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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 91: Side Effects
Amethyst Wukong walked with silent determination through the streets of one of New Vale's monolithic Hive towers; descending lower and lower into the hive structure which could almost be considered a city in its' own right until she was scant few levels above the ground itself and the poverty and neglect that her surroundings were subjected to became a pervasive and inescapable fact. Her usual attire had been foregone and in its' place was a nondescript grey sweatsuit, Amethyst's hands were balled into fists inside the pockets and she was ready to activate her weapons to defend herself at a moments' notice; the hood pulled low over face hiding ugly purple and sickly yellow bruises that mottled her skin from her chin and jaw, which still twinged painfully when she spoke after her altercation with Onyx Ursabane the night before and reached up to her right eye where she had been backhanded by her Aunt Melanie who had told her in the harshest possible terms that the Faunus's plans regarding retribution were idiotic and that she would have no part in them.
"Fuck 'em all" Amethyst muttered bitterly to herself as she continued through streets that were mercifully quiet late on a Saturday afternoon, primarily due to many of the businesses that had once been here having either closed or relocated following the breach; their shutters covered in graffiti which ranged from crude markers proclaiming a gangs' supposed ownership of the area to the simply artistic. Amethyst's idea for how to go about obtaining the additional power she knew she would need for what promised to be a violent confrontation with not only Onyx Ursabane but Corvid Xiao Long, of whom she was admittedly a little scared had come to her late on Friday night and she had approached her aunt earlier that morning; returning briefly to the academy only to be seen bruised and dejected by Redshank who had unsurprisingly objected vehemently to her plans. The two of them had argued furiously in Team RAIN's dormitory, Amethyst felt a pang of guilt as she recalled some of the more unkind and uncalled for comments she had made; her anger had only motivated her further however and soon after she had found herself speaking with Moss, leader of Team MUCK and known small time drug dealer who operated out of the very tower she making her way through.
Booster; the narcotic had been talked about in hushed whispers as news of its' existence and alleged effects slowly filtered its' way from the mainland to the island of Patch and whilst under normal circumstances Amethyst would never even consider the use of such a drug, she reasoned that these were far from normal circumstances and as such had found herself acknowledging and at least pretending to reciprocate some of Moss's flirting until he had informed her that whilst he personally was not a supplier of this drug in particular, the drugs he did sell came from Rhodium Torchwick and as such it would only be a matter of making a few calls and arranging where she would meet the supplier; after this had been done Amethyst had quickly made her excuses and left, declining an offer of more traditional party drugs and an offer of a fun weekend.
"Kid" an oily voice spoke, whilst not raised it still carried across the street and Melanie turned to face the man who had addressed her. Across the street was a small garage whose sign proclaimed it to offer quick and reliable services perfect for self-employed tradesmen, Amethyst could recognise a front business when she saw one and this was a particularly clever example; beside the shutter doors leading into the garage itself was a door that most likely led into an office area, sitting on the steps leading up to the door was a beady eyed and sharp toothed Weasel Faunus whose sallow skin and pinched features spoke of malnourishment and poverty which was at odds with his current attire of clearly expensive jeans and footwear worn with a leather jacket and a hefty gold watch which protruded from beneath one of the sleeves
"Hey" Amethyst greeted the man who appeared to be in his early to mid twenties as she crossed the street "You're-"
"Name's Tricky" he cut across her, his tone making it clear that it would be the only name she was given; Amethyst understood this and accepted it calmly, she had after all sold cannabis given to her by her somewhat hypocritical aunt to many of her classmates at Signal and the local teenagers whose career paths did not require them to train as Hunters, often instructing her customers to save her contact details under a false name in their Scrolls.
"I'm looking to buy Booster" she said quietly, deciding to get straight to business as she knew from experience that neither participant in a drug deal truly enjoyed small talk.
"Come inside" Tricky rose to his feet and unlocked the door, stepping into a reception area leading to offices that even in the gloom could be seen to be a little disorganised
"Well this is cosy, you just let anyone in here?" Amethyst joked, attempting to mask her sudden nerves.
"Moss tells me you're genuine, I had some kids on lookout by the post office you passed about ten minutes ago" the answer sent an involuntary shudder through the Faunus, Tricky continued undeterred "Moss also tells me you've got potential, personally I think he's just trying to fuck you and thinks I'll sell you drugs for cheap to be his wingman"
"He said eighty Lien" Amethyst clarified, bringing a calculating look to the Weasel Faunus's eyes
"Full price….okay I'm listening, what's special about you kid?" Amethyst considered for a moment and realised what answer she needed to give
"I'm Melanie Malachite's niece"
"Well shit" Tricky breathed out, taking a few minutes to silently weigh his options before speaking again "Alright….I've got a proposition for you-"
"Ew-"
"Not a sex thing, Moss is grimy" Tricky assured her with a snort "The boss wants to get some more muscle in the crew, Hunters specifically….'cos see a lot of normal people take Booster and think they're so tough they don't have to pay debts; they're still not gonna fight a Hunter though"
"You want me to be a debt collector?" Amethyst asked
"Mainly just stand behind a dealer and look scary until the customers' high wears off and they cough up" Tricky shrugged "Ever taken Booster before?"
