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Chapter 93: Vytal
The fact that classes had been cancelled, on a Friday of all days would have been a cause for celebration amongst the students of Halo Academy under normal circumstances and whilst that exuberant atmosphere could be found to an extent the overwhelming feeling in the air was one of tense and expectant anticipation as the students of Halo academy, those students who had travelled from all across Remnant and the children who called the orphanage which shared space with the floating academy their home each waited, with excitement and dread building in equal measure for what was to come.
The Vytal Festival had begun and the tournament was upon them.
Team MARZ had found themselves sitting in a loose huddle at the periphery of the airship terminal which was attached to the airborne academy, by way of a yellow brick road laid by the late Headmistress Goodwitch herself and flanked by statues of the academies' fallen alumni. Positioning themselves at the furthest edge of the terminal had been a courtesy to those whose business was more urgent than their own, moving clear of both the terminal and its' various landing pads as well as the seating which the four teens had given up to those more needing and also the various holographic information boards displaying schedules which were currently undergoing rapid alterations and adjustments as the festival and its' attendant traffic clogged the roads and airways. Instead Athena-Jade and Zirconia were lounging as contentedly as the pair could manage, neither girl entirely willing to show how nervous they truly were in front of a potential audience and instead simply leaning against a sturdy, supporting strut of the safety railing which ran around the perimeter of the aerial platform, Zirconia having found a position in which to comfortably sit on Athena-Jade's lap without the Grasshopper Faunus's unique cybernetic legs causing discomfort whilst Astra stood only a pace or two away, elbows propped against the uppermost edge of the railing and an intent, stony look etched into their features as they stared out at the city below only for their solemn and determined musings to be offset entirely by the presence of Regalia beside them; the Racoon Faunus sitting perched on the railing and leaning back perilously at irregular intervals to check that her partner was not allowing themselves to work themselves into a frenzy, with each instance of the action making Astra's stomach lurch despite the countless assurances that Regalia had given that she was at no risk of falling, life amongst Clan Aiktishaf had prepared her for far more dangerous conditions after all.
Seeing her partner growing obviously distressed by their own thoughts Regalia chose to distract her friends in the best way she knew how.
"Today, we face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them! Today, we are cancelling the apocalypse!"
"Nice" Astra chuckled, still somewhat darkly though Regalia saw the way the corners of their mouth twitched and the small smile that Athena and Zirconia shared upon placing the reference their movie-loving friend had made and considered herself victorious in a small but meaningful way. She had her own nerves to contend with and being effectively trapped within the grounds of Halo Academy for the time being when every fibre of her being screamed out to her that she should be below, in the midst of the Vytal Festival where she could soak up and experience countless sights, sounds and tastes that she might never get the chance to experience again did nothing to aid matters however Regalia had managed to push through all of her concerns and find herself in an almost tranquil state with the aid of two simple facts.
Firstly and undeniably she was here, she had become a Hunter and reached a position that she could be proud of that her younger self would have been awed and elated to see. Secondly she was a member of Team MARZ and she wholeheartedly believed that the four of them, with Astra at their head could overcome anything that might face them.
Their opponents had no idea what was coming.
"It's almost time" Zirconia rasped out quietly, mismatched gaze passing over her friends and seemingly reading them on a deeper level to see the effect that having to wait was having upon them.
"Yeah, can't come soon enough….But at the same time I almost don't want it to get here; it's real now y'know?" Astra replied, fighting to keep a slight waver out of their voice and finding themselves bolstered by Athena-Jade who reached up from her seated position to land a lazy punch on her team leaders' leg.
"It'll be fine when we get there….Trust me" the slightly conspiratorial look that the Bear Faunus and her girlfriend shared for a moment went unseen and uncommented on by Astra who massaged the point where their antlers met their skull and remained, at least partially consumed by doubts and waves half-formed and hastily discarded strategy that had been plaguing them since the breakfast they had barely touched despite Regalia's urging. The morning and lead up to the current moment and what was to follow had been a blur of last minute paperwork and checks from impartial third parties, including drug screening to ensure that no student would be so foolish as to risk their entire teams' careers for an unfair advantage, followed by weapon checks to ensure that the tools being brought to the arena were as described and posed no undue risk to the crowds or the stadium itself; this having the unintended side effect of leaving students whose tournament matches were taking place that day unable to kill time in the workshop with last minute checks and fine tuning.
After a few moments of heavy silence between them Team MARZ were granted a fresh distraction in the form of familiar figures approaching.
"You guys feeling lucky today?" Stygian beamed, the dark-skinned and tattooed Mouse Faunus adjusting his jacket as he sauntered over and flashed the group a confidant look, the rest of Team TRQS close behind.
"Forget luck. Are you feeling prepared?" Tiger's voice was harsh and yet Team MARZ could find no malice in them, prompting Astra to turn away from the view of the city below and step away from the railing for a moment as they answered.
"Logically and objectively, yeah sure" they gave a weak, almost bitter laugh "But actually….Right now, not at all"
"Good. Never feel too confident, that's how you get blind-sided. Don't be an idiot" Tiger nodded sagely and Team MARZ couldn't help but collectively smile at the comment whilst beside the stern and driven leader of Team TRQS her partner shook his head, blue dreadlocks swinging with the motion.
"What she meant to say was good luck" Stygian paused and considered for a moment "You're not heading into the city to see some of the festival before your match?"
"Can't risk it" it was Athena-Jade who answered, a somewhat irritated sigh escaping her as she did so "The paparazzi will be out in full force, total media circus down there….We can't afford to get held up because Zirconia and I got swarmed by cameras"
"Besides, I wouldn't be able to appreciate it properly" Astra added, to which Stygian nodded in understanding and made a sympathetic noise.
"Honestly I feel lucky that Team TRQS aren't fighting until tomorrow" it was Astra's turn to nod in wordless understanding as they privately tried to memorise the exact order of fixtures that they had given less mental focus than their own. The first round of the tournament would take place on one of the many aerial platforms dotting the cities' airspace within a purpose built arena and would last from Friday afternoon until Sunday night, with the festival in full swing the entire time and lasting far beyond; the tournament matches had been arranged in such a way that attendees on any given day would be treated to a mixture of newcomers and returning stars from the previous tournament with students of all year groups in attendance and all of the competing academies represented as equally as possible.
