Neela sat outside of the tent in the grass, she glanced at the sleeping Goliath before glancing up at the moon and exhaling loudly, her body finally catching up with the day's events and she was still in a bout of disbelief. Had she really been kidnapped that morning? Did they really have a tamed Grimm? Had she really decided to spend the day training them instead of going straight back? She leaned forward and grabbed her toes, stretching and trying desperately to loosen up so that she could sleep. Was Eliana awake? Was she on her night watch thinking about Neela?
Neela watched as a few beowulves stood along the road, sniffing the air and staring at her for a long moment before moving along on the path, heading east as most things did from this point. They Grimm fed on fear, but was it possible that they were equally as afraid as the humans and Faunus? She'd had too much time to think on this trip and it was wearing her down, she stood back up to head back in when she noted that Honey was standing beside her. Neela gave her one glance, noting the single tear streaming down her face and hesitating to ask about it.
"I really am happy go lucky and I'd love to go with you and help take care of these bandits but," Honey choked out before she stopped, she looked down at her trembling hands and clenched them, the fear that seized them had become anger, and she shook with rage. "I lied about part of my story to you earlier. I said that Grimm had come and destroyed the church, but that wasn't the truth."
"Humans?" Neela guessed. Honey nodded.
"Mistral isn't as accepting of Faunus as the rest of the world. They came when I was eleven, they told father to hand over the Faunus girl or else they were going to kill him…" Honey stopped for a long moment, not moving or saying a word. "He didn't give me up and I ran to him from my hiding spot after they'd left, embracing his bloody tattered body as he clung to what remained of his life and I asked him why he didn't just tell them where I was? He told me that I needed to know that there were good humans in the world, that not all of them were monsters that were ready to turn on me without a second of notice. He died in my arms.
I wandered around, clinging to the hope that I'd find those humans that he spoke of, but no one had the same ideals as father. Everyone was cold and harsh towards me, I decided that the best life possible for me would be to live in the woods away from mankind as much as possible. Lueur was terrified when I met her and Apophis was moments from death when we saved him." She looked up at the moon. "I believe that there are good humans out there because of what he did for me, and I'd like to meet them. I'd like to tear the men and women apart that have been hunting and stalking us for the last year and give the three of us closure…"
"But?" Neela asked without waiting for her to finish. She looked at Honey who stared back at her with steely resolve.
"What if we fail?" Honey asked. "What if I fail?" She sighed. "I wouldn't be there to protect the people I loved. Apophis. Lueur. They'd have no one to take care of them." Neela knew the feeling.
"I have to ask myself that every time I go to class or training with my teammates," Neela admitted. "What if I fail? What if I die? What if I'm not enough to stop the evil that grows closer every day and threatens everything that I hold dear." Neela chuckled. "I try not to let it get the better of me, I think, 'What if I don't go out there and lay it all on the line? Who do I have to blame if they're hurt then?'"
"You've been a good friend in the short amount of time that I've known you Neela, but there won't be any convincing Lueur or Apophis to go with," Honey said as they finally decided to head back to the tent. "Lueur has always been treated like garbage by the humans, she never had a figure like Father in her life, and Apophis isn't a fighter. She's terrified, and he's okay with running."
"What about you Honey?" Neela asked. Honey drilled her with a compassionate stare and a single nod.
"I'll protect my family by any means necessary."
Neela headed down the road, her friends no more than a speck in the distance as she crossed over a small knoll and continued on her way to the west, back towards Shion and her own family. She wished that Honey and her group would have come with and met her teammates, she wished that they would have finally had the chance to meet a group of humans that beyond a shadow of a doubt wouldn't betray them. But they'd stayed behind, it was their choice to make and it wasn't something that she could have forced upon them. They'd had it rough, and it would have been insensitive for Neela to pressure them into following. The walk was boring, long, and tedious, but before she was a huntress, she was a hunter and scavenger, it was the only good thing that had come of being in the Fang and Yang had helped her fine tune it so that she could survive on as little as her own fists if nothing else was provided to her.
