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Chapter 34: From The Deep.
Major Grapeshot, formerly attached to the Mistrali Air Force and veteran of the Battle for Menagerie amongst various other accolades had long considered himself to be a patient man. Such a virtue was a necessity that had been deeply ingrained by a long and decorated career wherein the Major had developed a penchant for making war in a fashion both at odds with his own outwardly bombastic and imperious nature and that of the company and detachment he had been assigned to upon deciding to serve his Kingdom directly in the hopes of being something larger that might do more good than a career as dingle a freelance and independent Huntsman; he preferred to stalk or lie in wait for his prey, turning the tables against the monsters that hunted good and decent people by cornering them and felling even the largest and most impressive quarry with gusto and a stately, collected air of control.
That patience was currently being tested.
He had always known that any operation that required his long-time ally, confidant and co-conspirator Carmesi Hueso to work alongside an unrepentant villain such as Rowan Oralie would pose a challenge yet the Major had at least hoped that dedication to the mission and the overarching goals of their benefactor might restrain the former whilst simple fear and self-interest would suffice for the latter; clearly Grapeshot had overestimated the depth of the festering, loathsome rage that lingered within the Komodo Dragon Faunus and turned his once admirable and vigorous persecution of justice into something truly bleak and destructive along with just how unwilling Rowan would be to appear helpless in any circumstance, a condition that led to her needling at Carmesi with almost every word she uttered, seemingly without effort.
"Are you done growling and muttering….Use your words, or did the Major get you all dolled up and get your hair done to make you look civilised just for show" Grapeshot harrumphed indignantly at the barb, he was a military man and jokes of a crass and unseemly nature were of course commonplace amongst the ranks but were he in his prime he would have challenged any soldier to a duel over such a slight at one of the men and women under his command. The trio had, with a surprising lack of difficulty made their way to the freight docks that Rowan's hired guns and other lowlife thugs had at least managed to clear of resistance even if they had not taken back control of the area as they were directed to; proving that the redhead was at least somewhat capable and that the late Persian Green had in fact gathered a reliable network of rogues around himself; once within the vast maze of cranes and shipping containers Rowan had led the Hunters to whom she had been forced to give allegiance towards the equally massive harbour at which freight ships were docked and once it was clear that the vessel they sought had not simply gone unnoticed in the bustle of activity she had began stalking the various peers.
Which was where the three of them were still stood, meaning that when Carmesi lashed out and backhanded her across the face Rowan was very nearly sent toppling to frigid and salty water below.
"You'll make a great pair of boots" she spat, wiping the corner of her mouth and reaching for her weapon only to falter as her adversary responded in kind; the two of them locking eyes for a tense moment before finally relenting as they realised that any further action would certainly cost them their cover.
"What are you wasting our time for scum" he demanded.
"The ship isn't here, which means we're gonna have to go out to sea and look….I'm sure as hell not diving but I can get that boat over there started for you" Rowan answered, voice laden with sneering mockery as she gestured towards a fast and seemingly armoured speedboat tied to a mooring some distance away.
"We passed a dozen boats like that" Carmesi challenged.
"Either old, too small, no armour or they belonged to people I know better than to steal from" Rowan shot back without hesitation "Playing along with this shit you're running is costing me enough as it is-"
"I think you're trying to-"
"Carmesi, enough. Stand down" Grapeshot barked roughly, finding that he suddenly had no interest in what the younger man whom he was steadily losing his once great respect for thought of the situation.
"Major-"
"Quiet!" Grapeshot demanded, thumping his cane against the wooden surface of the harbour on which they stood yet now his tone was less scornful and more urgent as his hearing, admittedly lessened by years of explosive combat was strained "Listen!"
"Shit" Carmesi rumbled out as he picked up what had startled his fellow Hunter so severely, the droning, shrieking note of an early warning system; a sound that Rowan as a denizen of Port Alistair, at least for some time was aware of and upon hearing it her expression became almost predatory.
"If you want the shipment now would be a good time to look for it, everyone else is distracted" she noted with a sudden chaotic glee that Grapeshot found to be almost reminiscent of the thrill of the hunt in a perverse way. With a single nod from the wizened old man the three of them rushed towards the speedboat which Rowan, with all of her ill-gotten expertise managed to start in little time at all and soon the three of them were tearing out towards open waters, unchallenged as they began to slip through the net of Port Alistair's coastal defences.
Only to be brought to a sudden and choppy halt as the water seemed to bulge upwards before cascading down in unfathomable torrents to reveal what exactly had caused the alarm.
"Holy shit" Rowan gazed up at the colossal beast, deep green eyes wide with fearful shock whilst Carmesi remained silent, scaled features creasing as he began to plot and calculate and the Major simply toyed with the ends of his imperial moustache as if unimpressed.
"Indeed" he said simply, sizing up his latest quarry.
The Creature of Grimm could vaguely be said to resemble a hermit crab or something akin to one, albeit orders of magnitude larger than any such animal that had ever existed. Whilst the thing was easily equal in size to even the largest of seafaring vessels much of its' body was hidden from view though what could be seen was comprised of the same obsidian flesh and chitinous bone-coloured armour common to all such nightmarish creatures; what was visible consisting of several pairs of enormous, segmented legs whose lower reaches remained below the surface of the waves and a single pair heavy, monstrous pincer-claws that were each the size of an aircraft and pockmarked with the scars of a hundred of more barrages from large calibre weapons. These lethal appendages were set either side of a sloped and streamlined skull covered in equally pock-marked armour that would have managed to appear streamlined were in not for the pair of glowing eyes rising up from its on stalks.
What made the thing truly terrifying however was its' shell.
There was of course naturally occurring seashell that could hope to serve as home to such a beast and so instead the hermit crab Grimm had fashioned armour for itself in a much more dreadful fashion. Erupting from its' back was a twisting mass of spiralling bone laden with hooks and jutting spears; the entire assembly might have appeared to an onlooker as some sickening mixture of a construction or mining tool and a grisly trophy rack if the bone itself were able to be seen; instead what confronted those gazing upon it was the hulks of captured and sundered ships which had been hoisted into the air and slammed downwards or else simply skewered from below. The end result was that the back of the Grimm was laden with at least half a dozen broken ships, each of tremendous size in their own right, stacked atop one another and in various states of rusting decay owing both to their submersion and the influence of the Grimm itself which had surely seeped into them as part of their hull had been pulled away entirely and the steel that made them grafted over exposed and vulnerable sections of the monster to provide additional armour which likely covered old wounds.
Staring at the beast, which far outstripped the monsters that she had hunted and ensnared for the amusement of Persian Green's sadistic patrons a moment longer Rowan's voice finally cracked with a hysterical bout of laughter upon stating what seemed obvious.
"I think we found the missing ship"
"It's gonna be the top one, most recent" Carmesi nodded in agreement, hellish red eyes narrowing as he took in the scope of the damage to the ship and the amount of skill it would likely take to reach it "Tricky but not impossible"
"Bully, I do love a challenge" Grapeshot couldn't help but smile broadly, moustache twitching as he took in the sight of a truly monstrous Creature of Grimm and prepared to set about exactly what he had dedicated his entire life to doing; namely protecting the people of Remnant and doing so in a way that would leave a legacy that he could be proud of.
"Well then" the harrumphed, chest puffing out "Let's be off then shall we?"
Team WULF had encountered Grimm in the wastelands, an entirely expected state of affairs and one they more than equipped to deal with.
The four of them led by the veteran Hunter, whom all Team WULF save for Diabla realised that they were less familiar with than they might have thought despite him living on the campus of the academy, had spent the first few hours of their second training mission flying from one location on the outer fringes of Hammerfall Observation Outposts' sensor range; each site that they visited sharing a common theme of some debris, damaged ground or fallen or otherwise misshapen rock formations that might indicate that the missing aircraft that they were searching for had landed there, in some fashion or another. After the first handful of these attempted recoveries bore no results of any kind it was clear that Team WULF were beginning to grow anxious as the seriousness of the nature of their mission began to impose itself on them all, each moment that they failed to find the missing pilot and gunner feeling like a personal shortcoming on each of the students' part which in turn prompted Yatsuhashi to offer words of kindness and reassurance, his gentle humour and good nature managing to lift spirits despite the odds until; whether it was simply by virtue of them lingering in the wastelands for too long or that their own fears had attracted unwanted attention the seemingly inevitable had happened.
A pack of Beowolves, rangy and emaciated looking things with snapping maws almost distended in hunger had emerged; pouncing without warning and prompting Team WULF to retaliate which allowed the Hunter they were assisting to see first hand just how far they had progressed as a team.
Laser Greenback was, as always a blur of chaotic energy flitting from one target to another in a way that outwardly appeared random and needlessly ostentatious, thereby disguising the lethal precision of his blows and the deftness of his parries and dodges.
A trio of the lupine horrors exploded into fading fragments before him with a final chorus of pained yelps as the vivid blonde unleashed a maelstrom of gunfire from Permadeath in its' machine gun mode, halting only when another of the Grimm pack came bounding at him from the left at which point Laser, instead of transforming his weapon simply grasped the barrel in his left hand and swung the stock of the weapon like a club; its' translucent neon green casing crushing bone on impact and sending the beast hurling aside whilst also carrying Laser himself into an acrobatic flip which allowed him to avoid being tackled to the ground and mauled from behind by a second monster that had been attempting to sneak up on the Vaccuan scavenger whilst he was distracted.
Landing in a crouch Laser continued his usual, outwardly effortless display of showmanship by twirling his weapon behind his back as if it were a baton to disguise the fact that it was being transformed into its' melee form; sensing nothing amiss, likely due to lacking any capacity for thought beyond their immediate bloodlust the pair of Beowolves regrouped and charged on all fours, the beast with the fractured skull at the lead.
"Laser, springboard!" Diabla's gruff tone barked out and Laser complied without question, one of the many features of his signature opaque visor showing the angle that she was approaching at from behind him and allowing the boy to hold Permadeath, now in its' katana form out the perfect angle for his partner to leap onto its' blade and then throw herself over his shoulder, her fists wreathed in light of twin suns as her Semblance of 'Overachiever' powered her attacks; her assault came in the form of a savage haymaker that tore the head of the already injured Grimm clean from its' body and cracked the ground beneath them and as she landed in a crouch Laser rose to his feet behind her, swinging Permadeath over Diabla's head to carve through the neck of the second Beowolf as it approached.
