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Chapter 42: The Stand-Off
It appeared as though whatever or whomever Team MARZ had departed from the ruins of Midpoint in order to find with Regalia Russet's Semblance as their guide had encountered one of the many flocks and swarms of Creatures of Grimm that would no doubt be drawn to the mauled and savaged town for weeks and months to come, the presence of some unknown party drawing away a sizeable portion of the incoming wave of manifest darkness before it could reach what remained of Midpoint's perimeter.
Though by no means all of the Grimm had been diverted.
"Bring down those flyers! Keep that gun firing and I'll deal with anything that gets close!" Diabla's voice, it's harshness amplified by the current seriousness tore through the ambient din of shrieks and snarls as the brawler, trained and honed by Atlesian cadets for military service before her time at Breaktide barked out orders to the few remaining members of Midpoint's defensive garrison that remained as she had been doing since the battle began.
Team WULF had positioned themselves close to the edge of the ruined town, finding a vantage point from which they could see the direction in which their friends had travelled and also the trucks which would return them to Port Alistair; consequently when the Grimm had come in sizeable numbers the four of them had been the first to arrive at a salvaged, battle-scarred and clearly recently repaired anti-aircraft gun where they had begun shoring up gaps in defences that the were the result of the simple disparity between the available Hunters and the scale of the damage already done. It was at this point that Diabla had noted to her team leader that her own weapon was intended for fighting at far closer ranger than those of her friends and that whilst she would be limited in what she could directly contribute she could at least provide aid to the gunnery crew that brought down winged and screaming monsters with each thundering report of their weapon; her gauntlets along with their integrated flamethrower and ultrasonic blade unmaking any Grimm that dared clamber and scuttle to the top of what defences and makeshift barricades remained, the conflict amounting to some bleak cousin of trench warfare.
Leaving Wolfram, Ursinia and Laser to fan out and cover as much area as they could.
"Think we can hold 'em all?" Ursinia demanded, voice raised over the sound of her own weapon as The Adventurer was fired in its' grenade launcher form, the projectile arcing through the air to strike the ground; taking a dozen or more Creatures of Grimm in the blast and hurling more than twice that number into the air to leave them strew across the wasteland like rubbish whilst at the same time illuminating the battlefield in a way that nightmarish glow of the monsters' own eyes could not; providing a more accurate idea of the Grimm's movements to those without the gift of Faunus senses which Ursinia neither needed nor used as she converted her weapon into its' golden bladed broadsword form and cleaved through the entirety of a flying reptilian beast known as a Teryx as it slipped through the maelstrom of gunfire intended for it, though Wolfram made full use of the new information.
"Of course we can hold 'em!" he snapped roughly, teeth gritted as he fired Berserker in its' combined hand-cannon form in a ceaseless barrage that left his bandaged left arm aching and throbbing despite the modifications he had made to the weapon in order to lessen its' painful effects whilst at the same time ignoring the devastating results of his actions that might have brought him a dark satisfaction under other circumstances; instead of simply revelling in the act of unleashing his fury as he stood atop the walls of a settlement ready to defend it to the last as his late father had once done, each shot of his weapon leaving broken ground and wisps of ephemeral darkness Wolfram forced himself not to give in to the red haze that threatened to claim him; steel grey eyes narrowed and the familiar chilling cold began to gather in the fingers of his right hand as Wolfram peered along the length of the defences and sought out where his attack would do the most damage before, with a wordless battle cry akin to an animal roar, leaping up onto the edge of the wall he defended and thrusting his hand out as he unleashed his Semblance to send a rushing, icy guillotine of solidified air tearing parallel to the edge of Midpoint's defences, cutting through every Grimm in its' path that sought to scale the walls or force their way through gates that had been barred shut; earning Wolfram small signs of recognition from older Hunter further along the defences as they continued unleashing their own weapons.
Though even now the Grimm persisted.
"Get down!" Wolfram felt a form, smaller and lighter than his own yet possessed of a wiry and unexpected strength collide with him, sending him crashing to the metallic floor of the defences with a jarring and clanging impact; recognised firstly that another Teryx had slipped through the onslaught of suppressing fire and secondly that it was Laser who had tackled him to the ground; no sooner had these thought registered in Wolfram's mind the air was split by enraged shrieking as the monster wheeled about with frightening agility and brought itself hurling back about on its' membranous wings towards the rear of the defensive line faster than the anti-aircraft gun could hope to be brought around.
"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" Wolfram bellowed, scrabbling frantically so that he could right himself in order to open fire only for Laser to respond with a single wordless nod and a twitching of facial muscles that might have indicated a wink beneath the opaque and acid green visor that covered his eyes. Before Wolfram could utter another word and with the incoming Teryx drawing perilously close Laser reached into one of his endless volume of pockets to produce a small charge which made Wolfram's eyes widen in surprised concern at the realisation it was loaded with Magnetic Dust and Team WULF's leader watched in a shock which he supposed would always follow his most underhanded team-mates' actions as the blonde Vaccuan planted the charge on the nearest metallic surface and used the metal of his own weapon and the various other trinkets within his pockets to magnetically fling himself upwards, directly into the path of the Grimm whilst at the same time shifting Permadeath into its' katana form so that the beast could be bisected from skull to tail with a single swing.
"We're thinning 'em out! We've got this!" the urgency in Laser's nasal and reedy words was tinged with a hope and optimism that few could feel in such a circumstance; that of one who had grown up in a far less hospitable environment and endured, indeed the defences of Midpoint, ragged and threadbare as they might have been were still more than what was offered by the shanty towns of the Vaccuan Overspill and so the moment he landed, sword in the midst of a dramatic twirling flourish Laser pressed on, shifting Permadeath into its' machine-gun form and using the wall to prop the weapon in place as he fired into the rapidly depleting mob of beasts below one-handed whilst offering the other hand to Wolfram.
"Don't touch me" the taller, blue-grey haired young man's snarled words as he batted Laser's hand away caused him to flinch somewhat and Wolfram found himself wincing; as unsettling as he found the idea of having Laser's Semblance-stealing hands anywhere near him he had not intended to be cruel yet before any more could be said a beam of ephemera green light ripped up through the darkness somewhere in the distance.
"That's the rich kids' weapon!" Diabla barked out having seen the pulsing lance of what could only be Mould-Breaker's laser.
"Damn it!" Wolfram spat "Did anyone see what she was shooting at?"
"Too far out" Diabla lamented with a shake of her head.
"A caught a little glimpse of something but whatever it was it was ginnin' about to fast for me to make it out" Ursinia informed him, darkening Wolfram's mood even further as he realised that whatever Team MAR had set out into the wastes to find could at that moment be getting the better of them; the thought inspired a kind of brash panic in the young man which inspired the kind of do or die, decisive leadership and action he favoured yet before he could give the order to leap the wall and plough through all obstacles Laser's whining tone pierced the descending red mist and offered an alternative.
"If we hop down there we leave a full team sized gap in the defences, they're stretched as it is….Better we call the academy; I hate to snitch, hell I hate to be the one even suggesting it but if they know there's a team of students in the wastes during an attack they'll send someone" Wolfram's grey eyes widened, then narrowed as his mind raced in search of a more appealing option until finally he bit out a curse before ducking behind the scratched and chipped surface of the wall in order to down his weapons and draw his scroll; letting out a sigh as he prepared to make a call that would certainly have consequences later, admitting the reason for his hesitance in a whisper that was almost lost beneath the sound of the battle.
"Oh Astra is not gonna be happy about this"
Athena-Jade Slate had expected Team MARZ's foray into the wasteland beyond Midpoint to bear little fruit; her faith in Regalia's Semblance and abilities butting up against her exasperation with Astra's recent stubborn refusal to listen to reason in regards to the dangerous lengths to which they were pushing themselves in what was, from one younger sibling to another, an obvious and desperate cry for validation; however now that her team leaders' mission had brought them all face to face with their hated and treacherous enemies the Bear Faunus was determined to see justice delivered, a white-hot fury coursing through her that pushed all thoughts of rebuking Astra's recklessness aside.
A fury that only grew with each interference from the flying gecko Grimm known simply as the Swooping Death.
Athena and Zirconia had found themselves locked in combat with Major Grapeshot, with the old veteran proving himself just as wily as Regalia had warned; his movements having a speed and grace about them that flew in the face of his years and weary, bowed form.
