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Chapter 101: Return To Forever Fall

An Ursa's head fell from its' body with a forceful swing of Eagle's sword, her Semblance having allowed her to take a position above the Creature of Grimm whilst Felix held the lumbering beasts' forelimbs in place as it attempted to attack him. The Grimm faded away allowing Eagle to drop to the ground, her armour causing her to fall with a heavy thud and as Felix pulled her back up to her feet the two blonde Hunters saw that Arctus and Diamond were making short work of a small herd of Boarbatusks that had been close enough to their position to hear Team FADE fighting the original trio of Ursas that had attacked them. Arctus had created a series of Glyphs an effectively corralled the monsters into place, allowing Diamond to take up a firing position overhead and pick them off at her leisure whilst using her Semblance to stand inverted on a sturdy tree branch. As the last Grimm was reduced to wisps of black smoke Diamond returned to ground, landing and rising with all the grace and fluidity that her Semblance afforded her.

"Anyone else getting really fucking bored of this now?" Felix sighed, being the first to speak as Team FADE regrouped.

"We've been bored for days dude" Diamond assured him, eyes turning to Eagle as she continued "Where are our bags?"

"I put 'em up in the trees when the fighting started"

"Good thinking" Arctus grinned.

"Don't grab 'em just yet" Felix instructed, rolling his shoulders back and cricking his neck "Make sure everything's clear….in fact we may as well just throw a tracker up there and come back later"

"Sync it to my Scroll" Arctus suggested "I think I've got the most battery left"

"The trackers are in the bag, I'll be back in a second" Eagle assured her friends before taking to her avian form in a flash of pure white Aura and soaring into the treetops, from which the rustling of leaves and creaking of branches for a few moments before she swooped down and returned to her natural form

"Okay tracker's ready, let's go….I can't wait to go back to the Academy" the tall and freckled young woman sighed, her characteristic chipper enthusiasm was utterly absent as she gave voice to an opinion that Team FADE all shared.

The four of them had been deployed to the deepest and darkest reaches of Forever Fall, several miles deeper into the permanently autumnal trees than students typically dared to venture during the their customary venture into the forest as First Years. As Team FADE had elected to take classes on survival, owing to their shared desire to specialise in Grimm combat which would no doubt see them taking long term missions, they had been given an assignment of simply surviving in the Grimm infested forest for ten days with minimal supplies and no aid, tracking down objective markers that appeared on a daily basis representing stranded civilians; whilst killing Grimm was not the aim it was still understood that they would be expected to dispose of any such monsters they found and that if any of their objective markers were damaged by Grimm they would be penalised harshly. There were only a few days left of the mission and fatigue had begun to set in, Arctus and Eagle were the only two whose Scrolls were still functional and even they were using the devices as little as possible to conserve their battery life. Eagle had been utterly disheartened and hadn't spoken for a day when Sentinel had lost power midway through the assignment, whilst the droid would be perfectly fine once recharged she had felt the loss of her loyal companion keenly. The objective markers were consistently placed for enough apart that the team had to break camp and search for a new location each night, hauling their tents and equipment with them over several dozen miles not only slowing them down and making facing the Grimm a little more risky if there was nowhere to safely deposit their bags, but it was also physically draining; the equipment was bulky and heavy and they had not been given enough food to last without severe rationing.

"It's gonna be dark soon" Felix observed, the already limited light filtering though the canopy of trees "I'm thinking we find a clearing, get rid of anything already there and set up camp….hopefully it rains tonight and we can purify that instead of looking for water"

"We're running low on food" Diamond pointed out pursing her lips before asking "Okay Eagle, I know this is gonna sound like I'm stereotyping you but you're from out in the sticks right?….Do you know how to hunt?"

"I...What? No!" Eagle exclaimed covering her mouth "I don't how to hunt rabbits or deer or whatever it is that lives in these woods"

"Shame" Felix chuckled "I would kill for a Bambi burger right now"

"Volt Disney" Eagle began in a theatrically exaggerated tone as she pointed an accusing finger at her leader "Would be turning in his Ice Dust suspended animation bucket….thing"

"Damn that stung Eagle" Felix managed to gasp out, the declaration slightly undermined by the fact that he, along with Eagle and Arctus was utterly howling with laughter. Privately Felix felt a pang of annoyance as he made to check his Scroll out of habit, forgetting for a moment that it had stopped working two days ago, leaving him unable to co-ordinate as effectively as a Team Leader which he was almost certain he would be reprimanded for upon their return, but also robbing him of any ability to speak to Helios, Corvid, Blake and Yang who had both wished him good look on this assignment despite its' relative simplicity or Myrtle, his biological mother having been seemingly mortified at the idea of teens and twenty year old students being sent into Grimm infested territory without aid.

"Hey if we're desperate for food….there is always the Professor Cimmerian approach?" Arctus offered

"What, eat bad guys for breakfast?" Felix grinned, the Professor of Ungentlemanly Warfare whilst terrifying to many of her own students had just the right blend of showmanship, experience and willingness to be flexible with rules to make her one of the Lion Faunus's favourite professors, Professor Nora still holding the top spot by virtue of bias.

"You know what I mean" Arctus grumbled, Felix indeed did know what his cousin was talking about. Upon learning that some of her students were being sent into Forever fall she had mentioning in passing that whilst the train tracks through the area hadn't been used for some time there were still people who frequented the area, usually people who didn't want to be seen for some illicit reason or teenagers on a dare; though the occasional illegal rave in the woods, protected by failed or financially desperate Hunters was known to occur. She had simply reminded Team FADE that as Hunters, if they encountered any such people they would be well within their rights to commandeer anything of value that they might have with them.

"We're not gonna look for people to rob" Felix growled "Seriously, what the fuck?"

