Disclaimer: Disturbing Content. Mentions of torture, rape, and death. Language, violence,
Geoff and Velvet were flying their Bulkhead towards Argus when Velvet looked at Geoff.
"It wasn't your fault you know?" She spoke.
"I know lass." Geoff said. "But Tha's not th' only thin' I'm worried about."
"The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get back."
"Yer right lass." Geoff said holding his hand out for her to take.
She took it and they continued towards Argus.
They flew over a gate and saw a tower sticking out of the water.
"Tha's the hanger where they keep th' Mech." Geoff pointed at the tower.
"Is the Mech really that big?" Velvet asked.
"Aye. I's tha' big."
They looked from the hanger and saw a road leading to Argus. On the right was a landing strip where they would land the Bullhead while on the left was an outpost and the barracks.
They landed at the landing strip and exited the Bullhead.
"Hello." A short, grey haired Woman Said. "I am Special Operative Caroline Cordovin. I have been expecting you."
Velvet looked at Cordovin and got an unnerving vibe from her but couldn't place her finger on it.
Cordovin scowled at her, but quickly changed to a neutral face. "Is This your assistant General Ironwood mentioned?"
"I'm afraid tha' this couldn' a come at a worse time. We're dealin' wit some backlash in Atlas, so wit all due respect I'll run diagnostics, fix th' mech an' we'll be on our way, an' no. This is my Fiancée."
Cordovin looked taken aback but schooled her emotions. "Very well. I'll take you to the mech right away."
Velvet looked around the base and could feel something off in the distance. "I'll be back." She told Geoff before heading off to the disturbance. She felt Cordovin looking at her and felt smugness rolling off her in droves.
Cordovin led Geoff to the Hanger where the Mech was stored. "A fine piece of Atlesian Technology." She beamed. "With this, the Grimm don't stand a chance." She clenched her fist.
"Let's see." Geoff said, climbing the ladder to the cockpit. He connected his Scroll and began running diagnostics.
Scanning... Scanning... Scanning... Scan Complete.
"BROTHERS UNITED!" Geoff shrieked.
"What!?" Cordovin demanded.
"I've got good news, an' bad news. Th' good news is I know what's wrong wit th' Mech. Th' bad news is tha' it'll take me a month of Sunday's ta fix it."
"What in the blood soaked Atlesian hell are you doing to my Mech!?" a husky voice asked.
Geoff turned around to see a scruffy looking middle aged man and a Faunus with fur for the Faunus trait walk into the Mech. "Who are ye?" Geoff asked.
"I'm the pilot!" The man said. "This is my Copilot. Now. What are you doing to my Mech?"
"I designed this Mech, and some arsehole decided ta feck wit th' wirin'!"
"You mean I "fixed" your Mech!" The man yelled.
"Ye call this fixed! Ye connected th' Air Conditioner ta th' Fecking Air Intake!"
"Yes! Because it makes it move a tenth of a second faster!"
"Ye connected th' heater ta th' cannon!"
"It adds a fifth more power!"
"Wha' did ye Overpressure th' ammo too!?"
"You're damn right I did!"
"I WAS JOKING!"
"I wasn't!"
"Yer nothin' more'n a scruffy looking Nerf Herder!"
"Hey!" The Pilot yelled, pointing at Geoff. "Only my wife gets to call me Scruffy Looking, and I don't even know what a Nerf Herder is."
Geoff facepalmed. "I can't believe I made this Mech and ye went an' ruined it."
"I think you mean that I perfected it."
"No! No ye didn't! How th' hell does this bucket o' bolts e'en work?"
"My Semblance!" The Pilot smiled snuggly. "It makes it so I'm the only one that can pilot the Mech."
"Wha's yer Semblance?"
"I call it Over Luck. It makes me super lucky when it comes to anything I'm good at."
"An' wha' are ye good at?"
"Maintenance, piloting, poker, basically in a scoundrel."
"And yet we keep you here." Cordovin muttered.
"Because you need me to pilot the Mech." He held out a hand to Geoff. "The name is Hikaru. This is my Copilot Citrine. He can't talk very well. I saved him from a bunch of assholes who were beating him and were going to skin him alive. Says he owes me a life debt, and we've been together ever since."
