RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)
I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.
I am making no money from this.
Chapter 102: Spearhead
The sun was already nearing its' peak as the morning dragged onward, appearing high in a near cloudless sky and casting down rays that were warmth enough to see jackets unfastened or make being stuck indoors stuffy and uncomfortable for those unfortunate to suffer such a fate whilst falling short of a scorching heat and being accompanied by a faint breeze which kept the air from being truly stifling within the outer territories of New Vale.
In a particular stretch of the outer territories that faint breeze was the most prominent sound to be heard as it whistled through the rusted and skeletal remains of old machinery which had been abandoned within a man-made gouge carved into the rolling hills and surrounding scenery, far too vast to simply be described as a hole; an old and disused quarry which nature had been allowed to reclaim to such an extent that grass was already beginning to creep across patches of the rubble-strewn base to join the more hardy weeds and moss which already developed a foothold, providing a source from which the sound of crickets and other ubiquitous sounds often simply ignored could emerge.
The peace was shattered in short order as a single aircraft soared through the air and swooped into a low, arcing dive which allowed it to perform an about turn whilst at the same time deploying four Hunters.
Team MARZ were in the field.
"Careful AJ, don't overdo it….please" Zirconia noted cautiously, offering a smile which went unseen beneath the shawl which covered the lower half of her face as she leapt from the open hatch of the academy-provided transport and performed a single flourish somersault which served as an opportunity to draw Sunriser Cain before she landed on a glyph of her partners' creation whilst Athena-Jade herself chose far more dramatic means to make her way to the ground.
"I'm fine Hops, trust me!….This is just stretching my legs and getting warmed up" the Bear Faunus replied happily, a wordless cheer following her words as she back-flipped off another glyph, summoning the spectral limbs of her new technique at the small of her back and conjuring dozens of glyphs at random points in the sky which she swung, flipped and leapt from witch reckless abandon before conjuring up a pair of incandescently glowing wings and drawing her weapon in its' hammer form as she made her final approach to give herself the appearance of some fierce and avenging angel save for the gleeful expression on her face and the lingering bruises that marred her alabaster skin; though Zirconia was pleased to note that the latter had shown dramatic improvement beyond what should be humanly possible in just the last day due to Athena's Aura.
Regalia and Astra were with them as well of course and the pair own entrances to their makeshift landing zone with equal aplomb and dramatic flair. The Racoon Faunus both wearing her heavily tinted goggles and deploying the armoured facemask contained within the accessories in order to reduce the effects of the wind on her face as she kept her arms flush against her sides and pointed herself face first towards the ground, accelerating until she was a blur of motion streaking towards an inevitable impact only to pull herself out of the dive at the last moment by aiming Apex Scavenger behind herself and firing into the surface of one of Athena's glyphs, the harpoon and its' connecting cable allowing the Racoon Faunus to swing herself towards the edge of abandoned quarry and slide down its' steeply sloped surface in a cloud of dust and rubble chuckling to herself and taking the opportunity to study some of the forgotten machinery as she emerged.
The leader of Team MARZ was possibly more direct, yet no less impressive in the way they chose to reach the ground; foregoing the now almost forgotten glider mode of Buckshot Ares in favour of simply focusing their Semblance as they positioned themselves in mid-air so that as they unleashed their glowing and fiery red construct into existence and performed a crushing, stomping kick the foot of their Semblance-self impacting against the ground and allowed them to be transported neatly and almost instantly to the floor as they released their Semblance; though the force of their impact reverberated through their ears and bones all the same.
"My control with that is definitely getting better" the Deer Faunus noted idly to themselves with a pleased and pleasant smile before letting out a shrill whistle and gesturing for their team-mates to regroup around them.
"Heh, I should have done the Tarzan thing on the way down" Regalia noted with a vague shrug as she sidled into place.
"Don't let Astra think about you in a loincloth" Athena noted acidly as she trudged into place, relishing the way her friends choked and sputtered on thin air at her words and flashing them a wicked smile; on the one hand she could see that the two were clearly attracted to one another and wholeheartedly approved of the idea especially given the brief conversations she had managed to have with each of them regarding the subject and on the other hand, the Bear Faunus had by no means forgiven the way the two of them had interrupted her and Zirconia at the most critical of moments the night before and felt that a little teasing should be the least the could expect.
"Okay, we made it here….What's the plan?" Zirconia asked, reaching the ground with a final graceful leap from Athena's glyph and lowering her shawl for the moment to reveal a relaxed expression. Privately she had been concerned in ways that were hard to articulate at the sudden news of a training mission and had, at the earliest possible moment found an opportunity to message Damascus Nero and both inform her father figure of the situation and seek his opinion and advice; the Chairman had answered that there were no assets or operations under his control, officially and legally or otherwise in the area and so the training mission was likely exactly as it seemed to be, the most untoward idea to occur to Damascus being that this was Qrow's idea of payback and that he was trying to remind Team MARZ how exciting life as a Hunter could be after Astra had apparently disclosed plans that were not quite ready to be public knowledge.
The answer had allowed the Grasshopper Faunus to relax, as much as was possible when facing an unknown foe.
"First things' first, we call Professor Branwen and let him know we made it….Pretty sure he's got someone covering some of his classes today so we can get the intel from him directly" with that Astra produced his scroll and gestured for Team MARZ to gather round, quickly snapping a photo of the team without warning before starting a video call to the Professor of Unconventional Tactics.
"Team MARZ, it looks like you made it without incident. No Grimm on the way in?" the gruff voice of the grizzled and chair-bound man greeted them in short order, though no image accompanied it as Qrow chose an audio only call.
"No sir" Astra answered quickly, suddenly eager to appear if not truly professional then at least capable "So for the people who don't know, do you want to explain where here is-"
"We're just gonna ignore the fact that 'People who don't know' clearly includes you as well?" Athena sniped with a pointed look that went equally pointedly ignored, though still drew a faint chuckle from Qrow.
"You're at the old Saxum-Stone quarry" he answered simply before expanding and explaining "It was actually the heart of a lot of smaller settlements that could have united into something big once, maybe even been Vale's second city but eventually the returns on the place weren't enough to justify the defence costs and work started drying up. Now there's a lot of small villages where a lot of people commute closer to the coastline, you're actually not too far from it….What's important though is that the quarry is a good landing zone that gives you access to the roads between those settlements and everything around and between them"
"We're hunting Grimm" Regalia observed "Is there something preying on people using the roads between settlements?"
"Clever girl, but not quite" Qrow murmured, Regalia puffing up with pride at them praise from such a respected Hunter who had, in his younger years embodied everything which the former nomad had first been enthralled by in Hunters.
"Most of the settlements with any amount of people still living in them are behind you" Qrow continued "But I've been looking at Grimm movement patterns in the area whilst trying to get a lead on those things your classmates encountered on their last mission….It looks like there is something steadily making its' way closer to civilisation and I want you to try and head it off and put it down; right now it looks like a lone Grimm but it's a big one, the kind that usually draws others to it and serves as a focal point without being a proper Alpha. Current data suggests that if this thing gets near enough to the settlements that could be the tipping point and that it will steam-roll through defences with hordes of other Grimm in tow"
"Holy shit" Astra breathed out, images of ruined Midpoint on Menagerie flashing before their eyes for a moment before they realised what they had just said to a professor, their apology being pre-empted by an amused noise from Professor Branwen.
