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Chapter 131: Project Megalodon
Several days had passed since Team MARS had been collectively found by Corvid Xiao Long and if not precisely captured and compelled to take part in her efforts then at least given a certain amount of persuasion; though given that working alongside the Specialist allowed the four of them to not only achieve the goal they had set out with when leaving Breaktide Academy but also removed some of their other concerns about that mission entirely they had been more than willing to be convinced.
The intervening days had been spent aboard Corvid's ship, which they had been instructed not too leave in order to ensure that when they did chase down Noir and the other criminals and drifters who had found themselves affiliated with Damascus Nero that suspicions were raised less than they might be; a feat made easier by the fact that Corvid's own covert operatives had spread rumours throughout the town of Gruner-Hugel that Team MARS were still in custody and being questioned regarding their own connection to Zirconia Shadowmoon and other known rogues and criminals and had sworn bloody vengeance against the Wolf Faunus who had double-crossed them in the midst of a parlay. Thus confined Team MARS had spent their time, largely isolated and kept away from Corvid's forces and out of view training and maintaining their vehicles, weapons and other equipment in the small hangar that had been stocked and set aside for them or, in the case of Astra and Regalia having regular sex whilst Athena-Jade and Stygian tried to rebuild a sense of normalcy in their friendship and move passed their own intimacy.
It was mid-morning, with the four teenaged Faunus in the midst of such repairs and maintenance when Corvid Xiao Long herself strode into the hangar with an air of unshakeable purpose and determination which brought all of Team MARS to an immediate halt, the older Hunter's sheer presence making it clear that something was happening before any of them had seen the expression on her features, whose scars and cybernetic eye gave her a resemblance to her Aunt Ruby Rose, though in fact it had been Corvid to lose an eye first.
"Time to get those vehicles unfastened and everything else you don't want to fall or get sucked out a hangar strapped down!" the declaration ensured that what little focus Team MARS had directed elsewhere was promptly turned towards Corvid and the two Atlas Knights that trailed into the space behind her. They were, like every other instance of the automaton aboard the ship one of the latest models and their surfaces gleamed in the overhead lights, some of the Knights had been equipped and programmed to speak to various degrees depending on their primary function, ranging from simple predetermined responses to questions and stimuli up to a level of depth which aped some semblance of awareness and intelligence; something which Stygian had been unnerved by and frankly frightened of when he had first seen it, though Regalia had managed to ease his nerves with tales of the machines Clan Aiktishaf used as beasts of burden. These two particular Atlas Knights remained silent however, the machine at Corvid's right carrying a tablet with a holographic and expandable screen whilst the one opposite carried something larger and bulkier.
"What's that?" Astra nodded and pointed to the bulky item whilst Team MARS fell into position around them
"CCT signal booster" Corvid answered bluntly "Hammerfall is still down and the whole point of you going in first is so that the rest of us can follow you, this is a smaller and compact version of what airships use; this way we can track your scrolls while you're out in wasteland. Nero's people actually used something like this at Pikesreach but by the time we found it the thing was too damaged to get anything useful from"
"We're heading out now?" Athena chimed in, suddenly breathless as anticipation met apprehension and her mind began to picture the various way events could unfold "Seriously Corey what's going on?"
"First of all it's Specialist Xiao Long while we're at work….I worked hard for the uniform"
"You didn't even want it when you were first offered a spot" Athena countered, her dismissive tone enough to make the older woman bristle though the conversation was brought back on track as the Bear Faunus saw the impatient looks that her team-mates were treating her to "Okay but seriously what's happening?"
"Noir was laying low after I clipped her in the bar fight Astra and Regalia got into with her….She's been spotted on the move, hasn't left Gruner-Hugel yet but she's clearly getting ready to" Corvid answered, growing more visibly eager with every word "Here, take this and look at this"
At her instruction Team MARS drew closer, with Astra taking the signal booster from the first of the Atlas Knights and regarding it for a moment with some interest as they worked out where best to secure it in their truck before following the gazes of their friends and studying the images and short video clips being displayed on the tablet screen which showed both Noir herself with her hat, greatcoat and shaggy grey-furred tail all visible whilst her weapon remained tucked out of view and also the vehicle it seemed that the Wolf Faunus would be using.
"That's tacky as fuck" the Deer Faunus snorted derisively.
"Coming from someone who drives a pickup with flame decals but in black" Corvid noted quietly with a faint shake of her head as her eyes drifted towards the vehicle in question "But agreed, seriously it's almost as bad as the post-apocalyptic school bus Sky Lark used to drive"
"It's like she went for something that screams 'I'm up to no good'….And she used to rob truckers and travellers so it's probably stolen" Regalia added, her nose wrinkling in distaste for both Noir and her vehicle. The woman who Team MARS would be following across the wastes was the dubiously proud owner of a heavily modified and personalised semi-truck consisted of a cab and no trailer; it had likely once been a glossy black in colour judging by what few traces of its' paint were still visible though much of its' chassis had been stripped down to bare gunmetal and adorned with layers of thick armour panelling of varying qualities which was riveted, littered with ugly weld-lines and in some places corrugated. Beyond its' cobbled together look the semi-truck had been raised somewhat and modifications to its' suspension were visible through the spaces in massively oversized tires which were likely protected in some way as well as being more suitable for taking the vehicle off road. Further modifications came in the form of an angled forward, sweeping plough affixed to the front of the truck which covered its' grill almost entirely and whose rusted, battered surface was adorned with countless spikes and trails of chain and razor-wire whilst a massive supercharger, of the variety that might be seen on a modified muscle car rose up from the extended nose of the trucks' cab in an ostentatious display which pushed the vehicle firmly into category of trying to hard as certainly as its' extended smokestacks did, six of them in total arranged with three on each side of the truck and sweeping back as they reached high into the sky and billowing a thick black smoke in every image where the vehicle was in motion.
As overblown as the vehicle was however it was threatening in a way that could not be simply ignored, owing to the fact that mounted at its' rear in the place where a trailer hitch should have sat; integrated with the rest of the vehicle with a jig which seemed to have been recently and hastily built, albeit still well made was a laser cannon; the skull of some horned animal adorning its' barrel.
"That looks bigger than mine" Athena noted, wincing slightly as she added "I wouldn't wanna see what it does to your truck Astra"
"She said Nero's people paid well" the Deer Faunus muttered, the slight non-sequitur serving well enough as an answer whilst Stygian merely regarded the weapon for a moment.
"If she tried to fire that she's basically giving me a way to climb on" he grinned, a notion which Corvid give him an appraising look and a nod of approval in response to before speaking again.
"Well you need to be ready to deploy at a moments' notice, so if that's gonna be your plan then talk it out amongst yourselves. When her people leave you follow at a safe distance, we'll monitor the situation from here and keep up appearances and then when you have visual of Nero's base or any sort of confirmation of where it is make contact with us….Don't engage until you have our back up, don't worry we can fly faster than you can drive; we'll be there quickly"
"You got it" Astra grinned and snapped off a lazy salute only for their attempt at bravado to waver and fail as they turned to their friends and asked in a voice that shook more than they were comfortable with "This is is….We're going after Nero. Is everyone ready?"
"Heh, I was born ready motherfucker" Regalia answered, masking her own nerves with an affected voice far deeper than her own and a response which made her partner snort in faint amusement.
"Wesley Stripes, gotta love it" they turned to Athena and Stygian "You two?"
"Definitely ready man" the Mouse Faunus answered, pausing for a moment and looking away guiltily for a moment before squaring his shoulders and adding "And what happened before, with AJ and I dropping the ball….It won't happen again, we've got this"
"Yeah" Athena's voice was far weaker in comparison, her head down and sapphire eyes unfocused and unreadable as the snowy-haired young woman retreated into her thoughts for a moment "We're doing this. We're finding Zirconia….And Nero and Gestalt-Prime, then whatever happens after"
There was a moment of silence where it seemed nobody was entirely certain what to say, though as it became obvious that eyes were lingering on the Bear Faunus in a way she was not comfortable with Corvid spoke up, setting aside any bickering and differences they might have to come to her cousins' aid; providing a distraction in the form of a whooping and energetic order.
