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Chapter 118: Armistice
The air itself rippled and shimmered in the heat and Helios was grateful that he had not worn his armour today, noting that it would most likely have caused serious burns to his skin or have at least begun to warp and give way under the force of the searing waves buffeting them much like the supposedly heat treated panels lining the wall were beginning to, causing Helios to raise a single scarlet eyebrow and give Doctor Acacia a deeply concerned stare.
Felix had confided to Helios that he had an appointment at New Vale's Poly-Tech branch where the resident scientists would continue to test their various prototypes and hypotheses against the Lion Faunus's incredibly powerful Semblance, he had also explained that the testing procedure was exceptionally strenuous and left him both physically and mentally drained, sometimes struggling to move. Helios had asked if Felix if wanted the redhead to accompany him for moral support, an offer which the Lion Faunus had gratefully accepted whilst noting that he didn't exactly want his boyfriend to see him in such a frail and diminished state but he would be glad of his presence nonetheless, especially now that Corvid had returned to Patch and was preoccupied with the Lien in hand jobs she was undertaking for Sun Wukong and several local businesses.
"How long do you expect him to keep this up….Doctor?" Helios added the mans' title, deciding that he didn't mean to sound as rude or belligerent as he perhaps had done
"As long as he can" the lab-coat wearing man answered, though something about his tone was reassuring to the redhead; suggesting that this particular scientist was interested primarily in improving lives and not creation for creations' sake and often at the expense of others as was the case too often. Felix was too preoccupied to add anything to the conversation; having had what the doctor had explained to Helios was a dummy version of the Cybernetic tail they were developing for the blonde fitted to the cap on the stump of his tail whilst dozens of other thermal sensors intended more for industrial work and automated forges had been fastened to his body before being given the instruction to enter his Balrog state for as long as possible whilst trying to direct the Aura manifested flames wreathing his body to burn as brightly and as hot as possible. The result was that Felix had blazed like a minute sun for over twenty consecutive minutes, the golden light enveloping him so harsh that Helios was left wondering how on earth his boyfriend with his more acute vision could possibly stand it
"And what're you hoping to gain from this?"
"We think we've managed to create an alloy that can withstand continued exposure to Felix's Semblance; this test is measuring both his output and the temperature of what would be the internal mechanisms of the cybernetic. We want to rule out any possible structural or mechanical failures due to the forces acting on it the field, caused either by the Grimm or by Felix himself" seeing that the overly verbose reply had made Helios's vivid green eyes narrow in slight distrust Doctor Acacia quickly added "This limb is going to have an interesting feature that we would rather not go haywire, for everyone's sake"
The discussion was prevented from going any further as heat and light being emitted abruptly guttered out and the air seemed to rush back towards Felix to fill in a sudden void that had been left in its' absence
"Fluffy?" before the single word could even leave Helios's lips Felix had collapsed forwards onto his hands and knees with several of the sensors fitted to his body being pulled loose in the process. Helios came skidding to a halt at his side and crouched down beside the Faunus, heart hammering in his chest and eyes wide as he heard the rattling, desperate gasps that Felix made as he tried to breathe through a coughing fit and shuddered violently with his chest rising and falling unevenly
"Fluffy, Fluffy breathe, slow deep breaths" slowly Felix's ragged and pained gasps slowed into more regular breathing though his hand still massaged his abdomen, the spot where Helios knew that the steel spike fired by Delta of the Cult of Taurus had pierced him. Helios slowly helped Felix into a nearby plastic chair which had begun to melt at some point during the testing and noted that a layer of cold sweat coated the Faunus whose skin was deathly pale and cold, with the usual flaking that occurred after using his Semblance to its' fullest
"You did great" Helios murmured against Felix's neck as the blonde slumped limply against him, barely able to support himself enough to even sit upright
"That was rather impressive" Doctor Acacia chimed in, though he still looked away and gave the two a modicum of privacy as Helios continued to cradle Felix, sounding somewhat distracted as he added "We managed to get some very promising data from that by the looks of it; our next test should be a lot more simple, it involves-"
"He needs water" Helios interrupted bluntly, every ounce of self control being dedicated to not wringing the doctors' neck; Doctor Acacia looked at the still trembling Faunus and berated himself under his breath before answering
"Of course, my apologies. Mister Xiao Long take as much time to recover as you need or if you want to postpone any further testing we can reschedule" Felix stubbornly shook his head and indicated that he wanted to continue. When the scientist left Helios gently cupped Felix's cheeks and met his tired gaze whilst speaking softly
"You don't have to do this….you have nothing to prove, not to me"
"I know" Felix murmured, resting his forehead against Helios's "But I've started so I may as well finish….the more breaks I take the longer it goes on for" Helios frowned with concern until Felix reached up and gently traced the scar that Phobos had left along his left cheek
"Okay" the redhead nodded "But if you collapse again I'm carrying you out of here and the scientists will have to make do with what information they have" Felix laughed weakly and managed to give Helios a wink just as Doctor Acacia returned with the promised water
"I'd say that's a nice mental image….but I don't think I have ever looked less attractive"
Adrenaline sang through Donner's veins and made her head buzz and ring as she took in the scene in front of her; the hidden holding area and laboratory in which Pantheon was being secured was in utter disarray and the screams of Atlesian scientists and researchers filled the air; their years of theoretical study leaving them woefully unprepared for the very real scenario that they had found themselves in.
