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Chapter 112: The Same Page
Consciousness did not return in the usual slow and gradual way to Felix Xiao Long; instead it ripped ripped him unceremoniously from the peaceful, dreamless darkness he had occupied and simply demanded that he open his eyes with an unyielding wave of pain and nausea that seemed to soak into every fibre of his being
"He's awake" Blake Xiao Long's anxious voice cut through the clutter of sounds and sensations that filled his senses as they adjusted slowly; her own Faunus hearing detecting the minute shift in her son's breathing before his deep blue eyes fluttered open sluggishly and an attempt to rise reduced him to pain sputtering as his muscles simply refused to cooperate, every movement feeling as though he had been electrocuted.
"Here, let me help" another equally concerned voice offered, his vision filling with gold a moment later as Yang gently and carefully helped him into a sitting position; handling him as though he could simply shatter at the slightest touch before pulling back allowing Felix to see that as well as his mothers, his Aunt Ruby was present in the private room he had been allocated in Halo Academy's medical wing; her skull mask removed and hood lowered. Then he turned back to Yang
"Thanks" he managed to croak out, voice rasping and hoarse from the cocktail of drugs no doubt coursing through his body; Yang merely smiled gently, the expression brittle enough that it could crack without warning before the first nervous and shaking laughter escaped her
"Landing strategies, they're lesson one Fluffy….how did you even stick a landing that badly?" she pulled her son into a gentle hug and Felix knew that nothing was meant by the comments; gentle teasing was simply the Xiao Long family tradition
"You ploughed through a Hive Tower Fluffy" Ruby added with a chuckle and a shake of her head in sheer disbelief "I don't know how high you fell from but you blasted through over half a dozen levels and were over half a mile into the tower before you stopped….luckily collateral damage in a breach is pretty much written off or the academy would be paying for that"
"How?-" Felix's roiling and disjointed thoughts took a moment to be forced into some semblance of order before he could decide which of the many questions pawing at the inside of his skull to ask first "How did I get here?"
"Myrtle" Blake answered taking a place at the opposite side of his hospital bed to Yang
"Oum damn it I told her to run" Felix grumbled
"She did" Blake assured him "She called her partner, apparently Redwood wasn't near a shelter; him and their son were hiding under a car in his garage"
"The guy might be an ass-hole" Yang shrugged "But he drove out to the cafe Myrtle works at, they followed the wreckage and got you onto a transport here"
"If he hadn't you'd be dead" Ruby chimed in, a haunted look on her face as she spoke up for the first time "Your heart stopped four times before they could stabilise you" the thought left Felix silent, the fact that he had been so close to the brink of death making the pain he was in at that moment suddenly seem much more manageable before a fresh concern rushed to the forefront of his thoughts
"Where's-"
"Everyone's fine Fluffy" Yang assured him squeezing his hand gently "Arctus is in your dorm sleeping off Aura fatigue, Diamond's with him and I think Eagle's been discharged with some painkillers for her back….you've been out for almost a day. Ollie from Team NEON?….I don't think I know her but, Helios is with her; she's got a busted back and shoulder but nothing permanent"
"Doctor Oobleck is in intensive care but they think he'll pull through" Blake added, suppressing a shudder "Those kinds of injuries at his age….he should have stayed retired;
"Corey?" Felix was growing frantic despite his mothers' assurances, knowing that even with her injuries nothing would prevent Corvid from joining the battle
"Went to help the preliminary sweeps before the clean up effort can begin….she borrowed Uncle Qrow's car so she was going to pick it up; Penny is doing the same on the eastern breach" Ruby explained, putting Helios's mind at rest before her expression became stern "And Syneffo….oh that girl is in so much trouble when I get home; so much trouble" hearing such a tone and sentiment from Ruby was jarring enough for Felix to be reduced to weak chuckles, which he soon regretted as another coughing fit racked his body
"Speaking of cars" Yang sighed, the sad look in her Amethyst eyes telling the Lion Faunus everything he needed to know
"The Killer-Bee?" he sighed, leaning back against the bed frame and waiting for the blow to come
"Not enough left to salvage" Yang confirmed "When it gets delivered back to Patch I'll have it scrapped for you….it won't be enough to buy another car though"
"Damn it" the Lion Faunus hissed through clenched teeth; whilst he had no regrets about rushing to Myrtle's aid the fact that it had cost him something that he prized so much left a bitter taste in his mouth and it was with a savage growl that Felix asked
"What about the bitch I was fighting? Did she make it, she's in custody right?"
"Who're you talking about?" Yang asked, utterly dumbstruck "We thought you were fighting an airborne Grimm and fell"
"What?" Felix mouthed out in disbelief, eyes wide and jaw slack "No, there is no way she got up and walked away after that!"
"Felix….who're you talking about?" Blake asked, trying to steady her son as he grew close to causing another bout of painful coughing. Hearing this Felix realised that his mothers had truly no idea what he had faced and took a moment to calm himself with a series of deep slow breaths before speaking
"We got the emergency broadcast about the breaches on the flight back from Elysium Hills; right after Team FADE met up with Team NEON and doctor Oobleck Myrtle called me and said that someone had walked into her cafe and was trying to kill a Huntress and she needed help….when I got there the Huntress, she's an Atlesian Specialist Team FADE had a mission with, she was already dead"
"Oh my Oum" Ruby gasped, as a former Atlesian Freelancer there was no love lost between herself and the Specialist Branch but to hear that one of their number had been murdered was appalling, the surprised utterance drew Felix's attention towards her
"The murderer was a woman with….I'm guessing cybernetics, but she had photon weapons in her arms and wings built into her back; I've never seen anyone that strong before" the Lion Faunus paused and regarded his Aunt Ruby with deep concern before adding "She looked almost exactly like Aunt Penny, only younger….she called herself Nickel Polendina"
The silence in the room was profound.
Rhodium Torchwick was not furious.
That word was far too small and lacking in the sheer grandiose scope of the feeling that now consumed the red-headed mobster
Rhodium Torchwick had ascended to an entirely untouched plateau of indescribable rage that left his Aura crackling and burning the air around him; a volatile and roiling magenta light blazing and shifting around him that lit the way ahead of him as he marched through pitch black corridors in search of the subject of his ire.
