GRYD Chapter 12: The Mission

"What aren't you telling us?" asked Glyph

He turned to Headmaster Night, who gazed at him from his desk. The members of GRYD and MEAL were next to him, all looking at the Headmaster.

Night maintained his silent gaze for a while before replying, "Why do you think I'm hiding something from you?"

"Because that whole "battle to see who gets the mission" thing was bull." barked Reyson as he glared at Night with intensity

This actually made Night smile, "I didn't think you cared about why you fight?"

"I don't, but I can tell when I'm being manipulated."

"Fair enough, but I assure you, this was not a manipulation, it was an honest competition."

"Sorry sir, but that doesn't make sense," interjected Macro, "my team has a bad history with PRME, while we've saved lives with GRYD. Why was PRME even considered for a mission of "such importance", if you knew there was even a small chance we couldn't work well together? Thus endangering the mission?"

"Because I don't play favorites!" roared Night, rising from his chair and glaring at the lot with a look that matched Reysons. Night caught this though, and quickly calmed down, turning to the window to gaze at the outside of Beacon, watching as the early morning sun beamed down upon the grounds, "Yes, I wanted MEAL and GRYD for this mission. But, I refer to my council, your professors, for advice on matters of such importance. While they all agreed that MEAL should be on the mission, they were unsure of GRYD. As I'm sure you four can understand."

Reyson smiled evilly, Diana laughed nervously, Yasmine nodded, but Glyph just kept his gaze on Night.

"That's what I thought. Regardless of the how, you won, and I believe you're better because of it. But now, more important things need your attention."

"What aren't you telling us?" asked Glyph again

Night again looked at Glyph, but this time with sympathy, he sighed as he returned to his desk, "I know about the return of the Heralds of Purity."

This got a big reaction from MEAL and GRYD, even Glyph and Yasmine reacted hugely to this. Macro stepped forward again, "How?"

"Need I say it? Your father. He reports to a lot of people, me included. He was the one who tipped me off that they might be back. But then when I looked at the footage of you all in Vale? Seeing that mark on the wall? I knew they had truly returned."

"What does this have to do with the mission?" asked Yasmine

"Are we...going after them?" wondered Leilani noticeably nervous

"Not exactly." answered Night with a calming smile to her

"Then what is it?" demanded Diana

"When the Heralds of Purity were..."disbanded"...and tried for their crimes against Faunus kind. Only a few were every caught. No more than a dozen, when there were hundreds, or thousands of them."

"Because they hid their faces..." Aaron noted with a grim nod

"Anonymity is a powerful thing." acknowledged Erin

Night nodded at this, "Precisely. But what made this so dangerous after the war, was that there were members of the Heralds of Purity everywhere. From the common folk...to people in power...people with influence. Over the decades, though power has changed hands, these leaders would've likely influenced certain appointments. Hmph, they might have even used their position to recruit members to keep the Heralds alive. It's hard to say."

"But what does this have to do with the mission?" asked Yasmine again

"To fight a war, any war, you need a lot of things. Not the least of which is supplies, which in this case means Dust. You can buy it, sure, but in large quantities it draws attention. Especially if you're well known. Thus, the other "logical" option..."

"...is to steal them." finished Reyson with a smirk

"Yes. Over the last few months, not long after your father Macro got that report about the Heralds, we noticed Dust shipments being ransacked, stolen, missing. The people who transport them were either killed, or dealt with in such a way that they didn't know who attacked them. Thus, it was believed to be a Grimm attack, or bandits."

"But you know better." stated Glyph

"I do, and so do the others who know about the Heralds. We've tried catching some of them, but they're...very good at avoiding detection. Benefit of hiding for a century or so. However, with careful planning, and misinformation, we believe we have a perfect trap for them. That is your mission."

"We're the bait?" asked Diana shocked

"No. You're not. You're protecting the bait. We have a shipment of Dust being guided by road to a port that'll take it to Atlas. You're to be the bodyguards...on the surface anyway."

