Here's the Discord invite link: Please join Discord at: /mY2QfzMjGt
Next week marks our 100th Chapter! Please join to see two fun promos!
Rex and the others were riding on through the abandoned streets. Rex kept his eyes focused on the road, but everyone else had their head on a swivel. Between Grimm that could disguise itself as a child, the Seamstress, and the abominations Kylie and Rex encountered early on during their stay, the group kept an eye out for anything that might be another crime against nature. One word from them and Rex would floor it. The group was still going fast, of course, fast enough to where they couldn't be easily ambushed by any opportunistic creatures. Nothing caught anyone's eye, so for the moment, they continued on at the current speed. As Min kept watch, the chaos demon felt a tinge in her ear, like something was off. She looked around for its source, but the sound of the Rex Ride's engine drowned it out.
"Rex, stop real quick," Min said.
"Stop? You sure?" Rex asked.
"Yes! I think I heard something, I just can't tell because of the engine!"
Rex took Min's word for it and slowed down a bit. After the roar of the engine died down some, he listened to the air, seeing if he could hear whatever it was too, or if it was just Min.
"What did you think you heard?" Yang asked Min after taking a listen for herself.
"...a bell," Mind said.
"A bell?" Blonko repeated.
"Yeah, like a church bell."
"Where there's a bell, there's people who want to be found," Rex reasoned, "Could be a trap, could be the best news we've gotten all day. Either way, get ready."
Kylie and Yang checked their respective weapons' ammo while Blonko shifted the Prototool into its sword configuration.
"Only lead we got, though. So if it is a trap, guess we just need to spring it," Yang added.
"I just want out of this place," Kylie said, "Already faced two nightmares. Let's not add a third to the list."
"We'll be out of here in no time. Promise," Rex said, "Besides, I think-"
The augmented Ace-Op was interrupted when Yang's Scroll started to go off, blaring a rock song with lyrics that just seemed very…Yang for lack of a better term. Everyone who could afford to take their eyes off their surroundings did, looking over at Yang.
"The hell?" the blonde muttered, reaching into her pocket and answering the call as quickly as she could. Hopefully the echoing ringtone didn't attract any unwanted attention.
"Hello?"
"Yang! Put me on speaker if you can!" the voice of Doctor Holliday came over the line.
"Doctor?" Yang said, as she put the doctor on blast, "Alright, you're on. Thought this place was a dead zone. How are you-?"
"Thank Dr. Weller and Albedo. We managed to improvise a solution with one of Albedo's aliens, don't recognize the species. It's probably not even a pure version of any species, but that's besides the point. We're boosting the signal of our comms equipment with these...little sound discs from the alien," The doctor explained through static. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was at least a workable one.
Everyone was thankful hearing a familiar voice again, but Kylie paused for a moment. Weller she expected, but then she realized the second name Holiday said.
"Wait, Albedo!? You guys let that dude out of his cage?!" Kylie yelled.
"I am the only one who knows what you're up against." Albedo cut in, his voice sounding like some kind of machine. The clacking of a keyboard being typed on echoed out as well between his words..
"And what you're facing is Breach," the Galvan continued.
"Breach? You mean the freaky schoolgirl that sent us here," Yang corrected.
"Yes, though 'schoolgirl' is incredibly inaccurate. Her attire gives off such an impression, true, but Breach's true nature is much simpler: an abomination."
"Yeah, we got that when some crazy Grimm chased after us like we're in a fucking horror movie," Min scoffed, "Gonna assume she's how Salem's lackies are able to move so quickly between point A and point B and vanish into thin air?"
"And she's the one who dolls out Salem's punishments to those who fail her. Tyrian Callows, for instance. He was sent there a long time ago...and he still hasn't been let out," Albedo explained.
"TYRIAN IS HERE?" Yang gasped. Last time she saw him, Ruby had cut off his tail. That creepy bastard was already well and truly insane, but even he didn't deserve to deal with this hellscape.
"He's been in there for months at least; a year at most. If he IS still alive, at any rate," Albedo explained, "By your own admission, you've met up with and broken some of Breach's favorite 'toys'."
Kylie shivered, "Yeah. Cute collection. Something tells me she doesn't mind if her toys are in mint condition or not."
"That she does not," the Galvan confirmed, just adding to the grim tone that already permeated this place.
"So, where are we on the map?" Yang said, "Are you sending copters? An airship to bomb this place off the map?"
"...well, we can't."
"What do you mean you can't?" Rex asked.
"Breach's 'Dollhouse', as she calls it...is not on the same plane of existence as what we know. It's...a pocket dimension, somewhat like the Null Void. I don't know how but that town you're in? It was her first victim, the base for it if you will. "
"...her portals nabbed an entire town? When was this!?" Kylie yelled. "Why didn't Buzzfeed Unsolved cover this shit!?"
"For one, I don't know what that is. For another neither Salem nor Breach would say," Albedo explained, "Breach just...smiled, almost started laughing, like it was just a joke to her. And Salem? All she said was, 'Let her have her fun.'"
"...Jesus christ, we need to get the FUCK outta here," Rex said, "How do we get out!?"
"Usually? Only Breach can get you in or out...but I have a theory. Xiao-Long, keep your Scroll on. That's our anchor."
"If you say so..." Yang said, as she attached her Scroll to her belt. "You're paying the phone bill for this."
"...You're in a different dimension. I doubt an Earth company would even know how to charge for that. Besides, I'm under arrest. How would I pay for it?"
"Two things. One, phone companies always find a way to screw us over. Two, no idea but this is just the start of the payback you've earned," Yang said, as Rex drove off again, a bit faster this time.
Back in Atlas, Albedo, who was still in the form of Ultimate Echo-Echo, sighed a little at Yang's declaration. She was right, they had some right to exact some payback on him. But, that could wait. Right now, he was going over some of the data they managed to pull from their brief examination of Breach.
"I still don't understand," Doctor Weller said, looking over it himself, "How can she have that kind of power? There's no way it's a Semblance, there's no obvious limits to it. Was it a gift, a mutation? None of this makes sense!"
"...and your little yet-to-be-approved side-project involving mentally-controlled Paladins does?" Holiday asked.
"Specially CUSTOMIZED Paladins, thank you very much!"
"Like I said. She's an enigma. A creation born from a Shrodinger's paradox. I'm not even sure she has vitals to track," Albedo said.
"'That's...concerning," Holiday said, "But you still haven't filled us in on your plan."
"...I'm going to replicate her rift."
"You're going to what?"
"Replicate it. There's an alien I rarely use, situational...and this fits his toolkit exactly. That's why Yang's Scroll needs to remain on. I need something I can lock onto. Otherwise, one of Breach's more dangerous toys might be set loose in Atlas..."
"And the general would have your head for it," Weller mused, "Caution it is, then."
"The general already has my head, for the purpose of grilling it for knowledge on Salem's plans," Albedo corrected.
"Figure of speech."
