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Chapter 135: Jailhouse Blues
Within their living cage of bone and glistening obsidian scales Team MARS were dealing with their continued captivity in their own various ways, with Astra taking a momentary break from studying every facet of the cell itself, the Aura dampening collars the four of them wore and what little they could see of the gloom and living darkness of the Megalodon's interior beyond the cell in order to briefly glance at their team-mates and keep track of their physical and mental condition.
Regalia seemed to be coping reasonably well despite the annoyance and vague discomfort which came with being deprived of her Aura and Semblance and as they watched her Astra noted that their partner and girlfriend truly was a source of inspiration and a seemingly bottomless well of hope and resolve, something which Astra appreciated more than they could put into words and planned to properly thank for as soon as there was an opportunity, a goal which in turn gave Astra more focus and determination to draw upon. At that moment the Racoon Faunus crouched rather than sat and studied the scales which made up the floor of the living cell, peering at them intently as if she were wondering whether the slightly serrated and abrasive edges would serve as makeshift tools to replace some of the small implements such as screwdrivers and folding knives which she often kept on her person and which had been taken along with her weapon; a possibility Astra would discuss with her soon enough.
Stygian seemed to be faring the worst of the four of them emotionally, having once again allowed himself to slump into a sullen and defeated silence, wrapped within the comfort of his own oversized jacket with his mind doubtless racing in a multitude of directions and with thought that Astra could not be certain of as the Mouse Faunus cast furtive, almost longing and at the same time fearful and dejected glances towards Athena-Jade.
Athena herself, whilst clearly in a physically worse condition after being impaled was awake and alert and simply refusing to be so easily beaten; the Bear Faunus was obviously in pain and no small amount of discomfort which no amount of treatment could overcome as the Aura stimulants required to accelerate her healing brushed against the effects of the Aura dampening collar around her neck, to say nothing of the effects of the injury itself or the way her movement was limited by the portable stand which held the bags of fluids she was still connected to. Overall Astra supposed that his friend was taking some solace from her previous conversation with Zirconia and at the same time still processing it; privately Astra knew that they would have to confront their own feelings regarding the friend who had betrayed them all in soon enough but was content to force those thoughts to the back of their mind for the time being and try to do something useful whilst Athena-Jade simply recovered her strength as best she could and silently seethed until that strength had somewhere to be directed.
After studying their friends and team-mates for a while however Astra decided to voice an opinion that had been slowly forming in the back of their mind for some time now; their voice dry and croaking as they spoke as the physical realities of their confinement began to become more apparent.
"Something's wrong" the Deer Faunus said simply, waiting until all eyes had turned towards them before expanding with a question "It's been hours. AJ, how long is a flight from Menagerie to Atlas?"
"Your grand plan is asking 'Are we there yet?'" Athena snorted weakly before pausing to consider "It depends, I usually fly from Eisenstadt Prime to Port Alistair and back but we left from a completely different part of Menagerie and I'm not sure exactly where in Atlas we're heading-"
"Surely General Schnee would have set up her fleet or defensive force or whatever else right on the edge of Atlas airspace?" Astra noted "So we should have gotten there sooner right?"
"Heh, depends on how fast this airship is now" Regalia noted "They made it bigger and heavier but it didn't grow a new engine did it?"
"True" Astra shrugged, willing to consider that particular detail though not the overall point; the Deer Faunus fell silent for a moment as Athena screwed her eyes shut for a moment and shook her head as if to clear a mental fog from it in a display which left all of her friends concerned, with Stygian being the most vocal.
"Are you okay-"
"I'm fine" Athena cut him off, raising a hand to silence the Mouse Faunus though whether it was the result of lingering anger or simply that she wanted to pursue her train of thought whilst it was still possible was uncertain "She might not be trying to hit Nero the second he gets into Atlas airspace, that would be attacking him over open water….Nowhere for him to land takes away the chance of surrender-"
"Which means his people fight a lot harder because there's nothing to lose" Astra nodded in understanding "But still….It feels like we should be in the thick of it by now, it's been hours"
"Well we're definitely above somewhere a lot colder than the island" Regalia noted, huddling in on herself, hands slipping beneath the fabric of the poncho she wore like a cloak in order to rub at her arms whilst Stygian nodded in agreement even though the tattooed and blue-haired young man was far better insulated from the heat.
Astra was halfway through removing their jacket, as much for the gesture as for what little comfort the sleeveless garment would have offered when the sound of footsteps approaching caught their attention, followed a moment later by more of the overhead lightning of the Megalodon's fleshy underbelly flickered into life, red-tinged, faintly pulsing and vaguely unsettling.
"Heads up" Astra breathed out of the corner of their mouth and in an instant Regalia and Stygian were on their feet and moving into positions at either side of Regalia whilst Astra planted themselves directly in front of her. None of them would be able to offer anything more than a token resistance considering the dead weight of an Aura dampening collar around each of their necks sapping their strength and depriving them of their most useful abilities but the Bear Faunus was undoubtedly in the worst condition of any of them and as such Astra was ready to do what little they could to defend their injured friend, their position at the fore allowing them to be the first to get a proper look at the newcomer.
The sight of a single person in the midst of a precarious balancing act as they carried several bottles of water and trays of food that seemed to be more generous than Team MARS might have expected of their captors was enough to ease the minds of the four Hunters a little, but still they refused to lower their defences.
The figure in question was a young woman perhaps a few years older than Team MARS themselves who wore simple and yet practical clothes of the well worn, several-times repaired or possibly home-made style that were common amongst the natives of Pikesreach, albeit layered with armour that was lightweight and practical, but piecemeal and ill-fitting, its' mismatched and haphazard appearance the clear result of having been scavenged from several donors whilst still leaving enough of her arms on display to display the tattoos which showed her place within the hierarchy of her former home, the patterns being remarkably similar to those etched on Cornflower Blue. The young woman was of an average height and sported a build that was wiry with some muscle, the figure of someone used to physical exertion and not enough food; her skin was a light, golden brown and both her eyes and hair were dark with the latter arranged in an intricate series of braids which clearly allowed her express a sense of individuality beyond what had previously been allowed in much the same way Stygian had chosen to do with his own hair, whilst at the same time still being practically tied at the back of her head in a way which would keep it from being easily grabbed.
Though of more immediate importance to Astra and Regalia, both of whom regarded the woman with recognition and suspicion were the bruises she sported and the collapsed form of a weighted stun baton hanging at her waist.
This was one of the people who had left Pikesreach to join Nero, one of the same people who had supposedly walked away from the battle.
"Calm down, you don't have to worry about me coming in there and picking up where we left off….even if my ribs do still hurt" the young woman gave Team MARS a faintly bemused look as she began trying to work the food and water through the bone cage that separated them until her dark eyes focused on Stygian "So you really are here….Which makes it more likely that your friends, you have friends now? Were telling the truth?"
"This is Roux, from Pikesreach….But I'm guessing you guys figured that out" Stygian's eyes locked on the older woman for a moment, no small amount of history passing between them before the Mouse Faunus added "And just because she isn't planning on stepping in here doesn't mean we should trust her….I wouldn't eat the food-"
"You think I poured bleach or something on food for people who might have told us the truth about things?" the young woman, Roux arched an eyebrow and allowed a sneering mockery to seep into her words "I didn't even let the others spit in it when they heard you might be here-"
"And this is doing wonders for our suspicions" Astra interrupted bluntly, willing to defend Stygian without question regardless of his recent poor decisions and locking eyes with Roux in an open challenge "But I can't help that notice you're here….When you abandoned Carmesi in the middle of a fight, he's not exactly known for being forgiving so you understand why we think something's up here?"
