Author's note:
Ronin is based on a Ronin(duh) from japanese mythology. A warrior who fights for his 'fallen' master, in this case his ex girlfriend. He is loyal beyond believe and will always fall in love with whomever he serves, but he only picks females to serve under for all that good 'plot'. But if you want to tie a myth to his name, there is 47 Ronin and 7 Ronin to pick from, but he is at best loosely based on either story. His color is Grimm black because I say so. Also his motif is black, so yeah.
Elena is exempt from the color rule because her family are silver eyed. They don't care for the Great war. Her myth is based on the Oracle, where the Spirit of Delphi was passed from person to person. In this case its hereditary. Her color is white because her name means sun ray or something along those lines, so its a form of purity.
Lucas word means light. But he is an electric powered light, so he's yellow. Myth wise, he's not exactly based on a myth more so, the notion of an inventor. But if you really want to split hairs, Daedulus, but modernized. Personally, I was thinking more along the lines of modern inventors like Thomas Edison, but i digress.
Melody Valkyrie is based on the valkyrie in terms of her fighting style. Her aura and color is sky blue(what I picture when I think of the word melody). But she is based on how Valkyries choose their mates, picking a man who they deem worthy and devoting their life to them(i swear its not meant to be sexist, but writing this out makes it sound pretty dicey)
Chapter One - Beginning
Alister Ronin walked through the streets of Haven. Back before he became a huntsman, he sailed from the eastern islands. He has black hair, pale skin, and black eyes. He dropped out of the academy a year before. Those days training to become a huntsman, yet he's starving and poor, just like the good old days. At this rate, he won't last on a mission, let alone to his next meal. His iron armor and black weapon, Grimlock, are looking worse for wear. Ronin bumps into a girl in a white cloak. She was studying the mission board.
"Watch where you're going." She says. Her hood falls off to show a fair, but tiny pony tailed brunette. 4' 10 isn't tiny per se but it is definitely shorter than average. One thing that catches his attention are her silver eyes. It might explain why she's wearing the hood. She doesn't want to get noticed or killed for her involuntary eye color. She swiftly pulls her hood over her face as if by habit. Ronin knows to keep her discretion.
"Sorry. I'm just looking for work." Ronin turns to the mission board. There is an awkward silence between them. In times like these, Ronin opts to break the ice.
"What mission looks good to you?" He says. No response. Chatty, isn't she? He thinks. She accepts a village defense mission. He does the same. She glares at him.
"Take. Your. Name. Off. Now." She warns. She places her hands on her hips to make herself seem more threatening, but it makes her look more adorable. Ronin chuckles. The girl known as Elena Vizier turns tomato red from anger. She hits his arm with kitten-like strength, which causes Ronin to laugh harder. Elena is definitely not a frontliner with this display of strength.
"Why are all huntsmen such big fat jerks?" She whines. Ronin, for one, is neither big nor fat. Jerk is relative. He catches her wrists. Soloing a mission, however, is suicide in the huntsmen community. He wouldn't rest well with his conscience if he let her go alone.
"What were your intentions? To take that mission on alone?" He says. She looks away.
"Maybe…" She mutters. Ronin sighs. This girl has something to prove to someone that doesn't matter. If she keeps trying to pull stunts like this, she'll get killed.
"It's fine to ask for help if you need it. We are huntsmen. We have to fight in teams. There is no reason to solo missions." He says. She pulls her wrists away. The police hobble by and Elena Vizier is gone. Ronin didn't sense her leave. His stomach aches for sustenance. Maybe if he stops a pub fight, he can score a free meal. He slogs to the nearest pub. At least he has a job lined up, so he just needs to focus on surviving until then. The first step is always food.
Two blond huntsmen approach the mission board. They accept the same mission as Ronin and Elena. Lucas Lumina and Melody Valkyrie become the other members of the team. The two Altesians wear white cadet uniforms. Lucas has electric blue eyes and a utility belt. No rule in Atlas said he had to have only one weapon, so his professors couldn't scold him. After graduating, he went to Mistral to learn more about the world. His family is rich and in order to prove his worth as heir to the family fortune, Lucas must make a name for himself as a huntsman. Melody is his personal bodyguard, but is effectively a nanny for her ward. He may act cool, but his poor spending habits and terrible self care would have led to his death had Melody not been there to keep him alive. They know which pub Ronin headed into, Seventh Haven. They decide to pay their team member a visit.
The pub is consumed in a brawl. Ronin is dunking some poor thug into the sanitation bucket whilst snagging some zucchini fritters in the chaos. The owner won't notice, let alone care if someone is stealing food while his pub is being destroyed. Ronin dodges savage punches without even looking. Police enter the scene pushing the two Altesians aside. They arrest almost everyone, but Ronin seems to be gone from the pub. At least that was their first assumption, but his disembodied hand feels around for the fritters before he steals the entire plate. His hand and the fritters disappear into a shadow. The munching of fritters can be heard in the alley. Lo and behold, Ronin is sitting on the dumpster cleaning the plate with his tongue. He belches. He notices them. He draws his sword.
"Listen, Officers, I was just minding my own business eating my dinner when those hooligans started bashing each other in the face. I was lucky to get out of there alive."
"We aren't police." Melody says. Ronin sheathes his blade at the magic words.
"What do you two want then?" Ronin shatters the fine china plate behind him.
"We are huntsmen. We are going to be your teammates on the mission." Lucas says.
Ronin pulls out his scroll and sees the updated roster.
