Hey, sorry for the late chapter. laziness and writer's block had struck me.
Anyways, There is an edit to the prologue that you all need to know about. I had wanted the engine in the charger to be a 572 cu i Hemi, however, I did some research and the first 572 cu i v8 didn't come out until the 90's. So the official engine of Axle's road beast is going to be the 426 Hemi, that was one of the engines offered from the factory for the charger so it actually makes more sense to be the engine in the story.
Thank you for reading
The bullhead lurched violently as it traveled through another stray gust of wind. The sound of the heavy downpour drowned out the two large engines that desperately fought against the wild air currents that threatened to send the whole aircraft into the forest below. Inside the bullhead sat the best second year team in Beacon Academy, team CFVY. At least they were going to be as the school year had yet to officially start.
To any who didn't know him, it might seem strange for Headmaster Ozpin to send any team on missions almost three weeks before the entrance exams, but all of the students and staff knew that it was just Ozpin being Ozpin (as in an extremely intelligent and yet random man). Although CFVY was confused as to why they were chosen instead of any of the older teams, Ozpin simply said that the third year teams were already occupied with various assignments and that, after them, CFVY had the most field experience. That statement had inflated Coco's ego just that much more so she didn't think anything of it, everyone else on the other hand were still slightly skeptical. When they asked if it was really okay to be sent on a solo mission, Ozpin replied with "No it isn't, that's why Professor Port will be accompanying you."
Who as of now, was proudly standing in the middle of the bullhead with his hands on his hips as if he were some superhero preparing for the final showdown. At first the team thought it funny, but now they were only confused at how he could stay standing like that in this turbulence. Even their resilient leader was hunched over a bucket in the back in case she had to clear her system for the fifth time during the trip. Fox sat close to her in order to hold her hair back in the event she threw up again. Yatsuhashi was in the port side seats… Sleeping. Velvet, who was opposite Yatsuhashi, could only stare at him in puzzlement and envy, how he could sleep in these conditions was unknown to her. Velvet herself was glad she skipped breakfast, otherwise she would've ended up in the same state as her partner.
"Hang in there students, we're almost to the landing zone. No storm, no matter how sudden or violent, can shake the will of true huntsman and huntresses like yourselves." Was all Professor Port had to say. Sudden was an understatement. It was smooth sailing for about 40 minutes and then BAM, A record breaking storm that no one, not even the weather stations, had expected. The clouds turned almost black and, not thirty seconds later, It was like the bullhead hit a wall. Velvet felt sorry for the pilots, they were the ones who had been wrestling the controls for the past hour and a half.
After a short while the overhead intercom piped up. "We're at the landing zone, Once we set down we will have to wait the storm out. If we had seen this weather at Beacon, we would've postponed this trip." The bullhead shook one more time as it landed roughly in the small clearing that Ozpin had picked. It was a miracle the pilots had even spotted it in the darkness.
Yatsuhashi, who had awoken without Velvet realizing, slid open the large door that he had slept next to. The four students and Professor all exited the vehicle and were met immediately with drenched clothing. After making sure they had all of the gear they brought was accounted for, The group made their way forward. Thankfully they had brought tarps in case it rained during the mission. Speaking of the Mission, Ozpin had sent them out for reconnaissance. Apparently there was a large disturbance that had drawn a staggering amount of grim to the area, As fi there wasn't already a staggering amount to begin with. The area in question was none other than Mountain Glenn. The failed city expansion that had brought the deaths of countless innocent lives, all because one company's want to experiment on the creatures Grimm.
As the group approached the outskirts of the derelict city, Fox voiced his disturbing observation. "There's no Grimm here."
"I thought Ozpin said that there was a huge number of Grimm in the area." Coco muttered in annoyance. "Why would he send us here for recon if there is nothing to, in fact, recon?"
"I don't believe that was where Fox's concern was directed, miss Adel." Professor Port replied while drawing his blunderbuss/axe combo and holding it in a relaxed grip, The rest followed suit. "The lack of Grimm is far more concerning than if there were Grimm, considering our current location. I would call Ozpin but the Storm has severed our connection with all but the pilots."
