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Chapter 94: A Great Weekend
"And this was one of many, many attempts to get Felix in a bath when he was a kid….he was a real devil about it, Bath-omet if you will" Yang beamed, amethyst eyes mischievous as she showed Helios Nikos pictures of a much younger Felix to Helios Nikos who was clearly unable to keep the smile from his face at the sight
"I can't believe this is actually happening" Felix mouthed out, face scarlet with embarrassment at the whole situation.
"She told you she was going to do this though?" Blake noted from a chair across the room
"I thought she was bluffing" Felix replied in a stage whisper that only served to make his mother and boyfriend laugh at his expense.
It was Friday evening and the Felix had returned to his island home-town with Helios to see his parents before the first full scale mission of the year took him away from New Vale for an indeterminate amount of time and while he was happy beyond words at the fact his mothers had seemingly welcomed and accepted Helios as a part of the family with open arms, the redhead had been a little overwhelmed when Yang Xiao Long had pulled him into a hug that was strong enough to make his golden armour creak the moment the pair had walked through the front door.
"Then you should have known better" Blake grinned "So where're the rest of your teams, how is everybody?"
"Everyone's fine Mum" Felix assured her
"Really, because I heard through the grapevine that you were taking on some more unofficial missions" Yang interjected, having taken a brief pause from showing Helios her sons' childhood in all of its' mortifying glory. Felix did his best to ignore the slight accusation in Yang's tone
"The people who sold drugs to Amethyst Wukong, they were taking a shipment out of the city so we tried to use it to lure Torchwick out for the police" Helios told her, quick to defend the reasoning behind Felix's choices even if the tactics that the Lion Faunus had favoured were somewhat distasteful
"Sun and Mel should be happy then" Yang noted "I can't say I'm not worried about you involving yourself in that but you're my son and you're a Hunter; I'm always gonna be worried about the missions you go on"
"It was a one off, Team FADE are going into anti-Grimm specialisation" Felix promised her before getting back on track "But yeah everyone else is fine, I think Eagle is going home for the weekend tomorrow morning and we're gonna get the last ship from here to Mount Silver island, check in late tonight"
"Oh" Yang paused at the mention of the small island a little further out to sea, almost all of its' surface taken up by a single towering mountain which was topped by a luxury resort. Blake managed to voice the thoughts that were forming in Yang's mind faster than her wife could speak
"We've been there before….very romantic" she shot Felix a knowing look that left him sputtering incoherently
"Just use protect-"
"Okay and we're just gonna stop this conversation here, please and thank you" Felix managed to deliver the words in a dry and dead-pan tone despite himself
"It's sweet, you kids have fun" Yang ruffled Helios's spiky crimson hair the way she would have done to Felix, a gesture that made the redhead pause in stunned confusion for a moment before accepting it
"We will, we both needed some time away from being team leaders and stress….I need to be on the ground and away from the city; it's too claustrophobic" Helios admitted, Yang being perceptive enough to pick up on what was being left unsaid
"You miss home?" Helios nodded
"I miss my people"
"Well I saw Ruby last week while I was working on the mainland" Blake noted "She'll be ready to take on her new student soon, so you'll be able to see your sister at least" the comment brought a wide smile to Helios's face that dimpled his scarred cheek; though the subject of families made Felix's stomach clench as the real reason he had come to Patch after classes on a Friday evening became unavoidable.
"Something wrong?" Blake asked, seeing his expression and body language change and subtly stiffen. Helios gave him a comforting expression, silently promising that Felix could count on his support no matter what
"Yeah, there's something I wanna talk to you about….it's important"
"Go on" Yang put the photo album down and leaned forward, giving Felix her full attention
"I've been getting more letters….like the one that was delivered here" he paused and took a deep breath and silently hoped for the best "They're from someone claiming to be my birth mother, I haven't replied to any of them yet but she wants to meet and I don't know what to do" both Yang and Blake wore equally concerned expressions, both having clearly known that this could possibly come but not being truly prepared for it
"What do you want to do?" Blake asked tentatively
"I don't….I mean….I have questions and if this is real she could answer them but I don't want it to cause problems-"
"It won't" Yang rose from the sofa and purposefully strode to her sons' side and crouched down next to him "I can promise you it won't. I know what it's like to need answers about where you came from and so does Blake" Felix turned and saw that Blake was nodding in silent agreement
"You're our son and whatever happens we will always love you, just remember that"
"I will" Felix nodded, eyes suddenly stinging "Promise me you're not upset?"
"Felix I would never try to stop you from finding out about your birth parents" Yang assured him, with Blake chiming in immediately after
"We knew that this was something we would have to be prepared for and okay with when we adopted. Felix I was raised in Sienna Khan's orphanage and I didn't have any pictures of my parents that weren't White Fang propaganda until Obsidian Eadala found some for me-"
"And I spent years wanting to know about Raven after Summer died" Yang added "I didn't meet her until it was honestly already too late….We know what you're going through and we will support you whatever happens"
"Thank you" Felix croaked out, trying to keep himself from crying with relief
"I'm guessing Corey knows about this?" Yang asked gently
"Yeah" he nodded "I think she kinda hates me"
"If she's angry she's got no right to be" Blake stated firmly "We'll talk to her, remind her that this doesn't stop her from being your sister no matter what she's scared of"
"Thanks" Yang ruffled her sons' hair and gave him a brief hug
"Come on, let's go to Mil's bar. Get some good food in you before you have your romantic weekend away" the tone was enough to simply override Felix's worries with a fresh wave of blushing, exactly as planned
"Are you sure that's a good idea-"
"Leave your car here, you're not drinking and driving" Blake answered, guessing what Felix's question would be. As Felix rose from his seat he gave Helios a grin
"Come on, your first time in the bear is always an experience….besides the last people from the Anima Tribes they had in there was Onyx"
"Those poor people, they need someone to make a better impression" Helios snorted as he rose to his feet and looped an arm through Felix's; feeling more at home than he had done since leaving his tribe.