He and Corona had led the gang members that had answered the call into battle against the Grimm, the group; in truth little more than a barely organised rabble of delinquent teens armed with whatever knives and blunt weapons they could scavenge at short notice; with the more prepared of the criminals having a pistol or shotgun in their possession. There had been casualties, Torchwick had seen young men and women that worked for him dragged down and killed by the monsters that had invaded their home in the most horrific ways imaginable but eventually, despite their seemingly endless number, the Grimm had been beaten back and Rhodium and Corona had managed to slip away before they could be apprehended by Foggy, who had lent his weapons and abilities if for no other reason than to keep his former partner where he could see her.
A day had passed since then, in which time Rhodium had learned that his nightclub; the jewel in his criminal empire had been decimated entirely and that the hidden bunker beneath it had been gutted and torched leaving the mobster in a state of numb terror as he expected find police and Hunters descending upon him at any moment until Ozymandias had finally decided that it would be prudent to contact his employer and inform Rhodium of his whereabouts; namely the former production facility of a long closed pharmaceutical company in an area of the city where locals tended to avoid talking to police.
In normal circumstances Rhodium would have seen the wisdom of setting up a base of operations in such a place and praised whoever showed some initiative and acted; currently however he merely wanted answers and perhaps a suitable target to work through his temper on.
He marched through the corridors of the former facility towards where he had been told he could expect to find the treasonous Atlesian scientist, until he finally drew close to a double door which a fading sign declared led to a quality control area and was to be kept sealed; the door had been left open a fraction however and Rhodium was overcome with the sudden urge to peek, as if he were not the undisputed lord of crime within New Vale and was still merely a boy who seemed drawn to trouble.
What he saw on the other side of the door disgusted him.
Ozymandias stood over Nickel Polendina and even from what little he could see of the girl it was clear that she was in a state of undress. Torchwick needed a moment to process the sight before deciding that despite whatever nightmarish history she must have endured to become what she was Nickel was a little girl and Rhodium would not suffer the sort of ghouls that preyed on children in his city.
The door was kicked open with a crash and the mobster strode into the room, incandescent with rage as she aimed Melodic Cudgel at Ozymandias's face
"Step back or I'll paint your brains all over the back wall you sick son of a bitch!"
"I can see how this would look to someone not in possession of all the facts" Ozymandias noted with a bemused edge to his voice that was enough for Torchwick's finger to tighten around the trigger; pausing only when Nickel's usual mocking tone cut through the red mist, a static hissing distorting her words
"Hey buddy, don't be dumb….for once" Torchwick turned to Nickel, whatever he had intended to say died on his lips as he took his first proper look at her since his arrival.
Melodic Cudgel fell to the ground and Rhodium dry heaved, desperately struggling not to vomit at the sight of the girl; Nickel's skin had been blackened and burned or otherwise simply ripped away in several places revealing metallic surfaces glinting beneath flesh all over her body, whilst mechanical components could be seen beneath the twisted and cracked armour plating integrated into what remained of her chest. The entire left side of her freckled face had been ravaged to display a robotic cranium framed by singed hair and housing a lifeless, flickering optic where an emerald green left eye had once been. Her left arm had been removed, Rhodium was subjected to further uncontrollable retching at the sight of lit lying on a workbench nearby, burned to a nearly unidentifiable husk from below the elbow and a pair of metal stumps protruded from Nickel's back, ruined and warped metal giving little clue to what the broken components had previously been. Torchwick had seen cybernetic limb replacements and heard of similar treatments for damaged organs but still he instinctively knew that what he was looking at was something else entirely
"You...you're not-"
"Not feeling too good right now? No" Nickel sneered "So be a dear and fuck off"
"What-"
"She was unfortunately injured in her attempt to deal with the Hunters you requested. The Atlesian ringleader of the group was eliminated however the rest managed to escape" Ozymandias used Torchwick's utter incomprehension of what he was seeing as chance to begin expertly steering the conversation and controlling the narrative as he gave his version of events "Atlas is home to a great many dark secrets….things done in the name of science and security that most people would find unthinkable. Nickel was a victim to such endeavours"
"Life gave me lemons so I'm making apple juice just to confuse 'em" Nickel cackled, seeing the attempt to mislead for what it was and playing her part with gusto
"Precisely" Ozymandias nodded solemnly, face obscured by his mask "Much like with the loss of your nightclub….merely turning a regrettable situation to our benefit"
"What happened to the club?" Torchwick demanded, trying to regain his bearings by focusing on something he could understand and control to some extent
"A Nevermore was brought down close by….unfortunately one of the more interesting weapons used by the Hunters that killed it included some kind of rocket launcher; said rocket didn't explode until the Grimm was on the ground, one wing having already broken through a window" Ozymandias waited a beat for Rhodium to absorb and accept the premise before continuing "I apologise for not informing you but time was of the essence, it seems likely that the Hunters harassing you and their police contacts would use the clean up following this breach as an excuse to illegally search the club….so I salvaged what I could and relocated"
"That….makes sense" Torchwick admitted eventually, head still spinning as he tried to avoid looking at Nickel.
"A small matter of interest" Ozymandias noted "Corona's arm was completely undamaged….although I'm sure you'll understand if there are some slight delays"
"Yeah, yeah that's fine" Torchwick mumbled "Send what you can to the workers….I'm sure things are gonna be hectic for a week or two anyway so you'll have time to set up properly. Nickel; shit….just get well soon I guess" with that Rhodium recovered and left them in peace, making his way out of the room in what could best be described as lost wandering
"Plan wasn't a total bust?" Nickel asked with a grimace as Ozymandias returned to the task of repairing her, one agonising step at a time
"It was a catastrophic loss….but much like yourself, the vast majority of it can be salvaged" Nickel bit back an expletive laden retort at that; the photon weapon in her left arm and her wings were lost to her forever as the parts to replace them were simply unavailable. Forcing the gut-wrenching sorrow at her condition aside Nickel nodded as the still slightly ajar door
"And Torchwick….think he believes the shit we just sold him?" Ozymandias gave a laugh that held none of his customary grandfatherly warmth, it was instead cold and mocking as he replied
"I think as long as there's just enough left of this city left for him to rule it and still feel powerful then he'll believe whatever I tell him; he can't afford not to"
The front door to Qrow Branwen's home splintered as it was kicked from it's hinges; Ruby Rose storming into the house with an expression that went beyond anger and despite the lack of weapons in her hands or her customary mask and lowered hood creating a fearsome and spectral visage she had never looked more frightening than she had in that moment
"Aunt Ruby?" Corvid glanced at her from her position on the sofa where she had been polishing Harbinger, evidently having returned from the clean up operation; she both recoiled from her Aunt and yet was clearly unwilling to give into fear entirely and retreat away from her. Seeing this Ruby softened her expression, Corvid was not to blame here
"He's in the basement isn't he?"
