MARZ Rising

by FandomPariah

It's been thirty years since Ruby Rose saved Remnant from Salem and almost a decade since it was saved again. Salem is gone yet the Creatures of Grimm remain and now a new generation of Hunters are ready to begin their story... By enrolling at the Breaktide Academy of Menagerie where they'll be trained by legends including Team CFVY and Ruby Rose herself. Part 5 of the Spiral-Verse

45. Closing In

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

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

I am making no money from this.

Chapter 45: Closing In

Professor of Grimm Studies, Huntress and hero of Remnant whose fame and renown were impossible to overstate as well as proud sponsor of both the local under eighteens' baseball team which her daughter had previously been the star player of and her favoured brand of chocolate chip cookies, Ruby Rose was, despite her titles and experience struggling with bored impatience far more in keeping with the overeager teenager she had once been which at that moment manifested itself as shuffling and pacing absently whilst tapping a booted foot against the hard ground.

All whilst being slyly aware of the fact that this was not behaviour she would like her students to see from her.

She had naturally expected Teams MARZ and WULF to encounter some level of danger out in the open wastes, however she had also expected them to have overcome said dangers and made an open assault on her by now; the threat of their usual friends working against them likely enough to throw off the teens usual strategic sensibilities.

She had first positioned herself slightly beyond the edge of what the clan of formerly Vaccuan nomads considered to be their land, both as part an agreement she had struck with the elders of Clan Lijani out of a sense of duty and respect and also, more practically simply because whilst the sinkholes and unstable ground of the area would serve as a challenge for her students Ruby had no intention of fighting on such a thin foam of solid ground herself. From there logic had dictated that legendary Huntress would need to find a way to counter the abilities of one of her students, namely Regalia Russet and her ability to sense the direction of that which would help her at any given time; a Semblance that would almost certainly lead her directly to her Professor if used in this mission; Ruby had hoped to mitigate this threat by moving back and forth between two reasonably distant points at such speed that her exact location could not be pinpointed and instead she appeared as a blur of motion even to Regalia.

That had been some time ago however and since then Ruby had gotten hungry.

In a move that Ruby privately hoped that neither Coco nor her students ever learned of Ruby had, some time ago decided to race towards the nearest settlement at full speed; the township was Mistrali in origin and retained strong ties to its' cultural roots, not least of which in its' cuisine and so, realising that her students would likely be longer than expected and that she had not enjoyed authentic Mistrali food for far too long Ruby had quickly found a suitable establishment and ordered a large noodle-based dish from a man who strangely greatly resembled a familiar shopkeeper from Vale before racing back to her post, the entirely affair taking less than thirty minutes due to her impossible speed. Glancing at the now empty container that her food had come in which she would be sure to take with her when she returned to the transport she had left secured at the original landing zone Ruby let out a sigh, shifting her signature cape so that it rested off of one shoulder to make it slightly less stifling in the heat before reaching into its' folds to produce a glass bottle; as a teacher and a professional she would never consider drinking any amount of alcohol whilst on duty, especially when her students were involved however she had managed to purchase a non-alcoholic equivalent of the strawberry sunrises her sister enjoyed so much.

Before the bottle could reach her lips its' contents were sent splashing over her shirt, cape and boots as the glass was severed neatly just below where Ruby's fingers gripped its' neck; cleaved by a familiar whoosh of solidified and freezing air that moved like a guillotine.

Ruby let out a sigh and cricked her neck. Professionalism be damned, she had wanted that drink.

"I see you've finally made it" Ruby forced a chipper, almost singsong noted into a voice that dripped with unfamiliar warning and menace as she discarded the remains of the bottle, crushing them underfoot as she clenched her fists as scanned her surroundings; easily finding Wolfram Ironside charging towards her with his axe and shield at the ready by following the direction his Semblance-based attack had come from yet the leader of Team WULF was alone and Ruby quickly realised that however they had found her, the students had formed some sort of plan.

That knowledge was proven a moment later when a flicker of movement at the edge of her vision preceded something landing at her feet with a metallic clang.

"A smoke grenade? Really?" Ruby fought to keep the laughter out of her voice, deciding that whilst this was a punishment as much as a training exercise she would still endeavour to keep her mockery to a carefully regulated level. The smoke grenade began to let out its' thick, cloying and blinding payload and Ruby, taking care not to breathe in the smoke began to brace herself so that she might disperse it with a quick burst of her Semblance to displace the air yet before she could do so she heard a distinctive dull thudding noise close by which caused her remaining silver to widen with surprise.

Team WULF were taking this exercise very seriously it seemed.

Crimson streaked across the air and petals fell in the wake of her blurred motion as Ruby quickly evaded, rushing clear of the smoke a moment before the grenade Ursinia Red had fired exploded and set the gas alight to produce a booming fireball. The Professor allowed herself a small smile before carrying her movement through, turning a narrow escape into a headlong charge as she shifted her trajectory in order to tackle Laser Greenback to the ground.

Only for Diabla Fuego to materialise out of seemingly nowhere at all.

"SORRY ABOUT THIS PROFESSOR!" the brawler, so like a younger Yang in that moment with her eyes and fists engulfed in volcanic fire and her weapons in their gauntlet form bellowed as she reared back her right fist for a Semblance-powered haymaker that would stop even the Silver Eyed Warrior in her tracks.

Ruby's smirk only widened as she counteracted, time slowing to irrelevance as her own Semblance increased her reflexes and thoughts along with her movements allowing her to display prowess that had long since evolved beyond that of the small girl who favoured her weapon over any form of hand to hand melee; she moved the merest fraction to her left and kicked out at Diabla's right ankle to send her stumbling as her own momentum was turned against her and her own charge sent her tumbling into her teachers' follow up right jab to the gut which left the teen retching and gasping for air as her light body armour did nothing to prevent her from being snatched from the ground and bent double in mid-air and at that point it was nothing at all for Ruby to deliver an overhand blow with her dominant left fist which left Diabla sprawled in the dust.

From there it was easy.

Ursinia's reaction was expected, the Scorpion Faunus was the physically largest of her team, had a Semblance which bolstered her teams' resilience and a caring, nurturing instinct and so it was only natural that she would come barrelling at Ruby with the Adventurer at the ready in its' sword form in an effort to pluck Diabla free. Ruby simply sped towards her student, leapt onto Ursinia's sword and delivered a kick to the face with a steel-toed boot that went her crashing backwards before vanishing in another burst of petals and motion to resume her intended attack on Laser Greenback. The resourceful Vaccuan scavenger had been rummaging through his pockets whilst skulking low and silent, undoubtedly about to attempt other unconventional and underhanded tactic yet it was no use at all as Ruby struck him with the force of a moving train as she dropped low and used a sliding tackle more fitting for an athlete which sent him skidding across the ground before she continued her charging assault by looping around in a wide arc.

On a collision course for Wolfram Ironside.

To his immense credit the leader of Team WULF harboured no pretensions of being able to avoid or counter the incoming blow and so simply braced himself, planting the shield portion of Berserker and harnessing all of his might as Ruby struck him. The older Hunter sent a shock-wave of pain coursing through his body and a thundering impact which warped the air itself ringing out at a deafening volume as she leapt and planted both feet on the surface of Wolfram's shield, sending him sliding back across the hard ground before she used the rest of her momentum to, whilst still perching on the shield, swing forward and headbutt her student full in the face. Wolfram remained standing even as his eyes were left crossed and unfocused for a brief moment, body refusing to crumple with what Ruby could only assume was deeply-ingrained experience earned from years of attending football matches and the havoc that entailed however it was for nought as when Ruby finally back-flipped away and used the surface of the shield as a springboard to create distance the boy finally toppled backwards clumsily into a sitting position as he blinked stars from his vision.

Yet still, beaten and dazed as they were Team WULF had not yet surrendered and their Auras remained unbroken and so the exercise continued, although Ruby could not bring himself to quite literally kick the freshmen while they were down, no matter that she was playing the villain in this scenario.

"Ow" Laser's wheezed groan signified Team WULF's steady return to their feet.

"Everyone still above snakes?" Ursinia drawled, donning the hat which had been knocked from her head; earning herself a wordless grunt from Diabla, the first of the team to be given a dose of the Scorpion Faunus's numbing and bolstering Semblance as she limped over. Ruby's attention was turned away from them however as Wolfram leapt to his feet, planting himself firmly and working out a crick in his neck just as Ruby had done only a moment ago.

"Respectfully Professor, don't fuck with us!" he snapped, Ruby cocking her head and raising an eyebrow at the boys' temerity until he gestured from his weapons to her empty hands and continued "You wanted to do this, so let's do this….It's a lesson as well as a punishment right? So take it seriously then!"

Ruby found she had to admire the sheer gall of her student at that.

"Okay….Now I'm taking you seriously" she intoned flatly, reaching to her back and beneath her cloak to withdraw the collapsed form of Crescent Rose and deploy the weapon into its' iconic and awe-inspiring scythe form.

Wolfram gave a savage smile, winning had been an impossibility from the outset; at least now he could lose with his pride intact.

---

The protean, roiling mass of Fire Ant Grimm known as Infernal Devices were, as Astra Mars had noted with a hilarious degree of understatement tricky to overcome.

