RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)
I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.
I am making no money from this.
Chapter 95: Rain and Mud
Felix had returned to Halo Academy with Helios, assignments had been completed and turned in and their professors had wished them luck; now the only the thing between the third year students and their first official and full scale mission of the semester was the simple matter of a trip to the atrium to receive their assignments. It was with this in mind that Team FADE made their way through the hallways of Halo Academy and Felix noted that the nervousness and cold weight in his stomach that had preceded each of his previous missions was strangely absent; perhaps it was just the fact that he had grown used to it, or perhaps it was the fact that his request for a mission whose parameters would take him far from the city had been granted and the Lion Faunus was now far less afraid of the creatures of Grimm than he was of what people were willing to do to one another with significant motivation. Felix didn't concern himself with the reasons behind this newfound lack of apprehension, deciding as he took stock of his team that Team FADE were capable of meeting any challenge that they encountered, and truthfully always had been.
"Of course you'd be the first ones to get your mission" Felix's attention was directed forwards by Diamond's bemused comment; which the Lion Faunus realised had been directed at Team NEON who were returning from the atrium, Helios evidently having, as usual, woken his team at the crack of dawn so that they could be prepared and ready for their mission as soon as possible.
"Preparation is what wins battles" the redhead noted, Diamond merely shrugging in response. Helios swiftly closed the distance between the two teams in a handful of strides and pulled Felix into a slow and passionate kiss before resting his forehead against the blondes'
"Stay safe….and destroy anything that tries to prevent you from doing so"
"Kick and ass and don't die" Felix laughed, completely aware that he didn't have his boyfriends' gift of sounding vaguely heroic and inspirational at all times "I love you"
"I love you too Felix".
"So what mission did you get?" Eagle asked eagerly
"A week being assigned to the Eos defence platform" Olivine grinned "One of the aerial platforms right on the edge of the city….with some really nice tech I wanna see up close. Looks like we've gotta make our own way there though"
"Not sure exactly what we'll be helping 'em with, you know what Goodwitch's mission summaries are like" Ether added, a soft smile on his face at his partner and long time girlfriends' love of weaponry and technology. Team FADE nodded in understanding, the Headmistress kept her summaries deliberately vague as she wholeheartedly believed that a Hunters' work was unpredictable and that the ability to think on ones' feet was of vital importance, as such a students' training should adequately reflect that.
"Okay come on let's get moving" Nyanza sighed "Sooner we get there, the sooner we get back….I'm flying out to Mistral to see Razz after we're done"
"Stay safe guys" Felix kissed Helios's scarred cheek and gave Nyanza a quick fist-bump before allowing Team NEON to continue towards their own destination whilst Felix gestured for Team FADE to do the same.
Team FADE entered the ampitheatre and saw that they were not alone; Team AQUA were currently stood in front of the translucent holographic screen at which missions were assigned, presumably reading the directions to wherever they would be meeting their assigned Hunter. Team FADE however paid more attention to the sight of Team GORE who were speaking to an older woman, Eagle's enthusiastic greeting of Hellion being matched by Arctus as he realised that the older woman was his honorary aunt, Artemis Tan
"Hey Aunt Missy" the Bear Faunus beamed, taking a moment to notice that his Aunt had seemingly mentally prepared herself for her first mission after having a child by restoring what could almost be considered her classic appearance as a Huntress; the tips of her her had been dyed bubblegum pink and she wore a camouflage cloak and a pair of heavy duty goggles rested atop her head, intended to help her focus her Semblance. The rest of her outfit was a departure from her own days as a student, black tactical clothing with armour laid over it; the armour being a wedding gift from Rover that was made a platinum coloured alloy. Artemis carried an unfathomable amount of extra ammunition and Dust crystals whilst her weapon, the sniper rifle which doubled as a naginata 'Hakai Suru' was slung over her shoulder to complete the appearance of someone who was extremely capable.
"Hey Arctus" she ruffled her nephews' hair "I heard that the students' I'm taking out have been taking Bull-Head classes so I thought I'd come and clear taking one of the academies' out with Goodwitch….but apparently they're busy" her tone became amused as she caught sight of Eagle and Hellion who were currently locked in a tender embrace, utterly oblivious to the various utterances of resigned amusement their team-mates were giving voice to; Onyx being the first to turn his attention away as the sound of someone else approaching caused him to turn towards the entrance, a grin splitting his face at the sight of Corvid Xiao Long whose school uniform made it clear that she was here to wish people well and nothing more
"Hey" she greeted him with a quick kiss on the cheek, despite her rejection of his offer to be more than friends with benefits she did truly care for the Puma Faunus "Don't go risking any of your nine lives"
"Now where's the fun in that?" Onyx noted with a smirk, which Corvid promptly rewarded with a playful punch to his shoulder
"Just stay safe….anyway, let me go talk to my brother"
"We were leaving anyway" Carcharodon rasped, his tone suggesting that between Hellion and Eagle's public display of affection and the fact that every interaction between Corvid and Onyx was dripping with sexual tension he had reached the limit of his tolerance.
"You're right, we should be going" Artemis agreed, taking the lead as Team GORE filed out of the ampitheatre.
