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Chapter 136: Plotting and Scheming
Upon learning that Gestalt-Prime had prematurely extricated themselves from the grotesque and unsettling fluid-filled cocoon in the depths of the Megalodon within which they had been recovering Damascus Nero had summoned the Alpha Cyber-Grimm to them.
Rather than the command bridge of the Megalodon where there were a plethora of ongoing tasks to be completed or the former chairman's personal office which Nero seemed unwilling to allow the hybrid Alpha entry to Gestalt-Prime had instead found themselves within a spartan and pristine meeting room of sorts, one initially intended for the business needs of those wealthy enough to own a private airship and which had been transformed only minimally by the creation of the airship-Grimm; Gestalt-Prime found themselves bristling somewhat as they stalked into the room whose low ceiling felt too close and whose lights were too bright, every faint breath from Nero, Carmesi or the small collection of assorted underlings sounding horrendously loud to raw senses which were still in the process of recalibrating, to say nothing of the faint whine of electronics in the space which consisted of a long table surrounded by small and frail-looking chairs all directed towards a screen and projector at the furthest wall.
"Ah, I'm glad you could join us. Your presence will be appreciated in out coming operation" Nero greeted, forcing a brightness into the tone he had used for formal and business needs for several years despite being clearly exhausted; though his quartz-coloured eyes held a flicker of suspicion as he added "As unexpected as it is"
"A smaller Spawning Pit, one intended to act as a supply line for a previous operation was attacked and destroyed….By other Grimm, the backlash prompted my return" the words came easily to Gestalt-Prime, whose knowledge of strategy and the terminology involved was vast and yet sounded odd being uttered by the monster whose height seemed too small for the room and massively out of place; the reference to other Grimm was enough to cause a subtle shifting in the stance and expression of both Carmesi and Nero whilst their minions remained nonplussed, displaying to Gestalt-Prime who was ignorant of the realities of the coming war and who was not.
"I see" Nero nodded, studying Gestalt-Prime for a moment as though they believed they could sense any treachery in the monsters' inhuman features or the truth of any details that were being held back but ultimately deciding that it would be a matter best discussed later. For their part Gestalt-Prime felt nauseous and oddly hollowed out whilst their entire exterior was a buzzing, electric mess of raw nerves; newly remade flesh wet and slick with a sludgy film and metallic components lacking some of there former sturdiness which a cursor use of the visor which slid over their singular eye informed them was a result of their incomplete restoration, one which would correct itself over time as their strength returned more fully.
"Regardless, we have a mission to discuss" Carmesi interjected, leaning back in a chair seemed as laughably small and unsuitable for his powerful frame as it would be for Gestalt-Prime themselves.
"We do" Nero nodded, taking a wooden ruler and gesturing towards the screen at the furthest end of the room, upon which a map of of the continent of of Solitas was projected, with the territories belonging to the Kingdom of Atlas and the various Mantle Freeholds being outlined and various other points of interest indicated; a change which caused the various underlings who had thus far remained silent to show signs of life and lean forward with some enthusiasm.
"Our initial plan was to approach Atlas by the most direct route from Menagerie, which would see us arrive here" Nero tapped at a point on the map "However, we will be redirecting our approach-"
"Why?" Gestalt-Prime demanded, the intrusion of Pantheon into their psyche having left them rattled and the brief conversation they had entertained with the older sentient horror before the vessel serving as a bridge between them had been broken continuing to linger in their mind; it was no secret to either Nero or Gestalt-Prime that each of them had plans of their own and would seek to betray the other eventually and this change of plans so soon after the Megalodon had been completed was enough to cause suspicion.
"It seems that the Atlesians were informed of our arrival in advance" Nero admitted, barely holding back a yawn but rubbing at eyes that were bleary after nearly two days without sleep with his gloved mechanical hand before tapping at the map once again "In addition to relocating the Aura Transfer Machine we need their fleet is likely positioned here, here and here….As such we have skirted through unclaimed airspace and will be approaching the continent here"
"And entering neutral territory" Carmesi rumbled as he studied the map with an intent look on his features "Closer to Freehold territory, are we recruiting?"
"Not just yet, but undoubtedly at some point in the future….At present we can't afford the risks, it would only take one person to inform the authorities and we would be lost" Nero shook his head before returning from the small distraction to his preprepared explanations "I've found reports of a Spawning Pit in this area that has been left unchallenged for the time being….Officially this is land that was ceded to the Mantle Freeholds when they broke from Atlas, realistically however it's too far from any settlements and there's nothing to be gained in a stretch of tundra which serves as a buffer zone more than anything else"
"So we're entering the Kingdom through an unwatched back door that isn't in anybodies' airspace officially and then taking over a Spawning Pit for raw materials?" Carmesi summarised
"Precisely. Though I think it would still be in our best interests to throw a diversionary force at the enemy, something to keep them guessing" Nero mused "As for the Spawning Pit. It, along with the advantages of a stealthy airship and the leverage we have in Team MARS gives us a chance to negotiate with the Atlesians under much more favourable terms….If the Freeholds choose to side with us in the process then all the better. Our primary concern at the moment however is taking that Spawning Pit, Carmesi see to it that our forces are ready-"
"We should have enough Cyber-Grimm left and we've got the people" the Komodo Dragon Faunus grunted "But I'm not taking the Pikesreach people, I can't be sure that one of them won't try something stupid even after our talk….Better to see if any of them waver first"
"I leave that to your discretion" Nero answered simply before turning his focus to Gestalt-Prime "I trust that despite being woken up early you're still capable of assisting us if the situation calls for it?"
Gestalt-Prime found themselves hesitating for a moment, the part of their mind which was a product of merging with multiple pieces of military equipment providing them with streams of data, percentages and likely outcomes as they considered the various potential results of attacking a Spawning-Pit only for said shifting abyss to be under the sway of Pantheon themselves only for the more hateful, base part of their mind to win out, the memory of the Grimm General using their monstrous minions to tear their works asunder and intrude upon Gestalt-Prime's very mind causing the Alpha Cyber-Grimm to let out a snarl which sounded like grating machinery as they answered.
"With pleasure human"
Roux was, much like any other native of Pikesreach who had been forced to endure and subvert such an oppressive system in what ever ways she could, very adept at finding ways and reasons to disguise every act of subterfuge as something innocuous which was a fact that Astra, along with the rest of Team MARS were coming to understand quickly only knowing her for a matter of hours with the exception of Stygian; though the Mouse Faunus had offered his own misgivings and opinions of his former neighbour by stating that whilst she might be the enemy of their enemy Roux was by no means their friend.