In their first assault on the trio of teenagers they had ambushed from below the insectoid tide had combined themselves into a single, interlocking ring of chittering, scrabbling bodies rendered functionally impervious to damage as each felled Grimm was swiftly replaced by another of its' kind as they were gunned down by the trio of Faunus with reckless abandon and from there the Infernal Devices had begun to merge themselves into more complex forms, namely writhing and lashing flails which tore out across the interior of the space which they prey had been trapped in with their jagged and serrated mandibles forming jutting barbs lining the fleshly tendrils which moved with a gestalt consciousness and twitching, unpredictable spasms.

However Astra, Athena-Jade and Regalia had been ready for this.

A combination of hard-light shields and glowing glyphs used in tandem had swept across the enclosed space, flickering in and out of existence as Athena and Astra leapt, rolled and weaved around one another to cover all angles from the thrashing onslaught all whilst protecting Regalia who, lacking a shield had decided to retaliate by continuing to blast away chunks of the flowing mass of darkness with Apex Scavenger in its' shotgun mode.

Which had forced the Infernal Devices to switch to a more conventional method of attack.

Sensing, with base and animal cunning that their attempts to ensnare their prey had failed the tide of insectoid horrors instead shifted and condensed their bodies to form a single gestalt Fire Ant Grimm larger than any of the teenagers it fought, its' entire form oscillating in colour between deep midnight black and stained bone as the miniature beasts which made it moved ceaselessly.

The combined swarm had charged as a single attacker only for this attack to be similarly met and answered as Astra and Regalia had, with nothing but a nod and a look of understanding between them had shifted their respective weapons into their close combat modes in order to rush headlong into the oncoming attack and cut away limbs of the gestalt Grimm and send trickles of individual Infernal Devices scurrying before Astra had transformed Buckshot Ares into their shield form, allowing Regalia to vault from their surface, passing under the combined monster and fire her harpoon into its' back in order to force it rear up on its' remaining limbs with the deafening shriek of a multitude of buzzing voices only for the Grimm to be blasted apart as Athena-Jade readied Mould-Breaker in its' laser cannon form and fired directly at its' thorax.

The damage had been significant yet the individual component monsters had swarmed across the dry ground, quickly reforming and renewing their assault; which led to the exclamation of disbelieving frustration which escaped Astra at that moment.

"Oh this is bullshit!" the Deer Faunus yelled as yet another leaping, spinning slash was proven to be largely ineffectual against such a uniquely resilient foe.

The remaining Infernal Devices, of which there were many had coalesced into a trio of forms that were harder to adequate describe though fitted largely with what Team WULF had discussed; namely implements that might seem at home in some ludicrously overwrought gauntlet for adventurers to overcome as each of the three masses of chittering chitin rose to taller than a man and seemed to be in a constant whirling motion as it unleashed whipping tendrils of interconnected Grimm and shards of piercing bone at utterly random intervals, with Astra's attempt to cut away one such implement leading to the Grimm which were cut away simply fleeing and adding their biomass to the nearby tower of shifting forms which Athena was keeping at bay, yet failing to do any lasting damage to with her hammer.

"We can't keep breaking 'em apart like this!" Regalia called out, revealing that she was in similar straits as she back-flipped over a low whip that tore at the dusty ground in an effort to trip her.

"I mean we can, it just won't do anything!" Astra countered as they blocked and stabbed at another incoming mass of darkness only for it disintegrate into scurrying constituents and reattach itself.

"I think we need to take them all out in a single attack" Athena noted "But my weapon won't be enough and we don't have Zirconia to keep them in place-"

"We need to trick them into going where we want them to" Regalia added, the input from their two friends sparking some trace of ingenuity within Astra which the Deer Faunus privately nurtured as they exchanged a handful of consistently inconclusive blows with the mass of Infernal Devices until they ventured apparently random, but important questions.

"Regalia, the tribe whose land we're on….There's no way they're still in the tunnels these things came out of right?"

"No" the Racoon Faunus shook her head "They'll have sealed 'em off….The infestation is probably why we haven't seen anybody so far"

"Good" the Deer Faunus grinned "AJ, are you carrying Gravity Dust?"

"Always" the Bear Faunus answered with an expression which made it clear she that the question was a rather obvious one.

"Then let's get off the ground, these things can't fly" Astra urged and seeing the beginnings of what her leader was grasping at Athena quickly complied, leaping into the air and creating the first of a stairway of glyphs ascending out of reach which her team-mates used to follow behind her. Once the three were present and secure Regalia looked from Astra who panted for breath to the Infernal Devices which had allowed their combined forms to collapse and were skittering across the ground in loose, roving bands as they presumably sought out their quarry.

"So, now what….We've still gotta go down there"

"They're retreating" Athena noted warily as the mass of darkness began to run into small lakes and streams of obsidian which ran towards the holes from which the Grimm had erupted. Astra shook their head silently to show that they disagreed with the assessment before pulling themselves up to their full height to speak.

"They're not running….Just giving themselves a running start. I think it's time for a new take on one of the classics, Regalia this time it's gonna be AJ that throws me-"

"What are you planning?" Athena asked, more cautious now than she had been a moment ago as her friends' penchant for high risk and high reward strategies raised its' head once again; in response Astra merely grinned devilishly.

"I want you to make another glyph, directly above this one and laced with Gravity Dust….Facing downwards" Astra paused to make sure that they were understood "On my signal the two of you need to get clear, jump off of this glyph and get rid of it"

"This sounds-" whatever assessment Athena had intended to make of Astra's plan, so far as she could follow it was interrupted by dry, crackling crunch from the ground below as fissures spread out in a narrow web across the dry ground which began to bulge upwards.

"HERE THEY COME! AJ NOW!" Astra boomed, voice filled with sudden authority which saw Regalia brace herself whilst Athena-Jade nodded and prepared the shimmering black glyph laced with Dust exactly as Astra had requested. The Deer Faunus themselves deployed Buckshot Ares and slammed the two shields together to deploy a curved plane of rose-tinted hard-light through which they peered intently until the moment presented itself.

"NOW!" Astra flung themselves into a flip, watching the glowing surface of the glyph they had been stood on disappear beneath them as Regalia pulled Athena clear; as they inverted themselves the Deer Faunus's feet struck the shimmering darkness and at that moment they felt themselves be fired with dangerous force downwards. Beneath them the ground exploded as Infernal Devices burst from the ground once more, this time forming their entire biomass into a single barbed javelin aimed directly at where their prey had been gathered.

The two forces met with the sound of splintering bone.

Astra's shield brooked no resistance and each interlocking body of Grimm it encountered was reduced to nothingness as they hurtled downward, streams of acrid black smog from fading Grimm trailing from the hard-light plane ahead of them to give the Deer Faunus the appearance of a falling meteor as they struck the ground with a booming impact; landing on one knee and quickly bracing themselves as a shock-wave ripped outwards, preceding the ground beneath them trembling, shuddering and finally giving way as the tunnels in which any remaining Infernal Devices might lurk were collapsed completely.

"HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME!" Regalia beamed as she and Athena-Jade rushed to the shallow crater Astra had created, aiming to help them to their feet only for their assistance to be rendered unnecessary as Team MARZ's leader strode clear of the dust cloud under their own power, collapsing their weapons and making no effort to disguise the fact that they were actively trying to look dramatic and impressive as they made a show of moving at a slow and deliberate pace, swaggering as they brushed dust and debris from their shoulders.

Only for the moment to interrupted by the sound of an explosion in the distance.

"Grenade?….Ursinia?" Athena-Jade proffered, being familiar with most of her classmates weapons after months of studying together to an extent that she was comfortable in her assertion. Scowling momentarily Astra paused and considered, realising that Athena was likely correct which meant Team WULF had either encountered Grimm of their own or Professor Rose; at that they turned to Regalia.

"Look for the Professor with your Semblance, process of elimination to find out what they're fighting"

"Okay" Regalia nodded, impressed with her partners' novel use for her Semblance and quickly lowering her goggles in order to focus; only to let out a disgruntled noise as she saw the familiar marker of Look-See in the very place the explosion had come from.

"Uh good news, maybe….Or bad" she wrung her hands as she gave her report "They're fighting Professor Rose...Which means we know where she is now-"

"But that we're losing the mission right now! Come on LET'S GO!" Astra's volume and intensity increased with each word, reaching a fever pitch as they burst into motion, sprinting at full tilt in the direction of their objective; Athena and Regalia exchanging a look before following.

Astra for their department sped on with single-minded focus, they would win this training exercise no matter what; even if they didn't have a plan yet.

---

The persistence and resilience of Team WULF was admirable, Ruby would admit that openly and with the same pride with which she would declare that the team, erstwhile as they often were, each displayed levels of skill and ability far beyond what would normally be expected of a student nearing the completion of their freshman year, combined with an ingenuity and team work which set them apart.

However there was still an unfathomable distance between those abilities and her own.

The latest example of this gulf between them came as Laser and Diabla attacked in a coordinated, displaying synchronisation that Ruby had once doubted that they would ever find. The first blow came from Laser who swung Permadeath in its' katana form in a wide and chaotic slash only for Ruby to meet the attack with the shaft of Crescent Rose at which point the blonde gave a smirk that was almost as bashful before swinging the blade back so that it lodged itself in the workings of the iconic scythe at the point where the blade met shaft and, with a hydraulic hiss and cracking of the ground be below he deployed the mechanical claws in his boots which allowed him to grip onto any surface.

