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Chapter 111: Re-acquaintances
With the Kingdom of Atlas being what it was, namely a collection of Hive-Cities built almost entirely inside of truly colossal, but hollowed out mountains with a network of roads both above and below ground connecting them and only its' military installations, expansive dome-covered greenhouses to produce the bulk of the Kingdoms' food and the wealthiest of its' privileged elite residing on the exterior of the snow-capped peaks the prospect of integrating airship terminals might have presented a structural and logistical issue.
The solution had been typical Atlesian utilitarianism in the form of simply blasting and carving fresh openings into the surfaces of the enormous mountains at strategic points, large enough towards the base of the mountains that shipyards and docks for the massive machines could be constructed in the working class and heavily industrialised districts closed to where the Dust and steel needed for their construction were refined and higher up, in the more genteel and middle class parts of the city or, with less frequency in the well-off reaches of Upper Atlas streets and internal highways had been remapped to allow for much smaller openings, leading out to launchpads and terminals built into the exterior of the Kingdoms' mountains; allowing the amenities and infrastructure of the icy Kingdom to be close at hand without truly affecting those citizens whose opinions were more often heard.
It was one of these smaller entrances that Athena-Jade was currently making her way towards; sat in the passenger seat of a car that her father was driving, the older Bear Faunus having offered to take his daughter to the airship terminal as he too would be flying away from the Atlesian Capital of Eisenstadt Prime atop which Schnee Manor was built, intending to be present at Atlas Academy long before its' fresh batch of newly formed teams completed their initiation in order to speak with several of his returning students before the naming ceremony. The car itself however was a luxurious and sporty thing, one of very view of its' kind to be manufactured and an example of a concept which had never come to fruition; built far more for show than practicality and indeed having only two seats and barely enough room for Athena-Jade's luggage. The car belonged to Athena's Uncle Whitley, the flamboyant and famously extravagant perpetual playboy bachelor whose antics regularly featured in the media and was part of a collection of rare, expensive and in some cases unique vehicles he had inherited from the late Jacques Schnee and expanded to, only to frequently give them away to his chauffeurs whenever the effort of filling paperwork to transfer them from one Kingdom to another grew tedious.
With that realisation lodging itself in a mind that was still sleep-addled at such an early hour Athena turned to her father.
"Hey Dad, are we getting someone to pick this car up or what….Uncle Whit knows we've got it right?"
"Your uncle has told me plenty of times I'm welcome to borrow his cars" Gangrel Slate's eyes remained determinedly on the road ahead as he gave what Athena quickly noted was not strictly ans answer.
"But you did mention that you were taking this one specifically?….Because I think he likes this one" Athena couldn't help but smirk slightly at the mischievous look on her fathers' face which seemed almost out of place when compared with the lines and scars marring the older Bear Faunus's features; enjoying the feeling that the two of them were now accomplices in some harmless prank.
"I mean he's let your brother and cousins borrow the nicer stuff before….I haven't forgotten Felix trying to drift around the mountain" Gangrel shook his head at the memory "I might not have mentioned that I was borrowing this exact car today but it's fine….Coral will be in the city working for the SDC at some point, I'll have her pick it up"
"Coral can drive now?" Athena sputtered, having been entirely ignorant of that development; struggling to find a way to voice her surprise at the news given the Crab Faunus's lack of hands without sounding like the kind of malicious bigot she had worked so hard to protect her adopted sister from.
"Yeah….It took a little bit of patience but we got there, her pincers can grab the steering wheel she just needed a bit of patience and control" Gangrel paused, metallic clawed fingers of his prosthetic left arm drumming against the steering wheel for a moment as he shot his daughter a careful glance before adding "I could have taught you over the summer but you were busy"
"I'm sorry….I've been a pain to deal with I guess" Athena-Jade's eyes were immediately downcast, hands bunching up as she shrank in on herself until she felt the older Bear Faunus reach out and gently squeeze her broad and muscular shoulder.
"AJ you don't have to apologise for me….If anything I'm sorry, I wish I knew how to help; I wish I knew what to say or do to make things better for you"
"You've been great" Athena choked the word, swallowing thickly and blinking in an effort to fight the sudden sting afflicting her eyes "I don't think there's anything you could have done, I….Everything hurt, I didn't think anything could hurt me the way she….the way what happened did"
"You can say her name….You can say whatever you need to say and get it of your chest AJ, I promise" Gangrel paused for a moment, taking the near-stillness of the traffic as an opportunity to fix his amber gaze on Athena and give the most reassuring look he could manage "And for what it's worth I think you're handling this is as well as anybody could expect; it's been great to see you around more over the last couple of days, more like the AJ I remember"
"Thanks" efforts to speak were still restricted by an emotional weight pressing down on the pale and snowy-haired young woman but her emphatic nodding carried her point across. In recent days, since the completion of Heartbreaker, her new weapon she had indeed been more present around Schnee Manor in an effort to both apologise to the family she had pushed away for weeks through her actions and happily spending as much time as possible in the company of her parents, siblings and baby niece whilst at the same time keeping herself busy enough to remain distracted so that she would not have to think about what lay ahead; a luxury which her father seemed unwilling to allow her to keep.
"Are you gonna be okay on Menagerie?" when said so bluntly the question forced Athena to think and consider a genuine answer rather than offer a flippant or non-committal response; that pondering quickly leading to wavering and uncertain breaths being sucked in through lips that quivered and teeth that chattered before she could finally form words.
"I'm scared Dad" the admission sounded weak and hollow in a way that enraged her and forced to push onwards, to keep talking "I've never been scared of the unknown, of the future before 'cos I always just figured that I'd be tough enough to make it work….And now I don't think I am and I don't what's gonna happen with my team, or-or….I just don't know what to do"
"AJ, take a deep breath" Gangrel's tone was gentle and he paused for a moment, carefully measuring his words as he added "If you tell me to stop, to turn this car around and take you home I'll do it. Now judgement, no questions asked-"
"No!" Athena surprised herself with the force of the objection, aghast at the idea "I can't! Astra and Regalia….They need me on the team, I can't just ruin their lives like that. I'm going-"
"There she is, there's my AJ" Gangrel managed a chuckle as he reached over once again, this time ruffling hair that was at a length Athena had not allowed it to reach for some time "You took some knocks, things that you absolutely did not deserve and did nothing to cause and that I don't want you to blame yourself for….But Athena, you're scared about not knowing what to expect, did you know what to expect when you first went to Breaktide?"
"No but-"
"Okay then" Gangrel nodded "So it's back to square one, except no it's not because you're older and wiser now and you've still got two really good friends waiting for you there; two people who might have have loved your old partner the way you did but who still care a lot about you, cared a lot about the person she pretended to be and who are, let's be realistic here the people who've got the best idea what you're going through….Because they're probably dealing with it too in their own ways"
"Thanks Dad" Athena once again found herself struggling to contain her emotions as she leaned over and nuzzled into her fathers' shoulder as much as her seatbelt and the cars' interior would allow "I really needed that"
"Just do your best AJ, that's all I can ever ask from you. I'm already proud of you and don't ever forget it"
"I just hope I'm as ready as I need to be" she breathed out, in a better state than she had been mere moments ago but still unable to shake a dreadful sense of foreboding that had lingered over her and grown more intense with every passing day; a shadow in her mind in the shape of Breaktide Academy. Clasping her hands together to keep them still and sucking in several steadying breaths of air the younger of the two Bear Faunus forced herself to put on a brave face; entirely certain that her father could see through the admittedly weak facade but hoping that he would at least be willing to let the discussion go as the signage informing them that their destination was near began to become more apparent over the traffic-clogged roads.
