Author's note: I had originally planned something for this chapter, but I had to postpone it, and add it to a later chapter.
Yang, Nora, Maria, Harriet and Vine were on their way to a dust mine, which was under attack by some strange monsters. According to the reports, they looked like giant purple-tinted steam-dust crystals with robotic arms and legs, red eyes, and an orange rhomboid crystal in the middle of their faces, and their left arm ended in a hose. As the Manta approached the location, Yang spotted five enemies.
"I think we should abort the mission," Yang said.
"What? Why?" Harriet asked.
"That looks like the poisoned steam Tyrian makes," Yang answered, "Trust me, you do not want to inhale that stuff."
"Then we better not breathe it," Nora said and fired a couple air-dust canisters into the smoke cloud, dispersing it somewhat. The team jumped out of their Manta and Harriet rushed into battle, firing her ricocheting disks and using Homing on them while Nora created a gust of wind to blow the smoke away. However, with the mine being inside a crater, it had little effect, and the cold caused the fog to cool down and collect at the bottom, near the entrance to the mine.
"Guys, I have an idea," Nora said and shot ice-dust canisters around the crater, causing the fog to cool down even more. Yang followed suit with ice-dust shells, and the two created dozens of ice spikes. Harriet's disks kept slamming into one of the monsters and bouncing off, only to strike again.
"We need to keep them from moving so much," Maria said, dodging a concentrated blast of thick poison smoke.
"Leave that to me," Vine said and used his foot vines to jump into the air before using his hand vines to throw aura arcs at another monster's legs.
"Focus on one of them," Maria shouted and shot the monster Vine had attacked. Harriet circled the crater and fired more disks at the monsters, and Yang followed Vine's ranged attacks to deliver some punches with air-dust shells, leaving explosives behind to create a way out when she needed to. The monster kicked her out of the cloud and followed her, and she set off her explosives, dealing massive damage to it, while the other monsters continued spraying toxic fumes.
"Ok, my turn," Yang said, got back up and jumped at the monster, putting all the built-up energy into a flurry of blows. The smoke burned in her eyes, nose and throat, but she pressed on, delivering blow after blow, and slowly cracking the crystal. When she dealt the final blow, the monster was thrown back and cracked a lot. Out of energy, Yang used her own special disk, releasing a circular projectile from the back of her right hand, which hit the monster and exploded. The monster shattered and reverted back to its crystal form. However, the dust crystal triggered immediately, releasing more of the toxic fumes. The other monsters got more aggressive and targeted the group from all sides, forcing them to retreat.
~o~
Back in Atlas, the group met with the other teams, and based on their looks, it went similarly poorly for them. They all had red teary eyes from the irritating fumes, and everyone agreed to take a break before the next meeting.
"No luck?" Weiss asked after they all met an hour after returning.
"We got one," Yang answered.
"But it turned into a crystal, and then it got worse," Nora added.
"Same here," Marrow answered, "Plus, the fog gets sucked into the mine shafts, so we have to be careful."
"Actually, that was part of our strategy," Yang admitted, "We let the fog get sucked away, and then fight."
"That actually sounds like a good idea," Clover said thoughtfully, "Alright, next time, we'll do that."
"Take some ice-dust with you," Yang said, "If you cool it, it sinks to the bottom and flows into the mine faster."
"I'll contact Ilia," Blake said, "She's immune to the poison, and thanks to Power Whip, she just needs some regular Knights with her to deal serious damage."
"I have my own ice-dust," Marrow said.
"I also have a list of military members whose semblances can help," Penny said, pulled out her scroll and opened the list. Everyone prepared, and a few days later, a new plan was made. The SDC communication system was also ready to go, securing communication with the mines, as per the miners' request, and contract. The military was given access to the system, in order to maintain communications between the support staff on base and the huntsmen in the field, as well as deploy camera drones to assess the situation beforehand. Neon was also given ice-dust, with instructions to circle the area just outside the fog.
~o~
Ilia was on her way to one of the mines, sitting in a Manta, and smiling a bit about her situation. Less than two years ago, the only time she'd find herself in a Manta was either when she stole one, or in handcuffs. Now the military had asked her for help, and even gave her thirty Knights as backup, which were grouped in teams of five, each team controlled by one support staff member.
