Chapter 24, A Change in Pace


It had been several days since the Happy Trails raid, busy days at that. There was a tremendous amount of information to sift through from the farm, both in paper and digital formats. Thankfully, Callie had been her standard top-notch self, sifting through the data and sending anything that seemed fishy to the Scrolls of the investigators. Everyone else had been on paper duty. Well, not Basil. They had stopped by a medical supply store to grab first aid gear to properly dress his broken arm, and then he had been delegated to the digital side of things.

Still, the two former Syndicate grunts had proven to be a great boon already, especially since whatever loyalty they had had with the organization had been stamped out over a period of several life-threatening weeks. Basil had an actual college background in accounting, and had joined the Syndicate by accident, applying for a position with one of their fronts. He had been good enough for the job that Happy Farms needed done, but not good enough to be anything but expendable. As such, he had been dropped there and been forced to catalogue their illicit operations. Truth be told, they had probably been planning on killing him once he had done the job they had him working on.

Hildy had proven herself useful as a font of information on the Syndicate itself; how it operated, from where, who its higher leaders were. Unlike her companion, she had actually been a proper Syndicate grunt. What she thought on the matter was telling. There seemed to be a division growing in the higher levels of the Syndicate. It was subtle, it was insidious, and it was spreading. The farm had just been one of the locations that it had bubbled out from the depths and to the surface, and even then, only because no one had expected its discovery. Regardless, what she had seen at the farm had adjusted her viewpoint on the topic somewhat.

Whoever was behind this change, they were not above killing their own to keep things quiet. Callie had scrubbed the camera systems before they had left, so there shouldn't have been any evidence of their specific involvement on the security feeds. That said, both Hildy and Basil were perfectly aware about what would happen if they returned to the Syndicate proper. What would happen to their families and loved ones.

They might not have been overly enthusiastic about helping Hakke and Cerulean, but it was far better than the alternative. A classic example of the enemy of my enemy.

Well, at least for Hildy it seemed. Basil was more than fine with the lot that he had been given. It appeared the man was far more comfortable on the right side of the law than Hildy was.

Neither Hakke or Cerulean had told either of them that they were basically vigilantes at this point.

Regardless, they were going through the documents, with Cerulean using her years of experience to direct them. Callie had processed what she could, and Hakke found himself without much to do.

He was good at a great many things, but identifying what line off the paper trail would lead to their next big strike was not one of them. Instead, he began to focus on several different projects. First, he began to lay out the chemicals and process he would need to get City munitions back into Midnight Coup. The Dust rounds he was using needed refinement, but they were functional. Less lethal than he would have liked, but a useful tool to have nonetheless. Second was getting his other guns back up and running. And third, was designing Hive sensors.

The first item would be easy as far as the design work was concerned. He knew how to make the compounds needed, it was just a matter of finding them, or something that could substitute, on Remnant. Time consuming, but not impossible by any metric.

Of his other two City guns, his Valakadyn would be the easiest to reload. Callie had all of his old, discharged battery packs, which meant he simply needed to recharge them. The difficulty then was finding a source of energy that he could funnel in; one that was compatible with the tech. Dust was the obvious first choice, but given its volatile nature, he would need to make a generator he could plug the batteries into. Once the batteries were charged, the Veist made gun would handle the rest.

His belt fed machine gun, 21% Delirium, would be the most difficult to deal with. It used heavy caliber cased bullets of a very particular design. The bullets weren't that hard to make, the trick was making something that the gun would accept. 21% was a weird piece of Drifter-mucked tech, as it's onboard systems radiated a Void charge onto each bullet. Making something that could both take the charge and not blow up the gun as it spat them out at 900 rounds a minute was the challenge. Also the fact that he would realistically need thousands of the things.

Harder, but not too bad.

Lastly was the Hive Sensors. The Hive utilized paracausal rituals to conduct their business, and rituals like that left rippling tears in space-time as they howled, gnashed, and bled their way to the rituals end. Those sorts of ripples left a wash of hostile exotic particles in their wake, nothing that could kill a man from a distance, but vicious up close. There were other exotic materials used all over Vale, sources of energy he would need to compensate for, but once he was able to separate Vale's intrinsic energy production out of the equation, he would have a system that would let him hunt Hive like none other.

Building the things would be the hardest out of all his projects by far. A small amount of research had shown him that some of the sensors already existed on the planet. The only problem was that they were outrageously expensive, and roughly the size of a room at the smallest. So he would need to make his own. He wasn't happy about the amount of glimmer this project would take from his coffers. He could always grow more of the programmable matter, bury some and let a vein begin to form, but that would take centuries before it converted enough raw material into a usable state.