Though she didn't know the area and the landscape was unfamiliar, it all made sense to her. When she was small she studied as much as she could about the rest of the world, she had an unhealthy obsession with Grimm when she was first adopted which was quickly overcome with wanting to learn about wildlife and nature in specific regions of the world. She knew about Mistral the best, despite the hardships that Ruby had faced with Team RNJR on the way to Haven, her aunt had always spoken vividly and fondly of the landscape in her accounts. She would be able to take a few Beowulves with ease, and while she wasn't sure enough in herself to take a Geist if she were to run into one, Ruby told her that avoiding the deep jungle like areas would remedy any such potential run-ins with possession Grimm. She took a drink from her water bottle as she stopped on the path momentarily, a few men riding horses flew by her in a panic as she wiped her brow and she watched them continue westward.
She figured on Grimm, the look on their eyes was more than that of a fear of being robbed, and if these thieves were as on point as Honey suggested they were, they would only be after Faunus for killing. Neither of the men had any immediate traits that appeared to be Faunus and Neela assumed it to be the latter, moving along on her way at the same pace as before, unafraid of the thought of a Grimm attack, a Geist had no chance of catching her if she couldn't see it on the horizon now. She spotted nothing and thought nothing more of it as she trekked on. She remembered that Coco informed them that if they had gone off on their own that they wouldn't be allowed a grade that was higher than a 'C', but an exception would be made for kidnapping, right? She had no control over the situation until she'd woken up the next morning. Another couple of riders blazed by and Neela looked at them in confusion, there was still nothing behind her that appeared to pose a threat.
She didn't stop, if it was something on the more serious side she had no desire to have to fight it, her body spry and ready from her training the day before, but she was still by herself. She only wanted Eliana at the moment, to embrace her friend for a long minute or so and feel the safety of her warmth, the idea drifted in and gripped her tightly putting her mind at ease for a half an hour or so before one last bundle of men, these appearing to be smugglers as Neela noted the sacks bulging out with Dust crystals that had torn through some of the burlap, double-timed past. The crystals bounced lightly off of the ground sounding like a wind chime that someone gripped too soon and put an end to immediately, one of the masked men in the back of the group stopped for a second as his horse bucked.
"The Dust!" He shouted out to the other three men.
"Leave it! We got more than enough and if those Grimm catch up to us, we aren't going to live long enough to see the fruits of our labor!" The leader yelled. They spurred their horses once more, gone as quickly as they had arrived and this time Neela could hear the Grimm before she had a chance to turn around. She recognized them from the pictures and descriptions in her textbook, moving to remove her bow from her body and reaching for an arrow as she glanced frantically for cover in a nearby bluff, but the current terrain was flat and swampy and she could only hope that the water could provide temporary cover as she moved out of the area.
"Lancers," she said in awe under her breath, a swarm of about six and one Queen drawing closer every moment as she stood in shock of the sight. They were supposed to be native to the floating islands in the northernmost region of Anima, just above Lake Matsu, but clearly, something had driven them south and they were pissed about the fact, looking to kill anything that stood in their way. Two of the Grimm held people in their front pincers, tossing them away as they spotted Neela who was already moving and dove just under their first attack, a low sweeping attempt at ramming or impaling her. She let herself sink slightly into the slimy water, her mind cranking to life as she assessed the sudden turn of events and determined the best course of action for taking them down. Two stingers crossed in front of her, each missing her ribs by a few inches, prompting her to swim down and away from them as they retracted.
She needed out of the water and fast, her mind deciding on grappling out to a tree that she was able to locate using her semblance. She burst forth, two more stingers missing her by a few feet as she swung down to the ground and turned quickly, firing an earth arrow that struck one of them in the abdomen and grounding it as its buzzing grew louder in anger. The rest turned instantly to focus on their target, the Queen firing several stingers from near her mouth which Neela narrowly deflected with her sword. How long would she be able to keep this up? The one she'd grounded broke free though she had little time to care, she was sprinting away, a dive to her left keeping her from being impaled and she fired another arrow. It exploded, the flashbang seemed to have no effect on them and they swooped in past the light, a stinger landing to her left and right to keep her still.
She looked up, firing her hook above her and missing another stinger attack intended for the middle of her chest. She swung at an awkward angle, slamming into the tree and taking a hit to her aura as well as inducing pain as she forced herself to drop swiftly, she couldn't afford messing up like that, and she couldn't stop moving for even a second. She zigzagged, the wasps dive bombing on occasion as she attempted to make it to the dense woods of the swamp, the thicket and thorns above her would provide cover for a moment and she'd be able to breathe, hoping that she could call Coco on her scroll and that she'd be nearby. The Queen noted Neela's intent, rushing through the demented canopy and destroying it with her body, sweeping back around and swinging her pincers through the trees to widen the gap for the other Lancers. Neela slid under some of the remaining brush, missing a few more stingers and flipping out her bow.
