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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 110: The Assault
The meaning of day and night was vastly reduced within the sprawling tower complexes that formed the majority of New Vale's capital city, streets that were in truth more akin to hallways with their ceilings housing overhead lighting were never truly dark and even in the early hours of the morning before the sun rose outside the working class district Kafsi had arranged her next meeting to be held at was bright; the only evidence that it were in fact scarcely passed five o'clock was the steady stream of dock and factory workers either heading to or from their jobs who had made a brief stop at the cafe to enjoy a filling, if unhealthy, breakfast.
"Anyone ordering?….We'll probably stand out otherwise" the speaker was Fawn Brindle, the floppy eared Mastiff Faunus sat opposite Kafsi Asteri and between Rover Tan and Scarlet David, the final member of the group was Artemis Tan who sat between her husband and the Atlesian Specialist. With a faint grimace of annoyance at having to interact with the uninitiated whilst also trying to concentrate on her mission Kafsi waved over a waitress, noting that it was the same middle aged reptilian Faunus woman she had spoken to the day before and waited for her compatriots to order; once they were finished the scarlet haired and golden eyed Specialist hissed from behind her respirator
"Are there any other important matters you wish to attend to, or can we get down to business?"
"Spare me" Artemis sighed, rolling her mismatched eyes at Kafsi's characteristically sour demeanour "I have a toddler, there is nothing you can do that will bother me"
"Let's get to it" Fawn chuckled softly "You said you had something, it's about time we bury these bastards"
"I said nothing so direct over any form of communications" Kafsi noted, her attempt at a joke falling flat as Scarlet merely muttered
"Can we get on with it?" his cybernetic fingers drummed against the table and Kafsi nodded, deciding to maintain her professionalism despite the freedom that being surrounded by other veterans whose own scars diverted attention away from her injuries
"As you may know there are students at Halo Academy who have, in the past operated covertly for the Specialist Branch"
"Team GORE" Artemis nodded "We've met….lovely kids"
"Knew there was a lot wrong with those four" Scarlet muttered under his breath, being more than aware of the Faunus team and their particularly difficult personalities after hearing his husband grumbling about them on severa occasions.
"Precisely" Kafsi nodded "Recently I had them acquire the contents of Ignavius Silvertongue's office; his less known secondary office where records for his less legitimate clients are kept"
"You insane bitch" Scarlet mouthed, impressed and furious in equal measure "Torchwick has cops on the payroll, he's gonna have the academy stormed-"
"Nobody is talking about this in the police" Fawn countered "I've been having the people I trust keep an eye on people likely to be working for Torchwick….They haven't said anything about this"
"Because neither Torchwick or Silvertongue has told them" Kafsi nodded "Torchwick knows that elements within the police are acting outside of the law to apprehend him and as such is avoiding using his own contacts within the police force openly; if an officer not on his payroll were to find the documents I have he would never leave prison"
"Then let's go get him" Fawn's face became a fierce grin
"Wait for it" Scarlet spat bitterly, sensing with ease where the conversation was going "She's not here for Torchwick remember….and she's got a plan"
"Tell me you're not serious" Rover gasped in disbelief as comprehension dawned on him "You're gonna cut a deal with the son of a bitch that's selling Booster to kids?"
"His ability to sell Booster will be reduced with Ozymandias in Atlesian custody" Kafsi countered "We all know that a direct or indirect assault on Torchwick's nightclub, which is where my target is hiding will only end in a bloodbath. If we want to win then sacrafices will have to be made one way or another-"
"And my brother is an acceptable loss?" Fawn snarled
"Your brother is already dead. Nothing we do here will change that" the air left the surrounding area and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees at the almost casual way Kafsi disregarded the late Brindle Bordeaux before continuing "We can force Torchwick to the table, rather than risk the lives of police, Hunters and civilians we can have him simply hand over the terrorist he's allied himself with in exchange for-"
"You make it sound so easy" Artemis noted, voice laden with contempt "But it won't be will it; we both know it won't"
"It won't, but it's the only viable solution that I can see. We can't attack directly and waging a covert war has done nothing permanent"
"We're not discussing this" Fawn growled, words and body both trembling with barely contained anger "If you wanna negotiate with Torchwick's crew then we put a bullet in that bastards' skull and negotiate with whoever steps up and takes his place" there was a moment of silence, covert and illegal as their activities were the Hunters were still taken aback by the readiness with which a police officer suggested simply murdering their enemies. Kafsi intended to point out that were Torchwick killed the most likely successor would be either Ozymandias Eldritch himself of Project Legacy; the counterargument never came as the Specialist found herself interrupted by the Scrolls of each of her compatriots sounding out in unisons, something which brought looks of confusion and then worry to each of their faces.
"A breach" Fawn mouthed as each of them read the same automated message that had been sent to Hunters and police officers across the city, a provision put in place by Councilman Hie Xiong following the breach from the exclusion zone two years previously.
"Rover" Artemis rose to her feet and produced Hakai Suru, her combined sniper rifle and naginata from beneath her jacket "Go to my sisters' apartment, get her and Tuscan to a shelter and meet me on site"
"I've gotta head to my precinct, we'll mobilise from there" Fawn rose to her own feet just as Rover exited the cafe in a streak of golden lightning; the dull booming of the sound barrier being broken coming from the direction of departure, which was enough to get the attention of the cafes' other patrons
"Everyone, can I have your attention please!" Artemis announced, producing identification that verified she was a Hunter "Multiple Grimm attacks have been reported at various points along the cities' perimeter; you are no immediate danger right now but as a precaution my colleague and I will be escorting you to the nearest shelter for your own safety" it was a small mercy that Hunters were held in high esteem by the populace as a whole and so once Artemis and Scarlet began ushering and organising the small crowd it was done without outcry or incident; Scarlet muttered to Kafsi as he passed her
"Make sure the staff get out as well, some managers expect them to stay unless the Grimm are actually on the doorstep" the Specialist nodded and watched in stern silence as her allies left. She let out a sigh, annoyed at having to be something of an inspiration to civilians, something she found much more difficult than leading her fellow soldiers or Hunters.
In the end she never had to.