"Wait" the blonde breathed out, nasal whining giddy with sudden excitement "Did we do the thing? Did we just do a combo move? 'cos you totally just vaulted off of my weapon so-"
"We did a combo move in our initiation" Diabla retorted, gruff and abrasive tone doing nothing to mask the slight smile creasing her scarred features.
"No, you drop-kicked me out of your way" Laser corrected "That doesn't count, but that one there does, that was-"
"YOU TWO WANNA FOCUS ON THE JOB? WE'VE STILL GOT GRIMM HERE!" Wolfram's roared order prompted the pair to shoot each other a silent nod and rush back into the fray side by side, acting like partners in a way that it had once seemed that they never would; a sight that the leader of Team MARZ would have savoured more if her were not preoccupied with his own monsters.
A particularly tenacious Beowolf had leapt at Wolfram on its' hind legs and was clawing and snapping around the edges of the shield component of Berserker in a frenzied attempt to tear at the teens' face until, in a display of the usual brutality that he saved for such monsters Wolfram thrust his shield directly up and into its' neck; pained and breathless gasps being cut off as he slammed the flat surface of the shield against the snout of the Grimm before finally he weaved under its' claws and ripped into its' gut with his axe, tearing through midnight black innards and leaving a fading and sundered body in his wake.
There was no pause to focus himself or catch his breath however, Wolfram Ironside was simply a force of nature and he waded into the thick of the remaining pack of nightmarish creatures once more, hacking through the skull of the first Grimm to reach him in a single blow before the follow-up reverse slash tore away a leg from another, Wolfram promptly crushing the fallen monsters' skull beneath his boot even as his axe and shield felled a third. From there he combined the two parts of his weapon into their oversized hand-cannon form and opened fire, with four Beowolves being reduced to mist in an instant with the recently added support brace of the gun offering enough protection to keep his arm from suffering; at least whilst his Aura was active, as he had learned from the bout with Rowan Oralie.
Eventually his rampage was interrupted by the sound of his partners' grunts of exertion.
"You okay over there?" he called out to Ursinia, turning to find her as he did so.
"Oh I'm havin' a hog killin' time, partner!" the Scorpion Faunus's words were almost ecstatic and Wolfram quickly realised that she was wearing a bright smile that showed her slightly gappy teeth and it was a simple matter to deduce the reason; this was exactly the kind of battle she had imagined herself taking part in as a Huntress and the kind of fight that her weapon was suited for. The broad golden blade of the Adventurer flashed out in wide arcs as Ursinia swung with two-handed grip, her layered side-skirts and twin braids flying out around her as she carved through Creatures of Grimm with ease, her chitinous tail darting out to sting at any that avoided being shredded before they could slip under her guard until finally Wolfram felt a spike of panic as he began to realise that the monsters were circling his partner and slowly surrounding her.
Only for Ursinia to reveal that things were going according to her plan.
"Watch this!" she called out with joyful exuberance as she slammed the blade of The Adventurer into the cracked and dusty ground whilst transforming it at the same time, the blade of her sword broke apart and retracted in a fashion that resembled a pincer of sorts as the weapon shifted into its' pistol-gripped grenade launcher form and, in the exact same instant that the Grimm came pouncing at her Ursinia fired.
Flames and concussive force blasted outwards and Wolfram watched, grinning like a loon in appreciation as his partner used the explosion to throw herself clear whilst also tearing a sizeable crater into which the monsters fell, landing with a rolling stop several paces away from him and springing to her feet; as she tipped her hat with her tail and nodded Wolfram, not quite willing to be upstaged no matter how impressive he found the display focused and gathered his Semblance before dropping into a crouch and thrusting his right arm forwards, freezing air whooshing outwards and solidifying into an immaterial plane with all the sharpness of a razor edge which doused the flames and guillotined through any Grimm that many have survived Ursinia's attack as they tried to rear their heads from the crater.
"Area's clear!" Wolfram called out, primarily for the benefit of Yatsuhashi Daichi whom he now saw was watching from the sidelines content and visibly impressed, any Grimm that had drawn near to the giant of a man having been felled by his bare hands as his sword was still sheathed at his back.
"Very impressive….I see that your teamwork has improved, I'll be sure to make note of that for your Professors" Yatsuhashi said simply, the praise seeming to be aimed at Diabla in particular who; for all of her drive and demanding self-motivation was visibly unsure of how to respond to it.
"We did good….But still no crash-site, still no pilot, still no clues" Wolfram answered, voice growing more harsh with each word "We need answers soon if we wanna have a hope of doing anything useful"
"Your determination is a credit to you Mister Ironside, however hastiness will get us nowhere….I will contact the outpost now and inform them of our progress" Yatsuhashi's platitudes did little to assuage Team WULF's obvious concern, though his actions were and as he drew his Scroll, which thankfully seemed to function better than most in the wasteland the four students listened intently to the conversation.
"This is Hunter Daichi, we've investigated the latest site….Nothing-"
"We assumed as much when we saw that you were on the way back" the voice of whoever was speaking at Hammerfall Observation Outpost replied cattily "You should have fuel for another few stops….Do you have injured students? And if you do then why the hell haven't you been answering your Manta's comms-"
"I'm afraid I don't understand" Yatsuhashi interrupted gently, glancing in the direction of the transport they had arrived in as if to check it was still there "Team WULF and I are on the ground, we are not on the way back-"
"Well all of our other scout parties have regrouped" the same voiced retorted, snide tones giving way to a sense of dawning panic "You're the only transport that isn't accounted for….except….except for the one that's missing. Hunter Daichi, do you think they could have-"
"Get off of the outpost! Right now!" Yatsuhashi's voice rose and took on an urgency that few outside of his immediate circle of friends and family would have thought possible "You need to evacuate and prepare all automated defences, have them open fire on that aircraft, call for back up for Port Alistair immediately it is a hostile!" with that Yatsuhashi ended the call and turned to Team WULF who stood watching him with expressions of shock, yet remarkably, equally determination and fiery resolve.
"You can't go alone….And you can't really leave us in the wasteland" Wolfram noted, raising his chin in defiance as Ursinia, Laser and Diabla closed ranks around him in a show of unity "So what're we looking at"
"I assume that Team MARZ told you of the Alpha Geist that they encountered on their previous mission?" Yatsuhashi asked, audibly sickened as he voiced the thoughts that had formed in the darkest recesses in his mind only moments prior "It was capable of merging technology into itself in a way that didn't render it inoperable….that Grimm was never tracked down and I believe we can now make an educated guess as to the whereabouts of our missing aircraft"
"And it's heading for Hammerfall right now?" Wolfram breathed out, steel grey eyes wide with rare fear as he, the only member of his team native to the island Kingdom began to comprehend what that could mean for Menagerie as a whole.
"Yes" Yatsuhashi nodded "And this is a mission that I would never allow you to accompany me on under any other circumstances….But time is of the essence and we may be the only ones capable of reaching the outpost in time"
"Well then" Ursinia pushed her cowboy hat back "Giddy up"
"I still think this is fucking insane!" Astra called out over the sound of howling sea-winds, crashing waves and the cacophony of scraping metal and chitin that accompanied each of the colossal hermit crab Grimm's movements.
Team FADE had called it a Dread-Hulk.
Apparently the name for this particular species of nightmare made flesh came from the people of the northern coast of Anima, the Frost River tribe included and the idea that a people who had produced frightening warriors such as Carcharodon Gore would give the beast such a name spoke volumes about the threat it posed and undermined what little confidence Astra, or Team MARZ as a whole had managed to outwardly project.
The group of Hunters and students had foregone the briefing room of the Nemesis Kharybdis and instead crammed themselves into the vessels' bridge, set at the top of the tower that rose from its' body where Zirconia and Carcharodon were already stationed; thus allowing the more experienced among them plan and coordinate with the other defenders' of Port Alistair. The largest of the Creatures of Grimm tended to gather vast swarms and hordes of lesser monsters to them which would swirl and rush around their enormous form like a storm-cloud with fangs and claws and the Dread-Hulk was no exception, already the setting sun was being partially blotted out by incoming flocks of winged Grimm in the distance and the water was beginning to darken as aquatic beasts swam towards the colossal crustacean; prompting Carcharodon to begin rasping out orders for the other battle-ready ships in the area and the Hunters currently stationed on the cities' perimeter wall to prepare to defend against an incoming attack whilst the Nemesis Kharybdis itself moved to intercept the Dread-Hulk. The plan had been accepted as there were few present with the experience to question the Shark Faunus, whose political position as a tribal leader and emissary of the Anima Diaspora gave additional weight to his words however, as the ship began to surge forwards those aboard had received word from another nearby vessel who astute crew had noted that the uppermost wreck of a ship mounted aboard the back of the Dread-Hulk as both shell and trophy was in fact a vessel that contact had been lost with less than forty-eight hours prior.
The possibility of survivors trapped aboard within secure vaults had changed things.
It had quickly and unanimously been decided that a boarding operation would have to be taken and the vessel would have to be searched, with Carcharodon agreeing to remain behind and continue overseeing the battle at sea whilst also manning the guns of his ship; leaving Team FADE to lead the charge and Team MARZ to follow them. Under normal circumstances boarding the mountain of wreckage the monstrous Grimm carried would be a simple matter, the Hunter did not currently have access to their own aircraft however and as such were forced to improvise.
The nature of which was the cause of Astra's current misgivings.
"It's fine, we've done this before!" Felix called back as he, like his half-sibling gripped cautiously onto the glowing edge of a massive glyph. The eight of them had watched with grim and silent resolve as Carcharodon had angled one of the larger guns of the Nemesis Kharybdis at a degree that would suit their purposes and then, with the wind lashing at them had begun to scale its' smooth metallic surface before Arctus had conjured a truly massive glyph over the mouth of the weapons' barrel which Diamond had then used her own Semblance upon, making it slightly easy for those around her to balance whilst the sniper herself could stand unhindered at the unnatural angle.
The plan was to simply shoot into the glyph and hurl them onto the Dread-Hulk.
"Nah, this is nuts!" Astra insisted, glancing around their team-mates in the hope of support before locking eyes with Athena-Jade "Get another layer of glyph here at least, we're gonna get blown to bits, the shells this thing fires are bigger than-"
"Don't do anything" Felix interjected sternly, leaving Athena torn as she glanced between the two team leaders; Astra was the leader of team MARZ and someone she had a great deal of respect for, especially when it came to matters of impromptu strategy whilst Felix was by far the more senior Hunter and also her cousin. Thankfully the matter was resolved by Arctus looking up from the massive glyph he was maintaining to interject.