She and her accomplices were some of the very few allies Team MARS had to call upon however and that simple reality took precedence over hurt feelings and personal history.
Roux and several of her people had returned several hours after the apparent leader and spokesperson of the Pikesreach faction had last visited the imprisoned Hunters, revealing to Team MARS that it was now the early hours of the day after the ill-fated attack on Jidhir Town.
Astra had watched as their new allies had made themselves busy, summoning up shelves and rows of racking that had been present before the bone cage that imprisoned them through some unseen control system in order to create a warehouse of sorts which the group dutifully set about stocking with all manner of goods and tools, letting out a few offhand comments as they did so about how they had been the ones to organise much of what had been brought aboard the Megalodon following their flight which the Deer Faunus could tell were intended to be overheard before finally Roux had dropped all pretence; using the cover of having a valid reason to in the bowels of the Grimm-ship and the fact that many of its' most suspicious and dangerous occupants, including Carmesi Hueso and Damascus Nero himself were currently either in meetings, preparing in other ways or else simply asleep as an opportunity to speak directly with Team MARS and tell them what she had learned.
"So that's the plan" she finished spreading her hands wide and regarding the team through the cage of bone "They wanna hit a Spawning Pit and use it to make more Cyber-Grimm….I think that whatever you wanna do, that's gonna be your best chance to do it"
The reality of the situation seemed to strike Team MARS like a physical blow, leaving the four of them stunned into silence for a few moments as each of them contemplated that the possibility of escape would soon be upon them, though the risks would be amongst the greatest that they had ever faced. It took Astra only a moment to begin processing the information and viewing it from various angles and perspectives, options and possibilities beginning to present themselves until Regalia reached over and gently waggled their head by gripping one of their antlers.
"You've got a plan?" she asked softly, the Racoon Faunus evidently relieved that her partners' sharp mind was still capable of providing an answer whilst her Semblance was denied to her by the collar around her neck which she was steadily coming to hate.
"I think it's a good idea" Astra murmured slowly, thoughts still taking shape as they were uttered and sea-green eyes fixing on Roux "But I think our best bet, the play that gets as many of your people out of this alive is for us to wait-"
"What?"
"Not for long….Just until the Spawning Pit is finished and Nero thinks he's in the clear"
"You wanna hit him while his guard's down" Athena-Jade noted with an approving nod as she limped and shuffled into place beside them, Stygian following her and staying close enough to give her any help she might need in a display which the Bear Faunus now seemed willing to allow.
"Makes more sense than hitting while his guard's up" Astra shrugged before explaining more properly "I don't think any of you guys have seen what happens when someone attacks a Spawning Pit?"
"No" Roux admitted, a faint scowl on her face as she was forced to concede the point.
"It's gonna be hell down there; even if we managed to do everything we needed to and get out there we'd still be dealing with Grimm and Cyber-Grimm at the same time" Astra waited until comprehension had dawned on Roux's features before adding "We should wait….Let Nero's people take the Grimm out of the equation and hopefully lose some Cyber-Grimm, but then hit them before they can properly recover"
"That's not gonna give us much time to work" Roux admitted, the worry in her dark eyes plain to see "They're gonna wanna start making more Cyber-Grimm the moment they get the chance"
"Can you do it?" it was Stygian who spoke up and the sound of her former neighbours' apparent concern was enough to draw a distasteful scoff from Roux who merely sneered.
"Don't worry yourself. We'll get it done"
"Good" Astra interjected, choosing to keep their fellow conspirators focused before they could give into the urge to begin squabbling and airing their grievances "That's a distraction sorted and we know where the quickest routes out of the Megalodon are; that's a start-"
"We'll have to clear paths for each other as much as we can" Athena-Jade chimed in, brow furrowed as she tried to force herself to contribute meaningfully despite the medication taking its' toll on her "Which means we need our weapons and a way to get these collars off"
"We tried to get your weapons in here but it was a no go, didn't wanna try and force the issue and start having questions asked" Roux noted, gesturing over her shoulder to the warehouse that was being stocked "But since it's my people handling stores, because Carmesi doesn't want us fighting with him I've got the layout and locations of all of the stores….Including where your weapons are"
"That's great work, really" Astra beamed "Can you get a copy to Zirconia as well?"
"It's on my to do list" Roux answered without missing a beat "She says she knows how to get those necklaces you're all wearing off as well"
"So that's the plan then" Astra nodded, taking a slow breath to steady themselves "As soon as you get an opportunity after Nero thinks his plan is working you create a distraction, that gives Zirconia a chance to get our collars off. We make our way towards wherever our weapons are being stored, rendezvous with Zirconia there and then clear a path towards an empty Cyber-Grimm launch bay, where you'll be meeting us"
"Which is all well and good" Roux rolled her eyes, seemingly unable to stop herself from regarding student Hunters with some degree of contempt "But what do we do when we get off?"
"Worry about that part after" Astra answered, pushing passed what they knew to be an unsatisfactory answer "Are you sure you're ready for this-"
"Don't worry about what we're ready for" Roux spat, taking a moment to rein in her temper as she realised that this was not just another instance of a Hunter lording their power over her and condescending to those weaker than themselves "We'll get the job done….Just don't ask me how we're gonna cause a distraction"
"Okay, I won't" Astra replied with no small amount of uncertainty, though they forced their concerns aside and turned to their team-mates "What about you guys, you ready for this?"
"I've been ready to get out of here since AJ was patched up" Stygian answered, the ghost of his usual cockiness finding its' way into his voice whilst beside him Athena herself managed to make herself look defiant and confident to some extent.
"If we can get our Scrolls I might be able to get us some help, depending on exactly where in Atlas we are….Aunt Winter must know what's happened to us by now"
"I hope so" Astra admitted, allowing themselves to feel and appreciate their fears and uncertainties for only a moment before turning to their partner and girlfriend "Regalia?"
"I'm with you, to infinity and beyond. You know that" the Racoon Faunus answered and Astra found themselves relaxing by the smallest fraction, taking heart in the few certainties they could rely on until a sneering, irritable comment from Roux ruined the moment.
The sky above the icy Kingdom of Atlas was still dark, the broken moon and stars that were visible in the pre-dawn gloom providing only a paltry light though what little illumination was available gleamed and refracted from the pristine and gleaming hulls of several Atlesian warships and refracted against the warping and distorting effect of their shielding which cycled through various states of readiness as the vessels lay in wait.