"Well the day is still young, we will have our share of adventure yet students, I promise you that." Professor Port then eagerly marched forward, loudly humming a song unfamiliar to team CFVY.
"How is he not bothered by the rain, or anything that has happened so far?" Coco asked in obvious annoyance as she wiped the water off of her glasses for what felt like the hundredth time.
Her question was met with a short and slightly amused reply from Yatsuhashi "Because he doesn't let it." With a sigh as her response, Coco and the group started after the spirited huntsman.
For some unknown reason, Velvet couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen. Whether it was good or bad, she couldn't tell. Well, there was only one way to find out.
Whatever it is, I hope the rain will stop before we find it.
- Elsewhere in the city -
The first sensation Axle experienced was cold. He felt terribly cold.
That wasn't enough to get himself up though, He just had the best sleep of his life and he was reluctant to let it go. The world had other intentions though, as he began to notice the persistent sound of what he could only describe as a deep and endless drum roll that demanded his attention. Axle was stubborn, however, and refused to get up. The last straw was when he realized that his lower torso and thighs were damn near drenched. He turned onto his side, an uncomfortable position in a car seat, to prevent getting soaked further. He attempted once more to fall back asleep, and he was determined to ignore the weather.
…
Wait…
The weather?
Axle immediately shot upwards and clumsily dashed his forehead against the barrel of his rifle that hung just above his face. After moving the weapon aside and putting his seat back up Axle took a proper look at his surroundings. His car sat at the top of a decrepit parking garage, which was surrounded by just as decrepit buildings, all faded and time ravaged. Nevertheless, He had never seen so many buildings that were this intact. Some of them even had windows in them. But what really held Axle's attention was the rain. The elders told him about it before, hell, they even told him the science behind it, yet he didn't really believe them, not until now. Axle stuck his hand out of the window, then he brought right back in when the frigid water struck his palm. That explained the cold. Axle reached into the back seat and pulled up a bundle that rested on top of everything else.
Axle unwrapped the bundle and retrieved what he was looking for. In Axle's hands rested another of Francis Dumont's possessions. It was a dark brown leather jacket lined with wool that had darkened with age. It was his aviator jacket he wore when he rode in planes during his service years. It was originally his brother's but he had been severely injured when his plane was shot down. His brother had survived but couldn't serve any longer as he had lost his left arm and leg to the crash, So he had given the jacket to Francis. Axle received this too as a gift from Francis, When Axle had asked him if he really wanted to give it to him, he only said "It fits you better."
Axle had not worn the jacket much because of how hot it was before, but now, with the wind howling, he slipped it on. Francis' Brother must have been a large man because the jacket was kinda baggy on Axle, who was already big.
Axle then stood up out of the car and stood in the rain for a small while. Though cold, Axle liked the rain, It woke him up. He only wished that it was somewhat lighter. The amount of water falling was staggering, and the wind was vicious too. It was nothing like the Sandstorms that he experienced before, getting caught in just the edges of those usually spelled death to anyone. He once had found shelter from a sandstorm inside of an old silo, and even then it felt as if he were getting sandblasted.
Eventually Axle had his fill of the rain and climbed into his car once more. He wanted to know where that man, Griffa, had brought him. He thought it couldn't be too far away from Blood-tail's citadel, yet, He had never seen any place that could have rain like this. It didn't even rain back home, which means he would have to be far far north. That was impossible however, It took him about five months to travel as far as he did. Whatever the case, Axle had to figure out where he was, so he started the big block and was prepared to drive off when he remembered something crucial.
Can I drive in the rain with the supercharger open to the elements?
With that thought in mind, Axle decided to use the various materials at his disposal to fashion a filter. After laying out everything he could spare he realized that he would have to spend some time searching the vicinity for more stuff he could use.
"this is gonna take some time." And with that he began the process of building a new filter.
- Back with team CFVY-
- 6 hours after landing -
*Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt*
The sound of Coco's mini-gun filled the air as another line of grim fell to the dazzling, golden death-dealer.