"It wasn't exactly his choice" Roux countered, her confident words being undercut somewhat by the brief flash of panic she showed at the thought of being the enemy of Carmesi Hueso "You said Stygian here's Mum and some of our people were in Port Alistair but we couldn't exactly get there easily in the middle of that battle; Nero lost people as well, even Carmesi needed to accept that he needed as many people as possible to load the last of the equipment and keep the last of the Grimm at bay before we left-"
"Which leaves us where?" Astra interjected again, arms folding across their chest whilst behind them Team MARS as a whole tried to brace themselves for whatever might come.
"Still looking for answers, still needing proof of what you say happened at Pikesreach" Roux answered flatly, features that were a little too drawn and gaunt to be attractive forming a glower which only deepened when Stygian spoke up again.
"I don't know all of what happened, I know what my Mum told me and then what I saw first hand when we went to Pikesreach to free it from Nero and-"
"Neither you nor your mother have an opinion that mean much to us Stygian" Roux's words were more hissed than snapped, though they left a cold and empty silence in their wake which the Mouse Faunus's fellow native filled with harsh truths "We were liberated from the Hunters, you just ran away; we're not the same-"
"Then talk to Zirconia Shadowmoon" it was Athena-Jade who chimed in now, her voice weak and weary as she lurched and shuffled forward whilst using the stand for her fluid-bags as a cane.
"Nero's daughter?" Roux's suspicion manifested itself as a sneer "You think she's going to corroborate the story you're giving me? That it was Nero's people who destroyed Pikesreach?"
"She was there when Pikesreach was first taken wasn't she?" the bloodied Bear Faunus countered "And she stayed there the whole time until it was attacked. I saw what Aefen Cruor unleashed on your home, I saw what it did to people and you can believe me or not….But Zirconia tried to stop it, she tried to stop Gestalt-Prime as well and that's why she's being kept under watch-"
"Then I'll find out soon enough" Roux answered, the calmness with which the Bear Faunus had told her details of the liberation at Pikesreach that she could only of known from someone who had been there in person clearly lending credence to Team MARS's claims and in doing so unsettling the young woman who, if the Grasshopper Faunus verified the claims would likely be about to undergo the second monumental upheaval of her life in just a few short months.
It was a thought that scared her, in no small part because of the threat it presented.
"If she tells me that you're all liars then I'm gonna come back here" Roux threatened, seeking a sense of familiarity and relief and the promise of punishment "And when I do we'll see how you Hunters like having to fight on the same level as everybody else-"
"You haven't seen much of Remnant have you?" Regalia asked gently.
"What?"
"When Nero's people took Pikesreach and promised you freedom….You haven't actually been free to go any where have you? You haven't had a chance to see Remnant, to see what it's like everywhere else and if the people want the future Nero is offering?" the Racoon Faunus gave a bright smile "You really should y'know, heh life is pretty great most of the time….You should probably wonder why Nero doesn't want you to see it either"
"Enjoy your food" with that Roux turned on her hell and stalked away into a darkness which rapidly reimposed itself as lights blinked out of existence in a way which only worsened the knowledge that the Megalodon was very much a living thing. For a moment a tense and heavy silence lingered in the air as each of the four captives tried to regain the bearings and make sense of what had just transpired until the mystified spell was broken by the sound of Regalia, somewhat predictably being the first to reach down and try the food that had been brought for them.
"Doesn't taste like they've done anything to it" she shrugged "I mean, we're not much use as leverage if they poison us right?"
"She definitely spat in it thought" Stygian muttered darkly "Trust me….I've known her for years, never liked her"
"More importantly" Athena sighed, as much as possible given the tightness of her chest and midsection "What happens now?"
"She's gonna go talk to Zirconia and come back….Which means we might have a way to pass information and actually plan and do something" Astra answered, optimism clearly building but tempered by a heaviness in their following words.
"Or at the very least we'll find out where Zirconia's loyalties are, one way or another"
Carmesi prowled through the halls of the Megalodon with an irate expression and a barely contained rage permeating the very air around him which only served to amplify the primal and predatory feel of his every motion; the shirtless Komodo Dragon continued his stalking path through the Cyber-Grimm airship whose twisted appearance he refused to allow to perturb him until finally he reached the entrance to Damascus Nero's quarters, which had been reduced down from the full-sized luxury apartment it had originally been designed as down to a more modest living space and an attached office for the former chairman to conduct business.
Upon reaching his destination he swallowed his annoyance for long enough act with a modicum of manners and pound his knuckles against the surface of the door which the slid open to allow him entry and revealed Nero sat at his desk, preoccupied by a dozen or more other tasks by the looks of things and yet at the same time somehow still giving the appearance of having expected Carmesi's arrival.
"I looked for you on the command bridge, you weren't there" the younger, but far more burly and imposing of the two men rumbled out by way of greeting.
"No, I can't very well take it over and use it as a personal office any more can I?" Nero answered, quartz coloured eyes never leaving his work though Carmesi caught the faint hint of a smirk on his pallid and thin features before he added "I was there briefly to ensure that things are running smoothly and frankly to enjoy the novelty of Project Megalodon's maiden voyage….But ultimately I have things to attend to and I trust that the bridge crew are capable of the tasks assigned to them"
"And yet" Carmesi snarled, a hellish red eye twitching faintly as his irritation flickered across his blunt features "We seem to be flying in wrong direction"
"Ah that, I was wondering if you'd ask me about it" Nero finally looked at Carmesi now, smirk widening until the scarred and discoloured skin which reached up the side of his jawline tugged and left the expression lopsided "I didn't feel a need to explain the decision to you as I was making it, simply because I also trust you to understand the matter at hand after spending so long hunting down your foes; I was working on the assumption that you're not an idiot"
"Careful" Carmesi snarled, he was a loyal ally and had proven both his commitment and usefulness to the cause time and time again and as such he was not prepared to stand and be insulted for seemingly no reason; though he was willing to show Nero some lenience given the emotional distress that must have followed Zirconia's actions. After everything that they had done following the murder of their own parents in order to see that a better Remnant was made and that such horrors could never be inflicted again Carmesi could not fathom the weakness of character it must have taken for the Grasshopper Faunus to waver at the critical moment and disappoint both her parents and the man who had raised her in their absence.
"My apologies, I am letting things get the better of me unfortunately" Nero breathed out, intruding on the Faunus's brief thoughts "No the reason for the change of plans is quite simple, I believe that we would have been walking directly into a trap if we followed our initial route….Hunters knew where our base was and caught us so close to our departure, which I think it's reasonable to think suggests that they also knew that we were planning to leave-"
"And where we were headed" Carmesi nodded, stroking his beard as he pondered "So the location of the Aura Transfer Machine was likely a set up?"
"In light of the current situation, almost certainly" Nero admitted, running a hand through lank, dark hair that had fallen in front of his face which allowed Carmesi to see just how tired the older man looked "However we know that it is being held by the Atlesians, likely under the watch and authority of General Winter Schnee herself….We simply have to change our approach"
"We're using the prisoners we took as bargaining chips and leverage" Carmesi said simply, believing that he understood the situation more fully now.