"Sup" Kafsi's head snapped at the mocking voice of a newcomer and her golden eyes narrowed whilst dread pooled and coiled in her gut. Leaning in the doorway of the cafe with utter disregard for the sirens beginning to blare throughout the city was a small, copper haired girl, perhaps in her late teens, with freckled cheeks and emerald eyes.
Kafsi knew on a primal level that the predatory smile forming on that girls' face was the product of something utterly inhuman and steeled herself accordingly; right hand flying to her holster whilst the ultrasonic blade slid from its' wrist mounted sheath in her cybernetic left arm.
"Project Legacy" she said simply, it was not a question
"Oh now that's just salty" the android laughed, with what could have almost been a touch of bitterness "Not even my old man full named when I was in trouble, and he left me in a freezer in the basement for about twenty years"
"You were decommissioned for the good of Atlas" Kafsi answered coldly
"Now there's a galaxy brain take" Nickel Polendina stepped into the cafe, drawing the crude and ugly yet nevertheless lethal sword from her back "That moron Torchwick thinks you're here for him but we both know better….So, you gonna try and kill me or what buddy?"
"Yes, yes I am" Kafsi nodded and in a blur of motion the two of them launched themselves at each other, weapons raised and ready to kill.
Team FADE had been getting what little rest they could on their late night airship back to the capital of New Vale; a restless Felix typing out yet another message which would almost certainly go unread to his birth mother whilst beside him Sentinel chirped happily as Eagle cleaned and polished the droids' armoured surface to a mirror finish, good natured grumbling about her Aunt Hellebores preferring a needlessly dirty style of combat coming in a constant stream beneath her breath as she did so; Arctus and Diamond had been asleep in their seats in a display that even after having been dating for two years their friends would still freely admit they found adorable, the silver haired sniper nuzzling into the chest of the Bear Faunus, whose medication fuelled dizziness had thankfully worn off before Hellebores Arc had waved goodbye to the students as they embarked upon their flight.
First light had come, arriving late in the morning due to the season and painting the sky beyond the ships' windows a dull gold at the horizon which streaked out into pale pink as darkness began to fade and the dawn had served to herald a change for the worst as a member of the ships' crew had urgently requested that Team FADE join them in the bridge of the vessel; the way they took care to avoid alerting the few other passengers aboard the airship overhead any of the hushed and frantic conversation had been enough to earn the full attention of the students, their tiredness forgotten as each of them realised that there was a very specific threat that one would contact Hunters for whilst ensuring that emotions did not grow frayed. Their fears had been proven correct when the captain of the airship had simply opened communications on all available channels and taken a moment to survey the shock and horror etched into the faces of Team FADE as they were greeted by the disjoined maelstrom of confusion and desperation that only battle could produce.
From what could be pieced together much of New Vale's defensive might had been gathered at the north of the cities' perimeter in anticipation of an attack by the Grimm that had overrun Arcadia; what had actually transpired was far worse. The initial assault had come from the west of the city, airborne and amphibious Grimm pouring over the freight and commercial docks of Vale's coastline in a tide of claws and fangs that threatened to spill into the Kingdom at large. The defenders' response had been swift and efficient, forces had been mobilised from the north towards the attack whilst at the same time the blast doors; enormous defensive barriers located between each major district of the Kingdom, had closed in attempt to contain the threat as much as possible.
Then a second, far larger attack had come from the east and directly targeted one of the main thoroughfares in and out of the city with relentless ferocity; the Kingdoms' defences had been turned against it as ground forces were drastically slowed in their attempts to redirect their attention towards what was clear the main attack whilst the fighters being hastily scrambled from the Kingdoms' many aerial platforms had been forced to focus on the winged horrors which flouted the Kingdoms' protections with impunity and the teams of Hunters' who could be dropped directly into the battlefields were primarily concerned with getting as many civilians to shelter as possible; leaving little if any available to mount an effective counter-attack against the Grimm.
Emergency broadcasts were being sent on all available channels as it was plain to any observer that the heart of the Kingdom was in very real peril.
Team FADE, despite being carried aboard a commercial flight, intended to answer the call.
The four young Hunters were at that moment climbing into the Killer-Bee, the muscle car sequestered within the ships cargo hold and preparing themselves for what was doubtlessly one of the most recklessly daring strategies they had employed to date.
"Ready when you are Captain" Felix intoned into his Scroll, forcing his tone and demeanour to remain detached and refusing to contemplate the ways that what he was about to try could fail.
"Okay, I still think this is insane but the fighters are at least tying up those Nevermore"
"Bring us in as low as you can then fall back" the Lion Faunus instructed, his breathing slow and deliberate as beside him Arctus gathered up his still recovering strength and behind them Diamond and Eagle made themselves ready, lowering the rear windows of the car in preparation for their own part in the plan.
"There's bridge between Hive Tower thirty-nine and forty on level eighteen that's basically a highway" the pilot told the students "It's as close as I dare get but you should be able to see the breach….ETA is twenty seconds, good luck" the communication ended and seconds passed at an agonisingly slow pace before the wind began to howl throughout the cargo hold as the hatch was opened and a ramp lowered, leading to nothing but empty air.
"Last chance to back out?" Felix raised a questioning eyebrow as he made the half joking observation before answering the wind with the guttural snarl of the Killer-Bee's engine. When his team-mates remained in stony silence he let out one final breath before flooring the pedal and bursting clear of the cargo hold at breakneck speed before beginning to plummet downwards
"ARCTUS!" Felix bellowed, the Bear Faunus immediately setting about his duty and creating a ramp composed of nothing but glowing and ephemeral Glyphs that spiralled as the led towards the bridge that they were aiming for; Felix's knuckles white as he clenched the steering wheel with both hands and forced his car to follow the path that his cousin had made for them.
"We've got company" Diamond noted, her own fear and surging adrenaline buried beneath a dispassionate tone as she brought the scope of Lex Talionis to her blood red eye and fired out of the open window at a swooping Grimm which had no doubt been drawn to the wave of emotions that had washed over Team FADE as they fell.
"More on the other side!" Eagle announced before simply unfastening her seatbelt and launching herself out of her own window with a flash of pure white Aura; shifting between her human and avian forms at startling speed as she slashed through approaching monsters as she fell, only to transform once again and soar upwards.
