(A/N): We've had a loooooot of emotional chapters lately, haven't we? Yeah, I know how tiring that can get to read, and I'm especially aware of how tiring it is to write. So how about we break things up with some more lighthearted stuff, yeah? Not filler, mind - there's still a lot of plot-critical stuff that happens in this chapter and the next one, all of it on the Vacuo side of things. We'll be taking a look at how Team NDGO is doing these days, putting a spotlight on teams like CFVY and ABRN that haven't gotten much focus in the fic, and giving more of a team-wide focus to Jaune, Emerald, Blake, and Yang.
Originally that adventure was just going to be one chapter long, a quick little detour before we got moving again on other things, but things sorta…spiraled out of control. When all was said and done, by the time I finished the initial rough draft I had over twenty-five THOUSAND words that I wasn't really able to cut or trim down. I know long chapters are always a treat, but there is such a thing as too much - I know, ironic, coming from me, but I need to have a cutoff point somewhere, and some of the past chapters we've had were definitely pushing the upper limit in that respect. So for the sake of my own sanity, and to make editing it easier for myself, I made the difficult decision to split that adventure up over two updates instead. You'll be getting the first part today, and the next part two weeks from now. Hope that's alright with you guys! Consider it a dry run for how certain one-world-only story events are gonna happen later on in the fic, which were planned as two-chapter affairs from the jump.
Anyway, enjoy the first part of this little mini-arc! And for those of you who read After the Fall, well…let's just say that I really hope you have fun with this one.
"Y'know…we should really have a temporary team name."
Tucked into the corner of a rumbling truck bed, Emerald looked up from her text conversation to shoot a deadpan look at the Huntress sitting across from her. Yang had her usual smirk plastered all over her face, which wasn't surprising - what was surprising was that it didn't annoy her as much as it usually did. Maybe it had to do with the unexpectedly nice mid-morning weather as their dune runner trundled across the desert; the sun wasn't too hot or bright, the wind flowed around the car chassis and gave the girls in the back a nice breeze, and there wasn't a Grimm anywhere in sight across the golden-purple sky. (Mostly because they were driving away from what used to be a Ravager nest, which now looked more like a smoking crater of glass and dissolving shadows, but still.)
"Kind of odd to bring that up now, don't you think?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What, would you rather we play 'I spy' all the way back to Shade?" Yang's smirk grew. "I'm sure I can come up with a good challenge for you. I spy, with my little eye…something sandy. Any guesses? You're never gonna get it, I'll tell you that now."
"Alright alright, you've made your point," relented Emerald as she saved a half-written message to Ilia and lowered her Scroll. The only thing worse than talking to other people were painfully boring road trip games. Or just road trip games in general. "What have you got, Blondie?"
Her friend looked glad she'd asked. "So I'm thinking, you don't have a team yet. Jaune's running solo until Ren and Nora get back. And it's just me and Blake here on Team RWBY, which is missing the first half right now. Take all four of those, put them together, shuffle them around, and you get…drum roll please…"
"Just say it."
Yang's fingers waggled in the air for dramatic effect anyway. "Team BEYJ."
The former thief blinked slowly. "BEYJ," she repeated.
"Yeah."
"As in 'beige.'"
"Yeah!"
"As in 'the blandest, ugliest, most boring shade of puke brown imaginable.' That's our team name."
"…yeah."
"Your sister's way better at this, you know that?"
Yang burst out laughing and shook her head. "Oh believe me, I'm well aware that Ruby's a team-naming genius. But we gotta work with what we've got, right? At least with you sticking around we have some vowels on the table." Lilac eyes looked at her expectantly. "So? Whaddya think? Team BEYJ, yay or nay?"
Emerald forced herself to shrug politely. "I mean, I guess it works considering where we are right now. Not a lot of color in Vacuo, unless you count the sky or the Dustfruit Orchard. But wouldn't it make more sense for Jaune to be the team leader, instead of Blake? Pretty sure the first letter is supposed to say who's in charge."
"Yeah, but I couldn't think of any good acronyms that start with J," admitted the brawler. "Besides, we all know Blake basically runs Team RWBY anyway - Ruby's the heart, Weiss is the face, I'm the muscle, but she's the brains of the operation. I'd lose track of my right arm without her."
"You two are still on the call, by the way," came Blake's voice from a pair of tinny Scroll speakers. As if the occasional snore wasn't a reminder enough.
"Then I should probably tell Azina that she's doing a fantastic job driving, especially for a first-timer," said Yang with a smirk. "And maybe I should also tell that cute Faunus girl sitting next to her that she's amazing and perfect and definitely qualified to lead a team."
"I'm sure I can pass along both messages for you, firestar."
Emerald rolled her eyes as she went back to her own Scroll. "Are you two ever not flirting? I swear, it's like a never-ending honeymoon being around you."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." The blonde brawler elbowed her in the side. "How many kissy faces and heart emojis have you sent Ilia since you woke up, by the way? Y'know, out of completely random curiosity."
Like hell it was random. "Oh screw you, Blondie."
"C'moooon. It's nothing to be ashamed of! Was it four? Six? Seventeen?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I only sent -!" Her indignation melted as soon as she realized the words leaving her mouth. "…five…" she mumbled under her breath, her face heating up.
"Awwwwwww," went Yang and Blake in perfect unison.
"Shut up, both of you."
Azina cleared her throat. "I hate to interrupt this…banter…but my Scroll is getting an incoming call from Headmaster Theodore. Can someone answer it? I'd rather not call and drive."
"Looks like someone was paying attention during driving lessons," said Blake with an audible smile. "I'll patch it through to our team comms."
A few seconds later, the text messages with Ilia were replaced with the usual scruffy, goatee-bearing face of Headmaster Theodore. He was smiling brightly at them through the screens, a grin perfectly captured by the crystal-clear broadcast bouncing off Amity Satellite high above. It was a little jarring to see him so enthusiastic, after Emerald had seen him brought so low just two days prior…but it looked like a few nights of proper sleep and time with his daughter had lifted his spirits considerably, or at the very least given him strength to bear a confident mask once more.
It probably helps his mood that Winter won't be giving any more magic lessons to Petra, thought the former thief with a mental frown. Guess he got what he wanted, after all.
She shook her head to banish the thought. No, that wasn't entirely true. He did get what he wanted the other night - his daughter got a sister. It was okay to think she was the reason for his cheer, she reminded herself. She was allowed to think that she'd done good things.
Yang leaned back into the cargo bed and rested on her elbows, mostly oblivious to the war of desires raging within Emerald. "Morning, Theo. How's it going? Did you need us to pick up some milk on the way back?"
"If you can find a cow." The Headmaster barked in laughter, then shook his head. "No, actually, I have another assignment for you while you're still out there…long as you're not too tired or drained, of course."
"It was just a simple Search and Destroy mission, nothing too serious," reported Emerald. "Our Auras are all still in the green, the ammo crates and water tanks on our runner are mostly full, and we've barely even broken a sweat. No wounds or casualties, either, unless you count Jaune falling asleep on the drive back."
The significantly-less-talkative blond let out another snore, loud enough for the Scroll to capture.
"Ooh, look at you taking the initiative Em!" Emerald resisted the temptation to push Yang out of the moving car. That might've put a damper on her whole "doing good things" arc.
"That's what I like to hear!" boomed Theodore. "In that case, your mission - should you choose to accept it - is to head over to the town of Basalt and meet up with the student teams and Glatorians I've already wrangled together. I think the time's come to get the Old Oasis cleared out, and get it ready for the New Atero conference."
The pair of Huntresses in the dune runner bed exchanged glances.
"Didn't realize we were moving ahead with that so quick," noted Yang. "I know we've been planning the conference for weeks now, but…are you sure we're ready to unveil the actual plans this early? We don't exactly have a lot to show for the city itself yet, unless you count Azina's experiments with the Drive Core."
"Theories, technically," clarified the Agori. "I've got a few tests planned to understand why the Drive Core is creating that silver light phenomenon. I just haven't had the time or resources to run them yet. But I should soon!…hopefully."
