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Chapter 153: Getaway
Team FADE had torn their way into the Megalodon like a force of nature, laying waste to everything in their path with a perfect balance of skill honed by years of experience and a mixture of urgency and righteous fury directed at those responsible for abducting a team of Hunters which included members of their families.
Felix was the first inside, the dirty-blonde Lion Faunus ripping his way out of the shredded mess of several walls, pipes and pulpy viscera that had been the Grimm half of the living vessels' inner workings in a violent thrashing motion, drawing Overkill from its' place on his back as he took a moment to appreciate his handiwork. Breaking through the Megalodon's defences by using his Semblance to transform himself into a fiery missile was a move that would likely cost him and leave him aching all over later, but the short-term rewards were impossible to overstate; he had ripped an open wound into Damascus Nero's greatest weapon which pierced through several decks in a diagonal gouge with several of the holes he had left in his wake still sporting glowing and near molten edges.
"Enjoy the insurance premiums asshole" Felix snarled, giving a savage and toothy grin has he readied Overkill and brought his weapon screaming into life; holding the chainsaw-bladed sword in both hands and driving it into the nearest wall before marching away from where he had come crashing to a halt. His only immediate goals were to clear a landing zone for his team-mates and then inflict as much damage on the interior of the Megalodon as possible in an effort to reach Team MARSZ, in the Lion Faunus's mind either Nero would send Cyber-Grimm after him and the direction they attacked from would serve as a clue or he would tear through something vital and find answers that way.
He was vindicated in short order.
After barely more than a minute of dragging a chainsaw through the inner workings and wiring of the Megalodon, his Semblance subtly reducing the resistance against his weapons' blade Felix heard the sound of powerful thrusters and heavy metallic footsteps punctuated by the grinding and screeching cries of Cyber-Grimm as they galloped toward him, simply careening through the corridors at full-tilt since they were unable to deploy their wings and fly in the limited space available. Soon enough a trio of the twisted amalgamations of flesh and steel came rushing at him and Felix ripped his sword free of the wall, letting out a wordless snarl as he readied the weapon and prepared to charge.
With a piercing, avian shriek informing him that he was no longer alone.
Eagle dove into the corridor through the same holes Felix had created and swooped under Felix's guard in the form of a white and golden brown-feathered bird her Semblance allowed her to take, hurtling towards the lead Cyber-Grimm before reverting back to her true form in a flash of brilliant white Aura with the beast before her already slain; her momentum having carried through her transformation and allow her to bury her sword in the things' skull and leave it dangling limp and unresponsive.
"One each?" Felix suggested, flashing his partner a confident smile and nodding to the two remaining Cyber-Grimm before readying his sword and charging once again. Eagle didn't bother with a verbal response, simply discarding the off-lined Cyber-Grimm from her sword with a flourish which flowed perfectly into a block as she brought her shield up to counter the savage swipe of the second monsters' claws. Taking advantage of the things' size Eagle managed to carry her block into a weaving manoeuvre which carried her into a small gap left between the Cyber-Grimm's thigh and arm.
Whilst leaving her shield behind.
"Sentinel, now!" at Eagle's command the shield began to unfurl, gears grinding somewhat painfully as it freed itself from the Cyber-Grimm's grasp and transformed into the freckled blonde woman's automated drone. Sentinel chirped happily in the face of the raging Cyber-Grimm, one machine against another in a battle which was quickly decided as Sentinel deployed his claws into the torso of the machine-Grimm and unleashed the reserves of Lightning Dust at his disposal through retractable cables; the attack left the Cyber-Grimm sparking, smoking and clearly reeling and though it was not enough to destroy the thing entirely it was left open to Eagle's follow up attack.
A decapitating blow delivered from behind.
The sole remaining Cyber-Grimm charged at Felix with a roar like industrial mining equipment and the Lion Faunus answered by leaping and vaulting off the least damaged of the corridors' walls, using its' surface as a springboard to get around his target and swing Overkill downwards as he passed; cleaving a deep trench into the things' upper arm which failed to sever the limb entirely but still left it barely functioning. From there Felix landed behind the Cyber-Grimm and as it tried to turn and face him he simply ploughed into it with crushing force, breaking ribs and bending armour panels with his shoulder before aiming his sword at the L shaped connection point between the Cyber-Grimm's legs and angled-forward upper body so that he could rip it in half.
He was once again denied a proper victory as the Cyber-Grimm's head exploded into fragments and obsidian mist when a high-powered round tore through it.
"Damn it Dee I had that one!" Felix's annoyed tone was only mostly joking as he kicked the now headless corpse of the third Cyber-Grimm away from himself and watched it crumple unsatisfactorily to the ground. Diamond, merely snorted as she surveyed her handiwork before leaping down to land on the floor; the silver-haired sniper having clearly used her Semblance to rush from the outer hull of the Megalodon down to where her team-mates were fighting and delivering a finishing shot from the ceiling where she had hung inverted.
"Big Guy will be here in a min-" Diamond was cut off, her announcement interrupted by the arrival of Arctus Slate herself as the Bear Faunus used the incandescent and glowing Dragon Grimm construct that had flown them this far in order to dispatch the last of the Cyber-Grim that had been attacking them in the air outside. The rest of Team FADE could only watch as the conjured beast came swooping down into view with a mechanical body clenched firmly in its' jaws, the construct spiralling in a corkscrew motion to grind the body of the Cyber-Grimm against as many near-molten surfaces as possible which, in addition to other damage it had already sustained left the thing utterly ruined by the time Arctus allowed his Semblance to dissipate and rejoined his team.
"It's okay Fluffy, you'll get one of 'em" Eagle patted her partner on the back sympathetically whilst Felix himself merely rolled his eyes at her before turning his focus towards Arctus and Diamond as he could sense that the towering Bear Faunus wanted to speak.
"What's the plan now?" Arctus asked without preamble, whilst beside him his wife was clearly pondering something.
"We could split up?" Diamond offered, seeing that Felix was waiting for her to speak before offering his own opinion "Two of us look for Team MARSZ, the other two go looking for the Command Bridge and put a bullet in Nero. We could end this whole thing right now if we wanted"
"Tempting….But no, not unless we get a really clear opening after we've already got Team MARSZ" Felix answered, seeing the looks his team were giving him and deciding to explain himself "This is a rescue mission, getting the kids is out priority….If we get them out but someone else gets captured then it's back to square one, we need to send another rescue mission because Nero will still have people he can use as leverage"
"If he captures some of us he'll try and use that as leverage to keep Team MARSZ as well" Eagle noted, expression darkening at the thought.
