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Chapter 27: Fade Into Focus
Rowan Oralie was, simply put no Persian Green; though this comparison was one that bothered the scarlet haired criminal far less than the conniving and now deceased blonde had intended whenever he had used it to torment his subordinate turned successor.
For one thing Rowan didn't crave approval and validation from the wealthy enough to actually be present at the fight club when the gladiatorial matches were in progress; something she considered to be a rookie mistake. The pair had been introduced through a mutual, now either imprisoned or deceased contact, such was the nature of the many illicit businesses that Persian had dabbled in and Rowan had felt that he was a preening and insecure sycophant who would crumble under the pressure of an interrogation with little resistance and so had kept her distance accordingly, however the scale of his ambitions and seemingly inexhaustible web of contacts had generated a steady stream of Lien that had left her unable to entirely dismiss or avoid him.
Simply put Rowan considered herself to be the more practically minded and realistic of the two of them.
Where Persian had despaired at the poverty he had been born into, even as he used advantages such as a scholarship at a private school and the connections that he made there to his advantage and formed the beginnings of his crime syndicate Rowan had accepted the cards that life had dealt her; then deciding to, metaphorically rob the casino rather than swindle the odds. Where Persian had avoided dirtying his own hands at all costs, always having a proxy to act through close at hand Rowan had never suffered from such weaknesses or shortfalls and was perfectly capable of defending herself or taking what she desired from others even despite the penchant for caution and escaping to fight another day that she had developed; simply put the redhead had survived and prospered through sheer force of will, strength, ferocity and defiant spite combined with a cunning that Persian had recognised and hoped to cultivate which allowed her to rise through the ranks of the crime syndicate that had operated the Desert Claw, along with several dozen other businesses and become more than the simple muscle for hire that she had resigned herself to spending her life as.
Not that it made a difference now.
"I am getting too old for this shit" she grumbled to herself from her current lookout, laid across one of the heavy iron support struts that made up that vast armature of a crane intended to load and unload heavy containers from freight ships. The crane itself was currently not in use and Rowan had made herself comfortable, her black overalls, folded down and tied around her waist in a messy bunch to reveal a deep scarlet tank-top that matched her hair and exposed the contours of her broad-shouldered and athletic form; beside her and balancing equally precariously were the remains of her lunch from a small diner that offered the best seafood in the Capital; especially on weekends, her scroll and a cheap and easily replaceable handgun whilst her own personal and much less frequently used weapon, bequeathed unto her by a failed Huntress who had slipped into the familiar cycle of crime and desperation was hidden out of view. The object of Rowan's annoyance was not the crane itself or the act of taking her breaks in such a dangerous hideaway even if the wind which had been gradually gaining intensity all day and a bleakly grey sky which threatened rain both made the idea a questionable one; rather she was irked by the circumstances which had brought her to the docks where she had been forced to assume the role of a regular, blue-collar civilian for far too long, namely collapse of the Desert Claw, the demise of Persian Green and the transfer of power in Menagerie's underworld to a pair of previously unknown players.
Namely her new employers, or at the very least her supposed handlers and overseers who took payment from the same shadowy benefactor.
To say that Rowan distrusted them was an understatement, though this was a more personal and yet hard to quantify distrust than the usual, practical paranoia that she applied to all strangers, especially after Carmesi Hueso had beaten her bloody over a failed delivery. That both Major Grapeshot and his associate were open about the fact that they had killed Persian and were working on destabilising his network of financial backers as part of their duty as Hunters and for the good of the benefactor bothered the redhead criminal for hire for less than it might have, she was after all well accustomed to the harsh realities of the profession she had chosen and understood that life was a temporary thing that could be snatched away as easily as handful of lien; what truly concerned her was that she didn't know or understand exactly what the goals of these new players were. It seemed clear that neither her shadowy new benefactor or the Hunters acting in his stead had any real desires to seize control in the power vacuum that they had created, which in turn had left Rowan herself unable to properly angle and jostle to improve her own position, instead they had simply flooded the festering criminal underground of Blackwater Cove and from there each of Menagerie's larger settlements including the Capital with enough funding to ensure that they would have the resources they needed and promptly put them to work on the patently absurd task of tracking down and recovering a single Creature of Grimm whilst also securing a smuggling operation that seemed to bring nothing of any immediate value; a course of action that had thus far cost the lives of several dozen hapless and unfortunate individuals at least and also caused issues with the supply chains of several more lucrative criminal enterprises, only for the resulting violence that Rowan had expected to come from gangs cannibalising one another's resources to be largely prevented by the threat of the sheer, horrific scale of the violence Carmesi Hueso was willing to inflict as punishment for desertion or sedition.
Rowan may have been no Persian Green but she was far from stupid and had already decided that she needed to know more.
The actions of her new benefactor made no sense and things that could not be understood could not be trusted therefore she had begun making some small, surreptitious and admittedly thus far mostly unsuccessful enquiries and investigations in order to learn the identity of this new figure and possibly the source of their seemingly endless amount of funding so that she could make sense of what was happening in what she considered to be her domain. Accepting that such an endeavour was unlikely to yield results and always in favour of having an escape route or a backup plan Rowan had also been attempting to use various illicit channels and secure methods of communication in order to find members of the original group of backers that had enabled the Desert Claw fight club and other such establishments under Persian's former control, with their help Rowan had vague ideas of, perhaps not wresting back control of Menagerie's crime but once again being able to eke out enough of a living from it that she could live comfortably without having to treat her cover story of being a dockworker as though it were a real job and actually investing her time and effort into it.
Thoughts of how such things were beneath her contempt were cut short by the sound of her scroll vibrating against rusted and weathered iron and Rowan quickly reached out to grab her scroll before it could fall from the surface of the crane where it was currently resting.
"What is it?" she kept her tone neutral as she answered the call, though she was privately relieved that she was not being contacted by either the old Major or his bloodthirsty right hand man and instead by one of her own underlings, an individual who was a perfectly reliable fighter when the situation called for it but was a simple pickpocket by profession who specialised in relieving tourists of their belongings and as such could usually be found at the more commercial docks some distance along the coast and away from where Rowan herself was situated, a position that was considered important real estate to criminals such as Rowan and her people since it allowed them to keep abreast of the latest news, developments and opportunities.
"Might have some bad news" the younger thug admitted forlornly, sending an invite to shift the call to video instead of audio as they spoke.
"Of course you do, why wouldn't you" Rowan snorted, pulling herself up into a sitting position and accepting the request before taking in the sight that her underling had directed their camera towards; namely a small ship in the process of docking at Port Alistair.
"I think our new bosses might have bitten off more than they can chew-"
"Don't think, you're not good at it" Rowan interrupted irritably, silencing them so that she could think as she properly examined the vessel, inexplicable and incongruous thing that it was. The ship was Atlesian in origin, of that there was no doubt though it was not a model that she readily recognised; it looked like a cargo ship that had been scaled down, possibly some kind of proof of concept that had never been pushed into full development however it had clearly been given some extreme modifications; even with just a cursory glance Rowan could see additional weapons and armour and it was easy to surmise that the thing had been made more powerful in the water as well as more robust yet despite all of this there was still a primitive aspect to it that made her scoff, its' hull was adorned with glyphs and markings that identified it as belonging to part of the Diaspora of Anima tribes though the redhead could not say for certain which as she paid little mind to Mistral's answer to the nomad clan-rats of Menagerie; that the thing also boasted an actual mast and sail complete with a crow's nest set atop it was further proof that the owners' of this vessel were idiots in Rowan's mind.