After spending over a week meticulously checking and rechecking their theories and calculations the scientists had finally decided that it was time to move ahead with their plan to experiment on the concentrated and seemingly fossilised Grimm matter housed within Pantheon's chest cavity; naturally with both Professor Goodwitch and Donner herself present, the Headmistress having a keen interest in their findings. The sentient Grimm's streamlined and angular fin comprised of its' fused ribs ad been cut away, several automated weapons trained on it for the duration of the process before a fragment of the deep purple and crystalline substance was removed by a small robot wielding an ultrasonic saw, taking care not to be caught in or otherwise tamper with Pantheon's slow but inexorable regeneration process lest they somehow wake the monster, despite the axel of a vehicle still embedded in its' skull which had, as far as could be deduced put the Grimm in a coma. Things had gone wrong soon after the fragment had been removed from Pantheon's tank, a small sliver of iridescent violet barely an inch in length and mere microns in depth; so small in fact that the researchers had noticed the small web of cracks splintering its' surface far later than they should have and Donner had been forced to leap aside as the thing exploded. Roots of viscous darkness began burrowing into the surface of the table which the fragment had been placed on for examination, anchoring the rapidly expanding mass of inky black Grimm tissue that was erupting forth from it and forming squid like tentacles as thick as a persons' torso with serrated tips, bony armour slowly growing to cover their backs whilst their undersides were littered almost randomly with fang filled suction cups.
"LOCK THE LAB DOWN!" Donner screamed as she leapt in front of a researcher who was frozen to the spot in terror, a long shriek of terror escaping them as a tentacle swung itself at their neck; whipping its' serrated head at them in a blow meant to decapitate.
"Done!" Goodwitch called back from the entrance to the lab before producing her Scroll "Professor Cimmerian, Jasper! We have an incident, stand by and prepare to evacuate the academy at my command, Inform Ren of the situation!" Donner's attention was forced away from the headmistress as the automated weapons overhead came into life, several flamethrowers spewing gouts of fire onto the still growing mass of Grimm tissue; halting its' progress but sending the lashing tendrils into a frenzy, shrieks and hisses issuing from each of the suction cups as the tentacles writhed and lashed out forcing Donner back several steps as the blocked and parried with her twin curved and broad-bladed swords.
Then they halted.
The fires still burned, even as the suppression system came into effect and began to tackle it but the tentacles hung immobile in the air as if frozen though Donner could see coiled muscles straining beneath their slick and rubbery flesh
"If you would be so kind as to finish them off….they don't have necks for me to snap unfortunately" Goodwitch managed to hiss out through clenched teeth; the effort of restraining the things taxing her. Donner did as she was asked in a few rapid slashes and the mass of Grimm tissue began to deteriorate and fade away into wispy black smoke, its absence revealing the tears in steel drawers and counters where its' roots had burrowed through the material as if it were soil. The sound of Goodwitch updating her deputy Headteacher and Professor Cimmerian whose speciality in unconventional warfare made her a prime candidate to assist them if needs be of the situation brought the Specialist back to her senses; looking around she first ensured that Pantheon was still definitely unconscious, her second priority was the scientists and looking around she saw that at least one was injured, gashes around their eye bleeding freely after the microscope that the fragment of condensed Grimm tissue had been under exploded outwards under its' rapid growth whilst others were bleeding from wounds inflicted by the tentacles; orders came easily
"You!" Donner pointed to a trembling researcher who was muttering incoherently "Take, all of the injured to the medical wing, your injuries are Grimm related but classified beyond that and you are not to interact with any students. The rest of you, I want that work area checked thoroughly for any signs of lingering Grimm elements or other contaminants"
She was met with a chorus of assent as the scientists under her care and command did as instructed, Donner however was not done and grabbed the lead scientist by the front of their lab coat and marched them to the other side of the room, Goodwitch taking a step closer to intervene prompting the Specialist to take several deep breaths to steady herself before she did something unfortunate
"I was against this experiment from the start, I said it would be too risky" her tone was icy and her words trembled with barely contained rage "Now explain to me what the hell just happened before I have you sent back to Atlas and shot"
"I well, um….from what I can tell" the lead scientists' face paled as they frantically tried to gather and organise their thoughts into something that fit the available data "The crystal was, as we assumed made of highly condensed Grimm tissue which became active; albeit in a disorganised and chimerical way once we extracted it from the subjects body….I believe we can draw some inferences from that"
"Go on" Donner demanded, noting that Goodwitch was listening closely as well now.
"The crystal within the subject is inert, it must be or else it would have torn the subject apart and consumed it from the inside" they paused and silently made sure that the two women agreed to this premise before continuing "So then what we can deduce from this is that the crystal inside the subjects' body is either permanently inert, or what I believe to be more likely, that it is merely dormant whilst the subject itself is….suggesting that the subject has the crystalline Grimm matter slaved to its' will somehow-"
"Which is how it regenerates itself" Goodwitch surmised
"Precisely"
"And we can't rip the entire crystal out for fear of it becoming active again" Donner's remaining eye widened as a thought occurred to her, a horrible mental image of Grimm with similar organs embedded within themselves serving as suicide attackers and unleashing ever expanding masses of Grimm tentacles when they were destroyed and the crystals were freed
"Are we at risk of this anomaly recurring in other subjects?" she demanded hastily, the scientist thought to himself for several tense moments before finally shaking his head
"I don't believe that the subject grew this organ, or that is is in fact an organ at all" pausing again they chose their words carefully "Salem was an anomaly caused a three day long barrage of experimental weapons on Menagerie, the resultant backlash of emotions that Grimm feed on in such a high amount allowed her to evolve herself into existence as an aspect of the Grimm's shared hive mind and her fortress built itself around her at her direction over the course of several years….In normal circumstances, fossilised or highly condensed Grimm matter takes decades or even centuries to form"
"So what are you saying?" Goodwitch asked
"That the subject, Pantheon was somehow grown around the crystal" Donner's blood ran cold at the idea, it implied purpose, a specific task that Pantheon had been made for.