Athena let out a grunt of exertion and anger in equal parts as she pivoted at the waist and swung her hammer with all her might at her adversary, the Dust powered rocket booster fitted into its' head dragging her feet across the cracked and blasted ground as her attack was transformed into a blurred crescent of motion that did nothing more than rustle Grapeshot's clothes as he evaded it with a single long step backwards before levelling Magnificent Ivory squarely at the Bear Faunus's lightly armoured chest.
'Fire!, Lightning!' the synthesised voice of Sunriser Cain announced Zirconia's presence as the Grasshopper Faunus leapt onto the head of her partners' weapons, her insectoid and digitigrade mechanical limbs whirring faintly as she braced herself and Athena managed a toothy smile filled with confidence before flashing out with her weapon once again; the additional weight of her partner perched upon it meaning nothing as she hurled Zirconia forwards to deliver one of her signature attacks; a fluid pirouette wherein the flat circle tip of her weapon unleashed a jet of flames and arc of crackling electricity which she used to keep Grapeshot at bay, forcing the rogue Hunter to shift his weapon into its' melee form and black with the cane as best he could until the sound of hateful shrieking filled the air once more.
"Tally ho!" Grapeshot declared as blocked Zirconia's incoming blow and turned it aside before sending her reeling backwards with a well placed and powerful kick to the ribs that left her gasping for air; yet as Athena followed her partners' staggering retreat she saw the glowing crimson eyes of the Swooping Death, their glow faintly outlining the rest of its' form for her keen eyes in the darkness and she saw that Grapeshot, perhaps with some last vestiges of the decency he had once upheld had kicked Zirconia out of the path of the incoming monster.
Athena-Jade acted on instinct.
She would later tell herself that she had cast the glyphs around Grapeshot in order to ensure that he could be taken prisoner, dead he would be freed from facing justice in full and could tell nothing about the plans of those who enlisted him yet at that moment it was unimportant; the snowy haired girl threw up a series of glowing and ephemeral barriers around the rogue Hunter at an angle that would prevent the smouldering and corrosive touch of the gecko Grimm from reaching him and in response the monster itself let out a series of spitting shrieks as it altered its' course in mid-air to avoid a collision with the glyphs; the various vents and openings in its' body creating the air currents its' membranous pseudo-wings needed to send it veering off course with a cloud of dust in its' wake.
Sapphire eyes narrowing Athena shifted Mould Breaker into its' laser cannon form and fired from the hip, the familiar thrum of her weapon travelling through her as its' beam ripped through the dark whilst at the same time Zirconia pressed her attack on Grapeshot once again, vaulting from the surface of one of her partners' glyphs before it could fully dissipate and thrusting her weapon at the man only for him to avoid with another expertly timed move; stepping to the side and with his weapon still in its' cane form he brought it down in a two-handed swing on the back of Sunriser Cain to throw Zirconia off balance as he drove an elbow into her chest and then unleashed a wild swing which was proved to be a ruse the instant the young woman avoided it, only to find herself staring down the barrel of the freshly transformed rifle.
Grapeshot's victory would have been a certain thing were it not for the harpoon embedding itself in his clothes and pulling him off balance.
"How the turntables-" Regalia's triumphant yell as she prepared to dispense her own brand of justice on the Hunter whose betrayal had shattered so many of her childhood dreams and illusions was cut short as she was forced to defend against Carmesi Hueso as the Komodo Dragon Faunus came barrelling into her, his shoulder smashing the wind from the Racoon Faunus and leaving her evading with fearful, primal instinct alone as he followed with a spinning back-handed slash of his claw-like machete and then a downward chop of his broad and flat bladed cleaver lined with obsidian points that sent Regalia rolling aside in a desperate escape rather than attempt to ready her pickaxe-headed staff and attempt to match the Faunus she knew would be able to overpower her.
"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY PARTNER!" bravado met with rage in Astra's voice as the Deer Faunus leapt into the fray once again and Regalia couldn't help but watch in still and silent awe for a fraction longer than was wise as Carmesi turned and prepared to meet Team MARZ's leader with a seriousness that suggested he saw them as a serious threat.
Astra came in high, delivering an aerial kick that could almost have been considered a roundhouse were it not for the angle that saw it axing downward at the traitors' neck; Carmesi avoided the blow narrowly and was forced onto the defensive, blocking with the flat of his blade as Astra landed and immediately carried their momentum into a spinning back-kick and then a roundhouse intended to shatter ribs; though before the Deer Faunus could lunge upwards with a leaping knee the expected retaliation came and Carmesi slashed out with both blades in a scissoring motion that ripped at the air as the weapons came at their targets' neck.
Astra blocked it.
They held their right arm upwards and in front of their face, allowing the shield component of Buckshot Ares to come to life, its' pane of rose-tinted hard-light fracturing and visibly shuddering under the force of the assault before Astra deployed the blade of the shield fitted to their left arm and slipped it beneath Carmesi's guard, leaving crimson Aura rippling as they stabbed at his gut.
"Killer instinct, good" Carmesi spat before unleashing a spinning sweep in an explosive burst of force before hurling his curved forward machete at Regalia, the weapon unfurling into its' rotating form to keep her at bay as he loomed over a fallen Astra, larger weapon held high.
"It means I don't have to regret this!" Astra braced himself for an attack that never came, the rushing of moving air instead coming from the Swooping Death as it once again announced its' presence with a diving and opportunistic attack.
"Get clear!" frantic yells came from Astra and Grapeshot in unison and Astra felt themselves be dragged from the ground as Regalia braved Carmesi's slashing projectile to get them to safety. When the Deer Faunus managed to make sense of events around them again they saw that Carmesi was plucking Vindication out of the air once more whilst he and Grapeshot, along with each of Team MARZ scanned the darkness above for any sign of the lurking menace that plagued them.
"Perhaps I might be so bold as to suggest a truce" Grapeshot noted, conversational tone at odds with the matter at hand and earning him a disapproving his from his ally.
"We're not letting you get away, not this time" Athena snapped.
"Oh I daresay I couldn't convince you to give up the chase, wholly understandable" the veteran's moustache twitched in amusement at the notion "But there is the matter of a particularly irksome Grimm above us"
"Astra?" it was Regalia who spoke, an almost hopeful note in her voice as she turned to her partner in search of guidance; the Deer Faunus becoming acutely aware that the rest of Team MARZ were now looking to them as well whilst the villains they had hoped to capture eyed them with a detached calm. Presently the young leaders' mind began to race with the bold and inspired thinking that had earned them their post.
"Zirconia can you use your Semblance if it gets low enough?" the Grasshopper Faunus considered for a moment, mismatched eyes never leaving the night sky.
"I can keep things inside of Phantasmagoria easier than out of it"
"Okay" Astra beamed "Athena, fire your laser and draw it in, Zirconia get ready to use your Semblance; give it as little room to move as possible"
"Sound thinking-" Carmesi admitted, only to fall silent over the glare Astra shot him.
"You two" they snarled, anger and disgust in every syllable "Get ready to take out its' wing-membranes; doesn't matter if it can create its' own air currents if it can't fly"
"By Jove they're good" Grapeshot's expression was almost proud.
"What about me?" Regalia asked, eager as always to play her part and Astra flashed her a familiar smile.
"Throw me" they winked and promptly turned to Athena "Let's go!"
Seconds later a beam of jade green lanced through the night, followed by another and another until finally the shrieking of the Swooping Death announced that it had fallen for the ploy.
"Okay, Zirconia NOW!" Astra's voice was urgent and demanding as the reptilian horror came gliding toward them at speed, iridescent scales illuminated in the glow of laser fire and without a word Zirconia sprung into action; her pink and orange eyes being subsumed by an inner darkness far greater than the night itself which began to spread all about the ground, a sense of something unnatural filling the air as a vast dome, the largest the insectoid Faunus could manifest formed from nothingness to contain the Grimm and deprive it of any sense of what lay beyond.
"Once more into the breach Old Chap!" Grapeshot yelled dramatically, voice filled with a youth he had not felt in some time as he took up the duty he had abandoned in his treachery; channelling his Semblance into his weapon and transforming a single shot into a salvo which tore into the flank of the Swooping Death, ripping away at flesh, bone and tearing one of the membranes that allowed it fly apart; close by Carmesi flung his machete upwards to tear at the monster before shifting his larger blade into its' shotgun form and discharging with similar results to those of his comrade, leaving the shrieking horror flailing and howling, cold winds issuing out from its' body in a freezing gale as it tried desperately to keep itself aloft in a display which saw Regalia turn to her partner.
