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

85. A Breather

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 85: A Breather

Within the limited confines of the Chamber the lights glared as harshly, gleaming from pristine and functional surfaces of chrome and white whilst leaving deep shadows in the places they did not reach, the entire affair a perpetual reminder, as if one could ever be needed of the unnatural essence of what was being crafted and devised within the secret underground lair; the harsh brightness almost accusatory in its' stark contrast to the natural, yet weak and dull sunlight that managed to filter its' way into the open places in the depth of the Hive-City above.

Damascus Nero was in no frame of mind for such sentimentality however and instead focused on the various matters at hand as he addressed his gathered cohorts and confidants.

Both Zirconia and Carmesi were elsewhere, it was to be expected though it was still a keenly felt absence in the Chairman's mind. The Grasshopper Faunus he had considered his daughter since the moment he stepped into the roles forcibly opened by her parents demise was, naturally at Halo Academy and was likely in a lecture and that very moment whilst Carmesi; the Komodo Dragon Faunus whom Nero saw as a capable and trusted right hand although had never been able to see as a son, an arrangement which Carmesi himself had forcefully insisted upon despite Nero's best efforts was elsewhere and in the midst of attending to the Chairman's will in person.

Instead, as he cast his quartz-coloured gaze around the heart of his domain Nero was greeted by the sight of the two remaining Cyber-Grimm nestled away as much as their hulking and monstrous forms would allow in a darkened recess of the Chamber whilst Gestalt-Prime seemed to study them, the bloated and stomach-turning form of the Hybrid Alpha Grimm lurching and reorienting to face Nero a moment later with the motion being accompanied by a mechanical chittering as the abominations' segmented mouth-parts twitched and various sensors protruding like flesh and bone like blinking, impermanent eyes flickered and focused on the man only for Nero to calmly turn his attention to the main computer terminal of the Chamber. Albion Herringbone was predictably situated there, lab-coat draped over a well made cream suit and a video channel already opened to display the image of High Speaker Aefen Cruor in her own, aesthetically distinct base of operations within the wastelands of Menagerie; her stylised and vaguely ceremonial clothing and overwrought Grimm mask firmly in place as she lazily twirled a skull-tipped staff.

"Progress reports?" he demanded bluntly, though with a voice soft enough to make the words seem more politely inquisitive; the Chairman might well be tired but he would not abide sloppiness on his own part and felt that there would be little to be gained from rudeness where genuine interest would suffice. He was rewarded with a moment of silence where it seemed that the trio of figures before him silently debated amongst themselves who would speak first before the voice of Aefen Cruor crackled through the speakers of the computer terminal, the sense of smug superiority and satisfaction which permeated her words being only slightly hindered by the tinny quality given to her voice by the video call.

"A great deal of progress has been made in both my own personal research and the specific goals you asked me to turn my attention to" she almost purred the words out and Nero was certain that beneath her mask she was smiling, hands gesticulating as she continued in a way that suggested she would very much like to be performing for her congregation of cultists and basking in their adoration

"With the assistance of both Doctor Herringbone and Gestalt-Prime I have managed to not only advance the field of applied Grimm biology by several years, possibly decades for the ungrateful masses but I have also devised several possible variations and modifications of both the Grimm and mechanical aspects of our Cyber-Grimm to create new strains and designs; suitable for all manner of battlefield roles….Including the pet project you asked me to work on-"

"Not all of Aefen's suggestions are entirely workable" Albion interjected, seemingly incapable of allowing his supposed fellow scientist to go on gloating unchallenged "However some of the more promising ideas are being refined"

"The specific project that was given to Aefen following the dance?" Nero asked, some of the politeness of his tone being replaced by a steely coldness; the matter was an important one to him for reasons beyond the mission himself and Carmesi's absence had initially been taken as a sign that things were underway.

"The test sample was completed as per Aefen's designs with the help of Gestalt Prime. Carmesi has departed for the warehouse we're storing the mech-suits damaged in the attack on the student dance in, I assume that was according to your plans" Albion nodded slowly in confirmation, adjusting gold-rimmed glasses and fixing his old friend with a look that suggested that he was mildly concerned at not knowing the exact nature of this new development or the intentions behind it.

"It was" Nero answered simply, addressing both his old friend and Gestalt-Prime as he allowed his own thoughts to coalesce by adding

"Our present position is as follows; the testing of the Cyber-Grimm was a success, they completed their mission and whilst one was lost the repairs to the remaining pair were completed without major complications. With Aefen's work and the resources at our disposal in terms of hardware, obtained from Cosmo-Guild and other companies within the conglomerate we will be able to produce a force suitable for the next stage of our plans; Albion to ease your mind I'll tell you that the project Aefen and Gestalt-Prime have been working on is something of a trial run and proof of concept, something of a more complex Cyber-Grimm design. The events at the student dance a few weeks ago, so close to the Vytal Festival have created such disarray that the absence of the Hunter Carmesi tested the Cyber-Grimm against has yet to be noted….We are free to act, all that remains now is to ensure that production is increased to meet demand-"

"Not so simple I'm afraid" Gestalt-Prime's voice cut through Nero's speech, oily smooth and deep voice with an undercurrent of metallic sawing and clattering sounds delivering the interruption with a tone which made it abundantly clear that the monstrous being was far from afraid or even concerned.

"There are complications?" Nero's eyes darted from Gestalt-Prime to Albion, though it was the Alpha Grimm who answered, four skeletal limbs unfurling their multiple joints and twisting their wretched mass within the fluid-filled tube which held it as they spoke.

"In my previous form I had Spawning Pits at my disposal. They are gone now and there are limits to what I can produce from my own tissue; those limits were almost reached in the creation of your proof of concept" the abomination managed a convincing sneer, faintly amused by the knowledge of exactly what Nero intended this new specimen to be used for "To create hordes and armies to take cities and Kingdoms I will need the means to do so, I need access to the primordial Grimm matter found within Spawning Pits"

"I see" Nero considered for a moment, debating having Aefen send some of the devoted lunatics at her disposal to acquire what was needed before dismissing the idea entirely; her people were unquestioningly loyal however they simply lacked the capability, as had been proven by their behaviour at the Crater on Menagerie and even if they were successful the act of smuggling protean Grimm matter through the additional layers of security at all of Neo Vale's ports and airship terminals would be an additional challenge.

Instead a more simple answer presented itself.

"It will be a task for Carmesi when he is available" the Chairman's dark eyes seemed to glint in the harsh overhead lighting as he added "Albion, contact him and tell him to hold off on activating the specimen in his possession….It's something I would very much like to see in action for myself"

As his friend departed to handle his more mundane duties Albion was left suddenly chilled by how ominous those parting words had sounded.

---

The student dance and the attack upon it had, in recent weeks been allowed to fade from prominence in the minds of the students at Halo Academy and the people of Neo Vale as a whole until it was no longer the most readily available topic of conversation.

An assault on the future protectors of Remnant as they partook in an event that was as traditional as the Vytal Festival itself had made waves within the Capital and the wider Kingdom of New Vale to be sure, with the CCT and television being awash with opinion pieces and public outcry calling for all manner of actions ranging from the halting of the Vytal Festival, to the total lockdown of the city and worrying, if almost nonsensical calls to make crimes committed against a Hunter an act of treason against the Kingdom. Eventually however things had begun to subside, the steady and gradual improving of the weather almost serving as a collective deep, calming breath for the populace with the snow and ice being replaced by irregular downpours and a general unpredictability which those within the Hive-Towers of Neo Vale were spared from whilst the students aboard their airborne academy were subjected to its' whims on a daily basis until other matters had taken prominence. The Vytal Festival was nearing and the preparations grew more intense with each passing day which, for the people of the city had meant several delays to traffic and shipping as additional security checkpoints were put in place along with the troubles caused by imposing diversions and road closures on the already labyrinthine webwork stretching through the vertical city leading to no small amount of complaining. To the student Hunters however the marked increase in both visible preparations and fully qualified Hunters flocking to Neo Vale was a sign that the Vytal Tournament and for many of them, their next training missions were looming ever closer.

