MARZ Rising

by FandomPariah

It's been thirty years since Ruby Rose saved Remnant from Salem and almost a decade since it was saved again. Salem is gone yet the Creatures of Grimm remain and now a new generation of Hunters are ready to begin their story... By enrolling at the Breaktide Academy of Menagerie where they'll be trained by legends including Team CFVY and Ruby Rose herself. Part 5 of the Spiral-Verse

54. Downfall

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

Chapter 54: Downfall

An internal wall, separating a small and enclosed office partitioned off from the open-plan floor space was promptly blasted apart, plaster, glass and drywall flying out in all directions as a high calibre round of etched and engraved bone struck it and exploded, the latest casualty of the ongoing fight between rogue Hunter and apex Alpha Grimm.

Carmesi Hueso was painfully aware that he was struggling, with every moment that he did not capture his target bringing him a moment closer to defeat and that a lesser fighter would have already perished against Gestalt-Prime.

"You're just delaying the inevitable!" the Faunus snapped, forcing any unworthy and wavering thoughts from his mind as he launched another assault. The hybrid had almost entirely recovered from the initial deluge of injuries that had been inflicted upon them, allowing them to immediately counter the charging attacker by bracing themselves and splaying their arms wide to send their tendrils lashing out in all directions from where they hung around the Grimm's torso to force Carmesi onto the defensive; shrieks of pain filled the air once again a moment later as Gestalt-Prime once again found themselves relieved of several of the grasping and vestigial appendages, Retribution and Vindication being brought to bear in swift and precise slashing motions to cleave through stringy and rubbery flesh before the sight of a tendril reaching for his ankles with its' rings of toothy bone shards grasping sent him into an acrobatic leap. Carmesi was not as fast or agile as he might have been however, the weight and cumbersome bulk of the containment unit strapped to his back slowing his movements and Gestalt-Prime reacted before he could even reach the ground, the Grimm swinging its' body in a full circle as the Hunter was midway through his aerial rolling motion and swinging their serpentine tail out to club him around the skull.

"Critical hit!" the hybrid sneered, its' particular method of speech as incongruous as ever even when laden with such obvious malice as it watched, with the closest approximation to glee that its' heinous psyche could produce as Carmesi was flung through the air by the blow and so dazed that he was unable to prevent himself from being smashed through an entire support column in a crashing, splintering cloud of dust and debris accompanied by a deep, shuddering groan of laboured supports in the structure of the building above.

The sound gave Gestalt-Prime a moment of pause.

"Toxic stalling" the creature uttered the term, plucked without complete understanding from the lexicon its' brief interfacing with the CCT had earned it with utter, sincere and unfathomable contempt before turning their singular optic, shielded by an armoured visor, skyward and narrowing it to a glowing slit of crimson as they returned their focus to the true objective that the lone annoyance before them was willing to die to distract them from.

The uplink array that would allow Gestalt-Prime to merge themselves with the false hive-mind that their prey used to communicate across Remnant was nearby, almost directly above and if they could reach it the hybrid Alpha would use that endless well of raw emotion and the vast wealth of intelligence it contained to reach their apotheosis and ascend to a new level of existence which would in turn usher in a new age in the evolution of the Creatures of Grimm; however they quickly realised that this lofty goal could only be realised if the CCT uplink array was still functional and that the creaking, lurching sound from above should serve as a warning against any further delay or damage to the building currently holding their prize aloft. With that in mind the Creature of Grimm reared up to their full height, fully a dozen feet tall and sunk the claws of their immensely powerful upper arms into the ceiling before bringing their wings slowly into life as they began to calculate a clear route, planning to simply drive themselves through the building like a spear and take their prize.

Their mind was returned to their immediate surrounding as the bones of their ribcage, fused and glistening with the ores and mineral that now laced them exploded in a shower of dark flesh and jagged fragments.

"We are far from finished here!" Carmesi Hueso declared as he rose from the dust and clutched his larger weapon to himself in its' shotgun form "I'm going to help build a new Remnant and YOU ARE GOING TO HELP ME DO IT!"

"Game over!" Gestalt-Prime shrieked before covering their face and chest with their upper arms whilst their tendrils snaked around the more nimble lower limbs to shield them as Carmesi fired again; leaving the monster hissing through clenched fangs as flesh and bone was splintered and torn before instantly responding by firing their own weapon at the Faunus. Carmesi leapt aside and drew his machete again, already shifting his larger weapon back into its' melee form as he prepared to charge yet once again Gestalt-Prime proved themselves to have an advantage that was nearly insurmountable in their superior reach as their tail came whipping around to strike the reptilian Faunus in the neck, coiling around his throat as Gestalt-Prime hoisted their choking and struggling opponent off of the ground and pulling them close enough that they would be able to enjoy watching him die.

Carmesi used his Semblance.

"WARNING, WARNING!" Carmesi's shriek was barely coherent beneath the deafening clatter of tearing steel that accompanied it as a primal vocalisation of pain and fury as the explosion of deep crimson Aura utterly eviscerated the lowest third of the Grimm's tail completely before solidifying into its' usual outburst of solidified light in the form of glowing blades and spears, leaving Gestalt-Prime reeling and forced to revert to baser instincts as a lance of red burst through their visor and tore a deep trench into the surface of their skull, failing to skewer them fatally by only mere inches whilst more instances of weaponised Aura burst through their body, including the support structure of their left wing which left the mass of muscle, twisted steel and jutting bone listing pitiably as the Alpha scuttled away on its' six primary limbs with its' tendrils thrashing around it before responding in a primitive and instinctual way.

By spitting in Carmesi's face.

Acid steamed and sizzled against Aura which rippled on contact with the foul substance and distracted the rogue Hunter enough for him to release his Semblance, more importantly the haze of stinging particles that lingered in the air assaulted Carmesi's already wild eyes to such a degree that he could not properly aim and so, without properly seeing where Gestalt-Prime was he simply held Retribution, its' components clanking as it once again transformed into its' shotgun mode in one hand and began firing with reckless abandon.

With their senses slowly returning to them as the fog of animal terror subsided even though the pain remained Gestalt-Prime saw the decisive advantage they now held and began to capitalise on it by first aiming their cannon at the Faunus and firing; reducing Carmesi to pained gasps and wheezes as the exploding bone struck his scarred and scaly chest flinging him through the air, Aura rippling feebly around him before he finally came skidding to a halt in crumpled heap close to one of the panes of the panoramic window which had thus far remained unbroken. From here Gestalt-Prime advanced, slow and deliberate with every ounce of predatory instinct the possessed coming to the fore, the single eye focused entirely on the battered form before them struggling to rise as they padded forward on their remaining limbs with the sole intent of pouncing, tearing their prey limb from limb and throwing their shredded body into the streets below.

They were halted by a glyph which appeared between the two combatant and triggered something deep in the hybrid Alpha's memory from before they had been a single coherent being.

"A new challenger! THE MAIN EVENT!" the monster declared, unable to fully turn itself around to face this new threat before their world once again exploded into agony with the sound of a compact, forearm-mounted and under-slung Mini-gun cycling up and opening fire filled the air with a deafening cacophony.

"One of you is under arrest, the other one isn't so lucky. Guess which is which ass-holes!" both Gestalt-Prime and Carmesi turned to the sound of the voice to see Team MARZ standing in formation with their weapons at the ready in the same doorway leading to emergency stairs which Carmesi himself had entered through; with Athena lowering her glyph whilst Astra Mars punctuated their bold entrance by allowing their weapon to automatically reload before deploying the blades which extended passed their forearms.

"Unexpected….although all things considered I don't suppose it should be" Carmesi managed a weak chuckle as he dragged himself to his feet, swaying on legs that no longer seemed willing to support his weight as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"I don't suppose either of you are planning on giving up and coming quietly?" Astra offered a smirk as they spoke, being rewarded by Carmesi twirling their weapons and shifting their weight whilst Gestalt-Prime simply snarled and reared up to their full height.

"Good" the Deer Faunus nodded, a silent gesture to their team-mates "I was hoping you'd say that"

And then Team MARZ joined the battle.

---

Team FADE saw the exact moment something in the behaviour of the Grimm forces attacking Port Alistair changed.

The four of them had been forced to land, leaping down from shimmering constructs created by Arctus Slate in order to help civilians who had been pulling themselves from the wreckage of a car that had been overturned by a charging Boarbatusk; fulfilling their oaths as Hunters and refusing to allow harm to come to a single innocent soul if there was anything they could do to prevent it no matter how important the mission they were currently engaged in might be or how personal it might be to them.

