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Chapter 115: Make Your Play
Rhodium Torchwick's eyes burned and stung and his head spun with exhausted dizziness in response to a world that was simply too bright and loud for him to process at that moment whilst cold sweat prickled at his temples and the back of his neck; outwardly the redheads' only response was to shake his head slightly and adjust the hood that was pulled low over his face whilst continuing through the streets of New Vale surrounded by a group of roughly twenty of his underlings, his eyes darted around rapidly and although he was not carrying Melodic Cudgel whose distinctive design would draw eyes under any circumstances, especially if it were contrasted against the simple grey hoodie and sweatpants he currently wore his hand still nervously twitched towards the handgun tucked into his waistband at the sign of anything even remotely out of place, as though he expected to be ambushed from all sides at any second.
All things considered it was perhaps not an unreasonable fear.
With a silent nod Torchwick led his mob of thugs into bar and lowered his hood, instantly feeling the relief of the darkness; the daylight was harsh and the lighting within the Hive City attempted to mimic it whilst this particular establishment favoured an almost perpetual gloom
"We're not actually open for another….Oh Mister Torchwick, didn't realise it was you" the portly, ageing and cheery man behind the bar was the proprietor of the bar and currently the only person currently working there, cleaning, refilling and other tasks that needed to be completed before the first customers arrived.
"Turn that shit off" Torchwick nodded in the direction of the jukebox, a heavy and cumbersome thing that almost certainly qualified as an antique and exclusively played songs that were older that Rhodium himself, songs which were doing nothing to ease the mobsters' headache at present. Rather than wait for the bartender to comply one of Torchwick's goons wandered over and silenced the jukebox before the group broke up into several smaller cliques who took up positions across the otherwise empty bar, ostensibly minding their own business though anyone paying them more than a passing glance would notice that all eyes were trained intently on the entrance and that most of the young men were anxious and fidgety, like their leader their hands dipped towards concealed weapons periodically
"They're paying cash if they're drinking, but I'm gonna need this months' Lien up front" Rhodium explained to the bartender; his tone unthreatening but still firm before adding "And get me a whiskey, no chaser"
"Little early isn't it?" Rhodium raised an eyebrow at the bartender, the idea of questioning a paying customer utterly ridiculous to the criminal
"Little late, I haven't slept yet" with that Rhodium skulked towards the back of the dingy bar and took a seat, resting his gun on the table and taking a moment to rub his eyes and attempt to focus himself before trying to process the previous nights' events and formulate a plan for how to proceed.
It had been catastrophic, over the course of eight hours Torchwick had been reduced to scurrying frantically and watching in powerless horror whilst his criminal empire had been all but destroyed.
His enemies' opening gambit had come in the form of Ignatius Silvertongue's arrest; footage of Torchwick's lawyer being marched from his home towards a waiting police car with his hands cuffed behind his back had been displayed on the news programmes of several television channels and the smirking face of a Hunter with a Cybernetic hand, vibrant green eyes and combed over, deep scarlet hair was Torchwick's first warning that plans against him had been set in motion, though even it had come too late. Knowing amongst the many important documents stolen from Silvertongue's office were the paperwork pertaining to the apartment he and Corona were currently living in and purchase orders for several of the components Ozymandias had needed to manufacture the Mantis Shrimp Faunus's arm had sent Torchwick into a panic, he had hurriedly found new accommodations for the two of them; packing everything that could be crammed within a single van and simply setting the apartment on fire as they left in an effort to destroy anything that could possibly be used as evidence.
From there things had gotten much worse, Rhodium had contacts within New Vale's police department and whilst he didn't have the authority to simply make problems vanish he did have enough favour with those in important positions to be given sporadic updates of events, sometimes with enough time to make calls and get his workers to safety; though in the vast majority of cases armed police had surrounded and apprehended everyone.
The only possible upside, as tenuous of a description as it was would be that Torchwick had now learned the name and motivations of one of the group who had seemingly made it their mission to destroy him. The Police officer Fawn Brindle had personally led the raid on one of his smaller drug dens and the shock on Rhodium's face upon learning that the narcotics officer whom he had killed two years ago had a sister had been nothing in comparison to his shock at her actions; the operation she had raided was a small scale thing, selling nothing but the cheapest and least problematic of narcotics and run almost exclusively by those deemed to lack the heart for anything more serious, the idea that they would attempt to fight the police was laughable.
Yet Fawn Brindle at shot everyone in the room in the back of the head and her fellow officers had corroborated her claims of self defence.
Torchwick rubbed his eyes again, Corona was currently asleep at the place they would be staying for a while and the knowledge that she was safe was an undeniable relief, though the loss of his legal team almost all of his drug dealing operation and over three hundred of his workers in addition to his current string of losses left Rhodium scared; at this rate he wouldn't have enough manpower left to enforce his protection rackets and he hadn't been to his own apartment or seen his sports car in months; he was sure that his enemies must have bugged them by now if nothing else.