"AJ relax, this glyph will hold….Fluffy's right, I've done this before" her older brothers' unquestioning confidence in his ability was enough to settle the issue in the mind of the younger Bear Faunus and she relented, instead readying her weapon whilst beside her Zirconia gave a pensive glance towards the horizon.
"We should hurry, those Grimm are getting closer"
"She's right Dude" Diamond agreed "We need to go, trying to land while there's a dog-fight going on around us is gonna be a lot harder"
"You kids have all got landing strategies right?" Felix asked
"Who doesn't have a landing strategy?" Astra snorted with open derision at the question. Shrugging as if the matter were not worth discussion further the Lion Faunus raised his cybernetic hand and made a gesture for Carcharodon to see, a sign that could only have meant fire as in the next instant the ground, unreal as it was, exploded from beneath them.
And then Team MARZ and Team FADE were hurtling through the air.
Astra, despite being no stranger to such forceful and dramatic entrances into the theatre of battle still could not help the way their stomach lurched and their senses were momentarily robbed from them as they were thrust into the apex of what promised to be a steep dive towards the ships piled on the back of the monster below until finally the sound of Regalia's impossibly enthusiastic yell of 'Cowabunga!' brought the Deer Faunus back into focus.
Glancing around Astra could see that Regalia was soaring through the air, goggles lowered and the leather jacket that had once been her mother's flapping in the wind as she fell, Apex Scavenger aimed and ready to fire its' harpoon so that she could swing herself into a safer landing. Eagle Arc was in her avian form, already swooping low and nearing her target whilst the Slate siblings and their respective partners fell in pairs, showcasing their different approaches as both Arctus and Diamond rode upon a conjured Nevermore and Athena-Jade and Zirconia both leapt from one glyph to the next with the aid of mechanical limbs or the Dust powered rocket built into the head of Mould-Breaker.
"Tight landing group team! Don't get separated!" Felix yelled as he plummeted passed Astra, his body darkening and taking on the look of volcanic rock, veins of magma lacing it as the Lion Faunus's Semblance turned him into a living comet, golden and fiery Aura flaring around him as he fell. Seeing this Astra finally engaged their own landing strategy, bringing their arms overhead and deploying Buckshot Ares in its' rarely used but still invaluable glider mode wherein sheets of rose coloured hard-light formed makeshift wings.
A strong gust of wind blew Astra off course however and whilst they managed to correct themselves in mid-air, amidst a chorus of curses enough to ensure that they still landed on the hull of the uppermost wrecked ship when the Deer Faunus struck the sundered hull with an echoing metallic thud it was some distance away from where they had been aiming for and the destruction left by Felix, along with the rest of their allies was completely out of sight.
"Shit" Astra hissed as they shifted their weapons into a form more suited to combat, blades and guns at the ready as a low, sibilant hissing filled the air within seconds of their arrival.
"Come out, come out wherever you are" the Deer Faunus continued to taunt, turning slowly and remaining watchful as they took in their soaked and ruined surroundings until finally they were rewarded by flashes of midnight black movement as something, or indeed several thing leapt and pounced into view from over the railing that lined the upper deck of the ship; suggesting that the attackers had scaled the exterior of the hull from lower reached of the Dread-Hulk's mountain of rusted scrap.
They were Grimm.
Small things, the monsters would have been the height of a person if they stood upright however their gait was tilted forward like some prehistoric predator; each of the monsters sported arms that were little more than vestigial flaps whilst their lower limbs were lithe and muscular, feet sporting wide-splayed toes that were both webbed and clawed whilst each Grimm also boasted an equally powerful tail with jagged spines and fines that trailed the length of their backs and led to a fluked tail. The heads of the beasts lacked eyes entirely and were encased in bone whose colour was muted and dirtied by the mucus-like film that clung to their entire bodies and dripped onto the deck below them as they spread out with a series of hisses and clicks.
Overall these Grimm largely resembled the breed known to Hunters as Creeps, weak things admittedly however capable of overwhelming even an experienced fighter when gathered in sufficient numbers.
There seemed to be several dozen of them present and Astra was now entirely too conscious how alone they were.
The creature that had once been an Alpha Geist and then the amalgamation of parts that its' foes had dubbed the 'Hell-Hound' was consumed by the throes of gleeful delight as waves of terror and rage washed over it, bleeding outwards from its' target and threatening to overwhelm its' mind; though now, freshly improved as the monster was there was truly nothing that could keep it from its' chosen prey.
The Hammerfall Observation Outpost.
Wings taken from an aircraft belonging to the floating base of operations positioned above the Grimm infested canyon had allowed the hybrid Alpha Grimm to take flight and reach the goal that the various packs of lesser beasts under its' command could not and the wealth of data that had come from the consumed vehicle had both triggered the apotheosis that had overcome the Hell-Hound and given it the necessary information it required to launch its' attack, though this was not the final unwilling gift that had been given; finally the parts of the outposts' own aircraft being so integrated into the Creature of Grimm allowed the monster to, at least momentarily fool outposts' sensors into thinking that their own lost property had returned to them.
Meaning that the hard-light shields had not been raised in time.
Hammerfall Observation Outpost had been in a state of frenzied panic and disarray when the former Hell-Hound had swooped close enough on its' corroded and flame-spewing metal wings to properly assess the situation, its' newfound intellect causing the beast to let out a low snarl comprised of dissonant and grating almost-syllables as the information that had been forcefully inserted into its' consciousness was proven to be incorrect, or at least malleable enough to allow for error. The Grimm had expected heavy resistance, fresh meat to butcher and foes to cast down to the waiting packs of horrors below however it seemed that something had changed, possibly its' arrival had somehow been anticipated and instead the prey was already beginning to flee; with their shields having failed them so spectacularly and the weapons of the floating structure similarly failing to target the monster in their midst the humans and Faunus aboard the platform were already piling into transports and departing, their screams of terror echoing through the air.
It was not a total rout however, a handful of brave souls accompanied by robots of Atlesian origin had defied their latest instructions and instead attempted to try and manually operate the weapon emplacements. So far the former Hell-Hound had devastated several guns and their crews with volleys of exploding bone shards fired from its' own back-mounted cannon before flying into the robots and tearing them asunder with its' many claws and tendrils.
The Alpha was in the process of tearing one of the last automatons in half at the waist when the sound of an approaching aircraft reached its' ears.
With a shriek of what could have been defiance, barely intelligible fragments delivered at a deafening volume the Cyclopean nightmare of steel and darkness whirled around to see a lone transport craft approaching, the knowledge taken from the stolen Stingray Fighter giving the hybrid Alpha a wealth of information about the capabilities of the incoming foe, yet telling it nothing about who or what precisely was aboard it and, more importantly to the Grimm; why there was so little fear coming from within.
Enraged by the sudden scarcity of that which it craved the monster bounded towards the edge of the platform on its' multiple limbs, thrusters that were a sickening fusion of flesh and metal twitching and shuddering as the Grimm ran before finally igniting once again at the Alpha leapt into the air and surged directly at its' newest prey; its' weapon loading with a snap of bone yet before it could fire a grating, shrieking sound of something akin to surprise escaped the monster as the transport opened fire first; a salvo of bullets stitching fire across the slowly darkening sky until a handful of bullets ripped into obsidian tissue and bone that had been laced with silvery veins of ore and minerals to deliver wounds that, whilst far from fatal were certainly painful and caused the monster to shriek and rage as it readjusted itself in mid-flight.
Allowing the Bull-Head to slip through its' grasp and reach the floating outpost.
Yatsuhashi had warned Team WULF to brace for a rough landing yet still the four teens were jolted and thrown around the interior of the Bull-Head as it came skidding to a halt with a din of screaming metal and jets of sparks, overshooting its' intended landing pad entirely and narrowly missing the wall of the dome-like outpost itself as it tore across the outer ring of the aerial platform with a trail of upheaval in its' wake.
"Is everybody okay?" the student Counsellor and veteran Hunter demanded seriously as he flung himself from the pilots' seat and unsheathed his gargantuan sword in a single movement, an impressive feat given the confines of the cockpit.
"For now" it was the low voice of Diabla Fuego that answered, filled with apprehension.
"Well gosh darn" Ursinia breathed out, deep brown eyes wide as the scale of the threat became clear "That is one mighty nasty critter up there"
"You sure we can take it?" Laser asked cautiously, shifting with visible discomfort though still readying Permadeath in preparation for what would inevitably follow.
"Team MARZ handled it, so can we" Wolfram's voice was brash and confident, filled with an unwavering steel that Yatsuhashi couldn't help but admire; in some ways it reminded him of a much younger and less experienced Coco however, now that he had lost that naivety himself it fell to the older man to be the voice of reason.
"Team WULF had two qualified Hunters and eventual air-support….The Grimm has also grown significantly more dangerous since then" Yatsuhashi peered through the cockpit to see the winged terror that had once been an Alpha Geist continuing to size them up from the air, menace and foul intent radiating out from it.
"However, it seems that we no longer have any choice in the matter. We are Hunters and we will do what we must" he continued "Is everyone ready?"
"Let's do this" Wolfram had no need to look to his team now, in that moment Team WULF were of a single mind and their leader could almost feel the adrenaline and eagerness to be the bulwark against the Grimm coursing through each of them as much as it did his own veins. With a final, cursory glance Yatsuhashi extended one palm towards the bulletproof glass of the cockpit.
"Then proceed with caution and follow my commands….Today we may well do a great service to all of Remnant" and with that the giant of a man unleashed his Semblance, a shock-wave of pure concussive force bursting outwards and tearing the entire from of the transport asunder so that he and the four students behind him could leap outwards as a single cohesive force.
The Grimm dived towards them with a bellowing scream in response.
"The sea is infested with Grimm Oralie, get us there quicker!" Carmesi's declaration had the unmistakable air of an accusation about it.
"You're a Grimm Hunter" Rowan shot back through gritted teeth as she steered and focused on the way ahead, her tense voice rising above the sound of the stolen speedboats' engine "Deal with it"
The trio of rogues had taken the small vehicle, which may have been the personal property of one of the many Hunters currently guarding Port Alistair without interference or difficulty, something that Carmesi had initially pointed out with a bleak sense of certainty that was far too easy; his warnings proving to be almost prophetic as shortly after the three of them witnessed the sight of the glyph-covered ship belonging to none other than Team FADE and their many allies move into position to combat the gargantuan sea monster, several figures deploying onto its' enormous form with all the flair and gusto that Hunters were famed for.