"THE LACK OF GRIMM IS FAR MORE CONCERNING HE SAID!" Shouted Coco who has already spent several hundred rounds trying to thin the tides of Grimm that crashed down upon them.
"Now miss Adel, given the circumstances, I will refrain from giving punishment for that remark. However, please keep future comments to yourself if they do not pertain to the situation at hand." It took quite the effort for Professor Port to speak considering that he was dealing with an Ursa alone, not to mention an older Ursa which tend to be bigger and meaner. He was not outmatched though, in fact, he was handling the Ursa with an efficiency not often seen among even experienced huntsmen. His combat style was in stark contrast to his personality.
Yatsu, Fox, and Velvet were all engaged similarly to Port. Each of them were dealing with their own big opponent while Coco dealt with a lot of smaller opponents, as in dozens of Beowolves, Boarbatusks, and creeps. Even though they were all holding their own, it was obvious that they would soon become overwhelmed.
After killing a particularly large Boarbatusk, Velvet saw an opportunity. "Hey guys! We can lose them there!" she pointed at the front door.
Everyone looked to what she had seen and began to make their path to the safe haven. Velvet was the first one inside and looked over the interior. They needed something to block the entrance. Coco, being the last one, stood in the doorway holding back the tsunami of Grimm with her own tsunami of bullets. Everyone scrambled around in search of something that could block the door. They were inside what must have been a hotel. Remains of the old decor, tattered and filthy, were scattered around the main lobby. The large windows must have been made of reinforced glass, because if it weren't, the Grimm would've already broken through.
"I'M RUNNING OUT OF BULLETS HERE!" Coco's voice held a hint of worry, which the rest of CFVY knew meant that they were riding the razor's edge. Redoubling their efforts everyone began to gather a jumble of different objects that littered the floor. In the midst of the madness, Velvet glanced upward and saw exactly what they would use.
Putting her soul into the shout to be heard above the clamor of the gun, Velvet called "COCO! LOOK UP!"
Coco shot a confused glance back at Velvet, who urgently pointed up. Coco followed Velvet's finger to the massive chandelier that hung above the entrance way. It was mostly metal framing, but if it were to light up it would be in the likeness of a knight standing tall with his shield leaning against his thighs. At the sight of this, Coco let the recoil of her gun to slowly push her backwards until she was a stone's throw away from the door. She then aimed her gun upwards, with the finger still on the trigger, and used her semblance boosted rounds to tear through the chain that held the knight aloft. The chandelier came down on top of a Beowulf that had tried leaping through the door.
The chandelier was indeed heavy, as it not only had crushed the Beowulf, It had cracked the floor where it had landed. Here was the moment of truth, They all needed that knight to hold. The knight shifted ever so slightly as the Grimm slammed into it, everyone held their breath, they would be sitting ducks if the Grimm managed to get through. But after a few long seconds of loud roaring and several impacts against the barrier, they realized that the knight would hold.
The group began to relax a little and Coco sat down and lay sprawled against the floor. Professor port was the next to sit down, he preferred an old chair over the floor. Yatsu leaned on his sword and Fox went over to an old sofa. Velvet turned an old planting pot upside down and used it as a stool. After a few minutes of recovery, Yatsu put forth a question. "Professor, what is this place? It's not like any hotel I have ever seen before."
Professor Port turned a bit in his seat to deliver an answer. "This is The Knight's Royal Manor, It was to be one of the city's greatest attractions as it was the most expensive hotel to ever be built, It still holds that record by the way, It was also a Grimm shelter, The first of its kind. It is in better shape than it's neighboring buildings because of its heavy reinforcement. The designer had wanted this building to be impenetrable and glamorous, she would not compromise. Although I cannot remember her name, this was the last project that the architect ever undertook before her demise. On her deathbed, she said that this was her greatest achievement, her magnum opus if you will. She said that of all her creations, this one would stand for a millennium."