Before he could really consider his next steps he felt his Scroll vibrate in his pocket and with fear coiling in his gut he withdrew it, expecting to hear more news of incarcerations and murders; his stomach plummeted further when he saw exactly which of his underlings was contacting him
"Talk to me Slick" Rhodium murmured, unable to manifest his usual swaggering bravado and simply sounding tired
"Rhodey, boss man I need to get the fuck out of here, I-"
"Stay where you are, what's going on?"
"Hunters just showed up"
"What?" now Rhodium had his customary energy, propelled by a mix of fire and ice in his veins as terror wrestled with fury at the thought of what Slick was watching over being violated in such a way
"Two Faunus, a chick with mismatched eyes and a guy with a tail in a mask" Rhodium spat out a curse in response to the descriptions recognising them instantly
"They still inside?"
"Yeah boss, I-"
"Stay there unless they leave, if they leave you follow 'em and keep me posted. I'll be there soon" he ended the call and let out a shrill whistle, getting the attention of his crew and preparing to leave the bar; taking care to pay for his untouched drink and collect the protection money he was owed before leaving, his face never changing from a murderous grimace.
The Hunters had broken into his mothers' house, a line had been crossed and Rhodium intended to respond in person.
For the third year students of Halo Academy lunch had been followed by a double period of one of the core subjects they were required to study for the entirety of their four years as students, namely Grimm Studies. At the front of the lecture hall Professor Dove Bronzewing was speaking particularly animatedly as he pointed to several impressively in depth diagrams of the particular species of Grimm that was being discussed whilst providing detailed countermeasures to the many threats the creature presented, interspersed with his own personal anecdotes and answers to the questions asked by the students who had taken up seats towards the front of the lecture hall.
Teams FADE, GORE and NEON however could not bring themselves to care as much as their fellow students despite their best efforts; it was not to say that the Professor Bronze Wing was an incapable teacher or that they were not interested in the subject matter, on the contrary each of them were deeply committed to combating the Creatures of Grimm in the most effective way possible. The problem was that ever since the appearance of Pantheon, whom every member of the three teams currently sequestering themselves at the back of the lecture hall with the exception of Felix had faced; other Grimm sere simply impossible to regard with the same level of fear and respect. Pantheon was monstrous, an intelligent Grimm capable of leading multiple co-ordinated strikes in tandem and both formulating a larger strategy and adapting to overcome resistance; furthermore Pantheon's ability to regenerate had made them a truly terrifying opponent, easily as resilient as most Hunters, other Grimm were simply lesser opponents in every way.
"Hellion says you need thrusters for what you're planning? If you can find a way to carry them we should have a few parts you can use" Onyx's deep rumbling voice was hushed as he addressed Eagle, Team FADE and GORE were sat alongside each other, Eagle holding hands with Hellion under the table whilst Team Neon had taken the row in front, the stepped seating allowing Felix to lean down and either joke with Nyanza or flirt with Helios; though the Lion Faunus stopped and turned towards Eagle upon hearing Onyx speak
"Gonna tell me what you've got planned for the Lightning Bug?"
"It's a secret" Eagle whispered conspiratorially "But it's gonna be so cool"
"Fine, fine" Felix gave an exaggerated pout before addressing Onyx and Carcharodon "You guys still need parts, your ship had a ton of robotics right?"
"We do" Carcharodon rasped quietly "Many vital parts of the ship won't function without them"
"I'll see what I can get hold of for you" Felix offered with a shrug "Aunt Ruby's moving out of the Kingdom and she's not gonna take everything from her place with her"
"Thank you"
"You'd do that for us?" Raffia asked, utterly taken aback the gesture of kindness
"Yeah, we're all friends here right?" the response caught the Axolotl Faunus off-guard and he compensated in the only way he knew that didn't involve violence, with sneering indifference and contempt
"No"
"Really" Felix feigned a hurt impression "I was gonna buy you a pirate hat and everything"
"Give it to your sister" Raffia snorted "It'll match her-" he came to a choking halt as Onyx's meaty paw wrapped around his throat, Carcharodon quickly broke the two apart with a hissed warning and the group collectively sat up a little straighter as Professor Bronzewing's intent gaze passed over them.
After taking notes and attempting to follow the admittedly somewhat lecture for a while Eagle turned to Hellion, the subject of repairs on Team GORE's as yet unnamed ship causing concerns to come to mind entirely of their own accord
"Hey Hellion" she whispered nervously "I know you're gonna have to work over the summer and stuff so you'll probably be at sea but….you're not gonna be away the whole time right?"