"WE'RE GONNA OVERSHOOT!" Arctus all but screamed as they neared their final approach
"No we're not" Felix growled, though he braced himself as they hurtled towards the thankfully evacuated bridge between monolithic structures. Tires thudded against the barrier wall as they passed over it and the cars' suspension shuddered and rattled in protest even as the Killer-Bee was dragged in a wide arc, tires screeching and smoking before finally coming to almost unwilling halt mere feet away from the opposite barrier. A few moments later Eagle landed beside the car and took her true form, sagging slightly as she leaned against its' hood
"Okay, let's never do that again" Diamond breathed, finally allow her hands to tremble and the terror of falling without the use of her own Semblance to prevent it to sink in
"Not done yet" Felix informed them "The Captain was right, we can see the breach from here" without waiting for an answer the blonde Faunus quickly began activating the weapon known as the stinger; dull mechanical clanking and whirring was punctuated by the hissing of air as a laser battery originally mounted on the rear of an Atlesian warship unfurled from the trunk.
"What are you aiming at?" Arctus demanded incredulously
"There's another Rampager, bigger than the last one" Felix explained "That's what hit the gate and it's gonna head for the blast door between districts….airships won't fire into the city from the air, but we've gotta stop it"
"Can you make that shot?" Diamond asked, fearful of what would happen if her leader were to miss; Felix contemplated for a moment
"No" he admitted "But you can" without wasting another moment he leapt out of the drivers' seat where a targeting system had formed and allowed Diamond to clamber from the rear of the car whilst he stood outside, fierce blue eyes scanning the sky for any sign of incoming Grimm whilst helping a clearly exhausted Eagle stand.
"Ready?" Arctus asked softly, the urge to give Diamond's hand a reassuring squeeze overcome only by his desire not to interfere or distract her
"Ready" Diamond nodded and the Stinger fired, the Killer-Bee lurching forwards as its' damaged suspension gave in to the force of the weapons' recoil and the air ionised with a blinding flash. Blinking spots from his vision and wrinkling his nose at the smell of ozone hanging in the air as if a thunderstorm had passed over them Felix looked down towards the breach in the western defences of New Vale, still some distance away from them.
"It's gone" he informed his team with a small smile tugging at his lips "The Rampager is gone, the Grimm that can't fly are confined to that district now"
"That's still a lot of Grimm" Diamond noted with clear concern
"Thousands, easily" Arctus agreed as he climbed out the passenger seat to see the situation for himself; expression darkening as he added "Enough to force their way into the shelters"
"Then let's go" Eagle straightened herself up to her full height, defiant and resolute "We're Team FADE and Team FADE defends what's important" Felix's eyes shone with hope as the situation, bleak as it had been, seemed as though it were something he could fight with his team at his side. His shoulders rolled back and his voice boomed with the authority of a veteran commander
"Then let's go plug that breach!"
Ruby Rose's arrival to New Vale had been that of a coming storm of proportions consigned to ancient myths; upon learning that the lone, towering Grimm which had beset the various settlements laying between fallen Arcadia and the Kingdoms' Capital even as the sun rose were all nothing but distractions had driven the crimson clad reaper into a frenzy of destruction; waves of purifying and scourging light had burst from her eyes as a roar of primal rage tore from her lips and any Grimm that had not been consigned to nothingness in the initial blast soon fell to arcs of light flung from the blade of Crescent Rose as Ruby used her weapon as an extension of herself, conducting her powers through its' surface. Certain that there were no more distractions left to blind and fool her Ruby had departed towards the besieged city with a trail of floating rose petals in her wake as the combination of her Semblance and the powers of the Silver Eyed Warriors allowed her to fly; the sound barrier was broken twice over with ease and when Ruby returned to her home to ensure that her children was safe and that her wife was combat ready it had been with enough force to shatter windows and hurl parked cars aside, the trunks of nearby trees straining almost to the point of shattering as she passed.
It was then a sign of bravery and conviction that bordered on lunacy that prompted Syneffo Nikos to stand before this Ruby Rose, light still spilling from silver eyes hidden behind a crimson skull mask and causing the air itself to tremble with her power; the golden armoured Silver Eyed Warrior whose powers were yet to be awakened held her back straight and set her jaw in defiance, arms folded over her chest though twitching barely perceptibly towards her weapons as if compelled
"I'm coming with you"
"Absolutely not" Ruby's voice echoed unnaturally, though it was not raised
"I was sent to this city to harness my powers!" Syneffo grew angry, voice becoming more enraged with each syllable "AND YOU WOULD HAVE ME SIT IDLE WHILE IT BURNS?"
"I want you to stay safe" Ruby maintained her calm despite her charges' rising temper; Penny was outside preparing her own personal transport for the coming aerial combat and the task of telling Syneffo that she wasn't ready had fallen to the caped Huntress
"Do not coddle me Rose, my patience is wearing thin" Syneffo's voice dropped, low and threatening, imbued with all of the same commanding presence that Kataigida Nikos herself possessed; Ruby noted that one day Syneffo may make a great leader of her people, but she remained steadfast
"No"
"I killed Grimm without mythical powers or a Semblance when I was barely a teen; I wear the marks to prove it" Syneffo gestured to the tribal tattoos adorning her flesh "I fought the White Fang in Atlas where we triumphed without your-"
"That's enough" Ruby snapped, finally seeing a possible solution "You'll stay here because you're needed here!"
"Lies" Syneffo spat
"You'll stay here because Qrow is co-ordinating the defences from his base of operations; that demands his full attention. I don't know how far into the city the flying Grimm will get and there are no surface to air weapon emplacements anywhere nearby" Ruby saw Syneffo falter and even as disgusted as she was with herself for manipulating the teens principles in such a way she continued "You will stay here and defend this neighbourhood….or instead you can carry on throwing a tantrum and scaring the children" that got a visible reaction, Syneffo's head whipped around and upwards and she saw the briefest flash of frightened silver eyes as a bedroom door closed; neither Summer-Pyrrha or Tai-Jaune wanting to be caught eavesdropping on this particular conversation. A pang of guilt and shame stabbed at Syneffo as she saw the effect she had on the children she had come to consider as almost adopted siblings.