Though it did allow her to identify the vessel.
"Oh shit….that's the Nemesis Kharybdis" she muttered, recognising the vessel a being the personal base of operations of a truly impressive bunch of Hunters.
"That's what I'm saying" her subordinate groaned "We need to-"
"You need to stop talking so loud, get out of there and find another spot to work. Beyond that business as usual until we hear different" Rowan cut them off and promptly ended the call with a scowl crossing her face. Grapeshot would have to be told of this development; amusing as it would be to keep it from him the fact remained that he was still a Hunter of good standing and could afford a run in with those aboard the incoming ship more easily than herself, she forced herself to see this development as opportunity as she did so however and fund herself channelling some of the conniving ways of her predecessor.
This development would either give her the chance she needed to return things back to their natural state of affairs, or it would doom them all; in the meantime Rowan Oralie simply let out a resigned sigh and began to clamber down from atop the crane she had been perched on.
It was time to get back to work, there were no such things as weekends in a life of crime.
The fact that it was a Saturday had allowed Zirconia Shadowmoon a moment of peace and quiet to recuperate, the kind which the naturally taciturn and solitary young woman had found to be increasingly rare of late.
It had been a week since the events of the head to head training exercise and in that time the professors of Breaktide Academy had redoubled their efforts once again and began pushing their students to an even more demanding standard, setting assignments and mountains of required reading which seemed almost deliberately gratuitous when combined with the already punishing amount of effort involved in the lessons themselves; especially when several of the students were still recovering from various injuries they had sustained during the training exercise. By some act of providence, or more likely the sheer, unrelenting drive of Athena-Jade Slate whose work ethic and desire to succeed would always be something impressive, albeit in an almost frightening way Team MARZ had found themselves making enough progress on their various academic tasks to allow themselves to take Saturday off and enjoy at least some of their weekend at Astra's insistence as the teams' leader had been beginning to lose patience with their lack of free time; which their friends were gracious enough to admit was fair considering their developing relationship.
With that being the case Astra was elsewhere, as was Regalia though Zirconia was not entirely sure in the partners were together or not. Athena-Jade was also absent, having left to return some books to the library a short while ago and likely been distracted by someone on the way back and Zirconia; despite having grown much closer to her partner than she had ever expected to upon her arrival at Breaktide was glad of the privacy; the Bear Faunus had been agitated for days in ways that went beyond her academic drive, though her irritation was perhaps justifiable when one considered that Athena was still recovering from her injuries and had been unable to either train in the gym or fully participate in physical classes as well as the fact that she was suffering with the pain of growing new teeth after so many of hers had been broken or knocked loose.
With the dormitory empty Zirconia had found herself perched on her bunk in quiet, yet restless anticipation.
The armour adorning the back of gloves which reached her elbows, along with the casing of Sunriser Cain and the shoulder-pad resembling the stylised head of a Queen Lancer that normally rested over her right arm had all been polished to a mirror finish in an effort to keep her hands busy and now the Grasshopper Faunus sat in a silence that failed to convey the vague but unmistakable tension beneath her calm facade. Mismatched eyes glanced at her violin only briefly before disregarding the instrument, she would likely not have time to enjoy playing it, the fine and misty drizzle beginning to patter more forcefully against the window told her that her usual spot on the roof would soon be inhospitable and the fact of the matter was that the nervous energy currently coursing through her would make her hands tremble too much to handle the bow so instead Zirconia simply waited in silence, sensitive ears honing in on every distant sound that reached from elsewhere in campus whilst her own breathing and the almost inaudible whirring and thrum of her own mechanical legs formed a steady rhythm whose almost trance-like qualities were broken by the sound of her Scroll.
"Finally" Zirconia rasped, the word uttered under her breath in a way that stood at odds with her usual detached and aloof demeanour before she answered the incoming call.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting" the apology served as a greeting from Damascus Nero, her guardian and head of a billion-lien conglomerate whose voice, faint traces of a corrected stammer and all would forever be at odds with the power and influence he wielded.
"Nothing to apologise for, I made time to speak with you" Zirconia assured the man she loved as she had loved her parents, even if she could never bring herself to call him her father.
"On a Saturday, I appreciate it dearly but would have thought that you had a social life to attend to even if your studies are in order….Perhaps another high end restaurant with the daughter of Weiss-" Zirconia's wordless groan of mild annoyance and embarrassment, more removed from her usual attempts to appear mysterious and possibly even suave than her earlier muttering cut across the chairman who merely laughed softly in response.
"And how is life as one of the most sought after business mind in all of Vytal and major philanthropist?….I would hardly think you're in a position to judge, I've seen the articles they write about you now" Zirconia's voice was filled with her usual dry and understated humour, though filled with a teasing playfulness that only those truly closest to her were familiar with.
"I'm in a position to judge when you bill those dates to the company-"
"They're not-" Zirconia's suddenly mortified gasp was cut off by her guardian continuing as though uninterrupted.
"And you know as well as I do that I detest those articles and that I have declined the media's incessant attempts to badger me into an interview, I keep a stack of cease and desist letters and restraining orders on hand now, it's ridiculous" he lamented, letting out a mournful sigh before continuing "However we must all do what needs to be done in order to make a better Remnant and if that means suffering the attentions of these peons whenever I fund, build, design or support something to that end then so be it….But we didn't arrange to speak so that we could bond over how much we dislike the press"
"At least they use flattering photographs of you" Zirconia managed a weak smile that went unseen by Damascus Nero who had opted for an audio only call before letting out a single slow breath and finally forcing herself to cut to the heart of the matter "Did they find anything, about what's happening to my Semblance?"
"They did" Nero's voice was fatherly in its' reassuring warmth for his daughter in all but blood. Zirconia had contacted him in a state of almost complete panic and disarray several days prior to inform him that her Semblance had changed during a training exercise, morphing from a simple trap which denied those subjected to it of almost all sensory input to something far more akin to a weapon which she had almost lost control of in her anger. Hearing Zirconia so frightened had pushed the chairman to action and the personal tutors who had seen to her education, along with several other experts had been contacted whilst Zirconia herself had said nothing on the matter to those around her, simply hoping that the members of Team WULF she had used her newly altered Semblance against said nothing about it.
"What did they say?" Zirconia rasped out, voice cracking faintly.
"That you have absolutely nothing to worry about" the words left fear and nerves rushing away from the forefront of Zirconia's mind like a receding tide yet Nero was not done speaking.
"Quite the opposite in fact" he continued in a voice that made it clear that he was smiling "What's happening is in a sense an evolution, they tell me your Semblance developing with you as you grow as a person is something that not all Hunters achieve….However, I'm not a Hunter Zirconia, nor am I anything resembling an expert on this; I must ask if there's a reason you felt that you couldn't speak with the Professors at Breaktide Academy about this?"