"We'll be docking in New Vale" the Dragonfly Faunus assured her kissing each of Eagle's knuckles in turn and causing her freckled cheeks to flush scarlet as she nuzzled into her girlfriend happily
"Good" she murmured into Hellion's hair "I missed you last summer"
Felix watched the two of them in vague amusement before the topic of conversation brought similar concerns to the forefront of his own mind and after checking that Professor Bronzewing was still preoccupied with his lesson before leaning down to Helios
"Hey….where are you gonna be staying over the summer? You heading back to Anima?"
"No" Helios's response came as something of a surprise and as he shook his head he elaborated "I wasn't exiled from the Nikosi but I still made the choice to leave, I should find somewhere of my own in the city"
"Rent isn't cheap" Felix noted, clearly concerned as the beginnings of an idea began to form
"I'm heading over to Mistral to see Razz over the summer but I talked my parents into putting him up for a couple weeks while I'm still on Patch" Nyanza explained, unable to keep the smile from his face at the thought of his long distance partner
"You can stay at mine or Ether's over the rest of the summer" Olivine offered
"I've got a better idea" Felix's eyes seemed to light up as he spoke "Stay at my place, Blake and Yang love you; they'd be cool with it….I can talk to 'em about it if you want?"
"That would be….amazing" Helios smiled warmly until an idea occurred to him "Would they not have a problem with us sleeping in the same bed?"
"I doubt it" Felix shrugged "Besides, Corey's room is up for grabs anyway"
"You are one opportunistic little fucker Dude" Diamond chuckled, she and Arctus having been the quietest of their group of friends; the two of them actually paying a respectable amount of attention and compiling notes that would no doubt be borrowed and copied at a later date. Felix merely shrugged and grinned in response to the accusation; Diamond rolled her eyes and turned to Arctus
"So since everyone's planning their summer….Are you coming to Mistral this time?" the teasing was gentle but the Bear Faunus still felt a need to respond
"Yeah….I'm still sorry about last summer Dee, but y'know with us adopting Coral and everything-"
"I know Big Guy, trust me it's fine" she assured him before giving him a devilish smile "But my parents still wanna meet you….you've literally met my Dad for like, a minute"
"And that minute was enough to legitimately terrify me" Arctus replied with an exaggerated shudder "I feel like my death will be a joint effort between your Dad and my sisters when they find out I'm gonna be away all summer"
"Dork" Diamond sighed, giving him a playful slap to the shoulder, Arctus simply managed to grab her arm and pull her in for a brief kiss
"IF MISTER SLATE AND MISS SUSTRAI-BLACK COULD REFRAIN FROM TREATING MY CLASS LIKE THE BACK OF A MOVIE THEATRE!" Professor Bronzewing's voice boomed out from the front of the lecture; followed by a chorus of laughter. Diamond looked to her friends' and team-mates who were predictably the ones who found it the most hilarious of all; her eye twitching at the fact that out of all the antics and bickering that had occurred at the back of the class she and Arctus were the ones to be singled out.
Her response was heard clearly enough for Professor Bronzewing to give her a detention.
Ozymandias's remaining eye narrowed behind his avian mask which was quickly removed allowing the treasonous scientist to treat Nickel Polendina to a baleful glare as she stepped through the poisonous and pungent green smog that hung in the air as he worked on the latest batch of Booster; the glare was one that would have left many people trembling if they were subjected to it, his eye seemed to glow and the air around him crackled with some arcane energy that set nerves on edge and sent chills down spines. Nickel for her part was unperturbed and merely rolled her now slightly mismatched eyes whilst letting out a comically exaggerated sigh of annoyance and boredom
"What?"
"You're back early" Ozymandias observed, making no effort to keep the accusation from his irritated tone as Nickel simply hoisted herself up onto a workbench and made her self comfortable whilst feigning disinterest
"I can't find it" she shrugged "I've got other stuff I wanna do today so whatever"
"Nickel" Ozymandias demanded her attention with the forced behind the word "That living trident could prove to be vital in our plans. We know that Pantheon is still alive and that the weapon was bonded to them; with it we could find them"
"Great" Nickel yawned "Still can't find it though chief. Press F for that plan"
"Damn it Nickel!" Ozymandias's voice echoed unnaturally "Get back out there and look!"
"Why don't you go and look for it ass-hole, you're not my Dad!" Nickel leapt to her feet and the two held each others' gaze as the space between them seemed to become charged and the atmosphere heavier
"No, your Father left you deactivated and hidden away to be used as spare parts" the words made Nickel flinch as if they were a physical blow and though she looked away she remained defiant, pacing around Ozymandias's work area and gesticulating wildly as she began to rant
"This isn't gonna work chief!" she exclaimed in clear exasperation "I thought you wanted me to keep a low profile? That thing could be anywhere! Can it dig, has it burrowed into the sewers? Can it climb walls, is it chilling hanging onto the bottom of an airship or the edge of one of the Hive Towers? Is it in the bottom of one of the billion trash cans in this city? Is it hiding in the ventilation and service shafts or is some loser keeping it as a pet and feeding it snacks? I don't know chief and I've got nothing to go on!"