"Ready!"
"Always" Astra nodded, taking the harpoon tip of their partners' weapon and allowing themselves to be launched towards the upper edge of Zirconia's Semblance before promptly releasing their grip and deploying the blades of Buckshot Ares; their flight path sending the Deer Faunus arcing directly into the path of the struggling Grimm.
Decapitating it with a single strike.
Astra landed in a crouch, weapons still at the ready and with their air of victory, almost physical as the smoke of a fading Grimm trailed from their body giving the teen leader a sense of pervading danger about them. Rearing to their full height Astra turned slightly towards their team-mates and gave another confidant wink that told Athena-Jade, Regalia and Zirconia all they needed to know before the Deer Faunus focused their attention on the rogue Hunters they had set out to find.
"Zirconia, keep your Semblance up" Astra's smile was almost feral now "Former Hunters Grapeshot and Hueso….You're under arrest"
"Oh jolly Good Show" Grapeshot laughed, hefting his weapon in a way that made it clear neither he, nor his partner would be coming quietly.
Velvet Scarlatina had returned to Coco's office shortly after attending to what relatively small and domestic, but ultimately welcome her son had distracted and now the Rabbit Faunus worked with the furious drive and wondrous eagerness of one who sought to distract themselves from a particularly unpleasant reality and had been given a uniquely entertaining challenge with which to do so.
She would see Rowan Oralie beaten if it was the last thing she did.
Coco had informed Velvet, in as much detail as the hastiness required of her departure would allow, what the lawyer representing the scarlet haired sell-sword had confided in her; that following an almost successful attempt on her life Rowan was now willing to cooperate. There had been no doubt at all in Velvet's mind that Coco's hands were entirely clean in the matter and that the attack had not been of her own orchestration no matter what political strong-arming she might resort to and this position was only vindicated further when Velvet had watched the woman she love adjust her signature sunglasses and beret to brace herself before scowling as she noted that Rowan Oralie would almost certainly attempt to extract a high price for whatever aid she offered; it was at this point that Velvet had chosen to return to where Felix had left the hard-drives that Rowan had been attempting to make off with aboard the Dread-Hulk and do everything in her power to obtain the information which the criminal who had killed Hunters, including students of Breaktide and aided their still unseen enemy before Coco was forced to bargain for it.
It was Velvet's only regret that she would not be able to be present in person and see look on Rowan Oralie's face when she found out that no longer had anything of use or value with which to bribe and blackmail herself clear of the consequences of her actions but she noted, with a bitter and almost manic smile that it would possibly be the most satisfying gift she had ever given to Coco.
The problem was that Velvet was racing against time and her adversary was a skilled one.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" She spat, severed remains of one of rabbit ears twitching in a display of irate impotence that would, under more pleasant circumstances have been replaced by a nod of recognition and kudos to the abilities of her fellow technician. She supposed she should not be surprised, upon learning of Rowan's identity all of those attempting to capture her had been made aware of the level of training she had likely received from the disgraced Hunter whose name and weapon she used as her own; that Hunter had lost their license and fled justice after their involvement in several corrupt business which had required a level of savvy in regards to technology, though finding that Rowan herself was capable of more than simple violence with the occasional use of a cobbled together robot was entirely unwelcome.
With her latest attempt to see what, if anything she could glean from the hard-drives resulting in failure Velvet leaned back in Coco's seat, placing a miniscule screwdriver between her lips for safekeeping as she massaged her temples and pondered her next angle of attack.
Velvet knew, in all honesty that she should take the offending articles into her own personal workshop in the bowels of the campus where she and Eagle Arc had dissected the battle robot captured by Arctus and Diamond, she knew also that she should contact Eagle and obtain a full list of precisely what methods had been used thus far and their results however their simply was not time; if Rowan cooperated the information itself would make useful corroborating evidence but the idea of the spiteful wretch who used Grimm for sadistic amusement and had dared to lay hands on her students rankled Velvet in a way that she had no words to describe.
There was of course the possibility that there had been nothing of use on the hard-drives at all and that Rowan had simply encrypted them in an attempt to throw those she sought to evade off the trail as part of her failed escape from the Dread-Hulk and also the possibility that any information that might have once been present was lost to digital corruption and physical damage, however those were options which Velvet refused to consider and instead she began racking her brain for every obscure and long forgotten method of hiding information on the devices before her that she could think of short of physically imprinting the raw binary code directly onto the outer casing as Velvet was almost entirely certain that Rowan had lacked the time and tools to do such a thing; after several tortuously long and dragging moments Velvet resolved to contact Penny, unwilling to bother a member of the faculty who lived elsewhere but at the same time certain that the android would see the importance of the matter and want justice to be done and also that Penny, as the Professor of a class often nicknamed 'Ungentlemanly Warfare' available only to upper classmen would certainly be able to help.
Yet the moment Velvet palmed her scroll the device began to sound out, announcing an incoming call; the saved contact details informing her that the caller was a student no less.
"Ironside, all professionalism and student teacher decorum aside I'm going to warn you once, if this is a prank I swear I will-" Velvet trailed off, falling silent as her Faunus hearing, particularly sensitive in her case despite the damage to one of her ears picked up the unmistakable sounds of violence on the other end of the call "What's happening, where are you?"
"Midpoint Professor" Wolfram answered gruffly, the harshly restrained panic in his words sending a chill through Velvet.
"What's happening?" she repeated, tone switching from the warm understanding she used with her students to that of a disciplined and experienced battle commander "Are the defences holding, how many Hunters-"
"Defences are holding professor" Wolfram assured her, allowing the deputy Headmistress to "Follow up Grimm attacks hitting the wall, we've got it thinned out….The problem's Astra….Team MARZ"
Velvet sucked in a sharp lungful of air and forced herself not to curse.
"Are Team MARZ with you?" she knew from the earlier conversation with Felix that Astra Mars and their team had ventured to Midpoint which was presumably how Team WULF had also come to be there and now Velvet found herself wondering what danger the Deer Faunus could have gotten themselves into if the attack was under control, images of one her students, limp form torn open by a Grimm that had managed to breach the already ravaged defences of Midpoint came unbidden to Velvet's mind and almost caused her to audibly whimper in fright until Wolfram answered, his words painting an even more unsettling picture.
"They went out into the wastes" he paused a beat, waiting for a furious exclamation that never came "They thought since the Grimm those rogue Hunters are looking for attacked Midpoint that there might be some answers to find….I can't see what they're fighting but we've seen their weapons from where we are on the walls; Athena's been firing upwards-"
"Airborne Grimm then" Velvet interjected, seeing to the heart of the matter "Hold your position. Leave the matter with me"
"Professor I-"
"THAT'S AN ORDER!" Velvet's voice rose to a volume and a degree of firmness few of her students would have believed possible and Wolfram offered a sheepish, humbled compliance before the call was ended and the rabbit Faunus glanced at the work before her.
Compared to the safety of her students scum like Rowan Oralie would never be able to compare and the hard-drives were quickly disregarded.
Instead Velvet's mind raced as debated the best course of action within her own mind; Coco's heavy weaponry would certainly be valuable, as would the abilities of Ruby and Penny but the fact remained that there simply was not time. Felix Xiao Long and his team would certainly be a valuable asset, one which brought their own means of transportation to the battle however once again there was no time and Velvet was also forced to consider what Team FADE's reaction to Astra and Athena in particular venturing into the wastelands might be. Briefly Velvet considered having Yatsuhashi join her before realising that her partner since Beacon was needed at the academy in both Coco and Velvet's absence, sparing only a brief moment to reflect on how she would repay the giant of a man for his understand and support in all things including the raising of their son Velvet's deep brown eyes narrowed and hardened as she understood what needed to be done.
She was venturing into the wastes alone to rescue her wayward pupils and as she checked her camera and the Hard-Light generator it was connected to Velvet reminded herself that she had precisely the tools she would need at her disposal.
It had been several years since she had needed to use some of these particular constructs.
Coco had attempted to carry an air of cool and detached mystique, a commanding air about herself as she entered the hotel room in which Rowan Oralie was being monitored by a pair of Atlas Knights armed with weaponry so heavy it would seem outwardly disproportionate for a single, already restrained prisoner.