"Okay that's settled, go time! Come on get everything strapped down!" her cybernetic eye whirred slightly as her stormy grey eye seemed to shine with mischief "And whichever one of you takes that fucking truck of hers out gets a hundred lien!"
The promise of a reward was not needed, but it did serve to set Team MARS in motion all the same.
Project Megalodon was entering its' final stages of preparation and Zirconia found herself watching with rapt attention whilst also trying to mask the fact she was sick to her stomach at the sight of it.
"It's incredible isn't it…. All issues with Gestalt-Prime aside it's certainly something to watch them work" Nero said, his tone that of one master craftsman or artisan studying the technique of another and laden with a curiosity which Zirconia could only respond to with a sidelong glance through narrowed eyes.
The two of them had positioned themselves a safe and respectable distance away from the collection of relocated and repurposed computer terminals and other, less easily identifiable equipment which had been built around the Forge whilst the vat of protean, shifting Grimm tissue remained securely beneath Nero's airship and Nero and Zirconia themselves remained within its' shadow.
They were far from alone however, it seemed as though every member of Nero's faction based at Jidhir Town who was not engaged in a task which could not be delayed or set aside had chosen to see the moment Project Megalodon came into fruition, with those who were at work being separated largely into two camps; firstly those who were assigned to Carmesi Hueso, with the Komodo Dragon Faunus having forces stationed at key points on and around Nero's ship and more still keeping weapons levelled at Gestalt-Prime to ensure that the Alpha Cyber-Grimm did nothing outside of what was demanded of them. The second group consisted of those serving as sentries around the edge of Jidhir Town, a task made somewhat more difficult by the fact that forces and operatives that had managed to integrate themselves into various settlements across Menagerie were largely being recalled, with many of them having arrived in a steady trickle over the course of the last few days and more still due to arrive at any time.
"Would it not have been fitting to do this at dawn….A bright new tomorrow and all" Zirconia noted dryly, deciding that Nero's comment required some sort of response.
"That would require you to wake up before sunrise….We both know that having you awake and alert before noon can be enough of a challenge"
"Lies and slander" Zirconia retorted without hesitation, the ghost of a smile crossing her scarred features and filtering into her rasping voice though the brief moment of familiar banter between the two of them quickly faded into a silence which the Grasshopper Faunus realised was far more peaceful for the man beside her than it was for herself.
"All of these people not helping whilst we're so close to departure" Zirconia continued more seriously, a concerned note finding its' way into her voice "It's not an immediate process, not like making the other Cyber-Grimm….Though I haven't actually seen that process in person"
"It's the same general process at it's basis, albeit on a far larger scale and directed differently; the Grimm element of Project Megalodon will be effectively lobotomised" Nero answered thoughtfully, studying his airship for a moment before adding "And yes it will take some time, simply due to the sheer volume of work which needs to be done along with the complexity….Our new scientists do their best"
The fact that they were not Albion Herringbone and that Nero's confidant, Zirconia's honorary uncle was dead; murdered by Gestalt-Prime hung in the air and allowed Zirconia's resolve to solidify.
"Then would it not be better to put the people to work, if they want to watch then let them see the end result" Zirconia folded her arms across her chest and swept her mismatched eyes across the gathered multitude whilst shifting her weight on her cybernetic legs.
"Perhaps" Nero shrugged, seemingly pleased at Zirconia's sudden return to her focused and driven self "But I felt that, no matter how ill-suited I am for public appearances I should share this with the people who follow us and I will be unable to do so later; the final stages of the operation will require myself and those who will serve as my bridge crew to be present on the ship-"
"Then I hope you cleaned up after yourself, you won't be able to use it as your office any more" Zirconia gave him a lopsided smirk which he returned with a smile that tugged at scarred and burned skin of his jawline "If you have other obligations then I'll most likely leave as well"
"Oh?" Damascus cocked his head "This promises to be a once in lifetime experience darling, I would have thought you would want to see history unfold?"
"I'll be helping the sentries greet and verify new arrivals, we can't afford to be too cautious" Zirconia answered, before finding herself pausing and giving a justification more honest that she had planned to allow from herself "And frankly Damascus….I've seen enough of the Cyber-Grimm and new science being put into practice. Pikesreach soured it for me"
"Oh" Nero repeated, a sudden sadness filling every ounce of his being as he reached out and placed a hand on Zirconia's shoulder "I am sorry darling, I should have thought….I can promise you however that this will be safe, every precaution has been taken with the procedure-"
"And with Gestalt-Prime?" Zirconia asked, bitterness lacing every syllable.
"Doubly so" Nero answered without missing a beat "Carmesi's forces are in position as you know, you've seen the various safeguards that are in place to prevent the creature from trying anything untoward or twisting the procedure to their own ends….Further to that if they do try anything they will be utterly helpless; they can move their consciousness out of their physical form to guide the process of creating Project Megalodon but they can't be present in two places at one….Nor would they want to I believe; given their ambitions they would likely see their other self as a threat"
"Noted….And thank you" Zirconia's tone softened with the last words, even as she turned towards the main component of the Forge where Gestalt-Prime was present and being prepared; their body being connected to the vat of roiling darkness through various wires, pipes and interfaces whilst the Alpha Cyber-Grimm themselves stood motionless and limp, their tactical visor retracted and the light in the singular optic a pale, pulsing ember. She studied the scene and her mind raced, taking every detail and facet of information so that it could be added to her understanding and the plan which was still fluid in her mind, save for the most vital of details and her ultimate goal.
"I think it's starting" Nero breathed out, attention suddenly focused on the Forge as the people operating it began to call out a gesture to one another with batons which might have been suitable for air-traffic control.
"I think it is" Zirconia agreed quietly, deciding that now was the time; she would never have a better opportunity than this to be rid of Gestalt-Prime.
Pantheon saw Remnant through countless eyes that were not their own.
Days had been spent continuing to put the Grimm General's plans for Menagerie and its' settlements into practice and now, from their living throne of pulsating flesh draped over twisted steel within the heart of their seabed fortress Pantheon stood at the precipice, waiting for the final few packs, herds and swarms of monsters to move into position.
They knew it would not be a single, overwhelming tide of violence which laid low all before it however the towering and monstrous de factor ruler of the Grimm was not troubled and in fact they relished the prospect of the Kingdoms' inevitable retaliation and the spiralling violence that would come from it. In their mind they could see the path forwards clearly, successive waves of monsters would be launched at each of Menagerie's settlements to cut them off and grind them down, with the preys' efforts to respond in kind doing nothing more than hone and refine the monsters sent against them; perhaps even with individual Alpha Grimm reaching sentience and awareness through the crucible of battle, the ordeal an end in its' own right which justified the means through the continuation of destruction and creation in their proper endless cycle. From there, with Menagerie's cities reduced to rubble and the island reclaimed for the Creatures of Grimm who had ruled the wastelands uncontested under Salem's reign Pantheon would seek out the would be usurper Gestalt-Prime and the foolish, lesser Grimm would be destroyed entirely along with every trace of the corrupted fusions of Grimm and technology and worse still, the melding of Grimm and humanity that they had been party to.
With their goals clear in their mind Pantheon viewed Pantheon from countless angles and perspectives at once, the information flooding into their mind at a rate that was so intense that even their own might and fortitude wavered and more Synapse Grimm floated toward the throne on which the Grimm General sat; affixing themselves and providing additional processing power in response to the sight of Pantheon's body convulsing.