"We'll still be in the crowd today" Tiger interjected, giving a reason that any of her friends could easily have guessed "Team SHMR are competing today, I want to see Ravi win"
"We'll hang out afterwards" Astra offered, a sheepish look on their face as they added "Provided we're all still in one piece"
"Maybe save it until tomorrow night" Stygian grinned "I think Tiger would kill us if we got drunk before our match-"
"You think correctly, I would absolutely kill you for that" Tiger answered with a degree of calmness which drew nervous laughter from those around her until Athena-Jade, upon sharing another unnoticed and knowing look with Zirconia tapped Astra on the shoulder.
"A flight to the stadium is gonna land any second now, I can see it making final approach….You wanna head over and make sure there's no last minute paperwork or anything that can trip us up?"
"Good thinking" the Deer Faunus nodded "Come on, let's roll….we'll see you guys later" with that Team MARZ and Team TRQS, including Rye and Amaya who had thus far been largely silent said their goodbyes and went their separate ways; with Team MARZ venturing in the direction of the incoming transport and each of the four of them forcing themselves to move with a sense of purpose and their head held high.
It was time to show all of Remnant exactly what they were capable of.
A logistical operation which had taken years to bring to fruition, truthfully one which had been set in motion since it had been decided that this would be the year in which New Vale and its' capital city played host to the Vytal Tournament was now complete and the fruits of the labour of countless thousands of workers were now plain to see, with months of hard work, preparation and steadily building excitement having culminated in the riotous explosion of festivities which now spilled through Neo Vale from the aerial platforms which hovered perpetually above monolithic towers, down to the deepest recesses of the city and out to its' leafy and peaceful suburbs.
Qrow Branwen found himself smiling as he thought to himself that this was quite possibly the greatest example of a Vytal Festival opening ceremony he had seen thus far.
Given that the festivals were originally envisioned, by a predecessor of his now long dead mentor Ozpin as a sign of friendship and cooperation between the Kingdoms in the wake of a war that had ravaged Remnant in its' entirety the sight of crowds from each of the Kingdoms and the territories beyond them celebrating as one, coupled with the knowledge that in the years since the Great War the people of Remnant had, with some notable exceptions been at peace and that for over a century the greatest enemy had been the Creatures of Grimm which had been fought and held at bay through a united effort was a sobering and yet warming thought for Qrow; one which almost managed to distract him from the fact that even now there were forces within his city who might be acting to undo everything that had been built.
The festival had started as such events often did, with fanfare and pomp and circumstance from politicians and mouthpieces in the hear of the city; an affair which Ren had been required to take part in, though Qrow had noted that the younger man would almost certainly be the star of that particular show given that he had a way with words and a presence which he had grown into during his tenure as a teacher and also the fact that he was the object of a sizeable percentage of the idle daydreams of the academies' students. Once the speeches were concluded the revelry would begin in earnest, with parades, street parties and concerts taking place all throughout the hive-towers which defined the city which would not truly cease until the early hours of the morning only to begin again in short order the following day however would find a distinct lull in their enthusiasm for several hours in short order as crowds gathered around screens wherever they could find them, watching on massive displays built into exterior walls of hive-towers, in the comfort of their own homes or bars where raucous cheering and gambling only added to the atmosphere or huddled around the scroll of a colleague if one was unfortunate enough to be working on a day as momentous as this as the main event truly began.
The Vytal Tournament, if not geographically was spiritually the heart of the festival and Qrow's smile widened as he presided over it all.
There were several stadiums which would be hosting the various bouts however the one in which the grizzled old veteran Hunter now resided was one which greatly resembled the Atlesian show-piece in which Team RWBY had competed; a design which Qrow had always been begrudgingly fond of despite its' Atlesian origin and the horrors that had befallen that particular tournament.
It was in a stadium like this where Qrow had first taken on the roles of commentator and announcer, largely by chance and drunken tomfoolery as he had chosen to interrupt his old friends Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck and add his own thoughts and opinions to the proceedings, only for the audience to vocally demand that he be made a permanent fixture; once the tournaments had begun anew following the defeat of Salem of Menagerie Qrow and Oobleck had taken up the role of announcer together however now Qrow sat alone within the isolated box which was raised above the rest of the stadium and whose near-panoramic view ensured that he would miss none of the ensuring action. Oobleck was retired and unavailable, a situation which had demanded a swift and decisive response and upon being tasked with finding a replacement co-host Qrow had known immediately that there was only one person in all of Remnant who could possibly give the role the charisma, liveliness and sheer audacious panache that is deserved.
The smile he wore reached comically wide proportions as she entered the announcers box from behind him.
"Let's start this party with a Yang!"
"Glad you made it Firecracker" Qrow's many-legged chair scuttled around to face his eldest niece and he saw that Yang cut as imposing figure as ever with her man of golden hair cascading behind her and wearing a brown leather jacket with a pair of trailing capes adorning her hips, broad collar and sleeves which were rolled up to reveal the freshly polished and gleaming surface of a cybernetic arm whose golden surface had been freshly adorned with black paint, displaying both her own and Blake's personal emblems intertwined on the back of her hand. Yang wore a pair of the wide and heavily tinted aviator glasses she favoured though made a show of dramatically removing them to reveal that her own broad and excited smile reached to her amethyst coloured eyes which almost shone as she took a seat beside her uncle.
"Sorry I'm a little late, I had to get my students settled" Yang was the head of Signal Academy and her smile became fierce at the mention of her young charges "I got a handful of tickets gave them to my tops students as rewards for performance; Dad is watching them"
"Tai never really retried did he" Qrow chuckled a the thought of his former team-mate and brother in law whom Yang had inherited her position from.
"Not at all" Yang laughed before nodding in the direction of the VIP seating in a box similar to their own "Blake's over there, she says there's a few unexpected faces but apparently some people are missing….Ren and Nora aren't coming? Won't that be considered bad form?"
"They're watching from the academy" Qrow answered "Since they can't get tickets for all the orphanage kids, it's been a tradition of theirs to watch it with the kids for years….It might technically be bad form to not come and watch the opening round in person but at the same time nobody is going to question it"
"Well in that case, let's give those kids a show!" Yang exclaimed happily, metallic fist pumping before turning to her uncle and adding "You ready?"
