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Chapter 02: Breaktide
To a native of the perpetually frozen Kingdom of Atlas such as Athena-Jade Slate the island Kingdom of Menagerie was almost inhospitably warm and stuffy, the late summer air had assaulted the Bear Faunus the moment she stepped out into it from the safe and comfortable confines of the airship that had carried across the ocean from Atlas, the sweltering heat forming a punishing combination with the airless and dry closeness that left Athena uncomfortably short of breath and seeking out any shade she could take cover in, certain that her pale skin would burn and blister within minutes whilst also taking care not to touch anything metallic after being given an unpleasant surprise when touching a railing at the airship terminal upon her arrival. Despite the advances of technology the flight had still taken up much of the day and the blazing sun had already been passed its' zenith when Athena had arrived though it seemed likely that it would not set for several more hours; the Bear Faunus had waited at the airship terminal as tourists and travellers were joined by those whose appearances marked them out as her fellow future students of Breaktide Academy and when it seemed that all were present and accounted for they had been ushered onto smaller aerial transports which had allowed them a birds' eye view of the city as they were carried towards their final destination.
The beauty of the views she had been treated to already were almost enough to make up for the climate however and Athena-Jade had quickly and readily found herself enraptured by Port Alistair.
The city was, as could be expected considering the nature of its' founding an almost dizzying array of architecture plucked from the styles of the various Kingdoms to create something entirely unique to Menagerie where Mistrali street markets stood in the open yet shaded comfort of plazas and town squares that would look at home in Vale whilst around them the sun glinted against stained-glass dome roofs of buildings built in the Vaccuan style and the distance apartment blocks whose aesthetic was clearly an adaption of Atlesian utilitarianism with more aesthetic pleasing features rose into the sky. Athena-Jade found herself taking it all in, her familiarity with the grid-like sensibilities of Atlesian hive-cities where every inch of space was a valuable asset leaving her bewildered at the winding and meandering streets of Port Alistair which had sprung into existence almost haphazardly over the course of a few decades as settlers built what they needed largely where they pleased until some sense of order had been imposed those same streets being interspersed at several intervals by a network of tracks on which the cities' public transit operated, a monorail system clearly inspired by that of New Vale; The relatively small size of the Kingdoms' Capital City combined which how much seemed to be crammed within it gave Port Alistair an almost fanciful air about it as if some quaint and homely village from a children's story had been scaled up without losing any of its' charm, a chaotic jewel of a city with the ocean an its' back and flanked on all sides by untamed wastelands with only a few roads reaching out towards the small Kingdoms' other territories.
Then, eventually the transport had landed and Athena-Jade found herself stepping out once again into the blinding sun and stifling heat.
"Hey AJ!" a loud and brash voice demanded her attention before she could properly orient herself, as well as that of several other people around her as her fellow soon to be First Years stepped out into the private landing pads of the Academy that would become their new home; whilst she understood that she was famous solely due to her family name and the connections that came with it and had accepted that she would likely be recognised relatively quickly Athena fought the urge to grimace as she had at least hoped to make it inside before that happened though a mere moment later something occurred to her and brought her whipping around to find the source of the voice, nobody who recognised Athena-Jade Slate solely from her media presence would have thought to adress her by the nickname her friends and family used.
"Hey!" the same voice called out again, quiet and closer this time as the speaker came into view; revealing themselves to be a Deer Faunus whose antlers were complimented by a Mohawk of swept forward and dyed red spikes, an individual perhaps half a foot taller than herself even without those advantages with faint brown skin clad in a particularly stylish red leather jacket with short sleeves, faded and ripped jeans and white sneakers and wearing dark make up to accentuate their features. Athena paused and faltered, taking several seconds to try and place the inexplicably familiar face before almost dropping her luggage in surprise as her hands flew to her mouth
"Astra! Astra Mars?" she exclaimed happily "I didn't realise that you were coming to Breaktide"
"Yeah, as far as I know I'm the only Signal Student who got in….a couple of my class went to Haven and everyone else either found a job, got an engineering apprenticeship or went to Halo but oh well right? This is where everything's happening" Athena found herself taken aback a little thought found herself uncertain as to why, she had never really known Astra Mars especially well and had only met them a handful of times with the most recent being at a Vytal Tournament some years ago that Felix Xiao Long had brought them to as a birthday treat and before that her own brothers' wedding yet she noted that the Astra before her was a vast departure from who she remembered; her cousins' half-sibling had once been a shy and nervous teen with a mass of auburn curls that refused to be tamed whilst now everything about them screamed their desire to appear as striking and threatening as possible.
In Athena-Jade's mind they were trying far too hard but saying so would be needlessly impolite
"Looks like we're both here on our own then" she noted conversationally "If there's anyone from Atlas coming to Breaktide then I haven't seen them and it's nobody I recognise….It's actually cool to run into someone I know"
"Yeah" Astra sighed, seeming to deflate for a moment before puffing out their chest and rolling their shoulders back as they added "We can hang, even if we don't know anybody we'll be fine"
"Definitely" Athena nodded, unable to stop herself from giving a toothy grin as she realised that any lingering nerves she may have felt were entirely normal now that she had someone to compare herself against; despite all of Astra's bravado in an obvious attempt to convince themselves their nerves and apprehension seemed to bleed out and permeate every fibre of their being yet the Bear Faunus found herself unable to judge them at all and instead gestured passed the crowd of students still milling around the landing pads awaiting further instruction and towards the academy beyond.
