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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 92: Retaliation
"I hate the smell of hospitals" Felix noted with clear distaste as Team FADE made their way to the room Amethyst Wukong had been assigned; having been transferred from Halo Academy's medical wing to the hospital several days ago when it became apparent that specialist care would be needed at least in the short term and also that the young Faunus's future as a student of the prestigious institution was at the very least in question.
"Surprised you noticed it" Diamond noted with a sly smile "You've been to the medical wing with your nose broken so many times I thought you'd be used to it even if you could still smell anything" neither Arctus or Eagle could prevent themselves from laughing at this, though Felix's partner at least had the decency to cover her mouth with her hands and try to control herself. Felix himself merely rolled his eyes and grumbled unintelligibly as the continued towards the ward and room they sought. It was Team FADE's first time visiting Amethyst, the hospital only allowing her to receive guests who were not immediate family since the day before which had been relayed to Felix through Sun Wukong, whose reaction to his daughters' use of Aura enhancing narcotics and her subsequent hospitalisation had been a mixture of heartbroken fear, anger and disappointment.
"Still think we should have brought her something….Grandpa's home made chicken soup maybe?" Eagle suggested
"They wouldn't let us bring it in" Arctus pointed out; all conversation coming to an immediate halt the moment they saw a familiar individual with a distinctive appearance and crimson Mohawk making his way towards them. Felix had been eagerly seeking out an encounter with Amethyst's team-mates ever since he had learned of his childhood friends' current condition but had thus far been unsuccessful, seemingly having just missed Team RAIN on several occasions. Redshank Bronzewing, knowing none of this merely gave them a small wave in greeting
"Hey, Ammi was hungry so I'm just-" he was forcibly silenced by Felix grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and slamming him against the wall with enough force to make the whole corridor shudder with the impact, Redshank found his feet leaving the ground as the Lion Faunus held him overhead and felt panic set in as he realised that none of Team FADE were making any attempt to resolve the situation just yet
"WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?" Felix demanded, voice a furious snarl as his golden Aura became visible; seemingly of its' own volition for a brief moment "Your partner could have died! Why weren't you there to talk her out of doing something stupid?"
"I-I" wordless stammering seemed to be the most Redshank could manage at that moment, fear of the older student robbing him of his voice
"Okay, that's enough" Eagle warned Felix, placing a hand on his shoulder; a gesture which the Faunus used to his advantage as he continued venting his anger
"See that? That's the kind of shit you should have been doing!"
"FELIX THAT'S ENOUGH!" the new voice caused everyone to turn in the direction from which it had come; the realisation that the speaker was Amethyst Wukong herself caused Felix to throw Redshank to the ground with a snarl of disgust at the first years' perceived failures.
"You okay?" Amethyst whispered, barely loud enough to be heard by the other Faunus present as her partner retreated towards her; Team FADE being surprised and a little abashed when the Monkey Faunus wrapped her tail around her partners' waist and pulled him into a gentle hug, their foreheads resting against each other for a moment before they broke apart and Redshank quickly made his way passed Team FADE; making his towards his initial destination.
"You're an ass-hole sometimes" Amethyst spat as she glowered at Felix
"Yeah, you're right" he shrugged before letting out a slow exhale "How're you feeling?"
"Like death warmed up" Amethyst answered with a sigh and as Felix took a good look at his old friend he saw that she did indeed look sickly and drained, her skin deathly pale and dark rings under her eyes
"Oum damn it Ammi why-"
"Don't start" Amethyst cut Felix off "I've already had it from both my parents and Professor Goodwitch….Mum told that if it was her house I'd brought Booster into she would've kicked me out"
"Where did you get that stuff?" Diamond demanded, her utter disgust and loathing for the narcotic whose risks she was already well aware of rising to the surface
"Moss from Team MUCK sells for a guy called Torchwick-"
"Are you fucking serious Ammi?" Felix demanded "Team FADE helped put that ass-hole in jail"
"Yeah well, I didn't know" Amethyst shrugged, looking thoroughly uncomfortable "I just wanted to get stronger….Goodwitch went nuts. Came down here the second I woke up, used her clearance to visit me before my parents did and tell me how fucked I am"
"How bad was it?" Arctus asked, already imagining the consequences would be severe in the extreme
"Bad" she assured him "I'm not the leader of Team RAIN any more, Red is and when I get back to the Academy I'm on suspension for the rest of the year….I don't leave the Academy for anything other than missions or a family emergency and I'll probably be pre-disqualified from the next Vytal Tournament"
"Damn" Felix breathed out
"Yeah" she nodded "Only reason I'm not expelled is because Goodwitch said she can't afford to lose any more of her students because of this"
"Moss was expelled?" Eagle asked
"The whole of Team MUCK were" Amethyst corrected, unknowingly scuppering Felix's plans to beat sense into Torchwick's lackey before they could fully form "Goodwitch had a Hunter called Scarlet search their dorm, turns out they were all doing drugs….from what I heard they got called to her office and the police were there waiting"
"Good" Diamond's tone was icy and the conversation came to a natural halt a moment before it would have been interrupted by a nurse who Eagle was almost sure she recognised from somewhere; perhaps an ex-girlfriend of Flax Scarlatina's sister Poly-Esther.
"Miss Wukong?" the woman asked nervously, most likely having heard the earlier commotion "I need to run some tests on you, if you could follow me?"
"Oum damn it I was gonna get food" Amethyst muttered before turning to Team FADE "This is gonna take hours, you guys may as well come back another day...hopefully I'll be back at Halo by next week though"
"Hope so, see ya soon Ammi" Felix assured her, Amethyst left and as she did so his expression slowly darkened. When the corridor was empty save for Team FADE Diamond looked at her team leader and realised that his thoughts were heading in a similar direction to her own
"You wanna go after Torchwick's crew?"
"Someone's gotta take him off the streets….it can either be Hunters or Melanie Malachite" there was a collective shudder as each of them took a moment to consider the violence that would no doubt be unleashed by the mob boss.