"No" Amethyst admitted with a shake of the head
"I'll give you a free sample now" Tricky offered "When you come back….and you will, we can talk business then. You wanna just buy and be a customer that's fine, you wanna make some real money though then talk to Moss and we'll organise something"
"Sweet" Amethyst took care to keep her tone even and composed, understanding that being overly excitable in these situations was a mark of inexperience that would soon see one being short changed and overcharged; internally however her mind was racing with possibilities. Tricky reached under the receptionists desk and produced an unassuming black rucksack which, when opened emitted a faint pale green and somewhat eerie glow; he reached into bag and produced a small plastic bag filled with an off-white powder which seemed to be one of the sources of the glowing and contained what could best be described as miniscule fragments of crystals; pressing the bag and a syringe into her hands he warned Amethyst
"Don't snort it, some idiots do and it lasts for about five minutes at best. Heat it till it melts and inject" Amethyst forced herself not to recoil at the idea, smoking weed was one thing but there was something altogether less palatable about drugs that required needles and other such paraphernalia. She took the Booster nonetheless and awkwardly made her way out of the reception, walking passed the garages and back the way she had come. Tricky watched her go for a moment before palming his Scroll and dialling
"Hey Rhodey" he cooed, his face a cruel smile full of sharp teeth "You're not gonna believe who I just sold to"
Yang Xiao Long howled with laughter whilst Felix buried his face in his hands, face slowly flushing as red as Helios's hair as the Nikosi beside him relayed the message he had been instructed to
"So, just so I understand this" Yang gasped out "My name was basically on a Nikosi blacklist for years because I killed Tyrian when his army attacked Mistral's capital and your tribe had already called dibs on him….and you and Fluffy didn't like each other at first because of it-"
"I mean…." Felix shuffled awkwardly
"But it's all okay now, except for the fact that your Mum still wants to have a fistfight with me?" the question was directed at Helios who refused to be anything other than perfectly polite, despite the lack of serious he thought Yang affording the situation
"Tyrian was a warlord who butchered entire tribes, entire cultures are extinct because of the Poli-Trogon tribe….you're considered a legend among our people Missus Xiao Long; my mother wants to test herself against you"
"Sure" Yang beamed, catching both Felix and Helios off guard with the casual acceptance "Pyrrha was always great to spar against, it'll be fun….if I'm ever in Mistral I'll be sure to try and arrange something"
"I'll be sure to inform her" Helios answered, trying his best to seem relaxed with the situation whilst inwardly on the verge of madness at the mere suggestion that his mother and one of Felix's should face each other in ritual combat; something that Felix himself seemed more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of himself.
"Relax, you don't need to be so nervous" Yang assured Helios, slightly misreading the source of his concern "You two are just as cute together as Blake said….I've had photos of Felix as kid ready all summer"
"Mum no"
"Mum yes" Yang countered with a feral smile as she rose to her feet; Felix and Corvid had both joked several times in their teenage years that one of the few perks of being adopted was a lack of baby pictures to be embarrassed by, this assertion had easily proven false by both Yang and Blake revealing that they had more than enough pictures from their childhoods. Yang's teasing threat proved to be mercifully empty when she instead left the living room to check on dinner; Blake was needed at the New Vale office of the Coalition to handle reports of a rise in discrimination against Faunus workers following the White Fang's attack in Atlas but was expected to be home soon whilst Corvid had stated that she may return home at some point depending on her availability, Yang had also offered Taiyang to visit for what would be an entire Xiao Long family dinner, Helios being swiftly elevated to status of honorary family as it was safe to say that Yang utterly adored her sons' first boyfriend.
"Are your childhood pictures that embarrassing?" Helios asked with an amused smirk and raised eyebrow
"Worse" Felix chuckled with an exaggerated shudder "There are pictures of me with short hair"
"The horror" Helios dead-panned before leaning in for a kiss, Felix let out a low purr of pleasure as he wrapped an arm loosely around the back of the redheads' neck whilst leaning back into the arm of the sofa they shared; Helios took advantage and deepened the kiss as he positioned himself above the Faunus, the rational part of his mind insisting that Yang would be back any second going unheeded until the pair of them were sent rocketing away from each other with guilty expression in an almost cartoonish display by the sound of the front door opening
"Keep your Niklothes on!" Corvid taunted as she stepped into the living room, following up by calling out "Mum, they're making out on the sofa!" Felix managed to silently mouth something to his sister that would have Yang threaten to wash his mouth out with soap before Yang herself returned with her own contribution
"Go to 'Simple Wok' if you're gonna ca-noodle" neither Felix or Helios had any response to this other than matching wordless groans whilst Corvid stooped low in a mocking bow to the one true master of puns.