Neptune Vasilias looked at the student before him with some apprehension that he felt was warranted despite the blank slate and lack of preconceptions that he always tried to start with. Raffia Dirge was a miniscule thing, barely five feet tall and sporting a wiry frame that lacked the usual mass of toned muscle or athletic definition that most of the academies' students possessed; though if stories were to believed the Axolotl Faunus made up for the deficit with unnerving resilience and a mixture of ferocity, underhandedness and sheer unpredictability, the sadistic smile Raffia wore was enough to convince Neptune that the rumours that had reached him had at least a grain of truth to to them. Raffia squatted on the chair, making himself uncomfortable and seemingly daring the counsellor to comment on it has he leered menacingly at him, sizing him up. Neptune silently decided that this was not how he would have liked to spend his Saturday morning, despite his commitment to his job
"Mister Dirge, I believe I've met your team-mates but I haven't met your acquaintance until now. Perhaps you'd like to tell me why it is that you don't feel that any of the issues your friends? Crew-mates?-"
"Family" Raffia hissed sibilantly, confirmed Neptune's suspicions
"Family" he nodded "Any of the issues that your family have been facing, from there we can discuss why it is that the Headmistress has referred you to me"
"You already know why Goodwitch forced me into this" Raffia stated bluntly, amusement and irritation vying for dominance in his tone
"Due to the fact that whilst yourself and several other students took part in an off the books mission to bring in wanted criminals in loose co-ordination with the police; you were noted as using excessive force-"
"Define excessive" Raffia grinned, a twisted smile full of needle like teeth that seemed to reach to the sides of his skull where his caudal fins sprouted. Neptune remained expressionless and calmly leafed through a manilla folder that he'd been presented with upon Raffia's referral to him, privately finding the images of the damage the Faunus had done to his opponents sickening
"Blinding someone with the broken glass from a car window, removing hands when your opponent was already disarmed, gutting opponents when non-lethal force was an option. There were fatalities on that mission Mister Dirge and several of them can be attributed to-"
"And you can tell Goodwitch I said she's welcome" Raffia giggled, sending a shiver down Neptune's spine "That isn't what I asked though. Those are examples, I asked you to define excessive; I want you to explain to me what it is that makes Hunters killing my people okay, but us killing and crippling scum on the Kingdoms' behalf somehow a bad thing"
"That would be a legal matter" Neptune breathed our "And that's not what I'm here for, I'm here to help you process and find better ways to deal with your anger instead of taking it out on anything that gets in your way"
"You're here to make me weak and compliant because Goodwitch is a coward-"
"I can assure you I have my differences of opinion with the Headmistress but a coward she is not; she is one of the people who kept the Kingdom Vale standing when the capital city fell in the war" Neptune was more surprised than he supposed he should have been to see that Raffia visibly react to that information, strength and force of will were thing he seemed to understand and judging from what he knew of Team GORE's shared upbringing it made sense
"Then why hasn't she intervened" the Axolotl Faunus murmured after a moment "If Goodwitch wanted to stop Torchwick all she would have to do is kill him; all these laws that your people hold up as if they make you better than the tribes….this is what they get you, weakness and excuses. Just kill your enemies and be done with it, or move aside and let someone with the courage to do it lead" The silence was oppressive as Neptune needed several moments to process Raffia's viewpoints and several more to decide on a course of action that didn't involve telling Professor Goodwitch that the Faunus should be removed from the academy and probably sedated for the safety of everyone else around him. After weighing up his options he decided to be open and honest to an extent that could be considered unprofessional
"I'm not sure if Halo Academy is the right place for you"
"It almost certainly isn't" Raffia agreed earnestly, a momentary look of sadness being quickly smothered; Neptune was surprised but quickly followed up with a question he needed to know the answer to if he planned to be of any use
"Then why are you here, what is it you want?"
"Nothing you can provide" Raffia answered simply "I'm here because my people are, I have nowhere else to be….being a Hunter, or a hero to the Kingdoms….I have no interest in that kind of hypocrisy"
"Because you used to be a raider and take from the people that you would be protecting?" Neptune asked, sensing that he might be getting somewhere until Raffia disabused of that notion with a maniacal cackle
"No, I think it's all hypocrisy because when Hunters massacred my people and sank our fleet they made no effort to spare the children, the sick or the elderly. Where was their heroism when they were drowning babies" Neptune grimaced, he had been born in one of Mistral's settlements and knew of the sort of heavy handed tactics that Hunters and mercenaries employed when dealing with tribes and pirates but what Raffia described, and his team-mates corroborated was extreme even by those standards
"Then those Hunters have forgot what it meant to be a Hunter" Neptune murmured softly "They've forgotten that it's our job to protect those unable to protect themselves, not just protecting the Kingdoms"
"Is this where you give me a speech about being the hero people that the weaklings need" Raffia snorted "I dealt with your criminals and this is how you repay me" he gestured to Neptune's office, his opinion of the counselling he had been compelled to attend plain to see.