"Better tell that to little Miss Grumpy. She seemed to have a problem with just me joining. I can't wait to see her face when you two show up." Ronin snickers.
"The mission is set for 8 a.m. We were figuring that we could split a room and rendezvous with Ms. Vizier." Melody suggests.
"Sounds great. There is just one problem. I'm not too fluid on cash." Ronin says.
Lucas nods to Melody. Melody sighs as she pulls out some credits.
"Consider this a loan. I will pay your share and after the mission, you will pay me back." She says. Ronin snatches the card.
"Thanks. I am in your debt." Ronin says. The trio head to the nearest inn.
Elena is huddled in her single room watching clips on her scroll. She is watching videos of her family. She smiles, but only briefly. She starts breaking down into tears. She throws her scroll at the wall. She mutters to herself.
"It was my fault."
"Yo jackass, don't slam things against the door." A familiar voice shouts as they knock. The scream startles her. She peers through the peephole. It's just the huntsman she met earlier. This inn being the only reasonably priced one, she is not surprised to see him here, but it must be more than fate for him to knock on her door the second she chucked her phone at the wall.
"Leave me alone." She says through the door.
"Get your moping out of your system because if you hold any of us back tomorrow, I'll be taking your share of the payment." Ronin says.
"How'd you figure out I was here?" She asks.
"My semblance. And a small bribe to the staff." Ronin smirks.
"Two more people joined the mission. Have you met them?" She asks.
"Yep. They are loaded. It'd be smart to stick around with them." Ronin says. He appears in the room with her. She is wearing pajamas, instead of her robe. She turns red, throwing whatever she can find at him.
"Get out of my room!" She orders.
"We are meeting at the airfields at seven and getting on the first 8am flight. I'll be sure to find you." He says. He dodges everything she throws at him. He disappears.
The next morning, Ronin bugs Elena at the ripe time of six o'clock. Breakfast is the best meal of the day, especially if it's free. Huntsmen can't fight on an empty stomach. He knocks on the door. The already awake Elena with a book in hand answers the door.
"Ronin? It's six o'clock. What do you want?" She asks.
"And it's a bright new day and the free breakfast ends in twenty minutes." Nothing gets him more ramped up than free food. He's jumping in place. Ronin needs to burn calories so his body can take in more food than normal. Elena grabs her cloak and follows Ronin to the free breakfast.
Meanwhile, Melody is poking Lucas with a stick. He isn't a morning person, but today, he needs to be. That little loan of theirs to Ronin made them flat broke, after accounting for the lodgings and food. Lucas said it was fine, but Melody would beg to differ. If this mission doesn't follow through, they have to beg on the streets for money or worse. She's too pretty to be a prostitute.
"Lucas, wake up or so help me. I will sell off your gear." She threatens. Lucas snorts awake. That threat always works. Never threaten his babies.
"I'm up." He turns over, drifting into a long snore. Melody slaps him awake. He groans in pain. Melody tosses his shirt on his face.
"Get ready and meet me downstairs when you're done. I'll be sure to save you a plate if you hurry." She walks out of the room. Lucas groggily glares at her. She always treats him like this. By the time he heads downstairs, the free breakfast is over. The three of them are in the lobby. Ronin is unnaturally energetic. Elena shares his levels of energy and Melody is her usual self. She's more focused on making back her money rather than enjoying her meal. She loathes the idea of prostituting herself that much.
They head to the air fields. Elena and Ronin sit next to each other, despite Ms. Vizier's protests. Melody tunes them out with her custom playlist. The ride is too bumpy for Lucas to tinker on his gadgets, deciding to listen to Ronin's tales of his time at the academy. Elena blankly nods at this man's tale about killing a Deathstalker using its own stinger. The tale lasted long enough until they got the go signal from the pilots.
"Dropping zone inbound in three...two… one..." The ship doors open. Wind blasts their faces and hair. Ronin decides to jump first, because he didn't buckle himself in. There is no point in wearing seatbelts if he can escape any hairy situation. As per routine, the airships have to fly over the village without landing. Losing ships to the Grimm is always bad. That all important landing strategy is expected of all huntsmen. Ronin throws his dagger sized blade to the ground.
"Anyone need assistance going down?" Ronin asks. Elena raises her hand. He picks her up and dives into his own shadow, reappearing at his dagger. Lucas and Melody jump out. Melody deploys her winged armor, gliding to the surface. It is an Atlas prototype. The inspiration was derived from Griffons, hence the feathery metal wings. The armor is lightweight and form fitting, but durable. It has a propulsor to allow for flight. Lucas spreads his arms and legs, revealing a glide suit. He overshoots the village and lands in some trees. The trio walk over and mock their teammate.
"A little help?" He squirms in the branches. Melody flies up and frees him from the tree.
He spits out a branch. Lucas pulls out a notebook. He scribbles some notes in it, muttering to himself. Melody is unfazed by this, but Ronin and Elena find it strange. Lucas ditches the torn, but detachable flight suit. One of the compartments on his utility belt is empty. Five more to go, meaning he has five more wacky inventions.
"Apologies. I like to invent things, so it helps me to keep a record of how various inventions operate in the field." He says. Melody plucks a branch out of his hair.
He shoos her away, but she just plucks another branch from behind his ear.
"We already talked to the village leader. We need to patrol the area and clear out any Grimm. This mission should be pretty straight forward." Ronin says.
"Understood, captain." Melody does a salute.
