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I am making no money from this.

Chapter 77: Predator

The sun had not yet risen and worse than the simple gloom the air was bitingly cold as Team MARZ stepped out of the transport that had brought them to their destination, leaving the four teens once again reconsidering their choice to take additional instruction from Professor Branwen on a Sunday morning.

Not that Qrow had truly been offering them a choice in the matter.

"Okay let's do this" Astra declared, forcing themselves to speak with some of the customary bravado and confidence they approached matters with rather than let the sluggish and bleary-eyed dullness that currently plagued them show too readily as they exited the aircraft, noting even in their weary condition that the Halo Academy Bull-head which had lowered itself into a small clearing in a vast, seemingly endless forest beyond the limits of the city of Neo Vale was yet to actually land and instead simply hovered a foot above the frosted ground.

With a series of hefty thuds behind them Astra registered their friends following suit and joining them in the clearing before Team MARZ collectively fanned out to take stock of their surroundings; Regalia's voice hushed as she spoke up, the clearing having an air about it which implied a lingering silence even as the thrusters of the transport behind them continued to sound out.

"Huh….It's not as cold in the morning here as it is on Menagerie; that's weird" Astra turned their head a fraction, still focusing on their surroundings as they watched their partner pull both of her jackets tighter around herself despite her claims and momentarily considered offering their own but remembered that it was sleeveless and would offer little additional warmth. To Astra's opposite side Zirconia and Athena-Jade covered one another with their usual effortless understanding of one another's intentions, the Grasshopper Faunus giving a slight frown as frozen earth gave way beneath her mechanical limbs and caused her to pause, her mismatched eyes fluttering closed for a moment as she adjusted the weight distribution of the prosthetics to prevent soil and detritus from finding its' way into inner working with all the ease of stretching and flexing a muscle until Athena-Jade, in a display of her customary lack of tolerance for nonsense of any kind at such an unsociable hour deployed Mould-Breaker in its' hammer form and dropped the rocket-propelled weapon head-first into the ground with enough force to send a small tremor through the clearing and wake birds in the nearby trees and send them into a frenzy of chirps and squawking as she leaned against the hammer, scenting the air determinedly whilst using the hand not on her weapon to rub at eyes that were bloodshot and swollen with tiredness, adding to her natural paleness to give her an ill look.

"We get it, you're not a morning person. Focus though" Astra teased gently, to which the Bear Faunus merely gave a wordless growl; catching sight of Zirconia's worried glance and offering her partner a tired smile and then finally speaking before Astra could suggest that maybe if the two had not been making out so late into the previous evening then they might not be so tired now.

"Professor Branwen!" Athena called out "I know you're here, I can smell you….Which I didn't mean to sound as rude as it probably did"

"No offence taken" Qrow Branwen's gruff voice called back to them, husky and growling in a way that seemed only natural rather than suggesting his own tiredness as the mechanical chair which supported him came into view from behind the treeline, surprising Team MARZ with both the quietness with which it could move, every sound lost beneath the now reduced sounds of the waiting transport and also how the admittedly experienced Hunter had sequestered himself away in a space that had seemed at first far to small to accommodate him and hide him from the students' line of sight. More startlingly the Professor was not alone, his companion was less stealthy in their movements however and came into view a moment later as she rose from behind a tree and clutched a large, utilitarian and seemingly heavy rucksack to herself which her position suggested she might have been using it as a pillow; offering each of Team MARZ a wave as she saw the dawning recognition on each of their faces.

"Hey kids" Honey Scarlatina managed to utter through a jaw-cracking yawn "Regalia, Mohawk how're you doing?"

"So you can't remember my name but you can remember hers?" Astra jeered good naturedly.

"I'm tired" Honey griped, offering a playful pout which made her seem far more like the young woman on the edge of her teens she truly was rather than the burgeoning icon discussed in hushed whispers that she was often seen as.

"Honey and I have been setting things up for the training exercise that you'll be partaking in" Qrow informed the younger teens "Naturally this was an overnight affair"

"Oof, sorry Honey" Astra visibly winced before turning to Qrow "Okay, so what's the mission Professor? Let's make a start on this so Honey can get some sleep"

"Thanks" the Rabbit Faunus beamed, Qrow for his part simply shifted his weight in his mechanical chair and made a small show of carefully choosing his words.

"The Emerald Forest is where Halo teams are formed, by collecting relics and finding one another however the initiation process usually takes place in another part of the forest, nearer to ruins located closer to the cliffs your flight passed over. Today's training will be similar on a surface level, you will be acting as a team and co-ordinating as you see fit to locate something….However in this instance that something will be another Hunter-"

"So it's a simulated search and rescue?" Regalia interrupted, boundless enthusiasm costing her manners for a moment.

"No" Qrow nodded "This will be a simulated capturing of a hostile target who is operating from an entrenched or preprepared position. This opportunity was offered to you in light of recent developments and activities following your recent mission"

"Ah crap" Astra muttered as the unspoken accusation hung in the air, their team-mates eyes on them to see how they would react.

"Yeah" Qrow nodded in agreement with the blunt assessment "Though not because you made the wrong choice, because you were easy to spot and track. Let me make this more clear, I'm aware that yourselves and another team underwent a training exercise where you attempted to capture Ruby Rose; this is a variation on that principal where your opponent is given more leeway and freedom to counteract your efforts as they see fit. Your objective is to capture Honey without having any of your team taken out of action, whilst Honey's objective is to escape and also if possible disable her assailants….Does that make sense"

"Yes Professor" Team MARZ chorused in unison.

"Good" Qrow's deep crimson eyes swept over them as if to ensure that they were ready "Then if there are no further questions, Scarlatina and I will will take the Bull-Head and Honey will deploy whilst I keep watch from the air; no doubt you have means to follow her descent and track-yes Shadowmoon?"

"Professor" Zirconia fidgeted, forced to speak out against what seemed to be a glaring oversight but not wanting to be presumptuous "Honey doesn't have her weapons or any protective gear that I can see?"

"Don't worry, I won't need 'em" Honey's voice was sweet and cheerful as always though now, even as Team MARZ took notice of the fact that she was wearing practical yet unremarkable and dirty clothes which appeared to have been used for gardening and decorating in the past they could not help that the blonde Rabbit Faunus seemed confident and fearsome in a way that she often did not; with only Astra showing the appropriate amount of concern as the Deer Faunus remembered facing off against her at an expo years prior and been thoroughly trounced. Qrow shared a similar estimation of Honey's abilities however and spoke up, a grim smile on his features as he did so.

"This mission is meant to evoke chasing a target you intend to capture through an entrenched position" he reiterated "A fleeing target may not always have time to grab their coat before they run, but they also might have things in place for if Hunters come looking….That's why Honey and I spent the night in the forest. We cleared out some of the Creatures of Grimm, though I advise you all to keep your guard up; however Honey and I also set a variety of non-lethal traps and countermeasures"

"You're hunting me….But I'm hunting you as well" Honey beamed

"And frankly, I believe that were she fully armed and equipped this would be unfair and you wouldn't learn anything" Qrow added bluntly "If there's nothing else?"

"See you guys soon" Honey waved and turned aside upon seeing Team MARZ standing in silence as they took a moment to process exactly what they were up against; Qrow too took their silence for an assent and the pair made their way to the waiting, hovering transport and climbed inside with Honey setting down the rucksack she had carried and drawing both a water bottle and a large bowie knife from it, revealing that whilst she might not be carrying her usual load-out the Rabbit Faunus would still be far from unprepared when she came for them.