From the command bridge of a warship that was not her own personal vessel, the flagship of the Atlesian fleet but instead something smaller and more nimble whilst remaining heavily armed and defended along with having the advantage of being less immediately eye-catching and recognisable General Winter Schnee surveyed her gathered forces. The response team she had managed to organise with a speed and efficiency which was a credit to each of its' members consisted of ten capital ships of a model and pattern which could, reasonably be considered part of a border patrol force whilst also having the capabilities to withstand whatever monstrous vessel Damascus Nero arrived with; the ships being arranged in a wide and loose formation and keeping regular contact with one another whilst regularly deploying fighter aircraft into the spaces between them, all whilst being supported by automated airborne drones of the latest model.
And yet as she stared out at the darkness before her General Schnee was worried.
"Something's wrong" she stated flatly, striding out from the place she had taken behind the seat of the captain she had not wanted to displace, a show of respect to them aboard their own vessel. The sound of her metallic cybernetic leg against the floor rose only faintly above the ambient sounds of the bridges' operations and yet seemed to subtly add to the tension which had been steadily building with each moment where Damascus Nero was not currently in her grasp or being actively forced to defend himself from the justice Winter was so eager to inflict.
He should have been here by now.
"Orders ma'am?" the rightful captain of the ship asked, caution and hesitance tempered by a professionalism and composure borne of years of duty and experience. Winter took a moment to consider the facts before answering; her niece and the rest of Team MARS were to the best of anyone's knowledge Nero's prisoners and had been since the afternoon of the previous day and the former chairman, along with his allies had left the island of Menagerie at presumably the same time on a direct flight to Atlas. That there was no sign of the enemy yet forced the General to consider the possibility that she had been outflanked or outplayed or, a far worse option which made the stoic woman's stomach clench and chilled her to her core; that Athena-Jade and her friends had been compelled, through means she did not wish to consider to give up information regarding the plan to intercept Nero. A small sliver of hope presented itself in the simple, unshakeable fact that she knew what her enemy wanted and that it was indeed in her possession even if it was not in the place that she had allowed Nero to believe it would be, which meant that sooner or later the mad genius would have to show his hand.
"Can the range or sensitivity of scans be increased?" she answered finally.
"They're already at maximum ma'am" the answer drew a small scowl from Winter, whose eyes never left the viewscreen which displayed the sky ahead whilst also being overlaid with several readings and details of the various ships within the force "You think the enemy is waiting outside of sensor range?"
"I think we're facing off against a very intelligent and capable enemy" Winter answered in clipped tones, giving any kind of credit to a man she had grown to hate so deeply grating on her nerves "Things are not proceeding as expected, I think it would be reasonable to assume that our enemy is planning something….The idea of him waiting just outside of range in a cloaked ship to hit us or follow us the moment we break formation is one worth considering"
"Agreed" the official captain nodded, rubbing their chin thoughtfully before adding "We can send fighters out with tracer dust and haze the area….It would mean giving up the element of surprise, but if we're working on the assumption that we don't have it anyway-"
"Agreed" Winter nodded curtly, the tracer dust in question being little more than a series of high-powered smoke bombs whose discharge would coat a wide area and which were filled with faint amounts of Magnetic Dust, adhesive compounds and more importantly a highly visible and reactive dye; the overall effect being that any vessel caught by the detonations would find themselves unable to hide as even whilst cloaked the dust would simply cling to their hulls and betray their position. It was a simple tactic and one made popular in older wars where technology was not so advanced but, if Winter's suspicions were correct it would serve its' purpose.
Yet before she could give the order a faint rocking motion shook the ship and caused alarms to blare out throughout the command bridge.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" she demanded, composure breaking for a moment as she realised that there was only one possible answer.
"Enemy contact!" a voice called out.
"Multiple contacts! They're coming from below and spreading out!"
"He has more than one ship?" Winter demanded
"Negative ma'am!" the answer gave her pause "Too small, multiple sizes and patterns but it looks like individual Cyber-Grimm!"
"Our fighters are requesting assistance ma'am, the Cyber-Grimm are picking them off!"
"Ma'am whoever's flying those things is smart, they're positioning them so that every shot we miss hit a friendly ship. We need-" the report from the gunner was silenced as another impact sent a tremor through the ship.
"They have heavy weapons on the ground!" upon hearing that General Winter Schnee nodded silently before turning on her heel and marching towards the nearest exit from the command bridge; a course of action already forming in her mind and an expression of resolute certainty settling across her features.
"Captain, you have the bridge"
"Yes ma'am….But where are you going"
"Nero isn't here. The people shooting at us from the ground are covering the operators for the Cyber-Grimm; if he was here they would be safely aboard his ship, there's no reward to them exposing themselves like this unless the entire attack is a distraction" Winter explained, eyes seeming to shine with a controlled ferocity which spilled into her voice as she strode forth, a final parting remark being given over her shoulder as she unsheathed her sword.
"I'm going to handle this personally captain".
Zirconia had tried to rest but, understanding the seriousness and the risk of her situation and the path ahead of her had simply found herself unable to and had instead accepted the futility of searching for sleep. Accepting that remaining awake was a foregone conclusion did however allow the Grasshopper more time to plan out what needed to be done in more detail and break the operation down into a series of smaller increments and manageable tasks, whilst at the same time giving her an opportunity to make her peace with the fact that if everything went accordingly she would likely never see Damascus Nero, the man who had raised her since the loss of her parents again.
It was a fact that had brought her to tears more than once already and Zirconia had found herself glad of the solitude of her isolation and imprisonment.
As much of an illusion as it might be.
She knew well enough that a pair of guards, possibly the same pair as before were still stationed outside of her door, this much had been proven during the latest visit from one of what Zirconia could only assume was Roux's accomplices and she had no reason at all to think that Damascus's instructions had changed or that her jailers had suddenly become lax in their efforts to follow them. The brief visit from the tattooed former denizen of Pikesreach had been useful and informative for other reasons however, even if the two of them had been unable to speak directly; under the guise of returning Zirconia's armour and outer layer of clothing to her with Athena's blood scrubbed and cleaned from it further notes had been passed, hidden in the pockets of clothing and between moving plates of armour so that they could given directly under the watchful eye of guards who were none the wiser. The notes had been torn and separated scraps of a single message which, in its' various parts would give nothing away at a passing glance but once arranged properly had detailed the plan and Zirconia's role within it; though the specifics of how she would implement the knowledge at her disposal and play her role effectively had been left for her to decide.
Fighting the urge to mutter under her breath, suddenly more suspicious than ever that her every movement might be watched and recorded even in the privacy of her own quarters the rogue Huntress rubbed at the scars marring the left side of her face and forced herself to focus by starting at the end point and working her way backwards.