"Right, we haven't even decided on a leader. We could put it to a vote." Lucas suggests.
"I accepted the mission first, so I should be the leader." Elena says. Ronin laughs.
"But you need help getting down. Since I'm the next in line for abdication, I should be the leader-" a villager screams in the background.
"One moment." Ronin shadow travels to the villager. A cloud of dust evaporates into the sky. Ronin returns to his team.
"Okay, what was that?" Melody asks.
"Well, clearly it was his semblance." Lucas says with derision.
"I mean what kind of semblance lets you warp all over the place?" Melody questions.
While they argue, Ronin nudges Elena.
"Our teammates can't go without arguing for two minutes." Ronin snickers.
"I just want this mission to be over." Elena mutters.
"By the way, what's your semblance?" He asks.
"Foresight." She says.
"Which does?" Ronin eggs on.
"Grimm on the southern border." Elena's eyes turned blue for only a second. Ronin just stares at her.
"I don't see...no, yeah your right. I'll be back." Ronin shadow travels again. Three dust clouds evaporate. Ronin pops up next to her.
"We make a good team." He says.
"We should have those two be useful and watch over the villagers. We are more than enough for the Grimm." Elena says.
"The two team leaders order you two to stay within the village perimeter and guard the villagers." Ronin orders. Melody and Lucas bicker as they relocate.
Ronin walks beside Elena. She's cold to him, but based on what he saw last night, he learned that she's just shut herself off from connecting with people. She knows what loss is. There is a reason she doesn't like to hunt with other people. It is because something happened to her team. For Ronin, the official story is that his team was just tired of dealing with his shit. Elena is capable, a bit prickly, but not so obnoxious that her team would kick her off. A few Beowolves charge them. He cleaves the left one. Elena pulls out an oak wizard staff. Shards of ice pierce the Beowolf, dusting it. Ronin dusts the Beo behind Elena. Elena thrusts her staff in the ground. Flames erupt, dusting burrowing Centinels. Ronin returns to Elena's side.
"See? We do make a good team." Ronin laughs.
"Thanks for covering me. I didn't see that Beowolf." She mutters.
"You are welcome." Ronin says.
The sun begins to set. They've been patrolling the town and cleared about twenty or so Grimm each. The stragglers have been cleared out. Ronin and Elena return to the village to deliberate shifts. The four of them sit around the campfire. Villagers are ordered to stay indoors until the threat of Grimm has passed. It would benefit the team to divulge semblances and various skill sets. More information they share, the better their coordination will be.
"So my semblance is Shadow Manipulation. I can transport any object, including myself and other people, through a shadow-like world that is an inverted monochrome version of this one. Time is slower in that world and my aura doesn't deplete while I'm in that place. I can use my semblance a lot without having to recharge my aura. I can also 'see' anything that happens in a shadow, although my range is pretty short. I'd say it's about the radius of the village. Besides that, I'm good with ol' Grimlock here." Ronin says.
"My semblance is Foresight. I can sense everything within a present moment and can see visions of the future. I manipulate dust into various objects using my staff. I'm not very good with close combat." Elena says. That is all she cares to divulge, the bare minimum. She doesn't mention her silver eye abilities nor other skills she has.
"I can emit high frequencies from my mouth. I can paralyze Grimm for a few minutes, but that goes for anything within the range of the sound. My armor vibrates at high frequencies, extending the range of the semblance. And it's top of the line Altas tech, so I can take out any Grimm. " Melody says with a smile.
They all look to Lucas. He's been tinkering with a flashlight like contraction the entire time they were talking. Lucas notices a glass rumbling from a nonexistent quake. He shushes them. Birds fly in the distances. Trees topple from a massive Grimm. The rumbling of the Goliaths finally stampede into auditory range. Their trumpeting bellows as they charge the village.
Lucas pulls out one of his gadgets, which is in the form of five electric poles with wires. He plants the center in the ground, retracting the wires into the poles. It launches the four other poles into the sky, before they are propelled to the four edges of the perimeter of the village, which then extend to the ground and deploy ground anchors on contact. A blue force field emits from the metallic cube, surrounding the village in a solid defense.
"I don't have a semblance, so I spent my time making gadgets like these." Lucas says.
Elena and Ronin look at him stunned. Melody is unfazed by the tech, especially when she witnesses it's many failures first hand. She draws her lance.
"You two stay here and rest up. I'll show you how Atleisans handle things." She walks through the barrier. Lucas designed it to only work on Grimm. Ronin pours himself a bowl of meat stew. He's been starving since the third horde attacked. Granola bars Elena gave him aren't that filling, but he was able to push through with it.
"Aren't you going to help your girlfriend?" Ronin asks. Lucas scoffs.
"She's not my girlfriend. And I can help her from here." He takes the remote attached to the control tower pole. He presses buttons and four turrets appear on the corners of the barrier. Melody cleared two of the Grimm with her javelin lance. As it rockets back to her, Lucas takes the opportunity to fire his turrets, decimating four Goliaths. Screens show all four sides of the village. A single Beringels emerges from the forest, behind the Goliaths. That's the reason the Goliaths are running away.
"Are you seeing this, Lucas?" Melody chimes in from the intercom.
"Should we help?" Ronin says as he hands Elena a bowl of stew. She sniffs it skeptically before eating.
"No, we've got this." Lucas says.
"Good. I wasn't intending to help anyways. I can't fight on an empty stomach." He cleans his bowl, going for seconds.
