Busy month for me. The newest song from Divide music was about Trevor Belmont from Castlevania and that made me want to watch the series. To sum up what I thought of the series now that I'm finished in one word would be "Beautiful" with a capital B. Then there were a few celebrations I needed to go to and then finish reading a few books that I've had on the back burner for a little too long.
Sleep was such a beautiful thing because you felt no hunger, no pain and if things were truly good you'd be blessed with a beautiful wet dream. He didn't get those very often but when he did they were magnificent beyond anything he'd ever seen online. But back to the wonders of the current rest he was currently getting, it was a peace he didn't normally get nowadays. With all the training and fighting to prove himself worth all the time invested in him, this moment was his own heaven on Remnant.
And then it was ripped away by a person as beautiful as she was cruel.
The curtains were pulled open to let the morning sun in and like a vampire that lived for the night, Jaune hissed, rolled himself up with his blanket and shied away from the light. The sound of heels clicking against the wooden floor got closer with each step until they stopped right next to his bed. "Please don't-" he started before the comfortably warm blanket he loved like one of his mothers hugs was ripped away from him. How she had managed to do what she did while he was curled up like that with the blanket he'll never know.
"It's time to get up or did you forget that your still on mission"?
Jaune cracked open one of his eyes and saw Winter standing next to his bed with his blanket in hand. "You know it every man's dream to wake up next to a beautiful woman first thing in the morning. Mine specifically one day". He sighed and sat up in bed before giving his former teacher a flat look. "Your ruining that for me, but to answer your question I haven't forgotten. What about the others? Are they already good to go or do we have enough time to get some breakfast before we leave"? he asked before a yawn forced it's way past his lips.
Winter threw the blanket in his face with one hand while placing the other on her hip. "They're already dressed and downstairs getting breakfast as we speak. I took the liberty of arranging breakfast before your teams woke up only to be surprised when you weren't among the first downstairs. Your the team leader Jaune, therefore you have a responsibility to your team to be the one they look too when professionalism is required. Your failings also reflect on me as well since I was one of the main figures involved with your training and development".
"You were also the one who thrashed me pretty good last night too, thanks for that by the way" he said with a small smile. His sarcasm wasn't appreciated and the look on Winter's face said as much. The blonde coughed into his fist and quickly hopped out of bed. "Not that I don't appreciate everything you've done for me of course I was just trying to bolster a little camaraderie, you know"?
The edges of Winter's lips turned up and she let out a small sigh. "I understand and I'm not above a little joking to keep tensions low when it calls for it. That being said time is wasting and our food is getting colder by the second so I'll be going on ahead". The specialist headed for the door but stopped just short of closing the door behind her to turn his way. "Oh and that dream of yours shouldn't matter so much as long as who you wake up to is someone you love and cherish enough to spend your night with".
Jaune raised a brow at her words. He didn't take her for a romantic of all things but her concern did bring a smile to his lips. "I wouldn't worry, the kind of woman I want to wake up to will be wearing a ring on her finger that I gave her". Jaune's grin grew even larger as he said, "and we'll be as in love as my mom and dad are...hah, even if that's a little embarrassing to say". And boy that was embarrassing to say especially to his former teacher of all people.
Winter watched the blonde at first then smiled warmly when she saw no doubts or deceit in his eyes. "That's truly good to hear. I have seen what such commitments without love can do to two people and it not something I would wish on anyone". Jaune wondered who she was talking about but he never got a chance to ask as his former teacher departed. There seemed to be something more to her words and if he dared to guess it was probably something to do with someone from her past. Speculation was all it was but the hidden sadness in her tone was unmistakably hard to miss.
After a minute of thinking about it some more he decided to put a pin in it and revisit the thought when he wasn't on mission. Besides the longer it took for him to get ready the colder his food was getting and he'd be damned if he was going to make Winter come back up here to escort him down. Jaune moved quickly and shedded his sleep wear so he could put on his huntsmen gear. The cool air in the room made him shiver slightly and for the one hundredth time since he got to Atlas he wished he had his blue onesie. That thing was comfortable and warm despite how childish it might look to some people.
With everything in place and his hair tied up nicely with its blue band he headed downstairs to see the two teams having a very quiet breakfast. The problem the girls had with each other last night was no doubt bleeding into the morning atmosphere. As soon as he reached the table Winter held out a cup of coffee for him. He wanted to thank her for that but as soon as he saw the sludge she presented him with memories of his early morning history lessons came flooding back.