"It looks awesome" the words left her in a breathy, awestruck tone as she paused to properly admire Breaktide Academy, giving the moment and the building itself the gravitas and appreciation that she felt it was owed.
Breaktide Academy was huge.
The landing pads were located within sizeable grounds surrounded by a high wall intended to both keep prying eyes at bay at offer safety as the Academy, like Shade Academy of Vaccuo was located within the walls of the city it defended and served as a bastion to fall back to should the worst occur. What Athena could see of the grounds was a maze of flowerbeds filled with vibrant flowers from all across Remnant that should not rightly have grown together with winding pathways lined with benches and street-lights styled to resemble Mistrali hanging lanterns which all led towards a single main pathway which led from the enormous gates separating the campus from the city to the main entrance the of building before which stood a golden statue of lone figure, roughly three times as tall as the man might've been in life and clearly a Hunter as he wielded blades that were mounted on each of his arms, Athena noted that the mans' hairstyle was not entirely unlike her own before turning her attention towards the Academy itself.
Breaktide Academy was built in the Atlesian style, which was to say that it resembled a fortress or castle, though it was prevented from being a cold and unfeeling mass by four rounded turrets in the style of old Vale architecture at each of its' corners with streamers and banners hanging from its' walls and ramparts whilst many more smaller towers and spires rose up from the midst in almost haphazard way with walkways and bridges stretching between them and a single tower reached out from the centre of the academy to demand the attention of all who gazed upon it, topped with a stained glass dome in the Vaccuan style and shining in the late afternoon sun it was almost certainly the office of the Headmistress Coco Adel.
"Awesome, yeah….Cool, really cool" Astra mumbled, visibly trying to amp themselves up despite the wideness of the eyes making it clear that they were more than a little overwhelmed by the site before them; Athena-Jade turned to face them uncertain if she planned to offer comfort or biting sarcasm even as she did so yet finding herself distracted before she could do either. The eyes of Faunus were keen but she did not need superhuman sight to see a trail of black smoke rising into the sky beyond the walls of Breaktide Academy not superhuman hearing to detect the roaring, mechanical snarl of engine drawing steadily closer with a distinctly worrisome note to it; Astra tuned and followed Athena's gaze and found their own eyes narrowing into something akin to a wince, the child of a mechanic being more than familiar with the sound of damaged machinery which prompted them to ask the question that Athena-Jade had been intending to raise herself.
"What the hell is that?"
Regalia Russet was a seventeen year old racoon Faunus boasting a respectable height of an even six feet tall and an impressively athletic physique that was both lean and boasted well defined muscles that bulged and strained beneath her golden brown skin. Everything about the garments she wore suggested a sense of toughness and well-worn, rugged practicality from the heavy yet comfortable brown leather boots with purple laces which reached her calves and featured armour plating on the heel, toe and shin of a dull, tarnished silver metal and the burns and old, faded oil stains and other signs of wear and tear marring the pants she wore with them; a pair of of dull grey coloured cargo pants tucked into the boots whose plethora of pockets, picked out in black were bolstered by a dark purple coloured harness which in all probability should have been worn across her torso instead dangling from her waist and an opening at the rear to accommodate her tail; the Faunus attribute being bushy with fur that alternated between greyish-brown to black in a series of loosely arranged rings to the soot and burns adorning the white tank top she wore, the garment being cropped to display toned and defined abs whilst also hugging her figure. To protect from the elements she wore a heavy jacket that most would have found uncomfortable in the heat of Menagerie yet Russet seemed entirely unbothered by, an old and cracked leather item in an aviator style, reddish brown in colour with a collar and inner lining of a pale creamy shade which had the distinct air about it of being a hand me down in the way it hung a little too large on the shoulders though featured several patches which seemed to be more recent additions, including one on the shoulder which displayed its' wearers personal emblem; a stylised and cartoonish racoon head with a crossed hammer and wrench behind it.
Regalia's features were blunt and as strong as the rest of her form, a defined and chiselled, if slightly square jaw leading to a mouth that was currently pulled into a tight smile that could be mistaken for a determined grimace, a wider than average nose that seemed to have been broken at some point and not healed exactly correctly and a pair of wide and deep purple eyes that seemed to shine with some boundless energy and sense of adventure though the latter were currently obscured from view by the goggles Regalia wore, heavy and cumbersome things yet armoured enough to be worth their weight with a glossy black casing, dulled silver dials and knobs and pale purple lenses a few shades lighter than her own eyes. The Racoon Faunus's hair was an attempt at controlled chaos, the same shaggy grey-brown as the fur of her tail with a pair of bangs falling on either side of her face and a spiky, bushy and unkept mass spilling over her ears whilst the true scope of her hair was contained in a single, tightly wrapped lions' tail that reached to just below her shoulder blades bound in dyed purple bandages.
More important than all of that however was the fact that Regalia Russet had somewhere to be and was running late.
"Come on Clunker, come on don't give up on me now" she urged in a voice that was brighter and almost chirpy, the tension one would expect from someone in her predicament being laced with thrilled excitement as her hair and tail blew behind her in the wind and the sound of other drivers honking their horns and yelling insults in her wake faded into the distance. Clunker was the name that Regalia had given to her current form of transportation, an entirely scratch-built and Dust powered jetbike made from the repurposed remains of the wing-mounted thruster of an old Atlesian fighter craft, an abundance of scrap metal and engine parts from other vehicles and blueprints of several different models of jetbike produced by various manufacturers which had, almost through a form of alchemy been built into a vehicle with a long, vaguely rectangular front end centred around a single roaring intake, extended handlebars like those of a chopper and a plethora of small outlets and stabilising fins mounted around its' back and rear with just enough room left over on the back of the makeshift thing for Russet to strap her limited amount of luggage in place and a small holster to the right of the jetbike to house her weapon in its' collapsed form.
