Chapter 5: Fear of the Dark

"Choice? Of course, there's always a choice. Sometimes, however, it has already been made for you."

Robin had always hated flying, hated heights. Something about the lack of control, being entirely at the mercy of a machine piloted by someone else, just tickled the back of his brain in all the wrong ways. Somehow, being in the back of a machine powered by magic space dust didn't make that fear go away at all. Sky and Dove had found ways to distract themselves on the ride, sleeping, which left Robin with only one recourse to relieve his anxiety, annoying the shit out of Cardin.

"So, run me through the mission again?" Robin asked.

"Alright, fine, one last time. We're landing in an abandoned village that was recently attacked by Grimm. We're to wipe out the Grimm and then investigate what's been causing an uptick of attacks in the area. Then we go home. Happy?" Cardin said with all the tiredness of a man fighting off both air sickness and an annoying teammate.

"Right, right, got it. I just wanted to make sure," Robin said.

"You've had to make sure like five times already." Cardin reached out to pat him on the shoulder. "Chin up, it's just the first mission. We'll be fine. We're in central Vale; the worst we'll see is some Beowolves. It'll be just like initiation."

"Initiation, where I would have died if left alone for five seconds," Robin said dryly.

"Well, you won't be left alone; you got us," Cardin said, forcing a small smile. "Now, anything else before I throw up?"

"I'm sorry." The words slipped out of his throat without thought. He knew his mind wouldn't ever work up the courage and would have always overthought it. So he didn't let it.

The rushed words caused Cardin to stir some, concern rising on his face. "Yo yo, relax. What are you even sorry for?"

"What am I sorry for? I nearly got you killed." Robin said.

"When?" Cardin asked genuine confusion on his face.

"Back in the sewer? It was my idea to go down there in the first place." Robin said

To his surprise, Cardin just shrugged. "Eh, no big deal man. Someone would have had to deal with that thing eventually."

Robin sputtered slightly. "No big deal? No fuckin big deal, you almost died."

"But I didn't," Cardin said.

"That doesn't make any sense," Robin said.

"Oh well? I don't have time to factor in what-ifs. If it makes you feel better, I forgive you. Now I'm busy trying to contain my lunch." Cardin said.

Robin leaned back into his seat, closing his eyes and trying to process… whatever that conversation was. But before he knew it, he found himself slipping off to sleep as well.

-2-

The bullhead touched down, the back of it opening to reveal the ruins of what had once been a thriving frontier town the team. The entire village was in ruins. Wrecks of homes, some still burning, dotted the dirt paths that made up the streets.

As he stepped off the Bullhead, though, Robin couldn't help but notice something. The church was still intact. The stone building was entirely untouched compared to the shattered heaps that comprised the rest of the town.

The smell was the first thing that struck Robin as the bullhead took off, leaving them behind. Burning wood and flesh mixed together to create a pungent odor that left his eyes watering.

"I suppose we check out the church. There might be survivors hunkered down in there," Cardin ordered his voice level.

Robin followed his team as they walked down the main road of the town toward the church. Occasionally, he would see a shredded body on the side of the road, but no Grimm, no survivors. His tongue felt slimy in the dry, dusty hole that is his mouth as horror mounts. Implications and realizations collided, and he wondered if he knew what he was seeing.

Nevertheless, they continued, and he allowed himself some small measure of hope as he saw a small pack of Beowolves pawing at the door to the church.

The team paused a few meters away as Cardin began to speak. "Sky, pick 'em off from range; there don't seem to be many."

Dispatching the pack was worryingly easy. With a few well-placed shots from Sky, Cardin dispatched the one that managed to close the distance with a single swing. They pressed onwards and stopped outside of the church doors.

Robin moved forward and pushed the doors open, only to be greeted with the overwhelming smell of rot, slowly as light filtered in a horrifying picture was painted.

A body hung from the stand, garbed in the clothes of what Robin could only assume was a priest. The benches will filled with bodies, hands bound together, and butchered in various ways to resemble Grimm in prayer. The bodies had been there for a while, weeks, maybe.

Once upon a time, a man gave his life for all mankind. The Good Book said when Christ went out alone in the desert, he saw every sin, every misdeed, that humans committed, past and present. And he still chose to take it for us.