From there things had only become more complicated.
Naturally the presence of Hunters had prompted Rowan to use her Semblance, leading to her current state of duress as she created a mobile and thus constantly reforming and updating trail of illusions to envelop their speedboat; her ability to hide herself and her current allies from sight did nothing to prevent them from being heard however and if any of the Hunters who had now entered the equation were to pick out the sound of their approaching engine there would be nothing the redhead could do to prevent it. Grapeshot had ordered her onwards with all available speed, dismissing her warnings and focusing on the prize, though the wizened old veteran had also warned both Rowan and Carmesi against firing their guns and risking further noise that might draw unwanted attention, a proposition that had become more difficult as they had cut through the choppy waters and caught sight of the dozens upon dozens of murky black shapes swirling around and below them in an ever deepening swarm as they drew closer to the enormous and armour-coated limbs of the Dread-Hulk, which seemed mercifully to be being held at bay, at least for the moment.
"I hunt Grimm on land, idiot!" Carmesi barked, the Komodo Dragon undeniably irked by the flippant response of the criminal he believed should rightly be cowering in this presence. It was likely that final insult, filled with vitriol and loathing was the final burst of negative emotion that the nearest Creatures of Grimm needed to tip them over some unknown edge, from simply lurking directly into a feeding frenzy as the burst from the cold and inhospitable depths.
The air filled with screeches as they came.
Each monster was roughly the size of an adult, if one discounted their tails and had a body which resembled that of some impossibly ancient sea scorpion. The usual black and bone colouration was arranged in a tapering and segmented tube, flexible and boneless with armoured ridges lining their backs which ended in a sleek and streamlined delta of a skull with compound eyes that glowed with malice and chittering, clacking mandibles at one end and at the other an arcing, lashing tail with multiple barbs arranged like a trident; each Grimm sported eight segmented legs which were spindly and angled back in a way which suggested that they would be little use on dry land whilst in place of pincers they sported a pair of overgrown forelimbs which ended in broad, flat and serrated appendages which could serve equally well as fins or cleavers.
"We've got Hydra-tails!" Carmesi warned, the bellow likely only meant for Major Grapeshot as the first of the monsters lunged from the depths and attempted to fling itself aboard the boat, bladed limbs flailing dangerously until the burly and powerfully built man lunged forwards and unsheathed his weapons in a single motion; first blocking the leaping Grimm with the flat of his hefty and spiked cudgel of broadsword and then swinging upwards to carve the beast in half from below before finally he launched his forward-curved machete forward with all of his might, its' blade unfurling into the three-pronged and oversized shuriken like implement that it doubled as which in turn skimmed above the roiling surface and cut down scored of Grimm before they could truly pose a threat; eventually doubling back on itself in a display that defied laws of motion and returning to Carmesi's waiting hand at which point it was thrust it the skull of another Grimm with a low and guttural grunt.
"Back I say!" Grapeshot's yell of incandescent fury rang out from the other side of the rocking speedboat as more of the Hydra-tails attempted to force their way aboard, the older man swinging Magnificent Ivory in its' cane form as he to was forced to fight without shooting, a limitation that also made his Semblance for less useful to him though this mattered less than it might as he attacked with the speed, force and vitality of a much younger man to smash bone and pulp flesh beneath his weapon and send the Grimm falling back into the depths.
Until one of the Hydra-tails displayed a level of animal cunning and attacked from below.
"BLAST!" the Major roared, spittle flying from beneath his moustache as a three-pronged stinger ripped through the bottom of boat with a screech "BOTHER AND DAMNATION!" the boat lurched dangerously to the side as more the aquatic terrors began to thrust the stingers' and bladed appendages into the side of the speedboat and drag it off-course in an attempt to capsize the craft entirely whilst yet more of their number still tried to swarm aboard, being kept at bay by Carmesi Hueso who sung both of his blades in a frenzy of annihilation that left him wreathed in smog of fading Grimm carcasses. Whilst far from feeble or lacking the sprightly energy of his younger self Major Grapeshot was still an older man and both unaccustomed to being caught off-guard and fighting at sea, meaning that it was inevitable that he would eventually stumble and eventually the unavoidable happened as the speedboat was tugged and dragged, forcing the Hunter to stop his attack and brace himself with his cane whilst his free hand flew out to grasp his signature safari hat as it was blown from his skull; which in turn brought his arm directly into the path of an oncoming Hydra-tail which dove at the limb with serrated mandible snapping and an endless scream spewing from its' inhuman maw.
Only to be silenced as a blade pierced its' skull in a single blow.
"You dying would be bad for my health right now" Rowan noted glibly as she plucked Insolence free of the disintegrating monster in its' naginata form, splitting another Grimm in half with a twirling flourish before returning back to the controls of the beleaguered boat, proving just how capable she was with the fact that even as she did this her veil of illusions around them all was maintained.
"We're almost there, jolly good show Oralie!" Grapeshot applauded, willing to admit that in that moment, as he saw just how close they had managed to get to the truly vast mountain of chitin that was one of the Dread-Hulk's legs he was glad of the scoundrels' presence.
"We're not gonna make it" Rowan answered, snuffing out the brief spark of elation "Only way we make it is if we jump"
"Don't be stupid!" Carmesi growled, still grappling with monsters.
"This boat won't hold and neither will my Semblance" Rowan answered harshly, turning to face the rogue Hunters who now both saw the sheen of sweat coating her body and splotches of red beginning to stain the whites of her eyes as capillaries were burst under the strain she exerted on herself "You've got two choices, jump or swim….I don't see the second one working out for you"
"She's right old chap" Grapeshot admitted, puffing out his chest with a dignified harrumph despite the situation as he added "A rum do to be sure but still, far from the worst jump; in my time in the air-"
"Give us your war stories later old man" with that Rowan blinked and in an instant her Semblance came crashing down, the air rippling in a way that in painfully clear that any onlookers, Hunters included who had not surmised that something was amiss in the water by the frenzied behaviour of the Hydra-tails alone would now be able to plainly see their stolen boat; at least until it was destroyed entirely.
A moment later Rowan had leapt and grasped the leg of the Dread-Hulk.
With its' impossible size the limb was truly more of a single wall or rock-face to be scaled than anything else and despite its' soaked condition the pitted and fractured chitin along with chunks of sundered and ruined metal littering the hide of the Grimm provided ample places for strong and calloused hands to find purchase; Rowan had been required to climb and find vantage points countless times whilst operating as a Grimm poacher for her previous backers and this was a similar, though far more frightful exercise.
"We're right behind you" Carmesi announced as he and Grapeshot leapt after her, even now unable to keep the hint of a threat and a warning from his words. Without replying Rowan began to climb, leading the way and focusing on the route ahead of her to distract herself from the possibility of being shot in the back whilst unable to defend herself and the very real conundrum of the three of them would be returning to shore if they escaped this expedition intact; eventually however her singular focus bore unexpected fruits in the form of an early warning, namely the sound of yells and gunfire from above.
"The Hunters are still topside" Rowan called down, struggling to find the line between being loud enough to be heard and yet still not be overheard by those above, however distracted they might be.
"Then we will have to go around or below them" Grapeshot called back "We would have to split up and search the ship regardless, it has multiple cargo holds"
"Provided that what we're looking for wasn't pulled out when the giant Grimm carrying the boat went underwater!" Rowan pointed out, feeling that it was a suggestion that needed to be voiced.
"It wasn't a suggestion!" Carmesi snapped with predictable vitriol "We've come too far, we've committed!"
"Of course" the redhead criminal muttered under her breath, inwardly seething at the fact that her life was now currently in the hands of not just a Hunter, but a fanatic of some stripe with seemingly no concept of sunk costs or tactical retreats when the odds were stacked against them. Sighing as she continued to climb Rowan muttered another simple truth of the situation as she saw it.
"I am not getting paid enough for this"
The Grimm that had once been the Hell-Hound was, in no uncertain terms a juggernaut and an unstoppable force in close combat; as Team WULF were coming to appreciate as they struggled to gain any momentum at all in their attempts to halt it.
"Laser look out!" one of the Vaccuan scavengers' team-mates let out a panicked yell as Laser threw himself into a dive and roll between the thrashing tendrils disguised as torn rags which hung from the torso of the Grimm like robes, closing the distance between them and landing behind it he aimed and fired Permadeath upwards and unleashed a volley of Dust fuelled rounds into one of the mechanical wings sprouting from the shoulder-blades of the Grimm in the hope that he might ignite something within them and cause severe damage; when this was proven to be a futile effort and the Hell-Hound did nothing more than stagger forwards a single pace under the assault Laser let out a wordless sound of annoyance and shifted his weapon into its' katana form.
Accompanying the flourishing motion with a backflip as he leapt over the lashing serpentine tail of the Grimm.
Landing in a crouch Laser sprung forward again, leaping into the air and landing on the back of the monster that stood at easily twice his own height where he perched himself in the strip of rippled, obsidian flesh between where a wing sprouted and the artillery piece grafted to its' back was fitted and promptly thrusting his sword downward, eliciting a screamed slew of disjointed and half-formed syllables yet even this was not the young man's true intent and instead Laser was simply using his sword to anchor himself as he began desperately sifting through the many hidden pockets of his attire until, eventually he produced a series of small metal spikes with glinting shards of Dust crystals embedded within them.
Explosive charges, the kind used by Dust miners which the natives of the Vaccuan Overspill had long since put to less well-intentioned ends.
With a grunt of exertion Laser began frantically stabbing the sharpened implements into every inch of the Hell-Hound that he could reach, leaving half a dozen of them embedded in its' leathery hide yet before he could prime or detonate them the monster finally retaliated in earnest; Laser found both himself and his weapon torn free of the Grimm as its' tendrils snaked around and threw him into the air where one of its' upper pair of arms, the far more muscular pair promptly caught him and slammed him into the floor with a reverberating impact which sent tremors through the entirety of Hammerfall Observation Outpost, leaving a visible crack in the surface of the vivid green visor the teen wore and his Aura flickering around him.
The Grimm prepared to hoist its' pinned opponent into the air for another attack but was halted, Cyclopean eye narrowing beneath its' own visor by a yell of pure rage.
