Volume CRBN!

by Dancesnapple

Four individuals. Four different people of different walks of life resulting in an adventure. Hopefully, a bond that can last. Team CRBN (carbon). Features: OC Main character, main team has two OCs alongside a lovable crime duo, and some family drama on all sides. Features a 'soundtrack' element for the fic. ENJOY! Story begins on third listed chapter. Very slow start.

67. 65 And The Tale Of

Chapter Sixty Five: And The Tale Of

Location Unknown

"And yet... even you allowed them to get away." A chipper voice dips, spoken with a smile. "I did not expect this at all."

The room is well lit, showing a snowy cliff side out a large panel window. Natural soft morning light breaks through. The room has hard wood dark floors, sleek walls lined with shelves and cases... positively overflowing in texts and artifacts. Podiums with fossils, impeccable condition, has accompanying texts slid into alcoves underneath.

A large jagged tooth labeled 'Dragon's Tooth'. Another pedestal displays a piece of fossilized amber with a great red eye inside. Deliberately placed, almost. Under it, the label says, 'Ancient Grimm Eye Preserved.' Various parchments and texts dot the room, save for a semi circular desk at the end of the room with multiple monitor screens curved around.

On one screen, Spyyra Barnall is presented, fresh placed bandages show on his cheek and neck. "I would like to put in that stopping them wasn't a part of my assignment-"

"Excuse me?!" Another monitor shows Mary Anne, the woman glaring distastefully at the camera. "I doubt you can hide behind that excuse when you also failed to stop the Shade Academy team from wiping out our Talon Operation."

Spyyra smiles wide for the woman, cocky nature back. "Failure? I was ordered to withdraw our resources and eliminate the enemy. We only lost half the reds, and might I add dealt another heavy blow to Vacuo's Hunter operations."

"Oh, brag more about killing. It's all you're good for except when we want it most." Mary gives a snide retort. "And don't act like killing two Shade graduates is some mighty blow to enemy resources! Not when Vale is so damned keen on sending out that STRQ fellow to completely demolish any operation he investigates. Try killing him if you're so confident."

White gloves tap patiently on the desk. The chipper voice rings again. "Ah, yes. Simply killing is not getting anywhere. A point well made by Miss Mary Anne." The chipper voice wipes Spyyra's confidence off. Though Mary initially smirks, a waver in her expression sets in. "Let us instead discuss your operations, then. OH, that's right!" A small chuckle breaks the monologue. "Vale is even worse off than Vacuo. Forgive me for forgetting."

Mary Anne gives a shaky smile. "Well... It's just that... Between the criminal element of the kingdom falling into lines between the White Fang and Junior-"

"Save it. You're already in the hot box. Didn't Senior say he had a plan to thwart Junior and reclaim some power?" Spyyra cuts in, directing the conversation with a pout.

Suppressing a growl, Mary takes a deep breath. "Yes, and it failed. Senior struck a deal with one of the White Fang young lads for resources. Wanted to use his leftover Lien to paint the Vale City criminal under belly as having a hand in faunus treatment. Smear propaganda, but some damn red haired bull boy betrayed him in private. The White Fang took the last of his fortune AND left him high and dry when Junior came."

"And dearest Senior?" The chipper voice lifts, almost amused.

"Junior and his new daughters cornered him, and he's not in police custody. Either he's gone ghost and isn't working with us anymore, or Junior finally ended the old pig." Mary speaks, simultaneously happy for the old man to be dead and unhappy to be in the current predicament.

"I see... Dear Near. What of the SDC after Team CRBN's newest outing?" The attention is drawn to yet another screen showing Dr Near, or Stein, sitting lazily over his chair in a lab. A new left arm is attached with no synthetic skin, leaving a metal exo skeleton.

The bored voice drones. "Jacques Schnee has put down the hammer on private research. They're performing an audit on all current projects, then seeing if any other companies or bodies suddenly start popping up with similar projects."

"Team CRBN isn't selling to the highest bidder. We already know who they gave the research to." Mary cuts in. "That damned Cult."

"Yes, but the Schnee doesn't know that, and we cannot advise against it without tipping our hand. We can only wait until he's satisfied that no other competitors have announced anything similar to what was taken. Til then, I've covered my tracks on paper, so he won't find anything on the company inside. All main line scientists have been restricted only to military funded research in the City of Atlas."

"So, our resident scientist is restricted in time out, our top manager is merely counting losses, and our top agent is sitting here as the proverbial hammer having broken the area looking for nails. Have I properly summarized our situation?"

Sitting at the table, clad in all white, is Aline Zandril. The man is leaning forward, hands propped up together obscuring his mouth. Before him, all three of his remaining council all grim in their appearance. Save for Stein, ever passive with no emotion whatsoever as light reflects off his new glasses.

A presentation mirrored by their boss. "Spyyra." The green haired man straightens. "Your new assignment is thus: Hunt Team CRBN down. Should you not find yourself capable, you even have permission to disturb Culann."

That raises his agent's brow. He hesitates before asking. "But... what about my remaining assignments in Vacuo-"

"Leave them." Zandril speaks clearly. His voice dips, chipper no more.

"It has become remarkably clear that since CRBN prematurely exposed us to the hunter academies, that our previous methods of operation are no longer possible. Our number one priority is to abandon projects that leave us too open to attack, and focus ALL our attention on creating a safety net to begin recovery. That means any operation left outside of Atlas is to be dismantled for resources immediately."

He continues, eyes cutting to Mary. "Use all left over business contacts to begin laying the ground work for negotiations with Atlas nobles. Reserve our special seats at the Charity Ball this Summer. That is an operation that cannot fail. Vale has become too hostile between Junior, Ozpin, and this renegade faunus child."

A short pause before he adds. "Call in a favor from the Roses. It will be the last they owe me, so they may become hostile after this."

"Of course!" Mary responds before cutting off transmission.

"Likewise." Zandril continues, eyes on Spyyra. "Vacuo has become a blood bath of resources between us and the Hunters. It was always a cesspool of variables with the criminal element. Much as we may try, we were brought into a fight not yet capable of winning." Zandril's hands clench tighter, fingers laced. "On top of the Cult's new advancements in Mistral, the new vigor in that nuisance bandit tribe... It's Atlas or nothing. So, stop CRBN from destroying our efforts anymore than they already have."

"Yes, sir." Spyyra responds. His transmission cuts out, leaving just Zandril and Stein alone on the video call.

"Any requests of me?" Stein asks.

Zandril leaves out a breath. "Continue dutifully following SDC procedure and assisting the Atlas military. The less that silly general has to latch on to, the better. Also..." He chuckles, amused. "See if you can answer for me how this insignificant little motley crew has managed to overthrow decades of planning?"

A high pitched chuckle comes as he leans back in his chair. "A disgraced science major, an unwanted family heir, a mute ice cream girl, and a boy whose ability set should by all means have never been possible to exist..."

A laugh starts to break his words. "Connections? Luck? The power of gods damned friendship? HA!" He grins wide, looking at the ceiling. "Or are they truly just this skilled and disciplined?"

. . .

Mantle Southern Coastal Town

Funky music blares out as a gore and blood smeared van pulls through a car wash in the coastal town. The second verse of the song Jungle Love begins as Carmine bops in the driver's seat, hands drumming the steering wheel. Neo bumps side to side in the passenger side, Makara sitting in the center back with both eyes wide open staring at the radio.

"You! You've got a pretty car!" Carmine sings loudly with the song, Neo mouthing with him. The two side glance at one another. "I think I wanna drive- Drive it! Whoo! My plan, baby!"

The van sways with the bumping of the teens, the music loud enough to be heard over the mechanical car wash spraying and cleaning the vehicle. Carmine continues singing. "I! Drive a little dangerous! Huh! Take ya to my crib! Rip you off! Huh! Jungle Love, look out! OH!" The two teens roll their shoulders in a synchronized wave dance sitting. "Oh-e-oh-e-oh! I think I wanna know ya-"

Neo mouths with the radio. 'Know ya!'

"OH, Jungle Love. YEAH! Oh-e-oh-e-oh!" Carmine and Neo begin head bopping, Makara looking concerned at the two.

Outside the car wash, Roman and Blair stand side by side, speaking with a man. Roman is hand counting Lien to the side as Blair eyes the counting. "That looks like all of it-"

"Ah!" Roman holds up a hand, counting the last piece. He looks at the man. "You're 100 short."

The man starts at the declaration. "Oh! Apologies." He forks over the last of the Lien, smiling. "Thank you all again for dealing with that nest of Creeps."

Blair smiles back. "It's all in a good day's work." The man bows before leaving them. Both CRBN members sigh. "Yet another detour taken care of." She pauses, hearing the music blaring from the car wash, faintly catching Carmine screaming, 'Oh-e-oh-e-oh!' again. She rolls her eyes.

"Hey, I'm paid and happy." Roman smiles, bagging the Lien.

"Good. Next date is paid for by you." Blair smirks. Roman pauses, annoyed. That makes Blair snort. "Gotcha."