That air of control crashed and broke against the solid tide-wall of cold indifference that was Rowan Oralie, even in the redheads' currently bloodied, battered and hospitalised state.
In truth the Aura stimulants, laced with sedatives as they had been, along with various other medications and treatments had done a great deal for the mercenary and as Coco regarded her she saw that many of Rowan's injuries had faded, leaving nothing but reddened patches of skin and mottled discolourations along with several places where stitches and bandages held her body together all of which painted a picture of how badly wounded she must have been upon her arrival. Standing in the doorway of the room with the medicinal stench common to all hospitals assaulting her nostrils Coco took several moments to mentally prepare herself for what would likely be a battle of wits and willpower, hoping that the glaring lights casting long shadows across her features gave her a composed and calculating appearance rather than a hesitant one until finally she removed her signature sunglasses so that the robotic sentries guarding the prisoner could readily identify her as she stepped into the room and gave them an order.
"Leave, authorisation level one. Signature, Adel" as she spoke she pulsed her Aura so that it was visible for a fraction of a second and the pair of machines used this, in conjunction with Coco's appearance to verify that the Headmistress was who she purported to be, a system not unlike that which synced a Hunters' scroll to their Aura levels registering and identifying her.
"Rodger, Rodger" the Atlas Knights spoke in unison, their speech a sign of the quality of their updated design and a moment later the pair shouldered their weapons and trudged heavily past Coco and out into the corridor, closing the door behind them to leave Coco and Rowan alone.
"So….You didn't call me here to ask if black and blue look good on you; they don't by the way" Coco quipped, some traces of smirking confidence rising to the surface as she saw the faintest twitching of one of Rowan's deep green eyes; some muscular tic that she lacked the control to suppress at present.
"Let's cut the shit" her voice maintained its' sneering aloofness and Coco was left with the odd thought of just how much she might have liked Rowan if the younger woman's life had taken a different path; the venom in her would have been entertaining in pleasanter circumstances.
"Let's" Coco nodded, tone curt and businesslike as she strode close enough to stand beside Rowan's bed, choosing to remain standing rather than relax even the slightest amount by sitting, sharp gaze never leaving her adversary "You reached out to me, so let's get to it Oralie; what do you have to offer and what is it you're expecting….Let me preface this by saying that there is no version of this where your charges vanish and you get to go free, it's off the table"
"Not even gonna ask me why the change of heart?" Rowan mused pointedly, allowing herself a twisted smirk as she continued conversationally "You were determined to try and get in my head the last time we spoke"
"If you feel it's relevant" Coco managed a toneless and dismissive shrug, keeping the matter at arms' length and seeing what Rowan was willing to divulge.
"I suppose it isn't" the redhead breathed out "Not to you, but I still feel like getting it of my chest….They tried to have me killed, the one pulling the strings; the little fucks that tried to jump me said it outright. Business is business, I honestly expected something….But they had my people killed as well, my whole crew….I didn't even know that some of 'em had me listed as family until I found out they were dead; I know your story Adel, hell everybody does so I know that you've lost someone before-"
"That's not what I'm here to discuss" Coco fought to keep a snappish tone out of her voice but privately resolved there and then that she would not allow Rowan to so much as utter Fox Alistair's name as though she were worthy of the comparison. Rowan gave a wordless snort of derision in response and Coco gritted her teeth as she spoke again.
"You want revenge, I guessed you would" the barb was a subtle one, the idea that Rowan was not so special as she believed and could be read as easily as any other convict "You know you're looking at a life sentence, possibly multiple and so you want to have me dish out payback for you; but at the same time you're smart enough to try and leverage what you've got….Without your lawyer present"
"I didn't pick the lawyer" Rowan shrugged, the admission serving as an answer before the redheads' expression turned feral "But can you honestly tell me that you don't want payback as well? The Benefactor has been making your life a living hell-"
"Then give me a name, or a price for it" Coco interrupted, drawing a bitter and barking laugh from Rowan.
"You think I've got a name?" there was genuine mirth in her words "Councilwoman Adel I can see why you're trailing behind; I don't even think Grapeshot knows the Benefactor's name….You're up against a professional"
"I'm aware of that" Coco growled "Do you have information or not?"
"The hard-drives I was working over on the ship….You haven't gotten anything from 'em yet have you?" Rowan asked, feigning disinterest and finding the truth of the matter in Coco's silence "I can give you their proxies….I didn't get all the information, so I'll need access to the hard-drives again and some time; but given that I'm willing to offer you the proxies that the Benefactor is moving their Lien and resources through, that will give you their lawyers and if you can get at them you'll have everything-"
"So you have the potential to offer something useful" Coco arched an eyebrow "Nothing concrete-"
"Oh please" Rowan sneered "It's the same move you played on the old backers. I've got experience, I was working on the heads of the fight club myself and I didn't need to steal their robot to do it….Face it, you don't have the contacts or inside knowledge that I do; you haven't understood organised crime since the White Fang and let's be honest here Councilwoman, you're dealing with a handful of pissed off Faunus who managed to steal some guns here-"
"You want to work as a consultant" Coco's lips turned upwards faintly at the notion "Buy your way out piece by piece….And what's your price for helping to identify the proxies this 'Benefactor' is using?"
"Get at least one of these life sentences off of me, a genuine effort to convince me you're not gonna throw me under the bus an a transfer to a secure location….Don't sell me a line of shit about their being no black-sites on Menagerie, every Kingdom has them"
"You'd go to a black-site willingly?" Coco's eyebrows vanished into her hair at this, though comprehension came quickly; Rowan was terrified and upon considering the reach the Benefactor had shown themselves to have, the use of Neo Vale's infrastructure to kill their own agent in particular, the Headmistress found the criminals' fear for life to be entirely justified.
"I'll even throw in a little extra" Rowan's eyes almost twinkled and Coco remained stern, utterly unsurprised that something had been held back "Grapeshot has a second scroll with a direct line to the Benefactor, it's not used for anything else; search him and take that you'll have something….And I can tell you where they were hiding in Blackwater Cove, they've probably moved out since I was caught though"
"That will be useful" Coco nodded, thoughts turning momentarily towards the bounty Hunters she had turned loose into the cesspool of a city and heard nothing of since.
"Then when can I expect a transfer-"
"When it's been agreed to" Coco answered simply, turning to leave "Don't for a minute think that this is going to be some underhanded deal that you can use to blackmail me later. I'll have people I trust ensure your safety until a transfer can be arranged….Your lawyer will keep you informed of developments"
"Pleasure doing business Councilwoman" Rowan sneered as Coco left the hospital room, nodding to the Atlas Knights to return to their post before making her way down the corridor at an even pace; mind already racing as she considered the necessary actions and security detail to ensure that Rowan was not assassinated and how best to use the information the mercenary provided to unmask and bring down her shadowy nemesis until her thoughts were jarred back to the present moment by her scrolls' vibration.
"Hey Velvet-" Coco fell silent at the sound of her woman's hurried and urgent voice recounting what had transpired in her absence until finally she erupted with a forceful exclamation which shook the corridor around her.
"THEY DID WHAT?"
The battle in the wastes beyond Midpoint had only continued, the absence of the Swooping Death doing nothing to detract from the fury being unleashed by those combatants who remained.
"Cover Zirconia!" Astra's voice echoed out through the darkened confines of Phantasmagoria as Zirconia's Semblance continued to envelop the area, serving as a barrier to keep Carmesi and Grapeshot from escaping now that their plans had been thwarted whilst Team MARZ struggled with all of their remaining strength and unwavering determination to prevent them from doing so.
The Deer Faunus's warning came as they saw Major Grapeshot, seeing that the barrier of Zirconia's Semblance could not be breached by direct violence against it turned instead to its' source and aimed his rifle directly at the Grasshopper Faunus; only for the discharge to be kept at bay as a glowing glyph, its' shimmering form illuminating Grapeshot's drab attire and sweat-soaked and reddened face in the darkness manifested directly between the two combatants.