"We've all got things to worry about that we didn't before" Gangrel gave a solemn nod before allowing a savage smile to split his face "I'm worried about what's gonna happen to the first student to call me Granddad 'cos they think they're funny….I'm thinking forty-eight solid hours of drills out in the tundra, on a weekend"
"You suck so bad!" Athena found herself laughing, she and her father playfully nudging each other and falling into a barrage of easy and familiar teasing which allowed the journey to pass more quickly and more importantly allowed the worried young woman to alleviate her concerns with something close to normalcy for just long enough to mentally brace herself for her next step.
Returning to Breaktide Academy still felt as though it were an ordeal she would need to overcome, but now overcoming it at least felt possible.
On the island Kingdom of Menagerie the initiation process for hopeful students of Breaktide Academy had begun, once again taking place in Hammerfall Canyon albeit with some necessary changes from the process that Astra Mars had explained in glorious detail to their new team-mate Stygian Blue.
For both the Deer and Mouse Faunus their had been an initial amount of awkwardness that had followed their reintroduction to one another, where each of them had needed to explain their current situation to one another and ensure that there were no misunderstandings about where each of them stood in regards to Chairman Nero's attack on Hunters in Neo Vale.
The intervening days however had been spent wisely, with Astra doing everything in their power to ensure that the transition and integration of their new team-mate went smoothly; bringing the Mouse Faunus up to speed with everything he could reasonably need to know about the campus and its' surrounding areas and also helping Stygian feel more at home by helping him move his belongings into the teams' dormitory and add his own personal touches to it; though this in turn had led to a small moment of uncertainty and moral confusion within Astra as it had led to the dilemma of what to do with the few belongings Zirconia Shadowmoon had left behind prior to Team MARZ's departure for Halo Academy. Ultimately the Deer Faunus had bagged the items and left them with Professors to be handled as they saw fit, hopefully to be destroyed so that Astra would neither have to look at them again nor present them to Athena-Jade.
Training, of an unofficial sort at least had begun as well as Astra and Stygian were naturally eager to test their skills against one another as well as test and develop possible ways that Stygian's talents and abilities could be put to use within the team; this had progressed well enough that both of the teens had in fact presented themselves to the Headmistress the previous evening and offered to help ensure the safety of the initiates in the canyon. Professor Adel had thanked them for the offer but had declined, stating that enough professionals had been put on standby in the surrounding areas to ensure that if the Creatures of Grimm did somehow cause undue difficulty they would be handled before there could be any casualties and with this dismissal Astra and Stygian had chosen to instead make use of the gym and its' sparring area, knowing that it was the last day that the would have the academy largely to themselves.
Their current sparring match being conducted without weapons or Semblances, if only to keep the gym from being utterly ruined.
"All I'm saying is that you definitely wouldn't have made it into the next round if you'd tried to fight me like that" Stygian laughed as Astra rolled onto their hands and knees and pulled themselves to their feet after a particularly well-placed blow had knocked them to ground and winded them.
"Hardly a fair comparison" the Deer Faunus wheezed, an overblown pout and momentary sagging posture showing that their complaints were simply good natured teasing before returning to a stance with their arms raised and legs braced and coiled. Stygian merely snorted and shifted into his own fighting stance, something Astra noted was perhaps looser and more relaxed than he would use in normal circumstances and with only a moments' pause where the two sized one another up in search of openings they rushed at one another for a fresh exchange of blows.
Even without his Semblance Stygian was a highly mobile fighter who used his size and mass to great effect, first leaping into the air as his opponent threw their momentum into a high roundhouse kick; the Mouse Faunus blocking the strike with his left arm before using the moment that they were both locked together to carry his own momentum into a downward sweep of his right elbow which struck Astra's right antler with enough force to break the pair apart and leave the Deer Faunus staggering back and ultimately dropping to one knee.
Stygian was on them in an instant rushing forward with the clear intent to deliver a forceful downward punch to a vulnerable area in Astra's largely exposed back which spoke of the kind of instruction those intended to be a defender of Pikesreach were given, the Mouse Faunus was not a vicious or vindictive man by nature however and Astra had fought ruthless opponents before. The result being that they timed their counterattack perfectly and as they threw themselves back to their feet with the weight of their full body and span clockwise into a hook-kick they ensured that Stygian's blow sailed passed them and that the blue-haired teen was still overextended when the impact slipped below his arms connected with his ribs; with Astra quickly shifting their footing in the same moment they brought their leading leg back and re-chambered to deliver a punishing sidekick from a slightly different angle that would hurl their opponent backwards.
With a grunt of pain and exertion Stygian took the blow to his chest, answering it by catching Astra's ankle as the Deer Faunus tried to pull back and swiftly stepping forward to exploit their vulnerable position with successive blows to the back of the knee and to then to the leg which supported their weight; Astra's response however was to throw a wild and uncoordinated elbow strike over their shoulder and behind them before using the brief respite it afforded them to leap upwards and deliver the best approximation of a two-footed drop kick they could manage whilst trapped. The result was messy but effective, with Stygian being thrown back and both fighters left trying to compose themselves as they lay sprawled and panting on the training mats.
Where the two of them remained until a shadow fell over Astra, accompanied by a familiar voice.
"Heh, guess you realised 'boards don't hit back' huh?" the chirpy, indescribably happy but still plainly nervous and uncertain tone paired with a quote from a classic movie which in this case was one Astra had actually seen could only have come from their partner and without a moments' hesitation they pulled themselves back to their feet and faced Regalia; drinking in the sight of the Racoon Faunus in her new attire, lingering traces of the wastelands' dust and grit clinging to her cloak where the motion of her jetbike had failed to shake it free, chiselled and sculpted abs on display whilst her faintly striped hair fell messily around the sides of her tinted goggles and around her ears and the a smile remained plastered across her golden brown features.
She was beautiful to Astra and the Deer Faunus closed the distance between them.
"I've missed you" they murmured into her ear as they adjusted their position to keep their antlers from catching her.
"Heh I've missed you too" Regalia answered, eagerness and hesitance battling for prominence in her tone as she melted into the contact, her lean arms wrapping around their shoulders and the back of their neck and so Astra gave what they hoped would be the clarification and encouragement she needed. Their hands moved from around Regalia's waist, with one dipping to the coarse and yet soft fur of her bushy tail which they gently stroked and scratched whilst the other hand trailed up to her face, thumb tracing her cheek.
Regalia gave a single questioning look which Astra answered, with a faint, jerky nod before their hand moved again and cradled the back of her head as the two pulled one another closer and into a slow and gentle, but eager and needy kiss which left Regalia gasping faintly at the sensation of her partners' tongue piercing.
With the moment only ending when Stygian cleared his throat pointedly behind them.
"Oh right you're still here" Astra tried to appear calm and unfazed despite the blush which their dark make up seemed to highlight and the way their deep red lipstick had smeared slightly and transferred partly onto Regalia's own lips. The Mouse Faunus gave he new team leader a smirk and a playful middle finger which he would never have dared to try with Tiger.
