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

76. Flurry (Vol05)

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 76: Flurry

In the six weeks that had passed since team MARZ's prematurely concluded mission and their subsequent, publicly lauded part in the defence of Cosmo-Guild's production facility the weather in the Kingdom of New Vale had become steadily more frigid; the immediate fall out of the attack which had ultimately repelled even if those responsible had been successful to a frightening degree being steadily overshadowed by other topics, especially in the sprawling three dimensional metropolis of Neo Vale itself as the first snow of the year began to fall, creating a landscape that was hauntingly beautiful in its' own unique way as wind howled dramatically in the spaces between monolithic towers and snow built in the open spaces in the lower reaches of the Hive-city whilst those who lived within the enormous towers could simply gaze out at the swirling whiteness from climate controlled comfort and those fortunate to have an aerial view, such as the students attending Halo Academy and the children who called the campus home could simply stare down at the entire scene from above.

Currently Athena-Jade Slate and Zirconia Shadowmoon, who was being led hand in hand by her girlfriend were within the boundaries of Neo Vale yet far enough from the hive proper to have an unrestricted view of the sky, which in return meant that snow had fallen on them more heavily and that they were forced to brush the powdery substance from damp clothes and kick it free of their feet as they neared their destination; a largely unremarkable home in the suburbs of the city, far enough removed from the swarming and industrious heart of the Kingdom to feel as though it were a separate location entirely.

"It looks a little bland for a Hunter's house I know" Athena noted, half-turning and offering a smile as she almost effortlessly surmised Zirconia's thoughts "But it's nice, cosy….Just a shame it's on the other side of the city to Eagle's place otherwise we could go from here to see my brother"

"It's nice" Zirconia murmured, breath misting from beneath her shawl which was currently worn to keep the cold at bay as much as for the Grasshopper Faunus's habit of hiding her face. Artemis and Rover Tan, Athena-Jade's honorary aunt and uncle due to being her fathers' former team-mates had once lived in the hive-towers in a small apartment in one of the higher and more prosperous levels, though with the massive overhaul of city following the end of Salem's Siege of Vale's Capital and the temporary exodus of those with the means to leave in the immediate aftermath they had taken the opportunity to move out into a much more peaceful locale where their time away from their duties as Hunters could truly feel like rest and where they could raise their daughter away from crime and with regular access to fresh air and greenery, lifeless as it might have been in the current season.

The house itself was picturesque, a three bedroom affair of a respectable size with a porch leading leading to a small front yard framed by an almost cliché picket fence whose gate Athena-Jade locked behind her after leading her girlfriend through, round cheeks only slightly pink in the cold which was truthfully a timid ghost of what natives of Atlas endured yearly whilst her features were pulled into a bright smile that left the tips of slightly too-sharp teeth visible beneath her upper lip. Zirconia tried to match the expression but instead could only manage something awkward in its' nervousness which mercifully remained hidden from view, though mild concern reached her mismatched pink and orange eyes as she brushed snow from her hair and stared almost forebodingly at the door that was now only feet away.

"Is there anything I should know?" she asked carefully "I don't want to make an imbecile of myself or embarrass you in front of your family"

"I doubt you could ever do that" Athena reached up to plant a brief and gentle kiss on a cold cheek "Uncle Rover will be back later tonight, he and Aunt Missy take turns on missions if there's nothing that needs both of them so there's always someone home to look after Tuscan, my little cousin….Oh right yeah, Tuscan doesn't talk. It's nothing personal, she just doesn't; she's always been mute"

"I see" Zirconia nodded, having barely more than a moment to register that she had been led by Athena, who still held her hand to the porch and that the Bear Faunus was now casually opening the door to the home that was something far removed from what either of them had grown up with but was still undeniably pleasant in its' own way.

"Hey Aunt Missy! We're here!" Zirconia followed Athena into a short hallway filled with hanging coats, stored shoes and in a departure from what could be considered the norm which identified it as the home of a Hunter, several bandoliers of ammunition and boxes of medical kits and other essential supplies in case the famed search and rescue duo ever had to depart in a hurry. Beyond the hallway Zirconia could hear the sound of a television, its' output being quickly turned down though not before she managed to recognise the sound of a theme song she recognised, belonging to a Saturday morning cartoon from her own childhood and one which she had learned to play on her violin some years ago; mild surprise that the show was still being aired was cut short as the door separating the hallway from the living room was pulled open to reveal a single figure peering into the dimly lit and narrow space with the keen eyes of a Faunus.

"Hey Tuscan, remember me? It's been a while….Can you show me where your Mum is?" Tuscan Tan was by Zirconia's estimation perhaps ten or eleven years old, a Husky Faunus whose tail swished behind her for a moment before standing alert and stiff, the attribute being presumably inherited from her father along with a skin tone a few shades of brown darker than that of her mother; hair that was dark and loosely curly had been tied into a simple and somewhat messy bun which, when paired with the vibrant pyjama pants which stood at odds with the t-shirt with a skull and crossbones t-shirt she wore suggested that the young girl would be content to spend the day where it was warm watching cartoons. Tuscan's eyes, Zirconia noted were mismatched like her own and indeed like those of her mother with one of them being a deep amber yellow and the other a pale shade of blue though what Zirconia noticed most was the way the girls' expression changed as Athena spoke to her; the Bear Faunus having instinctively used a tone largely reserved for much younger children which earned her a harsh glare and a wrinkled nose before the little girl reached out and dragged the surface of the door she had opened.

'I'll be eleven in a few months Athena-Jade. I'm not a baby. Don't talk to me in the baby voice'the shock on Athena's face was immediate and unmistakable as the girl she had always known to be mute answered her, moreover the words had an unnatural, echoing and grating quality to them which Zirconia suspected was connected to the fact that Tuscan's lips had not moved, the sound instead issuing from the tips of her fingernails instead of the expected scraping.

"That's…..That's new" Athena finally managed to get words out after several seconds of blinking, time enough for Artemis Tan, dressed in something far more comfortable that the golden armour she had worn for her mission with Team TRQS to come into view.

"I see Tuscan has wasted no time in showing off her Semblance" the mild bemusement in her voice being outshone by the obvious pride in her daughter "Come into the living room, I was just finishing up lunch….I'm sure Tuscan will be happy to dazzle you with her new tricks….Just please don't try and blow anything up"

"Blow stuff up?" Athena, clearly reeling at how much the cousin she only remembered as a baby sputtered with a look of utter confusion on her face; a look which Zirconia found oddly adorable and couldn't help but smile warmly at as she lowered her shawl out of simple politeness.

'Dad says I can mess with sound waves, I turn one noise into something else….I can use it to talk but I get tired' Tuscan explained, words coming in small bursts as she tapped her fingers against furniture as she led the two teens into the living room and towards a sofa whilst Artemis slipped out of view once again with the assumption that she would return in short order.

"That's awesome, I'm proud of you….Just don't wear yourself out; don't worry I still remember some sign language" Athena assured her, treating the younger Faunus with a seriousness which had Tuscan visibly puffing up with pride "But….How did you use that to blow something up?"

'Got into a fight at school….Tried to turn the sound of them opening a can of soda into a sonic boom' Tuscan's mismatched eyes were gleaming with mischief 'Didn't work and I got grounded but I made a mess of their clothes and Mum and Dad both said they'll help learn to use my Semblance for fighting when I'm older'

"Is that what you want to do….Fight?" Zirconia found herself chiming in as she took a seat beside Athena, still holding her hand. She understood that the child had likely conflated fighting with Hunting Grimm and taking on a similar role to her parents and in all probability most of her adult role models; but to hear how casually the ten year old spoke about weaponising her Semblance and using it on others was a tad unnerving, something which left her briefly thinking about Nero's plans and the necessity of them.

Tuscan for her part chose not to answer and instead changed the subject.

'I like your eyes' she loomed, as much as such a small child could and peered closely at Zirconia with one pair of mismatched eyes boring into another before Tuscan's features hardened and she used the sound generated by gently clapping her hands together to speak more 'I saw you on the TV, you and Athena-Jade dating was on the news. She never calls but they make her sound cool….Do you love her?'

