Azure was scared. She hoped she was hiding it well enough. She really did. But this was not going to plan. She shuffled up the ladder on her way to the bridge. She was still dripping from her wet-suit. The cheery yellow seemed in bad taste now. But they'd bought them as a team and she hadn't time to change. She thought back to how they'd gotten here.
They'd met at Beacon. The only Huntsman Academy the the ability to train Mer-Faunus. After four years graduated with specialism in aquatic combat. Afterwards the whole of team WATR had kept working together. It was great.
Most huntsman teams broke up after awhile. But they had kept taking jobs together and it had paid off. A few months on and they had taken the biggest assignment yet. Subsurface security for the Journey Bound. It was meant to be easy. A few roaming Grimm perhaps but nothing too big. They were practically getting paid to travel from Solitas, Which was far too cold for their liking. To Menagerie it was going to be great.
And all they had to do was swim a few laps around the hull every so often. So people could see them doing their job. Waverly had shown off a bit much to the passengers' delight. They'd even helped recover some things people dropped overboard as a courtesy. But then things went wrong.
That storm had hit out of nowhere. The passengers had gotten frightened and that brought the Grimm. So many Grimm. Every moment there were more coming towards them. From the deep and the shallows. As fast as WATR had been killing them more would appear. The voice channel on their scrolls was scratchy and full of static. Making it harder to keep track of their attackers.
She'd thought joining up with the Pearl would have helped. The first few volleys of missiles got people's spirits up. But then they realized they were still firing, the storm was still raging and there was no end to it. Everyone was more scared than before. That brought more Grimm.
The Pearl's divers were rude. They kept calling them fish faces. She'd thought they might try to stay professional. But apparently they considered the Mer-Faunus competition.
Their suits had helped though. They could push themselves around with hydro-jets like Waverly did with her semblance. Each arm mounted a dart gun and folding blade. Together they had kept the Grimm clear of the ships for a time. But it was a battle of endurance and they had slipped when they had started to make their move into the harbor.
It was one second. One second and… She could still hear the scream.
A Xiphia had gotten past them to one of the divers. It had rammed him piercing his armor with its bladed snout. His aura was broken by the blow and the Xiphia had slashed him before they could kill it. The man had cried out in pain, for his teammates, anyone to help. Another of the Grimm got thorough when his teammates had turned to help. The second one punctured the suit's ballast causing him to sink.
Turquoise had tried to get to him but the other divers opted for another approach. They had called the Pearl and had it drop depth charges. Depth charges! In the water with their own people let alone team WATR. Turk had taken a bad part of the blast, his aura reading in the red on their scrolls. But by that time the whole of team WATR but Azure was in the red.
They had made it to the harbor. Apparently the First Officer had been keeping the Captain on a need to know basis. She wasn't happy but what else could they do? Tell her the Pearl had nearly crippled their huntsmen?
So here she was. The only member of team WATR still in fair shape, her aura reading at about two thirds its norm. Waverly had said the Captain wanted to see her. She'd left Turquoise and Regalia in the infirmary. Turquoise had given her a signature sharp smile, he was putting it on for her sake, and the others. Regalia had made it clear she was going to keep an eye on him. But she was lying next to him waiting for her own aura to recover enough.
Azure looked up. She'd reached the bridge. She gave a brief knock and walked in.
Waverly was standing with the Captain. It seemed like they had been talking. Waverly's hand was held halfway through her blue hair. She was standing in a small puddle from her own bright blue wet-suit.
'Ah Miss Sees good to see you.' Capitan Sell said, nodding.
'I'm umm reporting for duty ma'am?' Azure said. Unsure if she should salute or something.
Waverly walked over hugging the shorter girl. 'Azu, how are the others?'
'Turk and Regi are resting up. They should be fine in a few hours.' said Azure.
'Good to hear.' Waverly looked over her shoulder. 'The Captain has a request. I think the charts are in her quarters.'
'Indeed this way please.' Captain Shell said, leading them off of the bridge.
Once they got to the Captain's quarters and sat down. Before Shell could start, Waverly leaned over to Azure.
'Azure I want you to understand this is totally a request. You can refuse if you want to.'
'Ok. Um what are you asking?' Azure said with a look of confusion.
Captain Shell sighed. 'Do you know about what happened when we came into the harbor?'
'You mean the Sea Feilong and the Goliath?' Azure said. Recalling the cries over the voice channel about the monsters.
