RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)
I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.
I am making no money from this.
Chapter 121: Hydrakken
Arctus's summoned Minotaur construct tore a swathe through the Grimm as it waded through the frenzied mass of bodies trying to tear it down, the wounds torn into its' glowing ephemeral form being sealed as the Bear Faunus pushed more Dust and more Aura into his creation whilst around him Felix, Diamond and Eagle provided cover and cut down any monsters that made it passed the Minotaur.
"Come on! Keep pushing though 'em!" Felix bellowed as he brought Hack and Slash out in wide arcs that relieved a trio of Ursas of their heads, above them a Nevermore made to dive at them only for its' screeching and murderous descent to be cut off by a well place shot from Diamond.
The fleeting sense of victory was cut short as the three headed and draconic Grimm whose sheer size threatened to blot out the sun let out a scream that made the sky tremble before unleashing a gout of crackling yellow light from one of its' three maws which ripped through the air and struck an airship whose captain had refused to fall back and continued to fight the Hydrakken valiantly; its' massive Eco-Dust powered engines exploded as they were struck and the cataclysmic explosion could be heard for miles in any direction, the Hydrakken unleashed another beam from another of its' mouths and tore a hole through the hull of the vessel large enough to destroy two of its' decks. Team FADE, despite the Grimm around them watched in mesmerised horror as the ruined airship began to fall, crashing down into the city and leaving untold devastation in its' wake.
"What in Oum's name is that thing?" Diamond demand, voice wavering with rarely heard fear
"Can't worry about that now!" Felix barked as he bisected a Beowolf vertically "We need to find where that Bull-Head went down!"
"This way!" Eagle added as the sword Hellion had gifted to her burst out of the back of another monster "I can see the smoke!" with the wall surrounding the Exclusion Zone all but entirely destroyed the Creatures of Grimm had surged outwards in all directions but had not done so evenly, the areas where sections of the wall remained formed islands that Hunters and the military could focus their defences around and use as evacuation points whilst using the remaining weapon emplacements to lay waste to larger Grimm such as Goliaths, in several instances sacrificing themselves to draw Grimm away from the Hive Towers through which they could enter the rest of the city; the result was that whilst in some places the fighting was between densely packed forces each throwing hundreds of lives into the teeth of the enemy in exchange for every inch of ground they took, the area in which Team FADE had entered the sealed defensive area and had seen a Bull-Head be ripped out of the sky was relatively quiet.
Arctus silenced it entirely when he infused his construct with Lightning Dust and detonated it, arcs of lighting scorching the ground as they coursed over the vicinity before the Bear Faunus fired his laser weapon into the skull of the last remaining Grimm.
"Couldn't hold it any more" he explained breathlessly as he staggered forwards, sweat visibly dripping from his creased brown from the exertion. Felix silently nodded in understanding but sprinted ahead regardless as they had no time to waste.
The four of them tore through streets that had been reduced to an apocalyptic and broken imitation of what they had once been, frantically making their way towards the wreckage of the downed transport; secure in the knowledge that their fellow students were almost certainly among those aboard.
Then the ground began to shake with booming and thunderous footsteps which increased in pace until their crescendo was drowned out beneath the trumpeting bellow of a Goliath as it charged into view.
"GET OUT OF-" Felix's hastily roared order went finished as the Goliath was simply unmade, blossoming fire and beams of light ripping through its' body as it was torn asunder by scores of attacks delivered from the same, singular source and when the smoky remains of the Grimm had been carried away by the wind Felix stood in slack jawed silence at the sight of Team NEON arrayed before him, Olivine DeGrasse holding Buster Bravo ready for another salvo before he regained his senses just enough to sprint forwards and crash into Helios and pull him close, the redheads' golden armour clanging and creaking as Felix buried his face into the taller mans' shoulder
"Oh thank Oum you're safe, thank Oum your safe" the Lion Faunus repeated, his cracking voice barely above a whisper. The idea that Team NEON had been the ones aboard the Bull-Head had been one that he not considered, or more accurately not allowed himself to consider for fear of what it could mean.
"Safe is a kinda relative term" one of the two uniformed individuals stood on either side of Nyanza noted grimly, the bushy tailed Feline glowering at them for interrupting the moment between his two best friends though Helios nodded in agreement
"We need to get out of here; Goodwitch wanted us stationed behind the blast doors"
"If we head back the way we came we'll be okay, we cleared a path" Diamond suggested
"What about the people on this side of the blast doors though?" Arctus asked, sapphire blue eyes filled with worry "The Grimm are already in the towers….People are dying here, we can't pull back" Felix took a moment to centre himself, trying desperately to come up with a plan
Then another burst of light from the Hydrakkens' maw illuminate the sky like a miniature sun and both Team FADE and Team NEON looked up to see that the gargantuan Grimm had turned its' attention towards one of the aerial platforms hovering above the city, the beam of scourging light reducing the building it carried to dust and rubble.
"We've gotta get rid of that thing" Felix realised, refusing to be deterred by the enormity of the task "The airships are too big and can't outfly it….Helios, can you bring it down?"
"No" the armoured man shook his head sadly, still awed and horrified by the thing "It's too big and too far away" Felix had a secondary plan ready and waiting
"Arctus can you-"
"Not all of us" the Bear Faunus shook his head, knowing what the rest of the question would be "I can get maybe half of us up there" Felix paused, suddenly a lot less certain of his plan
"You kids had you orders" the pilot of the destroyed Bull-Head that Team NEON had been aboard offered "People here need you but so do the people you were deploying with, they're under strength as long as you're not with them"
"Team NEON will fall back to the remains of the Exclusion Zone wall, defend a position long enough for it to be evacuated and go from there" Helios decided before pulling Felix into a crushing hug and resting his forehead against the Faunus's
"Whatever it is you're going to do, be careful"
"I'll try" Felix breathed out before kissing Helios gently "I love you
"I love you too" a moment later the two teams split up, Team NEON taking the crew of their craft with them and Team FADE covering them until they were out of view before Felix finally took a deep breath and squared his shoulders as he addressed his team.
"Arctus we're gonna need you to summon a Nevermore. If we can't bring that thing down then we're gonna go up there"
Despite the stabbing pains in his chest as his heart sporadically ceased to function before lurching sluggishly back to life again and the fact that his extremities oscillated between vaguely tingly numbness and dull, throbbing ache Doctor Ozymandias Eldritch kept his back straight and affected a leisurely strolling pace as he exited the Bull-Head he had appropriated and used to transport himself to Halo Academy. He noted to himself that using his abilities to persuade a winged Grimm to carry him would have certainly been more dramatic and perhaps more fitting for the occasion but it would almost certainly have seen him shot from the sky by whatever remains of New Vale's aerial defences the Hydrakken had not yet decimated and he was far to close to the culmination of his work to allow himself to be stopped. As he made his way from the academies' airship terminal and docking bay however he did allow himself one small indulgence.