"Yeah" Corvid didn't need to ask who Ruby meant "He's monitoring the clean up to see if there-"
"Corey go to my place and talk to the twins…they're still a little shaken up after they were left on their own" Ruby didn't raise her voice but couldn't quite keep the accusation out of her tone
"I'm sorry I should have told Syneffo no but…." Corvid trailed off, sensing she would find no absolution in Ruby and instead simply deposited Qrow's weapon and made her way out of the house.
Once she had left Ruby stalked to the entrance of the basement and hammered against the door, heavy thundering blows that reverberate down to Qrow's lair; she would be damned if she went to him asking politely for answers, he would present and explain himself.
Within a minute Qrow had opened the door, looking more weary and aged than Ruby could ever remember and with a back that was bowed with the weight of his conscience instead of the usual feigned weakness; his words were breathed out with the finality of a man expecting the inevitable
"You know?"
"I know" Ruby began, her intention to remain calm, rational if distant shattered in an instant "I KNOW THAT YOU LIED TO US, YOU KEPT SECRETS FROM US! AFTER EVERYTHING PENNY AND I HAVE DONE?"
"They weren't my secrets to tell….not at first at least" Qrow murmured, head hanging low and if he had been anyone other than her uncle Ruby would strangled him where he stood
"Not your secrets?" she demanded, voice barely above a whisper yet trembling with rage "Do you have any idea how worthless that is coming from you of all people"
"I know an apology won't fix anything and neither will pleading ignorance" Qrow took a breath to steady himself as the first tears fell; unable to control himself as one of the most important relationships in his life crumbled in front of his eyes "But I want you to know that I didn't know that she looked like Penny, not until I saw footage of her fight with Felix….if I'd known I would have told you both. I planned to tell you from the moment I found out she was active Ruby; I promise that much, I just wanted to wait until I found a way to contain the-"
"Who is she?" Ruby demanded, refusing to listen to Qrow and break her own heart further in process "Why does she exist? I want the truth Qrow….all of it; Penny is having the exact same conversation with Antonia Arc right now" Qrow wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before speaking, the cold facts were easier to bear than the crushing realisation of his failings
"In the years after Salem Atlas Military was preparing itself for all kinds of eventualities; they expected that any of the other Kingdoms could start a war with them and so preparations were made….Winter tried to put a stop to most of it when she took Ironwood's spot officially but it took a while to sift through all the muck-"
"And you're saying that Geppetto Polendina was involved in that?" Ruby bristled at the slight against the memory of Penny's father who had never been anything less than kind and loving
"He was a military scientist Ruby" Qrow noted "He had more of a conscience than most of 'em but his work was, well….Penny was initially intended to be an infiltration unit intended to assassinate White Fang leaders and other political dissidents"
"Penny has a soul" Ruby growled, she was well aware of the reasoning behind her wife's creation, Penny had told her as much when they were lovestruck teenagers
"So do murderers, as much as we don't like to admit it" Qrow seemed to crumple as he spoke "Penny is a great woman, she's kind and loving….but the fact is that her soul was supposed to be that way, Geppetto designed her to develop and grow up to be the daughter he never got to have. She's a proof of concept, a prototype to be field tested in a controlled environment"
"And this Nickel Polendina?" Ruby demanded having heard the name from Felix; Qrow flinched at the name, having never heard a designation other than Project Legacy for the rogue android
"A production model"
"So like Penny's second-"
"No" Qrow shook his head "Penny's second body was a holdover for when stealth and blending in was still the primary goal, living tissue, internal weapons removed, nanobot caches to increase durability and replicate a Semblance; Penny is one of a kind. After Salem Atlas planned to repurpose the program into an elite team of Hunter killers in case of war….Project Legacy was the first, she's the reason the project was shelved and Geppetto never made another sentient machine"
"Why?" Ruby pressed him for answers
"She was psychotic" Qrow answered simply "I don't know how Eldritch has managed to control her but she was beyond reason when she was activated; her psyche….her soul was built from the ground up to be everything Penny isn't, a ruthless killer….what they got was a sadist. Sixteen Hunters and forty two scientists died deactivating her" the words hit Ruby like an icy wave and yet a moment later her white hot fury had returned
"And you knew she was here, in Vale and said nothing!" she screamed in Qrow's face "Those missing Hunters? She's been training herself, getting better at killing them!"
"And now the Specialist Gangrel sent to deal with her is dead" Qrow nodded "And Felix is lucky he's as quick thinking and tough as he is….Ruby I am so-"
"No! No apologies I don't want to hear it" Ruby spat "Just tell me, what can Nickel do and why is Oz using her?"
"She was made to be faster, stronger, more durable than almost any Hunter; photon weapons like Penny's original design but a more compact higher yield model, integrated flight system and a modified Aura Regulator; more efficient to handle her abilities-"
"Based on Rover's" Ruby's eyes widened a fraction of a second later "The Booster Eldritch has been selling to Torchwick, this android….she's been using it as a fuel source isn't she?"
"That's….a distinct possibility yes" Qrow answered almost timidly, ashamed to admit that he hadn't considered the idea given how painfully obvious it seemed once it had been said out loud. Ruby dragged her hands through her hair; dread sinking in as the pieces seemed to fall into place in her mind and leave her with a chilling picture
"Do you have any idea what you've done by keeping this from me?" Ruby growled "Do you have any idea of the danger you put my family in?"
"Ruby" Qrow pleaded "We're not sure of what Ozymandias's intentions are-"
"How is the man who watches Remnant so blind?" Ruby demanded coldly, leaving Qrow silent as she continued "Oz, for whatever reason wants the Grimm, Pantheon. Who is the single biggest threat to Grimm on Remnant right now?"