Roman waves her off. "How about halfsies?"

. . .

"So, you four have been surviving by impersonating Huntsmen for funds?" Makara squeaks out, innocent and curious.

"Yup!" Carmine retorts. The five of them sit in the van as their sense of balance shifts. Outside the van, the vehicle is strapped and locked in place among giant cargo crates and storage units. They all sway and shift ever slightly as all tilt one way, then the other. To the other side of the van, water splashes up.

They are on a cargo ship. Paid passage to Ostium Mortis.

Makara's concerned look shifts around. "And... the hunters haven't found you out and stopped you for impersonation?"

Roman, in the passenger seat now, flicks his hand up. "That's what I said, but Silver Streak is sometimes lucky or unlucky in the most bull crap ways." He scoffs, glancing off.

The new girl's concern turns to curiosity back to Carmine, then Neo. Her soft gray lavender hair is now neat and clean, swept to the left side barely longer than a military cut. Hazel eyes with porcelain skin, save for three freckles now visible on her nose bridge. She now wears real clothes. A soft white cloak lined with black fur and a hood wraps her body warmly, a gold clasp clipping the cloak sides together at her neck. Possibly habit after who knows how long she laid cold and unfeeling in a lab.

"And this... worked? You've made this much progress that AZRL is worried for its future?" The woman's voice is incredulous. Roman raises a brow at her.

"How do you know they're that broken up over us? Ego boost aside..." He shrugs with a smirk.

"Doctor Near would accept calls in his lab from Mr Zandril. I was only ever half aware, but they were often upset. Always back pedaling."

"And you know what their plans are?" Blair inquires, raising a brow. Briefly, she puts down the Soul Servo in her hands.

"I know..." Makara starts open before trailing. Her expression falls slightly, a furrowed brow. "I know..." Her eyes close as she struggles to think. Her illness affects her memory, so expecting anything further was likely a pipe dream. Blair has already used her semblance to mind meld and confirm the woman's authentic nature. It's simply a shame. Makara shakes her head. "I am sorry. Something about outrage, but I can't recall."

Neo pokes Makara in the side, making the woman jolt. The mute angles around to look at Blair and point to the Soul Servo.

"I would prefer to conserve our options until I can find a safe way to transition this aura from the Servo to her." Blair answers Neo's suggestion. She then looks to Makara, grimacing. "Although, I recognize how callous it may seem to withhold something that could improve your condition short term."

Makara allows a soft smile. "My long term memory may be touchy, but my short term and reasoning skills are well enough to understand fully. Thank you for the consideration, though."

Carmine eyes the girls through the rear view mirror, brow raising in thought, but he reconsiders voicing the subject. Instead, he looks to Roman. "So, we get to the islands. The first thing we need to accomplish is seeing if AZRL has a static presence. If they do, then we've successfully got another target to take down, right?"

"Assuming that the fat man would divert his dwindling resources to protecting a place that only holds sentimental value." Roman puts in. "It's worth checking if there isn't anything else valuable to the area, but unless we got some grand discovery, I would expect very little physical guard."

Neo leans forward, in her hands a small map of the islands. Four in total. She gestures to the smallest of the four only having one landmark indicated. This smaller island is a short distance off from the other three, all four making a loose crescent shape on the map. This smaller island is closest to the main land.

Roman nods. "Yep. We can cross the smaller island off. It's got a small town, but it's probably more than fifty percent military base. It's the Atlas presence mainly for aquatic navy vessels, Isla Portus."

"Isle of Harbors. Subtle." Carmine snorts, sharing a glance with Neo amused.

"Like you can talk about subtlety, you alien." Roman glowers at him. He reaches and inspects Neo's map. Pointing to the second largest in between the remaining other two, he speaks up. "This ferry is going to unload us here on Isla Hortos Candidus. Short name Candidus."

Neo quirks a brow and signs. "The island of radiant gardens?"

"Civilian sectors. Tourism mostly, but there's a temple on the mountain." Blair speaks up, earning their attention. "It's listed in classes as a place with natural magic, but it's been sealed off due to natural disaster decades ago."

"It'll make an excellent base of operations at the very least." Carmine mutters. "Leaves two others if we don't get lucky." He eyes the names, honing in on the largest island. "Isla Vallis. Island of Valleys..."

Neo perks up, lighting up in recognition. Roman looks bored at her. "You know it?"

Vigorously nodding, Neo smiles and conjures a sign. The picture showcases a gorgeous picturesque island with wide fields, plains, plateaus, and valleys. It shatters to reveal film crews and artists. At the boys blinking, she breaks it and signs. "My favorite movie was filmed there! Street Kombat!"

Carmine pops his mouth open. "Oh yeah... I remember us watching that back home last year- Wait. You actually watched the special features on the disc?" He looks at her incredulously.

Neo pouts back at him, puffing her cheek out embarrassed.

Makara smiles sympathetically at the girl. "I'm sure it's very fun and interesting." Neo allows a smirk and thumbs at her while glaring at Carmine.

Roman hums. "You two can watch it together. See if she remembers it- Ah!" Carmine swats the conman in the arm, scowling.

"Be nice."

"Never."

Blair looks at the map as the boys glare at one another. "So, that one is a question mark. Then there's this last one. Isla Cadavera. Island of Dead Bodies. The name sake for the archipelago." She frowns. "Do we know anything about it?"

Silence.

Carmine snickers. "Why would it be easy?" A ship horn blares out loudly, signaling an end of the voyage. "Guess we're here." He sits in the driver seat, smirking. "Onward brave heroes!" He calls out. Blair smirks, Roman rolling his eyes, Neo perking, and Makara darting looks between them all.

. . .

The van wheels carry the vehicle from the ship onto concrete, coming off a ramp. The five look about in interest at the festive colors and aesthetic. Moving out of the harbor, they find an islander totem style to architecture. Tiki totem towers upholding arches at the entrances of properties, with wires connecting and crisscrossing the streets with hanging decorative strings.

Many of the locals still wear an undercurrent theme of whites, blacks, and blues, but many individuals can actually be seen wearing colorful button up shirts with varying patterns. Some look unique and enticing while others look intentionally ugly and mismatched almost. While the Atlas weather remains cold, the temperature here so far south at least reaches the forties, allowing some brave souls to go shirtless or many people to go to the beaches in swim gear.

It takes a while, but the group finds a hotel. Carmine and Roman take a room, leaving Neo and Blair with their new girl tag along, Makara.

Out in the open, Makara's outfit is more fully visible under the soft white hooded cloak and its black fur lining. Underneath, a gray pleated shirt with a v neck opening just above the slim bust. A golden sash ties the dark shirt tight to her waist, a black combat skirt drapes down under the sash with navy frills. Her forearms have navy blue arm warmers that tie up between her middle and ring fingers. Black leggings cover under the tight mid thigh skirt covering down to black fur lined navy blue and white boots.

A leaning toward fur lined clothing for warmth... Something Blair took notice of when buying the clothes for her. Makara appears lacking in her body's ability to maintain body heat. A side effect of Aurstigma's degradation of the body.

Now that the five are on the street, Blair taps Carmine on the shoulder. A short glance between them before Carmine catches on with a sigh. "Alright... Roman, Neo. The two of you do a preliminary sweep of the island for anything AZRL related. Makara shouldn't go too far from Blair for now, and Blair and I will be... checking a new development." He finishes with a grimace.

The conman and mute share a look before Roman smirks. "You mean you're turning Neo and I, exclusively the two who don't mind sticky fingers, loose on a society?"

Carmine raises a brow at him. "Make me regret it, and I'll shove my foot up your ass. How bout that?" Neo smirks at him, a blink swapping her eye colors. So, Carmine jabs a finger at her. "Don't steal! It's bad! Unless it's from a criminal, so steal from Roman."

Roman scoffs as he marches off. "Come, Neo. Let's leave the suckers here." The duo marches off, filling Carmine with the same anxiety as any time the two are left alone.

"Leave them be. It's not THAT bad." Blair reminds him. "Come. Let's find a secluded area. Perhaps further up the mountain would be best." The blonde looks to Makara. "And perhaps check your marksmanship since you claimed to be a sniper." The new girl perks and nods.

Right... They need to test his semblance again...

Fuck.

. . .

A short way up the mountain, away from the colorful and festive public, the three find a public shooting range. People all about either test fire their own guns or are testing some to buy from the nearby gun shop. The range is angled against the mountain so over shots harmlessly stop in the slope.

Finding a small slot in the range for themselves, Carmine, Blair, and Makara come to a stop. The boy is perked up, eyeing the range. "Wow... It's almost exactly like the range in Sanctuary."

Blair eyes him warily. Knowing they didn't go to any range when they visited as CRBN, she can assume when he's referring to. "How young were you?"

"Five." He answered easily, smirking. "D... Dad wanted to demonstrate how Heulin Noon worked and teach me gun safety. Although, now that I think about it, he also needed to teach me about semblances since mine was showing." He pauses in thought and smirks. "One sec."