"Oh." Geoff said. "I guess tha' I misjudged ye. I still don't like wha' ye've done ta the Mech, but if ye can really pilot it as well as ye say ye can..."
"Well, I was just about to run through some drills if ya want to watch."
"Please! If'n ye can pilot it as well as yer Sayin ya can, I won't e'en be mad at ya."
"Great. Strap in, cause we're going 0-100 no breaks."
Geoff and Cordovin strapped themselves into the passenger seats and waited while Hikaru warmed up the Mech.
Velvet followed the sensation of something being wrong to a barracks. She opened the door and walked into a storage room.
She followed the sense to a hatch. Opening the hatch, she found a spiral staircase leading deep underground.
The staircase had scant lighting with some lights sparked.
The air tasted stale and musty, causing Velvet to cough.
She followed the staircase to a tunnel with broken, flashing lights that flashed with scant flashes of tunnel.
The sensation grew stronger, and she recognized what it was she was feeling. She sensed Lust, anger, pride, fear, pain, sadness, and shame.
She picked up her pace until she was running. She ran to a door and opened it.
For being such an old door, it didn't squeak... at all. This door was well taken care of.
She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. She looked around and saw a large open area with prison cells along all three tiers of the enclosure.
There was a burst of Lust, pain, and shame and she ran towards the end of the hall where she saw:
Medium Security Over the door.
She opened the door to not so much as a squeak and walked through.
This section was smaller, but not much different than the other area.
"I feel the pain of the innocent!" The Bounty Hunter yelled. "Free me so that I might hunt their tormentors!"
'Not yet.' Velvet thought. 'I don't even know if we can handle this on our own.'
"Can you hear their suffering? They cry out for salvation! It is our duty to free them and make those who would torture them regret their life choices through my gaze."
'We will, but we need to be patient.'
"Patience will not free them from their torment! We must act!"
'I will let you kill everyone if you're patient!'
"You mean it?"
'Yes.' Velvet assured the Bounty Hunter before moving towards the door labeled:
MAXIMUM SECURITY
She opened the door to the Maximum Security section and was hit with a smell and heard sounds that would haunt her for their rest of her life.
She ran into the room and froze. On the right hand side of the room she saw cells that had been kept nice. The beds had various stains on them and looked recently used or in the process of being used.
A male bear Faunus had been shackled to the wall on one bed and was being violated by a group of naked individuals, men and women alike.
The poor bear eared Faunus man shuddered and passed out causing some humans to cheer while others groaned.
"Who had seven times!" A man yelled and a woman shot her hand up.
The man handed her a stack of Lien chips.
In another cell? Room? A Faunus wearing a black and white bikini with a collar around her neck was cleaning a bed of the soiled sheets and replacing them with clean sheets.
In another cell a Faunus was being degraded when a woman urinated on him.
"THEY MUST DIE!" The Bounty Hunter roared.
'On that we agree!' Velvet hissed. 'But now is not the time.' She looked around and found a wall coated in tools of torture.
A man walked to the wall and grabbed a stick of some kind and walked into a human males cell. "You really shouldn't have tried telling Cordovin about us Sidian ." The mad said as he flipped the man over, so he was on his stomach.
Sidian cried out in pain as the rod disappeared inside him.
Velvet clamped her hands over her mouth so she wouldn't scream. She looked down and saw different looking tables where Human and Faunus alike were strapped to, some spread Eagle, some tied down, and other forced into various positions do their bodies were readily exposed for their torturers.
Velvet bolted for the door and ran out, closing it behind her. She ran out and was just exiting the area labeled:
General Population
When she was caught by a man.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, grabbing her wrist.
Velvet pulled her arm, throwing the man into a wall, breaking his neck, she didn't have the capacity to care for them at this point.
A second man walked over to her and grabbed her. "You think your tough shit? You're not, and we'll Break you in no time."
Velvet's face melted, leaving her skull and ears. "What are you doing to these Faunus?" she demanded.
"Whatever we want." The man said. "Who's going to stop us? They are just Faunus. No one has come looking for them, so we can do whatever we want, just so long as they're out of sight of Special Operative Cordovin, we can do whatever we want to these Faunus."