"Exactly" Felix nodded, largely unwilling to think about what would happen in such a situation "That make sense?"
"Perfect sense" Arctus nodded, clearly itching to find and save his sister; a sentiment Felix could relate to all to easily.
"You got it Dude" Diamond chimed in.
"Then let's go" Felix urged, leading his team away from the direction of the Command Bridge and towards the bulk of the Megalodon where he knew Team MARSZ would be; somewhere.
There was not a single member of Team MARSZ who would allow themselves to fill the role of a damsel in distress and as such the moment that the alarms had begun to blare throughout the Megalodon, announcing that an attack against the airship was underway the five of them had sprung into action.
Felling the pair of Cyber-Grimm which had stood at attention outside of the door of the ships' mess hall had been the first step to escaping and it had been carried out with almost contemptuous ease. The first of the pair had been destroyed when Regalia had fired her harpoon through the open door and dragged the Cyber-Grimm into position so that it stood directly in the doorway, where it was left frozen in place by Zirconia's Dust based attacks and then riddled with bullets by Astra until it finally stopped trying to free itself and the light in its' lone optic faded away. Stygian's Semblance allowed him to teleport directly in front of the second Cyber-Grimm the moment it lumbered partially into view and became the single largest threat available for the Mouse Faunus to hone in on; seeing its' target appear directly in front of it caused the Grimm itself to readjust itself and waste precious time rearing back for a crushing blow that allowed it be completely unawares when Athena-Jade readied Heartbreaker and fired her laser through the wall. As the heavily damaged Cyber-Grimm had tried to stagger to its' feet Stygian had buried his katana in its' skull.
They had been capable of disposing of their monstrous jailers the entire time but had been restrained from doing so by the threat of having the full force of whatever lurked within the Megalodon being turned against them; now that the Megalodon was already under attack and those defences were turned elsewhere Team MARSZ were free to escape.
They were also free to deliver a parting blow to Nero's forces that would hamper the madman's ambitions for a least a little while; a goal Zirconia was adamant she would see achieved.
"Come on, this way!" she yelled, words muffled only slightly by the scarf covering the lower half of her face. She had surged ahead of the rest of her team and was racing through corridors at a startling pace until a lone Cyber-Grimm came lurching out from around the corner where various walkways formed a junction.
'Double Ice!' Sunrise Cain's digitised voice rang out as Zirconia used the wall as a surface to launch herself from and vault over her attacker, her downward shot freezing the things' upper limbs and leaving its' motions jerky and erratic which in turn left it open for a combined effort from Athena-Jade and Stygian. The Bear Faunus using her glyphs to block the barrels of the Cyber-Grimm's weapons whilst Stygian teleported into a crouching position beneath it before stabbing upwards to impale its' arched forward chest.
Zirconia had landed and rounded the corner without stopping, sprinting towards her destination with single-minded determination, growing so close that she could almost feel the relief of her pending victory yet was denied it and instead enduring a thundering in her chest and hollowness in her stomach whilst the very air seemed to crackle with electric tension. Her goal was in sight when a further pair of Cyber-Grimm came stalking into view ahead of her with motes of crimson light already swirling around the barrels of their main weapons as the beasts prepared to fire
"Zirconia, get down!" Astra's voice filled the air and without question she flung herself to the ground, instinctively shutting her eyes and still seeing the blinding flash of red which consumed the corridor entirely; a different shade to the ominous glow of the Cyber-Grimm's lasers. Cracking an eye open hesitantly as the afterglow began to subside Zirconia saw that Astra had used their Semblance with a degree of control and finesse and yet the walls and ceiling were still bent and scraped in numerous places where the giant fist and arm of the Deer Faunus's Semblance-form had travelled.
The two Cyber-Grimm were reduced to wreckage though, their bodies smashed into the wall behind them and crushed to the point where foul black ichor leaked out of their rent open forms only to be hungrily lapped up by portions of the walls and floor which contained hidden orifices and filters of living Grimm tissue. Before the disgusting sight could truly register Zirconia was surrounded by footsteps and hauled back to her feet, finding the rest of Team MARSZ gathered around her with it being Athena-Jade who had lifted her from the ground whilst Astra regarded her with a mix of hope and confusion.
"What the hell are you running toward?" they demanded, though Zirconia sensed that any annoyance in her friend' voice was a product of them being kept out of the loop rather than any real fear that she might have some final plan to double-cross them all waiting in the wings. The knowledge of exactly what Nero's plans for her were stripping any lingering doubts that her team-mates might have had about her intentions and loyalties.
"Control room for Cyber-Grimm operators" she managed to pant out breathlessly, taking a moment to steady herself despite how much she loathed that she had been halted so close to her goal "I didn't want to say anything before we got free in case the room was bugged….Given what the Megalodon is Nero could probably listen and watch us anywhere, I didn't want to give him chance to-"
"I get it" Astra assured her with a casual wave "Which door and what's the plan?"
"There" Zirconia pointed at the door she been rushing towards before frowning and meeting Astra's gaze with an intent mismatched stare as she added with a voice which grey steadily more unsteady and frantic "I don't want to kill those people Astra….Not if we can take them down without doing it, I don't want to trade other peoples' lives for ours if I can help it no matter who they are"
"We can do that" Athena assured her with a determined look.
"Got a plan?" Astra asked.
"Cover the door and get your shield up" the Bear Faunus nodded "Stitch, I'm gonna take the equipment out….Non-lethal take-downs on my say so?"
"Sure" the Mouse Faunus grimaced, less committed to the idea of restraint than his partner in the wake of everything that had been done to his childhood home and the people he had known his entire life but unwilling to waste time on an argument.
A moment later Team MARSZ ripped the door to the control room open and Zirconia watched as her friends enacted a plan to make her half-realised idea a reality with staggering efficiency.
Astra used the Hard-Light Dust with Buckshot Ares to form a barrier which filled the doorway and both prevented Nero's followers from leaving and also kept Team MARSZ from being struck by friendly fire as Athena-Jade ducked into the room with her laser cannon at the ready and glyphs already forming in the air at strategic points.