Russet's current concern, or at lest one of them was the particularly pained note to the roar of her jetbikes' engine and the cloud of black smoke trailing from its' left side indicating that the damage it had sustained was severe and that Clunker might finally fail her before she reached Breaktide Academy. The Racoon Faunus had not arrived in Port Alistair by aerial transport as many of her soon to be classmates had, living elsewhere on the island Kingdom she had instead chosen to brave the wasteland and travelled alone only to first be delayed by an emotional goodbye with her mother and then at roughly the midway point of her journey the Creatures of Grimm; a large pack of Beowolves waylaying her and whilst she had proven herself more than equal to the challenge Regalia had been dismayed and disheartened to see that sharp claws had torn into the chassis of her jetbike and damaged something important within. That attack had been several hours ago and after performing the most succinct form of patchwork repairs that she could manage with the toolbox in her luggage Regalia had continued onwards, finally reaching the city whose winding streets she weaved and sped through until finally she saw her destination.
The gates of Breaktide Academy.
"Aww yeah we did it!" she cheered out to nobody in particular, releasing the grip on Clunker's handlebars for just long enough punch the air enthusiastically before seizing them and bringing her damaged jetbike into an impossibly sharp turn that sent it across several lanes that were mercifully free of traffic, arcing around and sliding sideways through the gates where it travelled several dozen feet along the main path leading to the entrance with Regalia struggling to keep it upright until finally it came skidding and shrieking to a halt.
"Heh" the breathless chuckling sound escaped her as she killed the engine and deployed a kickstand that would stop her jetbike from collapsing to the ground whilst at the same time leaning back and wafting away the cloud of choking black smog that engulfed her a moment later before finally, after beginning to catch her breath she lifted her goggles and pushed them up onto her hair where they held her bangs out of her face. It was safe to say that Regalia was sheltered by most standards or comparisons with very few peers her own age to relate to and only brief acquaintances with those her own age in the villages and settlements she passed through, though what she had managed to ascertain for herself from all of the movies set in schools and colleges that she had seen over the years was that for a new student making a last first impression was paramount if one had any hope of making friends and for a brief moment the Raccoon Faunus gave a broad smile, brimming with nervous energy as she realised she might have succeeded.
Until an open handed slap to the back of her head and an annoyed voice quickly disabused her of that notion.
"Hey dumb-ass you nearly hit me with this thing! What are you trying to take out the competition before initiation even starts?"
"Ow….man, not cool" Regalia whined, rubbing where she had been hit and turning towards the source of the abuse where she found herself staring up at a young man perhaps an inch or two taller than herself with a physique equally as impressive yet far broader and more sturdy. The teen was pale with gaunt and sharp features that gave them an intimidating appearance that put Regalia in mind of some vast bird of prey, their hair a dull and smokey blue-grey colour and shorn at the sides whilst the bulk of it was pulled into a single wolf-tail which hung behind them; the scowl they wore carried over to their eyes which were stormy grey and seemed to promise blunt harshness in a way that was echoed by their attire. The young man wore an armoured breastplate like that of some knight of old in a dull silver colour covered in small nicks and scratches with an armoured gorget slanted forwards to protect their neck and a black leather collar fitted with bright gold spikes worn around it, the motif was mirrored on his shoulders were rounded armour plates in a deep black were fastened by leather straps, each of them featuring several golden spikes whilst over this he wore a jacket that sported a small but shaggy stone-grey fur collar and was currently sleeveless but appeared to have not originally been so if the way it was ragged around the shoulders were any indication, the same faded blue-grey as his hair and made in a Mistrali style with a pair of capes hanging low behind him, reachin to below the backs of his knees. From the waist down his outfit was more conventional, black tactical pants with armour integrated into the knees tucked into dull grey boots and held up by a belt featuring a buckle with a snarling wolfs' head as part of its' design whilst several chains of gold and silver hung from his belt loops on the right hand side. Regalia's eyes darted from the left hand which had stuck her, which she noticed was wrapped in dusty beige bandages almost all the way to the elbow to his back where the partially collapsed form of a shield with another weapon tucked inside of it were secured at an angle.
"Heh" the Racoon Faunus chuckled again, though this time more nervously as she went from massaging the back of her her head to pointing and gesticulating wildly as she tried to explain herself
"Not looking for problems-"
"Looks like you found one anyway" the boy growled, clearly spoiling for a fight and prompting Regalia to quietly and surreptitiously reach for where her weapon was holstered as she continued.
"I didn't mean to hit you, or anyone else….I was fighting Grimm in the wasteland on the way here, I was going full speed to get here before my bike broke down 'cos I don't wanna get stranded somewhere I don't know and uh, I guess you were kinda stood in the way?" Regalia trailed off and as poorly socialised as she might've been the chorus of sharp intakes of breaths and muted jeers that followed her words told her that she had managed to say precisely the wrong thing, quickly scanning her surroundings and seeing several of her soon-to-be classmates beginning to gather around, including a Faunus with antlers and a rather impressive Mohawk gesturing to a smaller Faunus beside them she realised that the beginnings of a school yard brawl were brewing
"So what you're saying" the still unnamed teen demanded, shoulders rolling back "Is that this is my fault?"