"I'm in….if you're sure you're ready for this?" Diamond assured him whilst voicing her concerns for her friends' mental state
"You know I'm with you" Arctus promised, admittedly directed more towards Diamond than Felix as he squeezed her hand
"This is dangerous; really dangerous and we could probably get in a lot of trouble" Eagle noted before standing a little straighter "But it needs to be done, so let's do it"
"So it's up to you….are you wanna do this?" Diamond asked Felix, the Lion Faunus taking a moment to consider his choices before nodding
"I'm sure….I know we all wanted to go into anti-Grimm work and avoid things like this but we can't ignore it when it's right in front of our faces. We've gotta find Torchwick and bring him down" Felix felt a flicker of his old self confidence and assurance flare up within himself, before an unwelcome thought occurred to him and he added a single word to his impromptu speech
"….again"
A black luxury car prowled through the streets of the lowest reaches of New Vale where the mere presence of such an expensive vehicle were enough to make it seem out of place; making its' way across a bridge between two of the gargantuan tower blocks and into yet more of the claustrophobic cityscape at a leisurely pace that seemed to suggest that the occupants of the vehicle desired to be seen. Inside the vehicle and behind its' tinted windows was Rhodium Torchwick; the red-headed gangster reclining in the comfortable leather rear seats of the car whilst enjoying the air conditioning and heavy bass of an obnoxiously loud and expensive sound system. Vert, who was rapidly becoming a key figure in Torchwick's criminal organisation was driving; whilst Torchwick's own imported sports car was decidedly more expensive there was something about having a chauffeur that gave him an unmistakable sense of importance and left him feeling powerful.
"Moss won't talk, don't worry about that" Vert offered unexpectedly, causing Rhodium to scoff
"Uzi if I didn't already think that then your boy would already be dead" he assured his cohort, using the alias that Vert was referred to as much as his real name. Vert had no response to the calm and relaxed way in which Rhodium promised that he could have people that Vert had known since childhood murdered on a whim and so remained silent, allowing Rhodium to explain at his own pace; after all what was the point in having such power if there was nobody to see it wielded
"I know Moss won't snitch but I still wanted to go make sure he can keep a story straight….I told a couple people I was on the wing with to keep an eye on him; no doubt Malachite is gonna have her people try and touch him"
"Thanks" Vert nodded gratefully whilst keeping his eyes firmly on the road despite their slow speed "Wait, you were in North Vale Correctional Facility?"
"I busted out during the breach"
"Oh shit" Vert had nothing more profound to offer as an answer to the casual revelation that his employer had escaped New Vale's harshest prison, Rhodium however went on to explain
"Got the same Narc who got into the crew to drive me out of the gates….shit, the same guard that searched us on the way in turned mine and Tricky's cell over about a dozen times. Did you see the look on her face when I pulled my ID out?" the red-head laughed to himself at the memory, he had enough falsified paperwork and a strong enough legal team following his use of legal businesses to bolster ranks and profits that there was now no way that his previous crimes could be tied to him, even a DNA test would be called into question until a jury would be unsure, regardless of how much said jury had been bribed beforehand. The pair continued onwards in their journey from the prison, back into what they both considered to be their own territory although their pace was slowed from their already idle, posturing pace to an aggravating crawl as they ran into a sudden wall of traffic.
"What he fuck?" Rhodium demanded
"Diversion" Vert explained "I can see a police cordon up ahead….I think it's in front of chicken place"
"Pull up" Rhodium instructed, tone becoming firm as he took stock of the situation; crime in this part of the city was firmly under his control and anything that required the police to cut off part of a street was almost certainly larger than a simple arrest, there was also the fact that this particular fast food business was somewhere that Rhodium had frequented on his way home from school before his expulsion and would see any vandalism of punished. Vert brought the car to the side of the road and followed Torchwick as he exited and marched towards the cordon, Melodic Cudgel in hand and a sizeable handgun tucked into his jacket. His sense of urgency only increasing as he saw the nearest police officers see his approach and simply share cruel smiles rather than make any attempt to stop him, one of them sneering to a colleague as the redhead drew close
"Hey Ash looks like Mister Torchwick's new concerned local businessman routine is working….he came to pick his trash up"
"Well pass him a mop then" the second officer snorted
"Hey did either of you rookies ever hear about Officer Brindle? Last I heard he was implicated in some pretty serious corruption charges" Rhodium shot back; their furious expressions at the tarnished reputation of the officer he had killed bringing a twisted smirk to his own face.
"Keep talking scumbag, I might start fearing for my life and having to use necessary force or fire a few warning shots" the second officer snarled, hand travelling to he pistol holstered at his hip
"Not worth the paperwork" the first officer, Ash growled in his ear before focusing on Rhodium
"Step right this way Mister Torchwick, we at the police department have always got time for such an important member of the community" the mocking tone as the officer lifted the cordon and allowed Rhodium and Vert into the crime scene enough to set both criminals truly on edge. As they drew close to the fast food establishment Rhodium realised that it was not the business itself that had been cordoned off, but rather a large and expensive black SUV with raised suspension and oversized after-market wheels that glistened in the glow of the lights overhead; the redhead felt his blood run cold as he first recognised the vehicle as belonging to Tricky and then took notice of damage that had been inflicted upon it. The passenger side of the SUV had been riddled with high calibre bullet holes, leaving windows shattered, the panels of the doors dented, warped and punctured in countless places and the entire vehicle sitting at an angle due to the tires on one side being burst. Rhodium looked at the damage and instantly understood that this had been a drive by shooting; his legs felt unsteady beneath him as he made his way around to the drivers' side where he already knew he would find the unthinkable, but was still unable to stop the bile rising in his throat and the hot stinging in his eyes at the sight that greeted him. Tricky had tried to either escape or return fire, he had failed and his lifeless body laying on the ground where he had collapsed out of the SUV served as proof, the Weasel Faunus's chest and back had been utterly shredded by gunfire though it was a single shot that had struck his skull that had proved fatal, spattering blood and tissue across the windows of the takeaway whilst the pavement was stained crimson where he had fallen.
"Who would do such a thing?" one of the officers taunted, revelling in what they no doubt considered to be poetic justice.