"Yeah….A little warning in advance though, I might need to vanish for a little while later; there's some people I need to see in the VIP seating. I'll tell your wife your making gooey eyes at her even now" Qrow murmured with a faint smirk gracing his lips at the final comment, speaking quietly enough that his voice was not picked up by the microphone as he activated it and took a moment to mentally prepare himself as footage of a music festival elsewhere in the city faded from a screen that would soon display the Aura levels of competing students; it took him a moment to slip into the mode of thinking and speech which had made him a beloved character by audiences for decades and with only a single nod passing between them he and Yang spoke in perfect unison.
"LADIES, GENTLEMEN AND ESTEEMED OTHERS! CHILDREN OF ALL AGES AND THOSE WATCHING FROM HOME; WELCOME TO THE VYTAL TOURNAMENT!"
Astra had already been off-guard and confused.
They, with Team MARZ close behind them had disembarked from their flight and stepped out onto the aerial platform supporting the floating stadium in which they would soon be competing before an audience of tens of thousands; the Deer Faunus allowing themselves to be as stunned and dazed as any of their friends as they took in the sight of the colossal structure architecture made it clear that this was an arena in which only the most thrilling of battles deserved to be fought, dwarfing the only other stadium he had seen such events take place in first hand as a birthday treat courtesy of his brother. Arriving with plenty of time to spare had allowed Team MARZ to be spotted by press covering the event who had, predictably begun to flock towards the students with questions about Athena-Jade and Zirconia, their family and their relationships already on their lips before they could be halted and reminded of their role by security guards who appeared to be retired Hunters; more importantly and satisfyingly though the team had been spotted and recognised as competitors by fans who had arrived early and were beginning to file steadily into the stadium, with children pointing and cheering at the sight of the team of Faunus whose promotional footage had made something of an impact.
From there Astra had led the four of them towards the reason that they had arrived at the stadium so early and, entirely oblivious to the knowing looks Athena and Zirconia cast one another and the silent excitement building between the pair spoken to a member of the staff in order to find out where they should present themselves only to be left blankly confused by the answer that Team MARZ were expected in the VIP seating area.
That confusion had only been amplified when, as they climbed stairs that would see them reach the VIP seating the sound of the announcers voices collectively brought Team MARZ to a halt.
"OH MY GOSH THAT'S MY AUNT YANG!" Athena-Jade's hands flew to her mouth "This is gonna be so awesome-"
"Will there not questions about bias now?" Zirconia murmured, appearing defensive as the eyes of her friends fell upon her only for Regalia, in a display of her usual approach to personal space and boundaries to casually throw an arm around the insect Faunus's shoulders.
"Have you never seen Vytal Festival footage before? The hosts are always at least a little biased, heh...Professor Branwen has admitted having bets on certain teams before" she laughed, gesticulating wildly as she spoke until she came to a halt upon seeing the lines marring Astra's features deepen to almost tectonic levels "Heh, what's up?"
"Professor Xiao Long is watching" Astra's words were hushed and each of the Deer Faunus's team-mates were suddenly reminded of their leaders reaction to the blonde haired legend of a Huntress the last time they had encountered her before Astra continued "That's my brother's mum….She trained me, she helped me build my weapons when Fluffy was away on missions. Guys we can't lose here, not in front of Professor Xiao Long; we just can't"
The heartfelt sincerity in those words was sobering and left Team MARZ standing in silence in the stairwell for a few brief moments before Athena slapped a meaty palm on her friends' upper arm to reassure them.
"Don't worry, we can do this. Now come on, I've got a surprise for you" Astra's sea-green eyes widened a fraction at that and they allowed themselves to be led upwards almost as a default action without any thought involved and only a faint sputtering escaping them.
"Wait, you know what's-" it was too late for the question to be formed in its' entirety, instead Athena-Jade flung open the door to the VIP seating and strode purposefully a few steps into an area whose luxury and comfort went far beyond even the standard fare of the arena which had been designed to redefine the word spectacle; a breathless exclamation spilling from her as her round-featured face was pulled into a smile which dimpled her cheeks.
"AUNT BLAKE! UNCLE WHITLEY!" the Bear Faunus faltered and composed a moment, standing a little straighter and taking Zirconia's hand in hers almost reflexively as her eyes widened at the start of another figure "Oh, Mister Damascus I-um….It's good to see you again"
"Likewise" Damascus Nero Chairman almost purred before turning to face Whitley Schnee "Your niece is a delight and has been a positive influence on Zirconia"
"I'll agree with that, I'm just wondering why she looks like she's been caught doing something she shouldn't" Whitley retorted with a chuckle, the tall and spindly man whose hair and full beard were as immaculate as his ludicrously expensive suit flashed his eldest niece a bright smile which only made the teasing comment worse before adding "Coral wishes she could be here but she has an exam and Weiss and Gangrel wouldn't let her get behind on her education"
Astra and Regalia shared bemused looks at the way Athena and Zirconia seemed to suffer and cringe under the interaction between their respective family members, each seemingly determined to outshine the other to some degree, Astra looking away only to give a nervous smile to Blake Xiao Long who simply waved and nodded to something behind the Deer Faunus before making her way over to where her niece was being embarrassed in front of her girlfriend, likely with the intent of adding to that predicament.
As Astra turned around they came face to face with the surprise Athena-Jade had alluded to.
"Mum? Dad?" a sudden lump in their throat choked their words and they found themselves suddenly throwing themselves forwards to pull their parents into a crushing hug which was eagerly returned.
"Didn't think we'd miss this did ya?" Redwood chuckled, Astra pulled back and realised now that they looked at their parents properly that they were both far more well-dressed than was their custom; though even here the suit their father wore and their mothers' dress and jewellery were far less extravagant than might be expected of someone in their current position and Astra was reminded painfully that their family was anything but wealthy. Seeing the confusion on her child's features Myrtle Mars offered an explanation, pulling Astra back into a hug as she did so.