If she could tether a few of them together it might be able to disorient them, or if she could get down a barrier of lightning arrows she could possibly fry one of two of them before having to retreat, but they didn't give her time, they were relentless and calculated, which was more than she could say about regular Grimm. The Queen kept her from moving left or right with a hail of stingers as another lined up a shot, Neela knew that Lancers would sacrifice themselves for the good of the Queen and it seemed as though they planned to do just that. Neela deflected the stinger, but it wasn't far enough and she knew that it was over. The wasp's body ziplined towards her and she squinted as she held her sword flat above her in hopes of blocking the attack.
When she reopened them she was back in the middle of the road, she could hear the Lancers buzzing a few hundred feet away to her left and when she looked up she found Lueur staring down at her with a smile.
"Lueur?" Neela asked.
"And the rest of us!" Honey exclaimed behind her with Apophis. Neela found her feet and Lueur brushed her off, looking her over for any injuries.
"I thought you weren't coming with," Neela replied. Honey chuckled with a grin and Apophis rubbed his neck.
"Apophis spotted the Lancers heading your way and Lueur sprang into action," Honey told her. "We teleported here, so Lueur's a little worn out, but we wanted to make sure you were okay." Honey watched the Lancers dance about in confusion. "I guess I should have seen this coming at some point, we were up by the lake a few months ago and there were cages filled with these Grimm. Large boxes that said Mur-lot or something like that were scattered about, a real techy looking symbol on the side. They must have left looking for somewhere to go, but there aren't really any bluffs large enough for them to burrow into around here."
"Did you say Merlot?" Neela asked confused. Her Aunt Ruby had told her the story of them fighting Merlot on an island, but Ruby had told her not to worry because he had died sometime after the incident.
"They're coming back around!" Apophis noted. Lueur removed her sickles and Honey activated her gauntlets, equipping each with a gun that could rapidly fire Dust rounds, ice judging by the color her gloves were glowing.
"We couldn't let you face this alone Neela," Honey told her. Neela looked at her, Honey's face determined as she watched the Grimm fly closer. "I told you that I'd protect my family by any means necessary." Neela smirked and nodded, drawing an arrow back on her bow and firing it into the Lancers, the tip exploding and throwing ice Dust into the air. It seemed to throw them off balance, they beat their wings together to eliminate the ice, dipping in unison before finding their flight path again and firing stingers at the group. Lueur blocked one before falling to the ground, the over usage of her semblance getting to her. Honey turned to check on her which would have been fatal if Neela hadn't been close by with her sword. "Thanks."
"We need to end them as quickly as we can," Neela told them. "They seem to adapt pretty fast."
"Have anything in mind?" Apophis asked.
"You said you've got thick skin, right?" Neela asked.
"You're making me nervous," Apophis said as Honey blocked several stingers with long sword blades produced from her gauntlets.
"Think you can catch one of the stingers?" Neela asked. Honey laughed.
"I like her style!" Honey exclaimed. Lueur slipped through a portal with Honey as she glanced up, one of the Lancers was heading right for them and Neela grabbed Apophis, grappling away. That left four Grimm excluding the Queen, two of them had already sacrificed themselves in an attempt to kill Neela.
"I think you're crazy," Apophis told her. "But I'll see what I can do." She slid to a stop with him in the muck of the swamp, the mud trying to swallow them up as they trudged out at least into the grass. Honey looked at Lueur who breathed heavily, barely able to stand.
"No more portals Lueur!" Honey yelled at her. "You can barely move!" Lueur shoved her off, gasping for air and shaking her head.
I have to keep you safe, Lueur signed. Honey blocked another attack and Lueur leapt forward, hooking one of the stingers with her sickles, Honey swung up and detached the tip, the Lancer crashed into the ground and dissipated, as if most of its life force had hinged on the stinger being attached. Neela did the same as Apophis caught one, killing it instantly as well and prompted the last three to sweep low to the ground instead of attacking from above. Neela fired an arrow up and it scattered out as lightning, forcing the insects apart as they made their way back to Honey and Lueur.