A few short bursts of Heartbreakers ethereal green light made short work of the control room, terminals, servers, cabling and any number of other more difficult pieces of equipment being devastated by lasers that punched holes through them only to strike a glyph and be redirected.
The Cyber-Grimm operators, a collection of former military personnel trained in using heavy and special weapons, software experts and others who had shown aptitude for the role began to react quickly, the former drawing whatever weapons they carried on their person in an effort to defend themselves whilst the others trying to hide under their ruined equipment; it made little difference however as the drawn weapons provided a threat for Stygian's Semblance to hone in on and the dark-skinned young man flitted from one operator to the next in the blink of an eye, knocking each of them unconscious in turn with the handle of his sword, knee-strikes or simply punching them in the head.
Within seconds the control room was silent and ruined.
"This won't shut the Cyber-Grimm off" Zirconia warned "But they'll be acting on instinct and pre-programmed orders now, no real strategy or coordination between groups unless Damascus can start re-routing control to the bridge directly. That'll help us get out of here"
"Good thinking" Astra beamed, patting Zirconia on the shoulder as they turned away from the doorway and collapsed their shields so that they could ready the guns and blades of Buckshot Ares once again.
"So what do we do now?" Regalia asked.
"Simple" her partner answered with a grin "We go find whoever attacked the Megalodon and we help 'em out"
Damascus Nero was finding himself pushed to his limits as what had already been a stressful, emotionally draining day was taken to new extremes and these latest developments forced him to learn the total extent of his ability to work under pressure.
Taking control of the Megalodon as Jidhir Town was overrun by the Creatures of Grimm around him had been one thing, having the Megalodon fly into battle and engage in single combat on a titanic scale against some of the largest beasts in Pantheon's arsenal had been another but the current emergency; namely that he was trapped aboard his ships' Command Bridge whilst Hunters ransacked the Megalodon's innards and some of his most trusted and supposedly professional subordinates were reduced to cowering beneath their stations in fear.
A simply unacceptable display.
"ENOUGH!" he raised his voice to be heard over the klaxons which still blared throughout the Megalodon before narrowing his dark eyes and shooting the nearest source of the offending noise a glare "AND TURN THOSE DAMN SIRENS OFF, I THINK EVERYONE IS WELL AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING BY THIS POINT!"
"AYE SIR" someone answered, similarly yelling to be heard before flitting out from their current hiding place to begin entering a series of commands into one of the many terminals and workstations which made up the bridge. Silence fell over the bridge and throughout the Megalodon a moment later, leaving Nero wincing as his ears continued to ring uncomfortably for a few seconds afterwards. The individual responsible for the silence began stepping away from the terminal with the obvious intent to return to hiding, something which earned them a look from Nero which bordered on outright disgust.
"Do not even think about it" he said, his tone blunt and even in a deliberate attempt to reign in his temper before raising his voice again "Everyone back to their posts, we have work to do!….NOW!"
The barked order had the desired effect and the various members of the crew came shuffling out from where they had taken cover, wearing expressions which ranged from lingering fear to shame-faced awkwardness which Nero chose to ignore completely.
"Is the entrance to the bridge secured?" he demanded, focusing on one aspect of his currently problems at a time; determined to tackle them methodically and efficiently.
"It is sir, sealed and reinforced" a voice answered from behind him and upon turning Nero saw that the two armed men acting as security and bodyguards whilst the Cyber-Grimm were in limited supply had their weapons trained on the door, one of them stood directly in front of it whilst the other had remained under a workstation in what Nero supposed was a passable firing position.
Seeing his leaders' eyes on him the man hiding beneath a desk reached for his sidearm and slid a heavy pistol across the floor to Nero's feet; leaving the tall and slender man to pick it up with his gloved hand and regard it somewhat disparagingly.
If the Hunters were able to make their way inside the Command Bridge despite the Megalodon's defences then he very much doubted that a pistol was going to stop them.
"What's our status? Damage report!" he demanded, forcing himself to push passed any information which might lead towards hopeless defeatism. He was Damascus Nero, he had redefined what was possible a dozen times or more already, winning a fight with the odds against him should be nothing at all.
"Hull breach, massive damage to upper and mid decks" a crew-mate answered, voice growing audibly panicked as they tried to find a positive framing for the specifics "Shields are gone, some of the weapons on the starboard side are disabled but the Megalodon is already trying to heal itself and re-route-"
"Are we going to drop out of the sky in the next few minutes?" Nero interjected.
"No sir-"
"Good, are there any more airships inbound?"
"Nothing on radar sir" another voice confirmed.
"So either the Hunters are alone or Atlas has cloaked airships waiting" Nero mused "I'm inclined to believe the latter, if there were cloaked ships we would have been fired on by now. Find those Hunters, find where they're headed and send Cyber-Grimm and fighters to their location"
"Aye sir" the confirmation was followed by the sound of furious typing, a series of expletives and more then finally an explantation delivered by a crew-mates whose features had been drained of all colour
"The Hunters….Sir it's Team FADE, shit they're some of the best-I, um….they're making their way through the ship, heading downwards but I um-I-
"Spit it out man!" Nero barked, growing irate by the idea of having valuable time wasted in a crisis.
"I can't contact any of the Cyber-Grimm operators and none of their terminals are responding"
Nero's blood ran cold at that, blood pounding in his ears and an icy feeling crawling outwards from his gut as his mind began to connect the various pieces of information together and give him a picture of what was happening.
"On screen, now! I want to see the control room!" he demanded frantically and within seconds the wish was granted yet it brought no relief, rather the opposite as Nero was left staring at the sight of the control rooms' equipment in ruins and various Cyber-Grimm operators lying unconscious on the ground
"Damn it, damn it all!" he hissed "Show me Team MARSZ, find my daughter and her friends. They should be under guard in the mess hall"
Once again the image on the Megalodon's main viewscreen showed what Nero had asked for and once again it brought no comfort; the mess-hall was entirely empty and on the very edge of the video feed he could see what looked suspiciously like part of a Cyber-Grimm which had been riddled with bullets and left slumped over.
Team FADE were here to rescue Team MARSZ, General Schnee and her comrades would no doubt be sending reinforcements soon now that the Megalodon had been found and Nero realised that there was a very small window of opportunity available to him; he would have to solve the problem before the two groups of Hunters found one another and he had very limited tools with which to do so.