It was a chilling idea.
Sparks flew and behind a pair of safety goggles Eagle's deep crimson eyes were focused, oil, grease and coolant coated her hands and forearms in dirty streaks that reached back to her elbows. She had made her way to the Broken Coast along with Team GORE, planning to spend most of her Saturday helping her girlfriend and her team work on their still unnamed vessel; beside her Onyx worked with equal diligence and in a silence that was rare for the hulking Puma Faunus, his own greenish yellow eyes were hidden behind safety goggles at Eagle's existence despite his earlier mocking of the idea. Onyx had confided in Eagle that he felt they were close to a breakthrough and now both of them were eager to reach out and seize it.
"I think we're ready" Eagle breathed out, voice reverberating throughout the bowels of the ship in a way that caused her to make a mental note to buy ear protection for when the vessel was fully functional
"Let's find out" Onyx muttered, voice thick with tension and hope "I'll the others" the freckled blonde waited until the Puma Faunus had received word from Carcharodon that the others were ready and that the vessel was fuelled in preparation before turning to Onyx and slowly activating the machinery. The primary issue holding Team GORE back was that the experimental Atlesian ship had relied heavily on robotics and automation which they had been unable to repair, but now after over a month of work on Eagle's part lights began to flicker on around them and the innards of the ship were filled with both grinding and rumbling of mechanisms being reactivated and automated bleeps and alerts as the more computerised elements came to life
"I think we did!" Eagle exclaimed "WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" Onyx let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a roar of triumph as slapped Eagle's back with a meaty paw
"Now turn it off" he grunted
"What why?"
"Because if this ship starts moving it's going to crash into the other hulks" Onyx noted, making Eagle blush in embarrassment as she quickly began powering down the various systems, no sooner had she done so that Onyx spoke again
"Come, Car will want to speak with us" the two of them began making their way through the ship, steadily ascending upwards towards where Carcharodon, Raffia and Hellion would be waiting for them on deck. They stepped out into the fresh sea air and felt the welcome breeze after being below for so long.
Then Eagle had the wind knocked out of her as Hellion collided with her, Dragonfly Wings buzzing incessantly as she peppered kisses all over the blonde's faces
"You are amazing"
"I mean it's not finished yet" Eagle mumbled bashfully "It runs, but I've gotta reconnect a lot of important stuff to the bridge controls, bring the weapons back on-" she was cut off by Hellion kissing her into silence and Onyx merely let out an amused snort as he passed, adding
"You're welcome" as the two of them broke apart, Hellion smirked utterly unabashed at her display until Marauder came screeching down to land perched on his masters' forearm with a freshly caught fish in his beak which Eagle noted that Raffia looked at hungrily
"You've done well Eagle, we are in you're debt" Carcharodon bowed his head to her as he rested a hand on his shoulder, the most physical contact he would tolerate outside of the jumbled pile of limbs that Team GORE slept in
"No you're not" Eagle answered hurriedly and laced her fingers through Hellion's as she spoke "You're my friends, you don't owe me anything"
"Perhaps the Kingdom born aren't all vermin after all" Raffia muttered before shrugging and disregarding the notion in favour of something of far greater importance "She lives Car, now she needs a name"
"The ship?" Eagle asked "You still haven't named it?"
"Typical Kingdom born" Raffia hissed with a derisive shake of the head "It's bad fortune to name a dead vessel" Eagle remained silent, whilst Team GORE and by extension she assumed the entirety of the Frost River Tribe understood the processes involved in and the nature of being a shipwright, their vessels were still more than simple tools or even homes to them; they were a near sacred part of the tribes' culture and steeped in layers of mysticism that even after dating Hellion for over a year Eagle still couldn't hope to understand fully; though she was sure that they believed their ships had a soul that watched over its' crew and protected them like their own Auras.
"You have a name in mind?" Carcharodon rasped as his black eyes fell on the Axolotl Faunus
"One, something I heard in one the Kingdom's movies" the admission came as a surprise to Eagle, who knew well Raffia's disdain for most things made by the Kingdoms
"Poltergeist" he grinned savagely "An angry spirit"
"No" all eyes fell on Eagle as she murmured the single word with a shake of her head, Raffia was clearly about to argue the point; most likely by pointing out that Eagle was an outsider in these matters though he was halted by Carcharodon raised a hand to silence him
"She's earned the right to speak"
"This ship is like a new start for you, part of a future as Hunters" Eagle said simply with a shrug "It just seems like a waste to name it after something that can't move on"
"Wise as well beautiful" Hellion whispered in Eagle's ear, making her cheeks flush scarlet whilst Carcharodon nodded silently as he considered her words.
