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Chapter 89: Plans Within Plans
Carmesi had found himself beyond the southernmost reaches of the Kingdom of New Vale and though there were no hard borders or checkpoints in place beyond those outposts and watchtowers used to keep the Creatures of Grimm from swarming forth to delineate where the no-man's land between New Vale and Vaccuo began there was scarcely any need. The no man's land was a wilderness, bisected by train tracks only in a few select and heavily armoured and defended segments which Carmesi had deliberately shied away from, the rest of the vast expanse dominated by a tangled greenery which had been burned and blasted away to form a kilometre deep separation between the treeline and nearest outposts all along the edge the no man's land which could be described either as forest or jungle depending on the region one found themselves in; roads simply ceased to exists and though there were those brave of foolish to venture onwards, leaving their vehicles behind to travel in foot across impassable terrain the sheer volume of those vehicles left rusting and abandoned served as a stark warning for what lay ahead.
Naturally Carmesi had used those vehicles as cover to hide his own means of transport before pressing onwards, entirely unhindered.
The part of the no man's land he had explored and delved deeper into than could ever be considered wise was one closer to jungle than forest, with an oppressively claustrophobic air about it and moist, foggy air and swarms of bugs which bit and droned incessantly to create the feeling of unseasonably tropical which the burly reptilian Faunus had found oddly welcoming despite the ever present danger.
Carmesi had remained focused on his goal however and hacked though trees, ivy and Creatures of Grimm with his machete in order to follow the telltale signs that would lead him to the edge of the Spawning Pit he sought; where Grimm gathered and massed to such an extent that such a pit could blossom into existence death and rot would inevitably announce them, from the air, which Carmesi had seen in the form of photographs a nearby swathe of the treetop canopy resembled something akin to a bruised fruit as plant life began to wither and fail and animals fled. The knowledge brought a feral smile to Carmesi's face as it, combined with the sight of dessicated and lifeless trees all around without even moss or mushrooms sprouting from them meant that he must be close.
Certainty came in the form of dry wood cracking under the weight of something large moving atop it; only the Grimm roamed here.
"Gotcha" Carmesi rumbled out in satisfaction as he drew his larger weapon and shifted into its' shotgun form, firing without hesitation in the direction of the disturbance and reducing a hollowed and whitened, skeletal tree to crumbling dust only for the monster crouching behind it to scuttle aside at blinding speeds at react ruthlessly, a droning, sawing chattering sound preceding a whoosh of air which gave the renegade Hunter only a moment to spin out of the path of an incoming attack.
The Grimm was a Disemboweller, a mantis Grimm whose abdomen and splayed rear and middle limbs gave it a size comparable to an average car whilst its' upper body rose overhead, compound eyes leering menacingly whilst its' serrated mandibles chattered though the most prominent aspects of the mantis Grimm were its' forelimbs; each of them segmented and folded in upon themselves a dozen times or more and tipped with a jagged spike which could be flung forwards as the limb extended outwards like a spear or swept out in a flailing attack.
It was these limbs which Carmesi targeted.
Vindication flew from his grasp in a blur, the machete unfurling into its' triple-bladed configuration with each of the three cutting edges glowing with the heat of a Fire Dust crystal as they tore through chitinous limbs in the midst of retracting, drawing a hissing screech from the Disemboweller which was silenced in the next instant as Carmesi charged; righteous fury overcoming him as he closed the distance and shifted Retribution into its' cleaver-sword from, favouring close quarter violence and planting a boot in the exoskeleton of the Grimm which he used as a foothold to leap upwards from before cleaving away almost two thirds of the monsters' skull with a single angled swing.
The Disemboweller faded away before it could fully collapse to the ground and Carmesi dismissed it just as quickly, catching and sheathing his thrown blade as it returned to him before turning his attention in the direction that the monster had appeared from, reasoning that it would likely be the same direction as the pit which had birthed the wretched thing; only for his first step in that direction to be interrupted by the sound of a low-flying aircraft.
"No, damn it all. No!" Carmesi spat, flinging himself to the ground and shattering a handful of Ice Dust crystals, breathing out a thin fog and shivering in the wake of the ploy to swiftly hide his own thermal signature all whilst rolling onto his back and producing a pair of binoculars with which he peered upwards and sought out the intruder; cursing under his breath as he quickly found and identified it.
The decision to reach out to Nero was an easily made one after that
"We have a complication" he ground out without preamble.
"What is it?" the Chairman answered with equal urgency, a hint of nervousness seeping into the cultured and gentlemanly tones he affected "Have you found the Spawning Pit".
"Almost" the Faunus answered "I'm certain I'm close….But I'm not the only one on the trail"
"Hunters?" Nero's tension became painfully evident.
"No" Carmesi breathed out "Not yet, but a light scouting craft just passed overhead….Vaccuo already had some inkling of this pit but chose to overlook it, which means that this was New Vale"
"I see" Nero paused to consider and Carmesi used the opening to offer his own thoughts.
"Shall I retreat, fall back and search for another pit we can use?"
"No" Nero murmured "We no longer have the time, not if we want to progress according to plan….Return to your base camp and be prepared to make your way to a rendezvous point; I'm going to send you some reinforcements"
"Petrol?" Carmesi questioned, wondering if this might be a chance to finally dispose of the fallen and punished gang leader or at least test Aefen Cruor's latest act of twisted brilliance.
"No" Nero answered firmly "I think this would be a good time to give the Cyber-Grimm some more real-world testing".
It was early morning, the hours before classes began for the day where preparations for the day to come were still being finalised when Professor Qrow Branwen entered the Halo Academy staffroom, mechanical, many-jointed and piston driven forelimbs of his robotic chair shifting the door aside and allowing the greyed veteran Hunter to scuttle inside, carried by the machine which moved with a sense of its' pilots' own mood and personality.
"Good of you to join us!" the greeting, far too cheery for the hour and dripping with sarcasm in its' faintly nasal tones belonged to Nora Valkyrie and was accompanied the sight the diminutive redhead rolling her eyes and giving a lopsided smirk before wolfing down the last of a plate of pancakes which had evidently been prepared by Ren, the Headmaster himself visible a short distance away in the kitchen which took up a corner of the staffroom, the pink apron sporting the message 'Please do nothing to the cook' and the faint tittering from other members of staff at the friendly yet testy interaction between the two famously strong personalities being enough to assure Qrow that there were no severe emergencies which required his immediate attention; or at least not ones which the Professors who were not also a part of his shadowy cabal would be aware of though he still showed the courtesy of asking, running a hand through his hair and then his beard as he spoke.