"Holy shit indeed. That being said you've been deployed with more than enough time to head it off and I'm sending the pertinent information right now, maps of the area with Grimm movements and likely targets all identified….This sounds like a tall order for you without professional oversight but I think you can do it. Right now this Creature of Grimm is dangerous but not unstoppable and it's on it's own, you have the skills and ability to do this and it will save lives that might otherwise be at risk while so many Hunters are needed elsewhere.
"You can count on us Professor" Astra assured Qrow with total earnestness whilst behind them Zirconia nodded silently whilst conveying a sense of intensity with her eyes alone.
"Consider it handled" Athena added, powerful shoulders setting and all traces of her previous teasing and playful energy forgotten.
"Heh, hasta la vista baby" Regalia added, raising her goggles and collapsing the attached mask to show a confident smile; the effect diminished somewhat by Astra faltering slightly beside her and adding.
"So professor uh….Exactly what kind of Grimm are we looking for specifically"
"Oh don't worry kids" the Professor's tone darkened as he gave a laugh that could only be considered ominous "You'll definitely know this one when you see it"
Aefen Cruor had been a busy woman in recent days and the excitement steadily building within her, despite her efforts to maintain coolly aloof and detached from such base fascinations in the eyes of her followers promised to reach a fever pitch equal to that of any of her devotees at their most fanatical.
From her current position, perched atop one of the many gangways and platforms surrounding' the Furnace', the industrialised and contained Spawning Pit she had helped to create she certainly served as a suitable figurehead for the Path of the Apex Being and their various demented beliefs; clad in her usual combination of flowing black clothing littered with small avian skulls, beads and other trinkets as ornamentation contrasting sharply against a complexion which had remained pallid even in the face of Menagerie's blistering sun, staff topped with a hollowed and horned skull which included a speaker system and her signature mask of silver and ivory with its' multiple sets of red-tinted eye lenses which was lined with tusks, horns and various pairs of wings behind which her long scarlet braids trailed in the breeze.
The reasons for the High Speaker of the Paths' business of late had been twofold, though the two reasons were connected intrinsically. Firstly Chairman Damascus Nero, her ally and benefactor had come to the village her people had taken for themselves in order to oversee her operation and judge its' progress for himself.
Beneath her red-tinged lenses Aefen's eyes swept over her domain and quickly picked out the hidden form of the airship Nero had arrived in, the craft was larger than a standard transport by far and yet was small than a capital airship by an equally wide margin, it was in Aefen's something akin to the personal vessels belonging to certain Atlesian upper crust or military officers though it lacked the gaudy banners displaying heraldry. The ship was larger than several of the buildings around it yet still appeared sleek and delightfully predatory with multiple sets of propulsion systems mounted towards its' rear, a sloped and streamlined prow which put Aefen in mind of some oceanic monster and enough space in between to carry several dozen passengers. It was unarmed however and care was being taken to keep the airship hidden beneath crudely constructed tarps and mounds of rubble to serve as a disguise; Nero had explained that he had given the official excuse of departing to Vaccuo where the disappearance of a wealthy man could be easily explained and as such it would not do for his personal airship to be spotted elsewhere, the staff of Hammerfall Observation Outpost could be relied upon but the chance of being caught by random chance could not be ignored.
The second reason, connected to the first was that the Furnace, with Nero's arrival had been brought into full production and the first Cyber-Grimm to be spawned on Menagerie were already beginning to show promise.
Aefen's heart had felt as though it might burst upon seeing the creations she had helped devise from afar in the flesh for the first time in all of their glory.
Dozens of the new lifeforms had been spawned already, standard models and variations whose mere existence proved that Aefen's ultimate goal was almost in reach and that she had never been the lunatic that the Kingdoms' had so readily dismissed her as. The Path of the Apex Being had already begun training alongside the machine Grimm and whilst Nero had looked uncomfortable and utterly out of place as he had strode between the rows of cultists upon inspecting the troops the efficacy of the his new fighting force remained beyond question, even if it was not yet time to properly test and unleash them; these current batches of Cyber-Grimm and their handlers were to be kept strictly and securely hidden until after the great reveal planned for Neo Vale.
A slight which Aefen happily distracted herself from as she turned her attention away from Nero's airship and those amongst her followers currently attending to it and instead continued deeper into the workings of the Furnace, moving from one gantry to the next and steadily descending towards a fixed destination.
A point within the swirling and viscous black sludge which had begun to bubble, located conveniently directly above a control panel.
It was a sight that would have terrified a normal person, yet Aefen whistled and hummed as she descended; allowing her mind to wander in almost fanciful directions with utmost confidence.
"Some proper vegetables tonight I think….Real food to celebrate a good days' work, keep the rank and file in line with a change from damned rations; then Nero and I can talk about my idea for a bike" beneath her fearsome mask Aefen wore a smile which might have appeared childlike were it not for her chapped and cracked lips and the perpetual rings that now lurked around her eyes.
Before her unofficial exile from polite society Aefen, when she had still used the name she was born with had been thoroughly enamoured with vehicles of all kinds, not only from a mechanical standpoint but from a more simple love of the thrill which came with incredible speed and power being at ones' fingertips and something of that old enjoyment had managed to bore its' way into her latest round of rough designs. After hearing tales of the various vehicles used by the clans which called the wasteland their home and seeing both the Cyber-Grimm and Nero's airship Aefen had toyed with the idea of using an insectoid Cyber-Grimm variant as the basis for a personal mount.
Perhaps one which resembled a grasshopper or mantis, she intended to call it her 'Chopper'
Such thoughts were pushed firmly aside as she reached her destination and imposed a sense of total control and silent power over herself once more, that image being tested in the next instant as the rippling, bubbling darkness of the Furnace began to rise and take shape and loom over her.
"Scientist" the voice which spoke was unmistakably that of Gestalt-Prime for there was nobody or nothing else it could belong to and yet both the voice and the protean, roiling avatar which had arisen were both clearly different to that which Aefen had last encountered.
"Your….Procedure was a success I see?" the High Speaker offered, unsure of the tone she should take with such an opening gambit; the notion of appearing nonchalant as though she were merely asking an acquaintance about a dental appointment seeing frankly absurd to her.
"Indeed, I live again" Gestalt-Prime answered, a smugness filing their words which pushed Aefen to take an almost conspiratorial tone.
"Lo and behold, the apex being walks amongst us" she gave a grandiose and flourishing gesture to accompany words far more theatrical for her regular speech, the kind of posturing solely reserved for keeping the deluded masses which had followed her this far from questioning her plans or the mystique she had gathered for herself. She was surprised to hear a low, bestial sound from the hybrid Alpha's avatar which she realised was their chuckling, further startled by how human it sounded to her ears once she recognised it for what it was though the moment quickly passed as Gestalt-Prime spoke again
"The human Alpha, Nero….He is with you?" Aefen nodded but gestured to suggest that they were present but elsewhere which was apparently understood "Then know this, our communications with one another must be kept secret, though Nero will likely soon understand that I am capable of speaking like this; that if I can control your Furnace then I am linked to it at all times. If he asks you should not lie to him, do not raise suspicions-"
"Of course, I can put on quite a convincing performance" Aefen gave another gesture, twirling her staff as she did so yet this time Gestalt-Prime did not share in her joviality.