"Oh my-" Qrow croaked as he began to see what Ruby had
"Me" Ruby continued "And if you wanted to keep me from killing said Grimm; what would work better than an enemy with an Aura who is therefore immune to my silver eyes, who is specifically made for Killing Hunters, was already incredibly powerful even before being given a steady diet of combat drugs and just to make thing worse LOOKS ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE MY WIFE!" Qrow staggered to the nearest seat and collapsed into it, burying his head in his hands
"I'm sorry Ruby….we'll fix this; we'll find a way-"
"One of us will" Ruby spat harshly "And after that, we're done-"
"What-"
"I'm going to finish training Syneffo and make sure she gets back to the Nikosi safely and after that I don't ever wanna hear from you again. I can keep Remnant safe without you or your secrets" Qrow's eyes widened in horror at that, Ruby looked away as she continued "It's bad enough you lie and keep secrets from me and Penny after we've been risking our lives for you for all these years but you put the twins at risk. The twins have Silver Eyes; what happens when Oz sends his killing machine to deal with them as well?….Penny and I are gonna leave Vale when this is over, Coco offered us positions at her school when it's built so if the world is about to end then you can contact us through her, other than that don't contact us" with no more to say Ruby left, wiping her own tears as she did so. Qrow simply sat shell-shocked and consumed by his own misery; unmoving for hours as it felt as though his entire world had been reduced to ashes.
Blake and Yang were leaving Halo Academy, Ruby leaving the academy in a burst of rose petals and the chilling revelations that Felix had given them had left the mood subdued in the hospital room though neither Felix or his mothers' had allowed the situation to define the visit; instead simply choosing to be happy that everyone had survived the Grimm attack no lasting injuries and leaving after Corvid had arrived.
"The clean up is going to be massive" Blake noted as the two of the walked hand through hallways that so closely resembled Beacon Academy "The blast doors kept the Grimm mostly confined but the districts they breached….it's not gonna be pretty, I'll probably have to pull a lot of overtime and stay on the mainland for a while"
"I understand" Yang sighed, expression brightening as an idea struck her "I might organise a field trip; Halo students are gonna be helping out with the clean up and I want the kids at Signal to see that and maybe meet some of the teachers….give 'em a sense of what's really out there. Besides, it means I get to visit you at work"
"You're a dork sometimes" Blake chuckled softly "But I love it"
"Love you too" Yang beamed as she leaned in to kiss Blake's cheek, her wife's feline ears brushing against her hair as they twitched at the sound of someone approaching
"Oh….Um, hi we were-I was-" Myrtle trailed off, gesturing awkwardly as the sight of Blake and Yang left her struggling to form words. Behind her was Redwood, the Deer Faunus wearing a beleaguered expression with bloodshot eyes; each of them held one of their sons' hands and the boy whom Blake and Yang knew was named Astra seemed to shrink in on himself at the approach of the retired Huntresses until Yang gave him a bright smile and a wave from her golden cybernetic
"Felix is being discharged but he's still not in any shape to be dealing with a lot of people" Blake stated flatly "If you want to visit him you'll probably have to wait until his sister, his team and his boyfriend give him a minute" Yang watched the one-sided interaction and noted that Blake's amber eyes, unusually cold in that moment, never left Redwood's face
"Thank you for getting Felix here….he might not have made it if you hadn't" Yang added, trying to prevent any conflict before it could happen as well as being genuinely grateful beyond words that her son had been saved.
"He's a good kid" Redwood grunted simply, looking anywhere but into Blake's eyes
"Even though he's a dangerous unstable Hunter; raised by a human sympathiser and a human?" Blake's tone was icy and Myrtle found herself physically stepping back from the felines' imposing presence.
"We're not debating politics" Redwood growled, suddenly finding some conviction as he glared at Blake "Not when I've just found out some lads I used to work with never made it out of those docks"
"Okay fine….and I'm sorry to hear that" Yang accepted, putting herself between Blake and the man whose beliefs and insinuations about her family had offended her; privately the blonde thought Redwood was an imbecile and couldn't blame Felix for striking him but this was neither the time nor the place for an argument
"No politics" she agreed "Why are you here?"
"I want to see my son" Myrtle answered simply, tone becoming testy for a moment before she controlled herself "We don't have to do this, we don't have to fight….We're all here for Felix and that's what matters"
"I don't want this man anywhere near my son while he's recovering, except to apologise" Blake nodded towards Redwood who gave an understanding nod
"Myrtle I'll wait outside….but before I go, I wanna ask a favour" Blake raised an eyebrow at the mans' nerve but nodded for him to continue
"I've got my problems with Hunters, but Astra here has been wanting to train as one since he saw a tournament match and Felix offered to train him before well…." Redwood trailed off, not needing to clarify any further he simply added "He's a little shaken up after the breach and I think maybe seeing that the monsters can be beaten might help, so I was wondering if you could ask if the offer still stands?" Blake and Yang shot each other knowing looks, both immediately certain that Felix would accept the offer without hesitation. Yang merely crouched down to Astra's eye level and smiled
"I'm sure your brother would love to train you; if you're lucky you might get to meet his sister today as well"
"Do you need directions to Team FADE's dorm?" Blake asked a gesture clearly intended to mark the end of the hostilities
"We were already given some thank you" Myrtle replied before taking and making her way passed Blake and Yang, still clearly understandably anxious as they did so; leaving Redwood alone in the hallway alone with them.
"One day we're gonna have to have a serious talk" Blake noted though her tone lacked any of the tension or anger that it could have held
"One day" Redwood shrugged "I don't doubt you're good people at heart….I just think we disagree on some pretty important stuff"
"Stuff we should be getting on with" Yang noted, leading Blake away by the hand. Her wife's willpower and persistence had made her immensely successful in achieving legislation and reforms that helped the Faunus and workers all across Remnant; it could however be perceived as belligerence at times and despite what differences remained, the meeting with Felix's birth mother had been something of a success
"You must be proud" Blake murmured to Yang as they reached Halo Academy's main entrance "Felix hasn't even graduated and he's already a teacher"
"He's gonna be great" Yang grinned, giving Blake a playful wink "He's gonna teach his little brother to kick Ass-tra"
"Oum I love you" Blake sighed, leaning into her wife.
