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I am making no money from this.

Chapter 80: Prep Time

Shrieks filled the chamber, a cacophony of bone-chilling sounds like a chainsaw tearing through bone and metal, which could best be described as the result of attempting to produce working vocal chords from mangled industrial machinery echoed from the walls of the underground base of operations, which had mercifully been thoroughly soundproofed well in an advance to ensure that the Chamber remained hidden from those dwelling in the city above. The ongoing shrieking being punctuated by the irregular, yet relentless sounds of violence in the form of crashing impact and dull, ground-shaking thumps which Chairman Damascus Nero could not keep from wincing in response as he watched the unfolding events with deep interest.

"Should we put a stop to this?" Albion's voice intruded on the Chairman's thoughts, Nero's long-time friend and ally sat beside him; peering over the golden rims of his glasses with ice blue eyes whilst taking slow sips from steaming cup of coffee he held with both hands in a valiant effort to keep the tremble in those hands from showing too clearly, one whose cheap quality left Nero wrinkling his nose in its' presence.

"No….Let the runt die. Better it be used to hone the bloodlust of the others" it was Gestalt-Prime who spoke, voice underscored with the mechanical chittering of their segmented mandibles as it issued out from the fluid-filled vessel which still held the monstrous being, their body writhing and undulated as they turned to fix their cyclopean and glowing eye, surrounded by rhythmically pulsing lights where robotic sensors had been merged into their skull towards the human conspirators; alien body language unreadable in response to the frown that crossed Nero's face in response.

"I don't need them to be bloodthirsty, I need them to be effective….To say nothing of the resources that this costs us" at that he gestured towards the ongoing violent struggle taking place within the Chamber before disregarding the hybrid Alpha Grimm and instead focusing on the developing scene.

In the few weeks that had passed since the first of the Cyber-Grimm had been either spawned or manufactured, depending on which opinion was being given credence at the time a further two of the insectoid machine Grimm had been created to form an identical trio which had interacted amongst themselves in a way that displayed some level of connection to a fragment of the Grimm Hive Mind or at the very least a sense of animal kinship and cooperation between them.

The current chaotic scene was the result of trying to integrate a fourth, slightly altered Cyber-Grimm into the mix; the primordial and serpentine Grimm which had been used as the basis of its' creation being a smaller and less developed example than those of its' predecessors in what Nero had deemed a suitable adjustment in an effort to increase production. What had emerged from this altered process was a Cyber-Grimm which more closely resembled the original robot chassis used for the process, with far less of the Grimm in fluence present.

The trio of Cyber-Grimm had set upon it from the moment the had been allowed to enter into the hard-light shielded enclosure which formed a pen of sorts.

"You're certain they won't start using their guns?" Albion asked, wary that the slightest misstep in this attempt to better understand the behaviours and properly test their creations would end in disaster if the Cyber-Grimm were to break free; vague fears that the resulting rampage would be revealed to be the opening gambit of some grand scheme on Gestalt-Prime's behalf festering in the recesses of the scientists' mind.

"Their guns will be dormant until we need them to be otherwise" the hybrid Alpha answered with no small amount of irritation at the questioning in their voice, betraying as they often did just how far evolved they were beyond even Carmesi's reports from Menagerie though the answer was lost beneath a fresh bout of ear-splitting shrieks.

The newly made Cyber-Grimm runt, its' armour gouged and shredded in several places, lashed out with its' four arms in all directions but was ultimately helpless as the three fully formed examples set upon it from various angles and began to orchestrate a more planned attack; two of the Cyber-Grimm flanked and pounced on the runt from either side and at angles that brought them behind it, each of them seizing a pair of arms in their own oversized forelimbs and twisting, using enough force to buckle their smaller prey but clearly deliberately choosing not to tear the limbs away entirely for a purpose which quickly became apparent. The third Cyber-Grimm, which Nero noted was in fact the original shifted its' stance and splayed its' oil-stained and dull metallic wing casings' wide to reveal the tumorous mass of muscle and sinuous nightmare-black flesh which had grown to envelop a single thruster; in the next instant the Cyber-Grimm had charged forwards in an explosion of force and a burst of flames and acrid smoke to drive the arcing, crest-like horn which sprouted from its' thorax and reached over its' head and antennae directly through the face and skull cavity of the runt, delivering a killing blow that was made more brutal as the victorious Cyber-Grimm seized its' skewered and defeated prey by the torso and ripped downwards with its' horn to cleave the runt almost completely in half before hurling it to the ground where the trio of larger monster promptly began to cannibalise it.

"They're perfect" Gestalt-Prime's pleasure was evident in every syllable.

"They're….certainly effective" Albion struggled to keep their voice from wavering as they watched the gory scene before them, finally prying their eyes away and focusing on the Alpha Grimm "With them eating the failed Cyber-Grimm….Will they, change-"

"They won't be able to evolve and adapt themselves unless I directly give them that ability. Each of them is limited to the body they have once it has taken its' shape" Gestalt-Prime interjected, surmising what Albion's question would be and giving the man cause for relief with the news that none of the Cyber-Grimm would be able to develop to a comparable level to the monster that had created them and pose a threat to the security of not only the Chamber and the plans which had brought them to this point, but also a very real and visceral threat to the safety of the city of Neo Vale.

"It was an informative display. We cannot allow ourselves to lose track of our goals however, we cannot allow ourselves to become sloppy" it was Nero who spoke now, drawing the focus of his confidant and the monster he had allied himself with "The fact remains that we are still producing Cyber-Grimm at a painfully slow rate and with expenditure which will be prohibitive for the final stages of our plans….We need to devise a way to create Cyber-Grimm more quickly"

"My capabilities have limits" Gestalt-Prime snarled simply whilst Albion was more thoughtful, taking a moment to consider before giving an answer that pained them on a professional level to utter aloud.

"Perhaps this is a matter we should consult Aefen about" Nero nodded silently in response before turning his eyes back towards the trio of Cyber-Grimm who had by now torn the Grimm tissue free of runts' metallic exterior and were in the process of rendering its' chassis down to parts.

"We need an answer….However in the meantime, I think we should also arrange for a proper field test. I'll need to have a suitable distraction arranged"


Classes had continued for Team MARZ as normal and expected, with the only deviation from the lives of their classmates coming in the form of a scant few instances of additional training from Professor Qrow Branwen which they had partaken in alongside Team TRQS who had been stunned and caught off balance by the sheer brutal relentlessness of Qrow's methods. Currently however the four of them were in their customary place towards the rear of the lecture hall where the raised position of their seats afforded them an impressive view, their keen Faunus eyesight making up for any difficulties in seeing smaller details whilst also giving them enough privacy to be able to talk amongst themselves if they found themselves incapable of focusing on the class for any reason.

Though at present Nora's Combat Class was well underway and Astra was making something of a spectacle of themselves as they showed just how closely they were watching.

"GET HIS ASS NUGGET!" the Deer Faunus cheered as they stood on their seat, whooping as the Chicken Faunus and fellow student of Breaktide Academy weaved and countered, pushing back a tall and burly Flying Squirrel Faunus hailing from the Shade Academy of Vaccuo. Beyond an exuberant loyalty to their academy and generally enjoying being the centre of attention Astra's behaviour was for reasons that could fairly be described as immature; they had been caught staring absently at the barrel-chested Vaccuan by their friends on more than one occasion and subsequently teased for it despite the their insistences that there was nothing more than a brief lack of focus at play.

"Astra you're a clown man" Stygian chuckled before turning to Athena "Are they like this at Breaktide?"