"Hey" Felix grunted as he eyed Corvid with some trepidation, the two of them had spoke little since the attack on Torchwick's drug run and the tension between them was palpable. A few moments of awkward silence passed before Corvid simply flung herself at her brother and wrapped her arms around him
"I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you lately-"
"It's-"
"No it's not! I'm sorry okay….I just….I was worried-"
"Corey, I get it" Felix assured her, returning the hug gently "We're cool. I promise" the two broke apart, both of them evidently relieved and happy to put the matter behind them
"Yeah well; the….um 'Mane' reason I came is to wish you good luck on your mission"
"Thanks" Felix laughed, glad enough to be on good terms with Corvid again to overlook the pun "Hopefully it'll be an easy one….going out into the woods and killing some Grimm, come on we do that when we're bored back home"
"You're 'Pride' is gonna get your ass kicked" Corvid noted, Felix merely rolled his eyes
"Love you too sis….let me go find out where I'm headed"
"We've already found it" Diamond's voice informed him from across the ampitheatre, the rest of Team FADE having decided to learn what their mission would be whilst giving the Xiao Long siblings some privacy
"Yeah, we need to go and meet our Hunters in the city" Arctus noted, Eagle grimacing a little
"We're supposed to be at the rail yard in East Basswood, I know where it is roughly but we're gonna have to hurry or we're gonna be late"
"No problem" Felix assured them, a wicked grin that displayed his overlong canine teeth forming on his face "We'll take the Killer-Bee with us….who knows, we might get an excuse to use the stinger again"
"Captain we're being hailed by another ship" the communications officer of the Gerechtigkeit announced
"Nothing on radar, they must be cloaked!"
"At ease" Matte Skye ordered calmly, understanding that there was only one plausible explanation and turning to their communications officer "On screen" with a single curt nod the officer complied.
The bridge of the Gerechtigkeit could be considered futuristic even by the standards of other Atlesian warships, the customary sleek minimalism and pristine white surfaces seemingly amplified by several degrees; the entire bridge having an almost triangular shape as it slanted forwards and seemingly directed all attention towards the main screen whose display normally alternated between live feeds from the many external cameras fitted onto the ships' hull to give a panoramic display of its' surroundings, or a combination of their course and heading laid over topographical maps of the area and radar. Currently however the screen faded to black for a moment before being replaced by the exact image Matte Skye had expected to see, that of Specialist Commander Gangrel Slate stood to attention aboard the similar but more dimly lit bridge of the Gespenst, his scarred and grizzled First Mate Specialist Chiffon stood at this right hand.
"Commander Skye" Gangrel nodded in greeting "I've received word from my contact in New Vale, they've rendezvoused with a team of agents that have assisted previous missions and are currently en route to location"
"Understood" Matte nodded, in truth there was little in Gangrel's update that would be of any use to anybody who had managed to overcome the absurd level of security in place to eavesdrop on the conversation; no mention of the specifics of the mission, no location other than the purposefully vague as New Vale could refer to the capital city or the Kingdom as a whole and no names were used, even Matte was not entirely sure as to the identity of the agents the Bear Faunus had mentioned despite being able to make an educated guess that they were reasonably sure was correct.
"Assets have been deployed to the field, you'll be kept informed of all further developments. Skye out" with that the two captains shared a brief look of understanding before the bridge of the Gespenst flickered out of view, being replaced by the previous images that had occupied that massive main display a moment later.
"You have the bridge" Matte informed their first mate before turning on their heel and leaving, making their way towards a highly restricted area of the ship, passing several security checkpoints which were guarded by hidden weapons emplacements. Eventually they reached the final barrier between themselves and their destination, a combination of retinal scan, finger print identification and a sixteen digit passcode. Stepping inside the restricted area revealed a dozen of what could best be described as fighter craft cockpits, combined with some sort of medical or neurological facility; each seat was fitted with a plethora of controls and flanked by screens and all sides except for immediately behind, to the rear of each seat was a series of machines taking readings from the countless sensors, diodes and interfaces which would be hooked onto and inserted into the pilots body. As Matte entered a dozen of the best fighter pilots Atlas had to offer, along with the attendant medical staff and analytical experts stood to attention. This was the team that operated the Baba-Jaegers, the next generation of Atlesian war machine.
"At ease" Matte said simply before focusing their attention on the officer in charge of the squad "Report"
"Assets are on site in New Vale" the pilot informed them tonelessly "Currently docked for refuel and resupply after the flight and brief engagement with hostile Grimm over the ocean"
"Performance?" Matte queried, this was after all the first time the experimental craft had been deployed in this way; with the pilots and the transforming war machine on different continents.
"Jaeger seven lost some altitude and had some handling issues in flight but they were resolved" one of the analysts answered
"Get to the bottom of it" Matte ordered simply, loathe to accept anything that could hinder the progression of the Baba-Jaeger program; the mission were in the Captains' mind the perfect middle ground, all the firepower and durability of some of the larger Atlesian battle robots but with a person in command, negating the risk of another cyber attack, all whilst keeping the pilot at a safe distance from the battlefield.
"Aye captain" the analyst saluted. Matte addressed the team as a whole.
"Commander Slate has reported in, his people are currently en route. You are not to interfere unless or in this case until back up is requested. Remember, the target is to be captured if possible"
"Aye Captain" the words were chorused by the entirety of the team and Matte found themselves somewhat reassured, the latest iteration of Project Snare had been shipped out with the Baba-Jaeger and was far more heavily reinforced than its' predecessor.
The rumbling growl of the Killer-Bee's engine reverberated with an additional metallic note throughout the train carriage before being cut off as Felix removed the key from the ignition and for a moment the silence was broken only by the pattering of rain as it fell against the stationary train.