Once on the ground the small herd of Boarbatusk had been easy work, put down with blades that moved at blinding speed before the group of veteran heroes began ushering the injured civilians, who had clearly been trying to reach one of the nearby shelters, inside a nearby empty store where they would find materials to act as an impromptu first aid kit whilst they waited for a medical evacuation team to arrive.

Above the street however Team FADE had glanced upwards as long shadows had fallen over them and seen, with rising apprehension a flock of more than a dozen of the Winged Beowolves which had caused so much havoc throughout the city where they acted as shock-troops or in several instances almost as regimental or squad commanders with a disturbing level of intelligence. The Winged Beowolves had initially being flying in what Team FADE realised was the direction of the CCT they were hoping to reach until the monsters found themselves waylaid and severely bloodied by a lone fighter craft that same speeding towards them, fuselage torn open and left wing ablaze on what could only be a collision course before the pilot, in a final moment of bravery traded their own life for those of several Creatures of Grimm which threw the pack into disarray as the fighters' Dust fuelled engines exploded in a fireball which expanded outwards and flung burning shrapnel out across several streets. It took Team FADE several seconds to overcome their collective shock at what they had seen despite their years of experience, such acts of sacrifice always being a harrowing sight; though before the few remaining Winged Beowolves could properly regroup and continue onwards Diamond aimed and fired her sniper rifle, threading a shot through the eye of a Grimm and drawing the ire of its' pack-mates.

Leading to a frenzied battle on the ground.

"I don't like that these things feel as though they were made to fight us specifically!" Arctus exclaimed, the Bear Faunus panting with exertion as he swung his overhand sword in a two-handed downward strike at one of three Winged Beowolves he was facing off against which cracked the ground at his feet as the strikes' intended target deftly sidestepped and retaliated with a leaping slash of its' claws, leathery wings beating to hurl the thing forward even faster however the towering Bear Faunus was considered an expert for good reason and released his grip on his weapon for just long enough to spin and pivot under the blow before seizing his sword and dragging it free of the ground and into the belly of the now flailing Grimm, bisecting it in a single strike whilst Arctus was left facing the second of his three opponents which had slunk its' way behind him. His weapon was shifted to its' oversized and double-barrelled laser pistol form and the second Winged Beowolf was unmade it a flash of searing light only for the third and final enemy to pounce on the Bear Faunus's back and begin clawing at his shoulder and flank in a way which left Aura visibly rippling until Arctus one again released his weapon and instead channelled the Schnee family Semblance, conjuring a Beowolf of his own to pounce on its' winged counterpart and savage the larger monster as best it could, dragging the Creature of Grimm free and forcing it to rear onto its' hind legs.

Where it was promptly shot in the neck by Diamond.

"Little help here Big Guy!" the silver haired sniper called to her husband and partner as she leapt over a low, lunging attack from one of two Grimm she was fighting and answering with a spinning heel kick which staggered the beast, followed by a backhand from her matte black cybernetic arm which broke teeth with an audible snap whilst at the same time shifting Lex Talionis into its' glaive mode with her other hand so that she could complete her whirling motion by cleaving through the neck of the Grimm,

"You've got it" Arctus answered, creating a glyph in the space above and perfectly between his wife and her last remaining opponent as both Diamond and the Grimm leapt at one another, only for Diamond to throw herself into a backflip which saw her feet connect with the surface of the glyph, allowing her Semblance to take effect and distort physics around in such a way that the glowing surface was, at least relative to Diamond herself, downwards and from there she simply held her glaive in both hands and raised it overhead so that the Winged Beowolf was unable to halt itself in time and charged, face first into the blade with fatal results.

Close by the remaining half of Team FADE fought with equal ferocity and determination.

"NOT SO TOUGH NOW!" Felix bellowed as he trod painfully on the wing of a Grimm he had managed to overwhelm and pin it in place before bringing the chainsaw blade of Overkill screaming into life in a shower of sparks and driving the weapon down into the meat and bone of the howling monster and then the asphalt beneath it; before his vanquished and thoroughly eviscerated foe had fully faded away into ephemeral smog however the Lion Faunus was tackled by another Winged Beowolf with such force that caused the iconic, if brutal and ostentatious weapon in Felix's hands to send debris scattering in all directions as it tore a furrow in the ground when he was sent skidding backwards. Without hesitation he tore the blade free, flourishing with the sword expertly before shifting its' weight into his mechanical right hand alone so that he could seize the Grimm with his left before impaling it.

Only for Eagle Arc to intervene.

"Sentinel, lightning claws!" his partner ordered from behind the Grimm, her trusty automaton collapsed into its' shield form on her arm deploying a pair of grasping appendages which closed around the point of the Grimm's body where wings sprouted from its' shoulders and at that moment Sentinel unleashed a torrent of Lightning Dust-fuelled violence which reduced the lupine beast to indiscriminate thrashing and yelping as crackling electricity arced over its' convulsing form and thrummed in the air until nothing of the Beowolf remained, at which point Eagle simply turned and sheathed the black-bladed sword in her hand, a gift from her wife in a single motion which saw it cleave through the last remaining member of the Beowolf pack effortlessly as the monster tried to attack.

"Show off" Felix grumbled, allowing the familiar feeling of cutting down Grimm with his friends take over for a moment before his expression became serious "Eagle, use Sentinel to see what's going on….those Grimm were heading for the CCT"

"On it" Eagle nodded, extending her shield arm like a falconer and wordlessly causing Sentinel to unfurl itself, the droid letting out several beeps and chirps as its' lone optic flickered into life and it spread its' mechanical wings in an oddly lifelike stretching motion before taking to the sky; Team FADE gathered around the armoured blonde as she drew her scroll and used it to view the city from above, through Sentinel's eyes which at that moment seemed safer than using her Semblance to observe directly.

Each of the four Hunters making the same observation within seconds of one another.

"They're not picking off Hunters like before" Arctus noted grimly "Or attacking anything that would mess up our logistics-"

"Not that we're complaining about that" Diamond added.

"They're heading for the CCT" Eagle whispered, freckled cheeks losing their colour "All of them are heading for the CCT, which means they're heading this way"

"It means that Team MARZ already made it there" Felix's voice was heavy with sudden tension "Whatever is happening this means that the big Alpha Grimm….It's smart enough to know it needs help. If we can get there soon we can win, we just need to get there in time to help Team MARZ-"

"But can we make it?" Arctus queried, his own expression haunted as the idea of what he might find should he reach his sister even a moment to late refused to leave his mind.

"We can't just ignore those other Grimm" Diamond murmured, pursing her lips and considering "It's gonna be a fighting retreat from one bunch of Grimm directly into the Alpha….We're basically surrounding ourselves-"

"We need to help!" Felix exclaimed

"What if it's not us?" Eagle offered, the sincerity in her tone causing her friends to turn and look at her expectantly "Carcharodon is still on the Nemesis Kharybdis, the ship is still docked and on the right side of the shields….It's got weapons-"

"You think he can aim the main rail gun well enough to hit the Grimm without completely destroying the CCT tower or catching Team MARZ in the blast?" Felix asked slowly, not quite trusting himself with the idea of hope or optimism as he considered what his partner and long-time friend was suggesting.

"If anyone can make that shot with that gun it's Car" Eagle answered earnestly, after several impossibly long moments where each of Team FADE looked to one another before finally casting their eyes towards their leader as they awaited his decision Felix swallowed thickly and realised that in an absence of any good choices he would simply have to work with everything he had.

"Eagle, contact Car. I'll contact Astra" the Lion Faunus let out a slow, shaky breath "If the kid's lucky this plan might just actually work….Hell, it's not even one of the craziest things we've pulled off"

---

The battle within the CCT was chaos of the most artistic, masterful and violent kind.

Shortly after Team MARZ had arrived and entered the fray the combat had become simply too large and multi-faceted in its' scope to be easily contained and had broken off into smaller skirmishes between various parties which interfered, interacted and interchanged with one another at a regular pace as the fight went on, creating a whole host of dynamic hazards for all involved.

Currently Astra and Regalia were attempting to overwhelm Gestalt-Prime with limited success.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE HAVE A GRUDGE MATCH!" the monstrous amalgamation of nightmarish flesh and metal screamed, dripping oozing and tar-like viscera from its' various wounds as it charged at the two Faunus, its' right wing spewing gouts of fire whilst its' left wing could only belch out choking smog and sputtering gasps of flame as the Alpha's regenerative abilities were slow to take hold after receiving so much trauma in such a short period.