"Can we not do this man?" Regalia sighed, slumping onto Clunker's handlebars with a comically exaggerated motion "It's been a long day and it's already not going how I planned" in response the boy offered no words and simply prepared to remove his weapons, either to use them against her or simply cast them aside and be unburdened, seeing little alternative Regalia flung herself out of the seat of her jetbike, almost knocking her luggage free as she did so and braced herself, focusing as she considered using her Semblance to find a way out of the confrontation that wouldn't involve physical violence only to be offered respite in the form of a new voice.
"Enough" a voice that was quiet and had a cultured and refined sound yet carried a sense of total authority demanded; Regalia came to halt without thinking whilst her aggressor bristled until the speaker added "A professor is present, you are being watched" at those words the crowd that had begun to gather let out several grumblings but quickly dispersed and began to distance themselves from the altercation whilst straightening themselves up to look presentable, her would-be opponent gave her one last glare before stalking off whilst Regalia disregarded him and glanced instead towards the massive doubler doors of Breaktide Academy where her keen Faunus vision allowed her to pick out a Rabbit Faunus with one of her ears partly removed and a camera hanging around her neck who stood with her arms crossed over her chest wearing a most displeased expression. Seeing that the problem had, at least for now been resolved the Racoon Faunus turned back to her rescuer with her bushy tail standing upright behind her as she wrung her hands nervously.
"Hey, uh thanks for that" she offered out a hand, only to receive total silence in return as a figure in black whooshed by dramatically, Regalia seeing nothing of the individuals' face though she was left with the distinct impression of something mechanical. After a moments' pause she looked around and saw that she was going to be one of the last inside and that nobody had offered to help her move the damaged jetbike.
"Aww nuts" she sighed, shoulders sagging as she realised that she had not made the first impression she had been hoping for.
The prospective First Year students had been gathered together by Deputy Headmistress professor and chief engineer Velvet Scarlatina, a legendary woman amongst the Hunter community all across Remnant and, judging by the reactions of those students native to the island Kingdom a prominent figure on Menagerie or at least within Port Alistair itself; once gathered within the vast atrium of Breaktide Academy which was as grand and impressive within as it was from the outside the planned events for what remained of the day had been explained to the assembled teens. There would, unfortunately but somewhat predictably be a small mountain of paperwork to attend to as many of the incoming students, being native to other Kingdoms or other and less accessible parts of Menagerie had not been able to attend the Academy in person prior to today and there were some legalities that needed to be handled in person with a witness present; from there Velvet would take her new charges on a tour of the academy and its' facilities where many of the staff would be present to answer any pertinent questions that the teens may have before finally being led to the ampitheatre where Headmistress Coco Adel would deliver a welcome speech. But before any of that the Rabbit Faunus, realising that many of the new students had spent much of the day travelling and likely not eaten did something that instantly earned favour with many of the teens and took them directly to the academies' sizeable cafeteria, reasoning that hungry students would not learn and they had enough to prepare themselves to contend with and prepare for.
Which was partly how Athena-Jade Slate had come to find herself making small talk
The young Bear Faunus had parted ways, at least for the moment with Astra whom she was still trying to figure out if she was actually related to in any way that there was a specific name for; such minutiae and technicalities being a part of Upper Atlesian society that she normally had very little interest in. There had been no animosity or ill-will between the two of them though Athena did find herself perhaps a little concerned by both the Deer Faunus's outward cocky belligerence and the nerves that the display was an attempt to cover up; instead they had both simply agreed that it would be in their best interests to start making friends with those around them or at the very least becoming familiar with those who could very well become part of the team they would spend at least the next four years and likely much longer working with.
To that end and also with a sense of almost morbid curiosity Athena found herself trying to get the attention of a wiry young man with somewhat sickly yet still tanned skin and a mess of hair that was less blond and more vibrantly yellow, the teen being directly in front of her in the line to get food but also holding said line up as they produced several small gadgets from a seemingly endless amount of hidden pockets and used their tray as a flat surface to work on as they began examining them
"Hey, you're kinda holding the line up here" Athena noted, keeping her voice free of any hint of annoyance before nodding towards some of the trinkets "What're you doing with all that?"
"Staying prepared" the young man answered with a lopsided smirk and the slightest traces of a Vaccuan drawl colouring a reedy voice, not pronounced enough for him to be native to the outer borders of the desert Kingdom and if Athena had to guess he was most likely a native to the inner city of the Kingdoms' crime ridden capital.
"The Professor didn't say anything about us getting chance to recheck our gear before initiation and I don't want to get caught unprepared by whatever we end up dealing with so I'm making a chance" the young man continued, chatting animatedly and happily as if he and Athena knew each already "Since we don't know what we're gonna be up against and I….kinda don't wanna rely on my Semblance too much I brought a little of everything; gas mask, spare filters, Dust, more Dust, retractable clamps and climbing spikes in my shoes, spare Scroll, tool kit, bolt cutters, hard-light Dust shiv-"
"Why would you need…." Athena trailed off gesturing at some of what lay before her, trying to figure out exactly what kind of person would need some of the tools and equipment that the boy whose name she was yet to learn had readily on hand and quickly putting her concerns aside when the answers she found herself with proved to be highly concerning; before the conversation could go any further the teen finally began moving forward so that the line could follow and Athena felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around she found herself looking up a tall and stocky young woman, already standing at roughly six and a half feet tall even without accounting for the Faunus trait of a scorpion tail which arched up behind her and over her head
"Hey, uh you're Athena-Jade Slate right?" she asked, a touch of awkward discomfort creeping into a voice that was made broad with an accent native to the most rural edges of New Vale's territories; Athena-Jade found herself looking this newcomer up and down, bracing herself as she answered
"Yeah" the word left her slowly and warily "Have we met?"