"Let's hope this doesn't last" Arctus noted
"It's only a bit of rain, it'll be fine" Felix countered with a roll of his eyes at his cousins concerns before slipping out of the car, narrowly squeezing between the vehicle and the wall of the carriage and taking a moment to peer out of the wide sliding door of the carriage. The weather had turned foul during the journey to East Basswood, the iron grey sky opening and unleashing sheets of frigid water, punctuated by the occasional crack of lightning and rumble of thunder, making their surroundings seem somehow more dreary and giving everything a hazy and indistinct quality. Team FADE had found the rail yard with a combination of Eagle's memory of the area and a little luck, the train that the Killer-Bee had been parked inside of was one of many gargantuan freight vehicles whose extensively armoured hulls combined with the weapons mounted on several of the carriages made it clear that these trains would be traversing territory that fell far outside of the Kingdoms' protection, possibly making the hazardous journey through the no mans' land between New Vale and Vaccuo; mean and women in high visibility jackets flitted about frantically between the trains as they were loaded by dozens of cranes and forklift tucks, clearly wanting to be out of the downpour as quickly as possible
"Okay, maybe it's more than a little" Felix admitted as he heard his team-mates clamber out of the Killer-Bee behind him
"Come on, let's go find our Hunters" Diamond sighed as she peered over Felix's shoulder for a moment before taking Arctus's hand and leading the way. Team FADE had arrived at the security checkpoint at the entrance of the rail yard and been directed to this particular train by the individual operating the gatehouse who although they had been able to inform the students that there were in fact two Hunters aboard, had been unable to provide their names, explaining that they weren't the usual security crew that was hired for freight deliveries.
Fortunately Team FADE didn't have to look far, after passing though a few carriages so overfilled with crates of equipment and parts whose purpose they couldn't guess from the outside that the four of them could barely traverse their length they came to a carriage with much more open space, its' décor identifying it as a rolling mess hall or canteen intended to look like a small diner, the kitchen of the train presumably occupying the next carriage. Currently the canteen was almost empty, a scattering of hardy looking men and women were eating whilst reading newspapers, playing cards, checking their tool boxes and generally occupying their time before work began. When Team FADE entered the carriage the dull buzz of conversation stopped and a pair of individuals who were clearly not in the same line of work as the people around them announced themselves
"They're with us. They eat for free since they're not getting paid for this as well!" upon being waved over by the speaker Team FADE made their way across the canteen, keenly aware that they were being sized up by the workers whose safety they would be ensuring, making themselves comfortable at the table they got their first look at the Hunters they would b working alongside.
The man who had spoken was perhaps a fraction below average in height though he made up for it with broad shoulders, a barrel chest and scarred knuckles and forearms that suggested he had fought a Grimm unarmed and won on at least one occasion. He wore a simple and practical set of grey fatigues with dull gunmetal armour laid over it and black boots. His crew cut hair seemed to have greyed before its' time and a horizontal scar ran across his cheeks and nose; Felix would have guessed that the man was in his early thirties and despite his physique and brash barking voice his square jawed and lined face held a welcoming smile. The Lion Faunus's eyes quickly darted to the mans' weapon which had seemingly been partially maintained before being promptly forgotten about in favour of food, a large shotgun whose bayonet hinted at its' transformation into a large bladed weapon.
"Hi, um we were told to meet you on the train, we're-"
"Team FADE" the second Hunter interrupted, cutting across Eagle before nodding to her colleague "This is Foggy, I'm Corona. We'd have met you at the gate but we had some paperwork to deal with….and besides we were starving" Team FADE collectively took in the sight of Corona; she was a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties and would be found breathtakingly attractive by most people; standing at around six feet tall with a slender and athletically muscular body, tanned and toned skin and bright turquoise eyes. Her hair was a pale blueish grey colour and as she leaned forwards to speak to the students, Team FADE collectively realised that Corona was in fact, a Mantis Shrimp Faunus with patches of exoskeleton adorning the back of her neck, shoulders and upper back as well as the backs of her hands and knuckles; all of which shimmered as they caught the light, their colouration ranging from vivid electric blue to acid green and bright orange. Her clothing was a little more subdued, perhaps to highlight her Faunus trait. A white tank top and baggy white pants tucked into knee high and armoured glossy black boots and a sleeveless black tail-coat with a vibrant blue lining. Her weapons seemed far more primitive and brutal than those usually favoured by Hunters, a pair of pistols whose barrels were longer and thicker than her forearms and a pair of spiked knuckle dusters, which upon close inspection seemed to have been designed to allow Dust crystals to be fitted into the spikes.
"So, what can you tell us about the mission?" Felix asked, a quick glance at his team-mates confirming that they were all a little off-put by their Hunters' relative unprofessionalism if not their attitude.
"This train isn't carrying goods for anyone" Corona began "All of these people are engineers, what we've got on board is a lot of spare parts….basically this train is gonna be rolling from here to Vaccuo and stopping at all the places that the Grimm have chewed up the tracks or broken a signal-"
"And we're gonna be the security" Diamond surmised
"Got it in one" Foggy grunted "Not a tough job but it needs to be done" Felix smiled at this, his mod lifted as he realised that this was exactly the kind of mission he had been seeking; protecting people who were doing important work and fighting the creatures of Grimm in their own habitat
"So you've done this before right? What's the plan?"
"You tell me?" Corona drawled, allowing herself an amused smirk at the confused expressions the students were wearing "You're third years right? Your missions aren't just 'follow the leader' any more, you're expected to help with the planning as well as the execution. You need to prove you understand your objectives and can think ahead before the academy will let you run your own missions"
"Okay that makes sense" Arctus admitted
"So" Corona raised an eyebrow and cocked her head "Besides the skills you were showing off in the tournament what're you bringing to the table? What have you got at your disposal to make this mission run smoothly?" Felix thought for a moment before baring his teeth in a cocky smile, the answer was obvious to him
"I've got a vintage Vaccuan muscle car with a modified supercharger, improved suspension and an Atlesian laser battery built into the trunk parked a few carriages back" he watched Corona and Foggy share an impressed look before delivering his punchline "We don't even need to have the engineers near any suspected Grimm damage until after we've scouted ahead and cleaned it out. My car can go off-road, but if the tracks are busted then nothing else is gonna be using 'em, so we can just drive on those"
"Now that's some nice thinking" Corona nodded
"And a very nice car by the sounds of it" Foggy added "Thinking of selling?"