"Regalia, throw me!"Astra called out, taking the harpoon component of Apex Scavenger and using their opponents' reduced momentum to unleash what had become a staple part of the arsenal they shared with their partner, the moved based heavily on one made famous by their former teacher Yang Xiao Long and her wife; Regalia acted without hesitation and swung the Deer Faunus horizontally and counter-clockwise with all her might and sending Astra hurtling, knee-first into the snout of Gestalt-Prime.

"Come get some, ugly!" they declared, voice low yet filled with a sudden unwavering confidence as they took the harpoon they had clung to and jammed it forcefully into the upper shoulder of the Grimm before it could rear up to its' full height and lash out, sloppy and uncoordinated with its' lower pair of arms and its' body remaining hunched over so that it could fight the Faunus more effectively. Astra blocked and weaved around this pair of blows before retaliating with practised ease, their left leg in the lead as they performed a front leg sweep in order to force Gestalt-Prime to hastily adjust their footing only for the sweep to be effortlessly transitioned into a high crescent kick which caught their lower jaw as it swung back around, the momentum then being thrown into a roundhouse kick from the back leg which smashed Gestalt-Prime's lower arm and remaining tendrils aside as the sentient monster attempted to counter and finally Astra launched themselves into a spinning roundhouse kick which struck their opponent clean in the face with a bone-rattling impact which shook the air.

And yet Gestalt-Prime still stood.

"Shit!" Astra yelled as they instinctively threw their arms in front of their face and activated the shield generators of Buckshot Ares, a concave wall of rose-tinted Hard-light panels forming as the hulking abomination opened its' maw wide and spat a viscous, steaming substance which immediately left the translucent panels it struck flickering and faltering and from there the Grimm reared up and slammed its' bulging upper limbs against the hard-light shield in an ape-like display of brute force which sent Astra skidding backwards along the ground as the concussive force travelled along their arms despite their shields.

At which point Regalia launched herself into action.

"Going airborne!" she yelled with ecstatic enthusiasm and bushy tail swaying as she retracted the harpoon which Astra had sunk in the Grimm's shoulder which in turn sent the nomad sailing up and over Gestalt-Prime until she was directly above them and racing downward at breakneck speed; without hesitation she aimed Apex Scavenger at the back of the Grimm's neck and blasted chunks of the ragged, fleshy hood lined with teeth drawn over its' lupine skull which had remained part of the Alpha since it had been a simple Geist with her shotgun until finally landed on the back of Gestalt-Prime and ripped her harpoon free so that she could shift Apex Scavenger into its' pickaxe-headed staff form and prepare to swing the weapon at the mechanism of the Grimm's gun.

"NO!" Gestalt-Prime shrieked, thrashing violently and using its' remaining tendrils to reach around its' arms and wings onto its' own back and ensnare Regalia's ankle before dragging the Racoon Faunus to the ground and, with a sickening crunch and visible rippling of Aura stomp forcefully on her face.

"REGALIA!" Astra's scream filled the air an instant before the sound of their guns firing drowned it out as they aimed and unleashed Buckshot Ares in all its' destructive might, glass shattering behind Gestalt-Prime as the Alpha itself screamed and thrashed, bullets riddling its' body until Regalia, through supreme effort and willpower managed to free herself by taking her staff, its' base formed by the ubiquitous harpoon component and driving that sharp edge through the calf of a digitigrade leg before taking each end of the shaft in one hand and using the weapon which was now impaled through the leg of Gestalt-Prime as a lever to force the monster off of her and scramble free, revealing in the process that her nose was now bleeding freely and likely broken whilst the heavy, amethyst tinted goggles she wore had been crushed beyond recognition.

Gestalt-Prime shrieked in agony and incoherent rage as Astra pulled their partner to safety, propping themselves up on one leg and their lower limbs to give themselves a stable base as they aimed and fired their back mounted cannon the moment their two opponent were close enough to one another to be struck by the same blow. The bone projectile tore through the air yet failed to find its' mark, instead crashing through a series of glyphs which were replaced as fast as they could be shattered mere millimetres apart from one another until finally the shot was robbed of all power and momentum and fell to the ground.

The interference being all Athena-Jade could contribute before she was forced to deal with her own opponent.

She and Zirconia had found themselves facing off against Carmesi Hueso and the Komodo Faunus proved with every exchange just how easy he had been going on the students during their previous encounters for reasons that Athena was in no position or frame of mind to question him about. It had become obvious early on in their fight that Zirconia's Semblance would be more of a detriment on this occasion as it would only deny the two of them the chance to help their friends, allow Gestalt-Prime to attack them without warning and most importantly leave Carmesi himself with no choice other than to kill the Grasshopper Faunus rather than attempt to break away and fight the Alpha himself as he had done on more than one occasion.

At that moment however the rogue Hunter was focused solely on Athena-Jade.

"The Grimm is mine, too much has been sacrificed for this!" he rumbled as took advantage of her momentary distraction to deliver a leaping knee-strike to her face, followed with perfect timing and precision by a front kick as he landed which struck the Bear Faunus in her chest and despite the armoured vest she wore, managed to lift her into the air and send crashing to the ground rolling head over heels.

"TOO MANY PEOPLE'S LIVES!" Athena roared as she sprung to her face with her customary athleticism and swung Mould-Breaker in its' hammer form, contrail of pale green light trailing behind its' head as its' rocket booster kicked in only for the blow to be met and halted by Carmesi as the reptilian swung both of his blades down on the shaft of the hammer and force Athena into a grapple which shook the entire room as they met

"YOU THINK IT WAS A DECISION I MADE EASILY!" Carmesi spat back, crimson eyes filled with rage "EVERYTHING THAT HAD BEEN DONE HAS BEEN DONE TO MAKE A BETTER REMNANT, THOSE WHO HAVE PAID FOR IT WILL BE REMEMBERED WHEN MY BENEFACTOR-"

'Gravity! Lightning!'

"Enough talk!" Zirconia yelled, voice filled with rare force and vitriol as the shot she fired smashed Carmesi off-balance and left him struggling to maintain his grip on his weapons, inhumanly sharp teeth gritted as lightning travelled across his scaly hide in irregular arcs; which in turn allowed Athena to free herself from the tangle of weapons they had been locked in, twirling around and bringing her hammer to bear for an upward swing.

"HOPS!" she called out to her partner who had already launched herself into the air to deliver a punishing kick to Carmesi's face but the more experienced fighter once again proved himself more than capable of answering this as he swung Vindication out and used the curved edge of the machete to hook around Zirconia's mechanical ankle and drag her out of her intended trajectory, pivoting and throwing her with an Aura-empowered burst of strength towards one of the windows which had been shattered in the fight.

Athena's scream of terror sounded dreadful even to her own ears.

In an instant her palm was outstretched and glyphs were forming to create a pathway which Zirconia could use to sprint across open air and back into the building, the Bear Faunus focusing her entire being on this single task so entirely that she made no effort to dodge or protect herself at all as Carmesi brought his spinning motion around and aimed Retribution in its' shotgun form directly at her chest; firing with a booming report which flung Athena across the room, her Aura rippling as she was sent crashing to the ground and sucking in painful gasps of air.

"You know" Carmesi rumbled as he advanced of her, gesturing to the badly healed scar running along his bare chest "Everything else I've done has been for a noble cause….But you carved me open and while I'm not so cruel as to return the favour, I do want some kind of justice for-"

he was silenced by Zirconia delivering a flying kick to his skull which left crimson Aura visibly rippling and faltering in waves that travelled out from the point of impact.

"Get away from her!" even with her face covered Athena-Jade could tell that her partner wore an expression of righteous fury as she back-flipped out of the flying kick and delivered a follow up front kick as she landed, cybernetic legs giving off a hydraulic hiss as she unleashed all of her might and left Carmesi doubled over, retching as though he might vomit with his Aura still wavering around him before she dropped low into a spinning leg sweep which took the rogue Hunter to the ground at which point she loomed over him, suddenly looking every part the mysterious and ominous figure her attire cast her as as she raised her weapon and prepared to deliver a decisive blow.

"NOT HERE, NOT NOW!" Carmesi thundered, Semblance exploding outwards and tearing through everything in its' path; drawing a pained exclamation from Zirconia which had Athena springing into motion before she could even think as her heart leapt into her mouth. Time seemed to slow to irrelevance as the explosion of crimson spikes faded away, revealing that Zirconia was whole but still bloodied as the Komodo Dragon Faunus's attack had left her with a gash above her right eye which vanished into her hairline and left her face a stained mask; the reptilian himself leapt back to his feet and kicked the insectoid Faunus clear across the room with enough force to have her topple over one of the few desks that remained standing. Athena felt as though she could hear every minute mechanical sound of her weapons' transformation as she aimed Mould-Breaker in its' laser cannon form, watching Carmesi's eyes widen in suddenly fearful comprehension as a lance of jade green light burst forward; he leapt aside and Athena saw her attack blast through empty space and tear into the wall of an adjacent building before she could hastily try to adjust her aim.

