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Chapter 37: Crime And Punishment
Following the twin blows to the island Kingdom of Menagerie that the Creatures of Grimm had delivered by both the behemoth Dread-Hulk and its' encroachment on the Capital City of Port Alistair and the attack on Hammerfall Observation Outpost by a lone, sentient monster which had caused significant damage to the anti-gravity research centre and early wanting system Menagerie had been in a state of frantic, if not yet outright panicked activity.
Much of which had required Coco Adel, veteran Huntress and leader of Team CFVY, Headmistress of Breaktide Academy and Councilwoman for Port Alistair to be at its' centre.
Firstly there had been the immediate matter of the security and defences of the city which she and her team-mates had helped to found and had protected since its' very inception; long before the academy was built or Coco had ventured into a role of political leadership. Hunters from all across Remnant, especially those born and raised on the island who had studied elsewhere before Breaktide was completed had returned in order to defend Port Alistair from further attacks, reassuring a populace whose relative comfort and security had made Grimm attacks a rare and thus frightening occurrence; bolstering the ranks of these experienced warriors were specialised squads of local law enforcement who had been seconded to the perimeter defences alongside Fourth and some Third Year students of Breaktide Academy acting with their professors' permission and a sizeable naval contingent formed of privateers employed from various companies who frequented the port city who wished to protect their assets and investments, only for those ships and their crews to be united with a single purpose under the command of Carcharodon Gore whilst repairs on the Nemesis Kharybdis continued through the sheer charisma and overwhelming force of will the Shark Faunus exuded.
With these positives and small victories assured Coco had been able to enter the political arena and use her own unshakeable resolve and fiery oratory in conjunction with the proven and unquestionable results her stewardship of Port Alistair had entailed as well as the overwhelming public support said positive outcomes had earned her in order to begin enacting plans and changes she wished to see. Her primary concern in her political manoeuvring had been to ensure the safety of the common people of Menagerie, something that even with her considerable influence she could not achieve alone; to this end she had convinced her fellow council members that investment in properly maintained and protected transportation networks between the various settlements of the island was long overdue, convincing representatives from many of the disparate cities or collections of towns and their attendant territories which still saw themselves as colonies of their founding Kingdom or independent fiefdoms to some extent to begin turning Menagerie into the truly united Kingdom it purported to be through a series of long-term plans and agreements that would make Menagerie safer to everyone; along with a more immediate call for funding to be reallocated in order to provide the lien required to employ Hunters to protect those crossing the wasteland in the meantime as, whilst Damascus Nero, the New-Vale business mogul who was now responsible for Hammerfall Outpost was acting with haste to see that it was restored to full functionality the fact remained that Menagerie was currently in a dangerous position wherein trade and supply routes could be made impassable by the Creatures of Grimm with relative ease.
With all of this achieved Coco had then turned her attention towards the capture of the rogue Hunters, Major Grapeshot and Carmesi Hueso; explaining as much as she deemed safe to her fellow elected officials to justify why each of them should return to their constituencies, which often acted largely independent of the Kingdom as a whole and begin the process of rooting out the despicable pair, her efforts had likely been in vain however as the Councilwoman for Blackwater Cove, a particularly serpentine example of humanities' worst traits had offered nothing but half-truths and mealy-mouthed platitudes in response which had all but confirmed to Coco that nothing would be done and that the rogue Hunters would be as free to operate in the bleak city as any other villain within its' walls; leaving the Headmistress little choice but to begin contracting Hunters to venture into Blackwater Cove and search for the criminals.
All of that however was only tangentially related to the current whereabouts which Coco's striking and fashionable appearance stood in stark contrast to; namely one of Menagerie's few prisons.
Early in the founding of Menagerie's various settlements the question of how to approach criminal justice had become unavoidable and once it had become apparent to all involved that simply exiling members of the burgeoning communities was an unacceptable answer, as was deporting back to their native Kingdom to be tried there an answer had been decided on. With so many of those flocking to Menagerie to build both the settlements and new lives for themselves being amongst the downtrodden and desperate, especially amongst the Faunus seeking to reclaim their peoples' former homeland it had been almost inevitable that a kinder and more even-handed approach to justice would be implemented; with rehabilitation and a proper reintegration into a functioning society being the primary concern of the correctional system, with each facility being run by the local council whose territory it was a part of, though oversight from the greater council was in place which rendered the entire affair a mercifully far cry from the harsh and often brutal conditions employed by the prisons and labour camps of other Kingdoms.
Though, as Coco noted to herself whilst wrinkling her nose in disapproval, they were still bleak and unwelcoming fortresses.
In order to ensure that the prison, a bastion of negativity by its' very nature, was not overrun by the Creatures of Grimm the 'Grauerstein Correctional Institute of Port Alistair' located in an annexed and walled area beyond the boundaries of the city itself was heavily armed and protected by layers of shields, Hunters on stand by at all times and large artillery pieces and searchlights which swept the skies in addition to razor-wire fences and guards one might expect to see in such a place.
The Headmistress, upon showing her identification and credentials had been escorted inside and through various checkpoints which allowed her to see enough of the drab and impersonal grey walls, stone adorned and reinforced with metal so thoroughly dulled that the two blended almost seamlessly and the stern and regimented, though professional way that the wardens conducted themselves to feel the misery which permeated the very air begin to seep into herself though in some regards she was forced to admit that the severity of the particular wing of the prison she had ventured onto was indeed warranted; this was a maximum security wing for violent criminals with unlocked Auras, where rogue Hunters and those of a similar threat level were held regardless of their gender of length of sentence and kept under even closer surveillance in case the Aura dampening collars each of them wore were ever to fail. It was on this wing that Coco had been led through the visitation area, getting her first look at the prisoners themselves and into an adjacent room where the reason for entire visit waited.
Rowan Oralie.
"You're looking better than I expected you to….No lawyer today?" Coco noted dully as she took a seat opposite the scarlet haired mercenary whose current attire of a drab grey-brown prison uniform adorned with reflective markings on its' torso was less removed from her usual attire than one might have expected. The door was closed and the guards had remained outside, leaving the two women to stare coldly at one another, sizing one another up as though each expected the other to leap over the metal table between them which had been bolted to the floor and strike; with Rowan being the one to break the electric silence first, dark green eyes narrowing as she let out a mirthless chuckle.
"Spare me the routine, the Vaccuans did it better"
"Did they….Or were you just a scared little girl back then?" Coco noted, removing and folding her sunglasses then fiddling idly with their collapsed form whilst regarding the younger woman for a moment before continuing "You're looking at multiple murder charges and conspiracy to commit terrorist acts Oralie; I know some of you like to think Menagerie is the soft touch Kingdom but believe me when I tell you that this will be an entirely different league to the labour camp you did time in as a kid….And there won't be any disgraced Hunters to take you under their wing this time-"
"So you've done your research" Rowan sneered, eye twitching as her fists clenched with an audible popping of knuckles; the Aura dampening collar around her neck buzzing dangerously as her rage built beneath the facade she attempted to maintain "And yet you still haven't managed to figure out that I don't talk to Hunters….You think I would have made it this far if I had?"
"Doesn't look like you've made it very fall at all" Coco noted pointedly, gesturing to the walls around them "And I know better than to offer you some grand chance at redemption or to appeal to your sense of pride or decency by explaining to you what's at stake….But how about revenge, I know you didn't really want to be working with Hunters?"
"You want Hueso and Grapeshot" Rowan laughed, coldly but now with some genuine feeling to it "And here I thought I might be talking to someone worth the effort, think a little bigger-"
"Oh I'm well aware that those two are just pawns like you were" Coco interjected, a calculating look on her face as she hoped that her needling of the redhead would prompt her to reveal something valuable "I just wasn't expecting you to be aware of anything, you don't seem the sort of person that people give valuable information to"
"Cut the shit" Rowan spat acidly, features twisting with spiteful glee as she leaned back in her chair and regarded Coco with an equally calculating and contemptuous glare "You wouldn't be here dealing with me, in person if you didn't need something that you think I have….You don't know where Carmesi and Hueso are hiding and you didn't get anything off of the cargo ship that tells you what they're planning or who they're working for-"
"I have some idea of what they're planning, more than you do I believe….I can't imagine you'd ever make yourself redundant so willingly" Coco ventured, risking an educated guess based on what little she and her colleagues had been able to discern about their foes to throw the redhead off balance "But now you've just told me that you do have useful information, how about you start with the name of-"
"How about you start with what you're offering" Rowan interrupted, wearing a lopsided smirk as she folded her arms across her chest "Revenge? Seriously, that's what you tried to buy me with….Warm fuzzy feelings?"