"No comment" Rhodium answered coldly before turning on his heel and stalking away from the body of his former cellmate, right hand and one of very few people that he had genuinely cared for or considered worthwhile. Vert had the sense to follow him and expect orders to be given
"This was the Syndicate! This was Malachite!" Rhodium spat, voice and fists shaking with barely contained rage
"How're we handling this?"
"Kill the bitch!" Rhodium snarled "Moss sent her niece to Tricky. Moss was one of your boys….You hit Malachite tonight! Not one of her side businesses, not some of her people, you hit the bitch herself and you don't come back without results!"
"Rhodey are sure-" Vert stopped talking as he found the barrel of Rhodium's handgun pressed firmly against his forehead
"I'm sure I've gotta move my Mum out of town to make sure she's safe now. I'm sure that one of my best people is laying over there with his fucking brains on a wall, so yes Vert I'm fucking sure!"
"You got it boss" the younger man eventually managed to croak out after a moment of stunned silence, wisely choosing not to bring attention to the fact that the man with a gun to his head had started crying mid-tirade
"Good, now fuck off" Vert quickly complied, clambering back into the car that Rhodium himself had bought for him and tearing off with screeching tires; Rhodium waited for a moment and mustered just enough self control to make it appear as though he were striding purposefully away from the scene rather than fleeing in a blind panic until he found a back alley that was mercifully bereft of people, his back hit the wall and he slid down its' surface to the ground as he buried his face in his hands and sobbed uncontrollably. Power and wealth suddenly seeming small and inconsequential aims; his war with Melanie Malachite and her Black Bear Syndicate was now a far more personal affair and the only prize worth competing for was blood.
It was a content and relaxed Melanie Malachite that presided over affairs at the nightclub that she had inherited from her Uncle, along with control of his criminal empire in its' entirety when her twin sister had decided that she no longer wanted to be a part of the lifestyle they had grown up with. Amethyst's experimentation with Booster had shaken Melanie to her core, almost as much as Miltia and Sun's joint promise that if their daughter were harmed by the criminal element of the Kingdom again that they would use every means at their disposal to see that Melanie was held accountable for it, family ties be damned. The mob boss had used every bit of influence at her disposal to find out that the batch of drugs her niece had taken were simply shoddily made rather than a deliberate attempt at poisoning, the usual Eco-Dust component being cut down and supplemented with Lightning Dust that had resulted in a temporary heart failure; learning that Amethyst had been so close to death had only galvanised her and led her to find out that the same lieutenant who controlled the Torchwick boy's drugs operations was also the underling he would likely miss the most and whilst the physical and metaphorical blood had been washed off of her hands, Melanie had insisted that she be the one to perform the task; stating that Rhodium would be a fool if he suspected anyone other than the Black Bear Syndicate so there was nothing to be gained by denying herself the satisfaction of killing the man who had sold drugs to her family. As she watched the customers enjoy themselves and spend their hard earned money at the bar from her position in a VIP area situated on a balcony above the main dance floor Melanie dared to hope that this may just be the end of it; she'd let the upstart Torchwick get away with far too much for far too long, putting down one of his inner circle so soon after their brief skirmishes in each others' territory sent a message that she was no longer interested in playing games. A brief smirk tugged at her lips as she contemplated being the undisputed ruler of the Kingdoms' underbelly once more; if Torchwick accepted defeat graciously she might even allow him a level of freedom working for her.
Such thoughts were promptly halted when the front of her nightclub exploded.
"WIPE THE FUCKERS OUT!" an adrenaline fuelled voice, seemingly belonging to a young man roared
"Boys?" Melanie sighed with a disturbing calmness, a single nod sending the several dozen black suited members of her crew that shared the VIP area of the venue with her bolting towards the ground, hidden weapons being produced from every conceivable place as they did so. Melanie shifted her weight and deployed the blades integrated into her high-heeled shoes, yet remained where she stood; watching the frantic and terrified crowd scattering in every direction as she prepared herself for the unlikely scenario that any of Torchwick's disorganised rabble survived long enough to get near her.
Then the first streak of eerie green light burst into the club and the carnage began.
It took Melanie a few moments to realise what she was seeing and in those few moments several of her people had already died. The green lights were the temporarily corrupted, yet amplified Auras of gang members using Booster to its' full effect; Melanie looked on in horror as the lifelong member of the gang who had escorted Melanie and Miltia to their high-school prom met a bloody end, his drug fuelled attacker sidestepping bullets as if in slow motion before swinging a baseball bat at the older mans' face with sickening effect
"TORCH THE PLACE AND FIND MALACHITE!" the same voice issued orders once again and Melanie now saw that in addition to half a dozen or so Booster enhanced maniacs slaughtering her people there were a plethora of other gang members in the process of ransacking her effectively defenceless club, their leader being a young man with gaudy and expensive jewellery and dyed green dreadlocks. Mint green eyes narrowed and Melanie began snapping out her own orders
"FOCUS ON THE JUNKIES, I'LL HANDLE THE STREET TRASH!" with that she took a running leap over the balcony and somersaulted in the air as she fell towards the ground, time seemed to move slowly for her as she ripped the blades free of her stilettos and hurled one of them at a rival gang member currently helping himself to the contents of a cash register; the two of them hit the ground at the same time though while Melanie rose to her feet, blade in hand her victim lay motionless gurgling noises escaping them as a red stain expanded out from beneath their body.