Beneath the waves swirling and darting shoals of aquatic nightmares lurked, the numberless tides of lesser monsters bolstered by larger specimens capable of causing monumental damage to even the sturdiest of seafaring vessels and when Pantheon gave the command to act these Creatures of Grimm would unleash themselves on the shipping lanes serving Menagerie's largest coastal settlements, all whilst Spawning Pits located around and close to the island Kingdoms' edge would send their first waves pouring forth. In the heart of the wasteland dozens of other Spawning Pits had produced collections of Grimm of varying species in combinations that would rarely be seen together under normal circumstances, forming strike forces and raiding parties capable of breaking through the lines and defences of the defenders who stood against them to tear at the exposed underbelly of the Kingdom whilst other monsters, stout and solid things hunkered down around the pits from which the Creatures of Grimm had been birthed to protect the masses of shifting darkness to some extent.
The sky too belonged to the Grimm, flocks and swarms of winged terrors stretched out across the island Kingdom to give Pantheon view that was expansive, yet at the same time piecemeal and fractured; a compound eye with several of its' facets damaged and more still showing variations of the same scene.
Yet it was still enough for Pantheon to see that something was afoot.
"There you are" the voice of the Grimm General echoed out throughout the psychic void of the Hive-Mind whilst Pantheon existed outside of their own body, a voice in the ear of countless monsters which made the more alert of them cock their heads or sniff at the air as though they might find the fleeting and ghostly presence that compelled them.
What had drawn Pantheon's attention was a sight that would have gone unnoticed on the ground or with a smaller field of vision, namely thin lines of travellers moving from several settlements of small to medium size all across the island. There were travellers across Menagerie at all times to be sure, vast land-trains carrying cargo and convoys and small aircraft to be worried and harassed by the Creatures of Grimm but something immediately caught Pantheon's eye and gave them the impression that this was different; the thin, trickling streams had a unified sense of purpose about them despite their disparate points of origin with each and every one of the seemingly insignificant specks, either alone or in a group or convoy of their own veering off of the defined roads between settlements and into the wasteland proper at a specific point; a point which Pantheon realised was the moment that the travellers would be out of sight of whatever settlement they had left.
Dozens, perhaps hundred of humans scattered across Menagerie all slinking out of their homes to sneak and flit across the wasteland without being seen by the Grimm or, more interestingly by other humans and each convoy, Pantheon realised with a rush of exhilaration akin to the thrill of a hunt, was moving in a direction that would see them converge at a single point.
"I have you" the Grimm General snarled into the ether that their consciousness occupied as they realised that these must be the humans aiding Gestalt-Prime, compelling the Kingdom to embroil itself in a war that should rightly have been between the two sentient Grimm alone and that the only reason that they would behaving in their current manner would be to regroup and reconvene at whatever main base Gestalt-Prime had established for themselves.
The lair Pantheon had thus far been unable to find.
"I have you usurper" Pantheon's subconscious hunger and fury rippled out through the gathered forces across Menagerie as a physical thing, reflecting the Grimm General's desire as they actively began changing their plans and restructuring the forces they had poised and ready to strike. The blows to Menagerie would be lessened but it was an acceptable consequence, the destruction of the Kingdoms' strongholds had only been a step towards the very goal that they might now reach in any event and so Pantheon readily took sizeable amounts from each of the hordes of monsters they had gathered and began diverting them to the more important task of hunting down Gestalt-Prime by stalking the upstart Grimm's lackeys and followers across the wasteland and attacking their lair from all sides.
If Gestalt-Prime survived at all it would in a crippled and broken state, with their allies devoured and the machinery they had built to bring about their insanity torn asunder and left in burning ruins behind them; leaving the younger Grimm a helpless wreck to be chased down and mauled however even this was a less than desirable outcome to Pantheon.
They wanted Gestalt-Prime dead and were willing to commit the forces needed to achieve it
"You and you" the Grimm General whispered into the minds of two of their larger and more advanced Creatures of Grimm, a pair of nightmarish beasts which had been specifically engineered for conquest only a few shorts days ago by Pantheon themselves in their fortresses unique Spawning Pit; each of them capable of laying waste to a good sized settlement on their own, deployed as a pair and with the support of a thousand or more other Creatures of Grimm they would be relentless and carve through whatever monstrosities Gestalt-Prime had managed to create in their quest for unnatural perversion.
At the behest of their master the two behemoths moved and began lumbering towards their new target with other monsters in tow, each of them approaching from a different point of attack. One of them a towering mass of mammalian muscle whose gaping maw burned with some infernal inner light whilst the other was an almost mountainous mass of craggy, armoured shell adorning the back of a low-slung and monstrous reptilian form which let out rasping, haunting hissing sounds which echoed through the wasteland as it advanced on its' target.
Pantheon was proud of their work on these monsters and they doubted that Gestalt-Prime would have anything at all that could stand against them.
"Yo that's definitely them!" Astra's voice filled the interior of the pickup truck, rising above the roar of the vehicles engine along with those of the other vehicles ahead of them.
Noir and her accomplices, those who had either been working with Nero all along or had simply been affiliated loosely and paid for the their service, but were now being summoned to play a more active part in the plans of the mad genius had not mustered their forces at a single point as Corvid had hoped they might, instead the group of mercenaries and criminals had left the town of Gruner-Hugel in small groups from various places and setting off in various directions in an effort to make their trail harder to follow. The ruse had failed however, once it had been made clear that Noir herself was in fact within her semi-truck Team MARS had waited, allowing the Wolf Faunus to get a respectable head start before racing out after her and following the unmistakable tracks left by the larger vehicle as Noir veered off of the road only a short distance away from the settlement; the team had kept a safe distance thus far and remained just out of sight of their quarry until the sight of various other tire tracks joined those of the semi-truck to indicate that Noir's accomplices had regrouped and that they were all heading in the same direction towards Nero's base of operations.
At which Astra had decided that it was time to close in.
"Who else could it be?" Athena-Jade noted, having taken Regalia's customary place in the passengers' seat at Astra right hand whilst Regalia herself was currently positioned in the trucks bed, perched upon Clunker and ready to spring into action at a moments' notice whilst in the backseat of the truck Stygian was similarly braced and alert, the Mouse Faunus's hand on his sword and focus centred wholly on the enemy as he leaned partially out of the window to better see what lay ahead.
It was too loosely arranged to be called a convoy, likely deliberately as the lack of distinct lanes gave the advantage of open space for the vehicles to simply move around one another if any of them were attacked, either by Hunters such as Team MARS or the Creatures of Grimm and even the wildlife of Menagerie; there were roughly a dozen vehicles overall though the group was primarily made of smaller machines such as dirt-bikes and quad-bikes that had been modified to contend with the terrain or heavily customised dune buggies which reminded all of Team MARS except for Stygian of their first mission, where they had first met Carmesi Hueso and seen the creature which would go on to become Gestalt-Prime. These smaller vehicles weaved and raced around a collection slightly more sturdy armoured cars and trucks whose after-market additions were not commonplace but not so unheard of that they warranted questioning, many natives of Menagerie's more outlying settlements took care to protect their vehicles and belongings; though noir's truck with its' needlessly overblown presence, its' spiked and rusted plough and the laser cannon at its' rear proved to be the most noteworthy vehicle of the group.
And now that the enemy was out in the open Team MARS planned to remove the problem of the semi-truck entirely; deciding that it would not only make any ensuing violence more manageable but would also serve to break the verve of those who travelled with the mercenary Wolf Faunus and send them fleeing towards Damascus Nero even faster.
The justifications were easy enough, Astra simply wanted to strike back at Noir.
"Okay, everyone get ready!" Astra called out fiercely, though filled with a sudden energy which left them fighting the urge to cheer and remain focused "Everyone knows their jobs!"
