Shion village. Torn down roughly 25 Years ago, after being rebuilt by the Remnant Peace Council, was back to the state it had been in originally. It was a nice place to stay for a vacation, but it was an even better place to gather intel and details on any activity that was happening in Mistral. This mission was one of the most important and secretive that had been assigned to any huntsman or huntress in years, he was honored that they chose him, though clearly, he was the only candidate who was worthy of the job. In the four short years that he had spent at Beacon, Cobalt had become the strongest huntsman in all of Remnant and had led an endless number of successful missions with his team. They were the obvious choice. The night was beginning to fade into the morning and the rain was still slowly pelting the ground outside of the tents that they had set up the day before.
"Hey," came a voice near Cobalt as he slowly opened his eyes to find Ilia lying on his chest, wearing nothing but a black push up bra and boy short panties. He smirked as she ran her finger over his chest and smiled up at him, climbing up to gently kiss his lips. "Did you sleep well?"
"As I recall," he replied chuckling "We didn't sleep that much last night." He sat up and stretched as she slid off of him and reached over to retrieve his clothing, handing it to him as she reached for her bag. "Aren't you worried that the others might get jealous?" She looked back at him over her shoulder as she brushed her hair and gave a sigh of amusement. How had he been thrust into such an advantageous position?
"Let them be jealous," she told him. After a few long moments they had finished getting prepared, and Cobalt stepped out of the tent, peering through the tree line at Shion, watching as the villagers began about their day, and the bartender opened up shop. The tavern was their target location, that was where he was to meet their contact and keep him busy long enough until he either caved and gave them the information that they needed, or he tried to run and was caught by one of his teammates. Eliana exited her tent first, kissing him on the cheek before standing beside him and peering out to meet his gaze.
"You smell like Ilia's perfume," Eliana told him. He glanced over at her before scanning the village again with his scope. She was perceptive, but he expected nothing less.
"Nothing gets past you El," he told her. She chuckled and turned back to her tent.
"Pencil me in for tonight?" She asked. He grinned and looked back at her as she unzipped the opening.
"What about Neela?" He asked. She gave him a coy smile. It was no secret that Neela and Eliana had been an item for a few years now.
"I'm sure she'd be more than happy to join us. After all, it wouldn't be our first ménage à trois." He watched as she disappeared into the tent and shook off the chill that had overcome his spine. At that moment Lykos and Titus joined him and Lykos moved into the woods as he had spotted their target, something that Cobalt's scanner would inform him of a couple of moments later. He was amused at the man's appearance, shirtless, with only a shield and a gauntlet. Orion Nova. One of the heads of the Mercury's Gang, he was here to meet with members of the Mistral Military, the most likely reason being that Mercury was planning on buying or stealing assets from Mistral, which was typical. It wasn't the first time that Mercury had acquired such weaponry, and the Council had asked them to put a stop to it.
This was the best chance that they would ever have to find Mercury once and for all, and find out who he was working for. At this point in Cobalt's mind, this was the only chance. Taking that attitude towards the situation always forced him into a position of perfection, truly believing that the future of Remnant hung in the balance with every mission they agreed to.
"He's been giving both the Mistral and Atlas Military the run around for a long time," Titus informed him as he bent down to stretch. "I can't say that this is going to be as easy as going in there and just getting the information. I get the feeling that we might have to detain him."
"I think we should be just fine, and if not, I have the rest of you to back me up as usual," Cobalt explained to him. "Lykos and Bái will wait out here in the woods to ambush him if he tries to make a run for it. Neela and Eliana will wait atop the watchtower nearest to camp to pick him off if he makes it past them. You'll enter in shortly after me and order a drink, making you our first line of defense before he can leave the building. Lastly, Tawney and Ilia will block the town's two gates as some final added security."
"He can be a tricky one," Neela added as she and Eliana rejoined the group. "Elli and I have tried to take him down before with no luck." Cobalt nodded and made his way through the woods, making sure to make eye contact with Lykos so that he knew they were beginning the mission. Cobalt stepped into the pub and sat down at a table close to the center of the first floor, nodding at one of the waitresses as she smiled at him in passing. It was cozy and had a nice to feel to it, He waited for a long couple of minutes, ordering a shot of whatever the server wanted to bring him, before slamming it and watching as Titus entered. He left his seat without acknowledging his teammate, brushing past him and making it a point to bump into him so that it didn't appear as though they knew each other. Titus glanced back at him for a moment, grinding his teeth and doing everything in his power to avoid looking towards where the contact should be, continuing to the bar. Cobalt headed upstairs to where Orion was meant to be waiting.
