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Chapter 156: Omake

Things had started simply enough.

After being shown to their various suites, which as staff accommodations were not quite as lavish or spacious as the guest rooms but were still vastly preferable to the cramped and uncomfortable bunks aboard the Nemesis Kharybdis, Teams FADE, NEON and GORE had each enjoyed a comfortable and uninterrupted nights' sleep before waking up the following morning and making a start on the portion of their mission that centred around the public image of the Jinxing Resort. The team leaders had requested maps of the sizeable compound from Blanca and after discussing what was required and expected of them with the cheery and light-hearted former Hunter they decided that the best way to both effectively patrol the compound whilst also being a public and visible presence that would restore faith in not only the resorts' security but also possibly in Hunters as a whole would be to work in pairs so that they could cover more ground, whilst still having enough firepower in each group to handle any situation that might arise. Blanca had also told them that they were free to take breaks and use the facilities on offer if their patrols proved to be uneventful, they would still after all be present and visible if they were in such close proximity to the guests and this had been taken as an invitation by most of the young Hunters who had reasoned that they would be foolish not take advantage of such an offer, they would likely not receive such a generous contract again.

It was due to these understandings that Felix and Helios had found themselves on opposite sides of a volleyball game.

Initially the Lion Faunus and the golden-armoured redhead had been patrolling part of the vast beach that they had seen the previous night, nominally it had been to ensure that no amphibious Grimm encroached on the resort by landing on its' white gold sands though both of them would freely admit that it had felt more like a date. Eventually they had encountered Olivine and Ether who had allegedly been patrolling the beach starting from the opposite end and had been a little surprised to see that Ether was in deep conversation with a group of teens that Olivine had explained were a Mistrali boy-band who went by the name 'Bulletproof Boy Scouts', a collection slender and decidedly pretty young men with dyed pastel coloured and overly styled hair. Felix and Helios had made their way over and joined the conversation at which point one of the singers had suggested the Hunters join their game which Felix had happily obliged them with, reasoning that they were still keeping watch over the area and from here the Hunters had been split amongst the two teams; with Felix and Olivine being at a considerable disadvantage against Ether and Helios

"Really? We're using Semblances for this?" Felix demanded as Ether's body dissolved into mist and reappeared several feet away, allowing him to prevent the ball from touching the ground and swiftly direct it back to a member of the boy-band whose named Felix couldn't quite remember

"I mean that was kind of implied when we asked Hunters to join the game" the young man noted in a cheerful voice that oozed smugness; he promptly sent the ball hurtling towards the ground with what Felix was sure than his bandmates considered an impressive shot, however to trained Hunters it was hardly impressive and Olivine made a show of sliding across the sand and punching the ball directly upwards into the air at the last possible moment, it arced into the opposing teams' court and it seemed certain that it would touch the ground; until Helios intervened

"Oh come on, that's definitely cheating!" one of the band members on Felix and Olivine's team exclaimed as the redhead, who had removed his armour and the tank-top beneath it for the game activated his Semblance and manipulated gravity around the ball so that it floated in the air; he merely gave a confident smile and served.

"Oh it's on now" Felix chuckled, his golden Aura glowing around him.

The game suddenly seemed to become unspeakably intense even with the utter lack of stakes and the members of the boy-band found themselves stepping back, content to merely watch and not intervene as the four Hunters put their skill, speed and strength on display; limiting the force of their serves just enough to ensure that they didn't destroy the ball on impact. As determined as Felix and Olivine were however the combination of Ether's ability to effectively teleport and Helios's manipulation of gravity made the result of the game a foregone conclusion and after several minutes of the ball streaking across the sand like a miniature comet it hit the ground with enough force to send a small, rippling shock wave outwards as both Felix and Olivine failed to reach it in time.

"Good game" Felix panted out, raising an arm and giving a thumbs up as he caught his breath and was passed a bottle of something thankfully non-alcoholic by one of the band members as they returned to the impromptu volleyball court they had set up, congratulating the Hunters and giving their various opinions on the game until a particular comment caught Felix's attention

"Of course he won, look at these muscles" Felix's eyes narrowed as he glanced over to the other side of the net where the same smug-voiced young man, roughly the same age as Felix and Helios himself that had asked them to join the game was all but draping himself across Helios's shoulders and using the pretext of marvelling over his Nikosi tribal tattoos to touch him all whilst Helios looked visibly uncomfortable yet seemed unwilling to speak out, likely worrying about causing problems with the guests and making things difficult for the Hunters.

Felix had no such qualms and his reaction was instant

"Here, take your ball back" he set his drink down and picked up the volleyball in a single motion and sent soaring over the net with far more force than he'd used during the game, feeling the heat of his Semblance beginning to build. The ball struck the sand mere inches from the pop-star's feet and the impact flung him backwards as it shook the ground; without another word Felix had returned Hack and Slash to their sheaths on his back and begun marching away with a silent gesture to follow him.

"Felix" Helios's voice was concerned as he caught up with the Lion Faunus, he had foregone donning his armour and presumably left it in Olivine and Ether's care "Fluffy….you don't think that I-"

"No! Oum no" Felix answered without hesitation, a small laugh escaping him as he turned towards Helios and pulled him close "No I could tell you weren't enjoying that at all-"

"Some underfed whelp telling me tattoos are 'exotic' isn't something that appeals to me" the redhead grumbled

"Yeah that's why I got you out of there….well that and he was testing my patience" Felix replied, giving his boyfriend a toothy grin as he added "I just wanted to scare him just enough to make sure he took a hint….think I overdid it?"