"Tuscan!" Athena sputtered, suddenly far more red-faced than she had been whilst out in the snow "Kid….You are a pest! How do you even-"

"I do" Zirconia breathed out simply. Athena was silent and dumbfounded, turning towards her girlfriend slowly with an expression of steadily mounting giddy joy as mortified blushing gave way to a bright smile that made Zirconia's heart skip a beat.

"You've never….I mean….ahhh" the last part left Athena-Jade's lips as a faint squeal which managed to be entirely fitting and yet quite unlike her in the same moment.

"I do, I love you….Our last mission made me think about things, I just wanted to find a good time to say it" Zirconia found herself fighting the urge to hid behind her shawl once again; masking herself as she twisted things and told half-truths to someone she was very much in love with. She had been aware of her feelings for some time but it had been in her conversation with Damascus Nero when things had become crystallised, with her hesitance from voicing her feelings aloud coming from an uncertainty about how to proceed despite her guardian's warnings that she should act quickly if she intended to bring Athena into the fold as their plans moved forwards.

"I love you too!" Athena exclaimed as her powerful arms wrapped around around Zirconia's waist and the taller, more slender of the young women found herself hauled onto her partners' lap only for the brief moment of tenderness to be cut painfully short by the sight of Tuscan Tan miming vomiting at the display before turning on her heel with a flourish and more grace and poise than a ten year old in slapdash attire and a prematurely brooding quality about her should have been capable of, forcefully slapping her palms together to create more sound waves to manipulate; though showing some signs of effort as she did so this time.

'MUM!' the word echoed in Tuscan's equivalent to a yell 'THEY'RE BEING GROSS, DON'T LEAVE ME IN THERE WITH THEM!'

"I swear Coral is never going to let me live this down when she hears about this" Athena managed to laugh softly, arms still around Zirconia's waist as the two rested the foreheads against one another "This is going to end up being one of those family stories that always gets brought up"

"Your cousin is quite a character" Zirconia murmured, concern at the little girls' demeanour now competing with the fact the young Husky Faunus had somehow endeared herself with all of her blunt oddness to the older girl in such a short amount of time.

"Is it bad to say she was cuter when she didn't talk?" Athena-Jade risked a hushed whisper before smiling "She's gonna be a bad-ass when she's older and she's had some training….Right now though, kid who got her Semblance early. She's a pest"

"Which is odd, because Astra discovered their Semblance late and I feel like the two would appreciate one another"

"Oh my Oum you're right" Athena breathed out, finding herself contemplating all of the ways that her young cousin and the leader of Team MARZ would play off of one another and feed into one another's attitudes, along with all of the bad habits Tuscan would likely pick up if the two were to ever meet and suppressing a shudder at the notion of Tuscan Tan styling herself after the Deer Faunus and taking them as a role model.

"I am so glad Astra and Regalia went into the city today"

---

Snow crunched beneath the overlarge and immensely durable tires of Astra's pickup truck as the vehicle roamed through the city though the sound was lost beneath the throaty, rumbling growl of the vehicles' engines which the Deer Faunus would describe as suitably impressive as well as the ambient sounds of life going on within the lowest reaches of Neo Vale.

The vehicle itself had been repainted in the weeks that had passed since Astra had received it, most of its' previously stripped and dulled surfaces now a deep and bright shade of red so thoroughly maintained that they gleamed even in the paltry light offered by the winter sun as it peeked from between heavy grey clouds, the front of the truck from its' grill to its' front doors however were an equally glossy black which formed a flame pattern reaching around the sides of the vehicle in a pair of stylised trails, fire resembling antlers much like the Deer Faunus's own personal emblem to give a result which Astra themselves was immensely happy with whilst their father had jokingly noted that it might have looked a little less tacky if the colours were reversed. Regalia had been the tiebreaker in that particular discussion and the Racoon Faunus, almost predictably sided with her partner; the benefits of that decision including the fact that her beloved jetbike Clunker was currently secured in the bed of the pickup whilst Regalia herself was comfortable in the passenger's seat of the truck, warm and comfortable despite the weather outside being the coldest she had ever experienced as she made herself comfortable and turned to her partner.

"You've still gotta name it. You've gotta"

"Hm?" Astra's flicked away from the road for the briefest moment as they turned down the music enough to hold a conversation, the mixture of heavy synth bass and electric guitars fading into an ambient buzz though they soon returned their focus to their surroundings with the diligence of a new driver which Regalia found she could not be mad at; whilst she had learned to drive in vastly different circumstances she remembered well the caution that had been drilled into her by the Outriders of Clan Aiktishaf.

"The truck!" she exclaimed in a long-suffering tone as she gestured somewhat wildly to the cab around her "I named Clunker, you brother named the Killer Bee-"

"His Mum's named their bikes as well….Or Professor Xiao Long named them both" Astra noted

"See!" Regalia leaned back in her seat with a look of smug satisfaction "You gotta….It's like naming your weapons; no Hunter has a sword that's just called sword"

"I know, I know" Astra admitted with a faint chuckle "I just haven't had any ideas that stick yet….Maybe I'll name it after I've taken it out for a mission, let it earn a name for itself or something"

"Rise….Car Vader" Regalia snorted, allowing herself a bright smile at the laugh Astra answered with, a faint swooping feeling in her stomach at the sound before she studied her partners' features and added "Distracted?"

"A little, we're nearly there. Are you ready?"

"Always" Regalia grinned as she lowered her goggles and pressed the small button that allowed the retractable faceplate to slide into place and cover her nose and mouth; Astra nodding in response and slowing their as yet unnamed pickup truck to a crawl as they made their final approach on their latest target.

Astra was determined to find a lead on Petrol.

Over the six weeks that had passed since their last encounter, where the avian Faunus had left them bleeding on the ground Petrol and his expanded and now much more well armed and supplied minions had, exactly as expected chosen to keep a low profile though Astra had still grown steadily more uncomfortable with the lack of progress by the authorities with each passing day and chosen to take matters into their own hands.

Where Felix, alongside the rest of Team FADE and their equally recognisable allies had used their public profile and sheer presence as veteran Hunters to dissuade any possible attacks against Astra and Felix's parents by simply making themselves frequent visitors of anywhere an attack might reasonably happen and keeping a watchful eye out whilst doing nothing untoward Astra had chosen a more aggressive, yet still cautious and measured approach which sought to keep the gang leader on the defensive despite his apparent involvement in things far beyond his previous scope. Finding Petrol's home and appearing there for a direct confrontation had been dismissed as a flight of fancy immediately, the fact that he had not yet been arrested meant that Petrol had made himself exceptionally difficult to find and it was likely, given what had been stolen from Cosmo-Guild's premises that wherever the criminal was hiding he would be well protected; Astra had instead weighed their options and considered visiting areas with heavy gang activity in turn and shaking down individual members until a weak link could be found however this too had been disregarded as it was likely to create more problems than it solved by angering more violent individuals who knew the city as well as Astra did if not better and so the leader of Team MARZ had settled on their current strategy of visiting places that the gang might have some small, tangential business not connected to their primary sources of income in an effort to find a less rigorously guarded lead or angle of attack through the use of Regalia's Semblance.

Their current prospective target was a scrapyard.

"This is it" Astra noted bluntly as they brought their truck to a halt, painfully aware that they eye-catching vehicle was already the subject of questioning and envious stares though their identity was hidden behind tinted windows whose glass was bulletproof.

The scrapyard was not the one which Astra had spent a portion of the summer using as a training ground to hone their Semblance, that business was located further in the direction of the cities' docks and was a respectable establishment which their father had ties to whilst this was a much smaller place, nestled into a corner of an old industrial estate which had somehow survived the Capital's multiple redevelopments, with old brick factories flanking a landscape of twisted metal and stacked vehicles where shipping containers were used as offices and a high chain-link fence with barbed wire wrapped around its' peak surrounded the place; giving the scrapyard a sense of almost palpable seediness which was only worsened by the sight of a pair of mean-looking guard dogs sniffing about the place.

Athena-Jade had mentioned in her debriefing that some of the criminals she and Zirconia had encountered had been trying to make off with easy to steal components which seemed separate to their apparent goals, Astra assumed that this had been for the sake of selling the stolen goods on and they would have assumed by the sight of the scrapyard that it was the sort of place where such a sale could be made even if they had not had the fact that the business dealt in stolen and questionable goods confirmed for them.

