The team behind the Vale News Network was working furiously to get ready for the big interview.  What with the sheer shock value of the story, it was certainly going to be a huge one; possibly the largest of the year!  And since a big interview required a big interviewer, the studio chose Lisa Lavender, their lead anchor, to conduct the interview.  She was currently in her dressing room with half a dozen attendants checking everything from her makeup to her clothes.

“A little to the left Ms. Lavender,” one attendant asked as he powdered her face.

“Thank you Ian,” Lisa Lavender said.  “How many viewers are we expecting?”

“The positive reaction to the hype campaign suggests at least six figures.  We don’t know how many from the outlying villages will see it, but I think I heard one of the producers say they were expecting six million viewers; more if it starts trending on Basebook.”

Lisa Lavender took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  “Six million.  We haven’t had something this big in years.”  She looked to another attendant.  “Viola, please go check on our guest, see that he’s alright.”

The attendant in question, a young girl with dark purple hair, stood up straight.  “Yes Mam.  Right away Mam.”  She scurried out of the dressing room and into the pandemonium that was the main stage of VNN.  Thankful that she wore flats instead of heels today, she ducked under several boom mikes being carried by sound specialists, and nimbly dodged through a horde of directors.  She was about to turn the corner when a familiar voice called her name.  She skidded to a stop and turned to see the producer approaching, puffing on a cigar.

“Viola, have you checked on our esteemed guest yet?” he asked sternly.

“Ms. Lavender just sent me sir.  I was on my way to see him now.”

“Smart woman,” the producer muttered.  “She knows a juicy story when she sees one.  That whole business with the Beacon teacher kidnapping those kids was fishy.  Just didn’t add up.  I’ll be glad once the truth is out for the whole world to see.”

“The world does deserve to know sir,” Viola agreed.  And in twelve minutes and eleven seconds, the world will know.”

The producer clapped his hand on his forehead and frantically looked at his watch.  “Good lord!” He cried out, “We still need to finish setting up the soundstage!  I must get going.  Viola, you check up on our guest and see if there’s anything we can get for him.”

Seeing her cue, Viola took off running again.  In less than a minute, she reached the ready room and skidded to a stop once more.  Taking a moment to catch her breath, she knocked sharply on the door.  “Mr. Grigio?  Can I come in?”

A muffled affirmative came from inside the room, and she opened the door and slid inside.  Compared to Lisa Lavender’s room, this one was sparsely decorated, but was small enough to make it feel well furnished.  A desk with several large mirrors sat against a wall, and a door next to it led off into a private bathroom.  The chair that normally sat in-front of the desk had been moved to face an open window, and Viola could see a pair of dress shoes resting on the windowsill.

“Mr. Grigio, my name is Viola.  I was told to come ask if there was anything you need.  We’ve got coffee and tea in the break room, and I’m sure I can find something to eat if you’re hungry.”

“No, nothing right now.”

“Are you sure sir?” Viola asked.  “If you’re nervous, I can get you something stronger.”

He laughed slightly at that.  “No, a stiff drink is the last thing I need right now.  Thank you though.”

Viola breathed a sigh of relief.  If he had wanted anything it would have meant a potentially long and stressful trip to get it, and an even more stressful trip back as she fought through hordes of people going in the opposite direction and trying to get back before he went on stage.

“Well, we go live in about nine minutes now, so if you need to use the bathroom or anything, I’d suggest going now.

“I’d better get ready then.”

Viola left the room and stepped aside as the makeup team hurried in to the room.  With all her duties satisfied, Viola wormed her way through the hordes and into the soundstage.  She found a good spot behind the cameras, and sat down to wait for the interview.  She didn’t have to wait long.  Lisa Lavender sat down on one of the plush cream couches on the stage, and her guest sat down in an identical one that faced towards her.  The VNN tune played and the cameras came on, focusing on Lisa Lavender.

“Aura,” Lisa Lavender began, “It is the projection of our souls; a physical manifestation of our life energy.  And as far as our top scientists are aware, all living creatures except for the Grimm can generate it.  But what if, there was an exception?  A boy, unable to generate an Aura, and when given a test to read his soul, came up indeterminate.  And what if that boy was enrolled in Beacon, and has been there for several months?  I’m here today with Mr. Andrew Grigio, father of Daniel Grigio, the boy without an Aura.”

To Be Human

Book 2

“Sometimes you gotta bleed to know

That you’re alive and have a soul”

-Twenty One Pilots, Tear in my Heart

Having finished her opening spiel, Lisa Lavender turned to Daniel’s father.  For a town drunk, he had cleaned up nicely.  His graying brown hair was trimmed and combed, he had clearly taken a shower, and he was wearing a nice suit.  Most importantly, he wasn’t the least bit intoxicated.

“Mr. Grigio, first of all I would like to thank you for coming to VNN with this information.  I have to admit though, your story seemed absolutely implausible until we had the documents you supplied checked for accuracy.”

Daniel’s father grimaced for a second as if remembering a painful memory, but quickly composed himself once more.  “The pleasure is mine Mrs. Lavender.  I felt it was time for me to stop hiding the truth from the world.  As I believe you told me earlier, the world needed to know.”

“Yes, that brings us to the first question,” Lisa Lavender said.  “When was it that you first learned that your son had no Aura?”

Although he knew the date extremely well, Daniel’s father took a moment to act like he was thinking.  “Well, it would have to be about eleven, no twelve years ago now,” he said, “After his mom died, I didn’t have enough money to take Daniel to regular checkups.  It wasn’t until he was five that I got him a full checkup with the doctors.  That was when they were unable to find an Aura on him.”

“And what exactly went through your head when this happened?” Lisa asked.

“Well, I was concerned of course.  What was a father supposed to feel when his only son has a condition like this one?  I was terrified about what could happen to Daniel.  That is why I discussed things with the doctors, and convinced them to hand all the evidence concerning my son’s condition over to myself.”

“That does raise a point though, Mr. Grigio,” Lisa Lavender said with a slight frown.  What exactly lead you to commit such an illegal act?  Surely you must have feared for the wellbeing of your child, should you be arrested.”

Daniel’s father went to stroke the scruff of a beard he usually had, only to find it wasn’t there.  “Umm, it’s kind of complicated, so please bear with me while I try.”

“Of course.”

“I can’t really explain what came over me when I hid the documents.  Something about my son’s predicament caused me to go through with it, even if it meant me going to jail.”

“So you would say your parental instinct to protect Daniel is what drove you to do it?” Lisa Lavender offered.

Daniel’s father’s head nodded vigorously.  “Yeah.  I can’t think of a better word, so let’s go with that.”

“So then why would you let him leave his home with you and enroll at Beacon to train as a Huntsman?” Lisa Lavender asked with a sudden intensely.  “Wouldn’t a school for fighting monsters and training to use your Aura for combat be the last place you would want him to be?”

A flash of anger flew across Daniel’s father’s face as his brow furrowed in concentration.  Lisa Lavender was trying to pin what had happened to Daniel on his poor parenting.  Well, that wasn’t going to happen.  He cleared his throat slightly, and countered her accusation.  “I had made it perfectly clear to Daniel that something like becoming a Huntsman was out of the question for someone with his condition.  Instead of listening to me, he instead chose disobey my direct request, and steal several hundred lien from me along with several weapons, and leave for Beacon in the middle of the night.  I didn’t hear from him again until I got a phone call saying he was in the hospital!”

“That must have been quite the shock for you, hearing nothing for weeks before your son finally shows up in a hospital in critical condition.”

“Without a doubt Lisa.  But the doctors told me that by then he was stable and was expected to make a full recovery.  When I next saw him, I was more concerned about getting him back home before something else happened to him.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

Lisa Lavender’s eyebrows shot up at this.  She had not been made aware of this beforehand.  “You mean he resisted you taking him back?”

“Very much so,” Daniel’s father agreed, “He wanted to stay at Beacon and continue this mission of his that was doomed from the start.  I tried to get him to come home so we could discuss it in the safety of our house.  But I was, convinced by his teammate, who had also been injured and was recovering in a bed next to Daniel, that my son needed rest to recover from the injuries he sustained during his captivity.  He’s now back at Beacon studying.  I’ve tried to submit paperwork to remove him from the academy, but none of my requests are making it through,” he added with a hint of anger.

Lisa Lavender repositioned herself and looked at her notes.  “Well, I’ve only got a few more questions for you before we go for break.  Thank you once again for agreeing to this interview.”

“As I said Lisa, the pleasure is all mine,” he answered as he tried to fight down the anger at his son that was beginning to seep out.

“Well Mr. Grigio, despite your disagreements with your son continuing to study at Beacon, what are your thoughts about his current progress?   We asked his teachers about Daniel when we did a piece about Daniel’s kidnapping and subsequent rescue.  We understand he is doing well for, someone with his condition.”

Daniel’s father growled with irritation.  They had gotten to the part he had been looking forward to the least.  “The boy has gotten lucky.  He’s got a team to assist him in battle, and I believe there’s another team he’s befriended.  I bet at least his team knows about his condition and they assist him so he doesn’t fail.  I believe that is the only reason he has survived for so long.”

Lisa Lavender shifted nervously on her couch as Daniel’s father became increasingly angrier and angrier.  “Thank you for your, passionate appraisal of the situation Mr. Grigio.  One final question before we go to break.  Now that his secret it out to the world, do you believe that your requests to have Daniel returned to your custody will be successful?”

“I doubt it,” Daniel’s father said dismissively.  “I stopped sending them last week.”

Despite the rule of keeping silent, those watching couldn’t help but murmur at this.  They had not expected this change of events.

Lisa Lavender herself was having trouble keeping it together.  “But, but don’t you still believe your son should return home with you where he could be kept safe?”

Daniel’s father laughed without humor at that.  “Daniel has made it clear to me that he believes himself to be ready to face what the world on his own.  If he feels he’s ready to make those decisions?  He can make them.  I’ll be waiting for him to realize the mistake he’s made.”

Never had Lisa Lavender ever been so grateful to see the producer signal her to wrap it up, as they were going on break.  She straightened herself up and looked directly at Mr. Grigio.  “That’s a very interesting decision to make Mr. Gigio, I hope it pays out for you.”  Before he could say anything else, she turned to look at the camera.  “We’ll be right back folks when we continue our discussion with Mr. Grigio about his son, the boy without an Aur-”

@0@0@

Daniel turned off his tablet and sat down on his bed, trying to process what had just happened.  Did, did his father just give a live interview where he told the world Daniel’s secret?

Sensing his friend’s distress, Lewis, who had been tuning his guitar while Daniel watched something on his tablet with his earbuds in, looked at his friend with concern.  “You okay there man?” he asked.

Daniel honestly could not find words to describe how not okay he was.

2: Chapter Two

Lewis watched the video of Daniel’s father giving away Daniel’s secret to the world in silence.  When it ended, he fell back onto his bed with a plop and pulled out a joint from his pocket, lighting it.  “Well, that’s that man.”

“That’s that?”  Daniel said practically hysterical.  “My darkest secret was just unveiled to the world, and all you have to say is ‘that’s that’?”

“Well, yeah man,” Lewis answered.  “I mean, it’s not like you were gonna keep it a secret forever, right man?”

“That’s just it Lewis, I didn’t plan on keeping my condition a secret forever.  I knew sooner or later it would have to come out”

Lewis looked at Daniel quizzically.  “So, why are you so upset man?” he asked in confusion.

Because I had a plan for all of this!” Daniel cried out.  “I, figured I’d become a Huntsman, make a name for myself, become respected, and then let Remnant know that I did all of this without an Aura.  But now I’m just a student with barely any training, and a dirty secret!  That’s not how I wanted this to go!  I- I- I-”

Daniel was suddenly cut off by a paper bag thrust into his hands.  Nick, who had entered the room silently without Daniel noticing, had been on a trip to the store to purchase Dust to make his special reduced shot bullets.  Upon seeing Daniel’s predicament, he had poured the Dust out of the bag so he could hand it to Daniel.  “Breathe,” he whispered to Daniel.

Realizing what Nick was telling him to do, Daniel shoved the bag over his mouth and began inhaling and exhaling rapidly into the bag.  Slowly, the red color on his face from exertion began to fade, and he was able to calm down.  The whispering voices, which had crept up on him unnoticed died down once more.  “Thanks Nick,” he said as he handed the bag back to his friend. 

Nick nodded briefly in response, then refilled the bag with the Dust vials and tossed it on his bed.  “What happened?” he whispered, then coughed violently and grasped the area around the still red scar on his neck.  The small scar was just over the thickness of a pencil, but was the most vivid reminder of the events that occurred just over two months ago.  Of the nine students that had been involved in the Glas incident, Nick was the only one that still needed to have regular visits to the doctors so they could view how his vocal chords were healing.  He had been freed to speak since he left the hospital, but was advised to limit himself to less than one-hundred sentences a day to prevent further damage.  Nick had evidently reached and passed that limit already.

“You need anything man?” Lewis asked as he extinguished the joint and flicked it into the trash can.  Daniel quickly moved over to the window and flung it open, allowing the smoke to drift out of the room and clear the air for his friend.

Nick shook his head at Lewis, then waved his hand at Daniel to begin his story.

“My dad just went on live television and told the world I had no Aura,” Daniel said, sitting down on Dakota’s bed.  “Now the entire world is going to learn about me.  Ozpin will probably be pressured into expelling me, and I doubt my dad will take me in again.  Bottom line, I’m up the creek without a paddle.

Nick thought for a moment, then reached into his brown duster and pulled out a pencil and a small notepad.  He flipped to a fresh page, and began writing in it.  When he finished, he reversed the notepad and handed it to Daniel.

I don’t know what will happen if you will be expelled from Beacon, but you won’t be on the streets.  I We’ll see to that.

“Thanks Nick,” Daniel said as he handed it back to him.  “I appreciate that.”

Nick shrugged as if to say “it’s nothing,” but Daniel saw a tenseness in his teammate that he had rarely seen.  Nick was actually worried about what was going to happen.  Daniel didn’t think he had ever seen Nick worried before.  Which immediately worried him all over again.

Suddenly the door burst open and Ryler raced inside only to slam the door shut behind him.  He looked around the room with a desperate light in his eyes before diving to the ground next to Lewis’ bed and squirming underneath it.

“Ryler, this isn’t a good-” Daniel began

“Don’t tell anyone I’m here!” Ryler whispered fiercely with a tremor in his voice.  “If Schatten and Tiberius find me, I’m a dead Huntsman!”

Before Daniel could ask what Ryler meant by that, two circular blades burst from the wall around the door, and slid down the length of the wall.  Three familiar claws cut into the wall at the top of the vertical cuts and connected the two.  Without any support from the wall around it, the door fell forward and collapsed into the room.  Behind the newly expanded doorway stood a very furious looking Tiberius and Schatten.

“You- hippie.  Where is Ryler?” Tiberius seethed.  Underneath the bed, Ryler whimpered quietly.

“Hey dudes; how’s it hangin’?” Lewis asked calmly, unconcerned with the deadly ‘royal pain’ hovering over Tiberius’ head.

“How’s it hanging?  I will tell you how it is ‘hanging’,” Tiberius said angrily.  “That flower loving vegetarian I am forced to call a teammate placed his clothes in the same washer as mine and Schatten’s clothes!!  Because I was testing out the suit setting on the washer, my dress shirts and pants were in there as well!” Tiberius gestured to the clothes he was wearing as he said this.

“And?” Lewis asked, eyes blinking at them innocently.

“And his clothes bled pink all over everything!” Tiberius roared, shoving his sleeves in Daniel’s and Lewis' faces.  Daniel stared cross-eyed at the fabric and was able to see that it did seem to have a faint pink tinge to it.  Nothing that someone besides Tiberius would probably notice on first sight, but in the situation at hand he didn’t want to argue with Tiberius.

“I, see,” Daniel said carefully, not to antagonize Tiberius.  “Schatten, what got pink that’s yours?”

Schatten turned to the side and crossed his arms on his chest.  “I’d, rather not say,” he answered with a flush of embarrassment not unlike the color of Tiberius’ shirt. 

Daniel’s eyes widened.  “Oh, uh, Sorry to hear that.  I uh, hope you, ah, catch Ryler and make him pay for what he did!”

“Yeah, speaking of which, where is he?”  Schatten asked, eager to change the subject.

Without hesitation, Nick raised his hand and pointed towards the still open window.  Tiberius eyed Nick for a moment, suspicious of how quick he’d answered Tiberius.  He soon seemed to accept Nick’s testimony, and strode over to the open window, scanning the area outside.  “Blast!  He’s escaped!  Schatten, I require your Faunus abilities to locate our target.”

Schatten strode over and took a deep sniff of the outside.  “I smell something,” he reported.  “Could be him, but the wind’s blowing too strong to be sure.  Stay here and I’ll get higher ground.  Might be able to get him from there.”

“The suit is ruined anyways,” Tiberius said.  “Retribution for this atrocity can only be achieved with the blood of our teammate.”  Tiberius tossed Royal Pain out the window where they hovered in the air, dust crystals glowing a pale blue.  He stepped onto the two chakrams and levitated up towards the roof of the dormitories.  Schatten clambered out after him after a moment’s hesitation, and the stress in the air lessened somewhat.

The moment they cleared the top of the window, Ryler scrambled out from under the bed and shut the widow with a satisfying snap.  “Thanks guys,” he said with relief, “I really don’t know why Tiberius is so darn fixated on those suits!”

“No worries man,” Lewis said.  “I’m sure Tiberius will forget it all soon.”

Nick, who was writing on his notepad once more, finished writing and handed it to Ryler.  Ryler accepted it and quickly read the note.  “Good thinking Nick!  I really should lay low for a while.  It’ll give Schatten and Tiberius even more time to cool off.  I’ll go hide with Lunare for the day.  That’ll be good for a start.

Ryler stepped over the destroyed door and had entered the corridor when Daniel suddenly had a thought.  “Wait, Ryler, is Dakota still working with Lunare?”

Ryler paused and scratched his pink hair in thought.  “I think so,” he answered slowly.  “If he’s still Lunare’s assistant, it would make sense that he’s still there at this hour.”

“I’m coming to then,” Daniel announced as he threw on his jacket and followed Ryler out into the corridor.  He didn’t think that Dakota would be able to give any further advice on dealing with his secret being out, but both team DDLN and LSTR had surprised him on countless other occasions.  Besides, ever since Lunare hired Dakota as his assistant, they barely saw Dakota outside of classes and meals.  Daniel could only hope that they wouldn’t be too busy.

@0@0@

“I don’t care how effective it would be at fighting Grimm, I am not going to help you put a twenty millimeter cannon on Scrapmetal!”

Lunare, who was standing behind the table holding up the parts to the massive weapon, pushed his glasses up by their bridge and folded his arms in determination.  “I fail to understand why you are so adamant about keeping this incredible find of mine from being mated with its one true pair, Scrapmetal.”

“Okay, your strange fetish with shipping inanimate objects together aside; you pulled me off assembling your Aural Disruptors to give my opinion on your new toy, and my opinion is that this is a terrible idea!” Dakota shot back.  He was grease stained and had ditched his battered old leather jacket for a grease stained apron covered in rough pockets that seemed to have been sewn on by Lunare in an extreme haste.  All pockets were full to bursting with scrap and tools that Lunare was too busy to put back, and Dakota had no idea where they belonged.

Lunare stared at his assistant coolly.  “And what exactly is your reasoning behind this opinion?”

“Well for starters that drum magazine is not meant to be taken off in combat,”

“I’ve already retooled the release mechanism and designed a more compact drum that has a ten percent increase in capacity with a fifteen percent weight reduction.”

“It’s way too heavy for anyone to turn on their own,”

“Electronic servos built into the mount will allow the cannon to be controlled by an old gaming controller I found in a scrapyard.  In the event of a power failure, secondary hydraulics allow manual firing to be an option.”

“And there is no way that thing is street legal,” Dakota finished.  “I mean, how did you even get a cannon in the first place?”

“I have full permission by the Vale DMV to register Scrapmetal as a homebuilt vehicle, along with any and all of its variants.  As to how I obtained a cannon, I took it as part of my payment for supplying Atlas’ military police force with the Aural Disruptors you are now building.  I assumed a cannon was a small price to pay for supplying them with a revolutionary method of suppressing individuals without permanent damage.”

This argument would have continued further had the garage door not been opened at that moment.  Lunare ducked under the table and pulled out Nieh Mehr, ready to defend himself from any Atlas soldiers wanting to arrest him for taking a cannon from them.  He lowered his gunstaff when he saw Ryler’s familiar pink poof of hair dart inside. 

“Hey Lunare!” Ryler called out.  “I hope your day is going better than mine.”

“Well it would be going somewhat better if I could get assistance from the assistant I hired specifically for this reason,” Lunare said as he eyed Dakota, who had returned to his workbench where he was assembling the latest batch of Aural Disruptors.  “What brings you to the garage?”

“Oh nothing much,” Ryler answered as he ducked under Scrapmetal to reach the table with the cannon on it.  “I need a place to lay low until Schatten and Tiberius don’t want to kill me anymore, and Daniel needs help figuring out what to do since his father told the world he had no Aura.”

A sharp crack could be heard as Dakota snapped the casing of the disruptor he was assembling.  He whirled around to look at Ryler with shock written all over his face.  “He didn’t!”

Lunare already had his phone out and was looking it up on the internet.  “Unfortunately it appears that he did,” he confirmed.  “Daniel’s father did indeed let the proverbial cat out of the bag.”

Dakota looked back at Ryler.  “Ryler, where is Daniel right now?”

“Here,” Daniel called out, ducking under the garage door.  Dakota instantly gave Daniel a once over, searching for any sign of stress.  He was definitely tense, but he seemed calmer than what Dakota expected.  Which was a good sign considering ‘the beast’, the name they had come to use for the state Daniel went into during his fight with Glas, seemed to come from moments of pain and fear.

“You all right Daniel?” Dakota asked his friend.  “I mean, your dad just, damn.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Daniel answered.

“Any voices?”

“A bit,” Daniel admitted, “But Nick calmed me down.”

“Good thing he was there then,” Dakota said.  “Daniel, what the hell are you going to do?”

“That was kind of why I came here,” Daniel admitted.  “Nick had no idea, so thought you might have an idea.”

Dakota scratched a bit of stubble on his chin.  “Well, the best case scenario is people don’t pay attention-”

“Already trending on Basebook,” Lunare confirmed.  “Anyone named Daniel Grigio is being bombarded with messages.”

Caught off guard, Dakota thought once more.  “Well then, hopefully everyone thinks it’s a hoax.”

“Several polls have already been created,” Lunare replied once more.  “Eighty percent of voters seem to agree that your father is telling the truth.”

Dakota turned to Lunare.  “Okay, is today just ‘let’s prove Dakota is wrong day’ for you?” he asked irritably.

“Lunare, I’m scared to ask this, but what are they saying about me?” Daniel asked carefully.  This was the moment of truth.  It alone would decide if Daniel’s fears were correct about what would happen when people learned of him.

Lunare pushed his glasses up and scrolled through the comments, absorbing what they were saying.  After what seemed like an eternity, he finally looked up from his scroll.  “There are those who are calling for you to be locked away to be studied, or even shot like the filthy Grimm you are.  They hope that you, oh my.  That is an interesting usage of a fence post and a coil of barbed wire.”

Curious, Ryler looked over Lunare’s shoulder.  Upon reading the comment, his eyes widened and he covered his mouth as he raced over to a trash can.  Retching noises echoed from its depths as he emptied his stomach.

“So, that’s what the world thinks I am then,” Daniel said.  His spirits lowered, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t expected.

“Not entirely,” Lunare corrected.  “While the majority do believe that you should be locked up or executed for the safety of the people, a close forty-eight percent believe that you should be sympathized with.  Studied perhaps, but not locked up.”

“Well, at least there’s that,” Dakota commented.  “I could live with those odds.”

“There also appears to be a small but growing population that believe you should not be training to become a Huntsman; be it because of you lack an Aura, or because you are ‘learning our ways to report back to your Grimm brothers’.  I can see Atlasdidmtnglen97 has been doing their homework,” Lunare added with a hint of sarcasm.

“Oh come on!” Daniel said exasperatedly.  “I am not a weakling!  I took on Professor Glas and won!”

Dakota opened his mouth to comment, but was interrupted by the furious beeping of Lunare’s computer.  Lunare set down the final piece of the cannon and strode over to the monitor to see what was going on.  “There’s a police chase,” he said.  “Two individuals, aura trained, Huntsman level abilities.  This could prove beneficial to us both, Daniel.”

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked as Lunare slotted the final piece of the cannon into place and hefted it onto his shoulder.  Stumbling slightly, he moved around to the right side of Scrapmetal and lowered it onto several chain loops

“This is a perfect chance test for the new variant of Scrapmetal I have dreamed up.” Lunare answered as he hoisted the chains up.  “In your case, you will be able to prove you are capable of combat and that you pose no threat to humans or faunus alike.”  Lunare then clambered onto Scrapmetal’s roof and began attaching it to the mount.

“You’re seriously going after those two?” Dakota asked in astonishment.

“Why wouldn’t we?” Lunare asked as he fiddled with the controller and caused the cannon to swivel on its mount.

“I wasn’t complaining,” Dakota said as he threw the apron onto his workbench and donned his leather jacket.  “Hell, it’s about time something happened.  Glynda hasn’t had us fight in over a week!”  He strode over to Scrapmetal and after a moment of hesitation, threw open the door and claimed the shotgun seat.  Daniel followed suit and strapped into one of the back seats.  Ryler however remained hunched over the trash can.  Curious, Daniel poked his head out the window.

“Hey Ryler, you okay?”

“My innocence!” Ryler sobbed into the trash can.  “Ruined! Destroyed!  Smashed beyond repair!  I can never look at a fence again!”

“It would appear that Ryler will be unable to join us this time,” Lunare said as he dropped down from Scrapmetal’s roof and slid into the driver’s seat.  He turned the ignition and Scrapmetal’s V8 engine roared to life; louder than before it seemed.

“THUNDERBEE variant Mark-One!” Lunare shouted, “Designed for intimidating the opposition through high volumes of sound!”

He floored the accelerator, and Scrapmetal blasted out of the garage.  Instead of climbing the houses like he normally did, Lunare instead swerved right and followed the cracked and pitted street towards the freeway.  Despite the incredible din Scrapmetal’s engine was making, Daniel could already hear police sirens.

A lot of them.

3: Chapter Three

7-29-19

It has come to my attention that Charlene's previous name, Ezmerelda, was close to that of Emerald's, although she was created a while before we learned Emerald's name. Nonetheless, canon Emerald came first, and it drew too many connections to her and Syrius. As such, I changed her name and updated the chapter. Nothing else has been changed besides names, scout's honor.

@0@0@

Charlene 'Char' Fumee and Syrius 'Cy' Steele were in a spot of trouble.

Of course, the trouble was of their own doing. They'd just attempted to kill the chief of police for his access codes in to Vale's bank, and were now attempting to escape the police in one of their own cars. Charlene, a short blond in a gray combat jacket and a black jumpsuit with red highlights, was driving. Syrius, a brown haired teenager in a dark gray hoodie and black tinted goggles, was currently shooting out of the window.

So far their plan had gone somewhat poorly. The Chief of Police was wearing a bullet-proof vest, the access codes were in a locked drawer in his desk, and by the time Charlene had smashed the lock open and taken the codes, police were kicking down the door. They'd escaped through the Chief's window and took a squad car from the parking lot below, but the police had only been moments behind them. Now they were on the freeway dodging cars and trying to lose the police, but it was proving to be more difficult than they had imagined. It seemed the police were intent on chasing them until they ran out of gas and were forced to stop.

Charlene ducked and winced as a bullet crashed through the back window and embedded itself in the bulletproof glass separating the back seat and the front seat. Evidently they weren't planning on waiting until the two teenagers ran out of gas.

The bullet was still sizzling in the glass and slowly melting a hole, so she pulled out one of her batons and rammed it in to the glass on her side. The force was enough to dislodge the fire dust bullet, and it fell onto the floorboards where it continued to melt its way through the car.

"Cy!" she shouted out in irritation. "A little covering fire would be nice!"

"Sorry Char, Deus was out," Syrius replied in a gravelly voice as he stuck his head back out the window and fired a prolonged burst from his SMG. He ducked his head back in as bullets raked the air where his head was a moment before.

"Ugh, this is stupid!" Charlene growled. "If you had used your semblance to get us in to this thing, we would have lost them by now!"

"Please, you know I don't use that unless it's necessary," Syrius replied before firing another burst in to the horde of police chasing them. The bullets struck a tire, and the car swerved out of control in to another police car. The two officers struggled to regain control and avoid traffic as they fell out of formation. Syrius pulled back in and looked at Charlene. "Your point of view is far too negative. From what I see, we have this in the bag."

Charlene checked her side mirror just in time for a bullet to rip it from the car. She winced as shards of mirror and glass struck the window, leaving deep grooves in the glass. "From my point of view, we didn't make it to the bank, and we're about to be shot off the road! How much longer until we reach your Machina?"

Syrius tapped the side of his goggles and furrowed his brow as he looked at something in his goggles. "You've got another mile or so before they're in range. Going at your current speed, I'd say, thirty seconds."

"As soon as we're in range, I want you to light those cops up. I know we're supposed to minimize deaths this mission, but I don't see any other choice."

Syrius peered out the windshield and seemed to like what he saw. "Funny, because I see another option. Get on that big semi's left side, near the front. I'll do the rest."

Confused as to what Syrius was getting at, Charlene nonetheless floored the accelerator and shot forward. She pulled up to the cab of the semi and held her position. The driver of the semi looked at them, briefly, then did a double take as he saw Syrius clutching his SMG and tapping the side of his goggles. Charlene was about to ask what Syrius was planning, when they finally got in to range of Machina.

Turrets situated on the rooftops of buildings suddenly opened up and began blasting in to the semi-trailer. Most were directed at the engine block, but several began chewing up the area surrounding the front tires. It didn't take long for the engine to begin spewing thick black smoke, and even less time for the tires to pop. The sudden loss of power on the right side caused the semi to begin jackknifing down the freeway. The driver tried to compensate, but it was too late. The trailer flipped, and the semi skidded to a stop, blocking the police cars from following. A moment later, the engine caught fire as well.

Seeing that they were clear, Syrius offered Charlene a rare flash of a simile. "What did I tell you, Charlene? In the bag."

"It almost wasn't," Charlene said, ignoring the comment. "We nearly got out of Machina's range. What would you have done if you had missed?"

Syrius was about to reply that he never missed, when he was interrupted by a loud roar. Curious, he looked out his window to see a beast of a machine with spindly legs leap from the slope above the freeway and slam in to the asphalt, leaving deep gouges in the rock-like surface. Without missing a beat, it roared in to action and charged forwards, rapidly eating up the ground between them.

"Dust Grimm and Seasons, what is that?" Charlene shouted.

"Unclear," Syrius said coldly as he loaded a magazine of fire Dust rounds in to Deus and racked the charging handle. "Whatever it is, it looks unfriendly." He poked his head out of the window once more and began firing at the pursuer. With no wheels to fire at, he concentrated his fire at the engine block to subdue the beast. Expecting it to quickly go up in flames, he was surprised to see the rounds bounce off the front like they were spitballs. To make matters worse, a strange contraption swiveled on a mount and pointed directly at them. Syrius realized what was being pointed at them the instant before the shells started whizzing past the stolen car.

"Get off the freeway!" Syrius ordered as he pulled his head back in.

Charlene turned to him in shock. "Get off the free- do you want to get us caught?"

"Charlene, whoever built that thing attached a cannon to the roof. An Atlas cannon. The only reason you and I are still alive is because they're shooting warning shots. The moment they decide not to, we're dead. Our only option is to go in to downtown and either loose them in the turns, or get within range of Machina again."

Charlene frowned for a moment as she considered Syrius' argument. Then her eyes lit up in fear as she realized something Syrius had said. "Cy, you said that's an Atlas cannon. It- it couldn't be them could it?"

"Unclear, but it's all the more reason to lose this thing before its drivers lose their patience. Take the next exit, and drive south until we reach the Machina. I'll use them to distract our assailants, you work on losing them. Then we ditch the car and split. We'll meet at the warehouse tonight."

Motivated now, Charlene glanced at the oncoming traffic, and began to move over to the right. As she did so however, the pursuing vehicle matched their moves and fired a burst at them to dissuade any further movements. "Cy, I don't know if I can make it. Whoever is driving that thing, they seem to be anticipating my every move!"

@0@0@

"Eyes on the road, eyes on the road, eyes on the road!" Dakota yelled at Lunare.

Lunare, who was looking at a readout on one of the displays welded onto the dashboard, looked up in time to nudge the steering wheel and sidestep a rapidly approaching van. "The targeting reticule is out of sync with the cannon. I must fix the aberration if I am to hit our prey and disable their vehicle."

"There's going to be aberrations in a lot more things if we crash!" Dakota shouted back. If Lunare noticed the comment, he didn't give any indication. He instead looked up briefly and fired a burst at the captured police car. The shells completely missed their intended target, instead hitting the ground directly to its right. Chunks of asphalt spewed from the deep gouges and whizzed past Scrapmetal's frame.

"Interesting," Lunare mused as he leaned back down to inspect the display, "The cannon seems to be firing approximately three meters to the sides of where the targeting indicator is pointing. Dakota, would you mind taking the wheel for a moment?" Not waiting for Dakota's answer, Lunare ducked back down to the display where he pulled a miniature keyboard from a slot beneath it and began typing. Dakota reached for the abandoned wheel, hesitated for a moment, then firmly grasped the wheel. As he did so, the police car swerved over several lanes and began climbing the exit ramp back in to the city.

"They're headed back in to the city," Dakota reported to Lunare as he tentatively nudged Scrapmetal in to the exit ramp as well.

"An interesting tactic," Lunare mused as he typed in to the keyboard. "Reentering Vale's downtown would lead to choke points police could use against them. I fail to see what advantage they would gain in this-" Lunare pushed his glasses up by the bridge and sat up abruptly, throwing Dakota off of the wheel. "They want to use the very city to elude escape! The tight turns and congested streets would provide opportunities for them to slip away! These two are craftier than I expected."

"So what's the plan?" Daniel asked from the back. He had remained quiet for most of the ride, letting Dakota voice their shared opinions.

Lunare shifted in to the next gear, and the engine's noise increased even further. "They evidently do not understand the full capabilities of Scrapmetal. Any other vehicle might have difficulties, but not Scrapmetal. Following them should be a relatively easy task."

The instant it left the exit ramp, the police car made an immediate U-turn and dove in to the depths of the city. Not wanting to drive all the way to the end of the ramp, Lunare yanked the wheel to the right and climbed the steep slope to the road. They cleared the slope and were onto the road in time to see the police car make another turn and disappear from sight. Lunare made the turn as well, just as the police car made another turn. This continued for several blocks, each time the police car gained slightly more ground.

"We're losing them Lunare!" Dakota warned after they barely caught a glimpse of the police car's rear bumper before it disappeared within the mob of vehicles.

"Not true," Lunare corrected. "While we may lose sight of them for a moment, I require the space to transfer from one directional axis to another."

Once upon a time, Dakota would have asked what Lunare was talking about. By now however, he knew that when Lunare began using technical terms while driving Scrapmetal, it was for the best to tighten your seatbelt, and hold on for dear life. This school of thought was supported when Lunare drove onto the sidewalk, sidestepped several pedestrians, and climbed up onto the side of a building. Undisturbed by the sudden shift in orientation, Lunare shifted in to highest gear and flew across the building's wall. Like Lunare had predicted, the police car was nowhere to be seen when they made a turn. It was however visual once Lunare made another turn at maximum speed, and caught them trying to make their way through a traffic jam. Without having to deal with any traffic, Lunare quickly caught up to them. He peered out his left window as the stolen police car finally made its way out of the traffic snarl and in to a straight shot of trafficless road.

"As a great villain once said, I have you now," Lunare said. He yanked a lever, and Scrapmetal shoved itself off of the building. It plummeted ten stories down, reorienting itself right before the landing.

@0@0@

Charlene breathed a sigh of relief as they finally broke free of the traffic snarl and were able to speed away from the horrible congestion. Whoever designed that intersection needed to go back to engineering school, she thought as she maneuvered around a truck for a local Dust shop. She gave the rear view mirror a quick glance to confirm that there was no sign of the mysterious vehicle. It seemed they had lost their pursuers.

So why did she still hear the noise of its massive engine?

"It's probably still stuck in the traffic," Syrius answered when she voiced her concerns to her partner. "There was nowhere for it to put those legs. I believe we lost them. Shame; I was hoping to test Machina against-"

Whatever Syrius said was drowned out by an almighty crash as the beastly machine landed right behind them. The force of the landing was so great, their back wheels left the ground and Charlene had to fight for control as the police car swerved dangerously toward the railing. Syrius swore loudly and grasped the door as he was thrown around his seat. In order to get better mobility, he had forsaken the use of a seat belt and was paying for it.

"Keep driving!" Syrius ordered Charlene. "Straight shot, no deviations. We're almost to the Machina!"

Charlene doubted Syrius had ever said a more relieving phrase since she had met him. Hunching down behind the steering wheel, she pulled in to the middle lane and accelerated past the 100 mile-per-hour mark.

"We're going too fast for a sustained burst," Syrius warned her. "Fortunately, I don't think we need a sustained burst to take out a leg."

Charlene was about to ask how he intended on hitting such a rapidly moving target, when the turrets opened up once more, and the pursuing vehicle was lit up by bullets pinging off of the legs. The driver attempted to maneuver away from the bullets, but the damage was done. The left front leg snapped off at the lower joint, and the vehicle crashed to the ground, skidding and throwing up sparks.

Charlene whooped in laughter as they sped away from the wrecked vehicle. "You did it Cy," she shouted, "We're finally fr-"

The back of the police car made a loud banging noise, and skittered to the side for a moment before it regained control on its own. That wasn't the problem though. The problem was the noticeable pull of deceleration. Confused, Charlene stomped on the gas to get more speed, but all the engine did was rev up to extremely high RPMs.

Syrius placed his hand on the dashboard and swore. "They got a shot off," he reported. "Onboard computer says the whole back is ruined. Tire pressure, brake lights, I think they even severed the driveshaft!"

Charlene let out a curse as well. Without the police car, their pursuers would be able to catch up to them on foot. They couldn't risk being caught, not after the heist they just pulled. Searching for a solution, she remembered that there was an alleyway up ahead. Sighting the opening, she cut through several lanes of traffic, jumped the median, and barreled toward the small space. "Get ready to run," she told Syrius. "Right before it hits, I'm going to smoke and get out of here. Get out when you can, and meet back at-"

"Yeah, I got it." Syrius interrupted as he braced himself against the floorboard. "Just make certain you take your clothes with you this time."

"Bet you'd like it if I didn't," Charlene muttered as the opening to the alleyway began to fill the windshield. She summoned up her Aura, activated her Semblance, and was gone. Transformed in to a dark wispy cloud of smoke. A second later, the police car collided with the corner of the alleyway. The front was instantly crushed in to a V, and Syrius was thrown through the windshield and in to the alleyway wall. He was expecting it however, and any damage he would have taken was stopped by his Aura.

Thick black smoke was billowing up from the engine compartment and in to the front seat when Charlene made her move. Flowing out the shattered windshield, she got a safe distance from the crashed police car before she returned to human form. Thankfully, her clothes had come with her.

A few yards away, Syrius groaned as he rolled onto his knees. Charlene wished they were further apart before they made their escape, but the alleyway was the only place where they couldn't be viewed from the street. They shared a brief glance from each other, then turned to move in opposite directions when a voice called down from the rooftop.

"If you two were trying to go for the undercover cop look, it's not working."

Charlene looked up quickly to see a wolf tailed Faunus staring down at her. He reached in to his leather jacket and pulled out two large knuckledusters, which he slid on.

"How would you know what an undercover cop looks like?" Charlene bluffed. "Isn't an undercover cop that looks like an undercover cop kind of counterproductive?"

"Very well then, why are undercover police officers attacking our fellow Huntsmen-in-training?" another voice called from the opposite rooftop. Charlene looked over and saw another teen standing on the rooftop. His white suit was painfully bright against the dark brick of the wall beneath, forcing Charlene to shield her eyes in pain.

"What are you talking about?" Charlene asked as she slowly reached down to grasp the two batons clipped to her belt. Even if she hadn't lived on the streets for most of her life, she would have been able to tell this confrontation was going south really quickly. If she could just distract the two for a bit longer, she could make her escape and,

"Well I think it's safe to assume the turrets were yours," Tiberius replied. "They did after all damage Lunare's monstrosity of an automobile without touching yours. And while I often question my leader's sanity at times, I trust he would not fire on a police vehicle without ample reason to do so. Now, are you going to surrender, or are Schatten and I going to be forced in to-"

It was at this moment that Syrius attacked. He leapt up from a seemingly dazed position and began firing up at the Schatten. Syrius was an excellent shot, and the bullets would have shredded in to Schatten's Aura, had he still been there. The instant Syrius stood up, Schatten had activated his jump jets and blasted up in to the air. At the peak of his flight, he turned around and activated the jets once more. Charlene grabbed her batons and swung them up just in time to intercept Schatten's claws. She grunted under the force he exerted and fell to one knee, but managed to keep Schatten at bay. Schatten landed and jumped back as Charlene swung at him. As the batons brushed against his clothing, one of them somehow caught on his leather jacket. Unprepared for the sharp yank, Schatten was flung in to the brick wall. Confused and slightly dazed, he looked down to see a barb on the end of the baton was caught in his jacket. To make matters worse, his right set of claws was embedded deep in to the wall. He tugged, but the claws were firmly embedded in the brick. With his free set of claws, Schatten swatted down to cut his jacket free, but Charlene blocked his strike with her second baton. To make certain he didn't try the move again, she kicked his legs out from under him. Schatten fell and hung awkwardly as his hand was stuck in the knuckleduster claws, and the claws were still stuck in the wall.

As Schatten struggled back to his feet, Syrius decided to cut their opponents strength by half. He pointed Deus straight at the back of Schatten's head, paused for a moment, then turned the select fire switch to single shot. No need to waste ammo on someone who wouldn't be able to react fast enough to protect using his Aura. He made one final check that he was still on target, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet fired, but before it could exit the barrel, a chakram slammed in to Deus and knocked it off target. Instead of hitting dead center in the back of Schatten's head, it went far right and buried itself in the wall next to Schatten's trapped claws. Chunks of brick flew everywhere, and Schatten's claws were jostled just enough by the blow that he was able to rip them free. Before Charlene or Syrius could do anything else, he activated his jump jets and tackled Charlene in to the police car. The ensuing force flipped the car onto its roof and sent it skidding in to the street.

Irritably, Syrius flicked the select fire switch back to full auto and turned to engage Tiberius, only for the chakram to rip free of the wall it had landed in and smack Syrius across the face. It returned to its wielder, and Tiberius stepped onboard.