"You've made your point but the fact remains-"
"That you're gonna have me wandering around all day and all night looking for it" Nickel interrupted, fighting the urge to throw something "This aint it chief. It could be anywhere and I don't have a way to track it down; you're the one with the creepy Grimm obsession and weird mental link with Pantheon, so yeah how about you hit the pavement and look for the weaponised centipede and I'll stay here and work on my new weapon; y'know the one that will actually get some results" Nickel remained silent as she waited for an answer, her pacing having ended with her facing away from Ozymandias and unable to see his face; when no response came from the scientist she turned around expectantly only to rush to his side and keep him from losing balance as dark blood laced with a viscous black substance that was unmistakably the stuff from which Grimm matter was formed poured from his nose, mouth and ear whilst his flesh blackened and rotted away from his bones; Ozymandias shook violently and acid green light shone and crackled around him as the Powers of the Wizard rapidly undid the damage within moments, healing him to his regular, but still disfigured form.
"I need you to this for me Nickel" he gasped out, wiping the sticky blood away from his face "I'm running out of time….If I die she'll have to start over again, there isn't time" the last part came as feverish, almost delirious rambling which Nickel could make no sense of, yet she relented and helped the old and dying man into a seat
"Okay, fine you got it Chief" she muttered before turning on her heel and making her way out of makeshift laboratory where Torchwick's drugs were made; as she did so she found a scrawny and acne-ridden teen wearing a baggy hoodie waiting outside and trembling nervously at the sight of her
"He's busy" Nickel snarled
"A load of trap-houses got hit last night, everyone who's left is out of work and-"
"I said he's busy, make me repeat myself again and see what happens!" the androids' fist collided with a wall and buried itself in the brickwork before she stalked away and left the terrified drug dealer to his own devices, reasoning that if he bothered Ozymandias and paid the price for it then it would be his own fault. What Nickel did not see was that the teen pulled a cheap Scroll with cracked casing out of his pocket and surreptitiously stopped recording; he had no idea why Torchwick wanted his own supplier kept under observation but he knew better than to question the mobster.
"No, no let me show you again, like this and you turn at the waist as you extend your arm out" Felix then crouched to adjust Astra's stance so that the boy was distributing his weight properly
"Go for it" he grinned and stood back to watch with pride as the young Deer Faunus delivered a series of punches into the padded mitts that a crouched Eagle was wearing; with proper form and technique as opposed to the wild and ineffective flailing he'd been doing previously
"Remember what I said before" Felix intoned as Astra continued, subconsciously taking on mannerisms that were very much like Yang's when she taught combat classes at Signal Academy "Fast right and a strong left, just like that; now, don't lean back from punches and take your self off balance, you wanna slip under it as your arm comes out" Astra made a valiant effort, the boy had the potential to be a capable boxer even if he ultimately never went on to become a Huntsman; but Eagle's vastly slowed and weakened blow still managed to lift the boy from his feet as it snagged against one of his antlers and toppled him over.
"You okay?" Felix asked as he helped the boy to his feet
"Yeah" Astra mumbled forlornly, eyes downcast "I just wish I didn't suck at this so much" the initial training sessions had been excitable affairs with several of the boys' classmates present, once the novelty had worn off and it was made clear that Felix expected hard work and genuine effort from anyone that he decided to teach their numbers had begun to dwindle until it was only the two brothers and which ever of Felix's friends were helping at the time; in the more personal setting Astra's self doubts, almost certainly a product of bullies commenting on his height, weight and glasses were beginning to show themselves
"You don't suck" Eagle gasped earnestly as she ruffled his hair at the point where his underdeveloped antlers met his skull
"Nobody gets it straight away and nobody doges all the time" Felix promised before adding in a lighter tone "Especially not against Eagle, she can punch anyone and anything, Grimm, other Hunters, any bad guys we come across, she could probably punch the rain back into a cloud if she wanted" both Astra and Eagle were giggling uncontrollably by the time he was done, his partner making a show of miming said punching action
"Do you knocked over when you're training sometimes?" Astra asked
"Oh all the time….It's a good thing Diamond isn't here actually, she keeps score" Felix assured his brother before placing his hands gently on the boys shoulders and becoming more serious "It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down or how you get knocked down; all that matters, all that is ever going to matter is that you keep getting back up and trying again because that's how you win at life"
"Okay" the Deer Faunus stood a little straighter, sensing that it was important to Felix he resumed the proper stance that he had been taught and raised his guard "I wanna try again"
