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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 108: Relief Effort
The hatch built into the floor of Club Corona, the nightclub formerly known as 'The Bear' was flung open revealing stairs leading down to the bunker whose existence was something of an open, if unproven secret amongst New Vale's criminal underworld and Rhodium Torchwick's footsteps rang out, heavy and metallic as he stomped down into the lair in which Ozymandias Eldritch had sequestered himself.
"And how can I help you today Mister Torchwick?" the treasonous scientist enquired from behind his somewhat avian mask, covering their face as he handled the raw materials needed to make the drug Booster which remained one of Torchwick's most valuable businesses; his usual grandfatherly tone having a distinctly testy edge to it as if he found the distraction from his work irksome, Rhodium treated the unusual boldness with only a slightly raised eyebrow before setting down a laptop he had been carrying under his arm on the workbench Eldritch occupied, forcing him to move several tools
"A couple things, the next batch-"
"On schedule, it seems that the people….covering for Vert shall we say, have some promise" Rhodium stared into the crimson tinted lenses of Ozymandias's mask and frowned, the lie that Vert had left to follow his music career was failing and the mobster knew it
"Good" he nodded, focusing on the positive "Corona's arm?"
"I have the specifications required and a functional base from which to work, it should be a matter of weeks unless the incident in Arcadia slows the import of certain parts that I require"
"Good, she'll be happy with it" Torchwick forced himself not to grin at the mere thought of his somewhat official girlfriend; it would not do to be seen as getting soft by his troops after all
"Now on to the important stuff, where's Nickel she wasn't at her place?" Torchwick quickly opened and switched on the laptop he had brought with him
"Most likely in the back working on a pet project of her own" Ozymandias informed him, prompting Torchwick to suppress a shudder at the idea of the copper haired maniac being something of an inventor
"NICKEL!" Ozymandias called out "NICKEL! You are required!" immediately grumbling and muttered curses could be heard amongst the sounds of metal objects being moved, Rhodium used the brief wait to take in the changes that Eldritch had implemented on the bunker; when Torchwick's thugs had first begun moving into the nightclub the bunker beneath it had been luxurious and well furnished, intended for its' residence to live comfortably should the need ever occur or perhaps merely as an extravagant way to entertain sexual partners; now it was utterly devoted to practical artifice and anything which served no practical purpose had been removed, the walls were adorned countless diagrams and charts whose meanings Rhodium had no way to decipher the meanings of.
"What is it fuck-boy?" Nickel demanded as she entered from an unseen room behind them, Torchwick noted that her coppery hair was somewhat singed at the tips in some places and a welding mask was pushed back onto the top of her head whilst over her shoulder she carried what appeared to be a streamlined and heavily damaged wing, the claw marks adorning it implying that whatever the wing had once belonged to had been the victim of a Grimm attack.
"Gonna let her talk to me like that?" Torchwick gestured to Nickel irritably like that
"Gonna stop me from talking to you like that?" Nickel countered with a cocky smirk until Ozymandias gave her a warning glance to which she responded with a disparaging sigh before wandering lazily around to the laptop so that Rhodium could show her what he needed to.
"My lawyers' office got burned down a couple of days ago" Torchwick explained as he began opening up several video files, the first showing a burning building which Nickel assumed was the office in question; he pointed at a cluster of individuals in the corner of the frame and explained "These are the fucks that did, managed to get a better look at their faces from another camera….getting the access to all the cameras I needed for this from my people inside NVPD cost me a lot of Lien"
"Lien you wasted then" Nickel snorted derisively as she took in the second video showing the group of Faunus calmly leaving the scene of the arson attack "That's Team GORE, Halo students….they were in the Vytal Tournament last year"
"I know all of that" Rhodium hissed, quickly growing tired of the girls' attitude "Hunters, transferred in their second year, nobody knows where from and they were involved in the fight with the White Fang so touching them officially is a suicide move….funny thing though, a couple years back when they should have been in their first year wherever they came from they were actually in New Vale; the big guy with the axe over his back sold my people a truck a started a whole lot of trouble for me and the chick with the bug wings was in North Vale Correctional Facility when I was. Some shit is going on here and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it"
"That's great and all chief but if you just wanted someone to bounce ideas off can I leave a rubber duck here and go back to-"
"Shut the fuck up and pay attention" Rhodium snapped before loading another video, this one clearly taken from yet another security camera but at a different location
"This is from near the docks" he confirmed before playing the footage which showed Team GORE making their way off of the docks and piers and towards a section of beach which Nickel knew to be disused; a moment later he paused the footage and urgently pointed to a figure that emerged from inside one of the watch-towers that had been abandoned when New Vale's walls were constructed
"Look at that" he insisted "That looks like some kind of uniform, maybe Atlesian but I can't tell and there aren't any cameras nearer….who the fuck is that?"
"Lemme guess" Nickel grinned "You want me to go down there and find out….and by which I mean tear them in half"
"No" the android managed to choke on air at the response
"Excuse the fuck out of-"
"Not yet" Rhodium clarified "I'm not stupid. We've got the Hunters that came here pretty much at war with us, hitting businesses and grabbing people; these Faunus that I had a little beef with just hit my lawyer and now this bitch in Atlesian uniform shows up….It's all connected and we don't have to know any more than that right now. I'm gonna have this camera watched day and night, I'm gonna find out who they are where they're going; 'cos I'm willing to bet a lot of Lien that if we keep at it everyone that's trying to fuck us is gonna meet up in one spot sooner or later and that's when I want you to hit 'em Nickel….we're gonna hit all these fucks at once and deal with the problem properly"
"Now you're speaking my language" Nickel grinned savagely
"Cute kid, I was doing dirt before you were born" Torchwick laughed whilst playfully ruffling Nickel's hair despite the welding mask still atop her head
"Ass hole" Nickel growled, swatting the hand away and picking up the severed wing that she had set down before disappearing back into the rear of the bunker, more of the same muttered cursing that had marked her entry following her
"So, do we have any other business to discuss?" Ozymandias, who had been seemingly occupied by their own tasks for the duration of the conversation enquired
"Make sure we've got a stockpile of Booster ready" Torchwick instructed "I've got a feeling that we're gonna need it….and not all of it's for Nickel even if she can use it without a come-down"
"Understood, I'll see that it doesn't interfere with our business" the scientist nodded and the thus placated Rhodium nodded and climbed the stairs leading out of the bunker. Behind his mask Ozymandias wore as close to a pensive expression as his wounded face would allow; armed with the crucial pieces of information that Rhodium was missing the treacherous, mad scientist understood the arrival of the Atlesian Specialist for what it was, a direct move against himself and his endeavours yet Ozymandias was largely unconcerned; Torchwick's strategy was a sound one, Nickel was more than capable of handling any threat that the Hunters presented and at this juncture the plans devised the feminine voice that burrowed and tore its' way into the Wizards' psyche seemed all but inevitable.