"They did murder your previous business partner" Coco noted
"Business is business" Rowan shrugged "Are you here to do business or not?"
"I can certainly have any evidence you provide brought to light during your trial….With a possibility of having you cast as an informant in order to have the conspiracy charges dropped" the older woman ground out, deep brown eyes holding more intense anger that her face refused to show with every word to pass her lips which felt like treason; the woman before her had killed Hunters for the perverse entertainment of a group of sadists and then thrown her lot in with those conspiring towards that whilst uncertain could only end in disaster yet, to protect the people she had sworn to Coco forced herself to offer reasonable terms.
Only for Rowan to laugh in her face.
"And then what?" she demanded bitterly "I come right back here, still with multiple life sentences and now everybody knows I'm a snitch; so you can put me on a protective wing and threaten to throw me in Gen-Pop every time you need something, that's your offer? Snitch now and live the rest of your life whoring out your intel for protection….Come back when you want to sit at the adults table Councilwoman"
"I see your time in juvenile detention was harsher than I was led to believe" Coco murmured, realising just how unprepared she had been for the realities of this conversation and that despite the best intentions she was still incapable of relating to someone so thoroughly embittered and entrenched in their positions against the Kingdoms, authority and to a large part society as a whole; with only the second-hand knowledge and understanding the downtrodden and discarded of Remnant that her life with Velvet Scarlatina had afforded her there was no way to properly relate to someone who in all fairness had no reason to care about lives beyond her own.
"For what it's worth" she breathed out, with one last gambit remaining "They'd still be proud of you even now….for all you claim to hate Hunters you still took your teachers' name-"
"We're done here" Rowan's interruption was toneless and dead, the redhead rising to her feet and striding towards the door before Coco could stop her, even if she had made any motion to do so. Instead the Headmistress simply watched as the mercenary gave a single curt nod to one of the pair of guards flanking the doorway, causing the pair to place her in an additional set of restraints and begin marching her back towards her cell-block to ensure that she had no chance to lash out and take hostages in a desperate bid for freedom as she was led through the rows of steel tables where inmates were enjoying fleeting but much needed visits from their loved ones.
As Coco watched Rowan's retreating form and pondered her next move what both she and the captured mercenary failed to notice was just how many conversations paused and heads turned as Rowan passed, a dozen or more pairs of eyes narrowing at the sight of the leader of the so-called 'Boiler Crew'
Despite the fact that it was a Saturday Team MARZ had, despite whatever plans they might have had, found themselves working.
The four teens had persevered through yet another week of lectures, assignments and training sessions which steadily increased in intensity and difficulty as time went on and had intended to spend the weekend like any other, with Athena-Jade and Zirconia almost certainly having plans whilst Astra was torn between offers from both their boyfriend and their partner yet before the Deer Faunus could make a decision on the matter the choice was taken from them by Professor Ruby Rose. Cornering Astra during lunch break the previous day the Grimm Studies Professor and living legend had informed them that in order to make up the credits required for a passing grade after failing their previous training mission they would be accompanying her wife, fellow professor Penny Rose for a small mission first thing Saturday morning and upon receiving this news the leader of Team MARZ had been caught off-guard and pleasantly surprised when their team-mates had each offered to join them, regardless of whether or not it would earn them any extra credit; seeing it as a sign that the questions that had been raised about their leadership abilities were entirely unfounded and that Team MARZ were in fact a more closely knit and unified force than Astra had thought possible upon their founding.
Some of the enthusiasm Team MARZ had shared was soon stripped away however when the nature of the mission was revealed; they would be venturing out to a future settlement that was still in the early stages of construction where progress had been halted at every turn by the attentions of the Creatures of Grimm.
A settlement named Maiden-Gate.
When completed it would be a farming village which Astra supposed would not be unlike the settlement of Stalwart that Wolfram hailed from, though they were yet to see their boyfriends' home in person however currently the place was far from resembling its' intended designs as builders and tradesmen of all varieties toiled in their dozens to ensure that houses and the businesses and infrastructure needed to support them were completed and a perimeter wall with its' attendant defence systems was steadily being erected. It was on the opposite side of this wall that Team MARZ had found themselves as the sun dipped below its' zenith, taking a momentary break from an arduous task of digging trenches to stare out at what lay beyond the fledgeling village itself; miles and miles of soft soil where the desolate and blasted earth of Menagerie's wetlands had been irrigated by means whose speed and seemingly flawless nature rendered them unnatural though the only signs of Maiden-Gate's future as a farming settlement that could be seen at present came in the forms of a huge land-train, which would have appeared mind-boggling in its' size were it not for Team MARZ's familiarity with Clan Aiktishaf and their own travelling home, the vehicle was filled with countless seeds and crops which would form the basis of the settlements' future which was parked just within the limits of the incomplete walls and secondly the landmark for which Maiden-Gate was named; a truly monumental arch of trees and vines which arched high into the air and back into the ground, sprouting dozens of various fruits and flowers regardless of season in a bizarre warping of nature as odd as the things' shape which was rumoured to have been brought about when a colossal worm-like Grimm attempted to attack the settlement in its' earliest days only to be brought down by one of the two women now overseeing Maiden-Gate.
Nickel Polendina, the current Spring Maiden and intended to successor to Penny; though the complexities of the relationship between the two copper-haired androids were not known to the general public.
"Think they'll have us digging all day?" Regalia asked, leaning on the handle of her shovel whilst her expression and tone became hopeful as she continued "I really wanna see that hauler up close….It looks like home, but a lot smaller obviously, heh….it'll be nice, maybe I can upgrade it for them?"
"Maybe" Astra shrugged, scanning their surroundings before casting their own tools down and flopping to the ground with a dramatic huff "I mean they can't have us digging out here all day and still call it training right?….What the hell am I supposed to be learning here other than the fact this place was cheap with its' security detail"
"I can assure that they did not" Zirconia's tone was more steely than her team-mates often heard, a note of genuine annoyance filtering into her usual refined but rasping dryness as she marched over to where Astra now sat
"There are supposed to be fifty of the latest model of Atlas Knight….There was an attack from a Grimm which managed to disable them and delays to shipping have caused problems; Maiden-Gate is not supposed to be undefended"
"Calm down" Astra spread their arms as if to signal that they were not looking for a fight, whilst doing nothing to apologise "Seriously, all I said was….Oh….Never mind, I get it"
"Oh wow Hops, I didn't know your guardian was building this settlement" Athena-Jade chimed in, creating a glyph behind her which she hopped up onto so that she could sit down without dirtying herself, all whilst wearing an amused smile upon realising why her partner was so suddenly defensive and the mistake Astra had made.
"He took on the contract recently….It turns out that the person who previously held it was connected to the Grimm Smugglers, they were possibly using their business as a way to find suitable Grimm; I can promise that my guardian takes the matter of peoples' safety very seriously" the Grasshopper Faunus left that statement to hang in the air, the heinous acts that had possibly been committed and the severity of the risk that those working on the settlements' construction had been placed in causing Astra to squirm uncomfortably until Athena spoke again.
"I mean if it helps, you don't really have to worry about anyone being in danger here….Nickel is basically a team of Hunters on her own"
"Right, I forget you've basically known everyone who's anyone since you were a kid….I never really met Nickel, Felix doesn't like her for some reason" Astra noted with a grin, happy for the opportunity to change the topic of conversation at least somewhat only to be left fiddling with the tips of their Mohawk as they saw the Bear Faunus's expression fall a little.
"Yeah, a lot happened with Nickel when we were both kids; it was complicated"
"Families right" Astra lamented good naturedly, seeing the current largely one-sided and yet still seemingly impassable animosity between themselves and Felix as only the most recent in a continual stream of complications in their own family life; something that allowed the Deer Faunus to bond with their team-mate despite the vast differences in their upbringings.
"You want complicated try me and Jade" Athena laughed bitterly.
"Jade Rangifer, Nickel's girlfriend?" Regalia asked curiously, still leaning on her shovel as she cocked her head in confusion; unable to think of anything out of place or unseemly about the Deer Faunus who was helping to oversee the logistics of Maiden-Gate's construction.