"Anything?" Astra asked hopefully after waiting almost an entire minute and finally turning towards their partner and seeing the faint glow of Regalia's Semblance lighting the purple coloured lenses of her goggles.

"You get nothing, you lose. Good day sir" Regalia sighed, somewhat dazed as she returned to a full and proper awareness of her immediate surroundings after using her 'Look-See' Semblance.

"Nothing?" Astra sighed.

"My Semblance only works on broad, general ideas….I tried looking for crime or stolen stuff or even stolen electrical stuff but the whole place lights up for my Semblance. Needle in a haystack, I'm sorry"

"Hey, it's fine….It was a long shot anyway" Astra sighed, reaching out to squeeze their partners' shoulder reassuringly before pulling their hand back to take the gearstick only to instead let it drop and rest closer to Regalia's hand, their fingers resting atop one another as the Deer Faunus pondered their next move.

"We could go in, talk to the owners or do this the long way and start looking for clues?"

"Honestly I doubt it would help us" Astra sighed forlornly "We don't know for certain if Petrol's crew sold anything here and even if we did we don't know what we're looking for; which means we can't use it as leverage against the people running this place 'cos they're not gonna give up information on their customers unless it's to save their own skin"

"They can't afford the risk to their reputation….Honour amongst thieves?" Regalia asked, understanding her partners' reasoning in what she hoped was a sign of some rudimentary street smarts.

"Exactly, by now Petrol must know that I'm looking for him and the fact he hasn't made a move means he isn't coming to take another shot yet….If someone gives him up and puts him in a situation where he can't fight on his terms there's gonna be a retaliation. This is a business and Petrol's a known arsonist" Astra continued, pleased that Regalia was of the same mind "Besides….I don't wanna leave my ride here, it'll get stolen by the time we come back out. Those kids over there, see 'em?"

"I see 'em" Regalia confirmed, unable to hide her surprise at the notion of children behaving in such a way; amongst the Aiktishaf children were treasured members of the clan and nurtured by their travelling community until they found their niche within it and the notion of an Aiktishaf child stealing and going unpunished by their elders was nonsensical.

"Damn it" Astra growled, face lining with frustrated determination "If we'd been quicker to get mobile we could have just gone to the hospitals and grabbed a couple of Petrol's people that got away there-"

"If they don't have their own doctor….And if other Hunters weren't waiting for them at the hospital" Regalia pointed out "Besides, you'd just been stabbed"

"Fair" Astra admitted, clearly referring to Regalia's summation of things rather than accepting their own, now healed injury as an excuse "So what do you want to do now? We can go visit the scrapyard I sometimes hang out at if you need to get any parts for Clunker, grab food on the way and try and work out where else we can look?"

"Heh I like the way you think" Regalia smirked, privately fighting the urge to fidget happily at how well Astra knew her "We wouldn't be able to stay long….You told AJ and Zirconia that you'd pick them up and I'm hanging out with some older students later"

"You're right" Astra nodded, checking the time and realising how little of it they had to spare before adding "Hey don't forget, we're meeting Team TRQS for a movie night and a little hangout later….Unless you're gonna be busy all night?"

"I don't think I will be"

"Good" Astra beamed brightly, dark makeup making sea green eyes seem all the more prominent "It's great that you're making friends, I know how much it means to you to feel like you're at home with Hunters….But you're still my best friend and I'll miss hanging out with you"

At that the Deer Faunus moved their arm and draped it over their partners' shoulders, giving Regalia the best approximation they could manage with seatbelts hindering them both.

"Heh, you've got a friend in me" Regalia replied in what she hoped was a casual tone as Astra brought their pickup growling into life once more whilst inwardly struggling to overcome the fuzzy warmth and tingling at the contact which left her wanting to duck beneath Astra's antlers and nuzzle into them to continue the hug in earnest.

The Racoon Faunus realised that she would need to decide soon how she was going to deal with the matter of her feelings for her partner, if and how she intended to act on them at all as things could not go on as they were; not when Astra had no idea the effect they were having on her.

---

Carmesi Hueso's hellish red eyes adjusted quickly to the interplay of gloom and harsh, sterile lighting that filled the Chamber as he entered it from its' hidden entrance at ground level, far above.

"Good, you've arrived. We can begin unless you have anything of immediate concern to bring to our attention?" it was Damascus Nero who spoke though as Carmesi stepped fully into the secretive base of operations he soon saw that the Chairman was not alone. Gestalt-Prime hung suspended and inverted in their fluid filled containment tube, the writhing things dwelling within the Grimm's bloated form reacting to the same spike of barely contained fury at the sight of the reptilian Faunus which saw Gestalt-Prime's segmented and mechanical mandibles clack and chitter whilst beside Nero, sitting in a comfortable seat at the Chambers' main control terminal was Albion Herringbone, the scientist clad in his usual combination of cream coloured business suit and lab-coat in a stark contrast to the overwrought and ornate styling of Aefen Cruor whose masked visage was visible on the computers' screen, her own base of operations being far removed from the pristine nature of the Chamber.

It was plain to see that prior to Carmesi's arrival the attention of the four, oddly matched members of the growing conspiracy had been on an addition to the Chambers' furnishings assembled in recent weeks, the spoils of the assault on Cosmo-Guild; the hastily made frame laden with all manner of devices and connection points which Carmesi lacked the knowledge to explain or describe which formed a dock or stripped down hangar of sorts, connected to Gestalt-Prime's tube by a series of pipes and cables and closely monitored by the various hidden and obvious weapon systems of the Chamber. Within this framework stood a single mechanical figure, larger than a man and humanoid save for an additional pair of arms with its' body splayed open, armour and inner workings pulled away and held aloft by the rigging around it to create the effect of a cross section whilst the face and presumably several other internal components remained wholly absent.

Carmesi studied the empty shell, the source of his summons to the Chamber for a moment before answering.

"Is it a good idea to speak openly?" Carmesi rumbled out, nodding in the direction of Aefen with no attempt to mask either his insinuations or the open contempt he held the exiled scientist who masqueraded as a demented cultist in. Albion surprised the Faunus by giving the slightest, barely perceptible nod of approval to show that the two were in a rare case of agreement before retorts came from multiple sources.

"Obey your Alpha and speak!" Gestalt-Prime's voice came as multiple smooth bass-notes, a multitude speaking as one, its' intensity off-putting yet Aefen still offered her own answer to the aspersions cast about her.

"Your plan is to replace the Hunters and current status quo, am I truly more of a potential threat than the Hunter stood in our midst?" every syllable dripped with a pretentious air which irked Carmesi as much as the way she gestured with her skull-tipped staff as she spoke before adding, with a tone which made it clear that she wore a smirk beneath her mask "Though it's interesting to see the dynamics of this little family I've found myself a part of, who would have known that such a well-to-do figure as Chairman Nero had such a messy home and such interesting skeletons in his closet-"

"That's enough" Nero interjected firmly "We are far too close to realising our goals for there to be any sloppiness, any lack of focus now! Carmesi….Speak freely, Aefen is trusted enough to know who we are and what it is we are working towards"

"So be it" Carmesi growled, choosing not to comment on the fact that such trust was only capable through the threat of mutual destruction "There are no immediate concerns that would hinder us here and now….But there is a small matter that you should let me attend to-"

"He presumes far too much, you should maul him to remind him of his place" Gestalt-Prime noted, the comment being firmly ignored by Nero who instead simply nodded for Carmesi to continue.

"Our assets in the city are getting restless" Carmesi sneered with all the scorn he reserved for Petrol and his band of thugs "The repairs and modifications to the battle-suits are still ongoing meaning that they can't fight as effectively as they would like but they lack the discipline to wait for orders. Petrol is especially belligerent….There have been reports of student Hunters prowling around 'his turf', clearly looking for him-"

"That would be Zirconia's team-mates" Nero smiled "The very same person Petrol is so eager to settle a feud with"

"You should have Zirconia deal with it then, she was sent to the academies to handle matters like this" Carmesi fought to keep any trace of annoyance from his voice when discussing the person Nero cared for the most, frowning as he added "Her team are capable Hunters, young and misguided with no idea of the larger picture….But fundamentally good people, it would be a shame to let one of them be killed by scum like Petrol"

"Agreed" Nero nodded simply "However it is an issue to be resolved at a later date. You were summoned here to provide an additional level of security for our test…..Albion, if everything is ready?"

