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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 60: Impacts
Despite their tumultuous arrival to the campus caused by the admittedly not wholly unexpected attentions of the Grimm it had only taken until midweek for the returning students to settle into a vague proximity of their old habits and routine despite an inevitably increasing workload to account for their progression.
Proof of this could be found in the dormitory shared by Team WULF where Laser Greenback had been sharing out breakfast amongst his team-mates, the Vaccuan scavenger having the habit of keeping odd hours which, whilst unsuitable to the regularities of studying and many social norms did at least allow him to wake before many of his peers on occasion and be one of the first to venture to the mess hall where he would promptly take whatever he knew his friends enjoyed, several easily stowable and long-lasting items of food for himself and; whilst distracting cooks with small talk attempt to find and steal anything that he might be able to sell on at a later date, though this was more out of habit than any established or prospective buyers in waiting. Laser's latest foray into casual thievery had been without reward however and so the wiry blonde had returned in time to find his team-mates awake and in the process of readying themselves for the day, with Wolfram having eaten quickly and returned to their shared bathroom in order to resume his daily grooming which had become something of a chore now that he had made a habit of doing something more involved with his hair than simply tying it back into a wolf-tail and keeping the sides well shorn. Ursinia was likewise in the final stages of preparations, of more accurately distracted from them for a moment as she ate, her books littering her bunk where she would soon gather those required for the days' classes along with any other equipment and paraphernalia whilst her boots stood at the foot of the bed with their surfaces gleaming, though the Scorpion Faunus seemed convinced that the spurs adorning them needed additional attention.
Diabla by contrast was by all appearances ready to leave at a moments' notice, fastening her shirt over the training bra that she had worn for a brief morning workout routine, a habit which like the early rising had been acquired during her years of living on Atlesian military bases and it was his gruff and acerbic, if recently less so partner whom Laser directed his attention to.
"Here this came for you….Who even sends letters by post any more?"
"People you owe Lien to" Ursinia offered half-heartedly, not looking up as Laser casually threw a letter that he noticed had been delivered to Team WULF's dormitory in Diabla's general direction before returning his attention to his food and preparations, donning his signature visor though leaving it resting atop his head as he began the process of secreting several utilities such as small hidden blades, smoke bombs a spare scroll and snacks on his person in a display of utilitarian paranoia.
"Who even wants to talk to me?" Diabla grumbled half-distractedly, glowering faintly in her partners' direction as she plucked the letter from where it had fallen and promptly opened it.
Only for her cheeks to begin to colour as she read the contents of the letter.
"No….fucking….way" Laser's nasal tone was first reduced to an awed whisper and then threatened to devolve into hysterical cackling at any moment "Is, is she blushing? Ursinia holy shit look at this; tell I'm not imagining that Diabla of all people is blushing….I didn't even know she had nerves and blood vessels in her face, I thought the scowl was just bolted on….Who's it from? What does it say? Lemme see!"
"You don't want a broken arm" Diabla snarled in warning, batting her partners' arm away before her focus returned to the letter itself and the effect was lost as her usual stern and imposing demeanour was replaced by a faint, warm smile that seemed almost out of place on he sharp and scarred features; only for Ursinia's voice to snap her swiftly back to attention.
"That from Huckleberry?"
"It is" Diabla shifted her weight slightly.
"I've said what I need to say on the subject….But I'm happy for ya darlin'" with that said, a permission and approval that Diabla was grateful for even if it was not strictly required the brawler allowed herself to turn the contents of the letter over in her mind; smile returning to her face as she did so. It was far from any poetic or needlessly overwrought confession, which Diabla was thankful for as she doubted either she or Ursinia's cousin would have been able to deal with something like that and was merely a message to say that Huckleberry had enjoyed dancing, or watching Diabla try and fail to dance at the family gathering on Anthill farm, that she had enjoyed Diabla's company and would like to stay in touch and hopefully make her way to the big city to watch Team WULF in the Vytal Tournament which she had no doubt that Diabla would qualify for. The fact that it was handwritten seemed to make it feel more important than it was and Diabla folded the letter and tucked it in an inside pocket of her uniforms' blazer, resolving to write a reply later that day.
Preferably when she could put her thoughts in order and stop grinning like an idiot.
"Dee what the fuck's wrong with your face?" Wolfram's snorted question announced his arrival into the room.
"I'm smiling?"
"Exactly, it's fucking weird" Diabla punched her team leaders' shoulder almost reflexively but said nothing more, deciding that if Wolfram wanted more information then he could either ask for it or simply wait until either Laser or Ursinia began informing him of her business; she was rewarded with a brief pause and moment of silence however as Wolfram merely shrugged and continued about his business with whatever growth and self-improvement he had undergone doing nothing to alter his stance on interfering with his team-mates' personal lives and private matters unless and until they became a larger problem. Ursinia however, stinger twitching nervously for a moment offered Diabla a brief apologetic look before turning to Wolfram and using the subject for a way to broach a topic she considered important.
"Diabla got herself a letter from a special someone….Which reminds me-"
"Ursinia drop it" Wolfram sighed, already knowing what would be said.
"I'm not makin' a scene partner" the Faunus raised her hands defensively "I'm just sayin' you're gonna have to talk to 'em eventually….Never know you to be yellow before"
"Wanna say that last part again?" Wolfram whirled around, old habits dying hard as he took a single step towards Ursinia only to stop himself as he caught both Laser and Diabla bristling; instead he let out a sigh and visibly deflated as the sound left him.
"Didn't mean to snap" he continued, his own personal stance on apologies leaving him providing an explanation instead "I'm not scared, I just don't know what to say….I don't wanna say the wrong thing and honestly I'm not even sure what I want right now"
"But you can't leave this on pause indefinitely" Diabla noted, understanding what was being discussed.
"I know that" Wolfram ground out, throwing his hands up in defeat "Fucking feelings and shit man….Come on we've got class"
Team WULF filed out of the dormitory after their leader without complaint, none of them quite willing to be the one who pointed out to Wolfram that no matter how much he tried to distract himself and avoid the problem, rushing to lessons was not going to aid him in any meaningful way.
Astra was going to be there as well after all.
Zirconia Shadowmoon had awoken a short while ago and was now being forced to confront that reality rather than continue to huddle beneath her sheets and begin mentally preparing herself for the day ahead by running through the various tasks that she expected and reminding herself of any possible problems that might occur, along with various counters to them and various lies and distractions at her disposal in case anything forced her to reveal to anyone that she was not exactly who she seemed to be.