He gave a small, dignified wave to the poultry defence that sought to impede him and watched the way they bristled in anger and tension.
Professor Glynda Goodwitch, an Atlesian Specialist and another woman whom he did not recognise but was clearly a veteran Huntress stood at the ready with weapons drawn and wary faces; Ozymandias merely smiled as much as physical condition would allow beneath his beaked mask and used Flesh-Seeker as a cane as he made his way allow the yellow bricked road flanked by golden statues that led to the main entrance into the campus, finally stopping a few feet away from the stairs that led to massive double doors and calling up to the Headmistress in a voice that was firm yet still unsettlingly jovial, as if nothing that had happened thus far was of any concern.
"Stand aside professor, allow destiny to take its' course"
"We both know that isn't going to happen" Glynda snapped icily, the woman carrying the shotgun training the weapon firmly on Ozymandias's chest as his fingers drummed slowly against the shaft of Flesh-Seeker; the Atlesian woman whom the demented scientist remembered as being the one who had shot him in the back of the head letting out a barely perceptible gasp as his fingers began to blur and leave something resembling an after-image in their wake as the flow of time warped and bent to his will around him. The power of the Wizard was taxing his already failing body with each use but Ozymandias was certain that he had enough stamina left to overcome the current obstacle.
"We know" he nodded, his words gentle "And frankly Professor we wouldn't have it any other way" the air became thick with tension for the briefest moment, as if the weight of the conspiracies and circumstances that had brought them here had physically choked the place.
Then a moment later all four combatants had sprung into motion.
Glynda was immediately forced to defend as Ozymandias hurled Flesh-Seeker at her chest, her Semblance of telekinesis grasping the living trident out of the air only for her to realise that the Wizard had used his power over time to somehow give the weapon an unlimited supply of momentum which she struggled to halt.
Donner combined her swords into their hover-board form and surged towards Ozymandias who made to rush out and meet her before his greatly enhanced perceptions allowed him to see the ploy for what it was. The Specialist leapt into the air, reforming her swords and sailing towards him in a wide arcing flight whilst Professor Jasper Cimmerian removed her thumb from the dead man switch of a small device in her cybernetic hand that Ozymandias had not noticed before. Dozens of razor sharp wires that had been woven between the golden statues of past students were pulled taut and snapped into place at chest height, audibly buzzing with the electrical current that coursed through them.
Ozymandias was already out of harms' reach, having used a small burst of his power to relocate himself the moment he had seen the wires intended to tear through his flesh being triggered.
"That could conceivably considered disrespectful to the fallen" the corrupted Wizard noted, announcing his presence to right of the Academies' entrance; Goodwitch still struggled with Flesh-Seeker but Jasper turned and without wasting words simply began firing her shotgun at the man yet failed to hit anything more than air. Ozymandias flickering in and out of view in a way that suggested reality itself ceased to function around him before finally appearing mere inches away and grasping the barrel of her shotgun and directing it towards Goodwitch.
The weapon fell to the ground in two neatly severed pieces as Donner rushed into the fray and hurled one of her swords through the shotgun before it could fire. Jasper plucked the weapon out of the air with her left hand whilst throwing a small explosive at Ozymandias with her right and rolling away, the scientist narrowly avoided the Ice Dust based explosive as it blossomed out into a mass of jagged icicles that would have impaled him in a dozen places but instead shattered harmlessly against the ground.
A whistling in the air prompted Ozymandias to reach out and grasp Flesh-Seeker as the weapon was returned to him by way of Goodwitch's telekinetic might, he had no chance to perform any flourishes with the living trident as Jasper and Donner rushed at him from the sides, each now carrying a curved sword. He rushed to his left where Jasper was approaching and leapt into the air, preparing for a downward stabbing attack with the vigour of a much younger man only to be caught by invisible tendrils that tightened around his body, Goodwitch's arm and riding crop outstretched as she directed her Semblance at him; Ozymandias was slammed into the ground until it cracked beneath the force of the blows and hurled to his right, away from the academy.
He let out a truly evil cackle as he tapped into the powers of the Wizard, the sparing use enough to manipulate the momentum of Goodwitch's attack and send him hurtling towards Donner faster than she could hope to block.
"Under normal circumstances I would consider myself above such petty revenge" the Wizard cooed as he examined the three jagged and serrated prongs of the trident now buried in the Specialist's chest "But today I fell justified in making an exception" Donner let out hiss of pain through clenched teeth and felt her weapon slip from her grasp as Ozymandias jammed the spear end of Flesh-Seeker into the ground to hold her place, then reached out and take her head in his hands.
The air was split by twin screams of grief and hatred as Goodwitch and Jasper watched Donner die, Ozymandias breaking her neck with a sickening crack before ripping Flesh-Seeker free and leaving her limp body to collapse to the ground.
"BASTARD!" Goodwitch's entire body seemed to glow with the light of her Aura swirling around her and Ozymandias was hurled back several dozen feet as raw telekinetic power blasted a trench into the ground.
He let out an echoing and distorted laugh as he rose to his feet, the living weapon he carried taking his weight as he did so.
"Glynda, Glynda, Glynda…..I told you this was destiny, you cannot win I'm afraid. My power comes from someone far beyond your scope and she shows me flashes of your old friend Ozpin's memories sometimes, I the way you think, the way you fight, the kinds of plans and countermeasures you would put in place" he straightened his back and squared his shoulders once more, long black coat billowing out behind him in the wind as he sighed "But I will humour you nonetheless"
"WE NEED TO GET CLOSER!" Felix called out over the howling of the wind as Arctus chased after the rampaging Hydrakken, Team FADE being carried by the glowing white and gigantic Nevermore that he had conjured.
"I'm trying but it's too fast!" Arctus shot back through gritted teeth, his heart hammering in his chest and blood ringing in his ears with both fear and adrenaline and the toll that keeping a construct of such a size airborne was taking on him.
"We need to slow it down!" Diamond yelled, taking charge of the situation "Big guy get us as close as you can, I'm gonna try damage one of its' wings"
"On it" Arctus pushed yet more of his power into his construct and forcing it to fly faster, even as Team FADE were buffeted by the winds generated by each flap of the monsters' enormous membranous wings; as the drew closer Arctus felt Diamond lock her legs around his waist to keep herself secure and unsheathe his sword from its' place across his back
"This is gonna work better than trying to use a bullet" she explained, unfurling Grimmiger-Henker and aiming over Arctus's shoulder; a moment later twin beams of light lanced towards the wrist joint of the gigantic wing but missed their mark and instead tore insignificantly small hole in the thin layer of skin between two of the elongated fingers that formed the bat-like wings of the Hydrakken.