"Yeah….I'm actually named after her" Athena-Jade nodded "She was supposed to be dead….Then she turned up when Salem came back when we were all kids and everything about her was classified….She lived at the Manor with me for a while but I just….It's weird-"
"It seems that all of us have our complicated pasts" Zirconia mused quietly, though adding nothing that might allude to her own history which even now; a sizeable portion of the way through their first year together Team MARZ knew relatively little about. Before Athena could comment on her partners' continual insistence on mystery and allusion Regalia gave an amused chuckle.
"How am I the one with the most straightforward family….My whole clan is one big family and there's still no secrets like this between us" the Racoon Faunus leaned back and stretched, crop top rising enough to show off her sculpted abs before she spoke again "But hey if we're all taking a break how about we get some food….If they've got weird fruit trees like that one then they must have something to eat here"
"I'm not eating anything that comes off of that tree" Astra snorted, though they still rose to their feet "I mean look at the thing, it's-"
They were interrupted by Athena-Jade's Scroll.
"It's Jade, I should probably take this" the Bear Faunus declared, answering the call and putting it on loudspeaker "Hello-"
"Okay kids listen up, you've got incoming"
"Seriously, right as we were about to eat" Astra groaned, though the smirk on their face as they deployed Buckshot Ares betrayed their eagerness "Okay, how many?"
"Two pronged Grimm attack" the voice of Jade Rangifer answered, filled with the wavering uncertainty of one unused to fighting the Creatures of Grimm in person "Big flock of flyers were heading for the water tower on the other side of town, Penny and Nickel are already on it…..Something's heading right for your location; I can't get a fix on it-"
"It might have been the digging on the construction work that attracted it" Regalia noted, frowning as she considered the option.
"We don't have anyone on else to send to cover you" Jade continued "Do you think you'll be able to handle it"
"AJ….Please tell her who we are" Astra laughed "We're Team MARZ, of course we've got this"
"They suck but they're right" Athena snorted in response, sparing the Deer Faunus a scowl as she did so "We'll handle it, tell the workers to bunker down and we'll call in once we're clear"
"Understood" with that the call ended and Team MARZ were free to act, the four of them fanning out into a familiar formation wherein the could cover one another's blind spots whilst the air was filled with the mechanical whirring and clanking of unfurling weapons and a sudden, electric tension that began to set over the area as the group of teens struggled to brace themselves and prepare to face an enemy that steadfastly refused to show itself.
"Where are they?" Athena-Jade whispered, twirling Mould-Breaker in its' hammer form in nervous agitation as the seconds began to tick by with no sign of the promised Grimm assault.
"I don't see anything" Zirconia murmured, mismatched eyes straining as she scanned the horizon.
"Regalia, you got anything?" Astra asked cautiously, the implication that she should use her Semblance unmissable though the nomad did not do as suggested and instead sunk down to one knee and placed a palm against the unusually soft ground as the slightest tremor travelling through it left a wave of fear crashing over her. A moment later another tremor, more prominent than the first shook the ground and Regalia glanced up at her friends with her amethyst eyes wide in sudden fright as she let out a panicked yell in warning.
"LAND-SHARK!" she bolted forwards and tackled Astra to the ground mere moments before something exploded upwards in an explosion of soil and debris.
The Grimm had arrived.
It was mid-afternoon when Ruby Rose and Felix Xiao Long entered Headmistress Coco Adel's office side by side, the pleasant catching up between the pair trailing off as the Lion Faunus fell silent; something of the intimidating character of Coco's office silencing the man as though he were still a student and not a Hunter of renown, the display making his Aunt giggle faintly as she, after knowing Coco for so long was utterly immune to the affect she could impose on others seemingly at will.
"Okay, tell your Mum I'll be there for dinner; I've just gotta talk to Ruby and Felix first" the sound of Coco politely dismissing Fox Scarlatina from her office broke the illusion of sternness a moment later and as the Lion Faunus made his way inside he gave the teenager before him a brief nod of recognition which was quickly returned; Felix took a moment to note just how tall the dark-haired child of Team CFVY had gotten in recent years, an impressive height inherited from his father and made more impressive by the rabbit ears atop his head.
"Damn the kid got big" Felix noted as he and Ruby took their seats, repositioning them so that they could see the screen of Coco's computer in preparation for a video call.
"Yeah he'll be going to college next year….Honestly I'm gonna miss these little study sessions and hangouts we have; it's nice to be the cool parent" Coco gave a warm and wistful smile before turning to Ruby "No Penny today?"
"She's still in Maiden-Gate, she took Team MARZ out there to make up for a failed mission; she'll probably spend a few hours with Nickel….It's good that she's gotten herself together" Ruby answered, prompting Felix's expression to darken into something forlorn and at the same time undeniably angry.
"How's Astra been….the kid hasn't spoken to me sense the mission" he asked with a huff "I knew they'd take it badly but still-"
"Astra's been pretty much the same as always as far as I know" Ruby shrugged, cybernetic eye whirring faintly as her scarred features became thoughtful "Maybe a little quieter, maybe a little more focused but they've always been a good student….But you made the right decision"
"I wasn't doubting the decision" Felix said simply "I just wish they understood why I had to make"
"Oh they do" Ruby assured him "As cool as they want the world to think they are Astra Mars is their own biggest critic….They wouldn't be so upset if they didn't know on some level that you were right"
"Teenagers" Coco snorted, lowering her sunglasses as she regarded the aunt and nephew for a moment "I'm sure we could spend hours talking about the teenage compulsion to be the coolest person in the room and the mistakes it causes but it'll have to wait, Qrow is expecting us"
"I look forward to that thesis from you" Felix flashed a grin which displayed overlong canine teeth and prompted Coco to roll her eyes before initiating the video call which was swiftly answered; the grey, bearded and chair-bound form of Qrow Branwen flickering into view a moment later.
"Hey" he greeted them tiredly, his demeanour having the air of someone who had neglected sleep for some time which given the mans' propensity for throwing himself into his work was not unlikely; though given the importance of the work that each and every member of their shadowy coalition was undertaking none present could bring themselves to chide or criticise him for it.
"Just calling in for our regular progress report….Or lack of progress as the case may be" Coco's tone took on an uncommonly petulant edge as she lamented said lack of progress that had been made towards their goals, something which Qrow picked up and moved to correct.
"Your political arm-twisting made the news in Vale" he chuckled "I wouldn't say you haven't achieved anything, I think every kid going into politics wants to be like you on some level and that's making a lot of lazy fat-cats very nervous"
"Well that's something at least" Coco gave a feral smile at the notion, being emulated was something she had been accustomed to since Team CFVY had first competed in the Vytal tournament as students though hearing about it in this context was especially gratifying.
"And on another positive" she continued with a slight sigh "Wherever Damascus Nero came from he's a different breed of big money….Repairs on Hammerfall are actually ahead of schedule; still with the outpost being damaged there's been no progress on finding the Alpha Geist, or whatever it's turned itself into by now"
"We'll find it and we'll be ready" Ruby murmured.
"Kiddo's right" Qrow nodded, a pensive look crossing his features before he added "And on the subject of Chairman of Nero, I did a little digging….I thought it would be smart to look into the man buying up so many companies, he's got a lot of financial and political clout right now"
"Did you find anything?" Coco asked, sudden apprehension and expectation being brushed aside by a simple shake of the head from the older veteran Hunter.
"By all accounts he's an upright guy who wants to help Remnant" Qrow answered finally "Gives away a lot of his Lien, undercharges for a lot of humanitarian work. He doesn't act like the typical aristocrat because he isn't one, he's just a guy who made it big after the war but wants to stay out of the limelight….Which is understandable considering how the press reacts anytime they say his adopted daughter out with Weiss's little girl. Honestly, when things blow over it might even be worth arranging a face to face meeting with him"
"That could provide us with a lot of useful information and resources" Felix murmured, speaking up only briefly as he turned over the information his Great-Uncle had just imparted on them and finding the privacy that this Chairman Damascus Nero favoured to be no more unreasonable that that which his own mothers' had insisted upon; Blake had done everything she could to keep the press from hounding Felix and his sister as children after all.
"Anything on our puppet-master?" Coco asked, intruding upon Felix's thoughts and earning herself another shake of the head from Qrow; though this one was more gruff and carried an air of annoyance despite the silence.