Her ultimate goal was to make her way to a hangar and launch bay for Cyber-Grimm that had already been determined to be unused, where she would rendezvous with her team-mates and Roux's group of disaffected rebels; from there they would abandon the Megalodon and hopefully escape into Atlesian territory.
Before she could do that however she would need to acquire the weapons, scrolls and other equipment which had been confiscated from herself and Team MARS. This particular task had been made far more simple by Roux and her allies', whose message had included a roughly drawn and annotated but thankfully updated map of the Megalodon's layout which displayed the various changes which had been made to the Grimm-ships' layout and overall size and shape, including which of the storage areas the things she needed would be stowed in. Zirconia was doubtful that the weapons would be left unlocked and unsecured, a basic safety measure which any of Nero's followers would be sure to take and one which could not be deliberately ignored without the risk of raising suspicions; the Grasshopper Faunus was certain that she was up to the task of either picking or simply breaking whatever locks might bar her way though she could not help but wince at the thought of the valuable time that might be wasted in doing so.
She would, no matter what distractions Roux and her accomplices promised to create, be fighting her way through a cramped and labyrinthine battlefield where every moment was critical, a single mistake could be fatal and she would, until she could rejoin her team-mates be completely alone amidst a sea of monsters and people who wished to kill her; a prospect which Zirconia was unashamed to admit left her afraid.
Though it was not so daunting that she wavered in her commitment to do what she felt was right and needed.
With that in mind she considered further, accepting that any attempt at all at retrieving the weapons would be doomed to failure if she was wearing an Aura dampening collar; any stray shot or powerful blow from a Cyber-Grimm or opponent who was not similarly constrained would be enough to end her and with her any chance of escape that her former friends might have.
Zirconia realised that if she were to perish again before she could reach them that Astra, Athena-Jade and Regalia would think she had betrayed them once again and that unconscionable thought was enough to steel her nerves; leaving her mismatched eyes hard and narrowed as she considered what she would have to do.
The master controls for all of the Aura collars could be accessed through Damascus's personal computer, she was sure of it. Breaking into her father figures' personal quarters and gaining access to the computer would be a simple enough task unless Nero had decided to fortify his living space considerably in the last twelve hours or so; Zirconia knew every password that the former chairman might use and if he had changed any of them she was confident that she could guess what it had been changed to before any security measures or alerts were sent.
It was this thought however which brought a fresh well of tears to her eyes and Zirconia found herself biting down on her own hand before her bawling could alert the guards outside; she highly doubted that they would enter her space but she could not afford the risk. Trembling, ragged but forcibly silenced sobs wracked her body for a few moments before the rogue forced herself to take several watery, shuddering breaths and mentally push herself onwards.
She was running away from home and the fact that the Megalodon had never truly been her home in a physical sense did nothing to change the sad reality that she was, once again going to abandon people she knew and loved in the pursuit of what she hoped would be the greater good and a better future for Remnant. Her grief was only compounded by fresh fears as she realised that even if she were to somehow survive the coming breakout, even if she and Team MARS vanished into the snow and Athena-Jade's new partner did not simply make another, more successful attempt on her life that she was almost certainly damned regardless. The people most likely to come to Athena-Jade Slate's aide were the Atlas military and Zirconia was under no illusions about what her fate would be at their hands; there was almost no future she could envision where they did not execute her on sight, treating her as the enemy combatant she rightly was or else take her into custody and question her before throwing her into the most secure prison at their disposal where she would live out the rest of her days, likely keeping herself sane with a naive belief that maybe one day Athena-Jade might visit her if only to tell her the final outcome of their efforts.
Zirconia realised that there would likely be no happy ending for her, yet with shaking hands and a lump in her throat that could not be swallowed anyway she forced herself to accept that it did not matter.
Though despite this acceptance the Grasshopper Faunus found herself searching for paper and a pen as she resolved to at least leave a note for Damascus, he was the closest thing she had to a family and was her father in every way that mattered; no matter how far their beliefs had veered apart she still loved the man and wanted him to have no doubt of that fact in his mind regardless of anything else that happened. Her efforts were halted however by the sound of movement outside of her door which left Zirconia frozen in place with hear heart hammering against her chest for several, lingering moments until it became clear that the sound had simply been the awkward and uncomfortable shuffling of guards who were, despite their loyalties still human enough to have some sympathies for the crying young woman they were guarding.
Closing her mismatched and still teary eyes Zirconia realised that the first step of her plan would have to involve getting out of her makeshift prison and disabling those two guards.
General Winter Schnee entered the battle in the pre-dawn sky as a raging force of nature, screaming out of a hangar built into the flank of her warship whilst riding upon the back of a glowing, summoned Manticore Grimm with her sword held high and laying waste to every enemy within her reach; striking them like a comet with an icy blue glow.
The Cyber-Grimm assaulting her strike force from below and weaving their way into the spaces between airships in order to harry fighters and drones were an eclectic bunch composed primarily of the standard variety of the monstrous amalgams of flesh and metal and upon fighting them for the first time Winter could freely admit that they were dangerous and frankly frightful foes even to someone as experienced as herself; each of them perfectly balancing the relentless fury of the Creatures of Grimm, high quality weapons and armour which easily rivalled that of the fighter craft trying their best to tear them from the sky and the skill and ingenuity of human controllers working together with a unified strategy. They were still felled however, Winter and her summoned mount acting as one as they soared and swooped through the air to sever limbs, dismantle weapons and propulsion systems, blind or simply distract her adversaries for long enough for them to destroyed by air to air missiles; it was in doing so however that Winter saw two distinct varieties amongst the swarm of attacking Cyber-Grimm.
Firstly there creatures which seemed to be nothing more than a variant of the standard model that had been outfitted with ariel combat in mind, slightly smaller and more lightly armed and featuring wider wings which more resembled those of a moth in addition to a more pronounced and complicated array of sensory antennae atop their hollowed skulls and she watched them the General noticed that they were acting much as a moth would as well, tracking down sources of heat and light; which in the midst of ariel combat saw them intercepting incoming missiles and laser beams meant for their brethren before retaliating by streaking after the propulsion systems of enemy fighters.
The second non-standard variety of Cyber-Grimm were a trio of Shrouds; the very same nightmarish things which had blinded Nora and almost killed Qrow.
Winter decided in the same moment she saw them the Shrouds would be exterminated with extreme prejudice.
"All fighters and drone operators be advised, the Cyber-Grimm with the larger wings are serving escorts for the rest; target them first or coordinate countermeasures as you see fit" she spoke into a comm whilst assured by the quality of Atlesian engineering that her orders would be heard even despite the howling wind and the sounds of battle "Leave the Shrouds to me"
With that she was on the move.