All of which were secondary to the concerns weighing on Astra Mars's mind as they struggled to pay attention in class.

"Want one?" Regalia's voice pierced through the disoriented haze that the Deer Faunus had allowed themselves to slip into as the Professors' words droned on and blurred into an indistinct and torpor-inducing blur; managing to parlay the startled jump that accompanied being snapped back to reality into popping the collar of their uniforms' shirt in an admittedly unconvinced show of nonchalance before taking proper notice of their surroundings. Currently Regalia was wafting a pack of candies under their nose which from smell alone Astra could tell would be sour enough to leave their eyes watering for several minutes though the Racoon Faunus herself was, as ever unbothered by tastes that would leave anyone not raised in the wastes of Menagerie gasping for air.

"I'll pass on those" Astra managed a weak smile, careful as ever in their refusals as they understood just how much importance their partners' culture placed on food and acts of sharing. With sea-green eyes sweeping the lecture hall and the contents of the lecture still failing to properly secure itself in their mind Astra noted that Athena-Jade and Zirconia were managing to keep their eyes off of one another for long enough to actually study and take notes which, given how insufferable the pair had been in recent weeks was impressive; though keeping from touching one another was apparently too much to ask as the Bear Faunus could be seen idly brushing the back of her partners' hand with a thumb. Team MARZ were also alone at their customary place towards the rear of the lecture hall as Team TRQS had chosen, seemingly at Tiger's behest to relocate themselves closer to Team SHMR; with the stoic and stern leader of the team currently struggling to hide a strained expression as made a valiant effort to abandon her preconceived notions and get to know Snapdragon Majus for her brothers' sake; a struggle added to by the fact that Ravi and Stygian seemed to be playing off of each other and unleashing a slew of hushed, but devastating wisecracks and shenanigans at their friends expense.

Turning their focus back to their more immediate surroundings Astra winced at the almost entirely blank page that greeted them, absently made doodles forming a poor substitute to the notes that they should have been taking. Letting out a slow sigh with a muttered curse buried beneath it the Deer Faunus leaned over to Zirconia, leaning against the Grasshopper Faunus in such an overtly sneaky way that it became almost pantomime as they sought to copy notes that they could rely upon to be detailed and well organised.

"What are you doing?" Zirconia rasped as she turned to fix a mismatched stare at her friend, body language suggesting that she was considering giving the Deer Faunus whose antler was currently brushing against her shoulder a playful cuff around the back of the head, something that which she would almost not have crossed her mind before she had started dating Athena-Jade.

"Looking at your notes" Astra answered, honest in the strictest sense yet speaking in a conversational and light-hearted tone which belied just how badly they had lost their bearings in the latest display of how they had been struggling to keep track of their classes and the workload expected of them in recent weeks. Zirconia and Athena-Jade shared knowing, worried glances with each other before the pale Bear Faunus spoke up, favouring blunt and direct solutions as ever she simply close her own textbook and reached around her girlfriends' back to hit Astra with the book, resulting in a satisfying thud and Athena taking the opportunity to keep her arm draped around her partner.

"I'll let you copy my notes and I'll go over your rough draft of the assignment; want me to see if anybody else is gonna be studying in the library later?" she offered, Astra massaged the back of their head and before they could answer caught sight of the faint blush that crept across Zirconia's face which in turn gave them a concrete idea of why the Bear Faunus might suggest that Astra study away from Team MARZ's dormitory. Keeping the subject firmly away from what went on between their friends in private Astra simply nodded.

"Sure, thanks AJ….I just tuned out again"

"You've been doing that a lot lately" Regalia chimed in, concern evident in both her voice and her pale purple eyes as she studied her partner closely "Are you okay?"

"Yeah" Astra bristled almost compulsively, the spike of defensive anger and brusqueness being forced back as they gave a sullen shrug "Yeah….I guess, I think so?"

"Heh, you sure?" Regalia popped one of her sour candies into her mouth, talking around the sweet miraculously unhindered by its' taste "I know you went out for a jog early this morning-"

"Sorry if I woke you" Astra hoped that the apology could segue into a change of subject which would ensure they could go without confiding exactly why they had been sleeping less regularly and restfully of late, or why they struggled to focus in classes and had taken to using the benches in the workshops located as far away from the campus forges or welding areas as they could ever since the dance.

"Heh it's fine" Regalia rubbed her hands together in a gesture Astra knew was a sign of her own unease "I'm a light sleeper and I can make do with less anyway, you can guess how hectic it gets on the Aiktishaf sometimes….But if something's bothering you then talk, you promised me you weren't gonna try and carry all your problems on your own-"

"I know" Astra forced themselves not to sound irritable, despite their lack of sleep and the ease with which their anger found its' way towards the surface "I just….let me try and work through this"

"Is it because of….Y'know stuff, if things are awkward then-"

"No, it's not that" Astra almost raised their voice loud enough for to carry and be heard by other students and at that moment they became painfully aware of the fact that Athena and Zirconia had pointedly returned to their studying, leaving their leader to navigate this alone.

"I promise it's nothing like that" they struggled to assure Regalia, whose eyes were now downcast; Astra finally helping themselves to one of her unfathomably sour candies and placing a hand on her forearm "Like yeah, things are a little different but that's not what it is….Just, I've been having some trouble sleeping and it's catching up with me. We've got missions and stuff and extra training and Faunus Pride is coming up before the Vytal Festival; things are just getting on top of me"

"Then talk to Counsellor David-Vasilias" Zirconia interjected firmly, showing that she and Athena had still been paying some attention despite the illusion of privacy.

"We're all a little worried about you Astra" the Bear Faunus beside her added

"Only a little?" Astra countered jokingly

"You suck" the answer was entirely expected and Astra's winning smirk, dampened only slightly by the absence of their usual makeup and the bags beneath their eyes was already in place, a response faltering on the tip of their tongue as Regalia took the opportunity to poke the Deer Faunus playfully in the ribs while their back was turned.

"Let us worry about you, it's what friends are for"

"Alright, alright" Astra grumbled, though they could not bring themselves to put any indignation in their words and as they renewed their efforts to pay some degree of attention to ongoing lecture, instead smiling briefly as they took comfort in their friends' presence and concern before setting their jaw and silently promising themselves that they would take action and speak to someone about what was currently troubling them; perhaps not the student counsellor but someone with experience.

Their team deserved a leader that was at least willing to make genuine efforts in that regard.

---

The Headmasters' office of Halo Academy had become steadily more occupied as lessons had concluded for the day and those members of faculty whose presence was required for the meeting currently underway had presented themselves. Namely Headmaster Lie Ren himself, with Nora making herself comfortable as she sat on the edge of his desk, Scarlet David-Vasilias, who was not a member of staff in the strictest sense yet still served as part of its' security given that he lived aboard the floating campus with his husband and finally Qrow Branwen who brooding intensity would have unnerved those unaccustomed to his presence as he entered the office; his many-limbed mechanical chair moving with a personality which marked it as a true extension of the man which in this instance amounted to a stalking gait which seemed out of place amidst the soothing décor of Lie Ren's office.

"Will we be speaking with any of the others tonight?" Qrow asked, running a hand through his hair to straighten what had been allowed to dishevel with exhaustion over the course of another long day which was not yet finished.

"Not tonight" Nora sighed and Qrow noted the slight squeeze of reassurance her husband gave her hand and understood the meaning behind it inherently. In the immediate aftermath of the assault on the student dance the heads' of the other academies had understandably contact Ren and Nora to demand answers to the barrage of questions they had prepared and seek assurances that the safety of their students had not been misplaced, anger had been expected and received however it had seemed fair to hope that General Winter Schnee and now former Councilwoman Coco Adel might be more understanding given their involvement in events behind the scenes; instead Qrow understood that Coco had unleashed a several minutes long tirade filled with inventive albeit anatomically unfeasible threats at Ren and Nora with both Velvet and Yatsuhashi flanking her, their silence alone a damning condemnation. For several days following the debacle Nora had alternated between bereft dejection and bouts of erratic anger which had been directed at over a dozen training dummies, each of which had been utterly obliterated.