"You can do it" Felix assured him as Eagle raised the padded mitts, Astra's small gloved fists flew out with as much force as the boy could muster; a pair of left jabs followed by a right hook and a left cross then when Eagle's hand swept towards the side of his head he weaved below it and replied with an almost perfect uppercut
"That's better!" Felix cheered "You've got it!" Astra was practically bouncing with happiness in response to this until Eagle gently interrupted
"I think your Dad's here to pick you up" Felix glanced out across the artificial park that they were using for their training sessions and saw that Redwood was indeed making his way over to them, the Lion Faunus glowered in the mans' direction for a moment before forcing his expression into a more neutral one
"Come on then" he sighed, Eagle quickly retrieved her shield and deployed Sentinel who bleeped and chirped animatedly
"Hop on" she grinned, gesturing for Astra to ride on the droids' shoulders which he did with clear enthusiasm
"Hey Dad, check this out!" he called out to his father as they drew closer to each other
"That's, that's great son….just be careful" Redwood's eye twitched and a vein in his forehead pulsed at the sight of his child riding around on what was, in his mind essentially a small tank with a mind of its' own
"I was learning some boxing stuff today!" Astra added
"Yeah, just the basics" Felix clarified with a smirk "Don't worry Arctus and Diamond aren't here either, we're not gonna corrupt him too much" Redwood at least had the decency to look ashamed; Arctus had told Felix that whilst Astra was a good kid he had no interest in training the boy on days when Redwood would be picking him up; not only was Arctus in the kind human and Faunus relationship that the man openly disrespected, he was also the product of one and had encountered far too much racism in Atlas, however thinly veiled to continue to let such comments go unanswered; Felix for his part understood and respected his cousins' position.
"Let's not do this" Redwood sighed, Felix relented and chose not to antagonise the man any further for reason other than Astra's presence. The older mans' next words however came as a surprise
"I read your Mum's book….She makes some pretty good arguments in it, it'd be interesting to talk politics with her some time" with that he gestured for Astra to follow him, the boys' next training session having already been agreed with Myrtle beforehand; the younger Faunus quickly gave Felix a hug before following his father which left Felix and Eagle staring after them in confusion; the Lion Faunus turning to his partner and asking a question he desperately needed an answer to
"Okay….what the fuck was that?" Eagle shrugged
"Maybe he's growing as a person….it's possible right?" neither blonde looked fully convinced by this idea.
Several unmarked vans of the kind favoured by builders and tradesmen came to abrupt halts at various points in adjacent streets within one of New Vale's Hive Towers, forming a loosely square formation around the house that belonged to Candy Cain, the home in which Rhodium Torchwick had been raised. Late afternoon was rapidly blurring into evening and the redhead had heard no word from his lookout to suggest that the Hunters who had broken into his home had left, in fact as he hopped out the back of the van parked directly outside of the front door he saw that they were still in the drivers' seat of their parked car nearby.
"Wait here, I'll go in first" Torchwick commanded as he handed Melodic Cudgel to one of his fellow criminals, in the hours that passed since learning of the Hunters presence here he had learned just much of his organisation was left following the previous nights' raids and marshalled his forces appropriately, which included the fifty or so goons all armed with the heaviest weapons he had had at his disposal; including the weapon that Torchwick took with him instead of his signature cane as he marched towards the house, a heavy triple-barrelled rotating laser cannon that had belonged to some dead Hunter or another.
Torchwick shouldered the weapon for just long enough to unlock the front door and step inside, the lights were off which he supposed he should have expected from Faunus who were capable of seeing in the dark; the element of surprise was certainly lost already and in all honesty he had no desire to creep around as though he were the one trespassing so instead he raised his voice and called out
"I KNOW YOU FUCKS ARE IN HERE!" in response the lights within the small combined kitchen and dining room flickered on and Torchwick continued his purposeful march, weapon held at the ready until he flung the door open and stepped into the kitchen; pointing the cannon squarely at the chest of the Husky Faunus sat at his mothers' kitchen table, their mask removed and the feline Faunus sat beside him
"Kid put that thing down before you get hurt" Rover Tan chuckled, genuinely amused by the oversized weapon which Rhodium was clearly using to compensate for his own lack of fortitude
"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?" Rhodium demanded as he erupted into anger "You break into my Ma's house and think you can tell me what to do? You might me be fast but you can't outrun a laser, you're not faster than light!"
"I don't have to, I just have to outrun your trigger finger" Rover shrugged in response, privately impressed at the mobsters' logic, flawed though it was.
"Torchwick sit down" Artemis huffed "There are two ways this ends and only one of them involves you walking out of here" Rhodium remained silent and though he remained stood the weapon was eventually lowered a fraction
"Where's Bordeaux?"