"What I'm saying" Neptune paused, seeking a way to frame things in a way that would appeal to Raffia's obviously strong, if distinctly different sense of right and wrong and loyalties "Is that you could be a much better Hunter than those who harmed your people if you allowed yourself to be"
"You sound like Carcharodon" Raffia noted
"Your team leader can see that protecting people and being a member of the Frost River Tribe are not mutually exclusive, or at least they needn't be" Neptune met Raffia's eyes and spoke frankly "I'm not going to pass judgement on why or how you did what you did, I see a young man who saw a problem and tried to fix it"
"I'm done here" Raffia snarled leaping from the chair and stalking towards the door
"That's fine, I'll tell Goodwitch that our first session was a success and schedule our next meeting" Neptune watched Raffia's fins lay flat against the sides of his skull as he left the office and allowed himself a small smile. He had expected it to be a lot harder to get to this point but the Faunus's sudden anger was a sign that he was taking some of Neptune's words on board; after all challenging ones' entire world view was bound to be a difficult process.
It was early afternoon when Diamond and Arctus made their way through New Vale's capital; the Mistrali sniper pulling the light jacket that had been sufficient in her native Kingdom a little tighter around herself against the breeze as they traversed one of the bridges that criss-crossed between the cities' monolithic hive towers. Initially they had set out from Halo Academy and made their way to the Mercy Foundation so that they could inform their previous employers that Cain Security Personnel, who had been steadily recruiting the homeless was in fact a legal front business for Rhodium Torchwick's growing criminal empire. Hickory Pardus, the scarred former militia fighter who had been Arctus and Diamond's manager had been close to tears when she admitted that she had already suspected as much but had felt she owed it to those in her care to provide them with some hope of a better life. With assurances that Torchwick and his people would be sent packing if they ever tried to recruit from the Mercy Foundation and that Hickory would be warning every other homeless shelter and soup kitchen in the city about him Diamond and Arctus had found themselves in the city with no specific plans; eventually settling on an impromptu date.
Having made their way dozens of levels up the hive city and crossed into the next tower they were making their way towards the monorail station that would take them to the shopping district that housed the movie theatre they were planning on visiting. Before they could get close they felt the whoosh of displaced air wash over them and saw golden lightning crackling over several conductive surfaces; sending people scattering and clearing a portion of the street they were on until people realised that it was merely a Huntsman and not an attack or some malfunction of the hive towers' workings.
"Uncle Rover" Arctus nodded, a smile tugging at his lips in recognition "How's Tuscan-"
"Wanna tell me what the fuck that stunt the other night was kid?" the Husky Faunus growled and despite the fact that he was certainly not on duty; bearded face unobscured by his mask, the glow of his Aura regulator shining through a plain t-shirt rather than a flak vest and his hands filled with grocery bags rather than his weapon, Arctus could tell that this was the exact same tone that suspects were treated to
"You mean where we handed you a good chunk of Torchwick's people and torched his drugs?" Arctus shot back, suddenly incensed
"Firstly don't tell me you actually think that's Torchwick's whole crew? And secondly no I mean the part where you set up a drug bust operation like that and left the authorities out of the loop until the last minute and torched the evidence before they got there-"
"The last time we gave Booster to the police Melanie Malachite had it by the next day" Diamond interjected "Y'know what dude, we're Hunters just like you and if the police can't do their damn jobs then we'll keep them out of the loop. We're not here for their feelings" Rover found himself pacing for a moment before shrugging
"Okay fine, that's fair….So let me make you an offer; I know who the good cops are, if you come to me with anything related to drugs busts I'll make sure it's ll square with Goodwitch and the police. I can promise that anything we take off the streets stays off the streets"
"That….sounds like a good deal" Arctus admitted
"But why do you care?" Diamond demanded "I mean Booster is messed up and I get hating it, but you and Missy work in search and rescue"
"Yeah well, I took on a load of work in the city while she was pregnant and saw this shit first hand" Rover sighed before meeting her gaze "Besides, I feel responsible for Booster"
"Wait what?"
"Uncle Rover, how?"
"Booster comes from a scrapped Atlesian military project" Rover began
"Of course it does, why wouldn't it" Arctus grumbled, falling silent as he saw the look Rover was giving him
"The original idea was one that I kinda accidentally gave to Geppetto Polendina. See in the war I tried to take out a Grimm Dragon on my own; basically the side effect of it was that it warped my Semblance which is why I need my Aura regulator….if it turns off I'm basically a ghost-"
"Holy shit" Diamond breathed
"Yeah. But anyway, when Polendina was running tests on me I told him about something I used to do in battles….basically I mixed Dust with a line of coke to get it into my system and give myself a short term speed boost"
"Proto-Booster" Arctus nodded, to which Rover nodded
"Yeah, just nowhere near as strong. So after the war Polendina contacted me and asked me to help Atlas run some tests; because my Aura can be controlled remotely to an extent it was safer for me. They pumped me full of drug cocktails and different Dust ratios to see if they could create a reliable combat drug….the whole thing got canned but obviously someone thought it was a good way to make money and started selling it"
"It's not your fault though"
"I could have said no, I could have told Polendina that I didn't wanna be part of Atlas's latest attempt at making super soldiers, but I didn't….still at least it gave the SDC the basis of Eco-Dust"
"Wait, so my parents know about this?" Arctus was gobsmacked
"Kid I used to by the coke from your Dads' partner, hell Gang was the one who scrapped the tests"
"For Oum's sake" Arctus breathed out slowly
"Yeah, the war was messed up and it took a while for things to get better; choices like that were made because they made sense at the time" Rover admitted sadly before focusing "So can you promise me you'll work with me on this? We both want Torchwick and Malachite off the street"
"We said that we were gonna just do this one and be out of it, this kind of work isn't what we wanted to go into" Diamond explained "But yeah, we'll let you know if we hear about anything"
"Good, thank you" Rover sighed "And hey, Missy's going back to work so you might just see her on your next mission"
"I hope so" Arctus grinned
"Anyway, I've gotta go...things are starting to defrost. Say hi to your old man for me" with that Rover vanished in a burst of golden lighting, leaving Diamond and Arctus in a street full of people who were muttering amongst themselves as they recognised the young Hunters from the Vytal Tournament; several school aged children and teenagers seemingly daring other members of their respective cliques to talk to them.