Was it possible to get PTSD from coffee? If most people answered no then he'd be living proof of them being wrong. Sure he could add heaps of milk and sugar to it but then he'd be visibly showing Winter that she was wrong to give him the cup. One did not anger the Schnee specialist, it was in the book of a 100 ways to die in Atlas written by yours truly. Swallowing his pride and bidding his taste buds goodbye he took a sip of the darkness and felt his soul shrivel up and die a little. He wondered if this was how the General liked his coffee? It was a true test of mettle to handle drinking this daily.
On the outside his expression remained neutral as he lowered the cup and gave his former teacher an appreciated nod. Returning a good gesture with another Jaune pulled the seat out for Winter and pushed her in when she sat before taking a seat himself. The table was a rectangular shape with both teams on either sides of it with the exception of himself since he took the only other place with food already prepared. Being at the head of the table was a little uncomfortable mostly because now it felt like he had to start with something other then eating his food.
"Flynt".
Team FNKI's leader looked up from his food when his name was called, his glasses rested on the table so it made it a lot easier to see his eyes. "When we get to the mouth of the caves we'll be splitting up into two groups. With that being the case I was thinking since my team is still new at this that Winter would accompany us just to be on the safer side of things. This will if nothing else even things out a bit since our team dynamic still has room for much needed improvement". Flynt nodded and answered, "that's fine with me".
With his approval Jaune turned to Winter to see what she thought of his idea only to receive a nod from the specialist as she bit into some toast. Jaune turned to his food and started eating, casually reviewing their plans for their investigation so as not to have them all sitting in silence.
/
Breakfast was a harrowing affair but just like everything in his life he somehow managed to get through it with dumb luck and a never say die attitude he picked up from his dad. Sure his dad spouted that all women were looking for was confidence but so to were men and adults in general for that matter so he'd give it to his old man at least a little.
Jaunes boots crunched against the snowy road that led to the foot of the mountain. It wasn't much of a trek but with Shelter holding it's people back from the caves the road had begun build a layer of snow over it. "Damn solitas and it's cold weather" Jaune thought as he continued over the snowy path. When they finally arrived at their destination the road opened up to a wide open space that had 4 smaller roads each leading to it's own entrance into the caves. Flynt joined him and took in their surroundings before pulling out his scroll. "We should take two caves that are closer together then the others so we don't strain the signals too much".
Jaune agreed with the suggestion and pointed at the screen of Flynt's scroll, "these two are the closest to each other, caves 3 and 4. We don't know which one the vets went down but at least between the two of us we have a 50-50 chance of getting it right. Even if we end up getting it wrong there's a section three floors down that connects all the tunnels into one. We can switch over from there and check the others just in case of anything".
Flynt saw what the blonde was getting at and nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea, I'll let the others know so we're all on the same page. Oh and I spoke with commander Rudolph before you got up and let him know ahead of time so we could meet him here. He said he was bringing a few teams of soldiers just to keep the first floors safe. You know safety in numbers and all that".
Jaune nodded and watched his fellow team leader walk off to speak with the teams. In all the early morning conversation over breakfast he couldn't believe he'd forgotten all about contacting commander Rudolph. How were they suppose to light up the dark without the spare cave lights the commander had on hand? Jaune rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, he really needed to wake up and get his head in the game. People could really get hurt if he didn't bring his A-game, namely his teammates for one.
Jaune brought both of his hands up and slapped them hard against his cheeks letting the pain be his wake up call. "Right" he turned on the spot and joined the two teams in time for Flynt to finish his explanation.
"Right now we're just waiting for Shelters commander to get here with the lights for the caves. It's pretty cold out here so we'll secure the first floor of each cave and bunker down to keep warm. It shouldn't take too much time for Shelters defense force to get here so the wait won't be too long. Also as a final reminder no one is allowed passed the first floor until we get those lights, even if you here cries for help coming from deeper inside. We don't know what's down there and I ain't about to take any chances, alright"?
The two groups answered loudly, "YES SIR"!
Jaune chuckled to himself, they were huntsmen and huntresses in training yet they were acting like soldiers. Though if he really thought about it upon graduating most huntsmen could join the military and get pretty good benefits from it. Just thinking about it reminded him of the Ace Ops which made him wonder if any of his former teachers actually did that. It really wouldn't surprise him if that was the case and would explain how they got so strong in the first place. Not that soldiers weren't strong or anything it just felt like they had a little more to them then most.
"Who knows maybe one of use might end up leading the next generation of Ace Ops in the future, wouldn't that be something" the young knight thought to himself.