"NOW!" he called out, reedy voice frantic and being answered by his partner in an instant as Diabla came rushing in to leap over Laser's shoulder and land on the shaft of Crescent Rose itself, Ruby's remaining eye widening the smallest fraction, betraying her surprise as she saw her student level her gauntlet mounted flamethrower at her face whilst subtly preparing the Aura dampening cuffs in the other, the slight movement of her right hand betraying the ruse before it could be enacted.

Her students were good.

"Nope" Ruby laughed, popping the P as she adjusted her grip on her weapon and flung herself to the side, staggering both of her opponents though not quite enough to fling Diabla free or break Laser's lock on her blade which in turn forced her to use more drastic methods; with a smirk of her own Ruby leapt into the air and fired the sniper rifle weapon component of her weapon to fling herself overhead in an arcing path that carried her over and behind laser in a shrieking cacophony of grinding steel which sent Diabla tumbling to the ground and from there she used her momentum and considerable strength to swing Crescent Rose again, this time taking advantage of the way Permadeath was trapped against it and lift Laser into the air before slamming him down onto the ground with an impact that knocked the wind from him.

Only to shot in the chest by Berserker in its' ranged form.

The Professor and living legend needed less than a second to catch her breath and overcome the pain of the impact, though the annoyance at herself and surprise at the fact that one of her youngest students had actually managed to strike her thusly would likely take longer to recover from; scowling Ruby considered that perhaps she was holding back too much and sought out Wolfram, finding him shifting his weapon back into its' axe and shield components as Ursinia braced herself beside him with the stinger which tipped her tail quivering nervously. Ruby moved without hesitation, her entire form blurring into a crimson streak entirely unidentifiable as a human being as she implemented a move that had been used to great effect in battles and food fights alike, reaching a speed that created a jet stream of dust and debris. Wolfram and Ursinia leapt aside but were unable to escape the air-current entirely and were left dragged to the ground and backward several feet as their teacher hurtled between them, coming skidding to a stop behind them where she twirled her weapon before planting it into the ground and leaning against it, then holding up a pair of Aura dampening cuffs which a quick scrabbling search revealed that she had stolen from Ursinia.

"Had enough yet?" Ruby called over to them.

"No professor" Wolfram ground out, struggling to drag himself to his feet despite the aching that weighed his limbs down.

"Okay" Ruby laughed, shifting her weight in preparation for another charge only for her mirth to taper off as a sound reached her ears and then be promptly reignited as she realised what was about to happen.

"There you are" she murmured to herself as Team MARZ entered the fray.

Athena-Jade and Regalia appeared from behind the limited cover of bushes and other scrubby plants, revealing that the incoming trio had taken at least some amount of time to plan their course of attack and it was this that caused the Bear and Racoon Faunus to move together so seamlessly.

Athena went high, the shorter girl using her Semblance to create a staircase of glyphs which she bounded up before using her raised position to leap and somersault in order to create the most dramatic possible arc for the downward swing of the hammer which came careening towards Ruby's skull, an obvious and broadly telegraphed attack that could only make sense as a distraction; a thought Ruby was vindicated in a moment later as the a whistling of air announced that Regalia had fired her harpoon directly at her chest, using Athena as a diversion in order to snare the Professor and in turn keep her off balance for long enough for Athena to seize her.

Ruby caught the harpoon in mid-air with one hand.

"Aww nuts-" the words barely left the scavengers' lips before Ruby used a burst of speed and a pivoting motion whilst maintaining her grasp on the harpoon to send Regalia whipping around in a wide circle before letting go of the projectile just as her hapless opponent was sent crashing into Athena with force that sent both teens flying backwards.

Then Astra joined the fray.

Everything about their entrance, from the needless showmanship of it to the delay with which it had come spoke of a need to not only succeed but to outshine, to prove themselves by behaving as if they were the main character of some narrative existing wholly within their mind.

And yet Ruby could not overlook just how talented they were.

It was immediately clear both that Yang had done a spectacular job in training this young prodigy and also that Astra had learned from a great many sources, including their own team-mates as they opened with a leaping spinning kick that came flying from the side and caught Ruby off-guard by being thrown from the leading leg rather than the back as Astra usually favoured. The motion left the Deer Faunus almost horizontal in mid-air as Ruby avoided the kick and they managed to force their teacher to block once again by snapping off a high front kick as they continued to fall, the motion resembling Laser might have attempted which would have struck her squarely in the mouth. With the second kick blocked Astra fell to the ground in a pose that placed both hands and their left leg on the ground which they used to launch an attack that could only have been inspired by Athena; flinging themselves back to their feet with a cartwheeling kick from the left and spinning right hook kick delivered with a fierce yell that rustled the hair falling in front of Ruby's face as it sailed by her only for Astra to reveal their true intentions, carrying the momentum of their kicks and spinning into a left hook aimed for an exposed flank which Ruby knocked aside with a slight shifting of her stance and grip on her weapon, the Deer Faunus responded to this by throwing an overhand right which left Ruby preparing to knock the blade of Buckshot Ares aside.

Only for the leader of Team MARZ to reveal plans within plans.

The glinting of metal Ruby had spied was not a blade and was instead the pair of Aura dampening cuffs Astra had taken which they quickly dropped from their right hand into their left, which still lay in dangerously close proximity to her own wrist; as was proven a moment later when the telltale click and pressure announced that she had been at least partially caught.

"Not bad, but not good enough!" Ruby declared, kicking Astra back and sweeping their legs from under them before using her Semblance to speed away and create some distance, looking at the cuff hanging from one wrist and not yet activated which represented one of the students she had been expected to teach and discipline coming closer to victory than they were ever expected or indeed intended to.

Astra was on their feet and seeking out their quarry in an instant.

"Come on, after her!" they barked, hesitating for a moment as they considered deploying their guns before realising that they risked breaking their own cuffs and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and instead unsheathing their forearm blades as they went chasing after Ruby Rose, only to be caught entirely by surprise as a hulking, powerful form crashed into them and sent the Deer Faunus stumbling to the ground from where they looked up and saw Ursinia Red unsheathing their sword.

"What the fuck?" they demanded.

"Oh honey, did you forget that we're not working together this time?" the mocking note in the Scorpion Faunus's voice was a rare thing and managed to needle its' way under Astra's skin without resistance, which found them deploying the guns they had foregone only a moment before and levelling them at Ursinia whilst all around the pair the whirring and clanking of weapons being transformed into their ranged modes filled the air as members of Team MARZ and WULF took aim at one another in an effort to each prevent another friend from opening fire.

The situation forced Astra to halt and think, gears turning within their mind at a rapid pace until they looked beyond Ursinia to Wolfram with a bright smile.

"Hey babe!" they called out in an almost teasing voice "How do you feel about changing the rules a little?"

"I don't think Professor Rose will like that" Wolfram noted, allowing a hint of his usual cockiness to shine through as he gestured to the stand off around them "And your team's already one person short"

"Who knows, maybe this is part of the lesson she's trying to teach us….She didn't say so we don't know" Astra's voice was a mixture of conspiracy and jesting grumble until their next words hardened it into a deadly edge "But come on Wolfie, it's Ruby Rose….You know she can beat all seven of us if we don't work together, would you rather have a draw where we all win or a draw where we all lose?"

"That makes more sense than I'm willing to admit right now" Wolfram huffed, the admission irking him considering the issues he still needed to work through with Astra following the way they had departed earlier; looking around their gathered teams and spying Ruby in the distance he nodded for Laser, Diabla and Ursinia to lower their weapons before speaking again "I take it you've got a plan?"

"Haven't I always" Astra smirked as they sprung back to their feet, the bravado oozing from the words doing little to convince any who heard it; least of all Astra themselves.

---

As Zirconia came crashing through the doorway of Team MARZ's dormitory, clutching desperately at the door, its' frame or any other solid surface her gloved hands could find to steady herself in a valiant effort to remain upright before her stumbling eventually saw her collapsing onto the thankfully soft and carpeted floor the Grasshopper Faunus thought, in some detached part of her mind far removed from her current miseries that it was fortunate that there had been nobody present in either the dorm or the corridor outside of it to witness her ordeal.

Attempting to walk on her damaged prosthetic leg had been painful.

She had endured and overcome of course but even her stoic mask of discipline and control could not be maintained indefinitely and as she slipped off leather gloves which covered much of her forearms with their segmented and highly polished silver armour so that her nimble fingers were free to begin the process of deactivating and disengaging her still unrepaired right leg from the scarred stump of her knee Zirconia, in a more present part of her mind found herself appalled at herself for the trembling of her digits and the way her hissed exhalation cracked into a wavering whimper of pain from the neural feedback of wearing her damaged prosthetic, every movement feeling as though a limb of flesh and blood had been broken and feeling as though it were filled with embers and broken glass whenever she placed weight upon it.

If anyone were present to see the strain she had placed herself under the aloof and roguish young woman would likely have answered with as much of her usual sense of mystery as she could gather to herself in such a condition, giving some vague answer about disliking the crutch she had been using for several days now and simply needing to walk somewhere after being confined to the campus and then having her movement further limited for so long. She was alone however and the silence of the dormitory rendered such conversations and reasoning unnecessary and instead the only sound to fill the small but comfortable space that had become her home was the sound of Zirconia's own panting, ragged breaths followed by grunts of exertion and the sound of her dragging and pulling herself across the dorm as the crutch she had left behind on her venture was too far away to reach until finally she reached the bunk-bed she shared with her partner and promptly hauled herself up onto Athena-Jade's bed, understanding that clambering onto her own was a challenge she could not meet at that moment.