"The barrier will hold until morning, and then you guys will be back up for defense while I recharge the barrier." Lucas says. Ronin tucks into his sleeping bag. He wears a pajama hat.
"Are you really going to be okay?" Elena asks.
"Yep. Get some rest." Lucas says.
"A few Lancers are on my radar. Hold the fort until then." Melody reports.
"Roger." Lucas pulls out his third gadget. A suit of blue glowing armor forms before him. It is just like that one comic book hero, Titanium Gold Alloy man. He steps in it. His display shows twenty four Goliaths for the picking. He sets the turrets to sentry mode. He runs through the barrier, arming his arm cannon and laser sword. He fires at the herd of elephant Grimm, aiming for the legs. The frontrunners stumble, only to be trampled by their brethren. The turrets pick off the stragglers. His arm cannon glows red as it charges. His armor turns green. Defense units from his suit detach, landing with a thud and cracking the earth. He blitzes hum of the laser sword whizzes past fifteen Grimm before he reappears. The Goliaths continue to rampede. One by one they stumble, getting dusting by the turrets, until the last one trips and slides inches before Lucas' face. The Beringel is twenty meters away and closing. They are notorious for their agility. He has to snipe it from while it jumps. His cannon is charged. The turrets pelt it, but have no effect.
Lucas has a suicidal idea. It will take longer to repair the barrier, but it will take out this stupid ape. He runs in front of the barrier, leading the Beringel to it. There was a clip from the Vytal festival of Ronin that he watched like it was gospel. It was the semifinals and Ronin's teammate was knocked out. A two versus one battle and he was losing. His back was against the wall. As the Beringel charges head first into the barrier, Lucas imitated Ronin, leaping over his opponent, turning midair and unleashing the finishing blow that would decide the match and kill this stupid ape. A beam of plasma unrelentingly blasts the Beringel into the barrier, incinerating both its front and back with plasma. It struggles, but cannot move. It howls in pain just before it gets dusted. A massive cloud of Beringel ash evaporates into the sky. His armor deactivates. The hunk of metal falls helmet first into the ground.
"Okay, I've cleared out the horde, returning to base." Melody says. She lands, looking around for Grimm to kill.
"Where'd they go?" Melody asks. Lucas drags his armor into the barrier.
"Dusted. Can you help me pick up the defense units?" Lucas asks. He drags one. Melody carries the other three into the barrier. He places them near the armor.
"Deactivate." Lucas commands. The armor shrinks into a utility belt sized rectangle. He inserts it into his belt, and a green light charges the suit of armor.
"My question is why not just wear gauntlets with the arm cannon and the laser sword, instead of having to recharge your armor everytime the battery dies?" Melody asks.
"Noted." Lucas scribbles in his notebook.
"The next time we are in town, I'll need to look for parts." Lucas says.
"Yay, shopping." Melody says. Lucas lays out his fourth gadget cube. It is a compact workstation. It has the basic set of repairment equipment and recharge station for any of the other gadgets.
"Recharge your suit while there is down time. The attacks could get worse." Lucas says.
Melody hooks up her suit and lance to the charging station. Lucas focuses on the monitor. It's four more hours til sunrise. There doesn't seem to be any Grimm activity, so for now it should be clear. Melody lays in her sleeping bag.
"We have to stay up and keep watch. These two are too exhausted to fight now." Lucas says. He pours two cups of coffee. Melody chugs it. She has been revitalized. To her, it is nectar of the gods.
"Let me know if and when the next attack is happening." Melody says. Lucas has some meat stew to keep his strength up. Melody does the same but douses some coffee in it.
An alert from the control center chimes. From the southern end of the village, it's a non-Grimm attack in the form of bandits. The barrier won't hold up against them.
"Bandits at six o'clock." Lucas says.
"Can't we just turn on the lethal mode of the barrier?" Melody asks.
"No. I haven't updated my gear since the academy. They still have the non lethal locks on it." Lucas sighs in disappointment. Another blip appears on the radar. It's an unclassified Grmm.
"It looks like they are running from a Grimm. It's unclassified. My systems have most of the Grimm from the academy archives, so tread with caution, Melody." Lucas says. Melody suits up and zips through the air. She flies past the bandits and sees the rocky Grimm. It's not like any animal she's seen.
"It's a Geist. I repeat. It's a Geist." Lucas says. The iron golem Geist throws rocks at the flying Valkyrie. She dodges. The mask is nowhere in sight. That could be a problem. She launches her lance, only for it to bounce off the iron plating of the Geist's body. The bandits are far enough out of range. She emits a high pitched screech from her mouth, blasting the metal composed Geist. The iron reverberates, shattering earth off its body, immobilizing the Geist. Lucas appears from the top of the village watchtower, carrying a bazooka.
"Fifth Gadget." Lucas says as he locks onto the golem. He loads extra red dust into it before firing. A rocket homes in on the stationary Geist. Melody recalls her lance, rocketing it to her hand. Just as the rocket hits the iron body, the Geist flees its body, only to be pierced and dusted by a lance. The bandits cheer. But not for long. Lucas' archives show at least five murderers amongst them. She smiles maliciously. They ran in a futile attempt to escape the law. Melody immobilized them with her banshee scream. They clench their ears as they crumple to the ground like flies. It's a lower frequency, non fatal screech that knocks out humans. She ties them up and flies them over to the village. They will be turned into the police when they get back to Haven or worse case scenario, they have live bait for the Grimm.