"Okay" Qrow nodded, feeling himself taking charge of the meeting despite the fact that Ren had been the one to call it and was nominally the one leading them, at least in matters that pertained to the academy itself "Do we have any progress on any fronts?"

"I had a meeting with the other Council members and representatives" Ren answered, removing his hand from Nora's so that he could adjust his glasses and steeple his fingers thoughtfully "Public opinion and overall mood is remaining largely positive, which is a good thing….We don't need a public outcry immediately before something as big as the Vytal Festival where emotions would be charged anyway-"

"Do we think that was the goal?" Qrow mused, crimson eyes narrowed in disgust at the notion even as he uttered it "Cause another scenario like the attack on Port Alistair but use the attack on the students to draw in the Grimm….Putting the idea that Hunters can't even protect our own, let alone anybody else would make handling things a lot harder"

"If that was their idea then they failed" Nora growled, eyes crackling with silent power that matched the vehemence in her words "The gangs were already hated in the city, the fact they attacked our kids while they were unarmed has made them public enemy number one as far as the people of Neo Vale are concerned"

"It's a shame that all that public support we have isn't translating into any useful information" Scarlet fought the urge to sound as though her were pouting immaturely as he pointed out that particular detail "The ones that got away are still hustling in their usual spots but they've got more lookouts in place….They're gone before anyone can get them"

"None of the people we captured are talking?" Qrow asked, what little hope he had managed to retain of that front being dashed as Scarlet shook his head and sent waves of deep red hair flying out around himself.

"Oh they talk, mostly it's threats and insults" he scoffed "They've lawyered up, legal aid way out of their pay grade but if we start investigating and shaking down their lawyers then we get charges aimed at us…..We know they're guilty, they know they're guilty, everyone knows but they're all acting tough. They're scared"

"Scared is reasonable" Qrow growled the admission out "The Benefactor has already proved that they're willing to have their own people killed and with Carmesi Hueso and Petrol both still out there somewhere the Benefactor has some very real threats to hold over peoples' heads"

"So what do we do?" Scarlet asked, eyes darting from Ren to Qrow in search of an answer which the older of the two men provided; his mechanical chair beginning to pace in lengthy, skittering strides.

"We put more pressure on them. We have the support of the public, the people want to be reassured and be shown that we can still keep them safe from what's out there and from the things happening in the city. Ren would you be able to start issuing contracts to patrol ways in and out of the cities to all of the Hunters that are coming for the festival, Scarlet could you have the people you deal with step up patrols in known gang territories? They can run but if you set up shop on their turf they'll have to adapt"

"It'll involve some overtime but sure" Scarlet grinned.

"I could, but I might have to wrangle some additional funds from the Council" Ren nodded slowly "You have suspicions?"

"We know that the Benefactor is planning something big and a large scale attack isn't out of the question. They're working with a Grimm scientist who leads a cult of Grimm worshippers now, they had a plan for an intelligent, sapient Grimm, what attacked the dance was far from everything they stole from Cosmo-Guild and our enemies have a history of smuggling and working in multiple Kingdoms…..I find it a little suspicious that if the attack on the dance was their main play that Carmesi Hueso, the most capable fighter they have wasn't there. For now we should focus on denying our enemies any room to move and finding both Hueso and Petrol"

"If Petrol's still alive" Nora murmured, expression suddenly haunted at the memory of the final moments of the dance "I only meant to….His Semblance; damn it why did he do that-"

"Not your fault" Qrow shook his head

"I've seen plenty of messed up stuff over the years, we all have" Nora managed to perk up, a ghost of her usual energy rising to the surface only to be deflated by a sigh "But hearing that is going to stay with me for a long time"

Qrow remained silent, giving Scarlet a look that dissuaded him from making any flippant comments about the gang leader deserving what had happened to him whilst Nora and Ren underwent a conversation entirely through glances and small gestures which culminated in the diminutive redhead leaning against her husband but opting not to be soothed by his Semblance and choosing instead to let her feelings on the matter take their course.

"Petrol hasn't turned up at any of the hospitals' in the city" Qrow finally noted pointedly "None of the confirmed injured attackers have, which suggests that the Benefactor has his own medics….I think Petrol is still alive because there haven't been any follow up attacks in retaliation for his death and his people don't seem the type to let something like that slide"

"It does seem to be a tall ask" Ren nodded in agreement.

"We thought we'd seen the last of Carmesi's Hueso….We weren't that lucky" Qrow continued with a grimace "I don't doubt we'll see Petrol again; I'd rather that be on our terms than when he chooses to make a move and show his face"

"Whatever's left of it" Scarlet snorted, unable to keep that particular jibe to himself and earning himself sighs from his collective colleagues.

"If that's all?" Qrow's chair turned and lurched towards the door

"For now, naturally we'll keep each informed of any developments" Ren assured him "And I'll inform our counterparts of what was discussed"

"I have to head back to my office, I planned to be there for a few hours after class in case any of my students wished to speak with me in private….I was hired as a teacher after all, taking care of what Ozpin built is just what the kids call a side-hustle, I think"

With said that and a gruff chuckle Qrow departed, muttering about needing another pot of Oobleck's coffee as he went.

---

For all of her considerable strength and bulging, rippling muscle Athena-Jade Slate was capable of incredible softness and gentleness of touch, which she went about proving as she traced a path of feather-light kisses along Zirconia's hipbones, relishing each shuddering, hitching breath that escaped her girlfriend and the way the Grasshopper Faunus's mechanical legs braced against the mattress so that she could buck and roll her hips needily against the shorter of the two partners, to which Athena responded by planting a final, more substantial kiss against Zirconia's thigh with teeth dragging against soft skin before the Bear Faunus rested her head on her girlfriends' lower stomach, arms wrapping loosely around legs which in turn crossed over Athena's broad and powerful back.

With their team-mates currently absent and not expected to return for some time the pair had found themselves, as they had been doing with almost impressive regularity having sex that Athena-Jade would not hesitate to call amazing despite her total lack of any prior experience to compare it to. The moment in which she had intended to simply catch her breath lingered and stretched out with Athena making herself comfortable in the position the two of them had found themselves on the Bear Faunus's bunk, the various sheets and blankets she nestled beneath for sleep strewn about in a state of disarray

"Hey" Athena's round and full cheeks flushed as she gazed up at her partner, the word uttered with a blissful giddiness which bordered on seeming drunk "I love you Hops"

"I love you too" Zirconia reached down, delicate fingers often covered by gloves cupping Athena's face and pulling the shorter girl up so that the two of them were eye to eye and pressed against one another, with the Grasshopper Faunus's intent to pull her into a searing kiss becoming readily apparent.

"Should I go wash my-" Athena's words were silenced and in the Bear Faunus's frankly addled mind the kiss the followed was one of the most brazenly erotic things she had ever experienced; only for it to be interrupted before things could continue or progress by the sound of Athena's scroll vibrating against the wooden surface of a nearby bedside table.

"Damn it all" Athena spat the words with a righteous fury which all but fizzled out in the following seconds as the last remnants of her sore and exhausted but euphoric haze faded away enough for the Bear Faunus to realise that the incoming video call was from her adopted sister, which promptly left her cursing again in a frantic effort to pull sheet and blankets over herself; which Zirconia used as an opportunity to position herself behind her girlfriend and take advantage of her height to be the big spoon, arms sliding around her girlfriends' waist distractingly though everything below their bare shoulders remained hidden from view.

"Hey Coral, what's up?" Athena gasped out, hand not holding her scroll lacing fingers through Zirconia's in an effort to have the taller girl stop making it so hard to concentrate which went thankfully unnoticed by the Crab Faunus who seemed to have grown even more unfathomably tall in her sisters' absence, clothes and rose gold hair as immaculate as ever and wearing an expression of nervous excitability which was further evidenced by the way the image shuddered as the pincer holding the scroll twitched and clacked animatedly with a force which Coral took great care to measure lest she accidentality crush whatever she held.

