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Chapter 98: Salutations
Team NEON had been discharged from their mission ahead of schedule following their involvement in the rescue of Team FADE from the tide of Grimm. Less than a day had passed and the four of them had decided to use their newfound free time by going their separate ways; Nyanza having informed Helios that he would be purchasing a ticket for the first available flight to Mistral that morning, the feline Faunus was in a long distance relationship after all and wanted to spend some time with his girlfriend before classes resumed for the third year students; Helios had bid his partner a safe travel and given him a few cautionary pieces of advice in case Nyanza chose to venture outside of Mistral's capital. Olivine and Ether had returned home the night before, with the events of their mission being broadcast and reported on the two of them had received concerned calls from their parents who wished to make sure that their children were okay and the pair had soon agreed to spend a day or two with their respective families, though would no doubt meet up at some point before returning to the Academy.
Undeterred by the fact that his team-mates were elsewhere and that Felix had been kept in Halo Academies' medical facilities overnight to ensure that the beating he had received whilst his Aura was inhibited hadn't done any lasting damage, the armoured redhead had departed from the Academy and was currently making his way through the sprawling super-metropolis that was New Vale's capital. Despite the city being his second home and having spent over a year living in New Vale with much of another spent in Atlas he still found himself feeling far more vulnerable than one would expect of someone with his height and physique. Usually Helios ventured into the city with either Felix or Nyanza at his side and was still not quite mentally prepared to deal with the mass of people that forced themselves onto public transport during rush hour alone, however he persevered and withstood the clamouring bodies and claustrophobic environment of the cities' monorails; which in hindsight Helios noted would have been at least somewhat more tolerable if he had simply foregone his armour.
Eventually he had been released, a steady stream of apologies on his lips as he accidentally pushed and jostled his fellow commuters before finally being free to continue towards his destination, which was now much closer. The Airship terminal he approached was not the same one that carried students to Halo however it was one that Helios was still familiar with, being the one that he arrived at when travelling from Mistral. The airship terminal was contained within its' own purpose-built expansion of New Vale's walls and had been protected accordingly; staring at the huge complex whose polished and welcoming yet professional aesthetic was somewhat offset by the considerable defences mounted around it Helios noted with a frown that had Nyanza not been so eager to leave he would have still be in their dorm when Helios received the message telling that he should make his way to the Cross-Kingdom terminal and they could have simply travelled together.
"Hey Helios!" the redhead found his thoughts intruded on by an exceptionally pleased sounding voice which Helios recognised at turned towards; finding Ruby Rose and Qrow Branwen waiting to the side of the terminals' main entrance
"Hey" in a burst of rose petals Ruby had flashed to his side, leaving Helios blinking as he tried to adjust himself to her speed; he had been warned by Felix that his Aunt could take some getting used to but to see her seemingly vanish and reappear at will was still disconcerting
"It's just me and Qrow meeting your sister here" she continued "Penny is at home and the twins are at school, we didn't wanna have everyone swarm her at once y'know?"
"Thank you" Helios gave her a small smile before giving a respectful nod to Qrow who had remained where he was, wearing his customary gruff scowl
"No Felix? Yang tells me you two are adorable together and I saw the news reports yesterday about his team running into a Spawning Pit"
"Felix won't be able to join us, at least not just yet" Helios informed her with a sigh "The nurses wanted to keep him overnight; he'll be fine though"
"Of course he will" Ruby beamed "Come on, her flight landed and she should be coming through customs any minute now with that the two of them made their way into the airship terminal, Ruby gesturing for Qrow to follow them as they did so. They made their way through the crowded building, Helios feeling more at ease now he was in surroundings that were at least slightly familiar and had room to breathe; finally allowing himself to acknowledge and enjoy the slight giddiness he was feeling, he had missed his sister and wanted to show her everything New Vale had to offer. Eventually they were saved the trouble of having to search for her as a voice Helios would recognise anywhere pierced the ambient buzz of conversations
"MOVE THAT HAND OR I'LL KEEP IT IN A JAR!"
"I need back up here, we've got a situation!" the voice of a frightened member of staff was enough justification for Helios to simply barge through the crowds and march in the direction of his sisters' voice
"ON THE GROUND! RIGHT NOW!"
"I will do no such-"
"SYNEFFO!" Helios barked as he stormed into the space that had been cleared, whilst a loose semicircle of guards aimed automatic weapons at an obviously enraged teenage girl with crimson hair, clad in light, golden armour and whose tribal markings and visible bloody scarlet Aura made her a fearsome sight as she began to crush the hand of a customs official in a vice like grip; halting only when her brother made his presence known
"Sir, you need to-"
"Silence!" Helios demanded, years of being raised to become the leader of his people rising to the surface and causing all who heard his voice to fall silent. Speaking with the same authority he turned to his sister "What is going on here?"
"This pervert was trying to touch me"
"She's wearing armour, it set off the metal detectors, I had to-" the panicking and exceptionally guilty looking customs officials' stammered explanation was swiftly ended as Syneffo broke his wrist with a sharp crack. Helios for his part took one look at the man his sister had accosted and decided which of them he believed more, finding himself grateful that he had left his sword and shield at the academy; if they had been within reach he would have done something that he may have regretted later
"That's enough. Everyone put your guns down…..Nikos, drop him" Qrow's familiar drawling voice ordered calmly; the security guards turned and saw that not only did they have a pair of tribal savages to contend with, they also had the living legend that was Qrow Branwen and the war hero Ruby Rose; who looked more furious than they could have ever imagined.