'Yes. But do you know what happened to them?' Shell said. Leaning back into her seat.
'I thought the Feilong was taken down by the Pearl and the Goliath left after throwing those boulders. I know they're smarter than most.'
The Captain shook her head. 'Smarter might be the right word. But no. The Pearl didn't get the Feilong. And the Goliath left us trapped here.'
'I don't understand. Who took down the Feilong?' Azure said. Looking from her leader to the Captain.
Captain massaged her temples. 'That would be the question of the hour.'
Shell tapped a few keys on her terminal and turned the screen around. It showed a map marked "Southern Dragon's Tail - Points of Interest"
'Whoever took down that Feilong drew off the Goliath as well. This chart should show any expeditions, hunting parties or villages. But there's been nothing on this island for over a decade now.' Shell said.
'So could they be Bandits?' Azure asked, cocking her head.
'No not with the firepower we saw them firing off.' Shell shook her head. 'I'd say it's some bunch of Atlesians who are testing some new toys where they won't be seen. Or perhaps Mistral bought some toys from them and using the local Grimm to test them out.'
'If that were the case we should be able to call them.' Waverly said, bouncing her foot.
'This storm is messing with all our equipment. It's likely messing with theirs too. So to the question of the hour.' Shell said, looking at Azure. 'Your our only Huntress standing. We need to get a message to them. Perhaps they can send some help. Any group of people crazy enough to raid the Dragon's Tail must have the power to help us out of this situation.'
'Provided they are still alive.' Waverly mumbled.
'What?' Azure whimpered looking at Waverly.
The Captain sighed deeply. 'That Goliath headed towards where the signs of battle were inland. It's been a few hours since the last roar of that damned beast. The signs of fighting have dropped down. It might be they managed to slay it and have seen off the last of the other Grimm.'
'Or it might be that there isn't anyone alive on the island anymore.' Waverly said. She looked over to Azure seeing the look on her face.
'They might have just packed up and ran. If their airships could manage the storm.' Waverly added quickly.
'Regardless they must have had a CCT booster of some kind this far away from the Kingdoms. If we can get a connection to that tower we could have a message go out. The Pearl has a response package pre-arranged through its company. The moment their call goes out we'll have Huntsmen riding in. Storm or no storm'
Azure knew what the Captain was asking. 'You want me to go and see if those people are still there, And send a message if they're not. Don't you?' She asked.
Both the Captain and Waverly looked down for a moment.
'Its a request Azure we can't make you go.' Waverly muttered softly.
'But if I don't go we're stuck here. And as long as people are scared more Grimm will come.' Azure whispered. Tears building in her eyes.
'Yes.' The Captain said softly.
They sat in silence for a few moments.
'I'll do it.' Azure said, nodding. 'My weapon is the only one that can use normal rounds anyway. Someone said having bullets underwater was a stupid idea.'
'Hey!' Waverly said, elbowing the girl.
Azure wiped the start of her tears away. 'Its true. I'll go change out my barrel. How I'am getting ashore?'
'We'll have one of the Pearls boats bring you to the harbor-side. Save you the swim. I'll have them come up on the starboard side.' The Captain said.
'I'll be back in a couple of minutes then.' Azure said standing taller than she felt. She turned and walked to the door.
'Miss Sees.' The Captain said, rising from her desk. 'I just want to th-'
Azure interrupted her. 'If you're going to thank me then wait until I get back. Then you can thank me.'
The Captain nodded. 'Very well we'll see you when you get back.'
They quietly walked to their cabin. Waverly was trying to think of a way to join her Azure was sure. But losing three Huntsmen was too much let alone four. Azure opened her bag and began to work on her weapon.
She called it Water Blade. It was a rifle able to shoot dust darts underwater. The second mode made it into a ranseur. Shaped much like a spear with a set of bladed guards to keep Grimm from forcing their way towards her after being impaled. That fact had saved her a few times.
Azure had a barrel and receiver that could shoot normal bullets as well. She'd thought it might be useful if they ever needed to guard a coastal village or something. Normally all they did was clear out old wrecks of Grimm but she was happy to have the option. It was a few minutes changeover from one to the other.
Waverly said nothing. She was changing out all her spent speed loaders. She had opted for a pair of Cutlasses that had five dart slots each in the hilts. She'd proudly declared them the Cutting Tide's.
Azure paused and looked down. She was still wearing her damp wet suit.