"So, you're Huntsmen in training then," Syrius said as Tiberius slowly descended. He fired a burst at the teen, but the second chakram flew in and intercepted the bullets. The chakram spun off course for a moment, then returned to hovering around Tiberius' head. "Guess that means you aren't those Atlas creeps E and I've had on our back for the last few weeks. Probably a Beacon student then. I tried that school for a bit. Didn't suit me too well, so I called it quits. Is that medic still a teacher?"

"If you're referring to Professor Arthur Glas, he is no longer a tearcher at Beacon," Tiberius answered as he stepped off of the chakram. "He kidnapped several students for medical experimentation and was fired as a result."

"Shame. I liked the guy. Always made me-" Syrius finished his statement with a burst of fire from Deus. Tiberius was unprepared, and unable to block with his chakrams in time. The bullets struck him in the chest, and he was knocked off his feet as his Aura was forced to take the damage.

Syrius kept firing bursts at Tiberius until the magazine in Deus was empty. He dropped the empty magazine from the SMG and reached in to his hoodie to grab a fresh magazine, only to grab nothing. During the events of the day, he had exhausted his supply of ammunition much more rapidly than he was anticipating. Warily, he looked at Tiberius, who was getting back up from where he had fallen. He adjusted his tie, and lifted his arms up. His two chakrams slowly rose from his sides and hovered around his head. A sly smile grew on Tiberius' face as he watched his now defenseless opponent slide in to a defensive stance.

"My turn," he announced.

@0@0@

When they collided with the police car, Schatten pushed off from Charlene and skidded to a stop right before the sidewalk turned in to the road. Charlene was not as lucky. The force from Schatten's tackle was enough to dent the passenger door and start to roll. Schatten watched as the car flipped from the force of the impact and Charlene disappear from view. Schatten uttered a curse underneath his breath as the police car crashed onto its roof and skidded to the other side of the street. He sprinted over to the car and ran to the other side to see what her fate was. Expecting to see her pinned underneath the roof or even with her brains bashed against the pavement, he was surprised to find no trace of her. Convinced she couldn't have disappeared in to thin air, he inhaled deeply and let his Faunus heritage do its job. She was definitely here, but he couldn't find any sign of her.

"Looking for something wolfy?"

Schatten looked up in time to see a cloud of dark grey smoke bend and condense in to Charlene lying across the flipped car with a sly smile on her face. She jabbed a foot out and hit him hard in the face. Stumbling backwards and clutching his nose, Schatten peered through his fingers as Charlene slid off the flipped police car and raised her batons in a fighting stance. Schatten shook his head to clear it and punched at Charlene with two quick jabs. With two equally swift flicks, Charlene swatted the claws to her sides and rapped Schatten on the head. Before Schatten could recover once more, she depressed two buttons on her batons and flicked them to the side. Spiky metallic whips sprung free of the batons and she flicked them around Schatten's claws. With him ensnared, she planted a boot firmly on his chest and pushed him to the ground. Dazed, Schatten growled at Charlene and attempted to free his claws from the whips.

"That's quite the bark you have there wolfy," Charlene said to her defeated opponent. "Let's see what we can do to lessen your bite."

The barbs surrounding the claws began pulsing red and making a beeping noise. Schatten had been Lunare's friend long enough to know that beeping and pulsing things generally led to explosions, and doubled his efforts to free his hands from the whip. Despite his struggles, the barbs only dug more painfully in to his skin and the beeps only increased in speed.

Just when they seemed to be about to explode, Charlene was struck from the side by a flying pair of boots and was thrown away from Lunare. The whips dug painfully in to Schatten's arms for a moment, then slacked off as the batons were pulled free from Charlene's hands. Schatten frantically unwound them from his arms and tossed them to the side where the barbs detonated harmlessly. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked up to see Lunare descend slowly from the air as his coat billowed from the exhaust of his own more advanced jump jets. He landed on the police car and folded Corabellum back in to his coat, including the metal ribs jutting out from his sleeves that glowed an pale ghostly white. With the armor stowed, he pulled Nieh Mehr from his coat and turned to face Charlene, who was groaning and getting back to her feet.

"Careful Lune, she can turn in to smoke," Schatten warned.

"Really?" Lunare said excitedly. He scurried over to Charlene and began circling her, analyzing her from every angle. "It's a semblance of course, there is no other possible way, but it is possibly one of the most unique Semblances I've learned of, let alone seen. The ability to change one's form is not entirely unheard of, albeit extraordinarily rare, but the ability to change in to a free-flowing sentient gas has never been seen before!"

"Oh my gods, shut up!" Charlene shouted at Lunare. "You're giving me a worse headache than you've already given me!"

"But there are so many unanswered questions that I require answers to! What does it feel like? How do you maintain consciousness in a gaseous state? And most importantly,"

Lunare pulled an Aural disruptor from his coat and jabbed it in to Charlene' side. She shuddered for a moment as her Aura was overloaded, then collapsed onto the pavement. Lunare ejected the battery and replaced it before finishing his quote. "How on Remnant were you capable of controlling your movements to hide within the oil smoke without any wind to guide your motions?"

"You know, you could have knocked her out before I got hit on the head," Schatten commented as he clambered to his feet.

"Tending to Scrapmetal's wound delayed my response," Lunare replied. "Furthermore, I saw you and Tiberius on the roof and assumed that the two of you were capable of dealing with two opponents on your own without my supervision."

At the mentioning of Tiberius' name, Schatten's eyes shot open and he jumped over the police car and raced back toward the alley. Before he could reach the entrance however, Tiberius emerged from the alleyway dragging Syrius' limp form behind him. Despite being shot multiple times and falling on his back in a dirty alleyway, there wasn't a speck of dirt on his immaculate light pink suit.

"I don't believe these miscreants will be troubling us any further," Tiberius said as he tossed Syrius' limp form in the middle of their triangle. "Especially not this one. He was much more manageable once he exhausted his supply of bullets."

The sound of running footsteps drew the three huntsmen-in-training's attention to the sprinting forms of Daniel and Dakota. Daniel came in with sword and pistol drawn, surveyed the carnage, and groaned. "Seriously? You three finished both of them? Guys, I was kind of counting on this fight!"

"Daniel does indirectly bring up a point I have been pondering," Lunare said. "How was it you two came to be in the same area as we were?"

"We were looking for Ryler so we could kill him, we heard gunshots, and then Scrapmetal's engine," Schatten answered. "We figured Ryler had to come back for food sooner or later, so we might as well help you now. Since Scrapmetal broke again, it looks like we figured correctly."

"An accurate assumption," Lunare admitted as he looked over at Scrapmetal. After recovering from the crash, Lunare had managed to stand Scrapmetal back up and get it walking on three legs. He fished a key fob out from his jacket and pressed a button on it. Scrapmetal revved up and began hobbling over toward the group. "Once Scrapmetal arrives, I can retrieve my scroll and call the police to arrest these two. Providing the police do not hold us for an excessive amount of time, we can be eating out in celebration within the hou-"

Lunare was interrupted by the whine of jet engines as an airship soared overhead. It circled around once, then came in to land. As it slowly descended, they were able to make out a black symbol painted on its side. It was the same symbol still etched on Lunare's cannon that he still had yet to buff out.

"What's an Atlas ship doing all the way out here?" Schatten yelled over the engine whine. As he asked this, Lunare looked over at Scrapmetal and a flash of concern played on his face.

"My opponent did mention something about a group from Atlas he and his partner were dealing with!" Tiberius shouted back. "It would appear these are the ones he spoke of!"

Before the airship had even settled, the side doors flew open and four people jumped out of the airship, three men and a female. A man in a dark grey military coat and matching cap stepped forward, and with the way he carried himself was clearly their leader. He rubbed a pair of silvery fingerless gloves as he surveyed the destruction and the two unconscious teens before staring straight at the group of huntsmen-in-training. "Which of you is the leader?" he shouted over the revving down engines. Daniel and Lunare both immediately stepped forward and after several awkward motions, Daniel conceded leadership to Lunare since he had most of his team there.

"What can we do for you on this fine day Mr.?" Lunare asked, clearly trying to draw attention away from Scrapmetal's Atlesian cannon.

"Cobel. Greeve Cobel. You can start by laying down your weapons and surrendering these captives to us. And then we can discuss why an Atlesian autocannon is mounted on that heap of scrap metal over there."

@0@0@

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, may I present to you the amazing and incredible cliffhanger!  Who are these new and mysterious people?  Will Daniel redeem himself in the eye of the public?  Will I stop playing Breath of the Wild and actually write for once?  The world may never know!

At least until next month when I release a new chapter.  Then you'll know.

Until then, don't forget to drop kudos and comments.  See you then!

4: Chapter Four

7-29-19

It has come to my attention that Charlene's previous name, Ezmerelda, was close to that of Emerald's, although she was created a while before we learned Emerald's name. Nonetheless, canon Emerald came first, and it drew too many connections to her and Syrius. As such, I changed her name and updated the chapter. Nothing else has been changed besides names, scout's honor.

@0@0@

"Perhaps the question that we should be asking, is why a team of huntsmen from Atlas are operating within Vale's borders," Tiberius offered. "And why they hold such an interest in two criminals we just captured. Perhaps by telling us what Atlesian laws they have broken."

"If you even are Atlas," Schatten offered. "How do we know you aren't just trying to bail your friends out?"

"We are Atlas, and their crimes classified information," the one calling himself Greeve answered. "You however should explain why stolen Atlas tech is on that heap of-"

"Now hold on a minute Greeve," said a man in an orange lab coat and cargo shorts as he hefted a large battle axe over his shoulder. "I wouldn't go so far as to call that a 'heap of scrap metal'. Sure it's missing a leg, but it's quite the piece of machinery."

"Yarrow, shut up," the girl shot back. She wore a red vest, skirt, and black calf high sandals. She was holding a tonfa in one hand, and gripping a sheathed knife on her belt in the other. "Greeve's right. Whoever these kids are, they shouldn't have a military grade cannon."

"I told you that thing was a bad idea," Dakota hissed to Lunare, who ignored it in favor of glowering at the one that had introduced himself as Greeve.

"And they shouldn't be using it in a residential area," Greeve added. "In the process of capturing these two, you caused severe damage to the freeway with your reckless firing. That cannon needs to be removed from your, 'vehicle' before someone gets hurt."

Lunare stepped forward as Nieh Mehr expanded to its full size. Instantly, the team from Atlas stiffened and save for the one called Yarrow, slid in to attack positions. Undeterred by the show of aggression, Lunare began speaking. "While I will admit I should have dedicated more time to fine tuning and testing the targeting reticule, I do not appreciate the tone you've taken about Scrapmetal, or the way you refer to it in that tone. It would be beneficial to both parties if you ceased from referring to her as such."

Without replying, Greeve drew back and threw a punch, despite being well out of range. As the punch came to an end, his silver metallic gloves broke apart in to individual wires. The wires wrapped around Nieh Mehr and ripped it from Lunare's grasp. They returned to their original form and deposited the gunstaff in Greeve's hand. He gripped the weapon firmly so Lunare wouldn't consider trying to take it back. "This is your last warning," he said firmly. "Drop your weapons or we will take you in to custody for assaulting members of the Atlas military, and have that piece of scrap hauled off to the dump."

Daniel looked over at Lunare to see him shakily begin to push his glasses up by their edges and eye his captured weapon. Realizing what Lunare was thinking, and the similarities of a previous situation that wound them up in jail, Daniel desperately tried to diffuse the situation. "Hey uy, look, how about we wait until the police arrive and make sure you guys really are Atlas, and haven't just stolen an airship. Then we can-"

Too slow.

He was far too slow.

Out of the corner of his eye, Daniel saw it happen in slow motion. Lunare's hand fell from his glasses to his side. He slid in to a crouch and activated something on Corabellum. He was launched forward in to Greeve as he activated the razor sharp ribs on his arms. He pinned Greeve's arms between his own and slammed them both in to the airship. Before anyone else could react, Lunare launched the two of them high up in to the air, rapidly shrinking to a speck in the sky.

Daniel stared openmouthed at the deep grooves in the airship, then slowly turned his head back to the remaining members of the Atlas team. Their faces were a mixture of shock and outrage. In the case of the female member, there was a hint of horror and fear mixed in as well.

"I am so, so sorry," Daniel said, trying to find the words for an apology. "I have no idea what's come over-"

Before he could figure out what to say, a dark purple vortex swirled in to existence on the ground next to the Atlas team. Greeve flew out of the vortex headfirst and landed on the pavement. A second later, the vortex disappeared in to the concrete. Greeve dusted off his gray military jacket and gave the Huntsmen in training a hard look. "Team GREY, engage," he said with a hard edge. He flicked his arms up and the wires from his gloves shot out once more. They attached themselves to a diving Lunare and threw him in to the ground next to Scrapmetal. The force of the collision rattled the asphalt in a miniature earthquake.

Schatten roared in anger and launched himself at Greeve, claws extended to slice Greeve to ribbons. The fourth member of team GREY, who had remained silent for the entire time, leapt in to defend his leader. He grabbed Schatten's wrists and performed a midair somersault. The two sailed through the air for an unnatural distance before Schatten managed to free himself and land safely on the ground.

Schatten crouched down and bared his teeth, tail low and bristling with anger. To his surprise, his opponent pulled out two revolvers and mimicked the movement. He snarled like a large cat, and Schatten was suddenly aware that he himself had a long white tail. As it flicked back and forth, the two circled warily, eyeing their opponent carefully. The panther Faunus abruptly made the first strike, leaping toward Schatten, baring his teeth and winding up to strike.

Daniel, Dakota, and Tiberius were meanwhile trying to defend themselves against the combined attacks from Greeve, and the girl with the knife and tonfa. Dakota was fighting the girl, while Daniel tried to help Tiberius get his chakrams untangled from Greeve's wires. Greeve had both chakrams trapped in one hand of wires, and was using the other hand to fight off Daniel. Tiberius had both Chakrams firmly grasped in his hand, and was desperately trying to pull them free.

"Unhand my weapons, and fight me!" Tiberius yelled at Greeve. "I demand that you-"

Greeve flicked his right hand, and the wires yanked Tiberius through the air and through the window of a liquor store. Within the depths of the store, the sound of smashing glass continued as Tiberius landed on one of the shelves.

With Tiberius incapacitated, Greeve reformed the wires on his right hand in to a glove, and caught Daniel's sword as it descended toward his shoulder. As Daniel wrenched at his saber, trying to get it out of his opponent's grasp, Greeve briefly looked around to see how the battle was going. Ebon, the panther Faunus, had just whipped Schatten across the face with his revolver, sending him skidding down the street. Schatten rolled to his feet and jumped at Ebon, using the jump jets strapped to his waist. He slammed in to Ebon, and the two sailed backwards. Ebon twisted in midair and made sure Schatten hit the ground first. They landed, and Schatten roared in pain at the unexpected weight. It was like a truck had landed on his chest.

Rojoe, team GREY's only female member, was having difficulty fighting Dakota. Every move she made with her tonfa, he was able to counter with his pipe. He wrapped his chain around her tonfa, pulling it aside, and hit her with an uppercut from his pipe. Her head snapped up and she stumbled backwards. Dakota yanked his chain free and whipped it around for another strike. Instead of hitting the tonfa or the girl behind it, the chain instead skated off a sheet of ice. Dakota grinned at this; ice wasn't anything that could stop his semblance. He was reaching in to the pouch on his belt for a dust vial when his back was suddenly struck by what felt like half a dozen razor blades. Dakota roared in pain as Greeve's wires cut through the back of his jacket and in to the flesh beneath. Distracted by the unexpected blow, he stumbled forwards, and Rojoe took the opportunity to hit him across the face with her tonfa. The weapon collided with a satisfying crack, and Dakota collapsed to the ground. He struggle to regain his footing, but Rojoe planted her knee against his back, and held her knife to his throat.

"No!" Daniel cried out, as he realized that his friends had all been incapacitated in a matter of seconds. He reached to his back and pulled his pistol out. He flipped the safety off, and pulled the trigger.

Greeve saw Daniel pull a pistol from his back, and reacted instantly. He let go of the sword and summoned his semblance to bear. A portal burst in to existence behind him and he fell through. As soon as he was through, the portal closed, and the bullet smashed in to the pavement. Before Daniel could react, another portal appeared behind him and deposited Greeve on the ground. Greeve grabbed Daniel by the back of the head and slammed him in to the side of the overturned cop car. "Stay down," he ordered as he stripped Daniel of his weaponry, letting it fall to the ground, "Failure to do so will result in your neutralization. You have stolen Atlas weaponry, and assaulted four members of the military."

Daniel continued to struggle despite Greeve's order, but Greeve was able to hold him down. He spared another brief glance out at the rest of his team. Rojoe had her opponent's hands shackled behind his back, and Ebon was sitting calmly on the chest of his opponent while the Faunus struggled to push him off.

"Good work you two," he called out. "Rojoe, watch out for those snap attacks. He almost had you there."

Rojoe's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and she rubbed the back of her neck. "S-sorry Greeve," she apologized. "I didn't think he would put up such a fight." She looked to see if he had anything else to say, but he had already moved on to pulling Daniel's hands behind him and wrapping them with his wires.

"Tie them up, and load them in the airship," he ordered. "Yarrow, you're in charge of the street rat and hacker. Yarrow?"

Greeve looked around, but Yarrow was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, neither was that kid with the flying suit. Both of them had disappeared after the onset of the battle. Where the hell were they?

Before he could locate either of them, two disks shot out and severed the wires holding Daniel's hands together. Daniel pushed back and shoved Greeve back enough to scoop up his weapons and retreat to a safe distance. As Rojoe ducked underneath one of the chakrams, Dakota unclasped the top of his pouch and reached inside. Two melted cuffs and an elbow to the kidneys later, and Dakota had both his weapons scooped up and was moving over to where Daniel stood. The two teams finally were able to get a good look at what had just caused the distraction.

Tiberius stood in the doorway of the liquor store, blood red wine flowing off his light-ish pink suit. There were surprisingly no stains or tears to the fabric, but Tiberius still looked mad as hell.

"That, was a one hundred and twenty-year-old bottle of Château Merriweather," Tiberius seethed. "Known for its fine aged taste, it's one of the few decent things that's come from that name. A single bottle is worth at least twelve thousand Lien on the market. And you just wasted it in an attempt to further ruin my jacket. That, was a mistake."

@0@0@

"No, no, hear me out. The problem you keep coming across is not in the joint stabilizers, it's in the entire joint assembly," Yarrow explained as he leaned against Scrapmetal and waved a cigarette through the air. "What you've got on right now is barely strong enough to hold up Scrapmetal, much less tear a titanium door apart or take that many bullets from those turrets without sustaining some sort of damage. What you need is a thicker joint made of pure titanium covered with armored joint caps."

"Interesting," Lunare commented. He had a dirty notebook out, and was scribbling furiously with a minuscule nub of a pencil. "Tell me, how is it you came to this level of mechanical understanding?"

Yarrow shrugged. "Oh you know, when your big sister steals all your projects just as you nearly finish them, you move from projects and focuses quite a bit. By the time I settled on biomechanics, I was already pretty knowledgeable in many fields. I imagine that's something as a Nacht you'd understand." He laughed at the surprised look on Lunare's face. "Don't look so shocked kid, I doubt there's an inventor in Remnant who hasn't heard of the Nachts. Especially after what happened to-"

"Yarrow!"

Upon hearing his name, Yarrow calmly looked over at the commotion, and watched his leader desperately defending himself from Tiberius' flying chakrams. He sighed and dropped his cigarette, stubbing it out with his heel. "It looks like I'm being called in to help," he said with a tinge of regret. "Sorry Lunare, but it looks like I'm going to have to fight you, maybe even arrest you. If it's any consolation, I really think you're on to something with mounting a turret to Scrapmetal. Only thing wrong was stealing an Atlas cannon."

"I perfectly understand," Lunare said as he unfolded Nieh Mehr and slid in to a defensive stance.

Yarrow slid in to his own stance, and grasped the two blades of his battle axe. The handle split lengthwise, and Yarrow slid the two pieces down in to the sleeves of his lab coat. They connected to something within his coat, and the two axe heads reoriented themselves so Yarrow could grip them from directly behind the blades.

Lunare nodded in appreciation. "Your weapons doubles as a powered exoskeleton. Very impressive. Had I not already built offensive armament in to my own armor, I would have-" Lunare frowned and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Yarrow, I do not mean to alarm you, but the two fugitives we apprehended seem to have escaped."

In an instant, Yarrow's eyes went from calm to dead serious. He half turned his head to look at where they were lying, then turned back to Lunare; unsure if he was trying to trick him. "This had better not be a trick," he warned. "These people, they're really bad news." With that, he turned his head fully to check on the spot Charlene and Syrius lay on.

All he saw was cracked asphalt, and a bit of torn clothing.

Yarrow cursed and turned back to Lunare. "Lunare, I'm really sorry for this, but we've got to find those two before they escape." He flicked Nieh Mehr out of the way and slammed the bottom of an axe head in to Lunare's gut. As Lunare collapsed to the ground, Yarrow leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Check your email later. I will send you something to help you build a replacement cannon."

Yarrow opened his mouth and was about to yell to Greeve that they needed to go after the two fugitives, when he saw Greeve use his Semblance and create a portal behind him to get away from the kid throwing the chakrams. As he took a step backwards, the kid with the red hair tackled Greeve, throwing off his balance. The two stumbled, and fell toward the portal. Yarrow broke out in to a sprint to try and stop them from falling, but even with his powered exoskeleton, he was too slow. The two of them disappeared in to the inky purple vortex without a trace. Rojoe cried out in horror, and Ebon looked on in shock. These kids may have stolen a cannon and attacked them, but they didn't deserve that fate.

It was therefor to their immense shock when the two reappeared above the kid with the chakrams, still struggling. The redhead, while sporting a black eye, was completely fine. They crashed in to the chakram wielder, and the three of them sprawled across the pavement. Greeve threw the redhead off, and stared at him in shock. "How," he began, "How did,"

"Greeve!" Yarrow yelled, equally confused, but focused on the mission. "They got loose!"

Greeve shook his head and stared at the spot where Charlene and Syrius had until recently occupied, and was instantly back in the zone. "Team GREY, move out!" he ordered. Ebon and Rojoe reacted instantly, getting off Schatten and leaping to their feet respectively. Schatten and Dakota tried to stop them, but Yarrow was ready to intervene. Flipping an axe head down, he fired a bright yellow pellet from a small hole in the top. It bounced and rolled in to the middle of the group fighting, and team GREY instinctively covered their eyes. Teams DDLN and LSTR saw them do so and moved to cover their eyes as well, but were too slow.

Light as bright as the sun exploded from the pellet as it exploded in a loud report. Smoke rushed in to the battlefield, quickly obscuring the combatants. Though the smoke, Yarrow watched the blurred forms of his teammates quickly board the airship and start up the engines. As Yarrow sprinted toward the open hatch, the redhead stumbled out from the smoke, covering his eyes and blindly swinging his sword. Yarrow instinctively blocked one blow with an axe head, and slammed the other axe blade in to his side, sure that the kid's Aura would protect him from such a light blow. He leapt onto the ramp as the airship lifted off, accepting a hand from Rojoe.

"I can't believe those damn kids screwed this up!" Greeve shouted over the whine of the engines. "We were so close! So freaking close!"

"Least we know they're in Vale!" Ebon shouted back. "We can lock down ports, issue warrants. They won't leave the kingdom!"

Yarrow returned his weapon to its axe state as he stared out of the open hatch at the scene below. As the smoke cleared, he thought he saw their opponents fighting each other. But that was silly, he reasoned. Why on earth would they want to fight each other?

@0@0@

Light. A blinding bright light that blocked out everything.

Noise. His ears were still ringing

Pain. Pain in the chest.

The Voices. Rushing over him. Flowing throughout his mind. Overwhelming him without attempting to let him give in.

They have hurt you, the voices roared. The humans have betrayed you. Kill them. Kill them all!

Daniel tried to resist, but it was no use. The voices were simply too much. He let out a massive roar that quickly robbed him of his voice. Energy coursed through him, robbing the axe wound of its potency.

Dakota looked up at the roar, and blearily saw Daniel standing with blood dripping down his chest. "Ah hell," he muttered. "Daniel, try not to move. You've got a pretty big cut on your-" his voice trailed off as he noticed the hate on Daniel's face, and the red that had completely replaced his normal green-brown eyes. "Daniel?" he asked in a cautionary worried tone.

With another roar, Daniel charged Dakota, swinging his sword in an arc through the air. Dakota reacted instantly, blocking the blow and delivering a punch to the kidneys. A blow that would normally have Daniel on his knees felt like a mild tap to him. He aimed his pistol at Dakota's face and pulled the trigger. One, two, three times in rapid succession. Dakota's head snapped back and he was thrown to the ground. Groaning, he looked up to see Daniel pointing his pistol right at Dakota's chest. Dakota rolled out of the way as Daniel emptied his magazine where he lay a second before, and leapt to his feet. He whipped his chain around and knocked the pistol from Daniel's hand, sending it skidding off under the police car.

Schatten took the momentary lapse in fighting to tackle Daniel to the ground. He wrestled with Daniel, trying to catch his sword and wrench it from his hand. "What the hell are you doing Daniel?" he demanded to know. Daniel simply responded by biting down on Schatten's arm. His Aura, weakened by Ebon landing on his chest failed under the massive pressure. Schatten roared in pain as Daniel bit through his leather jacket and in to the flesh underneath, bright red blood flowing from the wound.

"Out of the way Schatten," Tiberius demanded as his Chakrams began orbiting his head and spinning rapidly. "I can't get a clear shot of him like this."

Growling in pain, Schatten sheathed his claws and punched Daniel in the jaw with the knuckleduster. It didn't hurt Daniel, but the force was enough to dislodge Daniel's teeth from Schatten's jacketed arm.

With Schatten free, Tiberius raised his arm to send his Chakrams in to Daniel. Dakota saw his movement and held up his hand for him to wait. "Daniel, stop this," Dakota demanded. "You're better than this. Fight whatever's making you do this!"

Daniel's only reply was to growl menacingly and advance toward Dakota and Schatten. Tiberius didn't wait any longer. His two Chakrams stopped orbiting Tiberius and launched themselves at Daniel. Daniel saw this however, and blocked both of them with the flat of his sword. The Chakrams returned to Tiberius, and he sent them flying back toward Daniel. He deflected them again, and ducked under a punch Schatten threw at him. He balled his left fist up and socked Schatten in between the legs. The wolf Faunus whimpered and fell to his knees. As Daniel rose back up to his full height, Dakota leapt onto his back and wrapped his chain around Daniel's neck. Daniel gagged and growled, pulling at the chain angrily; but Dakota refused to let him go. The voices in Daniel's head were in an uproar, furious that this human was riding Daniel like that. They made Daniel buck forward, throwing Dakota over his head.

Dakota landed on his back, and Daniel was on him instantly, punching and kicking every inch of Schatten he could find. He pulled Dakota's pipe from his limp fingers, and raised it over Dakota's head, intent on bashing Dakota's brains onto the asphalt. Dakota squinted through swollen eyes at Daniel, trying to see any signs of his friend in the monster kneeling over him. All he could see was glowing red eyes and a vicious snarl.

Daniel swung the pipe down, but was suddenly lifted up off the ground. Lunare was flying through the air and had Daniel by the collar of his jacket. He pinned Daniel to the wall of the liquor store, and twisted Daniel's hand until he was forced to release the pipe. Daniel tried to bite Lunare, but Lunare simply maneuvered out of this bite radius. He then shoved Daniel to the side and flicked his wrists outwards. An Aural disruptor flicked in to his hand and he leveled it at Daniel. "Forgive me Daniel," he said, "but this has to stop before someone gets hurt."

Daniel ignored Lunare's comment and charged his friend. Lunare sidestepped the attack and hit Daniel in the gut with the disruptor. He fell to his knees from the pain, but was quickly getting back to his feet when Lunare hit him again. And again. And again. It took five jolts from the disruptor to send Daniel to his knees. A swift knee to the forhead, and it was all over. Daniel fell in to the sea of glass shards, groaning in pain.

The voices were scrambled now, nothing more than confused and unorganized demands. They quieted down in to whispers before finally disappearing altogether. With their absence, Daniel was finally able to think straight once again. And as he did so, the pain returned in full force, along with the realization of what he just did. He scrambled to his feet, wincing as his chest wounds stung. Lunare raised his pistols again, but Daniel raised a hand, begging him to stop. He limped around Lunare and scrambled over to where Dakota was being helped up by Tiberius. "Dakota!" he cried out in a raspy voice. "Oh no, I-I'm so sorry. Are you all right?"

Dakota groaned and reached in to his pouch, pulling out a vial of ice Dust. He broke it open and held it on his face, moaning as it provided instant relief. "You, are one hell of a fighter," he said. "If I have to fight you again, it'll be too soon."

"That wasn't me," Daniel said. "It was, I don't know what it was."

A knuckleduster clad hand reached up and pulled another ice Dust vial from Dakota's pouch. "Whatever it was, it has a very strong punch," Schatten said in a voice several octaves higher than normal. He too broke the vial open and held the dust to his affected organ.

Satisfied that Daniel was back to normal, Tiberius grabbed Daniel by the shoulders and turned him to face him. He pulled Daniel's denim jacket off and ripped his shirt apart where Yarrow had struck him. "The denim appears to have absorbed the worst of the blow," Tiberius reported. "You'll still have to get stitches, but you should survive. There isn't any bruising, so internal bleeding should be kept at a minimum." He took Daniel's hand and placed it firmly on the cuts. "Hold this here until you can receive proper medical attention."

Daniel was about to ask how and where Tiberius learned about medicine, when he suddenly heard sirens approaching. He looked up to see where they were coming from, and to his surprise and horror, saw that a crowd had formed around the fighters. They were staring at the five teens with a mixture of confusion and horror. Daniel tried to raise a hand to inform them that they were all okay, and they all backed up in fear. With a sinking feeling, Daniel recognized their faces. It was the same one civilians had when they encountered Grimm. They had seen the fight. Worse yet, they recognized him, and knew who he was.

Daniel, Dakota, and Lunare's attempt at improving Daniel's image had failed horribly. And there was no escaping what was to come.

 

Hey Guys!
Sorry for not posting last month, I got caught up in finals and getting my old job back once I made it back from college.  But now I'm here, and here's the chapter I've been waiting to post for a long time!  Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you all to team GREY!  Like team LSTR, they were graciously donated by one of my friends when I was in need of another team for To Be Human.  I enjoyed writing the fight scene between the two groups, and I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as well.
Don't forget to drop a kudos or a comment if you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all next month!
-Noah

5: Chapter Five

Daniel knew the backlash against him was going to be bad. He knew that when his secret inevitably was revealed, that there would be people that were scared of him and hated what he was.

He just had no idea it could be this bad.

"We're live in Beacon's main courtyard, where hundreds of Vale's citizens have flocked in response to the recent reveal of a student residing within these very walls who is very different from you and I," Lisa Lavender reported as she stood in front of a horde of both humans and Faunus chanting slogans and waving signs. "Daniel Grigio, age seventeen, is does not generate an Aura, making him the first known human not to do so. A public that once held sympathy for the Huntsman in training after he and two other classmates were kidnapped by former Beacon professor Arthur Glas, has now turned against a boy they once saw as a victim of an insane man. As revealed by his father last week in an exclusive interview with VNN, Daniel is also a runaway, having stolen supplies from his own father and gone against his wishes to become a Huntsman. Public perception further worsened for Mr. Grigio when a video surfaced, showing him and several other Beacon students engaging other Huntsmen after a high speed chase. After the Atlas personnel retreated, Mr. Grigio seemed to suddenly lose control and attack his own teammates. It is unclear why he attacked them, but several Grimm experts believe it to range from residual Grimm traits to-"

Daniel shut off the Scroll and slid it in the pocket of his jacket hanging over a chair. He didn't need to listen to the news to know what was going on. All he needed to do was open the blinds to reveal the horde in the courtyard. Their angry shouts bounced off of the windowpanes as they waved their signs, the nicest of which told him to go back to his filthy Grimm kind.

"Well, you certainly got your name out there," Dakota said sarcastically as he entered the room. Daniel turned around to see him holding a stack of newspapers under his arm. He dropped them on the bed beside Daniel and crouched down next to his dresser, searching for a pair of earplugs. "I don't think the news has ever printed the same story this much. You've become really popular from this."

"That bad, huh?" Daniel said. He could sense the sarcasm dripping from Dakota's voice.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Dakota confirmed. "VNN and all the major news channels from the other kingdoms are all playing the same not biased yet totally favoring one side BS. Newspapers are picking it up as well. VNN, The Daily Mantle; hell, Eris from The Beacon Post got off of whatever she's usually on and wrote a coherent article."

Daniel twisted around and reached for the topmost newspaper from the stack, titled "Crazy Psycho Ginger Gives Backing to Derogatory Jokes". As he did so, he hissed in pain as the stitches holding his chest wound together were strained.

"You alright man?" Lewis called from the floor next to his bed. He was reorganizing his stuff on top of the refrigerator disguised as a mattress. Lunare's business was beginning to pick up, and he was needing to come into their room more and more to make deposits and withdrawals; forcing Lewis to reorganize his stuff so Lunare could more easily get to the Rage cans.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Daniel replied. "I keep forgetting about these stupid stitches."

Still not assured, Lewis stood up from his mess and walked over to where Daniel sat, motioning for him to take his shirt off. Daniel groaned, but complied with the unofficial team medic, removing his white t-shirt to display a line of stitches holding his chest together. Lewis' initial assessment hadn't taken into account for the flap of skin that held back most of the blood and concealed the massive damage. Yarrow's blow had hit him diagonally across the chest, creating a nine inch long cut. It had taken nearly a dozen stitches to close the deep wound, and he felt them every time he stretched his body.

Lewis kneeled down in front of Daniel's chest and lightly prodded the stitches. "You fine man," he commented. "Just don't pull one out, or else we'll have to put you in a cone."

Any other day, the team probably would've laughed out loud at Lewis' joke. Unfortunately this was not any other day. With the incessant roar of the crowd outside his window, they were all finding it hard to concentrate on their studies, or even get any homework done. To make matters worse, Daniel found very little sympathy among the other huntsmen in training. Whether it was because they themselves couldn't get any sleep, or that they sided with the crowd, Daniel and team DDLN by association were almost completely ostracized by their classmates. The once safe haven of Beacon had turned into another prison for Daniel, just like his old town. At least with his father, he always had the option of running away. Now he couldn't even walk outside without being recognized and instantly set upon.

Seeing that his joke didn't go over well with the sleep deprived group, Lewis moved back to his junk pile and continued to reorganize. With his chest still smarting slightly, Daniel pulled his shirt back over his head and picked the newspaper up. He breezed over the front page's content before angrily crumpling it and tossing it at the trashcan next to the door. It hit the wall next to the trashcan, and fell to the carpet below. Even more furious that he had missed, Daniel furiously stood up and marched over to the insulting newspaper, ignoring the whispering voices in his head as they rose above the noise of the crowd.. He grabbed the balled up paper and with a grunt, threw it point blank range at the trashcan. His anger caused him to miss, and he bent down to pick it up again.

"Chill out Daniel." Dakota said as he screwed his earbuds back in, "It's just a newspaper."

Daniel stood up and whipped around to glare at Dakota. "Or what Harding?" he said in almost a growl. "I'm angry, and I'm tired of holding it back. I'm angry this stupid mob outside our room. I'm tired of being treated like an outcast because of my condition. I'm angry at this whole stupid situation! And I'm pissed off because it's cold as hell in here and my stupid jacket is RUINED!" He yelled as he pointed at the jacket laying over his chair. Yarrow's cut had sliced through both sides of the front, leaving a large cut that no one had even bothered to repair.

"Daniel, you need to calm down now," Dakota said, his voice abruptly taking on a hard edge. "Your eyes are starting to change again."

Dakota's words cut through Daniel's anger, confusing him greatly. He turned to look at a mirror and saw through his reflection that his eyes had indeed changed from a hazel brown to a dark red with pitch black irises and pupils. They were the eyes of the Grimm.

Daniel's anger was replaced instantly by fear as he recognized the voices now. In his rampage, he had not noticed they were getting steadily louder and louder, telling him to kill everyone in the room as well as anyone else in the school. His right hand slid across his body towards where his sword normally sat, had it not been unhooked from his belt currently.

"No, not again! Please not again!" Daniel cried in terror as he clutched his head with his free hand, trying to will the voices away. As if to spite him, the voices only grew louder as his panic rose. And the louder they got, the greater his panic. The greater his panic, the louder they-

A firm hand grasped Daniel's shoulder from behind. Daniel instantly loosened up, becoming as limp as a wet noodle. All the anger, all the fear, all of the everything disappeared from his mind. All that remained was a burning wish to obey the every command of whoever was holding onto his shoulder. The grip was maintained for several moments as Daniel felt his heartbeat slowly decrease before finally coming to rest at its normal tempo. The hand released his shoulder, and Nick stepped out from behind him. He set a paper bag on a table and began pulling out Dust cartridges and vials of powdered Dust, separating them into several piles.

Dakota let loose a breath he didn't know he had been holding and slid out of the defensive stance he had automatically slid into. "Thanks for the save Nick," he said. "I didn't know that worked on Humans."

Nick shrugged as he collected several vials of Dust and slid them into his jacket for safe keeping until he could get down to Lunare's garage and create his special reduced shot. "Works on critters 'n Grimm without Aura," he rasped out. "Guess it works on Daniel."

"Yeah, guess it does," Daniel muttered bitterly, hiding his disappointment behind a stone exterior. He was grateful for Nick's save, but he would've rather not known if Nick's Semblance worked on him. Now he had another reminder of how he was different from everyone else.

Not noticing Daniel's misery, Nick moved over next to Dakota and peered out the window. He frowned and tried to say something, but it came out as a dry rasp. He tried again to no avail before pulling out a pad of paper and writing something down and handing it to Dakota.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either," Dakota said after briefly glancing at the note. "You'd think they had jobs to go do or something, instead of protest out there. And seriously, how the hell do they keep this up overnight? You'd think that they'd at least give us the night to-"

Dakota stopped mid-sentence as he and Nick ducked and dove for cover as a brick crashed through the window, throwing glass everywhere. It bounced off Dakota's bed and skidded to a halt on the carpet. The sound of the protesters roared the now open window, twice the intensity it was before.

"Oh for the love of, what was that for?" Dakota yelled over the clamor. He scooped up the brick and tossed it out the broken window. "I can't believe this!" he yelled to his teammates. "We've gotten no sleep for the past five nights! How are we supposed to get any now?"

There was a knock on the door, which Daniel ignored. It was probably someone coming by to congratulate him for finding a way to make the protesters even louder. When the knock was repeated, Daniel turned around to address it. "We get it, they're loud!" he shouted at the door. "You don't need to tell us that!"

To Daniel's mild surprise and extreme annoyance, there was a third knock on the door. Lewis stood up and reached for the knob.

"Forget it Lewis," Daniel called out. "I don't care who it is, because they're probably here to be grade A assholes and that's the last thing I-"

"Mr. Grigio," a voice interrupted that made Daniel's blood run ice cold. Slowly he turned to see the frowning bespectacled face of Glynda Goodwitch.

Daniel dry swallowed. "Good afternoon Professor Goodwitch," he whispered, "How can we help you?"

Professor Goodwitch frowned, then raised her riding crop to a stance not unlike the one Daniel himself took when he used his sword. Daniel cringed back, expecting the crop to strike him across the face or somewhere else. Instead, Professor Goodwitch waved it at the shattered window between Daniel and Dakota's beds. Pieces of glass rose from the floor and bed, piecing themselves back together in the windowsill. In seconds the window was whole again, and the din of the crowd was reduced to its original dull roar.

"Professor Ozpin would like to have a word with you Mr. Grigio," Professor Goodwitch said. "If you will follow me, I can show you to his office."

"That's okay, I know the way," Daniel remarked. He smoothed a few wrinkles on the front of his shirt and made a move to step past Professor Goodwitch when he was stopped by her riding crop abruptly moving to block his exit.

"My directions were to make sure you went directly to his office," Professor Goodwitch said, her words dripping with her distaste for her assignment. "And while I do not wish to play escort to a student, I will make certain you arrive at Professor Ozpin's office without any deviations."

Daniel looked over at his team, seeing the worry and concern in their eyes. He wasn't planning on making a run for it when Professor Goodwitch arrived, but now he was seriously considering jumping out the window and trying his luck with the crowds. The fact that she hinted that she was there to make sure he didn't make a break for it did not bode well.

"Now Mr. Grigio," Professor Goodwitch firmly insisted. She lightly tapped her riding crop against her leg, and Daniel jumped at the motion. "Yes Mam," he said as he followed her out to the hallway. As they began their trek down the long hallway, Daniel glanced back at the door to his team's dorm. A strange feeling crept over him, one extremely similar to the one he felt the day he was strapped down to a gurney by Professor Glas and wheeled out of the lab where Dakota and Velvet were.

He felt like this was one of the last times he'd be seeing his team.

@0@0@

"Your staff's ability to handle the situation is irrelevant Ozpin," one of the shadowy figures on the wall stated. "The fact of the matter is that allowing this Grimm child to attend Beacon has put your students in unacceptable danger."

"You mean, more danger than they already are?" Ozpin asked, taking a sip out of his mug.

"Precisely. The council has seen footage of the fight, and are very concerned as to whether your students would defend against this attack. It took four other students to subdue this creature, and not without sustaining serious injuries."

Ozpin opened his mouth to counter their claim, but was halted by an alert on his scroll. He opened it to reveal camera footage of Glynda Goodwitch and Daniel Grigio riding the elevator up to his office. Sighing, he closed the scroll and looked back up at the council.

"Councilmen, while I appreciate your concerns over Beacon's Aura-less student Daniel Grigio; I'm afraid I must cut this, impromptu meeting short. I have a time sensitive meeting scheduled that I simply can't put off."

If Ozpin could see the councilmen's faces, he had no doubt that they would be furious at the interruption. "Very well Ozpin," they finally conceded, "but this discussion is not over. The council is very displeased with your lack of communication in this matter." One by one, the video feeds of the council members fizzled out as each individual member ended the call.

Ozpin sighed and took a moment to compose his thoughts. Between reading reports by Huntsmen and Huntresses on Grimm movements, running a combat school, and dealing with complaints involving Daniel Grigio, a meeting with the council was the last thing he wanted to do today. Finally looking up, he called out "Enter," to the occupants of the elevator.

The elevator doors slid open with a quiet hiss, letting Daniel and Professor Goodwitch enter his office.

"Hello Daniel," Ozpin said. "How are your injuries healing up?"

Daniel shrugged, instantly regretting the action as his wounds twinged once more. "Slowly sir," he replied through gritted teeth. "This would be easier if I had an Aura."

"As are many things," Ozpin said. "I trust you remember the warning I gave the day you were accepted, about how this path would not be easy for you."

"I do," Daniel said shortly as he gingerly touched the still throbbing wound through his shirt.