"Absolutely not"
"ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS, THIS IS YOUR DRIVER SPEAKING. DOORS WILL BE CLOSING IN JUST A MOMENT AND WE WILL BE DEPARTING ON OUR WAY TO VACCUO WHERE WE WILL TERMINATE AT THE NUSAR-KHALIJ RAIL YARD, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SECURED ALL OF YOUR PERSONAL BELONGINGS" as the announcement over the trains' intercom ended the dull rumble of its' engine began to vibrate up through the floor before the entire canteen carriage lurched suddenly as it began to move.
"Let me go talk to the driver, I wanna see if he knows how badly busted these tracks are" Corona explained as she rose from her seat, half eaten meal suddenly forgotten about "Foggy, run the students through what we're expecting" Foggy watched the woman who, despite being a few years younger than himself, was understood to be the driving force in their professional relationship as she left before turning to Team FADE with a crooked smile on her face
"Don't mind Corona, she's cool….honestly she's a fan of you kids; you made her a lot of Lien in the Vytal Tournament"
"She bet on us?" Eagle asked, unable to stop herself from puffing up with pride at the information
"Why, we were newcomers?" Diamond asked, inexplicably suspicious. Foggy merely shrugged
"She got a tip. She didn't say who from, but apparently someone else bet ten grand on you in the first round so she thought why not" at this Felix couldn't help but smile, Team FADE were seemingly becoming something of a force to be reckoned with amongst the Hunter community and it seemed that despite the way it had ended and the scars he and countless others still bore from it, the Vytal Tournament had been a positive for some people.
Artemis took in a slow and grateful breath of cold fresh air as she hopped out of the Bull-Head, taking in the sight of her surroundings; the military installation designated simply 'Outpost Thirteen' the various buildings of the base were manufactured to be quickly built and easily repaired, pre-fabricated before being shipped to their intended location for assembly; a ubiquitous and ever-present sight at all such installations that Artemis had visited over her career as a Huntress. The outpost was situated at the northern border of Vale's territories and served as part of the defensive perimeter of dozens, if not hundreds, of similar bases which were collectively known as the front line. The Jagged Mountains could be seen in the distance as could several miles of untamed forest between them and the base; several layers of electrified fence surrounding the base and a dozen gun emplacements perpetually scanning the trees acting as the first line of defence should anything wander out of the forest.
"I would suggest you tell them to lower their weapons before we start taking it as a threat" Carcharodon rasped out, announcing his presence beside Artemis. The feline scowled, the flight to the outpost had been a test of her patience and if it were a sign of things to come Artemis could foresee herself throttling one of the students. Fortunately the various soldiers whose weapons were trained on the new arrival must have received some sort of verification of their identity as they collectively stood at ease; a moment later an older woman with a stern face and whose military uniform was adorned with dozens of medals marched into view, flanked by more soldiers
"Missy! My apologies, we would have verified you faster….that's not your usual crate though is it?"
"Corporal" Artemis greeted with a lazy salute that was given more out of respect to the individual than the rank "No, it's one of the Academies'. I've got a student team with me"
"I see" the officer nodded in understanding before turning and introducing herself formerly "I am Corporal Stone, I'm in charge of this outpost. My people will treat you with courtesy and I expect it in return, also we will be happy to assist you on any official Huntsman business if we are able to do so….including by giving you something more suitable to fly" as professional as she attempted to be there was no mistaking the condescending sneer as she glanced at the aircraft that Halo Academy used to teach students how to fly; something which caused Team GORE to visibly bristle
"Thank you Corporal" Artemis answered quickly, shooting a warning glance to Carcharodon and silently conveying that he had thirty seconds to get his team under control
"Search and rescue mission I presume?" Corporal Stone asked "Your usual"
"Exactly" Artemis nodded "Word is some hardcore hikers have gone missing in the mountains?"
"Those idiots should be fined for wasting time and resources" the Corporal huffed
"I'm sorry, hardcore what?" Raffia demanded incredulously and as much as the young mans' attitude had irked her thus far, Artemis found herself agreeing with the confused and mildly affronted expression he was wearing
"Groups of civvies with no weapons or experience deciding to for a wander in Grimm country….every few months a group of 'em decide to take on the Jagged Mountains and slip past us. A lot of them never come back"
"There are tribes on Anima that send their members out into the wilderness alone as a rite of passage" Carcharodon mused "But to do it for nothing….I will never understand your people"
"Hell I don't understand 'em either" Corporal Stone sighed with a shake of her head "But the mission is what it is. Missy, I trust I don't need to give you a tour of the place. I'll have bunks allocated"
"Thank you" with that Artemis and the Corporal saluted to one another again before going their separate ways
"She trusts too easily" Carcharodon noted "Just letting strangers walk around her encampment-"
"I'm not a stranger, these rescue missions are the kind of work I specialise in so I've been here with my husband dozens of times. You're with me so you get a pass"
"So when do we begin looking for the Kingdoms' lost imbeciles" Hellion asked
"It took as hours to fly here, we need to refuel" Artemis noted "We'll have the grease monkeys take care of that, stop off at the mess hall and we can get a couple of passes over the mountains before it's dark" as she spoke she continued leading Team GORE towards the hangar where she would expect to find military personnel willing to attend to their craft; upon entering she found that the maintenance crew were indeed present, though distracted as they examined vehicles that Artemis was unfamiliar with
"What do ya reckon the big box thing does?" one man asked, only to be roundly objected to by his compatriots
"Fuck the box, have you seen these things?"
