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Chapter 100: Success
Within the Chamber, located below a forgotten and once-industrial part of Neo Vale Albion Herringbone had begun the process of returning Gestalt-Prime to the truly physical realm, freeing the abominable hybrid Creature of Grimm from the shackles imposed upon them by their limited and broken physical form by the means of a new body, forged through resources and fields of study which Albion himself had played a large part of the inception of, a dubious honour which even as he worked he could not help but question the wisdom of; worryingly aware of how little protection would remain between himself and the monster he had readily experimented on should the pending procedure prove successful.
"All systems are normal, all readings are good" the scientist murmured to himself, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses as the words escaped him in a hushed and apprehensive tone that was entirely for his own ears and intended to fill a tense silence that would otherwise be broken only by the whirring and stuttering mechanical grumble of countless machines and computer systems.
If he were entirely honest Albion would have appreciated another, equally scientifically inclined mind in order to share thoughts and ideas with in order to steady his nerves as he worked but forced himself to accept, with a pang of the same bitterness which had seen him embark on his great work alongside Nero that no such mind existed and had not since Houndstooth, his partner in all things had passed away. Nero, whilst a close friend and confidant and the architect who had masterminded the entire endeavour to make a better Remnant had skills which lay in other areas and of the Chairman's two younger proteges Zirconia was certainly capable of appreciating his work she was not yet capable of fully understanding or replicating it whilst Carmesi was simply a brute in the scientists' mind. The closest approximation of what Nero would have liked was the undisputed genius of High Speaker Aefen Cruor and yet, despite being certain that the exiled woman of science would have happily accepted an invitation to see the process that was about to begin and that her insight would doubtlessly prove interesting Albion simply could not bring himself to contact her; uncertain of just how she would react to what was to come and frankly unwilling to risk having his concentration stolen at a key moment by some deranged and fanatical blithering from the cult leader.
There was Gestalt-Prime themselves of course but at present they were more patient, or perhaps component than partner and were in no condition at all to provide stimulating conversation.
The hybrid Alpha had broken themselves to the basest components and entirely sundered their physical form, remaking it into something which was more suitable for the procedure whilst also being decidedly temporary in nature. Their former bloated, maggot-like and bulbous form had been imploded and collapsed with what had taken its' place being more reminiscent of some enormous jellyfish rather than than the winding and serpentine forms which had been used to form the previous Cyber-Grimm; Gestalt-Prime's skull had been largely reformed after spending so long as a flattened and useless mass of bone and their singular eye gave off a pale and diffused light as their body bobbed listlessly within the darkened and stained fluids of the containment tube, the head resting atop a mass of countless tendrils and other boneless, formless appendages which bore a twisted amalgamation of grasping suckers, coarse fur and scales and which had been linked with one another through an almost random series of webbed skin, stretched taut to the point of tearing from one twitching limb to the next.
It was a transformation which had left Albion's knees wavering despite his best efforts to steel himself by insisting within his own mind that he had been privy to enough disturbing sights already and that this one in particular had no reason it upset him.
"The host body is ready" he forced his words to be even and without emotion, simply stating a fact "We can begin the transfer process whenever you're ready-"
"Then begin, human" Gestalt-Prime's voice seemed distant and oddly strained, yet even in this lesser state Albion found himself swallowing thickly as the monsters' attention was turned upon him and then casting his eyes anywhere but at the cylinder which, for at least a while longer contained the monster before finally he turned his focus towards the controls at his fingertips and set about activating the final systems needed for the procedure.
The effect was instantaneous and Albion nearly lost his composure in ways he did not care to consider as the beginning of the process was announced a series of moist clanging sounds from within the maze of pipes and ductwork which stretched from between Gestalt-Prime and the new body the monster would make their own; Albion forcing himself to not contemplate the fact that the sounds were caused by the Alpha's myriad appendages slithering blindly towards their prize and that there was now nothing of consequence between himself and parts of the monster.
"Readings are still normal" he whispered, taking solace from that alone and continuing to enter a ceaseless series of commands whilst allowing his icy blue gaze to drift upwards a fraction which in turn saw him watch with rapt attention as Gestalt-Prime began their own part in the changing; their tendrils emerging at various points of the docking station within which the vacant husk of their new body was suspended and waiting, their abyssal darkness meeting the machinery with surprising gentleness and only a faint groaning of metal as their tips began to split apart and slither across and burrow into various sections of the purpose-made body, inky tissue sculpting one series of nerves and muscles after another in an effortlessly and fluidly reorganising mass.
Now it was time for the difficult part.
In all other instances of a Cyber-Grimm's creation Gestalt-Prime had been one of the controlling factors, capable of exerting a measure of influence over their progeny before its' primitive mind consumed and was in turn slaved to the AI within the mechanical shell it merged with, in this case however the AI was entirely absent and Gestalt-Prime was now in the process of severing their own body fully and completely, allowing the entirety of their mass and most importantly their consciousness to be transferred into the new form and neither Albion nor the monster themselves could be entirely certain of the outcome.
This was why Albion had sent the Cyber-Grimm elsewhere, he had not wanted them to respond to their Alpha if the situation began to show signs of deteriorating.
As it began to appear they might.
"No, no….This is supposed to be within acceptable parameters" the scientist frantically muttered as various icons began to shift from green to a glaring red across his readouts, followed by a series of alarms and other warnings which came steadily more ominous and intense until Albion was desperately fumbling for his Scroll only to be halted the sound of something shearing and tearing free of the machinery around the host body; diving to the ground with their scroll and with it any hopes of contacting Carmesi for assistance abandoned Albion glanced fearfully in the direction of the docking bay to see countless tentacles lurching and slithering around it without any sign at all of Gestalt-Prime's head.
Realising that the control terminal they had been using was still in tact Albion bit back a whining whimper and forced himself to his feet, keeping his movements silent and subtle enough to not draw the attention of the roiling and painfully shifting mass of metal and rupturing flesh only a short distance away less it turn its' predatory instincts upon him. Upon reaching the controls Albion began preparing the Chamber's defensive systems and braced himself as best he could yet nothing would stay the trembling hands of a man decidedly unused to direct combat with the Creatures of Grimm, having always had the option of taking shelter whenever the monsters had breached the walls of the city.
This time was different however, either Gestalt-Prime had betrayed them all or had simply lost their mind in this latest transformation and as he armed additional weapons systems Albion realised that he may well be the one to bring the beast to heel.
A tense and horrified silence had hung over the entire arena and a haunting, paralysed stillness which had accompanied it continued to linger even after Athena-Jade Slate had managed, against all odds to rise to her feet in her injured condition and give her audience one final display of showmanship which had sent the entire crowd into an ecstatic frenzy, the relief in Yang Xiao Long's voice being evident as it washed over the stadium being an almost palpable thing.
The feverish and nervously electric energy was beginning to subside however and the spectacle was yet to resume, instead Astra Mars found themselves stood in a numb silence, their chest heaving with each shaky breath and their limbs feeling heavy after they had come skidding to a halt close to the centre line of the arena where they and Honey had been exchanging blows with Astra being able to accept that the tide had been decidedly against them for much of the battle. Sea-green eyes remained wide for several seconds longer as the Deer Faunus expectantly watched the medical staff of the stadium at work, frantically loading an unconscious and bloodied Athena-Jade onto a stretcher and taking her away whilst at the other side of the arena a less injured but decidedly battered Yuki Chiheisen managed to limp her way out of the arena and towards her waiting friends and a small group of medical staff, exchanging a brief glance with her own partner, leader and lover as she went which prompted the Rabbit Faunus to intrude upon Astra's thoughts with as much gentleness as she could afford in the circumstances.