"So, to recap" Athena grumbled with a deep grimace "We're in a forest full of Grimm and we're gonna be hunting one of the best students at any of the academies right now, a favourite to win the Vytal Tournament who has been setting traps for us overnight with the help of Qrow Branwen himself and if any of us go down she win"

"Yeah" Astra nodded "We're screwed"

Team MARZ took a moment to collectively sigh as they watched the Bull-head disappear beyond the trees obstructing their view before each of shared looks which became steadily more determined and finally drew their weapons and took up a formation as Regalia broke the silence before it could become too heavy; offering a familiar movie quote as she cocked her short-barrelled shotgun.

"If it bleeds we can kill it".


At present the sole conscious occupant of the Chamber was Albion Herringbone though the man could not truly be said to be alone given that Gestalt-Prime still hung suspended and inverted, back contorted to an unfeasible shape within a containment tube whose necessity was now questionable, though Albion would certainly be unable to work with such calm efficiency in its' absence. The hybrid Alpha was currently in a state of torpor, the blinking lights and sensors which aped the appearance and function of eyes and other mechanical components integrated into their skull were dim and dormant as the monster turning their focus inwards, conserving their energy and using it to more rapidly grow another of the writhing eel-like Grimm which lurked within Gestalt-Prime's bloated innards in order to replace that which had been lost during the previous days' failed test of the Cyber-Grimm Initiative.

To Aefen Cruor Gestalt-Prime was a marvel she could likely study for years and gain only a passing understanding of; not that the constant interruptions from her current co-conspirator would allow for such study.

"Doctor Cruor" Albion cleared his throat before taking a final gulp of the latest cup of coffee to have grown cold at his desk before adding the discarded cup to a steadily expanding collection.

"If you insist on disturbing my thoughts with your blathering then it would be wiser to use my given title" Aefen sneered from beneath the mask which she had admittedly worn for far too long now, it's lenses irritating her eyes however she steadfastly refused to remove it and allow herself to appear as anything less than a commanding presence in front of those she now associated with, having grown far too accustomed to the adoration of her congregation even if she personally did not share in their beliefs regarding the divinity of the Creatures of Grimm.

"A title given by people who dress in loincloths and dance like idiots at the command of a woman wearing the most overdramatic piece of headgear I have ever seen" Albion snorted back, matching Aefen's acid tone with a false cheer that was almost painful to endure "I can safely assure you Doctor that whilst I'm willing to use your given name the chances of me calling you 'High Speaker' or any other such nonsense are non-existent"

"Loincloths? Your imagination is running away with you, though that might not be such a bad thing" Aefen shot back, choosing to keep the exchange civil if somewhat barbed and combative rather than allow the older scientist to ruffle her and reduce her to threats and posturing; largely because it would be unproductive and ineffective given both the distance between them and the greater standing with Nero, their shared Benefactor's schemes though also to a lesser degree because the back and forth with someone willing and able to challenge her directly was entertainingly refreshing.

"Do you have any more to contribute, or are you merely rechecking the same data again?" Albion enquired, a faint note of testiness to the question as he turned both of their thoughts back to the matter at hand; namely the unfathomable amount of esoteric data that would be incomprehensible to all but a miniscule handful of scientists across Remnant which had been provided through connections to Gestalt-Prime and salvaged from the wreckage of the modified robot the Alpha Grimm's horrific offspring had been intended to inhabit and fuse with.

Her eyes still burning and her thoughts sluggish Aefen turned her focus to the endless reams and pages of data that had been securely transferred to her own computer system, the gloom of the unlit quarters and laboratory beyond her screen beginning to feel like an encroaching and all consuming darkness after spending hours ceaselessly toiling without answers or progress; after a few moments she let out a low, guttural sound which would sound entirely in place amongst the frenetic chants and sounds of adulation of her followers.

"My greatness cannot be confined to your schedule Herringbone, we are working with things no others would dare….Treat the subject with due reverence" she was unable to keep herself from falling back into familiar theatrics now, see the slight curling of Albion's lip but entirely uncaring "I'm on the cusp of something, the thing is there but it won't take shape on command-"

"I treat the subject matter with all proper respect and caution, especially given that I am the one within striking distance should our efforts fail" Albion retorted, though after a moment of consideration he relented and let out a slow sigh as he raised his glasses and massaged his eyes "We should conclude this for tonight….Or today, given that midnight was several hours ago"

"The Benefactor-"

"Understands common sense" Albion snorted, dismissing the idea of having to grovel and answer to his old friend as if Damascus Nero were some towering and frightful villain "We have a timescale which we are working to, however we are more likely to achieve our goals on target if we are well-rested and capable of making clear judgements and decisions….Nero will be less forgiving of a sloppy or half-hearted effort"

Aefen found that she could still not accept the offer without feeling as though she were admitting defeat on some level, yet beneath her mask her head was beginning to pound with a dull rhythmic ache.

"Rest if you need to" she finally ground out, unable to maintain the charade of focus for much longer "My congregation will expect my presence shortly, I would do well to appear before them as they expect to see me"

"Good day Miss Cruor" Albion stated flatly before deciding that he could spare no more time or mental exertion on the High Speaker of the Path and ending their communications before she could respond.

"Bastard" Aefen hissed through gritted teeth before slowly, with her muscles and joints stiff reaching up to unfasten and remove her overwrought helmet and rise to her feet on numbed and unwilling legs so that she could carry it to where it rested when not worn, close to her staff tipped with its' imitation skull and microphone.

With air on her face once again, even if it was the stagnant and unpleasantly warm, close air of the dingy home she had claimed for herself within the abandoned settlement her followers had taken root in Aefen found that she could think a little better and even though she was still drained to a physically painful degree she was unwilling to let that faint ember of productivity fade away.

With the failure of the first test run of their new weapon Nero had urged the two scientists to combine their knowledge, along with Gestalt-Prime themselves for as long as the Grimm was able and begin devising a means of counteracting or circumventing the natural instincts of those Grimm that were spawned by the hybrid Alpha and in following the instruction Aefen had allowed herself to work herself into a mild frenzy as the chance to prove wrong every single Professor and higher-up who had doubted, vilified and dismissed her by showing that the Creatures of Grimm could be mastered and forged into a tool presented itself.

Even now she would not be defeated by simple human limitations, grasping a pen and notepad and beginning to scrawl hasty and barely legible notes as she waited for the telltale sounds of her congregation gathering to begin.

She would have her answers.


Team MARZ's trek through the Emerald Forest had not gone unnoticed by its' monstrous denizens.

The efforts of the four teens to track down their target as instructed by Professor Branwen had made some initial headway as Athena-Jade's Glyphs allowed Regalia to easily breach the canopy of the treetops, currently bare and sinister in the ominous half-light so that the Racoon Faunus could use her Semblance which, when given such a clear and basic imperative and such a clear vantage point from which to operate and from there the team had collectively moved towards where Honey had clearly positioned herself upon deploying from the same transport which had ferried Team MARZ to the forest, discussing options and possible means of approaching the Rabbit Faunus along with the likely countermeasures she would use against them until they had been beset by a large and lumbering Ursa which although quickly dispatched had proven to be only the first of many Creatures of Grimm to be set upon them.

Currently it was a pack of a dozen Beowolves troubling them.

"It is too early in the morning for this!" Astra snapped irritably as the nearest Creature of Grimm lunged at them with its' skull angled so that its' jaws would close around their throat to which the Deer Faunus responded by dropping into a crouch low enough that as they sprung forwards and rose up their antlers struck the lupine horror cleanly in the throat with a pained and strangled yelp escaping from it, Astra's arms swinging up and outwards so that the shields of Buckshot Ares slammed against the wildly flailing and grasping claws of the Grimm to halt its' attempts to slash at its' prey with a snapping of bone before Astra finally ended the thing, the forearm blades of their weapon tearing it from shoulder to hip in a single motion.