"Too little too late I'm afraid General Schnee" Ozymandias chuckled softly, raising an imaginary glass to his perceived opponent. Those who wished to stop him had made their move, but in the end it didn't matter.
The late morning air was cold on the anti-gravity platform on which Halo Academy was based; the Winter sun being hidden behind a wall of iron grey clouds left the engines of several docked airships and smaller crafts' idling engines as the only source of heat as the second and third year student teams gathered in eager preparation for their upcoming missions; the usual apprehension and nerves that accompanied such an engagement were utterly absent as they readied themselves for an opportunity to do something more meaningful than shadow more experienced Hunters, this was an opportunity to make a real difference.
Teams FADE and GORE were gathered around the Killer-Bee and Team NEON were expected to join them at any moment, the muscle car being parked at the airship terminal as Felix waited to load it aboard the vessel that would take them to their destination, where they would meet their assigned Hunter who had understandably chose not to waste valuable time away from the field in order to collect their students. Eagle and Hellion were doing their best to have a private moment in the somewhat crowded space, foreheads resting against each other as they held each other close and whispered assurances that they would see each other soon; the Dragonfly Faunus's wings fluttering gently and a blush tinting the armoured blondes' cheeks as she leaned in for a kiss whilst beside them Marauder preened his feathers', perched upon Sentinels' weapon mount. Felix turning his attention away from them so as not to intrude and saw that Team GORE as a whole were relatively subdued, whilst Carcharodon was taciturn by nature and Raffia's aggravated skulking was hardly a rarity the fact that Hellion seemed genuinely uncomfortable about leaving and even Onyx was quiet seemed odd; the Lion Faunus was clearly not the only one to notice this as a moment later Diamond spoke up
"You guys okay, you look worried?" Raffia made a disgruntled sound that conveyed nothing but contempt and found himself on the receiving end of several warning glances as Arctus visibly bristled before Carcharodon spoke up
"Our mission will have us take refugees from Arcadia to Mistral, by sea" the statement hung in the air for a few moments before Eagle cupped Hellion's cheek
"Don't go, we'll talk to Goodwitch now and see if we can switch missions. Don't put yourself in danger-"
"There is no mission we could take that wouldn't put us in danger little canary" Hellion chuckled "We're uncertain which port settlements we will be anchoring at; violence is a possibility as is being greeted as old friends by those we used to trade with….But thank you" Eagle all but melted as Hellion nuzzled into her
"You gonna be okay out there?" Felix asked Carcharodon, having no desire to see his fellow students fall in the line of duty or to a revenge attack for their past deeds
"We are the Shadow Cadre of the Frost River Tribe and none can stand against us" the Shark Faunus replied calmly, though his demeanour almost dared anyone to speak out and list his teams' defeats.
"That's our craft" Raffia hissed as he pointed to an old and ramshackle Bull-Head making its' final approach "They had us use this rather than fly ourselves….Someone must die for this insult" Onyx merely his smaller friend around the back of the head as he set off towards the landing pad that the craft would use; his team-mates following close behind with the exception of Hellion who found herself pulled back gently by Eagle who held her close and whispered in her ear
"Ochi-Eleos, Ochi-Terarto, Ochi-Proeidopoiisi" Hellion's jade eyes widened dramatically at the sound of her mother tongue
"Who taught you-"
"Um, I heard Car a few times and asked-"s
"And he taught you to give orders, naturally" Hellion laughed, pulling the blonde into a slow, deep kiss before breaking away "I love you; come home safe and slay anything that tries to prevent you" it was a flustered and discombobulated Eagle that watched Hellion leave, Marauder flying to her forearm with a shriek. The rest of Team FADE watched the lovestruck blonde with amusement until the familiar voice of Nyanza Angora laughing and joking alerted them to the approach of Team NEON; Helios and Felix pulling each other close and into a brief, gentle kiss the moment they were in reach of each other before the Lion Faunus addressed his childhood friend
"You guys seem pretty confident"
"Well I've been slowly upgrading Buster Bravo since the summer" Olivine informed him "I think it's ready to some serious damage now"
"You mean it didn't before?" Diamond noted with raised eyebrows; Nyanza merely shrugged
"We're picking off some of the little groups that the Grimm horde split up into….this is light work, what could go wrong" the change in atmosphere around them was immediate and undeniable; Felix's knuckles cracked as he glared at his old friend
"I dunno, why don't you go and ask Corey what could go wrong she might be able to give you a better idea"
"Fluffy, chill man" Arctus placed a hand on his cousins' shoulder whilst Helios gently gripped him by the waist and members of both teams positioned themselves between Felix and Nyanza
"Apologise" Helios growled
"Sorry man, wasn't thinking" Nyanza held out his hands before trying to change the conversation "So what did Team FADE get?"