"I think you should have thrown him into the sea" Helios laughed

"I mean I can go back over there and do it now if you want?" Felix laughed, his smile turning wicked for a moment before it softened "Or do you wanna go find somewhere else to 'patrol?'"

"Lead the way" Helios beamed, Felix held out an arm for him to take and promptly did just that.

"Well that went better than expected, everyone's still breathing" Diamond noted in a tone of voice that made it perfectly clear that she would have had no problems with Felix choosing to put one of the guests of their misery for the way they had acted.

She and Arctus had also elected to spend some time on the beach, though rather than patrol they had chosen to pick a vantage point from which they could see a vast portion of the shore and anything that happened to be occurring. With a spot in place they had set up a parasol for shade, a cooler filled with Ice-Dust and drinks and some towels so they could sunbathe; with Arctus being both naturally pale and native to Atlas where sunlight was considered something a luxury and rarity the Bear Faunus had naturally chosen to remain in the shade, though Diamond had at least convinced him to dress for the almost tropical climate of the island and he was currently shirtless and wearing only a pair of shorts which had earned him some playful wolf-whistles and teasing from his fiancée whilst Diamond herself had managed to leave Arctus with a dry mouth and blank mind for a few moments mind with her own choice of attire; she wore a cherry red bikini and had, upon ensuring that they would not be disturbed, unfastened the top and asked him to rub lotion into her whilst she ensured that her cybernetic left arm would not overheat in the sun, proving that no matter how long they were together Diamond would always be utterly breathtaking to him.

"Still breathing but definitely upset" Arctus noted as he handed Diamond a drink whilst continuing to watch the members of the Mistrali boy-band argue amongst themselves; Helios and Felix had left and they seemed to collectively think better of taking the matter up with Ether or Olivine

"You could have stopped Felix's shot with a Glyph" Diamond noted conversationally

"I mean I could but come on you saw what was happening" the Bear Faunus glowered in the bands' general direction "They deserved that….unless you're a fan of their music?"

"You think so little of me?" Diamond gasped in exaggerated and clearly faux disgusted as she rolled over to see Arctus better "I don't think this marriage is gonna work out big guy"

"Dork" Arctus laughed, giving what had for years been her pet name for him back to her before venturing out of the shade so that he could lay beside her and she happily positioned herself on top of him in what could be best described as a sprawl before leaning down to kiss him

"Hey" she grinned as she gently traced one of the scars that ran along his torso with her fingers

"You know exactly what you're doing, you tease" Arctus growled out his voice a low rumble that Diamond would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy hearing from him

"Maybe I am- Oh for fuck sake really dude?" she slunk of Arctus who promptly sat up and followed her annoyed gaze, suddenly very eager to see what precisely had deemed itself important enough to interrupt the moment between them; he was treated to the sight of a group of individuals roughly their own age setting up a barbecue on the beach which was, by Diamond and Arctus's understanding of the rules not permitted during daylight hours though the amount of litter that they had left strewn around them would be unacceptable and downright rude at any time. The group were dressed in a mixture of gaudy floral shirts with designer sunglasses and high fashion which Arctus recognised as distinctly Atlesian.

Suddenly the self importance made sense.

Arctus's snout like face wrinkled in annoyance until an idea occurred to him and he reached over to the cooler, grabbing a sizeable Ice-Dust crystal and using it to fuel a Glyph that appeared directly below the barbecue, he gave Diamond wink and a smirk before using an impressive amount of control to not only extinguish the flames but flash-freeze them so that they formed miniature ice sculptures.

"Dude what're you doing?" Diamond gasped, though the did so with her hands covering her mouth as she struggled to fight back laughter

"Oh don't worry I know exactly what I'm doing" Arctus assured her, though his icy blue gaze never left the group of twenty-somethings who had begun to march towards them, the Bear Faunus going so far as to wave at them as he added "These are some of the rich kids I went to school with" Diamond's head immediately jerked back to the ground, any joking comments about pots and kettles pushed from her mind as the group neared them; the figure who was clearly the ringleader a reasonably tall and lean young man with admittedly flawless tanned skin and immaculate platinum blonde hair, wearing a shirt that managed to undo any of appeal he might have had along with a pair of beige shorts and as he peered down at them from behind his sunglasses with his hands on his hips and air of pompous, entitled superiority

"What do you plebs think you're-"

"It's been a while Mulberry" Arctus met his former classmate, the scion of a particularly snobbish families' gaze "Didn't think I'd see you here….this must have cost your parents a lot" the group around Mulberry fidgeted uncomfortably, the insult and insinuation that they were living off of their families' names both obvious and equally applicable to any of them; Mulberry himself was incensed and visibly bristled though it was clear that he would do nothing as whilst he was hardly out of shape he was also hardly comparable to Arctus who was six foot three and built like a mountain.

"Yeah….yeah well I didn't expect they'd let someone who got beaten up by an underwear model work somewhere important" he finally managed to retort, referencing the admittedly painful bout against Cinnabar Blaine and the now defunct Team CNBR in the previous Vytal Tournament; Mulberry's smug grin returned for a moment until Arctus spoke again, his voice becoming bored, aloof and detached in a way that Diamond had never heard from him before

"Won that fight, qualified again, graduated early and now I'm on a break with fiance but apparently I still have to tell you to go pick your trash up….so go pick your trash up" the utter disinterest visibly irked Mulberry; the man was clearly used to being able to speak to anyone he chose in a similar manner but had rarely, if ever been on the receiving end

"So that's why they hired you, you've finally learned to be a people pleaser and got rid of that chip on your shoulder" he sneered after taking several moments to think of a reply "Atta boy Arctus, always knew you were one of the good ones" the racist implications were obvious and whilst several members of the group and toadies around Mulberry winced, clearly uncomfortable with the way this altercation was progressing Diamond was suddenly furious and was only prevented from intervening by the icy calm that Arctus responded with.