The two teams split into their respective groups and made their way into their assigned caves with weapons drawn. In all honesty Jaune didn't expect to run into anything too dangerous since it was only the first floor. That thought was proven true when they entered only to find the floor completely baren of anything besides the ice that lined the walls. The shield collapsed on his forearm to make it easier for him to reach into his pocket and draw on his scroll. It took him only a second to turn on the light switch and illuminate the darkest edges of the first floor.
The light from outside the cave could only go so far but thanks to his scroll light that wasn't much of a problem for now. "All clear, but just in case we'll settle down near the caves entrance where the light is brightest". The rest of his team nodded and retreated towards the exit where the sound of vehicles could be heard steadily approaching. A little ways away two trucks drove over the road they came from and parked a short distance away from the caves in the clearing. The people within came pouring out of every door armed to the teeth with assault rifles, shotguns and any other weapon they could carry on their person.
The last person to exit one of the trucks was an older man in his 40's with dark brown hair, a finely trimmed goatee and an eye patch over his left eye. Commander Rudolph had the look of a man who seen some shit in his life and powered through it with a will as strong as steel. That was something Jaune could admire but more then that was how kind hearted the man seemed when they first met. When they met he acted like a friend they hadn't seen in a really long time.
Jaune made his way down to the trucks just as Flynt exited the caves. "Commander" Jaune said as he held out a hand for the man to shake. Commander Rudolph gripped his hand and gave it a firm shake, "from the look of things I say you started without us". Jaune looked back at the to teams with him and then back to Rudolph. "We had a small head start and figured it best to scope things out so that your people could feel comfortable taking control of the first floors". Commander Rudolph nodded, "that is most appreciated but what about the other caves? Have you managed to check those out yet"?
Jaune shook his head at the question. "We haven't been here long enough to check those two but if you'd like you can take the time to set up in caves 3 and 4 while we do so". Rudolph looked passed the young Arc for a moment then turned to his men, whistled and pointed two fingers at cave 4. The soldiers got the message loud and clear and started pulling black duffel bags out of the trucks. They slung the bags over their shoulders and marched up to the caves entrance with their guns pointed forward.
"I'd like to ask that one of your teammates stay with my men while they set up, it wouldn't do to have something happen while we're busy".
Jaune nodded and looked to Ciel, "your up, make sure nothing happens while we check out the first floor of the other caves". She didn't like being the one left behind but knew better then to disobey an order in front of complete strangers. Ciel pushed her irritation down and moved to join the soldiers in cave 4 while the rest checked the first two caves. It was as uneventful as could be because shortly after Jaune and Flynt entered their respective caves they returned to give the all clear sign.
Ciel felt a bit happy about that because if there was some action and she wasn't a part of it because she was here she'd have been furious. She put it out of her mind a moment later when she saw the soldiers pulling wall lights out of their bags. Some were placed on the left wall near the ceiling while others were put on the right, right around the same place mirroring the left half of the cave. The third was placed near the back of the first floor where the passage led to the floor below them.
"All set".
"Same here".
"Good to go".
Commander Rudolph held a large scroll in hand and when he heard the lights were set he pressed a key on the screen and lit up the floor. "Good work" the Commander said to his men, "a few of you will keep this spot secured while the rest of us move over to the cave next door. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for any Grimm that might show up. I wanna return with all heads accounted for at the end of the day and I'm sure all of you wanna get home in one piece".
"Sire, yes sir" the soldiers answered together.
Commander Rudolph eyed his men an nodded, "then let's get this done, Lazlo squad with me the rest of you hold this position". The group of soldiers split from 16 to 8 with the other half following the commander outside and over to the next cave over. Ciel joined Commander Rudolph's team and jogged after them over to the other cave. She felt calmer here then with her own team. It wasn't really all that surprising since she originally wanted to be a soldier like them and felt comfortable taking orders from someone much older and experienced then her current team leader.
The process continued the same as before and the first floor was secured for cave three. Commander Rudolph approached the young huntress in training and held out two small devices for her to take. "These cameras are heat and motion detectors, have them placed at the caves entrance of caves 1 and 2. They'll give us a few minutes of early warning should anything come up from the lower levels while your all down there".
Ciel took the two cameras in hand and struck a salute for the Commander. She didn't really need to because she wasn't one of his soldiers but did so anyways because she was a soldier at heart. Rudolph seemed to recognize this at a moments glance and returned her salute with one of his own. Respect given, Ciel took off jogging to caves 1 and 2 and tossed the cameras at the ceilings of each caves entrance. She recognized the design and knew they would stick automatically to any surface they were placed on thanks to the gravity dust within.