Then the true reason for Carmesi's fear became apparent.

Athena felt herself be tackled to the ground, the skin tone of the lean but powerful form pinning her revealing it to be Regalia whilst out of the corner of her eye the Bear Faunus saw Astra fling themselves in font of where Zirconia had fallen, a sight which allowed her to breathe freely for the split second it took Gestalt-Prime to rocket overhead and launch themselves at Carmesi. The rogue Hunter had realised that he was the intended target of two opponents and that he could only hope to counteract one, realising a moment too late that he had chosen wrong as the Alpha Grimm batted their attempt at a wild slashing attack aside with both pairs of their arms, sending Carmesi staggering back until they were so close to the edge of the windows that when their weapons finally slipped from slack fingers they clattered on the precipice for a moment before tumbling out of view and then, with a sense of inevitability Gestalt-Prime let out a guttural, grating snarl as they leaned close to the Hunter.

"I was so close" Carmesi's voice cracked and wavered, his lost and defeated expression made ghoulish by the dried blood covering him "So close to the new beginning"

"Game over" Gestalt-Prime repeated their earlier assertion "Would you like to continue?"

With a final wordless yell Carmesi attempted to use his Semblance one last time, tearing the narrow strip of battered ground on which he stood asunder beneath the in the desperate hope that he could at least deliver a critical blow to the Grimm, only for Gestalt-Prime to aim and fire their cannon directly into his chest and reduce the corona of bloody spears that threatened to impale them again to a distant point in the sky as Carmesi was flung clear of the CCT tower, Semblance failing him as he fell and Aura visibly flickering until he vanished from view amidst the smoke-filled battlefield that Port Alistair's skyline had become.

Each of Team MARZ felt their blood run cold as Gestalt-Prime turned their attention to the teenagers, yet still each of them rose to their feet and regrouped; weapons at the ready as they retreated towards one another.

"Astra….can you use your Semblance again?" Regalia asked, voice filled with tenuous hope.

"I don't know" the Deer Faunus admitted, real fear seeping though as any bravado they might have attempted proved itself inadequate.

"What's the plan?" Athena asked, bracing herself beside Zirconia.

"I don't know" Astra repeated, readying their weapons and willing their mind and body to co-operate as Gestalt-Prime took a single lumbering step forward, lone eye menacing beneath its' visor and forked tongue darting out to lap at teeth that had started to regrow over the course of the fight whilst the monster experimentally flexed the muscles interwoven with its' damaged wing, finding that some motion and power had returned to the mechanical limb before focusing on Team MARZ entirely and offering what could only be a threat.

"Encore, encore!"

---

Carcharodon Gore was in his element.

Truthfully the Shark Faunus would much rather have been where he felt his place was as a representative of the warlike tribe of pirates and marauders hailing from the icy Northern reaches of Anima bordering on the sea they shared with the continent of Solitas which had raised him and which he was now the nominal leader of despite how little that title mean with less than a handful of their number remaining, namely in the thick of battle where he could loose the Red Waves and cleave through Grimm in an orgy of violence until his appetites were sated however the situation within Port Alistair called for the more collected manner of leadership he had found himself growing into with more and more time spent away from the rush of direct combat.

He had been called a diplomat and even now he was not sure that the word had not been meant as an insult.

With the Frost River Tribe reduced almost to extinction before both his own rise to power within it and the formation of the Anima Diaspora as an official political entity under the leadership of the young, yet incredibly promising and forward thinking Syneffo Nikos Carcharodon had the natural choice for the young head of the Nikosi to approach when she needed both an advisor, one who would deal with her bluntly and without reservations but also a naval commander capable of fashioning a serviceable seafaring force out of the disparate groups of fighters with their myriad approaches to battle that the various tribes fielded along with the limited and largely second-hand collection of ships, both mercantile and battle-ready that she had procured.

It was this Carcharodon, stern and imposing yet possessed of an unmistakable sense of charisma and gravitas, the same Carcharodon Gore, head of Team GORE and Captain of the Nemesis Kharybdis who had gone on to become something of a legend in his own time, especially in the city of Neo Vale which he now called home as it was where his vessel was most often docked and where he was revered and beloved by the orphans of the city as a favoured uncle or something similar who oversaw the battle for the seas. The coastal defences were holding well against the roiling masses of seafaring monsters assaulting them which seemed, by the Shark Faunus's estimations to be far less significant and more haphazardly assembled than those throwing themselves against the walls as though the naval battle had been a mere afterthought, a notion which left Carcharodon's pure black eyes narrowed in disgust at the insult and his jagged teeth bared as he rasped out one series of orders after another, conducting the sailors who had entrusted themselves to his command and the Hunters serving aboard their ships with well-honed expertise and ruthless, remorseless effect. The Grimm were yet to breach the shields which had been fully serviced following the attack of the Dread-Hulk some months ago and the defenders were acquitting themselves admirably, to Carcharodon's surprise and slight displeasure as it forced him to alter the disparaging assessment he gave to any seafaring fighter born on dry land.

This was not to say however that the grey-skinned and tattooed warrior was entirely removed from the battle.

"YES, COME AND MEET YOUR ENDS!" the challenge left him in a haunting, mocking sneer as his hands darted across the controls of the command bridge of the Nemesis Kharybdis; aiming and firing broadside and anti-aircraft guns so that they could stitch fire across the sky and rip into flocks of aerial Grimm which had managed to wing their way across the entire breadth of Port Alistair and were now attempting to aid their aquatic kin by targeting the shields from within.

"BURN! PERISH! ALL OF YOU….DAMN THIS ACCURSED MACHINE!" the Shark Faunus struck the console nearest to him with a forceful and resounding blow before realising what he had done and staring in abject disgust and horror at his own hand as though he might cut it off, uttering a hushed apology to his ancestors in his native tongue for his transgression and collecting himself.

To his people each of their ships was a sacred artefact, a home and a temple which represented the manifest fighting spirit of the tribe as a whole yet the sanctity was doing little to aid Carcharodon, who would freely admit that anything computerised was outside of his usual remit as he continued to grapple and struggle with systems that had been slowed for months by some internal matter that Eagle Arc had so far been unable to identify.

"I forget myself….I'm becoming as decadent as you" Carcharodon chided himself quietly, the latter half of the comment being directed at sneak, the glossy black cat which seemed to grow more rotund every day as it fed well upon the readily available feasts within the port city and was currently curled up comfortably atop a nearby control panel as though nothing of note were happening. Shaking his head and trying not to wonder about when exactly he had become the sort of pirate leader who kept such animal and engaged in discussions with them Carcharodon took control of the ships' surface to air defences once again and allowed himself a menacing leer of triumph as he reduced Creatures of Grimm down to their constituent parts.

With the moment being intruded upon shortly thereafter by Felix Xiao Long contacted him.

"Car, we've got a problem and we're gonna need you're help"

"Naturally" the Shark Faunus rasped out, unable to keep a slightly smug tone from his voice and needle his fellow team leader in the name of the rivalry that had once existed between them and had long since become friendly bickering; though it quickly became apparent that the Lion Faunus was in no mood.

"Damn it listen!" Felix snapped "The CCT is under attack!"

"A problem to be sure" Carcharodon's voice was more even now, lowered and calculating

"The rogue Hunters we fought on the Dread-Hulk are fighting with the hybrid Alpha Grimm that they've been trying to capture, the Grimm leading this whole attack….Team MARZ have gone after them and are planning on holding the line until we get there, problem is there's so many Grimm headed that way I don't know if we can make it"

"I see" Carcharodon nodded solemnly "With time I could cross the city and aid them….If your sibling wishes to lead their team to an honourable last stand then I would indulge-"

"NO!" Felix shouted him down and hastily continued "Listen, what I need you to do is prime the ships rail gun and get ready to fire. I'm going to put you in contact with Astra and synch up their scroll so you can use it for targeting, if we get this right you should be able to take out the Grimm without destroying the tower….Or hitting Team MARZ. Can you do it?"

"Felix, the matter of interference with the ships' systems-"

"Can you do it Car?" the urgency in Felix's tone, coupled with the knowledge that the Lion Faunus would never risk such an endeavour involving either their younger sibling or Athena-Jade Slate were the situation not desperate beyond measure were enough to draw a resigned sigh from Carcharodon and a nod which went unseen.