"Sorry I'm late, assignments, tweaking the cannon I built into Iris's new arm and we're already looking at job offers for once Team CLIR leave Halo" Yang beamed with pride as she pulled her daughter into a hug and assured her that it was fine; Felix was silent for a moment and their teasing banter was forgotten as he realised that he had only a few short months before Corvid graduated and set off out into the world, the thought was sobering
"Hey Fluffy you've got mail, passed the kid with the paper round on the way"
"Does he still have a crush on you?" Yang asked with a hint of laughter; Corvid's only response was a sound of open disgust at the notion and were Felix not distracted by the letter she had handed him he would've considered alluding to the existence of Onyx and allow her to be the one under scrutiny for a while. Instead he opened the envelope and began reading the hand-written letter within, his eyes widening with each paragraph until he came the subject of several concerned glances
"Is everything okay?" Helios asked him, before he could answer Corvid simply plucked the letter from his grasp and quickly scanned its' contents, expression becoming one of disgusted fury as she did so
"Forget you saw it, trust me it's for the best" she insisted firmly as she crumpled the letter in her hand
"Corey!" Yang admonished "You can't just-"
"Fluffy look at me" his sister continued on, cutting across Yang with a sense of urgency "Do not believe that letter. I got about two dozen just like it after Team CLIR's first Vytal Tournament….you're not just an orphan any more, you're a famous orphan; everyone thinks they might be your long lost something or other"
"Oh" Yang gasped, realising what the contents of letter must have been
"Yeah….yeah I guess so" Felix sighed, attempting to push the matter from his mind though the atmosphere had been unmistakably changed; Helios gave his hand a reassuring squeeze
"So" Corvid asked, simply ploughing through the tension without acknowledging it "Has Helios seen Felix's old photos yet?" the attempt at a distraction worked and whilst Felix was still shaken by what he had read he could, for the moment at least, pretend that things were as they should be.
"I can't believe how big she's gotten" Arctus noted as he played with Tuscan Tan on the floor of Rover and Artemis's apartment whilst Diamond surreptitiously snapped a series of photos on her Scroll. The toddler was now a little over a year old and was already walking for a few steps at a time and attempting to run, her enthusiasm greatly outpacing her development; her mismatched eyes now had a sharp focus to them, the piercing blue and vibrant yellow orbs tracking the toy car that Arctus was wheeling in front of her intently as the Husky Faunus's tail wagged behind her, its' fur having grown bushy whilst the dark hair atop her head had grown to be curly and luxurious.
"She absolutely adores you" Diamond noted, on the verge of cooing with delight at the bright smiles and giggling coming from the toddler
"She hasn't started talking yet" Artemis noted from where she watched them, unable to hide her amusement at Diamond and Arctus "I just really hope I don't miss her first words when I go back to work"
"So soon?" Diamond asked
"It's been over a year" Artemis countered "Besides with my Semblance every day I'm not out there is a day that a search and rescue team might not find people in time; I'll probably be easing myself back into it and taking some students for a mission in a month or so"
"Cool, you could end up taking Team FADE for a mission; we're gonna be going into anti-Grimm specialisation"
"That wouldn't be a quiet mission" Artemis snorted "Your mission with Rover ended with the breach"
"Hardly our fault" Diamond noted
"No but Hunters talk and well….Team FADE always seem to run into something weird on a mission"
"Like we're the main characters in a story or something" Diamond added in a conspiratorial and theatrical whisper that earned her a laugh from Arctus; the Bear Faunus pausing his play with Tuscan as he felt his Scroll vibrate in his pocket, the Husky Faunus pouted as he withdrew the device and was alarmed to read a message from Athena-Jade that simply read 'Can you get me out of trouble?'
"It's about time for Tuscan's dinner" Artemis declared, making her way and picking up her daughter as she noted the Bear Faunus's suddenly worried expression, leaving the room to allow him to make a call if he needed to. Arctus did so, unconsciously moving to where Diamond sat and silently urging his sister to answer the video call with each ring that went unanswered
"Hey" Athena-Jade's face flickered into view, clearly sulking about something and Arctus quickly noticed that she was currently in her bedroom in Schnee Manor; he slowly exhaled and forced himself not to get angry
"You worried me" he said calmly "You said you're in trouble?"
"I'm grounded" Athena pouted, arms folded across her chest "It's not fair" Diamond made no attempt to hide the burst of laughter that escaped her at this whilst Arctus simply stared at the screen of his Scroll for a few seconds in aggravated disbelief
"You're calling me because you're grounded" he pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping that this was some kind of prank "What did you do?"
"Got kicked out of school" she mumbled sheepishly
"WHAT?"
"Only for a few days!" Athena exclaimed "Besides, it's not my fault….some boy in my class was picking on Coral and making fun of her pincers, so I threw a chair at him; he shouldn't have been being a jerk"
"No he shouldn't" Arctus agreed, privately proud of his sister for standing up for her adopted sibling so effectively but still mindful of the example he was setting "But you can't just throw a chair at someone; you should have told a teacher"
"But they won't do anything" Athena whined "All they'll do is talk to his Dad and his Dad will talk about how much money he's given to the school….it's stupid; he shouldn't have been doing it, I stopped him doing it; I shouldn't be in trouble for fixing something"
"What if you'd missed?" Diamond asked gently
"Huh?"