'I'm going to get changed into a dry set ok?' Azure asked.
'Yeah sure. I'll tell them to wait a minute.' Waverly mumbled before leaving.
Azure got out of the damp suit and pulled on a dry one. Her only other change of clothes aside from the other spare suit was her casual clothes. She'd worn them and a jacket at the port back in Solitas while they were in port. But she didn't think a solo mission on a Grimm infested isle was a causal kind of place.
A little chuckle escaped her lips. Here she was getting ready for a one woman adventure. Worrying about the fact she'd not packed enough clothes. So much for buying a new set at Menagerie. Then again. She looked into the wardrobe of her other team members.
Azure finished up and walked down to the starboard side of the Journey. The boat was waiting for them. Like everything else from the Pearl it was white with silver trims. Azure guessed it must be for people to ride from the ship to shore if the harbor was too shallow. There was a crewman from the Pearl at the wheel. Standing at either side of the small boat were a pair of white AK-103's with grey lights. As she climbed down and dropped into a seat Azure felt uncomfortable. The seats felt too soft after the last few hours of stress.
Waverly sat across from her and gave a little smile. 'Trying a new look?'
Azure shifted in the seat. She'd opted to wear her dry wet-suit for some protection from the cold and its alleged slash resistance. Her trainers would have to do it since running barefoot over rocks was not going to be fun. Over that was her jacket and a pair of Turk's trousers with the belt done well up. They just had so many pockets. She'd made good use of them filling all the space she could with ammo. She had managed to get the fins on her legs into place without issue as well. Finally she had her swimming rig with its own pouches and space full of ammo.
'I thought. What was enough? And then I added a few more clips.' Azure said gesturing to the assortment of pockets.
'True I hope you left space for this.' Waverly said, holding out a scroll.
It was a bulky older model. Its frame was worn and chipped but otherwise it worked fine.
'Who's it?' Azure said, taking the device and slotting it into a pocket.
'It's the Captains. She said you can give it back when you return. Messages from her and the Pearl are already queued up with her credentials. Just get a signal and it will send automatically. If you run into someone she's saved it to her lock screen so you can show them without unlocking it.'
'You two ready.' The crewman called from the wheel.
The two huntresses looked at each other and nodded.
'Ready when you are.' Waverly called over.
The boat set out. From either ship there were faces looking through any window or porthole at the small craft. They looked hopeful. Azure hoped she was worth their hope. She recalled one of the young Faunus from one of Waverly displays waving. She waved back with a smile. Hoping it would help ease all their minds. Hers included.
'Dad they're sending one of the huntresses to the island.' Erwin called, pointing out of the porthole.
'Erwin don't shout. We're sharing this cabin, remember.' Zane said, nodding to the other passengers.
They gave a few comments about it being fine. But they were all a bit relieved. The Captain hadn't made the announcement until a few minutes ago but they all knew what was happening. A Huntress was being sent ashore to try and make contact.
Zane looked out the porthole. That girl looked far too young to have all this heaped on her.
'Did he make it?' A voice asked from behind them. Azure spun around finding the crewman looking at them.
'He?' Waverly said, tilting her head.
The crewman shuffled. 'Word on the deck was one of your went back for our wounded diver. I heard he got caught in the blast from the last load of charges.'
'He'll live but he's stuck in the infirmary.' Azure said, looking at her feet. The guy sounded sad and she knew she'd just give him a bad look right now.
'I uh...' The pilot sighed. 'For what it's worth I'm sorry. We've drilled for this kind of thing but...'
'It's always scarier when you're really fighting?' Azure said, voice full of sympathy.
'Yeah.'
'What about your diver? Did he make it?' Waverly asked.
'Yeah. Heard he gave the guy who fired off the charges a blown eardrum from his stretcher though.' The crewman chuckled. They all did they needed to stay positive.
A few minutes later they were coming up to a ladder. It was near a gap in the harbor's outer wall. Making it the best way to get out without a fight. Provided she could get past the Grimm.
Azure and Waverly were at the ready. The crewman had cut off the engine coasting them in. No need to draw any more Grimm with engine noise. They were counting on the Grimm not noticing their little landing. With the storm giving the place a deep gloom. The two ships in the middle of the harbor with their lights on should have the Grimm focused.
The edge of the boat nearly tapped the base of the ladder. Both the huntresses were pushing to keep the two from knocking together. Azure was holding off on using any aura she could.