"Mister Branwen, I don't know what you're involvement is but we're detaining her into-"
"No" Qrow drawled with a shake of the head as he stepped closer to the speaker, an armed guard whose uniform identified them as someone with authority "What's gonna happen is you're gonna go and get Miss Nikos's bags and weapons and hand 'em over and we're all gonna forget this happened. Or we can have a look at the security cameras and see just how touchy feely your friend over there was getting….I would love to see you find a jury who would actually convict my niece after she cuts his hands off though" the chief security guard took a few moments to assess the situation before promptly making the only logical decision
"All a misunderstanding, Stone go and find Miss Nikos's property; Birch drive this idiot to the hospital….I've gotta go fill out the paperwork for his suspension pending investigation" there was a single incredibly tense second before the security staff did as they were ordered, Helios nevertheless planting himself between them and Syneffo. The tension persisted until Syneffo had received and checked her belongings and the four of them had been escorted outside; Ruby took several deep breaths to steady herself before speaking
"So, um Hi….that wasn't quite the introduction to Vale I was hoping you'd get. I'm Ruby Rose and I'm-"
"The Silver Eyed Warrior who's going to be training me" Syneffo bowed her head slightly "It's an honour"
"Oh, I um….yeah" Ruby found herself stammering, the ghost of the shy and awkward fifteen year old accepted into Beacon Academy early coming to the fore as she struggled to deal with the reverence in Syneffo's eyes; the same unnaturally bright silver as her own but with a ferocious intensity behind them that Ruby was sure she'd never possessed
"But we're not gonna jump straight into the deep end. Um, we were gonna go back to my place….where you'll be staying, introduce you to the family, help you get settled in; maybe go out for food"
"Ruby, let the kid breathe" Qrow advised
"Right, sure no problem; come on it's a little walk to the monorail….I can't actually bring my wife's Bull-Head into the terminals' airspace" with that Ruby and Qrow led the way, giving Syneffo and Helios a moment alone
"Are you going to be okay here?" the older Nikosi asked, making no effort to hide his concern for his sister as she sheathed her ornate twin axes 'The Harpies Claws' in their customary place at her hips
"Will I have to break any more wrists?"
"I can assure that it will never happen again" Helios scowled, still disgusted at the behaviour of the customs official but wanting to move the conversation away from the topic "So, your first impression of Ruby Rose?"
"Not what I expected" Syneffo shrugged as they followed after the caped Huntress
"You were expecting a stern, angry master warrior like the tribal elders?" Helios surmised with a knowing smile
"I expected taller" Syneffo snorted "Where's Felix….and your team, I thought the idiot cat would be here"
"You'll have plenty of time to annoy my friends" Helios assured her "In the meantime, try and settle into the Kingdom….it will take some getting used to" Syneffo merely nodded in silence as she took in her surroundings; whilst in Atlas the Nikosi contingent had always set up camp outside of the cities; making New Vale, which dwarfed Mistral's cities with ease a new experience for her
"I can see that" she admitted. Ahead of them Ruby's mind was racing as she desperately tried to convince herself that she was prepared for the situation she had found herself in. She could train this girl to fight, the real problem however was one that she hadn't expected to deal with for several more years.
There was going to be an Aura wielding teenager in her house.
Pantheon watched the world pass them by, fiery glowing and malevolent eyes narrowed as the monster scanned their surroundings; peering out from the shallow cave like hole that they had bored into the rocky face of one of the Jagged Mountains with their own claws for any sign of an impending attack. Ever since they had escaped the ambush by the Hunters, the flying machines and whatever it was that had destroyed them Pantheon had been doing something that set them apart from most creatures of Grimm almost as much as their ability to speak
They had been hiding and thinking.
"Come to me" Pantheon let out a low guttural snarl as their consciousness abandoned their physical form for a moment, retreating into the broken remains of the Grimm Hive Mind; a labyrinth of pathways that had once formed a vast yet intangible web like network wherein each Spawning Pit and Alpha Grimm was connected and through them the innumerable hordes of the Grimm were united. Pantheon however had never known the hive mind as anything other than what it currently was, fragmented and torn asunder as though some great cataclysm had befallen it, the destruction expanding outwards from an epicentre. Still the monster reached out with their own mind in search any lesser Grimm that could be compelled to follow.
"Come to me" Pantheon's voice echoed through the Hive as his astrally projected consciousness found a roiling mass of darkness that was lit from within by an ominous crimson glow, the psychic manifestation of a Spawning Pit that was almost certainly located somewhere within the mountains. Pantheon attempted to reach out and touch the mass only to find themselves unable, it existed within a different fragment of the broken hive mind and they had no way to influence the Grimm that the Spawning Pit produced.
Pantheon made to retract their consciousness back into their physical form, only to be halted by a crimson light glaring down on them from above and an all consuming and undeniable voice with a feminine tone repeating the Grimm's own words back to them
"COME TO ME!" the voice seemed to transcend the astral plane of the hive mind and cause Pantheon's body to physically shudder
"COME TO ME!"
"Where?" Pantheon snarled in response, utterly unable to deny this voice as some ancient and primal part of their psyche forced them to obey whilst also pumping new information into their mind.