"Sorry I'm late, I was just checking over some of the paperwork and my own notes for the upcoming missions….I want to make sure that my Final Year students end up with people who can benefit them when they leave here and start their careers" the comment left Nora pouting playfully, the reason being one that left no room for further teasing "Is there anything I need to be brought up to speed about? New developments?"
"A few small things; I've already covered it with the others" it was Ren who answered, the headmaster removing his apron as he strode into full view and took his place on a comfortable leather sofa beside his wife, a cup of green tea clasped in his hands, the sight of which prompted Qrow to produce a thermos of his own abhorrently strong coffee whilst the other professors mentally preparing themselves for the day heard something of a dismissal, polite as might have been in their employers' voice and began making their way towards their own classrooms and offices with a faint chorus of goodbyes filling the room for several moments.
"So what's the matter?" Qrow demanded, suddenly closer to his gruff and intense self almost the moment he was certain that his initiated colleagues were out of earshot.
"A few small things-" Ren repeated, only for Nora to scoff and interject.
"Two of our students were in a bar last night, Faunus pride celebrations and all….They got into a fight with some kids from out of town-"
"Damn it all" Qrow grumbled "Injuries?"
"None, on either side" Ren breathed softly "The people they were fighting with also had unlocked Auras, no bystanders hurt and property damage was minimal….Due to it being uncertain who actually started the fight no charges are being pressed at present"
"Was it a race thing?" Qrow asked, tense as he considered how he would explain to Blake that a student of his academy had stooped to a level she had spent her life trying to drag society up from.
"Not as far as we know" Ren shook is head "Drunk kids being stupid is all….But they will need disciplinary action, can I leave that in your hands?"
"Because if I do it they'll wish they were never born" Nora ground out, turquoise eyes crackling with menace and the threat of suffering.
"I'll find something suitably educational" Qrow let a sinister edge colour the words "Anything else?"
"We've got a replacement picked out for our retiring chief engineer" Nora beamed happily "You remember Team NEON right? Well Olivine, Ether Arashi's partner, they got married a few years back….She wants the job and she'll be perfect"
"Excellent" Qrow nodded, remembering the student in question and agreeing wholeheartedly with Nora's open praise and overall assessment of her; though his faint smile faltered a moment later when Ren cleared his throat to make clear that there was more to discuss, a look in his pink eyes bringing Qrow back to full alertness.
"A Spawning Pit has been found" the headmaster stated flatly, adjusting his reading glasses whilst Nora took a moment to toy with and adjust the braid his hair was currently worn in.
"The no-man's land, closer to the Vaccuan side of the border….The Vaccuan Council was aware of it but chose not to risk Hunters whilst presented no real threat"
"But given that's the direction Carmesi Hueso was headed, carrying an unidentified object…." Nora trailed off, to which Qrow nodded in understanding and paused for a moment before giving his opinion.
"He was looking for sentient Grimm on Menagerie, we still believe that the Benefactor is working alongside Aefen Cruor and seeking to implement some of her work….I'd guess the device he was carrying is either a bomb intended to detonate a Spawning Pit, or else it's something intended to capture a Grimm specimen"
"So what do you suggest we do?" Ren asked.
"We do this carefully and quietly" Qrow answered "A Spawning Pit is a suitable mission for a Second Year team and they do have missions coming up….With a little reworking we could send a team there and have the pit found and destroyed, hopefully before Carmesi takes whatever it is he's looking for….The Grimm out there will slow even him down"
"Are we sure it's a suitable mission for students?" Nora frowned.
"Normally I'd say no" Qrow conceded "But I do have a shortlist of people I can reach out to for jobs like this….I also know that one of them will be available since his daughter is competing in the Vytal Festival"
"See to it, I'll pass word onto Winter, Coco and the others later today" Ren nodded, smiling faintly as he realised who Qrow was referring to and privately hoping that Velvet would be present when the message was passed on.
"Good" Qrow paused, his weathered skin enhancing the lines of his face as he frowned until they appeared almost hewn "But we're all side-stepping around an issue….Petrol; we know where he is. What's the play?"
"We know where his friends told us he is, I don't known how much I trust that intel" Ren answered fairly, quickly adding "They wanted protective custody and were willing to say anything to get it-"
"But you still think it's a trap?" Qrow asked
"You don't?" Nora scoffed
"I think it should be investigated either way" Qrow grimaced "We need to do something"
"We need to be cautious, the information felt vague….Almost deliberately so" Ren noted, the idea of a counter-play at work seeming to reach Qrow as he, along with the two younger Professors remembered the limited information that the street level gang leader named Roxy had been willing and able to trade for a chance to have herself and those she was close to taken, without records out of the presumed reach of their many enemies to somewhere they could start a new, hopefully more productive life.
Roxy did not know who the Benefactor was, the man's identity was a secret closely guarded by the shadowy figure himself and Petrol who had been jealously protective of the connections that had made his rise to power in the city possible; what Roxy did know was that Petrol had been severely injured in his failed attack on the student dance and was, by all accounts albeit in a maddeningly unspecified way still suffering from those injuries as he holed up in a nominally abandoned warehouse beyond the city limits, along with all of the mech-suits the gangs had stolen which were being prepared for something beyond what Roxy and her fellow thugs had the stomach for, with all of this being punctuated and underscored by the knowledge that Petrol was, as he had done at the dance calling out Team MARZ by name, wanting to test his might against them.
It did, Qrow admitted to himself have the air of a trap about it however he also considered that it might be something else; the avian Faunus's injuries had been so severe that Qrow had himself considered the man dead and so it was not unreasonable to suggest, no matter how bleak it might be that the gang leader was in fact dying and simply wished for a climactic final showdown, or else to lure his hated foes into a building rigged with explosives so that they could all perish together.
Though all of these possibilities and considerations were rendered wholly academic by a reality Qrow reminded his peers of.
"We can't forget that we're not the only ones who know about this….Roxy and her friends spoke to Team MARZ; no way those kids are gonna sit around and wait for us to make the decisions indefinitely"
"And as much as I don't like any of this I can't say I blame 'em for that" Nora admitted with a sigh which Ren mirrored
"I don't suppose that there's anything you could do that would convince them not to do anything reckless?"
"Not likely" Qrow chuckled "No amount of additional training and extra credit is going to change the fact that we have a lead on a criminal that tried to kill them and they know it….So either we act or we have a good reason why we can't"
"Caution and not underestimating our enemies are good reasons" Ren noted pointedly, massaging his temples as he added "We should leave, I need to speak with Coco….I'll ask for her advice; I'll have a more concrete plan of action before the end of the day"
"Keep me informed" Qrow murmured before stalking towards the staffroom kitchen to see if there was anything left he could scavenge together a passable breakfast with before his first class of the day.
