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I am making no money from this.

Chapter 100: Training Day

Syneffo Nikos's muscles burned and ached, silently screaming in process as she pushed herself to the limits of her Aura enhanced speed with her breathing reduced to harsh, ragged pants whilst she fought the urge to drop what she was holding and clutch at the painful stitch in her side through sheer willpower and self-discipline alone. The red-headed girl weaved between trees at breakneck speed, desperately clutching the bundle of blankets from which they crying of a scared baby could be heard as her pursuers weapons opened fire, impacting against the dead wood with a series of resounding thuds resounding cracks as bark splintered.

A glimpse of dull gunmetal between the trees ahead of her caused Syneffo to take a sharp turn, dropping low and skidding across the ground whilst clutching the bundle close to her chest and making as many soothing sounds as she could despite knowing that it would be of little use, if any. For a moment she considered stripping out of her golden armour which, whilst lighter than that which her brother wore was no less highly polished and was still made of metal meaning that her attackers could either catch a glimpse of its' bright surface or hear the individual plates moving against each other. It took a split second for her to decide against it, the crying would alert them all the same and furthermore she was almost sure that the machines that stalked her used some other means to track their targets; possibly their body heat. She returned to her feet and sprinted only to spit out a curse in her native tongue so vile that she would never have dared utter in front of the elder Pathfinders of the Nikosi for fear of her mother finding out; another of the machines that she was fleeing from had stepped out directly into her path and was seemingly staring straight at her.

The machine stood at roughly six feet tall with a roughly humanoid form, though its' bulky torso, spindly limbs and hands with too few digits and oddly elongated, tapered head were more than enough to shatter the illusion and make it clear that this was something else entirely.

"Target sighted, roger roger" the machine spoke in a stilted and clearly synthetic voice which was permeated with a sound like slight radio static and as it spoke it advanced, aiming the weapon it clutched in its' three fingered hands at Syneffo who could hear the rest of the group of automatons that had been hunting her moving into position to surround her, rustling the trees as they went.

"So be it" Syneffo breathed out, far less at peace with the situation that she portrayed; her silver eyes desperately scanning her surroundings for any angle of escape only to find none.

"Eliminate target, roger roger" with the order given Syneffo a fraction of a second to act and chose to simply duck in the hope that the attacks would pass over her; yet as crouched low and she clutched the bundle of blankets to herself in one hand whilst pressing the other against the ground to steady herself she felt something happen; a pressure building in her chest and time seemingly slowing for a moment before something seemed to burst inside her and the hairs on her neck stood on end as an indescribable power coursed through her body, along her right arm and though her palm into the ground where it expanded outwards. Syneffo watched with stunned disbelief as a dome of the same glowing crimson light that her Aura manifested itself as rose from the ground to envelop her; the payloads of the robots' weapons bursting harmlessly against it.

Syneffo had discovered her Semblance.

Filled with fresh hope and determination she drew the twin, short handled axes known as 'The Harpies Claws' that combined into her surprisingly advanced crossbow; doing so somewhat clumsily due to one of her hands being preoccupied

"Reloading" the mechanical voice of one of her attackers declared, prompting Syneffo to take action. She rose to her feet, the forcefield she can created dissipating as she did so and took aim; the machine in front of her collapsed backwards a moment later with sparks spitting from a punctured cranium and from that moment onwards the redhead was unstoppable, using her armour and Aura to deflect shots that came perilously close to striking her precious cargo whilst returning fire with deadly accuracy until there was only one robot left.

Or so Syneffo had thought; until a sharp stinging impact against her cheek alerted her to the presence of another one that she had missed; her face felt wet and she gave a grimace of discomfort as she looked down and saw red liquid dripping down onto her armour

"Aww right in the face, that looked like it hurt!" the jovial tone of Ruby Rose announced as the caped Huntress herself appeared, seemingly from the treetops in a burst of rose petals "Okay training exercise is over; you did really well today Syneffo, I mean really well….come on hand it over" Syneffo happily handed over the dead weight she had been carrying, a bundle of blankets wrapped around a child's doll that had been weighted until it had roughly the same heft as an actual baby and made to scream for the duration of the exercise, a cacophony which Ruby mercifully ended with a flip of a switch whilst Syneffo gingerly touched her face, the robots were an older model that had once been manufactured by a company that Poly-Tech had bought out and their weapons had been modified to fire paintballs; relatively harmless but the impacts still stung.

"Your performance was sensational" Penny agreed, announcing her presence behind Syneffo; giving the downed robots a clinical inspection "Although I'm tempted to make some training rounds for your weapon that won't utterly destroy our practice dummies"

"We can fix those" Ruby brushed her wife's concerns aside, far more caught up in the moment "She just figured out her Semblance…..so you must have been really into the mission, did you forget that it was only training for a sec? Anyway we should celebrate!"

"No we shouldn't" Syneffo sighed, causing the adults to whom her care had been entrusted to stop and give her concerned glances; the redhead explained "I'm happy that I found my Semblance and I can't wait to learn how to use it properly….but I'm here to master the power of a Silver Eyed Warrior and I've made no progress" Ruby stared at the teen before her and for a moment saw shades of Weiss, an heiress holding herself to an unobtainable standard and pushing themselves to breaking point

"It'll happen when it happens" Ruby assured her, gently placing her hands on Syneffo's shoulders before wiping away some of the paint still staining her face "You're doing great, you're gonna be an amazing Huntress one day….besides, this mission was never going to make your powers activate"

"WHAT?" Syneffo demanded, suddenly furious

"You need Grimm for that" Ruby reminded her gently, gesturing around to the woods near their home "We make sure these woods are clear, the neighbourhood kids play in here"

"Then let me face the Creatures of Grimm!" Syneffo demanded "I've already killed my share!"