"Not involved in this part of the job" Rover answered honestly "She would've shot you by now and we'd prefer to negotiate if we can….as much as we don't want to"
"Really?" Torchwick spat hatefully "Your little crew didn't seem too bothered about casualties last night when Tiny's crew got lined up and shot in the back of the head while they were cuffed"
"Had to make sure you understood that we're serious" Artemis replied nonchalantly, Torchwick however knew a bluff when he saw one and had seen the way her mismatched eyes had widened a fraction and Rover's bushy-furred tail had stiffened; neither of them had known the true extent of Fawn Brindle's brutality towards his gang.
"What the fuck do we have to negotiate?" he demanded, choosing to see just what game was being played
"I imagine Melanie Malachite had similar thoughts when you proposed a meeting" Artemis said simply before making her pitch "Doctor Ozymandias Eldritch, your supplier. We want you to turn him over to us"
"For a lot more than just his drug business here and arming White Fang terrorists in Atlas….you knew about that right?" Rover added conversationally "No we want him in connection with some stolen technology that was being developed by the Atlesian Military….something intended to, in the long term redirect Grimm migration patterns. We have proof that he tried to steal a prototype and that his associates were involved in weakening the defences of New Vale and Arcadia, maybe he wanted a test run we don't know for sure"
"And that's not to mention his associate Nickel Polendina, who's wanted in connection with the murder of an Atlesian Specialist and several Hunters" Artemis took over, leaning closer to the redhead and taking on a more gentle tone "This is a dangerous game you're playing, working with these people. I don't think you knew all the consequences when you got involved"
"I'm not a snitch" Rhodium protested simply, though it was a half-hearted attempt at defiance as the revelation that all of his suspicions were correct washed over him like freezing waves.
"You don't look surprised" Rover commented, prompting the redhead to speak almost without thinking
"I had a feeling that something was right about the guy after the breach"
"He's gonna try it again" the Husky Faunus continued "And listen Torchwick, I think you're a fucking scumbag but here's one thing we can both agree on….we're both Vale boys and neither of us ever wanna see this city overrun again. You were around for the fall of Vale?"
"I was four" Torchwick admitted "Had nightmares for years after"
"So did we" Artemis confided "We were third year students when it happened, we were in the stadium when it started….one of our team died in the fighting when we made it into the city"
"So Rhodey" Rover sighed, making Torchwick bristle at the familiarity "Time to pick a side; are you on the side of the guy who wants to do it all again, or are you with us?"
"Listen mutt" Torchwick growled, his customary belligerence towards authority reasserting itself "I don't take threats or ultimatums from anybody….let's be real, even if I did set Ozpin up for you; either Nickel kills you both or I get shot in the back the next day anyway"
"Not necessarily" Rover shrugged "You noticed that we haven't touched your legal businesses, that's our way of giving you an out"
"Help us, cut your losses and leave New Vale. You'll still make money from the businesses you actually own but the drug dealing and extortion rackets are over" Artemis laid the terms of the deal that was being proposed "Or one way or another you're going to end up dead"
"Get the fuck out my Ma's house or I'm gonna kill everyone you know, ask Officer Bordeaux if I'm lying" Torchwick's words were hissed with venom that made both Hunters flinch before simply rising to their feet and leaving in silence. With the two of them gone Torchwick remained sat at his mothers' table for hours in silence and deep thought; desperately trying to convince himself that the idea of simply leaving everything he had built and taken for himself behind didn't feel indescribably liberating.
By early evening the forge and workshop of Halo Academy were almost entirely deserted leaving the smell of oil and heated metal permeating the air and a peaceful, if focused atmosphere, classes had ended hours ago and with no students expecting to be sent on a mission for at least several more weeks those students felt no real need to spend hours making minute adjustments to their weapons or cleaning them to absurd degrees; leaving the workshop to be the domain of those who needed to maintain a higher degree of concentration, a category which included Arctus Slate
"Don't mind me" the Bear Faunus came to an abrupt halt, remaining perfectly still as Corvid made herself comfortable opposite him and unloaded a small mountain of textbooks from her bag; Arctus made no effort to resume working until he was sure she was finished, not wanting to risk the internal components of his Grimmiger-Henker's double barrelled laser cannon being misaligned by even the smallest amount
"I thought you'd be working on the Omega Wing if you were down here?" Arctus noted conversationally, as he finished adjusting the component he was working on and raised a pair of goggles from his eyes; whilst Faunus were gifted with greater-than-human senses he still occasionally needed additional magnification.