After so many years of experience Winter could ensure that her glyphs would appear in exactly the place she wanted them to, even at a greater distance and whilst the area in question was filled with movement and it was that skill which allowed her to make short work of the first of the three Shrouds in the air around her; pointing her blade at it and manifesting a series of Gravity Dust filled glyphs. The first unnatural obstruction appeared directly ahead of the Cyber-Grimm's weapons as they fired and sent a spray of ricocheting round back into its' armoured hull which distracted it for long enough for a second glyph to appear and clip its' right wing mid-flight and sent the thing hissing and shrieking through the air, flailing and thrashing as it went only for every attempt to right itself was impeded by another glyph appearing from nowhere; each of them slamming into the monster and leaving it reeling whilst steadily corralling it into a suitable position for Winter to launch a more direct attack.
Once the Grimm was finally in her reach Winter surged towards it on her summoned Manticore like a falling star until, just as the Shroud finally saw her she leapt from the back of her mount. The Shroud tried to grab at her with limbs that were not currently configured into wings, an attack which Winter deftly avoided as she landed on a glyph and immediately began to face off against her foe as though she were stood on solid ground, the blade of her sword cutting deep scars into the armoured hide of the Shroud and answering the Grimm's own attacks by blocking and parrying until finally the sound of something hurtling through the air brought a confident smirk to her lips.
The Shroud was helpless to react as her summoned Manticore tore through the air, catching the Cyber-Grimm unawares and ripping its' head from its' body.
Leaving two of the trio remaining.
"I am General Winter Schnee of Atlas….And I am sure that your leader would reward you greatly if you were to succeed in capturing or killing me; if you have the skill for it?" it was a shamefully blatant ruse and yet, much to Winter's amusement the effort succeeded. She was unsure of just how much of the actions of each individual Shroud, or any other Cyber-Grimm were the product of their own animal instinct and how much could be attributed to operators who were evidently eager and vastly overconfident but the result was the same.
A pair of Shrouds came rushing towards her from different angles.
Winter's initial response was to step backwards off of her glyph and allow herself to fall freely, her Manticore construct rushed through the pre-dawn gloom to catch her but she simply allowed herself to hurtle downwards until the two enemies giving chase lost the advantage of attacking from different sides; they were both above and behind her and it was then that she leapt onto the back of her construct. A series of glyphs hastily summoned at her back kept from being riddled with bullets from the weapons of the Shrouds and the twin horrors gave chase with a series of piercing shrieks, the glowing, firefly like abdomens which contained their propulsion systems blazing all the more brightly as they gave chase and one of the pair began to gain on her.
Once again the General allowed herself to smile.
As the Cyber-Grimm variant began to draw dangerously close, enough so that its' operator might genuinely believe for a brief moment that their victory was possible Winter simply allowed her Manticore construct to fade away, pivoting through the air and falling into a riding position on the back of a summoned Nevermore she had conjured in the same motion; the flurry of motion and light leaving her rushing directly towards her foe rather than retreating but more importantly disguising a more important detail.
She had deployed her second blade, the hidden dagger stowed within her sword.
Winter flew into the Cyber-Grimm and slashed with her larger weapon, a feint which caused the Shroud to leave itself overextended and unprotected as the drove her smaller blade through its' singular optic and out of the back of its' skull for a single killing blow.
The sole remaining Shroud was on her in an instant but Winter was prepared and already in motion the second the glow of its' fiery red eye illuminated the darkness around her; once again allowing her summoned Grimm to fade away and be replaced by another winged mount which she used to swoop through the air. The last of the Shrouds was fighting her with some skill and agility however, flitting around her and forcing the General to both block and evade on numerous occasions, halting whatever ploys she might have hoped to enact until finally a glint of light being reflected by something metallic gave away movement below.
She had found the operators' position.
Without hesitation or thought Winter dove directly downwards with the Shroud on her tail; her intended landing zone would see her meet the ground a short distance away from Nero's followers however this was all in accordance to a plan that was still forming even as she enacted it.
"Captain!" she barked into the comm, addressing the head of the vessel she had stationed herself aboard "Fire secondary laser battery directly on my position, on my mark"
"Are you….Yes ma'am" the officer hesitated for only a moment before remembering just who they were talking to and a moment later Winter had reached the ground; the weight of her cybernetic leg seeing her sink into the snow and give her only a moment to brace herself by dropping into a crouch and conjuring dozens upon dozen of glyphs directly overhead with more forming even as the Shroud hurtled directly down onto the shield and began to tear and slash at the barrier.
"NOW!" Winter called out.
And then everything became blinding.
She had specified that the captain use the secondary laser battery as she knew that the primary weapon of an Atlesian warship was beyond even her abilities to withstand, however it was more than enough and also more than a challenge. The steam of light and power struck the Shroud and obliterated it entirely before burning through several of Winter's glyphs, staining her to the point of leaving her Aura rippling and fluctuating around her until finally, with a roar of effort she managed to angle her glyphs and redirect the beam.
Directly into the enemy position.
Screams of panic and pain filled the air, along with billowing clouds of steam which Winter strode through as though entirely unfazed; her sword help loosely at her side as she marched into the midst of enemies who were left strewn across the ground, burned, agonised and immobile but more importantly unable to call down the Cyber-Grimm. Her sapphire blue eyes hardened as she regarded each of her beaten enemies in turn.
"You are all now prisoners of the Kingdom of Atlas. Have your Cyber-Grimm stand down or you will be killed"
The first light of a freezing Atlesian dawn had finally begun to creep across the tundra beyond the icy Kingdoms' territory, a weak and pale sunlight giving the overcast clouds their almost signature bruised, iron grey colouration and causing the deep and compacted snow to gleam in the morning light as a fresh layer of drifting powder fell upon it.
Much of the continent of Solitas was barren and inhospitable, the harsh climate making wildlife sparse and leaving stretches of the landmass seemingly uninhabited whilst the citizens of Atlas dwelled in the Hive Cities formed within and below the bases of hollowed out mountains; resulting in a series of sparsely travelled roads and the occasional abandoned building or small settlement being the only signs of life and civilisation to be found in the open expanse which served as a buffer between Atlas and the Mantle Freeholds which had once been considered part of the Kingdom.
It was against this backdrop, lifeless and in many places unexplored or simply forgotten and disregarded; with mountains and deep crevices that shielded their contents from view that many Spawning Pits had managed to take root and blossom into truly dangerous places, capable of producing vast hordes of monsters if threatened but instead simply simmering away at a steady an untroubled rate until troubled. For one such Spawning Pit, located to the west of the continent and far enough inland that none of its' issue could venture out in the freezing seas trouble had come in the form of a vast shadow falling over it.