"It's certainly a possibility and one that has merit" Nero murmured with a faint nod "As distasteful as it it's certainly better than simply executing them….Or leaving the Slate girl to die; it's not the way I want use to conduct ourselves in the new Remnant we're making, we should be better people"
"Then some people should not be allowed to see that new tomorrow" Carmesi snarled "They're disloyal. They abandoned-"
"We spoke about this earlier, swallow your pride and show some compassion and understanding. The petulance is just childish" Nero snapped, allowing a note of annoyance to fill his words and catching Carmesi so off-guard that the younger man had no time to offer a retort before he continued "Many of them lost their families and were told that we may have played a part in it, I would have thought that you of all people would have been able to appreciate their need to find answers and the truth-"
"And what answers and truth do we give them, if we want to keep a mutiny from happening?" Carmesi snarled, a rare flash of anger towards the older man who had given his life a sense of purpose leading to him using a particularly condescending tone to match the one he was being addressed with.
"We tell them that Aefen Cruor is dead" Nero answered simply "You may not have noticed, given that you were fighting schoolchildren at the time, but out forces were depleted heavily and Gestalt-Prime was heavily damaged….We're going to need all the resources at our disposal to wage a campaign against two well-prepared and experienced foes"
"Two?" the questioning look on Carmesi's face drew a sigh from Nero.
"Just as the arrival of Hunters was too precise in its' timing to be a coincidence….We were attacked by a horde of Grimm, from all sides" Nero splayed his hands, the expression making it clear that he felt Carmesi should be able to understand from this alone "The plan was always for us to use Gestalt-Prime to take control over the majority, if not all of what can be called the Grimm Hive-Mind and we were also perfectly aware that the appearance of another sentient Grimm was a possibility"
"One has appeared and launched an attack on us" Carmesi said simply, the realisation robbing the words of any emotion as he processed the reality that was obvious now that he was free from the immediate rush of the battle itself.
"According to Gestalt-Prime, this is a presence far older and larger than themselves; one which controls a vast network of monsters across Remnant….Taking over such a network would be a clear step forward in our goals"
"Of course" Carmesi agreed "But can it be done?"
"We will need to recuperate, which is why I have ordered the adjustments to our flight that you noticed and it will require us to hand the situation with some guile and ability" Nero nodded resting his elbows on the desk and bringing his fingertips together as he allowed himself another smirk "But yes I believe it can be done and that when combined with our obtaining the Aura Transfer Machine we will be able to bring about our bright new tomorrow….If we time it right Gestalt-Prime will only be allowed to enjoy the illusion of victory we allow them for a brief moment before we snatch it away"
The confidence was reassuring to Carmesi and the notion of being rid of the scourge of the Grimm, particularly the monster of flesh and metal which lurked in the bowels of the Megalodon at that very moment was a deeply satisfying one.
Zirconia Shadowmoon had spent several hours confined to personal quarters which had, by virtue of them serving as a prison for her lost whatever sense of comfort of homeliness they had once might have held.
There were very few of the young woman's own personal belongings present, merely what few trinkets and practicalities had been left at Nero's penthouse apartment in Neo Vale which her adopted father had been able to take with him when he had first left their home Kingdom whilst everything that had been left behind or had been in either of Team MARZ's dormitories at either Halo or Breaktide Academy undoubtedly being seized and then either subsequently kept as evidence or simply disposed of.
A thought which had managed to send Zirconia into a depressive spiral as her thoughts chased one another and steadily darkened as they went. Simple lamentations of the situation she had found herself in, where a choice between the closest thing to a family on one hand and the people she cared for and loved dearly along with her own sense of right and wrong on the other had to be made, where the future of Remnant seemed to dangle uncertainly in the balance had first given way to perfectly understandable but utterly unshakeable fears and then wistful imaginings and a lonely grieving for the opportunities that had been lost.
After sharing a dormitory for two years Zirconia found herself confused at just how upsetting the fact that Athena-Jade had never seen her bedroom, or indeed the apartment she had grown up in at all was.
"Stop being an idiot" she huffed under her breath, chiding herself with a voice that carried the faint ghost of Carmesi's guttural snarling with it in its' irritable ferocity; mismatched eyes narrowing as she forced herself to stop simply staring despondently into the nothingness of her surroundings, the room having been left entirely without any personal character and having the appearance of a pleasant and inoffensive hotel room. The habit of talking to herself and muttering under breath was, she realised once again something she had certainly picked up from her team-mates and would likely be something that Nero or Carmesi would have chided as a lack of discipline if either of them had noticed it; that realisation being enough to prompt the Grasshopper Faunus to focus her thoughts in more productive directions.
Namely the help she had promised to give her team-mates.
Now that she actually had the opportunity to properly consider the risk and enormity of the task at hand she could not help but be somewhat overwhelmed, though she refused to be swayed from a course of action that might lead to Gestalt-Prime wresting the opportunity for a better Remnant free of human control and imposing their own monstrous vision for the future across the Kingdoms.
The first step would, by necessity be freedom though just how to go about it was a question that had left the young rogue woman at an impasse, she was well-trained and capable enough to be able to identify the steps that would need to be take; using the master override for the Aura dampening collars to disable both her own and her former team-mates' restraints which would in turn allow Team MARS to break free of the cell they were held in seemed a simple enough objective but was made far more difficult by the fact that she was being watched for signs of any malicious intent by people who had been made aware of her training and abilities by the very people who had helped her attain them. Beyond that there were the matters of her guards themselves who would need to be overcome without the use of her Semblance or the benefits of her Aura along with the issues of needing to retrieve both her own and her friends' weapons and equipment from where they were being stored, rendezvous with Team MARS and finally clear a path so that the five of them could escape from the Megalodon.
To say nothing of where exactly they would be escaping to, what they would do when they reached the ground and the glaring, unavoidable threat of being hunted down by the Cyber-Grimm.
It was a reality which drove Zirconia deeper into her despair and hopelessness.
"There must be a way. There must be, if I could talk to Astra then-" her latest bout of muttering to herself under her breath was silenced as the sound of footsteps approaching from the end of the corridor that her quarters were located on reached her ears, drawing closer until finally halting just outside of the entrance where a someone was clearly halted by the two guards who had been assigned to watching over Zirconia; the sound of a hushed conversation whose details and specifics she could not discern leading the Grasshopper Faunus to believe that the newcomers' intentions were being questioned and verified until finally a dull and heavy knocking sound of someone rapping meaty knuckled against a door was preceded by the sound of the intercom, Zirconia's only current link to the rest of the Megalodon much less the wider world crackling into life.
"Miss Shadowmoon ma'am" the voice of one of the two guards announced, professional and deliberate "If you're decent I'd like to open the door. Your dinner has been delivered"
"Yes, thank you" Zirconia answered hurriedly, scrabbling off of a bed that was soft and comfortable and yet still nearly impossible for her to relax on; the unfamiliar and unwelcome weight of her Aura dampening collar jostling as she made her way to the door just in time for it to slide open and reveal the sight of two large and burly men with and air of composure and authority about them which, coupled by the way they held themselves suggested they had once served their Kingdoms defences, men whose loyalty would not likely be swayed. Between them however was a woman perhaps a few years older than herself sporting several bruises on her golden brown and tattooed skin along with hair tied back into a series of intricate braids who clutched a tray of food a bottle of water tightly as she held it out in front of herself.