"She makes a good point" the Shark Faunus rasped finally "If we were to name her for the past I would've called the ship Mizu's Wrath in honour of my sister"
"So something that looks forward then" Onyx rumbled
"The Nemesis Kharybdis" Carcharodon said finally "Our weapon against the monsters in the deep"
"Nice" Eagle grinned, feeling that the name sounded suitably powerful "Hey, um….I told the rest of my team that I'd meet up with them to hang out in the city later; do you wanna come? You should celebrate"
"Sounds like a plan Little Canary" Hellion answered eagerly
"Go, all of you….I'll catch up soon" Carcharodon answered quietly before deploying the Red Waves along his forearms and slowly dragging the blades along the palms of his hands
"What're-"
"This isn't for you to see" Raffia cut across her question, though his voice lacked any of its' usual malice "You've been an ally to us and I can accept that you and Hellion love each other….but this ritual is between our Captain and our ship, it's not for the eyes of outsiders" Eagle nodded in understanding and quickly averted her gaze as she made to leave with the others; catching only a fleeting glimpse of Carcharodon marking the deck of the ship with his own blood in glyphs she recognised as part of the tribes' langauge whilst chanting under his breath in the language of the tribes. It would have been entrancing were it not so deeply unsettling to watch.
There was a bustling press of people around them on the platform, Rhodium noted that whilst he hoped it didn't come to it, the crowd might deter any sniper planning on shooting him though he discarded the idea a moment later as he reasoned that the enemies he had made were more than capable of paying a marksman of the highest calibre; thankfully the sound of a large engine drawing close was enough to rouse him from his thoughts and make him pay closer attention to his surroundings.
He and Corona were at New Vale Central Train Station, a truly massive complex of a structure from which trains would depart for many of the larger settlements in Vale's territory outside of New Vale itself, a category which had once included Arcadia as well as several commercial train every day travelling to and from Vaccuo though the untamed and Grimm infested badlands which separated the two Kingdoms; as well as trains it also served as a central hub for much of the monorail network which formed the backbone of the cities' public transport and as such it was always filled with a with shifting mass of thousands of bodies each eager to get to their destination.
Rhodium was here to say his goodbyes and now that the moment was upon him he felt an unfamiliar dread in the pit of his stomach, cold and twisting as he watched the train approach until he felt Corona lean against his shoulder
"Hey….tell my Ma I'm gonna try and come to Vaccuo soon; probably for good"
"Will do Rhodey" she murmured, kissing his cheek before rising to her feet as the train finally came to a halt and passengers began to disembark; it was a heavily armoured thing, even more so than the train that she had received her injuries defending from the Phlegmiurge yet somehow it was far less intimidating than the idea of meeting Rhodium's mother "So you're going through with it then?"
"Not much of a choice" the ginger mobster shrugged "Luckily you'll be out of the way when this all goes sideways"
"Be careful" Corona chided
"Always do" Rhodium's cocky smirk, already marred by exhaustion and anxiety flickered and vanished as he gave the Mantis Shrimp Faunus a long lingering look; her bright turquoise eyes with their almost permanent look of aloof boredom, the scars along her right cheek where plasma had splashed against her skin, the brightly coloured exoskeleton adorning her neck and shoulders that ranged from electric blue to acid green and vibrant orange
He didn't want her to go
"Gonna help me with my bags?" Corona asked as people began to board the train, Rhodium nodded silently and forced himself to accept the fact that it was for the best though once they were on the train he found his hands moving of their own accord, finding Corona's hips and pressing her back into a wall before cupping her cheeks and pulling her into a slow, needy kiss
"I love you" it was the first time he had said the words, not just to Corona but to any partner and the admission stunned them both
"I love you two you ginger idiot, so don't get yourself killed" hearing her reply left Rhodium feeling giddy and he quickly leaned in for another kiss and found his customary cocky smirk back in place
"I'll see you soon" he promised her
"I'll let you know when I get to Vaccuo" Corona answered, pulling him close to nibble his earlobe and whisper "I might send you some photos as well" before long the two had to go their separate ways and Rhodium exited the train and watched it slowly depart from the station and begin its' journey south. Casting his eyes around he caught sight of a figure dressed in overalls and a high visibility perched on the canopy covering a nearby platform, yet they were doing no work and Rhodium recognised the man long before they produced the grip of the shotgun from their overalls as a silent warning
"Fuck you too" Rhodium muttered before treating Foggy to a rude hand gesture and walking away. As he made his way towards the nearest exit he contemplated his future, he knew that he wanted to spend it with Corona but beyond that little else was determined; he knew that his criminal empire was finished and all that remained was to put as many of his remaining underlings in well paying legal jobs within the companies he owned or simply pay for their education, he noted that he owned enough legal businesses to be able to provide for himself more than adequately as long as all parties honoured the deals that had been made, but Rhodium found the idea of stagnation, peaceful or otherwise to utterly repulsive. He realised as he weaved through the crowds that the Torchwick name meant little, if anything in Vaccuo and for the first time in his life the gangster would be able to simply exist without the blight of poverty or the limitations of the expectations being placed on him.
He was the most free he had ever been.
Whilst not educated he was far from unintelligent and as the notion occurred to him he was almost reduced to a fit of euphoric giggling at the realisation that he was happy and in love, his mother no longer lived in poverty in a dangerous part of town, he had a substantial amount of lien and owned businesses that could do some real good for the city he had been raised in; by any metric he applied he had won.