There was no specific issue in mind that had led to this internal scrutiny, rather the Grasshopper Faunus had grown accustomed to what she felt was a good practice and used it to ground herself; a routine as personal to her as Astra's haircare was to them. At the thought of her team leader, who was currently in the bathroom partaking in said routine Zirconia allowed herself to focus on her surroundings and noted the first reluctant shuffling motions of Athena in her bunk directly below and promptly responded with a deep, slow breath as she pulled herself into a sitting position, brushing her now wavy mass of black hair away from mismatched eyes as she did so. Athena-Jade was a complication which Zirconia could not in way bring herself to begrudge and Nero's blessing had done nothing to simplify matters, true enough the rogue had very little in the way of direct orders or a specific mission at the moment but that could change as the situation in Neo Vale developed and despite her personal belief that her partner would understand Nero's goals if they were properly explained to her the fact remained that Zirconia could not afford a single misstep, something made all the more difficult by the lingering awkwardness between herself and the partner she was very much attracted to.
"Morning" Athena-Jade intruded on her musings with a wide, jaw-cracking yawn as she brought a meaty paw of a hand down on her alarm with more force than was strictly needed the moment it trilled its' first notes and then, seeing the device giving a flashing indication of a message passed Zirconia's scroll up to her from where it had been charging overnight; the brief moment their fingers brushed against one another in the action left the two girls looking at one another in silence for a moment before turning away quickly and without another word, neither of them sure what to say as the unspoken incident between them continued to make its' presence felt.
As much as she appreciated a sense of drama and mystery Zirconia couldn't help but feel like an idiot.
"Thank you" she managed to rasp out, managing a smile that reached her eyes and Athena-Jade caught out of the corner of her eye, reciprocating before beginning to change; the motion of removing the tank-top she had slept in and exposing her broad and muscular back and shoulders prompting Zirconia to turn her attention to the message she had received, lest she be rendered too distracted to function for the duration of the day.
The message was, unsurprisingly from Nero.
'We should speak later, I have news' those few simple words were enough to leave Zirconia numb and stunned for a few moments, mind racing in search of answers that lay entirely out of her grasp as she tried to fathom what possible developments in her Guardians' plans might have required him to message her like this until eventually; after a few moments of staring at the device almost unseeing she typed a short acknowledgement in reply and then promptly deleted the message before ensuring that her features remained an inscrutable mask. Turning her attention back to the dormitory revealed that Regalia was awake and making herself ready now and that Astra had exited the bathroom in a cloud of humid steam, though Athena-Jade had been kept from immediately taking their place and showering by a conversation which had kept her in place, though the Bear Faunus had taken measures to cover her bare chest; which Zirconia tried to force herself to be grateful for but could not manage in total honesty as she allowed herself to drift into the chatter between her team-mates.
"-All I'm saying" Astra's hands were raised defensively and their tone was bemused "Is that look Oobleck knows his stuff and he's been an announcer for years….But he was a teacher for Beacon and Halo a couple years before he retired right?"
"You think he'd give us bad information on purpose?" Regalia looked utterly galled by the notion whilst Athena made a face of mild disgust and shook her head, brow furrowing as she considered.
"I don't know him personally but my Mum says-"
"Says the same things as Professor Xiao Long, one of Fluffy's Mums" Astra interjected "But they were both on Team RWBY, they were his students….that's what I'm getting at"
"You think he's a spy?" Zirconia rasped out, taking great care to keep any trace of emotion out of her voice at that lest she give away far more than she intended to with any slight misstep; Astra flinched as the full weight of their accusation seemed to fall on them.
"I mean spy is a bit much, I'm not saying they're like Carmesi Hueso or anything" Zirconia was thankful that Astra did not look directly at her as they said that "But come on Professor Altan said straight up that we're supposed to study our opponents and get a feel for them….I just feel like everyone is getting excited about Oobleck having these seminars but are we sure that we're gonna get accurate information, or that if he sits in on our training-"
"He already saw your Semblance, everyone did" Regalia noted conversationally, a point which silenced Astra and left them frowning as they realised how their actions against the Greater Dredge might affect them at a later date; though it was a sacrifice that they were willing to make again if needed.
"You sound paranoid" Zirconia managed to keep a faint teasing edge to her words, hopefully pushing the conversation in another direction.
"Besides, this is all based on the idea that we qualify for the tournament….or that we all want to enter" it was Athena-Jade who spoke and her words floored the rest of Team MARZ; with even Zirconia struggling to comprehend what she had heard for several seconds, the insectoid Faunus's mind raced and she mentally collected every ounce of information she had on her partner in a desperate attempt to understand the shorter girls' thinking yet before those thoughts could crystallise and take form Astra interrupted them with a choked, sputtering retort.
"I'm sorry, did AJ….AJ with something to prove just imply she doesn't wanna go for the tournament?"
"I didn't say that" Athena was instantly defensive.
"You think we might not qualify?" Regalia asked "Heh, I think if we can fight talking Grimm like Gestalt-Prime then we can probably take on some of the older students"
"I just…." Athena sighed and Zirconia sensed that she would have shrugged were she not keeping a towel pressed to her bare chest "I need a shower and we're gonna be late"
With that she slipped into the bathroom and Zirconia remained silent but locked eyes with Astra, the two of them managing to have an entirely wordless conversation wherein the leader of Team MARZ made it very clear that Zirconia would need to speak with her partner and get to the bottom of this latest development.
Which Zirconia supposed might be an opportunity for the two of them to try and understand what exactly was going on between them.
Coco Adel was beginning to feel as though the mere concept of rest and relaxation was nothing more than a particularly unking rumour, an urban myth used to drive the gullible onwards far beyond what a more rational or pragmatic individual might have been willing to tolerate with any degree of grace.
She found herself blaming the politicians she was forced to deal with for those feelings.
The rebuilding of Port Alistair after the attack from Gestalt-Prime was going well and proceeding quickly, albeit less so than Coco might like, her standards being those of a perfectionist whom realism could not hope to temper; though this progress found itself limited by the sheer volume of bureaucracy required of her and those she brushed shoulders with yet could never bring herself to consider her peers in her role as Councilwoman for Port Alistair, a role which she found herself considering abdicating during the next election cycle. It was not that her fellow Counsellors were evil people, by and large they each wanted to see the Kingdom that they had helped forge become something truly magnificent and the relief efforts and rebuilding were a major part of that however they politicians and thus opportunists at their core, each trying to curry favour or angle for concessions and allowances as though Menagerie were still a loose alliance of settlements and fiefdoms rather than a united Kingdom and this, compounded by differences in opinion and approach and the reasonable limits of what other settlements or the other Kingdoms could spare only made the task harder. Leaving Port Alistair a scarred and ravaged city where communities in the affected areas would see the effects of the stalling for years to come; all whilst the politics and talking left Coco distracted from another of her monumental tasks.