Taking several more sharp, pained breaths and wiping cold sweat away from her brow with a corner of her signature cloak-like scarf before removing the garment Zirconia began to search for a way to distract herself from the lingering throb of pain which the removal of the damaged prosthetic had lessened but failed to eliminate entirely.

She spared a glance over to the small writing desk Team MARZ spared where her textbooks lay beside her stationary, the beginnings of a handwritten first draft essay Professor Rose had instructed her to write waiting there unfinished for her to resume work on; the Grasshopper Faunus had been assured that whilst the Professor of Grimm Studies sympathised greatly with her condition the notion that Zirconia might be able to avoid her part in the disciplinary procedures her team was subject to was one that she should not entertain, despite the severity of the warnings however Zirconia could not yet bring herself to continue working on the assignment, not whilst her entire body felt feverish and as though it might shatter like glass at any moment and so instead she continued to search for a distraction.

One came easily enough as thoughts of Professor Rose naturally flowed into thoughts about how her friends were faring and from there the interaction between herself and Athena-Jade earlier that morning.

The hug had been nice.

Zirconia's features flickered through a range of conflicting emotions that finally settled on simple uncertainty, a rare nervousness filling her mismatched eyes as she considered the matter and her feelings about it.

She had travelled from Neo Vale, where the closest thing she had to a family resided and another renowned Huntsman Academy was based to Menagerie because she had plans and goals which stretched far beyond the scope of juvenile concerns such as crushes, plans for which there could be no substitute for Breaktide Academy yet none of this changed the inescapable truth that she had not been prepared for the affect Athena-Jade Slate had had on her; if she were honest with herself Zirconia doubted anything could have prepared her for her partner. The Bear Faunus was passionate, sometimes to the point of a forceful anger that did more harm than good, driven and determined to a degree than almost rivalled Astra's current obsessions yet she was also caring and incredible of heart-warming acts of selflessness, charismatic and funny as the experiences that the two of them shared as wealthy Faunus along with her sharp mind and expansive education allowed her to relate to Zirconia in ways few of her peers could. Zirconia would also be remiss, or simply lying to herself if she failed to consider just how fond she'd become of the Bear Faunus's sparkling blue eyes and toothy smile or her absurdly powerful arms, thick and strong thighs and the way the muscles of her back and shoulders rippled when she stretched.

Zirconia breathed in sharply through her nose, if she were the sort of person who cursed often then no doubt a stream of expletives would have left her at that moment.

Breathing out slowly her eyes darted around once again, now searching for a distraction from her current distraction as she found herself confronted with notions and realities she was unready and unwilling to accept however fate and circumstance took a modicum of pity on her in that moment as, before she could begin to spiral into thoughts that would consume her and leave her perched, silent and withdrawn for hours on end the sound of her scroll receiving an incoming call demanded her attention; opening the device revealing that it was Chairman Damascus Nero, her guardian and the man she only abstained from calling her father out of some enduring sense of childish longing for parents she knew to be dead.

"My apologies if I'm interrupting something" Damascus's voice, unassuming with a stammer that had been worked away began the audio only call "I just wanted to know that you're well….the parts for your leg haven't arrived yet"

"I'm not busy, you know that I was dealing with my….assignment today" Zirconia noted, Nero's loving and fatherly concern was entirely expected of course and appreciated greatly however the young woman found herself brushing absently at the curtain of hair that partly obstructed her right eye as she found her thoughts scattered in the wake his words.

"Ah yes, your team were sent elsewhere….How did you find your assignment?" Damascus enquired, words carefully chosen. Zirconia took a moment to glance once again at her unfinished rough draft before answering with equal care.

"It was….not my best work" she admitted "Sloppy in some regards but sufficient-"

"There is never any excuse for less that what I know you're capable of" Nero did not raise his voice however it became notably sharper, a warning in its' hardness that his ward quickly sought to answer.

"I know that" she insisted meekly "But-" her words fell silent as a deafening alarm began to scream throughout the campus, keen ears picking out several points of origin for the caterwauling each in a different direction, no sooner had Zirconia realised this than she found her attention directed to something much closer at hand as her dormitory was cast into darkness by armoured panels sliding into place to cover its' windows.

"Zirconia what's going on?" Nero demanded, a sense of urgency in keeping with his concern for the young woman filling his voice "What's that alarm?"

"It looks like the academy is being put into full lock down….which means a serious emergency has been found" Zirconia replied, cultured but rasping voice become clipped and abrupt as it was filled with a sense of purpose "I have to go"

"I understand, I love you and stay safe"

"I love you too" Zirconia answered before ending the call and waiting a moment for her sharp eyes to adjust to the gloom before reaching for her crutch and using it to pull herself to her feet, lurching towards the door so that she make herself present and accounted for wherever students were gathering to deal with the apparent crisis.

It seemed that her essay was doomed to go unwritten at this rate.

---

The dry air of the wasteland trembled with the concussive force of the booming and clanging impacts that rang out across it as Teams MARZ and WULF, now acting in unison in a violation of the parameters of the mission continued their efforts to capture Ruby Rose; that the Professor allowed this filling each of them with a nauseous mixture of hope that they had found the secret of the elusive lesson she sought to teach and a deep-rooted worry that the allowance was made simply to make the skirmish more entertaining for Ruby herself.

Though mostly what filled the students was pain as their teacher continued to hurl them around like rag-dolls.

Astra had quickly surmised through watching the exchanges between Professor Rose and Team WULF that Ruby's actions were at least in part inconsistent with her own description of the training exercise; if she were truly only trying to evade capture the caped woman could simply have retreated into the distance and forced her students to chase her across the wastelands of Menagerie indefinitely without them ever getting close enough to actually touch her however Ruby was instead to stand and fight, something that the Deer Faunus was determined to turn into an advantage somehow. Thus far their attempts at a plan had been a simple adaption and continuation of Team WULF's prior efforts to use their superior numbers to corral and trap their opponent, albeit with far more options available to them even if those options had thus far translated into little tangible effect as Ruby continued to outflank her students and target them with calculating efficiency.

With Ursinia being the first to fall.

"Aaand disqualified!" she exclaimed happily as she crashed into the younger and far taller woman, shoulder first and sending Ursinia hurling back several feet through the air before she struck the ground with a thud a clatter as Adventurer slipped from her grasp with her Aura visibly shattering around her.

"Gosh darn it!" the Scorpion Faunus managed to exclaim, despite the obvious pain which left her clutching at her ribs as she remained laid on the dusty ground. Astra noted that the loss of Ursinia's Semblance would hamper their overall effectiveness as she would no longer be able to bolster others and allow them to power through their injuries, though sea-green eyes glinted in the sun with a sense of mischief as they noted that their way now three members of both teams left in play.

"Astra, I don't want to rush you or anything but…." Regalia trailed off as she gestured wildly to the disorganised chaos their attempts to stop Ruby were dissolving into as the Grimm Studies professor zigzagged through her students as a blur of vivid red which sent teens leaping and rolling aside as they avoided incoming blows that would surely deplete their remaining Aura, Astra amongst them as they flung themselves to the ground with a grunt and felt the wind of Ruby's passing wash over them.

Though in that moment they found clarity as their disjointed beginnings of an idea coalesced into something solid.

"Okay regroup!" they called out, an order that Wolfram gestured for Team WULF to follow and the six remaining combatants quickly rushed back towards one another, Ruby seemingly allowing them to do so whilst Ursinia, no longer part of the exercise limped to safety where she assumed she would be clear of the fighting.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Wolfram panted out whilst clutching at his side, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he awaited whatever brilliance they would deliver.

"We had the right idea but we weren't applying it properly" Astra beamed "We win by attrition"

"We don't have the people for-" Diabla was silenced by a wave, though clearly begrudgingly if her grimace were any indication.

"Look a few of us are probably gonna get taken out, that's a risk we have to take" Astra sighed "But we can win this….AJ, Regalia I want you to set up that same move you tried earlier-"

"I didn't work then" Athena noted

"But this time" Astra continued, growing visibly weary of the interruptions "You're gonna fake out, set up a Gravity or Magnetic Dust Glyph right under her, hold her in place"

"That's good" Diabla admitted with a nod "But she's just too much….She'll break free of the glyph"

"Which is where you and Laser come in" Astra continued, smirk broadening "Diabla I want you to make an opening for Laser to sneak in close and use whatever trick you've got to slow her down-"

"You could use you…." Wolfram trailed off, suddenly regretting the interjection and preparing to tell Laser to disregard it until the wiry boy nodded slowly.

"I can use my Semblance for this….It's not like we're really hurting anyone" he glanced up, presumably locking eyes with Astra beneath his visor "I can take her speed away completely"

"Awesome" Astra's grin widened to an almost comical degree as they turned to Wolfram "So that leaves us….She's still got that cuff around her right wrist, while Professor Rose is dealing with everyone else we rush and grab her so we can get it for her other hand"

"Y'know for a plan where a few people are gonna have to get taken out it looks like you gave yourself the best part" Athena noted, hands crossed across her chest and a hard look in her eyes which left Astra eager to answer her challenge though before they could do so Wolfram spoke up.