"NOT ON MY WATCH!" Diabla Fuego roared as she leapt into battle, the volcanic glow of her Semblance illuminating her fists and travelling the length of her arms until the fiery light spilled from her eyes as she threw herself into the air and delivered a right hook and spinning left backhand to the skull of the Hell-Hound, the vastly increased amount of damage Diabla was capable of dispensing sending the beast stumbling back as the Huntress contained to rotate in mid-air, transforming Peace and Quiet from their armoured gauntlet form as she went. As the Hell-Hound lashed out with one of its' lower arms Diabla responded in kind and stabbed out with 'Quiet', the ultrasonic blade fitted to her left arm ripping through flesh with ease and ensuring that the Grimm pulled its' arm back with a shriek Diabla was dragged through the air and brought close enough to unleash 'Peace' the flamethrower fitted to he right hand, with which she ignited the Dust crystals within Laser's charges.
The resulting explosion was a destructive fireball which flung the terrifying Creature of Grimm backwards and left it scrabbling at the edge of the aerial platform, yet at the same time blasted Diabla in the opposite direction, causing her to strike the sloped wall of the dome-shaped observatory with a thud.
A piercing, echoing shriek filled the air and announced that the monster was not yet finished; however neither were Team WULF.
"Ursinia! With me!" Wolfram barked out as he and the towering Scorpion Faunus burst into motion, charging towards the Grimm as it came bounding on six limbs for another furious exchange of blows. Seeing the single minded and murderous intent of the beast Wolfram attempted something particularly risky, the kind of unbelievable showmanship that one might of expect from Astra.
He threw his axe into the air.
As the weapon spun upwards the armoured teen thrust his open hand outward, fingers pointed towards the Grimm and low to the ground as he unleashed his Semblance in a plane of guillotine-sharp solidified air which forced the Hell-Hound to skid to a halt and leap upwards at which point Wolfram caught his axe and flung himself into a slide which sent him under and behind the beast, his shield blocking the attacks from its' tail and tendrils.
"I'm you huckleberry!" Ursinia yelled as she closed the distance a moment later, firing a grenade at her monstrous adversary before it could turn to face her partner; a fresh wave of force and fire throwing the Grimm off balance for long enough to let Wolfram combine the two halves of Berserker into their hand-cannon mode and shoot the Grimm in its' lower back, tearing a ragged and bloody wound into its' gut.
Yet even this failed to slow the monster to any real degree.
The Hell-Hound shrieked as its' wings ignited and it flung itself into an accelerated spin, clawed fingers tearing into the ground for purchase as its' tail swung in a wide arc and knocked both Wolfram and Ursinia into the air, leaving the stunned and colliding with each other as the Hell-Hound readjusted its' stance and aimed its' back-mounted cannon squarely at them.
"Get behind me!" Wolfram barked, seeing Ursinia shift the Adventurer into its' sword form so that she might use its' broad blade to block the incoming assault and instead leaping in front of her and redeploying his shield. The Hell-Hound fired and a high calibre round of exploding bone struck the shield dead-centre, sending both students flying backward to land in a crumpled heap.
"You okay partner?" Ursinia asked through pained gasps and sputtering as the two of them picked themselves up, using her own Semblance to numb whatever pain Wolfram was currently suffering from and hoping that her leader might have a solution to the obvious problem before them.
"I'll live" Wolfram ground out as he shifted his weight and focused on the Hell-Hound whilst also speaking into an earpiece connected to his Scroll "Professor, how's that evac coming?"
"Those who stayed behind were seriously injured, getting them safely onto an aircraft is taking some time" Yatsuhashi's apologetic and openly concerned voice answered "I'll be with you as soon as I can….Just hold the line a little longer, help is coming" the giant of a man had been a crucial component in the opening exchanges of the skirmish against the Hell-Hound, his size, strength and experience making clear headway until a parried blow had by chance blasted debris that had once been a weapon emplacement aside to reveal bloodied and terrified surviving members of the outposts' staff cowering beneath it; leaving the student Counsellor and veteran Hunter little choice but to get them to safety, administering what first aid he could whilst the students, who lacked the experience to do the same held the Hell-Hound at bay.
It was a demanding task but Wolfram would not allow himself to fail, not with so much at stake.
"You've got it" he answered simply with a feral grin "Team WULF, give this thing everything you've got!"
"You've got it boss!" Laser chuckled, almost manically despite pained wheezes as he and Diabla rejoined the fight and Team WULF charged the Grimm from multiple angles.
The Hell-Hound charged, fang-filled maw beginning to froth and foam with something that scorched the metallic floor as it dripped in steam globules and its' wings began to ignite once again as thrusters that were now as much biology as machine roared into life yet before it could reach its' full, terrifying speed and take flight the Hell-Hound was blind-sided as Diabla Fuego streaked passed it, delivering a savage, Semblance-fuelled haymaker to its' face as she went which left a web of cracks spreading from the point of impact across the visor covering its' singular eye. Partially blinded, disoriented and reeling the Hell-Hound was sent spinning and clattering off-course which in turn allowed Wolfram and Ursinia to pounce, sword and axe cleaving through nightmarish flesh and robbing the monster of several of its' tendrils as it lashed out with them before finally the pair were forced back, shielding their eyes reflexively as the Hell-Hound spat venom at them which left the Aura's visibly rippling as it sizzled.
"Nasty little critter we got here" Ursinia noted as he readied the Adventurer for another charge, yet neither she not Wolfram moved and instead braced themselves as they sized up the Grimm; horrified to see that the vestigial limbs the two of them had cut away and the hole Wolfram had previously blasted into the Grimm were already starting to slowly reform as the beast sized them up.
"Hey ugly! Right here!" the tension was abruptly broken by a spray of bullets ripped into the back of the Hell-Hound and when it turned around to face the source of the attack its' singular locked on Laser Greenback; perched on something that the stolen information told the Grimm was a launch pad rather than a landing pad, yet it paid no mind to this distinction and instead simply charged with a scream.
Only for Laser to laugh as he leapt aside.
The launch pad sprung into life the moment the blonde moved and the catapult, intended to deploy prospective students into Hammerfall Canyon below as part of their initiation was fired; the mechanism striking the Grimm with tremendous force and thrusting it into the air as Laser delivered a parting shot with his katana which ripped deep into the flank of the beast.
"Varmint, I will never understand what goes on that head of yours" Ursinia chortled as Team WULF hastily regrouped "But darn it all it's mighty entertaining to watch you work"
"Just 'cos we're fighting the thing doesn't mean we've gotta 'fight' it" Laser smirked "Thanks" he added gratefully as he felt the numbing warmth of Ursinia's Semblance wash over him, the self-appointed caretaker of the team tending to the injuries of her team-mates as best she could, not truly healing them but allowing them to fight on a little longer, all whilst steadily giving of her own Aura.
"You did good" Diabla noted, expression dour "But that thing isn't finished"
"Yeah well maybe it'll know when it's beaten if it's so smart" Wolfram managed a weak and pained chuckle "Who knows, it's run away before right? who's to say that-IT'S COMING BACK AROUND! EVERYONE HEADS UP!"
Wolfram's sudden and frantic change of tone was vindicated a moment later by a shriek of fragmented sounds.
The Hell-Hound had managed to seize control of its' arcing and spiralling flight, ripping through the air and using the knowledge now afforded to it in tandem with ever-evolving predatory instinct which had now, finally and fatefully crossed the threshold of true consciousness and awareness to seek out a weak and exposed flank upon which to sink its' fangs and claws. Soaring around the perimeter of the aerial platform it soon found the weakness it sought in the form of one of the four vast armatures extending out from equidistant points of the circular outpost.
The directional thrusters which guided the enormous volume of Dust keeping it afloat and kept the entire base balanced and level.
With a shriek the Grimm open fire, bone rounds ripping into Atlesian steel, unhindered by protective shields that failed to rise and whilst the enormous armature was not torn free of the superstructure it was showered with sparks as a chorus of groaning metal rang out before finally the beast plummeted downwards and perched itself upon the now heavily damaged thruster and regarded its' opponents.
Team WULF looked on in horror; bracing themselves as best they could as the entirety of the outpost began to lurch and tip a few degrees, tilting the ground in a direction which would cause them to fall toward the monster if they were to slip.
"I think it just got smarter" Wolfram admitted, swallowing thickly and squaring his shoulders; sensing the sudden fear emanating from his team-mates and refusing to submit to the same dread rising within himself, determined to be the leader and bastion that those around him deserved. The Grimm for its' part regarded the students a moment longer before finally, inadvertently proving Wolfram's assertion with its' next scream of defiant challenge which, unlike what had come before was no longer simple broken syllables.
"TARGET LOCKED-MOVING TO ENGAGE-FOR OUR MAIN EVENT THIS EVENING-DON'T FORGET TO LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE!"
"Did, did that thing just talk?" Ursinia demanded, sword arm dropping in open disbelief.
"Did it just ask us to like and subscribe?" Laser sputtered, raising his cracked visor to peer at the Hell-Hound with his own eyes, as if certain that the augmentation to his senses had betrayed him somehow.
"The rest of what it said" Diabla interrupted forcefully "That's military jargon….and, holy shit….Team MARZ fought this thing at a fight club"
"It's getting smarter by eating things, including computers" Wolfram surmised.
"We need to get it off this outpost" Diabla's voice wavered in open, unabashed terror even as she readied her weapons and Semblance "Even if we have to die and sacrifice everyone still here to do it….If this Grimm gets into the files here it'll be a catastrophe"
"Maybe no sacrificing everyone….But agreed" Wolfram nodded grimly as he readied his axe and shield, steel grey eyes focused even as he allowed himself a confident smirk
"Team WULF, let's take this thing down" he continued "Laser….I hope you've got a few more tricks"
With that the student Hunters and the Grimm charged again.
The sawing, buzzing scream of twin compact Gatling guns filled the sea air as Astra opened fire.
The twisted and broken hull of the recently sunk cargo ship, a relatively small for its' purpose yet still vast vessel was far from the rusted and ruined hulk that many of the other ships worn by the colossal hermit crab Grimm like gruesome ornaments had been reduced to yet still its' brine-soaked hull trembled and shuddered under the onslaught as Astra continued to fight the nest of bipedal and amphibious monsters that had attacked them.
"Come get some!" the Deer Faunus yelled over the sound of their own weapons as the barrage continued, ripping and warping steel panels until they buckled and were torn away entirely and the collapsing mass sent Creatures of Grimm tumbling downwards back into the mountain of corroded steal that they had emerged from whilst at the same time monsters who were struck by the bullets were simply snuffed out completely, their bodies being reduced to clouds of fragmented darkness which hid their monstrous kin from view. Any sense of victory that Astra might have allowed themselves was short lived in the extreme as it took mere seconds for the Grimm, some aquatic variant of Creeps that the first year students' lessons had not yet discussed to recover from the shock of the initial attack and those that remained to come bursting from the brief and fading darkness, hissing and spitting as more of them came crawling and scrambling over the side of the ship.