"So be it" she growled sullenly, knuckles cracking as she clenched her fists; the words seemingly forced out of her through immense willpower "And be safe"
"I always try" Ruby nodded once and left, her superhuman speed carrying her out of her home faster than Syneffo could track. Syneffo remained where she stood, eyes screwed shut as she controlled her fury and forced herself to cry out of sheer frustration and disgust at her own apparent weakness; a Nikosi that couldn't defend their people was no Nikosi at all.
After several minutes that felt like far longer the scarlet haired warrior released a slow breath and stalked up the stairs, intending to clamber out of a window and onto the roof in search of a better vantage point; she had been given her duty after all and despite knowing that it was merely busywork that Ruby had invented to distract her Syneffo would see it done. Half way through opening her bedroom window she saw something that gave her pause; from Qrow Branwen's home a lone young woman appeared and made her way towards a rarely used car whose black paint was dulled with dirt and age and whose metal was rusting where the paint had peeled. Syneffo's initial thought was that this was some opportunistic looter whom she would put down like an animal; a second glance stayed her hand as she saw the eyepatch adorning a scarred face and more importantly the easily recognisable form of Harbinger slung over the young woman's shoulder. This was Corvid Xiao Long, Qrow Branwen's niece and sister to Helios's boyfriend; staying with Qrow whilst she recovered but evidently heading into battle once more.
"Summer, TJ! Stay in the house, do not leave for any reason….not even into the back yard!" Syneffo barked with authority before following up with "Pearl, when I leave lock the house down; shields to full power, weapons ready, lethal force permitted against any intruder"
"Affirmative" the synthetic voice of the AI that operated much of the Rose family home acknowledged; Ruby had shown Syneffo how to activate the houses defence systems upon her initial arrival in case of an emergency that had seemed unlikely at the time. With the safety of the children attended to Syneffo climbed onto the window ledge and locked the window behind her before leaping to ground and sprinting in the direction of Qrow's home, determined to catch Corvid before she left.
She had been tasked with defending the people; Syneffo reasoned that she could do that far more effectively by heading off the attack at its' source.
The alarms had begun screeching throughout the city, juxtaposed with dull monotone recordings urging the public to remain calm in a way that could have been amusing if one had the opportunity to appreciate such a fact. For Rhodium Torchwick the attack had come at a thoroughly inconvenient time, after giving Ozymandias and Nickel their orders he had returned to Corona's apartment which was now unofficially home to both of them whilst Rhodium's own apartment was under constant police surveillance; the two of them had been early to rise even without a reason to do so and had naturally chosen to take advantage of the fact; The crime boss had been clutching at the bedsheets with one hand whilst the other tangled in Corona's hair as the Mantis Faunus's mouth brought him closer to release until it had been cruelly denied.
As such it was with no small amount of pleasure that Torchwick fired the grappling hook component of Melodic Cudgel into the abdomen of an Ursa that reared on its' hind legs to attack Corona and promptly drag it to the ground with strength few realised he possessed, Corona followed up by using her Semblance 'The hand of destruction' the burst of light and concussive force struck her multi-coloured exoskeleton as it burst from her palm and reduced the Grimm to nothing
"There's another one" she noted idly and Rhodium promptly used the grappling hook again, this time pulling himself out of the path of a charging monster before crouching low and taking a handful of rubble from the ground and charging it with the pulsing magenta light of his own Semblance as he whistled to get the attention of the second Ursa; the Grimm turned and roared, Rhodium threw the glowing debris into its' mouth where it promptly exploded, taking the skull of the Ursa with it.
"Having fun Rhodey?" Corona noted with faint amusement creeping into her usual disinterested tone as the two of them checked their surrounding for more Creatures of Grimm
"I don't like being cock-blocked by monsters that want to eat me" the redhead grumbled, eliciting a soft laugh from her. The two of them had agreed that they needed to act; Corona's training as a Hunter coming to the fore as Rhodium was prompted by nothing but self interest and a sense of loyalty to the gangland slums of the lower Hives that had raised him. Knowing that an untrained criminal and a one-armed rogue Huntress were neither likely to be accepted by the official defence forces or capable of making a notable difference alone Rhodium had sent the word to heads of each of New Vale's many street gangs that they should arm themselves and rendezvous at the one of the tunnels or bridges that the Grimm were using to circumvent the blast doors and hold the line; it was a fools errand but both Rhodium and Corona, as well as many of the gang leaders agreed that it was better than waiting passively and leaving the fate of their homes in the hands of strangers.
"Wait" Corona murmured as the two of them continued towards the arranged meeting point "Which way are we heading? This is towards the monorail" she gestured towards the sign indicating that the nearest station for the public transit was nearby
"It's the quickest way" Rhodium shrugged "Power is gonna be cut off so we can use the track as bridge" Corona pursed her lips but silently agreed, keeping her worries about being able to balance on the narrow rail to herself and within minutes the pair had made their way through the monorail station and leapt down from the platform onto a de-powered track and made their way out into the open air between hive towers only to be distracted by the sound of screeching tires below
"Of course he's here" Rhodium snorted as he watched the distinctive black muscle car belonging to Felix Xiao Long tear through the streets below; the mobster half considered firing a rocket from Melodic Cudgel into the vehicle from his vantage point but quickly decided against it, in a Grimm attack all feuds and rivalries were suspended, he would have even allied himself with Melanie Malachite if she were still alive and the situation had called for it
"Incoming!" Corona warned, directing Rhodium's attention to a lone Griffin, the Grimm's flock most likely cut down by the fighters swarming from the airships overhead
"No room to fight it here, go!" Torchwick called out, running towards the opposite end of the monorail track and reaching out behind him to take Corona's hand; the Faunus however lost her balance and it was all Rhodium could do to keep hold of her hand and not allow himself to be pulled over the edge
"Drop me and go" Corona ordered, tears welling up in her eyes as the Griffin landed mere feet away from Rhodium
"What? No, don't be-"
"Do it or we're both dead anyway!" Rhodium refused and scrabbled for his weapon, struggling to keep his free arm steady as the Griffin regarded them with predatory malice before raising a clawed forelimb with a snarl
BOOM
the Griffin faded away, a hole larger than a fist bored through its' skull and Torchwick instantly dropped his weapon and used both hands to pull Corona back onto the monorail track, hands shaking uncontrollably as he buried his face in her neck
"So, it was you two that organised that motley crew of idiots and told 'em to hold the bridges?" the voice was familiar and as Rhodium and Corona rose to her feet the Faunus's scarred face fell as she took in the sight of a man in his early thirties with greying hair dressed in grey fatigues with dull gunmetal coloured armour over them and carrying a shotgun with a bayonet formed from the blade of the weapons alternate mode
"Foggy" she croaked out in disbelief at the sight of the friend and partner that she'd betrayed and left to die
"Corona" he replied back, his tone even despite the clear anger in his eyes
"So…." the Mantis Shrimp Faunus trailed off as she considered the possibility that she had only been saved so that Foggy could have the pleasure of killing her himself "How're the kids?"