"I sense the work that is being done….Your tools, your arsenal….My packs" the shifting form of the sentient monster paused and shook itself "They will not be enough"
"For the struggles ahead-"
"They will tear meat from bones and sunder cities" the avatar waved dismissively with a limb which Aefen realised was a wing "But for the true goals….Our true goals, Nero does not reach far enough for true evolution and advancement of our species"
"What do you need?" Aefen breathed the words out, heart hammering against her ribs and air becoming suddenly scare as she prepared to take a step further along the path she had followed in earnest since first seeing the inherent beauty and functionality of the Creatures of Grimm.
"I need the locations of Spawning Pits" Gestalt-Prime rumbled "Ones which Nero does not have access to"
A few hours had passed without any real incident and the sun had finally reached its' zenith and the first steady beginnings of its' inevitable descent.
Team MARZ had collectively made their way beyond the quarry which had served as their staging area for the current mission and were confident that they were at least headed in the direction, though they were yet to encounter any Creatures of Grimm. This confidence came from a combination of the gathered intelligence which Professor Branwen had provided them with and sporadic uses of Regalia's Semblance; with the Racoon Faunus overcoming the lack of suitable vantage points by using Look-see in tandem with Athena-Jade's glyphs serving as platforms and even more memorably by simply perching on the shoulder of Astra's glowing Semblance form for a while before reporting back, her Semblance giving only a general direction and loosely defined sense of distance which was further pinpointed by the maps and knowledge of both the encroaching monsters' route so far and likely targets in the vicinity.
Confidence was less easy for Zirconia Shadowmoon to attain however and whilst a level of caution was to be expected from her position as Team MARZ's rearguard, weapon in hand and prepared to unleash her Semblance as a diversion at a moments' notice should an attack befall them from an unexpected quarter her current sense of disquiet came from another source entirely.
Glancing after her team and undoubtedly her partner in particular, watching how much of them enjoyed the camaraderie and thrill of the hunt along with everything else that came with being a Hunter the Grasshopper Faunus found herself wondering if she had done the right thing by bringing them into Nero's conspiracy in all but name without telling them the full extent of what it was the Chairman had planned only for these worries to be swallowed by an icy dread at what might follow if they were shown what she had chosen to keep from them and failed to understand the genius and necessity of it.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts once again Zirconia resolved to ensure that things went to plan and that Team MARZ ushered in the Bright New Day Nero had planned together.
But in the meantime her job was to ensure that her friends were protected and as she silenced her loud and wandering thoughts she winced to herself, noting that she had been abjectly failing at the task.
At present the four of them were trudging along what had once been a reasonably sized riverbed which had provided nearby settlements around the quarries with fresh water and a limited supply of fish as it flowed out to the coast, though the river itself had long since been dredged, redirected and damned in places which were thankfully for enough away to be clear of the potential wrath of the monster they sought.
Zirconia's mismatched eyes swept around the teams' surroundings, from the riverbeds' path behind them to the rolling hills to the left which seemed to be the direction from which the Grimm would approach and on the other bank of the dried river an abandoned and disused foundry which had likely once poured its' waste into the running water with an old, wooden bridge some distance ahead of them which Zirconia felt would make a suitable milestone, the idea of voicing that thought allowing her to take note of her team-mates' who were, predictably, in the midst of some good natured banter and teasing.
"All I'm saying is if I'd been allowed to bring my truck for this we'd have done the job by now" Astra sighed
"If you'd brought your truck a stray stone from this riverbed would have scratched the paint and you'd be complaining about it for the rest of the day" Athena countered, with the Deer Faunus responding to this slight upon their character with a serious of wild and flapping gestures which turned swiftly into them trying to invoke Regalia and draw her into the argument, only for their partner to give a sheepish shrug.
"Heh, she's kinda got a point"
"Oh and you wouldn't do the same if it was Clunker?" Astra demanded, putting on a show of being galled by the sheer affront of it all. Deciding that whilst the moment was amusing enough it was still a distraction Zirconia chose to finally speak up, the sound of her clearing her throat faintly being enough to bring her friends to a halt.
"I think we should get passed that bridge and then get our bearings again"
"Good idea Hops" Athena-Jade beamed happily, almost bouncing on the spot with sudden energy and enthusiasm before turning to Regalia and Astra, the remaining pair of Team MARZ sharing a brief and silent look before the Racoon Faunus lowered her goggles and gave the shorter, paler girl a thumbs up.
"I'm ready when you are, the bridge probably isn't high enough though so I'll need a boost" Athena reacted without hesitation, creating a series of glyphs which Regalia used to scale with all of the speed and skill at climbing and working at angles that a life amongst Clan Aiktishaf had taught her before finally crouching and perching herself in a position that she privately noted would be more at home if she were atop a gargoyle-laden rooftop in some bleak and rain-slicked city. From the ground her friends watched as the glow of Look-see being used began to shine faintly through the lenses of her goggles for several seconds before the former nomad returned fully to her senses and began to return to the ground with a sense or far greater urgency, moving so rapidly that she skipped several glyphs at a time in some places and allowed herself to simply plummet until Astra, who seemed to have developed something of a fear of watching their team-mates fall finally reached out and offered a hand to their partner so that they could help her make her way to the ground more hastily.
"What's wrong?" Astra's voice lost its' playful edge as their expression hardened.
"Heh, slight problem" Regalia's efforts to seem nonchalant lost their sheen with her next words "The Grimm's changed course a little bit; it's headed this way and fast….I think it's coming to us"
"How did….Oh damn it" Astra hissed through clenched teeth as the sheer depth of their own hubris became apparent "We've been throwing up glyphs and I've been using my Semblance every twenty minutes or so. The thing knows exactly where we are, it can probably see us or smell us already-"
"Astra" Athena-Jade began, using the sickly-sweet tone of a younger sibling about to engage in teasing "You know how Grimm are supposed to get smarter when they get bigger-"
"Fuck off AJ" the Deer Faunus sighed, their weapons already unfurling.
"And your Semblance means you get a lot bigger in a short space of time….Have you been beaten by a Grimm-"
"Fuck off AJ" Astra repeated tonelessly, refusing to meet her eyes even as a faint smirk tugged at their lips.
"You suck, you suck so bad" the Bear Faunus laughed, drawing Mould-Breaker in its' hammer form and preparing herself; Zirconia taking the moment to fall into position beside her partner and girlfriend as Team MARZ collectively braced themselves for the oncoming attack.
"It's getting closer, I can feel it" she murmured, the tremors she had detected through her cybernetic limbs soon becoming pronounced enough to end any remaining chatter between the four student Hunters and leave them sharing final looks of reassurance before the beast finally came thundering into view from around one of the rolling hills in an explosion of force which tore away a part of the hillside and a trumpeting bellow which left the ears and very bones of those who stood against it ringing.
"I knew it was gonna be big but….fuck" Astra mouthed.
"Professor Branwen was right, he said we'd know it when we saw it" Athena-Jade added, faintly snout-like nose wrinkling as she added "I thought it was supposed to be alone?"
"It is….It think those are all parts of it" Zirconia noted uncertainly.
"Well that's just unfair" Regalia huffed, deploying the facemask from her goggles as she spoke.