He pulls back and looks to the on site employee overlooking the test shoots. "Yo!" Carmine waves for him. "What's the most difficult target to hit?"

The employee rolls his eyes, muttering something about cocky tourists. The man, a sheep faunus, responds by flicking a switch. Up the mountain from the range, a golden yellow target unfolds out. "That!" He points so they're aware.

"Thank you!" Carmine says, losing the smirk. He looks to the women. "Asshole thinks I can't hit it."

Makara frowns slightly. "He probably means nothing by it. A lot of people come through here, so he's using his experience..."

"Embarrass him." Blair influences from the side. "It keeps employees like that on their toes and respectful." Makara deflates ever slightly at the 'get even' mindset.

Carmine snickers, standing so he's side ways to the target. He eyes it, gauging his aim, then turns his head to look right at the guard. His left hand raises Heulin Noon to aim. "Eyes on me." Carmine's game face comes on as he double fires!

Once, turns the gun, twice, turns the gun, thrice, snap reload, turns again, four!

Makara, Blair, and the employee look up at the range, finding that Carmine's shots were puncturing twin holes in the farthest target. Angling his gun was making the twin holes form the outline of a circle, completing it as a clean larger hole is now cut out of the golden target. The faunus pales at the display, numbly flicking a switch so that the target replaces.

Blair and Makara light up. "That was impressive!" Makara praises earnestly.

Carmine blushes with the attention. "Dad used to do that to show off. Guess I got his trick now, huh?" His grin threatens to split his face, teeth flashing.

Makara points at the weapon. "May I?"

Double taking, Carmine nods. "Sure, why not?" He twirls Heulin Noon and offers it hilt first to the woman. She accepts it eyeing the weapon over with a mechanical interest.

Blair eyes each and every movement of the woman. Muscle memory from AZRL's training, to be sure. There was one moment when checking the cylinder and chambers that Makara's arms and eyes moved before she thought. A pause in the movement. She pauses simply staring at the weapon before finally moving on.

The muscle memory was acting faster than her actual memory.

Carmine, ever helpful, places several cylinder reloads on the nearby counter for the woman to use, exchanging a glance with each other and appreciative nod. Makara's kind visage wears away, a cold focus training in.

Six shots in rapid succession. Her finger never fully pulls the trigger for the double shot, simply firing out the top barrel. The gun redirects after each shot, as several targets on the range flinch under strikes. Six targets, all domed between the eyes.

She pops the cylinder, deposited each empty shell, then slides in the next load. Six more shots, another six perfect shots. Reload, and Makara chokes the aim as she hones in on the furthest target, the replacement for the last that Carmine destroyed. The first shot takes out one of the target's two stands. The second shot destroys the other. The next four shots rapidly strike the now airborne gold target, sending it further up the mountain!

Makara allows a small smile as she holds out the smoking gun for its owner. Carmine blinks shocked, Blair's brow also raised. "Here you go." Makara twirls the revolver to offer grip first.

Blair smirks. "She's as good as you with it."

Carmine can only dumbly accept it. "Yeah... she is."

Smiling a wholesome curl, Makara scratches her neck awkwardly. "Well, I most definitely prefer long guns to keep the aim steady for further distances. With shorter distance weapons, I only have to do minor adjustments for wind resistance."

The CRBN members stare numb at her before Carmine breaks into a snicker. "Jeez. Here. Go nuts." He places a stack of Lien on the counter for her. Makara blinks at it. "Test fire some rifles from the store. I might shill out for you to have something useful. It'll be yours."

Those words elicit a perking in the woman. Makara's hazel eyes shine. "R-... Really? But, you all already got me these... and rescued me to begin with." She gestures to her outfit, attempting to reject the kindness.

Seeing the generosity, Blair eases in. "Neo had an interesting adjustment to being able to own her own things. We're aware it's an adjustment, and if you feel it's too much to be given, then put decide a way to put in work for it. You at the very least deserve the decency of being clothed and able to defend yourself."

Makara purses her lips, the Lien in hand, until the wheels visually turn in her head. She nods. "Thank you!" She marches off for the store side of the compound.

Carmine looks annoyed. "You realize how much easier things would be if Neo simply reacted like that instead of stealing."

The blonde huffs a laugh. "I thought you loved Neo just the way she is." The near monotone does not hide the teasing undertone of the words.

The use of the other L word immediately seizes Carmine's body, tensing and lighting red. Looking away, he stutters out a redirect for the topic. "Hey! Weren't you wanting to do something else?"

Blair smirks. "Why, yes. Thank you for being so eager. Follow me."

He pales, caught in the trap. "Shit!" WHACK! He's left holding his head in a whine. "Ow-how!"

"Language." The blonde speaks curt in her response as she turns and walks away. A sheathed Fluorescent is now in her hand.

. . .

"This spot should do." Blair speaks up at a small ledge overlooking the gun range. Only roughly a fourth up the mountain height, a light breeze brushes them. Blair looks to the boy, seeing an unhappy look come over him. "Before we start, would you like to talk about it?"

Carmine sends a grumpy glare at her, but it doesn't hold. A sigh escapes. "What do you want me to say?"

Blair finds a suitable rock to the side, sitting on it as she awaits his elaboration. "Whatever you wish. Whatever you need to say." She's more than aware of how unhelpful that sounds. He rolls his eyes at her. "Deep breath. In through the nose. Out through the mouth."

Eyes closing, he does as she asks, breathing out long and exhausted already. "More complications with my gods damned semblance, huh?" He grumbles as Blair waits patiently. "You know, I learned in Fairmare about my birth mom... That's a fun thought."

Blair nods. In the weeks since, she'd already managed to get the boy to reveal the necklace now around his neck. "You didn't kill her."

The lack of immediate response worries her. Eventually he smirks. "You know, Neo tried saying that too. But you want to know how circumstantial that would be? The most powerful man in all the four kingdoms, with his wife directly by his seat of power at the time, losing his wife to something as mundane as a rough child birth?"

The blonde narrows her gaze on the boy, but he continues.

"So, you'd have me believe Ozpin never, in all his paranoia, unlocked her aura to grant her aura healing? That's one." He snorts. "That she couldn't have access to a c section for emergency? Fat chance. Two. With access to the best surgeons in the world at his beckon call? Lovely three... Not even counting the myriad of semblances of unique people Ozpin could call upon to deal with any type of atypical symptom."

He's been looking into deaths by birth. Blair can tell, he's been thinking this constantly. Her own background in the biological field gave her similar information. The spread of use for aura and ex hunters spreading in the fields of medicine virtually reduced the death rates of such instances almost to zero. For someone as influential as Ozpin to lose his wife to something like this...

"No... the only thing that can make any sense to me... is if I killed her somehow. Now, 'how does a baby kill' you may ask?" Carmine holds up a hand, looking at his palm. "Well, how about a curve ball. Like said child having a unique power within them?"

"You actually believe your semblance was active before you were born?" Blair tries to use incredulity to knock him from the thought.

Instead, he looks softly back at her. "Asking me to suspend my belief by one thing as opposed to a catastrophic failure of the entire medical system of Vale specifically to their leader? Seems far easier for me. Hell... I started tapping into my semblance by accident as far back as I could remember."

When Blair doesn't immediately retort, he continues. "Besides, you said it yourself. My power, when rejected by a living aura, doesn't Recall. It fast forwards. Don't think I need to be a doctor to imagine what that would do to a pregnant woman in labor."

"I tested my semblance on my Dad once. I think he realized what you did... Is why he told me not to ever use my semblance without fully understanding it. Maybe he knew what would happen." Carmine scoffs, looking away off the mountain. "When I killed Summer thinking I could rewind her injuries."

This was the first time he spoke her name to anyone other than Roman. Still, the blonde has made more than enough context to know this was Summer Rose. The very grave stone Blair happened across on Patch.

The very person Carmine used to see. A phantom.

Hopefully 'used to'. He hasn't mentioned her in over a year...

Blair cuts a glare on him. "Fast forward." The words pull his attention back. "If she died, that means the injuries you refer to were fatal. You did not kill her."

Sarcastically, Carmine scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Right. Right. I didn't kill her. Just drastically reduced her potential time left walking to safety from possible hours to nothing. But sure, I didn't kill her." He ends, glaring at her. "You sound like Roman, now, with that technicality bull shit you know."

Seeing no counter argument, Carmine crosses his arms. "Something you confirmed at Haddon when you tested my semblance on your own hand, whether you intended to or not."

The blonde looks to her right palm, the scar from that test still as clear as day.

"So, pardon me for not being excited when testing out that hey, my semblance MIGHT work on living people after all. It just had to work on the most important people to me, I guess. Time to test and risk their lives! For science!" His growls out in a snarl, eyes subconsciously tinting gold from his magic. It fades away instantly, but he huffs and looks away. "Fuck sake."

A short pause passes until Carmine, tense and visibly frustrated, looks to Blair. "So, out with it. What am I missing in all this? I'd rather get the answer and never use this again. Or, we could ignore it ever happened. I vote that." He flippantly flicks his arms out.