"Will you put that contraption down and focus on the task at hand?" Raffia hissed in Hellion's general direction; causing Carcharodon to glower with equal impatience at both of them whilst Onyx merely gave a rumbling chuckle and a wistful smile
"If you throw the word 'accursed' in there you'd almost sound like Master Kage" the Puma Faunus noted
"I'd need a staff to rap knuckles with as well" Raffia countered, not entirely displeased with the comparison between himself and the quartermaster of the vessel the Shadow Cadre had lived on before being given their own; a caustic and unwelcoming tribal elder and a seasoned warrior who had been merciless in his training of the tribes' children.
"I'm making sure Eagle's okay!" the Dragonfly Faunus snapped, wings buzzing in agitation "The city was attacked and we weren't there" her shoulders sagged as a sense of shame and concern for those born in the Kingdom that would once have been utterly been unthinkable to her took hold
"She lived" Carcharodon rasped out, giving Hellion as much moral support as he could manage "She's a capable fighter with an indomitable spirit….she will be fine Hellion"
"I know" she admitted with a huff, eyes tracking Marauder as the raptor soared overhead "But I wish we'd been there"
"As do I" Carcharodon admitted with a savage smile "I miss the rush of a real battle" the comment earned fierce smiles and laughs from Team GORE as a whole as they continued on their way to what awaited them.
With the breach over a Bull-Head had been sent to collect the team as the ship they had been assigned to was tugged into one of the many ports along the coast of Anima; their stay being drastically shortened by the order to return to New Vale immediately. The four of them had been briefed on the situation in transit and upon reaching the Kingdom had been redeployed without even a chance to visit the academy; each of Team GORE's suspicions rose at this and were all but proven justified when their new orders were given. The four of them would be assisting the preliminary sweeps of the area before the clean up operation began in earnest by checking an area of the coastline to ensure that no Grimm had been left unchecked; that the area the area had been assigned to was none other than the Broken Coast which they had used as a hideout whilst raiding across the Kingdom and that they were assigned to Rover and Artemis Tan cemented in Carcharodon's mind that something was not as it seemed.
"There she is" Hellion declared "The other must be her husband" she nodded to a pair of figures in the distance who were steadily approaching towards them; both groups walking across the decks and hulls of ruined vessels, the damage inflicted on them in the battle against the monstrous Grimm designated 'Delta Omega' still plainly visible.
"So, have the Atlesians finally decided that we're a loose end to be tied up….I thought they'd send better to kill us?" Raffia asked with a sinister laugh as a greeting, skulking around the periphery of the group as Carcharodon and Artemis eyed each other up, the tension being broken by Rover Tan as the Husky Faunus shot a Raffia a bemused glance and a snort
"Oh you weren't joking, this one's funny" the Axolotl Faunus bristled though his hands stilled before they could wrap around his weapons under Carcharodon's warning glare. The Shark Faunus turned his attention to the Hunters
"We all know that there's more to this meeting than we were told, what's going on?"
"You're right there is" Artemis admitted
"But the best search and rescue duo in the Kingdom and a team of Hunters that used to live here could definitely make quick work of tracking down any Grimm lurking around here or any civilians that ran from them" Rover added; to which Carcharodon merely nodded.
"Kafsi's dead" Artemis's blunt statement stunned the former raiders "Her target, the one working with Torchwick….sent his heavy hitter after us; they caught Kafsi alone"
"Then we retaliate, it's war now is it not?" Carcharodon rasped out, almost able to smell the coming bloodshed
"No" Artemis shook her head "Kafsi's base of operations was destroyed, the Grimm ran right through it while she wasn't there but Rover managed to salvage some stuff"
"A broken Atlesian Specialist computer that's being sent back to Atlas and enough of the documents you recovered from Torchwick's lawyer to carry on with the plan Kafsi laid out"
"Then why are we here?" Hellion demanded, beginning to grow tired of the small talk
"Gangrel made good on his end of the deal" Rover explained, unable to keep a smile from his face as he delivered his punchline "You wanted a ship, there it is" Team GORE turned in unison, each eager to see the vessel they had earned only for their elation to be quickly replaced by simmering anger. Among the capsized and ruined vessels that made up the Broken Coast and gave the place its' name was another ship, clearly Atlesian in origin and a far more recent addition than the others, yet it was no more seaworthy with the long tears visible on its' hull that had almost certainly taken on water along with myriad other instances of visible damage"
"I will gut you both where you stand" Raffia all but shrieked, having to be visibly restrained from lunging at Rover and Artemis. Carcharodon held his team-mate firmly, yet was clearly close to losing his own self control
"Explain!" he demanded, his expression murderous as the Red Waves unfurled along his arms
"Atlesian prototype, a joint effort between the military and the SDC" Artemis informed them "The idea was to make a mostly automated ship to carry Dust from deep sea mining operations without putting a crew at risk….as you can see the concerns were warranted, the project is still in development but this ship-"
"Is a wrecked hulk" Carcharodon interrupted
"It's a salvage job, Gangrel thought you'd be up to the task" Rover countered, taking the calculated risk of challenging the seafaring raiders' pride in their abilities "It has got room and facilities for a small crew to stay aboard; which is gonna be useful considering there're only four of you"
"The weapons were decommissioned but it's well armed, it took the Grimm that did that to it down without assistance and it can house a few Bull-Heads" Carcharodon took a moment to consider, slow even breaths calming his rage before finally turning to Onyx and silently bidding the Puma Faunus to assess the situation
"I can't say for certain until I see the interior" he rumbled "But with Halo's resources, a few more pairs of hands and enough time….she might be seaworthy again"
"And fuel?" Hellion asked, arching an eyebrow "I doubt the Atlesians left us the Dust to run this ship?"
"Find Torchwick and the Atlesian terrorist that Kafsi was looking for" Artemis answered simply "Their drug business is using a lot of Dust"
"And I'm sure that Atlas will miraculously find more work for us whenever we need to resupply" Raffia noted bitterly
"Yeah that's called having a job" Rover shrugged "If you don't wanna be pirates any more then you're gonna have to earn a living"
"This is….acceptable to us" Carcharodon rasped out finally "We have our ship, we have our chance at a reckoning with Torchwick. Our deal has been honoured; after a fashion" at the Shark Faunus's words the tension in the air seemed to dissipate as Team GORE collectively allowed themselves to relax
"Good" Artemis nodded "I'll pass the message along….now let's get this place searched before it gets dark" with that the six of them made to begin the task at hand; with Rover pausing to murmur to Raffia as he passed.