"And despite this handicap, you have thrived here at Beacon," Ozpin offered. "In the months you have been at Beacon, you have become a leader of your own team, killed several Grimm on your own, and managed to defeat two separate members of Beacon's staff in combat."

Daniel fidgeted and looked down at his feet. He hadn't told anyone besides his own team and LSTR about the voices and their effect on him, although he was certain Glas had his suspicions. He'd initially planned to keep the voices in check so teams DDLN and LSTR took the secret to their grave, but with videos now circulating around the Internet of him blindly attacking his classmates, it probably was for the best that he told Professor Ozpin. He opened his mouth to begin confessing, but Professor Ozpin had begun talking once more.

"However, there are those that feel you are not yet meeting your full potential," Ozpin said. "And of those, one has expressed a desire to meet with you."

Professor Ozpin pressed a button underneath his desk, and a hologram blinked to life. In it stood a miniature figure wearing a white overcoat and black sweater. He had black hair that was graying at the temples, and a a peculiar metallic patch over his right eyebrow. He stood stiffly at attention, although he seemed to visibly relax after the hologram was activated.

"Hello Daniel," the figure stated with a hint of warmth creeping into an otherwise wise steely exterior. "I am General Ironwood of the Atlesian military. How would you like to have an Aura?"

@0@0@

Shout out to Ghost Church on Tumblr for letting me mention one of his characters and the Beacon Post, a recap of RWBY episodes with an, interesting twist.  Go check him out, it's a great way to pass the hiatus and days in-between new episodes.

Hope you all liked this chapter, sorry about the cliffhanger there.  Feel free to drop a comment or even subscribe if you enjoyed what you saw and want to see more.  See you next month!

6: Chapter Six

Word of the wise: don't take a nap when it's update day. You tend to subsequently forget, then go play RWBY Dungeons and Dragons that a friend created. Sorry about missing update day yesterday! Hopefully you all don't hunt me down and castrate me in front of the RoosterTeeth headquarters.

To say Daniel was shocked would be like saying Mountain Glen was perhaps a mistake.

He thought for sure he was dreaming. That he'd somehow managed to fall asleep, and the events of the afternoon were nothing but a strange dream. He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, tasting blood. He didn't abruptly wake up in his bed, so that meant this was real.

He couldn't believe it. Someone was offering to give him an Aura? He didn't even know that Aura could just be 'given' to someone, much less that a lowly freshman going to a different school would qualify.

"Um, come again sir- General sir- sir General- sir?" Daniel stumbled, unsure how to address the head of the largest military organization on the planet.

General Ironwood chuckled at Daniel's reaction. "Mr. Ironwood will do for now, son." He turned around and focused his attention on Professor Ozpin. "I didn't know you picked them this timid Oz," he said, "I certainly hope they're up to scratch for the Vytal tournament next year."

"Well, I imagine Mr. Grigio didn't expect a famous General to offer him such an opportunity today," Professor Ozpin replied, "I would be more surprised if he wasn't a bit taken aback."

"Sorry sir, I-" Daniel paused and took a deep breath, composing his thoughts. "I just didn't expect, well, this. I mean, how is this possible?"

"Until recently, it wasn't," General Ironwood admitted. "However, several months ago, a team of researchers funded by Atlas made several interesting breakthroughs in Aura studies. Using these breakthroughs, there is a procedure developed that we believe can give you an Aura."

Slowly, Daniel was realizing that this wasn't a joke, but instead was the real thing. He was actually being offered an Aura!

Daniel's face was evidently showing signs of astonishment, as General Ironwood smiled slightly after seeing his expression. "I assume by your expression that you are interested?"

"I, yes! Of course sir, Mr. Ironwood!" Daniel hastily replied, mustering up the best smile he could do in his sleep deprived state. "I just, wow! How, how did you come up with a procedure so quickly?"

General Ironwood cocked his head to the side, seeming to think over his words carefully. "Unfortunately I can't delve into the specifics just yet; the project and results are still top secret. What I can say is that the procedure we have in mind was derived from a project the researchers in question are now conducting. I personally discussed it with them, and they tell me there is a very good chance that the procedure will be successful."

Daniel took a deep breath to compose himself. "Mr. Ironwood, thank you so much for this opportunity. I graciously-"

"Daniel," a cautionary voice rang out. Surprised, Daniel turned to Professor Ozpin, whom had been so quiet that he had honestly forgotten was there. "This isn't a decision to be made lightly. I discussed the agreement with General Ironwood before calling you here, and there are some points you need to consider before agreeing outright."

This made Daniel pause. While the offer was initially good enough to agree to outright, Professor Ozpin's hesitation was enough to make him think twice. He turned back to the hologram of General Ironwood on Professor Ozpin's desk. "What points is he talking about sir?"

General Ironwood cast a glance over at Professor Ozpin, but answered Daniel's question. "Well to begin with, this is an untested procedure. We don't know how your body will react, and quite frankly, it could be fatal. There's also the issue of compensation."

Daniel frowned. "Compensation? If it's money Mr. Ironwood, I don't think I can repay-"

"Daniel, in return for funding your procedure, General Ironwood has asked for your transfer from Beacon to Atlas Academy," Professor Ozpin answered.

Daniel felt like he'd been sucker punched in the gut. He gasped for breath, trying to fill his lungs once more. "Leave Beacon sir? I can't do that! I'm team leader of team Dandelion!"

"Which is one reason why I am very hesitant to allow your transfer," Professor Ozpin admitted. "However,"

"However there are protocols Huntsmen Academies put in place should a team member no longer be able to attend," General Ironwood finished. "If you choose to go through with the procedure, your team will be taken care of."

Daniel clenched and unclenched his fingers as he nervously sweated, trying to weigh his options. On one hand, he wouldn't be so defenseless anymore. Every time he'd been in actual combat, he'd either had teammates who could actually use their aura, or he'd been knocked around until the voices took over and he ended up attacking both friend and foe. Having an Aura could mean an end to the voices, an end to being kicked down by his foes!

But on the other hand, getting an Aura meant loosing everything he'd gained at Beacon. He'd met friends that he'd give his life for, and they were willing to do so to rescue him! Something like that, he didn't know if he could, or should, give up.

But at the same time, being able to wield an Aura,

"Daniel, as much as I would like to see you at Atlas, I do agree with Professor Ozpin," General Ironwood said, interrupting Daniel's thoughts. "This is a very big decision, and I wouldn't want you to make a rash choice you might regret later."

Daniel let out a breath and relaxed slightly. If he didn't have to make his decision now, he could talk to his teammates. They'd probably tell him to stay, but it would still be good to hear their thoughts. He opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but stopped when he saw General Ironwood furrowed brow. He seemed to be contemplating a thought.

"Oz, I don't suppose I could convince you to let me borrow Daniel this weekend?" General Ironwood asked, "I would be more than happy to arrange a tour of the campus, and give him an idea what Atlas is like."

Professor Ozpin took his time to answer General Ironwood's request. There were several times that Daniel thought his headmaster was about to say something, but changed his mind at the last moment. Finally he took a long sip from his coffee mug and looked at General Ironwood's hologram. "I don't see why not. If Daniel is agreeable, I will alert Daniel's professors, and order a ticket on the next flight to Atlas."

General Ironwood laughed. "No need Oz. My trip, my treat. I'll send an Atlesian craft to pick him up. What do you say, Daniel?"

Daniel walked back to his dorm, thoughts swirling through his head as he tried to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of his options. Distracted by these thoughts, it wasn't until he was inches away from the student that he realized they were about to collide. Daniel instantly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a collision. As he turned back around to apologize, he was abruptly faced by a much larger student towering over him.

"Hey, you're that kid without an Aura, aren't you?" the student asked. "Danny, right?"

"Uh, I prefer Daniel but yeah," Daniel corrected.

"Yeah, Daniel. Pretty weird name for a Huntsman, am I right? Then again," the student said as his voice dropped an octave, "You're a pretty weird kid, aren't you Daniel?"

Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by the student when he put a finger to his lips. "Listen Danny boy, me and some of the other students here have been talking. We're looking out for your safety, you know. Guy like you who doesn't have an Aura could get hurt as a Huntsman. Thats why we don't really feel Beacon is a good fit for you."

Daniel face contorted into a mask of confusion. "What, what do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Well you see Danny boy, you not having an Aura makes you a helluva lot like the Grimm, who don't have Aura either. And we're training to kill the Grimm. So," the teen leaned in close, and Daniel automatically backed up, "The longer you stay here, the more likely one of us is gonna mistake you for a Grimm, and have a little accident. Capishe?"

"Capishe," Daniel answered. He had no intention of following this guy's demands, but he was willing to say anything to get him out of his face.

"Great!" the student said, abruptly backing up. "Glad we had this conversation Danny boy. I'd hate to see a fellow student get hurt." He slapped Daniel on the back, and Daniel stumbled forward from the force of the blow, gasping in pain as he clutched his chest wound. The student began walking towards the elevator, calling out over his shoulder, "See you around, Daniel!"

Daniel stood still for a moment, then peeked over his shoulder to be certain that the student wasn't about to sneak up on him while he wasn't looking. Only when the elevator doors closed on the student did Daniel breathe a sigh of relief. That guy had seriously freaked him out. Daniel wasn't sure if he was being hostile, or just generally creepy. But surely he wouldn't actually try and hurt Daniel. Right?

Daniel suddenly found it very important to get back to his dorm as soon as possible, which he did so immediately.

"Yes Ma, I'm fine," Nick whispered into his scroll grateful that Professor Goodwitch had come back to repair their broken window. Otherwise he'd never be able to be heard with his whisper of a voice. "I told you, I've been busy at Beacon. Yes Ma, I've been eating. No Ma, I'm not sick." Nick listened to his scroll for a moment before sighing exasperatedly, which for him sounded like sandpaper on gravel. "Ma, I told you already; I sound different because someone stabbed a damn knife in my throat!"

on the other side of the room, Dakota and Lewis sat on Daniel's bed watching their teammate swing on his hammock while trying to speak to his mother. It was something to be marveled at; Nicholas Ochre was visibly flustered, and the conversation had been going on for less than a minute.

Dakota smiled slightly as Nick held his scroll away from his ear as his mother's voice raised several decibels, and he was actually able to pick out several phrases. She was yelling something about Nick getting into fights, how she'd tan his hide if he got expelled, and how he'd better've won or else he'd be a disgrace to the family name; losing to some city kid. As Nick tried to explain how he'd gone in to save a friend, and that technically the group won, Dakota leaned over to Lewis. "Poor Nick," he murmured. "Getting blindsided like that; no man deserves such a fate."

"Yeah," Lewis said, slowly shaking his head. "His mom is freaky man. We should rescue him or something."

"Yes well, I think we've done our fair share of rescuing this semester," Dakota said as he repositioned himself on his bed into a more comfortable position. "Let Daniel do the honors this time."

"I don't know man," Lewis said as he watched Nick enter a violent coughing fit, and his mother yell that he was sick and that he was hiding it from her. "Daniel's been gone a while. What if he doesn't come back? What if Professor Ozpin expels him, or Atlas picks him up to continue Glas' experiments? We could never see Daniel again!"

Dakota shook his head. "Doubt it. One, Daniel still has stuff in here. I know it's not a lot," he said, glancing over at Daniel's replacement backpack, and the clothing drawers he knew were virtually empty compared to some of the others, "but he'd still come back for it. Two, where the hell you get Atlas coming to experiment on him?"

Lewis opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the rattling of the doorknob. It turned, and Daniel strode into the room, casting a glance over his shoulder before closing the door behind him. Nick saw his chance and pressed the scroll to his ear once more. "I got to go Ma. Leader walked in. Yes Ma, I'll call more. Ye-yes I'll try cough drops. I love you Ma. Tell Thomas to go f- sorry Ma. Bye." Nick ended the call and let the scroll slip from his grip and clatter to the floor. He let out a long gravelly sigh punctuated by several coughs as he slid further down into his hammock, pulling his hat over his face.

Daniel glanced over at his teammate, frowning slightly in confusion. "Um, do I want to know what that was about? Or who Thomas is?"

Dakota waved his hand. "Nah, you had to be there. So what's up? Ozpin didn't kick you out or anything, right?"

"Or Atlas trying to experiment on you?" Lewis asked nervously.

Surprise flashed over Daniel's face, and he eyed Lewis, trying to read him. "How did you," he began, "nevermind. I'm fine. Totally fine. Fine as can be, really."

Dakota and Lewis looked at each other, mentally arguing who should be the one to ask. After several seconds of debate, Dakota rolled his eyes and turned to face Daniel. "So, what did Professor Ozpin want?"

"Not much really," Daniel admitted. "It was more for another Headmaster. General Ironwood from Atlas. Wanted to do a procedure that would give me an Aura if I left Beacon and went to Atlas instead."

The room was completely silent. Even the crowd outside seemed to have died down. Dakota and Lewis looked at Daniel, mouths open in pure shock. Nick threw his legs over to the other side of his hammock, and tried to say something, only to be unable to make any noise besides a dry wheeze. He shoved his hands into his pocket to pull out his pencil and notepad. He scribbled roughly onto a sheet of paper, tore it off, and strode over to hand it to Daniel.

WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY?

"I didn't agree if that's what you're thinking," Daniel answered after reading the note. "It was tempting though."

His three teammates let out breaths they hadn't realized they were holding, and visibly relaxed.

"Don't ever drop something like us again, and not immediately clarify," Dakota begged. "I am way too damn young to die from a heart attack."

"I knew you wouldn't leave us," Lewis said, "The spirits said you still have an important role to play."

Nick flipped to a fresh piece of paper, and wrote out another note, this time much slower. Daniel read it, and looked at his team. "Okay, seriously; Lewis was the only one who was positive I didn't say yes? You guys really don't have much confidence in me, do you?"

"Well, it's an Aura dude," Dakota said. "If I didn't have an Aura either, I'd be pretty damn tempted myself. How were they going to even give you one?"

Daniel shrugged "No clue. Mr. Ironwood said it was all classified, or something like that." He strode over to his dresser, and began pulling out clothes, tossing them onto his bed next to Dakota and Lewis. The two of them quickly stood up and moved aside as several of Daniel's underwear landed where they were sitting moments before.

"Wait, I thought you said no?" Dakota asked, suspicion written on his face.

"I did," Daniel answered as he compared two pairs of jeans before selecting the one with no holes and tossing it on his bed. "Mr. Ironwood offered to show me around Atlas. Figured I should get out of Beacon for a weekend, so I said yes."

"That is so cool man!" Lewis exclaimed. "I've like, always wanted to go see Atlas Academy from the inside!"

"Yeah, and with you gone, the crowds might dissipate," Dakota added. "Hell, I might even get a good night's sleep! When do you leave?"

Daniel paused in his packing. His shoulders slumped, and he replied in a much lower voice. "I leave tomorrow afternoon. Should give you at least two, maybe three nights if you're lucky."

Dakota pumped his fist in celebration. "Hell yeah!"

Daniel ignored him, and returned to packing. Lewis went over to their shared closet and pulled out Daniel's school uniform, which he handed over to Daniel. "Here you go man. Dress for success."

Nick grabbed a bottle of water from his nightstand, and drank deeply from it. "Dress for cold too," he said in a whisper of his usual whisper. "Atlas is colder than a Schnee at a-" Unable to continue, Nick burst into a fit of coughs, and had to turn away from the others.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Daniel murmured. "Wish I had a coat or something in case my uniform doesn't cut it. I could probably borrow that wool cap Lunare has again, but I wonder if he'd-"

Daniel was interrupted by Nick shrugging off his large brown duster, and placing it in Daniel's hands. Daniel looked at it in surprise, awkwardly murmured thanks, then placed it next to his school uniform. "Right," he sighed as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything."

"Toiletries?" Dakota suggested helpfully.

"Sleepwear?" Nick whispered.

"Earplugs in case the crowds follow you to Atlas and continue protesting?" Lewis offered.

Daniel groaned in exhaustion. "Gods I hope not. I need this vacation."

7: Chapter Seven

“Control, this is Flight Eight-One-Three requesting permission to land on runway Four-Five.”

“Flight Eight-One-Three, you are clear to land on runway Four-Five.  Be advised, there are work crews attempting to remove the snow drifts piling up on the sides of the runway.  Don’t let your wings hit them.”

“Confirmed Control, thanks for the warning.  Flight Eight-One-Three turning final runway Four-Five.”

Daniel sat in the rear seat of the fighter jet, watching as the pilot banked and turned, bringing the snowy runway directly in front of them.  He flicked a few switches, and Daniel heard the mechanical whir of the landing gear and flaps being lowered.  The pilot increased their descent, and Daniel reflexively braced himself, holding his backpack between his knees even tighter.  There hadn’t been anything in the way of cargo space on the fighter, and he’d been forced to hold it there for the entirety of the four hour flight.

Daniel felt a light jolt as the jet made contact with the runway.  The pilot applied the brakes, and within seconds, they were rolling down the runway at a walking pace.  Following the control tower’s suggestion, the pilot steered clear of the snow drifts, even drifting off the dotted lines to avoid both the drifts and the workers.  Several minutes of taxiing followed before they reached a designated parking space.  As the pilot began shutting off the engine, Daniel pulled off the helmet he’d been given, and opened up his backpack to grab the wool cap.  He shoved it over his hair and unbuckled his harness at the pilot’s direction.  Finally, the canopy was unlocked, and slowly began to rise.

The moment the canopy was cracked, the lukewarm air created by Daniel and the pilot’s body heat was whisked away and replaced by the bone chilling winds of the northern kingdom.  Daniel grabbed the open front of Nick’s jacket, and began frantically buttoning the buttons in an effort to block the cold air.

As the ground crews pushed a metal ladder over towards the parked jet, Daniel felt he should say something to the pilot who had just given him a ride.  He leaned forward and reached around the ejection seat and tapped on the pilot’s shoulder.  The seat prevented Daniel from seeing the man’s face, but his helmet turned, and Daniel knew that he was paying attention.

“Um, thanks for the, ah, ride,” Daniel stammered off.  The fuselage came up to just below his neck, and his neck and face were already beginning to feel numb from the blisteringly cold wind.

The back of the man’s helmet bobbed up and down.  “You’re welcome kid.  Kind of odd flying a kid from Vale to Atlas, but nice to have an easy run for once.”

“Yeah, you fly, really good.” Daniel added.

“Well its not like I had six pedals to deal with,” the pilot said with a bit of a laugh.  “Besides, Atlas made most of their conventional planes with standardized controls so simple, a monkey could fly it; if they had the keycard of course.

Daniel was about to continue the conversation, but it was at that moment the ladder clanged against the hull of the fighter, signaling it was time to get off.  The pilot didn’t hesitate to leave, pausing only to grab the special keycard from the ignition system before standing up on his seat and swinging his legs over the side.  Practically sliding down the ladder, he stretched his back and handed the keycard to one of the technicians before catching a ride on a service vehicle and driving off into the depths of the base.  In the time it had taken the man to disappear, Daniel had only managed to learn the technicians wanted him to leave his helmet on the seat.  Standing up awkwardly, Daniel shouldered his backpack and did as the technicians asked.  He smirked slightly at the cartoonish image of a flaming ninja on the side of the helmet, then threw himself over the side of the fighter and onto the ladder; albeit with much less grace.

“Welcome Mr. Grigio,” one of the technicians said to Daniel.  General Ironwood is waiting for you in the hangar.  If you will follow me, I can direct you to him.”

“N-not much of a fan of the c-cold either then, eh?” Daniel asked, hugging his chest.  What little protection the cockpit of the fighter had given him was now gone, and even with both his school outfit and Nick’s jacket, his entire body was freezing!  Only the coldest of days in Vale got to these temperatures, and Daniel always made sure to stay in his basement room; which was much less drafty than the rest of the house.

The technician eyed Daniel with a look that stated he did not care for the joke.  Instead, he turned around sharply and strode towards the hangar at a brisk pace.  Daniel shoved his backpack over his shoulder and ran to catch up.  Even once he was following right behind the technician, Daniel had to nearly jog just to keep up with him.

As they entered the hangar, Daniel began to get an even better appreciation of the sheer size of the hangar. Along with the handful of fighters, there was a massive multi-engined bomber being worked on by an army of technicians.  As Daniel followed the technician underneath the wing of the bomber, Daniel didn’t even have to duck his head under the engines.  He gaped in astonishment as one technician stood up in the engine well to clean the turbines.

“You like what you see?”

Daniel and the technician turned as one to see General Ironwood striding towards the massive plane.  The technician immediately snapped off a salute to the General, which Daniel followed up with a small wave, still shocked at the sheer size of the machine.

“Atlesian AB-15,” General Ironwood rattled off.  It’s the largest purpose built bomber in the Atlesian military.  We use it to take out packs of Grimm heading towards kingdoms.  Each of its bombs can wipe out an entire bed of Death Stalkers.”

“Sir, permission to return the Captain’s ignition card to the quartermaster?” the technician interrupted, clearly wanting to be rid of escorting a teenager around the airfield.

“Of course Lieutenant,” General Ironwood said immediately, “I can escort Daniel from here.”

The technician saluted General Ironwood, which the General returned in kind, then turned smartly and strode off underneath the bomber towards a doorway built into the hangar.  General Ironwood watched him for a moment before turning back to Daniel.  “Well then Daniel, I hope you had a good flight to Atlas.”

Daniel nodded.  “It was pretty cool.  I mean, I’ve never flown before, so I don’t have much to go off of, but it was kind of awesome.  I kind of wish I’d been able to see Atlas from above though.  The clouds were too bad until we got to the airport.”

“Quite a shame,” General Ironwood said.  “While I must admit Beacon is by far the best looking of the academies, Atlas is a close runner up.  Hopefully a ground tour will suffice.”

Daniel frowned, noticing something the General had said.  Sorry, but did you say that you’d be escorting me?”

“Of course Daniel,” General Ironwood answered.  “I’ve cleared my schedule for the entire day.  I intend to show you everything Atlas has to offer.”

@0@0@

“So tell me Daniel, what do you think of the school?”

Daniel and General Ironwood were walking down a snow covered sidewalk, having just finished a several tour of Atlas.  They were now walking towards a large gray snow-covered administration building, where Daniel assumed the tour would end at General Ironwood’s office, and Daniel would be shown to a room where he’d spend the night and return tomorrow morning.

“Well sir, it’s definitely different from Beacon,” Daniel admitted, watching a line of men and women in gray sweatpants and tank tops running through the snow.  “You definitely stress PT more than Beacon.  We’re just encouraged to stay fit, and have to pass a test every other semester.  Also doesn’t seem to be a lot of people out of uniform here.”

General Ironwood followed Daniel’s gaze, and smiled.  “Well, that is how things are done at Atlas as well, but only for the upperclassmen.  A student’s first two years are primarily spent increasing their strength to the levels we deem necessary for Huntsmen and military personnel.  Furthermore, we stress wearing a uniform more than what you might see at Beacon.  Anyone out of uniform is generally a civilian, and we allow very few onto Atlas grounds.”

Daniel frowned as something in General Ironwood’s explanation made him realize something.  “Sir, General Ironwood?  I’ve got a question.  What exactly would happen to me if I transferred?  Class has already started, so it’s not exactly like I could join a team.  Teams won’t be created for another two semesters, right?”

General Ironwood nodded, impressed by Daniel’s forethought.  “Excellent question Daniel.  Don’t worry, we made sure to have a solution before extending our offer.  At Atlas, part of the curriculum for our senior teams is for them to act as instructors for the younger students.  This assignment can take several forms, usually as a teaching assistant or drill instructor.  In your case, you will be assigned to shadow one of the top teams this year.”

Daniel blinked in surprise, not expecting the answer he had been given.  “Really sir?  Wow, um, is your top team really best suited to watching over just one guy?  I’m not trying to be rude, but it seems like it’d be better to pair me off with someone closer to my level.”

“Not necessarily Daniel,” General Ironwood replied.  “Unlike other academies, it is mandatory for students complete a minimum of four years at a primary combat school before their application can be submitted.  Due to your age making this course of action impossible, the board of directors have allowed an exception, providing you train with the team selected.  These four will give you the best chance to succeed once you enter Atlas as a first year.”

Daniel blinked.  “Oh,” he said, slightly disheartened.  He hadn’t considered the fact that his lack of formal training could put him in a tough position for General Ironwood to accommodate.  “Well, thanks for making an exception for me.  I’m sorry if it made things difficult.”

General Ironwood laid a hand on Daniel’s shoulder and opened the door to the administration building.  A wave of hot air blasted from the open door, washing over them both as they stepped into the atrium beyond the door.  The heat warmed them both to the core, making Daniel take off his cap and stuff it in one of the duster’s pockets

“Don’t worry Daniel.  Even if you had gone through Signal before entering Beacon, I would still place you with this team.  The procedure to give you an Aura has never been tested before, for obvious reasons.  The team I am assigning you to shadow will watch for complications, as well as assisting you with living life with an Aura.”

At the end of the hallway was an elevator.  Unlike the ornate elevator in Beacon that went to Professor Ozpin’s office, the one here was gray, and functional.  It was no different from what you’d see in an office building.  General Ironwood pressed the call button, and the doors slid open, showing an equally bland interior.  They entered, and General Ironwoood held his left thumb to the button for the ground floor.  The button flashed, and a keypad slid out underneath the rows of buttons.  General Ironwood shifted slightly, blocking Daniel’s view of the keypad, and began typing in a long and complex code.  When he was finished, a light shined from the top floor button, landing on the General’s eye.  Abruptly, the elevator car shifted backwards, seeming to move from one track to another.  It then began descending; slowly at first, but quickly began to pick up speed.

“In fact, how about we go take a look at our Aural research facility right now?”  General Ironwood offered.

@0@0@

“Raise your arms please,” the security guard ordered.

Daniel immediately complied, lifting his arms to be perpendicular to the rest of his body.  As the security guard raised a wand and waved it over Daniel’s body, his eyes shot once more over to the other two security guards with rifles resting across their shoulders.  He’d already turned over everything in his pants pockets, but there was still enough metal on him somewhere to trip the metal detectors.  As the wand drifted over the pockets of Nick’s coat, Daniel was suddenly very relieved that he hadn’t asked Lunare for his coat.  The sheer amount of weaponry his friend had undoubtedly placed within his coat could easily have put him in some serious hot water.

The security guard paused over a few areas on the duster, but apart for a couple of coins and a multitool, he didn’t find anything of interest.

“You’re clear sir,” the guard told Daniel as he hung the wand on his belt.  For security purposes, I have to ask you to leave your coat and hat here.  You can retrieve them, along with your scroll and wallet once you leave the secure area.

Relieved Nick hadn’t left anything bad in his pockets, Daniel shrugged the duster off of his shoulders and handed the coat and wool cap to the security guard, who laid it on a table next to his wallet and scroll.  They were then waved through the checkpoint, and free to enter the facility.

“You take security pretty seriously here,” Daniel said once they were clear of the checkpoint and the guard’s ears.

General Ironwood nodded, but his face had turned very serious the moment they had stepped out of the elevator.  “Atlas is more than just a Huntsmen Academy.  It’s also the headquarters for the largest military force on Remnant, and the leading researchers of Dust and Aura.  There are hundreds of things that could happen if the wrong person got their hands on what we have.  So yes Daniel, we do take security very seriously.”

Beyond the security checkpoint was a long corridor with doors at regular intervals leading off to different rooms.  General Ironwood placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder once more, guiding him down the corridor, seeming to focus on the doors off in the distance.

“So, what exactly is this place?” Daniel asked.  “It sounded like we’re going to see how I could get an Aura, so I guess this is a research area?”

General Ironwood considered Daniel’s question before answering very slowly.  “That is close, but not quite,” he admitted, “I can’t go into too much detail due to security, so lets just say this is a location where research Atlas conducts is sent once it is  deemed high security; so it is both a research area, as well as a location safe from people who would be very interested in state secrets.  Very few people are aware of its existence.  It goes without saying, but if you breathe so much as a word about anything you see here without my permission, you will be locked up for a very long time.”  The hand tightened on Daniel’s shoulder, making Daniel wince at the unexpectedly powerful force.  “Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-yes sir,” Daniel said through gritted teeth.  “Not a word.”

The pressure was relieved, but the hand remained on Daniel’s shoulder.  “That’s good to hear Daniel,” General Ironwood said.  “I apologize for being so severe Daniel, but we can’t take risks, not when there are people who would kill to get in here.”

They stopped at a door, and General Ironwood typed in another code.  The lock clicked off, and General Ironwood opened the door.  Inside was a large lab with several Humans and Faunus working on what looked like bits of electronics and machinery.  A few of them looked up when General Ironwood and Daniel entered, but most stayed focused on their work.

“This Daniel, is where we moved the Aura research project once it began making significant breakthroughs,” General Ironwood said in a hushed tone.  “We gathered the greatest scientists in the field of Aura studies to expand on our breakthroughs.  In fact, here comes one of them now.”

One of the scientists, a female Faunus with deer ears poking out of her brown hair, had left the computer station she was manning and was striding towards them, still looking at a tablet in her hand.  It wasn’t until she arrived in front of General Ironwood and Daniel that she looked up from her work.

“General Ironwood, I didn’t know we were expecting you,” she said.  “If I had known, I would’ve had a report written of our progress this week.  There have been some new developments that I am sure you would be most interested in.”

“Not to worry Doctor,” General Ironwood said.  “This is more of a social visit than anything.  Doctor Azaleas, this is Daniel Grigio, the boy you were so interested in.  Daniel, this is Doctor Azaleas.  She was the one that first suggested that she and her team could use their developments to give you an Aura.”

Doctor Azaleas transferred her tablet to her left hand, and stuck her right hand out towards Daniel.  “Pleasure to meet you Daniel.  My team and I look forward to working with you on Aura research.”

Daniel accepted her handshake.  “Uh, same here,” he said, not having the heart yet to tell her that despite everything that he had seen, he still was unsure if he wanted to leave Beacon.

“Doctor, where is your team’s leader?” General Ironwood asked, “I was hoping to introduce Daniel to him.”

“He left half an hour ago to work on project Penny,” Doctor Azalea answered.  “You could take Daniel to see him, but I don’t know if he would appreciate being disturbed.  You know how he is,” she added apologetically.

“No, that particular, project, isn’t ready to be unveiled to anyone without proper clearance,” General Ironwood said, while looking towards Doctor Azalea with a look of displeasure.  “Tell me, has he not been spending an excessive time working on that project?  I don’t want him becoming distracted from the primary reasons Atlas has devoted the resources it has to Aura research.”

“Well sir, she is his daughter,” Doctor Azalea commented.  General Ironwood shot her a withering glare, and she backed up under its intensity.  “Purely from the standpoint of the project being his brain child,” she added hastily.”

“Yes, from a creator’s standpoint,” General Ironwood murmured.  Daniel, we’d better get going.  You had an extremely long flight to Atlas, only to walk around Atlas for several hours.  You must be exhausted.”

“Well, kind of,” Daniel admitted.  “But I also want to see how I’m getting an Aura.”

“That’s still classified information,” General Ironwood replied, as he took Daniel by the shoulder and guided him away from Doctor Azalea.  “When you transfer to Atlas, you will be fully briefed on the procedure.”

Daniel turned around to say goodbye to Dr. Azalea, but all he got was a glimpse of her nervous face before General Ironwood closed the door to the lab.  The lock reengaged behind them, sealing the lab up once more.  It wasn’t until the click of the lock finished echoing through the corridor that General Ironwood let out a breath of air.

“Doctor Azalea is one of the most passionate members of her team,” General Ironwood said bluntly as they walked back towards the elevator.  “Her passion for Aura research often leads to her talking about sensitive material.  If she wasn’t the only one competent enough to do what she does, I would have had her replaced months ago.  As it is, she’s already on probation.”

Daniel winced at General Ironwood’s blunt answer.  “That sounds, really harsh.  You sure that’s really necessary?  I mean, all I know about Project Penny is that your leader is like, super invested in it.”

“I wish it weren’t.  But there are some side projects the scientists in that room are conducting, that toe a very morally gray line.  I have to ask you once again not to breathe a word about what you saw, including project names.  Leaking sensitive information without a superior’s consent is grounds for court martial.”

“You got it sir,” Daniel said as he picked his stuff up from the security table, putting his wallet and scroll in his pocket while choosing to fold Nick’s duster over his arm.

General Ironwood called the elevator back down, then smiled slightly.  “I certainly hope you enjoyed your tour of Atlas, Daniel,” he said.

“Sure did.  Kind of wish we could’ve stayed in Aura research a bit longer, but I guess I get why we had to leave.”

They rode in the elevator in silence, waiting patiently for the car to move onto the normal track.  As the doors opened and they stepped, a female voice called out from the end of the corridor.

“There you are General Ironwood.  Greeve asked me to bring team GREY’s after action reports for analysis.  There were several patterns we noticed during our patrol that he wanted me to point out, since I was the one who noticed the Grimm in the first-”

Daniel looked over in surprise, wondering why she had abruptly stopped.  The girl, who had been steadily walking towards them before stopping, was a few years older than Daniel with emerald eyes and long red hair put into a French braid.  Like everyone Daniel had seen at Atlas who wasn’t training, she a light gray tunic over gray pants and black boots.  Unlike everyone else, who regarded the red haired teenager in a Beacon uniform with mild curiosity, she stared at Daniel with a look of pure shock.

General Ironwood ignored the girl’s shocked expression, and took the files she held in her hand.  “Thank you Ms. Scope, I hope there won’t be any complications in the wargames due to your patterns.”

Unable to find her voice, all the girl could do was nod her head in agreement.

“Daniel, this is Rojoe Scope from team GREY.  I believe you two met?”

8: Chapter Eight

Sorry about the delay this month, things happened on update day, and I spent yesterday just trying to do a bit of much needed editing.  I'm considering pushing updates to the first Sunday of every month, that way I'll have more time in the day to get the edits done and get the chapter sent out to you all.

"Yeah, yeah we've met," Daniel said, warily watching the woman who had been his enemy just last week. What would she do to him? Would she scream? Would she call him out? Would she attack him in front of the General?

He was saved from whatever Rojoe had planned by a buzzing that came from General Ironwood's pocket. Frowning, the General pulled out a scroll and answered it. "Ironwood," he answered curtly. His face quickly turned to a mask of stone as a voice on the other end began yelling at him. "What? The shipment was stolen? All of it? Are you sure Mr. Schn- no, our spider droids are autonomous and do not report security breaches until coming within range of a transmitter. That's why we place them on trains." A pause, then "Yes Jacques, I am well aware of how much fifteen train cars of Dust cost in this economy. I assure you, I will make it a priority for Atlas to find who is responsible and bring them to justice. I'll have the search underway before the day is out. Yes, yes, of course we'll increase security until we bring them to justice. We need that Dust just as much as whoever stole it." General Ironwood looked over at Daniel and Rojoe who were watching him with confusion, only being able to hear one side of the conversation. "I've got to go. Rest assured this will be dealt with in the correct manner." He ended the call, and lowered the scroll from his ear, sighing as he did so.

"Something wrong General?" Daniel asked.

"Nothing at this moment," General Ironwood answered. "Daniel, I'm afraid your tour of Atlas is going to be cut short. I need to devote my full attention to this situation. Rojoe, escort Daniel to the guest quarters, then have your team assemble in the briefing room immediately following. If we can get a positive ID on the thieves, I might need your team to go after them."

"Hm? Oh yes sir!" Rojoe said. "I will go, do those things you just told me to do immediately sir." She saluted, and General Ironwood distractedly returned the salute before striding away, the phone already back up to his ear as he barked orders out, preparing to search for the missing train of Dust.

General Ironwood had barely rounded a corner before Rojoe abruptly turned around to Daniel. "What are you doing here?" she demanded to know.

"What am I doing here?" Daniel asked affronted. "That's all you have to ask? Not; Hey, how are you alive from my friend hitting me across the chest with his ax, which I can't block by the way since news flash; I'm the only guy on Remnant who can't generate an Aura? Also by the way, sorry for my friend hitting you across the chest with an ax and making everyone think you're a spawn of Grimm."

"Stop, stop." Rojoe demanded, holding up her hands. "Say that again, but slower please?"

Daniel took a deep breath. "I don't have an Aura. That shot your friend threw in as you were leaving, I couldn't block it. Took eleven stitches just to close it up." Daniel opened up Nick's duster and pulled up his shirt to reveal the stitches sitting on his chest.

Rojoe shook her head, trying to process what Daniel was saying. "Okay, sorry, you're saying you're Daniel Grigio, and the news wasn't lying? Like, it's not just that you haven't unlocked it yet, you literally will never use an Aura ever?"

"Not naturally," Daniel said. "General Ironwood thinks some sort of top secret project Atlas is working on can give me one. That's why I'm here."

Rojoe shook her head. "This, this is so weird. At least we now know how you're not dead."

"Why would you care that I was dead? Your friend hit me with an axe and ran off."

"Well, you should be dead. Greeve's semblance,"

"Sorry, Greeve? Was he the asshole with the ax?"

"That's Yarrow," Rojoe corrected. "Greeve is my, is our team leader."

"So the tall asshole in the gray everything? Weird purple vortex that made me feel cold and tingly inside?"

"That's Greeve," Rojoe said. "His semblance is creating portals. But he's the only one that can go through them. Anyone else gets their Aura sucked out and, well, dies."

Daniel gulped. "Well, good thing I don't have an Aura then."

"I guess without an Aura to be drained, you were able to pass right through. Just like a-"

"Hey, don't use that term," Daniel warned. "I know what you're going to say, and I'm tired of hearing it."

Rojoe crossed her arms and looked Daniel in the face. "For the record, I was going to say animal. However if you would prefer to be compared to a filthy Grimmspawn like many civilians are probably doing, I can oblige."

"I, well, no," Daniel said. "Animal will do."

"Unlike Yarrow, I have tact."

"Fair enough," Daniel admitted. "And it's Daniel Grigio by the way."

"Rojoe Scope. Although since you probably paid a bit more attention to the General, you already knew that." She paused for a second, and looked over at Daniel, a he noticed a hint of embarrassment sneaking through her facade. "Actually, what were my orders?"

"Take me to the guest quarters, and assemble your team in the briefing room, wherever that is."

"Right. Wait, why does my team need to get to the briefing room."

"I don't know. I think that call General Ironwood got was about some Dust being stolen."

Rojoe winced. "Again? Ughhhhhh. I can't believe this. That's the third time the White Fang have attacked the Schnee Dust Company this month! Literally no other terrorist organization is so hell bent on attacking one single target. Thanks to them, the General is probably going to send my team off again when we just got back from a scouting mission. I know we're one of the top teams and everything with a ninety-seven point four percent success rating, but we do have training to finish up. I mean, we haven't even started instructing any younger students, and we can't graduate until that happens, meaning I could be stuck with Yarrow as a roomate for another year. I mean, do you have any idea how much stress he gives me? I once woke up with three screws in my mouth because I 'made an excellent screw holder'. Anyways, I'd better get you to the guest rooms quickly; If Schnee Dust just lost another shipment, the General will want to get us out there immediately. Sorry if this feels a little rushed, but we do have a time constraint now."

"Don't, mention it?" Daniel asked, not entirely sure how Rojoe had managed to say all of that in one sitting.

"Follow me then," Rojoe said. "Double time, Daniel."

Rojoe took off towards the double doors at a brisk march, leaving Daniel in the dust. Shaking his head in wonder of the past several minutes, Daniel took off after her, desperately trying to catch up. Atlas was a much more active school than Beacon, Daniel decided.

The transport shuddered to a halt, and the doors opened, allowing Daniel to step out into a bright sunny afternoon at Beacon. Nick's coat held over his arm, his backpack over his shoulder, he walked into the courtyard and began making his way towards the dorms. Behind him, the transport's engines revved up and lifted the ship back into the sky. It soared overhead, and Daniel stopped to watch it turn back to Atlas. As it passed over the Headmaster's tower, Daniel's gaze was pulled down to where the protesters were lined up. Or at least, where the protesters had been lined up. The area was now bare, save for some students milling around, and an abandoned protest sign.

Daniel had been right. He had needed this vacation.

"Hey Daniel!"

Daniel turned to see team DDLN waving at him. Daniel waved back, and then broke out into a sprint to meet up with them.

"What took you so long?" Dakota asked. "We got your message, and figured you'd be back hours ago. Tell me you didn't come in that big transport."

"Yeah, it was all they could spare," Daniel said as he tossed Nick his jacket, which he caught effortlessly. "They needed all hands-on deck for a big Dust robbery they were checking out."

"Yeah, we heard about that," Dakota said. "VNN was saying the price tag on those cars was several million. By just one or two guys apparently."

"Really? Dude, that's crazy. Anyways, ah, what did you guys do over the weekend?"

"Oh, just the usual man," Lewis said. "Studied for Oobleck's test, finished Professor Port's report, stopped an evil robot from tearing up a hospital. You know, the usual."

"Lewis had a lucid dream," Nick explained.

"I keep telling you guys that was real! I mean, how do you explain my broken guitar?"

"You mean besides the fact that you sleep with it and you fell off your bed last night?" Dakota asked. "I saw you on the floor this morning holding it. You should be glad Lunare had enough metal to fix the neck."

"Hey, speaking of, where is Team Luster?" Daniel asked.

"They're down in Lunare's garage, trying to convince him to remove the cannon," Dakota answered. "Vale Police tracked him down and said he'd be arrested if he didn't at least take the cannon off."

"We should totally have a moment of silence for the cannon," Lewis said. "Gone before its time, it shall never be forgotten." Lewis bowed his head in respect, a motion none of his other teammates copied.

"Right, anyways, how was Atlas?" Dakota asked, trying to move the conversation away from the awkward turn it had taken.

"It was, cool," Daniel replied. "And I mean that both figuratively and literally. It was freezing there. Thanks again for your coat Nick."

Nick, who was in the process of pulling his duster over his shoulders, paused to give Daniel a thumbs up before finishing pulling it on and began to button it up.

"It was also way bigger than Beacon since it's like, both the military and the school mixed into one," Daniel continued. "Including some R&D stuff. General Ironwood showed me some labs underneath the school where they're doing all this Aura study stuff. Although now I'm probably a dead man for telling you all that," he added in a joking manner.

"Secret underground labs?" Dakota said incredulously. "You're pulling our legs on that one. There's no way they put all their eggs in one basket like that."

"No, I'm dead serious!" Daniel protested. "They had finger recognition, eye scanners, heck, the elevator did some weird sideways thing before going down. You'd never know it was under there. Heck, Beacon could have something like that and we'd never know!"

"Ask Lunare," Nick replied, "He showed a map of Beacon air ducts, and Rage banks. If anyone would know, it would be hi-" Nick broke off into a ragged cough, forcing him to reach up and clutch his throat him pain.

"If we do have something, it's probably full of those protesters," Dakota said. "It would explain how the hell they disappeared without a trace."

"Oh, uh, quiet weekend then?" Daniel asked.