A second Beowolf was on them in the next instant and though Astra was forced to react hastily they did so with expert speed and fluidity, shifting their weight as the monster came rushing from their right, charging on its' hindlimbs with its' claws outstretched; the Deer Faunus reacting by pivoting and spinning so that the creature passed by them and its' attempt to turn and face Astra again was met by the completion of their spin which brought a crescent kick smashing, heel-first into the Grimm's jaw and sending teeth ricocheting from nearby trees. Pressing their advantage Astra leapt forward to close the distance and drove their knee into the face of the Grimm and answered its' savage attempt to slash at them by blocking with their shield and plunging a blade into the now exposed flank of the Grimm and tearing it and out in an eruption of acrid smog.

The sound of a scuffle nearby saw Astra wheel around and catch sight of Regalia squaring off against a trio of Beowolves alone.

"Heads up!" they called out before bringing the guns of Buckshot Ares whirring into life and using a short, controlled burst of fire to reduce a Creature of Grimm to fading mist and fragments in an instant; the sudden violence from an unsuspecting quarter catching the remaining pair of monsters off-guard and creating enough of an opening for Regalia to seize the initiative.

"You ugly motherfucker" she taunted, voice unusually deep as the first of the pair was unmade with a single downward swing of Apex Scavenger in its' melee form, pickaxe-head bursting through bone and flesh to emerge from the underside of the things' jaw however the second Beowolf attempted to turn the tables once again and use its' pack-mates' demise to launch as surprise attack. Astra readied their guns again as the Grimm skulked to Regalia's side and pounced, its' claws leaving her Aura flickering and visible for the briefest moment only for the intervention to become unnecessary as their partner slammed her elbow into the snarling maw of the beast before pivoting to drive the base of her weapon, the point which made its' harpoon component through a leg and followed this act of brutality by swinging herself behind the Grimm in such a way that the shaft of her weapon sat beneath its' chin allowing her to use her considerable strength to turn and throw the Beowolf over her own shoulder and slam it head-first into the ground and by the time the bloodied and battered thing had found its' feet Regalia had transformed Apex Scavenger into its' shotgun form, discharging the weapon first into the face of her current opponent and then turning to shoot over Astra's shoulder at a Grimm which had seen their distraction as an opportunity.

"Thanks" the Deer Faunus breathed out, privately chastising themselves for their lack of awareness before frowning "You okay? That second one got its' claws on you"

"I aint got time to bleed" Regalia assured them as she displayed the arm the Beowolf had attacked to show that she was unharmed to which Astra chuckled faintly before the sounds of ongoing combat forced the two to focus their attention in the direction of Athena-Jade and Zirconia who were fighting their customary co-ordination.

"This is taking way too long" the Bear Faunus growled, still suffering from her lack of sleep though her abilities were yet to show signs of suffering from it as Zirconia leapt out and dropped into a low spinning sweep which saw her mechanical legs flash out further and faster than expected, joints unfurling to smash into the legs of the nearest Grimm with a bone-shattering impact which Athena-Jade followed up on by engaging the Dust powered booster in the head of Mould-Breaker and swinging with all of her might to tear everything above the pelvis of the monster to unrecognisable shreds with a single blow. Without hesitation Zirconia leapt on to the head of the still travelling hammer and used it as a springboard to throw herself high into the air and aim Sunriser Cain in its' melee form

'Hard-light! Gravity!' the synthetic voice of the weapon declared and the Grasshopper seemed to fall in slow motion as she pointed the blunted and cylindrical tip of her weapon, a midpoint between rapier and blunt truncheon downwards at a Beowolf with howled and snarled up at her only to be skewered and impaled as a lance of semi-solid light tore downwards at frightening speed, hitting the Grimm in its' open mouth.

Four Beowolves remained and the circled warily, snarling amongst each other as Zirconia landed.

"We're making a lot of noise as it is" Astra noted, understanding Athena's annoyance but still cautious "The louder we are and the more damage we do then the more Grimm there's gonna be"

"Then allow me" Zirconia said simply, bracing herself in a wide stance and letting out a slow breath as she engaged her Semblance. Her pupils expanded and seemed to leak into the whites of her eyes whilst the pink and orange of her mismatched irises shone brightly in the darkness which subsumed the immediate area as Phantasmagoria took hold, creating an impassible barrier of pitch black which could not be exited and trapped Team MARZ, the remaining Grimm and several trees within it. Zirconia moved a hand subtly and the darkness which robbed senses moved as though it were a liquid at her command, waves of nothingness tearing down the trees which their foe had begun to lurk amidst and revealing the Creatures of Grimm, their midnight black forms illuminated by the glow of their eyes.

"Fire at will" Zirconia said simply, to which Athena-Jade gave a toothy smile and shifted Mould-Breaker into its' laser cannon form; the familiar and comforting bassy thrum of the weapon priming preceding a warp note as ethereal green light swept through the darkness.

And then there were no Grimm left.

"Okay, is anyone else getting annoyed at just how much interference we're running into?" Astra asked as Zirconia released her Semblance and the team converged on one another, still sweeping their weapons across their surroundings for any sign of movement.

"This forest is used for initiations, it makes sense that it would be packed with Grimm" Zirconia countered.

"Maybe, but initiation areas are usually kept thinned down to a workable level and this isn't the part of the forest where initiations normally happen" Astra reasoned, deducing what they could from the information available "It's weird that the Grimm are clustering around each other like this"

"Maybe" Athena shrugged, hefting her hammer over one shoulder "But I'm guessing it's because Honey stirred them up when she was preparing for this"

"That….shit that gives me a really bad idea" Astra's voice became hushed and their eyes widened as some dreadful realisation came to them "Regalia, can you use your Semblance to figure out what's drawing the Grimm; or what would would stop them coming after us?"

"I can try" she said thoughtfully, before lowering her goggles and using her Semblance, the rest of Team MARZ guarding her and waiting with bated breath as she ceased her attempts and began again several times with a new set of parameters before finally raising her goggles and pointing in the direction that they had been intending to travel anyway "Up ahead"

Team MARZ followed the nomads' lead, each of them treading carefully with a newly heightened sense of caution until the sound of something hissing reached their ears and a moment later its' source was identified; a large canister littered with countless warning labels which had been perched on a sizeable rock situated amidst the trees and specifically damaged in such a way that it released its' fumes in a small stream of gas which would likely last for several hours yet.

"Holy shit" Astra mouthed in disbelief as they recognised the substance as something tightly controlled and monitored which would only be available to a student such as Honey if it had been given to her by Professor Branwen himself.

"I thought Professor Branwen said it was not-lethal traps?" Athena-Jade demanded.

"She used Grimm pheromones to make sure we'd be slowed down?" Zirconia's expression was mortified and outraged in equal measure, an uncommon harshness finding its' way into her rasping words "That's uncalled for, this is a training exercise...There's no way this can be controlled"

"Astra warned us, they told you she was good, they told you she was scary" Regalia murmured before deciding that the most obvious course of action was to destroy the cannister or better yet remove it so that it would spread its' contents somewhere away from where Team MARZ needed to be; the Racoon Faunus took a single step forwards and then paused, sharing a single look with Astra and allowing herself a small smile as she realised that the two of them were once again on the same page.

It seemed too easy.