"One of the good ones….like that Horse Faunus the paparazzi keep seeing your mum with, the personal trainer?" his face split into a wide grin "I get Mulberry I do, the press are vultures but still….why would she meet her personal trainer at a hotel…..wearing that dress-"

"Get your manager ass-hole!" Mulberry yelled, clearly unprepared for this turn of events

"I don't have a manager. This isn't Atlas, Hunters are self employed" Arctus informed him, clearly taking more than a little pleasure from the situation "You can go and speak with the head of security about it if you like but they're not gonna tell you anything different….and before you leave, pick your trash up off the beach"

"Come on, let's go" one of Mulberry's group, either a fellow child of a rich family or simply a hanger-on tugged at the now red raced young mans' arm and led him away, back to the barbecue which he promptly began to pack away as the group began to clean up after themselves.

"I really hate that I remember how to do that" Arctus sighed as he flopped back and rested his head on Diamond's thighs

"What countering the whole snotty rich brat routine?" Diamond asked

"Yeah" Arctus sighed "It reminds me of why I left Atlas" Diamond gently ran her hands through his snowy white hair and smiled

"Well you handled it better than I would have….it was fun seeing you so completely in charge" she winked and added in a whisper "You should do it more often"

Any commanding presence Arctus might have had promptly vanished as he was left choking on thin air by the comment.

"Idle fools" Carcharodon rasped out to no-one in particular as he peered down at the resort complex from his own vantage point.

With the number of Hunters present the plan to split into pairs had meant that one of them would inevitably be working alone and the Shark Faunus had happily offered himself for this role, stating emphatically that it was far from a problem for him. Whilst his team-mates and friends, he supposed it would dishonest and offensive to call them anything less at this point had set out to patrol the complex; being honest and open with their intentions to make use of everything this resort had to offer and simply enjoy themselves all in the name of being a visible presence the Shark Faunus had found himself unable, or more accurately painfully unwilling to do so.

Initially he had patrolled the complex alone with his weapons on display in order to show the pampered Kingdom born weaklings who lived here that they were protected by someone capable of handling whatever beasts lurked in the jungles beyond the resort; this had not gone as intended however and it had been made abundantly clear to the Shark Faunus that such an approach was simply making the guests uncomfortable; patrolling with his weapons collapsed had done little to improve things as Carcharodon was native to a region on the opposite coast of Anima which was far colder than this island chain between Mistral and Vaccuo and as such he had kept his hooded cloak drawn around himself to prevent him from burning under the uncomfortably hot sun, unfortunately the sight of a six foot four Shark Faunus with pitch black eyes and tribal markings striding through the complex in a dark cloak and hood bearing his fangs at anyone who neared him was still considered an intimidating sight.

Eventually the former raider had simply settled for perching on the roof of the hotel and peering down to survey the entirety of the resort beneath him whilst his cloak billowed out around him in the slight breeze. He did not and doubted that he ever would truly understand the people born in the Kingdoms and the ways they wasted the free time that they forever seemed to have to much of, but at least here he could do his job of ensuring that they were safe without interruption and if seemed that they would be acting as part of a public image campaign for too long before simply Hunting the Grimm that stalked those who ventured into the jungle then he supposed he could relax enough to meditate

"Y'know sonny I'm not quite sure you understood the instructions you were given" Blanca's cheery and somewhat teasing voice announced his presence, beneath his hood Carcharodon's eyes widened as he had not heard the man step out onto the roof and there were very few people who could successfully sneak up on him; he lowered his hood and half-turned to face the retired Hunter who strolled over to him, chewing a mouthful of the sandwich in his hands with a thoughtful expression before speaking again

"You're supposed to be reassuring the customers, they need to see that they're still safe; they need to see you"

"We're on the roof" Carcharodon replied bluntly "Have them look up" Blanca chuckled at that, which the Shark Faunus was coming to realise was something that he should not be surprised by, the older man seemed to be light-hearted and unflappable by nature.

"You'll get no arguments from me, I tried explaining to the management that this place should be closed down for a month or two while we get a handle on the Grimm situation but they wanted to do things this way instead" Carcharodon heard the first traces of something harder and more steely in Blanca's voice, sensing the capable Hunter he had suspected lay beneath this bumbling facade during their first meeting

"They want the appearance rather than the reality" he rasped out with a derisive shake of the head "If we were lesser Hunters that mistake would cost them" Blanca gave a small smile at that but made no comment about the younger mans' bravado, instead maintaining his friendly and jovial tone

"Maybe so, but you're here now and getting paid….I can't say I know many people who'd turn down a chance to goof off somewhere like this for Lien; there seriously isn't anything here you want to do?"

"I want to hunt the Grimm, kill it and leave; then take on another mission….Salem is no less of a threat just because she's remaining unseen"

Blanca let out a deep booming laugh and this time Carcharodon couldn't help but be more than a little surprised, he had expected the man who Qrow Branwen spoke so highly of to understand the threat they all faced.