Macro went over the plan in his head, "And when the Heralds come, we'll be ready to take them out. Right?"

Night nodded, "Right. Ironically enough, your previous encounter with them makes you perfect for this mission. You won't be as likely to be caught off guard. And since you know they'll be coming, you'll be up for a fight at a moments notice."

Yasmine stepped forward, "I see a problem. Like you said, we fought them before, won't they hesitate when they see us?"

"Perhaps. But no one, not even your father Macro, knows who I'm selecting for the mission. Not even your professors know the mission your groups were to participate in when they selected you for it. Only I know who is going. So if the Heralds hesitate, it'll be because they fear you beating them up rather than sensing a trap."

Several of them laughed at this, while the others remained quite. Night waited for them to quiet down before continuing, "Furthermore, their creed about Faunus is quite absolute, if they see a Faunus, their instincts will take over and try to attack."

"Thanks?" exclaimed Leilani now frightened

"You're not bait, it's happenstance that both teams here have a Faunus. Besides, if anything, this'll make sure all of you don't fail. For if you do, Yasmine and Leilani will likely be taken."

"No pressure." stated Glyph with a grunt

"If we felt we could do this will full-on Huntsmen and Huntresses we would, but we're trying to make this a worthy target, one they'll feel they can take easily. Like the ones from before. I would not have put you on this mission if I didn't think you could work together and do it. However, these are your lives, so I'll ask you, do you accept the mission I am giving you?"

Macro looked to The Lovers and Leilani, though they had clear hesitation, especially Leilani, they all nodded and agreed to it. Glyph looked to Diana, Reyson, and Yasmine, who all gave him confident looks and nodded eagerly. Glyph turned to Macro next, who matched their look and nodded, to which Glyph did the same.

"We accept." said Macro and Glyph in unison as they looked back to Night.

Night sighed in relief, and beamed at them, "I am proud to be your Headmaster, and every team was like the two before me now, the world would be a much better place."

"Ah...go on..." teased Diana

"I mean it. I would've accepted your request to not do it, but with you doing it? You're helping a lot of people."

"That's why we came here," said Glyph, "to help."

Macro nodded proudly, "Right. So, when are we leaving?"

"Tonight. You'll head to a storage facility north of here, a good distance away. You'll meet the people you're guiding, then stay the night. At dawn, you'll head out."

"Not to ask the obvious question," said Aaron aloud, "if transportation is such an issue, why can't the Dust be airlifted out?"

"I was wondering that too." admitted Erin

"As was I." added Yasmine

Night chuckled and shrugged at this, "Despite what people think, airships aren't as popular and widespread as other modes of transportation. Furthermore, airships can be identified as important in numerous ways just by appearing. The Heralds would be able to take them down, and then hide the evidence much easier than a caravan. Not only that the company you're helping is very traditional, and is none for doing land and sea travel by all."

"Ah, so the Heralds would suspect a trap even less because all would seem normal outside of extra security." realized Reyson

"Correct Reyson, very astute."

Reyson smiled teasingly at Yasmine after getting the praise, to which she just rolled her eyes.

Night again chuckled, but then continued, "Regardless, the plan is set. Make your preparations, but I suggest you go light in all but your ammo and weapons. The trek will take the better part of a day on foot, but, food and water will be provided for you by the caravan."

"Noted. We'll be ready for combat should the Heralds show up." acknowledged Macro

"Good. One last thing. Your mission is to protect the cargo and try to catch the Heralds. We need one of them alive. More if you can. At the very least, try and get a look at one of their faces. The smallest detail can help us take them down, and stop a cycle of violence before it begins. Can I count on you?" He scanned them all, and one by one they nodded in agreement. Night smiled and nodded as well, "Thank you all. Good luck. Dismissed."