Not to mention that there was a very high chance the vein wouldn't take. Glimmer was notoriously fragile stuff when it wasn't being held in digital storage or had been converted into literally anything else. It's base fragility was what prevented glimmer from turning into a grey goo scenario and converting anything it touched into more glimmer. It's why it was so damn difficult to mine the stuff.

Still, these were welcome tradeoffs in comparison to other nanite-based Golden Age technologies.

He'd take fragile glimmer over a SIVA epidemic any day of the week.

So as Cerulean and her new underlings dug through their treasure trove of info, Hakke used some of their newly acquired money to get a new set of tooling for the old milling machine in the garage. End mills, drill bits, taps, every piece of metal working tooling he could he purchased and got to work.

The compounds needed to get Midnight Coup good bullets were closely regulated, so he instead focused on a generator for the Valakadyn. Though he would never willingly admit it, Hakke greatly respected the Fallen for their ability to jerry-rig whatever they needed from garbage, and had learned a great deal from dismantling their handiwork. Following in their footsteps, he gathered what scrap he could from around the garage, and bought some components from a local electronics store. Using that and the last Electric Dust battery he had, and after 23 hours of nonstop work, he managed to cobble together something that sort of resembled a generator to recharge the Veist batteries.

Was it dangerous?

Yes. Yes it was.

Did it work?

Technically. Also known as good enough.

Frankly it was the best he could do with what he had to work with. The Bolas Gauntlet had taken as long as it had to make because he had to teach himself how a Remnant mill worked, alongside cobbling two of the damn things together to get it working in the first place. Most of his time had been spent there. And so, almost an hour before the sun would rise, he plugged in several batteries and taped a paper sign on his makeshift deathtrap that read 'Danger. Don't.' alongside a diagram of a stick figure getting electrocuted.

Warning made, he decided to go check on his commission at Steel Appeal. Now that he had finished up the tasks he could at the garage, it was time to take care of business elsewhere.

A quick skyrail trip and a short walk through the still pleasant neighborhood the shop was situated in later, and he arrived. Once again, he had managed to get here minutes after the place had opened, and so it was empty of other customers. He heard Tomaso call out from the back of the shop, almost exactly like the first time he had entered the man's place of business.

A few minutes later the shopkeep emerged.

"Ah! Howdy there. Didn't expect you back so soon. Guessing you're looking for your commission?"

"Yeah, and some advice actually."

Tomaso raised an eyebrow. The shopkeeper was as friendly as the first time he had seen him, at least outwardly. The man had some serious bags under his eyes that hadn't been there on his first visit. Still, Hakke had to admit it was fantastic to interact with someone and not have it immediately devolve into a life or death fight. Or have a current of hostility running in the background.

"Should be able to help ya there, don't think advice is a billable item after all." Tomaso said jokingly. "You wanna start with your piece, or a piece of my mind?"

"My piece."

"Gotcha. Gimme a sec, I'll go grab it from the back."

As Tomaso vanished once more, Hakke pondered the second half of the arrangement. After the nightmare at Happy Trails, it seemed his esteemed colleague Cerulean had somehow unlocked her Aura. He had no idea how it had happened and neither did Cerulean, although it seemed to have happened when Amos tried to kill her. He had knocked her around during their scuffle, and done so hard enough to have broken her neck easily, yet she had survived with only light injuries. Injuries that had healed far faster than they normally would have.

Normally, Aura was activated at a young age to give the user as much time to train it as possible. It was like a muscle in that regard, usage both strengthening and making it easier to turn on in a fight. Eventually, someone could use the shielding bit subconsciously when they got hurt, instead of consciously using it. It also gave the person plenty of time to figure out if they had a Semblance, and what it was.

It was also possible for someone to activate someone else's Aura through some form of chant, a concept that Hakke really didn't like. Even if the words were used as a focusing mechanism, it still struck too close to the song-magic of the Hive, or the binding wishes of the Ahamkara for his taste. Was it connected? Probably not.

He still didn't like it though.

The last means of activation was also the rarest, and seemed to be the one Cerulean had inadvertently stumbled into. It seemed that there were some people who could naturally activate it in a dangerous situation, one where either they or someone they love was in mortal danger. Why this variety wasn't more common in a world where almost all the land was infested with evil empathic monsters was a mystery he didn't have time to solve, or had a large enough sample size to solve.