Stood before them, braying and tearing at the ground in constrained fury was a Woolly Rhino Grimm; a kind of beast known to Hunters who had encountered it before as a 'Spearhead'.
The Spearheads' quadrupedal mass was bulky and sturdy, at its' shoulders standing at easily four times the height of a man and almost comparably wide at the broadest point of its' sloped and tapering form. The Grimm's forelimbs resembled tree trunks with their sheer mass and whilst the rear limbs were slightly less massive all four of the Spearheads' legs immensely powerful and ended in hooves that dug into the ground like shovels.
Coating the hide of the Spearhead was a massy of dense and shaggy black fur with a consistency like steel wire and over this, replacing much of the usual skeletal appearance of Creatures of Grimm were thick, broad and angled plates of solid bone which appeared more as naturally occurring armour, pitted and scarred from previous battles and with spikes of bone growing unevenly from each of their surfaces.
One of the two most prominent aspects of the Spearhead was inarguably its' skull, a mass of armoured and reinforced bone with a pair of stubby, twitching ears protruding from its' sides and several glowing eyes set with it; broad and rounded with a mouth lined with both flat, grinding teeth and incongruously placed tusks whilst its' most defining aspect was the horns for which the thing was likely named; the first being a massive growth of bone sharpened into a flattened blade with a curved edge larger than a man whilst behind it a shorter and almost cylindrical spike was set.
The second prominent aspect was the cloud of what appeared to be smaller Grimm which were in fact part of the Spearhead itself orbiting around it; each of them ranging from a fingernail to a fist-sized drone resembling a disturbing fusion of a simple fly and a ball of bony spikes, the things swirling and whipping around their host at varying speeds which gave an appearance which was at once moment reminiscent of parasites buzzing around a genuine animal and the next a roiling storm replete with shifting pressure and bouts of lightning crackling between the various drones to reveal that the Spearhead boasted a ranged attack in its' arsenal.
"It's unfair, it's big and it's ugly" Astra noted, rolling their shoulders back confidently "But it's what we're here for….So let's do this"
With that Team MARZ rushed into action.
Chairman Damascus Nero had found that Menagerie simply did not agree with him at all.
He had of course been aware of what to expect in general terms, even if he had not been the architect of his current plans and had never planned to visit the island Kingdom at all the simple the fact that Zirconia was a student of Breaktide Academy in Menagerie's Capital City would have seen him learn about the place out common sense and duty to his foster daughter; Nero's folly however came from believing that knowledge and preparation were the same thing.
The climate was intolerable, a stifling and airless heat which prickled at the senses and left the unaccustomed dizzy within moments during the daylight hours and at night a biting cold which dropped below freezing regularly even in summer with the howling winds which ripped through the wastes. Sand, dust and other gritty detritus were also something which forewarnings had done little to truly brace the Chairman for and even covered by a black silk glove he found himself forced to use every trick Zirconia had offered with her experience to clean out the workings of his cybernetic arm almost every time he ventured out of the relative comfort of his grounded airship and into the cultists' encampment where glances ranging from reverent to distrustful followed him and the air was filled with the sound of chanting and prayers which would be laughably obscene if they were not so frightful at regular intervals.
Surprisingly however the people Aefen Cruor had gathered to her were the most easily appreciated part of the humble outpost which Nero was preparing.
Granted they were true believers in a cause which the High Speaker herself only paid lip service to and that fanaticism could make them difficult to reason with or relate to in a variety of circumstance, to say nothing of the simple natural scorn which most people felt when faced with those considered the Creatures of Grim to be perfect and divine beings; though the Chairman noted that with Gestalt-Prime by his side keeping the cultists loyal and focused would be less of a challenge than keeping Carmesi from murdering some of their number of an ill-judged comment when they were finally reunited. On a personal and individual level Nero had found many of the cult to be respectful and polite despite the myriad looks which followed him as well as being remarkably hard workers and committed sincerely to their training, along with anything else that was asked of them in the name of self betterment for the sake of the cause.
They were in all honesty far removed from the roving band of deranged cannibals and monsters that they were often portrayed as by society at large for both their beliefs and the fearsome appearances they sported when in full dress; instead they were the kind of people Nero sought out and found gravitating towards him in all places, the lost and the desperate who had lost too much to be able to function within a system which had failed them. On some academic level Nero reasoned that he should likely feel some remorse for gathering various groups of the lost and desperate together with the promise of a better future but he simply could not bring himself to do so.
It was after all not exploitation if he planned to deliver.
All things considered however, even with the oddly refreshing company of the Aefen's followers and the chance to interact with the scientist turned cult-leader herself in person for the first time the Chairman still found it preferable to sequester himself away, as he as at that moment within his airship. The vessels' bridge, too large to be called a cockpit was operated almost entirely by an onboard AI and several robots of his companies' design and this privacy allowed the space to serve as a suitably imposing substitute for the Chamber without having the connotations of being a lair, which Nero could still not bring himself to be comfortable with.
It was also, blissfully air conditioned.
"Things are progressing as expected" Albion's voice cut into Nero's musings on matters which had somehow become mundane to him and with only a slight readjustment, disguised easily within the mannerisms of a known wealthy eccentric which would have fooled most other watchers the Chairman quickly refocused himself; cursing the lack of proper rest which was beginning to take its' toll on him. The foremost portion of his, as yet regrettably unnamed ships' bridge was taken up by a viewscreen which could be used to display the scene outside in full, near panoramic glory or else display tactical simulations, video transmissions such as that which was currently underway or stream movies.
Not that Nero had tried that latter option.
"My absence has not yet been noted….Beyond Branwen's meddling?" he asked, scowling in a way which tugged at the scarred skin of his jawline and drumming mechanical fingers against a console at the mention of the veteran Hunter who had intruded on the conglomerates' headquarters a few days ago. On the screen Albion and Carmesi shared glances, with the reptilian Faunus who had clearly only recently returned from the field after another training or field testing giving a low, rumbling snarl at the mention of the Hunter.
"Nothing has been mentioned publicly" Albion answered finally "Though if Branwen suspects all-"
"Then you were right to flee" Carmesi interjected "But we're reaching the point where secrecy may no longer viable….The timetable-"
"The timetable will be followed Carmesi. The timing and execution must be perfect, not all of the pieces are in position yet….Soon" Nero's voice was more firm than soothing and the chairman ran a hand through dark, lank hair out of simply annoyance with a further comment, that Carmesi was supposed to be better trained and was behaving with the unthinking ferocity of the Grimm going unsaid only because the Chairman's quartz coloured eyes fixed on a point behind his young confidant to where Gestalt-Prime, in their new form stalked through the Chamber and took care to examine Cyber-Grimm of a larger variety. Albion's icy blue eyes darted from the screen to the space behind himself several times before he adjusted his glasses and gave a satisfied smile.
"The Bug-Bears have been tested, I trust you saw the compiled footage?….Excellent in their own right and in tandem with the standard model and human elements-"
"Excellent news" Nero nodded, keeping from admitting that he had been too exhausted to watch footage that he now resolved to see the moment he was able by turning to Carmesi "What of our current….Damn it all I hate talking like this, troops?"