"BANK LEFT!" Eagle screamed out in warning as she saw muscles coil along one of the Grimm's three necks, its' furthest left head whipping around and the Hydrakken slowing its' flight with agility that nothing of its' size should have possessed; coming close enough that each member could have reached out and touched its' furious red eyeball if they hadn't been paralysed by fright as they watched the right wing of Arctus's construct be torn away fangs as large as they were tall.
"GET US OUT OF HERE!" Felix screamed
"I CAN'T LAND ANYWHERE!" Arctus answered frantically as he desperately tried to reform the missing wing of his construct through sheer willpower and Aura "WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO JUMP ONTO IT!"
"I'll help you on!" Eagle declared, hurling herself from the construct and taking to her avian form as the Hydrakken returned its' attention to New Vale's air force, whatever mind it possessed assured that the threat had been dealt with. Arctus felt his weapon slide back into its' sheathe on his back and Diamond's fingers lace through his.
"I can get you both on if you trust me?"
"Implicitly" Arctus nodded, the Mistrali sniper reached out and grabbed Felix's hand and as the Bear Faunus brought his construct closer to the flank of the Hydrakken whilst painfully aware that it was starting to flicker and lose cohesion; then the three of them jumped in unison and Diamond activated her Semblance, her feet connected with the obsidian flesh in front of her and 'ahead' suddenly became 'down' and dimensions and forces were shifted around her
"COME ON LET'S GO!" she urged, the three of them running along the body of the Hydrakken in an effort to reach its' back; finally successful when Eagle reached out and pulled Felix the rest of the way
"Okay, we need a new plan" Arctus gasped out, legs shaking as he reached and leaned against one of the massive spines that graced the monsters' back to support himself "I can't do another big construct like that Fluffy, I can barely breathe right now"
"Can you give me a springboard?" Felix asked cautiously
"Yeah" Arctus panted "Yeah I should be able to" the Lion Faunus pondered for a moment, brow creasing as he weighed up the odds of his idea working.
"Okay Diamond try and get out on a wing and when I'm in position shoot at its' eyes"
"What on Remnant-"
"Listen" he frantically cut off the interruption "I need you to make it roar, or just open its' mouth without blasting me. Arctus get a springboard right in front of its' face, Eagle….be ready to catch me if this goes wrong"
"Fluffy it's got three heads dude!" Diamond exclaimed
"Yeah and we're gonna have to take 'em out one at a time" Diamond fell silent for a moment before placing her hands on her leaders' shoulders
"Don't die on us" she then turned to Arctus and pulled him into a gentle and tender kiss "Don't die on me"
"Be careful out there Dee" Arctus nodded to the massive wing of the Hydrakken; the moment of tension was brief and soon Felix was sprinting along the neck of the monstrous Grimm's right head, Eagle and Arctus taking their positions behind him whilst Diamond had moved out onto its' left wing and readied her sniper rifle.
"Okay" Felix breathed out under his breath as he reached the base of one of the Hydrakkens' skulls, realising that with its' vast size Felix was in comparison so small that the Grimm hadn't registered their presence on its' body and was briefly reminded of the time Team FADE had encountered a Brachiodonis of their first ever mission.
He gave the signal and began running along the skull of the Grimm, the crack of Lex Talionis firing could barely be heard above the agonised scream that it tore from the Hydrakken. Diamond had fired from the left wing of the Grimm, threading her shot through the spines along its' back and piercing the left eye of its' right head and it roared in protest.
Just as Felix leapt from its' snout and saw the shimmering black Glyph infused with Gravity Dust that Arctus had conjured in front of it, the Lion Faunus's feet connected with the surface of the Glyph and he readied Hack and Slash as he was flung back into the gaping maw of the Hydrakken, bringing his chainsaw bladed swords screaming into life and his golden Aura flaring into existence around himself; Felix channelled his Semblance, reaching the cusp of entering his Balrog state but not allowing himself to give into it and instead using his swords to shred every thing in his path as he travelling along the beasts' gullet before finally bursting free from the back of its' neck in a visceral spray of living darkness.
"Take my hand!" Eagle had appeared in front of him and Felix sheathed his weapons, allowing himself to be pulled to safety as the right head of the Hydrakken died and the neck Felix had burst through hung limp, its' spine snapped and its' weight supported only by suddenly dulled flesh that would seemingly not fade away until the rest of the Grimm died. The remaining two heads screamed and thrashed and Team FADE braced themselves as they regrouped.
"Okay" Felix breathed, hands trembling as much as his voice "It can definitely be hurt"
They were simply being overwhelmed, Qrow, Syneffo and Corvid were fighting with everything they had and it was clear that against the sheer power that Nickel had at her disposal it would not be enough and that they were simply delaying the inevitable; as was proven when Nickel lashed out with the massive mechanical talons in a backhanded swing that Syneffo was forced to use her Semblance to defend against. The dome of crimson light that engulfed her prevented the claw of the Omega Destroyer from striking her yet the ground still cracked under the force of the blow and Syneffo was still sent skidding backwards. Qrow came rushing to the girls' aid and prepared to swing Harbinger into the relatively unprotected legs of the battle-suit only to be forced to take to his avian form to escape by swallowed by the firestorm that Nickel unleashed from her weapons in retaliation
Then the ground exploded around Nickel and even she was forced to step back and glare upwards, letting out an irritable snarl from behind her helmet as she saw Corvid hovering in the air above her, the wings of the Omega Wing splayed wide
"Bring that cheap knock off of yours up here and see how long it lasts!" Nickel bristled at the taunt, seeing it for the obvious ruse that it was but yet unable to ignore it she brought the thrusters of the Omega Destroyer screaming into life and with a single lurching step kicked herself off of the ground, rocketing into the air and unleashing her weapons directly at Corvid who weaved acrobatically around the onslaught, yet more sneering mockery on her lips
"Wow, that really is an ugly jalopy of a weapon!….Hey, you wanna know what the only real problem with those Atlesian fighters you used to make it is?"
"I'll humour you" Nickel growled as she aimed her flamethrower at Corvid's face but failed to do any damage as the smaller and more nimble battle-suit evaded her.
"No onboard shield generator" behind her mask Corvid wore a cruel smile "How far can you extend your Aura?" without waiting for an answer she swooped close and fired the shoulder mounted rail-guns of the Omega Wing directly into the wings of the Omega Destroyer and Nickel was powerless to prevent them from being torn asunder.
"I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF FOR THAT!" the android screamed, reaching out with the claws of suit and simply seizing Corvid by the shoulders and dragging her from the sky along with her as the Omega Destroyer's flight became impossible to stabilise. The two grappled and thrashed, with Corvid using her arm mounted blades to stab at Nickel's chest to no avail, the androids' armour and Aura protecting her from the blows; as they hurtled towards the ground Corvid managed to position herself so that she would impact first and in the same moment she activated her Semblance and the force field generators of the Omega Wing. Corvid planted her feet and became immovable and Nickel frantically tried to pull her talons back from the expanding sphere of light that encased her opponent, losing the left hand of the Omega Destroyer in the process and burning the outer layer of its' armoured torso away as was flung forwards by Corvid's sudden stop.