"Athena, can you use a glyph to move that?" she asked and the Bear Faunus nodded, extending a palm and creating one of her glowing glyphs beneath the canister which had been so neatly and obviously displayed and launching it into the air in a high arc that would see it land a great distance away however the moment the container was moved it became obvious that this first trap was simply the bait for a second as a snare whipped up from the ground in a motion that would have seen Regalia suspended by the ankle from a tree branch if she had attempted to move the cannister by hand, the full extent of the trap becoming clear as arcing electricity began to crackle over the length of the snare, revealing to be comprised of a conductive steel wiring and dangerous enough to deplete Aura and according to the rules Qrow had given them cost Team MARZ their victory by removing one of their number from play.

"Clever girl" Regalia croaked out

"Huh, you changed movies?" Astra snorted, offering their partner a fist bump though it was undeniable that the mood had changed tangibly with their group now that it had been made clear to them just what it meant to be hunted by Honey Scarlatina.


The Emerald Forest was being watched.

That much was to be expected of course given that it was monitored on a regular basis by the staff of Halo Academy and under the possibility of random sweeps to ensure nothing too perilous for students at any time. It was also an obvious and undeniable fact given that a lone aircraft was currently circling above its' canopy from which Qrow Branwen was treated to an aerial view of the training exercise being conducted at his instruction however there other watchers whose presence had not been expected or accounted for, currently perched on the edge of the cliffs from which prospective Halo Academy students where annually launched with a tent behind them and a series of powerful binoculars and other, more advanced means of watching events in the forest set up around them.

"So….How much trouble do you think we're gonna be in when Professor Ren finds out about this" Rye Fairfax's voice was sullen and resigned as he took a sitting position between Tiger who was using a pair of modified binoculars to peer into the dense sea of greenery that was the Emerald Forest and Stygian who was in the midst of sharpening Sharp Cheddar to pass the time whilst Amaya remained at the rear of the group, taking her turn at keeping watch with one pistol in hand whilst the other hung low to the ground as she clutched the cable connecting the two guns in case she needed to hurl the bladed pistol at an incoming threat.

"We're not gonna get caught it's fine….There's nobody on missions right now so nobody is gonna check anything on a Saturday. We're fine" Stygian looked up from the blade of his katana and paused, the Mouse Faunus speaking with a calmness that suggested a total certainty and offering a wink which did little to clam Rye's nerves and instead the gargantuan boy, donning his armour and carrying his sword for this excursion turned instead to Tiger who made no effort to turn her attention away from her current search; all of her usual drive and singular focus bringing out something of the impersonal coldness she had been working so hard to overcome.

"If we are questioned or punished I will take full responsibility and ask that the punishment rests solely on me" she stated flatly.

"The Professors won't go for it….Even if they did I wouldn't let you do it. I think this is risky and kinda dumb but I'm still out here with you" Rye countered

"That's what teams do" Amaya added, contributing to the conversation from behind her friends "Cover each other and have each others' backs….Especially when there's stupidity involved"

The stupidity in question had been Tiger's foray into spying and subterfuge, inspired by the knowledge that Team MARZ were being given additional training by a Professor of Halo Academy whilst Halo's own student body was not. Once Team MARZ had left the movie night the two teams had hoped to enjoy together far earlier than intended Tiger had revealed to her own team-mates that she and to some extent Stygian had been surreptitiously setting a plan in motion; with the Mouse Faunus using many acquaintances within the student body to find a final year student with access to the keys for various store rooms who would be willing to give Team TRQS the equipment currently at their disposal under the conditions that it was returned before the end of the day in a pristine condition and also that they would not be using it for anything illegal or perverse. With those assurances made and the equipment secured the task of finding transport had fallen to Tiger who had instinctively reached out to her twin brother in the hopes that Ravi would wish to join them, the presence of Snapdragon Majus and Team SHMR at large would be acceptable to her as in Tiger's mind, insufferable as her fellow team leader might be the well being and reputation of the academy they shared was far more important than any petty rivalry between them and there was also the slim possibility that seeing her future rivals being given special treatment might be enough to push Snapdragon to finally begin training and bettering herself in earnest rather than simply coasting by on natural talent. Ravi had been unable to accompany his sister however, though had whole-heartedly supported Tiger's ambition and reasoning which had meant more to her than she had been able to put into words, especially when those words were simply typed and sent as a text message and it was this support which had ultimately seen their plan succeed as Ravi had managed to convince his team-mate Marsh who owned a car to ferry Team TRQS out to the cliffs for some extracurricular work.

With some sense of how potentially risky their plan was setting in Tiger had waited, hidden from view at the landing pads until, late into the night Qrow Branwen and Honey Scarlatina had boarded a flight and then she had barrelled into the passenger seat of Marsh's car and bid him to set off and follow the low flying aircraft with all haste and as closely as possible until, after a prolonged drive Team TRQS were deposited at their current vantage point by Marsh who steadfastly refused to travel further and from there they had managed a small amount of rest before the arrival of a second transport which could only be carrying Team MARZ had seen them springing into action.

Using the reference points of where the transports had landed and also where the second transport, which still circled the air above the forest had deployed Honey Scarlatina Tiger had been attempting to track the various parties involved in this exercise and if possible discern exactly what was being taught so that Team TRQS could share in at least some of that knowledge; thus far Tiger had managed to find Honey through her heat signature though the thermal imaging gave away little of what she was actually doing and despite having a rough estimate of their start and end points she had been unable to locate her fellow Second Years.

Until Team MARZ revealed themselves.

"There!" Stygian shook her shoulder gently and after shooting him a momentary stern look in response to the contact Tiger realised that her partners' Faunus eyesight had allowed him to spot a small but expanding sphere of darkness in the rough vicinity of where Team MARZ were expected to be.

"That's Zirconia's Semblance" Rye noted "I've seen her practising with it, she doesn't really use it in class too much in case Professors don't like not knowing what's happening inside that bubble"

"That and she wants as much of an element of surprise as possible" Tiger muttered before bringing her binoculars back to her eyes "And I can't see anything that's happening in there"

"Wait it out" Stygian said bluntly and though it irked Tiger she was forced to relent and accept that there was little other option, the unnatural darkness faded away in short order however, revealing that several tree had been toppled in a display of power and she quickly began searching for her quarry once again in the nearby area yet Team MARZ once again gave their position away as something almost imperceptibly small from such a distance but identifiable by the contrail of gas that spewed behind it was rocketed into the air at a lethal velocity.

"What the heck was that?" Amaya demanded.

"I don't know but I've got a lock on Team MARZ" Tiger almost purred voicing thoughts that occurred to her as she added "Honestly, I don't even think they'd mind us doing this if we told them….I get the impression Astra would do the same thing in our position"

"Tiger….Look" Rye reached out and gently got her attention, before readying Chivalry as he indicated to something in the Emerald Forest which caught Tiger by surprise, something which despite being unseen could still be presumed to be of a massive size given the way tree trunks were bent aside as it proceeded through their midst at great speed.

Tiger could only think of one such thing in the forest.

"Grimm"

"You want me to take it out, I can blast through those trees. Clear shot from here" Rye offered, shifting Chivalry into its' rail-gun form and taking aim, hesitating when Tiger gently rested a hand on the barrel.

"Professor Branwen's transport hasn't intervened yet" she noted "There's no certainty that this is a problem and even if it is, we give away the fact that we're here the second you fire….Stitch?"

"No can do" the Mouse Faunus lamented, understanding what Tiger wanted from him "Too far away and even if I wasn't, as big as that Grimm is there's no promises that it's the most dangerous one nearby….I could teleport right onto the back of a Deathstalker a hundred feet away from whatever that is and get stung before I can move"

"Damn it all" Tiger hissed, the urge to draw Fearful Symmetry and act kept at bay by her insistent and firm need for decisive and effective action rather than a blind charge, her brief moment of hesitance as she pondered giving Amaya Quasar a chance to offer her input.