Well, that was a confidence booster. Theodore clearly picked up on their apprehension, if the way his eyes steeled in resolve was any indication.
"The sooner we announce this new united Kingdom to the world, the more support we'll have to make it happen from outside Vacuo. It's not like we're breaking ground right now - this is just gonna be us putting the word out there, showing off the pieces we've got and inviting others to help put together the rest of the puzzle." The Headmaster furrowed his brow. "Besides…I'd feel a lot better announcing it before the big one makes her next play, so we're not playing damage control for once."
Emerald frowned. "Knowing Salem, us putting on the conference is exactly when she'd make her next big play."
"Then we'll take every safeguard to make sure this doesn't turn into another Vytal Festival."
Yang's breath audibly hitched. Emerald reached over and gave her non-metal hand a comforting squeeze, one that was returned with the warmth of a hug and the pressure of a vice grip. Blake, sensing that her girlfriend was in distress without even looking at her she cleared her throat and pivoted the conversation.
"So…the Old Oasis?" she asked. "That's our target? If I remember Oobleck's history lessons right, that's the birthplace of Vacuo as a Kingdom, a once-rich Dust deposit in the middle of the desert that was close to paradise. But it's been abandoned for hundreds of years, ever since the waters dried up - and whenever people leave places like that behind, Grimm are always quick to move in. They've had plenty of centuries to nest there…it won't be easy to clear it out."
"That's why we're sending Shade Academy's best and brightest teams in there to flush out whatever nasties have settled in, and why Raanu's putting together a work force of Agori and Glatorians to secure it once you've cleared the place." A digital map projected from their screens, showing red dots standing out amidst a desert of blue light. "According to Rumpole's hawkmasters, Basalt's just a few miles away from the Old Oasis, and the town's local Huntress has done a bang-up job in wiping out the small fries as they've been trickling out. So in theory, it should just be the big fish and their little helpers still swimming in that pond - easy pickings for the discerning rod, especially with her helping you reel them in."
So this was going to be a Search and Destroy mission with a lot of Alpha Grimm, then. Emerald furrowed her brow pensively. Alphas were Grimm who'd survived so many battles they'd gained the ability to think and learn, growing up to be so much tougher and stronger than their common brethren that they either struck out on their own or took on the role of pack leaders. Given how Vacuo Grimm focused on overwhelming settlements and Hunters with sheer numbers, individual monsters that lived long enough to become Alphas were a rarity - yet that made them no less dangerous than the Alpha variants of other Kingdoms' monsters.
Still…the good news was that taking down an Alpha usually made the rest of their pack scatter like rats. So if the local head honchos were cut down, that'd make securing the Old Oasis easier. Emerald just hoped there weren't any really big, really old Grimm that had decided to squat in the ruins. They didn't exactly have Ruby's magic eyes to save the day right now, which was usually the most surefire way to bring them down.
Yang seemed to reach the same conclusion as the mint-haired Huntress, because her smile slowly returned as she was presented an existential threat she could punch in the face. "What are we thinking, girls? And Jaune? Wanna go two-for-two on Search and Destroy jobs today? Maybe do a little bit of sightseeing as a treat?"
Blake's answer was immediate. "I'm in."
"A chance to see more Hunters in action and study your world's history?" Azina chuckled. "You don't have to ask me twice!"
Jaune woke from his nap just long enough to sound off. "Zzz…zuh? Oh, uh, another mission? Yeah, that sounds good."
Emerald sighed. "Well, if everyone else is on board…what the hell, guess I am too."
"That's the spirit!" Yang whooped as she clasped her buddy around the shoulder, very much against said friend's will. "No worries, Theo! Team BEYJ is on the case!"
Theodore's eyes seemed to sparkle. "…Team BEYJ, eh? Is that what you kids are calling yourself for now?"
"It was Emerald's idea, actually."
"The hell it was, Blondie!"
"I like it! It's always exciting to watch new teams form and develop, and this time there's no brainwashing or royalist plots to drag things down." Theodore shot them a wink. "Good luck, Team BEYJ!"
And with that, the call ended just as a data packet dropped into the messaging app. Emerald sighed as she settled in for another long drive, nestling into her cargo bed corner as Azina made a tight turn and set off in a completely different direction across the desert. She swiped her Scroll to dismiss the documents and maps for now - there'd be plenty of time to review them later. Right now she had other things on her mind. Things that were only slightly more important than listening to Blake and Yang flirt with each other over voice call, or Jaune giving directions to the Agori driver.
Hey, I'm gonna be back in the city later than expected, she typed apprehensively. Going on another op with Blake and co, should be done by tonite. Star-gazing later?
The reply came back a few seconds later and triggered the butterflies in her stomach all over again.
Sounds good, see u then. Stay safe for me Emmy ^3^
Despite the fact that she could feel Yang's grin bearing down on her, Emerald sent one more kissy face emoji as a response, then consigned herself to the blonde's affectionate ribbing.
It was a better treatment than she'd experienced before, far better than she deserved, and maybe some part of her actually liked it.
There wasn't much to do in the sleepy town of Basalt, Coco decided.
As far as desert settlements went, this was one of the nicer ones she and her team had visited. Not too run down, not too sandswept, big enough to comfortably house a few dozen hardy (if standoffish) folks, not big enough to be on the radar for Grimm or bandits. But it was so plain - most of the buildings were understandably dedicated to collecting water or storing food, and the houses were small and flat and stacked on top of each other. A grove of Dustfruit trees in the town square gave just about the only splash of color for miles around, aside from the long-faded paint on what used to be a trading post. This was a town that didn't see much traffic anymore, and the people living here now liked it that way.
Just about the only place big enough for her to meet with everyone on the mission was the saloon, which clearly wasn't used to serving drinks or food in the middle of the day. Old hardwood floors and walls creaked with every step and bristle of wind, the smell of varnish and alcohol assailed her senses, and the few local customers kept to themselves around tables full of cards. Everything about this place, from the mustached and rotund bartender to the cute waitresses in frilly skirts to the piano player doing his best to entertain the guests, felt like it'd emerged fully-formed from an era long past. Like time hadn't touched this place since Vacuo's glory days.
Naturally, Velvet was eagerly taking pictures of everything. The furniture, the architecture, even the servers (with their permission, of course). Coco almost wished she could share her friend's enthusiasm for the saloon, but her mind was a little bit preoccupied with other things. Like the fact that Theodore had roped another team into this mission, that the "professional Huntress" they were supposed to meet here was still nowhere to be seen, and that the locals were pretty vague when pressed for answers about said Huntress. Nothing to do but wait and hang out in the saloon, it seemed, which frustrated her more. She was not a "sit around and look pretty" kind of gal. She was a "find the nearest problem and drown it in Dust" kind of gal.
…well okay, maybe she was sometimes the former. But only when a cute girl was nearby doing the same.
Fortunately, there was no shortage of that right now. She looked around for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour, taking note of where everyone on the mission was sitting as she sipped a half-full cup of bitter coffee. Velvet and Yatsuhashi practically squeezed into an old wooden booth together, sitting across from Fox as he slurped up a bowl of crevice worms. Team NDGO sat one table behind the rest of Coco's team in a booth of their own; Nebula was idly sharpening her crossbow bolts, Gwen bobbed her head along with the lively piano melody, and Dew was thoroughly schooling Octavia in some kind of local card game. The three Glatorians - Kiina, Gresh, and Tarix, if she had their names straight - stood around a high table dressed in ivory cloaks that covered them from the shoulders down, while Bolin Hori and Nadir Shiko sat with them on stools with legs long enough to meet the alien warriors at eye level. And Reese Chloris was chatting with Arslan Altan for a moment before marching up to the empty bar counter…much to the chagrin of the blonde martial artist.
"Hey, bartender! I'll take the strongest drink you've got!" declared the daredevil. "Make it a double!"
The bartender took one look at the child trying to buy alcohol, and scoffed. "Absolutely not. We don't serve your kinda folk 'round these parts."