"The rabble continue to learn how to be more proficient with weapons more complex that a prison shank and how to make plans more complex than jumping someone in ally" the Komodo Dragon Faunus's words dripped with malice and sarcasm in equal measure "They will make an acceptable first wave to pave the way for the Bright New Tomorrow….Until they can be replaced by people who deserve to see what it is you're building for them"
A chilling silence hung in the air after that and Nero pondering just how different Carmesi might be if someone such as Aefen had found him at his most vulnerable.
"Be that as it may" he pressed on, forcing himself to concentrate on the plan and the immediate steps within it "Continue preparations and remain vigilant if it seems like Branwen and his allies are suspicious, things are almost in place and we cannot afford mistakes or risks….Also, Albion take care to monitor CCT chatter over the next day or two; Carmesi might well have the additional recruits he's so eager for"
"You're planning something?" Albion breathed out, mentally preparing himself.
"The media companies under our umbrella have already been laying groundwork for our big reveal" Nero found himself mentally shifting into a cadence more in line with the 'Benefactor' persona he had not needed to use recently "I feel that the opinion of such an upstanding and respected member of New Vale's society would be worth hearing, especially if it helps to stir the pot….And Branwen handed me all the justification I needed"
"You're making a media appearance, from Menagerie….When you're supposed to be in Vaccuo?" Carmesi rumbled.
"Gracious no, don't be foolish" Nero laughed "A written interview, distributed to several outlets….As valuable as a media presence is I loathe public speaking"
Albion and Carmesi could only share another look as they both noted the truth of that admission and wondered exactly what Nero would have printed to cause a potential influx of new prospective recruits and dissent within the Kingdoms.
The Spearhead was proving itself an incredibly difficult beast to put down or overcome for Team MARZ owing to it's mixture of offensive and defensive capabilities, along with its' simple bloody-minded resilience.
A fact which was underlined neatly as it took Astra down.
The Deer Faunus had engaged their Semblance and had been in the midst of charging full-tilt towards the thundering juggernaut of a Grimm as their glowing and fiery construct took shape around them, lengthening their stride with each passing second until Astra was almost close enough to deliver an earth shattering kick which would have lifted the horned monstrosity into the air despite its' mass, only for the Spearhead to counter the incoming attack with its' ranged attack which saw the miasma of drones that had initially been assumed to be smaller Grimm before they were recognised as components of a larger whole beginning to swirl and rotate, interactions between chitinous armoured panels seeing sparks and crackling bolts of lightning flicker within the bowels of the shifting darkness before bolt of lightning was fired with a booming thunderclap as a report; the blast striking the point in the chest cavity of Astra's Semblance form where the Faunus themselves located, leaving the Semblance rippling and fluctuating erratically before failing as it fell backward to send Astra crashing to the ground with a thud.
"Did you really just try and kick a Grimm that big like a soccer ball?" Regalia demanded incredulously, her usual enjoyment of her partners' antics and theatrical displays being evidently hampered by the undue risk if the worry and annoyance in her tone were any indication as the Racoon Faunus came surging over to where Astra had landed with Apex Scavenger in its' shotgun form, unleashing a constant stream of high-explosive shots, each of which was intercepted and absorbed by one of the Spearheads' living drones; with the end result being that the Grimm itself was enveloped in a blazing inferno that surrounded and mingled with the roiling mass of darkness under its' control.
"Would you believe that I was trying to get a feel for its' speed and reflexes and seeing what tricks it's got before I start making plan?" Astra asked with a chuckle made weak by their need to pull themselves into a sitting position and then back to their feet.
"Heh, what-" Regalia's retort went unfinished as the Spearhead chose that moment to press its' small advantage by advancing; barrelling its' way down from the hillside it had torn a chunk from with its' passing and into the dried out riverbed itself, leaving Team MARZ with the rampaging monster ahead of them and the bridge they had hoped to protect to the rear.
However the students were not defeated yet and Athena-Jade and Zirconia were ready to prove that fact.
"WE'VE GOT THIS!" the Bear Faunus bellowed as she first flung up a veritable wall of glyphs to arrest the momentum of the Grimm before using other glyphs, laid horizontally as stepping stones and platforms as she employed a familiar technique; using the booster fitting into the head of her hammer in conjunction with dozens of leaps and flips in order to take up a vantage point whilst seeking to distract the Spearhead at the same time.
'Ice, Hard-Light!' Zirconia did not verbally announcer her own presence and instead left the declarations of intent to the synthetic voice of her weapon as she leapt into position between where Astra and Regalia were stood and the steadily diminishing wall of glyphs which the Spearhead was steadily grinding its' way through with each thrashing motion of its' horned skull. With Sunrise Cain in its' close combat form she gave a single sweeping motion and unleashed the Dust combination which saw an additional layer of protection being created in the form of a hard-light wall whose interlocked hexagonal panels formed a starting point for a layer of jagged icicle spears to erupt from. With a makeshift barricade in place Zirconia leapt up so that she could perch upon it and shifted her weapon into its' long-barrelled and oversized pistol form, bracing herself securely on the frozen surface with the equipment hidden within her cybernetic limbs she quickly took aim and began selecting a Dust combination that might help her partners' coming attack.
The Spearhead's attention had been turned toward the space directly ahead of it for the moment by the wall of jagged ice erupting into existence and its' response was to bray and bellow furiously, shovel-hooves ripping into dried and cracked ground as it lowered its' skull and renewed its' assault on the glyphs which served as a first layer of defence with fresh vigour; the things' enormous horns shattering several glowing surfaces in an instant.
The diversion was enough time for Athena-Jade to shift Mould-Breaker into its' laser cannon form and fire; the familiar warping bass note accompanying a lance of ethereal lance of light which succeeded where Regalia's gunshots had failed, obliterating swarming drones which sought to intercept and carving a trench into the monsters' armour whose edges glowed with molten heat.
The Spearhead responded in kind however and Zirconia's heart stopped for a moment as another burst of lightning was unleashed from within its' cloud of swarming darkness, this time striking the bottom of the glyph Athena-Jade was perched upon. The Bear Faunus was spared from being electrocuted and suffering another painful fall so soon after her last one only by the fact that she had flipped backwards off of her floating platform and making a hasty retreat towards Zirconia's position. The Grasshopper Faunus noted that her girlfriends' new technique would likely be the most efficient way to do so but it required an amount of set up that the Spearhead was not allowing her, instead its' drones had broken from their orbiting and were now being hurled towards her retreating form like spiked and weighty projectiles, smashing through chunks of Zirconia's icy wall and cracking the glyphs Athena-Jade was forced to leap and vault between until finally she drew close enough to reach out to her partner.
Only for the Spearhead to launch its' real attack.
"MOVE!" Athena yelled taking Zirconia's hand and dragging her clear of the ice wall so that the two of them could employ hasty landing strategies and create as much distance as possible, retreating back towards Astra and Regalia as the Spearhead finally broke through the last of the remaining glyphs and charged the wall itself; slamming its' monstrous horns through the structure and sending gaping fissures along its' surface, following up when the wall did not shatter entirely by swinging its' head in wide arc which tore through the defences in a matter of moments. As the Spearheads' main body demolished the obstruction the drones which swarmed about it like flies were deployed once again, flitting through the collapsing ice wall and giving chase to strike at Athena's hastily created glyphs in a steady barrage of blows which the Bear Faunus was forced to weather several direct hits from as she tried to protect herself and her partner at the same time.
Then the gunfire started.
