Hello my fellow readers to a new chapter for Iron Rose Shorts. Allow me to apologise for the lateness of this chapter, for many factors affected it. The first being Writers Block, then the new DLC Shadowkeep came about and took my time (also came up with a few ideas to implement in both this one and the eventual Red War Arc for Remnant of a Rose.) Also been playing alot of Borderlands 3. Now onto the new chapter!
Those in the shadows become stronger!
-Grimoire
This story takes place sometime after Wolves of Mars but before SIVA Crisis
The Grimmlands, Remnant
Salem, Watts and Merlot waited in a large chamber. Watts was checking the time on his Scroll while Merlot was flexing his new appendage and Salem stood in the center of the room, waiting. A message from the Shadows of Yor asked the three to this chamber, something of great importance, but they were late.
The door behind them opened and in stepped Dredgen Craneel and Dredgen Vena.
"Ok, were here. So, what do you three want with us?" Vena said.
"We want? It was you who called us here in the first place." Watts said.
"We did no such thing."
"I was the one who summoned you all here."
All of them turned to the other side of the chamber as the doors opened and a figure stepped out. The figure was revealed to be a titan wearing hive chitin armor with green light coming from the joints. His helmet in the shape of a Hive darkblade.
Salem sensed the power coming from the individual and sighed in annoyance of another Shadow coming into her sanctuary.
"Welcome, Dredgen Tyranus to Remnant." Craneel said bowing to him in respect along with Vena doing the same. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"
Tyranus reach towards his helmet and removed it, revealing him to be of the Awoken kind with red eyes.
(A/N: for reference to Tyranus appearance, see the BLU Heavy Classic from the Team Fortress 2 Comic series)
"I'm here because of her." He said pointing to Vena, who cringed under his glare. "Thanks to your assassination attempt on Summer Rose, they know that we are here and undoubtably assisting her majesty here. And now Shin Malphur is now on our trail, forcing us to accelerate our plans. Fortunately for us all, I'm here to train Salem in the ways of the Darkness and ensure that all our plans are on track, but first let me introduce our newest allies in our endeavor."
He gestured behind him and out stepped a large Fallen Captain. From the waist up, he was normal save for his lower arms ending in mechanical appendages, with the exception of one which was burnt and scrap. From the waist down its feet ended in mechanical talons. Tubes connected to his throat looped over his back and into the depths of his blue cloak.
"This is Techis, Splicer Priest of the Fallen House of Wolves. I found him near a Vex Gate in the ruins of Vytal. He came from a Vex Gate from Mars after a scuffle with some Guardians and an Agent of the Vanguard and found his way here. After I saved his life and enabled him to breath via an apparatus that converts oxygen into Ether, he has pledged his allegiance to our cause."
Techis approached Salem and kneeled before her. "Kell-Queen, I live to serve."
Salem arched an eyebrow and turned to Tyranus. "Kell?"
"In their language, it means leader."
"Ah." She then bade her latest ally to the side as Tyranus gestured to the open doorway again.
From the doorway and a large four-armed mechanical being stepped from the shadows, towering over Techis.
"For those who are not aware, we are joined here by the infamous Fallen mercenary Taniks the Scarred along with his crew."
The now named Taniks walked towards Tyranus followed by numerous Fallen wearing various colored armor and cloaks guiding seven large cargo containers via several small anti-gravity pads. They led the containers and placed them in a small semi-circle facing the three Dredgens, the two humans, the Splicer and the Grimm Queen.
Vena seethed in anger. "What in the Hellmouth are they doing here!?" she shouted. "Indeed," Watts said as he gestured at the newcomers. "I was under the impression that travel between your Earth and Remnant wasn't possible for another few weeks. Not to mention the fact that the Guardians are monitoring the stars themselves. How did they arrive here without being spotted?"
"There's an old saying, sooner or later everything washes up on the Tangled Shore. Including coordinates to lost worlds and Warmind Stealth Drives."
Wanting to know more about these Stealth Drives, but wanting an answer to his question, Watts asked, "And what is this Tangled Shore?"
It was Craneel who answered. "The Tangled shore is a collection of asteroids, centaurs and derelict ships cobbled together to make a landscape where malcontents, rogues, pirates and other outcasts can thrive. Think of it as a space version of Vacuo combined with the Mistral Black Market."
"Correct, I hired Taniks and his crew to acquire samples for our dark lady's lesson." Tyranus said. "My dear Vena, I know you have a history with his kind and hate them with a vengeance, but for the duration of our alliance…" He then flicked his right arm and a battle axe made out of sickly green flames formed. "Keep your mouth shut and show the proper respect for those who are more powerful than you!" He shouted at her as she visibly flinched at the sight of his Oversoul Executioner Super, knowing that he killed numerous Dredgens that stepped out of line.