"What if you'd missed?" she repeated "When you threw a chair at this boy, you could have hit someone who didn't do anything wrong and hurt them"
"I guess" Athena admitted
"I'll talk to Mum and Dad" Arctus promised "I'm not saying I agree with what you did and how you did it, but you did it for the right reasons….and I want you to promise me that you won't apologise to that boy if your teachers try and make you"
"Promise" Athena-Jade grinned fiercely, Arctus beamed with pride; he had been in far too many similar situations growing up where adults with authority believed that a fake apology and unchanged behaviour was enough to consider a matter settled "Good, now go on. You're not really grounded if you can use your Scroll all day"
"You suck" Athena reminded him with a dramatic sigh before hanging up; leaving Arctus and Diamond alone in silence for a moment, the sound of Athena making aeroplane noises to get Tuscan to eat coming from the dining room
"Thanks for the help there Dee"
"I think she should have beat that kids ass" Diamond grumbled
"Yeah me too" Arctus admitted "But it's complicated, always has been"
"Why? If the teachers won't do anything because they're in someone's pocket then just do what you've got to"
"Yeah but it's how you go about it" Arctus countered "Mum and Dad always told me to stand up for myself but would never come out and condone fighting with people no matter how right I would've been for doing it….It's different for Faunus, you start telling Faunus kids that the best way to deal with racism and corruption is violence-"
"And they start thinking like the White Fang" Diamond sighed before nuzzling into Arctus's shoulder and reaching up to kiss him tenderly "I'm sorry Big Guy; I hate that these are conversations you still have to have"
"Yeah well, it's better that he knows how to have 'em" Artemis lamented, announcing her return with a now fed Tuscan; her sensitive feline ears having picked up the important details of the conversation "You'll most likely have to have these talks with your own kids one day….Still, I think you'd both be naturals" the only response from either Arctus or Diamond was panicked sputtering at the subject of their own potential children being raised; Tuscan whilst having no concept of what was being said still chose that moment to begin laughing at the antics of the adults.
Flax Scarlatina loved his job, primarily because his partner was the woman he loved and would readily admit he fell in love with all over again whenever he watched them work; such was the former Atlesian Freelancers' mindset as he shifted his armoured gauntlets to their arm mounted Mini-Gun forms and provided cover fire to Daisy Scarlatina, formerly Arc as she cut a swathe through the horde of Grimm that they encountered on a mission to a forest beyond the walls of the Kingdom. Daisy and her twin sister were something of an oddity among the Arc Sisters; whilst Victoria used her rail-gun which doubled as a monstrously oversized war-hammer to dispatch foes with incredible force and Citrus favoured diving in from the air before exterminating Grimm in an apocalyptic firestorm, the twins favoured speed and fluid manoeuvrability to defeat their enemies, wearing armour that whilst it was clearly the distinctive white and gold that had become synonymous with the Arc family, was far lighter and covered less of their bodies'; Daisy's shield was small enough to leave her vulnerable below the waist but collapsed into a laser weapon capable of burning through all but the thickest of Grimm carapaces and she wielded her sabre with tremendous skill as she weaved between the snapping and snarling monsters pouring out of the trees
"Stop staring at my ass and tag that Ursa!"
"On it!" Flax answered, the mischievous smile on his face and his amused tone making it clear that he had no regrets about being caught staring; collapsing his weapons, which caused them to begin automatically reloading he barrelled towards the hulking ursine horror that lumbered towards his wife's flank, a truly massive specimen of its' kind which still stood almost a head taller than Daisy herself even whilst on all fours and whose back sported bony protrusions with jagged tips reaching several feet in length
"ON YOUR RIGHT!" Daisy's sudden warning came as Flax was reaching into his sleeveless jacket for one of the many tolls of his eccentric former trade as a Freelancer, the Beowolf that she had alerted him to sailed through the air, jaws open wide as it made to bite down on his skull. Flax's hand flew from his jacket and he hurled the Gravity Dust powered landmine that he'd been quickly priming beneath the Ursa which had halted at the approach of the new attacker; the Rabbit Faunus carried his momentum into a spin from which he snatched the Beowolf out of the air and threw it towards the Ursa. The landmine detonated, the pure force of the blast shearing the larger Grimm apart and hurling it upwards, causing its' spiked carapace to impale the Beowolf in a dozen places
"Double kill" he remarked smugly; the victory being somewhat undercut by a beam of turquoise light sweeping across the battlefield and neatly severing pieces from at least a dozen Grimm whilst also felling a handful of trees in the process, their falling trunks crushing several more of the monsters
"New high score" Daisy replied in the same tone he had used; the two of them relaxing now that the immediate problem had been dealt with
"Okay dinner's on me" Flax conceded
"Now let's get this dealt with, I told my parents we'd be able to pick Honey up tonight" Flax nodded silently, checking his weapons before closing his eyes and breathing in deeply and slowly; letting his greater than human senses of smell and hearing guide him
"Getting a faint smell of something that way" he indicated dead ahead; Daisy nodded and readied her sword and shield before leading the way. Their mission was one that had been described as simple and routine but as was often the case when dealing with nightmares made flesh had seemingly become more complicated than initially thought. They had been contacted by Dew Gayl, alumni of Shade Academy and former member of Team NDGO who currently served as the captain of the Tempest, one of Vale's military airships dedicated to preventing Grimm incursions; she had explained that a sizeable township had been beset by Grimm attacks that had been steadily growing in size and regularity and she wanted someone with experience to take a preliminary sweep of the area before she used the Tempests' considerable weapons batteries so close to a populated area. Flax and Daisy had agreed, stating that they suspected a spawning pool had grown unchecked somewhere in the forest, only to be confused when aerial reconnaissance of the area in Flax's modified Bull-Head, the Jackrabbit had yielded none of the usual telltale signs of such an infestation; forcing them to search the dense forest at ground level.