"I haven't gotten such good sleep since I got out of the hospital after escaping Glas," Dakota said, relief flowing from his voice. "Literally five minutes after you left, they stopped protesting and just left."

"That's good to hear," Daniel admitted. "I was not looking forward to dealing with them again.

"The feeling is mutual," Dakota said. "Hell, the other students haven't given us crap either. Seems things are finally going back to normal."

"HEY GRIMM KID!"

Daniel looked up in time for a deluge of water to fall from above and land directly on him. The rest of his team managed to leap away to avoid the worst, but Daniel was absolutely soaked. He looked up to see who caused it, but whichever window it had come from, the occupants had already retreated inside.

"Yeah, back to normal," Daniel muttered.

While Daniel had been visiting Atlas, Professor Ozpin had made an announcement to the students, reminding them of Beacon's rules against harassment and reinforcing the punishments. As a result, Daniel didn't have to worry about any more incidents like what had happened with the upperclassman before he left. No open threats, no scorning, nothing of the sort.

If given the option, Daniel would go back to this in a heartbeat.

Very little had actually improved over the weekend. Daniel could still sense the hatred and fear radiating from everyone he passed by. The only result of Professor Ozpin's actions was that it was all bottled up. No one could act off their emotions. At least, not in an obvious way.

With the exception of the water thrown at him from above, it was all very subtle. A foot shooting out from under a table by accident to trip him, a hard shove as they walked through the halls, an overenthusiastic slap on the back while he was eating breakfast; the worst was a kick to the gut as Daniel had bent down to tie his shoe. The blow sent bolts of sharp pain into his chest as the skin held together by the stitches was pulled and stretched taut. The offenders apologized immediately, saying that they hadn't meant to do it, but their words hadn't been sincere.

It made Daniel miserable.

It was on the day after the gut kick that Daniel was called up to see Professor Ozpin. It had been several days since Daniel had returned from Atlas, and he was already missing the quiet weekend in the snow-covered kingdom.

When he arrived in Professor Ozpin's office, the headmaster was bent over a stack of papers, frowning at their contents. Unsure what to do, Daniel stood awkwardly in front of the elevator doors, trying to decide what to do. It was decided for him when Professor Ozpin seemed to sense his presence and looked up to see him. "Good afternoon, Mr. Grigio," he said. "Please, have a seat."

Daniel did so, and Professor Ozpin pushed the stack of papers to one side. "I wanted to know how you felt about your visit to Atlas. I understand General Ironwood spent an unprecedented portion of his day personally conducting your tour."

Daniel groaned inwardly. He'd been asked by everyone who would still talk to him how the tour was. LSTR, his own team, even some of his professors had been curious. The first couple of times he'd been happy to oblige, but It was now starting to get on his nerves.

"Well sir," he said tiredly as he began the speech he usually gave, "It was very cold at Atlas. General Ironwood showed me that it was both a school and a military base, which was a bit odd to me. I also saw-"

"Forgive my interruption Daniel, but I was asking not what you saw, but how you felt about your experience at Atlas. Is it making you reconsider General Ironwood's offer?"

This threw Daniel, and he had to pause for a moment to order his thoughts. Between classes and the hell he was being subjected to by his classmates, he hadn't been able to consider the offer since he got back. On Sunday afternoon, he had still held adamantly to his wish to remain in Beacon. But now;

Daniel's thoughts were interrupted yet again by a soft beeping sound. Professor Ozpin looked equally startled and began shifting papers to the side before locating a glowing portion of his clockwork desk. He pressed down on the glowing spot and answered, "Yes?"

"Professor Ozpin, the Board of Directors would like to speak to you," the voice of the receptionist AI said. "They say it is a matter of upmost urgency."

Professor Ironwood sighed and lowered his head. "Inform the Board that I will speak with them shortly. I am in the middle of a meeting with one of my students." He lifted his finger from the glowing spot, and it faded away. He then lowered his head and pressed his fingers to his temples. "Daniel, I regret to inform you that our meeting will have to be cut short. The Board of Directors are getting more and more persistent, and their presence is quite taxing.

"I'm sorry sir," Daniel said. "I know they probably want me kicked out of Beacon. If I had known this would happen, I never would've applied to Beacon."

"Daniel, I knew from the moment you walked into my office that this day would someday come. I expected there to be those that would oppose your attendance here, and prepared for the eventuality. And while I admit that the opposition has been stronger than what I expected, you are still my student and I will fight for your ability to remain a student as long as I am headmaster."

Another light pulsed on Professor Ozpin's desk. He saw it and sighed, reaching for a white mug. "The Board is contacting me directly. Thank you for coming Daniel. I apologize for calling you here and not giving you a chance to answer my question. Perhaps we can have this conversation at a better time."

"Of course sir," Daniel replied. He stood up and made his way towards the elevator doors. He had just pressed the button to call the elevator up when a thought struck him. "Sir, just one more thing," he said hastily, "If I did end up going to Atlas, what would happen to my team?"

Professor Ozpin regarded Daniel with a piercing gaze, and Daniel was suddenly aware that he may have just answered his question. "Like I said when you first met General Ironwood, you are the leader of your team. As such, your decision will affect not only yourself, but the effectiveness of your team to function in combat. If you are continuing to consider General Ironwood's offer, you must be aware of this fact. However, I spoke to team LSTR, whom I understand your team is close to, while you were away in Atlas. Should you choose to transfer to Atlas, they have agreed to merge with the remnants of your team, and form a larger team for the remainder of their time at Beacon."

Daniel nodded and stepped into the elevator. "Thank you sir. I needed to know they would be taken care of."

"Of course Mr. Grigio," Professor Ozpin said as the doors closed. "After all, they are my students as well."

9: Chapter Nine

Team CFVY hurried through the corridors of Beacon, racing against the clock.  Time was not on their side as they had a test with Professor Peach that began in less than two minutes, and she was not a teacher that forgave lateness on tests.  As they neared the doors to the lecture hall, they slowed their speed to a brisk walk so as not to appear out of breath.  Right as they were about to turn the final corner to the lecture hall, the almost collided with another student, apparently extremely deep in his thoughts.  The student took a reactionary step back, mumbling an apology to the group.  The voice caught Velvet’s attention.  She had only seen him a handful of times, but the times she had were moments one wouldn’t forget.  It was after all, difficult to forget being strapped down in preparation for a vivisection.

“Daniel?” she asked in surprise, “is that you?”

“What, oh hey Velvet,” Daniel said in equal surprise.  “I haven’t seen you since, well,” he trailed off not wanting to relive that particular memory.

“I was wondering, how were you doing?” Velvet asked.  “You didn’t look to good when they pulled you out, and then I heard about-”

“Velvet we need to go!” Coco called out.  “We’re going to be late!”

“But,”

“Leave him, come on!”

Velvet looked at Daniel awkwardly.  “I, have to get going,” she said with a hint of regret.  She opened her mouth to say she’d talk to him later, but the tolling of the clock bells signaled the beginning of class.  With a squeak, she took off running after the rest of her team.

Poor Daniel, she thought.  She had overheard his teammate and the other boy talking while in Professor Glas’ compound, and had put two and two together.  Looking back, it made sense why Professor Glas had attempted to do what he did.  Now that his secret had gotten out, she’d seen how the rest of Vale and even the school had treated him.  She hoped that he wouldn’t take her sudden departure the wrong way.

@0@0@

Daniel felt like his heart was being ripped out.  He hadn’t seen Velvet since they’d been kidnapped, but she had been the first student at Beacon to actually talk to him, and one of the few people outside of DDLN and LSTR that didn’t outright scorn him.  Now he watched her running after her teammates, after seeming to want to say something.  The past few weeks had some terrible things happen to him, but this one somehow seemed to cut him straight to the core.  He took a deep sigh and continued trudging his way back towards the dormitories.

Daniel hardly noticed the walk back.  He was pretty sure he passed by some students.  He thought one of them might’ve tried something on him.  He couldn’t tell; he was too deep in his own thoughts to tell.  All he knew was that one moment he was standing in a corridor having just met Velvet, the next he was turning the handle to his dorm room.  The rest of his team was there, having met up after classes were dismissed to work on homework.

“Hey Daniel, how’d your meeting with Ozpin go?” Dakota asked.

“Fine,” Daniel muttered as he sat down at a desk and pulled out his homework.

“Yeesh, that bad huh?” Dakota said, eyeing the team leader.  “He didn’t say you had to leave, did he?”

“No, it’s just,” Daniel took a deep breath.  “It’s nothing.  I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“You sure?” Dakota asked.  “You don’t look real-”

“I said I was fine okay!” Daniel snapped.

Nick stood up and stepped towards Daniel, his hand outstretched to place it on Daniel’s shoulder.  Sensing the motion, Daniel’s hand shot up and slapped Nick’s arm away.  “I don’t need to be calmed down Nick, just please leave me alone.”

Nick took a step back, now very concerned for his friend.  He opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to change his mind.  “If you say so,” he said as he turned around and returned to his own homework.

Nick and Lewis exchanged glances as both Daniel and Nick clicked open pens and began writing their answers.  Like Nick however, they didn’t pursue the matter, instead returning to their own respective homework.  Soon the only noises were that of scratching pens and the occasional inquiry about a problem.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, soon becoming nighttime.  Daniel wearily put down the pen, rubbed his eyes, and looked at what he had accomplished.  It wasn’t pretty.  With his mind on recent events, he had only managed to complete two problems and half a paragraph on Oobleck’s essay.  Groaning, he resigned himself to completing the problems in the morning before class and got ready for bed.  His teammates followed suit, and soon the lights were turned off and they began to nod off.

Daniel tried everything he knew to get himself to fall asleep, but nothing was working.  His head was too full of thoughts, his body too stressed out about what was going on.  He could even hear the faint whispers of the voices in the background.  Which of course filled his head with even more thoughts, and stressed him out even more.  He spent several hours like this, fighting against his own body and mind to get any bit of sleep he could manage.  As the cracked digital readout on his watch turned to 2:00, his body finally began to nod off out of sheer exhaustion.  His muscles relaxed, his consciousness started to fade,

Only to violently be brought back to his senses as he found that he suddenly couldn’t breathe.  Something soft was being pressed into his face, preventing any air from entering.  Fear coursed through Daniel’s body as he struggled to free himself from whatever cruel prank a student had sunk to.  His flailing hands connected with a body kneeling over his own.  Daniel screamed and tried to hit his attacker, but his scream was muffled by the pillow and his blow glanced off of his shoulder.  His attacker shifted on the bed and pressed down even harder on the pillow.  Daniel reached blindly for his pistol lying on the bedside table, but his attacker swatted it off the table and onto the floor where it landed with a thud against the wood.

Daniel’s lungs screamed for air as he began to black out.  Adrenaline was blasting through his body as his dimming mind desperately dug for answers.  As he struggled to get a breath out, the voices broke free of his control and overwhelming his thoughts.  Everything went blank as he was filled with an all-encompassing inescapable anger.

@0@0@

Dakota was having a pleasant dream about DDLN being a normal team that didn’t get wrapped up in half the situations in Vale, when he was abruptly woken up by loud yelling and struggling.  Instincts honed from years in Vlad’s gang kicked into gear in an instant.  One hand flew underneath the pillow to pull his chain out while the other reached for the lamp on the desk.  He flicked it on to reveal Daniel struggling with an unknown assailant.  Clad in dark jeans, a black hoodie, and a black sock mask, Dakota couldn’t make out who he was.  All that he could tell was that his body was that of a teen, and that he had a bit of muscle on him.

Dakota made to jump on the attacker and throw him off of Daniel, but before he could move Daniel hit the man in the eye, making him flinch and loosen his grip on a pillow he held to Daniel’s face.  Grabbing both of his assailant’s arms in a firm grasp, Daniel lifted them and the pillow off of his face.  As his face was revealed, Dakota saw the glowing red eyes and knew that the situation had just gone from bad to worse.  Now he had to make sure Daniel didn’t kill the man on top of making sure Daniel didn’t die himself.

Dakota jumped at Daniel to pull the two apart, but Daniel shoved the man’s left arm ino him, pushing Dakota back a few feet.  Before he could try again, a loud snapping sound rang out through the room, and the man howled in pain as both of his arms were broken by Daniel’s grasp.  As the pillow fell from now limp fingers, Daniel continued to push the broken arms back to cringe worthy angles.  Before he could do any more damage however, Dakota socked Daniel in the face with a powerful hook, trying to stop his friend from doing something he would later regret.  Daniel’s head snapped to the side, and quickly turned to look at Dakota. He let go of the hands and grabbed Dakota by the dirty white nightshirt he wore, throwing him into the front door of the dorm.

Dakota pushed off of the door, and grabbed his chain by both ends.  He was going to wrap them around Daniel and drag him off of the man if he had to.  The man in question had taken the brief respite from the attack and tried to put some distance between him and Daniel.  Without his arms and on the unstable surface of the bed, he didn’t make it far before falling and landing on his broken arms halfway on the floor.  His screams of agony were abruptly cut off as Daniel reached down and grasped him firmly by the throat.  As the man gasped and spluttered for air, Lewis grabbed his guitar by the neck and prepared to smash it down on Daniel

“Don’t!” Dakota yelled.  “He doesn’t have an Aura!”

“Then what do we do man?” Lewis frantically asked.

“Daniel, listen to me,” Dakota shouted at Daniel.  Their leader looked up from the choking man at Dakota, a scowl on his face.

Dakota swallowed before continuing.  “I know whatever monster that’s inside you is controlling you right now, but you’ve got to get back control.” He pointed at Nick, then at Daniel, hoping Nick would get the message.  Fortunately Nick was paying attention and pointed his revolver up, slowly stepping around Lewis’ bed and moving towards Daniel.  Daniel’s red eyes glanced over at Nick, and Dakota hurried to grab his attention once more.

“You don’t want to do this Daniel!” Dakota called out, wishing for once he had someone like Ryler who could talk for hours unless he was shut up.  “You’ve stopped the guy who wanted to hurt you, and that’s good.  A for effort, although you loose points for breaking his arms.  But that’s the monster’s doing, so I’ll give the points back if you let him go and let us take it from-”

There was a mechanical cocking sound as Nick pulled the hammer back on his revolver.  Daniel noticed it and threw the attacker at Dakota before turning to face Nick.  The man collided with Dakota, and the two of them ripped the door off of the hinges, sending them both into the hallway beyond. Woken by the screams and struggling, the hallway was already full of students in various states of undress, all of them with weapons at the ready to combat whatever was going on.  Dakota shoved the screaming man off of him as sounds of struggling came from their room.  Squinting from the light in the hallway, he tried to make out what was going on in the room as the other students began voicing questions.

“What’s going on?”

“Are we under attack?”

“Oh gods!  His arms!?”

Before Dakota could do or explain anything, Nick stumbled into the hallway, dragging Daniel along in a full nelson  “Can’t, get through to him,” Nick grunted.  “He ain’t wantin’ to calm down.”

Daniel snapped his head back, hitting Nick in the nose.  Nick stumbled backwards, and Daniel slipped through his grasp, diving to his attacker.  He landed on the man’s chest and began pummeling him into the ground.  Fists swinging wildly, any bit of him was a target.  The surrounding students had their weapons raised in an instant and were pointing them at Daniel, yelling at him to stop.  Lewis stepped through the hole as well, and jumped on Daniel’s back, trying to pull him off of the man, but took an elbow to the face and was thrown off instead.

“Nick, get him!” Dakota shouted.  Nick however was shaking his head, still getting over the hit to his nose.  It was then that Dakota started to worry.  If Daniel wasn’t calmed down, the attacker was a dead man.  So was Daniel if the crowd got any more antsy.  Quickly, he scanned the crowd for Lunare’s face.  His Corabellum armor had been able to subdue Daniel once before, it might be able to do so again.  Unfortunately unbeknownst to Dakota, Lunare was still at his garage, unmounting the Atlesian cannon to try and disguise it without having to return it to Atlas.  Even if he were to leave right away to return to Beacon, he would arrive long after the battle was concluded.

Dakota’s scan of the faces was ended by the sound of Lewis getting the wind knocked out of him.  He had wrapped his arms around Daniel to pull him off, only for the monster controlling their friend to turn and redirect a quartet of blows on to Lewis.  His aura held off the worst of the attacks, but he had to retreat under their intensity.  The noise of the bystanders rose as more and more arrived on the scene.  A metallic clicking sound was heard as an upperclassman next to Dakota flipped the safety off of a large pistol and leveled it at Daniel’s head, clearly intending to end this once and for all.  Without even thinking about it Dakota flicked his chain around his arm and pulled to the side.  There was a loud report, and the bullet went wide, ricocheting off of the ground and disappearing into the crowd where someone yelled in pain and surprise as it found its mark.  Daniel seemed to ignore the sound and returned to pummeling the man.

Dakota could see how quickly the situation was degenerating, and searched for a solution.  An idea popped into his head, one that was risky to both him and Daniel, but could end the battle then and there.  He considered it for a second, then made a snap decision as the attacker let out a weak cough, blood spurting from his mouth.  Everyone saw it, and Dakota knew that many of the students were thinking that it was now or never to stop the monster before it killed the stranger.  Dakota committed himself to the move, and jumped on Daniel’s back, much like what Nick had attempted.  Unlike his beaten friend however, Dakota grabbed the back of Daniel’s head, keeping it from snapping back and hitting him in the nose.  He wrapped his free arm around Daniel’s neck and squeezed.

Daniel instantly ignored the man that had now become his victim, and reached up at Daniel, clawing at his hair and sputtering  as his airflow was severely restricted.  Dakota took note of this and cautiously increased the amount of force he was exerting.  He had to be careful how much pressure he applied.  Daniel didn’t have an Aura, and could end up with a crushed windpipe if Dakota wasn’t careful.  Not to mention, Daniel could easily shift his weight and cause them both to fall backwards.  Which he proceeded to do, slamming Dakota into the ground and throwing his weight on top of him.  Had this not happened to Dakota many times before, it would’ve knocked him loose from Daniel.  As it was, he still felt the blow and was slightly winded.  As Daniel squirmed to get free, Dakota timed his struggles before throwing his weight with one of the twists, rolling Daniel onto his stomach.  Dakota tightened his arm around Daniel’s neck even further, and began counting.  If he didn’t hold the choke for enough time, Daniel might get a second wind and break free.  Too long, and he risked harming or even killing his friend.  It was a dangerous balance, that Dakota prayed he could get right.

Daniel’s struggles abruptly went slack, and Dakota immediately released the tension, letting his friend fall limp, gasping for air.  He stayed on top of him however, and kept his hand on the back of his head.  He’d held the choke hold for way too short of a duration to have had any effect.  Whatever controlled Daniel while he had an episode could be faking to get the upper hand.  His suspicions were assuaged however, by the raspy voice behind him.  “You can let him go,” Nick said painfully.  Dakota turned around to see Nick on the floor with a hand lying on Daniel’s leg.  He knelt down and grabbed on to Daniel just as Dakota began to choke Daniel into unconsciousness.  This time, he was successful in calming Daniel down.

 “Sorry about that Daniel,” Dakota said as he unwrapped his arm from around Daniel’s neck and stepped off of his friend.

Daniel violently coughed and rubbed the bruises on his throat.  He tried to get up, but was restrained by Dakota and Nick who merely rolled him onto his back.  “I mean it, don’t get up,” Dakota warned.

Daniel let out a weak cough and glanced at his friend.  “Dakota, what, what happened here?” he rasped in a voice not unlike Nick’s.

“It wasn’t your fault.  Some punk tried to kill you in your sleep, and you reacted.  The broken arms were a bit much, but that wasn’t you either.”

“Broken arms, what are you,” Daniel’s eyes went wide as he realized what Dakota was saying.  He pushed his friends off and sat up, viewing the carnage around him.  “Oh no.  no no no no no no.  Please, gods no,” Daniel desperately scanned the faces around him, seeking anything that would tell him he hadn’t lost control of the voices again.  Their expressions and the moaning of his attacker told all the story he needed to know.

“No!  I didn’t mean, I would never do this!”

“Bullshit!”

Daniel turned to see an older female student who despite the late hour, was wearing a pair of designer sunglasses.  She was kneeling down next to another student.  No, not another student.

“V-Velvet?” Dakota asked with a cough, horrified of what he was seeing.

“She got shot because of you,” the older student seethed.  “This is all your fault Grigio.”

“Coco, I’m fine,” Velvet panted, clutching her sternum.  “I just, got the wind knocked out of me, that’s all.  It wasn’t Daniel’s fault.”

Velvet’s words fell on deaf ears for Daniel.  Horror and fear coursed through his system.  Frantically, he backpedaled on his hands and feet over the broken door and into their dormroom.  Nick approached him cautiously, but Daniel kicked him away and flipped around.  He threw himself at the closed window above their beds and shoved it open before hauling himself through.  The hallway fell silent, save for the continued sounds of pain from the attacker.

“I should have shot sooner,” the student who fired the shot said.  “Then we wouldn’t have a lousy Grimm loose on campus.

Dakota stood up and turned to face the student.  Lewis and Nick mimicked his action, all three of them glaring daggers at him.  Dakota let his chain slip out of his fingers and onto the ground already estimating how many detentions he was about to rack up.

“That,” he said in a voice boiling with anger, “was a mistake.”

@0@0@

Daniel’s world was one massive blur as he sprinted across campus.  Nothing registered as he put as much distance between himself and the student dormitories.  For all he knew, he could’ve succumbed to the voices and lost control over his body.  At least outside at this hour no one could get hurt.  So he continued to run; down the roads of Vale, around trees, over bushes, he was almost positive he passed by the same points several times.  It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go; everyone would hate him after tonight.

Never had Daniel felt so trapped in such a large kingdom.

It was many hours later that Daniel began to register his surroundings once more.  Somehow during his black-out period, he had managed to make it all the way up to the top of Beacon Tower, and was sitting on a ledge right above Professor Ozpin’s office.  A quick glance behind him showed that the clockwork desk and chair were currently unoccupied.  For now, he was alone.

As the wind whipped around his body and through the clanking gears of the clock above him, he went over everything that had happened that night and found there was little that could have gone worse.  Not only had someone broken into his dorm and tried to kill him, provoking the voices into taking over, but he’d attacked his own teammates again and even managed to injure Velvet.  He doubted even the most hard core Faunus haters would condone what he did.  When he already felt like he had hit rock bottom, Remnant had somehow found a way to make things even worse.  For a moment, Daniel considered a messy but permanent solution to everyone’s problems.  Just a quick slip off of the ledge, and gravity would ensure this didn’t ever happen again.  He shook the notion quickly however, feeling that he was missing something else.  Some big part of his current predicament that could solve this without resorting to suicide.

The sun had just started to peek up above the horizon when the answer finally came to Daniel.  He was so shocked he’d forgotten about it, he almost fell off of his precarious perch.  He had forgotten something important; he had another option!

It was at that moment, that the window to his side slid open with a loud clicking of gears.  Professor Ozpin stepped out onto the ledge and looked over at Daniel.  “Good morning Mr. Grigio.  Do you mind if I ask you to come in?  The winds tend to pick up at this hour.”

“Hm?  Oh, yes sir,” Daniel said, standing up.  He followed Professor Ozpin in through the opening in the glass and down to the main floor of his office.

“Can I interest you in some coffee?” Professor Ozpin asked, as he poured himself a cup.

Daniel shook his head.  “No thank you sir.”

“Very well,” Professor Ozpin said as he took a long sip before setting the mug back down.  “The Police picked up your attacker shortly after you left.  He’s in hospital, with broken arms and internal bleeding, but is expected to survive.”  He took another sip and looked Daniel in the eyes.  “This was not your fault Daniel.  Your teammates states so multiple times, and I have to agree with them.  Humans and Faunus both have a fight or flight response when faced with a dangerous situation.  It can often blind one to whom is friend or foe.”

“It, it’s not that sir,” Daniel said.  “I think you know that yourself.  It’s not like it wasn’t obvious when we fought the team from Atlas.”

Professor Ozpin pushed his mug to the side and sighed.  “I will admit your behavior was curious that day.  Your actions went on longer than what a fight of flight response might allow for.  Would you care to expand on this?”

Daniel took a moment to compose his thoughts before taking a deep breath and telling Professor Ozpin everything.  About the voices, the lack of pain, everything.  Professor Ozpin stayed silent for most of it, only interjecting at times to have Daniel clarify a point.  When Daniel was done, he took a long sip of a now cold mug of coffee, and stared at his table.  “Even the greatest of burdens we ourselves carry can for a moment seem insignificant next to those of others.”  He looked up at Daniel with eyes full of compassion.  “Daniel, why didn’t you tell anyone about this?”

“I was scared sir,” Daniel said.  “I don’t know what this is, and it scares me.  The voices, the anger, it’s like I turn into a Grimm when it takes over!  I don’t want to hurt anyone else!”

“Your teammates are fine,” Professor Ozpin assured him.  “A few bruises, but nothing of consequence.  Ms. Scarlatina especially wants for you to know that she is unharmed, and wants you to know she doesn’t blame you, nor does the rest of her team.  Their reaction was born out of worry, not actual malice.”

Daniel shook his head.  “That’s not the point!  What about the next time this happens?  Or the time after that?  I could be away from my teammates, or they aren’t fast enough.  Sooner or later someone is going to die from this, unless I do something!”

Professor Ozpin said nothing, merely watching Daniel, who was now hyperventilating, struggle to control himself.  Daniel’s eyes darted back and forth, and for a moment he was certain he could hear the voices again.  But they died down, and he was able to regain control of his breathing.  It was only then that Professor Ozpin spoke.  “There are some steps we can take to prevent this, but I fear that you are the only one who can decide if it comes out or not.

Daniel shook his head.  “That’s not good enough sir, this thing, this, abomination inside me, it needs to go away.  And I think I know how to do it.”

Professor Ozpin locked his fingers and peered over them in his smoky glasses.  “And how would you do that?” 

Daniel took a deep breath and uttered one of the hardest phrases in his life.  “By getting an Aura.  Sir, I would like to transfer from Beacon to Atlas and continue my Huntsman training there.”

10: Chapter Ten

Hello everyone! Sorry for the week-long delay, but finals are a pain. Unfortunately this chapter is a bit on the short side, but I promise that there is more to come that is much longer than this. Anyways, I hope that you all enjoy, and as always feel free to drop a review of favorite/follow the story if you like it!

@0@0@

“So, Daniel decided to transfer to Atlas then?” General Ironwood inquired.  “May I ask what changed his mind?”  He winced as Ozpin explained what had transpired.  “So that, thing inside of him broke free?  I’ll instruct the doctors to make preparations in the event it appears during the operation.  Tell Daniel he can have a few days to remain at Beacon and give his team a proper goodbye.”  There was a pause.  “He wants to leave immediately?” General Ironwood exclaimed.  “Oz, is he certain?”  Another pause, and General Ironwood lowered his scroll from his ear and tapped on it several times, bringing up a list of flights scheduled to enter Atlas.  “There’s a flight from Atlas to Beacon at four thirty this afternoon.  Daniel has seat A eighteen.  And Oz, be certain Daniel knows we appreciate what he’s agreed to do.”

General Ironwood ended the call and placed his scroll down on his desk.  Now that Daniel had agreed to transfer, there was a lot that needed to be set in motion.  The Aural Generator had to be prepared, the doctors had to be informed, not to mention the amount of paperwork involved in transferring a student between academies.  But right now, General Ironwood allowed himself a moment of satisfied relief.  Daniel was coming to Atlas as a student.  His only qualm was how Daniel’s team would function without him.  Hopefully they would take the news well.

@0@0@

“What the hell were you thinking?” Dakota demanded. “You can't just leave us, you're our leader!”

“Not any more I'm not,” Daniel replied. He had arrived several minutes ago to tell his teammates that he was leaving.  Needless to say, they weren't taking it well.  Dakota was the most outspoken of the three; bombarding Daniel with questions and accusations as he continued to pack.

“I don't know why Professor Ozpin made me leader, but he made a mistake,” Daniel said.  “Unlike me, Lunare actually has experience fighting. When you guys merge, he’ll do way better than I ever did, you'll see.”

“You were a fine leader Dan-” Nick tried to say, but was caught up in a fit of coughing, keeping him from finishing the sentence.

Daniel paused his packing and turned to Nick, irritation flashing in his eyes.  “Really Nick?  Do you seriously believe that?  Have you even noticed the shit you’ve been through because of me?”  He held out a hand and began counting off on his fingers.  “I got Dakota and Lunare arrested, I nearly got both our teams killed by Glas when you came to rescue me, you can barely speak, and now everyone hates you guys because I’m your leader!  So you’ll excuse my cynicism, but no Nick, I was not a ‘fine leader’.”

“Would’ve. Happened. Anyways.” Nick rasped out.  “You’re our. Teammate.”

Daniel paused, his hands poised above his backpack with a folded shirt ready to be put in.  The rest of his team watched him intently, praying that maybe, just maybe, he would change his mind.  For a moment, it looked like he was teetering on the edge of changing his decision.  Then his face lowered, and he let out a long sigh as he placed the shirt into his pack.  “Then all the more reason to leave,” he said.  “They won’t care about team Dandelion if I’m not a member.”

“This is bullshit!” Dakota exclaimed. He stormed over and grabbed Daniels hand as he went for his spare pair of jeans.  “Nick’s right Daniel, we went through hell and back to save your sorry ass because that’s what teammates do!  You’re doing a terrific job repaying us!”

Daniel rounded on his friend, anger flashing in his eyes.  “You know Dakota, that sounds a lot like what Vlad probably said to you when you left his gang!  I bet he’d love to see your hypocritical ass right now!”

Dakota’s punch came out of nowhere.  The force of the blow sent Daniel tumbling over his bed and slamming into the wall on the other side.  As he bounced off and landed on the floor, his feet crashed into the bedside table.  There was a sharp cracking noise as something broke underneath his weight and force.

Daniel stood up slowly, clutching his head as he eyed Dakota, trying to gauge his next move.  Dakota still had his fists clenched and was breathing hard, but was looking at Daniel’s bedside table instead of Daniel himself.  Wary of a trick, Daniel shot a quick glance towards the table before properly turning his head to fully view the damage.

When his feet hit the table, they had landed perfectly on the picture of his mother Lunare had given him when he gave Dakota and Daniel a ride to Daniel’s old house for his father’s fingerprints.  The frame and glass had been shattered, and the picture itself had been folded and crumpled up.  When Daniel gingerly pulled it from the shattered remains of the frame and unfolded it, there was an ugly crease right over his mother’s face.

No one in the dorm dared to move.  All eyes were on Daniel as they tried to gauge how he’d react.  Nick had been about to jump on Dakota to prevent him from attacking again before seeing the damage and was frozen in a crouching position.  Lewis was covering his mouth in shock of what Daniel had said to Dakota.  Dakota’s mask of pure rage was quickly being replaced by one of regret as he desperately searched for some way to apologize to his friend.  That picture was literally the only thing he had of his mom.

Daniel didn’t say anything else.  All he did was fold the picture neatly and carefully put it in his pocket.  He then strode over to his backpack and roughly shoved the spare pair of jeans into the bag and crudely zipped it up.  The last two things he grabbed before leaving were his saber and pistol, which he clutched in one hand and shoved into his belt respectively.  As he grabbed the outside doorknob, Nick called out to him.

“Daniel, don’t do this.  Don’t.  Leave.”  Nick struggled to say more, but he fell into a violent coughing fit as his voice couldn’t take any more.

Daniel’s hand rested on the door and sighed one last time.  “Just so you know, this isn’t easy for me either.”  He closed the door behind him with a resounding click, leaving the room bare of any noise.

@0@0@

As the airship gracefully docked with the landing platform and began discharging passengers, Daniel stood up and slung his stuffed backpack over his shoulder.  His weapons had been taken hours ago and were sitting in a box ready to be stowed with the rest of the luggage in the cargo hold.  A few minutes passed, and a woman’s voice came over the loudspeaker, announcing that his flight could be boarded.  He shoved his backpack into the carry on compartment and sat down, waiting for the airship to take off.  It did so several minutes later, having been quickly restocked and refueled while the passengers boarded.  It detached from the landing pad with a quiet hiss, and slowly picked up speed as it ascended into the air.

As the airship neared the cloud layer, Daniel glanced out of his window.  He could see all of Vale through his tiny view, including a small sliver of his home town near the edge of the bordering mountains.  Up until he had been invited by General Ironwood to tour Atlas, that had been the only part of the world he’d ever known.  And now he was leaving it, possibly until he graduated.  He was overcome by sudden emotion, and had to glance away, tears threatening to spill out over his eyes.  Very slowly, he reached up and slid the plastic shutter down over the window.  It was only then that he managed to open his eyes and get his emotions under control.

Had Daniel continued to look however, he might’ve seen an unexpected sight.  A four legged vehicle was tearing through the streets of Vale, headed straight towards the landing pads.  It skidded to a halt in front of the loading area, and team LSTR leapt from the craft.

“I don’t see any airships; I think we missed him.” Schatten said.

“It could be running late; maybe he’s still here!” Ryler said hopefully.  He began scanning the crowd, searching for Daniel’s familiar spot of red hair.

Lunare however had pulled a pair of binoculars from his coat and was scanning the sky to the north of the landing pads.  “I’m afraid not Ryler.  There’s an outgoing craft entering the cloud layer north of us.  It appears to be the model of intercontinental airships Atlas Air uses.”

“Dammit, we were so close!” Schatten snarled.  “I told you we should have checked in on them earlier.”

Lunare lowered the binoculars from his eyes.  “There is another flight that we could catch on the weekend.  If we were to acquire tickets, we could meet him in Atlas and attempt to make him reconsider then.  At the very least, we would be able to give him a proper goodbye.”

“I say we don’t.” Tiberius countered.  “Daniel clearly wants to be left alone, otherwise he would have stopped by to say goodbye himself.”

Ryler turned to face his teammate, outrage sparking in his eyes.  “How could you say that?” he demanded.  “Daniel is our friend and we can’t lose him like this!”

“I concur,” Lunare said.  “I will go right away and purchase the tickets.”  He began striding towards a ticket counter, but was stopped by a restraining hand on his shoulder.

“You will do no such thing,” Tiberius said.  “We have to leave Daniel alone.”

With one hand, Lunare reached up and pushed on the sides of his glasses.  With the other, he grabbed Nieh Mehr’s handle and “I know you and Daniel aren’t the closest of friends Tiberius, but I highly recommend that you let go immediately, so the rest of us can go see him.”

If Tiberius was intimidated by his friend’s aggression, he didn’t show it.  “If you go now you’ll only antagonize him further,” he continued.  “You saw how his team was.  I would be very surprised if he was feeling any differently than they are right now.  If we give him time, then perhaps cooler heads will prevail.”

The two of them stared at each other for several minutes, trying to stare the other one down.  When the contest was ended however, it wasn’t one of them that broke the spell.

“Lunare, I think Tiberius has a point,” Schatten said.  “I hate to admit it, but maybe we should give him some time.”

Lunare glanced down at the ground, then removed his hand from Nieh Mehr and let it fall to his side.  “I really do hate human emotions,” he said irritably.  “Horribly complex and confusing, not like machines.”

“You’re going to listen to him Lunare?” Ryler said outraged as Lunare turned back towards Scrapmetal.

“If Daniel wants to be left alone, the least we can do is give him space,” Lunare said as he hoisted himself into Scrapmetal with a bit more force than was probably necessary.  “Now if you would all please get back into Scrapmetal, we can leave before being arrested for bringing a cannon to the airport.”

@0@0@

The moment that Daniel landed in Atlas, he was ushered into the academy and down into the underground aural research facility.  The scientists had clearly been waiting for him, and immediately began subjecting him to a multitude of pokes and prods as they began gathering information on his overall physical health.  As soon as they were done, they began to take samples of practically every bit of his body they could manage.  Blood, urine, skin, one of the scientists even snipped a strand hair from his head.  After what felt like several hours and likely was, they had an exhausted Daniel change out of his clothes and into a light green hospital gown.  He was then instructed to lay down on a metal examination table, and was finally left alone.

Daniel waited there for several minutes, shivering and sweating not from the cold metal pressing against his back, but from the memories that flooded his mind, followed closely by the voices.  His breath came in shallow gasps as his eyes darted around the brightly lit room.  He wanted out, needed to get free.  He’d kill anyone who tried to-

No!  It was different.  This wasn’t Glas’ compound.  He wasn’t strapped down.  The people here were there to help him get an Aura, not to perform a vivisection.  They weren’t going to leave him alone for days on end.  At least, he didn’t think so.

He was just managing to get his emotions under control when the door creaked open and he nearly lost it.  Daniel shot up and scrambled to get off the examination table as General Ironwood entered the room.  The general’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as Daniel tumbled to the floor, grabbing at a nearby counter as he fell.  Daniel shot up from the ground, eyes wide and darting, looking for a way out, a weapon he could use, anything.

“I’m sorry Daniel, I didn’t mean to startle you,” General Ironwood said.

“No, it’s fine General,” Daniel said, taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart.  “This just, brings back bad memories.  I’ll be glad when this is over.”

A pained expression came across Ironwood’s face.  “I’m sorry Daniel.  The doctors will be in to begin the sedation in a few minutes, and the procedure can begin then.  If you would prefer, they can move you to a more comfortable room for when you wake up.”

“Yeah, that would be, nice.” Daniel said.  “Just have them knock me out before saying procedure again.  Glas used that word a lot and I really hate it now.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” General Ironwood said.  Now before we begin the procedure, there is something I need to tell you.  It’s about a doctor we brought on to,”

General Ironwood didn’t get to finish his sentence.  The door opened once more and let in a man Daniel had prayed he would never have to see again.  There were differences to be sure, a change in attire, a greater state of dishevelment.  But he would never forget that face.

“Good evening Daniel,” Professor Arthur Glas said.  “Are you ready to begin?”

11: Chapter Eleven

There was no wind up; no voices whispering for him to give up control. One moment Daniel was looking at the man who had tried to experiment on him alive, the next he was gone; replaced by the beasts inside. General Ironwood had him wrapped in a full nelson as he tried to keep Daniel from lunging at Glas. Glas himself stood calmly in front of the struggling pair, watching them fight for dominance.

"You'll want to keep him restrained until he calms down," Glas suggested. "When we fought, he did so with a fractured arm and enough wounds to incapacitate most humans, and still won."

"We, know!" General Ironwood grunted as Daniel growled and snapped at his former captor. "You need to sedate him! Second cabinet on the right."

Glas' eyes widened in mock surprise. "Really General? Does this mean that my position of advisor has been increased to operator, thereby allowing me to touch surgical equipment without you, and I quote, 'breaking every fudging bone in mine hands'?"

"Just, get, nurse!" General Ironwood shouted as Daniel shot his head back and slammed it into Ironwood's jaw. Momentarily distracted, Ironwood's grip slipped and Daniel broke free. He leapt up on the table and launched himself at Glas, only to be stopped mere inches from his face, clawing and snapping at his former professor. If Glas was unsettled by this, he didn't show it. Instead, he stared into the blood red eyes.

"This is somewhat rude of you Daniel," Glas said as General Ironwood dragged a snarling Daniel backwards. "I know we had our differences in the past, but growling and biting at me? I expected at the very least a proper battle between huntsmen."

"Glas, shut up and sedate him already!" General Ironwood had pulled Daniel off of the table and was pinning him to the ground. Daniel snarled and thrashed, but couldn't free himself from Ironwood's vise-like grip.

"Yes, yes of course General," Glas said as he moved over to the cabinet. "Although this might be a bit difficult, considering my situation."

"Just, do it!"

"Patience General, I need to find the correct formula. This shouldn't take but a, there we go." He pulled down a transparent brown bottle and a box full of syringes. He selected a syringe and stuck it into the bottle, filling it up as he strode over to Daniel. The closer he got, the more Daniel thrashed. It was truly a sight to behold as Daniel squirmed and writhed under Ironwood's powerful hold.

"Now Daniel, before we say goodbye, is there anything you would like to say? Last time we met you were attempting to scatter my brains across the floor, so it would be understandable if you forgot anything you wished to relay at that point," Glas said as he bent down in front of Daniel.

"K-kill, you!" Daniel rasped. "Kill you! Kill youuuuuuu!"

"I expected as much," Glas said. He grabbed Daniel by the hair and jerked his head aside, exposing his neck. He jammed the needle into a large pulsing artery and pressed the plunger down. Daniel writhed and hissed at Glas, but it was too late. Within moments his muscles slackened and he collapsed to the ground.

"Next time save the talk until after he's sedated," Ironwood said as he carefully lifted his weight off of Daniel's prone form. "I can still have that agreement revoked."

"Really General, is that truly necessary? After all, you already have me bound and forbidden from taking any medical supplies with me," Glas pouted as he lifted up his arms to show him the hand and feet cuffs linked together. "Shall I also put a gag in my mouth and complete the look?"

"If you weren't the leading expert on Daniel's condition, we wouldn't even be having this conversation," Ironwood said as the doctors finally rushed in to assist. "From here on, you don't talk unless you are asked a question or see an immediate danger to Daniel's health. If and only if you follow this simple directive, I will allow your request to be processed."

Glas opened his mouth, but closed it when Ironwood raised an eyebrow. Instead, he backed off and watched as doctors cautiously shuffled into the room and carefully lifted Daniel up and onto the gurney facedown; strapping his appendages down securely. Daniel was then stripped down to his waist as several points were marked on his skin. As this was going on, the head doctor turned to General Ironwood, his face covered with a surgical mask.

"We will be ready to begin in a few moments sir," he said in a voice muffled by his mask.

"And you are certain the procedure has been properly modified for human use?" General Ironwood asked.

"Within the acceptable room for error you allowed," the doctor replied. His brow furrowed and he asked, "If I may be so bold sir, I believe we should have warned him of the risks, however slight, before sedation."

General Ironwood sighed. "I had planned to warn Daniel before he, lost control. As it stands, I doubt he could make the correct decision with a clear head. You may proceed when ready."

"-And therefor, due to the lack of rooms large enough for your team's increased size, you will remain in the rooms you were assigned," Professor Ozpin said. "As I understand, your teams have been close for some time now, so the changes should be slight. Although should you chose to participate in the Vytal tournament next year, there might be some complications that we can cover at that time. Are there any question?"

Professor Ozpin had waited several hours after Daniel had left Beacon before he called teams DLN and LSTR to his office to discuss what would be happening now that Daniel had left. He had waited so as to give time for cooler heads to hopefully prevail should some of team DLN have taken his leaving personally. From the scowl on Dakota's face though, little had evidently changed.

"Will we, hear from Daniel?" Nicholas Ochre of the newly shortened team DNL asked Professor Ozpin. "Want to hear if he's, okay."

Professor Ozpin nodded. "Of course mister Ochre. General Ironwood will be contacting me as soon as Daniel is out of surgery. If I receive any further communications, I will be certain to pass them on as well."

"We should also like to hear anything from him," Lunare said. "My team and I considered Daniel a close friend and would like to be certain of his safety as well."

"I don't see why not," Professor Ozpin said. "Now if there are no further questions, I wish you all a good day, and best of luck on your midterm exams."