"I'm telling you Atlas is gearing up for a war with someone"
"Nah y'know what they're like over there, if it's not broken they'll still fix it….besides. If they were getting ready for a war they wouldn't leave it here for us to gawk at would they?" Artemis started at the object of their interest, a dozen arrowhead shaped craft with no discernable cockpit and an oversized thruster protruding from the rear; rather than the customary white that most Atlesian military vehicles were painted these fighter craft were each coloured pitch black. Gangrel had delivered, just as he had promised.
"We need to talk" Artemis lashed out as Carcharodon's furious voice was a precursor to her being physically dragged out of the hangar, the maintenance crew remaining unaware of their presence. Shaking Onyx off of her she was enraged to see that Hellion had a pair of knives at the ready and Raffia's hands were firmly wrapped around his swords whilst Carcharodon was shedding his hooded cloak and readying his own weapons; voice wavering with anger as he spoke
"You must think us fools Huntress. Do you truly expect us to believe that Atlas's latest weapons are here at the same time as us by chance?….We had a deal with Gangrel Slate and Winter Schnee, that deal was honoured. Something is afoot here Huntress and I will see this whole base torn asunder to get to the bottom of it" Artemis took a moment to ready herself, she had no desire to fight these students but it seemed that it was a possibility
"There is something going on….but not the way you're thinking" her hasty addition seemed to fall of deaf ears with Onyx's rumbling snarl behind her was any indication "Everything I said about our mission is true, we are searching for a group of missing hikers. New Vale is helping Atlas test the long range capabilities of these fighters. What the people here don't know is that this outpost was chosen specifically because there is something else in those mountains that we're searching for" she waited a few moments before letting out a sigh of relief as Carcharodon raised a hand, silently ordering his team to stand down
"Explain"
"There's a specific Grimm that Atlas want to capture. It broke out of their last attempt to catch it so they've sent the Baba-Jaegers"
"Why would Atlas want a live Grimm" Raffia demanded, every syllable laced with disgust
"I don't know" Artemis admitted. Raffia, Hellion and Onyx each looked to their leader for guidance and after a moment Carcharodon finally relented, collapsing his weapons and leaning close
"Send word to the Atlesians, remind them that our deal was over and this is far from the peace that they promised us" the Shark Faunus bared his rows a serrated teeth "We expect to be paid accordingly"
Team NEON had arrived at the Eos Defence Platform late that morning and now, as the sun began to set, hidden as it was behind the stormy clouds they were finally granted a reprieve from a day that had managed to be frantically busy and yet at the same time mind numbingly uneventful. Team NEON, in a departure from the norm, had not been assigned to a specific Hunter for this mission and were instead assigned to the aerial platform itself; being simply added the roster of available staff for the allotted time, with the stipulation that they were always to have some form of oversight present even if said oversight, usually in the form of an officer or Hunter who had only graduated one of the academies a few years ago, didn't feel a need to intervene with any of the students' actions.
So far Helios and his team had been limited to watching from the air as the Bull-Head they were aboard at the time picked off a herd of Boarbatusks below before they could stampede too close to a main thoroughfare into the city, assisting with the upkeep of gargantuan floating fortress and routine patrols; finally being able to engage the Grimm head on when they encountered a rampaging rhinoceros Grimm which had taken considerable effort to put down. Currently their work for the day was done and their time was their own unless there was a Grimm incursion that required reinforcements, though they had been informed that they were not permitted to leave the aerial platform, much to Ether and Olivine's annoyance. Ether was tuning his guitar in the room that they had been assigned, informing Helios that Ghost Reverie had taken some superficial damage during their brief skirmish; Nyanza was integrating himself with the crew with ease and Helios suspected that his partner would begin using his Semblance to stack the odds in various card games before the end of the evening. Helios himself was currently outside and watching Olivine as she assisted the night shift in the maintenance of one of the Eos Defence Platforms' gargantuan anti-aircraft and anti-airborne Grimm weapons systems, grinning like a lunatic as one of the weapons discharged and reduced a Grimm in the distance to nothing but wisps of smoke and a faint scent of ozone. Helios was merely enjoying the fresh air as best he could despite the fine drizzle that persisted to soak everything it fell upon, whilst he was no longer affronted and mildly terrified by the idea of a floating building and trusting his safety to technology he had no understanding of or frame of reference from which to begin understanding, he was still cautious; he had leapt from one of these platforms before to join the fray when New Vale was breached by the Grimm within the exclusion zone but he still saw no reason to move any closer to the edges than he currently was.
He was considering returning inside and finding out how the staff of these airborne base entertained themselves when off-duty when his Scroll began to vibrate in his pocket; expecting a call from Felix he quickly unfolded the device only to furrow his brow at the sight of a number that was not stored in his contacts.
"Hello?" he began "Who is this?" he waited a moment, hearing nothing but static on the other end of the line
"Hello?"
"…..Hello, can you hear me now? I was warned that I might have trouble contacting you, Anima has 'bad reception' or some such-"
"Syneffo?" Helios gasped "How are...when did you get a new Scroll?"