"Made a start on it but honestly I've got time" Corvid shrugged as she took one of the many, almost ludicrously hefty books and found the page she was looking for "Final exams are in a few weeks though and I don't like studying in the library"
"Feeling confident?" Arctus asked, privately sure that Corvid had nothing to worry about though her face showed that she lacked such conviction; he tried not to stare at the way that even her cybernetic eye seemed to be able to convey emotion with constant albeit slight adjustments, Corvid having adopted a habit of lifting the eyepatch she still wore when she wanted to concentrate
"Confident, no" she chuckled darkly "Determined, absolutely….I did not get this done to my face just to fail because of paperwork; besides Team CLIR have already got a mission lined up for after we graduate" the injuries she gestured to had healed as well as they ever would, leaving a trio of parallel diagonal scars ran from her forehead to her left cheek, passing through her eyebrow and the bridge of her nose as they did so; Arctus however was more interested in the latter half of her reply
"Really?" he asked, openly impressed "Where, what is it?"
"Working with surveyors on Menagerie, scouting out a location for a new settlement….the Lien is trash but it gets our foot in the door and Iris pushed for it; her dad lives there and she's got some demons to bury on that island"
"Go for it" Arctus beamed enthusiastically, expression darkening a fraction "Did Qrow put a word in for you?"
"Nope" Corvid grinned "Aunt Ruby….she's worked on Menagerie plenty of times and she's serious about moving out there. I'm still gonna be helping Qrow out though"
"Just be careful" Arctus muttered
"Don't start this" Corvid snapped as she slammed her book down "Look I get it, going in blind sucks but let's get serious here; how many missions have you taken where you actually knew exactly what you were heading into?"
"I mean….It's not the same-"
"Maybe, maybe not" Corvid shrugged "All I know is that whatever you think about the way Qrow and Aunt Winter are handling it, it's still a job that needs to be done so I'm gonna help….I guess that makes turning down the Specialist offer kinda pointless, I'm still working for the same people anyway"
"Everyone works for a Schnee even if they don't know it yet" Arctus sighed, repeating the old adage that was often repeated in Atlas before something far more important stood out to him "Wait, you turned down an offer to join the Specialists? Are you insane?"
"The offer was only for me, I'm not leaving Team CLIR" Corvid shrugged "Speaking of teams, where's yours?"
"Dee went out with Ether and Helios for Mistrali after her detention, I think they're taking Helios's sister out as well" Arctus shrugged "Felix and Eagle are teaching Fluffy's little brother….I stayed here 'cos I don't trust myself around the kids' dad"
"I remember when you used to be the quiet and responsible one" Corvid laughed "I remember the first couple times you came to Patch as a kid, you were a nervous wreck….Thank Oum you grew out of it"
"Hey I was raised to be a god kid, be polite and try hard at school" Arctus shrugged, unable to stop himself from laughing at the memories "You and Fluffy used to break into scrapyards, he had three fights a day and you had an arsonist emo phase"
"Oh Oum I remember that" Corvid buried her face in her hands "Is this why the two of us never hand out without everyone else, some unwritten non-aggression pact?"
"Honestly I was still a little scared of you even in First Year" Arctus admitted "But we'll have to do something sometime"
"Definitely" Corvid agreed "Hey in the meantime, can you help me out and quiz me on some of the stuff in these books?"
"Sure" Arctus agreed, his weapon being set aside for the moment as he enjoyed the time with his cousin, knowing that it could be a long time before they had another opportunity to do so.
Elsewhere in Halo Academy Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch marched purposefully with her usual stern glare in place and any student whom she came across would most likely have assumed that she merely making a routine patrol or inspection of the campus; however reasonable this assumption may have been it was far from the truth. She made her way deeper into the bowels of the academy and the anti-gravity platform which supported, venturing into restricted areas and eventually dimly lit corridors located on entire floors whose existence was hidden from the schematics of the academy before coming to an Atlesian steel door several inches thick and placing her hand on a small terminal located beside it
"Zero Three Goodwitch. Confirmed" the computerised voice announced as Glynda's fingerprints and retinas were scanned, the sound of the door opening masking the sound of several weapons systems that would open fire without warning if any incorrect identification was given being deactivated; a moment later the forcefield behind the door was deactivated. With no further thought given to the automated defences Glynda stepped into the now familiar and well staffed laboratory and containment unit, the entrance closed behind her and the headmistress took a moment to simply gaze at Pantheon's immobile form with a healthy measure of respect which still hung suspended in a translucent cylinder, countless probes and other devices burrowing into their flesh and relaying information to the team of scientists who'd taken up residence here
"Don't worry, that thing's not going anywhere" the voice that spoke had an unmistakable Atlesian accent and Glynda turned to face them, giving a slight nod of acknowledgement to the Specialist Gangrel had sent; Donner was without a shadow of a doubt extremely capable in her field and Goodwitch trusted her assessment, though she compelled to make a single observation
"What happened to the subjects' chest?" she gestured to Pantheon, specifically the streamlined chest fin sprouting from the monsters' external ribcage which seemed to be in the process of slowly regrowing; a frightful sight though less harrowing that the rapid regeneration the Grimm was allegedly capable of
"We opened it up" Donner answered before leading Goodwitch towards a computer screen "We got some very interesting results, I've already had these sent back to Atlas" as she spoke she moved aside to allow Glynda to see what it was that they had found, her brow furrowed as she took in the images; with Pantheon's chest cavity opened she could see that the majority of the Grimm's innards were viscous and tar-like, forming only the vaguest facsimiles of functional organs; this was common to all Creatures of Grimm, they were death made manifest and had no purpose for such things. The similarities ended when Glynda caught sight of a glimpse of something glistening within the darkness, a shade of deep purple almost lost within the black
"What is that?" she enquired
"We're not sure yet" Donner answered "Grimm fade and doing that much damage to one usually kills it, all we've got it a visual comparison"
"To what?"