But as Robin looked upon the rows of corpses and the hanged priest like victims of some cult ritual, Robin couldn't help… couldn't help anything. He just stood there, and he stared with a feeling in his roiling stomach that English hadn't even developed a word for yet. Something like despair, something like rage, something like sheer horror.

And the cold wonder that if Christ did see this happened two thousand years ago in Roman Palestine, why the fuck would he allow anything like this to be done. He didn't realize it at first, but his hands were covering his mouth.

Robin's feet carried him forward regardless, while Sky ran out of the church and threw up. Onward toward the priest and the strange mask that he had on. One fashioned of gold and shaped like a snarling Grimm.

White fang? No, it couldn't be. Even they wouldn't do something like this.

Still, he walked until he reached the priest upon the altar and grabbed the mask off of his face. Revealing cold, dead eyes and a face still permanently shaped into a beatific smile. He stared for a moment, then tore his eyes away.

As he turned to gaze upon the horrorshow that the inside of the church was, he spoke. Maybe it was to Cardin, maybe to himself, maybe to the dead. "We're going to find who did this and put them down. I swear."

Silence was his only answer.

-3-

Silence continued to reign as they walked out of the church, as Cardin signaled for the Bullhead to make an emergency return, as they solemnly climbed in, and as the ride back began.

The tension in the air was thick, and the silence was louder than any conversation could be.

Everyone knew what they had seen, and no one wanted to talk about it.

The bullhead shook slightly, and Robin tightened his grip on the seat, a sense of unease and anxiety overcoming him. He seemingly wasn't the only one. Cardin shifted in his seat, his hands balling into fists. Dove dug his fingers into his thighs, and Sky stood up and began pacing.

The bullhead continued to shake, and Robin's nerves continued to mount. Unease twisting into fear, so suffocating he could barely breathe. The radio kicked on as the pilot spoke, a noticeable quiver in his voice even over the intercom.

"We've got a flock of nevermore following us. Strap into your seats." The intercom crackled back to silence.

Robin couldn't help it; the fear continued to mount and twist, and he wasn't the only one. Cardin looked pale-faced. Sky looked like he wanted to jump out and risk a landing strategy of his own. This wasn't natural, part of his mind realized.

"Pilot, what's going on!" He broke through the suffocating fear to speak.

"I can shake them. Sit down!" The pilot barked. Professionalism overcoming the man's own fear.

The bullhead shook and suddenly began to tumble. The pilot's intercom suddenly crackled. "We're going down."

Suddenly, the strange fear and anxiety lifted, and Robin could think. All he could do was shout. "Aura up!"

Aura flooded through his body like a shot of adrenaline, and he braced, and then his world turned to fire.

When he opened his eyes next, he was lying on his back on the grass. Pieces of scrap metal surrounded him. He slowly checked his body for injuries and found none, thankfully. However, as he came to his feet, his mind registered the presence of his team crowded around the wreck.

His hearing came next, slowly returning to him, allowing him to hear Cardin shouting. "He's dead, Dove. We can't do anything for him. We can't even do anything for ourselves. The nearest backup is a day away, at the least."

Dove only seemed to scowl at the words and moved forward toward the cracked-open pilot's cabin and yanked something from the dead man's neck. Dog tags, Robin's mind slowly supplied.

The blonde boy seemed to notice Robin's approach and gave a nod. "Dusty. His name was Dusty Meral. It's up to us to get these back to his family."

Cardin gave a tired nod. "Of course. We're going to make camp around the crash site, so the rescue doesn't have to look far for us." Cardin ordered.

Immediately, the team set to work. They had packed for a multi-day-long mission, so they weren't exactly lacking in supplies. Robin worked to set up his tent as his mind replayed the events of the day over and over.

It was the smile of the dead man he couldn't get out of his head. Seemingly so happy, overjoyed to see all those people twisted and mutilated. He shook his head.

Lay out the tarp. Set up the poles. Raise the tent. Stake it into the ground. Even then, the mental image still played out in his mind as if it was burned in.

Cardin whistled, a shrill noise that forcefully tore Robin from his thoughts. "Alright, everyone, gather around."

