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Chapter 142: Nullified
"Eyes forward, keep moving….Just 'cos you're not cuffed doesn't mean I trust you" Squish's fingers tightened with an audible creak around the grip of his weapon as he stayed a single pace behind Arctus and Eagle
"Babe relax, they've got Aura dampeners on" Neon Katt noted as she strolled alongside the Reptilian Faunus, swinging one of the nunchaku that she had dubbed the 'Party Starters' almost playfully as she turned to the pair whom she supposed were still technically prisoners and added in a conversational tone
"Tall people make him nervous and he acts tough to compensate" Arctus found himself laughing at the comment despite himself whilst Eagle found herself disregarding Squish's instructions and turning to face Neon as she asked
"Wait, are you guys doing a good cop, bad cop routine?" Neon made a wordless sound of disgruntled annoyance before gesturing for the two of them to keep moving.
Squish had promised them that they would be meeting whoever the current host for the Wizards' powers was in this timeline and as such Arctus and Eagle had been led from their cells and in a direction that the pair were unfamiliar, far beyond the interrogation rooms that they had been questioned in previously and up through the bowels of what had once been the settlement of Mountain Glenn until they reached close to the surface where the tower blocks and streets of a city had stood incomplete for decades; though their guards still deliberately kept their route away from whatever civilians called this base their home. Eventually they reached a narrow corridor with sparse decoration and plain, utilitarian white décor which had the overall feel of a waiting room or doctors' office at which point Neon slipped in front of the pair and Squish made no attempt to hide the sound of him readying his weapon and taking aim squarely at Arctus's back as a precaution; the Bear Faunus swallowed thickly and resolved to make no sudden movements that might be misinterpreted whilst Neon reached a door at the end of the corridor and made to rap her knuckles against it.
"Come in" the voice on the other side of the door was warm, earthy and welcoming and yet that did nothing to ease the sense of foreboding that came from the fact that the Wizard had known of their arrival beforehand.
"You heard the man" Squish murmured "Go in" Neon opened the door and stepped inside with Squish leading both Arctus and Eagle in at gunpoint
"Perdu, please put the gun down….I think it's highly unlikely it will be needed" the voice that they had heard a moment before requested with a tired sigh that suggested that the speaker was well acquainted with Squish's brand of zealousness; only this time Arctus and Eagle could see the man for themselves.
They had not expected the Wizard to be so young.
The man sat behind a simple wooden desk was in his mid twenties, barely any older than the Fourth Year students themselves and had olive skin with the tough, weather-beaten appearance of someone who had spent a great deal of time out in the elements, this carried over into his physique as well as whilst the man was not particularly tall he was broad shouldered and muscular; the mans' build highlighted by his simple attire of formal trousers of the darkest green held up by suspenders of the same colour and a simple white shirt with several buttons undone whilst his right hand was covered by a heavy black glove around which a multicoloured scarf had been wrapped. The Wizards' face was round and still had a youthfulness to it, despite the lines caused by unimaginable stress and the fact that his hair had become a pure, snowy white; freckles dusted prominent cheeks whilst he gazed at them with eyes that were distinctive in the way that they seemed to be both green and golden at the same time.
Eagle was the first to speak, pointing a finger at the Wizard in shock as she exclaimed
"You're Oscar Pine!"
"I am indeed" Oscar agreed with a small smile "Though I don't believe we've met"
"Unless she think you used to babysit her in the Remnant she's from" Squish snorted from behind them, his voice dripping with sarcastic disdain
"You helped Ruby Rose beat Salem….You….I, um, well….you sacrificed yourself" Eagle suddenly found herself tripping over her words, painfully aware of how difficult it must have been for Arctus to speak with his honorary uncle "My Aunt Ren and Uncle Nora talk about you sometimes" Oscar's face changed, his expression becoming deeply inscrutable as he pondered something.
"Ruby Rose….Summer Rose's daughter; Ozpin knew her but there's no reason that you should have" Oscar leaned forwards and pressed his fingertips together in a way that those who had known Ozpin would have found eerily familiar and turned to Squish and Neon "If you could give us some privacy please"
"I don't think-"
"I assure you that I will come to no harm here" Oscar waved their concerns aside and, with clear reluctance both Neon and Squish left; the feline Faunus pulling her lover along with her and as the door closed another Faunus was revealed to have been hiding silently behind it, the truth of Oscar's claims being revealed as his own security stepped forwards.
Arctus's knees buckled and his head span as the air suddenly left his lungs.
The figure before him was a girl in in her mid to late teens, still struggling with the oddly gangly and unfinished proportions of adolescence; a Reindeer Faunus whose large antlers grew from beneath her tied back mane of dirty blonde hair, she wore a cream coloured coat that had been remarkably well kept over black trousers that were tucked into boots and a tactical vest which had the distinct impression of being part of a White Fang uniform, as though she had discarded the vest and mask and sought to cover them up.
"Jade?" Arctus croaked out "Jade Rangifer?"
"Do we know each other?" she asked, pale green eyes widening in panicked and suspicious confusion
"Yes….I mean, no….damn it it's complicated" Arctus staggered backwards and sunk into a seat that Eagle pulled out for him, burying his face into his hands has he desperately tried to stop himself from breaking down under the weight up his emotions; meeting Squish had been difficult but this was too much.
"This is gonna sound crazy, like really, stupidly crazy" Arctus managed to force himself to speak, the words cracking and wavering as he refused to meet Jade's eyes "But you're kinda my older sister….And I never got to meet you, I'm sorry" Jade took a step back, her eyes glowing with twin trails of vibrant green light whilst power crackled and coruscated around her hands, all of it seemingly against the girls' will as she struggled to grasp the situation that she had been thrown into.
"Perhaps everyone should take a few deep breaths and try to calm down" Oscar suggested before simply vanishing from his seat and reappearing between Arctus and Eagle with a casual burst of his powers, removing both of their Aura dampening collars in a single motion.
"You're unarmed and in a room with, without bragging, two of the most powerful people left on Remnant….I don't think we need the collars" with another burst of his powers Oscar was in his seat once again, though he noticed the way that the Hunters had reflexively flinched and braced themselves "I assume that someone where you come from was far less benign in their use of the Wizards' powers?"
"Ozymandias Eldritch, they were being used by Salem" Eagle nodded before coming to an abrupt halt "Wait, you believe us?" her expression was one of hope and yet disbelief as she struggled to comprehend the fact that someone in this alternate Remnant they had found themselves in was trusting them, fully aware of how far-fetched their claims sounded.