"Well that settles it" Blanca finally laughed "I've got you figured out now sonny"

"Excuse me?"

"I saw you at the Vytal Tournament a couple years back, saw the way your team handled your opponents in the first round" he clarified, uncaring of the sudden edge in Carcharodon's tone "I've been trying to figure you out since you got here, I wanted to know if you're a nasty piece of work that I need to keep an eye on or if you're just a little too competitive….turns out I was wrong on both counts, you're just a hard-ass who doesn't know how relax even when he's ordered to" Carcharodon let out a low sibilant hiss in response, the comment was infuriating yet the Shark Faunus was unable to either dispute it or shake the feeling of having been read like an open book; instead he merely turned away and ground out a reply

"If you know as much about me as you seem to think you do then you know relaxing is a luxury I cannot afford" his bottomless black eyes narrowed "None of us can, all of this nonsense below us is a waste of time. The Witch-"

"Salem's still out there yes….and Oum damn Qrow for keeping secrets that big" Blanca nodded in agreement as he interjected "But they way I understood the big reveal he and Halo Academy's new Head gave us is that if we sit here worrying about her and what she's doing we're just playing into her hands, giving her Grimm more food….I can see what Qrow sees in you though" the final comment was enough to leave Carcharodon utterly lost

"Excuse me?" he said again, and once again caused Blanca to laugh

"Oh you can't really be that dense can you sonny?" he asked in disbelief "Helping his daughter and his Niece's kid I can understand, but getting you on the job as well? He wants to see how you do out in the world on your own….You're very driven, very capable, you've got your own ship so you can be anywhere you need to be, you've got your own way of doing things that I'm guessing doesn't cross paths with official channels very often. Remnant needs its' big shiny heroes to hold up and I can see a few of your group who'll fill that role, but even with all the secrets out in the open Remnant is gonna need someone to do the messy jobs; I think Qrow wants you to be part of his little group, maybe even a successor one day"

That revelation, as was becoming irritatingly frequent of late, left Carcharodon utterly stunned and speechless; though Blanca at least did him the courtesy of pretending that his silence was a thoughtful or dramatic and brooding one.

Whilst many of their friends had chosen to direct their patrols of the resort complex towards the beach after being given permission to indulge themselves Hellion and Eagle had, entirely predictably elected to work as a pair and found themselves taking another route. Their choice was partly for practical reasons, reasoning simply that not everyone could go the beach for the sake of being seen as there was far more to the resort complex and also partly for practical reasons, Eagle had shed her armour for the day but had stated that as exclusive as this place there would still be far too many people on the beach for her to feel comfortable stripping down to her swimwear whilst Hellion had simply admitted that it was far to hot and humid for her liking. Instead the two had walked hand in hand through the resort, both ensuring that things were as they should be and that there was nothing that required their immediate attention, or that no guests were putting themselves in danger by trying to venture beyond the boundaries of the compound which had been closed until the situation with as yet unidentified Grimm was resolved. The two of them had looked at the vast jungle that lay beyond the armoured walls and flickering Hard-Light Dust shields and admitted that it was beautiful, despite the monsters that lurked within it and from there the two had searched for somewhere cooler and more comfortable to relax for a while, with Eagle making the sensible choice of vetoing the bar as an idea.

Which was how the two of them had come to be in the swimming pool.

They had found it almost by accident but had soon seen that the compound boasted a truly massive swimming pool that the professional athletes who frequented the resort, including swimmers and divers often used; however when they had arrived it had been vacant as any guests who wished to swim had seemingly taken to the beach.

Whilst Eagle may have been uncomfortable with the idea of stripping down to a swimsuit in front of so many people it had been almost laughably easy for Hellion to convince her to join her in the pool; the Dragonfly Faunus had changed slowly and made sure that the freckled blonde was watching her, peeling her clothes away to change into a deep violet coloured bikini that contrasted sharply against her light brown skin as it displayed her toned muscles and extensive tribal markings, many of which she had designed herself; turnabout was fair play however and the sight of Eagle in a white backless one-piece bathing suit, displaying her sculpted muscles did thing to Hellion that she couldn't articulate with words alone.

Not that there weren't other ways to get a point across.

"We can't do this he-Oh my Oum" Eagle's nervous protestations turned into a stuttering, gasping whimper as the Dragonfly Faunus's lips and teeth found a sensitive spot on her neck; Eagle's back was against the edge of the pool and Hellion's chest was pressed against hers whilst deft fingers traced the contours of her powerful back and shoulders until, with an act of supreme willpower Eagle trailed her own hands down to Hellion's hips and rather than pin her against the side of the pool and lose herself between those slender thighs she instead broke them apart, giving her girlfriend a look that made it clear that they would certainly be picking up where they left off later.

Just as someone cannonballed into pool with an almighty splash, the sound making Eagle yelp in surprise; ruining the moment entirely.

"Who dares-" Hellion's wings buzzed and created small waves though her threatening demand, hissed through clenched teeth was cut off as she and Eagle turned towards the source of the disturbance and saw a single man, perhaps in his mid-thirties with long black hair that was now plastered over his face and torso and skin that was almost entirely covered in tattoos that could only be described as works of art; moreover they were pieces of art that Eagle recognised from comics she had read as a child

"Holy Oum" Eagle breathed out "That's Cornell Darkhorse"

"The man who writes the comics?" Hellion arched an eyebrow in surprise

"Writes the comics, movies, acts sometimes, used to be in a band….he's supposed to be super cool" Eagle confirmed with wide eyes that suddenly turned from something amusingly close to childlike wonder to slight panic as she realised that the celebrities' entourage were now following suit and leaping into the pool but more importantly that several of them were gesturing towards Eagle and Hellion whilst muttering amongst themselves; making the blonde uncomfortably aware of the fact that Hunters as a whole were not as respected as they had once been.