"Hey….Are you okay to carry on?" Astra wheeled around, Buckshot Ares readied as they regarded their opponent and saw that Honey herself was similarly visibly shaken by the recent events; the armoured and golden haired girl notably pale and needing to take several more steadying breaths to clear her head of the mental image of her girlfriends' Aura possibly shattering under the assault of a laser weapon or her subsequent fall ending more unpleasantly before she could drop into a fighting stance once again and ready the Light-Motif, her twin hard-light weapons taking on asymmetrical forms and granting the leader of Team HONY a short sabre in her left hand and an oversized, curved blade in her right. The sight was enough to force Astra' thoughts entirely into the present moment where there was work to be done, a confidant smirk tugging at their lips as their eyes shone in a way which their dark eyeliner complemented.
"Yeah, let's do this!" and then they were in motion.
"Look like you're going down again then!" Honey called out to them as the two fighters charged at one another, Astra allowing themselves to lose some of their speed and instead sacrifice it for offensive output as they aimed the underslung guns fitted to their arms and unleashed twin torrents of firepower, forcing Honey to weave, leap and roll to avoid spraying bullets which ripped into the central division of the arena and the cracked asphalt of the fake roads which lined Team HONY's side of the arena as the older student was pushed back a fraction, eventually countering by simply changing one of her constructed blades into a shield and rushing forward with bullets sparking against Aura, hard-light and armour alike until the two fighters met.
"NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!" Yang's voice filled the arena again and despite the slight shakiness that continued to fill her words Astra could only agree with the sentiment. The familiar rush began to overtake them once again even as Honey delivered an expert blow for her opening gambit which Astra was certain they would appreciate even more when watching the footage later, their attempt to subtly misdirect and create an opening by abruptly halting their charge and throwing themselves into a pirouette so that they could deliver a spinning back-handed slash from their left forearm-blade from the side was met and countered as Honey leapt into the air and used the shield component of Astra's weapon as a platform from which to flip over them and land in a crouch behind the younger Faunus. Astra span and blocked with both shields and still Honey's upward, reverse-gripped slash managed to leave Aura rippling as it struck.
"You've definitely improved since our last match" she noted as she followed up seamlessly with a spinning back kick which Astra countered by slamming both halves of Buckshot Ares together and using more of their steadily depleting Dust reserves to send out a curved wall of hard-light which intercepted the Rabbit Faunus's boot; Honey's answer was to use the obstruction and cartwheel away from it gracefully before readying both halves of the Light-Motif again, creating twin copies of her Uncle Yatsuhashi's oversized sword which overlapped with one another as she held them horizontally ahead of her body and sprung forward so that their blades could pierce Astra's hard-light shield and began the process of shattering it one hexagonal, rose-tinted panel at a time as she pulled her arms to the sides with visible effort.
In a moment of inspiration Astra countered, thrusting their own arms apart and disabling their Dust shield in order to throw Honey off balance and leave her arms flailing for the fraction of a second it took the Deer Faunus to deliver a roundhouse kick to the kidney which left Honey staggering and struggling for air and yet still, with all of her training and experience the older student remained alert and on guard, raising her blades to protect her face and vital areas of her torso. Astra's plans were more extensive however and after aiming and firing their guns for less than a second, the quick salvo being enough to force Honey back a few steps the leader of Team MARZ threw their entire body into a leaping and highly acrobatic kick inspired by watching Athena fight.
And at the same time they engaged their Semblance.
The crowd erupted as Astra's form became enveloped in a swiftly expanding field of fiery red light and the Semblance self took hold, resulting in their now giant leg smashing into Honey and pitching her through the air despite her efforts to prevent it, the Rabbit Faunus sailing further into Team HONY's side of the field and being slammed through the wall of a faux building several stories above the ground.
"And that is what payback feels like" Astra allowed themselves a chuckle as they remembered how, upon facing a younger Honey Scarlatina in an exhibition match their unceremonious thrashing had culminated in them being slammed through a wall. Without allowing Yang's glowing commentary to weigh on them on influence their movements they pressed their brief advantage, understanding that Honey was far from beaten and that they could afford to do nothing less they charged across the arena in inhuman bounds in order to reach the building they had sent their opponent careening into and reared back a giant and glowing fist before promptly ploughing it through the entire floor of the building and burying the glowing ephemeral limb almost shoulder deep into it.
Astra was loathe to admit that they were more than a little surprised when they were not immediately declared the winner in that moment; they quickly realised however that Honey had obviously outsmarted them.
The Third Year student had managed to gather her senses and rush into a position a few floors higher in the building, as was proven a moment later when glass shattered and the armoured Rabbit Faunus came barrelling out of a window with her weapons at the ready and a fierce war cry on her lips. The Light-Motif had been used to form copies of Crescent Rose and Magnhild, with the hammer slamming into the face of Astra's Semblance-self with a thunderous impact which left the Deer Faunus reeling and struggling to balance, pressing on Honey used a move inspired by Ruby Rose herself and hooked the blade of her glowing scythe around the antler of Astra's Aura-made body and swung herself directly upwards in order to land atop a glowing head where she perched beside the Mohawk made of solid light and shifted her weapons into a copy of the swords used by Penny Polendina.
A moment later the blades found their mark where eyes should have been.
Astra's Semblance-self did not connect to Astra's own senses in the way Honey had hoped for and the Deer Faunus was not blinded or incapacitated by the attack, however to say it was painful was an understatement of epic proportions and as their focus was thoroughly and indisputably shattered the Semblance failed which left both Astra and Honey to fall to the ground which the Rabbit Faunus managed with far more grace and coordination.
"That was a good start, really silly idea to follow up like that though….You should have taken out the base of the building or something" Honey's words pierced Astra' haze of pain and they forced themselves to roll from their back and stagger onto their feet, needing use all of limbs to do so; coughing up dust and trailing a small cloud of debris from their entire body with every moment as they did so whilst Honey for her part merely rose from the crouch she had landed in and offered her advice in a conversational tone.
Upon shaking their head to clear away the lingering dizziness Astra readied their weapons again and forced themselves to think, they should have expected Honey to be prepared and they had entered the stadium knowing that anything less than the best of their abilities would result in defeat.
Which included their ability to plan on the fly, yet no ideas were presenting themselves as Honey prepared another set of weapons.
Qrow Branwen had made his way across Neo Vale at an impressive pace given that a desire to give at least some appearance of legality and proper process to his actions, lest they otherwise be taken as a threat had forced him to first rely on civilian transportation rather than simply requesting that one of the craft in Halo Academies' arsenal be deployed to his location and all other air traffic be moved out of his path, or perhaps faster still simply use his Semblance to fly directly to his target. Secondly his chosen course of action and the laws he upheld, if to a lesser extent than the safety of Remnant as a whole had forced him to send word and alert several interested parties of his imminent approach, including an exceptionally discombobulated secretary at the head office of the Conglomerate which Damascus Nero presided over.
Though the formalities had also given him an opportunity to reach out to another Hunter, providing him with backup that the grizzled veteran found himself doubtful that he would need but had nonetheless promised his niece he would make use of.
"I always feel a little bit out of sorts in places like this, underdressed y'know?" Scarlet Vasilias-David mused as he strode beside Qrow's many-legged chair at a pace that was brisk and yet decidedly not businesslike as the red-haired man artfully twirled his cutlass in his cybernetic hand whilst using the other to brush aside strands of hair that had not quite been moved where he would have liked them by his latest dramatic hair flip; inwardly Qrow grumbled to himself and noted that Whilst Scarlet was certainly a capable Hunter and was one of the most experienced in the city when it came to assisting the authorities in tackling organised crime his penchant for flamboyant gestures was one born from facing off against similarly expressive foes and was something Qrow would argue that it was high time the younger man grew out of.