With that, the teams headed out. Both went straight to their rooms without a word to their teammates or friends, all were locked in their own minds about the mission ahead, and the duty that given to them. It was something that meant something, and wasn't to be taken lightly.

As they went through their battle gear, each made sure they exactly what they need. Macro made sure he had plenty of bullets and Dust, and checked his weapons to look for even the smallest thing that could cause his weapon to fail. The Lovers did likewise, but also pulled out the chest they won on the treasure hunt, and took the special Dust bullets inside. Leilani made sure she had all her Dust Sharpies at the ready, and even used some to change the colors of the claws on her arms.

With GRYD, Glyph went through some battle motions with his escrima. Diana did similar with her whip. Yasmine checked on her drones. While Reyson made sure his swords were as sharp as could be. Hours passed, and the teams were still thinking about the mission when an attendant knocked on their doors to alert them it was time to leave. They silently left, and entered an airship once they hit the grounds.

As they flew off, they couldn't help but look at the school. Though they all felt that they would see it again, they looked at it in a different light. As if the school was somehow a safe haven, and yet, now they were leaving it for a mission that could truly affect their world. This humbled them. Even Reyson was affected.

Hours later, they arrived at the facility. It was surrounded by small mountains on all sides, which was why Grimm never attacked it. Yet as the teams landed, they saw a visible path through two of them. Macro and Glyph made special note of this as they exited the airship. Now on the ground, a group of security greeted them. They were led by a man with white and grey hair, but with a thick black mustache. He wore a refined suit that was also a mix of black and white.

Upon reaching MEAL and GRYD, he looked at them all and bowed, "Greetings I am Emern Twili. Head of the Mt. Dust Company, I am honored you are here to help us. Times are...well, they aren't what they used to be...and yet...they kind of are."

He laughed at his pun, several of the team members joined in that, save for Glyph and Macro, who merely smiled.

"As I'm sure your Headmaster told you, you are to escort us to a specific point on the coast, which is several miles northeast of here. We'll leave at dawn, and as long as nothing interferes, we'll be there around dusk."

"So...Night wasn't kidding when he said this was a day trip?"

"Ha! No. He wasn't. We take care of our shipments, part of our reputation. And even though the port is the same, we don't take the same route every day. This one today was selected by Night to ensure security."

The teams gave each other a knowing look, but hid it quickly so Emern wouldn't catch it.

Macro stepped forward to get his attention, "Is there any preparation you'd like us to take before the mission?"

Emern laughed heartily at this, "Ah, you must be Gunners' son, I see him in you."

"Yes sir, proud to be."

"As you should, he's a good man. Helped me out of a tight spot once to help keep our record intact in regards to shipments. I can rest easy knowing a Camof will be leading security for this."

"I'm only as good as my team, and my friends." Macro said motioning to the rest

"Then I'll sleep even easier tonight. As for your question, I say you should take a look at the caravan, plan out how you want to protect it as we trek along. If you wish Macro, I can tell you and your fellow team lead the path we'll be taking, get your input on it. You might have a unique perspective on what might happen. Night warned me about the previous attacks on caravans, I don't want that to happen here."

"We'll do our best to protect your team, and the shipment, that's why we're here." said Glyph with a reassuring nod

Emern was content with the response, and motioned for them to follow him into the factory. He first should them the caravan. It was a multi-part armored train of sorts, powered by a small vehicle at the front. At the sides along the carts were eight pieces of metal protruding out. Emern stated that this is where the teams would be standing and watching over the route. They were position so that there would be three on each side of the cart, then one on the very end, and one just behind the pilot vehicle. Macro seemed pleased with this arrangement, as did Glyph and Yasmine. The others merely tested the positions to ensure they could stay on, and still be somewhat comfortable.

After that, they guided to their rooms for the night. Macro and Glyph were asked to join Emern to go over the route. Glyph asked if Yasmine could come to, Emern agreed. As they were shown the map, Emern traced the route they would take with his finger, "As you can see, it's a pretty guarded route. We've used it in the past to be honest. But we haven't in a while."