Reese scoffed and slammed her palms down indignantly. "And just what do you mean by that, huh? Mistrali? Hunters? Faunus? Aliens?! What are you implying, you fat bald bigoted bastard?!"
After several slow blinks, the portly man sighed and set down the glass he'd been cleaning for hours. "…students. I don't serve drinks to students."
"Oh." Reese backed away sheepishly. "That is…actually completely reasonable, I don't have a problem with that. Do you, uh…you got any sodas?"
"Lemme check the back."
Arslan rubbed her eyebrows while muttering in her native language under her breath. The words were unfamiliar to Coco. The meaning was not.
"Incredible…" breathed the rabbit Faunus as Anesidora clicked yet again, capturing a smiling server mid-curtsy and nodding in thanks. "To think that saloons like these still exist, especially in towns all the way out here. Most of the time it's just restaurants and bars in the towns we visit here in Vacuo, nothing quite this fancy or…authentic? Is that the right word? That feels like the right word."
Nebula smirked as she looked over the back of the shared booth. "Not bad, huh? Shade and Vacuo City might be all sleek and modern compared to places like Feldspar, but out here you get a taste of how things used to be. These days, the newest thing in towns like this one are the people living there - this saloon alone is probably older than everyone else in Basalt put together."
"Only if you're not including Miss Kiina and the other Glatorians," piped up Gwen, poking her head over Yatsuhashi's shoulder like a meerkat.
"We do tend to skew the averages when it comes to age," said Tarix with a small smile.
"So wait, the people living here now aren't the same ones that built the place?" asked Nadir with a tilt of his head.
Fox shook his own in response. "Towns and buildings like these sprung up during the first waves of folks coming to and from the Old Oasis. Little pockets of safety where travelers could rest up for the last leg of the journey, or where they could stock up for the trip back out. But when the other Kingdoms came in and started taking what they wanted, they forced out the original populations and 'claimed' them for themselves, either turning them into offices or outright bulldozing them for more Dust mines. Most of those didn't last long, either because their prospects dried up or the Grimm got to them first. The ones that survived see folks moving in and leaving all the time. Basalt is one of the latter."
Yatsuhashi frowned. "But we're only a few miles from one of the biggest Grimm hotspots in the whole desert. The very place we all came here to clear out. Why would anyone…?" He sighed and sealed his lips, opting to take the conversation to a more private space. Why would anyone want to live here?
It's got sturdy wooden buildings, it's got shade, and it's got a working well that hasn't completely dried up yet. Fox's mental reply sounded in the minds of Team CFVY and them alone, thanks to the blind brawler's Semblance. That puts it leagues above the rest of the desert, especially for folks with nowhere else to go - and when you get that desperate, anything with four walls and a roof looks like home.
Coco took another sip of her coffee with a wince, and she was about to send a mental message of her own when her Scroll buzzed. "Ah, looks like the last team that Theodore picked out just arrived," she reported. Good, one source of anxiety taken out back and shot in the head. "Looks like it's Team…BEYJ? Who's that? And what kind of name is that?"
The answer to both those questions loudly pushed her way through the swinging slatted doors, giving a cocky smile with her hands on her hips. A wash of relief flooded over Coco, much as she tried to hide it. A year ago, the sight of her underclass friend joining her team on a dangerous mission would have sent her anxiety spiking once again - now, she was just glad that a familiar face would have her back.
Maybe this mission wouldn't be a disaster, after all.
"Howdy, y'all," said Yang in an almost offensively-bad drawl. "What's new from out on the range? I'd tip my fedora, but the missus told me to leave it at home."
…or maybe it would, for entirely different reasons.
Blake rolled her eyes as she pushed in after her partner, followed by Azina and Emerald and a groggy-looking Jaune. "You don't need a hat, dear. It'd just blow away in the wind or burn up in a fight. Besides, why would you ever want to cover up that hair?"
"You've got me there, little lady!" Yang bobbed her head back and forth, embers crackling from her golden locks as she did so. "It is my best feature, after all."
"I can name a few more," deadpanned the feline Faunus with a wink.
All the confidence drained from Yang's face, replaced by a very deep blush. Coco smiled smugly. Gods, it was nice to see those two finally together.
The student teams eventually turned and greeted the newcomers with a mix of waves and cheers, most of them directed at Yang and Jaune and excitedly returned. Blake nodded to NDGO, who silently returned the gesture. Emerald mostly stayed in her own corner until Fox called her by name, inviting her to sit with him and the rest of Team CFVY - an invitation she eventually accepted. And Azina immediately joined her fellow Magnans at their table, climbing an empty stool and popping up between Bolin and Nadir like a child pulling up to the grown-ups table at a family reunion.
"Huh, I didn't know the Agori went on missions too now," remarked Bolin.
"Most of us don't," explained Azina with a smile. "But I wanted to do some research on a site that Yang and her friends were tasked with clearing out this morning, so I tagged along with them for their job. I was supposed to return to Shade afterward, but when Headmaster Theodore called and told us about this mission, I couldn't pass up the chance to see such a historic area."
Nadir groaned. "This isn't going to turn into an escort mission, is it? I never liked those…"
The young (relatively speaking) Agori laughed and waved him off. "Oh, you don't need to worry about protecting me. I'm no stranger to picking through ruins and places everyone says is too dangerous - this won't be too different from what I was doing back on Bara Magna."
"I don't think we're gonna find Drive Cores or star charts in these ruins, Azina," quipped Kiina with a smirk.
"Not with that attitude, we won't!" proclaimed Reese as she and Arslan carried armfuls of vintage glass bottles to the tables, passing them around to the thirsty teens before depositing the rest on the high counter. "Drink up, folks! We've got a long road ahead of us, and a big job at the end. Gonna need some liquid courage to make it happen! Or the closest I could get, anyway."
"Oh, carbonated pressure bombs!" exclaimed the Agori woman excitedly. "Excellent thinking! We can use these during our mission!"
Reese raised an eyebrow as she popped the lid on her glass bottle. "Er…no, Azina. These are sodas, and you drink them."
Azina blinked. "By choice? Or as a form of punishment?"
"Depends on the flavor," deadpanned Bolin as he looked at the label on his own bottle. "Sarsaparilla, Reese? Seriously?"
"Hey, it's not like we can get it anywhere else. Mistral banned this stuff decades ago, remember? It's gotta be good if even the rich can't get it anymore." The aqua-haired rebel took a long sip and smacked her lips. "Mmm…tastes like sand and honey and future cancer. Perfection."
"I'll drink to that," said Yang as she raised her own soda, taking a swig before looking over at the aliens. "So…can't help but notice that you guys look a bit different today. What's with the cloaks? I haven't seen you wear anything like that before."
"Oh, you mean our thossari?" Tarix stepped out from behind the high table to better show off his cloak, particularly the tapestry of alien symbols stitched over every inch with golden-blue thread. "They're…well, I suppose you could call them our equivalent to your formal vestments. Back on Bara Magna, Glatorians wore garments like these over their armor when traveling long distances across the desert. Part of it was for practical reasons, like blocking sand and sunlight while retaining warmth during the night, but there was a ceremonial reason as well. Wearing a thossarus during the trek to another village signified to other travelers that you were expected for a very important match…and that any who tried to stop you, or stand between you and your destination, would not be shown mercy."
"That's a hell of a lot more badass than our dresses and tuxes," noted Emerald as she took a sniff of her soda, before deciding she'd rather stick to the lukewarm water in her canteen. "Those symbols and letters woven into the fabric…do they mean anything?"
"They're kinda like your weapons, in that they reflect the wearer," said Kiina as she pointed to her own thossarus, this one marked with sky-blue and silver sigils. "Each woven symbol represents an important victory or milestone, something personal and meaningful to the wearer. The base color represents the Tribe you came from, but everything else is up to you. Sometimes Glatorians weave the name of their mentors, their life-mate, or even opponents they found particular honor in fighting. You can tell a lot about what kind of life a Glatorian has lived, just by looking at their thossarus."