"No" it was Zirconia who answered, her partner simply rolling her eyes at the leader of Team MARZ's antics "Our Combat Instructor would never tolerate it"

"Yeah Professor Nora is something else….She's as hyped as anyone else when a good match is on" the Mouse Faunus laughed before turning his attention first back to the sparring match for a moment and then to the rest of Team TRQS who had taken the row of seats directly in front and slightly below Team MARZ, particularly the ever-studious Tiger whose note-taking abilities were beginning to suffer under the incessant distraction which in turn prompted Stygian to turn back to Team MARZ.

"Someone put Astra back in their seat before Tiger blows a fuse" without missing a beat Regalia drove a forearm into the back of her partners' knees and sent them toppling backwards yet reacting with well honed reflexes and catching them before they could collapse completely and cause more of a scene than they already were, the Racoon Faunus's action being received with a round of general praise and high-fives from her friends who were then able to collectively take a few more notes before the sparring match ended.

"And that's the match!" Nora exclaimed, voice carrying throughout her arena-like lecture hall barely a moment after the larger of the two teenage boys was sent crashing to the ground with a painful sounding impact as the Flying-Squirrel Faunus attempted a leaping, flying tackle of sorts which Nugget countered by simply throwing himself backwards and onto the floor before driving both feet up into his opponents' sternum; showing once again that the Chicken Faunus who had often been overlooked by his peers and dismissed as something of a joke was becoming a capable combatant.

Nora waited for a few moments before continuing, striding calmly and yet with a striking presence that stood at odds with her limited stature into the centre of the arena whilst the two boys, both clearly weary after the exchange left the stage and returned to their teams and the cliques of other students with whom they were friends. The burly Squirrel Faunus surprising Astra and many others, Athena-Jade included by, in something of a rarity for Vaccuans being on good terms with a team of Atlas students whilst Team NUGT were collectively seated near both a group of Haven students and also Team SHMR, with Ravi raising a hand to wave to Tiger as the twins' eyes naturally fell upon each other.

"I see that we're running a little short on time and I have an announcement to make, so I'll make it now and get it out of the way" Nora declared, the statement serving to silence the gossip that had been beginning to fill the lecture hall with a dull, droning ambient buzz in an instant.

"As you are, or should all be aware; Halo Academy does not allow its' students to discuss our training or missions with the media" Nora's voice became stern and hardened, sending an almost palpable wave of nervousness through the gathered students which saw many of the turning to the people around them with questioning glances.

"Do you think someone messed up that badly?" Regalia whispered, pale purple eyes wide.

"However" Nora continued, cutting through the tension "After repeated requests from various networks, followed by a period of internal discussions and negotiations with those networks Headmaster Ren has decided that help promote the Vytal Tournament and the Festival as a whole, as well as to reassure the people of Remnant that Hunters are and will continue to be the best possible safeguard against the Creatures of Grimm we will be making an exception and allow a small group of reporters onto the campus"

There was a moment of stunned silence which was followed by hushed and frantic mutterings in which nobody other than Athena-Jade had the presence of mind to pay attention to Zirconia and the Bear Faunus herself, besotted as she was misinterpreted the faint smile tugging at her partners' lips as Zirconia privately forced herself to keep a scathing comment about this obvious response to Qrow's meeting with Damascus at bay.

"Naturally I expect each and every one of you to conduct yourselves in a matter that would make your respective academies proud" Nora added, gazing sternly out at her students with a look which any who had known the late Glynda Goodwitch might recognise "There may be a chance that some of you are interviewed in the hallways and your professors, myself included would like to urge you to be mindful of the answers you give and how you give them but the main group of journalists and reporters who have been invited are employed by the same channel which has the broadcast rights for the Vytal Tournament and the agreement that we've reached is that each competing team is going to have a chance to make a short promo reel, something that will build hype for the tournament and really sell you to the crowds….An exact date hasn't been decided yet, which means you all have time to wow me"

At that the buzz of conversation began anew, though now it was tinged with a frenetic and charged energy only for it to be interrupted in short order by a confident outburst from Snapdragon Majus, leader of Team SHMR and the almost constant subject of Tiger's one-sided ire and rivalry.

"So are we allowed to cut a promo off-campus or use props? Because honestly we could just show Team SHMR buying all the other teams their airship tickets home and the fans are gonna have a pretty good idea of what to expect!" a chorus of jeers and challengers answered that particular statement, one which Nora was content to allow, leaning comfortably against the handle of Magnhild with a mischievous smirk and almost predatory gleam in her eye; watching as Snapdragon and Team SHMR at large continued to posture and answer every playful counterattack they received until the moment a fellow student, in what was clearly intended to be a mild form of teasing knocked the beret from where it sat at an odd angle on Snapdragon's head.

"And we have time for one last sparring match!" Nora cut across the noise, choosing the perfect moment to put an end to the situation the capable but infuriatingly cocky girl had caused "So….Who wants to see if Snapdragon can back up some of her talk?"

"ME!" the call came from a dozen or more places at once but Nora found herself unsurprised that the loudest, most insistent and the first that she had heard had come from one of, if not the only student in her Second Year class who could match Snapdragon Majus in terms of raw bravado.

Astra Mars.

Nora beamed, noting that it would at least be an entertaining end to the lesson whatever happened.


Petrol allowed his mind to drift as he made himself comfortable within the passenger seat of his own car, fetid green eyes half-lidded as the smooth motion of a vehicle far more luxurious than he had ever expected to own created a slight risk that his musings, plotting and introspection might fade into idle dozing; something which he would not allow.

If he wanted to be more than a petty crook and gangster then he would need to command a level of respect that would be impossible if he were to be seen sleeping on the job by those who followed him.

In recent weeks, following the minor dissent in his ranks which had seen Hunters fall upon a warehouse under one of his gangs' control and Carmesi Hueso breaking into his home, along with the subsequent permission he had been granted by his mysterious Benefactor to act as he saw fit in order to keep control of the Neo Vale's criminals Petrol had been busy.

It had become clear that things could not be allowed to continue as they had been, with control and loyalty steadily devolving as the disparate factions which had been coerced and forced into allying themselves with his own gang of thieves grew both dissatisfied and more brazen; to remedy this Petrol had turned the cunning and intellect he allowed himself to believe was one of the major reasons that his Benefactor had employed him towards the internal affairs of his organisation rather than any external threats or job that required his focus.

The first step had been removing the heads of the various gangs at his disposal, in hindsight it was a step he should have taken far sooner.

Achieving his coup silently and bloodlessly had been key, Petrol knew simply executing those who challenged him in their homes or in public would only exacerbate matters and so those he sought to remove had been attended to through a careful blend of bribery, blackmail, staged events that would appear for all intents and purposes to be accidents and, much to his own distaste a handful of anonymous tips to the authorities followed by the limiting of withdrawal of the Benefactor's aid once those arrested were jailed and kept away from members of their own organisation. With the pre-existing leadership of a dozen or more gangs broken and thrown into disarray the next step of Petrol's restructuring them into something more conducive to the Benefactor's and his own goals had been to replace them with people more malleable and amenable to the acid-spewing Faunus's way of thinking; simply installing members of his own gang was yet another obvious ploy destined to failure as it would weaken his own power base within the Neo Vale whilst also causing friction and so to avoid this Petrol had delivered what he considered to be a masterful stroke, promoting capable leaders with experience, vision and the ruthless streak necessary to thrive in a life of organised crime from within each gang and at the same time informing these new leaders that they were being given more leniency in how they generated Lien and handled any upstarts encroaching on their territory. The result had been that the new leaders of the various sub-divisions of what could clearly be recognised as a single organisation were loyal to Petrol, recognising him as the one who had raised them from the petty squabbling and infighting whilst any who might disagree or challenge the new order of things had little grounds to do so, each of the gangs were making profits and found themselves with regular outlets for their more violent tendencies and any arguments were left falling flat in the face of this reality.

