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

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

I am making no money from this.

Chapter 129: Hook, Line And Sinker

Damascus Nero, after an uncommon amount of time spent amongst the rank and file of his growing faction, watching them as they undertook the roles and duties which would see the reality he had worked and sacrificed so much for come to fruition and enduring the attentions of the grateful, reverent souls who saw him as everything from a messianic leader, an employer, a strategist and revolutionary leader without peer and in some worrying cases a surrogate father figure or idol for rudderless drifters to style themselves after, was finally able to return to peace and solace of his airship and specifically the darkened command bridge which served as his personal base of operations.

Project Megalodon would be a thing of beauty, but the time it had cost him was enough to make the pallid and lank-haired man grind his teeth in frustration at the mere thought of it.

With Carmesi and Zirconia both present at Jidhir Town there were still people to take up a role that would once have fallen to Albion Herringbone and keep Damascus from giving in to his the obsessive side of his driven and perfectionist nature and throwing himself entirely into his work to such a degree that he became lax with his own health and reduced himself to a dishevelled wreck of a man almost absently as he sacrificed food, sleep and hygiene in favour of more time and results; though the former Chairman could not help but notice with some sadness that Zirconia was not as present as she might once have been, there was a time only a few shorts months ago when the young woman would have leapt at the opportunity to work so closely with him and be able to claim back some of the time she had spent away from the closest thing she had to a living family.

If he were entirely honest with himself Nero knew and understand that he had pushed Zirconia too far and asked too much of the young woman who had been all too willing and eager to oblige him, as if she had ever needed to earn the love he showered her with. She had grown to become the kind of young woman that he could admire and be deeply proud of and it had pained Nero every day to see her so heartbroken, lost and dejected when her friends had chosen to stand against her in Neo Vale and now he had failed her once again; he had relied on her to keep Pikesreach under control but had vastly underestimated the devious insanity of those he had surrounded himself and the results, whilst useful to his long-term plans were horrid in the extreme and would no doubt traumatise her in ways he would have done anything to avoid.

The most maddening and yet tragic part of these reflections was that they simply pushed Nero forwards; the lank-haired and deathly pale revolutionary being so committed that he used the suffering as fuel for his beliefs. Every night, or at least on those nights when he actually slept the former chairman that he would make everything right, that the results would be worth the pain and that when it was all over Remnant would truly be a freer, fairer, safer and more prosperous place and that one day he and Zirconia would be able to stare out into a sunset somewhere, perhaps even with a woman she loved on her arm and maybe, if he were feeling particularly optimistic Carmesi would be present as well and they would agree that they had achieved the Bright New Tomorrow they had set out to and that Albion and both of their parents would be proud of them.

Damascus Nero was not, for all his flaws a truly evil man; he was simply willing to do unspeakable and unthinkable things for the people he loved.

Amongst the unthinkable things he was willing to do was his current task, namely trying to break through the countless veils of secrecy and security erected by the Atlesian Military, no doubt at the behest of General Schnee herself, or perhaps even Ironwood before her to cover up the unnatural and abhorrent experiments that the icy Kingdoms' scientists had performed, experiments which rendered their pearl-clutching at the Cyber-Grimm laughably hypocritical.

The Aura Transfer Machine.

"There you are" the words were rasped out of Nero in a dry, cracking voice; less than the aloof and dignified tones Zirconia often affected and more like the sounds made by a man rescued from a desert and on the verge of death, such was the fervour he had driven himself to with his work. Despite his exertions and exhaustion however the man's quartz coloured eyes gleamed with a manic glee as he received information that had eluded him for so long he had almost allowed himself to entertain doubts.

Whilst those followers who had rallied to his cause and travelled from their homes across Remnant to Jidhir Town, leaving their lives behind so that they could become the hammer and the anvil by which a better future would be forged were both undeniably useful to him and worthy of his endless gratitude Nero had, especially now that he was less able to directly influence the flow of events in the Kingdoms found himself relying heavily on the followers that had chosen to play a part in the plan which would allow them to remain hidden.

Public opinions were still subtly guided to some extent, conspiracies and misinformation was still spread to throw any authorities who might seek to find his followers and finances and goods were still obtained, albeit with some delays and occasional difficulties but the most important asset these hidden followers managed to provide Nero was information; he and Albion had carefully vetted and recruited followers until his network had stretched into several places of vital importance across Remnant.

Including the Atlas Military and their best efforts to root out the agents in their midst had been unsuccessful.

"I've done it….We've don't it….I can't believe it" Nero mouthed slowly to himself before letting a dry, hacking laugh spill from him as he rubbed his eyes blearily and squinted at the screen before him upon doing so, as though worried that the answers that had been chased for so long now might disappear if he looked away.

It seemed that the ceaseless attacks against Atlas's cybersecurity had not only been noticed but they had forced the reputably unflappable Winter Schnee to take action, the General knew or suspected what it was that he sought and had responded by making plans to move the Aura Transfer Machine in her possession from whatever secret base it had been hidden away it to another, more public but more heavily defended location within the heart of the Kingdom and yet it had been this which had been her undoing; Nero's agents within her military had made note of several suspicious data points and conducted enough research and extrapolation to give Damascus the answers he needed.

The current location of his prize remained shrouded in secrecy but he now knew where the Aura Transfer Machine was being moved to, the route that would bring it there and the time and date; with the latter information only exiting him further.

"Perfect" he all but purred as he realised that, with only a small amount of fortune on his side Project Megalodon would be completed and fit to travel to Atlas in time to intercept the shipment; proving once and for all that the Cyber-Grimm were capable of delivering his vision of the future, a vision which the Aura Transfer Machine would help him enact.

The Creatures of Grimm would be melded with humanity, but in a way that was far to superior to what the limited and deluded imbecile Aefen Cruor had been allowed to believe.

Humming to himself happily Nero rose to his feet and share the good news with those closest to him before addressing his followers at large, though he soon realised that he would need a shave and a shower before he did so.

He was not a vain man but he understood that appearances were important when trying to lead such a coalition.

Team MARS had reached the agricultural hub of Gruner-Hugel the previous evening after their defeat of the monstrous, scythe-clawed Creature of Grimm which had been plaguing the major roads had allowed Astra to strike up a conversation with a group of truckers who had been defending themselves to some extent but had still been in need of rescue; that conversation had revealed that the truckers, whilst not formally or otherwise affiliated with Damascus Nero or taking protection from his Cyber-Grimm were at least aware that the man's influence had reached the sizeable farming settlement and that there might well be some of his agents and proxies still present.

The reason that those foes and potential leads might have made an exodus soon became apparent and it was the same reason which had kept Team MARS from ever entering the settlement of Gruner-Hugel, instead seeing Astra's bright red pickup truck veer off the road and double back to a safe location where the four former students of Breaktide Academy could set up camp for the night, taking watch and nervously bracing themselves for an attack which never came.

Hanging above the main entrance to the settlement was an Atlesian warship, worse still was the fact that it was one which each of them recognised as the same ship which had come to their aid after the Doom of Pikesreach.

Meaning that Corvid Xiao Long was either aboard or within the town and would recognise them instantly, particularly Athena-Jade and Astra, both of whom had been ashen faced and utterly unable to sleep due to the sense of dread which had pressed down upon them.

The next morning had finally come however and simply skulking around the edges of the settlement and hoping that Corvid would leave was not an option.

As Regalia was seemingly eager to point out.