"No, I just thought I recognised your face from somewhere" the Scorpion Faunus answered quickly "Probably on TV with the rest of your family, I was just wondering what happened earlier in the courtyard; it looked like a fight was about to start and you were nearer-"
"The chick with the goggles and the cool bike nearly hit the meathead with the axe and he felt some kinda way about it" the blonde in front of Athena interjected with a snicker "Who cares about a fight, you can see that any day….I want a better look at that jetbike, it's gotta be a few grand even as parts, likely a custom, doesn't look like anything I've seen before" Athena, realising that she had intended to get better acquainted with people and that the conversation was happening, as conversations often did literally above her head quickly spoke up and reinserted herself
"Yeah I didn't really get a good look at what happened; I actually ran into someone I sort of know and that I might be distantly related to so I was talking to them, they're the one who saw things start. They should be right over….Oh crap" Athena had scanned the crowd within the cafeteria, intending to find she and her two new acquaintances might join them and form the potential beginnings of a team only for her eyes to widen in alarm as she caught sight of the Deer Faunus.
Astra was chatting animatedly with the axe wielding and armoured teen that they had just been discussing.
"Hold my place for me please" Athena said hurriedly before breaking away from the line for food and making her way over the corner of one of many long tables arranged parallel to one another across the cafeteria, arriving just in time to hear the dark blue haired boy let out a harsh barking laugh as Astra, wearing a bright smile and gesturing wildly spoke
"-so then I said, another one bites the Dust"
"Classic" the young man laughed "I know you shouldn't say it but you really have gotta fight other people sometimes, Grimm have got no respect for a good one liner"
"So that's what that was outside?" Athena-Jade asked by way of greeting before sitting down and making herself comfortable "Hey Astra"
"Hey AJ" the Deer Faunus grinned gesturing between the Bear Faunus and the human as they introduced them "AJ this is Wolfram-"
"Wolfram Ironside" the armoured boy interrupted, his voice being the strange mix of accents that those born on Menagerie seemed to have as the Kingdom continued to form its' own identity out of the heritages of those who had first reclaimed it after the war against Salem "You're one of the Schnee, Slate family kids right?"
"I'm Athena-Jade, or AJ" Athena answered, perhaps a little more tersely that she had intended as the unspoken implication that she was little more than her family name irked her "So are you getting something to eat or just hanging out?"
"Looks like the line has actually started moving again" Wolfram noted before rising to his feet and slapping Astra on the shoulder seemingly gently but also with enough force to visibly move them as he passed by
"I'm gonna grab some food, let's hope what people say about canteen slop is lies right? We're gonna be eating a lot of it" he paused and rubbed the back of his head and seemed to consider for a moment before chuckling "And if you see that Racoon Faunus from earlier, tell her I said we're cool….I really can't be bothered to get into trouble with the teachers before we even start here"
"He seems nice" Athena drawled out, voice dripping with sarcasm as she watched Wolfram Ironside leave and noted that his parting words had not exactly been an apology "Is that really who you wanna make friends with, the first guy to pick a fight?"
"He seems cool" Astra shrugged, gaze following Wolfram as they spoke "He had some funny fight stories and it's funny to have someone to trade with"
"You've got fight stories, you?" Athena laughed incredulously, still struggling to reconcile the Mohawk, make up and leather jacket sporting Astra before her to the shy and nervous teen that they had once been whilst Astra themselves merely grinned in response, seemingly eager to impress
"Hell yeah" they laughed "I stopped a Dust store burglary….damn it really only was last night, it feels longer. I actually almost missed my flight here because I got out of the police station late"
"What?" Athena gasped in utter shock that she was unable to hide, whilst she had been somewhat notorious for capabilities in a fistfight in the limited context of her private school even before properly beginning her training the scuffles she had been in were always handled by the teachers and at seventeen years old the Bear Faunus had never found herself facing off against armed criminals or in police custody, finding out that Astra had not only done both but had relished the opportunity cast the Deer Faunus in a different light.
"You're crazy Astra" she sighed "Seriously, the night before you had to leave? What you have done if…."
"You okay?" Astra nudged her gently instead of answering as they noticed and found themselves a little perplexed by the way that she had simply trailed off mid-sentence
"Huh? Yeah….yeah, just tired" Athena lied before turning her gaze back to what had initially distracted her only to find that the individual who had been glaring daggers in her direction was nowhere to be found. She considered telling Astra what had happened before quickly disregarding the idea, it could easily have been a misunderstanding, a case of mistaken identity or any number of other things and was hardly worth the trouble anyway.
Especially when she realised she wasn't sure what this new, brash and apparently violent Astra might do if they felt threatened.
Regalia Russet hummed to herself as she wandered through the hallways of Breaktide Academy on her own, pausing in her happy little melody only to pop some sweet treat that had originated in Vale that the cafeteria had served and she had never tried before into her mouth and then continuing on her way.