"I sent your employer a message" Melanie hissed as she stalked towards Vert, blinding one of his companions and hamstringing another with blinding speed as she did so "It seems I need to underline the relevant parts" Vert spat out a curse and drew a knife of his own, a ludicrously over designed thing which was clearly only ever intended to intimidate. The two of them charged in unison and Melanie showcased the ruthless and brutality that made her the feared and respected leader she was, stopping short as her opponent made to slash at her chest she instead lashed out and kicked him in the gut and as he staggered backwards, doubled over and gasping for air, she grabbed the chains he wore around his neck and dragged him forwards, bringing her skull crashing into his nose with a satisfying crunch before slashing at him with her remaining blade, drawing a pained cry from him as his left cheek was torn open and blood flowed freely down his face
"Bitch!" Vert spat viciously before actually spitting in Melanie's eyes in an effort to blind her momentarily before slashing at her neck. Melanie had been in many such knife fights in her life and merely dropped into a low crouch, allowing the attack to pass over her as she plunged her knife into her attackers hip, steel grinding against bone before being ripped free; she then seized Vert's right arm and stabbed at the inside of wrist, twisted and dragging the blade in a spray of blood as the boy howled and screamed in pain, a few more jabs at his ribs and flank left the would be killer staggering away struggling to breathe and for a moment Melanie contemplated giving chase and opening his throat, instead deciding that he would serve as a message equally well in his current condition
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" Vert's voice wavered with agony and terror now, those gang members who had not been using Booster quickly turned tail and fled, firing a few parting shots blindly over their shoulders as they did so. Melanie saw that the Booster fuelled attackers fought on in a berserk rage which had claimed the lives of several of her people, whose blood and horrifically maimed remains littered the ground; though they were slowly being pushed back as the glow of their Booster fuelled Auras began to fade away, their artificial strength and invulnerability leaving at which point they were swiftly gunned down by the Black Bear Syndicate, whose reinforcements were pouring in from back rooms. Just as Melanie allowed herself to relax a fraction one of the remaining attackers decided to use the last of their enhanced abilities to attack her directly, rushing towards her with a feral roar as bullets pattered off of them harmlessly.
Then a second explosion rocked the nightclub and Melanie was flung backwards, smashing through several tables before coming to a stop. As she rose from the debris she became aware of two things, firstly that the gang member who had been charging her was gone, in his place there was a smoking crater filled with charred and unidentifiable pieces; secondly that there was a new figure present; a man whose stature and physique belied his advancing age and who carried a smoking rocket launcher which had clearly been responsible for the explosion.
"Uncle Hie" Melanie breathed out as she staggered over to him and wobbling legs, trying to shake the ringing sound from her ears as she did do "A little warning next time?"
"Maybe next time you'll warn me next time you have friends over when I'm doing business" Hie 'Junior' Xiong retorted gruffly; the former Mafioso may have retired from crime to follow a career in politics but he still enjoyed using the nightclub as a venue for deals best kept away from the public eye, access to literal smoke filled back rooms evidently a valuable asset in both walks of life
"There won't be a next time" Melanie spat, the conversation being interrupted by the low booming of the sound barrier being broken and golden lightning arcing across every metallic surface nearby as a masked Husky Faunus materialised in the hole that had been torn into the nightclub wall; prompting the remaining members of the Black Bear Syndicate to aim their weapons
"Drop your weapons! I'm a Huntsman!" Rover Tan barked out as he removed his mask, a single nod from Melanie brought compliance from the mobsters; she made a single step forwards before Junior brought a hand down on his nieces shoulder and spoke in a low murmur
"Get the boys out of here….get 'em to our doctors and contact the families that need to be told about this. I'll handle him"
"Can he be bought?" Melanie peered at the familiar Faunus, sure she recognised him from somewhere; also noting that the Aura regulator surgically grafted into his chest sported the same eerie green glow as the Eco-Dust used in Rhodium Torchwick's drugs.
"He's one of Gangrel Slate's old team so no" Junior snorted "But, we go back either way and I can put enough red tape in the way to buy you a few days"
"Good….thank you" Melanie sighed, grateful for the help despite the now crushing weight of the responsibilities she bore
"You can thank me by fixing this mess Mel" Junior answered sternly, stating the obvious as he added "End this war with Torchwick and do it soon, his old man might have been a pushover but the kid isn't….he'll kill us all if we let him"
"Oum it looks bad" Diamond muttered as she tilted her Scroll, allowing her team-mates and Team NEON who had naturally sat with them the article she was reading; they had been enjoying breakfast at Halo Academy before another day of gruelling lessons when the Mistrali sniper had almost choked on her food whilst reading a news article regarding an attack by unknown assailants on Melanie Malachite's nightclub. The story had obviously been hastily written to ensure it could be released to the public as soon as possible and was as such almost entirely devoid of provable facts, one thing however was unmistakable
"This has gotta be Torchwick's crew" Felix noted with a furious growl, remains of his tail swishing in agitation
"We've seen his gang fight before….it was never like this" Eagle pointed out, pushing her breakfast away as her stomach turned at the sight of what could only be described as a bloodbath
"They're using Booster" Diamond surmised, nose wrinkling in disgust "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll all take a bad batch"
"It doesn't say Torchwick was there in person though" Arctus noted
"Of course not, he's not gonna get high on his own supply….that's an amateur mistake" Team FADE collectively turned their attention to Ether Arashi who had spoken and was now receiving additional odd glances from his own team-mates, save for Olivine who naturally seemed to already understand the situation
"You forgot I'm from the bottom of the city?" Ether chuckled "Hell me and the band have played at some real dives down there" Felix's expression turned calculating as he regarded the rocker for a few more moments, he'd always assumed that his old friend Nyanza would be the most experienced member of Team NEON in regards to crime, apparently he had overlooked Ether
"So what can you tell us? Where do Torchwick's crew hang out?"
"Not at our gigs" Ether shrugged "I was just talking in general. I'm from the lower levels of Hive Tower twelve, not one of the ones Torchwick's crew run; as far as I know….I was never in a street gang" Ether held his hands out apologetically. Felix's fist struck the table forcefully
"Come on if you've performed in all these dive bars you must know someone who knows something? Bartenders, promoters, DJ's who've seen Torchwick around, take Nyanza with you and get some answers" he demanded in an urgent whisper
"Calm down man!" Olivine snapped "We get it, Torchwick's a scumbag"
"I'll do it" Nyanza offered "Ether if you're up for bringing me along to a few places I'll see what I can find out"
"The first year who….poisoned herself" Helios struggled to find words, his people had nothing that compared to the Aura boosting drugs Amethyst had taken "She was a friend of both of yours?"
"Yeah" Felix nodded, Nyanza agreeing silently. Helios gently took the Lion Faunus's hand
"You know that Team NEON will support you….that I will" Helios's vibrant green eyes met Felix's deep blue "But do this because it needs to be done, not just for your own satisfaction"
"Can't it be both?" Felix grumbled, hatred for the mobster whom he had already seen imprisoned once rising to the surface.