"They shouldn't be out here anyway, better they learn by getting their stuff taken by us then getting their legs chewed off by a Beowolf….shit sorry Dee, I didn't-"

"Dude it's fine" Diamond assured him, knowing that the offhanded comment had not been meant as an insult to her father.

"We're not that low on supplies….and we've only got a few days left" Felix reminded them "If we come across anyone we'll send 'em packing, but we're not going looking for anyone" his team nodded in agreement. For roughly ten minutes or so they continued in peaceful silence, then a shadow moving between the tree ahead of them and a flash of glowing red caught their attention

"Grimm up ahead" Felix warned in a hushed tone as he unsheathed his swords "Let's make this quick"

"Think Team GORE are dealing with this?" Eagle huffed, her mind clearly having wandered predictably to Hellion"

"Doubt it Dude" Diamond snorted "All they've gotta worry about is Carcharodon going nuts because he's got nobody to pester" the conversation was cut short as the Grimm in the trees caught sight of them, prompting Team FADE to rush forwards and put their skills to use once more.

There had been screams of panic and many students, accustomed though they were to danger, had fled away from Halo Academy's airship private terminal as one of the Academy's own Bull-Heads came in for landing far too fast, overshooting its' intended launchpad entirely and skidding sideways onto one on the opposite side of the terminal in a shower of sparks and screeching metal.

"OUT! GET OUT!" a booming voice demanded as the side hatch of the craft was flung open and a single arm clad in a pilots' uniform burst into view, each bellowed order to leave punctuated with a comically over the top pointing gesture.

"We landed, nobody got hurt. Stop bleating" the somewhat bemused sounding defence preceded Team GORE hopping out of the Bull-Head in quick succession, furious curses and accusations of insanity from their instructor following them as they calmly sauntered away from the scene they had caused, paying no mind to the multitude of eyes on them as they did so.

"I might actually shout ramming speed when we next fly, just to see if he tries to jump out without a parachute" Onyx chuckled in his usual low and guttural tone of voice. The former bandits had been offered an additional flying lesson by their instructor who had wanted to see how they would perform in low lighting; with their superior eyesight and night vision due to being Faunus along with their experience of operating under cover of darkness they had performed admirably. Carcharodon had taken his customary place at the rear of the cockpit, overseeing his crew as the commander of a ship would do whilst Hellion stood beside him with Marauder perched upon her arm; the Shark Faunus trusted his friends' Semblance and scouting abilities far more than he trusted machines and would deploy her to act as his eyes should anything unexpected occur. Onyx had taken his usual spot in the co-pilots seat and attended to the crafts' weapons, his affinity for both machinery and large explosions making him suitable for the role of gunner whilst Raffia took the pilots' seat. To say that all outside of Team GORE who knew the Axolotl Faunus were surprised by the dedication and diligence to took to flying with would be an understatement; however his team-mates understood his commitment well. In the Frost River Tribe ones' ship was home and helmsman was a role that was only overshadowed by the Captain, many of the tribes elders were in fact former Helmsman and the duty had an almost sacred sense of duty surrounding it; Raffia may have been a vicious, cruel and often outright unpleasant individual to be around but his role as pilot mattered to him. Things had only gone wrong when their instructor had insisted that Onyx and Raffia switch roles, stating that despite their preferences they each needed to prove themselves capable. The Puma Faunus was capable of flying in open airspace but New Vale's clogged skies were another matter all together; leading to their rushed and dramatic return to Halo Academy.

The quartet drew close to the main entrance when Carcharodon felt his Scroll vibrate; an occurrence that left him puzzled considering that the only people with whom he regularly spoke were stood beside him

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up" the Shark Faunus cast his eyes around for a moment before simply activating his Semblance, his liquid form sinking into the shadows cast by the lights around the campus and slithering out of view; eventually reforming behind the academy in the raised seating that surrounded that outdoor training area which resembled a coliseum.

"Who is this?" Carcharodon demanded in a sinister rasp as he finally answered his still ringing Scroll.

"You know exactly who this is" a familiar, yet unspeakably threatening voice snarled on the other end of the call; the Lower Atlesian accent and barely restrained fury easily identifying the caller

"Slate" Carcharodon gave a fang filled smile "I see that you decided-"

"Shut up" Gangrel spat "I'm gonna say this once, Operative Gore. If you ever pull a stunt like that again, if you ever think you can use my daughter as a way to send me a message I will kill you; not by giving out a kill order, I will have you brought back to Atlas and I will break your neck myself. Are we fucking clear boy?" Carcharodon considered responding with equal vitriol, he was the leader of his people whilst Gangrel Slate answered to General Schnee and the Atlesian High Council; no lackey or underling had any right speaking to a ruler in such a manner. Instead the Shark Faunus took a moment to collect himself and realised that firstly he needed this conversation to go well far more than Gangrel did and secondly that the Bear Faunus was almost certainly not exaggerating and would indeed make an attempt on his life.

"Understood, Commander" he hissed out eventually

"Now what the fuck do you mean I owe you payment?" Gangrel demanded

"Our arrangement was over" Carcharodon stated, his usual imperious and commanding attitude returning with each word "Yet you sent my team on a mission to aid one of your people, without any agreement on our part and without proper information….were it not for Raffia's Semblance he would be dead and our disagreement would be an outright war. You owe us Slate, let's not pretend otherwise" there were a few tense moments of silence before Gangrel let out a sound of frustration

"Okay, I'll give you this one" he snarled "The warning stands, never call my girls again. As for payment, I hope you're not expecting a stack of Lien like last time. I have accountants who get itchy about things like that"

"It won't cost you a single Lien" Carcharodon promised him "I want information"

"This sounds potentially bad" Gangrel muttered "Information on what?"

