Out of Time
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Team WA Vol. 2! This'll be the first one of the new year and while it's a little shorter, hopefully you'll all still enjoy it. And hopefully I'll be back on a regular writing schedule. Either way, I'd like to thank you all for your patience and to DCDGojira: Glad you liked it, I figured I'd sow just a little more dissent among the ranks. Now then, onto the chapter!
A Few Years Ago: Nighttime at Shade Academy in Vacuo
'I don't get it,' thought a dark-haired wolf Faunus as he crept through the halls of Shade Academy, keeping his eyes and ears open for anything unusual, 'I reacted on instinct, it's not like the prick would've survived 'til graduation with such pitiful fighting skills. Yet somehow, I'm the bastard for defending myself in a land where we're constantly told it's survival of the fittest. It was his own fault for trying to stab me in the back.' This and other negative thoughts filled the Faunus's head as he stuck to the shadows, calling upon his memory to help guide him where he needed to go.
'Blast Headmaster Theodore for messing up the marks on my weapons,' he continued to complain in his mind, 'I could've been in and out with a simple teleport if not for that. Oh well, if there's one actual good piece of advice my old man was able to impart on me, it's to work with what ya got and right now, I got an empty hallway and the dark of night.' And he used them to their fullest, moving as quickly and quietly as he could through the academy until he finally came upon what he was looking for, the weapons locker room. Now under normal circumstances, students would store their weapons in their lockers throughout the day and only pull them out for sparring, trips, or whatever class required them for that day.
But this was Vacuo, and that meant plenty of reasons to keep one's weapon with them wherever they went. So instead, the weapons locker room was used to store the weapons of students who'd broken some of the more serious rules. Because in Vacuo, to be unarmed was to be more vulnerable, unless you were one of the big time brawlers who didn't even need a weapon to make a mess. He himself, fell somewhere in between those two categories as his hand to hand was good but not to the extent that he could crush huge boulders with his fists. The other reason he fell in between was that he didn't need his weapons to use his semblance, like now as he withdrew a simple tarot card with the symbol of death on it which he proceeded to slide under the door.
Once he was sure it was on the other side, he took a deep breath and teleported to the card he'd marked with his semblance. "Ah, teleporting," he said as he picked the card up and strode over to the locker he suspected of housing his weapons, "my favorite way to be a dick." And truthfully, he'd come up with all kinds of tricks with his semblance, with the marked playing card or throwing knife being one of his personal favorites to use for such a purpose given how easily they could be moved around. Or, in this case, slipped into a locker made to house even the largest of weapons.
And it just so happened that he found the locker he was looking for by smelling each one until he finally came to one with a familiar scent, his scent. If he was being real specific, it was the scent of his sword and the special coating he put on it to keep sticky liquids off of it. He didn't mind cleaning his weapon but getting sticky sand off was a battle in and of itself, especially given that it seemed like a losing battle in a kingdom completely rife with sand in every crack and crevice! But when he thought about it, he'd be kissing a lot of that good bye soon enough.
And thus, he slipped his little tarot card into the large locker and was about to teleport in when the sound of the room door opening reached his ears. "Ah what a day," said one of the familiar, and now hated, teachers of Shade Academy, "there are training accidents and then there are just nasty incidents. We could personally do with less of them. Oh well, problem for tomorrow. Right now, time to get this room check done and go to-huh-who's there?!"
The teacher had heard movement near one of the lockers, instantly drawing his weapons as years of learned survival experience had him scanning the room, ceiling and even the floor for possible threats. When nothing jumped out at him immediately, he began moving towards where he heard the noise. It honestly sounded like something had fallen in one of the lockers which, while not unheard of, was typically rare given how the magnetic holders were set up. So, approaching the lockers cautiously, he noted a slight bit of shaking coming from one of them.