"Xiao Long, you've got mail!" a woman dressed in clothes that could best be described as business casual marched over to the table which teams FADE and NEON shared and whilst Felix didn't recognise her personally she wore a badge that identified her as a member of the academies' largely unseen administration staff
"Tell whoever it is that there's a procedure, or to just send it digitally" the administrator chided him as she set an envelope down before him "This nearly ended up on payrolls' desk"
"Thanks" Felix answered politely as he opened his mail and pulled out the letter within, eyes widening as he scanned its' contents
"Felix?" Helios's concern was immediate and impossible to miss
"Same as the last one, they didn't know which I'd get first so they sent two" the Lion Faunus explained distractedly
"Uh….what?" Arctus asked, voicing the confusion of everyone present who was not Felix or Helios
"I've gotta go talk to Corey for a sec; I'll see you in class" the Lion Faunus didn't wait for a reply, merely rising from his chair and seeking his sister as his heart pounded in his head and a lump formed in his throat. Fortunately he found her soon, alongside the rest of Team CLIR as they left for the first lesson of their own day.
"Corey!" Felix called out as he jogged to her side, the final year students taking one look at his expression and deciding that whatever this conversation was, it was something private between the siblings; Iris gave Corvid a brief fist bump which allowed Felix a moment to glimpse her new and heavily modified cybernetic left arm.
"What's up Fluffy?" Corvid's tone was worried and hushed as she led him out of the canteen into a corridor which offered marginally more privacy
"Another letter" Felix held up the offending sheet of paper as proof, voice cracking as he continued "I can't pretend I haven't seen this Corey"
"Damn it" Corvid hissed through clenched teeth as she ran her hands through her hair in frustration
"You got letters like these as well right?" he demanded "People claiming to be your parents after they saw you in the Vytal Tournament?"
"Yeah, yeah I did" Corvid admitted "Fake, all of 'em"
"You're sure?" Corvid's steely grey eyes turned hard and cold at her brothers' question
"I saw my parents die when I was four years old. The original wall around the exclusion zone wasn't as sturdy….if I ever find out who sent those letters to me I'll kill 'em" Felix halted for a brief moment, a little unnerved by his sisters' sudden ferocity despite how easy it was to understand; he dreaded the possible answers to his next question almost enough to stop himself from asking it
"What about mine?"
"Oum damn it Felix, don't do this" her eyes screwed shut
"What about my parents Corey?"
"I don't know!" She spat "I was four years old and the Grimm had just ripped through everything I knew and killed my parents! I did what any lost little kid would do and looked for some grown ups to cry to and found you in a half crushed car on the way to a police station!"
"Oh" Felix croaked out, tears filling his own eyes as they streaked down Corvid's face. Much of Felix's early life was a mystery to him, most likely repressed as a way to cope with the trauma; truthfully his earliest memories were of his time in an orphanage with Corvid shortly before Blake and Yang had adopted them both and Corvid had simply refused to discuss the subject of their previous lives with anyone.
"Why do you even care?" Corvid demanded tearfully, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand
"Because this might be real and I can't pretend or ignore it" Felix all but whimpered
"You ungrateful bastard" Felix flinched as if struck by his sisters' words and Corvid advanced on him, finger jabbing her chest as she continued "Yang and Blake are our parents, I'm your sister; that's who your family is Felix! You were on your own when I found you! You wanna chase this up then fine but y'know what I actually hope that it's real just so you can find out what kind of people abandon a toddler in a Grimm attack!"
"Corey I have to-"
"No you don't!" she spat "This could all go away, just tell 'em you're not interested and burn the letter" Felix's lip trembled and a single sob escaped him as he shook his head
"I can't" Corvid stepped back, hands trembling as she regarded him in stunned silence for several second before finally squaring her shoulders and speaking in a flat, dead monotone
"Fine. I can't stop you….But you can be the one to tell our parents" as she turned and stalked away she hurled one final barb over her shoulder "And I genuinely hope the truth hurts you" Felix made no attempt to stop himself from crying; wishing he could explain just how much it already had hurt him.
Dull thuds, punctuated with choking sounds and pained grunts filled the room as Rhodium expressed his extreme displeasure with Vert and his failure to slay Melanie Malachite, through an endless rain of kicks to the younger mans' chest, stomach and head as Vert lay curled and prone on the hard ground and made no effort to defend himself. News of events at the nightclub had reached Torchwick that morning and he had immediately demanded that Vert present himself; the rapper and gang member having taken so long to comply with the demand that Rhodium had briefly considered having the main thoroughfares in and out of the city watched in case Vert tried to flee. Currently they were in one of Torchwick's many and varied hideouts, this one in particular being a small workshop which officially manufactured small and delicate parts for the workings of airships; a business which required a lot of Dust and as such made a perfect place for Rhodium to deposit several tons worth of crystals for safe keeping, he also one day hoped to use it as part a cross-Kingdom smuggling operation but that was currently nothing more than a dream and the redhead had immediate issues to attend to; like the fact that Vert was struggling to stand
"Who told you to get up?" he demanded in a savage roar, grabbing Vert by the back of the head and smashing his face against the nearest wall with a dull crunch which left a bloody smear on its' surface and Vert himself crumpled on the ground, pained moans escaping him as he clutched his battered skull.
"You sent for me Mister Torchwick….though perhaps I should come back another time?" the bemused interruption came from Doctor Ozymandias Eldritch, who had mercifully chosen to wear the beaked mask which gave him the appearance of some historical plague doctor; sparing his business partner the sight of his horrifically wounded face and empty eye socket.
"You're good, besides we haven't got time to waste" Rhodium replied, panting slightly from exertion as he wiped blood from his knuckles with a rag he had brought with him specifically for that purpose, hissing an order to Vert as he composed himself "Pick yourself up….bitch" the thug struggled and failed to do as instructed before finally using the wall for support and clutching his wounded chest, struggling to breathe as blood began to stain his bandages and drip from the many wounds he had received at the hands of Melanie Malachite, his own Aura too feeble to heal them at an accelerated rate and the stitches provided by a nurse who didn't ask questions having been torn free in many places during his latest beating. Ozymandias watched this amused disinterest
"How can I be of assistance?"