"You literally live at Halo Academy….And will you please stop swinging that around, I do not want to explain why we're being charged with property damage" Qrow retorted stiffly, he could understand easily how Scarlet and Sunk Wukong had been such good friends in the time before Team SSSN had disbanded but the fact that he and Neptune was, physical attraction notwithstanding one of life's great mysteries.
"It's not the same though, especially not since Ren and Nora moved the kids in….The grubby handprints on the walls make it feel like home" Scarlet grinned, giving his sword one last twirl before releasing it from his grasp entirely and letting in spin in the air before falling back into its' sheath. Qrow forced back another comment on how they were here to, at least nominally conduct entirely official business and how Scarlet's antics were sending entirely the wrong message in this context; the chiding being held at bay by the fond smile which formed on the older Hunter's face at the thought of the many children who had been given a home by Ren and Nora's efforts, along with those of Carcharodon Gore after the Shark Faunus had surprised them all by taking those lost and orphaned by Salem's campaign against Vale under his protection for a time. Another distraction came a moment later in the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps and the sound of elevators approaching.
"I think they know something isn't right" Scarlet chuckled "And I just put my sword away"
"Calm down, if they were going to shoot on sight they wouldn't be coming by elevator; would you want to start a firefight when you're stood in a metal box?" Scarlet was silenced by the retort and Qrow came to a halt, appearing as unthreatening as his reputation would allow as he waited for the buildings' security to make the appearance.
The two Hunters had made their initial entrance and progressed this far into the conglomerates' expansive and luxurious headquarters by a technique which was both simple and time-honoured which Qrow considered to be one of the most reliable methods of infiltration of all, namely simply acting like one belonged; he and Scarlet had calmly made their way through the main entrance without more than a cursory glance at the security at the door in order to tell the admittedly awed and likely underpaid doorman that the two of them were expected, from there asking the receptionist at the front desk for directions had been met with similar success although now it seemed that matters had been verified and in response teams of security guards, whom Qrow noted were now more heavily and dangerously armed were beginning to make their presence known as they poured into a corridor only a short distance away from the Chairman's private office.
"I'm going to have to ask you and your friend to remain where you are Mister Branwen" a Canine Faunus clad in subdued tactical armour which blended against the fabric of a sharply cut uniform strode forward, keeping their weapon lowered and tone neutral even as the way their tail tucked flat against the back of their legs spoke volumes. Seeing that the response to his presence was so far an entirely reasonable one Qrow made a show of raising his hands from the arms of his chair and speaking as soothingly as he could manage, crimson eyes sweeping across the various guards for any sign of ill-intent.
"It looks like there's a misunderstanding here" Qrow gave a jovial shrug which served as a signal for Scarlet to play along "My colleague and I are on official business, we called ahead-"
"Your message indicated that it was on official Kingdom business" the security officer countered, having evidently seen through the ruse "Neither the Council nor Halo Academy could verify that claim and you do not have an appointment scheduled, so unless you have a warrant then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave Mister Branwen"
"I think I understand" Qrow nodded, stroking his beard and using the gesture to see which of guards twitched and raised their weapons a little too eagerly before allowing himself to continue as it became apparent that the situation was yet to devolve "My meeting with the Chairman is an impromptu one I'll admit that, however it is of importance and is in regards to matters of the Kingdoms' defence and his ongoing participation in it which I would much rather discuss face to face; I'm sure you'll forgive me a degree of healthy paranoia on that front….As for verifying my earlier message, that's likely a matter of clearance I'm afraid"
"I understand" the security guard looked conflicted, an obvious desire to both do their job well and keep the respect of their colleagues being tempered by an unwillingness to act against one of the most famous Hunters on Remnant in a way that might earn his ire and harm their long term career goals; after waiting for a moment and allowing the tension to reach a peak Qrow spoke again, taking care to appear perfectly reasonable.
"Perhaps it would be better if my colleague were to wait here and you were to escort me to the Chairman's office; we can get to the bottom of this with a quick conversation"
"Wait here" the guard addressed his subordinates bluntly, a sigh of relief coinciding with the way his canine tail began to wag slightly in a show of happy relief. Qrow followed the much younger man's lead and allowed himself to be guided through the final stretch of the luxurious, but yet bland and distinctly corporate building until finally reaching a stretch of corridor which terminated in a single doorway with a desk belonging to a well-dressed and perky secretary beside it.
"Hello, how can I help you?" her gaze fixed intently on Qrow for several seconds, even as the guard beside him spoke.
"Mister Branwen insists that he speaks with the Chairman, as a matter of security"
"I see" the secretary took a moment to begin writing notes in a small pad at her desk before continuing in a gentle tone "Unfortunately that won't be possible I'm afraid, given that the Chairman boarded a flight to Vaccuo earlier today and will be away for a business trip"
"I wasn't aware" the guard answered.
"The trip was rescheduled, apparently due to Grimm activity in Vaccuo; something I'm sure you understand Mister Branwen. I can leave a message for Mister Nero to respond either when he returns or at his earliest convenience" the secretary smiled sweetly.
"Do you know when he's expected back, or who his meeting is with-"
"I'm not at liberty to discuss my employers' personal affairs and travel plans, or company business with….Hunters, who arrive without a proper appointment"
"You heard her Mister Branwen" the guard reached down as if to put a hand on Qrow's mechanical chair but paused, quickly thinking better of it "It's time you and your colleague left"
"Of course, thank you and sorry for the inconvenience" Qrow nodded in understanding and turned his many-limbed mobility aid around with more grace than it should have been capable of before retreating back the way he had come, brow furrowing as his mind began to race with myriad topics to be considered; not least of which being how he intended to explain this disturbance to Ren when the Headmaster of Halo Academy was inevitably made aware of Qrow's hasty actions.
Absorbed by his own thoughts and with the matter of what Astra Mars had divulged to him set aside for the moment Qrow felt no reason to cast a final glance over his shoulder in the direction of the secretary, though if he had then he would have seen her shooting him hateful glares as she continued to hastily type out a series of coded and encrypted messages which were sent without delay to both Chairman Damascus Nero himself and a figure whom she had never met in person, but had been assured was a trusted friend within the city.
He might also have seen the faintest hint of a new tattoo on her forearm, that of a stylised sunrise with the words 'Bright New Tomorrow' surrounding it, a new addition obtained upon being brought into the fold.
Neither Regalia nor Zirconia had been able to remain in their seats and continue to watch from a comfortable position.
Instead, the moment Athena-Jade had fallen and smashed her skull against the edge of the stadium the pair had sprung into motion; the Grasshopper Faunus leaping from her own seat and onto the headrest on the chair in front of her in order to bound through the descending rows of stands with reckless abandon; mismatched pink and orange eyes wide with terror and filled with tears as she moved and entirely uncaring of the various yells and indignant squawks of people whose heads she bounded over as she rushed to her partners' side, given the amount of cameras present it was almost a certainty that the image would be taken by the media and construed as something romantic rather than a product of gut-wrenching fear yet in that moment Zirconia clearly cared little.