Holiday looked back at where they had once held Breach, the fortified x-shaped shackles hanging empty. After all her taunts and creepy poems...she could've broken out at any time, couldn't she? The fact that they caught her at all was all part of her game. Felix hadn't won some great victory, he played right into Breach's sick game.
"...do you think that, like the maidens, maybe...Breach is a force of nature?" Holiday theorized, "One of unpredictability?"
"As clever as that'd be, no." Albedo shook his head. "Whatever she is...she will always be a mystery."
"...and she thrives on that. Doesn't she? She enjoys making people guess," Holiday said, "'Here I am...try and figure me out. I'll just laugh as it eats you up inside...'"
"Best not dwell on it for now..." Albedo frowned, as he returned to work. He checked the position of Yang's Scroll on the tracking equipment they set up. As he worked, he always made sure to take looks back up at the screen. He was...nervous, really. The Dollhouse...while working under Salem, even he was concerned about it. No, concern was too light of a word. He actively feared it.
"I hope this goes well..." Albedo said. He wasn't a gambling man, but...
This was a really, really big gamble.
Back in Breach's Dollhouse, Ruby's group had come across the church. It looked like your average, run-of-the mill, small town church, albeit a bit bigger with a parking lot adjacent to the building on the side and cut off by a now-rusted black-iron fence. The interior was what you'd expect of a small town church. Pews were neatly organized in rows, like a mass was about to begin soon and a decently sized congregation was about to make its way inside. The dead air and the eerie atmosphere that covered the rest of Greenville seemed to be amplified here. There was just something about abandoned churches that added to the creepy factor.
"Is all of Ohio just...like this?" Ceres asked.
"Meh. Probably worse." Ben shrugged.
"...calling bull right now."
"Yeah, I'm with Ceres. What could be worse than walking through Silent Hill?" Ruby asked.
"I dunno. Dealing with the hellspawn from Resident Evil." Ben guessed.
"...mix that with what we've seen here? Yeah, no, definitely worse." Ruby shivered at the thought of a Beowolf mutating like the zombie dogs from those games. With that perfectly horrifying image pushed to the back of her mind, she and the rest of the group made their way into the church. Hopefully, they'd find whoever rang the bell, maybe Yang or Kevin had gotten here before them.
Blake looked out into the distance, looking for any sign of the others, just on the off chance. She hadn't heard from Yang…at all really. She was still happily napping in the library's supply closet when Ben had called Yang over the Omnitrix. "I hope Yang and the others are okay...hopefully they got lucky, didn't run into anything out there."
"Maybe she's the one who rang it," Weiss suggested, hoping to keep Blake's spirits up.
"Maybe. That does seem like a Yang move." Ruby said.
"Just to be on the safe side...Weiss, Ceres, let's go see if someone's still up there," Ben said.
And what about the rest of us? Neo asked.
"Stay here and defend in case...whatever sent us here comes back to finish us." Ceres ordered. Mostly, it was just so the Archimedian could keep an eye on Neo. Sure, the mute girl said she was on their side, that she surrendered, but she shared Weiss' thought process here. Neo was a trickster at heart. She could afford to wait, work out a long con.
Last stand in a church surrounded by monsters. What movie did that again? Neo joked, oblivious to the distrust aimed at her.
Weiss just rolled her eyes at Neo's attempted joke, before putting a hand on Myrtenaster's hilt and following Ben and Ceres up to the church's bell tower. The ascent was, mercifully, uneventful. No jumpscares from Grimm lying in wait, no spider webs that made Weiss freak out because she wasn't ready for them, just a normal trip to the top of the empty and still bell tower.
As they all ascended though, they took notice of the same thing. There was nothing. The dead silence that the Dollhouse was synonymous with had returned, and it couldn't have chosen a worse time.
"The hell...but we heard it ringing. We ALL heard it right?" Weiss asked.
"We did...but it looks like no one's rung this thing in years. Decades, maybe," Ben said, running a finger across the bell's surface, wiping a heavy trail of dust off the bronze shell.
"...so, if it wasn't the bell..." Ceres had a worried look on her face. "...what did we hear?"
Back downstairs, the others were moving pews, tables, chairs, anything they could find to try and make a barricade. Block off the windows, keep the door accessible enough for the others to get in, but have debris nearby to block it off at a moment's notice. Surprisingly enough, it was Neo who came up with all of these plans. Of course, the others had to connect the dots from the silent girl's actions.
When asked about her plans, Neo's response was simple.
...what? You think I haven't watched a zombie movie before? she sighed.
"...do you have any idea what she's saying?" Ruby whispered to Blake.
"None whatsoever."
Right...keep forgetting, Neo facepalmed and just continued to help set up everything. It wasn't soon after everything was finished and ready for a final stand that Ben, Weiss, and Ceres came back down. Blake heard them coming and turned to them.
"Was it-?" Blake started.
"The bell didn't even ring," Weiss said suddenly.
What? Neo asked, raising a brow at that, But...we ALL heard that.
"Yeah. I know." Ben sounded very mystified.
"...okay, how come he-" Ruby began, before the bell suddenly rang again.
"What the fuck..." Ceres muttered, looking up towards the bell tower.
"...well that's not creepy at all," Blake deadpanned.
"Not creepy at all? I'm hurt by your words, Blake Arryn Belladonna..." A voice whispered from the darkest parts of the church.
Blake nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard that, a hand flying to grab her weapon's hilt as she turned to face where the voice came from. Seeing Blake suddenly go into fight mode, everyone else joined her, weapons being drawn and a hand hovering over the Omnitrix in Ben's case.
"What's wrong?" The voice asked, now behind Ruby's ear. "Did I frighten you all?"
Ruby turned on her heel, Crescent Rose ready to fire a shot, but she didn't see anything.
"Guys...that voice..." Weiss said.
"It's her," Ben said. He could practically hear that same crazy laughter from before they were all sent here.
And then he could actually hear it, the "owner" of this town giggling madly to herself, the sound echoing off the walls of the church.
"Her. That's it? That's all you can think up? I think it'd do you some good to call me by my real name..." A crimson rift opened on the floor of the church, grabbing everyone's attention. Like she was being lifted out of it through some other force, the entity soon appeared in her full terrifying visage before them all.
"My name is Breach...and welcome to my world." Red energy from the rift still swirled beneath her, acting almost like a platform for her before she stepped off of it and the rift shrank shut entirely. The unmistakable trademark white and red school uniform of hers, her four arms outstretched to the side like she was showing off some prize.
"And lookie here, if it isn't maybe the rarest of all my new toys," Breach said with a tilt of her head. Thanks to her bangs covering her eyes, no one could really see who she was looking at; no one except Neo. She could feel Breach's eyes locked onto her.
"Shame I couldn't get the matching set. I'd have all three of them here. Omnitrix, AntiTrix, and Ultimatrix. Not to mention the two traitors~ I already have the complete sets for Zeta Squad and Team RWBY~" Salem's mystery agent chuckled.