She recomposed herself and calmly said, "Yes, of course." Knowing that he straightened her out, and ignoring the smile Salem had on her face seeing the one who defeated her humbled, he approached the large mechanical fallen.
"250 samples as agreed Dredgen. I lost several of my crew acquiring them. I want recompense." Taniks said via a mechanical synthesizer.
Tyranus nodded his head and brought out his captive ghost who turned to a spot near Taniks. In that spot appeared several large cylinder containers with Fallen script.
"500 gallons of Ether as agreed."
"And my other payments?"
"I'll leave you in the capable hands of Dr. Merlot and Dr. Watts here." He said gesturing to the mentioned two.
Merlot was baffled while Watts twitched his moustache. "What do you expect us to do to him?"
"You see Taniks here, after the successful completion of every job, replaces a piece of himself with technology. Since the two of you are the best in your field, surely you have something mechanical to give him?"
Watts took a good look at Taniks, noticing and being impressed by the number of augmentations.
"I believe I have just the thing in mind."
"And his other payment?" Salem asked with an eyebrow raised.
He told her.
"Would that be a problem?" Tyranus asked.
A diabolical smile started to form on her face and her eyes glowed red with glee.
"No…no problem at all."
"By the way, what is in the containers?" Merlot asked gesturing to them.
"I'm glad you asked, my dear doctor." Tyranus said and gestured to the Fallen that were on top of the container. The Fallen pressed a few buttons and the containers were flung open revealing an Arc barrier, and behind that barrier the most horrid alien in the universe.
"These are the Hive!" He said gesturing to the specimens. "These 250 are the last of a Hive sect known as the Spawn of Crota. With the death of their God and progenitor, Crota and his consort, Omnigul, Guardians have been relentless on exterminating this sect of the Hive species. And thanks to Taniks and his crew, they have collected them all and brought here for the purpose of Salem's lesson…to become Ascendant!"
00000
After the two Dredgens, Watts, Taniks and Techis dragging an exuberant Merlot behind him, Salem knelt on her knees, arms folded on her lap, facing the Titan Shadow, with Tanik's crew standing on top of the containers, watching the action that is about to begin.
"You're probably asking yourself, what is an Ascendant?" Tyranus asked as he paced in front of his student.
"I assume it has something to do with them." She said gesturing to the Hive currently banging on the barriers.
"Yes, the Hive operate on the Sword-Logic. Let's just say it is a twisted version of Survival of the Fittest. When two Hive entities fight, one kills the other and absorbs the power and the essence of the vanquished, becoming more powerful. They continue killing and absorbing the power until they become Ascendant. When they become Ascendant, the become immortal in a sense."
"Immortal? How so?" She said her interest piqued.
"When they become Ascendant, they create an Ascendant plane of their own, a pocket universe that in the event that their physical bodies are destroyed, their souls are sent to their own Ascendant plane and wait for a time when their bodies eventually reform."
"And by becoming Ascendant, will I be powerful enough to kill a Guardian?" She asked thinking about one white cloaked Guardian and a certain Shadow.
"In time, yes, I'll make sure that you do become more powerful." He said as he retreated towards the containers, giving the Fallen on the containers a hand signal. They then pressed a button and two of the containers containing Hive Thralls were unleashed and ran straight towards the Grimm queen herself, screaming and howling with delight.
As they got close, she shifted into her battle form, armor appearing all over her body, she charged straight at the hoard. Her claws ripping the frail bodies to pieces, their claws and bites leaving little damage to her skin. She grabbed one of them and tore it in half above her head and then grabbed another and swung it around using it as both a bat and shield against the rest. When she was done, she threw the Thrall onto the ground then stomped on its head and twisted her heel grinding the skull to powder.
The room became quiets as the spectators watched the end of her carnage. The Fallen chittered nervously watching the dark being fight before them, while some of them were exchanging Glimmer between them, betting on the outcome. Tyranus simply smiled and nodded.
"Not bad your majesty." He said sincerely. "Now reach out your hand and feel the essence of those you slain. Focus on it, and absorb it into yourself."
Salem reached out her hand towards the remains of the Thralls littering the ground and called out the wisps of Darkness attached. At first nothing happened. She concentrated harder and felt the pull. One of the wisps drifted towards her followed by another and another until all of them flowed towards her arms. The second they touched her arms, she stood still and shivered in ecstasy, feeling the power from the remains of these Thralls. After the last of the energy went into her body she breathed in and out.
Tyranus looked to Salem. "How do you feel?"
Salem opened her eyes, which briefly glowed green-red then returned to their normal red and said, "More…I want more!"