Though one tool in particular presented itself readily in his mind.
"Sir, we can re-establish Cyber-Grimm control here but it will take time and limit us somewhat; we don't have enough people to fly and to-"
"Yes, do that" Nero waved a hand dismissively, causing several of his crew to duck reflexively as the hand still held the pistol he had been given "But your first priority is to wake Gestalt-Prime"
"Y-Yes sir" a startled member of the crew gulped, knowing better than to question the decision and instead simply acting.
Nero was almost entirely sure that their most valuable, if annoyingly treacherous and volatile Cyber-Grimm was ready to be brought back into the waking world. Their new form had been crafted from a collection of pre-existing designs and implementation was a far faster process than it had first been in Neo Vale owing to the Megalodon and the vast amounts of Grimm tissue it had consumed. The only real risks Nero could see came from Gestalt-Prime possibly being damaged again before they had a chance to fulfil their purpose and destroy Pantheon and also from the Alpha Cyber-Grimm themselves, with the latter causing Nero to mutter irritably under his breath.
"I was hoping to keep you unconscious and out of my way until I needed you"
The peaceful, silent and painless darkness that Gestalt-Prime existed in beyond the physical realm was intruded on once again.
Upon realising that their body was being not only remade, but reshaped and that the act of doing so had given them a degree of control over their own form once again the Alpha Cyber-Grimm had embraced the development, directing it subtly whilst at the same time allowing themselves to drift in a state as close to the idea of inner peace and contentedness that a monster such as themselves could ever achieve. Their plotting for exactly how and when they would overthrow Damascus Nero, the moment they tore Pantheon's skull from their body and the words that they would utter to either of their foes in the final, crucial moments as Gestalt-Prime felt their consciousness being dragged backwards and inwards; returning to a physical body that was separate from the ruined husk they had left behind.
This time the fleshy, armoured sac did not split and vomit forth its' contents onto the ground in a tide of viscous fluids as it had when Gestalt-Prime had previously been placed inside of it for repairs.
This time it exploded, rocking the entire lower reaches of the Megalodon and spattering walls with fragments as what had been gestated within emerged.
Gestalt-Prime had grown larger, their body now hunched forward as some of its' previous iterations once had but even whilst stooped and skulking the monster stood at a full twelve feet tall, easily twice the height of the average man.
The Alpha Cyber-Grimm took their first steps forward on all fours, their legs were structured in a way which resembled those of a wall as many of their other forms had been; thick cords of obsidian muscle protected by gleaming metallic armour which grew more prominent towards the calves and feet which terminated in wicked claws. Gestalt-Prime had retained their tail though now it was an almost perfect blend of metallic and skeletal in design, thrashing idly behind them with each individually articulated vertebra sporting a small tail-fin to aid their control whilst in flight.
Above the hips was an almost worryingly narrow waist which amounted to little more than a spine encased in additional armour and tendons in a design choice borrowed from the standard model of Cyber-Grimm. The body did not have the appearance of being hinged forward at the chest however, merely being stooped under the weight of its' own armour and Gestalt-Prime's own predatory nature; the monsters' upper torso was almost entirely metallic and encased in armour which seemed to blend the ideas of Atlesian war machines and a knights' armour with some concession being given to the fact they were a Creature of Grimm in the form of serrated edges and a row of spikes sprouting from the armours' gorget.
Gestalt-Prime's arms were massive things, so muscular and oversized that when hunched forwards the Alpha Cyber-Grimm walked on their knuckles like an ape. Their shoulders were formed of armour pieces which were angled and swept outwards to give them a wider profile whilst the rest of the limbs were largely unarmoured, instead favouring arrangements of metal spikes growing directly through pitch black flesh with the sole exception being a single line of metal plating which ran from shoulder to wrist like a seam on each arm before ending at their gigantic hands which were tipped with bladed fingers.
The Alpha Grimm's main weapon had been returned to their back as it had been in their previous iterations, an enormous laser whose barrel reached out ahead of them nestled into the space between their shoulder blades and set between vast wings designed more like those of an aircraft than any living thing, whose sleek and streamlined surfaces were interrupted only by cruel hooks and spikes.
Gestalt-Prime's face had changed somewhat, a variation of previous themes. Still a lupine skull perched atop a twisted, flexible neck yet it was now a more detailed and expressive mask with ears and a lower jaw made of flesh and blood set beneath it. The Alpha Cyber-Grimm also noted with some interest that they no longer needed to deploy a visor over their lone glowing optic and could instead access the information it would have provided to them at will.
Doing so allowed Gestalt-Prime to see exactly what they had become.
"It's….Perfect" they snarled to themselves, their voice a deep and oily thing as they reared up to their full height and flexed their new limbs, working out the most minute of cricks in their various joints before unfurling and deploying their new weapons.
It was less of an unsheathing and more of a transformation.
It started with the seams in Gestalt-Prime's arms opening to reveal waiting masses of flesh forming wriggling, grasping tendrils wrapped around mechanical struts and ports. From there the Alpha Cyber-Grimm's wings shifted backwards and twisted until their flat edges touched and fused to form the blade of an enormous broadsword whose edges were lined with spikes and hooks.
At this point the wings and laser cannon lifted themselves away from Gestalt-Prime's back entirely, revealing that the additional limbs and armatures they had once possessed were still present in a sense; with armour panels sliding into place to fill the gaps left behind the spindly, fleshy armatures reoriented themselves and slotted themselves inside of the Grimm's existing arms with a series of haunting, wet and squelching sounds before the entire assembly began to close itself with a few final adjustments.
The end result was that Gestalt-Prime's wings formed a single monstrous blade for them wield one handed whilst their laser cannon had grafted itself to the underside of their left forearm, changing the Alpha Cyber-Grimm from a hunched, stalking beast to an upright juggernaut capable of wading into any battle and laying waste to their foes.
Which was exactly what they intended to do
They could smell the chaos in the air and they knew on a fundamental level that Damascus Nero would not have awakened them prematurely without a good cause; which could only mean that the Megalodon was under attack and that there Hunters for Gestalt-Prime to slaughter.
Letting out a hacking, snarling laugh they hefted their sword and set off stalking towards their prey.
