Chapter 4:
Dust and Snow
"Change is inevitable and natural, how one grows from it is worthy of recount."
Snow drifted gently across the surface of the reservoir, stirring in the twilight breeze. The water rippled softly as snowflakes danced atop the icy lake, the slow cold song of Ice filled the air. Zoe pulled at silent strings of snow, sending fresh snowflakes across the water, merging them together in a complex lattice that formed a platform of ice across the reservoir.
"Enough." Said a sharp cold voice by Zoe's side. Zoe exhaled letting the song dissipate, her Aura drained as her Dust expired. A firm hand gripped her shoulder in an approving manner. "Get some rest, we'll continue this tomorrow."
Zoe turned to meet her superior's pale gaze, "Yes Ma'am." Zoe saluted and turned from that frigid gaze, walking back towards the Manta parked a few meters away.
"Zoe." Her superior called after her.
"Yes, Specialist Schnee?" Zoe said, turning back at attention, wondering what faults she would find in her technique.
"You did good today." Schnee said quietly, her ice blue eyes softening slightly.
"Thank you, Wint-Ma'am." Zoe said perturbed, turning back to the Manta. What just happened?
Zoe began to take stock of her temporary abode inside the Manta, the door hissing shut behind her. Though she already knew how many supplies they had, and in what quantity, she went through the motions regardless. It quickly became her end of day ritual to go through their rations, Dust cartridges and crystals, and perform basic maintenance on her weapon. Turning to the blue and white battle suit, Zoe emptied the Dust wheels and gave them a couple of spins, checking the smoothness of the rotation, it was a well oiled machine. She moved on to the channels that webbed across the suit from the wheels for any scratches or tears, there were none, she wouldn't have to worry about Dust leaking out. Finally she drilled through a few basic forms with her weapon's staff in collapsed and extended modes, being careful to not damage any equipment inside the Manta. The transformations were smooth and her weapon balanced. Zoe breathed deeply when she reached the end of her ritual, relieved that she was a day closer to her goal. As she prepared to lay down for the night, she caught her reflection in one of the instrument panels by the cockpit. Her hair had grown past her ears and became increasingly windswept as the weeks went on, the remaining blue streaks in her hair started to fade, revealing the white underneath. Her wide, doe like eyes were a pale opalescent blue that sparkled and shifted like a gem. Her gaze narrowed as it fell along the top of her head, tracing the nubs of her antlers slowly emerging from her skull.
"Now you look the part, traitor."
Zoe shook her head clear of her words when the screen in front of her flared to life, displaying a grid map of the surrounding area with two points highlighted: One by the reservoir, her current location, and one out in the untamed tundra of Solitas. Zoe's eyes went wide as she read the attached report, heat spikes and movement, strange wind phenomena, irregular bouts of minor seismic activity.
"Specialist Schnee," Zoe said, activating her comms link, "There's something happening out in the tundra, we've been ordered to investigate."
. . . .
The cold air grabbed at Zoe's gray-white flak jacket, threatening to throw her from the sky as she gazed out of the open door of the Manta to the ground below. The rushing snow fussed with Zoe's hair, making it difficult to see despite her night vision. They had reached the highlighted grid point and began a search pattern, trying to find any activity amidst the darkening snow.
"There!" Zoe shouted over the wind, pointing out a rapidly fading glow in the distance, "Some kind of flare, Ten O'clock!" Winter pulled on the flight stick, sharply turning the Manta and opened up the throttle, the chill of the air started to bite into Zoe as she leaned back and shut the door, turning to don her suit and weapon.
"I'll head down first and do what I can, land as soon as possible so we can evac if necessary." Zoe said, slipping into her combat suit and zipping up the collar.
"You don't give me orders, Candidate." Winter snapped coldly.
"This takes precedence over training, Specialist Schnee, right now we're back to being of equal rank." Zoe said as she attached her weapon to the small of her back, "I'll surrender myself for disciplinary action when we go back to training if you want." She said, turning to look at her fellow Huntress. "Please Winter, I can do this."
"...Go" Winter said after a brief pause, "Zoe!" she called out over the wind as the door opened once again, "Don't use your Semblance!"
"Yes Ma'am!" Zoe shouted back, spinning one of Roulette Shroud's disks on her waist, the yellow glow and charged song of Lightning running through the channels attached to her suit. With one last (slightly mocking) salute Zoe leaned backwards out of the door and plummeted to the writhing black surface below. Pulling on the dust now pulsing across the surface of her Aura, Zoe summoned a shell of electricity and slammed down on top of a half frozen Ursa, stopping it mid charge. A one armed stranger relaxed their tense pose as they took in the new arrival.