Pantheon had been continuing their search for the would be usurper Grimm Gestalt-Prime, scouring Remnant for their foe and this allowed them to learn of the Megalodon's approach the moment the airship-Grimm descended from the clouds.
"Then let us begin, whelp" the Grimm General snarled into the howling ether of the Hive-Mind as they triggered the primal instincts of the Spawning Pit which allowed it to serve its' purpose; inky darkness roiling and vomiting forth tides of smaller, lesser monsters whose creation simply created countless new eyes through which Pantheon would watch the unfolding battle, each of the Grimm marshalling themselves with uncommon discipline and staring directly upwards at the Megalodon as Pantheon studied the twisted bastardisation of the Grimm and their purpose that Gestalt-Prime's human minions had made. At Jidhir Town Pantheon had been treated to only brief and pain filled flashes of the colossal machine-thing as it laid waste to even the strongest and largest of the Grimm levelled against it but now they could see the Megalodon in all its' glory; vast and predatory like some ancient sea monster clad in armour and bristling with weapons, but more importantly disgorging a hazy cloud of shifting darkness which Pantheon knew to be Cyber-Grimm long before they caught sight the individual lights of the machines' optics.
Gestalt-Prime was not amongst them and yet it made no difference, the sky was sundered by a cacophony of screaming and mechanical chittering sounds as the two forces flung themselves at one another.
"I will have you, I will tear you asunder! FACE ME GESTALT PRIME!" Pantheon raged into the howling void of base, murderous psyches and allowed every syllable their disembodied consciousness screamed out reverberate through the monsters they unleashed and push each of them to more extreme violence. Avian monsters and other winged or leaping Creatures of Grimm took to the air to rip and slash at the Cyber-Grimm which not only descended upon them with their own claws at the ready and their ranged weapons unleashing searing beams of light and staccato bursts of gunfire that shredded flesh and shattered bone; but also provided cover for a second wave attackers in the form of heavily armed humans, some of whom wore full suits of machinery which allowed them to wield far larger weapons whilst others fought with the weapons and abilities Pantheon had come to associate with Hunters.
What followed was butchery of the most terrible and exquisite kind, every act of carnage and bloodletting fuelling Pantheon's horde onwards as the Grimm General both watched and distantly orchestrated it all; the sky was filled with violence as the two forces clashed and Cyber-Grimm culled the true Creatures of Grimm only to be overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers whilst the monsters on the ground tasted blood when the first of the human fighters to land were set upon faster than they could react, their bodies staining the snow crimson. The tide of battle turned once again after mere moments however as Gestalt-Prime's patsies managed to recover and begin fighting back in earnest, with a reptilian Faunus who Pantheon realised that they had seen at many of Gestalt-Prime's lairs and bolt-holes unleashed one of their truly horrific attacks which turned the very ground into an erupting and expanding maze of blades and spikes; skewering and eviscerating scores of Grimm in an instant and allowing the rest of the humans accompanying the Cyber-Grimm to move into a more advantageous position, laying down cover fire for one another as they spread themselves out to encircle the Spawning Pit and, in combination with the efforts of the Cyber-Grimm above them entirely trap Pantheon's forces.
It was at this point that the seemingly inevitable happened, just as Pantheon felt faint twinges of their catastrophic fury giving way to fear, an uncertainty of the outcome if not their course of action one of the Cyber-Grimm was downed and its' burning and mangled form plummeted down into the roiling and living abyss of the Spawning Pit with a force and velocity which sent a wave of viscous darkness spattering out of the edges of the pit before it seemed to congeal and slither its' way back into the main body, just as the Spawning Pit began to respond to the threat in the expected manner.
"Yes!" Pantheon's psychic voice talking on a silky, sibilant quality despite its' inhuman and frightening multitude; the Grimm General watching through eyes that were not their own and feeling the shifting and changing within the Spawning Pit distantly, an indescribable sensation of being both part of themselves and distinctly other which they promptly began to lean into and embrace, using the connection to Grimm Hive-Mind through their Synapse Grimm and living throne in an effort to direct the Spawning Pit.
It would create a truly gargantuan beast to crush this particular threat and Pantheon was eager to feed concepts and directives into the primitive subconscious.
Yet their sense of victory was fleeting, replaced a moment later by pain.
"WHAT? NO!" Pantheon's scream shook the unreality of the psychic plane they currently inhabited, their lack of focus almost sending them clattering back into their own body. The Grimm that had been forming, the darkness of the Spawning Pit already beginning to whirl and write as it dredged and shaped itself had been destroyed before it could truly take shape; the Megalodon itself had entered the fray directly with a cascade of laser fire far larger and more dangerous anything else in the battle could hope to employ and from their the colossal Cyber-Grimm sunk lower and began to unleash its' greatest weapon and the reason for the entire ordeal.
It began to feed.
Pantheon railed against the destruction of the Spawning Put as the Megalodon's maw opened wide to reveal the same unspeakable amalgamation of tongues, feeding tendrils and vast works of machinery which had destroyed the Nova Beast at Jidhir Town. It was a hopeless endeavour with every attempt the Spawning Pit made, both at the urging of the Grimm General and as part of its' own instinctual violence was quashed; new Grimm tissue both entire creatures and half-formed parts of larger whole along with the protean substance of the pit itself were consumed and reduced to an obsidian slurry which was drawn into the jaws of the Megalodon. Seeing that direct violence would not work Pantheon swiftly chose another approach and instead began to reach out into the machine-thing much as they had done with the Pterosaur Grimm only hours ago, seeking to reach into the deepest depths of the Megalodon and destroy it from within.
There was nothing.
Pantheon's focus wavered and at the same time the Spawning Pit began to lose its' cohesion, forcing the Grimm General to draw back from it and into the wider Hive-Mind. The return of the howling void was a welcoming and familiar to them in contrast to the silence and emptiness of the Cyber-Grimm's psyche; the Megalodon and all of its' kin were entirely hollow things with nothing for Pantheon to latch onto at all, mere broken facsimiles of true Grimm more bastardised and despicable than they had first thought and a second, haunting realisation followed swiftly at the feels of the first.
Gestalt-Prime was not the driving force and leader of their enemies, they were not some mad upstart eager to seek out new ways to subvert the cycle of creation and destruction as Salem once had; they were simply a tool and servant to be used by the humans who truly controlled the Cyber-Grimm.