"We're not toys to you, you...freakish woman child," Ben wasn't sure if that was the strongest comeback, but his A-game was kinda shot because the aura Breach gave off was dark and threatening. The woman wanted people to fear her, and given how she could pop up anywhere?
Breach cackled in a low voice, "Oh, Ben...your quips are much more pathetic than usual. I suppose that means...I'm doing my job right."
The enigma woman looked around and smirked, "And because you're here...that means the other's will be here soon too. Good~"
Neo slowly reached her hand to the handle of her parasol, gripping it and slowly pulling it out, revealing the concealed blade inside.
"Ah, ah, aaaaaah~ Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with needles?~" Breach giggled and held a hand out towards Neo. A red portal appeared underneath the parasol-using fighter's feet and started to rather quickly swallow her up.
"Oh shit!" Ben yelled, jumping in as quickly as he could. Neo sheathed the blade back into her parasol and used the handle as a way for someone to grab hold of her. She held onto the actual parasol part very carefully, as one wrong move could have the blade extend out from the top. Ben quickly grabbed a hold of the parasol's handle and started to pull, making Breach just increase the force pulling Neo down.
"It'll be fun watching you break like Tyrian. Maybe I'll even get to hear you scream~" Breach taunted. Her confident bragging was interrupted when a flurry of ice spikes flew at her. Rifts appeared and swallowed the spikes up, letting them out so that they impaled the wall behind her. Weiss stood with Myrtenaster at the ready, a light blue glyphe hovering in front of the rapier blade. The heiress smirked as her plan succeeded.
With Breach's focus divided, the pull of the rift lessened and Ben was able to pull Neo free of the rift. Once out, Neo flipped Hush around to grab its handle herself before dusting herself off.
"Pest..." Breach hissed at Weiss, red sparks jumping between her fingers as she readied some retaliation for the heiress.
Ben sighed in relief before turning to face Breach and activating the Omnitrix, "I think your 'toys' decided to play dirty!"
He slapped down the Omnitrix, and began to feel his body bulk up- a hardened shell grew on his back, as his lower jaw grew and a massive horn sprouted from the top of his head.
"Eatle?!" Ruby yelled. "Why him!?"
"Huh...I don't usually collect bugs..." Breach said, before holding out another arm and literally throwing another rift at Ruby. Ben raced over and grabbed a hold of Ruby before he ducked out of the way.
"Why him? Easy," Ben said, letting Ruby go, "I need to see what his upgrade can do." With that Ben slammed down the Omnitrix symbol again. The shell on his back split down the middle and opened up, revealing a pair of translucent wings. Sleek, black metal encompassed Ben's head and jaws, glowing green lines snaking across the metal like circuits. Two visors covered his normal eyes, letting that same green glow shine through. The fangs on Ben's jaws also gained the green light, making them seem like neon holograms. The metal then snaked down further, covering his chest, shifting from black to white before connecting back on to the Omnitrix symbol, making a metal vest for the alien.
"Not much of a difference," Ruby admitted.
"On the outside, maybe, but that's probably because Eatle's already a walking tank."
"Oooh, shiny...maybe this bug will be worth something..." Breach giggled, as she sent some more portals at the group. They began to orbit around them all, throwing out various attacks like blasts of fire, lightning bolts and unidentified debris.
"She's a wild card alright..." Weiss frowned. "Just like the rest of Salem's little cabal."
"Yeah. But so are Omni-Drives," Ben smirked. Eatle's fangs started to grow brighter before he opened his maw. Energy started to condense in the air in front of him and, soon, an energy construct of Eatle's jaws appeared right in front of Ben. When he bit down, so did the energy jaws, clamping down and catching some of the debris Breach's rifts tossed their way.
A portal flew over to Blake, smoke rising out of the rift as if it led to a furnace. Almost like it was commanded to do so, a steam of fire launched out, only to be blocked by a stone wall, courtesy of a quick Dust jab from Weiss. Ceres dodged bolts of lightning, each one just a fraction of a second too slow to hit her, only scorching the floor of the church. Neo, now that she was free of the crimson quicksand, was practically dancing her way through the debris as it flew at her, scaling a chunk of wall here, spinning past another slab of concrete there, ending her performance in an overly dramatic bow.
"...show off," Weiss muttered.
Jealous, ice queen? Neo stuck her tongue out at Weiss, just to mess with the heiress a little bit.
Breach was so focused on trying to kill the others, she didn't realize just how big of a mistake she'd just made. With all the rubble littering the inside of the church, it was the perfect source of ammunition. When the massive beetle bit down, so too did the energy jaws, clamping down and devouring some of that wayward debris. Eatle then opened his mouth, and fired a concentrated blast of energy from out of his maw. The attack was unexpected and strong- however, the energy on his suit slightly decreased.
"So, gotta keep eating to do that, huh?" Ben said. "Fair trade." Ben swooped down, and gobbled up a pew with his metal jaws.
Ceres and Blake shared a look and nodded to each other; it was time to turn the tables on Breach. Blake started the assault off, taking aim and firing a few shots at the mutant schoolgirl. Breach simply waved her arm and formed another rift that swallowed up the shots. With a snap of her fingers, two more rifts appeared besides Breach in a triangular formation. Each one began spitting Blake's bullets back out, all aimed at different people. Blake dodged out of the way, letting a few shadow duplicates take the hits. Ceres just tanked the shots, holding her arms in front of her face to protect it. As for Neo, she simply rested her parasol on her shoulder and stood there. When the bullets pierced into the three-toned girl, she shattered like glass.
"You and your little theatrics," Breach hissed.
The mutant shifted her gaze to her left for a moment, knowing the trick Neo was trying to pull. The glint of a blade caught the mutant's attention and she jumped back just in time. Neo raced into Breach's field of view, with Hush's blade drawn. Thanks to the mutant's uncanny senses, Neo just barely missed her stab, aimed right at Breach's ribs. She stopped herself short, turned on her heel, and took another stab at the four-armed entity, only for Breach to smirk and jump to the side. Blake threw out Gambol Shroud, wrapping the ribbon around Breach's legs and letting Ceres rush in from the right. An Archimedian-right hook slammed into Breach's cheek, knocking her off her feet and sending her flying into some of the pews. Blake then pulled on the ribbon and lifted Breach up, throwing her into the air. Breach growled as teleported out of the grip, moving herself over slightly mid-air. She smirked after having freed herself, only for her cocky smile to be replaced with a look of annoyance as she landed. Breach turned, only to be greeted by the charging green light of another of Eatle's blasts.
"Ohhhhh gre-" Breach started to say before Ben fired, engulfing Breach in a massive green explosion.
Ben's eyes narrowed at the smoke, trying to see if Breach was destroyed. It wasn't a stretch of the imagination, after all. That was a direct hit, he was positive. No one could survive an Omni-Drive enhanced blast at point blank like that.
The dust remained, hovering and hanging in the air like a bad omen and from out of the dust, something rose up. The silhouette that appeared in the smoke and dust wasn't Breach. Far from it.
"...the fuck is THAT?" Ben yelled.