"GOOD FOR YOU! I'VE GOT SOME COOL TRICKS AS WELL!" Nickel roared aiming her Dust powered flamethrower at the ground beneath Corvid's feet and firing, she knew that Corvid's Semblance required a solid surface to be of any use and within mere seconds the tarmac beneath their feet had begun to melt.
"Corey move!" Syneffo's voice warned and the older woman leapt aside, shield generator flickering as Nickel fired her laser weapons at close range before finally giving out. Nickel reached out with her remaining mechanical talon to pluck her from the sky only for the right forearm of the Omega wing to be peppered to crossbow bolts whose Dust-laden tips heated the armoured panels until they glowed red. The platinum haired android watched as Syneffo separated the Harpies Claws into their twin axe form and charged at her with a primal scream of rage, only to veer out of reach as Nickel took a step forward to meet her and the android suddenly became aware of a dark shape hurtling towards her as Qrow swooped low in his avian form before reverting to his true self in a flash of Aura, his scythe poised to cleave throw Nickel's neck where her helmet left it exposed.
A single well placed laser shot sent Harbinger flying from his grasp and Nickel snatched the man out of the air with the Omega Destroyers' remaining claw, squeezing until she could feel ribs give way as she slammed the now defenceless Hunter into the ground over and over, each impact shaking the ground around them until deep crimson Aura could be seen flickering around them man.
Then she raised one of her battle-suits' birdlike legs and stamped on Qrow's back and watched the mans' Aura shatter, his spine following it a moment later
"UNCLE QROW!" the scream of indescribable rage announced Corvid's approach as the Omega Wing came screaming towards Nickel and the two battle-suits collided with enough force to throw Nickel back several paces only for her to reach out and close her claw around her adversaries' helmeted head
"Now you don't have a shield generator either" Corvid felt Nickel's grip began to tighten as the android prepared to simply crush her skull, she fired the Omega Wings' rail-guns yet she failed to shake her off, tearing chunks of armour from the Omega Destroyer and leaving it sparking but still Nickel refused to relent
Then Syneffo ran and leapt onto the massive battle-suits' shoulder and activated her Semblance
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Nickel howled in murderous rage as the shield that Syneffo produced expanded outwards and forced the Omega Destroyer off balance, ripping away the armour of its' right shoulder and part of Nickel's helmet, forcing her to release Corvid as it did so.
The two of them fell back, scurrying away from the wildly thrashing Nickel as fast as the could and regrouping and Qrow's broken and unconscious form; a sob of pure grief escaping Corvid as she saw what had been done to her great uncle
"He's still breathing" Syneffo noted, voice shaking as she tried to mentally prepare herself for another exchange with the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut that Nickel had become
"Let me fix that!" the android snapped as she prepared to charge at the pair, the upper portion of the Omega Destroyer was in a sorry state yet it still functioned, the left hand had been ripped away but the flamethrower remained, the wings were gone but the thrusters still had power, the armour of the right arm was ruined but the damage was superficial and with her helmet damaged both Corvid and Syneffo could see just how manic Nickel's smile had become. The two of them braced themselves as best they could as the thrusters of the Omega Destroyer flared into life and the android prepared to rush at them with all the force she could muster.
Than a beam of ethereal green light lanced downwards and Nickel barely had a chance to look upwards and demented glee at the newcomer before being sent hurtling down the road and landing in a crumpled heap, as the impact of a Photon Accelerator square in the chest collapsed much of her battle-suits' remaining armour, a second beam striking her prone form tore through the thrusters and the resultant explosion left a glowing pyre in its' wake.
"Aunt Penny!" Corvid cried with relief as the Pearl came soaring into view and Penny herself leapt from within, landing in a crouch and drawing her swords
"Qrow's hurt and-"
"Where are the twins?" Penny asked
"Your house, it's locked down"
"Take Qrow, take the twins and go. Get Qrow to a hospital" Penny ordered, clamping her hands down on Corvid's shoulders "The Pearls' main weapon needs to recharge after that, so I need you to take care of them"
"Got it" Corvid nodded before crouching down to lift Qrow's prone form as gently as she could, knowing that it wasn't safe to move him but there was no other way. Penny watched her niece and the child that she and Ruby had brought into their home climb onto the modified Bull-Head and escape before turning her attention to burning heap of wreckage that marked where Nickel had landed
"Get up"
"Not gonna offer me a chance to stand down, convince me that there's another way and we don't have to do this" Nickel sneered as she emerged from the flames, shrugging off the last remains of the Omega Destroyer so that the two androids stood as equals "Come on, ask me why this has to happen!"
"I don't care" Nickel was brought to a sputtering halt by Penny's words and the copper haired woman continued "If you had come to me months ago I would had given you anything and helped you in any way I could. You don't want to be helped though, you're happy to be broken"
"BROKEN?" Nickel screamed "I'M EVERYTHING YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AND I HAD TO RUST IN STASIS BECAUSE OF IT! EVERYTHING YOU HAVE IS STOLEN FROM ME!" pushed beyond any kind of reasoning Nickel let out a wordless howl of pure rage and charged.
"We're getting close to the city" Raffia's reedy and slightly high pitched voice declared, spindly and calloused fingers twitching and drumming agitatedly at the controls of the Bull-Head Team GORE had claimed as their own, caudal fins laid flat against his skull in a display of nervous tension
"Weapons are ready" Onyx added in a low rumbling growl from his seat beside the Axolotl Faunus, padded hands wrapped around triggers in anticipation of what was to come and greenish yellow eyes scanning the horizon as he waited for Carcharodon to give the order.
When word had been sent that New Vale was under attack and that all available Hunters were to deploy within the city Team GORE had been aboard the newly named Nemesis Kharybdis which still rested along the Broken Coast, though Carcharodon had deemed that the ship was all but ready to depart for New Vale's docks; at first the Shark Faunus had considered the option of setting sail immediately and bringing the ships weapons to bare against the Grimm but Hellion had noted that the vast majority of the monsters would be too far out of range for them to contribute anything of value that way, more importantly was the amount of time it would take. Time was of the essence and flying would get them into New Vale faster so Carcharodon, silently thanking the ancestors that they had been allowed to borrow the craft in order to transport heavy good to their ship had ordered his team aboard their Bull-Head and into the fray.
His pitch black eyes widened in shock as they entered New Vale's airspace and saw that the city was burning.
"Open fire on any Grimm you see" he ordered quickly, any ideas of joining a co-ordinated plan stricken from his mind as he saw a Bull-Head in the distance be dragged from the air by a swarm of Sphinx Grimm whilst smoke and flames billowed from what he was stunned to realise was the remains of a Hive Tower which had been torn apart by the remains of an airship which had crashed into it.