As the two teams exited through the elevator, Glynda Goodwitch turned to face Professor Ozpin, having held her tongue during Ozpin's talk. "Do you really think that this was a wise idea?" she asked. "Transferring a student like this, I worry about the precedent it will set."

"And by precedent, you mean letting Daniel transfer to another school that might be better at treating his condition?" Professor Ozpin asked.

"Ozpin, I mean the precedent of sending a student away instead of stepping in and dealing with the situation ourselves. And that's completely ignoring how we let a student in who will never generate an Aura on his own." She sighed. "It's times like this when I wonder if you made a mistake letting him attend Beacon. None of this would have happened if he hadn't come."

"And yet it is also times like this that I remind myself of what we did for Daniel," Professor Ozpin replied. "At the end of the day, we did what we believed to be right. By letting him in, Daniel was able to leave the life he endured at his home; as well as gain some skills he could use to defend himself when the time comes. I can't think of any other decision that we could have made that would have been for his benefit."

Glynda sighed. "If you say so Ozpin. I just hope that his team will take this well."

No one in team DLN's room spoke, not even Lewis or Ryler who both couldn't stand a moment of quiet. Everyone seemed to be engrossed in some menial task, not wanting to be the ones that broached the subject with the rest. Most of team LSTR weren't even certain why they'd entered into the room in the first place. After the meeting in Ozpin's office, they had followed Lunare, who had in turn followed team DLN back to their room. They half expected Lunare to attempt to cheer up the group with some sort of clockwork contraption he made between Ozpin's office and here. None of them expected it to work, but they all figured it would be good to try.

Out of all of them, Dakota was taking it the worst. No one had seen him this angry before; not even during initiation when Daniel had refused to look into his eyes. All he was doing was sullenly staring at his homework for Professor Oobleck, as if daring it to do something he didn't like.

After an eternity, Lunare was finally the one to break the silence. As he stood up, the rest of his team tensed, waiting for him to be pounced upon the moment he pulled something from his jacket. Instead, he surveyed the room and announced, "If no one else has anything left to say, I will take my leave. I'm expecting a shipment of parts for Scrapmetal's leg upgrade to the garage, and I don't want to keep the delivery driver waiting."

"I should probably go as well," Tiberius voiced. "I'm several days behind on my, ah, report on Schnee dust, and really should get it finished."

"Same here."

"I've got to replace the candles in the bedroom!"

"You know you aren't supposed to leave those lit. You're not even supposed to have them in the dorm to begin with!" Schatten said.

"Well it's like my mom always says; they can't get you in trouble if they don't realize it's-"

However Ryler was going to finish that sentence was drowned out by the closing of the door, leaving team DLN to themselves.

Nick was the first of them to move, getting out of his hammock and striding across the room to Daniel's bed. For one reason or another, Daniel's jean jacket was still hanging off of his bed. Nick picked it up and turned it over. The gashes left by Yarrow's axes were long and ugly, still tainted at the rough edges by Daniel's blood. He looked over and saw the rest of his team watching him; Lewis with mild curiosity, and Dakota with weary carelessness. He folded the jacket over his arm and pulled his notepad out of his coat. I don't know if either of you noticed, but Daniel left his jacket here. It's still ripped from fighting the Atlas team, but he might still want it.

"Nah man, I wouldn't worry about it," Lewis said.

Nick frowned and cocked an eyebrow at Lewis. When Daniel had announced he was leaving, Lewis had been almost as upset as Dakota had been. Since then however, he'd quickly changed his disposition, improving back to his normal self in a matter of hours.

"Daniel isn't gone forever guys, we'll see him soon enough," Lewis continued. "The spirits told me everything man. I'm telling you guys; we'll see him again and it's going to be-"

Lewis was interrupted by Dakota abruptly standing up and walking over to Nick. He yanked the jacket out of his arms, strode over to the open window, and tossed it out.

"To hell with your spirits, and to hell with him," Dakota said. He then strode back to his bed and grabbed his leather jacket off of it to throw over his shoulders. He then strode towards the door and ripped it open, disappearing into the corridor beyond.

Had he watched Daniel's jacket fall, he might've seen the it tumble through the air and land at Lunare's feet as he strode through the courtyard toward his garage. Lunare bent down and picked the jacket up, inspecting it for himself. He fingered the gashes in the front with a curious expression on his face before tucking it within his jacket and continuing on his way. There was a deliveryman to meet after all.

Daniel's mind was in turmoil.

Normally once his pulse rate slowed and his body calmed down, the voices would become quiet and eventually disappear.

Not this time though.

He'd had nightmares about the voices many times before. They'd increased in regularity after the day his secret was released, but he'd always woken up in a cold sweat right before they overwhelmed him. This time was different; this time he was stuck in slumber by whatever Glas had injected into him. This time, he was trapped in his mind.

The voices swirled and howled around Daniel; begging for control, demanding that they be let loose to wreak havoc against Glas. Grimm faces swirled into his vision, their teeth and beaks snapping mere inches from his face. Daniel wanted to let them loose so badly, at least then they'd be focused on something else besides him. But every time he tried to let them take control, nothing happened. He couldn't even escape into brief insanity that followed their takeover. It was as if he was on the verge of losing control, but was incapable of taking the final step.

Then suddenly, he woke up.

"Glas!" he shouted as he burst from slumber like a sea dragon bursting from beneath the waves. His eyes bolted wide as his hands shot up to his head, expecting for the voices to continue harassing him for a bit longer. Incredibly however, the only response he got was a painful tugging at his arm from an IV.

Confused, Daniel tried to take in what was going on. After the operation, he had evidently been transferred from the table to a soft hospital bed where he was lying face down with a hole in the mattress for his face to rest. Cautiously, he tried to roll over, but was stopped once again by the IV.

As he inspected the room from his limited point of view, there was a pounding of feet approaching his door. It burst open and half a dozen doctors and nurses rushed into the small room, instantly making it feel cramped. To complicate matters, someone had brought along a defibrillator and had seen fit to shove everyone out of the way to get it into the forefront. Daniel was immediately subjected to rounds of pokes and prods as every medical personnel in the room began rapid fire asking him and each other questions.

"Check his vitals! Are they still fluctuating?"

"Warm up the defibrillator, we might have to use it!"

"Mister Grigio, how do you feel?!"

"Is the implant causing you any trouble?"

Before they could get into a repeat of what had happened before the operation, a voice called out behind the doctors.

"Everyone calm down and make certain he is stable. I'm certain this is the last thing Mister Grigio wanted before he woke up."

The doctors paused, clearly ready to poke and prod every inch of Daniel's body once more. They conceded however, and limited themselves to simple pulse checks and blood sampling before filing out of the tightly packed room. Soon, the only people remaining were General Ironwood and a tan balding man in a white lab coat.

"I apologize for them Daniel," the General said. "Sometimes the members of the Aura research facility can get a bit excited."

"General, what, what's going on?" Daniel asked. "Is everything alright?"

General Ironwood looked over at the balding man, who tapped his glasses and cleared his throat. "After your operation Mister Grigio, which was a success I might add, it was decided to keep you under sedation for the day so that we could monitor how your body was accepting the implants. We were going to bring you out later this evening; however, your vitals suddenly spiked and your essentially forced yourself awake. We rushed in because, frankly, that is quite dangerous for the body."

"Fortunately, it appears that you are currently stable, and now have access to an Aura," General Ironwood added.

Wait, I do?" Daniel asked, checking himself. He didn't look any differently. He didn't feel any differently. Where was the protective field that everyone talked about?

"The implant itself is removable, save for the housing around it," the man said. We tested it while you were still unconscious, however we removed it soon thereafter to allow your body to safely adjust."

"The implant, what are you, ow ow ow, ow," Daniel exclaimed as he tried to roll over again. His upper back was lit up with sharp pains; it felt almost as if something was stuck into it. The implant, apparently.

"Yes, that would be the implant, Mister Grigio," the man said. "It's a marvelous feat of engineering if I do say so myself. You see, it reroutes the signals normally traveling along your spine past the section we had to remove to make room for the implant, I would be more than happy to show you some-"

"Wait, you did WHAT to my spine?"

"Removed part of it. Between your third and fourth ribs actually."

Daniel craned his neck, trying to see what was on his back. Unfortunately, due to it being on his back, all he could see was a mass of gauze extending half an inch above his back.

"Would you like to see it Daniel?" General Ironwood asked.

"Yes, Yes!" Daniel said, nearly shouting.

"Then please hold still while I remove the bandages," the Doctor said. He moved over to Daniel and stuck something cold, large, and hard between the bandages and his skin. Daniel tensed up as the scissors cut through the gauze with some difficulty. He brushed the torn strips aside and pulled something free before pulling his scroll out and snapping a picture. He then held it in front of Daniel's face, allowing him to see it.

A circle of flesh had been cut out of his body, right over his spine. It went down deeper than what made Daniel comfortable before terminating in a sort of socket. The interior of the circle was lined with coils of wires that ran between the bottom and a lip right before the top.

"Now then young man, if that is all I do have some research I must attend to. We will be holding you here for a few more days, however you should be free to move about for the most part."

"Well Daniel, do you have any questions?" General Ironwood asked as the Doctor stood up and left. "How do you feel?"

"Feel?" Daniel said, struggling to control his breathing. He lifted his head up and gingerly turned himself around to face the General putting on a brave smile as he turned. "I feel, great!"

12: Chapter Twelve

Hello everyone! Decided to update today as opposed to this upcoming Monday as a result of the Monty Oum Project. For those of you who don't know, February first marks the day that Monty Oum, the creator of RWBY, passed away. The Monty Oum project is a thing some fans take part in where they start creating something new on today. I didn't have anything new I'm working on that I can post today, but I do have TBH. I hope that you all enjoy the chapter, and remember to keep moving forward.

@0@0@

The next week for Daniel was not what he had expected.

He hadn't planned on jumping out of the hospital bed and continue his training the day he woke up, but he had hoped for something more than more testing. Instead, he found himself taking part in a week of tests and drills to see how his body reacted to the intensive procedure. Weight lifting, reaction times, endurance tests, everything was checked and compared to scores he'd gotten while at Beacon. Because of it, Daniel found himself laying down in a loaned bed every night, his body aching from the day's workout. And they still hadn't even shown him how the artificial Aura even worked.

"We have to be certain that there aren't any complications from the surgery," one of the scientists told Daniel when he asked about all of the tests. "General Ironwood has given us a week to be certain you are ready, and that's not a lot of time to test the results of a new procedure. If you ask me," he added, "it's nowhere near enough."

There were some differences, Daniel had noticed. His back was slightly less flexible than it used to be, the slabs of metal making up the Aura generator and whatever had replaced part of his spine preventing him from twisting his back all the way. It also made sleeping more difficult. Daniel usually slept on his back, but the implants made this position too uncomfortable. In the past couple of days, he found himself switching to a side or stomach position before falling asleep.

Despite this issues facing him, Daniel was getting tired of waiting. He'd had too many problems recently because he couldn't generate an Aura. He wanted it in now.

On the sixth day of tests, his wish was granted.

It was towards the end of the day. Daniel was lying on his back, his body drenched in sweat after the set of crunches he'd just finished. One of the scientists was watching him and clicked a stopwatch before recording his time on his clipboard. "Six minutes and twenty seconds," he announced. "Not bad Mister Grigio, not bad at all. You seem to be in good shape for someone who just had a spinal bypass"

"That's, good, I guess," Daniel panted as he rolled over to his stomach and pushed himself onto his knees.

The scientist handed Daniel a water bottle and a towel before walking over to a table and picking up a metal suitcase that had been sitting on top of it. "Now then Mister Grigio, I understand that you have been waiting for this moment for some time. Which is why General Ironwood has asked that I insert the Aura generator."

In an instant, all of Daniel's exhaustion from the past couple of days were gone. "Wait, really?" he asked as he jumped to his feet.

"We have no further testing, so yes," the scientist said. "Now, I need you to take off your shirt and lean over the table so I can install the battery."

Daniel did as the scientist directed, pulling the sweat drenched shirt off and bending over, putting his hands on the table for support. The scientist pulled the plastic top off the implant before opening the suitcase. Daniel turned his head to see him remove a cylinder-like object from inside and turn back to Daniel. He slotted it into the generator, pushing Daniel down towards the table, as he twisted it until it clicked into place.

"The system should begin powering up momentarily," The scientist said. "You should feel an increase in your energy when it starts up. Tell me when that happens."

"Not yet," Daniel said, frowning as he reached up and scratched the inside of his ear. "I'm not feeling any, did it get quiet in here or, holy ." Daniel's comment was drowned out as a surge of energy blasted over his being. It was like drinking five cans of Rage and sticking a fork in an outlet all at the same time. The energy washed over his body, down his limbs, and enclosed itself around his fingers and toes. It felt like his body was entirely encased in a warm blanket. A white noise he hadn't noticed until now was erased, leaving him with what felt like heightened hearing.

"You feel it then?" the scientist asked, turning back towards the suitcase.

"Yeah, this is, wow," Daniel said, completely in awe of what was going on. "Is this how huntsmen feel all the time?"

"I can only assume," the scientist said. "Now then, if you aren't overly exhausted, go take a shower and meet General Ironwood. He has asked that you meet him in his office in twenty minutes. He wishes to discuss your entrance into Atlas academy. The generator is waterproof, so there is no need to cover it while in the shower."

"I'd better get going then," Daniel said as he took off towards the showers. "He asked that you wear the Atlas uniform," the scientist called out. It was too late though. Daniel had rounded the corner and was long gone.

@0@0@

General Ironwood was behind his desk reviewing papers when Daniel arrived twenty-two minutes later. He glanced up briefly as the door chime went off, letting out a brief "Enter," before returning to his papers. The door slid open to reveal Daniel, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt over his implant.

"You wanted to see me sir?" he asked with a smile.

General Ironwood glanced up at him. "Yes, Mister Grigio, I did. You will be pleased to hear your test results have come back fine. It would appear that neither the generator or spinal bypass caused any, unexpected side effects."

"That's good to hear sir," Daniel said, "I was getting tired of all the tests."

"As I could imagine. Tell me, did Doctor Bay put the generator in yet?"

"He did sir," Daniel answered, his smile getting even bigger. "I think it's working great. I haven't felt like this in my life!"

"Good," General Ironwood said. "Daniel, I have one final test for you before we continue."

"Oh," Daniel said, deflating slightly.

"Just a small test," General Ironwood assured him. "One question only. Do you trust me?"

The question surprised Daniel. He hadn't been asked if he trusted someone like General Ironwood before. Before he had asked, Daniel could have easily said he trusted him; but now that whether or not he trusted him had been called into question, Daniel wondered if he should.

"Do you trust me Daniel?" General Ironwood repeated sternly.

"I guess?" Daniel said apprehensively.

"That's not an answer. Do you trust me."

"Ah, yes. Yes sir!" Daniel said.

"Thank you," General Ironwood said before raising a massive revolver from underneath his desk and firing three shots into Daniel's chest.

The heavy bullets slammed into Daniel and threw him backwards into the wall. There was a crunching sound as the wall buckled under the collision, and Daniel slid down to the floor, dazed. Daniel's hands shot towards where the bullets had struck, only to find that he was unharmed. Not that it didn't hurt; the last time he'd felt this bad he'd taken a glancing axe blow to his chest. Unlike that time however, there was no blood to be seen.

"You shot me?" was all Daniel could get out. He hadn't expected anything like that to happen, and

"Obviously," General Ironwood said as he opened his revolver cylinder and began extracting the spent casings. "I imagine that hurt quite a lot."

"Yeah, it did!" Daniel replied. "I mean, not as much as it should, I think, but it hurt!"

"Good," General Ironwood said. He stood up from his desk and walked around to kneel next to Daniel. "The first round was to test your aura, but the next two were for being late and out of uniform. If you're going to become a huntsman, then the special considerations end here. You now have an Aura, and you are now one of my students. You will be treated as such, and you will treat me as such. Is that clear cadet?"

"I, yes sir!" Daniel stammered, trying to wrap his head around the sudden change in Ironwood's personality.

"Good," General Ironwood replied. He stood up and walked back around his desk and sat down. "Now stand at attention cadet. Normally I'd send you to your bunk to change into uniform, but my schedule is full and I don't have time to wait for you." He glanced up at Daniel from his revolver and snapped the cylinder back into place with a flick of his wrist. "That was an order cadet."

Daniel scrambled to his feet, desperate to avoid further shots. He snapped to attention upon regaining his footing, and pulled his right hand into a salute.

"At ease cadet. Now then, I'm going to introduce you to the senior team that will be getting you up to speed by the end of next semester, at which point you will join the rest of next year's class and be assigned a team. Understood?"

"Yes sir General!"

"Good." Ironwood reached over and pressed a button on his desk. "Send in team Grey please."

Daniel turned in surprise to see the door open to admit Greeve, Rojoe, Ebon, and Yarrow, the four Atlesian Huntsmen-in-training that he'd encountered several weeks ago. The four of them came to a halt next to Daniel and snapped off salutes to the General as well. "You wanted to see us sir?" Greeve asked.

"Yes Greeve. This is Daniel Grigio. He is the student I want the four of you to mentor for the remainder of this semester and the next. Has your team read the briefing?"

"We have memorized your briefing sir, and are confident in our ability to carry out your orders!"

"Good," General Ironwood said. "With your skills in Dust, and mister Sapphire's recent focus on biomechanics, your team is the best prepared to assist mister Grigio with his implant, should the need arise."

"It won't be a problem sir!"

"Very well, I'll leave the five of you to get acquainted. Dismissed."

Team Grey turned and filed out of the room in military precision that Daniel tried to emulate. The team continued along this way until they had rounded a corner and were out of sight of General Ironwood's door. They then stopped and turned around to face Daniel. The sight of four upperclassmen in imposing military dress stopped Daniel dead in his tracks.

"So," Daniel began, "It's been a while. Good to see you guys again."

Greeve didn't say anything, but instead continued to glare at Daniel, seeming to size the younger teenager up. To his side, Rojoe shot Daniel an apologetic look.

"I guess you guys are going to be training me then. Kind of, ironic don't you think?" The deafening silence continued. The only reaction that Greeve showed was the slight raising of his eyebrows.

Realizing that his attempt at conversation wasn't going to work, Daniel took a deep breath and changed tactic. "Okay, look; I am really sorry for what happened in Vale. That got out of hand really quickly"

"Your actions cost us weeks of planning, and execution" Greeve said, finally breaking his silence.

"Well, maybe, but I had no idea!" Daniel said. "I didn't know any of this would happen, especially training with you guys!"

"The same can be said for us then," Greeve said.

"Oh, come on Greeve, you didn't have your suspicions?" Yarrow asked. "Rojoe rushes into the briefing, tells us first thing that she met one of the guys we fought and that he doesn't have an Aura, and suddenly we get a briefing to train one guy and that it required our two very specific skill sets to maintain a piece of tech he'd be wearing, and none of that tipped you off? Which reminds me, Ro told me about what happened, sorry for hitting you," he added, glancing at Daniel and giving him an apologetic look.

"I didn't consider it until after I read the briefing," Greeve replied.

"Whatever, Ebon still owes me twenty Lien. Pay up Agent Flaming Hoops."

"You made that bet after we got the briefing, I'm not paying you jack," Ebon replied, crossing his arms like Greeve had.

"Why you no good double crossing-"

"Boys!" Rojoe said loudly, "Maybe we should focus on the situation at hand? Like what are we going to do with Daniel?"

"We do as we're ordered," Greeve answered. "General Ironwood wants Daniel ready for initiation in two semesters, and we're going to make certain he is." "Duh you two, that was kind of obvious," Yarrow commented. "Disobeying an order from the leader of the largest military on the planet isn't the best career move. Especially if he's our headmaster, and probably our boss in a year or so."

"No, what I meant was what are we going to do with him on missions?" Rojoe said. "We can't take him on most of our missions, he's too inexperienced! No offense," she added. "It's fine," Daniel said, "It's not like I've got a good track record anyways."

"Wellllllll, you did take on a professor at your school," Yarrow said. "That's something at least."

"We will make that decision on a mission to mission basis," Greeve said with finality. "Right now, Daniel needs to get into uniform, and we need to help him move in."

@0@0@

After picking up Daniel's backpack from the room he'd been in since the operation, the five of them took a quick jaunt through an ice cold courtyard, up a concrete staircase, and through a hallway filled with doors and the occasional student to finally arrive at their dorm. The interior was noticeably different from that of the dormitories at Beacon. The floor was covered in a dark gray tile with the walls being painted in a slightly lighter shade. Four immaculately made beds lined the back wall underneath a window looking out into the courtyard. The overall color scheme seemed to be in shades of gray, with the exceptions being a large chalkboard with complex mathematical equations written on it, a poster for a boyband Daniel had heard was doing an international tour, and a table with vials and crystals of Dust interspaced on the surface with explosion marks. A violin sat on one of the beds, its bow laying across it.

"Welcome to casa del grupo grey!" Yarrow exclaimed. "Bathrooms are down the hall, emergency fire extinguishers are an added feature, and complimentary flea preventions once every twelve weeks."

"You know that one day someone is going to hear that and take it the wrong way, right?" Ebon asked.

"Which is why I kept my best material to myself during that White Fang op," Yarrow replied.

"You guys fought the White Fang?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, we were in Vale trying to find those two that your old team fought a few weeks ago. Vale police found one of their hideouts, and asked us to tag along for the added manpower," Yarrow bragged. "We had to hide Ebon's tail since the Fang has it out for Faunus that fight them, but it was no biggie."

"Okay Yarrow," Rojoe interrupted, "Inflate your already massive ego sometime later. For now, how about we help Daniel unpack his things."

"There's a problem with that Ro," Ebon said. "I'm no Dust prodigy, or whatever the hell Yarrow is-"

"Hey!"

"But I do know there's no room for another bed. Not in our dorm."

"He's right," Greeve said. "The table takes up the one available space we have."

Yarrow put his fingers into a rectangle and held them up to one eye, picturing the room. "Bunk beds and a hammock," he said after a moment.

"Say what?" Rojoe asked.

"Bunk beds and a hammock," Yarrow repeated. We loft the beds with some four-by-fours, and string a hammock diagonally between the two. Everyone gets a place to sleep, we free up more floor space, and Daniel doesn't have to learn how to make a bed military style."

Ebon and Greeve both turned to look at the beds and ponder Yarrow's idea. Occasionally, Greeve would count on his fingers, as if doing some sort of mental math.

"That, could work," Ebon mused. Assuming of course that we can get some wood to loft the beds. And a hammock."

"Not a problem," Yarrow said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. "So it's settled then? Greeve and Ro take the left bunks, Ebon and I take the right?"

"Um… Well… I suppose," Rojoe said, suddenly a bit flustered.

"It's settled," Greeve answered. Ebon and I will go find the wood; Yarrow, you find a way to connect the wood to the two beds."

"Greeve, you're talking to the guy who has access to both the student labs and the non-student labs," Yarrow said. "All I need is fifteen minutes on a milling machine, some metal bits, and a power drill. Worst case scenario, I pull out a saw and screwdriver."

"Good. Ro, you stay with Daniel," Greeve instructed. "Help him unpack, and try to get a hammock from the quartermaster."

"I, yes sir!" Rojoe said, snapping into focus.

"And one more thing. Yarrow, if you will."

Yarrow reached into his uniform pocket and withdrew a scroll. "New Scroll," Yarrow said as he held it up for Daniel to see. "Latest model, all the bells and whistles, yadda yadda yadda, also one of the few phones that can do this." Yarrow tapped on the screen, and Daniel gasped, feeling as if the wind was rushing out of him. The feeling of power, the energy that had been flowing through him since the generator had been slotted in, was gone. And with it came the quiet white noise he'd just gotten used to not having.

"Sorry about that, but you can't exactly recharge like the rest of us," Yarrow explained. The battery lasts 48 hours cycling, or a couple minutes in a fight, so you're only supposed to turn it on when you need it."

"That's not a lot of time," Daniel said, slightly concerned. "What happens if I run out of it?"

"Same as the rest of us; you fight without it," Ebon said.

Yarrow patted Daniel on the back reassuringly. "I wouldn't think too much into it. Greeve's got the best Aura between the four of us, and he still lasted less than a minute in the Vytal festival finals last year."

"Don't you all have jobs to do?" Greeve asked.

"You mean use a milling machine to mill some wood no one has gotten for me yet?" Yarrow inquired innocently as he reached into a pocket and brought out a carton of cigarettes, opening it up and knocking one out. "No, not really. More of a waiting game at this point." He had the cigarette in his mouth and was fishing for a lighter when he caught the look on Greeve's face. Very slowly, he pulled his hands out of his pocket and removed it from his mouth. "Ah, your new no smoking rule. I should probably take this outside then, keep it away from any fire dust."

Greeve's frown deepened, unamused by Yarrow's comment.

"Right, right," Yarrow said. "I'm leaving." He threw a bright yellow lab coat over his uniform and sauntered out of the room and into the hallway. Greeve and Ebon followed suit a moment later, leaving Rojoe and Daniel alone in the dormitory.

"Looks like it's just you and me then," Daniel said. He glanced around the room, scanning it for a place he could put the meager number of personal belongings. "Uh, where should I put my stuff?"

"Uniform and long sleeves go in the closet, the rest of your clothes go in the top drawer," Rojoe said as she went to the violin sitting on one of the beds and picked it up.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll need the closet," Daniel said. He unzipped his backpack and started pulling out the changes of clothes he'd brought with him to Atlas. Between the clothes that he'd lost fighting Glas, mock fights with his old team and LSTR, and his fight against team GREY, many of the clothes that he'd bought months ago with Tiberius' Lien were ruined beyond repair. All he had left were two pairs of jeans, a couple of shirts, and half a dozen pairs of socks and underwear.

Ro was put the bow to the string and was about to being playing when she saw Daniel zip his backpack up. "Is that it?" Rojoe asked in astonishment. "No boots or anything? Not even have a jacket?"

"I had a jean jacket," Daniel answered with a sigh. "But then Yarrow hit me in the chest with an axe. Not something you can really sew back together."

Rojoe stared at Daniel for a moment, still in shock, before pulling out her scroll and hitting a number on speed dial. "Yarrow? It's Rojoe. Go out and get Daniel some cold weather gear and a coat, you owe him one. Yes, you. Why? Try when you hit him in the chest with your weapon! I don't know," she said, glancing over at Daniel, "he's about Ebon's height. No you're not stealing one of his and giving it to Daniel, go and get one!"

Rojoe ended the call and let out a huge sigh. "Honestly, why do I even bother with these idiots. I'm not even the leader, Greeve is. So why do I always have to deal with Yarrow? It's like he wants to be beaten up by everyone, and I have to make sure he doesn't. If Greeve wasn't so-,"

Rojoe paused in mid rant, abruptly and acutely aware that Daniel was not only still in the room, but had also paused the folding of his clothes and putting them into the drawer he'd been pointed to.

"You didn't have to do that for me," Daniel protested. "I could've gotten by."

Rojoe shook her head. "You're five foot eleven, maybe a hundred and sixty pounds," she said. "You would freeze to death before winter even sets in."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Daniel said sarcastically

"Besides, despite our rocky meeting, you're part of our team now," Rojoe added.

"So, no hard feelings then?" Daniel asked. "Not even when Lunare knocked Greeve into the sky?"

"Oh, Greeve rarely takes things personally," Rojoe answered. "To him, everything in a mission is just business. I doubt he'd even try to get even with him if they ever met. You all did come out on the losing side after all."

Daniel paused in his folding of laundry. "Didn't we send you guys running in the end?"

Rojoe put her hands on her hips. "Only because our targets escaped and we had to chase after them. You want to see how we fight for real? Rest up and be ready tomorrow, your training starts at O-five hundred."

13: Chapter Thirteen

"So, to be clear, the seven of you are not having any problems integrating?" Professor Ozpin asked.

"Not in the least sir," Lunare answered. "As you correctly assumed, team Dandelion and my own have been able to continue our successful working relationship. Beyond missing a member, team Lustered Lion is performing optimally."

Professor Ozpin nodded and made a note upon his scroll. The two of them were seated on opposite sides of Ozpin's desk, both drinking from mugs of steaming coffee. While Professor Ozpin typed on his scroll, Lunare's hands gained a mind of their own and slipped into his pockets. Within seconds, he was absentmindedly tinkering with one of his Aural Disruptors, steadily taking it apart piece by piece.

"That is good to hear," Professor Ozpin said. "Although that does bring me to my next question. How are the members of your team doing with the recent changes?"

Lunare paused his disassembly, seemingly snapping out of a trance. "My original team is adjusting fairly well," he said after a brief moment of consideration. It's good that we were able to remain in our own rooms, although having people walk in between ours and the old Dandelion dorm is admittedly annoying," he added with a bit of a forced chuckle.

"Lunare," Professor Ozpin said, "How is your team coping with Daniel's absence?"

Lunare took several moments to compose thoughts before taking a deep breath and answering. "It has not been easy," he said. "My team is upset and understandably misses him, but what they feel is tame when compared to how team Dandelion is fairing. They feel how we feel and more so, even if they do not always show it. In my opinion, I cannot blame them," he added as an afterthought.

"In your opinion?" Professor Ozpin prompted.

Lunare stirred uncomfortably, searching for the words to the question he wished hadn't been raised. Wishing he hadn't opened his mouth, Lunare steeled himself and explained himself. "After everything that they have done for him, Daniel left them when they least expected it. It didn't help that he made his decision right after the incident with the assailant, which I believe they view as a, knee-jerk reaction," he said.

"Have there been any violent outbursts?"

Lunare looked around the room nervously before speaking up to answer the question. "Lewis has his… own methods that seem to be working in his favor. Dakota," Lunare took a deep breath before choosing his next words carefully, "Dakota has been, fighting outside of class."

"Fighting?" Professor Ozpin inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes sir. You have probably read the reports, he spars with other students after class."

"Indeed," Professor Ozpin said. "I've seen his detention slips, he has been pushing himself rather hard, hasn't he? See to it that he doesn't push himself too hard, or anyone else for that matter."

Lunare nodded and glanced back down at his Aural Disruptor.

"And what about Nicholas Ochre?" Professor Ozpin asked. "You have neglected to mention him at all today."

"I'm afraid that Nick's emotions are unknown to me," Lunare admitted. "Dakota and Lewis' emotions can be seen physically relatively easily, but Nick keeps much of his emotions to himself. I'm afraid I can't tell you what he thinks, beyond disappointment."

"Indeed," Professor Ozpin said. "Thank you Mister Nacht, I think that will be all. Please let me know if Mister Harding goes to far, or if Mister Lemon's compensating becomes any more serious."

"Of course, sir," Lunare said, finishing his tea and standing up, shoving the disassembled Aural Disruptor into his pocket. "Is there anything that I can tell team Lustered Lion about Daniel?" he inquired.

"I have been told that he recovered well from the operation, and is undergoing tests to see how he has been affected by it," Professor Ozpin answered. "And as promised, I will continue to keep your team informed of any information I am given.

Lunare nodded and turned to leave, but Professor Ozpin wasn't done speaking. "However, you must understand that Daniel is no longer a student at Beacon. As such, there are not many reasons for General Ironwood to keep the headmaster of another school informed on a single student, no matter how interesting that student may be."

Lunare nodded. "I understand sir," he said. "I suppose then that the only thing to do is to wait and see."

@0@0@

The sound of a bugle over a loud speaker pulled Daniel from what had until that point been a comfortable slumber. Groaning, he tried to roll out of his bed, only for it to shake and swing underneath him. Daniel uttered a cry of alarm and began flailing as the adrenaline shot through his system. The swinging worsened, and Daniel was thrown from his hammock and landed on the floor below.

"Good morrow to you," Yarrow said brightly as he slung down from his bunk bed. I see you're quick enough to rise, that's quite the good trait for life in the military."

"Wait, what's going on?" Daniel asked blearily as the day before came back to him. The building of the hammock, the trip to the quartermaster for clothes, and the warning from Greeve before lights out that Atlas had their huntsmen teams wake up at an early hour. A glance out the window to see the sun not even up yet confirmed the warning.

Around Daniel, team GREY was working like a well-oiled machine, getting out of their sleep-wear and pulling on gray sweatpants and shirts.

"Morning calisthenics," Greeve explained as he grabbed Daniel under an arm and hauled him up. "We're out the door in two minutes, come on!"

Daniel turned around and immediately ran into his twisted hammock. He stumbled and would've fallen had Greeve not grabbed him once more to steady him.

"Roll your hammock up and stow it in the bag," he instructed Daniel as he unhooked the hammock from one bunk bed and handed it to Daniel. "It's taking up room it doesn't have to."

Daniel did as he was instructed, roughly jamming the hammock into the bag attached to its side. He then rushed over to the drawers he'd been instructed to put his clothes into and began searching desperately for his exercise clothes, which he had haphazardly stuck into the drawers with all his other clothes the night before.

"Thirty seconds Grigio!"

"I'm trying I'm trying!" Daniel yelled back as he finally extracted what he was looking for from underneath a pile of underwear and socks. Casting off his pajamas, he pulled the clothes on, grabbed a pair of socks, and began searching for his shoes. He searched frantically until they were tossed in front of him by Ebon, who'd found them underneath his own bed.

"We'll be working on your organizational skills later, for now we're going for a run," Greeve said as Daniel tied his shoes on. "Fifteen laps around the courtyard people, let's go!"

"Fifteen laps, but it's got to be twenty degrees out there!" Daniel said.

"Mmmm, more like negative twenty, at this hour," Yarrow said cheerfully. "Nothing like a brisk run in the arctic weather to get your blood flowing, eh Daniel?"

@0@0@

As Lunare reentered the room, Schatten looked up from a newspaper he was reading on his bed. "What's the word boss?" he asked.

"Daniel is responding well to the operation and is already on his feet," Lunare answered as he sat down at his workbench. "Although Professor Ozpin has hinted that we will have to use alternate methods to gain updates from this point forward."

"Right. Coffee cans and yarn then?"

"Indeed," at the dump looking for wood to build his rooftop garden," Schatten said, adding air quotes around 'rooftop garden', "Tiberius is having his weekly fight with the local dry cleaner, and Lewis and Nick are helping Dakota blow off some steam. Oh, and your guy called; said that if you can wait until next week for more cans of Rage that he can get you three cases of 'limited edition' grape flavored cans."

Usually, a shipment of banned energy drinks being delayed would be brought to the forefront of Lunare's attention. However, Dakota had taken to blowing off steam nearly every day since Daniel left. So far, he'd landed four other students in the medical center for everything from burns, sprains, to dislocated shoulders and racked up a week's worth of detention for his troubles. In all likelihood, Lewis and Nick had gone not to spar with their teammate, but to keep him from hurting his opponent too bad.

"This late?" Lunare asked. "Normally they would have returned by now."

"Goodwitch banned him from fighting other students without supervision," Schatten said. "He's going to some sort of fighting ring he knows about."

"We have got to do something about Dakota," Lunare said as he put down the disassembled Aural Disruptor he hadn't even realized he'd taken out of his pocket. "If he keeps this up, he could be expelled."

Schatten looked up from his paper once more. "Some days I think that he wants to be. You're right though, we've got to get his mind off of Daniel."

"I will take Lewis and Nick aside when they return," Lunare said. "Perhaps a night on the town might improve their moods?"

"Worth a shot," Schatten said.

The two of them were distracted from their conversation by a commotion at the door. Two people were arguing vigorously as they walked in their direction. Schatten and Lunare glanced at each other, both recognizing the voices and prepared for what was about to come next.

"I have had it up to here with your outrageous antics!" Tiberius shouted as he and Ryler barged through the door. "You are absolutely infested with bugs and termites from your trip to the dump! Look, there's one in your hair right now!"

"I told you Ty, this is all about sustainability!" Ryler shouted back. "If I go to the hardware store, I'll be violating the spirit of this endeavor!"

"And so you skipped any other alternative and went straight to the trash? I could have named a dozen places you could have gotten your wood! You insufferable little ow!"

Tiberius' exclamation of pain came from the rolled up newspaper hitting him in the head. Schatten had rolled his up and stormed over to hit them both with a resounding thwack.

"Thank you for that Schatten; Ryler, go get in the shower," Lunare instructed. "Tiberius, you do have a point-"

"Hah!" Tiberius said triumphantly.

"-But Ryler was simply working on a side project. I'm certain he was on his way back here to clean off."

"Well actually Lunare," Ryler began, only to falter as Lunare shot him a look. "That is, exactly what I was going to do! This grime is absolutely dulling my clothes, and that just won't do!" Gingerly, he stepped around Tiberius and made his way towards the bathroom, grabbing his toiletries as he went.

"Hang on, did he really have bugs in him?" Schatten asked Tiberius as the door to the bathroom closed shut.

"Yes, and they were massive!" Tiberius said. "Their maggots were as thick as beans!"

Schatten sighed. "Well, there goes the dorm room," he strode over to his bed and grabbed his scroll from the covers. "Lunare, I'm going to go get some bug killer spray, you build a roach killing robot or something."

Tiberius huffed as Schatten closed the door behind him. Lunare turned around to look at him. "Is there anything you would like to say.

"Well, I did pick up the mail before encountering Ryler," Tiberius said as he reached into his suit and pulled out a letter. "It's for you I believe.

"Really? Who is it from?" Lunare asked.

"I don't know," Tiberius said huffily, "There's no return address and I'm not a detective. "But the postage does say Atlesian Air."

Lunare took the letter and opened it, briefly scanning it. His eyes widened in shock and he went back to read it more thoroughly. The paper crumpled in his clenched hands as they shook with outrage.

"We're canceling our order of your Aural Disruptors as they're labeled Class Four 'Huntsmen Killers'? Please cease production immediately and turn over all blueprints for confiscation?" he read out loud. "How dare they!"

He shoved the paper into one of his jacket pockets and stood up abruptly. "Tiberius, hold down the room until Schatten returns, I have a phone call to make."

Tiberius opened his mouth to protest, but Lunare was already out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

"Certainly," Tiberius sighed. "Leave me, alone, in the room with the teammate I despise the most. What an incredibly bright idea Lunare."

From the bathroom, there came the sound of a bottle falling to the ground followed by Ryler's yell. "Ty!" he called, "I think I accidentally spilled your shampoo!"

All Tiberius could do was place his head in his hands and groan quietly to himself.

@0@0@

All Daniel could do was collapse to the icy ground, groaning and gasping for air. Fifteen laps had turned into twenty as Greeve seemed to get a second wind halfway through the tenth. With two more laps to go, Daniel couldn't go any further. Greeve paused on the nineteenth lap to scowl at Daniel before motioning for Ebon and Rojoe to carry Daniel inside.

"You get a break today Grigio, but tomorrow I expect you to finish the run!" he called out as the doors shut behind Daniel.

"Take it easy, deep breaths," Rojoe instructed as she and Ebon guided Daniel to a bench and sat him down. Ebon disappeared for a moment and returned with a paper cup of water which Daniel accepted and drank greedily. "It looks like the operation took more out of you than we thought."

"No… never had to… exercise this long at, Beacon." Daniel panted out.

"Really?" Ebon asked. "Then how the hell did that guy from Vale knock Greeve out last year?"

Daniel shrugged and stood up carefully to go and get more water. As the cup filled from the fountain, the door they'd come through burst open. A gust of icy wind announced the arrival of Greeve and Yarrow.

"Breaks over you three, Showers and then mess hall!"

"Joy. Lukewarm oats and powdered cereal?" Ebon asked.

Yarrow clapped his teammate on the shoulder. "Ebon my man; you know that they don't serve the same thing twice in a row! I'm betting today is yellow and runny bacon, and brown and crunchy eggs!"

As it turned out, neither of them was right. When they got to the cafeteria after showering in lukewarm water and changing into the light gray uniforms of Atlas Academy, their trays were loaded with plain bagels that had been undertoasted, and an assortment of butter and jam packets. Ebon grabbed a bunch of bananas from a table as they passed by on their way to a table the four older students seemed all too familiar with. They sat down as Ebon broke the bandanna bunch apart so everyone could have one, and Greeve pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.

"Our new schedule," he read aloud. "O-five-hundred, bugle and morning calisthenics. O-five-thirty, breakfast. The rest of the day until twelve-hundred will be year one classes on history and basic tactics, I assume the four of us remember them well enough to teach."

Daniel looked up from his bagel. "So you guys are teaching me in the mornings and having your own classes in the afternoon?"

"No, at thirteen-hundred hours we have combat practice," Greeve said. "We'll practice for three hours, and then spend the rest of the time until dinner at eighteen hundred hours reviewing the day's lessons."

"But, aren't you guys students?" Daniel asked confused.

"Yeah, but we're seniors," Ebon said. "Atlas does things a bit differently. Most of us finished pretty much all our classes last semester so we've got time to do that whole student teacher thing. We'd still be taking a couple classes though if some sophomore hadn't decided we should cram our semesters and get everything done by the end of our junior."

"And look how it paid off," Greeve said remorselessly. "We've gone on multiple missions this semester and gotten more real world experience than any of the other teams."

"Don't listen to him Daniel, it's actually been pretty boring," Yarrow said. "I haven't had this much down time in a semester since that stakeout mission. Remember that one Ebon? The circus with the hoops and the fire, and the trapeze dance number?"

Ebon's lowered down to his waistband. "Yes Yarrow, I do," he said through gritted teeth. "And do you remember what I told you after it was over?"

"Yarrow, don't," Rojoe warned as Yarrow opened his mouth to further antagonize his teammate. "Greeve, weren't you telling me earlier that the increased course load would be a good stepping stone for what we'll have to do with Daniel."

"Say what now?" Daniel asked. "why is it a stepping stone?"

"We have less than six months to train you Daniel," Greeve said. "Under a normal accelerated schedule, that is barely enough to get someone to what a freshman should know coming in. What we're going to do is to get you more experience than what most incoming freshmen could ever hope for. Next Vytal Festival, you and your team will be taking the gold medals."

@0@0@

"Come on you oversized meatheads!" Dakota yelled out at the ring. "I got a better workout from fighting my professor to the death! And I didn't even throw a punch!"

At his feet, Dakota's latest opponent groaned weakly as he dragged himself to the sidelines. When Dakota had thrown open the doors to the underground fighting ring and placed himself as a contestant, most of the fighters had assumed that he'd be an easy win. He was stocky to be sure, but he was just a teenager, whereas they'd been fighting in the ring for years. Even though he had unlocked his Aura, that was nothing unusual down here. Dirty Huntsmen and expelled students were some of the regulars here. If they'd paid attention to the dark look in his eye, perhaps they would've thought twice before jumping in with him.

"This is gettin' down right nasty," Nick leaned over and whispered to Lewis. "Might have to intervene 'fore he gets in real trouble."

Back in the ring, Dakota was still circling, calling the other fighters every ugly name under the sun. The surrounding audience had a mixture of deep irritation and general concern on their faces. If no one stepped up soon enough, the raging kid in the ring might be obligated to choose one of them to fight. And right now, no one wanted to fight Dakota.