"Carmine." The woman cuts in, making him flinch and slouch. Reigning in her tone, a different tact comes. "I'm going to play a game that Roman loves. Let us assume that everything you said is exactly as you put." She shifts her footing, setting a glare on him. "So what?"

The boy's head snaps up so fast, a contracted glare sent her way. Like that simple two word response brought out an almost animal fight or flight response.

"So, assuming that your semblance killed your birth mother." Blair frowns, but continues forcefully. "You would have to be the world's largest imbecile to place that blame on a newborn not even minutes old. If you stop at saying that it's tragic or sad, I will wholeheartedly agree. If you for one second attempt to blame yourself, I will beat that believe out of you. One way or another."

Her cutting glare matches his as her fire snuffs his own. His gaze drops as she maintains the heated gaze. She continues. "Now for Summer. You take the blame because she could-. COULD have survived had you known not to use your semblance. Well, if that's enough to hang that albatross, fine."

Carmine's head lifts, not expected that.

His confusion lets her finish. "Fine. Bear that guilt if you wish. But know that you are morally obligated to learn from that experience and discover exactly what you can and cannot do. You will learn this power in honor of her." She straightens and waits for him to meet her gaze. "Understood?"

A minute passes as he processes her response. Eventually, he nods. "Right... Right. Okay." He lets a depreciating chuckle.

Blair adds. "I know you love to depreciate yourself. You never accept positives when it comes to your own accomplishments. However, if we're to make progress with this, and if I'm right about what this all means, then you will need to believe in yourself AND your semblance."

He sighs, but manages a smirk and nods. "Got it... Thanks Blair. What do I need to start at?"

Blair matches his smirk. "An understanding." Time to get into the meat. "First, I want to infuse my aura with you using my semblance."

Carmine grimaces. "Are we going to... use you for this? I don't want to leave more scars on you."

The woman smiles. "Roman has assured me that scars are enticing." The boy pales and wretches. A rare playful nature to lighten the mood, Blair pats his shoulder. "It'll be okay."

He cringes away from the hand. "Stop. Now I'm stuck thinking about where your hand has been." Exchanging looks, he grumbles and lets her place her hand. He doesn't raise an aura shield, so her semblance mixes aura into him. He breathes in, then out. "Right. Now what?"

She glances over to a palm tree. "Living aura also exists in plant life. Start cutting down trees and attempt to Recall them back up."

"I can already Recall sticks together." Carmine protests.

"Sticks are dead. A tree is alive. See if you can Recall it together, or if you just accelerate its decay." Blair orders.

A whine of protest, Carmine kicks the dirt. "Fine... Schneider!" His armor flashes into arm blades as he lunges at the tree to begin...

. . .

Roman leans against a pillar, clearly unhappy. Despite visiting three dens throughout the city, none of them had any information on AZRL at all. Several key city officials in town were well established with pristine records, so that was off the table. Even sending Neo into some offices didn't elicit any corrupt details or exciting information.

"I don't understand how a place that spawned Aline Zandril of all people is this squeaky clean." He mutters to himself. He looks to Neo, brow raising. "What do you have to add?"

The girl has a newspaper in front of her, reading it passively on a bench beside him. In the paper is an included map of the city, likely for tourists. She flips through until she lowers the paper revealing reflective pink aviator sunglasses. She frowns and shakes her head.

She stole those since the last time he looked at her. Roman doesn't bat an eyelash and scoffs. "Of course." He points flippantly at the glasses. "We'll sell those at a fence when I can find one. I'm assuming those came from the pompous businessman ten minutes ago?" The girl nods vigorously, getting a snicker out of him. "Come on. They pointed us to one more den near the docks."

The stroll is short, finding the duo now outside of a low end bar, the Hag's End. Its sign depicts a sea hag with a filled jug. Roman isn't impressed. He looks to Neo, finding the girl replaced entirely. In her place is an older version of herself, slightly taller with pure brown hair and two pink eyes. She smirks as Roman snorts.

They enter.

A saloon. Some sailors and islanders crowd around tables gambling with one another. Very illegal if it's a private game, Roman thinks with a smirk. He looks around the other clientele. Postures vary, but all give the tell of being guarded and mischievous. Even the bartender, wearing nothing but an open black vest showing his tanned skin, cuts eyes over, particularly at the registers.

Everyone is simultaneously relaxed and on edge. A proper scumbag's hangout.

Roman leads Neo to the bar, the girl sliding a few chairs away from him. Close enough to listen, but far enough to let him do his thing. The bald bartender raises a brow his way. "What can I do ya for?"

"Rum for me." He flicks a hand to Neo. "Fruity mixed cocktail for the lass. Don't care what, but make it with strawberry flavors if you got it." Neo freezes rigid as she realizes Roman is ordering alcohol for her. This can only end badly... HELL YES! "Also, information." Roman sets a stack of Lien on the counter obscured by his hand for the bartender.

The bartender raises a brow at him. He takes the stack, but sighs. "Joey sent you this way." He says, not a question but a statement. Roman smirks in answer. The bartender only sighs. "Call me Dom. Now, what exactly do I supposedly know for 50 Lien?"

Without missing a beat, Roman starts. "Know anything about missing kids?"

"What am I? The foster system? Fuck brats." The bartender jabs a finger out with a narrowed gaze. "Not in the way I assume you would."

Roman glares back. "I'll choose to ignore that."

"Like you ignore fashion with that hat." The bartender remarks. "You some cop looking for a trafficking scene or something?"

The conman snorts. "Very much not, but I am looking for the people in charge of said trafficking." Roman looks condescending at the man. "Now, I have my own info that says they have ties to these islands, so forgive me if I don't believe you."

"Well, that's what you get for 50 Lien." Dom counters.

Roman removes 50 more Lien and hands it over.

Immediate tone change, Dom bobbing his head. "No missing kids have come from these islands since last year's January. Little fire dancer girl, Luna, taken during a storm. Probably Grimm since she frequented Isla Cadavera. When people go missing here, everyone has a decent idea why." He shrugs.

Annoyed, Roman tries a different tact. "None of the city officials looks dirty in the slightest, and I don't buy it. Who runs the underground round here? Tourist traps should have a lot more crime than I'm seeing."

Dom snorts. "Same people that run the government. We're a tight knit community. Most crimes that happen here tend to be to outsiders or from outsiders. Our culture is... unique in that way. Most of our businesses, even this one, trace in ownership to the families of the island chiefs who run the island council. They take good care of us."

"Obviously not the skull and crossbones island." Roman verbally jabs, earning a glare from the man. "What happened with that?"

"I don't know anything about that."

"Your tight knit community doesn't know what happened to one of your four islands?" Roman fires back incredulous."

"I don't know anything for 100 Lien." Dom retorts. The same response Roman got the last two places he'd gone. Extorting bald headed ass...

Before Roman snaps back, a female voice enters beside Roman...

"Oh, lay off him, Dom. I'll keep him company." A blonde woman with a yellow headband and shirt under black overcoat sits next to him. The girl leans over and gets a look at Roman and Neo. "Well, this has been a while."

Neo's illusion narrows its gaze in confusion... then her eyes snap open wide.

The pirates... when the Trojan was attacked on its way to Sanctuary...

Roman lights up. "Finally, a familiar face!" He straightens and turns slightly to the woman as Dom goes about making his drinks for him and Neo. "How have you been, Ciara?"

Ciara, yellow member of the Go Sei Hangmen pirates. The navigator of the crew. She smiles. "Oh, pretty well after you left us stranded in the middle of the ocean."

The conman brings a hand to his chest, offended. "Now, we both know that was Drewski's fault for pushing a fight with us. Like you said. It was business."

"It's business when a girl does it. A guy? Oh..." She coyly plays the victim. "So cold. But, I'll let you make it up to me. It's been years."

Roman feels Neo's piercing gaze on the back of his head. The ginger is unaffected as he sighs. "I would love to, I really would. But, I'm afraid I'm a spoken for man these days."

Ciara's eyes widen, jaw parting slightly. "No way." She cracks up, shoulders twitching. "No WAY is ROMAN TORCHWICK a monogamous guy now!" She blurts into open laughter at the bar. Dom jolts at the name as he sets Roman's and Neo's drinks down. Ah, so Roman has a name even out here it seems. Good to know. "That's hilarious!"

The conman smirks and shrugs. "Yes, so it is."

"No. Really."

"I know."

"Cut it out." Ciara's chuckles peter out slowly looking at Roman's unflinching resolve. "Wow... You're not screwing with me right now." Her gaze looks to Neo at the bar, then back to Roman.

"Not her, no." Roman answers as he takes a drink. "The blonde that was with me last time." He smirks without meaning to. "The Super Barbie that went monster on your ship."

Memory returning, Ciara's brows flick up a second as her jaw tightens. "Ah." Her tone dips. "That one..." She bobs her head. "I can see why, then."

"Oh, I've seen plenty more." Roman quips flippant.

Ciara looks by him to Neo again. "So..." Her eyes flash in recognition as she points at the disguised girl. "The pink and brown haired brat bitch!"