"Heard you saved my wife out in the Jagged Mountains, nearly got yourself badly hurt doing it….thanks kid; there's a real Hunter in there somewhere, not just the evil son of a bitch you tell yourself you are"
Raffia surprised even himself by not lashing out at the comment.
"So that's how it is" Corvid finished as she allowed herself to slump backwards on one the beds in Team FADE's dormitory, absently fiddling with the strap of her eyepatch as she did so "And now everybody is pissed at everybody else because of all the secrets and keeping things on a need to know basis….I'm not gonna be a part of that" Corvid had only stayed a short while at Penny and Ruby's home, the revelation that Penny Polendina was not the only android with a soul brought to life by her father and the subsequent fallout had prompted the eldest Xiao Long sibling to return to Halo Academy and seek out her brother; who had surprised her by already knowing some of what she had intended to tell him, having learned it from Qrow whilst in Atlas.
The rest of Team FADE were seemingly struggling to take in the scale of what had just been imparted upon them
"So just to make sure I've got everything here" Arctus began, rubbing his temples which throbbed with pain that was not entirely the fault of his drained Aura "Salem didn't control the Grimm, she was the Grimm and the Grimm Hive Mind has started to evolve which is why talking Grimm like Phobos and Pantheon are popping up….In the war Aunt Ruby used the power of fairy tales to beat Salem and she and Aunt Penny, who's actually a robot, now work for a secret society including my Dad, Aunt Winter, Eagle's Dad and Professor Goodwitch and their main enemy right now is Eagle's Mum's old lab partner; who may or may not be an immortal sociopath who is using the drugs he's been selling to Rhodium Torchwick to fuel his own living robot….who is basically Aunt Penny's evil little sister"
"As crazy at it sounds….yeah pretty much" Felix shrugged
"Why not" Eagle muttered bitterly "What's a few more lies and secrets in the family right?" Diamond merely let out a slow breath before adding
"Wow….I used to think my family had some dark secrets with my dad being an ex-assassin and both my parents being on the wrong side of the war in the beginning; apparently that wasn't so bad"
"So who else knows?" Eagle asked
"The other teachers must no at least some of it….most of 'em fought in the war" Corvid observed
"Well our Mum's are gonna know anything they didn't already by the time this is blows over" Felix shrugged before adding "And Helios know about Silver Eyed Warriors….I had to tell him something when Qrow tried to start training his sister"
"And you didn't tell me anything, really Fluffy?" Corvid scowled, a truly intimidating expression on her scarred face
"Nobody knew everything was all connected at the time, he just wanted another Silver Eyed Warrior to train; the White Fang were a bigger problem" Felix defended "Uncle Qrow was gonna tell you, he just wanted to-"
"Do it when the time was right" Eagle grumbled "It's a running theme isn't it?"
"Okay I've gotta ask" Corvid propped herself up again and braced herself for an answer that may not be what she wanted to hear "Are we still cool?….I mean all of you, 'cos I'll be one hundred percent honest right now that I was ready to commit to the secrecy"
"Really Corey?"
"I know, I know I'm a hypocrite" she sighed "But I can understand why all of this has to be kept secret, I mean can you imagine what politicians would do if they thought that Grimm could be reasoned with? Or if they had a Maiden at their disposal?"
"Corey, we're cool" Felix assured her "I hate that everything got this complicated….On Patch being a Hunter seemed simple; find the Grimm, get rid of the Grimm, rinse and repeat"
"I know what you mean, but it is what it has to be" Corvid shrugged before turning to Eagle "What about you Eagle, we cool? 'cos I feel like I owe you an apology-"
"You don't" Eagle sighed "I just wish my parents could just be y'know, my parents….they're always something else first and I know that sounds selfish"
"No it doesn't" Arctus assured her "This is probably a big part of why Dad was always away when I was growing up as well….Oum, does my Mum know about all of this" the Bear Faunus trailed off, lost in his own thoughts for a moment until Diamond chimed in
"So who else can we tell?"
"I guarantee that Qrow would say nobody" Corvid shrugged "I don't care, I'm telling Team CLIR….I feel like Team GORE might know pieces; Fluffy if Helios knows some of it then he may as well be brought in"
"We tell anyone that we routinely ask to help us when we end up involved in these messes" Felix stated simply "I'm not gonna lead people blindly, it'll get people killed"
"Agreed" Corvid nodded
"So now what?"the Lion Faunus asked, trying to bring the conversation to a more easy to manage level
"Well" Corvid paused for a moment "I'm not gonna be heading out on any covert ops for Qrow just yet….gotta graduate first; probably gonna come back to the academy full time once things settle….my exams are soon"
"It'll be nice to-" Felix was interrupted by a knock at the door which he quickly slunk from his bed and answered
"H-Hey" he mouthed out, the sight of Myrtle and Astra before him enough to knock the wind out of him entirely. The reptilian Faunus wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as tightly as she dare
"Sorry if I'm intruding, I was warned that you might not be up to visitors right now so-"
"It's fine" Felix promised returning the hug before crouching down to his brothers' eye level; taking care not to show discomfort and the pain shooting through his back at the sudden motion
"Hey kid you okay?"
"Uh huh" the boy nodded, though his body language still spoke of fear which Felix thought was completely understandable "Get scared by all the sirens….I know I did, Grimm are supposed to be on the other side of the big wall"
"Did you get 'em all?" the child asked, voice wavering even as he tried to put on a brave face
"Definitely, pinky promise" Felix grinned and extended his little finger "My sister found the scariest one and kicked its' butt….wanna come and meet her?" seeing Astra's face light up as he was ushered into the dormitory was enough to justify much of the deceit in Felix's mind; despite how much he loathed it.
If the people knew that the Creatures of Grimm were becoming more intelligent and developing levels of intelligence that rivalled Salem then hope would be lost.
Without hope the darkness would consume all of Remnant.
"I'm scared" the admission from Rhodium Torchwick as he sat upon the sofa in the apartment he had given to Corona whilst she recovered was one that had obviously taken great consideration and effort to vocalise; it was enough for Corona herself to give him a concerned once over, burned and scarred face creasing as she frowned slightly
"What's wrong?"