"I am the wizard….my powers pertain to the flow of time and the manipulation of it, I was already on my way here when I was contacted because I felt something send a, well a shock-wave of sorts through time itself" Oscar paused and stared at the two of them "And well, I can sense how utterly out of place you are in a cosmic sense just by looking at you; time moves around you differently. I might be a farmhand from a quiet village in Mistral but I think I can work out that something's not right here" he gestured for Eagle to take a seat beside Arctus and for Jade to make herself comfortable, the Reindeer Faunus took a seat beside Oscar and continued to regard Arctus with an expression that was if not distrusting then at least a little frightened; which the Bear Faunus found that he couldn't fault her for.
"So what happens now?" he eventually managed to ask, Oscar once again paused before answering.
"You said that in your Remnant Salem has returned….and it appears that you've been thrown backwards, as well as across timelines, if we simplify it" Eagle and Arctus nodded at this and Oscar's expression became grim as he continued "Then before I have your property returned to you and have somewhere other than a cell for you to sleep found I need to know some of the history of your Remnant….If Salem can return there, she could return here; we may be able to help each other with our problems. It seems that we have a lot to talk about"
That much was clear, yet it didn't change just how uncomfortable the idea made the various parties involved.
The midday sun shone through the windows of Glynda Goodwitch's office, casting everything in a warm light which seemed ludicrously at odds with the oppressively charged and atmosphere within as Qrow entered, the many-jointed legs of his mechanical chair whirring as they brought the grizzled veteran Hunter to Goodwitch's desk where the Headmistress and representative of Halo Academy on the Kingdoms' ruling Council massaged her temples in a plainly futile effort to relieve the stress caused by the crushing weight of her responsibilities.
"That bad?" Qrow drawled slowly, trying to mask his apprehension beneath the bravado he'd had as a much younger man.
"Worse" Glynda admitted in a defeated tone that he had seldom heard in her tone before which made him wince before quickly composing himself and reporting his own news.
"The military has been trying bombing runs on randomised areas of the Grimm pylons and trying to thread airships between them or get them over…..nothings' working; every single pylon is a Grimm Spawning Pit and the airships get flocked and brought down" he shook his head with a sigh "We've lost half a dozen airships already and we could try and force it with a massed attack but we'd lose thousands of people"
"I know" Glynda admitted "And so does the Council" the look on her face was enough to tell Qrow that the emergency meeting that had been convened within an hour of the Grimm pylons erupting from the ground the previous day, continuing on into the night whilst Hunters and armed forces attempted to batter the Grimm aside through sheer might had borne results that he would not be happy with.
"The city is being placed into a complete lock down, people are being evacuated from the areas closest to where the perimeter wall used to be and sent to the shelters until further notice"
"I don't like it but it has to be done" Qrow finally admitted with a scowl "Show some sense of control and at least look like we have a plan otherwise we'll have riots in the streets which we can't afford, not now, not when we're surrounded like this-"
"The Council want to use the students as reinforcements, armed patrols and security for essential production" Glynda informed him; her expression making it painfully clear that she detested this idea every bit as much as she expected him.
"That's insane!" Qrow snapped "They're not trained, if they spend all their time on guard duty then they won't be learning anything; we'll have massive Hunter casualties when they graduate because they won't be ready….besides, this isn't what being a Hunter is about, Glynda this is playing into Salem's hands surely you can see it-"
"I can" Glynda nodded "They were forced to reconsider the idea, but it hasn't been taken off the table…." she trailed off and looked away with an expression of profound sadness that sent a cold spike of fear through Qrow's gut, anything that could cause such a reaction from Glynda Goodwitch was surely terrible in the extreme
"What are you not telling me?"
"The fake….or alternate or whatever else she is version of Yang Xiao Long appeared last night" her voice dropped to a whisper "Outside of two different shelters, targeting Hunters….that's why the Council is deliberating on using students; it's obvious that she's using the chaos as….well, a hunting ground for lack of a better word"
"Damn it all!" Qrow's fist struck the desk with a resounding thud and his crimson eyes flashed with fiery rage, he wished now more than ever that he could still fight if only so that he could end the reign of terror this monster that wore his nieces face was spreading himself. His breathing was harsh and ragged as he fought to control himself, knowing that his rage was worthless while he was unable to act on it
"What about the Atlesian scientists?" he finally demanded "Have they found anything useful yet?"
"Professor Bronzewing tells their work is making progress, but slowly" Glynda answered simply, prompting Qrow to take several seconds to formulate the barest bones of a plan.
"The remaining members of Team FADE, GORE and NEON, the Fourth Year students who aren't in active service right now-"
"That's most of Halo Academies' Fourth Years Qrow, our most experienced students" Glynda noted "If the Council-"
"Damn the council!" Qrow barked "This isn't about politics, or hope or anything else other than survival now. We do not survive this if we carry on playing by Salem's rules!" Qrow ran his hands through his hair out of habit as he tried to steady himself once again and was relieved to see Glynda nod in agreement
"What are you planning?"
"We need an accurate estimation of how far Salem's reach goes, we need to be able to send teams under the city" Qrow explained simply "As a precaution….if plan A doesn't work"
"Plan A?" Qrow allowed himself a small smile at this comment, the first genuine one in what felt like an age
"The military couldn't bring those towers down, but the military didn't have Ruby Rose. She should be reaching those pylons…." Qrow made a small show of checking the time "Any minute now"
"Getting close, expecting to see some Grimm any second now" Iris murmured, voice thick with tension
"They'll be smoke before they get near us" Rusty assured her, his fingers drumming against the controls for the Bull-heads' weapons in a display of his own tension as Team CLIR sped through the air towards the ring of gargantuan towers of living chitin which had erupted from the ground to surround New Vale like the claws of some monstrous beast; Ruby Rose and Nickel Polendina beside them and all of them wearing expressions of grim determination.
"Remember, you don't need to be near the pylon. You're on air support for the ground troops, Me and Nickel are gonna be covering Aunt Ruby" Corvid instructed as the rows of tanks, mechanical battle-suits and soldiers interspersed with several Hunters came into view; amassed at the edge of what could be considered the safe distance from the vast Grimm pylons. Ruby slipped her stylised protective mask over her face and pulled her hood over it as she took a deep breath to steady herself, the use of her Silver Eyes was physically taxing for her and between only using it a day prior and the emotional toll of consoling Penny and their children, ensuring them that she was okay the legendary Huntress was thoroughly drained.