With that revelation Pantheon allowed their consciousness to recede back into their own body, already planning their next move whilst still lamenting the loss of another Spawning Pit.
It would take some time for the Megalodon to fully consume something so large but the damage had been done and there was nothing Pantheon could do to halt it.
The knowledge that a battle was taking place below them made the safety of the Megalodon seem relative at best, a fleeting and fragile thing that could be taken away at a moments' notice; it was knowledge which only served to add a fresh layer of fear to Team MARS's mounting concerns and yet ultimately it seemed that Nero's assault had been successful, or at least that it was entering its' final phases and that the victory of the Megalodon and those aboard it was assured if the sounds and sensations which reached Team MARS within their living prison were any indication.
Their cell, comprised of flesh and bone as it was muffled a great deal of the noise from the battle below yet, as an impromptu prison within a space never intended for such uses had not been entirely soundproofed and whilst the cacophony was distant and indistinct the four trapped Faunus had, with their keener than human sense of hearing been able to make out the swell and crescendo of the battle through the sounds of screaming and roaring monsters and thundering weapons which blurred into a single chorus even if they had been unable to make out any specific details. That same chorus of violence continued even now but it was reduced to smaller bursts and had been superseded by a noise that was felt as much as it was heard; a deafening mechanical whirring and grinding which filled the air and sent a vibrating thrum through the entirety of the Megalodon all whilst being underlined by a sickening, moist squelching sound like that of messy eating and chewing which set the nerves of all who heard it on edge as it unlocked raw, primal instincts and fears.
Even with the safety of the Grimm-ships' bowels the sound of the Megalodon feeding was as uncomfortable as watching the sight would have been.
It was a sound which had the additional effect of stirring Team MARS to action, the four of them rising to their feet from the scaly floor where they had been sat, huddled together as they conserved their strength and tried to prepare themselves as much as they could. Now, in the red-hued light of the cell and with their vision of anything beyond partly obscured by the same well-stocked racking and shelves that may well provide them valuable cover in their coming escape the four Hunters regarded one another, each of them silently hoping that no harm would befall their friends until finally the silence between them, a contrast to the painful sounds still filling the air was broken by Athena-Jade.
"So….This is it then?" the Bear Faunus breathed out, taking a moment to rear up to her full, admittedly unimpressive height as best she could and release the metal stand which held her Aura stimulant and painkillers and which she had also been using as a crutch or cane ever since she had been placed in the cell with the rest of the team; an amount of time which had felt far longer than the matter of hours it truly was.
"Almost time" Astra nodded, the Deer Faunus letting out a slow sigh before turning away from the group and clasping the bars of solid bone that imprisoned them; an eagerness to break free of them clearly mingled with their trepidation "We just need to wait for the signal"
"Heh, I wish Roux had told us what the signal is instead of trying to be cool and mysterious about it" Regalia lamented, the Racoon Faunus clearly more uncertain and nervous about what lay ahead than she was trying to convey judging by the way she wrung her hands and paced in a curving and arcing path which allowed her to stay close to her partner.
"I hope it's something we'll actually be able to hear over all of this" Athena noted, agreeing with Regalia's sentiment as she gestured to the prison in general in an effort to denote the sound of the Megalodon feeding which filled the air; a comment which Astra considered for a moment before answering.
"Unless that's what she's planning….To mess with the feeding, or Cyber-Grimm manufacturing or whatever; damage something important maybe?"
"Well, it'd definitely get a reaction and distract everyone….Hopefully for long enough" Athena-Jade responded, turning the idea over in her mind but ultimately accepting that she did not have Astra's flair for dramatic planning and did not know enough about either the design of the Megalodon or Roux and her allies as people to make any educated deductions. Stygian knew his former neighbour however and Athena turned to seek him out only to find that the Mouse Faunus had drawn close, electric blue eyes downcast and entire demeanour hesitant as though the threat of the task ahead were merely secondary and the true test of resolve was in fact his own partner.
"Hey" he managed to breathe the word out, barely more than a whisper.
"Hey" Athena answered, an awkwardness suddenly overcoming her and rising to the top of the swirling array of emotions she felt when she looked at the tattooed and dark-skinned young man.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Stygian's words caught Athena off-guard for a moment "You're still hurt….Even when our Aura collars come off; if Zirconia manages-"
"I'll be fine" Athena interrupted, though she forced herself to be gentle in her tone; seeing Stygian's comment as a genuine concern rather than him taking a chance to cast aspersions about Zirconia's intentions whilst at the same time regarding the various tubes still connected to her body with some distrust as she was forced to accept that she was indeed far less ready for what was to come than she would like and that it was a difference that might well make a difference.
"And I wanted to apologise….But I barely even know where to start" Stygian croaked out weakly, still unable to meet Athena's eyes "I don't want to pretend that I trust her or that I didn't want to try and take her down but you….AJ, I promise that I never meant for you to get hurt. I-you're-I mean-"
"Stitch" Athena reached out, cupping her partners' cheeks and chin and raising his head to meet her eyes; needing to raise it only slightly with the height difference between them "I know, okay. I know….We've got each others' backs for this, right?"
"Right, of course" Stygian nodded eagerly as he and Athena, sharing a single impulse stepped closer to one another and pulled each other into a hug that was as tight as either of them dared with Athena's injuries.
If it was to be the last moment of peace they had then both of Athena and Stygian were determined to make the most of it.
Author's Notes:
Okay this is a shorter chapter and if it feels kinda like a placeholder then I'll be honest it's because it kinda is.
This chapter is mainly just to line up some pieces and ensure that things and people are where they need to be before the breakout attempt next chapter and allow for a bit more time to have passed.
It might look like I could have condensed things down into one chapter now, but when you see the next chapter you'll see that it wouldn't work; there'd just be too much happening and if I were to compress it then too much would be lost.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
So we're going straight off the back of the last chapter and having Gestalt-Prime meeting with Nero and Carmesi….The others didn't say anything because they didn't need to, but not having any representatives of either of the two fighting forces would have just been weird.
Gestalt-Prime is also clearly not at 100% yet.
Of course they're on edge the second they hear about a change in the plan, Gestalt-Prime and Nero both know that the other one is gonna backstab them at some point.
Recruiting from the Mantle Freeholds, basically Atlesian secessionists….People like Diabla Fuego's parents who kicked their daughter out because she wanted to train at Atlas.
Nero's plans are, once again sensible and workable; Atlas tried to outplay him and he's reacting with what he has in order to get more than what he has.
Carmesi is also being smart, that talk with Roux was not enough to convince him she can be trusted.