"COME!" the light from above condensed and coalesced into a scarlet nova and hurtling overhead, dipping below the horizon of the astral plane. As Pantheon's mind returned to their body the path the crimson light had taken still seemed to be superimposed over their vision, giving them a trail to follow and making it abundantly clear what needed to be done. Pantheon would follow the trail to the source of the voice, consuming and recruiting Grimm as they went to ensure that they arrived with an army of monsters at their back; stepping out of the cave they had burrowed into the mountain Pantheon unfurled their wings and spoke
"I'm coming home….Mother"
It was early afternoon and Felix had finally been discharged from Halo Academies' medical wing; promptly returning to Team FADE's dormitory in search of the sleep that had been denied to him by the dizziness and nausea caused by the various painkillers and Aura stimulating medication he had been placed on as well as the distinctly uncomfortable sensation of his recovering Aura accelerating his healing and pushing new teeth through his gums to replace the ones that had been knocked out.
Upon arriving at the dorm it had soon become apparent that he would not be getting the rest that he sought at any time soon as there were more pressing matters that required his attention; the first order of business had naturally been to contact his mothers as both Blake and Yang had seen the news reports detailing the way his mission had ended and were understandably desperate for information. After assuring them that he was suffering no lasting injuries and simply needed to sleep he exchanged a few quick messages with Helios enquiring about Syneffo's arrival and flight before finally turning his attention to the Goliath in the room that he had been ignoring.
There were far too many people in his dormitory.
Arctus and Diamond were, as usual, sharing Arctus's bunk across and below from Felix; the Bear Faunus with bloody eyes and Diamond with a large ugly bruise from where the butt of her weapon had kicked against her shoulder repeatedly in addition to the various smaller cuts and bruises that they sported, Diamond curled against her partner as the two of them shared adorable reactions to the latest photos that Athena-Jade had taken, showing that Coral had seemingly managed to make friends at the private school that the Slate children attended, or at least that the Crab Faunus had been accepted by her adoptive sisters' friend group. Directly below Felix was Eagle who was dozing and barely conscious as she lay in a tangle of limbs with Hellion; the Dragonfly Faunus having sought her out the moment that Team GORE had returned from their own mission and whilst Felix could understand and accept her presence the fact that Carcharodon, Onyx and Raffia were in his dormitory remained a mystery that the Lion Faunus was unsure he wanted an answer to
"You throw that on the floor and I'll make you clean the whole dorm" the Lion Faunus warned as he glowered at Raffia, the Axolotl Faunus had made himself as comfortable as possible considering the mass of bruising that his entire midsection had been reduced to on Diamond's bunk and was currently gnawing away at every last morsel of meat on a chicken wing before seemingly preparing to casually throw the bone on the ground.
"You will try" Raffia taunted
"If I have to clean chicken bones out of my bed I'll beat your ass" Diamond threatened
"As if you ever sleep in it" Raffia huffed, finding a simple solution and flicking the bone directly at Felix who used every ounce of self control at his disposal to not beat the smaller Faunus to within an inch of his life for the disrespect and instead turned to Carcharodon and Onyx, the Shark Faunus looking somewhat out of place and uncomfortable
"So are you gonna tell me what you want before I throw this idiot out of the window?" Carcharodon gave Raffia a warning glare which did at least a little to quiet his disruptive team-mate before answering
"We saw the news, Torchwick was involved in your mission….it seems then that we both have stories to share"
"You're seriously bothering me 'cos you wanna trade war stories?" Felix grumbled "You seriously couldn't wait until we've actually slept?"
"Hold on wait" Arctus interjected "You were on a mission with my Aunt Missy, is she okay?"
"Fought like a warrior and her wounds are nothing serious" Onyx assured him "It's what we were fighting that's important"
"But first, what about Torchwick?" Carcharodon demanded "We still want a reckoning with him"
"Don't worry I didn't steal your kill" Felix snorted, remembering the attitude that the tribes of Anima had towards the right to dispense justice "It was just Torchwick doing his usual shit, we just happened to be in the way. He was running guns and had the Hunter he's paying off use the Grimm as a distraction"
"We'll catch him in time….he can't hide behind hired guns forever" Onyx grunted
"Indeed" Carcharodon rasped, visibly eager for a confrontation with the mobster "But Onyx is right, it was what we were Hunting on our mission that's important to us….Arctus, are you aware that your father is part of an Atlesian mission to capture a live Grimm for study?"
"That's just ridiculous" the Bear Faunus snorted "How would you even study a Grimm….you can't sedate it and anything you dissect or amputate is just gonna vanish; that's not even considering the risk of it getting lose-"
"I didn't ask if you think it's possible" Carcharodon interrupted "It's happening. I asked if you knew….obviously not. This Grimm was different to the others, it could speak"
"What?" Felix demanded, suddenly paying much closer attention
"A thinking, speaking Grimm" Carcharodon repeated
"We've seen one before" Felix admitted in a hushed tone "During the breach a couple years ago, it called itself Phobos"
"This one calls itself Pantheon" Raffia noted
"It was like no Grimm we've ever encountered" Carcharodon fought the urge to shudder "We held it at bay until Atlesian war-machines arrived and captured it….then it was set free"
"What?" Diamond demanded
"Someone or something opened fire and cut down Atlas's fighters; the Grimm escaped" Onyx growled "It's still out there" there was an oppressive silence in the dorm before Felix finally spoke
"So what are you suggesting?"
"That we find out everything that Atlas is keeping secret and find this beast" Carcharodon rasped
"If it can think then it can hold a grudge, I'd rather not fight it on its' own terms" Raffia reasoned, making a surprisingly well reasoned point
"Besides" Carcharodon added, almost amused "We agreed to be Hunters….is this not what we're supposed to do?"