The dust was suddenly swept aside by wings unfurling. Standing before the group was what could only be described as a Grimm gargoyle. Standing at its full height, which seemed to be close to ten feet even, the creature easily dwarfed Ruby and the others. Its humanoid form was protected by bone plates around the chest, small spikes jutting out from the shoulders and moving down its back and spine, between its wings and down the length of its tail. It took a step forward, its feet more akin to the talons of a bird of prey, three claws jutting forward with a fourth in the back to stabilize it. Two dull horns rose from the sides of its head and curved outward, but the most striking feature was the face.
Or rather the lack of a face. No eyes, no nose, not even a mouth. Just smooth, black flesh and yet Ben could feel this thing staring right at him.
"A Gaunt..." Weiss whispered in shock, "I never even knew they were real..."
"How easy is it to take down?" Ben asked.
Weiss shook her head. "Good luck with that..."
The Gaunt then suddenly jerked its head towards Weiss, almost as if it understood that the heiress said its name. Despite the obvious lack of a mouth, the thing let out a nightmarish screech that made everyone cover their ears, Blake especially. The poor Faunus felt her ears start ringing from the sound's pitch. Ben was still recovering when he felt a sudden gust of wind rush past him. The Gaunt flew past Ben, completely ignoring him and making a beeline for the heiress. The winged Grimm reared its claws back as it was ready to strike. Weiss was about to try and block the slash, summon up a Glyph to protect herself, but the Gaunt was too fast. Ceres tried to race over to tackle the heiress out of the way, but even she was too slow to do anything. All she could do was watch the Gaunt bring its claws down on Weiss.
Instead of flesh and fabric tearing, the sound of shattering glass filled the church. Shards that held Weiss' colors scattered across the tiled floor. The gargoyle Grimm tilted its head, picking up one of the shards and inspecting it. The creature let out a low growl before closing its fingers around the shard and shattering it further.
Weiss still had a panicked expression on her face, before she realized the Grimm was now a few feet away from her. She didn't have time to defend herself or dodge, though. She turned to see Neo standing next to her, blade at the ready and her confidence steady.
The heiress stared at Neo for a few minutes. If Neo was a spy, that would've been the perfect time to just…let Weiss die. She could just wave it off as "I couldn't get there in time." Yes it was an excuse, but a believable one. If she died to that thing's claws, the others could back up the claim of "the Grimm was too fast." But, no. She just went out of her way to save Weiss.
You're welcome, Ice Queen, Neo smirked. Even if Weiss didn't understand sign language, the intent was clear. She nodded and readied Myrtenaster, spinning the chamber in the rapier.
"This thing is at least an S-tier," Weiss said, "we're going to need a very, very good plan before we even think about attacking it."
Ceres looked at the environment- what could they use to their advantage? The pews could work to distract the beast. Then again, it might just render them nothing more than splinters, not to mention the fact that by using the pews, Ceres would be weakening their defensives from the outside threats.
"Anyone know some of their weaknesses?" the Archimedian asked.
"Gaunts are…," Blake began, pausing for a moment to think after shaking her head to try and lessen the ringing in her ears, "The only time we ever heard about one of these was one of Professor Oobleck's lectures. One of the legends from Vale..."
In truth, the feline Faunus was still just as awestruck as Weiss that this thing was real.
"Ok? And how'd the legend go?" Ben asked, already moving over to another pew to get more ammo.
"Short version? A group of heroic hunters set out to kill the Gaunt after it had terrorized countless villages, killing some and driving others to madness, don't ask how on that last part. All of the heroes died in combat against it except one, who ended up hunting the Gaunt for the rest of his life in a sprawling cave system. The legend says he's still down there hunting the thing."
"That's reassuring..." Ruby said, loading some Plant Dust into her scythe. "What about powers? Besides ripping off Echo Echo-"
"A sonic screech isn't just a him thing, Ruby!" Ben argued.
"Shush. Besides that, what else should we be worried about besides the obvious claw and swoop thing?"
"The most obvious is the ta-" Blake said, getting caught off as the Gaunt's tail lashed out at her like a whip. She dodged, letting the tail stab into the ground, cracking the church's tile.
"The tail," the cat Faunus finished.
"Great. So it's a winged, screaming Xenomorph," Ceres stated, summoning up a fireball in her hand.
"Good thing I can keep up with it in the air." Ben grinned.
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "...last I checked, Eatle couldn't fly."
"That's what you think," Ben opened up his shell, revealing some wings. He began to flap them at a rapid speed, as he ascended into the air, "I'm a flying tank!"
Ceres clutched her hand around the fire, engulfing her fist in flame and she ran in. The gargoyle-esque monster dodged the strike, but Ceres managed to singe its arm. The Gaunt screamed and whipped its tail around, slamming it into Ceres and sending her into another pew. The Grimm looked at the flying Eatle and, if it had eyes, they would be narrowing as it locked onto Ben. Did someone dare to challenge it in the air? Unthinkable. Wings started beating as the Gaunt took to the air as well, though not unimpeded. Ruby and Blake opened fire on the abomination, but it expertly dodged and weaved between the bullets, letting the walls and pillars behind it be struck instead.
"Good," Ruby grinned, as vines and brambles started sprouting out of the wall. "Hey, Ben! Eat a salad, would ya!"
"Don't mind if I do!" Ben quickly swooped over and munched down on the plants, regaining energy fast. "Good..."
The Grimm, either out of pure rage or some strategic thought, flew after Ben, slicing out at him with its claws. After finishing eating up some of the planets, the massive beetle-like alien dug his claws into the wall and closed his shell. The claws of the Gaunt slashed at the shell, and while it stung a bit, Ben wasn't severely hurt. Slash after slash, Ben felt nothing as bone struck the heavily armored carapace. With it distracted, Ben launched himself back, slamming into the Gaunt and sending it spiraling in the air. His shell opened again, letting him fly and charge into the Grimm with a horn strike. The Grimm was locked between the horns of the beetle and then flung over and behind Ben, slamming into the wall behind him. The Grimm growled and shook its head to regain its senses, pushing itself away from the wall. The gargoyle coiled its bladed tail up over its shoulder and struck out at Ben like a scorpion. Ben had to admit, there was a little bit of deja vu on that one, reminding him of a certain psychopath he dealt with already. Ben either dodged the strikes or spun around and let the tail scrape against his shell. Each tail hit made him fall a bit in the air, but it was nothing he couldn't recover from. Each hit provided something of an opening for him to exploit. After one of the tail slashes, Ben flew up and tackled it again, landing a few solid punches to where the Gaunt's nose would be.
Ruby steadied her aim, tracking the movements of the Grimm. She was trying to line her crosshairs up with one of its wings. Flight was one of its best advantages right now, so that needed to go.
The Gaunt scratched at the walking tank, trying to at least draw blood from the much larger opponent. The Gaunt's tail wrapped around Eatle's horn and, with that, the gargoyle-like beast swung itself over one of Ben's attacks and landed on his back. Its claws grabbed a hold of Ben's horn. Ben tried to throw the gargoyle off his back, but failed. An assist from Weiss helped out here, as a massive fireball slammed into the creature's back and threw it off.