"The Geist and bandits have been taken care of. Good job, Mel." Lucas says. The bandits start to wake up from their forced slumber. The leader squirms in his restraints.
"Should I knock him out?" Melody asks.
"No, we can gain intel from them. And if they won't cooperate, then no one will notice if some bandits go missing." Lucas says.
"You Atlas specialists disgust me." The bandit leader, Trey spits at them. He's wanted for murder in five towns and Haven.
"Uh, Boss. This babe saved us from the Geist." His second, Juan, nudges.
"Free us or you're going to regret it, blondie." Trey threatens. Melody walks over with a false smile. She drags the bandit leader by the ear.
"I'll have a little chat with him out back." She says all too cheerily.
"Don't take too long." Lucas says. A few moments later, Trey's screams of pain could be heard from outside the village.
"Now, does anyone else have anything to say to my colleague? You'll be up after your boss comes back." Lucas says. The conscious bandits shake their heads. Lucas takes a scanner from his workstation and scans the bandits. It's more accurate than his environmental scanners. He sighs.
"Branwen bandits. Figures." Lucas says.
"That's right. If you know what's good for you and your team, you have to let us go." A third bandit, Deuce, says Juan nudges his comrade to stay quiet.
"I thought the Branwen tribe was powerful. With your numbers, you should have easily been able to deal with a Geist that one Atlesian handled by herself." Lucas looks at the ten bandits. They do not have the clothing of the Branwen tribe. If anything they are using their name to scare people into letting them go. But Juan knows that Atlesians have much more intel than their lies can defend. The bandits remain silent.
Melody returns with a pummeled Trey, dragging him next to the others.
"These guys are from a small time bandit group. They lost over half of their men and have since been on the run from both the law and the Grimm. They won't pose us any threats." Melody reports with a cheery demeanor.
"Now, you ten might return to civilization alive if you don't cause any trouble. Be it in chains, but at least it's better than getting eaten by whatever Grimm thinks you look tasty. We will guard you along with the villagers on the condition you obey our every order, Understood?" Lucas says. No one takes the offer.
"Alternatively, I can just toss you out in the open to lure some Grimm. I'm sure we'll be done with our mission quicker." Lucas threatens.
"We'll obey your orders, Captain." They say in unison.
"Good." Lucas returns to his post. Melody decides to take a nap. The sun is rising anyways, so it would have been time for Elena and Ronin to tag in.
Ronin and Elena wake up, confused by the ten butlers that are serving them.
"We found some bandits and we decided to adopt them." Lucas chuckles.
"Are you sure it's okay to trust them?" Elena asks skeptically. She notices prison collars on them. Ronin takes a bowl of porridge from Trey, who has since become the most compliant.
"Here you are, Master Ronin." Trey bows. Ronin likes the king's treatment and embraces his role. He 'accepts' a foot rub, back rub, and weapon polishing session.
Elena scoffs at his arrogance.
"Prison collars? Why do you have those on hand?" Elena asks.
"We were going to an open area in Haven. I took a guess that we were going to run into bandits. Also, it was a side hustle. If anything, we can collect on their bounties and split it. So you're welcome, Ms. Vizier." Lucas says.
"I'm only here to protect this village. You can keep my share of the bounty." She says.
"Alright. Don't go saying I didn't offer to share." Lucas says. An alert beeps.
"Ronin, Elena. Northside. Thirty Beos." Lucas says. Ronin pulls away from his butlers, picks up Elena, and they head to the north.
"No more coffee, Luky…" Melody mutters in her sleep. Lucas covers her in his woolen blanket. She snuggles into it. It may be because it smells of him.
"Captain, are you two dating?" Juan asks. Lucas groans in frustration.
"Why does everyone assume that? Yes, we grew up together. Yes, we are close friends. Yes, I value her company, but no, we are not dating." Lucas says a little bit too defensively. The bandits give him a knowing stare.
"Whatever you say, boss." They say in unison.
"On your left." Ronin pops out of a shadow and uppercuts a Beo.
"On your right." Elena incinerates a Beo. Ronin throws his sword, dusting a straggler. A blood red symbol activates, returning the sword to his hand as he cleaves the Grimm trying to attack him whilst unarmed. Elena stirs a whirlwind, launching Beos into the air. Ice spears rain down, dusting them. The horde is cleared.
"You're pretty good with dust. It must take a lot of practice using raw dust." Ronin compliments. Elena hides her staff. She didn't tell anyone she uses raw dust.
"Silver eyed warriors surely are amazing." Ronin says. Elena draws her staff sheathe hits the ground. Ronin's back is against the tree. The rapier thin blade presses against this throat.
"How much do you know about my eyes?" She asks. Ronin pulls out his wallet, revealing a photo of his team. The black haired girl in the photo has silver eyes.
"My old teammate had them. She told me about her powers. When the professors found out that I knew about silver eyes, they ordered me to divulge the information. I refused and I was expelled for not complying. I ended things with my team on bad terms, so they hate my guts. " Ronin says. Elena glares at him with skepticism. She recalls her mother's words. Never trust anyone with information about your eyes. She sheathes her sword.
"Tell anyone about my eyes, and I'll kill you." She says. Ronin gulps.
"I promise." Ronin says. He walks beside as if she didn't just try killing him.
"Are all silver eyed huntresses this prickly?" Ronin asks. Elena punches him in the gut, which amounts to her fist bouncing off his abs.
"My ex girlfriend wasn't very affectionate in public, but boy, was she needy when we were alone." Ronin reminisces his time at Haven.