"Okay that's a fair point" Felix shrugged "But this honestly sounds like it's way outside of what we're trained for"
"You were never trained to fight us and you did anyway" Raffia snorted, which Felix was forced to concede was another good point.
"Look" Arctus sighed "When we fought Phobos we made sure that Goodwitch knew what we saw; obviously she's passed the information on to people in the know. If the Grimm are….I don't know, evolving or something then maybe it's better to let the people in the Atlesian military who know how to handle this kind of thing handle it"
"They handled it by sending my people with little information" Carcharodon snarled, his temper bubbling to the surface
"Then get in touch with my dad and see what he can tell you" Arctus answered simply
"Oh I plan to Slate" Carcharodon assured him before turning to Felix "I trust that should we learn anything you'll want to be informed?"
"Sure" Felix nodded "And we'll tell you if we hear anything about Torchwick" with that three quarters of Team GORE made their exit whilst Hellion remained nuzzling into Eagle as they both slept, Onyx making a passing comment about finding Corvid which Felix desperately pretended not to hear
"So, we're apparently dealing with this now" Diamond sighed "We can never just go to class and be normal can we?"
"Not in this line of work" Arctus chuckled; Felix silently agreed. It seemed that problems and responsibilities continued to pile up despite his best efforts.
Not least of which was the letter from his biological mother that had been waiting on his bed for him when he had returned.
The sun was just beginning to set outside the gargantuan towers that formed the Hive City of New Vale and Rhodium wore a calm and confident smile as he neared his destination. Melanie Malachite had naturally declined to have negotiations and potential peace talks be thrust upon her on Rhodium's terms and upon arriving at her bar the previous night the redhead had been offered a counterproposal by her underlings; terms which he had graciously accepted despite them being openly skewed in favour of the older and more experienced mobster.
"This is the place" he noted simply from his position in the back seat of Vert's car, the younger gangster driving whilst the passenger seat was filled by one of his usual cronies whose baggy attire served to hide firearms they carried from view. At Rhodium's instruction Vert brought the car to a halt outside of the business that would play host to the meeting between the crime lords; a small Mistrali restaurant declaring itself to have the best noodles available in the city
"Well at least she's got taste" Rhodium noted with a smirk as he left the car and swaggered to the entrance of the establishment alone, Vert and his friend waiting in the car as agreed upon. As he reached the restaurant the redhead found his way barred by a pair of armed thugs dressed in the customary suits, fedoras and red tinted sunglasses of the Black Bear Syndicate who began to diligently search him for weapons
"So, which one of you lucky guys got to give Mel this treatment?" he asked, the goons knowing better than to rise to the bait simply continued with their task until it was clear that they would find nothing, at which point they led him to a small and isolated, yet comfortable dining area away from the rest of the seating.
Melanie was waiting for him.
"Well Mister Torchwick….I was honestly expecting a more striking appearance" she eyed the formal and nondescript black suit that Rhodium had worn for the occasion before gesturing to an empty seat opposite her "But I am glad you've seen sense and decided to….sit at the grown ups' table as it were"
"And I expected better legs from someone who puts knives in their shoes" Rhodium shot back without hesitation, making no effort to hide the way he sized up his rivals' body and overall appearance as he made himself comfortable; he noted that her dress and fur coat cost more than his car, privately he made a note to buy something from this designer for his mother as an apology for the problems that he routinely caused, perhaps he'd get something for Corona as well, depending on how she felt about the scarring that would certainly cover much of her upper body from now on.
"Don't lower the bar" Melanie sighed "I've humoured you this long out of respect for your late father but my patience really is beginning to wear thin"
"Well then let's get down to business shall we" Rhodium sighed before waving a waiter over "After I've ordered obviously, and this is on you since you wanted to meet here"
"I understand that you must be struggling to make ends meet after your recent string of losses" Melanie assured him a faux soothing tone that only served to be as mocking as humanly possible; Rhodium ignored the jibe as he placed his order, tipping the waiter generously whilst smiling sweetly
"So, let's talk business" Rhodium began "You don't want any more dead bodies, neither do I. We both know the only way that we can both have any kind of peace and quiet is if we both agree to break New Vale up and we both stay in our own turf"
"An interesting offer" Melanie admitted with a calculating expression which quickly gave way to a knowing smirk "But I assume these territories are not going to be fair or equal in your mind?"
"Come on business is business, I can't start compromising right off the bat" the redhead laughed "I want eighty percent of everything; you can hustle in my spots but you pay rent for the privilege"
"Torchwick you can take a sixty forty split in my favour and you can be grateful for it" Melanie countered
"I thought you'd say that" the redhead laughed "So, shall we just cut the bullshit and call it fifty fifty and we stay out of each others' way?"
"Well that depends entirely which businesses and areas you want control of"
"Narcotics are my trade, your people stay out of 'em. I want the freight docks handed over and I'm taking over all protection rackets south of tower twelve" Melanie thought for a moment before answering
"You're ambitious I'll give you that….south of tower nineteen. If you want a monopoly on all narcotics then I'm going to need something of value to make it worth my interest. Shall we start with a few of your legal businesses, Cain Security Personnel for instance?"