"The Grimm you had us face, that was no ordinary monster and we would do well to be prepared for it" the Shark Faunus answered calmly

"Not a chance" the blunt refusal took a moment to process, however Carcharodon soon responded with his natural ferocity

"You mean to deny-"

"You can't have intel on that Grimm. Classified above top secret….I just needed Artemis and your team to confirm that it was still alive, now that we know it is things will be handled on my side. Don't concern yourself with it. It's out of your hands"

"Fine" Carcharodon spat, making no effort to hide his displeasure "Then my price is all available information on Rhodium Torchwick….there is no way that a criminal of his scope has escaped your notice and he tried to have one of my people killed, this demands blood"

"Shit" Gangrel remained silent for a beat before sounding genuinely sorry when he continued "Under normal circumstances I'd give you enough to bury him and let you get yourselves out of any murder charges that come your way….But I can't"

"Can't or won't Slate?"

"Can't. Rhodium Torchwick is a suspected accomplice of one of Atlas's most wanted terrorists, I can't risk anything that would interfere with bringing them down"

"Then have us work with-"

"No" Gangrel interrupted "I have a Specialist already assigned to the case. Considering that one of your people cut her arm off having you work with her is out of the question….besides if Torchwick knows your faces I don't want you anywhere near this"

"I see" Carcharodon rasped out, fists clenching with fury as the Atlesian denied requests that were in his mind perfectly reasonable "Then perhaps something else"

"Go for it" Carcharodon thought for a moment, though the answer was clear from the beginning and there was only one thing that he truly wanted for his people above all else except justice

"A ship. My people require a vessel, something armed and armoured"

"Behave yourself" Gangrel laughed his accent and mannerisms from his younger years coming to the fore, suspecting that Carcharodon was joking until the cold silence he was greeted with confirmed that he was not "Shit you're serious?"

"If you won't give us information then a more material price will have to be paid"

"I can't just give you an Oum damned naval vessel" Gangrel growled "Especially considering your history-"

"A history that we have no ties to" Carcharodon spat "We have lost our family, murdered by Faunus that for all we know could have been our brothers and sisters. We have given up raiding and piracy, instead we serve the Kingdoms as Hunters. I wear a crown with no meaning….The Frost River Tribe were the masters of the seas and its' last living members will not be consigned to spend the rest of our lives on land or in floating castles that defy nature and common sense!"

"You're telling me you want a ship for cultural reasons?" Gangrel sounded unconvinced

"Of course, I have no intention of spending my life within the Kingdoms" Carcharodon answered "Besides, my people always intended to act as Hunters on the sea when we agreed to continue training. Your people are extortionists, if we were to purchase a vessel from them we would be in debt for generations" on the other end of the call Gangrel could be heard muttering to himself and the Shark Faunus strongly suspected his head was in his hands as he did so

"Fine"

"Excuse-"

"Fine" Gangrel repeated "I will try and get you an Oum damned ship. It's going to take some time and I can't promise anything other than I'll try….now delete my daughters' number out of your Scroll. Stay away from Torchwick and whatever other stupid shit you're planning try not to involve my son or his team in it. Are we done?"

"We're done….until you next need our help" Carcharodon rasped out before ending the call. He felt light and giddy in a way that he hadn't in years, not since everything he had known was taken from him in a series of bloody and dishonourable battles. A vessel would make his team worthy of their status as the last scions of their people once again; it would almost be enough to lessen the blow when he told Onyx, Raffia and Hellion that he had bartered Torchwick's life to obtain it.

New Vale was home to countless restaurants and cafes so meticulously ordinary that the notion of any degree of plotting or scheming taking place within their walls was unthinkably absurd.

So naturally it was within one of these establishments that Rover Tan had gathered a few of his closest associates to plot and scheme in their endeavours to bring Rhodium Torchwick to justice, either that of the Kingdom or their own brand of it if the law could not be relied upon. Around a corner table, dressed in civilian clothes and seeming to be nothing but a group of acquaintances meeting for dinner were Rover and Artemis Tan, with Tuscan in a high chair beside thoroughly enjoying the attention of the adults and leaving as much of her food spattered across her cheeks and bib as she actually ate. Scarlet David-Vasilias, who wore gloves and a pair of glasses to hide his prosthetic left hand and obscure the tattoos adorning his face; the final member of their group was a younger woman, a Mastiff Faunus with a pair of floppy ears adorning the top of her skull and sporting a stocky physique and more than a passing resemblance to her late brother; her name was Fawn Bordeaux and she had been one of the first police officers that Rover had approached when he and his wife set out on their endeavour; she deserved a chance to see her brothers' murderer brought to justice.

"So we've gotta get rid of Silvertongue" she stated bluntly "We had evidence and probable cause to rip the place apart until the lawyer turned up….so we get rid of the lawyer"

"Oh to be young and naive" Scarlet laughed, rolling his eyes "Think we haven't spent ten years trying to bring that son of a bitch down? He's been protected by Malachite for years, any evidence has been buried"

"Then let's dig it up?" Artemis suggested as she wiped Tuscan's face clean and angled another spoonful of mashed vegetables into her mouth "Malachite's dead but her cronies aren't, there's gotta be someone willing to talk?"

"Breaks the rules of the game" Scarlet countered, making a gesture with his fingers as he did so "Anyone talks to police then they're fair game, even their own crew will come after 'em….Last people to ignore the rules were-"

"The White Fang" a new voice interrupted "Under the command of Adam Taurus and Gangrel Slate, in Vale they eradicated every other crime family except the Black Bear Syndicate through extreme violence and an utter lack of respect for the code of honour that many criminals claim to uphold"

"Who the hell are you?" Fawn Bordeaux demanded as she took in the sight of the newcomer, dressed in the whites and greys of the Atlesian Military with shoulder length scarlet hair and golden eyes, wearing a respirator over the lower half of her face and sporting a left arm that was cybernetic from the elbow downwards. Rover and Artemis let out a sigh in tandem, they had been forewarned of what to expect but it didn't make matters any easier

"This" Artemis sighed "Is-"