"There's a celebration whenever a young Glatorian weaves their first thossarus, to signify the start of their arena career," finished Tarix with a smile. "It's a coming-of-age ritual."
Azina smiled fondly. "I still remember when Gresh stitched his own thossarus together a few centuries back. Nobody in Tesara could sleep for a whole week."
"Aw c'mon, I was excited!" The young Glatorian (in relative terms) shadowboxed the air, revealing the green laces along his sleeves. "Too bad we had to leave all our thossari back home to pack boring stuff like food and water - but hey, that just means we get to make 'em again with the materials here! This 'cotton' stuff rocks…light as sand-stalker fur, tougher than tanned dune stomper hide, but it breathes like ash moth silk! Velvet did a great job helping us sew these up."
Coco's best friend wilted slightly at the praise, mumbling something about how it was a pleasure and an honor before burying herself into Yatsuashi's shoulder. Yep. Still allergic to compliments, despite her best efforts.
"Just try not to let the Grimm rip them too badly, I'd hate to see all that work go to waste." Jaune took a long sip of sarsaparilla, then hummed. "Okay, so if we were the last ones here, then this should be everyone…well, almost. Where's the local Huntress? Isn't she supposed to come out with us?"
"She will, as soon as she gets back from her patrol," reported Arslan as she set down her empty bottle, which a server diligently came and collected. "We've been waiting here for her ever since we arrived in Basalt - apparently, we'd 'just missed her' when we rolled in."
"Any idea who this Huntress is or what she's like?" asked Emerald. "I'd feel a lot better with less unknowns."
"So would we," huffed Octavia, "but the locals are pretty tight-lipped about her. All they told us is that she's a damn good fighter and a real firebrand, and that she's crazy enough to help us clear out the Old Oasis. Beyond that, nothing - won't even give us a name."
"They must be either really protective or really scared of her," mused Blake. "Those are the only ways I know of to earn that kind of loyalty."
"And it wouldn't make sense for them to fear her," noted Dew. "That'd just bring even more Grimm in, and make her job that much harder. So we're probably dealing with some local folk hero, someone who's been doing this for a while, long enough to get people on her side. And if she's working solo, that means she's got the skills to protect an entire town single-handedly - usually Vacuan Hunters operate in pairs at the very least."
"A mysterious lady with serious combat skills and an adoring public." Fox flipped his bottle cap and caught it with a smirk. "Ten Lien says Coco falls in love with her at first sight."
"Really, Fox?" groaned Coco.
"Ooh, twenty Lien if she tries to use a pickup line but fumbles it!"
"Really, Reese?"
"Thirty that she'll turn red as a berry."
"Et tu, Yang?"
"I'll take all those bets."
"Great, even Yats is betting against me." Her hand moved to cradle her temple, if only to distract from how hot her ears felt. "Velv, back me up here."
The rabbit Faunus giggled sheepishly. "Sorry, Coco. You're kinda predictable, you know."
She rolled her eyes behind her glasses. "Come on, I don't fall in love that easily. Sure, I might be in a bit of a dry spell right now, but that's by choice. I've been too busy these days to fall head over heels for any hot lady that walks in. No more flirting with the wait staff or Huntresses on the job, that kind of nonsense is beneath me now."
"Uh huh," said Nebula, nodding in complete disbelief.
"I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that your last big crush trying to kill us," deadpanned Fox with that ever-annoying smirk of his.
"Are we really doing this again? C'mon, man."
"Hey, I'm just calling it like I see it."
"…was that a pun about you being blind?"
"It could've been. I'll never tell."
Of course he wouldn't. And of course it was. She heaved yet another sigh. "Anyway, I've said it a million times before, and I'll say it a million more times for the folks in the back. I did not have a crush on -!"
Ka-thunk!
Like a scene straight out of an old frontier movie, the saloon went dead silent as someone loudly kicked in the swinging slatted doors. Only instead of a grizzled cowboy marching in with jingling spurs and loaded revolvers, it was a woman. A very tall, very tanned, very attractive woman. A woman with legs that went on for days, messily-tousled auburn hair with silver highlights, piercing golden eyes, a sai tucked into her belt -
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
Coco's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "You," she growled through gritted teeth.
"You? Really? Theo sent you?" Carmine barked a laugh. "Well, I'll be damned. Guess the old duster's got a sense of humor, after all."
Team CFVY were out of their seats in a flash, and they drew their weapons even faster. Octavia and Reese were right behind them, supported by their teams. Only the Glatorians and "Team BEYJ" stayed in place, bewildered and lost as they looked around.
"Hey, hey, hey!" shouted the bartender. "No live weapons in the saloon!"
"Don't worry, it's just for a quick extermination job," said Coco, not taking her eyes off the tanned woman. "Seems like you've got a rat problem in this town…don't worry, we'll take care of it for you. On the house."
The so-called Huntress clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Aw, that's cute. You still think you can go toe-to-toe with me? You haven't changed one bit, Shades."
Her temper flared. "And you won't get a chance to bury me alive again, bitch."
Blake looked between her agitated friends and the agitator in question, the pieces fitting together in her mind. "You're…Carmine Esclados, right? A member of the Crown?"
"Ooh, someone likes to read old mission reports," cooed the bitch with a wry smirk. "But yes, that's me. Well…I was part of the Crown, back when it existed. Doesn't do much these days, what with Jax and Gillian still behind bars. Rebellions, conspiracies, schemes to put royal blood back on the throne…they don't last long when the heirs in charge give up, as it turns out."
"Then what are you doing out here, pretending to be a Huntress?" Octavia growled. "You should be rotting under several tons of rubble right now."
"You'd think so, huh? Especially after that mess you made of a perfectly good bunker." Carmine shrugged. "I'll let you use your imagination as to how I escaped, it's really not important. What is important is that when I came out and heard the news that the Crown's bid for power had failed, I cut my losses and ran. Figured that after everything that'd happened, I might as well give the whole 'honest living' thing a decent shake. If only to lay low and avoid going back to prison…at least, that was the plan. In practice, it didn't go quite that well."
Emerald hummed. "Let me guess. Anywhere you went, your reputation preceded you?"
"Got it in one, Mint. I must've bounced my way between at least a dozen different towns across the whole damn Kingdom, but none of them would give me the time of day - much less food, water, or work. Word travels fast in Vacuo, what with all the caravans and nomads constantly on the move, so people knew who I was before I ever opened my mouth. If they were nice, they'd give me a head-start before siccing their Hunters on me to bring my head back. If they weren't, well…" She looked down at her well-worn boots. "Let's just say I was running for my life a lot more than I'd like. This sleepy little relic was the only town I hadn't been chased out of yet, so I finally decided to try my luck out here. Seemed like a better option than heatstroke, if nothing else."
"She came to Basalt half-starved and dying of thirst," explained the bartender as he wiped out yet another glass. "We all knew who she was and what she'd done, of course, but it didn't seem right letting anyone die like that…even someone like her. We expected her to run off soon as she was better, or slit our throats in the dead of night. To our surprise, she didn't do neither."
"I needed a clean slate, and this town needs protecting from the Grimm," said the redhead with a smile that could almost pass for genuine. "Ideally it should have someone who knows how to fight doing that, not a bunch of guys with rusty guns keeping watch over an old wooden wall. So why have two problems, when you could have one easy solution?"
"Just seems a little too easy, that someone as bad as you can turn their life around just like that," noted Reese.
"Ahem."
"…uh, no offense Em."
"Some taken."
"I know I can't get rid of the blood that's already on my hands," noted the red-headed royalist. "But if I can't wash it off, at the very least I can make sure I don't stain them again."
"And what about your old friend, Bertilak?" spat Fox. "Where's he been in all this? Is he hiding around here somewhere, waiting to get the drop on us?"
"Oh, he's…no longer with us." Carmine levitated her sai out of its holster and gave it a good twirl. "Had to get a little more blood under my nails, sad to say. He came around looking for me a few months ago, wanting to settle some debts." Her eyes narrowed darkly. "Too bad I proved to be the better collector. At least he was nice enough to reunite me with good ol' Heartseeker here - she might be missing her twin, but she's still a girl's best friend, and my job would be a lot harder without her."