"Don't" Foggy growled, eyes darting from Corona to Torchwick and back again "We're not doing this now, not when there's Grimm in the city"
"So, truce?" Torchwick offered, fingers brushing the trigger of Melodic Cudgel in suspicious tension
"For now" Foggy nodded "But don't think for a moment that you'll get away with what you've done"
The Killer-Bee came skidding to a halt in an open street between two Hive Towers whose upper reaches threatened to blot out the morning sun; before the wisps of smoke billowing from the cars' tires could dissipate the doors were flung open and Team FADE rushed into battle, a tide of hundred of Grimm that had poured through the street broke against the quartet of Hunters who surged through their numbers without pause.
Arctus's summoned a pack of Beowolves, each of them two stories tall, which tore into their smaller reflections before vanishing, leaving the Grimm attempting a counter-attack exposed and unprepared before the Bear Faunus aimed and fired the twin lasers of Grimmiger-Henker into their obsidian hides, filling the air with the scent of burning and the sound of pained howls.
Diamond used one of her partners' Beowolf constructs to seek a better vantage point, leaping from its' back onto the wall of the nearest Hive Tower and using her Semblance to warp the forces acting on and around her before readying Lex Talionis and opening fire at the larger Grimm interspersed within the sea of monsters below; a rising pillar of black mist following each shot as she cut down her targets with ruthless efficiency, even as Eagle's avian form soared beside her and the blonde revealed herself in a flash of Aura Diamond kept firing
"Keep him safe for me" with that Eagle deposited her shield and allowed Sentinel to unfurl, one clawed appendage securing itself so that the droid would share the benefits of Diamond's Semblance; the silver haired sniper nodded and Eagle launched herself from the side of the building and retuned to the fray, leaving Diamond to continue raining death on the Grimm from above; Diamond herself being forced to grit her teeth and adjust her balance as Sentinel opened fire, the droids' compact Gatling-gun laying waste to vast swathes of lesser Grimm whilst his free claw shot out and snatched any airborne Grimm attempting to target Diamond out of the sky.
Felix saw Eagle dive towards him as he slashed through Grimm in wide arcs and grinned before leaping into the air
"ARCTUS!" the attack was executed seamlessly; Eagle returned to her true self and caught Felix by the ankle, using her momentum and considerable strength to simply hurl her partner through the air and directly through the centre of a series of Glyphs that held the fiery glow of the Dust that Arctus had infused them with. Felix activated his Semblance and absorbed the heat before crashing into the first Grimm in his path; even without his Balrog State he was an unstoppable force and the blades of Hack and Slash screamed as he tore through Grimm, cutting a path through the onslaught as he flew from one end of the street to the other before landing in a crouch; promptly turning and shifting his weapons into their machine pistol form so that he could shoot the Grimm in the back, effectively trapping the tide between multiple hailstorms of gunfire; watching as Diamond dispatched the last Grimm with gusto, a lone Beowolf that had been charging towards Arctus in an attempt to sell its' life dearly. Before the Bear Faunus could swing his great-sword at its' skull sentinels' cables had caught the beast and hoisted it into the air as Diamond had leapt down and drove her knee into its' abdomen before dragging the blade of her glaive across its' neck.
"Okay, another pack down" Felix panted as they regrouped, Eagle having reclaimed Sentinel "If we can keep 'em from slipping out of this district then it frees up more airships and Hunter to hold the breach itself"
"A sound strategy" a new, but instantly recognisable voice noted and Team FADE turned in unison to see an exhausted looking Team NEON stepping into view; Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck beside them, Helios continued "We followed Grimm back to the city, we heard the fighting-" he was cut off as Felix barrelled into him, pulling the armoured Hunter into a tight hug and kissing him fiercely
"Oum it's good to see you" Felix breathed gently against his boyfriends' lips
"Word from the front line suggests that the attack on the docks was merely a distraction of sorts….terrifying as Grimm with such intelligence is" Oobleck noted, content to let the students have their reunion but equally eager to be moving and taking action "The attack from the east is the main pack and word from the front suggests that they are making steady progress despite our best efforts"
"Then let's-" Felix found himself cut off as his Scroll vibrated in his pocket and despite the poor timing found himself compelled to answer; it could after all have been Corvid, or even Astra; the thought of his half-brother at the mercy of the Grimm turned his blood to ice, his dread only worsening as he saw that the caller was Myrtle
"I need to take this" he said simply before answering the biological mother who had ignored his messages
"Look, I appreciate you getting in touch but-"
"FELIX I NEED HELP!" Myrtle's terrified voice screamed down the line "SOME HUNTERS WERE HERE, WHEN THE GRIMM ATTACK STARTED SOMEONE CAME INTO THE CAFE AND ATTACKED ONE OF THE HUNTERS….SHE'S GONNA KILL HER!" Felix looked up from his Scroll and saw the looks of horror on his friends faces, each mirroring his own feelings yet he couldn't bring himself to ask them to abandon their duty
"Go" Helios murmured softly "Go to her, we can hold the Grimm"
"Myrtle I'm coming" Felix assured her before pulling both Helios and Eagle close and whispering with a shaky voice that carried to all of his friends "Keep each other safe, all of you" the Lion Faunus then simply turned and sprinted towards the Killer-Bee, its' engine roaring into life and flames spewing from its' exhaust as Felix departed.