"Why do you keep bothering me?" Elena asks.
"People who want to be alone desire to be with people the most, but for some reason they can't or won't let themselves get close to them. I missed my team, but it was for the best. They had internships lined up and they were going to become big names in the Huntsmen community. I can only imagine what causes you to want to go solo on missions. I just want you to know that you don't have to fight your fight alone." Ronin says. As they approach the village, they see the barrier.
"Because sometimes, your teammates have your back." Ronin says. Melody is clearing out some Lancers. Lucas is unleashing hellfire from his turrets. Ronin tosses his sword into the sky.
"Coming?" he offers his hand. She refuses it.
"I'll help out Lucas." She says. Ronin reappears at his sword, stabbing it into a Lancer Queen. He tears off its wings and impales a drone with the royal stinger as they descend towards the barrier. He dusts the Lancers on the barrier, falling through the roof. He jumps back into his shadow. That landing would destroy his legs. Melody impales two Lancers. Ronin drop kicks a Lancer behind his teammate, dusting it.
"That should take care of the Lancers. Moving to assist you and Elena." Melody reports.
"Roger." All three of them say. Ronin throws his sword through a Beowolf, reappearing to back up Elena and Lucas. Elena unleashes gravity from her staff, crushing Beowolves, cratering them to the ground. Lasers incinerate them.
"Two more minutes before the barrier deactivates." Lucas says.
A horde of Beowolves rush them. It seems they didn't appreciate their brothers getting dusted. Hundred of them snarl at team RELM. They are vastly outnumbered, but the Grimm is vastly outmatched. Ronin, Elena and Melody stand shoulder to shoulder. Elena touches Ronin and Melody. Her eyes gleam blue.
"Lucas, take down the barrier." Elena orders.
"Are you sure about that?" He questions.
"As leader of Team EMRL(emerald), I order you to deactivate your barrier." She says.
"No, as leader of Team RELM, I order you to deactivate the barrier. Elena just beat me to saying it." Ronin scowls at her. Elena sticks out her tongue at him. The barrier falls. The bandits hide behind the buildings. Melody's armor deactivates.
"Not now." She slips out and goes to the recharging station.
"If we die, I'm blaming you two." Melody says as she leaves the front lines.
"Elena, you can see the future, right? What did you see?" Ronin asks.
"We win if you unleash your semblance." Elena smiles. She sits down on the ground. The snarky girl pulls out the graphic book, "Fifty Shades of Dust."
"Oh, Mr. Grey, you naughty minx." She flips the page.
"Are you hearing this?" Ronin asks.
"Loud and clear. Stop whining and just clear them out, Ronin." Lucas orders. Ronin mutters in frustration as he removes his cuffs. They crack the ground.
"I told no one about my super secret training. Little Miss Witch touches me once and knows all of my secrets." He mutters.
"Clothes off too, Ronin." Elena says. He removes his aura limiting clothing.
"You even know about that? Man, no wonder you don't have a boyfriend. No man can conceal a secret from you." Ronin complains. The horde is twenty yards away.
"Is that good?" Ronin asks. He is wearing only his shorts.
"That should work. I wouldn't want the others to know about your tiger boxers." She snickers. To be fair, they were on sale. Twenty for fifty credits.
"You know we can hear you." Lucas says. Melody laughs. Ronin slouches. The Beowolves stampede towards them, not even ten feet away. Ronin places his hand in front of the Beos. their shadows warble. His eyes gleam red. The beowolves sink into their own shadows, Ronin swiftly clenching his fist. The severed Beos slide towards them as they fade into dust. Ronin falls to his knees.
"Gods...what just happened?" Lucas asks. Ronin collapses, but Elena catches him.
"Good job, Ronin" She says as he fades from consciousness.
He is sitting in a chair in the center of a lab. His parents just watch from behind the spectator glass. A scientist is with him in the room. He hears the demented laugh from the pa system.
"Commence with the procedure." The man laughs hysterically. His mind blurs from the pain. Black aura radiates from him. Flashes of killing the scientist and breaking out of the room fill his mind. The last thing he sees is his mother injecting the cure into him.
Ronin wakes up near the crackling campfire. It is evening. His body aches. It does that after using his semblance like that. Elena is reading her book as the butlers give her a shoulder massage. Lucas is sleeping while Melody works at the control center. Trey hands him a bowl of meat stew.
"Master Ronin, here." He says.
"Thanks." He gulps down the food.
"What happened while I was out?" Ronin asks.
"I told you to unleash your semblance for a reason. It would scare off the other Grimm from attacking for at least ten hours. Recharge your aura in the meanwhile." Elena says.
"That means I get to eat as much as I want right?" Ronin says with glee. Elena sighs.
"Yes it does." She says. Trey and company hand Ronin bowls of stew. He cleans them out as if they were shot glasses.
"By the way, that was six hours ago, so we actually have four hours left." Melody says.
"That'll give me some time to burn off this stew." Ronin burps.
"You're such a pig." Elena says.
"Oink oink, what is your point?" Ronin retorts. Trey and company chuckle.
"I'm going to sleep. Wake me when my shift is up." Elena says.
"She says that like she was exhausted." Ronin says.
"Her semblance takes a heavy toll on her, emotionally and physically." Melody says.
"What do you mean?" Ronin asks.
"You may have not noticed, but when you went down, Elena did too. She woke up a few minutes before you did and asked that I didn't say anything about it, but you were being such a turd that I had to break my promise." Melody says.