"Up ahead" Daisy murmured after several minutes "Cave….it doesn't look natural though, could be what we're looking for; explains the lack of surface level decay"
"Pre-Great War mine?" Flax offered "Oum knows how long the pit has been growing if that's the case" the two of them approached cautiously, Flax checking that his remote connection to the Jackrabbit was still working
"Move in closer, drop the homing beacons and go?" Daisy offered
"Probably the safest-" Flax trailed off, making a silent gesture for her to stay still; his wife did do until, with another gesture she leapt aside as the Faunus emptied his weapons into the space behind where she had been stood
"Definitely something there!" he called out as he checked the area "Fresh claw marks on the bark and soil"
"It's still here" Daisy warned as something slithered through the forest just out of view, rustling trees on the opposite side of them to where Flax had fired. A brief glimpse of red eyes set into bone coloured amour prompted her to collapse her shield into its' laser weapon form and neatly bisect half a dozen in an attempt to hit the Grimm
"What the fuck is that?" Flax demanded as a shape that conformed with no creature of Grimm he had ever encountered leapt first onto one of the falling tree trunks and then into the canopy
"It's fast, I'd guess at least nine feet tall and it has the high ground now" Daisy answered dispassionately as she scoured the trees for any sign of the monster that was stalking them
"Which means it's smart" as well Flax added "It's planning it's moves" the two of them moved into a back to back position, covering each other and searching intently for the Grimm only for their blood to run cold when it announced itself
"LEAVE!" the sibilant hiss seemed to come from a multitude of voices speaking in unison; each of them filled with malice for the Hunters
"What on-"
"Fuck this" Flax snapped, swiftly using his Scroll to summon the Jackrabbit to their location; within moments the sound of powerful jet engines flying low overhead could be heard and both Flax and Daisy took cover when the transports' weapons let loose a brief salvo that ripped through the trees and ground around them
"Go! I'll cover you!" Flax barked to his wife
"Beacons?" she questioned
"I'll take care of it!" with this assurance Daisy used her Aura fuelled strength to propel herself vertically up the trunk of the nearest tree and leap into the waiting hold of the Jackrabbit; from which she watched her husband follow suit, hurling his homing beacon as close to the cave they suspected to contain a Grimm spawning pit as he could manage as he did so.
"Did you hear that?" Daisy demanded as they took the pilot and co-pilot seats of the Jackrabbit "That was a Grimm….a Grimm that talked!"
"Eagle said she saw something similar" Flax noted, readying the transports' weapons to rake through the canopy with another burst of heavy gunfire in an attempt to kill whatever horror they had just encountered
"I know but…." Daisy trailed off; the consensus among the Arc family had been that the breach had been a traumatic experience; more so for Eagle than most and she was simply trying to make sense of the situation somehow. Flax had his suspicions, he'd dealt with Qrow Branwen before and knew that his sister still worked for the old man on a somewhat regular basis; there were things that the general public were not permitted to know for their own sake and the Faunus had a sinking feeling that they had just stumbled upon such an anomaly
"Contact Dew but tell her not to engage"
"Why not?" Daisy asked in confusion
"That Grimm wasn't normal, no telling if the spawning pit is weird as well" he reasoned "This is gonna have to get called in higher up"
"Velvet?" Daisy asked
"Velvet" Flax nodded "She'll get word to Qrow….I'm not getting directly involved in this" the Rabbit Faunus silently consoled himself with the fact that Qrow Branwen would most assuredly see the problem was attended to, the seemed to have certain branches of the Atlesian military at his disposal after all.
Whilst the home above Qrow Branwen's subterranean base of operations could be described as perfectly ordinary by an uninformed observer who happened to glance at it, the facade faltered a little when one considered the back garden whose fences had been increased to a height of a dozen feet and reinforced with armour plating to prevent any stray shots that pierced the several targets scattered around the spacious plot of land from causing his neighbours any harm; there was no lawn to speak of, rather a haphazard and precarious balance of immaculately tended to home grown vegetables and patches of barren land where Harbingers' scythe mode had been given the mundane task of removing weeds. It was in this back garden, with the late afternoon sun slowly setting that Eagle Arc watched Ruby and Penny Rose partake in a round of target practice, primarily to test some slight tweaks to each of their weapons and assure the quality of the latest batch of ammunition that Ruby had made herself; she had come to Qrow's home so that she could properly introduce her father and Hellion to each other, insisting that any other times that they may have met simply did not count due to the circumstances that the meeting had happened. Finding the older Huntresses already present was a welcome surprise that Eagle had no intention of letting pass, she had been a fan of Ruby Rose's work as a slayer of the Grimm since Uncle Ren had told her highly sanitised and edited versions of their adventures together as bedtime stories and getting to watch them train was something she considered a privilege.