Whooping, cheers and other miscellaneous sounds which became indistinct as they blurred into one another filled Astra's ears as they and Regalia exited the training arena whilst behind them Professor Nora Ren dedicated her attention to giving pointers to a pair of students from Atlas Academy as she checked that neither of them were injured seriously, all whilst doing her best to smirk or laugh openly and appear needlessly unkind to the losing team.
"Heh, sorry for stealing your thunder" Regalia chuckled, voice low as she and Astra retreated through the rows of ascending seats to where Team MARZ often sat, the two of them receiving approving nods and high-fives as they went.
"Are you kidding, that was awesome!" Astra laughed, reaching up to wrap an arm around Regalia's shoulder for a loose hug which left the Racoon Faunus momentarily discombobulated even as she puffed up with pride. The sparring match had been a two on two affair with weapons and Semblances allowed to prepare students for the fast approaching Vytal Tournament and it had been ended with an expert display of teamwork and synergy from the partners representing Team MARZ made all the more impressive by the fact it had been a largely spur of the moment thing; the first Atlas student falling when Regalia had used the Harpoon of Apex Scavenger to grab and drag them into the path of one of Astra's feared spinning roundhouse kicks and from there the Deer Faunus had readied Buckshot Ares only for Regalia to leap over their shoulder and use the surface of her partners' shield as a springboard from which to first bring her weapon in its' melee mode down onto the head of the second Atlas student before following her leap through into some manner of dramatic and overblown wrestling throw which saw her opponent smashed head-first into the floor.
"You guys suck, you know that right?" Athena-Jade noted conversationally as her team-mates rejoined her and Zirconia, whom the Bear Faunus was almost draped across "Seriously, those are my Dad's students….they might not be at Atlas now but when he sees a video of what just happened he's gonna give 'em hell about it"
"Wait until we start beating his students in the tournament then, he's gonna be pissed" Astra countered calmly as they made way for Regalia to return to her seat first, tuning out Nora's words as the Combat Instructor highlighted lessons that other students could learn from their victory.
"Don't say that" Athena glowered at her team leader "I know my Aunt Winter is gonna be cheering for the Atlas students even if they're against us….I don't need to worry about my Dad rooting for someone else as well"
"I'm sure he wouldn't" Zirconia chimed in soothingly. The moment passed and after a few seconds of not quite silence where the team collectively seated and adjusted themselves, ready to take notes for what little remained of the lesson Astra spoke up again.
"Hey, any of you guys wanna head into the city later?" they asked hopefully "I'm planning on hitting the gym for an hour or so after class but Faunus Pride is still going on all week and I wanna see more of it, I know we've got classes tomorrow but come on"
"Heh, maybe" Regalia shrugged though it was painfully obvious to all present that she would almost certainly follow Astra anywhere without complaint; Athena-Jade however paused to consider for a moment before shrugging
"Honestly I'm probably gonna be training for most of the night" she gave her team leader a confidant smile "I've got some moves I'm trying to work on before the tournament….Real show-stoppers"
"Nice" Astra nodded approvingly before turning to Zirconia in what was admittedly a long shot only to be turned down before they could speak.
"No thank you" the Grasshopper Faunus shook her head "The festival was nice but we have different tastes in parties and music….Besides, is it wise to head into the city again?"
"I mean if what Roxy said is true then we know Petrol isn't here and some of his top people just left town in protective custody" Astra paused, eyes darting furtively around the lecture hall for a moment "And if any of the gangs left in the city wanna try fill a power vacuum then maybe running into them while we're out and taking them off the streets wouldn't be a bad thing right?"
"Astra" Athena's tone held a stern warning, though before the Bear Faunus could follow up on the admonishment Nora Ren's voice boomed through the arena she presided over once again.
"Good work today students, that's all we have time for….Once again I won't be setting you any assignments however I do expect you to keep up with your training and maintaining your physical condition; that means limiting how much you party, don't overdo it" the redhead grimaced "I know that's a tough ask when there's a festival still going on just under us but it has to be done….You'll be leaving for your last official mission before the start of the Vytal Tournament at the end of this week; you can't afford not to be in peak condition"
The reminder of the second mission of the students' second year, which would be followed in short order by the tournament which had brought the exchange students to New Vale sent the expected wave of excitable chattering and murmurs through the class which Nora allowed to continue for some time, whilst towards the rear of the class Astra frowned in deep concern; letting out a sigh and finally speaking up after seeing the gazes of their team-mates lingering on them for some time.
"This is what I was worried about" they admitted "Now we've got a real lead on Petrol, something we can use to find him and get answers about who he's working for and what they're planning I don't want us to leave the city before we do something about it-"
"Astra it's not our responsibility to-" Zirconia was quickly cut off.
"The hell it's not!" Astra hissed vehemently, giving an apologetic look the moment they saw Athena bristle in response to the force behind their words "Look I'm just saying Roxy came to us on Saturday, it's Monday now and we've heard nothing about Petrol being caught-"
"You think Professor Branwen tells you everything?" Athena scoffed incredulously "Be serious Astra, you asked for us to be allowed to contribute more and we did….We delivered more than anyone expected us to-"
"And it's not the first time we've done that" Astra insisted "Am I really the ass-hole here for wanting us to finish what we started?"
"Nobody is saying you're an ass-hole" Athena paused and chose her next words carefully "But Professor Branwen knows what he's doing….And you and Petrol have history, history that by the sound of what Roxy said he's counting on; maybe there's a reason for us not being involved for the next part-"
"A reason like it being a trap" Zirconia suggested, eyes narrowing with visible discomfort which seemed somehow out of place but went unquestioned as Regalia quickly chimed in.
"Besides, we're Hunters….That means we go where we're needed, even if we're needed somewhere else right?" the Racoon Faunus playfully nudged her partners shoulder before adding "That's why your brother took a mission out of the city, 'cos he trust Professor Branwen and the others to handle things here"
"Oh that's just playing dirty, bringing Fluffy into it?….Fine you're right, but still" Astra slouched visibly in their seat and made a show of pouting in feigned outrage to the amusement of their team; privately taking a measure of peace in the thought the idea that things would be safe in their absence whilst they and their team fought the Creatures of Grimm or whatever other threat they might face elsewhere. Astra also found themselves with a faintly warm feeling at the ease with which their partner found the words to put their mind at ease.