"Let's do this" she breathed out, making her way to the rear of Team CLIR's transport with Corvid and Nickel following close behind, the former activating the Omega Wing which hovered in the air beside her whilst the latter shifted her weight eagerly and prepared to deploy her wing the moment she leapt from the transport.
A moment later the hatch had opened and Ruby leapt out into the air.
Her Semblance activated and she burst ahead of the Bull-head in a shower of rose petals, falling ever so slightly before activating her Silver Eyes and becoming engulfed in a brilliant white light; vaguely aware of Corvid and Nickel racing ahead of her and the sound of gun-fire ripping through the air being quickly followed by the shrieking and roaring of Grimm
"Well looks like we woke the Grimm up" Corvid warned "The decided to pylon us!"
"Your puns are trash buddy!" Nickel taunted a moment before deploying her photon accelerators are cutting a burning swathe through a flock of Nevermore that burst through the cracks in the chitinous armour of the pylon.
Ruby forced herself to ignore them and distance herself from everything taking place around her as she sought out complete calm and focus; entering an almost trance-like state where she was barely aware of the sound of vast wings beating towards her and both Corvid and Nickel yelling out warnings as a single, monstrous Nevermore slipped between them as they were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of winged horrors assaulting them.
The Ruby's eyes opened and the Nevermore simply ceased to exist, its' beak mere inches from her masked face.
The initial pulse of Ruby's Silver Eyes was a shock-wave that tore through the air and vaporised every Creature of Grimm in its' path, allowing Corvid and Nickel to focus their attention on the Ursa and Beowolves that had burst from cracks in the towering spire and began assaulting the ground forces; Ruby herself then focused her efforts on the pylon and forced every ounce of her power that she could muster into the attack, letting out a wordless scream of exertion as her eyes blazed like twin stars and illuminated the sky around her; their light scourging and burning away layer after layer of the Grimm pylons' armoured exterior and finally reaching into its' innards.
Then Ruby's stamina failed her.
The light of her eyes guttered out and she sagged, hanging in limp in the air for a minute before beginning to fall as her Semblance alone proved unable to allow her to defy gravity. Before she could build any real momentum however she found her body enveloped into a pale blue light and a force that was entirely alien to her acting on her body, dragging her towards Team CLIR's Bull-head as it swooped passed; an answer being provided in the form of Iris standing in the hatch with an outstretched palm and her eyes glowing with the same ethereal light as she used her telekinetic Semblance.
"We've got you, you're safe" Iris assured Ruby as she reached out with her golden cybernetic arm and pulled the older woman to safety.
Then the sky was split by an unearthly shrieking.
"Yeah, looks like we managed to piss it off chief!" Nickel's voice warned as it blared into the earpiece built into Ruby's mask; as the transport whirled around Ruby lowered her hood and took in the sight of what the heavily damaged but clearly still functional and living Grimm pylon had spawned in retaliation to her attack; a monstrous serpentine body those length was revealed to be comfortably over a hundred feet long as it uncoiled itself and ended in a spiked and bladed tail whilst armour plates in the shape of feathers adorned its' back; the thing had no legs but sported a vast pair of ebony wings, each several times the size of the craft Ruby was currently inside of and as it finally reared its' head she saw that it was that of a cobra, adorned with curved spikes of bone that emulated the plumage of some kind of bird.
The Winged Serpent Grimm let out another shriek, this time accompanied by a gout of some noxious liquid that sizzled and smoked as it came into contact with the air; doing critical amounts of damage to several of the mechanised elements of the ground forces below even as Corvid and Nickel fought to bring the monstrous creature down with everything at their disposal
"We've gotta go back around!" Iris yelled into the cockpit where Lux had taken her position in the pilots' seat "Rusty have those weapons ready-"
"Wait!" Ruby exclaimed as she watched the vast serpentine body of the Grimm weave and slither between attacks with more grace and fluidity than should have been possible "It's too agile….I'm gonna give it a distraction; Corey and Nickel can handle the rest" whether the implicit trust Iris had was for Ruby herself or Corvid was something Ruby didn't care to ask and instead she simply unfurled Crescent Rose; her perceptions accelerating as she activated her Semblance once again and causing the world to seemingly slow to a crawl.
She snapped off a single shot and the Winged Serpent screamed in pain as one of its' eyes was ruptured
"Well now its' distracted!" Iris exclaimed as the Grimm began to give chase after them; only for Corvid and Nickel to swoop into position beneath each of its' wings and fire with perfect coordination, Corvid's rail-guns tearing through the joints of the right whilst Nickel's photon weapons tore through the left entirely and as the thing began to fall a cacophony of booming explosions sounded; the sight of each of the remaining tanks and battle-suits on the ground opening fire on the Grimm as it fell appearing almost like a firework display as the things' body was unmade piece by piece.
Ruby's sense of victory was short lived.
"Oh my Oum" she breathed out, ripping her mask away as though she disbelieved what she saw through it; her silver eyes were wide in horror and shock as was forced to accept that the sight before her was indeed real.
The Pylon was healing.
Its' innards were not, as she had expected the pulpy and pulsating obsidian of a Spawning Pit; instead they were a deep, shimmering and unfathomable darkness whose edges were tinged with purple, ancient fossilised Grimm that had been artificially aged by Salem's use of the Wizards' power and from which primordial Grimm matter oozed, reforming the pylon at such as speed that she could physically see its' carapace-like exterior regrowing before her eyes.
"We have to contact Qrow" she mouthed out in disbelief, her voice little more than a whisper "I can't take down these pylons, I'm not strong enough"
"Looks like they've given the place a fresh coat of paint, I'll be honest I didn't keep the place in the best condition when I moved in; it worked as a trophy even with a hole in the roof"
"Keep walking" Winter grit her teeth at Adam's almost playfully bored tone as she led the Faunus into Schnee Manor
"The King-Taijitu statue's gone, apparently someone in the Schnee family has taste-"
"I will kill you here and now and literally nobody on this Remnant will care" Winter ground out through clenched teeth "Now stop talking and start walking" with that Adam finally complied and began trudging through Schnee Manor as Winter led him towards where Weiss, Gangrel, Blake and Yang would be waiting, failing to notice the way his expression became distant as he took in the various photographs hanging in the halls of the undeniably happy family that Gangrel had helped start, several of said photographs including members of a sizeable extended family including Blake along with her wife and children. At the same time the Faunus was either uncaring or simply unaware of the way Winter chewed her lip in a rare display of nerves; She had been forced to explain exactly who it was she was bringing to Schnee Manor and whilst both Gangrel and Blake had finally agreed to the idea of a meeting each of their wives had steadfastly refused them to do so alone, something that Winter found herself completely understanding as she was unable to truly promise their safety, even if she had confiscated both of Adam's swords.