It was one of these gangs which Petrol was being chauffeured towards at that moment.

"We're here man" the sound of his driver brought the criminals' attention fully to the present situation and he reached out to turn off the cars' radio before checking for the knife and pistol he carried with him; he did not expect to need either weapon given that he had three trusted members of his own gang of thieves, arsonists and thugs with him in the form of his driver and two large and muscular men in the back seat behind him, all of whom were armed in addition to Petrol's own Semblance if things turned sour for any reason however preparedness and a healthy level of paranoia were key in such unpleasant lines of work.

Barely a moment after the driver had spoken the car, a glossy black SUV far more comfortable and prestigious than any of the various vehicles Petrol used for work purposes, yet not so eye-catching that the police would harass its' driver pulled into the parking lot of a building that had seemingly been renovated and reimagined several times over the decades and each of Vale's fresh iterations yet had never quite managed to overcome the quality of the area around it, minimalist glasswork and utilitarian white surfaces rising from brickwork which had once made up the entirety of the building and all of it offset by litter, graffiti and most importantly to Petrol and his cohorts a small group of hooded youths who reacted to the arrival of the SUV by either attempting to stare down the vehicle in a display of false confidence or else try to get the attention of more teens nearby.

"Look at this bunch of little bitches" one of the two brawlers behind Petrol sneered, to which the Avian Faunus nodded in agreement before exiting the vehicle the moment it stopped, striding forwards with purpose and secure in the knowledge that his allies, young men he had risen up from the poverty and desperation of the Hive-cities' lowest reaches alongside would be at his back without question and equally that the more numerous, yet painfully lesser gang before him would stand aside as he advanced.

"Who the fuck hustles outside of a community college when classes are done for the day?" Petrol offered the sneering challenge as a greeting, stalking close to several of the teens and locking eyes with them just to see if any dared answer the taunt or meet his eye before he added "More importantly though, why am I having to chase you fuckers down for my cut again? Where's Roxy?"

"Right here!" a feminine voice, something of a rarity among the local street gangs sounded out and a moment later Petrol was forced to react quickly in order to catch a nondescript brown envelope packed with a bundles and stacks of Lien densely enough to give the package some heft, catching the incoming payment Petrol noted that it was thrown with enough force that it might have winded him if it had struck his chest and that the throw was clearly intended to be something of a power play.

Smiling with a mouthful of stained, chipped and crooked teeth Petrol turned his teeth towards Roxanne, or Roxy; the young woman who now led this particular gang as she stepped out of the congregating mass of bodies, blending seamlessly into their midst with her hood pulled low over her face and figure obscured by layers of clothing which Petrol knew also disguised a layer of cheap but practical armour and several weapons.

"Classes might be over, but the library and the gym are both open" Roxy noted as she swaggered confidently closer, but remained just out of Petrol's reach "Now my peeps don't really do too much reading but still, students love getting high and we love helping 'em make that happen"

"So why am I still having to came looking for payments" Petrol demanded again, voice cold and eyes darting to the men at his back for the fraction of a second it took for them to understand that they should have their weapons ready "You told me you could handle the job, don't tell me you're letting students rob your people?"

"It wasn't us that got robbed" a younger, scowling member of Roxy's gang muttered; their attempt to sound gruffer and more fierce than their years would allow doing nothing but amuse Petrol faintly, albeit not so much that it kept him from taking notice as the upstart was silenced by a series of looks and gestures from those around them and promptly pulled back into the press of bodies; prompting Petrol to return his gaze to Roxy and give a simple questioning look which served as all the demand for an answer he would need.

"One of the other crews….South-East Spatter-Gang, y'know them?" she began hesitantly.

"They're with us" Petrol confirmed "Crew with a mech, don't actually use it for heavy-hitting, mainly it's for extortion"

"My cousin is one of 'em, grew up on the same street as the kid running the crew now so they called and asked for a favour" Roxy shifted uncomfortably now "Some little shits from a few blocks over a trying to muscle in, telling people not to pay their dues to the Gang, next thing we know they've found out where that mech is being stored and burned the place down….The mech is pretty busted, the kid running the crew didn't wanna look bad in front of you so they borrowed Lien from us to try and get things patched up themselves, so the payment was late 'cos we had to get it back"

Petrol's allies bristled, fingers drumming on the triggers or their weapons which in turn agitated the younger and less experienced criminals around them however the acid Faunus himself simply saw an opportunity.

"See, I like that kinda shit….A bit of initiative and someone willing to take charge and responsibility for shit, I knew I made a good choice" Petrol allowed his voice to becoming chipper and cheerful for just long enough to offer a moment of hope before snatching away "I don't like not knowing what's going on in my own turf, I don't like my people going behind my back and I really don't fucking like having to chase people for payments"

"I'm sorry man" Roxy bowed her head, suitably cowed and prepared for the answer that Petrol gave her.

"I want an extra five grand on the next payment and if it's late I'm burning houses. And you're gonna give me ten of your people, I'll take ten from Spatter-Gang as well" the Avian Faunus pushed as much distaste into his words as he could muster as he gestured to the two heavy-hitters he had brought with him

"You two, take the people we're borrowing from these crews and put 'em through boot-camp….I'm getting sick of hearing about how people can't do shit right without these mech-suits, you're gonna learn how to break in, do the job and leave without using one and then you're gonna go handle these little fucks who're trying to muscle in. I want it handled by tomorrow"

"You got it boss" Roxy nodded, clearly pleased that the price for her inability to do her duties to Petrol's standards was as low as it seemed to be and casting her eyes around her gang, beginning the process of picking out who she could afford to send and who might benefit from being trained by Petrol's gang; the Avian Faunus and those operating under him had originally been known as some of the most capable thieves and burglars in the city of Neo Vale and Roxy knew well enough that there were those amongst her own gang with a degree of skill that could be honed in that area.

Only for the peace to be shattered by the same loud-mouthed hooligan who had spoken out of turn before.

"How about you stop hoarding all the damn mech-suits that you jacked from Cosmo-Guild….It wasn't just your people on that job so how come nobody else has gotten their share of that?" the fact that murmurs and mutterings flowed through the loosely assembled gang after that statement, one which should never have been uttered in such a public setting, let alone yelled out for all to hear was enough to have Petrol reach for his knife and begin drawing the weapon before he could force himself not to act rashly and deliver the opening blow of what would quickly devolve into a chaotic bloodbath. Instead he locked eyes with Roxy and disregarded her wayward underling for the moment

"Seven grand extra on the next payment, just for that" his tone was conversational before he splayed his arms wide and began addressing the gathering group as a whole "Let's get shit clear people….I'm not gonna give too much away, not here where there could be cops listening or some student coming out of the library could talk to someone. What I will say is that the job we did out of town a few months back, that was a job we did for a customer and that customer is working on something big; something big that we're all gonna be part of. You think I took on the extra work of organising all these different crews just for a few payments a month? You think I sit here listening to you all bitch about each other and settle your beefs for you 'cos I like hearing the gossip? No! I'm running the show and making sure that you're all ready for the big job that my customer is planning….That big job is when the new mechs are gonna get brought out, now in the meantime who wants to go and fuck up the people who think they can muscle in on us?"

There were enthusiastic cheers at that and Petrol knew that he had them, Roxy's crew would stay loyal and be slowly integrated into his own organisation without the need for violence. Satisfied with the way things had gone he gave Roxy one last look, nodding in her direction before turning away and addressing his own trio of accomplices as he began striding back towards his car.

"You two can handle taking this kids and showing them how to actually handle shit right? Take a few of our people if you need to" hearing the agreement from his two burly heavy-hitters he turned to his driver who spoke up.

"You wanna watch the kids work or be ready to take the lead if they fuck up? Or you wanna go home?"