"On it!" Athena-Jade assured them, lowering her window and preparing to take aim as Astra accelerated and veered out to the left which in turn allowed the Bear Faunus to lean out of the right side window and use her Semblance, emulating her older brother and using an application of the Schnee family glyphs which she seldom used; rotating and saw-blade edged glyphs manifesting in the air and being sent hurtling forwards to strike at Noir's truck.
The results were less than Athena might have hoped for but were largely what she had expected, several glyphs missed entirely as the space and angle between the two trucks shifted with every passing second whilst the effect of those which did make contact was limited, the first saw-blade glyph to strike the tires of the semi-truck was simply shattered as it was ground between a pair of armoured wheels whilst others tore shallow gashes in heavy armour or scored only the faintest of glancing hits against the mounting for the trucks' weapon.
"Hit it again!" Astra barked out urgently upon seeing the meagre results.
"Time for Heartbreaker….Let's see her shrug this off" Athena-Jade's words were more for her own benefit as she leaned further out of the window and shifted her weapon into its' laser cannon form; the destructive might of it feeling somewhat lessened and cheapened in the face of the larger weapon staring back at her. The familiar warping bass note filled the air and ethereal green light began to build within the lasers' barrel yet Athena never had the chance to fire as retaliations came from two sources at once.
Several of Noir's allies, primarily those riding or driving smaller vehicles began moving into position for a counterattack; with several weapons visibly being drawn or aimed from impromptu turrets.
Whilst at the same time the laser cannon mounted on Noir's semi-truck began to prime itself, locking onto Astra's truck as the Wolf Faunus took aim from within the cab.
"AJ! FORGET SHOOTING, NEXT STEP!" Astra called out to her, struggling to be heard over the chaos "STITCH, REGALIA! GO!"
With no more needing to be said Athena flung herself back into her seat, Heartbreaker already collapsing in her hands as she did so whilst her eyes screwed shut and her focus entirely devoted to mustering as much power as she could manage in order to keep her Semblance active over a wide area for as long as she needed to; glyphs sprung into life on either side of Astra's pickup truck in two constantly shifting walls and their benefits were felt immediately as the sound of bullets ricocheting from them filled the air, followed by the sound of screeching tires as a driver who had planned to ram the pickup truck was sent veering and spinning off course.
Though this did nothing to stop Noir's laser cannon, dealing with that particular problem fell to Stygian and Regalia.
From their place in the drivers' seat Astra watched with bated breath as Stygian used his Semblance, the Mouse Faunus vanishing from the seat behind them and reappearing at the mouth of the still charging laser cannon, immediately Stygian's katana sunk into heavy armour plating and allowed him to find purchase; rapidly scrabbling into place behind the weapon and trying, with no immediate success to redirect it before it could fire. Regalia's arrival made the matter more simple however and Astra was filled with both the calm relief that came from knowing just how capable their partner was and also a bone-deep worry as they were forced to watch her put herself at risk whilst they couldn't fight beside her directly.
"I feel like the Tee One Thousand!" the Racoon Faunus laughed as Clunker came racing into view, flames spewing from its' exhaust and Apex Scavenger secured on the jetbike itself which allowed Regalia to handle Clunker with two hands, leaning forward and wearing an expression of utmost focus at odds with her commentary, her face half hidden by her goggles. Regalia fired a few blasts of her shotgun into the support structure for the semi-trucks' weapon and then fired Apex Scavenger's harpoon, which Stygian caught and secured in place before giving Regalia a signal which saw the former nomad racing ahead and dragging the weapons' barrel away from where it was aimed.
Just as Noir finally fired.
"HOLY SHIT!" Astra cheered as the beam of searing light arced and whipped around to carve a path of destruction through the wasteland, sending several of Noir's allies and accomplices into dangerous tailspins or otherwise skidding off course; a crash of twisting metal filling the air as at least one of the bikers was thrown from their seat violently upon colliding with a larger vehicle.
"Astra, look!" Athena's warning cut the celebration short, Astra's sea-green eyes honed in on movement on the truck ahead of them and a curse slipped between their teeth as they realised what was happening.
"Looks like she's got someone driving for her" they noted as the Wolf Faunus mercenary, Noir clambered out of the cab of the semi-truck with her hair, coat and tail blowing out dramatically behind her with the speed and motion as she began to climb and leap towards the small platform where a trailer hitch should have sat, towards the now damaged laser weapon and more importantly towards Stygian with her massively oversized sickle finding its' way to her hand as she went.
"If she can control the dust in the air as well or the smoke from her smokestacks then Stitch is gonna be fighting blind!" Astra gasped, realising that even out in the open Noir's Semblance made her a dangerous opponent "He won't be able to use his Semblance"
"I've gotta go and help him" Athena said simply, already preparing glyphs in order to launch herself towards the imminent fight; her sapphire eyes locked on Stygian as her partner readied Sharp Cheese and prepared to defend himself "Hate to leave you like this Astra but-"
"Go, I've got this" they assured her and in the next instant Athena had leapt from the pickup truck and propelled herself towards the looming semi-truck on a pair of shimmering and glowing wings.
The fight began in the next instant and Astra's stomach churned as they realised that they would be unable to join the fight directly, the means of contacting Corvid Xiao Long and her forces was in their pickup truck and could not be abandoned which in turn meant that the Deer Faunus was forced to simply continue driving and lending their aid in whatever small ways they could.
Astra's thoughts were rattled and forced back to more immediate concerns however as another of the convoys' vehicles tried to ram them.
Project Megalodon had begun in earnest and it was a spectacle, awesome in the most horrifying and stomach churning sense of the word.
Though Zirconia noted, with disgust that Aefen Cruor would likely have called the sight beautiful.
Gestalt-Prime was still connected to and integrated with the main body of what had once been the Forge, the towering frame of the Alpha Cyber-Grimm looking no less imposing as it hung and sagged, suspended by an array of cables and connection points. The Forge itself however had been the first component of what would become Nero's new weapon to bring the Hunters and the Grimm alike to heel to begin changing; where before the massive silo had been filled entirely with roiling and shifting darkness it was now far less so as thick, viscous masses of tar-like and frothing tissue rose up from within to spread itself across the various superstructures of the airship, growing in not only size and surface area but also raw amount as the sludge propagated itself.
Zirconia watched, throat and mouth dry and with a faint dizzy nauseousness passing over her whilst faint echoes of the Abomination of Pikesreach and all that had preceded it haunted her thoughts at the sight though there was no denying that Project Megalodon was something entirely different, a far more deliberate and coordinated affair.
The Grasshopper Faunus was forced back to her senses as a resounding creaking of groaning metal filled the air, sending a subsequent gasp rippling through the gathered crowd of sycophants as the metal silo was hoisted a few feet into the air and left suspended as the growing masses of shifting Grimm tissue hauled it upwards; obsidian tendrils of muscle and rubbery, shapeless flesh which remade itself anew with every passing moment spread across the various scaffolds and new additions that had been added to Nero's ship to begin the process of expanding its' overall size, thin films of translucent tissue rapidly spreading across each of the new sections to hide the growing creation from view whilst at the same time pulling the majority of what had been the Forge up into a still-forming underbelly; creating what promised to be an even greater production facility within the heart of the resulting monstrosity. More protean Grimm matter was being pumped into the existing body of the airship, fusing what already existed with what was being created and ensuring that no part of the vessel remained untouched by the amalgamation; the various pipes that had been affixed to the bowels of the enslaved Spawning Pit led to key parts of the airship, including its' command bridge where a mind of some description would be formed, merging with the ships' controls and AI while at the same time being subservient to them; keeping the Megalodon under the control of its' crew even as its' propulsion, weapons, stealth and shielding systems were fused with the Creature of Grimm.