"Hey AJ, hey Zirconia; how're you two….Oh my gosh, oh wow I am so sorry I didn't mean to call at a bad time" Coral's cheeks flushed scarlet and the clacking of her pincers grew in intensity to such a degree that Athena-Jade was left wincing as she heard the plastic casing of her sisters' scroll begin to crack as the Crab Faunus realised or at least suspected what she had interrupted.

"It's nothing, it's fine, it's cool….You didn't see anything, you didn't interrupt anything. Let's just move along" Athena's words hurried out of her in a frantic effort to keep Coral's thoughts on track lest the younger but far larger teen go and disclose what she had seen in flustered embarrassment to Arctus and Diamond who were most likely somewhere within the manor, or worse still their parents.

"Please let's move this along and accept that you didn't see anything at all that could be described as untoward" Zirconia added, pulling one of the blankets around them both a touch higher to drive the point home.

"Okay, yeah. Of course" Coral breathed the words out, making a show of straightening herself out and giving a final wordless huff until Athena sensed that her sister was still bothered by something, a growl escaping the Bear Faunus as protective instincts took hold.

"Are you okay? What's bothering you….Did Henry do-"

"No, no. Henry and I are still great; he's….." Coral trailed off with a faintly dreamy expression and Athena pointedly did not push for details, deciding that there were things she would be better off not knowing and instead remaining silent until her sister could find her voice once again.

"We're gonna be Aunties! Arctus and Diamond are having a baby and I know you knew before Weiss and Gangrel told us both" Corals' voice was small and hushed "I….Uh, I think I freaked out and overdid it"

"What is there to freak out about?" Zirconia asked curiously.

"I've got no idea what to do….I didn't have Aunts and Uncles before I was adopted"

"Nor did I, I still don't" Zirconia noted.

"Yeah but the only aunt I've got that I can speak to on any regular basis is Winter….She's scary as heck and that's not the kind of aunt I want to be-"

"So don't" Athena interjected as though it were the most simple thing in the world, toothy grin crossing her face as her thoughts turned to her mothers' other sibling; her tall and bearded uncle whom Coral herself utterly adored "Aunt Winter's cool anyway; but what about Uncle Whitley, you can use that as a guideline, you love Uncle Whit"

"I tried that" Coral visibly shrunk in on herself.

"What did you overdo?" Athena asked, words coming slowly as she took a moment to mentally brace herself for whatever might follow; only to be taken aback completely as Coral grumbled indistinctly and panned the camera around what the older sister recognised as her bedroom, albeit after several seconds of searching for identifying features beneath the multicolour deluge of soft and plushy fabrics. After taking several more moments to parse the image in front of them both Athena-Jade and Zirconia realised in the same instant that what they were seeing was in fact an entire wall and a sizeable portion of the walls adjacent to it completely overtaken by stuffed animals.

At which point neither girl could contain their laugher.

"Shut up, you guys suck….You're the suckiest-"

"Okay first off, that only works when I say it" Athena snorted indignantly "And secondly, it's cute….It's funny and dumb as heck, but it's cute. Arctus and Diamond will probably love it and our niece or nephew will definitely enjoy having enough stuffed animals to fill a small swimming pool"

"When you say that you tried to act like your Uncle Whitley…." Zirconia trailed off, trying to keep the younger Faunus from being too downcast or despondent but still clearly amused and baffled by the sheer scope of the panic induced purchase, her question earning a chuckle from Athena

"Oh yeah, Uncle Whitley operates on entirely different scale; his idea of the bare minimum is most people's idea of going to far….This is definitely something he'd do on an off day"

"You think I should get a refund for some of these?" Coral sighed, gesturing with a chitinous pincer in the direction of the mountain of plushies "Or give some away"

"Okay listen, here's what you should do" Athena sighed, shaking her head in faint lingering amusement "Don't tell Arctus and Dee how many you've bought. Give 'em a few now, a few when the baby's born and then space 'em out….You've probably got enough there to last until the kid starts school-"

"-So I'm gonna be the cool Aunt-"

"The hell you are, that title is mine by default. I was the cool one before you got here and that hasn't changed" Athena puffed up dramatically as much as the sheets covering her current state of undress would allow, Zirconia smiling against her pale skin as she planted a kiss against a broad shoulder.

"Only if you don't trip over your own feet on camera in the tournament….I remember Weiss thrashing you when you sparred over the summer" Coral countered with a sickly sweet tone, pincer not holding her scroll giving the closest approximation to hand gestures it could manage to which Athena merely rolled her eyes

"You suck, you suck so bad. You are the suckiest….See, it just sounds better when I do it"

"Okay fine and sure you're pretty cool I guess" Coral made a show of examining the end of her pincer as though it were fingernails, her expression brightening as she added "Thanks for talking AJ….I needed that and honestly I've missed hearing from you-"

"Miss you too pest, we'll hang out all summer. I've been busy with stuff-"

"Stuff? Her name is Zirconia" the younger sibling stuck her tongue out, enjoying that her adopted sister was suitably affronted by that and utterly powerless to respond whilst Zirconia herself appeared utterly mortified "Okay, I'm gonna go and make a start on sorting these plushies before dinner….I wanted to talk to Henry tonight, so talk soon?"

"Yeah we'll talk soon. Love you, get lost" Athena flashed a toothy smile and responded with all of the cheery venom that siblings responded for one another before ending the call; a moment of silence lingering within the dorm which the Bear Faunus now realised smelt of sweat and sex to a degree that would have to be rectified soon.

"That was entertaining to watch" Zirconia murmured against Athena's shoulder, answering her partners' wordless hum of a question by explaining "I know you're not interested in being a team leader any more, but it was interesting to see you being so in charge….even in something like that"

"Yeah, that ship sailed. Astra leads the team" Athena shrugged and the motion left defined back muscles pressed against Zirconia's breasts which left both partners' intimately aware of their closeness and the Grasshopper Faunus needed a moment to recollect her thoughts. This was not the moment for her to begin disclosing the truth of Nero's greater plans and the place within them that Zirconia hoped Athena would take, though she felt that the moment would not be sullied if she used it to plant the smallest of seeds.

"I just think that you want to help people and even if it isn't a team of Hunters, there could be times and places where you're the one in charge and giving out orders….It would be fun to see, incredibly hot as well"

"Really?" Zirconia's mouth was immediately dry at that, she had been staring absently at her scroll realising she had several messages which had gone ignored whilst her girlfriend had held her entire attention. She had ignored an invite to hang out from a group of older students and sent a single emoticon in response to Astra assuring her that they would not be returning to the dorm for some time before Zirconia's comment, followed by her hand drifting from across Athena's waist down the length of her thick and muscular thigh robbed her of her concentration.

"Really" Zirconia's words turned gentle and delicate as she added "And honestly, this sounds sappy but I hope I get to see you interacting with your niece or nephew….I've seen you with your cousin and the younger children here, it's always sweet"

"Flatterer" Athena's breath hitched as her partner's hand drifted slowly to the inside of her thigh and the Bear Faunus's legs parted ever so slightly to accommodate the touch without thought.

"Wait" she managed to breath out without whimpering, biting at her lip and cursing herself as she caught sight of another message and found herself suddenly invested by its' contents "Regalia is in the city….She said she needed some air. Should we be worried?"

"Has she asked us for backup?" Zirconia kept her tone even, understanding the potential seriousness of the matter despite her own building urgency. Neither Team MARZ or any of the other students had been officially banned from venturing into the city in the wake of the attack on the dance however it had been discouraged, there were several violent criminals unaccounted for after all and it was likely that they would enact bloody retribution if presented an opportunity to attack from behind or with the advantage of numbers and surprise; especially if the victim were a member of Team MARZ who had clear earned special ire. Athena reread Regalia's text more thoroughly this time before breathing out a sigh of relief that was left shaky by Zirconia's attentions.

"No, she's not on her own. She was just asking if we want anything if she gets food-"

"Well then" Zirconia renewed her assault, fingers finding their mark and leaving the scroll tumbling from Athena's fingers as her girlfriend set about reducing strong and muscular, often stared at legs to trembling jelly.

---

Regalia had not expected to find herself in the company of friends when she had left Halo Academies' floating campus late in the afternoon although she was still glad to have done so, even if it were not the company she would have preferred.