"Perimeter defence which means we're gonna be based somewhere with roads, that's why I'm bringing my car" Felix answered, letting out a slow breath and calming himself
"We're heading out to Elysium Hills" Arctus added "One of the bigger mining towns that supplied Arcadia's refinery; almost a city on its' own and there's a lot of people from Arcadia heading there"
"And obviously with what happened they're gonna be a mental state that could attract more Grimm, understandably" Diamond explained
"Not Team FADE's speciality but we'll manage" Felix sighed
"You will overcome anything that stands against you, it's who you are" Helios ran a hand through the Lion Faunus's curly locks and Felix responded by pulling him into another kiss, whispering against his lips
"You're better with speeches and stuff….just stay safe out there" the moment was interrupted by Eagle
"Hey guys, someone's heading our way" she announced "They just stepped off of that big warship" the students turned their attention towards where Eagle had specified, many of the students had now left and the woman in military uniform making a beeline towards them was easy to spot
"Felix Xiao Long, Team FADE?" she asked, standing stiffly to attention
"Yeah that's us" Felix confirmed; blushing slightly as Helios gave him one last kiss on the cheek before Team NEON set out to find their own transport. The soldier mercifully made no comment on Felix's crimson cheeks or compromised professional image
"Captain Dew Gayl of the Tempest will be transporting your team to Elysium Hills" her expression softens "She also wishes to offer your family condolences for your sister, Corvid is a hero"
"Yeah she is" Felix agreed before allowing himself to be led towards the docked warship from which the soldier had emerged
"Hey Eagle" he called, throwing his car keys to his partner "Load the Killer-Bee up" Eagle's squeal of joy at being trusted to drive the muscle car unsupervised followed the rest of Team FADE as they boarded.
"Hey can you turn it down a little bit please?" Corvid asked, soon after being discharged from the medical wing of Halo Academy she had decided to accept her great uncle Qrow's offer of staying at his house for a while; the academy was simply too loud with too much happening for her at the moment and she found herself plagued by headaches that had made studying all but impossible for her, something she could ill afford this close the exams that were the final barrier between herself and finally becoming a fully qualified Huntress. Even now however study was beyond Corvid; Ruby was currently aiding the relief effort, ensuring no further tragedy struck the people of Arcadia and Penny had taken Syneffo to train somewhere, seeing that the teen was growing agitated in the house; this had prompted Qrow to offer to babysit Tai-Jaune and Summer-Pyrrha only for him to disappear into the basement in which he spent much of his time and leave the task of minding the children to Corvid
"Sorry" Tai-Jaune apologised turning down the cartoon that he and his sister were watching "Are you okay?"
"Just my head" Corvid gestured to her scarred face and the eyepatch she currently wore "I should probably take some painkillers but they make me sleepy and I need to work"
"We can play outside if we're bothering you?" Summer asked earnestly, already off of the sofa
"No, no it's fine" Corvid winced at herself for making the children feel unwelcome around her; the young girl made her way over and gave Corvid the tightest hug she could manage and boldly declared
"You look super cool with the eyepatch"
"Yeah!" Tai-Jaune agreed, pointing at the television "You look like Agent Angry" Corvid saw the bald-headed secret agent who wore an eyepatch similar to her own that TJ was referring to, recognising the character from her own childhood and flashed her cousins a grin
"I do….maybe that's what I'll do when you're old enough to hunt Grimm; I'll call you my Revengers"
"Revengers assemble!" the twins shouted with gusto
"Now let me do my homework" Corvid laughed pointing at the masses of paperwork piled on the arm of the chair she occupied
"Come on" Summer said to her twin brother, taking the lead as she regularly did "We'll go play somewhere, Corey needs to work so she can be a super cool Huntress like our Mums"
"Thanks kid" Corvid ruffled their curly and coppery hair as they passed her and soon after she was once again immersed in her own research and the various sources she had cited in her much praised thesis, desperately tying to find out where she had made a mistake
"Want something to eat?" Qrow's gruff and gravelly voice managed to startle her
"No, I'm good thanks" she replied after the initial shock of finding her great uncle causally leaning against the chair arm despite not having heard him leave the basement
"Sorry about disappearing" Qrow ran a hand through his hair and sighed "The twins heard you got hurt and were worried sick, Ruby and Penny called the school and told them that there was a family emergency so that they could see you were okay….besides, I promised Blake and Yang that I wouldn't let you shut yourself off when I told them you were staying here"
"Thanks" Corvid managed to reply despite the sudden lump in her throat "Thanks, it really means a lot"
"Any time" Qrow assured her "Not working on the Omega Wing….we recovered most of it"
"Not yet" Corvid shook her head, gently so that the movement wouldn't make her dizzy "The power tools would give me a migraine and honestly I don't wanna look at it right now….besides I'm focusing on this" Qrow peered over her shoulder and looked at what she was reading, a concerned murmur escaping him as he did
"This isn't for your exams is it?"
"No" she admitted, a haunted expression that Qrow had seen on far too many Hunters formed on her face "I need to know where my research was wrong-"
"Corey-"
"No!" she snapped "Everyone said that the thesis was sound, somebody might try and use my Grimm mass migration theories to predict and plot safe routes; what happens if civilians walk straight into a Grimm horde because I missed something….I have missed something, I must have but I can't find it; Arcadia doesn't fit anything…..the Grimm there were different somehow, and the one that could talk-"
"Corey" Qrow repeated, this time far more softly, a look of profound sadness in his eyes "You're not going to stop are you?"
"I can't" she answered without hesitation; she couldn't focus on exams no matter how important they were when lives may be at risk
"Okay" he nodded "Come with me, there's things you need to see" Corvid curiously followed Qrow as he made his way back to the entrance to the basement which he had only just left
"I want you to promise me that after you see and hear this you're going to focus on your exams Corey" Qrow said firmly "Promise me"
"Okay, I promise" Corvid conceded begrundgingly before nodding towards the basement that she had never been allowed to enter "What's down there?"