"He's swimming this way" Hellion murmured, clearly bracing herself for anything that may happen yet when the tattooed writer reached them and moved his sodden hair from his face he was wearing a broad smile

"I didn't mean to bother you, I just wanted to ask who did that steampunk bird that you've got as a back-piece?….oh I didn't even see the one on your arm, isn't that the Grimm that hit New Vale last year?" his voice was smoky and raspy, the voice of someone who had partied more than their body was willing to co-operate with yet Eagle paid little mind to this, too busy trying to comprehend that fact that someone whose stories she had been reading since she was twelve was asking her about the unique tribal tattoo that stretched across her back and the stylised Hydrakken on her right forearm

"Uh that would be Hellion, and yeah, yeah I was there I helped fight that Grimm" she finally managed to answer, prompting Cornell Darkhorse to give Hellion's tattoos an impressed once over

"Stick and poke on something that size….damn, that's hardcore" he noted before turning back to Eagle with a look of surprise "Wait you were there….no way, my people over there said you were Qrow Branwen's daughter but I didn't believe it" Eagle braced herself, preparing for the inevitable vitriol and ranting about how her father should have told the world everything decades ago and how Salem's continued existence was somehow his fault, or that Ruby Rose had let Salem escape on purpose; yet Eagle squared her shoulders and met the mans' gaze

"Yeah, I'm Qrow Branwen's daughter"

"That's awesome!" the exclamation left Eagle stunned, yet the singer and actor turned artist suddenly became even more talkative than he had been previously "That guy is one of the hall of fame legends, one of the classic Hunters y'know….man the media are eating of his name right now and it sucks but Team STRQ were the original superstar Hunters"

"Wait" Eagle asked, utterly dumbfounded "You know him?"

"Oum no" Cornell gasped "But my first band, when I was thirteen was called 'Harbinger'….I'm just a fan; keep up the good work, I'm sure your old man's proud of you" If Eagle had been confused before it was nothing compared to the feeling that this revelation left her with; yet she realised that whilst many of her friends had jokingly wanted to 'party like a rock-star' at the resort she was here with an actual rock-star who still believed in the mystique of Hunters.

It made Eagle feel as though things could be normal again.

With Carcharodon nominating himself as the member of their group to work alone and the rest of their group being comprised exclusively of couples who had paired off almost instantly Nyanza Angora had been left to patrol the grounds of the resort with Onyx Ursabane and it was safe to say that nobody had truly expected the bushy-tailed Feline Faunus and the towering, crass and unfiltered Puma Faunus to work well as a team.

They would also never have expected Nyanza to gravitate towards the gym and yet here he was.

"If this is all you've got then you should have stayed in bed!" Onyx taunted as he flung the smaller Faunus back over a dozen feet with apparent ease, several components of Nyanza's mechanical leg whirring faintly as he landed in a crouch and slid backwards along the floor which was coated in shock-absorbing pads; a retort on his lip as he leapt to his feet.

"You're a talker, like me….just bigger, slower and uglier" Onyx replied with a smile that could more honestly be described as baring his teeth as he recognised the insult as a play on something he had said to Nyanza moments before ending his time in at the Vytal Tournament, it seemed that since this years' tournament had been cancelled before they had both graduated early that Nyanza was using this sparring match as an opportunity to test his own mettle; for his own peace of mind rather than for the benefit of any potential sponsors that may be watching.

A brave choice considering that the two of them had agreed not to use their weapons or Semblances.

The small crowd that had gathered around the part of the gym that they were sparring in let out several cheers and exclamations that Nyanza paid no mind to, allowing them to blend into indistinct background noise as Onyx charged at him. The shorter Faunus only a moment to decide his next action, yet time seemed to slow for him and he felt his heartbeat hammering in his chest and blood rushing in his ears as Onyx pulled his right fist back for a savage haymaker, Nyanza knew that his opponent was a much better fighter than that and expected a punishing left jab, however the question was if Onyx had counted on this and was attempting to fake him out.

Nyanza decided to simply refuse to be forced into a game of chance and instead made his own options.

He ducked, dropping into a crouch and lashing out with a left jab of his own that struck Onyx square in the gut as the larger mans' right hook ripped through the space above him. Nyanza heard the air leave Onyx's lungs and felt him begin to topple forwards and immediately pressed his advantage, seizing the Puma Faunus by the legs and rising to his full height again before throwing him across the sparring area to land in a crumpled tangle of limbs.

He did not land out of bounds however and when he pulled himself back to his feet his greenish yellow eyes were narrowed as he prepared a more calculating approach to the fight, it seemed he would have to start taking things seriously. Nyanza decided that he couldn't allow Onyx to regain any of his momentum and promptly rushed in with every intention of ending this fight quickly, his body moved faster than his thoughts and his cybernetic leg whined as he leapt into the air; soaring over Onyx's hasty jab before using the larger mans' still outstretched arm as a springboard to leap again, somersaulting and clenching both hands together to deliver a crushing double-fisted punch to the top of his opponents skull and continuing to somersault as he fell and landed behind Onyx where he carried his momentum into something akin to an axe kick that knocked the still dazed Puma Faunus's feet out from under him; finally Nyanza span and reached around and caught the back of Onyx's tank-top and used his own size and momentum against him as he bodily threw him out of the sparring area and into the crowd of onlookers, many of whom he was sure were famous or the very least wealthy individuals.