"Nah" Petrol shook his head "I'm thinking I'm gonna lie low for a while longer….When it's time to make the big move, whatever the Benefactor is planning with the mech-suits we jacked; that's when I'm gonna show up and lead the charge, some real iconic shit y'know. If we're making the crews more than a gang then I've gotta be more than gangster, I've gotta be legendary"

"Yeah man" his trusted friend nodded simply, taking the idea in "So where to"

"I'm thinking one of the upmarket malls in the towers, somewhere in West" Petrol waved the package of Lien he had received "If I'm gonna be a legend I've gotta look the part, so I might check the places Hunters buy their clothes….Then I might come check on Roxy, if she's looking for a gym buddy I'm down for a few rounds of cardio"

There was a small round of obnoxious laughter at the comment before Petrol's expression turned thoughtful and then vicious in a matter of seconds as he chanced a glance over his shoulder towards where the outspoken member of Roxy's gang was being berated, by way of a series of backhanded strikes to the face for their idiocy.

"In fact smashing Roxy can wait, I'm gonna burn that little pricks' house down tonight"


With classes concluded for the day Zirconia Shadowmoon had found herself, for the moment at least separated from her friends and team-mates.

Team TRQS had, at Tiger's predictable insistence elected to continue training for several hours after the final class of the day; even with her conscious efforts to be a more personable and understanding leader and a better friend to her team the stern and determined young woman remained singular in her focus and had no compunctions about using the renewed determination and excitement for the upcoming Vytal Tournament had inspired in Stygian, Rye and Amaya to her benefit.

Team MARZ had been offered to join them had collectively declined for their own reasons, Astra had declared that Buckshot Ares was in need of maintenance and had departed for the workshops after only a brief trip to the teams' dormitory; Regalia had followed dutifully after her partner with all the enthusiasm of an excitable puppy and Zirconia had found herself smiling happily at the sight, she and Athena sharing brief looks that alternated between questioning and knowing until the sound of Regalia and Astra's discussions about how they would approach Team MARZ's promotional material, the Raccoon Faunus naturally offering several choice movie quotes as suggestions faded away into the distance.

Once alone Athena-Jade had all but pounced on her partner, leaving Zirconia breathless but by no means unhappy with the turn of events which culminated in a make out session that continued until several items of clothing had been discarded before, flushed and panting for air the two had broken apart and come to an unspoken agreement that things should go no further, though privately as each of them showered in turn they could not help but consider the idea of inviting the other to join them. Once both Athena-Jade and Zirconia had refreshed themselves and changed clothes the Bear Faunus had pulled her girlfriend into a more tender, lingering kiss before departing with the intent to find some books that she hoped had recently been returned to the library and study for a while before the two of them reconvened later that evening; with both of them agreeing that they would meet and take a look at what progress was being made for the upcoming dance.

At present though Zirconia was at peace in her solitude.

She had at first debated roaming the academy and seeking out various places that she could use as access points, seeking to put her skills at both subterfuge and hacking to use after having allowed herself to become somewhat out of practice but finally discarding the idea; Nero had given her no request to create such an opening into the security of Halo Academy and doing so simply to stroke her own ego was a far too great a risk. Sharing space with an orphanage as it did and having far more students within its' halls made finding any privacy to enact such a plan within Halo's floating campus a far more difficult prospect, to say nothing of the presence of Qrow Branwen or the simple fact that the older campus's systems were counter-intuitively less vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to the amount of analogue and manual components involved.

Eventually Zirconia had chosen simply proof-read several of her assignments whilst paying a limited amount of attention to the television which she had turned on solely to provide background noise, something that she had been accustomed to in her time with Team MARZ and now found herself struggling to concentrate without; eventually turning the television off as a news broadcast declared that commuters and travellers in Neo Vale should avoid a certain region of the inner city where it seemed that some brazen lunatic had decided to deliberately start a fire within one of the monolithic Hive-Towers.

She had been in the process of removing her violin from its' case when her Scroll began to vibrate, announcing an incoming video call.

"Damascus" her high cheek-boned and delicate features morphed into a bright smile at the sight of the man who had raised her, only to crumple into an irritable frown as she took a longer look at his somewhat dishevelled state "You've been neglecting yourself again. Eat, sleep, drink water and behave like a person for once….Please"

"Ah, you see now that I've met Athena-Jade this new, more commanding and outgoing Zirconia isn't quite so effective on me….As much as I do enjoy the person you've grown to become it's a little obvious that you're copying your girlfriend" Nero flashed her a weak, tired smile before adding "Is she around?"

"We have privacy" Zirconia answered the intent of the question rather than the precise wording of it, to which Nero simply nodded whilst his ward studied him a moment longer and took in the dark rings around eyes that were slightly bloodshot, black hair that was not truly unkempt yet was markedly less sleek than usual as it framed his thin face and the black suit with silver trappings and adornments that had the distinct look of having been worn for several days, perhaps even slept in if the man had allowed himself to sleep at all.

"You look terrible I'm afraid" she added "Appearing like this in public would raise questions….don't allow yourself to become sloppy"

"Oh you wound me, if Albion could hear you using my own lessons against me like this he would never allow me to hear the end of it" Nero clutched at his heart in a display of faux outrage before smirking as he delivered his counterattack "I haven't been in public, but supposing that I had I could simply humanise and endear myself to the general public by pointing out that I am a single man raising a college-aged girl, I am allowed to look terrible. Failing that, I'm wealthy, private and reputably eccentric….I'm content to let them draw whatever lurid conclusions they want from the state of my clothing"

"A mental image I could have lived my entire life without considering" Zirconia replied tonelessly, her mismatched eyes dull and expressionless for a moment before she rolled them and the pair gave into a brief bout of laughter before Nero spoke again, offering a final blow in the brief and playful bout of verbal sparring.

"On the subject of partners and things we could go without considering" Nero raised a hand to a point at his neck and collarbone, causing Zirconia's cheeks to flush scarlet as she realised that he was indicating mark that Athena-Jade had left which Aura was yet to remove entirely and was visible now that her shawl was removed "I'll use that as a segue….Have you discussed things further with Athena?"

"Nothing that involves specifics" Zirconia admitted, allowing herself an uncommonly petulant pout as she added "We've discussed things like personal beliefs and values, a touch of politics….Nothing that would raise suspicions. I don't know how to raise the subject of my being part of a conspiracy to destroy Hunters as an institution"

"I don't wish to rush you, truly you've been happier than I can remember seeing you these last few months and the girl, despite her family being who and what they are is undoubtedly good for you….But time is of the essence now. Plans have moved forward, we have viable subjects"

"Oh my" Zirconia's voice was reduced to a hushed, awed whisper as she peered around the dormitory; habitually checking that no lurking spy was about to intrude before adding "You've done it? The Cyber-Grimm initiative works….What are they like?"

"Beautiful, monstrous….Nothing short of perfect" Nero's features clouded over with an almost dreamy look before he focused himself "At present we have a trio of Cyber-Grimm, with production too limited for us to move into anything resembling what we will need for the final stages of the plan. The things are, at present under full control, capable of both following orders and coordinating with one another, though an attempt to introduce a fourth subject ended badly….There are issues to be ironed out before we begin mass production or any sort of modification and specialisation procedures. The next stage will be arranged a field test"

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help" Zirconia said earnestly, pushing her hair clear of her mismatched eyes and taking a moment to contemplate the simple gravity of the situation. Gestalt-Prime had been a truly horrific monster to behold and nearly unstoppable when Team MARZ had fought the hybrid Alpha in Port Alistair yet Nero, without the use of direct violence had by all appearances managed to bend the sentient monster to his will and produce results that would alter the course of history. Events as utterly cataclysmic as those which had seen her life, along with countless others upended could never be allowed to happen again and knowing that she could play a part in seeing that they did not was a source of endless pride for her.