It was a daunting enough prospect to accept even when viewed in strictly academic terms, seeing it unfold in front of her eyes was more than Zirconia could stomach and as the air was rent by a deafening cacophony again a shiver passed through her; only to become an unconscious and fearful step backwards as parts of the prow and nose of the sleek vessel began to split and break away to form the beginning of a jawbone filled with jagged teeth.
"It's certainly something to behold isn't it dear?" Nero asked faintly from beside her, his voice a timid ghost of a thing which would have been lost within noise of the crowd were it not for how close Zirconia was standing to him and also the fact that the former chairman's gathered followers were deathly silent as they watched the scene unfold and the airship be transformed into a colossal Cyber-Grimm resembling some enormous marine predator, or a nightmarish approximation thereof.
Had she been more able to focus on anything beyond the horrific transformation before she might have noticed that Nero's voice was faint and that his complexion was paler than even his normal pallor, his causal comment doing little to mask the shocked look in the quartz eyes of a man who had seen the creation of the very first Cyber-Grimm and several failed experiments before that but still found that creation of his Megalodon, a far larger and more grotesque creation difficult to watch. As it was Zirconia took several deep, shaking breaths and forced herself to ignore the taste of bile beginning to assault a mouth that had grown unfortunately watery.
"I can't watch this any more" she managed to get words out coherently, a feat she considered impressive in that moment; shaking her head to clear it and cut off Nero's objections as he made to speak "I'm sorry this is….I can't look"
"I understand" Nero nodded, gloved cybernetic hand tracing the scars that Athena-Jade's claws had left on her face "Go, help the people at our perimeter"
"Thank you" Zirconia inclined her head faintly and turned away, her loping and graceful pace allowing her to put enough distance between herself and Nero in short order; once the man who had raised her was out of sight however the Grasshopper Faunus did not make for the defensive walls where sentries were stationed and new arrivals would be presenting themselves at regular intervals, instead she doubled on herself and began lurking and prowling around the perimeter of the mutating Grimm-Airship hybrid with a goal clearly in mind.
She was going to kill Gestalt-Prime.
Zirconia had faith in her abilities and yet she was not so arrogant to believe that she could defeat the Alpha Cyber-Grimm alone, indeed even if she had the rest of Team MARZ supporting her it would still be a near insurmountable challenge. She was also painfully aware that she would have no help from elsewhere and that the various guards, including the other Cyber-Grimm under Carmesi's command would in fact be turned against her if she tried to interfere with Nero's plan; to that end Zirconia had devised a plan of her own and intended to use the various defences and countermeasures that had been put in place to keep Gestalt-Prime from further treachery, forcing the Alpha Cyber-Grimm to act in a way which would see them fired on.
It was a plan which would require her to board the Megalodon.
"I'm Zirconia Shadowmoon and I'm a….Well, this is what I do, I guess" she rasped out, a bitter sadness leaving an uncomfortable lump in her throat as she attempted to borrow a line that Astra had favoured, only to realise that it no longer fit her and for her thoughts to once again wander towards her team-mates, Athena-Jade particularly but the team as a whole and lament the fact that they had replaced her so easily and that she had no right at all to be angry about it.
"Focus" she rasped to herself, mismatched eyes narrowing as she looped around the furthest edge of the changing aircraft, towards its' rear nacelles and fins whilst keeping a careful watch for Carmesi Hueso or anybody who might alert him of her presence. Seeing that her approach was unhindered Zirconia finally ran towards the Megalodon, or the thing that would become it and leapt into the air; using her inhuman reflexes and cybernetic legs to vault from one of the various pipes and scaffolds to the next until eventually she stood atop the airship and from there she began searching for an access hatch.
Zirconia's plan was simple enough, after spending days studying the plans concocted by Albion and Aefen which had then been refined by the dozens of new minds supporting the cause to take on Nero's various projects she had enough of an understanding to be able to destabilise the operation in a way that would cause painful neural feedback not unlike damaging her own prosthetics which would, in turn cause Gestalt-Prime to break themselves free of the Forge and seek out the source of the attack in predictably violent fashion at which point all manner of defensive protocols would be employed.
The only downside to Zirconia's plan was that it could only be employed effectively from two general places, either directly at the Forge itself where she could theoretically use its' control panels but would in practice however find herself tackled and removed from the equation before she ever had to worry about Gestalt-Prime's wrath or from the inside of the living aircraft; attacking vital organs and systems as they formed.
Forced to rely on the second option Zirconia found the access hatch she had sought and began trying to force it open, fighting the urge to curse in a way which Nero would no doubt disapprove of upon realising that shooting it open with Sunriser Cain would draw far too much attention and that it could only be opened from the inside. Rising to her feet again the rogue grit her teeth and braced herself before raising her right leg and bringing her prosthetic limb down on Atlesian steel with all of her might.
The sensation of the impact travelled through her body but the hatch gave way and Zirconia leapt down into the airship without hesitation; surprised to see that the lights were still working as she landed in a crouch.
"Halt who goes-Oh, Miss Shadowmoon! Does Mister Nero have any updates, I presume he'll be joining us aboard shortly?" the Grasshopper Faunus felt her blood turn to ice in that moment and her heart leap into her mouth at the sound of the voice addressing her. Rising and turning she saw that it was one of the soldiers who had defected to join Nero in Neo Vale, the group of followers Carmesi seemed to trust the most; the former soldier had clearly been patrolling the innards of the vessel to search for anything untoward and had come running at the sound of the hatch being kicked open. They were in essence an innocent bystander, someone who had been sold the same dream of a better Remnant as herself and had been equally willing to fight to protect the things which mattered the most, even before joining Nero's cause and Zirconia felt a pang of guilt as she realised that there was only one way forward; this soldier could not be allowed to report back to Carmesi.
"I am sorry" she whispered, the soldier having just long enough for a look of confusion to begin to spread across their face before Zirconia sprang forwards, seizing them by the collar with one hand and dragging them forwards as she delivered a crushing punch to the side of their head with the other. Her victim fell limp and she caught their weapon before it could clatter to the ground and then hastily searched for somewhere to stow the guard she had knocked unconscious so that they would not be spotted.
And then she set off into the belly of the airship, drawing her weapon as she went.
"Full disclosure, for the sake of professionalism! Noir's voice rose over the rushing air "When I was going to kill your friends I told them that I wasn't going to come after you to finish the job unless I had to….Naturally that offer is null and void now!"
"Noted" Athena-Jade answered coldly before diving into the fray once again.
Thus far the mercenary Wolf Faunus had kept Athena from managing to land on the semi-truck and had instead forced her to launch a succession of diving passes and remain aloft of her Semblance-made wings which went some way to limiting what else the Bear Faunus could use her abilities to do; the trade-off however was that Stygian had managed to remain in the fight despite Noir's far greater skill and experience becoming more apparent with every exchange the two shared; the greying and fierce eyes woman having almost thrown the Wolf Faunus free of the vehicle several times already.
As Athena-Jade swooped down with Heartbreaker at the ready once more she remained determined that this exchange would not follow the same path as those before it and so she changed her approach, adjusting her grip on her oversized blade and the angle of her attack.
Noir saw the attack coming and tried to drive Stygian aside, parrying his sword with the inside edge of her own weapon and driving her shoulder into his chest in order to give the incoming Bear Faunus the proper amount of attention yet Stygian, even without communication saw that his partner had a plan of some sort and made a valiant effort to keep Noir ensnared and distracted; answering her attack with a backhand and a kick to her ribs that sent her staggering precariously.
Allowing Athena-Jade to fly passed her and ignore the Wolf Faunus entirely.