"An hour or so ago" his sister answered nonchalantly, upon returning to Anima from Atlas she had discarded the Scroll she had acquired in the icy Kingdom as she had nowhere to recharge it and assumed that she would have no more need of the device
"What's going on, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, everyone is fine" she assured him and Helios was certain that she was rolling her eyes at his perceived overreaction "I just wanted to let you know that I'm currently in the settlement of Jiantou. There isn't a train to Anquan-Jia for days but I will be making my way towards the capital as soon as possible" Helios made a noise to show that he understood, the small farming village was on the opposite side of what the Nikosi considered their domain to Mistral's capital and it would take the tribe at least a week to travel that far on foot; yet the fact remained that public transport was almost unheard of on the continent of Anima, which led to the Nikos tribe hiring out their services as guides and escorts for caravans as frequently as they did.
Then the realisation hit him
"You're coming to New Vale?"
"I am" Syneffo almost purred with satisfaction "Branwen sent word to us, Ruby Rose is ready to train me. I'll be on the first available flight once I arrive in the capital"
"I'll be sure to meet you when your arrive" Helios promised
"Good" Syneffo answered, voice becoming hushed as she added an admission "I've missed my brother"
"I've missed you too" Helios assured her "And as odd as the Kingdoms are, you will grow to love New Vale"
"Why, do they have more pretty blondes?" Syneffo snorted, leaving Helios sputtering loudly enough to draw the attention of Olivine who was still studying the platforms' weapons.
"Go" Syneffo sighed "I know that you're probably busy, I'll see you soon" with that the call ended and Helios stared at the screen of his Scroll for a few moments as a wave of uncharacteristically giddy excitement built up inside him leaving him unsure of who to tell the good news first, he quickly decided to call Olivine over whilst at the same time typing a message out to Felix.
"Felix now!" Eagle called out as the Alpha Beowolf she was holding at bay with her shield struggled to breach her defences, looming over the young woman and furiously trying to force her off balance with spittle flying from its' snapping jaws. A moment later the growling and snarling was replaced by a single pained yelp; Felix had rushed into the fray and leapt over Eagle's shoulder to drive his knee into the snout of the Grimm with enough force to shatter to bone armour that covered its' muzzle
"Sentinel, lightning claws!" Eagle ordered, pressing her advantage with ruthless precision. As the Grimm staggered backwards on its' rear limbs her droid, still in its' shield form and affixed to her armour, fired its' pincer tipped appendages forwards on their metallic cables. The Beowolf howled as the pincers sank into its' exposed underbelly; the howls shifting from enraged to agonised as a devastating amount of electricity was discharged into the monsters' body until the Grimm smoked, at which point the cables were promptly retracted whilst still holding their prize, dragging the Alpha Beowolf forwards onto the waiting blade of Eagle's sword. It's eyes widened and a final snarl of defiance escaped it before it faded away into nothingness.
"Okay, now the rest of 'em!" Felix barked, punctuating his orders with a vicious swipe of his swords that relieved a Beowolf of its' head "They'll break off without the Alpha, I'll send 'em running, Eagle you cut 'em off. Foggy just keep making sure we don't get swamped"
"Got it!" Eagle nodded before taking to her avian form in a flash of pure white Aura, flying through the trees as she made to head off the soon to be broken pack of Beowolves that they had encountered.
"Whatever you say kid" Foggy answered in a bored drawl; thus far the more experienced Hunter had been content to position himself in the trees that surrounded them and gun down any Grimm that attempted to pounce of the students from behind, his reasoning being that the mission was intended to be a test of Team FADE's skill, not his. Felix merely frowned in mild annoyance before rounding on the remaining quartet of Grimm which had spread out and were currently advancing on him in a loose semi-circle, eyes glowing in the darkness as they moved through the trees. The first, either more brave or more stupid than its' kin rushed forwards snarling and snapping as it attempted to succeed where the Alpha had failed and bring down a Hunter. Felix crouched just low enough for its' forelimbs to pass over him before bringing his swords out in wide horizontal arcs at chest height, tearing the beast cleanly in half. The next Grimm didn't get as close as the Lion Faunus decided that he was in no mood to use his Semblance or wrestle in the mud and simply shifted Hack and Slash into their machine pistol forms, promptly riddling the Beowolf with countless high calibre bullet holes. The remaining pair of Grimm shared a look, some trace of intelligence or at the very least primal survival instinct passed between them and they turned and fled. Bounding through the forest only to meet their ends somewhere in the distance as Eagle deployed Sentinel and allowed the droid to despatch them with its' primary weapon; the muzzle-flashes of the compact multiple Mini-guns' lighting the darkness for a few moments. After that there was a peaceful silence and stillness in the air until Eagle returned, using her Semblance to cover the distance as quickly as she had created it.
"Okay Foggy you can come down" Felix snorted as he gave his surroundings an affronted glare "Come on, sooner we can make sure the area is definitely secure the sooner the engineers can fix the tracks and get us moving….I don't wanna be out in this all night"
Team FADE's mission had gone as planned thus far, with the train stopping at a handful of locations where the tracks had been damaged by Grimm; this particular site however had provided the slight problem of being situated in a location where the route passed through dense forest, meaning that Felix's plan to scout ahead with the Killer-Bee would be far less effective here. The decision had been made to split up, Foggy taking Felix and Eagle into the forest to clear the area of any immediate threats whilst Arctus and Diamond remained with Corona, having taken up firing positions atop the train as they ensured the safety of the workers within. The weather had also made itself an enemy of the Hunters, the torrential rain prevailing and the biting cold only growing worse as late afternoon passed into evening; worse still was the mud, the rain had made its' way through the canopy formed by the branches of the trees and reduced the ground to a calf-deep sucking mire that had threatened to claim the Hunters' footwear on more than one occasion as they traversed it; while Felix considered himself at home in the outdoors he would freely admit that this was perhaps a bridge too far.