"Atlesian Specialist Kafsi Asteri" she interrupted, still standing to attention "My commanding officer believes that the fugitive you're attempting to apprehend has allied himself with an Atlesian terrorist and as such I'm here to take over this operation"

"Excuse the fuck out of me" Bordeaux spat vehemently "But we're after a cop-killer so how about-"

"I'm in pursuit of a man wanted for multiple counts of murder and accessory to the murder of a Hunter, attempted murder of Hunters, military personnel and student Hunters, treason, espionage, aiding and abetting terrorists and traitors to the Kingdom, arson, theft, distribution of illegal weapons and narcotics charges which include his role as the supplier for one Rhodium Torchwick. Understand Miss Bordeaux that if you want to see your brothers' murderer brought to justice then I am by far your best chance of doing so"

"So have you got any ideas, or did you just feel like showing up and making yourself look as obvious as possible?" Scarlet demanded, his words dripping sarcasm

"You were already obvious" Kafsi countered

"Here? This is the last place someone like Torchwick would look for us!"

"Exactly" Kafsi sighed, speaking slowly as if to children "And he knows you would think that, which is why somewhere like this is the first place he would look for you" the comment silenced the group, save for Tuscan who babbled excitedly and pointed at the newcomer

"So what's the plan?" Rover asked finally "Gang said you're his best"

"Our initial aim is to separate Torchwick from Ozymandias Eldritch, my target. Without each others' resources both of them are weakened, to do so we need evidence-"

"We tried-"

"Real evidence Mister David" Kafsi snapped, halting Scarlet's interruption "Planted evidence or evidence obtained through illegal means is less than useless to us"

"Got anything we didn't already know?" Fawn demanded irritably

"It may take some time but I have a potential contact, someone with more than enough motivation and resources to aid us" Kafsi's smile was truly a predatory thing and for a moment Rover and Tan wondered just what kind of Hunter their old friend and leader had sent to help them.

The sun had barely risen the following morning when Ruby had woken Syneffo, urging her to be silent so as not to disturb the twins. Once she was clad in her armour and her weapons ready Ruby had brought her young charge out to their current location; stopping off for a filling if most likely unhealthy breakfast on the way.

"This" Ruby gestured to the vast forest below "Is Forever Fall" Syneffo took in the sight in silent wonder; as far as the eye could see were trees whose leaves varied in shade from golden brown to the same deep scarlet as her own hair. The two of them were watching from the open hatch of Penny's personal bullhead which Ruby had borrowed for the day and was currently hovering several dozen feet above the edge of the forest; looking down at the vast wilderness which clearly spanned several hundred miles Syneffo felt at home for the first time since arriving in New Vale

"It's beautiful" she breathed out, awestruck

"Thought you'd like it" Ruby nudged her playfully, a gesture which Syneffo was still unused to anyone outside of her immediate family having the gall to attempt "It's also absolutely crawling with Grimm"

"You mean?" Syneffo turned to face Ruby, her silver eyes wide with sudden hope and excitement at the prospect of finally being able to prove herself in the eyes of her mentor and unlock the mysterious powers that Ruby believed she had.

"Yep" Ruby nodded, popping the P as she deployed Crescent Rose; the weapon so iconic that it bordered on legendary all across Remnant unfurling into its' sniper rifle form. Ruby quickly snapped off a single shot which struck a tree on the verge of the forest and exploded, though with a seemingly harmless payload

"Tremor-Somnium gas round" Ruby explained "Draws Grimm, there's only a little in each shot but one Grimm draws more….anyway, landing strategies" with that Ruby leapt from the Bull-Head and rose petals manifested and hung suspended in the air around her as she activated both her Semblance and the power of the Silver Eyed Warriors in unison, allowing her to simply fly to the ground. Syneffo watched in awe before swallowing with nerves and walking back into the hovering aircraft, using the length of the cargo and passenger hold to give herself a running start as she launched herself downwards, her Semblance enveloping her in a bubble of translucent crimson light which tore a crater into the soft ground as it cushioned her impact.

"Weapons ready" Ruby warned as Crescent Rose was shifted into its' scythe mode, the caped Huntress assuming what had become her signature stance with the weapon held in both hands, shaft behind her and angled above her shoulders. Syneffo silently nodded and drew her axes, taking slow deep breaths as the trees began to rustle; a glint of bone coloured armoured hide and a flash of murderous red eyes serving as brief warning before a tide of Beowolves burst from the trees, snapping and howling at the pair.

"Take the lead" Ruby instructed and Syneffo wasted no words, simply letting out a primal scream as she charged the Grimm, burying an axe in the skull of the first monster to lunge at her and flinging its' fading and still twitching corpse of another as it leapt into the air, her other axe ripping the tendons of yet another Beowolves' hind legs before it was despatched with a flurry of blows to the back and head. Ruby watched the scene before her, occasionally decapitating or bisecting a Grimm that tore away from the main pack and attempted to make a meal of her; Syneffo was clearly something of a prodigy in the art of killing Grimm and whilst her attacks were a little more wild and frenzied than Ruby remembered herself being as a teenager killing Beowolves in Patch's woods there was no denying the fact that the warrior princess was despatching monsters at a rate that rivalled Ruby herself, even accounting for Ruby's speed. After a moment however Ruby found herself worried as Syneffo simply disappeared beneath the tide of fangs and claws, planting her feet firmly she channelled her powers and felt her eyes began to sting and burn, light flooding into the edges of her vision as she prepared to unleash her powers to their full devastating effect.

Then Syneffo exploded back into view, her Semblance forming a dome of light almost the size of a house which hurled Grimm in every direction; several of the monsters expiring from the force of their subsequent collisions with the ground or trees. The attack whilst devastating had clearly drained the teen and as she swayed on the spot for a moment those Grimm that remained scrabbled to their feet, sensing her weakness.