"Things you were always supposed to learn about" Qrow answered cryptically "But never like this, I wanted you and your team to graduate and go out on your own for a few years, find your feet in the world….But you're right, Arcadia doesn't fit your predictions and it's because you don't have all the information. You've earned your seat at the table Corey and now it's time that I showed you the truth….about everything"
Team FADE had arrived at the mining town of Elysium Hills and found that the reality fell decidedly short of the connotations its' name held, it was a poor place inhabited by hard working, stoic and tough people; the vast majority of whom spent their time toiling to ensure that their Kingdom had power; what little they had was now stretched thin as the town struggled to accommodate refugees from Arcadia to such an extent that Team FADE had been told when they had landed that their sleeping arrangements were still subject to change.
"Why is the mine so far from the actual town?" Felix grumbled as the Killer-Bee travelled the road between the Dust mines and the settlement itself, easily one of the best maintained roads for miles around
"It probably didn't used to be" Arctus noted conversationally; Team FADE had been informed by Captain Dew Gayl of the Tempest, a former Huntress from Vaccuo, that the Hunter that the students would be accompanying for the duration of their mission was currently not within the settlement itself but rather overseeing the Dust mines which lay outside of its' perimeter defences; seeing the obvious reasoning behind this choice Team FADE had then wasted no time and simply set off in the direction of the mines.
"Someone's in the road!" Eagle exclaimed and a second later the occupants of the Killer-Bee were flung forwards, seatbelts biting into them as the car screeched to a halt. Looking ahead the four of them saw a tall and powerfully built woman clad in white armour whose pristine surface had been dulled and blackened by smoke and flames in several places, a collapsed weapon of some kind slung across her back, blonde hair worn in short swept forward spikes and a pair of goggles covering her eyes; it took Eagle only a moment for things to fall into place in her mind before a gasp of delight escaped her, promptly followed by her hurrying out of the car and barrelling into the Huntress to pull her into a crushing hug with a squeal of pure joy
"AUNT HELL!"
"Oum damn, Dad wasn't lying you got strong" Hellebores Arc laughed, raising her goggles to reveal bright blue eyes "The new look really works for you kid….come on introduce me to your team, I've only got the second hand stuff from the rest of the family"
"Guys, guys this is my Aunt Hellebores; the coolest person ever!" Eagle practically bounced on the spot as she introduced the Huntress to her friends "Aunt Hell this is my partner Felix Xiao Long"
"I think your Grandpa trained me at Signal" Hellebores grinned at the Lion Faunus
"This is Diamond Sustrai-Black and Arctus Slate" upon hearing the Bear Faunus's last name her expression wavered a little though before it could be questioned Felix spoke up
"So how come you met us in the middle of the road?" he gestured to the emptiness around them as if to highlight it
"A few Grimm had slipped between the town and the mine, would have gotten nasty when the miners start coming home" Hellebores answered happily, though her expression darkened a little as she continued "Besides I wanted to catch you before you saw….fuck it, I'll show you come and see" with that she turned and gestured for the students to follow which they promptly did, Felix locking the door of the Killer-Bee content that it was unlikely to be stolen whilst Eagle deployed Sentinel, the droid bleeping and chirping as it trundled along beside them. As they drew closer to the mine they began to hear countless of raised voices, their source being a mass of bodies gathered in front of what was clearly the main entrance to the mining facility, armoured fences stopping them from gaining access to the mines themselves; several of their number carried picket signs whose messages Arctus and Felix could read from a greater distance
"What the fuck?" Felix spat venomously
"Honestly" Arctus sighed, eyes suddenly downcast "I kinda saw this coming"
"They're protesting the SDC" Felix explained to Eagle and Diamond, Hellebores quickly adding
"A lot of the Hunters at Arcadia were stationed at an SDC plant rather than the walls, these people think that makes the SDC guilty of weakening the defences….anyone who read the reports knows it's not true but people need someone to be angry at"
"So how're we handling this?" Diamond asked, Arctus simply began walking towards the protesters with a resigned sigh
"We're gonna do our job" as he drew closer several members of the protesting group turned, sensing his approach from behind them and within seconds he had been recognised, his hair and complexion giving him away as a member of the Schnee family and he was instantly subjected to a deluge of abuse; the mob decrying his family as criminals and cowards who has all but killed the people of Arcadia themselves. Mere moments later the first projectile struck Arctus's shoulder, it was an egg but it was soon followed by more substantial objects
"If you're doing this we all are" Diamond stated bluntly as she fell into step beside him, expertly shooting a brick that had hurled at her partner out of the air; her Dust round reducing into to scattered fragments. Arctus responded by raising a Glyph directly in front of Diamond to deflect a glass bottle.
"I'm gonna talk to 'em"
"You're gonna what?"
"Talk to 'em" Arctus repeated, waiting for the hailstorm of thrown objects to die down before creating a raised platform on which to stand from his Glyphs and trying to prepare himself to act as the voice of the Schnee Dust Company; taking a moment to channel his mothers' way with words, his fathers' intimate knowledge of poverty and injustice, Aunt Winter's unflinching dedication to duty and from Uncle Whitley the unshakable belief that they can and must do better.
"There are no words" he began, voice carrying and his delivery more confident than he felt "There are no words to explain what happened in Arcadia, but I'm going to try anyway….Because I am a Hunter and trying in the face of impossible is my duty. Every Hunter and soldier who defended Arcadia, whether it be on the walls, in the SDC refinery or in a pitched battle in the city itself is a hero and the blame can and will not be placed on them….Arcadia fell because we weren't prepared"
"You were prepared to save your own-" an objecting voice was quickly silenced by their peers.