Namely running the academy.
Coco was profoundly thankful for the capabilities and understanding of her closest staff, Velvet and Yatsuhashi amongst them although calling them such would be a disservice of colossal proportions. The realities of the current situation had forced her to spend more time than she would otherwise have accepted away from her academy at the start of a school year, where new students and freshly forged teams were at their most unpredictable and most raw; it was a situation that every Professor who had been a Hunter knew and understood and one which she had each of them, Nurse Kintsugi and Yatsuhashi pay as much attention as humanly possible to and keep her appraised of. There had been too many things to slip through the cracks at Beacon and despite the distant and commanding presence she affected Coco would tolerate none of it here, if her students were unhappy beyond simple homesickness and began to harbour doubts then Yatsuhashi would inform her, if a student was struggling or if a team found itself unable to reach an arrangement amongst themselves wherein leadership and cooperation if not friendship could be found or if there were concerns about behaviour then her Professors would inform her, if there were health concerns that warranted breaching confidentiality then Coco would find out and if there was any particularly juicy gossip then it was very likely that Ruby and Reese would know about it and discuss it in the staffroom where there were ongoing betting pools regarding which students were dating.
As Coco took her seat in her office, returning to it after yet another meeting she found herself wishing that Ruby was available as her presence usually made conversations with her uncle easier.
She had a brief respite as the computer in her office whirred into life and various security systems around her office, bolstered somewhat since the attack on her son before the summer activating and she used that time to first pour water into a cup coffee that she'd left half prepared before departing that morning, being thankful for Oobleck's presence on campus as the man brought the finest examples of her vice with him almost as a party favour and then from there she checked her scroll, defiantly ignoring anything relating to professional matters and smiling as she read a long message from Little Fox. Her son had departed for college over a week ago to be oriented, the boy had something of the creative ingenuity about him that Velvet had inherited from her own father and would be studying both engineering and architecture, a heart to heart discussion with Coco revealing that he might not be the fighter his parents were but that he could help rebuild what the Grimm managed to break. Seeing the photographs of him smiling, sporting a tan of a different shade than that produced by life in Port Alistair and packing more muscle onto a frame that might one day rival his father in height all whilst wearing a broad smile whilst surrounded by room-mates and friend he had already made left Coco more happy and proud than she had been for sometime and her eyes gleamed as she saw the way his arm rested casually on the shoulder of a pretty young woman in the photograph, eyes scanning the message again and noting with a smirk how many times a certain girls' name had been mentioned in passing.
"Go get 'em champ" she chuckled to herself, Little Fox's high-school sweet heart, first and so far only experience of dating had of course been Ruby Rose's daughter, a high bar which Coco noted very few would be able to compete with for several reasons however it was relieving to see her son moving on and enjoying his life.
Her reflections were interrupted by an incoming video call almost the moment her computer was ready to receive it.
"Qrow" Coco intoned with a measure of warmth "Any particular reason this meeting couldn't happen later on today….Ruby could have been present"
"I have a free period" the bearded and greying, chair-bound veteran Hunter answered as he flickered into view, Coco noted that would be one of the benefits of teaching an elective subject "And Team FADE are taking a short mission out of town; I was planning on heading over to her place and seeing the whole extended family"
"Sounds nice" Coco noted, realising that he was referring to Team FADE and their respective romantic partners and their team-mates who all seemed to flit between their ship and the small house in the suburbs of Neo Vale which had once been owned by Qrow himself.
"But before that, status update….I understand you'll be pre-occupied later in the week with the results of the yearly hazing"
"Most likely" Coco admitted "But before we begin with that I have one question and I want a simple, direct answer; is Oobleck here at your request? I appreciate that you can dedicate more time to what it is we do but I don't like the idea of covert operations being done under my nose without my knowledge"
"No, I would have told you" Qrow assured her with a curt nod "Oobleck is a historian and retirement never really sat right with him anyway; Menagerie is a treasure trove for him….I'm surprised he never considered moving to the island to be honest"
"I should have tried harder to get him on the staff" Coco noted, wondering faintly if Velvet had ever fully forgiven Bartholomew for the lack of attention he paid to the bullying that had occurred in his classes, or for the fact she had needed to resit first year history.
"Status update….The Grimm Spawning Pit?"
"Gone" Coco informed him "Right now Hammerfall is a useful tool to have but it isn't guarding anything any more. Ruby used Fracture….We watered it down though, too risky and we don't have a lot of it to spare"
"Wise choice" Qrow murmured "And yet it doesn't seem to have shaken anything lose, I thought it might get a reaction out of this Benefactor"
"Anything in Neo Vale?" Coco answered, pursing her lips as she considered the faceless enemy whose actions had threatened to bring her city to ruin. It seemed almost certain that this unknown figure was operating out of Vale given the way they had burrowed into the Kingdoms' infrastructure and the overtures that had evidently been made to criminal enterprises in the city and yet, despite Qrow's efforts nothing concrete had been gleaned about their identity, motives or actions; a state of affairs which, given the power this criminal mastermind seemed to wield left Coco all the more unnerved.
"A few unconfirmed sightings of what might have been Hueso….I didn't think he'd be dead somehow, but we still don't know for certain"
"More's the pity"
"A few drug busts that I honestly doubt were connected to anything involving Grimm or anything else particularly large scale, a few people were caught in a robot chop-shop-"
"The Benefactor's battle-suits?" Coco's voice became hopeful as she considered the immediate value in removing all, or at least some of the more advanced and dangerous weapons that had found their way into the hands of criminals, along with the means to produce more.
"Most likely a copycat outfit, given the way Hueso and Grapeshot turned in criminals on Menagerie to overwork the police there-"
"This might have been the Benefactor cutting off loose ends or having us do their dirty work" Coco sighed, realising that she hadn't truly expected it to be that easy.
"What's strange is how….normal everything is" Qrow admitted "It's not quiet, it never is in a city this size but I figured that we might have seen some trace of desperation, at least some movement from the Benefactor by now"
"You're certain he's desperate?" Coco growled.
"No sign of Gestalt-Prime in Port Alistair, no reason to believe it survived the battle" Qrow paused and considered "All that effort to capture a thinking Grimm gone to waste, resources, valuable people either lost or having their covers blown….Now we have Hammerfall Outpost back at full strength and the Spawning Pit we suspect produced the Grimm horde that attacked your city gone….I just thought that we would have seen a reaction, something we could use….It still feels like we're two steps behind"
"Or maybe they've hit a snag in whatever they're planning" Coco offered "Something beyond the obvious, something we can't account for"
"Criminal mastermind who's managed to get into my city and your school being caught off guard by a mail-order part for their big plan getting lost in transit; wouldn't that be something"
"We can only hope" Coco chuckled "Until we have something more concrete…."