"A situation that would trigger Silver Eyes is different to a normal engagement" Penny explained "When you're combat ready-"

"I've already seen combat!" Syneffo spat, splintering a tree as she lashed out "I was in Atlas, I-"

"You need to calm down!" Ruby barked, tone much sterner and demeanour suddenly much closer to the unflinching master at arms that Syneffo had been expecting to be mentored by. A moment later the hard expression had vanished and Ruby's signature warm smile was back in place as she effortlessly hauled a pair of damaged robots over her shoulders

"I promised your Mother that you would be safe here, I know you've already taken out some Grimm but I need to be certain before I put you in harms' way. Come on let's go home and clean up" Syneffo simply nodded her head in understanding before silently following along, dragging one of the broken robots behind her by its' ankle.

Silently she found herself wondering just how her brother could have possibly given up his position as heir to the Nikosi for a life amongst these people; the city was claustrophobic and she had felt smothered the entire time she had been in New Vale. She simply wanted to unlock her mysterious powers and hone them enough that she could go home.

The Strahlende-Zukunft Preparatory school was a private establishment located firmly within the upper echelons of Atlas's capital city of Eisenstadt Prime; a campus situated within a gated community filled with synthetic plant life that remained green all year round that was as close to nature as one could feasibly achieve within the gargantuan Hive Cities that had served as the inspiration for New Vale's capital. The prep school promised a thorough and well rounded, yet equally demanding and intensive education that would refine and enhance the potential that their young charges had, beginning the process of shaping them into the future ruling elite of the icy and desolate Kingdom. As expected admission into the school was a ludicrously expensive affair and the students represented the scions of Atlas's most affluent and influential families.

Which was why Coral Scylla still felt unspeakably out of place, even if she couldn't quite articulate her feelings and remained quiet within lessons and interacted little with her own classmates; a condition which had only been exacerbated by the incident in which she had attempted to correct her history teachers' account of a White Fang attack; their telling of events varying greatly from that which had been recounted to Coral more than once during her childhood by militant Faunus who claimed to have been present for it.

Fortunately for the Crab Faunus she had her adopted sister to rely on and Athena-Jade had gone to great lengths to ensure that Coral was accepted into her own group of friends, some of which was who she was currently surrounded by at that moment, enjoying her play time as much as she possibly could. Currently she clutched one end of a skipping rope in one of her pincers, the cuffs of her school uniform's shirt sleeves unfastened to accommodate said pincers in a violation of dress code that the teachers had wisely decided against penalising for ever since Weiss had visited the school in person.

"I don't get it AJ, we've been doing this all break….you don't even like skipping" the speaker was Henry Marigold the third, one of Athena-Jade's best friends which was a fact that had caused no small amount of disbelieving muttering from Weiss when she had learned of it. The boy whose hair was a somewhat smokey shade of blue clutched the other end of the skipping rope whilst Athena-Jade Slate herself came to a halt, placing her hands on her hips and gave her friend a look that her family would have told her was exactly like one her mother used

"I already told you Henry" she sighed and pouted "Dad started teaching me Hunter stuff early, he told me I need to work on my footwork or the Grimm are leave me sat on my butt before they eat me" Gangrel had indeed told her this, upon learning that his eldest daughter had thrown a chair at a school bully in response to their harassment of Coral, the elder Bear Faunus had decided to give the same response that his own father had treated him to when he had found himself in trouble with school and the authorities for his temper; namely 'If you're going to fight people then get in the ring and learn to do it properly' from Athena's perspective this was anything but a punishment, instead she saw it as the first real step towards her dream job of being a Hunter like her parents, her Aunt Winter, her older brother and his incredibly cool girlfriend whose hairstyle Athena still mimicked.

"You want to be a Hunter so bad" another of her friends teased in the sort of sing song voice one would expect a child to use when tormenting a friend over a crush. Athena was utterly immune to the tone

"Do you not?" she demanded breathlessly "They're like the coolest people ever"

"I'm gonna be a singer" her friend shrugged

"Like my Mum….who was a Huntress" Athena countered dismissively which caused Henry to giggle to himself.

"I don't wanna be a Hunter" Coral admitted, staring downwards at her freshly polished school shoes as she risked disappointing her adopted sister "They only show the cool parts on TV, there's a lot of nasty and scary stuff they keep secret….besides what Uncle Whitley and Weiss do now is way cooler"

"Meetings and science homework?" Athena demanded incredulously

"Making enough Dust to last forever" Coral beamed with something approaching wonder

"You don't make Dust stupid, you just dig it up" another of Athena's friends interjected. Athena's response to her friends tone was a non-verbal warning which came in the form of her bear like claws extending as she made a show of flexing her fingers; despite the strictness of the school the occasional fight between students was inevitable and it was a widely known fact amongst them that Athena-Jade Slate hit hard and drew blood when pushed. The confrontation was halted before it could go any further however as Athena felt her Scroll vibrate in her pocket and quickly addressed Coral and Henry, her two most reliable lookouts when getting into trouble