"You! Guilty!" Velvet roared as the flesh melted from her body, leaving a flaming Skeleton in its place. She grabbed the man's face and held it, searing his flesh, and glared him in the face. "Your soul is stained with the pain of the innocent! Stare into my eyes and feel their pain!"
The man felt pain in his biceps, before he felt like he'd been punched.
He fell to his knees as he felt pressure on his shoulders and pressure in his knees as it felt as though someone was forcing him to the ground.
He was forced to endure this pain for what felt like eternity. By the time it was over he felt that he was leaking from every orifice. His stomach was full and distended, to the point of bursting.
He tried crying out in pain as he was forced to endure every punch he'd ever inflicted, every slap, every grope, every gunshot, stabbing, kick. Every ounce of pain he'd ever caused another person he felt.
And just as soon as he thought it was over. It started all over again. He was forced to endure a never ending loop of rape and torture that he'd caused others to endure. He didn't know how long it would last, all he knew was that he would give anything to make it stop.
Velvet took control again and ran for the staircase. She needed to get help. She needed to destroy this place.
Geoff and Cordovin sat in the cockpit while Hikaru and Citrine walked out to sea to test the Mech.
"So?" Geoff asked the pilot. "Show me tha' Yer modifications are better than my work."
"Hold onto your bag Mech boy." Hikaru said as he moved faster than Geoff's specs suggested it COULD run.
"Holy!" Geoff yelled.
"See! What did I tell ya!"
An aquatic Grimm poked its head out of the water and Hikaru aimed and fired... killing the Grimm and boiling the water around it.
"Wha' else can this thin' do?"
"I can't do anything fancy, but my brother in law can get this thing to flip!"
"Yer jokin'!"
"Nah. He's insane, and don't even get me started in his Semblance."
"What's his Semblance?"
"He calls it Force, he says that he opens himself up to his surroundings and he's able to affect them to do what he wants."
Geoff blinked, because it sounded awfully familiar. "I see."
"Yeah! My wife's Semblance allows her to target people's emotions. She called it Empathy."
"Okay."
"Had enough, or want me to give you a more in depth experience?"
"Nah. I'm good."
"Heading back then." Hikaru piloted the Mech back to the hanger.
"Thank you." Cordovin said. "Now. If you'll excuse me. I have paperwork to take care of."
Geoff nodded and looked at his Scroll.
"Got to be somewhere?" Hikaru asked.
"Yeah. I need ta..."
"Geoff." A sick looking Velvet staggered up to them.
"Lass! Wha's wrong? Wha' happened?"
"I need your help! Faunus! Humans! They are in danger!"
"What do you mean?" Hikaru said.
Velvet looked at him for a second. "You can help too! There's a prison! Under the water! It's full of humans and Faunus! They're being tortured!"
"Le's go!" Geoff said.
"Let me call some back up." Hikaru said, pulling out his Scroll, he called someone.
"Lia!" He called out. "Get the kid and meet us... where are they meeting us?"
"The Barracks!" Velvet said.
"Meet us at the Barracks!" With that Hikaru closed his Scroll and they ran for the Barracks.
When they arrived, they saw two people waiting for them. A woman with long brunette hair curled into a bun carrying twin pistols on her belt and a Cylinder about 14 Inches Long. She was wearing a white pantsuit and appeared both worried and Furious.
The other was a man With Dirty Blond, Short hair who wore Black Huntsman gear. He wore two cylinders on his belt, One Long, about 14 Inches and the other about half that. He also carried a pistol.
"Hikaru!" Lia yelled. "Why Did you Call us Like that?"
"She said That Humans and Faunus were being tortured. I figured we could explain on the way."
"Let's go." Velvet Said, leading them inside the Barracks and down the staircase, through general Population and Medium security.
She stopped at Maximum Security and grabbed Geoff by his shoulder. "We're Under the ocean right now, and you can't lose control. You can't explode."
Geoff nodded gravely, and Velvet opened the door to the Sounds of torture and the smell of filth.
Citrine covered his nose and the others followed suit.