"You're welcome!" Weiss smirked.
Before the Gaunt could fall to the ground, Ben quickly opened his maw and snapped down on the gargoyle's torso. The beetle began shaking the monster around like he was a dog and the beast was his chew toy. Ben slammed the monster into a wall before holding it in its metal jaws once more allowing Ruby to get a clean shot.
She squeezed the trigger and fired, the sound echoing throughout the church. The bullet not only tore through the red membrane of the Gaunt's wing but the shot completely froze the appendage as well. The Gaunt screeched out, lashing out at Ben with slash after slash, its tail wrapping around his horn again and tightening, threatening to break the rhino-beetle-like horn that adorned Eatle's head.
"Ay-!" Ben yelled. "Waiss! Ya wanna gat another OOL ummon?!"
Weiss stared at the boy with great confusion.
"...I think he wants you to try and kill it so you can use a Gaunt with your semblance," Ceres guessed.
"Well, that would be quite the ace up my sleeve, now wouldn't it?" the heiress muttered to herself, taking a liking to the idea.
Weiss drew Myrtenaster and switched the revolver chamber to Earth dust. The slender blade was coated in stone before Weiss threw it forward, throwing the stone like a lance. The lance penetrated the Gaunt's neck and pinned it to the stone. It lashed out more and more, like a frightened animal.
Ben's grasp on the beast was still firm. His jaws tightened on the Gaunt, threatening to crush it completely. The gargoyle's thrashing began to slow and soon, it went limp in Ben's grip. The neck wound had done it in. The beast's body turned to smoke, letting Myrtenaster drop from the creature and into Eatle's hand. He tossed it back to the heiress, who smirked.
Everything was going swimmingly.
...why did that not sit well with him? Where was Breach, actually?
While Breach didn't reappear, Ben's worries were quickly confirmed. A red tear developed higher up in the chapel, releasing two more Gaunts. The second flew and dove towards Ruby, talons outstretched. She rolled out of the way, letting the talons grab and splinter one of the church's pews. The third beast flew towards Neo, Blake, Weiss and Ceres. The gargoyle screeched and swung its tail at Neo, hoping to eviscerate her. She quickly opened up her parasol and let the bladed tail bounce off.
"What material is that parasol made of?" Ceres inquired after firing off a few rounds at the third Gaunt.
Kevlar. The very best. Neo signed.
Ben began to shoot beams of energy from his horn, trying to blast the other two airborne Grimm.
The Grimm expertly dodged the shots without even looking at Ben, too focused on their current quarries.
"Can you handle this guy?" Ceres asked, seeing Ruby fire off shots at the gargoyle as it chased her down.
"Should be able to," Blake says, shifting Gambol Shroud into its sword mode. With that, Ceres ignited her fist once again and raced over to Ruby. Her Gaunt was about to catch up and slash at her before Ceres landed a flaming left hook into its jaw and sent it crashing through a window.
The third Gaunt struck out with its claws at Neo, who simply spun her parasol around and deflected the strike. Blake ran in and sliced at the creature from the side, distracting it while Weiss launched a barrage of Glyph darts at the monster. The darts sliced into the jet-black flesh of the monster and made it stagger and screech. The Gaunt turned its attention fully on Blake, lashing out with a flurry of wild tail and claw strikes. When Blake dodged or blocked, the attacks collided with stone or metal. Every block, however, caused her to wobble, giving the Gaunt another opportunity, another opening to exploit. One such opening was squandered when the claws struck one of Blake's decoys, trapping the monster's claws temporarily in stone.
Breach watched the chaos through a portal on the ceiling, big enough for her head to peek through.
"Hm. My toys are having fun...so why not add my other new toys to the mix~?"
Two more portals appeared, one at the back of the church, the other opened before the front door. Out of the one in the back, Rush suddenly emerged, heading right towards the Gaunt fighting Neo, Blake, and Weiss. The creature turned to see this new opponent and instinctively lashed out with its tail.
Rush quickly vaulted over the attacker, and shifted forms- Black Parade suddenly latched itself onto one of the walls and hissed at the creature.
"No idea what you are..." The creature rasped. "But I'm taking you down, pronto."
The unmistakable roar of an engine reverberated out of the other before the Rex Ride emerged, sliding to a halt but not before smashing INTO the second Gaunt, sending it crashing through some of the pews.
"The hell did we just hit?!" Rex shouted.
Kylie hopped off the ride. "Never mind that! Why are we in a church?!"
"Guys..." Yang said, pointing back to the now shrinking red vortex, "that's why."
"Oh good...so she wanted us here," Min said. And then she noticed everyone else, "And...she apparently wanted everyone!"
"Great, the gang's all here! Now we can all die together," Yang huffed.
"Not quite," Albedo said on Yang's phone, "Wherever you are, hold out for a few minutes."
"Wait, was that-" Blake was about to ask before she was cut off.
"Guys, we got company!" Ruby shouted. She and Ceres glared out the broken window. The second Gaunt was slowly recovering from the beating the duo gave it, as more and more red rifts tore the air behind it.
More Gaunts, the smaller Grendels Kevin encountered earlier, a pack of the monsters Kylie and her group faced in the office building, the gigantic, mutant Imp that Yang's group and Kevin separately encountered, another Seamstress, and many, many more stepped through the myriad rifts. Some were familiar species, like Beowolves and Ursai, but each one sported scars and other obvious signs of damage. Others were unrecognizable nightmare fuel, pure and simple.
"I said all of my toys...didn't I?~" Breach said to no one in particular, giggling to herself, sinking back into her crimson rift. The mutant's 'toys' began to surround the church, crying out with various growls, roars, and shrieks.
"...better hurry it up, bud!" Yang yelled, "She dumped her WHOLE fucking toy chest!"
The Gaunt that led the swarm outdoors shrieked before soaring to the skies with its brethren. The beast that remained in the church joined in the choir but provided Neo with an opportunity. She dashed in and pounced on the Gaunt's chest, thrusting Hush into exposed skin while evading the protective bone plates. It screamed, causing black smoke to erupt from the wound. She gave one final push, shoving the sword into the beast, shutting it up, and letting the corpse fall before it faded into oblivion.
Blondie! Your Scroll! How good is the reception for it right now?! Neo signed quickly.
"...I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!" Yang yelled.
Neo sighed and raced over to Yang, quickly snatching her Scroll out of her grasp. She quickly found the video call function and pressed it.
C'mon, please work, please work, please work!
Albedo suddenly got the notification, and quickly answered it. He was relieved to see Neo on the other end of the screen.
Oh thank god, it worked! Neo signed, I'll be mushy later. I know you have a plan worked out, how long do you need for it?
"About five minutes," Albedo said, looking at the Ultimatrix. "The alien I'm going to use needs to be aligned with the dimensions."