With classes ended for the day Stygian Blue of Team TRQS had found himself continuing to train, though upon visiting the campus gym he had found the place too crowded for his liking with students who, like himself were eager to undergo every possible form of preparation before an upcoming mission; venturing out to the outdoor training area he had found it occupied by Athena-Jade Slate and Zirconia Shadowmoon with whom he had spoken briefly before, out of respect for the Bear Faunus's privacy as she refined new techniques she wished to keep secret departing once again. Finally the Mouse Faunus had found himself, with permission using a Grimm studies classroom whose stage featured an arena like area similar to that featured in Professor Nora Ren's combat class along with a small suite of hard-light and nanobot projectors which were intended to create an admittedly limited series of pre-programmed illusions, each of them a representation of a Creature of Grimm far too volatile to be brought into a classroom so that students could see how the beast in question moved and behaved in a more complete way than video footage would provide.
The projections could also be used for combat purposes, as Stygian continued to prove.
Currently the arena was filled by the rippling, silvery facsimile of a King-Taijitu whose serpentine form coiled and thrashed with moments that were somehow both rhythmic and irregular, the programming of the simulation managing to capture the odd patterns and angles of approach formed by the interplay between the monsters' two brains. Stygian himself stood, in full combat gear and with his Katana, Sharp Cheddar in hand in the centre of the arena his senses sharp, electric blue eyes sweeping around him as he turned slowly in order to keep both of the replica Grimm's heads in view all whilst his mouse tail twitched in an erratic way behind him as he contemplated his next move. The blue-haired Mouse Faunus had understood from previous experience, even before beginning this exercise that his Semblance would be muted to the point of being effectively useless as whatever sense allowed it to choose the most dangerous target and teleport him headlong into it was somehow downplayed, as if his Semblance knew that the projected Grimm were no real threat which in turn had forced him to hone his technique and focus on other aspects of his fighting style.
Which had culminated in him forming in a plan.
To an onlooker it would seem that Stygian had been surrounded by the serpentine Grimm as it slithered and uncoiled itself to take up the entire outer edge of the arena, looping around itself and positioning its' twin skulls so that they could strike at their prey from opposite angles all whilst Stygian stood, trapped in the centre of the arena. In reality the projected Grimm was exactly where the Mouse Faunus wanted it and a confident smile displaying perfect, pearly white teeth graced his featured as he dropped into a crouch and readied his katana, inserting a Gravity Dust crystal into the weapon which shifted the colour of its' overly conductive blade into a deep, vast darkness which appeared as though a slash had been made in the fabric of reality itself.
The King-Taijitu attacked, heads spearing forwards from both in front and behind and in the split second before he could be bitten Stygian used the Gravity Dust to strike at the ground beneath his feet and fling himself upwards, between and over the incoming threat where somersaulted several times and used that same motion to prepare his blade for another blow, this time preparing a Fire Dust crystal which would cleave through both serpentine heads the moment their paths intersected
Only to be interrupted.
A single gunshot rang out and Stygian, already falling saw the effects of highly concentrated Ice Dust take hold and use the same opening he had sought to exploit, freezing both of false Grimm's heads in place an encasing them in a block of ice which entombed the two together; the Mouse Faunus unleashed his finishing blow anyway and plummeted downwards like a falling star, blade burning as though molten as it severed the two heads in an eruption of hissing, superheated steam which caused his Aura to ripple for a few moments as it dissipated and left behind the collapsing form of the King-Taijitu as it deactivated, though the two heads formed of nanobots remained behind.
"I think we might have broken them" the interloper noted as she strode into view, Stygian giving his sword an unnecessary twirling flourish, dispelling the last glowing motes of Dust from it before sheathing it at his back and turning to see his partner collapsing her own weapon and stowing it away within the single flowing sleeve of her jacket; that Tiger's rounded, soft features, often at odds with the stern expressions upon them were pulled into a bashful, nervous grin was the only sign of contrition.
"Really?" Stygian arched an eyebrow as he strode towards her "After all the times you've told me to train more you stop me when I finally start listening?"
"Very funny" Tiger rolled her eyes as she stepped forwards to meet her partner halfway, biting and sarcastic tone contrasting with the genuine brightness of her expression "Honestly I'm surprised you're still here….I heard some of our classmates are heading back into the city for some more of the Faunus Pride festival, I thought you would have taken the excuse to party"
"Nah, we've got a mission coming in a few days and I know you think I can't take anything serious and that I'm an-"
"Knowing where you come from, it changes things and I owe you an-"
"Don't, it's cool. I got lax because it was freedom from where I come from, you pushed hard because of where you come from, because you needed to" Stygian shrugged before gesturing at the swirling tattoos across his dark skin "But I know that a mission is always serious, I spent my life around Hunters who made sure I knew what the stakes were….Besides, I think I've had my fill of it for a while"
"But did those girls throwing themselves at you have their fill of you?" Tiger asked, the question leaving her partner sputtering and choking out a deep, hearty laugh a moment later. The festival in the city below had been thoroughly enjoyable and a way for him to experience parts of both city life within the Kingdoms and Faunus culture that he had been previously ignorant of, that he had spent a great deal of time surrounded and being propositioned by young women who were understandably interested in a tall, handsome student Hunter with undeniable style and charisma who would be competing in the Vytal Tournament was simply an added bonus; one which he had partaken of less than one might assume but had nonetheless been riding the high of all weekend and walking with a spring in his step because of.
"Did you….Did you just make a dirty joke, about me 'filling' people?" he finally managed to wheeze out, the mortified expression on Tiger's face only making the situation funnier as it confirmed that she had not in fact understood the connotations of her words "Wait, don't tell me you're jealous?"
"Don't be ridiculous" Tiger huffed with a haughtiness which silenced her partner instantly, her tone softening as she added
"We're friends Stitch, it took as long time to get this point and I'll admit that a lot of that was my fault….Why ruin a good thing by adding sex into it?"
"I mean sex is a good thing" the words left the Mouse Faunus before he could think and he gave a sheepish grin in response, hoping that the comment would not be misinterpreted as something crude or inappropriate. In truth Stygian had some, limited experience of sex and whilst he could certainly say he understood why someone might find his partner attractive he had personally never seen her that way; fortunately the matter was ended with a dismissive wave from Tiger.
"Wouldn't know, don't especially care to" she cast her eyes downwards "I've never really been interested in that, or dates and romance or any of that shit….I always wondered that part of Ravi and I just never had a chance to develop with the way life way after our parents….But I guess it's just me"
"Nothing wrong with it" Stygian answered simply, unsure of anything else to say on the subject and so seeking to change it before he could make a fool of himself "So what's up, how come you came looking for me?"
"My brother wants to spend some time together before we leave for missions. I don't want to interrupt Rye and Amaya, Marsh and Hibiscus of Team SHMR are preoccupied…." Tiger trailed off and Stygian quickly picked up on what was being implied, body language loosening and hands splaying as he answered.