"I will bring you the head of that Grimm" he answered matter-of-factly "Now let me work"

With that he began the process of preparing the ships' main gun and was immediately beset by problems.

Whatever was attacking the computers of the Nemesis Kharybdis had branched out from simply slowing down various systems and randomly moving or duplicating files, for some time now the artificial intelligence which ran many of the vessels' day to day affairs, a holdover from its' initial forging as an Atlesian transport vessel had been hindered and eroded until finally it had been disabled as it no longer functioned and it was with a sense of open fury that Carcharodon realised this same mechanical malady had spread to his ships' targeting systems; a blight upon the very soul of his dwindling tribe which lay beyond his ability to heal. Even with this new development set against him the Shark Faunus began powering up the rail gun and turned the targeting systems, uncooperative as they were towards the CCT Tower and began searching for an angle of attack that they could move the Nemesis Kharybdis into in order to claim his prize without cutting a bloody swathe through the city first; only for the ships' computer to begin minutely adjusting its' settings as though another pair of hands were manning the controls elsewhere and overriding the wishes of its' rightful captain.

It was with a blinding stab of hatred, followed by a creeping sense of deep, icy and venomous suspicion that Carcharodon made a realisation.

For reasons he could not fathom whoever had interfered with his ship did not want the Hybrid Alpha Grimm to be destroyed.

---

Team MARZ continued to fight against Gestalt-Prime with every ounce of strength, courage and determination they could muster yet despite their incredible efforts the monster remained relentless and continued to beat them back at every turn, forcing the flow of the battle to a series of grinding and crashing stalemates as the Alpha was kept from abandoning the battle entirely in favour of seeking their true objective whilst the teenage Hunters could seemingly do nothing to truly slow or incapacitate them with the only small mercy being that whatever reserves of inhuman stamina Gestalt-Prime could draw upon had been so depleted that their regenerative abilities had slowed somewhat.

Something put to the test by Athena-Jade Slate as she called out to her partner.

"Hops! Fast ball special!" the Bear Faunus hefted and swung her hammer around her as she charged across the devastated remains of what had been an open office space and Zirconia acted without hesitation, leaping gracefully into place beside Athena and then onto the head of the oversized hammer with her own weapon at the ready. A moment later the Grasshopper Faunus had launched herself at dangerous velocity at the Alpha Grimm and the visor covering Gestalt-Prime's lone eye shattering could be heard throughout the spacious room as though the sound cut through all around it with a sense of importance as Zirconia landed a flying kick before using the uniquely arranged joints of her cybernetic legs throw herself upwards, where those same limbs clung to the ceiling with the same ease with which she scaled the walls of Breaktide Academy.

'Gravity! Hard-light!' Sunrise Cain declared its' users' intent yet Gestalt-Prime was still unable to avoid the blow as a lance of semi-solid light burst from the tip of the cylindrical sword and skewered through its' upper shoulder and down into the ground below.

"Regalia now!" Astra's urgent command filled the air an instant before the Deer Faunus readied the guns and blades of Buckshot Ares and prepared to fire, their partner using her harpoon to skewer the opposite shoulder of the Grimm so that she and Zirconia could hold it in place for at least a moment.

"I'VE GOT IT!" Athena yelled, completing the charge that she had begun alongside her partner and engaging her weapons' rocket booster to transform her swing into a blur of light whose impact sounded like the dull boom of the sound barrier breaking as it flung Gestalt-Prime's skull back with a sickening crunch.

Yet still the Grimm stood.

"GET OUT THE WAY!" Astra yelled as they watched Athena throw herself into one of the acrobatic movements akin to breakdancing she often favoured in order to leap onto a waiting glyph and bring her hammer around for a second strike; before the blow could come Gestalt-Prime's skull snapped back down to fix its' lone eye upon the Bear Faunus with endless malevolence and the few remaining vestigial tendrils still thrashing around its' form lashed out at blinding speed to wrap themselves around the shaft of Mould-Breaker, instinctively Athena-Jade prepared to shift the weapon into its' cannon form and fire at point blank range only for Gestalt-Prime's lower arms, unhindered by the weapons currently skewering it reached out and grasped the Faunus, plucking her from her shimmering platform and slamming her bodily into the ground. From there the Alpha took a single step forward, shrieking in pain and defiance as they forced themselves onwards even as the movement allowed Zirconia's hard-light lance to sear and carve through more of their nightmarish flesh.

It was then that Astra acted.

The Deer Faunus moved without thinking, knowing only that they could not risk firing their guns with Athena so close to Gestalt-Prime and once again unaware of the way their eyes shifted from sea-green to glowing sunset red as their Aura began to take physical form and expand outwards from them, though this time they were at least conscious of the way their strides lengthened as their Semblance began to take hold until their Antlers and Mohawk cut scorching trails into the ceiling above as they rushed towards the Grimm and reared their right hand back for a crushing blow.

Gestalt-Prime shot the Aura construct in the chest.

Astra's world was engulfed in pain and a moment of time was lost to them entirely as they felt as though they had simply appeared in their new location, such was the force of the explosion which struck the point their true body inhabited within the Aura-self and blasted the Faunus clear of it entirely, their Aura rippling and wavering around them. Dragging themselves into a sitting position and slumping against what might once have been an office chair Astra tried desperately to make sense of the garbled sensations that their body was urging them to take note of.

Firstly and of the most immediate importance to the leader of Team MARZ they could hear the sounds of ongoing violence, even despite the ringing in their ears which told them that their friends had not been overwhelmed; their vision spun yet through the swirling and incoherent mess of colour they could make out the flash and thrumming sound of Mould-Breaker being fired, indicating that they had at least distracted Gestalt-Prime enough to allow Athena to escape; beyond that Astra's body was left convulsing and shaking for several seconds as damaged bone and muscle seemed unwilling to let them so much as draw breath until, in an odd confusion of priorities they became suddenly aware of the fact that their scroll was vibrating and in their disoriented confusion felt that it would be important to answer.

"Yeah?" they managed to choke out, answering the device without opening it and managing to hastily stuff an earpiece into place, lest Gestalt-Prime see the scroll and be reminded of their real purpose at the CCT Tower.

"Whelp, listen well" the unmistakable rasping tones of Carcharodon Gore demanded with a sincere urgency far removed from the sneering scorn he often reserved for Astra.

"Car-" they managed to wheeze out through what they were almost certain was a damaged lung.

"Listen!" the Shark Faunus spat "Your brother and his team are on the way but they are facing resistance and so they ask me to come to your rescue….By all accounts you've fought well child"

"Thanks" Astra offered a weak, painful chuckle which Carcharodon chose not to dignify with an answer.

"Some outside force, some….There is no word in your tongue, dares defile my ship with their thieving hand" the former marauder continued "They are interfering with the targeting of the Nemesis Kharybdis, however I can still make the shot, Felix has arranged it in such a way that I can use your scroll. Understand what you must be whelp; get that Grimm to remain still and then be clear of both it and your scroll, I presume you have an earpiece-"

"Yeah" Astra whispered "Yeah I can do that….Give me a few seconds"

"I'll be listening for your word" Carcharodon rasped "And be careful Astra, I have no plans to kill you by accident"

With that the leader of Team MARZ turned their attention solely towards the ongoing battle, forgetting Carcharodon for a few moments and watching as Athena-Jade, Regalia and Zirconia weaved around the rampaging monstrosity they fought as it shrieked and spat challenges at them until finally, in a stroke of inspiration the likes of which superseded all other daring and unthinkable plans they had concocted thus far the way forward made itself known to them and Astra leapt to their feet, disregarding the waves of pain that coursed through them as they sprung back into action.

"Help is on the way guys and I've got a plan!"

"Great! What do we do?" Athena-Jade shot back as she dodged a slash of an oversized forearm that had been freed, though now spewed black ichor from a horrific wound torn into it by the Alpha's own struggling, the snowy haired girl leaping onto a hovering glyph only be forced to flip away a moment later as a tendril crashed into the shimmering surface.

"YOU DIE!" Gestalt-Prime shrieked, their attention being redirected an instant later as Regalia brought Apex Scavenger overhead in both hands and slammed the pickaxe head down on the Grimm's back with a booming impact that left the monster vomiting up a foul slurry of dark ichor and the corrosive substance it vomited as a weapon; from there the Racoon Faunus ripped her weapon free and rushed over to Astra whilst Athena moved in the opposite direction to where Zirconia was crouching and taking cover, absently shaking her head as if clearing away a fog of dizziness and wiping at the blood which had spilled over her face from the gash above her eye.

