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Chapter 91: Monstrosity
Impacts thundered and echoed within the emptied warehouse as Team MARZ, with Professor Nora Ren at their side fought to halt the rampaging advance of Petrol in his repaired war machine; the natural gloom of the vast and unlit space being illuminated by flaring coronas of coloured light as weapons, Dust and Semblances interacted with one another in countless and explosive ways yet thus far it had proven to be for nought. A sense of impending doom had washed over each of Team MARZ from the moment Petrol had sealed himself within the new cockpit of his mecha, it's glowing eye-like features narrowing and following the movements of the Hunters as though the suit were a living thing and whatever possible optimism might have been gleaned by the logical and analytical parts of their minds reminding them that their enemy did not have the element of surprise this time, that Petrol's suit was missing some of its' weapons whilst they all carried their own and that Petrol was alone this time quickly dissipated as the crazed cackling continued to issue from within the mech-suit and Petrol knocked aside each attempt to overpower him in turn.
With the latest attempt coming from Astra.
"You should have just quit the first time I beat you back in the Dust store!" Astra yelled as they flung themselves and engaged their Semblance in the same instant, fiery red light of their Aura expanding and solidifying around them to form a glowing construct which delivered a high, spinning crescent kick, the heel of the ephemeral and yet undeniably solid Aura-self hammering down into the headless mecha, striking the point between where its' weapons mounts had once been and where a neck should have been situated. Petrol's response was to stop cackling within his machine and instead let out a wordless roar of hateful rage at the reminder of his previous losses and then he brought his mechs' weapons to bear; forcing Astra's Aura-self to backflip away with a surprisingly light impact against the ground in order to avoid having its' leg torn away by the burning blades attached to its' arms and once distance had been created between the two fighters the avian Faunus pressed the advantage by aiming directly forwards and using the oversized Gatling cannons integrated into weapons intended to mirror Buckshot Ares and opened fire. Light streamed into the warehouse as shots tore through walls and at the same time things grew darker as the light of Astra's Semblance faded away, Astra making themselves a smaller target and avoiding the storm of gunfire whilst using the genuine Buckshot Ares to cover themselves until finally the shots tearing through the space around them were sent veering wildly off-course.
They had provided a distraction, exactly as intended.
"HASTA LA VISTA BABY!" Regalia declared, almost whooping as she aimed Apex Scavenger in its' shotgun form and fired first the harpoon component of the weapon into the workings of the machines' digitigrade leg and then the firearm itself, angling upwards so that she could shoot at machinery without risking breaking the connection she had secured, one which allowed the Racoon Faunus to use her Aura-fuelled and inhuman strength to grapple with the mech-suit in a limited capacity. Petrol's shooting ceased and instead he brandished his mechas' glowing and Fire Dust infused blades in a clear attempt to cleave through the cable keeping Regalia bound to him only to be once again forced onto the defensive, using the wide surfaces of the suits' forearms as shields to deflect an incoming grenade courtesy of Nora.
"NOT MY STUDENTS ASS-HOLE!" the Professor bellowed, shifting Magnhild into its' hammer form and making to slip beneath Petrol's guard where she would strike at the knee of his war machine and cripple it; in an impressive display of skill the acid-spewing and unhinged criminal forced the professor to a halt by driving the blades of his suit into the ground, their surfaces acting as a shield to protect the suits' legs which Nora struck and inadvertently sent sparks and lashing bursts of fire arcing out whilst at the same time the ground close to the machine began to glow and sizzle with heat, forcing Regalia to abandon her grasp on the mech suit and fall back whilst Nora, refusing to be beaten so easily, grit her teeth and pushed on and sought to break the mechas' bladed limbs entirely only for Petrol lash both arms out in wide arcs that uprooted the veteran Hunter and sent her hurtling backwards through the air before landing in a skidding crouch some distance away.
Gunshots riddled the armour of the mecha and Petrol brought the machine limping around to face Astra Mars who had opened fire, only to learn that the Deer Faunus had once again used themselves as bait; taking advantage of Petrol's blind fury to create an opening for their friends.
This time it was Athena-Jade and Zirconia working in tandem.
'Hard-light, Gravity!' the synthesised voice of Sunriser Cain announced the attack and yet, as ever its' target could do nothing to prevent it as the beam of solidified light came rushing towards them; this time however the aim was not to simply cut into the armoured hull of Petrol's mecha which had proven to be resilient thus far and instead Zirconia's attack struck one of Athena's glyphs, being promptly redirected into the surface of another and then another until a makeshift cage of searing hard-light surrounded it; leaving the hull of the machine dancing with coruscating arcs of light at each point of contact as it thrashed.
Petrol simply started shooting again.
"CAN'T HOLD HIM AND DO EVERYTHING ELSE!" Athena yelled frantically, her glyphs flickering and sending Zirconia's attack lancing through everything nearby as her focus was broken by the need to defend herself until her team-mates re-entered the battle.
Astra and Regalia had re-grouped and coordinated, the two of them acting in a way that suggested a plan had been formed though the lingering traces of light beneath Regalia's goggles suggested that the two of them were acting of the nomads' instinct rather than one of the leader of Team MARZ's usual high-stakes gambles; what followed was nonetheless a well calculated risk as Astra, enraging their Semblance once again for another short burst collided with the back of the rampant mech-suit for long enough to wrap their arms around it whilst Regalia carefully positioned herself close to one of the overhead beams which had been strengthened to support the weight of similar machines, from there she fired her harpoon up and over which allowed Astra to catch the jagged projectile and slam it into the back of their opponent and as Regalia was hauled several feet into the air she called out to Zirconia.
"SHOOT AT ME! GRAVITY ROUND!
"WHAT?"
"QUICKLY, BEFORE HE GETS LOOSE! Zirconia, seeing the truth in that statement even if Regalia's intent was a mystery shifted her weapon into its' long-barrelled pistol form and selected Gravity Dust from its' rotating chambers; a single shot was fired and Regalia's Aura rippled against the impact however the results were immediate and she was sent rocketing backwards, her body and the forced acting on it serving as a counterweight as her harpoons' cable was sent travelling the length of the overhead support beam which in turn dragged the mech-suit off of its' feet and left it skidding across the ground in a shower of sparks until if finally brought the whole affair to a halt upon finding purchase.
Only to be beset by a fresh wave of attacks.
"ATHENA, SHOOT AT IT AND THEN GIVE ME A GLYPH!" it was Nora's nasal yell that pierced the air as the Combat Instructor of Halo Academy surged passed her students, features contorted into a mask of pure fury. The snowy-haired Bear Faunus complied without a second thought and readied Mould-Breaker in its' laser cannon mode, firing from the hip and striking the mech-suit as it struggled to rise which left part of its' upper right shoulder armour glowing for long enough for Regalia to get clear and for Nora to close the distance.
Athena-Jade created a glyph, Nora used it and leapt with her hammer held overhead and a triumphant yell leaving her lips.
Then time slowed to a crawl for all watching the scene unfold as things went wrong.
Petrol, clearly pushing his machine beyond its' intended limits if the billowing smoke and spraying sparks were any indication launched the Mecha suit into the air with a rush of air, digitigrade lower limbs and pistons straining to lift the war-machine high enough to meet Nora's assault head on, pre-empting her hammer blow by slamming the replacement cockpit canopy with its' bottomless blackness and glowing eyes into her entire body with enough force to leave her dazed and her grip on her weapon slackening. With the initiative seized and the two of them still in the air Petrol pivoted his war machine to bring its' fiery, glowing blades raking across Nora's falling form and tearing a scream of pain from the professor as her Aura visibly flickered and wavered, with a final blow coming in the form of a spinning backhand which saw the wide shield of the suits' forearm slam into Nora and send her careening with enough force to strike one of the overhead beams and shatter its' reinforced mass completely.
Nora hit the ground unmoving with her Aura visibly shattering around her whilst Petrol's mech-suit impacted against the ground a moment later with a deafening boom that shook Team MARZ collectively to their cores and back to their senses, the four of them regrouping protectively between Petrol and Nora whilst sharing worried looks as they each came to understand the same simple reality.
They were alone now and their adversary showed no signs of slowing their onslaught.
"You four stall those things….If they're following instructions then I'm gonna make Hueso tell 'em to stop fighting!" Flax ordered, a hint of hope tingeing his words that Team TRQS could not bring themselves to share or partake in though with orders issued and a goal in mind Tiger thrust the tips of her trident forward, appearing every part the striking and imposing commander it seemed that she was destined to be as she rallied her team.
"You heard him, hold the line! Keep those things away from the charges and keep away from the Spawning Pit!" as Tiger yelled out commands several things happened in tandem, each concerning in its' own right. Firstly Team TRQS collectively readied their weapons and prepared to take action, though with no discussion of a plan Tiger was forced to simply hope that her team had grown and improved enough in recent months to be able to coordinate effectively against such a monstrous foe. Secondly Flax Scarlatina left the immediate vicinity, slipping back into the depths of the dead and dessicated trees which had grown sparse nearer to the Spawning Pit itself, the Rabbit Faunus obviously seeking an indirect and unobserved route towards Carmesi Hueso whom Tiger noted with some discontent had made no effort to open fire or prepare himself and had instead dropped to a crouch and was in the midst of drawing some unknown and collapsed piece of technology from within his pack.