"One moment" the white-haired and bespectacled man replied, turning to another of the screens which made up his main workstation and entering several series of commands, bringing the lights and other components of the hangar for the robotic frame to life with a thrumming sound that ascended in pitch whilst the sounds of rushing fluid kept a steady note beneath it.

"It begins" Aefen's voice was hushed now, as reverent and awed as the rabble of fools who followed in her wake.

"Gestalt-Prime, your contribution if you please?" Nero intoned calmly, an affectation at odds with the tension which left his every muscle visibly coiled. The bloated and repulsive Grimm responded without words, simply letting out a pained sound as one of the bloated and distended segments of their maggot-like form strained and twisted before finally rupturing to release the abyssal black shape within it, a convulsing and serpentine monster of the most basic sort; an eel-like Grimm without bone armour and only the underdeveloped nubs of a fins and a single eye placed within the centre of its' sleek obsidian head.

"And now" Albion breathed out shakily "Commencing test zero-zero-one of the Cyber-Grimm initiative"

The serpentine horror that Gestalt-Prime had spawned, either through the direct command of the hybrid Alpha or some ingrained imperative began undulating to propel itself through the piping connecting the containment tube to the docking bay containing the purpose built and strategically dismantled robot; weapons monitoring the situation adjusting and tracking as the eel emerged at the other end from an opening which brought its' head close to the central spinal array of the machine and from there the near-featureless thing began to snake its' way upwards and coil around the spine of the robot. There were bated breaths all around and Carmesi watched with a mixture of sick fascination and an unspeakable sense of simple wrongness at the entire situation as the eel-thing began to melt and reconstitute itself into something else entirely.

"Our bright new tomorrow" Nero murmured as the Grimm became something more akin to the Geist which Gestalt-Prime had once been, yet still something entirely distinct; the coiled mass running into itself and consuming the spine of the machine to form in a single, central bulk of tissue from which thin tendrils of lashing, prehensile tissue sprouted and grew at a phenomenal rate, each of them reaching out and taking one of the many components of the unmade machine as if the Grimm intended to pull them close and gird itself with the exterior of the robot, wearing it as both a brace and a suit of armour.

And then things came unravelled.

"IT'S OVERREACHING!" Albion screamed frantically as the Grimm began spreading its' growing mass from the robot to the docking bay which housed it; the first traces of the expected bony carapace armour and gnarled, jutting spikes beginning to emerge from the central tumorous mass of the mutating Grimm as its' singular eye reappeared within the central chest cavity of the robot which now thrashed and flailed as muscles began to burrow and extend into its' limbs, claws and tendons sprouting on and through the framework of the steel frame around it in attempt to contort the material into new, spidery limbs with the intended body of the new creation forming a twisted and monstrous heart.

"Put it down!" Nero barked out with a sternness unexpected from a man entirely inexperienced with direct combat. The Chamber's defences opened fire yet the sheer bulk of the Cyber-Grimm was larger than anticipated and it continued to grow, twisting more of its' surroundings to form metallic armour panels which deflected the incoming bullets.
"It's going to merge with the Chamber!" Albion called it in warning as he tracked the growth of several small roots of the Grimm. Carmesi, hearing this and remembering the way the Alpha Geist which would go on to become Gestalt-Prime had tried to merge itself into the entire building in which they had first fought simply strode forward heedless of the thrashing spasms of rapidly growing monstrous appendages around him, his arterial red Aura glowing around him and shifting erratically until it took on a discernable texture.

In the next instant Carmesi used his Semblance and the Cyber-Grimm died as spears of solid Aura tore through its' defences and its' body.

"It needs work" he noted gruffly, drawing his weapons even as the Grimm faded away into smoke and fragments like any other of its' kind; the flippancy he spoke with doing little to mask the way his eyes roved the dissipating cloud of darkness in case the failed Cyber-Grimm revealed any final tricks.

"Indeed" Nero agreed, tone curt and demeanour suggesting that this was of no more urgency than any board meeting he might attend as he turned to Gestalt-Prime "Please strive to keep your underlings under more strict control when we next have need of them. Albion, Aefen do you believe you can learn anything from this?"

"We can learn a great many things from what we just bore witness to" Aefen answered breathlessly, the sound crackling through the speakers of the computer "We can refine the process and sculpt the results to our purposes, it's a pity that Carmesi was so trigger-happy….If we could have contained the Grimm we could have learned a great deal more by studying its' development"

There was an exchange of glances between those present in the Chamber before Albion cleared his throat and spoke, revealing that he had likely been recording the entire procedure for posterity.

"Test zero-zero-one of the Cyber-Grimm initiative concluded. Results were unsatisfactory, subject was terminated as a safety precaution. Doctor Cruor and I will convene prior to test zero-zero two".

---

It was late afternoon, verging on evening with the dull grey sky already close to setting and the limited remaining light all but totally obscured by the colossal buildings of Neo Vale's centre by the time Athena-Jade and Zirconia had found themselves in the midst of the city which seemed to be perpetually within a state of bustling liveliness.

The two had spent an enjoyable day with Athena's extended family, the initial awkwardness that came with the fact it was the first time either girl had either introduced a romantic partner to family or been the partner in question being overcome as Artemis produced lunch, coinciding perfectly with the return of her husband. A brief discussion of the incident which had required Rover Tan's attention had served as the beginnings of a discussion about the various missions that Team MARZ had taken and comparisons to the adventures of Athena-Jade's honorary aunt and uncle, many of which had featured her parents and other famous Hunters such as Coco Adel and Velvet Scarlatina; in turn leading to discussions about family and Athena-Jade and Zirconia's relationship, with assurances being made to the Grasshopper Faunus that the press had been equally insufferable with the partners of every other member of the Schnee family and that she was handling the situation admirably. Eventually Tuscan, communicating through sign language to keep from taxing her Aura reserves needlessly had managed to draw Zirconia into several rounds of a video game she enjoyed; the young Husky Faunus having clearly taking a liking to her cousins' almost effortlessly mysterious and charismatic partner, this had ended in such a thorough defeat for Zirconia that she had joked that her image would never recover from the blow Tuscan had dealt to it which only seemed to please the child more.

Before long however the pair had left, making their way to their current location inside one of the hive-towers where they had found a coffee shop with outdoor seating made possible by the internal climate control of the monolithic structure.

The establishment was located in the mid-levels of the tower and within view of one of the smaller bridges leading over to the next structure, far enough from the busiest parts of Neo Vale's heart that traffic was limited; a steady stream of pedestrians and cars which still allowed Athena and Zirconia a view of the night sky outside where the snowfall seemed just as out of place against the neon lights as the quaint and saccharine decorations of the coffee shop itself did against the backdrop of the urban superstructure.

"We are total dorks and this is cliché as hell" Athena-Jade noted, making no effort to hide how unabashedly happy she was with the situation as she sipped her coffee whilst shuffling her chair around the small table so that she was beside Zirconia rather than opposite.

"I would like to remind you that this was your idea" Zirconia noted with a smile of her own as she laced her fingers through Athena's "Though I see you opted not to get one giant coffee with two straws"

"That's only for milkshake" the Bear Faunus shrugged with a smirk "Besides, would you prefer this or Star-Lien Coffee?"

"The water in their coffee is just tears" Zirconia answered, the frank and acidly delivered quip leaving the pale girl behind her sputtering as she struggled not to spray her coffee everywhere with her laughter which, in the silence that followed after it created an opening for Zirconia to change the subject.

"So….I don't have anything to compare against, did today go well?" her mismatched eyes showed her concern "Did I make a good impression?"

"Are you kidding?" Athena exclaimed "They all adored you….Which means they're gonna talk to my parents, Aunt Missy is probably gushing to Dad now which then means they're gonna want you to come to Atlas at some point so they can meet you in person. Oh my gosh if you meet my sister in person it's gonna be great"

"You….Are utterly adorable when you're excited like this" Zirconia murmured, words and features soft as she brushed her thumb gently against the back of her girlfriends' hand and lovingly took in the look of happiness on the Bear Faunus's face, cheeks blushing as readily as they had when the two had first approached the idea of dating one another.