Velvet scoffed. "You killed him. Of course you did. So much for trying to be a better person."
"Only because he tried to kill me, sweet buns." Her brow furrowed. "Think about it. If I died, who'd be around to protect these people from the Grimm? Who'd be around to make sure they live comfortably enough to grow crops, dig for water, and drink in the old saloon after an honest day's work? No other Hunters dare take assignments this close to the Old Oasis, and no one else is looking out for these folks. I didn't exactly enjoy killing my old partner…but I wasn't about to lay down and let him kill this town's best hope for survival, either. The future's got no room for old grudges. Isn't that what your teachers always say?"
The collection of young Hunters gave each other glances without taking the business ends of their weapons off the former rogue royalist. An entire conversation happened through eyes alone; no one even needed Fox's Semblance to know their friends were worried, confused, or just plain angry. Coco was all of those and more, and she couldn't decide which possibility made her more nervous - that Carmine was lying through her teeth, or that she wasn't.
Either way, they still needed the manpower even with sixteen Hunters and four Magnans, so what choice did they have?
To the surprise of everyone and yet no one at all, Yang was the first to approach Carmine with an outstretched hand. "Well, if you really mean what you say about turning over a new leaf, you can prove it by taking us into the Old Oasis and helping us clear out whatever's lurking there. If you're telling the truth, maybe we'll start believing you. But if you try anything, or if you even think about turning and running and leaving us to the Grimm…Kiina over there will mount your head on a pike. That sound like a fair deal?"
The lady Glatorian leveled a threatening glare, even pulling Vaporstrike out from under her thossarus for good measure.
Carmine actually laughed and returned the handshake. "Normally I'd think it's cute when a kid tries to threaten me…but your alien friend there looks like she'd actually break me in half, so I'll try to avoid pissing you or her off. Fair deal. That good enough for the rest of you?"
Another silent conversation through eye contact later, a decision was made. One by one, the agitated Hunters-in-training lowered their weapons and relaxed their stances, though annoyance and reluctance still burned in their glares.
"Perfect, lovely, absolutely beautiful. Now that that's settled, let's head out. We're burning daylight as is, so the sooner we get moving the better. I'll go get my sand-cycle started - come out when you've gotten your gear ready and finished your piss-poor excuses for sodas."
"The sarsaparillas ain't that bad…" grumbled the bartender.
"They really are, Berry. There's a reason other Kingdoms banned them, after all." With that, Carmine sauntered back out the way she came, taking the tension in the room with her.
One more unspoken debate passed before the teams disbanded to finish their preparations. Nebula packed up her crossbow bolts and slotted them back into her quiver, while Octavia and Dew packed up the deck of cards. Emerald slipped out when she thought no one was watching. Velvet's ears drooped even with Yatsuhashi patting her head, while Fox gobbled up his last few crevice worms and laid a few Lien cards on the table. Reese guzzled the rest of her sarsaparilla in one long gulp, then drained the bottles abandoned by her teammates before meeting them outside. And Gwen followed the Glatorians out with a contented little hum and a skip in her step, trailing behind the cloaked warriors like a lost puppy.
All while Coco just stood ramrod stiff, willing her feet to move only for them to stay right where they were. For some reason, it seemed harder to stuff Gianduja's barrels and drum magazine back into a purse. She knew it wasn't a maintenance issue.
After almost everyone else had left, after the bartender stepped outside for a quick smoke, and after all the cute servers went upstairs for their break, Blake and Yang shared a nod before turning in separate directions. "Think I'll take the wheel this time, since I haven't gotten to drive yet," said the feline Faunus. "Azina, Jaune, let's go make sure the dune runner starts."
The young Agori tilted her head. "But…it was working fine just an hour ago."
Jaune nudged her on the shoulder. That seemed to spell out the hint.
"Ohhh…I see, I see. Of course, a lot can happen in an hour. Maybe I should, uh…de-grease the tires and vacuum the engine as well?"
"Close enough! Just don't forget to top up the headlight fluid, too."
"…headlight fluid? Is that a thing?"
"No, it isn't. Don't tease her like that, Jaune."
Once her teammates were out the door (and thus out of earshot) Yang came over and gave a little nudge. "Hey," she said with surprising softness, "you alright, Coco? Hope I didn't overstep you by making a call like that about you-know-who."
She shook her head. "No, you're fine. And I think I'm alright…maybe. Probably. We'll see what happens."
The blonde brawler nodded and laid a hand on her shoulder, concerned lavender eyes meeting her own. "Look…I get it. Working with someone who hurt you like that isn't easy, and you're allowed to still be mad at 'em for what they did. But sometimes a second chance is exactly what folks like that need, and sometimes they might just surprise you. And whether or not Carmine tries to hurt you again, we've got your back. I've got your back."
Coco smiled and wiped a tear out from under her glasses, finally loosening her grip on Gianduja and hooking it onto her belt. "Heh…thanks, Yang. Never thought I'd be getting a pep talk from an underclassman, but here we are. When did you get so emotionally mature?"
Yang's grin returned in full force as she showed off her Scroll, displaying her professional Huntress license. "Hey, technically I've already graduated…which means I'd be your upperclassman now. And what are you talking about? I've always been emotionally mature."
"Bitch, please, you used to rage whenever Beacon's breakfast line ran out of scrambled eggs."
"How does a school kitchen run out of scrambled eggs?! THEY LITERALLY COME IN BAGS!"
Pushing away the suddenly-fuming brawler, Coco burst out laughing alongside Yang as they finally made their way out of the old saloon. Out to the dune runners and their teams. Out to the Old Oasis. Out to their job.
It was almost enough to take her mind off the pit in her stomach…almost.
The drive from Basalt to the Old Oasis only took about an hour, not long enough for Jaune to squeeze in another power nap. Not that he would've slept soundly even if he could - the sounds of one dune runner engine was loud but easy enough to ignore, but four roaring at the same time was like thunder wringing his ears. Even for someone who'd once fallen asleep at a fireworks show, a childhood story his sisters loved teasing him about, it was enough sound and fury to keep him awake. At least chatting and catching up with the student teams helped pass the time and make the impending job seem less daunting.
Eventually, the sand-cycle leading them deeper into the desert came to a halt at the bottom of a massive dune, prompting all of them to roll to a stop and click off the engines.
"Is this the place?" asked Gresh as he excitedly hopped off the back of ABRN's car, his thossarus flapping in the desert winds.
"Not quite, but it's as far as our wheels can take us." Carmine parked her bike and swung one leg out as she twisted around, standing up with a stretch. "The ground up ahead isn't firm enough to get traction, and there won't be room to maneuver once we're over the dune. Grab whatever you need from the trunks for a combat op, then we'll go on foot from here. Don't worry about leaving the cars behind - we shouldn't be gone long enough for the sands to bury them."
So after loading up their bandoliers, pouches, and knapsacks with as many Dustfruits and ammo packs as they could carry, the Hunters and Magnans hoofed it up the sandy hill. Ten minutes of hiking later, the teams approached the top of the dune…where the most beautiful and depressing sight of the day awaited them.
"Oh…wow…" breathed Jaune.
A massive crater miles wide stretched before them, big enough to hold four cities as big as Vale in its gentle sloping terrain. Crumbling stone buildings and ancient terraces dotted the perimeter, interspersed with the fossilized remains of trees and bushes from a long-forgotten era. Thousands of withered metal shacks and steel outposts filled the center basin, arranged into circular rows like the growth rings of an old stump. And at the center was a spire of black rock that stretched into the sky, an ominous marker with three looming tips that towered over the surrounding ruins. Everything was coated in layers of dust, sand, and rot.
And moving through the abandoned buildings, in hordes large enough to see from this far away, were the unmistakable shapes of Grimm.