"If the Professor isn't scared then why are we?" all eyes turned to her and she added "If we can see it then Team MARZ must be able to hear it coming, they're all Faunus….It's bigger than anything we saw during initiation but it's not the biggest Grimm we've seen and they've fought some pretty big stuff too"

"Scary stuff if the stories they tell are true" Rye added thoughtfully "Besides, Honey is still down there….This might even be part of their training"

With that thought leaving her reeling Tiger took up her binoculars once again and frantically sought out they spot where the Rabbit Faunus had been perched and waiting, a curse barely being contained before it could escape her as she finally located the older Halo Academy student.

"Whatever Professor Branwen is teaching them he's as crazy as they say" Tiger muttered with a clear sense of respect that bordered on awe "Honey is on the move, heading straight for them"

At this all other distractions and Amaya's guard duty were forgotten and each of Team TRQS took up their own binoculars and sought out Team MARZ; preparing to intervene if it seemed that their new friends were in any real danger that they could not manage but more so ready to simply watch and learn whatever it was Professor Branwen intended to teach.


The ground rumbled and snow gathered on higher branches of the barren trees fell around Team MARZ, a chorus of dry wooden snaps as trees were smashed aside growing steadily louder and closer until each thundering footstep of the approaching monster could be made out in the moments before its' glowing eyes illuminated the rest of its' form.

A Goliath.

"Eh, we've fought bigger" Astra shrugged, managing a confident swagger as they moved to the front of Team MARZ and prepared to activate their Semblance only for Zirconia to rest Sunriser Cain flat across their chest to bar the way and give accompany the rare assertiveness with a serious look.

"We've fought large Grimm, but not in an area like this where there might still be traps for you to trigger or step on with your Semblance" she warned, watching as comprehension dawned on the Deer Faunus's face at a pace that seemed torturous with the pounding crescendo growing painfully close even if in truth it was only a matter of seconds before they took action, crouching in front of Athena-Jade and slamming the twin shields of Buckshot Ares together to project their rose-tinted hard-light shield outwards in a curved wall as they began issuing commands.

"Regalia, we need somewhere we can fight more safely…..Either Semblance or scout ahead and find us some room" the Racoon Faunus nodded and began clambering up into the nearest tree whilst snapping off a short burst of shotgun blasts of the direction of the Goliath, blasting a way with chunks of bone armour yet doing nothing more than enrage the beast which let out a trumpeting bellow in response.

"Zirconia, slow it down.; Dust barricades. AJ fire at will and I'll cover you, when you need to recharge throw up a glyph so I can shoot!"

"Understood" it was Zirconia who answered whilst Athena-Jade simply hefted her weapon and prepared to fire from the hip once again and aiming over the upper edge of Astra's shield directly at the space between the Goliath's eyes. In the next few moments the immediate area was reduced to a chaotic maelstrom of gunfire, elemental manipulation and simple, raw destruction as the elephantine Creature of Grimm, a small example of its' species yet still several times larger than any of those fighting against it continued the frenzied rampage that it had been driven to whilst Sunriser Cain let out a ceaseless stream of announcements as Zirconia produced walls and spears of ice whose frozen surfaces crackled with arcs forks of lightning or else produced warping gravitational fields which bent the nearby trees only for natural order to reassert itself as the Goliath smashed through each boundary in turn, its' skull being cracked, blackened and at the point immediately surrounding the point of impact reduced to a molten orange glow by Athena-Jade's laser cannon.

"Switch over!" the Bear Faunus called out after several tense moments, throwing up a series of glyphs in front of Astra who, along with the rest of Team MARZ continued to retreat steadily in the direction that Regalia was moving, eyes darting from the trees where the Racoon Faunus was perched to the ground they trod on as they took care to check for traps with every step. It was a fighting retreat however as the Deer Faunus brought their arm-mounted guns whirring into life before leaning around the edges of Athena's protective barrier to begin opening fire, taking in the sight of the Goliath as they did so and allowing themselves some relief at the fact the Grimm was at least suffering from some considerable damage with its' entire left eye destroyed and the space around it shattered and torn asunder, overlarge ear ragged and tusk chipped whilst Astra's own barrage of gunfire ripped chunks of obsidian tissue from armoured portions of the things flank.

As Buckshot Ares ceased firing and before Astra could call for Athena to switch places with them again another figure, instantly familiar joined the fray.

"It's Honey!" Zirconia called out as the Rabbit Faunus leapt down from the treetops and directly onto the skull of the Goliath, avoiding the thrashing trunk of the monster as she scrabbled for purchase before leaving Team MARZ collectively stunned as she ended the thing with a single well-placed blow, taking the bowie knife she was carrying in lieu of her own personal weapon and plunging it, along with her entire forearm into the gaping wound left by Athena's attack and piercing whatever passed as brain matter for a Creature of Grimm to reduce it to a billowing cloud of darkness which washed over the surrounding area, with Team MARZ being once again caught by surprise as the smog faded and revealed that Honey Scarlatina had vanished from view entirely.

"Where is she!" Astra demanded, glancing up at Regalia who had seemingly instinctively drawn closer to her team-mates and was now only a short distance away from her partner whilst still being in the trees.

"I'm up here!" the four teens struggled to hide their spiking panic as they turned their weapons skyward, scanning the canopy and catching only brief flickers of movement as Honey flitted in and out of view, her voice tauntingly jovial as she spoke once again.

"I guessed that you'd follow the transports' flight path and then spread out to surround me instead of splitting up flanking from the start" Astra cursed to themselves as that had indeed been their plan "So that was the route I prepared for you last night….Honestly you did really well guys, sorry about the Goliath I really didn't expect it to be close enough to get drawn in by the pheromones, my Dad showed me how to use them before but they're not really something I practice with y'know?"

"So what then, you came rushing over 'cos you thought we'd gotten into something we couldn't handle and you felt bad about it? You know we had that right, we would have taken the Goliath out" Astra spoke clearly and slowly and with enough annoyance in their voice to make the ruse convincing as they surreptitiously gestured for Team MARZ to fan out, Regalia's Semblance quickly giving away Honey's position in the trees and allowing Zirconia and Athena to set up a pincer movement and prepare to envelop her whilst Astra sought to keep the older student distracted with the conversation.

"Nah, if Professor Branwen likes you then you must be good; besides I heard about Port Alistair and the attack on the airship a few months ago….You're good" Honey answered, still unnervingly calm and chirpy in her responses though something cold and menacing slipped into her words as she added "I just don't like having my hard work wasted, especially when I missed out on spending time with Yuki to set it up and that Goliath was gonna ruin everything"

It took Astra only the briefest moment to understood what she meant and it was still too late to react by that point.

"Hey guys!" Honey exclaimed as she lunged down from the tree tops in a nearly imperceptible blur of speed and landed crouched in Team MARZ's midst, dirty clothes and unsuitable weapon pitted against four fully armed and prepared Hunters and training and yet it was clear from the outset that she was the one who held the upper hand. In the time it took Astra to begin aiming and calling out instructions Honey had already made the most subtle of movements and revealed that she had deliberately landed upon a pressure plate and that with the slightest shift of her weight and balance she could activate one of her traps.

In the next moment the Rabbit Faunus began to show Team MARZ just how many traps she had prepared and just how capable in combat she truly was.


The winter sun had finally risen, reached its' zenith and began its; hasty and premature descent towards the horizon once more, providing a lacklustre amount of warmth and doing little to ease the drabness of the cold grey sky or the equally bleak and partly snow-covered city of Neo Vale below it by the time Chairman Damascus Nero returned to his underground Chamber.