"Why not?" asked Glyph

"It's one of the longer routes, and the others have been relatively safe for a good while. Haven't had a Grimm attack in some time along them. They're also about an hour quicker, so we didn't mind. But with these attacks? I'm fine going back to this one, Night seems to think so too."

"Indeed..." said as he poured over the map, "you're right though, this route is pretty safe. I do see some potential weak spots though. Yasmine? What do you think?"

Yasmine studied the map for a few minutes, looking deep into the topography that was displayed, "I see three potential problems. Here, here, and here."

As she outlined, Emern got an impressed look on his face, "Wow. Uh, you're right, those are small breaks in areas where either people or Grimm could ambush us. Another reason I'm glad you're joining us on this."

"Will there be a way to alert us when these points are coming? So we can be prepared just in case?" wondered Macro

"Yes, our driver has a map guide on his phone that tells him the route. I'll have him program these points and let you know when you're getting near them. Be honest with me, is there a serious danger here."

The three looked at each other with reserved expressions, but Glyph broke it, "Sir, this is Remnant, there's always serious danger."

This seemed to put Emern at ease, "So true. Very well, do you think that there..."

The four discussed things for a little while longer, then when a solid plan was formed, the three went back to their rooms for a bit. As the teams talked amongst one another, they became restless, and eager to get on with the mission. Glyph was especially restless, and went outside the factory to calm his mind. The moon was out in full view, and Glyph stared at it for some time.

Still not feeling at peace, he wandered around the factory to tire himself out. On one pass, as he turned a corner, he ran into Leilani. Knocking her to the ground. He quickly recovered and pulled her up, "Sorry Leilani."

"It's ok!" she said squirrely as she noticed it was Glyph, "It's ok...I wasn't looking where I was going."

She looked up at him to see Glyph smiling kindly at her, this made her blush and look away quickly. Glyph then became curious, "Why are you out here? You restless as well?"

Focusing on the question, she turned back to him, "Yeah, this mission...it has me worried..."

"Because of the Heralds?"

"Yes. I know we all fought them, but you didn't see them like me and Yasmine did. Cornering us, chanting, calling us "impure"...I don't like them Glyph, and I'm nervous about what'll happen if they do show up."

"We'll do exactly what we did last time. Beat them."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back, which made her fidget in place, "Can't seem to calm down. Not sure why."

Glyph laughed and took a step closer to her, when she saw they were mere inches apart she blushed, to which he said softly, "Yeah you do."

Leilani got very red at this, and started to stammer, "I...I...I...

Glyph put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her calmly, "It's ok, we can talk about it later. Just be sure you're focused on the mission when the time comes, ok?"

She hastily nodded, and Glyph nodded in reply before walking away. Leilani took some heavy breaths to calm herself, but got oddly composed and looked back to Glyph, "Are you...going to keep walking around?"

He stopped and looked at her, "I am."

"Do you...mind if I join you? I...may not be able to talk but...I...I could keep you company."

He smiled, "I'd like that."

Leilani smiled widely and quickly raced to his side, and together they walked around the compound until they were ready for sleep.

Morning came, and the sun slowly began to peek into the sky. The teams were woken up, and they each readied themselves for what was about to happen. As they made it to the ground, Emern greeted them.

"Good morning, I hope you got some rest," he said as he looked at them

"I always sleep well when I know a battle is coming the next day." stated Reyson with his typical smile

"I...see...aren't you a Heron?"

"I'm the black sheep."

"Moving on," interjected Macro, "are we ready to go sir? The sooner we leave, the quicker we arrive."

"Yes, yes, you're right. The drive will be pulling out the caravan any minute. Once it's out, hop in, and you'll be off. Be safe out there, I do care about my shipment mind you, but I don't want any harm to come to all as well."