Within the hidden bunker beneath Club Corona, even the faintest illusions of normalcy or humanity had been cast aside as Ozymandias Eldritch, the current iteration of the timeless Wizard of myth and legend sat cross legged in the centre of the room in which his plotting and scheming was conducted levitating several feet above its' cold floor; his avian mask removed and the poisonous green light of his powers roiling and fluctuating around him in the otherwise darkened bunker, casting frightening shadows that seemed to move with a life of their own on the walls as faces both human and otherwise flickered in and out of existence within the horrific Aura that the corrupted Wizard exuded, each of them screaming for release.
"Where are you?" Ozymandias's voice was not his own, altered beyond even the warped and shifting pitch and the multitude of voices that came when he tapped into his powers; a low and measured but distinctly feminine voice issued clearly from the cacophony even as Ozymandias's scorched and scarred skin began to blacken and peel away whilst dark blood poured from his nose mouth and eye sockets onto the ground below, the dark and viscous liquid mixed into each stream of his blood coalesced and shaped itself into tendrils of black muscle which split and extended into miniscule claws with jagged talons before melting once more reshaping themselves yet again.
"Where are you?" Ozymandias, or more accurately the presence who spoke through him repeated
"At war" a new voice spilled from the Wizards cracked and bleeding lips, a multitude of guttural snarls sounding in unison. Ozymandias's neck jerked with the sickening sound of splintering bones before before forced back into place by some unseen force, as if the strain of being used as the point at which the two entities speaking through him would threaten to tear his body into nothing but viscera. Within Ozymandias's mind he saw a many limbed and towering monster cut down an entire team of Hunters in a single attack, scythe like upper limbs, clawed tail and trident each finding their mark in the heart of an enemy before Pantheon moved on to continue their onslaught without a second thought
"Come to me" the feminine voice demanded "Come to mother"
"The way is barred" Pantheon's voice answered through Ozymandias's lips "The gates are closed and the enemy rains fire on us from above….we must fight"
"Then fight" the feminine voice answered "Fight your way through them, lay them all low and make your way to my vessel" another mental image flashed into Ozymandias's mind, this one of Pantheon's living trident 'Flesh-Seeker' being hurled entirely through a mechanised Battle-suit which bore resemblance to an old Atlesian Paladin before the Grimm itself set about the rest of now panicked and broken unit; mere steel and pilots without Aura unable to halt the murderous beast one it had drawn close enough to evade their guns
"As you wish mother" with a final breaking and resetting of Ozymandias's neck and spine the light faded and the man fell to the ground with a dull thud, his own unnaturally congealed blood wet and sticky against him as she struggled to his feet, clutching blindly at walls in the now darkened room. His breathing was reduced to ragged and laboured gasps as his ruined body healed itself at an unnatural rate, though it was unmistakably a singular voice and not the previous plethora.
"It's upon us" he finally managed to whisper, his threatening a fit of demented giggles as the toll of channelling his corrupted powers so intensely threatened his mind as well as his body
"It's upon us" he breathed out again, more calmly this time as his singular eye roved the unlit bunker before Ozymandias found and donned his mask and prepared the mentally prepared himself for the final step of the twisted master plan that had been whispered into his psyche; Remnant stood at the precipice of a new age and its' people were too blinkered and short-sighted to have any understanding of it, thus it fell to Ozymandias to orchestrate the coming paradigm shift.
All that remained now was for he and the Grimm known as Pantheon to meet face to face, a task which would be made far easier when Nickel had completed the petty and irrelevant task given to her by Torchwick and joined Pantheon in battle.
The Silver Eyed Warrior was in the city despite the distractions she had faced after all and it would not do for Ozymandias's countermeasure to be in the wrong place entirely when the moment arrived.
The forcefield expanded outwards from the shell as it left the barrel of Aegis Thunder, a field of translucent and flickering cerulean light that reduced all it touched to smoke and fragments. The forcefield pushed inexorably through the cafe, simply erasing chairs and tables from existence yet Nickel Polendina remained unharmed, the android had slunk out of the entrance and narrowly avoided the attack before unfurling the Photon Accelerators built into her arms, components expanding and rotating as streams of ethereal green light gathered in her palms before being fired.
"Pew, pew!" Nickel cackled tauntingly as Kafsi weaved around the beams of blazing energy through the now gutted innards of the cafe; bolting towards a window and leaping through it and rolling into a crouch out in the mercifully empty street. Their exchange of blows inside had been brief before both combatants had decided that they would need more space to fight effectively. Kafsi, ever analytical, had been studying the way her target moved and reacted only to realise with fear that was immediately smothered and silenced that the renegade war machine had been able to match her blow for blow with seemingly no effort at all.
"A forcefield gun though? That's extra as shit" Nickel observed with obvious approval as she retracted her right photon weapon and pulled her roughly made sword from the ground she had sunk it into "You're still gonna take an L….like, a size eighteen, Times New Mantle, bold and underlined L"
"I can see why you were shelved, you are clearly defective" Kafsi huffed, hoping to prompt this machine which thought and acted like a particularly insufferable human into rushing in blindly and presenting an opening. Nickel merely laughed
"Dead-ass, you're really bad at this buddy" then she launched herself forwards at blinding speed and swung her oversized sword as if it weighed nothing at all, forcing Kafsi to lean back and the blade passed over her with a rush of displaced air; following her movement through the Specialist back-flipped and planted a booted foot squarely in Nickel's jaw. Righting herself she levelled Aegis Thunder at the androids' face and fired only for Nickel to sidestep to her left with preternatural reflexes, pirouetting gracefully and swinging her blade at Kafsi's legs in an obvious attempt to cruelly maim rather than kill. Kafsi responded with the same degree of supernatural speed and agility, spinning aside and parrying with the far shorter blade built into the wrist of her cybernetic arm; a tool better suited to assassinations than open combat yet it still held as it vibrated at ultrasonic frequencies; a crescendo of sparks and shrieking metal issuing from the point where the two blades met. Kafsi raised and fired Aegis Thunder once again, hitting nothing but air as Nickel broke away and avoided the attack before responding in kind and hurling a lance of destructive light from her left palm at the Specialist. The two of them continued in this fashion for several more exchanges, locking blades and attempting to end the battle with a decisive kill blow from close range; before long their surroundings burned, buildings gutted and sundered by their wrath as they fought without concern for anything other than their own objectives
"Something, something dark side, something something join me!" Nickel jeered with open arms as she stepped back to avoid a spinning heel kick from the Specialist who promptly aimed her weapon at the androids' chest and squeezed the trigger, only for her golden eyes to widen a fraction as nothing happened; he two stared at each other for the briefest moment before the first emerald embers of unnatural light beginning to congregate in Nickel's palm served as a warning and Kafsi rushed forwards, her speed enough to render her invisible as she slipped inside of her opponents guard and thrust her arm mounted blade through the rotating components of Nickel's Photon Accelerator and directly into her skeletal superstructure; tearing a howl of pain from the android.