"Did you actually sleep" he demanded pointedly, voice echoing faintly in the open space of his base of operations as he caught sight of Albion, his long time friend and co-conspirator being present as expected albeit slumped backwards in his chair to such a degree that his head lolled backwards over it, his eyes closed and glasses removed with their golden frames folded and reflecting the harsh overhead lights of the chamber as they rested on the main workstation and computer terminal from which Albion conducted much of his day to day work, nestled between the keyboard and a pyramid of empty coffee cups whose size gave some indication of just how late into the night he and Aefen had worked to overcome the problems which had led to the failure of the Cyber-Grimm Initiative.

"Eventually" Albion mumbled the word out with such heavy weariness that it was immediately apparent that whatever rest he had managed to take was entirely insufficient.

"We've lost and sacrificed so much already….Don't risk yourself like this old friend, I need your mind sharp for this. Who else could I turn to?" Nero said softly as he took a seat and positioned it beside the dark-skinned and white-haired scientist, Albion taking a moment to gather his wits before replying and first allowing his ice blue eyes to open slowly and retrieving his glasses before fixing the Chairman with a stare of something approaching disbelief.

"Are you telling me that you actually managed to sleep? With how close we are, after what happened yesterday….After that?" he gestured with a wide and vague wave in the general direction of where the robotic chassis intended to become the first of their new creations and the docking bay housing it had previously been housed, the space now being filled with several mobile stretcher and operating table like platforms to which the twisted, mangled and malformed parts of robot and hangar alike were strapped and down and secured with a vast array of tools and sensors connected to and gathered around them in a display which were it not for the multiple heavy weapons trained on the ruined machinery as a precaution would have put Nero in mind of the vast and haunting network of triage centres and makeshift hospitals which had been set up in the wake of Salem's siege of New Vale and taking of the Hive-Cities' lower levels which had subsequently overwhelmed several hospitals in the bowels of the city.

His eyes were distant for several seconds before he mastered himself and forced the nightmarish scenes from his memories aside and speaking slowly, taking care to avoid having the stammer and working class accent he naturally spoke with return with the momentary stress.

"I won't say that I slept well, but I did indeed sleep" he forced a soft chuckle which a single look showed Albion was not convinced by "I have discipline and for matters that need extra assistance I do have some excellent selections of brandy available to me"

"I would expect you to tell me that drinking on a weekend is a luxury for those whose lives that we seek to protect, that we cannot afford to become sloppy in our thinking" Albion retorted with an admittedly fair impression of the tone and diction which Nero's speech therapist had drilled into him, smirking as he added "Or have you learned to handle your liquor better than you did in college whilst I've been busy?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures I'm afraid" Nero forced himself to speak with a sombre tone despite the urge to laugh, though this quickly passed as he nodded in the direction of the sundered and ruined machinery "Did you learn anything that we can use to refine the procedure?"

"We learned a great deal" Albion mused, his tiredness vanishing in an instant as he became thoughtful and clearly more reinvigorated "Aefen assures me that she's on the cusp of a breakthrough and though it's tempting to believe that she's simply posturing to make herself seem more indispensable to us I would not be surprised at all if she does give us the answers we need-"

"But you don't have them yet?"

"No" Albion sighed "There's information, but the problem with creating an entirely new lifeform, field of study and redefining the entire status quo of Remnant is that there really is no guideline for it I'm afraid….I don't mean to get testy with you Damascus but I can't give you promises or an exact schedule for when we'll be able to complete the process until we can test our data and the conclusions we've extrapolated from it thus far"

"And what of Gestalt-Prime, can they provide any insight?"

"When they're conscious again possibly" Albion grimaced as they glanced towards the fluid-filled tube where the monster they had struggled for so long to awaken was once again in state of torpor "Though forgive me if I don't trust the Grimm….Alliance aside, if Gestalt-Prime is intelligent enough to hold grudges and have a long term plan I wouldn't exclude the idea of them arranging an accident for me"

"They understand that we can terminate them and end their own plans for the future of the Grimm at any time" Nero countered, having the sense to argue from a position of logic and the self-interest of the hybrid Alpha than to try and appeal to any sense of trust. Albion looked ready to discuss the matter further though the two men were both distracted by a small bleeping that issued from the workstation they were sat at.

"Aefen?" Nero asked hesitantly, knowing that Carmesi would contact him directly if there was an issue at hand and so this could only be a communication from the cult leader or an alert to warn of something amiss in the areas of Neo Vale whose infrastructure their conspiracy had seen them work their way into and take a measure of control over.

"Aefen" Albion confirmed.

"What is it?" Nero was expectant yet Albion remained silent for some time as he took in the contents of the multiple files that had been securely transferred, needing that time to parse blueprints and rambling, barely coherent attempts at a scientific thesis and series of instructions that had been scrawled hastily on paper and then simply scanned or photographed and had the distinct feeling of sleep-deprived and unhinged ravings about them yet as Albion studied them in more detail and allowed his mind to follow the same processes that Aefen's likely had he was left adjusting his glasses in shock as he saw that he could indeed make sense of what the cult leader was suggesting and that, almost damnably her ideas seemed sound.

"Unless I'm very much mistaken we're looking at the breakthrough that she promised us" Albion slipped off his lab-coat and adjusted his cream-coloured suit before opening several documents and programs, transferring Aefen's rambling and disjointed documentation into them and beginning the process of formatting into something more legible and sensible, drawing up a list of components that would be required as he went.

"This" he tapped at a screen impatiently and indicated a specific series of items "We don't have this….Not unless you've been buying companies for fun again"

"No, we don't have this….I thought owning more than one robotics company would cover all of our bases for this, but something of this calibre-"

"Would allow us, if Aefen is correct to give proper instruction and direction to Gestalt-Prime's spawn and have a measure of control and limitation over their growth….An Artificial intelligence, making the nascent Cyber-Grimm more amenable without making it so intelligent that it can become disobedient" Albion interjected "I hate to say it but Aefen is indeed a genius….Though I can certainly see why she was censured; this would be horrific in the wrong hands"

"An artificial intelligence" Nero paused and considered "Poly-Tech make battle-robots that can run such systems, there are instances of them being outfitted with entirely unique personalities and used as part of mercenary groups; though I'm hesitant about launching a campaign against a competitor backed by the Atlesian military, another robotics company being attacked so soon after Cosmo-Guild would raise too many suspicions"

"Their largest facilities are based in Atlas as well, we would be under the eye of Winter Schnee and not Qrow Branwen, to say nothing of Antonia Arc herself" Albion noted, clearly dismissing the idea as well "No we need acquire an artificial intelligence from someone without it turning into a bloodbath or revealing our hand….I have it! Gestalt-Prime was briefly connected to the CCT yes, that was what accelerated their growth initially? The primary CCT tower in the city is still partly operated by an AI, it was stripped back somewhat after it was hacked in the first war against Salem but it's still there"

"Of course attacking the CCT itself would be far too dangerous, Hunters would come in in their dozens" Nero mused, speaking slowly before nodding towards Albion's computer "Do we have enough of an influence to create an issue that will require maintenance?"

"Not at present but it can be done, perhaps in a matter of days" Albion assured him, already turning and focusing on the task at hand once again.

"Good….We would likely need a measure of control over the CCT for the later stages of our plans; the influence we have through Hammerfall Outpost alone won't be enough in the long term" Nero flexed the fingers of his gloved right hand and pushed his hair away from his face before adding

"Create a problem that will require them to service and replace parts, we will then have the delivery of those parts intercepted….Petrol and his associates were growing restless after all and this is the kind of job they were employed for"

"Until they can be replaced by a more upstanding fighting force" Albion noted, the sense of irony in his words balanced against a genuine and heartfelt belief in the vision that Nero was trying to bring into reality.