"Approaching drop-off," the pilot said, and the three Manta landed around a mine shortly after. Like the other ones attacked by monsters, it was the lowest point in the area, and filled with a thick cloud of poison mist. As soon as everyone got into position, Ilia activated Power Whip, augmented with ice-dust, and charged at the monsters. They immediately blasted her with poison steam, only to realize that she was immune. She struck one of them, and the Knights opened fire, locating the enemies through the fog by the ice blue flames created by the semblance. Each hit created a palm-sized snowflake minion that dealt additional damage, and once all enemies were tagged, Ilia turned the semblance off and used her regular lightning-infused attacks.
"Wait a minute," Ilia thought when she watched one shot spawn two minions.
"Tango team, focus on that one," Ilia said and tagged an enemy with an ice-dust Power Whip. Five Knights opened fire on it, and each shot created two snowflake minions.
"Ilia, switch to plant-dust," one of the support staff said, "Our aura drain is higher than expected."
"Got it," Ilia said and augmented Power Whip with the plant-dust she had been given, "I think it's because of Tango team's controller. Every hit those Knights land triggers Power Whip twice." She tagged the enemies, adding a green aura to the icy flames, and every hit spawned a green leaf that sought out the person who dealt the hit, restoring their aura a bit. She kept switching between ice-dust, plant-dust, and her regular attacks, keeping all enemies tagged while dodging their attacks. One of the enemies tried to grab her, but she dodged and hit it with her electrified whip. After a flurry of attacks, the monster died and reverted to a poison steam-dust crystal, which triggered almost immediately.
"One down, five more to go, keep it up," one of the support staff said, "Aura levels stable and rising." Ilia kept up her routine of augmenting Power Whip with ice-dust and plant-dust, but also added its normal function, decreasing the enemies' defensive abilities a bit with each hit. She dodged a few attempts of the monsters trying to land a melee attack, and continued fighting as best as she could, until all the monsters were defeated. After the fight, she created some ice, cooling the fog and making it sink into the mine, where the ventilation system would blow it into the tundra and disperse it enough to become harmless.
~o~
Ren, Nora, Vine and Elm were in a Manta, heading to a mine. They had several dozen Knights as backup, organized in groups of five, with each group remote-controlled by a support staff member back in Atlas. As soon as they reached their destination, they got off the Manta and assumed their positions. Delta team positioned itself on a nearby hill and prepared their sniper rifles, loaded with ice-dust bullets.
"Ready?" Nora asked and aimed her grenade launcher into the fog.
"Ready," Elm answered, following suit. They looked over to the Knights, and Ren and Vine, and all nodded. As soon as the first heavy barrage was unloaded, and the steam cleared up a little, chaos broke loose. Ren fired special bullets at the monsters, coating them in unholy green flames, and giving their position away to the Knights. Vine used his aura arcs to damage the monsters' legs, while the Knights used special bullets that reduced a target's defense for a few seconds. Ice rounds hit the ground, mainly around the crater, cooling off the steam.
"Got one," Nora said and fired several canisters at a monster, knocking it back and dealing serious damage. After emptying their ice-dust clips, Delta team switched to stealth rounds, aiming at the monsters directly. Ren kept shooting short barrages at the monsters whenever their flames went out, keeping them from hiding in the smoke.
"Guys, help," Ren said as one of the monsters ran towards him, trying to grab him, and sprayed toxic fumes at him. A few sniper rounds quickly erected an ice wall between him and the monster, and he fired a disk from his disk launcher. The burning monster was knocked back considerably, and tumbled down a small slope. Nora fired a barrage of grenades, killing the monster. It turned into a poisoned steam-dust crystal, which triggered immediately.
"Delta team, focus fire," Elm shouted and fired at one of the monsters, which threw the monster like a rag doll. Five sniper rounds followed, encasing the monster in ice.
"I'm out of cursed bullets," Ren said, "Switching to crystal rounds." Vine used his foot vines to quickly get around the battlefield, throwing aura arcs at the monsters to drive them closer together. Ren fired at the monsters while running around the battlefield, just outside the fog, and Nora loaded lightning-dust canisters, waiting for the plan to come to fruition.
"Charlie team, switching to ivy rounds," a support staff member said, and five Knights loaded a new magazine. His Knights aimed at the monsters that were in position, keeping them from moving. Once the monsters were in position, Nora fired several lightning-dust canisters, hitting them all, both with the initial hit, and due to Chain Lightning. All the monsters died, reverting back to poison steam-dust crystals, which triggered immediately.