'I really hope no one's rigged this with something,' thought the Professor as he poked the locker door a couple of times. Then, preparing himself to jump back at the first sign of trouble, he keyed in the access code and opened the locker, to find it empty. Or rather, all that was in there now was a simple tarot card representing death. "Ah shit," he said, "you got in after all. The headmaster is not gonna be happy to hear about this."
About the Same Time: Outside of Shade Academy
"Ah, geez," coughed the Wolf Faunus as he struggled to regain his balance from a sudden dizzy spell upon his appearance, "I'm still not so great at teleporting great distances just yet. But at least now I know I can go this far. And speaking of far, I'd best get as far away as possible, as soon as possible." And so he ran, disappearing into the night.
Reports from both the academy and a number of eyewitnesses say that the Wolf Faunus was sighted in a few locations in nearby towns after that, with a final eyewitness report identifying what might have been the thief at a small coastal city stepping onto a private vessel. The fate of both the vessel and the Wolf Faunus remain relatively unknown to what passes for the authorities on Vacuo. What is known is that on occasion there are reports of a figure wielding a weapon that matches the one stolen from Shade Academy. Whether or not it is the same Wolf Faunus that fled all those years ago, is still a matter of debate.
Present Day: Monstra the Whale Grimm
Exo opened his eyes with a start at the sound of movement off to his right side. He'd been leaning against the wall of the flesh and bone room resting his eyes for the last few minutes, listening for any change in the condition of the room's other occupant, Cinder Fall. 'Man, why now of all times,' thought the mercenary as he approached the flat stone bed that was surrounded by Grimm teeth, rubbing his head lightly, 'I haven't thought about that day for ages.' Whatever the reason, he pushed it to the back of his mind while he waited for his boss to sit up and get herself oriented.
The sound of the door opening behind him signalled the arrival of one of his other associates, Emerald. The green-haired illusionist had come by to check on Cinder every few minutes, which the Wolf Faunus found mildly annoying given that he'd agreed that he, Neo and her would watch over the Fall Maiden in shifts until she finally woke up. But at least it saved him the trouble of having to message her as the girl rushed over to her mistress and took her Grimm hand in hers. "I'm so glad you're awake," said Emerald, relief prevalent in her voice, "I was worried you'd been injured worse than any of us thought. How are you feeling?"
"You," said Cinder as she withdrew her hand from Emerald's, her tone suggesting mild irritation, "why did you bring me back he-…that's right, we failed."
"Penny practically fried you with that attack of hers," explained Emerald, "you were hurt, really badly. I was just trying to help."
"Em's right," said Exo with his arms crossed, finally alerting Cinder to his presence, "you were down, Neo was down. If I hadn't managed to grab and threaten that old lady when I did, it would've just been me and her trying to fend off a Maiden and a Silent Fury. I wouldn't try my luck against those odds even if you paid me the entirety of the Atlas treasury."
"Which you just might get if everything goes smoothly from here on out," said Mercury as he also entered the room, "and besides, I think Cinder's had enough help up to this point. Now that she's gone against our Queen, I hope you're both thinking carefully about who you back."
"But Cinder's hunch was right," defended Emerald, "we might have the Winter Maiden's powers right now if we'd had just a little more support-."
"Would you stop trying to protect her already," said Mercury with a hand held up, "I already told you, didn't I, she doesn't care about you."
"All of you," said Cinder as flames suddenly erupted from her right eye, "get out, now. I'll let you know when I have need of you." She received a dejected look from Emerald upon giving that order but Mercury, however, went to examining his nails.
"Yeah, about that whole giving me orders thing," said Mercury, "Salem's got some other plans in mind for me. So I'm not gonna be taking orders from you anymore." The flames around Cinder's eye went out upon hearing that statement, a look of mild disbelief crossing her features. "Anyway, she told me to tell you that she wants everyone on the bridge. Looks like something big is about to happen."
He turned and walked out of the room then. Emerald gave a sigh and went along as well. Cinder glanced at Exo, a questiong look on her face as she spoke again. "And what's your position on all of this?" She asked.