"Carmesi will be the one to oversee the field testing" Nero answered to which Zirconia couldn't help but grimace, her animosity towards the reptilian being etched into her features "But there is still a role for you to play"

"Anything" Zirconia breathed, forcing herself to relax and focus so that she could be truly ready for whatever task she was given; Nero saw this and fixed her with a loving smile which was paired with a mischievous gleam in his quartz coloured eyes.

"I'm going to need a distraction and I have a plan-" Zirconia listened closely as he began to explain.


Team TRQS's training sessions in the academies' massive and thoroughly impressive gym were a consistently punishing affair, with each of the teams' individual members boasting the usual superhuman drive and focus found amongst those who chose to dedicate themselves to the fight against the Creatures of Grimm, to say nothing of the immense amounts of raw strength and stamina those with an unlocked Aura at their disposal could bring to bear. What separated Team TRQS from their peers, often at a not insignificant cost to the team themselves was the leadership of Tiger Santara who, despite her efforts to become a more personable and understanding leader and a better friend would still accept nothing less excellence in all regards from those under her command and sought out results with a dangerous and unrelenting tenacity.

As Stygian Blue was currently being reminded.

"Ow! Oh come on that one was on purpose!" the Mouse Faunus exclaimed, anger mixing with pain as he clutched at the rib that was convinced he had felt bend under the force of the blow Tiger had landed, ostensibly a missed strike on her behalf as the two engaged in a series of steadily more strenuous drills involving pads and mitts. Seeing her partner, whose royal blue dreadlocks were currently tied back and kept clear of his face in a far more simple style than he regularly wore them double over and clutch at where she had punched him in an effort to catch his breath Tiger came to a halt; remaining poised and ready on the balls of her feet and shifting her weight ceaselessly without ever advancing and instead using the momentary break in the fluid exchanges to wipe sweat from a brow that was not presently adorned with her usual headdress, her hair tied back in a simple bun. Mentally she counted backwards from ten at a rate far less forgiving than she might normally have allowed before speaking.

"That one was an accident, but we can consider it punishment for being late" Tiger, still uncertain about where boundaries might be this friendship that had taken so long to develop took a risk by reaching out and delivering a weak, almost gentle tap to her partners' forehead "And that one was for getting distracted by every ass in a pair of yoga pants. If you were paying attention you would have blocked the first one"

"You're a monster Tee, y'know that right?" Stygian coughed out before clearing his throat and rearing back up to his full, impressive height and rolling his shoulders back; hands extending out to touch gloves with Tiger.

"Ready?" she asked even as the two began to circle one another, Stygian chose not to directly answer the question and instead rebutted a previous point.

"I was late 'cos I wanted to grab some books for one of our assignments, I was with Athena in the library and we ended up talking….She knows her Dust, I mean you'd expect that but still. We got off the original topic of the assignment and were spitballing ideas-"

"And you were trying to play it cool the entire time" Tiger deadpanned, giving Stygian a knowing glance which the Mouse Faunus responded to with his hairless tail lashing out with a flicking display of annoyance.

"We're not gonna go there. It's not gonna go anywhere, she loves her girlfriend and I'm not gonna try and mess with that" Stygian punctuated the statement with a punch which Tiger second-guessed but managed to narrowly avoid.

"Good. I don't want personal problems hurting our team….We're in a good place right now" with that Tiger answered her partners' blow with one of her own which Stygian side-stepped and retaliated to almost instantly, forcing the two of them apart and leaving them circling one another again. The exercise was one intended, almost counter-intuitively to improve the teamwork between the partners by leaving them so intimately aware of one another's fighting style and way of thinking that they would each be able to leap in and assist one another at a moments' notice; that Tiger had chosen the most combative way to achieve this goal could be seen as suggestive in its' own way though Stygian chose not to comment on this. Instead the blue haired young man circled until he caught sight of interesting developments occurring behind Tiger, spotting them over her shoulder and quickly devising a ploy to redirect her attention.

"You wanna trade off?" he asked, indicating in the chosen direction "I mean Rye and Amaya are probably pretty used to each others' moves by now-"

"You're disgusting" Tiger sighed in response to her partners' over-exaggerated and salacious wink

"And besides, I wanna see you try and fight Rye; it'll be funny" Stygian added and with that particular challenge suggested Tiger scoffed wordlessly, quickly wheeling around to seek out the other half of Team TRQS and in doing so directed her gaze exactly where Stygian had planned.

In the vicinity of Team Team SHMR.

"What is that lazy ingrate doing?" Tiger demanded, words hissed savagely through clenched teeth as she stared straight passed the adjacent sparring mats and over towards the arrayed weight benches and machines. Marsh, the driver of Team SHMR who preferred to go by his last name was watching dutifully and offering encouragement as his partner leg-pressed an admittedly impressive amount, what caught Tiger's eye and infuriated her however was the sight of her brother Ravi in the midst of a bench press whilst his own partner, Snapdragon was facing entirely the wrong way to spot for him whilst her attention was devoted solely to her Scroll, headphones firmly in place ensuring that she could neither see nor hear her partners' efforts.

"Don't go and start a fight with Snap" Stygian warned, breathing the words out as though he thought the confrontation to be inevitable yet was forced to try and mitigate it anyway "Just go and spot for Ravi, I'll switch out with Rye or Amaya"

"Okay, thank you Stitch" Tiger nodded, paying only limited attention and starting off at a purposeful and intimidating march as she began to close the distance between herself and Team SHMR; taking the few moments to reign in at least some of her temper before she arrived and carefully took hold of the weight bar her twin was raising above his chest, preparing to catch it if his grip faltered.

"Hey" he managed to grunt out despite his exertion. Tiger took a moment to study him and saw that in this moment, without the slicked back hair and particular styling including a black leather jacket he had taken he was far closer to the Ravi she remembered from before they had attended the academy; the expression, headband keeping sweat-slicked hair from his eyes and the same relentlessness she carried in her heart all readily familiar to her.

Though Tiger would never understand what had possessed him to grow such a half-hearted and stubbly attempt at a beard.

"Please tell me you plan on shaving that roadkill off of your chin and making yourself look presentable before we appear on camera" she sighed

"Don't make me laugh while I'm benching" Ravi forced the words out before returning the bar to its' proper place and pulling himself into a sitting position, taking the water bottle his sister handed him without even needing to turn his gaze in her direction to know that she would do so.

"Okay, now we can talk" Ravi finally said "What's up, worked your team to death already?"

"Almost. They're not you, I still block moves you would have made and have to catch myself" Tiger answered only to find herself wincing unexpectedly at the feeling of betrayal that came with the casual barb at Team TRQS; meeting Ravi's eye provided further proof that she had made a misstep and so she resolved to keep the subject away from their respective teams, partners or the Goliath in the room that was the tenuous, fragile and only recently mended relationship she had with her twin brother and more importantly what had damaged it so painfully in the first place.

"So….Did you just come over to criticise my beard?" Ravi finally asked, turning the conversation back towards more easily navigated ground.

"If that's what you're choosing to call it" Tiger's lips curled into a faint smile "It's by far the most egregious problem at present"

"From someone who wears a tiara" Ravi countered easily.

"It's practical and also not a tiara" Tiger hissed, dropping any lingering pretence of decorum or refinement as she added "Dick"

"Sure" Ravi laughed, receiving a punch in the arm without comment "So, what's up with my baby sister-"

"You were born literally minutes before me, you utter child" Tiger interjected with a huff, the outward annoyance doing nothing to hide how much she privately enjoyed the fact that her twin could so easily rile her, the knowledge that the person who often felt like a missing and integral part of herself was not so greatly changed as to be unrecognisable.