"Keep an eye out for teachers" with that she quickly ducked behind a wall and out of sight of much of the playground; Scrolls were strictly prohibited by the school and hers was easily identifiable, due to being bright purple and orange. Her parents however had insisted that she keep the device on her person in case of emergency despite her teachers' warnings and she was always happy to engage in an act of rebellion against the school. Withdrawing her Scroll from the pocket of her blazer she saw that the number was not one that had been saved into her contacts, the call was audio only

"Uh hello?" she asked cautiously as she answered

"Am I speaking to Athena-Jade Slate, daughter of Gangrel Slate?" a voice rasped harshly on the other end of the call

"Who's this?" Athena asked, not answering the question until she knew who was speaking to her "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers"

"Very wise" the voice rasped "I'm a friend of your brother and I actually work for your father sometimes"

"That's the kind of thing strangers' say" Athena pointed out, in a tone that could only be described as sassy beyond her years

"Once again your wisdom is undeniable" the voice replied, seemingly amused "Your brother renamed his weapon after replacing the plasma gun with a double barrelled laser and the First Mate aboard your fathers' ship is Specialist Chiffon" Athena paused, she knew both of those facts to be correct and neither could be considered common knowledge

"Okay" she spoke slowly, she was still wary for reasons she couldn't quite explain but it seemed likely that the caller did in fact know her family "Can I help you?"

"I just need you to pass on a message to Gangrel Slate, I did some work for him and I'm still waiting to paid; I can't seem to get in touch with him so I thought you might be able to tell him when he comes home"

"Okay" Athena let out the breath she'd been holding, the request seemed innocent enough "What's the message"

"Tell him that he still owes Carcharodon Gore and he really should contact me as soon as possible" the voice seemed unspeakably satisfied with itself, a condition that ended when Athena next spoke

"Okay I'll tell him to call Car-Car….Carcharodon Gore" she repeated, butchering the pronunciation of the former raiders' name "And get some chicken soup, it sounds like you're catching a cold. Okay, goodbye" with that she hung up; blissfully oblivious to the way Carcharodon Gore was staring at his Scroll in disgruntled confusion a continent away.

Rover Tan and Scarlet David walked side by side at a leisurely pace with a calmness that bordered on serene and was utterly at odds with the risks involved in the reason for being where they were. The pair had returned to the lower reaches of New Vale's capital and were making their way to the recently renamed Corona nightclub, the new central hub of Rhodium Torchwick's criminal empire; evidently not planning on visiting for any benign reasons considering that it was still early afternoon and the venue wouldn't open for several more hours. Both of them were armed with military grade sub-machine guns and shotguns, having agreed that their own weapons would be far too distinctive for what was about to transpire. Both men had also foregone their usual attire and were instead wearing all black tactical clothing with armour plating fastened over it, though the eerie green glow of the Aura regulator that kept Rover's body cohesive still shone through the garments and armour plating.

"Last chance to back out" Scarlet noted conversationally, knowing that his current partner would do no such thing despite the clear illegality of what they were about to do

"Fuck these guys" Rover snorted, Scarlet nodded in agreement

"Would you look at that" the Husky Faunus chuckled as he withdrew a smoke bomb whose metallic casing gave it a certain weight "A broken window with smoke coming out, I think a pair of passing Hunters would be neglecting their duty if they didn't investigate" with that he hurled the smoke bomb through one of the nightclubs' windows with Aura fuelled strength; several small crashes confirming that the projectile had hit something breakable on the other side of the window; the furious barking of orders that followed serving as proof that Torchwick did indeed have his goons guard the nightclub at all hours. A moment later the main entrance was flung open, revealing the man with dreadlocks that Rover and Scarlet knew to be one of Rhodium's lieutenants flanked by several armed men and women

"Well, they opened the door to let us in" Scarlet announced in a voice that was clearly intended to be heard by the mobsters themselves "I think we have reasonable grounds to search the place for evidence to help catch the vandals. Go take a look" as soon as the words left Scarlet's lips Rover sprung into action, shooting forwards at speeds that rivalled any sports car and forced the gang members to leap aside lest they become victims of an incredibly painful collision. Once inside the club Rover tore about the place, maintaining only the slightest pretence of searching for any kind of evidence, pocketing the spent smoke bomb and producing a comically oversized magnifying glass as he proceeded to trash the clubs' interior; overturning tables and hurling chairs, shattering bottles of expensive liquor, utterly ruining the surface of the floor and doing considerable damage to the sound system whose value could not be overstated

"Nope, no clues" the Faunus cackled as he came to a halt before walking over to Vert and his posse at a more reasonable pace, kicking a little more furniture out of his way as he did so before addressing Vert and making the reason for obvious shake-down known

"Hey you're the shit rapper right? Yeah, I've seen people use your mix-tape as ashtrays, coasters, let their dogs play fetch with 'em, all kinds of shit. Anyway where's the man of the house, I wanna speak with Rhodey about the clear health code violations in this shit show"

"You son of a bitch!" Vert spat as he made to draw a pistol, no sooner had his hand closed around the weapon than Rover had appeared directly in front of him in a burst of Aura enhanced speed, swiftly using the oversized magnifying glass as a blunt tool with which to break the gangsters' nose, Vert's companions immediately aimed their weapons only for the nearest of them to find themselves staring directly down the barrel of the pistol gripped shotgun that had appeared in Rover's hand whilst he gripped Vert by the neck with the other. The sound of another weapon being cocked announced Scarlet's entry into the club behind the gangsters.