Then as he passed through the monorail platforms situated to the front of the station he saw something that ruined his mood instantly as one of the sleek carriages glided to a stop; a familiar foe waiting at the door with body language that indicated that they had already seen him
"Oh you've gotta be shitting me!"
Felix was still a limp and frail heap as he slouched in one the seats of the monorail as it travelled silently through the city of New Vale, rising and descending through the various Hive Towers on mobile platforms and being suspended several stories in the air as it moved between them in a sight that most who moved to the city found disconcerting before becoming accustomed to it.
"Now arriving at tower sixteen, level seven. Greater Wisteria district station" an automated announcement sounded throughout the carriages and Felix took note, dragging himself upright and taking his head off of Helios's shoulder
"This should be their station" he yawned out and was proven correct mere moments after the monorail began moving again when Arctus and Diamond made their way into Felix and Helios's carriage; Tower Sixteen being the nearest to where their flight from the academy had landed.
"Holy Oum dude you look like death" Diamond breathed out as she and Arctus sat opposite them
"Thank Dee" Felix dead panned
"Dumb-ass" she muttered with a roll of her cherry red eyes "Hey Heely, how's your sister….still shaken up?"
"Managing" Helios shrugged, clearly not wanting to think about how close his sister had been to death "Ruby and Penny letting her stay has helped" there were nods of understanding all round at that; Ruby's anger at her student for running away had been utterly subsumed at relief upon her being returned alive and with no injuries that Aura couldn't heal, though Syneffo had begun to suffer frequent nightmares which involved her being strangled and Ruby had offered the girl a compromise; the caped Huntress would not train her in the use of her Silver Eyes but would teach her armed and hand to hand combat personally until the summer and ask other Hunters to do the same as preparation for when Syneffo became a student at one of the academies; both Yang and Taiyang had sparred with the girl and noted that she showed exceptional promise.
"Glad to hear it" Arctus breathed "Athena's training is going great as well….what? I like showing off how cool my sisters' are" the Bear Faunus shrugged in response to the looks he was being treated to
"And it's cute….dork" Diamond laughed as she snuggled into him before turning back to Felix "So why are we going this way, I though we were going the movies?"
"Yeah but Eagle's meeting as well and she's coming from the coast so we me as well meet up at central and get another monorail out to Tower Seven" Diamond seemed to consider the answer for a moment, as if plotting the route in her head before answering
"So how much do you hate having to learn the monorail lines like the rest of us pedestrians?"
"So much" Felix admitted with a weak laugh "I need another car so badly, I hate this waiting around for everything shit"
"So get a summer job" Diamond shrugged "It's what I'm probably gonna do"
"Yeah sure I'll just find the one place on Patch Corey hasn't already snapped up" the Lion Faunus chuckled
"Likewise" Helios added, giving Felix as serious look "I wouldn't dream of staying in your parents house for free, no matter how many times they say it's okay"
"You really don't need-"
"I do" Helios shook his head, trying to convey that it was a matter of his self respect without saying as much out loud
"If we're all working over the summer are we gonna get enough time to train for next years' Vytal Tournament?"
"As if you need to worry about mortal concerns like a job" Felix snorted, Arctus merely scowled with his arms folded; clearly the jokes about the Schnee families' exorbitant wealth were beginning to grow tiresome
"Come on dude stop being a dick" Diamond sighed
"Alright fine" Felix chuckled softly, slowly feeling his energy return to him with familiar bickering "But yeah we should still be able to get some training in….I mean the jobs don't even have to be Hunter stuff"
"Can't imagine you flipping burgers somehow" Arctus noted
"I'm the grill" Felix snorted "Helios back me up here" the redhead laughed at the joke but chose not to make a joke about the Faunus's stamina, knowing that it would be instantly used as ammunition.
The jokes and conversation continued to flow for the duration of the ride, switching subjects rapidly until the same automated announcement system informed the passengers that they were arriving at New Vale Central, where the service would terminate and as he was nearing the door with the monorail coming gliding to a halt Felix felt Arctus nudge his shoulder wearing an expression of shock and fury
"Big guy no, not here" Diamond urged but it was too late, Felix had already seen what Arctus was trying to bring to his attention and his previous exhaustion vanished in an instant; replaced instead by white hot rage at the sight of Rhodium Torchwick, the mobsters' face bringing back memories of being restrained and beaten senseless for Felix; anger management and therapy succeeded in keeping the blondes' hands from flying to his weapons but nevertheless the moment to door opened he exploded outwards and chased after a fleeing Torchwick, Arctus, Diamond and Helios at his back
"Arctus stop him!" Felix barked as Rhodium managed to use his Aura to simply vault from one platform to the next and avoid landing on the rails in an attempt to make an impromptu escape over a wall; the mobster came crashing to a halt as a Glyph appeared directly in front of him to bar his path and before he could get around it Felix had caught him; the first punch the Faunus delivered to his face connecting with a satisfying crunch and thud. Rhodium made only a poultry effort to fight back as Felix's allies arrived, instead he merely blocked as much as possible until the force of one of Felix's blow knocked him back several paces, at which point he lashed out and grabbed the nearest civilian, an elderly woman and dragged her near to her
"Would you believe me if I said I'm tying up a few lose ends and getting out of this line of work?" he laughed, his nervous smile displaying the white gold fangs he wore to replace the teeth Felix had knocked out of his mouth years ago even as he wiped blood away from his nose
"Let her go Torchwick" Felix snarled, breathing heavily after the beating he'd administered "You're outnumbered and you've got nowhere to run"
"Hence the insurance" Rhodium sneered, chuckling darkly as one hand reached out grasped a nearby fire extinguisher attached to one of the pillars holding the platforms' canopy up, the other gripped the shawl the clearly terrified woman was wearing and both hands began to glow with the magenta glow of his destructive Semblance
"I'm gonna need all four of you to step off" he motioned for them to move back, keeping his hands where they were "Or I let this shawl go bang and we'll see how far down the tracks her head goes" Felix's teeth clenched so tight he felt they might crack under the pressure before he finally nodded for his friends to step back; Torchwick was as good as his word though he clearly anticipated that the Hunters would deal in such good faith
"Pleasure doing business" he breathed out a sigh of relief as he released the old woman's shawl and ushered her away as the vibrant glow faded from it; then without warning he ripped the fire extinguisher free of the wall and hurled it at Felix. Helios tackled the blonde to the ground though was unable to prevent it exploding as expelling its' contents in a thick fog which hung in the air, by the time it had cleared Rhodium was long gone but Felix was far from willing to let the criminal escape him again
"He's not getting away this time!" he snarled, rushing towards the same wall that Torchwick had been aiming to escape over "Come on, after him!"