~o~
Weiss, Blake and Harriet were on their way to a mine to fight the crystalline monsters. Blake looked at the magazines Dusk had given her, which could cool down anything the bullets struck. The Mantas approached the mine and landed, and the three huntresses and thirty Knights got ready. Foxtrot team prepared their mortar positions.
"First assault, go," Harriet said, and the Knights unleashed a round of mortar shells upon the enemy. The monsters were knocked back and an opening appeared in the mist, and Weiss quickly froze the ground in a half snowflake pattern around the mine's entrance. The mist recollected and rushed into the mine.
"I'm going in," Blake said and opened fire, using icicle rounds to freeze the monsters. As she moved around the fog, staying just outside of it, she created air-dust clones, periodically pushing the fog closer together.
"Lima team, cover me," Weiss shouted and rushed into the fog, using Aura Wall, augmented with ice-dust, to chill anything that passes the wall she set up, while the Knights used air-dust rounds to keep the fog away from her.
"Iga team, follow me," Harriet said and began running circles around the enemies, using her special disks and Homing to hit the monsters repeatedly, while the Knights generated wheels of dark green energy around their arms and threw them at the enemies. One of the enemies shot a blast of toxic fumes at Weiss, and one of the Knights ran over to her and created an ice blue barrier around the two of them, shielding them and cooling the steam.
"Thanks," Weiss said, "I think I'll try something." She focused and created two Glyphs behind one another. As the one in the front sparked with lightning, the one in the back shot a fireball through it, causing a massive ball of plasma to erupt and extend the crater to the side, while also killing all six monsters in one hit.
"What… was that?" Blake asked, looking at the smoldering crater.
"I've been practicing," Weiss answered, "Simultaneous use of two different dust types. It packs quite a punch, depending on which combination I go with. I'm still experimenting what each combination does, though."
"At least we're done," Harriet said, "Now clean up and let's move on to the next spot." Weiss created a series of Glyphs around the mine, all aimed at the entrance, and blew the smoke into it with air-dust, while five Knights assumed positions between two Glyphs and were coated in ice blue barriers, chilling the air. Once the entire sector was cleared, the trio moved on.
~o~
Yang, Jaune, Maria and Marrow were on the way to a mine, accompanied by thirty Knights, divided into six groups of five, with each group controlled by a soldier back in Atlas. The three Manta landed and the team got off, getting in position. Jaune created a series of clones, which took up position around the canyon. Marrow used fire-dust rounds and his predator sense to shoot at the monsters, giving away their location and allowing Echo team to hit them, igniting them with ice blue flames. Jaune and his clones used the gravity-dust in their shields to force the dust further into the mine. One of the monsters charged Yang, ducked, and uppercut her into the canyon wall.
"Ok, my turn," Yang said, landed on the ground and activated her semblance. The monster tried to use its poison steam, but Yang gave off too much heat, and the air pressure kept the steam from reaching her. She jumped and punched the monster, knocking it back.
"Take this," Maria said, jumped towards the monster and unleashed a flurry of spinning attacks with her two weapons.
"Stay," Marrow said, stopping the remaining monsters with his semblance, and cooling down the air around them.
"Hey Maria, how about we try the thing?" Yang asked and fired her special disk at the monster Maria was fighting, killing it. Maria jumped and kicked the crystal into the mine before it could trigger.
"Sure," Maria answered and used Petal Burst to rush next to Yang, then put her weapons away. The two hugged and Maria used her silver eyes to initiate a fusion. When the orange light faded, the two had fused into Gungnir, a rather attractive woman with long, dark blond hair and silver eyes, who wore dark brown combat boots with light brown soles that extended into gunmetal gray blades on the heels, black pants with golden armor plates on the knees, and an orange shirt under a light brown under bust corset. She wore black elbow gloves with armor plates covering her forearms.
"How do you feel?" Marrow asked.
"Amazing," Gungnir answered, "And by the way, I'm Gungnir. You better remember that name." She walked towards the monsters, and Marrow let them go again. One of the monsters shot a blast of toxic fumes at her, but the steam collected around her and burned up in an orange blaze as soon as it touched her. She took a deep breath, drawing all the fumes towards her, and the smoke ignited as it touched her. Gungnir clapped, and an orb of orange energy manifested in her right hand. She spun it around, stretching it into a javelin while getting ready to throw it. As soon as it took form, she hurled it into the nearest monster, killing it in one hit with a fiery explosion.
