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Chapter 50: Those Who Wander

The look on the face of the young woman working at the information desk of Port Alistair's Cross Kingdom airship terminal when she had spoken to Astra was one that would not leave the Deer Faunus's mind despite their best efforts to force it away, the memories of being regarded with such naked pity driving their self loathing to ever more wretched depths as they reminded Astra how much they truly hated being seen as weak or helpless and in need. The desire to never feel like that again, along with admiration for their older brother had been a large part of why they had wanted for so long to become a Hunter, though with a sharp stab of loss Astra swallowed thickly to stifle a choked sob which would only lead to another outburst as they firmly reminded themselves that their dream was over and that they had seen to that themselves with their choices.

Even if they could bear facing the team they had abandoned their absence would likely have been noticed by now and Headmistress Coco Adel had been perfectly clear with the terms she had laid out.

Astra's initial departure from Breaktide Academy had been a hasty thing and not nearly so well calculated as they had tried to convince themselves that it had been both during and after the fact. Once their friends had fallen asleep, the telltale steady breathing filling the darkness which Faunus eyes pierced with ease Astra had slipped silently from their bunk and, with a single shaking breath to steady themselves had begun packing what little they would likely be able to take with them; the suitcase they had brought with them from their home in Neo Vale had been discarded in favour of a more practical rucksack which had then been filled with some of their clothes and important things such as their scroll charger, a small amount of Dust and their most useful and important tools, none of these clothes were any of the various items bearing the emblem of Breaktide Academy which they had acquired over the course of the year as the Deer Faunus that they would ever be able to look at those, or their academy uniforms' again without a minor breakdown. Textbooks had been similarly ignored though Buckshot Ares had been slipped onto their forearms in their collapsed form out simple instinct alone as Astra's weapons were, aside from being the end result of a vast amount of time and effort by far the most valuable thing they owned and the idea of leaving them behind was absurdity in their mind and so, thus prepared and with their signature Mohawk and red leather jacket with its' popped collar in place they had departed; trying not to sob as they slipped out of the door with only a hastily scrawled note to explain themselves.

Whatever increased security existed on the campus in the wake of Fox Scarlatina being attacked in Headmistress Adel's office had borne surprisingly little impact on Astra's departure, they had heard the faint footsteps of what might have been a security guard, or more likely a Hunter employed in such a role somewhere in the distance but had ultimately remained unchallenged as they found an open walkway between two parts of the fortress-like campus to clamber down from, something telling them that using the main entrance would be unwise and from there they had hurried across the grounds and, with a burst of Aura launched themselves up and over the perimeter wall and out into Port Alistair.

Crossing the city had taken some time, their exodus coming during those few hours where public transport had ceased on a Friday night but had not yet started on Saturday morning and as such birds were already beginning to chirp by the time Astra, with sore and aching feet and eyes reddened by a bout of crying that they had been unable to keep at bay as their route through the Capital of Menagerie provided them with so many memories of times spent with Team MARZ and with Wolfram that they had arrived at the cities' primary airship terminal and explained to the concerned looking young woman staffing the information desk that they wanted to board the first available flight to Neo Vale.

His request had been met by a response which left them somehow even more crushed than they had been before as it presented Astra with two insurmountable obstacles; firstly that the next flight would not be for several hours and secondly, more importantly that without a prior reservation Astra would have to be a pay price fare which even without the additional costs of bringing their luggage with them was far beyond what they could afford given their decidedly working class finances.

Astra was torn between simply collapsing and erupting in hysterical laughter as they realised that they couldn't even run away properly.

That had been over an hour ago and Astra had spent that time wandering the streets of Port Alistair as the birds chirped and the sun steadily rose, beating back the inhospitable chill of the islands' nights and allowing the city to be seen in all of its' glory as the Deer Faunus would note without hesitation that Port Alistair always looked better in the daytime, the neon glow and strobes that illuminated its' evenings cheapened it somehow. These and other, equally distracted musings drifted slowly to the back of their mind as teen, who was no longer sure that they could refer to themselves as any kind of student and certainly not a Hunter took another of the deep and shuddering breaths that had been a regular occurrence since the previous evening when their relationship with Wolfram had been unceremoniously ended and found the faint but unmissable scent of sea air and fish wafted into their nostrils which informed them that whilst they had been trying to do what it was their friends tried to convince them was their outstanding talent and form anything resembling a plan their feet had acted of their own accord and carried them in the general direction of the docks.

Something Astra could work with.

"Okay" they breathed out, voice still betraying them with its' ragged brittleness as they tried to shake their thoughts into some semblance of order despite the way that nothing about the future that lay ahead of them was appealing, a lifetime of drabness with which to bury crushed hopes and unrealised potential yet still Astra pushed on the obstinate self loathing and reasoned that a ferry would likely be cheaper than an airship, possibly even within their limited means and if it were not then the amount of smuggling that seemed to occur in this city would indicate that stowing away was not such a difficult thing.

Though before they could bring themselves to stomach such a lowly idea Astra decided that they would need to prepare themselves, and silence a stomach who growls were currently overshadowing even their other internal struggles.

They were uncertain of the exact time, primarily because their scroll had been turned off and Astra currently had no desire to turn the device back on lest the see missed calls from the friends they were leaving behind and find their willpower lacking, they did however know that the ships filled with tourists and migrants tended to arrive later in the day and that most of the vessels on the water at this hour would likely be freight or fishing vessels; this knowledge reminded Astra that the freight docks were home to a rather popular diner amongst the local blue collar workers which Regalia frequented and, peering around to get a better idea of their bearings the Deer Faunus noted that the freight docks might in fact be a little closer than their intended destination.

As was becoming something of a trend of late for Astra they found their plans interfered with the very instant they had taken shape.