Most importantly of all however, the Cyber-Grimm attacked.
Armoured carapace wing-casing opened to reveal the propulsion systems hidden within whilst angular, gossamer thin and translucent wings unfurled out to the sides allowing each of the two abominations to launch themselves into the air and sail over the bubbling black ichor that had divided them, limbs folding and tucking beneath a hunched and bent forward body whilst weapons and the enormous curved spine growing from each Grimm were aimed at their targets as they flew, though their approach could more accurately be described as a controlled hurling of their own mass than anything so graceful or precise as flight.
"I got that one!" Rye's voice rose above its' normal softness as the sound of Chivalry being changed from sword to ranged mode filled the air and the armoured giant of a boy aimed, allowing Tiger a brief moment of hope as the solid chunk of Ice Dust that had been loaded into the absurdly powerful was fired directly into one of the two approaching monsters; the Cyber-Grimm veered off course and a creeping frost crawled across its' surface at an accelerated rate with metallic components warping and creaking in protest, wings and thrusters failed and the monster fell however it had managed to redirect itself far enough to crash into the ground some distance away from the shoreline of the Spawning Pit.
"HEADS UP!" Stygian's Semblance allowed him to appear before Tiger in an instant, reality rippling like water as the Mouse Faunus appeared between his partner and the incoming attack that his Semblance had identified as the most dangerous threat; the leader of Team TRQS Herself barely had chance to react and could only brace herself as she was tackled to the ground.
A beam of searing light lanced through the space she had occupied in the next instant and Tiger felt its' heat scorching her, providing an impetus to roll and drag Stygian clear just as the Cyber-Grimm itself struck the ground like a falling star; driving its' thorax-mounted spear into the ground in a failed attempt to brake itself and instead tearing a furrow into the cracked ground as it went smashing through several trees before finally coming to a halt at an odd angle.
"Holy shit, did that thing just power slide?" Amaya demanded before opening fire without waiting for an answer, Auriga Epsilon having been loaded with Lightning and Magnetic Dust rounds the moment she had seen the metallic components of the strange Grimm she found herself faced with; the barrage did little of note however and what little damage could be inflicted by the crackling lightning dancing across its' already scarred and previously repaired carapace and the plethora of conflicting magnetic fields twisting and crumpling armour as though it were paper was simply filled by an oozing darkness which solidified to create a thick and sturdy tissue within the gaps that had been opened.
"OH COME ON!" Amaya spat furiously, pivoting at the waist and hurling one of her bladed guns forward and using the connection between the pair to swing and sweep, slashing at the cranium of the Cyber-Grimm only to be sent scurrying for cover and pulling her weapons back to her as the monstrosity left out a shrieking buzz and responded to the assault by aiming its' antennae mounted guns an opening fire, stitching a path of destruction across the dry and cracked ground which began to draw perilously close the demolition charged that Flax had set down.
Forcing Tiger to act.
"HEY!" she yelled at the Grimm, hoping that the thing relied on enough base instinct to react to the stimulus and quickly deciding to make matters more certain by shifting her weapon into its' pistol form as she charged at it, opening fire at she went and at least managing to get its' attention though the bullets pattering against it did little if anything which prompted Tiger to shift Fearful Symmetry back into its' trident form and imbue its' blades with Gravity Dust; the trio of broad blades became akin to an event horizon, a void-blackness with a faint light around their outer edges which were orbited by motes of dust and debris that had been kicked into the air. As she swung the trident in a slashing attack the Cyber-Grimm reacted and lashed out with one of its' enormous and three-clawed arms, the indescribable force bringing Tiger to a halt and smashing the air from her lungs as it met and equalled the Dust-fuelled attack which crushed and distorted its' digits only for Tiger to receive a follow-up assault from its' other arm in the next instant. Aura rippled around her body and pain engulfed her as first an enormous metal claw slammed into her and sent her sailing through the air and then several dead trees erupted into splinters as she was smashed through them.
Before she could even begin to prepare herself the Cyber-Grimm let out a shrieking battle cry, rearing back and roaring as though victory was assured.
Clawed feet ripped into the ground to anchor it and antennae mounted guns sawed through more of the tree husks around Tiger, pre-empting any efforts to hide amongst them that might have occurred to her and even as she desperately tried to drag herself to her feet, muscles burning and limbs twitching in a way which made keeping her grip on Fearful Symmetry all but impossible the Cyber-Grimm prepared to unleash another of its' laser attacks.
"This keep happening to you!" Stygian noted dryly as he appeared from thin air with another use of his Semblance, Sharp Cheese already in hand and beginning to glow with a flickering turquoise light as the Mouse Faunus used another Dust-based technique which his partner was not yet privy to; Tiger wanted to tell him to simply run, get clear and carry on the fight and that she could handle herself yet the words would not come and air was a luxury she could scarcely afford to waste in that moment. The mass of machine and Grimm-flesh fired its' laser cannon and Stygian simply held his katana out to catch or deflect the assault, leaving Tiger stunned as he did so until she realised with a newfound respect for her partners' planning and sheer gall that the blade of his weapon had been infused with Hard-light Dust and was acting as a small shield.
It would be little use in a protracted engagement, however it worked excellently as a brief distraction.
"Keep it steady!" Rye's voice split the air and the largest member of Team TRQS strode into view with his rail-gun ready, the next Dust crystal to be fired being one comprised of shimmering scarlet minerals; a hunk of Fire Dust which left the Cyber-Grimm shrieking as parts of its' exoskeleton was left glowing and yet even here the abomination would not fall, instead it sprayed everything around it with gunfire and stalked backwards, wing-casings opening to vent a gas which doused the fire around it whilst clawed feet ripped at the ground. In the Grimm's distraction Amaya Quasar rejoined the fray, using the brief moment of opportunity to snag the bag of demolition charges with one of her bladed guns and quickly hurl it up into the remaining trees where it would hopefully be spared any attention, intentional or otherwise from the enemy. Team TRQS regrouped and as Stygian pulled Tiger into a standing position she leaned against her weapon, wincing and scowling as she took in the sight of the Cyber-Grimm steadily recovering from its' own injuries.
"Okay, it can be hurt….Hopefully we can keep this up for long enough for Scarlatina to do something"
"Tiger we've got another problem" Amaya's voice wavered as she prepared to explain what it was she had seen whilst taking cover from the gunfire that had forced her to retreat, her team-mates turned to stare at her with silent dread on each of their features yet before she could explain further each of Team TRQS found their fears confirmed by another shrieking of tortured machinery and thumping, lumbering impacts drawing closer.
The second Cyber-Grimm had managed to thaw itself out of its' icy prison.
Chairman Nero had returned to the Chamber and his looming presence filled it with a heavy and oppressively charged atmosphere, one which Albion Herringbone found working under to be almost insurmountably difficult and yet the well-suited scientist who had used his friend and co-conspirators' absence to make himself presentable could not find it within himself to complain or begrudge his old friend his idiosyncrasies.
Things had reached a pivotal moment only for the current situation to force both Albion and Nero's attention elsewhere; they had both lost too much to allow Zirconia to be harmed by whatever weapon it was that Aefen and Gestalt-Prime had forged together.
"Any updates? On anything?" Nero demanded as he continued to pace, the echo of his ludicrously expensive shoes squeaking against the floor forming a steady rhythm from behind Albion "Zirconia-"
"Is much more likely to reach out to you if the situation requires assistance" Albion managed the closest thing to a soothing tone he could manage whilst his own nerves continued to fray under the stress and harsh lighting which he had never minded before began to give him a headache "I hesitate to ask but did you raise suspicions whilst visiting your office today, your mood is-"
"None of my employees concern" Nero interrupted, currently sounding every bit the harsh and imperious corporate figure that might have headed any of Remnants' other multi-billion Lien businesses, something far removed from both his own nature and the image that the people of New Vale had come to associate with him, one of well-meaning eccentricity and commitment to improving lives. The sudden outburst surprised even Nero himself and the chairman made a wordless sound of discontent before allowing himself to collapse into the seat beside his longest surviving friend and massage his temples and reconsider each of his interactions with his employees during the day, wondering if he had done or said anything which might serve as a cause for alarm outside of his usual deliberate unpredictably until his thoughts were intruded on by Albion.
"Gestalt-Prime is, as you can see currently in a rest period and is not expected to regain consciousness for several hours….Likely coinciding with Carmesi's expected return, barring any complications" hearing this Nero forced his thoughts away from Zirconia's ongoing predicament and through sheer willpower managed to direct his thoughts to the mission he had sacrificed so much for.
"And Carmesi?"
"Has received the Cyber-Grimm and is currently moving to acquire the samples we need" Albion answered frowning as he added "Aefen is also undertaking her part in the mission, though when asked about the weapon that Petrol is testing for you she told me that if he uses it then there's nothing that can be done….I don't think she grasps the severity of the situation"
Nero could only laugh in despairing disbelief at the lunacy at work, Aefen understood far better that Albion knew.
"Damn it we need answers, we need information!" he yelled, the impact of his cybernetic hand against the table muted only slightly by the glove encasing it "The last message from Zirconia was to say that efforts to stall her time and Nora Ren herself had failed, that the operation had been cleared with the local authorities and that they were moving to detain Petrol….I've heard no confirmation that he's either captured or dead, so what is happening?"