He headed up the stairs, spotting Orion who was simply staring straight ahead as if his mind was lost out in space in some sort of fantasy and he couldn't be bothered with the reality around him. The man had clearly been at it for quite some time. If Cobalt hadn't been privy to the information that had been released to him, he would have assumed Orion for just another drunkard who was getting started far too early in the morning. Cobalt sat down at the table, not bothering to say anything to his informant until he had been acknowledged by the man. Orion gave a sideways smirk before he stood and attempted to walk away, prompting Cobalt to grab his arm. Orion tried to free himself before shoving back against Cobalt.
"I'd advise that you remove yourself from my person, or things are going to get extremely messy," Orion instructed as Cobalt permitted him to free his arm. "I'm waiting for someone and you don't quite fit the bill."
"Mistral Military, right?" Cobalt asked. Orion was intrigued and rightly so, deciding to sit down and hear the man out.
"You don't look the part," Orion told him as he took a large swig from the stein before him.
"This is Mistral. Everyone is looking for information and dirt on anything they can so that they can make some quick lien. If I had dressed in my uniform, you can guarantee that Stratford would have known about my betrayal by the end of the day. Let's cut to the chase unless you aren't interested anymore." Orion smiled and reached down beside his seat under the table, lifting up a small briefcase and setting it on the table, opening it and revealing more lien than Cobalt had ever seen in his lifetime.
"Mercury is incredibly interested in what you have to offer, as well as the rest of us in Vale. Time to uphold your end of the bargain," Orion told him with a slight smirk and Cobalt became skeptical. "Cobalt." Cobalt remained motionless for a long moment before Orion shoved the money towards Cobalt and teleported back as a light orb. The case exploded, splintering the table and throwing debris everywhere, causing a distraction as one of the waitresses screamed from downstairs and several of the patrons startled, panicking and moving quickly to leave the building. Titus came up the stairs as quickly as he could to find Cobalt who had formed his sword and slid back on his feet.
"They knew we were coming!" Cobalt shouted.
"Obviously! Where is he?!" Titus asked.
"He teleported down!" Cobalt exclaimed as he leapt over the banister, landing on one of the tables and rolling off onto the floor. Titus swung his blades, ice Dust blasting away from him and slamming into the door, sealing it shut and forcing Orion to appear. He immediately absorbed the remainder of the light energy into his glove and blasted Cobalt back who deflected it with his sword, placing his shield against the ice barricade and unleashing his gravity attack, shattering through and sprinting out.
"Still feeling confident in this plan?" Titus asked. Cobalt gritted his teeth and waited for Titus to leap down.
"He still has to get through 6 more people," Cobalt told him. "I'm thinking that we still have the upper hand."
Orion took off out of the building and headed towards the woods in hopes to break Cobalt's line of sight which would allow him to distance himself from the two of them and escape without any trouble. As he entered the forest, a large Beringel blindsided him and batted him away. As he bounced across the earth his gauntlet dug in, helping him to slide to a stop as he found his weapon frozen to the ground. He lifted his shield above him, slamming it down and freeing himself as he leapt back, backflipping and narrowly missing several large ice pikes that extended up from the earth, each one large enough to impale him with ease.
"I see Cobalt brought along the rest of his team. This should be quite enjoyable then," Orion told them as Lykos and Bái came down from their perch in the treetops. Bái was covered in partial armor that was made of ice and her eyes were almost completely white with the exception of a blue tint. "So this is Vale's Demon?" Lykos moved in quickly, attempting to strike with his whip, but Orion caught it and tossed it away. "She a touchy subject for you?"
"You must think that you're pretty untouchable," Lykos told him smugly.
"I have every right to think that way, none of you have been able to touch me yet," Orion replied. His eyes grew wide for a moment as an arrow struck him in the back and he hit the ground, landing flat on his chest, unable to move. "What did you do?"