"Oz" Rhodium answered, his tone implying that the answer should have been obvious "Oz and his little murder-bot"
"Okay yeah, I get that it's lot to wrap your head around" the Mantis Shrimp Faunus admitted; the idea that the Atlesian Scientist's companion was actually an android despite the clear evidence of her possessing an Aura would be laughable, were the Scientist in question anyone other than Ozymandias Eldritch; former right hand to the head of Remnant's leading robotics company, an undisputed genius with a distinctly skewed moral compass and his own goals which could only be guessed at. Corona, thinking that Rhodium was simply struggling to come to terms with the idea decided to distract him with it
"Look on the bright side" she grinned "If anyone's gonna be a target for soulless ginger jokes it'll be her"
"I think Oz had something to do with the breach" that comment made Corona choke on air, blood running cold as she took a moment to make sure that she had indeed heard correctly
"What?"
"Think about it" Rhodium mused "What do we really know about the guy other than he was selling raw Dust to use for Booster in Vale while he was getting rich at a robotics firm in Atlas and he got his face cooked running from the law….and it's not even like he's doing any of it for the Lien, he barely touches his cut"
"I mean it's weird, but not exactly proof of anything" Corona noted, unable to maintain her usual disinterested tone; it was not that she had any real faith or trust in Ozymandias Eldritch himself, it was simply that the idea of a man with his intellect and abilities choosing to apply them to such ends was a truly frightening idea
"No Grimm hit the club, he was lying about that which means he wrecked the place himself" Rhodium added, clearly still angry at the loss of the business; more for what it represented than the revenue it would cost him
"And then there's the fact he didn't wanna send Nickel to deal with the Atlesian Hunters" the mobster added, rising to his feet and beginning to pace "He even said that he had another job for her….it's like he knew it was coming, and even when I first met her she was talking to him about retrievals and shit. I don't like this Corona, not at all"
"So how do you wanna handle this?"
"You're the Hunter here babe" Rhodium chuckled darkly "All I know is how to bleed Lien out of people and have people who don't pay roughed up….all this fighting Grimm and stopping the bad guys shit, that's your line of work"
"Oh please, I am the bad guy" Corona laughed, both enjoying the complement but also unable to hide a twinge of sadness; seeing Foggy again had stirred her conscience if only a little "Besides you did okay out there"
"Thanks…..Grimm in the city, that's not what I signed up for; this place is mine"
"We can't let Oz know we suspect him" Corona said simply "If Nickel is as strong as we think she is then we're gonna have to play this very carefully….if we attack him directly, or you send him packing then he'll just have her kill us both and let her run the show"
"Figures" Rhodium growled "So what's the plan"
"We wait, we keep an eye on 'em….make sure you're right about this and if we are we find out what the hell he's doing" Corona eyes hardened and for a moment she felt like the loyal and idealistic Huntress she'd once been; back before her Team had disbanded and she'd ever met Foggy "And once we're ready we'll bury the bastard so deep they'll Atlesian miners to find him" Rhodium couldn't help but smirk as he noted
"Oum you're hot when you talk like that"
It was late night when Glynda Goodwitch made her way deep into the bowels of Halo Academy, footsteps echoing through empty hallways as she cast furtive glances at the man beside her
"Qrow are you okay" Glynda sighed, admitting to herself that it was a stupid question before rephrasing "How are you coping?"
"My family hate me and I feel like I've wasted my life….I won't lie, the bottle looks pretty damn tempting now" the frank admission was enough to bring Glynda to a halt; Qrow stopping a few paces later and turning to look at her in confusion.
"Qrow you're welcome to stay at the academy if you can't be alone right now, we have empty dormitories-"
"I'll be fine" Qrow answered gruffly, the fragility of his voice doing little to convince her "All these years I've been in Ozpin's shoes, looks like I played the part a little too well….I get why he never had a family now"
"I won't tell you that everything is going to be okay and that Ruby and Penny will forgive you" Goodwitch sighed "We've all made mistakes in handling the Eldritch situation, but I will say that she's a kind soul by nature and doesn't have the capacity for lasting hate"
"That's something I suppose" Qrow shrugged "Let's just see what we came here to see"
"Indeed" Glynda nodded, adjusting her glasses as she began to move again "And I must remind you that I have serious concerns about this being kept here"
"I understand completely, I'm concerned about it too" Qrow conceded "But as far as we know it's dormant….comatose maybe"
"I'm aware of that, Ruby was the one to bring it to the academy….allegedly under the advisement of Winter and Gangrel?"
"Nickel-Damn it Project Legacy" Qrow corrected himself, finding it easier to think of the rogue android as something other than a person "They're still active, until we've got a body Winter doesn't want the specimen transported….If Eldritch gets wind of it he'll have the whole ship brought down"
"An understandable concern" Glynda admitted as the pair came to a halt before a door that appeared nowhere in the campus's schematics; located between academy itself and the working of the massive anti-gravity propulsion systems, far more secretive than even the area used as makeshift cells when Hellion Eudialyte had been held prisoner in the academy, the door itself was comprised of Atlesian steel and Qrow could guess by looking at it that it was several inches thick
"Let's get a look at it then" Qrow growled, stepping aside to allow Glynda to place her hand onto a terminal mounted in front of the doorway and then have her retinas scanned by a wall mounted security system. Qrow quickly followed suit and the pair were greeted by a synthetic and computerised voice
"Zero One, Branwen. Zero Three, Goodwitch. Confirmed….Disabling security systems, stand by"
"Sounds like an older model, sure it's secure?" Qrow noted
"The newer AI models would be easier for Eldritch to hack into remotely" Glynda answered simply before the doors slid open with a hiss, behind them a small forcefield thrummed for a few seconds before flickering away whilst automated guns mounted on the ceiling that would have turned on any intruder simply remained trained upon their current priority. The walls of the room, which seemed to double as both a containment unit and a laboratory were reinforced with more Atlesian steel whilst in the centre of the room, encased in a translucent cylinder which reached almost to the ceiling filled with fluids was a nightmare made flesh suspended and sporting several cables and instruments embedded in their obsidian hide
"Corey cut it's limbs off" Qrow noted
"They grew back….though more slowly than previously described"
"The head wound?"
"It seems that with the axel still piercing its' skull and presumably its' brain it can't recover"
"Interesting" Qrow mused "Is Atlas sending scientists, I assume Winter will want to know what makes this thing tick?"