"Wow!" The stranger, a woman with blonde hair, exclaimed as she saw Zoe, "Do you steal thunder like that all the time, or is this a special occasion?"
"This is not the time for puns Yvette!" Shouted a second stranger, a man beating down on a Centinel with metal gauntlets. "Stupid things won't stop coming!"
The woman, Yvette, grimaced at the comment, her face flickered darkly as she eyed the surrounding Grimm. A moment later the tundra was set alight by the fiery glow of a third stranger with a red blade who cut through Grimm like they were paper. He went from Centinel to Ursa, Beowulf to Boarbatusk, moving from one to another in a single strike, cutting bone plates and limbs in a non-lethal dance, weaving a web of fire around him as he swung. With one final flourishing swing the red net exploded, igniting every Grimm surrounding him and burning them to ash.
He's a Dust Mage Zoe thought, recognizing the technique. "We have an airship!" She called out to the three strangers, "Carve out a landing pad!"
The four of them moved back, standing in a circle, each preparing their weapons for the oncoming battle. The ice covered Grimm growling around them, waiting for a moment of weakness.
"What's your rundown?" Said the man in the white jacket from behind Zoe, commanding rather than asking.
"Mid to close range Dust Mage, standard variety and Gravity."
"Semblance?" He asked.
Zoe hesitated a second before answering, "I don't have one." The stranger simply hummed in response. Zoe grimaced as she grabbed the small cylinder from the small of her back and extended it into a full length staff, small sections of it glowing yellow as Lightning flowed from her suit to the channels carved into its surface.
"How are we handling it boss?" Yvette asked from Zoe's right.
"Spiral outward, keep the Grimm from adapting, create weak links and break them. All we're doing is buying time." The first stranger called out. His companions shouted affirmatives.
"Copy that." Zoe said, following suit.
All four Huntsmen tensed and charged and the Grimm lunged to match, Zoe jabbed, swung, and sliced through the Grimm accentuating each attack with the manifestation of a Lightning blade, halberd type, perfect for stunning the Grimm for a brief moment before they were clobbered by a metal fist and blasted away with some form of Dust application. The light was rapidly fading, the only remaining sources of illumination being the dim glows of Dust from Zoe's suit, the leader's sword, and his teammate's gauntlets. The Lightning Song began to thrum.
Even with her heightened senses and night vision Zoe could barely see what was happening. Everything was an ever changing mass of shadow, snow, and flickering light. A snarling howl sounded in Zoe's ear as a Beowulf pounced from the horde, instinct kicked in as Zoe cut downwards with her halberd, right as the gauntlet-wearing stranger fired a shot ofWind Dust. The two Dusts mixed and the force of the reaction nearly ripped Zoe's staff from her hands. The thrum beat faster in Zoe's head. The air crackled with static as the halberd blade was dispersed into a net of Lightning, jumping from one Grimm to the next. The stench of burning fur filled Zoe's nose as a sizable portion of the surrounding monsters were flash burned within an inch of their lives.
"Finish them off, quickly!" The stranger growled. The thrum became an itch.
Without even thinking about it Zoe's Aura latched onto the Dust in her suit, both of them flared as one as her Semblance activated. The Dust song grew louder as the channels in her suit grew dim, the white and blue in her hair molded into a bright yellow, and a familiar buzzing sensation coursed through her muscles as she made her Aura into Lightning.
IDIOT! Zoe thought internally, taking in the battlefield as if for the first time, seeing the newly injured Grimm and her battletime partner moving slightly slower than before. She was itching to leap into action. Control it! Not the other way around! She did a cursory check of her Aura and quickly calculated her time frame. Ten seconds. Ten seconds of constant use, let's make them count.
Zoe focused this Tone of hers throughout her body, energizing her muscles further than Aura could do alone. Ten. Without a word the two Huntsmen dashed simultaneously into the weakened swarm of Grimm, battering them with Wind and Lightning. Nine. The stranger matched her pace easily and fought with a ferocity that paired effortlessly with Zoe's support style of combat: She'd stun, he'd strike, he'd roll, she'd finish the attacking Grimm. Eight. Zoe ducked and dodged between the soulless beasts, leaving a thin yellow line behind her, like a spider she spun a yellow web to encase the monsters. Seven.