Team MARSZ's search for whoever had come to their aid had carried them steadily through the length of the Megalodon, though they were yet to find their unknown rescuers. Instead their efforts had brought them into a more open area of the vessels' innards which seemed to serve multiple purposes though was primarily suited to serving as a mustering point for personnel, the space possibly having been originally intended to serve as an indoor tennis court or gym aboard the private luxury airship that the Megalodon had once been.
It was here that Team MARSZ had found themselves cut off and surrounded by a mix of Cyber-Grimm and armed fighters carrying a mixture of weapons ranging from high-quality and professional to improvised.
Almost the precise opposite of what the Hunters had been hoping for.
"Come get some!" Astra challenged as they threw themselves into the midst of their enemies. The Cyber-Grimm were, to the best of their knowledge still reduced to acting on instinct and pre-programmed responses alone which meant that whilst they were indeed capable beasts they were arguably the lesser threat. The Cyber-Grimm were unlikely to use their main weapons in such a chaotic battle, ingrained limitations keeping them from risking friendly fire whilst the human and Faunus adversaries had no such restraint and were fighting at their full capacity.
Astra found themselves charged by five people at once in a clear effort to overwhelm them and drag them to the ground.
The Deer Faunus's response was almost frightening in its' violent efficiency, a snapping front kick striking the knee of the lead attacker and producing a sickening crunch muffled only by the man's own scream of pain, the sound in turn cut off as Astra followed up with a jumping, spinning back-kick from the opposite leg which struck the man in the chest and sent him sailing backwards with cracked ribs. They followed their spin and used their momentum to slam the shield adorning their right forearm into the face of canine Faunus and then drive the blade of that half of Buckshot Ares into the Faunus's leg, carving a wound whose severity ensured that they would no longer pose a threat into their thigh. The remaining trio of attackers were reduced to a duo as a burly fighter who Astra might have expected to charge grabbed the heavily bleeding Faunus and carried them away from the fight in search of a medic. The duo, a pair of women in their mid-twenties brandishing combat knives simply rushed at Astra with reckless abandon which allowed the leader of Team MARSZ to sidestep the first blow and slam the flat edge of their shield into one them, the blow to the gut doubling her over and allowing Astra to knock her unconscious with a knee to the face. The last remaining attacker let out a hate-filled scream and leapt at them.
Only to struck in the back of the shoulder by a harpoon.
"DODGE THIS!" Regalia yelled before retracting the harpoon component of Apex Scavenger to reel the attacker in, the knife-wielding woman struck the ground and was dragged backwards with her weapon clattering from her grasp as she struggled to get her feet under her and stand once again; succeeding just in time to be pulled into the path of Regalia's spinning elbow-strike aimed at her temple and follow up punch to the face.
"And stay down" the Racoon Faunus growled before seeking out a new opponent amidst the chaos of the brawl, finding one in short order when a Faunus with bat ears came screaming at her swinging the butt of their rifle like a club. Regalia ducked and transformed her weapon into its' close combat form in order to sweep her attackers' legs out from beneath them with the shaft; the Bat Faunus hit the ground face first and did not get back up yet the victory was short lived as a shadow fell over Regalia, the grinding chittering sound accompanying it giving her just enough time to react and bring Apex Scavenger up to block.
The shaft of her weapon caught the claws of the Cyber-Grimm and the force of its' swiping blow pushed her back along the ground.
"Heads up!" a thin beam of searing light burned into the flank of the Cyber-Grimm, not enough to do any lasting or significant damage but still enough to redirect its' attention for just enough for Regalia to swing the pickaxe-head of her weapon through its' skull and wrench the things' entire head free of its' body with a jerking body.
"Thank you!" she called out cheerily to Athena-Jade who had helped her.
The Bear Faunus had grabbed one of Nero's fighters who had been carrying a laser rifle, twisting the weapon in the man's grip and forcing him to fire and now that her goal had been achieved she kicked his legs out whilst throwing all of her weight and force into his upper body to smash him into the ground. More attackers came for her but Athena outclassed them with ease, the first being evaded and dispatched with the same cartwheeling kick whilst the second tried to catch her unawares only for the snowy-haired young woman to leap up onto one of her glyphs in mid-air to avoid a blow which then left the man overexposed and vulnerable to the backflip and kick to the mouth Athena unleashed; landing in a crouch and springing forward to tackle the staggering foe and drive him in painfully into the nearest wall.
The next attackers Athena was forced to defend herself however were a pair of lurching and lumbering Cyber-Grimm which came at her from opposite angles and left her cursing her short-sightedness as she realised that she had limited the amount of space she had to work with.
Gritting her teeth she raised a glyph up in front of her body to act as a shield.
'Hard-Light, Gravity!' the sound of Sunriser Cain's synthesised voice announced Zirconia's presence as the Grasshopper Faunus came to her aid. A spearing beam of semi-solid cyan light striking the surface of Athena's glyph at the perfect angle to ricochet into the eye of one of the Cyber-Grimm.
A moment later Stygian was there, the Mouse Faunus appearing in a liquid rippling of air and slashing at the face of the other Cyber-Grimm.
"Hey" Athena smiled weakly before unfurling her own weapon, keeping Heartbreaker in its' oversized sword form and slashing at both of her monstrous attackers; she and Stygian flitting around one another with ease until a shrill whistle spilt the air to serve as a warning.
"Down!" Athena-Jade all-but tackled Stygian over as she caught sight of Astra taking up a firing position behind the Cyber-Grimm and unleashing the guns of Buckshot Ares into their backs the moment they had a clear shot.
Even as the Cyber-Grimm fell Athena-Jade saw another one charging at Astra, thorax spear aimed downwards to impale the Deer Faunus from behind.
"ASTRA LOOK-"
The Cyber-Grimm fell to the ground, its' body sheared neatly in half behind the shoulders.
By a spinning, saw-bladed glyph.
"ARCTUS!" Athena called out in utter shock, her brother coming barrelling into view from one of the many entrances to the space Team MARSZ had found themselves in; smashing one of the few remaining members of Nero's forces out of his way with a punishing blow to the chest.
"AJ!" he flung his arms around his sister, picking her up off of the ground in a crushing hug which lasted far longer than such a dangerous environment would normally allow.