They had shifted their rucksack and turned slowly, taking a moment to plot out a course which would take them to the expansive freight docks so that they could eat and hopefully enquire as to the cheapest way off of the island Kingdom, vague notions of travelling home aboard a cargo ship in exchange for working on it in some capacity entering their mind only to evaporate as in the instant they took a single step towards their goal the familiar sound of an engine reached their ears, specifically an engine belonging to a large and powerful vintage muscle car with black paint which came rolling into view from around a nearby corner.

"Oh you've gotta be fucking kidding me" Astra almost whimpered as the Killer-Bee, their brothers' car came to a stop in front of them and its' drivers' side window revealing that Felix Xiao Long was the current sole occupant of the vehicle, the brown paper bags giving off a pleasant smell suggesting that he had been at the very same diner Astra had been about to make their way towards whilst his expression, one of confused to surprise which was steadily giving way to resigned annoyance suggested that news of Astra's absconding from Breaktide Academy had not yet reached Felix.

"Get in" the Lion Faunus said simply with a slow exhalation through his nose in lieu of a more forceful demand, leaving Astra to work out what they were going to tell their family a lot sooner than they would have liked.


Regalia was in a state of near total panic; something which whilst understandable given the circumstances and especially when considering that her Semblance was of altogether much less use to her than she would like, was still not the ideal condition for one to be in whilst riding an incredibly powerful jetbike whose engine was made of components taken from a downed Bull-Head.

She, along with Athena-Jade and Zirconia had made it out of the grounds of the academy without incident or detection and given that it was a Saturday each of them maintained the faint, tenuous hope that they could return with Astra, without being missed at all during the fleeting moments where they allowed themselves to consider what might lay ahead of them; what each of them knew for certain however was that they would not under any circumstances allow Astra to leave if they could possibly help it. Once Athena had used her glyphs to help Regalia lift Clunker over the campus walls, choosing not to risk the main gate and Zirconia, in a display of roguish skill at odds with her wealthy upbringing though in character with her aesthetic had slunk over the barriers the trio had set off, with Athena using a glyph and the cable of Apex Scavengers' harpoon in order to be towed, in the direction of Astra's most obvious destination.

Only for Regalia's heart to lurch in her chest with grief and dread upon being told by the staff of the airship terminal that Astra had left.

Before the Racoon Faunus's ragged breathing could descend into hyperactivity or sobs however Athena had asked the kindly and clearly nervous young women staffing the information desk which flight Astra had boarded, prompting a reply that gave the trio the faintest, desperate sliver of hope to cling onto; the Deer Faunus had been unable to afford a ticket home to Neo Vale and had left with the customer service worker being unsure as to where. Athena had been in the midst of profusely thanking her when Regalia had turned and bolted, running at full-tilt back towards her jetbike and bringing its' engine roaring to life and allowing her friends barely a moment to leap aboard before hurtling back out into the streets of Port Alistair which were beginning to fill with morning traffic, rendering the nomad, who was still yet to grasp the intricacies of things' such as a speed limit a danger to every other vehicle and pedestrian around her.

Until finally her friends were forced to intervene.

"Regalia! Pull over NOW!" Zirconia's quiet rasp was raised in volume to account for the roar of the bike's engine whilst the Grasshopper Faunus who had taken Astra's customary place behind Regalia switched from hanging on for dear life to jabbing sharply into her team-mates' side, with the fact that the approach worked doing little to stop the apologetic look which filled her mismatched eyes when the Racoon Faunus brought her bike screeching to a halt and turned to glare at her, raising her amethyst-tinted goggles to reveal eyes that were wild to the point of becoming perilously unfocused, though fortunately it was Athena-Jade who spoke up as she hopped off of a glyph which dematerialised behind her and placed strong hands on her friends' shoulders.

"You nearly put me through a few peoples' wind-shields coming around corners like that" she almost managed a smile, though Regalia did not match the effort and instead continued her lost and disconnected staring for a moment longer before uttering, with soul-wrenching fear and grief.

"I can't find them AJ" the admission was a blow that left the Bear Faunus silent, blue eyes wide for just long enough for Zirconia to chime in thoughtfully.

"Your Semblance isn't working? Or a limit to its' effective range or-"

"My Semblance was the first thing I tried when they weren't at the airship terminal" Regalia, through sheer willpower managed to fight the urge to snap the answer out "But all I've got is a vague, general direction that they might be in, I never know exactly what my Semblance is gonna point me towards and I don't have a high enough vantage point to try and narrow it down.

"Damn it, I wish I could use constructs like my brother and my Mum do….never got the hang of 'em" Athena muttered, considering the ease with which they could find their wandering friend if they had a birds' eye view of Port Alistair from which to use Regalia's Semblance and then chewing her lip as she considered an option that occurred to her before dismissing it as too risky and instead turning to Regalia "Have they turned their scroll back on?"

"I can check" she answered sullenly, clearly doubting that such an effort would be worth the time it took and offering a shake of the head after a few moments which Athena could only take as confirmation that their absent member was indeed continuing their radio silence; chewing her lip nervously, an uncomfortable thing with such sharp teeth she turned her gaze back in the direction that Regalia had been heading, assuming it to be at the least the vague direction Astra had been travelling and frantically searching her mental map of the city for anything of use that might lay in that direction until finally a possibility occurred.

"The docks are that way" she spoke slowly and cautiously "I think I should call my brother, he can talk to Fluffy and maybe-"

"No!" Regalia exclaimed, panicked expression intensifying until she saw her friends' expressions and explained her fears

"What if Felix tells Professor Adel? He's already failed Astra on a mission before, or worse what if he….What if he finds Astra and agrees to take them back to Neo Vale, then what?"

"That won't…." Athena trailed off, words reduced to an incoherent mumble as she was forced to concede that whilst she hoped it was the least likely option Regalia's concerns were not entirely unwarranted, Astra's older brother and her cousin could; even if meaning well destroy Team MARZ with little more than a casual conversation to a Professor at that moment and his help could not be risked. The realisation that this extended to her own brother and her sister in law as well left Athena with a sinking sense of lonely dread as she realised that was for now truly without the family she had travelled to Menagerie to differentiate herself from; before her musings could travel down a dark and distracting path however she felt Zirconia's hand, clad in an armoured leather glove which reached her elbow squeeze at hers before her partner spoke softly.