"I'll keep you posted" Qrow nodded, seeing the way she trailed off for the dismissal that it was and allowing the video call to end so that the two of them could consult with their closest confidants and discuss the matters at their own leisure.
For the moment however Coco simply sighed and focused on not allowing the weight of Remnant to crush her.
It soon became fully apparent to her friends and team-mates that whatever Athena-Jade's sudden misgivings towards the Vytal Tournament might be, they were rooted in anything but her own abilities as a combatant. The Bear Faunus was and always had been amongst the most physically capable and most versatile fighters amongst their class and was considered either a chore or an utterly monumental task to face depending on which of her peers was asked for those very reasons.
She was currently in the midst of proving why she was so respected as Combat Training wore on.
Arslan's evaluation of her returning students were ongoing, albeit in a far more productive and less intimidating manner following her first class of the year; the grandmaster obviously being sated by the showdown with Velvet Scarlatina which would pass on into the myths of the academy yet had ended in a stalemate to such a degree that she could focus on her job. To that end she was taking time to study interestingly matched pars of students as they faced off against one another, watching the interplay between them and taking as many mental notes as any of her students with the goal of finding any lacking areas in the technique or methodology her students used so that they might be improved and corrected. At the moment however it would seem that Athena-Jade Slate's only real issue was that her opponent was of at least equal skill to herself.
Unsurprising given that Wolfram Ironside had always performed excellently in this subject.
"Are you even trying to hit me?" Athena called out to the leader of Team WULF, any imposing effect he might have had long since eroded by familiarity as she cartwheeled and back-flipped from one glyph to another as Wolfram continued to open fire with Berserker in its' combined hand-cannon form; well aware that improvements had been made to the weapon to keep its' recoil from depleting Wolfram's Aura but content to evade for the moment and if possible needle at her opponent until he gave her an opening to exploit.
Not something that she would normally try but frankly she had seen enough of Astra's moping over the last few days to decide that some manner of punishment was in order.
"Nah" Wolfram's calm and collected, almost nonchalant response caught Athena-Jade off guard and in turn left her even more exposed to her opponents' counter to her own strategy; the Bear Faunus realising that she had been played as Wolfram shot the glyph she had been somersaulting onto, reducing it to glowing fragments and revealing that he had been allowing her to fall into familiar patterns that could be turned against her just as much as she had been manipulating him.
As she began to fall Athena allowed herself a toothy grin, exhilaration and adrenaline pounding in her ears as it became clear that this was going to be an interesting lesson; her own follow-up move in this game of strategy disguised as showmanship and flamboyant violence was to swing Mould-Breaker in it's hammer form and engage the Dust powered booster which served as her landing strategy to produce as shift in momentum that sent her streaking downwards to land at Wolfram's feet, the head of her weapon striking the ground with such force that everything within the protective dome they sparred within rumbled and her opponent was flung several inches into the air, reeling and left unable to properly defend when Athena followed up by leaping over the shaft of her own weapon and into a handstand to deliver a punishing kick to his armoured chest.
Just the opening she needed.
By the time Wolfram had skidded to a halt in a crouch, on one knee and with his shield raised in front of much of his body Athena had already returned to a standing position and braced herself, Mould-Breaker already in its' laser cannon form and prepared to fire from the hip; giving Wolfram the briefest glance at sapphire blue eyes and a cocky expression before she opened fire. Ephemeral green light lanced through the air on a course that would slam the leader of Team WULF backwards and into the perimeter of the sparring ring, between two insurmountable forces that would drain his Aura; yet defeat was averted and the blow never landed as Wolfram shifted both his axe and shield into a single hand and extended the open palm of his now free hand to turn the air ahead of himself into a solid shield.
"Damn it, I was hoping you hadn't practised as much with that" the diminutive, yet powerful Bear Faunus admitted to which Wolfram responded silently but with gusto by rising and pivoting in the same motion, moving his Semblance-shield aside and sending Athena-Jade's laser attack searing passed his body whilst in the same motion hefting the axe portion of Berserker and hurling it directly at her face.
"Looks like you haven't practised with yours" Athena growled wordlessly to that jibe as the first glyph she raised to halt the incoming axe was shattered, though the second fared better and left the blade suspended in mid-air; she had indeed practised hard and often over the summer and implications to the contrary would not go unanswered, time to consider how she would answer was limited however as Wolfram closed the distance and ripped his axe free in the same spinning motion that brought the flat of his shield cleaving towards her neck.
Well-honed instinct took hold and Athena-Jade leapt towards the incoming attack rather than avoid it, flinging herself into an acrobatic leap that allowed her to balance on the shield being used against her and deliver two punishing kicks in quick succession to Wolfram's face before flinging herself away again, a chorus of cheers exploding from her classmates though it was muted by the shielding. To create distance Athena returned to using her glyphs as platforms from which to seize the higher ground and her careful scrutiny of her opponent to ensure Wolfram did not shoot the floor out from under her again was rewarded with the knowledge that the boy was staggered and this was her best chance for a decisive blow. Without hesitation she bounded and vaulted between a few more glyphs in order to align the perfect angle for the finishing attack and then came hurtling downwards, Mould-Breaker in hammer form with its' Dust booster roaring into life once again.
Only for Wolfram to show just how much he had practised with his Semblance.
The boy had done more the adjust to the new reality and understanding that came with it, that his Semblance was not simply a vicious weapon and was in fact a shield with which to protect others; he had also incorporated that notion into his existing fighting style and did so in that moment by creating a pane of solidified air that stretched across almost the entire breadth of the training area and was taller than Wolfram himself, moreover the pane was angled back so that its' upper edge reached almost behind the boy and then with his shield in place he raised a single booted foot and kicked the solid plane of air forward.
Athena realised what would happen a single moment before it did and several moments too late; the solid air shield knocked the air from her lungs as she collided with it in a display that would have been comedic if she had been watching it rather than feeling the full force of her own momentum being turned against her; what neither combatant had fully accounted for however was Mould-Breaker being spun on its' axis by the collision and the shaft of the weapon striking the Bear Faunus painfully in the gut before physics took hold and threw her first up towards the upper surface of the domed shield and then downwards, where she struck the floor head first with a painful crack and a dull thud which signalled the end of the sparring match.