Velvet let her flesh melt away as the Bounty Hunter took over. "Save the innocent! Slaughter the wicked!" She roared, before charging in.
The others followed, Geoff changed the 'Junkers Toolkit' To the assault rifle and walked in, not expecting what he saw. It was worse Than what he'd imagined. He flipped the Dial on 'Junkers Toolkit' from Full Auto to Burst before realizing that Semi Auto would be safer. He aimed, pulled the trigger, and shot a Soldier about to decapitate a human.
Hikaru and Citrine ran in, saw what was happening, and opened fired on a couple of naked soldiers pushing red hot Brands into a Faunus woman's breasts while she cried out in agony.
Luka ran in and Front flipped into the pit Where he drew One of the cylinders and an Emerald Green Hard light Blade appeared from the top. He swung it to cut through restraints before swinging to cut through torturers and implements of torture.
Lia ran in and began shooting at the soldiers, aiming to injure. They needed to interrogate them after all.
Velvet ran around the room grabbing soldiers, inflicting the gaze upon them causing them to cry out in The Agony they had caused others. Forcing them to endure that torment for eternity.
"Wait!" A Soldier yelled. "Wait Wait Wait Wait Wait! Stop! Please stop! I didn't want to do this! It was this or be treated like the others!"
"You!" The Bounty Hunter called. "...Guilty! Now. Your soul has been stained with the blood of the innocent! Look into my eyes and feel their pain!"
The soldier fell on the ground and felt the worst pain he'd ever felt. He knew what he'd done. He knew what he was guilty of. As he was forced to endure this agony for eternity one thought was stuck on repeat. "Turn around! I hope you like pain, because this is gonna hurt."
Geoff looked around at the absolutely deplorable conditions. Humans and Faunus were living in cells without even hay on the floor. They looked just healthy enough to survive, but they were forced to live in their own bodily fluids. They were sitting in feces and urine and blood and likely other bodily fluids. It made his sick. They needed to get them to a healers, now.
Luka walked into a cell where a man was lying on his stomach. He touched the man's wrist, searching for a pulse, but couldn't find one. He saw a pool of blood under the man's legs and walked around to see what injuries the man had sustained. He wasn't prepared for what he saw.
The man had been impaled straight through his body.
Luka covered his face at the inhumane treatment given to those who were kept prisoner here.
He stood to leave, but his Semblance activated and he Rachel's down to pull the Rod put of the man and dropped it. Maybe his Semblance wanted him to give the man a shred of dignity before he left.
"What are we looking at?" Hikaru asked.
"It's a torture dungeon." Lia said. "It looks like they were torturing Faunus and Humans for their entertainment."
"Not just that." Velvet said. "There's a Bear Faunus who was restrained and tortured in one of the rooms while they bet on him to see how long he'd last before he lost conscious."
"Why?" Geoff asked.
"Kid." Hikaru said. "It doesn't matter. They did it."
"Do you think Cordovin knows?" Luka asked.
"I'd bet the Mech on it." Hikaru said.
"We need ta get th' survivors ta a healers." Geoff said.
"Healer Brown is One of the best Healers in Argus." Lia said.
"Let's go." Luka said. "I'll lead the way out. Those who can walk should stay with us. Those who can't be carried out. We'll come back with the authorities and medics."
They spent several minutes gathering up the survivors, unfortunately those who hadn't survived would have to stay behind until they vane back.
Geoff kept the 'Junkers Toolkit' in its Assault Rifle Form and stayed on guard.
Luka led them through the tunnels, stopping every few minutes so the survivors could rest.
"We've got company." Velvet's ears twitched.
The door leading to the General Population opened and a group of ten, five men five women, walked in.
"Oi!" A man yelled. "What are you doing with them?"
"We're getting them to safety." Velvet said sternly.
"No, you're not. You're taking our free time away from us."
"You are soldiers of Atlas!" Lia demanded. "What the hell is wrong with you! Treating others like this!"
"Wrong." A woman said. "We're just treating them like what they are. Objects to be used however we see fit."
"By torturin' an' rapin' 'em!" Geoff yelled.
"You can't torture and rape an object." A man laughed. "They can't feel it anyway. They are just there for our personal entertainment." He licked his lips in Velvets direction.