"AJ cover Zirconia, all the glyphs you can manage!" Astra called over to the pair as they braced themselves "Zirconia can you use your Semblance?"

"I can….But you haven't told us what you're planning-"

"Help is coming" Astra reiterated "I just need you to buy a few seconds" in apparent understanding Zirconia nodded and dropped into a kneeling position and braced herself with a slow, calming breath before staring dead ahead at where Gestalt-Prime stood, snarling in apprehension; the whites of her eyes being subsumed beneath an all-encompassing darkness which made the irises of her mismatched eyes glow before manifest darkness began to swirl around them all, chilling the air as it formed the familiar barrier of Phantasmagoria.

"Sensor error! Error four-oh-four, LOOKS LIKE WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK FOLKS!" Gestalt-Prime screamed and roared, concern becoming audible in their inhuman and barely coherent ranting as the monsters' keen senses and digital readings were left entirely unusable by the total sensory blackout being imposed on them until, in a sudden moment of clarity they let out an animal snarl and began to advance on the Grasshopper Faunus, slow and menacing with their lone eye glowing in the void until Athena-Jade planted herself firmly between Zirconia and the Alpha and constructed a wall of interlocking glyphs around the two of them.

"Regalia, throw me and then take cover!" Astra ordered, holding out an expectant hand yet finding the harpoon of Apex Scavenger was not forthcoming.

"What're you going to do?" Regalia asked and for a moment Astra considered telling her exactly what their plan would entail, then hesitated as they realised that doing so would force the Racoon Faunus to be responsible for a decision that she would have to live with afterwards, deciding that they would be the one to take the consequences of their plan, in their entirety Astra instead locked eyes with their partner and instead simply asked.

"Do you trust me?" the moment stretched out forever in the darkness, Regalia's jaw working silently as purple eyes conveyed every conceivable emotion at once until finally after what felt like a lifetime condensed into a single instant she gave the only answer that she could, knowing even without the aid of Look-See that her choice was the correct one and speaking with gentle but total sincerity.

"To infinity and beyond"

Then throw me!" this time Regalia pressed her harpoon into Astra's hand and released its' retractable cable before swinging with all her might and sending the Deer Faunus hurtling across the open space in a wide, flying arc that sent them on a collision course with Gestalt-Prime just a the Alpha Geist was drawing near to what might have been the centre of the void; a spot that the Deer Faunus had estimated before Phantasmagoria had gone into effect as the perfect position for their plan.

They let go of the harpoon.

For the third time in the space of less than an hour Astra used their newly discovered Semblance, though for the first time it was consciously done and even with their failing, strained Aura struggling around them and forming an enlarged and expanded presence that was absent in certain areas, like fabric that had worn thin and come apart the construct of glowing red light managed to match Gestalt-Prime in height and Astra, acting on instinct and a sense of pure, unfettered self-belief and unshakeable purpose of the sort they had sought since their initial decision to become a Hunter wrapped their arms around the hybrid Alpha from behind, pinning all four of their arms to their sides even as the last shredded and regrowing vestigial tendrils and mauled remains of their tail lashed under the Faunus's grasp and sought to pull their physical form free of their Aura until, certain that the moment was right Astra yelled out to Carcharodon who had been standing by and waiting.

"DO IT NOW! FIRE!" Astra held on for as long as physically possible, every moment feeling as though every nerve in their body was being set ablaze and time slowing to a crawl for long enough for them to see the look of utter hopelessness and grief-stricken loss and betrayal on their partners' face as Regalia realised at the last possible second what Astra had done.

And then everything faded into brilliant white, followed by darkness.

---

The moment Carcharodon Gore fired the main weapon of the Nemesis Kharybdis was felt, both literally and figuratively across Port Alistair.

In the most little sense the impact of the blast sent a shock-wave of force rippling out from the CCT tower, a wave of pressure which shattered every remaining window within the skyscraper sized building and visibly bowed its' structure whilst somehow, in a display of the Shark Faunus's abilities meeting pure good fortune managing to leave the array which connected the city and to a large extent the Kingdom of Menagerie to Remnant's communication network undamaged even as the blast rumbled through the ground and was felt across several streets. The figurative shock-wave was decidedly more far reaching in its' effects however as all across Port Alistair, in what would seem to anyone capable of watching the entire city as a single scene as though a single trembling shiver had passed through the tide of monsters assaulting it which expanded outwards from the CCT tower the Creature of Grimm came skidding and grinding to a halt, blinking and letting out animal sounds of disarray and confusion as base instinct cascaded over the portion of their collective psyche where thoughts that were alien in their order and complexity had emerged from. The battle renewed once again in a matter of moments however it had become apparent to every experienced Hunter now involved in the fighting that a change had taken place and that the tide of battle had shifted in the favour of those defending their homes as hundreds of the horrors were cut down without pause in their brief moment of hesitation and those that remained no longer displayed the tenacity or cunning that they had previously possessed, reduced to simply thrashing and savaging anything that they were capable of in away that allowed the Hunters, along with the cities' defence forces and the sizeable contingent of armoured vehicles and air-support at their disposal to begin pushing the Grimm back and start the long process of reclaiming Port Alistair street by street.

Whilst Team FADE simply stared in abject shock at what they had witnessed.

The four of them had been close, almost within reach of the tower itself when their ship had discharged its' rail gun into the tower where first year students fought on their behalf; the force of the blast throwing both them and the Grimm they had been in the process of fighting in a desperate bid to keep them from joining their Alpha to the ground and forcing Team FADE to take cover beneath Arctus's frantically raised glyphs as wreckage and debris ripped through the street, ricocheting from walls and bouncing as it struck the ground to create a maelstrom of falling and glass and metal which left the street filled with fading wisps of smoke and shattered fragments where Creatures of Grimm had once stood; their daze as mental feedback from Gestalt-Prime leaving them too stunned to react.

"They actually did it!" Diamond exclaimed as she pulled herself back to her feet, cherry red eyes panning the street whilst her rifle followed the motion as she sought out any lingering monsters that might have escaped the carnage; beside her Felix, Arctus and Eagle rose to their feet and brushed dust and detritus from their clothes with the two Faunus men taking several moments to gather their bearings and steady themselves as the after effects were more keenly felt by those with heightened senses. The mention of Team MARZ however was enough to bring Felix back to his senses and have the Lion Faunus hurriedly adjusting his earpiece and fumbling for his scroll as he tried to reach Carcharodon and speaking louder than was necessary as the ringing in his own ears persisted.

"Car! What happened?"

"The shot was….forced off target by less than a meter. We have been conspired against" the Shark Faunus's words would have sent a dreadful chill through each of Team FADE under any other circumstances however in that moment Felix's thought would not be steered away from the question to which he currently demanded an answer with every fibre of his being.

"What about Astra?"

"I lost contact with them after they gave the all clear to fire" Carcharodon admitted and with those words the chill finally set in, robbing Felix of the ability to stand, ice filling his very soul as he sunk to his knees and stared up at the blackened and gaping wound several stories in height which passed through the entirety of the CCT tower, allowing blue sky stained with smoke and fire to be seen through it. A moment later he felt Arctus's hand clamp down on his shoulder as the Bear Faunus dragged him back to his feet and directed his attention towards a glowing, flickering plane as it descended with a series of fitful, irregular motions from what remained of the floors torn apart by the rail-gun on the opposite side of the building.

"LOOK!" he yelled, hope and recognition shining brightly on his face "IT'S A GLYPH!"

"Holy crap they did it, they made it!" Eagle added, freckled face regaining some of the colour that had drained from it at the thought of what they might find and in the next instant Felix was sprinting as fast as his wavering limbs would carrying him.

Team FADE found Team MARZ several meters down the street, away from the tower and huddling around something hidden from view.

As they drew closer the older and more experienced Hunters saw that Regalia Russet's signature goggles were broken and that her right arm hung limply at her side where it had been pulled painfully from its' socket, an inspection of her weapon and its' many bent and strained components coupled with some deduction would suggest that the harpoon component Apex Scavenger had still been too close to Gestalt-Prime when the Nemesis Kharybdis opened fire and that she had been dragged to the ground as it began to collapse under her. Zirconia Shadowmoon sported several small and minor injuries whose presence indicated that her Aura had been broken entirely and was unable to heal them; along with dents and scuffs littering her polished silver armour and cybernetic legs and a bloody gash above her right eye which, along with the pain of Phantasmagoria being shattered from without left her cradling her skull as her senses tried to adjust to the influx of information. Athena-Jade Slate's pale flesh was littered with a mass of bruises which would certainly extend beyond what was visible and cover even the parts of her body which she covered with light armour, all sustained during the various points of the battle where she had sought to protect her partner though her most serious injury came in the form of her right leg which trailed behind her as she crouched, ankle twisted at a sickeningly unnatural ankle after her glyph had failed as he Aura finally gave out before she could reach the ground safely.