"It's a shame that her masterpiece will never get to serve the people like it was supposed to. It never reached its full potential." Port finished his tale with a brush of his mustache. His expression looked a bit sad to Velvet, almost mournful. Seeing their cheerful teacher who is always trying to bring the best out of them in this state, was kinda depressing. Everyone was now feeling down, it also didn't help that they were all exhausted and sore from today's events.
That's when Fox cracked a little smile. "Didn't it serve its purpose just now though?" Fox asked with amusement.
Port looked up at him, and a second later a smile sprouted under his bushy mustache "Hmm, I suppose it did. Yes indeed it did, Mr. Allistair." Fox didn't say much at all to raise his spirits, but then again, it didn't take much to put Professor Port in a good mood. Seeing Port happy made everyone else happier too.
Let people say what they will about him. He may be long winded and out of his prime but he has a heart of gold, and that's why he's a teacher at Beacon.
The jolly professor now stood up out of his chair and picked his weapon off of the ground. "Well, I believe it is time we made lunch, our little scuffle outside has left me famished."
Once food was mentioned, all of the sadness that had previously filled the room might as well never have existed. Everyone unloaded their respective cargo and were getting ready to heat up some rations. Once Yatsu had lit a fire, however, they realized they had made a critical error.
"So who was in charge of carrying food?" Said Coco, casually opening her canteen and taking a swig.
"It was me. Here." Fox handed her a heavy bag. When she didn't take it he became confused "What, Something wrong?"
Everyone was staring at the bag which he held. It was Velvet who spoke next "Um, Fox. How do you know that that's the food bag?"
His face dropped a little when he gave his reply. "Because I asked Yatsu to put the bag on my bunk. So I grabbed the bag I found in my bunk."
Yatsu's face paled. "I thought you said to put it on your table?"
Coco closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Who put the Blind kid in charge of food?" FVY turned towards C and simultaneously accused "You did."
Cco opened her eyes and her cheeks turned a deep shade of red.
"So wait, what am I holding?"
"Coco's make-up backpack." It was Velvet who broke the news to fox.
"Why do you need a backpack for your make-up!? More importantly, WHY WAS IT ON MY BED!?"
Fox was getting more frustrated by the second.
But not nearly as much as Coco. "WE WERE RUNNING LATE, I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO PUT IT AWAY SO I TOSSED IT IN THE ROOM, I DIDN'T MEAN FOR IT TO LAND ON YOUR BUNK!"
"OKAY, BUT THAT STILL DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHY YOU NEED A BACKPACK FOR YOUR MAKE-UP!"
Coco was about to retort again when a booming laugh broke out suddenly. Everyone was silent as they watched professor port hold his stomach as he gave a hearty chuckle. After several moments, He wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh my, It has been a long time since I have laughed like that. With as many teams I have taught at Beacon, for all the students that have passed through my classroom, there are certainly no two that are alike. And with each unique team come their own unique troubles and mistakes. Do not be so distraught, we will go a day without eating, so what. We leave for Beacon tomorrow."
"But won't we get a bad grade for forgetting food?" This was Yatsu's question, and brought up the very cause for alarm. They all knew full well that a day without food wasn't that terrible. It was their grades that would suffer. Earning a sub-par grade before the school year even started was NOT how you become the best team.
"Not at all. You assigned someone to hold the food, yes?" they all nodded. "And Mr. Allistair technically carried out his duty, did he not?" they all nodded. "Then there is no need to stress over it. We would be in a pinch if we were without water, but we have plenty of that. Besides, It would've been unnecessary to have carried food for five on an overnight mission."
"Not to mention, the hungrier you are, the better the food tastes. And we are bound to work up a beastly appetite before we get back to Beacon. Meanwhile, let's explore this hotel. Though what I say about food is true, I would not mind finding some canned goods to fill my stomach." He stood himself up once again and held his weapon at the ready as he walked toward the various doors and hallways that filled the back of the lobby.
The members of team CFVY looked at each other in mild shock that the Professor would ignore a mistake that would give them an instant fail in the grade book. Then, in the light of the fire, they all started to giggle a bit, this soon escalated into all out laughter. They were just stressed out from a bad start to the day. Once their laughter died down, they got up and followed after their teacher, and in a much better mood.