"Heh I guess it's like Boss of the Bangles said…. 'If we cannot pass over the mountain, let us go beneath it'. Let us go through the gates with a scary warship hanging above it….We've got to right?" the Racoon Faunus gave her friends a look that was a mixture of hopeful optimism and expectancy hidden behind a bright smile and arms spread wide, the expression at odds and somehow bolstered by the booming an authoritative voice she had tried to affect with limited success whilst delivering the butchered quote; her purple eyes lingered on Astra and her partner visibly puffed up and straightened as they braced themselves for what needed to be done though before the Deer Faunus could speak Stygian interjected.

"You know I haven't seen all of the movies you quote right?" the Mouse Faunus noted, trying to seem as though the sharp reminder of the isolation he had grown up with, worse even than a member of one of the islands' nomad tribes had irked him; though the way he slouched within the fabric of his oversized jacket and his tail coiled in on itself was noticed, especially by Athena-Jade who chose that moment to step in.

"I think what she means is that we've come this far so we may as well commit to it and do what we came here for"

"Pretty much" Regalia nodded, adjusting her cloak and using the moment to surreptitiously gauge the expressions of her team-mates and see if they were willing to take the risk.

"Sounds like a plan to me" Stygian grinned fiercely "Let's do it"

"Stitch" Athena paused, choosing her words carefully "Listen….You know I wanna find Zirconia, but if Corvid Xiao Long, my older cousin is here then we could be in a lot of trouble"

"AJ's right, it's risky" Astra finally spoke up, though everything about their appearance suggested that they were still deep in thought "But Regalia's right too….I didn't come this far to back done, not even from Corey"

"Heh, sounds like you've got a plan?" Regalia beamed.

"Kinda….We need to be really careful about how we handle this" the Deer Faunus murmured, expression unfocused as though their thoughts were still being formed as they were uttered "We know that the contact we're supposed to get in touch with is gonna be in a bar in the town tonight….That gives us most of the day to plan this out, we can make sure we don't get caught unaware or draw any attention to ourselves"

"A stakeout" Regalia chuckled.

"Another recon mission….Fitting" Stygian fought the urge to sound openly testy, letting out a sigh and giving an apologetic gesture before muttering "Sorry, I just want this part to be done so we can find the bastards y'know?"

"I get that" Astra nodded "But getting grabbed by an Atlas Specialist is gonna draw attention and make sure that Nero's people find out we were onto 'em….If we mess this up we might not get another lead"

"So what's the plan?" Athena-Jade asked, clearly nervous and on edge.

"We move our camp somewhere else, I don't want us to be in the same place for too long" Astra answered, taking a moment to think and allow their ideas to take a more solid shape "We spend as much time planning for every eventuality as we can….Escape routes, backup plans, we study shift changes for the security so we can slip in and out while they're distracted and case the bar we're meeting the contact at. We've gotta make sure we do this right"

"That makes sense" Athena nodded, though the Bear Faunus found the moment of silence that followed somewhat unsettling as she locked eyes with Astra again she realised that she knew what her team leader would say a moment before they did.

"AJ….I want you to wait behind for this"

"Oh bullshit!" she yelled, gesticulating furiously "What? Because you think Zirconia herself might turn up or that everyone knows-"

"Everyone knows your face AJ" Astra sighed "You're famous, you can't walk into a seedy bar looking for someone who's trying not to get caught; every pair of eyes will be on you and then the contact….Besides, Corey knows you a lot better than she knows me; hopefully she won't recognise me"

"I….But-no...I" Athena's mouth worked rapidly, sputtering half-formed and faltering attempts at a counterargument only for each to fail in turn as she realised that there was nothing she could offer up in the face of the simple reality; the time she had spent as a student Hunter had allowed her, to a greater extent to live in a shielded bubble of her own making where she could be free of the attention and expectations her heritage placed on her but now, in the real world once again she would have to contend with being a public figure and household name.

"Damn it!" she turned a kicked a loose rock with enough force to send it hurtling several dozen feet into the air "Just….Damn it, this sucks"

"I'll wait with AJ" Stygian breathed out

"You're sure?" Astra cocked their head.

"Yeah" the Mouse Faunus nodded slowly before stepping closer to his partner and resting a hand on the small of her back as he offered words that were for her ears only and Astra committed themselves to not hearing "You were here for me right, let me do this"

"So it's just us?" Regalia asked "Should we take Clunker, or your truck?"

"I'm not sure which would be better….They're both recognisable, but maybe clunker; it doesn't have any tires to slash and it's faster and more agile if we need to get out of there quickly"

"Are you two sure you're gonna be okay on your own?" Athena asked, a genuine concern mingling with a faint hope that Astra might reconsider.

"I hope so" the Deer Faunus nodded thoughtfully "We'll find a signal we can send if things go wrong….We might have scroll reception this close to the town but if we're evading Hunters and Atlas Specialists as well as everything else…."

"Radio silence" Athena nodded, determinedly scouring her brain for every last scrap of information that her father the former head of the Specialist Branch might have mentioned in passing when Athena was a child that she could put to use in the present.

"Let's hope this scouting job goes better than Pikesreach" Stygian murmured, the sudden edge to his tone giving some insight to where the young man's thoughts had settled before he shook his head and made a concerted effort to lighten the mood somewhat, winking at Regalia and nodding from her to Astra "A little less horror movie, a little more buddy cop right?"

"Well I'm definitely a lethal weapon, I know that much" Astra snorted, the quip earning them a fist-bump from Stygian and a brief, light hug from Regalia before Team MARS seemed to take a collective breath and share a final lingering look before Astra spoke again.

"Okay, let's figure out how we're gonna slip passed Corvid 'Mother-fucking Xiao Long; literally one of the most bad-ass Hunters on Remnant….Fun times".

Corvid Xiao Long, Atlas Specialist, former leader of the now disbanded Team CLIR and Huntress whose reputation seemed to precede her wherever on Remnant she found herself was once again lingering within the office of the warship that was not her own and whose command bridge she continued to feel like an out of place and unwelcome observer aboard.

Having been made aware of the fact Team MARS, including her younger cousin and Astra MARS, her own adopted brothers' half-sibling had not ventured inside the town of Gruner-Hugel yet and had retreated back to a safe distance just out of immediate sensor and visual range, likely setting up a camp rather than risk being identified at a hotel, Corvid had chosen to wake early and use her winged battle-suit, the Omega Wing in order to swoop down into the settlement itself so that she could keep watch for the teenagers in case they tried to use morning rush hour traffic to slip into Gruner-Hugel undetected.

Corvid had instructed her assigned forces to await instruction, wanting to see how events played out but curiosity had gotten the better of her; she wanted to know exactly what the teenagers were planning but could not bring herself to order the area around the settlement scoured in order to find them.

She felt that if anybody deserved the right to take a shot at Zirconia Shadowmoon and the madman she followed it was the friends she had betrayed.

It had all been for nought however, Team MARS were nowhere to be seen and so Corvid had returned to her secluded portion of the airship where she had spent the last several hours attending to business. Specifically she was collating and directing the efforts of the Atlesian forces in the town as they both worked alongside the existing local authorities and their command structure to ensure the security of Gruner-Hugel and its' people and also to investigate any activity or presence which might be deemed suspicious or noteworthy.

A classification which could certainly be applied to Team MARS, though they were by no means the only people of interest.