"Go fuck yourself" Rhodium spat without hesitation; Melanie's suggestion that he forfeit the business named for his mother was a calculated insult and they both knew it "How about I take Junior's?" Melanie visibly bristled at the prospect of losing the nightclub she had inherited from her Uncle
"Watch your mouth boy" she warned "I was willing to give you a fair offer but you're attitude is costing you"
"You came here to give me table scraps and hope I'd be happy with it" Rhodium retorted as he rose to his feet
"And you came here hoping to posture and talk your way out of a war you can't win. You've lost your Hunters, your gun running went south yesterday, most of your best people are in jail along with the little fucker who tried to get my niece hooked on your drugs; Moss will be dead by the end of the week in case you were wondering" Melanie became more and more furious with each word and her mint green eyes blazed with hatred by the time she was finished
"Then we're back where we started" Rhodium intoned flatly as he made to leave "I was promised safe passage?"
"You can leave, the war starts again tomorrow" Melanie promised, seemingly relishing the prospect. Rhodium stepped out of the reserved seating just as the waiter appeared carrying a bowl of noodles in a spicy and still boiling broth
"Thank you….I'll pay for the clean up, this place is under new management" Melanie heard the words and knew that something was wrong the moment that Rhodium stepped back into view; rising to her feet she made to bellow orders to her underlings only to find herself blinded and clutching at her face in pain as the redhead calmly threw the contents of the bowl into her eyes whilst keeping the bowl itself in his hand. The members of the Syndicate made to draw their weapons and launch into action, only for their chests to explode into twin clouds of red mist when Vert and his compatriot leapt out of the car and began firing automatic weapons through the windows. Taking advantage of her blind and injured state with cruel efficiency Rhodium crushed the porcelain bowl in his hands as he stalked closer to Melanie, his hands becoming wreathed in the vibrant magenta glow of his Semblance whilst he chose the sharpest of the many jagged fragments. With Melanie stunned and disoriented she was unable to raise her Aura to defend herself and Rhodium calmly stabbed the sharp into the soft flesh of her lower jaw, warm blood sizzling as it came into contact with his Aura. Melanie's cries of pain were reduced to a sickening gurgle and the red head leaned in whispering in her ear
"Just so you know, this was always the plan. I run New Vale" with that declaration he stepped back and allowed the destructive effects of his Semblance to take hold, the explosion ripping through Melanie's skull and painting the wall behind her red. Rhodium simply turned on his heel and made his way passed cowering waiters and cooks to the car where his cohorts were waiting
"So….there's no competition now?" Vert asked
"There was never any competition, Mel was a has-been who inherited her spot at the top" Rhodium stared down at hands that still glowed with explosive energies; there was a certain symbolism that he had wanted to capture in the way he killed his rival, he could have simply stabbed or shot Melanie but in his mind it had to be his Semblance that delivered the killing blow
"I didn't get handouts like that, I got my spot at the top the same way I got everything else" he paused and looked his underling in the eye with a maniacal grin "With my own two hands"
Night had long since fallen and Felix had found himself in a dormitory that was not his own. With the majority of Team NEON absent Helios had invited the blonde Faunus to stay the night, an offer that had been accepted without reservations; their living arrangements meaning that any such opportunities for privacy were not to be wasted, notion Felix had jokingly mentioned to Arctus and Diamond as he left. Hellion and Eagle were after all unlikely to wake up unless the pair were exceptionally enthusiastic. Diamond had naturally responded with rude hand gestures and a roll of her cherry red eyes whilst Arctus had been seemingly mortified at the mere idea of engaging in any such activities whilst there were others in the room.
Currently Felix was sat on the edge of the bed opposite Helios which he had found himself perched on after pacing for several minutes; he was exhausted yet sleep would not come and the Lion Faunus privately wished that his soreness was the only think keeping him awake.
"Fuck it" he breathed out as his eyes darted over the text of the latest letter from his as yet unknown biological mother. He had memorised its' contents by heart now and was simply going in circles as he tried to decide on the best course of action. He took a long deep breath before reaching for his Scroll and silently hoping that both Blake and Yang had been honest when they had promised him that this would have no effect on his relationship with them.
"Here goes" Felix muttered to himself as he entered the contact details that had been at the bottom of each message, considering the hour it would be a bad idea to call so instead he found himself staring at a blank text message for several moments with no idea of what he wanted to say. Eventuality forcing himself to type despite reservations that he still couldn't shake and sending a message, reading simply
'Sorry it's taken so long to reply. I want to meet up, I've got questions – Felix'
"So you made a decision?" Helios asked sleepily, Felix had left the lights off as he had no need of them but the light from his Scroll had most likely been what had awoken the redhead
"Yeah, let's hope it was the right one"
"Whatever answers you find will be better than not knowing" Felix glanced over to Helios and saw that the sheet had been pushed down, leaving his bare chest and arms which were covered in tribal markings and old scars on display
"Thanks Heely" Helios merely smiled
"Now are you going to come back to bed?" Helios's voice was a low purr that sent shivers along Felix's spine and brought a wide smile to his face that displayed the gaps in his teeth as he sauntered across the room and clambered on top of his boyfriend
"Now that one I don't even have to think about"
Gangrel marched into the meeting room aboard the Atlesian Flagship, having been summoned from the Gespenst at the earliest possible opportunity. When he arrived he was greeted by the ships' Captain and the only member of the military that could be called his superior, General Winter Schnee. At what had once been their customary place at the Generals' right hand was Matte Skye who had similarly been summoned from their own ship. A seat at Winters' left remained empty for Gangrel whilst the fourth occupant of the room sat some distance away, yet still at the large round table which filled the room
"Miss Arc" Gangrel greeted a wary and concerned Antonia Arc with the warmest smile he could manage in his exhausted state whilst snapping off a salute to Winter; neither Gangrel or the general insisted on such formalities under normal circumstances but whilst there were guests present certain appearances had to be kept.