"We'll still be out in it all night" Foggy noted with a resigned sigh, clearly enjoying the situation no more than the students in his care "Those tracks were pretty much ripped up completely, it's gonna take hours….this is gonna be it for tonight at least. We'll start moving again tomorrow morning"
"Oh thank Oum" Felix sighed, stretching as he sheathed his weapons before pulling his hood a little lower over his face "Please tell me there's a shower on that train?"
"We are going back to the train right?" Eagle added "Or is there more ground we need to cover?" both she and Felix grew concerned upon seeing the way Foggy's brow furrowed, the man clearly thinking hard for a moment before answering
"Yeah we're going back….I think I might have some real bad news though"
"What?" Eagle braced herself, Foggy reached out to the nearest tree and ripped a chunk of bark away with surprising ease before showing it to the students
"Look at this" he instructed "See anything wrong with it?"
"It's dead" Felix stated flatly
"Exactly, I checked a good dozen or so trees while I was up there and they're all like this….it's not right, it's too early in the year"
"So what're you thinking?" Felix asked, paying close attention as lessons taught to him by the various Hunters in his family about staying away from parts of Patch's woods where everything had died began to echo in his mind.
"Dead trees, Alphas and extra aggressive Grimm that are attacking train lines and listen….no birds, no wildlife at all" Foggy's expression darkened "I've got a feeling this mission just got a whole lot rougher kids; I think we might have a full sized spawning pit nearby"
"Oh shit" Felix whispered, it was the most succinct response he could manage as cold fear coiled in his gut.
Rhodium took one final drag of the cigar he was smoking before finally putting it out and simply enjoying the view for a few moments. He had successfully relocated his mother to Vaccuo without incident, having rented a lavish luxury apartment located only a few minutes walk from the beach while still being close to the heart of the Kingdoms' capital and paid several months in advance on the understanding that the landlord would ask no questions. Leaning against the railings of the balcony which overlooked a street that was busy even this late at night, situated as it was in a neighbourhood that relied heavily on tourism there were restaurants, bars and casinos whose neon lights flashed and shone in an attempt to capture attention lining the streets below and though the sounds of dull thumping bass and the occasional overly excited drunk could easily be heard it was far more pleasant than the area Rhodium had been raised in, it was also far safer for his mother to stay here and out of the reach of Melanie Malachite and her goons until the red-headed mobster could end his ongoing conflict with her.
Rhodium wanted it all. This was a perfectly natural state of being for the gangster who had been described by his mother since childhood has having 'eyes too big for his belly' but leaving New Vale and seeing the sheer scale of Vaccuo's criminal underworld seemed to have pushed his avarice to new heights. Rhodium could already imagine a future in which he had taken over New Vale, wresting control of his Kingdoms' underbelly from Malachite; he would then turn his attention of Vaccuo and use the lingering distrust and resentment between the five major cartels who currently held sway to his advantage and from there Atlas and Mistral would be easy enough to take over. In Rhodium's mind the scope of his plans and his willingness to execute them alone were what made him the best possible candidate to run New Vale's crime syndicates. Melanie was happy with one Kingdom, he planned to control Remnant from behind the scenes.
His grandiose musings were interrupted by his Scroll alerting him to the fact he had received a text message. A calculating smirk tugged at his lips as he scanned the message, his train of thought immediately shifting from lofty ambitions and vague ideas of how things would be at some unknown point in the future to the far more immediate and practical matters of safely relocating several hundred tons of weapons, munitions and assorted military hardware up to an including an older model of Atlesian Paladin that had been recovered from the battle that had taken place in this very city during the war; if rumours were to be believed then it was actually a close friend of his father who had destroyed the machine in question; Rhodium privately wished he could have met her, convinced that if he had someone like Neo Politan on his side he would have already won this turf war by now.
'I'll be bringing the goods in through the usual route, just make sure that I won't be running into any delays. As for the bonus package you mentioned, keep it secure and I'll double your rate when I see you in person' Rhodium quickly typed and sent his response, following through by ensuring that the people currently storing his illicit purchases, mercifully without drawing the attention of Vaccuo's current crime lords, understood their duties. The plan was to move the goods out into one the smaller settlements in the Vaccuan wasteland, populated by religious fanatics who shunned society and the disenfranchised poor who held the Kingdoms' laws in contempt; from there he would see that the goods were transported to a small settlement on New Vale's side of the border, getting them into the capital city would then be a matter of simply sending trucks to collect them rather than having to bribe or blackmail entire dockyards and countless customs officials.
Now that his plans were in motion Rhodium felt a slight twinge of sadness, this would mean saying goodbye to his mother for a considerable amount of time. Sighing he decided it would be best to simply get it over with and made his way from the balcony back into the luxury apartment
"Hey Ma!" he called out
"What is it?" she called back, her voice coming from the kitchen which Rhodium casually sidled into
"Just got word about a shipment for work, I'm gonna have to head back into New Vale….this is something I need to handle in person-"
"Rhodey why do always feel a need to lie to me?"