"Yeah well, you have this effect on me" Athena's beamed, setting down the napkin she had used to wipe up the small amount of coffee spilt in her previous laughter "But what about you Hops, what do you think of my Aunt and Uncle and my baby cousin….Who is not a baby any more?"

"Would I be speaking out of turn if I said that Tuscan worries me somewhat?" Zirconia asked hesitantly, relaxing slightly as she watched Athena-Jade first pursed her lips and then began to nod slowly as she silently pondered the thought.

"You think she's a little….I don't know how to phrase it, rough and ready?"

"A child with parents in a position of authority who uses her Semblance against her classmates and has a clear competitive streak? You see my concerns?" Zirconia added, desperately hoping that her comments would not overstep some boundary and say something that might sour her relationship with Athena whilst also seeing the topic as a way to begin the careful process of feeling out if her partner was as amenable to the restructuring of society into something more just as Zirconia hoped and believed her to be.

"Really didn't like getting thrashed like that at Street Brawler huh?" the snowy haired girl frowned before letting out a sigh "But yeah….I don't like hearing it but I think you're right. People said similar things about my brother and I when I was growing up, that we're in a position which basically gives us free reign to do whatever we want to people around us. From the outside looking in Tuscan probably does look like a kid who could grow up to be a bit of a jerk; her Semblance….It's unfair but it's one of those that unsettles people a little when they see at as well, she could definitely come across as a little scary even if she didn't want to"

"But with such a great older cousin looking out for her she'll be fine" Zirconia added, using their closeness to one another to gently nudge Athena-Jade's broad and powerful shoulder to which the shorter girl responded by leaning into her partner contentedly.

"I love you" Athena murmured, making Zirconia's cheeks flush and her hart flutter "I had the biggest crush on you for so long and with us being friends and partners as well I just guess I fell in love with you somewhere along the way….I guess hearing you say it earlier made it clearer for me Hops"

"Well we can thank your 'rough and ready' cousin for that" Zirconia, still holding Athena-Jade's hand brought it to her lips and kissed her knuckles "She asked the question and the answer came naturally. I love you, I have for some time"

Athena-Jade let out a keening sound of utter joy which she would, if asked staunchly refuse to call a squeal as she nuzzled into her girlfriend some more, trailing gentle kisses along the Grasshopper Faunus's neck up to her cheek before playfully whispering in her ear.

"So when are you gonna take me home Hops….I still wanna meet; damn do I call him Mister Nero or Damascus?"

"Damascus is normally something of a stickler for things being done properly and having things in order….But I know how he speaks with his close friends and I think if you were to call him Mister Nero in person he'd laugh at you"

"Which makes him easier to deal with than the rich people in Upper Atlas….The self importance at the balls and galas from people with titles and airs" Athena-Jade trailed off, her meaning fully understood by Zirconia who nodded

"Oh the wealthiest people in New Vale have their titles and airs of their own….Damascus and I are simply new lien and not sociable enough to care about the high society parties" she smiled fondly at Athena before adding "I'll arrange something as soon as possible….He has been asking me when he'll be able to meet you for some time now"

"Now I'm a little nervous" Athena gave a stage whisper, the attempt at playfulness doing little to mask a sudden and very real nervousness at the idea at meeting the man who had raised her girlfriend since she had been orphaned by circumstances which Zirconia had still never fully discussed with her.

"You have no reason to be" Zirconia lied as fluently as she was able to, her own nerves at the possible outcome of the inevitable matching Athena-Jade's though in that moment Zirconia swallowed her nerves and turned to face Athena so that she could lean close and kiss her lips.

Only for the sound of a roaring engine and blaring horn to demand their attention.

"YOU FUCKING SUCK, YOU PEST!" Athena-Jade barked forcefully in the direction of the bright red pickup truck with black detailing which would be unmistakable even if it were not for the unique jetbike forged from scrap and salvaged parts secured in its' bed and the fact that Astra Mars themselves were leaning out of the drivers' side window; Regalia sat beside them enjoying a box of chicken nuggets.

"They didn't even get us nuggets" Zirconia shook her head in disdain, galled at the principal more than anything as the two of them began making their way towards Astra's pickup only for the Deer Faunus to retort by first reaching down and producing a carrier bag containing more fast food, chicken nuggets included and supplies for the movie night they had promised to partake in with Team TRQS.

"Of course I got you nuggets….What am I, the kind of inconsiderate team-mate who picks the furthest possible coffee shop from the landing pad we need to be at? AJ, were you planning on getting us back up to Halo by putting glyphs under my ride?"

"You suck, you suck so bad, you are the suckiest" Athena declared in a singsong voice, commencing the regular friendly bickering back and forth between the two of them as she opened the back door of pickup and held it for Zirconia; the pickup truck setting off a moment later with Team MARZ verbally jousting with one another as they went.

---

Honey Scarlatina was had been spending her weekend enjoyably thus far, largely owing to the fact that she had spent it in the company of her partner and girlfriend Yuki Shiro doing nothing in particular but still valuing the time they managed to spend together despite their various obligations. The pair planned to rejoin their team-mates soon enough but were currently sat in the library of the academy where they had been returning some books they had needed for research purposes, Honey's ears drooping forward to cover her face as she laid her blonde head on Yuki's lap whilst Yuki herself read a novel she had plucked from the shelves; pausing as a thought came to her and caused her to look down at Honey.

"You think your parents will ask us to come along for any missions next weekend….If they do I wanna have something to read?"

"You know you guys don't have to come along for all them right?" Honey replied, rabbit ears flopping back to reveal her typically bright smile in place "I mean I love that you and my parents get on so well and that you come on the extra training missions that they give me but, if you feel like you need a break or you wanna focus on training for the tournament…."

"It's not that" Yuki lowered her voice even beyond the whisper that could be deemed acceptable in a library "It's just that we share a dorm with two other people, we spent weeks away on a mission and then your parents bring us out for extra training….I'd just rather get some time alone in a tent in the woods somewhere that's just the two of us"

"Oh….Oh" Honey's ears covered her face for a moment as she blushed an almost glowing shade of pink before staring up at Yuki and simply drinking in the sight of her. Even in a Halo Academy hoodie and sweatpants, a second hoodie thrown over the first for warmth whilst her usual attire was either in need of cleaning or repairs she was beautiful to the Rabbit Faunus; tall enough to lean down and kiss the point between Honey's rabbit ears with ease and with a build that balanced strength and softness perfectly and lightly bronzed skin and striking features, almond-shaped eyes that were a pale blue-grey in colour being framed by shimmering black hair which was currently styled into two loose buns which rested at the sides of her head with a few wavy strands which had broken free to trail loosely to her neckline. With her present attire Yuki's right arm was largely hidden from view and the gleaming metal of her hand gave the only indication of the fact that the limb was a prosthetic which Yuki had made her own by modifying to integrate seamlessly with her weapon.

"Think we'll have time to head back to our dorm?" Yuki almost purred the words out and Honey forced herself to not audibly whine in frustration before shaking her head.

"No...We won't"

"A shame, you looked comfortable there with your head between my thigh-"

"We're in the library!" Honey gave a whisper of faux mortification before pulling herself up into a sitting position and chancing a glance around the library to ensure they were not being too closely watched and then seizing her partner by the front of her hoodie to pull her into a deep, lingering kiss.

When the two broke apart they became immediately aware of the fact that someone had joined them.

"Heh, hey guys" Regalia Russet managed a small wave to accompany her somewhat awkward greeting, eyes darting and eventually settling on staring at the floor to avoid looking at the two girls' whom she had interrupted.

"Hey" Yuki's voice was a toneless deadpan, coloured only faintly with hints of her Mistrali accent as she regarded the Racoon Faunus with only thinly veiled annoyance until Honey gently nudged her to remind her that Regalia's presence was in fact expected and convey the fact that she should be nicer to the younger student.

"Hey kid, how'd it go?" she beamed happily, her sunny disposition contagious and leaving Regalia's bushy tail twitching excitedly behind her her as she took a seat despite the previous apprehension she had regarded the Rabbit Faunus with.

"Did you make a move yet?" Yuki huffed, giving Regalia an indignant look when the girl from Menagerie shook her head.