Everyone raised in Pikesreach clearly learned to suck up and toady to those in power or to sneak and subvert authority; Roux is clearly one of the latter.
The prison was originally supposed to be one of the ships' stores and that fact was abused mercilessly, Roux was out here creating cover, blocking lines of sight and trying to make sure anything useful was on a shelf near Team MARS.
Obviously Roux and her people knew what the plan was gonna be though, can't really keep it secret if you've gotta prepare everybody.
Astra's right, trying to escape by using the fight as a distraction just means they've gotta try and run through the middle of a fight between Grimm and Cyber-Grimm….Which is pretty much what got 'em into this mess.
I had to lay the plan out here, because we're gonna be too busy with the doing next chapter and it's a pretty good plan but, by necessity it's gonna rely on everyone doing their part in tandem.
I had Winter on a random ship because if she was on hers the fight would have been over in five minutes when she just said fuck it and razed everything for a few miles in every direction.
Yeah it's obvious that Nero is onto them and has done something, it's the only reason he hasn't turned up yet and Winter really did have to consider that one of Team MARS had been tortured for information and cracked.
The tracer dust thing is just a random aside I felt like throwing in based on nothing, but I feel like Atlas would definitely have an answer for cloaked warships; even if it was a low-tech equivalent to basically just throwing paint on them.
If you imagined the bridge scenes from Star Trek with everyone flailing dramatically at every impact against the hull….Good.
And this is the small distraction Nero sent to keep people busy.
Y'know, if they hadn't fucked around the ground crew would have been better off; Winter knew Nero was somewhere else the second they gave their position away.
The whole Zirconia scene made me sad just writing it, that girl needs some therapy….Every time she does what she thinks is right she has to pay for it and lose someone and that is the kind of thing that makes real villains.
Okay so Zirconia has her armour and the outer layer of her outfit (Sans the mask she lost in Vol.07) so the only person out of their combat gear is AJ.
I'll admit that I was retreading ground with Zirconia's planning but it felt nice to have her work her way through what needed to be done and how she felt about it.
Of course she can pick the locks on the box of scrolls and weapons.
Yeah that's gonna hurt….She's gonna have to break into Nero's office before she runs away again and he won't be there, so there's no chance for a dramatic goodbye; she can't afford it.
And that last little detail of the plan is what stings….Basically at this point Zirconia is making peace with the fact that even she survives her life is still over, that she doesn't get to win; but she's gonna do the right thing anyway.
Oh yeah, R.I.P those guards; they're gonna get fucked up.
I wanted to really show off that Winter fucks shit up whenever she gets to come out and handle business personally and I think I achieved that.
So, the keen-eyed will spot that I actually debuted a brand new Cyber-Grimm variant here….Those moths are something we haven't seen before; basically a variant of the base-model that's built for dog-fighting, just giant heat-seekers.
Three Shrouds at once, because she's a boss bitch.
Have we seen Weiss or Winter do anything like that first take down in canon? Using a summon to set up a tag-team combo.
I feel like that in both my version of Atlas and canon Atlas Atlesians would be adept at not just aerial combat, but thinking three dimensionally in general; like how Winter negated the fact that Cyber-Grimm were coming it at her from two directions by moving on a different axis.
That second take down was my personal favourite and the one that I think plays into the 'Specialist' aspect of Winter as a fighter the most, flashy and cool looking but ultimately underhanded as fuck.
….Followed by using herself as bait and then allowing a warship to drop the sun on her to a) take out the last target and then b) redirect it like Iron Man and Captain America's tag-team moves; gotta love that shit.
Okay so it's sunrise….Which means, for a scale of how hectic things have been that is ALMOST a whole day since Team MARS set out from Gruner-Hugel to follow Noir in the mid-season finale.
And now Nero is on the continent, not exactly in Atlas's airspace but definitely close enough to make a pest of himself.
Whelp is such a good insult.
Gestalt-Prime didn't show up to this fight in person because they weren't needed and were still recovering after being damn near ripped in half less than a day ago.
The fighting was quick and a lot of it was left up to imagination because honestly yeah that's how it should be when watched from Pantheon's perspective; it's literally a tide of things with no identity and a frenzied killer instinct being thrown into a meat-grinder of things that they view as prey and machines.
But details like Carmesi turning the tide, the mech-suit being there and Nero's people having the skill and coordination to work with the Cyber-Grimm and box in Pantheon's forces were worth noting.
Yeah we're not doing another boss fight Grimm today, the Megalodon is going for the kill.
And now Pantheon has seen who is really pulling the strings and it has fucked them up, it'd be like finding out that Tyrian is actually the one in charge and Salem as has just been pretending to lead.
Another important detail is that the Megalodon didn't hoover up a whole Spawning Pit in one go, it takes time….Which means it isn't going anywhere for a while.
If you want an idea of the fucked up sounds coming from the Megalodon feeding….Think of that one scene from Nope, you know which one.
Yeah Roux didn't exactly say what the signal is gonna be but the team are smart enough to figure it out; she's gonna tamper with the Cyber-Grimm creation and the Megalodon's feeding to hamper Nero's attempt to chase them.
Again, it's been less than a day since the mid-season finale….Even if they get their Aura collars off and everyone's Aura perks them up a bit; AJ is still hurt and nowhere near her best; she was impaled.
So Stitch and AJ had a little moment, there's definitely still a lot to work through and the Zirconia issue is still an issue; but it's progress and let them have something in a build up that is maybe an understated cliffhanger.
Thank you to Neil12 and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
I did like Harry Potter when I was younger I won't lie, but the fact that the author is a violent transphobe whose rhetoric is being quoted and actively used to deny people rights in my home country, along with the other unfortunate levels of bigotry that show up when you go over her writing with a critical eye has absolutely soiled it...If you want good fantasy I'd suggest the Discworld series, His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman and I'm also reading a fantasy webnovel by the name 'Orbis Tertius' as it updates which you can find on Ao3 and possibly other places.
I will give no spoilers for Zirconia's fate, save the knowledge that I aim to give main characters happy endings and that people who worked with Salem (Merc & Em) are currently living their best lives in this timeline.
Astra got to combine their ability to plan with the fact that that they love gossip.
Roux and everyone born in Pikesreach were isolated and knew next to nothing about life in the Kingdoms before Nero's people showed up; that place was pretty close to a cult compound.
Nero being a capable villain is one of my favourite things about writing him, he doesn't have the unlimited resources of someone like Salem or raw power on his own, so he has to be smart.
The mental image of Gestalt-Prime and Pantheon on the picket line with signs is a great one, thanks for that.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.