"Ma I-"
"You know as well as I do that you're going home to do something stupid, dangerous and illegal, you've been planning to get yourself killed or locked up again ever since you got here" Rhodium let out a slow breath, a barely audible curse on his lips as he realised that his mother was close to tears and there was nothing he could tell her except the truth
"This is just who I am Ma, I don't know how to be anything else-"
"Oh bullshit Rhodey!" Candy Cain snapped, surprising both herself and her son with her language "All these businesses you've bought or set up, you were helping people Rhodey, you still are….Why couldn't you have just focused on that. You could have made the world a better place instead of wasting your life like this"
"But all the good I've done, giving people jobs and getting people off the street….I couldn't have done any of it without everything else I've done" the red-head shrugged "I'm sorry Ma but the world's run by the bad guys, you can either be one or work for one and I'm not meant to be an employee" his mother merely looked at him, the look of defeat she wore broke Rhodium's heart before she even had a chance to speak
"You're gonna die like your father Rhodey….these thugs you enjoy using as your little soldiers, one day they're gonna shoot you in the back" Candy wiped her eyes "I've done everything I can for you Rhodey but you just refuse to learn….I almost had hope that you might have met someone; but you'll never care about anyone more than Lien" the words stung but Rhodium couldn't find it in himself to deny any of it, he loved his mother dearly and Tricky had been the closest thing to a real friend he could remember having, he even had an amount of misplaced pride and fondness for the slums that he had been raised in but beyond that, people simply didn't interest him beyond what they could do for him.
"Why on Remnant would you think that?" he asked with a chuckle, just how watery it sounded serving as proof that he needed to move the topic of conversation to something lighter and the idea that his mother had thought that he was in a relationship with anyone was frankly laughable to him
"Just that you've been talking to the same woman constantly since we got here" Candy shrugged "You should find someone Rhodey, someone has to try and talk sense into you when I'm not around to do it"
"That's a work thing, a Huntress actually….nice respectable job" Rhodium tried to keep as much of the sneer as he could out of his voice, he was enough of a disappointment already "Her name's Corona"
Authors Notes:
So, we're starting up the finale of Vol.7 now and this is where the threads are gonna come together and you'll get a sense of what I've been planning and what's in store for the rest of Third Year….and Fourth Year.
I said I might take a week off….I then proceeded to plan out this chapter in a matter of minutes, write the first scene, sleep for a few hours and then write four more scenes in one sitting.
Typical me I suppose.
Anyway, let's summarise shall we:
I just imagine Team FADE having a dramatic slow motion entrance….that then gets interrupted every few minutes when they run into someone.
Of course Helios "Wakes up at 5am and works out in full armour before class" Nikos is the first person to get his mission.
Eos Defence Platform after Eos from Greek mythology who was a Titan and the Goddess of the dawn.
If Goodwitch keeps anything as a holdover from Ozpin in the way she runs her academy it will definitely be a sense of mystery….besides, she does have a point.
Plot twist, I kept it vague and let people think that Team FADE would be working with Artemis but nope.
Artemis's gear is an updated version of what she wore in The Downward Spiral.
Her weapon is a naginata/sniper rifle named "Hakai Suru" from the Japanese for "To Destroy"
Yay for Corey and Felix being okay.
Ah the Stinger…..you hear that? That was the sound of me cocking Chekhov's gun.
So yeah, Matte is giving Project Snare another go and this time she's sending the heavy duty stuff to retrieve the Grimm. Seeing the control room for the Baba-Jaegers was interesting as well.
This train probably won't be as armoured as the one in canon Vol.6, but its' still got some big guns.
Ah that moment when you walk into a new workplace and get stared out by the engineers.
I wanted Foggy and Corona to have a clear and immediate contrast; Foggy is just a normal working class guy who happens to kill Grim for a living, compare his pure practicality against the pure aesthetic bad-ass that is Corona.
Corona was originally going to be a cricket Faunus with bug legs instead of a Mantis Shrimp but this fits her Semblance a lot better (Yes you'll see it next chapter)
Corvid did one Felix before that Third Year is where things get a lot more difficult and involved, this is part of that; from now on Team FADE aren't just going to be doing grunt work.
Well, Diamond's gut is reliable.
That should have been your first hint, we saw Torchwick put ten grand on Team FADE.
Team FADE passed over the Jagged Mountains in First Year, the base they were using would have been on the other side of them.
Hardcore Hiking in a place like Remnant is definitely the kind of thing people are stupid enough to come up with.
I just felt like reminding everyone that the Baba-Jaegers in stealth fighter mode just look menacing as fuck compared to the rest of Atlas's gear.
Come on, Team GORE were always going to be pissed off beyond belief when they saw that Atlas was basically co-opting them for another job.
So yeah, Gangrel most likely spoke to Goodwitch as he has done before and made sure that his old 'Agents' were assigned a mission with his old team-mate.
I don't blame Carcharodon for demanding payment.
Syneffo Nikos is inbound. We'll be seeing her interact with Team FADE and the Rose family in Vol.8.
Felix and Eagle working as a team and ploughing through Grimm like that was fun to write, honestly Grimm combat always is, it's got a different feel from person against person.
Fighting in the mud and rain, there's an old military saying "The weather isn't neutral"
Yep, spawning pits are bad….And they don't have an elite team of the best that the Specialist Branch can produce with them like Arctus did in Vol.4 either.
I always imagine Vaccuo as kinda like the Costa Del Sol in that it's filled with retired gangsters ho may or may not have Cockney accents.
Rhodey is thinking big, this is why Oz is working with him; dreams that big are easy to manipulate.
Rhodey was bringing drugs into New Vale in a pretty similar way in First Year.
It's kinda sad seeing Rhodey realise that his mum has pretty much given up on him at this point.
"Her name's Corona"….can you guess what WHO the 'Bonus package' that she's bringing to Torchwick is.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, DizzyDwarf, Ferrous, Funlander and iSassenach for their reviews on the last chapter.
A special thanks to Ferrous for leaving the 600th review for this story on FF Net.
I can see you're point about Raffia most likely never being able to live a life that doesn't involve violence but Neptune is bound by his profession and ethics to try and prevent him from such a bleak and probably short life.
Good luck in your GCSE's…..also God damn I feel old when I think about how long ago mine were.
Neither Felix nor Helios were 'Soft' in that scene and you know it.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.