Regalia had been barely a handful of paces behind her, the Racoon Faunus barrelling out of her own seat and allowing herself only the most faint of winces as she inadvertently knocked a fresh tub of popcorn mixed with various candy she was experimenting with and another comically oversized soft drink in the process, lamenting the waste of any food but especially something so sweet even in such circumstances and giving chase albeit through more conventional means such as stairways and designated walkways in the stands. By the time Regalia had reached the edge of the arena things were already beginning to lurch into motion once again, with Athena having risen to her feet and proven her strength only to collapse again and be bundled onto a stretcher by medical staff who had been able to open a small doorway into the arenas' shielding; Zirconia had naturally and without a moment of hesitation slipped into position beside the moving stretcher and reaching out to take her unconscious girlfriends' hand, taking care not to interfere with the medics' work but also glaring at them with frightening intensity in a silent challenge in case they dared to object to her joining them.
The departure had left Regalia alone and with no impetus to return to a seat that was now likely drenched in carbonated and sugary liquid so instead the Racoon Faunus had simply found herself perched at the foremost of the seats, standing and leaning against a railing close enough to the arena itself that when the match began again in earnest she had been forced to crane her neck upward in order to see properly and lowered her goggles over her eyes in order to watch the match without giving herself a migraine by squinting at the slight distortion caused by being so close to the shields.
When Honey emerged from a ruined building to deliver a blow worthy of any action movie to Astra's Semblance Regalia had been sorely tempted to activate her own Semblance in the slim chance that Look-See could provide her an answer to whether her partner and friend could win at all or where that victory might lie. Ultimately however she had stopped herself, uncertain as to if it might be interpreted as cheating on Team MARZ's part even if she truly had no intention of giving Astra an unfair advantage that she was certain that her friend would never want.
Besides, this was a spectacle and spoilers would be unwelcome.
"WELL MARS IS FIGHTING FOR DEER LIFE….BUT THEY'VE DEFINITELY GOT A LOTTA HART!" Yang Xiao Long's pun drew a chorus of groans from the audience, a low noise interrupted a moment later by a swell of cheers at the latest exchange of blows. Regalia peered upwards and watched with bated breath as her partner managed to swat Honey around the face with one of their shields, the clang of metal against cheekbone being audible from where she was stood and from there Astra followed up by attempting to drive the blade of their right arm into her armour; Honey answered by pivoting counter-clockwise and allowing the blade to glance off of her breastplate with little effect other than a shower of sparks whilst the motion carried her into Astra's guard where she promptly used her own weapon to create a pair of curved daggers which were promptly plunged and raked across Astra' flank and shoulder with enough force to leave their Aura visibly rippling which Honey capitalised on with a rare show of venom as she slammed an elbow into the back of her opponents' skull and sent Astra staggering forward, visibly reeling from the impact.
"Oh come on!" Regalia demanded, gesticulating wildly whilst her eyes were wide in shock at the uncharacteristic violence from the usually sweet older student.
"Honestly, that's just fair payback for the shield to the face" a familiar voice noted conversationally from behind Regalia and whilst she could not quite bring herself to drag her attention away from the fight she nonetheless responded, hand burrowing into pockets in a sulking display.
"Heh, suppose so" conversation stalled as Astra managed to fight back enough to create some distance, a flurry of spinning kicks being combined with short burst of their Semblance to send enormous limbs sweeping through the terrain after which the Deer Faunus aimed and fired their mini-guns in rapid barrages which forced Honey to react, flitting and dodging aside and leading her opponent deeper into the ruined imitation cityscape. The brief lull in combat allowed Regalia to turn and greet the person who had spoken to her, Stygian Blue who surprised her by being on his feet so soon and even more so by pressing a drink into her hand which was gratefully accepted.
"That was meant for Tee" he admitted with a devilish smirk "But I thought I'd give her some space while she talks to Ravi and Snap….Besides I didn't wanna miss this match"
"How is Tiger….Heck, how are you?" Regalia asked, eyes darting from the arena to the Mouse Faunus standing beside her whom she noticed was wearing only his waist coat and displaying his tattoos openly, the blue jacket he usually wore as though it were a cape along with the harness and his weapon were conspicuously absent while the young man's dark skin was covered in burns, welts and discolourations which had already begun to heal at an accelerated rate.
"Pretty beat up...Not bad enough to miss the parties after this though; well….Hopefully" Stygian attempted a nonchalant shrug only to wince as something tugged uncomfortably in his shoulder which prompted him to change the subject back to the more immediate concern, nodding towards the arena and adding "Think Astra can pull it off?….I mean I'm a Halo student so I should be rooting for Team HONY really but you guys are cool"
"It's Astra, they can do anything" Regalia answered earnestly even as her hand not currently holding a drink squeezed the railing she was leaning against more tightly in her nervousness, after seeing one of her friends so badly injured already she was not sure if she could stomach her partner; whom she was open and at peace with the fact she loved be hurt. She attempted to turn her focus to the match more entirely only to be distracted by Stygian again as the Mouse Faunus of Team TRQS let out a snorting chuckle.
"That's sweet y'know that right?….Closest thing I'd get to something like that from Tiger is her telling me that I don't have her permission to die" Stygian's smirk softened and his eyes drifted towards the nearest exit, his thoughts clearly turning back towards his own partner and whether or not he should return to her before he evidently decided to wait a while longer "Seriously, sounds like something I'd hear Rye or Amaya say about each other….But you really think they can take Honey Scarlatina in a one on one fight?"
"They came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum" Regalia answered almost absent-mindedly, Stygian's laughter in response going largely unheard as her bushy tail twitched behind her, beneath her goggles her eyes darted across the various screens fitted around the stadium so that she could find the best views and watch from several angles at once as the two team leaders continued to face off against one another.
Something had shifted in the pace of the battle.
Astra was still on the receiving end of monumental blows to be sure, as was proven when Honey's now signature double-ended Crescent Rose attack lifted them from the ground and sent them sailing back through the air but as Regalia watched her partner used their interlocked shields to absorb the worst of the blow and land in a crouch atop a car that had likely never worked, or else had been plucked from a scrapyard to complete the decimated look of the arena and offer their opponent a taunting gesture before unleashing another barrage of shots she couldn't help but begin to smile, an odd confidence welling up within her.
"ABSOLUTE CAR-NAGE!" Yang cheered as Honey lunged forwards to create an enormous hammer and swing the glowing weapon with both hands directly into the fender of the car; utterly crushing the vehicle and sending it skidding down the street in a spray of sparks and cacophony of screaming metal as its' tires burst and wheels buckled. Astra however remained perched on the cars' roof until it came to a halt before finally flipping down to the ground in an almost leisurely way which could only serve to infuriate their opponent; suddenly Regalia's smile widened further and a small laugh escaped her as the source of her sudden relief became apparent.
She knew her partner well enough to know when they were planning something and her instinct told her that this would fun to watch.
Carmesi Hueso was on the move, the rogue Hunter's thoughts steadily darkening with each passing second whilst his expression remained grim and determined in a steadfast refusal to allow any of the sudden fear he felt to show on his scaled and bearded face.
The Komodo Dragon Faunus had been in position and carrying out his orders as expected; whilst Albion was hunkering down in the Chamber as always and setting about a task that would see the older man venture irrevocably into the role of mad scientist by bringing Gestalt-Prime back to full strength and thereby undoing the months of work it had taken Carmesi and the late Major Grapeshot to capture the monster in the first place.
Carmesi's instructions had been simple, to continue the distribution of the Cyber-Grimm to well secured strategic points across the city where they could be collected at the appropriate moment by Nero's current fighting force, which the reptilian man was quietly pleased to see had already begun to evolve beyond the rabble of crooks and thugs that had formed its' initial basis as recruitment and expansion began in earnest in order to transform their conspiracy into something more worthy, all whilst maintaining a relatively close proximity to the Chamber so that he could provide assistance if it were needed. In service of those orders Carmesi had taken the batches of Cyber-Grimm currently within the hidden lair and first begun moving the majority of the abominable creations into safe locations from whence they would be collected and moved further afield but allies who could be trusted to carry out the task without feeling the need to ask or otherwise find out for themselves exactly what they were carrying. The last two Cyber-Grimm however, which Carmesi noted included the original specimen with its' scarred and damaged hide had been taken to a location on the outer edges of what could be considered 'close enough to respond' and upon arrival the rogue Hunter had sent word to some of the gang members who would be involved in the beginnings of Nero's bright new tomorrow; those who had seen the Cyber-Grimm in action already and trusted confidants who had been told of their existence.