"Come on, let's go" Diamond said, taking Arctus's hand "We're gonna miss the movie at this rate"
"Would it matter?" Arctus asked with a snort "I feel like we live in one at this point anyway"
With Felix away for the weekend and Arctus and Diamond having their own business to attend to Eagle had decided to visit her rural home-town of New Hope and do something that filled her with both nerves and giddy excitement; she was taking Hellion to meet her grandparents. Hellion herself despite her attempt at a calm exterior was no less apprehensive than her girlfriend and the way her wings buzzed and fluttered behind her as they made their way towards the house that Eagle had grown up in made it plain to see.
"These houses are huge" Hellion noted as she cast her eyes around, New Vale's countryside being far removed enough from her own experience outside of the walls of a Kingdom that it may as well be an entirely different world; though her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of a group of young women nearby who were talking amongst themselves and clearly gesturing towards Eagle "It seems you have admirers little canary"
"Ugh them….they used to pick on me at school. Now I'm at Halo Academy and I've been on TV because of the Vytal Tournament they wanna be friends; like they actually still talk like they're doing me a favour by saying hello"
"I could teach them better manners if you wanted?" Hellion asked with a wink as she tapped the sleeveless jacket, within which she stored her throwing knives
"Nope, nope, nope, nope. No don't do that" she frantically waved her arms in a display that made Hellion chuckle, the Dragonfly Faunus then causally reached up and ran a hand through Eagle's shortened blonde hair as she kissed her deeply. As they broke away she gave the group of girls a stare that made it very clear that they would not be bothering Eagle again.
"Um, wow yeah…." Eagle trailed off, a little dazed by the experience "So yeah we're nearly here, it's that house" she pointed to one of the large houses that were scattered sparsely along the loosely defined streets of the village, each of which seemed to have its' own attendant land.
"Lead the way" Hellion took one of Eagle's hands in her own while holding out her free arm for Marauder to swoop down and take his customary place perched on her. A few moments later they were on the porch of Eagle's home and she was leading Hellion inside
"They're gonna love you" she whispered, though her nervousness had suddenly spiked to new levels. Hearing no sounds within the house she removed her shield from back
"Doot, da doot" Sentinel chirped happily as he was deployed
"Go find Grandma and Grandad" Eagle instructed, patting the droid on the cranium as she did so. Sentinel trundled off and Eagle led Hellion into the front room
"We'll just wait in here, they're probably just out gardening" Hellion nodded in understanding as she took in the sight of the spacious room, on one of her peoples' ships this much space would be reserved for a captain or one of the elders. The mantle-piece was lined with photographs of countless blondes who could only be Eagle's Aunts and Uncle, Hellion recognised Jaune Arc from the statue of him that stood along with several others on the path towards Halo Academies' main entrance. There was also a gargantuan weapons rack that had been given pride of place, all that currently adorned it was a sword and shield that were very similar to Eagle's and a large cannon of some description; Hellion realised that the empty space was intended for each of the other Arc children and found herself understanding that the Arcs were primarily concerned with family and marital pride, this truly was where Eagle had become Eagle
"Hey honey" a gruff voice behind them made them both jump "Who's your friend?"
"Hey Granddad" Eagle beamed and threw her arms around Craven Arc's neck in a tight hug "How've you been, Where's grandma and um this is Hellion; you've heard about her she's um-"
"Your woman" Craven nodded before holding out a strong hand for Hellion to shake "We've heard a lot about you" Hellion noted to herself that there was a lot being left out of that particular statement
"Well I can only hope to do the rumours justice" she gave a wicked grin and watched Eagle's eyes widen for a moment; the blonde quickly creating a distraction before the situation could become awkward by unsheathing her sword and placing it on the Arc weapons rack; her Grandfather had never seen the new blade that Hellion had forged for her and seemed to study it intently for a moment before speaking again
"Your Grandmother is just finishing up in the garden, Eagle why don't you go help her out….me and Hellion are gonna take a little ride out to the store"
"I, um, okay" Eagle's customary rapid fire way of speaking returned in full force as she thought of the many different ways this situation could go wrong but she did as she was asked, leaving Craven and Hellion alone in the front room, Marauder hopping from Hellion over to the taller woman's shoulder as she went. Hellion noted that Craven would have been an imposing sight in his prime, before the loss of a foot hindered his movement and before age had bowed his back a fraction and stolen some of what was still an impressive physique; his hair and beard were mostly grey but a few strands of golden yellow could still be seen
"That's a nice sword there, I'm assuming you hand a hand in that"
"I did"
"And Eagle's tattoos as well….can't say they're usually something I see the appeal of, but there's no denying that you're an artist" Hellion fought the urge to preen, sensing that Craven was waiting for an opportune moment to deliver a stinging blow, instead she merely drummed her fingers against the handles of her many knives through the fabric of her jacket
"Now here's the thing" Craven sighed, exactly as Hellion had expected "Eagle's quite taken with you, Oum a blind man could see that and she has grown into something fierce since she first left home….and you saved my eldest daughters' life in Atlas-"
"But I was also one of the people who kidnapped her" Hellion surmised "And now you're wondering if you can get to your sword before I can react?"