"Heh, we were kinda distracted….Well Astra's kinda distracted lately" Regalia mumbled sagging slightly as she spoke "I don't think they're gonna be able to focus on anything until they get some kind of closure with this situation….We did get food though?"

"Those chicken nuggets I can still smell don't count as a dinner date, demand better" Yuki answered bluntly.

"Yuki….Babe, you are absolutely terrible" Honey giggled softly, making a show of bringing a finger to her partners' lips which was playfully bitten in return before the golden haired Rabbit Faunus turned her attention back to Regalia and her predicament. Honey could not help but feel that she bore some responsibility and was partly involved since she had instigated Racoon Faunus's realisation of her own feelings and had pondered the matter, talking it over with Yuki and the rest of Team HONY over the several weeks they had been away on an extended mission before making her decision and approaching Regalia upon her return.

Honey enjoyed helping people and found the entire situation adorable, as such she had made it something of a pet project to help Regalia overcome her total lack of experience.

"You're honestly doing the right thing" she assured the Racoon Faunus gently "Having a friend and a partner who's there for them like this when they've got a family thing….Especially when being a Hunter and family stuff get mixed up; it's something they'll remember".

"They said I'm their best friend….I mean, we've said it a few times but it's nice to hear it" Regalia beamed happily, only to falter at Yuki's visible wince "What?"

"They care about you, they might just not even consider you in the way you want them to….Not that they wouldn't, they just haven't" Honey offered, bringing a frown so intense to Regalia's face she was forced to remove her goggles and massage her head.

"That's the thing" she grumbled "I don't know exactly what I want, I don't know I wanna date Astra and have something like you two or AJ and Zirconia have. I just….I just realised that my partner and best friend is actually….Kinda hot and now I feel like an idiot-"

"You're not an idiot" Honey assured her.

"I don't know….She kinda might be? You 'just' noticed your partner is hot? Everyone thinks that Mohawk is a little hot, have you seen the looks they get?" Yuki shook her head, letting out a brief sigh and a rare sympathetic look before adding "You know what would make this whole deal easier? Communication"

"Are you sure you don't want to just talk things out with Astra?" Honey asked gently "I mean we can give you makeovers and give you tips and pointers and take one of the bunks out of your room so you've gotta share a bed if you want us to but at some point you're gonna have to shoot your shot if you want this to go anywhere"

"I….I've never done any of this before" Regalia's frustration at herself overshadowed her faint amusement at the mental image of Honey and Yuki stealing one of Team MARZ's beds as she added "I don't know how I want this whole situation to look, I don't know how Astra would act or what they'd say if I did say something and I just don't want to make things weird with my best friend….This is so much easier in the movies"

"Well we can get you a boom-box but standing outside your own dorm window is kinda dumb" Yuki noted, her partner giving her a silently pleading look until she relented in her teasing before turning back to Regalia

"I get that" Honey assured her "I really do, at the moment just keep being a great friend and maybe take some time to really think about what you want from this. Have you got plans tonight?"

"Movie night with Team MARZ and Team TRQS" Regalia answered with a smile returning to her face despite herself, a love of cinema trumping her current gloomy adolescent turmoil.

"Sounds nice" Honey smiled "Normally movie dates aren't something I'd suggest but…."

"Heh, maybe" Regalia shrugged, catching the older girls' meaning.

"Or" Yuki chimed in with false brightness "You could just offer to suck their-"

She was cut off as Honey clamped a hand over mouth and Regalia let out a squawk of astonished and embarrassed surprise of such a volume that the trio were ejected from the library only moments later.

---

Qrow Branwen's mechanical chair moved with only the faintest of sounds, easily lost beneath beneath the whistling of the wind between the walkways of Halo Academy's various towers as he made his way, seemingly at random through the campus until finally he came to a stop in the centre of one of those bridges, positioned towards the upper reaches of a rarely used portion of the academy often used as a meeting place for rendezvous between students that Qrow chose not to question the specifics of; its' height giving it a breathtaking view of the campus as a whole, both Halo Academy and the orphanage beside it along with the entirety of the aerial platform they rested upon and the city of Neo Vale below. The reason for the grey and bearded Professor of Unconventional Tactics' halting at this particular juncture was Lie Ren peering down at his domain, braided hair blowing in the wind as he leaned with his elbows against a railing and with snow accumulating on his clothing suggesting just how long he had been stood here lost in thought.

"Did someone throw a bag of Rapier Wasps in your office?" Qrow chuckled gruffly by way of greeting, with Ren's response being to simply nod, a loving smile reaching his magenta eyes as he did so in the direction of the dividing line between Halo Academy and the orphanage; in truth the border was a blurred thing as interaction between the two groups of youngsters was common however at that moment it served as the frontline in a hard fought snowball fight which Nora was leading a dramatic charge in.

"I remember doing that with Yang and Ruby….She had one hell of an aim before she built Crescent Rose" Qrow chuckled, letting out an almost mournful sigh as he added "I wish I could have had that with Eagle as well"

"I apologise for asking you to meet me out in the cold and snow, we can move this discussion to my office if you'd be more comfortable there?" Ren offered only for Qrow to offer him a dismissive scoff and faintly amused shake of his head, running a hand through slicked back and grey hair.

"I spent months at a time on recon and scouting jobs for Oz in the cold. I'm old but I think I can stand out in the snow for five minutes" he managed a smirk as he gestured to the many legged chair that carried him "Besides, you really think this doesn't have a heated seat?"

"Very well" Ren nodded with a matching grin of his, the younger man having grown to appreciate Qrow's friendship as much as his experience over the years despite their differing methods in approaching many things

"As things stand" Ren continued "Without a clear lead on the identity or intentions of the Benefactor the Council want me to turn my focus towards more clearly identifiable threats such as Petrol and the gangs under his control. The Council also takes great pleasure in reminding me how important the Vytal Festival is to Neo Vale and the Kingdom of New Vale as a whole and that they want the event to run smoothly"

"Same old politics" Qrow laughed, finding the bitter edge that had seeped into Ren's calm demeanour oddly gratifying "How are the preparations going for the tournament and the parts of the festival we're involved in?"

"Progressing almost exactly as planned, it truly is amazing to watch" Ren answered, chest puffing out with pride until he added with some clear concern "Though Oobleck warns me that he might not be able to join you in the commentators' booth to reprise his role….There are adjustments to his mechanical spine which need to be made and coincide with some of the dates, factoring in travel time it raises issues"

"Yeah, Barty called me and let me know. Don't worry about it Ren….I've got someone in mind and the crowd will love it" Qrow's grin was a mischievous one which set Ren on edge.

"At least pretend to be impartial this time" he sighed eventually "Has your surveillance operation picked up anything?"

"I try not to spy on everyone all the time" Qrow answered, with an understandable level of resistance as he added "Nothing concerning our problems….I tipped Scarlet off about some more drugs being smuggled in, there's probably some other smuggling going on prior to the festival"

"It's a port city, there's bound to be smuggling going on all the time" Ren countered.

"So right now the Vytal Festival prep is going well" Qrow said "Your first real hurdle is gonna be the dance…..That's a smuggling operation all of its' own"

"Well, the dance and the reporters that want access to the students" Ren grimaced "It annoys me that they do make a compelling case for being allowed to make their own promotional materials….I know we never allow the press on campus, but I can't help but wonder if it might be a breath of fresh air"

"I'll defer to your judgement" Qrow growled out "But anyone you invite to the campus should be searched and vetted….Don't forget that the Benefactor had Coco's kid attacked inside an academy, wouldn't be hard to hide a grenade inside a hollowed out boom mic and catch someone off guard"

"If Yang were here she would have made a joke about a boom mic" Ren snorted though with the sobering thought of a potential attack inside their walls the discussion was forced to more serious subjects and tones.

"Did anybody who spoke to the people captured at the attack on Cosmo-Guild get answers?"

"Nothing, Nora went herself and they stayed silent until their lawyers arrived" Ren admitted, allowing his surprise at the situation to show as he knew precisely how intimidating his wife could be when she chose to be.

"Not surprising given that the Benefactor has a habit of killing anyone who talks" Qrow noted coldly "The lawyers are new though, it might be worth investigating them. Dig up some dirt on the lawyers and make 'em tell us who's paying them, these kids we caught can't afford them"

"Careful with that way of thinking Qrow" Ren warned "A security network is one thing but having eyes and ears everywhere and using fear and extortion on everyone in our way….That's not the kind of establishment we want to be"

Qrow shook his head and sighed, noting to himself that Ren and Nora were a needed conscience for the group who kept watch over Remnant; but it did make their alliance difficult at times.