"We'll do our best to stay safe." said Diana with a shrug

"But our job today is to protect your cargo, and we shall do so gloriously." boasted Aaron

"And we'll protect your driver too." added Erin with a smile

"I appreciate that. Oh, I see the caravan now. Good luck to you all. Safe journey."

The sound of an engine made them all turn, and sure enough, the caravan pulled up right next to them. Macro had Yasmine, Leilani, and Diana take one side, with The Lovers and Reyson on the other. While him and Glyph were put on the front and back of the vehicle respectively.

Slowly, but surely, the caravan left, and the mission began. As they began through the early mountain passes, the team kept their heads on a swivel, trying to make sure they weren't caught off guard by anything that could be around them.

An hour passed, and Macro stopped the caravan so that they could swap positions, as well as stretch their legs. Once done, they proceeded on. Two hours passed, and nothing had appeared. However, the driver signaled Diana, who was in the front position.

"We're about to reach the first open area!" she shouted to both sides so that they could know

Within a few minutes, the break in the mountains was upon them, and they began their descent into a covered plains area. Glyph watched the area around him carefully, but stopped when he saw a black dot coming towards them. He watched as it got closer, and closer, until the figure was more pronounced. It wasn't a dot, it was a bird, a big one.

"Nevermore! South side" he shouted loudly

The others turned, or raised themselves up onto the top of the caravan to see. They waited with baited breath to see what the Nevermore would do. Sure enough, it made a large screech, and raced towards them with increased speed.

"We need to take it down quick!" cried out Macro

"I can do it." said Glyph reading his escrima, he then turned to Leilani, "Lend me a hand?"

This took her aback, but she quickly nodded, "Sure!"

Glyph focused on the Nevermore, muttering to himself what he had to do. Once the Nevermore was truly barrowing down on them, de held out his hand, and though she hesitated, she took it. The two disappeared in an instant.

They then reappeared an instant later on the Nevermore. The Grimm screeched as it felt them land on its back, but it didn't try to stop them. Instead, it continued towards the caravan.

"Use your claws to do damage here!" instructed Glyph, "I'll work on crippling the wings and head."

Leilani nodded, "On it!"

Glyph disappeared, and Leilani brought out her claws, several prongs of which were imbued with elements like fire and electricity. With ferocity, Leilani plunged her claws into the Nevermore, making the Grimm screech in pain. But Leilani didn't let up, even when the bird finally tried to shake her off. In fact, she used one claw to root her in place, and the other to stab at the Grimm's body.

Meanwhile, Glyph was teleporting around the Grimm, striking at it with his Escrima, then teleporting away to strike it somewhere else. One time, when the Nevermore tried to shake off Leilani, it affected Glyph in a way that actually knocked him off the bird. But he teleported right back on it.

Back on solid footing, he looked to Leilani, who was still carving up the Grimm, "Leilani! I'll finish it off! Get ready for a quick teleport!"

She nodded that she was ready, and Glyph formed his shotgun and pointed it right at the head of the Nevermore, once he was charged up, he fired, and blew of a chuck of the Grimm's head off.

The Grimm disappeared into smoke, and the two began to fall, but Glyph teleported to Leilani, grabbed her hand, then teleported to the caravan. They fell on top of it with a thud, and the others came quickly to help them up.

"You ok?" asked Yasmine to Leilani, worried about her sister

"I'm fine sis, thank you." she replied happily

"Nice job out there, partner," praised Diana, "But next time? I want to dance."

"That wasn't a dance Diana." pointed out Glyph

"Tomato, tomato."

"Not really Red." corrected Reyson, with an appreciative punch to Glyph for good measure, "Nice job out there. But I want the next Nevermore, haven't fought one of those in ages."

"You can have it!" said Leilani with a laugh

"Do you think that'll be the extent of our troubles?" asked Aaron

"I don't know if we're that lucky..." noted Erin

"Sadly," stated Macro grimly, "this attack will draw attention to our location. Along with the route we're taking. Be ready, I think we just guaranteed the Heralds are coming."