"I'm working on it" Albion answered, finally finding an opening to deliver the faint hint of silver lining.
"You have a plan?" Nero's voice cracked with awed hope and his old friend gave him a look which served as a silent request to temper his expectations.
"Our usual operatives are out of the question, having Petrol's allies appear would only make things worse" Nero nodded in agreement and Albion continued "And whilst I'm not quite so proficient or far-reaching in my spying as Qrow Branwen we do happen to own several robotics companies and have a handful of eyes and ears in local authorities across the Kingdom, people that have been deemed likely sympathisers but have not been brought into the know-"
"You're giving one of them a robot?"
"I'm giving one of them a drone….a small model, entirely mundane. Something that will give us some answers. I have a full list of the assets that were stripped from the warehouse, the mech-suits and such; I was hoping to see that cameras had been left behind but-"
"There was a chance that a security system could be traced back to us by its' signal" Nero interjected, fingers continuing to drum impatiently against the surface of the desk as he scanned the database that Albion had provided which detailed what scant few resources remained available in the gutted warehouse; all the while a much more important question demanded an answer "How much longer until the drone arrives?"
"It should only be a matter minutes….It took some time to organise, especially whilst overseeing other operations. It's also not an especially fast model of drone, I favoured something that might be mistaken for something belonging to a civilian"
"A wise choice given that there's a blockade in place around the warehouse" Nero noted with tension mounting once again; the revelation that he would have answers, however terrible they might be within a matter of minutes only seeming to make those minutes stretch and linger for far longer than they otherwise would; though eventually an image finally flickered into life within one of Albion's computer screens.
Nero's stomach plummeted at the sight of it.
The drone had gone unnoticed as it slipped into the building though a sizeable hole that had been blasted into the roof by high calibre weapons, its' flight was a buoyant, almost whimsical path comically at odds with the initial grainy and faltering image as the machine adjusted to the current lighting of its' surroundings before finally being tuned and adjusted as Albion took control of the drone from whatever patsy had been previously piloting it, the drone surveying the situation beneath it whilst avoiding stray shots as a battle raged on between Team MARZ and a rampaging war-machine belonging to Petrol, whilst Nora Ren lay unconscious and out of harms' way, though the Faunus continually tried to advance on her prone form.
"He's gone mad….Utterly mad" Albion muttered "I can't believe we ever saw him as a possible ally or candidate.
"I'm inclined to agree….He's talented and capable and the plan was always to replace people like him with more suitable individuals once our plans are revealed but I can admit I was wrong here; he has to be stopped"
"Do we have the means?"
"No….Not without fully activating Aefen's project, entirely out of the question whilst Zirconia is still there; it would be disastrous" Nero's words were a harsh and frantic whisper as he watched Team MARZ weave around the war-machines' ceaseless assaults, the latest attack coming from a combination of both Zirconia herself and her team leader; the Deer Faunus using a hail of immobiliser rounds filled with a mixture of Gravity and Magnetic Dust to create a warping and crushing distortion of forces which brought Petrol's suit to its' knee and allowed Zirconia to send a lance of hard-light spearing towards its' cockpit.
Seeing the impending attack Petrol reacted by having his mech drop as flat and low as possible, its' armour being slashed and seared by the hard-light rather than simply impaled and from there he drove his machines' flaming and glowing blades into the ground and sent a wave of blistering heat and erupting force out in all directions yet even as he witnessed this show of power Nero was overcome by a single, simple fact that superseded all others.
Petrol's co-pilot was still dormant, meaning that there was still a chance.
"I have a plan" the Chairman said, voice trembling for a moment before his fear was clamped down upon and replaced with a firm, iron-willed certainty "We can regain enough control of this situation to destroy what little evidence remains and keep Zirconia safe; time is of the essence"
"What do you need me to do?" Albion asked, matching the steely tone whilst Nero was already on his feet and taking brisk strides towards a subdivision of the Chamber which served as a location from which to converse under the guise of the shadowy Benefactor figure.
"There are still some final security fail-safes that were not removed, according to the information you have on hand….It should still be there, prepare to remotely activate it at my instruction"
"Damascus have you lost your mind?" Albion yelled "Zirconia is still in there!"
"There is still a speaker system in place a believe?" Nero turned to his old friend expectantly.
"I….Yes, there was no point in removing it" he admitted "But it's not connected to anything right now, regardless that's besides the point-"
"Good" Nero nodded, adjusting his suit jacket "Then prepare the voice modulation and connect the drone to the warehouse speakers….I'd like to speak with them"
Albion could only stare with wide eyes as he found the impossibly simply solution that Nero was aiming for.
Despite the outward calmness and control that he exuded Carmesi's heart hammered as he closely monitored the progress of his ongoing mission, thankful only for the fact that stray attacks were yet to strike either himself, the viscous surface of the Spawning Pit which roiled and shifted notably more vigorously in response to the current outpourings of nearby anger from those fighting or, almost equally perilously the modified Grimm containment unit which the reptilian Faunus had successfully deployed.
Where the previous iteration of Albion's, that which had been used to capture Gestalt-Prime on Menagerie had been a platform surrounded by hard-light shields and other components intended to envelop and condense the mutable body of a Geist the device Carmesi was currently watching intently was an expanding cannister which, now that it was fully deployed was larger than his own torso though was mercifully lighter than it appeared; its' translucent form sporting a retracting nozzle and pipe lined with countless sensors on its' upper end and a control terminal on its' outer surface including a screen upon which a progress marker displayed a steadily increasing percentage. This containment was as well protected as its' predecessor, including both multiple layers of internal shielding to ensure that its' contents could pose no threat and a perpetually maintained supply of carefully measured chemicals intended to subdue whatever primordial intelligence allowed the Spawning Pit to function and react and make it possible for Carmesi to siphon away a portion of the nightmarish sludge at all.
Though as a fierce yell and heavy impact filled the air the Komodo Dragon Faunus found himself wondering just how long Albion and Aefen's collaborative work would hold fast.
A cursory glance across to the opposite bank of the Pit showed that the students were putting up an admirable fight and Carmesi, having no ill will against them specifically and appreciating skill and determination wherever he found it could not help but root for the teenagers privately, even if their continued survival might risk Nero's great work.
He watched with the keen attention to detail of a connoisseur as the Mouse Faunus with the katana and particular sense of style used his Semblance to appear in the path of one of the two Cyber-Grimm's assaults, kicking away a bag that Carmesi realised must have contained explosive charges, the boys' Aura rippled faintly as bullets peppered him though he maintained enough focus to roll beneath the monster and swipe at its' exoskeleton with a blade pulsing with the effects of Magnetic Dust, a play which made sense a moment later when his partner leapt and used the lingering magnetic field as both a beacon and source of additional power with which to drive her trident into the monster. Despite their best efforts however the Cyber-Grimm continued to fight, its' previously frozen kin disregarding the boy with the oversized sword and the girl with joined guns in order to rampage into the more successful fighters; forcing them to swiftly evade and throw the explosives clear of the threat once again.
Any further study of the ongoing fight was halted by the sound of footsteps running towards him.
"I was wondering when you'd get here!" Carmesi rumbled out, voice rising to acknowledge his arriving challenger a moment before he decided that such niceties as fairness and honour were uncalled for and simply hurling Vindication in its' three-bladed form, the weapon spinning until it was a blur of motion as it tore through the air only to be sent veering wildly off course as a hailstorm of bullets sprayed in a seemingly random direction were proven to contain a mixture of Magnetic and Gravity warping Dust crystals, drawing the projectile into their area of effect and leaving it ploughing into dry and blasted earth some distance away before the Rabbit Faunus announced his arrival into the immediate stretch of shoreline by opening fire with the weapon attached to his other gauntlet, armour piercing rounds leaving Carmesi's Aura flickering around him and filling the air with the clamouring impacts of metal on metal as he used the flat of Retributions' blade to deflect as many shots as he could until finally the reptilian decided that he would tolerate no more.
"ARE YOU INSANE!" he roared, punctuating the demand with a burst of his Semblance; his blood-spray red Aura rippling and coalescing around him to form a mass of jagged points and edges which erupted outwards in wave of tearing, rending destruction that trailed in the wake of a wild, sweeping motion of his arm and forced the attacking Rabbit Faunus to leap and flip out of its' path before landing and raising his weapons once more.
"Sorry I kept you waiting" Flax Scarlatina offered a cocky smirk, made more roguish by the old scar adorning his face "Had to send word that the mission had gotten more complicated….Halo Academy takes care of its' students; there's air support on the way already"
Carmesi forced himself to give no outward reaction despite the overwhelming urge to scream and rage in response to the development.
"If Halo Academy care so strongly for their students they should tell you to retreat" the renegade Hunter kept his voice low, menacing as he gestured vaguely to their surroundings "There's far too much that could go wrong here….One misplaced shot and it's a disaster for everyone"
He tapped the edge of his weapon against the containment unit at that, surreptitiously angling it to see the progress marker better whilst also allowing Flax to believe that the device might be explosive; an understandable conclusion giving the amount of Dust powering it, its' contents and the fact that Carmesi himself was not certain that it would not indeed explode if struck. Flax however proved himself equal to such threats and simply collapsed his weapons' high calibre guns and allowed additional armour plating to shift over his knuckles; concerned eyes flicking over to where his students fought against the Cyber-Grimm and steadily, inevitably gave more and more ground to the abominations.