"Calling for back up might still be our best option….Just somebody else, we need more pairs of eyes?"
"Who?" Regalia asked urgently.

"It's risky, but what if we asked Wolfram and Team WULF to help us look for Astra?" the Grasshopper's words caused a moment of stunned silence as both Athena and Regalia considered the notion, with Astra's partner being the first to speak.

"Do we have anything to lose?" she seemed almost hysterical at that, but slowly brought herself back from the brink of a mental breakdown with several deep breaths as Athena chimed in.

"Okay, so more eyes then….Now we're getting somewhere" she paused and peered around at the steadily increasing volume of traffic "Regalia, use your Semblance as much as you can and keep us posted, Hops and I can then use that information to try and triangulate Astra's position...It'll be even easier with Team WULF's help, we can narrow down more angles"

"We're gonna….herd Astra in?" Regalia winced at the wording as she considered the notion, certain that it was which Astra; with their close affiliations to Faunus rights groups in their native Kingdom would take supreme exception to. In response Athena-Jade merely shrugged and turned Regalia's own words against her.

"Do we have anything to lose?" the nomads' jaw worked silently in response for several seconds before finally gave a grim nod and set her jaw, lowering her goggles and bringing Clunker's engine roaring into life with a force which pitched the hovering jetbike higher into the air before streaking off into the distance, albeit with more caution and awareness of her surroundings than before. Athena watched her leave before turning to her partner, finally allowing her own worry to show.

"Okay Hops answer me seriously….Do we have a chance of finding Astra" Zirconia shifted her weight, taking a wide stance as though she were bracing herself, cloak like scarf obscuring her mouth and giving her the usual mysterious look as her pink and orange eyes bored into Athena's.

"We can and we will, because we can't allow anything else"


Wolfram Ironside stared at his scroll in disbelief for several seconds after the brief call had ended before sinking back onto his bunk in a profound silence as the world seemed to fall away around him.

The Leader of Team WULF had slept late following the turmoil of the previous evening wherein he had returned to his dormitory and rendered his friends deeply concerned by the shaken and emotionally dulled shell of himself that he had been until relentless and determined prodding from Ursinia, which she had deemed to be for his own good had broken through the almost robotic display and reduced the young man to unabashed bawling at the situation between himself and Astra; being naturally inclined to subdue such outbursts had meant the evening had taken a toll on him and at the current moment Wolfram was clad only in a pair of shorts which he had slept in, blue-grey hair released from its' usual wolfs' tail and spilling over his back and shoulders in a display which might have been appealing were it not for the way it framed a face which was slowly being drained of colour and taking on a shell-shocked expression which was seen by the rest of Team WULF as they loitered about their dormitory idly, Laser noticing it from the corner of a habitually watchful eye and nudging and silently gesturing until Diabla and Ursinia turned their attention towards their leader.

"You okay over there partner?" Ursinia cleared her throat as she broke a suddenly oppressive silence "You look like someone just walked right on over your grave"

"It's Astra" Wolfram croaked out, eyes lever leaving the translucent screen of a scroll which now sat idly displaying a background image of the two team leaders together.

"Darlin'….Did Astra do something….Stupid?" Ursinia spoke carefully bur urgently, the towering scorpion Faunus had come to consider herself sheltered and inexperienced in many regards since leaving the small and secluded settlement she had called home however heartbreak was a different matter to the Creatures of Grimm entirely and living in a place with a busy tavern and a lot of wagging tongue meant that Ursinia had heard plenty of stories of reckless or self destructive actions taken by those who felt they had lost too much.

"They're gone" Wolfram's voice was hoarse and choked, desperately holding on to some last shred of composure "That was Athena….She said that Astra took off early this morning while Team MARZ were asleep, they're dropping out of Breaktide. Team MARZ said that they know Astra didn't get on an airship so they're looking for them in the city-"

"Then why in tarnation are you lolly-gagging and sitting there without your darn boots on?" Ursinia barked "Get dressed and help 'em look ya dunderhead!"

"Did….Did you just call him a Dunderhead….and not get something thrown at you?" Laser seemed both stunned and moderately appalled until he threw his hands up defensively "I mean I'm with you, let's go stop a friend from doing something stupid….Shit I know we're confined to campus but if all Adel's got to make sure is cameras then I'm only following that rule to be polite anyway; just give me second to process that-"

"Laser. Stop talking" Diabla's gruff interruption caused her partners' jaw to close with an audible click and a mocking salute in her general direction which went ignored as burning orange eyes turned towards Wolfram "Well….Are we moving out or not?"

"Is it gonna help?" Wolfram looked at her in clear and utter anguish "This is all my fault-"

"Darlin'" Ursinia's attempt to interrupt and talk sense into her partner was met with a look that managed to be baleful and completely defeated and dejected at the same time.

"Astra wanted to be more than they were, then they met me….I tried to make things right, I tried to help and I tried to get them to see and this is what happened" Wolfram threw his hands up in despair "This is what happens when I try and help….I shouldn't, I'm just….Damn it I'm a guy whose Semblance is literally a weapon, what good am I gonna be when it-"

"Listen here" Diabla's voice was low and threatening as she stalked across the dorm with her fists clenched and glowing with the light of her own Semblance, looming over her leader and speaking with a voice which grew more booming and powerful with each syllable; leaving her friends wide eyed at her sheer gall.

"I don't know how you do things out in Stalwart but I was made in the Atlas Cadets Ironside! We. Do. Not. Leave. People. Behind! Me and Slate have had our differences but she is a Hunter, a damned good one at that and she called you, specifically you for help and I don't care if you think you caused the mess or even whether that's true or not! What matters right now is that we're going to stop something bad from happening because we're Team WULF and that's what we do!" Diabla crouched down to Wolfram's eye level and took his bare shoulders, shaking him gently "And you're our leader….So if it's not you leading the charge then who's it gonna be Wolfie?….You think they'd follow me?"