"In here" she instructed tonelessly as she indicated to the door of an office that was used more by Whitley Schnee than any other members of the family; Adam nodded and opened the door before stepping inside and immediately felt the air leave his lungs at the sight of the people gathered before him and quickly forced himself to swallow a lump in his throat.
"Blake" he nodded stiffly, forcing himself to keep a demeanour that was almost professional as her feline ears lay flat along her skull and her eyes narrowed whilst beside her Yang Xiao Long shifted her weight and clenched her cybernetic hand into a fist.
"Gang" he nodded again, this time to the towering Bear Faunus whose presence seemed to feel the room as waves of cold, dreadful fury rolled off of him; beside him Weiss, clad in business clothes made to gently rest a hand on his shoulder yet at the angle he was stood it was Winter and Adam himself who saw the way his amber eyes narrowed
"Gangrel no!" it was too late, with a dull reverberating crack and a burst of acrid smoke Gangrel had teleported and reappeared mere inches away from Adam's face to deliver a crushing headbutt and right cross before grasping him by the neck and teleporting again, appearing further down the hallway and slamming Adam first into the ground and then firmly against a wall, his forearm pressing into his throat
"I'm gonna ask you this once and then I'm gonna start breaking bones" Gangrel snarled, lips peeling away from fangs as he spoke "Where is my son?" Adam, in a monumental display of arrogant confidence managed to let out an annoyed sigh despite the weight on his windpipe and channelled his Semblance into his fists in a carefully measured amount before delivering a punishing blow first to the Bear Faunus's bicep, freeing himself as Gangrel's arm buckled, then to the taller mans' chest and finally to both of his shoulders at once, forcing to his knees and taking a single step towards him so that he loomed over his opponent
Then a Glyph appeared between the two of them and Adam turned to see Weiss holding Myrtenaster at the ready whilst a sound that he had not heard in years announced Blake's appearance on his opposite side, a golden gauntlet which had clearly once belonged to her wife unfurling around her fist and forearm; Adam felt the familiar rage setting in, a dull throbbing behind the eyes that clouded his thoughts with a red mist. He realised he could crush the Glyph with a single blow, then with a force of will that he had once lacked he managed to force himself to lower his guard and let out a slow breath
"This isn't what I came here to do….and as hard as it is to believe, I am happy to see you both again" Winter and Yang were out in the hallway now, weapons at the ready and Adam could see Gangrel's eyes and knew from experience that his old friend was not done fighting yet and that there would almost certainly be an uppercut aimed at his chin coming within the next few seconds which he realised he would most likely have to simply endure for the sake of diplomacy
Then something entirely unexpected happened.
"Dad what's going on? Who's that?" a voice that could only have belonged to a child enquired and before Adam's head could fully turn towards the sound Blake had used her Semblance to bring herself closer to a pair of young girls, one of them a Bear Faunus and clearly the child of Weiss and Gangrel with her fathers' claw-like digits and the beginnings of a stocky build along with her mothers complexion hair and eyes, the other younger girl was a Crab Faunus with pincers in place of hands and rose gold coloured hair.
Adam and Gangrel both immediately stiffened, silently agreeing that there would be no violence in front of the children
"I'm an old friend of your Dad's" Adam answered in a surprisingly warm and friendly tone "Someone he hasn't seen in a very long time" Athena-Jade looked suspicious at this and slowly positioned herself in front of Coral as she asked the most important of the many questions she had
"Are you gonna help find Arctus?"
"I'll certainly try my best" Adam nodded, surprising everyone present with his answer and leaving a tense silence hanging in the air until Weiss eventually broke it
"Winter can you take care of the girls for a moment" Winter nodded silently and strode calmly through what had mere moments earlier been the midst of a fight until she reached the girls and led them away, even Athena-Jade's customary defiance and stubbornness vanishing as whilst her Aunt Winter could tell the best stories involving giant Grimm and daring heroes and also routinely showed off many of the tricks of the trade that Atlesian Specialists used, including smoke bombs on one memorable occasion, she was also extremely stern and tolerated no back talk. The moment Winter had led the children away Weiss strode over to Gangrel and helped him to his feet before rounding on Adam, sword at the ready.
"Let me make this clear before we discuss anything else; you will never speak to or about my daughters ever again. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" a biting retort was on the tip of Adam's tongue yet he swallowed it along with pride that had clearly cost his counterpart on this Remnant much and simply nodded.
"Now what do you know about what Salem's planning?"
"Very little" Adam admitted "She's paranoid and told us almost nothing, we were sent to get rid of Qrow Branwen and Glynda Goodwitch first; I used tracking down Winter as an excuse to break ranks….the first step in the plan was supposed to be getting rid of anyone who would recognise that it was her so that she could work without interference"
"Well that clearly failed" Yang noted
"Who's we?" Blake added "How many of you are there"
"Pantheon….I've never seen a Grimm like them" Adam began "Myself and two other people she pulled from alternate Remnants using the power of the Wizard, Yang Branwen and Pyrrha Nikos"
"Pyrrha's dead" Gangrel growled "Died trying to fight her way into Halo Academy. Salem played her hand last night and now New Vale is under siege so I suggest you find something useful to tell us" Adam disregarded his threat, whilst he had no children of his own there was someone he regarded as the closest thing he would ever have to a daughter and his old friends' fury was something that could wholeheartedly understand and endorse; after pondering for a moment he finally spoke.
"I'll tell you the same thing I told Winter….this Remnant isn't like the one that I came from, the one I made….It's something worth fighting for. I don't know if your son is still out there Gangrel but I know that Salem can open portals to other Remnants so I won't tell you to give up hope" his fiery red eyes became fierce as he continued, steadily dropping into the tone and cadence that he used when speaking to troops on the eve of battle "Salem never told me her grand plans, but what I do know is that she isn't planning anything as simple as a ground invasion and it was always her intention to attack the Kingdoms one at a time. She might have trapped New Vale, but if she's in the city itself now then she's trapped as well; she's played her hand and we have her right where we want her"
"You'd help us take on Salem?" Yang asked, her misgivings clear to see "Why?"
"For the same reason I've done everything else, to make a better world for the Faunus….you humans just happen to live in it as well" Adam looked from the blonde haired woman who slowly lowered her weapons to Weiss whose expression was guarded but held the merest traces of hope and then finally to Blake and Gangrel, the right and left hands he had lost over a decade ago and despite the obvious mistrust that they viewed him with the former revolutionary found himself uttering words that had once been considered his motto
"So, let's go save the world?"