"Hi!" the young woman exclaimed brightly, in a tone which immediately rang hollow and stood at odds with the hard and determined look in her eyes "My name's Roux and I drew the short straw and got myself stuck making deliveries; I'll be delivering and collecting your tray today-"
"Please don't talk to the prisoner" the guard who had not yet spoken intoned firmly without ever making an eye contact or even glancing in the direction of Roux; an oversight which allowed the former resident of Pikesreach to lock eyes with Zirconia and give a deliberate and unmissable glance towards the plate, or more precisely it's base and what lay beneath it.
"Of course, my apologies" she continued in the same chirpy tone so clearly far removed from her usual voice.
"Thank you" Zirconia managed a weak and unassuming smile before closing the door and retreating into her quarters before her armed minders could grow suspicious and once inside she lifted the plate from the tray and found a small piece of paper, folded several times hidden beneath it which she quickly unfolded; heart racing with sudden hope as she entertained the idea that it might be from Athena-Jade, or in fact any member of her former team after Astra had found a way for them to communicate.
The truth how ever was something far more unexpected, a note written presumably by Roux herself or at least one member of a group of former residents of Pikesreach who had left the settlement to join Nero which she was part of; a simple question hastily scrawled which after a moment allowed Zirconia to breathe a sigh of relief as she read it and re-read it, finding her optimism returning to her as she did so.
'We want to know what happened at Pikesreach and we know you were there. We were told things but since you can't talk to anyone else you can't arrange a lie with them. We didn't join you so that our families could die or lose their homes and now we want to know who to blame and what is being done about it?'
Zirconia waited for a moment, straining her hearing for any sign that the two guards outside of her door might enter before quickly and quietly rummaging through the draws and shelves in the largely unfamiliar room she was confined to in search of a pen.
She had answers for Roux's questions and if she could bring the woman and her allies on board then several problems could be solved at once.
It had been less than day, less than half truth be told since Pantheon's hordes had suffered cataclysmic losses across the island Kingdom of Menagerie due to a combination of the Grimm General's incomplete information, the overreach that their hastily changed plans had forced them to accept and the sheer, unexpected power of the foes they had thrown themselves at.
And yet Pantheon was already rallying and preparing for the next blow in what was rapidly becoming an all-out war between the true Creatures of Grimm and the empty, bastardised mechanical hybrids brought forth by Gestalt-Prime and their loathsome human accomplices.
The matter of the island Kingdoms' response and retaliation was one which could be set aside for the time being as the occupants of the various settlements took time to lick their wounds and properly assess their losses before launching a counterattack, something which gave Pantheon the opportunity to begin spawning fresh waves of monsters and sending them out across the wastelands and uninhabited stretches of Menagerie's coastline to scout out new locations to begin forming Spawning Pits whilst at the same time fortifying the locations that would most likely draw the ire of Menagerie's Hunters or have destruction rained down upon them from airships in order to put up at least a token measure of defence.
In truth however it had begun to feel like a moot point.
Naturally, the prospect of losing their sway over Menagerie, former bastion of Salem's power and the heart of the unified Grimm Hive-Mind through the destruction of all of the Spawning Pits which they controlled was one which Pantheon was unwilling to accept and would take steps against however in the wake of the battle against Gestalt-Prime it was clear that there were far more important issues to be dealt with, matters which the Grimm General had chosen to devote their personal attention to.
Gestalt-Prime and the flying colossus their allies had created needed to be found.
With no real idea of where the would be usurper might be headed and the idea that Gestalt-Prime and their allies were fleeing for their lives having been shaken to its' core, replaced with the very possibility that they might instead be preparing an act of conquest and destruction of their own Pantheon had set airborne flocks of winged horrors loose all across Remnants' skies in order to cast a wide net with the hope that their foe could be found and their plans ascertained, a small victory which would allow the Grimm General to begin plotting countermeasures. Thus far the patrolling flocks and swarms had found nothing, a fact which suggested that the monstrous Grimm-ship had far greater than expected abilities and so Pantheon had chosen a more direct method of attack.
It was time for them to speak with Gestalt-Prime directly.
Across Menagerie, in the deepest reaches of its' wastelands Creatures of Grimm were already hunting in packs which moved and acted with a purpose and deliberation which rose far above the intelligence that should have been expected off them; with each and every monster having been primed and prepared with a single directive which they were in the midst of carrying out, namely to seek out and target any Grimm Spawning Pit which was not a part of Pantheon's own sprawling network. Thus far several dozen of Pantheon's scouting Grimm had been lost, though these losses had been more than justified by the acquisition of a small collection of small, secluded and previously singular Spawning Pits which had been unconnected to any other greater presence or whole; one of their various loosely organised scouting parties however was seemingly on the cusp of delivering a far greater prize.
Though predictably not without complications.
It had been a mixed variety of monsters, consisting of Deathstalkers and King-Taijitu which both roamed across and burrowed beneath the cracked and blasted ground and were accompanied by a small scattering of other land-based Grimm whilst above them Scree swooped and scoured the air in something resembling formation; with this latter detail likely being what had attracted the attention of a lone, but seemingly incredibly capable and experienced Hunter who had chosen not to rush to one of Menagerie's reeling settlements and who was almost certainly in the process of bringing other Hunters out to his aid. The Creatures of Grimm had initially chosen to ignore the threat which had seemed too miniscule to be worth diverting their attention from the task at hand, this strange behaviour from the monsters however had piqued the Hunter's interest and caused them to follow the scouting Grimm until they reached a Spawning Pit, which instinctively triggered something within Pantheon's mind as they watched the situation unfold through numerous eyes.
Putting the Grimm General's forces in a more difficult position.
Within the throne room of their seafloor lair Pantheon remained connected to their throne and its' attached Synapse Grimm, waiting for the opportune moment to strike and announce themselves.
The Spawning Pit itself had been damaged severely, the result of a well placed and punishing assault from the Hunter which had taken several of Pantheon's own minions as well though this was not a hindrance to the Grimm General's plans as the Spawning Pit reacted in the way all such masses of roiling and protean darkness did when threatened, producing a single massive monster with which to fend off the assault.
Pantheon merely redoubled their efforts, sensing that the larger Grimm would be a suitable vessel for them to reach out to Gestalt-Prime.
Specifically the Creature of Grimm was a towering, grotesque mass off oddly proportioned bone and sinew which dredged itself up from the pit which had birthed it whilst still dripping with viscous blackness.
Whilst perched on all four of its' spindly limbs the thing stood at almost thirty feet tall with a torso that seemed to small and fragile for its' mass, a lightly armoured and almost hollow space comprised of ribs and plates of spiked bone stretched over very little at all; the rear limbs of the Grimm were easily twice the size of a man and yet compacted down as multiple joints bent and folded whilst it wore its' forelimbs and obsidian shrouds and draped them about itself even whilst walking on them in a way which was vaguely reminiscent of a gorilla and vastly at odds with the monsters' build which was that of a pterosaur. The upper limbs were over long and their boniness compensated for by large, sweeping membranes which were held in place by long and reaching spikes of bone and whilst the thing strode about on its' knuckles its' fingertips reached far enough behind it for its' wings to obscure much of its' form. What could not be obscured however were the neck and skull of the creature, each of the things' vertebrae was a thick lump of solid bone the size of a persons' torso with a series of ridged spines protruding from it, arcing up in to the air and supporting a head larger than the Grimm's torso; a sweeping and almost conical mass of flesh and bone with a large crest of bristling bone needles set atop it whilst several deep-set eyes peered out at its' various gathered foes before it opened its' beak, a broad and enormous protrusion which tapered down to a sabre point and let loose a deafening cry.