"I-" Laser's interjection, most likely regarding the fact that the blonde Vaccuan Scavenger would willingly follow his partner to the very ends of Remnant without a second thought was interrupted by the gentle pressing of Ursinia's stinger pressing into his collarbone, a severe warning from the Faunus to not risk ruining this crucial moment before it could reach its' climax and for several seconds, each stretching outwards to a painful degree Team WULF's dormitory was deathly silent.

Then Wolfram rose to his feet.

"Okay" he said, forcing additional roughness into his voice as he began to hastily dress himself, sharp eyes already picking out where his armour and weapons lay "I'll tell Team MARZ to turn on their locations on their scrolls and let us sync ours up with them, Regalia can't pinpoint Astra so we're gonna have to coordinate over a larger area to find 'em….And Diabla I've gotta ask, do they teach motivational speeches like that in Atlas?"

"No dumb-ass….I learned that from you" that comment left Wolfram staggering for a moment, Diabla's sudden gentleness rendering it quite possibly the closest thing to soft or heartfelt that the pair had shared, each of them suddenly acutely aware of how much they had grown and how much their friendship had come to mean to them both, until the moment was ended when Diabla saw Wolfram turn slowly towards her "If you try and hug me right now I will break your arm"

"Noted" Wolfram snorted, continuing to fasten his armour into place "Team WULF….Get ready to move out!"


Felix, it transpired had indeed been returning from the very same diner which Astra had been about to make their way towards; the Lion Faunus having awoken early and decided that the fresh fish the establishment served on weekends was the closest thing to the specialities of their home on Patch they would be able to find on Menagerie. Spotting Astra wandering, in a state of personal ruination through empty city streets had been a chance affair although the Lion Faunus had quickly recovered, waiting until the Deer Faunus had made themselves comfortable in the passenger seat and driving without a specific destination in mind through Port Alistair at a steady pace. The customised vintage muscle car had been one of the vehicles Astra had learned to drive in as both their brother and father had given them lessons as soon as they were old enough and the familiarity went some way to soothe nerves which had been frayed beyond all use until eventually Astra sank into a silence which was as calm and peaceful as the situation could allow.

Felix however, not knowing what the situation itself was but still being capable of making educated guesses decided that it was time for some answers and so used a needling technique understood by all older siblings.

"So most kids run away from home at your age if they're gonna run, not towards it….You sure there's not a circus you want me to drop you off at?"

"Fuck you man" Astra muttered bitterly, confirming in their brothers' mind that they had indeed been in the process of abandoning the academy to return to their parents. Felix remained silent for a few moments, waiting to see if their sibling would speak without further prompting, listening to the muffled growl of the Killer-Bees' engine as it rolled through the residential areas between the docks and nearby industrial sectors towards the centre of the city until it seemed obvious that Astra would remain silent if allowed to do so, their brothers' presence absolving them of the responsibility of making uncomfortable decisions and so Felix let out a slow sigh and gently pressed them again.

"Come on kid work with me here" he urged "I know Coco confined your team to campus, you've got a bag with you….I know you haven't been expelled, Coco would have at least called me or paid for your ride home; AJ would have called Arctus 'cos as much as she's trying to make it on her own and be more than just a name she'd still use the family name and connections for something this-"

"I broke up with Wolfram….Well, he broke up with me, or….Damn it, just everything's a mess" Astra ground the beginning of the sentence out yet each fragmented part that followed came more swiftly and yet less distinct; words reduced to verbal floodwater that left Felix caught off balance for a moment and trying to figure out which of their mothers' approaches to handling something like this he would be more suited to borrowing.

"Well damn….I mean I knew he was a dumb-ass from the start but y'know, with a decade or two he could have grown on me….or gathered like dust" Felix allowed his blue eyes to dart towards Astra hopefully for a moment "I'm not helping am I?"

"Not at all" Astra huffed, though despite their claims the corners of their mouth did twitch ever so slightly in response to their brothers' efforts.

"So come on, spill"

"It was just…." Astra once again trailed off, floundering in search of words before deciding to start from what they felt was a more suitable beginning "Look….I know I've been dumb lately, I've been struggling but I keep trying to do better and nothing feels like it works. I spoke to Professor Ro-Your Aunt Ruby on Thursday night and it helped, I went into classes yesterday ready to make things happen….Then I got my ass kicked….Then Wolfram came and told me that he wanted us to take a break, that I've changed and he doesn't really know or like who I am any more….I just….I couldn't stay there"

"Damn" Felix focused on the road for a moment, turning a corner as he continued his largely aimless ride through the city "I'm not saying I agree with you running out but….I definitely get why you needed some space"

"What do you think?" Astra asked, eyeing their brother cautiously with eyes that were still somewhat bloodshot; Felix's opinion was one that the Deer Faunus had always held in the highest regard and as they turned, their Mohawk and tips of their antlers brushing against the roof they waited with bated breath as their brother took several moments to consider his words under the guise of checking a nearby road sign.

"I get why you needed space" he repeated, metallic fingers drumming against the steering wheel "But you could have handled this better….Wolfram could have handled things better as well, what happened happened and we can't undo it now but….And don't get angry with me here kid, Wolfram does have a point even if he made it badly. You have been acting like a self-centred little prick lately even when you mean well, the fact you've left the academy first thing in the morning without telling the Professors that you wanted to leave and maybe put your whole teams futures' in jeopardy is proof of that"

"I left a note for-"

"Did you think this Hunter shit was gonna be easy?" Felix demanded, tone softening as he added "I get it, feeling like you're not doing everything you can or like you're being held back and kept from helping is hell, there's no words for it….But you're supposed to be a leader Astra; this isn't what leaders do you need to be the-"

"I swear if you tell me to 'be the bigger person' I'm getting out of this car right now. I've heard it from everyone" Astra spat with as much venom as they could muster, with a result that was far closer to childish pouting in their current emotionally drained state.