On that somber note, they all proceeded back to their lookout positions. Hours passed again with no incident. No Grimm or Heralds came across their path. They proceeded right pass the second open area without any incident. While this made some of them happy, it made the others nervous.

A while later, Yasmine was alerted that the third open area was drawing closer. She alerted the others. A few minutes later though, Leilani and Erin saw something in the road ahead, and asked the others to go up top to see what it was.

As they did, they saw 4 hooded figures blocking the path. While the majority of them tensed up. Glyph looked at them curiously, "Reyson? Aaron?"

"Yes?" answered The Lovers

"...male Aaron...please..."

Aaron and Reyson joined him, Reyson looked to his leader eager for a fight, "What's up? You want to start the fight early?"

"Yes."

"Wait, what?" sputtered Aaron

"Aaron, use your crossbows, Reyson, use your canons, blow them up."

"But..."

"DO IT!" roared Glyph

"Heck yeah," said Reyson arming his canons

Aaron reluctantly raised his crossbows, and in unison fired some volleys. To their surprise, the hooded figures didn't move, and took the hit full on. When the smoke cleared, the cloaks where flat on the ground.

"It was a decoy!" shouted Macro angrily, and looking around for the real threat

They all tensed up, and readied their weapons. The area around them was hilly, and rough, with plenty of places to hide. Minutes passed, and the continued their watch. Suddenly, several figures rose up from the nearby hills. All were cloaked figures, but this time, they were truly moving, even raising their swords high into the air, and lighting them on fire.

"It's them!" exclaimed Leilani

"It's ok, we're ready for them." said Yasmine with calming look to her sister

"She's right, weapons up!" ordered Macro, to which the others complied

Glyph vanished for a second, then reappeared, "Told the drive we're about to fight, he'll go as fast as he can."

"Good call. No matter what, two people on the caravan at all times. Understood?"

The others gave their acknowledgements, then watched as the number of Heralds grew before their eyes. To their surprise those, they remained stationary. That is, until a chant began to be heard, and they flung their swords forward, shooting the flames into the air, and towards the caravan.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me!" cried Reyson

"Aaron!" shouted Macro

Aaron put away his crossbows, "On it!", he then focused and then flew his arms out. A shield enveloped the teams and the caravans. The flames hit the shield, but did no damage. Once gone, Aaron dropped the shield and fell to one knee, breathing heavily as he did.

Erin immediately went to him, "Are you ok?"

He smirked, "Of course, I have you."

Diana whistled to get their attention, "Hey, lovey dovey talk later! They're coming!"

The Lover rose up, and saw that the Heralds were now racing towards them with surprising speed. Glyph got an odd look on his face, and turned around just in time to see three Heralds jumping towards them. He reacted quickly though, formed his shotgun, and blasted the three out of the air.

Reloading, he looked to the others, "Stay sharp, no one takes this cargo, and if you get them down on caravan, pin them. We need them for later."

Before they could respond, another group of Heralds jumped onto the caravan. This time, Yasmine and Leilani worked together to knock them off. As Yasmine looked around at the numbers, she grimaced, then got alight with an idea. She separated her lances into her four drones, then positioned them above the caravan in four perfectly placed spots so that they could survey everything coming.

Leilani saw this and got worried, "You have no weapons now!"

"Yeah I do, I have you." she replied with a smirk

"Line stealer!" called out Aaron as he dispatched a Herald

"You can't fault them for that", said Erin mid-fight, "It was a very sweet line."

"Why thank you darling."

"You're welcome dear."

Diana was taking on three Heralds at once during this, and used her whip skills to take them out rapid fire, "Will...you...focus! I don't want to die because you two can't oogling over each other!"

"Jealous much Diana?"

"Don't get me started."

A Herald approached Diana from behind and raised a sword to her, Macro saw this though and shot him away, "She's right, enough with the chatter, there's more coming!"