"REGALIA, SWING IT!" the snowy-haired young woman called out as Heartbreaker changed shape in her hands, transforming into its' hammer form and smashing into the damaged framework which held the semi-trucks' laser cannon. Regalia was still riding Clunker and keeping pace alongside with the larger vehicle, her harpoon embedded in the weapon after she had swung it into the rest of the loose convoy and as Athena-Jade's blow landed the Racoon Faunus pushed her jetbike forwards and into a violent spin with all of her might which ripped the entire body of the laser cannon free of the semi-truck, flying out in a wide arc until finally it was slammed through the wind-shield of an armoured car to produce a fireball and explosion of twisted metal.
"I'm gonna fall back and cover Astra, they can't drive and shoot out of both windows at the same time!" Regalia called out and Athena could only nod in response; watching as the Racoon Faunus sped away and dropped back to take up a mobile defensive position alongside the fiery red pickup truck which, despite its' armoured body had already taken some damage from Noir's cohorts.
"AJ!" Stygian's voice gave her the moment of warning she needed and Athena allowed her ephemeral and glowing wings to vanish, instead dropping low and spinning with her hammer in a move that would break legs if it landed and yet only succeeded in clearing away more debris from the now destroyed weapon mount as Noir's attempt to kick her away whipped passed her head.
"Do you have any idea what a custom job like that costs?" the mercenary howled as she flung her exposed leg back and pivoted, adjusting her stance in the limited space with incredible deftness and swinging her oversized sickle down for a two-handed slash at Athena's face and neck only to be halted as Stygian used his Semblance to travel the short distance across the rear chassis of the semi-truck and counter.
He was rewarded for his efforts by being swatted out of the air by Noir, who followed up her attack by leaping towards the rear of the trucks' cab and vaulting off of its' surface to deliver a spinning heel kick which would have sent the Mouse Faunus tumbling over the edge of the small platform on which the three of them fought if Athena had not caught him.
"STITCH!" the sudden fear in Athena's voice was unmistakable and she acted on such raw instinct that she used a glyph to catch her partner, but at the same time reached out with and grasped at him with a gloved hand and pulled him back onto the truck.
Her eyes were off of Noir for only a moment, but that was enough for the Wolf Faunus.
A shrill whistle pierced the air and both Athena and Stygian glanced upwards to find its' source; Noir had launched herself up onto the roof of the trucks' cab and was making a fluid series of hand gestures to the other vehicles from her group of sell-swords which still remained; the meaning of the gestures was quickly revealed as the rest of the convoy broke off from their efforts to try and attack, speeding out ahead of the semi-truck racing off towards whatever hidden base Nero had set up though as the various cars, trucks and buggies raced by Athena's eyes widened.
"DOWN!" She grabbed Stygian and pulled her partner close as she created an impenetrable shield of glyphs which was assaulted by countless bullets of various calibres over the space of several seconds.
"That's what you get for breaking my stuff!" Noir called down to the two younger Faunus before sheathing her oversized sickle and drawing a sawn-off shotgun from beneath the coat she wore off one shoulder like a cape "Professionalism be damned, you deserve this!"
With that declaration the Wolf Faunus spread her hands wide and the reason for her relocating to higher ground became apparent; her Semblance allowed her to manipulate the smoke in the air and the extended smokestacks of her semi-truck which Team MARS had collectively mocked earlier that morning gave her a vast amount to work with. In a matter of seconds Noir was entirely obscured from view and whilst her own aim was limited as well it mattered far less given the small space that Stygian and Athena were confined to.
"Any idea- SHIT!" Stygian was cut off as Noir fired her first shot, revealing that her shotgun was an even more ferocious weapon than it first appeared; launching small steel sakes with rods of refined Dust at their core rather than simple shells "Got any ideas? 'cos those are needlessly nasty!"
"I've got something in mind….But we're gonna have to bail out and I don't know if I'll be able to hold you as well; I need to concentrate for this" Athena answered slowly, eyes and ears straining for any sign of movement within the smoke until another steel spike was fired, so close that it rustled her hair.
"Gimme one glyph and I'll jump onto the truck from there, Astra's free to catch up now that laser's gone" Stygian answered readily and Athena acted without hesitation; conjuring a fresh pair of wings at her back and scooping he partner up to leap clear of the semi-truck just as another gunshot tore into the vehicles' armour right where she had been standing. Once airborne the Bear Faunus gazed in the direction of Astra and Regalia's vehicles and created a glyph midway between them, hoping that it would be enough before simply throwing Stygian and trusting that the Mouse Faunus could handle himself.
Then she gave chase.
Noir was hidden within the smoke and a single failed shot from Heartbreakers' laser would give away Athena's position and leave her open to counterattacks, firing at the driver in the cab was callous in a way the Bear Faunus was not quite prepared for and even then was not promised to succeed given the amount of armour adorning the rest of the truck, so instead Athena tried something far more drastic. Every ounce of focus and willpower not dedicated to keeping her airborne was dedicated to creating dozens upon dozens of glyphs within the same space, a glowing mass of shimmering and condensed light which trembled under the force required to sustain it and, with deadly precision Athena launched the collected glyphs as one under the front drivers' side wheel of the semi truck.
And then allowed them to expand and separate.
It could have been a landmine or how violent the results were, the entirety of the vehicle rocked and tipped to the side without ever slowing down and as it struck the ground at a dangerous angle the spiked plough attached to the front of the cab became its' undoing; breaking partially free and being ground through part of the engine in a screaming cacophony of tortured metal all whilst being driven into the ground at a speed and angle which produced enough force and leverage to flip the entire semi-truck end over end.
Athena was not sure where Noir had landed, but the way her control of the smoke failed in a single instant made it certain that she had thrown free of the vehicle and had likely landed violently and possibly fatally.
It was something Athena would process later, however in that moment she was more concerned with staying airborne as the effort needed to unleash such an attack left her Semblance-made wings fluctuating wildly, threatening to send her spiralling to a similar fate.
"AJ, HERE!" Regalia's voice was punctuated by the roar of Clunker and Athena breathed out a sigh of relief as she allowed herself to soar downwards into place behind her friend and wrap and arm around the biker to secure herself. Astra's truck ripped passed them at a dangerous speed, following the trail left by Noir's allies and upon seeing that Athena was firmly in place Regalia followed after her partner; catching up with the pickup truck and expertly docking her jetbike within its' bed whilst moving.
It took only a few moments for Team MARS to regroup inside after that.
"Glad you made it" Athena breathed out numbly as Stygian helped her in through a window whilst Regalia scrabbled into place with all of the practised ease of a member of Clan Aiktishaf.
"Yeah that was….That was something" her partner looked at her with almost awed reverence until Astra's voice reached back to them, the Deer Faunus lacing every syllable with grim determination.
"Wish I could've done more for you guys….But we're not done yet, Regalia can you make contact with Corvid?" their partner nodded beside them and used Astra's proffered scroll and the signal booster Corvid had provided in tandem, the interior of the pickup being filled with distorted static for a moment before Corvid Xiao Long's voice greeted them.
With the sound of a battle raging in the background.
"What's going on?" Astra demanded, stunned by the sound of screeching monsters.
"What does it sound like?" Corvid shot back testily "Grimm! They've gone crazy….They're here, the coast, outside Port Alistair, all of the larger settlements-"
"That sounds coordinated!" Astra gasped.
"I know that kid, I literally wrote a thesis on Grimm migration patterns when I was your age, trust me I know bullshit when I see it!"
"Corey, we've made contact with Noir's people" Athena interrupted, taking charge of the situation and getting to the heart of it "Noir herself is down, her people sped off ahead of her and we're following their trail….They're not splitting up or breaking off to shake us"
"So wherever they're going is either time sensitive or they're confidant that they have enough backup there to deal with you" Corvid answered darkly.
"Or both!" Astra chimed in, their voice mocking in its' sudden brightness before they added more seriously "What's the play? Do we still have backup?"