"I'll help you out whenever Salem has me available," said Exo with a shrug, "that's the best I can do. But remember, I'm a mercenary. If you want me to go against someone like Salem, you'd best give me a damn good reason to believe you won't pull me down with you." He turned and exited the room then, still mulling over recent events.
He'd followed Salem's orders and kept an eye on Cinder, reporting her movements as instructed. He just hoped that his interpretation of following her orders wasn't looked upon unfavorably. A flash of pink and brown in his peripherals told him that his fellow psychotic killer had fallen instep soundlessly next to him. "Before you ask, I'm as in the dark about what's gonna happen as you. Salem's wanted her next step to be a surprise for pretty much everyone."
Neo gave him a bit of a sideways look at that statement, so Exo decided to elaborate. "Hey you know what my policy's been up to this point. As long as I'm getting paid, I only ask the questions I need to ask. Salem said things were already in motion so, not counting our recent scuffle, I figured it was just best to wait on standby like I was ordered too. Being on already shaky ground, Cinder probably should've done the same."
Neo frowned at this before holding her hand up and producing a small illusion of the relic of knowledge, emphasizing the question she really wanted answered. "Yeah you told me that's what he said. Let's hope that's not actually the case or, well, I got no idea." The monochrome girl's eyes went down to the floor upon hearing that. "For now, we're just gonna have to play things by ear. Trust me, I've seen what Salem can do to people she doesn't like and neither one of us wants to be on the receiving end of it unless we got no other choice."
A nod was all he received in response to that. In truth, he didn't want to believe that what Ursario had said was true either. If it was, well, he'd rather not think about that right now. No other words were exchanged as the two continued on their way to the bridge.
A Few Minutes Later: Monstra Throne Room/Bridge
All the people currently under Salem's command sat in a row, down on one knee as the Queen of the Grimm herself swept her eyes across the group. Her newest creation, The Hound, was the only one not standing in front of her. Instead, the creature had taken up a sitting position on her right hand side, very much resembling the loyal dog that its namesake implied. Exo had intended to take his place next to Emerald and Neo, who were a bit further back, but was stopped and beckoned forward by Salem.
The mercenary wound up kneeling next to Mercury, glancing over to see Hazel had brought Ozpin's newest reincarnation, Oscar, he believed his name was. But he quickly focused his attention forward as their mistress stood up and strolled towards them, an unreadable expression on her face as she stopped in front of Cinder. "We have good news," Salem announced, "Tyrian has received a message from our dear colleague, Watts." She moved over to said scorpion-tailed Faunus as she continued to speak.
The psychotic man smiled happily and held up his scroll as Salem patted him on the head as though he were a pet. "It seems that Ironwood had him work with him in order to gain control over the puppet currently masquerading as the Winter Maiden. I suppose he's proven that he is still useful after all. Speaking of which, Exo," she turned her gaze on the Wolf Faunus, "I received your report, but I'd like to hear it personally from you: what happened exactly?"
"I accompanined Cinder and the others to Amity," explained Exo, "forgive me if I was being presumptuous, whatever that means, but I thought it best to at least see if her hunch was correct. It was, we encountered the Winter Maiden, Wayne Ursario and another old but very skilled huntress there assisting Dr. Polendina in the launching of Amity. Despite having a slight advantage of numbers, though, we suffered too many injuries to continue fighting effectively. It was my and Emerald's idea to retreat-."
"There's no need to act like you're to blame," said Salem as she held up her hand, "I asked you to keep an eye on Cinder and you did so. I did not expect you to be able to stop her from leaving. You succeeded in doing what I asked. Cinder, however-." The Fall Maiden suddenly yelled as her Grimm arm started emitting black mist, likely mimicking the feeling of being badly burnt. "You disobeyed my specific instructions, only to be thwarted once again. It's made me realize something: I, am the one to blame."