Before he could truly take in the scale of the war for control of the skies that was happening around him the shrieking of a flock of Nevermore sprung both Onyx and Raffia into action and they brought their transport into a steep dive and sharp bank to the left which saw them using a bridge between two Hive Towers as a shield, the sharpened quills of the avian monsters boring into the steel and concrete as the Bull-Head surged upwards once again to meet them, missiles streaking through the air and nose mounted machine guns shredding the wings and bodies of the Grimm with ease.
Yet one remained and Carcharodon bared his rows of sharp fangs in a snarl and deployed the Red Waves as he rasped out and order
"Bring us level"
"Car what're you doing?" Hellion demanded, wings buzzing behind her with anxious concern; outside the craft the final Nevermore swerved to avoid colliding with the Bull-Head and doubled back to chase after them
"Hunting" Carcharodon answered simply before opening the side hatch of the Bull-Head and leaping out as he activated his Semblance. The Nevermore closed in, talons extended as it made to take the right wing of the transport in its' clutches; whatever intelligence the winged horror possessed did not prepare it for the sight of a dark and viscous liquid running along the wing in question, appearing almost as a sentient shadow before rising up from the surface of the wing and taking the shape of Carcharodon Gore. The Shark Faunus leapt from the wing and span in the air as he delivered a pair of precise slashes that sent the Nevermore veering away and squawking in protest before its' head and left wing fell away and the three pieces of its' body began to disintegrate as the fell towards the ground; Carcharodon however had activated his Semblance and the liquid form that his body had taken allowed him to run along the side of the Bull-Heads' hull and reform himself back inside of it.
"Now take us further into the city" he instructed Raffia as he closed the hatch behind him, acting as though he had done nothing out of the ordinary. The Axolotl Faunus silently followed the instruction and Carcharodon turned to face Hellion "Any word?"
"None" the Dragonfly Faunus shook her head, the fear all too apparent in her pale green eyes "I can't contact Team FADE or Professor Goodwitch"
"We'll find them and fight our way to them" Carcharodon assured her in a quiet, rasping voice "In the meantime we defend as much of this city as we-"
"CAR, LOOK AHEAD!" Raffia's exclamation brought the Shark Faunus whirling around and if his eyes had widened upon seeing the city aflame it was nothing to the expression he wore now. Whilst the Frost River Tribe were their own entity and shared little in the way of mythology with the other tribes of Anima they were seafaring and knew enough of the customs of their neighbours for Carcharodon to recognise the Hydrakken that the Nikosi believed to herald the end of days; after a brief moment of gut wrenching terror the former raider mastered himself and snarled out
"No Nikosi bedtime story is the better of our people. That is a Grimm and it can perish like any other"
"I don't know if we've got the guns for it" Onyx observed "But it looks like somebody already made a start" Carcharodon took one look at one of the Hydrakkens' three heads, hanging limp and lifeless and allowed himself a rare genuine smile as a thought occurred to him.
"I know of few people with the bravery" he turned to Hellion "I think we may have found Team FADE"
The Hydrakken still had two heads remaining and Team FADE were struggling to make any further headway in their attempt to slay the monster.
"EAGLE!" Felix screamed out a warning, his partner shifting into her avian form as one of the Hydrakkens' heads snaked around on its' twisting, serpentine neck to spew a gout of destructive light at the Hunters, Eagle soared out of the path of the blast and returned to her natural state beside Felix who crouched behind one of the spines running along the enormous Grimm's back, Arctus and Diamond being close by.
"We need a new plan!" the sniper called out to Felix
"I'm open to suggestions" he answered, burying his swords in the flesh of the monster more of frustration than the belief that it might actually do anything useful.
"The air force aren't even trying to fight it any more" Eagle noted peering out into the smoke filled skyline and seeing that several ships had arrived from other settlements in New Vale's territory to defend the capital city "I think they're trying to take out everything else while this thing's distracted then focus their fire"
"That makes sense" Felix accepted, reasoning that if it were the official strategy then it was a sound one. Since Team FADE had felled one of the heads of the Hydrakken the remaining two had turned their attention away from laying waste to the cities' aerial defences and instead sought to combat the pests that had clambered onto it, seemingly losing none of its' predatory intelligence with the death of one of its' heads and managing to keep Team FADE at bay, thwarting their attempts to claim another. Thinking back to Team FADE's first year as students when the Exclusion Zone had been breached by Phobos's packs and the unexpected aid they had received in that battle Felix found himself glancing over to Arctus
"If Uncle Gang wants to put in another surprise appearance then now would be a great time for it"
"Doesn't look like it this time" Arctus managed to laugh despite the situation before turning serious "And if the plan is massed fire to take this thing down then we need to find a way off or we're gonna get vaporised way before landing strategies become an issue" the realisation that his cousin was right sent fresh waves of icy dread through Felix, whilst he understood that a career as a Huntsman could involve laying down his life there was something uniquely terrifying about the idea of being collateral damage or friendly fire.
"Can we try and direct it, maybe lead it over to one of the aerial platforms?"
"Not without getting everyone already on it killed" Diamond answered simply and Felix racked his brains for another solution, his priority changing form killing the Hydrakken to simply getting his team to safety before he was distracted and forced to hold onto the bone spike he was taking cover behind as the Hydrakken began to turn in mid-air
"What's it chasing?" he demanded, deciding in an instant that if the monster had set its' sights on another warship Felix would do everything in his power to stop it
"Let me see" Eagle offered, shifting into her bird form with a flash of pure white Aura and soaring out of view for a moment before returning wearing a broad smile "You're not gonna believe it, come on!" she sprinted along the Hydrakkens' back and signalled for her team to follow her and as they did so they caught sight of the Grimm's two remaining heads snapping and blasting beams of light at a lone Bull-Head whose pilot flew like a man possessed
"It's Team GORE!" Eagle beamed as a towering figure that could only be Onyx leaned out of the side hatch of the craft and brought Jotun Fang to bare instead of the Bull-Heads' own, forward facing weapons; the first booming report of the weapon ripping a sizeable chunk of bone from the middle head of the Grimm.
Felix realised that this was their moment
"QUICK! WHILE IT'S DISTRACTED!" hearing the order Arctus took matters into his own hand and ran to the base of the Hydrakkens' middle neck with Diamond following close behind him; the Bear Faunus's Aura visibly flickered around him as he poured every ounce of power that could muster into creating a single Glyph which rotated like a saw blade and grew to several times Arctus's own size. With a roar of exertion he hurled the Glyph downwards and the heads of the Hydrakken shrieked in rage and agony, the middle head falling silently and the fiery glow in its' eyes fading as it was decapitated.