"Salem's fortress on Menagerie" the words were chilling
"Fossilised Grimm tissue?" Glynda whispered, unable to keep a hint of fear from her voice "To what purpose?"
"We don't know" Donner admitted with an irritable shake of her head "We tried to have the drone we sent in move it, the subject twitched….even with that axel still stuck in their head" Glynda balked at that; one of the longest serving Huntresses on Remnant she may have been but this monster scared her in a way no other had, the idea of it waking up inside her academy was abhorrent to her.
"Do not repeat that experiment"
"We weren't planning to….we're doing nothing but monitoring it until General Schnee says otherwise" Donner glared at Pantheon with open hostility and suspicion "Let's hope someone in Atlas can figure out what makes this one so special and why Eldritch wants it"
Authors Notes:
Okay I know this was another slower chapter but things are going to start picking up over the next couple; the first third of every volume is always set up and getting the pieces into place and as Vol.9 is going to tie up certain plot-lines from the first three years and set up the finale that is Vol.10-12, we've got a decent amount of setting up to be done.
Anyway let's summarise:
So Rover, Missy and Scarlet have made their move and Rhodey is pretty much on the ropes at this point.
Fawn gives no fucks at this point, when she signed up for this whole plan she was willing to do things the right way and have Torchwick brought to justice; now that people are trying to cut deals she's just looking for revenge.
Rhodey is a mama's boy at heart and there are certain lines you don't cross.
I think I made a fair point there, it's kinda hard to take any other threats seriously after Pantheon.
You know damn well Raffia was gonna make a joke about Corey's eye; that boy has no idea how to react to kindness or friendship.
Blake and Yang will absolutely let Helios stay over the summer.
So Oz is planning on using Flesh-Seeker to find Pantheon, that's gonna be a fun confrontation.
Yes Nickel just said "You're not my dad"
Torchwick is actually having Oz spied on, things are getting interesting in the villain camp.
Felix teaching Astra to box was wholesome and enjoyable to write, simple as that.
And yes Eagle can punch the rain back into a cloud if she feels like it, she just chooses not.
I think Arctus is doing the smart thing by not putting himself in those situations.
Rhodey was so close to having a good idea when he brought the laser, so close.
They're giving Torchwick just enough of the facts to make the decision they want, he doesn't need to know about sentient Grimm or Nickel being a robot (He already does know about Nickel but they don't know he knows)
The fall of Vale was roughly 22 years ago at this point so Torchwick is 26/27 Team GRAP are in their early 40s now.
Torchwick's suspicions aren't exactly unreasonable.
So Team CLIR are 100% going to be out of the way as of Fourth Year, as are Ruby and Penny and Gangrel is going to be stepping down from his role in the Specialist Branch; basically a lot of powerful players are going to be off the board.
Menagerie is where Iris lost her arm.
Corey is doing Diamond's "Almost break the fourth wall" thing here, at the start of this story Felix was definitely more likely to go ape-shit that Arctus, now I honestly think Arctus might be slightly worse; and Corey and Arctus never do seem to hang out one on one.
So yeah the testing on Pantheon is slowly producing some results, I'll explain what the fossilised Grimm tissue inside Pantheon is for in a later chapter and hopefully you'll figure out why it's massively important before the finale.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Funlander and DizzyDwarf for their reviews on the last chapter.
Kafsi was operating alone in Atlas and Junior has contacts everywhere, most likely he had her gun picked up before her body had even been sent to Atlas.
I'm sure Eagle will introduce Hellion to marshmallows at some point.
Yeah, I've done the sparring too.
Corey and Onyx's relationship is currently "It's complicated"
Yeah the camping trip was fine, they were just chilling in the woods behind Ruby and Penny's house; no Grimm there.
Nickel has already reached peak crazy….The parts are just for the weapon.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.