"Regalia you remember Stitch right?" Astra pressed on, still sounding faintly out of breath "Well he's our new team member; I've been going over things with him for the last few days-"
"And at no point did he mention to me that you too are dating now?" Stygian raised an eyebrow and gave Astra a look which was questioning and disapproving, a sentiment that the Deer Faunus found that they could appreciate, the idea of themselves or anyone else taking advantage of Regalia in any way being repulsive to them.
"We're uh….We're not dating?" Regalia's voice had taken on its' uncertain edge again "Are we? I mean we never officially said-"
"Oh wow" Stygian was doubled over and visibly fighting the urge to erupt into laughter now "Looks like you two have got some talking to do….Want me to head out?"
"Nah man, don't go on account of us" Astra shook their head and gestured for him to stay.
"Yeah, we should hang out at least a little before classes start tomorrow" Regalia added earnestly, a sentiment which Stygian agreed with entirely but still found hard to commit to as he saw the way that the two partners had remained in close physical contact the entire time they had been talking; each keeping an arm wrapped around the other. After a moment Stygian grabbed both his own and Astra's gym bags and threw the Deer Faunus's over to them.
"Okay cool, just don't make me feel like a third wheel or like I'm interrupting something all day" the Mouse Faunus laughed.
"Don't worry" Regalia answered, clearly faltering and uncertain about a situation which was new to "Athena will probably be here soon right?"
"Yeah" Stygian breathed out, mind racing off in directions of its' own and allowing him to tune out Astra and Regalia's longing glances at one another even as they maintained their closeness; the Mouse Faunus finding himself wondering what his reunion with the Bear Faunus would bring.
Despite the upheavals across Remnant that had come with Damascus Nero's broadcast and the subtle changes in the way Hunters were perceived by the public Diabla Fuego of Team WULF had spent the summer living what her team-mates had described, upon hearing of the situation as 'her best life'; an appraisal which the often acerbic and bellicose young woman could not dispute.
When her team-mates had left Breaktide Academy and the city of Port Alistair for the summer, with her partner Laser once again travelling with Wolfram to the small village of Stalwart which the teams' leader called home and with Ursinia Red departing for her own home in the small farming village on the fringes of New Vale's territory she had been raised in Diabla had stayed behind. Her relationship with Huckleberry Red, Ursinia's cousin which had developed at a slow and steady pace, an affair which all privy to it had described as adorable despite the limitations imposed on the couple by distance had continued to grow and the two of them had, to both of their utter joy managed to spend the entire summer together. The aquatic Faunus had initially planned to take an apprenticeship connected to a college in Neo Vale, the placement itself located out in one of several small settlements located around the new main Cosmo-Guild production facility. Her initial attempt to interview for the apprenticeship had been beset by Grimm and seen her forced to cower in a bunker several days before she had been rescued by a group of student Hunters named Team TRQS and this calamity had deeply shaken her enthusiasm for the role; with the final decision being made for her as the seizure of the companies' assets and massive investigation by the Kingdom to root out and purge any members of Damascus Nero's conglomerate that might still harbour loyalties to him meant that the position was no longer available at all. As a consequence Huckleberry had instead sought out another course of study, this one located away from New Vale entirely and instead allowing her to relocate to Port Alistair; the college going so far as to allow her to move into her dormitory early and as such she and Diabla had been able to live together and make up for the time they had spent apart.
Diabla was scarcely accustomed to showing softness or anything that could construed as weakness in public and yet still she was unashamed to admit that she was reluctant to leave the comfort she had found.
"I'm gonna miss what we had this summer" she couldn't help but sound as though she were grumbling as she pulled Huckleberry close; enjoying the moment despite the additional heat which continued to be anathema to the young woman born and raised in the frozen freeholds of Mantle. Huckleberry looked breathtaking in Diabla's opinion, as though the blazing sun could only highlight her best attributes whilst she herself was reduced to a dizzy, sweltering wreck clad in attire that continued her usual themes and styles; button down shirt and orange tie worn with combats and heavy boots and Atlesian armour over her shirt which would withstand a bomb; the entire look pulled together by suspenders and hair that had been shorn at the back and sides, the top slicked back and the dyed streak of the same fiery orange as her eyes firmly in place.
"You can always come over to visit me darlin'" Huckleberry assured her "Y'aint but a little while away now and I'll be sure to tell whatever room-mate they saddle me with not to bother us none"
"I'd like that" Diabla smiled, her usual hard gaze becoming soft and gentle until she took a moment to ponder before adding "I'm thinking you should probably invite Ursinia over as well….I still worry she might take it the wrong way"
"Hey now she aint half as ornery as you reckon" Huckleberry laughed, the twang in her voice making the sound all the more endearing "But I'll be sure to do that just as soon as she gets here darlin'"
Diabla merely nodded in silence at that, taking a moment to gulp down a much needed mouthful of water before taking the opportunity to scan her surroundings in sight of the towering Scorpion Faunus in question.
Diabla and Huckleberry were currently sat at a bench outside of the cities' main Cross-Kingdom airship terminal were Ursinia Red's flight, along with several others carrying students bound for Breaktide Academy would be arriving at any moment after both young women had come to the agreement that meeting their team-mate and older cousin respectively before going their separate ways was a sound idea. At present there was no sign Ursinia but the transport to carry the returning students across the city to the campus was already in place and steadily filling, namely a pair of coaches rather than the usual aircraft belonging to the academy itself and though no reason had been stated Diabla, with her the knowledge of operations her particular teenager years had left her with simply assumed that this was because of changes to the Initiation Procedure which was currently ongoing would need to be made after the loos of Hammerfall Outpost.
The two girls waited a while longer before a familiar face presented themselves, though it was not the towering member of Team WULF who would easily have been spotted by the cowboy hat she wore or the scorpion tail and hilt of Adventurer, her gold-bladed broadsword peeking up over her already statuesque silhouette. Instead it was a figure whose presence left Diabla scowling, brushing a the old scar on her cheek from a training accident with the Atlesian Cadets before making a snap decision and turning to kiss her girlfriends' cheek before speaking into Huckleberry's ear.
"If Ursinia shows up let her know I'm over there….I just saw someone I need to talk to quickly"
"Okay, you hurry on back now" with a warm feeling filling her and a lingering smile at the answer Diabla left the bench and began the process of weaving through the crowds towards the flash of snowy-white hair she had seen within it, closing in on the figure without calling out or nudging people in a way that would dispose of the illusion of privacy and anonymity within the masses that her classmate hoped to keep; making her way towards the coach and intercepting her target there she gave a nod of recognition and a short, gruff greeting.
"Slate" Athena-Jade looked startled, bouncing back on the balls of her feet and reacting as though she had been entirely unaware of Diabla's presence directly in front of her.
"What do you want Diabla?" the Bear Faunus shifted her weight, surreptitiously preparing to drop her luggage and defend herself in a display of caution that was unwarranted, yet not exactly unreasonable enough to be considered paranoid. After seeing this Diabla studied the girl with whom she would never likely be friends, but still felt an odd connection to after their shared history; she noted that Athena looked different in a way that did not agree with her, as though some internal component were missing and everything laid over it had sagged in its' absence.
"I wanted to ask you a question. Same one everyone else is gonna ask you" Diabla looked the shorter girl up and now again before shaking her head "I don't need to, I've already gotten my answer….You didn't know a damn thing about it did you?"