The Racoon Faunus had not stayed in the cafeteria long as during her outline of the evenings' itinerary Professor Scarlatina had alluded to the campus's own personal parking lot; hearing this Regalia had slipped away as quickly as possible and made her way back to the courtyard where Clunker had been left only for her stomach to momentarily plummet upon finding the jetbike had been moved in her absence. A quick burst of her Semblance had sent the irate and suspicious young woman prowling through the Academy with fists balled and teeth gritted until finally she had found that her vehicle had already been moved into the garage she had intended to relocate it to herself, with the member of staff responsible apologising for not checking with her first; thus calmed and with her other luggage being attended to Regalia had, with another use of her Semblance set off in the direction of where she needed to be, pausing only to pluck her collapsed weapon from its' resting place on her jetbike and hide it under her slightly too large and hand-me-down jacket.
She didn't truly expect to use it but where she came from caution was often rewarded.
"Wow" she breathed out whilst continuing through corridors and hallways that seemed far too large and almost impossibly beautiful in comparison to what she was used to, every inch of the academy seemingly made by some master artisan and giving it the feeling of ancient grandeur despite it being by far the youngest of the academies, the place seemed to be a museum as much as school with walls lined with replicas of weapons carried by famous Hunters, statues and copies of their outfits all accompanied by details of their owners exploits, or in other cases models of Grimm displayed as cross-sections with holographic displays offering full theses to be read at a students' leisure; all of it being set against walls of faux marble and gold laid over borrowed Atlesian minimalism in pristine white that hinted at the scale of the technology integrated into every inch of Breaktide. Any attempts Regalia might have made to prevent herself from being distracted failed and were left by the wayside yet the sound of several pairs of shuffling footsteps and the drone of conversation close by informed her that her Semblance had severed her well once again and that she had likely unknowingly taken a shortcut to precisely where she needed to be. Focusing and setting off after the voices she soon came upon the tail end of a crowd that was indeed made up of her fellow First Years and, at least to Regalia herself more importantly someone familiar.
Or as familiar as an obscured face and a distinctive pair of mechanical limbs could possibly be
"Oh hi again, um thanks for helping out with that….really angry guy earlier" she beamed as she drew almost level with the person who had intervened in what had been steadily veering towards a physical altercation, realising as she spoke that the teen girl whose face she still hadn't seen was some kind of insectoid Faunus. Regalia received no verbal answer and before she could properly catch up and introduce herself the Faunus simply sped up, walking with an oddly graceful gait and whilst a barely audible sigh of annoyance escaped her as though the attempt at conversation had offended her; Regalia found herself sagging at this before assuring herself that her fellow Faunus was likely simply anxious about what lay before them all and dealing with it in her own way which was entirely understandable.
With that in mind Regalia simply contented herself with following the crowd until they were all led into the ampitheatre of Breaktide Academy.
"Woah"
"Holy Oum it's actually her….I knew she was a Professor here but holy crap"
"I kinda thought she'd be taller, is that weird?" as the would be students found their way into suitable seats, many of them desperate to be as close to the front of the spacious hall which could almost have been some kind of theatre, not that Regalia had ever visited a theatre in her life, the Racoon Faunus used her own notable height and the way the seat ascended towards the rear of the room to peer over heads and see what the fuss was about.
The Professors were gathered on stage.
It was immediately clear who was being discussed in such hushed and reverent whispers, even without the iconic Crescent Rose in hand and staying on the very periphery of the stage as though the attention were uncomfortable there was no mistaking the face of Ruby Rose whilst beside her Penny Rose, formerly Polendina waved and smiled brightly. There were others present too, a dark skinned woman with blonde hair and defined muscles that put Regalia's own powerful form to shame, a smaller woman clad in a purple suit whilst oddly wearing a hoodie beneath its' jacket and sporting a striking teal Mohawk, Professor Scarlatina had made onto the stage and was making herself comfortable beside a giant of a man whilst standing in front of all of them, front and centre standing before a microphone and surveying the newcomers to her domain from behind a pair of sunglasses and looking cool, collected and unbelievably imposing as she did so was Headmistress Coco Adel.
"So cool" Regalia mouthed out to nobody in particular as she found herself sharing the sense of awe of those around her, these were the Hunters that she had left the sheltered comfort of her home and her people for, the living legends that she wanted to learn from and as she looked up at them she found herself swallowing nervously yet at the same time utterly certain that she had made the right choice; tearing her gaze away from the spectacle that was Coco Adel she scanned the crowd and spotted the Mohawk sporting Deer Faunus and ivory haired Bear Faunus whose striking appearances she had picked out of the crowd earlier and upon making momentary eye contact with them she offered a weak smile and wave which was surprisingly returned, even the pair did look a little confused by it.
And then Coco Adel spoke.
"Okay quiet down!" at the sound of her amplified and commanding voice silence fell over the ampitheatre in an instant, none daring to interrupt to her
"Welcome to Breaktide Academy…..Salem may be gone but the Grimm are still a threat, Remnant may be at peace but that doesn't mean that it's safe; you chose to be Hunters to take on the fights that nobody else can, to stand in front of monsters and protect the people of Remnant, you came to Breaktide because you wanted to be the best of the best. Congratulations on making it this far, but that was the easy part" Coco paused, clearly for effect and Regalia saw a slight smirk tug at her lips as she peered at the assembled teens from over the rim of her sunglasses
"This will be your home for the next four years and my staff and I will strive to make you the best versions of yourselves, the people that Remnant needs you to be and the people that you were destined to be….But before that can begin there's one more test for you all to face, the initiation process. At oh five hundred hours you will be woken up and at oh six hundred you will be taken to a secondary location and briefed on the details of the test prior to it commencing….The danger will be real and whilst trained Hunters will be on hand to intervene your safety and survival will be largely in your hands and the hands of those initiates around you, if anyone is uncertain or has second thoughts about this then I would advise you to step aside now and I can promise you that there will be no judgement; your bravery and honesty are to be commended. For those who choose to stay, you've had a long day and tomorrow will be far longer, I'd advise you to get some rest" there was a fraction of a second between Coco's speech ending and the hushed murmurings of conversations starting up again and in that brief moment Regalia had already begun scanning the crowd and finding herself shocked when slowly and gradually a handful of teens broke away from the bulk of the would be students and made their way to where the towering man who had been beside Velvet Scarlatina now stood, each of them withdrawing their applications if the face of the very real danger ahead; danger that Regalia already knew well and as she watched the handful of teens leave the Racoon Faunus realised with a start, but also a warm sense of confidence that no matter how far removed from her expectations Port Alistair and Breaktide Academy were, no matter how badly her day and her attempts to find the beginnings of her very own team had gone thus far that there had never been a single doubt in her mind and the idea of giving up had simply never occurred to her.