"Your friends could afford tickets….apparently the Slate girl's parents couldn't make it and her girlfriend, well; her only family is already here so they invited us-"
"I've never taken a damn handout in my life" Astra's father muttered before placing calloused hands on their only child's shoulders "But for this, to see my kid do the thing that they love like this….I didn't think twice"
"I owe AJ and Zirconia big time for this" Astra managed to force the words out around the lump in their throat, keeping the momentary stinging of their eyes from becoming emotional tears lest they ruin the signature dark eyeliner that had been applied with extra care before a thought caught in the back of their mind and they turned to find Regalia standing alone looking wistfully at her friends, hands clasped in front of her and her bushy tail twitching with emotion she tried to hide "Hey….Are any of you people coming, the Outriders? Or-"
"No" Regalia shook her head "The clan couldn't spare so many people away from the Aiktishaf for an extended amount of time; a shame….I think after spending the summer so close to Port Alistair after it was attacked that they would really, really enjoy this festival. Very few of my people would be willing to travel so far alone though….I was always was my mother's odd little Duck-"
"You're not alone; you're with us" Astra assured her, taking her by the hand and steadfastly refusing to pay any mind to the smug and knowing looks their parents were doubtlessly exchanging behind their back as they pulled their partner close enough that the next group hug Astra initiated would include her; a gesture she showed her appreciation of by wrapping her arms around Astra's waist and gripping her partner in a crushing hug of her own which lifted the Deer Faunus from the ground in a show of her impressive strength.
"I know that everyone is having a moment here" Blake bemused voice cut across all proceedings "But we're about to start"
The presence of multiple Cyber-Grimm was a chilling and unnerving thing no matter how well-tested the manufactured monsters were or how obedient they had been designed to be, with several fail-safes and precautions put in place not least of which was a self destruct mechanism that could be remotely engaged. It would seem that the primal and irrational part of the human psyche had won out in this instance and the fact that Albion's creations were in fact still Creatures of Grimm trumped any amount of assurance or cold, hard data even in the mind of the scientist who managed to look as suave as ever with a lab-coat thrown over his creamy white suit despite the unsettling scenes around him.
Though it was distracting to say the least.
At present Albion Herringbone was the only person within the Chamber, though that was not to say it was deserted by any stretch of the imagination. Whilst Aefen was mercifully absent and likely working on her devices in her cultist-filled base of operations on Menagerie and Albion's more immediate co-conspirators were otherwise indisposed, Nero making an appearance at the Vytal Festival and Carmesi attending to matters that required a firm hand a commanding presence elsewhere though the hybrid Alpha Gestalt-Prime had been awoken and the results of their labours were plain to see. Despite the nearly catastrophic mishandling of events on the part of the Komodo Dragon Faunus Carmesi's previous operation had been a success and the protean, shifting matter of the Grimm Spawning Pit which he had obtained had been put to good use; proving itself to be a boon of near incalculable vale given that it was a self-propagating source of material, or at least as close to one as Albion understanding could manage and as such the production of Cyber-Grimm was now only limited by the rate at which mechanical components could be sourced and prepared and the mental fortitude of Gestalt-Prime as opposed to the monsters' physical ability, with even that set to become unimportant in due course.
The product of this success and subsequent expansion was the several dozen Cyber-Grimm whose chittering and mechanical clanking movements filled the air around Albion, a small swarm of what he and his allies were already coming to think of as their 'standard' model as in any part of what they had wrought could be described in such a way; each of the amalgamations of metal and nightmarish flesh communicating in their own fashion as each new addition was integrated into the network that existed between the things in place of a true connection to any semblance of the greater Grimm Hive-Mind, all with the last of the original trio at the head and taking on the role of some form of Alpha or command node despite Gestalt Prime offering assurances that the things could not evolve or develop beyond their initial parameters, the first of the Cyber-Grimm to be brought online whose armour remained scarred and damaged from its' initial testing stalking around the edge of the darkness filling the periphery of the Chamber as it studied each of the other Cyber-Grimm, the baleful crimson light of its' singular optic occasionally passing over Albion and making the scientist shudder unintentionally, with the latest instance being perfectly timed to match Gestalt-Prime's multi-layered voice breaching the ambient chatter.
Albion was more than a little ashamed of the noise that escaped him.
"Another five specimens will be ready by the end of the day" the monster declared in an oddly toneless and yet undeniably satisfied voice as the various segments of their bloated and distended body writhed and shifted to reveal the serpentine monsters which would go on to become the latest batch of Cyber-Grimm already taking shape within cloudy and fluid-filled sacs.
"Excellent news" Albion answered, voice tight as he took a moment to remove his gold-rimmed glasses and wipe their lenses of any minute traces of dust, using the action as an excuse to cast his icy blue eyes anywhere but at the sickening sight within the Alpha Grimm's containment tube, Gestalt-Prime's body having remained anchored to the interior of the vast container allowing their grotesque form to remain inverted, with their atrophied limbs floating idly in the liquid around them.
"Shall I begin preparations for the next batch?" Gestalt-Prime's mechanical maw, comprised of the segmented limbs of consumed robotic drones twitched and clattered as they spoke whilst the various sensors embedded around the single Cyclopean eye of their flattened and yet distinctly lupine skull blinked erratically, suggesting that the sentient and thinking horror was studying Albion is some way as they questioned him; a notion which made the scientist swallow thickly and begin typing solely to occupy his sweating and unsteady hands as he answered.
"No" Albion found confidence returning to him with that single word, taking a moment to adjust his curly white hair and compose himself as he expanded on his answer and allowed himself to fall into a familiar rhythm as he discussed things more within his realm of control "The Knucklehead hasn't brought back the last batch that he wanted to test yet"
"When is Carmesi expected to return?" Gestalt-Prime demanded, allowing Albion a brief snort of amusement at the fact that the monster understood his nickname for the hot-headed Faunus; the Grimm's simmering hatred for Carmesi dwarfing Albion's own simple distaste for the man.
"Before the end of the day if all goes to plan, though there is the possibility of him being delayed by security checkpoints because of the Festival-"
"The source of the emotional outpouring from above?" Gestalt-Prime directed their flattened excuse of a face skyward and nodded as much as their twisted physiology would allow "It is….Invigorating-"
"Then let's put it to use" Albion interjected, quickly seeking a way to keep Gestalt-Prime's attention directed away from the city full of innocent people above them in spite of their ongoing alliance "If you have the ability, perhaps it's time we looked into some of Aefen's latest designs and modifications?"
"More ways to evolve and improve the Grimm species" Gestalt-Prime's voice was almost hushed "Show me"
"Here" Albion began turning his screens so that the hybrid Alpha could better see their contents whilst privately congratulating himself on his ability to keep the sentient monster focused and cooperative without the presence or threat of Nero, whom Gestalt-Prime had come to regard as a human equivalent to an Alpha.
Though he hoped Carmesi would return soon, if only because they were beginning to run out of space to put more Cyber-Grimm in the chamber.
The atmosphere within the VIP seating area was one starkly at odds with the sense of dignified class which the designers and owners of the stadium had doubtlessly hoped to convey.