"What are you upset that I didn't show proper military diligence and use my families' connections to have everyone investigated as a matter of protocol and-"
"Breathe Slate" Diabla's blunt and deliberately, annoyingly disinterested tone cut through Athena's building tirade "I never really bought the idea that you were both in on it….Why would you wanna change the status quo, you're rich. Besides, you're clearly hurting"
"I don't need your pity" Athena growled, eyes downcast and deliberately looking anywhere but at the girl with whom she had once had a fierce and bitter, if one-sided rivalry.
"That's my line" Diabla countered in same bored voice "And look Slate, we're not friends but we've got mutual friends….And I know enough about getting fucked over to know that you absolutely didn't deserve it. So get help, or something….We both remember where letting all that anger build up got me and I'm not gonna be the one to dig you out of wreckage"
"I would never ask you to" Athena shot back, though the Bear Faunus's words lacked any of their bite, her voice simply tired in a deep-rooted way that clashed with her Atlesian upper-crust accent and diction as she added "But thanks Diabla; knowing that you of all people don't think the worst of me helps….Not much but it helps. But I don't wanna deal with this right now"
"Cool, but you may as well get used to the idea of not being trusted now; 'cos you're gonna get that worse than other Hunters" Diabla turned away and caught a sight of Huckleberry gesturing her over and so she began striding away from the former target of all of her anger "Anyway, Ursinia just got here and I came here with her cousin. I'll see you in class I suppose"
Diabla barely made it a dozen paces before the sound of shattering glass erupted behind her, followed by the sounds of general and assorted panic.
As Peace and Quiet unfurled over the brawlers' knuckles in their gauntlet mode and Diabla's eyes seemed to burn like miniature suns as her Semblance simmered just below the point of being unleashed she quickly turned her focus to where Huckleberry had been and found that Ursinia had reached her, the Scorpion Faunus protecting her younger cousin thoroughly enough for Diabla to wheel around and face the source of the distraction; being left with conflicting feelings of relief and indignant fury.
The former coming from the fact that the commotion was already in hand as security guards rushed onto the scene, with the latter being directed squarely at the source of the disturbance.
The student Hunters were being protested.
A small group of young adults, likely scarcely older than Diabla herself had emerged from wherever they had been hidden close by, clearly having decided that enough Hunters were present and that the time was right; many of the group held signs and pickets decrying corrupt institutions and comparing the influx of Hunters to the storing of weapons of mass destruction within the city whilst one of their number had intended to spout similar opinions from a megaphone that had already been snatched from them. They would certainly have been allowed to continue their protest, likely until the moment that one of the students lost their temper and gave exactly the reaction that the activists wanted, one that could be recorded and shown across Remnant however the plan had been foiled by one of their own number being overzealous and throwing a glass bottle at the windows of one of the coaches.
The fact that none of the windows were broken or even cracked suggested that the projectile had never reached its' intended target and Diabla quickly realised that she could guess the reason for that, sweeping the area she sought out Athena-Jade so she could coordinate with the Bear Faunus if needed; already considering how best to use the glyphs that had likely blocked the thrown bottle to also keep the protestors at bay if things proved to not be as controlled as they seemed.
Only to be caught by surprise by the sight of Athena-Jade, whom Diabla had called many unkind things but never a coward hurriedly stowing her luggage and climbing aboard one of the coaches so that she could hide herself out of view as swiftly as possible now that the use of her Semblance had drawn eyes and attention to her.
To Athena herself it was a stark and unshakeable vindication of the worries she had been grappling with and confirmation for the worst of the unwelcome whisperings her psyche could produce.
Over the few days she had spent at Pikesreach Zirconia had found her paranoia rising to a level which she would likely have found laughable were she not fully aware of how necessary the precautions she had begun to take truly were.
Amongst the inhabitants of the settlement which had been, as dubious as the word now sounded, liberated there had been several who had seen the arrival of Nero's followers as a positive and had welcomed them with open arms, providing their help in anyway they could in exchange for both training and a sense of security along with whatever benefits they might feel would come with ingratiating themselves with the people who controlled a kind of Grimm. More still had simply gone on with their lives in what was likely the closest thing the closest approximation to normal they could manage with the upheaval of Pikesreach's warrior caste and ruling Hunters, people who whether they voiced the opinion or not largely regarded Zirconia and her allies as an occupying force and rulers no different to the Hunters they had replaced and who would follow for the same reasons they had before.
There were others though, would be saboteurs and assassins, malcontents and failed heroes with visions of leading a countercharge.
Members of the group that had taken control of Pikesreach had been killed after fighting had stopped, claimed by brazen assaults involving the use of a repaired weapon emplacement, stabbings in the dead of night as the victim slept and even a poisoning and though the culprits had been found; often informed on by their own neighbours and with Zirconia being the one to personally detain several of them the Grasshopper Faunus remained watchful and wary to such an extent that it was taking a visible toll on her. Extra guards had been placed on the building where those who had been taken prisoner were kept, Zirconia having argued with Carmesi that more executions would do more harm than good and she took care with the food she ate and water she drank, often going so far as to traverse the settlement by crossing roofs to prevent any traps that might have been set on the ground yet still she slept fitfully and for only short periods at a time; awakening in a different location after only a few hours each time as she refused to allow herself to become predictable enough to be an easy target.
Though at present she had managed to afford herself a moments' peace.
As the sun began to slowly set over Pikesreach Zirconia had found herself watching from a raised vantage point which would limit the opportunities for anyone to attack her from behind and gave the rogue Huntress herself a view which she was, even in her current frazzled and unsteady condition forced to admit was impressive. Pikesreach had a look about it which resonated with Zirconia at that moment, its' stonework and battlements and the empty moat which formed part of its' defences putting her in mind of a scaled down version of some fantastical castle; the overall air of the place being that of something which could have been beautiful but had been soured and tarnished beyond recognition.
With a final, lingering gaze out to the settlements' territory which still lay burned and cratered in the wake of the battle; with Cyber-Grimm and their handlers patrolling their edges the Grasshopper Faunus reached into her pocket and produced her scroll.
The device was largely useless to her here, proclaiming itself as such with a warning about its' total lack of reception in the settlement that was no better than the wastelands around it in that regard; Zirconia cared little however as the main reason she had found ways to keep the device charged even here was for the brief peace of mind the came with looking at the images saved on it depicting the life she had left behind, a practise that had become more common and yet remained a balancing act where she tried desperately to claim some solace from the images of herself with Athena-Jade or her former friends and team as a whole before the waves of sadness washed over her and left her blinking back fresh tears.
It was a process that was cut short by a heavy thud, and low grunt.
"Carmesi" she rasped out, collapsing her scroll quickly at the sound of the Komodo Dragon hauling himself up into place beside her on high point of the settlements' wall she had perched herself on.
"You did good with bringing down those people earlier….Personally I would have killed them, making more examples might be what's needed" Zirconia rounded on him, furious rebuke half-formed only to be silenced by the thoughtful look on his bearded, brutal-looking face and raised hand "Then again it might not. There's a fine line between the fear to keep order and the anger to mobilise people, it's a line Mister Nero understands; maybe you do as well….He'll make a decision when he arrives"
"What do you want Carmesi?" Zirconia sighed, voice cultured and refined as ever and yet unable to keep the sound of utterly deflated dejection from it.