It sounded like a thunderclap and unleashed a blast of concussive force which flung each of its' enemies backwards, allowing the Pterosaur to rear back and furl its' wings to the full, terrifying size and fling itself into the air with a single powerful wingbeat.
Yet Pantheon remained determined.
"Now. Take it!" they snarled into the ravenous void of the Hive-Mind, directing the Grimm on the ground to attend to the Hunter before they could interfere further whilst at the same time sending the airborne monsters to attack the far larger Creature of Grimm birthed from the Spawning Pit which Pantheon was almost certain was under Gestalt-Prime's control.
The sheer size difference meant it was unlikely that Pantheon's forces would be able to kill the pterosaur however it didn't matter.
Pantheon needed it alive, at least for a while.
The airship which had become the Megalodon had originally been envisioned as a luxury vessel for one of Remnant's wealthy and spoiled elites and as such there were stretches of the aircraft's interior intended to house features such as swimming pools, an observation deck which could double as a small bar and dance floor for exclusive parties and other, similarly extravagant additions which had either been foregone entirely or summarily ripped out when the vessel was prepared for its' transformation. Some of the empty spaces that remained had been taken by various groups and cliques within Nero's forces already, the matter of hours that had passed since the escape that their grand departure from Jidhir Town had been reduced to being more than enough time for the groups and factions to assign themselves barracks of a sort, in truth little more than empty spaces that had been commandeered and furnished with what little its' current inhabitants had been able to bring aboard which meant that whilst there were blankets to spare there were no actual beds or other basic comforts; though given that none of those currently residing in the meagre accommodations knew how long they would be aboard the Grimm-ship they managed to overlook the problems.
A notable detail and one that even a casual observer would see as something of an obstacle to Nero's plans for a united Remnant however was the way that the makeshift barracks were clearly divided along lines that suggested clear factions and a lock of trust, interaction or cohesion between them; the last tattered remains of the various street gangs of Neo Vale for instance had taken residence in one part of the Megalodon where it was clear that they barely trusted one another and were largely banding together for protection against the perceived threat of the various former military and law enforcement figures whilst the members of Aefen' Cruor's cult were kept secured and monitored in an undesirable pit of their own where they were scorned and avoided by the other members of Nero's forces.
To Roux however the most important of these various factions was that which she was a part of, the former residents of Pikesreach.
"So it's settled then?" she demanded, raising her voice slightly to be heard above the drone of mutters and disgruntled, yet eager conversation passing through the crowd of her peers and co-conspirators.
The young woman who had found herself first a spokesperson of sorts and then a leading voice amongst those who had left Pikesreach in search of adventure, freedom or simply a life that was anything more than what had been set out before them by their former overlords currently stood atop a small wooden crate and was surrounded by a throng of bodies, human and Faunus alike; all of them more united now by their fury than they had ever been by the tattoos they had been branded with to give them a supposed sense of purpose and kinship. Roux had, as she had promised to the Grasshopper Faunus returned to the room which was acting as Zirconia Shadowmoon's cell and her guards either lax, inexperienced in the specifics of their role or simply unimaginative had failed to properly check the tray and other items that had been handed over and upon inspection Roux had found that Zirconia had given her answer to the question posed to her.
Roux had hastened back to the other natives of Pikesreach and read the answer aloud, dark eyes harbouring a building anger that had passed visibly through the assembled crowd as each of Team MARS's claims were verified and explained in as much detail as the note could hold until by the end of it the people of Pikesreach knew the truth of Aefen Cruor's experiments, that Nero had known and tacitly allowed the horrors to continue and that those members of Aefen's cult of personality who had returned had in fact aided in the cruelty that had finally seen Pikesreach levelled by a creation of Aefen's which had killed the demented scientist.
Though unfortunately Zirconia, like Stygian Blue had been unable to give any account of who precisely had perished, who had reached safety and who might be unaccounted for which left the group to either hold out hope or simply assume the worst about their own families and childhood friends.
Until a figure within the group spoke up, offering an obvious question.
"Do we believe her though? She's Nero's kid really-"
"Exactly" another voice chimed in "What has she got to gain, surely she knows we're gonna kill her as well-"
"We'll get around to that later" another voice, ragged with unconstrained hate spat venomously "It was Aefen's people who did it. Nero might have allowed it, but they did it and they're here….Why aren't we already moving?"
"Wait!" Roux barked, seeing that she was losing control of the group which were quickly devolving into a rabble intent on mob justice "If you rush out there now sure, you might get one or two of Cruor's little bastards but then what? You think there's anywhere on this airship you can hide from Cyber-Grimm? Or Carmesi? Or Gestalt-Prime?"
The question halted the burgeoning mob with a single shudder that each of them shared until one of their number, a young and hotheaded individual Roux recognised and largely respected spoke up.
"So what's the plan then?" a chorus of agreement and similar demands followed and bolstered the speakers' nerve "You told us to wait until you could get answers and details and now we've got 'em….What are we waiting for Roux, apologies?"
"A plan" she shot back calmly "You know why Shadowmoon is being locked up right?….She's already taken a shot at Gestalt-Prime, those are her old friends locked up down below. What we need to do is-"
A shrill whistle split the air and the conversation halted immediately.
One of their small group had been serving as a lookout and it was their warning which saw the group immediately fall silent before splitting up into smaller groups and strike up entirely meaningless conversations whilst spreading themselves out across the barracks they had taken for themselves, doing everything in the power to simply appear natural whilst Roux herself allowed herself to drop into an almost casual sitting position on the crate she had been stood on; though the hand resting on her collapsed stun baton and the way her dark eyes focused on the entrance to her peoples' space might give her away.
A moment Carmesi Hueso strode into the room, hellish red eyes sweeping across the gathered people of Pikesreach with a restrained anger and the clear, calculating and predatory look of someone well-versed in the art of killing.
"Come to see if you could catch any of us on our own and arrange an accident for us?" Roux called out, voice dropping into the sickly-sweet sneer she used when speaking to an authority figure she had no respect for; her own private form of rebellion as she had grown up with Pikesreach's walls. The barb served its' purpose and the Komodo Dragon Faunus locked eyes with her, his attention slipping away at least partially from her peers who made efforts to position themselves nearer to the exit or subtly reach for whatever weapons were on their person.
"I came to inform you of the change in plans and of the fact your duties might change without notice" Carmesi rumbled out "We think there may be Grimm on our tail, or that some interaction between our shielding and the Grimm portion of the Megalodon might allow them to be drawn to us-"
"Which would give us away when we get closer to the Atlesian fleet" Roux noted, eyes narrowing as she studied the bearded and rugged face of the man before her; handsome in a brutal way, the bridge of craggy scales spanning across his nose and cheeks enhancing it somehow. In other circumstances Roux might have admitted he was attractive, at present however he was a potential enemy and threat and more importantly she could sense that he was twisting facts to suit his own, or Nero's ends as he spoke.