"I wanted you to be the first one I told" Zirconia answered simply, framing the matter as though she were sharing an achievement before deciding to be more honest, Damascus had after all heard her initial fear "A Semblance is private, it's a part of your soul being out on display for people to see….It says something about who we are"
"I see" the chairman answered in a suddenly more serious, almost solemn tone "Who you are is someone who has embarked upon an important undertaking, someone who is striving to save lives and make a better Remnant….I would congratulate you on rising to the challenge, but that would imply that it was ever in doubt"
"Thank you" Zirconia murmured quietly, frowning slightly before adding "But what about-"
"I assure that for the time being you have nothing to worry about….Aside from the inherent dangers of being a student Hunter and the dangers of being a teenager" Nero interrupted gently "Now go, enjoy your weekend; I assure you as someone with years of experience that there will soon come a day when you don't have the option to do so"
"You're not that old, stop being dramatic" Zirconia sighed before allowing a faint, tired smile to cross her sharp features "But again, thank you….It was good to speak to you again"
"I miss you too" Damascus replied, voicing what Zirconia had left unsaid before ending the call and leaving the Grasshopper Faunus a few moments of peaceful silence to collect her thoughts before the sound of footsteps approaching from the hallway caught her attention, a sound she knew well enough to recognise that it was her partner returning by the pace and weight of the footfalls alone and so Zirconia slipped from her bunk and quickly pulled her scarf up into its' usual resting place over the lower half of her face, adjusting her hair slightly so that her curtain of spiky ebony locks hid a little more of her expression from view.
"Hey, sorry I got caught up" the pale skinned and broad shouldered Bear Faunus declared as she entered the dormitory; Zirconia paying her a brief cursory glance and taking in the splotchy patterns that her masses of rapidly healing bruising had faded into along with bright blue eyes which were no longer tinged with blood-red; she still limped slightly and found herself out of breath a little more quickly than she would have liked but after a week it was clear that with the help of her Aura Athena would make a full recovery.
"Anything important?" Zirconia asked conversationally.
"Only Team LEMN asking if I wanted to be their fifth player, they've arranged a basketball game with some Third Years and it might be cool to get to know some of the older students that don't hang out in common areas all the time"
"Then you should go and play" Zirconia suggested, realising that it sounded like she was trying to get rid of her partner and quickly correcting herself "I'll come with you and watch….despite what people might think when they see my legs I'm not a great basketball player"
"I mean-I never, oh my-" Athena-Jade was left sputtering and choking on thin air at the delivery of her partners' final comment for a moment as despite being related to several people with cybernetic limbs she still had no idea of how to reply to such a joke and she needed to take several seconds to compose herself "I was gonna go and play but the weather y'know?"
"That makes sense" Zirconia nodded "I'm sure we could find something else-"
"Wait, hold on a sec" the Grasshopper Faunus pretended to not be just a little miffed at being so bluntly interrupted as Athena fished her Scroll out of her pocket, giving the device which had vibrated a moment prior her full attention only to let out a squeal of pure, unrestrained joy a moment later and childishly leap around the room with several exclamations of simply, unrestrained happiness that highlighted just how different the two young women truly were.
Behind her scarf Zirconia's smile widened at the sight and her own problems were pushed aside, if only for a moment.
The news that Astra Mars and Wolfram Ironside were now officially dating had spread through the student body of the academy like wildfire and a not insignificant amount of the staff along with them, allowing no small amount of betting pools to be cashed in; with the playful grumbling from Professor Ruby Rose when admitting that her wife's predictions had been more accurate becoming as much of a source of gossip and hilarity as the initial news itself.
For Astra and Wolfram themselves surprisingly little had changed, partially owing to a workload from their professors whose classes perpetually seemed to be the ones cancelled due to training exercises or field trips conducted by Professors Rose and Altan which seemed almost retaliatory in its' size. The two of them attended lessons as usual, with Teams MARZ and WULF being largely friendly as always and the interactions between the two leaders were mostly unchanged, with the primary differences being a sudden lack of tension in the air as the teens allowed themselves to relax and be more open and also a simple change in seating arrangements that left the pair close enough to engage in small physical gestures like holding hands or leaning into one another until the teacher of whichever lesson they were in at the time called them out on such behaviour. With only a week having passed and their time, especially time in which they were able to be alone and away from their team-mates being limited the novelty of their new relationship had not yet worn off and now, with some degree of privacy there was an undeniable sense of uncertainty.
Though not enough to keep either of them from being their usual selves
"These guys should have just called it quits when AJ didn't wanna play" Astra laughed, the comment sounding somewhat more mean-spirited than they had intended it to as they watched Team LEMN being effectively dismantled on the basketball court below. Their fellow freshman students had asked the Deer Faunus if they wanted to play shortly after Athena had declined the offer and Astra had similarly chosen not to, though they along with Wolfram had found themselves watching the game from the vantage point of the upper reaches of the colosseum like outdoor training area which overlooked the campus sports fields; Astra leaning back against Wolfram's broad chest whilst the taller teens' arms were wrapped around their waist and Wolfram had also managed to remove their sleeveless jacket and pull it over both of them to protect them from the fine drizzle which promised to become a more heavy rain at any moment, in doing so avoiding Astra's Mohawk and antlers, the latter of which prevented them from wearing a hood.
"Especially with the weather turning bad….you'd think they'd figure it out, if the third years are breaking their ankles on a dry floor its' gonna be worse when it rains" Wolfram noted, the comment causing Astra to lean back and tilt their upwards to see the slight concern on their boyfriends' face.
"Aww, is the big bad Wolfie scared of a little rain?" Astra teased, unable to help themselves.
"Wouldn't want it to ruin your hair and make up, you spent all morning on it" Wolfram snorted back, matching the tone only for Astra to turn slightly and nestle themselves into the crook of their neck as much as their antlers would allow, which proved to be a more finicky gesture than first thought though before the moment could be ruined they winked a single sea green eye lined with dark make up and responded with a far too sweet voice.
"My hero….and not even a joke about you being the one to ruin my make up" Wolfram paused for a moment, blinked as they processed the joke and then was promptly left choking on nothing at all with their steel grey eyes wide in surprise and their face flushed, sputtering until they almost tipped backwards into the rows of seating around the arena behind them; thankfully being caught by Astra who used the opportunity to not only pull him back onto the high wall that they were using as a perch but also to pin the taller teen down and straddle his waist in an expertly done transition, though Wolfram's jacket was left draped across the seats below to be collected at a later time.
"You sneaky…." Wolfram a still red-faced trailed off in utter disbelief "Did you nearly make me fall on purpose? This after kicking off an airship?"
"Yeah but you're a bad ass though, you'll be fine" Astra beamed down a them "Besides, this is comfy"
"Can't argue with that" Wolfram admitted, trying to act as though he were replying to the first half of Astra's comment even as the Faunus leaned down and made themselves comfortable laying on top of him, their faces now only inches apart.
"Hey" Astra breathed the word out slowly, cautious and uncertain before reaching forward and pulling Wolfram into a slow kiss which he readily returned, smiling against the Faunus's lips and let out a low chuckle that Astra felt in their chest as he pulled back.
"Seriously, all that for something that you could have just asked for"
"Where's the fun in that" Astra replied "Besides, I needed a distraction from how bad Team LEMN are playing or I would've ended going down there and actually joining them"
"Yeah, definitely stay here" Wolfram grinned, wrapping an arm around Astra's shoulder and pulling them down into another kiss and using the same movement to reverse their positions, all without allowing either of them to fall either into the seating or the much further, sheer drop on the other side of the wall that they should not have been on in the first place.
"Or….maybe not here" this time it was Wolfram's voice that was cautious, the words coming in a hopeful but restrained whisper "Pretty sure my dorm is gonna be empty for a while if you wanna…."