"I didn't know." Ronin mutters.
"Welcome to the club." Melody says.
"I'm going to patrol the village." Ronin says in a huff.
Nothing much to patrol. There isn't a Grimm in sight. He doesn't even sense any Grimm. He just needed to clear his head. Tomorrow is the last day of the mission. He would want nothing more than to stay with his new team. Ronin would even be willing to abdicate his role as leader to Elena for them to stick together. He thinks back to his old team. They would do nothing but bicker, but they had each other's backs. He chuckles to himself.
"It's only one mission. Don't get your hopes too high." He says to himself.
"Ronin, come in. I'm seeing an irregularity on my sensors. Coordinates are sent to your scroll." Melody says. Ronin draws his sword and heads to the coordinates by shadow traveling. He doesn't want to get cramps, so he shouldn't jog too much. In terms of aura, he's at seventy percent.
A herd of deer flees from the forest. Ronin's grip on his hilt tightens. He senses a Grimm, but he can't determine from where. His shadow sense is going haywire. It's coming from all directions, which can't be right. Until the Grimm steps into the sunlight.
It's a Nuckaleev.
"Requesting back up imm-" The intercom gets interrupted. Melody wakes up Lucas. Elena is in no condition to fight.
"Hold down the fort." Melody says to a groggy Lucas as she jets off. She zooms to Ronin's last coordinates only to be shot out of the sky by a three fingered hand. It got her propulsion system. She exits her suit, calling her lance back to her. Ronin is hiding behind a tree. The Nuckaleev walks by his tree. She draws a spatha from the spear handle. She corkscrews around a tree until she reaches ground. She dodges the Nuckaleev's arm thrust, pinning it with her spatha.
"What are you doing?!" Ronin mouths. The arm splits into tendrils. The Nuckaleev morphs into a Manticore. Ronin carries Melody away from that monstrosity.
"What is that thing?" Melody demands.
"It's not just a Nuckaleev, that's for sure. It changed like five times. I couldn't pierce it's armor and it knew where I was at all times. If we're going to fight that thing, we will need to regroup." Ronin says.
"Elena is in no shape to fight if that thing decides to attack." They arrive at camp. Lucas is at the control center.
"I saw everything. We can get your armor after that Grimm is dead." Lucas says, he sips coffee to stay alert. Several canisters litter the floor.
"I've been analyzing the footage of Ronin fighting." Lucas says. Ronin glares at the screen. The footage appears to be coming from his credits card in his shirt pocket.
"Hey, that card was bugged wasn't it? That is a blatant violation of privacy." Ronin says.
"If I hadn't done that, we would have no chance of surviving this." Melody says.
"Shut up you two, I'm trying to watch… there. I see it. It has an amorphous core in the center of each of its transformations. If we hit that, it should be dusted." Lucas says.
They hear an amalgamated screech of a Nevermore, Nuckaleev, Manticore, Ravager, and King Taijitu.
"All B rank or higher Grimm." Melody mutters.
"Just how did this thing take the forms of those Grimm anyways?" Ronin asks.
The screen shows a massive blob flooding towards them. A few Beowolves flee from it, but they are caught in the wave. The screeches incorporate a Beowolf's.
"Does that answer your question?" Lucas cocks his rocket launcher and arm cannon. The rocket launcher fuses with the arm cannon, transforming into a sniper rifle. A glassed site forms over Lucas' right eye.
"Distract it while I get a shot or two in." Lucas says climbing up the watchtower."
"Understood." They both run outside of the village.
Beowolves detach from the blob. The wolves rush Ronin and Melody while the blob zig zags. Lucas struggles to get a clean shot. Elena climbs up the watchtower.
"It won't work. That is a Slime Grimm. They can see aura and Grimm." Elena says.
"How do you know about this thing?" Lucas asks. Elena pulls out her scroll.
"You have to dispatch those Beos, but whatever you do, don't let yourself get caught by their goo. You'll be pulled back to the mother slime." Elena says. Ronin cleaves both Beos. The mother slime rushes him, but recoils back as Lucas fires at her core. The Slime screeches. Presumably in frustration. Elena commandeers the command tower. She flips through the Grimm archive, finding a Slime Grimm entry. Normally weak and useless on their own, they latch onto larger Grimm and over time, fuse with the Grimm. That doesn't explain how the Slime was able to immediately assimilate the Beos...No there must be something else...She flips through the archives for a second query. Ronin and Melody have their backs against the wall of the village. That thing ate his sword and Melody's lance-spatha. It dodges his shadow collapse technique and all of Lucas' sniper shots. Elena runs from inside the village, darting past them.
"What are you doing?" They question.
"Killing this Grimm." Elena activates her semblance, dodging the Slimes attacks. She forms three ice lances above her head, releasing the first. The Slime catches it, only for its tendril to freeze and snap off as Melody unleashes her semblance in a controlled wave. Elena rolls away from the blob's lunge, firing the second lancee, forcing the Slime to jump. Lucas fires his last bullet. The Slime moves its core to its tendril as the bullet pierces its squishy body.
"I missed!" Lucas says. The last spear was hovering above the tendril, awaiting for the core to arrive. Ronin senses the Slime's intention to move it's core out of harm's way. His eyes gleam red. He uses his technique Shadow Paralysis. His grip is just barely enough to immobilize the Slime. The ice spear pierces the core, ripping it from the gelatinous body. The slime melts into the ground, revealing the various non-Grimm items it consumed, including Grimlock and Virtuoso's Duet. Ronin and Melody run in and hug their slime covered weapons. Elena watches as the dense core fades into dust. At the center of the core is a necklace, which Elena takes and tucks it in her robe.