"We need an angle" the grizzled veteran said simply "We need to do something that's going to make these people make mistakes we can capitalise on"

"There is one thing I might suggest" Ren murmured, tensing and hesitant as he continued "I am aware that you don't want to involve students in this; something I wholeheartedly agree with-"

"But Team MARZ have already started involving themselves" Qrow interjected, snorting at Ren's surprise "Yeah, I heard about that and I was wondering when you'd come and bring it up. The Mars kid is like their brother….No way would Felix let a threat to his family go unanswered"

"Team MARZ are intimately connected to this matter; Petrol and Astra Mars's history….Your own concerns that Chairman Nero's daughter was deliberately targeted and now their own efforts to involve themselves" Ren paused and considered his wording "These are students who were selected for additional training to eventually be used as our people in the field by Coco-"

"And then they spent half of last year on probation"

"For, once again trying to take matters into their own hands. Though it must be pointed out that this time they are being far more measured and reasonable in their actions" Ren countered, Qrow remained silent and considered; with Ren certain that no small part of those considerations would be revolving around the misadventures of his daughter, his two nieces and their respective teams and how the more thorough and meaningful support of the adults around them might have helped, how crises might have been averted or mitigated and lives saved.

"Fine" Qrow finally growled out "I'll give 'em the extra training like we agreed and I'll tailor some of it to helping with our current problems-"

"Thank you"

"But first I wanna put 'em through their paces" Qrow qualified "My test, my rules; to see what I'm working with….Besides, one of our other favourite students is overdue for a class with me"

"That sounds fair" Ren could only nod as he inwardly offered his sympathy and condolences to Team MARZ for what they were likely about to be put through by Professor Branwen.

---

Team TRQS were settled in one of the common areas scattered throughout the common area as they waited for Team MARZ to arrive, a choice made primarily because eight students in a single dormitory would begin to feel cramped and claustrophobic in short order and also because the common area, as well as comfortable sofas and a larger television screen more suited to a movie night boasted a microwave which for reasons Tiger could not currently fathom her teams' dormitory did not; though she resolved to correct this oversight by either simply buying one or using the noticeboard system that had been put in place to trade for one.

Until their new friends from Breaktide arrived, for that was what Team MARZ truly were now Team TRQS were the only students present whilst their peers, a few of whom had been invited were either spending their weekend training, working on assignments or venturing into the city below for its' clubs, dates with significant others or other ways to entertain themselves though a few other students had made noises about possibly joining the gathering later in the night. Team TRQS were not entirely alone however as word of a movie night had somehow reached a number of the children who resided on the aerial platform, meaning that the common area was also occupied by a small group of children hoping to enjoy movies that were entirely inappropriate for their age in groups as something of a rite of passage and open secret who were being loosely chaperoned by a teenage boy a few years shy of attending one of the academies, most like Halo itself whom Tiger had seen casting obvious looks in her direction though she was yet to acknowledge his presence as she could freely admit that she lacked the social skills to redirect and dismiss his attentions without crushing his self-esteem.

Fortunately her team-mates, her partner specifically provided a distraction.

"Did you hear from your brother?" Stygian asked as he meandered across the common area away from the sofa which Rye had laid his massive frame upon to take up entirely whilst Amaya sat cross-legged on his chest, the Mouse Faunus perching on the arm of the chair Tiger had claimed in a quiet corner of the common area; that fact that she had arrived before Team MARZ meaning that she had beaten Zirconia to it.

"Ravi said he might drop in, depending on what time he returns to campus" Tiger answered, her usual neutral scowl brightening somewhat only to falter as she added "He says Snapdragon already had plans"

"For Team SHMR as a whole or just the two of them?"

"Stitch, abandon that train of thought for your own safety" Tiger warned and though she kept her tone even and good natured Stygian was under no illusions that if he used his Semblance to teleport it would register Tiger as the most threatening thing nearby and bring him right back to where he currently was.

Tiger for her part allowed her attention and thoughts to wander for a moment as her partner took the opportunity to adjust his hair in a calculated effort to seem nonchalant, over the previous few weeks since her teams' return from their mission she and her painfully estranged twin had spoken several times and whilst it had been immensely and undeniably good for them both to reconnect after a year of awkwardness and avoidance it was still painfully clear that things had changed between them in ways that would never return to how they were; with Ravi Santara having grown into the potential Tiger knew he had always possessed with such confident ease that she was left baffled that it was she who had become a team leader and not him. As heartfelt as the conversations between the two of them had been and as much as the discussions and apologies had been needed Tiger, for all of her usual disregard for socialising with her peers found herself feeling that she would even endure the presence of Snapdragon Majus for an evening if it meant that she could spend time with her twin making up for lost and wasted time.

"Hey, you good?" Stygian asked as he nudged her gently "You zoned out a little there"

"Overthinking….I assure you that is a possibility for some of us" she answered as she returned the nudge and earned herself a bemused look that it would have been highly unlikely that her partner would offer her only a few months ago, back when Team TRQS had been stuck in their rut of being a team that functioned solely when in the midst of battle.

"Overthinking should be forbidden outside of business hours, especially on weekends. Unionise your thoughts-"

"That would be called meditation" Tiger retorted, unable to keep a laugh from escaping her at her partners' quip despite knowing that it would only encourage him.

"So where are Team MARZ?" he asked aloud, as much the Rye and Amaya as to Tiger "Regalia is apparently a film buff we were gonna go over the movies together before we pick something….These kids are looking restless"

"Teleport into their midst when they mutiny, do something heroic" Tiger dead-panned with a roll of her eyes and a dead stare whilst Amaya, still sat comfortably on her boyfriends' massive chest who offered an actual answer.

"Oh they're probably running late because of Athena-Jade and Zirconia….They were doing the whole 'meet the family' thing" she paused, face splitting into a broad smile "Those two are so cute together….It's a shame we haven't had a chance to go on a double date with them, it'd be fun"

Before either Tiger or Stygian could offer an answer to that the nearest entrance to the common area opened as if on cue, allowing Team MARZ to enter with the four Faunus bringing bags of snacks, drinks and several blankets which suggested that they had visited their dormitory upon returning which was given further credence by the fact that they were in the kind of warm and comfortable clothes most often worn when lounging indoors and bore no signs of the snow which still fell outside.

"Hey guys" Astra raised their hand in greeting, depositing a large amount of goods on a nearby table before claiming an empty chair and sinking tiredly into it whilst Athena-Jade and Zirconia exchanged pleasantries with their fellow partners and romantic couple Rye and Amaya and Regalia found herself almost magnetically attracted to the heap of DVDs that had been gathered, with almost everyone making a contribution. As Stygian made his way over to the Racoon Faunus, ostensibly to give her a fighting chance against the group of children now swarming around her Tiger took a moment to study Astra and noted that the Deer Faunus looked as though something were troubling them once again, a sight which had become increasingly common upon their return from their forays into the city which, despite her failings in small talk prompted her to speak up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah" they yawned, remaining silent for long enough that it seemed as though they would given nothing else before finally adding "Long day that didn't go quite how I wanted….And then we got some extra training dropped on us at the last minute"

"Take it as a privilege" it was the quiet but assertive rasp of Zirconia Shadowmoon that interjected and offered further context "I get the feeling that Professor Branwen does not offer trials of his subject matter to many students; we choose our elective courses at the end of the school year….We might have different Professors at Breaktide but this is still valuable"

"Besides" Athena-Jade nodded "Professor Branwen teaches the same subject as Aunt Penny, they're both cool; this is gonna be interesting"

"Yeah but does it have to be first thing on a Sunday morning with no warning….in the snow?" Astra grumbled "Regalia you're with me on this right?"

"The cold never bothered me anyway" she sung the words out and received nothing but an indignant snort from her partner who elected not to comment on precisely how big of a lie that was.

Tiger was more indignant still.

"Your team is getting special treatment? From Halo Academy Professors?….You're not even Halo Academy students!"