Arctus was not alone however, the rest of Team FADE surged into view behind him with Eagle and Diamond sweeping through the last paltry efforts against them whilst Felix sprinted to Astra's side.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm good it didn't hit me" Astra panted out, collapsing their weapons and checking themselves for injuries before calling out to Team MARSZ as whole.
"Everyone okay?" after receiving a collection of nods and thumbs up the Deer Faunus let out a sigh of relief and pulled their brother into a loose hug "Thanks for the assist"
"Don't worry about it" Felix gave them a playful, teasing punch on the shoulder "I'm always happy to show you just how much you kids have still got to learn-"
Anything he wished to add was cut off by the sound of a deafening roar which seemed to shake the entire Megalodon, coming from the bowels of the ship below them.
"Dude, what the hell was that?" Diamond demanded "New Cyber-Grimm?"
"It didn't come from the production facilities" Zirconia shook her head, unconsciously placing herself closer to Athena as she spoke "The only thing that's near the heart of the Forge where the Grimm tissue gets processed is….Gestalt-Prime"
"They sound bigger" Astra noted "They sound pissed"
"Time to go then?" Arctus urged, giving Felix a warning look which made it clear that it was not the time or the place for high-risk, high-reward plans.
"Let's move!" the Lion Faunus nodded "Come on, we've already got an exit"
With their reunion cut short and no chance to say anything more meaningful Team MARSZ followed Team FADE and prepared to escape the Megalodon for the second time.
"Sir, Gestalt-Prime is closing in on the Hunters….But, um, they're tearing through the ship to do it….Should we?"
"Is it anything that can't be repaired with the amount of Grimm tissue we took from the battle against Pantheon's forces and the metal at the mining platform we were headed for?" Nero demanded, his words terse and clipped as he kept his focus almost completely devoted to the matter at hand, with only mild annoyance able to be spared for anything that might distract him from it.
In response the nervous, if justifiably so member of his bridge crew slunk back several paces so that they could silently communicate through a series of frantic, waving gestures with one of their colleagues before finally responding.
"I-um, we think that the materials currently available and those we planned to acquire will allow us to absorb the damage but sir, it will be at the cost of producing enough Cyber-Grimm to-"
"Then it's fine" Nero interrupted bluntly "Unless you feel like going out there and telling Gestalt-Prime to use the damn stairs and wipe their feet?"
"N-no sir" Nero had already turned away before the stammered, terrified reply came.
Something about the interaction struck a chord with Nero however, the mad genius realising that he was veering closer to the former half of that descriptor.
He had become so overly focused on a single detail and point of his plan that he was losing sight of everything else, an unacceptable lack of vision and a loss of his centre that would have to be rectified. Taking several slow, deep breaths Nero closed his eyes and took a step back, throwing his head back so that he could push his lank hair away from his face and massage his temples.
Inhale, count to ten exhale, repeat.
Opening his quartz-coloured eyes again he took a moment to observe his surroundings and properly study his followers.
The pair of armed guards aboard the bridge had continued to keep their weapons trained on the door, keeping their own nerves contained beneath a veneer of determination and preparedness as they prepared to fend off anything which might break into the Command Bridge. The Hunters seemed to be elsewhere, however there was no sense in them letting their guard down.
The Bridge Crew themselves were hurriedly performing their assorted tasks, analysing data and trying to mitigate the damage being inflicted on the Megalodon from within whilst at the same time ensuring that the living airship remained airworthy for long enough to reach what it would need to begin healing itself and also re-establish control of the Cyber-Grimm so that those which had not yet been destroyed or disabled were more than lumbering brutes.
"Where exactly are Team FADE right now?" Nero finally demanded, waiting only a moment for an answer.
"They've doubled back sir, they appear to be retreating. Perhaps they're trying to find a way around Gestalt-Prime-" Nero's eyebrows had vanished into his hairline from the first few words of the reply and he could only endure the foolish naivety for so long before he was forced to intervene.
"Retreating? They escaping you imbecile!" he yelled "They're making their way back to the same way they got inside because they know there's nothing we can do to seal that hole….Where's Zirconia! Where are Team MARSZ?"
"They were pinned and outnumbered in….I'll find them now" one of the bridge crew gulped before entering a series of commands only to turn back towards Nero a moment later with the colour rushing away from their face in a way which told him what the answer would be a moment before it came "Their with Team FADE sir….All of them are making their way towards the hull-breach"
"Damn it!" Nero's cybernetic hand flexed and clenched, the urge to hit something rising despite his best efforts to maintain his composure "How close is Gestalt-Prime?"
"Closing fast sir but….Well I don't have exact data on the upgrades they've clearly been given, but I still think it will be too late-"
"Too late?"
"I think Team FADE and Team MARSZ will be able to make it out into open air before Gestalt-Prime can catch up with them"
"The Bug-Bear variants we had acting as additional weapon platforms during the previous battle, are any of them still operational?"
"Yes sir" the ships' gunner answered readily "Although until we establish a full operator suite here they have limited functionality and-"
"Doesn't matter" Nero barked "Use them, do not let the Hunters escape!"
"Aye sir" Nero had to wait only a few moments before evidence of his orders being followed reached his ears in the form of a firefight raging outside of the Megalodon, starting at the starboard side and drawing ever closer in a steady stream of booms, warping distorted bass notes and staccato bursts of gunfire until the sound finally crescendoed in a chorus of gasps and startled exclamations rippling through the bridge.
The Hunters were directly outside.
Team FADE and Team MARSZ were there, riding on the backs of a collection of ephemeral, glowing Grimm-Constructs that were clearly the work of the Schnee family Semblance. They could not see into the bridge, of that much Nero was certain and yet he was powerless to stop himself seeking out Zirconia in the collection of airborne figures; finding her almost predictably clinging onto the back of Athena-Jade Slate as though the shorter and muscular girl were the only lifeline and tether available to her.
Athena-Jade herself however had much more belligerent intentions.
"BANKING STARBOARD, BANKING STARBOARD!" the helmsman of the Megalodon yelled, warning his colleagues before dragging the damaged form of the colossal monster through the air as he along with everyone else watched Athena-Jade transform her weapon into its' laser cannon form and aim squarely at the centre of the bridge.
The lance of ethereal green light flashed across the main viewscreen and Nero found that he could not begrudge the crew-mates who yelled and screamed.
