drew wilt and charged the main gate; justice would be swift and bloody.
Eagle had cheered so much already this evening that she could her voice beginning to get hoarse though she certainly wouldn't let that curb her vocal support of Corvid Xiao Long
"Hey!"she exclaimed, feigning offence as Hellion used her distraction to steal a hand of popcorn, having assured Eagle that she didn't want any only moments ago
"I regret nothing" Hellion chuckled as she gave the blonde a sly wink, wrapping an arm around Eagle's waist and enjoying the feeling of the armoured Huntress leaning into the embrace. The pair were seated at the end of an aisle of seats, positioned so that they could be seen by Antonia Arc when she entered the stadium despite the numerous rows of seats and sheer scale of the crowd. Several rows ahead Eagle could see the rest of her team along with Blake Xiao Long and Helios Nikos, Blake had eschewed the V.I.P box for this bout and had simply taken a seat as close to the front as she could; a keen eye would spot a heavy security detail scattered around her whose stoic expressions identified them easily in the sea of exuberant attendees; elsewhere in the crowd were several other friends of theirs, Eagle had seen the rest of Team NEON as she entered the stadium and Hellion had informed her that Onyx was here somewhere though Carcharodon had decided against attending.
"You're looking for her?" Hellion noted gently, lacing her fingers through Eagle's and squeezing her hand
"Yeah" Eagle admitted, concerned that her mother had still not arrived. Under normal circumstances she would have been beside Felix and Blake who it occurred to her were actually now part of her sizeable extended family, as it was she wanted the meeting between her, Hellion and her mother to be as private an affair as possible given their surroundings; though the reassurances from her team-mates that they were there if she needed her and wishing her all the best had eased her nerves somewhat
"She's not here" Eagle muttered, stating the obvious as her eyes roamed over the crowds once more in a futile attempt to spot Antonia Arc "She said she'd be here"
"Then she'll be here" Hellion assured her gently "Whatever she thinks of me I can't imagine that she wouldn't want to make amends with her only child"
"I guess" Eagle mumbled, still dejected until she caught sight of Hellion staring at her and blushed slightly at the intensity in her jade eyes "What?"
"Nothing" the Dragonfly Faunus assured her before gently kissing her cheek "I was wondering what you'd look like with tribal markings; I still think you've more than earned the right to wear your victories with pride"
"You still think I should get tattoos?" Eagle asked uncertainly, though honestly glad of the distraction
"It's a cultural thing" Hellion offered "A persons' tattoos tell their story….you certainly have a story that shouldn't be kept silent"
"I'll think about it" Eagle grinned, still unsure but not strictly opposed to the idea "I'm not sure if I could draw what I wanted a tattoo to look like-"
"I would be honoured to design them for you" Hellion purred, her voice a sending a slight shiver down Eagles' spine and prompting her to lean a little closer to her girlfriend; painfully aware that they were in full view of thousands of people. The pair soon had their attention returned to the battle taking place by the sound of Qrow's amplified voice
"LUMIERE SEEMS TO BE ON THE ROPES HERE!"
"I wish I could have brought Marauder" Hellion huffed as she watched events unfold; Lux was putting up a valiant fight but Ranger Altan was utterly dominating him, controlling the pace of the fight and keeping too close for Corvid's ranged weapons to offer any real support as they forced the dapper Hunter to concede more and more ground as he was pushed closer to the edge of the arena. While Eagle couldn't hear anything that was being said it was apparent that Corvid had made to intercede, swooping low to pick Lux up and deposit him somewhere safely. Ranger and Blowzy however were already acting in unison, the martial artist sweeping Lux's feet from under him and hurling him into the air where he was struck by a blast from Blowzy's unique weapon and sent crashing out of the arena and the tournament. As Qrow and Oobleck announced the outcome of the attack Eagle was distracted from Corvid's retaliatory onslaught by the feeling of her Scroll vibrating in her pocket; she hurriedly withdrew the device and opened the text message which was, as she'd suspected from her mother, heart sinking as she read its' contents
'There was an attempted break-in at Poly-Tech over the weekend; I've had to let Oz go due to his involvement. I had hoped that things would be taken care of by now but unfortunately I can't leave the office. I'm really sorry but I won't be able to make it tonight'
"Are you okay?" Hellion asked, worried somewhat as she watched Eagle's expression turn from hopeful to crestfallen to angry in a matter of seconds
"Yeah I'm fine" the blonde snapped "It's not like this is a new thing, I don't even know why I expected anything else anyway"
"She's your mother"
"Only when it suits her" Eagle huffed, blinking tears out of her eyes "When she's got a problem with how I live my life or wants to score points over Qrow then she's my Mum, when it comes to actually being a parent….I get sent to my Grandparents house" Hellion was at a loss, she desperately wanted to do or say something that would help but had no real frame of reference for what a functioning nuclear family was meant to look like; after a few moments Eagle rose to her feet and simply said
"I'm going back to the academy, I don't even wanna be here" Hellion followed after her without a moments' hesitation.