Athena did not rise and upon rolling over, heaving with pain she was first mildly concerned by how far away everything sounded and how the lights overhead seemed oddly blurry and then left more concerned by how vague her initial worry seemed though before this could spiral into a cascading mess of second guesses a series of shadowy figures her dazed and rattled mind needed time to process fell over her.
She realised a moment later, still not fully cognizant of the realities that Astra and Wolfram were being kept apart by Professor Altan, the exact nature of what was being yelled between them lost on the Bear Faunus as she was lifted carefully from the ground by Regalia and Zirconia; something which prompted Athena to at least try and control which way she lolled and drooped as Astra returned to the group and said something about a trip to medical wing.
Thereby cancelling any plans Athena might have been harbouring about clearing the air between herself and the very pretty Grasshopper Faunus whose shoulder she was currently sagging against.
For Astra the day had passed in a blur that was less like a haze and more like the acrid smoke littered with sputtering embers and ash of a particularly impressive bonfire; every moment spent keeping their emotions in check one that the Deer Faunus was willing to consider a small personal victory.
Athena-Jade's injuries had been fortunately minor, the last wavering dregs of her mostly depleted Aura had broken her fall before shattering on impact and the drop from the uppermost point of the domed sparring shield could have been much worse, no bones had been broken and bruising would no issue for the Aura supplements supplied by Nurse Kintsugi to repair though the Fox Faunus who oversaw the academies' medical facilities had insisted on keeping Athena-Jade close by for observation for the rest of the day, the fact that the Bear Faunus had in fact hit the ground head first and had been dizzy and stunned upon arrival being of at least some concern. A consequence of this was of course that Athena-Jade would miss several lessons worth of lecture and assignments which, considering that it was still Team MARZ's first week back in classes seemed as though it might cause a problem; her team-mates had naturally prepared to remedy this at Astra's discretion, taking turns to keep a dazed and medicated Athena-Jade company or bring her meals whilst she remained under observation whilst the remaining pair had attended classes to continue taking an excessive amount of notes to be copied by their absent friends and then subsequently make their way to the library to make a head start on assignments, which would also be shared.
Astra was welcome for both the distraction and the strict quiet imposed upon him by the library, they kept them from venting their frustrations vocally again.
"Heh, you really let Wolfram have it today" Regalia noted, peering over a the top of a thick, leather-bound volume in a fashion one might expect from a caricature of some old-time private eye; the comparison was enough to make Astra chuckle to themselves, clamping down on the noise and glancing around to find no trace of the strict librarian who reigned over their current surroundings before giving a slight wince as they considered the comment.
"Yeah….Not exactly proud of that" they admitted, sinking into their seat as Regalia shrugged.
"AJ will probably appreciate it" the Racoon Faunus beamed, looking around cautiously before withdrawing an apple from her pocket "And Professor Altan didn't give you a detention for it-"
"She beat the brakes off of her own students two days ago" Astra pointed out with an arched eyebrow, keeping the conversation going solely to keep themselves from replaying the yelled tirades, conversation being far too generous a word that that they and Wolfram had launched at one another; Astra themselves reacting on panicked instinct and snapping only for their ex-boyfriend to retaliate with a verbal counterattack in place of a defence as anyone acquainted with him might've expected.
The whole ordeal doing nothing to repair the rift between the two of them the way Astra had hoped for.
"Wanna take this to the common area?" Regalia asked chirpily as she gestured to the stack of books and paperwork before them, her smile too bright in a way that suggested she was planning something; which Astra found odd upon studying it, Regalia was not usually one for subterfuge.
"You can eat here, nobody is gonna tell on you….I won't anyway" Astra snorted, nodding towards the apple still in Regalia's hand though they found themselves doubting that the luxury of eating as she worked was the sole reason for the suggestion, she could so that well enough in Team MARZ's dormitory after all and after a moment of silence the nomads' purple eyes betrayed a hint of sheepishness as she spoke again.
"I uh, I thought we could share ideas with some of the other people in our class….You know I never really learned about studying and classes and-"
"And you think Team WULF are gonna be in the common area" Astra interjected, noting that Regalia was likely correct though the matter of whether they would be studying was debatable "You want me to talk to Wolfram".
"Look I only know what I saw in the movies….and I spent all of last year learning that what the movies showed me and what life in the Kingdoms is actually like are very different" Regalia's smile softened "But I do know some stuff about relationships just living around people and stuff….I know you can't run away from problems forever-"
"Is that a low-blow by any chance?" Astra fought the urge to bristle visibly and take any pointed asides in their stride; deciding that Regalia still had plenty of reason to be mad at them though she merely shook her head with a grin.
"Heh, nah….It's just the Clan Aiktishaf really can't get away from each other unless you're one of the Outriders; so any serious arguments get solved or mediated quickly"
"Makes sense, can't afford to have problems when you're out in wastes" Astra nodded sagely before crumpling "But this is different-"
"But you're not happy" Regalia answered as though it solved every complication.
"Yeah but it's never that simple" Astra sighed, holding up a hand to pre-empt any argument "Thanks for trying Regalia, it means a lot that you're still trying after everything….But me and Wolfie….I'm not running away from the problem but it's one I can't fix if he doesn't want to as well and I don't know if he does"
There was a note of finality to that which left the Deer Faunus swallowing thickly and turning their focus pointedly towards their assignment.
"But maybe-" Regalia's hopeful attempt at a counterargument, a valiant display of optimism from the inexperienced Racoon Faunus was cut short by the sound of Astra's scroll vibrating against the wooden surface of the table they shared and then subsequently by her partner hissing a curse under their breath as they frantically opened and silenced the device before they could draw the attention of the librarian.
"Is there a problem?" Regalia asked as she studied Astra's expression, and easier and much less tedious task than the actual studying.
"Nothing much but I'm gonna go and keep an eye on AJ" Astra answered "Zirconia just messaged to say she's gotta call home"
"Okay" Regalia beamed, clearly deciding that there would be point studying alone and beginning the process of bagging up her belongings and preparing the books she would need to check out before pausing and adding "I'll wait up for you?"
"Sure" they nodded, pausing as they turned to leave "I'll stop by the canteen for you on the way back" Regalia gave them a thankful gesture and Astra couldn't help but be immensely grateful for their continued friendship with their partner.
Compared to their workload, failed relationship, continuous self-doubts and now the doubts harboured by Athena-Jade that had gone undiscussed the nomad was a delight to be around.