"Okay everybody back the fuck up!" Rover demanded "You morons just aimed at an on duty Huntsman, I've got grounds to search and detain all of you motherfuckers, in fact if you don't drop those weapons then you're all gonna do time" the club was filled with the sound of weapons clattering to the ground and a moment later Rover released Vert, only to flit between the thugs at lightning speed and rifle through each of their pockets in turn, taking care to take the Lien from each wallet he found and crush all of their Scrolls; by the time he returned to his position in front of Vert he was wearing a smug smirk and clutching several bags of various narcotics

"Well look at what I just found"

"I believe we would all like to see the relevant paperwork for this waste of my client and his employees valuable time" a soft spoken voice declared from behind which caused Rover and Scarlet to glare in the direction of the nightclubs' back rooms, from which a frail looking and ageing man in a slim fitting suit with thick rimmed glasses, parted silver hair, papery and sickly looking skin and who walked with a silver headed cane had emerged.

"I fucking hate this son of bitch" Scarlet snarled as he stepped forwards, his time working as a private detective as well as a Hunter had allowed him to interact with this particular criminal on more than one occasion

"Ignavius Silvertongue you slimy bastard, how've you been? I see the mob still pays well"

"You're getting dangerously close to slander there Mister David-Vasilias"

"Bullshit" Scarlet retorted "Was Malachite's body even cold before you started working for Torchwick?"

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss my current of previous clients-"

"Cut the shit" Rover snapped "Where's Torchwick. I'll count to five then I start cuffing people"

"I'm afraid the only people likely to be leaving here in cuffs today are yourselves" the mob lawyer sighed mournfully "Such a waste of promising careers, war heroes as well….oh how the press will hound your wife and child when this gets out" Scarlet reflexively clamped his cybernetic left hand down of Rover's shoulder to stop him lunging at the older man for the obvious threat. Silvertongue disregarded the obvious aggression, merely continuing speaking and delivering a version of events that seemed almost rehearsed

"It seems suspicious does it not that a Hunter who has already been noted as having an obsession with my client that is certainly unprofessional and bordering on unhealthy should be so conveniently on the scene when something happens to my client's latest business venture; more convenient still when said Hunter claims to have found drugs during a search that was conducted at speeds that made it impossible to witness. Should the authorities need to become involved I would certainly question the acceptability of such evidence, especially when it was obtained by a Hunter that claims to specialise in search and rescue yet has taken an odd interest in drug related cases….tell me Mister Tan, what does that undisclosed device surgically implanted into your chest run on exactly?" Rover was left shaking with rage as he realised that he had been expertly undermined and defeated in a legal battle that would likely never happen at the rate things were going. Scarlet began leading the Faunus out of the club by the shoulder whilst speaking to the lawyer

"You'll slip up eventually scumbag"

"You understand of course that I can't claim to know what you're talking about" Ignavius Silvertongue politely waved as Rover and Scarlet left. Once the pair were down the street and out of earshot Rover turned to the more slender man

"What the fuck just happened in there?" he demanded frantically

"You just met the best parasite in the business" Scarlet growled "Silvertongue and Doku, attorneys at law. If I'd know that Torchwick had already hired the dirtiest law firm in town I wouldn't have suggested strong-arming his people like that"

"So we're screwed?" Rover surmised "Torchwick can sell drugs and kill whoever he wants because he can wear the law like an Oum damned cheap suit?"

"No" Scarlet assured him "It just means we're gonna have to be patient and think things through a lot more carefully now or we'll be the ones in jail"

"What're you looking for?" Diamond asked in a hushed and slightly exasperated tone. It was Team FADE's last lesson of the day and beside her Arctus was paying little attention to the lecture regarding the use of Aura stimulants as medicine in the field the guest speaker, a retired battlefield medic was giving; considering that this was a subject that greatly interested the sniper she was far less forgiving of distractions than she would have been if the circumstances were different.

"My Scroll" the Bear Faunus answered as he finally gave up the futile task of searching his pockets for something that obviously wasn't there

"When did you have it last?"

"Lunch I think" Arctus sighed "I think it might have slipped out of my pocket when we were sparring….I hope Nora sees it on the floor before someone breaks it" the sparring match in question had been a two on two event in which Professor Nora had expressly told her students she would be marking them on their ability to combine their abilities and interact with their team-mate rather than their individual performances, meaning that Carcharodon and Raffia who had been raised together since birth had been at a clear advantage and the dark bruises around both of the Bear Faunus's eyes were a testament to the Shark Faunus's trademark brutality whilst Diamond herself was forced to hold her left arm at an odd angle to avoid shooting pains with every movement.

"Class dismissed!" their professors rang out, followed by the sound of several bags being repacked and the footfalls of students eager to return to their dormitories.

"Oum damn it" Diamond muttered, having missed a portion of the lecture

"Don't worry" Felix grinned up at her from the row of seats in front and waving his Scroll "I recorded the whole lecture….I wasn't about to try and take notes from a speech that long"

"Dude you're a lifesaver" Diamond beamed as she and her team-mates followed their classmates out into the hallway and made their way towards their own dorm. After several minutes of walking they found path way obstructed in an otherwise empty corridor by the form of Carcharodon Gore.

"Are you fucking serious right now" Arctus demanded, his frustration bubbling over "No I haven't had a chance to ask my Dad what he can tell us about that Grimm you ran into, I haven't even got my Scroll right now for Oum's sake!"