In the arena Corvid Xiao Long was struggling with her own problems, though hers were far more straightforward than family complications or romance; she was simply trying to avoid being shot out of the air. Whilst Ranger Altan heavily specialised in close quarters combat and had few ways to effectively combat an airborne opponent with ranged weapons, the fact remained that Corvid was outnumbered and the protective shielding around the arena severely limited her options. Her tactical display informed her of a sudden build up of heat from behind one of the simulated ruins, indicating that Blowzy Glimmer was about to go on the offensive once again; the ruin was reduced to debris and fragments as the Omega Wing's rail-guns opened fire. Once again Corvid was forced to perform aerial acrobatics to avoid the return fire that left the air sizzling and charged whilst warnings flashed on Corvid's tactical display
"Fuck….really gonna make me do it" Corvid hissed through her clenched teeth, avoiding another burst of weaponised light aimed at one of the wings of her battle-suit. She had thus far been conducting herself with ruthless effectiveness but at the same time fairly in this tournament, Blowzy was forcing her hand. Corvid took a deep breath and prepared for the tone of the tournament and the coverage around it to change drastically as she acted the Omega Wing's shield generator
"Hey Daft Punk!" she called down to Blowzy, blasting through her latest cover "You hit hard….but I hit harder, better faster stronger!" with that she simply swooped down towards the petite Huntress in a devastating dive-bomb; Blowzy opened fire again only to be left in open mouthed shock as her laser weapon failed to connect, Corvid's forcefield rippling around her as she simply crashed into her opponent with shattering force. Blowzy was hurled back first by the impact, a forcefield connecting with her Aura sent tingling and stinging sensations throughout her whole body and left her temporarily stunned; providing Corvid all the opportunity she needed to fire both of her rail-guns at incredibly close range
"AND BLOWZY GLIMMER'S AURA HAS BEEN KNOCKED IT THE RED BY CORVID XIAO LONG….IN A DISPLAY OF QUESTIONABLE SPORTSMANSHIP" Oobleck announced and Corvid here the sound of the audience uniting against her, a dull droning of thousands of voices booing and jeering what they no doubt considered to be cheating
"IT'S A GREAT WEAPON" Qrow defended
"IN THE FIELD UNDOUBTEDLY" Oobleck countered "BUT IN A TOURNAMENT DESIGNED TO SHOWCASE ABILITIES IT SEEMS LIKE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE-"
"Thought you were cooler than that Xiao Long, apparently not" Ranger spat as they stalked out of cover, twirling their scimitar "Seriously, Ruby Rose's niece, your own shield generator, you're related to the announcer and wasn't your Mum a teacher back home?….do you actually earn anything you win?"