"You've probably heard that two and two is four a few times as well, for more or less the same reason" Felix countered, an observation which left Astra huffing wordlessly as they searched for a rebuttal which they simply could not find. After a while Felix felt the need to speak up again, slowing the Killer-Bee down as it came within view of a small park on the outskirts of the city centre which, if memory served was one of the first sites on Menagerie to be terraformed and had been transformed into something of a commemorative sight.

"So….Now what?"

"It's like you said, what happened happened and we can't undo it now" Astra said glumly "Professor Adel said if I leave campus or break of her other rules then I'm expelled and-"

"Oh please" Felix scoffed, perhaps a little meaner than intended "This is me you're talking to kid….I can talk to Coco and explain that you weren't in a good place mentally but didn't feel you could talk to Counsellor Daichi so you spoke to me instead, she'll understand, Yatsu won't take it personally. Even if she has read whatever note you left you won't get kicked out….If you want me to take you back to Breaktide?"

"I-" Astra paused and swallowed audibly as they imagined their options looming ahead of them, on the one had complete and utter failure and the abandonment of their chosen future, replaced with a greyness they could not begin to fathom whilst on the other hand lay the bone-deep terror and sickening, shame-faced dread of what they might encounter upon returning to the academy in disgrace; their friends rightfully loathing them for their cowardly desertion all for them to still potentially fail to achieve their dreams all the same.

"I don't know" Astra finally croaked out, the admission breaking something in them and leaving them turning to their brother for direction as they realised that they were utterly lost "Can I stay with you for a while?"

"Of course you can" Felix assured them, expression becoming serious as he added "But you're gonna have to make a choice soon kid; choices are gonna get made soon one way or another….You don't have long to decide who you wanna be"

Astra tried to ignore how ominously prophetic that sounded.


The bustle of Port Alistair's central commercial hub was not yet in full swing as stores were not scheduled to open for roughly another hour, however commuters and other people travelling through the city still almost perpetually crowded its' streets as the ultimate peak of activity which a Saturday morning and afternoon represented drew close.

It was these busy streets which Athena and Zirconia made their way through with a sense of urgency which rose and ebbed intermittently but never retreated far enough to be considered calm as the pair, occasionally clutching at one another's hands simply so they did not lose track of one another with a total lack of their usual awareness of cameras nearby, made all haste towards where Regalia had told them Astra was currently headed.

"AJ, if we catch the next tram we can get there faster" Zirconia exclaimed, tugging at her partners' arm as she came to a halt, gently forcing the Bear Faunus who had been prepared to march ahead to stop and look at what she had seen; the tram network which criss-crossed through Port Alistair was far less expansive than the multi level mono-rail systems which spanned Neo Vale but it did serve to make Menagerie's Capital city far more easily accessible to those without cars and at that moment the next tram, according to the digital timetable that Zirconia had spied above their heads was heading towards the general vicinity of where Regalia believed Astra to be.

Though it was not due to arrive for several minutes.

"I can't stand around and wait….Come on we'll catch it at the next stop" she insisted, preparing to set off at a powerful pace that fell just short of abandoning all pretence and running full-tilt although after a moment she thought better of it and decided instead to use the opportunity to see if there had been any update from those also searching for the missing Deer Faunus, or even Astra themselves. It was not to be, Astra remained woefully silent and undetected whilst Team WULF according to the locations their scrolls were now broadcasting to members of Team MARZ were still making their way into the general area of the city after their departure from Breaktide Academy, Athena-Jade's blue eyes regarded the information that Regalia's scroll was transmitting to her in real time and noted that the Racoon Faunus was continuing to tear through the streets at high speed however after a single, lingering and hopeful moment she saw that the nomad had sent a text message only a few minutes ago; opening that message nearly saw Athena hurl her scroll at a nearby wall in simple frustration as she snapped out.

"Damn it they're on the move again!"

"Do we have a new location?" Zirconia asked, bracing herself for her partners' response as every muscle in the Bear Faunus's body visibly tensed, only to sag in utter defeat. Astra had, for a short while now been moving in a way which defied all likely plans that they might've concocted and any sense of reason those searching for the leader of Team MARZ could hope to fathom, they were also doing so at speeds which suggested that they were no longer travelling on foot though as none of Team MARZ or Team WULF were native to the city and had limited knowledge of its public transport network they could not be sure if Astra were using the same trams which Athena and Zirconia had intended to. After a moment of heavy, pressurised silence Athena finally spoke, yet rather than answer Zirconia's question she slumped forward and offered one of her own.

"What do we do Hops?" she turned to face her partner, tears beginning to shimmer in eyes that were filled with fear "What do we do if we can't find Astra?….What if they just don't wanna come back, they said they don't wanna be a Hunter any more-"

"That's not quite what they said" Zirconia interjected, leaving Athena floundering for the brief instant it took for her fears to reshape themselves like some protean beast and assault her again.

"But what-"

"But nothing" Zirconia cut her off flatly, lowering the scarf which covered her nose and mouth so Athena could see her whole face and note that whilst her high-cheeked and delicate, sharp features were lined with worry her jaw was still set resolutely and her mismatched eyes were hard with determination that would brook no argument.

"We're going to find Astra….Because Astra has you as a friend" Zirconia stepped forward and reached up to gently touch Athena's cheeks with gloves whose leather had been warmed by the sun "Astra is….A lot of things but they're not a quitter; besides if they didn't want to be a Hunter any more then they would have left their weapons behind instead of take it home as a reminder of where they dropped out of….They left a note saying that you'd make a great leader if you wanted to, they were at least right about that much. Regalia was quick to act, but it was you who was focused and made a plan, you who got us out of the grounds unseen, you who reached out to Team WULF and convinced them to help us even if I suggested it at first. Athena-Jade Slate I knew when we first became partners that you had the potential to be something special and you haven't proved me wrong yet….We're going to find Astra because you're with us"

"I…." Athena swallowed thickly and quickly realised that she had no words at all that could convey just how much the vocal and unwavering support of her partner and best friend meant to her and so she forewent words and instead wrapped powerful arms around Zirconia and pulled her into a crushing hug which lifted the taller girl off of the ground by several inches with its' sheer force.