They still had the rest of the day to have fun.
- Meanwhile, on the Mountain Glenn expressway -
It took over two hours for Axle to put together a makeshift filter that could block water while still letting air into the supercharger. It was a tricky thing to do, He ended up using several sheets of metal mesh of various patterns and arranged them in a way that would direct the majority of water up and out through vents he cut into the top of the sheet-metal that he had bent to form an extension for the blower. Once he had put it on, It looked like he just had a really long blower for his supercharger. His efforts were for naught in the end. The rain had stopped about ten minutes after he had started driving with the attachment.
When that had happened he stopped to take the filter off. It did a great job of keeping water out of the engine but it still restricted the airflow, which caused the engine to lose some power, so he made a mental note to only use the piece during poor weather. It took some tinkering but he eventually wrestled the accessory from the car. After he had taken it off, however, His ears detected a low growl that made his hair stand on end. He turned around just in time to see a large, dog-like, creature lunging at him with its maw wide open. Axle brought his arms up to shield his face.
The dog tackled him to the ground and had it's jaws locked on Axle's left arm. The beast started thrashing its head side to side vigorously, determined to rip his arm from its socket. Axle brought his right fist to the animal's blood red eye, but to his dismay, his fist glanced off of a white bone face-plate that protected most of the animal's skull. He hurt it though, the bolts had left three deep gouges that traveled from the bottom of it's cheek to the space right in between its eyes. Enraged, the monster clamped down on his arm even harder. His makeshift bracers saved him from the teeth, but not the pressure.
An audible CRUNCH followed by mind-numbing pain led him to conclude that something had broken. Axle had to think of something before he blacked out from the torturous injury. Axle forced him and the dog to roll. Fighting against his instinct for self-preservation, He forced his hurting arm as far into its jaw as he could, slamming the hound's skull into the pavement. Axle took it's resulting daze as an opportunity to drive his fist into the thing's chest cavity. The bolts sunk in as far as they could with the first punch, and were forced in farther with the second, as Axle had broken several ribs.
The creature had yelped and then began to whimper, It's movements growing fainter as the damage to its vitals took their toll. Once its jaws fell slack, Axle gingerly lifted his hand out. With no small amount of wincing, he rolled up his sleeve and undid the bracer that covered his wrist and arm. It turned out that his wrist was indeed broken. It had turned into a swollen, red lump that ached uncontrollably. It felt as if his arm were a hot iron, being struck by a hammer repeatedly.
He then turned back to the thing that had caused his anguish. It was like no dog he had ever seen before, in fact it looked more like a wolf, but they had been long extinct. Not to mention that wolves weren't supposed to have oily, wispy fur (It was a darker black than his charger). Nor were they supposed to have bone armour covering their spine and face. The red markings that covered a lot of the bone were also strange. Confusing Axle further, the corpse began to dissolve, like it was evaporating.
What had happened just now was beyond him. He secured the bracer back to his arm and added a piece to it that would hold his hand in place. In the process of readying an extra pad that would protect his ailing arm, Several more growls announced the arrival of more creatures. Axle turned his head and was dismayed to see nine of them prowling down the highway at him.
Axle couldn't fight them, they were all bigger than the one he just barely managed to beat. So he hastily climbed back into his charger, revved it up, shifted into second, and dumped the clutch. He watched behind him as all the animals tried to run after the car, no matter how futile it was. He had only one good arm now, this heavily limited his driving capabilities, he would have to be careful. At least it wasn't his right arm that was broken, if it was he would have to lean over and shift with his left hand, which would've made it impossible to drive his car. Still, driving proved to be an excruciating task, as the pain dulled all other senses.
He decided that it would be smart to leave the car in second gear, it was the easiest gear to deal with in the city streets, he could easily control his speed with the throttle and he could still do about 77 Mph if he had to run. It would cost him a lot of fuel though, and he doubted that he could find some in these ruins. Plus, running the engine at 6,200 RPM at all times is just asking for a disaster. He needed to go into the city, the small streets seem far more friendly to him at the moment.