"Right, so you don't want to third wheel with Ravi and Snap, got it"
"It means a lot to Ravi so I am trying to like, or at least tolerate her" Tiger expelled air through her nose, eyes screwing shut for a moment "And after we fought alongside each other at the dance I think we have a better understanding of one another….But that doesn't mean I want to watch her shove her tongue down my brothers' throat"
"Get it Ravi" Stygian gave the closest approximation to a whooping cheer that felt appropriate in the empty classroom, before being thumped lightly by his partner.
"You have always managed to tolerate Snapdragon better than I can, I was hoping you'd spare me from having to suffer alone"
"Yeah I like her team they're cool, she's got that 'Hunter' thing that the people I grew up with were missing….the wow factor y'know?" Stygian saw Tiger nod in understanding if not agreement and added "I honestly reached out to Team SHMR in First Year 'cos I thought Snap was awesome, didn't got anywhere but I always thought I could get you and Ravi talking again….I hoped it would have gotten you off my ass-"
"And now here we are" Tiger snorted "Are you coming or not?"
"Sure" Stygian nodded "But only on the condition that you don't mention training or assignments or missions-"
"That's a shame….I was hoping to hear your opinions on the upcoming mission, any preferences for where we might be deployed and the kind of work we find ourselves doing?" Stygian rolled his vibrant blue eyes and shook his head, resigning himself to the fact that Tiger would always be Tiger and that her unwavering focus was a fundamental part of who she was; after a few moments of silent thought spent adjusting the blue-leather jacket with its' spiked shoulder pads he draped over his shoulders like a cape beneath the harness for his weapon he finally gave an answer.
"Is it wrong to hope it's something simple and straightforward….No nasty surprises or knee-deep mud like the last one?"
"It's not wrong" Tiger assured him "Just really, really unlikely"
Astra Mars had found their way to the campus gym and proceeded to set about the task of training, intending to do so for perhaps an hour or two before leaving for the city below and being unhindered by the crowdedness of the gym. Regalia had followed her partner and whilst Astra had quickly found there way to a punchbag which they had been attacking with ever increasing ferocity that never detracted from the skill and precision of their strikes they had steadily become aware of a building crescendo of cheers which intruded on the music pounding in their ears until finally the Deer Faunus was forced to steady the bag as it swung in reaction to a spinning back kick aimed at head-height with one hand whilst plucking their earbuds out with the other, turning towards the source of the noise and finding a sizeable crowd gathered around a free-weight lifting station which they quickly realised that their partner was at the centre of in the midst of a dead-lift of truly unthinkable proportions.
"Astra, your partner is a beast!" someone, quite possibly Nugget the Chicken Faunus who led Team NUGT called out from the midst of the crowd though the observation went largely ignored as Astra themselves simply stared and watched for a few moments.
Regalia wore a pair of sweatpants bearing the emblem of Breaktide Academy along with a tank-top which, as all of those belonging to the Racoon Faunus had, had been cropped short at the ribs so that her sculpted and well-defined abs were on display; abs which tightened and coiled with exertion as Regalia reared up to her full height and hoisted several times Astra's own weight from the ground, the reinforced bar bending slightly whilst Regalia's teeth were gritted in concentration and muscles from her forearms to her neck and shoulders bulged, her bushy tail laying flat against her lower back and twitching against her shoulder blades and a sheen of sweat coating her light brown skin as she finally achieved a new personal record and dropped the weights with a ground-shaking impact and gasp for air which was lost beneath the sound of her peers cheering.
Eventually Astra had the good sense to join those cheers.
"Get it Regalia! Looking shredded and jacked! They exclaimed, nodding approvingly to a partner who gave a shaky, somewhat disoriented thumbs up in response before staggering towards where she had left her water bottle on shaky legs which left Astra free to focus on their own training for a little while longer. They spared a few seconds to unthread their headphones from beneath their tank-top where it had been secreted to ensure it was out of the way, turning the loud and upbeat music they had been listening to off and ensuring that they heard their partners' inevitable approach before turning their attention once again to the heavy punchbag before them however now their strikes felt more fluid and easy in contrast to the steadily mounting aggression they had been working their way through previously. Astra had scarcely begun to build a steady rhythm before they were forced to abort a high sidekick which they had intended to follow into a backflip and lunging elbow strike in order to keep from catching Regalia unintentionally in the jaw.
"Heh….That….that really took it out of me" she panted, still visibly recovering from the strain of her dead-lift as her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths.
"Yeah….It was awesome though" Astra assured her as they quickly returned their attention to her face "You still want to head into the city, you sure you don't need a rest?"
"It's Faunus Pride, you've been excited about it for weeks; we've gotta go!" Regalia beamed happily, shuffling and shifting her weight in an effort to find a footing that did not ache before adding "I really need some food after that though. Some of the people here drink….they called it protein shake? I don't get it, not at all"
"We'll find a Vaccuan grill spot before we look for the big parties then, my treat" Astra answered without the need for thought, their faint laughter at their partners' lack of faith in certain aspects of modern training regimens fading away as they saw the ear to ear smile she wore, a look of utter contentment marred only by a dull throbbing ache through most of her muscles; the Deer Faunus's sudden and particular awareness of just how culturally important gifts such as food and shows of effort were to Regalia's clan came with another, far less expected thought; namely that Regalia Russet was, despite Astra's lack of interest in dating at that moment, utterly stunning.
The moment passed as Regalia draped herself over them playfully, rough-housing as her people apparently often did and leaving no doubt about just how sweaty her workout had left her.
"You're great Astra" she noted, toying with one of her partners' antlers as she had seen their family do before pulling back and giving a slightly concerned look "What about you though, I saw you training and you looked like the bag had done something wrong?"
"Yeah, was just venting at it" Astra shrugged nonchalantly.
"Wanna talk about it?" Regalia paused before adding one of her countless movie quotes with a wink "You got a friend in me"
"It's nothing" Astra sighed even as they prepared to indulge their friend "I'm just still worked up about the Petrol thing….Is that bad? I know that whatever mission we get given at the end of the week is gonna be something important, so am I the asshole for wanting to see it through and make sure that this guy actually gets put away for good this time?"
"Not the ass-hole….But maybe getting a little bit of tunnel vision" Regalia answered carefully, the caution in her words bringing a frown to Astra's face and with a defeated sigh the Deer Faunus slumped visibly, massaging the point where their antlers met their skull and speaking a hushed tone.
"Thanks Regalia….Promise me that you'll warn me if I start getting bad again" they fixed her with a look whose intensity seemed to catch her off-guard "I don't want to turn back into the person I was last year, you deserve better-"
"You've got it, you're my best friend. I'm on your side" Regalia managed to keep a light-hearted air about her, though her voice hitched almost imperceptibly as she added another of her beloved movie quotes "Don't go where I can't follow"
The moment was ended by the vibration of Astra's scroll.