With her job finished she rejoined her teammates as they came out of the caves and returned to caves 3 and 4. Jaune traded a few words with the Commander and motioned for them to follow as they headed down to the lower levels. A duffel bag was given to them before they left and an ear piece was placed in the the team leaders ears. Jaune placed his finger against it, "commander, how's the connection" he asked when they reached the second floor.
Commander Rudolph answered immediately, "the connection is good for now. As you go further in that won't be the case thanks to the stone and ice that'll naturally scramble the signal".
Jaune removed his finger and deployed his shield as he stepped out into the new floor, eye's quickly scanning the area for any potential dangers. They pressed on slowly and carefully as their scrolls lit up the way ahead. It was strange to be sure, the fact that they hadn't even come across a single Grimm made things nerve-wracking. When the coast was clear he had Penny take point because she was the strongest while Ilia and Ciel helped him with the lights. The placement of the lights was a little different since the floor was a lot bigger then the one before.
With a few extra lights pulled from the bag they completed their task with ease and no interruptions at all. Jaune placed his finger on the ear piece and gave the go ahead letting the commander light up their floor. While the young Arc was at it he checked in with the other team to see if they'd found anything of note. To his mounting worry they hadn't seen anything on their side either. Had they chosen the wrong caves to search? Had the team of vets gone further down to the lower levels? He really couldn't say with any certainty so the only thing he could do was press on and hope for some clue to put his nerves to rest.
The two teams met up on the third floor as planned each exchanging what they found or better yet what they hadn't found at all.
Flynt cupped his chin in thought, clearly having the same mounting worries that the blonde had. "We should head back to the first floor to pick up some more lights". Team FNKI's leader lifted his bag and shook it showing that he only had a few left after using some on the second floor and some on their current one. Jaune nodded in agreement, "Once we restock we should use caves 1 and 2 for the next trip down. If we missed anything it might be on that side and I'd feel better with the exit behind me then another floor below".
It took a little time for the two teams to make their way to the top floor and back down again but it didn't hurt to be on the careful side of things. In the end Jaune couldn't help but feel like the whole thing was a big waste of time because they still had nothing to show for their caution. His frustration must've shown on his face because a hand settled on his shoulder and when he looked to see who it was he was met with a calm face and icy blue eyes. After a moment Winter released him and gave him a small warm smile as she linked her hands behind her back.
"Don't let the others see your frustration it'll only add more pressure to what they already have" she said quietly to him. Jaune let out a deep breath and asked, "don't you feel angry as well? We've been spending all this time searching each caves first three floors and didn't even find a single clue as to what happened to those vets. Then there's the problem with not even seeing a single Grimm cross our paths. All of this is adding up to one thing, really bad news and I don't want to end up missing like that team that came before". Winter nodded and pulled out her scroll bringing the mountains map data on screen.
"It's true that we spent some time checking each caves levels but that was by no means a waste of time. Thanks to our investigation we've been able to set up lights on each floor giving us plenty of easy escape routes out of the caves if needs be. And then there's this". Winter thumbed her way past the first three levels on the map and pointed to one large tunnel leading further down. "With our backs clear for the time being we can focus our full attention on the floors below".
Jaune knew that already but what bothered him was just how much time it was taking. His eye's moved to the caves entrance and saw the sun was already starting to go down. They had started early in the morning and used up most of their time setting up lights and exploring the caves first 3 levels. Each level was by no means small at all and thus took time to be inspected and searched for anything that stood out. Having to do that multiple times was what ate up their daylight.
They'd have to head back soon and continue the search again tomorrow because being so cautious and on guard was a tiring affair if you did it for hours on end. He just wish they had more to show for all they'd done and not just return empty handed.
"You should be more glad to be on missions like these" Winter said while his mind had wondered from their conversation. Her words brought his attention back and he nodded along to show he was listening. Winter looked over the several teams in front of them for a moment, "missions where the fighting are only a necessity when there are no other options. There are so few of those lately but that's why they are more appreciated because if things get bad enough for combat to be needed that means the possibility of death is present for anyone of your teammates".
Jaune took those words to heart. He didn't want to lose any of them, even if Ciel was new to their team he still was kinda protective over her a little. It was his job to feel like that since he was their team leader. "Okay" he said after a second, "and thanks Winter, I think I needed a little talk like this". His former teacher closed her eye's and chuckled a little, "there's no need to thank me, I'm only doing as my duties dictate". Jaune smiled mischievously in turn, "does that also extend to yesterday's beat down as well"?