"The Old Oasis…" muttered Nebula as they stood at the edge of the crater. "What used to be the beating heart of all Vacuo. This place used to have everything; the biggest source of water and Dust in the desert, lush greenery as far as the eye could see, and plenty of safety and comfort for anyone who could make the trip. This is all that's left of it, after more than a thousand years of other Kingdoms screwing us over. After our ancestors let themselves get screwed over."
Gwen shielded her eyes with one hand as the other pointed. "See those stone buildings? Those were first built around the water's edge when the spring was full, they're the oldest structures from the ancient times. All those metal buildings were added later, as the oasis started to dry up - and whenever it receded a little more, people would just abandon their old homes and build again at the new waterline. This kept happening as the water shrank over time, as the desert claimed more and more ground…and then when it stopped flowing, everyone just left. Plenty of room for the Grimm to move in after them."
"All the unregulated mining and 'development' ruined this place," noted Fox with a hint of disdain. "Ruined the city that was built around here, forcing everyone to scatter across the desert. We've been nomads for as long as this place has been a dusty crater, building smaller towns near water sources for safety and abandoning them whenever they dried up. Some older nomads can still remember a time when our Kingdom didn't even didn't have a proper capital city, until they finally built Shade out east after the Great War."
"And this place got left behind. Abandoned. Forgotten." Octavia looked over at Azina with a skeptical gaze. "You guys sure we should have the big announcement party for New Atero here, of all places?"
The Jungle Tribe Agori barely even flinched. "What better way to redeem a place's shameful past, than to make it a symbol of hope for a better future? We may not be able to restore this place to its former glory, not within your lifetimes…but we can make sure that it has a new legacy, one that will define it going forward."
Velvet nodded as she stepped up next to Nebula, giving her hand a squeeze. "When our ancestors came here, it might've been to exploit and steal…but this time? This time, we're here to help. We're here to stand together. We're here to make things right. This will be the start of a new era in Vacuo's history. A stronger Vacuo."
Nebula looked down at their joined hands for a moment, then pulled away with a small smirk. "You…might be strong enough for the desert after all, Velvs."
The rabbit Faunus practically glowed. "And you're a better person than you think you are, Nebs."
Coco looked like she was about to cry in pride. So did Kiina.
Carmine cleared her throat with a loud cough. "Hey, ladies. Is there any chance we can save the history lessons and the mushy stuff for after we wipe out the Grimm? We've got a job to do, and the sun's already on its way down. Let's get in there and get to work."
"Right…but first, let's figure out a plan of attack up here. There's no way we can cover the entire site in one sweep, not when it's that big with that many Grimm." Jaune hummed and started pacing. "It might be a good idea to break off into three groups of seven, to cover more ground with more firepower than one team alone can manage. I can take a group to clear out the south side, while Carmine and Yang can circle around the northeast and northwest perimeters with whoever they pick. We'll work our way towards the middle and meet up with each other, then deal with whatever might be waiting for us at the center of the crater. We can use that giant rock spire as a landmark - if we all head in that direction, we'll see each other soon enough."
At that, Arslan raised an eyebrow. "Splitting up? In unknown territory like this? Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"It does seem more efficient," mused Blake.
"And it would ensure that nothing escapes our notice, if the entire area is swept at once," noted Tarix.
"Yeah, we split up all the time to take out Bone Hunter raider camps back home," added Kiina. "What's the issue here?"
"You Magnans clearly haven't seen any horror movies yet," remarked Fox with a chuckle. "There's two universal rules in those - 'bad things happen when the group splits up,' and 'the funny guy always dies first.'"
"I'm sure you'll be perfectly safe then, buddy," quipped Jaune with a wry smile.
Reese failed to hold back her snort. Fox clutched his heart with a melodramatic swoon.
"If we're splitting up, then I'll take CFVY and the two big alien guys," said Carmine with dwindling patience. "I know how the kids fight, after all, and I know they can take care of themselves. Saves me the trouble of having to babysit them."
Coco looked like she was torn between being honored and offended, eventually settling for a death glare behind her shades. "And we'll be following you because…?"
"Because she's doing her best to be a better person?" offered Velvet.
"Or because she'll have two Glatorians with millennia of combat experience watching her every move," rumbled Tarix.
"Could always be both," said Gresh with a smirk and a shrug.
"Make sure you bring them all back alive." Jaune nodded to Carmine, then hummed. "I think I'll take Team ABRN and Azina for my group, then. They've got a good mix of melee strength and firepower, so we should be able to handle anything we find. We're gonna need someone with better senses than a normal human or Agori, though, just to make sure we don't get jumped. Blake, could we count on you for that?"
The feline Faunus nodded without a second's hesitation. After silently conferring with eye contact alone, Arslan did the same alongside her teammates.
"Guess this means I'm hanging out with the ladies today!" Yang grinned as she put her arms around the shoulders of both Emerald and Octavia, much to the chagrin of both. "This is gonna be great…We can paint our nails, try on cute clothes, and blow up any Grimm that looks at us funny. Y'know, just girly things."
"I'll try to contain my excitement," deadpanned Emerald, rolling her eyes alongside the smoldering redhead.
Jaune chuckled at the antics, then nodded. "Alright, with that settled…let's move in, everyone. Keep your Dustfruit bags close, and your teammates closer - and make sure to keep at least a few seed clusters in reserve, so you can plant them and make more if you need it. Let's move."
With determined nods and quick goodbyes (including a short kiss shared by Yang and Blake, to the surprise of absolutely nobody) the teams split up and made their journeys into the ruins.
The Old Oasis had already looked dusty and decrepit from the edge of the crater, but as Jaune's team ventured deeper down the slopes and into the city proper, the history of decay was even more clear. Blake's ears constantly pivoted on top of her head as she took point, hands inching ever closer towards Gambol Shroud with each step she took. Arslan and Bolin fell in behind her with their own shoulders tensed up, followed by Reese and Nadir exchanging nervous glances, while Jaune brought up the rear with a finger already in Crocea Mors's quick-release mechanism. Azina stayed close to the group as they moved through weathered metal huts and shacks, obviously curious about the history behind this place and what kind of clues the ruins would reveal…but not curious enough to linger and fall behind, always darting back to Jaune's side whenever the group moved on.
Unlike the car ride over, there wasn't much banter or joking around. No swapping stories about crazy adventures or lively discussions about the best superhero movies. Just four scared but combat-ready teenagers, two Hunters that were barely older than their charges, and a young Agori making their way through a long-dead city. A city where any whistle of the wind or creaking of metal buildings could be a Grimm waiting to ambush them. A city where all remains of its prior inhabitants were long buried under centuries of sand and darkness. That kind of atmosphere tended to shut most conversations down.
"So…" Azina coughed and looked at Arslan. Clearly she'd had enough silence for one day. "I'm sure Gresh has told me before, given how much time he spends with you…but what are your powers again? Sorry, I know it's awkward to just ask…"
The young martial artist shook her head. "Oh, it's not awkward at all. Our Semblances are pretty straightforward, especially compared to some of the others you can find out here. I regenerate Aura faster and get stronger in direct sunlight, while Bolin can draw attention to himself and force nearby Grimm to go after him instead of others."
Jaune blinked. "Huh…that kind of sounds like the opposite of my team. Nora does the same thing as you, Arslan, only she has to get hit with lightning first. And Ren can hide himself, or anything around him, by masking people's feelings."
"Funny how that works, huh?" Bolin flashed him a smile. "Some Semblances are like that, like they're two sides of the same Lien chip. Your buddy suppresses emotions to escape the Grimm's sight. I, on the other hand, can amplify them."
"That…sounds dangerous," noted Azina with a thoughtful hum.
"Only if we're not prepared for whatever he aggros. It helps a lot with controlling the flow of a fight." Arslan gave a confident smile, then jabbed a thumb in Reese's general direction. "As for the speed freak over there…she's got a passive Semblance that gives her quicker reflexes and better aim while she's in the air. It's why she flies around on her board all the time in a fight…and why she insists on all those stupid stunts of hers."