"Precisely" Nero said simply, trying to ignore just how like the scheming masterminds watching over Remnant whom he despised so deeply he had begun to sound.


Honey Scarlatina's victory over Team MARZ had been swift and decisive as the traps she had set were implemented and despite their best efforts to evade them the Rabbit Faunus herself had sprung into their midst, using the ensuing chaos and disorientation to disable Astra at close range with a blindly fast flurry of blows that had shattered their Aura completely; ending the training exercise and amounting to Astra's second defeat at Honey's hands though they managed to take this in their stride and laugh good naturedly about it with their friends as they kept their bloody lip and nose elevated and awaited Qrow Branwen's arrival and their extraction from the Emerald Forest.

The training exercise had been several hours ago and despite the absurdly early hour they had begun at Team MARZ still found that when all was said and done they had lost much of their Sunday and would have only a few short hours to recuperate before classes began anew the next day, the Professor Branwen had at least offered to suggest that the four second years' not be called upon for any practical aspects of Monday's classes. The reason for the lost time had been the mission debriefing process which the grizzled veteran Hunter had insisted that they partake in as though it were a genuine assignment, with a brief excursion to the campus medical wing and full debrief which Qrow had then followed up with a detached and exacting analysis of their performance from his point of view, detailing the various traps that Honey had employed against them including several that they had been unaware of and various ways they could be altered to be far more lethal or used in urban environment before Qrow had told them in no uncertain terms that he knew of Astra's attempts to find Petrol and was simply doing his part to ensure that they were aware of the risks; stating that he would be very pleased if they decided to study the subject he taught further once taking their electives in their third year though stating bluntly that if Astra did encounter the avian Faunus they were not to engage and were instead to fall back and alert someone more qualified.

It had stung at their pride but the leader of Team MARZ had forced themselves to agree, a feat made marginally easier by the fact they had been left bruised and aching by someone far less bloodthirsty than their acid-spewing nemesis.

From here the team had returned to their dorm and elected to sleep or at least rest for a few hours before rousing and finding that it was already mid-afternoon and that the sun was already beginning to set with the winter chill setting in as fresh bout of snow and howling winds swept the airborne campus. The subject of food had been broached and after some discussion a consensus of a Mistrali take out had been agreed upon, with each of the team feeling that after the day they had suffered they were entitled to something other than canteen offerings; Astra despite the freedoms that came from finally owning their own vehicle had elected not to ferry the pickup down into the city aboard an airship and drive through Neo Vale, stating tiredness and the amount of time it would take and so instead Team MARZ were gathered at the campus's landing pads waiting for their food to be delivered.

"So….that just happened" Regalia murmured distractedly, allowing herself to chuckle faintly as she pulled her two jackets closer and rubbed her hands together for warmth; watching the gentle snowfall as it was blown across the upper surface of the enormous anti-gravity platform in a display that was still novel to her.

"Regalia, no….Just no. Even you can't make that line funny" Astra snorted, fighting a shiver and rubbing their biceps to try and fend off the cold yet still unwilling to compromise on their chosen aesthetic by wearing a jacket with sleeves under their sleeveless leather. Instead the scooted along the bench that the four of them were sharing, close enough to their partner that they could share in Regalia's body heart which Astra quickly noted she had in abundance, if anything the Racoon Faunus seemed to be growing warmer by the second and though she offered no verbal response she did shuffle in closer and rest her head on Astra's shoulder with the movement drawing the attention of Athena-Jade and Zirconia, the latter of whom had been cuddling with the former though it was likely that this had nothing to do with the cold; at least not for the Atlesian Bear Faunus who seemed entirely immune to the chill.

Before Astra could comment on Athena's remarkable resilience, likely with a sarcastic comment of some sort Team MARZ found themselves collectively distracted by snickering from behind them and turned to find Team TRQS standing close by and clearly pointing in the direction of Team MARZ whilst exchanging in a level of camaraderie that would have been unusual for them only a few short weeks ago.

"What?" Astra demanded more harshly than intended, they may have considered the Halo Academy students their friends yet the Deer Faunus found themselves unwilling to be laughed at behind their back; childhood bullying ensuring that the idea left a foul taste in their mouth.

"Th-th-that's all folks!" Rye laughed whilst beside him Amaya began humming the tune to an immediately recognisable cartoon series famous for its' slapstick humour until the two of them were left leaning against one another in hysterics.

"Seriously, you guys are cool and we know we shouldn't laugh….But holy shit you got wrecked!" Stygian's heroic attempt to keep their own laughter at bay as Team TRQS sidled over lasted only a few moments before the Mouse Faunus could contain themselves no more, the memory of one of Zirconia's flailing attempt to avoid a series of snares and tripwires lining the forest floor being what set him off.

"You guys fucking suck" Athena grumbled bitterly, arms folding across her chest as she turned back towards the landing pads and staunchly ignored the other team in favour of leaning into Zirconia. Astra saw this and then saw the way Regalia's face had fallen in dismay, with this being what caused their various irritated thoughts to coalesce into something distinct before they turned their focus to Tiger who was, to her credit not openly laughing or mocking her fellow team leader.

"How did you guys find out about our mission? Is Professor Branwen showing the aerial footage off for kicks?" the Deer Faunus's fists clenched and they fought the urge to leap from the bench and turn the discussion into a confrontation, knowing that such an attempt to save face would only cost them friendships in the long run.

"No, to my knowledge we are the only people who were not part of your training who saw it" Tiger assured them "I doubt Honey will tell anybody outside of her own team"

"So you spied on us?" Athena asked, piecing together what must have happened and making no effort to hide her affronted expression whilst Regalia was confused and Zirconia, in rare display of aggression slipped a hand to where her weapon was holstered with a hard look in her eye.

"It's not like that" Stygian splayed his hands in a universally understood gesture to show that he was not seeking conflict whilst Tiger simply stepped forwards and locked eyes with Astra.

"Yes it was" she held her fellow team leaders' gaze for a moment before explaining herself "Your team were getting preferential treatment; you personally have family connections to Professor Branwen, most of your team are well connected either financially, in the Hunter community or both….it seemed unfair so we made our way to the Emerald Forest and watched your training"

"You thought Professor Branwen was giving us a leg up for the tournament?" Astra sputtered the words out, surprised and yet annoyed at how reasonable the idea seemed to them as they considered it; enough so that they found themselves unable to be truly angry.

"Yes and I was wrong. I can admit that but I did what I thought was best for my teams' chances….Though I apologise if I've offended you or breached your trust" Tiger answered, the apology clearly sincere and taking something to give so earnestly; Astra turned his attention from Tiger to Team TRQS as a whole and saw that none of them were laughing now, with Stygian appearing openly shamefaced.

"I mean I get it" it was Athena-Jade who answered with a disgruntled huff "Professor Branwen knows our families, we've all been taught by at least one of his nieces….I just wish that people didn't always make assumptions about me because of family connections; especially not about my character, do you guys really think we'd try and cheat in the tournament?"

"No" it was Stygian that answered, speaking without hesitation and meeting Athena's pale blue eyes with his own electric blue and offering a genuinely apologetic look.

"You could have just asked" she sighed before turning away.

"Would you have given us an honest answer if we had?" Tiger asked arching an eyebrow questioningly to which Astra simply shrugged.