"No, because I have it" the Shark Faunus reached into the pocket of his school uniform, which he never failed to look uncomfortable whilst wearing, a throw the missing device to its' owner

"Thanks" Arctus muttered before a thought occurred to him "Wait….did you pick my pocket while we were sparring"

"No" Carcharodon assured him with a fang filled smile "I had Raffia pick your pocket at lunch, the beating in combat class was purely for my own entertainment"

"What the fuck Dude?" Diamond demanded, acutely aware that the situation threatened to drastically worsen at the slightest provocation. Carcharodon seemed almost determined to provoke

"If your father wants to avoid paying his debts then a message has to be sent….your sister is amusing child"

"Way too far dude- ARCTUS NO!" Diamond bellowed as the partner lunged at the Shark Faunus and delivered a wild haymaker to his jaw, Carcharodon rolled with the punch and used the momentum into a graceless spiral; trapping Arctus's arm beneath him and driving an elbow into his back as they both crashed into the ground. The Shark Faunus was the first to rise to his feet, positioning himself behind Arctus and wrapping an arm around his neck whilst using the other to hold it in place as he began to choke the Bear Faunus

"Yield" he demanded, Arctus's reply of strangled cursing being cut off as Carcharodon tightened his grip

"Okay that's enough!" Diamond roared before landing a vicious kick at Carcharodon's knee which forced him to release Arctus as he limped aside, Eagle and Felix promptly put themselves between the combatants as Diamond retrieved Arctus and bodily dragged him away from the corridor and searched for a secluded area, promptly rounding on him when she found one

"Dude what were you thinking? That was dumb as hell!"

"Really?" Arctus demanded incredulously "You're gonna take that ass-holes' side-"

"It's not about taking sides" Diamond ground out "It's about you nearly getting your neck broken"

"He used my sister to make a point!"

"Yes!" Diamond snapped "And he's a dick for that, but don't be stupid! It's not like he did anything creepy or he's gonna try kidnapping her-"

"Wouldn't be the first person" Arctus snarled, to which Diamond had no immediate rebuttal. Taking a slow breath she leaned against Arctus and rested her head on his shoulder

"He's just flexing his muscles 'cos he's used to being the big and scary pirate and now he's gotta follow rules and do homework" she kissed his cheek "AJ is safe, your Dad is gonna give him the kind of attention he doesn't want when he finds out and if he ever pulls a stunt like that again not only will I let you kick his ass, I'll help you do it….Okay?"

"Thanks" Arctus murmured, turning slightly to kiss her forehead "Sorry for being a dumb-ass"

"You're my dumb-ass" Diamond chuckled "Wanna go back to the dorm or hang out for a while?" Arctus paused to consider for a moment

"We've got assignments" he grumbled dejectedly before adding, a little more hopefully "But Eagle and Felix or going out later so we could do both"

"Now that" Diamond purred in his ear "Is the smartest thing you've said all day"

Rhodium Torchwick wore a scowl as he considered the way he had been cheated out of enjoying his victory over the late Melanie Malachite. Rather than enjoying his reign as the unifier and undisputed leader of the Kingdoms' various criminal gangs and enterprises in a manner that he felt was fitting, the crime lord had been forced to lay low and act inconspicuous now that a group of unsettlingly determined Hunters had decided to make their presence known every time Rhodium appeared at one of his more prominent legitimate businesses; the risk of them deciding to visit his far more lucrative and less savour sources of revenue whilst he was there and send him swiftly back to North Vale Correctional Facility was simply too great to ignore.

"Here's your tip, do me a favour and forget this ride….lose the security camera footage as well" as Rhodium spoke he slipped his taxi driver over a thousand Lien bound in an elastic band before departing towards his destination. The redhead knew better than to have the taxi deliver him directly to where he wanted to be and he certainly had no intention of driving himself there with his car being as distinctive as it was; his current attire was far more pedestrian than what had become his norm, a black hoodie and sweatpants with leather gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints. He had been driven to a section of one of New Vale's more seedy Hive Towers that had been heavily damaged during the breach over a year ago, those repairing the area had eschewed the usual block like layout of the towers and created something of a three dimensional maze of interconnected apartment buildings within the larger building, Rhodium had been selling drugs from this location since the opportunity arose to do so; yet as he slunk through hallways with broken lights littered with countless forms of refuse where the only souls to greet him were addicts that would dismiss him as a hallucination and gang members so young that they were yet to progress beyond being lookouts for their elders, the mobster was in the uncommon position of not caring about his business or profits. Eventually he reached the door he sought, one of many with chipped and flaking paint along this hallway, and knocked

"Who is it?" a voice that somehow managed to sound tense yet bored at the same time demanded

"It's Rhodey" he answered with his voice barely above a whisper, yet he knew he would be heard and a moment later the door was opened to reveal his wounded ally Corona

"Don't you have a home to go to?" the Mantis Shrimp Faunus sighed as she took in the sight of Rhodium looking like one of his own workers. Rhodium eyed her up in return as subtly as he could; to say that the battle with the Grimm horde and the Phlegmiurge had changed Corona would be an understatement, despite the work of the best doctors and nurses Rhodium could blackmail, bribe and threaten there was nothing that could possibly have been done to save her right arm and as such she sported fresh bandages at the stump of her right elbow. A combination of Aura, skin grafts and minor reconstructive surgery had managed to undo a great deal of the damage to her face though the skin of her right cheek was covered with heavy scarring that gave her skin a rippled quality which Rhodium could see extended down her neck and chest, marring what cleavage was exposed by the dressing gown Corona wore; until the sound of the Faunus clearing her throat made it clear that Rhodium had been far less discrete than he had thought.

"So, movie and chill?" Corona drawled out in her usual disinterested tone "I thought you had groupies for that?"