She had accompanied Astra to the library like a dutiful friend and partner after classes had ended for the day and remained with them for some time in an effort to ensure that their efforts to catch up with studying that their current mental haze and lethargy had hindered went smoothly whilst also giving Athena-Jade and Zirconia their privacy, Regalia was far from naive enough to need an explanation as to why the couple had made sure they had the dormitory to themselves as much as possible lately after all, whilst she was not particularly interested in the matter of sex for its' own sake being a curious child growing up aboard the Aiktishaf with its' limited space and dark, secluded spaces had led to several awkward conversations with her elders.

Whilst in the library Astra had understandably been a lacklustre conversation partner which Regalia had understood and accepted, her partner was focused on the task at hand and the very same problems that had taxed them in recent weeks seemed to make the Racoon Faunus's efforts to help ineffective. When Astra had informed her that they had somewhere that they needed to be once they were finished in the library however Regalia had given a look of barely contained annoyance which her partner had seen and acknowledged, apologising for their poor company and assuring her that they would be fine if she wanted to do something else and also that they would hang out again soon, with the Deer Faunus hopefully more able to relax. Begrudgingly and uncertainly Regalia had debated enduring another night stuck aboard the aerial platform until Astra had prodded further and convinced her to get some fresh air, lest she work herself into a state as irritable and unfocused as Astra themselves.

Regalia was a nomad at heart, she to travel and with no further obstacles in her way that was what she had done.

After remaining aboard Halo Academies' campus and platform in the weeks that had followed the attack on the Aurora Hotel due to Team MARZ being the most likely subjects of retaliatory violence from the remaining gangsters armed with mech-suits, the feeling of once again being sat upon Clunker with no particular destination in mind and a city which remained, in her mind a larger than life neon puzzle to examine and marvel at was exhilarating, freedom in its' rawest form despite the oppressively claustrophobic confines of the city. Upon landing and disembarking at one of Neo Vale's many aircraft terminals Regalia had donned her goggles and retractable armoured faceplate in lieu of a proper helmet before tearing out through the city on her jetbike at a speed which allowed her to take in as much of what she passed as the need to focus on the road ahead would allow whilst also leaving her shoulder length braid of grey-brown hair, bushy tail and the outermost of her two jackets trailing out behind her until finally she found herself skidding to a halt on one of the many bridges spanning the open space between Hive-Towers in order to admire the view. The nights were not as horrendously cold as they had been of late, with the chill in the air being comparable to Menagerie's own nights and sunset had been arriving gradually later in the evening which, combined with the vast array of neon advertisements lining the exterior of the monolithic towers gave Regalia a stunning sight to peer up at; the broken moon rising behind Halo Academy itself in a darkening sky whilst being framed by bridges, monorail tracks and neon-lined towers.

She had remained staring with rapt attention for some time until finally being brought to her senses by a group of students which had included most of Team TRQS inviting her to join them.

"How come Tiger didn't come?" Regalia asked Stygian, managing to be heard over the buzz of conversations filling the bar the group had found themselves in which was interspersed liberally with cheers and bouts of chanting as the soccer game being shown on a small, ancient television mounted in a high corner of the bar took one dramatic turn after another.

"Not her scene at all….Besides, I think she's hanging out with Ravi; probably without Snapdragon this time 'cos that still takes four people to break them up at minimum just in case" the blue-haired Mouse Faunus answered, Regalia following the casual gesture he made to take in the bar as a whole and decide that it was indeed incompatible with Tiger's need for organisation and a degree of calm although judging by its' current clientele it was a place frequented by students of all stripes in search of either a relatively relaxed form of enjoyment or, on weekends the prelude to one or several nightclubs.

"Should we be worried that the academy will be on fire when we get back?" Regalia asked with a grin which Stygian mirrored.

"Only if Professor Nora catches them at each others' throats….I swear she's been looking for reasons to snap at people lately" he grumbled, mouse-tail flexing as it draped across his lap whilst he sat in a reflexive twitching before he added "But I suppose then it at least be a proper lockdown instead of just 'encouraging' us to stay on campus….Damn am I glad to be able to get out again, even if it is just to come here"

"You don't like the place?" Regalia arched an eyebrow, despite what she had learned of his upbringing from Athena outwardly Stygian seemed to be the quintessential young Hunter, finding his way in the lifestyle of the Kingdoms' far more easily that she had done herself simply by virtue of being raised around Hunters who had elected to abandon their former oaths. The dark-skinned and tattooed boy merely shrugged and nodded towards the television.

"I think we're probably the only to people our age from Menagerie who don't follow a team" Regalia snorted at that "Besides I only came because my 'friends', traitors that they are asked me to-"

"Stitch quit your bitching" Amaya Quasar's chirpy, upbeat but confidant and defiant voice interjected as she took a seat beside her team-mate and nudged him playfully, with Rye close behind, the towering young man placing a tray filled with a fresh round of drinks on the table they were sharing in the far corner of the bar before carefully sitting his mammoth frame in a chair that looked comically small in comparison and, in his usual soft-spoken tones being the one to answer the unspoken question on Regalia's face as her purple eyes darted between the members of Team TRQS.

"The other people we came here with" Rye gestured in the direction of the group of students from several year groups and multiple academies, with a few college students from the city itself mingling with them "Well the idea is that we were gonna set Stitch up with that girl over there….And well, Amaya I love you babe but you goofed"

"Okay yeah, I goofed" she hung hair head before taking a swig of beer and shaking her head with a bemused laugh "I uh….I forgot to make sure she was actually single-"

"So I thought it was gonna be a double date, instead she turns up with a group of friends including her actual boyfriend and my Semblance doesn't teleport me away from embarrassing bullshit" the Mouse Faunus grumbled, downing half the drink that his friends foisted onto him with a clearly exaggerated show of annoyance.

"Oh no" Regalia's hands came to her mouth as she sought her slightly buzzing brain for any suitable movie quotes she could apply to situation, only to be left frowning to herself as she noted that 'Single by choice, just not my choice' could be applied more fairly to herself and would lead to a discussion that she decided she was simply not in the mood to have. Tuning out of the conversation for a moment the Raccoon Faunus turned her attention towards the nearby window, taking in the city scenery which she felt she would never be able to truly dismiss as commonplace or mundane and in doing so she was left with slightly unfocused and bloodshot eyes widening at the sight of a commotion taking place across the road.

Two people whose dress identified them as gang members were engaged in something of a tussle.

Regalia swatted at Stygian to get his attention who in turn gestured to Amaya and Rye and by the time the rest of the impromptu quartet were looking in the right direction Regalia had managed to make some sense of what was happening, or at least believed so.

The older and taller of the two was a young woman whose features were hidden beneath a hoodie whose bagginess would have hidden the armour and concealed weapons on her person if not for the way the fabric was pulled tight against their outlines and it was she who held her adversary from behind and was in the process of dragging a smaller youth, most likely a teenage boy back into an alleyway; what had initially seemed odd to Regalia was the amount of restraint shown by the woman doing the grappling and dragging in comparison to the usual ruthlessness displayed by the cities' gangs however an answer became startlingly clear in the moment that the pair, entirely by chance looked across the street and saw the group of student Hunters staring at them and promptly bolted out of view.

They had been waiting for a chance to strike, the younger gang member had grown impatient and decided to rush in only to be restrained.

"Come on, after 'em!" Regalia demanded as she shot to her feet, swaying and hissing through clenched teeth as she jostled the table and nearly upended several glasses; the commotion that her outburst caused amongst the other patrons' of the bar registering in her mind far less than the fact that Rye had, at Amaya's silent request wrapped his arms around the nomads' shoulders from behind; Regalia was more than capable of wrestling free however the moment of being forced to stop and consider her actions allowed to retrieve some degree of sense.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Stopping you from doing something dumb" Stygian sighed as he stepped in front of her, guilty expression plastered across his face as he did so "And believe me, I know that I'm a hypocrite because I would love to go after 'em as well-"

"Then why aren't you?" Regalia demanded voice dropping to a harsh whisper as her eyes darted around the bar and she realised just how many people were trying to listen to the conversation between student Hunters.