Before the arrival of additional forces from outside of the Kingdom the farming settlement had, despite its' larger than average size and prominence been left with limited defences due to a confluence of its' position, the relative peace afforded to it a plethora of other priorities which had drawn available Hunters away from Gruner-Hugel to gallivant heroically elsewhere; a situation which Damascus Nero and his followers had been made aware of and attempted to use to their advantage if the sightings of Cyber-Grimm in the area, fighting of Grimm and raiders in an effort to sway the loyalties of the townsfolk enough to establish a presence or some manner of business relationship within its' walls as they had done at other settlements across Menagerie. To this end Corvid was not only using her own, highly visible presence as a threat and deterrent but also as a diversion of sorts as she, along with the more unmissable and gaudy elements of the forces assigned to her such as the airship itself and robotic forces went some way to draw eyes away from the more covert operatives she had working tirelessly to infiltrate the seedy underbelly of the town; one whose size relative to that of the settlement itself might shock most people, whilst to a native of Patch who had grown up close to Sun Wukong and Miltia Malachite it was simply expected. Thus far what she had managed to uncover amounted to little more than a few local criminal organisations of the tame and ordinary variety and a narcotics and smuggling ring with ambitions of moving product grown and manufactured in Gruner-Hugel to other settlements.

Nothing interesting enough to turn her attentions away from a conversation with her long distance boyfriend of roughly a decade.

"You are absolutely terrible and I love it" she laughed in response to being told of his latest exploits before pausing and asking more quietly "How's Great Uncle Qrow holding up….I keep imagining that he's gonna come back and get involved in putting Remnant back together, but he's really out of it now isn't he"

"He's earned his rest and a chance to put down his weapon after so long….Peace agrees with him, he looks healthier every day" the voice that answered belonged to Onyx Ursabane, Puma Faunus, pirate turned Hunter and a member of Team GORE alongside Carcharodon and Hellion whose vessel, the Nemesis Kharybdis Qrow Branwen had retired to after being injured by a Cyber-Grimm variant.

"That's good….And he has, he really has" Corvid murmured "Just take care of him for me, please?"

"Of course….My people may be merciless rulers of the waves whose legendary exploits still sow fear into the heart of the Kingdom-born; but we always treated out elders with the highest respect. Besides, if I were to anger you then I wouldn't get to see you in that uniform you wear so well"

Corvid couldn't help but grin at that, knowing just how much the bearded and impossibly well-muscled Puma Faunus enjoyed that particular sight and debating for a single, silent moment whether she should try to be somewhat professional and ask if there were any instances of Grimm activity at sea which might indicate something larger at play which might otherwise be missed by people with less information; or if she should indulge Onyx.

"You mean the uniform I'm unbuttoning right now?" she asked huskily, choosing the latter and being rewarded with a low, rumbling purr from somewhere in the back of his throat which left Corvid thinking idly of the vibrations such a sound had caused when she had last seen Onyx in person, their chests pressed together and sheets tangled around them.

Only for her train of thought to be utterly derailed by an incoming priority transmission which she had no choice but to accept.

"Shit, shit, shit….General" Corvid snapped off a salute as the holographic image came flickering into view, having managed to end the call with Onyx and make herself look somewhat professional before doing so; only to lapse somewhat as she offered a faint smile "Aunt Winter"

"I won't waste time discussing proper uniform regulations with you, you'll only quote back the allowances made to Specialists" Winter noted dryly, making it clear that she knew exactly why Corvid's buttons had been unfastened without ever even visibly glancing at the offending article. Corvid wisely said nothing, to say that the General disliked Onyx Ursabane was a laughable understatement and the Puma Faunus was in fact technically still banned from entering the Kingdom of Atlas; a fact which he continued to take as a challenge.

"To business" Winter continued, with a sudden eagerness and a hungry look in her eyes which made Corvid pay attention "Do you have anything of note to report in Gruner-Hugel?"

"Nothing to report General. No sign of any of Nero's accomplices, however I am still following up leads including some new arrivals to the settlement who I have suspicions about….I'm having my people keep a discreet eye on them" Corvid answered, thankful for the training she had been given as an Atlesian Specialist which had built on the poker face she had developed after spending much of her teenage years involved in mischief of all kind whilst hoping that Winter Schnee had no reason to regard her with suspicion; she had not strictly lied and had appraised her aunt of the situation honestly, with the sole exception being the omission of Team MARS' identity, something she continued to have a sneaking suspicion that the team of runaway students would reward her for in due course.

Winter's expression only grew more predatory as she spoke again.

"Have your people on standby….Be ready to start commencing shake-downs and conducting highly visible operations"

"General?" Corvid asked, reverting back to using rank rather than more familiar titles until she knew exactly what was going on.

"We have the bastards now" Winter showed rare emotion at that, eyes gleaming and features wild as she explained "Nero's people are looking for an Aura Transfer Machine or information pertaining to one….We've managed to bait a snare, which it seems that his people have fallen for"

"And with Nero being on Menagerie, you're expecting him to leave the island and make a play in person" Corvid mused "Or at the very least send the bulk of his forces-"

"Which is why I want you to conduct shake-downs" Winter nodded "Nothing excessive. No damage, don't traumatise anybody….Just rattle the hidden operatives that Nero has embedded"

"And the Specialists in other settlements will be doing the same?" Corvid asked curiously, components of her cybernetic eye whirring faintly.

"Yes" Winter said simply "If Nero is making a move we can expect him to call forces back to himself. Combining that with seeing who starts running when it looks like we're onto them gives us an advantage….We've dictated the terms of the engagement, we'll know where Nero is planning to go and if we find out where he's hiding we can move in and surround his entire operation"

"That's….I'll begin work immediately General" Corvid fought the urge to snap off another salute that had become almost instinctive in the face of the sheer weight of Winter's revelation.

"I have no doubt that you will conduct yourself in a way that makes me proud" Winter nodded, trying to balance professional decorum with familial praise in a way which even now sometimes felt awkward to her, managing a smile that was warm and genuine albeit somewhat stilted.

A moment later the transmission ended and Corvid found herself sending an apology to Onyx, promising her boyfriend that they would resume their previous conversation as soon as possible and implying that if things went to plan there might even be a bout of celebratory sex involved. From there she reached out to her field agents and began coordinating what would need to be done in order to carry out her aunts' orders whilst ensuring that other, ongoing operations were not sabotaged.

All whilst wondering how her decision to give Team MARS some licence to search for their shared foes would play into these new developments.

Zirconia Shadowmoon had, over the course of her teenage years managed to master the art of brooding silently and ominously on rooftops that it now came entirely naturally to her and she could even appear intimidating to any passers by who happened to glance upwards in broad daylight with the sun shining down on her.

First it had been the roof of the penthouse apartment which she and Nero had called home for so long, a rooftop she had spent her time on whenever she had needed an escape from reality for a short while, either playing her violin or simply sulking in a way she had at the time hoped looked less petulant. She had continued the habit as she had grown older and ventured out to Breaktide and Halo Academies respectively, though there the rooftops had become a place where she and Athena-Jade could be alone and had spent hours growing closer and falling in love, a haven for the two of them where they could be away from everything except for each other and one with Zirconia wished dearly to have again; Pikesreach had seen her old habit become a survival mechanism as the Grasshopper Faunus found herself seeking out vantage points to watch for an attack from without or treachery from within that had felt inevitable.

Now however, at Jidhir Town Zirconia looked down on her surroundings with a festering anger that she sought to find a use for.

Privately she would have been glad for the mask that had been lost at Pikesreach if only to keep her scowl, one of anger and frustration lined with worry from being to easily noticeable and keep the sun from glaring too harshly into her mismatched eyes as she regarded the work going on around the settlement. Nero had given no explanation for his reasons yet, though Zirconia suspected that one might come soon enough but the former Chairman had, as recently as only a few hours ago begun pushing those who followed him to work ever harder and faster to ensure that preparations for Project Megalodon were made as hastily as possible and as she watched Zirconia could see weapons being brought from the perimeter defences and various storage facilities so that they could be integrated into the ongoing construction around Nero's personal ship; its' sleek and streamlined form being rendered hideous by vast works of scaffolding around it and integrated onto it to create a frame work of weapon-mounts and additional spaces that were incomplete by necessity.