"I can't say the thought didn't cross my mind" Craven admitted "But I did promise Eagle I'd be fair….but for that I need you to be honest with me and tell me what it is that drives someone to do the things you've done" Hellion but Craven's eyes and answered honestly and without hesitation
"Family"
"I see" he sighed "Doing the wrong thing the Oum damned right reason….hell if Jaune was here he'd have already been adding your weapons to the rack"
"Jaune Arc is mentioned in Halo's history classes….he died a hero"
"That he did" Craven agreed a soft smile tugging at his lips "And I'll be damned but I don't think can intimidate you can I?"
"Shall I stroke your ego or answer honestly?" Hellion sneered, at which point a deep belly laugh escaped Craven
"Oh I like you young lady, you're gonna fit in just fine around here….come on, the pick-up's outside; we can both tell each other how great Eagle is on the way to the store"
"Focus, focus….you've almost got it and; there it is" Ruby's voice was brimming with emotion as she watched her twin children, their identical silver Auras engulfing their bodies as the stood before her in the back garden of their home
"We're gonna be Hunters" Summer Pyrrha gasped out
"This is so cool" Tai-Jaune giggled
"It really is" Ruby whispered as she wiped a tear from her eyes. Her children had activated the powers that came with their silver eyes during the breach over a year ago and whilst it had seemed that their Auras had been unlocked, fuelling their every movement with boundless energy, in the process seeing them, still so young but clearly consciously controlling their power was utterly breath taking
"So what's next Mum?" Summer asked, taking the lead as she always seemed to "Can we learn to fly like you?"
"Or super cool ninja moves?" Tai-Jaune suggested
"Or are we gonna build weapons?"
"Not just yet" Ruby giggled, their limitless enthusiasm being something of a source of pride "I think that's enough for today-"
"Do we get cookies?" Summer asked, silver eyes glinting "I think we should get cookies for unlocking our Auras"
"I think you might just be right" Ruby conceded "But not until after dinner…..PEARL, how long roughly?"
"Dinner will be ready in approximately six minutes" the synthesised voice of PEAL, the artificial intelligence that operated both the house and Penny's personal Bull-Head announced from a speaker hidden somewhere in the garden
"Great, Summer TJ go inside and wash your hands, I'll be inside in a minute" with that Ruby made her way to the furthest part of the large garden that their home featured, to the landing pad upon which the second iteration of the Pearl, Penny's personal transport was docked; the legs of the copper haired android herself barely visible beneath it
"Dinner's almost ready" Ruby informed her, Penny promptly slid out from under the Bull-Head and rose to her feet, wiping a smudge of oil away from her freckled cheek as she did. Whilst she didn't require food Penny was still physically capable of eating and preferred to let her children see her as human
"I'll be insider shortly….what's happened" she asked, immediately seeing Ruby's barely contained emotions
"THEY DID IT" Ruby informed, throwing herself into a hug "They've learned to control their Aura"
"That's sensational" Penny mumbled into Ruby's neck; the two of them staying like that for several moments before Penny spoke again "The spare room is almost resident ready, it just needs to be painted"
"I know" Ruby nodded
"Then I think it's time" Penny pulled back and rested her forehead against her wife's "Qrow seems convinced that something is happening; you know that you can teach and there's nowhere better for her to learn"
"I know" Ruby repeated, her own concerns and insecurities being shunted aside as she squared her shoulders and nodded
"Okay" she said finally "I'll tell Qrow in the morning, he'll send word to the Nikosi and they'll send Syneffo over to New Vale as soon as they can….It means we might actually see more of Felix, he is dating her brother after all"
"Sensational"
Onyx blocked a flurry of blows from his first opponent before kicking them aside and bringing the charge of his second to a halt when he drove his forearm into their neck with enough force to make them flip backwards, landing on the floor in a crumpled heap. The first opponent rushed back into the fray with a vicious combination of a right elbow aimed at his cheek followed by a spinning back-fist delivered at the same time as a leg sweep. The attack would have proved decisive were it not for Carcharodon coming hurtling seemingly from nowhere and colliding with the attackers arm, a resounding crunch echoing throughout the gym
"FUCK!" Shine, leader of Team SNST howled "Car I think you've dislocated my shoulder"
"Onyx fix his shoulder" the Puma Faunus nodded and took the younger mans arm, giving him an apologetic look before forcing the limb back into place with a sickeningly wet sound.
"One day" Carcharodon rasped out, disappointed irritation lacing every syllable as he paced between the beaten forms of Team SNST and spoke to the crowd of first and second years gathered around the training area that they had claimed as their own "One day, one of you will learn the simple skill of keeping your eyes on all of your opponents when being outflanked!" Onyx shook his head as he watch the latest team of students to fall short of the Shark Faunus's expectations drag themselves out of the ring, clutching several minor injuries as they went. In an effort to instil a proper sense of awareness of ones' surroundings into the younger students Carcharodon had had them partake in something they had dubbed 'Capture the flag' against the two former raiders whose years of experience and working together had made them a brutally effective team. Thus far none of the younger students had made it within ten feet of their target.