Then the final remaining head whirled around, its' murderous gaze falling on him and Arctus knew what would happen faster than he could act to prevent it
"MOVE!" Diamond's terrified cry seemed distant to Arctus as the Grimm's gaping maw rushed towards him with its' fangs on display; the feeling of his partners' body colliding with his brought him to his senses and allowed him to experience Diamond's agonised scream as the jaws of the Hydrakken snapped shut
"DEE!" the Hydrakken thrashed its' final remaining head and Diamond was thrown from the monsters' back; the rest of Team FADE sprung into action, Arctus creating Glyphs with tears in his eyes as he desperately sought to break Diamond's fall, Eagle preparing to leap from the Grimm's body and catch her knowing that she wouldn't be able to carry her friend but willing to use her own Aura to cushion the fall, Felix had no plan but simply moved in blind panic.
Then a streak of crimson surged upwards, a trail of levitating rose petals in its' wake
"Aunt Ruby?" the Lion Faunus mouthed out in shock; his aunt caught Diamond as she came to a halt, hovering in the air with her eyes glowing as if lit from within and suddenly the Lion Faunus knew what was about to happen
"ONTO THAT BULL-HEAD!" he and Eagle found themselves all but dragging a near incoherent Arctus with them as they leapt onto Team GORE's waiting craft and the moment they did so Felix screwed his eyes shut, yet the light of Ruby's silver eyes still shone through his eyelids and he heard the final dying shriek of the Hydrakken before a thud behind him announced his aunts arrival.
"Oh my Oum" Eagle's voice was fragile and it was clear that she was near tears, Felix opened his eyes and despite the sickening terror he felt he turned and forced himself to see what had become of Diamond.
Her left arm was gone.
"Dee, Dee you're gonna be okay we're gonna get you to a hospital I promise" Arctus's words could barely be heard through his sobs as he sunk to his knees, blood staining his clothes as he clutched at Diamond who against all odds was still conscious, though her eyes were wild and unfocused
"Big guy" she gasped out "Big guy I'm losing too much blood, if I don't make it-"
"You're gonna make it"
"Here" Ruby produced several small syringes and began jabbing them into Diamond's right arm, her left being a gory stump of ruined meat from just below the shoulder "Aura stimulant shots, I always keep 'em on me….It should be enough to slow the bleeding but she needs medical attention right now"
"We'll get her to the academy" Carcharodon declared, Raffia needing no further instruction and bringing the Bull-Head inline with its' new destination. Something in the caped Huntresses' tone resonated with Felix in a particularly worrying way
"You're not staying with us?"
"Nickel has gone to our home….Penny, Qrow, Corey and Syneffo are there but they're gonna need help"
"I'm coming-"
"Your team need you Fluffy!" Ruby interjected firmly and the Lion Faunus cursed himself for even considering abandoning them and he nodded, trying his best to force his warring emotions under control
"Good luck" Ruby nodded and deployed Crescent Rose before leaping out of the Bull-Head, her Semblance allowing her to reach such speeds that gravity ceased to limit her. Felix saw that Carcharodon and Hellion were making a tourniquet for Diamond's arm out of strips of their own clothing whilst Arctus and Eagle fought to keep her talking and focused, to stop her from losing consciousness
"We're gonna make it, we've got control of the air now. We're gonna get Diamond to medical and we're gonna be okay" he promised words, his words coming in a rapid stream and he desperately fought to make himself believe them.
Team NEON had held the line and would continue to do so until their last breaths if that was what it took, though Helios was beginning to grow concerned with the ever increasing likelihood of that oath being tested. As the redhead had promised to Felix he had led Team NEON to one of the remaining sections of the Exclusion Zone wall, which whist no longer any kind of barrier could still serve as a defensible position to be extracted from; after fighting against the Grimm they had been extracted and finally transported to where they had originally been intended to deploy, guarding the entrance to one of the shelters housing several thousand civilians with assistance in the form of both several dozen of the Knight model of defensive robot and surprisingly from Sentinel, Eagle's robot having been integrated at least temporarily with what Helios knew must be Eagle's car.
Then the Grimm came rampaging into the tower and through the streets, their numbers thinned by whatever defences they had overrun thus far but still far too many for Team NEON to face alone.
"KEEP PUSHING THEM BACK!" Helios roared as he embedded the edge of his shield in the skull of a Sabyr before impaling another feline monster with his sword when it leapt at him, beside him Nyanza was a ceaseless blur of motion as he cut down Grimm by the dozen; his eyes glowing green with his Semblance and his pistols emptying rounds at an incredible rate, claiming no less than three kills per shot. The robots were being demolished and offering nothing more than a token resistance in return but Ether still flitted between their number and swung Ghost Reverie into the backs, chests and snouts of the group of Ursa that were rampaging through the automatons whilst some distance away Olivine had shifted Buster Bravo into its' close combat mode and was using the oversized gauntlets to tackle both heads of a King-Taijitu at once, grappling with the hissing serpentine monster before wrapping its' body around a nearby support pillar and using it's momentary distraction as it tried to untangle itself to bludgeon it to death whilst all the while Sentinel chirped and bleeped happily as he used his own weapons and those of the Lightning Bug to tear through the hordes of monsters.
It was far from being enough, every Grimm the killed was replaced by another a moment later and Helios took the briefest moment to catch his breath, intending to compliment Nyanza on a particularly impressive use of his Semblance wherein he managed to make a Deathstalker put out its' own eye with its' stinger; then the armoured man was knocked from his feet and the air forced from his lungs as something large and heavy swung gracefully down from where it had been perched atop a nearby traffic light. The Beringrel was on Helios the moment he tried to rise to his feet and knocked him back even further, a prime specimen of its' kind that was roughly twice Helios's size and incredibly strong, a troupe of smaller Beringrel following behind it turning their attention to the rest of Team NEON.
The Hunter and Grimm fought briefly, Helios striking the beast across the face with his shield and stabbing it through the shoulder only for the Grimm to respond in kind, a powerful blow to the head leaving Helios staggering before he let out a howl of pain as its' powerful jaws closed around his own shoulder, piercing though his armour and flesh; the Beringrel then picked him up and hurled him directly at the sealed entrance of the shelter Team NEON were defending and Helios's eyes widened as he heard the Atlesian steel creak under the force of the impact. He dragged himself to his hands and knees as the Beringrel charged again, its' momentum being robbed as Sentinel's Lighting Claws buried themselves in the Grimm's back and began to electrocute it; yet the Beringrel persisted and began to drag the droid and the car it was attached to along with it. Helios forced himself to his feet and gritted his teeth as his jet black Aura began to manifest around him, he was exhausted and he was injured, his blood staining the ground at his feet but he would perish before this shelter was breached and with a snarl of utter defiance he met the Beringrels' glowing red gaze
"Bow down!" the effects of his Semblance spread out like a wave, amplifying gravity and forcing Grimm to their knees and in the cases of some of the smaller monsters imploding them entirely.