"I don't think they'll try stinging us again," Neela shouted.
"What do we do then?" Honey asked.
"They're coming in low," Neela told her. "If we can concentrate enough fire over their backs, I think that we can freeze their wings and force them to play on our turf." Honey nodded as she loaded the Dust canisters into her gauntlets.
"It's worth a try," Honey admitted. Apophis set out in a sprint to the right of the girls, hoping that the Lancers would follow after him as he headed for the same tree line that Neela had tried hiding in before, and one of them took the bait. Neela shot it in the middle of its thorax between the wings, it wasn't enough to penetrate its hard body but was enough to send it into the ground, the gravity tip exploding as it made contact. The Grimm slid to a stop across the ground, Honey was already halfway to the creature before it attempted flight again, Lueur took a few steps before Neela grabbed her arm.
"Honey can do this," Neela reassured her. Lueur looked at Neela before glancing nervously back at Honey. Honey opened fire on the beast as Neela made sure to distract the Queen and her last worker, Honey rolled out of the way as the grounded Lancer swung its pincers, laying into it even more as she leapt back up. Apophis blocked a swing from the creature as Honey jumped onto its back, her guns transforming into sickles like Lueur's and she hooked them around its wings, ripping them off. The Lancers buzzing changed and the Queen and worker rushed over ignoring Neela's shots. "Honey!"
"On it!" Honey yelled as she dug the sickles in and dragged them down the thorax as she leapt onto its abdomen and it dissipated into smoke. The final worker swept in and faked out Apophis, plowing into him and dragging him several hundred feet as they struggled against each other, leaving the Queen alone with Honey, the larger Grimm ignoring all of Neela's long-range attacks as she and Lueur raced to help her. Honey manifested a shield to block an onslaught of stingers but the force proved too much and she fell on her ass, scrambling backward as the Queen landed above her and attempted to sting her. Honey missed several attacks before being cut in the leg, it was deep and caused her aura strain.
"Faster!" Neela called to Lueur. Neela began to panic, she wasn't sure they'd make it in time. Her mind took a turn for the worse in potential scenarios and she knew that she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if Honey died because they had come to rescue her. Another arrow glanced off of the Queen as she lined up a shot to impale Honey. "Lueur!"
As the Queen moved to strike, Lueur opened a portal and the stinger entered through it, shooting through the Queen's thorax from behind and killing it. Honey's slid away as the Queen began to dissolve above her, the last Lancer that had been struggling with Apophis flew away, paying no mind to the attackers that had come out victorious. Neela and Lueur reached Honey a few moments later, Honey lay on the ground laughing and Apophis shook his head as he approached.
"Let's not do that again," Apophis told her.
"Let's totally do that again!" Honey exclaimed. "That was awesome! Exciting and terrifying, all at the same time! I knew we could do it though, we did have a huntress from Beacon after all!"
"I think you give me too much credit," Neela protested.
"I don't think you give yourself enough," Honey replied. Lueur nodded her head as she smiled at Neela.
"You guys don't have to go the rest of the way with me, I appreciate what you did," Neela told them. Lueur and Apophis looked at Honey and she met their gazes, tilting her head and smiling at Neela.
"We don't have much of a choice," Apophis said.
"Yeah, you'd probably die without us," Honey laughed. Neela laughed as well as they set out for the west.
"I'll have you know that I can handle any Grimm… just not Lancers apparently," Neela admitted.
"You're pretty quick on your feet! You read them better than I could have and you knew how to have each of us handle them even though you only faced off against us once," Honey said. "You didn't even fight Apophis and somehow you knew how he could be useful. I've been trying to figure that out for months now." Honey chuckled and Lueur stuck out her tongue as Apophis replied.
"Hey now! I've been useful before today!" He argued.
"Oh yeah, when?" Honey asked him.
"When I kidnapped Neela!" He shouted. Neela laughed. She couldn't wait to introduce them to her team.
It looks like Honey and her friends want to help Neela take down the bandits after all. Next Week, Chapter 80 - Weak Spot!
Once again, a special thanks to SketchHungry for allowing us to use her OCs, Honey and Lueur!
A big thank you to Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, 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!