"I'm pretty sure I can handle you before those pet monsters of yours give the kids too much trouble" with that Flax was in motion, first rearing back as he charged and Carmesi, with a feral smile full of sharp teeth splitting his bearded featured rushed forward to meet him with the larger of his two weapons held at the ready. The Rabbit Faunus struck first, he had in his younger years been a member of the feared and renowned Atlesian Freelancers and his opening gambit was a fine example of the level of underhanded ruthlessness that particular tight knight group of Hunters, whose members had included Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina and Neon Katt specialised in. The raised fist was a feint and rather than punch Flax simply hurled something that had been clutched in his fist, screwing his eyes shut and allowing his rabbit ears to droop the instant before his thrown flash-bang grenade exploded. Before Carmesi could recover his senses blows began to rain down on him, Flax closing the distance and beginning with a left jab which left Aura fluctuating as it slammed into his bottom rib, followed by a heavy right-handed punch to the arm holding his weapon and an elbow to the face which Flax then seamlessly transitioned into a spinning motion which at once brought him behind Carmesi whilst allowing him to thread an Atlesian steel garotte wire around the Komodo Dragon Faunus's neck.
Against another opponent it would have been an easy victory.
A wordless roar escaped Carmesi as he unleashed his Semblance once more, this time in an all-encompassing sphere of expanding spikes which flung Flax backwards and released his lethal, choking hold; without hesitation Carmesi clutched Retribution in both hands and pivoted, wildly swinging the broad-bladed and tooth-edged weapon at his opponents' gut only for Flax to use an armoured gauntlet against its' flat edge to fling himself over the attack and into Carmesi's exposed side where he promptly landed a spinning kick to the younger man's chin.
"I hope what ever you sold out everything it means out to be a Hunter is worth it!" the Rabbit Faunus yelled, another punch being halted by Carmesi's elbow even with the gauntlets Flax wore "I hope it's not just because whoever you're working for pays better-"
"It is eminently worth it, I promise you that!" Carmesi's replied, giving no quarter even as the back and forth became verbal as well as physical; answering the latest blow with a backhanded swipe of his left which was revealed to be a feint as he slammed forward and smashed his forehead into the his foes' nose and from there twirled Retribution in his hands before an underhand, upward swing ripped Flax from the ground, light brown Aura rippling around him.
"Really? Cos to me it looks like you're the kind of bastard who would have worked with Salem! You even brought your own Grimm!" a knife was drawn from Flax's boot and flung, a precursor to the Rabbit Faunus crashing into Carmesi again with a flying knee to the chest, followed by driving his heel into the younger man's knee upon landing, buckling the joint and striking him across the face with an elbow. Carmesi snarled as he avoided a punch, drove a fist into Flax's gut and then crushed his nose with the pommel of his weapon before lunging up to his full height once more and swiping with both his weapon and Semblance in perfect tandem, sending a wave of destruction outwards which carried Flax upon its' crest and left the more experienced fighter reeling in the face of such raw power and the righteous certainty which filled Carmesi's next words.
"You mock what you could never understand….The Cyber-Grimm are a tool, one which will help free us all and allow Remnant to grow into something better"
"You think you're the first nut-job to give a speech like that?" Flax managed a sneer amidst his wheezing as he struggled to his feet, the steadily increasing desperation of the situation being the only thing keeping him from being more aware that if he were ten or perhaps fifteen years younger he would not be struggling so much "Seriously, I've heard a few personally….So why is it that you people can never actually articulate a point, gotta stick to creepy sounding clichés?"
That Carmesi laughed in response to the jeering was chilling.
"I assume it's because none of us are actually planning on letting you live long enough to pass the information on, it'd be a waste of time; that and the fact that we're both stalling for time here….How far away is your air support? You're about to need it!"
Flax realised what would happen next but was powerless to prevent it.
Carmesi lunged and time seemed to move in slow motion, the burly and traitorous Faunus transforming his weapon into its' shotgun form and unloading several blasts at Flax who was forced to use his armoured gauntlets to shield himself, sparks and rippling Aura marking the points where shots had found their mark and from there Carmesi rushed over to the Grimm containment unit, ripping it free of the Spawning Pit with more force than could be considered wise or safe, deciding that ninety seven percent completion would have to be good enough and from there he made his true intentions known; letting out a high pitched whistle to attract the attention of the Cyber-Grimm before aiming his weapon and firing again.
Directly at the explosives the Hunters had brought.
"HELP YOUR STUDENTS IF YOU CAN!" Carmesi bellowed, voice rising over the sound of a cacophony of countless small explosions feeding into a chain reaction of obliteration; a blossoming fireball which the four teenagers had retreated as far back from as they could and yet were powerless, even as they used Ice Dust rounds to try and halt its' advance, from reaching the surface of the Spawning Pit which immediately began to swirl and sputter in retaliation; preparing to disgorge something capable of tearing that which threatened it to bloody shreds.
Carmesi made to retrieve his discarded machete, secure in the knowledge that the Hunters were about to be removed from the equation and that the completion of his mission was now assured.
"ATTENTION TRESPASSING HUNTERS" the distorted and modulated voice resonated through the warehouse which had been transformed into a war zone, echoing from walls which had been struck by the various weapons currently employed to leave thin beams of sunlight streaming into the gloom.
As the voice rang out the violence came to a halt, Team MARZ and Petrol collectively searching for the source of the tinny sound whose low quality suggested it was coming from a low quality speaker, or several situated throughout the abandoned building; the confusion allowing Zirconia's expression to go unseen as it cycled through countless emotions with confusion and a faint hope being chief amongst them. She knew that the voice belonged to Damascus Nero in is guise as the benefactor and though she knew that she would have no answers regarding the situation as a whole, specifically what had befallen Petrol or why the gangster was being kept contained within his mech-suit the distorted voice still provided some small comfort as assured her that the man who had raised her had taken matters into his own hands and was would likely be able to find some solution to her current predicament.
Though she would freely admit that Astra's obstinate willpower might be a challenge to overcome.
"Trespassing? Pretty sure we've got a warrant!" the Deer Faunus called out, attracting Petrol's attention in the form of a spray of bullets that were avoided "How about you stop making this more difficult than it needs to be for everyone else, show yourself and call Petrol off!"
Zirconia could almost hear Nero's faint sigh despite the distortion of his voice which gave it a warped and menacing sound, as though he were disappointed by the predictability of the demand.
"I'm afraid not" the Benefactor declared "But allow me to make a counteroffer for you to consider….My associate with whom you have been fighting remains valuable to my ongoing operations and I would prefer that he not fall into your custody. As such I have taken preventative measures, not limited to but including the rigging of explosive devices to key parts of the buildings' structure as well as its' connection to the power grid….Simply put I am willing to offer you a chance to take your unconscious companion with you and make your exit, killing children is beneath me however I am still prepared to stoop low enough to ensure that neither of us benefit"
"I think you've underestimated exactly what you're up against here!" Astra called out to empty air, though keenly aware, as the rest of Team MARZ were of the way Petrol's attention seemed to be turning inexorably back towards the students and away from the disembodied voice of his benefactor.
"We're here to kick ass and chew bubblegum! And we're all out gum!" Regalia declared, backing her partner up with gusto that she clearly scarcely believed herself if the way her hands rubbed together were any indication; the words being enough to make a nerve twitch beneath Zirconia's mismatched eyes whilst a wordless groan was muffled by the fabric of her shawl and she quickly struggled to take charge of the situation, loping close to Astra on her cybernetic legs and whispering in the Deer Faunus's ear.
"I think we should take the offer" she saw the disbelief in their eyes and quickly amended the statement into something more palatable "He's right about one thing, Professor Nora is down….I don't think he's bluffing about bombing the building; not after everything else he's done. We might be able to handle the blast but the Professor's got no Aura.
"Fuck" Astra breathed the word out whilst their eyes darted through the gloom, taking in both the way that Petrol's mecha flexed and rolled its' joints to shake off any lingering damage done by the various assaults' that had hampered and misaligned its' components and the way that Team MARZ collectively stood at readiness, a collective air of resoluteness about them despite their battered and weary panic. Eventually they spoke again.
"Okay" the word was barely a whisper "I think we can still win this. AJ, take the Professor. Regalia, use your Semblance to find the bombs and-"
"YOU JUST DON'T GET IT DO YOU!" Petrol bellowed as his mecha lumbered forwards with its' blades at the ready once more "YOU DIE HERE! I'M GONNA MAKE SURE OF IT! IF YOU RUN I'LL FOLLOW, IF YOU FIGHT I'LL KILL YOU, IF YOU WIN OR THIS GOES A WAY THAT HE DOESN'T LIKE THEN WE ALL GET BLOWN UP! DO YOU REALLY THINK THE OFFER IS REAL! LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT WHAT HE DOES TO HIS PEOPLE!"