Turning her gaze away from the ship where Damascus had once again sequestered himself and she might once have been tempted to do the same Zirconia watched the scurrying of workers below, whose efforts were bolstered in many cases by the presence of Cyber-Grimm which, when put to such a task more resembled some domesticated beast of burden, carrying loads several times greater than what a person could hope to and using their ability to fly to to great effect. Each of the Cyber-Grimm were old creations by this point, with no more of the mechanical monstrosities having been produced since Zirconia's return to Jidhir Town whilst the Forge, the roiling vat of darkness which was in essence an enslaved Spawning Pit was prepared and temporarily repurposed for what Nero intended to do and yet still there were figures flocking around the sinister contraption at all times, monitoring the progress and ensuring things went to plan.

Looking in the direction of those who had taken over Aefen's work saw Zirconia rise to her feet in a fluid motion and with a jolt of anger shooting through her to compel her to act at the sight of a metallic gleam on another rooftop some distance away.

Gestalt-Prime was near the Forge.

The Alpha Cyber-Grimm had been thoroughly and violently punished for their treacherous actions, though in Zirconia's mind there was nothing that could ever truly right the wrongs that had been committed by the monstrosity and their total destruction would be only a small step in the right direction; despite this Nero had been adamant that Gestalt-Prime's existence was a necessary evil and had seen to it that they had been repaired, healed and most damnably of all, allowed to roam freely.

They were not unguarded however, Zirconia could see as she closed the distance between the two of them that there were several other Cyber-Grimm which were ostensibly totally under the control of Damascus and those loyal to him, including some of the more dangerous variants such as Shrouds which lurked a short distance away and steadfastly kept Gestalt-Prime in their sights; it was not enough to satisfy her though and the Grasshopper found Sunriser Cain in her hand without a conscious thought as she bounded across the roofs of Jidhir Town until she and Gestalt-Prime were on the same rooftop, dangerously close the Forge and a matter of mere feet away from one another.

Zirconia swung her weapon without thinking.

"You will die for that" the Alpha-Cyber Grimm snarled as they reacted with blinding speed and effortlessly blocked the incoming swipe with their tail before rounding on Zirconia in order to loom over her, the singular optic set into their metallic lupine cranium glowing dangerously. In response Zirconia braced herself, planting her feet squarely on the rooftop and levelled her weapon at the monster her before her again whilst affecting a calm and resolute demeanour that was entirely at odds with the panic coursing through her as she realised that she would now have to follow through on her actions.

"You won't do anything" she answered coldly, thankful that neither hers hands not voice notably shook "Except for turn around and walk away. You shouldn't be anywhere near the Forge, you're not trusted and if you try anything else-"

"Then you humans will continue to talk and pose, doing everything you can to look less frail than you are" Gestalt-Prime interjected, sneering derisively as they made a show of adjusting various panels and components in a silent but obvious threat display which Zirconia would have readily pointed out the hypocrisy of if she were not so deeply focused on the matter at hand.

"I should have killed you in Port Alistair" she breathed out, keeping her weapon trained on the monster but making no effort to prepare any Dust-based attacks "Before Carmesi had a chance to capture you"

"But you didn't. Because you couldn't" the Alpha Grimm answered dismissively, taking a single step and pacing around Zirconia, subtly forcing her to move from her poised and ready position "The best weapons that your Hunters could level against me were not enough….And my strength, the strength of the Grimm is what gives Nero power-"

"You're a tool to be used" Zirconia spat, realising that she might have said too much and that if Gestalt-Prime saw a betrayal as inevitable then there would be nothing keeping them in check; nothing stopping them from beginning a rampage there and then. The Grasshopper Faunus was startled when instead they simply let out a hacking, grinding sound that could almost be interpreted as laughter; something far more human than she had expected the monster to be capable of.

"Do you think I don't know this? Do you think that I believe that Nero is allowing me to live for any other reason than that he needs me?"

"I-"

"But remember that he does need me. I am the means by which the future your people seek is possible….Act accordingly" with that Gestalt-Prime lashed out with their tail and slammed Zirconia aside, something which caused the Cyber-Grimm that had clearly been ordered to follow them to bristle and ready their weapons and for Gestalt-Prime to in turn gesture broadly to their wardens "Now, stand aside….I was collected by these meagre, feeble offspring of mine to be brought to the Forge so that I can continue to make your plans possible. Project Megalodon requires me"

With that the Alpha Cyber-Grimm departed and Zirconia was left pulling herself to her feet once again, breathing ragged and shaky gulps of air as she tried to master her fear, forcibly steadying herself until her fight or flight instinct stopped screaming into her mind for her to act.

Only to be replaced by a much colder, deeper loathing.

Gestalt-Prime was right she realised, deeper than that however they were the root and source of all of her ills. As she glared after the monstrous hybrid of flesh and steel Zirconia found herself rationalising her rage with ease, Gestalt-Prime was as they had so vindictively pointed out the key to every plan that now felt as though it were a perversion of the original goals Nero had followed; they were an accomplice in every foul thing Aefen Cruor had done and they had personally murdered someone she had loved like an uncle but worse than all that, Zirconia realised with a sickening stomach-churning hatred unlike anything she had felt before was the fact that Nero's descent from the man he had once been to what he was now had coincided with the moment Gestalt-Prime had offered to join their cause.

And she had helped Carmesi deliver the monster to him.

Her grasp on Sunriser Cain was so tight that the weapon trembled in her hands as she realised that saving Damascus Nero from himself and pulling him back from the brink, so that the Bright New Tomorrow he had once envisioned could be everything it was supposed to be would have to start with doing something about the problem of Gestalt-Prime.

Zirconia once again found herself wishing that she could have her team-mates beside her, even if Athena-Jade had a new partner now things might have felt less daunting that way.

As the sun set over the island Kingdom of Menagerie and the settlement of Gruner-Hugel Astra and Regalia had made their way into the town, pulling up on Clunker outside of a tavern named 'The Fighting Cock', a name which had reduced both teens to a brief spell of giggles upon first hearing it and which managed to perfectly encapsulate the tone and atmosphere of the place.

Despite the fact that Menagerie had only been resettled for a few short decades and this particular settlement might in fact have been younger the two teenagers entering it, the building had the look of being far older and grizzled in a way that was usually reserved for the people who made up the bars' clientele rather than buildings themselves; as if the entire tavern had been transplanted entirely from the underbelly of some other, older and less reputable place.

It seemed almost painfully cliché that a meeting with a potential contact would happen here, though neither Astra or Regalia could find it within them to voice such an opinion aloud; instead they simply scanned their surroundings as much as the haze of cigarette smoke, maze of obscured cubicles and deliberately obtrusive support beams and press of bodies around them would allow, each of them unconsciously reaching out for the other as they tried to contain a nervousness that had coalesced and grown until it could challenge the hopeful optimism and sense of resolve that the two had mustered.

Despite their efforts however the two Hunters were limited severely by the fact that they did not actually know what their supposed contact, supplied by the truckers whom Team MARS had aided the previous day looked like, a fact which allowed them to be caught unawares and lose the initiative.