None of them would ever deserve the privilege in Carmesi's eyes, however he could still train them to at least be capable; though if the Cyber-Grimm were to lash out and perhaps disembowel one of their would be handlers he supposed that it would not be too great of a loss provided that the creature itself could be swiftly brought to heel.
Thoughts of a Cyber-Grimm truly loose within a city served as a bleak precursor for what was to come.
The attempts to train the rabble into something usable had been halted when Carmesi had been contacted by one of the Chairman's previously more legitimate confidants, namely his personal secretary a young woman who had, after losing someone close to her in events which likely could have been prevented if those whose purpose was to prevent them had been more careful and after spending years in Chairman's company had steadily absorbed his viewpoints and made them her own until she was primed and ready to be brought into the fold and shown a path to a better Remnant. The young woman had sought to sound professional when she informed Carmesi that Qrow Branwen himself had appeared unannounced with another Hunter in tow under dubious circumstances though her nerves had betrayed her somewhat, a lapse which Carmesi was only willing to tolerate due to how serious the threat might well prove to be. Ending the call he had immediately reached out to Herringbone, as loathe as he was to disturb the scientist whilst he was in the midst of such a dangerous task the situation warranted it and Carmesi could admit, with some coaxing that Albion's skills would be needed if it proved necessary to move against Qrow Branwen or deviate from the plan in any major way.
When Albion Herringbone had proven impossible to contact the panic Carmesi was now fighting had truly began to set in.
The vehicle he had been transporting Cyber-Grimm in came to a halt, as much as the Komodo Dragon Faunus would have liked it to be a dramatic affair with tires screeching and gravel being strewn everywhere, swiftly followed by his bursting into motion with his weapons and Semblance at the ready that was not the case.
The moment called for action but also discretion, Carmesi was a wanted man and if Qrow Branwen truly had moved against them then any action which might see security cameras or nosy bystanders paying undue attention to him was one to be avoided especially where the Chamber, which he could not allow to be discovered under any circumstances was concerned. With a similarly paranoid and yet practical thought process Carmesi had ordered the collection of gang members he had been in the process of training to bundle into whatever vehicles they had on hand and begin setting up a cordon or perimeter in a loose formation which would not draw attention, encircling the industrial estate that the Chamber had been built below whilst keeping enough distance to ensure that none of them would be able to pinpoint exactly where he was headed.
In truth Carmesi knew that in any situation where their presence was required there would be nothing they could do except flee.
Steeling himself Carmesi exited the vehicle and stared at it for several lingering moment before finally deciding against bringing the Cyber-Grimm with him; choosing instead to rely upon his own weapons, strength and skill as he had since he been forced to confront the truth of how little Remnant cared for individual lives. Booted feet crunched against loose gravel as he forced himself not to run and instead paced briskly across the yard of a seemingly abandoned warehouse, striding inside and drawing his weapons as his keen senses adjusted to the gloom enough for him to take stock of his surroundings. The fact that the various explosives lining the entrance to the Chamber had not detonated were a small comfort, as was the fact that he had not been met by shields and active weapon systems; suggesting that whatever complications Albion had encountered were not so dire that a self destruct or a total lockdown had been warranted.
Or else Gestalt-Prime had simply butchered the man and was laying in wait below to ambush whoever arrived to check.
Gritting jagged teeth Carmesi locked the entrance behind him, pausing for a moment before making another decision and activating the shielding within the upper warehouse which disguised the Chamber and hoping that it would not be detected by any prying eyes outside; a decision which was given some merit when the rogue Hunter then made his way to the concealed entrance to the elevator which would lead down into the Chamber itself only to find it entirely unresponsive.
A partial lockdown had been initiated.
With a low, guttural rumble escaping him Carmesi allowed his Semblance to flare outwards and cleave through reinforced metal; giving him the initial purchase he would need as he began to rip floor panels out of the elevator so that he descend down the shaft in what would likely be a controlled fall.
Crimson eyes narrowed at the thought of what he might find.
Whilst Astra Mars currently had no way of knowing that only a short distance away, relatively speaking their partner had come to the conclusion that the Deer Faunus had a plan and was in the midst of setting the stage for a spectacular coup de grace they were however in the midst of proving that assumption correct by, almost paradoxically fighting less aggressively and giving more and more ground.
"AND SCARLATINA JUST KEEPS ON HANDING OUT THOSE BIG HITS! MARS REALLY NEEDS TO GET BACK IN GEAR IF THEY WANNA STAY IN THIS FIGHT!" Yang Xiao Long's voice filled the air, rising above the sound of tortured metal and shattering glass as another scrapped and presumably disposable car lining the streets of Team HONY's side of the arena was destroyed; being violently transformed into a convertible as its' roof and the parking meter on the other side of the vehicle were destroyed in a single ferocious swing of Honey Scarlatina's latest hard-light weapon, an assault Astra had managed to avoid by leaping aside at the last second and was currently answering with a short and controlled burst of gunfire as they retreated.
They could accept that their former teachers' pronouncement would seem to carry weight to the untrained eye, but privately Astra could not help grimacing; surely Professor Xiao Long must know that they had a plan.
She had trained them better than this and she knew it.
Any other such thoughts were promptly pushed aside as Astra was forced to cease fire once again and return to a defensive strategy that was entirely according to plan yet still sent electric thrums of panic and excitement through their body with each new technique and show of skill their opponent displayed, with the latest example being Honey's method for deflecting bullets. Combining the two halves of the Light-Motif the blonde Rabbit Faunus produced a double-ended and broad bladed fan-like weapon which she charged with Ice Dust with a simple twist of controls fitted into her weapons handles and from there she began to twirl the hard-light fan at a blinding speed until first a chilling fog began to envelop her and then, in a technique vaguely reminiscent of some of Athena-Jade's techniques the ground erupted in a travelling cascade of icy spires which both halted Astra's attack and allowed Honey to mask her advance.
Until she burst into view once more by leaping from the highest point, wielding simulations of the late Pyrrha Nikos's weapons in a display which Astra had to consciously try not to be awed by.
"Cool" the word escaped them before they could help themselves though they were not so dumbstruck by the display that they failed to raise their shields over their face and torso, a strategy which proved far less effective than they might have hoped for when rather stab with her spear Honey instead slammed her own glowing shield into Astra's weapons, her gathered momentum staggering the younger fighter which in turn allowed to drop into a low, spinning sweep and knock their legs out from under them with the shaft of her spear. Rather than panic Astra deployed their own arm-mounted blades and slashed out in wide arcs at calf-height in order to create enough space to throw themselves to the side and pull themselves back to their feet, just in time to avoid having their ribs broken by Honey's knee as it slammed into the tarmac and from there the Deer Faunus was reduced to frantically blocking as the older student gave chase and set about them with an ever-shifting assortment of weapons which came from every conceivable angle and left Astra's heart hammering audibly against their chest as they were forced back step by breathless, exhausted step.