For Dove Bronzewing the task of finding a treatment for the parasitic infection spread by the Botfly Grimm would never be the cold, academic and intellectual affair that it was for his Atlesian counterpart and instead he found himself treating the existence of the foul creatures and the lethal infestation that they left in their wake as something of a personal crusade for a number of reasons, not least of which being that whilst he had spent many years working in academia and teaching the next generation of warriors he was still, if only in his own mind a Huntsman; secondly his son would be following him into the family tradition and Dove promised himself that if he could leave a safer world for his children behind him then it was worth any risk.
The third and final reason was that these Grimm had infected one of his students and that could not be allowed to go unanswered.
Dove had grown immeasurably from the simple lackey to a school-yard bully that he had once been and upon seeing the maimed and visibly plagued form of Nyanza Angora of Team NEON laying motionless in a stasis tube whilst automated surgical tools excised Grimm matter and infected tissue from his body piece by piece he had sworn to not only find a cure, but to retaliate against the Grimm in a way that would help Hunters for generations.
However that endeavour had hit a small stumbling block if the panicked screaming of his fellow scientists were anything to go by.
"It's mutating! It's out of control!" a voice warned as the speaker backed into a corner
"Evacuate! we've got to-"
"Stand back" Dove sighed in a tone that dripped with irritable boredom as he strode towards the source of their alarm; one of the samples of frozen and carefully preserved Grimm tissue that had been taken from Nyanza's body had reacted far more violently than the others like it upon being thawed for what limited examination could be performed before it dissipated, rapidly expanding and taking a grotesque and distorted shape as it burst free of its' container; a stringy black mass of barely cohesive matter spreading itself across the work surface and nearby wall and spreading like mould whilst malformed wings that could never truly be called a pair sprouted from it, one a moist and glistening gossamer thing whilst the other was made of ragged membranes of flesh stretched between spindly digits. Scales, fur and bone seemed to compete with and consume one another in a struggle for dominance as each began to sprout over the exterior of the rippling mass and a moment later a horrific, near molten maw struggled to take shape.
Before the entire thing was frozen solid.
Dove Bronzewing may have foregone his usual heavy armour but the Professor of Grimm Studies was far from complacent enough to undertake this task unarmed and whilst his colleagues panicked he had found himself with the presence of mind to simply contain this new, distinctly unique specimen with several Ice Dust round fired from his weapon, which he promptly shifted back into its' sword form and sheathed beneath his lab-coat. The laboratory in which the secretive study and experimentation was taking place remained silent, the atmosphere charged with a nervous energy as each of the Atlesian scientists shared panicked and unsettled glances with one another whilst Dove examined the vile monstrosity that had been birthed from one of their test samples until one of them finally mustered the courage to speak
"What is that thing?" Dove pursed his lips and frowned, rubbing the scarring around his eye out of habit before giving his answer in a slow thoughtful tone
"Seemingly several things at once….and not quite any of them. I see traits from several distinct species here"
"That doesn't make sense!" another of the Atlesian scientists exclaimed "The Botfly Grimm infection causes a Maggot Grimm-"
"And yet the evidence is here in front of you!" Dove interjected, silencing the dissent and taking a few moments to marshal his thoughts into something resembling order, all whilst keeping a watchful eye on the frozen monstrosity.
"Perhaps we've been approaching this the wrong way by thinking of it as a disease" he mused "We should have been treating each case as a small, purpose made Spawning Pit….each Grimm Spawning Pit has a limited degree of sentience, that's how they defend themselves from attack by creating bigger Grimm; this specimen looked like it tried to create everything at once….possibly because it was damaged some way in extraction" the possibility was positively abhorrent to the scientists, each of whom wore a look of horrified disgust as they contemplated the notion.
Dove however found himself smiling as he pondered what this might mean.
"Grimm stem-cells, unstable, unformed Grimm matter" he began, his voice taking a satisfied tone as he mused "We've never had a chance to study it properly before; if I'm right and that's what we're looking at here, well….It looks like the Grimm just gave us something very, very useful"
"You think we could use it to make a cure for the infection?" a scientist asked with nervous hope, seeming to sense what the Professor was driving at; Dove gave a smile that was entirely predatory
"Oh that's just the start" he chuckled "I think the war against the Grimm might have just been changed forever"
Carcharodon stalked through the hallways and corridors of Halo Academy with a hateful expression and an aura of silent menace exuding from him that caused those he encountered to physically recoil away from him as though it were a physical force.
The Shark Faunus was furious and his entire being seemed to tremble with an incandescent fury at Salem's latest assault on the Frost River Tribes' honour, whilst the Nemesis Kharybdis had been spared from any damage as the towering Grimm pylons erupted from the ground to surround the city their presence had left Team GORE effectively stranded and cut off from their vessel and unable to return to it; the blow was a crushing one to the seafaring Faunus, robbing them of not only a valuable asset but also one of the few remaining ties to their culture.
The fact that Raffia had also been the ships' helmsman and being separated from the Nemesis Kharybdis was a forceful severing of the last tie to the Axolotl Faunus was more than Carcharodon had been willing to bare.
They had been at Halo Academy, where Onyx and Corvid had been working to repair Team GORE's Bull-head after the Teryx Rex attack when Salem had made her intentions known and that was where they had stayed; Onyx and Corvid return to Team GORE's now often empty dormitory whilst Hellion had approached the remaining members of Team FADE apparently slept in Eagle's bunk out of a desire to be as close to the missing blonde as physically possible.
Carcharodon hadn't slept.
The Shark Faunus had first used the remote control of his ships weapons to attempt to bring down one of the towers until forcibly stopped by New Vale's air-force who had informed him that his attacks against the monstrous spires of Grimm matter were ineffective and were in fact causing harm as each salvo only caused the spawning of more Creatures of Grimm; from this he had trained and meditated through the night and following day in a futile attempt to dispel some of the rage that felt as though it had sunk deep into every fibre of his being.
Then he had been contacted by Professor Branwen who had requested that Carcharodon meet him at his apartment.
Making his way through parts of the academy he was unfamiliar with the Shark Faunus finally reached the location he had been given and knocked firmly against the door, upon being granted entry to Qrow Branwen's abode which he was oddly unsurprised to see was essentially a base of operations in its' own right Carcharodon saw that the two of them would not be alone, Qrow had already been joined by Felix, Helios and Corvid.