"Athena!" Zirconia called out, voice strained with the effort of maintaining a barrier of such a size for any amount of time and as she turned towards her partner, eyes still seeing despite the bottomless void which consumed them some unspoken signal passed between the pair which prompted Athena to leap into action. The Bear Faunus charged forwards and Zirconia used her Semblance to its' fullest extent, showing the changes and enhancements that had first manifested in Team MARZ's training simulation against Team WULF as she once again defended a her team-mates; the shadows covering the ground roiled and bulged before finally forming an ephemeral wave which surged forwards, allowing Athena-Jade to ride atop it as it crashed into Major Grapeshot to stagger the old soldier and send him toppling backward. From there the Bear Faunus leapt into the air vaulting between several constructs of the solidified darkness her partner commanded with the same grace she would have shown with her own glyphs, a reversal of Athena and Zirconia's usual teamwork as the ivory haired girl sought out an angle of attack and finally, as Grapeshot leapt to his feet once more, descended with an acrobatic spinning sweep from an unexpected direction which began a blinding exchange of blows between the pair.
Astra however was unable to watch this unfold as their own focus was consumed by the violent immediacy of their own opponent.
"On your left!" Regalia's warning, managing even here to include a vague reference to one of the action movies she so loved gave Astra a chance to raise both of their shields and slam together in a motion that sent an arc of hard-light out around them to weather the force of another ground shaking attack. Carmesi had indeed come from the left, he fought with only his larger blade now and the teeth of retribution had sunk into the shimmering, flickering substance of Astra's semi-solid shield with the force of his downward swing which granted the reptilian fighter a measure of purchase which he quickly put to use by charging forward and forcing Astra to move with him and be pushed off balance.
Until Regalia intervened.
"Get away from then, you bitch!" the Racoon Faunus, enraged by the attack on her friend by those whose mere existence needled at her spat forcefully as she shifted Apex Scavenger into its' melee form and swung the pickaxe head of the staff upward at Carmesi's hands. With a surprised exclamation and hateful snarl the Komodo Dragon Faunus ripped his weapon free of Astra's shield just in time to avoid the attack and savagely tore through the remaining hard-light into the process however Regalia continued to press the attack, stepping between Carmesi and Astra as she adjusted her grip and continued her swing to bring the flat, broad side of her harpoon which formed the weapons' opposite end crashing into her opponents cheek before sending Carmesi backwards with a kick to the chest.
"For what it's worth I actually liked you kids, there's potential there….Conviction in your actions" Carmesi rumbled as he braced himself, twirling his blade with one hand whilst wiping a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the other before it could reach the edge of his well kept beard "I'd prefer to go around you….But if you insist on making me go through you then I will"
"You'll have to go through me is my line" Astra sneered, the paltry attempt at a quip uttered with a pained and weary wheeze but preceding a far more substantial gesture; seeing the words as a signal to move Regalia weaved aside and allowed her partner to aim the compact mini-guns fitted to the undersides of their weapons forward and open fire.
Carmesi, with no chance to run or evade attempted neither of things and simply held the flat, broad edge of Retribution out in front of himself to deflect as many bullets as possible whilst his Aura, the deep crimson of arterial spray rippled around him; as did the surface of Zirconia's barrier which proved itself to be far more durable from within than without; though how long it could be maintained was a matter Astra was unwilling to test.
"Carmesi, target the one creating this blasted shield; if she falls then so will it!" Grapeshot's barked order interrupted the flow of the battle and came with a clear sense of desperation as it became clear that despite his years of experience and undeniable skill Athena, with her own years of training from the many Hunters in her family combined with the energy of youth and simple fury would simply outlast him. Hearing their enemies intent Astra and Regalia shared a silent nod and planted themselves between Carmesi and Zirconia; determined but by no means assured of their own victory as despite their noteworthy abilities neither Astra's skill and ingenuity or Regalia's raw strength and tenacity seemed to match the zealotry and sheer relentless force of the scarred reptilian. Their worries were undercut however, replaced by an altogether different sense of dread as Carmesi flashed the pair a smile that was closer to a grimace made of fangs before sheathing his blade and splaying his hands wide, allowing his Aura to glow around them; its' deep hellish crimson hue swirling and coalescing with a sharp crackling sound into jagged and serrated points as he locked eyes with Astra.
"Don't follow us, I don't want to kill you but I will" and with that his right hand lashed out with near-invisible speed, leaving Astra and Regalia stunned into mobility as the unmistakable sound of cold winds seeped into the sensory void of Zirconia's Semblance; revealing the first hints of Carmesi Hueso's own Semblance which Astra realised at that moment they had never known. The Komodo Dragon Faunus's Semblance was a weapon, their very soul sharpened to a blade which tore through an attempt to contain it as a manifestation of violent dominion.
At that moment Astra realised that their opponent had been holding back the entire time.
"GRAPESHOT, MOVE!" Carmesi bellowed as he ripped Zirconia's barrier apart with an upward jerk of his hand, the motion sending Zirconia reeling and clutching at her temples with her eyes returning to the natural state as a feedback loop of pain distracted her and caused the rest of Phantasmagoria to shatter entirely.
"Our chariot awaits Old Chap!" the clearly worn and drained rogue declared, forcing some semblance of his chipper and upbeat snobbery into his words as his aimed and fired his weapon even whilst fleeing, the attack forcing Athena to cover both herself and Zirconia who was still dizzied and disoriented by Carmesi's assault.
"Damn it, we have company!" Carmesi rumbled out, the declaration forcing Astra to tear their eyes away from the rogue Huntsman himself and follow his gaze upwards into the now visible night sky where, amidst the stars and broken moon a translucent and shimmering cyan form could be seen; keen Faunus eyes identifying it, with some incredulity as a Bull-Head of an older model, comprised entirely of Hard-Light and hurtling towards where they fought at great speed.
Professor Velvet Scarlatina had come to Team MARZ's aid and that thought filled Astra with a new fire, Carmesi's terrifying Semblance be damned.
"ASTRA NO!" Regalia's yell fell on deaf ears as the Deer Faunus streaked forwards, blades at the ready and sea-green eyes filled with determination as they lunged and attempted a thrusting stab with both arm-mounted blades only for Carmesi to meet them with equal force.
"You really don't learn" he rumbled as he sidestepped and delivered a crushing blow to Astra's shoulder which left their Aura rippling and the arm handing limp, followed by a kick to the knee and savage hook to the back of the head which left the younger sprawled on the floor, their shields useless against the attack and finally a forceful, crushing stomp to the back of Astra's neck which shook the ground and left the teen choking for air which their body refused to let them take in.
Yet a moment later the ground shook again.
"Get away from my students!" the unmistakable twang of Velvet Scarlatina's voice echoed through the air, filled with dreadful fury and magnified to a deafening degree. Feeling Carmesi comply and step away, if only to brace himself for battle once again Astra rolled over, every muscle aching and burning in protest as they sought out exactly what it was that had stayed their adversary's hand only to be left dumbstruck by the same awe that had rendered the rest of Team MARZ silent.
Velvet's weapon had constructed and entire Atlas Paladin which she could now be seen sat within the cockpit of, eyes locked on Carmesi Hueso as she trained its' various weapons on the man.
"Carmesi Hueso, you are under arrest for-" the sense of victory was ripped from Astra, along with their team a moment later as heavy gunfire lanced through the air and tore deep gouges into the hard-light form of Velvet's battle-suit, the construct immediately beginning to show severe damage as whatever vehicle Grapeshot had fled in the direction of clearly boasted weapons of its' own; namely a turret whose ammunition, whilst relatively large was still small enough for the man to duplicate, transforming its' already rapid firing into a veritable firestorm that withered all in its' path.
Allowing Carmesi Hueso to slip away, vanishing in the eruptions of dust and dirt that were thrown into the air.
"He got away!" Zirconia rasped out, her usually quiet and refined tones filled with anger that Astra could understand and gladly share in as they struggled to their feet. Before the Deer Faunus could limp towards their friends and fully take stock of the situation their quick scanning of their surroundings was brought to a halt by a very simple realisation, namely that Deputy Headmistress Professor Scarlatina had abandoned and dissipated her hard-light Paladin and was now gesturing for her wayward students to fall in, an order that Athena had already followed with the stiff rigidity of someone who knew themselves condemned whilst trying her hardest not to visibly quail under the stern glare of her teacher.
Astra found themselves swallowing thickly as they realised that they had never seen Professor Scarlatina as utterly furious as she was at that moment.
To say Headmistress Coco Adel had been angry was to compare a raging typhoon to a simple gust of wind or pleasant breeze; a laughable notion almost insulting in its' insufficiency.
The Headmistress had been terrifying.