"You're up to something Mohawk!" Honey demanded, the playfulness of her usual cheery and deeply likeable self being tempered by something fierce, intense and deeply predatory; a brief glimpse into the side of Honey Scarlatina which she herself disliked showing outside of conflicts with the Creatures of Grimm. Astra blocked again to the best of their abilities even as Honey shifted the Dust chambers of her weapons to add additional effects to her hard-light creations, a Gravity Dust infused hammer-blow slamming into the Deer Faunus's shields with enough force to buckle their legs and leave them sinking to one knee being followed immediately by a spinning slash of a flaming and glowing sabre whose blade Astra could only lean back to avoid, tilting their head would have seen and antler sheared away and instead they were left blinking spots from eyes that had begun to water.
Providing Honey all the opportunity she needed to leap and run up the surface of Astra's shields and deliver a kick with superhuman force which sent the Deer Faunus hurtling down the street, Aura visibly flickering and wavering as the struck the tarmac with enough force to crack its' surface in several places before rolling to a stop with their ears ringing and the coppery taste of blood in their mouth, with the sound of the crowd and Yang's commentary being mercifully distant for a moment.
Though Astra winced upon remembering that their parents were watching at home and that their mother would likely weep if they took another hit to the face.
"Of course I'm planning something!" they called out as the forced themselves to stand, pleased that their words weren't too badly slurred from the punishment they had received "Bet you can't come and stop it from happening though!"
"Mohawk, do you really think I'm dumb?" Honey asked with a sigh an a level of earnestness that was almost enough to make Astra genuinely regret the underhanded nature of what they had planned for a moment; the moment quickly passed however and instead they answered with a comment calculated to give them the reaction they were looking for.
"Dumb enough to put all that work into a weapon and have no ranged option!" Honey squared her shoulders at that and bounced on the balls of her feet to shift her weight before sprinting towards Astra, making her way down the street that she had kicked them down at a truly impressive speed whilst twirling her weapons in her hands and shifting their forms as she went in order to unnerve and distract her opponent and Astra, being mindful of how little ammunition was left at their disposal answered by aiming and opening fire in order to force Honey to once again zigzag to avoid being peppered and riddled with bullets.
It wouldn't do to let her know that she was playing into their hands.
Astra was proud but they were by no means stupid and had been forced to accept over the course of the match thus far that they simply could not beat Honey Scarlatina in a head on fight, her skill and experience far outstripped their own and she had proven time and time again that she could answer the advantages Astra's ranged weapons and Semblance granted. Instead Astra had devised a gamble which they would only get one chance to enact and which relied on subtly directing the direction of the fight in a way which allowed Honey to believe it was her own doing, that she was the one waging a war of attrition and steadily pushing her opponent back towards the edge of the arena.
As Astra retreated a few final steps they almost believed that they could hear the thrum of the arenas' shielding behind them whilst to their sides there was largely empty space at the edge of the circular battlefield from which Team HONY had first arrived and directly ahead was Honey, hurtling towards them before finally throwing herself into the air and shifting her weapons into a lance and a mace to deliver what would amount to a decisive blow if it were allowed to land. The leader of Team MARZ raised their shields and allowed time to slow to a crawl, they admired the skill and artistry of the incoming blow which had been angled and timed perfectly, to such an extent that if they were to simply leap aside Honey would still be at no risk of overshooting and falling from the arena.
The Rabbit Faunus reached her apex and Astra struck.
Their Semblance unfurled around them in a blasting corona of fiery red light and the arms they had raised to their chest lashed forward and outwards in wide sweeping motions mirrored by the still-growing limbs of their Semblance form and from their Astra's giant, glowing red hands gripped the blades of Honey's now-bladed weapons. Pain lanced through Astra's perceptions and white-hot fissures cracked and spider-webbed their way through the palms and digits of their Semblance-self whilst Honey was caught in their grasp and robbed, painfully of her momentum; left sputtering and wincing as her shoulders were jarred painfully and her mouth and chin suffered unpleasant meetings with the edge of her armours' gorget; the older team leader began to recover almost instantly however an in a testament to her skill and resolve prepared to unleash every remaining Dust supply at her disposal into Astra's Semblance yet before she could do so the Deer Faunus, still clutching her weapons thrust their arms out to the side as they pushed and stretched their Semblance to a greater degree which left fiery glowing antlers scraping against protective forcefields and more importantly wrenched the Light-Motif from Honey's hands and allowed Astra to reach out over the sides of the arena.
And drop Honey's weapons.
Honey had fallen from Astra's grip and hit the ground below with a jarring thud, as she struggled to rise Astra saw from their raised position that the Rabbit Faunus was not only disarmed but that her Aura was beginning to waver and yet still she remained unbowed, unbroken and a shining example of everything that a Hunter ought to be; offering her opponent a confidant and defiant smile before charging once more.
"I NEVER SEEN A TURN AROUND LIKE THIS BEFORE!" Yang's voice boomed through the stadium "HONEY SCARLATINA HAD A CLEAR ADVANTAGE BUT NOW IF SHE CAN PULL OFF A WIN IT'S GONNA BE BY A….HARE!"
Refusing to allow the ongoing commentary to register Astra narrowed their focus until it was consumed wholly by the approaching form of the older student who had leapt from a pile of rubble littering the faux urban war-zone and parlayed that movement into a vertical run along the wall of a nearby building, in turn using that to begin leaping from one side of the street to the other in rapid succession, using various ledges and irregular surfaces as handholds as she closed the distance all whilst allowing no chance to prepare against an attack that could come from any direction, height or angle.
A moment later she was in front of Astra, armoured fist reared back and Aura rippling around her with a wordless war cry on her lips as she aimed a punch which would drive cleanly through the heart of Astra's Semblance to their true body with enough force to punch them through the back of it; breaking their Semblance and Aura in one whilst removing them from the arena in the same blow.
The blow never landed.
Instead a deafening thunderclap filled the air as Astra used their Semblance and all of their remaining strength to clap the hands of their construct body together and cup the Rabbit Faunus between them; revealing why they allowed themselves to be driven so far back to the very edge of the arena a moment later when they turned and crouched down to simply deposit Honey out of bounds gently, in the same way one might release a bug that they did not want to swat.
For the second time in the match a stunned, disbelieving silence fell over the entire stadium; only for the world to explode into noise a moment later.
"I CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!" Yang cheered in a tone which suggested she was desperately trying not to howl with laughter "IN THE BIGGEST DISPLAY OF….SOMETHING I THINK I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY TIME AS A HUNTER AND A TEACHER, HONEY SCARLATINA HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE ARENA! MEANING THAT ASTRA MARS OF TEAM MARS IS THE WINNER!"
Astra's Semblance was not so much released as it was washed away by the tidal wave of their own emotions striking them and they hit the stadium in a crouch before staggering forward several paces in a state of numb shock, the first fit of weak giggling escaping them a moment later as they realised that despite all odds their plan had worked and they had done the seemingly impossible.
They had beaten Honey Scarlatina.
A chill washed over them as the reality set and sea-green eyes darted to where they had deposited their opponent, only for Astra to feel a wave of blissful relief wash over them as they saw Honey's reaction to the entire affair.
"Aunt Velvet and Aunt Coco are never gonna let me hear the end of this and Little Fox is gonna laugh at me for an hour straight the next time we see each other….But that was still awesome!" the Rabbit Faunus laughed happily even as her golden ears drooped over a flushed face she was already hiding behind her hands until finally she managed to compose herself enough to shake her head in disbelief one final time and give Astra a parting wave before trudging off in search of Yuki, even the indignity of defeat unable to dampen her perpetually sunny disposition.
Allowing Astra to see their own partner stood at the edge of the arena, leaning against a railing.