"Give him a bit more time man," Lewis said. "Let him tire himself, then we can take him home with us.

"I reckon he's tuckered out as it is," Nick said, glancing at Dakota. Their teammate was panting hard as he wiped sweat from his brow as he swayed in the middle of the ring. Nick had also noticed in his last two fights that Dakota's attacks were becoming sloppier than usual.

"Yeah, well, this is his twenty-fourth fight, and I bet fifty Lien he'd last twenty-five." Lewis said.

Nick looked at his friend with disappointment. "Lewis," he said. "You didn't-"

"You! I want to fight you!"

All eyes turned to the man that Dakota was pointing at. Immediately, everyone knew that this would be an unfair fight. The man in question was a few inches taller than Dakota, but was scrawny; as thin as a wire. As he nervously took off his wire rim glasses and stepped into the ring, Nick couldn't help but feel sorry for the man. This wouldn't be a fight, it would be a massacre.

"That's it, we got to stop him now," Nick rasped.

"Too late man," Lewis said. "It's about to start."

"The hell we can't," Nick began to say when from the ring, the bell tolled out. Lewis was right; it was too late.

As predicted, the fight was over before it even began. The bell hadn't finished ringing through the building, when the unwilling contestant took a hit directly to his face. Backpedaling, he retaliated with a right jab which Dakota sidestepped before delivering a left jab of his own. As the man stumbled backwards, Dakota slammed his fists into the sides of the man's head. As the man began to scream in pain, Dakota brought the it all to an end by delivering a kick to the man's sternum that sent him flying backwards into the ropes. As he hung onto the ropes like wet laundry on a line, he wearily raised his hand, signaling the end of the fight. In all, the fight had been the shortest; running at less than ten seconds.

"Well? Who's next?" Dakota shouted out as the crowd booed the teenager and helped the injured man out of the ring. Dakota had crossed the line, and they'd had enough of him.

"Now," Nick said.

"Now," Lewis agreed.

"I'll take you on!" a man shouted from the back.

"Damn," Nick muttered as the crowd parted to reveal a mountain of a Faunus with bull horns. Easily a foot taller than Dakota with biceps thicker than his skull. On a good day Dakota wouldn't even stand a chance. Maybe if he was well rested and weapons were allowed in the ring, things might be different. But right now, his opponent would clean the ring floor with him; if Dakota didn't collapse from exhaustion first.

"Bring it!" Dakota shouted. "I'll, I'll take you out in under a minute you lardball!"

The most definitely not lardball of a man grinned menacingly as he flexed his chest muscles, ripping his shirt apart at the seams.

"He just signed his own death warrant," Nick said. "Lewis, we got to save him."

"But how man?" Lewis asked. "He just accepted, we can't stop him now."

"You're right, but I got us a plan," Nick said. "Lewis, I'm gonna need a favor from you."

@0@0@

Hey everyone!  hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!  Next one is going to be a long read, around 10,000 words or so.  Unfortunately, once it drops next month it's going to be the last chapter for a while.  I've had to make the tough decision to put To Be Human on a temporary hiatus.  When I start releasing stories to the internet, I do so at a point where I think I can keep up with writing new chapters so I don't have to go on hiatus.  Unfortunately, life loves to throw little speed bumps your way, and I haven't been able to keep up.  I promise to return to regular monthly updates as soon as I am confident I'm not going to go on hiatus again in Book 2, but as of now I don't have an exact date.  Maybe towards the later part of this year I'll be able to make that call.

But hey, there's still one more chapter between now and the hiatus, so don't worry too much!  See you all in a month!

14: Chapter Fourteen

Hey everyone!  Sorry for the delay in posting this.  Classes caught up to me and a friend whose been gracious enough to look over the chapters for any errors.  I didn't get the revisions done until late last night, and at that point it was better just to wait until the next day.  As I've mentioned last chapter, this is the last chapter before I put the story on temporary hiatus.  I've already got more chapters waiting to be published, I just want to get a good backlog ready before I return to our regularly scheduled updates.  If it's any consolation, this chapter is over 11,000 words long; easily the largest chapter I've ever written.

So without further adieu, enjoy!

@0@0@

 

"You know, when you said we'd be doing combat practice, this isn't what I thought you meant!" Daniel shouted over the roaring wind.

The five of them were standing on the top of an Atlesian airship cruising over a snow-covered forest. The four older students stood upright, despite the ship going at flanking speeds. Daniel on the other hand was much more cautious, and was crouched down to hold on to a tie off mounted on the deck. The icy wind cut through the light gray parka he had been issued by the quartermaster, chilling him to the bone and making his teeth chatter. Snowflakes whipped into his exposed face, stinging his cheeks and turning his nose numb. Wincing at every strike, Daniel pulled his balaclava up over his nose and readjusted a pair of orange goggles to seal his face from the icy storm. It was good that his generator sat in his back rather than his front. He could only imagine how the already cold metal would feel like on his surrounding skin when it was also hit with the winds he was experiencing.

"What did you expect?" Ebon yelled to Daniel. "Fighting each other in a circle until someone's aura is depleted? That's sparring, not combat practice!"

"Yeah! Besides, you've only fought Grimm once! Yarrow added. "You've been missing out on the best part of being a huntsman! Guilt free genocide!"

"All right, listen up!" Greeve shouted back to them. We're a minute from the drop point. When I give the signal, jump off! As soon as everyone arrives at checkpoint alpha, we'll start clearing this sector! You will probably encounter Grimm on your way, so be prepared to defend yourselves! Is everyone's communications working?"

"Online Greeve," Rojoe's voice said over an earpiece in Daniel's right ear. "Grayed two standing by."

"Grayed Three standing by," Ebon replied.

"I don't know why we weren't using these up until now, it would save our voices-"

"Yarrow!" Rojoe shouted over the comms.

"Fine, fine. Gray fou- sorry grayed four standing by."

Temporarily letting go of his tie down, Daniel pulled his balaclava back down with one hand and pressed his earpiece with his other. "Gray five, standing by."

"Thirty seconds to the drop point," Greeve said. "Daniel, I want you to go right after me. The rest of you go by our usual pattern. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I don't think what I did the last time I was falling will work here," Daniel said as he fruitlessly scanned the forest for vines to grab on to. "Do any of you have some pointers?"

"Your Aura should cushion most of your fall," Ebon said. "Try to aim for a snow drift, but avoid the trees at all cost. Their branches are too small to hold your weight. When you land, tuck and-"

There was a beeping sound in their earpieces, sending team GREY into action. Greeve took a running start and leapt off the airships deck. As he fell, he summoned a portal beneath himself and disappeared into it. Daniel let go of his tie down and began running as well, determined to jump before his mind revolted at how crazy the idea was.

"Watch where you're jumping, watch where you're jumping!" Ebon warned.

Too late, Daniel's momentum carried him off the edge of the airship and in to the open air. As soon as his feet left the airship, Daniel saw what Ebon was warning about. A thick patch of trees rushed up towards Daniel, their branches and green needles becoming larger with each passing second.

Daniel screamed as he fell into the patch of trees. They obscured his entire vision, scratched his face with their needles, and slammed into his chest. Then his vision went completely dark, and Daniel saw no more.

At least until he pulled his head out of the snow bank. His vision was part yellow, part clear, and mostly obscured by his crooked goggles. Shaking his head free of clinging snow, Daniel pulled his goggles off long enough to shake the snow out of them and pull them back over his eyes. There were several hard rods laying underneath Daniel, and he looked down to see a bedding of freshly cut tree branches underneath him. Daniel looked up to see where they'd come from, and in doing so saw the carnage he had wrought.

The trees he had collided with were had been nearly entirely stripped of their branches in a Daniel sized hole. Their jagged ends glistened with the beginnings of sap drops. There was no way he could have survived that if he didn't have an Aura.

As Daniel viewed the carnage, he heard a commotion off in the distance. It sounded like several somethings running in his direction. In an instant, Danie's breathing quickened as he went on alert. He was in a Grimm infested area, separated from the rest of his team, and had probably attracted every Grimm in the near vicinity with his fall. He reached for his sword, but to his horror found that it had been knocked from its sheath. Desperately, he scanned the area for it, but was unable to locate it. As the sounds of footsteps got ever closer, he abandoned his search and instead yanked up one of the branches underneath his feet and pulled his pistol out. He cocked it, and the metallic sound seemed to alert whatever was making the footsteps as they quickened their pace. A shape appeared between the branches, running towards his tree grove.

Daniel waited until they were right outside his grove when he let out a war cry and burst out from the trees, swinging his impromptu weapon down at an approaching Greeve's head.

To his credit, Greeve did not try and retaliate. Instead, he created a portal to his right and sidestepped into it, avoiding Daniel's attack. His attack meeting nothing but air, Daniel landed and stumbled through the snow, losing his footing right in front of Ebon.

Ebon shouted as Daniel collided with him, and the two of them fell backwards into the snow. As they lay groaning, there was a peal of laughter from behind them. Daniel looked up to see Yarrow bending over, hands on his knees, laughing his ass off.

"Oh, my, gosh!" Yarrow gasped out. "You, jumped out of the trees with a stick and, and-"

Unable to finish the sentence, Yarrow surrendered to the laughter. After a moment, he looked up to see Daniel getting up off of Ebon, and burst out laughing once more. "Daniel! You look like a Christmas tree! Oh, oh I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"

Daniel opened his mouth to ask what Yarrow meant, then closed it as he got a look at his arm. The entirety of the parka was covered in sap and evergreen needles. If someone wrapped him in colored lights and put a star on his head, Daniel figured he would probably look exactly like the holiday decoration.

"Good. Then maybe you won't attract Grimm with your noise," Rojoe said as Daniel fruitlessly tried to brush the sticky needles off. "Are you okay Daniel?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Daniel said. "Sorry for scaring you guys."

"Next time use your compiece," Greeve said as he came out of another portal. "This incident could have been avoided if you used proper communication."

"Sorry Greeve," Daniel said sheepishly. "I didn't want the Grimm to hear me."

Greeve's face contorted in confusion before it dawned on him. "You thought that we were Grimm then. I, can see where you might think that."

"Especially with that fall," Ebon said as he accepted a hand from Rojoe and pulled himself to his feet. "I told you to watch out for the trees."

"I'll remember that," Daniel said. "I think I would've been dead without my Aura. And I lost my sword in the fall."

"Here," Greeve said, holding out Daniel's sword. "I found it on top of one of the trees."

As Daniel took the sword and sheathed it in its scabbard, Greeve turned to the rest of his team. "Okay, since we've already regrouped here, we're skipping checkpoint alpha. I want two teams, one for each half of the sector. Yarrow, you and Ebon can't be left alone so you're coming with me to the southwest half. Ro', take Ebon and Daniel to the northeast and show him the ropes. Stay close to each other and stay in radio contact. Questions?"

"Wait. Am I in charge?" Rojoe said excitedly.

Greeve considered her question for a moment before answering. "Since we usually split into pairs that don't require a chain of command, yes. Consider it leadership practice. Any other questions?"

As Rojoe jumped up and down in joy once before composing herself, Yarrow raised a hand and Greeve gritted his teeth. "Yes, Yarrow?"

"I'm just wondering, where did that portal you fell into go?" Yarrow asked with a smug grin on his face.

"It put me next to Daniel's sword," Greeve said quickly before realizing his mistake.

"Which was in a tree, right?" Yarrow continued.

Greeve sighed. "Yes Yarrow. It was on top of a tree."

"Greeve, Ebon is the resident cat here!" Yarrow admonished. "You shouldn't be taking his job like that, it's incredibly rude!"

Greeve took in a deep breath. "Yarrow, tonight you will be performing extra calisthenics. At midnight. And they will conclude the same time that morning calisthenics begin."

---

Dakota was getting irritated. It had been two-and-a-half minutes since his opponent had entered the ring and he was ready for a fight. The time between both fighters entering the ring and the bell tolling was usually less than thirty seconds; a minute at most. Usually the minute wait would be due to the newcomer dressing down to their shorts, or removing jewelry that would influence the fight. The bull of a man in front of him had already removed his shirt, and the only bling he sported was a nose piercing too small for Dakota to grab on to. He paced the grimy sweat-stained floor on the opposite side of the ring from Dakota, occasionally glancing up at the bell, but in no hurry to take Dakota on.

On the other side, Dakota wiped the sweat from his brow. It had been a long night, with fights ranging from easy wins to brutal battles that tested the resolve of both opponents. Dakota was beat; his Aura had to be virtually drained. Deep down, he knew he should have stopped several fights earlier. He knew this wasn't a fight he could win. This new opponent was going to wipe the floor with him, and it was going to hurt bad. One charge with those horns alone could end his night for good. The smart thing would have been to decline the match and leave the ring with his dignity shattered by the ensuing jeers, but his teeth and body in one piece. But he hadn't, and the reason was simple.

He really didn't care what happened right now.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have some late breaking news to share!" the announcer's voice boomed from his box up behind the stands. "We have on our hands a tag team match!"

"What?!" Dakota said. "I didn't call for a tag team!"

Judging from the crowd's reaction however, they did want a tag team. The moment the announcer said the words tag team, the crowd erupted into cheers of excitement. Evidently, double the opponents meant double the amount of people pummeling this upstart that had destroyed everyone in his wake and was acting

"In the left corner, standing at six foot two, weighing two hundred pounds, we have for the first time ever; the Ranch-hand!"

Dakota whipped around to see Nick step through the ropes and raise his fists high to the crowd, who shouted praises and damnations at the newcomer on Dakota's side.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dakota demanded as Nick removed his hat and coat, hanging them on one of the corner poles.

"Just lendin' a hand," Nick said. He unbuckled his revolver and holster from his belt and deposited them in pocket of his coat. "You ain't lookin' too good."

"I'm fine. And I didn't ask for your help."

"Didn't reckon a teammate needs to."

Dakota groaned. "Fine. Just please tell me my second opponent isn't-"

"And in the right corner, standing at five foot eight, weighing nearly a hundred and fifty pounds, please welcome; the, Tie-dye menace?" The announcer said, confusion in his voice at the name.

From behind Dakota's opponent leapt Lewis clad only in a pair of tie-dye biker's shorts, screaming at the top of his lungs. Dakota instinctively raised a hand to cover his eyes.

"Lewis, put a shirt on!" Dakota said exasperatedly.

"Uh, would the Tie-dye menace please put on a shirt?" The announcer said over the screams of disgust from the crowd. "We allow costumes for fighters, but we do ask for some form of modesty."

Lewis stopped screaming and looked around at his audience. They seemed to be in agreement with Dakota's assessment of Lewis' state of undress. Every inch of visible skin from the neck down was covered in a dirty matt of curly blonde hairs. When he had crouched and raised his arms in a menacing posture, they could see his armpit hair; some strands longer and more numerous than the feathers on a feather duster. Bits of debris clung to his hair like ticks on the back of a Beowolf. A bright red blush broke out over Lewis' face, and he slid back underneath the ropes in search of his clothes.

With the crowd now alleviated of Lewis' impromptu exhibitionism, Nick turned back to Dakota. "Listen," with a small cough, "I got round one. You sit tight and rest."

Dakota, who was still staring into the space that Lewis had just vacated, took a moment to return to his senses. When he did and realized what Nick said, the look of horror on his face was replaced with the frown that had been a permanent fixture for the week. "Like hell you do," Dakota replied, pushing Nick backwards into the corner. "I didn't want you to do this. Just let me do my thing, and you can do whatever once I'm done."

Nick opened his mouth to retaliate when the bell finally tolled, signaling the beginning of the match. Not wanting to get kicked from the fight, Nick retreated behind the ropes, grimly preparing for the carnage that was about to ensue.

As he did so in every previous fight, Dakota immediately launched himself at his opponent. He started off with two roundhouse punches to the jaw, one with each fist. The two blows that had sent previous opponents reeling in shock barely fazed the Faunus in front of him. He retaliated and threw a punch at Dakota's side, which Dakota sloppily redirected into a grazing blow rather than a direct hit. Even so, the force behind the punch sent Dakota stumbling into the ropes. Trying to make the best of his position, Dakota threw his leg up to hit his opponent in the gut, but the Faunus caught his leg and held on tight.

Dakota growled and tried to pull his leg free, but the massive meaty appendage holding it in place was more akin to a vise than a hand. Dakota threw a few punches, but his position made them so weak that the Faunus didn't even attempt to block them.

The Faunus grinned and wrapped his other hand around Dakota's leg to toss him into the air. Dakota slammed into the ropes and almost fell through. Dakota barely held on to the ropes and was pulling himself back into the ring when he was kneed in the gut by his opponent. The ropes creaked beneath the forces, threatening to break loose from the corner poles. Trapped between the ropes and the knee, Dakota was hit again and again while the crowd cheered his assailant on. As Dakota slammed into the ropes for a sixth time, his Aura pitifully glowed to life around him before breaking up and dissipating. Any other hits he'd have to take the full force of.

"And it looks like the tank is running dry on the Alley-smasher!" the announcer cried out. "He should have stopped while he was ahead folks, he's no match for the Bastard of the Bullpen!"

Dakota's opponent, the Bastard, leered at Dakota, lining up a right hook to knock Dakota out of the fight and into next week. For a brief second however, he hesitated. Whether it was to aim the shot or to savor the moment, it was all Dakota needed.

Dakota looked up at his opponent exhaustion painted on his face. His feet however played a different tune. Dakota planted them firmly on the mat, bent his knees slightly, and waited.

The punch came whirling towards Dakota like the propeller of an airship. Dakota extended his knees and pushed back the moment before the punch was to connect. Instead of his fist connecting with Dakota's jaw, the Bastard instead found his fist meeting nothing but air. Overextending, his body twisted to the side, exposing a massive tattooed hairy side to Dakota; exactly what he wanted. Dakota launched off of the ropes and hit the Bastard in the side with his shoulder. The off-balance Faunus stumbled backwards as Dakota rolled over his opponent and onto the mat where he rolled backwards until he finally came to a stop by hitting the pole in his corner.

Despite Dakota escaping what they had expected to be the final blow, the crowd, loving a good show, cheered at his miraculous escape. On Dakota's side however, things were much less positive. His right shoulder, the one that had collided with the Bastard, felt like it was on fire. A quick glance at its awkward angle confirmed Dakota's suspicions; it was dislocated. Using his good arm, Dakota stumbled to his feet. The Bastard got up as well, shaken and surprised at the maneuver, but leering confidently at the battered teenager in front of him. Dakota was dirty, bruised, and barely able to stand in one spot and clutch his dislocated shoulder; much less put up a fight. The Bastard had gotten multiple hits in that brought Dakota to his limits, and he'd barely managed a handful of solid hits. Grimacing, Dakota prepared to pop his shoulder back in place and continue the fight when the he felt a rough hand gently tap his good shoulder.

"And the Ranch hand has signaled he's tagging in! looks like Alley-smasher's luck will hold out!"

"Nick, let it go," Dakota muttered as Nick leapt over the ropes and into the ring next to Dakota. "Once I go down, you and Lewis can go," his voice trailed off as Nick walked in front of him.

In the past several months, Dakota and Nick had sparred countless times together; mostly because they were the two members of their group that had any skill at all. It was oddly calming to go at someone with just your bare fists. No weapons, no dust, just your own two fists and feet. Combined with how they shared a room together and had seen their team shirtless on multiple occasions, it was no small wonder that Dakota had never noticed something so obvious about his friend. Nick was absolutely ripped.

As Nick took to the middle of the ring, his back muscles rippled and rolled as he stretched his arms from side to side. With every movement, his biceps seemed to strain against his skin; begging to be freed. he slammed his feet into a defensive stance and the reverberations against the ring sounded like distant cannon fire.

Nick turned and gave his teammate a smile before turning to his opponent and rasping out three words.

"You ready Bastard?"

---

Daniel, Rojoe, and Ebon moved carefully through the snowy brush in single file, scouting the area for Grimm. They had arrived in their assigned area several minutes ago, and had so far only come across a handful of smaller Nevermore, which they had ignored for the time being. In contrast to the slow turns of his compatriot's gazes as they scoured their surroundings, Daniel's glances were quick and darting from one point to another. It had dawned on him shortly after the two groups had split up that he became fully aware of his situation. They were deep in the middle of a snowy forest infested with Grimm that they were in charge of reducing their numbers to a more 'manageable' level. They were out of range of the CCTS, on their own, and could be overrun and eaten by Grimm without anyone even knowing until they didn't report back on time. He didn't know where the insane bravery that he had during the Emerald Forest initiation had gone, but he'd give anything right now to have it back right now.

Rojoe held up a closed fist as a signal to stop, but Daniel was looking to the side and didn't notice her until he ran into her. The collision startled him, and he nearly jumped out of his skin in fright.

"Sorry hitting you," Daniel apologized. "I wasn't paying at-"

He was stopped by Rojoe turning around and putting a hand over Daniel's mouth. "Stop saying you're sorry," she instructed. "Your mistakes are the reason we're out here. You need experience, and we're going to see that you get it. Understand?"

Daniel nodded, and Rojoe removed her hand from his mouth. "Okay listen," she said. "See the wreck in that clearing?" she pointed ahead of her, and Daniel saw that they had indeed come to the edge of the forest. Ten feet beyond them was a large clearing in the forest. The snowfall had smoothed the terrain nearly flat; save for a pair of mounds at one end of the clearing, and an ancient wooden airship directly across the clearing from the group. Its deck and masts were covered in snow and icicles, and the tattered flag of the defunct Kingdom of Mantle hung wearily from the top of the mast. Its hull was filled with gaping holes and it sat tilted to the starboard in the drifts of snow.

"A wreck like that is bound to have a Grimm nest within. We're going to go into the clearing and exposing ourselves to draw out the Grimm. Ebon, you're on overwatch until we reach the crash. Proceed with caution and follow my lead. Any questions?"

"Yeah, why do you sound like Greeve all of the sudden?" Daniel asked.

As soon as Daniel mentioned Greeve's name, what little Daniel could see of Rojoe's face flushed a bright pink as she looked away. "Because he's a capable leader and I respect him for that!" she said quickly.

"He's also an oblivious moron who has the observational qualities of a stump when it comes to emotions," Ebon chimed in. "I don't think he even notices how you act around him."

"Ebon, I swear. If you don't shut up, I'm going to-"

"Greeve to Detachment Bravo, what's your status, over?"

"D-detachment Bravo here, we're all fine totally fine, everything's fine how are you!" Rojoe shot off.

"We just finished off a colony of Ursa and are following the tracks of several beowolves. What is your sector looking like?"

"Oh it's fine, perfectly fine."

Behind Daniel, Ebon sighed and keyed his mic. "Detachment Alpha, this is Ebon. No sight of any Grimm types so far. We've come to a clearing and are about to fish for targets."

There was a pause on the other end before Greeve spoke again. "Very well Detachment Bravo, proceed with caution. If you haven't found any Grimm by next check in, leave and return to this sector."

"Confirmed, Detachment Bravo, I mean Alpha, Over and out." Rojoe said. She turned off her mic, and turned around to Ebon. The panther Faunus gazed back at her stormy glare with a visage that said, 'you know I'm right.'

"Not, one, word," Rojoe said. "Just shut up and get up a tree for overwatch."

Ebon raised an eyebrow, but chose not to further antagonize his teammate. He turned to a tree to their left and leapt into the air and floated into one of the evergreens, which he gracefully scaled on all fours. Once he was at the top, he pulled out his two pistols and leveled them at the clearing. Rojoe glanced up to ensure he was in place before carefully leading Daniel out of the forest and into the clearing.

The moment Daniel entered the clearing, his fear skyrocketed. With the fear, came a splitting headache which he responded to by rubbing his left temple. They were about halfway through the clearing when Ebon noticed his struggles.

"Ebon to Daniel, are you alright?" Ebon asked over the radio. "You look like you're nursing a hangover all of a sudden."

Daniel stopped and waved his hand back at Ebon. The headache was painful, but bearable. He'd be fine."

As if to contradict Daniel's thoughts, the ground beneath their feet began to rumble, nearly throwing Daniel and Rojoe to the ground. The two mounds Daniel had noticed began to move, as two massive metal creatures rose from fetal positions with a horrendous screech of joints that hadn't been oiled in years. By the time they rose to their full height of over fifteen feet, they were nearly as tall as many of the evergreens surrounding the clearing. Blood-red eyes burst into life behind their metal masks, and they peered down at the two students.

"Arma Gigai," Rojoe gasped. "They must have fallen out of the ship when she crashed and gotten taken over by Geists!"

"What's the plan?" Daniel asked, trying to ignore the headache that was increasing even further.

Rojoe's eyes furrowed, and she opened her mouth to issue an order, but held her tongue and glanced over at Daniel. She groaned and keyed her microphone. "Ebon, we're moving into the ship. Draw them over to your position, then meet up with us in the interior. I'll, figure something out then."

"I thought you said the airship would have a nest!" Daniel protested as Ebon began firing on the two colossi. His rounds merely pinged off of their armor, but succeeded in drawing their attention over to him. With lumbering steps, they turned and began storming over to Ebon, drawing massive swords from sheaths at their sides.

"I can handle a Grimm nest. I can't take on two Gigai while babysitting you as well," Rojoe said forcefully. She grabbed Daniel by the arm and began dragging him towards the airship.

"I don't need babysitting!"

"Yes, you do!" Rojoe said fiercely. "You are grossly untrained for a freshman at the end of his first semester, and those are two of the most challenging Grimm to defeat! Now shut up and COME ON!"

---

The bell dinged, and both Nick and the Bastard began circling the ring counter clockwise. The Bastard's gait was jerky as he constantly tried to fake out Nick, draw him into making a move that would spell his doom. Nick on the other hand kept his pace slow and methodical, matching the Bastard's rotation.

"You shouldn't-a come -ere cowboy," the Bastard said. "I got beef with Alley Smasher on accounts of his conduct. Step out, or I'll make ya."

"Alley-Smasher is a piece-o-work, but he's a friend," Nick rasped. "You gonna have to go through me to get him."

The Bastard gave Nick a cockeyed grin before crossing the ring in two steps and throwing a right hook at Nick with a left jab aimed wide to catch Nick in the face when he dodged. Such a blow would catch his opponent off guard and allow him free reign to pummel the teenager into submission. But contrary to expectations, Nick caught the first blow

The crowd roared in astonishment as the ensuing jab meeting no resistance threw the Bastard off balance. As the second blow sailed harmlessly over his shoulder, Nick grabbed the Bastard by one of his horns and threw him into the ropes.

As the Bastard struggled to get back up out of the ropes, Nick made a second unexpected action. Rather than take advantage of his foe's defenseless state, Nick instead took a step back and waited for him to get back up.

"Ain't too nice hitting a man when he's down," Nick said to the Bastard. "But you don't know nothin' 'bout being nice now do ya?"

Taking a step back to avoid the Bastard's furious leg sweep, Nick watched as the Bastard leapt to his feet and charged straight at him, fists winding up to deliver a flurry of blows. Nick caught both fists and stopped the Faunus in his tracks.

"Mister I've licked bulls in fights who were better than you," Nick said. "You ain't gonna win by punchin' me out."

The Bastard roared in anger and slammed his forehead into Nick's. The blow stunned Nick slightly, and he stumbled backwards, giving room for two sharp kicks to his sternum. Nick let go of the fists and ducked around the Bastard, giving himself room to clear his head.

"So, you grew up on a farm didja?" the Bastard sneered. "Whatd'ja do in your free time; screw the family hogs?"

Nick stood up straight and gave the Bastard a smile. "Not after your sis moved into the pen. She was uglier than an Ursa's backside."

Unfortunately for Nick, the Bastard had been waiting for him to give a reply. As Nick spoke, he launched himself at Nick, delivering several solid blows to his face. Nick was forced to take several steps backwards as his Aura flared underneath the incessant pummeling. Finally managing to catch one of his fists, Nick used it to shove the Bastard back enough to get his foot in. One solid kick, and the Bastard was sent tumbling over to the other side of the ring.

"So, tell me farm boy?" the Bastard said as he advanced back into the center. "What brings you -ere to the big city? Village take yer farm and ya need money to get it back? Get caught screwin too many pigs?"

The Bastard threw another punch, but Nick dodged out of the way. He had tasted the strength of the man's blows and didn't want anything to do with them whatsoever.

"Oh, wait, I got it," the Bastard said. "Pappy didn't love you enough and kicked you out as soon as he was able? I bet you ain't even allowed to step foot in town before you make a name for yourself."

Nick slowly blinked twice, his head tilting to one side. He then took two steps forward and clocked the Bastard with a roundhouse that sent shockwaves throughout the crowd. The Bastard's head snapped to the side, and Nick dodged the blind jabs to slam his palms into the Bastard's ears, perforating his eardrums. Two more jabs, and the man was up against the ropes, blood spewing from a nose that had been practically sunken into his face. Binded by the pain and the blood, the Bastard didn't see the uppercut that lifted him off the ground and over the ropes. Blissful unconsciousness swiftly followed, and he was out like a light before his body landed on top of several unfortunate members of the crowd.

"And the Bastard goes down to a furious combo from the Ranch Hand!" the announcer called out.

As Nick stood triumphantly on the ring, the crowd's reaction was mixed to say the least. A not insignificant portion of them booed at him for supporting Dakota and beating what would have been his destruction. But the rest of them were cheering loudly for the surprising turn of events.

Nick turned around to an equally astonished Dakota and reached into the duster hanging over one of the poles.

"You never sparred like that," Dakota said in as deadpan of a voice he could manage. Secretly, he was impressed by Nick's degree of skill, but did his best to keep it to himself. He didn't want to be superseded as the brawler of the group.

"Don't reckon I ever needed to," Nick said as he rummaged around in one of his pockets.

Dakota frowned at the perceived insult. He was certain he'd won at least at least a couple of their spars. "Well, I'm taking this round so move aside Ochre."

Nick opened his mouth to tell Dakota otherwise, but then reconsidered and closed it tight. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and began dabbing the dripping sweat from his brow as he ducked underneath the ropes and surrendered the corner to Dakota. As he slid underneath the ropes, the handkerchief slipped through his fingers and fell to the ground near the front row seats. Nick muttered a curse, and bent down to retrieve it, only for a hand from the crowd to thrust out and scoop it up for him.

"Thanks," Nick said as he accepted the cloth.

"Don't mention it," the man said. He was wearing a gray janitor's uniform with the name Oskar stenciled on the front of it. It looked as if he'd just come off work and had went directly to the fight club. "You're friends with the Brawler, aint'cha? Pretty brave to take on the Bastard for him."

"He's havin' a bad day," Nick said. "I'm just here to be sure he don't git hurt."

Oskar winced. "Yeesh. Girl problems?"

"Problems," Nick said simply. He finished wiping off the sweat and slid the handkerchief back into his duster pocket. By then, Lewis had reentered the ring, this time wearing his jeans and a loose fitting white tank top he'd gotten from somewhere. He was gleefully bouncing up and down in his corner, seemingly excited for the fight.

"And it seems that the Alleyway Brawler has gotten his steam back folks! But will it be enough to vanquish the newcomer in the ring? Who will win? The fresh face with a perchance for nudity, or the hard boiled veteran of tonight's fights? Alleyway vs Tie-Dye, let's get ready to rumble!"

The bell dinged, and Dakota charged his teammate, who yelped in surprise mid jump and stumbled out of the way, barely in time to miss the first punch. He fell onto his rear to the amusement of the audience.

"Come on Lewis, let me make this quick," Dakota said. "They won't let us leave without a fight, so the sooner you go down the better."

"Don't worry Dakota, you won't have to fight me," Lewis said calmly as he stood up and resumed bouncing.

"Why, because your 'spirits' told you so?"

"No man, because Nick asked me to do a big favor."

Before Dakota could ask what the big favor was, the door to the underground fighting ring was blown off of its hinges. Patrons screamed and ducked as the two heavy wooden slabs cartwheeled over their heads and embedded themselves into the floor of the ring itself. Several metal cylinders were thrown into the room and began spewing smoke, creating a cloudy haze that made it nigh on impossible to see beyond ten feet. Over the intercom, the announcer said the three words that chilled the bones of every patron of an underground fighting ring.

"It's a raid! It's a raid! Everyone get, argh!"

From the smoke emerged dozens of police officers and huntsmen, wildly swinging clubs and weapons to subdue as many of the people inside as possible. They cut a swath through the crowd and began branching out once they reached the ring, taking down anyone who attempted to resist. Which was most actually.

Dakota, having turned to look at what was going on, turned back around to see Lewis standing on the other side of the doors, beaming broadly at his teammate. It didn't take a genius to figure out how the police and huntsmen had found the place.

"You called the cops?!" Dakota asked incredulously.

---

As Daniel and Rojoe arrived at the wrecked airship, Rojoe practically shoved Daniel into one of the holes in its hull. Daniel slid down the snow in the interior before coming to rest on the sloped deck. Rojoe didn't follow him, and instead watched from the outside to be sure he was safe. "Are their Grimm down there? She asked."

"No," Daniel answered.

"Good," Rojoe said. "I'm going to kill the Gigai with Ebon. Stay here until I give the all clear."

"There's got to be something I can do," Daniel protested as she turned around to run into battle.

"Sweep the ship," Rojoe said, turning to back to face Daniel. "If you see Grimm, kill them. You know how to clear a room, right?"

"Uhhhhhh, kind of?" Daniel answered hesitantly.

"Gods, What the hell did they teach you at Beacon?" Rojoe said in exasperation.

"Uh, Rojoe, what happened to my help?" Ebon asked over the radio.

"I'll be right there!" Rojoe shouted. "Daniel, don't do anything stupid!" She turned around once more and ran off to join her comrade. Within seconds, the sounds of gunfire were intermixed with the sounds of Rojoe's yells and the striking of her tonfas against the armored warriors.

Grumbling, Daniel raised his sword and pistol, and began surveying the interior. It was dark, and had there not been holes in the sides, Daniel was certain that he wouldn't be able to see at all. Snow covered most of the floor before finally stopping a few feet from the other side of the ship. Crates and barrels lined the far side of the deck, suggesting that this was the cargo deck. A staircase to his right led up to the next deck of the ship, which Daniel walked over to and began climbing. The old wooden planks creaked underneath Daniel's foot with each step.

The next deck was similar to the previous deck in size, but not in layout. The deck was littered with posts, both standing and broken, from which tattered hammocks hung stiff with ice. Several lanterns hung from chains, occasionally swinging and creaking in the wind coming from the holes. A cooking range sat in the middle of the mess. The last, and most glaring difference between the two decks however, was that this one was occupied.

On the other side of the deck, a family of Ursa lay snoozing on a pile of rags, shredded hammocks, and burlap sacks. There were four of them in total, two older Usai, and two smaller that were like cubs to the older parents. The largest of them, an Ursa major, was so tall the spines on its back nearly scraped the top of the floor of the next deck up every time it inhaled. They hadn't yet noticed the commotion outside, but seemed in Daniel's eyes to be stirring and would fully wake with the slightest of provocation.

Daniel didn't dare move, didn't dare breathe. The last thing that he wanted to do was to wake these beasts up. His headache had substantially increased since he became aware of the Grimm, and now felt like jackhammers were pounding away at his skull. One part of his mind that wasn't taken up by the pain said he should warn Ebon and Rojoe, but the rest said it would distract them, or even wake up the Ursai and spell the end for Daniel. As it turned out however, Daniel didn't have to move to alert the Grimm. He had forgotten that things were different since the last time he encountered Grimm and they ignored him for the most part. This time, he was surrounded by an Aura.

The largest Ursa's glowing red eyes burst open and it lumbered to its feet. It's spines gouged furrows into the wood above, and the other three Grimm were disturbed by its movements and noise. Within seconds, the family of Ursai were up and glaring at their next meal. Low growls reverberated from their beings, and Daniel felt a chill wash over him.

"Daniel to all. There's Ursai in the ship," Daniel said, his voice quivering in fear.

The Alpha Ursa let out a thunderous roar and charged towards Daniel. Having few options and none of them particularly good, Daniel raised his pistol and began firing rounds into the thundering menace as he practically flew up the next flight of steps. The large fire dust rounds burrowed into the beast, but it would take more than just a handful of shots from a pistol to stop something so large. If anything, the rounds did more to anger the Ursa than to hurt it.

Daniel reached the next deck and slammed the hatch shut on the stairs as the Ursa below began to tear them to pieces in an attempt to get at Daniel. With nothing to lock the hatch shut, Daniel glanced around for something he could use to hold it shut. Whereas the previous two decks had been for cargo and living quarters respectively, this was clearly the gun deck of the airship. Both sides housed sixteen large brass cannons apiece, all still held in place by ropes in pullies behind closed gun ports. One such cannon on the port side was nearly lined up with the hatch. Daniel ran over to it and began hacking at the ropes with his saber, trying to free it from its place. After cutting several lines, the remaining ropes snapped, and the cannon rolled free of its position. Daniel tried to push it towards the hatch, but the massive cannon and carriage refused to roll anywhere but its seemingly predestined path. One of the wheels ran over his foot, and Daniel winced as his Aura absorbed most of the weight. The cannon continued on its path before clipping the side of the cannon opposite to it, and twisting to the side and coming to a stop. Its long barrel sat over the hatch, but the wheeled carriage that Daniel had wanted to be over the hatch was not.

"Oh come on!" Daniel yelled. He ran to the back of the cannon, and began pushing, trying to move the cannon a couple inches forward so that its front wheels at least sat on the hatch. The task, which normally took several men in peak strength to accomplish, was instead managed by the adrenaline-fueled craze that Daniel was currently in. the wooden wheels creaked and groaned, but moved forwards at a snail's pace. The front wheels were just about to cross onto the hatch, when it was thrust upwards by the snout of the Alpha Ursa.

The only thing that saved Daniel from the Ursa climbing upwards and killing him was the cannon barrel itself. While not resting directly on top of the hatch, it did hang over it, and that was enough to keep the hatch from opening high enough to let the Ursa in. As it was, the sudden appearance of the beast and its subsequent roar were enough to catch Daniel by surprise. Screaming, Daniel pulled his pistol back out and unloaded the remaining three rounds in the magazine toward the Ursa. Two struck the deck around the Ursa, and the third knocked part of a bony ridge off the Ursa's face. Casting his pistol aside, Daniel then unsheathed his saber and stabbed the Ursa in an eye. Black ooze gushed from the damaged organ, and the Ursa roared in agony. The head disappeared from the entryway, and the hatch slammed shut on Daniel's saber. Wasting no time, Daniel yanked the sword free and shoved the cannon the final feet onto the hatchway. Just in time, as blows from the Ursa thudded against the heavy wood. The hatch shuddered and jumped, but did not open.

Daniel slumped against the carriage and breathed a sigh of relief. As he caught his breath, he realized that his earpiece was practically exploding with calls from team GREY

"Grayed five, report in!"

"Daniel, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry Daniel! I should have kept you out here with us!"

Daniel took a deep breath, and keyed his mic. "Grayed Five. I, I'm all right."

"What is going on? Do you require any assistance?" the voice of Greeve asked while the other three voices shouted in relief.

"No, I think I've got it right now," Daniel said as he stood up and collected his pistol and saber. He flicked the blade clean of the black ooze from the Ursa and slid it into its sheath before dropping the empty magazine and sliding a fresh one into his pistol. "I had a scare with an Alpha Ursa I think, but I don't think it can get to me."

"Why aren't you with the rest of your team? I told you to stick with them!"

Daniel went over to the port side and pushed the recently vacated gun port open. The battle between Rojoe, Ebon, and the two Arma Gigai was still going on, and was not in the Huntsmen-in-training's favor. Ebon was sitting on the back of one of them, firing his two revolvers into the base of its neck. The Gigas reached up to squash Ebon, and Ebon flipped off the neck and floated to the ground. Rojoe was slashing at the legs of the other Grimm with her tonfas, but was achieving little more than denting the outer metal.

"Welllll," Daniel said awkwardly, "I'm here because, they sent me into the airship so they could fight the Arma Gigai." Daniel said.

"Daniel!" Rojoe shouted.

There was a pause on the radio, and Daniel could practically see Greeve rubbing his eyelids in frustration. "Team two, we're on our way. Keep it distracted for a few more minutes. Retreat to the airship if you have to, just don't let it get away."

"Grayed one, we can handle thi-OOOOF!" Rojoe said as the Gigas she was fighting got a hit in and kicked her into the air. She rocketed into one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, and slid down to the bottom, seemingly dazed.

"Grayed two, we are inbound. Do not fight the Gigai directly. Repeat, do not fight the Gigai directly. Keep it delayed."

"Wait a second," Yarrow said suspiciously. "Did I hear a plural in Daniel's report? Are you guys actually trying to fight several Arma Gigai on your own?"

"Two of them," Ebon said.

"Ebon, not you too," Rojoe protested, still dazed from her impact.

"Airship. Now." Greeve ordered.

"Wait, can you keep fighting them?" Daniel asked. An idea was forming in his mind. It wasn't a particularly good idea, but his last one was to try and steer a cannon on an incline, so today was not one for good ideas. He stuck his head back inside the hull and looked at the cannon next to him. The brass was old and tarnished, but the flintlock mechanism at the end that seemed to fire the gun looked intact. There were several rods and instruments hanging on the wall next to it, and an open box sat on the ground with a handful of balls and bags of fire Dust.

"What for Grayed five?" Greeve asked.

"I think I might have a way to take out the Gigai," Daniel said. He let go of the hatch to the gun port, and pushed the next one open. Not a good angle. He ran over to the far side of the deck and peered out of the gun port. Still not perfect, but it would have to do. The crate next to this cannon was empty, so he ran back to the cannon he had been standing next to and retrieved the partially full box. Kicking the empty crate out of the way, he set the new crate down and pulled a bag of fire Dust.

"Okay," Daniel muttered to himself as he reached up to the front of the gun and pushed the bag down the barrel. "You're about to fire a great war gun, probably not used in decades, and hope it doesn't blow up on you. Totally not a scary thought." He picked up the cannonball and, grunting from the weight, pushed it into the barrel as well. He glanced around for something to push the two to the back of the barrel, and selected a long rod with a bristly tip on the end covered with frost and ice. It took a couple of shoves, but he finally got the powder and the ball to the back of the barrel. He then moved to the back of the cannon and stared at the flintlock firing mechanism.

"Daniel to Yarrow."

"Yarrow here."

"Do you know how to use something with a flintlock?"

"Push the front part forward, add a bit of fire Dust to the pan, close it up, and pull the back part back. Why do you ask?"

"Thanks," Daniel said, too busy searching for some loose fire Dust to answer his question. He settled on slitting one of the Dust bags open and pinching some of the Dust out of the bag and sprinkling it onto the pan. He then did as Yarrow instructed and pulled both pieces back.

"Daniel, a flintlock musket isn't going to pierce their armor," Rojoe said. "You'll be lucky to even hit it at this range."