Velvet had only given a brief burst of anger upon leading Team MARZ back to the walls of Midpoint informing them, along with Team WULF that disciplinary action for something of such magnitude would have to be handled by the Headmistress herself and; following a flight filled entirely with a tense, dreadful silence which left nerves buzzing with electric fear which demanded release, back to the Academy and then a walk through corridors and walkways between towers in the pre-dawn gloom until they had reached the Headmistress's office where Coco had delivered on the promised discipline without hesitation. She had demanded full details of everything that had transpired from the moment the eight teens had agreed to depart for Midpoint, a debriefing weaponised into something else entirely which the raging woman used to first thoroughly deride her students for using relief efforts for their own, selfish and ill-considered gains and then begin pointing out every conceivable lack of foresight, error of judgement or other failing that she could name in excruciating detail and a level of thundering rage that had cowed her students to such an extent that none of them dare meet her eyes lest she take it as a challenge.
Following this initial, crushing barrage laden with truly inventive language Coco had informed Team MARZ and Team WULF collectively that they would, from that moment forth be subject to severe restrictions and disciplinary proceedings; specifically she had stated that the two teams were henceforth confined to the campus outside of lessons, training missions or express permission from a member of the senior faculty and that failure to abide by this, or any other terms set upon them would lead to the expulsion of the entire team of the student responsible. It seemed almost impossible to many present that the situation could become more dire, however Coco had continued and Athena-Jade and Ursinia in particular had looked mortified when the Headmistress informed them that each of their families would be informed of the situation, for the express purpose of preparing transport home for them should it become needed.
Through it all Astra had kept their face a stony, stoic mask.
Now they and Wolfram were the only members of their team present. Coco had, after venting her spleen sufficiently instructed the rest of their teams to return to their dormitories, stating that protocol dictated that the failure of an entire team was a matter for its' leader to justify; though as they continued to take in the flushed face of their Professor whilst she paced and stalked the space behind her mahogany desk it seemed very unlikely to the Deer Faunus that there would be any justification she would hear.
"I have lost students, my staff have had to inform the families of Hunters, Hunters whom I trained and certified, that their children were dead" Coco's voice dropped to a low, almost guttural snarl as she halted and regarded Astra and Wolfram "I take that failing very personally, I take each and every one of those deaths to mean that I failed to teach or prepare my students for something, that I failed to do everything in my power for them….But Mars, Ironside what can I do for you?"
"Professor, with all due-" Wolfram prepared to speak, his voice filled with the same respectfulness he reserved for his own mother and tinged with an air of appropriate caution for the danger he found himself in.
"Shut up!" Coco snapped "I can try and I can keep on trying but I can't fix stupid and make no mistake, what you did was stupid-"
"Professor, I think" now it was Astra who dared to speak, their throat dry and palms clammy even before Coco's hawklike gaze turned toward them.
"Rest assured that if you interrupt me again tonight I will expel you and hand you into your brothers' care personally" Astra's felt a dreadful chill pass through them at the utter certainty she was not joking.
"As team leaders you have both displayed a lack of respect for the positions you find yourselves in and a cavalier attitude to the lives of the team-mates in your care" Coco continued icily "It is my sincere wish that you will never have to find yourselves in a position where you have to explain your failings to the grieving family of one of your friends, however given tonight's events and the context in which they occurred, namely your previous failures to heed direct orders from both my staff and more experienced Hunters I am forced to admit that it is a possibility….However, I placed my trust in you both during your imitations and I am loath to withdraw that trust without a fair chance for you to earn it back; and so I am offering you both a chance"
"Anything it takes Professor" Wolfram nodded, features ashen as he answered what he correctly sensed to be a question with earnestness and a fierce determination, whilst beside him Astra simply nodded in silence; not trusting themselves to speak though Coco clearly saw this as satisfactory.
"You have two choices, firstly you and your teams will submit to a series training missions outside of normal classes, which I will leave to Professor Ruby Rose to devise and implement, this will continue for the rest of the academic year at the end of which a decision will be made regarding whether you are fit to continue leading your teams" Coco paused and regarded her students "The other choice is that I have your resignations from leadership roles and your advice on who should replace you, effective immediately"
"I'll take the missions" Astra answered swiftly, trying to fight the urge to puff up their chest with pride and a display of confidence, certain that Coco would react poorly. Wolfram remained silent for several seconds until Astra, more bold than they had thought themselves in that moment reached over to squeeze his hand.
"I'll take the extra training" Wolfram croaked out "So long as Team WULF all agree to it, if they tell me they don't want me as a leader then I'll hand you my notice….Either Diabla or Ursinia would make great leaders"
"I'm glad to see at least one of you appreciates the severity of your situation" Coco said coldly as her eyes raked across from Wolfram to Astra "Now get out of my sight"
The two leaders left, still hand in hand and their was a fearful silence between the two of them until they put a respectable distance between themselves and Coco's fury.
"You'd seriously let your team kick you out of the leadership spot?" Astra finally asked in a hushed whisper, voice filled with surprise and disbelief as the pair trudged through the dim corridors.
"Yeah" Wolfram shrugged "I mean I'm tough with 'em, I expect a lot….But I expect a lot from myself and they should be able to expect things from me too….We fucked up today"
"I fucked up" Astra countered, hand moving from Wolfram's so that they could loop an arm around their boyfriend's waist "I didn't know all the variables, I made a call without all the information; but now we know….and so do the Professors, which means whoever the next Hunter to deal with Hueso is will be more prepared. Once again we got them the information they needed and they didn't even know they needed it.
"You're not sorry at all are you?" Wolfram stared in quiet shock as the pair came to a halt, he rarely gave verbal apologies out of habit but could at least see their mistakes and move to correct them. Astra simply gazed up at him and Wolfram, with human eyes straining in the dark could see their features twisting into a smirk.
"Why would I be?" they answered, having the audacity to laugh as they continued "I honestly didn't expect us to be able to catch Grapeshot and Hueso tonight, that was best case scenario….But seriously, if it wasn't for that weaponised Aura Semblance we could have done it; just another minute or two until Professor Scarlatina got there and we'd have done it"
"Holy shit" Wolfram breathed out, his only knowledge of the specifics of what had happened had come from Team MARZ's own recounting which he had no reason to distrust, which left the teen in awe at both the fact that it was indeed conceivable that Astra could have overseen the capture of two of Menagerie's most wanted and also the brazen way in which they discussed the matter.
"Yeah" Astra murmured, leaning forward on their toes to rest their chin on Wolfram's shoulder whilst avoiding the spikes of the armour their "I still think my parents are gonna go nuts though….Oh shit, AJ is gonna murder me when her Mum is done chewing her out"
"Damn getting chewed out by Weiss Slate" Wolfram grimaced as he gratefully accepted the embrace Astra had initiated, expression darkening as he added "My Mum is gonna lose it, I just know she's gonna bring Dad's memory into it as well….Am I an ass-hole if I put my scroll on silent until tomorrow afternoon?"
"Want me to take the blame for it all?" Astra offered "Not the first time I've been in trouble over handling things"
"Right, the break in you stopped in Neo Vale….I kinda want my Mum to like you though" Wolfram managed a weak chuckle before adding "Honestly I shouldn't complain….me and Ursinia have at least got families to contact"
"Yeah" Astra agreed quietly, the mood remaining sombre as the pair remained close for an indeterminate amount of time before the Deer Faunus, nuzzling slightly into their boyfriends' neck murmured "You don't wanna go back to your dorm yet do you?"
"Absolutely not" Wolfram admitted "I don't wanna be a coward about it but at the same time, they're gonna be angry, they've got every right to be angry….But I wanna let things settle because if they start off now I'm gonna say some things back; it's just better to do this with a clear head"
"When did you get so diplomatic? At the start of the year you would've just choked out whoever lipped off first" Astra snorted.
"Yeah but I don't want to lead like that" Wolfram breathed, planting a kiss against the point where Astra's antlers sprouted as her added "And I learned from you, you lead Team MARZ well….Whatever Professor Adel says, you take risks for good reason and handle it like a pro"
"It's that do or die bad-ass thing you've got going for you" Astra admitted, smiling into Wolfram's neck "It's kinda hot when you just power through whatever stopping you….So I tried to make it work for me"
"Oh it does" Wolfram admitted with a sly smile as he pulled back to kiss Astra's lips, the mood shifting between the two without the needs for words although as they locked eyes, smiles broadening the taller teen asked "You don't wanna go back to your dorm either do you?"