"I can't" Astra admitted, easily picking up on the meaning behind the offer and whilst truthfully not wanting to rush their new relationship also being genuinely reluctant to turn it down "I'm supposed to be meeting up with Regalia….well any time now, I told her I'd head into the city with her 'cos there's still things that she doesn't like doing on her own, she says some businesses can spot one of the nomad clans and start jacking their prices up. I could ask her to-"
"Nah go, she's your partner and she's probably right about people trying to rip her off….there's some ass-holes in the big cities" Wolfram lamented, mind clearly wandering to his thankfully limited experiences with the city of Blackwater Cove, the nearest large settlement to his home village of Stalwart until they turned their thoughts back to the present and ran a hand gently down Astra's side "But….maybe another time?"
"Absolutely" Astra breathed out, swallowing thickly and struggling to keep their composure in place at the physical contact though, through the fuzz and fog some part of their mind took a level of reassurance from the fact that Wolfram was clearly as nervous as they were, allowing the Deer Faunus to think that perhaps everyone was simply putting on a show and playing at being confident and in charge the way Astra themselves did and that they could then possibly be as effortlessly charismatic as Wolfram with time.
They were distracted from their thoughts by the low throaty snarl of an engine being revved in a deliberate attempt to get her attention.
"One day she's gonna kill someone with that thing" Wolfram shook his head as he moved back enough to allow Astra to rise and see that the source of the easily recognisable sound was indeed Regalia, the Racoon Faunus sat astride Clunker with her striped and bushy tail swishing behind her whilst her scratch-built jetbike hovered roughly a foot above the ground.
"Come on Astra I've been looking everywhere for you!" she called up to her partner "Or do I have to get a boom-box like that one movie?"
"Think you missed the context of that scene Regalia!" Astra called back, which their partner simply shrugged at
"Heh maybe, but come on let's go!" she rubbed her hands together in a display of energetic impatience and pulled her goggles over her eyes in preparation for leaving the campus. Astra merely grinned at her contagious enthusiasm for all things before turning and giving Wolfram an apologetic smile.
"Later?….Maybe one of us can kick our team out the dorm"
"I don't think you could kick AJ out of anywhere" Wolfram noted with a smirk which Astra gave no response to other than leaning over to kiss his cheek before hopping over the edge of the wall surrounding the colosseum like training area, down into the stands so that they could find the exit and a moment later Wolfram was watching their fellow team leader and new romantic partner slide themselves onto the back of Regalia Russet's jetbike which promptly sped away with a blast of its' engine which roared and screamed as the nomad pushed it to insane degrees.
"Fucking maniac….but she's cool though" the leader of Team WULF muttered to nobody in particular, willing to admit that his initial opinion of Regalia, as distant as that now seemed had been wrong. He remained on the high wall only a few moments longer as a notably biting gust of cold wind was finally enough to convince him that it was time to return inside and he made to follow Astra's lead and jump down into the stands where he would be able to retrieve his jacket. Before he could do so the sound of another low, rumbling engine caught his attention and Wolfram, even without the hearing and eyesight of a Faunus easily picked out its' source; namely a heavily modified vintage muscle car with a black paint job whose entire body appeared to have been remade to withstand the harshest terrain on Remnant, it was clear that the vehicle belonged to a Hunter by its' appearance alone and even from his current distance Wolfram, like almost every other student who saw the car was left nodding in silent approval even as he privately wondered who owned it as it was certainly not the property of any of the professors or students.
"Now that's bad-ass" he muttered to himself before turning away.
For Diabla Fuego who had been raised first in the Free Cities of Mantle, a collection of settlements which had prospered as well as possible in the bleak and unforgiving tundra of Solitas after their hard won independence from the Kingdom of Atlas, simply by virtue of how hardy those who lived in the loosely affiliated collection of settlements tended to be and then secondly within the Atlas Cadets, a ward of the Kingdom of Atlas and residing on a military base built onto the face of one of the hollowed and gargantuan snow-capped mountains that made up the Kingdom a little rain and wind was nothing; she had endured far colder and far more punishing climates and in all honesty she was glad to be free of the humidity that she had come to despise.
For Laser Greenback the climate of Menagerie was far more comparable to where he called home, though the weather itself, in spite of whatever else might exist beyond the walls of settlements was perhaps less actively hostile than the sandstorms, insufferable heat and torrential wet seasons which came with lightning storms that turned the Vaccuan Overspill into a deathtrap that he was familiar with.
Not that it would stop him from complaining, loud and often.
"You see all this stuff around us? This is all campus, all of it, not just the gym….that means that there's other places that you can look all broody and sinister, places with a roof over your head y'know?" the teen whose spidery mess of almost poisonously vibrant yellow hair was currently reduced to an even more untameable mess than usual chattered in his nasal and whining tone, thick with its' Vaccuan accent as he wandered alongside his partner, allowing himself to drift behind her and then race ahead in an erratic almost pinball-like display that matched his incessant stream of words as the pair meandered down from the office of Yatsuhashi Daichi towards the ground floor of the campus, albeit taking the most indirect route possible and venturing across the bridges between the individual towers of the enormous academy and along its' ramparts.
"Nobody asked you to tag along" Diabla's voice was low and gruff as always, tinged with an irritability that made her broad and rough accent more pronounced, though the frown quickly melted away from her features to be replaced with an apologetic expression that looked out of place on her face.
"I'm sorry" she muttered, annoyance being directed inwards "I shouldn't-"
"It's fine" Laser assured her, voice gentle and playful almost as a precaution only for his partner to shake her head.
"It's not….I'm a real bastard sometimes" the ease with which the words came to her and how naturally the seemed to fit with her accent gave Laser the distinct impression that it was an opinion Diabla had been given many times and considering what his partner had revealed of her home life, or lack thereof in a rage and grief fuelled confession that had been heard by all of the First Year students the Vaccuan scavenger decided that it might be best to try and lighten the tone of the conversation without forcefully changing the topic.
"Well on the bright side knowing is half the battle, right?" he chirped out in a singsong voice each earned him a punch to the shoulder that was meant in jest but still managed to hurt along with a truly unrepeatable insult.
"But really though, thanks for this. I wouldn't ask….But I appreciate it" Diabla finally muttered, barely loud enough to hear as she came to a halt and leaned against the railings of the bridge that the pair were currently traversing, giving her a view down into the campus. The deed she was referring to was Laser's insistence on following her to the mandatory counselling sessions with Yatsuhashi Daichi that had been scheduled almost every day after classes and though he had not been allowed to attend as a matter of course Diabla had still found her partner waiting for her when she had left the office, emotionally drained and snivelling more often than she would ever admit to another soul; the hollow numbness providing a brief, if unwelcome respite from the various aches and pains that lingered and troubled her after the training exercise; Nurse Kintsugi had declared that Diabla would make a full recovery due to her impressive Aura reserves however for the meantime she had been prohibited from all physical training, including the gym and medicated which served only to take the edge off of her misery.
"What're friends for right?" Laser shrugged taking a position beside her, Diabla responded to this by turning burning orange eyes currently still framed by bruises downward.
"Are we friends though?" she asked, her previous irritable muttering giving way to a fearful whisper "I was-"
"A pain in the ass and made it everyone's problem" Laser shrugged, flashing her a smirk "It's fine, we get it you were goin through some stuff-"
"My family kicked me out, you lost yours young, Wolfram lost his Dad" Diabla shook her head "No excuses"
"Are we gonna compare messed up childhoods just so you can beat yourself up over it? Is wanting us to be angry at you gonna help?" Laser arched an eyebrow, a gesture made visible by the absence of his usual visor.
"Actions have consequences, I wanna face 'em head on" Diabla answered tonelessly yet with a slightly unnerving sense of conviction, made more so when Laser realised just how little his partner had managed to achieve without first losing something cherished.