"Looks like we've got a couple of new faces! You the kids that were interested in doing business?" the bold and brazen declaration ended all conversation, leaving the bar silent save for the sound of a jukebox which only added the cliché the place was steeped in whilst the crowds around Astra and Regalia parted, along with the blue-tinged and hazy smoke which seemed to move aside as though it were being controlled; something which Astra noted and paid mind to, realising that it might be a Semblance at play.

It was a blunt and obvious display of power and control, intended to intimidate Astra and Regalia before any potential negotiations; but it did allow the two Faunus to take their first look at their contact.

"Bandit, former at the very least" Regalia muttered into her partners ear at the sight of the rugged and greying woman, perhaps middle-aged or a little older who had called out to them; a leathery-skinned and grizzled Wolf Faunus whose silver-streaked black hair was shaven short at the back and sides and worn in a deliberately messy style at the top to accentuate the lupine ears gracing her skull, the right of which was torn and ragged, serving a the starting point for an injury which had left a scar along her right cheek to her lip and seemed to make her vivid yellow eyes more fierce. She was tall and broad shouldered, clad in attire that seemed to make her profession obvious and her stature more imposing from her black thigh-high boots adorned with armour and jagged spurs to the long and flowing black greatcoat worn as a cape as it hung off of one shoulder, revealing a muscular arm lined with more scars whose hand rested on a weapon at her hip along with the gunmetal armour she wore whose chipped, scratched and dented surface caught what little light was available and gleamed faintly.

"We find out what the deal is before we do anything rash" Astra whispered back, trusting Regalia's assessment of the woman but still leading the way over to the contact and holding out a hand which the Wolf Faunus took, gripping it tightly enough that Astra fought the urge to visibly wince as she shook their hand.

"Call me Noir" she greeted the two former students, something about the gleam in her yellow eyes making in painfully apparent that Noir was not in fact her real name but that they would do well to ignore the obvious lie. Sharing a single look Astra and Regalia silently considered their options, with Regalia giving a barely perceptible nod which prompted Astra to speak.

"I'm Astra, this is my partner Regalia….We we were told that you could put us in touch with an, um private security firm that was working in the area?"

"Sit down" the Wolf Faunus gestured passed herself to the table she had been occupying, where a glass of something amber and a black Stetson with spaces made for her lupine ears rested. Astra and Regalia cautiously took seats and Noir joined them a moment later and sat, giving a slight flick of her wrist that brought the smoke which had filled the tavern before back into place; revealing that it was in fact a part of her Semblance as she gave the three of them some privacy whilst at the same time keeping Astra and Regalia from seeing anything that might be happening around them.

A sign which both of former students tried to appear as if they had not noticed.

"Your nomad friend here took one look at me and said I'm a bandit" Noir noted conversationally, taking a moment to unsheathe her weapon from where it lay at her back with its' handle protruding out by her hip; placing the oversized sickle, large enough to be used as a two-handed sword and lay it across the table before picking up her drink.

"Heh, what I meant was-" Regalia's attempt to smooth things over, faltering before it could get off the ground was halted as Noir waved her free hand dismissively.

"You were right, kinda" the Wolf Faunus flashed a devilish smile "I used to be, even before I moved to this here island….Then I realised that I didn't need to rob people travelling, there's much easier ways to make money from people who want safe passage-"

"Extortion" Astra stated coldly, unable to keep the distaste from seeping into their voice; only for Noir to wrinkle her nose.

"Private security….I've got standards kid" the Wolf Faunus countered "I figured why have Hunters on my back for robberies and have Grimm trailing after me all the time when I can just pay to keep people safe….Hell, I already know which routes to avoid and most of the people still doing highway robbery won't bother me too much, I'm on speaking terms with most of the clans and tribes I deal with. Just leaves the Grimm, heard you did some pretty good work on that count yourself"

"We managed to take out the one that's been hitting convoys and shipments lately" Astra confirmed, choosing to neither deny not embellish anything until they could get a better read on Noir's personality or intentions as the Wolf Faunus at present seemed far too calm and personable for someone.

"Mhmm" Noir hummed vaguely, downing the last of her drink before adding something more substantive "Good people those truckers you saved, helped me build a life for myself here, got me off the road when acquaintances from the old days decided that they didn't like the fact that my current business interferes with there's….Maybe I've gotten soft in my old age but I do owe that old Fox-girl a lot"

"So you'll help us?" Regalia asked, striped tail swished animatedly behind her as she leaned forward in her seat with her hands on the table; causing Astra to follow suit and press the small advantage that it seemed the two of them had.

"The Fox-girl, she never actually gave me her name" the Deer Faunus gave a wry smile before becoming much more serious and leaning forward "She said that you might know to how where people working for Damascus Nero had gone after leaving Gruner-Hugel; they're the reason there's an Atlas Specialist and a warship here right now and they're only gonna bring more trouble….If you can tell us where to find-"

"I didn't say all that now did I" Noir laughed darkly, picking her hat up and setting it on her head whilst using the motion to distract from the fact that her other hand had gone to her blade "I can't help you, but as a favour to a friend and as a professional courtesy to you I can decide not to ask where your two friends are"

"What?" Astra's eyes widened with shock and then narrowed angrily as comprehension dawned on them, with Regalia being fractionally quick on the uptake and reaching for her shotgun only to find the tip of Noir's oversized sickle resting under her chin in the blink of an eye.

"Careful now" the Wolf Faunus growled "See here's how this looks to me kids. You left Athena-Jade Slate behind because you didn't want her to be recognised when you came in here; but you somehow forgot that you were all on TV during the Vytal Tournament, hell I made a little bit of lien betting on you….So I happen to know that you're still student Hunters at that your team is connected to some pretty important people. I also know that Zirconia Shadowmoon left your team to go work with old man and I aint stupid, not at all so I can figure out that if her girlie aint here with you then it's 'cos you're looking for trouble"

With that Noir made a single gesture and the cigarette smoke withdrew from the booth once more and Astra and Regalia's stomachs dropped at the sight that greeted them; almost every single one of patrons of the Fighting Cock had drawn a weapon of some sort and were now surrounding the cubicle Noir had lured the two of them into, glaring at the students with ill intent whilst Noir merely grinned savagely as she tipped her hat.

"And Mister Nero's people paid us pretty damn well to keep trouble from following them home"

"Fuck you too!" Astra spat, raising a foot and kicking the table so that it slammed into Noir and pinned her to her seat by the chest for the brief moment it took Astra and Regalia to rise to their feet, only for the item of furniture to be hurled after them with such force that Astra's head jerked to the side as it brushed against their antlers and from there the dozen or more assailants that had moved into position lunged forwards as one, revealing that when Noir had, at least to some extent stepped away from banditry she had brought several of her fellow cut-throats with her.

True chaos erupted after that.

"How do you think things are going?" the question was unexpected enough to rouse Athena-Jade from the thoughts she had allowed to consume her and bring her blinking slowly back to reality, vaguely surprised at how rapidly it had grown dark and also by the fact that Stygian had once again draped his jacket around her shoulders to fend off the cold.

"Well I haven't heard any gunfire" Athena murmured after a moment of thought before shuffling closer to the small campfire that had been started with a few shaven-off slivers of Fire Dust that the team were trying their best to conserve, their camp consisting of the fire itself, two tents and a cursory, limited amount of traps and early warning systems whilst the rest of their equipment had remained in the back of Astra's truck which was parked nearby. The reason for the limited defences had been simple enough, this close to Gruner-Hugel they were more likely to be troubled by the authorities than the Creatures of Grimm and if Corvid Xiao Long and her subordinates chose to come for them then the tripwires, traps and other such distractions that they had at their disposal would be of no use at all.