"Wanna try again?" Nyanza offered with bravado that wasn't entirely false

"No need" Onyx chuckled as he lumbered into view again "You proved your point to yourself….Go find somewhere to patrol, I'll be here for a while yet" the Puma Faunus wiped his face with a towel and took a deep swig from his water bottle before heading towards the nearest available weights whilst Nyanza cast his eyes around and became suddenly aware of just how much muttering was going on, many of the crowd were giving him sideways glances upon realising that this was one of the Hunters who was, at least for now protecting them and whilst he was sure that at least some of the murmurings were negative he knew that he couldn't call out any of the resorts' guests and so instead he merely rolled his shoulders back and puffed out his chest

"I'm currently looking for new sponsors, all business enquiries should be sent to my business email account, I'll be in touch whenever I'm available" and with that bold statement he swaggered out of the gym, picking up his belongings as he went with the thrill of his victory still overwhelming and leaving him feeling as though he had finally stepped out of the shadow of Hunters like Helios and Felix and become an equal.

He didn't have to prove anything any more.

Nyanza strolled through the complex, making his way back to his room so that he could shower; finding himself in the shade between two buildings where the late afternoon sun was less scorching when he felt his Scroll buzz in his pocket, withdrawing it he saw that he had received a text message from Razzmatazz and felt his heart jump into his mouth.

He still loved her, he had never stopped loving her and the fact that he had woken up from a coma with her lipstick smeared on the stasis tank he had been kept in had left him daring to hope again, swallowing thickly he opened the text message.

'Hey, you tried to call me a few days ago and I haven't been able to get hold of you since; are you okay?' Nyanza looked at the screen and remembered that he had indeed tried to call her whilst thoroughly inebriated at the leaving party, he had received no calls or messages from her but simply assumed that it was due to being at sea and out of reach; now that he had received the message he had nothing stopping him from replying other than his own fears.

He promptly pushed them aside and typed a reply

'Hey, sorry I was on the way to a mission; no signal out at sea….Anyway, I'm on an island between Vaccuo and Mistral and I know you've got your final exams soon so I was wondering, if I can make it to Mistral do you want to go out for a meal or something when you graduate, just the two of us?' doubts and regrets began to set in almost the moment he pressed send and in his mind he began to run through the various ways he could be misinterpreted until, surprisingly quickly he felt the Scroll vibrate again as his ex-girlfriend and current source of emotional confusion replied

'I'd like that a lot. It's a date?'

Nyanza tried his best not to cheer out loud and almost succeeded.

He did however wear a bright smile that soon shifted into something mischievous, he wanted to treat Razzmatazz after all and that would require more Lien than he currently had; however he was almost certain that there would be gambling somewhere on this resort and that the people who visited such an exclusive location had enough Lien to lose.

It had been a long time since he'd used his Semblance to literally stack a deck in his favour, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

It was the dead of night, darkness having fallen over Jinxing island hours ago when the various Hunters reconvened, crowding into one of their rooms to both recap the events of the and inform their team leaders that they had encountered nothing that required their attention, whilst also collectively gushing about how much they enjoyed the resort; Arctus and Diamond had joined Ether and Olivine and the two couples had effectively turned their patrols into a double date whilst Felix and Helios had simply enjoyed some privacy. Eagle and Hellion had spent several hours as part of a celebrity entourage and had not only enjoyed the feeling but had also learned about several companies still interested in sponsoring Hunters as part of their own public image campaigns and put in a good word for the band that Ether was formerly part of, 'Creatures of Grin', Onyx had spent much of the day in the gym though the Puma Faunus must have done some patrolling given his comments about Corvid enjoying the view and Nyanza had simply arrived clutching several stacks of Lien and wearing a smile that stretched from ear to ear and mad it perfectly clear that it would be unwise to ask questions. Carcharodon had simply remained as stoic as ever during these conversations and said only that his watch had gone as expected.

Something out of the ordinary finally happened however and Felix, Helios and Carcharodon were summoned to Blanca's office where the wizened and hunched old Hunter stood before them, clutching his cane that clearly doubled as some sort of weapon and wearing the most serious expression that they had yet seen on his leathery, wrinkled face.

"Grimm?" Felix asked as he saw how visibly concerned Blanca was

"Something attacked a section of the perimeter wall, so that's the most reasonable answer" Blanca answered simply before gesturing to an old, but still functional computer behind him and adding "Let's take a look" the trio of team leaders nodded, giving the older a man a few moments to prepare footage from the correct feed before gathering around. The footage was black and white and grainier than they would have expected of such a high class establishment establishment yet it clearly showed a section of the heavily armoured and re-enforced wall that stood around the perimeter of the resort with various shield generators standing atop it prevent any flying or leaping Grimm from venturing inside; specifically it showed one of the several equally heavily armoured gates that could be opened to allow guests into the jungle that surrounded the resort. For several seconds nothing happened until finally Felix, Helios and Carcharodon saw something begin to pry the gate open.