"Thank you, I really needed to hear that"

"And I think I really needed to say it….You always tell me how cool you think I am and I don't return the compliment often enough at all" Zirconia paused and straightened herself "But in the meantime, we have to find Astra; so have Regalia use her Semblance again and let's go!"

"On it" Athena's voice had a breathy and almost dreamy quality to it which she would have disliked for its' connotations were the circumstances and their severity not limiting how many trains of thought she could entertain at any one time; as it was however the pale and snowy haired girl watched her partner take a few graceful and bounding paces ahead on her mechanical limbs, her tied back mass of ebony, spiky hair blowing behind her in a slight breeze along with her cloak and the lone cape which bore her emblem hanging from her left hip to make her appear all the more dramatic and it was at that moment that Athena made a firm and unwavering resolution to herself.

When this was all over she was going to kiss that girl.


Regalia tore through the streets of Port Alistair, taking only enough notice to the steadily increasing streams of traffic to avoid colliding with it and even less attention to the vague notions and absurdity of the Kingdoms' traffic laws.

Right now speed was required and speed was something Clunker had to spare.

The sound of blaring horns rang incessantly yet faintly as it was drowned out beneath the roaring scream of her jetbikes engine whilst the Racoon Faunus's bushy tail and single long lions' tail of grey-brown hair streamed out behind her, her calloused hands gripping handlebar-mounted controls tightly and wringing every ounce of power from them as if throttling the life from them as she weaved between cars, trucks and buses at speeds that would have rendered her blind were it not for her goggles.

Astra had moved again, her latest attempt to use her Semblance to pinpoint them had told her that much as the oscillating purple-gold glow which Look-See imposed over her vision had shifted, even when she accounted for her own altered position to it however that information was still of less than she would like as it offered no precise information about where her friend was or might be headed or even a direct route toward them, especially not with the sheer volume of buildings blocking her line of sight yet despite it all Regalia continued to speed ahead whilst allowing what little of her mind was not diligently focused on the road ahead and not causing an accident to consider who her partner might be with or what they might be doing that required them to move around the city at speeds tha almost rivalled her own albeit with a far less definite and understandable route.

Somewhere behind her sirens joined the chorus of alarmed and vocally upset drivers.

"Heh, just like the movies" Regalia allowed herself a morbid, haunted looking grin at that; considering how chases in the action movies she watched so many times tended to end for at least one party and deciding to keep a watchful eye out for any street vendors whose stalls sold melons or indeed cabbages, lest they cause a collision which would spell disaster. The nomad, forcing herself to take a minute deviation from her goal banked hard to the left and whipped around the next corner before beginning a series of taking several minor distractions all whilst striving to maintain a course that was as direct as possible and keep on heading wards Astra's last known location until, after mere seconds that felt far longer as adrenaline and panic pushed her senses and awareness to a different level a fresh distraction came in the form of her scroll vibrating.

The curse that escaped her was one her friends would have been astounded to hear.

With experienced hands on Clunker's controls and wrenching motion of powerful muscles the nomad brought her jetbike screaming to a rolling halt as she adjusted its' hovering height whilst at the same time swerving toward the nearest curb and in doing so allowed herself to effectively somersault over two lanes of passing traffic before landing with an admittedly uncomfortably jarring thud and without a second to lose fished the device out of her pocket whilst keeping an ear out for sirens drawing closer.

She had no interest in causing problems with or for Menagerie's police but she simply did not have time to deal with them.

"Hello!" her voice was a ragged and urgent snap as she answered the call, not even bothering to identify who was calling her first; though even if she had it would have made little difference as the incoming call seemed to be from an entirely unregistered contact.

"Regalia….You sound upset….and like you've been climbing the hull of the Aiktishaf; is something wrong?"

"No….Well I" Regalia's mind seemed to clatter to a halt at the sound of her mothers' voice, though this did allow her thoughts the brief moment it took them to arrange themselves into a more coherent shape "I was in the middle of something"

"Oh….I see" Swarf Russet cleared her throat meaningfully and it took her daughter, in her desperate and distracted state a moment to understand what Swarf thought she understood.

"NOT….THAT!" she exclaimed, suddenly self conscious despite the current situation "It's just….Astra got into some trouble, kinda….I'm trying to find them but my Semblance doesn't work so well in a city"

"Well perhaps the Pathfinders might be willing to lend a wandering Aiktishaf a hand" Swarf intoned warmly.

"Heh, thanks Mum but we're pretty sure Astra is still in the city so-"

"Has my odd little duck, so intrigued by the Kingdoms and their Hunters not yet realised that I called her on a scroll and not her bikes' radio?" Swarf was amused now and the comment brought what little motion Regalia's train of thought had been in the midst of screeching to a halt, her purple eyes widening with an almost comically dramatic stare as they darted from the scroll in her hand, to her bikes' controls which included its' radio and back to the scroll again several times before something in her mind seemed to scream out that this was an important detail, if only for the fact that it meant something of consequence had happened involving her people and she wished to hear it; the Aiktishaf after did not have scrolls as the reception or lack thereof in the wastes made them far less useful.

"How?"

"We encountered a pair of Hunters" Swarf noted conversationally "We also encountered a damned Wraith….horrendous thing; none of our people were lost however and as well as fighting alongside me, your old mother still has the gift after all, even with one arm, the Hunters were willing to trade what resources they no longer needed which included a CCT uplink which we have integrated into the Aiktishaf, all in exchange for passaged to capital….We will be there soon enough, possibly before midday"

"THAT'S AWESOME!" Regalia exclaimed, unabashed joy managing to filter through her current dread and panic.

"Indeed it is" Swarf agreed "An interesting pair these Hunters, one is far older than the other….A pompous old bastard by the name of Grapeshot, though his young friend has been helpful to us"

Ice ran through Regalia's veins.