"Damn it" she hissed through clenched teeth "I spoke to Rowan Oralie today….She's not gonna crack, not the way things are right now. We've got nothing to leverage against her"
"All we know for certain is that it's something big" Ruby lamented "And the fact that she's still not talking after so many people involved in the Grimm fight club in the wasteland were arrested tells us that whoever we're looking for is someone else entirely"
"I took some of the hard-drives out of the cargo ship that we captured Rowan on" Felix spoke up "Eagle's busy helping with repairs on the Nemesis Kharybdis but she's still trying to get anything useful from them….No luck so far"
"She'll do it" Qrow gave a fond grin at the mention of his daughter "She's like her mother, stubborn as all hell and a genius"
"But we've still got our backs against a wall though" Coco gave a dejected and annoyed huff as she leaned forward massaging her temples.
"We just don't have the people to be everywhere at once" she continued "Menagerie's Hunters are stretched thin right now, we've got no idea who we're up against, where the sentient Grimm is, where Grapeshot and Hueso are or what they're planning….The Hunters I contracted to look for them in Blackwater Cove have gone off the grid; I don't know why or if they're okay. The police are swamped right now, they've managed to catch so many of the bit players from different gangs-"
"That's a good thing right?" Ruby noted.
"But no leaders….And now the entire legal system is bogged down" Coco continued "They're still ten steps ahead of us….Whoever they are"
The cold and harsh reality of that final statement was a stark warning that could not be denied by anyone present.
The Land-Shark was a truly monstrous and ferocious Creature of Grimm whose terrifying appearance was worthy of the name it had been given.
At roughly twenty feet in length the beast was in fact a relatively small example of its' kind and was far less massive than those which Regalia's people had encountered across their generations of travelling deserts and wasteland however that meant little in the current battle.
The overall appearance of the Grimm was largely as one might expect, an elongated and writhing mass of coiled and powerful muscle which resembled the oceanic apex predator it was named for however the ways in which it differed only served to make the thing more monstrous; much of its' jet black hide was covered with dust-stained plates of overlapping bone armour which almost resembled an insectoid carapace and whilst swept back fins adorned the tail and back of the Land-Shark in place of ventral or pectoral fins it boasted three pairs of legs spaced along the length of its' underside, wide-set things which left the body of the Grimm slung low to the ground and ending in claws tipped with shovel-like protrusions. The skull of the Land-Shark was also adapted for its' lifestyle of burrowing beneath the ground whilst somehow leaving no trace or warning of its' ambushes; appearing like that of a hammerhead shark yet sporting two elongated structures on which multiple eyes were mounted, arranged in a way that gave its' skull an X shape whilst also being slightly angled back to give the appearance of some terrible drill or other implement with a mouth lined with dozens of rows of teeth designed for rending through flesh and armour set just below.
Beyond an appearance that induced the most primal and visceral kind of fear the Land-Shark was also, as Team MARZ had come to learn, dangerously fast.
"GUYS HEADS UP!" it was Athena-Jade's voice that called out in frantic warning as the Bear Faunus used the Dust booster within her hammer to fling herself up and onto the relatively safety of a freshly conjured glyph as the Grimm which had just surged through their position wheeled around for another charge, letting out a low and rattling snarl as it did so.
"Get clear!" Astra yelled, sea-green eyes wide as they looked around urgently for anywhere to take cover whilst also continuing to keep the Land-Shark away from the unfinished perimeter wall of Maiden-Gate. Above them a shimmering glow began to fill the air as Athena brought more glyphs into existence for her team to leap to safety, with Zirconia leaping directly onto one of them and Regalia using the ubiquitous harpoon component of her weapon to pull herself clear of danger. Astra however had no such options available to them despite the multiple functions of their own weapon and had no similarly useful Semblance at their disposal which left them floundering for a few moments until they were forced to accept that they would need to form a different plan and do so quickly.
To that end Astra, as they often found themselves doing of late chose to be obstinate and relentless.
"Come get some!" the words left them in a thundering war-cry as they retracted the blades and Gatling guns of Buckshot Ares as they sprung into motion, charging directly towards the incoming mass of fangs and darkness while holding their shields directly in front of them; the twin weapons interlocking as their hard-light shield generators sprung into life and cast a wall of rose-tinted and impassable hexagonal panels ahead and around of the Deer Faunus.
Astra and the Land-Shark met and the soft soil was flung out in all directions with a ground-shaking impact as the monster tore into the space it expected its' prey to be only for the Faunus to leap upwards and throw themselves into a somersault, slamming the incorporeal surface of their shield down onto one of the four angled protrusions sprouting from the Grimm's skull and using the resistance of the hard-light plane against the streamlined and resilient hide of the monster to launch themselves over and behind it, landing in a crouch and rolling around to face the Land-Shark once again as it come skidding to a halt, tearing a trench into the ground as it did so. Dropping their shield and unfurling their weapons again Astra aimed and fired without hesitation, a hailstorm of bullets ripping into the Grimm and everything around it yet doing little if anything to slow it as it lurched into motion once again, clawed limbs tearing through the earth as it rushed forward with terrifying momentum.
"ASTRA GET UP HERE!" Regalia called down to her partner, giving them just enough time to glance upwards and see the rest of Team MARZ acting in tandem to come to their aid. The sound of of Sunriser Cain announcing itself rang out through the air as Zirconia aimed and fired her weapon, Hard-Light and Ice Dust combining to form a solid-plane which hung in the air for a few moments before falling; giving Astra the briefest moment to spring into action and use the shimmering, translucent surface to vault higher into the air and grasp the harpoon of Apex Scavenger which allowed Regalia to pull them up to safety and as all of this was happening Athena-Jade shifted Mould-Breaker into its' laser cannon form and fired from the hip, sending a cracking beam of ephemeral green light hurtling into the path of the Land-Shark.
At which point the Creature of Grimm evaded it.
"What the fuck" Astra murmured, jaw hanging slack as they watched the beast writhe and thrash to avoid the searing lance of light before its' body curled back over itself at a painful angle and the Grimm began to burrow below the surface of the soil, head rotating with the rest of its' body in tow in a drilling motion whilst its' clawed limbs pushed the ground apart yet the entire time all the Deer Faunus could focus on was the way the body of the Land-Shark changed; its' armoured carapace seeming to soften to an almost protean state which explained how the thing managed to move so silently and stealthily beneath the ground.
"It's got a liquid body!" Astra exclaimed, turning to Regalia incredulously "You've seen them do that before and didn't think to mention it?"
"Sorry!" Regalia raised her hands apologetically "My people try not to get close to them if we know there's one in the area….That one's small, they can grow to four times the length-"
"Seriously?" Astra's eyes widened, the notion of such a horror dwelling on the island momentarily robbing them of their ability to be irritable.
"We need a plan" Zirconia interjected sternly.
"She's right" Athena added through gritted teeth "I can't hold these glyphs up all day"
"Okay" Astra said quietly, entire body becoming rigid as their sea-green eyes seemed to shine with intense concentration; the Deer Faunus feeling some of their rattled confidence return to them as a plan began to take shape.
"Okay" they repeated more confidently "This thing's not too different to what we dealt with during initiation….We're missing a few people but we can make it work. Zirconia, when it resurfaces can you trap it in your Semblance? AJ put some glyphs around it to keep it in place-"
"That sound needlessly risky" Athena glanced worriedly between her team leader and partner, relenting only slightly when Zirconia gave a single nod.
"Phantasmagoria won't hold it alone but Athena's glyphs should suffice"
"Okay then-NOW!" Astra's tone turned frantic as the Land-Shark burst from the ground once more directly beneath them, unable to quite reach the Hunters and in the instant its' body thudded against the soil once more Zirconia leapt down from the glyph she had been perched on, weapon at the ready and mismatched eyes fading to pure black as she began to activate her Semblance; a dome of darkness that not even Faunus senses could pierce enveloping them both which was quickly encased in a ring of circular glyphs.
"Okay Regalia, when ever you're ready!" Astra called out before leaping off of the edge of their own glyph, secure in the knowledge that their partner understood. The Racoon Faunus showed why that trust was well-placed as she fired her harpoon for her partner to catch it and then, in an exceptional display of strength swung Astra in arc that sent them crashing down on a collision course for the peak of the dome Zirconia's Semblance created; the Deer Faunus once again readying their Hard-light shields and this time preparing to use them, along with their own body as a blunt object with which to crush the Grimm.
And then the Land-Shark did something unexpected.