Geoff glared at the group.
"Now." A Woman Said. "If you would be so kind as to March your asses back the other way..."
Hikaru and Citrine open fired while Velvet changed into the Bounty Hunter and charged them, grabbing a man and woman searing their souls.
Once the group was dead Velvet walked through the door.
"Think you guys are ready to walk again?" Luka asked
In response the survivors stood up and they continued through the tunnel towards freedom.
"Don't worry." Luka said. "We'll get you outside and to safety."
"Have you handled Cordovin yet?" Someone asked.
"Cordovin?" Hikaru asked.
"Yes. Some of us told her about this place, next thing we knew, we were down here."
There was a sharp intake of breath as Geoff suddenly wanted to 'talk' to Cordovin.
"We'll take her down." Lia said. "She'll pay for her part in this."
"I hope you can back that up." Someone said.
After what felt like hours, they finally made it to the staircase. Standing next to the staircase was Velvet with a pile of dead bodies behind Her.
"You've been busy." Hikaru said.
"Yes." Velvet said. "Yes, I have."
"We'll take a break here..." Luka began until he looked up the stairs.
"What's wrong kid?" Hikaru asked.
"We can't take them up there right now." Luka said. "We would be leading them to their deaths, or worse."
"Then what should we do."
"Hikaru. Can you and Citrine get to the Mech?"
"We can try."
"Do it. We're going to need it. The rest of us will take out as many of the others as we can."
"How many are there?" Lia asked.
Luka closed his eyes and looked up for a minute. "We're outnumbered at least twenty to one."
Geoff and Velvet looked at each other.
"Do ya t'ink tha' we should call Jason?" Geoff asked.
"Not yet." Velvet said. "I need to get at least ten more souls to save Yatsu. Jason would just murder all of them. Let me get the souls to save Yatsu first."
"We are severally outnumbered, and outgunned." Luka said. "Maybe we should call Your friend."
Velvet thought about that. "Very well. Call Jason."
"Think ye can communicate through th' bond?" Geoff asked.
"I can try." Velvet closed her eyes. 'Alpha.' She called out. 'Alpha. Can you hear me?'
"I can hear you. Why are you calling me?"
'We are at the Argus Military Base. We're outmanned and outgunned. Can you help us?'
"I will get Jason to the Military Base as fast as possible."
'Hurry.'
"I will."
"I was able to get in touch with the Alpha." Velvet said. "He's on his way."
"Let's hope its sooner rather than later." Hikaru said.
"We should head up there so we can distract them." Geoff said.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Velvet said as she ran up the staircase.
Geoff ran after her followed by Luka and Lia.
Hikaru and Citrine brought up the rear.
Velvet burst from the staircase and kicked open the door to see an army of soldiers waiting for her. She let her flesh melt away and roared at the soldiers who opened fire.
Geoff watched from the staircase as Velvet shrugged off bullets and shells. He aimed, lined up a shot, and fired.
The bullet sailed through Velvets legs and flew true, nailing his target square in the face.
He rolled out of the staircase and into an out of the way area. "Velvet!" He yelled. "Catch!" He changed the 'Junkers Toolkit' from the Automatic Rifle to the Halberd and threw it at Velvet.
Velvet caught it with one hand and threw it at the soldiers who weren't expecting it.
Geoff typed the command into his wrist computer and the 'Junkers Toolkit' opened up, dropping its payload before he activated the Gravity Dust in his other gauntlet and called it back to him.
The Soldiers looked down as dozens of tiny orbs dropped to their feet and bounced or rolled.
"Marbles?" One asked before they exploded.
Hikaru and Citrine took their chance and bolted out the staircase, out the door, and towards the hanger.
Luka and Lia jumped out, activating their Hard Light Sabers, swinging them to deflect rounds, defend themselves and each other.
They attacked to injure rather than kill and acquired several prisoners.
The soldiers rushed them in a wave forcing them to retreat.
Geoff changed the 'Junkers Toolkit' to the Assault Rifle and flipped the switch to Full Auto before he open fired.
Velvet grabbed Geoff and threw him behind a barrier as the front of the storage barracks exploded. She ran outside and seared the souls of the wicked.