"Oh come on! Really, right now?" the Deer Faunus demanded, gesticulating wildly at the screen of the device heedless of the brief glances of curiosity turned in their direction in response to the outburst.
"What's wrong?" Regalia asked.
"Professor Branwen wants to see all of Team MARZ in his office right now, didn't say why" they shook their head and added "Let's hope this doesn't take too long….I still wanna head into the city and party tonight"
The Chamber, sterile and pristinely minimalist as ever with its' various computers and work stations gleaming in the harsh, almost medical overheads whilst anything unseemly remained at the edge of sight in the areas where shadows were the deepest had been a bustling hive of activity for much of the day despite the limited amount of people who even knew of the hidden bases' existence.
Firstly Chairman Damascus Nero had arrived early that morning, taking an unscheduled departure from his usual routine which had been deemed necessary despite the questions his absence from the Clara Die Novum Conglomerate head office might raise. The tall and gaunt man had been tense and visibly uncomfortable despite his best efforts to hide his emotions as he had explained to Albion that he had received troubling news from Zirconia, specifically that a portion of the gang members they had been hoping to employ in the coming stages of their plan had allowed themselves to be caught and had been willing to trade information, including the location of the safehouse in which many of their mech-suits were stored in exchange for concessions; this had prompted frantic yet decisive action wherein the Chairman had seen to the removal of all sensitive and valuable equipment save for a proof of concept and prototype created by Aefen Cruor and Gestalt-Prime which had been referenced only obliquely which Albion was concerned both to know was being deliberately left in place and also that they had little, if any information about.
Before the scientist could demand answers from his co-conspirator and oldest friend however a fresh emergency had presented itself.
Carmesi's earlier message regarding the likely imminent presence of Hunters at the site of a Spawning Pit whose raw materials were needed for the coming stages of the plan, including the creation of more Cyber-Grimm had seen Nero finally leave the Chamber, though before he had returned to maintaining his guise as a simple wealthy businessman in full the scarred mastermind had set about making preparations for his counter move against the Kingdoms' forces, namely having unthinking and untraceable means of transport prepared for the Cyber-Grimm. Albion for his part had been consumed by the task of ensuring that the hybrid monstrosities were fully repaired and ready for their coming deployment and second proper field test, a task which would certainly be completed before they were intended to be sent out beyond the Kingdom of New Vale's territory in over a days' time but one which had forced the dark-skinned and white haired scientist to rouse Gestalt-Prime and contact his despised fellow scientist Aefen Cruor for their assistance.
Nominally assistance was still being given in the form of occasional verbal advice being issued from computer speakers or the liquid depths of Gestalt-Prime's containment tube as Albion Herringbone focused his attention solely on the two terrifying amalgamations of flesh and metal which currently stood, unrestrained and more alert than they had been of late, a look on the man's face which suggested that despite his own faith in his work the idea that he might be savaged of ended by his own creations was one which he had been forced to consider.
Unbeknownst to Albion however another discussion was taking place, one which both he and Nero had taken pains to prevent.
'Can you understand me' words were typed into the text-log beneath the ongoing video call which allowed Aefen to communicate from Menagerie's wastelands before being promptly deleted, though not before the cult leader who even now remained hidden behind her ornate mask and twirled her skull-tipped staff let out a faint sound of surprise as she read the message with no apparent source, gut instinct seeing her direct her gaze at the listless form of Gestalt-Prime within their containment tube, bloated and distended with limbs floating in oddly contorted angles, single glowing optic surrounded by blinking sensors as the sentient Grimm regarded the computer from the edge of the cameras' field of vision.
'Yes' Aefen type, seeing the message vanish an instant after it was sent 'How are you doing this?'
'The machines I consumed' the hybrid Alpha answered, words forming faster than they could possibly have been typed
'I have not dared test this ability before now, Nero will have the machinery carved from me if he learns of this, he will have Albion do it with saws and fire. The machines had some remote connection to the computer you are speaking through. Unable to reach greater connections, only able to speak through these means'
'I understand' Aefen typed quickly 'Your secrets are safe with me'
'We have been kept from interacting with one another' Gestalt-Prime's words appeared and vanished once more and though it was impossible to discern any tone or true intent from the brief flash of text Aefen could not help but ascribe a measure of curiosity to the observation, one which she chose to answer with a grandiose flourish of her staff as she typed.
'A decision made by the Chairman, he uses his position to take and keep power, placing himself between those who need or want something from each other and extracting a price for it'
'You think that you have something I need?' Gestalt-Prime's maggot-like form shifted, still suspended within its' tube and Aefen could only attribute the motion to something in the spirit of a defiantly raised chin, waiting for her inevitable attempt to justify herself; for her part the scientist simply waited and composed herself, needing a moment to do so as the giddy and excitable wonder of being able to converse in a one-on-one conversation with an intelligent Creature of Grimm without oversight, however brief her window of opportunity might be, left her head spinning.
'I'm already working on things you will both need and want for the coming stages of the plan' she typed 'The creation and development of other Cyber-Grimm amongst other things….Or were you referring to something beyond the mission?'
She waited with bated breath, heart hammering against her chest whilst her eyes darted wildly beneath her mask as she took care to ensure Albion was thoroughly distracted.
'My goal is the evolution of the Grimm. The creation of something more; the Cyber-Grimm are the first step'.
'A scientist of sorts' Aefen's smile was that of a lunatic beneath her mask, easily fitting with any of her more devout and credulous congregation as she typed at blinding speed 'We are not so different. Nero wishes to create a better Remnant, he thinks in the wrong terms. We can make a better world by making the people in it better….I sought to use Grimm to do that, I was exiled and called a madwoman for my ideas'
'You wish to evolve your people?'
'Precisely' Aefen's hands trembled with excitement as she watched the words vanish again.
'And with the use of Grimm tissue, an interesting idea'
'There are records of things of a similar nature' Aefen typed 'Highly classified, sealed and secret records that are lied about at every turn; but Grimm have been part of parasitic relationships with humans and Faunus before, I see no reason that such an arrangement could not be more symbiotic'
Before Gestalt-Prime could type further a screeching, vibrating sound issued from one of the Cyber-Grimm and both the hybrid Alpha and Aefen herself jerked at the sound before taking a moment to fully study the creature making it.
"Get that screwdriver away from its' wing-casing before it kills you out of irritation, would you like something jammed in uncomfortable and unmentionable places you cretin?" the masked cult leader bellowed, earning herself a burst of muttered grumbling from her fellow doctor, though Albion complied and the Cyber-Grimm he was attending to relented somewhat. After a moment of silence Gestalt-Prime sent another message.