"We saw two of 'em, doesn't mean that there's only two of 'em" the Mouse Faunus noted reasonably.

"Or that they won't be armed to the teeth" Amaya added peering out of the dusty bar window in the direction the pair of criminals had fled "We could be running straight into a trap, no plan, no backup and kinda drunk….Tiger would kill us"

"Yeah Astra would probably be upset as well" Regalia conceded "They usually have a half a plan, or at least one in the works while they're chasing the target"

"It's the slightly drunk part that bothers me" Rye pointed out, finally relaxing his grip on Regalia "I'm not letting you chase after anyone on a jetbike when you've been drinking….In fact, give me your keys. I'll test Astra to come and get you, let 'em know what happened"

Regalia found that she could not argue with that, no matter how much she might have intended to. Whilst the wastelands of Menagerie did not suffer from the traffic laws which had driven her to the brink of madness upon hearing about them Regalia could not pretend she would ever have ridden Clunker whilst drunk whilst amongst her own people.

Her mother would have been incandescent with rage at the thought and Regalia voicing that fact out loud brought a cheer of laugher which returned the mood within the bar to something more ordinary.

---

Whilst Qrow Branwen's office was a more welcoming place to outsiders than his personal apartment within a restricted part of the campus, which would likely earn the distinction of being a lair even without the vast amount of intelligence gathering equipment and vast computer array taking up a great deal of living space. The comparison was damning with faint praise however and in sharp contrast to the offices of people like Ren and Neptune Qrow's professional seemed to radiate a feeling of nervousness out around it, as though the students who studied the subject of Unconventional Tactics were worried that their Professor might subject them to a series of traps if they sought him out; the office itself was devoid of any personal touches beyond the state of gloom it was kept in as decades of working in shadows of literal and figurative had given the ageing and chair-bound veteran Hunter a preference for the darkness which was hard to accommodate within Neo Vale, even at night.

Despite this imposing air keeping Qrow's students and other guests on edge, scanning their surroundings the way Professor Branwen insisted upon until it became habit Qrow himself welcomed their presence and had taken to setting aside a portion of his time for at least two evenings each week and employing an open door policy wherein his students could come to him with any issues they might have. At present one such student, whom Qrow expected to be the final meeting of the evening was leaving the office in a more relaxed state than when they had entered it, Qrow having examined their schedule and seen how much the Final Year student had committed to overworking themselves in order to ensure that their team entered the professional world in good standing.

As they left however Qrow caught sight of Astra Mars loitering in the hallway, waiting to be invited inside.

"Hey Professor" the Deer Faunus mumbled oddly sheepishly as they made their way into the office upon receiving a permitting gesture, closing the door behind them and fidgeting uncomfortably as the sought the words; Qrow's mind whirred and he ran a hand through his greyed hair with a sigh before addressing the student he had agreed to give additional training to with customary gruffness.

"If you came here to ask me about the attack on the dance, or to ask if your team are allowed to start searching the city-"

"No, it's not that" Astra's interruption was sharp and the way they swallowed thickly and forced back a shudder caught the older Hunter by surprise, prompting him to offer their young charge a seat which the Deer Faunus slumped into gracelessly, massaging the points where antlers emerged from their skull which Qrow played close attention to now that Astra had his full attention.

"The fight at the dance…..I think it messed me up a little" the words were heavy, Astra almost having to heave them up out of their chest with a forceful sigh as they slumped further into the chair opposite, sea-green eyes pointedly never meeting Qrow's gaze. For his part Qrow took several moments to consider his response, realising that his first words must, in the name of honesty, include a caveat for all that followed.

"I am not qualified to give out any kind of mental health advice Astra, I would recommend a discussion with Counsellor-"

"I know, I know" Astra fought to keep an irritable edge from their voice, which Qrow decided he would allow given how likely it was that he was giving the teen advice they had already considered and dismissed

"But the student counsellor was never really a Hunter though right?" Astra continued "I just….I don't know, I'd rather talk about this with someone who gets it"

"Neptune gave up on a career as a Hunter in order to pursue the education which led to his role as student counsellor, a decision he made following his involvement in the battle for and retaking of Vale; a great deal of the support available to students is a direct result of his efforts" Qrow kept his tone even and his words slow, not wanting a firm rebuttal to mistaken for anger "I'm always happy to help my students, though I would hardly consider myself a role model in many regards. That being said you'd do well to not discount my colleagues so easily"

"Okay, got it" Astra mumbled, still more reticent than Qrow was used to seeing them; body language guarded despite their rather impressive slouch which saw their form draped across the chair in new and inventive ways though as the Professor studied their student it was their eyes which drew the most attention.

"You haven't been sleeping?"

"Not enough" Astra admitted with a shrug "Not since the dance"

"I see" Qrow intoned, falling silent again and waiting for Astra to speak as he suspected that a chance to organise and voice their thoughts without judgement was what the Deer Faunus had truthfully approached him for. After a moment they found their voice once more, albeit in a small and timid fashion.

"I've never seen somebody die before" they finally managed to look Qrow in the eyes "I guess I thought Carmesi Hueso was dead for a while but there was so much else going on at the time….What happened to Petrol; the way it sounded….Fuck, the way it smelled"

"If it's any consolation, and I understand if it isn't; we currently have no confirmation that he is in fact dead"

"So he might just turn up again, lightly grilled and wanting me dead even more than he already did….Great" Astra snorted bitterly, arms folding across their chest as they added "In the meantime I get to keep having nightmares and trying not throw up when I smell bacon in the canteen every morning"

"This falls outside of my abilities to help with directly" Qrow lamented with a shake of the head "Death is something we try to prevent and should always treat as both a last resort and extreme caution and care; but the fact is there are some opponents who simply will not allow a confrontation to end any other way and whilst it's a view point that's not discussed in civilian society….The question will ultimately come down to how many people are you willing to see hurt before you end the problem. Though it should never be easy"

"I guess I knew that" Astra breathed out "I mean, I know my brother has had to kill people but it's not a part of the job he likes talking about….Especially not with me I guess. Shit, I just wanted to help fight the monsters-"

"And you learned that not all monsters are Creatures of Grimm" Qrow's words took on a faint growl as he found himself utterly without mercy for the criminal who had allied himself with the Benefactor and had fired acid, nail-bombs and incendiary rounds at unarmed students. Quickly however he mastered his own feelings and pondered how best to help the student before him.

"I would strongly suggest talking to both the Student Counsellor and also to Nora; she was the one who delivered the blow and her perspective might be helpful to you. If your insomnia continues then report to medical and explain the situation; they'll supply you with a limited supply of something to help" Qrow paused for a moment and considered before adding "Would some time away from the academy help?

"Like a medical leave?"

"I was considering something closer to a small scale training mission" Qrow assured them, seeing the worried expression on the teens' face "Something that will involve Creatures of Grimm and allow you to find your rhythm and footing again-"

"That would actually be great" Astra's eyes seemed to light up with excitement as they dared to hope.

"Excellent, I'll arrange something as soon as-" Qrow trailed off, halting as Astra's scroll distracted them both and the Deer Faunus's expression became a frown as they scanned the contents of a message.

"I've gotta go Professor….My partner needs me to pick her up from a bar, she can't drive herself.

"I see" Qrow frowned, taking a moment to consider the implications of that "I have to ask, as a Professor to a team leader….Has your partner taken to drinking more often since the dance, coping with issues in her own way?"

"What, huh….No!" Astra exclaimed, quickly realising what was being implied "No, it's not that. She went for a drive to clear her head and ran into some friends of ours….Just had one too many to safely fly a jetbike"

"I see" Qrow nodded in understanding "And your other team-mates, are-"

"Fucking like rabbits as we speak, I'll bet Lien on it" Astra scoffed "That's probably why Regalia went for a drive"

"I see" Qrow repeated, watching as Astra rose from their seat already fishing their car keys from their pocket despite being some distance away from the garage. As the Deer Faunus reached the office door the veteran Hunter intoned after them "I'll arrange something in regards to a training mission away from the city as soon as possible, before then talk to the people I suggested and also possibly your brother….In the meantime Astra, don't be harsh on your partner; I say that as the team-mate who has had to be picked up from a bar far too many times"

"Harsh with Regalia?" Astra paused, seeming genuinely confused by the notion "Didn't even consider it Professor"

Qrow couldn't help but chuckle to himself at that as the Deer Faunus departed.