"It's the best plan we've got, it can work" he said simply and before Astra could begin to use the positive appraisal as the basis of their own counter argument Professor Rose herself called out to her students from some distance away, evidently having decided that they had been given enough time to plan their next move.

"Have you guys given up yet?" the insulting tone of the challenge, not offered at all in the spirit of a question served to end all disagreements between the students and smooth over any doubts that they might have as each of them squared their shoulders and braced themselves until Astra gave a single instruction.

"Get her!"

With that the six of the rushed forward, assuming the appearance of a headlong charged and combined effort only to break off into three distinct pairs as the plan was put into motion all whilst Ruby twirled her scythe idly as she waited for them, Athena and Regalia taking the lead as the Bear Faunus sprinted upwards on a series of glowing platform she created before finally taking to the air with a leap just as Regalia fired her harpoon at the Professor once again.

The attack was met with a similar ending as its' previous iteration, with Regalia's attack being deflected with ease yet still serving its' purpose as Ruby's efforts to seize the retractable cable of Regalia's weapon and reel the Racoon Faunus in left her open to Athena-Jade's ploy, a deep obsidian glyph appearing before the three of them just as Regalia was pulled close which amplified gravity to a crushing and painful degree, forcing Ruby into a crouch as her knees began to buckle under the strain; silver eye wide as she realised that her students, tenacious and inventive as they were might actually be able to do the unthinkable and win.

"Okay, that's not bad" she admitted through clenched teeth as she staked Regalia's harpoon into the ground and used her own weapon against her before levelling Crescent Rose in its' rifle form at the nomads' chest and firing, blasting her clear of Athena's glyph and removing her from play as her Aura shattered in a shower of glowing lilac before turning her focus towards Athena.

"But still not-" Ruby was silenced and left with her ears ringing as all sense was knocked clear from her mind by an earth-shattering blow accompanied by a vivid and volcanic orange light announcing Diabla's return to the fray. Following this both Diabla and Athena, forcing themselves on through the pressure of the amplified gravity attempted to charge at Ruby in tandem, a frantic yell escaping Team WULF's brawler.

"Laser NOW!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ruby's eye shone with silver light that would do nothing to her students as she realised that she would need to truly exert herself in order to teach the intended lesson. Crescent Rose was thrust into the ground with force that sent a splintering web of cracks out from the impact, piercing the jet black glyph in the process as and allowing her to lunge forward in a burst of speed which rendered her invisible; appearing between Athena and Diabla to deliver a crushing blow to each of their torsos which sent the pair hurtling back with their Auras shattering as they struck the floor.

And then all of her speed left her.

"Sorry about this Professor, never thought I'd have to use this on you" Laser said almost mournfully as his hands clamped around her shoulders and in the edge of her peripheral vision she saw the swirling motes of sickly greenish yellow which indicated the use of his Semblance, Ruby gave a soft chuckle as she answered.

"No hard feelings….Honestly I was expecting you to use it earlier" at that Laser frowned and his presence vanished from behind Ruby as he used the Semblance he had pilfered against her, his body transforming into a blur of acid coloured light that sent incorporeal debris issuing out from itself in a parody of Ruby's own rose petals; the boy clearly intending to build up momentum for a punishing tackle or running punch which he believed would end the fight.

"Should have quit while you were ahead" Ruby sighed as she rushed out to meet the attack with all the speed she could still muster, plucking Crescent Rose from the ground as she went and unfurling the blade of her scythe. Laser, as impressive as his Semblance was could not reach Ruby's speed and had the distinct disadvantage of having never used his teachers' Semblance before whilst she herself not only knew her own timing and the quirks of her abilities intimately but had also taken on opponents with Semblances similar to her own before.

A single well-placed low sweep of her blade took Laser's feet from beneath him, allowing Ruby to dodge as he was sent flying through the air, his already severely drained Aura shattering on impact as he was left tearing into the hard ground with a shallow trench in his wake; utterly spent and unmoving as he was removed from the exercise.

Leaving only Wolfram and Astra remaining.

The team leaders pounced without warning or hesitation, Wolfram firing Berserker in its' ranged form once again and this time from a perilously close range to leave Ruby's Aura visibly rippling around the point of impact yet before she could react Astra was on her, attacking from the other side with a swipe of the broad surface of one of their shields that clanged against Ruby's skull with a jarring impact.

Yet Ruby Rose was not so easily beaten.

Rolling with the force of Astra's attack she twirled her scythe and swung it the Mohawk-sporting teens' midsection, taking care to keep her right wrist with the cuff still dangling around it just out of reach only to be surprised when her opponent first leapt onto the flat edge of her blade and then, rather than the obvious attempt to press the attack they instead leapt over her head to where Wolfram was readying their axe and shield for a charge.

"Sorry babe, this one's a Team MARZ win!" Astra's tone was almost playful as they transformed their leap into a flying kick which connected with the surface of Wolfram's shield, sending their boyfriend back a single pace before using the weapon to vault towards Ruby and strike her from behind; realising only in the last possible moment that they had made a single, fatal miscalculation.

With Laser's Aura broken Ruby's Semblance had been returned to her in full force.

"Oh sh-" the exclamation was silenced, cut off by a single retching wheeze as Ruby struck out and punched Astra directly in the throat, leaving them gasping for air before finally using a spinning leg sweep of the kind that they themselves favoured to send them toppling to the dusty ground where she swiftly shattered their Aura by driving her boot into their back. From there she glared sternly at Wolfram.

"It's just you left, all of your friends are gone….I'm going to ask you one question Ironside, can you win this fight?" Wolfram paused, shifting his weight and weighing his options before realising that anything other than admitting the obvious would be stupidity, no matter how he would hate the next words to come from his mouth.

"No Professor" he spat gruffly as he stowed his weapons at his back.

"Good" Ruby nodded "That was the lesson"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!" Astra bellowed, struggling to stand despite Ruby's boot still pressed against them "YOU BROUGHT US ALL THE WAY OUT HERE JUST TO-"

"TO MAKE A POINT MARS!" Ruby barked, once again finding her tone to be uncomfortably like one which Arslan used freely

"Your teams, but you especially Astra, are suffering from a delusion which has affected plenty of students over the years however you seem to be particularly unwilling to learn from your mistakes….The lesson is this, being heroic and being 'The Hero' are not at all the same thing!"

"Professor?" Wolfram shuffled uncomfortably.

"Hunters are expected to make sacrifices if they must" Ruby continued, relenting just a little "But only if they must. A key part of what will become the difference between life and death is knowing how to work effectively with what you have and knowing when the odds are too slim, knowing when to fall back and get help….I don't want to be cruel but you need to be taught and you've made it clear that you will only learn from failure; especially you Astra, that last move was stupid, did you really think you could beat me on your own?" Without waiting for an answer Ruby removed her foot and crouched down beside Astra, expression hard as she prepared to break their spirit in such a way that they could be rebuilt into a wiser Hunter who might perhaps live long enough to see their potential recognised; the words leaving her with a bitter sting as she looked at his fiery red Mohawk and remembered another redhead, one who had been forced to shoulder too much weight and with whom Ruby would have given anything to speak to one last time and right lingering wrongs.

"Pyrrha Nikos thought she could save Remnant on her own as well Astra….You're no Pyrrha Nikos, not even close. Do you understand?"

"Yes Professor" the answer came in a broken, dry-throated croak and with that she rose to her feet and left Astra laying in the dust.

Now hopefully they would learn.

---

With the prospect of escape denied to her Rowan Oralie was forced to fight with a desperation which matched the current situation; all pretence of control in the form of her usual sneering veneer of disdain and taunting being cast aside in favour of devoting every ounce of her strength and focus and willpower to simply staying alive.

And still she was beginning to sense that it might not be enough.

Carmesi came rushing at her again for another murderous assault, the larger of his two weapons being the only one which remained available to him was held high for a downward, curving chop intended to cleave through Rowan's neck and spine with a simple flick of the wrist and so, knowing that her own blade would not be able to withstand clashing against such force she thrust herself forward and into the guard of the rampaging Faunus in order to throw her left fist into his upper right arm and halt the blow before it could come; her bloodied shoulder burning with pulsing waves of sickening agony at the movement which the redhead forced herself to overcome, teeth gritted to prevent any sound of pain from escaping her as she pressed her counter attack by throwing herself into a martial artists' stance, right side trailing behind her before it was braced and fired with her right hand clutching tightly at her naginata which she thrust at Carmesi's exposed chest.

The rogue Hunter proved his skill as more than a killer of Grimm once again however as he narrowly avoided the blow, almost using his right arm and the blade of Retribution as an axis around which to pivot as he flung his body sideways and back; the tip of Insolence coming close enough to brush against the existing scar tissue left from escaping Athena Slate's glyphs save for his crimson Aura rippling to prevent the contact and from there, with blinding speed and precision Carmesi spun with a motion that carried him behind Rowan faster than she could react and drove Retribution into her back, her Aura flickered but ultimately held however the cruel obsidian teeth of the broad cleaver of a sword embedded themselves in her clothing and granted Carmesi enough purchase to lift his opponent from her feet and use his follow up back-swing to send her crashing to the ground several dozen feet away where she rolled to a stop in a cloud of dust.