"You can start by fixing the fucking grin you've got under that mask" Rhodium growled "That shit batch of Booster fucking cost us, money and people….another batch like that hits the street and our reputation is fucked"
"A very rare lapse in my concentration I assure you, I assume the batch you required for last nights'….festivities, was acceptable?" Ozymandias almost purred.
"Tricky's dead" Rhodium spoke with a heavy sense of finality, fighting to keep his composure in front of his people and be the leader that the mean streets he had grown up on needed. "We hit back but now I've gotta leave town for a while. Oz, I'm putting you in charge of everything relating to Booster; production, distribution, handling the finances and making sure everyone gets their cut"
"What?" vert hissed, immediately thinking better of objecting when Rhodium treated him to a glare that promised more violence
"You and your fucking idiot friend Moss have done enough" the redhead snarled before turning back to Ozymandias "You know science and shit but you're new to the streets….you up to this?"
"I'm sure I'll have time to learn everything I need to know" the mad doctor assured him with optimism that bordered on sinister
"I'm leaving first thing in the morning" Rhodium stated flatly "I'm getting my Mum on an airship to Vaccuo and she can stay there for a few months, I'm gonna go and help her settle in….or at least that's what I've told her. I'm gonna be hiring some big hitters and buying us the firepower we need while I'm out there"
"Alas my own former contacts in the Kingdom are unfortunately no longer with us….one of their targets was apparently under the protection of Ruby Rose" Rhodium's eyes widened at that and Ozymandias gave a twisted smile beneath his mask; the bounty hunters that had scarred the living legends' face in an attempt to remove her eyes two years ago had been doing so on his orders.
"Well fuck, that's the kind of crazy we need" Vert muttered
"Quite" Ozymandias added "Although it may be some consolation to you that my contact in Atlas is now free to join us at their earliest convenience
"Good" Rhodium nodded, donning his jacket and tipping his hat low over his face "Try not to burn the whole fucking Kingdom down while I'm away" Ozymandias watched his young and exceptionally driven, but woefully underprepared business partner leave and allowed himself a moment of glee which the now ever present and distinctly feminine voice in his mind seemed to share; he was where he needed to be, he had resources and people and the final component would be delivered to him soon.
Everything was going to plan.
"I'm here if you need to talk" Helios offered gently as I sat beside Felix "Something is obviously upsetting you"
"I take it you got kicked out of your dorm as well then?" the Lion Faunus snorted, though his voice was fragile enough to suggest that he were close to tears. Currently the two of them were on Felix's customary spot on the roof above Team FADE's dormitory, Helios having sought him out at the earliest opportunity due to their class schedules differing somewhat now. The Redhead gave a small snort of laughter as he draped an arm around Felix who happily leaned into his chest and shoulder
"Ether and Olivine….requested it" he admitted
"Yeah well, consider yourself lucky you don't have Faunus hearing" Felix gave an exaggerated shudder "Pretty sure I can actually hear Arctus and Diamond going at it whenever the wind dies down….I just hope they remember the air freshener" Helios sputtered out several half formed responses as he choked on his laughter before finally giving up and simply pulling Felix a little closer to him
"Where's Nyanza?" the blonde murmured as he laced his fingers' through his boyfriends'
"He went to an airship terminal to book tickets….he wants to visit the Mistrali girl he was dating after we return from our first mission"
"Cute" Felix grinned, glad that his old friend was happy "Eagle's with Team GORE….they took flying and vehicle maintenance classes; she's been helping patch up her aunt's and uncle's rides she was old enough to hold a wrench, so she'll be with Hellion all night"
"May our ancestors preserve us if they ever learn to fly" Helios grumbled "Their people were enough of a problem when they attacked by sea"
"Thanks Heely" Felix murmured gently as he kissed Helios's cheek contentedly, voice sounding a little less ready to crack than it had done
"For?"
"Making my problems feel smaller" the Faunus let out a slow sigh, taking a moment to simply relax in the cool night air before deciding that he wanted Helios to know and understand, perhaps his boyfriend would be able to help him
"The letters I've been getting...they're from someone claiming to be my biological mother"
"Oh" Helios gasped, eyes widening in shock as he searched for something more useful to say
"Yeah….she says she saw me in the Vytal Tournament; the last round of the tournament" there was no need to explain anything more than that, Helios had been there and seen the horrors that haunted his sleep first hand "She wants to meet"
"That's amazing" Helios grinned excitedly before catching himself "I mean….if you want to?"
"Honestly" Felix leaned forwards, hugging his knees as he hunched in on himself "I don't know, I really don't"
"Want to talk about it?" Helios rested a hand on the smaller mans' thigh
"I always said I didn't care" Felix huffed "For fucking years, since I was old enough to really understand what being adopted meant….I said I can't remember my birth parents, I don't wanna know 'em, fuck 'em!"
"But now you can't help but wonder?" Helios offered delicately
"And Corvid hates me for it" Felix's voice wavered a little at the memory of the earlier confrontation "I want answers Heely, but I can't lose my real family looking for them"
"I never knew my father, you know that" Helios reminded Felix, gently stroking his now shortened but still luxurious mane of dirty blonde curls "As much as I love Syneffo's father there is nothing I wouldn't give to meet my own….even if it could only be once. Corvid has no right to take this from you"
"Then why do I feel like I'm stabbing Blake and Yang in the back?" Helios cupped the Faunus's cheeks and forced Felix to look at him
"If considering the idea of meeting your birth mother is treachery towards your family then my abdication of my birthright is certainly treachery against mine; yet here I am"
"I mean it's kinda-"
"My mother offered me a future away from the Nikosi without judgement because she loves me….I've met your Mothers Felix; you do them a disservice by thinking their love for you is conditional"
"Thanks" Felix croaked out as he buried his face in Helios's shoulder "I really, really needed to hear that"
"Although considering your sister inherits her sense of humour from Yang" Helios paused "There will almost be a comment about….how is it the Kingdoms say it; 'Curiosity killing the cat'"
"Oum fucking damn it" Felix's groan was muffled by the fabric of the t-shirt Helios wore in lieu of his customary golden armour. The two of them remained like that for an amount of time that neither bothered to measure, breaking apart only to enjoy an impromptu and macabre fireworks display as a flock of Nevermore attempt to fly beyond the confines of the exclusion zone only to be gunned down by the monstrous laser batteries of the aerial platforms nearest to the academy.