Funnily enough, it hadn't been the fighting at Happy Trails that had led them to realize Cerulean had Aura now. Or how she had fallen asleep at the wheel of the van as they drove back to the garage. It had been after all that, when she had cut herself with a dull bread knife Hildy had scrounged out of a dumpster. Instead of slicing into her finger, she had slashed a sky blue barrier.

So now he needed to train her in how to use it, seeing as he was the only one of the four who had 'Aura'. Which was a problem, seeing as how Light and Aura were not one-to-one comparable systems. For example, he doubted Aura would let Cerulean survive anything even approaching Crucible training. Especially since one of the main uses of Crucible training was numbing Guardians to the pain of death via whatever insane weapon was being used.

Tomaso's return halted that train of thought.

"Alright, here's what I got."

He placed down two full gauntlets on the counter with a hefty thud. They were mirrored items, made of long slices of Arcology metal running from elbow to wrist, slightly tapered to allow for the natural shape of the arm. There was even an extra plate to attach to the back of his hand, the furthest edge rounded slightly to extend past his knuckles. It would definitely make a punch more effective than he could currently throw. He picked one up. To make up for the lack of support and unwanted flexibility that a series of metal strips would inevitably bring, he had added an internal structure to give the thing rigidity. And a spot to mount gadgets on his left arm, as Hakke had requested.

Hakke liked what he was seeing.

"It ain't the prettiest thing I've made," Tomaso said, "but it's going to be effective. Hell, even without your Aura protecting it, it's going to be more effective than anything outside gunship armor. I don't know where you got this here material, but it's some of the toughest stuff I've ever seen. Hell, most of my equipment barely made a dent, I had to get real creative to work it. Lemme know if you ever find more, I'd be willing to pay out the nose for this stuff. Also, if you want, I can add a cloth covering to mask out the gaps in the armor, make it a bit more appealin' to look at."

After confirming it was okay, he slid the right gauntlet on, a hidden fastener tightening it to his arm. It fit like a dream.

"These things ready to go, or is there more you need to do to them?"

Tomaso shook his head. "Depends on what ya want. They're fully functioning up to your specs, but they're still barebones. I'd like to do some more cosmetic tinkerin' to get 'em up to my standards, although if that's something you wanted to do, that'd be fine as well."

Hakke considered for a minute. "I… would definitely prefer having them sooner than later. I can slap a shader of some sort on them myself."

"Hmm. If that's the case, then there ain't no issue with me handing them over now. I'll send the invoice to yer Scroll. Now, what was that second thing?"

"Right. I've got a cop friend who just activated their Aura the hard way. I'm planning to help them get a grip with that, and I was curious what you'd recommend for training gear."

"That really depends on what they like using. A weapon's gotta click with its user; has to feel like an extension of themselves, otherwise their Aura won't protect and enhance it as easily. I'd personally recommend that this friend swings by in person, and we should be able to figure out the best fit for 'em that way. But ya said they're a cop, so I suppose a tonfa would be a pretty good choice."

"Sure. Let's go with that. You have one handy?" He asked. He had no idea what the hell a tonfa was. He just hoped it would be something Cerulean would be familiar with.

"That'm I do. Basic mechashift built in for easy storage. I've whipped up more'n one for those cops that have their Aura active, they seem to like 'em plenty." Tomaso said as he pulled out a small metal brick on a stick. He thumbed a switch and the thing unfurled into a sizable pole with an additional handle placed on one end sticking out perpendicular. Hakke recognized it instantly. A nightstick, like the ones the civilian peacekeepers used back home.

Guess they were also called tonfa.

Worst case scenario, Cerulean didn't want it, and he would have another weapon at his disposal. With Vale's insane disposition to close quarter's combat, either outcome was a positive.

"Yeah, that'll work. Toss that on the invoice as well." Hakke said as he attached the other gauntlet. They had a pleasant hefty feel to them, not enough to cause issues, but enough to add a touch of extra 'oomph' to his hits. When he actually punched that was. Palm strikes still worked better for him.

Still, metal from the Titan Arcology was probably a higher quality material than even his Prodigal Hood helmet had been made of. While Magnolia "The Butcher" Magenta had sliced everything else he owned to ribbons in their last encounter, she hadn't been able to slice through that. Now that he had Arcology metal on his arms, he had a legitimate defense against her wacky razor whip/sword/gun thing.