"Yep," Daniel grunted as he braced himself against the side of the ship and pulled on a piece of rope he hoped would pull the cannon forward. His hopes were rewarded, and the cannon moved through the gun port. It was tough work to move it on the incline. He slackened his grip a couple of times, and the cannon slid back precious inches. But after a minute of tugging, the gun was in place. He leaned behind the cannon and closed one eye. One of the Armored Gigai was close, extremely close to being in front of the cannon, but it wasn't quite there. All he needed was a few more meters, just a half step backwards for the giant Grimm; but the Grimm seemed intent on staying rooted in place. Daniel groaned in frustration and exertion; he couldn't hold the cannon in place much longer.

Three things happened at in quick succession, the second of which was missed by Daniel. The first thing was the splintering of wood behind Daniel as the Alpha Ursa burst from the deck below. The beast roared in triumph, and Daniel screamed in fright, unable to defend himself or escape from it. The beast's single eye glared at him in anger, and Daniel let go of the rope with his left hand to get his pistol. As he was preoccupied with the Ursa in front of him, he failed to see one of the Arma Gigai get hit in the knee by an Ebon tossed by Rojoe. It stumbled into the first, and the two took a step backwards to keep from falling.

The third thing that happened was actually unintentional. As Daniel tried to pull his pistol free form its holster, his elbow hit the release switch for the flintlock. The hammer sprung forward with grace unbefitting its age, and struck the steel in front of it. The resulting sparks landed in the fire dust below igniting the crystals and sending a burst of flame down to the Dust bag in the barrel.

There was an explosion like thunder, and the cannonball burst through a cloud of smoke and fire out of the barrel and slammed into the nearest Arma Gigas. The cannon jerked jumped backwards, straining against the ropes that held it in place. For a moment, the ropes held. But they were ancient, and had been holding the cannon in place for far too long. They snapped in quick succession, and the cannon was free to slide down the deck, running over Daniel's foot as they passed by. Daniel was still holding on to the only rope still attached to the cannon, and found himself at the mercy of physics and two tons of cannon and carriage on an incline. He didn't even have time to yell in pain when the cannon rolled over his foot once more before being yanked forwards and colliding with the side of the ship. Dazed by the blow and facing the wrong way, he didn't see the cannon lodge itself in the mouth of the roaring Ursa and send the two falling backwards. Nor did he see that the cannonball had smashed through the right arm of one of the Arma Gigai and halfway through its torso. The force of the ball sent the damaged behemoth and its companion to the ground where they struggled to free themselves.

What Daniel did notice as he peeled himself from the side of the ship was the crunching of timbers as the Ursa and cannon broke through the timber of the deck below and fell into the cargo area. There was a massive explosion from below and a column of fire burst through the holes in the deck. The last thing Daniel felt before being knocked unconscious was the heat and shockwave ripping through him and tossing him into the side of the ship once more.

---

"I hope that you and your teammates enjoyed yourselves, Mister Harding, because this is the last time that you will be fighting outside of this school until you graduate," Professor Goodwitch said firmly.

Dakota sat fuming in the dimly lit conference room, or interrogation, center as many students like to call it. It seemed that whenever the teachers or faculty wanted to have a chat with a student, they'd take them here. The only light in the room was that of a small overhead light hanging over the small table in the middle of the room. Lewis and Nick sat in chairs behind him, looking a bit worse for wear. When the police broke in and arrested the occupants of the club, they hadn't given the combatants time to put their clothes back on. Dakota had gone to the fight without his regular attire, so the only thing he had lost was an old t-shirt he'd taken off before fighting. Nick had also lost his shirt, but had time to pull his duster on before being pushed against the ring pole. Lewis was the worst off. He and Nick had tailed Dakota that night without the intention of actually getting into the ring and had dressed accordingly. Lewis had been wearing his favorite tie-die shirt, and a brown vest he'd worn for the occasion. In the confusion of the raid, he couldn't get off the ring in time to save them and had lost them both.

"Furthermore," Professor Goodwitch said, "all three of you will have detention every day of every weekend for a month. Mister Harding, your record forces us to place you on academic probation. If you fail any of your classes this semester, or give cause for further disciplinary action, you will be expelled." She emphasized her point with a slap of her riding crop against the table.

Lewis and Nick winced from the sharpness of the blow, but Dakota ignored it, glowering at the gray surface of the table. He had hardly said a word since the police had arrested them, only opening his mouth to answer a question from on officer. The only contact he made with his companions was to occasionally shoot an irritated glare at them, especially Lewis

"Now it is extremely late, and it is a school night. I want you three to return to your quarters and remain there until the morning. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes Professor," The three of the chorused.

"Now go," Professor Goodwitch commanded.

The three of them got up at once and made for the exit behind them. Dakota shoved past his two teammates, and got to the door before them. Practically running, he yanked the door open and stormed towards their dorms. Lewis and Nick glanced at each other before sprinting off after him.

"Dakota, wait," Nick said as loud as his voice let him.

"Why? So you can screw things up for me again?" Dakota said over his shoulder.

"Come on Dakota, we wanted to help you," Lewis said.

Dakota abruptly stopped and whirled around to face them. "Then maybe you shouldn't have jumped in that ring," he said. "I was perfectly fine with getting my ass handed to me in there. But now I'm on academic probation, and if I'm going to be honest, I'm probably not going to pass most of my classes, meaning I'm good as expelled at this point So thanks a lot you two. You somehow one-upped Glas on people who've betrayed me this year. But keep trying, because maybe you can still top Daniel."

The bruised and battered teenager went to leave his teammates, but was stopped by Nick's hand firmly placed over his shoulder. He turned around to tell his teammate to shove off, but was abruptly shoved against the wall. Nick got up in Dakota's face, and Dakota swore his eyes were steelier than those of any social worker he had to deal with since getting thrown into the system. The force Nick was applying with just one hand was tremendous. He doubted he could get free of his teammate even if he was well rested and with a load of Dust coursing through his system.

"You need, to calm down, now," Nick said. "There ain't a single person in our team that's happy at Daniel for pissin' off like he did. But bitchin' and moanin' to us ain't gonna fix a damn thing.

Dakota opened his mouth to protest, but Nick cut him off by shoving even further into the wall, practically lifting him off the ground a few inches. "I was not done talkin' yet. Now I'm getting a little tired of the attitude you've had towards everyone on the team since Daniel left. It ain't nice to take your anger out on us for somethin' we had nothin' to do with. So you're gonna stop now, you hear?"

Dakota opened his mouth once more, but Nick cut him off. "The next words you say had better be 'I hear you Nick', or I'm gonna show you what the Bastard went through before I knocked his lights out, you hear?"

Dakota took a deep breath and looked his friend in the eyes. "I hear you Nick."

"Good," Nick said, letting him go. Dakota slid down to the ground and sat there, slightly surprised having been on the business end of Nick's full strength.

Nick bent down and offered his teammate a hand. "Come on now. That floor is nasty and Goodwitch was right. This is a school night."

Dakota took the hand and was hauled back up to his feet. The two of them set off once again towards their dorm. Lewis followed slightly behind, glancing back and forth between the two teenagers, wondering what exactly had just happened.

---

When Daniel finally came to, he was in some sort of bed. Groaning, he shifted in place, and encountered something hard and plastic on the sides of his bed. He opened his eyes and found that he was in his least favorite bed in his least favorite place in his least favorite place in the world. A hospital bed in a hospital. Memories of his incarceration filled his mind and he instantly began panicking.

Daniel bolted up from the bed and ripped the bedsheets off himself. Throwing them to the side, he had a leg out over the side and was preparing to clamber out when several hands reached out and held him in place, keeping him from escaping.

"Get off!" he shouted. "Get away from me you psycho!"

"Daniel, calm down!" a voice demanded.

Daniel threw a punch in the direction of the voice, only for it to be grabbed before it could connect. Daniel whipped his head around to see that the restraining hands were in fact those of Greeve, Rojoe, and Ebon.

"You're in a hospital, you're okay," Ebon said. "You've been out for a couple of hours, you had us worried."

Daniel took deep breaths, struggling to contain himself. "Worried, what, what are you talking about?" he panted.

"You mean you don't remember the greatest kill of your life?" another voice said to the right of the group. Daniel looked over to see the sheets he had thrown off his bed covering someone at the foot of his bed. The someone pulled the sheets off of their head to reveal themselves to be Yarrow. "We were in a training exercise to clear some Grimm out and you blew up an airship."

Daniel blinked. "Come again?"

"Yeah, you remember an old wooden airship? You shot a cannon at an Arma Gigas and set off the rest of the ship in the process. Took out both Gigai while you were at it."

At the mentioning of the Gigai, it all came back to Daniel. The hike through the snow-covered woods, the giant metal behemoths, being sent into a crashed airship and firing its guns, cannon rolling backwards and crushing the Ursa underneath."

"There, was an Ursa," Daniel said.

"You're remembering," Greeve said. "You told us on the radio. There weren't any traces of Ursa in the wreckage, but there wasn't much wreckage left to begin with.

"No, that's not what I mean," Daniel said. "One of the Ursa broke through the deck. I accidentally fired the cannon, and it rolled into the Ursa. That's the last thing I remember."

"Hmmmm, Ursa plus two-ton cannon verses old planks," Yarrow mused. That could have set any Dust in the hold if they fell through. Those crates were designed to keep the Dust from going off if it got jostled around, but there's not much you can do when a cannon crushes it. Yeah, that's probably what happened."

"So how did I get out?" Daniel asked. He looked himself over, expecting to see bandages covering burns and lacerations, but found only a few small bandaids.

"It was your Aura Generator," Greeve said. "It's the only reason you made it out was because of your Aura Generator. You burned out half the conductors and the battery is fried, but it saved you."

"Wait, back up," Ebon said. "That cannonball crippled the Arma Gigas and knocked it's brother over. You're saying it was an accident?"

"Yeah, it hit?" Daniel asked. "I couldn't get the cannon aimed at it."

"That's not surprising," Greeve said. "Smoothbore cannons were never very accurate."

"Okay, so what happened next?" Daniel asked.

"Well, Greeve had us running to the north of you guys, but the explosion brought us in the right direction," Yarrow said. "By the time we got there, the Geist in the last Arma Gigas made a run for it. Called in an extract, and brought you here."

"So it was a bust then," Daniel said with a sigh. "Sorry I screwed things up." He put a hand to his head in embarrassment. He'd had one job to do, and he couldn't even get that right."

"You kidding? This couldn't have gone more perfect!" Yarrow said excitedly. "You took out two Arma Gigas, and a family of Ursa with a single cannon! Easily the Grim kill of the week, maybe even the month!"

"The point of this mission was for us to learn how you fight, and how skilled you are," Greeve said. "What we learned was your skills in combat or situational awareness aren't where they need to be, but you're quick to think on your feet and improvise. I think that some of us underestimated you," he added, looking over at Rojoe. Rojoe glanced awkwardly at Daniel then turned away, a red flush creeping on to her embarrassed face.

"What I think our esteemed leader with the social skills of a steel I-beam is trying to say is, welcome to the team," Ebon said.

The words hit Daniel with a burst of mixed feelings. Feelings of acceptance mixed with pangs from the recent past. He couldn't help but remember the last group that had accepted him and how he had returned their trust. He could only hope that this time things turned out for the better.

Daniel took a deep breath and put on his best happy face. "Thanks guys. I guess it's good to be on board."

15: Chapter Fifteen

Six Months Later

The warehouse district sat on the far edge of the Atlas perimeter just, north of the Schnee shipyards. Snow from the winter storms covered the roofs of the large wide buildings that sat neatly in rows. Most of them contained Schnee products waiting to be ordered by stores and customers across Remnant. A little under a quarter had been leased out to other groups. The remaining warehouses, which numbered less than a dozen, sat scattered across the vast expanse of corrugated metal roofs and snow drifts. Empty and bare, the only ones who laid claim to them were the rats in the walls and the spiders on the ceiling.

At least, that's what their landlords thought.

Nestled deep amongst the rows, next to a cluster of warehouses with the Schnee emblem emblazoned on their fronts was an unrented warehouse. Plain and nondescript, the only thing that made it different from any of the others was that it was not unused. Hardly anyone was aware of this; most of the traffic that passed by were the automated pallet drivers that Schnee Dust used to collect product for delivery. Unless the warehouse was viewed from the air, where a series of sunroofs gave a limited view of the interior, no one could see what was going on inside.

Which was why two men were on top of the roof, crawling on their hands and knees towards a sunroof. The leader reached up and brushed the snow away from one of the panels, revealing the interior below.

Compared to the nearby warehouses that were full to bursting with Dust, this one was relatively empty; though anything more than completely barren would be abnormal for an unleased building. Beneath the rusty metal catwalks and big dish ceiling lights, a handful of dirty white plastic folding tables had been set up. Six men holding a variety of guns guarded the tables and the dozen or so workers at them. They worked in an assembly line fashion; unpacking weapons from boxes marked with the Schnee Dust Company symbol and repackaging them in unmarked wooden crates. As the two figures watched the scene the person at the end of the line put the last rifle in a crate and slammed the lid on top, sealing it with a hammer and some nails. Another worker slid a handtruck underneath the crate and rolled it towards a line of similar wooden crates against the wall. As he returned to the assembly line, the two men watched a white tail coming out from a hole in his workers overalls flick irritably back and forth.

"Greeve, I've been wondering. Are we racists?" Yarrow asked the other man looking through the sunroof.

"What? Yarrow, where is that coming from?" Greeve asked in turn, taken aback by his teammate's question.

"I mean, think about it. Every time we need someone to infiltrate somewhere, we send in Ebon. First time it was that trafficking ring disguised as a circus, then it was the anarcho group, and now gunrunners moving stolen Schnee tech. Are our actions insinuating that most criminals are Faunus?"

Greeve stared at Yarrow for a solid fifteen seconds before shaking his head and returning his gaze to the scene below. "Just, focus on the mission at hand. We can discuss this later."

"Fine," Yarrow relented, "but I'm asking Ebon if he thinks we're racist. Specifically if you are, since you're the one who makes all these racist plans. You racist."

Greeve came very close to replying to Yarrow's comment but forced himself to remain silent. There were many ways of arguing with Yarrow, and most of them ended with Yarrow emerging the victor. Besides, given time, Yarrow would restart the argument of his own volition. There was no sense in doing the job for him.

He instead opened a pouch on his belt and removed a tool that resembled a pair of plyers with saw teeth at the end. He handed them to Yarrow, who placed the nearest hinge of the sunroof between their jaws and began rhythmically squeezing the tool. With each squeeze, the two sawblades moved back and forth against the metal hinge. He got four squeezes in when he paused and turned to look at Greeve. Greeve, who was surveying the interior, felt the gaze and turned to face Yarrow. He didn't need to ask what was on his teammate's mind, the grin told him everything. As much as he'd prefer to simply ignore his teammate, there was the off chance that Yarrow actually had some pertinent information and was for some reason making that face at the same time. With Ebon down below he couldn't chance it.

"Yes Yarrow?"

"I just remembered; Ebon is black too."

Greeve took a deep breath. "Get back to work Yarrow."

Yarrow faked a pouty lip, but turned back to his tool. The cold air around them was once again filled by the quiet rasps of metal upon metal. As Yarrow finished up on the first hinge, their comms lit up with chatter.

"Gray Leader, this is Gray Two. In position and ready to engage."

"Good job Gray Two," Greeve said, slightly relieved he could change his attention from Yarrow to something else. "Gray four is getting the sunroof ready, we'll be dropping in, in a, Yarrow, what are you doing?"

Yarrow, having finished the next hinge, was attempting to get over to the third one. Unfortunately for Greeve, he had decided the best way to do this was to slide over his leader's body.

"Getting that last hinge so we can go save Ebon, hi Ro," Yarrow added over the comms. "Can't trust your racist ass to save him after all, you're the one who put him down there in the first place. Probably would leave him to rot too if it weren't for me."

"Sorry, what did you say?" Gray Two, Rojoe, asked.

Greeve sighed. "Gray Four is being himself Gray Two; remain in position. I'll comm when we're ready."

"Copy that."

"Gray Five, what's your status?"

Greeve's question was met with nothing but silence over the radio. After a couple of seconds, Greeve tried again. "Gray Five, do you read?"

Once again, silence. Yarrow paused his squeezing and glanced at Greeve with a bit of concern. Down below, Ebon paused as he tilted the handtruck back.

The four of them were thinking the exact same thing about what Gray Five's silence could mean; he'd been captured. And if he were caught, the element of surprise was gone. For the sake of stealth, Ebon had forsaken the two magnum revolvers he normally carried, and had entrusted them to Greeve until they met up again. In the seconds it would take for Greeve and Yarrow to get down to the floor and engage the gunrunners, Ebon could be seriously injured, or even killed. If they were already on alert, the danger was even greater. Not to mention what could happen to Gray Five.

Greeve had to make a choice, and decided to try contact one more time before going in. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, when Rojoe's voice came over the communicator. "Gray One, I have Gray Five with me. Something's up with his comms, I'm going to take a look at them."

Yarrow breathed a sigh of relief and returned to sawing at the hinge. Down below, Ebon also began pushing the handcart once more. Greeve unclenched a fist he hadn't realized he had made and replied to Rojoe. "Negative Gray Two, we've almost opened the sunroof."

"By we you mean me," Yarrow muttered.

"Are you done?" Greeve asked.

"Yeah, actually," Yarrow said as he gingerly lifted the sunroof free from the shredded hinges and set it up above in a snowdrift.

"We've got entry Gray Two. Keep Gray Five with you; Gray Four can look at the compiece post mission."

"Understood."

"And Rojoe," Greeve said sternly.

"Yes, Greeve?"

"Don't let him out of your sight this time."

"Yes sir," Rojoe said, her embarrassment obvious even through the radio.

Greeve pushed his head down through the hole, trying to figure out how he could take out as many of the gunrunners in his first move. His gaze drifted to the catwalk, and a comment Yarrow had made came to mind.

"Gray Three, mission starts next crate drop. Be advised, we will be dropping stuns into the warehouse, watch your eyes. Two flicks if you read."

Down below, Ebon's tail flicked back and forth twice in quick succession.

"Gray Two and Five, count to five post flash and enter. Aim to stun, we want them alive. Gray Four, I want you to watch exit C now that Gray Five is with Gray Two. Does anyone have anything to declare?"

"Yeah, I'm really glad we changed the callsigns back to Gray," Yarrow said as he pulled his axes out and leveled the business end at the assembly line. "Rolls off the tongue so much better than Grayed. Whose idea was that anyways?"

Greeve ignored his teammate and instead tugged off the matte black gloves he was wearing over Haunted Toll, his weaponized gloves. He flicked his hands towards the catwalk, pointing with two fingers, and the wires launched from his fingertips. They wrapped themselves tightly around the catwalk several feet from each other. Yarrow tsked as Greeve tested them but didn't say anything else. Below, Ebon picked up another crate and began to wheel it towards the other crate stacks.

"Yarrow, flash them," Greeve whispered."

"Operation Ebon Rip-off is a go then," Yarrow said with a smirk. He squeezed the trigger twice, and two stun pellets flew out and landed next to one of the guard's feet. Greeve and Yarrow averted their eyes as the pellets detonated, briefly illuminating the warehouse as if it were daytime. At once the interior was filled with the screams of the gunrunners as their eyes were blinded by intensity.

"We are not calling it that," Greeve shouted as he got up to one knee, and pushed himself through the opening. He fell past the catwalks and let his wires spool from Haunted Toll until he was only a couple feet from the ground. The catwalk buckled and groaned as the wires bit in, but held in place. Greeve swung down and kicked one of the guards reeling from the flash. The guard was sent flying and Greeve rose towards the ceiling. As he neared the top of his swing, Greeve gave the wires a firm squeeze, activating the Dust infused within. A line of brilliant red raced up their length and sliced through the catwalk like it was made of butter. The wires disintegrated from the heat and Greeve rolled to a stop. The section of cut catwalk dropped down slightly, but didn't fall evenly and was held in place. He shoved his hands into his coat and brought out replacement spools of wire for Haunted Toll, which he slid into their spots on the top of his gloves.

By now the guards knew something was happening but didn't know what or where the danger came from. Two of the guards raised their weapons and began firing blindly. Everyone else scattered as bullets ripped through the air and skittered off support columns. Ebon lifted the box laden handtruck off of the ground and used his semblance to whip it towards the guards. One guard crumpled under the heavy box while a second was merely clipped on the shoulder by the handtruck. His aim thrown off, his shots were scattered in a jagged line across the wall.

"Grey Three; you're up!" Greeve called to his teammate. He freed the two revolvers from his coat and tossed them towards his teammate. Ebon plucked them from the air like they were jugglers batons and leveled them at the second guard. Two shots burst from their barrels in a blast of smoke and fire, and slammed home into the man's chest. He was lifted from the ground as if a Goliath had launched him with its powerful trunk and slammed into one of the folding tables. The table flipped into the two workers behind it, and skidded across the concrete floor until it crashed into one of the metal supports, spilling the Schnee crates and their hardware everywhere in their wake.

By now the stun was beginning to wear off, and the three remaining guards were able to take some stock of the situation. Greeve heard the two behind him racking the bolts of their rifles and the one to his right do the same. He immediately summoned a portal to his rear and fell through it as the first bullets began to fly. A moment later he stepped backwards out of another portal between the two guards. Ebon wasn't as lucky as his leader and was struck by one of the bullets before he activated his own semblance and leapt into the air. He grabbed onto an intact catwalk and hauled himself over the railing before standing back up. The ability to manipulate gravity wasn't as impressive as portal creation, but it certainly had its uses.

"The hell did they go?" one of the guards yelled, having been focused on Greeve and thus missing Ebon's miraculous leap. They scanned the area before sighting Greeve as his portal began to collapse in front of him.

Greeve released more of his wire and prepared to fight the two as they turned around to deal with him. Before anyone could attack however, there was a terrific yell from up on the roof.

Yarrow, having spent the entire battle so far watching the carnage Greeve and Ebon wrought, had finally found his entrance. He came through the sunroof whooping in excitement, his two axes held high over his head. He landed on the damaged section of catwalk and jarred it enough to finally send the hunk of metal crashing onto the concrete floor and breaking into pieces. As the guards instinctively shrunk away from the crash, he leapt off the wreckage and sprinted towards the guards. As he closed the distance, he went into a slide on his knees and slashed his axes into the guard's legs. Their legs went out from under them and they collapsed to the floor, screaming in pain. Yarrow jumped to his feet and spun around to deliver two solid kicks to their heads, knocking them out.

It was at this moment that the single remaining guard and most of the workers realized that this was a losing battle. The three teenagers they could see had subdued a third of their numbers in less than a minute, and those that remained hardly had any weaponry ready to fight them. Two of the workers were trying to pull weapons and ammunition from the crates, while the others dropped what they were holding and sprinted for an exit. Yarrow noticed half of them running towards the sliding doors of the loading bays, and ran to intercept. He skidded to a stop in between two of them and leaned backwards against the wall; his axes making dull thuds as they knocked against the cinderblock wall.

"Gentlemen," Yarrow said, drawing out the g. The workers stumbled to a stop, eying Yarrow warily. In their eyes, he had only come in mere moments ago, but he had taken out the two guards as easily as one might sweep a pile of dust with a broom.

"You know, surrendering is probably your best bet," Yarrow continued. "I'm the lovable science geek they put on the team to pander to the nerds. Your other options are the gruff leader or hard as nails racial minority."

There was the sound of wailing from back by the tables, and the workers turned around in time to see Ebon grab one of the resisting workers by the front of his shirt and toss him into the wrecked catwalk section. The other worker gave up trying to load and swung his rifle like a club, which Ebon ducked underneath and whipped the man in the chin before throwing him over the top of the table.

The six workers turned back to Yarrow, who offered them a wide grin and a pair of eyebrows raised in the interrogative. In quick succession, the workers raised their hands and got onto their knees.

"We've got runners!" Ebon called out. "Exit B!"

Yarrow glanced at his teammate, then followed his pointing hand to where the other five workers and single remaining guard had forced an emergency exit door open. They spilled out into the dark snowy night as an emergency alarm began to blare. Yarrow took a half step towards the group, but stopped and leaned back against the wall. They had over half of the gunrunners incapacitated or in their custody, and the others wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. He looked down at his prisoners, who had seen their compatriots make a miraculous escape and were looking at the open door wistfully.

"Remember this later boys," Yarrow said, "They didn't choose the lovable nerd."

@0@0@

If the six gunrunners expected to get away cleanly, they were badly mistaken. Greeve had spent hours meticulously planning the attack, considering each of the three exits that the gunrunners could potentially escape from. One of the exits could easily be blocked off simply by making their entrance near it. The other two were covered by the rest of their team waiting outside of them, ready to delay anyone who made a run for it until the rest of the team could get there. The communications issue left the loading bay doors, or Exit C to team GREYD, open and unsupervised. Yarrow had been able to intercept the runners before they could reach them, leaving Exit B seemingly as their only viable option. Unbeknownst to the gunrunners, they were running into a trap.

The first man out of the exit had barely taken a handful of steps when there was a strange whistling sound that can only made by cylindrical shaped objects twirling through the air. It was followed closely behind by a cylindrical object twirling through the air and striking the man in the forehead. The cylindrical object, a tonfa was then yanked back underneath the metal stair scaffolding bolted onto the side of a warehouse and landed with a satisfying smack into the hands of Rojoe Scope.

"Nobody move!" Rojoe yelled as the first man crumpled to the ground. The remaining five skidded to a stop and scattered to the left and right of Rojoe, leaving their fallen comrade to his fate.

"Seriously?" Rojoe sighed as she turned and ran after the largest group to her left. She had hoped they would all go in one group; not only because it would make them easier to catch, but also because this was more than just a raid on the illegal arms dealers. This was a training mission.

As the three men made it to the corner of the warehouse, a figure jumped at them from the other side of the massive building. He was clad in a thick jacket with a winter camo print, a black woolen beanie and a half ski mask that covered his lower face. The moonlight glinted off the edge of a saber he held in a raised hand as he twisted it through the air. He rapped one of them with the flat of the blade, then pulled back to strike the second man across the jaw with the pommel, The figure then took a step back and retrieved a pistol from behind which he cocked and pointed at the first man's head. The third gunrunner panicked and tried to turn around but ended up slipping on a patch of ice and falling to the ground. Rojoe slid to a stop herself and knocked the fallen man out with a blow across his temple.

Before either Rojoe or the masked figure could dispatch the remaining gunrunners, one of them raised their hands and started slowly clapping. It was the one guard that had survived the assault inside the warehouse. His attire was different from the others; whereas they had worn turtlenecks and tactical gear, he wore a dark blue jacket with pieces of metal armor fastened on top. A metal gauntlet covered his right arm with what looked like a miniature crossbow built in. He removed a beret to wipe the trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth and revealed a head of short spiky blonde hair.

"Very impressive. Fifteen men in less than a minute, though I imagine the other two will be caught before they get too far. I guess that leaves just me then."

"You're under arrest for the theft and illegal trafficking of Schnee arms," Rojoe recited as she stood up and advanced towards the man. "Get on the ground, or we will oomph."

The man had tossed the beret into the air, which Rojoe had automatically followed with her eyes. As her attention left the man, he shoved his arms forward as if he was pushing something. A beam of moonlight solidified and struck Rojoe in the sternum, tossing her backwards into a snow drift. The man then pivoted on his feet and raised the beam to block the figure's sword. It skittered off with a horrendous screeching sound and the figure lost his balance momentarily. The worker saw this as a chance to make an escape and tried to run, but the man whipped the beam around and sent him sprawling onto the ground. Before he could get back up, the man grabbed another beam and threw it into head with a sickening crack.

"Well this has been fun, but I've got more sinister planning to accomplish," the man said. "Good day Miss Scope. Mister Grigio, I hope we meet again. Welcome to the big leagues children!"

The beam of moonlight launched off his hand, shoving the figure backwards across the ground. The man took off in a sprint towards a tall concrete wall. The figure ran after him for a few steps but stopped as the man leapt into the air and went over the other side of the wall. There was the sound of a vehicle starting, and moments later a car sped off into the distance.

"Dammit!" Rojoe cursed as she pulled herself from the bank and ran over to the worker the mysterious man had injured. "Gray Two to Gray One, we lost one. He's got a Semblance, some light barrier construct. He took out one of his own and is escaping by car."

There was a pause, then "I read you Gray Two," Greeve's voice said over the comms. "Don't pursue, keep the prisoners you've got. I'll radio Ironwood and have him track the vehicle and send paramedics."

"There's another thing," Rojoe said. "He knew who we were."

Static washed through the connection, then Greeve spoke up again. "Understood Gray Two."

Rojoe sighed and ended the link. "We were so close," she muttered as she pulled off her own beanie and shook her brilliant red hair free. She carefully kneeled next to the injured worker and elevated the man's head, pressing her beanie against the oozing wound. "Why would he attack one of his own men? It's got to be to escape, right?" She glanced up at the figure who was standing awkwardly over her. "Give me your mask Daniel, I need to make a bandage."

"Yes ma'am," Daniel said as he pulled the half ski mask free from his face and passed it to Rojoe. His appearance had changed in the six months he had spent under Team GREY's tutelage. While Atlas was a bit more accepting of Huntsmen-in-training having different styles than they were of their regular troops, Greeve had insisted Daniel follow regulations until he was assigned to a new team. As a result, his normally unkempt bright red hair had been buzzed less than a finger's width tall. Most of his wardrobe had proven unsuited for the icy northern climate, and Daniel had been forced to wear almost entirely what was offered by the quartermasters. But it wasn't just his hair and clothes that had changed. Daniel stood straighter, radiated confidence that a younger Daniel had never held. His fighting style had evolved from little more than waving a sword around, to actual moves and techniques used by swordsmen across Remnant.

The teenager that made up the fifth member of team GREYD was a completely different one than the dangerously untrained youth that had arrived at Atlas half a year ago. And in Daniel's mind, it was for the better.

The sound of something heavy being dragged across the snow preceded Greeve's approach towards Daniel and Rojoe. He was dragging the two workers that had run off to the right, having caught and subdued them on his own. He tossed the men next to the man Rojoe had subdued and surveyed the carnage. "What happened?" he asked.

"He caught us by surprise and escaped before we could do anything," Rojoe answered as she finished bandaging the injured man's head. "It won't happen again."

"Let's see it doesn't. He was likely the operation leader," Greeve said. "Otherwise, the two of you did good work. If he returns to gun trafficking, he'll need a new team for it."

"Thank you Greeve," Rojoe said. A tinge of red appeared on her cheeks that had very little to do with the cold.

"-So what you're saying is that you don't see it as racist?" Yarrow's voice said, carried by the wind.

"I said it's a necessary evil because of some poor decisions on my people's part."

The trio turned their attention to the approaching voices to find Ebon and Yarrow leading their group of captured gunrunners out of the warehouse at pistol and axepoint. Rojoe glanced at Greeve and saw him biting his lip to keep from speaking.

"So sort of racist then," Yarrow said.

Ebon took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "Yes Yarrow. If it will shut you up, it is somewhat racist."

"Aha!" Yarrow shouted triumphantly. "You hear that Greeve? You're a somewhat racist! You somewhat racist you!"

"Good gods," Rojoe said under her breath. "This is going to be worse than Haywood Circus."

Unfortunately, the wind had died down somewhat, and Yarrow was able to catch enough of Rojoe's comment to get her point. "Ro, nothing will top Haywood Circus. I've got enough pictures of Ebon in a tutu for a lifetime of blackmail."

@0@0@

On most nights, a Simple Wok was a relatively quiet place to eat in the evening. It wasn't for lack of customers, rather it came from a lack of seating. The only places to sit were the counter right at the stand, or the two wooden park benches that were situated a couple of feet in front. Tonight was different however; there was a celebration to be had.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Rylers and Lewises, may I present to you all a healthy Nicholas!"

The four teenage boys at the table clapped and applauded at Schatten's announcement. Nick in turn smiled and shook his head in embarrassment at the proceedings.

"It ain't nothing guys. I've been healthy for months now," he said in a gravelly voice. The doctors had managed to repair Nick's vocal chords to the point where he wouldn't hurt them from simply talking too much, but his voice was still to be rougher than it used to be. It probably would be like this for the rest of his life.

"You don't need to write what you want to say anymore man," Lewis said. "I think that's a pretty good sign of being healthy."

"Lewis, you smoke enough weed to get our entire team high twice over, and your hair is still in braids from last week," Schatten said. "You're not one to talk about being healthy."

"Yes, however his sickness lies in the brain, while Nicholas' throat has been fully repaired," Tiberius added.

The group shared a laugh at Lewis' expense, but it wasn't just Lewis' hair that had changed. He had replaced the leather vest he had lost at the fight club with a lighter colored one, complete with strands hanging from the bottom. His tie-dye shirt had been exchanged with a black long-sleeved shirt with a green leaf design on the front. A bandoleer was slung over his left shoulder that held pockets for a variety of Dust picks he had added to his arsenal.

Indeed, most of Team LSTRDLN had changed their outfits in the six months since the fight club. Schatten's leather jacket had to be retired after a brutal sparring session. He had replaced it with a tight black vest over a light gray zip-up hoodie that he left perpetually closed. Blast Shard had also been extensively modified and now covered most of his forearms.

Tiberius had surprisingly been convinced to give up his white coat for most occasions. Instead he wore a light blue vest over the white dress shirt he had worn underneath the coat. This was one such occasion, although it was obvious he regretted his decision every time the wind picked up.

Ryler and Nick were the least changed of the group. Nick had added a large bandana around his neck that helped cover up the nasty scar Glas had given him. Ryler's outfit hadn't changed at all, save for an accessory equally as ridiculous as the outfit he had always worn. A bright pastel green hat that matched his plaid jacket sat on top of his naturally green hair that he'd put a single pink stripe down the side. The stripe went well with the bow tie around his neck and the ribbon on his new hat.

"Dakota? You've been quiet tonight, you doing good?" Schatten asked.

Dakota glanced up from something he'd been holding in his hands and shook his head. He was the only one who had elected to keep his old attire and hadn't added anything special to it. Save for a couple of new t-shirts he had acquired, the only difference in his appearance was that he had allowed his hair to grow out. His once short black hair had become shaggy, and covered the majority of his forehead.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm good. Just waiting for a good time to show these off," Dakota said as he uncrossed his arms to reveal two new pipes weapons. They were about the same size as his old single pipe, but were covered in a geometric pattern that seemed to be etched into them and extended down most of their length. The small amounts on one end that lacked the pattern instead had two circles etched onto the sides.

"Hey, are those your new weapons?" Ryler asked ecstatically. "I was wondering what you and Lunare were doing in his garage. You and him were finagling some new weapons!"

"That's, not how that word is used, but, yeah. These are them," Dakota said. "I figured someone had to get him out of that funk after his million Lien deal went down the drain. And to be honest," he added with a hint of embarrassment, "I kind of needed it too."

The group shifted nervously, as an awkward pause set in. Dakota's bought with depression had been a rocky couple of months that had only recently ended. The rest of the team had almost gone and forced him to see someone about it, but Dakota had approached Lunare about helping him modify his weapon before they'd reached a consensus. With something to occupy their minds, the mood of the two had quickly improved and the rest of the team decided to drop the matter for the time.

"Dakota, I can't imagine you didn't want to show off your new tools; so why don't you go on ahead?" Nick said.

"Yeah, I wanted to show them off, but," Dakota shook his head, "ah forget it. I don't want to overshadow you being better, which I am glad to hear by the way," he added as an afterthought, pointing at his teammate.

The rest of the group immediately expressed their desire to see the weapons and clamored for Dakota to show them off. After a few moments, Dakota shook his head with a smile and held up his hands in surrender. "All right, all right. Nick you okay with me stealing your thunder?"

Nick smiled and made a signal for him to continue.

Dakota picked both of the weapons up and presented them to the group. "Two ordinary pipes, as you can see. But should I press these two buttons," he said as he depressed the etched circles with his thumbs. Immediately, the two pipes broke apart at the patterns to form two-foot lengths of chain, "they become something extraordinary."

Instantly, the group leaned forward gazed in awe of the transformation. "My word," Tiberius said in awe. "Are those electromagnets?"

"Yeah, they're in the solid bits," Dakota said. "It doesn't take a lot to power them, so the battery is good for a long while." He pressed the circles several times more, and the weapons changed back and forth between the two forms in less than a second. "But if I want a bit more reach, I can do this." He changed the weapons back to pipes and stuck the two ends together so that the handles were on opposite sides of the weapon. He twisted them a bit, and the two halves came together with a resounding click. He then pressed one of the buttons again, and the long pipe transformed into an even longer length of chain. "I'm thinking of calling it Reaper's Reach, since I called my old weapon just pipe and chain."

The group replied with a resounding round of applause as Dakota turned the chain back into a pipe and separated the two pieces. He flipped them both into reverse grips, and slid them into dual leather holsters on each side of his jacket.

It was at this moment that the old man behind the counter signaled that their food was ready. As one, the hungry boys clambered out from the table and rushed the counter to receive large heaping bowls of noodles. They then returned to the benches and began to dig in furiously.

"Sho, do you fink runare ish onna in?" Lewis asked, his mouth full of noodles.

Tiberius swallowed his mouthful before answering. "No Lewis, I highly doubt Lunare will be successful. He may have flown all the way up to Atlas to appeal to the generals themselves, but they had a very excellent reason for banning those disruptors. Something that can drain an aura and bring someone into unconsciousness in a single hit could lead to some serious consequences. It's no wonder why they called it a 'Huntsman killer'."

Dakota made a noise with his mouth and held a finger in the air before gulping down a massive wad of noodles. "That reminds me; thank you Ty for helping me get those dust injectors. I was getting tired of picking glass out of my hand after fights."

"If you insist on using dust in such an irresponsible and dangerous manner, it is the least I can do to ensure you do it sanitarily," Tiberius responded.

"You got your hands on those medical dust dispensers?" Lewis asked. "Aw man, I thought you had to get a doctor's note for those. I messed up my angle horribly."

"I am the son of a Schnee board member," Tiberius said with some pride. "My father was able to speed the process along for a medical dispensary to get proper authorization to supply them. In return they put in a good word for Dakota."

Tiberius' comment brought an end to the discussion and they all returned to their bowls. Soon other topics were brought up; ranging from the latest round of homework Professor Oobleck had assigned, to the ongoing argument regarding a show that they watched. Eventually however, the conversation unintentionally strayed back into sensitive territory.

"I'm telling you Lewis, it's only a matter of time before we get X-Ray and Vav season 3!" Ryler argued, slamming his fist down on the table to emphasize his point.

"No man, the spirits say that you're wrong," Lewis countered." The voice for X-Ray isn't working with them anymore; I read it on the forums."

"Oh yeah? You mean the same spirits that said Daniel would be back?" Ryler asked. He gasped and immediately covered his mouth with his hands, but it was too late. the words had already flown from his mouth.

Team LSTRDLN all froze in their actions, then slowly turned their heads to Dakota, who was in the middle of a furious battle between the side of his bowl and the last noodle that clung desperately to it. He became aware that all conversation had abruptly stopped, and glanced up at the cautious faces watching his own.

"What, we're allowed to talk about him now?" he asked.

"Ah, well, you see," Tiberius said, for once at a loss of words.

"You guys thought I was going to blow up if someone mentioned Daniel around me?" Dakota asked. "Gods, no wonder he hasn't come up in ages!"

"Wait, what?" Ryler asked.

"Guys, it's fine. I'm over Daniel leaving," Dakota said.

"Dakota," Nick said, "You got mighty tense these past six months if we so much as grazed that topic."

"Yeah, I was mad at Daniel," Dakota said. "Hell, I'm still pissed he didn't even ask us before he went and made his decision. But you know what? I couldn't care less at this point. If he wants to stay at Atlas, then that's his deal. Good luck to him I say!"

Dakota reached his chop sticks into his bowl and successfully grabbed the last noodle and slurped it down.

"So, we can talk about him now?" Schatten asked carefully.

"Well, yeah," Dakota nodded. "That's what I just said, right?"

The rest of team LSTRDLN glanced amongst themselves before cautiously returning to their nearly empty bowls. No conversation started up again, but each person secretly was relieved that they no longer had to walk so testily around what they had assumed was a controversial subject.

"How long were you waiting to tell us this?!" Lewis shouted.

@0@0@

"Greeve, I gotta ask you something."

"You've been doing a lot of that tonight, Yarrow."

"That whole thing where you had me cut through the sunroof. Why didn't you just teleport in? I didn't come in until the shooting started, so we didn't have to be stealthy at that point."

The five members of Team GREYD had just disembarked from the airship that had picked them up from the warehouse district and returned them to campus. They had given General Ironwood a preliminary report on the raid and had been instructed to retire for the evening.

"I wanted a better view of the interior before going in," Greeve said. "If I teleported onto the ground floor immediately, they would've seen me."

"So, just teleport onto one of the catwalks," Yarrow said. "You used them anyways."

Greeve opened his mouth to respond, but closed it and frowned, deep in thought.

"Greeve, did you forget to use your semblance?" Yarrow asked teasingly.

For one scary moment, Daniel was certain Greeve was going to turn around and attack Yarrow. He'd missed out on most of their interactions during the raid thanks to his faulty earpiece, but from what he had seen and what he knew about Yarrow, he had been particularly irritating to Greeve tonight. He watched as Greeve's fists clenched tightly for a moment before relaxing. He stopped in the middle of the snow-covered parking lot they were trekking through and turned to address the four behind him.

"Good work team GREYD," Greeve said, ignoring Yarrow completely. I wasn't going to mention this until later, but General Ironwood has given us the day off tomorrow."

There was cheering at this announcement, mostly from Yarrow who clapped his hands together in joy.

"He also asked that I not make you do anything on your day off, but we're still doing morning calisthenics. So I expect all four of you there," he added with a glare in Yarrow's direction. "I will be getting an early start on my report, but the rest of you are free to do as you wish until then."

"Alright! Ebon, you coming with me for a night on the town?" Yarrow asked after Greeve dismissed them.

"You could literally ask anyone else, and yet you decided to ask the one other person you irritated tonight," Ebon said.

"Well, Daniel is underage, and Rojoe always goes to fill out her report with Greeve, so who else can I go with?"

"I do not always go with Greeve!" Rojoe protested, a flush coming to her face.

"Maybe, but were you going with him this time?" Yarrow asked with a raised eyebrow.

Before Rojoe could answer, something drew Daniel's attention away from the group. A familiar silhouette in the distance moved amongst the parked cars. He'd seen it a handful of times, usually out of the corner of his eye or as a strange shadow in the night. And each time, he'd been unable to investigate it further. He'd been too busy, or would get a call from one of the others that they'd been assigned a mission. It would disappear into the distance while he watched on helplessly. Not this time however. This time he was free to pursue.

"Daniel? Hey, Daniel!"

"Hm?" Daniel asked, snapping his attention back at the group.

"We're all splitting, you heading back to the room?" Ebon asked.

"I'll be there in a bit," Daniel said, excited to go after the silhouette. "I'll catch you guys later."