"Don't like that one much?" Neela asked as she sauntered over with Eliana hanging off of her arm. Eliana giggled. "That's a new one that I've been working on for a quite a while now. Uses very precise electrical impulses to paralyze the victim." Orion chuckled as his finger twitched on his left hand.
"Electrical you say?" He asked for clarification. His hand rolled over and an enormous amount of lightning blasted into Bái causing her to scream out in pain and hit the ground, convulsing and retching massively as Lykos turned towards her, kneeling beside her quickly. Her screaming continued and Orion stored up another blast, launching it high into the air and teleporting away from them. Cobalt and Titus ran over as they saw what happened.
"Bái!" Lykos shouted out as he gathered her into his arms.
"Is she okay?" Cobalt asked. Cobalt knelt beside the two of them and brushed the hair out of her face as the blue faded from her eyes. The ice that shielded her body shattered off and scattered away from her as she weakly reached up and touched Cobalt's face.
"I'm sorry Cobalt-Senpai," she managed. "I wasn't able to stop him. I failed you." Cobalt shook his head as he clung to her hand and shook his head.
"Bái, you're going to be okay," Cobalt tried to reassure her. She smiled slightly, looking up at Lykos and pulling him in gently for a kiss before he felt the life leave her body. Lykos shook as he slowly dropped her on the ground, shaking more and more violently until finally, he transformed into a large dragon looking Grimm, sweeping around and slamming his tail into Neela and Eliana, Eliana protecting them with a forcefield.
"Lykos?!" Cobalt demanded as he rolled away, Lykos attempting to stomp him into the ground. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"This is all your fault!" Lykos shouted out.
"I think the better question here is what the hell are you doing Cobalt?" Tawney asked.
Cobalt looked up from the textbook in front of him and glanced back at Tawney who was holding a half-eaten sandwich in her hand.
"Were you daydreaming?" She asked. He blushed slightly and turned back towards his work.
"What?" He asked. "No, of course not, don't be crazy." He began scribbling on his notebook, doodles, and complete gibberish as she stood behind him, staring at him in disbelief, her hip cocked as she took another bite of her sandwich. "I was just doing some work and thinking about some upgrades for the team."
"Who the hell narrates their fantasies out loud like that anyway?" She asked. "And a harem, really?"
"So?" He asked. He looked back at her, her gaze still fixed on him. "How long have you been standing there?"
"The whole time. I knocked and everything and you were just mumbling on about a special mission. You said something about Ilia being in nothing but her lingerie, and I was hesitant to enter at first, but then I realized this is you we're talking about and decided to come in. That paired with the fact that I could hear Lykos snoring. You're not that bold," She told him. "And why wasn't I included in the harem?"
"You were defending the gate on the far end of the city!" He exclaimed. They exchanged a long awkward glance before he turned away again. "It was just a daydream. I always thought it would be awesome to be the star of an action movie or anime or something like that."
"There has to be a reason that Ilia was the one in bed with you," She prodded as she sat beside him at her own desk. "Unrequited love?" Cobalt stood up and moved to the bathroom, taking off his shirt and washing his face, getting ready to brush his teeth and head to bed.
"I don't know if I would call it that," he called back to her from the other room. "Ilia has hardly even acknowledged me, to be honest. I think the last time she had a direct conversation with me was when we got pizza the night of the initiation. She asked me to pass the breadsticks." Tawney chuckled and unzipped her backpack, pulling out her studying material for her economics class. "Maybe it was just more the fact that Ilia isn't taken."
"I'm not either!" Tawney declared. She folded her arms and he chuckled nervously.
"You're not really my type," he told her. She rolled her eyes.
"But you're attracted to her, aren't you?" Tawney asked. He gargled his mouthwash, spitting it out and checking himself over in the mirror.
"Well yeah, but I don't stand a chance with someone like her, do I?" He asked her. He moved to the doorway and she glanced over at him before looking away flush. She couldn't tell him that, there were things about his personality that could be considered off-putting, but his body was an entirely different story. She had to admit that he had the looks, and if he could stop being such a nerd, he'd be a really great catch.
"I think the best comparison that I can make to help you out in this situation is between me and Neela," Tawney told him.
"You have a thing for Neela?" He asked. Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head.