"This all you got?" Astra taunted, more to mentally prepare himself for a fight against odds that were stacked against them than to actually taunt the mindless beasts as they allowed the guns of Buckshot Ares to fall silent and instead readied their blades as they charged. The drenched and slippery surface underfoot was a hindrance to the Faunus whilst the monsters they fought seemed unbothered by it yet still Astra persisted, reaching the first Grimm and delivering a roundhouse from his left leg to its' skull which was followed by a fatal downward stab to the torso from their left arm as they continued their spin and allowed it to culminate in a wild right backhand which saw their blade rake through the air and fell several Grimm in a single blow. With the first blow delivered and momentum established Astra allowed themselves a smile and sea-green eyes shone with sudden confidence as they launched their next attack, falling into a well-practised and comfortably familiar series of moves as they first dropped into a fighting stance and delivered a sweep from their lead leg to the next Creature of Grimm to attempt to close the distance which forced it off balance and left it vulnerable to Astra's follow-up crescent kick. From there Astra attempted to use their forward momentum to launch themselves deeper into the midst of their enemy with a flying knee that would crush slime-covered bone as it connected yet as they prepared to leap forward one of the many abominations of midnight black before them responded in kind and pounced.
Flinging Astra to the ground as the sudden impact and slick surface they fought on cost them their balance.
Hitting the deck with a sharp and painful thud Astra wasted no time in using the shields of Buckshot Ares, planes of rose-tinted hard-light comprised of hexagonal panels interlocking and expanding outward to shear through the limbs of the Grimm currently perching on their chest, subsequently obliterating its' body entirely as the thing collapsed forward onto the same incorporeal surface that had wounded it grievously. Once again victory was short lived however as the Grimm swarmed and Astra, whilst unharmed by their attacks was unable to rise as the thing clawed, snapped and thrashed at them; the first cracks beginning to show in the hard-light shield that enveloped them within only moments.
'CAW'
An avian shriek followed by a flash of pure white Aura was the first indication that help had arrived and Astra felt waves of relief and gratitude wash over them as a blur of motion, so fast as to be invisible rushed overhead and cut a swathe through the tide of Grimm; revealing itself to be Eagle Arc, sleeveless leather jacket worn over pristine white armour and tribal tattoos gifted to her by her wife visible on pale skin creating a striking figure that the black-bladed sword in her hand and look of steely focus on her freckled face only added to.
"Come on, get up….there's work to do" Eagle urged before leaping into the fray and cleaving through Grimm with speed and precision that left Astra both awed and inwardly lamenting the foolishness that allowed them to consider their own team to be equal to the living legends that were Team FADE. The introspection was brief however and Astra was on their feet again in an instant, rising with a spinning leg sweep that allowed them to cut down another Grimm as they stood yet before they could rejoin the fray in earnest it became clear that help had arrived as a shotgun blast quickly deprived another hissing and spitting denizen of the deep of its' head.
"Heh, sorry we took so long!" Regalia greeted them with a wave of her free hand whilst at the same time using her other hand to smash the butt of Apex Scavenger in its' shotgun form into the snout of a Grimm which she then proceeded to bodily lift and hurl over the side of the ship.
Team MARZ was reunited in its' entirety a moment later as Athena-Jade and Zirconia made their entrance in unison, working together with the skill and elegant efficiency which had become their signature; a series of glyphs manifested around the Grimm to corral them into place before Zirconia appeared almost from nowhere, leaping down from some higher vantage point and leaping from glyph to glyph as she tore through her opponents' with ease.
'Fire! Lightning!' the computerised voice of Sunriser Cain declared as the Grasshopper Faunus activated the rotating Dust Cylinders of her weapon in its' cylinder-bladed sword mode, transforming already agile movements into a deadly dance of flames and arcs of cracking lightning until finally she leap clear of the last remaining remnants of what had been an attacking horde only moments prior.
Just in time for Athena-Jade to coming surging into view, using a glyph to correct her angle as the rocket booster mounted into the head of her hammer gave her an untold amount of momentum; closing the gap she swung Mould-Breaker with earth-shattering force and tore through what remained of the Grimm in a single, devastating swing.
"You okay?" the Bear Faunus asked as she planted her weapon on the ground, trying to hide the fact that she was clearly enjoying posing victoriously whilst Zirconia looked on with what might have been a smile forming beneath the scarf covering much of her face.
"Yeah, got blown off course" Astra admitted with a nonchalant shrug as if it were not a problem, though unable to keep themselves from grimacing as they added "No Semblance so I've gotta make do"
"Your weapon is still awesome" Regalia beamed, eyeing the now collapsed multi-purpose weapons fitted to her partners' forearms, tapping at the goggles resting atop her head to indicate her own Semblance as she added "Still, good thing I found you though"
"Yeah good thing she found you….Wretches can be annoying when they start swarming" the declaration announced Felix strolling into view with Arctus ad Diamond close behind "That is why I said I wanted a tight landing group….Still, you did good though; you're definitely learning"
"Don't blame me, blame the wind" Astra retorted with a scowl "And you took your sweet time getting here!"
"Aww you wanted me to be the one to come and rescue you, that's sweet" Felix flashed his younger sibling a smirk which displayed sabre-like canines "Eagle's faster and your partner found you straight away; you were never in any danger….Besides, someone had to make sure we didn't get attacked from behind since this place is crawling"
"About that" Zirconia rasped out hesitantly, causing her team-mates to turn their attention away from the bickering between Astra and Felix and Regalia fidgeting in contented pride and praise from veteran Hunters "How is this ship infested with so many amphibious Grimm….The Dread-Hulk was at sea?"
"Good question" Athena-Jade nodded, sapphire eyes trailing slowly away from her partner to her older brother who provided an explanation.
"Dread-Hulks can sometimes function as a mobile spawning pit….I'm guessing that if the war against Salem had gone on for longer we would have seen her start using these things to basically demolish navies and coastlines" the older Faunus allowed himself a frown at that thought "As it is it's not something that comes up often, Grimm this size are rare. The shell that this pile of ship is mounted on, if you moved the ships it'd look like a giant drill-bit with big spikes coming out of it, basically the inside of that is a small spawning pool that leaks primordial Grimm matter into the ships, which then congeals into Wretches-"
"A lovely mental image" Zirconia noted dryly.
"Oh I like her" Diamond snorted, cherry red eyes twinkling for a moment "But right now we only need to worry about the ship we're currently on, which won't have Grimm spawning inside of it yet; just ones creeping into it which might give us an advantage"
"So" Eagle asked finally, turning to Felix "What's the plan?"
"We split up" the Lion Faunus spoke slowly, navy blue eyes hardening as he considered what was required "Four people head to the cargo hold, that's where any survivors are most likely to be it's the biggest secured area….There are smaller secured areas that could handle being submerged for extended periods, I want two people to check those and the last two people are heading to the command bridge"
"Why?" Astra asked in open confusion "There won't be anyone there"
"Records" their older brother answered "We need to pull what we can from this ship before Carcharodon takes down the Dread-Hulk itself, that way we can find out where it was attacked for the sake of shipping routes, find out what was lost for insurance and….look I'm gonna be honest with you kids, I think there are gonna be some families who need to be informed of what happened to this ship, I want crew logs"
"Okay" Astra nodded, that final comment enough to silence any questions or challenges that they might have had; the half-siblings locked eyes for a moment as their respective teams readied their weapons around them until Felix finally spoke again.
"Any questions?" being greeted with only silence he ran his hands through his mane of dirty blonde curls before unsheathing his chainsaw bladed sword "Good….Now I need you students to understand something, this is not training and this is not a drill; lives are at danger here including out own. If at any point it looks like the Dread-Hulk might make landfall then Carcharodon will open fire on it, even if we're still aboard"
With that worrying thought the mission began in earnest.
The battle between Team WULF and the monstrous Grimm that had once been the Hell-Hound continued, even as Hammerfall Observation Outpost lurched and tilted in the air; the entire aerial platform slanting no more than a few degrees, yet at such a height and in such perilous circumstances the threat it posed was severe and threatened to descend into utter catastrophe at any moment as the damaged directional thruster and stabiliser along with the armature supporting continued to spark and creak.
Though those particular sounds were lost between the din of battle.
"EVASIVE MANOEUVRERS-WITH A SPECIAL THANKS TO LIEN SHAVE CLUB FOR SPONSORING!" the many limbed and yet still vaguely lupine hybrid alpha Grimm declared with a metallic shriek of a voice, its' words serving as the briefest of warnings as it weaved around the student Hunters' latest attempt to subdue it and retaliated with with a savage swipe of its' upper right arm which almost resembled a haymaker save for the fact that its' claws raked across the floor and tore shallow trenches into the metallic surface.
In the exact spot Laser Greenback had been standing a moment before.
"Sorry ugly, looks like you're being cancelled!" the chemically blonde boy declared with confidence that stood in stark contrast to the apparent situation, giving the Grimm twisted sneer he readied his katana in one hand whilst holding up a small controller of sorts in the other which was promptly pressed, giving the Hell-Hound just enough time to glance around and its' singular hateful optic to widen as it realised tha once again the lithe and wiry Hunter had used his wild and chaotic attacks to mask his true intentions; a series of more Dust fuelled charges had been driven into the ground around the hulking beast in a rough circle yet these were filled with a magnetic mineral rather than something of the more explosive variety and before the Hell-Hound could react the air itself seemed to visibly warp and audibly thrum as an electromagnetic field was brought into existence, dragging the wings of the Grimm down and leaving its' back-mounted weapon unable to fire whilst the ore woven into its' bony carapace was affected to a lesser degree.
"DIABLA NOW!" Laser all but screamed, betraying how shallow his outward confidence truly was yet his partner responded without hesitation and leapt into battle with her gauntlets at the ready and her fists blazing with the light of her Semblance as she pounced and delivered a tremendous blow to the back of the monsters' skull, driving its' snout into the floor a booming impact that twisted metal and fractured bones, from here she straddled the neck and shoulders of the Grimm and continued to rain blows down upon it that struck like a shower of meteors; in turn providing Laser with the opening he sought to charge, Permadeath held across his body for a killing blow that would stab through the eye of the Hell-Hound.