Five minutes. We can...we can probably hold that long. But uh...just in case we can't, Neo quickly moved and pointed the Scroll out towards the coming horde. Albedo's eyes widened in shock when he saw the sheer number of Grimm. He knew Breach had quite a collection, but he never imagined this many. Weller peeked over Albedo's shoulder and his jaw dropped.
"Are those Gaunts?!" the doctor yelled, "Those things haven't been seen...ever really! Relegated to myths! And...is that...is that a Seamstress? That place is just a giant Grimm menagerie isn't it?"
Holiday's face paled. "I don't even think they'll last with those kinds of Grimm..."
"Then I'd best get started now," Albedo said, quickly rising from his seat and adjusting the dial on the Ultimatrix, "Neo, keep that Scroll on, no matter what. It's how I'm locking onto you."
Gotcha! Neo nodded, as Albedo scrolled to the hologram.
"As ridiculous as the species sounds, Florpus Tesabo are similar to Breach in portal creation. Gateways to anywhere, anytime. Quite a powerful ability." Albedo explained, "So..."
"...I'm sorry what was that species name aga-" Weller was about to ask before being cut off by a flash of red.
Albedo's form was now bulkier than before, most of the bulk coming from the large black shell on his back and new tail. Some of the divided parts were separated by a golden stripe. He dressed in a white suit, with a silver chest plate ornamented with a single, glowing blue core in the center. The energy within the core swirled in the same shape as a galaxy. Albedo's legs were now completely covered in the same silver plating, while his arms had a different type of plating.
The leg armor was segmented, but it was more akin to layers, while the arm covers were closer to proper plating. Eight silver plates, spaced equally apart over his arms, crackled with cosmic energy. If the armor was absent, Albedo's arms would be pure energy. His head was almost turtle-like in appearance, but it curved in a way to give him two horns, a stream of energy connecting the two by the tips.
Albedo held out his arms in front of him, the silver plates dislodging themselves from his arms and flying in front of him, arranging themselves into an archway. Energy surged between his fingers as he concentrated, trying to lock onto the Dollhouse and tear his way in. It wasn't an easy task, but with both Yang's Scroll on and the Omnitrix in close proximity to it, the job was made much easier. Once he found the right dimension, the others would have their way out.
Hopefully the portal would appear before Breach and her horde of pets overran them.
Ben blasted his way through the army of Grimm, firing as many blasts as he could with what energy he had. When he ran low, Ruby fired off another barrage of plant Dust bullets for him to use as fuel.
With the original Gaunts dealt with, Ben was starting to get a bit of a better understanding with everything he had to deal with here.T he skinless reptilian dog-like Grimm could regrow missing limbs; the Seamstress was more of an ambush Grimm, able to crudely sitch up its own wounds; the Beowolves and other familiar Grimm species seemed to ignore pain altogether. Breach was probably to blame for that little factor.
His train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of more Gaunts trying to divebomb him. His armored shell opened up and he took to the sky, flying above the Grimm gargoyles at just the right time. Ben began rapid firing blasts of energy at the Grimm below him, incinerating the first while the other two managed to take to the skies again and engage Ben in a dogfight. Ben's rhino beetle-like horn and armored carapace clashed with the claws and tails of the Gaunts. Another blast from Ben managed to blow up the second gargoyle, but the smoke cover simply let the third try and exploit the opening. A shot from Crescent Rose below cut right through the Grimm's head, dropping it in a second.
Ben looked down to Ruby with a smirk, watching her cut through some of the deranged Beowolves with a few well-placed scythe swings. He checked the energy on his suit and realized how low it was. Then he got an idea.
Weiss and Kylie concentrated their attention on the Seamstress in the midst of the swarm. In front of Kylie's rifle, the heiress conjured up a Glyph unlike any the heiress had ever used before. When Kylie fired, the bullets split apart into glyph darts mid-air, peppering the Grimm from every angle, turning the Osmosian's revolver into a Dust-enhanced shotgun. The Seamstress shrieked in a mix of rage and pain as it slithered at them. Two of the Grimm's arms slashed at Weiss, only for the claws to clash into a protective Glyph. The heiress struggled to keep the Glyph up, watching it crack under the strain, but another barrage from Kylie's revolver grabbed the attention of the Grimm. The Grimm turned and tried using its tail to hypnotize Weiss, hoping to kill two birds with one stone. Weiss turned away and closed her eyes, rapier pointed outward, while Kylie got ready to fight her nightmare again. The humanoid skull shrieked and was about to charge her, only to be knocked back by a powerful blast from Rex's Slam Cannon. The sheer weight of the stone projectile crushed the Grimm's head when it fell to the dirt. Rex gave a friendly salute to the two, before shifting his build to the BFS and rushing back to deal with more Grimm.
A minute.
Ruby sliced through more and more pain-ignoring Grimm, putting them out of their tortured existance. She bisected a Beowolf on her right, then decapitated another on the left. An Ursa was about to tackle her after a running charge, but Ben simply dropped on top of it and crushed it with Eatle's weight.
"Thanks!" Ruby called out, moving over to the living tank.
"No problem! Listen, running low on energy, and you need all the ammo you can spare. So how about we kill two birds with one bullet?" Ben asked.
"First off, bad pun. Second off, what did you have in mind?"
"Easy. Strafing run."
"Hell. Yes," Ruby smirked, knowing exactly what Ben had in mind. She leaped up on Ben's back and loaded a fresh clip into Crescent Rose. Eatle's wings began beating and back to the skies the duo went. Ruby took aim and began blasting hellfire down on the Grimm horde. Dust bullets of various types littered the ground and buried themselves in the Grimm's bodies.
Two minutes.
Min unleashed Walpurgisnacht on a horde of charging monstrosities, while Kevin, transformed into Soundgarden, created a wall of speaker-lined vines to protect her from a swarm of flanking Grendels. The speakers unleashed powerful soundwaves that sent the gremlin-like Grimm flying away with bleeding ears. The diminutive Grimm hit the ground and quickly turned to ash.
Three minutes.
Ceres and Yang began punching their way through Grimm legions. Ceres landed a three-hit combo to a Beowolf, ending with an uppercut that took its jaw off. Others were simply reduced to ash with her flaming strikes. Yang wasn't pulling her punches either. A Grendel was hit so hard that it nearly exploded. An Ursa tried to crush Yang in a bear hug, but she simply blasted the Grimm bear's arm off, followed by blasting a hole into its chest.
"You tired?" Yang asked.
"Me? Pfft, no. You?" Ceres smirked.
"I could do this all day!" Yang cheered. Taking the place of the more fragile Grimm, several of the reptile-dog regenerator Grimm began to circle the two brawlers.
"Hoping I don't have to though…" the blonde said, getting ready for a drag out fight.
Four minutes.