A thundering applause and uproarious cheering that had overtaken the entirety of the audience at the conclusion of the latest showdown between teams of student Hunters, which had been a breathtaking spectacle from start to finish was beginning to subside and yet still remained loud enough to prevent coherent thought, the cacophony being cut through by the voices of Qrow Branwen and Yang Xiao Long as they announced firstly that Team SHMR were victorious and would be progressing into the next round of the tournament and secondly that there would be a short intermission, a chance for the audience to get fresh snacks or use the bathroom whilst engineering teams examined the various safety measures around the arena itself including its' forcefield which had been notably weakened in the final moments of the match by a particularly impressive aerial assault by Snapdragon Majus.
Damascus Nero watched from the rear of the restricted and luxurious area with an inscrutable expression as worry and slight distaste battled with a sense of faint mischief, a notion of how to indulge in some rare, petty point scoring against his nemeses occurring to him as he studied his peers within the VIP seating. Athena-Jade, whom Damascus would openly admit that he was fond of simply for how happy she made Zirconia and saw a great deal of potential in had slipped away from Zirconia and was currently chatting animatedly with both Whitley Schnee and Blake Xiao Long, the latter having left her niece a blushing mess with her face hidden behind large and calloused hands upon revealing that the feline Faunus had continued her tradition of bringing home made flags to show her support for teams including her family members, Nero's attention was however directed towards the frontmost portion of the seating area where Regalia Russet had all but pressed herself against the glass as though it would allow her to see events below more clearly, all but dragging Astra Mars along behind her with the Deer Faunus's parents following in short order; the two teens now taking the liberty of explaining several key points of the match that had been overlooked in its' commentary, including interpersonal affairs between the various members of the two teams.
The Mars family were not Hunters however and the seed of doubt on each of their faces was something Nero could use.
"What are you thinking?" Zirconia murmured quietly, Nero's daughter in all but blood having stayed close by him throughout the duration of the opening bouts and audibly bracing herself for whatever ploy the Chairman intended to make.
"Simply concerned about the safety of the people below us" Nero used Zirconia's question as his opening, raising his voice to be heard by all present and pausing almost theatrically until he locked eyes with Redwood and Myrtle Mars, his fellow uninitiated civilians and continued "Should a team that damaged the shielding around the stadium not be penalised? Surely being more concerned with putting on a show than safety is a failure on the part of the Hunter-"
"Those forcefields can take one hell of a beating" it was Blake Xiao Long who spoke up and Nero wondered just what it would take to have her begin publicly admitting the failures of the system she helped keep aloft before she continued
"They're being checked as a matter of course because the leader of Team SHMR has a weapon that allows her to get closer to the shielding than most matches do but ultimately she doesn't have the firepower to pierce it with a stray shot….Redwood, you have an engineering degree; would you like to help but Mister Nero's mind at ease"
Nero fought the urge to smirk, Blake was astute and saw that he had been trying to draw the older of the two Deer Faunus onto his side but her response had been overambitious and was shown to be such when Redwood made a non-committal shrugging gesture.
"I've got the degree but I'm a mechanic….Been a long time since I worked on the docks, I haven't seen a full size shield generator in around fifteen years" his frown deepened simply at the thought of so much time having passed "The last hard-light shield I saw was Astra's and sorry kid but I know that yours can be worn down-"
"Not like Mister Nero is worried about though, I'm only using a compact model and I've managed to soak up sustained attacks. Trust me, there was no risk there" Astra countered to which Nero nodded sagely, making a show of ceding that particular point to the individual with the most first hand experience which in turn had the added effect of ingratiating him to the teens' parents; allowing Nero to change his angle of approach.
"But I feel that my initial point stands….It's not so much the durability of the shield as the mindset of the Hunter in question; that was dangerous"
"Hardly a fair assumption to make without knowing the Hunter in question, they train in conditions similar to this" the point was made by Whitley Schnee, who turned his gangly frame in his seat and began offering more thought and insight that Nero had thought possible from the man whose gallivanting was famous across Remnant "I come from a family of Hunters, I've seen the amount of work that goes into just getting into one of the academies….I'm willing to bet that the Majus girl knew exactly what she was doing and how much force she was using-"
"Perhaps" Nero splayed his hands wide in an apologetic gesture and offered Athena-Jade a smile upon seeing that the Bear Faunus was growing visibly uncomfortable about the direction things were taking
"Perhaps you being so close to things causes you to miss important details or perhaps I'm too focused on the larger picture; all I meant is that there have already been a few instances today where the power being thrown around worries me"
"I'll admit that I've felt the same way" Myrtle Mara offered quietly
"Really?" Astra could not keep a hint of betrayal out of their voice until their father clamped a hand down on their shoulder, both a comfort and a warning to watch their tone.
"Your Mum's right kid, we've all seen what Hunters can do, we've all been in cities that were breached by Grimm….we're all grateful for the job the Hunters do, but there's always that worry that something can go wrong, seeing two teams of Hunters go at each other like that is fun on TV, I'm not so sure I like it up close; that's a lot of power and some really dangerous weapons being thrown around….Maybe it shouldn't be a sport"
"It's a lot of power in very few hands….people slip; and they're so young"
"I'll drink to that" Redwood muttered "I've had my life saved by kids before, kids damn it-"
"And yet your daughter is training to be a Hunter" Blake's calm words cut through the debate and Nero could not quite stop himself from bristling at the Huntress turned activists' retort; it was a low blow to bring his family into things and his silent seething robbed him of the ability to form a coherent counterargument for a moment.
"And she's great at it" Regalia spoke up, flashing Zirconia a wide smile and two thumbs-up "You'll see"
"It took a long time for me to convince him" Zirconia herself spoke up now, taking Nero's stead as she saw what he was driving at "But after seeing Hunters go rogue and living through Grimm attacks….Well, what was it you always used to say Damascus?"
"If you want something done right then do it yourself" the Chairman chortled "Words from when I did not have so many resources at my disposal; though I do carry some of that same mindset into my own efforts to protect the Kingdom"
And there it was, Nero kept his smile as unassuming as possible and waited for someone to ask for specifics; he would have to be careful about exactly what information he offered given how close to the critical moment everything was but it was undeniably time to begin using his influence and charm to change the paradigm which the people held in their minds and replace the image of safety and bravery which Hunters had collectively manufactured for themselves with one of his own making, paving the way for his bright new tomorrow.