Reyson turned to see fight Heralds around him, he smiled evilly and tore through them with his swords. Once done, he turned to Macro, "I'm all for a fight, but this like overkill. Either they knew we were coming, or they REALLY want this Dust."

Glyph teleported next Reyson, and pointed to more Heralds. They quickly handled them, "You're right, something is off here. Can't dwell on it though. Focus on the fight."

"Always do!"

The fight went on, the caravan progressed without hindrance in front of it. But in every other direction, the battle waged between GRYD, MEAL, and the Heralds.

Because of positioning, there was always two or three team members on a section at a time, keeping the fighting tight, but also manageable. As it went on though, Glyph started noticing a trend. Despite their repeated victories, the Heralds were still coming, nothing seemed to stop them.

He took a deep breath, then teleported away. In the course of seconds, he took off and fought every Herald that was in view. Beating them up, knocking them out, then moving on. It was a blur of motion and action. One that even his teammates couldn't keep up with. Eventually though there was only one left. Glyph knocked the Herald out, and teleported with him back to the caravan.

Once there, he nearly collapsed, Macro and Diana got to him, "You ok partner?"

"You shouldn't have pushed yourself like that," warned Macro

"Had to...do it...ah..."

"Uh, guys?" said Leilani pointing to behind the caravan, "That's...not good..."

They all looked to see a swarm of Heralds coming to them. Even Reyson was gobsmacked by this, "Oh come on! Where are these guys coming from!"

Macro looked at it with both concern and distaste, "Doesn't matter, we have to take them out. Suggestions?"

"We got one!" said Erin happily, "We suggest you stand back."

"Oh yes," said Aaron proudly, "this could get...well...something epic I'm sure."

Confused, the others watched as the Lovers pulled out brightly glowing Dust capsules and loaded them into their weapons. Together they aimed towards the Heralds.

"Ready darling?"

"Ready dear."

"Fire! they shouted in unison

The dust bolt launched from their weapons, and once in midair, they seemed to connect via strands of energy. Linked together, the red and green bolts impacted the Heralds, and they were instantly consumed by an explosion, but not a damaging one. But rather, one that set upon them like a vicious gas. They watch as the Heralds seemed to choke on air, then fall to the ground.

"Was that...sleeping gas?" asked Yasmine curious

Reyson made a sound of disgust, "Should've been poison."

"Yes, because a Headmaster giving out poison gas Dust to students is such a good idea." noted Yasmine with venom at Reyson

"...point taken."

Macro observed the mass of Heralds that was slowly disappearing, when none seemed to follow, he gave an approving look to The Lovers.

"Nice job you two." he said proudly, "You might have just saved the day."

"It was our pleasure," said Aaron grandishly

Erin smiled at Macro, "Well and truly."

Macro laughed at the two and shook his head, "Right. Well, we're not done yet. Stay sharp in case someone else decides to ruin the party."

"Don't forget about him though..." said Diana pointing to the Herald Glyph caught, who was beginning to stir

She went over to him and jerked the hood off his head, as his face turned to her, Diana recoiled in shock, even taking a few steps backwards, "I know you. You...you work with my mother."

"Wait, what?" asked Macro incredulously, "What does your mother do Diana?"

"She works in the military...he's a liaison from one of the Dust manufacturers in Atlas..."

"That's how they knew about the shipment...wait, your mothers name wouldn't be Orchid would it?"

Diana looked surprised at his guess, "Yeah...is that problem?"

"Uh, maybe...another time. Let's focus on him. You want to do the honors?"

Suspicious, but letting it slide, Diana stomped on the man to make sure his attention was on her, "Talk! Why did the Heralds want this shipment so badly? Who else is one of them?"

He cough a bit because of the stomp, but smiled evilly at her once he got his composure back, "We do not betray our own. You'll get nothing from me."

"Oh really?"