"I'm here for the witty banter and great company" Rhodium shrugged as he stepped inside, removing his gloves and hoodie as he did so

"Well it's clearly not for the sex appeal" Corona gave a one armed gesture at her scarred form as she crossed the living room of the seedy bolthole that Rhodium had transformed into a medical ward and liveable apartment for her, letting out a dejected sigh as she collapsed onto the sofa.

"You know that Oz is working on a new arm for you?" the redhead reminded her, deciding against giving his opinion on her sex appeal or lack thereof "Turns out drugs used to be his side-gig while he was working in robotics; he keeps asking me to get you to pay him a visit so he can get some readings and measurements or whatever" Rhodium stopped talking, becoming keenly aware that he was chattering like a nervous schoolboy that he couldn't remember having ever been.

"Not yet" Corona answered simply, not meeting his eyes

"I meant not right now obviously" Rhodium shrugged "He's working from the clubs' basement and I heard Hunters came in and tried to shake my people down earlier"

"I said not yet!" Corona snapped before taking a slow breath to steady herself "I don't want people looking at me. Besides, they still show my face on TV whenever the news has a slow day"

"I'm gonna have that Xiao Long prick handled for what happened to you, his whole Oum-damned team-"

"Let it go Rhodey" Corona sighed, leaning against him in a display of comfortable familiarity that had become more common over the weeks that the redhead had been visiting her whilst she recovered "They did their job as Hunters, we knew the rules of the game, we played and we lost a round….besides, it sounds like you've got bigger problems. I told you naming the club after me was dumb as hell"

"I mean-"

"Even if it was oddly sweet considering it's coming from you"

"My ma raised a gentleman"

"No she didn't" Corona laughed, unable to keep a straight face at the notion. Rhodium merely shot her a sly grin in response

"Yeah well you wouldn't like me half as much if I was" he rested a hand on her thigh, feeling the soft fabric of her dressing gown. There was a single moment where the redhead thought that Corona might object to the contact and prepared himself for the beating he was well aware that she could administer even one handed.

"Yeah you're right" she admitted, giving him a look that could only be described as seductive before taking his right hand in her left and moving it beneath her gown to rest against her soft yet unmistakably toned skin, a moment later Rhodium watched as she slowly pulled down a pair of black and lacy underwear, kicking it aside before taking her hand in his once again and showing him exactly what she needed whilst nipping and biting at his neck.

It seemed it had been a stressful day for both of them and Rhodium was more than happy to oblige her in helping them both unwind.

In another of Rhodium Torchwick's many boltholes and hiding places scattered across the city, Nickel Polendina made herself as comfortable as possible. Whilst Vert and his cronies had been strong-armed by Ozymandias into finding and furnishing suitable living quarters for the rogue android they had made no promises that they would do the job well and as such she had been consigned to a small and cramped apartment located above a fast food business in a poor area of the city that through it's proximity to a monorail station on the same route as one of the larger colleges in New Vale and several government grants, had become popular among students in search of affordable housing. Nickel attracted less attention living alone despite her apparent age than she would have done in most other places and whilst she could simulate sleep it was not a necessity for her, meaning that the incessant partying and drunken antics that took place in the street below bothered her far less than Vert had most likely hoped. The furniture however had all unmistakably been scavenged from various drug dens given that the sofa was threadbare, sagging and covered in various burns, marks and stains whose origins were best left unquestioned whilst the paint had been shoddily applied and the lights flickered and failed intermittently.

"This place is….yikes" Nickel stated bluntly, spreading her arms and gesturing at the apartment as a whole while she sprawled on the sofa with her feet up and watched television, the large flat screen was the sole piece of furniture in the apartment that was in a respectable condition which meant that it was almost certainly stolen and traded for drugs by one of Vert or his crews' customers.

"Indeed, yet it would be preferable for you to stay here and out of sight between your….assignments" a soothing voice from the laughably small kitchen area explained, the owner of said voice stepping into the living room with a steaming cup of tea. Ozymandias Eldritch, despite Rhodium's beliefs had left the basement bunker of the Corona Nightclub several times to brief and debrief his new asset on her missions. Whilst the powers of the Wizard didn't allow Eldritch to completely stop or reverse time they allowed him to extend each moment greatly and make use of time for more effectively than others could hope to, which made the task of keeping up with Torchwick's steadily increasing demand for narcotics almost effortless.

"Yippee" Nickel rolled her emerald eyes as she delivered the dull monotone response, dripping with sarcasm and promptly returned her attention to the television

"I have no doubt that our….employer" Ozymandias smiled as much as his ruined face would allow at the description "Will have his own tasks for you, consider them a chance to stretch your legs as it were" Nickel's only response was a distracted and irritable huff which caused the scientist to frown slightly and pay much closer attention to what it was that she was watching; whilst her attitude in of itself wasn't a cause for concern the fact remained that the she had not been programmed with any of the limitations or inhibitions pertaining to things like loyalty that Penny Polendina had, which made the fact that Nickel seemed to watch Hunters in almost all of her spare time a possible issue.

"Nickel would you turn that off while I'm speaking to you" after several moments of silence as the android ignored him in favour of watching a battle between Hunters that he recognised as being filmed at the Vytal Tournament in Atlas, in particular the winged battle-suit that one Huntress employed Ozymandias cleared his throat

"Wait, I wanna….never mind it's an ad break anyway" Nickel grumbled, muting the television before finally giving her attention to Ozymandias "What?"