"Damage to port side!" the announcement felt redundant, but the fact that the word critical had not featured in it offered a faint sliver of hope. That hope left Nero a moment later however as he rose up from where he instinctively taken cover and saw that the Hunters were now much further in the distance, having turned and fled the moment Athena had fired.
"Gestalt-Prime is reaching the hull-breach now sir" one of the crew informed him, voice trembling faintly "D-Do they have permission to engage and pursue?"
Nero considered the option carefully, an initial urge to scream yes and have the Alpha Cyber-Grimm drag his daughter back here so that she could see the culmination of everything they had worked for together and take her place in the Bright new Tomorrow was clamped down on before it could be hastily indulged.
Instead Nero first considered the likelihood of the Hunters having reinforcements already heading towards them or waiting at a rendezvous point in the distance, he then considered the possibility of Gestalt-Prime taking the order to retrieve the Hunters as license to deliver their long-promised treachery; possibly by trying to kill Zirconia if only because she was important to Nero.
Then, with a heavy sigh Nero realised that he was undermining his own work.
He entrusted the future and the control over everything that he had built and everything that would come to follow to Zirconia specifically because she was not him; because she suffered from none of the weakness or moral failings that had poisoned his own judgement over the course of his work. There was nothing to be gained from forcing her to follow his plans in such a crass, brutish manner.
"No" he shook his head finally "Tell Gestalt-Prime to stand down, Zirconia is not the enemy….She never was. We have work to do, the future is at hand"
Team MARSZ and Team FADE felt the rush of cold wind and sea air against their faces, for the former it brought an undeniable feeling of freedom that was almost enough to overpower the lingering panic and urgency of their escape.
But they had made it, they were free of the Megalodon.
Now that they were outside Team MARSZ could see that the sun was steadily beginning to set and paint the horizon with streaks of gold and pale red, revealing just how much time had passed since the ill-fated attack on Pantheon's lair and how much the newly-freed Hunters had found their perception of time affected by the various crises and the monotony of imprisonment that had separated them.
The fading sunlight gleamed and reflected from the wings of their various mounts as they flew, the nine of them being spread between a group of four Nevermore constructs which Arctus had summoned and whose massive wings cast shimmering rainbows of refracted light with every flap. Arctus himself was leading the group with Astra clinging one handed to the much larger Faunus's back whilst also keeping their free hand ready so that they could unfurl their weapon and open fire at a moments' notice if needed. Felix and Stygian shared another Nevermore construct close behind and as the adrenaline left Athena-Jade's body like a receding tide, leaving her exhausted a bemused and faintly delirious thought occurred to her; that the Lion and the Mouse Faunus would likely be good friends once they got to know each other better and yet that it would lead to them both teasing her mercilessly. Regalia hung onto the back of the winged construct she shared with Eagle arc with ease whilst Sentinel swooped and flitted around them, easily keeping pace.
Leaving Athena-Jade and Zirconia sharing a more crowded space with Diamond.
"Hey Dee" she leaned around Zirconia, who had somehow found herself in front of the Bear Faunus after Athena's attempt to fire on the Megalodon to tap her sister-in-law's shoulder, having the distinct feeling that Diamond were the one in control of the construct even if it were Arctus who had created it "I'm gonna go talk to my brother, take care of hops for me?"
"Sure" Athena had the distinct feeling that Diamond had rolled her cherry red eyes at her in a display that she herself had learned to copy perfectly in her childhood and early teen years. With only a small amount of hesitation as she gently squeezed Zirconia's hand she threw her leg over the side of her brothers' conjured Grimm and dropped, her stomach lurching and a momentary feeling of weightlessness and primal fear as she allowed herself to fall for a moment before her own Semblance took hold and she formed her own pair of much smaller Nevermore wings from a glyph at the base of her spine.
She indulged herself and enjoyed the simple thrill of being able to fly for a moment, pivoting needlessly and arcing low under the ephemeral and translucent avian Grimm her brother and team leader shared before rising up and drawing level with Arctus at his right hand side.
"Show off" Astra snorted as a greeting
"Literally two-thirds of everything you do is to show off" Athena countered with a toothy grin, gesturing broadly at Astra's died-red Mohawk and the jewellery adorning their antlers before turning her attention to her brother "Hey, you want a hand with these constructs?"
"Have you been practising your summoning?" Arctus asked pointedly, giving her a knowing look "I mean actual summoning, not just that"
"Hey!" Athena exclaimed, defensive and not much caring for the way her brother had gestured at her wings and partial summoning technique "I mean I haven't practised full Grimm summons much lately because-"
"Then I'll handle it" Arctus interrupted "I don't want anyone falling into the sea because you lost focus for a second….I've already been pushing myself today, I don't feel like tempting fate and having to rescue you or whoever you drop again"
"Are you….Okay?" Athena asked, eyebrows raised and surprise evident on her face at her brothers' brusqueness.
"Just tired and concentrating" Arctus answered before letting out a slow sigh and giving his sister a longer, more meaningful look "That parting shot you took at the Megalodon was fucking stupid, you know that right?"
"What?" Athena demanded "If I'd hit it then-"
"If!" Arctus interjected "And even if you'd hit it there's no promises that it would have done anything lasting, it's a Grimm-airship that heals itself are you certain it doesn't have another control centre?"
"Well...No, but-" her admission was cut off as Arctus simply powered through it.
"That's the kind of reckless shit we expected from Astra two years ago!"
"I am right here man" the Deer Faunus huffed.
"We just rescued you" Arctus sighed, voice wavering for a moment as he "I don't wanna lose my little sister. I don't wanna tell Mum that we nearly saved you but we couldn't because you wanted to take one last shot….Even if it was pretty cool"
"I'm sorry" Athena mumbled, though she sensed that the argument was over after Arctus's faint smile at his final words and so she flew a little closer and pulled her brother into the closest approximation of a hug that their awkward position would allow; the moment lasting only until Astra chimed in.
"So, what now? What's the plan?"
"Doesn't look like Gestalt-Prime or any Cyber-Grimm are following us" Arctus noted "Thought they might have risked it even with the control room down….That was clever by the way, more stuff like that in the future"
"Thank Zirconia it was her idea" Athena smiled fondly "Doesn't look like the Megalodon is following either"
"Not after what Felix did to it" Arctus chuckle "It's gonna need some repairs, Aunt Winter said she'll have reinforcements coming soon so we can leave finishing it off to them…..Even if Nero escapes, losing the Megalodon and Carmesi on the same day is gonna set him back-"
"Carmesi isn't dead" Astra's words cut through the conversation cleanly and left a deafening silence in their wake.