Vision swimming as she struggled to drag herself to her feet, all the while uncomfortably aware of her own blood staining the ground beneath her Rowan realised that she needed to find an angle of attack, some meagre shade of her customary smirk fleeting across her features as she realised that attack need not be wholly physical.

"So who did I kill huh? Not that I care but get it off your chest!" Rowan's attempt at sneering laugher cracked with nervousness which grew dangerously close to hysteria "Come on you walking handbag, you've been waiting to kill me so why's it personal? Who did I get…..Partner of yours? Were they one of the nobodies who came to the fight club, some washout of a Hunter who scraped through the academy and ended up in a hole in the dirt? Oh I know, I get it your partner or whatever, they were the old guy's kid weren't they that's why Grapeshot is with you?"

Carmesi's silence as he advanced with methodical slowness at odds with the hate in his eyes unnerved her.

Rowan's thinking had been to push Carmesi into a mistake or opening of any kind at all, seeking out an emotional weak point she could use to either drive her opponent into an unthinking fury from which she could outflank him and deliver injuries through a multitude of small, chipping and probing blows until he was too harried to pursue her or else, possibly better still convince him to talk and reveal something which Rowan could use to her advantage; the use of emotional manipulations and sacrificing others as possible targets for the mans' wrath being from beneath her in that moment yet the Komodo Dragon Faunus just trod slowly closer, eyes narrowing and bearded face twitching as a vein in his neck bulged until finally he gained some visible sense of mastery over himself and finally spoke, his voice its' usual low and menacing rumble.

"You personally, nobody. People like you took everything from me"

Everything about that declaration scared Rowan, not least the fact it was delivered with a calmness that suggested he was certain his secrets, along with those who held them, would never leave this blasted stretch of nowhere.

"I'm one of a kind, there are no people like me….Not since you killed off-" Rowan's mockery, another thinly veiled attempt to probe and stall, was cut short as Carmesi forewent his cautious advance and simply charged with speed that rendered him a blur. Rowan blocked instinctively, holding Insolence aloft with its' shaft in both hands only for her heart to freeze in her chest as she felt the crushing tremor of collision pass through her arms and watched with wide eyes as the teeth of Retribution burst through the shaft as Carmesi struck, almost severing the weapon and leaving two sparking, non-functioning and barely connected pieces before he drove a booted foot into Rowan's gut and sent her crashing backwards again where she was forced to frantically roll aside in order to avoid a downward swing intended to crush her sternum.

"THERE ARE ALWAYS PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" Carmesi bellowed, voice cracking with some deep rage that had festered until it had blackened the very core of his being as he let loose, giving Rowan the revelation she had wanted whilst the redhead was forced to realise with bitter regret that it was likely too late to use it against him at all.

"HERE, VACCUO, MISTRAL!" he continued to roar as he slashed at the ground again, Rowan avoiding by flinging herself into a cartwheeling leap though the pressure of her ruined shoulder left her Aura flickering around her.

"WHEREVER THERE ARE GOOD, DECENT PEOPLE THERE'S SCUM LIKE YOU THAT PREY ON THEM!" Carmesi's voice cracked and Rowan was left in stunned disbelief as she heard the faintest trace of a sob "TAKING EVERYTHING FROM THE PEOPLE THEY HURT AND THEN LEAVING THEM FOR THE GRIMM!"

Rowan's disbelief was her undoing as Carmesi's free hand lashed out and seized her by the neck, her lack of focus costing her the single moment in which she could have evaded.

"Wait, no-" Rowan's words were silenced as her Aura flickered and shattered into countless shimmering embers and fragments and her world was consumed by white-hot pain which robed the air from her lungs and thoughts from her mind; Carmesi had swung his blade again and as Rowan looked down in world-crushing dread and horror she noted that the feeling had left her legs entirely. She wanted to whimper but the sound would not come, only a single choking and wretched sound which left dark blood and spittle staining the ground at her feet whilst crimson spread from the gruesome wound and stained her tattered prison uniform at a frightful rate; her body crumpling to the ground as her opponent released.

This was the end and at that moment Carmesi decided to allow Rowan Oralie one final moment of clarity.

"People like you took everything from me" he repeated, venom in every word as he crouched down in front of Rowan and roughly grabbed her chin; forcing her to look at him even as her eyes lost their light and focus

"I was twelve years old when my family was crossing Anima, twelve years old when we were stopped by a gang of raiders; not rogue Hunters or a tribe whose land we'd trespassed on just scum who wanted what was ours….They beat my Dad to within an inch of his life when he tried to resist, they took our scrolls and our car and they left us there" Carmesi's breathing grew ragged as he recalled memories he used the pain of to flagellate himself with every time he felt his hatred or commitment waver "Where bandits and criminals go the Grimm follow, they're just parasites that feed on the misery that people like you cause. I was twelve years old and I saw my parents and siblings get eaten alive"

At that Carmesi ripped his weapon free with a stomach turning sound of rending flesh and allowed Rowan to collapse, standing over her as he continued speaking to her bleeding convulsing form whilst her grasp on life slowly slipped away.

"I put myself through the Academy to fight Grimm, I got good at killing Grimm but even then I knew it was never enough; I wasn't treating the real problem….Grimm are attracted to the problem. Grimm are a symptom, you're the sickness" he kicked Rowan over so that she was forced to look up at him "The Benefactor wants to make a better world, one where what happened to my family can never happen again and I want him to succeed, I want the good and the innocent to be safe but for that to happen there has to be justice….The world can't be better while people like you are allowed to live in it. I want you to know that Rowan, my Benefactor sees your death as an unavoidable consequence and a security measure but I want you to know that you're scum and that you deserve this"

With that Carmesi fell silent and regarded his blood-soaked weapon for a moment before shaking his head and sheathing Retribution, deciding that after everything Rowan had earned herself a more intimate death; he met her eyes, seeing the final ebbing of her consciousness before allowing his Semblance to build and coalesce around himself into a wall of deep crimson spikes.

Before unleashing himself and tearing Rowan Oralie apart with his very soul.

---

The return to Port Alistair and Breaktide Academy had been a subdued one.

Ruby, along with Wolfram who had at that point been the only student with any amount of Aura remaining had escorted Team MARZ and Team WULF back to their initial landing zone, the return journey taking far longer due to the trudging, stumbling pace that the teenagers' exhaustion reduced them to. Upon reaching the Bull-Head Ruby had taken from the academies' small fleet of light craft and making contact with the drivers of the pair of jeeps involved in the exercise, made more difficult due to the ongoing communications issues in the open wastes which the damage to Hammerfall Outpost had only exacerbated the return flight had begun.

None of the students had energy to spare for conversation, all of them nursing bruised pride along with their physical injuries which was, for Ruby hard to see even if it had been the entire point of the mission. Amidst the heavy silence and oppressive atmosphere Astra seemed to form an island of their own, the roiling maelstrom of emotions setting the Deer Faunus apart as fiery anger threatened to lash out in any conceivable direction before guttering out and leaving the defeated and dejected teen to all but implode as their body slumped and sagged under its' own weight once the inescapable severity of their loss and the lesson it held began to sink in. Lost in their own thoughts as they were Astra completely failed to notice the way their boyfriend was glancing worriedly in their direction, Wolfram's steely eyes questioning as though they were seeing Astra for the first time whilst around them their friends glanced furtively between the two, rising far enough above the mire of their own morose thoughts to realise that something had changed between the two and their would likely be a discussion between them which threatened unwelcome consequences in the near future.

That conversation, along with all other personal matters had been forced aside as their flight neared Breaktide Academy and it became apparent that something was wrong.

The first indication that something was amiss came to Ruby Rose when she saw that the campus's defences were operative, turning Breaktide from an academy to the fortress its' appearance led onlookers to believe it had always been; the afternoon sun gleaming as it was reflected from thick plates of steel that had slid over doors and windows to reinforce the potential entry points, along with the barrels of sizeable artillery pieces that had been deployed from hidden caches within the high perimeter wall of the campus, the entire scene being tinted with an otherworldly hue as a hard-light shield shimmered around the campus with hexagonal planes forming a vast dome.

Ruby's attempts to contact her colleagues had gone unanswered, the only communication she had received coming in the form of one of the academies' administrative staff first verifying her identity, using her license and call sign to do so as though her name, face and voice were not well known and then informing the Grimm Studies Professor; a senior member of staff and arguably the most famous Huntress on Remnant that she was to cede control of her aircraft to the academies' autopilot which would allow her and her passengers to pass through the shields. Ruby had of course known each and every aspect of the academies' defensive protocols since even before Breaktide had admitted its' first batch of students however she, nor for that matter any citizen of Port Alistair had ever scene them fully deployed as there had so far never been a reason beyond testing their effectiveness and seeing them used now, with no idea as to why sent chills down her spine that were only worsened by the blunt instruction to comply or else she would be fired upon.

As the Bull-Head touched down on its' designated landing pad, the remote piloting far less gentle that Ruby herself would have managed the caped Huntress strode purposefully into the rear compartment of the Bull-Head, her presence interrupting her students as they made to unfasten their various safety harnesses and rise to their feet, all previous miseries forgotten in that moment.

"None of you are to touch your weapons...No matter what happens" Ruby's voice was commanding and would have reverberated even without the close metal confined; her words being swiftly met with a chorus of voices stating that they understood.