Zirconia Shadowmoon had found herself on what had been one of her regular haunts for almost exactly a year, a place marked out as hers since very early on in her time as a student; namely the section of roof above Team MARZ's dormitory. The last light of the evening sun, late to set at this time of year could still be seen casting golden rays from what little of the horizon was visible beyond the countless buildings rising up to form Port Alistair and the many cranes and other signs of construction interspersed between them and painting the darkening sky the liberal streaks of pink and red; a sight easily equal to any of the views available to Zirconia in her home city of Neo Vale and one made far more pleasant by the fact that the evening air was currently in that fleeting sweet spot between the airless heat-haze of the day and the biting chill that would soon roll across the island Kingdom as the sun fully set.
That Zirconia had watched sunsets like this so many times with Athena-Jade over the last year before either of them had acknowledged or acted on their feelings for the other left the rogue Faunus wondering just how dense the two of them were in that regard.
Zirconia found that she could not think about that at the moment however, it would only tempt her to delay a needed and promised conversation with Damascus by returning to the medical wing and keeping her partner company as she recovered; the spike of dread that had cleaved through Zirconia's innermost thoughts as she had watched Athena fall managing to do away with much of the lingering sense of awkwardness that the Grasshopper Faunus had been suffering with, though still she struggled with various conflicting and intersecting streams of consciousness as she contemplated how best to approach the situation without risking things far greater than her own feelings. Instead she watched the sunset and allowed her fingers to drum with uncharacteristic restlessness against the surface of her violins' case, the instrument having remained concealed and untouched as Zirconia had spotted students lingering in the grounds below her; whilst she might be able to secure some privacy on the rooftops the sound of her playing would certainly carry downwards more than a mere conversation might and an audience was something she could not afford for the time being.
Presently her scroll began to vibrate and Zirconia smiled despite the slight sense of trepidation as she answered.
"My apologies for the lack of video this time….Too many other things happening, I wouldn't be able to give you my undivided attention anyway" Damascus Nero began, the greeting punctuated with the sound of typing on a keyboard and her guardians' voice being strained in a way that suggested that the man had the device balanced between his ear and shoulder. Zirconia rolled mismatched eyes and let out a faintly bemused sigh.
"Use loud-speaker if you're at home or in your office, before you do something permanent to your neck….Get food, get a drink that isn't caffeinated, get sleep; you have an entire organisation you can delegate tasks to. You're no use to anyone if you work yourself to the point of sloppy mistakes" Zirconia's tone was gentle and hushed as always, though using Nero's own preferred disparaging comment in such a way was a calculated attempt to needle that she followed up with genuine concern "If you want we can reschedule this call?"
"No, I wouldn't want to distract you from your time with the Slate girl any more than I have to" Nero's tone, though tired help an obvious smirk as he returned the needling in kind "Besides, I'm already the last one to congratulate you on the work you did for the Kingdom of Menagerie; front page news I see"
"Athena isn't here right now….She's being checked over after an accident during training" Zirconia paused, almost daring Nero to make any comment regarding sloppiness or proper focus; he remained silent however and after being pleasantly surprised she added "And I'm alone, we have privacy….We can discuss whatever was serious enough to warrant this mornings' message"
"I was being genuine, I am proud of the way you rush to help people" Nero's voice was coloured by the faintest traces of the accent and stammer her worked to hide with those words before he quickly recovered, heading off any deflections from his daughter in all but blood by switching into a businesslike tone "We had an incident roughly forty-eight hours ago which we've been struggling to get to the bottom of"
"An attack on your systems?" Zirconia asked in a whisper, mind already whirring as she began putting her knowledge of cyber security and the dismantling of walls barring access to any information she required into action, working in reverse as she tried to fathom what she could contribute that neither Nero nor the vastly talented Albion Herringbone would be capable of themselves; the entire thought process taking barely a second and still brought to a screeching halt as she was numbed by Nero's response.
"No, the subject showed signs of activity"
"It's awake?" she gasped "Then the plan-"
"Is still at the same juncture" Nero's answer had the distinct feeling of being waved off about it before he explained more fully "The specimen showed brief signs of neural activity, a massive spike in fact; I was not present but Albion was and is currently trying to decode the various signals and decipher exactly what was happening….What concerns me is that the activity occurred at the exact moment that the Kingdom of Menagerie, or more specifically Ruby Rose and a select group destroyed a Spawning Pit on Menagerie's coastline"
"I….see" Zirconia spoke slowly, the answer being a falsehood that Nero saw through with little difficulty.
"Then please enlighten us and save several people several long nights, we do not see" he gave a weak chortle which faded into nothingness as Zirconia failed to respond in kind, brow furrowing beneath the bandanna her partner had used to mask the thin scar reaching up from one eyebrow.
"What do you need me to do?" she asked seriously.
"Nothing overt, nothing risky" Nero murmured slowly, delicately "Anything direct will risk too much, especially so soon after the attempt to bug Adel's office failed and our backdoor into their agents' ship was discovered….No, we need answers but we need operational security more. Pay close attention to Adel and her family, Rose and her wife or any of the other Professors or visitors to the academy you feel might be part of her faction and see if their actions are informative; as of right now we don't know if they had any ulterior motives behind their actions that our people at Hammerfall were not privy too"
"I will do what I can" Zirconia rasped out quietly, frown deepening "But you're right, another attempt to infiltrate them would be too dangerous….This is too sensitive for mistakes, an innocent party was injured last time"
"I do not blame you for that" Nero noted, fatherly warmth creeping into his words despite his efforts to remain professional "But on the subject of sensitive matters….The Slate girl, you believe she could be an ally to our cause?"
"I wasn't aware I supposed to begin work at converting her and making her an agent of ours immediately" Zirconia's tone was defensive and her body language shifted as she spoke, something distinctly prickly and combative.
"Rest assured that I would never ask you to….Use that part of yourself in such a way" Nero sounded notably distasteful at the mere idea "I simply felt that it was my duty to remind you of what is at stake and whilst I trust you, this is not the kind of mission you've been trained for….The fact that your feelings for the girl are genuine naturally makes things more complicated"
"I know the risks" Zirconia responded stiffly "I think that she might be sympathetic to our cause if it were properly explained to her….I wouldn't ask her to do something like spy on any of her family members in positions of power; I just-"
"I understand" Nero cut her off, hearing the faintest crack in her tone
"It's complicated" Zirconia murmured, sounding for a moment very much like the eighteen year old girl in a position beyond her years that she truly was beneath all of her mysterious and unapproachable demeanour.
"I understand and I trust you" Nero repeated "Do what your heart and your conscience tell you….But keep sight of the big picture; a bright new tomorrow for all of Remnant"
"Thank you" Zirconia swallowed, the faith placed in her being as precious to her as it was heavy.
"Now, tell me….How is school going?" with that they were once again foster parent and teenage daughter; all conspiracies and larger-than-belief matters pushed aside for a few moments so that they could simply enjoy the illusion of normalcy whilst they recovered from their day.