Movement came easily despite the pain and tiredness and Astra quickly managed to limb, hobble and stagger their way to the edge of the arena and leap down, continuing onwards until they met Regalia halfway wherein the two of them slung their arms around one another and simply allowed themselves to melt into the gesture; the two sagging as though boneless under their own drained and exhausted weight until they were kneeling and draped over one another, both of them utterly wracked by bursts of laughter which left them shaking.
"I knew you'd do something amazing!" Regalia exclaimed eagerly as she lifted her goggles to reveal that either emotion or the intensity of her laughter had left tears in her purple eyes "That was unbelievable!"
"It was definitely something" Astra managed to breathe out, their voice ragged as they collapsed forward and nuzzled into their partner as much as their own antlers and the awkward angle would allow, a weary smile plastering itself across their face as they added "Please tell me you've got a line for this?"
"Heh….Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Astra, the eight wonder of the world!"
The two had collapsed into laughter before Astra could even begin to mime beating their chest like the giant Beringrel in the movie their partner was referencing; the two of them barely aware of the world around them until the medical staff made their presence known and began leading the two out the arena with a chorus of thundering cheers echoing after them.
Carmesi had made his descent, lips peeling back from sharp teeth and hellish crimson eyes flashing dangerously as he mentally braced himself for whatever he might find.
The approach had not been as stealthy as he would have liked, though his means of approach had been such that he had been forced to accept it. Indeed after Carmesi had carved through the base of the hidden elevator and used his Semblance to control his fall by driving blades and spikes of solidified blood-coloured light into the walls and rending their metallic surface apart with a shriek of tearing metal which echoed painfully around him, it was certain that if any living or otherwise sapient thing remained in the depths of the hidden base then they would be well aware of the Faunus's arrival.
It was for this reason that Carmesi's initial choice of actions was far more cautious than he would normally be willing to endure; dropping low to the ground and pressing himself against the wall of the elevator shaft whilst readying the largest of his two weapons, Retribution being held close to his body in its' shotgun form as he fought back the instinct to hurl Vindication out in its' rotating form.
In the dark it was uncertain if the blade would strike friend or foe.
Risking a few exploratory, shuffling steps out of the elevator shaft Carmesi felt a small rush of relief and followed with a few more lurking, skulking steps in order to ensure that he would not be ambushed and attacked in a position he would be hard-pressed to escape from. From there he remained silent and allowed his eyes to once again adjust to the gloom, seeing that it was not the total devastation splashed with blood and viscera he had been bracing himself for and yet still there were obvious signs that things had gone awry; the most obvious of which was the fact that the lighting had been destroyed and that various computer terminals had been upended or damaged, with the cylinder which had contained Gestalt-Prime's monstrous and bloated form having been pierced in several place, its' fluids having sloshed out onto the ground around it.
Most worrying of all was the fact that the frame which had, the last time Carmesi had seen it contained a mostly completed mechanical husk intended to receive Gestalt-Prime was damaged and entirely vacant.
"Carmesi!" the hissed word was enough for the burly Faunus to bring his weapon around and level it directly at the source of the sound, trigger-finger being stayed only by his mind seeming to process the information at the last instant. Lowering the weapon a fraction and skulking closer whilst remaining crouched Carmesi took in the sight of Albion Herringbone who had seemingly taken cover behind an upturned desk and whatever machinery had been piled upon it.
The scientist looked terrible.
Icy blue eyes were wide in unremitting terror, gold-rimmed glasses cracked and askew and his customary sharply cut suit and lab-coat were in disarray, further soiled by the fact that whilst he had apparently kept control of his mental faculties, control of his bladder had managed to escape him at some point during the chaos; something which Carmesi decided in a rare display of mercy and consideration could go without being mentioned unless the smell were used to track the two of them down in the darkness.
"What happened ?" he demanded, voice gruff but reduced to a low and ragged whisper as he returned to panning his weapon across his field of vision as he peered carefully over the overturned desk Albion had hidden behind.
"The procedure….It was working, but we miscalculated" he gulped and swallowed, tremors overtaking him "Gestalt-Prime's body began to shift and reconstitute more wildly than anticipated, the constraints were insufficient-"
"The defences?"
"I tried to activate them" Albion's voice cracked, a single choked sob escaping him as he realised how close to death he had come "They've been ripped apart and consumed….They power supply wasn't enough, the primary layer of shielding didn't hold-"
"There are additional security layers remaining" Carmesi reminded him "We can fall back, activate the shields and then self-destruct if we have to. We have a secondary site now, it won't be a total loss"
"You're….You're right" seeming incredulity at that reality was enough to bring Albion back to some semblance of calm and rational thought, which the rogue Hunter quickly took advantage of.
"Where is the Grimm?" Albion Herringbone's hands continued to shake as he peered fearfully around the edge of his makeshift and undoubtedly lacklustre protection in order to point out a mass of twisted metal and darkness which Carmesi had been unable to mentally parse upon first seeing it, foolishly writing it off as mangled scrap even knowing what the escaped monster which had once been a Geist was capable of.
"There" the moment the wavering word and had left the frightened scientists' lips the Komodo Dragon Faunus was in motion, acting every part the Hunter he had once been before he had been given his higher calling and leaping over the upturned desk to aim and fire his shotgun, the booming report deafening in the darkness and leaving Herringbone yelping in terror with his hands covering his ears.
The gunshot was blocked, the heap of metal changing shape to deflect it.
"Is this how allies treat one another Carmesi?" the voice brought the Faunus to a halt, grasp on his weapon faltering and his entire bearing unsteady and uncertain as he regarded it; it was undeniably Gestalt-Prime and yet the hybrid Alpha had evolved themselves and achieved yet another hitherto unimagined state of being. The voice still had some of its' previous unnatural echoing shriek as though as multitude were speaking with one voice comprised of grating and shearing metal yet now it was muted and hidden within the background of something low and oily, a voice which emoted and spoke a charismatic intelligence far too human for Carmesi to stomach.
A moment later the mass of metal shifted and Gestalt-Prime rose to their feet.
In truth Carmesi had expected something far larger and far more monstrous in keeping with the previous iterations of the Hybrid Alpha but instead the sight before him could almost be said to be subdued in everything except its' sheer brilliance.
They were still large, yet far less hulking and bestial as they stood at a little over seven feet tall with an upright posture and a form that was almost humanoid if still not close enough to be deceiving. Gestalt-Prime's entire body was once again a mass of rippling black muscle and flesh coated almost entirely by a layer of silver plates lined with sleek and streamlined spikes far removed from the ugly masses of jutting bone that grew from the average Creature of Grimm, it was as though the abomination wore a suit of advanced armour which had fused seamlessly to its' body and as they rose Gestalt-Prime allowed a baleful red light to shine from the points where individual plates overlapped to allow more of their new body to be seen and admired. They balanced on digitigrade limbs ending in feet boasting wide-splayed claws and a tail of interlocking segments which coiled itself around their waist, whatever weapon lay at its' tip being hidden from view; as Carmesi's gaze trailed upwards to note just how narrow the monsters' waist was in relation to their broad chest and remains of the skeletal armour being present in the design of their new chest pieces the Komodo Dragon Faunus thought for a moment that Gestalt-Prime now had only two upper limbs until the truth became more apparent.
The beast was adaptable.
What had blocked the initial gunshot was a monstrous axehead larger than a man's torso and Gestalt-Prime had two of them, each form the culmination of an impossibly oversized and powerful arm yet as the Alpha Cyber-Grimm reared up the arms stretched wide and were drawn back and as they did so they began to reconfigure themselves. Gestalt-Prime's actual arms were proportional to the rest of their body and largely humanoid save for their taloned fingers, they had simply been encased within enormous weapons which first transformed into a pair of blade-tipped wings as their musculature deflated and loose skin was stretched taut into membranes and then from there the limbs compressed further, with metallic structures serving in place of bone moving like pistons and wing-blades shifting individual segments until finally the limbs formed little more than a muscular hump on Gestalt-Prime's upper back and forward-curving metal blades protruding from their shoulder blades.