Astra had readied Buckshot Ares and taken only a moment to find a position from which they could shoot without striking their friends; a moment later the Grimm drones were cut down by the dozen as the compact Mini-guns slung beneath the Deer Faunus's forearms were unleashed without mercy, those which escaped being swiftly summoned back to the main body of the Spearhead which had let out a brassy and almost bovine noise in response to the assault; the downside of which was that its' attention was now focused entirely on the student Hunters once again.
"We need a plan" Zirconia stated without preamble as Team MARZ regrouped.
"It's tough….Even its' flies hurt" Athena grimaced, rolling a shoulder which had been struck and adjusting her grip on its' weapon.
"Yeah but it doesn't regenerate and those drones are part of it….That means that we take them out and it hurts the main body, which doesn't heal it or produce any more at a fast enough rate to be worth anything" Astra's eyes, framed as ever by dark makeup gleamed "And it's tough but it's dumb...Kept charging right at your wall that only blocked the riverbed itself when there was nothing stopping it from going around-"
"Have you got an idea?" Regalia asked brightly, her total confidence in her team leaders' abilities an inspiration all of its' own.
"It definitely gives me something to work with" Astra chuckled "Let's stall it a little longer so I can hammer out some details"
It was early afternoon on a weekday, an hour where Qrow Branwen would normally be teaching a class of students old enough to have taken elective courses.
The veteran Hunter turned Professor had managed to relieve himself of his duty by preparing both a substitute teacher to cover the lesson and also a fellow Hunter who was still actively serving and whose skills and specialisations lay in pertinent areas to give a seminar, complete with footage from the mission they had only recently returned from which would never be allowed to be seen by the general public and presented an opportunity to see the lessons Professor Branwen taught in action in a way which the students of Halo Academy and their peers visiting from other academies would rarely get to experience. Qrow could only smirk and chuckle grimly at the familiarity between himself and his students and the years that had passed since he was an active Huntsman having seemingly made him less impressive to his students than the person they were likely excitably questioning at that very moment; the younger Hunter was good at their job to be sure and their experience in the field was more current however in terms of sheer wealth and variety of experience Qrow had them beaten by a wide margin.
Not that he was keeping score.
Whilst his lessons were being attended to by colleagues Qrow himself was instead within the apartment which he would likely always consider to be his lair, sitting in the dark as was his custom and with no regard for the inevitable strain on his eyes that the drawn curtains would lead to.
Nominally he had excused himself from classes to, as he had explained to Ren oversee the additional training mission Team MARZ were currently undertaking, the timing of which had been the cause of a discussion in which the older man had fought the urge to roll his crimson eyes more than once; in practice the operation to track down and eliminate the lone Grimm making its' way towards civilisation was likely well in hand and given that the conflict itself would likely take place in an area with no cameras available for him to access it had seemed entirely reasonable for Qrow to use the time at his disposal to check in with other sources of information and begin poring over vast amounts of data in search of anything that might prove useful in his efforts to keep the Kingdoms safe.
Though as Qrow's mind drifted back towards Team MARZ he found himself checking on the teenagers' progress out of a niggling sense of curiosity and mild concern.
"No news isn't necessarily good news" he grumbled darkly to himself upon checking his scroll and seeing that there had been no contact from any of the four teenagers to update him of their progress. Reasoning that contacting Team MARZ might prove counterproductive if they were currently engaged Qrow instead began cross referencing several sources of information including the hotlines to report Grimm sightings and, after some effort the private communications of police forces in the rural area beyond the city where he had no need for regular dealings or surveillance.
The end result was the revelation that there was indeed a disturbance of some kind currently underway in the area around one of the places Qrow had told Team MARZ that the Grimm might be headed and with a little further digging he managed to narrow the location down and acquire enough details about the nature of the disturbance enough to know almost for certain that the students had found their quarry.
Vindicating his decision not to reach out to them directly, but also filling him with more unease as he was left to simply wait for updates.
To ease his wandering mind Qrow returned to other avenues, only to be left blinking bleary and itching eyes in short order as he noticed that much of the chatter he was receiving and largely dismissing as unimportant seemed to be discussing a single topic or at least following a similar theme, which seemed to centre around the latest celebrity interview for reasons that Qrow did not care to fathom; only moments later he was forced to consider them however as he inexplicably found the chatter directed at himself and his scroll pinging several times in short successions with messages from several people, including his daughter who had shared a link to the article in question along with an insistence that he simply needed to read it at once.
"What on Remnant could…." Qrow's gruff mutterings trailed off and his eyes widened, only to harden again in the next instant as he opened the article, published by some celebrity gossip outlet he was not readily familiar with but believed to be of New Vale origin and was left galled, furious and most worryingly of all completely and utterly blind-sided by the headline that greeted him.
"Clara Die Novum Chairman, Damascus Nero thinks Hunter institution is unfit for purpose!"
"They have to be misinterpreting something….Probably deliberately" Qrow forced the words out through gritted teeth, willing to believe that the situation was not as bad as the steady trickle of messages were making it seem. He knew and understood that he and Nero would always have their differences and that the Chairman's disagreements with Hunters as an organisation were deep-rooted, immensely personal and in Qrow's opinion understandable and to a large degree warranted; at the same time however despite his recent mistrust and suspicions, induced even as they were by the knowledge that the man had his own goals he had not been prepared for such a public and flagrant challenging of the status quo so soon, nor for the faint feeling of betrayal that came with it and it was by far easier to believe that the journalists responsible had simply approached the subject with their usual lax and creative approach to the truth.
As he read the article however Qrow was forced to conclude that that was simply not the case, his expression darkening further with each scintillating titbit of information that stuck out to him as he read; each one a fresh barb that he found himself struggling to refute.
"Many Hunters routinely abuse their positions of authority in way from the almost depressingly banal to frankly abhorrent, with not every instance of such behaviour being branded as a Rogue Hunter" the point was entirely valid and Qrow's sudden ire came not from the accusation itself, which he would have admitted to if asked, if only so that he could point out the various steps and measures that he had taken over his career to combat this ongoing insult to the noble calling along with the various Hunters who had fallen short of their oaths he had personally brought to justice. Instead it was the examples chosen, with the smaller infractions being portrayed as parking tickets that went unpaid and the assumption, under pressure to business owners that Hunters were not expected to pay for certain things and the more large scale and repulsive side of the corruption being shown in the forms of a man named Halcyon whose disgusting practices had only been revealed after his death was reported and none other than Carmesi Hueso, with the obvious question of what truly separated the two men been asked in the text of the article.
"The training Hunters receive does not prepare them for many real world events and many of them are deployed as students, into scenarios where they unprepared for both the realities of the situation or the nature of their own power" Qrow's temper evened out somewhat at this, it was a continuation of the discussion he had heard parts of during the opening round of the Vytal Tournament and the examples given were so loose and vague in nature and details it was almost certain that Nero was merely repeating second-hand gossip that had been passed onto him from Zirconia and whilst the Grasshopper Faunus would have to be cautioned about operational security Qrow could not bring himself to be angry for this particular comment, not when it was born of fatherly concern.
What little leniency the Chairman had afforded himself vanished as Qrow continued to read however.
"Hunters as an institution are woefully unprepared for the realities of the campaign they wage against the Grimm" this alone nearly saw Qrow hurl his scroll across the room in a fit of anger, given credence as it was by the cold and dismissive listing of a dozen or more incidents where Hunters, many of them men and women he had known personally, some of whom he had taught had made the ultimate sacrifice only for their heroism to not be enough to save everybody. What followed however was the final straw.