A set of long, incredibly sharp and distinctly avian talons

"It's smart" Felix noted dispassionately as he watched the still unseen Grimm force their claws into the gate and attempt to gather enough leverage to move the obstruction aside only to be swiftly and unceremoniously halted as the moment the gate gave enough for the Hunters to catch their first glimpse of a single, glowing eye the Grimm was blasted backwards by arcing electricity that hurled it from its' feet and back into the jungle.

"Safety measure" Blanca explained "The door's rigged, if it opens without an access code then it sends out a few hundred thousand volts and seals itself off"

"If the Grimm didn't carry on attacking the gate then it's likely it headed back into the jungle" Helios noted"

"Then we go after it" Carcharodon rasped "Right now"

"No" Felix shook his head and spoke firmly but quietly "Not everyone has night vision and I don't want to give that thing any kind of advantage. We still didn't get a good enough look at it to know what we're dealing with and it's smart to the attack the gate like that, it's probably smart enough to ambush us in the dark….we don't know what else is out there either"

"He makes good points" Helios agreed and Carcharodon merely let out an aggravated sound

"Dawn" he hissed out finally "We move at dawn"

"Agreed" Felix nodded

"Good" Blanca chimed in "I'll monitor the defences tonight, make sure it doesn't try to hit another gate….now go and get some sleep, tell your teams what's happening and I'll see you in a few hours" Felix, Helios and Carcharodon left in silence, each of them understanding that their time at the resort would be coming to an end.

The real work had begun.

Whatever Team CLIR had though that their training to become part of the Atlesian Specialist Branch would entail there was no way they could have prepared themselves for how utterly gruelling both physically and mentally it would be.

They had expected it hard, they had not expected being pushed to their breaking points to be a daily occurrence.

"Please, for the love of everything can we have a night without the bed creaking….I need sleep" Corvid grumbled as she staggered wearily out of the bathroom with a towel still wrapped around her hair to find Lux all-but curled up on Rusty's lap, the two of them sharing a bunk as always whilst Iris could be seen in the bunk above them, her burnished gold coloured cybernetic arm dangling over the edge of the bed and her white hair splayed out all around her as she breathed softly and rhythmically, clearly already asleep.

"Little Lady, you are gettin' downright insufferable y'know that?" Rusty drawled back, a wide yawn cutting off anything else he wished to say and Corvid paid little attention; her entire focus being devoted to the act of making it towards her own bunk which she finally managed to collapse into, her muscles aching with every movement after the hot shower had done little to soothe them.

Upon their arrival at the base in Atlas they had been greeted by none other than General Winter Schnee herself and promptly been buried beneath a mountain of paperwork which not only negotiated the terms of their employment but also bound them to secrecy amongst other things; from there the team had been assigned their quarters which were, Corvid had noted very similar to the dorms of the academy that her team had only relatively recently graduated from, though as much as it had initially felt like a step backwards she had found herself minding it less than she had expected. From there the training had begun in earnest and without relenting, the four of them had only been at the base for a few days and each of them could already tell that things were only going to get more difficult; yet they knew that by the time they left this facility they would inarguably be amongst the most capable Hunters on Remnant.

Today's training had been especially brutal, Team CLIR had reported for duty just in time to see a new model of Atlesian fighter craft landing on the bases' airfield; the same experimental model that had brought Weiss and Gangrel Slate to New Vale recently which was apparently being moved to the next phase of usage, that being that it did not officially exist but was still part of the Specialists' arsenal. Corvid had almost dared to hope that her team would be training with the craft, certain that Iris's skills as a pilot combined with her own capabilities in the air would make short work of whatever task they faced. It was not to be and instead they had been confronted with a stony faced and heavily scarred woman who had the distinction of serving alongside not only the current head of the Specialist Branch, Commander Chiffon and his predecessor Gangrel Slate but had also served alongside Winter Schnee when the General had still partaken in field work; she had taken the four of them out to a remote and secret training facility off of the base itself, an assault course made from a network of abandoned mines that Creatures of Grimm had been purposefully released into, to say nothing of the mines, unstable Dust crystals, thousands of various traps and hundreds of heavily armed Atlesian battle robots, including several models that Team CLIR had never seen before; the assault course had taken them over six hours to complete and when they had finally reached the end, bruised, bloody and battered their Commanding Officer had been waiting for them and had explained that the final part of the assault course was to face them, with failure being punishable by one hundred laps of the base.

Corvid considered herself tougher than most but had still been close to collapsing after completing the laps.

"Goodnight" she mumbled into her pillow, her pale blue light of her cybernetic eye flickering and fading as it powered down and she tried to make herself comfortable and get at least enough rest to be able to face whatever insanity their drill instructors could prepare for them tomorrow; Lux and Rusty bade her goodnight and turned the light off before pulling the sheets that were in no way adequate for the Atlesian climate over themselves

And then her Scroll vibrated.

"I will murder whoever that is" Corvid's furious snarl was half-muffled by the pillow as she blindly reached out, swatting at thin air until she finally found her Scroll resting on the small stand beside her bunk and opened it, mentally retracting her statement as she saw that it was a message from Onyx

'Enjoying the view….how about now?' Corvid read the message and promptly opened the attached images, the first was of a truly breathtaking sunset taken from a golden beach with nothing but open ocean as far as the eye could see which Corvid could not help but be more than a little jealous of, the second image however was of Onyx himself and had evidently been taken after a workout, he was shirtless and she couldn't help but chew at her lip a little as she admired his tattooed and muscular form for several moment before quickly glancing over to Rusty and Lux and seeing that they had fallen asleep already, she then quickly slipped out of her the clothes she wore to bed and pulled the sheets back so that she could return the favour.