"We weren't ready….We couldn't have been" Arctus continued, genuine pain at the fate of the city filling his voice "The scale and co-ordination of the Grimm attacking Arcadia was something only ever seen in the breaches of the Capital City itself or the battles during the war with Salem….Yet both the SDC and the Council of Vale were present for those battles, we thought we'd learned all the lessons we could but we were wrong and for that I am sorry….and I am standing here now as both a Hunter and a representative of the Schnee Dust Company to tell you that whilst we won't insult the memories of those lost by claiming we can make this right, we will repair and replace everything that can be, we will rebuild Arcadia! and by Oum we will Hunt down and exterminate the Grimm hordes and see that this cannot and will not happen again!" the crowd had been riled up, their former fury against the SDC had been channelled into a frenzied rage against the true culprit; the creatures of Grimm themselves and as cheering began, hundreds of people inspired by the young Faunus's passion Arctus leapt down from his Glyph and murmured to Hellebores
"They'll be more receptive if we disperse them now, they're a risk to themselves out in the open like this" Hellebores nodded and led Felix and Eagle towards the crowd to begin the presumably lengthy process of breaking up the protest
"You okay Big Guy?" Diamond asked, squeezing Arctus's hand and eyeing him clear concern
"Yeah….I've seen my whole family do speeches like that; hell you should see Aunt Blake in front of a crowd she's something else entirely; I just never thought I'd have to, I hate the politics and I….Fuck, Dee I did some asking around and I knew the plant manager from Arcadia's kids, they were at my old school on a scholarship"
"Come here" Diamond pulled him into a tight embrace, nuzzling into his neck "You were amazing, you really were….and you were right, we can't fix what happened; but we can rebuild, we can be better and we can stop it from happening again"
"Thanks Dee, I really love you y'know" Arctus's words were somewhat watery as he wiped his eyes; suddenly feeling the emotional toll of the speech
"I love you too" Diamond murmured into neck, gently nipping at his neck and collarbones before adding "And it's kinda hot when you take charge like that"
"Take care of yourself….the guys miss you already and Ranger says Hi as well, they came over with their friends after class" Reese Chloris gave her usual lopsided grin as she toyed with her distinctively bright and dramatically styled hair
"I always do, I'll see you soon" with that the video call ended and Arslan Altan was left alone in a cramped and secluded corridor of the vessel passenger ship that had been commandeered by the Mistrali government to collect refugees from the Kingdom of New Vale, the lurching motion of the vessel alerting her to the fact that they had finally left harbour. Team ABRN were a rare example of a team of Hunters that never disbanded and intended to live their entire lives together, forming a loving polyamorous relationship; Arslan had noted on more than one morose occasion that the same could have be said of Team CFVY if not for the sacrifice Fox Alistair had made in the final battle against Salem's forces. The team had been inactive for a time whilst Arslan had been pregnant with Ranger, her and Bolin's child who considered all four of the team to be his parents; during that time Nadir had built his own workshop, a place which kept many of Mistral's Hunters, hired guns and occasionally members of the tribes well armed and equipped for the wilderness between settlements and Reese had enjoyed a period of fame as a hover-board racer before investing her money in the nightclub which now bore her name. All in all life had gone well for them and Arslan was happy with the way things had turned out, even if she did require daily medicine and suffer a permanently aching shoulder blade after a Deathstalker had injected a copious amount of venom into her back during the first push on Salem's fortress.
Currently Arslan's mission was a straightforward one though there was naturally a vast scope for error or misfortune, she was tasked with simply seeing that a ship full of civilian refugees arrived safely in one of the port settlements in Mistral's territory; this would no doubt be made more difficult by the fact that Grimm activity had been on the increase and the beasts would certainly find themselves drawn to the vessel filled with scared, grieving and lost souls. Arslan would frankly have preferred to have any of her team-mates at her side for this mission but they had been required by circumstance to take separate missions; instead Halo Academy of New Vale, successor to Beacon Academy where Team ABRN had been transfer students during their second year, had assigned a team of students to her and assured her that the third years were more than capable.
Arslan supposed that she should go an introduce herself to them.
The clanging echoes of her footfalls through the ships halls was soon lost beneath the dull buzz of a multitude of conversations as she made her way into more populated parts of the vessel, several civilians falling silent and giving her looks of admiration as she passed; privately Arslan had always found the awed stares to be discomforting as she didn't believe herself to have earned the title of saviour that those she helped often thrust upon her. Eventually she found herself emerging into the cold but fresh air, the scent of the ocean filling her nostrils and the squawking of seagulls overhead assaulting her ears as she made her stepped onto the deck of the ship; the Captain, begrudging as they were to be involved in the relief effort, had informed Arslan that they would instruct the students to wait on the deck for her arrival and instruction. She soon found them, a team formed entirely of Faunus whom she thought she might have seen at some point in the Vytal Tournament; a tall and imposing figure with pitch black eyes, rough grey tinged skin and a mouth filled with fangs who carried himself with unmistakeable authority was the clear leader of the group and stood around him were a towering slab of muscle with cat-like eyes and padded fingers, a young woman with dragonfly wings gracing her back who possessed a slender yet clearly powerful build who fed strips of dried meat to a large bird of prey perched on her arm, and finally an almost comically small, wiry wretch of a thing with caudal fins sprouting from the sides of his head and an inexplicable yet undeniable air of malicious intent that seemed to cascade off of him and set one on edge. Arslan found all of this to be of lesser importance that what immediately caught her eye, her mouth hung open for a second as she took in the tattoos adorning each of the students entrusted to her, then she found her voice
"Oum damn it all!" the curse left her lips with blistering intensity; Arslan had been raised in one of the many smaller villages outside of Mistral's main cities and knew well the various markings that many of the tribes of Anima sported, whilst she was unsure of precisely which tribe this Team GORE hailed from there were scant few tribes which counted Faunus among their number and this combined with Professor Goodwitch's assurance that these students were particularly suited to a potential engagement at sea gave Arslan a distinctly bad feeling which soon coalesced into a clear thought
"Pirates" she ground out through clenched teeth before bracing herself, the students had heard her and were making their way across the deck; each of them wearing expressions that made it clear that she had been heard
"Kingdom born, Mistrali Huntress" the Shark Faunus rasped out, his words laced with clear vitriol and disgust "It appears that we have a problem?"