"I don't think you've heard anything at all for at least half an hour" Stygian snorted, the Mouse Faunus crouching down beside her and holding his hands out to warm them by the fire at which point Athena gave him a concerned look.

"You want this back?" she gestured to the large, hooded coat vaguely reminiscent of something worn by a firefighter that had been draped around her.

"Nah, you look kinda cute wearing it" Stygian paused and cleared his throat "I mean-"

"Don't" Athena shook her head, letting out a playful sigh whilst deliberately averting her eyes and retreating into the folds of the coat to keep her blush from being seen "Don't dig that hole any deeper"

"Okay, okay" Stygian laughed faintly, dropping back into a sitting position and stretching in a way that showed off musculature Athena's eyes naturally began to trace and study until he turned his own electric blue gaze on her, regarding the Bear Faunus with an intensity entirely at odds with the softness in his voice "Hey are you okay though?"

"I guess" Athena shrugged, averting her gaze once again and huddling in upon herself in a way which made it obvious that she was in fact anything but, prompting Stygian to shuffle himself slightly closer and keep his soft, warm tone in place as he spoke again.

"Come on talk to me" his arm twitched, as though he considered reaching out and draping it around Zirconia only to think better of it "I'm your partner and you've been here for me through some pretty heavy stuff so…."

"We don't have to keep score"

"I know that it's just-"
"I know what you meant Stitch" Athena assured him gently, still keeping her eyes facing firmly forward and away from the partner beside her as she quietly added "I was thinking about Zirconia again"

"Oh" Stygian's body visibly sagged as he processed that, crestfallen and annoyed for the briefest moment before he rallied and composed himself so quickly that the flash of emotion might have been imagined "Is talking about it gonna help"

"Probably not" Athena admitted dully as she ran a hand through snowy-white hair that had now grown long enough to lose some of its' usual shagginess before letting out yet another sigh and proceeding to speak anyway "Over the summer I just, I thought I hated her. I was angry, I was a mess and I thought I never wanted to see her again. Then I thought maybe I should see her again, just so we can bring her down and it can be an end to it….I wanted it to be simple, I didn't want to have questions afterwards"

"But you still want to know why?" Stygian surmised.

"I get why….Nero's been a dad to her ever since she lost her parents, he raised her to be a part of this" Athena's expression flashed, showing something truly dangerous she reserved for the former chairman before she pressed on "But when we saw her at Pikesreach she was so scared-"

"I don't know, she handled me pretty fucking well" Stygian muttered, a bitterness creeping its' way into the Mouse Faunus's voice despite his best efforts.

"I just-" Athena continued, falteringly "I've got questions now….How much did she know? She was gonna help us and surrender Stitch you heard her, I just need to know that the Hops I knew wasn't a total lie….That if she'd known exactly what Nero's people were planning from the start she wouldn't have gone along with it. I need to know that she's okay after Gestalt-Prime-"

The fire erupted into life with a whooshing roar as Stygian flicked another sliver of Fire Dust into its' hear with far more force than was necessary and using the motion to actually retreat away from Athena with an unmistakably deliberate motion which stabbed at her more than she had expected from such a small thing, Athena was on her feet in the next moment with her gloved hands balling into fists at her sides and an anger in her voice that she couldn't fully account for.

"Is there a problem?" the question she had wanted to ask genuinely came out as something indignant and scandalised, which only prompted Stygian to rise to his own feet and fold his tattooed and muscular arms across his broad and chiselled chest as he glared at her with lightning blue eyes.

"You know that's not what we're doing out here right?" he demanded with a sneering edge to his words, followed by a shifting in his expression suggesting that he too had hoped to act more rationally and kindly.

"What?"

"We didn't leave Breaktide and come searching halfway across the island just to save your old partner" Stygian's expression darkened further, his hairless tail lashing behind him "We're here to save people from her"

"We're saving people from Nero!" Athena countered hotly "And Zirconia is one of the people I can save then I'll do that!"

"You're gonna let her get away again!" the words left Stygian in a harsh snap, one which drew a sharp intake of breath from Athena and left her sapphire eye wide

"You-"

"And for what?" Stygian forced himself to continue, speaking more gently but still urgently as he committed to the path he had started on and tried to make the woman before him see sense "There's no happy ending here AJ! She's never gonna be your partner again, even if you do save her from Nero or whatever you think has happened to her she's still gonna get handed over to the authorities and spend the rest of her life in prison-"

"Asshole!" Athena closed the distance between them and slammed her large palms into Stygian's chest shoving him back a pace, making to repeat the action as her voice took on a watery edge "You absolute-"

"Stop it. I'm not just gonna let you hit me" Stygian's hands flew out and caught Athena's wrists, firm but painless "I'm telling you the truth-"

"You don't have to sound damn smug and happy about it!" Athena yelled "She was my-"

"And she threw it all away!" Stygian yelled back, finally letting his own frustrations loose "Everything the two of you had, everything you gave her; she threw it away….I'm supposed to be your partner now AJ, me, the person who is actually here and helping you, even if you wish I wasn't"

"Are you-" AJ let out a laugh that managed to encapsulate all of her disbelief and incredulity as a realisation came to her "Oh wow, are you actually jealous-"

"I mean a little bit yeah!" Stygian answered with a total earnestness and lack of hesitation that caught Athena, who had expected a denial entirely by surprise; his lightning blue eyes dropping and looking anywhere but at her as his voice lowered to something softer but pained "I can't ask you to love me like you did her, I don't expect you to….But dammit AJ, you deserve better than to chase after someone who lied and hurt you and I just wish that you could see that-"

Stygian fell silent as Athena reached up and kissed him.

"What're you-" Stygian's brief attempt at reason was cut short as Athena's hands slipped free of his grasp allowing her to loop her arms around the back of his neck and pull him down so that she could kiss him more deeply; Stygian allowing himself to loose himself in the moment, arms looping around Athena's waist until her teeth at his lip prompted him to grab at her hips, thighs and rear until her faint gasping into his mouth triggered some last vestige of sense which saw him break away.

"We shouldn't-"

"Why not?" Athena demanded, desire mixing with anger in a way that promised danger as she shed Stygian's coat and threw it at him "This is what you wanted right?"

"Not like-" he fumbled his words, uncertain of exactly what his complaint was other than a sense that this was reckless in a way that lay outside of his usual habits "We shouldn't-

"I always thought you were hot and if I was single before things might've gone differently" Athena declared with a breathless hunger filling her voice as she closed the distance between them again "You've been great and we both want this….You've wanted this whole time you've known me; so let's do it. You've got nothing to be jealous of Stitch"

Athena was on him again in a second and Stygian, for all his misgivings was kissing her back just as ravenously; his mind becoming blank as their bodies were pressed together and separated by only the clothes and armour they wore which Athena promptly began to address the issue of, the sensation of her trying to forcefully relieve the Mouse Faunus of his shirt removing what little scraps of caution and common sense remained in his mind.

A moment later Stygian was helping Athena out her jacket and grasping at her small breasts as her worked at the clothing under it, all whilst the two of them all but dragged one another into one of the tents.

Common sense, feelings and everything else could wait until the morning.

If there had been enough time to think and the situation had been a little less chaotic Astra might have noted that for all of their varied experiences as a Hunter and all of the cocky bravado they carried themselves, they actually had surprisingly little real world experience with fine art and honoured tradition of bar-fights.

A situation that was being violently corrected at that moment.

No guns had yet been fired and until that situation changed Astra was content to keep their own weapons collapsed in their dormant state around their forearms, knowing that not everybody inside of the Fighting Cock was a combatant and that it would be all too easy to severely injure someone unintentionally within the chaotic press of bodies that now filled the tavern as people tried to flee, others tried to rush into the fray and others still found themselves entangled in entirely unrelated fights that had erupted the moment someone had thrown a barstool almost entirely at random.