"Hit it!" she yelled out to her companion as she emerged on the other side of the electric lattice. She pulsed the crackling Tone through the web as her partner struck one of the trapped Grimm, the air roared with a thunderous crack when the two Dusts combined once again. The Grimm inside the web burst into a thick cloud of black smoke, creating a solid break in the churning mob of Grimm around them. The action had cost Zoe however, her precious seconds slipping away faster than she had calculated. Release it! Now! Zoe pushed at the Tone separating it from her Aura and purging it from her body, trying to save as many scraps of protection as she could until she was shoved violently through the gap she had just helped create. Her concentration broke and the Tone came crashing back, incinerating her remaining seconds and destroying her Aura. The remaining Lightning in her body ran unchecked through her muscles, burning spasms and uncontrollable movement made it impossible for her to move or scream.
Throughout her personalized torture Zoe caught glimpses of the battlefield behind her: A monstrously large Ursa had slammed down where she had been moments before, her berserker companion was engaging it from its flanks trying to grab it's attention.
He pushed me away. Zoe thought dimly.
The Ursa's head snapped towards its opponent, its eyes narrowing as it huffed in aggravation. With one swipe of its claws the ursa sent the stranger flying back into the center of the horde, its gaze turned back onto Zoe and charged.
Zoe's vision darkened with the Grimm's approach, at least she wouldn't have to see how she died.
"Well I'll be damned." Zoe's vision grew lighter as Yvette stepped in front of Zoe's paralyzed form, staring down the massive Ursa barreling towards them. Dropping her massive weapon behind her Yvette squared against the charging Grimm.
"It looks like you're the big brother." She said coldly as she unzipped her jacket and shrugged it off. "Good." She planted her back foot firmly on her weapon, her Aura flashing briefly across its surface. The Ursa beared down on her ready to tear her to shreds, mistaking her for easy prey. Yvette slammed her left hand against the Grimm's paw, stopping it dead in its tracks. Zoe saw something she never thought possible, the Ursa's eyes widened, as much as its mask would allow, in fear.
Yvette leaned in close to the Ursa, daring it to bite her, "My turn." she said, raising her right arm, a smooth, metal prosthetic, dark as cast iron, and drove it into the Ursa's skull plating. The air split with a thundering *CRACK* The Ursa's bone plating broke as her fist punched through its head, pushing it towards the ground causing its body to lift temporarily off the snowy ground, while Yvette and her weapon stayed in place.
"FRY THE BASTARD!" Yvette howled sharply. Thousands of cuts appeared on the Unnatural Grimm's body, Yvette's leader had leapt out of the shadows carving lines of fire into the Grimm's skin, slicing the head off so his partner wouldn't burn along with it. "Burn with him in hell." Yvette spat on the vanishing corpse in front of her.
"Fall back and cover her, I'm getting Drake." He ordered, his voice echoing strangely.
"Copy that boss." Yvette said, picking up her jacket and weapon. "Can you stand?" she asked, turning to Zoe and reaching out with her metal arm. The Lightning had begun to wear off allowing Zoe to feebly shake her head "no".
"Ok, that's a problem." Yvette said as she went to pick Zoe up, "Not the biggest one we'v-GAAH!" Yvette drew back as the Lightning discharged through her prosthetic arm. "Vil'helma that stings! You had that in your body?!" She growled rhetorically, "Damn you're crazy." Yvette muttered, slinging Zoe over her shoulder and moving towards a nearby snow bank. "Tap once for yes, twice for no: Is your ship weaponized?" Yvette's voice hardened, a commander's voice.
Zoe gave a singular tap on Yvette's upper back.
"Sweet, you have a comms link?"
Another tap.
"Did your Dust trick damage it?"
Two taps this time.
"Ok, I'm going to set you down now." Yvette said gently, setting Zoe against the snow bank and taking the comms link from Zoe's ear. "Sorry, I'll give it back when I'm done." Yvette said as she placed it in her own ear. "Hello, is this working?" Yvette paused as Winter spoke over the earpiece.
"That's her name? Oh, don't worry, Zoe's alive. She's just out of play for the moment. More importantly, can you land yet? We're losing ground here."
Does she know who she's talking to? Zoe thought dumbstruck.
"Too much activity down here? I have a work-around for that, you're going to get a massive heat spike in a few moments, fire at that, it should kill enough Grimm to get us out of here." Yvette tossed the earpiece into Zoe's lap and opened her weapon's gun form. "Aki," she called over her own comms link, "tell me when."