A horde of Grendels, led by the mutant Imp, was closing in on Blake and Blonko. Blonko put the ProtoTool into shield mode as the feline Faunus loaded a clip of fire Dust into Gambol Shroud. Blonko knelt, allowing Blake to jump on top of the shield before launching her into the sky. The smaller Grimm, befuddled, followed her as she ascended. The beasts didn't even realize she was shining like a fire until she started to fall. When "Blake" landed, the Grimm were engulfed in a blazing explosion, while the real Blake landed safely on her feet next to Blonko. With the smaller threats dealt with, the two looked to the hulking mutant next as the deformed Imp let out a low growl.
"Think we can shoot our way past?" Blake asked.
"The only way to find out is to try," Rook said, shifting his weapon from shield to rifle. The two took aim and fired.
Four minutes and thirty seconds.
Neo's illusions, both grand and realistic, gave her enough time to cut through Grimm in the most precarious of places. A Grendel died from a single stab to the neck, a Beowolf's head fell from its shoulders. Grimm fell apart from all manner of masterful blade work, a performance ended by a dramatic flourish of Hush.
Four minutes and forty five seconds.
Neo was suddenly punched from the side, caught off guard by Breach as she stepped through a portal.
"I told you before, didn't I? I want to hear. You. Scream~" Breach smirked, raising her hand and forming a rift in her palm.
Four minutes and fifty seconds.
And I want you to realize how much you fucked up by trying to single me out... Neo signed, finishing off with a very poignant middle finger.
Four minutes and fifty five seconds.
Breach growled, closing her fingers around the rift and closing it herself.
She would do this personally.
Breach grinned evilly before she yelled, lunging at Neo, ready to strangle her. The silent ex-criminal opened up her parasol ready to bear the brunt of Breach's mad frenzy.
Five minutes.
Albedo had found them. He sent the energy that was building up in his hands out at the archway. Lightning bounced from plate to plate before it all coalesced in the center. The air crackled there and in the Dollhouse before a massive archway-shaped rift tore its way into reality, the color of the rim changing color every few seconds.
"What?!" Breach yelled, taking her eyes away from Neo and stopping dead in her tracks. Neo closed Hush and followed Breach's gaze, seeing Albedo on the other side, keeping the rift open.
"EVERYONE! MOVE!" Albedo shouted through the tear in dimensions.
"The hell!?" Ben yelled. "Why didn't I just have that gu-"
"SHUT UP AND JUMP THROUGH THE PORTAL! I CAN'T HOLD IT FOR LONG!"
Kylie didn't hesitate- she grabbed Weiss' hand and pulled her along with, both jumping through the portal, back to Atlas HQ.
Yang and Ceres punched their way free of the encircling reptilian-dogs, landing two simultaneous hits on what could only be described as the alpha before they made a mad dash for the portal. Yang fired off a round from her gauntlets to send her flying through.
"Show off!" Ceres joked as she leapt through.
Blake and Blonko made a break for it as well, taking a few more shots at the mutant Imp, shots that only served to slow it down thanks to its thick and rubbery skin. The Imp tried to slam its fist down and stop them, but Rook was too fast, simply dodging out of the way, and Blake too acrobatic, vaulting over the creature's massive arm.
Kevin quickly changed into Rush and sped over to Min. He saw her vaporize another portion of Breach's horde, leaving behind nothing more than ash and a smell that resembled a mix of burnt ozone and tar. Quickly grabbing Min, Kevin raced back through the portal and came to a skidding halt in the lab. Rex turned to Breach and gave a mocking salute before rushing through as well.
"No...no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Breach yelled, stamping her foot as though she was a child having a temper tantrum, "My…my toys. You broke them…YOU BROKE SO MANY OF THEM! YOU NEED TO REPLACE THEM!"
While she was distracted, Ben, Ruby, and Neo were all heading to the portal, ready to leave this nightmare behind them. The first two got through without incident, but Neo tripped exactly at the portal's edge, sending Hush plummeting through the other side. Breach's larger arms protruded from red vortexes, catching hold of Neo's ankles. The mutant schoolgirl was ready to focus all her fury on Neo now.
"YOU CAN ONLY LEAVE WHEN I SAY YOU CAN!" the demented schoolgirl screeched.
"DON'T YOU EVEN TOUCH HER!" The usually calm Albedo threatened. A portal appeared before Breach, drawing the mutant's attention. Her expression of rage changed to one of confusion as she saw Weller and Holiday pointing guns through the portal. Breach blinked a few times before fear set in.
"Take a nap. You'll feel much better after!" Weller said, as he and Holiday shot her with a double dose of a potent tranquilizer.
The darts hit Breach dead in the chest. She looked down at them, already feeling the effects take hold.
"N-no...no...she...she's mine...they're all mine..." Breach whined, losing her grip on Neo and staggering back. The group thought the Grimm would pounce on Breach then and there, tear her apart.
But they didn't.
One of the Gaunts actually caught Breach when she almost fell back, the tranquilizer's sleep ready to claim her.
"...did-?" Weller asked, in shock. No matter- the group immediately made their way through the rift, as Albedo quickly closed it.
Still in the Dollhouse and watching from afar, Tyrian weighed his options. He had to get back to his goddess, and that meant dealing with her proverbial Cerberus.
"Give me strength, my goddess," Tyrian softly prayed, before leaping from his perch.
Back in Atlas, the group were all catching their breath and celebrating. They were home, well most of them were. Oscar was still on his way back from a sudden trip to Tibet.
Cutting it a little close there, huh? Neo smirked and lightly nudged Albedo in the arm, happy to be back in Atlas for once. As weird as that sounded in her head, ANYWHERE was better than Breach's little playground.
"Y-yeah..." Albedo said, taking some deep breaths, "I apologize."
It's fine. At least someone can fully understand me now. None of them know sign language. Neo frowned. Well, except Ben, surprisingly.
"Really? He could?"
Kind of. He didn't get EVERYTHING I said...
"It's...a mixed bag," Ben shrugged,"Translator function might not be perfect for sign language, dunno."
"Hm. Something to improve on later then," Albedo said.
"I hate to interrupt the happy reunion, but uh…did anyone else see that?" Weller asked, his mind still focused on that bizarre scene.
"See what? You and Holiday blasting tranqs into the freaky schoolgirl?" Yang said, "Nice shots by the way."
"Thank you, but...no, not that..."
"The Grimm, the Gaunt...caught her fall." Holiday said. "They showed a moment of sentience, understanding..."
"That does not make sense. Grimm do not do 'understanding'..." Blonko said.
"That one did. But...why?" Weller asked.
"...the mystery deepens with Breach." Albedo shivered.
"I also have a mystery in need of being solved," Ben began, "Neo said you two surrendered yourselves to Winter. Why?"
"It's not a mystery you'll need to worry about for long. We're done with her," Albedo said simply, "I got what I needed."
"So...what? Attack of conscience after you helped attack an entire city?" Blake asked.
Oversimplifying it, but sure, let's just say that. Neo signed. She didn't want to go into all the gritty details with these guys.
"I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with this guy being...around and such. He's pretty much a more powerful Ben that has Ultimates that could wipe us out in a second and his partner can cast grand scale illusions..." Ceres noted. "How can we know that we can trust you, Albedo of the Galvan?"