---

Petrol's world was darkness and pain in a multitude of forms; the latter being the only true distinction between this new state of wakefulness and the dreamless, lifeless state he had been suspended in since fire and acid had ravaged his body. Light seared his eyes as it intruded upon him and tore a ragged scream of pain from a parched and arching throat, the sound being answered by a deep, rumbling laugh that the avian Faunus found hauntingly familiar.

He was at the mercy of Carmesi Hueso.

"Scum" the Reptilian Faunus greeted him and the retort that Petrol might have offered, even if it were muttered beneath his breath out of fear was left unuttered as the pain choked and punished the younger man further, leaving him instinctively blinking back tears that failed to manifest and spill from eyes that he realised were dry and raw that he was unable to fix, damaged in a way that rendered his vision blurrier than it had been even as the world began to fall into focus and refine itself into solid images from the scything glare of brilliant light that had marked his rousing.

As his vision restored itself to a workable degree Petrol was left fighting the urge to scream again, this time in bone chilling terror as he realised that he was still within the cockpit of his mech-suit.

"Wha-No, no, no what the fuck? What the fuck is going on!" he demanded, mucus- heavy voice reduced to a gasping wheeze without any of the force he had wished to fill his words with. The Faunus's heart hammered against his chest and his breathing came in panicked, shallow whimpers as he cast blurry eyes around him and was greeted with a plethora of horrific sights that his addled mind could barely comprehend, though in truth it was doubtful if an understanding would improve matters.

Petrol remembered ejecting the outer canopy on his war machines' cockpit during his fight against Astra Mars and their friends and that this had been the mistake which left him open to a truly punishing attack from a Huntress with a grenade launcher and now, with foggy vision he could see that the damage inflicted on the cockpit had been repaired in a grisly fashion. A new outer canopy had been fitted, though it was currently raised and the controls panels had been restored albeit in a rudimentary and slapdash way which left cables and inner workings exposed however what startled and frightened Petrol was that the space had now been filled with what he recognised as hospital equipment or something close it, confirming that he had been operated on and kept within the cockpit since being set on fire and doused with acid.

He tried to move, only for his blood to become ice in his veins and terror to wash over him anew as he found himself unable.

Tracing the mess of feeds and sensors connected to him from the various machines crammed into the vastly reduced cockpit to where they met his own body, finding that he had been partially stripped of clothes and that his shirtless body had been not only forced back into the harness securing his upper body but had, by means of a patchwork of stabilising gyros, cybernetics life-support systems and in many places crude bolts fused to it however it was the sight of his arms that broke the avian Faunus, or more accurately the remains of where his arms used to be as the limbs which had been trapped within the gauntlets which allowed him to interface with his mech-suit and kept him from escaping it had been amputated at the elbows and in their places were masses of cables and more cybernetics which failed to form proper limbs and instead extended further afield to give Petrol a sense of what was intended.

He would be able to pilot his mecha again, but he would not be able to leave it.

It was here that he screamed again, full and loud despite the pain it caused him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME YOU SICK FUCKS! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"We saved your life, despite the fact your failed" Carmesi rumbled, the older Faunus finally coming into view; long shadow looming over Petrol as he balanced on the open canopy of the cockpit "It took time and a great deal of effort to stabilise you and put you through surgery without the use of doctors….Though its' amazing what modern robots can be programmed to achieve, especially with a particularly inventive and disturbed mind overseeing things. Normally I would have advised your Benefactor against showing you mercy….But understand this, keeping you alive is not a mercy"

Petrol struggled to find words but none came, instead in his stomach-churning fear and revulsion he looked away, unable to meet Carmesi's hellish stare and in doing so made the mistake of catching sight of his own reflection in a restored panel of the cockpit as light from what was almost certainly the warehouse used as a hangar for the Cosmo-Guild mech-suits allowed him to see more. His face was a raw, hairless ruin of grafted together flesh and his feathers had been lost entirely in the wake of being burned alive; he had lips but the usual cracked and damaged look he was used to seeing was absent which suggested that what greeted him now might in fact be a replacement whilst his eyes were scorched and bloodshot, their fetid green irises almost lost entirely whilst the whites were a painful red though most horrific of all were the implants, minute connection points marking where his mask and goggles had allowed him to interface with the mech-suit and control it directly.

He could see where a new mask was ready to be affixed to his face without his control and reduce him to the core which operated the robot.

"Carmesi is right of course" a new voice boomed, modulated and synthetic in a familiar way; yet far closer than Petrol had ever heard it before, coming at once from all corners of the warehouse and yet distinctly from a point in front of and beneath Petrol's imprisoned form rendered just out of sight by Carmesi's presence.

"I restored the machine that you enjoyed so much to the best of my abilities, though the laser and grenade launcher were lost and I gave you a new lease of life, one which I hope you will learn to derive a sense of purpose and fulfilment from" the Benefactor's voice was cold and filled with a furious loathing as he added "But this is not mercy"

"I did everything I could!" Petrol screamed, begging without making a single plea; certain that this was retribution for a failure to cause sufficient terror in the Hunters or keep them distracted for long enough "We ran through the Hunters! I nearly has Astra but then actual Hunters started turning up! LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID TO ME MAN!"

"You had your people trying to kill everything in your path" the Benefactor's words damned Petrol and a whimper escaped the Faunus, though the toneless accusation continued "I gave you clear and simple instructions to use non-lethal force, that you were to injure and frighten in an effort to draw Hunters; yet you chose to take actions that have left three security guards dead and others with severe injuries….But most importantly of all Petrol, what you are going to be punished for….You tried to shoot my daughter"

Petrol's heart and lungs felt as though they had failed him in that moment, broken mind rendered numb as he searched desperately for anything that might save him from the fate being promised.

"You've got a daughter?" he all but sobbed "I didn't know man, you should've said she'd be there! I swear it was a misunderstanding-"

"Indeed" the Benefactor gave him a laugh without mirth "You clearly misunderstood things so severely that you thought you had a choice or a say in how my instructions are to be carried out or what form my bright new tomorrow will take….To correct that I've had the choice taken away. Carmesi, explain matters to him please"

"With pleasure" the Komodo Dragon Faunus rumbled with a grim chuckle "You have been fused to the mech-suit, you can see that much….But to make sure that you don't simply activate it and walk away well; that inventive mind I mentioned earlier Petrol….She specialises in something other than human or Faunus anatomy and right now you're not the only occupant of your suit. Its' located in the empty spaces where the drones you wasted were, it might have spread further but its' currently dormant and mostly harmless"

"What the fuck….What the fuck are you talking about?" Petrol whimpered, the terror and misery only making Carmesi smile wider.

"You will be used when the Benefactor needs you. Until then….Enjoy bonding with your new co-pilot" with that Carmesi left the open canopy and Petrol had only a brief view of the warehouse beyond his new prison before the cockpit began to seal shut. In the last moments before he consumed by darkness once again the mask intended to replace headgear that had been melted onto his face by his own acid weapons began to move into place, doing so of its' own accord and revealing itself to be a truly gruesome thing resembling something akin to a hermit crab; a hardened and segmented exterior wider than it was long with its' abdomen sporting a stinger-like protrusion which was fused to hardware and wiring whist its' underside was a mass of segmented limbs with writhing, tendril-like tips which slowly inserted themselves into the connection points' in Petrol's skull whilst several pairs of glowing red eyes flickered dimly into life, blurring together to form a single crimson-hued image of the world outside with a single sibilant hiss as they fell into place directly over Petrol's own ruined eyes, removing the blurriness from his vision as they did so.

It was then that Petrol realised exactly what he was sharing the cockpit with.

His screaming would have echoed for miles around were cockpit not soundproofed and the speakers of the mech-suit muted by Aefen Cruor's mostly dormant proof of concept.