"Good, that's everyone here" Qrow noted, Carcharodon held his tongue as he was in no mood to trade niceties with the people currently surrounding him.
"What's the deal, this sounded serious" Felix murmured, deep blue eyes scanning the room in nervous agitation and apprehension whilst his mechanical tail swished behind him.
"It is" Qrow answered sombrely "This is about how we fight back against Salem"
"Ruthlessly, nailing the bodies of her generals to the highest masts we can find to send a message" Carcharodon rasped out, jagged teeth on display whilst his knuckles audibly cracked
"Force once I'm inclined to agree with Carcharodon" Helios nodded, the Shark Faunus noted that the redhead wore a new, heavier sit of golden armour and that his sword and shield were not the same ones he had once carried; knowing what he did of Nikosi culture Carcharodon concluded that Helios had been confronted with his own reasons to despise the enemy on a personal level.
"In more practical terms" Qrow drawled slowly "The Council is still considering using students to bolster the security they're putting in place around the shelters as patrolling the streets. I will fight as hard as I can to stop that from happening, regardless Teams FADE, GORE and NEON are being given an exemption on the basis that I have a more suitable role for you….It's time to reform the old black-ops unit"
"Holy Oum" Corvid breathed out
"Is this supposed to mean something to me?" Carcharodon demanded irritably
"During the last war against Salem myself and Winter Schnee led a team consisting of Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team CFVY, Team GRAP, Oscar Pine, Penny Polendina, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai and Neo Politan; we fought against Salem and took the fight to her after the fall of Vale" Qrow explained "I've brought you four here because I've spoken to Ruby and she wants Teams FADE, CLIR, NEON and GORE as well as Nickel to work in a similar fashion now….I've already discussed the idea with Goodwitch and I can promise you now that your future as Hunters is promised, those of you who haven't graduated yet will be given licenses this summer without ever having to sit an exam"
"I don't care about exams" Carcharodon snarled "How do we fight back?"
"The first step is simple" Qrow answered with a nod "We need to go under the city and see how far Salem's reach really extends….This is voluntary, I'm not ordering any of you to risk your lives and I understand if you need to speak with your teams-"
"Team GORE will go" Carcharodon informed him bluntly "There's no hole deep and dark enough for Salem and her followers to hide in that we won't hunt them down"
"Nyanza sacrificed himself for New Vale in those tunnels" Helios murmured, gently squeezing Felix's hand "I'm sure Olivine and Ether would agree that his sacrifice should mean something, we'll join this black-ops unit" Qrow nodded in acceptance of this and turned to his nieces children with a sigh, knowing that this was another decision that could potentially drive a wedge between his family but realising that their were precious few options available to them now.
"Corey, Fluffy what about you?" Corvid and Felix looked to each other for a fraction of a second before answering as one
"We're in"
"WHERE THE HELL DID THEY GET THIS MANY PEOPLE! AND HOW DID THEY FIND US!" Squish demanded to nobody in particular, raising his voice to be heard over the sound of gunfire and explosions as battle raged throughout the resistance base that Mountain Glenn had become.
He and Neon had ventured above ground after being dismissed by Oscar; the Reptilian Faunus leading the way into the abandoned and unfinished tower blocks which members of the Allied Remnant Resistance Movement often used as watchtowers and checkpoints with the intention of clearing his head and attempting to process the mess of conflicting emotions that the arrival of Arctus Slate and Eagle Arc, if those were in fact their prisoners real names had caused within him; on the one hand the idea of being an uncle to Gangrel's son in a world where all of his friends had gone on to live happy lives was one the Squish would freely admit he would give almost anything for, even the revelation that he had died in battle phasing him little as it was a possibility he had long come to terms with; if given the chance he would make that trade without a second thought, though the end the young Bear Faunus said had befallen Neon made the Reptilian shudder as bile rose in his throat every time the thought intruded upon his mind. On the other hand there was the simple question of whether or not he believed the supposed students from another Remnant and he found himself almost ashamed to admit that the raw emotion and unwavering consistency of the pair was beginning to leave cracks in his mental fortitude.
Eventually Neon had noted that watching him sulking and brooding was hardly a spectator sport and as much as he had tried to convince her that he was merely thinking the Feline Faunus had remained defiant as she stuck to her initial assessment of his behaviour, sticking her tongue out and noting playfully that she had been deep undercover for years and that the two of them had hardly managed to find any free time since her return from Atlas, where she had fled and gotten Jade to safety as missiles ripped through a vast swathe of the Kingdom of New Menagerie in Adam Taurus's absence.
Alas the moment had been stolen from them by the first grenade ricocheting from a nearby wall and exploding perilously close to them as several armed Faunus wearing the uniform of the White Fang and at least a dozen heavily armed battle-suits of a design for more bestial and primitive in appearance than the old Atlesian Paladins surged out of the darkness; Squish had activated his Semblance and promised to buy Neon some time to raise alarms and get people to safety and as she had streaked below ground with a contrail of rainbow coloured light behind her he had readied Breaker and slipped into the ranks of the attacking forces, despatching the insurgents without mercy or hesitation. It had been far from enough however, each of his enemies had the same greater than human senses of hearing and smell as Squish himself and being invisible to the eye had been far less of an advantage than he had hoped, especially when several of the attackers, including the battle-suits had sported thermal sensors and eventually Squish had been forced to retreat underground. He had drawn a considerable amount of enemy fighters into an area of Mountain Glenn that was largely incomplete, specifically a massive storage facility whose barrenness would be considered a problem in any other circumstance and currently he was hidden behind a pile of steel crates, snapping off shots wherever possible and trying to formulate a plan of escape whilst White Fang fighters steadily fanned out and flanked him; the sound of battles raging elsewhere in the vast network of bases coming from all sides.
Help came from an unexpected source.
Before he had seen the truth of Adam Taurus's blood-thirsty insanity Squish had seen the Schnee Semblance put to use in ways that still haunted him on the battlefield; monstrous summoned constructs wading into squads of lightly armoured Faunus armed with whatever makeshift weapons they could scavenge and even now, with a decade of training and preparation the masked Faunus fared little better as a glowing Minotaur Grimm fully twelve feet tall rampaged through their midst and began batting bodies aside with contemptuous ease and was closely followed by Arctus Slate himself who had conjured a familiar Glyph in one hand and carried his great-sword with its' curved and glossy black blade in the other hand; the weapon transforming into a double-barrelled laser weapon and began unleashing torrents of burning light into the enemy as he crashed into them.