Another welcome surprise, and one that had left Eagle bouncing on the balls of her feet with barely contained joy was that Qrow and Hellion seemed to immediately take a liking to each other; where Hellion had been raised in a culture that prized traits that the Kingdoms considered criminal, Qrow had spent a great deal of his life acting as the shadowy left hand of Professor Ozpin; spying and acting on the former Wizards' behalf in ways that most would consider unfitting for a Huntsman, the two of them had seemed to recognise the other as a kindred roguish spirit and their laughter as they traded stories whilst tending to Qrow's parsnips could be heard over the sound of gunfire.
"Still need a better way to test 'hostile takeover' rounds" Ruby noted with a huff as she collapsed Crescent Rose. A bashful smile on her face as she noticed how Eagle shamelessly gawked at the legendary weapon
"We could buy a one a Poly-Tech robot?" Penny offered
"Just to use it for target practice over an over again? Seems kinda sociopathic….Pearl might rebel" Ruby's joke made both Penny and Eagle laugh whilst Hellion chimed in with a suggestion
"Some Hunters have aerial drones, why not use them in the woods as more worthy target practice?"
"Kids play in those woods" Ruby answered "Not worth the risk"
"Although if we do buy a Poly-Tech robot…."
"We are not buying a robot and chasing it through the woods on a manhunt" Ruby gasped from behind her hands "What's wrong with you?"
"Asserting dominance" Penny shrugged with such an earnest delivery that Ruby was reduced to silent laughter with tears streaming down her face until Qrow's low voice cut across the conversation
"We're gonna have to cut this short-"
"Aww"
"I'm know, I'm sorry Eagle it's been great seeing you" he promised his only child before turning to Ruby "I just got word from Velvet, Flax doesn't wanna call me himself but he's found something that needs to be looked at"
"Where and what are we looking at?" Ruby's voice serious, a vast departure from Eagle's previous interactions with the living legend.
"He's a homing beacon planted, I'll contact Captain Gayl and let her know to expect you aboard the Tempest; as for what it is….he doesn't know" there something about the way that Qrow said that which made the hair on the back of Eagle's neck stand on end
"We can help" she offered, standing up a little straighter
"I can act as your eyes" Hellion offered, indicating to Hellion who was perched nearby and currently ripping into some raw meat provided by Qrow
"No" Ruby shook her head "Penny can drop you both off at the Academy on the way to join me on the Tempest, she'll be acting as air support while I cover more ground on my own and Qrow co-ordinates"
"Fine" a somewhat dejected Eagle nodded in understanding, truthfully she hadn't expected her offer to be accepted but had still been compelled to try
"How will you be reaching an airship before your transport?" Hellion asked
"I have my ways" Ruby answered enigmatically with a grin. Penny leaned over and kissed her wife's cheek before departing with Eagle and Hellion in tow
"I'll let the kids know to come here instead of home at curfew" Ruby gave a signal that she had heard and watched the trio of women leave before turning to Qrow
"So I see you made friends with Eagle's first girlfriend pretty fast?"
"She has interesting taste" Qrow mused "Most fathers' are worried about their daughters getting their hearts' broken….I'm worried that Hellion and her people seem to be the exact kind of people that would make great recruits" Ruby turned and faced her Uncle, silver eyes glinting in the setting sun as she spoke slowly and simply with a voice that conveyed authority
"Do. Not"
Onyx and Raffia had chosen to spend their Saturday evening in one of the many dive bars scattered throughout the lower regions of each of New Vale's Hive towers; a dark and dingy atmosphere where one was surrounded by individuals of questionable moral character would likely always feel more welcoming and familiar to the former raiders than the gravity defying anti-gravity platform that Halo Academy's campus rested upon, the fact that the two of them could possibly find some work of questionable legality here was an added bonus.
"It's rare we get such a warm welcome" Raffia noted as both he and Onyx knocked back drinks that burned their throats on the way down, the strongest the bartender had to offer and completely free of charge; the grizzled and middle aged man serving them having lowered his gruff voice and told the two Faunus that he had bought his niece a ticket to the Vytal Tournament for her sixteenth birthday, as far as he was concerned anything they drank had already been paid for.
"I doubt if someone had told us a year or two ago that this is who we'd be that we would have believed it" Onyx mused
"I almost miss the way everything went quiet when we walked into a bar and locals saw our markings….those few seconds where people tried to figure out if we came to trade or simply pillage were always interesting"
"If we'd come to pillage we wouldn't start with a bar" Onyx snorted
"You would" the Axolotl Faunus chuckled beside him before allowing a moment of peaceful silence to pass between them. Hellion had been unable and unwilling to join them due to a prior commitment to Eagle whilst Carcharodon had stated that he would spend the evening meditating and training some of the younger students that seemingly gravitated towards him; Team SNST having apparently informed their peers that the Shark Faunus was an amazing, if ruthless and demanding teacher. Onyx had also extended an offer to Corvid who had informed him that she would be returning to Patch for at least the evening, causing the Puma Faunus to note that it was unlikely that he would be welcomed there any time soon. Eventually the silence ended when Raffia finished his drink and turned to Onyx with a deeply concerned expression haunting his dark and naturally watery eyes
"They think we're heroes" his reedy voice filled with something akin to anger, Onyx would've been more concerned if anger wasn't his companions natural state of being "Is this what we are now Onyx, heroes to the same people we used to prey on?"