"Welcome aboard Commander" Winter nodded curtly to her brother in law as he sat beside her
"Who're we waiting for?" Gangrel asked as he took in the sight of several empty spaces at the table which were occupied with blank screens instead of seats. Whilst the Bear Faunus knew who held each of those seats at the table there was no telling who would be present at any given meeting of the shadowy cabal that Qrow Branwen had founded to help carry on the task of ensuring Remnants' safety at all costs.
"Branwen and Goodwitch" Winter answered. Gangrel nodded, this meant that Ciel Soleil, the heads of Shade and Haven Academies and the newest member to be granted a seat due to her part in the plan to construct a Hunter Academy on the island of Menagerie, Coco Adel were all absent.
"The rest will be informed of developments as soon as possible" Matte added, sensing Gangrel's discomfort at so many of their number choosing not to join the meeting. There were a few moments of tense silence of each person sat at the table pondered their own concerns before two of the scrolls flickered into life, revealing Professor Glynda Goodwitch sat in her office and Qrow Branwen who had sequestered himself away in the base of operations below his home
"My apologies for the tardiness, clean up for an incident involving a Spawning Pit has required my attention" Goodwitch announced politely "Gangrel I trust that you've been made aware of your sons' involvement?"
"He's a little scuffed up but he'll be fine….he's grown into one hell of a Hunter" the middle aged Faunus beamed with pride despite the severity of the situation
"And I see that we have a new member" Qrow drawled out, Antonia stiffening as she felt the eyes of the secretive council upon her
"Will this be a problem Qrow?"
"Toni I was one of the people who voted in favour of bringing you in, you have the kind of thinking we need"
"And her expertise regarding the matter at hand" Winter interjected, cutting across the conversation "So, to business" she nodded to Matte who cleared their throat and spoke up
"As you're all aware there was an attempt to locate and capture the suspected instance of a sentient Grimm. Our agents engaged the target and confirmed that it is indeed capable of speech and is at least intelligent on some level; agents called for back up from mechanised assets that had already been placed in reserve and said assets were able to contain the target within the latest iteration of Project Snare….however immediately afterwards the containment unit and the mechanised forces were destroyed by a lone attacker. Examination of the area revealed the use of the pheromone Tremor-Somnium which was stolen from a Freelancer base beyond the Jagged Mountains" Matte paused and took a breath to calm themselves before delivering the last piece of information "The few frames of footage we could recover of the attacker lead us to believe that Project Legacy was behind the attack" the air was filled with tense mutterings and venomously spat curses as the true nature of the threat dawned on those present.
"Project Snare should be shelved immediately" Gangrel growled eventually
"You've already made your concerns known" Winter countered
"And now we have concrete evidence!" the Faunus snapped, metallic claws extending from his prosthetic arm in frustration "We're being played here and I can't figure out what the end goal is"
"I concur" Qrow added suddenly "But if Gang would like to explain his reasoning so that everyone is on the same page"
"Eldritch" Gangrel stated simply before expanding "He was working on Project Snare from day one, he's the one responsible for Project Legacy going rogue….There's no way that what happened is anything other than him making his play and until we know what he's planning Project Snare should be halted"
"Agreed" Qrow nodded "And surely you can understand my suspicions that he may in fact be within New Vale"
"Oz won't make a move on his own" Antonia added, the outburst causing all eyes to fall on her once again "In Atlas he used the White Fang as his scapegoats, we didn't see the patterns or suspect him for so long because his motives were always hidden behind something else. Whatever he's planning he'll have help"
"We think we've got an idea of who he's using" Qrow assured her
"The street gangs selling the drug known as Booster have been united into a better armed and organised force with a larger supply of Eco-Dust to use as raw materials than should be possible" Goodwitch explained, Antonia paled, utterly sickened as she realised what the Dust that her former employee had been siphoning from shipments and factories was being used for
"He's using the same fuckers who helped set off that spawning pit" Gangrel snarled, fangs bared in rage "I'll have my contacts Vaccuo spread the word that no Vale gangs are to be catered to unless they want us cracking down on 'em"
"There's something else" Qrow added "I've been doing some digging on Eldritch may not be exactly who or what we think he is-"
"How so?" Antonia demanded
"I trust you've been made aware of what exactly happened during the war with Salem?" when she nodded Qrow continued "Within the first year following the war I found traces of the next possible candidate for the Wizard three times….All three of them were found with their heads blown open from the inside. Not long after that Eldritch leaves his family and his old job. He's been thorough about covering his tracks but it seems to fit that we might be facing off against the next Wizard"
"That seems….oddly plausible" Antonia whispered, shuddering as memories of every time Ozymandias seemed to flit around a laboratory so fast that he simply vanished or appeared to be in two places at once came rushing back to her.
"So to summarise" Winter breathed out, pinching the bridge of her nose as she took in just how deep the conspiracies seemed to go "Project Snare was unleashed by a rogue Atlesian Scientist, who may or may not also be a mystical or paranormal entity, in order to recover a sentient Grimm specimen for as yet unknown reasons. Said scientist is also supplying street gangs and rogue Hunters with Aura enhancing narcotics in exchange for services"
"That's about the size of it" Qrow nodded
"And the Nikos girl arrived in New Vale earlier today?"
"Oh yeah" Qrow grumbled, something obviously being unsaid
"Then your priority should be monitoring her progress and the protection of the Rose family. Currently there are four known Silver Eyed individuals on Remnant and all four of them are living in the same house"
"Understood" Qrow nodded, silently agreeing with the unspoken assessment of how risky the situation was.