"Consequences are that you came out of that ship on a stretcher and almost never walked again" feeling brazen he rested a hand on top of his partners' where she leaned on the railings, speaking again in a voice that was rare in its' seriousness "We don't always need to suffer to deserve things y'know….we've suffered enough, you, me, all of us. We can just have nice things sometimes, like friends and a team of people that actually think we're pretty cool"
"Thanks Laser, really" Diabla found herself swallowing thickly, looking down at the hand on top of hers pointedly, yet making no comment or attempt to remove it before deciding that she had endured enough baring of her soul for one day and giving a derisive snort "You think I'm not suffering though, what do you call everyone here knowing my business?"
"The same thing Athena Slate has had to deal with since she was born….You planning on giving her an apology too?" Diabla's eyes narrowed and she was forced to wonder just how much more intelligent and astute her partner was than he allowed people to think, along with just what aspect of life in Vaccuan Overspill had allowed him to have such ready insight.
"And for what it's worth, so probably not much to you" he continued with a grin and a shrug "Nobody is giving you pity, general consensus is that your life must have sucked but you're still a mean bitch"
"Wouldn't have it any other way" Diabla growled out, blazing orange eyes regaining some of their usual fiery light and determination for a moment before she let out a sight that seemed to crumple her "But no, I'm not apologizing to Slate, at least not yet….I know I should, I know that okay but….I'm not there yet, I don't know how to not see red whenever I see her"
"I'm not judging" Laser answered with another shrug, this one enough to cause his hand to slip away from hers and before the conversation, which Diabla would never admit that she had found deeply soothing and helpful could continue a noise from below demanded her attention.
"Well hello….Oh some Pro Hunters are on campus, weird" Laser noted with naked curiosity "In fact I think I saw these guys in Vaccuo last year, I think they were giving a talk at Shade, I wouldn't know I wasn't at the prep school" his words why slow and quiet with contemplation as her peered down at the source of the noise and privately cursed himself for not bringing his visor to afford himself a better view of the quartet of vaguely familiar figures who seemed to be making their way up towards the offices of the senior staff albeit on a route almost as scenic as the one Diabla and Laser themselves were taking, the team being flanked and surrounded by students drawn from all years whose behaviour gave some notion of just how famous and well regarded this new and rare sight must be.
"Oh fuck" Diabla's words were filled with some deep, festering dread as she stared down at the team of four "Now there's two of them here"
For Carmesi Hueso every moment in the dingy and threadbare apartment above a front business, rented to he and Grapeshot by the kind of criminal filth that he despised felt like a moment wasted and being confined to the cramped and confined property for any amount of time felt like punishment for the many sins he had committed in pursuit of his greater good.
Yet he would endure, there was work to be done after all.
"Buck up old chap, I didn't expect these developments to have you so down in the dumps" it was the Major's voice, filled with a forced and false cheer that roused the reptilian Faunus from his thoughts "Usually it falls to me to urge caution whilst you go gallivanting on one of your escapades"
"It's not about fear or caution" Carmesi's voice rumbled out of him while hellish red eyes flashed in annoyance at the hidden barb in the older man's comment "I do what's needed to make a better Remnant, sometimes that involves hurting people that I think deserve it or getting rid of people that Remnant would be better without and I'll admit that I do enjoy it….If Rowan isn't lying about who was on the ship that arrived in Port Alistair then this is different"
"Agreed" Grapeshot nodded solemnly, toying with the ends of his curled imperial moustache as he pondered for a moment "A better Remnant is the kind of legacy I'd like to leave behind, I won't lie and pretend that it isn't because of my ego but….well old chap I daresay that I'm worried about us becoming the exact kind of people we replaced-"
"We're not" Carmesi snarled "They led Hunters to die for their own profit-"
"And could you kill another Hunter, a brother or sister in arms for this bright new Remnant that you and our benefactor know so much about?" Grapeshot's commanding tone grew testy yet rather than rise to it Carmesi paused and remained silent for a moment, massaging first his bearded chin and then the band of greenish brown and ridged scales across his nose before giving the honest answer that his comrade had earned.
"Yes" he nodded "I could, some Hunters are everything that we were always meant to be, heroes to their core….There would be no enjoyment in it, but for a better Remnant I could kill them all"
"Well it's jolly good to know where we stand with one another" Grapeshot tried his best to alleviate the thick and heavy atmosphere now hanging between the two of them, privately disgusted at the way his own voice had wavered in the face of his young companions' fire and steel he turned away and made his way into the small kitchen of the apartment to procure a glass of brandy which was downed in an instant, a paltry attempt to calm his sudden nerves only for Carmesi's voice to demand his attention once again.
"Your scroll" the Komodo Dragon stated with a sense of importance "It's him" there was no need to specify who was meant and the Major, far too experienced to be affected by a single drink paced rapidly back towards where Carmesi now paced in agitation and answered the incoming call on the scroll that was reserved for this purpose alone.
"Major, Carmesi" the benefactor intoned as he came into view, or rather the featureless black silhouette that he appeared as on the video call came into view, with a featureless and unidentifiable room behind him and a voice so heavily processed and modulated it made him, for Major Grapeshot believed that the benefactor was in fact man, impossible to identify. Not for the first time the pompous veteran wondered why the secretive figure used video calls at all if he were so adamant on keeping his identity a secret though now this question was pushed aside as a new curiosity came to the fore; the Major had long suspected and understood that Carmesi and this benefactor were in closer or more frequent contact than he was privy to however that he realised just how often his companion was referred to by his first name Grapeshot couldn't help wonder just how the two knew one another.
"We have….developments to report" the Komodo Dragon growled, shooting Grapeshot a sidelong glance as the older man remained silent for longer than was polite or expected; in doing so prompting him to let out an attempt at a dignified harrumph and took charge of the situation.
"Yes, we received word from one of the miscreants that we ah….inherited with your funding. It would appear that Headmistress Adel has called in the cavalry in the form of the Nemesis Kharybdis, a ship crewed by war heroes, at least Hunter with some degree of diplomatic immunity and political sway and several children of war heroes….All of them will be rather challenging quarries"
"I am aware of them" the benefactor admitted, with some unknown emotion slipping into the modulated voice "Their presence has been something of a hindrance to my plans here in New Vale, even if we have been working towards the same end...admittedly for different reasons"
"They've been investigating the failed attempt to send you a specimen" Carmesi rumbled, eyes downcast in memory of the failure that had cost lives that did not deserve to be cut short "But they think it's tied to the fight club we shut down?"
"Not an illogical deduction, in fact a rather correct one after a fashion" Grapeshot guffawed "A rum do for us"
"You are not to engage them directly" the benefactor interjected "Whilst they're attempting to track down the backers of the fight club and other high profile scum they are no direct threat to us., ensure that your operatives proceed with caution and understand the severity of the situation….the matters we are dealing with are too sensitive to allow for mistakes"
"Understood sir" Grapeshot nodded
"And what of the target specimen?" the shadowy figure asked, clearly having intended this to be the real crux of the conversation.
"Nothing substantial to report" Grapeshot lamented "We have a general idea of the things' hunting grounds however it seems to be a truly cunning beast, I've never seen the like of it; any scouts we send to gather more intelligence disappear shortly after getting a lead on it and I would honestly wager that the thing is smart enough to set a trap….I think it knows it's being followed"
"Which, in a cruel irony only makes it more valuable to me and more important to capture"
"I would've seen to it that the beast was put down regardless" Grapeshot puffed out his own chest "Making it my last hurrah as it were would have been truly capital, however if bringing it in alive for your research can help save more lives in the long run then; by my oaths as a Hunter I am bound to try-"
"We had the beginnings of a plan" Carmesi interrupted, tone low and dangerous and on hearing it Grapeshot turned and gave the younger man a betrayed look
"Oh?" the benefactor's unspoken request to continue was clear.