"You've disgusted me with your incompetence enough for one night" Carcharodon snarled "Tomorrow" with that the Shark Faunus stalked off, leaving Onyx and several mildly offended teenagers in his wake
"Don't take it personal" the Puma Faunus laughed, slapping a meaty paw down on the back of the owner of a particularly disgruntled scowl "If he didn't think you had some potential he wouldn't bother teaching you at all….just keep your guard up next time and remember that he's probably behind you" Onyx then began searching for an available set of weights, fighting the urge to puff up his chest and make himself seem larger when he noticed Corvid spotting for her partner.
"Ursabane!" Onyx let out a noise of annoyance as he turned around and saw that Amethyst Wukong was stalking towards him, fists clenched and tail wrapped tightly around her own waist whilst her partner and Team RAIN's new leader followed close behind
"Not going to ambush me this time?" he chuckled as he rolled his shoulders back and worked a crick out of his neck. Amethyst chose to ignore the jibe
"I heard your team are going after anyone associated with Torchwick?" she stepped a little closer towards Onyx, the challenge obvious "I just wanted to say that if you wanna deal with me, then you come to me and not my friends or family; understand?….we can do this right here and now if you want"
"Little girl you can rest easy knowing that I couldn't care less about your little grudge even if I tried….believe me, I tried" Onyx chuckled, casually swatting her away "My team have our own reasons to want to see his ginger head removed from his neck"
"Yeah well me too" Amethyst muttered darkly. Onyx merely laughed
"Run along little girl, you have my word that I have no interest in hurting you or your team….and when I find Torchwick I'll keep him alive just long enough for you to stick a few pins in him as payback" Amethyst took several deep and wavering breaths, refusing to break eye contact with Onyx
"Fine, okay. That's all I wanted to hear" the Monkey Faunus turned away, walking towards the exit of the gym hand in hand with Redshank whom Onyx noted had remained silent the whole time.
"Oh and Ursabane" she called over her shoulder, turning to face him again she gestured to the scar along her eyebrow and said firmly "I'm still gonna break your face for this one day" Onyx smiled despite himself, what she lacked in experience she certainly made up for in spirit
"Your first mission is coming up soon isn't it?" Onyx asked, having a little knowledge of the first years schedules due to helping them train "I think that this isn't even about your little grudge against me, I think you just need to feel strong and in control before you head into battle"
"You got a point?" Amethyst growled, Onyx merely cracked his knuckles as he made his way towards the nearest sparring area
"Right here and now" as he saw Amethyst hurtle towards him, Aura flickering into life around her the Puma Faunus decided that he might let her land a few blows; just to regain some faith in her own abilities.
It was late Saturday night and Felix Xiao Long was utterly content. Mount Silver Island and the luxury hotel atop had thus far exceeded every expectation that the Lion Faunus had of for it; he and Helios had spent much of the day exploring the island and taking in its' natural beauty. Both Felix and Helios had spent a great deal of time outdoors growing up, Helios simply due to the nature of his people and Felix being a native of Patch; meaning that the dense forests, hiking trails, waterfalls and occasional rock face that had to be climbed to be traversed were all just as thoroughly enjoyable as the islands' wildlife, which had flourished due to the total lack of Grimm presence on the island which was enforced by a team of Hunters and notable contingent of repurposed Atlesian military robots.
The hotel itself was comfortable in the extreme and seemed to have every conceivable amenity; Felix and Helios had made use of the pool and sauna after returning from their hiking trip and the food had been simply perfect; though Felix did have some reservations about spending Helios's Lien on things like room service. His mother had given him a large sum which the tribe as a whole had worked hard for to ensure that the former heir to their throne would always be secure after leaving the Nikosi, the Lion Faunus didn't want to waste it unduly. Currently the two of them were sharing an almost obscenely large bed, watching some utter nonsense that even Nyanza would have found intolerable as they snuggled under a quilt that kept the cold at bay.
"I'm honestly glad I grew up without television….I was spared from this acting and script" Helios sighed, wrapping his arm a little tighter around Felix's waist and gently tracing the scar on his abdomen from the White Fang's failed attempt on his life
"Yeah" Felix laughed "There's B movies and then there's this….It's like an L at best"
"Then it's a good thing that you're barely paying attention" Helios noted, kissing the Faunus's shoulder "What's distracting you?"
"You mean besides you pressing into my lower back?" Felix joked, turning just enough to let his boyfriend see the wink he shot him as he nuzzled into him a little closer and made a point of grinding against his body as he continued "Just thinking about the missions that are open to Team FADE, I've been putting making the decision off and I can't keep pushing my job onto Diamond like I have been" Helios had managed to muffle a groan of pleasure at Felix's teasing but despite his best efforts to maintain some level of self control his hand still wandered and traced slow circles along Felix's thigh
"Got any missions in mind?" he asked, genuinely curious and also seeking a distraction until he received clear confirmation that Felix wanted to take things further.