Neo smirks back, blinking and letting her eyes flash brown then back to the pink of the shatter illusion. She takes a sip of the cocktail Roman bought her, instantly suppressing the urge to cough. Holy shit, that is strong! She thinks. This is an alcoholic first for her.

The blonde pirate grins at Roman as she whispers. "Buying for the underage now too. Full of firsts. I didn't think you were so charitable." She cuts an eye at the disguised girl. "Or, was she just really short?"

Neo bristles at the comment, but Roman snickers. "Maybe I just have a soft spot for mutes."

Ciara blinks at that and has the dignity to look apologetic. "Oh." She looks to Neo. "I was being rude thinking she was ignoring me. Sorry, kid."

Neo smirks, shakes her head, then signs. "No offense taken from those we've beaten before."

The blonde girl's eye twitches dangerously. "... You wanna take this outside, bitch?"

"Easy there." Roman laughs at the catty nature on display. "I don't want a fight with all five of you again. I have more important things on my to do list."

"Six." Ciara corrects. Roman raises a brow at her. "We picked up a new addition to the crew." She finishes with a smirk. "Christie loves them."

Rolling his eyes, the conman retorts. "Oh, brother. What color does this one sport?"

"Silver." Ciara adds chipper. "Though, that's cheating cause that's their color anyway." At Roman and Neo's confused looks, she adds. "It's a reprogrammed Atlas sentry bot. Mark's got a hobby of advancing his AI, but he's really good for manual labor and assistance."

Scoffing, Roman takes another drink. "Great. Robot pirates. What next?" He sighs. "Am I bout to turn around and meet it and Drewski, or..?"

"Just me here." Ciara waves him off. "Every so often, one or two of us take vacations from the crew to visit home. I'm getting picked up in a few days."

"Home- You're from here? No kidding?" The man perks up. "I thought all of you were Mistrali in origin." This was news to him. He was certain he'd had them pegged.

The woman gives a laugh as she receives a hard gin drink. "Well, this place hardly counts as Atlas, but the more you know?" She looks to him. "Speaking of, what's got you snooping around my home town?"

Without missing a beat, Roman places 50 Lien on the table. "Then hows about I stop interrogating these ignorant shlops and get information from someone I know is at least partly perceptive."

Ciara raises a brow, maintaining eye contact as she takes her first sip. "Both." Roman and Neo quirk at her. "I want 50 from both of you. And every mark up for info I give, both of you have to give." She smirks snobbishly as she takes another sip. "That's to make up for leaving us stranded."

A low growl escapes Roman before he looks at the mute. Neo fumes as she reaches for her own money to produce 50 Lien to give. The frigid bitch knows Roman could afford it. This is just to take jabs at her now.

"Thank you kindly." Ciara dramatically accepts the money. "What could I possibly answer for you?"

"I'll go for the throat. We're here looking for any and all information on a man who came from these islands by the name of Aline Zandril. Founder of a criminal organization, AZRL, which is formed around the business of child slave training and trafficking. Its symbol is a three eyed skull." He cuts a glare at her. "No beating around the bush. I want everything you know about him, and if I find I'm being scabbed, I can have Barbie pick apart your brain with her semblance and surgical precision." He ends with a sick smirk.

The blonde purses her lips, eyes going wide. "Ah." She makes sure the three are alone at the bar, but frowns. "Let's move to a booth, and also, 100 more Lien." She smirks and stands up. Roman growls and follows with Neo.

The three situate at a booth, the CRBN members across from the blonde. Ciara starts off. "So, I don't know anything about kid trafficking sex or slave whatever." She starts with a flippant wave. "Frankly, nothing of the sort has ever really occurred here. I mean, besides the one girl everyone was depressed over last year."

Before Roman can snap at her over the money, she holds a hand up. "However, Zandril clicks a bit. Definitely one of the old, old, old family names, cause none of the current chiefs or surrounding families have that surname."

Perking, Roman seizes the topic. "So, a family that no longer exists is what you're saying? That's all you have?"

Ciara scrunches her face, clearly trying to remember. "Well... No... So, growing up, there's a lot of verbal exchanging of history and story. These islands were awful at written history, so stories were always passed down at gatherings and ritual events. Zandril was a name that came up in one of those stories, so I know someone that may be able to speak to you about it, but a three eyed skull?" She ends with a grimace.

Neo and Roman share a look before the conman nods. "You know something."

"It sounds more like a sick joke. The third eye opening is one of many symbols of the tribal religion of the islands. Enlightenment achieved upon realization of the truth. The best person to ask about it lives atop the mountain here at the ruined temple. That sort of imagery is littered about. However, the skull part is the twist that sounds like a joke in poor taste." The blonde wrinkles her nose annoyed.

Roman urges. "Well?"

She looks conflicted in telling, but sighs. "Skulls, or tiki style skulls, bone construction, bone tools, and even more morbid forms of symbols and aesthetics are all symbols of Isla Cadavera."

"The dead island or whatever?" Roman snorts. "Fitting."

"More than you know. It's walled off by Atlas border patrol for civilian protection. No one lives on the island since it's blocked off and became a Grimm hot spot." Ciara mutters.

Neo leans forward, signing. "Became?"

Roman picks that up as well. "Yeah, what does that mean?"

Ciara grimaces. "One of the tales that sounds ancient, but only been around two generations. Long story short, the island got completely destroyed by a Grimm horde I think 50?... No, 60 years ago or something." She reflects on that a moment as she hums. "If Zandril is the name you're looking for, it probably was wiped out by that event. It's what weakened our island culture enough to accept being a part of Atlas to begin with..." She continues on to tell the story...

. . .

"Hah... hah..." Carmine pants out for breath, bent over with his hands gripping his knees. His Schneider armor formation it stuck into the ground on either side of him, arms free of the armor. His sullen glare ahead holds before he falls back on his butt. "How much more?"

Before him lay dozens of sliced down palm trees. Each toppled tree is withered. Aged dead. Each time. Over and over and over. Putting his aura into the plant life yielded nothing. Called, Recalling over and over. The same thing. Dead. Withered. Broken.

Blair stands amid the collapsed micro forest with interest. Her own aura hazes over the plant life as she attempts to recognize the issue at hand. "Thus far, it would show that my original assumption was correct." She gives him a pensive glance. "Any object with preexisting aura rejects your own when Recalled. The result is the rebound that fast forwards instead."

Her words are barely registered as Carmine's eyes droop over the withering wood. It's too familiar. The dead grasses and decayed growth in a forest... decayed flora surrounding a corpse in white.

He shakes his head. "Except when Neo is used, eh?" He snorts.

"Exactly." Blair allows a slight frown before nodding. "Aura wants to be pure. This is why substances and abilities that tarnish that purity are often so devastating. My semblance, Grimm venom, Makara's Aurstigma."

"My Recall." Carmine finishes. He looks to Blair. "Why is your semblance able to work so well in someone else's aura then? Why don't you get rejected?" His tone draws more distant as he asks her, an aggression underlying towards himself.

With a grimace, Blair crosses her arms and moves in front of him. "I can be rejected. However, you have a point. My semblance is specifically tailored to overriding the response of the victim, yes. So, I may be cheating. However, someone experienced with their aura can channel the rejection itself with focus. I simply add a quite large hurdle in doing so."

"Ya know, we really should name your semblance. Did Rowa never try to help you do so?" Carmine cuts in, sounding almost bored.

Narrowing her gaze, Blair sighs. "My sister and I never found a need to name our semblances. Now, stop changing the subject." With a huff, she kneels to lock eyes with the boy at even level. "What I am saying is that, when you reached out to Neo, her aura did not reject yours. You Recalled both her and yourself to the point your aura entered her. Not by fluke, but because her aura deliberately did as yours asked."

He stops, gut sinking. His gaze wanders down in thought. "So... it comes down to whether the other person accepts my power." A sneer pulls at him, shaking his head. A hand scratches at the back of his head anxious. "But... Summer was one of the most talented Huntresses in the world!" His voice raises as he shifts to stand up. "How would she not be able to open her aura to mine? Or my dad when he tested this?!"

"Calm down-"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Carmine shakes his head. "You JUST said experienced fighters can reject you at will, but two experienced hunters who WOULD be open with me couldn't control their rejections?!"

"Then." Blair starts, frustration building in her tone, but she forces it down, gently easing. "Perhaps I can answer that if you show me."

What?

"...E-excuse me?" Carmine back steps once from her.

Blair smiles, but knows it doesn't ease him. "I've been in your mind. I've connected to you before. If you would permit me to, I could... view your memories as they are... from my own perspective. It would be informative as to why it failed with them and not with Neo." Her gaze softens as she adds. "I can also temper your reaction if you're afraid-"

"No." The boy vigorously shakes his head, eyes wide with a panic. "I-I-"

"Do you trust me?" Blair asks calmly.

Hitting below the belt with that one. A choked breath comes from Carmine as he knows the answer. But trust doesn't make it easier. She's still asking him to... relive it.

Hesitant, he nods.