"There she is" Artemis muttered, hands balled into white knuckled fists as she and Rover neared the stationary patrol car parked outside of a small family owned corner store, this particular street corner had until recently been considered part of Torchwick's crews' territory and had constituted a valuable stream of income by virtue of the sheer volume of drugs being sold by hooded youths outside of the store. Officer Fawn Bordeaux had personally ended the situation and brought the entire operation, a street gang who called themselves the Twenty Seventh Block Terrorists into custody with the excessive use of force that was fast becoming Fawn's calling card; a fourteen year old boy being admitted to hospital with a possible haemorrhage after being beaten with a truncheon was the final straw for Artemis and Rover, the fact that their co-conspirator had parked her car right in front of the gangs' former hang out as an unspoken challenge convincing them that they were doing the right thing.
"She's seen us" Rover murmured, before lowering his dull gunmetal coloured mask over his face just in case the situation got out of hand, a shocking sign of just how far things had been allowed to deteriorate
"You know I don't like doing these meet ups when I'm on the clock" Fawn admonished them both as she lowered the drivers' side window and leaned out "Torchwick and Junior have both got people on the force….no idea who's listening"
"You've been avoiding us" Rover answered simply, the Mastiff Faunus shrugged and made effort to deny the fact or explain it
"So what then? You decided how you're gonna make a move on your terrorist?"
"You know exactly what this is about!" Artemis spat, reaching through the window to grab Fawn by the scruff of the neck and drag her as close as her seatbelt would allow
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" she spat furiously "A KID FAWN! A DAMN KID!"
"They're not kids" the officer snarled back as she forced Artemis's hand away "When they start selling drugs and carrying knives they stop being kids, they're just another gang banger and I'm not gonna waste time giving them a stern talking to"
"You'll just beat 'em to death right?" Rover's voice trembled with barely restrained anger behind his mask "Or run them over, or line 'em up and execute 'em. We've heard all the stories….how is this any different to what the gangs do?"
"Fucking spare me" Fawn scoffed "I thought we were trying to make the city safer?"
"THIS IS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CITY AND YOU KNOW IT!" Artemis shouted in her face, voice dropping as she added "This is just your personal war"
"Yeah it is, so what?" Fawn's answer and the utterly calm way she delivered it came with a sense of finality that left Artemis speechless
"We started this whole thing to get Torchwick, then you decided you'd rather go after the Atlesian" Fawn's eyes hardened "It wasn't the Atlesian that slapped an Aura dampener on my brothers' neck, locked him in the back of a van and then turned it into a bomb; that was Torchwick. He's an Aura wielding criminal but you won't do your job and bring him in….So I'm doing it my way; by making a fucking example out of anyone that associates with him"
"So what happens when we have to bring you in?" Artemis's words came with a clear threat
"I bury you under the mountain of laws and regulations we broke together" Fawn's grin was savage "Let's get this clear, I'll still bring your terrorist in for you but beyond that we're done….I'm gonna kill Torchwick and dismantle his crew piece by piece and I couldn't care less what promises you've made. We all agreed that the law wasn't working, the difference is that I've actually got the guts to force the scum into line"
"You disgust me" Artemis shot back coldly "Your brother actually believed in something, you're just a dictator hiding behind a badge and Brindle's memory" the booming report of a gunshot rang out and debris rained down from the ceiling of the Hive Layer, Fawn had aimed her shotgun out of the window and aimed at Artemis's chest only for Rover to step forwards in a blur of speed and force the weapon upwards as she fired.
"If either of you ever-" Fawn was interrupted by the sound of her cars' radio
"All available units, incident at New Vale Central Station involving several Aura wielding individuals; suspects heading and are to be treated as armed and dangerous"
"This is Officer Bordeaux, I'm on my way, over" Fawn made to turn to key which was still in the ignition only for Rover's hand to dart forwards at impossible speeds, golden lightning trailing along its' surface as he stole the keys and handed them to Artemis who promptly drew her weapon Hakai Suru in its' naginata form and cleaved neatly through one of the cars' wheels
"WHAT THE HELL!"