Rather than allow itself to be corralled and distracted by Zirconia the thing instead burst upwards from the veil of darkness as though it were simply another substitute for a sea to terrorise with its' jaws spread wide, forcing Astra to hastily correct their course which saw them batted through the air by the beast and sent crashing to the ground once again whilst Regalia was forcefully ripped from her own aerial perch and bought down to the mercifully soft earth; seeing her team brought down Athena opened fire with Mould-Breaker once again as she leapt to the ground in an effort to distract the Land-Shark though it was to no avail; the hammer-headed abomination had locked its' gaze on Regalia and began surging towards her at full tilt.
"I DON'T THINK SO!" Astra's voice cracked as they deployed the blades and guns of Buckshot Ares and charged without thought, seeing that for all of their quick thinking there was nothing to be done except simple decisive action in the form of rushing at the armoured flank of Land-Shark with guns blazing, a storm of bullets chipping away fragments of stained bone yet doing nothing to slow the frenzied and single-minded monster even as Regalia herself blasted her shotgun into its' snout.
Then, when the situation seemed to be at its' bleakest something inexplicable happened.
The ground exploded once more, yet this time it was not the Land-Shark that emerged from below; instead a single tree, its' thick trunk already wreathed in barbed and gnarled vines even as it formed and grew at impossible pace erupted upwards from the ground directly beneath the monster and punctured through its' unprotected underside before bursting up from its' back at a point between its' skull and dorsal fin, hefting the Grimm several feet into the air where if finally perished, body fading away as fast as the killing blow had come.
"What?" Astra demanded, too baffled to add any emotion at all to their words as they simply gawped at the still growing tree, weapons retracting and collapsing onto forearms that hung limp at their sides for several moments before they managed to find words again "Regalia are you okay?….And does anybody know what just happened?"
"That was Nickel" Athena breathed out slowly as Team MARZ regrouped, tentatively checking themselves and one another over for injuries "That's why they don't need a full team of Hunters here full time she's….Oh, hi Aunt Penny"
"Salutations!" the familiar greeting caused Astra, along with the rest of Team MARZ to turn and face the approaching form of the copper-haired woman who had brought them to the settlement of Maiden-Gate; each of them catching a brief glimpse of Nickel Polendina perched on the perimeter wall which had thankfully not been breached, the younger android having dyed her hair a mixture of black and striking green whilst dressing in a style that took obvious cues from famous Huntresses such as Ruby Rose and Coco Adel though the most prominent thing about her in that moment were the twin contrails of green fire which sparked and spat erratically as they spewed from her eyes.
"Professor" Astra nodded in recognition, dragging their attention back to their immediate surrounding "Sorry the place got a little trashed but-"
"Nothing that can't be fixed" Penny waved their concerns aside "Team MARZ performed admirably, your quick thinking kept the Grimm at bay until we could assist you and you kept the perimeter from being breached, thus keeping civilians safe. Astra I think it's safe to say that you've earned the necessary credits, which is sensational news….Now I think it's time for you to return to the academy"
"Good job!" Regalia congratulated her partner enthusiastically, patting them on the shoulder as the four of them began to trudge through the mud after Penny, each of them shooting glances that ranged from awed to mildly perturbed in the direction of the clearly immensely powerful Nickel Polendina until Astra finally spoke.
"It was a team effort" they shrugged sullenly.
"What's wrong?" Regalia asked, taken aback by her partners' apparent lack of what felt like the proper amount of excitement.
"Upset that Nickel got the drop on the Land-Shark?" Athena noted slyly "I get it, I mean look I know I'm competitive too but-"
"I'm pissed that the plan didn't work" Astra huffed, pausing for a second before correcting themselves "Or….That I wasn't enough. I need to figure out my Semblance, I need to get stronger or it's gonna get to a point where I'm just holding you all back-"
"Nobody thinks that" Regalia gasped, aghast at the notion.
"Plenty of people never unlock their-"
"I'm not plenty of people" Astra muttered bitterly "Felix went off on me about how he needed the version of me that plans ahead and thinks up cool plans….That me nearly just got us all eaten by a Land-Shark. Looks like I was right, we need the version of me that gets shit done"
Each of Team MARZ shared worried glances at that, all of them worried for their friend and the attitudes they seemed to be adopting yet none of them quite sure how to broach the subject with them.
Gestalt-Prime had spread its' pack far and wide across Menagerie.
Once the newfound intellect that had come with its' ascension to the status of a truly sapient and self-aware being had truly taken shape the monstrous hybrid Grimm had gathered the scores of monsters of lesser beasts under its' command to itself, reasserting its' dominion over their primal and animal minds and imposing its' will upon them, commanding them with language and mannerisms pilfered from the various sources that the Alpha monster had taken into itself being bolstered by a subconscious mental link between the pack-mates, a connection which had made the lesser Beowolves marginally more intelligent simply by being in the presence of their Alpha.
The command that Gestalt-Prime had given had been a simple one, the packs of Beowolves had been instructed to search however it was what they had been sent out across the island in all directions, overcome by the compulsion to scour it from end to end, across wastelands, mountains and plains to find that displayed the intelligence of their leader.
Where a more common Alpha Beowolf, or in truth the beasts own instincts would have seen the packs prowling in search of wandering travellers to worry or settlements small enough to be overrun or Gestalt-Prime's previous, lesser mode of thinking might have sent them out in search of similar or perhaps even the same prey to feed the hybrids' own insatiable urge to consume and re-establish a connection with CCT the thinking horror had instead managed to overcome its' base urges and instead had sent its' minions out in search of other Grimm. Gestalt-Prime understood, from knowledge torn out of the depths of the military aircraft it had consumed that to enact its' larger plans and to have any hope of overwhelming the larger settlements on Menagerie or further afield it would need more Creatures of Grimm at it's disposal, a simple volume of biomass to be controlled and directed by its' own mind for the purpose of pushing the Grimm forward.
That was not to say that the hybrid Alpha had learned restraint.
Currently Gestalt-Prime perched upon a heap of stacked boulders which formed something of a raised platform from which to address its troops, such as they were. Deep gouges had been cut into the uppermost rock by the claws of the monster though they remained unseen as its' ragged and flattened tendrils and its' serpentine tail wrapped around its' form to create the illusion of a deep black shawl and cloak whilst its' mechanical wings, twisted metal laced with obsidian veins and muscle had twisted forwards to lay over the shoulders of the beast in a bizarre parody of a roosting bird; the entire display being made all the more unseemly by the low, canine whines that escaped its' fanged maw as it shuddered uncontrollably in a manner that would be recognised by recovering addicts.
The shivering and whimpering halted as the sound of several pairs of padded paws thudding rhythmically against blasted earth filled the air.
Returning to full consciousness Gestalt-Prime's optic visor flared with diffused blood-red light that shone in the gloom and long-shadows cast by the steadily setting sun; gifting the intelligent monster with an even more imposing appearance as it spread its' wings wide before swooping down to land before its' returning minions, a pack of less than a dozen snarling Beowolves that pawed at the ground and snarled in agitation, a pack which had boasted more members upon its' departure which in itself piqued Gestalt-Prime's interest as the hybrid Alpha had willed the lesser beasts not to seek out violence or bloodshed, overwhelming their own natural state of being through supreme effort and force of will.
"Come get y'all juice!" the towering, many-limbed horror declared in a shrieking tone that somehow managed to sound almost pleased despite its' inhuman nature; the words being followed by a blur of motion as its' claw and fang laden tendrils, resembling some deep sea or prehistoric flatworm lashed out and seized the largest of the returning Beowolves and sunk into the bony armour encasing its' skull before lifting the howling and agonised lupine monster several feet into the air. Despite the intelligence and powers of speech and comprehension that Gestalt-Prime had developed the lesser Beowolves were not yet so far removed from their origins and the hybrid Alpha was forced to physically and psychically prise the information from the mind of the simple monster, favouring a direct transfer of information to the process of reaching out through the web of neural connections that formed the tattered remnants of what had once been a shared consciousness between all Grimm; as the information that the returning pack had gleaned was absorbed however the flow of consciousness flowed, albeit slowly in the other direction which allowed the suspended and pained Beowolf to physically grow, slab-like musculature growing more prominent whilst bone spines protruding from its' back lengthened to signal that the Beowolf had been brought to the cusp of becoming an Alpha in its' own right.
"Let's get into the review" Gestalt-Prime mused, discarding its' minion and rapidly processing the information it had received whilst cross-referencing against what was already known and what could be inferred, strategies and predicted outcomes being formed and refined in a matter of moments as the single Cyclopean eye beneath its' visor flickered and dimmed for several seconds.