"Maybe, but not the one you're thinking" Arslan answered firmly, straightening her back and squaring her shoulders in an effort to show no weakness "Let me make this clear, I have no issue with the tribes; one of my cousins married into the Kako-Fengari"
"Gutless worms who'd sell their own mothers" the towering Puma Faunus snorted with obvious amusement which Arslan refused to allow herself to be baited by
"This isn't a race issue, this is practical….we have hundreds of civilians on this ship and I don't want us to run into any problems when we get to Mistral because of something I don't know about….so I need you to tell me, one Hunter to another is there going to be a problem?" the four Faunus shared glances and seemingly held an entire conversation in silence through nothing but body language and knowing looks before the Shark Faunus finally answered
"That would depend entirely on where we dock"
"The port city of Aspida-Nerou" Arslan had been prepared for many responses, primarily ones of fear or outrage, what she had not expected however was the explosion of joyous and relieved laughter from Team GORE
"Then hoist the colours and make all haste!" the Shark Faunus declared
"It's a port our people have traded at for….centuries perhaps" the Puma Faunus explained, seeing Arslan's lost expression before turning to his female comrade "Wasn't their a barman's daughter there who-"
"It's unimportant now" she interrupted in a stern tone which the feline bowed his head to.
"So….we're good?" Arslan asked "Despite the um….first impressions?"
"We're good" the leader of Team GORE held out his hand "I am Carcharodon Gore, these are Onyx, Raffia and Hellion"
"If we're making friends and returning to one of our old haunts then we need some rum" Onyx noted with a deep booming laugh; Arslan despite her position as the responsible adult was forced to let out a breath and add
"If we weren't on duty I would certainly agree"
Team NEON had arrived at a small backwater settlement, one of many dotted about the vast expanse of land between Arcadia and the capital city itself; the place had been so remote and under-serviced that the landing pad the team had used had seemingly been a makeshift one, made specifically for Team NEON's arrival and would most likely be dismantled and its' materials be reused upon their departure. It had been then, something of a relief when the Hunter that greeted them at their landing site assured them that they would not be staying in the settlement for long and that their mission would see them remaining in the field for the duration; the Hunter himself being able to provide a vehicle that would serve as a mobile base of operations.
After several hours however Team NEON had collectively found themselves flagging and their patience wearing thin; it could be said that many veteran Hunters had their quirks and eccentricities and Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck certainly had them in spades. The ageing man whose dark green hair was now liberally streaked with white and whose back was bowed despite the cybernetic augmentations he had received following a devastating injury in the battle for Menagerie was a stickler who insisted on extreme precision in every act that was undertaken; which whilst a delight for the technically minded Olivine and tolerable to Helios and Ether, was sheer anathema to Nyanza's approach to battle. What all of Team Neon could agree on however was that the man simply did not rest, it was as if the very acts of hunting, exploration and logging information so that it may be used later gave him some form of sustenance; Oobleck had driven the students into the open plains and begun the search for the splintered packs of Grimm that the monstrous horde had broken into, the first Grimm pack had soon been found and eliminated only for the doctor to begin examining the area, pondering over the most seemingly inconsequential minutia and ordering the students to collect samples before starting off to the next location on foot with the highly modified personnel carrier that Oobleck owned following some distance behind them on autopilot in an effort to mask their approach.
"How much further Doc?" Nyanza grumbled "I left my water bottle in your ride, I'm dying over here"
"We'll stop for a rest in an hour or so unless we encounter anything that requires our attention" Oobleck chattered happily, adjusting his hat as he went. Behind him Helios drew the skin he kept beneath the plates of his armour that had been filled with water rather than the exceptionally potent Nikosi brew that it usually held and handed it to his grateful partner, a scowl on his face as he did so
"My people are nomads and even I think this borders on absurd" he noted with clear distaste; Oobleck merely turned and peered over his spectacles at the redhead, Helios had noticed the man staring at him several times already but this was by far the most blatant instance and he felt it needed to be addressed
"Do we have a problem….Doctor?"
"Not at all my dear boy" Oobleck answered with the same happy tone that made it seem that he was totally oblivious to Helios's narrowing eyes at being called such "It's just that I haven't seen you since you were a small child"
"Excuse me?" Helios raised an eyebrow "I think you have me mistaken for somebody else"
"Not at all, your mother is Kataigida Nikos yes? Ruler of the Nikos Tribe?"
"Long may she reign" Helios nodded
"I thought as much" Oobleck nodded, coming to a halt his expression becoming one of deep sorrow "Pyrrha Nikos was a student of mine….a few years after the war I began contacting people who knew her; old friends, her tournament opponents and trainers, immediate family and the Nikosi. Your mother was kind enough to grant me an interview, we both agreed that if our history is forgotten then our future is lost and that Pyrrha Nikos deserved her full story told, not just her title of the Invincible Girl"
"I….I never knew" Helios murmured "You're an ally of the Nikosi and I should have greeted you as such"
"Think nothing of it my boy, historians aren't in the business of getting fanfare" Oobleck laughed before turning and gesturing for Team NEON to follow "Let's carry on shall we, I have a hypothesis that we yet encounter more Grimm"
"Let's move" Helios ordered, suddenly far more eager and compliant and though his friends shared knowing glances they did as he instructed without complaint; understanding that Pyrrha Nikos was considered a hero by the Nikosi for her bravery, prowess and sacrifice even more than she was within the Kingdoms and Helios would naturally oblige anyone who could tell him about his legendary relative.
"So wait, you're the same Professor Oobleck that Professor Ren took over from?" Ether asked conversationally
"Doctor" the older man corrected before answering "Yes and I trust that the subject has been left in capable hands?"
"It has" Olivine assured him before asking her own question "Is it true that you and Professor Port, who wrote 'Fantastic Grimm and how to kill them' both fought in the battle of Vale?"