"You'll have it as soon as we're clear on the ground kid" Corvid assured them "Get close, assess the situation if you can...Although at this point it looks like stealth is off the table. You kids can handle yourselves, just sit tight until I can get you some air support"
The trumpeting bellow of a Goliath signalled the end of the communication and Team MARS were left in numb and silent shock as they contemplated the sudden change in the reality of the situation.
They had lost the element of surprise and would be racing headlong into Damascus Nero's gathered forces; an unknown amount of fighters, Cyber-Grimm and unknown other horrors to say nothing of Gestalt-Prime.
It was exactly what they had left Breaktide Academy to do and now each of them wondered if they were capable.
From the outside it was becoming more clear with every passing moment that Project Megalodon was nearing completion.
The airship had been of a smaller civilian variety, of the type favoured by ostentatious movie stars or wealthy public figures who insisted upon their presence being a spectacle at all times; fitted with minimal defences simply to ensure that the Creatures of Grimm could be kept at bay if a small flock of airborne monsters were encountered and additional stealth capabilities which nobody familiar with Damascus Nero's eccentricities and love of privacy had questioned.
Now however the thing defied all description and classification.
It was undeniably a Cyber-Grimm to be a sure and despite the project being named for a prehistoric shark the overall appearance and dimensions of the thing, coupled with the lack of anything resembling a dorsal fin left it more closely resembling some other ancient marine predator; perhaps a metallic, monstrous mosasaur. In place of a tail or any rear flippers or appendages the Megalodon still boasted a pair of massive rear nacelles adorned with and surrounded by an array of constantly adjusting fins, though these had been transformed and were now lined with layers of armour which was arranged in swept-back and spiked formations whilst many of the fins themselves now sported translucent and fleshy membranes.
The overall body of the airship Cyber-Grimm was now far larger than it had once been, with the entire length of the vessel being cracked apart and reformed with dense, mineral-rich bone tissue filling in the gaps in the superstructure until what replaced the initial vessel a single metallic spine and metallic ribs around which layers of obsidian muscle and flesh had been stretched and grown, with more bone and living metal still grafting itself along the flanks of the Cyber-Grimm as the transformation, positioned in ways which made it clear that despite its' lively appearance the thing was not intended to move of flex its' vast muscles. The ribcage like structure of the Megalodon was hollowed out, with various airlocks, blast doors and other openings visible; the entire underside of the airship being composed of newly made parts which would house launch bays for Cyber-Grimm and more importantly the reworked Forge itself, allowing the Megalodon to create more metallic horrors so long as it had the resources to do so. To either side of the ribs, affixed to the flanks of the airship were a pair of sweeping, angular pectoral fins whose surfaces were a mixture of jet-black flesh, bone and machinery with each appendage playing host to several weapon mounts supporting lasers, rockets and possibly more esoteric weapons made by the Grimm-flesh.
The command bridge, along with the entire prow of the airship was now the skull of the Megalodon, its' cranium a roughly oval shape, one with its' font and back edges sharpened into something sleek and fierce; its' shape alone suggesting predatory instinct and ferocity even before one took into account that the airship now had a gaping maw filled with enormous teeth and a lolling black tongue, allowing the Cyber-Grimm to consume raw materials to produce more monstrous spawn. It had no eyes, instead the bridge of the vessel took up them entirety of the space eyes and a brain should have occupied and remained outwardly untouched even if the Grimm tissue had worked its' way into every facet of the machine in order to merge its' disparate halves.
Damascus Nero and his trusted scientists and crew had made their way aboard already and were likely guiding the final stages of the process at that very moment whilst Gestalt-Prime remained on the ground below, deliberately kept from being brought up into the forming Megalodon and instead guarded and watched from all sides for any sign of treachery as they hung, motionless from cables and umbilical tethers which were beginning to show signs of deterioration as the process neared its' conclusion which suspended them from the underside of the Grimm-Airship. Carmesi Hueso had been tasked with commanding those guards and leading the charge against Gestalt-Prime if the Alpha Cyber-Grimm took action, at present however the Komodo Dragon Faunus had found himself atop the still forming Megalodon, roaming across its' upper surface with his hellish crimson eyes narrowed and the larger of his two weapons in hand.
He sensed treachery from another source and intended to stamp it out.
"Be advised" he rumbled into an earpiece which would allow him to speak to every member of his security and defensive team at once "Unknown hostile, several people have been taken out already. Pair up and cover your posts, don't let one another out of your sights"
A chorus of assent reached Carmesi, fewer voices than there should have been and the reptilian let out a wordless growl before focusing on the task at hand; when one of his subordinates had failed to check in when expected Carmesi had looked for them and found the guard unconscious close to an access hatch that had been broken open from the outside, sweeping the corridors had allowed him to find two more similarly disabled members of his team and from there it had become painfully apparent what was happening. Carmesi did not know whether the attacker was an outsider managing to overpower his people or it was a spy who had managed to worm there way within but he hoped that having the remaining guards work in pairs would cover both bases; what the rogue Hunter did know however was that somebody was trying to stop Project Megalodon from reaching its' completion and was making their way towards a key area of the airship, an area which tampering with would activate several fail-safes.
"If they don't want to live in a better Remnant than they won't have to, it doesn't need them" the rogue Hunter snarled under his breath as he picked up speed and raced towards the rear of the Megalodon. The most obvious place to launch such an attack would have been the command bridge and yet the attacker had chosen not to do so, a fact which was suggestive to Carmesi, especially when paired with the stealthy approach being taken and the fact that his allies had been injured but not critically so, with care being seemingly taken to keep them from striking their heads as they hit the ground. Carmesi's eyes narrowed with suspicion and a building fury as he reached his goal, another access point; one located towards the rear of the airship at a juncture between the right nacelle and tail-fin assembly and the enormous engines which fed it.
Retribution shifted into its' shotgun mode and fired, blasting the access hatch away with a single shot.
"Hello little girl….Bored of being Daddy's favourite are we?" he snarled, fangs bared at the sight of the Grasshopper Faunus below him. His suspicions were confirmed in an instant, the sudden look of ashen-faced dread on Zirconia's face more telling than the panelling that had been forcibly opened beside her and the weapon already in her hand and with no more warning than a savage snarl Carmesi attacked; dropping down to one knee and unleashing his Semblance as he reached through the open hatch and struck the ceiling of the corridor in which Zirconia stood.
"You don't get to run from me!" the bellowed challenge was vicious and calculated, he knew well enough that Zirconia's record of being forced to retreat or leave people behind in important situations was one which she agonised over in private and the older rogue hoped that he could drive her to anger, enough that she made mistakes. As Carmesi's Semblance solidified his Aura in a series of stalactites of pure, crimson Aura which tore downwards through all of Zirconia's possible escape routes in a wave of blades and spears Zirconia made a move which proved to be the misstep Carmesi hoped for.
She launched herself directly upwards.
"Idiot girl" he growled as he flung himself back from the opening he had created just as Zirconia's cybernetic legs brought her hurtling outwards, only for him to drive a booted foot into her midsection and send her staggering backwards. Knowing that her mechanical limbs would allow her to find purchase on almost any surface Carmesi pressed his advantage before she could recover and sheathed his weapon as he charged forwards and seized Zirconia by the midsection, tackling her and sending the two of them over the edge of Megalodon.
Any fighting spirit Zirconia might have had was knocked from her as she landed back first on the hard ground.
Struggling to breath the Grasshopper rolled onto her chest and gulped in painful lungfuls of air whilst trying to drag herself along the ground towards Sunriser Cain which had fallen from her grasp when she hit the ground; she was tantalisingly close, the gloved fingers of her right hand brushing against the weapon when her pain exploded through her once again as Carmesi delivered a crushing kick to her side.
"If you were anybody else you would already be dead" Carmesi's voice thundered down, forcing its' way into Zirconia's consciousness through the haze of pain; the reptilian placing a booted foot down on the side of her skull in an obvious threat.