And then Qrow Branwen made his presence known.
"It sounds like I was missing an interesting debate" he drawled as his mechanical chair sidled into the VIP seating more smoothly and stealthily than anything so outwardly ungainly should have been able to.
"We were just discussing Mister Nero's concerns about the potential danger Hunters pose" Blake answered, a slight steely edge to her voice being swiftly controlled as she forced a smile into place and made an artless and open effort to lighten the mood by changing the subject "So, it sounds like Yang was having fun up there"
"I think she's going to end up replacing me as announcer at the next tournament" Qrow chuckled as his chair carried him further into the room "That's not why I'm here though, I haven't been retired just yet….I actually came for two reasons, firstly because I was hoping to speak with Mister Nero-"
"A business meeting will have to be conducted at another time Mister Branwen" Nero's words were delivered far more sternly than he had intended and he was forced to quickly recover "My apologies but despite the previous conversation and my own reservations I am still here to watch my little girl"
"Can't argue with that" Whitley Schnee's agreement with the sentiment was not quite enough to muffle the sound of Zirconia's groan at being referred to in such a way nor the laughter which followed it.
"Understandable, I hope to speak with you soon; there are matters we should discuss" Qrow allowed a sense of heaviness to linger after those words which Nero could imply several things from before Qrow's tone lightened "But the second thing is that I wanted to remind Team MARZ that they should be making their way down to the changing rooms soon, there's one more match and then they're up….Also Regalia, I was sent something that you'll enjoy"
"Heh, what is it?" the Racoon Faunus wandered over to the grizzled Professor, bushy tail twitching with a sense of trepidation as she drew close and watched as Qrow drew his scroll.
"Ruby is currently away from the campus, she sent me this video….they're waiting for you" with those words the rest of team MARZ allowed their curiosity to get the better of them, collectively gathering around Regalia whose eyes widened at the sight of footage which had been taken from atop the wall of a settlement which was not quite large enough to be considered a city but was nevertheless an important part of Menagerie's economy.
Beyond the wall the unmistakeable and gargantuan form of the Aiktishaf land-crawler was visible.
"They're waiting for me?" Regalia swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.
"Yep" Qrow nodded "Your people are in every bar where the tournament is showing and your mother has been trading for projectors….Apparently she's trying to create a big enough screen for all of Clan Aiktishaf to see it"
"You guys" Regalia almost keened the words out, voice cracking with sudden emotion "Everyone is watching….All of my people, I can't believe it"
"Then I guess we've gotta put on a show then" Astra murmured in Regalia's ear, their hand looping around their partner and slipping beneath her arm to pull her into a hug from behind that was perhaps more tender than intimate than either of them consciously noticed; the Deer Faunus giving Regalia a bright smile, almost feral in its' sudden enthusiasm as they spoke again.
"Come on, let's do this!" and with those Team MARZ sprung into action.
Honey Scarlatina in full combat gear was an awe-inspiring sight.
Despite her natural inclination to shirk away from the limelight that had been foisted onto her by a combination of her famous relatives, prodigal skills and the various wins in junior division tournaments that the latter had brought her; along with her kind and gentle disposition being far removed from that which the media attempted to portray her as the golden-haired Rabbit Faunus was still undeniably imposing when she chose to be.
Her heritage as a member of the Arc family on her mothers' side was plain to see in the form of pristine white armour with a raised and polished gold trim adorning it; sleek and smooth, pristine gauntlets and greaves covering her extremities whilst ornate and overly stylised pauldrons covered her shoulder, each of them boasting hidden cavities in which to store the kinds of tricks and tools expected of a student of Qrow Branwen, her torso being encased within a heavy and durable, rounded chest plate with an attached gorget which reached high enough to protect the lower half of her face from glancing blows as well as her neck. Along with the armour she wore pants which were form fitting and flattering whilst also being practical and boasting both several pockets of their own and points to affix a harness for pouches and other storage. Her upper arms were unadorned beyond her armour, leaving a small amount of bicep visible beneath her pauldrons which teased viewers with a glimpse of her toned and lean muscle. Her golden yellow hair remained in its' usual grown-out ringlets and even as rabbit ears which darkened to a more brownish colour at their tips drooped forwards a little with each panting breath she took she refused to let herself visibly sag or show any degree of exertion in front of the audience.
She and her team had found themselves facing opponents hailing from Haven Academy of Mistral, Fourth Year students who were only a few shorts months away from receiving their licences and being declared fully qualified Hunters.
Privately Honey had been worried that her opponents, who had fought bravely, seamlessly and without fault might have been able to overwhelm her and even now, as she deactivated and collapsed her weapon and with Qrow Branwen and his niece the legendary Yang Xiao Long with whom Honey was only passingly acquainted but had a deep admiration for both declaring her victorious the blonde found herself worrying about just how close it had been, despite the fact that her team had won with none of their four members been removed from play making things seem far more one-sided.
Her critical and gloomy thoughts were promptly and unceremoniously pushed aside as she was almost literally swept off her feet.
"We did it" Yuki's voice was low and seductive as her pale and almond shaped blue-grey eyes met Honey's deeper blue and left a the Faunus with a dry mouth and blood rushing to her cheeks as she was swept, spun and dipped low as though this were some dance that Yuki alone could hear the music to.
Her partner and girlfriend, in her own full combat gear and with her weapon collapsing into its' dormant state where it was interfaced with her prosthetic and cybernetic right arm was truly a sight to behold. Yuki was almost everything that Honey was not and yet striking in her own way in an outfit which blended the rugged practicality of an explorer with a roguish and faintly fantastical sense of style, thigh-high black boots with retractable spikes intended for sinking into all terrain as well as combat complementing a creamy white single piece-body suit which was insulated and given additional protection in the form of glossy black armour of a practical variety which had been modified to have its' various pouches and holsters hidden beneath more jagged and angular edges and over it all she wore a long, sweeping black and hooded cloak which reached to her calves and was split partially along its' back, with a silvery fur lining which was currently pulled low enough to hide most of her hair from view; shimmering black locks being pulled into twin buns whilst wavy strands which had fallen free trailed visibly down to her jawline which Honey reached up to tenderly brush aside.
The other two members of Team HONY stood off to one side, understanding that moments like these were when Yuki was at her most romantic.