Author's Notes:

And we're back.
I actually took a week off of writing even though there's no gap in my uploads; I've now got everything planned up to Chapter 92.
….I may also have had some ideas for two original stories, but I'm making it a rule that I'm not gonna start something as big as an entirely original project until the Spiral-Verse is finished and that's not gonna be for a t least another year or so; until then I'll just keep jotting down notes.
It's a quiet, slow chapter but that's kinda what we need to get our balance after the mid-season finale; we set some things up here and the knock on effects will carry on to the end of the volume….Besides, the end of this chapter alone was a moment.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?
A week away from writing and I feel a need to set scenes again, just to keep my own mental image of what places look like fresh.
I don't think Zirconia has actually been in the lair at any point in the story….Symbolic perhaps.
Y'know apart from Albion I could make a comparison between Nero looking at his closest allies and Homelander in the Boys looking at the Seven "I wanted a team that was like a family….Instead I got you".
So Aefen definitely has her own plans that will become apparent later on in the story, but at present the primary threat is that she's working on new designs for various Cyber-Grimm strains.
So Carmesi is gonna have to visit a Spawning Pit in order to get raw material for more Cyber-Grimm, that sounds like a big set piece fight waiting to happen.
The attack on the dance would absolutely lead to political jockeying and public outcry and things like "Hunters get unlimited power to detain anyone at anytime" would absolutely get floated, you only have to look at reality….Although if it were to happen it would only feed into Nero's world view.
I'm gonna keep mentioning build up to the Tournament until we get there.
Regalia absolutely has snacks in class at all time, even if it is only hard candies….And she definitely has the sourest shit you've ever tasted.
Team TRQS were chilling with Team SHMR partly to show that Tiger's making some progress in dealing with her brother's partner in recent weeks, the team up at the dance helping that; but also just to that there weren't too many people in one scene.
Yeah Astra is dealing with some shit and I think we could all guess what it was before they had a talk with Qrow.
And things are naturally still a little awkward with Regalia, but not painfully so.
Okay so Coco went absolutely ballistic on Ren and Nora to the point where Nora actually cried about it afterwards; on the one hand….Coco's students were attacked whilst they were in Ren and Nora's care, Coco is allowed to be absolutely furious; on the other hand, how fucking dare she.
The suspicions that the Benefactor might be trying to create mass hysteria are not entirely stupid given the information and evidence available, but it also does highlight a problem that the Cabal are struggling with….They were formed to fight Salem and that's what they're still doing, they're anticipating moves that Salem would make.
Okay so after a little bit of set up and establishing how things look from the hero's side of things Qrow does at least make some solid deductions; especially about Carmesi's absence….If getting rid of the students was the goal then why not send the Hunter Killer?
Qrow using terms like side-hustle is wrong in the best way.
Of course this was what they wanted the dorm to themselves for….The cuddling after fucking as much as the fucking.
Coral, because a) cock-blocking characters is practically a trademark of my writing at this point and b) because we don't get enough of Coral.
Coral would absolutely get so flustered that she blurts out "I basically walked in on AJ having sex" to Weiss and Gangrel.
Coral's freaking out is based on one of the younger lads at my place of work who came over to me excited and nervous about being an Uncle recently because he knows how much I enjoy being an Uncle….Also Coral and Whitley adore each other, she doesn't call Weiss and Gang Mum and Dad, but Whitley is always Uncle Whitley, bonding over being the two non-fighters of the family.
She built ALL the bears.
That's AJ's line, it only works when AJ does it.
"Stuff? Her name is Zirconia" siblings are just like that.
Yep, Zirconia is definitely planting some seeds there; who knows AJ, maybe you'd be a great leader for a squad of mech-suit pilots accompanying a Cyber-Grimm pack.
Nope, there was no way that AJ was gonna be able to pay attention to her messages when Zirconia has a hand between her legs.
Yeah Regalia's a dork and has the least practical experience of any of Team MARZ….but let's be serious she's far from naive.
Astra wasn't palming her off either, they know that Regalia can't be confined somewhere for too long without going stir crazy.
New Vale in FADE looked very much like a Warhammer 40k Hive City and whilst Neo Vale definitely has a large amount of that going for it, Cyberpunk Edgerunners has given me that Night City vibe when I imagine it.
It seems random and convenient but honestly, as someone who grew up in the UK I can promise you that if you live somewhere with a college or university you will absolutely have students in bars in the middle of the week; British social life and drinking culture are basically one and the same.
Also….God fucking damn it, I imagined a bar where student might go for pre-drinks before the proper party and I basically made a Wetherspoons; if you're from the UK you know I'm right.
I added a conversation with Stitch and Regalia because we need more of Stygian and although we didn't get it here there's a lot of interesting conversations we could build up to with those two.
Added Rye and Amaya because they never get any real screen time unless they're needed for a fight.
Stygian being unlucky in love should just be a running gag actually.
'Single by choice, just not my choice' ah, we've found a bitter taste that Regalia doesn't enjoy have we?
But the main point and crux of this scene was here, Team MARZ have been out of the way for a few weeks and the second Regalia turns up a couple of gang members show up.
Interestingly that was clearly Roxy dragging one of her people away….So, the question is why doesn't Petrol's side-chick want one of her people to run up on the Hunters?
Common sense in a fan-fic? Heresy! But no seriously….Don't drink and drive, I have lost too many friends to drink driving.
Qrow would be nocturnal if he didn't have classes to teach.
Also, if you've read FADE then you know that Qrow absolutely sets traps for his students.
Between Astra and Qrow's comments in their respective scenes you knew this conversation was coming.
Qrow is self aware enough in his old age to know that he is a fucking mess of a human being and that coming to him for help is a sign that you are in deep shit.
I had to have a think about the previous missions and antics that Team MARZ have been in and I'm fairly certain that Astra has never directly witnessed someone dying before.
Qrow is harsh in the way he made his point but honestly he's right; at a certain point it stops being about morality and it's just about self defence.
Yeah, we're gonna get a good old Hunters Vs Grimm fight….Because I do like writing those.
Qrow immediately asking if Regalia is drinking to much at the mention of her not being safe to drive is….certainly a choice.
As was having Qrow ask Astra not to judge her too harshly, which is clearly Qrow grappling with some leftover feelings from being the drunk idiot of Team STRQ in need of bailing out….But also followed by Astra's answer; 'cos that kid really does love their partner.
And now we get into the body horror.
To recap the damage, after the attack on the dance Petrol is on life support after suffering severe burns which has seen him grafted into his mech-suit, he's lost his arms at the elbows, his face has been stitched back together in a rough patch job and his eyes are damaged.
On top of this Aefen's "Proof of concept" is a partially-dormant strain of Cyber-Grimm intended to fuse with the mech-suit, with Petrol still in it; said Cyber-Grimm is now forming the control helmet and interfacing itself directly with Petrol whilst most of its' body is worked into the empty drone spots.
But what's really fucked up is that Nero could have just had the mech-suit converted to a bigger, heavier-hitting Cyber-Grimm; there is no reason to add Petrol to the equation other than as punishment….Although from Aefen's point of view, well she did say she's advanced her own research.
The main point here, apart from setting up an inevitable conflict of epic proportions was to show in undeniable terms that Neo is still a villain; like he has legit grievances and a definite point….But for all that he loves Zirconia and wants to make a better world; he is still willing to do some utterly terrible things to achieve his goals.
And Petrol really should not have shot at Zirconia.

Thank you to OrcPaladinArthur for their review on the last chapter.
Oh you thought Petrol was done? No….No, he's still got more suffering to do.
Think of it this way; the first fight with Astra doesn't count, he wasn't even a character at that point and it was before Astra was a student. Petrol's had two fights against Team MARZ now, stabbed Astra and got away once and been set on fire and doused in acid once….Next one is a tie-breaker.
The whole "Shining Knight" aesthetic always hits better when you know its' a mask.
Tiger really does just suffer from a total lack of ability to convey her feelings in anything other than being a hard-ass….She's kinda like canon Winter.
Yay for mooks.

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