"I mean I'll have to show up and take everyone's shit at some point" Astra grinned, taking Wolfram's hands as they half turned and set off in the direction of a more secluded part of the campus "But later"
With that the pair made off into the early morning gloom, putting aside responsibilities for at least a while in favour of salvaging at least something enjoyable from what had been intended to be a date night.
Regalia's thoughts were a whirring and jumbled mess and the Racoon Faunus was sure that any onlooker would be able to hear her mind clanking and rattling like a poorly maintained machine as each new idea and perspective to get caught up in her thinking like dust in a desert storm crashed into the one before it.
The dormitory was deathly silent and after several minutes more of strained thinking Regalia, bushy tail sanding upright behind her decided that she could stand it no longer.
"Heh, what did your folks say?" across the dormitory there were stirrings on both levels of the opposite bunk as Athena-Jade and Zirconia turned to face her. On the lower bunk the pale and blue-eyed Bear Faunus took a moment to uncover herself from bedding that she had all but burrowed into after returning from a rooftop scroll-call to her family in Atlas, pulling herself into a sitting position with her covers still drawn around her to give a softness to her small but immensely sturdy stature whilst her features were drawn in a way that suggested her own racing thoughts.
"I haven't spoken to Mum yet, she's at SDC headquarters pulling an all-nighter with Uncle Whitley" the Bear Faunus almost managed a smile at the good fortune that had delayed what would be a most unwelcome discussion "My Dad's an ex Specialist so he wakes up at crazy time, he was working out before he has to head into Atlas Academy; making breakfast for when Mum gets home….He was uh, upset with me. I think he gets it though, he did a lot of dumb stuff and not all of it was to do with being a Hunter so he knows there's only so much he can really say….He did say that since I'm so determined to do my own thing he'd hoped that I might be a little smarter-"
"I'm sure he didn't mean it as harshly as it sounded" Zirconia noted delicately, Hopping silently down from her own bunk to sit beside her partner upon hearing in Athena's tones how it had stung her to hear her fathers' disappointment. Shuffling nearer without conscious thought Athena looked up at Zirconia, mouth momentarily dry as she took in the way her untied hair cascaded over slender shoulders before focusing again.
"What about your guardian?" she asked, wondering at how composed her insectoid Faunus had seemed whilst exchanging text messages with Damascus Nero "I thought he was strict?"
"He expects no less than the best from those around him, myself included…..And he worries" Zirconia breathed, affection colouring her words "He wanted to know exactly why I felt it was a good idea to risk throwing away everything that I had worked towards but once I explained that I couldn't simply abandon a friend he understood….He said that he would have made the same choice, but given my Semblance I should have simply detained Astra"
There was a round of faint laughter at that, nervous and brittle until Athena-Jade turned to Regalia and asked her the question which had started the discussion; sensing that she and Zirconia could easily talk until the soon fully rose however it felt unfair to leave the Racoon Faunus on the periphery.
"What did your people say?….Has the academy contacted the Aiktishaf?"
"Heh, they can try" Regalia shrugged, fighting the urge to smirk at this advantage she had over those born in the Kingdoms and settlements "They can send a message to some of more frequent trading posts or I can give them the frequency to radio and they can tell my Mum that I went out into the wastes without permission….At which point my Mum will point out that I was born in the wastes and that Clan Aiktishaf have never needed the permission of the Kingdoms to travel as we please"
"That's the spirit" the bemused, yet swaggering and unfathomably cocky note in Astra's voice as the leader of Team MARZ sidled into the dormitory halted all conversation.
Regalia regarded them for a moment, noting the looseness of the sleeveless gi they wore under their short-sleeved red leather jacket which was currently draped over one shoulder; exposing faint discolourations around their neck whose size and shape marked them out as being a product of something other than the fight against Carmesi Hueso, conspiring with the bite marks in tandem with dark streaks where the make up around Astra's eyes had run told their team-mates exactly what had kept their leader away from the dorm for so long.
"So" Athena growled out, voice dropping to a low and threatening tone that Regalia could wholly understand but was still worried by "How much trouble are we all in?"
"Besides the fact we're all basically on our final warning and the calls home….Honestly not too bad" Regalia saw a calculating look on her partners' face, the kind of rapid calculation that seemed to precede each of the plans that she enjoyed being party to so much yet here the look only worried her; a condition that was clearly shared by Athena and Zirconia which Astra clearly sensed and was prompted by to speak again.
"It's gonna be your Aunt Ruby looking over our shoulders" they nodded to Athena, hoping that this alone might soothe the Bear Faunus's temper but quickly adding "We're getting additional training until the end of the year. So despite all the talk, they're still gonna keep giving us all the extra, under the table lessons that they started up on before….Honestly I think this is a pretty good-"
Athena was a blur of motion.
"Athena no!" Zirconia's voice as panicked as she leapt after her partner, catching her just as she gripped Astra by the scruff of the neck and slammed them back into the door-frame with one hand, the other balled into a fist and reared back until her partners' arms wrapped around her shoulder and gently, carefully extricated her from the team leader she had been about to beat sense into. Astra's eyes flashed with dangerous anger, yet before it could manifest itself as words or actions Regalia, still clad in the shorts and tank-top in which she had intended to sleep had crossed the dormitory and pushed Astra out of the door, pushing the vast volume of her untied hair away as she went and her bare feet slapping softly on the cold floor as she led Astra a safe distance down the hall.
"This has got to stop" she said simply.
"What?" Astra demanded incredulously.
"All of it!" their partner bit the answer out with more venom than she thought possible, pale amethyst eyes filling with sadness as she regarded the Deer Faunus "Were you always this selfish?"
"Selfish?" Astra demanded, gasping out the word in utter disbelief before compulsion saw them attempt to justify themselves "I-we did the right thing! I get that the Professors have duty of care to us, but we're Hunters….We had to take the risk and it paid off; Professor Adel knows what Grapeshot and Carmesi are doing for certain now, we nearly had 'em….we so nearly had 'em. We did that right thing Regalia-"
"But you do it for all the wrong reasons" Regalia took her partners' shoulders, determined to make them see reason; voice and features filled with a profound sadness as she saw that Astra truly did believe themselves to be acting for the benefit of all, showing just how deeply the rot of their blinding ego had seeped.
"I would have loved to be able to say we caught those two bastards, you think I wouldn't?" she breathed out "But can we just admit that we'd be doing it for ourselves, because we hate them and because you want to prove yourself to your brother?"
"I-" Astra scowled, massaging the point where their Antlers sprouted "I fucked up when we brought in Rowan Oralie….I need Felix to see that I can do this-"
"We're first year students" Regalia counted "Nobody expects you to bring down entire smuggling operations on your own, heh not even Professor Rose saved Remnant on her own-"
"I'm not alone, I've got you….All of you, right?" Regalia's heart swelled at Astra's reply and she wrung her hands nervously, dredging up every ounce of conviction she could summon to herself as she continued.
"But do you want us though?" the question left Astra staring at her as though struck, rendered utterly mute and allowing their partner to go on, repeating her earlier accusation "You've gotten selfish….You don't think of the team when you lead any more, you think about what will make you stronger-"
"You're talking about me pushing myself to hard in training" Astra' visibly fought the urge to scoff, hardening Regalia's features with the indifference.
"We need the old Astra back more than we need what you're turning into, new Semblance or not" she stated flatly "All of Team MARZ are strong Astra, you think even with your Semblance you could take Athena, or Zirconia….Or me?-"
"So you don't want me to improve-"
"This isn't an improvement!" Regalia snapped, throwing her hands up as she fought the urge to grab her partner by the shoulders again and physically shake them before instead, with a hint of the same cunning she admired in Astra finding the words that would stir them "I'm not going to use my Semblance for you again, not outside of missions"
"What?" Astra demanded.
"Because you're going to make me hate you" Regalia's voice cracked "It's my turn to be selfish now Astra, as strange as feels….I have wanted to be a Hunter since I was a little girl, I hate Carmesi and Grapeshot because they soured that dream for me and now all of us are at risk of losing everything we worked for because we listened to you. If I keep giving you what you want you're going to make me hate you, I don't want to hate you….You're still my best friend"
With that Regalia turned and left, returning to Team MARZ's dormitory and leaving Astra in a shaken silence to try and see the way forward as they struggled to reconcile the consequences of their actions and what their friends needed from them with the burning, all-consuming obsession which had taken root in them and become their driving force.