"You seem to have taken an interest in Hunters-"

"Not the Hunters" she interrupted, correcting him "The weapons. I want one" Ozymandias was both calmed and frankly a little perplexed by the admission

"You have a photon accelerator built into each arm"

"Exactly, built in" Nickel sighed as if the problem were obvious "It's not the same, I wanna make my…." she trailed off as her eyes drifted back towards the screen once more and now Ozymandias couldn't help but be somewhat concerned. The advert currently on the screen was one for a brand of baked goods and would be completely innocuous were it not for the fact that said brand was sponsored by Ruby and Penny Rose. Ozymandias studied Nickel's reaction as she stared at the copper haired women wearing a slightly older looking version of her own face and even with his ability to distort time on a whim he didn't react fast enough to prevent the android from leaping from the sofa, and hurling the coffee table that stood in front of it into the television screen with a wordless scream of rage, followed by slamming a fist entirely through the appliance which ensured that it was completely beyond repair.

"I'll see to it that our friends find you a new one" Eldritch noted, sipping his tea as Nickel shook with barely contained fury

"Just get me another Hunter to kill" she spat venomously

"All in due time" Ozymandias promised, deciding that there was nothing to be gained from speaking with Nickel any further tonight and seemingly vanishing into thin air as he used the powers of the Wizard to traverse the distance between Nickel's apartment and Torchwick's club in almost no time at all. Naturally taking his tea with him.

The sun had long since set on New Vale and the working day had long since ended for the majority of its' citizens meaning that beyond the confines of the monolithic Hive towers the retail parks and strip malls around the outskirts of the Kingdom had closed for the evening, leaving their parking lots mostly empty which made them perfectly suitable locations for a driving lesson as long as one overlooked the fact they were exposed to the persisting rain that no learner would appreciate dealing with and that such places were often places were illegal street racing would take place.

The particular parking lot that Felix had taken Eagle to for her first driving lesson that evening had fortunately been devoid of any such illegal racing; though the Lion Faunus suspected that Corvid had already known that it would be when she suggested the location, his sister had joined the two blondes, as had Helios and Hellion who both needed no excuse to spend time with their respective partners', though it had left the Killer-Bee somewhat crowded during the journey.

Eagle's driving lesson itself had gone remarkably well, being the incredibly intelligent and remarkably technically inclined young woman that she was had meant that Eagle had understood the instructions given to her and once she had managed to control her nerves, admittedly with Hellion's aid in ways that Felix stated bluntly were not acceptable in his car, she had managed to drive around the parking lot several times with relatively few problems; though one notable incident had left the muscle car screeching to a halt with its' tires smoking which Corvid had quickly pointed out that her brother would be a hypocrite for complaining about, considering that he would have been bragging if he had been the one driving.

Eventually however the steadily worsening weather had cut the driving lesson short, the rain coming down with such force that Eagle had said simply that she didn't feel comfortable carrying on any longer. Rather than return directly to Halo Academy the group had opted to find somewhere they could find food on the way, another suggestion from Corvid had brought them to a bar with an atmosphere that could best be described as seedy but in an endearing way; being situated so close to many of the warehouses in New Vale's industrial sector the bar was a haven for truckers searching for a hot meal before or after a long journey. The bar sported many pool tables which Hellion had naturally gravitated to, having learned the game in the taverns of the many coastal settlements that the Frost River Tribe visited; the Dragonfly Faunus had swiftly beaten the patrons unwise enough to gamble against her and earned several Lien in the process, currently she was teaching Eagle how to play and clearly using the pretence of correcting her stance to press her own body against the muscular blonde and firmly grasp her hips in public.

"If she gets any redder something's gonna burst" Corvid chuckled as she watched the couple from the corner table where she Felix and Helios sat, the Lion Faunus having enough sense buy a soft drink with his meal rather than the ale or rum that his companions were enjoying.

"Let 'em enjoy themselves" Felix sighed with

"Oh I am, this is quality entertainment" she smirked before her steely grey eyes narrowed a fraction whilst she gave her brother a concerned stare "You okay Fluffy? You've been looking a little off all day"

"Yeah….just got a lot on my mind" Both Helios and Corvid could surmise what it was that had left Felix so visibly distracted, Helios simply squeezed Felix's hand beneath the table safe in the knowledge that his boyfriend would tell him what was bothering him at his own pace, Corvid showed a little less restraint and simply asked

"Oh yeah, is it about…..her? Did you get those answers you were looking for?" she was unable to completely hide her own concerns, the whole matter of Felix's biological mother making an appearance in his life still made her uncomfortable in ways she couldn't quite articulate.

"Kinda" Felix nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth despite his apparent worries "I got answers to some important questions…..but there's something else, Corey I've got a little brother"

"Holy shit" Corvid breathed out

"That's great news" Helios wrapped an arm around Felix's shoulders and pulled him closer to kiss his cheek

"Yeah it is" the Lion Faunus agreed, smile widening further

"So what's bothering you, you're obviously gonna be the coolest older sibling….you've got me as inspiration" his sister joked

"Dumb-ass" Felix snorted before his smile faded as his worries reasserted themselves "It's just….I've never been around for him, what if he resents that. How do I tell Blake and Yang about this?"

"Fluffy they're gonna love this" Corvid tried to assure him, despite the lump in her throat at the idea of her brother having a whole new family "All they've ever wanted is to see you happy and you obviously are"

"You will be a great role model for him" Helios promised

"I mean he's already got a dad" Felix shrugged "But I just wanna be there for him, I just wish I wasn't only finding out about everything now….I wish things didn't have to be so complicated all the damn time"

"Don't we all" Corey sniffed, the watery tone of her voice enough to make Felix walk around the table and pull her into a hug

"You know that what ever happens you're still my big sister" he promised her, knowing that it was she needed to hear.