"Fuck you!" Corvid spat, too furious to think of a more eloquent reply as she charged forwards; the Omega Wing's thrusters propelling her to incredible speed as she deployed her arm mounted blades only to hit nothing but air as Ranger leapt over her
"And with all that you still can't hit me" they snorted, Corvid let out a sound of pure frustration as she turned and opened fire with her rail-guns, levelling everything around where Ranger Altan had been stood. When the dust settled her opponent was several feet away from where they had been previously, sprawled on the ground with their Aura flickering. Her temper subsiding just enough for her to be somewhat reasonable Corvid deactivated her shields, the air visibly rippling around her as she did so; then deactivated the Omega Wings' ranged weapons for good measure
"Let's do this up close and personal" she growled out as her rail-guns retracted back over her shoulders. Ranger rose to their feet and straightened their back and Corvid prepared to engage her Semblance and weather the storm of blows she fully expected to come; instead Ranger chose to respond in a far more meaningfully offensive way
"Nah. You can have the win on paper but I'm not giving you the satisfaction. I forfeit" with that they turned and simply walked to the age of the arena where Blowzy was waiting and hopped off, leaving Corvid numb as she tried to process what had just transpired; clearly she was not the only one
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Oobleck paused, seemingly needing a moment to choose his next words "RANGER ALTAN HAS FORFEITED THE MATCH, MEANING TEAM CLIR WILL PROGRESS TO THE SINGLES STAGE" the crowd erupted, though it was into the cheers that Corvid has envisioned for this moment; instead it was a cacophony of anger and disappointment from an audience that felt they'd been robbed and that Corvid was the one responsible. As chants began to gain some momentum she turned on her heel and left the arena, deciding that she had no interest in hearing what they thought of her. The Omega Wing peeled away from her and collapsed into its' aerial drone mode, hovering behind her as she made her way into the locker rooms. The first locker Corvid was within striking distance of crumpled under the force of a ferocious punch she unleashed on it, desperate for something to vent her emotions on
"Corey" Iris's tone was gentle and imploring "It won't help"
"Well what will help?" she demanded furiously "Two years we trained for this, we did it, we won, we came further than we did as first years….and the fuckers just stole our moment" Corvid admitted it sounded childish when said aloud but the fact remained; she'd worked hard for this moment and to have it tarnished and emptied of meaning in such a way was unbearable for her
"This aint your moment little lady" Rusty attempted to soothe her, whilst at the same time attending to Lux's bloody face "Your moment's when you wipe out everyone they put in front of you in the singles rounds. Your moment is when you win this whole darn tournament….cos you're Corey Xiao Long"
"This is gonna be hanging over us now" Corvid sighed dejectedly "I shouldn't have used the shields"
"Nonsense" a gruff voice grunted out "They should have prepared better for the unknown and unexpected. Storming off and claiming a moral victory when they couldn't beat you in combat is just being a coward and then lying about the cowardice" all eyes turned to Onyx Ursabane who had entered the locker room unheard
"Not that I don't appreciate the thought but what the hell are you doing sneaking in here?" Iris demanded hotly
"Exactly what it looks like" Onyx snorted "Assuring her that those weaklings out there who hide behind Hunters for protection have no right to an opinion….you would have been revered by my people; if not as an ally then at least an especially worthy opponent"
"Y'know toe-beans" Corvid sighed, deactivating the Omega Wing and sauntering over to the Faunus who towered almost a foot over her "Thanks" she gave a tired but warm smile. Neither of them were exactly sure what was going on between them, they certainly weren't dating that much was abundantly clear though ever since the dance the two had sought each other out whenever they were stressed, bored or simply in the mood and had been having semi-regular, consistently enjoyable sex; the condition that whatever happened between them remain private had been insisted upon by Corvid and Onyx had delivered thus far.
"Glad to help" the Puma Faunus grinned, she could almost hear the cogs turning in his mind as he thought how to proposition her without seeming crudely single-minded
"Hey Onyx" she ran a finger down his muscular chest as she stepped closer until there was almost no space between them; the moment she heard a low rumble of satisfaction escape him she gave a mischievous smirk and swept his legs out from beneath him, hurling the Faunus into a locker which she promptly closed behind him
"My Mum and Fluffy will probably be here any second I don't wanna explain why you're here" Corvid informed with an amused expression whilst her team-mates burst into fits of laughter "Besides, contrary to popular belief I've never hidden someone in my closet when my parents came home….this'll have to do"
The numb disbelief that the conflict with the White Fang could have been ended so neatly and with almost no additional bloodshed had been short lived; though the brutal way the Tarantula Faunus speaking on the High Commanders' behalf had been dispatched was unsettling it spoke of an eagerness for change, which Gangrel Slate could admit to himself that he fully intended on taking advantage of. Beyond the mission to Tartarus however the unrelenting bureaucratic drudgery of his job remained; resources had to be reallocated from the Vytal Tournament since the White Fang had failed to take the bait, the manhunt for the escaped Ozymandias Eldritch had to be co-ordinated, a dozen smaller operations required his oversight, there were reports to read and sign off as well as those he had to write himself, students from the graduating class of Atlas Academy who had been noted as suitable for the Specialist Branch would have to be approached. Gangrel had been glad when Winter had taken over as Team GORE's point of contact and handler, doubly so when Raffia Dirge's violent nature showed itself; the Bear Faunus was sure that if he had been the one tasked with tracking down the rogue agent he would most likely beat him to within an inch of his life when he found him, though he found brief respite from his seemingly unending work in the form of a message from Weiss, relayed via Winter and informing him that Coral's adoption process would be put into motion; both of his children having been on-board with the idea of gaining a sibling.