"Congratulations!" The Bounty Hunter said. "You have seared 100 wicked souls! You are now an Angel of Vengeance! Yatsuhashi'' soul will be spared!"
Geoff watched as a ring of blue fire exploded out from Velvet and passed over him causing him to feel warm. The sensation quickly passed as voices cried out in pain, pulling him back to reality.
"Velvet?" He asked. "Are ye okay lass?"
A hazy blue light appeared in the smoke and a skeleton with blue-white fire appeared from the smoke. "I think I'm okay." Velvet said. "Actually, I think I'm better than okay."
There was movement behind Velvet and Geoff aimed and fired, knocking whoever it was to the ground.
Velvet spun and saw that the remaining few soldiers were stuck and couldn't move.
A group ran up the road towards them and they noticed them.
Geoff dropped 'Junkers Toolkit' and fell to his knees.
Velvet turned around and wanted to cry.
"Velvet!" Jason yelled, skidding to a stop. "Are you guys, okay?"
Velvet fell to her knees as she felt safe for the first time in, she couldn't remember. Atlas had taken her courage and left her feeling like a coward.
'But you stayed even though you were afraid.' The Bounty Hunter said. 'Is that not the definition of bravery?'
'Just-just let me process this.' Velvet thought.
Velvet felt warm, tender loving arms wrap around her and looked up to see Geoff. She smiled softly and kissed his cheek. "I love you." She said, before fatigue overtook her and she fell into Morpheus Embrace.
Geoff looked around at Jason and felt tears sting the corners of his eyes when he saw his brothers. "Guys!" He shouted. It had only been six months since he last saw them, but it had felt like an eternity.
Scott, José, and Gale ran up to Geoff and looked down at their brother.
"Hey." Geoff said.
José bonked Geoff on the head with 'Bengela Cavaliero'.
"Ouch!" Geoff yelled. "What did ya do tha' fer!"
"You disappear for six months and don't even let us know you're alive!" Scott yelled.
"Ye got Yang's arm." Geoff said sheepishly.
"That's not the point!" Gale scolded. "You have sent a text, called, something!"
Geoff thought about that. "Yer right. I should have sent ye a text. E'en though I was in excruciatin' pain fer two months. Then I was dealin' wit training Whitley..." He looked at Whitley. "...How ya doin'? Keepin' up wit yer trainin'?"
"Yeah. I can do 230 now."
"Great..." Geoff looked back at Scott, José, and Gale. "Then I was dealin' wit th' Clinic, which I thin' someone is gonna try an' do something ta."
"Why?" Jason asked.
"We tore down th' Brothel in Mantle."
"There was a brothel in Mantle?" Weiss asked. "How did you Miss that?" She asked Jason.
"I don't know." Jason said. "I shouldn't have missed that. I don't know how I missed that."
"Well, ya did!" Geoff snapped before taking in a breath. "I'm sorry, but... Atlas has only gotten worse since ya left. A mob came inta th' Clinic an' tried destroying it. I'm worried tha' they'll come back ta finish th' Job."
"Then what Are you doing here?" Jason asked.
"We came ta do maintenance on th' Mech, an'... I have some bad news."
"What is it?" Jason asked.
Lia and Luka disappeared after the pulse of blue fire. They made their way to Cordovin's office. They needed to get to her before the others decided to kill her.
They ran up the steps to her office and ran inside pistol's drawn.
"Caroline Cordovin!" Lia snapped. "You're under arrest for permitting the torture and rape of Faunus and soldiers! You will stand trial, and you will be given the maximum sentence according to your crimes!"
"Crimes?" Cordovin asked. "What crimes? I did nothing wrong?"
"You allowed more than half of your soldiers to torture and rape Faunus and the soldiers who actively stood against you!" Luka snapped.
"What are you talking about! They were Faunus! No one cares about the Faunus! They are objects, nothing more!"
Lia put her arm in front of Luka so he couldn't do anything to Cordovin. "Under the Vytal Treaty of 610 ARW; All beings, human and Faunus alike, are to be considered People of Remnant. You are in direct violation of that treaty and are thereby under arrest. We will take you to Atlas to stand trial!"