"They are, as well as a small security team"
"Good" Qrow fought back a shiver at the sight of the monster, of all the Grimm he had faced over his career this one chilled him to the bone in a way that nothing else had.
Despite the damage done to the city during the breach, despite strained and utterly ruined relationships with various members of his family and the crushing weight of his own conscience Qrow could rest assured that they achieved one thing that would make Remnant safer.
They had captured and neutralised a sentient Grimm.
Pantheon currently posed no threat.
Authors Notes:
And boom, that's the end of Vol.08.
So that's everyone pretty much on the same page, which was the main goal of this wrap-up of a chapter….At this point in the story the various groups of protagonists all need to be able to make a concerted effort against what's coming.
And trust me, what's coming is gonna be spectacular.
So, let's summarise shall we:
I swear this story has had more "Wake up in a hospital room" scenes than Evangelion.
Ruby had a skull mask in my writing before Maria turned up in canon.
Ah the old Xiao Long family tradition of banter to deal with potentially life changing or fatal injuries.
Seriously though, landing strategies are something you're expected to know before you even get to the academy.
A city level is roughly two stories…..so Felix made one hell of a hole in the tower he ripped though.
Redwood's an ass-hat, but not outright evil.
So nobody is dead….I think I've mellowed out, if that battle had taken place during The Downward Spiral there would have been about half a dozen named casualties.
Come on, Ruby would totally have given Syneffo a mild talking to and then bought her cookies.
And there it is, the ginger and sadistic cat is out of the bag.
Sorry but Rhodey and his crew are not Hunters and a few of them definitely got gutted and/or eaten.
So, Foggy and Corona have to have some kind of closure.
Sorry if the Nickel/Oz thing was off-putting to some people, let me just clarify that Oz is not a child molester. I have not and will not ever have that kind of subject matter in my writing; it just looked a lot worse than it actually was and was enough to have Torchwick going in weapons drawn, because as we've said before….he's got standards.
Yeah Nickel is an absolute mess after that; arm had to be removed, wings ripped off, a good chunk of her outer layer is damaged including a lot of the left side of her face, her left eye is damaged and her chest plate is partially caved in and ripped open….She's not impervious to damage.
Oz handled that situation like a boss, completely managing Torchwick's understanding of the situation….the problem is that he's underestimating him.
So Nickel scrapped her own sword, lost one of her photon weapons and can't fly any more….lucky for her then that she was already working on making something based on the Omega Wing; although she's got something bigger in mind as a base for it.
Damn Ruby was pissed, and had every reason to be.
So that's the basics of what Nickel is, a later model of Penny intended for military use specifically against other Hunters….I almost want to have Penny quote Mewtwo to her but I've done that in another story.
Ruby figured out what Qrow couldn't. Qrow and the others were too busy trying to find the connection between Nickel, Ozymandias and Pantheon to realise that Nickel was a safeguard against Ruby.
So yeah, Ruby is gonna be around next volume but post Third Year her and Penny are gonna be out of Vale; it raises the stakes not having a Silver Eyed Warrior on hand to deal with anything major….and trust me what comes after Ozymandias is major.
I'll be honest the whole scene with Qrow and Ruby was hard to write, it was one of those arguments that everybody loses and it genuinely killed off my will to write for a day.
Yang would totally organise field trips just to visit Blake at work.
So, Blake and Yang finally meet Myrtle, as much as this could have turned into an argument I really didn't want it to.
But let's be serious though Blake would have been ready to fuck Redwood up; fighting bigotry is what she does for a living and this fool had the gall to call her marriage unnatural and imply that she was in the pocket of racist humans.
Blake knew of Redwood because he used to work at the docks and was unfairly laid off, because he was a Faunus….those docks weren't empty when the Grimm hit.
So yeah, Felix and all his friends are gonna be training Astra and there's a truce of sorts with Redwood….even if he is still a bigoted and ignorant fool.
Team GORE wishing they'd been able to defend a Kingdom's capital city, how they've grown.
The Broken Coast haven't been here since Vol.3 when Team GORE were still the Shadow Cadre and were keeping Antonia there; it was where Corvid fought a Kaiju sized Grimm.
Rover gives no fucks about Raffia's attitude.
So, the plan to force Torchwick to the table and negotiate him handing Oz over is still going ahead; let's see how Fawn and Junior take it.
So, Team GORE finally got their ship….and I can't help but imagine Gangrel howling with laughter as he picked that one out specifically; but when it's fixed up it'll be great.
God I wanna write Rover sitting Raffia down and explaining basic economics to him….the little guy would explode at the notion of income tax.
Okay so there we are, going into Vol.9 Team FADE, NEON, GORE, CLIR and Qrow/Winter's cabal are all pretty much on the same page regarding who and what the enemy is; it can't be put off any longer.
Oh Eagle is pissed at her parents.
Fluffy and Corey can't really be angry at each other, both of them were willing to keep what they knew secret….Corey knew more, but Felix knew first.
And Astra got his introduction to the coolest people ever….I would have had Helios in the room as well but it was crowded and he has his own team to look after.
I don't think there's anyone other than Corona that Rhodey could admit that he's scared to.
Rhodey isn't an idiot and he doesn't like being played; Corona is still a Huntress at heart, even if she's a corrupt and disgraced one….and now both of them are onto Ozymandias.
Qrow is not in a good place and while it is his own fault, he had the best intentions.
Goodwitch is right about Ruby, she doesn't do lasting grudges and hate.
So Pantheon is being stored inside Halo Academy; Oz still needs Pantheon….so you can see what the conflict of Vol.9 is going to be.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Funlander and DizzyDwarf for their reviews on the last chapter.
Yeah Dragon Ball Z is what I was thinking when I was writing it.
I honestly can't even remember enough of Jeepers Creepers to confirm or deny that.
Of course Oobleck is gonna be fine, he can outrun death.
Nora would most likely have been on the ground with some of the students; they didn't authorise the Yashima Protocol from Vol.3; Team GORE were still on the way back, they were on the coast of Anima when they got the call.
I mean it was ineffective just by virtue of it being Felix; I'm not gonna kill him with a year left of story to go.
Who ever said Pantheon was dead, they're a Grimm and their body didn't fade.
Well….he's some of the way there.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.