A piercing screech split the air as he was followed a moment later by a snowy white bird of prey which swooped into the White Fang and in a flash of brilliant White Aura revealed itself to be Eagle Arc, the powerfully built young woman raising her shield and ploughing through the insurgents before deploying Sentinel, the droid using Lightning Dust rounds to incapacitate rather than kill whilst Eagle herself used an ornate sword with a black blade of its' own that stood in stark contrast to her armour to parry and fend off those Faunus brave enough to attack her head-on; everything about her movements and style spoke of practised ease and a bravado and showmanship that Squish hadn't seen in years.
She fought like a Hunter
"Well shit" he managed to whisper; barely a second after the words had left his lips a familiar streak of rainbow light came blazing through the vast warehouse and ripped the few remaining White Fang from their feet until Neon Katt was at his side, nunchaku in hand
"Hey Purr-du there's still more of 'em" she gave him a playful wink "Let's get Nya-sty"
"I love that woman" he sighed as she burst into motion once more, catching Arctus and Eagle watching him expectantly and gesturing wildly at them "You heard her! MOVE!"
The three of them sprinted out into what had clearly intended to be a street after Neon and made their way towards where they knew that the majority of the fighting was taking place; a vast open area several layers down at the uttermost base of Mountain Glenn, a place several times the size of a sporting area that had once been intended to become a park in the centre of the subterranean expansion of Vale.
"WE'VE GOTTA GET DOWN…..WHAT THE FUCK!" Squish's eyes threatened to bulge out of his skull at the sight of what was transpiring below them as he leaned over the railings to pick off a small group of Faunus militants.
Jade stood in the centre of a quartet of battle-suits.
Except on closer inspection the young Reindeer Faunus was not standing; she was levitating several feet above the ground, a blazing aura of forest green light engulfing her as it burst from her eyes in twin trails and as she held her hands out before her the ground simply erupted; roots of unseen trees burst up from the ground and began ensnaring the mechanised suits with gnarled forms that were several feet and diameter, crushing Atlesian steel with impossible strength and dragging them into the chasms from which they had emerged.
A platoon of no less than a dozen insurgents charged towards Jade with their weapons at the ready only for her to unleash a wave of fluctuating and crackling light that flung each of her attackers back with tremendous Faunus back and as they fell to the ground the group found themselves screaming in panic as vines and thorns burst from the ground and began to hold them firmly in place.
"Come on! Fall back, you can't take 'em all alone!" Squish yelled as he, Arctus and Eagle finally came to their senses and leapt down to the open area Jade had found herself in and rushed to the rampaging Spring Maidens' side, the teenage girls' eyes returning to their natural pale colour, wild with fright and confusion as her breathing became frantic
"Holy crap, holy crap I've never done anything like that before, I've never used my powers like that before!" Jade's voice was a panicked and near hysterical ramble even as Eagle covered the girl with her shield whilst Arctus raised a series of Glyphs around her to protect her from any White Fang fighters that may remain.
Then a single figure strode into view and the entire battle raging around them seemed to fall silent and cease; White Fang soldiers yelling to each other to fall back and get to a safe distance as the air left the entirety of the area.
"Oh no" Jade whimpered "Oh please no, not him, not here"
"Hello Jade, I didn't imagine I'd see you here" the tone was jovial and conversational despite its' unhealthy rattling and choked quality, yet the speaker radiated dreadful, terrifying energy as they strode closer which a complete disregard for the weapons aimed at him.
The man was easily six and a half feet tall with an emaciated and near skeletal build that was almost lost beneath the midnight black of their White Fang uniform, close fitting with glossy tactical armour fastened over it; the sleeveless white jacket laid over the uniform bearing the insignia of the White Fang a flowing coat with twin tails that stopped barely an inch above the floor.
The man was a Locust Faunus, gaunt and deathly pale, their ghostly complexion littered with sickly discolourations and blemishes; their pockmarked cheeks hollowed and their lips cracked and ragged, revealing crooked and jagged teeth behind them; what little of the mans' skin could be seen was adorned with thin strands of an exoskeleton comprised of the colour of enamel, growing around his cheekbones, jaw and the sides of his skull whilst a pair of long black antennae waved animatedly before falling back into their resting position laying slicked back against his bald head as his eyes, a vibrant shade of purple seemed to shine with pure malevolent glee.
"I think we both know what you've done" the newcomer noted with a rattling, gasping chuckle "And we both know that I won't be taking you alive"
"YOU NEED TO RUN!" Jade screamed to the Hunters around her
"Not happening kid" Squish snapped as he levelled Breaker and unleashed a salvo of shots at the Locust Faunus only for the bullets to promptly be reduced to disintegrated particles as the newcomer activated his Semblance.
It was terrifying to behold.
The mans' mouth opened wide, their jaw distending to reveal a gaping and swirling void within whilst at their same eyes became entirely black as if the Locust Faunus's entire body was a hollow husk dedicated to housing the all consuming vortex of darkness within them and immediately the ground began to crack and vast chunks of it were ripped free entirely whilst crates and even vehicles were dragged from where they had been scattered around the open space; all of it being reduced to a fine, powder state as it consumed entirely by the mans' seemingly insatiable maw of a Semblance; the air being split by a deafening cacophony of a buzzing, chattering scream. Jade tried to fight it; the powers of the Spring Maiden flaring into life and causing roots to burst from the ground to anchor both her and her allies to the ground as the Locust Faunus's Semblance began to drag them slowly towards him; trees and walls of foliage burst into existence to screen them from the onslaught only to be consumed without a thought, seemingly doing little more than delaying the inevitable a few seconds at a time.
Then Oscar appeared
The Wizard arrived without fanfare or aplomb, simply appearing silently as if he had been there all along and speaking to Squish in a tone that was unnervingly calm in the face of the limitless destructive power their enemy possessed
"Everything behind us is clear, Neon is safe…..Anyone else will have to make their own way to safety, Mountain Glenn is lost; I'm getting us out of here" he turned to Arctus and Eagle and gave a blunt and simple warning "This will be uncomfortable, try to hold your breath" and before either of them could question his intentions; in the exact moment the Spring Maidens' powers failed her Oscar unleashed his full might; a transparent of rippling, warping energy engulfed not only the area in which they stood but every part of Mountain Glenn that lay behind them, enveloping as many of their allies as they could without bringing any of the White Fang insurgents along with them as the Wizard bent the laws of space and time to his will.
And then Mountain Glenn simply vanished around them.