'Unsure when I will be able to communicate again. Unable when computer is not active, not when Albion is watching. Your plans interest me, propose further discussion and possible alliance'
'Agreed' Aefen typed back simply, privately trying not squeal with an unbecoming glee at the knowledge that she had once again pushed the boundaries of human knowledge and possibility into new and uncharted territory.
Team MARZ had gathered as instructed, having met one another in the student canteen where Astra and Regalia had managed to hurry their way to before it closed for the evening; their friends finding them sharing a table sat close enough to be almost touching, leaning and huddling together as much as Astra's antlers would allow and in the midst of talking animatedly and laughing at some private joke to create a display that might have been described as cute were it not for the fact that Regalia was in the midst of sating the hunger she had worked up in the gym, the Racoon Faunus working her away through what amounted to several chickens worth of spiced and seasoned meat and an impressive helping of vegetables in a way that would suggest to the uninformed that she had not seen food for several days.
Her simple justification that it was better than protein shakes and far better than letting food go to waste went unchallenged.
From the canteen Team MARZ had made their way steadily towards Professor Branwen's office and on their brisk walk Athena-Jade had mentioned off-handedly that the new techniques she had been working on were almost ready, the surreptitious looks she had cast in her friends' direction whilst noting that she had control and consistent reliability assured and was now simply ensuring that she could deliver the appropriate amount of flair and spectacle making it clear that she was in fact deliberately prodding and seeking for approval.
"Can't wait to see it" Astra nodded, picking their pace up and keeping sea green eyes focused directly ahead in a way that left them somewhat distracted; Athena fought the urge to drive an elbow into her friends' ribs and was rewarded when Zirconia, whose hand she was holding out of habit brushed a thumb against her knuckles and leaned down to kiss the top of the powerfully built Bear Faunus's head without ever breaking her stride.
"It's an amazing technique, something that audiences will love during the tournament and will be useful in missions as well" Zirconia rasped out, thoroughly enjoying the way Athena-Jade struggled to appear as though she were not preening under the praise whilst holding the Grasshopper Faunus's hand and carrying Zirconia's violin case with the other; the instrument having been brought along in case Zirconia had needed to take a break from her own training to provide encouragement and support in the form of suitably dramatic accompanying music.
"Sorry, I'm just distracted" Astra sighed, shaking their head to clear it even as they continued towards Qrow's office at the same pace "I wanna hurry up and find out what this meeting is about….I mean we haven't done anything wrong, right?"
"We were planning on going out tonight" Regalia explained in something of a stage whisper "Astra things we'll still have time to shower and make it into the city"
"Not a chance" Athena laughed good naturedly as the four of them made their way onto the corridor which Professor Branwen's office was situated "Even if you get there you'd have to leave early if you wanted to get back"
"I know" Regalia lamented to which Astra gave a defiant snort.
"See if I don't manage it….I'll just book a hotel somewhere in the city and make it back for class tomorrow, even if I have to skip our first lesson. I have waited too long for this-"
"You won't get a hotel on no notice in the middle of a festival" Athena countered patiently whilst Zirconia's mismatched eyes narrowed as she added in a low voice.
"And perhaps you should be more cautious about discussing skipping lessons this close to Professor Branwen's office" her apparent trepidation and paranoia regarding the grizzled Professor being vindicated when his gruff voice, tinged with a faint suggestion of laughter sounded out from behind an office door which opened of its' own accord, lending further weight to the often circulated rumours that the living legend amongst Hunter liked to equip the area around his office with traps and random automation in order to test those who came to him.
"You wouldn't be the first students to decide a party is more important, I made that mistake at your age myself….But rest assured that it is a mistake" each of Team MARZ shared looks that became steadily more nervous and at the same time slightly accusatory as they were turned towards Astra, the Deer Faunus themselves toying absently with the black-dyed tips of their Mohawk for several seconds before simply bracing themselves and pressing onwards with squared shoulders and a set jaw, managing to plaster a smile of faux confidence and an air of swaggering bravado as they entered the dimly lit office.
"Professor Branwen, you wanted to see us?"
"I did and despite the fact that no, you're not in any trouble I'm sure you can make an educated guess as to why you're here" Qrow's mechanical chair shifted as he leaned back in its' seat, adjusting its' stance and angle to convey body language that he no longer could; the gesture and the realisation which came with it spreading quickly through the gathered Team MARZ and changing the atmosphere in the office in a perceptible way.
"The intel on petrol's location" Astra breathed out, excitement and fear mingling to push thoughts of Faunus Pride and its' accompanying parties from their mind "You're making a move?"
"Not immediately, but soon" Qrow confirmed, deep crimson eyes hard and intense as he studied each of the four students before him "Given that Petrol is working for an unknown Benefactor, one who has already been proven to have at least one rogue Hunter in his employ I want to keep knowledge of this limited to as few people as possible-"
"In case anybody you send to deal with it is given a counter offer?" Zirconia asked tonelessly, expression shrewd.
"Or inadvertently gives away more than they should have, I'd have to disclose too much classified information in order to give them the full context of what's at play here….This isn't just a routine arrest"
"So what're you saying?" Astra asked breathlessly, having some inkling of where the discussion was headed but still wanting it to be confirmed before they allowed themselves to believe it.
"The four of you have proven yourselves capable of several occasions, you were offered additional training specifically so that you could be brought into the loop for more sensitive missions and whilst you're far from ready for everything I think you've earned the right to accompany the Hunter who will be investigating the lead you discovered" Qrow explained, pausing before adding "That this coincides with your coming mission is also helpful, it gives cover to both yourselves and the Hunter you'll be joining….Provided of course that the four of you are still willing and able to continue with this?"
"We won't let you down professor" Astra nodded, back straightening "We'll find Petrol and this time we'll make sure he's out of the way for good"
"And the rest of you?" Qrow asked, arching an eyebrow as he nodded towards the remainder of Team MARZ, the weary old man still needing to deliberately temper the infectuous confidence and raw energy that Astra Mars exuded, something which reminded him of so many of the best Hunters he had known throughout the years and a quality which settled any doubts in his mind that his course of action was the correct one and that the choice of Hunter to accompany the teens could not be better.
"We're with Astra, or heh….I am at least" Regalia answered.
"It's the right thing to do, so we'll do it" Athena chimed in, broad shoulders rolling back as she reared up to her full, yet painfully unimpressive height whilst beside her Zirconia merely gave a small nod
"Agreed" the reserved insectoid Faunus said simply, evidently deep in thought which Qrow found that he could not begrudge at all.