The words were chilling, Zirconia once again thankful for the fact that her face remained hidden as struggled to process the fact that the broken, twisted monstrosity before her was the work of the man she considered her father; the attempts made more futile by the reality itself which refused to be ignored, each of the machines' thundering footsteps rattling the ground as it advanced at a steadily increasing speed.
It was then that Athena-Jade finally spoke up, placing herself between Zirconia and Astra; giving her partner a reassuring look as she did so.
"Astra, we're done here….Even if we can't bring Petrol in, there's no way he goes back to being the same problem he was before; we should take the professor and get out of here"
"I don't think he's gonna let us do that!" Astra noted defensively, already shifting their stance and preparing to use their Semblance in order to halt the charging war-machine.
"I can handle it" Athena stated firmly "I've got something I want to try"
"Athena-" Zirconia's voice conveyed an unspoken warning as she realised that the Bear Faunus was intending to reveal a technique that she had been working in for the Vytal Tournament, one which was yet to be tested in a real-world situation; though despite all of this Athena-Jade simply turned and looked up at her with of utter confidence and determination.
"Go. I've got this"
And then she was in motion.
It took Zirconia almost a full second to realise what was happening as her girlfriend used a Glyph to fling her self forwards with her hammer at the ready, slipping beneath a lunging attack from Petrol and smashing at the mech-suits' legs to send it staggering forward and effectively redirect the avian Faunus's attention. It was then that Astra, in concurrence with Athena's plan took Zirconia by the shoulder and began to pull her towards the entrance to the warehouse; the whole time desperately searching for any sign of trickery or betrayal whilst Regalia rushed over to Nora's limp form and lifted the diminutive professor over her shoulder.
Zirconia cast frantic glances over her shoulder the entire time she was led away and eventually forced Astra to a halt, keeping her weapon at the ready as she watched almost reverently for the exact moment Athena's new attack was launched.
She was awe inspiring to behold.
Multiple glyphs were conjured around the Bear Faunus and rotated to her back, spinning rapidly as they overlapped with one another before glowing with a pearl-white light as they began to interact with one another and from there Athena-Jade displayed her own take on the summoning of bested enemies which had made the Schnee Family Semblance so versatile and iconic, a version of the legendary technique which was truly her own. Where her family members summoned entire Creatures of Grimm and deployed them to act in their stead whilst aiding their team-mates from the rear of a battle Athena-Jade was far more mobile and direct in her approaches, that gung-ho nature being manifested incarnate as the glyph at the centre of her back became the focal point for a collection of four Beowolf limbs to grow, each of them a sharp-clawed and lithely muscular forelimb. Athena, seizing the moment and the rush that came with this personal victory bounded forward, the limbs slamming into the ground and allowing her to use their lengthy stride and explosive power as she hoisted herself upwards onto glowing and ephemeral limbs that served as extensions of herself.
"FUCKING DIE!" Petrol's scream was altered by the cockpit of his machine and yet his wild slashes did nothing, the glowing Dust-infused blades of the mech-suit blazing like stars and igniting the air around them to create searing after-images and yet despite this Athena-Jade evaded strike after strike, her Beowolf limbs propelling her forwards, upwards and around the attacks as she leapt from glyph to glyph as she always had but with a speed and fluidity that far surpassed even her previous abilities to such a degree that she seemed to vanish and reappear in flashes of motion until finally she closed the distance between herself and Petrol.
Her first blow was earth-shattering; Zirconia could only watch in amazement her partner pounced on glowing limbs, leaving both arms free to heft Mould-Breaker in its' hammer form and drive the head of her weapon, its' propulsion system engaging to deliver even more force directly into the void-black cockpit of the mecha; warping and rippling its' surface to such a degree that the shifting eye-like lights within it flickered and failed. From there the Beowulf construct-limbs launched Athena forward, their claws sinking into the armour of the cockpit canopy with a grinding and screaming of tortured metal before Athena once again created a glyph to propel herself, back-flipping away and using an almost casual flick of her four newly made wrists to tear a vast chunk of the cockpits' armoured covering away entirely and even here she was not done; as she sailed backwards through the air she shifted her weapon into its' laser cannon form and took aim with every intention of blasting away several vital components of the suits' control system.
Halting when she saw just what lay within the cockpit and the true nature of the interface-mask Petrol wore as the Creature of Grimm attaching itself to the Faunus's face pulsed and writhed with his frantic, heaving breaths; his Aura shattering and removing the last barrier between himself and the thing which had enveloped him and worked its' way into the connection points grafted into his flesh.
"What the….RUN! EVERYONE FALL BACK!" the snowy haired young woman bellowed at the top of her lungs, a deep and primal fear filling her and seeping deep into her core at the sight of something so utterly, fundamentally abhorrent and wrong. Her Semblance-made limbs sent her powering forwards in the direction of her team at a blinding speed even as her vision began to swim and the Aura-constructs themselves began to flicker and wane as the effort of sustaining them began to take its' toll on her yet Petrol, or some amalgamation of the Faunus and their monstrous copilot roared after them, his phlegm-laced and deep, sludgy voice transformed into something far more terrifying.
"GET BACK HERE! GET BACK HE-ARRRGH!" Athena-Jade came skidding to a halt beside Zirconia, who was still beside Astra whilst Regalia had seemingly managed to carry Nora to supposed safety; the Bear Faunus using her steadily depleting strength and Aura to create a glyph to shield them as they stared in morbid, horrified fascination.
"What the hell is that?" Astra demanded.
"It's….Wrong" Zirconia whispered fearfully as Petrol's war-machine convulsed and thrashed of its' own accord, Petrol screaming within it as ports that previously housed the mech-suits' drones opened and from within them a viscous blackness which steadily took shape began to pour and coalesce, forming muscle and bone which began to burrow through and interweave itself with the workings of its' host; a similar process taking place within the cockpit itself as the Creature of Grimm which had fused with both the interface system of the machine and Petrol himself began to spasm and mutate whilst more Grimm tissue erupted up into the cockpit through the various life-support systems and spread along the points where the stumps of his arms were fused to the workings of the suit; worming their way into the man himself and consuming him from various avenues in a grotesque display.
"We've gotta go back and help him" the words left Astra of their own volition and though both Athena-Jade and Zirconia were too numb and stricken to follow they allowed the Deer Faunus to pass, yet still Astra never reached Petrol as in that moment, seeing that the situation had devolved beyond any degree of control, or, Zirconia privately hoped in order to keep her from having to confront the thing which began to take shape before her the Benefactor chose to make good on his threat to destroy the building.
The explosions began towards the opposite end of the warehouse, cascading outwards to swallowing the morphing mech-suit in a wall of fire and pure concussive force which tore apart everything in its' path.
"MOVE! EVERYBODY MOVE!" Tiger's voice was a hoarse and ragged scream as she sprinted through the deadened husks of trees, following Flax's orders and doing everything in her power to keep Team TRQS safe; reaching back blindly behind herself to grab at her friends and physically drag them to their feet if needed in order to escape and survive until help could arrive. Flax had warned the students that what emerged from the Spawning Pit in its' final moments might be too large or overpowering for them, or frankly for almost any Hunter and that air support was close at hand in case the situation called for it however Tiger had privately, though she suspected that the rest of her team had harboured similarly desires, hoped that they might be able to impressive the Rabbit Faunus and prove themselves by destroying the target unassisted.
She had certainly not expected to be reduced to running for life and screaming as she went.
Once the explosives they had intended to use to complete their mission had been turned spectacularly against them by the rogue Hunter they had encountered, the chain reaction almost depleting each of Team TRQS's remaining Auras entirely the roiling darkness had unleashed a continuous torrent of Creatures of Grimm which might have been manageable had they not feel upon the already exhausted teenagers in a ceaseless wave of murderous intent which rolled over everything in its' path whilst focusing singularly in the direction from which the attack had come. In a further retaliation the Spawning Pit had produced a Grimm of the scope and ferocity that they had been warned about, one which Tiger was yet to see as she focused her eyes firmly ahead of her as she led her teams' desperate escape.
Coming to a painful halt as Stygian tackled her to the ground.
"DOWN!" the Mouse Faunus's terrified scream filled her ears, jarring her nerves as her partner appeared from nowhere with a use of his Semblance which alone should have served as enough warning. Stygian's arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her down and as she sought to force air back into lungs that burned, leaving every breath feeling as though her chest was filled with glass Tiger saw the reason that her partner had intervened as several things happened in tandem, her friends saving her life several times over in almost the same instant.
Firstly Rye came skidding to a halt beside her and slammed his hands onto the ground, his Geomancy Semblance allowing him to raise a circular wall of earth and stone around them which the Creatures of Grimm immediately collided with and began to smash themselves against or scale with an unwavering fury, the sound of snarling and shrieking almost masking the sound of claws seeking purchase in the surface of this new barrier whilst Amaya used an elevated position in the trees to gun down some of the more tenacious monsters before hurriedly leaping down to take cover behind Rye's wall.
And then the air was filled with flames.
The large Grimm, still unseen chose that moment to attack from a distance and simply began to breath fire with a deafening roar; a single raging gout which reduced dozens of trees to ash in an instant before immolating its' smaller, lesser kin in an effort to simply bake Team TRQS within their defences.