Reese just smirked as she flipped her teal-streaked bangs. "Aw, c'mon Arls, ya know you love it. What's the point of fighting, if you don't fight in style?"
"Staying alive? Protecting others? Standing up for what's right?"
"I mean, besides the obvious."
"…urgh…sticking it to the man?"
"Now we're talking, Arls."
"I hate you for making me say that."
"Love ya too, bestie!"
"All of that sounds quite impressive," said the Agori with a nod. "Should be useful for our mission, especially if Jaune can amplify them with his own Semblance. But what about your last member? What does he do?"
Arslan sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Nadir? He, uh…"
"He shoots lasers from his eyes, but it gives him migraines," said Bolin with both tact and bluntness. "So he tries not to use it unless he has to."
Nadir hung his head. "Yep, that's me…" he muttered under his breath. "The world's most useless Huntsman with the world's most useless Semblance…"
Jaune's heart ached as he turned to the young rifleman, feeling as if he was staring at his own reflection. He opened his mouth to say something encouraging, that he'd always fought to stop feeling like the weakest link in his own team and that it was okay to rely on others, but he didn't have to. Like a certain redhead had done for him so many times prior, Reese zipped over to Nadir and bumped his shoulder with a smirk.
"Hey, c'mon, we talked about talking down on yourself like that," said the daredevil in a surprisingly patient tone. "You kick ass in a whole bunch of other ways, remember? Heck, you're a better shot on the ground than I am while flying! As long as we stick together, we've got this. You've got this."
Nadir gave a small smile as he returned the shoulder bump. "I know…but thanks, Reese. It always helps hearing you say it again."
"I'll say it as many times as I gotta, partner."
Taking his gaze away from the mirror image of his own past, Jaune looked over at Azina. "What about you? I know that Agori can fight, but I don't see you carrying any weapons like Gresh or the other Glatorians."
Azina smiled behind her helmet. "That's because I've decided to go with weapons that are a little more…discrete."
SHNK! The Jungle Tribe Agori's hands seemed to disappear into her forearms, replaced by a pair of silver blades that slid out of her wrists.
Reese's eyes practically gleamed. "Whoa! You've got knife hands?!"
"Exsidian 'knife hands,' to be precise," said Azina. "Had them installed a few millennia ago, after Vastus beat Gelu in a high-stakes trade match. I've mostly used them for cutting wires, chopping down cacti, and slicing through walls while exploring ruins…but there's not much difference between those and Grimm hide, right?"
"Sure, if you ignore the fact that Grimm bite back," remarked Bolin.
"Then I'll make sure to go for the head first," promised the green-armored Agori.
Blake brought the group to a halt with a raised fist, feline ears standing straight and stiff. "Incoming. Packs of Cadejos on either side, Jackalopes ahead, and Thresher Fins moving in from behind. Couple of Alphas with each group. They all know exactly where we are."
Well that didn't take long. Sure enough, Jaune heard the dread howling alongside everyone else, which mingled with the thumping noises of heavy jumps and the slithering sound of shifting sand. He unsheathed Crocea Mors and knelt with his shield raised between Reese and Nadir, the former aiming both her pistols while the latter brought his rifle up against his shoulder. Behind him Blake drew both blades of Gambol Shroud and crouched alongside Azina, while Arslan spun her rope dart and Bolin deployed the hidden scythe blades within his staff.
When the Grimm emerged, they were ready.
Despite being surrounded by shadowy monsters in an abandoned plaza, Yang was having the time of her life.
Her gauntlets made satisfying cracks as she slammed Ember Celica against the lightly-armored flanks of countless Grimm, grinning as she watched them shatter and scatter with each buckshot blast. She ducked under the slashes and claw swipes of Cadejos, retaliating with jabs and uppercuts that sent the wolves flying. A trio of Ravagers descended on her. She threw Akuavo and struck the middle one with its protosteel edge, the disk bouncing back to her hand and leaving a massive fireball in its wake that consumed the bats. A Thresher Fin leapt to take a bite out of her. She grabbed it by the tail and used it like a living baseball bat to knock a Jackalope into the sky, then sent the shark up after it.
She fell into a rhythm with her teammates quite easily, mopping up Grimm with the local ladies with flair and grace. Emerald and Kiina could hold their own, but they didn't object when she leapt to fight back-to-back with them before moving onto the next group. She ran and lunged to cover Nebula's back while she was looking down the sights of her crossbow, squashing a pack of Sulfur Fish sneaking up behind her. Clusters of sticky bombs marked targets for Dew to scoop up with tornadoes, which sucked in dozens of smaller monsters for the explosives to wipe out nice and clean. Gwen used the flat of her throwing disk as a springboard to vault into the air, giving the graceful ballerina a chance to rain down showers of knives onto hordes of shadow. And the flames left behind by Akuavo's explosive tosses gave Octavia plenty of material to work her Semblance, turning embers into waves of heat and fire that burned through anything in their way.
All in all, it was going quite well.
Too well.
"Everyone, watch out! I sense more incoming! Three Pangoliaths are burrowing through the sand and closing in fast!"
Yang blew a strand of hair out of her eyes as she readied her fists. "Copy that, Gwen!…but uh, what's a Pangoliath?"
An explosion of sand behind her drowned out any answer, as a trio of large, spiky Grimm erupted from the ground amidst a chorus of roars. Each of the new arrivals looked like an ugly, unholy fusion between an armadillo and an Ursa Major, with the thick shell and long snout of the former and the claws, spines, and mass of the latter. One of them curled up into a thorny ball and barreled towards Emerald and Octavia, who dove in opposite directions to avoid being crushed. Another leapt and came crashing down on Kiina, slamming its claws against her trident with enough force to make even the Glatorian buckle.
The third one, which of course was the biggest and meanest-looking one of the bunch, lunged right at Yang with a maw full of teeth and a violent snarl. She ducked under the initial bite - which snapped open and shut like the jaws of a great alligator - and intercepted the sweeping claws strikes with her gauntlets.
"Um…those are Pangoliaths. They're kinda like the Ursai you'd find in Vale, except they dig and roll around. The one you've got is the Alpha."
"Good to know," huffed Yang as she countered with a series of jabs. "Gwen, you lock down one of them with Em and Tav! Nebs, you and Kiina take the other one! Dew, keep the crowds back and help out where you can! I've got the big guy!"
"Sure you don't need some help, Blondie?"
"Ask me again in about five minutes, Em." She grunted as she leapt back to avoid a two-clawed slam, striking a three-point landing as she drew Akuavo off her back. "Alright tough guy…let's see how you like my arm's new toy."
She twisted the wrist on the arm holding onto her disk, feeling her mechanical hand slide into Ember Celica as the top and bottom plates popped open. Coils of Lightning and Gravity Dust came alive with an electrical hum as they clamped down on Akuavo's center, locking it in place with a vice grip and powerful magnetic fields. Now that the world had a reliable source of Dust once again, Yang felt a lot more comfortable with getting some more upgrades to her gear these days - and this weapon configuration, which effectively replaced her right fist with a razor-sharp protosteel blade, felt very promising.
The giant Pangoliath didn't seem too impressed, though. It roared as it lunged once more, which she met with a charge of her own and a salvo of opening jabs. Good news was that her arm's disk mode held firm, and helped with punching - literally! - through layers of shadowy muscle and bony plating. Bad news was that for every inch of natural armor she penetrated, another dozen lay unscathed underneath. The sheer mass of the Alpha Grimm, combined with its hardy shell, fought back against her best piercing attacks. Shotgun shells bounced like they were plastic pellets. Sticky grenades barely left scorch marks. Not even Akuavo's edge could do more than scratch the Grimm's metaphorical paint. All while the Pangoliath kept swiping and slashing and biting with impunity - and while her Aura ate the force of attacks she couldn't dodge, she could already feel fatigue starting to set in and bruises start to form.