Eventually they trudged slowly along the corridor and knocked sheepishly on the door to Team WULF's dormitory, hoping that Diabla's unquestionable rage had been spent and that none of Wolfram's team-mates would object to the Deer Faunus sleeping in their room for what few hours rest were still available to them.
Whatever decisions were ultimately made Astra at least had the sense to know that nothing good would come of facing Team MARZ at that moment.
Author's Notes:
Oh boy, another fun chapter.
Y'know when the six-person fight scene isn't even the biggest conflict of the chapter that the interpersonal mess is going to build up to something explosive.
Also, I've got up until the half-way point of Vol.03 planned; I've also got barest bones of everything up to Chapter 55 which is the end of Vol.03/First Year (And the beginnings of things beyond that) but I'll probably be taking a week off in a month or so to plan more solidly.
On a related note I made it a new year's resolution to post 50 chapters of this story this year….Well, two down and 48 to go.
Also on a note that's completely unrelated to anything...Us in the FNDM tend to have OCs with fairly unique names just due to the naming conventions; but one of the new starters at my job is called Astra and let me tell you, that felt like a glitch in the Matrix.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Did you think I was gonna have Team WULF just standing at the edge of Midpoint doing nothing?
With the way Atlas trains it's Hunters and Diabla living in barracks for several years with the expectation of attending Atlas Academy it makes sense that she has a little knowledge of how to work alongside regular soldiers.
Finally, somewhere where Ursinia gets to actually use her grenade launcher without worrying about it.
Wolfram's reaction to Laser touching him really is gonna have to be dealt with.
So there's the reason I had Team WULF stay behind, somebody had to be the catalyst that gets a Professor/member of Coco's inner circle on site.
Of course the middle child knows a cry for attention when she sees it.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to write a three way fight scene between six people with unique weapons and superpowers and a flying monster? So many things to keep track of.
Grapeshot absolutely kicked Zirconia out of the way of the Grimm, enough force for it to look real but he's getting sick of seeing dead Hunters.
If these were a show Regalia's harpoon coming in would be where a truly cinematic camera angle and perspective change happened.
Yeah Astra needs to work on their bad-ass lines, they really haven't had the touch with it since Neo Vale in chapter 01.
This however, this planning on the fly….This is the Astra we need back; taking out the Grimm in one hit and using the same trap to snare the rogue Hunters, that was bad-ass.
Also, Astra and Regalia's signature move is basically a play on Blake and Yang's….Because Astra learned from Yang.
Okay so the Hard-drives from the freight ship sunk by the Dread-Hulk are being kept in Coco's office rather than Velvet's personal workshop….Interesting.
Also can you blame Velvet here? As it stands getting Rowan to cooperate is their best bet, but that also means trading something in return with someone who killed former students of Breaktide; no way is she gonna let that go.
The offhand comment about the Hunter who took Rowan under their wing was to give a little context for where her skills came from, encryption isn't something you'd expect for a Grimm poacher and hired gun; even if the Desert Claw fight club did have encrypted CCT channels.
Okay but hear me out….Older students absolutely convince one freshman to prank call one of the teachers every year; usually Arslan or Coco herself….Only the truly heinous would prank call Penny.
Velvet on a warpath is a scary thing.
I just like the idea of Rowan being completely immune to Coco's whole intense aura and unflappable bad-ass routine, because she just doesn't care at all.
I didn't use the Rodger, Rodger last time but I'm only human dammit.
"So….You didn't call me here to ask if black and blue look good on you; they don't by the way" okay that was mean.
So this time it's Rowan with the dramatic speeches; she should've kept Fox out of it though.
Rowan doesn't think Grapeshot knows the Benefactor's name….But she left Carmesi out of it, because she's smart enough to pick up on certain things.
Let's be real, Rowan makes a good offer and some good points; the Benefactor is a long way from White Fang street tough and someone who was on their team is a valuable asset….It also leaves her open to keep trading and as Coco said buy her way out piece by piece.
Overall a fun little power play, seeing the different levels that these two work and think….But ending it with the "They did what?" was the only sensible thing?
Grapeshot targeting Zirconia was the sensible thing to do there, Zirconia really does come out of these fights lucky though considering how Carmesi usually manhandles everyone in his way.
Honestly it's been a while since we got to see just what Phantasmagoria can do, mainly because it's so OP I had to make it situational.
Athena and Zirconia doing an inversion of their usual move was nice.
"You'll have to go through me is my line" see that's a better line from Astra, but it does kinda lose something when it follows Carmesi being genuinely scary….And also complementing Astra for the same obsession that's ruining all of their friendships.
Now THERE'S a twist….Carmesi's Semblance is that their soul is literally a weapon, one capable of even cutting through other Semblances; but with the spikes being made of his own Aura if he'd used them instead of his blade to get out of Athena's glyph last volume he would probably have impaled himself.
Enter Professor Scarlatina with an aircraft, a battle-suit and a steel chair!…I was seriously going to have an actual showdown between Carmesi and Velvet here to show of just what his Semblance is capable of, but I decided that the scene was running long enough and that I'd be better served by holding it back for the mid-season finale.
So instead get Grapeshot using their Semblance for anti-armour instead.
Headmistress Coco might actually be scarier than Goodwitch.
Yeah Coco brought the hammer down because let's be real; this is like the third or fourth time that they've had to be told about the same shit, not including things that just couldn't be helped.
These two kids really do not understand when to shut the fuck up.
Coco laid it out in blunt terms: Your fuck ups are going to kill people you care about, get better or leave….Wolfram at least seems to be taking that seriously because despite being belligerent and having a tough guy routine at the start of the story, he's never misunderstood what being a leader means.
See Astra can admit that they made a bad call but, in a habit they've picked up from Wolfram they can't bring themselves to apologise for it.
And here we see Astra taking the wrong lessons and meaning from things….Although at a certain point Coco is at least partly to blame because she should know how Astra is going to see the option of being given extra training by Ruby, it's a privilege every other student would fight for; she's inadvertently rewarding them.
Yet again we see that Wolfram is learning to be better from Astra but Astra is changing for the worse to act like an idealised version of Wolfram.
You can see how upset AJ is by how far she burrows into the blankets.
So Damascus Nero who adopted the orphaned child of his friends says he would have followed Astra out into the wastes as well in Zirconia's position.
Laser and Diabla don't have anyone for Coco to call but Regalia is possibly in an even stranger position as a member of the nomad clans; if Coco tried to tell Swarf Russet anything she'd just get laughed at.
If you don't understand why Astra's make-up had run around their eyes then you're probably too young to be reading my writing.
At no point did Astra even consider offering to step down from the leadership role like Wolfram did….They didn't want to be a team leader, but now they've got main character syndrome.
I'm not saying I agree with AJ trying break their jaw, but I understand.
The talk between Regalia and Astra just came naturally, a lot of it wasn't originally planned.
Someone finally just came out and said; Astra does the right thing for the wrong reasons lately and that reason is because they've become selfish.
"I'm not alone, I've got you….All of you, right?" in other circumstances that would have been sweet.
So, that definitely kills off any attempts to keep looking for Carmesi and Grapeshot; not only are they confined to campus but Regalia just laid down the law….That might actually shake them.
Thank you to Lurkweed, SumoSnipe and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
Yeah you keep managing to post a review right after I post the next chaper and miss your window.
Oh I have corrected spellcheck and added Daren't to dictionary.
I think the fact that this story is called 'MARZ' rules out any major team reshaping….Not without getting into MASSIVE spoiler territory for things that probably a year away.
See Wolfram is even starting to see that Astra's gonna need reeling in soon as well and he might actually be able to do it.
Don't call it a date….Is the key to how AJ and Hops have gone to so many 'Not-dates' with the only problem being the press.
Really Diamond being the moment AJ realised girls were pretty was a surprise?...Did you read FADE? Lol.
Yeah Sulphur getting offed was bleak, pretty much unfixable chest wound with a mercy kill right after.
I think Helios was mentioned even if he wasn't on sceen during Team FADE's scene against the robot in Neo Vale...Also we might well see Team NEON when the story moves to Vale in second year.
Well Gestalt-Prime *WASN'T going to quote Alestorm…..But now you've suggested it.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.