"I'm on my way" Rover answered simply "I think the whole city is safer if you're nowhere near it" whatever expletive laden retort Fawn spat back at the Husky Faunus was lost beneath the dull boom of Rover breaking the sound barrier as Rover raced towards the incident with single minded determination; somehow utterly certain that whatever had happened would in one way or another involve Gangrel Slate's son.
"Come on he's heading this way!" Eagle exclaimed breathlessly as she and Team GORE tore through narrow side streets and alleyways between New Vale's monolithic Hive Towers. The five of them had made their way from the broken coast to a nearby settlement which boasted a train line leading to and from the capital city when Eagle had received a Scroll call from a frantic and enraged Felix, her partner explaining that they'd encountered Rhodium Torchwick and that the criminal had escaped their grasp; they were chasing him westwards which was coincidentally the direction that Eagle's train would be arriving from and they were only a few minutes away from the station.
Informing Team GORE of the developments had caused them to leap into immediate action; Onyx had smashed the glass covering of an emergency stop button and pressed it to bring the train screeching to a halt whilst Raffia kicked out the nearest window and flung himself through the emptied space and Carcharodon used the blades of the Red Waves, still stained with his own blood to prise open the doors and lead both Eagle and his own team off of the train and into the heart of the metropolis to intercept Torchwick.
"Find him!" Carcharodon roared, voice rising above its' customary muted and hollow rasping "It's time that the coward pays!" whilst mechanisms fitted inside of her armour allowed Eagle to balance perfectly as she carried Sentinel on her arm the fact remained that she was running whilst wearing armour and a leather jacket and thus as she saw Rhodium darting passed them, across the mouth of the alleyway they were currently in she was unable to reach him in time
Hellion however suffered no such limitations
"Down!" she called out as she used one of the walls forming the alleyway to vault over Eagle and launch a pair of her throwing knives with her usual terrifyingly effective precision; the first flew through the air and struck Torchwick in the left shoulder and caused him to spin towards them as he lost his balance, the second knife curved as it span before sinking into the mobsters' right thigh and caused him to collapse just as Felix caught up with him and delivered a running punch to the side of the head that left Torchwick sprawled on the ground, trying to both drag himself to his feet and fend off Marauder as the raptor dived at him, talons extended.
"We have waited for this a very long time Torchwick" Carcharodon rasped as he stalked towards the struggling ginger in long strides, there was no pride or cruel enjoyment to be found in his tone, only cold and unrelenting certainty of what would come next. The Shark Faunus hoisted Torchwick from the ground and slammed him against the wall before gesturing behind him to Hellion, or more precisely the scar that ran along her collarbones after a failed attempt on her life at the mobsters' behest
"You are charged and in your absence found guilty with the attempted murder of a member of the Frost River Tribe" Carcharodon was silent for a moment as he readied the Red Waves, seemingly deciding whether he should cut Torchwick's throat and end it quickly or open his belly and make him suffer "As the rightful and unchallenged leader of the Frost River Tribe, I sentence you to death"
"Wait!" Torchwick cried, blood tricking from his mouth as he spoke
"I know you guys! You worked for the Atlesian!" he turned to Team FADE "And you, you all know the Husky Faunus, the one in the mask and the Cat Faunus with the mismatched eyes! We had a deal man!"
"My deal with the Atlesian included me taking your head" Carcharodon breathed out, finally allowing a trace of sadistic pleasure into his voice
"Car wait" Felix demanded
"This no longer concerns you"
"What the fuck is this?" Torchwick seemed close to tears at this point, his apparent victory against the odds being stolen from him "I'm helping bring down a terrorist for Oum's sake?"
"Eldritch?" Eagle interjected
"Carcharodon" Helios implored "You are the sole authority of your people, your actions here will have consequences….consider them carefully" Carcharodon's abyssal eyes continued to bore into Torchwick's own but his bladed arms lowered the slightest fraction.
Then Rover Tan appeared in the alleyway in a rush of wind and a streak of golden lightning, quickly taking stock of the situation and asking the most pertinent question that came to mind
"Anyone wanna tell me, as quickly as possible what the fuck is going on here?"
"Justice" Carcharodon hissed calmly "This man has broken the laws of both of our people"
"Gonna have to stop you there Car" Rover sighed "I don't mind him getting roughed up and I definitely agree that he's a scumbag….but you don't get to make the call and we need him alive for all of New Vale's sake-"
"NO!" Raffia spat, drawing the Blazing Avenger and fitting the two swords into their laser lance configuration "THERE HAS BEEN ENOUGH COMPROMISE! NO MORE!"
"Hellion" Eagle murmured to the Dragonfly Faunus, crimson eyes silently urging her to come up with a solution that would stop the situation from going drastically wrong
"I forfeit my claim to his life" the words were out of Hellion before she had fully considered them and she felt every eye on her
"I forfeit my claim on Torchwick's life" she repeated, gesturing for Raffia and Carcharodon to lower their weapons "He is a worm, I wouldn't trade the lives in this city for his"
"So be it" Carcharodon rasped, personally he would like nothing more than to eviscerate the mobster where he stood but the laws and customs of his people were clear and even as the leader of the Tribe he was not above them. He collapsed the Red Waves and stepped away from Torchwick, gesturing for Raffia to sheathe his own weapons
"Good choice" Rover sighed solemnly "You're good kids, let yourselves be"
"Get this filth out of my sight" Carcharodon spat coldly as he gestured towards Torchwick. The mobster himself, realising that he was not going to be murdered after all felt a sudden need to mask his previous fear with a layer of bravado
"So all that for nothing then, bunch of bitches?" he then turned to Felix "And don't think for a minute that me and you are finished, next time I see you I'm gonna-" Rover moved faster than could be seen, his fist breaking the sound barrier as he rounded on Rhodium and punched him square in the mouth, leaving him slumped against the wall unconscious with his Aura visibly shattering around him.