The air shattered under the sound of Yvette's gun fire, *BOOM BOOM BOOM*, her bullets caused Grimm to fall and trip over each other as she shot out the legs of Ursa and Boarbatusks alike, then the fire started. The fallen Grimm became the fuel of a massive bonfire, their pained howls grew as more and more of the mindless horde was caught in the blaze.
"All right guys, time to move! Things are going to get ballistic in there!" The howling grew sharper as Yvette shouted to her companions, an unusual pitch for Grimm. Not Grimm, Zoe realized, missiles. The ground shook and the night burned as dozens of missiles fell upon the burning horde of Grimm, the high pitch of Manta engines soon filled Zoe's ears, signaling Winter's approach. Yvette hoisted Zoe across her shoulders in a fireman's carry, "Hold on Zoe, we're nearly in the clear."
Yvette dashed towards the Manta, crushing Centinels with her massive blade as they sprung from the ground, spinning and firing to add more momentum to her attacks. The Manta's doors slid open, hovering above the reach of the Grimm, revealing Winter standing with her arm outstretched.
"JUMP!" She yelled, creating a black snowflake patterned glyph underneath the two of them. Yvette Jumped, pushing all the Aura she had through her legs as the glyph turned red and accelerated them through the air. A second glyph, white, acting as a platform as Yvette landed on its surface.
"Take her!" Yvette yelled, running into the airship.
"Take the conn!" Winter yelled back.
Winter set Zoe down in the back of the Manta, a cavalcade of emotions swirling behind her eyes.
"Are you injured?" Winter asked, Zoe shook her head no.
"My staff.." Zoe managed weakly.
"She lost her staff!" Winter called to Yvette.
"Probably my fault!" Yvette called back, fiddling with the ship's controls, "Hey guys, you see a staff out there?" She asked over her comms. "It's the one the Specialist was using." Yvette turned around in her seat, "You are a Specialist, right?"
Zoe nodded her head in affirmation, while Winter manifested a spinning white glyph on the floor of the Manta.
"Yeah, the Specialist's staff, telescopic thing that can channel Dust, that thing." Yvette said, shifting back in her seat and turning the ship towards her companions, "They have it!" Yvette shouted back to Winter and Zoe after a brief pause.
"Good." Winter said cooly, "Get as close as you can to them, we need to make this quick." A small white beak began to emerge from the spinning glyph, then two, then five, ten, a dozen, two dozen, slowly at first, then the pace quickened as the miniature white Nevermores flew around the cabin. "Once you stop, throw open the doors!" Winter shouted over the Nevermore's sharp cries.
"And people think I'm crazy." Yvette muttered to herself as she glided the Manta downwards. "Hold on tight! I've never worked on something this heavy before!" Yvette pulled hard on the joystick, leveling off just above the ground, the airship stopping unnaturally quickly. "HURRY!" Yvette yelled, slamming her hand down on the console and opening the doors.
The Nevermores burst out of the Manta, swarming over the nearby Grimm, clawing and pecking at their eyes and ears, converging on their faces as the Grimm roared in pain, batting and swiping at the glowing white pests around them. The two remaining Huntsmen ran towards the Manta, blasting and cutting through as many Grimm as they could along the way.
"Go go go!" Drake yelled as they jumped through the open doors.
"Already gone!" Yvette yelled back, opening the throttle and speeding upwards faster than Zoe thought possible.
"Your staff." the leader said, holding Zoe's staff out to her.
"I should have known it was you, Hēzeru." Winter said bitterly.
"Winter Schnee," Hēzeru said without looking at Winter, "it's been awhile."
"What do you want?" Winter's voice went cold, a tempered ferocity that demanded an answer.
"I'm extending a proposition." He said unblinkingly, still holding Zoe's staff out to her.
"Look at who you're talking to." Winter said dangerously.
"I am." Hēzeru said calmly, "I heard about a remarkable Specialist in Atlas, the youngest to join, and possibly the youngest Ace Operative, if the cards fell correctly." He took a step closer to Zoe, holding her staff like a peace offering. "Zoe Kilimej," he said serenely, his storm-gray eyes swirling slowly, "my name is Aki Hēzeru, would you like to hear my proposition?"
Zoe glanced furtively at Winter, taking in her shocked expression and rigid posture before glancing back at her staff sitting in Aki's outstretched hand.
"Your team saved my life, and you got my weapon back," Zoe said, taking it from Aki's hand and collapsing it back into its inert form, "the least I can do is hear you out."
. . . .