Despite it all Zirconia still found herself facing complications she was not quite prepared for, the downside of being partnered with someone like Athena-Jade Slate after a sheltered upbringing.
Night had fallen by the time Astrawas able to lead an Athena-Jade who was still mildly stunned, albeit now owing to the effects of medication rather than injury out of the campus medical wing with the permission of Nurse Kintsugi. Astra continued to cast their team-mate furtive glances as the two of them trudged slowly in the direction of their dormitory, the Deer Faunus's hand resting gently on her shoulder to aid her navigation and keep her from staggering or stumbling over her own feet and exacerbating the existing damage by hitting a wall. Such precautions were largely unneeded even in the current gloom; the majority of the campus's interior lights had been dimmed if not outright cut off owing to the lateness of the hour as whilst the Professors made no attempt to impose any official curfew on their students but the lights' out remained a constant factor, albeit one which could be largely ignored as the few remaining lights could be bolstered by a scroll if the student wandering the halls were human, or if they were Faunus their inherent night vision would suffice. Athena-Jade was currently coherent enough to not only proceed under her own power and direction but also, much to Astra's surprise catch the Deer Faunus's continuous backward glances and clear her throat loudly in response.
"I hit my head, not the end of Remnant. I'll be fine"
"Yeah I get that" Astra shrugged, loosening their grip on Athena's shoulder and falling back a pace so that the two were in lockstep though never quite releasing her entirely; the shorter Faunus rolling her eyes for a moment in a gesture which could be attributed to Zirconia if one were in the mood to nettle until she seemed to catch something in her team leaders' tone and remembered a detail of their conversations over the summer.
"Right, you've been dealing with people trying to wrap you in cotton wool as well?"
"My parents aren't Hunters like yours and I was hurt pretty bad; had to make a point of training around my Dad until it sunk in a little that I'm just not the kid I used to be any more" Astra shrugged, nothing about their body language suggesting any ill-will towards their parents and allowing them to catch Athena mildly off-guard with their follow up comment "That's actually not why I was checking back….Look there's something we need to talk about and I was trying to figure out if now is a dick moved because you're spaced out on meds or the best time because there's nobody else listening"
"Go ahead, what's wrong?" Athena-Jade offered, bracing herself yet unable to find a reason for the instinctive action through the haze of dizziness and medication that prickled at her skin and dulled her senses to ease the thudding pain in her skull.
"So you were talking about the Vytal Tournament earlier-"
"Oh that" she breathed out, broad shoulders slouching even as they folded in oddly defensively.
"And look I get that it's a big deal, one of those moments that every Hunter kinda wants to be a part of, everyone's already thinking about it and I get that you're a little nervous….Shit I am too; but I just wanted to let you know that you did great out there today and it shouldn't affect how you think about things" Astra sighed, some emotion crossing their features before they shook their head "You were up against Wolfie-Wolfram, he's one of the best in our class and always has been….Losing to him is no big deal-"
Athena-Jade found herself staring for a moment as she listened and processed before breaking into a fit of almost deranged, medication-fuelled giggling.
"You think I don't wanna go to the Vytal Tournament 'cos I'm scared of getting my ass kicked for all of Remnant to see, or that we might not even qualify?"
"Well I did, kinda….then you started giggling" Astra slouched as they shuffled awkwardly, though managing a faint grin which lasted up until they tried once again to broach the matter with a more blunt question "Come on AJ talk to me, what's going on with you?"
"Its….I….Fuck" Athena fumbled her words ineloquently before letting out a sigh of annoyance at her addled and jarred thoughts; reordering them with an expression which darkened with every passing moment until she spoke again "Look, I've spoke about some of this with Zirconia….She asked me about the nightmares I had when we first came to the academy but do you remember the Tournament in Atlas, where the New White Fang attacked?"
"Yeah" Astra's expression was sombre in an instant as they nodded, countless memories rising to the surface and compelling them to keep talking, allowing Athena-Jade a moment longer to compose her thoughts "It was actually how my Mum found out about Felix, she'd thought he was dead for years then he turns up on TV….Then he got shot in the stomach with a harpoon on on live TV and everything got cut off. I met after that but honestly, because I didn't really know him before then I guess I've always kinda compartmentalised it.
"That's where he lost half of his tail" Athena noted "I remember him before that, he doesn't like talking about it; honestly losing his tail like that bothered him more than losing his arm in the war with Salem….All of Team FADE could have died that day, my Dad got hurt; a sniper tried to shoot my Mum in the head while she was getting people to safety"
"Damn" Astra whispered, allowing the full scope of what had occurred to touch them in a way that news reports broadcast when they were a child had failed to; their jaw left hanging open in stunned silence by their friends' next comment.
"You know I was there right, in the middle of it all?" Athena studied her leaders' face and quickly surmised that Zirconia had not shared any of her secrets; which only raised her higher in the Bear Faunus's estimations.
"It was where I first met Coral, mine and Arctus's sister before she was adopted into the family officially" she continued "White Fang came after us 'cos we wandered away from the VIP stands to get candy….That's why I'm not sure about the Vytal Tournament Astra, I haven't been to one since….I don't know if I can"
"Okay" Astra exhaled the word slowly, closing their eyes and allowing every muscle to relax for a moment.
"Okay?" Athena repeated, momentarily perplexed by the single word.
"Yeah" Astra nodded "I get where you're coming from and I'm not gonna push you or try and force you to do something traumatic just so Team MARZ can look good for the cameras; I mean we did that over the weekend anyway"
"Dork" Athena managed to sound playful even as she swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.
"I'm being serious AJ, if you're not comfortable with this then tell me and I'll be the one to break the news to the others. I'll make the call and take any fallout-"
"No" Athena-Jade shook her head "You're a dork….This is exactly why they made you the leader and not me, but no Astra. One way or another this has to be on me"
"I-"
"You wanna compete, I know you do" there was no accusation in that, only an undeniable statement of fact "You wanna go home and compete in the tournament in front of your parents so they finally get it, so Felix finally get that you're not just the kid he taught to throw a punch any more. Hops wants to go as well, I can tell and Regalia….Damn it she's an explorer who always wanted to be a Hunter, this is everything she ever wanted and you're telling me to be selfish. I can't do it Astra-"
"And that's why you should have been the leader. I am selfish" the Deer Faunus murmured, fiddling with the points of their black-dyed Mohawk.