"Good" she continued as she prepared to open the hatch "All of you stay behind me….I don't know what's going on here but I'm going to find out" With that Ruby stepped out into the warm afternoon sun, mechanical eye whirring as it adjusted to the change in lighting and took in the sight that greeted her; standing immediately in front of her aircraft's hatch and obviously waiting for her were Yatsuhashi Daichi and Arslan Altan however Ruby quickly realised that these were not the only Hunters present. Reese Chloris could be seen in the distance, mounted on her iconic hover-board as she conducted a perimeter sweep of the area whilst Bolin Hori and Nadir Shiko stood watch over the main entrance to the academy which had been opened, presumably to allow Ruby and her students inside; what truly startled Ruby however was the presence of other members of the academies' rarely seen security staff heavily armed and taking up positions on the many towers and walkways.

Some of them keeping sniper rifles trained on the Bull-Head and those who had left it.

"Yatsu what the heck's going on?" Ruby demanded, her tone softening from its' crackling anger as she looked at the giant of a man and saw that his usual warmth and softness were gone, replaced instead by a barely restrained anger and grief that threatened to spill out at any moment; eyes still red from crying and fists white-knuckled as each breath left him with repressed a tremble until he silently nodded to Arslan who took a single step forward and indicated to the students.

"All of you come with me, the students are being held in the ampitheatre until-"

"Held? What's going on?" Ruby heard her niece's voice, outage battling fear and simple, naked disbelief at the unfolding situation yet she did not turn to face Athena, instead noting only the mild and detached surprise in herself that it had not been Astra to interject.

"Now is not the time Rich Kid" Diabla spat, her experience with the blunt militarism of Atlas lacking the niceties of wealth which Athena-Jade had experienced giving her an understand of what would follow and objection even before Arslan took another pace forward; prompting Ruby to move to intercept as subtly as possible whilst remaining painfully aware of the armed security all around them and the fact that her students were currently defenceless.

"Arslan they have a right to ask" her words were stern "We don't know what's going on, they have been with me in the wastes all day and six of them have broken Auras; they are no threat….What the heck is going on?" at that Arslan paused, amber eyes narrowing with momentary suspicion before she ran a hand through her platinum blonde hair and let out a wordless growl of frustration before stepping aside.

"I apologise, you're not suspects here but we can't afford to risk anything" the words seemed to grate against her even as she said them, from there she turned to Yatsuhashi and gave him a look that was both questioning and imploring, asking the giant to make a decision that was not hers to give.

"We've been attacked….Fox, my son has been attacked" Yatsuhashi's voice trembled with a fury that Ruby had not known the man had possessed and the gasp that escaped her was shared by the students behind her, though now she made no effort to question it as each of the teens knew Team CFVY's child to some degree and found the notion as abhorrent as Ruby herself; with a tingling numbness fogging her thoughts she pressed on.

"How? Who-"

"We don't know" Yatsuhashi admitted "Hence the lock down….He was attacked in Coco's office, it's been searched; Velvet says the hard-drives Rowan Oralie was going to decode have been completely wiped and there's nothing left to salvage….We think Fox interrupted whoever broke in before they could access the rest of our files"

"Oh" Ruby felt ice in her veins and desperately scrabbled for any aspect of this tragedy that could be salvaged "Is Fox-"

"He's alive" Yatsuhashi's voice cracked "Coco and Velvet got him to Nurse Kintsugi and she's placed him a controlled coma, armed guards outside his door at all times. We think he'll make it but we don't know how long he's going to be unconscious for"

"He's gonna be okay" Ruby soothed, bile rising in her throat in revulsion at the thought of such an attack on a civilian, a child no less.

"It's worse….There's more" Yatsuhashi's voice shifted from sorrow back to its' previous anger "Coco was called away, official business. I've just had word from her….Rowan Oralie's prison transfer was attacked; she's dead"

The stir that revelation caused amongst the students was unmissable.

"How?" Ruby mouthed, wasting no time questioning who was responsible for the attack and instead wondering how Carmesi and Grapeshot had managed to deliver such a blow

"We don't know" Yatsuhashi said coldly "But I can promise you that I'll find out….And there is nowhere on Remnant that the person who came into my home and attacked my family can hide"

Ruby understood the statement but found, with sinking dread that she could not honestly share the man's convictions. With Hammerfall Outpost still inoperable and no clues as to where Gestalt-Prime had built its' nest there was no way to use the Grimm to draw out Carmesi and Grapeshot and without having either of the rogue Hunters in custody and with both the hard-drives and Rowan Oralie herself gone there were few, if any means available to them to track down the shadowy Benefactor who had thus far eluded even Qrow's efforts to identify them.

The enemy had delivered a master stroke and it seemed that whatever game they played was coming to a close.

---

Towards the coastline of Menagerie, upon a beach of blackened sand where once the monolithic coral reef of crystalline Grimm tissue erected by Salem herself had served as an impassible barrier the expected ambient sounds of shore were lost; upon this darkened stretch of shore was the very same Spawning Pit whose existence had necessitated the creation of both Hammerfall Canyon and the observatory which hovered as currently ineffectual sentry above it and life avoided such places as base instinct urged to keep living things from peril.

There were no seagulls to squawk and cry wheeling above the waves which held an oddly colourless, yet cloudy and opaque appearance whilst those same waves were silenced as they crashed and fell upon the roiling, viscous and thrashing surface of the primordial darkness from which nightmares were birthed, the Spawning Pit hungrily absorbing the impacts and issuing forth a slow trickle of winged yet lupine horrors. It was the sounds of these monsters which instead filled the air, the snapping snarls and growls of Winged Beowolves and the rustling of leather wings being preened and flexed all whilst lesser Creatures of Grimm stalked and watched from the periphery, their place relative to these new creations in the pecking order of their shared hive consciousness unquestioned whilst close by, from their position perched upon a rock torn from the cliff face and with their own metallic wings drawn back Gestalt-Prime observed their creations without truly seeing.

The time for licking their wounds like a simple wounded animal had ended and the sentient monster had once again put their great work, the evolution of the Grimm species into cautious and tentative motion.

The objective remained as it had before, namely for Gestalt-Prime to consume one of the preys' artificial Hive-Minds into which they poured all of their foulest thoughts and emotions, the thing which they called the CCT and from there use that self-sustaining source of nourishment to transform themselves into both a beacon of light within the ruined tatters of the Grimm Hive-Mind and a hungering vortex of darkness and intent into which all Creatures of Grimm were drawn.

Plans needed action however, without which they would remain fleeting and insubstantial things and so Gestalt-Prime had begun by slowly replenishing and bolstering the ranks of their Winged Beowolves whilst at the same time delving into other twisted avenues of creation; pitting packs of freshly spawned monsters against one another in practical tests of the abilities of each successive batch, an orgy of violence and primal carnage which satiated the needs and urges of those Grimm which survived and remained; the continued caution which forced the chimeric hybrid Alpha to slow their progress was unavoidable however, the failure of the attack on Midpoint had left them without their desired connection to the enemies' communications and as such they did not know whether the floating obstacle which hung over the canyon and saw all, the source of Gestalt-Prime's first attempt at evolution had yet been repaired though the stolen knowledge dredged from computers of vehicles and machines they had consumed intimated that the damage they had caused would soon be undone if it had not already, meaning that any large scale movements of their forces would be detected. To that end they had sent out scouts, surviving members of the first batch of Winged Beowolves whose cunning and ferocity continued to grow with each passing day, yet were still easily matched by what came readily to later generations of Gestalt-Prime's creation had been sent out across the open wastes with an imperative to ignore their bloodthirsty nature and instead simply seek and observe.

The sound of approaching wingbeats overhead announced their return.

"Welcome back subscribers" Gestalt-Prime's shrieking voice greeted the loose pack of incoming monsters as they fell from the sky and landed with an inhuman grace, wings folding around them only to lash out and bat aside their younger kin as they pushed their way through the rabble with a series of savage growls and baring of fangs in order to huddle at the rock their Alpha had perched upon, lupine skulls lowered with ears slicked back in a gesture of submission ad Gestalt-Prime began to reach into each of their minds.

For many of the beasts there was no need for Alpha to directly, physically reach out and tear knowledge from them as they simply lacked any information that interested them beyond mild curiosity; the wasteland was alive with activity no doubt, some scuffle between a mob of the prey which Hunted in return in one place and a cunning ambush which left meat for lesser carrion-eaters in another whilst all across the ravaged and remade island the prey flitted between their cities and towns in a way that offered nothing to Gestalt-Prime's thoughts.

Until a single fragment of information lodged in their mind like a splinter.

Sending tendrils like torn shreds of fabric out form their torso they clawed and grasped at the offending Winged Beowolf and hoisted them closer so that their mind could be more closely scrutinised, confirming that they had indeed found a settlement where a hurried rechecking of the various maps and other aspects logistical intelligence available to them said that such a place simply did not exist.

With a shriek like tearing metal Gestalt-Prime grasped the skull of their creation and tore it asunder, their own protean form absorbing the contents of the lesser monsters' mind and last flickering moments of terrified consciousness and a moment later the entirety of the Winged Beowolves' experiences were merged into their creator, swiftly subsumed and rendered down to their base components by some vile internal crucible and in that moment Gestalt-Prime understood.