"It will require the new and improved containment unit that you're working on" the Faunus began "But I believe that we can capture the Grimm no matter how clever it is, rather than chase it across the wastelands we should make it come to us. A Grimm is still a Grimm and we know what they feed on….I'll admit that one as intelligent as we suspect this Alpha to be might not be drawn to pheromone traps, which means we may need to use a more convincing bait-"
"Denied. Categorically" the benefactor cut Carmesi off with a forcefulness that made his disguised voice clip and glitch for a moment as it became clear exactly what the Faunus was suggesting.
"We wouldn't put them in any real risk, the needs must-"
"No Carmesi!" the benefactor's voice rose, showing more emotion than Grapeshot could remember having heard from the unknown figure "Our goals are noble and whilst sacrifices must be made for the good of all of Remnant I will not stoop to the kind of reasoning that would let us justify trading a whole settlement of innocent people to bring us closer to our objective"
"Understood" Carmesi ground out, knuckles clenching with an audible pop at the vehement rebuke.
"Good. Continue your search for the Alpha Geist, dismissed" with that the call ended and Carmesi let out a low wordless growl before stalking out of the apartment and into the rain-slicked darkness of Blackwater Cove, no doubt to prowl the streets as the avenging force of justice and righteous fury he believed himself to be, which would in turn no doubt lead to more than one petty criminal being injured or worse before sunrise.
Major Grapeshot, for his part allowed himself to relax a fraction as he returned to the kitchen to pour another well earned drink and contemplate on the identity and more importantly the character of the person he now took orders from. That Carmesi's suggestion had been shot down was a source of relief, it showed that whatever master manipulator the benefactor was and whatever his professed greater good might entail the man still had some principles that he could recognise.
Which made it easier for Grapeshot to continue to live with himself and his choices.
"Team FADE reporting for duty headmistress" it was the voice of Felix Xiao Long that filled Coco Adel's office, a little deeper than she remembered and with a quiet confidence that spoke of just how much the headstrong aggression he had suffered from as a teenager had mellowed and matured. The Lion Faunus was flanked by his team-mates, Arctus, Diamond and Eagle, all of whom looked every part the legend that they had become even if they looked visibly weary after a long voyage; Stood beside Coco herself, fingers drumming rapidly against the surface of her desk was Velvet, expression pulled into a wide smile even as the Rabbit Faunus struggled to fight a losing battle against the inevitable.
Coco rolled her eyes behind her signature sunglasses and counted backwards from three, reaching zero at the precise moment that Velvet and Eagle both ran out resolve.
"IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" the pair exclaimed, meeting in the middle of the office and pulling each other into a crushing hug, during which the muscular blonde woman actually lifted Velvet off of the ground; there was an adage in Vale that everyone was related to an Arc in some degree and here it seemed to hold true as Velvet's younger brother Flax had married one of the late Jaune Arc's sisters, making Flax Scarlatina Eagle's favourite uncle and Velvet one of many famous Hunters that she had been able to look up to and see as a role model.
"Little Fox know you're coming but not that you got here today" Velvet grinned "He can't wait to see you….He hasn't said that of course, he's much too cool to admit things like that"
"Oh he's one of the cool teenagers...I never was" the freckled blonde giant gave a roll of her deep crimson eyes "Hey where's Yatsu"
"Dealing with some of the paperwork after a meeting with a student….A first year who's, well I shouldn't say it but something of a headache" Velvet answered
"Managed to give herself one hell of a headache too" Coco muttered under her breath, momentarily forgetting that she was the only person in the room without Faunus hearing and as such everybody had heard her comment; leading to most of Team FADE trying, with various degrees of success to stifle their laughter at the unknown teens' expense whilst Velvet simply gave the woman she shared her life with a long-suffering shake of the head. After a few moments Felix used the lull in conversation to speak up.
"So, briefings then...Or a quick catchup at least"
"We've got things to take care of on and with the ship" Arctus Slate added in explanation "A lot of paperwork that Carcharodon really doesn't have the patience to deal with-"
"That tracks" Coco noted, remembering the Shark Faunus with whom Team FADE now travelled Remnant from his own time as a student; fearsome, relentless and given experience beyond his years by a harsh life with a piratical clan that prowled the Northern coast of Anima.
"Okay then" Velvet said simply "What's the latest developments in Neo Vale? Obviously you're here but Qrow hasn't said much"
"He's been busy" Felix answered "Things back home got….weird"
"We've been chasing up every lead we can to find the people running the smuggling operation on the New Vale end and who they remaining backers are, along with anything we can use to build a case on the people who lawyered up or relocated to avoid charges when you shut down the fight club" Diamond explained, blowing a strand of silvery hair away from her face in a familiar gesture "We got nowhere, whoever is paying these guys is using more than Lien; everyone we've caught has said that they'll be killed if they talk….a few of them chose not to get caught"
"And then there was the last case" Arctus added before the shock of that statement could truly sink in "The suspect jumped onto the monorail tracks to try and make a run for it, the power to those tracks had been cut but someone, we think whoever was paying him and probably the same person who supplied him with a battle suit turned the power to the tracks back on and killed him"
"So that's what Great Uncle Qrow is looking into" Felix concluded "Who has the power, resources and influence to do everything that's been done; the smuggling, the paying off whole criminal organisations, supplying them and getting access to the cities' infrastructure….The search is no longer limited to the previous suspects in the Grimm smuggling case because, as much as I hate to say it we think we might be looking at something even bigger than we initially thought"
"Damn it all, how much bigger can it get?" Coco exclaimed wearily.
"That matches with what we've seen here" Velvet informed the younger Hunters "At least partially, the few people we've managed to arrest have clammed up and refused to talk, all of them claiming that 'He' will come and kill them….we still don't know who the 'he' is"
"We do have something to work with though" Coco managed a bitter chuckle "We at least know what they're looking for, we think they're trying to recapture the escaped Alpha Geist….I suppose we could always hope that the smugglers and the Grimm finish each other off"
"This is the same Grimm that Astra's team fought?" Felix intoned; a quiet warning of sorts creeping into words, reminding Coco to not be so flippant where family was concerned.
"It's changed since then….Our working hypothesis is that it's taken to cannibalising other Grimm, along with attacking anyone in encounters" Velvet explained, turning the computer screen mounted on Coco's desk so that Team FADE could see it "We have experienced Hunters attempting to locate it but as you can see…."
"Dude" Diamond mouthed at the sight of the many-armed and vaguely lupine horror clad in rags of its' own flesh.
"It has a cannon on its' back?" Eagle gasped in disbelief "What the heck?"
"They keep getting smarter, weirder and uglier" Felix snorted.
"And more dangerous" Arctus muttered, eyes inscrutable as he regarded the monster that his sister and her team-mates had faced down on their first official mission as students.
"Well your help and input on the matter will definitely be appreciated" Coco breathed out, stirring Team FADE from their thoughts "I presume you've got other jobs to do while you're in the city?"
"Some small missions that will give us a pretext for investigations" Felix confirmed "I presume you've got work to handle, even if it is a weekend"
"Weekend at a school is only for the students" Coco snorted.