"We did it" Honey managed to repeat her partners' words in a breathless croak "It was a tough one, but we did it"
"And you were breathtaking as always" Yuki murmured, taking the opportunity to pull Honey upright and pull her partner closer with her hands and the now profusely blushing Faunus's waist.
"You saved me about half a dozen times, thanks for the assist" Honey managed a weak smile as her critical analysis of her own performance threatened to begin again only to be halted once more by Yuki as she took a single step closer and leaned down to rest her forehead against Honey's in a display which caused the leader of HONY to all but melt, remembering the long-standing and cliched joke between them that despite their outward appearance it was in fact Yuki who was her knight in shining armour.
"Always a pleasure" the tanned and dark-haired young women murmured before leaning in for a gentle kiss, the motion being halted by Honey's rabbit ears drooping dramatically to cover a face which now almost glowed with embarrassment.
"My parents are watching, my grandparents are watching this! Everyone is watching….Tens of thousands of people!"
"And they all seem to enjoy it, you are there hero….You earned a happy ending" Yuki gave her a salacious wink which went unseen by the crowd at large due to the angle of her furred hood however Honey herself struggled not to let out an audible whimper before forcing herself to take a mental step back and pay more attention to her surrounding, realising that the cheers and hollering from the crowd had reached an intensity comparable to that which had accompanied her most daring and audacious attacks over the course of her performance albeit with a decidedly different tone them which lacked the earlier fever pitch, all whilst Qrow Branwen let out a groan at some glib pun Yang Xiao Long had made at the expense of Honey and her partner.
Honey decided to seize the moment.
"Well, since they're gonna be talking about us anyway" she gave a bright smile and wrapped her arms around Yuki's shoulders, reaching up for a brief and sweet kiss which her partners' hood managed to partially obscure from the cameras.
"Well" Yuki murmured, thumb of her cybernetic hand trailing on Honey's cheek "That might be a tough performance to follow….I hope whoever's up next can manage".
"Heh…..The crowd are going absolutely crazy out there" Regalia's voice seemed oddly hollow as she paced around the locker room which Team MARZ would soon exit, the words themselves barely penetrating through dull and distant buzzing in Astra's ears as the Deer Faunus remained teetering at the edge of being completely overwhelmed by their own nervousness; their mind racing as they formed, adjusted and discarded new plans at an incredible pace whilst inwardly their vision narrowed down until nothing beyond the tunnel leading out into the stadium itself, wide enough for the four of them to stride shoulder to shoulder existed whilst outwardly their expression was frozen and blank save for a wildness in their eyes which was made all the prominent as their whiteness was contrasted against carefully applied dark make up.
Then Regalia sat beside them.
"They're gonna be cheering like that for us soon right?….We're gonna go this, it's gonna be great" Astra forced themselves to be fully aware of their surroundings and concentrate, in doing so realising that Regalia's current chattering was a way to assuage her own nerves as much as her previous pacing and the current habitual wringing of her hands were. With the matter of attending to their partners' mental state serving as a task that they could apply themselves to Astra suddenly found themselves able to think far more clearly and even managed a weak, hopeful smile as they leaned close to gently nudge at her with their elbow which the Racoon Faunus answered by reaching up to gently grasp her partners' antler and use it to waggle their head in a display that she had seen Astra's parents use. The moment of closeness and mutual support lasted for a moment longer before Astra subtly attended to their duties as leader of Team MARZ and spoke clearly enough to check on Athena-Jade and Zirconia without directly interfering in whatever private moment they were currently in the midst of.
"Wonder what's going on out there? Professors Branwen and Xiao Long already called the match"
"Honey and Yuki are having a moment, it was rather sweet" it was Zirconia' rasping and carefully refined tones which answered, speaking with such certainty that Astra and Regalia allowed their curiosity to get the better of them and rise to their feet, wandering around unused lockers to where their team-mates were sat holding hands and watching Zirconia's scroll, upon which the events currently transpiring only a few dozen feet away were being streamed.
"Why didn't I think to do that?" Astra muttered to themselves, a small chuckle escaping them as they shook their head in disbelief.
"Because you were thinking about everything, all at once and doing it too much so all the thoughts got in each others' way and you actually ended up thinking about nothing" Athena-Jade offered, her surprisingly thoughtful and accurate wisdom being tempered by a toothy smile and wink before she amended the comment with something far more in character "And also because you suck, you are the suckiest, you suck so bad it's unbelievable"
"Okay so I was in my own head, were you really doing any better?" the Deer Faunus snorted.
"Not even slightly" Athena laughed before springing to her feet and bouncing on the balls of her feet before beginning a fresh set of the stretches she had repeated several times already and throwing in a few punches in a half-hearted attempt at shadow boxing before her face took on a look which betrayed just how nervous she truly was. Astra, despite enjoying the refreshing sense of normalcy which came from the playful bickering they and Athena shared fully intended to address the worried and wavering expression upon the diminutive but powerfully built young woman's face though they were temporarily kept from doing so as Zirconia rose to her feet beside Athena, scroll collapsing in one hand whilst her other found its' way to her girlfriends' as she distracted the Bear Faunus for a moment with a kiss against her cheek before Athena turned to face her partner, taking a moment to reach up and adjust the jade green bandanna that had once been her own currently tied around Zirconia's forehead to hide a small scar above her eyebrow; the two of them staring lovingly at one another before seemingly remembering that they were not alone.
"Team HONY have left the arena and it doesn't look as though there's much repair work to be done, we'll be announced any moment now" Zirconia murmured, nodding faintly in the direction of the tunnel which Astra had been staring at in a daze a few moments ago; the Deer Faunus nodding silently and turning their attention upwards towards a single light-bar resting above the opening which currently shone a bright red colour with an imminent transition to green the expected signal for Team MARZ to make their way out into the stadium.
Without conscious thought Astra strode forwards until they were directly beneath the light-bar, aware of the presence of Team MARZ gathering around them.
"Everyone ready?" the question left them uncertainly, though they pressed on and used the moment to return to the matter of Athena-Jade's nerves "Hey AJ….I know we spoke about this before we even came to Vale, but are you good? I know that you were at the stadium when the White Fang attacked and-"
"I'll be fine when I get out there and we get started" Athena assured them, sapphire blue eyes facing directly forward and words filled with iron will which softened only as she added "What about you, are you okay?"
"Yeah….I mean I saw my brother get really messed on live TV but at the same time I didn't really know him at the time and we've spoken about it since so….What?" Astra trailed off, seeing the somewhat disbelieving looks that their friends were giving them.