"We didn't ask for it" Astra countered defensively "Professor Branwen just came out of nowhere on our way here, caught us in a corridor and told us that he knew we'd taken some additional training with Professors last year, seen reports of some of our missions and the stuff we've taken on outside of training before he gave us a sales pitch….I'll be honest I don't think we had the option to say no"

"I see" Tiger forced the words out slowly.

"Heh, sucks that we won't be able to hang out all night….You kids can take any snacks I don't eat" Regalia chimed in, her generous offer making her a friend to the children present though Tiger's mind was already racing and as she turned to Stygian the Mouse Faunus's electric blue eyes narrowed as they met hers and the two of them, despite their differences understood that in that moment they were of the same mind.

Something strange was afoot, something which seemed if not openly nefarious than at the very least underhanded and questionable and both of them found themselves wanting answers.

Though neither wanted to be the one to tell Amaya and Rye that they would have to wake up early on a Sunday.

Author's Notes:

So, welcome to Vol.05 of MARZ Rising where I feel like, in just one chapter I've already gotten the ball rolling.
I took a week off of actually writing, which didn't quite coincide with my week off of work but oh well.
I used that time to get some planning done and so now I have everything up to the mid-season finale of Vol.05 which is Chapter 84 planned out and I can promise you that it's gonna be a fun time.
The title was a tricky one for this chapter, I wanted something snow related but nothing really came to me...Flurry ended feeling like it could fit, just because there's so many different threads being set up and moving parts to start of the volume.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Just off the bat establishing a time skip and some changes to the season/climate/scenery for the sake of your mental images.
I was originally gonna have Artemis and Rover still live in the Hive Towers but I couldn't remember where exactly in FADE: Legacy I gave their apartment a distraction, so instead they've moved out to the suburbs in the seven years that have passed since the end of that story; but in a different part of the city to Team FADE and friends' house.
Tuscan was mute in FADE Legacy because honestly, I wrote that story before my niece and nephew were born and I didn't have a readily available benchmark for where a toddlers' speech development would be….So, she's mute.
And then I immediately throw that out by giving her that Semblance; Tuscan's Semblance was for a couple of loose reasons, one it was a good way to catch AJ off-balance since she's not seen the kid in years, two there's a character in Worm with a similar power which this Semblance was inspired by and I just thought it was a cool use of sound-based powers that we don't see often, thee it's something I can pull out later and have fun with if I need to and four, it worked as a lead in for the conversation between Athena and Zirconia later in the chapter.
With Semblances draining Aura it still isn't a total workaround for her muteness.
Can you tell me that Zirconia's concerns aren't a little bit justified?
I have been writing this series since 2016 and I have had too many nice, dramatic or heartfelt I love you moments….Time for someone to get their feelings dragged kicking and screaming into the daylight by an annoying child.
I really do need to have more of Coral Scylla in this story.
Astra would immediate get adopted as a new big sibling by Tuscan.
The promised new paint job has been applied but the truck has no name yet because this is Astra, they know damn well that they'll want to change it later.
Regalia didn't overdo the quotes this chapter, but the ones she did were gold….That being said, I've got plans for next chapter to just be an excuse for her to go ham with it.
Did you really think that Astra was gonna let things stand with Petrol?….Still this is smarter and better thought out than their plans on Menagerie.
Where there's a scrapyard there's car thieves.
Regalia's first crush is honestly adorable to write.
Oh goody, all the villains in one place and a modded robot hung up on display, this couldn't possibly be bad news.
And now that Aefen has been brought into the fold fully we can have some interactions between her and the other villains in earnest, rather just her and Nero's Benefactor persona; which makes for some potential fun that we didn't get a proper chance to consider last chapter.
So Petrol does indeed know that Astra is looking for him, Zirconia has clearly mentioned it to Nero and Petrol is pissed off and wants to finish things off.
Also, yeah six weeks and those mech-suits aren't finished….Trust me, that's not even close to an unreasonable timeline; definitely worth noting as well that Nero hasn't gotten his own hands dirty on that job, he's basically just putting different criminals in touch with each other and taking loyalty as a commission at this point.
And with the test underway we get our first look at the Cyber-Grimm initiative in progress; but come on now, there was never gonna be any chance of me showing that off in the first chapter of the volume.
Nice little callback to the Vol.01 season finale where the Alpha Geist that became Gestalt-Prime merged with the fight club.
I did plan to have Rover and Artemis in this chapter properly but honestly there's already so much to do and so many characters, I can reference them but I can't include every old OC from earlier in the series.
Also, yay for cute coffee dates….Never been on one personally but oh well.
Zirconia's comment about the fake Starbucks is an inside joke with myself, the coffee from the coffee machines at one of my old jobs was described as "Battery acid, tears and regret" but everyone still drank about a dozen cups a day because it was long hours, a cold factory and they were 25 pence each.
Zirconia has spoken to Athena-Jade's whole family on video calls but has only met Arctus and Diamond in person.
Well AJ said everything Zirconia wanted her to in response to comment about Tuscan; she doesn't trust authority blindly, not even Hunters and she has a clear idea of how power and trust can be abused….Which means she is definitely at least possibly open to hearing out Nero's ideas.
As rich as Nero is, he is still new money; everything he's gotten was established within the last decade or so.
Now I don't share nuggets so I don't want to be a hypocrite….But anime power of friendship is powered by chicken nuggets, share your nuggets.
Cute and idyllic coffee shops: Located in inconvenient places.
A scene with Honey and her partner/girlfriend because a) I want Honey to feel like an actual character by the time Vol.06 roles around and b) I realised I really haven't given a proper description of Yuki Shiro (Whose name actually means Snow White, no connection to Weiss though) in the few scenes she's appeared.
I'm very deliberately keeping Honey and Yuki's combat attire and weapons secret until the Vytal Tournament; but Yuki does have a prosthetic that her weapon integrates into. Also, I don't give descritpions for characters that are tied to places because calling a character Asian in a setting with no Asia just doesn't sit right but Yuki is Asian.
So, this is who Regalia had plans to hang out with….Getting advice from Honey, which kinda makes sense.
Okay here's the deal, I feel like Yuki came across as a bit of a dick in this scene and I may or may not get chance to properly explore their relationship but; Honey is as has been alluded to, massively talented and already somewhat famous, she's also an absolute dear and a people pleaser who gets awkward and overwhelmed to the point that her team-mates act as an entourage….Yuki will act as her bodyguard and keep people away if needs be.
Oh and not sure if I'd actually mentioned Honey's team name before this but it's Team HONY.
It's canon that Astra is unequivocally hot.
"You know what would make this whole deal easier? Communication" say what you want but Yuki's got a point.
Nora absolutely participates in children's snowball fights.
Qrow does not appreciate anybody drawing attention to the fact that he's old...Though at this point, he's definitely getting on a bit.
Some discussion of what's going on in the background and if you take it in some very unsubtle hints that Petrol is going to be the main antagonist and problem for Vol.05.
Also, in Downward Spiral Port and Oobleck were joined in the box by Qrow, in FADE it was Barty and Qrow….Now for at least some matches Qrow is going to have a new co-host; any guesses who?
So, the older heroes are still struggling on getting to grips with what their enemies are actually doing.
….Which naturally means it's time to consider actually involving the title characters in this; since y'know they're gonna involve themselves one way or another and everybody knows it, because there is no way at all that Qrow doesn't know what's happening on campus.
So Qrow has something in mind for Team MARZ….And a 'Favourite student' I'm sure you can guess who it is.
How have I just realised that TRQS and STRQ are the same letters?
The orphanage kids interact with the students which mean some teenage orphans absolutely have crushes on some of the students they see walking around; Tiger actually being sociable includes her in that.
I keep planning to give Stygian more screen time and development but Tiger always manages to become the focus of their scenes.
Meditation, unionising your thoughts….I was tired when I wrote this okay.
I'll be completely honest tiredness and chapter length caused this final scene to be altered and cut short, originally I intended to have Qrow arrive in person as teams MARZ and TRQS were hanging out to make his offer but I just didn't feel there was any need.
Tiger is understandably pissed here; she's an overachiever by nature and she just found that she's apparently being undermined and undercut in the run up to a tournament by the people who should be on her side.
But now Team TRQS are getting ready to involve themselves and take up Team WULF's duties in full.

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