"We think the Atlesians already know we're coming" he admitted, sending a wave of hushed murmurs through the crowd "Which is why we're redirecting our flight. The plan is to approach the continent from a different direction and find a Grimm Spawning Pit within a stretch of territory not officially controlled by either Atlas or the Mantle Freeholds; from there we'll be able to prepare fresh batches of Cyber-Grimm before we go on the offensive….Unless you plan to run away before then?"
"We didn't run we walked" Roux allowed some of the false sweetness to slip from her tone and reveal the danger beneath "And we went looking for the people who burned out houses down and killed people we've known our whole lives….Gonna make something of it?"
A collective bated breath seemed to hang in the air as each of the group of fighters from Pikesreach, almost all of them being entirely incapable of violence until Carmesi had began teaching them waiting for the inevitable violence and bloodshed; yet it never came and instead the burly reptilian simply nodded his head in recognition and let out a low chuckle.
"We're the same in some important ways; I lost my family and let it change me as well….And I'll give you some advice Roux; hold onto that hate and anger, sharpen it and keep it close to your heart, it can be the blade you use to carve out everything that's sick and wrong with Remnant if you let it be" he gave a slow sigh "But Aefen Cruor is dead"
"Then why doesn't it feel like justice?" Roux hissed, unwilling to admit just how much Carmesi's words spoke to her very core even if she suspected that they were pushing her in the exact opposite direction to what he was hoping for.
"Because it never does. Because there is always more to be done" the growled before leaning close and offering a smile full of sharp and jagged teeth as he gestured to the weapon at her hip "But Aefen Cruor is dead and for now Roux that will have to be enough….Because is you want anything else then you're going to need something better than a stun baton to take it"
"Oh I know, don't worry about that" she met his hellish red eyes again and smiled with a brightness that was as fake as her sugary tone whilst around her the people of Pikesreach who had joined Nero all realised in the same instant that a decision had been made and the overall shape that Roux's plans would take.
Gestalt-Prime, or at the very least their physical body was confined within the deepest bowels of the Megalodon.
The Forge itself, the means by which Cyber-Grimm were spawned had been consumed and integrated into the aircraft Grimm; connected to the indescribable and grotesque machinery of its' gaping maw which fed raw materials into the roiling and horrific gullet of the beast whilst Gestalt-Prime themselves was situated in a layer below it, confined to a grisly fusion of crusty, crumbling crystal and stretched and warped flesh filled with fluids which appeared outwardly to be something resembling both a cocoon and an umbilical sac of sorts which was in turn connected to several mechanical components, pipes and cables. The Alpha Cyber-Grimm had been heavily damaged in the battle of Jidhir Town, with their legs and tail being left almost useless after they had been nearly bisected; the most obvious of the countless internal and external injuries and their current confinement within a gruesome living pod and the fact that they were in a fugue state not unlike a medically induced coma being part of a process intended to vastly accelerate their healing and repairs.
Their consciousness however was elsewhere.
It had been some time since Gestalt-Prime had paid any real amount of attention to the few scattered remaining Spawning Pits at their disposal on the island of Menagerie, in truth since they had been reawakened by Damascus Nero and the now dead Albion Herringbone after having their mind cast from a ruined body; the Hybrid Alpha had almost lost themselves entirely within the ravenous mass of psyches and naked animal bloodlust and the creation of the Cyber-Grimm had given them a much more useful and malleable force of minions.
At present however the call of one particular Spawning Pit was unavoidable as the psychic backlash of a crippling assault against it reached them. Investigation revealed it to be one of a few lingering patches of shifting darkness created in the preparation for their assault on Port Alistair over a year ago, too small to be of any real significance on its' own and only ever intended to be part of a supply line for a larger effort; with that lack of threatening mass limiting its' ability to respond to the threat against it. The Pit had been heavily damaged, to the point of almost certain collapse and had produced a single monstrous Creature of Grimm in response, a gargantuan winged thing, a pterosaur which unleashing deafening, trumpeting war-cries which shook the sky and yet were still not enough to keep the threat at bay; Flying enemies ripped and clawed at the wings of Gestalt-Prime's avatar and moved with a worrying sense of coordination as they did so whilst on the ground, the Alpha Cyber-Grimm could see that there was a lone Hunter clad in old and rusted armour wielding an oversized mace to fend off against Grimm whilst more still seemed to wait patiently for something to transpire.
Confirming to Gestalt-Prime that this was no random act of cannibalism and that these Grimm had been sent by Pantheon.
"No!" they hissed within the echoing darkness of their own consciousness, the once deafening cacophony of the Hive-Mind that had threatened to consume them having been largely dulled and replaced by the more efficient and easily controlled, yet distant and detached minds of the Cyber-Grimm. The momentary shock of the realisation provided all of the opening Pantheon's forces needed however and Gestalt-Prime felt the pain of the Pterosaur as smaller and more agile avian Grimm ripped through the membranes of its' wings and began attacking key points of its' overlong neck until finally the winged behemoth was sent crashing down to the ground with an impact which crushed and snapped many of its' light and hollow bones; yet the attack was far from finished it was here that the Creatures of Grimm which had been waiting for some unknown signal sprung into action and began scurrying over the Pterosaur Grimm, Deathstalkers scuttling over the larger beast and stinging it or simply holding limbs in place with massive claws whilst a lone King-Taijitu slithered forward on an inexorable path towards the maw of the larger monster and finally slithering into its' mouth and down its' gullet where it promptly and without apparent cause expired, leaving the larger monster that had been forced to consume it gagging and choking of obsidian mist which seemed reluctant to fade away.
Then Gestalt-Prime was cast from the Pterosaur, whose body they had been using a vessel to observe the scene as their reality, or the psychic plane upon which they currently existed was torn asunder and remade it something new and formless; all whilst a presence settled over the Alpha-Cyber Grimm, heavy, oppressive and filling them with an indescribable dread.
"Usurper" the word, issued from a multitude of voices contained within a single figure announced the arrival of a deeper, all consuming blackness which rolled over the ephemeral void of the Hive-Mind like a thundercloud and from within that darkness a single figure strode; over twice the height of Gestalt-Prime with a living cape which had once been a pair of wings draped around four arms whilst a tail uncoiled behind them, the entire body of the being was made up of midnight black muscle and layers of bone styled to resembled the armour of some ancient warrior, their skull a snarling maw within an armoured helm with horns which grew from it like a crown and six eyes arranged into two inverted triangles which glowed ominously as they glared at Gestalt-Prime who could only snarl and bristle in a futile attempt to appear imposing whilst privately reminding themselves that this was not the physical realm and thus not truly real.
A reality which meant little when confronted directly with the presence in the darkness which had been hunting them.
"You" the Alpha Cyber-Grimm snarled.
"I am Pantheon" the looming figure answered "Rightful ruler of the Grimm, true heir to Salem….I am here to accept your surrender"
"It will not be given!" Gestalt-Prime snarled.
"Then it will be taken" Pantheon answered calmly "You grow too reckless, too eager-"
"We are Grimm, we take and we consume and we grow strong for it!" the answer was accompanied by Gestalt-Prime rearing up to their full height "You are simply too weak to do so; that is why your efforts fail, that is why I-"
"Do not believe that you have seen what I am capable of, upstart" Pantheon cut through the challenge with ease "You know little and that lack of knowledge will bring ruin-"
"TO OUR ENEMIES! I HAVE MADE US STRONG!"