Taking an exit ramp down to ground level, Axle spotted an old sign that held a map of the city hotspots. Most were for just plain amusement but one had piqued his interest.
"The Royal Knight's Manor."
At least Axle had a destination now. He hoped that he could find some medical supplies there, more specifically pain killers, something strong like morphine would be excellent. Axle began the arduous journey through the labyrinth of the city's crumbling infrastructure. More times than he could count, Axle had come across packs of the tar-monsters. There were apparently more than just wolves, there were also bears, boars, and little two legged guys that traveled in groups of thirty or more strong. To his horror, Axle had discovered that there were also gargantuan species, such as elephants, giant scorpions, and even Giant birds (he had a hell of a time avoiding them), but the one that shook him the most was a giant two headed snake. It brought back painful memories. Seeing it fueled the already blazing inferno that was his hatred for the snake people, He didn't think he would try to kill that particular beast, as it probably could eat his car.
After another hour had passed and several detours taken, Axle had reached the hotel. It was tall, It must've been the largest building in the city. It was also probably most lavish too, it was made out of beautiful sculpted stone, the engravings were decorated with a multitude of precious metals that made the images of knights fighting unrealistically large beasts seem astoundingly life-like. Rising up the face of the hotel was a collection of windows that formed an old European styled crest. The entrance of the building was also remarkably lavish, having gold railings and meticulously carved statues of knights, even the whole street had seemed to center in on the front of the building. Even after the years of decay the building has been through, It still held a grandeur that he had never seen on any structure, whether in person or in pictures.
Now all he needed to do was get inside, A task that was now going to be rather difficult considering the collection of grim trying to get inside of it, halted by the presumably blocked entrance. He wondered why they hadn't tried to go after him, All of the other ones seemed attracted to him like he was a magnet, These ones didn't even turn their heads in his direction.
That was when Axle noticed the hundreds of bullet casings that nearly covered the pavement, they were all a small caliber which led him to believe automatic weapons, lmg's maybe, they couldn't have been fired too long ago considering how they shined. It meant that there must be people inside.
Axle cursed silently to himself. He had been hoping that he could get his hands on some untouched supplies, that hope was destroyed by the evidence left by what must have been a considerable firefight. He could not leave though. His arm was in bad shape and he could not continue without his pain being addressed. His only option was to take some of their resources, that is easier said than done, however, because there were obviously more than one and they were all well armed. His wrist would also make engagements a no-go. He had to sneak in and get the things he needed without being caught.
Axle was not the stealthy type, his weight and size made him noticeable, and he wasn't particularly light on his feet. He was also not equipped for silence. He had a single solitary Fairborne Commando knife, that was it. He would need to be excessively cautious, The cost of failure would be decided by those inside. If he did get caught he would likely be slaughtered in some brutal way, ironically that was the best case scenario, there were many things worse than death.
Axle made a U-turn and searched until he found an access to the backside of the building. His luck had held true this time, for there was something better than a backdoor. There turned out to be a driveway that slopes down ,the signs on either side of the pavement indicating an underground parking garage. As he pulled into the tunnel, Axle made an observation that forced him to stop his advance into the garage. The un-muffled engine created a thundering echo that would give away his presence to anyone inside. In order to continue on, he would need to leave his car outside.
Probably for the best. Wouldn't want anyone to find my car if they captured me anyway.
So with careful positioning, Axle placed his car in a well hidden spot away from any prying eyes looking to steal his wheels. There was an old restaurant on the other side of the street with floor to ceiling glass windows on the ground floor, the second floor had fallen in and created a nice ramp that Axle utilized to conceal his car. Now the only way you could see it was by climbing up to the second floor.
After he was satisfied with his little hideaway, Axle faced the pitch black opening of the garage and prepared himself for his little infiltration mission.
I need to be wary of traps and alarms, Corners and doorways can be my worst enemy, The knife must always go in the brain or the throat, and never NEVER get sidetracked. If I follow those rules I Should be fine.
And with his flashlight on and knife in hand, Axle strode forward and was swallowed by the darkness that was the underbelly of the hotel.