"Something as far away from gangs and terrorists and any other kind of bullshit that involves people trying to make life hell for each other" the Faunus sighed, the remains of his tail twitching contentedly "Thinking of going as far into the mud as I can go, I wanna help some people and crack some Grimm skulls; that's what I signed up for"
"You are truly a Nikosi at heart" Helios noted "I wish I could join you but my mission will most likely be within the city"
"Why on Remnant-"
"Because I can't only take my own preferences into consideration" Helios sighed "Olivine, Ether and Nyanza are all far more comfortable in the capital than I ever will be so Team NEON will most likely be trying to assign ourselves to one of the cities' aerial defence platforms"
"To be honest you'll probably get a mixed back with that" Felix noted
"And besides I have no idea when Syneffo will be arriving in New Vale….My sister would cause havoc if I let her roam the city unattended" Felix couldn't help but laugh at that, easily able to imagine the kind of trouble the younger and far more outspoken Nikosi would be able to find herself in if she weren't greeted by someone upon arriving
"You poor thing, try not too miss me too much"
"That is utterly beyond my abilities Fluffy" Helios murmured as he kissed the Faunus's neck and gripped his thigh, the noise that escaped Felix was music to his ears and prompted him to carry on and let his hands wander a little more
"Get a condom" Felix gasped out, bringing Helios to a sudden halt, heart hammering in his chest
"Are you-"
"Sure? Of course I'm sure" Felix laughed, rolling over to pull Helios into a deep kiss "I've been sure for months, I just didn't want our first time to be a random quickie because we had the dorm to ourselves for an hour"
"Well I can promise you that it won't be that" Helios replied, his voice low and husky enough that Felix could feel it in his chest as much as hear it. The redhead slipped off of the bed, for a moment and kicked stripped out of his underwear, Felix paused for a moment and muted the television; it was clear that he would not be bothering to see how this particular movie ended.
The street was dark it's lights having long since been broken, heightening Vert's other senses and making the hammering of his heart in chest impossible to ignore.
The gangster had been called to a corner store in a poor and crime ridden part of New Vale's capital that he had never ventured to before, the local gang being strong enough to discourage his own crew from moving into the territory and both groups being small enough to escape the attention of Melanie Malachite until Rhodium Torchwick had united dozens of disparate warring factions within the cities' underbelly. It was a well known fact, yet one that the authorities were yet to prove, that the owners' of this particular store were well paid by Rhodium's enforcer and overseer in the area to let younger gang members who still lived with their parents hide thing such as weapons in the storeroom to the rear of the premises. Said owners were not however part of the Booster operation that was quickly becoming by far one of the most lucrative stream of ill-gotten revenue that Torchwick had a stake in which, when coupled with the fact that said owners were currently celebrating their wedding anniversary away from the city, made the fact that Vert had been instructed to come here by Ozymandias Eldritch very suspicious.
"Where the fuck is it?" Vert trailed off as he scrabbled around on the ground and searched for the spare key that he had been assured would be present, finding it tucked beneath a garden gnome whose presence in front of a property within a Hive Tower with no garden in sight was either suspicious or amusing depending on ones' viewpoint. Entering the small and outwardly unassuming corner store Vert noted that is was as empty and unlit as it had appeared from the outside; only making his suspicions and concerns that much more intense and causing him to reach into his hoodie and grip his customary spiral-bladed and needlessly over-designed blade as he slunk through the shop towards the rear storeroom; which judging by the lack of any lights from within was just as empty as the rest of the building
"If that son of a bitch Oz is prank-"
"I can assure I am not" the Doctors' voice intoned as Vert entered the storeroom, making the gang member jump suddenly and draw his knife as the lights turned on despite the fact that Ozymandias was several feet from the light-switch. Ozymandias had chosen to forego his plague doctor mask and overcoat, though their absence did nothing to make the man appear less intimidating as his smile was warm and grandfatherly yet somehow sinister and Vert supposed that it still would be even without the horrific injuries the man had sustained. There were no drugs to be shipped out to the various dealers in sight and Vert's mouth was dry, he assumed that it was some monstrously powerful and reality warping Semblance that allowed the mad scientist appear wherever he wanted, seemingly without limitations and the casual ease with which the ability was used spoke volumes to the uneducated thug
"So you spoke to Rhodey then" he asked, forcing his voice not to waver and attempting to at least meet his fate with some level of panache
"Mister Torchwick is aware of your recent failures" Ozymandias nodded "He is understandably displeased" Vert nodded, lip quivering as he weighed his options and came to the realisation that he truthfully had none other than acceptance
"Okay fuck it, we both know what this is….just do it" he sank his knife into the surface of a nearby shelf and held his hands up to show that he wouldn't be resisting, hopefully it would be quicker that way "You called me here to whack me, shoot me and get it over with….just not the head man….I don't want my Mum to have to see me with my brains blown out"
"Oh there's no need to be so dramatic" Ozymandias chuckled, leaving Vert baffled and surprised in a detached way that the mans' blasted and ruined skull could make such an ordinary sound
"You're….you're not-"
"No. Although I must stress that Mister Torchwick was extremely angry but given the identities of some of those Hunters and the amount of trouble that they have caused him already….'given a pass' I believe is the way he phrased it"
"Oh thank Oum"
"No thank me" Eldritch demanded, tone becoming cold "I have use of you"
"What do you need Doc?"
"My contact from Atlas is still yet to find safe passage into the Kingdom though I doubt it shall be too long before they arrive….as you can see I have furniture, paint and the like here. I want you to find a suitable location for my contact to stay during her time in New Vale and make it ready for her arrival" Vert's mouth worked silently for a few moments as he took notice of the fact that rather than a chair or stack of pallets, Ozymandias was sat of several boxes containing flat-pack furniture.
"Are you fucking serious?" he demanded before he could stop himself "You called me out here, away from a studio session, to some other crews turf in the middle of the fucking night, thinking I was gonna get killed just to tell me I'm getting demoted to painting and fucking decorating!"