The 'Krankes-Shicksal' was an Atlesian vessel of a considerable size, even when compared to the other warships in the icy Kingdoms' fleet. The ship was assigned to a research and development division which officially had never existed, though despite its' inherent secrecy was not tied to the Specialist Division in any manner. Its' current mission had been given by Fleet Commander Matte Skye themselves and had brought the ship into Vale's airspace whilst cloaked with its' weapons at the ready; an activity which would no doubt cause political disturbances if discovered despite the alliance between the Kingdoms, fortunately no such discovery had occurred and the heavily armed and exceptionally well trained soldiers and Hunters aboard the Krankes-Shicksal had been allowed to conduct their mission in secrecy; with the assistance of the legendary Huntress Ruby Rose, a fact which those aboard the vessel were eager to discuss
"Shift change!" a soldier barked out as he and several others marched into the primary hangar of the vessel, making a beeline to what seemed to a source of some commotion and the centre of the collective hangar crews' attention. A machine roughly the size of a shipping container comprised of thick Atlesian steel and featuring several sizeable external power supplies and countless screens producing readouts that the soldier, a man whose dog-tags identified him as Corporal Hedge had no hope of understanding.
"Hey Yun, heard your crew were on a detail with Rose….y'know 'The Red Reaper' herself; what was that like?" Hedge enquired as he removed his helmet, the leader of the group of soldiers currently surrounding the unknown device; a woman with light brown skin shook her head in a gesture that seemed to convey that she wasn't sure where to begin
"I know she's a war hero and all but I'm still not sure I ever thought I'd be glad we had an ex-Freelancer with us" the Petty Officer paused before fixing Corporal Hedge with a haunted stare that all soldiers recognised and feared ever facing in the mirror "Green, Tango, Berg and Kori are all injured….we were not prepared"
"The fuck have you got in there a whole pack of Shadow-Stalkers?" Hedge demanded incredulously, knocking the butt of his rifle against the surface of the machine which several scientists were flitting around and gathering information, even as the soldiers kept the weapons trained; waiting to be officially relieved. Hedge's face whitened a fraction and concerned muttering passed through his unit as he saw the expressions of each of Yun's soldiers darken
"Not far off" she muttered "It's called Project Snare-"
"It's highly classified" one of the scientists admonished her in a clipped tone, only for Yun to step into their space and issue a snarled challenge
"Fuck you, my people bled for this; if it's on this ship then the crew should know what it is we're transporting" the scientist quailed under the soldiers' tone and returned to work with nothing more than a muttered comment about court-marshals in response.
"Project Snare?" Hedge repeated "What is it?" Yun cast her eyes around the hangar, the majority of the engineers and maintenance crew were busy attending to the various transports and fighter craft, each of which had their own designated runway featuring a Dust powered rail and there was enough space between the nearest craft and their cargo to speak without being overheard; yet Yun chose to give her soldiers' plausible deniability regardless
"At ease people, let these clowns take over!" a serious of rude hand gestures were exchanged in good nature as Hedge's unit relieved those who had brought Project Snare aboard; Yun waited for a moment before leaning close to the corporal and whispering
"I don't like this Hedge, that thing's a Grimm containment unit. That's why we're out here in Vale….they wanted a specific Grimm captured for research"
"What the fuck?" Corporal Hedge demanded in a mix of horror and disgust; the idea of a Grimm being aboard the ship filled him with the same dread as if it had been attacking his home
"Yeah, that's we said….That's not the weird part"
"That's pretty fucking weird" Hedge noted, momentarily distracted by the scientists who seemed to becoming suddenly more active as his unit positioned themselves at a cautious distance
"No the weird part is that nobody has ever seen a Grimm like this thing before….Oum Hedge Ruby Rose just stared at it for a couple-"
"INCREASE THE PHEROMONES!" one of the Scientists bellowed, terror lacing every syllable
"THEY'RE NOT WORKING!" another screamed "SENSORS ARE GOING OFFLINE….IT'S ATTACKING THEM"
"Pheromones?" Hedge demanded as he readied his rifle, his unit following suit as behind him Yun bellowed into her comms headset that there was a code red situation in the main hangar
"We use a modified strain of the Tremor-Somnium agent the Freelancers-"
"THAT STUFF ONLY WORKS IN AN ISOLATED ENVIRONMENT!" Hedge barked furiously "FREELANCERS USE IT TO LURE GRIMM AWAY FROM CIVVIES!" the hangar grew deathly silent save for the repeated thumping and scrabbling sounds coming from within Project Snare as Hedge and his unit realised that their own fear had cost them and at the same moment they had become aware of the Grimm aboard the ship, it had become aware of them.
"I want a portable shield generator and demo-charges in here ASAP!" Hedge roared "We're gonna blow this thing to fucking Vaccuo"
"CORPORAL I MUST IN-" the lead Scientist's request was cut off, a terrified scream escaping them in its' place as the sound of Atlesian steel being torn like paper echoed throughout the hangar and a trio of foot long serrated claws began rending through the exterior of the supposedly secure container
"SHOOT IT!" Hedge ordered, heart hammering in his chest as he wedged the barrel of his weapon into one of the tears and opened fire. The Grimm inside responded in some unseen way, shaking the container as a whole with enough force to rip several power conduits free in showers of sparks
"EVAC! EVAC!" Hedge bellowed "YUN WHERE FUCK ARE-" his words died on the tip of his tongue as his world exploded into pain and his entire body suddenly felt cold, all sensations suddenly growing distant as he stared downwards in disbelief at his now blood-soaked chest, the three clawed pincer which formed the tip of a sinuous and powerful tail having torn through his body in a single strike which his flak jacket had offered no resistance against.