"To let you know that Team NUGT have received word. Mister Nero will be arriving a few hours after nightfall; Gestalt-Prime and that demon bitch of a woman Cruor will be with him, as will other reinforcements. It took Gestalt-Prime and the new scientists time to replenish the forces to replace the Cyber-Grimm that were lost and what's being dedicated to holding Pikesreach….besides with Breaktide's initiation being today it was the perfect opportunity to move assets in bulk" Carmesi relayed the information in a voice that was as gruff and rumbling as ever and yet was far more gentle than usual, closer overall to the demeanour he'd affected when taking Team MARZ on their first ever training mission and completing the act which unbalanced Zirconia by adding "And I thought you should know that there's some food I can personally vouch for ready….Unless they took the precaution of poisoning one of their cows just in case"
"Why would you do anything to help me Carmesi?" she demanded, the small section of her scarred face that was visible from beneath her mask making it clear that she was regarding the man with suspicion "You have never once seen me as more than an annoyance a problem to deal with"
"Because you weren't" Carmesi countered bluntly.
"And what changed?" Zirconia continued, allowing a mocking sneer to seep into her words despite her sudden genuine curiosity "Did you suddenly decide you needed a new best friend-"
"Hardly" Carmesi's blunt tone took on an annoyed and grating note, Zirconia noting the way his shoulders coiled as though considering lashing out with a reflexive backhand before stopping himself "Before you were untested. You were a little girl with ideas and ideals and those have their place Zirconia….I know I can't change the world with anger alone, I don't try to but that place isn't the battlefield or a strategy meeting. You were a liability I had to deal with because you had no experience and still I had to care about your opinion because it might be enough to change Mister Nero's mind….You hadn't seen or done enough, you hadn't lost enough-"
"I lost my parents-" Zirconia's voice was ragged and choked, with only her naked disbelief at the gall of the man next to her keeping her from slapping him across the face
"So did I! The difference is the lives we had after that! I am what I am because what else could I have been?" the reptilian man glared at her with hellish red eyes and Zirconia, despite all of her training faltered and fell silent for long enough for him to continue "You, for all your ideals had never been properly tested….your convictions, your belief in Mister Nero's vision had never cost you anything; not really….You'd never had to kill or lose someone you respect or admire. Neo Vale changed that, you were tested and it hurt you, you lost someone who mattered to you and you bled for what you believe. You've earned your place in the bright new tomorrow we're building"
"Don't think that it changes anything between us" Zirconia huffed, left reeling by the information which sat far beyond her estimations and understanding of the man beside her and unable to offer more than an instinctual attempt at a rebuttal. Being respected by the violent, bloodthirsty brute who had harmed Athena and sought to disguise his atrocities by inflicting them on those who might be deemed deserving was not something that the Grasshopper Faunus had ever desired.
"Of course" Carmesi's low and guttural chuckle clearing Zirconia's mind enough for her to manage a genuine spike of irritation only for the Komodo Dragon Faunus to rise before she could answer "Either way, there's food available….You should eat before Mister Nero gets here, he'll be worried if he sees you looking depressed and starving"
With that Carmesi leapt down to the ground and strode deeper into Pikesreach to continue preparations, leaving Zirconia to return to her attempts to compose herself.
Her scroll found her way to her hands again a moment later.
For the Professors of Breaktide Academy the moments after the naming ceremony where a new generation of Hunters made their official debut and their teams were formed and consecrated in the traditional way there was a rush; a high which seemed to directly answer the tension and cold, twisted dread which seeped into each of them every year as the teenagers hoping to enter into the proud and noble profession of hunting the Creatures of Grimm were sent out to fight monsters, with the outward appearance of having nothing but themselves and one another to rely on.
That wave of relief and outlet of enthusiasm naturally called for a celebration, albeit a small one given that each of the Professors would be meeting their new and returning students the next morning.
Coco watched in a distant and detached way as around her, within the staff break room which felt far more crowded than usual the various professors, other senior members of staff whose roles did not see them interacting with the students on a regular basis and a handful of the additional Hunters to have been pulled in for the task of overseeing the initiation and the safety of the wastelands as a whole interacted with one another.
A dull buzz of conversation rose above the sound of music which had been kept at a subdued volume and Coco studied the scene around her as her employees and allies socialised, breaking out of the usual clusters and cliques they would be found in that could often be neatly mapped out along family lines or old team-mates; a cursory glance allowing the headmistress to see Reese Chloris and Nurse Kintsugi trying to draw Penny Rose into traditional and largely unserious pass time of a betting pool regarding which partners would develop feelings for one another. Arslan was talking, notably sternly with one of the Hunters who had been lending their support and casting glances in the nurses' direction, no doubt wanting to ask the Fox Faunus about the severity of the injuries one of the initiates had suffered. Coco knew that the chest wound in question was a minor thing that would require only that the student in question be kept from overexerting themselves in Combat Class for the next few days and debated informing Arslan of this until her gaze travelled further and she caught sight of Velvet talking to Ruby in a nearby corner close to the coffee machine, the two of them huddled over a tablet which Coco was certain was currently displaying footage from a particular part of the initiation, likely for the two of them to gawk over the particulars of a weapon that they would be seeing in action in person soon enough.
Seeming to sense eyes on her Velvet looked up and gave Coco a wave before making her way over.
"Haven't had too much have you?" the Rabbit Faunus asked, bemused but carefully as she pressed a cup of coffee into Coco's hands and sat beside her and leaned in to make herself comfortable; smiling as broadly as she first had upon learning during their time at Beacon Academy that Coco Adel, the imposing and always composed leader of Team CFVY was an utter lightweight when it came to alcohol.
"I haven't even started….Do I look drunk?" she asked, quickly making a subtle effort to collect herself and remedy whatever Velvet had seen in her that had concerned the Rabbit Faunus so much.
"Not drunk, just look like you're overthinking and getting stuck in your own head again….And I can't see Yatsu here in case we need to carry you away"
"That has only happened once" Coco could only pout at the memory of being hoisted up over her team-mates' shoulder and removed from a situation before she could make a fool of herself any further, the memory tinged only slightly by a sadness that Fox Alistair was no longer with them and would never see what his friends had built; a feeling that was quickly pushed aside by the sound of Velvet's soft laughter bringing a slight blush to Coco's cheeks.
"Where is the big guy anyway?"
"He had some work to handle" Coco admitted with a sigh "I have some things I should probably look into as well"
"Already, really?" Velvet arched an eyebrow, making no effort to disguise her shock at the student counsellor being needed so soon.
"Our students were protested as they arrived at the airship terminals….Some little prick threw a glass bottle and it turned into a scuffle with the security there before police turned up; at least one of the students is shaken up" Coco admitted "That's what Yatsu's dealing with.
"Damn it" Velvet's expression darkened and Coco could easily follow the pattern of her thoughts, the Rabbit Faunus had briefly been a member of the White Fang under Adam Taurus and had was no doubt already imagining the countless ways the situation could spiral and develop into something entirely out of control.
"Is that what you're dealing with?" she gave Coco a worried look "Investigating the protestors"
"No" Coco shook her head "Police are saying that there's nothing to investigate really and since none of our students were hurt it's a matter that falls under their jurisdiction….They said they don't want Hunters near this specifically since it would be a conflict of interest"
"I get that, it actually makes perfect sense"
"Yeah….Which is why I'm worried" Coco's brow furrowed as she sought to put the disparate parts of an idea in her mind into an order that would make sense to someone other than herself.