"You've done well" Gestalt-Prime's visor glowed brighter in the encroaching darkness "Is the location secure?" the Beowolf that had been hoisted and mauled by its' master nodded in an oddly human way as it sat on its' haunches in utter, unnerving silence.
"Hammerfall Observation Outpost will still be undergoing maintenance. Hunters combat effectiveness will be limited….We must act quickly" the hybrid Alpha snarled, its' voice thoughtful "We must act quickly, scout ahead and rejoin your pack whilst I rally the others….Starting the hype train now!" with that Gestalt-Prime launched itself into the air, trails of fire and smoke erupting from its' wing-tips as it took flight and streaked off into the darkening skies.
Were its' thoughts not preoccupied with what had been found and what needed to be done the hybrid Alpha might have noticed the way that the largest Beowolf, whose thoughts had been pillaged gave a sloppy and yet still recognisable salute before carrying out its' orders.
Team MARZ had returned to Breaktide Academy and, owing to the fact that the defence of Maiden-Gate had been intended for Astra alone Athena-Jade had found herself freed from the usual burden of the debriefing process; though the bear Faunus had still let out a groan of annoyance upon being ushered by her Aunt Penny towards the medical wing to be checked over by nurse Kitsune, the copper haired android making several comments about combat readiness and squishy guts as she insisted the students under her care take proper care of themselves.
Once freed of the discomfort and tedium administered by the fox Faunus who acted as the Chief Medical Officer for Breaktide Academy Athena had ventured into the sauna attached to the campus's gym, willing to admit that the heat and steam seemed to do some good for her aching muscles despite being raised in the frosty climate of Atlas making such humidity and temperature difficult to handle even as her recovering Aura tended to the bruises she had collected fighting the land-shark. Once finished and with her stained but thankfully undamaged combat gear exchanged for a comfortable pair of sweatpants and hoodie bearing the name and emblem of the academy the short but muscular teen had glanced out at the darkening skies beyond the windows and began contacting her friends to see what plans had been made of the remainder of their Saturday evening.
Astra and Regalia were, almost predictably joining Team WULF and a sizeable group of other students from all year groups in a common area located near the third year students' dorms and whilst the idea admittedly had some appeal Athena had eventually declined it on account of her own tiredness making her unwilling to deal with any potential snide comments from Diabla Fuego.
Which when phrased that way sounded less embarrassing to Athena than simply admitting that the Mantle-born brawler still scared her somewhat.
Instead the bear Faunus had sought out her partner and upon finding Team MARZ's dormitory empty had ventured onto the roof of the tower in which the dorm was located, to the spot which Athena and Zirconia often found themselves, the bear Faunus listening to her partner play violin only for the mysterious girl to still be absent.
Wandering across the roof of the academy and using her glyphs to propel herself from tower to tower and onto the various bridges spanning between them Athena had absently managed to cross much of the campus without realising as she pondered where her missing partner might be only for her attention to be caught by the sound of nearby gunfire, coming to a halt and straining her keen ears she soon realised that the sound was coming from the outdoor training area whose bleachers Astra often loitered on, though the computerised voice being carried by the faint breeze in the rapidly cooling night air could only belong to Sunriser Cain and within moments Athena-Jade had begun jogging towards the training area, using her glyphs to descend down to ground level and all the while utterly unsure of why she had begun to hurry.
Within a few minutes she had entered the familiar coliseum like structure and come skidding to a halt, momentarily caught off-guard by the sight of Zirconia weaving around the hard-light representations of several Creatures of Grimm; weapon flashing out in a series of blindingly fast attacks.
"You weren't satisfied with the Land-Shark?" Athena found herself asking by way of greeting as she slowly made her towards the raised stage on which practical lessons too large in scope for a classroom were conducted; her arrival causing the Grasshopper Faunus to falter only momentarily before whirling around and taking the legs of a faux-monster out from beneath it with a low sweep of her weapon before speaking aloud.
"End simulation" with that the hard-light elements of the illusion faded away as generators scattered around the arena powered down and swarms of minute nanobots returned to their storage points as the forms they had assumed lost coherency in a cascade of metallic shimmering. Zirconia stared down at her partner from her raised vantage point and upon seeing that her signature cape-like scarf had fallen from around her lower face to reveal a confident smile that reached her pale pink and orange eyes Athena-Jade couldn't help but return the expression with one of her own.
Her partner was after all, incredibly cool and it was a pleasure to watch her work.
"What're you doing out here….And do you need help?" she asked, vaguely wondering where the oddly random, if still correct thought had come from.
"I think I'm finished" Zirconia answered quietly, her usual rasp slightly breathy which indicated how far she had pushed herself already before she brushed locks of raven-black hair from her face and pointed towards the control terminal for the arena where Athena quickly spotted a notably expensive and high-end laptop which she quickly recognised as belonging to her partner, owing to both the Grasshopper Faunus's personal emblem being etched into its' casing and several stickers that adorned it.
"It wasn't myself I was testing" Zirconia continued "Or at least not my swordplay….It's been a while since I've programmed anything, I wanted to see if I'd lost my touch so I finished off a training simulation I was working on a while ago while you were in the sauna"
"That sounds awesome, I'll have to try it out sometime" Athena beamed with open pride before her expression shifted to one of almost nervousness "I keep forgetting that you program though….I mean, it kinda doesn't fit the whole 'Brooding Rogue' thing you've got going on?"
"A rogue has to have some tricks and secrets, we can't rely on charm alone" Zirconia shot back in a purposefully dull monotone that left Athena-Jade laughing hysterically and yet at the same time wondering exactly why her stomach had almost lurched with those words and her cheeks suddenly felt warm. The bear Faunus was freed from her musings by Zirconia quickly collecting her belongings and hopping down to ground level with her usual poise and grace to stand beside her partner.
"You came looking for me" she noted "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No….No I'm good, more than good….just tired" Athena sputtered out, suddenly rendered an empty shell of her usual confident self under the gaze of her partner before taking a moment to master herself "I mean, I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight?"
"It's getting late isn't it?" Zirconia noted pointedly "The only places we could reasonably go to right now would almost certainly lead to photos of us ending up in the tabloids again" Athena balked at that, the idea of fresh waves of insinuations about the pair of them being more than friends and partners doing something to her that she couldn't quite put into words, though it was not exactly an unpleasant notion, which in of itself managed to catch her off-guard.
"I didn't mean go into the city" she finally answered, realised she'd been standing in silence like an idiot for too long "I just didn't really want to hang out with everyone else right now….It's been a long day, it'll be too loud and too hectic"
"Agreed" Zirconia nodded slowly "Especially if Wolfram convinces everyone to put a soccer game on….How those chants are allowed is beyond me"
"They're….obscene" Athena gasped out, recalling several particularly spirited and vulgar examples before returning her focus to Zirconia "So….Maybe we can just hang out in the dorm, maybe watch some of your favourite anime, I haven't seen some of them yet….And I always like hearing you play the theme-songs on your violin when they get stuck in your head afterwards"
"You are too kind to me" Zirconia murmured, the hint of a laugh coloured her rasping yet refined voice as the smile tugging at her lips widened and caused her mismatched eyes to shimmer with mirth and faint mischief; the taller and more slender of the two young women began to make her way back towards the bulk of the campus, clearly intending to take Athena up on her suggestion and the bear Faunus soon began to follow after her whilst debating whether she should visit the canteen first or order food on her scroll.
Though not before staring after Zirconia for several seconds before coming to her senses and wondering what was wrong with her.
Team WULF had gathered with Astra, Regalia and several other students in one of many common areas scattered throughout the campus not, as the absent members of Team MARZ had feared to watch a soccer match between teams hailing from Menageries' various settlements but instead for something that would perhaps go on to become even more rowdy and uncivilised in a uniquely comedic way as the night went on.
A video game tournament followed by a movie night to serve as a cheap and enjoyable weekend, though fast food had already been delivered and alcohol had been covertly brought onto the campus, regardless of how lax Headmistress Adel was in upholding her own stated policies on the matter.