"Then we'll give you some peace and talk more when we can schedule a meeting" Felix gave the two senior Hunters before him a nod of recognition before turning to leave.
"Of course and if you don't mind me being an opportunist" Coco flashed a winning smile "While you're in the city, I couldn't convince some of the most famous Hunters of their generation to give a few talks and seminars to the students could I?"
"We would love to" Diamond assured her.
"I haven't done any seminars yet" Eagle admitted "People always book Arctus, I can't wait"
"It's the name recognition" the Bear Faunus sighed, words heavy with the same exhaustion at the attention that he shared with his sister.
"Actually guys" Felix spoke up as Team FADE prepared to leave, cybernetic portion of his tail swishing slowly behind him as he pondered "Would you guys be able to make your own way back to the ship? It gives you a chance to get a feel for Port Alistair….I've got something I wanna do before I leave"
Regalia felt the familiar whipping of the howling wind around her body as Clunker tore through the streets of Port Alistair at speed that would likely be illegal in any of the other Kingdoms, not that the Racoon Faunus was well-versed in trivialities such as traffic laws by any means; the jetbike was entirely immune to the drizzle that had slowly become a more insistent rain that soaked the road beneath her, though the way Astra gripped at her sides suggested that the Deer Faunus had not yet realised this fact and likely believed that Regalia would crash at any moment.
The two of them had, eventually and after Regalia had extricated her partner from beneath their new boyfriend made their way into the Capital City so that the former nomad could shop for some small components that she would need in order to send some tools and useful equipment of her own design to one of the many trading posts that Clan Aiktishaf had long standing relations with and more importantly do so without fear of being recognised as a member of the nomad clans and suddenly finding the goods she required becoming more expensive. It was an admittedly rare occurrence in Port Alistair where things such as heritage seemed to matter far less, likely due to the more cosmopolitan nature of the port city and Regalia had faced far less discrimination than she had initially feared and expected upon setting out on her journey to become a Huntress, however the fact remained that Astra had promised to join her and getting them to fulfil that promise had taken an inordinate amount of time and effort which had been compounded further by the fact the Deer Faunus's mood had darkened along with the sky overhead, growing slowly more sullen and irritable until Regalia had given the briefest consideration to simply leaving them being; though as amusing as the thought was it was something that she could never follow through with, those raised in the wasteland simply did not abandon their friends and family.
As was proven by the fact that even now Regalia spent considerable time and effort trying to be helpful and make life easier for the clan that had loved but largely failed to understand her.
"Be careful!" Astra's panicked yell reached Regalia's ears and caused her to divert her attention away from the road ahead for the briefest fraction of a second after she whipped around a corner; she had thought that with the sudden urgency in her partners' tone that they might have been about to fall from the bike however it seemed merely that she had inadvertently sent a small wave of water splashing out in all directions as she drifted onto another street at high speed, in doing so catching a small group of pedestrians whose disgruntled yells faded quickly into the distance and also splashing Astra's hair and clothes.
"Heh, you're already wet….it'll be fine" Regalia rolled her eyes before directing them back toward the road, unable to keep playful smile from her lips despite her passengers' insistent grumpiness at being brought out into the inclement weather. Astra's grumbling continued unabated but also largely unheeded for the rest of the return journey, which was thankfully not long at all as the massive form of Breaktide Academy loomed overhead and its' perimeter wall came into view soon enough, with Regalia throwing Clunker into one of her customary and entirely unnecessary sideways slides as crossed the threshold of the campus, a move that left black smoke billowing in her wake and the engine of her jetbike roaring and screaming in a display that she simply believed was the kind of dramatic entrance a Hunter should attempt to make at all times, not matter how often concepts such as traffic laws and the green cross code were explained to her. Before much longer both Regalia and Astra were within the safe and dry shelter of the campus garage, left mostly barren by the absence of the staffs' vehicles as fewer students than one might expect held drivers' licenses.
"Finally back" Astra let out a sigh of relief as they hopped off of the back of Clunker, stretching out stiff and sore limbs before glancing around their surroundings; all of this going unseen by Regalia as the Racoon Faunus cut the power to her bikes' idling engine and began collecting her recent purchases.
"Hey, would you mind-"
"No way!" the exclamation at first sounded like an abject denial and Regalia would have huffed at her partners' sudden tone, however before she could say anything she might regret she took note of the stunned, elated and frankly awed tone it had been delivered in before turning to see what had elicited such a reaction from the Deer Faunus who normally struggled to be seen as cool and in charge.
And suddenly she understood.
Some distance away was a heavily customised muscle car of Vaccuan origin whose black paint made it no less impressive to look at even in the gloom of he garage, however it was the figure leaning against the vehicle that had caused Astra's outburst. A Lion Faunus with an impressive physique that their stature did not quite match, golden cybernetics replacing their tail and right forearm, a messy and dirty blonde mane that was just as curly as Astra's own dyed hair whenever it was not styled and features who familiarity would have made the connection clear even if Regalia had not been at least passingly familiar with the man through brief interactions during video calls and the many stories Astra had told.
This was Felix Xiao Long, Astra's half brother who had been raised by two members of the legendary Team RWBY.
"What the hell are you doing here? I mean I wasn't expecting you it's great to see you!" Astra's voice was lighter and more enthusiastic than normal, giving the Deer Faunus the impression of being younger than their true age for a moment as they bounded across the parking lot and threw their arms around Felix, who Regalia now noted was actually the shorter of the two siblings even if he was far more muscular.
"Good to see you too kid" Felix gave a grin that displayed overlong, almost sabre-like canines "We've got some work on the island and might be giving a few talks here….So I thought I'd see how you're doing"
"You're gonna be in my classes? This is gonna be-" Astra stopped, seemingly realising that they were not alone and were in fact in a semi-public setting before clearing their throat and adjusting their demeanour accordingly "I mean cool, cool it should be fun-"
"Kid you do not get to try to act cool with me, no matter what you do to your hair" Felix declared as they doubled over, laughing hysterically at their younger siblings' attempt at nonchalance even as they reached out and used Astra's shoulder as support.
"Shut up Fluffy" the Deer Faunus pouted, arms folding across their chest as they shrugged Felix off of them though the Lion Faunus simply rose back up to his full height, catching sight of Regalia seemingly for the first time and playfully nudging Astra in the ribs as they did so.
"You're not gonna introduce us?" he asked pointedly before turning to Regalia herself "Hi, Regalia right? Astra's partner….Good to finally meet you"
"It's good to finally meet you too" Regalia beamed earnestly "Astra talks about you a lot" behind Felix Astra made several hand gestures in rapid succession that the Racoon Faunus supposed meant that she should stop talking and, in retribution for her partners' earlier griping she promptly decided to pretend that she had not seen them.
"Nice bike….I'm more of a car guy myself but you can't grow up in a house with Yang Xiao Long and not know a good bike when you see it" Felix mused "I'm surprised Astra hasn't tried to borrow it yet so they can look even more like a little rebel, how are you managing to keep 'em out of trouble anyway?"
"Heh, I'm not" Regalia admitted with a chuckle before quickly back-peddling "But Astra is a great team leader though, they really look up to you and try and be the kind of leader that you would be proud of" the Racoon Faunus's earnest and bright-eyed answer, replete with nervous hand-wringing earned her a smile so mischievous that it bordered on outright sinister from Felix
"Oh you've gotta tell me more about this" the blonde's grin somehow widened "Starting with how much they're paying you to say all that"
Behind their brother Astra let out a wordless groan as their body sagged in abject defeat whilst Regalia, still not entirely familiar with the workings of the more nuclear family units of the Kingdoms found herself fighting the urge to go at least a little mad with power as she realised, at least vaguely just how much fun she could have at her partners' expense.