"And they know it" this backed up with only the vaguest and foggiest details but still sold the idea that a highly respected Hunter within Neo Vale had all but begged Nero to provide additional security.
If this was retaliation for Qrow's appearance at his office then the Chairman had taken things too far and several lines had been crossed; something that the bearded and chair-bound Professor intended to explain to Nero's face in blunt and direct terms when he next spoke with the man, an event he intended to see happened in the very near future. The spider-legged chair paced with Qrow's irritation as everything except the task of finding out which exclusive hotel the Chairman would be staying at during his business trip to Vaccuo and exactly which businesses he would be dealing with in the desert Kingdom, from there Qrow planned to devise a plan of action which may well involve travelling to Vaccuo and insisting on clearing the air between them properly; with an enemy of a scale such as the Benefactor a united front was paramount after all.
Qrow's furious pacing stopped soon enough, the fight leaving him to be replaced with a sinking coldness as he learned and confirmed after rechecking several times that Nero's personal airship had not arrived in Vaccuo and nor, seemingly had it arrived anywhere else and the only options available to reach the wealthy eccentric were apparently through the official channels which Qrow had already abused once already.
The fact that he did not know where Chairman Nero was or what he was planning concerned Qrow deeply, especially now the man had proven himself beyond all doubt to be a wildcard with an agenda of his own.
The Spearhead continued on relentlessly but now Team MARZ could not help but feel as though they were making some observable progress, a feeling which drove them forward more successfully than any amount of fear or desperation in the face of the colossal monster could hope to.
"Everyone ready? NOW!" Astra called out from the position they had taken to the side of the still thrashing and rampaging Creature of Grimm, perching themselves on the sloped side of the dried out riverbank whilst Athena and Regalia had managed to carefully work their way around to its' rear which left Zirconia standing directly ahead of the Spearhead, but retreated to a distance to where it would have to charge to reach her.
With the signal given Zirconia began to engage her Semblance, pupils of her eyes seeming to leak and seep into the white whilst her mismatched irises glowed faintly and a chilling and absolute darkness began to manifest around her until finally Phantasmagoria had taken full effect and the Grasshopper Faunus was entirely lost within a veil which rendered her invisible. Astra's plan involved using the Semblance in a way it was not precisely intended for, instead of trapping an opponent within the confines of the darkness they hoped instead to use its' appearance as a diversion to spur the Grimm into action.
A thundering bellow of senseless fury from the Spearhead confirmed that Astra's plan was working a moment before it began to lurch into motion with relentless force, only for it to be brought to a grinding halt in short order and left braying in confused rage, thrashing its' horned skull about in order to seek out the source of its' problems. Behind the Grimm Regalia had fired the harpoon component of Apex Scavenger into its' back whilst Athena-Jade had prevented the Racoon Faunus from simply being dragged along by the monster which dwarfed them both, doing so by wrapping her own arms around Regalia's waist whilst four spectral Beowolf claws sprouted from her back and anchored them in place.
"ASTRA!" Regalia called out "Take the shot!"
"On it!" The Deer Faunus answered without hesitation, weapons already raised and waiting for an opportunity which came shortly after. With its' ability to move hampered and enemies all around it the Spearhead began to respond with its' ranged attack and swiftly sent its' drones whirring into a frenzy of swirling darkness entirely different from Zirconia's Semblance within which lightning began to crackle, the Grimm bellowing the entire time only for those sounds of rage to turn to pain as Astra began to shoot; gunfire ripping into the storm of Grimm carapace and cutting down drones by the score until eventually the arcs of destructive energy began to dissipate as the Spearhead simply no longer had enough of its' drones left to use its' lightning which in turn paved the way for the second stage of the plan.
It would by no means be without risk but now there was a chance.
"OKAY, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Astra yelled before springing into motion, charging forwards and once again bringing their Semblance blazing into life and growing to a more towering height with each and every stride forwards. The Spearhead saw their approach and redoubled its' efforts to tear itself free of Athena and Regalia's combined efforts only for the two girls to push themselves even further and turn the tables on the monster when the Bear Faunus used her spectral claws in conjunction with a series of shimmering glyphs in order to slowly but inexorably climb into the air whilst Regalia maintained her grasp on her weapon which remained buried within the Spearhead's back and in turn allowed them to hoist the thing off of the ground, the Spearhead was only a few inches above the riverbed but it was enough to render the monster entirely immobile and defenceless as Astra came hurtling towards them and unleashed a devastating assault in the form of a kick to the beast's now exposed ribs and underside, something more resembling a proper roundhouse kick than their early efforts to simply punt the Grimm and with far more worthy results. The Spearhead howled and roared as it was sent flying through the air.
Directly towards Zirconia.
In a show of blind faith and the simple coordination that existed Team MARZ the insectoid Faunus managed to time her reveal perfectly despite the total isolation from the outside world that her own Semblance induced; Phantasmagoria faded away and revealed that whilst her friends had been using her initial diversion to keep the Spearhead busy she had been preparing a mass of hard-light and Ice Dust spears which the Grimm was promptly sent hurtling into for what should have been a swift and grisly demise. The monster managed to rotate itself partly at the last moment, meaning that whilst spears of ice wider around than a man's torso pierced its' chest cavity in several places and hard-light tore through limbs and tissue the thing remained, other points being crushed by its' bony armour and allowing its' head to remain untouched so that; after a moment of thrashing and screaming the Spearhead managed to drag itself back to its' remaining feet and begin searching out Team MARZ with a murderous look in its' eyes.
Only for one of those eyes to be the weak point Athena-Jade targeted, her weapon sending a lancing beam of light through its' skull to finally leave the Spearhead fading away.
It took Team MARZ only a few moments to gather their wits and regroup after that, gathering within the midst of the fading and dissipating remains of their vanquished quarry.
"I can't believe that thing got back up!" Regalia exclaimed, positively bouncing with enthusiasm "Heh, it was honestly cinematic"
"Yeah, but only 'cos we won….Not very action movie of us to get smeared across the floor" Astra noted, collapsing their weapons so they could bump their knuckles against their partners' as they rejoined her.
"But we did it though" Athena beamed as she and Zirconia all but threw themselves into one another's arms, managing to keep their display of affection and relief that the other was unharmed contained to a single kiss and a moment of resting their foreheads against one another before the Grasshopper Faunus turned her attention to Astra.
"We should inform Professor Branwen"
"Yeah….And good work everyone, seriously I'm proud of us" the Deer Faunus smiled before producing their scroll and making to contact the Professor, only to be left staring incredulously at the device a moment later "Un-fucking believable"
"What's wrong?" Athena asked.
"He's not picking up, looks like something came up" Astra snorted "Looks like we're making our own way back to the city….Told you I should have brought my truck"
"We can get the train" Zirconia offered, heading off an obvious counterpoint by adding "I'll cover the tickets"
"Don't worry I'll claim it back from the academy as expenses for you….I know you've got the Lien but it's the principle" Astra muttered, clearly annoyed at the situation.
"That sounds like a plan" Athena nodded, wincing slightly as she added "Where's the nearest train station"
"I can use my Semblance if they're not on the maps we were given?" Regalia offered, to which Astra only chuckled.