"What are you thinking?" Velvet's voice dropped to a whisper out of habit, with secrets forcibly dragged out into the open and with their current company it was little more than a token gesture though one Coco appreciated all the same, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, pursing her lips and adjusting her beret for a moment before answering.
"Nero is on this island, we know that. Even if we haven't seen or heard any sign of him or those fucking monsters he made we know it" she paused to get her temper under control and regulate her breathing before she could unintentionally raise her voice and make a scene "Everyone knows that we're weak right now, that we'd be stretched thin today….We're already stretched thin while we try and cover the main routes across the island; throw in the initiation and returning students-"
"You think Nero had someone take a shot at the students?"
"Not as an end goal in itself….It was way too sloppy and pointless of an effort to be that" Coco offered a derisive sneer at the thought which went some way to soothe Velvet's own aghast expression "No, I think maybe it was supposed to be just one more distraction….We already suspect, hell we know that people are actually joining Nero's cause and that they're making it to the island but we don't know where because they're going through settlements like Blackwater Cove or unwatched parts of the coast. I just wonder what Nero might have needed distractions for, what did he do that we haven't seen yet?"
"I see why you're concerned and it is definitely a worry" Velvet chewed at her lip.
"But?" Coco braced herself.
"Maybe jumping at shadows?" the look Velvet's comment earned her was a stunned one and the Rabbit Faunus quickly made to explain
"I don't think every little thing that goes on needs to be Nero's fault directly because he doesn't need it to be. He's already set the wheels in motion for things to get worse by painting us as the bad guys; so naturally he's the solution because we can't be….Because he's trying to convince people that we're the problem"
"Maybe" Coco accepted with a slow exhale "But I think I'm still gonna check on any reports or distress signals that were sent out across the wastes during the duration of the initiation. Maybe someone responded to a call and saw something, maybe a few things don't match up….I'll just sleep easier knowing that there's less space for Nero to work in"
"Provided you sleep at all….Promise you'll come to bed tonight?" Velvet fought to keep herself from letting out a disgruntled huff.
"I promise" Coco kissed her cheek and rose to her feet, leaving Velvet to watch as she departed for her office. The Rabbit Faunus, seeing that she was the last member of her team present was left debating herself whether she should retire early for the evening or continue to be the host of the small gathering; a decision made easier for her when Ruby, who had gravitated towards her wife waved her over to join a conversation which would at least provided some sort of distraction.
Though Velvet found herself resigned to the fact that it was likely going to be one of 'those' years and classes had not even begun yet.
The naming ceremony for the newly formed First Year teams had been a spectacle as always and the act of welcoming the freshly initiated students into the fraternity and community that all Hunters across Remnant shared was a solemn, yet upbeat moment; one which Coco Adel had taken pains to make more so in light of the current situation and it was a tradition which each of the returning students were, as always extremely proud to take part in even if their only role was to bear witness, seeing even this is an honour and a privilege and an important part of setting an example for those who came after them.
Which had made Athena-Jade Slate all the more prominent in her absence.
The Bear Faunus had been elsewhere for the duration of the ceremony and whilst she was not unique in that she could not help but fear that it was her own absence which would raise questions or, worse still suspicions and see aspersions cast about her. Following the failed and frankly laughable attack on the students at the airship terminal it had become apparent that a sense of unease which had steadily been growing within the student body had reached a point where it could no longer be ignored and so Athena had been one of a small handful of students to slip away from the main crowd and make their way through the empty and echoing campus towards the office of Student Counsellor Daichi, each of them realising partway that they had the same goal and commiserating with more openly than they had done during the stunned silence of the drive across the city and sharing further tails of what they had seen and heard over the summer.
Athena had felt like an outsider in all of it, remaining silent and at the periphery of the group until they had reached the counsellors' office and learned that whilst he was currently elsewhere he would be happy to change his schedule and speak with them as a group, something which would require only a short wait. The snowy-haired young woman had decided against waiting however and had instead slipped away once again, answering a text from Astra by stating that she would rejoin her team-mates at their dormitory soon enough and that she simply needed to some ait to clear her head; an excuse which had granted her enough time to traverse the entire campus and gaze out on the city of Port Alistair from the various bridges between the towers of Breaktide, silently wondering how much of it was arrayed against her.
Now however, with nothing else to delay her and the nightly chill which swept over the island beginning to set in as the sun slipped below the cities' skyline Athena was finally making her way to the dormitory she had not seen since what now felt like simpler times. Reaching the door she came to a halt, taking several shallow breaths, hand raised to knock against the wooden surface only to come to an uncertain halt before finally shaking her head and chastising herself whilst being painfully aware that her friends would most likely hear her.
"Stop being an idiot AJ….they don't hate you, they don't" it was true and objectively she knew it even if her mind continued to produce unwelcome hypotheticals for her to consider; Astra had tried their best to be supportive of her every time they had spoken throughout the summer and the idea that Regalia would be angry with her felt odd to even contemplate, unless of course Clan Aiktishaf held views on collective responsibility which Athena had yet to run into. With her mind made up and only a small, final bout of nervously chewing at her lip the Bear Faunus produced the key card that opened the door and knocked on its' surface out of politeness before striding in.
"I'm sorry I'm late guys, sorry I wasn't there earlier"
"It's fine" Astra waved her off "Heard some shit went down in the city, you okay?"
"I'm….yeah" Athena's eyes simply refused to meet Astra's in that moment and so instead she took in everything else that was part of her surroundings, from Astra's new attire and hair which she realised was actually its' natural colour to the brown cloak bearing Regalia's personal emblem currently hanging from frame of the bunk-beds the partners shared and the Racoon Faunus herself who was currently enjoying small, likely savoury snack which she could pop into her mouth without moving from where she was laid across Astra's lap; a position which would likely have caused Athena to perform a double-take had her sapphire blue gaze not already drifted across the dormitory to her own bunk, one which had not been slept in for some time at least was one Zirconia Shadowmoon had never shared with her.
Only for the Bear Faunus to be brought to a halt by the familiar by entirely unexpected sight of Stygian Blue sitting cross legged on the bunk above her own; trying to appear comfortable in a way that was almost painfully obvious in how forced it was. Athena herself was left momentarily numb, jaw working silently for a moment before she managed to form words.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"AJ that was rude!" the fact that it was Regalia to offer the admonishment might have caught Athena by surprise were she still able to be surprised by anything and not entirely overloaded.
"It's fine, it is what it is" Stygian chimed in, voice a strained imitation of nonchalance as he slipped down from the bunk in order to speak with Athena from a height closer to her own eyeline, electric blue eyes meeting hers
"Rye and Amaya quit after Neo Vale, they're living out of the city now. Tiger is leading Team SHMR officially, mainly it's Ravi leading but she's there 'cos he needs someone to lean on after what happened to Snapdragon" the Mouse Faunus paused, managing a more genuine smile now "So I spoke to Professor Adel and managed to arrange a transfer….We're gonna be partners"
"I'm sorry if this feels like it's just being sprung on you" Astra chimed in after realising that Athena's silence would likely continue "I told the Professors that you should have been called in ahead of everyone else like I was to discuss this but I felt like it was a conversation that we should have face to face, y'know?"
She was not ready.