Arctus sunk to his knees and vomited onto a floor that was distinctly not the one he had been stood upon only a second before; being only briefly aware of darkness, crushing pressure and the feeling of indescribable speed that left his body weak and trembling and his mind reeling; beside him Eagle had fared a little better managing to stumble into a more dignified kneeling position and catch Jade before she collapsed face first onto the ground.
"Ah fuck, he's overexerted himself...he's gonna be out for days" Squish spat and Arctus realised two things in rapid succession, firstly that Oscar was unconscious on the ground close by with blood trickling from his nose and ears whilst steam rose from his body and secondly, in a brazen affront to the laws of physics and common sense every living person within the bubble of warped time that Oscar had created had been transported with them to this new location, wherever exactly it was. Arctus considered asking Squish but saw his uncle scanning the crowds of frightened and disoriented faces clearly looking for any sign of Neon and decided that it would be wise not to test his patience.
Eagle chose to ask a more pertinent question.
"Who was that?" Jade staggered away from the blonde woman and collapsed to the ground, shaking and fighting back choked sobs as she buried her face in her hands and whispered what sounded like apologies"
"His name is Caliginous Null….Adam Taurus assigned him to be my bodyguard"
Author's Notes:
Well, this chapter certainly moved things forward and introduced seem conflict to the alternate timeline.
That being said I honestly don't have too much to say here.
So let's summarise shall we:
I know there was a book released that gave names to a lot of the characters weapons, but I started Downward Spiral in 2016 and had to name them myself and I'll be honest I like those names more; hence Neon's weapons will always be called the 'Party Starters', Emerald's are the 'Artful Dodgers' and Neo's weapon is called 'The Disturbed Garfunkel'.
Were they doing good cop/bad cop or was that just their personalities? I'll let you decide.
Mountain Glenn might have been made fit to live in but its' by no means finished.
I think we all expected it to be Oscar….That being said I actually had to stop and remind myself that due to the disparity in there this timeline is relative to the one Arctus and Eagle are from; Oscar's only about twenty four years old; barely older than Arctus and Eagle.
What if I told you the hidden hand might be important later on?….Also yes that's his old scarf.
"There's no reason that you should have" they beat Salem without using Silver Eyes in this timeline.
Yep, Jade in Downward Spiral she was the Spring Maiden at five years old before Neo inherited her powers; Weiss and Gangrel basically adopted her….So, Downward Spiral readers; how are we feeling?
Yes Oscar showing up and telling everyone what's what is honestly the easiest way to have the whole trust issue resolved; Oscar can literally see that they're not from this timeline.
Okay so I did a fade to black on that conversation because it's a lot of talk that won't be relevant to the plot and the parts of the conversation that you'll need to know can be recapped or had separately later on.
So New Vale is completely cut off, no airships can get in or out.
Lock-down drama, topical.
Havoc is always on Salem's list of goals and whilst the big bad is in a fugue down state/cool down period after her big special move Yang Branwen is taking advantage of having all the Hunters out in public places.
You knew who Qrow's plan was gonna involve because they're the main and secondary characters.
Also, did you have hope when he said Ruby was taking a shot? Really?
Nickel and Corvid's attitude towards each other is fun to write.
Ruby's got limits and she can't fly using her Semblance alone; luckily Iris was around.
Winged Serpent Grimm…..before Fourth Year that could have been a big bad.
Corvid and Nickel make a great tag-team even if they can't stand each other; something to maybe explore later on or in the epilogue.
Did you really think I was gonna let the heroes win that easily.
Let's all take a moment to appreciate the fact that Jacques Schnee canonically had a marble statue of a King-Taijitu in his entrance hall and people didn't immediately peg him as a trash-tier Lex Luthor wannabe.
Seeing the happy families is gonna sting but Adam is still Adam so he deserves it.
Also yeah, Winter had to explain who she was bringing; you can't drop that kind of news as a surprise.
Oh come on we all knew Gang was gonna go nuts.
Adam has never been a pushover, especially not this version of him.
Nope, all shenanigans stop the instant that the kids show up.
When I said Adam has someone he thinks of as a daughter we all know it's Jade
If Weiss goes mama bear mode then someone is gonna die.
Salem knows better than to tell her subordinates more than she needs them to know; so basically Adam can't really offer anything more than muscle.
Who wants to see an Adam & Yang team-up?
Team CRDL were ass-hats but Dove has come a very long way from his Team CRDL days.
Remember when the last set of scientists tried to experiment on the fossilised Grimm from the inside of Pantheon….that but even more body horror.
And there's your first glimmer of hope; a whole new kind of anti-Grimm weapon….End Game shit.
Oh Car is rightfully pissed beyond belief.
Hellion sleeping in Eagle's bed and hugging Mister Pancakes….'cos you didn't need your heart anyway.
"Ruthlessly, nailing the bodies of her generals to the highest masts we can find to send a message" Gotta love it when Car gets nasty.
Yep, the band is back together with a whole lot of new members….the reformation of Qrow and Winter's black-ops unit is the ultimate 'Kid gloves are off' moment.
Even Squish is warming up to Arctus and Eagle.
So Neon got Jade out of Atlas and passed her onto Oscar; there's a story there.
Cock-blocked with a grenade.
Invisibility Semblance isn't the instant win that you want it to be in an actual war-zone.
Of course it was Arctus and Eagle that showed up, and yeah the way they fight is definitely gonna be different to the way resistance fighters do.
"Let's get Nya-sty" I'm not sorry, not even a little.
Taking down an entire platoon of mecha with the Spring Maiden's powers….Neo is out there somewhere cackling silently.
But also note that she says she hasn't used her power like that before, because Adam doesn't send kids to fight wars.
Y'know those dramatic entrances where everything just stops as the one bad-ass walks in and the camera pans up from their feet….yeah, that.
You knew it was gonna be bad as soon as I said Locust Faunus.
On a related note I want to point out that I've had the idea for a Locust Faunus that consumes everything in their path in the back pocket for a while now and any resemblance to Fiona Thyme's pocket dimension Semblance is entirely coincidental.
Oscar is a damn powerhouse and that cannot be overstated….But also if Salem bending Space-Time to make her Pylons old enough to have fossilised Grimm inside 'em puts her out of commission then Oscar relocating an entire settlement full of people has a cool-down on it as well, it's only fair.
Caliginous Null….as in Null and VOID, like the one he creates; also as in Nullified.
Jade's bodyguard…..Or Adam's insurance policy? You just saw that he's a perfect counter for her.
Thank you to SumoSnipe and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
I have literally never played Star Craft.
I know the rail-gun should have taken Pantheon apart but come one, superhero logic.
I love it when a plan to intimidate comes together.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review