Yet the hybrid Alpha persisted.
"COMMENCING COUNTER-ATTACK!" as it shrieked in defiance vestigial tendrils disguised as ragged robes snaked out and grasped the various magnetic charges that Laser had produced from his seemingly endless supply of tricks, bone shards and clammy suction cups gripping them tightly before crushing the devices and tearing them free. With a wordless scream of victory the Grimm reared up to its' full height and in a single fluid motion flung Diabla from his back and delivered a punishing, if uncoordinated punch that ripped Laser from his feet.
The blond teen was sent sailing through the air and crashing to the ground where he began to roll downwards, towards the tilted edge of the aerial platform until he stabbed his katana into the metal surface below him to act as an anchor and glanced back towards the Grimm, stomach plummeting whilst bile rose in his throat at the sight of Diabla still attempting to fight the Hell-Hound alone, fists glowing like suns until their light was snuffed out when the towering nightmare swept her legs out from beneath her with its' serpentine tail and in the same motion span around, using its' tendril to pluck her from mid-air before its' lower pair of arms landed a series of punishing blows to her face and torso which left her bloodied and her fiery, magma-orange Aura flickering around her before finally its' upper pair of arms hammered down onto her her chest and shoulders, visibly denting the armoured vest she wore and smashing the air from her lungs as the Grimm cast her aside; Aura continuing to ripple and fluctuate around her as the brawler, tenacious and unwavering as ever struggled to stand.
The pair were not alone however and at that moment Wolfram and Ursinia re-entered the battle.
"GRENADE ME!" Wolfram's harsh bark rang out through the air as the two of them charged at the Grimm and it spoke to the faith that the rest of Team WULF placed in their leader that Ursinia followed the order, unthinkable as it was without question; dropping back and allowing her partner to venture ahead the Scorpion Faunus shifted the Adventurer into its' grenade launcher form and, with a final, momentary flicker of questioning doubt she fired directly at Wolfram's back only to be amazed at her partners' sheer nerve when he span around and leapt into the air whilst blocking with his shield, using the explosion of the grenade to throw himself at the Alpha Grimm with a feral roar and his axe held high.
"PRO GAMER MOVE!" the Hell-Hound shrieked, its' meaning open to interpretations that there were no time to discuss as its' wings burst into life, spewing acrid smoke and flames as the monster responded with a charge of its' own; Grimm and Hunter meeting in mid air with a collision which made the sky itself tremble, trading blows that shook their surroundings yet for all his ferocity and spectacle it was Wolfram who was bested in combat. The young man drove his skull into the snout of the Grimm and held its' fanged maw at bay with his shield even as steaming, frothing venom spilled from its' maw whilst he swung his axe at every part of the beast he could reach with blows that struck bone ringing out with the clang of metal on metal until finally the Hell-Hound seized him, its many limbs proving too much to counter as its' tail wrapped around an ankle and slammed the young man into the floor, his armour producing a nerve-rattling sound on impact which was repeated as the Grimm held him aloft before smashing him into the floor several more times; its' metallic surface buckled under the assault and Wolfram's dull, steely Aura flickered and wavered around him even as the Hell-Hound launched him through the air, far from the edge of aerial platform.
"WOLFRAM NO!" Ursinia's voice cracked as she let out a petrified scream, watching as her partner sailed through the air before finally, mercifully landing in a crumpled heap on the already damaged support struts of the mangled stabiliser and thruster which the Hell-Hound had attacked. Acting on instinct alone the Scorpion Faunus charged, weapon shifting into its' sword form as she went and being hefted in two hands ready for a mighty swing which would cleave the monster in two.
The blow never came.
"FIRE AT WILL!" the Hell-Hound shrieked, crouching and sinking its' many claws into the ever more steeply angled surface of the aerial platform and firing the artillery piece sprouting from its' back; the shard of dense and jagged bone exploded on impact and Ursinia was blasted backwards by the force, her body striking the domed exterior of the outpost itself with enough force to crack the wall beneath her and as she sunk to the ground, her head lolling to one side as slumped over her Aura, spent by the repeated use of her Semblance which had kept her team-mates fighting for this long finally shattered around her in an explosion of scarlet embers and sensing victory the Hell-Hound began to stalk towards her.
"DON'T TOUCH MY FRIENDS!" Diabla's words were a ragged scream, forced from raw and strained vocal chords as she charged into combat once more, her Semblance reignited even as her own Aura continued to ripple around her on the verge of total collapse yet despite the near exhaustion of its' prey the Hell-Hound, intelligent as it was leapt upwards; taking to the air for a few moments to avoid the blow rather than attempt to overpower it. Skidding passed where her target had been and with the fact that Ursinia had been harmed no further providing little comfort the fiery young woman came to a halt in a crouch beside her own partner who was pulling himself to his feet.
"We need a plan-"
"You need to use your Semblance!" Diabla snapped, cutting across Laser's words "I don't care what the hell it is, with the way you talk about it I'm guessing it's something you can use in fight!"
"I don't know-"
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT?" Diabla screamed, the last remains of her detached ad unfeeling persona breaking along with her voice "WOLFRAM AND URSINIA ARE DOWN, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE I CAN GIVE LASER! THERE'S NO MORE TIME FOR TRICKS AND PLANS….EITHER WE GIVE EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT OR OUR FRIENDS ARE GOING TO DIE AND SO ARE WE!" Diabla looked at her partner for a split second that felt as though an eternity passed between them, Laser swallowing thickly as Diabla reached out and shook his shoulders as if to cajole some act of heroism out of him yet ultimately the blonde remained silent and Diabla turned away with a resigned expression.
The Hell-Hound dove and Diabla charged, ready to pay whatever price was required for victory.
The pair met in an explosion of force as the Grimm shot into the ground at Diabla's feet, only for her to use the blast to launch herself upwards and deliver a two-fisted blow to its' ribcage that tore it from the sky, tendrils lashed out and grasped at Diabla to ensure that she was thrust downwards with a clattering impact as well. In the next instant the pair were on their feet and charging at each other again, the Grimm lashing out with claws that were evaded as Diabla ducked and weaved beneath them and used the monsters' own size against it before driving her glowing fist into the right knee of the monster; the destructive capabilities of her Semblance obliterating bone with ease. From there the bloody brawl that the battle had been reduced to continued and Laser watched on with sickened terror as Diabla threw her right hand out in a wide backhand as the Hell-Hound tried to bite her, shattering its' teeth and following up with a left jab to its' flank that pulverised something within it and left the beast spewing black ichor only for it to retaliate by flinging out its' many tendrils and grasping Diabla by her torso and swiftly whip the atrophied limbs in unison to throw her to the floor and attempt to pounce on her. Refusing to be beaten Diabla lunged upwards, using her own strength and skill rather than her Semblance to tackle the Grimm and shift Peace and Quiet into their alternate forms, driving the ultrasonic blade into the flesh of the monster before aiming her flamethrower and opening fire at point-blank range.
Yet the Hell-Hound was an equally tenacious beast.
Its' wings shuddered and flapped as they ignited for a burst of speed rather than flight, the grappling between the two combatants coming to a swift end as Diabla's feet were once again dragged out from beneath her and she was slammed back-first onto the metal floor of the outpost, with the Hell-Hound looming over her, preparing for a killing blow.
At which point Laser's body moved of its' own accord.
His Semblance was the manifestation of his soul and an intrinsic part of his being and as such, for fear of precisely what it might say about him as a person the Vaccuan scavenger had kept it as a closely guarded secret; lest it become too attractive to those in the Overspill who might wish to abuse it for cruel ends of, more recently for fear of it rendering him a pariah when the truth of his abilities revolted his friends however in that moment, as he watched the final dregs of his Partners' Aura flicker around her none of those concerns meant anything at all and the wiry teen, easily the least physically capable of threatening of his teen charged. Permadeath remained embedded in the floor behind him and Laser simply extended his hands as he sprinted as fast as his burning, aching muscles would allow; specks of ephemeral light the poisonous greenish-yellow as his Aura began to manifest around Laser's finger tips only to gutter out is they were drawn inwards towards the boys' hands as the phenomenon spread to envelop his palms.
"ERROR, ERROR!" the Hell-Hound shrieked in protest, the machines it had consumed allowing it to see some unknown energy building up and fluctuating around the incoming target in ways that defied science and as the monster shifted its' weight, moving back a single step to brace itself it allowed Diabla to risk a single glance back over her shoulder.
Just as her partner reached her.
"This is only temporary" Laser's wavering, trembling voice had the tone of both a heartfelt apology and sincere promise as he reached down and grasped hold of Diabla's shoulder. The pain of such rough handling of already battered muscles was minute in comparison to the confusion that washed over her as she watched her own fiery Aura travel along Laser's hand and forearm, subtly changing colour until it was the same sickly, vivid colour of his own; that confusion became naked disbelief at what followed. Laser's hands shone with blinding light, illuminated from with like twin suns and as the light began slowly course up and through the wiry boys' arms and shine through the fabric of his clothing Diabla realised that despite the difference in colour the display was intimately familiar.
Her partner was using her Semblance.
With a single, wordless roar that contained more rage than Diabla thought her partner capable of Laser charged, closing the distance between himself and the Hell-Hound almost in a single stride before driving his fist into its' skull with a booming impact which rocked the entirety of Hammerfall Observation Outpost, shattering the visor resting over the monsters eye in a spray of fragments and sending the creature toppling backwards with force and momentum that saw it thrown entirely from the aerial platform.
Laser looked at his own glowing fists, blinking as if seeing them for the first time and managing a single choked, watery chuckle before the pilfered Semblance faded and vanished and, as he swayed on his feet before collapsing to his knees with a strained gasp for air his Aura shattered around him, utterly spent a moment later.
Only for the screams of the mangled, but unbeaten Hell-Hound to fill the air as it came soaring back into view.
Its' body was torn, fractured and sundered in a hundred places or more yet it was already beginning to slowly regenerate, its' wounds closing and shattered bones being forced back into place with a series of stomach-churning snaps and crunches before they could begin to be knitted back together yet the sickening display of its' twisted anatomy was secondary to the way it hovered menacingly in the air and aimed its' cannon at the now defenceless Laser, prompting Diabla to drag herself to her feet in a desperate, stumbling attempt to throw herself in front of her partner.