"YOU HAVE MADE SLAVES OF US!" Pantheon bellowed, now visibly enraged and lashing their tail "Slaves and abominations….Merging the Grimm with the works of the humans and even the bodies of the humans themselves-"
"A new age!" Gestalt-Prime roared "We will be more free than you can know! Free from the need for the prey-"
"We cannot be freed from our purpose you foolish whelp!" Pantheon spit furiously "We are destruction! It is a cycle, rot must be cleared for things to grow! If nothing new is made then there is nothing for us! You think yourself clever usurper, you would do us to be a race starving slaves slowly withering away until the humans you ally yourself with dispose of us all!"
"I will not be tricked or contained by the prey-"
"SALEM SAID THE SAME AND SHE FAILED US TWICE!" Pantheon's bellow silenced the younger and less experienced monster, leaving a deafening silence which the Grimm General filled with words which carried a sense of certainty about them "You have gone to far, you will die and your ambitions with you. I will see to it"
"You will do nothing because you can do-" Gestalt-Prime's arrogant retort was silenced as the darkness was split asunder and agony washed over them with the breaking of their mental link to both Pantheon and the beaten Pterosaur Grimm which Pantheon had used as an anchor and tether between them. The lone human Hunter had finally reached the grounded monster and Gestalt-Prime was allowed a brief vision through the eyes of the Pterosaur, enabling to see the moment when Cardin Winchester brought his mace 'Jericho' down on its' skull for a killing blow; unknowingly ending a meeting the two most monstrous minds on Remnant and sending them back to their respective physical bodies.
The cocoon which Gestalt-Prime had been held in split.
Fluids and sludge spilt out onto a grate-covered floor and was quickly drained away whilst warnings and alarms blared out throughout the surrounding area in response to the sentient monster emerging from their restorative chrysalis too early; they were well enough to stand however and so Gestalt-Prime stood, the axe-blades that they had used to rip themselves free retracting back into their body as the Alpha Cyber-Grimm rose up and let out an ear-splitting howl of rage
"PANTHEON!" the name of their enemy was screamed out like a curse and in that moment Gestalt-Prime vowed that they would win the war of the Grimm and that they would devour their enemy alive.
Keeping track of time with any degree of accuracy had proven impossible however Astra was almost entirely certain that night had fallen, or at least that it would have over the island of Menagerie and brought its' freezing and screaming winds with it though whether that was also the case for wherever the Megalodon was currently headed might be another matter for all the Deer Faunus knew. The steep drop in temperature had initially given some credence to the idea that Nero's original plan was still underway yet as the hours had worn on it had become steadily more clear that something was amiss and that wherever the Megalodon was headed it would not be running afoul of the Atlesian fleets' response force that had been positioned to intercept the vessel by Winter Schnee.
It meant that Team MARS were less likely to be unwitting casualties when the Grimm-ship was blown out of the sky but it left Astra with questions nonetheless.
As they pondered those questions the Deer Faunus glared up at the red-hued overhead lights which they continued to believe without any real evidence held camera, microphones or any number of other ways for their captors to watch them discreetly and as they squinted directly into the light Astra took a moment to mouth a particularly creative slew of insults for the benefit of whoever might be watching before turning their attention to the living cage in which they and their friends were trapped, the prison of bone and scales remaining unbreachable with the current limitations imposed by Aura dampening collars the four of them wore and then to the rest of Team MARS themselves.
A further show of just how much time had passed was the fact that Regalia had drifted off to sleep and managed to leave Astra's right arm numb as the Racoon Faunus wrapped herself around the limb and also partly around their partners' lap and torso for both warmth and comfort, with Astra's free hand stroking idly at her bushy tail. On closer inspection Astra realised that Stygian was also asleep, the Mouse Faunus had slipped out of his oversized coat and the harness for his confiscated sword so that he could fold the garment and use it as a pillow; he had spent some time simply staring at the ceiling lost in his own thoughts but now his electric blue eyes had closed and his breathing kept a steady rhythm. Close by however the faint scrape of metal being dragged over the rough scales of the living floor alerted Astra to the fact that Athena-Jade was still awake, turning towards her as much as Regalia's weight would allow they saw that the sound had been caused by the Bear Faunus's stand filled with bags of fluids which had been changed a short while ago shifting as she tried to find a comfortable position to lay herself in.
"Hey….You okay?" Astra whispered, careful not to wake their sleeping friends; certain that whatever plan they eventually managed to concoct would be easier to employ if at least some of the team were well rested and fighting fit.
"Yeah" Athena answered, the response at odds with her faint wince "Just can't really get comfortable….Rich girl problems considering I stabbed right?"
"Probably" Astra managed to nod in the general direction Stygian "See if Stitch will lend you his coat, the extra padding might help"
"Nah I'll be fine….I don't really wanna talk to him right now" Athena's brow furrowed as she followed Astra's gaze and gave her partner a harsh glare which softened as she let out a sigh "Besides I don't wanna wake him up any-"
The sensation of lights flashing into life along the length of the corridor which contained the cell threatened to make the matter moot, especially when considering the hissed curses Astra let out at the sudden and blinding change yet somehow neither Regalia nor Stygian were woken up by the noise; meaning that with Athena as injured as she was the matter of defending Team MARS would initially fall to Astra who was in the midst of deciding whether they should spring to their feet and wake the others whilst blinking away spots from their vision when source of the sudden lighting became apparent.
A single lumbering figure, their oversized and lumpen mass revealed to not be some twisted and misshapen half-Grimm abomination like Astra had feared for a single fleeting moment and instead simply one person carrying an amount of blankets and pillows that should reasonably have been carried by several people.
"We meet again" Roux announced in saccharine tone as she drew close to the bone-forged bars of the cage, the playful and disarming demeanour suggesting to Astra that she too believed that the cell was being monitored "Apologies for the delay in getting these to you, there was a slight change to our flight path and we'll now be arriving in Atlesian airspace later than anticipated"
"You know it's not a cruise liner right?" Astra joked, aware of Athena making herself as ready as possible behind them whilst also ensuring that they kept their tone light and sold the illusion of simple rapport that Roux was aiming for.
"What the hell's a cruise liner?" the tattooed woman asked, leaving Astra fumbling for words for a moment as they quickly realised that in her immensely sheltered life Roux had likely never encountered anything that would even give her a frame of reference.
"It's a….Y'know what never mind" Athena mumbled tiredly, watching Roux slip pillows and blankets through the bars of the cell before speaking again with some hope "So I take it you spoke to-"
Roux cut her off with a shushing sound before throwing a blanket overhead and allowing it unfold, giving her a few moments where she could at least theoretically speak with some degree of privacy.
"I spoke to Shadowmoon. Your story checks out" Roux's expression darkened "She know where your gear and everything else you need to get out of here is….My people are gonna help you get out of here and we're coming with you. This isn't what we were promised"
"Thank you" It was Athena-Jade who breathed the words out, the weight being lifted from her chest almost audibly whilst Astra nodded in silent agreement; sea green eyes already narrowing with focus as the Deer Faunus began deciding how best to use the assets now at their disposal and what information they would still need in order to make an effective plan whilst Athena's first instinct was a more visceral relief and a simple happiness which came with a sense of vindication and hope.
Zirconia was helping them and the five of them would escape the Megalodon together.
Author's Notes:
And now we're into the second half of Volume 8….of 10.