The blonde holds a hand up for him, which he is slow to accept. "Just... be quick. Please, Blair." His near silent plea pauses her. A tug at the cold frigid facade she operates behind as she forces a smile.

Blair places a hand on his shoulder, flowing her aura into him. The woman's eyes close as she focuses on their auras. Focusing on him. In Mountain Glenn, she glimpsed the realm of his subconscious. In Malum, she'd forcefully tore her way into Jayce's mind. However, here she met little resistance as the boy opened to her...

She sucks in a breath.

. . .

"Well, let's do an experiment." Jared Uhlric swipes the stick against his finger as fast as he can, wincing in pain. He looks down at the digit, seeing a small cut from the tip. A drop of blood comes from the tip, nothing his aura wouldn't heal in a second. However, he restricts his aura, allowing the wound to remain.

He turns around, tossing the stick over Carmine's head into the firing range. Carmine flinches out of the way of the stick, then looks confused. That is, until Jared holds up his cut finger to Carmine. The boy's eyes widen. "Oh no, you're hurt!" He exclaims.

Jared chuckles, shaking his head. "Oh, this is nothing. But..." He sets Carmine with a straight look. "What you did with the stick, putting it together? I want you to try that with this cut."

Carmine looked at it, nervous, but grabbed his father's hand with both his own. "Okay..."

And like that, Jared waited. He waited to see the faint green aura...

A new scene.

"Carmine?" The boy, Carmine, gives her full attention. Summer Rose smiles down at him. "You're a kind person. I hope you never change."

He blushes, chuckling and nodding. "Alright! I'm doing it." He kneels down next to her, taking a deep breath. Wincing as his small hands land on her stomach. One more breath. Just like with his dad. He concentrates, his power washing over the woman, a green flare of aura.

The green light shines into a flash as the boy yells excited. "Rewind!"

Less than a moment passes before the scene turns gut wrenching to the viewing mind...Green flashes for a panicking boy standing over a corpse.

"I CAN FIX THIS! I CAN FIX THIS! AH!...WHY?! SUMMER! GIVE HER BACK!...PLEASE!"

. . .

Blair's eyes snap open. The first sensation is an immediate wave of guilt washing upon her. That feeling doubles as she realizes the weight on her collar.

She isn't sure when their position shifted, but both members stand against one another. Carmine's face is buried in the crook of her neck above her collar. His arms remain at his side, but she can feel slight shakes in his limbs, choppy breathing against her.

At some point in her exploring his memories, her left hand which had been on his shoulder shifted to the back of his head. Cradling and hugging his head close.

She'd dulled his emotions... She'd used her semblance to hamper his ability to feel from her exploration, and he's still affected this badly. Her face falls as she speaks lowly. "I'm sorry. I hope this was worth it."

"Hmm." His voice, almost soulless, responds. He pulls away from her slightly, eyes hollow, but he holds himself together. A dry chuckle escapes him. "Isn't that for you to say?" He gulps down the lump in his throat before looking her in the eye. "So?"

Blair nods. "Right... as far as your dad, Jared, I can safely say he tested your semblance the same way I did in Haddon, allowing your power to fully display for itself with his finger. So, that one makes perfect sense."

Grimacing, and his emotions gaining free reign, Carmine coughs to center himself. "And S-... Yeah?"

"I believe she did try to open herself to you." Blair starts, shocking the boy. "I cannot be certain, but it appeared to me that she resigned herself after realizing she could not control her aura." Blair looks off in thought. "In fact, her aura healing was not working beforehand either. Something tampered with her ability to control her aura herself."

Carmine double takes, a daring feeling inside him. Challenging him to doubt his preconceptions... If something else tampered with her, and she DID try to be open with him, and that would have let his endeavor succeed, then...

No. Don't dare take that thought before knowing.

It's then that he notices Blair's narrowed gaze glancing off. "You have an idea what it was?"

Ever quiet, her mind flashes back to a curious individual she'd met on Patch. Blair mutters to herself. "Just like Ruby..."

Too quiet, he doesn't catch her breath of a whisper. "What?"

"Silver eyes." She clarifies, astounded. "You... SAW her use them. You saw her, a silver eyed maiden, in the flesh. That must be why her aura control was shot."

Scrunching his face confused, Carmine sputters. "Blair, yes, I saw that, but what the fuck does it have to do with her aura-"

"Magic." Blair snaps her amber eyes to his, inching closer. "Exactly the same as you. If those eyes held even a fraction of that power without drawback, there would be zero reason to ever NOT use it in combat. However, she refrained from using it until you were in danger, and she injured." The blonde lights, almost elated at her theory. "Like when you overused your Overlap, your aura and control of your senses backlash. The same... or something similar, must occur with the Silver Eyes. Her aura was unstable."

Perhaps he was too emotionally spent from their little experiment, but Carmine's mind could hardly keep up with her. He grimaces, trying to process the idea. If such a thing was true... then Summer likely knew she was going to die. But, then was she simply taking a chance hoping it would succeed?

Does it really matter? He deflates at the thought. After all, it still boiled down to the same sequence of events. She was pushing to survive on her feet until he offered what became her death sentence.

No. It doesn't change anything.

But...

Carmine shakes his head. "So, how do you figure we do this, then?"

Blair pauses, taking a second to calm herself as she gives him an assured smile. "That's enough for now. You've put yourself through a lot just now, so we will continue this tomorrow." The woman's hand finds his head again, gently petting him in an almost... motherly way.

The boy blushes at the gesture, but allows a small shy smile as he shrugs the hand off embarrassed. "Whatever. Zero!" His Schneider blade arms warp from the ground to the side onto his body as chest armor and armor sleeve under his jacket. "Let's go see what Makara's got going on."

. . .

Makara's had a fun time...

Carmine's jaw is almost unhinged as Blair's is pursed. Her eyes twitch while the boy openly gawks. Crowds of people, gun nuts and safety classes, watch curious at the window of the firing window.

The gray-lavender haired girl sets a bolt action rifle against a table with a PILE of rifles. Picking up a lever action rifle, Makara clears the chamber before rapidly loading stunt shots inside. Happy with her chosen weapon, she signals to the employee to the side.

"Clay pigeons pull!" The man calls out as ten clay targets launch into the air from different spots of the firing range! Her hand flicks in rapid speed, cranking the level action and pulling the trigger with each pass as the shot loads into the chamber.

B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BOOM!

Ten shots and ten targets struck out of the air before making it ten feet off the ground. The shattering of clay pottery rings with each strike, the crowd mixing in whistles and clapping for the success. Makara allows a soft smile as she eyes the gun in hand. Clearing the last empty shell, the spent casing joins the pile of shells littering around her feet.

"She seems talented." Blair starts. Carmine only nods. "How much money is it for each weapon rented?" Her question causes the boy to twitch.

Carmine gulps and approaches Makara. She notices the approach and smiles. "Ah, you're back! Did your training go well?"

"Not nearly as well as this apparently." Carmine speaks in a hollow voice. He looks over the pile of weapons. "So, did you just decide to try out every single rifle top to bottom?"

"At first, yes. But now I was testing the ones I really liked to scale against one another." The girl answers innocently. Despite her being older than Carmine or Neo, the boy suddenly wonders if this is how Roman felt towards him when they first formed Team CRBN.

Awkwardly, he grins back. "Right. Well, let's head out and see what you have in mind, shall we?"

. . .

Inside the gun store, the three stand at the counter. Carmine and Blair stand on either side of the more quiet woman, all three peering over the large, LARGE wall of rifles towering up the shelves behind the cashier. "So, what tickles your fancy?" Carmine starts, eyeing the various shapes and sizes.

"Depending how long you are with us, we may find a way to customize whatever you choose at a later time." Blair chimes in, crossing her arms. "You mentioned being a good sniper, so perhaps maximizing range and caliber."

Carmine crosses his arms, evaluating many of the rifles with his own eye. "Bolt action rifles when modified with dust can offer the biggest shot, but they're limited typically needing a setup perch. Someone attacks up close..." He shakes his head. "Semi auto will be more useful, but with customization, probably sacrifices power."

"Still more powerful than single shots from your Heulin Noon." Blair chimes in. "Easier to reload, and modifications can adapt the weapon to closer quarters combat. Perhaps conversion into a full auto mid range rifle with some transformation modules."

Makara's eyes soak in every weapon's detail, opened wide and focusing on each nook and cranny of the guns. The input from those around her processes, but the woman finds herself unable to properly decide. Feeling as though she hasn't made a decision like this for herself in years...

"We do offer custom orders so long as you select a rifle as your base." The tan man with a floral pink button up shirt speaks. He stands behind the counter, tribal tattoos peaking out of his sleeves as he gestures to a form. He pushes the paper out.

As the three shoppers look, Carmine chimes first. "How long do orders take?"

"If the base we start with is available in house, our smith can have it done with after six business days. If parts need ordered, it can take up to two weeks." The cashier informs.

"Thanks. We'll consider it." Carmine waves him off before looking to Makara. "So, sound like something to look into?"