"Now I begging you" Rover gave a long suffering sigh as he addressed each of the group, focusing on Arctus for a moment longer "To please keep yourselves out any and all bullshit, for once" he ruffled Arctus's hair but throwing Rhodium's limp form over his shoulder and disappearing, racing away faster than anyone could track.
"So your vendetta wit Torchwick?…." Felix trailed off
"Concluded" Carcharodon answered "As unsatisfying as it was"
"Looks like we're gonna have to let it go" Felix shrugged, he was less committed to the idea than Team GORE seemed to be, it was merely a matter of principal and wounded pride at this point. There was an awkward silence as Team FADE, Team GORE and Helios collectively caught their breath
"We really are becoming the heroes to these people aren't we?" Raffia grumbled clearly unhappy with the idea
"I'm sure Eagle will lend you some of her comics, so you can learn to do it with some showmanship" Hellion snorted; the Axolotl let out a wordless hiss at the response and the tension in the air seemed to vanish
"So….Now what?" Eagle chirped, still a little on edge
"Movies?" Felix shrugged "I mean we've already had our scheduled run in with organised crime and conspiracies for the weekend" the Lion Faunus's comment was met with laughter and groans in equal measure.
Authors Notes:
Between the run in with Nickel last chapter and what comes next this is a quiet weekend.
This story now has the same amount of Chapters as The Downward Spiral, the difference being that this story has three whole volumes left to go. It's also my most read and most reviewed story.
RWBY Vol.7 is tomorrow for first members, let the festivities begin.
Anyway, let's summarise shall we:
So Corey has officially left town and Team CLIR will be out of the picture for the finale.
Also Poly-Tech are making some serious progress on Felix's tail, don't worry you'll see it soon.
The scene was a nice excuse for Felix and Helios to have a tender moment.
Of course taking a piece out of Pantheon's chest cavity was gonna go wrong, even if it's just for plot progression something had to go sideways.
As for the slightly body horror kick I'm on with my designs lately….I don't know what to tell you.
"They don't have neck for me to snap unfortunately" lest we forget that Goodwitch is an actual bad-ass.
Obviously I'm referring to the Downward Spiral timeline and history of Salem which I wrote before canon filled it in for us, my way features noticeably less magic and divine intervention.
So you can see why Oz….or more importantly the voice in his head wants Pantheon now right?
Team GORE have their ship almost ready to set sail, thanks once again to SumoSnipe for giving me this idea; they were always gonna have a Bull-Head but their own ship actually ties into my plans for the epilogue.
Raffia is slowly warming up to Kingdom's even if he won't admit it, just caring enough to watch TV and movies is a change.
"The Nemesis Kharybdis"; the enemy of sea monsters.
I still want to keep the fact that the Frost River Tribe are distinctly 'other', even in comparison to the Nikosi, hence the things like the ritual Carcharodon started.
New Vale Central is based on London King's cross in my mind; if you haven't been its' a massive train station, with a tube station under it that also leads to another, equally huge station that's literally across the road.
Okay as someone who was in a long distance relationship, that gut wrenching feeling at the train station….yeah, it fucking sucks.
I wanted Torchwick to have that moment, because as much of a vicious bastard he is people seem to like him and he's in a different, more reasonable class of bad-guy to Oz or Celeste; but I also wanted it to feel like a swansong.
Also, the "You've gotta be shitting me" I felt that one on a deep spiritual level as I wrote it; running to half a dozen guys you've got beef with on the one day you're not carrying a tool and seeing that they're armed is a really fucking bad experience.
So Neffy is here 'til the end of the Volume.
"I'm the grill" I'll admit I chuckled to myself.
And that's why you don't try and take someone like Torchwick on with that much potential collateral around.
Twenty Seventh Block Terrorists….I swear to you it's not as bad as some of the actual street gang names I've heard.
So Fawn has descended into full blown fascist/vigilante territory; this is the problem with a group of Hunters teaming up and deciding they want to play Bat-Man, one of them inevitably decides they'd rather be the Punisher.
I think after nearly three years of Team FADE Rover has earned the right to associate any and all nonsense with his nephew and his friends.
I know that felt like an anticlimax but I feel like it was the only resolution it could have, I need Torchwick alive and what I have planned for him precludes any other kind of final confrontation with Team GORE and FADE, besides he's not really that sort of character….So now his business with the protagonists is over; hence the swansong.
Raffia with Deadpool comics….enjoy that mental image.
Thank you to SumoSnipe and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
I mean yeah it was basically a case of dumbness for the sake of convenience, because if Nickel gets mobbed by literally a dozen Hunters it gets difficult to write.
Also New Vale's capital is like several large cities slapped on top of each other and none of those other teams have a car and Corvid didn't have the Omega Wing, so even if they did make the call the chances of them actually getting any back up is slim.
…..Then again Nickel with a Booster high might actually have killed a drunk Corvid.
True Nickel is not the quiet option but out of Oz's available tools she's the best bet; who else was he gonna send? Torchwick's muppets, Syneffo would fillet them with an axe.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.