"Shoot it" Hedge gasped out, vaguely aware of blood trickling from his mouth as he gave his final orders. As gunfire erupted from the weapons of the dying corporals' unit Yun watched events happen, a sensation of the entire situation occurring to someone else washed over and allowed her a moment of clarity. The mission was a failure, containment was doomed to fail. It was now a matter of the crews' survival and with that in mind she bolted passed Project Snare and frantically began preparing the Dust powered rail and runway that the container was sat upon
"What're you doing?" one of the soldiers demanded as they reloaded
"Jettisoning it!" Yun called back, struggling to be heard over the howling of the wind as the hangar door opened "Stand clear!" Yun never got a chance to heed her own advice; one moment Project Snare was in the hangar being fired upon, the next it had rocketed passed her at blinding speeds and the only thing the petty officer was aware of was burning pain as the clawed tail tore through her gut and caused her to instinctively release her grip; an instant later she had been sucked out of the hangar and was plummeting downwards alongside Project Snare and the now deceased Corporal Hedge.
Her last conscious thoughts were a prayer that she hit the ground and died swiftly before the monster they had attempted to capture could escape.
Authors Notes:
So, that was an emotional roller-coaster….How's everyone doing back there?
I saw the leaked page of the Team CFVY novel which pretty much confirms Coco is a Lesbian and that Velvet has a crush on her; I write all of Team CFVY as Bi and I'm not going to ret-con several years of writing but I'm happy that RT seems to be making more characters officially LGBT.
Honestly don't have too much to add here, other than that the threads of the volume and the larger third year arc are slowly being pulled together.
That being said, let's summarise shall we:
Don't worry I never had any intention of killing off Amethyst; but it was a serious fuck up on her part.
Diamond just opening up with the sick burns.
Yeah Fluffy was out of order there, but at the same time in the line of work Hunters are in your life is literally in your partners' hands, being a shit partner would most likely be looked down on in Remnant.
Amethyst and Redshank are cute together, anyone got a ship name for 'em yet?
Honestly I broke naming rule by accident when I made Amethyst the leader of Team RAIN, this is a way of fixing it without having to ret-con anything.
So yeah, that's Moss gone unless Mel decides to have him murdered in jail.
Casual reminder that Diamond hates Booster and people that sell it.
Of course Team FADE were gonna go looking for another round with Rhodey.
The funny thing is that Vert probably thinks of himself as a made man, in reality he's a driver and a lackey.
You know damn well Rhodey went to the prison just to flex on the guards.
Damn, Rhodey just went and poured salt in that wound; he had Brindle break him out in Vol.3 then killed him and then sat back and watched his reputation as an officer get destroyed posthumously.
"Keep talking scumbag, I might start fearing for my life and having to use necessary force or fire a few warning shots" - Said every American police officer.
Yeah, Tricky's gone….I honestly considered the idea of Rhodey and Tricky having had a thing in jail; but that's honestly a little too close to "Bury your gays" and it wouldn't actually add anything, if anything it would seem out of character for Rhodey to get attached to people he sleeps with.
Oh yeah Sun and Miltia are perfectly willing to shut Melanie's shit down and given that he's a Hunter and she literally knows the Syndicate inside and out having been born into it….they'd do pretty well.
Oh honey no….Melanie doesn't realise just how hard headed Rhodey is.
So yeah, that's what Booster does….not as fast as Ruby but still faster than average, not as strong as Yang but still a lot stronger than average and increased resilience; but all at the cost of rational thought and risks that some with addiction.
"I sent your employer a message. It seems I need to underline the relevant parts" is a bad-ass line and you know it.
I'm imagining Vert's weapon being basically a Spiral bladed 'Zombie Knife'.
Damn, Vert got fucked up.
"Maybe next time you'll warn me next time you have friends over when I'm doing business" come on, if I'm gonna bring Junior back then that's how to do it.
Of course Rover would be the first on scene; he feels responsible.
It makes sense for Ether to know of Rhodium at least; music and dirty money tend to go together.
So yeah, Corvid and Felix are adopted and assumed orphans; you've known that since "Our Happy Ever After" if not Vol.1 of this story; basically Felix has repressed any memories he had of his early childhood to the point of not knowing and Corvid point blank refuses to talk about it.
Yeah Corey crossed several lines there; even I'm not gonna defend that.
Vert is really not having a good time.
Has the word festivities ever sounded so ominous?
Torchwick is gearing up for war now, you know it's serious when he's importing guns from Vaccuo.
So if you remember back in Chapter 02 Ruby's face was cut up after a skirmish with some raiders in Menagerie….those were some of Oz's contacts; because it wouldn't make sense for him to have not been doing anything previous to second year. Also; he has an ever present voice in his head, he's interested in sentient Grimm and he's targeted a silver eyed warrior….are you getting it yet.
And yes his 'Contact' in Atlas is Project Legacy.
Helios and Felix were cute to write, Fluffy really needed that talk.
Okay so remember how in first year I started making a point of mentioning that the monorails were a thing…..the Nevermore being shot down by the other aerial platforms is a little like that.
'Krankes-Shicksal' or the 'Ill-Fated'.
So….Project Snare officially works now; although it remains to be seen whether or not Atlas will keep using it.
I could have completely cut the mention of the pheromones but I wanted to call back to them; they're the same thing Flax used during Team FADE's first mission. They're still rare, expensive and very difficult to produce and also only really work in a place without any real people if you're trying to lure Grimm away so they won't turn up often but having them only ever be used in that one chapter would have felt like Dues Ex Machina.
The scene with the Grimm trying to get free was loosely based on the opening scene of Jurassic Park, y'know the "Shoot her! Shoot her!" scene with the raptor.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, iSassenach, DizzyDwarf and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
I think Velvet and Honey have an adopted kid called Honey in someone else's story...thinking on it I'm actually sure I've seen fan-art of that. In this timeline Coco, Velvet and Yatsu are all raising their kid named "Fox".
Yeah Dove Bronzewing, his older appearance in this is basically his canon look but aged up, heavier duty armour except for the left shoulder, the armour there looks like Russell's. bottom half of his face is kinda hidden by a black scarf and there's a ton of scarring around his left eye that kinda disfigures his face.
I'm not sure if I'll ever write a story based on the generation after FADE….honestly I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing after this story; probably play with the canon universe a little more and maybe look into writing for other fandoms or my own universe.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.