Content to rely on their own physical abilities Astra managed to back out of the cubicle that they and Regalia had been lured into, using the same motion to avoid a thrusting stab of Noir's oversized sickle-blade before countering ruthlessly, backing up further and waiting for the exact moment that the Wolf Faunus tried to give chase to spring forwards and tilt their head in order to drive their antler into her eye.

"You little shit!" Noir's pained yell rose above the din as she recoiled back only to respond with equal ferocity by taking her sickle in both hands and slashing at her opponents' chest, Astra leaned back and allowed the blade to sail over them which in turn played into the older fighters' hands by leaving their lower body exposed for Noir to snap off a punishing front kick to their left knee, knocking the Deer Faunus off balance and leaving them unable to counter the following downward, stomping kick to their gut which Noir followed up by backhanding them across the face with enough force to send Astra skidding across a dirty floor whose so sticky and stained that sliding across it at all should have been impossible.

Astra dragged themselves into a crouch in an effort to defend themselves, though it was already a little too late as Noir's allies fell upon them with a savagery which made their former profession clear and forced Astra to respond with a brutality and heavy-handedness that they had sought to leave behind as they kept their temper and emotions under control more easily with age; left elbow slamming into the inside of a left knee with enough force to shatter bone and twist the joint unnaturally and leave their foe falling forward at the perfect angle to receive an antler across the throat as Astra leapt to their feet. Once upright Astra was beset by a trio of attackers, all armed; the first came rushing with a knife and tried to deliver a wild slash only for Astra to seize their wrist with their left hand and slam their right fist into the elbow, forcing them to drop the weapon and howl in pain as their arm was broken before the Deer Faunus followed up by slamming a double-fisted punch to their attackers gut and then launching a spinning roundhouse kick which sent the limp body of their foe sailing through the air to crash through a table some distance away.

The second and third members of the trio were dispatched far more swiftly and efficiently, the first attempting to grab Astra by the midsection and tackle them to the ground only for Astra to prove themselves stronger and lift their foe from the ground and swing them bodily into one of the support pillars scattered around the tavern, the splinters and dust from the resulting collision filling the already hazy air whilst the leader of Team MARS continued their assault, carrying the momentum of the throw into a spinning kick which saw their heel slam into the chin of the last attacker; leaving the hammer in the man's hand falling to the ground before his body did and teeth being spat from his mouth with a blood-laced choking gasp.

In the next instant a knee collided with Astra's ribs and any sense of victory was snatched away as their body ploughed through the furniture of the tavern until they rested in the debris of several tables and were covered in splinters and glass fragments.

"Sorry about the mess and the trouble….I'll cover the damages" Noir called out to the furious looking barkeeper who was fishing for something just out of view, likely a weapon with which to put a stop to the violence. With the matter addressed and in her mind concluded however the Wolf Faunus turned her focus to Astra.

"I wish there'd been exceptions kid, I really do. I wish someone had said 'Bring those ones in live'" Noir shook her head "But those people you're looking for pay well and handle fuck-ups severely from what I hear, got rid of one of their own a couple yeas back; lady named Oralie….They said to get rid of any problems so I'm gonna have to deal with you, but since you did right by some people I like I won't look for your friends. I'm just gonna dump your body where they can find it and hope they take the hint-"

Noir's monologue was cut off a moment later by the sound of a projectile wooshing through the air and embedding itself into the greatcoat the Wolf Faunus wore; with Astra grinning wildly at the sight of Regalia standing victoriously on a table at the other end of the tavern with several unconscious opponents slumped around her.

"I'LL TAKE YOU TO THE BANK! THE BLOOD BANK!" the former nomad yelled, prompting a wheezing, painful snort from Astra who feared that they might be slightly concussed.

"That's the line she's going for?" they muttered to themselves before Regalia withdrew her harpoon and whipped Noir high into the air, a brief but comedic look flashing across the older Faunus's face as she was hoisted from her feet with such force that her hat was left drifting slowly to the ground behind her. From there Regalia leapt into the air, caught hold of the Wolf Faunus in mid-fall and slammed her viciously head-first through the table that she had been stood on.

Noir did not stay down for long.

Any enjoyment Astra might have taken from seeing the double-crossing contact be so thoroughly thrashed was short-lived as the Wolf Faunus retaliated by flinging herself to her feet and in the same motion kicking Regalia back and leaving her stumbling and prone, utterly unable to defend herself as Noir hefted the largest remaining piece of the table that she had been slammed through and launched it at Regalia.

"NO!" Astra yelled staggering to their feet again and swaying, only to be sucker-punched back to the ground by an unseen assailant and forced to watch as the impact slammed Regalia into a support beam at which point several more of Noir's people rushed out to grab at her, the Racoon Faunus fought well and fought ferociously, throwing any concept of fairness or honour by the wayside as she bit ears and noses, gouged eyes and kicked opponents in unmentionable places but still the outcome seemed inevitable when a bottle was broken across the back of her head and her attackers managed to hold her in place; leaving Noir free to sidle lazily closer with her oversized sickle at the ready.

"Nothing personal, even after all that" the Wolf Faunus noted conversationally, as though this were an everyday occurrence to her and given the life she claimed to have lived it may well have been "I don't begrudge someone going out fighting, always did prefer it to begging and crying to be honest….I'll make this quick and if your partner wants to look away-"

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Astra screamed, thrashing and struggling against the several people that were now holding them in place, both to keep them from interfering and to prepare them for their own imminent demise now that the brief momentum that the two members of Team MARS had enjoyed was utterly spent. Noir nodded silently, infuriatingly understanding in her expression as she closed the distance between herself and Regalia and prepared to bring the blade up to the Racoon Faunus's neck, tears welled up in Astra's eyes but they forced themselves not to look away.

Meaning that they saw they exact moment that a bullet passed through Noir's shoulder and she staggered, frantically trying to catch her falling weapon in her other hand.
"EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED….THE PLACE IS FIGHTING COCK-BLOCKED!" the voice and the choice of off-colour joke and such an ill-fitting time made Astra's heart leap into their throat so suddenly and with such a panicked realisation that the Deer Faunus failed to notice several of the things that were happening in the same instant.

The door to the tavern had been kicked from its' hinges and fresh bodies were pouring, specifically a mix of figures clad in the pristine white of an Atlesian uniform and gleaming metallic chassis which moved with the fluid and precise mannerisms of later-model Atlas Knights.

Seeing that the tavern was being raided the attackers launched into a fresh spree of chaotic and jumbled violence, with many of those who had initially attacked the students struggling to get clear of the authorities whilst several patrons who had steered clear of a conflict that was nothing to do with them chose to attack the uniformed presence in their local haunt simply on principle.

It was a chaos Noir used to her advantage.

"Works for me, I didn't wanna kill you kids anyway" with those words the smoke in the venue swirled around her thickly, forming a blanket which even keen Faunus senses could not pierce as it dispersed to shroud a wide swathe of the tavern before finally dispersing to reveal that the Wolf Faunus had vanished entirely.

Astra and Regalia were free from their attackers and the Deer Faunus dragged themselves forward, head spinning with countless jumbled and raw emotions and the far less complicated pain of being hit in the head and gut several times until they were stunned and gasping for air; they struggled towards Regalia, lurching and stumbling whilst using every piece of furniture which was not yet ruined for support until they were halted.