"Rye we've gotta go!" It was Amaya who yelled and her partner reacted swiftly to her panicked words, control over his Semblance allowing him to lower a portion of the walls he had constructed so that the four of them could flee once again, pursued this time by only a single Grimm though as it took a single step which shook the ground and brought a shadow looming over the entire team it seemed a paltry advantage to claim. Tiger lingered behind even as Stygian rushed after their team-mates, some instinctive sense that she had no words or opportunity to articulate causing her to pause and manage a half-turn towards the thing that had chased them before the movement and a gale of displaced air that came with it prompted her to throw herself to the ground and yell for her team.
"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" the words were almost lost beneath the sound of splintering wood, howling wind and thundering impacts as tree that previously been set ablaze were crushed into dust by a mighty swing of a tail larger around than any two of Team TRQS standing shoulder to shoulder, its' surface covered in jutting bone spikes and tar-black scales. As dust and fragments rained down on her, the sheer force of the impacts felt through the ground leaving what little remained of her Aura wavering Tiger used her trident to pull herself into a crouch and managed her first proper glimpse of the gargantuan Grimm; the thing was several stories tall and bipedal, with a saurian form which boasted vast armour plates and crests of spines, arms small enough in comparison to the rest of its' body to be almost redundant and used its' tail as a counterweight for an enormous skull with jaws capable of closing around a train carriage with ease; its' entire colossal weight being supported by three-toed and wide-splayed feet which cracked the ground beneath it.
And currently it was facing the wrong way.
"LOOK!" Tiger yelled, ears still ringing from the monsters' previous onslaughts "It's the things we were fighting!"
Team TRQS gathered around her, limping, staggering and crawling as fast as they were able to and staring up in dazed, weary amazement as they saw through the smoke that the enormous saurian Grimm had indeed turned its' attention to the pair of Cyber-Grimm which, even with their own considerable firepower were struggling to keep it at bay.
"Why did it change targets?….Hell, why did those things decide to target it?" Stygian demanded incredulously as he watched twin lances of light split the smoke-blackened sky when the two Cyber-Grimm unleashed a coordinated pass at their target, tearing enormous gouges into its' armoured hide; the idea that the Hunter wanted for crimes too heinous and numerous to consider had instructed the abominations under his command to help the students being positively ludicrous.
"Right now I don't care, we should-" Tiger's weary words were interrupted as the towering Grimm that had turned its' attention to airborne and more dangerous quarry unleashed another jet of flames along with a roar that shook the remaining trees; the inferno engulfing the nearest of the Cyber-Grimm, the one whose exterior was without scarring and a secondary fireball erupted within as the Grimm-machine hybrid exploded when several key components failed dramatically.
"We need to go" Tiger continued, finding her customary commanding tone as she forced herself to stand despite every muscle screaming in protest with every motion "We were ordered to fall back and that is gonna look for us again soon enough-"
"But what about Mister Scarlatina?" Rye asked, a worried look crossing the gentle giants' features at the idea of leaving their Hunter behind which Tiger could wholeheartedly sympathise with; though before either of them could press their view of the matter Stygian silently managed to capture their attention, his sensitive Faunus hearing, stunned as it had been by the ongoing cacophony managing to pick out the sound of approaching footsteps at a hurried pace amidst the din. Team TRQS collectively readied their weapons, preparing to give what little they had left should they be faced with Carmesi Hueso only for the four of them to collectively let out a sigh of relief which, in more than one case came closer to resembling the choked sob of someone pushed entirely beyond their limits.
"At ease kids, you did good" Flax choked out, wiping ash and soot from a bruised and bloodied face as he stepped into view.
"What? How?….But….What the fucking hell?" Tiger's usual sharpness had abandoned her, along with the decorum she attempted to show in front of her superiors if not when dealing with her peers and it was all she could do to not simply collapse to her knees.
"Hueso didn't know which way the big one was gonna go so he had his….whatever the hell those things are give him cover to retreat; looks like that one is trying to break off now" the Rabbit Faunus gestured upwards to where the remaining Cyber Grimm was indeed weaving through the air and making a clear effort to disappear below the treeline "We can't take that thing down with what we have on hand, air support is still a few minutes out….I had to choose between getting a tracker on it or Hueso at the last minute, I tagged that thing. All that's left for us is to get clear and wait for evac"
"But what about Hueso?" Tiger asked, a ghost of her usual self bubbling to the fore in the form of her unwavering commitment to completing the task at hand and accepting nothing less than a total success; in response Flax merely shook his head.
"He got away, he got what he was looking for but right now us getting out of here is more important" when Tiger seemed ready to argue Flax raised a hand and added sobering words "We need to get clear, we need to get back to Halo Academy….The Headmaster needs to know what we saw today, it might be more important than the Spawning Pit"
The warehouse lay in ruins, everything which had not been blasted and flung outwards by the fireballs that had swept through its' interior and sent hurtling out in all directions having instead collapsed in upon itself to create mounds of twisted and smoking debris which had, mercifully managed to deprive the raging flames of the oxygen needed to spread further. The booming explosions had been heard all throughout the nearest settlements however the local authorities whom Team MARZ and Nora had visited earlier in the day, understanding the potential scope of the danger present and the lack of meaningful contributions for them to make chose not to intervene and instead focused their efforts on making sure that townspeople remained kept at a safe distance; each of them feeling like wretches as they kept medical attention from reaching people who might be desperate need of it with the flimsy-sounding reasoning that if the Hunters needed assistance they would make contact and that it was still far too soon to throw away an agreed upon plan without some sort of sign that it was warranted.
Such a sign came closer to being delivered as an area towards the edge of the ruined warehouse shifted, twisted metal sheets and beams that formed an area of roof closest to the exit Team MARZ had attempted to leave through having landed in oddly bulging way, as though something beneath it had propped it up. Regalia didn't need to use her Semblance for guidance and simply hurried over, using the considerable strength to haul wreckage aside; heart-skipping several beats in succession as she felt something begin helping her lift from the other side.
"YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE OKAY!" she exclaimed, raised goggles revealing moist eyes as she threw the last piece of twisted steel and thankfully limited amount of stone obstructing her view; finding her team-mates below and wrapping her arms around a dust-covered and battered looking Astra, using the crushing hug she enveloped them in to pull the Deer Faunus to their feet and simply melt into their body for a moment with waves of overwhelming relief washing over her until finally a few gentle pats at her back from Astra were enough for her to regain her composure, at which point the Racoon Faunus turned to Athena-Jade and Zirconia who were in the midst of helping each other up and clinging desperately to one another as they blinked in the setting sunlight which the rising pillars of smoke were unable to blot out entirely.
"What the hell was that?" Athena-Jade managed to croak out "What the hell was that thing?"
"Uh guys….What happened?" Regalia asked, head cocked in open confusion at the haunted and nauseous expressions her friends wore; her retreat with their Professors' unconscious form having robbed her of the chance to see the fights' final moments though the look Astra gave her spoke volumes, their sea green eyes filled with some deep, unspeakable dread for the several seconds it took them to slowly shake their head and form words.
"We'll talk when we get the hell out of here and get this whole place quarantined….Is everyone okay?" they focused more intently on their partner "Are you okay, is Professor-"
"Yeah" Regalia assured them with all the enthusiasm she could still muster "She's in the back of your truck, I managed to stop any of the bigger pieces of wreckage from hitting it but the paint might be a little scuffed"
"I can stand" Zirconia managed to rasp out, the admission damning with faint praise and leaving the implication that the Grasshopper Faunus could do little else hanging in the air though even as she spoke she displayed the strength left to her by continuing to hold Athena-Jade upright, the Bear Faunus giving her friends a forlorn look as she shook her head slowly with even that limited movement seeming to tax and pain her.
"I'm out, my Aura shattered….that new move took a lot out of me-"
The admission seemed to serve as a trigger and Team MARZ collectively turned and watched in naked fright as the largest mountain of debris erupted outward some distance away, hurling ruined chunks of what had previously been a building high into the air as something burst from within.
"What is that?" Regalia demanded.
"How, how the hell is he still alive?" Athena-Jade's voice cracked and rather than answer Astra simply drew their keys from their pocket, throwing them to their partner before unfurling Buckshot Ares and deploying the weapons' various components.
"Regalia, get everyone out of here! Take my car-"
"You can't be serious? You're gonna fight that thing on your own!" Regalia's panicked response drew the attention of the limbering form which had once been a mech-suit and whether through simple, base predatory instincts or some lingering vestiges of Petrol's consciousness rising to prominence the thing focused its' attention Astra who continued to stand resolutely between it and their team-mates; eyes locked firmly on the abominable machine whilst speaking to Regalia.
"I've still got enough Aura, I was using hit and run attacks with my Semblance-"
"You haven't got enough to beat that thing!" Athena interjected.
"I agree with them, this is reckless" Zirconia added
"There's no choice, Regalia get the others out of here….Get Professor Nora out of here and tell the police to contact the other Hunters around the settlement! I don't have to beat it, I just have to hold the line!"
"Okay….I'm trusting you here, stay safe" Regalia's voice was shaky as she gave her partner one last, lingering look before following her leaders' orders and taking Athena and Zirconia with her.
Then Astra and the machine Grimm charged at one another.