"Then it's settled. The four of you will be dispatched on a mission nominally to patrol that area and investigate suspicious activity and Grimm sightings; though you'll be expected to leave several hours ahead of the scheduled departure….The less people see you the less questions there will be"
"Understood" Astra fought the urge to wince at that particular piece of information and saw that Athena-Jade shared the pained look, neither of them being particularly enthused about the idea of having to be awake and presumably depart long before the sun rose over Neo Vale though it was Zirconia who asked the pertinent question.
"Who will we be accompanying?" Qrow merely smirked and nodded to something behind Team MARZ, who collectively turned to see the door that had swung open seemingly of its' own volition closing and revealing a short, sturdy and maniacally grinning figure with whom each of the students were well acquainted; evidently having been hidden out of view and poised for this very moment.
"You'll be coming with me" Nora beamed, eyes almost glowing as she leaned into Team MARZ's faces and spoke with unrestrained glee.
"Welcome to the meat grinder kids!"
Author's Notes:
Okay then, here we are; the precipice of the Vol.05 finale….Missions and the finale start next chapter and we have plenty of pieces set up for what comes both next and after that.
Also, unrelated but I wrote this chapter both immediately before and in the wake of the passing of Jason David Frank, best known as Tommy Oliver, the Green Power Ranger and whilst I don't often publicly mourn for celebrities, as a 90s kid this one stung a hell of a lot….I had and still have no concrete plans to write anything else for the Power Rangers fandom but I still do have an urge to put something out there.
But anyway let's summarise shall we?:
Gotta find somewhere to put a proper, real jungle on Remnant and the space between Vale and Vaccuo is somewhere I've described as disgustingly humid before.
It's odd that we've seen so few Spawning Pits by this point in the story in comparison to early installations in this series….The main ones we've had thus far are Gestalt-Prime's base of operations and the Crater.
The Disemboweller is a deep cut, these were something I made up for Team CFVY's mission in the Downward Spiral and haven't used since….So I'm making a callback to my 2016 writing.
Missions coming up, Spawning Pit being the target of villain attention, recon by the Kingdoms….You can see where this is going?
Cyber-Grimm instead of Petrol, which means that the finale is gonna be a two-team event.
All fate of the world conspiracies aside it's fun to consider than Nora and Qrow work together on a day to day basis in a professional capacity, just take a minute to imagine the staffroom chaos.
Ren's apron had to make a guest appearance, I'm making deep cuts from canon as well as my own writing.
Would you rather have detention with Qrow or Nora?
Fuck it, since we mentioned one of the secondary characters from FADE: Legacy last chapter, his partner gets a mention here.
Now if you've read the other stories in this timeline then you'll know which character Qrow is obliquely referencing here, it's someone with a daughter at Halo, someone who's in Neo Vale, highly capable and has worked for both Qrow and the Academy before including taking students on missions….Any guesses?
I had to come up with a solid reasoning for the delays in actions necessary to get all the moving pieces for the plot to line up and honestly caution is a good reason.
Notice that what Roxy told Qrow and co isn't exactly inaccurate, just skewed.
Team MARZ deciding to take matters into their own hands is a definite possibility considering that Astra is….Well, Astra.
So Regalia and Astra can chain together combo moves and assists and look bad-ass while doing it, all on instinct alone….Now if only Regalia didn't turn into a puddle every time Astra praises her.
AJ taking pity on those Atlas students makes sense, she's sparred with her Dad before….that's where her habit of wearing band-aids at all times as an accessory started.
On the one hand, yeah wanting to hit the clubs mid-week especially during a festival is standard student behaviour….On the other hand, there's the behaviour the Professors were worried about.
AJ makes a good point that nobody else did, not only could it be a trap, it could be a trap specifically for Astra.
The Stygian scene is honestly just to have him and Team TRQS as a unit back in the picture after being absent for a couple of chapters so their appearance in the finale doesn't feel random.
Stygian using his sword and facing off against the King-Taijitu construct is just a cool image, but also shows that his Semblance can be tampered with and how it works, or doesn't when that happens.
Of course Tiger decides to interrupt, also her bad-ass intro gets immediately undercut by the "I think we broke them" because the idea made me chuckle.
The talk between Stygian and Tiger was nice, it's a show of the respect they've got for each other and how much closer they've gotten in a short space of time.
So Stygian canonically fucks….Just not as often as he'd like.
Aro-Ace Tiger confirmed.
Stygian tried to reach out and do something nice for Tiger even back when they were basically a team in name only, reaching out to Ravi to try and fix things between the twins.
Nugget the Chicken Faunus and his weapons Cluck-Stick and Cluck-Shot have not been forgotten, long live Team NUGT.
AJ is the one who's built like a powerlifter, Regalia is sculpted, Regalia has an eight pack.
Yeah I refuse to believe that Regalia knows what a protein shake is, or that she'd consider them valid if you explained it.
Well well, Astra might have let Regalia down because they weren't ready for another relationship just yet….But their eyes still work and their partner is objectively hot.
"You got a friend in me" had to work in a movie line.
So Astra's position is understandable, but at least they're self aware enough to see the issues and have a support network in place to keep themselves focused….Also,"Don't go where I can't follow" had romantic connotations in the original context as well, don't argue with me.
I'll be completely honest the scene in the Chamber was largely a placeholder used to fill space between the scenes on either side of it….But it does serve as a good chance to lay a little groundwork for things that will become important later in the story.
So the heroes know about the villains, but the villains know that the heroes know and so we insert that one line from Hellsing Abridged.
So a downside of the Cyber-Grimm is that they do need to be prepared and tuned up for jobs, emphasising the Cyber aspect.
Nero went to lengths to keep Aefen and Gestalt-Prime from speaking and the reveal that Gestalt-Prime had a way to reach out was a fun little mini plot-twist, but figuring out how to do it without giving them anything close to the CCT connection that was their goal in previous arcs was tricky….I actually didn't plan for the little robots they devoured and integrated before to be used that way, but it works and explains why Gestalt-Prime can only interact with that specific computer and in a limited way.
He uses his position to take and keep power, placing himself between those who need or want something from each other and extracting a price for it….Something something landlord class.
So Aefen is already working in something for Gestalt-Prime, gonna take a guess at what?
We never did hear exactly what it is that Aefen was exiled/disgraced for working on….Of course she and Gestalt-Prime are kindred spirits in a really messed up way.
I promise that I will finally show off the new moves Athena has been working on soon.
AJ carrying everything for Hops is just one of those cute little details.
Did the causal banter between Team MARZ take up more of the scene than it needed to, perhaps but consider….I enjoyed writing it.
Qrow hears all.
So it's settled and official then; we now know what at least one half of the finale is going to be….Let's see just how messed up Aefen's experiments can really be.
And then, just when you think you can't get any more hyped; Team MARZ and Nora together on a mission. This! Is! HAPPENING!"
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.