Once they were still enough Azure looked at the ladder. It was built into the surface rusted and missing a few rungs. She put one foot on it, testing the rung. Then with a nod to Waverly she began to climb.
She had almost reached the top when she felt the rung under her foot give way. She almost cried out. But it didn't matter. There was a sound of metal snapping and the broken rung fell clanging into the one below it.
She stole a look down. Waverly's face was a mask of horror. They heard the first growls and roars. Waverly drew her weapons and stepped off the boat.
There was a rush as she shot under the surface. Then she burst back upwards on a column of water. Azure let go of the ladder knowing that quiet was not an option any more. Waverly hosted Azure onto her back as they fell. She'd come back up at an angle spraying water into the ground. As they came down she used what water there was to slide across the ground letting them use the speed from the fall.
Azure knew she needed both aura and water to move. Once they hit dry land Waverly's semblance wouldn't work. Luckily there wasn't enough water for them to worry about her running out of aura.
Reaching the edge of the damp area. Azure let go and started running.
The break in the wall was easy to spot. A section a few meters across had been smashed in. Likely by some Grimm years ago. Large chunks were scattered around. She could see a pack of Beowolves emerging from within the debris.
With a leap boosted by her aura she landed on top of the chunks and ran above the Grimm. She looked over her shoulder for a second. Waverly was back at the top of the ladder cutting down any time that came close. She waved to Azure mouth moving. It was probably meant to be inspiring but the constant wind stole her words. Azure waved back and then jumped down onto the ground outside the harbor. She was on her own.
Khan took the first monster with two shots to the chest. The next took only one, its head coming apart. But the third was too fast. It slashed at her with claws that looked like knives. She ducked the blow and drew her combat knife. It dove at her again and she slashed at its throat. The thing's head came off. Khan waited for any more but couldn't hear anything else.
Taking a moment after the brawl Khan looked towards the Camp. She had the best view from the air and something was damned wrong. She had flown over the Camp before a number of times. It was built on a plain with a set of low mountains off to the middle of the peninsula. The same mountains that had been hiding a secret base apparently.
Looking at the camp now it was in some valley. According to her HUD compass there were passes to her north and south. According to her magnetic compass she was spinning around. Khan squinted wishing her kit came with binoculars. It looked like there was gunfire in the passes. Someone must have been smart to know holding those choke points would help. There was also a cluster of large buildings across to one side. They looked military but with the storm only occasionally lighting them she couldn't say what kind.
She looked back seeing the remains of the creatures coming apart. It was like they just broke apart into smoke. She shook her head sure she'd not hit it on the way down. Regardless of whatever these things were, they still died when you shot them.
She checked her bearings again and then started walking away from the Camp. It was going to be a long walk there and at least some of the DeeBees must have survived the drop. It was safer to link up with them and then head back to the Camp. She hoped they would pick up her beacon soon. She didn't join the Air Corps to march.
Azure glazed down at her scroll. She had it strapped to her fore arm so she could see the screen. When she'd left the harbor her aura was still at two thirds now it was down to under half. She'd opted for a jog using a little bit of aura to help on any rough parts. It had let her keep a good pace for a while. But she hadn't checked the time when she left. A pack of Beowolves here, a pair of Ursa there and she was down a good chunk of her aura.
The map had shown the way through this valley. But without a CCT connection it wasn't updating her location. She couldn't stop to check her bearings on any landmarks or she'd risk Grimm catching her up. So she was just traveling along the road trying to keep focused on her pace. Every so often she had to move around one of the craters from the Goliath. Sometimes she just had to move to one side. Other times she had to go though one of the drainage ditches either side. She hoped the people at this village or whatever it was were alright.
She hoped the others were alright too. They had to be. She heard something as she started to reach the top of the next rise. A long roar but not anything from a Grimm or an animal. It sounded like gunfire.
She reached the top and saw the source of the noise. The pass was narrowing before it opened into the valley proper. At the mouth of the pass was a line of structures. One of the Goliath steps had crushed a line through them. It looked like they were some kind of watch post. From inside each building bullets rained out at a wave of Grimm. Spotlights tracking each guiding the defenders' rounds.
They were still alive! There was a chance. If the people inside were still trying to keep the Grimm out they must be fighting for something right?
Azure ran forwards taking a few shots at those Grimm furthest from the line of buildings. With her help the defenders had cleared the Grimm from their surroundings. The lights cut off suddenly. There was a loud series of scrapes followed by clangs.