Then the Beringrel before him exploded, leaving a cloud of vibrant pink mist in its' wake, Helios's stared dumbfounded as the simian monster Olivine had been grappling with was riddled with bullets and then relieved of its' head by someone who moved so swiftly that they could barely be seen, the trio of Grimm that Ether had been weaving between were torn apart by a razor sharp discus that seemed to be made of two swords whilst the two Grimm that Nyanza had been fighting were taken out with similar ease, the first being killed by a shotgun blast to the chest and the second simply unmade a deep purple and roughly humanoid shape colliding with it and delivering a savage haymaker at incredible speed. Helios suddenly understood and allowed himself a sigh of relief as Professors Lie and Nora Ren came into view, flanked by First Year students Team RAIN
"Good thing us Patch Kids stick together right?" Amethyst Wukong noted as she offered out a hand to Nyanza who'd been left on the floor at some point during the battle.
"Helios!" Nora called out to the weary and bloodied leader of Team NEON who was clearly reaching his limits but refusing to show any of it, making her way over to him with Magnhild resting across one shoulder "You're doing great, we're taking the city back one street at a time-"
"We were about to be overrun" Helios muttered "The people here-"
"The people here would be grateful if they'd seen you put yourself in front of the entrance like that" Nora cut him off, knowing the impossible standards that he held himself to "Pyrrha would be proud" the praise being enough for Helios to straighten up with pride and find more energy and fresh fighting spirit to give; not a moment too soon as the ground began to rumble as something large came lumbering into view. Large and vaguely saurian with rows of broad and diamond shaped plates protruding from its' back and a tail tipped with sharp implements that resembled a pickaxe
"We've got a Stegalith" Ren warned, Nora readied her hammer and Helios took up his sword and shield
"Give the order professor" Helios found that he could suddenly smile, Nora gave a feral grin
"Smash!"
Doctor Ozymandias Eldritch, even before he had obtained the Wizard and had his mind bolstered by the whisperings of the mysterious feminine presence in his mind had never been a fool or a dullard. With that in mind it was of no surprise that the had not immediately sought out the containment unit that Pantheon was doubtless being held in; instead the twisted and depraved scientist had instead ventured further into the bowels of the anti-gravity platform which Halo Academy was supported upon and sought out the massive Dust powered reactors which powered the anti-gravity generators as well as the academy as a whole.
However even with the vast power and intelligence at his disposal Ozymandias had not been quite prepared for just how vicious Professor Jasper Cimmerian had been in her countermeasures.
"Uncouth, unorthodox and utterly uncalled for my dear" Ozymandias sighed to himself as he removed his now broken mask. He had trigged some unseen mechanism which had fired a plethora of shuriken blades through the corridor he was in, several at a time with an uneven and unpredictable rate of fire, angle and distance between each projectile which suggested that whatever was firing the things had been mobile. Whilst avoiding the throwing stars had been a simple matter for someone such as him Ozymandias had been displeased to realise that one of them had cut away the beak of his avian mask, ruining the appearance of some dreadful plague doctor entirely.
"Now, where were we?" he muttered under his breath, his usual warm and welcoming tones strained as he wiped blood away from his nose; the constant small uses of the Wizards' power taking their toll on his already dying body. Prior to the throwing stars his way had been barred by yet more electrified razor wire, this time obscured by a dense and most likely poisonous gas, a landmine which had been not only avoided but pocketed for later use, Magnetic and Gravity Dust crystals hidden in the walls and floor to slow his progress and by far the most unpleasant of all; a thermal charge in one area that had actually reduced the floor on which he had been stood to a molten state. Ozymandias continued downwards into where he knew the reactor must be only to be halted once again at the final hurdle as the entrance was protected by a grid of glowing light which he realised was not actually the high powered laser that it seemed to be at first glance, instead it was a series of narrow forcefields positioned in close proximity to each other.
"This is just laughable" Ozymandias sighed, growing annoyed at the levels that were being stooped to which were in his mind reaching a level of pettiness and comical absurdity that demeaned his adversaries.
With a slow exhale the poisonous green light of the Wizards' powers flickered around him again and time slowed a crawl as he walked towards the forcefield, the beams of light were not constant but in fact pulsed and oscillated which produced their distinctive thrumming sound, with time slowed to such an extent around him the corrupted Wizard was able to simply step through the forcefields and into the reactor core of Halo Academy, truly gargantuan machinery powered by enormous quantities of Dust. Ozymandias spent a few moments examining his surroundings before identifying a vital component and hurling the landmine intended to stop him at it, vanishing before the resulting explosion ripped through the room.
The moment Team GORE's Bull-Head skidded to a halt on the campus's airship terminal both team of students departed and bolted towards the academy itself, Arctus carrying Diamond in his arms so that he might get her to a doctor a moment sooner; only for them to come skidding to a halt at the sight that greeted them.
"Oh my Oum what happened here?" Eagle gasped, hands flying to her mouth at the sight of bullet-scarred and cratered ground.
"PROFESSOR GOODWITCH!" Felix caught sight of the Headmistress laying sprawled in an unnatural and clearly painful position on the ground close to the steps leading to the main entrance and sprinted towards her, bile rising in his throat as she did. Her glasses were broken and she sported a sizeable head wound which bled freely and left her stern face smeared crimson, more striking however was her legs which had clearly been broken in a number of places.
"Xiao Long" she croaked out, eyes unfocused and seemingly barely clinging to consciousness "Help Professor Cimmerian" Felix frantically looked around and was greeted by the sight of Jasper lurching out of the shadows where she had been hiding like a wounded animal, her cybernetic arm was a crushed and mangled mass of metal and she clutched at a heavily bleeding stomach wound as she staggered towards him, blood trickling from her lips with each laboured breath
"She won't last long" Carcharodon murmured quietly as he made his way to his fellow team leaders' side
"Why are you here Felix?" Professor Cimmerian asked "You shouldn't be here"
"Diamond's injured badly, she's lost an arm professor, she's had Aura stim but she needs a doctor and-"
"There are no doctors here" Jasper informed him as she shook her head sadly
"What?" Arctus's exclamation was one of utter heartbreak
"The campus has been evacuated" Goodwitch informed them "Go, fall back. We'll hold the line" the absurdity of the statement caught both Felix and Carcharodon's ears, neither woman was in any position to defend against anything
"Hold the line against what?" the Shark Faunus demanded "What attacked-"
BOOM!
The explosion shook the entire campus and came from below, the students shared a collective look of terror as the entire anti-gravity platform seemed to sag in the air.
"He's blown the generators" Jasper surmised "He's blown the generators to kill the power to holding cell and bypass the defences"
"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Felix demanded, voice cracking as he realised that his friends were injured and dying and help was being hindered by yet more secrets.