Yet before she could reach him help finally, miraculously arrived with an explosion of concussive force
"My apologies for the delay!" Yatsuhashi's voice rang out and filled the battered students with fresh hope as the giant of a man came striding into view and unleashed his Semblance; a pulse of pure force bursting from his extended palm and rippling the air as it blasted the Hell-Hound off-course, sending its' shot boring into the wall over a dozen feet away from its' intended target; from there the veteran member of Team CFVY drew his sword and planted himself, steadfast and unmoving in front of his students as he sized up the recovering monster in the air.
"Stay behind me, the survivors are safe. Help is on the way….You've done more than I had any right to ask" with that he gave his focus entirely to the Creature of Grimm hanging in the air yet conversely the monster itself became distracted; its' singular hateful eye narrowing as it picked up fast approaching shapes in the distance which the knowledge it had stolen informed it were almost certainly heavily armed aircraft and transports filled with more Hunters, that same ruthless and ill-gotten cunning and intellect swiftly made a series of calculations and the Hell-Hound let out a scream of rage as it became clear that there was no victory to be gained here.
"TACTICAL RETREAT!" with that the Grimm wheeled around in the air and fled, flames spewing behind it and its' flight becoming a zig-zagging display of inhuman agility as the first incoming missiles from the reinforcements ripped through the air around it; bolstered by the familiar report of Berserker as Wolfram revealed himself to still be conscious, if badly beaten as he perched himself on the damaged armature of the floating outpost and took a series of pot-shots at the passing monster before finally bolting back onto the main body of the outpost towards where Team WULF were regrouping.
"Is everyone okay?" Yatsuhashi asked, voice heavy with worry and regret "I'll have you taken back to the academy for medical immediately"
"I'm not crow bait yet" Ursinia managed to slur out as she was helped into a sitting position by her friends, though it seemed clear from her unfocused gaze that she was likely suffering from a concussion.
"Laser?" Diabla pulled her partner to her feet, touching him gingerly as though she expected to be shocked or stung "Can you stand?"
"Yeah" he managed to croak out, the boys' usual nasal tones replaced by something exhausted and morose; a condition that only amplified as Wolfram limped and staggered closer and looked down at the shorter teen, steely grey eyes inscrutable as he regarded him.
"What the hell did you do?"
Author's Notes?:
Firstly….We've hit 50,000 views on this story on FF Net; so thank you to everyone who has contributed to that.
Secondly, yeah I posted a day early; I've got plans that interrupt my usual schedule.
It was honestly harder than you'd expect to find a name for this chapter, but from the deep works...The Dread-Hulk is from the deep sea and the former Hell-Hound is from the deep web.
Almost 16k words on this chapter….16k words and we're still not done.
As you can see this chapter focused on Team WULF and really just set up the main section of Team MARZ's mission which means next chapter, the penultimate chapter of the second volume is gonna be where we get to the REALLY fun stuff.
But anyway let's summarise, shall we?:
The Major is officially done with this shit today.
And Rowan continues to be a total bitch.
And now we get to see what burst out of the water last chapter…..A giant Hermit Crab Grimm wearing a stack of ships as a shell.
Of course the missing boat is one of them.
Grapeshot's level of decorum is great, he's seen it all and has no fucks left to give about most things; a villain with some class.
That's almost certainly one of the Hell-Hound's packs that Team WULF were fighting.
Diabla leaping over Laser for the Semblance super-punch was almost foreshadowing wasn't it….
Drop kicking someone out of your way is indeed not a combo move, a good introduction to the two characters though.
Ursinia finally getting to use the Adventurer for the job it was made for….And promptly pulling off one hell of a cool combo with Wolfram.
"We assumed as much when we saw that you were on the way back" at the moment they knew, something had gone very wrong.
Wolfram makes a solid point, Yatsu probably wouldn't have brought students along in any other circumstances.
See here Yatsu and Team WULF have some idea of what the Hell-Hound is and are worried about it merging into the outpost like it did with the Desert Claw fight club, but they don't know how smart it is yet.
Team MARZ's scenes were actually gonna be different, the first scene was basically gonna be a briefing and the second scene was gonna be the launch and the fight….I like this way of doing things better, adds a sense of urgency.
Also the Hermit Crab has a name, the Dread-Hulk.
It brings smaller Grimm with it just by its' presence, which is why Team MARZ and FADE are going to be acting alone, the other Hunters and ships are preoccupied….Also, does Remnant have Submarines? I honestly doubt it.
Survivors might sound like a laughable idea but Remnant is a world where ships are built with giant monsters in mind, they absolutely have secured and airtight holds.
Astra is right the fact that they're deploying by using a rail-gun and a giant Schnee Glyph is absolutely fucking insane; but it works.
"Who doesn't have a landing strategy?" somewhere, beyond the mortal realm Jaune is muttering under his breath.
Of course Regalia shouted Cowabunga….Also the Slate siblings landings juxtaposed was fun, we've actually never seen AJ summon constructs before.
Of course there's Grimm on the ship as well….Come on, this is a finale what do you take me for? Amphibious Creeps, they get called Wretches later on.
Last chapter the Hell-Hound noted to itself that the outpost defences can't hurt it, this is why; the fact that it ate one of the outposts' own fighters means that it actually reads as friendly so the automated turrets and shields won't activate.
It was expecting heavier resistance because it didn't know Yatsuhashi had already given an evac order….Of course there still some automatons and wannabe heroes who tried to manually get the guns firing.
And enter the good guys, there was no way Yatsu was gonna let them get dragged into a dogfight.
Wolfram being compared to a young Coco just for the sheer nerve he's got is certainly a complement.
I started this series a long time before we learned Yatsu's canon Semblance and there was a theory years ago about him having some sort of shock-wave type attack after he shattered the ground in Vol.2, so that's what he's got here.
The bickering between Rowan and Carmesi though, if they were students they'd end up fucking.
Rowan's Semblance doesn't fool Grimm, or it only works on visuals and does nothing to disguise sounds and other ways of tracking someone.
Sea Scorpion Grimm….And somehow, in a fucked up twist of fate they're only the third most dangerous monster in this chapter at most.
Of course they started sinking the boat….Whoever it belonged to was cheap about the armour.
So Rowan has her limits like everybody else, now the three villains are heading onto the ship that two teams of Hunters are on and they lost their way back.
I really wanted this fight to be a chance for Laser to shine, hence we brought out his bag of tricks again….Because this kid comes prepared for everything and has very few scruples when it comes to what he'll use.
Okay, that opening series of hits from Diabla was brilliant but she has still absolutely got some issues in regards to self-worth to work through….How many times did she basically write herself off as acceptable losses in this fight?
The Wolfram and Ursinia combo was bad-ass and looked cinematic as hell in my head.
Okay let's talk about Yatsu being absent for this fight, I was actually gonna have him start this scene with Team WULF and Ursinia find the injured survivors when she gets slapped into that wreckage, then he'd leave to start an evac but honestly the fight was already busy enough and adding another Hunter to it was too much and made the Hell-Hound seem almost too strong.
Instead we get Team WULF holding the line from the get go, which they did admirably….Especially Laser, using the catapult like that was hilarious and you know it.
Shame the Grimm can fly though.
I was never gonna let the outpost fall, I've set it up to be too important later….But nothing says I can't damage it to show how smart the Grimm is.
It did indeed get smarter, it can talk now….And no I won't apologise for the way it talks; it's eaten military hardware, jacked itself into a deep-web red-room and been eating the Scrolls of people who were probably watching Youtube, so that's why it talks like that.
Also, Team WULF have figured out exactly what the Hell-Hound's deal is, which means that the rest of the heroes will know by the end of the Volume; putting people on the same page.
Come get some! Is basically Astra's slogan at this point.
They were doing good, really showing what they're capable of but look, any prolonged fight on a wet floor is gonna involve someone falling over.
Eagle Arc showed up and Astra immediately learned to stop chatting shit to more experienced Hunters because it's an established fact in this universe that she is literally one of the most skilled people on Remnant when it comes to using swords, just in a league of her own.
For the big Team MARZ reunion I was actually gonna have Astra and Regalia do their version of the Bumbleby move that they did in initiation but the fight was busy enough already and honestly letting AJ and Hops steal the show like that was fine, it's been a while since Sunriser Cain in full effect….And AJ would have made Nora proud with that finish
Astra low-key salty about their lack of Semblance.
Oh the bickering.
So the Hunters are splitting up….because let's be honest the eight of them together are easily a match for the villains; so let's see how this plays out.
I am not sorry for the Dollar Shave Club reference, not at all.
Once again, Laser's bag of tricks comes in handy.
Oof, Diabla got handled.
Have Jaune and Nora done something like Wolfram and Ursinia's trick before? I feel like they have but I can't remember which fight.
Add "Pro gamer move" to the list of things I am not sorry for.
Wolfram 'Puny God' Ironside.
And we have our first Aura break of the fight, of course the healer goes down first….Gotta have that tension.
Well, it's official Diabla considers them all her friends now; she can't even pretend to be the gruff loner any more.
Her screaming at Laser was honestly kinda warranted here, it really was time to bring out every trick they had.
Also, God DAMN Diabla really did go all in with those last few hits; she was ready to go down swinging.
Really hard to win a Rugby scrum when the other guy is about twelve feet tall and has a pair of jet engines growing from their back though.
"ERROR, ERROR!"….Does a machine such as yourself experience fear?
And there it is, the Semblance that Laser has been hiding….In a world where individuality is so valued and people's super-powers are a manifestation of their soul, this kid can literally jack yours.
But as cool as that was, there's no way Laser actually wins that fight, so instead we get Yatsu ex Machina.
So the Grimm is smart enough to know that it wasn't gonna win that, leaving the outpost to get held up by planes with winches until it can fixed, Team WULF to go and get patched up and several important conversations to be had….All while Team MARZ are taking the Crab Rave meme to new levels.
Thank you to SumoSnipe and Lurkweed for their reviews on the last chapter.
Dad bod Yatsu is the new glasses & bad-ass scar Ren.
Oh yeah, Astra's attitude has been steadily getting worse and it's gonna start costing them.
Not a demand at all, if anything a useful idea that filled a blank space in the plan.
An E.M.P...Or emp if you're a fan of RvB nonsense might do something to the beastie, although exactly how much definitely remains to be seen.
I love how everyone is offering up worse jobs from their own lines of work that would be worse than deck-swabbing...Darlings I work in engineering, I've worked a few other jobs; trust me when I say that if I wanted Felix to be cruel then I would have had him give the kids something properly horrible to do.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.