"Astra he's gotta be dead" Arctus breathed out "You saw what happened, you were there-"
"Nero said he's received word from him" Athena-Jade added
"He's gotta be bluffing!"
"Why, you think you're the only one who can survive against insane odds?" she countered, voice dropping into something low and focused as she continued "He told Zirconia and I what his plans are, it's messed up….But he said he doesn't need to get Aunt Winter to hand over an Aura Transfer Machine any more, because Carmesi is already bringing him one. He just needs to get Pantheon to surface again so that he can collect it"
Arctus let out a hissed and venomous curse before sending the Nevermore construct he and Astra were riding on banking and veering through the air sharply, leaving Athena struggling to change her direction of travel quickly enough to catch up as they pulled up beside Felix in mid-air.
"What's happening?" the Lion Faunus demanded, sensing immediately that something was wrong.
"Pantheon's fortress!" Arctus answered "We've gotta go back!"
Author's notes:
So, this chapter had some fun stuff going on, action scenes and progression all round.
And yet it felt shorter, despite objectively being the same length as plenty of my other chapters.
But on the other hand, we're getting close to the end now folks….Next chapter is the lead-in for the Vol.09 finale and then we've only got one volume left.
Also I am writing this in the midst of a creative binge….Seriously, I am writing this mid November 2023 and I have literally cranked out four chapters across two fics in the space of a week.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Picking up right where we left off.
Felix's approach of 'Break everything and see what gets a response, because fuck these guys' has some definite merit.
Okay the fight was brief but it was fun, every single member of Team FADE had a bad-ass entrance and at the same time we managed a little bit of comedy with Felix just getting denied by everyone.
Personally I think Arctus made the biggest entrance.
Yeah I didn't want Team FADE to go after Nero here because he still has some things left to do, but I also needed a sensible reason for why they didn't and "Don't split the party, if anyone gets captured we're gonna be in the same mess" feels fair.
Yeah Team MARSZ were never gonna do the "Assume the position" scene from Shrek 3.
I specifically wanted the take-down of the two Cyber-Grimm at the door to involve all five of Team MARSZ.
Also the whole "Shot bursts through the opposite side of a wall to take someone out unexpectedly" trope is something that feels like it belongs to the villains and monsters, heroes don't really use it….But AJ pulled it off here.
And the action just carried on all the way through the corridor….If this was ever animated I'd want it to be a continuous shot.
Cyber-Grimm can be controlled in the field, but it's been stated on more than one occasion that they have operators giving them orders from the safety of the Megalodon; so now Hops is taking that control room out because after the way Team MARSZ were hunted down last time it's clearly a smart decision.
So yeah, the Cyber-Grimm aren't deactivated but they aren't acting with any coordination now or ability to plan….Also that was a cool take-down.
Just a good point to remember that a lot of Nero's people aren't really fighters.
Also, Nero's having a bad day at the office lol.
Of course he has his staff working through an ongoing crisis that threatens their lives, he's a wealthy business owner.
The security feed thing felt a bit cliché but fuck it, it still works.
And now Gestalt-Prime is back in the game.
Of course they exploded their way out of their juice-bag-of-doom, gotta make a spectacle.
Their new form took some inspiration from Gundam Transformers Prime Soundwave, Shatter from the Bumblebee Movie and the Atlas robots.
They're also still six foot shorter than Pantheon, well less when they stand up straight but it's funny that even their upgraded form gets dwarfed.
A return to form with the back-mounted weapon, but also kept the transformation thing from their last body...And now they've got a sword and an arm mounted gun instead of axes; but I might add some smaller weapons in hidden ports.
What if I told you that this is Gestalt-Prime's final form….But also, technically they've got one more.
Needed an open space for this fight scene, it's too much to fit in a corridor.
It's been a while since Astra's yelled "Come get some" felt like bringing that back.
Also been a while since we've had Astra fighting generic grunts which is basically just a reminder that Astra really is nasty in a fight; like they started this story with a fist fight and they're still breaking peoples' knees now.
The whole "Intervening in each others' fights and using that as a way to change perspectives" thing is honestly my favourite way to write these big group fight scenes and it was inspired by watching Power Rangers as a kid.
The "Dodge this" was a Matrix quote.
Cyber-Grimm get stabbed through the eye so much just because it's one of the main weak points in their design.
AJ needs more opportunities to do her style of Capoeira.
Y'know the Cyber-Grimm don't really get to use the big horn on their back enough, I mean they've got guns, a big laser and massive claws as well; but still.
….And there's the reunion and it was always gonna be one of the two older brothers who showed up first, Arctus is just better suited for a save like that.
They could have stayed and fought Gestalt-Prime but y'know is it worth the risk? Bearing in mind that all of this is happening literally the same day as the attack on Pantheon's fortress; everyone's running on fumes.
Nero just progressively more unhinged with the "This is fine" responses every time he gets told that the Megalodon is coming apart.
I don't think this is something that counting backwards from ten can fix.
Of course the Hunters show up right outside his window.
Some fathers worry about their daughter dating some punk with a motorbike….Nero's daughter is riding on the back of a summoned Nevermore, hanging onto the back of someone of who is actively trying to shoot him with a laser.
So, a moment of something approaching common sense from Nero at the end there….Mainly because Gestalt-Prime will have their moment, but this isn't it.
The whole scene where they escape, with sunlight shimmering on the Nevermore construct wings is supposed to be hopeful and triumphant just so I can snatch it away.
"Literally two-thirds of everything you do is to show off" I mean….
Arctus is allowed to be a little bit grumpy, it's a long day….Also he was worried.
"That's the kind of reckless shit we expected from Astra two years ago!" again, I mean….
But now that the news Carmesi isn't dead and that he has Project Inertia/the Aura Transfer Machine is out we have the incentive to get everyone moving in the same direction.
The last line felt a little cliché, but also it felt like the perfect cliffhanger to end on.
Thank you SpookyDonutGhostHouse and MajorBrony95 to for their reviews on the last chapter.
You seem to be under the impression that Nero is the final boss of this story, which is an interesting perspective.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.