"It's a lot, but..." Makara mutters before scrunching her face. "Sir?" She gets the cashier's attention again. "Are there any regulars to your establishment and range that are adept or gifted with rifles? I would like to pick their mind on this before settling."

The cashier puts a hand to his chin. "Well, there's this out of towner who is coming in to pick up his own custom order some time to- Oh! That might be him." The sound of the establishment door opening with a bell ring calls their attention.

A man steps in wearing black pants, golden yellow boots with black laces, a white tucked in heavy shirt, and a closed gold embroidered long coat with off center buttons on the left side of the torso. His clothes have red trim lining each article of clothing, including a gold beret with a red band snug on his head.

The hairless smooth tan face turns up annoyed. No hair poking from the beret. No eyebrow hair. His eyes brown and slitting. Snake eyes. A snake faunus.

A familiar snake faunus.

His snake eyes lock on Blair and Carmine. Lips purse as his eye pupils round and bug out. A nervous sweat comes.

Carmine and Blair tense, locking on to him. The boy's hand snaps up, finger jabbed forward at the faunus as his jaw drops gaped. Blair's hand instinctively clenches around Fluorescent's hilt.

Makara notices the tense nature around her. Knowing to follow the CRBN members instincts, she maintains a distance. "Hello, sir? Are you a fellow marksman-"

CRASH!

"KALLEN?! WHERE'S KILLA?!"

"WHAT ARE YOU INGRATES DOING HERE?!"

Both screams come as the cashier's own panicked shout fills the establishment. "WEAPONS DOWN! WEAPONS DOWN! I WILL CALL THE POLICE!"

. . .

The cashier steps forward from a back room opening. In his arms is a cloth covered long object. He sweats lightly as he moves to place it on the counter in front of Kallen. "A-and here you go. High impact penetration, heat sensor screen attachment, quad channel focus barrel, and multiple load packages for dust types." He smiles at the faunus... but is ignored. Awkwardly.

Kallen's wide eyes dart between Carmine and Blair, both of whom stand squarely off at different angles. His pupils contract to thin slits as he slams a heap of Lien on the counter. "Thank you. Your work is always impeccable, so I'll take your word that it's suitable for combat."

The man gulps. "Just so long as said combat isn't while I'm here. If you could hold off for, like, half an hour for closing." The pink shirted man backs away and walks to a far counter to interact with other patrons.

The four individuals are left glaring at each other in a stand off. That is, until Makara speaks up from sitting at a table nearby. "So, who is this man?" She chirps curious.

A short pause, all three familiar parties narrowing scowls at one another.

Blair starts. "This man is named Kallen. He is a faunus mercenary that works for infamous murderer and sociopath K-"

"I do NOT work for him anymore!" Kallen declares heated, venom dripping in his tone. Both CRBN members quirk confused at the snapping nature. "Also, I am not a criminal, for I have never been convicted, nor the primary perpetrator, subject, or suspect of any investigations, so hold thy tongue."

Carmine recoils as if slapped. "Never conv- Being convicted or not doesn't change participating in Grimm trade!"

"Ezra's activities. I had nothing to do with the Grimm." Kallen retorts immediately. "Brothers rest his noble soul-"

"Yeah whatever. How about blasting apart half of Menagerie to chase Neo and Blair?" Carmine interrupts dry.

"Menagerie is not a recognized legal authority outside of trade. Also, crimes committed in one nation do not make you a criminal in another. Seeing as the island is not considered of the Kingdoms, no one can prosecute any of my actions there. No crime." The thespian actor adopts a calm tone and explains as if he's the all knowing mastermind.

Makara blinks and looks to the CRBN pair.

"Accepting monetary coverage to murder four individuals you otherwise have no connection to within the material world?" Blair retorts. "In said island sub nation, a town within Vale, and in international waters."

Kallen purses his lips, freezing rigid.

"My former partner informed me of the sea faring bout between you four and her team of three." Blair explains, crossing her arms.

The faunus sucks in a hissing breath. "Violet haired harlot!" He growls before composing himself. "But, that is simply hearsay." Carmine snorts, earning a stink eye. "I am no longer employed by that filthy man."

"Give me one reason to believe you." Carmine glares harshly at him. "And even if you're telling the truth, give me a reason to let you go."

Kallen huffs, crossing his arms in a glare. "Killa left me to die in that ginger bastard's explosion in the caves. He disregarded Ezra's death as an inconvenience only. True as that may be, perhaps I was offended at being a pawn." Be then sends a more heated glower at the boy. "And if you MUST know, I am on these islands on my public business as a noble patron!"

Carmine, Blair, and Makara share glances. The CRBN members shrug. The boy cocks his head. "... What?"

Grumpy, Kallen huffs out. "I am here for the Sol Chorus Festival."

"..." None of the three others respond with any reaction, save blank faces.

"The three week Sol Chorus FILM Festival on Isla Vallis?! That started last week?!"

"..." More blank looks.

Irritation sets in as Kallen's face heats up. "I am an actor you peasants! It is my primary occupation!" His fists clench at his sides, eye twitching. "I'm networking to set up auditions and connections you-... UGH!" He throws his arms up. Grabbing his wrapped weapon, he reveals his new silver tech rifle.

Makara's eyes lock on the custom sniper rifle. Curious life burns to life.

"Now, if you will excuse me to return to the festi- Eh?" He flinches as Makara is now hunched by him, inspecting his weapon closely. His predatory eyes remain on the girl as she closely evaluates the weapon.

"This is powerful..." She looks at him, blinking innocent eyes. "What's this chamber with four firing chambers?"

A suspicious glare meets her, but Kallen eases the rifle onto the counter. Straightening his jacket, he gestures to a portion, showing multiple dust channels connecting into four chambers, then combining into the final barrel. "Focus fire projection, miss. It combines multiple dust channels into one powerful shot."

Makara quirks to look more curiously at it.

Curious as well, Carmine eases. Still suspicious, he speaks up. "So, you can amp shots up to four levels, or combine dust effects for special uses."

Kallen smirks proud and smug. "Of course. My brand new prize beauty. Even have a night vision scope on the top." He then remembers who he's surrounded by and flinches back, gun in hand. "Bah! Quit coercing me into giving away my weapon secrets!"

Blair's eyes droop lidded as she hums, unimpressed. "It appears to be quite easy to make you talk about yourself. Typical of an actor."

The snake faunus glares at the woman in fury. "Sullen wench, I won't just be an actor!"

Carmine cuts in quietly. "He'll be a murdering actor."

"I'll be the break out faunus star of Atlas!" Kallen declares, paying Carmine no mind. Said boy pauses, looking in a new light. Kallen grins with a nod. "I won't simply be remembered as a revolutionary man of the arts! I will be remembered as the first. First of a people's progress. My name will pave the way for many more to follow in the line of cultural change!"

Carmine and Blair blink at the man as Makara lights up. "Oh, I see. It's both selfish AND for a good cause?" She looks back to the gun. "Now, about the focus chamber-"

"You're right, fair maiden!" Kallen interrupts the girl before she can move the topic back to the rifle.

"Why is she a 'fair maiden' while I am a 'sullen wench'?" Blair asks dry.

Continuing the topic of the faunus, Kallen sighs. "Atlas in its prosperity is the height of opportunity for people with affluent dreams. Until now, I've built some credibility in Vacuan and Mistrali production, but if I can crack open the Atlas market to faunus... A whole new world opens up..." He then sulks. "That is if the White Fang could just, you know, shut the hell up for a year or two."

Right. The faunus got banned from the grand ball this summer after the last event's mishaps. Carmine recalls the news broadcast saying the last event had faunus activists attempt to poison wealthy Atlas humans attending the event.

Carmine nods. "The radical assholes put a few walls in your way, haven't they?"

"Boy, you have no idea." Kallen sulks over.

"And I assume you're not even gonna approach Vale until any connection to Killian expires." Carmine playfully utters, making the man flinch.

"Sh!" Kallen hisses a shush at the boy.

"Mhm..." Carmine rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Get out of here, and we won't have any issues with you, I guess."

Kallen snorts. "The same sentiment goes both way-" He notices a hand. Makara's hand is raised. Like a child in a class room. The woman is politely remaining just beside them. "... Yes?"

The woman smiles and nods to the weapon. "Would you please assist me with designing a rifle for myself? I quite love your design."

As the CRBN members share a look, Kallen blinks in process. "I..." The man actually looks touched. "Why yes. It IS brilliant, isn't it?" He grins bringing the rifle up for her to glance at. Suddenly freezing, he remembers himself. "Ah! I do not have time for this. I have to get back to the festival." He turns and leaves the establishment, leaving the three alone.

Makara deflates while Blair pats her back in comfort. "We will find something you can feel comfortable with." She looks back to the cashier. "We will take that form to go if we can bring it back for you, if that is fine."

. . .

"So, it's just a reunion of faces we've seen, is it?" Roman snorts. "Next, we'll spot Dory setting up shop." He sarcastically snips. The CRBN members have regrouped at an outdoor restaurant. The beach is within view, a sunset in the background. Roman huffs. "So, you got some progress with silver streak and a weapon for ghost lass."