"Antonia go through everything Eldritch ever worked on again, with the new information you may uncover something. I may have need of your skills in regards to certain countermeasures" Antonia merely nodded silently and Winter turned her attention to Matte "Project Snare is discontinued, effective immediately. Have stealth recon teams scour the area for any sign of the target; if they locate it they are advised to destroy it at all costs"
"I will continue ensuring the safety of New Vale through both Halo Academy and my seat on the Kingdoms' council" Goodwitch stated bluntly, which Winter nodded in agreement to before turning to Gangrel
"We saw what Eldritch was capable of alone, we might not have means to combat him directly but we can still target his pawns….priority one is Project Legacy; it cannot be allowed to go unchecked"
"Understood" Gangrel grunted, already formulating several plans "I've already got a Specialist in mind for the job"
"Then this meeting is dismissed" Winter took one last look around those gathered at the table, both in person and via their screens "As eerily familiar as this all seems we all made a promise after the war, one that I intend to keep….Never again"
"Fuck are you so upset about….I mean besides your face? We've won" Rhodium demanded of Torchwick whilst somewhat tipsy. He had removed the leader of the Black Bear Syndicate and with the head of the monster removed then the rest of the body would soon surely crumble; messengers had been dispatched to every corner of New Vale that Melanie Malachite had considered her territory, those under her employee or protection had been informed that they were now under new management. Whilst he knew that the conflict was not truly over yet and that if he had decided to appear at a bar or club tonight he would most likely have found himself shot in the back of the head by someone with either a vengeful or opportunistic streak, the urge to celebrate an undeniably crucial victory was too much to resist and as such Rhodium had found himself at the recording studio operated that he had purchased as one of his many legal front businesses, steadily working his way through an obscenely expensive bottle of champagne whilst turning the final recording session of Vert's latest release into an impromptu private party; suitably intoxicated he had slurred out a half joking comment to the younger gangsters that surrounded him about naming the project 'Loaded for Bear' he had decided that he was simply getting too old to be associating with such small minded petty criminals and left, soon finding his way to the officially disused warehouse that was serving as his current base of operations, where Ozymandias Eldritch had predictably been working on things far beyond the red-heads' understanding.
"Indeed, congratulations on your victory" Oz nodded distractedly "Now the real work begins"
"True" Rhodium noted as he sat backwards on a chair in the corner of the mad scientists' office; the thought oddly sobering "I might be moving us into somewhere a little upmarket….we can use this place for storage but word is that Malachite's bar has a pretty nice bunker under it"
"You want to plant a flag in the centre of your enemies' broken Kingdom….admirable" Ozymandias's mouth twitched at the corner which hadn't been reduced to a raw and reddened mess of scarring
"Right?" Torchwick beamed, pleased to finally have someone who seemed to be able to think on the same wavelength as him and understand that theatricality and image could be weapons in their own right "It sends a message and besides, it's always been the go to spot for pretty much every line of work we're in….I've just gotta have my lawyers talk to Malachite's lawyers and have a few people go and talk to Junior; make sure that everyone understands that I want what I won"
"I presume you'll need me to expand our current rate of production?"
"Eventually" Rhodium admitted "We need to consolidate first, make sure everyone knows who's in charge. I have got another job for you though….I know you used to work in robotics, the Huntress I was bringing in the shipment from Vaccuo with is gonna need a new arm"
"I'm sure I will be able to accommodate" Ozymandias assured him, privately taking notice of the fact that the habitually ruthless mobster had someone that he was willing to spend resources and effort to comfort; the information may prove to be useful later. Torchwick paid no notice of the calculating gleam in Ozymandias's remaining eye, preoccupied as he was with drunkenly reading news articles on his Scroll that pertained to a fire in a local restaurant in which several people had tragically lost their lives; the redhead gave a predatory smile before turning his attention back to Ozymandias and repeating his earlier question
"So come on, what's got you looking more pissed off than usual?"
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with" the scientist smiled as much their injured face would allow before adding "Chronic migraines, I'm sure you can understand why….Also I've heard from my contact in Atlas"
"They been held up?" Rhodium asked
"On the contrary, I expect them to be joining us at any moment" the scientist replied with a sigh "But it seems another task, relating to my own research has been met with interference from the Atlesian Military"
"Big oof buddy" a new voice, which somehow managed to at once sound chipper and unspeakably condescending snorted from the entrance to Ozymandias's office; causing Rhodium to whirl around and almost fall out of his seat as he lost balance
"Ah, when I said momentarily it appeared I was entirely correct" Ozymandias beamed with a note of satisfaction.
"Okay so, Atlas's new toys are pretty extra but they still caught a fade. Shame I couldn't finesse what we were looking for fast enough though" Rhodium took several moments to try and parse what the newcomer had said before simply turning to Ozymandias and demanding incredulously
"This is your contact? You shitting me Doc?"