"I don't expect trust. If you gave out your trust that freely? One act of help after the crimes I've committed? I'd question how you all ever found out about any of her plans. But...I'm giving you something that you lack right now. Under the only condition that myself and Neo are treated fairly while in Atlesian custody."
"And what exactly are you giving us?"
"Information. Everything that you need to know about Salem's future plans," Albedo answered.
That got everyone's attention. This is what they needed, an edge over Salem. She'd had every single advantage before Beacon, from numbers to secrecy, and now an ability to turn the tables in their favor had fallen right into their laps. It almost felt too good to be true.
"If it helps," Weiss said, "I'm…willing to give them a chance."
"You are?" Kylie asked, looking to Weiss.
"Albedo helped us once before with Servantis, so he has a bit more leeway. Neo…Neo I'm deciding to take a risk with."
Aw, the Ice Queen does care, Neo smirked.
"...alright. Let's say we hear you out," Ben began, "Give us something. Tell us something that we'd never figure out about her plans on our own. No matter what questions we asked, no matter what we figured out before."
"I'll start from the beginning..." Albedo said.
Before Albedo could say another word, the beeping of a Scroll could be heard, drawing all eyes to the source. Winter answered the call and began to softly speak with the caller.
"Yes, sir?" Winter answered, letting the other speak.
"Yes, sir, everyone's back and accounted for," the Specialist continued. No one could really interject as they barely heard the only half of the conversation they could.
"I'll let him know right now, sir," Winter nodded and then hang up, "I'm afraid you won't be the first to hear Albedo's information. The general wants to see him as soon as possible."
"I should have seen that coming," the Galvan admitted, "Very well then."
Evernight was quiet, like usual. No one dare disturb the silence, or the queen for that matter. Salem valued the silence more than anything...
So it was odd for her to suddenly hear the trademark sound of one of Breach's rifts opening behind her. What was even stranger, was that there seemed to be two people leaving it, two sets of footfalls echoing in the chamber. One normal and one...stumbling.
"I assume everything went well?" Salem inquired, not turning around. She'd heard about Breach's outing and smiled at the prospect. Allow her to have some fun. She only did transportation, and she must have been bored out of her mind doing it again and over.
And then she heard one of those people who left the rift stumble and fall into a pedestal, knocking it over and shattering the crystal that rested atop it. The witch turned to see Breach on the floor, one of her larger hands grasping something. Interestingly, she was accompanied by, of all people, Tyrian. As disheveled as he was, he still made sure to show the proper respect to his queen, not letting history repeat. He quickly took a knee before his master.
"M-my queen, my goddess, I am...so sorry to return like this but..." the scorpion Faunus muttered quickly.
"...you." Salem muttered, angry but still sounding calm. Tyrian was a thorn in her side. "Get out..."
"O-of course, my queen," he said, quickly scurrying out of the chamber. He closed the door behind him and looked around. He was psychotic, yes, but he knew what was coming.
In the chamber, Breach moaned, her vision still blurry after everything.
"Are you...are you...present?" Breach spoken in hushed tones, like a terrified child. "Please...tell me you're coming..."
Salem placed her hand on her cheek. "Breach, rest up. You battled courageously, but they got the better of you."
"He...did..."
"I'm guessing Tennyson?"
"N-no...A...albed...o..." Breach said, as she succumbed to the sleeping agent.
Salem's pupils shrank in rage before darting across to Breach's gripped hand. When she passed out, Breach's palm opened and two objects dropped and clinked to the floor. Two needle-shaped missiles The Grimm witch snatched them up...and crushed them. Even if Albedo wasn't the "shooter," he was involved. A turncoat. Within her own circle.
"So...how that's it will be." Salem clenched her teeth. "...fine. I guess I'll have to call in some...other recruits."
Salem stood before tossing the projectile fragments aside. She restrained her fury for a time. Breach needed to take priority, before anything else. She carefully took the four-armed schoolgirl in her arms and transferred her over to a bed.
Salem tucked her in, took a deep breath, and gazed out the window.
She'd have to pull a few threads to persuade them to make these last-minute modifications, but it might be worth it in the end.
Besides...
It would throw off the team a bit…
Albedo, now with the anti-Ultimatrix shackle placed back on his wrist, was escorted out of the Atlesian prison complex and up to the academy.
"And I was so looking forward to tossing you back in the cell myself," Felix scoffed.
"Sorry to disappoint," Albedo shot back.
Given the hour, not many people were around to see the two elite soldiers bring the Galvan through the institution's halls. Someone did manage to spy such an interesting sight, however.
Cammie had been up all night, trying to construct a stronger security detection program. The outposts at the kingdom's borders were running on the latest software, not even the outdated type that some of Mantle's own security measures ran on. The program was good, but Cammie knew she could do better. Plenty of errors in the high-end stuff, so she decided to work on it as a side project. Her attention was taken away from the computer for a minute when she heard the synchronized, armored bootfalls of the elite soldiers. She peeked out of her room once they were past and saw the back of Albedo's red jacket.
"The hell is he doing here?" Cammie muttered, before ducking back into her room. Nugget appeared and tried to remind her of the time and that she should probably sleep.
Albedo walked through the empty halls of Atlas Academy, before he and his escort arrived outside the doors of Ironwood's office. Surprisingly, the soldiers stopped outside the door and let their prisoner enter alone.
Their faith in the general's combat prowess must have been unshakable.
Albedo walked in and, before he said a word, noticed how…unmilitary this office looked. He was expecting something more fitting of a military commander. In his time before coming to Earth, he'd seen a few, all very organized and focused on military triumphs, medals on full display. Ironwood's office was still organized, but it was more a headmaster's office first, general's office second. Even then, the only things on display were several shelf-fulls of books. The floor was even decorated with a star chart, showing off various Hunter-oriented constellations, including some forms Albedo recognized. Sabyr, Sea Feilong…Wyvern. Funny how the Hunters had constellations resembling their mortal enemies in the Grimm.
"Albedo," the stern voice of Ironwood called out, drawing the Galvan's attention.
"General," Albedo simply greeted.
"Winter's given me the full debrief. You and Neopolitan surrendered willingly…and in exchange for fair treatment, you will give us information on Salem's next move. I must admit…I'm skeptical."
"I understand, general. I would be, as well. But I have every intention of cooperating."
"Then you can start," the general said, activating a computer monitor and turning it towards the Galvan, "with this."
Albedo hesitantly moved over to get a better look at the screen and noticed a file that Ironwood was specifically mentioning.
"Operation Hana-Aki," Albedo read aloud.
"Translated from Japanese…Flower Fall. I have my own guesses…but I want confirmation. None of my coders can decrypt it. Consider this your first test of your 'new loyalty.'."
"...I'll start at once, sir."
Author's Note: i hate july i hate the summer i hate the sun i hate sweat i hate my job i want it to be fallllll
Please leave a review, preferably more than one word. A small sentence would be nice