"Get away from her!" Ruby bellowed, voice reverberating unnaturally as light burst forth from her eyes in a wave of that simply unmade every Grimm that it passed over, leaving the field on the edge of Forever fall covered in a dense black fog. Ruby shuddered for a moment as her eyes returned to normal then rushed over to Syneffo in a shower of rose petals

"You were brilliant!" she exclaimed with a broad smile "That double swing where you took off like eight heads, that was so cool, and the backflip where you tagged two of 'em in the-"

"I couldn't do it" Syneffo croaked out, her own silver eyes filling with tears; axes falling to the ground and fists trembling with anger at herself "Even with all these Grimm here, I couldn't do it! I still can't use my silver eyes the way you do!"

"Hey, hey come on, easy….deep breaths" Ruby tried to soothe her "I've had over twenty years of practice. The first time I used my eyes was in a literal war zone and I didn't wake up for days afterwards"

"What am I doing wrong?"

"Nothing" Ruby promised her "You're doing great, it'll just take time-"

"Your children, literal children can do it!" Syneffo retorted, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand "They learned by accident and I can't master my powers with training"

"They learned because I was too exhausted to protect them in the breach" Ruby whispered, the mere memory enough to make her tremble for a moment "Penny was injured, I had nothing left to give and a Grimm stepped into what was left of our old Bull-Head; they should never have been in that position"

"But maybe I should be" Syneffo murmured after remaining silent for a moment, her eyes taking on a harsh, almost crazed quality "Summer-Pyrrha and Tai-Jaune discovered their powers when they were faced with certain death. You discovered yours when Vale fell….when Pyrrha Nikos fell-"

"Syneffo" Ruby warned

"That's the answer" she continued, utterly undeterred "I need to be truly put to the test….facing Beowolves with the best Huntress in the world beside me isn't enough. Hold these" she quickly began removing every Dust tipped crossbow bolt she carried from her person and handed them over to Ruby, quickly followed by the Harpies Claws themselves.

"What on Remnant are you doing?" Syneffo didn't answer for a moment, she was preoccupied by removing her golden armour that covered her chest

"Going deeper into the forest, with no weapons and no armour….alone"

"That insane!"

"Insane enough to work" Ruby paused and pinched the bridge of her nose, loathe to admit that as dangerous and impulsive as Syneffo's idea was it had a certain merit to it

"Okay, I'll let you do this on one condition" she stated firmly "You keep your Scroll switched on, if you get in over your head you call me and I will get you out" Syneffo scowled for a moment, in her mind the condition Ruby was insisting on defeated the entire purpose of the exercise

"Fine" she finally relented

"Good luck" with that the teen turned and set off towards the trees, her determined and steady pace slowly becoming a jog as she entered Forever Fall proper and eventually giving way to a full sprint as the sound of thunderous movement boomed through the trees.

Their fighting had seemingly attracted something big that was heading her way and Syneffo had every intention of slaying the monster before she left the forest.

Whilst Ruby and Syneffo trained in Forever Fall life continued as normal in the pleasant and leafy suburb of New Vale that the Rose family called home. The sky was the typical shade of grey for the season and the threat of rain hung overhead, yet currently the weather remained dry if windy and the majority of the spacious homes lining the street stood empty, their occupants having left for work hours ago. Penny Rose had awoken to a note from her wife explaining her whereabouts, confirming what the two of them had discussed the night before; this had left the copper haired android to wake Summer-Pyrrha and Tai-Jaune Rose and see that they ate a decent breakfast before walking them both to school. Upon returning home Penny had made her way into the basement, which served as a laboratory and workshop in which she and Ruby worked on countless designs together, one of which were the nanobot filled rounds that the Atlesian Military had quietly halted the production of with a hefty payment.

From the basement Penny had no idea that she was being watched.

The street on which the Rose family lived had no houses behind it, their large back gardens backing onto sparse woodland in which the local children played; it was in the midst of these trees that Nickel Polendina observed the house in stony silence, taking care to remain just out of range of its' impressive automated defences lest she inadvertently draw unwanted attention.

"Obsolete" the single word was drawn out into a low snarl and Nickel's hand clenched the trunk of the nearest tree, bark shattering and giving way with little resistance "Obsolete, broken-" her hateful monologue was cut short as her Scroll vibrated; the rogue android gave serious consideration to simply ignoring the man who had freed her from her dormant state, trapped in the vault hidden within the labyrinthine Toy-Box facility where Atlas's dirty secrets went to die. The buzzing persisted and Nickel finally conceded that her excursion had been noticed and answered

"What?" she snapped by way of greeting

"I know exactly where you are and exactly what you intend to do. Stand down, return to your base of operations" Ozymandias Eldritch was lacking his usual grandfatherly tone, currently the old man sounded both irate and disappointed

"That dingy little apartment?" Nickel snorted derisively "No"

"You will have your chance to face the Silver Eyed Warrior when the time is right" Ozymandias assured her "As a matter of fact my plans are contingent upon it"

"It's not about her" Nickel snarled

"Ah, I see" the scientist sighed "What is it you hope to gain from engaging your predecessor?" Nickel desperately sought the words to explain, when she couldn't find them the casing of her Scroll began to crack in her hands whilst she lashed out and tore into the trunk of the tree she had been leaning against, eyes furious and lip quivering

"Nickel?" Ozymandias asked, momentarily concerned that the android had simply disposed of her Scroll and continued her defiance

"I'm here chief" she replied, forcing her voice into her usual mocking tone

"Go home" he instructed firmly "You are risking everything; if you attack now then we will be unable to enact the plan. Remnant must be reshaped Nickel and if you stand in the way of that, well….you have a self destruct system linked to your Aura generator; quite impossible to remove I'm afraid" Nickel's eyes widened in shock and fear; Ozymandias was almost certainly not lying and there was no doubt that he would be willing to end her existence here and now if she failed to comply

"Fine….you're not my real Dad ass-hole" she spat

"And yet I have your best interests at heart" Ozymandias replied gently "The attack must come at the perfect opportunity. You'll get your chance to right whatever wrongs you feel that Penny Polendina has inflicted on you Nickel" Nickel ended the call and gave one last glower in the direction of the Rose family home before turning away and stomping through the woods, taking care to rip the tree she had already damaged out of the ground entirely, for no reason other than an insatiable desire to break something.