"Bet you anything it's far enough away that it's gonna waste the rest of our day out of class" with that they sighed and kicked at a loose rock lying on the ground "Come on, let's start walking"
With that Team MARZ began to move, grumbling amongst themselves at having been apparently stranded.
Author's Notes:
FIRST THING'S FIRST: I'm posting this chapter on the 11th of March 2023, which is one day away from being the anniversary of publishing this story...Here's to two years of MARZ Rising.
Okay this was honestly a fun one, I felt like I haven't involved the normal Creatures of Grimm in Vol.06 enough which is understandable given everything else that's going on but is also something I wanted to change.
Basically this one feels like a 'Monster of the week' episode in some ways and that's intentional but it also does tie into the larger plot….And not just in the obvious ways like Qrow and Nero's scenes, as you'll see next chapter.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
The quarry was very loosely based on a place that's very near my Grandparents house where a lot of the people with quads and dirt bikes go and ride….In fact my Dad actually had a jeep that he picked up for a couple hundred that he used to take out there like it was a toy when I was a kid.
Zirconia is right to be worried at least a little, a couple days ago AJ got her head smashed open.
But honestly the landing strategies and energetic deployments are a rare treat, they'd lose the appeal if I did them all the time….Fun to note how they've changed as they developed their own skills and actually incorporated each others' landings.
Oh yeah, AJ knows those two have got a crush on each other and they interrupted her getting fingered last night….They are going to pay.
Zirconia's already paranoid, not that she shouldn't be given that she is a traitor.
The world building is just fun, as for quarries being good landing zones….Why do you think that's where the monsters always deploy in Sentai.
And there's the mission, no fancy plot convenience or contrivance needed….Here's a monster, go kill it.
I actually had to throw in a description of Aefen here just because it's too long and my own mental image of her was getting dusty.
So Nero and Aefen are now in the same place….And we still don't actually see them interact this chapter.
I gave Nero's parked ship a description because a) it's too big to just be a vague shape b) I have plans and C) The idea of Winter's ship from Vol.03 and Eldar Vessels from 40k as a rough basis is just cool.
So things are moving quickly and there are now Cyber-Grimm being produced in two places.
Okay the waffling about a Grimm motorbike is a) a reference to Masked Rider's talking mantis bike called Chopper b) Just something vaguely amusing that I may or may not follow up on and c) a fun indication into the kind of crazy we're dealing with here.
Aefen's more grandiose posturing is something I've missed but there's no point in her using it with Albion or Nero.
Nero isn't stupid, he'd figure out quickly enough that Gestalt-Prime has a connection to their Spawning Pits.
Also….I didn't plan on giving Aefen some vague monster fucker vibes but reading it back it does kinda come across that way.
Oh here it is, the villains scheming against each other and preparing to backstab.
Intel + Regalia's 'Look-See' means it's gonna be very hard for them to get sidetracked.
The continued doubts on Zirconia's part will just have to wait and pick a critical moment to crescendo.
They're right, Astra would absolutely piss and whine if they got the paint scratched.
If we can see it then it can see us might seem like a little bit of an obvious cop out but honestly fuck it, did you want the chapter to go somewhere or not?...Also AJ bitching at Astra over it was funny.
Okay so the Spearhead, in my humble opinion is just fucking brilliant conceptually; like I'm actually proud of this one….Take a prehistoric woolly Rhino, the thunderstorm rhino thing from James and the Giant Peach and the nano-smoke from Gen:LOCK and mix them into a coherent beastie.
It's been so long since we've really been back on Menagerie that I felt like bitching about the climate there again; Nero was not ready.
Nero being surprised at just how normal the cultists can be in their day to day life just felt right, then again I've been reading a lot of Worm fan-fiction lately and the moments where people show up to a supervillain lair and it's just some kids with pot, a games console and home-made chilli are always entertaining.
So the cover story is in place and even when Qrow finds out that he isn't in Vaccuo there's going to be no way to link Nero to Menagerie, especially when he has control over one of Menagerie's main CCT hubs through Hammerfall Outpost.
The idea of Carmesi as a cult leader in Aefen's position is terrifying.
I see Nero has read his Noam Chomsky, gonna be using the media to manufacture some consent.
Someone had to get jobbed here, Astra drew short straw by being a fucking idiot.
Regalia is right to call them out for being stupid, they tried to take a Beckham free kick….Stupid.
It feels like it's been far too long since I showcased that Zirconia's weapon actually announces her attacks anime style, but it's only been since the first round of the tournament….So I clearly don't have her fight enough.
Okay as bad-ass and dynamic as AJ and Zirconia's combo-move there with the barricade and laser was, they did not have that….It pelted Athena with drones like they were snowballs.
But Astra is only conditionally an idiot; they can be smart sometimes and their observations and plans are useful.
Qrow has earned the right to be a little bit bitchy when his students are impressed by a special guest Hunter who has less than half the experience Qrow himself has.
Ren is right to raise an issue about Qrow taking students out of class for extra training, Qrow is kinda right to roll his eyes considering that his training is probably gonna be more relevant in the long run.
He didn't have full details but he knew that Team MARZ would likely be too busy to answer a call….Although he should probably invest in some drones to record missions; the villains are using them now.
And now for Nero's little PR stunt.
Qrow wants to believe, he had faith in Nero and it's slowly being stripped away.
The fucked up part of the excerpts from the interview that I used were that it's all true but at the same time it's being spun; like the choices of the examples being used for corrupt Hunters….Nero using both Carmesi and Halcyon, that guy Carmesi killed when he was testing the Cyber-Grimm is just dirty on his part 'cos how can you say "Look at the corruption of my employee and the guy he murdered".
The "And they know it" and insinuation that Hunters begged was just taking the piss.
The dread that comes from realising that you don't know where Nero is….Yeah, now you're getting it.
Monster of the week, meet Astra plan of the week.
Using Zirconia's Semblance like that is clever….And absolutely not what it was meant for; also we don't see enough of Zirconia or Regalia's Semblance really.
Force it to power up its' ranged attack, then destroy the components it needs to use said attack; now you have a Grimm with no ranged attack.
Honestly I was gonna have the Grimm punted into the air and have AJ finish off with some big aerial Semblance stunt but this just felt more fitting for an already crippled Grimm that's just a big dumb brute….And it gives Zirconia more to do.
Kick it into a wall of spikes and then shoot it in the head….A little nasty, but effective.
See, if they were on the ball then the fact that Qrow didn't answer would worry them.
But like I said….Plans within plans and things that will be picked up on next chapter.
Thank you to MajorBrony95 for their review on the last chapter; which was also the 100th review on FF Net.
Welcome back, your presence has certainly been missed; I remember that you took some time away for personal and financial reasons whilst you were out of work...So, here's an optimistic congrats on getting back on your feet?
Yeah, Nero has some elements of Ironwood, Cinder and Salem and a bit of All For One in him and a little bit of Silco as well….All whilst having a character that I think stands out from a lot of fictional villains.
Scrapmetal is indeed the ship name you're looking for.
Eh, the Cabal has enough connotations I don't think calling it the murder will help with PR.
So not only does Cock-blocking run in the family, or at least the lineage for Astra…..GETTING blocked runs in the family on AJ's side, it's tradition at this point.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.