Robin walked over to the fire pit Cardin had busied himself making while Robin had set up his tent. Dove and Sky shortly followed after.

"Can everyone check their aura for me? We could run into anything out here or even just need it to keep ourselves warm if it comes down to it."

Dove pulled out his scroll and scowled as he found it was busted. He offered a shrug. "Best guess is low, but not dangerously so."

Sky's scroll still worked and slowly flickered to life. "Red, so far in the red if I take a single hit with a stick, it'll probably shatter." He said grimly.

Robin pulled out his scroll and sighed in relief as he saw it was still working. He flipped through to look at his aura, only for a strange pop-up to flash across the screen, 'Radio Signal Detected.' Cautiously, he clicked on it and allowed his scroll to begin listening in.

A strong, deep voice began speaking, resonating with a strange power. "The events of the last twenty-four hours were regrettable. But they were necessary. Know that as of this moment, you have tread upon holy ground and defiled that which is sacred."

A pause and Robin shared a glance with his team. Whoever this was, it was the same man behind the massacre in the town. He knew it, and by the faces of his team, they knew it as well.

"Our Goddess can forgive all. But I, I am but a prophet." The voice continued. "You can run and be hunted down. Or you can come. To us. To me. Your choices are your own. So, too, is your fate." The signal ended.

The signal was easily traceable. They could follow it to its source. He locked eyes with Cardin, who held a steely determination. No words need be shared, for it's clear as day all of them had already made of their mind.

Do the right thing. Team CRDL, for once, are of one mind. One vision. One purpose.

-4-

Following the signal back to the source didn't take long. An hour or so of walking, if nothing else it, allowed their auras to replenish slightly.

The team had come to a stop outside the entrance to a cave on the side of a lonely hill in an otherwise flat grassy plain. It was a trap; they all knew it. But what choice did they have? Running for the hills or waiting for rescue would see them being hunted down regardless. At least this way… at least this way, if he was going to die, Robin could do some good before going down.

The thought rattled around in his brain. This had stopped being a standard mission the moment they had landed. Maybe the information was off, and maybe it had been a trap from the start, but the fact of the matter is he was staring down what could be his death, and he felt… nothing.

"Everyone ready?" Cardin asked, breaking the silence.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Robin responded.

"I suppose," Sky said, his voice shaking slightly.

Dove gave a grim nod. "This is what we all signed up for when we decided to go to Beacon. Let's do our jobs and make all those other teams look bad, eh?" The attempt at humor was forced, but it drew a forced laugh from Sky—anything to calm the nerves.

As Robin entered, he expected shouts. He expected blood and violence and everything else he's been preparing himself for, everything he's been training for. The idea was come what may, he was going to fight.

However, as they entered, they found the cave almost entirely empty. So they followed it deeper and deeper into the earth until they came to a large, open, well-lit floodlight chamber with various tunnels branching off further underground. In the middle of the chamber was a stage where a tall, gaunt man with long, disheveled dark hair stood.

He gestured to an unseen crowd, perhaps a hidden camera. The man spoke, revealing the same voice that spoke to them through the radio earlier. "As I warned, the sinful have come to tear down our paradise."

Robin drew his sword, which finally attracted the attention of the man. Before he could take another step forward, a sudden foreign and overwhelming fear overcame him. His hands shook and dropped his blade, his knees buckled. He looked to the side and saw his team in a similar state. His mind dimly recalled this was the same feeling as on the bullhead, only amplified to an insane degree.

The man spread his arms out wide. "But not even the sinful can stand against the blessing the Goddess has bestowed upon me."

No one moved a muscle. No one could move. Robin's body would not obey him.

He then gives a sudden laugh to his captive audience. "Forgive me, I've forgotten my manners. My name is Hamelin, and I am Her voice."

AN: This chapter was brought to you by my broken car window and a strong sense of fuck it we ball, if the next chapter is delayed it's cause I was busy fixing that instead of writing. Or I'm dead, iunno. Anyhow. Mission time, yes, been waiting for this since, before I first started this story. Very excited for it. Hopefully y'all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it, call out any mistakes (there may be a lot, I wrote this mostly at 12am last night), and I hope y'all have a wonderful day!