"Eldritch is here, Pantheon is here. I know you know what I'm talking about" Goodwitch explained, trying futilely to drag herself into a sitting position "He's trying to free Pantheon"
"If Pantheon takes over those Grimm in the city then New Vale is gone" Diamond clambered from Arctus's grasp, the blood loss had slowed to a trickle as the Aura stimulant struggled to keep her alive and conscious but it was an uphill struggle just for her to remain standing "Where do you need us"
"Dee, we can't, you can't-"
"Big guy we're all that's here" she croaked out, tears in her eyes as she pulled him into a slow kiss which both of them feared might be their last
"Diamond's right" Felix fought back tears as he braced himself for what needed to be done "We're the last line of defence….what do we do?"
"Split into teams" Goodwitch's speech was becoming slurred and it was clear that whilst her injuries may not be fatal at her age the pain was enough for her to black out at any moment "If the reactor core has been damaged, somebody needs to manually switch to back up power before the damage causes the academy to fall….if we're lucky we can restore power to where Pantheon is being held before he gets there"
"I'll take that team" Jasper offered, wiping blood from her mouth "I set traps to slow him down, I don't want students walking into them….Sustrai, I' have more Aura stimulant" the unconventional Professor reached into one of her many pouches and produced more of the substance which served as a substitute for medical treatment in the field; and unspoken acknowledgement of the sacrifice that she was making by not using it for her own grievous injury passing through the students.
"And the other team has to stop Eldritch" Arctus surmised, catching sight of Donner's lifeless body close by; a fresh wave of white-hot hatred coursing though him
"He's fast, he's strong but he's dying" Goodwitch informed them, taking no small amount of satisfaction from his plight "Every time he uses his powers it chips away at him"
"Good to know" Felix snarled, fury like nothing he'd ever felt before building within him "We'll take Eldritch"
"We're right behind you….'til the end" Eagle nodded and Felix couldn't begin to explain how much that meant to him.
He could only hope that it would be enough.
Authors Notes:
I told you that I'd make you suffer, I promised you and you should have believed me.
Two chapters left of Third Year, we still have a final confrontation with Ozymandias left to deal with and the plot twist/big reveal that I've been saving for literal years.
I cannot wait to rock your worlds.
Anyway, let's summarise shall we:
The whole first scene where Team FADE and NEON meet was actually originally gonna be at the end of the last chapter.
The Minotaur Grimm construct is just Arctus's go to for heavy lifting.
So there were six warships originally above New Vale, the Hydrakken took down a third of the defenders air force with little to no resistance.
It was only a brief reunion but it was what it needed to be, it got Team FADE out of the Hive Towers and let them see the Hydrakken for themselves.
The mad doc is not doing too well.
Allow destiny to take its' course…..Do you believe in Destiny?
If you're fighting those three then dealing with Glynda has to be your first priority otherwise you're gonna get thrown into orbit.
Professor of Unconventional Tactics and Ungentlemanly Warfare Jasper Cimmerian, you thought she was gonna fight fair?
So, Donner's gone.
However corrupted he is, Ozymandias is the Wizard and although I didn't got the whole possession route in Downward Spiral, Oscar could still access his predecessors' memories; Ozymandias can do the same.
With how important a Hunters' weapon is to them using someone else's is always gonna be symbolic but we already know Diamond and Arctus love each other.
I'm sure Arctus and Diamond have had another "Trust me" "Implicitly" moment before.
So Felix just pulled the Sega Megadrive Sonic Spinball whilst duel wielding chainsaws….also note that he didn't go Balrog, which means he's still got Balrog and a hidden feature in his tail left to use.
One head down, two to go….but now you've pissed it off.
Nickel is the undisputed queen of "I know I'm being played….but still".
The wingspan being wider than her own Aura can reach is literally why Corvid looked for a shield generator to put on the Omega Wing in Vol.1; also that little exchange was kinda inspired by Iron Man Vs Obadiah.
If you can't move Corvid then move the floor she's stood on; it worked for Felix in the tournament.
So, Qrow's pretty much fucked.
Nickel's internal monologue right before betting shot "Why do I hear boss music?"
Oh Penny is the most pisses I think I've ever wrote her.
I think Penny just accidentally found something that irks Nickel, everyone else has tried to reason with her, let her monologue or exchanged quips; Penny just straight up shut that shit down.
So now it's Penny Vs Nickel, we've been looking forward to this one; Penny has her laser swords and her internal nanobots for auto-repair but Nickel has Booster in the tank for an immediate power up.
There will be a time and a place for Team GORE to finally aim a warship at their problems but right it's just not feasible.
Raffia got the job of helmsman for a reason and I mentioned before it's one of the very few things he takes seriously.
"Hunting" followed by some cinematic bullshit, quintessential Carcharodon.
Nope no Gangrel Slate saving the day this time.
Seriously, getting shot by a warships' big guns when the ship in question was on your side is some utter bullshit.
Saw blade Glyph decapitation, classic.
Yes it was a Ruby Ex Machina butt here me out….that's literally what she was there for, she stayed in the city to use her Silver Eyes.
I told you I was gonna make you suffer, I told you.
And Aura stimulant has been a thing in this story for years, it's what they used to keep Kafsi stable after she'd had an arm hacked off and a lung punctured so it's enough to keep Diamond from bleeding out for a while.
And neither Team FADE and GORE were at the academy when the attack started, so they don't know that Neptune moved all the medical staff off site.
So, Penny has help inbound.
If Sentinel's there then that means that shelter is where Astra and his family are.
Yes Olivine tied a snake Grimm in a knot.
Helios hit the Grimm in the face and put something sharp in it, the Grimm responded in kind….Monkey see, monkey do.
"Bow down!" is a call back to Helios in initiation.
Yay for background characters saving the day….But more importantly, IT'S NORA TIME.
Oz's plan makes sense, don't fuck about trying to fight through all those countermeasures when you can just look for an off switch.
Professor Jasper is officially "That mother-fucker"
But it was never gonna be enough.
I'm sure some of you assumed that Oz had killed Goodwitch and Jasper and no I won't apologise for doing a battle of Haven and having it all off screen lol.
Jasper bought Diamond a little more time, but in exchange for her own life, she's bleeding out from that gut wound and her other injuries and she just gave the closest thing to medical aid she had away.
So, the campus is on a countdown to destruction, Team GORE are going into the inner workings of the academy and Team FADE are heading after Oz for a final showdown….what if I told you that this ends with a reference to Team FADE's initiation?
Thank you to SumoSnipe and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
Grimm Ghidorah has arrived and departed.
We haven't seen exactly where Torchwick is gonna end up sleeping yet.
If you're gonna start that kind of party you may as well do it with a bang.
I mean it's a compact mini-gun loaded with all kinds of magic bullets, I feel like that last part makes a difference.
The big guns are cool but if you're gonna hunt giant monsters you've gotta do it with melee weapons for the aesthetic.
Against anyone else Glynda taking the gloves off would be a whitewash, against Ozymandias though….nah.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.