Cinder's pained yells ceased then as her Grimm arm returned to normal. "You've spent your whole life fighting with unwavering conviction for what you want. And here I am, holding you back when I should be lifting you up." She held out her hand then, which Cinder shakily took with her own Grimm hand. "You deserve so much more than I have given you. So go, go to Atlas and recover Watts. He can lead you to the girl. Whether you or my hound get to her first, you will finally have the Winter Maiden's power and I will have the staff."
"You mustn't," said Oscar suddenly, "all you'll be doing is helping her bring about the end, for all of you-guh!" He was quickly silenced by Hazel pushing his head violently to the ground. Salem approached then as the large man held up Oscar by the back of the neck.
"You're already, too late," she cooed with a devious smile crossing her face. As she'd said once before, events had already been set in motion.
Mantle: Near the Damaged Wall
"Coming your way!" exclaimed Jen as she swung both hands into the side of a megalioths knee, causing it to stumble and crash into a nearby building's wall. Tobias was quick to leap in and slash at its now unprotected belly, igniting blue flames as he went along. The large Grimm reacted by thrashing about, managing to get back to its feet as it tried in vain to put out the blue fire underneath it. "Now we finish this one," she said while yanking the remains of a lamp post out of the ground, "honey, give me a light!"
"All yours beautiful," he replied as they passed each other with Tobias tossing some blue flames onto the pole while his wife continued to charge forward. The Bear Faunus timed her strike for when the megalioth reared up again, jamming the flaming pole into its stomach before letting go and retreating. The Grimm howled one more time before toppling over into the street, groaning one last time before the life left its eyes.
"I hope no one was using that lamppost," said Jen as she dusted her hands off a bit before putting her finger to her ear, "Fiona, we got the last Grimm in this section. We're gonna stop by the shop on the way to the next one."
"That's fine, but don't take too long," said Fiona, "the south section is starting to encounter more Grimm."
"It'll just take a sec," said Jen as she and her husband hurried back to the base where Maria had originally parked the stolen manta. They'd since taken the manta up to Amity where they'd successfully broadcasted the message. Thankfully, Yang's group had dropped off an extra radio from Pietro's pharmacy in between assignments, the kind that could receive long range broadcasts. "Alright, let's get this thing tuned up again."
Tobias did his part and made sure it was all plugged in while Jen got to work flipping the proper switches and adjusting the frequency. Though once he was done helping, Tobias stood off to the side, deep in thought. "So, what's got you troubled," asked Jen after a moment, her eyes still on the radio equipment, "and don't say it's nothing. We've been married long enough for me to know when something's on your mind."
"Oh it's probably nothing," said Tobias as he checked one of his revolvers, "just something that's been bugging me ever since our fight with that bitchy Fall Maiden."
"A fight like that does tend to leave an impression," said Jen, "it's not every day you come to blows with a maiden."
"It's not that," said Tobias, "It's just, you remember that huntsman with the two swords and two maces? I think his name was, Whoa, Row, Rhodes, that was it Rhodes."
"Vaguely," said Jen, "I remember you asking if he thought he had enough weapons."
"Did I," questioned Tobias, "I was certain that was your crack at him, given that he had that iron body semblance."
"No, I'm pretty sure it was you," corrected Jen, "either way it was a long time ago. Why are you bringing it up now?"
"Well at the time there was that flock of Nevermore's causing trouble all across the countryside," said Tobias, "I initially thought that was one of the main reasons he was hanging around the area, even being something of a regular at one of the local hotels. That was until he started quizzing me one day about how useful flaming hands were in combat. I put two and two together then that he must've been helping someone train at the time."
"Ah shit, I remember now," said Jen as she stopped adjusting the frequency for a moment, "he'd shown up at one of our last jobs together missing a sword. Then the next day we're reading a report about him being found dead in that hotel's store room. He had both maces but his swords were gone. But what's that got to do with anything right now?"