"I came over because your partner isn't spotting for you" Tiger fought the urge to swat Snapdragon, who was yet to respond around the back of the head painfully "But since the subject of appearances and not making ourselves seem incompetent-"

"The promo shoots" Ravi surmised, following his twins thoughts as easily as if they had been his own "You wanna know if I was planning on putting anything personal out there for an audience to eat up"

"It's a story for both of us to tell or neither" Tiger's voice lowered, rare traces of emotion creeping into it "You know that I would rather move forward, but if you feel that where we come from and our history something you want people to know then I'll support your decision….Just promise me that it will be your decision, that it won't be a cheap, tacky point for Snapdragon"

"She's really not that bad" Ravi shook his head, Tiger almost bit out a decidedly unkind response only to be halted by a sudden confidence in her brothers' amused grin, something of a recent development which she found she appreciated greatly

"Seriously, she's not" he assured her, grin widening as he gestured for Tiger to peer over Snapdragon's shoulder and try to see what had kept her so thoroughly engrossed in her scroll. Doing so Tiger inadvertently got her fellow team leaders' attention and Snapdragon snapped the device shut with an irritable glare breaking through the usual unflappable facade the scarlet haired teen wore; though not before Tiger caught enough of a glimpse to understand.

Snapdragon had been plotting out several rough drafts and ideas for various speeches and angles she might take in regards to Team SHMR's promotional footage. The knowledge that the seemingly effortlessly witty, suave and painfully confident young woman was in fact struggling for words, uncertain and thus proven to be capable of seeing beyond her own hype was a wonderful thing for Tiger, a vindication that might finally allow her to lay the painfully one-sided rivalry she had entertained to rest.

With the only thing keeping her from gloating being just how readily Snapdragon seemed to praise Ravi in those notes.


Halo Academies workshops were, as they almost perpetually seemed to be, utterly awash with the sounds of metal striking metal in a variety of ways, with many of those impacts sending sparks jetting and spraying across the open spaces between workbenches and other stations as students from all year groups went about the tasks of making repairs and adjustments to their weapons and other equipment that could not be completed within the time allocated during classes or else worked on new upgrades and developments that were yet to be finalised. Despite all of this and the excessive toll it would take on the sensitive hearing of a Faunus were it not for the earplugs they wore Astra was still perfectly capable of hearing Regalia and found themselves smiling and staring absently at their partner as the Racoon Faunus continued to rattle off ideas for a short promo video that would secure Team MARZ as the undisputed fan favourites of the upcoming Vytal Tournament.

The Deer Faunus was certain many of Regalia's ideas would require an entire film crew and a special effects department, though it was still inarguable that her mind worked in unique and truly spectacular ways that it was a pleasure for them to witness.

"Or what about something with an explosion….The whole trick is to not look back at the explosion, it makes people look even cooler when they don't. Heh, I can use my goggles like sunglasses and we can have the whole thing be in slow motion" Astra listened to their partners' latest idea and couldn't help but chuckle, imagining the scene she was trying to convey and admitting that it had a certain appeal to it that evoked action movies from decades prior of the variety it was difficult to replicate without irony or satire in modern cinema. Eventually however they spoke and forced themselves, despite deeply wishing to encourage her to dash Regalia's hopes a little.

"I don't think the Professors are gonna let us use controlled explosions for a promo reel"

"Professor Nora might" Regalia's excitable grin remained and Astra was forced to pause, very nearly conceding the point before shaking their head.

"Maybe if it was being filmed by someone with more experience in something like what you're thinking….This is gonna be sports reporters and tabloid journalism. It's gonna be a fluff piece" Astra sighed, allowing themselves a grimace "Honestly if they get a chance to talk then all they're gonna ask questions about is AJ and Zirconia being together, AJ's family and then they'll ask me what Fluffy is doing"

Regalia blinked slowly, taking several moments to process.

"Are you….Okay about this?" she asked slowly as took in the sight of her partner, Astra looked tired in a way that went beyond the simple exertion that the day had brought and the fact that the two of them were yet to eat dinner, liberally reapplied makeup in signature strikingly dark colours serving only to highlight the change in texture where the corner of their lower lip had been bloodied and the bruising around their left eye both courtesy of a particularly hard-fought sparring match against Snapdragon Majus of Team SHMR, whose sheer ability gave her insufferably arrogant confidence some weight. It was a look that Regalia found suited her partner remarkably well, the pristine and deliberate styling left somewhat worn and rendered more natural whilst their tired, more genuine smiles left her with swooping feelings in her stomach that were so unlike the sensation of riding her jetbike.

"Yeah, I'll be fine" Astra shook their head as if to clear it before turning back to the opened innards of one half of Buckshot Ares, continuing where they had left off and cleaning out various mechanisms whilst Regalia stared at them for a moment longer before speaking again.

"Hey" she prodded them, a single finger slipping between their arm to press against a rib and make them yelp in surprise "You'll be fine later, but you're not okay now?….Come on Astra what's wrong, is this about the sparring match with Snap-"

"No" Astra shook their head once more, more forcefully this time before adding with a mutter "But damn I'm starting to get why Tiger enjoys hating her so much…..She literally fucking danced on me Regalia"

"Then what is it?" Regalia chose to stay on topic and keep her focus, rather than allow herself into be baited into a discussion about the particulars of the earlier bout between team leaders; if only because she knew she would be hard pressed to put a positive spin on the specifics. Astra, setting down their oily rag braced themselves against the workbench with their elbows and remained silent with their expression shifting between contemplating and something harder for long enough that Regalia worried that they might not answer at all before they finally broke the silence that existed only between the two of them in the noisy workshop.

"It's just stress and it's dumb….I'm just letting things get to me" the Deer Faunus admitted, looking away as though embarrassed "The whole thing with Petrol, the extra work we're doing….But I don't wanna stop that, Professor Branwen is a legend. The tournament….Personal stuff"

"Personal?" Regalia repeated the word as she slowly checked a minute component involved in balancing Apex Scavenger's inner workings as she forced herself not to read too much into and certainly not to inspire any sudden hope; with that decision being vindicated a moment later.

"I thought with everything we've done so far and qualifying for the tournament that we were, or that I was a real Hunter, that we'd made it y'know?" Astra gave a frustrated, jerking shrug before continuing "But the talk about this promo footage and knowing how the press are gonna handle it….Feels like I'm still just a kid in my big brother's shadow"

"Heh, is that such a bad thing?" Regalia asked, follow up already prepared even as Astra turned to her with an incredulous look

"I get it….Well, I mean kinda, I never had an older brother to compete with like this. But I see how people talk about Team FADE, about Felix….They made a freaking movie about some of the things they've done; that's a big shadow with a lot of people in it. Being second best to Felix is still better than a lot of people….And I don't think you're second best, never have?"

"You haven't?"

"Heh, nah" Regalia smiled earnestly, she and Astra locking eyes for a single lingering a moment which ended with Astra turning their gaze away and swallowing thickly before answering with a voice that sounded slightly choked.

"It's not that I'm trying to one up Felix, I don't wanna sound petty, but he's one of 'The' people that people point to when you talk about what a Hunter is, someone who gets mentioned in the same category as Ruby Rose….He's the reason I even thought it was possible for me to be a Hunter, I just need this to go well; I need to feel like I can be taken seriously and I'm worried that these promo shoots are gonna ruin that"

"We'll figure it out" Regalia set down her weapon and patted Astra's shoulder "You'll figure it out….Maybe if all four of us have a solid plan and script in advance then we can make things go the way we want them to, don't give the press any chance to start asking questions about things that aren't related to Team MARZ and the Tournament"

"Just railroad 'em" Astra mused "I'm not sure if it would come across as rude, which we don't want-"

"I still think Professor Nora would let us use at least some explosives" Regalia matched the musing and thoughtful tone, breaking Astra's concentration and more importantly adding enough levity to the situation to make the Deer Faunus laugh, a sound which made Regalia want to gently take them by the antlers reach up and try things that she had seen in movies and between other students in empty corridors. All such trains of thought were aborted a moment later when Astra's Scroll vibrated, inaudible amidst the noise of the workshop though they clearly felt the sensation and withdrew the device which in turn caused the expression to harden as they quickly scanned the message they had received.