"I believe Athena was referring more to our first mission as a team….Where you fought against a Grimm in a gladiator pit" Zirconia noted pointedly, the memory almost perversely managing to make Astra laugh out loud in spite of the countless negative emotions the mission held for them, its' significance as a milestone being sullied and tainted by the revelations about Carmesi Hueso and the late Major Grapeshot which had followed.
"You mean the time we were all inside the building when it was blown up with a missile strike….Not even the biggest collapsing building we've been in is it?" Astra allowed themselves a small wince at that, memories of Team MARZ's most recent mission rising to the surface only to be quickly forced aside as Astra snickered and regarded their team for a moment and followed up with a light-hearted, joking comment to ease the mood.
"You guys ever think that maybe we should have gotten normal jobs….I think I'd make a great painter"
"And miss moments like this?….Not for anything, not ever" Regalia answered with an earnestness which rendered any further comments feeling out of place by comparison, though she quickly flashed her friends a bright smile and followed up with a line borrowed from a movie, delivered with a bubbly and theatrical energy which suited her perfectly.
"Tonight we dine in hell!" Team MARZ found themselves sharing one final round of laughter.
Then the light above them turned green and there was nothing else they could but move forwards.
Author's Notes:
New year, new chapter, new volume.
Welcome to Vol.06, the final part of second year….I already have everything planned up to Chapter 100 and semi-finalised plans up to Chapter 108.
I could have dropped us straight in with Team MARZ's match and worked everything else around it, but I feel like it would have felt rushed and clumsy; taking a moment to build hype and tension and develop an atmosphere was the better option and I hope it's paid off.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?
Writing a chapter which begins with classes cancelled on a Friday on a week where I've actually got Friday booked off because it's right before Christmas….Sometimes reality sneaks in.
In my head the visuals for Halo Academy are still great,
Regalia absolutely does shit like leaning too far back on railings because she knows she can catch herself and balance/climb better than most people and it absolutely scares the shit out of the people around her.
From the offset I put the idea that AJ and Hops had arranged something in motion, primarily because I wanted to have moments with the various family members and having them all in one place worked better.
"Forget luck. Are you feeling prepared?" Tiger Santara, in one sentence.
Writing this chapter and planning out the tournament arc whilst the Football World Cup was on was an interesting experience, it had me trying to work out just how much time would elapse between each round and how many stadiums would be needed.
Planning the tournament absolutely started from the moment the last tournament got underway.
Ren is a star everywhere and the joke that everyone is a little bit Ren-sexual will last for ever.
So the stadium wasn't called Amity in The Downward Spiral, but it's basically a very similar affair to that; maybe scaled up and a little more modern.
But Yang replacing Oobleck as the host….I did set it up and drop little hints; I made the obvious pun about starting with a Yang but I actually held off on the jokes for this chapter, it'll more fun for the next two.
Ren and Nora staying to watch with the Orphanage kids is cute, Tai is in the crowd and Signal students….Which actually means people who were a couple of years below Astra and probably looked up to them are in the crowd.
The paparazzi are parasites but Team MARZ already having fans is fun.
Yeah if you read Downward Spiral and FADE then you know that Qrow doesn't even pretend to be neutral….But AJ and Astra's reactions to Yang were interesting to contrast against each other.
AJ and Hops sharing a moment of cringe at their respective family members interacting with each other; yeah that's a moment that they won't be allowed to forget.
Regalia really needed that hug.
So the Chamber scene with Albion and Gestalt-Prime was largely filler just to create space between scenes on either side of it but it does show a little of the progress that's been made since the last chapter.
Cyber-Grimm do still have the 'gut-deep primal fear' about them that other Creatures of Grimm have; which is probably gonna make them a hard sell to the public for Nero….But he's got several dozen and counting already.
Carmesi is 'Elsewhere' that never bodes well.
Albion will call Carmesi Knucklehead until Carmesi is in the room.
And new Cyber-Grimm designs are being teased; because of course.
Team SHMR are through to the doubles round for plot reasons.
Blake's flags are a callback to the Boarbatusk scene in Vol.01.
Snapdragon's weapon is the Shuffle Kicks, her Dust boots and she can used them to fly/hover so that's how she got an almost direct hit from point blank of the shields.
But yeah, this is Nero a) just being a dick and b) testing the waters a little, to see how much traction his message is getting.
If you read FADE then you'll get why Redwood in particular was a little more receptive than everyone else, but it's a sign that if he starts using his wealth and media presence effectively Nero can begin to turn public opinion.
Bringing family into it like that was a little low on Blake's part.
"If you want something done right then do it yourself" is something I will never see written and down and not hear in my own accent, but in the voice of an older Yorkshireman….But also, jokes aside it's basically what Nero's plan is; at least in his own mind. The system doesn't work, replace it and build a new one.
Qrow's gonna make a mistake and it's gonna cost people.
That ending to the scene, with the whole of Clan Aiktishaf was a moment Regalia sorely needed.
So we've never actually seen Honey and Yuki in full gear or seen their weapons before because I was saving it for the tournament.
We didn't see the weapons, I teased them but I'm holding them back….Because naturally they're through to the doubles round for plot reasons as well.
Honey Scarlatina has been referred to as Honey Arc in this story and that was a mistake I will have to remember to go back and correct one day; the only thing I can say is that it's because in my head I always imagine her as she appeared here, with her armour on where she really does look 'like an Arc'.
So Yuki looks like a bit of a bad ass and she's always been written as a little bit mean and gruff, but I wanted this to be where she gets tender and gentle….Basically Yuki's whole shtick is that Honey is the super tough, unstoppable legend in the making and yet Yuki is still basically her bodyguard and her knight in shining armour who she can let her guard down around.
Also Honey is a background character, but she continues to be a darling.
Let's be honest Astra was on the verge of a panic attack there.
Of course Zirconia was streaming the match; there is no way she can afford to be caught by surprise by anything that happens at the tournament.
The little pre-fight rituals for everyone were a fun little bit of character examination, AJ definitely limbers up and shadow boxes out habit.
I felt like having Astra and AJ address their own, or each others' potential demons about being in a scenario like this given their history with Vytal Tournaments and fighting in arenas was something that had to happen….But also that it couldn't be something which dragged down the mood or the tone.
And yes, a line about moving forwards was absolutely warranted.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.