"Indeed I did" Ozymandias's remaining eye hardened "And you would do well to savour and cherish that fear, keep it as a reminder. The punishment for another failure will almost certainly be far more severe. Now, do run a long" his tone became cheery again as he rose to his feet and casually shifted the furniture and tins of paint towards Vert with his foot. Vert grumbled under his breath as he took them and left the storeroom, legs visibly shaking as he went.
Ozymandias watched the gang member leave and a moment later heard the door of the corner store being re-locked behind him; his satisfied smirk was short lived as his entire body convulsed and his hands came the sides of his head, clutching his skull in agony. The voice that had been urging him onwards screamed in rage and terror, sending shock-waves of pain through the scientists' body. When Ozymandias finally managed to stagger to his feet, far less dignified than he would have liked he quickly sought out a reflective surface and grimaced as he saw that the red raw and tortured looking flesh that comprised much of the left side of his skull was starting to slough away, revealing burned and blackened bone beneath; black veins coursed from his remaining eye and glancing down at his hands revealed that they were in a similar condition, with the skin at the ends of his fingers having taken on a rotten look.
"Need more-" he attempted to speak, words slurring as coughed up a viscous black liquid that while clearly contained blood, was something else entirely. Taking a single wavering breath Ozymandias focused and harnessed the powers of the Wizard, the voice screaming in his psyche relented and the time warping magic took hold; restoring his ruined body as best it could.
"Need more time" the mad scientist managed to gasp out, though he knew that such a boon would not be forthcoming.
This body was dying, the powers keeping it alive being strained from constant use and the voice had plans that needed to be completed before then; waiting for another suitable host for the Wizards' powers and the influence she had over those that wielded them would set her back far too much.
Plans would need to be accelerated.
Authors Notes:
Okay, that was a nice soft chapter…..right up until that ending.
So as of next chapter we'll be moving into the finale of Vol.7 at which point certain threads will become interwoven enough that things will make a little more sense.
I'm also debating taking a week off next week, depending on how much planning I get done over the weekend; I'm feeling a little bit burned out at the minute….We'll see though.
Anyway, let's summarise:
Yes I literally opened off with a Yang pun, you're welcome.
So yes, Helios took Felix for a weekend away and he did it in style.
Helios loves his hair as much as Felix, Yang has been added to a list of people that could get away with doing what she did that still has half a dozen people on it at most.
I felt like I had to mention the scar on Phobos's cheek that he got fighting Phobos, it's one of those details that slips peoples' minds.
Seriously did any of you think that Blake or Yang of all people would have a problem with Felix wanting to know more about where he came from.
"No matter what she's scared of" Blake knows Corey better than Corey knows herself, she isn't angry at Felix she's just terrified of losing her baby brother.
Okay, here's the thing with Raffia; in universe he is an unlikeable person. He knows that and actively plays to it, but his attitude kind of makes sense; especially when he's in yet another situation where the Kingdoms/Hunters are finding ways to justify their own use of violence, whilst acting appalled whenever his people do the same.
The Raffia and Neptune scene wasn't vital to the plot, but seeing as he was the first member of Team GORE we met and he hasn't really progressed much as a character I wanted him to get a moment; besides that's twice now he's said he doesn't like the idea of being the hero….there's a mission coming up and you know what that means for background characters who suddenly get some attention.
So Torchwick's crew just lost one of their sources of cannon fodder.
Rover and Diamond both had good point here, Team FADE are occasionally getting close to vigilante justice; but the fact remains that the police are people who can be bought and intimidated.
Rover's accidentally giving the idea of Booster to Penny's Dad and his 'Overdrive Mode' are both callbacks to The Downward Spiral.
And yeah, Rover (And probably Scarlet) having a list of cops who can be relied on to take out Booster dealers is something I might work into Vol.8.
Hellion being casually down to stab Eagle's old school bullies just felt on brand.
The sword and shield were Crocea Mors, the cannon was Grandma Arc's weapon.
Jaune would definitely have adored Hellion if they ever got to meet.
Hellion pretty played Craven Arc perfectly: Be absolutely fiercely, complement his kids (Especially Jaune's legacy) and adore Eagle….problem solved.
Writing Ruby training the twins a little made me think of the Abridged version of Goku training Gohan in the time chamber.
Syneffo Nikos is coming; New Vale should brace itself.
Carcharodon does not do motivational speaking, he just beats the stuffing out of his students until they learnt to not get the stuffing beaten out of them.
Onyx flexing a little when he sees Corey is funny and low-key adorable.
"Believe me, I tried"
So yeah, Onyx and Amethyst's issues are settled for the moment.
So, a little taster of what Team FADE's mission is gonna be….going right out into the wilderness.
Battle-Cat shippers, rejoice!
As much of a scumbag as Vert is, he gets points for bravery for going to a meeting where he fully expected to die and taking it on the chin.
That whole meeting was just Oz flexing on him.
Oz's contact, who we all know is who/what escaped from Poly-Tech earlier in Vol.7 is now confirmed to be a "Her".
And how's that for a plot twist at the end; Ozymandias isn't long for this world.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, iSassenach, DizzyDwarf and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
To be fair the goons were literally hired for the specific kind of job Vert brought them along for; they just happened to run into the one group of people who could change their minds.
Legally Team FADE and GORE are pretty much in the clear this time; they called the police and told them what the plan was….they just did it literally the moment before it happened so that nobody Torchwick has paid off can give a warning.
As for Team GORE going absolutely ham….Let's be honest, the police love using excessive force on poor people.
I pinky promise that I have no plans to off Rover and Artemis.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.