"Come on, we're almost there!" Felix barked out urgently, despite panting and gasping for breath as he did so

"We're gonna need a plan!" Arctus pointed out

"We'll worry about that when we get there! Getting there is what's important right now, someone clearly needs our help!" that much was beyond question and Team FADE as a whole sprinted through the autumnal trees of Forever Fall as fast as possible.

The four of them had been at their camp, Felix blurry eyed and exhausted after taking over a sizeable portion of the nights' watch; finished their meagre breakfast and preparing to break their camp as they discussed which way they should head for their next objective marker, searching for some sort of pattern as they looked at their maps with the locations of previous objectives drawn on them. A dull thud in the distance had given them a fresh burst of optimism as they had initially believed that it had been the sound of said objective being dropped; yet upon hearing more noises, the cacophony getting progressively more violent as it continued it became apparent that something far less fortunate was happening and the team had left their camp and assignment abandoned, as protocol for students of their level of experience dictated and rushed towards the source of the uproar in order to help.

"Holy shit that's a big, ugly Grimm!" Diamond exclaimed as they skidded to a halt at the edge of a clearing that they had no recollection of being in this part of the forest. The reason soon became obvious; the Grimm had reshaped the landscape and the noises they had heard were a consequence of the destruction. An area roughly the size of a small sports' field had been all but levelled, the trees utterly absent and the earth churned up and strewn about, the area had seemingly sunk somewhat which left the Grimm standing in the bottom of a slight depression, the ground littered with several gargantuan holes whose size alone made it clear that the Grimm had creating them by bursting from the ground.

The Grimm itself was insectoid in appearance, supported on six legs covered in chitinous white armour with a wide stance which kept the things' body low to the ground and several joints and which managed to be spindly in relation to the things' body despite each being roughly the width of a mans' chest; each leg tapered down to a pointed, spiralling tip like that of a drill. Its thorax and abdomen were heavily coated in thick plates of armour, with the signature inky flesh of the Creatures of Grimm visible in the spaces between each segmented plate of chitin, the abdomen swayed behind the monster seemed to serve no other purpose than to be a counterweight for its' head. The head of the Grimm was bulbous and elongated, larger than the rest of the creature entirely; its' rippling black tissue having a glossy and shimmering appearance that made it seem as though it had been expanded almost to the point of rupturing. The thing had at least a dozen eyes that Team FADE could see, yet they lifeless things that made no effort to track their surroundings and it was obvious that the whip like antennae were how the thing navigated its' surroundings. Whilst its' skull bore no armour it sported a pair of curved and serrated tusk like mandibles, each of which was easily longer than the average person was tall; however it was what was between those monstrous jaws that caused the students alarm

"Is that a tree?" Eagle demanded in shock. It was indeed a tree, the mandibles held the trunk of one of Forever Fall's signature fauna and lowered it down at a steady pace into a mouth that featured no jaw, instead a perfect circle filled with countless rows of freely spinning sets of teeth, rotating in opposite directions and acting in that moment as a monstrous wood-chipper

"What on Remnant is that thing?" Diamond demanded

"Dweller" Felix hissed through clenched teeth "Granddad told me a story about Team STRQ bringing one down before"

"Well we're no Team STRQ but we can still-"

"ARRGHHH!" the furious war-cry stunned Arctus into silence; what followed it left Team FADE as a whole, momentarily baffled. A young girl, seemingly in her teens burst through the trees; blood spilling from a gash above her right eyebrow and her left arm hanging limp, clearly dislocated at the shoulder yet still clutching the crushed remains of a Scroll; her eyes were wild and seemingly glowing faintly as if it lit from behind as she charged at the Grimm whilst clutching a broken tree branch with a jagged edge like a spear in her good arm, stopping short and carrying her momentum into a powerful throw which sent the branch flying into one of the Dweller's eyes. The Grimm shrieked and buzzed in rage and pain, throwing the remains of the tree aside as it turned its' attention to it' attacker.

"THAT'S HELIOS'S SISTER!" Felix cried out as he rushed forwards, the recognition pushing him to desperate action. He was still several meters away when the Dweller reached her, mandibles tearing into the soft ground as it attempted to swallow her whole

"NO!" Felix's dread was short lived as several broken teeth belonging to the Grimm whizzed passed him at lethal speeds and he saw that Syneffo fought on, her Semblance having created a bubble like protection around her which slowly expanded within the maw of the Grimm, tearing its' mouth asunder even more.

"WE NEED TO GET HER OUT OF THERE!" the Lion Faunus bellowed as Syneffo's shield began to ripple and crackle "SHE'S GONNA RUN OUT OF AURA, EAGLE PULL HER OUT, I'LL HOLD THE GRIMM!"

"Felix I've got an idea!" Arctus called out after him "Just hold it steady! Diamond distract it with cover fire!"

"Got it!" with the rough outline of a plan in place Felix withdrew a small Fire Dust crystal that he'd been holding onto in case of emergency, whilst it would not be enough for him to enter his Balrog state it would provide some additional power which may turn the tide. His golden Aura flared into life around him as he crushed the crystal in his palm, the sound of bone splintering ringing in his ears as Diamond fired salvo after salvo of explosive rounds into the Grimm's armoured hide. He reached the jaws of the dweller without a moment to spare, grabbing the mandibles which were still lodged in the ground and holding the Grim steady at the exact moment Syneffo's shield and Aura failed, the odd light leaving her eyes as she collapsed backwards. Felix felt his feet sinking into the soft earth and his arms being pushed to the point of fracturing by the Grimm's strength; then two things happened in near perfect unison. Firstly Eagle's swooped between Felix and the remains of the Grimm's mouth, reverting to her natural state and pulling Syneffo away from danger. Secondly a glowing white Glyph sailed passed Felix's cheek and over his shoulder, embedding itself in the ruined remains of the Dweller's mouth.