"We were students and team-mates together at Beacon" Oobleck answered sadly "The last two surviving members of Team COPR….the war against Salem felt like our last hurrah if truth be told"
"I heard you decked an Atlesian General once" Nyanza snorted, scarcely believing it of the man before him only for Oobleck to reply with a scornful muttering
"Ironwood maybe but the mans' jaw was made of glass" there was a moment of stunned silence which promised to lead to a deluge of questions as Team NEON now realised that the eccentric old man they had been asked to accompany had not only been present for many events that had shaped their recent history and had most likely taken care to record as much of it as possible. Before the questions could begin however Oobleck raised a single hand in warning and adjusted his grip on the thermos he'd been carrying
"Be ready" Helios ordered drawing Olympus Enforcer in sword and shield form as he prepared to do battle
"Any moment now" Oobleck murmured and as soon as the words left his lips the sound of ragged grunting breaths interspersed with primal roars and thunderous impacts which could only be the sound of a Grimm advancing began to draw closer
"Want me to open fire?" Olivine offered, the apparent size of the incoming monster making a destructive firestorm the obvious solution in her mind
"No, don't deplete your ammunition this early into the mission" Helios instructed; the Grimm itself coming into view soon after. A Beringrel but not like the ones that Team NEON had encountered on previous missions, the gorilla Grimm was far larger and sported a reinforced armoured carapace that encased its' forelimbs, entire torso and much of its' skull with jagged spires growing from its' back which smaller Grimm clung to
"Ah a Silver-Back Beringrel….Haven't encountered one of these in quite some time; stand back" Oobleck requested with a clearly amused edge to his voice. As the Grimm barrelled towards them the dull roar of an engine came from behind and Team NEON leapt aside as Oobleck's personal transport surged forwards on a collision course. The vehicle was mounted on ten wheels, was roughly the size of a modest apartment and sported thick, multi-layered armour plating as well as several weapons which were being deployed as it moved in addition to the living quarters, amenities and tactical equipment it boasted; it struck the charging Grimm with enough force to utterly collapse its' armoured chest and the Silver-Back Beringrel collapsed to the ground, wheezing and struggling to move whilst the weapons of the personnel carrier, which had suffered no more than slight cosmetic damage, began picking off the smaller Grimm with ruthless efficiency. Oobleck calmly strolled towards the downed Silver-back, his thermos transforming into a blunt cudgel like weapon named 'Cambrian Explosion' and whose head became wreathed in flames; Team NEON watched in utter shock as the ageing and seemingly frail old man used all the power his cybernetic back could muster to send the Grimm's head sailing through the air, torn free from its' body with a single swing.
"Now….I do believe we were planning on stopping for refreshments; after which we'll beginning logging any evidence we can find from this Grimm's attack" Oobleck noted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened
"Holy Oum that was cool" Nyanza laughed, Oobleck patted the hull of transport which served as a battering ram fondly
"It certainly does the job….I do still miss my old Bull-Head though; such a shame that Adam Taurus had one of his tanks shoot it down" the casual way the information was given made each of Team NEON resolve to hear as many of Oobleck's stories as possible before they parted ways, the man clearly had many to tell.
Pantheon felt the loss of another of their horde keenly, like a needle forced into the back of their mind that drew a hiss from them that was equal parts pain and barely restrained fury. Since splintering into scores of smaller forces the army of Grimm had been beset from all sides by Huntsman on the ground and air-strikes from above, in what could best be described as a death from a thousand cuts; all of which was added to by the primal dread which crawled from the deepest and oldest recesses of Pantheon's psyche, triggering their fight or flight response and sending what could be called a psychic shudder throughout the lesser creatures of Grimm under their command whenever Pantheon sensed that a pack or swarm had been simply unmade by a flash of purest white light, their collective last image being one of a hooded warrior with silver eyes.
This was not to say that Pantheon's great crusade towards the voice in their mind and the city which would no doubt mount a resistance against them would cease, crippled and left to die as its' momentum failed under the toll of its' losses; on the contrary, Pantheon had found a faster way to recruit.
"Now" they hissed before burying the three pronged head of Flesh-seeker into the armoured hide of their mount, the Goliath upon which they had escaped Arcadia came to a halt and Pantheon allowed their consciousness to roam beyond their own body and through the twisted webs that formed the mental connections they shared with the monsters at their command. The first instinct was to reach out to the interwoven mass of Spawning Pits from which their forces had been birthed and compel them to work faster and produce only those Grimm which could move swiftly enough to catch up with what remained of Pantheon's army.
As they felt the first of a new wave of monsters becoming one with the shared Hive Mind, their sole intent being to join the upcoming carnage Pantheon turned their attentions elsewhere; after receiving as many losses as they had in Arcadia they had sent scouts outwards in every direction through the largely untamed wilderness with a single purpose, to find Spawning Pits, over the course of only a few days several had succeeded and now Pantheon directed their consciousness into the body of a Beowolf, the alpha of its' pack which was being held aloft by a Nevermore. With a piercing shriek the avian horror released the Alpha Beowolf which plummeted downwards, landing directly in the roiling viscous darkness of a Spawning Pit. Agony that went beyond mere physical pain tore into every fibre of Pantheon's being as the very primordial ooze itself of the pit attacked and began to dissolve the Beowolf whilst below its' surface claws and talons began to grow, devoid of any larger body yet still they ripped and slashed at the intruder which had violated their domain. Pantheon held their nerve and refused to allow their consciousness to be ejected from the dying body and instead waited until the final moments before pushing outwards with psychic force; rather than force the Spawning Pit to produce a larger and more intelligent Grimm and consume it they instead wormed mental tendrils into the fabric of the Spawning Pit and quickly subsumed its' limited intelligence into their own, taking control from within rather than wresting it from an outside source.
"Mine" Pantheon panted as they returned to their own body, feeling their monstrous horde expand as the Grimm birthed from the Spawning Pit fell under his control in a cascade of murderous and hungering intent.