"Things might seem complicated but Felix loves his family and would reshape Remnant itself for them….everything else is just a distraction" Helios murmured, prompting Corvid to give him an amused look

"That's sweet….and oddly deep, how much have you had to drink"

"Considering what my people brew, not enough to matter" Helios countered, which itself was enough for Felix to decide to call it a night

"Okay come on we've got classes tomorrow, don't give Heely a reason to break out the Nikosi drain cleaner" the comment caused both of them to chuckle, Corvid followed her brother and called over to Helios and Eagle

"Hey, you're in public this is no place for the birds and the….Dragonflies, fuck that one doesn't quite work" the attempted pun was enough for Felix to feel a comfortable sense of normalcy despite everything that had happened lately and he gave Eagle a good natured slap on the back as she joined them, her freckles cheeks naturally blushing scarlet.

Authors Notes:

So, one hundred chapters and we're only in Vol.8 of 12….we're almost definitely gonna hit 150.
This chapter didn't really have the feel of a "One Hundredth episode special" but I'd rather just tell the story the way I want to tell it than force in a boss battle that serves no purpose…..although I'm not saying that there aren't so fun boss fights coming.
Yeah, I'm not gonna lie it's been a really rough week for me. Getting this chapter out has been therapeutic.

Anyway, let's summarise:
I wanted the whole scene with Syneffo to have the feel of it being real until the last moment, where the paintball hit here; I think I did okay with it.
The robots she was being chased by were based on Battle Droids from Star Wars, they've actually appeared before back in Vol.2 when the Shadow Cadre kidnapped Antonia Arc; Poly-Tech bought that company and Ruby and Penny have got their hands on some old stock to use a cheap training dummies.
Syneffo's Semblance is a forcefield, a Hunter's Aura can protect them but she can extend hers out into a dome that other people can hide under; it's a manifestation of her desire to protect her people….so I'm gonna be completely unoriginal and call it 'Protector'.
So Syneffo isn't as big of a fan of life in the Kingdoms as Helios, but remember that while her brother was raised to be the heir of the Nikosi Tribe Syneffo has only recently been placed in the role as well as having the Silver Eyes thing explained to her; she's got a lot of weight on her shoulders and in some ways writing her makes me think of Weiss.
Strahlende-Zukunft = Bright Future.
You wanted Coral and AJ, I delivered.
The offhand comment about Coral "Correcting" her history teacher was kinda inspired by that one scene from Avatar where the teacher is explaining the Fire Nations version of how the Air Nomads were killed.
You know Weiss raised hell when she showed up to the school.
AJ skipping to work on her footwork…..if your mental image doesn't have the Rocky theme song playing then I don't know what to tell you.
Henry Marigold the third….Yes I did that.
Athena is a smart kid….and also a little rebel.
Seriously, Carcharodon's voice is just naturally harsh and raspy but to a kid who has never met him and can't see him, he probably just sounds ill.
Okay, this is actually the scene that earned this chapter its' title….I trust I don't need to explain why to anyone?
I know we're all on Rover's side here….but let's not pretend that police only do this kind of shit to criminals; this is a clear abuse of power and Rover knows that he's crossing lines by doing this.
I needed a reason that Torchwick can't just be taken down by a couple of Hunters who're willing to break the laws/whatever oaths they've taken, the fact that he's lawyered up and paid for the best seems feasible.
Arctus is usually chill, but come on lines were crossed there.
Diamond is honestly one of my favourite characters to write, mainly because she's just chill and actually has common sense.
Rhodey is still out of prison on the strength of his legal team, stupid amount of fake ID and an ungodly amount of intimidated witnesses; if he interacts with Rover and Scarlet directly he's probably going back.
Have some 'Hard-boiled' ship action….and see the extent of how messed up Corona got.
It's interesting to have Corona acting as something of a calming influence/voice of reason for Rhodey, any of his other associates would have told him to go after Team FADE with all guns blazing.
"Ma raised a gentleman" "No she didn't"
Okay Vert and his crew took the piss, but you've gotta admit that Nickel hiding out in basically student flats is a pretty good cover for her.
So yeah, Nickel just saw footage of Corey using the Omega Wing and immediately decided that she wants one….what if I told you I already have some really fun ideas for her weapon (Although it won't appear until Vol.9).
So…..Nickel isn't a fan of Penny.
So Eagle's learning to drive, this is happening.
Hellion definitely hustles people for money at pool halls all over New Vale.
And a nice scene with the Xiao Long siblings and their unwavering support for each other, enjoy the warm fuzzy feelings.

Thank you to SumoSnipe, iSassenach, DizzyDwarf, Funlander and Ferrous for their reviews on the last chapter.
This is quite possibly the least over the top violent plan Raffia has ever been used for.
Redshank needs to be beaten about the head with the book, kids' heart is in the right place but unfortunately said heart is pumping tapioca.
Okay but The Road Warrior had a fucking plough on the front, somebody had to get offed with it.
I'm glad your hatred is confined to Nickel lol.
I mean….have we really seen enough of Myrtle to know if she's great? I don't think we have.
Oh I have plans for the Grimm wave.
Of course Flex-Tape exists….how do you think they keep putting Felix's nose back in place.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.