At least the others seemed to be doing better with their smaller, non-Alpha opponents. Yang kept stealing glances at them as she brawled, both to make sure they were okay and to see what weak points she should be targeting while fighting these things. Emerald, Gwen, and Octavia all danced in and out of melee with their Pangoliath, slowly wearing it down with pinpoint strikes and fire-infused blades. Kiina held her own against the third, which kept fighting despite its shell being riddled with crossbow bolts. The trio of Huntresses finally took their Grimm down when Emerald tripped it up with her chains, giving Gwen a chance to stab it in the eyes while Octavia shot fire down its gullet. The Glatorian won her melee with a series of stabs so fast she was practically a blur, stabbing with Vaporstrike over and over again before plunging the trident into its throat and twisting the prongs.
"Two Pangoliaths down!" reported Nebula over Scroll. "C'mon ladies, let's take down the Alpha and -"
"Wait, more Grimm are coming! I can feel them - Mobulas and Thresher Fins, moving through the sand! They're closing in fast!"
Another huff escaped Yang's lips as she ducked under a claw swipe, thankful that the brute had missed her head (and more importantly, her hair). "Focus on the newcomers, ladies - give me some space to kick this thing's ass. If we get overrun, this bastard will be the least of our problems."
Thankfully, NDGO heeded her word with only a little bit of grumbling. Good. They were learning.
Unfortunately for her, so was this Grimm.
It raised its claw for an overhead strike, but Yang realized too late that it was a feint - and she realized it when the other paw swung hard and slammed into her side with enough force to send her sprawling. Her head spun as stars danced across her vision - and if she hadn't instinctively fired off Ember Celica to dodge the incoming stomp, it would have been the last thing she ever saw. Yang rolled back onto her feet and wove between the relentless flurry of slashes and bashes, only for one blow to graze her shoulder and another to launch her across the battlefield. A corroded metal shack was helpful enough to stop her mid-flight, at which point it finally collapsed after centuries of disuse to bury her in ancient steel walls.
Urgh…so this is what being a part of history feels like…
She blinked and shook her head to clear it, shifting slightly under the rubble. The metal slabs laying across her chest weren't too heavy, she could easily dig herself out - the problem was that the Pangoliath clearly wasn't going to give her the chance. It curled up into a big thorny ball and spun in place, kicking up clouds of dirt and sand as it revved up for a killing blow. But before it could roll out and flatten her where she lay, a green throwing disk flew from somewhere out of sight and struck the surface of the bony sphere. The Pangoliath instantly unfurled into the rut it'd created and clutched its eyes, howling and fumbling around in pain and confusion.
Emerald dropped next to Yang just as the brawler pushed the last of the debris off her body. "Pretty sure it's been five minutes," she deadpanned, one hand outstretched to the half-buried blonde.
Yang smirked and form-shifted her mechanical arm back into a hand, accepting Emerald's offer to help pull her out of the scrap pile and back onto her feet. "Yeah, that sounds about right…whoof." She coughed up a mouthful of sand. "I can take this guy's hits well enough, but the problem is he's built like a tank. We'll need to find a weak point and really hammer into it."
"Either that, or we make our own." Emerald caught Madumehi as it bounced back into her waiting palm, then held it out handle-first to Yang. "If you can tangle with its claws for a few more minutes, I can give you an opening."
She looked between the protosteel disk and its wielder for a moment, before taking the weapon in her good hand apprehensively. "What's this? You're actually sharing with me? Sharing your weapon, no less?"
"Don't act too surprised, Blondie - I've learned how to play nice." A grin spread across her face as she drew Thief's Respite and spun both revolvers in her hands. "Besides, you'll need her more than me, since I'll be using both guns for this. It's gonna have its sight back in a second. You ready to rumble?"
The blonde brawler grinned while pooling Aura into Akuavo and Madumehi, engaging Vakama's enchantments within the otherworldly metal. "Always."
And with that, both Huntresses charged at the clawed brute in opposite directions. Emerald opened fire with a salvo of revolver rounds as she went left, while Yang kept both disks flying and bouncing between the Pangoliath and her own hands as she strafed right. The barrage of Dust, explosions, and blindness kept the beast stunned long enough for the brawler to close in, leaping and spinning to deliver a pair of slashes to its snout. While it didn't hurt, it did piss off the massive Grimm - and right now, that was more than enough.
"That's right, you big edgy Speedy the Hedgehog knockoff!" taunted Yang. "Time for round two! Come and get me!"
The Pangoliath wasted no time doing just that, lashing out with a series of swiping claws and lunging bites. Yang stayed in motion to bob and weave between each attack, countering with a protosteel-tipped jab or slash of her own when she could, but staying on the defensive. A quick peek around her opponent revealed that Emerald was closing in from behind, extending the chains of her weapons and letting the sickle-tipped heads twirl around her. With the spinning of a chamber and the squeeze of a trigger, the Dust within the chains came alive; one copy of Thief's Respite burned with roaring flames, while the other sprouted icy barbs to become a frozen, thorny whip.
Ah, so she's gonna give him the fire and ice treatment, realized Yang with a smirk. I'm almost gonna feel sorry for this big bastard.
Sure enough, Emerald spun and lashed a burning chain against the back of the Grimm's shell, following it up immediately with a frosty flogging. The rapid heating and cooling, combined with the sheer impact of each blow, turned a patch of the otherwise-impenetrable armor into something as strong and tough as old porcelain. Naturally, the Pangoliath didn't take kindly to this treatment; it kept trying to turn and face her, but she was quick to hide herself with a Hallucination, and Yang was quicker to smack it in the embrittled plate to demand its attention back on her.
They repeated the process over and over again with different sections of the shell, probing and trying to find a spot thin enough to do some real damage. The right shoulder. The left flank. The back of a leg. The front of a claw. Bit by bit, pieces of bone and ichor flew and littered the dusty ground, and Yang could tell the beast was slowing with each injury it took. Despite the pain, it fought on, even getting a few lucky grazing blows on Yang during their brawl. Having two protosteel disks as makeshift shields kept her Aura from flagging too much, though - and each hit she took just stoked the fire burning within.
Finally, after shattering at least a dozen shell plates, Emerald's chains cracked against the side of its neck - and the beast flinched.
"Think we found a pressure point! Go for the throat, Yang!"
She didn't need to be told twice. As Emerald whipped Thief's Respite through the air over and over again to hammer into its weak point, Yang fired Ember Celica behind her to shoot into the sky. At the apex of her flight she triggered her Semblance with a mighty roar, hair and disks burning with golden flame as she came crashing back down. In a spinning slash that would have made both her sister and uncle proud, she cleaved through the softened neck with enough force to lop the Pangoliath's head clean off its shoulders. The rest of its body stood still just long enough for her to touch down behind it, at which point it finally toppled forward with a deafening thud.
After checking behind her to make sure the thing really was dead - some Grimm could survive decapitation, after all - Yang sucked in a much-needed breath and brushed some dimming hair out of her face. Emerald came over with a Dustfruit and a grin, both of which the brawler accepted eagerly.
"Heh…nice moves out there, Em," she mumbled through a mouthful of spicy pomegranate seeds.
"You too, Blondie," panted the mint-haired Huntress as Yang passed Madumehi back to her. "There might be something to this whole 'Team BEYJ' thing after all."
"I knew you'd come around eventually." Yang looked up with a mischievous grin. "Although…if we've got a team name now, next thing on the list is team attack names. How does Topaz sound for that one?"
Emerald scoffed and moved to fight off a new wave of Cadejos, leaving Yang in the dust.
"Not a fan? What about Heat and Hallucinations? Gold Thief? Lemon and Lime? Aw c'mon, you gotta give me something to work with!"
Even though her back was turned, Yang knew her new friend was just trying to hide her smile - and failing. The sound of Sulfur Fish scuttling through the sand reminded her that the fight wasn't over, so she put that thought on the back burner and turned to face the burning bugs with a pump of her gauntlets.
Just another day on the job.
(A/N): Welp, that's where I'm gonna have to leave you guys until next time! Sorry for the semi-abrupt end, but I wanted to get at least a little bit of action here after all that setup. We'll be focusing more on the fights next time, so stay tuned!