"Qrow just got word of two burglaries that look like Petrol's crew using their old approaches, that on top of an arson attack a while ago. Police are already on the scenes but he's giving us the go ahead to head down into the city and see if we can find any clues or stragglers….Maybe someone doubled back and decided to throw up a gang tag or something"

"You wanna?" Regalia asked, already preparing to lower her tinted goggles over her eyes and stow her weapon in anticipation of the response which seemed inevitable.

"I've still gotta finish up here and we've got class in the morning….They'll probably be gone by the time we're anywhere near the places" Astra reasoned, the words clearly sounding more and more like feeble excuses to their own ears as they eventually gritted their teeth and hissed out "Fuck it, we're going. Probably a dead end but I've gotta check….Besides I've cooped up all day, a drive might help"

"Late night diner on the way back?" Regalia suggested "We can talk about what's bothering you some more if you want?"

"Talk about anything but that" Astra countered with another of their tired smiles that made Regalia's heart do strange things before speaking more calmly as they added "In fact, it might be too cold but I've got Fire Dust….If we don't find anything I'll see if there are any drive-in movies open. I owe you for having my back all the time, I'd be lost without you y'know"

Regalia lowered her goggles and the faceplate they stored, keeping cheeks that now burned from view as she fought to keep her cool in the face of precisely the kind of comment that Astra made without any consideration for the effect it had on her.


Athena-Jade had found herself in something in a hurry as she made her way to meet with her partner and girlfriend as she had been planning after unintentionally allowing herself to be waylaid.

What had initially been planned as a brief foray to the library had become a far longer visit upon meeting with Stygian Blue who had himself been planning to be elsewhere, though his own destination was an admittedly less enjoyable one all things considered. It was clear to Athena that the Mouse Faunus, whilst trying to show no outward signs of it did at the very least still find her attractive; whether or not it was a purely physical feeling or if any deeper feelings had been allowed to grow as the two had, along with their respective teams become more friendly with another was something the Bear Faunus deemed entirely unimportant, though if she could find a way to broach the subject without awkwardness she would have thanked the tattooed boy for the grace with which he handled the situation.

An initial discussion about assignments and books that might have the answers to their completion had quickly expanded to envelop and encompass various aspects of Dust usage and in particular how it could be applied to weapons and Semblances in new or unexpected ways to gain an advantage; a topic which Athena had expounded upon with all the gusto and expertise of any child of the Schnee family only to be immensely pleasantly surprised as Stygian had proven himself to be an equally talented and creative mind, explaining the work that had gone into the alloy which formed the blade of his weapon and how it had been designed to be especially conductive to Dust; the conversation leading to ever more animated gesturing and enthusiasm from both parties until they had finally been shushed by a nearby Fourth Year student who had looked ready to hurl a particularly hefty tome at one of their heads if the noise continued.

The interruption serving to remind both Athena and Stygian that they had places to be.

In short order Athena-Jade had acquired the books she sought out for her assignment along with a small collection of others and upon checking them out had made her way back to Team MARZ's dormitory, a burst of surprise and sudden nervous energy washing over as the sight of the empty room made it painfully clear that Zirconia had already gone on ahead to see the initial developments for the upcoming dance. Depositing her book-bag with a slew of muttered curses which would have earned her mother's eye for their lack of variety and simple crudeness as much as the principle alone the snowy haired Bear Faunus had set off once again, deciding to justify or excuse her tardiness with a visit to the canteen where she collected a sizeable slice of a cheesecake which she knew her girlfriend enjoyed just as much as the far more expensive and lavish examples found at upper class restaurants.

Currently she was trying to find somewhere to set down that cheesecake whilst steadfastly refusing to take her eyes away from Zirconia as the Grasshopper Faunus approached.

"Hey" Athena managed to speak, captivated by the sight of her partner as a stunning whole and also, if she were honest with herself then specifically by the swing of her hips and the look in her pink and orange eyes which continued to make her feel as though she were seeing her partner for the first time.

The two of them had met in the surprisingly rarely used main amphitheatre of the academy which was now in the midst of undergoing a transformation that would render it unrecognisable; layers of rising seating had been collapsed in upon itself to create massive walls of clattering metal and cushioning supported by a series of narrow wheels upon which they were being pushed carefully aside by those students who had taken the opportunity to help with the preparations. In the open space that had been cleared, the same space in which the dance would be held several groups of students had clustered around and made themselves ready to offer some small assistance if asked but largely to observe much as Athena-Jade and Zirconia were, treating the amphitheatre as though it were another of the campus's common areas. Academy students and orphanage children alike, the latter a group of teens who seemed to have knowledge of various trades which they would likely pursue if the life of a Hunter did not appeal to them were also gathering towards the furthest end of the room and were in the midst of creating space for a truly magnificent sound system, individual speakers far larger than any of the people carrying them into place.

And Athena paid none of it any mind as Zirconia drew close and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl.

"I thought you might have decided to go and train at the last minute" Zirconia offered an amused smile, making it obvious that she was joking and had not truly expected to be left waiting without explanation.

"Nope, I brought cake….Had to fight off three wild Goliaths and a pack of feral First Years to get it for you" Athena-Jade grinned back, meeting the joking with her own efforts.

"Whatever would I do without you" Zirconia's mismatched eyes rolled "I can only imagine that the feral First Years were a truly a terrifying bunch of delinquents….Given that the respectable ones are all present and accounted for here"

"Just how much bribery did the professors resort to?" Athena found herself gawping as she glanced around the open amphitheatre, more so given the lack of furniture currently in place with a more focused eye and noted that almost every student she could readily identify as a freshman, by face if not by name was in fact amongst those helping.

"Well, whilst skulking around, appearing brooding and sinister-"

"Which you're so good at"

"Naturally, also thank you" Zirconia finally broke apart from Athena, planting a kiss on her cheek before taking the cheesecake that had been offered "I listened to all manner of intrigue and gossip….There's students helping because they're being paid, some who just want to help or use it to angle for social clout or see it as a chance to trade favours-"

"Atlesian students" Athena scoffed, all to familiar with the cut-throat politicking amongst the most mundane of meetings practised within her icy home Kingdom.

"Then there are those who are musicians who want a chance to perform" Zirconia continued without comment "And of course the people who are here because they have a crush on someone else"

"Well I'm here because there's the girl I have the biggest crush on" Athena winked in Zirconia's direction and her girlfriend halted, forkful of cheesecake held halfway to her mouth.

"I love you too" the ease of the comment left Athena floundering as it often did, catching her off-guard and leaving her with a warm feeling in her chest and colour rushing to her cheeks as she made to respond in kind.

Words dying on her tongue as a deafening crash ripped through the room.

"What the hell was that?" words flew from Athena-Jade's lips in a frantic flurry as she sprung into motion, instincts sending her into a fighting stance with a glyph already forming close to her outstretched palm even before the dust that had been thrown into the air by the violent clattering began to settle, in doing so revealing that almost every other student Hunter had reacted similarly which had in turn sent the children who called the adjacent orphanage their home scurrying or hunkering down for safety. Relaxing a fraction upon seeing that there was no imminent danger Athena felt her stomach lurch and plummet as she made sense of the devastation of her surroundings.