"Training is a part of my duties when needed, so yes I suppose it does". Winters eye's cracked open slightly and she looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Worry not, if you should ever require another lesson I will be readily available to instuct you in the ways of combat".
"In training or beat downs"?
Winter smirked at the question and gave a one worded answer. "Both".
/
"Is it me or do those two seem oddly close to one another, and I don't mean physically either".
Flynt looked up from the duffel bag to his partner and then followed her line of sight to his fellow team leader standing next to the Atlesian specialist. The two continued to talk to each other with Winter even cracking a smile every now and then at something the blonde said. He'd never thought about it before because what was there to think about concerning a Schnee. He couldn't exactly say he liked her or any of them in any capacity but even he never saw one of them smile before.
This wasn't the first time he worked with Winter Schnee either and she was usually always professional during their missions. She never joked or played around and always seemed so distant that it felt like even being considered anything close to a friend was impossible. Seeing her smile and chatting away like she was, only meant one thing and that was that Jaune had found away passed all those walls she built up and came out in one piece.
"You looking to ship them together or something? I thought that was why you were bugging that Penny girl". A smile formed on Flynt's face as he chose his next words purposely, "or maybe your worried a top contender just showed up and will steal our blonde fellow out from under you"?
Neon's tail slapped his arm before she turned his way with a raised brow. "I'll have you know that no Schnee of any age is as awesome as I am, and if I wanted tall, blonde and muscles I could have him no problem". Flynt shrugged his shoulders, "then why not? He seems available and he clearly likes what he sees when your around him. Plus you know how the guys in Atlas are". The cat faunus tilted her head in thought but it wasn't like she could deny her team leaders words. Most of the guys in Atlas actually believed and treated her like she was an animal at times so it was a little refreshing for someone to not act like that around her.
Back when team FNKI was formed it took them time to see her as a person and not an animal too, so she kinda expected it from everyone around her. Neon's eyes fell on the red head she dubbed green and saw the girl stealing glances at her own team leader. They do say "all's fair in love and war" but the question was if the blonde knight was even worth all the trouble to follow. They barely knew each other and cat fights were probably going to pop up if she got too familiar with green's interests. A grin formed on her face as she remembered that she already gave green a fair warning before so she couldn't be blamed for loosing out.
"Maybe your right".
Flynt zipped up the duffel bag but froze when he heard her words. Truthfully he was just horsing around with her because you usually don't take so much interest in someone if you didn't at least like them a little. Hearing that Neon was actually agreeing to go after the blonde knight in a romantic sense caused a cold sweat to start forming. What had he done? Neon was a lot to handle even for his own team and they were just friends, how bad was it going to be when she wanted more from somebody?
Flynt turned to his teammate and tried to dissuade her from trying but all he saw next to him was an empty spot where Neon used to be.
/
Surprisingly Jaune was the first to notice the comotion coming from the entrance and her second and only because of Jaunes wavering attention. Winter looked over to the caves entrance to see commander Rudolph aiming his rifle towards another cave. "Whats happening" Winter asked as she got close. Their was no immediate answer until Commander Rudolph lowered his gun and looked back at her. "The lights you all installed for caves 1 and 2 have started to go out, someone or somethings destroying them as they're making their way up to ground level. We had a camera placed at the caves entrance for those two but for some reason their not working".
Rudolph turned to Ceil next and asked if she placed the cameras at the caves entrance like he asked. When Ciel answered that she did as instructed, the commander cursed under his breath and made his decision quickly. "I don't like this one bit and I'm getting a really bad feeling here. Everyone back to the trucks, double time"! As soon as the words left his mouth the commander raced off closely followed by the soldiers he brought with didn't even bother taking any of the duffel bags with them and just left them lying on the ground in the cave. Winter was ready to give her orders to the two teams but to her surprise Jaune picked up on the situation and was already taking action.
"Everyone, after the commander! Leave the bags and get to the trucks NOW"! They all followed the blonde knights orders and scrambled for the caves entrance. Flynt caught up to his fellow leader as they were heading to the trucks and had to ask, "what if it's just a few Grimm? If it's something like that then I'm sure we can handle it between the two of our teams". It did cross Jaune's mind but what if it wasn't and became a bigger problem then they could handle? There'd be no chance to retreat without sacrificing some of their own and by then the trucks would be long gone leaving them to traverse the road with whatever was chasing them hot on their tails.