"Honestly, depends on what Professor Branwen said we were allowed to disclose" they paused for a moment before deciding to offer what they could to satiate their friends' curiosity "Both mine and AJ's brothers are on Team FADE, they take missions from Qrow sometimes….He wanted to give us an early look at the stuff that's part of his syllabus to see if we'd be a good fit for it. Assault course scenario based on trying to capture an enemy who'd had time to prepare, like breaking into a base of operations or hideout"

"I see" Tiger murmured nodding slowly, lips finally curling into a slight smile as she added "It was very informative nonetheless"

"Think you could do better?" Astra challenged "You really think your team would have been able to take on Honey Scarlatina with prep time and access to Professor Branwen's stash of traps and tricks?"

"Let's find out" Regalia's voice turned sickly sweet as she leaned against Astra and locked eyes with each of Team TRQS in turn "We should tell him that they want to join in the extra training and let them try, see if they last as long"

"Challenge-"

"Stitch do not finish that sentence" Tiger interrupted firmly, clamping down on her partner and causing the tattooed and dark-skinned Mouse Faunus to visibly sag and let out a sigh of annoyance whilst Rye and Amaya merely shared amused looks at the antics from behind them; allowing a somewhat awkward silence to settle over the group until after a lingering moment it was broken by Astra.

"So….We're not gonna cheat you, you're not gonna spy on us again. I would be happy to ask Professor Branwen to involve Team TRQS in extra training if you want to try it….So, are we cool?"

"We are" Tiger nodded "And I want to apologise again for any offence"

"Hey" Stygian pointed to something behind Team MARZ "A kid just got off of that transport with a lot of take-out boxes; that looks like it's for you….So, we've still got the DVDs from yesterday if you wanna hang out?"

"Movie night it is" Regalia grinned leaping to her feet and pulling Astra up with her, trying to decide whether she should head for the main entrance or towards the delivery-boy first and with that the temporary rift between Team MARZ and their new friends was healed.

Though Astra quietly promised themselves that if any member of Team TRQS ever upset their partner again the Deer Faunus would dangle them over the edge of the aerial platform until they apologised.

Author's Notes:

Okay here's the deal….This was a nice little self contained chapter and largely, save for a few details it could almost be considered filler.
Except it isn't, because it will establish a few important details that will become more important in the next couple chapters in some subtle ways.
Also, I wrote half of this chapter in a day….Guys, I think I have my old groove back.
As for the Chapter title, I'm not sorry at all….What else would have me call it? I didn't directly homage any scenes but there were enough quotes and the whole setup was there.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Nights have started drawing in again a little bit and you can tell I wrote this chapter on a week when I was waking up for work at 4am when it's still dark.
AJ continues to not be a morning person.
Being paralysed from the waist down and old does not mean Qrow can't still sneak.
He did say last chapter that he has another student he gives extra lessons to, Honey gets extra training from her parents in the field and Qrow bolsters that with additional lessons….The joys of being a child prodigy; what's that Terry Pratchett quote about the one who digs the best ditch gets a bigger shovel?
Although she was definitely gearing up to pay matchmaker with Astra and Regalia.
Capturing someone in a preprepared position….Well that sounds like something that's gonna get brought up in a season finale.
Yeah, I'm still going all in on keeping Honey's weapons and combat gear secret for a while….But it's gonna be a fun reveal.
And there's the first Predator quote….cue the Cinema-Sins counter.
Gestalt-Prime is back on standby, just so there's one less person to be interjecting into conversations between the villains.
Aefen might not be an all out Grimm Worshipper like the cult she leads, but she definitely sees them as something to be marvelled at.
The bitching between Albion and Aefen was fun to write.
God fuck she's pretentious and theatrical and it's all such an obvious act balanced against the fact she's a nerd who just pulled an all nighter geeking out over her studies.
Gotta appreciate her commitment to the bit and to seizing opportunity and inspiration whenever it comes though.
If I had a chapter in the Emerald Forest and no Grimm encounter I'd deserve a slap….Besides, I want Grimm, garden variety that aren't Gestalt-Prime spawn to have at least some presence in the story.
Astra and Regalia's different fighting styles and how they interact with each other, especially when they trade off and cover each others' blind sports is one of those things that's always fast paced and cinematic in my head….Regalia throwing in a couple more Predator quotes obviously doesn't hurt.
AJ & Hops combo with each other even better, but a lot of the time it's more linear or straight forward in the execution; but actually having Zirconia's Semblance, especially with the developments and evolution it underwent back in Vol.02 actually becoming useful was nice.
On the subject of Semblances coming in clutch, it's about time Regalia got a win with hers.
Grimm pheromones….Which, if you read FADE: Legacy are something of a callback because they're something that Honey's Dad, Flax Scarlatina keeps as part of his toolkit.
Of course it was rigged to an Indiana Jones level bullshit trap.
And of course I'm throwing in a Jurassic Park quote here.
Of course Team TRQS went and decided to spy on the extra training….Tiger was understandably galled and Stygian is down to throw himself into some nonsense.
I spent some time explaining the hows and whys of it but I felt like if I didn't then the fact Team TRQS managed to get to the cliffs in time to watch the mission would have seemed a little bit bullshit; also I was actually gonna have Team SHMR here as well, but it would just be too many people.
That explanation for Zirconia not using her Semblance in class too much makes perfect sense.
We've now got an idea of the range and limitations of Stygian's Semblance.
This scene isn't too important on its' own but it does set up the conversation at the end of the chapter and it was a nice break between scenes as well.
No Semblance for Astra today, because as Hops pointed out, they might step on a landmine or something.
Goliath….But a small one, 'cos the biggest thing we saw in the Emerald Forest excluding the giant nevermore was the Deathstalker and they're just a little too low to the ground for what I wanted.
The whole fighting retreat looked great in my head.
Our first time actually seeing Honey in action and she brains a Goliath with one hit using something that isn't even her weapon.
Honey is absolutely a darling….But she is also absolutely bad-ass and the whole time Team MARZ thought they were boxing her in and getting ready to make a move she was playing them at their own game.
When it fades or cuts away like that just when the action starts then you know it was a beat down.
Nero and Albion's friendship is great, it's refreshingly different to the usual villain dynamics we see.
I said a lot about what motivates Nero without saying a great deal there.
As great as Nero is….He is still 'The manager' sometimes and asks for stupid deadlines to be met.
Aefen to the dubious rescue, because you should always bet on the sheer dedication of someone who is slightly unhinged.
The AI is honestly a McGuffin and a fun callback to early canon, the really important parts here are that they have a plan to get the Cyber-Grimm project working again and that it will involve sending Petrol out to steal something from inside the city.
"Until they can be replaced by a more upstanding fighting force" because the Cyber-Grimm are not going to be led by the likes of Petrol in the long term.
So to summarise, Honey handed Team MARZ their collective asses, they wasted most of their Sunday and then Qrow dropped the bomb on them that they're allowed to keep looking for Petrol, because of course he knows….But they're not allowed to rush in and do something stupid.
Yes I'm taking shots at the "Well that just happened" nonsense….That line is something that was probably put in a script as a placeholder until the writer could think of something genuinely witty, but then they couldn't think of anything.
Regalia is going to die from this awkwardness.
Astra was a bullied kid before they actually met Felix….Think back to all that overcompensating bravado of the early chapters, no way to they let people laugh at them or their team even now.
So some definite initial strain between the teams there but it'll fix….Team TRQS's position was understandable, they were honest about their actions and their reasons and even though Tiger is blunt as hell she is learning to people.
Team TRQS now have an idea of what Qrow was teaching Team MARZ; which will become relevant next chapter.
And now we have a nice happy ending….Including Astra getting protective over Regalia; 'cos they're dense as all mother-fuck but their partner still means a hell of a lot to them.

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