"But Mister Nero thinks of you as family and….I understand what losing family does to someone" Carmesi's voice wavered almost imperceptibly before he moved his foot and instead reached down to haul Zirconia to her feet "So he can be the one to decided what to do with-"
The threat was cut short by the sound of alarms and klaxons ringing, a deafening onslaught of noise that came from every direction at once and saw Carmesi's grip on Zirconia relax by the slightest fraction as confusion and anger, but never fear competed for prominence until the Komodo Dragon Faunus tapped his earpiece.
"What's going on?" he demanded, with a panicked response coming from one of the sentries stationed at Jidhir Town's perimeter.
"Grimm inbound, they're coming at us from all sides and there's too many of them to count"
Author's Notes:
Well then here we are, the mid-season finale of Vol.08 is now underway.
Debatable whether this chapter counts as the main event of the undercard….But the next couple of chapters are gonna be completely nuts I can promise you that much.
I've got plans for up to Chapter 134, then I'll have to take a break to plan the second half of the volume but given that I'm literally ten weeks ahead of what I'm posting it's fine.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Couple days of time-skip, just to give the characters a little breathing room, help with the suspension of disbelief because I feel like it's a little weird if the plot happens every single day and also to sell the idea that Team MARS actually got themselves bagged by the law.
Corey lost the eye first and it's the opposite eye to Ruby.
Stygian has never seen robots like that before and its experienced uncanny valley for the first time….Regalia grew up with a tribe that use robots as sled dogs.
The only time I've actually written a talking Atlas Knight was during FADE, one was part of a private security company.
Oh yeah Corvid actually told Winter that she wasn't interested in joining the first time she was offered it.
The inspiration for Noir's semi-truck is pretty simple….I collect Transformers figures and had the "Rise of the Beasts" Scourge next to my laptop while I was writing.
Corvid is just dragging everyone's rides today….Also yeah, Sky Lark of Team CRDL at one point drove what she described as "The Tragic School bus", fun fact he died when Nickel threw the bus at him.
Wesley Stripes….Not sorry.
Oh boy here, we go; we're starting the plan to make an airship sized Cyber-Grimm.
"That would require you to wake up before sunrise….We both know that having you awake and alert before noon can be enough of a challenge" yay for teenager jokes.
"I've seen enough of the Cyber-Grimm and new science being put into practice. Pikesreach soured it for me" yeah, that was definitely some traumatic shit and is enough reason for Hops to want to be a million miles from this even if she wasn't plotting.
So, Gestalt-Prime is definitely under a ton of security….And a little off-hand comment about why they don't make more of themselves, or any more intelligent Cyber-Grimm; they don't want competition.
Obligatory Pantheon scene with the Grimm General thinking to themselves.
So the plan was to hit every major settlement at once and rattle the defences, put Menagerie as a whole on the defensive whilst preparing a second wave….That changed when they caught sight of Nero's various people leaving the settlements.
So the new plan is to throw something at Menagerie's settlements to distract them whilst also hunting down Nero's people and attacking Nero from all sides.
Oh and we're going full Pacific Rim and having a double emergence, two boss fight Grimm at once….These are the two that Pantheon cooked up last chapter and I promise they will get proper descriptions next chapter so you can see what they actually are.
I mean AJ's right, nobody else is driving a mad-max semi-truck through the wasteland.
It's been a while since I wrote a car chase, especially the kind with Semblances and gun-fighting involved.
Yeah, those armoured tires aren't easy to slash.
The combo between Stygian and Regalia, turning Noir's laser against the other mercenaries was great; and also a Terminator 2 reference….the scene where the T-1000 hooks part of itself onto the car.
They were laughing at the smokestacks earlier….Now remember what her Semblance is.
Of course AJ went to help, there was no other option.
And that's how you know this isn't the main event; Astra isn't in the middle of it.
So the creation of the Megalodon is just gruesome from the start.
The jaw forming being what makes Zirconia finally 'Nope' out just felt right….Because an airship should not have teeth; it also felt like a little nod to Evangelion, the scene where Unit 3 goes nuts.
Yeah she was genuinely about to throw up or have a panic attack there, but she held it together and got on with the plan.
"I'm Zirconia Shadowmoon and I'm a….Well, this is what I do, I guess" is a play on Astra's "We're Team MARZ, we're Hunters this is what we do" line….It's telling that she thinks of Astra almost as much as AJ, 'cos she loves AJ but she absolutely respects and looks up to Astra as a leader and someone who's grown.
So Zirconia knows she can't fight Gestalt-Prime herself, instead she's gonna force them into doing something that will get them shot by Carmesi and the other Cyber-Grimm; devious.
Oh what's this, Zirconia knocking out a random person who got in the way of her sabotage efforts….Must be a day that ends in Y.
Given that Stygian can teleport into her space and Athena is probably the most versatile fighter in the story Noir is doing well just holding them both at bay to such an extent that AJ can't even land.
Regalia out here engaging in Fast and the Furious level shenanigans, she should have said something about "Family".
Noir's anger is real, that can't have been cheap.
Did you really think she didn't have a gun as well? She didn't start shooting in a bar full of people, but this is different.
When AJ decides she's gonna solo someone you know you're gonna see some crazy shit.
Cinematic crashing and explosion worthy of Michael Bay; Noir got absolutely yeeted.
Stygian's reaction to AJ is real "Holy crap….She is awesome and terrifying and I can't believe I had sex with her".
So Pantheon has launched their attacks and they're working as planned, Corvid is tied up.
Also the thing about her writing a thesis on Grimm migration is actually a callback to FADE: Legacy and she actually used that thesis to spot discrepancies and predict that Pantheon was gonna launch an attack on Neo Vale….And then proceeded to get payback on Pantheon for cutting her eye out by shoving the rear axel of a personnel carrier through their skull.
Importantly though, Noir's out of the picture but there's still nothing stopping Team MARS from carrying on with the plan.
Okay so this is what the Megalodon looks like and as I was thinking about it I realised that since it doesn't actually have a moving tail or a fin that I was making something closer to a Mosasaur and I seriously considered going back and changing every instance of the project name but ultimately decided against it….So yeah, it's something that fills a similar role to Monstra, except its' a Cyber-Grimm and looks a lot more sleek and streamlined and predatory.
Nero is aboard the airship and Gestalt-Prime will be up and about again soon.
So Carmesi knows that something is weird because he ordered his people to make regular check ins, one of them didn't and now he's found several people Zirconia knocked out.
"If they don't want to live in a better Remnant than they won't have to, it doesn't need them" there you go, there's Carmesi in one line.
Yeah, the fact that whoever is trying to stop the Megalodon didn't go to the bridge and target Nero as well kinda gives away who it is.
Carmesi vs Zirconia wasn't even a fight, he just called her out on being a coward and dragged her physically as well as verbally….But don't worry Carmesi is gonna get a real fight with someone, everyone is.
But of course we are ending the chapter with a cliffhanger and plot ex Machina.
So to be clear we're going into the next chapter with Zirconia having failed to stop Project Megalodon and getting caught, both it and Gestalt-Prime are gonna be operational soon, Pantheon has sent a Grimm army to surround Jidhir town and there are two boss fight Grimm and to top it all off Team MARS are inbound, but their air support and backup is delayed.
Thank you to Neil12 and MajorBrony95/CrayZeeMan for their reviews on the last chapter.
Gotta love Corey's puns.
Now why would we tell Weiss when we can just let tension build...Especially when I'm gonna use that tension later?
Yeah, gotta get that stress relief...But not at the expense of everything else.
I wouldn't say exactly like Salem's strategy, Nero is planning surgical strikes rather than full-frontal assault; because this Atlas military is actually capable and not just for decoration.
Don't worry this still only the first half of the volume, there's still plenty of time for plans to change and/or go wrong.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.