"I'd rather look like a fool who jumped the gun then make a bad call that could get us all killed. Besides that Commander Rudolph has been at this longer then any of us and if somethings got him spooked I don't want to find out what that is".
Flynt considered that for a moment before agreeing with the blonde. When they reached the trucks they all squashed into the back with the soldiers with Jaune and Winter taking the front seats with Commander Rudolph in the driver's seat. The scroll they were using to monitor the lights conditions was forced into the young Arc's hand as Rudolph turned on the trucks engine and peeled out as quickly as possible. Jaune flipped the scroll over and looked at the screen, all the lights on every floor had lost signal over everyone of them now.
That bad feeling he had up till now came back full force and had him climbing over the seat, through the crowded back and to the the window on the back door. Besides the truck following closely behind he could see the road to the caves a little ways back. At first there was nothing really to see but as they got farther away that changed quickly. Out of every cave like blood from a wound, Grimm flowed out into the clearing and starting running after them.
"Sir, I've contacted the guards at the wall, the gates should be open by the time we reach them and will close as soon as we're inside" one of Rudolph's soldiers reported. Commander Rudolph smirked at the news, "good, tell the men to get those turrets armed and ready, we're coming in with company on our asses". The soldier got on it as soon as possible. The gates came into view and with how fast they were moving and they reached it within a few seconds of driving.
The gates closed behind them and both trucks hit the breaks bringing them to a stop. Commander Rudolph jumped out of the truck and started giving orders out like they were in the middle of a war. When Jaune, Flynt, Winter and the rest of the teams followed Commander Rudolph up on top of the wall they got a good look at what they were facing. Seeing the endless amount of Grimm approaching the wall made the blonde believe they kinda were at war. "The war for survival" seemed like a pretty appealing name for this mess they were in.
He had hoped that their first mission was just a fluke and nothing more would come of it. This was starting to prove him wrong in the worst way possible. As if to make a bad situation even worse than before a soldier came running up to their group with even more terrible news.
"Sir, urgent news from the northern gates"! The new soldier flashed a quick salute to be respectful but didn't wait for one in return before he blurted out, "massive Grimm force sighted encircling around the mountain"!
Commander Rudolph cursed to whatever God he believed in and looked towards Jaunes group. "You heard the man, massive group of Grimm at either side of the town. This is a state of emergency and we could use all the help we could get so I need to ask are you willing to fight"? Things were looking dire indeed and that pushed Winter to take command of the situation. She stood in front and answered for them. "We'll split the two teams, team FNKI will remain here under your command and team AASP will follow me to the northern gates to offer our support there".
Commander Rudolph's face softened just a fraction before he gave his thanks. When he turned away to give his men new orders Winter turned to their group to give them theirs. Her eyes scanned their faces seeing some nervous looks among the young students and some equally resolute ones as well. There was no time to mince words or sugar coat them for anyone's benefit so she gave it to them straight. "You all know the mission without my telling you, defend the gates with your lives cause if those Grimm get in we're all finished. No showboating, watch out for each other and above all else try to stay alive".
"MA'AM"! They all said together.
Winter turned away, "team AASP with me" she said and ran off to the nearest truck to get them a ride. Jaune and the rest of team Aspire followed after her leaving their elder hunters in training behind.
Flynt took his team and joined the Commander who seemed to be having a serious yelling competition with someone on the opposite end of his scroll call. "I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, JUST GET THAT DAMN COMMUNICATION RELAY OPERATIONAL OR WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE DEAD"! With that he ended the call and turned to team FNKI who had heard his outburst. "More bad news I'm afraid, long range communications have been disabled" he slammed a fist into wall and growled in anger, "looks like we're on our own out here".
What went unsaid was how damned they were and in need of a miracle.
/
In the distance a hooded figure pulled back his hood to reveal black hair that was graying on both sides of his head, a thick mustache and a small satisfied smile that was barely visible. Arthur Watts, genius ex Atlesian scientists, raised his hands and activated the rings on his fingers as he looked at the portable laptop in front of him.
With just a few waves of his fingers the relays within the town locked out their users and stopped anyone from trying to call for help. "It wouldn't do to have Atlas come to the rescue now would it" the ex scientist whispered with a slight chuckled. He waved his fingers and brought up the towns security system and scanned over the new toys at his disposal. "Well now let's see what kind of fun we can stir up with these".
When things take a turn for the worst and Jaune and his team are caught in the middle. Is it coincidence or destiny? Do you believe in destiny?