"BITCH!" Nickel screamed before lashing out with the flat of her sword, simply batting Kafsi away with enough force to send her crashing into a parked car which in turn lurched backwards several feet, its' grill crumpled by the impact
"Oh that's gonna cost you" Nickel hissed, voice murderous as she inspected the damage; her arm collapsed and retracted into its' natural form yet even then black smoke seeped from the imperceptible fissured where individual components met and the fingers of her left hand twitched and shuddered uncontrollably until she clenched her fist.
"Tell me" Kafsi intoned, voice low and predatory as she returned to her feet; her bearing calm and composed "Does a machine such as yourself experience fear?"
"Oh you think you achieved something there?" Nickel laughed, sinking her sword into the ground "Nah fam" Kafsi's mask of calmness faltered as the android deployed the wings tucked and folded within her shoulder-blades, unfurling them like some terrible mechanical raptor; then her eyes started to glow
"Booster" the Specialist mouthed softly, the magnitude of her miscalculation striking her as Nickel's Aura shone visibly around her, crackling and sparking as it grew in intensity and reached levels that could only be achieved through the enhancements that the narcotic offered. Ozymandias Eldritch had not been manufacturing the drug solely for the benefit of Rhodium Torchwick and his thugs; he had fuelled the rogue android with it in a gambit that she would never have considered due to its' inherent risks. As Nickel's smile widened into something grotesque and sinister Kafsi realised that she was going to die; retreat was impossible and the best she could hope for was damaging the machine somehow.
Nickel's first strike was a backhand delivered with a sonic boom as she flew close to the Specialist; Kafsi's respirator shattering under the blow, Nickel caught her by the ankle and simply slammed her into the ground and made to crush her ribcage underfoot.
Kafsi rolled aside and leapt to her feet, her blade poised to rip into Nickel's gut until the android reached out and caught her wrist with deft ease, crushing the Cybernetic limb and reducing it to a ruined and sparking mass that sent waves of agony through Kafsi with the feedback in a sickening reversal of their earlier position
"If you're happy and you know catch some hands" Nickel giggled before lashing out with a pair of brutal and poorly coordinated punches that left Kafsi on the ground regardless; vision swimming and each breath causing burning and stabbing sensations in her chest as her respirator failed, Kafsi knew that even damaging Project Legacy in combat was a hope utterly out of her reach, the machine had been toying with her all along; her power having increased far beyond what she had been warned about, yet still she fought, kicking out in a desperate attempt to put some distance between the two of the and after a fashion it worked, Nickel responded by grabbing Kafsi by her leg and simply hurling into a wall with enough force for stone to crack and the coppery taste of blood to fill her mouth as her Aura flickered and failed but even as she watched Nickel stalk closer she reached into her Specialist uniform and produced another of the secretive and experimental weapons she was often entrusted with; this one being a fist sized domed and circular object with a control panel that she blindly fumbled with.
The device had been dubbed a 'Void Grenade' by the more imaginative of the Atlesian Militaries' scientists; a Gravity Dust based weapon intended for deployment against large Grimm or Spawning Pits that effectively imploded all matter within an area of effect, creating a miniature black hole. Using this weapon inside of a city would see her hanged, Kafsi imagined that Specialist Commander Gangrel Slate would pass the sentence personally for what he would perceive as a callous disregard for civilian casualties. The point was moot, Kafsi didn't expect to survive and closed her eyes before preparing to detonate the Void Grenade with one last promise on her lips
"For the glory of At-"
"No" Nickel interrupted her dismissively before bringing her foot down; Kafsi's eyes opened and a scream of pain escaped her as the android crushed her hand and the weapon it held with a single well placed boot; looking at the mangled mess of blood soaked metal she knew that it was over even before she felt Nickel Polendina take her head in both hands or before she felt the wrenching snap of her neck breaking that caused the light to leave her eyes.
"Oh my Oum" Nickel's stiffened at the voice behind her, casting Kafsi's lifeless body aside as she turned to face the speaker; a reptilian Faunus wearing the uniform of a waitress. The copper haired android smirked even as she felt her body sag and he unspeakable power of the Booster leaving her system, it would hardly be needed for such an easy target
"I'm sorry" she cooed as she ripped her sword free of the grounds, face displaying anything but sorrow as she twirled the blade "No witnesses-OH WHAT NOW!" the scream of frustration came as she took note of the sound of a roaring engine drawing closer at a frightening rate until mere seconds later a black muscle car, flames spewing from its' exhaust came surging into view
"I'll be with you in a second" Nickel promised with a twisted smile before stalking into the middle of the road and bracing herself, wings adjusting a fraction before she kicked off of the ground and raced forwards on a collision course with the vehicle; pulling up just as the driver leapt free from the drivers' side door, her sword tearing though metal and neatly bisecting the car.
Felix rose to his feet on shaky legs, his first instinct to silently gesture for Myrtle to run; his second to simply stare in open mouthed shock in what remained of the Killer Bee, the two haves of the car had skidded to stops at opposite sides of the road and where quickly being engulfed in flames as the narrow decimated remains of the Stinger caught fire which rapidly spread.
Drawing Hack and Slash Felix turned his attention towards his attacker, the calmness with which they waited for him to make a move displaying an infuriating confidence yet the Lion Faunus rage soon flickered and faded, replaced by numb confusion as he stared with a lost expression into the face of his adversary
"Aunt Penny?"
Authors Notes:
So, I told you you were gonna call me a bastard didn't I
I told you I had surprises left in store and you should know better than to doubt me.