Grimm tissue had spread through and around the mecha to reshape and reform it into something new; its entire body distending and lengthening whilst at the same time being angled into a stance reminiscent of a gorilla; arms lengthened to accommodate the change whilst their weapon mounts, the oversized and twisted parodies of Buckshot Ares had been shattered and warped entirely by the mutation, blades, guns and shields morphed into enormous blade-wreathed clubs studded with spike of bone, metal and glistening Dust crystals which continued to power the things' limbs and leave them consumed by a flaming orange glow; reducing everything they touched to molten scrap as the thing advanced. Its' lower limbs remained digitigrade though now sported claws and the mech-suit Grimm's entire form had an appearance of lithe, powerful muscle; rippling and corded tissue without skin to cover it stretched thin across twisted metal and internal structures and mechanisms whilst all across it sweeping spines of bone and chitinous plating had begun to take root, creating something predatory whose rampage seemed entirely unhindered by the fact that it lacked a proper head. With the cockpit of the machine torn open and angled forward Astra could see, with a sense of revulsion that jagged ribs arced around the opened space to form a cage whilst within it many legged and many eyed aspect of the larger Grimm which had attached itself to Petrol's face was still very much present, having expanded and grown a functioning jaw which worked around the Faunus's mouth so that when it screamed in primal rage it used his voice to do so; all the while midnight black tissue which had grown around the ruined gangsters' body hoisted him aloft and moved with a will of its' own supported by the suits' harness and the contraptions affixed to the remains of his arms, the entire assembly using Petrol's limp and dangling form as the focal point for some obscene control hub.
Astra engaged their Semblance as they rushed at it.
With their Aura-self forming around them in an expanding fiery red glow and the roar of their pickup trucks' engines, followed by the screeching of tires somewhere behind them ensuring that their friends were safe they surged through the remains of the warehouse and prepared to strike, rearing back a glowing and titanic fist for a punch intended to drive clean through the opened ribs of the machine Grimm which defied all explanation or knowledge.
Before the blow could land Petrol's machine pounced, the Grimm letting loose a deafening shriek through the Faunus's mouth and the ground beneath them shook as the two connected; clawed hindlimbs ripped into the thighs and midsection of Astra's glowing Semblance-body and left fissures of light etched across its' surface whilst missing the upper torso where the Deer Faunus themselves were housed; from there and using the solid light as a foothold the mecha-Grimm flung into the air and brought both of its' club-limbs down together for a two handed and oddly simian overhead strike, the Fire Dust within the weaponised arms transforming their arcing swing into something akin to a falling star which sent a shock wave of force, light and heat rolling across the immediate vicinity, cratering the ground beneath it as Astra leapt aside.
"Petrol, if you're in there at all….You need to snap out of it, even if you want me dead; this isn't how you want to do it!" Astra's voice boomed out yet their foe paid no heed and simply lunged at them once again in an eruption of flames and raw power, leaping into the air to deliver a crushing blow which the Deer Faunus countered by driving the foot of their Semblance-form into its' torso whilst it was in mid-air; the snapping front kick sending the thing crashing backwards with enough force to tear a shallow trench into ground as it came skidding to a halt and swiftly righted itself, the mass of nightmarish sinew within its' cockpit reorienting so that Petrol's limp and unresponsive body could once again be turned to face Astra, suggesting that the part of the Grimm which had served as an interface point was in control of the monstrosity in its' entirety and was using Petrol's body as a host of some form.
"COME ON WAKE UP DAMN IT!" Astra yelled as they charged again, desperate to save even Petrol from such an unthinkable fate. The Deer Faunus sought to follow up on their previous strike and closed the distance between them, pivoting and spinning to the right to avoid a savage swipe of the mecha-Grimm's club-limbs and drive their right fist into its' back, intending to smash through whatever power supply had once existed and hopefully damage the Grimm enough for it to relent.
They were halted and left in reeling, agony flooding through their awareness entirely as the right arm of their Semblance form was shattered below the elbow in an explosion of Aura which faded as it fell away in a shower of glowing embers.
The war-machine had lashed out with a backhanded strike and countered Astra's incoming blow effectively with its' left arm and pressed the advantage with its' right; an excruciating reminder of the proven order of things wherein for all of Astra's skill and training Petrol had always simply been far stronger. The mecha-Grimm's right club of studded bone, steel and Fire Dust slammed into the point of the Deer Faunus's construct where a kidney would have rested and sent a fresh wave of fissures and fractures spidering outwards across the surface of the glowing form which began to ripple and fluctuate as Astra's focus was strained as much as their rapidly failing Aura reserves and from their the thing used simple brute force to tackle Astra to the ground and began raining blows down of the Semblance-body, bludgeoning every part of it that could be reached and ripping chunks of solid light away in a grisly, frenzied and hateful display whilst Astra simply struggled to protect the portion of the glowing body which their physical form was housed within as much as they could with their remaining arm.
Until the monstrosity which still screamed through Petrol's mouth paused in its' assault, distracted by the sound of a rapidly approaching jet engine which Astra immediately recognised.
"REGALIA WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" the yelled, voice as amplified as their physical form as their partner came racing into view atop Clunker; her custom jetbike travelling across the haphazardly strewn wreckage without incident and banking to an impossible degree as the Racoon Faunus sought to work her way into the Grimm's blind spots.
"I've got a plan and I brought help!" Regalia yelled back, clearly forcing a false cheeriness into a voice that was muffled behind the armoured faceplate which had once again been deployed from her goggles. From their current pinned and prone position they couldn't see exactly what happened next, only the brief hints of movement as someone leapt from the back of the jetbike and then the machine Grimm shrieked and howled again, deafening and tortured as a steel spike bust through flesh and metal components.
Regalia had fired Apex Scavengers' harpoon into the back of the things' right shoulder and was using the weapons' shotgun component to blast chunks of meat, bone and twisted machinery away from its' back whilst at the same time forcing Clunker to unleash every last ounce of power at its' disposal, flames spewing from the jetbikes' thruster as she pulled in the opposite direction and sought to tow and drag the monster away from her partner.
The help she had brought with her arrived in the next instant.
"SMASH IT!" Nora screamed as she came charging into view, Magnhild clutched close to her body in its' grenade launcher form; the veteran Hunter bracing herself against its' recoil and firing on the move even with her Aura, barely recovered from her previous thrashing at the hands of Petrol's mecha flickering perpetually around her. Grenades struck the skewered monstrosity and exploded in blasts of bubblegum pink, ripping away more of its' armoured exterior and yet still the thing fought, inferno-wreathed limbs thrashing and flailing wildly in an effort to dislodge itself.
"Astra! NOW!" Regalia yelled, spurring her partner to act on Nora's order and finally the leader of Team MARZ regained their senses and lunged into motion. Their Aura construct clambered back to its' feet with the Deer Faunus still encased within, sagging and limping under strain as it rippled and flickered one-armed and slowly dissipating from multiple points of damage yet still Astra pushed onwards and used the Grimm's distraction to charge at it and first deliver a low sweep of their left leg, kicking the things' feet out and leaving it both staggering and vulnerable, unable to properly guard against a follow up crescent kick from the same leg which slammed down onto the uppermost points of the abomination with an impact that shattered newly grown bone and tore free tendons that Regalia's onslaught had already damaged; from there Astra followed up with two more earth-shaking strikes in quick succession which took advantage of the abominations' damaged state, a roundhouse throw from the right leg with slipped beneath a weakened arm to strike the ribs of the machine-Grimm followed by a side kick which shattered the bone entirely and fully exposed Petrol and the thing which had latched and grown onto him at which point the Deer Faunus delivered their final blow in the form of a leaping and spinning tornado kick which tore the entire body of the mech-suit apart, ripping the entire cockpit section in which Petrol was housed free and sending it crashing to the ground some distance away whilst the ruined machine sagged and collapsed in on itself, Grimm tissue warping and writhing to crush and cannibalise the machinery around it even as it faded away.
Astra paid it no mind.
"PETROL!" the Deer Faunus yelled as they released their Semblance and sprinted, clambered and all but threw themselves through the ruins of the warehouse in order to get to where the avian Faunus had landed, bile rising in their throat as they saw that within the mangled and displaced remains of the cockpit the central part of the Grimm still lived, thrashing and spitting as it sprouted tendrils which lashed and futilely fought to knit themselves into new limbs however, more importantly Petrol himself was still alive and regaining consciousness, letting out a tortured wail as his catastrophic injuries and the presence of the Grimm still fused to his body registered on his consciousness.
"We're gonna get this thing off of you!" Astra declared as they drew close, readying Buckshot Ares and deflecting a lashing tendril aside though their voice wavered in fearful shock and disbelief as they tried to convince even themselves that their claims were anything more than fantasy.
"Fucking finish it you little prick!" Petrol snarled, words somewhere between insensate fury and mind shattering agony as he forced words from a raw throat through bloodstained teeth even as the Grimm-flesh mask struggled against his jaw "You fucking won and I'm dead anyway, make it quick!"
"We can help, just let me cut this thing off of you and-"
"FINISH IT!" Petrol screamed, he and the Grimm in unison for a single moment as the Faunus thrashed the remains of his arms and sent barbed, whipping tendrils flying at Astra which were cut away with ease, Petrol letting out a choked and strangled sob as he continued to force himself to speak around the Grimm "It's gonna fucking kill me….It's in the life support machines, it's inside me; fuck it's in my head, I can feel it inside me head….Just finish me off before it kills me!"