Currently it was Laser sat before the large screen mounted on a wall which the console had been attached to, the vibrant blonde teen having surprised the older student he was competing against by not only being so skilled at the game despite the abject poverty of his upbringing him giving little opportunity to experience such luxuries but also the fact that he had produced a customised controller from one of his countless pockets in the kind of comical display of preparedness that the rest of Team WULF had long since come to accept as the norm. Ursinia and Diabla were sat close by, with the Mantle-born brawler looking for more at ease in such social situations of late and though she still sported a textbook on her lap which she was careful not to stain as she ate she had removed the lightweight tactical armour that often covered her torso, unfastening the top two buttons of her shirt and adjusting her pants' braces which gave her an unmistakable air of quiet comfort that would once have seemed out of place. Elsewhere in the common room Regalia was experimenting with various combinations of fast food with fellow students whose drinking may have left them a little worse for wear, the Racoon Faunus adding small amounts of the impossibly bitter and spicy weeds which grew in the wasteland that were prized by Clan Aiktishaf to the concoction in order to entertain herself as she waited for the movie night to started so that she could immerse herself once more in what was, in her humble opinion the greatest thing the Kingdoms had ever created.
Astra sat away from the all, curled in a chair in a corner towards the rear of the common area and wearing a scowl as they debated if they should have come to the gathering at all.
"Hey" Wolfram's low voice was little more than a whisper as he perched on the arm of Astra's seat and pressed a non-alcoholic drink into their hand.
"Hey" Astra mumbled, barely meeting their boyfriends' gaze.
"Didn't know if you wanted anything stronger" Wolfram continued with a snort "I mean it looks like you're going through it and a beer or two might make it easier to talk about it right?"
"I'm fine" Astra continued to mumble, brushing the peach fuzz at the side of their skull where fiery red dye had failed to reach "Just sore and tired….That Land-Shark took it out of me"
"You took on a Land-Shark?" Wolfram mouthed slowly "Those things get up to fifty feet! That's-"
"This one was only about twenty….And Regalia said they get up to about eighty"
"Well she'd know, the nomad clans probably see more of 'em" Wolfram shrugged, unable to keep himself from letting out a huff of slight annoyance at the short and blunt treatment he was getting "Come on talk to me, what's up….I know I always bitch and whine about having to be in people's business but it's different when it's you"
"That's….Actually really sweet" Astra's downcast and dejected expression immediately brightened into a brief, yet genuine smile as the moved over in their seat enough to allow Wolfram to share it with them, draping their legs over his lap.
"So…." Wolfram trailed off expectedly.
"I tried to do something like we did during initiation on the Land-Shark" Astra started with a sigh, fidgeting uncomfortably as they discussed their perceived shortcomings "Y'know pin the Grimm and use Regalia's harpoon and my shields to crush it….Kinda based that move on something my old teacher used to do with her partner-"
"The Bumblebee, yeah I've seen it before" Wolfram nodded in understanding as the technique was relatively famous "It didn't work?"
"Had to get our asses saved by Professor Penny Rose and her….I don't know, little sister I guess?"
"So you're upset 'cos a plan didn't work?" Wolfram arched an eyebrow, trying not to allow himself to smirk and make a comment about the Deer Faunus sulking only to become more serious as Astra's expression darkened again.
"I'm upset 'cos I should have fucking had that" their tone was snappish even though their voice wasn't raised "I mean the mission was supposed to be on my own, which means the Professors thought I could handle it alone….Three people helping me and I still needed a teacher to finish the job for me; that's pathetic and I need to get my shit together"
"Come on, it was one bad day" Wolfram countered, the high standards he expected of himself and his team allowing to empathise with Astra's plight and anger greatly, yet still he couldn't still idly and listen to them tear at themselves.
"I'm having too many bad days lately" they lamented "Look my weapons are great and I've pulled off some good plans but I need a Semblance….It's like I'm fighting with one hand tied behind my back until I can figure it out; look at the stuff everyone else can do"
"If you don't feel like the Professors are helping you get to where you need to be" Wolfram pondered aloud slowly and cautiously, ideas forming in his mind making him uncharacteristically uncertain even as he voiced them "Is there nobody you could talk to about it, your old teacher? Your bro-"
"I don't wanna talk to Fluff-Felix about this" Astra faltered, feeling uneasy using their brother's nickname in their absence given the state of their current relationship "And my old teacher was one of his adopted Mums….I'm just gonna have to tough this out and handle it myself"
"The teamwork specialist having to do things on their own? That's not right" Wolfram shook his head, draping an arm over Astra's shoulders as he looked around before letting out a sharp whistle to get attention "Laser! Come here a sec!" the smallest and weediest member of Team WULF let out a wordless groan before passing his personal controller off to another student and making his way across the common area.
"You need something?" he asked, nasal and slightly whining tone shorter and more blunt than usual; as though something Astra was unaware of had happened between Laser and Wolfram.
"Yeah" the taller and more muscular young man nodded, playing with his smokey blue-grey hair in a gesture inadvertently picked up from Astra "Astra's trying to work on figuring out their Semblance and I thought….I mean Astra, Laser's Semblance-"
"Wolfram thinks my Semblance would help you unlock yours" Laser interjected, vivid yellow-green eyes narrowing "It won't work"
"You're sure?" Wolfram asked, momentarily willing to overlook the tone that his team-mate was using with him; helping Astra taking precedence over responding to the slight against his pride.
"You're not the first person to ask me for this" Laser snorted irritably before glancing as Astra and seeing that the Deer Faunus plainly had no idea what was being discussed in front of them "My Semblance lets me borrow other peoples' Semblances in some cases….But it won't work for this, I can't copy a Semblance that you haven't already unlocked or find any extra features to Semblance people haven't developed yet….I can copy what you know, not the final form"
"It's cool….But thanks for the help anyway"
"It's fine, thank Wolfram….He's the one who offered" Laser's voice held an unmistakable sneer as he and the leader of Team WULF locked eyes for a moment before Laser turned and slunk away, leaving Wolfram silently seething for a moment, resolving to resolve the matter later before turning his focus back to Astra.
"Okay so that's that plan out the window….See this is why we need your planning, mine doesn't work as well" Wolfram chuckled as he pulled Astra a little closer "So new idea….I'll help you figure out your Semblance the same way the garrison at Stalwart helped me learn mine?"
"What's that?" Astra asked, apprehension and hope battling one another.
"Good old fashioned hard work and ass-kicking" Wolfram answered with a grin and something in his tone that reminded Astra that their boyfriend's upbringing was almost exactly as rural as Ursinia's despite his lack of her distinctive country accent.
"Thanks….It really means a lot" Astra found themselves smiling as they repositioned themselves so that they could sit on Wolfram's lap and face him.
"Don't thank me, you're already bad-ass and seeing what you can really do is gonna be great….I'm just here to enjoy the show" Wolfram flashed a smile that balanced precariously between flirtatious confidence and open cockiness yet Astra was more concerned by the swell of pride they felt at the obvious confidence and belief that their boyfriend had in them, lending weight to the idea that the Deer Faunus might be able to live up to the persona that they had been trying to project and be the ideal of a Hunter that they envisioned.
Such thoughts were pushed aside by more base instincts in due course however.
"Come here" Astra's voice turned low and sultry as they wrapped their arms around Wolfram's shoulders and leaned close for a kiss which began slow and tentative but quickly grew more daring and intense with hands steadily wandering under clothing as the two, in the midst of their distraction reasoned that the corner they were sequestered in would grant them enough privacy.
Until they were broken up by a book being thrown with enough precision to hit both of them.
"WHO THE FUCK!" Wolfram barked, ready to leap to his feet and wage war against whoever had dared such an action only to fail to do so with Astra still on his lap, the failed action only increasing the hysterics that those in the common room were reduced to as Wolfram's steely eyes roved around the vicinity until he caught sight of Diabla wearing an expression that could only be described as defiant and challenging whilst Laser was propped against her shoulder with tears of laughter streaming down his face, Regalia and Ursinia were both close by and struggling to have the decency not to laugh at their partners' predicaments along with everyone else present until Diabla finally spoke up.
"Get a room ass-holes" she scoffed with her usual broad and gruff voice before turning away, as though she thought the matter settled only for Astra to respond in a way that Wolfram had not considered, though once the idea was presented they found themselves thoroughly on board with it.
"Not a problem, come on Wolfie" with that Astra all but dragged Wolfram through the common area, slowing just enough to ensure that Diabla saw them plant a searing kiss on their boyfriend before continuing to lead him out of the room and onto the corridor beyond with a chorus of wolf-whistles and jeers following them.
It took Diabla a moment to realise that the two of them would be making their way to Team WULF's dormitory and that her own comment had been turned against her as she would now be unable to return to said dorm for at least several hours without witnessing things she had no desire to see.