"Don't interrupt while I'm psyching myself up" the Bear Faunus wagged an admonishing finger in a manner very much like her mother "I came to this academy to challenge myself, so that's what I'm gonna do….I can do this, I can do-"
"You don't have to do this on your own" Astra added "I think a lot of students are talking to Counsellor Daichi and his people after the fight in the city, you could always book an appointment"
"I….This is something personal" Athena folded in on herself again, not quite as open to the idea of revealing her inner turmoil to anyone outside of her closest friends and family
"I get that" Astra repeated a previous statement "But he'll get it….Team CFVY, Team RWBY, hell most of our Professors were in Vale at the Vytal Tournament for the first war….Why is it always at the tournament, in fact why has the tournament not been cancelled after all that?"
"They tried to, failed" Athena noted, cutting off Astra's rambling stream of consciousness before it could distract her from ideas that were taking root in her mind; forming a solution that she should have seen all along and were it not for her existing headache would have prompted her to slam a meaty palm against her forehead for her blindness.
"Okay, I think I know what I need to do….Just don't make any plans for the team for this weekend okay?"
"You're taking Zirconia out on a date? She told me about you kissing her by the way-"
"Asshole!" Astra was silenced by the force with which Athena shoved him into a wall and in that instant normalcy resumed.
Author's Notes:
Well it's another filler chapter, but honestly that's not a bad thing….Anime needs to bring those back.
Still, managed to have some fun character interactions and set up things that will become more important later on; you should know by now that I hide things in plain sight.
I feel like there should be more to say here but I just can't find it right now, so….
Let's summarise, shall we?:
Midweek….It is Wednesday my dudes.
Laser is and will always be a shitbag.
Ursinia is right, if you get a letter in the post it's probably just bills.
"Who even wants to talk to me?" that's kinda sad when you think about it.
Enjoy the mental image of Diabla being reduced to a blushing mess and trying not to squeal at the cute girl sending her a letter.
Easiest way to get Wolfram to do something, "Bet you won't" him into it.
You didn't really think that Hops is that cool and collected naturally right? She's a dork with limited social skills and a double agent, she has to get her shit together on a daily basis.
Zirconia you have been awake for two minutes, chill with the thirst.
Yeah, Nero having new orders or needing a talk is going to be something that sets people on edge now isn't it.
Okay Astra's being paranoid but their point isn't unreasonable.
"I'm not saying they're like Carmesi Hueso or anything" oh if only you knew who you were in a room with kid.
That's a point…..Everyone now knows what Astra and Regalia can do and AJ has the Schnee Semblance, right now Regalia is gonna be the only unknown quantity Team MARZ has.
And there's those ominous, doubting comments from AJ again.
Writing Coco is just becoming a vessel for my own tiredness.
A little bit on insight into how the academy runs behind the scenes and just how invested in everything Coco is, there's no excuses for her….If the end of the world is happening then fine, she still wants to know that her students are prepared and well looked after.
Ruby was originally gonna be in this scene.
Little Fox is doing well.
I had to put the little comment about Oobleck there, because I realised after writing the last chapter what it looked like.
So getting rid of the Spawning Pit was good for the sake of being good, but also was hoped to get Nero to show his hand so they can at least figure out what his goal is.
Some small insights into what's happening in Neo Vale, naturally we'll get more of that as the story moves in that direction.
So they know, or suspect that Carmesi is still alive, but have no reason to think Gestalt-Prime is.
Had to have some action this chapter and AJ vs Wolfram gives us that, plays more on the tension between the team leaders by putting them indirectly against each other and at the same time shows that it's not self doubt that AJ's dealing with….Although she's know 0 for 2 in fights in Vol.04, she's got that canon Weiss losing streak going on.
"Game of strategy disguised as showmanship and flamboyant violence" is what any fight between capable people with superpowers should be on some level.
People keep taking pot-shots at AJ not using her Semblance fully.
Yeah Wolfram got good and quickly, mixing up his new shield and old blade to create a wall of force that hits like an anvil.
AJ's tough, but that would have broken anyone else's neck.
Astra's at least taking their team leadership seriously now; rotating buddy duties and making sure everyone has notes copied, all whilst not going and doing something stupid.
The mental image of Regalia with the book made me snort.
Arslan Altan is not a model of reasonable behaviour.
Regalia is trying to help but has all the subtlety of blunt force trauma.
Clan Aiktishaf have probably got the best mediators, they literally can't avoid people so they have to just get on with it despite any problems.
Relationship problems, the small scale stuff in the face of what Hunters are up against really but it's the stuff that stings.
They have watched the sunset together from a rooftop…..these two love-struck dorks.
Despite the fact he's a villainous mastermind Nero still needing to be reminded to eat and look after himself by Zirconia made me grin.
The banter between these two is always interesting.
So Nero's made the connection between the Spawning Pit being bombed and Gestalt-Prime's brain activity picking up for a few seconds, now that's something that's gonna push the plot forward; but in the meantime he can't do anything.
Putting Zirconia on the case makes sense, but at the same time Coco's group of people doesn't know anything yet either.
So here's confirmation that any interaction between Zirconia and AJ is genuine, Nero gave her the go-ahead but he's also specifically not giving her instructions to seduce AJ just to get her on board; as much for her own sake as anything else.
AJ and Astra, bonding over too much pride, being boneheaded and not taking care of injuries properly.
"Look there's something we need to talk about and I was trying to figure out if now is a dick moved because you're spaced out on meds or the best time because there's nobody else listening" well look who remembered how to be considerate over the summer.
And now they're bonding over shared trauma….Like sharing this with Zirconia was a moment for the two of them in First Year at the party, but AJ and Astra have this as a shared thing to some extent, in the same way that Astra and Zirconia actually have shared trauma from being kids when New Vale was half-destroyed.
And yeah this is one of those things where you should have read FADE first but honestly if you start a series with part 5 then that's on you.
Astra really would have done it as well, they've grown….and still beating themselves up.
AJ's so determined to be the bad-ass that she'll go it alone even when she doesn't have to.
….There's someone she can and is going to talk to; the clues were not subtle at all and it'll be fun for next chapter.
Well, now AJ knows that Zirconia has told people about the kiss; she's gonna have to act one way or another.
Thank you to Lurkweed and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
Yeah the message of Starship Troopers missed me when I first watched it as well….That being said I was seven years old and definitely shouldn't have been watching it anyway.
Ship musing indeed….Although I think Regalia deserves to be more than just a rebound don't you?
Eh after everything Ruby's survived already she'll be fine.
Yeah, but Carmesi is just bitter in general.
Of course he's bothered about the Doctor/Professor thing...He's probably still paying off student loans.
Velvet Scarlatina is probably one of the best fighters that Beacon Academy ever produced and Arslan learned the hard way.
See treating it like a wake up call implies that Gestalt-Prime was asleep in the first place.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.