"Cinder Fall's sword skills," said Tobias, "she's a dual wielder, and the way she handled both blades kinda reminded me of Rhodes. You don't think-."
"That the one he was training was Cinder Fall," said Jen, "it's not unheard of for huntsman and huntresses to take kids on as apprentices from time to time. It was actually almost common after the Great War and-hold on sec," The Bear Faunus Woman adjusted the frequency just the slightest bit more as she picked up an open broadcast.
"It's headed straight for Mantle," said the voice of Jaune Arc on the line, "I repeat, a massive river of Grimm is headed straight for Mantle. Please, anyone if you are receiving, please respond!"
"Oh no," said Jen with a hint of dread in her voice, "they're still out on the tundra right now."
"Then we need to get moving before-," his statement was cut short as the city itself began shaking.
About the Same Time: Near the Abandoned Outpost
'These last couple of days have just sucked,' thought Aegis as he rode behind Yang on her now mostly functional hover bike. Jaune and Ren were using the more functional one as the group rode alongside the recently discovered Grimm river. Currently, they were meeting a manta that was landing near the river, the only ones to respond to their transmission thus far. Though their enthusiasm fell the moment the door slid open to reveal just who they were meeting with.
"Great, you guys are here," said Yang as Jaune and Aegis hopped off their respective bikes to more or less 'greet' the Ace Ops. Though Aegis still had some optimism left as he saw they were now accompanied by Winter.
"Hey Winter," Aegis said, "good to see you're doing better." The Older Schnee sister merely nodded to him as Jaune cut to the chase.
"You heard the whole message right," said the blond knight as he pointed at the river of Grimm, "there's a whole horde right here. We need to hurry."
"Where's Penny," said Harriet, acting as if she hadn't even heard Jaune.
"Are you serious right now?" He asked in understandable frustration, "There are countless people in danger right now!"
"There are people in danger because you kids are acting selfish-," Harriet started to say before Aegis cut in.
"Don't give me that," said Aegis, "we've been trying to save both cities worth of people while you guys have only been interested in saving your own skin! Penny's already done more than any of you and now we need-." A sudden rumbling stopped the Half Bear Faunus midsentence as they all tried to keep their balance. Another one followed in quick succession before a massive geyser erupted in the distance, propelling essence of the Grimm river several hundred feet into the air. It slammed into the outer hardlight shield around Atlas, assaulting it mercilessily like a giant firehose.
It lasted for about a minute until the force was too great for the shields to handle, causing them to shut off and allowing a large puddle of the Grimm sludge to impact against the bottom of Atlas itself. A large number of Alpha Centinels emerged then and headed straight for the towers powering the secondary shield around Atlas. A few of the nearby cruisers opened fire on them, disintegrating several of the insectoid Grimm with well placed laser fire. But only a couple needed to make it to the towers where they burrowed their heads into the earth holding up the structures powering the shields.
By the time the cruisers were able to come around and destroy them all, two of the towers were already unstable and fell off the floating land mass that was Atlas. This proved to be more than enough to disrupt the hardlight shield around the city as it faded away. The city, was now at the most vulnerable it had ever been.
At the Same Time: Monstra
"It's time~," Salem almost sang as she gave a silent command to the whale Grimm. The massive beast moved out of the storm of Grimm then, it's true size becoming even more apparent as it approached. It was even larger than a Leviathan, and its landing was felt by almost everyone in Atlas as the creature beached itself on the edge of the city where the farmland resided. It then opened its mouth and spewed out the black essence from the pools found in the land of darkness, generating numerous Grimm in mere moments. The battle for the kingdom of Atlas, had now truly begun.
And so the battle has commenced as Salem's plans move forward for the destruction of Atlas. Meanwhile, our heroes are gonna have to start making some hard decisions about where to go from here. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter even if it was a bit short and, of course, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as Wayne, Aegis, and the rest of our heroes get ready for war against Salem! 'Til then.