She was exactly where she belonged and she didn't need her Semblance to see it.
The dead of night was broken by the panicked, startled scream of someone being dragged unwillingly into wakefulness from a nightmare.
Once their new Headmistress had concluded her speech and those who wished to leave and end their career as a Hunter before it could truly begin had been allowed to do so those who remained had been provided with sleeping and bags and their luggage, which in many of the initiates' cases had included their weapons and ammunition had been returned to them. There had been a little further conversation, though it had been muted by the sudden apprehension for what lay ahead weighing heavily on each of the teens' minds and many of them, Athena-Jade Slate amongst them had chosen to spend an hour or so rechecking their weaponry and equipment, sending messages to loved ones to ensure them that they had arrived safely on Menagerie and desperately trying to reassure and mentally prepare themselves before finally attempting to sleep.
If she had been capable of any form of reflection at that moment the Bear Faunus would have found it unsurprising then that she had suffered from a nightmare which had left her drenched in a cold sweat, as it was she simply bolted upright with her sapphire blue eyes wild and the claws extending from her fingertips in preparation to swipe at the face of the person currently clutching her shoulder.
"Hey, hey it's me!" a frantic hiss managed to break through the sleep and terror fuelled fog that clouded Athena's mind and after clutching the fabric of her sleeping bag and sucking in several lungfuls of air in shallow, ragged and frantic breaths she saw that the sun was already beginning to rise and in early morning gloom quickly recognised the antlered form of Astra Mars, she and the Deer Faunus having slept close by each other.
"You okay?" they asked "That must have been one hell of a nightmare you were having" Athena paused, still struggling to entirely process everything around her as her mind continued to labour under the stress of its' own creations though eventually she managed to scan her surroundings and see that none of the other would be students seemed to be awake yet before turning her attention back to Astra and realising that the Deer Faunus wore an expression far softer and more gentle or outwardly concerned than would have been suggested by their earlier brashness, as though the mask they wore to cover their own obvious nerves had slipped a little now that there was some privacy.
"Yeah, yeah I'm okay" Athena finally managed to breathe out "Sorry for waking you"
"It's fine, I was already up….I didn't get much sleep either and they're coming to wake everyone up in an hour or so anyway" Athena considered Astra's response before taking a second, more observant glance at them and found herself letting out a soft laugh at what she saw, the panic fading away from her as she did so
"Wait, you're doing your hair right now? Really?" Astra shuffled guiltily for a moment and then shrugged before continuing to check their appearance on the camera of a Scroll that would likely become defunct if they were successful in their initiation whilst using hair products to style their fluffy mass of dyed hair back into the swept forward spikes it had been.
"It helps" they admitted, voice barely a whisper "I know I'm good at this, everyone here is….even the people who left, but I'm still….it just makes me feel a little more bad-ass y'know?"
"Yeah, I get that" Athena answered, suddenly painfully aware of her own hypocrisy as she considered what had been left unsaid whilst rubbing the sides of her own recently shorn hair. There was a pause in the conversation, silence filled only by the sound of birds beginning to chirp and the first light streamed into the empty classroom that the students had been given to sleep in, dorms apparently being a luxury they had not earned yet until finally Astra spoke again
"Hey I've been thinking….Professor Adel didn't outright say it but initiation is where our teams and partners are decided right?" the Deer Faunus glanced over to Athena "Look that Wolfram guy is kinda cool, but you're the only person here that I actually know….do you want to try and work things so we end up working together?"
"That'd be cool" Athena-Jade answered slowly, eyes being filled with sudden determination "But only on one condition?"
"What?"
"My Dad is the only person in my family to make team leader so far….I wanna show everyone that I can do this, so if you wanna be on a team with me I hope you can handle me being in charge" such was the steel and conviction in her voice that Astra couldn't help but nod in silent agreement.
Author's Notes:
So two chapters in and things are moving steadily towards the first conflicts and inter-personal drama….But also towards some fun action scenes because of course that's what the initiation is gonna be filled with.
Also, vague spoilers but I'm writing this a few days after Vol.8 Episode 12 aired for First Viewers and well….that certainly changes things for Penny, however those changes will not affect the canon of this story.
I'm glad so many people are already enjoying this story and if I'm honest I'm a littler surprised….This is a spin-off to a spin-off to an AU, the comparison I've used in private it 'If Downward Spiral was Transformers G1 then MARZ Rising is basically Transformers Zone'.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we:
Yeah for AJ that weather is painful….which I relate to.
Ever burned your hand grabbing a car door? I have.
Enjoy AJ's and our first proper look at Port Alistair, this is where our story is gonna be happening.