"Major Grapeshot of the Mistrali Air-Force and Carmesi Hueso, a Komodo Dragon with scales, a beard and a scar on his chest?" she swallowed thickly as she croaked the words out.

"You know them?" Regalia considered the question, considered how long it would take to explain the details and specifics of the matter, from Team MARZ's first mission to the nature of Gestalt-Prime and the revelation that these two men were far less than they had initially seemed and instead she decided that, like with her other looming problems there simply was not enough time and so she gave the most succinct message she could.

"I don't know what Grapeshot and Carmesi are planning, but if you don't get them off of the Aiktishaf right now then all of our people are going to die!"


On Hammerfall Observation Outpost, in the air above the man-made canyon itself the atmosphere was charged and tense however the mood was undeniably the most upbeat it had been for some time aboard the floating installation.

"I was always led to believe that drinking before noon is a sign that something has gone very wrong in someone's life" Penny noted with her usual bubbly and chipper delivery even as she warily eyed some of those who were now her co-workers "Is the fact they brought several bottles of champagne into the control room not a bad sign?"

"Nope" Ruby popped the P as she leaned against her wife's shoulder and allowed herself a soft and loving smile "Different rules for champagne, it's always a good thing….I think anyway; there's probably a whole heap of unwritten rules about drinking that you'd have to ask Uncle Qrow about"

"I will be sure to do that" Penny nodded, privately somewhat regretful that her time as a student of a Hunter academy had been cut short by war as this seemed to be one of the unofficial lessons one learned in their late teens outside of classes.

"In the meantime though….Looks like you were wrong about the Clara Die Novus people, they brought the bottles with them, looks like the same stuff at Weiss and Gangrel's wedding; so it's pricey" Ruby gestured vaguely in the direction of the group of experts and technicians whose activities were the current topic of discussion. The men and women whose dark, admittedly stylish uniforms and dour, insular demeanour had initially given them a somewhat sinister feel had proven themselves to be an admirable bunch in the eyes of Penny and Ruby as each and every one of them, with the aid of the outposts' own support staff had worked diligently and ceaselessly through the night to bring Hammerfall Observation Outposts' long range sensors back into full operation and provide to the people of Menagerie a sense of security as they crossed from one settlement to the next; during this time which by now was almost an entire day dedicated to difficult and intricate work many of them had opened up to the two Huntresses working alongside them, revealing themselves to be largely natives of Vale and its' outlying territories with many amongst them being old enough to remember when the pair still lived in that Kingdoms and have heard of many of their exploits beyond even those which Ruby was most famous for. Overall the operation had gone smoothly, with only minimal interference from an inbound flock of aerial Creatures of Grimm which Ruby had put down with practised ease and a sharp eye, picking the threat apart with Crescent Roses' sniper rifle mode.

Now however, with the entire group gathered in the control room the moment of truth was upon them and their hard work was set to be rewarded.

"Is everything ready?" one of the travelling specialists, a woman nearing middle age whose complexion had already been tanned from its' initial computer lab-induced pallidness by the Menagerie sun, whom Ruby and Penny understood to be a supervisor or team leader of some manner called out.

"Affirmative" several voices chorused back, prompting the same woman to turn her gaze to the two living legends sharing her presence, still finding herself gulping audibly and not quite able to make direct eye contact despite the fact that they had worked together.

"Is Councilwoman Adel aware of our current situation?"

"Negative" Penny answered simply, accompanying her shake of the head with a smile which baffled the scientists and engineers.

"We'll call Coco and give her the good news once we're certain" Ruby explained, expression turning fierce a moment later "Now let's get those sensors up and running"

"Yes Missus Rose" the woman jerked stiffly, as though about to give a salute but stopping mid-way as she thought better of it. Turning and giving out a series of glares and silent but important gestures she managed to instruct those under her command to follow Ruby's instruction and begin activating the freshly repaired systems; prompting all eyes to turn towards a singular display made of dozens of individual screens forming an entire wall resembling a gargantuan compound eye of glossy black, its' colour changing to a bright white, then a harsh blue over which code and data scrolled until after several moments in which no sound, including simple breathing could be heard at all the screen flickered several times before displaying an image. A map of the Kingdom of Menagerie, including each of its' major and minor settlements, the roads between them and the location of defence installations such as the outpost itself, coastal defences and airships, both civilian and the Island Kingdoms' limited military fleet were all was displayed, all of it including annotations and additional information marking it out to be a real-time image, meaning that the hard work of each of those present had paid off and that Hammerfall Observation Outpost could resume its' primary task.

The pop of champagne bottles being uncorked filled the air, yet there were no cheers as those responsible for the premature gesture began to see, with widening eyes and creeping, ghastly terror what had silenced their peers.

The Creatures of Grimm were in fact hard targets to identify accurately, something inherent about their less than entirely corporeal forms gave their bodies then infuriating body to remain undetected, or at least not fully recognised by many long range sensors as though they were mere shadows, or the smoke that their forms faded into upon their destruction; this effect was largely negated however by the sheer mass involved when a particularly large monster reared its' head or whenever the Creatures of Grimm gathered in large numbers and it was these substantial threats which Hammerfall Outpost was intended to warn against, with the ever-updating displays of its' control room showing Grimm signatures as a red blip on the relevant map.

At present there was a mass of Grimm forming a triangular tide over a mile across heading directly towards Port Alistair, with smaller streams of activity joining it.

"No" someone breathed out in disbelieving dread.

"It can't be" another gasped "The sensors, they….they must"

"They're not. It's exactly what it looks like" Ruby interrupted, voice firm and unwavering as she unfurled Crescent Rose in its' iconic scythe form as she prepared to act on simple instinct alone; yet even from a cursory glance at the screens she could tell that it would be a desperate race against time if she hope to reach Port Alistair before the approaching horde. Her comment drew a series of gasps and terrified mutterings, with someone amongst the gathered crowd letting out a strangled sob before the supervisor with whom Ruby had spoken turned toward her again.