Studying the assembly a moment longer Carmesi quickly realised that there were other weapon. unaccounted for and that Gestalt-Prime had likely found similar ways to collapse and integrate them into their new form.
Their head was an understated and yet fearsome thing, lupine and Cyclopean as ever yet now entirely metallic and with a lower jaw which could seal itself shut to form an additional armour piece not unlike part of a knights' helmet, whilst the singular glowing orb of crimson which now regarded Carmesi in return was once hidden and protected by a visor which no doubt relayed Carmesi's vitals and other information to the monster.
"So" the rogue Hunter refused to allow himself to show fear, even as he came to terms with the simple reality that the thing before him was now entirely out of his ability to fight "The process was a success?"
Gestalt-Prime remained silent and for several second Carmesi and Albion were left privately considering each and every act of violence they had enacted against the being before them until finally the Alpha Cyber-Grimm spoke, the calm eloquence of their new voice continuing to unnerve the men far more than animal frenzy could ever hope to.
"Indeed….Though seemingly not without cost" they gestured to the damage their violent rebirth had caused, speaking with a note of faint amusement "Contact you Alpha human, we should assure Nero that our plans are still viable and on schedule"
Carmesi watched as Nero scrabbled into action, disgusted and horrified at the sight of the man taking orders from a Creature of Grimm.
Author's Notes:
And that's the first half of Vol.06 done.
100 Chapter milestone and I managed to land it on an actually important chapter this time, result.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
All systems were in fact not normal….You know things are gonna get fun in the basement when we're taking a break away from the tournament for it.
It's lonely being the brains of the operation….Gotta get a rubber duck. If you know, you know.
All the other Grimm bases that were used to make Cyber-Grimm sere either segmented or serpentine but you didn't think Gestalt-Prime would go for something so mundane surely….Also, jellyfish Grimm is a mass of potential.
Gestalt-Prime has left the tube, after roughly a year the super Grimm is mobile.
So the basic problem was that Gestalt-Prime couldn't break themselves apart and also properly control the process of remaking themselves, it's a 'Physician heal thyself' type thing.
Come on now Albion was never gonna do shit to the Alpha.
Yeah AJ very nearly breaking her neck and definitely splitting her head open with that fall last chapter brought the whole thing to a stop and there's no way either Astra or Honey were gonna get straight back into it….Honey is a darling and of course she asked if Astra was okay to carry on first.
Honestly I'll admit it was a struggle to put into words just how good of a fighter Honey is after hyping her up so much, but I feel like just how easily she handled someone as versatile as Astra without having any guns of her own says a lot.
Just launching into one of their classic kick combos like they did against people like Petrol was never gonna be enough here, but it's a fun chance to show off how much better Astra is getting at timing their Semblance….Y'know, we've never seen them use their Semblance with Dust involved.
I won't lie, in my head that whole moment where Honey jumped out of the building with Crescent Rose and Magnhild in hand to deliver a head-shot to giant Astra was absolutely cinematic.
Imagine getting your ass kicked like that and then being given tips.
Of course Qrow went straight to the Conglomerate headquarters to find out from Nero what this private security force he just heard about from Astra is.
The last time I had Scarlet give backup to another Hunter in a villains' base like this was in FADE and it was Rhodium Torchwick's club, where naturally he was making a show of shaking down everyone there….That's not gonna fly here.
Just acting like you belong can get you anywhere, a hi-vis jacket and proper safety gear, maybe a clipboard or a pallet truck and you can walk into pretty much any site you want.
The security guard is honestly just doing is job here, just a regular working man not a henchman.
Another good tip when questioned by the people on the shop floor of wherever you're illicitly entering; always make it sound like if there's any problem at all it was caused by someone working in an office….Preferably someone who isn't readily available to contest that claim.
Yeah don't put your hand on peoples' mobility aids.
The receptionist however is absolutely in on it all; of course she is….You think when Nero decided it was time to expand and bring more people in that the person acting as his public and professional face and go between half the time wasn't one of the first people he brought in?
Zirconia absolutely Naruto ran across the backs of chairs and you can enjoy that mental image.
RIP in peace Regalia's popcorn and soda.
Yeah, having your team-mate standing at the edge of the ring visibly using their Semblance would definitely be taken as cheating….Besides, no spoilers.
And there's the Yang puns.
Honey is a darling….But you can't hit her around the face with a shield and not expect to get hurt.
Stygian, because Regalia needed someone to talk to and I want there to be more scenes with him before the end of Vol.07/start of Vol.07.
"It's Astra, they can do anything" Aww.
She knows her partner well enough to know when they're planning some slightly crazy shit.
The first Carmesi scene was largely to break up the fight scene a little and also to build suspense and keep the ending scene from being too clunky.
A little look at exactly what he was up to, from which more inferences can be made about the overall condition of Nero's steadily improving army.
So the receptionist called Carmesi, he tried to call Herringbone, got no answer and decided it was time for an armed response; which all things considered was probably smart.
Not bringing the Cyber-Grimm into the base was also smart….But it was largely just so there wasn't another moving part in the scene which wouldn't add anything.
Go down that shaft….if y'know what I'm saying.
Yang's opinion means a hell of a lot to Astra.
Yeah Honey's weapon can use other Dust in addition to Hard-light and the big finish of the fight seemed like the best place to show it, ice-wall to block bullets seemed like a good start.
Since her weapons don't transform or have any firing mechanisms in them she can probably create copies from a photo of a photo or less reference material than Velvet needs.
Gravity hammer and fire sword, now she's getting serious and it's worth noting that she doesn't even like herself when she has to get like this.
"Dumb enough to put all that work into a weapon and have no ranged option!" I mean she's so sweet that Astra felt bad about trash-talking her but at the same time, it's not wrong.
And that is how you use your Semblance and effectively counter….As Cinder said, it's about taking away their strengths.
Ironically given that Astra was one of Yang's star students Honey's final punch looked exactly like one of Yang's big hits in my head.
They literally picked her up and just carried her out of the arena….The fucking audacity of it.
Even in defeat she is a darling, but she's right though….Coco and Velvet are gonna torment her for that loss, especially to one of their students.
The moment between Astra and Regalia at the end and the Kong line was just cute, a perfect tone to sharply veer away from.
Stealthy Carmesi is not, well he's capable but it doesn't come as naturally as just rampaging….Remember the Vol.01 finale where he turned an infiltration into a massacre?
With the Chamber itself I was going for a mix of the origin of Mewtwo and the restoring the power scene in Jurassic Park.
Of course Albion pissed his pants, sometimes fear is the appropriate response.
Carmesi being right was weird enough to Albion to snap him out of his panic.
The second that gunshot was blocked you should have known that we're gonna be in for it.
Okay so here's the deal, the new body is roughly Yatsuhashi height because having Gestalt-Prime be twelve foot tall and hulking made interactions, especially fight scenes more difficult; besides I was going for something….The new look, more humanoid look and the more articulate voice are intended to evoke transformations like Frieza's final form or Perfect Cell.
Also….Play Perfect Cell's theme while reading this scene.
So they've still got wings but they can retract or, even better be transformed into an exo-suit for the arms which gives Gestalt-Prime giant axes; then they've absolutely got at least one set of guns tucked away.
Following the orders of a Grimm….Are you worried yet?
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.