She thought it was the paparazzi which, let's be fair isn't an unreasonable guess.
So Astra and AJ have met….though not for the first time, considering that they're both related to members of Team FADE who were in turn related t members of Team RWBY the idea that they've met is just common sense, but they're still only vague acquaintances.
Astra is definitely trying too hard.
I wanted Breaktide to reflect the nature of rebuilt Menagerie and Port Alistair and be a fusion of ideas from all across Remnant, I also based it on Beacon to a certain extent….I honestly can't wait to see Beacon in the new engine on the show.
What's that you say….Another named and important character.
A Racoon Faunus is just adorable and you know it, also she tall and she buff so I'm sure she's gonna have fans.
There's a reason Regalia's outfit and bike are so rough and ready looking, which will become clear as her backstory is revealed in the story.
She's got a tail as her trait but I wanted to give her the rings around her eyes so the giant dust goggles are a compromise and also really just something I wanted to add anyway.
If you want a reference for Regalia's hair, think somewhere between May Marigold and Aisha Clan Clan from Outlaw Star.
As for Clunker…..Imagine the Vol.8 jetbikes, but if they were made out of old Star Wars podracer parts and Pietro had tried to build a jetbike Harley.
Yes this dork just tried the Akira slide and ended up choking on the smoke from her damaged bike.
Sheltered but watched a lot of movies, but also knows how to look after herself and lives on Menagerie itself….More hints about her background.
Meet Wolfram Ironside, the first human student we've seen in this story….the jacket is kinda like Ren's, the rest of the look is a mix of Knight, barbarian/Viking berserker and the kind of try hard who puts a fucking spiked collar over their gorget.
There's always one guy who's down to throw hands on the first day of college, consequences be damned and I have to admit dear readers that I have been that guy at least once.
Yeah, Velvet just saw a guy in knight armour picking on a Faunus student….how do you think that's gonna play out when she gets chance to have a quiet word with Mr Ironside.
Regalia just wants to make friends.
Food then business, Velvet knows the priorities and the protocol.
Okay so I'll let you in on something, the yellow haired guy, the Scorpion Faunus, the insectoid Faunus whose face Regalia never saw and the person glaring at Athena-Jade….All important characters and they'll all get their proper introduction and descriptions when the time comes.
Doesn't want to rely on his Semblance….ominous, also of course the kid from Vaccuo has a hard-light Dust shiv.
So, the guy with the ton of gear knows his machinery.
And as a five foot nine guy with a lot of six foot plus friends I feel AJ's pain here.
"I know you shouldn't say it but you really have gotta fight other people sometimes, Grimm have got no respect for a good one liner"…..I mean, is he wrong though?
Yeah in my head Menagerie doesn't have a distinct accent of its' own yet, it's been populated again for less than twenty years so it's just a mix of slang, dialects and accents from everywhere.
It wasn't an apology exactly, but it was something at least.
Astra draws some inspirations from Hawk from Cobra Kai but AJ remembers them from before their 'Flip the Script' moment….would that make her their Demitri?
Ominous staring is ominous.
There's a few hints about Regalia's Semblance in this scene, you'll see it soon enough.
Yeah Breaktide is even cooler on the inside, because I can't imagine Coco allowing the place to be anything other than amazing.
Miss hidden face is giving off a mix of Vol.1 Blake and Vol.1 Weiss energy.
So for Professors we have (And their will likely be OC additions as needed) Ruby, Penny, Coco, Velvet, Yatsu, Arslan Altan and Reece Chloris….Because Team ABRN are honestly some of my favourite tournament fodder characters.
I wanted Coco's speech to have a distinctly different vibe to one Ozpin or Goodwitch would have given, just as serious and with a sense of gravitas but with Coco's own swagger added to it.
Honestly I feel like it would be weird if their weren't a handful that bottle it and back out at the last minute.
So AJ has nightmares, that's another thing to be expanded on later.
If you read FADE, Astra's hair is just as Fluffy as their brothers', just a different colour; that Mohawk takes time and effort….And I can't blame Astra for wanting to be psyched up for what's coming.
AJ wants that leader spot….well a look at the title of this story will tell you how well that's gonna go; yay drama.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Chloe_Anderson50, MajorBrony95, Krisbran, Proto 150 and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
Thank you once again for the kind words and for sticking with this AU for so long, I will endeavour to live up to the hype that you've established.
I mean in Astra's defence the guy was still in the doorway when they kicked him; and I doubt a few broken shelves and cases is worth more than all the Dust they could steal.
The fascination with white sneakers….laughs nervously and hides my still box-fresh Jordan 6's.
Glad you liked the new look for Ruby.
Well you did meet the other two members of Team MARZ….but which one is the fourth?
Knowing that I've inspired other writers is honestly the highest praise
Funny thing, I actually forgot about the scene where AJ tried to cut her own hair in FADE….so it's not just a thing she does, trying to style her own hair in the bathroom with whatever sharp object she can steal.
The younger sibling being taller is some bullshit I have to deal with IRL because my little brother has the audacity to be 6'2".
I specifically didn't want to call it something like Bestiary because of the undertones that it would have, consider that while Menagerie is the Faunus homeland and that the majority of the settlers reclaiming it are likely Faunus Coco is still human and it would leave a taste in my mouth that I don't like.
Oh cool, when I took TKD classes as a kid it was under former world champion Kim Stones.
Petrol is a reference to what the Great Southern Petral bird vomits up as a natural defence and also fits the colour naming rule.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.