Currently however Gangrel was tense and filled with sense of foreboding; a little over an hour ago the Gespenst, which monitored a vast amount of radio chatter and Scroll communications at all times simply due to the nature of its' role had picked up what couldn't be described as anything other than an S.O.S; frantic and almost incoherent pleading for assistance while weapons and screams could be heard in the background. Thinking a settlement had been beset by Grimm Gangrel had been ready to relay the message to the nearest Atlesian ship he could order to act or scramble fighters, learning that the point of origin of the S.O.S had been Tartarus had changed matters. The Bear Faunus and half a dozen other heavily armed Specialists had taken one of the new state of art Manta Type 5 transports and sped towards the White Fang settlement whilst the Gespenst turned and followed behind, Chiffon assuring Gangrel that the weapons would be primed when the warship was within firing range.
"Sir we're approaching your previous drop zone" the pilot intoned, tension permeating their voices
"Bring us in closer" Gangrel ordered "Weapons ready but don't fire until I give the order, we're dropping in right on top of 'em" there were a few murmurs of agreement from the Specialists around him. Seconds ticked by seeming to stretch out far too long until the pilot spoke again
"Sir something's not right, I just did a thermal scan and….Holy Oum" Gangrel rose to his feet and entered the cockpit; amber eyes widening as he looked over the pilots' shoulder and saw the readings which could only have one explanation. As he looked out of the cockpit, greater than human eyes straining he saw that his fears were indeed correct; trails of smoke could only be seen faintly against the darkness but as they drew nearer to Tartarus the glow of flames was unmistakable.
"EVERYONE PREP FOR DROP! EXPECT HOSTILES! PILOT I WANT ICE DUST ROCKETS ON THOSE FIRES!" Gangrel received a chorus of compliances as he opened the hatch of the transport and hurled himself into the night air, teleporting with a dull crack and reappearing on the ground inside the wall of Tartarus, hands finding his weapons as his nostrils were assaulted by the smell of burning and the coppery scent of blood permeating everything beneath it. His fellow Specialists landed around him as the first Ice Dust rocket impacted against one of the many buildings within which blazing infernos raged; several passes around the settlement starved the flames of the fuel and oxygen they needed and reduced the flames to faintly glowing embers within charred and blackened husks
"Fan out, be ready for anything" Gangrel ordered stalking towards the building in which he had his audience with Kuro; he never reached it. Instead he whipped around as he heard one of his Specialists let out an exclamation behind him, only lowering his weapon once he was sure there was no assailant.
"Bodies sir" the Specialist explained, gesturing inside the building they had opened the door to and in doing so all but confirming Gangrel's worst fears.
"SIR WE'VE GOT A LIVE ONE!" a voice called out from behind a nearby building, adding "HE NEEDS MEDICAL EVAC ASAP THOUGH!" Gangrel sprinted towards the speaker and came skidding to a halt in a courtyard which by what could be inferred by the charred ruination littering it had been used to hold training drills. A far more macabre and prominent detail were the bodies littering the courtyard, Gangrel felt bile rise in his throat at the scale and extent of the horror as he saw just how of those bodies could be described as intact. His disgust was only magnified when he saw the survivor and knew instantly that they wouldn't last long enough for help to arrive.
"It was them wasn't it" Gangrel whispered as he brushed passed his fellow solider "It was the Cult of Taurus" the Scorpion Faunus who had killed Kuro managed to look at Gangrel with their single remaining eye, nodding slowly as blood bubbled out of their mouth in a failed attempt to speak. The Faunus was missing their tail and their body had been reduced to a bloody and ragged mess so thoroughly mangled that only the most severe injuries could be easily identified; his hands had been crushed into uselessness and his face had been simply ripped apart, Gangrel suspected by the torture devices that the head of this group of sociopaths wielded as weapons. As a final, killing blow the Scorpion Faunus had been impaled and was held suspended from the ground by a steel spike which burst through his ribcage.