If the Puma Faunus wanted to tease she would happily oblige him, her competitive side was determined that she win something today and having Onyx worked and whining at the thought of touching her was definitely a victory in her mind.

"Really Corey?" Iris mumbled sleepily, revealing that she had woken up and managed to make the situation spectacularly awkward by peering over the edge of her bunk.

Author's Notes:

So, I promised you a beach episode because anime tropes….are you not entertained.
Yes, I called the chapter Omake.
Next episode we get back to the plot rather than the "Plot" and take a look at what's been terrorising the island, which will be sort a mid-season finale for the final Volume before we head into our final showdown.
I'm having ideas for both a My Hero Academia story and another RWBY story in the Downward Spiral universe (Well….two stories actually but on of them is a one shot with two characters you would never expect to be friends) but I'm wondering which one I should write.
Also the RWBY Vol.7 soundtrack is out now and Caleb did exactly as well as I knew he would, the full version of Hero slaps with all the force of a bullet hitting a farmboi in the chest.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Starting with a good nights' sleep and actual beds….what sorcery is this.
What's a beach episode without a volleyball game really, Battle-Cat shippers come get y'all juice.
Yes that's a BTS reference, no I don't listen to them or K-Pop in general.
Now I know what you're thinking as you read the super-powered volleyball game and I just want to clarify something….I've never watched Avatar.
Because scumbaggery can affect all genders and sexualities…..look but don't touch.
No Felix wasn't jealous, we're better than those overused tropes.
Since we're doing an anime beach episode….we'll just come out and say that Arctus definitely had the anime nosebleed when he saw Diamond.
Diamond does not listen to Mistrali K-Pop.
Don't be that dick at the beach.
So I've made it clear that Arctus doesn't like the snobbery of Atlesian High Society at all, but even when we were in Atlas I didn't really show much of it at all; so instead have a few of his old class-mates being spoiled rich kids and Karens.
I'm sure there's been another background character called Mulberry but oh well, there's going to be more than one person in the world with the same name (Also, apparently in Before the Dawn May Zedong of Team BRNZ is dead and I'm convinced that it's because RT forgot about her when they named May Marigold).
Arctus just dishing out the pure contempt.
"One of the good ones" yep, we're doing this…..Also Horse Faunus, I don't have to say anything, your mind did all the work on its' own.
Car's being dramatic again, because of course he is; there's a roof and a breeze and he has a cloak where else would he be.
Carcharodon wandering around with his weapons out is not as reassuring as the management would like it to be.
In my head Blanca looks like Gran Torino from MHA on Safari but I couldn't help but hearing a little bit of Robert Muldoon from Jurassic Park.
"They want the appearance rather than the reality" Oh look, this is topical….except if I said 20 years ago it would still be topical and if I say it again 20 years from now it will STILL be topical.
He read Carcharodon like smutty fan-fiction and bathroom stall graffiti.
Carcharodon as part of Qrow's little group….with Winter, that should be fun.
Okay so count the swimming pool as a hot-springs scene.
Eagle Arc….conscious about her body but will also routinely get fucked in public places, because Hellion is just that good.
Okay so the singer/comic book guy was originally basically gonna be Gerard Way (Because Umbrella Academy season 2 reminded me that he exists) but I couldn't find a name that worked so instead I just went with Darkhorse, as in Darkhorse Comics…..Also yes, he has artwork from his own comics tattooed on himself.
Remember, all of the back of Eagle's right shoulder is taken up with a tattoo of an eagle that's made of gears and tribal markings and she has the Grim Ghidorah on her forearm.
"Team STRQ were the original superstar Hunters" either it's canon or canon is wrong.
She's an Arc and Qrow's daughter, Eagle is basically Hunter royalty and it's fun to play with tha fact every now and then….Like, she's actually Yang's first cousin by blood.
Things were getting too quiet, so I threw in a sparring match.
Okay I want you to do me a favour, play Katsuki and Izuku (You Say Run V3) from the MHA soundtrack and read the sparring match again….it's better now right? Feel free to yell "Detroit Smash!" When you get to the two handed punch.
So yeah, Nyanza….Nyanza who in Vol.01 Felix didn't want to partner up with because he couldn't fight, just beat Onyx in a sparring match without his Semblance.
And now he's got a date lined up….Y'know what, Nyanza has had a rough couple of volumes and I felt like right here, right before the end I wanted to give him some wins and let him be the cool one, instead of just the guy who makes other peoples' cool moments work.
Also yes, Nyanza used his Semblance in a casino off-screen back in Vol.1 and Helios was pissed.
It attacked the fences and looks slightly avian…..I know what you're thinking but you're wrong; it isn't a raptor.
Next chapter is gonna be fun.
You didn't think I was done with Team CLIR right? They've still got a part to play.
Yeah the Specialist training is absolutely ruthless….The transport isn't there for no reason, just saying.
Look we're all grown ups here….let's get this out in the open; Corvid and Onyx absolutely send nudes and have regular phone sex, they're in a long distance relationship.
AND HAVE SOME COCK-BLOCKING.

Thank you to SumoSnipe and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
I probably could have done a wedding but nah, didn't feel like the time or the place.
Okay those bunks are absolutely horrendous….But I also doubt you were fucking in yours as much as Arctus and Diamond were.
Okay so there's no tentacles in the beach episode because we're not going for that particular kind of filth….But there will be tentacles, in a way that you will not expect.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review