Athena had known of course that returning to Breaktide, or even acting on her discarded idea to transfer to Atlas Academy would have to involve her taking on a new partner; if she were capable in that moment she would have accepted that in hindsight she should have expected said new partner to be a familiar face. Whoever Professor Adel paired her with would naturally be a fellow Third Year Student and the teams which had failed to qualify for the Vytal Tournament would be much less likely to have a reason to be restructured at such a point in their training and so it stood to reason that the Bear Faunus's new partner would be somebody she had already met.
The logic made sense on a strictly impersonal level and yet, as her eyes drifted from Stygian to the bunk which had once been Zirconia's and the dormitory as a whole where the last lingering traces of the Grasshopper Faunus had been scrubbed away and replaced with new trinkets and decorations Athena found her stomach roiling and palms becoming clammy within her gloves as she struggled to process the new reality of her situation.
"So uh, I guess that makes us Team MARS now then….Even sounds the same" Stygian's tone was a light-hearted, an obvious effort to ease the tension and yet they were instead the last straw from Athena who visibly recoiled.
"No" she shook her head forcefully "I'm not doing this. I can't, I just….I can't"
"AJ, we can-" Astra's words trailed off as their friends threw up a glyph and used its' shimmering surface to launch herself out of the dorm where the sound of her footsteps quickly faded away.
"Should we go after her?" Regalia asked, already rising and preparing to slide her goggles over her eyes in case her Semblance was needed.
"No….I don't think it would help" Astra answering with a worried but thoughtful expression before turning to Stygian "Hey, I'm sorry about this. We should have spoken to her beforehand, it was dumb not to"
"Yeah" Stygian nodded in agreement, his mouse tail which was visible without his coat coiling reflexively for a moment before he turned and began gathering clothes and the bag containing the books and Dust he would need the following day and then finally Sharp Cheese, his katana.
"Where're you going?" Regalia asked nervously.
"I'm gonna find somewhere else to crash for tonight" he shrugged "I don't wanna make AJ uncomfortable, so you two can maybe call her and get her to at least come and sleep right? She didn't look good….Maybe try and talk to her so we can work things out tomorrow?"
"Yeah man, will do" Astra breathed out "And thanks for being understanding"
Stygian shrugged wordlessly and left, leaving Astra and Regalia alone and silent until Regalia squeezed her partner's hand and prompted the Deer Faunus to flop backwards and let out a wordless groan of discontent at the entire situation, their mind racing in circles as they failed to find an answer to the problems before them.
Team MARZ had struggled to find harmony upon being formed and it seemed Team MARS would face similar problems.
The darkness that fallen over Menagerie was as biting and plagued by howling, shrieking winds which pushed the temperature below freezing as always and within Pikesreach a feeling of anticipatory tension had been able to grow and fester over a matter of a few shorts hours as word of Nero's approach spread throughout the settlement.
Curiosity had inevitably begun to take hold over even those who had thus far sought to continue their lives within Pikesreach with as little disruption as possible, with the idea of learning exactly what kind of man would now be making the important decisions regarding the settlement being too alluring to ignore and the notion of taking the promises that had been made regarding liberation and self determination at face value never crossing their minds; the truth was axiomatic to these people, one did not invest so much into the pursuit of power simply to relinquish that power freely. With crowds' gathering despite the cold however an opportunity had presented itself for those remaining dissenters within Pikesreach to strike out against those who had disposed on the towns' former rulers and potentially a land a crippling, mortal blow to Nero's movement by killing Nero himself as the former Chairman; for all that he had done was still only mortal and without any of the benefits of an unlocked Aura or the years of training that Zirconia or any of his other remaining close allies boasted.
Naturally precautions had been taken and Nero's forces within Pikesreach were on the highest alert; with the Cyber-Grimm having been pulled back into a tighter defence ring, positioned so that they might defend against attacks from within or without, the perimeter defences were currently manned solely by those from within Nero's faction; a proposition which left them spread thin given the need to observe the towns' inhabitants as well but something ultimately made possible by the sheer, raw power that Zirconia, Carmesi and Team NUGT represented compared to those who might wish to do harm.
It was a situation which left the Grasshopper Faunus with a taste of bile in her mouth, quickly shifting her weight from foot to foot in an effort to stave off cold that breached the fabric of her sweater even as that same cold allowed her a distraction from more abstract moral discomfort.
She had found herself as one of a small group taking watch of Pikesreach's main gate, her allies being a single Cyber-Grimm and its' handler who had mercifully positioned the thing far enough away that she did not have to look directly at it, a pair of former members of Neo Vale's city guard chosen by Carmesi and finally the Komodo Dragon Faunus himself who had positioned himself above the settlements' main guess and after only a while longer provided a fresh distraction and a relief from the mounting tension by letting out a sharp whistle and calling out.
"They're here!" Zirconia's initial flood of relief at the idea of seeing her father figure again was cut short as she saw the eyes of everyone around her turn skywards and she found herself reflexively tensing, hand clasping her weapon as a trio of shapes slashed across the night sky, illuminated by the broken moon which gleamed against their metallic components.
Gestalt-Prime landed with a resounding impact, already pacing and stalking about as if to lay claim to their surroundings in a manner more bestial than their true intelligence even before their axe-bladed wings had collapsed into their place at their back. The two attendant Cyber-Grimm which dropped into place and skulked after their Alpha with modular limbs which reconfigured themselves and long, twisting necks to carry a cranium fitted with countless sensors were a variety Zirconia had not yet seen up close but knew of nonetheless; Shrouds, Albion Herringbone's final contribution to the Cyber-Grimm initiative.
"They make a good diversion" Carmesi's low, grunting appraisal startled Zirconia as she had not realised that the older rogue had left his post to take up a position opposite her at the gate "But now the main force is here"
Zirconia whirled around without answering as the sound of engines and wheels against hard earth reached her.
A small convoy of unmarked vehicles capable of traversing the wastes without drawing attention, especially whilst the Kingdoms' forces were busy arrived soon enough and with it any notions of Pikesreach's remaining dissidents reclaiming the town in the name of dead and corrupt Hunters was lost, or at least crushed so soundly that a new plan would have to be formed.
More Cyber-Grimm emerged, followed by more armed fighters and then a wave of other individuals carrying fresh supplies of all kinds though even this Zirconia noted, accounted for less than half of the total storage of the new arrivals. An answer came soon enough however as the last two figures to emerge stepped out into view.
Chairman Damascus Nero and beside him, masked and suddenly seeming every part the imposing and sinister figure she had cast herself as was Aefen Cruor.
"Damascus" Zirconia closed the distance, positioning herself directly beside the closest thing she had to a parent and the sole person amongst her accomplices and co-conspirators whose opinion she truly valued; placing herself almost possessively close as though she feared that even his trusted confidants might try to take him away. The appearance was enough to cast a spell of sorts over the people of Pikesreach however, that a seemingly normal man, frail-framed and pallid who wore clothes ill-suited to the climate or hard work could be heralded by a monster, followed by a woman who might be some manner of witch, the leader of some unknown tribe of feral berserkers or else entirely demented judging by her garb and theatrical conduct and then kowtowed to by Hunters they knew to be capable was an idea that shook each of them to their core.