"More" the sentient monster snarled before reaching out to the next such Alpha Beowolf waiting to be delivered into the heart of a Spawning Pit from above, an idea occurring to them a moment before they left the confines of their physical form.
Since the Hunters seemed so intent on cutting down as many Grimm as possible perhaps it would be best if before Pantheon raised new legions to attack their next target they put the Spawning Pits to use to tackle this more immediate problem.
It was time to create some distractions.
Authors Notes:
So, feels like we're well on our way to the finale of Vol.8 now.
The real question is, if Pantheon attacks New Vale itself in the finale of this volume, just how crazy is volume nine going to be when I finish off third year.
…..I hope you can't wait to find out, because I can't wait to show you.
Anyway let's summarise:
I love how utterly devoid of fucks Oz is these days, I didn't even intend to start writing him like that.
Corona won't have her arm before the end of the volume.
Ozymandias doesn't even have to hide his plans, he can put them right out in front of Rhodey, secure in the knowledge that he isn't educated enough to understand them.
Team GORE being used as bait to draw out the White Fang in second year has an unfortunate downside, they're now too easily recognised and on top of that Rhodium has history with them.
I want you to imagine Nickel Polendina rubber-ducking to work through problems with her designs.
Rhodium is a lot of things, but dumb isn't one of them; he has that criminal cunning down to a fine art and setting Nickel on Kafsi and therefore Rover, Artemis, Scarlet and Officer Fawn Brindle all at once is probably the smartest way he could have handled it….so let's see how that plays out.
I feel like Nickel getting her hair ruffled is going to become a thing.
BUT IN THE END IT DIDN'T EVEN MATTER!…..So yeah, it's probably a very bad sign that Ozymandias isn't even concerned about Kafsi at this point.
Cute Cyberpet moment just in the background.
Team GORE are the most experienced team Halo has when it comes to fighting on the water, the only problem is when they get to dry land.
"Ochi-Eleos, Ochi-Terarto, Ochi-Proeidopoiisi" "No mercy, no quarter, no warning" it fits the Shadow Cadre of the Frost River Tribe perfectly; it's just a little disconcerting hearing Eagle say something like that.
Yes we'll see the upgraded Buster Bravo before the end of this volume….Hint: It's about damn time Olivine had a close combat option.
Someone help Nyanza take his foot out of his mouth.
Felix loves Helios's way with words.
I love ending a scene on a happy Eagle.
Agent Angry…..yes that is Remnant Nick Fury; and I shouldn't have to explain the Revengers to anyone, you should all have watched Thor Ragnarok by now.
The whole Xiao Long/Rose/Branwen family are keeping an eye on Corey because well, that family is pretty much a breeding ground for bad coping mechanisms.
And just like that Corey has been brought into the inner circle; considering she always wanted to be like her Aunt Ruby and Aunt Penny this is probably the best thing that could happen to her, if only the circumstances were better.
Aunt Hell, the cool Aunt; she still lived at home for a few years before leaving to go to one of the academies when Eagle was being raised by her grandparents.
I feel like the public would definitely protest the SDC just out of a need to be angry at someone and Arctus was always going to get the brunt of it the second he showed up.
Arctus was raised in high society and his Mum is Weiss Schnee, General Winter 'Captain Bad-ass' Schnee and Blake 'Literal revolutionary' Xiao Long nee Belladonna are his aunts; he can give a speech when he needs to, it's just as skill Felix never picked up; he was busy breaking noses.
Team ABRN are my favourite Vytal Tournament fodder team from canon and I really wish we'd seen Arslan and Reese in Mistral; so naturally I worked them into this story.
So yeah Team ABRN got a happy ever after pretty much (And consider this a spoiler but I'll say it here to relieve people….I am not going to kill Arslan).
Team GORE hate Mistrali Hunters and pretty much nobody likes the tribes, that could have gotten bloody very quickly.
I have honestly been waiting to give Carcharodon an excuse to say "Hoist the colours"
Now just wait until Onyx finds out that Arslan is Ranger's mother, remember the way Ranger Altan handled losing to Corvid.
Doctor fucking Oobleck ladies and gents, I've honestly wanted to have him show up again since the tournament.
Seriously, remember Team RWBY's mission in Vol.2? Oobleck can be a shit to work with.
Play the Pyrrha card with Helios and you've got a friend for life.
"Ironwood maybe but the mans' jaw was made of glass" in my version of the battle of Vale in Downward Spiral Oobleck decked Ironwood after the Atlesian robots went rogue.
Okay I promise we'll have some actual Team NEON action in the next chapter, I just really wanted to Oobleck just run the Grimm over and then knock its' head off; because he's a veteran who gives no fucks any more.
Also in Downward Spiral; Oobleck lent his personal transport out to Taiyang and Adam Taurus had it shot down.
Silver Eyes….Ruby is somewhere out there in the field after all.
I was re-reading The Downward Spiral and I got to the chapter where Salem has Cinder re-take Project Hexxus by force feeding live Beowolves into it and realised that it's actually a quicker way to convert Spawning Pits than what Pantheon has been doing thus far; hence this scene.
So now Pantheon has their main base with the throne and half a dozen other pits.
Distractions….oh you know it's boss battle time; on several fronts.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Ferrous, DizzyDwarf and Chloe Anderson50 for their reviews on the last chapter and also to the guest who wished me a happy birthday.
Waking up in a hospital sucks, waking up in a police cell in need of medical attention that you're not getting is much worse though.
Corey might have a been a little over the line but all things considered she gets a pass.
Car being friends with people outside of Team GORE is always fun to write because kids in the Frost River Tribe never really got to be kids and he seems to have the hardest time fitting into Kingdom society.
Air-Raid is sort of on standby; they love each other and they know it but they're not acting on it right now.
Is any mission Team FADE get sent on a boring one?
Yeah Felix's tail is gonna have a neat trick….but not a weapon as such.
I haven't seen Re: Zero but good to know lol.
Welcome to the story and I hope you continue to enjoy it as much as you have so far.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.