"I finally got it back." Elena says. She turns to see her teammates hugging their weapons. Lucas speaks from his scroll.
"Good job, team EMRL. Bring it in." Lucas says.
"Actually, its team RELM." Ronin corrects.
"Leaders kill the boss, so it's team EMRL." Melody says. Elena walks by them.
"I'm going back to sleep." She yawns.
"Yes, Leader Elena." Melody follows her.
"Assistant Co-leader Elena." Ronin corrects.
They return to camp and rest until sunrise. The defeat of the Slime had stopped the numerous displacements of various large Grimm, and thus, the C tier Grimm no longer bothered the village. The villagers were given permission to leave their homes. The following morning, the village elder was intrigued by Lucas' barrier and begged for the huntsman to leave it with them.
"No, I worked hard on it." Lucas tries to escape the middle aged man's iron grip on his leg. The man is not just groveling, he isn't taking no for an answer.
"My village will be safe if we have this protecting us. I promise to take good care of it."
Ronin and company are packing up. Melody is talking with the airship captain, trying to explain that they found bandits and they will be collecting the bounties on their head.
"No...I understand that ships have a maximum capacity...I'm just saying to bring a bigger one…Gah." She hangs up the phone.
"The pilots are already headed over. They can't take in more than four passengers." Melody says.
"What does that mean for us, Miss Melody?" Juan asks.
"We can't take you back, so you are stuck here." She says.
"Does that mean you are going to release us?" Trey asks. Elena places her hands on Trey and Juan. her eyes glow blue.
"It will be safe to leave them with the villagers. They'll make good workers." Elena says.
"And if they decide to kill the villagers when we leave?" Melody asks.
"They won't be able to maintain the barrier and will promptly get murdered by Nevermores or worse." Elena says with a smile.
"You heard my teammate. Behave and help the villagers or die a very very very painful death by Nevermore or worse." Melody threatens. They all salute.
"YES, MISS MELODY." They say. Ronin finishes polishing his blade as Lucas rushes him to finish up. The grindstone station may have been convenient, but Lucas couldn't pack up his fourth gadget because of it.
"Are you done yet?" Lucas urges. Ronin removes his shiny Grimlock, observing his fine work. He sheathed his blade.
"All done." He leaves the workstation tent. Lucas presses a button, compacting the tent into a utility belt size rectangle. He is about to do the same for the barrier.
"Lucas, leave the barrier. I'll buy you materials for another one." The village elder smiles with glee, shaking Lucas' hand. The expression on Lucas' face is anything but happy.
"Fine. here are the instructions. No repairs or replacements. If you break it, tough luck." Lucas hands the man the manual. He sprints off to his family to show them their new defense system guide. The ten bandits stand in line. Lucas patrols the ten bandits.
"What do you like?" Lucas asks.
"Serving the community!" They shout.
"And why do you like it?" Lucas asks.
"Because it benefits them and us!" They shout. Lucas nods in approval.
"Dismissed." He clicks a remote, removing the collars.
"You are now citizens of Xerxes, try not to screw that up." Lucas says. The new citizens jump for joy. They don't have run anymore and they won't be turned into the feds.
The airship arrives. Team RELM boards the ship. Ronin flips through his scroll. The mission was complete and the payment just rolled into his account. Lucas messes with the first slot of his utility belt, missing his first slot gadget.
"My question is why did you remove the collars? We could have guaranteed the villagers safety if we did that." Melody asks.
"Those were just electronic collars I just whipped up. They didn't have any real function besides tricking them into obeying us." Lucas says.
"That's so sneaky. I'm proud." Ronin says. Elena chuckles. Ronin scans the airship. If the time is right, now is the time to ask them to form a permanent team.
"So, I've been thinking. Do you three want to form a permanent team with me?" He asks. The first time at Haven, his three teammates saw his skill and begged him to be their leader. Today, it is the opposite.
"That's not very leaderly of you. I want to be the leader if you have such soft skin." Elena says. The two chuckle.
"I'll agree to that." Ronin says. Elena looks at him shocked. She understands why he is willing to concede his role as leader, but the thing is she has no interest in being leader. It was strictly to tease Ronin.
"I'm willing to tolerate you for a few more missions, but after that, I have to go back home." Elena says.
"Understood. Melody, Lucas?" Ronin asks. Melody is trying to locate a clip on her scroll. Audio blares. It's Lucas while he was a student at Atlas. Lucas is standing in front of the screen, watching the semifinals of the Vytal Festival for the twentieth time. Wearing sweats and a headband, he's practicing the backflip that Ronin did to win the game.
"Melody! Why are you showing them that?" He says flustered.
"You have a fan." Elena chuckles.
"So is that a yes?" Ronin asks.
"You aren't weirded out by that?" Lucas asks.
"I learned that trick from...from a friend. I'm honored that someone took the time to learn it as well." Ronin says.
"In that case, we accept your offer to join Team EMRL." Lucas says with suave.
"Team RELM." Elena says, holding up the registration sheet up on her scroll.
"I'm the team leader?" Ronin says.
"A huntsman who respects his team deserves to be leader." Elena says.
"Preach, Elena. Wanna watch some of my other fail videos?" Melody asks.
"Show them the one with the rocket." Lucas says. The ship flies off to Haven.