"Incredible," Jaune said.
"Thanks," Gungnir said, "It's my semblance, Dark Oblivion." She manifested several orange throwing stars in her right hand and threw them at another monster, then manifested a throwing axe that she threw into another one. She then assumed a stance as if she held a katana in her hands and manifested one from orange energy, then charged the remaining monster, holding the sword by her side. She hit the enemy with an upward jumping strike, and followed with a series of explosive strikes.
"I… imagined that to look more… elegant," Marrow said when he saw Gungnir wail on the monster.
"Really?" Jaune asked, "Did you forget that Yang is in there?"
"Oh, right," Marrow said.
"Alright, done," Gungnir said and walked over to the two, "Now we just need to wait for the energy to dissipate, so I don't blow you both to hell when I split up again."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Jaune said. They went back to the Mantas, along with their support, and headed to the next location, while Gungnir experimented with her semblance, creating various weapons, armors and shields from her orange energy until she ran out.
~o~
Weiss, Blake and Harriet arrived at another mine, the last one for the day, and Harriet got a little tired already. Weiss had practiced with different dust combinations, and was fairly good at some of them already, allowing her to use them much faster than before. Before the last Manta had fully landed, Blake entered her Alpha State and rushed into the toxic fumes, quickly disposing of the monsters before coming back.
"Now bed," Blake said, and her aura traits disappeared again. She coughed a bit and her eyes had a red shadow, but she seemed otherwise fine. Weiss and Harriet entered the Manta again, and the group headed back to Atlas for the day.
~o~
Salem walked through her castle and found Marcus sitting on his chair in her throne room, looking at his scroll. It projected a map of Solitas, marking several spots, as well as some paths. Another light at one of the spots went out.
"And?" Salem asked.
"They are falling for it," Marcus answered, "Before long, Mantle and Atlas will be shrouded in Tyrian's poison."
"Good," Salem said and left again to attend other matters. As she turned a corner, she saw an awfully familiar, and highly unwelcome, form, and got ready to attack.
"Is this the thanks I receive?" The God of Darkness asked, confusing Salem, who took on a more composed form.
"Explain yourself," Salem demanded, and the God chuckled.
"Very well," he said, "I stripped mankind of my gift, as you know. I left them defenseless, and I gave you control over most of my creations. My little agent of destruction."
"I am not your agent," Salem hissed.
"Of course you are," the God of Darkness said, "Who else allowed you to create new Grimm, and command my hordes? I have observed you, and deemed you worthy. Mostly. The Life-Stealers are still mine to command."
"Then let me control them, too," Salem demanded.
"That is why I am here, yes," the God of Darkness said and extended his left hand, "But there is one condition. You are to never make another Grimm as powerful, or more so." Salem hesitantly took the hand, and as soon as she touched it and the sting shot up her arm, Sirena's illusion shattered.
"And so, the pact is sealed," Sirena said with her normal voice, offering a cheeky smile. Salem took a split second to process the situation, giving Raven enough time to open a portal to Sirena, who used Petal Burst to pass through it, and the portal closed just as Salem launched her attack. Her magic punched a hole through a wall and she saw a Seer.
"You," Salem hissed, composed herself and said, "Tell the Life-Stealers to go to Vacuo, or I'll tell Sirena where they are."
Author's note: Gungnir's design was inspired by Maria Cadenzavna Eve's Black Gungnir from Senki Zesshou Symphogear G. Or more specifically, the cape-less version from GX. Her semblance lets her absorb any environmental hazards or debuffs, such as toxic fumes, and use them as energy for constructs. The semblance is also named after the only purely English song in the Symphogear franchise, Dark Oblivion, which is sung by Maria's VA.
The idea for the semblance actually comes from a part of the song.
Also, the Iga and Lima teams are another Symphogear reference, mostly because Remnant doesn't have India and I like Igalima, and its wielder, Kirika Akatsuki, the most out of all the Symphogear wielders.
I mean, how can you not like a cute, scythe-wielding girl with a fairy tale motif?
Anyway, originally Sirena's little meeting with Salem was supposed to happen before or during the battle for Atlas, but I forgot to add it. So now, it happens here.