The three of the were gathered around Astra.

"They held the Grimm in place and told Car to fire" Athena's voice was hollow, numb with shock as though even as she recounted what she had seen she could still not believe it.

"HELP THEM, THEY CAN'T DIE!" Regalia's scream, hoarse and ragged would etch itself into the memories of Team FADE as much as the mangled form of the Deer Faunus themselves.

Astra lay in a pool of blood, smears and stains on the ground nearby marking where they had struck the ground and continued to travel; their clothes were torn to shreds though their friends had already laid the tattered remains of their signature red jacket across a torso that Felix almost retched at the sight of as he caught a glimpse, pale brown skin visibly burned away to reveal raw flesh beneath it whilst his younger siblings limbs lay strewn at impossible angles, the broken bones leaving them misshapen and in almost poetic display, somehow most pitiful of all was the sight Astra's left antler, broken and with a little under half of its' original length remaining whilst the missing portion was nowhere to be found.

Yet hope came, almost perversely as Astra's body convulsed and a choking, sputtering gasp spattered their own blood across their face. They were unconscious and likely comatose yet undeniably alive, which coupled with the fact that there was no trace of Gestalt-Prime to be found suggested that the Deer Faunus's ploy had worked even without the sacrifice they had intended to make to ensure it.

"They're alive!" Felix was beside them in an instant, one hand clutching at Astra's whilst the other reached for their scroll again "Come on kid you're gonna be okay, you're gonna pull through; we're gonna get you to a doctor….COCO GET A MEDICAL EVAC ON MY LOCATION RIGHT NOW! WE'VE GOT A STUDENT IN CRITICAL CONDITION! LIFE THREATENING INJURIES!"

The severity of the words and the terrified voice they had been delivered in, from the usually fearless Lion Faunus was enough to undercut any sense of victory that might have been possible, even as Coco Adel assured the gathered Hunters that help was coming and that the Creatures of Grimm were being routed across the city.

It had come too close to costing entirely too much.

---

Against all odds Carmesi Hueso was still alive.

The Komodo Dragon Faunus had survived being flung from one of the tallest structures on the island of Menagerie through good fortune, circumstance, their own resilience and if Carmesi himself were correct a sense of purpose which now seemed ever closer to fate or destiny.

His fall had been broken by a hasty and largely failed attempt at a landing strategy which had slowed his descent enough for the last, faltering dregs of his Aura along with the abandoned car he had struck, a convertible which had by some chance or providence been driving through the city with its' roof down to keep his body from being reduced to a crimson spatter upon hitting the ground. Even despite all of this Carmesi was wounded to a degree that would have left a man less inspired by the surety of their own purpose reduced to a bleeding and immobile husk; his bones were broken in places more numerous and varied than he cared to consider and the blood he dredged up with every stabbing attempt at a breath, dark and viscous as it was convinced the rogue Hunter that he was bleeding internally to a horrific extent. His left eye would not open and his body was littered with lacerations and abrasions, including several places where his scaly Faunus attributes had been torn away by the impact to reveal raw and bloody flesh below, sustained as Carmesi turned in mid air and sought to ensure that he impacted in a way that allowed him to use his own body to cushion the Grimm containment unit.

It was after all far more important than any one person.

The success of this endeavour allowed him to ignore the pain and press on, almost hysterical in the knowledge that his mission might still be possible. Carmesi had seen the final moments of the battle in the tower above that had continued without him, he had watched in awed respect for Team MARZ as they had seemed ready to sacrifice themselves in the blast that had ripped through the building with such force that it threatened briefly to tear the CCT in half; then in naked disbelief and with the faint sparks of hope quickly igniting once more within him he had managed to make sense of what he was witnessing as blurs of colour were ejected at terrifying speeds from the ruined tower; a fiery comet of Aura as one of the students was thrown clear and a mass of darkness which seemed to change shape as though it were not a solid thing at all which travelled through the air with unnatural lightness.

Gestalt-Prime.

With his mangled legs giving way beneath him after a few short steps and his vision swimming and tinged with blood Carmesi dragged himself across the broken ground one painful inch at a time, sinking the blades of his recovered but damaged weapons into the ground and pulling himself onwards to crawl and drag his battered form towards his goal whilst avoiding the place where what could only be Astra Mars had fallen. Every moment felt like an eternity of pain, made bearable only through sheer, unrelenting determination until finally; several streets away from the CCT tower Carmesi Hueso found Gestalt-Prime.

Or more accurately what was left of it.

The rail-gun blast had been realigned by mere inches by an outside force at the last possible moment yet that detail had proven crucial as it had saved both the heroic Deer Faunus and the hybrid Alpha; Gestalt-Prime had been struck in the flank rather than directly and the glancing hit had sent the careening out of the building at superhuman speeds whilst at the same time reducing their body to pulp.

What Carmesi encountered was little more than a primordial slurry from which the first vestiges of a recognisable form were beginning to take shape; Gestalt-Prime had been ripped in half by the blast and their lupine legs and serpentine tail were simply gone along with their right wing, both of their right arms and the few final tendrils that they had still possessed in the final moments of their fight. The remaining hunk of mangled meat and bone rose from a gathering pool of gritty, roiling sludge like an iceberg from an ocean and even here the damage was catastrophic as Gestalt-Prime's left wing and cannon were both present but visibly damaged, their lower left arm was a twisted stump below the elbow and the upper right arm, their final remaining limb grasped feebly at thin air with pitifully weak motions. The bones of the Grimm, reinforced as they had been were splintered and jutted out of obsidian flesh that they had lacerated as they had shattered at odd angles, with the skull of the beast included in this catastrophe; Gestalt-Prime's lone eye was a dim and flickering flame set into a socket that had been left misshapen and widened as the bone around it was broken.

Carmesi forced himself to his feet despite the agony and lurched forward, knowing that time was of the essence and that he would get only one chance.

Staggering over to where the mutilated Grimm was strewn across the floor the Faunus hefted his larger weapon overhead with all the strength he could muster and brought Retribution down in a two-handed chopping motion which struck the point where flesh and metal met with a sickeningly wet tearing sound and then, wit every movement sending lances of pain through his own broken bones Carmesi used the broad, flat blade lined with obsidian teeth to saw, rend and prise away Gestalt-Prime's remaining wing and weapon ripping them free of the reforming body and taking what looked like a sizeable portion of spine and scapula along with them before discarding them without a second glance.

Then he finally unslung the Grimm containment unit from his back.

The device expanded outwards with a whirring and clanking sound followed by a thrumming of power that left a tingling sensation in their hanging around its, reaching several times its' initial size as a central, hexagonal portion of the device made its' way beneath Gestalt-Prime's body, surrounded by concentric circles of rotating metallic panels which hovered ominously in the air as a control node came flashing into life upon the central hexagon, which in turn rose up to hoist the dripping mass of Grimm tissue of the ground.

Seeing that the moment was at hand Carmesi entered a final series of commands and watched with a sense of tranquil euphoria vastly at odds with the scene before him as hard-light emitters began to engage, each concentric ring of metallic components becoming a forcefield within its' own right, forming a multi-layered defence which even Gestalt-Prime's ability to consume its' surroundings could not overcome. From there the containment unit began to collapse on itself once again, the concentric forcefield forming a sphere which then began to condense and compress with an unnerving squelching and cracking sound as Gestalt-Prime's protean body was compacted to fit its' new prison; the shields deposited themselves back into the hexagonal control node and Carmesi watched with bated breath as a series of warning light flashed, flickered and finally turned green as the containment units' displays and readings informed him that Ice and Gravity Dust were being administered in quantities which would serve to immobilise the captured monster further still whilst at the same time pheromones were being pumped into the containment unit from an internal storage space, the compounds intended to supply the Grimm with enough sustenance to keep it from fading away whilst at the same time rendering it incapable of realising that a world beyond its' prison existed.

The Benefactor had done amazing work in designing such a contraption from myriad disparate technologies and Carmesi was left humbled as he took in the sight of the sentient Alpha Grimm which had levelled an entire settlement and struck at the heart of the Kingdom now confined to a box which could be carried in ones' luggage and smuggled across Remnant.

"For a bright new tomorrow" he mumbled weakly, before finally allowing himself to collapse.