"GET CLEAR!" Arctus screamed frantically and Felix, realising what was about to happen hurled himself to the ground just as the summoned construct began to emerge from the Glyph, climbing directly into the mouth of the Dweller as it continued to grow to full size. With a strangled scream the Dweller's head first cracked and then burst open entirely, revealing a towering and glowing Minotaur Grimm almost twice the size of the beast it had been based upon.

"NOOOOOO!" Syneffo's anguished scream was enough to ruin the moment, whatever sense of victory Team FADE had felt being shattered

"We won kid" Felix pointed out in confusion "The Grimm's-"

"YOU IDIOT!" she rounded on Arctus and the sound of her slapping him across the cheek echoed through the trees

"Hey what the-" Diamond stepped closer to the younger teen, only for Felix to clamp down on her shoulder firmly; he had no desire to see this confrontation get any worse or stranger

"I WAS SO CLOSE! I COULD FEEL IT!" Syneffo sank to her knees, bawling in earnest as Team FADE stared at her, utterly lost.

"Hey….you wanna explain why you're mad?" Felix asked, being the first to step close and crouch down to her level. She never had chance to answer, a burst of rose petals announcing the arrival of Ruby Rose

"SYNEFFO! I heard you scream and….oh; hey Fluffy, Arctus. I didn't realise that there were any students here"

"Aunt Ruby?" Felix looked from his aunt to Syneffo; from one pair of silver eyes to the other and everything suddenly made an uncomfortable amount of sense

"Oum damn it" he sighed, turning to his team to explain "I think we just ruined a training exercise"

"Dude, why would you let her fight that thing on her own?" Diamond demanded, Ruby Rose's status as a living legend not being anywhere near enough to keep the accusation out of the younger snipers' tone

"She's….a special case" Ruby explained "I was on stand by, apparently so were you. Syneffo how did it go?"

"Utter failure" she sniffled dejectedly "I was robbed" Ruby took one look at the exhausted, beaten and utterly pitiful sight of her student and did the only thing that made sense; she crouched down and pulled Syneffo into a hug

"You did great….You're doing great. But you need to come with me, we're gonna get you patched up and let you rest before you try again. Come on" she gently pulled Syneffo up, the teen stood on shaky legs and refused to meet anyone's eyes as Ruby lead her in the direction she had come from; turning to address Felix before she left

"I wanna get her arm looked at straight away or I'd offer to fly you back to the academy….I'm gonna contact Goodwitch though, you've earned yourselves an early finish on this job"

"Thanks" Felix beamed, watching her leave before turning to his team who looked noticeably less enthused

"So" Diamond huffed "Does she just not know how to apologise?"

"Dee" Felix sighed "Not right now, please"

"But seriously why was she out here?" Eagle demanded "I know Ruby Rose was amazing even at fifteen, she's the youngest academy student ever….but she can't expect Helios's little sister to-"

"Drop it Eagle" Felix sighed "You remember what Helios was like in first year; better than the rest of us by a mile? Well since he abdicated his role as heir to the Nikosi, Syneffo is getting an accelerated version of his training….Great Aunt Ruby and Uncle Qrow are helping"

"My Dad is?….I've gotta talk to him about this" Eagle stated flatly

"Yeah, I know" Felix nodded, wincing as a thought occurred "Oum damn it….this is not gonna be fun to explain to Helios"

The sentient Grimm known as Pantheon led it's ever growing pack through the wilderness at the edges of New Vale's territory, having slipped through the cracks in the defensive perimeter known as 'The Front Line' though the dozens of military outposts were well equipped they still could not see everything that occurred and the spaces between installations presented opportunities. Since making the tactical choice to ignore the vast but incredibly well defended human settlement that they had encountered Pantheon had been slowly advancing towards their destination; taking a far less direct route to avoid detection and guided by the feminine voice echoing in Pantheon's mind that seemed to know what lay ahead at all times and imparted knowledge as they went.

"Quiet" Pantheon snarled to a group of particularly aggressive and boisterous Beowolves. The pack were moving through filthy swamplands where no humans or Faunus had reason to venture, the waters long since having been polluted or overfished until nothing remained; the broken moon hung overhead lighting the way as dozens upon dozens of crimson eyed monsters waded through murky water that reached their haunches, obediently following Pantheon as they moved from one of the gnarled and twisted trees that rose from the depths to the next in a series of powerful leaps that left their trunks creaking with the strain.

"Wait" Pantheon ordered, raising one of their upper limbs and splaying the three scythe like digits that grew from it in a gesture to halt. The pack did so and for a moment the air was filled with no sounds other than the occasional whining of one of the Grimm or the slight rippling of the water as one shifted its' weight. Then a pair of attackers burst from below and though they came without warning Pantheon was already on the move; a pair of serpentine heads tore through the space they had occupied and tore the tree apart whilst Pantheon plunged beneath the roiling surface, into a point directly between the heads. It soon became apparent that there were not two attackers, merely one monster with two heads and the more intelligent Grimm swiftly set about the task of tearing the King-Taijitu in half, both ends of the creature hissing and spitting in defiance as they expired. Pantheon resurfaced and turned to the pack of Beowolves that had remained stationary, following the will of their Alpha until the possible end.