"What?! No!" She exclaimed. He shrugged and ducked back into the bathroom for a moment. I'd find that incredibly hot, he thought.
"How so then?" He asked. She paused for a moment and looked back at the empty bathroom doorway.
"I'm always trying to be better than Neela, no matter what it takes. I've never beat her yet, but I think that as long as I keep trying my hardest, I'll eventually be able to beat her. I don't let the constant defeats deter me," she explained. "Think of Ilia the same way. She's not so far out of your reach that you aren't able to get her, you just might have to get through being turned down a few times first. If she says no, what do you lose? Things might be a little awkward between the two of you, but it's not like you're talking now anyway. Man up!" He went silent in the bathroom for a moment and she waited for a reply.
"So you think I should ask her out?" He asked.
"She's single! Why the hell not man?! We're at the Academy now, this is going to be the greatest four years of our lives!" She exclaimed. Cobalt thought it over and he was convinced. Tomorrow night he would man up, grow a pair, and ask Ilia to go on a date with him. It would sure beat the hell out of fantasizing about her on a regular basis… a healthy basis… why was he trying to convince himself it was healthy?
"Speaking of you and Neela, I have a proposal for Team NITE for tomorrow morning, and I think you might take a liking to it," Cobalt told her as he pulled on a plain white t-shirt and came out, lying in his bed as he checked his scroll and answered a message.
"Oh?" She inquired interestedly.
"Just waiting for a reply back from Neela…"
"Tell me again whose idea it was to go to the shopping district of Vale on a Friday night?" Titus asked as he held the door open and the women poured in with all of their shopping bags. "You three spent enough lien to put a Schnee to shame. I vote that we sleep in tomorrow morning." Ilia was the next one in behind him, setting her bags down on her bed and sitting in the middle of them.
"It was your idea, remember?" She pointed out as she immediately removed her scroll.
"My idea?" He asked incredulously. She looked up from her device and raised an eyebrow to him. "I was thinking it was going to be a quick trip there and back, all that I needed was some Dust!"
"It would have been, but you decided to invite the three of us to go with you," Neela explained. "I advise taking Lykos or Cobalt next time." Neela reached back and took Eliana's bags from her and placed them all directly into the closet, climbing up her bunk and laying in bed, staring at the ceiling.
"I guess I didn't expect us to be there that long considering the fact that my family was relatively poor," he told them. "And if they're my only other choices, I think that I'd rather do alone." Titus left them and entered the bathroom, locking the door behind him so that he could take a shower.
"Maybe we shouldn't have spent so much. At this rate, I'm going to need a job by the end of the first semester," Ilia told the girls. Eliana glanced up at Neela, giving her a smile before climbing into her own bed below and flipping through her book to where she'd left off.
"What are we doing tomorrow?" Eliana asked Neela as she settled in. Neela thought it over for a moment as she found a message from Blake asking her if she'd be over for dinner Saturday night. She replied, saying that she'd be over with Eliana and closed her scroll, putting it back in her pocket, focusing on her ceiling once again. "Sleeping in doesn't sound like an awful idea."
"Well, we don't have any classes or training tomorrow. We could just study in the afternoon," Ilia offered. Neela felt her scroll vibrate in her pocket and removed it, reading the message from Cobalt and then looking down at Ilia with a slight look of confusion. "What is it?"
"How does capture the flag against Team CBLT tomorrow sound?" Neela asked. Eliana leapt off of her bed and into the middle of the room, jumping up and down and looking up at Neela.
"Can we?! That sounds amazing!" Eliana shouted. Neela smiled at Eliana, glancing across the room at Ilia and shrugging. Ilia smirked and rolled her eyes.
"I guess it might be fun," Ilia replied. She cupped her mouth and faced the bathroom. "Titus, we're having a capture the flag match against Team CBLT tomorrow!"
"What if I decline?!" He called back to her.
"You don't get a choice!" Ilia replied. Titus sighed and Eliana laughed as she climbed back into bed, pulling her covers up and rolling over to face the wall. She hoped that sleep would come quickly.
Apparently, Cobalt is quite the big deal inside of his own head. Next week, a hero rises from the East, but will she be tricked into joining the Fang? Chapter 21 - Mattachanna!
A big thank you to Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
Until next week, stay classy!