Astra had known that she was here, there was nobody else who would have made such an out of place quip when launching an attack and the leader of Team MARS recognised her face immediately, even without the winged battle-suit that had been iconic her scarred features, cybernetic eye and the Specialist Uniform styled to resemble a flight suit could not have belong to anybody else.

It was Corvid Xiao Long, adopted sister to Astra's own half-brother and Athena-Jade's older cousin.

"Well look at you….All grown up now" Corvid leaned against one of the undamaged pillars.

"Corey-" Astra choked out, flinching reflexively as Corvid reached out and helped them stand more easily before gesturing to her subordinates to help Regalia and bring her over.

"I don't wanna have to cuff you" Corvid said honestly "But you're coming with me"

Author's Notes:

Well that's another chapter down.
Not too much to say here, but hopefully you can see the shape things are taking for the mid-season finale already now that we're a couple chapters into Vol.08.
But anyway let's summarise shall we?:

Project Megalodon is not Nero's endgame, it's just the next stage….But it's gonna be a fun one though.
Writing down Nero's mental state and getting it clear was necessary and also fun; he really is my favourite villain out of all of the ones' I've written.
He is basically "Sunk cost fallacy" personified at this point.
Winter found out that he was going after the Aura Transfer Machine last chapter and now Nero manages to 'Discover' that it's being moved because Winter is nervous after all of the cybersecurity attacks….Obvious trap is obvious.
Gruner-Hugel, as I said last chapter is 'Green Hill' as in the Green Hill Zone from Sonic.
Team MARS took one look at Corey's airship hanging over the main gates and said "Nope", Corvid obviously already knows they're around, we saw that last chapter but they're still hoping they can avoid her.
Yes Regalia quoted Lord of the Rings and yes I called it 'Boss of the Bangles'.
Stitch needs more movie nights.
"You know I wanna find Zirconia" that was AJ's opening, just setting up the issues that were gonna crop up later.
Okay so Astra's plan largely made sense….Having AJ wait behind was logical as well as working for the 'Plot'; although there is still a gaping hole in Astra's plan and it's the one that gets exploited by Noir.
They probably could use their Scrolls, but they could also be tracked.
Using Corvid just to give a little bit of flavour to Gruner-Hugel prior to Astra and Regalia actually heading into it.
Onyx Ursabane, a surviving member of Team GORE who we haven't seen on screen in MARZ but was a fan favourite in FADE.
Qrow is recovering but he's definitely not gonna be coming out of retirement.
Air-Raid (Corvid x Onyx) was a fan favourite ship….And on a related note, always sext on company time if you can.
Winter "I am judging your horny antics and life choices" Schnee.
So Corey is actively hiding the fact Team MARS are in town now, at least until she's got some idea of what they're doing.
And there's the proof that Winter is playing Nero and actually has the initiative for once; he's preparing to recall his people and go to Atlas, she's gonna have his people followed to Jidhir Town and pick 'em off there and then any who make it to Atlas are gonna get ambushed there as well….But, Winter doesn't know about Project Megalodon.
An ode to Zirconia's brooding bad-assery, she would be at home in Gotham City.
Okay so I still haven't said exactly what Project Megalodon is, but from the fact it involves Cyber-Grimm, Nero's airship and building extra structures onto said ship I'm sure you can all figure out where this is going.
Zirconia has gone beyond just having doubts at this point, she wants Gestalt-Prime dead.
Gestalt-Prime is no longer able to walk around Jidhir Town without an armed escort.
The whole showdown between Gestalt-Prime and Zirconia felt harder to write than it should have been, mainly because there was a hard limit on how far I could allow it to get before it would start encroaching on parts of other scenes in later chapters….But Gestalt-Prime does make a solid point of "Even if you did want to kill me back then, you couldn't".
Oh yeah, it's not a matter if Zirconia does something reckless at this point, it's just a matter of when.
The Fighting Cock….Not sorry.
And now we have our contact, who is basically the "Obligatory super minor character who the FNDM would drool over" for Vol.08; basically take Death from Puss in Boots and make turn him into a butch lesbian Wolf Faunus.
The smoke control Semblance is cool, foreshadowing and atmospheric as fuck….Seriously, I don't smoke, smoking bans in pubs is great; but the dive bars really have lost some of the atmosphere now that you can actually see more than three feet in front of you.
"I used to do highway robbery, now I do private security and capture highway robbers" she basically told 'em up front she double-crosses people.
And there it is, the inevitable fucking over….But with the professional courtesy of deciding not to go after AJ and Stitch as well.
And there's Astra's mistake, they didn't realise that they're actually pretty famous now.
Okay so Noir keeps saying Nero's people, so she's never actually met him directly.
But for now, bigger problems.
"How do you think things are going?" is there a name for a reverse smash cut? Lol.
I mean there's not much point setting up a ton of defences when you can get hit with an air-strike.
Now Stitch meant she looked cute as in 'Dumb-ass cute, like a puppy in a sweater'….But that's not what he said is it.
"I was thinking about Zirconia again" of course you were.
Okay Athena still loves her, she's still got perfectly valid questions and wants to see the good in her partner; she's also right about everything she said….But also, you've gotta get why Stitch is pissed off with it at this point.
And there's the fundamental difference in opinion that's gonna have to be addressed in the future (Because they ended up a little too distracted to talk here), namely "Who are we actually trying to save out here".
I mean, props to him for at least being able to admit that he's jealous….It's also a fun callback to Hops feeling a little jealous and threatened by him in second year.
Well that escalated quickly….And the fact that Stitch, who literally has the superpower to get himself into situations wanted to pause and think for a second should tell you that this is gonna have consequences.
But we've all fucked someone and had consequences right?
As someone who has been in a few bar-fights, a stool will get thrown at some point and at that point the bonus round with no rules has begun.
Astra was fighting nasty here and I was aiming to try and recapture some of the heavy-handedness and bone-breaking weight that their style had way back in Chapter 01 when they stopped Petrol's crew robbing a Dust store.
It was just not a fair fight though, Noir had so many people backing her up and all of them had at least some skill that it could only end one way.
So Noir does have some class and standards, but she's also ruthless and business minded enough to want to stay on the right side of Nero….And actually knows about what happened to Rowan, probably through knowing someone in prison or operating in the same circles.
Having Regalia quote Steven Segal is not a choice I make lightly and I may have cringed a little when I wrote it….But the harpoon choke-slam was cool.
Regalia was raised in the wastes, she will absolutely fuck someone up if she needs to….But, let this be a lesson to any younger readers; from experience: A bar fight can go completely wrong for everyone involved in a fraction of a second, you can go from winning to "Oh, why is my shirt red now? Why is everything cold and numb?".
Did you seriously think that Regalia was gonna die though?….Nope, enter Corvid with a pun.
So, I wasn't planning on having the contact be a character who shows up again but the smoke Semblance occurred to me literally as I was writing the first scene in the bar and there's somewhere else I can slot Noir in the build up to the mid-season finale; so we might just see her again.
And now half of Team MARS are captured….While the other half are 'busy' back at the camp; the situation is what Corvid might call "Fucking in-tents".

Thank you to Neil12 for their review on the last chapter.
I mean between having to move the narrative forwards and also not wanting to write a story where the lesson the protagonists need to learn is "Stay in line, do as you're told and trust authority" there's a limit to how much punishment I can pour on Team MARS, because that is how you get Ironwood stans.
But there will definitely be consequences...Honestly the entire second half of Vol.08 can largely be summed up as consequences.
Once I'm finished with the Spiral-Verse my plan is honestly to move into writing an original story; which I've actually already done some world-building for and planned out the prologue/first arc of.

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