After a few more pleasantries with Tomaso, Hakke took his purchases and made his way towards the door. Right before he opened it, the armorer called out.

"Er, one more thing, if ya have a minute." He said. His tone of voice had shifted slightly.

"Sure."

"Last time we talked, you said you were a Private Eye, right?"

"I did."

"You wouldn't happen to be… taking cases right now, would ya?"

The Warlock blinked, before making his way back to the counter. "Not really, things are a little bit crazy at the moment. But that's not to say I won't hear you out."

"Okay." Tomaso seemed to age a bit. "I've got a daughter by the name of Ferra. She went out to some friends of hers nearly a week back. She texted me that she was on her way home and everything."

Hakke's shoulders sagged. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. "What happened?"

"She never made it back. I've gone to the police, but they ain't been no help at all. I'm getting kinda desperate. Please, if ya can, I'm willin' to pay up whatever yer fee is and -"

"We can figure that bit out later." Hakke cut the man off. He was willing to bet a certain organization that started with a S was the culprit here. If he was right, that meant the clock was counting down fast as all hell. At least it wasn't a job that would take him out of the way of his current objective. Probably. "You've got my number, send me what info you have, I'll start digging."

Tomaso closed his eyes and nodded. "Thank ya."

And with that, Hakke left for the skyrail. A different approach, a timeline and trail to follow might just be the lead they needed to hunt down where all the missing people were being corralled to. Most likely it was all connected. Find any one piece, find them all. Whether that be Hive cult, Nicole Nightingale, or now Ferra Tomaso.

Now how best to pursue that lead.

Cerulean would know best how to begin tracing where Ferra had been and gone, who to talk to and what to ask. She had the training there to get the job done. His mind went back to a previous conversation he had had with the Detective. She had a contact willing to give them concrete info on the higher ups in the Syndicate in exchange for what seemed like a basic favor, albeit one that probably had a big chance of getting violent. In other words the sort of job he had been brought back from the dead to do.

All he had to do was potentially piss off a terrorist organization by infiltrating one of their warehouses to check if one of their higher ups was present. It was just his kind of stupid mission.

Hildy and Basil could continue compiling evidence of illicit activity into a legal bomb, Cerulean could find Ferra and the other kidnapees, and Hakke would do something dangerous.

Guardians were most effective when hitting their enemies in preemptive strikes. When they could cut them down before they became a real threat.

He could feel the window to trim the Syndicate was beginning to close.

Time to get back into the thick of it.


Now back to rising action, as is tradition. They're beginning to close in tighter on the main bad guys, so watch out for some POVs from them in a bit. Also, once the Warehouse Raid is done, I've been planning something a little different, an arc from the perspective of neither Hakke nor Cerulean! Won't spoil who, but it should at least be interesting. It's the kind of thing I need to get down for future plot points to not feel like they're coming from left field.

Additionally, I got a new job that's going to limit my writing time something fierce, so I may not be able to nail the weekly uploads as frequently from here on out. I'll still be crunching along at this story, but I figured a heads up ahead of time isn't unwarranted.

- RangoTango

Whoa, Nellie! Lookit them REVIEW RESPONSES!

Master-ofmanga - I've been slowly adding to his bag of tricks, I just want to have it make sense for Hakke to macgyver his way in and out of situations.

Ecoolastic - Got plans in that department. Torchwick will get some time to shine in upcoming chapter(s). Looking forward to having him around. Torchy's just a fun villain.

Guest - Thanks, and fair enough. Guardians make for uniquely durable punching bags, and that's a quality I've definitely been exploiting a hell of a lot.

Zirnitradandm - Thank ye. Here's hoping I can keep things going at the same level of quality.

The Baz - Warlocks Unlimited. Waaay, way down the line, yes. Can't say who or how of course, but yes. And I do plan to have at least one or two Savathun moments, although they'll be a bit different.

woo - Thank you. It's legitimately great getting that confirmation that the characters are, you know, not insufferable goblins.

Schmidget - Not gonna lie, my moneys on Savathun in that match up. Salem's in a weird limbo state right now as I try to figure out how her plans and minions will have to evolve to deal with that's going to happen.

KumquatMan - I just want things to make sense. Hakke & Co. will eventually cross paths with the main RWBY cast, but I need to build up a certain level of momentum first for the plot changes to actually work. Battle of Beacon gon b MAD different.

Guest - There are going to be some serious ramifications for what's gone down. Regardless, Hakke is about to earn himself some serious underworld cred.