Azure walked forward, arms raised. She couldn't see anyone. Had they retreated inside?
'Hey!' She shouted, waving her arms. Waiting a moment for a response she tried again.
'My name is Azure Sees! I'm a huntress. There's some ships trapped in the harbor that need help!' Still no response. She stepped forward another step. She felt something like a breeze prickle over her aura.
The sounds were back but this backwards. Clangs followed by a scrape. The spotlight came back on with a loud snap. Aimed at her.
'We nee-' Azure began before the first round smacked her in the chest. She was knocked to one side.
More rounds flew over her tearing into the night. She scrambled as more kicked up dirt from the road. Her aura taking the blows like a storm of hammers. She made it to the drainage ditch.
She panted trying to catch her breath. After her heart rate dropped she could hear more than the pounding in her ears. There were the sounds again. Scrapes followed by clangs. The light had gone off.
'I said I'm a Huntress! Can you hear me?!' She called out into the night.
She peaked over the ditch lip. There was nothing for a moment. Then she felt a slight prickle. Before the first clang had finished she dove back into the ditch. As she landed she saw her aura was nearly gone. What were they using that was that powerful? And why fire at her? Where they human supremacists? She didn't think anyone could tell she was a Faunus at a distance with her leg's covered. Had they seen her gills?
'If you don't like me then please just help the people trapped in the harbor! There are good people there who won't make it through the night without help! Please!' Azure called out. Silence was the only answer. She was holding back tears. Who would close themselves off like this? She knew some people were bad, perhaps even horrible. But to shoot a messenger because you were scared or hated her because she wasn't Human. Then she heard the howl. The Grimm had noticed her sorrow or heard the gunfire. She braced herself.
Then a thought occurred. If they were shooting at the Grimm they wouldn't shoot her. If she could get behind their wall she would make them see sense. She watched the Grimm close waiting. Any second now. There was the first clang. She bolted out of the ditch running for the gap in the buildings. Lines of tracers chased her even as she put all her remaining aura into the sprint. Then suddenly she was though. Panting for a moment she watched her aura break. The exhaustion was already setting in.
She clambered over to the nearest building. It was strange. A squat shape with eight sides. A solid looking metal door blocked the way. But the wall next to it had been crushed by the Goliath. She leaned over cautious of anyone coming out. Inside was confusing.
There were a few guns poking out of small firing slits in the wall. They were strange to see. Each was large and heavy with no sign of a stock or trigger. Stranger still no one was crewing them. Suddenly one of them snapped to the side letting out a burst. Automated guns? That's what had fired on her? Who set guns up to shoot at anything moving? Surely they could recognize a person? Or had the people setting them up left Faunus as a target somehow?
As she watched the gun's retracted into the building with a loud scrape. Then an armored shutter dropped over the firing slits with a clang. Those were the noises she had heard. The hatches opening. The guns firing then returning to wait for the next target. There was another bang as she watched the shutters raise again. She watched a pack of Beowolfs charge forward. Another burst of fire went out tearing into them. But there was another noise under the gunfire. Clicking. Three of the guns had tracked the Grimm that time. But only two had fired. Azure crept forward looking between the them.
All of them had a metal belt leading into one side and casings were coming out of the other. She'd not seen many heavy guns before. But if these were like some of the one's she knew those belts were how the guns were getting their ammo. She checked the belt being careful not to get in front of the gun in case it tried to fire inside.
There were no rounds left. Experimentally she watched as the gun deployed again. The other gun fired another burst. The one she watched let out a series of rapid clicks. That was bad. Perhaps the people guarding this place had left the guns on their own because they were running out of ammo. She swallowed trying to get her mind off it.
Walking out she couldn't see any tracks from people. On foot or in a vehicle. There were a lot of Grimm though. She looked up and into the distance finally seeing the structures in the distance. She lifted Water Blade's scope to her eye. It was made for use underwater with low light amplification with a little magnification. She didn't have the best view but what she saw raised her spirits.
This place was no village. It looked like a proper town. There were high walls ringing the place. She could see rows of neat buildings inside dozens perhaps hundreds. A place this big would have to have Huntsmen, perhaps a team or more. Looking further some of the buildings looked to have towers on their roofs. She checked her scroll, still no signal. She checked the Captains, no signal either.
She looked at the storm overhead. Muttering a curse she pocketed the scrolls again. It was going to be a long walk to the town. She missed swimming.