"It seems so" Onyx grunted, refusing to be moved from his beliefs or give Raffia a chance to build momentum "We all agreed with Carcharodon's choices"
"I know that" Raffia snapped "I have no interest in risking exile again" the way his voice dropped to a hushed whisper spoke volumes, being cast out of his tribe and left to wander the Atlesian tundra and cities alone was amongst the worst things that he had ever experienced; which considering his Semblance did not allow him to ignore pain was a notable acheivement.
"Then what?" Onyx's tone grew annoyed, in his mind the decision was made; they may well be thieves and raiders but they honoured their word whenever it was given, especially to one of their own.
"I worry" Raffia sighed as he visibly sagged against the bar, a defeated posture with no place on a man so young "I worry that we'll meet our ancestors and they'll only see Hunters….I worry that we're becoming less than what we were. Being a hero to these people doesn't feel right Onyx, neither does this counselling business that Carcharodon is concerning himself with"
"You worry over nothing" Onyx grumbled "Except maybe that your anger has eaten away so much of you there's only going to be a husk left when it's gone" Raffia's eyes narrowed, Onyx's ability to read people being displayed once again as he cut perilously close to the bone with his remarks; Raffia did indeed cling to his anger, allowing it to get the better of him once again as his face reddened with anger and intoxication when he lashed out
"And what would this man who sees the monsters in our heads find in yours….beyond someone who's always been easily led"
"When did loyalty become a bad thing?"
"When you gave that loyalty to the Hunters for a pretty face; if our way dies it will be on your hands and Hellion's" the low rumbling snarl that passed Onyx's lips served as a warning, Raffia was dangerously close to crossing a line which would turn this difference of opinion from a heated conversation to a physical confrontation. Raffia made a disparaging hissing sound before stalking away several paces along the bar in search of more free alcohol, leaving Onyx alone with his somewhat clouded thoughts. Raffia's venomous comments had obviously been regarding his ongoing encounters with Corvid Xiao Long and Onyx found that despite his initial desire for nothing more a memorable evening or two he couldn't find it within himself to deny the accusations; Corvid was mesmerising to him, physical attraction and her peculiar brand of humour aside Onyx saw her as the embodiment of many traits that his people and he himself valued highly. She had an iron will and was a warrior of rarely equalled skill, both of these were facts beyond dispute, she was sure of herself and a fine leader, the weapon she had created for herself was a thing of beauty which Onyx freely admitted outclassed his own skills; more than that Corvid Xiao Long was free in the truest sense of the word, openly disregarding any rule, law or social convention that clashed with her own morals and sensibilities. Onyx realised drunkenly and with a start that he was far more attached to Corvid than he had ever intended to be and that there was no recourse other than to address the situation openly; though his dulled and blunted mind was forced to abandon its' train of thought when Raffia slammed down another pair of drinks, the fact he had brought one for the larger Faunus an obvious peace offering
"No more deep thinking tonight" the Axolotl Faunus snorted "This is hardly the place for it"
"Agreed" Onyx nodded "But I think you should go into the counselling with an open mind, if you gain nothing from it then so be it"
"I gave my word to Carcharodon" Raffia breathed out, mentally steeling himself
"He wouldn't force you" Onyx noted before shrugging "But perhaps you're wrong and this will make you more than you were….more than you allow yourself to be" Raffia rolled his eyes and attributed Onyx's sudden wisdom to the drinks as he searched for someone to antagonise.
Redshank Bronzewing took several deep breaths to steady himself as he made his way towards Team RAIN's dormitory, the jokes he'd received from Nova and Iridescence's disgusted glare and thinly veiled insinuations when he had asked them if he and his partner could have some privacy had done little to relieve his tensions. The way things had been left between himself and Amethyst that morning were unacceptable to him and as he approached the door to what was now his second home Redshank took a deep breath, swallowing his pride and preparing himself for another argument. Things would go differently this time, he cared too much for his partner to allow anything else and none of what had been said previously would change that.
"Ammi" he called, voice wavering with trepidation as he rapped against the door "Ammi it's me, Nova said you messaged them to say you're back….I was worried about you" music could be heard faintly inside the dorm which heavily implied that Amethyst was indeed present and the fact that he wasn't immediately greeted with a slew of insults, delivered in a distinctive Patch accent filled Redshank with hope
"I just wanna say sorry for what I said….and I haven't told any of the professors about what you were thinking of doing" he added the admission as an olive branch, hopefully the Monkey Faunus hadn't gone through with her hastily formed plan to make herself more powerful; the boy dared to hope for a moment and resolved that if their friendship could be repaired he would ask Amethyst out to dinner; after a few more moments of silence his newfound confidence began to waver as quickly as it had formed
"Ammi, you there?" still no reply, eventually Redshank took another deep breath and took his electronic key to the dormitory "Look, I'm coming in okay" he opened the door and stepped into the dorm that almost embarrassingly still only partially decorated; there was no sign of his partner in the combined bedroom and living space
"Ammi?" he cast his eyes around, finding no sign of her until the sight of the bathroom door slightly ajar caught his eye
"You in there?" he asked cautiously, rapping on the door; heart hammering in his chest as a pervasive yet inexplicable feeling that something was wrong washed over him
"I'm coming in, let me know if I should close my eyes?" with that he waited a beat for simply pushing the door completely open and making it no more than half a pace into the bathroom before all colour left his face and cold dread seeped into every fibre of his being.