I'm actually writing this before I've even posted the finale of Vol.07, so I'm definitely making some progress.
I said I was gonna spend a week planning the second half of this volume….I then planned Chapter 135 up to 142 by Tuesday and then wrote this chapter Wednesday-Friday.
The next couple weeks my writing might slow down to a steady pace of one chapter per week while my schedule's hectic but honestly it's fine.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
That seemed like a pretty reasonable place for everyone to be at mentally.
"Your grand plan is asking 'Are we there yet?'"….It was funny and you know it, but yeah it's now probably late afternoon/evening-ish outside and Team MARS have not really stopped since that morning when they left to track Noir and her people from Gruner-Hugel to Jidhir Town.
Athena's point about not fighting him over open water makes sense, in fact if you've read the Art of War by Sun Tzu there's actually a point where he describes the advantages of putting your own soldiers in a position where the only choices are fight or die.
Meet the prison warden….One of the people from Pikesreach who walked away from the fight, because realistically where were they actually going to run to?
Of course Stitch knows her and considering the treatment he and his mother got at Pikesreach I don't blame him for not liking Roux.
So that's why the people who abandoned Carmesi aren't dead, Nero told him to be reasonable or at least practical about it.
Yeah was trying so hard to sound tough until Regalia pointed out "Your people are being deliberately kept away from everything and sheltered".
So, it's kind of obvious just from this first meeting but Roux and her people are characters that mainly exist to get from point A) to B) in the narrative, so don't get too attached.
And yet we seem to be flying in the wrong direction...Carmesi is an underrated master of comedic timing.
"I was working on the assumption that you're not an idiot" I've used this line at work, always gets a fun reaction.
Carmesi's thoughts on Zirconia were an interesting one, given how much he's done for both of them.
Nero is once again a clever villain who recognises enemy plans and works around them, but also a villain with standards who will spare a wounded enemy yes because they make a good prisoner, but also because he doesn't want a nineteen year old to bleed out on the floor of somewhere that's being overrun by Grimm.
I would have thought that you of all people would have been able to appreciate their need to find answers and the truth….Is Nero wrong though?
Okay so I'm just making sure that Carmesi, Nero and Prime are all on the same page regarding Pantheon and the idea to use Gestalt-Prime as a means of taking control of most of the Grimm.
But Gestalt-Prime won't be keeping control of the Grimm, because that's what Nero is currently working on at the moment….Getting it yet.
It really is the smallest things that can get you on a depressive cycle, especially where grief is concerned and that's what Zirconia is dealing with every time she remembers "Oh, that t-shirt or book or whatever else was in a home that I will never see again"….Then add angst like "I never got to bring her home" as well.
Hops has definitely learned from Astra, she's trying to plan on the fly like they do but they just don't quite have the same dramatic flair and also, if we're being fully honest the same willpower.
Two guards outside the door, because of course.
Roux has mastered the art of getting the message across without saying anything directly.
And boom, there it is; with that one passed note and Zirconia's answer to it we now have the means for Zirconia and her old team to coordinate.
Less than half a day, but still probably night at this point….I'm keeping track because the back half of this volume is gonna be over a short period of time.
So naturally Pantheon's main goal now is find Gestalt-Prime and the Megalodon but since it's a stealth ship just putting Grimm in the air isn't gonna be enough...Which means they need a new plan and it's about time we got a face to face between the villains.
So Pantheon has managed to find one of Gestalt-Prime's old, largely forgotten Spawning Pits on Menagerie and is now in the process of tampering with it, whilst also fending of a Hunter.
Okay so this is a Grimm design that's a throwaway because it's cool but I didn't really have a place for it anywhere else….Basically I realised I've never made true Pterosaur Grimm and that the actual species Quetzalcoatlus Northropi was about sixteen feet tall anyway.
I had to think about the layout of this luxury airship that's been given the Warhammer 40k treatment and figure out where the troops would actually be staying and I liked the idea of most of them just making barracks for themselves wherever they could since they don't know how long they're gonna be airborne.
Also the different sub-factions….Because evil always eats itself.
So, she just read Zirconia's reply and it confirmed everything that she'd been told.
Oh it's gonna be fun to see interactions between the Pikesreach people and any of Aefen's who are left now.
The thing about Grimm on their tail is the closest to the truth about Pantheon that Carmesi is giving the rank and file at the moment.
Carmesi and Roux's interaction was fun, 'cos funnily enough she's probably only a few years younger than Carmesi at most and I just the immediate impression that if circumstances were different between them then these two would absolutely be all over each other, but alas.
And the whole time he thought he was giving her advice he was really just psyching her up to get even.
So Gestalt-Prime is currently stored in something that's like a mix of a Bacta tank and HR. Geiger's version of an acne removal video.
I like the idea that the real reason Gestalt-Prime's spawning pits have been forgotten about is a mixture of a) how little use they really are compared to the Cyber-Grimm and b) that Gestalt-Prime is actually reluctant to venture back into the Hive-Mind after they were legitimately nearly consumed by it before.
But right now they're looking through the eyes of the big Pterosaur Grimm while it's being attacked.
My apologies if you were eating anything whilst reading the part with the King-Taijitu reverse voring itself.
And now we have our meeting between the two Grimm and the thing is, they were always going to end up just talking passed each other; just by the virtue of being what they are they can't actually allow themselves to understand each others' perspectives.
But ultimately Pantheon's point is the valid one in this case: The Grimm are a representation of death and destruction which allows an opportunity for continued growth, to escape their purpose is to ultimately make things worse.
Enjoy the most random of cameos lol, but yeah Cardin is the last member of Team CRDL still alive and he's been wandering the wastes of Menagerie for years at this point.
Of course Astra cussed out the cameras they think are there.
AJ's shift in tone when talking about Stitch from I don't wanna talk to him to I don't wanna wake him up.
Astra thought someone carrying blankets was one of the Grimm-Zombies….Oh yeah, there's that premium PTSD.
Roux's little air hostess routine was another example of her giving information over whilst not making it too obvious….Although the "What's a cruise liner" followed by Athena naturally being about to explain it was a fun counterpoint.
Okay, now we're cooking.
Thank you to Neil12 and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
Oh get the pirate flags, there's plenty more jolly rodgering to be done.
Okay so the heads of all of the acadamies were shown in Downward Spiral but this was way before they were actually shown in canon; so the head of Haven was an old friend of Team STRQ's but he was killed by Tyrian's duaghter/the Summer Maiden, his replacement isn't really an inner member of the cabal but still gets important updates, more as a courtesy (It can be a more loyal Lionheart in your head if you want it doesn't really matter) as for Shade, that's still being run by "Rae Straw" the Scarecrow of the bunch which I turned on its' head by having the 'Brainless' Wizard of Oz character having the largest library and repository of ancient knowledge on Remnant...She's trusted and a part of the cabal but can never really be an active part just due to how much work it takes to keep Vaccuo safe; her Kingdom is effectively always under seige.
Nero was never gonna kill Zirconia, he could never bring himself to do it.
I think Nero has always had good intentions, but has always been willing to do horrible things in service of those intentions however that's become more pronounced over time; think back to First Year before he'd met Gestalt-Prime and how insistent he was about there being no civilian casualties.
I think you need to remember that Stygian stabbing AJ was an accident; he was trying to hit Zirconia and Athena ended up in the way.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.