"Dead-ass" the newcomer grinned as they entered the office fully "So, spill the tea….who're we flexing on?" Rhodium still struggled to make sense of the sight in front of him, Ozymandias's alleged heavy hitter appeared to be a girl who by the mobsters' estimations was no older than sixteen; and whilst Rhodium himself had been deeply involved in crime by that age this girl did not seem to be cut from the same cloth, even though she seemed to exude confidence and authority that her stature did nothing to detract from. She stood at a little under five and a half feet tall and possessed a slight frame and alabaster white skin with a heavy spattering of cheeks that were just a little on the round side and deep emerald green eyes were framed by locks of coppery orange hair of a colour perhaps a shade lighter than Rhodium's own. Her outfit consisted of glossy black boots reaching to just below her knees with a notable amount of armour plating integrated into the heel, toe and shins, artistically ripped black stockings that were visible in the small space where her boots and the white knee length skirt she wore didn't quite cover; the skirt was held up by several belts of different colours which were also adorned with various pouches Rhodium assumed contained Dust, she wore a white vest with thin shoulder straps that revealed yet more freckles, over which she sported an unbuttoned shirt whose sleeves had been removed and was a pale green colour with a vibrant pink floral pattern, her hands were covered with fingerless leather gloves with countless wristbands of every colour of the rainbow dangling above them and she wore a pink bow in her hair, completing a look that Rhodium refused to believe was that of the highly competent killer that Ozymandias had promised him.
"Seriously Oz….her?" he gestured frantically "Is this some kind of a joke?"
"Hey fuck-boy, I was bringing down Atlesian fighters literally yesterday so the attitude aint it chief" the insult alone was enough to make Rhodium pay attention, one the few remaining people who dared speak to him like that had been killed earlier that day after all. Ozymandias seemed to take a moment to enjoy the tense atmosphere in the room before offering any explanation or introductions
"I assure you Mister Torchwick that my young associate here is more than capable of adequately removing any opposition that you find yourself facing. I do believe proper introductions are in order; Nickel this is my benefactor Rhodium Torchwick, Mister Torchwick meet Nickel Polendina" the green eyed girl gave a sweet smile that managed to look unnervingly predatory
"Salutations buddy"
Authors Notes:
Put the pitchforks down you know damn well I like to end every volume with a cliffhanger that sets up the next one.
So, I might take a week off of writing, I've got the bare bones of Vol.8 and 9 in my head but I might just take a little time to get things more concrete before I jump straight into the next chapter…..that being said, I've made similar comments many times before lol.
Anyway, let's summarise:
Nyanza has never had money to take holidays on short notice before, I felt like giving the guy a break.
Seriously, spare a thought for the families of student Hunters who have to see footage of their still training kids fight monsters the size of houses.
Seriously though, imagine going from living pretty much out in the woods...sometimes literally, to being crammed into a monorail in a city that probably has more people than New York.
Of course he was constantly apologising….he is related to Pyrrha after all.
Okay so I wrote the scene with Ruby and Qrow meeting Helios at the airship terminal and then realised that Ruby and Helios haven't actually met yet, she's only met Team FADE so I had to do a little rewriting.
I wanted Ruby and Syneffo's first meeting to involve a conflict but not with each other, I think we can all agree that there are enough scumbags working in customs who abuse their jobs for them to deserve the burning in effigy they got.
It'll be interesting seeing Syneffo attempt to settle into New Vale and life with the Rose family.
So I've mentioned the Grimm Hive Mind several times, and how it was broken when Salem was defeated; this was the first time I've ever shown or described what it would look like from the point of view of a Grimm navigating it.
"I'm coming home mother"….remember how those were Phobos's last words as well? Remember how Oz is hearing a feminine voice? Remember how Salem was defeating in The Downward Spiral by being ripped out of the normal flow of space and time by Ruby and Oscar? ARE YOU GETTING IT NOW?
Had to throw in a little aside about how Coral's doing since she's a fan favourite.
Seriously Team FADE and Team GORE tolerate each other for Eagle and Hellion's sake, they're not 'Let's go and chill in each others' rooms' friends.
Rhodey should not have tried to have Hellion whacked in prison, Team GORE will literally never let that slide.
Carcharodon is low-key getting into this Hunter thing.
Carcharodon calling Gangrel should be interesting...He did say that Team GORE still expect payment for this job.
So it's pretty clear that Pantheon is going to be one of the main threats of Vol.8.
Mel was never gonna let Rhodey just pull up to her base on short notice.
Rhodey was extra bitchy this chapter and it was honestly fun to write.
I wanted Melanie's death to be as dirty and underhanded as possible, because I feel like people forget just how much of villain Rhodey is; he loves his Mum, has a genuine pride and care for his community and he's had some funny lines but make no mistake, he is not a good person by any stretch and a reminder was due.
So Felix is going to meet his biological mother, I've got some plans and revelations in store for that; I was initially going to have that meeting be this chapter but honestly with everything else happening it would have felt cluttered.
So Qrow's inner circle is himself, Winter, Matte, Gangrel, Goodwitch, Ciel, the heads of Haven and Shade and now Antonia and Coco; Ruby could have a seat at the table but honestly she doesn't want it, she's happy just taking out the Grimm one day at a time.
The whole scene with Qrow's secret Council was just to pretty much summarise things; it's also the first time anyone has come out and called Ozymandias the Wizard directly.
Note that everyone knew what Project Legacy was, but nobody wanted to say it or refer to her as a person.
"Loaded for Bear" as in the Black Bear Syndicate….get it?
Yes, Rhodey is taking over Junior's.
"Fire in a local restaurant"….yeah, sure.
Nickel Polendina is basically a Gen-Z Penny, I had so much fun writing just that brief interaction and I feel like you're gonna love to hate her.
"Salutations buddy"
Thank you to SumoSnipe DizzyDwarf, iSassenach and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
Yeah Killer-Bee takes some beatings lol.
My S/O is perfectly okay with you sending me flowers buddy, she said so herself.
Yeah, the villains can't be allowed to win everything without some comeuppance….this isn't Game of Thrones.
Hard-boiled is now an accepted ship name.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.