Amethyst lay unconscious on the bathroom floor, motionless save for minor convulsions of her extremities; a mixture of blood, spittle and thin white foam forming in the corners of her mouth and dripping slowly onto the tiles beneath her whilst at her side a syringe could be seen laying where it had fallen from her hand, the last dregs of a faintly glowing green substance visible within
"AMMI!" Redshank was crouched at her side at an instant, shaking the Faunus in a futile attempt to wake her before he regained enough of his senses to check her heartbeat and breathing before trying to resuscitate her. Mercifully her breathing was steady if shallow; upon discovering this Redshank bolted out into the hallway and frantically battered the doors of every dormitory nearby whilst bellowing for help
"MY PARTNER NEEDS A DOCTOR! SOMEONE HELP ME GET HER TO THE MEDICAL WING! HUNTRESS DOWN!" hearing movement behind at least some of the doors he hurried back to where Amethyst lay, still ghostly white and shuddering as the effects of whatever she had taken wreaked havoc on her lifeless body.
"Come on Ammi" tears streamed down his terrified face as he cradled her head gently "Come on don't die on me….please" his prayers were answered when at the same moment a pair of students made their way into the dorm, assurances that their team-mate had sprinted towards the medical wing to alert the staff that there was a student needing urgent attention on the way; Amethyst proved herself to still be clinging to life as she gave a hollow, rattling and somehow hauntingly desperate gasp for air.
Redshank only hoped that her stubbornness lasted long enough for her to get the help she needed.
Authors Notes:
So yeah I'm just gonna come out and say it, that last scene was just unpleasant to write so if any of you are uncomfortable reading it I completely understand.
Also, stay away from drugs kids….and if you really want to experiment then don't buy from random people; have a consistent reliable dealer otherwise you're putting yourself at even more risk.
That being said this starts the process of tying some of the separate threads of Volume Seven together, obviously exactly how won't become apparent just yet; but trust me.
Now, let's summarise shall we:
Amethyst went to Melanie Malachite and asked her for drugs/Aura steroids and got a slap for asking, going to one of Rhodium's crew was an act of desperation and considering that she lives on Patch and only sells a little weed every now and then, meaning she isn't involved in any mainland turf wars; probably an act of total naivety.
Always nice to throw in little callbacks to things like the first year finale, it makes the setting feel more real.
Well this was what Moss of Team MUCK was here for, to be the plot device that got Amethyst into contact with Tricky.
I'm gonna clarify this, Tricky was genuine with the offer and didn't know that the drugs he was selling were badly made; his motivation was to recruit a good fighter and the fact Amethyst was Melanie's niece just made it an even better offer, it'd be a great way to say fuck you to the opposition….the overdose though, that's gonna have consequences.
The running joke continues; Yang Vs Kataigida when?
Yang and Blake are definitely the kind of parents that pull out the baby photos.
Ah, the puns are back….also simple wok, bet you didn't think you'd see that bit of canon referenced.
Felix is definitely gonna miss his sister.
Yes that letter and it's contents are going to become a plot point.
Honestly, the baby scene is just because I have a niece now and she's adorable….but yes Artemis will be taking one of the teams on a mission.
I love the idea that professional Hunters have learned that certain student teams are just magnets for trouble….and also Diamond's "Almost break the fourth wall" thing is back.
Racism is still a thing and it would only be on the rise after the White Fang attack; hearing about Coral integrating into normal society is a good way to gauge things.
Flax is an old fan favourite, I thought why not have him and Daisy be the ones to make the discovery….and yes the keeping track of kills was based on Gimli and Legolas.
So, we have another Phobos….oh this is gonna be fun.
Yeah Team FADE's account of the breach and Phobos is being chalked up to PTSD and kept hushed.
Flax "Baby Face" Scarlatina doesn't want to get involved in Qrow's business….just what did he see on a mission for the old man?
Even after a mission with Penny, Eagle is the biggest fan-girl of Ruby Rose.
The funny thing is I gave Qrow a backstory in Downward Spiral before the tribe was revealed; which basically means that Qrow and Hellion meeting is basically my Qrow meeting the canon version of himself.
I'm sure I've mentioned hostile takeover rounds before but haven't shown them….also, Penny facing off against a Poly-Tech robot; not even being subtle with the foreshadowing here.
Seriously, Qrow has taken on Oz's old role and Team GORE would make excellent scouts for him.
Honestly the Onyx and Raffia scene isn't massively plot relevant but I felt like giving Raffia some screen time and a little development; maybe enough to start moving him away from being a one note berserker.
Onyx realising he's got it bad was nice.
Yeah not much to say about that last scene, other than that it made me uncomfortable when I wrote it and that there's going to be a fall out from it.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Funlander, DizzyDwarf and iSassenach for their reviews on the last chapter.
Grimm studies is being taught by Dove Bronzewing.
Eagle might not have made the pun, but Corvid definitely would have.
Carcharodon has a level of respect for Felix as an opponent and a capable leader even if they're not friends….although Car probably like Team FADE as much as he likes anyone outside of his own tribe.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.