Tyranus smiled and signaled the fallen to release more Thralls along with a few dozen Acolytes.
00000
Sometime later, Watts, Merlot, Techis and Taniks walked down the hall back towards the large room. Watts and Techis were in conversation about their respected technology and the many ways they can be improved and merged. If one were to look at them now, they would think that they have been life-long friends and colleagues instead of them newly introduced to one another. Already Techis is admiring the new robotic arm that Watts attached to him, shifting it from arm to blade to cannon form. Merlot was mumbling about the many experiments that he planned to conduct on the Hive after his mistress was finished with them and Taniks was admiring the newest parts to his anatomy.
An arm that shifted into a multi-barreled cannon and an eye that shifts through numerous spectrums with a built-in aura meter. He wondered if the latter would help him in confrontations with Guardians.
He was brought out of his musings when the group came to a halt right outside the arena they were headed.
They gazed at the vast remains of Hive chitin scattered across the room and the fight going on between Salem, two Hive Knights and a Wizard.
Salem brought her hands to her elbows and concentrated. Two bone protuberances emerged from her body, she gripped them and pulled revealing them to be the handles for two scimitars that she wielded with each hand.
She ran towards one of the knights, her blades at the ready. The knight ran to meet her and brought his arm up to swing his sword. As he brought it down, she slid between its legs and sliced the legs, wounding the knight and forcing it to its knees. She then flipped one of the scimitars, gripping by the handle and pointed behind her and thrust backwards forcing the blade through the back of the knight's head and through its mouth, killing it instantly. She then used her other scimitar to block the blade of the other knight.
The Wizard, glided through the air and brought out its arm to conjure a globe of darkness to slow her down. But what the Wizard didn't notice was that Salem mentally conjured up a sigil on the ground before the wizard and it sprung to life, manifesting numerous Shadow Hands that reached out and engulfed the Wizard. They snaked, coiled and twisted around the captive. When they engulfed the Wizard entirely, as one they twisted every which way, snapping its neck, arms and body, killing it instantly. As they retracted back to the sigil, pieces of chitin fell to the ground, some in large chunks, others in small pieces crumbling into dust.
Salem then decapitated the last Knight and watched as the body dissolved and shifted back into her normal appearance, taking deep breaths as she absorbed her slain foes.
They were in awe tin watching her majesty slaughter all of these Hive, they noticed that a few Hive Specimens still remain in the containers that Taniks brought with him. Said Taniks mentally calculated out of the 125 thralls, 60 acolytes, 50 knights and 15 wizards, a majority are on the floor in pieces, save for the ones remaining in the containers. Merlot counted at least 15 Thralls, 10 Acolytes, 3 Knights and 2 Wizards in said containers. Enough for his experiments.
Watts, being the bravest of the group walked slowly towards his mistress. "You're grace…?"
Salem opened her eyes as the last of the dark energies went into her and materialized a Grimm pool and began work on her newest creations.
Vanguard Hidden Report 619-B
To: Vanguard Hunter Cayde-6
Subject: Hive/Grimm Hybrids
As of a few days ago, I've been getting reports from Guardians in the field, along with Huntsmen that new Grimm have been sighted in and around outlier villages in Solitas and Anima. After reviewing their video reports of these new Grimm and requesting the expertise of The Man with the Golden Gun, I'm afraid to report and agree with his assessment, The Shadows are indeed working with the Queen. And these two new species are the result of their partnership.
The first subject I've dubbed the Misery: A hybrid that has the same physiology of an Apathy Grimm (see attachment A enclosed in report) and the appearance of a Cursed Thrall hive. Instead of exploding like a cursed Thrall, it instead screams so loud it deafened a few Faunus villagers. The scream compels all those who listen to remember the saddest moments of their life and sends them into a state of depression, crying out in sadness and induce suicidal thoughts and actions in a few.
The second specimen I call The Rage: The size of a Grimm Ursa Major, but in the general shape of a Hive Ogre. Not only does it have the strength of said Ogre, it also has a scream similar to the Misery, but on a whole different level. Instead of sending those that hear its scream into a state of depression, it sends them into a berserker state that compels them to fight and kill anyone and everyone around them (see police homicide reports 14-32 enclosed in report)
My recommendation is to notify the headmasters of the Huntsman Academies and a select trusted individual within the Kingdom Government on the emergence of these new threats.
Thus ends the chapter.
I'd like to announce that my stories Fallen Conclaive and Farmboy and the Fallen will not be made until the end of the SIVA Crisis Arc for Iron Rose.
Upcoming Chapter: The Spider and the Schnee
See you soon and Happy Thanksgiving to all! =)