Author's Notes:

AND THAT IS HOW YOU DO A FINAL BATTLE!
Oh you like that ending? You think that cliffhanger was insane….Well guess what, we've still got one more chapter left to go.
And I'm not done with you yet I've still got one more card left to play and I promise it will make you flip the table….I've got something I've been holding onto since literally before Chapter 01 to show you. AND YOU'RE GONNA HATE ME FOR IT.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Of course when you know you're loosing you should always say something about delaying the inevitable, it's villain protocol.
Gestalt-Prime said so much in this chapter and honestly it felt like the only bit of levity amidst everything happening….Toxic stalling, yes they made a Pokemon reference.
Grabbing Carmesi just does not work.
That acid spit didn't get any use in the fight with Team WULF but it did okay here.
Oh come on there's no way that either Carmesi or Gestalt-Prime were going out in the first scene, this had to end with Team MARZ making a dramatic entrance.
Gestalt-Prime recognises Team MARZ, the Main Event was the name of the chapter where they first fought.
Astra realised last chapter that if the Grimm start moving towards the CCT it meant that Gestalt-Prime was calling for reinforcements, what we're seeing here with Team FADE is that happening as the Alpha gets outnumbered.
Now this felt more like a 'Proper' Team FADE fight than what we got last chapter, complete with moves like what Diamond did with the glaive and being upside down and Eagle using Sentinel's claws.
Carcharodon and the Nemesis Kharybdis….Because I've been mentioning that ship and something being screwy with it since literally the last volume finale and now it's time to explain.
The fight in the CCT really was just too big to have everyone rushing each other at once.
Astra has their protagonist energy back in full now.
The leg sweep into the kick combo is actually the exact same one that Astra used against the leader of the burglars back in Chapter 01, because callbacks.
Okay, Regalia's nose and goggles are broken but can we also acknowledge that she skewered the Grimm's leg and used the skewer as a fulcrum to throw it off of her, which is bad-ass as hell.
If this were animated the glyph assist would be where the camera panned to the other half of the fight.
Athena-Jade just casually channelling her Aunt Winter there.
Hmm what was Carmesi going to say before Zirconia shut him up?
I was actually going to have more of the fight take place in the open air around the building, using wings, glyphs and Buckshot Ares's glider mode but there was just so much else going on this point.
Flying kick to head mid-monologue….They're protecting each other your honour.
Oof, that face wound is gonna leave a scar.
Athena went ape with the laser cannon but I love the idea of Carmesi looking straight through her and being more concerned about Gestalt-Prime, which Athena didn't even realise because she was preoccupied.
Gestalt-Prime was going to take AJ and Carmesi out in the same hit if Regalia didn't pin her down.
And there he goes….Although you should have known that he wasn't done yet considering I made a point of mentioning that his Aura wasn't broken.
I'm not sure about my writing for Carcharodon in this story, I feel like he's verging on becoming a parody of himself, but at the same time none of it feels wrong in any specific way.
He will never admit that the Kingdoms can field a decent navy, under any circumstances, even if he's the one leading them.
Okay the fact he has a fat cat now which he lets sit on the control panels and talks to mid-battle is something that he would absolutely not have done before, hell he probably won't do it when the other two remaining members of Team GORE are back either.
And now we see what the interference with the ship was for….This exact moment, I've known for a long time that the rail-gun was going to be used to end the fight against Gestalt-Prime.
Someone doesn't want the Grimm destroyed….So, the Benefactor….Now, work out every single person we've seen actually be present on the bridge of the Nemesis Kharybdis in this story, specifically it's bridge and then compare that to a list of who was at Breaktide when Little Fox was attacked.
If Gestalt-Prime could heal at full speed this would have been over a lot quicker.
Okay that flying kick, cling to the ceiling and impale combo was brilliant set up.
Athena-Jade giving Gestalt-Prime the rocket powered hammer-uppercut just for the Grimm to snap its' neck back down to look straight at her, cliché but cinematic.
First Semblance use was against the Land-Shark and they didn't win that fight, second time Gestalt-Prime shot them straight away, rule of three was being prepped for use here.
Getting shot across the room and disoriented so that they could see the fight from a distance and talk to Car was honestly what Astra needed to get their leader brain in gear and start planning.
Carcharodon congratulating Astra on how well they're fighting is a big deal considering their previous interactions.
Can we appreciate that Regalia hit Gestalt-Prime hard enough to make them throw up blood though?
So the plan was Zirconia's Semblance to hide any hint of something going on outside, Athena-Jade's Semblance to cover her and Astra and Regalia throwing a tag-team attack….It had to be a four person move for this scene, it had to be.
Do you trust me? To infinity and beyond….I'm so sorry for what I'm doing to your feelings.
And there's the rule of three….And Astra being the hero.
The Grimm losing all planning capabilities and reverting to instinct is proof that Gestalt-Prime is out of the fight.
And without a concerted plan it's now just a lot of Grimm acting in small groups of a dozen or so spread across a large area with nowhere to run and Hunters all around them, now Port Alistair is safe….Especially when Ruby is on that list of Hunters.
Yeah Felix was right not to celebrate too early.
So they all saw AJ making her way out of the building….Only to run after her and see that she was headed towards Astra had landed after being shot out of the building. Oof.
Okay so all of Team MARZ are scuffed up, AJ's broken ankle came from her glyph failing while she was still a few stories up; just out of exhaustion.
Yeah reminder that Astra is not white, despite being blonde and a natural redhead respectively Felix and Astra are both 'Racially ambiguous but not white-passing' while AJ is actually 'White-passing because Schnee genetics are basically albinism'; in fact the only white person on either Team MARZ or WULF is Wolfram.
Oh yeah, Astra is a mess and it's good that summer break was almost here anywhere because that's gonna need some recovery time….And we finally get Astra with a broken antler, at least one reader has been waiting for that.
Revealed to be alive as they cough blood up onto themselves….Once again, cliché.
Somehow Palpatine, I mean Carmesi is still alive….I jest of course, I actually had an explantation; even if it was a little flimsy.
Y'know as I'm writing this I'm actually noticing a lot of parallels between Carmesi and Astra that were honestly unintentional.
So Carmesi saw the end of the fight and literally dragged himself to where Gestalt-Prime had landed, after the Grimm had been thrown clear of both the building and Astra by Carcharodon's shot which 'Someone' had realigned specifically for that purpose.
Oh yeah, Gestalt-Prime got left looking like 'Insert Superhero here' at the end of the Apokolips War animated movie (Seriously, that was gratuitous, they didn't have to do my girl Starfire like that).
AND HERE IT IS! We finally get to see the containment unit in action; we've seen Carmesi deploy it before but never actually in use….And here it is, it actually works.
Yeah, a little off-hand comment here but the Benefactor didn't so much invent as combine and refine existing tech; we've had hard-light shields in universe for years and already seen that it's an effective way to hold Geists at bay, we've had anti-Grimm pheromones since FADE Legacy year one and Grimm containment units before, just a lot bigger and clunkier; this is just a portable and discreet version.
But now Carmesi has, by all accounts won; I mean Team MARZ saved the day and saved the city….But he has Gestalt-Prime, so now what?

Thank you to OrcPaladinArthur, Lurkweed and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
First of all, have a Ba-dum tsh for that pun.
The Camping line was an OLD Rooster Teeth/RvB callback.
See the thing with Maidens is that I don't really think we've seen them to anything near their full extent in canon yet; we saw a glimpse of it with Fria but nobody else has had the experience...Winter & Penny were new to it, Cinder has had her powers since Vol.03 but spent that whole timeskip in recovery, Raven has had the powers for over a decade but honestly I doubt she's used them for more than small shows of force prior to fighting Cinder given that she was trying to avoid attention.
Ruby could beat Gestalt-Prime, she's more experienced than Carmesi and has an OP Semblance, but the fact that Carmesi could actually effectively keep her away with his own Semblance and force her to divert with his blade throw makes it interesting; he'd probably be one of her tougher opponents.
Who was it was Gestalt-Prime's interface the villains want? The Benefactor wanted an intelligent Grimm before he ever knew what this one could do.
Freezing Felix doesn't actually siphon off any of the heat that he's already converted to excess power...Someone tried that in the Vytal Tournament in FADE: Legacy.
Yeah Hunters, soldiers and hell even the local street gangs are gonna be out in force for this fight, it's their houses getting flattened; they won't be as effective as the Hunters but if current events have taught us anything it's that it might be enough to make a difference, every Russian tank stolen by a Ukranian farmer who towed it away with a tractor is one less tank they have to wage a war with.
The scary part is that Carmesi completely believes that everything he's doing is for the best and that it will all be worth it in the end.
Gotta love awkward lines that work.

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