"Oh no" she breathed out slowly, face one of abject loss as she began to understand what must have happened. One of the many collapsed walls of metal which could be expanded out into rising rows of seating had veered out of control somehow as it was being moved aside, with an overly forceful or violent attempt to correct its' course being what had finally ripped a set of wheels free and sent the thing toppling towards the stage where it had smashed and splintered such a worryingly large area that the integrity of the stage was now in question. This in turn had seen several of the enormous speakers being upended and likely damaged in their falls as well as knock a part of the overhead lightning rig loose from where it was secured and send a hefty metal scaffold sweeping down across the easily vacated, breaking several lights in the process.

"At least nobody was hurt" Zirconia managed to breath out, though the sight of smoke rising from something that had been damaged and students quickly rushing to find a suitable fire extinguisher whilst others bolted and vacated the amphitheatre, likely running to find a professor blunted that assertion somewhat.

"Yeah" Athena's expression remained stricken "But look at it….There's no way we're gonna be able to fix all of this before the dance"

"The professors will think of something" Zirconia took her partners' hand "But in the meantime, we should help…Glyphs might stop that fire spreading"

With that Athena-Jade nodded once and sprung into motion, weaving through her fellow students and preparing to help in anyway she could whilst Zirconia lingered behind her for a moment and take several moments to master herself and force down the sickening feeling of betrayal that had welled up inside of her at the sight of her girlfriends' pained expression. After several seconds she forced herself to act, mechanical legs carrying her towards where the collapsed seats had fallen from where she could already see a group of stunned and increasingly furious teens singling out one of their number who it seemed was about to be blamed for the entire incident; stepping in to see that they were not unduly accosted would help keep the situation under control, however more importantly it would allow Zirconia to get close enough to the scene of the crime to sweep away any lingering traces of the particularly impressive bit of trickery she had accomplished with a small amount of Magnetic and Gravity Dust, a few loosened screws and a small amount of Atlesian steel wire.

Nero had explained the need for this seemingly callous act of vandalism in his grand schemes but in the moment Zirconia could not help but feel utterly despicable.

Even if things would be made right soon enough.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so a nice little filler-ish chapter to follow on from the big reveal at the end of the last chapter.
At the same time, whilst it was fun to have the different inter-character reactions there was also so low-key set up work for what's going to come in the run up to the mid-season of Vol.05.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Nothing like some almost casual violence to start the day.
Gestalt-Prime everyone, parent of the year material.
So, three Cyber-Grimm at present and the capabilities to make more, albeit slowly at present.
Also, enjoy a brief and very tame look at how they function….The key take away is that they don't evolve or adapt when they take on new material like Gestalt-Prime can.
Another take away is the need for a distraction before field tests.
Honestly the class scene was largely just a vehicle for the talk about promo footage but it's always nice to have the students just being students since we didn't get a great deal of it in canon all things considered.
Astra is absolutely a class clown who loves being the centre of attention and Arslan would absolutely strangle them for half of what Nora lets them get away with.
The Flying Squirrel Faunus is someone I might make more of a prominent background character in the build up to the Vytal Tournament; so having him fight Nugget just made sense.
Zirconia is not normally the kind of undercover double agent who smirks and gives the game away, but she's right in noting that Nero absolutely chewing out Qrow and calling the cabal out on their secrecy is a big part in why Ren is deciding to allow reporters onto the campus and being a little more open.
Snapdragon's trash talk was funny, that idea for a promo reel would definitely work; just Team SHMR buying tickets home for everyone else.
Tiger has the rivalry, but Astra has the cockiness.
Developing Petrol is entertaining, he's absolutely a bastard but making him a more believable bastard is only gonna make what's coming more fun.
There's definitely an escalation in Petrol's violence, in Vol.01 he offered Astra a chance to walk away but now he just casually considers executing the heads of every gang he's subsumed into his….But he's also definitely smart, someone who; if circumstances were different could fill the void left by characters like Junior or Torchwick.
Install his own choice of leaders out each of the gangs existing membership and then make that new leader so successful that there's no questioning it.
Roxy is, much like Hierro a character who got a name solely because they needed a name; though that does leave them free to become a recurring face if one is called for.
Even in a sci-fi setting with the particulars so far removed from actual gang crime I do try to have a streak of something real and relatable; which in this case is that the members of younger street gangs who rely on someone like Petrol for their supply or credibility can absolutely not afford to let knowledge that they got hit like that to get out.
Petrol giving something vaguely resembling a bad-ass speech was interesting, as is his idea to update his look beyond hoodies and body armour with something more Hunter-ish; he's gonna be a villain with some swag.
…..But he's still a bastard who burns houses down for talking back to him.
Questioning and knowing looks….Because after all of their pining AJ and Hops are probably looking at Regalia and thinking "Wait a minute".
I honestly felt like I should throw in a couple of reminders that Zirconia is absolutely a part of Nero's plans and things like setting wiretaps and spying is absolutely something she is willing to do.
Also, the news report that Hops heard was definitely about Petrol.
The whole back and forth between Hops and Nero was a pleasure to write and honestly I could have wrote more.
So yeah, Zirconia is gonna have to make a move sooner or later because Nero wants to mass produce his Cyber-Grimm and also specialise them, with different models of them for different battlefield roles.
Tiger is trying to be less of a drill sergeant, but her training methods still involve the use of ass-kicking.
Also look, Stygian is a teenage guy in a campus full of very hot people; he's allowed to get distracted in the gym.
On a related note, yeah he thinks AJ is hot; at present it's not an issue.
Tiger's training exercise was loosely based on the staff-fight from Pacific Rim.
Before Team TRQS were introduced properly Nora mentioned something to Ren about Stygian trying to be a go between for Team TRQS and SHMR, which was likely part his efforts to deal with Tiger and most likely took the form of the kinda trick he pulled here.
Also, don't be like Snapdragon….If you're spotting someone in the gym then focus.
This is the first proper interaction I've written between Tiger and Ravi and I wanted it to show a slightly different side to Tiger, she's still harsh and blunt but there's more of the side that she's trying to show to other people at play there; her twin is someone she can actually relax around.
Naturally there's a backstory there that I gave the faintest of hints about, but we know that the twins were originally from Atlas, moved to Mistral and judging by what we can gather something happened since.
Snapdragon, the effortlessly cool one has to write rough drafts of her speeches and one-liners.
Regalia is right, cool guys don't look at explosions.
Nora would.
Regalia is demiromantic but when she does get a crush it clearly hits like a freight train….Although in her defences Astra is canonically hot.
Oh yeah Snapdragon whooped Astra in that sparring match.
Of course the promo footage thing and knowing what the press are gonna be like brought out all of Astra's old insecurities.
So Qrow is keeping Team MARZ in the loop, going so far as having them show up on the scene to investigate; albeit when it's very unlikely that there's gonna be any confrontation.
Taking Regalia to a drive in movie is probably the most "date" thing Astra could have suggested and somehow they haven't figured that out.
When in doubt bring cake, AJ is a smart one.
I think when I went into detail describing the set up and organisation for the dance you should all have known that something was gonna go down.
The giant speakers can be considered to be a minor homage to Yang in Vol.02.
AJ and Hops having a little teasing and banter was fun to write as well, with everything going on I don't get enough time to just write them being cute together and having little moments.
Atlas students absolutely politic when asked to do something simple.
And now we have chaos.
Amphitheatre mostly totalled, along with a good chunk of the equipment that was gonna be used for the dance, by the sounds of it there won't be time to repair and replace; which is all according to Nero's plan….Which begs the question, how does having Zirconia fuck with the dance provide the distraction that Nero needs to test his Cyber-Grimm.
Stay tuned and find out.

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