"But how?….No single Grimm is that size and an assault of that size, surely it can't be-" it was Penny who spoke up, standing straight beside her wide and exuding an aura of confident command which her time as an Atlas Specialist, then a Freelancer within the icy Kingdom and then a Huntress of New Vale and eventually a Professor at Breaktide Academy had all contributed to.

"We're dealing with an intelligent Alpha Grimm, the same Alpha Grimm which attacked this facility and Midpoint….Send word to Port Alistair's defences, tell them to prepare all batteries and prepare for an attack which include ranged weapons; this is a code red situation, all forces to be mobilized; CCT towers are to be considered a priority" she paused and considered, deciding that her deductions were almost certainly correct and that there could only feasibly be one culprit behind the incoming assault they were seeing.

"Send word to Breaktide Academy, tell them Gestalt-Prime is inbound. Tell Councilwoman Adel that help is on the way"

Author's Notes:

Well ladies and gentlemen and esteemed others, the end of the First Year Arc is getting very near indeed; all the pieces are in play now and you can get a rough idea of how this is going to play out.
I'm actually writing this before I even post Chapter 49 because despite workin overtime I've managed to get ahead of my writing schedule.

But anyway let's summarise shall we?:
Oof, just starting off with an emotional uppercut today.
Of course they've still got their weapons, can't be unarmed in a season finale.
The few hours between Friday night buses and Saturday night buses, the worst time to get caught stranded anywhere and yet I ended up in that position in the next city over from where I live as a teenager so many damn times.
Yeah….Running away costs money, Astra is working class and doesn't have a couple hundred or upwards for a ticket just lying around.
Ah the freight docks, one possibly final nod to somewhere that's been important; it was Rowan's haunt for a while after all.
Turned off scroll, because having it on would just be a plot hole.
Oh come on, you didn't actually think that Astra was gonna be able to get on a boat and sail off into the sunrise did you?
The idea of AJ and Regalia using a glyph to get her bike over the wall made me smile.
Also yeah, Regalia has only a passing familiarity with traffic laws on a good day.
I had to put limits for Regalia's Semblance in early on otherwise Look-See would have rendered this chapter moot; no line of sight in a city without a proper vantage point, the usual limitations on what it actually points her at and the fact she can't use it and ride at the same time make it fair; especially given that AJ and Hops don't have licenses.
I also had to explain why Team MARZ didn't contact Team FADE and I think my reasoning made sense.
Wolfram wasn't exactly handling the breakup well either.
"You look like someone just walked right on over your grave" you get bonus points if you get the reference.
I think we're all Laser, at least a little.
Okay, Diabla is absolutely the MVP of this scene at least, if not the chapter for that speech.
Laser really would follow her anywhere.
"No dumb-ass….I learned that from you" followed by threatening to break his arm if he hugged her, same old Diabla.
Enter Team WULF, because of course they're gonna be in the finale of the first act.
Felix Xiao Long is an island boy, raised on the port city of Patch and the adopted son of Blake Belladonna, you know damn well he eats a lot of fish.
Astra can drive, more specifically they can drive their brothers' car.
The older sibling technique works, I stand by it.
The Astra and Felix talk was needed and this time they might just be in a position to listen….And the 'Bigger person' thing does keep getting brought up doesn't it.
Not heading back to the academy just yet, got things to do obviously.
Oh dear….Felix last line was indeed prophetic
Of course the fact that Astra is in Felix's car actually effectively ruins Team MARZ and WULF's plans to track them down, if Athena-Jade was desperate enough to call Felix or Arctus she could find out where they are in a matter of minutes but for previously mentioned reasons she doesn't want to risk it.
Nope I take it back, Zirconia is MVP of the chapter for her speech because that Moonbeam goodness right there was golden.
Aww shit, AJ is gonna try and kiss the girl….What devious things will I do to all of those shippers then?
She has a need, a need for speed….And I'm fairly certain she's actually used that line already.
Of course the movie buff gets a brief police chase.
"My cabbages!"
Yes she stopped her bike by barrel rolling it over two lanes of traffic and up onto a curb, 'cos she's bad-ass.
She was sounding out of breath and a little distracted and dishevelled on a Saturday morning at college….Her Mum absolutely thought she had been in the middle of getting railed.
And now the real fun and games starts, Regalia knows, therefore Team MARZ knows that Grapeshot and Carmesi are aboard the Aiktishaf and are heading directly towards the capital of Menagerie.
Drinking before noon is absolutely a sign that something has gone wrong in your life, except for on Christmas day.
It was mentioned last chapter when Zirconia and Athena were talking that the people from the Clara Die Novus Conglomerate who Chairman Nero sent over had actually been getting on well with Ruby and Penny despite initial appearances and let's be honest, of course they brought the pricey champagne for something like this.
And here it is the last moving piece of the finale sliding into place so we can all see how it's going to play out, the good news is that Hammerfall went on time, just in time for everyone to have some warning.
The bad news is that so far Carmesi's plan is going ahead, he's rolling a big Grimm magnet towards Port Alistair whilst having a ton of civilians around him, Gestalt-Prime and their horde, including a one hundred foot long Land-Shark are trailing behind them and preparing for an attack, Carmesi has a containment unit which can hold Gestalt-Prime in his possession all whilst Ruby Rose, Silver Eyed Warrior is outside of the city.
We're close to the edge now.

Thank you to Lurkweed and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
When did 10,000 words become a 'Short' chapter
Yeah the Aiktisahf is great, in fact out of the two members of Team MARZ whose homes we've seen (Astra's place might have been shown in FADE but we've only seen the Aiktishaf and Schnee Manor so far in this story) I think it's safe to say that Regalia has the coolest home, even if it is a little cramped.
See the Benefactor demanded results and allowed any means to get them, but let's not pretend that this wasn't Carmesi's plan that he kept pushing for even after being told no.
Yeah friends don't let friends deal with messy break ups on their own.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.