"She….she" the Faunus struggled to speak, Gangrel saw the light leaving the mans' eye and new these were his final moments.
"She told them to kill me last, she told them to make me watch" a ripple of whispers passed through the Specialists who had been converging on Gangrel's location, each of them having found more bodies.
"The leader of the White Fang killed every man, woman and child here rather than let them pursue peace with Atlas" Gangrel murmured to the Specialist beside him, too stunned to fully process the carnage around him until a gunshot rang out
"Nevermore sir" one of his soldiers explained as they holstered their weapon "Grimm are gonna be swarming the place within the hour" Gangrel nodded in understanding and silently gave the order for the Specialists to fall back; the Grimm could be culled from the air. As he left the ruins of Tartarus the Bear Faunus couldn't shake the cold terror that gripped him; he had come seeking peace and others had paid the ultimate price for it, more than that he knew that this would only be the first retaliatory blow and whilst Gangrel couldn't say with any certainty where or when it would be he was sure that his family would have to be cautious and look over their shoulders until this nightmare ended.
Authors Notes:
Well damn, that got dark….I mean the first introduction to the Cult of Taurus was a mutilated corpse but still.
Anyway, we've got a couple more chapters of bringing the pieces together and then we're gonna be starting the Second year finale.
Also, nearly died at work today….this being posted proves that explosions aren't that big of a deal.
Now, let's summarise shall we:
Atlas gave Gang the authority to blow up an entire settlement, but diplomacy is pushing the boundaries; sounds like Atlas.
Chiffon doesn't stay down for long.
Landing strategies.
Yes Chiffon just said that lol.
Yeah Kuro has zero charisma.
The scene where the Scorpion Faunus killed Kuro was based on something from Game of Thrones.
"Let's go save the world" did anyone who read The Downward Spiral have feelings there?
Her Semblance makes her immovable, it's literally Corvid's stubbornness manifested as a power.
Seriously locker room security is a joke at this point; the guards are probably underpaid and have no interest in stopping horny teens with literal superpowers from fucking in the changing rooms.
Corvid puns, and with "Armed and Ready" it's a Xiao Long family heirloom.
Blowzy Glimmer is a manic pixie dream girl….except she has a fucking laser and will kill you with it.
Corvid is a horrendous flirt.
Team CLIR have met Arslan Altan, confirmed.
Ranger just snatching the arrow out of the air looked great in my head.
Celeste wants a tour bus, because of course she does.
Alpha is a creepy Fan-Girl.
Still referencing "Peace Through Tyranny" because the IDW Transformers comics may have been rebooted but their legacy will live on.
Seriously if you're glad to see the Cult of Taurus then everything that can go wrong obviously has.
Alpha's announcement to Tartarus is identical to a death sentence that Celeste passed on someone in Vol.5.
Eagle with tats….it's like a puppy with a Mohawk.
Cyber-Pet is still adorable as hell.
Poor Eagle.
The Omega Wing having a forcefield generator combined with Corey's Semblance is actually kinda an unfair advantage; her opponents can't hit her Aura and she physically can't be removed from the ring….it's great against Grimm, but borderline cheating in a tournament.
Ranger definitely touched a nerve there.
That was probably the most insulting thing Ranger could possibly have done to Corvid's pride.
So Corey and Onyx are….a thing.
She threw him in a fucking locker.
Being the head of the Atlas CIA involves a metric fuck-ton of paperwork.
Coral is gonna be a Slate….now someone's just gotta talk to her about that.
Yep, they did exactly what you thought they'd do….with gusto.
Alpha found the guy who killed Kuro and used "Judgement" her torture-gloves on his face.
So, this removes Tartarus from the equation….the White Fang having a base like that was always going to have to be resolved somehow; it also sets her off on the march to war for the finale.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Ferrous, iSassenach, Bankerrtx01, FleetOfWarships, Garthraxxus and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
Athena-Jade is a fucking treat to write.
I work in Sheffield, your cousins accent is what I imagine working class Atlas sounding like.
Oh yeah, I have plans for Oz….horrible, horrible plans.
Oh yeah Nyanza's back is gonna be fucked for weeks even with Aura lol.
I mean having Sentinel back will certainly help.
Oz went ham, nobody had a chance.
Felix's temper still needs work.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.