"Ghost Lass?" Blair parrots back, Makara perking.

He shrugs. "Pale hair with no background. What do you want for me? Can't all be zingers." He looks to said girl. "Fine. Mak, Maka, Makymac, what progress you got with that?" He distracts himself with a steak kebab.

Makara grimaces. "I'm hitting a wall thinking of ideas." Her gaze darkens. "Something common with me." She takes a bite of a chicken kebab, chewing as her mood takes a downturn.

Blair allows a derisive snort. "Do not let it get to you. We'll help you construct something much better than that fool's Compensator."

Carmine snickers at his given name for Kallen's rifle. "So glad I came up with that." He looks away from his own beef kebab to Neo. "You good?"

Neo's head is still against the table, the beating pounding of the alcohol from earlier. Roman's stunt of ordering her one of the strongest 'fruity' drinks was coming back to bite her. It takes a solid ten seconds from her hand to slowly form the 'OK' sign for the boy. She grimly pulls her head up and takes a small bite of her chicken kebab. "Hmm..." She whines as she chews.

"Is there a reason you basically crippled her with alcohol poisoning?" Carmine glowers at Roman.

The man flippantly waves the concern off. "Really for shits and giggles." He then snorts. "Which it is definitely earning giggles."

Neo's hand in the 'OK' sign rolls at the wrist to give Roman the middle finger. This makes the conman chuckle louder. Carmine gently pulls the offending hand down, allowing their hands to lace a grip together. The comforting grip allows a soothing sigh out of the girl.

Carmine grins and looks to Roman. "So go on. What did the yellow pirate tell you?"

The conman lets out a grumble. "Basically, Zandril may be tied to an old family from the dead island. There's a council of each of the remaining three island chiefs that run most of the local government operations. A real tight knit crew, these ones. However, there's a man who lives at the temple atop the mountain that should be able to confirm the family name."

"You think Zandril is connected to Isla Cadavera's collapse?" Blair asks, brow raised.

"Not likely..." Roman wrinkles his nose. "Supposedly, some sixty years ago, a great Grimm horde ripped the island to shreds. Ever since, the island has been a cesspool of Grimm activity. The whole works. Grimm pools, a few unique types over the years. Islanders had to allow Atlas to take over essentially and keep the terrible beasties down."

"The Grimm never migrated to the other two islands?" Carmine quirks his head at that. "That's... weird."

"Not in the slightest." Roman looks to Blair, seeing similar skepticism. "Tale has it that the night it happened, there was a female among them. Some mysterious witch among the embers surrounded by the red eyes. Unharmed by the monsters. Though, most retellings think of the figure as being a rare kind Grimm." He shrugs. "Though, no Atlas expedition or clearing of the island has yielded any sign of such a thing being there."

"Something we can ask that grand elder about?" Carmine asks of the table. Blair and Roman each give an affirmative nod to the idea. "We can go on up the mountain tomorrow to visit them. Agreed?"

"U-Um." Makara squeaks up, flinching as all four look to her. "I... Uh." She purses her lips before asking. "If it isn't much bother, I would like to ask that man, Kallen, again about rifle work. He did say he would be at that film festival." She looks bashful as she asks, a feeling of self conscious stupidity coming to her. "Sorry, that's a-"

"No no. It's not a bad suggestion." Carmine brings up. Neo lifts her head to give a stink eye to him. He WANTS to seek out the criminal actor for a favor? "What? Push comes to shove, we can blackmail him into helping Makara out. Plus, the film festival would be fun, right?"

Roman smirks cruelly at Carmine of all people throw the word blackmail out. "You're learning."

Neo purses her lips. The festival would be fun... an entire day on Isla Vallis? Sight seeing and movies? She lights up and grins at the boy. Her headache momentarily forgotten, she gives a bright look, allowing the boy to match it.

Blair smiles. "Fine, Carmine. You and Neo can take Makara to Isla Vallis tomorrow for that venture then. But, be careful. Roman and I can visit the elder at the temple to gather more information on Zandril."

Roman allows a sleazy smirk. "Have fun on the date, kids. Don't be out after midnight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Neo chooses that exact moment to lock her gaze onto Carmine from the side, half lidded with a smirk. The boy blushes mad as he scratches at his head. "Y-yeah! You guys have... fun on yours?" His voice cracks as he tries to give him a hit of his own teasing.

"Oh, I intend to." Roman glances over to Blair, giving a wink. Blair's stoic glance remains for only a second before breaking at a blush of her own. Her lips ever slightly pull up.

The boy realizes his mistake. One cannot shame Roman. He knows no embarrassment. "Fuckberries. I should have known that wouldn't work." Neo cracks into a squeaking laugh of her own, doubling the boy's blush. Though, he would admit to enjoying her laugh.

Makara looks between them all, eyes lighting up on Carmine and Neo. "Oh, you two are together? Congratulations!" She smiles for them. The act makes Roman crack a laugh at the boy's expense.

Neo's smirk grows at the boy, eyes like a predator. A challenging look. Doing everything he can not to look at Neo, he directs his look to Roman again. "Uh- hum... So, what do we know about that elder guy, huh?"

Rolling his eyes, Roman sighs. "Well, all I can be certain of is that they act as a representative of all four island tribes. He's above the chiefs, but in symbolic authority rather than an authority in government typically. Also, he's the islands' greatest champion. The title is earned through combat. He is the responder to any disaster."

Blair raises a brow. "Rowa has been living in Atlas for a time. Perhaps she is aware of this place's ties to Atlas militarily. They must know more about this place."

Makara frowns. "What if he is hostile to you all? Thankful as I am to you, breaking me out and stealing information has likely put you all on thin ice with the kingdom."

"Then it's a good thing it'll be our best fighter approaching him." Carmine speaks up. His eyes cut to Blair. "You'll alert us if anything happens, though. Anything suspicious."

"Same to you." Blair answers with a nod. "What exactly is his title, Roman?"

Roman hums. "Translates roughly to Death's Hound."

. . .

"His name is Setante. The Cu de Culann."

Atop the mountain

The sunset on the ocean horizon beams in a glaring sight. Atop the mountain sits a stone carved summit. A temple shone in the light, pillars casting ornate shadows in tribal patterns along the floor of an open air sanctum. Crimson and white banners wave with the wind off many of the spires. Upon the banners show a sigil. A red bird with white wisping lines with its wings outstretched.

Sitting in a cross legged in a central circle is a man. A wild mane of crimson red hair spreads over his shoulders. Black tribal tattoos mark his broad shoulders and arms. Scars crisscross his form and litter his body. Some clean lines, others jagged.

His face shows a full beard and mustache, combed into bound braids. Bronze skin bristling with muscle flexes as he breathes.

He wears black arm bands, a green tunic tied to his right shoulder with left pectoral exposed. A white sash ties at his waist, several brown packs and pouches hang around his hip with various supplies. Black pants show below with crimson red and white boots to finish.

Across his legs, balanced in his lap, is a large and long black haft. To one end, a wrap of bright green animal fur loosely hangs off just before the head of the weapon. The head reveals a long spear blade. On the other end of the half, a chain connects the spear haft to a line of chain links wrapping around the man's arm.

The man opens his eyes, green orbs on the horizon as he smiles.

"A pattern in the wind." A deep baritone calls.

In his red hair, twitches flick. Two dog ears flick around the man's head. He's a dog faunus.

His strong hands tighten around the haft. "I sense it too... A challenger approaches."

New location. New arc. New team composition. New problems. Finally, getting into Aline Zandril's backstory, which I am excited to delve into.

Our characters are also splitting their particular interests in this area. Of course, Blair's investigation into the Soul Servo and investigating the spiritual aspect of the islands. Roman's investigation into the inhabitants history for Zandril. Carmine's attempts to get his semblance and head under control. And Neo's search for AZRL connections to redeem her perceived mistake in Malum.

Intermixing of these will be occurring obvious, but the next chunk of time will be spent in these islands. Some minor skips between chapters. Also, a slight detour during this... Kallen's back?! For even further complications, Spyyra is now tasked specifically with taking down Team CRBN by himself. Well, isn't that fun?

References:

Ostium Mortis, in keeping with AZRL's inspiration from Soul Eater's DWMA, translates from Latin to Death's Door. This is a reference purely in name, as the location itself can most closely relate to the state of Hawaii. REALLY tempted to mimic a Big Kahuna of Hana Huna joke from Rocket Power, but that might out me as a 90's kid...

That being said, some of the islands of the archipelago are based in their names somewhat off alternative meanings of Hawaii's main four islands.

Now that there's more shown with her, Makara Riva is loosely based off of Maria Robotnik from the Sonic franchise. To summarize her, a more innocent and pure personality stricken with illness. Illness which more firmly relates the character to the corrupt affiliation of those around them. For now, she has no semblance or weapon.

Setante will have more revealed about him in due time.

Next time will be chapter sixty six: Would Cross the Land.