"Do you honestly think that you can depose me!" Cordovin demanded. "I am Special Operative Caroline Cordovin! You can't depose me! I AM ATLESIAN LAW ON ARGUS!"
"I thought you would say that." Lia said. "Sleep."
"What?" Cordovin asked before she fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Let's get her to a Bullhead." Lia said.
They were about to pick Cordovin up when they felt a pulse of raw emotion rip through them, dropping them to their knees.
"What happened?" Luka asked.
"Pain." Lia groaned. "So. Much. Pain. Its agony. Not physical pain, but emotional."
Luka jumped to the roof and looked over to see someone on the ground screaming in pain. He used his Semblance to reach out and touch the figures mind. The agony he felt was raw and visceral. It was the deepest pain he'd ever felt. The only time he'd ever felt that level of pain was when his father had died. "Oh no." He Spoke. "I know why he's in so much pain."
"Why?" Lia grunted through the pain.
"He lost a family member. A father figure or mother figure."
"Don't start getting sentimental on me Luka. You know my feelings about him."
"It's been years Lia. Don't you think you should forgive father?"
"I have forgiven him, but that doesn't mean he deserves my respect. He didn't torture you like he did Hikaru, Citrine, and I."
"He did cut off my hand and his Bandit Leader did try using his Lightning Semblance on me."
"That's not the point Luka! I'm glad that you can call him father, but to me he will always just be Chichioya(Dark Father)."
Luka looked at Lia. He was about to say something when his Scroll belted out 'Airway to Hell'. "This is Luka."
"Kid! I need your help! We got a fucking Leviathan coming our way! It just broke through the gate and is heading for Argus! We need to stop it, and your Semblance is the Ace up my sleeve I need."
"I'm on my way Hikaru." Luka said. "Can you handle Cordovin?" He asked Lia.
Lia looked at Cordovin and blinked. Cordovin lost consciousness. "I think I can handle her."
"Then I'm going to help Hikaru."
Lia waved as Luka left and scowled at Cordovin. "You're so lucky I'm the one who arrested you. Otherwise, you would be dead rather than standing trial."
A few minutes earlier.
"...an'... I have some bad news."
"What is it?" Jason asked.
Geoff sighed a shuddering sigh. "I'm sorry, but... Clifford is dead. He died helping a Faunus girl with her injuries."
Jason looked at Geoff. He hadn't heard him right. Did he? He was joking. It was a joke. Right? Cliff couldn't be dead. Cliff was the strongest person he knew. After a second it clicked, and he understood what Geoff said. Cliff was dead. Cliff was dead. Clifford Horizon. The man who'd raised him since he was ten. The man who'd raised him for the past eight years. Was dead. Murdered. For helping a Faunus.
"Jason?" Weiss placed her arm on his shoulder.
"NNNOOOOOOOOO!" He roared out in pure, raw, visceral agony that turned into an Alpha pulse. His throat was torn to shreds by the force of his wail.
Blood flew from his throat as he fell to his knees, not feeling the pain as he landed hard. He grabbed the ground and coughed out blood.
Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the blood on the ground and he was lost to his agony.
"BLAKE!" A familiar voice yelled.
Blake looked up to see Adam walking towards her. She drew 'Gambol Shroud' and snarled at Adam before he ran at him.
Yang watched Blake run off and followed her. She owed Adam for taking her arm.
Weiss looked at Jason before looking after Blake and Yang. Jason needed comfort, but her friends were in serious danger of being hurt, or worse, killed.
Scott, Sun, and Freddy took off after the three. Who knew how dirty Adam would play if he was willing to murder, decapitate, and torment Blake like that?
Logan sniffed the air. "Ah fuck." He swore.
"What is it?" Loki asked.
"Grimm. Coming from all sides."
"Let's get back to town." Coral said. "We need to split up into groups to handle the Grimm coming from the forest and the beach."
"Let's go." Jaune said.
The group left Jason to process, cope, and grieve. At least on the base he was safer than in the middle of battle, getting in their way, and not helping.
The only person that stayed behind was Emerald.
The others had to prepare. In less than a month they'd had to defend two places from the threat of the Grimm. So was the life of a Hunter.