"Hello dear" Nero beamed, words quiet but filled with a pride that carried over to his smile "I knew that I could trust you with this, well done"
"It was Carmesi's work….And Aefen's Man-eater" where outwardly it might simply seem that she were being humble Zirconia could not help but think she sounded like a child trying frantically to pass the blame; only to fall silent as Nero's gloved cybernetic hand reached out to slip its' way around the stylised armour adorning her shoulder and give her a gentle, reassuring squeeze as though he could see the doubts within her even with her face covered.
"I'm sure it was hard Zirconia, but it will be worth it….And the fact the people are not running and screaming at the sight of Gestalt-Prime tells me that your presence here was a needed one" he gave his child in all but blood a sardonic smile "Carmesi is capable and there are certain tasks I trust him to handle, but this needed someone to balance out his more direct approach"
She had been sent to prevent a massacre she realised and despite everything else Zirconia could not deny that she had succeeded on that account.
"Thank you" she breathed out, voice wavering "But there are still issues-"
"Of course" Nero nodded, beginning to walk at a leisurely pace into Pikesreach and taking it all in whilst gesturing for Zirconia to do the same "I expect you to tell me everything, once I've addressed the people and explained myself to them….Damnable as public speaking might be I should still be decent enough to do it. No doubt the people of Pikesreach will have questions about Doctor Cruor's place here?"
"Aefen?" Zirconia gasped, blood suddenly feeling as though it were ice and entire body leaden.
"Indeed" Damascus nodded sagely "The bright new tomorrow is for all of Remnant Zirconia, not just Pikesreach….we promised to liberate this place from the Hunters and we have done; it will be truly free once we can be certain that our work cannot be undone. In the meantime Jidhir Town will be our main base of operations and Doctor Cruor will be developing and testing new projects within Pikesreach"
"I-I see" Zirconia stammered, struggling to form words as the world seemed to spin and tilt on its' axis around her as she was forced once again to confront a harsh, terrifying reality.
The revolution was not what she had expected.
Author's Notes:
Well, three chapters into the volume and we have everyone back on the island….Now things can really get started.
Also, chapter 112 is the ¼ mark of Vol.07, roughly at least(I don't have the back half of the volume planned out scene by scene yet) and I feel like I should say don't worry, I haven't forgotten the massive Vol.06 finale plot twist.
SPOILER: We will see Pantheon next chapter and they will become steadily more prominent as they have an important role to play.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Obviously my version of Atlas was designed before we saw canon Atlas and whilst we have a similar overall principal of 'Higher up is better' I drew a lot of inspiration from Warhammer 40k Hive-Cities….Figuring out the logistics of giving them airports was fun.
Whitley is just antics incarnate and he absolutely has the money to just give a car away instead of figuring out the import paperwork.
AJ and Gangrel having a father daughter moment over the mischief of 'Borrowing' the cars just felt sweet.
Athena continues to be an absolute mess who can't even say Zirconia's name out loud.
Well there's been small improvements, at least she's not hiding away form everyone.
"So it's back to square one, except no it's not because you're older and wiser now and you've still got two really good friends waiting for you there" wise words from Papa Bear.
We didn't see anything of the initiation but, in the words of Winston Duke "It's Challenge Day".
There was naturally some awkwardness trying to figure out how the new team arrangement is gonna work, but nothing simplifies the matter like knowing it's the last time you're gonna have the gym free.
Astra and Stygian are both highly mobile and flashy fighters, yet still more grounded than AJ's capoeira and whilst this fight was a draw it was a nice little teaser of the tournament fight we didn't get.
Of course the first thing Regalia says to Astra is a movie quote….A Bruce Lee line from Enter the Dragon no less.
Shippers be happy, we already had the awkwardness and we are absolutely not going back to that….Also, tongue piercing action.
Cut to Stygian just chilling in the background.
And he almost prompted a "What are we" conversation in someone else's relationship….Which is a dick move.
Okay Team WULF aren't gonna be a massive part of the story moving forward most likely, but at the same time showing how people like Diabla have grown sets a nice benchmark….besides, it's cute.
There's also the fact that Team TRQS were the once to save Huckleberry, so Diabla and Ursinia are automatically on good terms with being the first student to go and check on AJ, my how the turntables have turned.
"I'm not gonna be the one to dig you out of wreckage" oof, remember Vol.02?
Of course there was a protest about the students arriving.
So, that's how Pikesreach is going….Largely under control but not entirely; enough to make Zirconia jumpy.
Pikesreach is somewhere I wish I could draw.
Because nothing says "I made the right choice" like staring longingly at pictures on your phone, the phone you are only carrying specifically to stare longingly at pictures because it doesn't get reception any more.
I think the idea of waiting until the initiation to move bigger forces makes sense, communications are limited in the wastelands but Nero must know that he's the most wanted person on Remnant at the moment.
The conversation between Zirconia and Carmesi was definitely a fun one to write; because realistically having that kind of respect from a guy like him is probably a sign you're fucking up.
There are absolutely post-initiation "Yay, nobody died!" parties in the staff room.
The betting pool is real.
Also, for all her toughness Arslan was absolutely putting that poor Hunter on the spot about a student getting cut up.
Coco being a lightweight and getting carried off by Yatsu was a callback to an early chapter of The Downward Spiral….Back in the before-times of 2016.
So, I never actually said whether or not Nero actually orchestrated the little protest against the students arriving or whether it was an added bonus for him….Honestly either answer is worrying in its' own way but the truth is that it's probably somewhere in the middle.
Coco is paranoid, but is it really paranoia when they are out to get you.
Velvet is right, it's gonna be one of those years.
Of course AJ was one of the students to go to Yatsu….Then she panicked again and wandered off.
The funny thing is AJ never saw or heard about Astra and Regalia's moment last volume, so this is actually the first she's seeing of them together like this.
Okay look….I can sense the torches and pitchforks being prepared, but in my defence I would like to ask a question: did you honestly expect things to go smoothly?
So it's official now, the new team is Team MARS…And that was the straw that broke the camels' back for AJ and honestly, it's kinda understandable really.
Astra really can't catch a break in this leadership job.
Menagerie at night is just a scary place.
For all the talk about liberation and freedom….Does it look like it?
And here's the scary part of Cyber-Grimm, the Shroud the blinded Nora and wrecked Qrow? Well now Nero knows they're a useful model, so they've been put into production and Gestalt-Prime has two of them as bodyguards.
Zirconia really needed a hug from her Dad there….but honestly yeah, to the people of Pikesreach, Nero is a man in a suit but now he's got the air of being something more than a man.
Oh you thought this was going to be anything other than horrible? No, no, no….See if the Furnace is going to be the main production plant, then there needs to be an R&D department to replace the Chamber; which means Pikesreach just became the new testing ground.
Zirconia darling, get out of there we can all see that you've got doubts.
Thank you to MajorBrony95 for their review on the last chapter.
After did actually get other reviews on Ao3.
Don't worry, this is Vol.07 of 10 so we're not quite in the final stretch yet.
There are definitely still places like Pikesreach but the feel I was going for was Neo-Feudal.
Grimm not being able to use Dust is kinda silly when you remember that there was a Geist walking around with half a Dust mine strapped to it.
Yeah the whole AJ thing is gonna take a couple chapters to unpack.
See Nero isn't dumb, he knows Gestalt-Prime and Aefen have their own plans, he even knows that Carmesi would probably go rogue if he started going soft...Zirconia is probably the only real blind spot in his planning and counter-plays.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.