Astra was quickly reminded of just how kind-hearted the Racoon Faunus was when they left the garage with the pride still mostly intact.
Author's Notes:
So, I know I called last chapter the mid-season finale but this is actually the mid-point of the volume numerically speaking.
We're also fully planned out for the entire back half of Vol.02 which takes us to Chapter 36.
Depending on what my writing schedule looks like over the next couple weeks I might try and get another My Hero Academia story written, but we'll see.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
So, after a week hiatus we're back and our first scene is giving some depth to the latest addition to the villain team because I wanted her to feel like an actual person….So naturally my longer readers are now saying "Start the timer, she's gonna be a red-shirt".
Basically Rowan is a goon who got a promotion because the management liked her gumption….You don't get that in legal jobs any more.
A callback to the cafe Regalia was visiting in the chapter where we first met Rowan.
So Rowan does actually have a weapon, she just doesn't use it to avoid being easily recognisable….She also has a Semblance which has aided in some of her getaways.
She gives no fucks that they killed Persian, Carmesi breaking her arm in the bar when she attacked Team WULF though; yeah she's gonna remember that.
Rowan is planning on getting in touch with the old backers, the same people that the benefactor and Coco/Team FADE are looking for.
Of course she's racist towards the Anima tribes….Although I'd love to see what happens if she were to say that to the current heads of the Frost River or Nikosi tribes.
Obviously we all know who's aboard that ship but I wanted to string their arrival out for a while.
'Some students' it's Team MARZ and Team WULF who are injured, nobody else has done the head to head training yet.
AJ is teething again.
Writing Zirconia when she isn't being all detached and cool is fun.
Chairman Damascus Nero; immediately starting 'Dad level' teasing.
A billionaire with a plan to make Remnant a better place, can you imagine such a thing in real life.
So Zirconia didn't tell anybody about her Semblance changing during the training exercise, but she called home straight away, also there's definitely hidden meaning to the line about a Semblance saying something about who you are.
But what about-….What about what? What did Nero cut stop her from saying?
AJ is sporty, basketball, a breakdancing phase, training to fight since she was around ten, absolutely a weightlifter.
I think we all know who the text was from, there's only so many people who can get that reaction out of AJ.
Of course Ruby bet money on these two dorks.
Grimm Studies and Combat classes are constantly cancelling other peoples' lessons, now those Professors are making up for lost time.
Astra and Wolfram are just hanging out on what's basically the roof of the outdoor training area and acting like those two characters from the muppets, you know which ones I mean.
Every time I think about Astra's outfits or how they're body is positioned I have to remind myself to account for their antlers.
For all their nerves, doubts and posturing Astra is the one who has been comfortable with their sexuality and gender identity for longer and also has a lot more experience with flirting just by virtue of living somewhere with a larger population, the kid is smooth.
….But when it comes to being the one to get pinned down and straddled, Wolfram is just bigger and stronger.
A little life lesson for younger readers, Astra's right everyone is putting on a show and nobody knows what they're doing, that applies to most things.
Of course Wolfram, as bad-ass as he is gets nervous around Clunker, our introduction to him was Regalia nearly running him over.
Regalia would absolutely play careless whisper on a boom-box.
Wolfram is right, Astra could absolutely not kick AJ out the dorm if they tried.
Wolfram's first glimpse of Team FADE and more importantly Astra's big brother is the second version of Felix's car 'The Killer Bee'.
I was actually originally gonna have Diabla on crutches in this scene but I honestly forgot to write it and I'll be honest she's gonna be back in action soon enough anyway so there's no sense in adding them.
Is this the first time Diabla has actually apologised to anyone? I make it a deliberate thing to never let Wolfram say sorry but I think Diabla it's just been natural.
She's giving out a thank you as well, those talks with Yatsu are paying off….and honestly just getting everything that she'd been dealing with out in the open and off of her chest was for the best.
"Actions have consequences, I wanna face 'em head on" meet the distilled essence of Diabla Fuego, Laser's observation was right as well she really hasn't had anything in life without having to suffer for it.
….Laser not quite going for the hand hold, but he's definitely a braver man than people give him credit for.
So now I'm obviously setting up Diabla doing something to settle the score with AJ and make herself 'even'.
Of course that was her reaction to Team FADE's arrival.
So Carmesi and Hueso know about Team FADE and we get an interesting little insight into the two of them; especially Carmesi who is a true believer in the benefactor's plans.
The benefactor is clearly doing the whole 'Living shadow' thing instead of just a voice only call for the aesthetic.
Had nobody noticed that the benefactor is on first name terms with Carmesi even though we've known his last name since his introduction?
So the benefactor doesn't want problems with Team FADE….obviously that's not gonna last though since he is the person that they're looking for even if they don't know it yet.
Carmesi did say something about using bait the last time we saw him, interesting that the benefactor has enough conviction in his better Remnant talks to deny the use of tactics like that.
And here it is, Team FADE are in Port Alistair.
The little catchup between Eagle and Velvet was fun, in FADE: Legacy Flax Scarlatina was Eagle's favourite Uncle and also took Team FADE on their first training mission., which coincidentally is actually where Eagle met her wife for the first time.
"Managed to give herself one hell of a headache too" is a shot at Diabla.
We'll get into where the rest of the legacy characters are next chapter.
I'll be honest this scene was a chance to get everyone on the same page since, even though the heroes still don't know exactly what's going things will get hard to juggle if there's multiple incorrect assumptions going around.
Arctus and Diamond were giving seminars in the epilogue of FADE, this is a thing they do.
We all knew that Felix was going to see Astra.
I wrote the scene more from Regalia's perspective just to give her something to do this chapter, I honestly feel like I need something for her to as a character.
….Also Astra is being a little bitch.
Regalia will always do the Akira slide, always.
And now we get one in person sibling reunion, one more to do.
Of course Astra tried to backtrack and act like they were too cool and of course it didn't work.
Felix is right, if Yang Xiao Long is your Mum then you know about bikes by osmosis.
And now Astra learns to treat Regalia better, because Regalia can embarrass them endlessly in front of the big brother they look up to.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Funlander and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter...Also shout out to MajorBrony for leaving the 50th review on FF Net.
I think the difference is that Felix wasn't actually out to everyone whilst Astra is and that Arctus knew he liked Diamond from the get go, AJ still hasn't actually had the epiphany yet.
Kinda hangover, kinda food poisoning, kinda Covid Vaccine side effects all into one….And nah, Ursinia's toxin effects are based solely on amount, she doesn't have different sets; that would basically end up being a second Semblance.
Scars are cool, getting beaten to a fleshy purple mass….Not so much.
An Eagle and Hellion spin-off isn't on my to do list, but never rule anything out completely.
Also I love that Eagle, who was originally kinda like Regalia in that I didn't know exactly what to do with her character has gotten something of a cult following amongst my OCs.
I feel like Ruby and Penny are professional enough to not G Check Diabla and still treat her like any other student, as for the other students...I feel like the facts that a) this is a school where sanctioned fights are actually a thing and b) everyone heard as well as saw that fight might get her a little bit of leeway.
Fun thing, Diabla's attitude will tie in to Laser's Semblance reveal which will the in turn tie into a couple of other reveals in Vol.03.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.