It took another moment for her to begin a stream of curses of the kind that only the Atlesian Military could produce, much to the amusement of her fellow students.
Author's Notes:
So, first of all welcome to Vol.03.
Secondly I'm gonna be messing with my writing schedule a little, nothing that's really going to affect my uploads or how my readers get them but for the last several months I've actually been consistently a couple chapters ahead of what I'm posting and that buffer actually cuts my enthusiasm because the parts of the story that my readers are engaging with and reacting to are then removed from what I'm personally excited about….So it's time to go back to a point where the chapter I posted is the last chapter I finished writing.
On a related note I feel like my Mojo was absent again with this chapter, the pacing felt off as a result of me changing and adjusting things as I realised that other things didn't work and that pacing was off….Although hopefully I still achieved what I wanted to do with this chapter and set up the various threads that we'll be dealing with going forward.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Welcoming us back to the story with a little word-building just to set tone and lead us into the relevant part, besides world building is fun.
It's a good thing that this is roughly 30 years post-show, Coco at eighteen would have throttled the politicians.
So Hammerfall isn't completely offline but with y'know a faulty engine keeping it afloat it's probably not the best idea to have staff on there at all times, also the ongoing repairs is most likely going to affect their ability to raise shields.
Oh come on, we both knew it was never gonna be as easy as "Trust the government" this is both RWBY and my writing, that sentiment is incompatible with both.
End private and for-profit prisons, they have an inherent conflict of interest and do nothing to rehabilitate prisoners.
Grauerstein = Grey Stone (According to Google Translate) so it fits and could also be a name.
The co-habitation prison blocks are actually something of a holdover from way back in 2016 when I was writing The Downward Spiral and need Roman Torchwick to interact with a certain character whilst detained.
The conversation between Coco and Rowan was honestly a fun one to write because whilst she's done her research and she's spent most of her life with Velvet who was briefly part of the White Fang she just doesn't get Rowan's kind of criminal.
So Felix did get the hard-drives he wanted from the Cargo ship bridge but Rowan had clearly already stolen or tampered with something before he got there and now she has some information to use as leverage.
Don't be a snitch in prison.
The last ditch effort to try and appeal to some sense of decency or loyalty….Nah Rowan doesn't have one.
Of course you know damn well that Rowan isn't gonna be popular inside.
You knew Astra making up for their failed mission grade was gonna be the start of something.
Of course Team MARZ came with.
Maiden-Gate, I'm going to assume everyone knows is the settlement that Nickel Polendina and Jade Rangifer were founding during "Endless Spring", the fourth story in this series.
Of course Regalia wants to poke around the dune crawler, she was super excited about the weapons and tech when she got to the academy.
So, Damascus Nero is slowly getting his hands on pretty much everything at this point.
"Felix doesn't like her for some reason" oh that's a nod to FADE: Legacy and the season finale fight between the two of them.
Jade, Nickel and Penny were actually supposed to be more prominent in this chapter but the Team MARZ scenes felt like they had too much going on as it was.
"Tell her who we are" Astra is getting way too cocky.
Oh come on that cliffhanger scene where the ground exploded was fun.
Felix was taught by Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch, you are damn right he straightens up and shuts up when he walks into Coco's office.
Reminding people that Fox Scarlatina is indeed a character and that he does in fact frequent his parents' offices.
So Astra and Felix still haven't spoken, it's only been a week but still.
Coco talking about being the coolest person in the room would naturally include her referring to herself as exhibit A.
Coco inspiring a wave of leftist politicians, might even be as cool as her inspiring Hunters.
So Qrow did some research about Damascus and even now we still don't know much about him or Zirconia, although what Qrow did find is enough to ease suspicions.
And just when you thought I was gonna give you some good news I turn the fear factor up….The Benefactor's plans to swamp the Kingdoms authorities are working and Coco sent Hunters to Blackwater Cove but it looks like they've vanished….Carmesi did say he'd kill Hunters if he had to.
So the Land-Shark is a Hammerhead with an extra hammer, more like a Philips-head and six mole-legs and an armoured carapace.
Funnily enough before I worked out the details of how Team MARZ and the rogues were gonna run into each other the Land-Shark was actually supposed to be the big finale Grimm of Vol.02 before the Dread-Hulk, but hey….Regalia says they can grow up to about eighty feet.
"Come get some" really is becoming Astra's motto….Even though its' been shown time and time again that they work better as a team player.
So the thing can melt itself a little, kinda like the Hound in canon, kinda like Carcharodon's Semblance….Basically it's a way for it to go undetected while its' underground….Also there was no need to snap at Regalia like that.
Okay but the trap it and smash it plan should have worked, they just didn't account for how the Land-Shark would react.
I'll be honest, the fight scene was actually supposed to end differently; it was supposed to have Penny and Nickel show up for a tag-team combo and have Nickel interact with Team MARZ but again, there was already so much going on….Besides, the idea of showing off just how powerful the current Spring Maiden is now means I can use that as a benchmark later on.
….Sorry to anybody who wanted to hear Nickel Polendina's unique mannerisms.
Oof….Astra is continuing to learn all of the wrong lessons.
The Gestalt-Prime scene was also going to be different originally but most of what was supposed to be in this scene will actually be in the next chapter.
So the Alpha beast has gotten smarter….but still a junkie needing a fix at its' core.
No I'm not sorry for anything Gestalt-Prime says.
Enjoy the literal mind-fucking….Still better than the Gen: Lock sex scene.
Also notice that Gestalt-Prime is actually improving the Grimm around them, which is a scary prospect….But could also make its' scenes easy to write by giving it someone to actually interact with.
Yeah AJ and Diabla still understandably have some lingering tension….Just means we've got something to fix later on.
AJ just casually wandering to the various spots she and Hops hang out in, completely platonic of course lol.
The practising was a reminder that Zirconia is a bad-ass and tha she's good with computers, which may or may not be foreshadowing.
We can't rely on charm alone….Oh she knows she's hot.
Totally platonic….Why are you laughing.
Also I keep saying it but British Football Chants, if you're American I suggest enlightening yourselves.
Anime and listening to your partner play violin….Sounds like a date to me….And holy shit is AJ beginning to become self aware? Lol.
Sneaking drinks onto campus is a tradition even if Coco lets it happen.
These relaxing and normal college life scenes are a fun way to show a little bit of the characters just being who they are with nothing else weighing on them….It's fun.
Also I didn't realise that Diabla is the most stone cold Butch to ever Butch until now.
Regalia just casually adding spice to peoples' food and not telling them, little demon that she is.
So Astra's sulking and Wolfram, despite absolutely not being the most well equipped to deal with anyone's personal problems is making an effort….Because being with Astra makes him want to be better.
Oof, Astra really is not taking this well; this is what happens when you believe your own hype and reality slaps you.
Of course they won't go and talk to Felix, that would be too easy.
"You're not the first person to ask me for this" and "It's fine, thank Wolfram….He's the one who offered" oh Laser is pissed at being used like that and it's going to be a thing.
So, Semblance training montage anyone?
Oh come on, it's the weekend and Astra fought a hammerhead shark with legs; they earned this.
But Diabla throwing a book at them both was funny.
Let's make this unequivocally clear shall we, Astra and Wolfram fucked….They went to Team WULF's dorm and one of them got railed into the mattress for hours; I'll leave who topped to your imagination because I saw what debating over who tops caused in the Bumbleby community….Also, this was also better than the Gen: Lock sex scene.
Thank you to SumoSnipe and Lurkweed for their reviews on the last chapter
Well Astra's certainly learning lessons, they just continue to be the wrong ones, while Wolfram is growing as a person the longer he dates Astra, Astra is continuing to become more of a toxic mess as they focus on the worst parts of themselves….All for the sake of looking cool and being a bad-ass.
I'm glad the inter-personal nonsense has all felt natural and not too contrived thus far and yeah the villains have their fair share of issues as well….The funny thing is that Gestalt-Prime is probably the character with the most clear self image at the moment.
Oh there's more problems with the Nemesis Kharybdis than anybody has realised yet.
I really do need to have more Laser and Ursinia and yeah….Regalia needs so friends not distracted by hormones and other dumb-assery.
Nero's scarring isn't a reference to Downward Spiral; I've implied but not actually stated (Because it will be important later) that Zirconia lost her legs and parents in Salem's siege of New Vale in FADE: Legacy, Nero got scarred at the same time.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.