Two chapters left of Vol.8, let's see how this one ends.
Anyway, let's summarise shall we:
I mentioned this last chapter but the almost Neo Gothic that Warhammer 40k novels and flavour text uses is starting to creep into my writing style….Not that I see this as a bad thing, especially not in a chapter with bleak moments like this one.
Kafsi's knew plan was to have Torchwick sell Ozymandias out; naturally there are differences of opinion on that amongst the Hunters but let's see how that plays out moving forwards.
Cold as it is Kafsi's plan probably has the most chance of working; she's right when she says that if they just murder Torchwick then Oz or Nickel will take over the crew, there's nobody else to lead it now that Vert and Tricky are dead.
Some managers expect the staff to stay…there are definitely bastards like that.
Nobody in Qrow and Winter's secret society has ever called Nickel by her name, they don't know it.
"About twenty years" which means whilst Nickel is perhaps younger than Penny it isn't by much.
"Yes, yes I am" as much as we all hated Kafsi at times, she had some guts.
Those peaceful moments of Team FADE between shit-storms are great to write.
So, Kafsi's base was on the coast but the Grimm hit it….have Rover and the others even got anything left to bargain with?
Staggering the attacks was a nice touch by Pantheon, rather than splitting their forces and having a concrete plan the defenders were forced to constantly change their deployment and reassign troops, which means that there vast amounts of resources nowhere near anywhere useful.
The blast doors have been a thing literally since Vol.1, Phobos chose to bypass them by tunnelling under them and attacking every district at once; Pantheon chose to turn them against the defenders by making them have to work around their own countermeasures.
Team FADE just did a superhero landing with a car….really bad on the suspension.
Felix knows he's a good shot, but he also knows Diamond is a way better shot.
So, no big boss-battle Grimm at the head of the horde, just another Rampager that got dismissed with a casual head-shot, because there's only one boss in this horde and we all know who it is.
Eagle paraphrasing the old Arc family motto was one of those iconic hero moments.
So again, 40k writing coming through here….I was describing Ruby almost as one of the Primarchs.
Pyrrha (I think it was Pyrrha) said that a Hunters' weapon is an extension of themselves, so there's no reason why Ruby can't, with, practice throw her Silver Eyes blast out of Crescent Rose….which means she could, hypothetically snipe with it.
Syneffo is basically a more aggressive version of younger Ruby and Ruby isn't giving her the responsibilities disguised as special treatment that she got because she's seen where it leads; the key difference is that Syneffo was never a child in the same way Ruby was, Nikosi kids are raised to be fighters from birth and she and Helios were expected to be the best their people had.
Syneffo sees Ruby and co as an extended family despite their differences and was 110% to murder Corvid for a second there.
So Corey is heading into battle and carrying Harbinger; because well Qrow is coordinating and the Omega Wing is still scrap so she needed a weapon….A Corvid and Syneffo team-up, you didn't know you needed it did you?
Sorry, even villains get cock-blocked in this story; although nobody seems to match Arctus and Diamond's horrible record for getting interrupted.
One armed Corona is basically one armed older Gohan from Cell's timeline.
If it comes down to it, the locals will do a better job protecting the neighbourhood than the law; when Phobos breached the city Melanie Malachite went to war, now it's Rhodium's turn.
Torchwick and Team FADE were fighting so close to each other that he actually saw them and decided against shooting them in the back.
I feel like Vol.1 Torchwick would have dropped Corona.
Bet you didn't think we'd see Foggy again.
Okay in my head Team FADE's charge into the Grimm was slow motion and set to some orchestral music; just cinematic as fuck with some amazing combo moves.
Important to note that Felix didn't go Balrog at any point in that fight, he's still got that one in the tank next chapter.
Okay I was gonna have Team NEON join in the combos but it was just two many moving parts and besides they'd been on the move all night, next chapter however….
And that's why I had Kafsi and co meet in Myrtle's cafe, so that she could call Felix.
So, who's more body horror Oz or Pantheon?
So Ozymandias, as the Wizard is being used as the communications hub for Pantheon and the voice in both of their heads which Pantheon calls mother.
Also, yes those images that Oz saw were what Pantheon was actually doing, which means yes he murdered an entire team of fully qualified Hunters in a single hit with no effort….makes you appreciate just how gifted Corvid is.
"My vessel" is Oz.
Ozymandias revealing there that Nickel's sole purpose in his plan is to be a countermeasure against Ruby.
Writing Nickel fighting is always fun, it's the perfect blend of shit-post and sadism….also, just because Kafsi couldn't get in her head doesn't mean it can't be done; I mean Felix tricked Celeste into making a mistake when he was half dead.
"Does a machine such as yourself experience fear?"...Had to, had to
It was over for Kafsi the second Nickel started using Booster; at that point it went from a heroic underdog with half a chance to Vegeta getting beaten until he cried by final form Freiza and us 90s kids felt depression for the first time.
"If you're happy and you know catch some hands" punch, punch.
Yes Kafsi was prepared to kill everyone within that Hive Tower, including any civilians hiding in shelters by setting off a black-hole bomb just to kill Nickel; she is a cold hearted and ruthless bitch and the ends justified the means in her mind.
I feel like the way Nickel killed her, the complete ease of it just makes her even scarier.
And there we have it, the end of the Killer-Bee, Felix coming face to face with Nickel and a cliffhanger to end it on….yep, I'm definitely a bastard.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, DizzyDwarf and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
If AJ learned from Yang she'd learn the hero landing on day one.
Coral is going to be the next Whitley….albeit crossed with Alfred Pennyworth a little.
Well, they were pretty damn effective.
It's not even about the armour; it's about the fact he jumps in front of hits meant for other people flapping his arms and yelling "Mine" like the seagulls in finding Nemo.
I feel like Corvid figured it out because she had all the information at her disposal as well as a fresh set of eyes; everyone else looking at the data was involved in the war against Salem and that was affecting the way they saw things.
Oh Rhodey knows Oz is more than he lets on, but Oz doesn't use his powers around Rhodey and besides….Rhodey 'Needs' to be in charge, he can't stand the idea of not being the one calling the shots.
Nope, I have something in mind for Felix's tail and that's not it.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.