"Stay here" without waiting for a reply that they knew wouldn't come Pantheon took to the air with a flap of their powerful wings and set off in the direction from which the King-Taijitu had obviously come, following the length of the swamplands over steadily deepening water until they finally came to a halt and landed in the branches of another long dead tree; monstrous face in something akin to awe at the sight below. There was an artificial floating island in the swamp, one that had clearly been home to several humans if the amount of buildings that littered its' surface were any indication; said buildings now currently stood ruined and the oversized propulsion system that had allowed the aquatic settlement to move had long since been destroyed, nothing remaining but a mass of twisted and rusted metal. The settlement itself however was of little interest to Pantheon, it was what had taken root upon it; silently the intelligent monster realised that they had been guided to this place for the sole reason of finding what lay below them. Whatever carnage had left this man made island deserted had obviously been bloody, the carnage had been enough for a Spawning Pit to form and fester as it went unchecked. Another Grimm peeled itself free of the living darkness from whence it had come and set of screeching into the night in search of its' first kill and as it did so Pantheon realised that they needed to return to their pack, plans needed to be made.

There was no need to pick off smaller settlements as they neared their true quarry, no need to draw other Grimm to them; if Pantheon could take control of the fragment of the Grimm Hive Mind that this Spawning Pit controlled then they would have all the bodies they needed.

Authors Notes:

Okay three chapters into Vol.8 and it feels like it's taking shape now….although it might not be as much to you readers because I already know where this is going.
At the moment the central conflict is Team FADE & friends against Torchwick and his crew, with Rover/Kafsi's cops going after Torchwick and Oz's own agenda involving Nickel and Pantheon happening around them.
Team FADE are and always will be the main characters of this story but as it's progressed I feel like the focus has naturally expanded to encompass more of the side characters and honestly I'm perfectly okay with that.
Vol.7, 8 & 9 that make up third year are the calm before the storm, so as crazy as it gets you should enjoy it while it lasts.

But anyway, let's summarise.
Ah, nothing like a decapitation to start off a chapter….it's bold, eye catching, big dick energy if you will.
I feel like it's a touch of realism to have the students get frankly bored shitless with the job sometimes; as much as they want to be Hunters they're still people with social lives that are getting eaten into and nobody likes unpaid overtime or homework assignment that take forever.
Also the idea of them training in the woods makes perfect sense considering that they want to specialise in Grimm Hunting, they won't always have a village nearby to fall back to.
I was originally going to set this chapter in the Emerald Forest but Forever Fall just seemed to fit better somehow, I imagine that Beacon and then Halo keep the Emerald Forest reserved for initiations as much as possible.
Seriously Patch has woods but Eagle is the undisputed country girl of the team.
Had to make the Walt Disney reference, had to.
Yeah twenty, so Felix and Corvid have had their shared birthday (Side note, Myrtle will know his real one) Eagle, Arctus and Diamond are all still nineteen and only Eagle and Felix's birthday's fall within the school year.
Professor Jasper Cimmerian…..probably a bad influence if you want your students to function in polite society, if they're gonna be fighting monsters and criminals though; she's the best teacher they could have.
Oh yeah, Arctus still needs to meet Merc and Diamond face to face.
In my head Team GORE's landing and being ejected from their Bull-Head was perfect slapstick comedy.
So, Raffia has found something that matters to him and a sense of purpose outside of hurting people and being a dick.
Kinda feel bad for Carcharodon, all those students that genuinely like him and he's honestly probably lonely as hell; everyone he cares about is either dead or moving on in their lives while he tries to keep as much of the old way alive as possible.
Carcharodon is lucky Gangrel has mellowed out over the last twenty years; Downward Spiral Gangrel would have just turned up and beat the stuffing out of him.
Carcharodon has a solid point and Gangrel isn't so boneheaded that he'll ignore it; the mission Team GORE were sent on was not what they signed up for, Gang abused his connections and he knows it.
You knew exactly who the Specialist was gonna be even before Gangrel mentioned her arm.
So, at some point (I'm thinking possibly at the end of this volume, but only kinda...you'll see) Team GORE are gonna get a boat to call home, which is nice because they honestly don't have anywhere to stay.
You remember Brindle Bordeaux right? You remember what Torchwick did to him….yeah, his little sister is fresh out the police academy and wants blood.
Same old Kafsi.
Shit, Oz has been quite a busy old man when you put it that way.
It's so mundane that it's obviously being used as a meeting place….kinda makes sense.
I'm sure some of you can guess who Kafsi is gonna recruit.
I wanted the scene with Syneffo ploughing through Beowolves to feel like a callback to the Red Trailer, almost a passing of the torch moment.
Oh Syneffo is brave as hell and eager to prove herself….that is a combo that leads to dumb choices.
Nickel going full stalker/serial killer for a second there.
Oh, a self destruct system; that's totally not foreshadowing for something in a future fight….and neither are the Nanobot rounds that I keep mentioning that Ruby and Penny are working on.
Dweller: A Termite Grimm, I was originally gonna have an earthworm Grimm which is why it has that name, it's partially based on the skyscraper sized worm from Transformers 3.
Her eyes were glowing guys.
Gotta admit, that was some pretty cool teamwork from Team FADE.
Oh she is beyond pissed….she was right on the cusp of getting it and she knows it.
So Pantheon is gonna take on a Spawning Pit….Spawning Pits spit out giant Grimm when they die; I believe I speak for everyone here when I say "LET THEM FIGHT!"

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Funlander, DizzyDwarf, Ferrous and one guest for their reviews on the last chapter.
Nah, Kafsi already has the forcefield gun called Aegis Thunder.
I honestly had an idea for an older AJ showing up in the epilogue, you may have just read my mind.
Funny how it's Arctus that's the hotheaded one, he's picked up Felix's bad habits which Felix himself has managed to work on.
Nickel is many flavours of bitch.
Oh I'm sure Weiss would have cut Carcharodon's ears and nose off for that stunt, pretty sure Gangrel got a stern talking to for his operative acting out as well.

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