Diana pulled back out her whip, and wrapped the end his neck and pulled, instantly making him choke.

"Want to try that again?"

Glyph grabbed her arm to stop the choke, "We need him alive, he won't talk to us, but someone else might get him to open up."

"You're right, and I know just the person," she said with a smile as the whip retracted, "yes, I know just who. You think you're tough? I saw how you looked at my mother when she was giving orders. Imagine how intimidated you'll be when she's across from you in an interrogation room."

The man grimaced at this, but then smiled again, "I doubt she'll be in a right state...with your injury and all."

With unexpected speed he flung a knife out at her, but to both their surprise Glyph got in front of her just in time, and the knife shattered his aura, and went right into his shoulder. He fell to the ground with a groan.

"Glyph!" shouted Diana and Leilani as they raced to him

Reyson roared in rage and kicked the Herald right in the face, knocking him back out. Macro joined Leilani and Diana in checking on Glyph, he examined the wound, "Ok, it's deep, but I think it missed some key stuff. This is going to hurt Glyph, but we need to keep the knife in, my medical supplies won't cover this, but maybe something in the ship can. If not that, there's surely someone at the port."

"I'm fine, just a scratch." Glyph said with a smile

"I'd hit you partner, but I know it'd hurt more, so I won't." joked Diana

"Appreciated."

"Can we get to the port any faster?" asked Leilani concerned

"I'll talk to the driver. You two watch over Glyph, the rest of you keep on high alert. Just in case."

Macro left, and the others surrounded the trio and kept watch. To their relief though, nothing happened the rest of the trip.

An hour later, at the port, Glyph got examined by some medical staff at a clinic. While he was, the other were approached by Emern, who flew in to oversee the transport to the ship and check on the others.

"I would say congratulations are in order. But, I also know one of your team leads got hurt, so, I don't want to rub salt in the wound" he said somberly

"The mission was accomplished sir, and no one died. We even got one of the attackers to question. That's what Glyph wanted." stated Macro with a blank expression

"A noble man."

"I have a question." announced Reyson, getting Macro's attention, "What kind of Dust were we transporting? Those...uh...hooded guys were not just in big numbers, they were determined to get it at all costs. What was in it?"

He burned a hole into Emern with his gaze, the others added to this, making him uncomfortable, but he soon composed himself and shrugged, "I suppose it's only fair. As you know, the military in Atlas is the best in the world, or so they say. They're always looking for new ways to improve their arsenals. That Dust you protected? Is the first wave in a new batch of Dust that's going out to the military all over Remnant. It's going to Atlas first to be field tested, but we have high hopes for it, and what comes next."

"So if they had gotten it, that...group...would've been very powerful?" wondered Yasmine

"I would dare say that with that Dust, they would've been quite formidable for some time. So thank you for not letting that happen."

He bowed to them, and left. The others look upon each other with worry, anger, and confusion.

"What now?" asked Leilani

"Now?" replied Macro, looking at the ship, "Now we be grateful we stopped this, for now. Let's wait for Glyph to get patched up, our ride home should be here soon. Then? We wait for what's next. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's likely to come very soon. The Heralds won't like what we did, they'll want payback, however they can get it..."

Far away, two hooded figures converged in a hallway, one handed a note to another and left. One red the note and growled angrily. Another hooded being appeared next to the other.

"Did the mission fail?" asked a female voice from under the hood

"Yes," replied a male, "the children from Vale interfered again."

"That's quite a coincidence...or is it?"

"It is hard to determine at present. Luck was the reason the first time, can one be lucky twice?"

"It has been known to happen. Was any of us captured?"

"One. He's being taking to Atlas, to Orchid. We will to do something about it."

"I'll think of something. What about the children. Shall we make a move against them?"

"Yes. But it will need to be something that's not attached to us. With this shipment lost, we need to be in the shadows for awhile."

"So...something natural?"

"No, something...Grimm..."

*credits*