This settlement was not yet complete, it was lightly defended; robots taking the place of many of the expected complement of Hunters and yet it boasted a CCT uplink to connect those who built and dwelt in the place with the rest of the island, making it a prime target for destruction and consumption. Gestalt-Prime's singular eye glowed beneath its' protective visor as they considered this new morsel with ravenous and eager malice.

The prey called this place Maiden-Gate.

Author's Notes:

And there we have the mid-season finale of Vol.03….You thought things looked bad for the heroes at the end of Vol.02?
On a serious note I hope this chapter came out okay but honestly I'm not sure about the flow of it because I reordered the scenes and split up what happened where differently as I wrote it a few times.
Also I'm gonna take a week off, a) because I wanna get the plans for the back half of Vol.03 and the finale of the entire first year arc concrete and b) I need to recharge, there are scenes that I'd been looking forward to writing here and getting through them just felt like a slog and now I'm doubting my quality.
Although some of that can just be chalked up to me trying to write whilst ignoring a busted shoulder and taking no break at all between the last chapter and this one.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
I'm sorry but I had to start off with Ruby's accolades likes that.
Yes that was a reference to the Shop-keep and "Simple Wok".
What's that you can't buy Strawberry Sunrise in a bottle? Yang made them popular enough on Remnant that now you can.
Okay slicing the bottle with his Semblance was exactly the kind of dick move you were expecting from Wolfram...Kinda deserved though.
Let's be real against a normal opponent that opening from Team WULF would have been game, set and match….Ruby is something else entirely though.
Y'know how Cinder and Tyrian have both just straight up jumped onto Jaune's shield? Yeah that's what Ruby did to Wolfram, except at high speed and with a headbutt thrown in….Also I love the idea that Wolfram's been headbutted at so many football games he's kinda used to it.
Wolfram Ironside?….Iron-Balls more like.
I had to recap a few of the Infernal Devices tricks and drop into the midpoint of the fight or it would have gone on forever.
I feel like these bugs are something you'd get in a Sega Side-Scroller from the 90s, they should come with 8-Bit boss music.
Okay so it was nice to see Astra thinking and making plans here, but I think it shows a subtle shift in their thinking; in their earlier plans they were a 'Part of' their plans, lately Astra has been the 'Star of' their own plans….Compare what the others contributed here to the fight against the Axolotl Grimm.
….The tunnel-collapsing hero landing was cool though.
And now onto the main event.
This third scene is one of the ones I moved, I actually had Carmesi Vs Rowan here but I moved it so that it, the return to Breaktide and Gestalt-Prime all came one after another.
Ruby's a teacher, she observant enough to know which teams needed work early on and definitely had doubts about Team WULF.
Flamethrower – a better distraction than pocket sand.
Yep, she used the food fight jet stream….Between that and the Shop-keep we're having a callback bonanza.
AJ & Regalia suffered from the same problem as Team WULF here, that opening of the feint being the main attack while the harpoon was feint was a really good move; but Ruby is just better at this.
"A need to not only succeed but to outshine, to prove themselves by behaving as if they were the main character of some narrative existing wholly within their mind"...Damn, Ruby could do Yatsuhashi's job.
Astra's intro was inspired by some of the tournament fights in Cobra Kai Season 4, especially the Hawk and Robbie fight as well as just liking the idea that Astra, who has reinvented themselves and their weapons more than once definitely learns the moves of other fighters with flashy styles….And AJ's Capoeira is definitely flashy.
That's how bad the main character syndrome has gotten, in the heat of they moment they honestly forgot that they weren't the star of this show and other people have their own plans.
"Would you rather have a draw where we all win or a draw where we all lose?" now compare this with the lesson Ruby was driving home later on and you'll get why Astra needed to be crushed, it's not just that they don't listen; it's that they're reckless with the lives of the people around them….At this point they didn't even have a workable plan so they were chancing everything on a bluff and then believing their own hype.
And now we catch up with what Zirconia has been doing.
Zirconia has answers ready for why she went out for a walk on her broken leg, but that's not the same as a reason.
Of course she was given papers to write, everyone else is getting their asses kicked so you can assume that the paper is going to be graded equally harshly.
It was fun to see the AJ & Hops situation from Zirconia's side since she's actually a character who's perspective I rarely write from (Seriously, look through this story and see how many times I've actually had it be from her POV….This might actually be the first one) and then there's her plans for the future which, like the details of her background she still hasn't told anybody.
Funny how Zirconia discussed her assignment in the past tense isn't it?
Of course Breaktide Academy has a lock down protocol.
Even when they're being dumb Astra isn't dumb, they're right that under the rules she gave if Ruby wanted to keep from being captured she could have made them chase her indefinitely, she's standing and fighting by choice.
Against Team WULF and MARZ Ursinia is one of the first ones I'd pick off, her Semblance lets everyone else shrug off pain.
"Y'know for a plan where a few people are gonna have to get taken out it looks like you gave yourself the best part" see my earlier comment.
"Get her"….It's that what one scene from Ghostbusters.
That triple take out and shattering a glyph by slamming Crescent Rose through it was cinematic as hell in my mind.
Okay so with the talks about Laser's Semblance and his hang ups I felt like we had to see it used again in this fight but also that it would be a good chance to show that it does have limits to how useful it can be, it's OP but he can be beaten by a well placed counter.
Okay so look….Wolfram is absolutely guilty of doing something similar to Regalia in the training mission with Team FADE and Carcharodon; the difference is he took the win after everyone else had stopped fighting and also let's be real about it, Wolfram isn't dating Regalia but he is dating Astra and this mission is a lot more serious….That was a severely dick move, on top of the failed "I love you" from last chapter.
Astra getting taken out with a leg sweep felt symbolic considering it's one of their most used moves.
Look I know somebody is gonna say it but yeah Ruby was brutally harsh here and it was on purpose….There's a lot that can be unpacked from Downward Spiral in the Pyrrha comment but it's one that works just as well for my version of that fight and the canon one; basically Pyrrha is still considered a legend but even the legend couldn't do it all alone.
We all knew the villain fight was gonna get nasty.
I know exposition in fights can be hit or miss but I think it worked here because it was acknowledged as being a way to keep Carmesi talking.
You knew it was over the second he cleaved through her weapon.
And that's game set and match, broken Aura, multiple ruptured organs, probably damage to the spine and catastrophic blood loss.
So, there's Carmesi's backstory and you can imagine how the Benefactor recruited him from there...all I can say is "Ow the edge"….Which could have been Rowan's last words.
Yeah killing her with his Semblance was one of those little touches, he's basically made himself a living weapon as a result of the trauma that drives him; he's hate and righteous anger made manifest.
Yeah there's gonna be conversations but not right now, nobody got time for that.
Of course the academy has defences….But it's nice to see them, possible foreshadowing and yeah I just liked the idea that nobody, in the whole time that the academy has been running has actually seen it go into full alert like this because they've gotten so used to relative peace.
Weapons trained on Ruby might seem stupid but just remember that Semblances are a thing and that Gestalt-Prime already proved that a Bull-Head's identity can be falsified in order to get through a shield.
The students are being kept somewhere while the academy is searched top to bottom, obviously someone had to raise a question about that and AJ felt like the natural choice since Astra has been thoroughly humbled.
So let's recap, the villains have in the course of a day managed to pretty much completely remove any leads that Coco and her people might have had to track them down with….And there's still the matter of something tampering with the computers on the Nemesis Kharybdis that's been mentioned and left unresolved. Right now the only thing keeping Carmesi and Grapeshot from 'Winning' is that they haven't caught Gestalt-Prime yet, but they still have their containment unit.
Speaking of, it's about time we caught up with the monster.
Okay so I finished reading the Dune Trilogy right before writing these notes and it wasn't my intention at all but now I can't help but see Gestalt-Prime as the "Leto Atreides II" of Grimm.
So far they've been laying low, building forces up for another attack and performing recon.
This is the cliffhanger that the scene was built to precipitate; Maiden-Gate where Vol.03 started and where the current Spring Maiden is based coming to Gestalt-Prime's attention….It's gonna be a long wait for the next chapter isn't it?

Thank you to Lurkweed and Major Brony 95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
I'm glad that the chapter flowed well, keeping that rhythm that I used to have is something I've felt myself struggling with as I tell more complex stories (Seriously I've got a plot twist planned for ten chapters from now that I've been setting up since pretty much the start of the story and nobody has seen it coming yet).
Nope, Grape is out scouting for Gestalt-Prime which is still the villains main priority….The question still remains though, how did the Benefactor know about the transfer and who does he have inside Breaktide?
Astra's tactic was dirty but Ruby suspected it….I feel like Athena-Jade needed to separate her personal attachments from the job there; if it hadn't been her Aunt Ruby she would have agreed to it.
Oh yeah Ruby already had fixes for them, that's what her moving at speeds to render Regalia's Semblance useless was….At the same time the fight was showing that she doesn't need special plans and countermeasures; she was just thrashing them to drive home that they're not ready and that they can't run off and save the world from people operating on Carmesi and Grapeshot or the Benefactor's level yet.
You thought Rowan wasn't going to die?...You honestly thought both of them were walking away from this?
Fox didn't get captured, just knocked out...Which means whoever did it has some degree of honour.
Yeah, Wolfram is growing up...It's Astra that's the problem

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