Astra saw the outline of segmented limbs straining beneath the skin of Petrol's skin, marking the points where the mask had grown beyond its' interface points and was now burrowing directly into its' host and at that point the Deer Faunus, realising that there was nothing else to be done and yet still fighting the urge to vomit and with tears streaming from their eyes prepared to perform an act of mercy before the Grimm could eat Petrol alive the way his own Semblance had eaten through so many targets.
"Just tell me who the Benefactor is" they croaked out as they drew close, fending off lashing tendrils "Tell me who did this and I'll make sure they pay for it!"
"Fuck you" Petrol spat, teeth grinding as the Grimm began to force this jaw shut and cut off his airways "This is your fault….All of this because you put me in prison, because you wouldn't stay down when I put you down….I don't know who they are, but even if I did I wouldn't tell you"
Astra nodded in silence, then drove an arm mounted blade upwards through the underside of Petrol's jaw and outwards to end his suffering and the Grimm which caused it in the same moment.
The Grimm faded away, Petrol's lifeless body sagged back in the remains of the harness that had been grafted to him and Astra simply collapsed and trembled, everything about the situation having pushed them far beyond their limits.
They felt hollow.
"Hey" Regalia's voice was fearful as she positioned herself close to her partner, shedding her light outer jacket and hoodie beneath it to drape them over the Deer Faunus's shoulders in a desperate attempt to comfort them in any way they could whilst Nora, limping and battered trudged close from the opposite side.
"You did the right thing….It was hard but it was right, we couldn't leave him like that" her own voice was choked and thick with emotion until she forced herself to take a calming, steadying breath and continued "Your team-mates are safe, the Hunters stationed around the edge of the town are preparing to meet with the police and secure the area….I'm getting you kids back to the Academy"
"You hear that" Regalia murmured soothingly "It's over"
Author's Notes:
Okay, so that was a ride….A chapter I've been looking forward to writing for a while.
That being said, I get the feeling every time I get to a chapter like this that I've been looking forward to where I think I could have done it better and it never lives up to my own expectations….I'm putting most of it down to the fact that I was working afters at the time of writing, so most of this was written at around 1am.
On the other hand though, this is my 50th chapter of the year; which is another of my new years' resolutions/goals achieved.
Next chapter will be the end of Vol.05 and the last chapter of 2022; I'm gonna post on Christmas Eve and then there's gonna be a week break which I think I've earned before we return in the new year.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Yeah see, on paper at least Team MARZ were actually in a better position this time but it really didn't feel like it.
Y'know when the hero and villain start referencing the first time they met as they fight it's probably gonna be a final showdown that someone doesn't walk away from.
These drag and drop fights are fun but it's tricky to keep track of who's where all the time.
Petrol used the same area of effect attack that killed his people, difference is that they didn't really have Aura.
I'll blow my own trumpet here, the Hard-light laser lance + glyph combo to make a cage was brilliant and if this was animated it would be one of those scenes people go wild for….Having it followed by Regalia using herself + the overhead beam as a crane to drag Petrol away was just a cherry on top.
Yeah Nora had to go down here, just for the sake of tension.
Team TRQS Vs the Cyber-Grimm is just unfair. If there weren't other factors at play here then honestly they would have been wiped out.
I had to have Rye freeze one and immobilise it early on just to make it at least somewhat convincing.
Yes the Cyber-Grimm did an aerial Akira Slide.
Tiger's gravity Dust loaded blade pulling the debris around it into an orbit would look great in slow motion.
Stygian's entire sword is Dust conductive and filling the blade with Hard-light just so it can block or deflect anything for a short burst is pure anime bullshit.
The machine part of the Cyber-Grimm coming through here, it has a built in fire suppressant.
The Chamber scene was actually supposed to end with the message being delivered but I ended up changing the flow and sequence of the chapter as I was writing it to make things work better.
I liked the feel here that even the big shadowy villain was panicked by everything going on because shit is interfering with literally everyone's plans right now….Nero not being able to call Petrol off without activating the Mecha Grimm fully is a lose/lose situation.
The Gravity/Magnetic Dust immobiliser rounds are something that appeared in FADE Legacy briefly, I just happened to re-read that chapter this week because a new reader has been leaving reviews on the story.
I think we all knew that the final safety measures were gonna involve just blowing things up.
So Carmesi has got what he came here for, meaning that Gestalt-Prime will have new raw material for more Cyber-Grimm.
Yeah Carmesi is a ruthless killer, but he can appreciate talent when he sees it.
Magnetic Dust from one person followed by the other person leaping in with a metal melee weapon = Hunter style tracer rounds.
Followed by an opposite use of magnetic Dust to throw one of Carmesi's weapons away and while I write this I am once again reminded that if Pyrrha actually used her Semblance openly and didn't limit herself she would have been unstoppable.
Good old bit of bluffing, one that Flax had to take seriously.
The Freelancer tactics are always nasty and I had to callback to FADE by having Flax throw a flash-bang at someone.
Flax getting dangerously close to breaking the fourth wall with that self awareness there and yet it still feel like it works.
So Carmesi got away, working on the assumption that the Hunters were gonna get killed….Poor form from someone who's usually better than this; but he was in a tight spot against a better opponent than his usual fare.
Even in the midst of everything that's happening Zirconia had faith that Nero was gonna pull a win out of the bag.
Nero's big plan was to try and bluff Team MARZ, sometimes the simple ones are what you need.
Zirconia's main skill when it comes to being the person on the inside is that she can make playing into Nero's hands sound like the most rational thing in the world.
….All of that however is useless against Petrol, who is no longer thinking rationally.
AND HERE IT IS! Athena-Jade's move that she's been working on….She's taken the Schnee family summons and the fact that in Downward Spiral Weiss actually formed the Knight armour around herself and taken that to a different conclusion, giving herself extra body parts and trust me there's a lot more that she can do with this.
Her being able to flit around the battlefield, new move + glyph platforms + rocket hammer isn't quite a 'Flash-Step' but it's damn close to it and definitely goes straight into anime fight scene nonsense in the way that Optimus and Megatron Vs Skywarp and Novastorm in Transformers Earthrise did.
That would have been a brilliant final shot but the moment she saw that the actual interface for the mech-suit is literally made of Grimm attaching itself to Petrol's face….Yeah the game changed.
Yeah Nero had kept everything he was doing to Petrol secret, he blew that Warehouse up the moment the 'Co-pilot' awakened and started merging with the mech-suit to form a variation of the Cyber-Grimm to keep his secret….But we didn't really think it would be that easy did we?
Yeah Team TRQS mission is now just "Survive".
Rye may as well use his Semblance now if the Pit is already going all out.
….And there's the big beastie; now I never outright said it's the Gojirex but since I included the Disemboweller and Spider-Monkeys from Downward Spiral I thought I may as well at least make a nod to the fire breathing T-Rex. Besides, I've got plenty of home brew Grimm ideas left but I didn't wanna waste any of them here for what's basically a cameo.
Okay so that's another Cyber-Grimm down, but also final proof that Carmesi did indeed get clear with his mission completed.
Tiger cusses like a sailor with people she's close to, but always tries to be professional on the job so her talking like that around Flax is honestly just a sign that her self-control was slipping a bit.
Okay so Flax made the smart choices here and objectively speaking he and Team TRQS did complete a mission….But Velvet is still gonna give him shit, she can and has managed to solo a Gojirex before.
The big takeaway though, is that now the Cyber-Grimm are out of the bag.
Not the first building that these kids have had to dig their way out of, remember their first mission?
AJ & Hops are out, I think we all knew that this was gonna come down to an Astra Vs Petrol fight.
Regalia just has no fucking clue what's going on here, she was busy getting Nora out of the fight.
I honestly considered reusing the "Do you trust me? To infinity and beyond" thing that Astra and Regalia have going on here but it didn't quite feel right.
And here's a new variety of Cyber-Grimm, one that's been fused with a human pilot….I had to take away its' weapons to give Astra a chance; also I didn't have a specific name for it because it is still just Petrol, but you can call it the Monstrosity or the Mecha Grimm.
Honestly this fight could have been a whole chapter on its' own but I specifically put the words "Quick and dirty" in my planning notes to stop myself from doing that.
Also yeah, Astra is legitimately trying to help and save Petrol because he's a Hunter and Petrol does not deserve this.
Come on now, did anybody not see Regalia coming back with Nora or Regalia not using the jetbike that she brought but hasn't actually ridden all mission?
The combo that Astra used, the leg sweep, crescent kick, roundhouse, sidekick, tornado kick is the same combo that he used in his first fight with Petrol back in chapter 01; bringing it back full circle to when we first saw Astra.
Okay so the cockpit was ripped out of the machine, which finished off most of the mecha-Grimm but the piece of it grafted to and around Petrol is still alive...And also let's be real, that probably would have killed Petrol anyway with the damage done to his life support machines.
Even at the very end Petrol cannot and will not accept they had some part in their own fuck ups, which is also a running theme with canon RWBY villains; no accountability or willingness to learn.
But make no mistake, that was absolutely a mercy kill from Astra, that thing was gonna eat his brains from the inside….Grimm parasites do end well for the host.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.