"Well, if you're not going to the dormitory, let me turn your generator off," Greeve said.

Daniel turned around, and Greeve pulled his coat and shirt up to where he had access to the generator. Daniel shivered as the cold air blew across his exposed skin and was relieved when he felt the familiar draining of energy and his clothes were lowered down his back.

"Don't stay up too late, remember you've got calisthenics at four," Greeve cautioned.

"Yeah, don't be like me!" Yarrow called out, already heading off on his own. "If you show up as drunk as I'll be, we'll be having some serious discussions young man!"

Daniel waved goodbye and took a leisurely stroll in the direction the silhouette. The instant he passed out of a streetlight however, he broke out into a hurried pace. It was on the far side of the parking lot now, near a concrete wall topped with barbed wire; the school munitions dump. The implications of these two things quickened Daniel's pace even further. As he got to the final row before the silhouette, he paused behind one of the cars and got down on a knee. Cautiously, he peeked over the hood and saw that the silhouette standing next to an impossible sight. Either it was indeed what he thought it was, or it was an exact replica down to the bumps and scratches he remembered so clearly in his mind's eye.

The sheer impossibility of the dark silhouette being in Atlas was the only thing that tempered him with caution. It wasn't the first time he had wished he could turn the generator on through the multiple layers of clothes. No matter, he had trained to fight both with and without his Aura. Daniel reached back and removed his pistol from its holster. He pulled the hammer back with his thumb and readied it in his hand. His other hand crept down to where his saber sat on his belt, and he pulled it partially out of its scabbard.

"You can come out now assassin. I saw you several rows ago."

In a rush, Daniel ripped his saber free and leapt up from his crouched position. Before he could take a step further, a steel blade glinting in the moonlight met him at his throat. It sat beneath the barrel of a short stocky gun on top of a pole. Its cloaked owner held the blade angled at his throat for a couple of seconds, then, raising up his other hand, he pressed down on something it.

The lights of Scrapmetal burst into life, blinding Daniel and illuminating the form of Lunare Nacht, holding Nieh Mehr ready for attack.

"Good evening Daniel," Lunare said. "Have you by chance come to kill me?"

@0@0@

Hello everyone and welcome back to To be Human Book 2! After a six month break in real life and in the story, I hope you all have enjoyed the triumphant return! Chapters will be posted once a month on the first Friday of every month. Please drop a comment or kudos if you enjoyed, and I'll see you all next month!

-Noah

16: Chapter Sixteen

“You are. Without a doubt. The biggest asshole in the history of the human race.”

“And you my friend are far too easily frightened by what was supposed to be a simple yet enjoyable prank.”

“A prank? You put a knife to my neck!”

“Bayonet. And you were certainly deserving of something after the trouble you’ve caused us.”

Daniel couldn’t think of a counter to Lunare’s point and was forced to concede defeat. “It’s good to see you Lunare.”

“And you too,” Lunare said. He folded Nieh Mehr and stowed it underneath his coat before stepping forward and embracing Daniel. Not expecting it, Daniel paused before reciprocating the hug.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the visit, but what are you doing here?” Daniel asked as the two of them broke apart.

Lunare glanced up at Scrapmetal and gave a forlorn sigh. “It is one of life’s great mysteries Daniel. Shortly after you left, I received notification from Atlas that they wished for me to discontinue production of my Aura disruptors effective immediately.”

“No way!”

“Indeed,” Lunare said. “It was decided that the disruptors are a dangerous weapon to anyone who uses an Aura.  They deemed them ‘Huntsman killers’.”

“Lunare, that sucks. I don’t know what to say,” Daniel said.

“Say nothing Daniel, I have gotten all the sympathy I require on this matter. I’ve spent the past six months petitioning their decision, but I can see now that it’s fruitless.”

“Well, at least they saved us that one time we fought D, those guys in the gas station.”

Lunare raised an eyebrow. “I suppose it did,” he said. “And furthermore, it aided in subduing you when you were uncontrollable. Which brings up the question, how is your Aura?”

Daniel considered the question for a moment before answering. “I, don’t know. Does it usually feel like you can take a tank to the face and live?”

“Initially, yes,” Lunare answered. “When I unlocked my Aura, it was to punch my way through my father’s current project.”

Daniel’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re kidding me.”

“I kid not,” Lunare said with a smile. “My father at the time was ignoring me and I, ah, lost control somewhat.”

Daniel snorted, the image of Lunare lobbing Nieh Mehr across a room to nail a guy to a coffee machine coming to his mind. “He must have been pissed.”

“Indeed. I didn’t speak to my father again for six months afterwards.”

Daniel’s laughter died off, and the two of them entered into an uncomfortable silence. They shuffled awkwardly together for half a minute before Daniel piped up. “So, do you want to see my generator?”

“Oh gods yes,” Lunare said eagerly.

Daniel turned around and lifted up his multiple layers until the implant was unveiled. He turned his head and watched as Lunare quickly tapped the bridge of his glasses into position and bent forward to ogle at it. “The power core is simple enough, it appears to be the standard cores Atlas uses in their mechs.” There was a pause, and Daniel felt Lunare tap against the core. “but that can’t be right, the core’s length would push dangerously against your vital organs. Unless,”

Daniel felt Lunare twist and pull the core out of the generator. His back was illuminated by the glow of the Dust crystals.

“Oh that is brilliant!” Lunare breathed. “Cutting the core in half but redesigning the cells to maintain the charge. Oh, how I’d love to sit in a room with whomever designed this masterpiece.”

“And you don’t mention the fact that they took out two of my vertebrae for this?”

“Daniel, we discovered spine overrides years ago. It is old news compared to Aura generators.”

“Well, let me know when you’re done then,” Daniel said. The wind had picked up and he shivered as it cut across his exposed back.

“Not quite yet I’m afraid Daniel-san,” Lunare said. He rooted around in his pockets and pulled out a dentist’s mirror and a flashlight, which he inserted into the power core’s socket. “Mhm, yes. Seems to be a modified power system for the core; well done if I must say. I think I can see some devices beyond the socket, I wonder if,” Lunare trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished as he inspected the generator.

After a torturously cold minute for Daniel, he finally retracted his tools and reinserted the core. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the Aura kick in and warm him slightly. He lowered his clothes back down and turned around to Lunare. “Is that it?”

“Indeed so Daniel,” Lunare said with a grin. “I can tell you with a hundred percent certainty, that I have absolutely no idea how your generator works.”

“And you’re okay with that?” Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No Daniel, I am not,” Lunare said. “This magnificent device will likely keep me up all night until I understand exactly how it works.”

Daniel sighed. Every skin cell on his back begged him to keep them covered from the wind. But he knew that there was only one way for Lunare to be satisfied. “Well, they take the side panels off when they run my weekly checkups.”

Lunare inhaled excitedly and whipped out a screwdriver, looking at Daniel expectantly.

@0@0@

“Ebon? What started the third battle of Mantle during the Great War?” Rojoe asked. She had finished her report to General Ironwood and was preparing a study guide for the team’s upcoming test in Great War history. Normally, she’d ask Greeve for the answer, but the team leader was deeply engrossed in his own report and had left her previous questions unanswered.

Ebon sighed from his top bunk and pushed a sleep mask to his forehead. “Faunus recon element accidentally ran into the Mantle National Guard,” he answered tiredly. “They had a big fight, and both sides lost a lot of people. I’m pretty sure they took down a couple of Mantle ships too.”

“Thank you,” Rojoe said as she penciled in the answer. She had moved on to the next question and was about to answer it as well when the implications of Ebon’s answer struck her. “Did you say they shot down Mantle ships?”

“Yes Ro, I did.”

“And didn’t it happen in the south-eastern forest? The one we took Daniel into?”

Ebon considered her question for a moment before answering. “I think so. Why?”

“Oh my gods, we blew up a war grave!” Rojoe cried.

Ebon groaned and sat up. “No Rojoe, you desecrated a war grave. Greeve and I were half a klick out when the ship blew up.”

“Oh, this is bad, this is really bad,” Rojoe said. “General Ironwood knows, of course he knows. How could he not know that was a war grave? He’s probably just keeping me on here until we graduate. Then he’ll stick me in some desk job because I can’t be trusted not to blow up war graves!”

“Ro, calm down,” Ebon interrupted. “I’m certain the sailors wouldn’t mind their ship being used to fight the Grimm. You’re not going to be at a desk job.”

“How can you say that? Of course I’m going to be-”

Before Rojoe could continue her ramble, there was the sound of keys scraping against the door. Two people conversed on the other side as they struggled against the lock.

“No, not that one; the big one.” That voice was Daniel’s, but it sounded off. Like something was against his face or in his mouth and muffling his words.”

“I am using the big key Daniel, I can assure you it’s not working.” That voice she didn’t recognize. Who was this person, and why was Daniel helping them get into the dormitory?

Rojoe glanced up at Ebon and saw that he too heard the voice. His hand had gone underneath his pillow and pulled out one of his Jester Pistols. He thumbed the hammer back and pointed it loosely at the door. He nodded at Rojoe, and she stood up to walk towards the door.

“No, see, the lock is all messed up, you gotta, ah screw it. Prop me up Lunare, I’ll get it.”

There was the sound of a portal opening, and Rojoe glanced back to see Greeve and his chair disappear into the ground. She heard another portal open on the other side of the door, followed by two screams of surprise. Rojoe yanked the door open and saw Greeve crouching on top of his chair with Haunted Toll wrapped around the wrists of the intruder. His overcoat had changed slightly, but the sight of his bespectacled face was enough to bring back memories of the fight on the highway.

“You? What are you doing here?” Rojoe asked Lunare.

“Attempting to convince your superiors to un-ban my Aural Disruptors, and to return a certain twenty millimeter cannon they requested,” Lunare said. “Encountering Daniel and disabling his motor functions was entirely by accident.”

“His what?” Greeve demanded.

“Hi Ro. Hi Greeve,” Daniel said from near the ground. Lunare held him up by his hand, his keys near where the lock was when the door was closed. “Can we come in?”

Rojoe looked at Greeve, who scowled at Lunare but released him. He grabbed Daniel by his legs, and the two of them carried him into the room. Rojoe retrieved the chair from the hallway and closed the door behind her. Greeve and Lunare set Daniel down gently on the ground.

“What were you doing that disabled him?” Greeve demanded.

“If you must know, Daniel offered to let me view his Aura generator. In my haste and excitement, I may have accidentally tampered with the spinal bypass systems, rendering him unable to walk.”

Greeve glared at Daniel, who could only look up at him sheepishly from his place on the ground.

“Daniel, that is extremely classified technology. You can’t just show it to anyone who asks about it.”

“I am not just anyone!” Lunare said. “Unlike some, I was able to comprehend much of the systems workings!”

“Not helping Lunare,” Daniel interrupted.

“However,” Lunare corrected, “I was unable to discover how the Aura was actually generated before Daniel collapsed. The only secret I discovered was the circuit system, and I have built much more complex designs for Scrapmetal, which I might add is somewhat illegally parked outside of your dorm.”

Greeve sighed.  “Daniel, did your old team always act this recklessly?”

“Lunare’s from another team. He’s just a close friend,” Daniel answered.

“Greeve, what do we do?” Rojoe asked.

“Right now, let’s get Daniel fixed,” Greeve said. “You, kid.”

“Lunare Nacht,” Lunare said, offering a hand which Greeve didn’t accept.

“Lunare. You’re supposed to be smart. How come you can’t fix it?”

“Ah. Well, to put it simply Greeve, I don’t know what I did,” Lunare admitted. “I also had somewhat poor lighting in the parking lot.

“Right, let’s get him where we can see this,” Greeve said. He strode over to the table and began pushing things off and to the side until there was a relatively empty space about the size of Daniel.

“Watch the violin!” Rojoe cried as her violin case was pushed off in Greeve’s haste. Before it could hit the ground, a small portal appeared under it and it safely fell onto Rojoe’s bed.

“Sorry Ro,” Greeve said distractedly as he returned to Daniel’s feet. Together, he and Lunare lifted Daniel onto the table. Greeve pushed Daniel’s jacket up to view the damage. The right panel that connected to the Aura generator had been removed, and the interior was slightly more cluttered than Greeve knew it should have been.

 “Tweezers?” Greeve asked. Immediately, a pair were pushed into his hand. Greeve flipped them around and began picking around in the mess.

“Hey Greeve?” Daniel said. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I keep getting feeling in my right big toe but nowhere else. Is that normal?”

“This is hopeless,” Greeve said as he extricated the tweezers from the panel. “I’m a Dust chemist, not a biomechanical engineer.”

“Well I suppose it’s fortunate that you happen to have one on your team, is it not?” Lunare said. “May I ask where Yarrow is?”

“Yarrow is out for the night,” Greeve said. “He’ll saunter in sometime after four but until then he’s radio silent.”

“Well, you could try and call him,” Rojoe said. “For Daniel’s sake?”

Greeve looked over at her, and she gave him a hopeful grin. Greeve gritted his teeth, and pulled out his scroll. “I know exactly how this will turn out, but I’ll try for Daniel.” He punched in Yarrow’s number and held it up to his ear. After a couple of seconds, he lowered it and ended the call. “Straight to voicemail,” he said. “We’ll have to try him tomorrow or get Daniel to the hospital.” He sighed and shook his head. “General Ironwood is going to chew us alive for this.”

“Hello? Yarrow?” Lunare said. Everyone turned to Lunare, who had his own scroll up to his ear. “Yes, I know it’s been a while since we spoke. No, things aren’t particularly good right now. We’re in a bit of a situation and need your help. Myself and the rest of your teammates need you. Yes, I am with them. It’s a bit of a long story, can you give me your location? O’Malley’s Medical Dispensary? Thank you very much. I’ll be right over.” He ended the call and looked at the rest of the group. “Yarrow is currently at some place called O’Malley’s Medical Dispensary, I assume you know where that is?”

“That is incredibly unfair,” Ebon said. “He never picks up for us.”

“Well, I’m afraid I don’t know what to say to you. You can certainly ask him once I pick him up.”

“No need,” Greeve said angrily. “I’ll go get him myself.”

Greeve conjured up a portal on one of the wall and stormed through it. the portal closed off several seconds later, leaving the rest of them in silence.

“Well then, I can see that the irritability Yarrow described was not an exaggeration in any part,” Lunare said.

@0@0@

Greeve’s portal brought him out in an alleyway across the street from O’Malley’s. He could have made it closer or even inside the building, but he wanted to lower the risk of some drunk accidentally stumbling through. As it was, he closed it quickly once he noticed an unconscious man less than a foot away from where it opened up.

O’Malley’s Medical Dispensary was a bar that had originated as a cheap and easy way to get illicit alcohol during the great war when Mantle banned recreational substances along with all the other things that were deemed to increase emotions and bring about further Grimm attacks. It survived the political shakeup as Mantle became Atlas and had been handed down through the generations since. Yarrow had discovered the place seemingly the day he could legally drink and had become one of their most valued customers. Greeve personally considered their alcohol to be distasteful, but secretly enjoyed the atmosphere. Not that he’d admit it to anyone, Yarrow would simply pester him even more to join him.

Greeve crossed the empty street and stepped inside the building. Having once been disguised as a simple dispensary, the floorspace was small and cramped, with hardly enough room for a handful of booths, a pool table, and two battered arcade cabinets crammed into the corner. The lights were dimmed for the customer’s consideration, and a slow classic rock tune played faintly over the speakers. Yarrow wasn’t hard to pick out, having gotten his yellow labcoat somewhere between splitting off from the group and arriving at O’Malley’s. He had draped it over a chair he was sitting at infront of an arcade cabinet. Greeve watched him work the controls with a fervor he rarely expressed outside of combat. A half full glass of dark brown alcohol sat on top of the cabinet, and he occasionally reached up to take a sip.

Yarrow was too engrossed in his game to notice as Greeve made his way through the tightly packed crowd and was only pulled away slightly when Greeve tapped him on the shoulder. “I told you, wait your turn Johnnythan,” he said. “I’m a thousand points off from kicking your ass off the scoreboard.”

“I’m not Jonathan,” Greeve said.

Yarrow froze for a millisecond, and it was enough for a pixelated enemy to catch up to his character. The screen flashed GAME OVER and went back to the title screen. Yarrow lifted a foot up and twisted his chair around so that it faced Greeve. “Yyyyyyyyelow,” he said in a slurred tone. “Come to join the party at last?”

“Unbelievable,” Greeve said. “You’re already drunk?”

“I am not!” Yarrow said, poking Greeve in the gut. “I am, a little buzzed that’s all.”

“You are completely wasted. Forget this, I’m telling Daniel he’ll have to wait,” Greeve said. He turned to leave but was restrained by Yarrow grabbing on to his collar. “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait,” Yarrow said. “What’s wrong with Daniel? Something I can do?”

Greeve sighed and turned back around. “One of Daniel’s old acquaintances-”

Yarrow interrupted Greeve by putting a finger to his mouth. “Small words G-man, small words.”

Greeve gave his teammate a look that would cause other, less drunk members of team GREY to tread very lightly around Greeve. He took a deep breath before continuing. “One of Daniel’s old, friends, visited, and Daniel let him insp, look at the generator. They broke something, and now Daniel can’t move  his legs.”

“Hmmmmmmm, spinal bypass system took a hit then? Lunare told me he didn’t do biomechanical functions,” Yarrow said.

“So you can fix it?” Greeve asked testily.

“Oh sure, no probs,” Yarrow said. Just, bring him over and I’ll take a looksee.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you came to him?” Greeve asked.

Yarrow gave Greeve a look as if he were an idiot. “G-man, I just fought dozens and dozens and dozens of gunrunners tonight. I’m not leaving here; they’re gonna have to make me leave.”

Greeve took a deep breath. “You know the only reason you’re getting away with that name is because you’re drunk, right?”

“Awwwww, shucks G-man, stop it!” Yarrow said, covering his cheeks as if he were blushing.”

“Fine, say I bring Daniel here, where would I put him?”

“I, shall figure that out,” Yarrow said. “You just get him over here.”

Greeve nodded and summoned a portal on the wall. “Don’t let anyone in here,” he warned.

“I got it, I got it,” Yarrow said as he eyed the pool table, where two players had just started up a new game.

Greeve turned and walked through the portal, emerging through the wall in the dorm he had just come from. Daniel’s friend, Lunare, was still in the room, regaling Daniel with a story he had evidently missed.

“-And that was when the police officers arrived and began the raid. As it was revealed, Lewis had called them to the location in order to prevent another fight from occurring.”

Ebon was leaning forward on his bed listening intently, and Rojoe was covering her mouth with her hand. Daniel had no such control and was laughing so hard his body was shaking on the table. “And, and he just accepted it?”

Lunare shook his head. “He was incredibly annoyed. However, he had little leeway in the matter as Goodwitch threatened him with expulsion should he become a repeat offender. Which, I am pleased to say is now highly unlikely as of late.”

Daniel sobered up at the comment.  “Well, that’s good at least.” He turned as best he could to face Greeve. “Can he help?”

“He believes he can,” Greeve said. He threw Daniel’s arm over his shoulder and lifted him up.

“Allow me to assist you,” Lunare said as he reached for Daniel’s other arm.

“No!” Greeve snapped, twisting Daniel out of his grasp. “You can’t go through my portals!”

Lunare took a step backwards. “My apologies, I was unaware of any restrictions regarding your semblance.”

Greeve took a deep breath, calming his nerves. “Just, go. You’ve done enough tonight, and my team has morning calisthenics. Enjoy your time in Atlas Lunare.” He turned back around and dragged Daniel through the portal. When they reentered the bar, Greeve saw the place had become nearly deserted. Beyond the quiet guitar riff playing from the ceiling, there was hardly a sound. The only remaining people were the bartender and Yarrow, who was calming putting his labcoat back on.

“Where did everyone go?” Greeve asked.

“A magician never tells his secrets,” Yarrow said as he handed the bartender a small stack of Lien. “Put him up on the pool table, let’s have a look.”

Greeve complied, pushing as many balls as he could out of the way before laying Daniel down on the table. He pushed Daniel’s clothes up once more, exposing the damaged generator. Yarrow pulled out a pair of gloves from his labcoat pockets and pulled them on with a satisfying smack. “Now then Daniel, what seems to be the problem?”

“Well, I know I’m lying on a pool ball, so I’ve got some feeling,” Daniel said.

Yarrow tilted Daniel to the side and grabbed the offending ball. “So you were,” he said. “Eight ball, corner pocket.” He carelessly tossed the ball into the correct pocket and let Daniel  fall back onto the table.

“Yarrow, are you certain you can operate on Daniel?” Greeve asked.

“Absolutely positively!” Yarrow exclaimed. “I’ve had four shots of whiskey while you were gone, and I haven’t felt this good since that one time in Mistral when we-”

“Alright! Just start already!” Greeve interrupted.

@0@0@

By warm glow of one of the ceiling fan lights, Daniel saw it was nearly three in the morning by the time Yarrow finished. As it turned out, the actual damage was relatively minor. In his excitement, Lunare had accidentally disconnected a circuit from the rest of the system and bent it sideways. The time-consuming element was in the realigning of the circuit before it could be reconnected. Lacking any of his actual tools, Yarrow had improvised with a toothpick and a hairpin he’d found on the floor to maneuver the circuit back into place without disturbing any of the other critical parts. Greeve had tried to call the surgery off multiple times, but Yarrow had waved him off each time. Two hours after they started, Yarrow removed his tools with a triumphant cheer, and Daniel was able to move his legs once more. He got up from the table and took a few cautious steps around it to test things out. Aside from a bit of wobble, his legs were back under his control.

“And, voila,” Yarrow said. “The boy walks again!”

“Thanks Yarrow,” Daniel said tiredly, yawning deeply

“Don’t thank me yet,” Yarrow said as he stifled a yawn of his own. “Where is the, ah, thingy?” he asked, seemingly searching for words.

“The thingy?” Greeve asked irritably.

“Yeah, you know, the thingy thing. The thing that goes over the,” he gestured at Daniel’s back, “thing.”

“The cover?” Greeve asked.

Yarrow snapped his fingers loudly. “That’s it! The cover thingy!”

“Oh crap, I think I left it with Lunare,” Daniel said.

“Well then G-man, you better go talk to the fine gentleman,” Yarrow said.

Greeve groaned. “I can’t. I told him to leave the room.”

“That is unfortunate, and somewhat rude” Yarrow said. “Without that cover, anything from dirt, blood, and various lint particles could enter into the system and cause another seizure.” He slapped Daniel’s hand away as the teenager tried to pull his shirt back down.

“So, what do you suggest?” Greeve asked.

Yarrow stared out the window of O’Malley’s. “Well, you could ask him now I suppose. He is right out there.”

Daniel and Greeve turned to look where Yarrow was looking. Sure enough, Lunare was sitting across the street in Scrapmetal watching the proceedings through a pair of binoculars. Upon seeing the three of them staring at him, he lowered the binoculars and waved his hand in the air.

“Unbelievable,” Greeve said, putting his head in his hand and rubbing his temples. “This night.”

“Come along Greeve, time to make the walk of shame,” Yarrow said as he put an arm around his leader and steered him towards the door. The three of them bade the bartender farewell and exited the bar. Daniel immediately started shivering, his multiple layers still pulled up above his implant. They hurried across the street and over to Lunare, who exited Scrapmetal and hoped down to the pavement.

“Good morrow Lunare!” Yarrow called out as they neared him.

“Good morning Yarrow,” Lunare replied, sticking out a hand which Yarrow ignored to instead disentangle himself from Greeve and wrap Lunare in a big hug.

“Ah, It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Yarrow asked.

“Indeed,” Lunare said. As he extricated himself from the embrace. “I believe you were looking for this?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the missing cover, which he offered to Yarrow.

“Correctamundo!” Yarrow exclaimed. He took the cover from Lunare and reached behind Daniel to slot it into place. It nestled in with a click, and Daniel quickly pulled his shirt and jacket back over his chest.

“Well, if that is all, it is getting somewhat late,” Lunare said. “Daniel, would you care for a ride?”

Before Daniel could answer, Yarrow held up a hand. “Not so fast Lunare! Someone has something they’d like to say.” He looked over at Greeve with a sly eye.

Daniel and Yarrow looked over at Greeve, who pursed his lips for a moment before speaking up. “I’m sorry, for kicking you out of our room,” he grumbled.

Lunare raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Yarrow who suddenly became very interested in the shattered moon. Lunare looked back at Greeve. “Your reasoning was understandable. Daniel informed me of your eventful night, I can understand if you would desire a respite. I have no issue with you.” He stuck a hand out, and Greeve shook it after a moment’s hesitation.

“Now then, it is somewhat late, and I am still acclimating to Atlas’ circadian cycles. Yarrow, would you care for a ride?”

“Nah, the night is still young for an acclimated Atlesian,” Yarrow said, stifling a yawn.

Lunare and Daniel were halfway into Scrapmetal, when Greeve seemed to muster the courage to speak up. “Lunare, do you mind if I join you?”

Lunare started the engine and listened to it intently for a couple moments before answering. “I have no issue with you, Mister Cobel, but Scrapmetal hasn’t forgiven you for the names you called her.” He gunned the engine, and Scrapmetal roared down the road the wrong way towards Atlas before skittering around and speeding down the road the right way.

“Greeve sighed as he waved away a cloud of exhaust that had been left by Scrapmetal’s abrupt departure. “Yarrow,” he said.

“Yes G-man?” Yarrow said.

“I’m going on a walk. Do me a favor and tell the team calisthenics are canceled today.” Without waiting for Yarrow’s reply, Greeve set out at a brisk pace. Yarrow watched him walk down the street for a ways before making a right turn at a stoplight and disappearing from view.

Yarrow pulled out his Scroll and hit the speedial for Rojoe. It rang four times before she picked up. “Hello Rojoe? Yeah, everything’s fine. Daniel’s friend Lunare is dropping him off. Greeve wanted me to tell you guys he’s going for a walk and that calisthenics are canceled. Me? I’ve got half a pint I gotta finish and a high score to beat before I can go back. Don’t wait up.”

Yarrow pulled the Scroll from his ear and was about to end the call when something occurred to him, and he raised it back up. “Rojoe? You still there? Yeah, listen; I love you to death as a friend, but if you don’t make your move on Greeve here soon people are gonna start to think me messing with him is flirting and that we’ve got a thing going on. I am not going to take part in a Romcom love-triangle Rojoe, I am not!”

@0@0@

Hello Everyone!  Sorry for the delay in the chapter, but I had prior commitments most of last Friday.  I had hoped to finish editing the chapter beforehand, but so much happened that weekend I couldn't do much of anything.  Anyways, hope you all enjoyed all that!  This was a bit of a filler chapter, the next one will have much more to it.  Until next time!

-Noah

17: Chapter Seventeen

Two days later, Daniel drove in Scrapmetal with Lunare to the airport to see him off. Greeve had reluctantly given him time off to catch up with his friend, assuring him they would make up for it later. For now however, Daniel was just happy for a break.

The two friends spent the time off relating their different experiences. They discussed the latest gossip at their different academies, compared notes on their classes, and even sparred a handful of times. Their fights made Daniel realize how behind he was with his training. He had seen great improvements from where he once was, but he still lagged behind his former teammates.

All too soon, the two days were over. Daniel waited until Scrapmetal was safely stowed in the cargo hold to say his goodbyes to Lunare. The two of them embraced and Daniel slapped his friend on the back.

“It’s been nice Lunare,” Daniel said as they released each other.

“I agree, Daniel,” Lunare said. “I would stay longer, however I fear Goodwitch will hold our team back a year should I take any further time off.”

“Well, come back when that’s sorted out then.”

“Without a doubt. I have been working on something I would like to show you. It should be ready the next time we meet.”

“Can’t wait to see it,” Daniel said. “Now get going, you and Scrapmetal have a plane to catch.”

Lunare nodded and turned toward the terminal. He had taken a handful of steps when he turned around and addressed his friend. “Is there anything you would like me to convey to the rest?” he called back.

Daniel thought for a minute before responding. “Nothing I don’t want to tell them in person.” he shouted back.

Lunare studied him for a moment, then nodded and was on his way. Daniel watched him until he disappeared past the terminal. He left the airport and walked through the parking lots and maze of roads until he found a secluded overpass. At first glance appeared deserted. He pulled out his Scroll and dialed Greeve’s number. “Hey, he’s headed out,” Daniel said once his leader picked up. “I’m outside the airport, pretty sure no one’s around me.”

“Is your generator turned off?” Greeve asked.

Daniel pulled the application up on his phone and checked the readings. “Powered down. Ready to try that location thing.”

A hand tapped Daniel on the shoulder and he jumped in shock.

“Hey man, got any Lien for a taxi?”

“No portal no portal no portal!” Daniel shouted. He shoved the man away as a portal opened up where he’d been standing a couple seconds before.

“Daniel, what’s going on? Report!”

“Some guy who needs some Lien,” Daniel said. “Portal almost ate him.”

“Get some distance and try again,” Greeve responded.

“No, I’ve got a couple Lien, I’ll call you back,” Daniel said. He ended the call and turned to the man he’d just saved. “Are you crazy? You can’t sneak up on people like that. What if I was a bad guy or something?”

The man pulled back his hoodie and ran his fingers through short spiky blonde hair. “You don’t seem that bad to me man.”

Daniel shook his head and reached for his wallet. “Whatever. Just take the Lien and go.”

The man pushed the offered Lien away. “I don’t really need the Lien. I really just needed an excuse to stop you.”

“Stop me?” Daniel asked. His brow furrowed as he studied the man. There was something familiar about him, He could’ve sworn they’d met recently.

“Indeed. We met the other day, but I didn’t have the chance to congratulate you on a job well done. A gunrunning bust tends to make these discussions difficult to have. Wouldn’t you agree Mister Grigio?”

The man’s voice lowered with the last sentence, and Daniel realized who was in front of him. He backpedaled and fumbled for his Scroll. He had to call Greeve before the man attacked him.

“By all means, call up that false leader of yours,” the man said calmly. “We can ensure he can’t come. It’d be a waste of resources on our part though, so I’d prefer if you didn’t try. We just want to talk after all.”

Daniel slowly lowered his Scroll. Something about the man gave him reason to believe him. It was like he had planned for his every move ahead of time. “What do you want?”

“I just said. To talk. And to ask you a question at the end.”

A quick glance around told Daniel that his brief scan of the area had been accurate. They were very much alone. And without his saber or pistol there wasn’t much that he could offer in the way of resistance. He had one trick up his sleeve, but Daniel hadn’t lost control in over six months. The beast had hardly raised its head in that time and that wasn’t a streak he wanted to break.

“Fine, but I’m recording this,” Daniel said. Instead of opening the voice recorder he activated his Aura generator. He felt the rush of energy as it bloomed to life, and with it came a small sense of security. He doubted he could win a fight, but he could at least take the some blows if it came to that.

“Ah. We didn’t know your stolen Aura came with a recording semblance,” the man said.

Daniel shivered. Apart from Team GREYD, Lunare, and the rest of his former team, there were only a handful of people who should know about the generator. As far as he was aware, this man wasn’t one of those people.

“Who the hell are you?” Daniel demanded.

The man wagged a finger at Daniel. “Names have power my ginger friend. We don’t know each other that well yet. Call me Oskar. It’s generic, vague, and completely irrelevant in the grand schemes of the world. For now, at any rate.”

“Okay Oskar,” Daniel said, “What do you want? My Aura?”

Oskar shook his head. “Heavens no. That machine in your back is an innovative parlor trick at best. It’s certainly useful in a pinch, but can’t compare to the real deal.”

“Then what are you here for?”

“In short, you Mister Grigio. Your unique ability gives us a chance at solving the Grimm problem once and for all. That Aura Atlas gave you is a bandage that hides the gaping wound beneath. We’d prefer to fix the wound, not just hide it.”

If the mentioning of his Aura had sent chills down Daniel’s spine, this was like being shoved into arctic water. His breath quickened, and he took several steps away from Oskar. “You work with Glas,” he stated in horror.

For a moment, Oskar looked as surprised as Daniel did frightened. Then realization dawned on his face and he gave a laugh filled with real humor. “Oh, oh my word. You thought that we were allied with, that old man? After all that he did?”

Despite the situation, Daniel’s shoulders sagged in relief. He still didn’t know what Oskar wanted, but at the very least Professor Glas wasn’t involved.

“No, Dr. Glas was only interested in eradicating the Grimm. It’s a noble goal I suppose, but it’s also a horrible one.”

“But if the Grimm were gone, then there wouldn’t be as many dangers,” Daniel said. “Humanity could expand past the kingdoms,

“And with it would come complete anarchy,” Oskar said. “Without the Grimm there is no reason for the kingdoms to exist; not in their current state at least. What good are protectors of the world if there’s nothing for them to protect against?

Daniel frowned as he tried to wrap his head around what Oskar was saying.

“So the Grimm are bad but you don’t want to destroy them? What’s the point of this we you keep saying?”

Oskar began pacing in front of Daniel. “There’s a delicate balance to the world Mister Grigio. We want to preserve that balance, while also shifting it to our favor. You can help make that goal possible.”

Daniel folded his arms. “You want to use me then. Like Glas.”

“Like Atlas. You don’t think your generator was a bit of charity from the bottom of their hearts, do you? It’s a sidelining. To put you out of everyone’s thoughts so nobody considers the greater implications of your ability. You can—"

“Stop,” Daniel demanded. “The only implications of my ‘ability’,” he said using air quotes, “is that I can hurt a lot of people if I don’t control it. If you want to use that I’m not interested.”

Oskar shook his hand at Daniel. “That is a curse by all meanings, despite the marginal benefits it can produce. I’m talking about your other ability. The one that is also suppressed by that generator.”

Daniel knew what Oskar was talking about and didn’t like where the conversation was going. “There isn’t anything else,” he said, taking a step back. “All I get for not having an Aura is this, this stupid beast inside my head!” he tapped his temple, emphasizing his point.

Oskar laughed his shrill humorless laugh and took a step toward Daniel. “Don’t bother lying Mister Grigio, we have access to your records. You probably noticed it during your first mission with Team GREY. How the Grimm that didn’t even notice you until you lashed out at them. Was an Aura really worth loosing invisibility to Grimm?”

Daniel was backpedaling furiously now. “You stay away from me,” he demanded. “I’m not buying this.”

Oskar shook his head. “Come now. Join us and we can put an end to the Grimm menace. In return, anything you want. You could stay in Atlas if you’d like; several of our members are on Atlesian payroll. We could even have you transferred back to Beacon with your old team; an option I’d recommend honestly. After all,” he smirked, “You want to take out a death stalker’s stinger before anything else.”

The cold grimy concrete of an overpass slammed into Daniel’s back, trapping him from moving. Oskar halted as well, watching Daniel’s reaction. “Well Mister Grigio?”

Daniel whipped out his Scroll and hit Greeve’s number. It hadn’t finished the first ring when his leader answered.

“Daniel, what—"

“Greeve I need backup!” Daniel said frantically.

There was a moment’s pause, then a portal appeared to Daniel’s right. Greeve burst from its depths, the wires of his gloves already unravelling to deal with any threat. He glanced over at Daniel to ensure his safety before turning to face the man. His eyes widened, and he slid into a defensive posture. “You,” he spat.

“Good morning Greeve,” Oskar said with a smile. “How’s your mother doing?”

Greeve’s fists clenched and Daniel was certain he was going to attack him. Then they relaxed and he stepped away from the portal. “Daniel get back to the others.”

“Come now Greeve, I was merely talking to the boy.” Oskar said while inspecting his fingernails.

Greeve pointed a finger at Oskar. “You stay out of this,” he demanded. “I’ll deal with you in a moment.”

Oskar paused his inspection and lowered his hand. “Very well then. I’ll leave you with a final parting question Mister Grigio. Whom does the grand Atlesian army serve? the people or itself?”

@0@0@

Rojoe, Ebon, and Yarrow were watching the portal with concern when Daniel fell through, his back awash in flames. He hit the ground screaming and rolled back and forth, desperately trying to put the flames out. Rojoe, who had been filling her tonfas with ice Dust before Greeve got the call, grabbed a handful of the crystals and threw them at her thrashing teammate. They exploded upon contact with the flames and covered Daniel in a thin layer of ice. The fire extinguished, she grabbed a tonfa and struck Daniel in the side. The ice shattered, and Daniel’s body relaxed. He moaned as he lay on the ground, his clothes a charred ruined mess.

“What happened?” Rojoe asked as she rushed to his side.

Yarrow slid off his bed and rolled Daniel onto his back. The skin around the Aura generator was a mass of angry red burnt flesh, the generator was seeping smoke. Yarrow twisted the battery free and examined it. “Battery short; not good,” he said as the battery gave off several angry sparks. “Going through the portal must’ve drawn too much power at once, this baby is gonna blow in a couple seconds.” He tossed it up to Ebon who in turn bent over the back of his bed and smashed it through the closed window. A moment later it detonated outside.

Rojoe tilted Daniel’s head to the side and peeled back an eyelid. “He’s barely conscious,” she said. “Ebon, get the door. We need to get him to the doctors.”

Ebon pounced from his bed and landed at the door. Rojo pulled Yarrow’s mattress from his bed and went to pull Daniel up onto it but Yarrow swatted her hands away. “Wait a minute Ro, let the engineer give the implant a checkup first.”

“Yarrow this isn’t the time,” Rojoe exclaimed. We can check the generator after the doctors see him. He needs medical attention.”

“Which is why I’m making sure his internal organs didn’t get fried,” Yarrow said. “If the fire burned through the insulation, his heart and lungs are in danger. Get some more ice dust, we may need to freeze him again.”

Rojoe did as he asked then watched with Ebon as Yarrow disassembled the generator. The room was silent, save for the occasional moan from Daniel and the clinking of parts as Yarrow removed them, lining them up on the mattress as he went. He pulled a penlight from his pocket and shinned it into the crevasse. After a moment, Yarrow turned it off and reassembled the generator, slotting it back in. he leaned up and let out a long sigh.

“Well?” Ebon asked.

“The insulation is seared but intact,” Yarrow said. “He should be safe to move.”

Rojoe breathed a sigh of relief and helped Yarrow move Daniel onto the mattress. As they lifted the mattress up a portal appeared on the wall and Greeve stormed through it. Haunted Toll was a tangled mess, and there was a groove cut through his hair but otherwise he was unharmed. He inhaled sharply at Daniel’s charred back.

“Greeve what happened?” Rojoe asked before he could speak.

“Never mind that, what happened here?” he demanded. “What’s Daniel’s status?”

“Battery overload,” Yarrow explained. “Generator seems intact, we’re taking Daniel to the doctors right now.” He and Rojoe took a step toward the door as Ebon opened it.

“Wait,” Greeve said.

In different circumstances the command would make them stop out of respect. It’s use in the situation made them stop out of shock.

“What’s the status of his spare battery?” Greeve asked.

“It’s charging, but why do you-” Yarrow glanced over at the spare battery, charging on top of the desk. He motioned to Rojoe to put down the mattress. He moved to stand between the battery and Greeve. “You’re not putting that in.”

“You said the generator was intact,” Greeve said.

“I said it seems intact,” Yarrow corrected. “I’d need to do a complete checkup before turning it on again.”

“Yarrow you’re a technomancer, and you know more about the generator than any of the doctors will. A cursory glance is all you need.”

Yarrow stepped close to his leader, staring him down. “I can’t guarantee it won’t short circuit again. I won’t have that on my conscience.”

Greeve glanced away and conjured a portal. “I’ll take it on mine,” Greeve muttered. Another portal appeared near the desk where a spare battery was charging from a Dust reservoir. He disconnected but Yarrow clamped down on his arm and stopped him from pulling it through.

“Drop the battery Greeve,” Yarrow said firmly. He pushed Greeve’s arm deeper into the portal, his own hands a hairsbreadth away from touching it. Ebon and Rojoe moved toward the two but Yarrow waved them off with his free hand.

“Let go Yarrow,” Greeve said. He tried to pull his arm free, but Yarrow’s grip was unyielding. “You know what happens if you go through.”

“I also know what might happen if you put that battery in Daniel,” Yarrow countered. “So what say you and I,” he said as he pushed Greeve’s arm deeper, “get a little dangerous?”

Greeve immediately let go of the battery. It clattered to the desk, and Yarrow let him pull his hand through. Ebon went and retrieved the battery, putting it into his pocket.

“Greeve, I think we all would feel better if Daniel was treated by doctors,” Rojoe pleaded. “We still don’t know a lot about the generator, we should probably get it looked at before turning it on again.”

Greeve was breathing heavily. His eyes darted around the room, eventually settling on Ebon. Ebon’s tail was flicking and he crossed his arms, glancing down at the mattress.

“Rojoe get the other side of the mattress,” Greeve said in a deadpan tone. “We’re taking him to the infirmary.”

@0@0@

“I really need to stop waking up in beds after a fight,” Daniel said. “It’s not like it’s the manliest of situations.”

“For now your manhood can wait,” Rojoe said. “You’re certain there isn’t anywhere else that hurts?”

“No just my,” Daniel winced as Ebon applied aloe vera to another patch of burnt skin. “My back. It’s like a really bad sunburn.”

“Then you should be safe then,” Yarrow said. He was kneeling on the other side of Daniel from Ebon, removing components of the Aura generator. Greeve stood next to him, supplying tools to Yarrow as he held out a hand. “If it was anything more you’d be in for hell. But a sunburn we can deal with.”

“What about the generator?” Daniel asked. “Can it still work?”

Yarrow frowned and took a hex key from Greeve, using it and a pair of tweezers to remove screws from the housing. “I don’t know Daniel,” he warned. “The insulation kept you from being fried, but the generator wasn’t designed to handle loads like that.”

“How long until it’s fixed?” Greeve asked. He opened a plastic bag for Yarrow, who dropped another screw into it.

“Well, we’re looking at a complete overhaul,” Yarrow explained. “Most of the parts I can get or make on my own, but do you remember those bits in the manual labeled ‘classified, see us if it gets damaged’?”

Greeve sighed. “Let me guess. They’re damaged.”

“Fused, slagged, frosting in a microwave, take your pick. I couldn’t retro-engineer this if I wanted to.”

“Guys, I’m really sorry about this,” Daniel said. “It’s my fault the generator is ruined.”

“Extenuating circumstances,” Greeve said. “Forget about it and focus on getting better.”

Rojoe, Ebon, Yarrow, and Daniel all stopped what they were doing and turned to face Greeve almost simultaneously. Daniel noticed the pause and lifted his head up. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Ebon wiped his hands on a towel and capped the bottle of Aloe Vera. “Greeve never gives us time off for injuries. Yarrow got impaled by a Boarbatusk and you had him running laps the next day.”

“Yarrow has an Aura and functioning legs,” Greeve said. “Right now Daniel has neither.”

“That reminds me; gotta get a new spinal bypass in here,” Yarrow said. “Greeve, make a note of that.”

“I’ll put it on my to do list,” Greeve said shortly. “How close are you to being done?”

“Just wrapping up,” Yarrow said. He finished scraping the sides of the generator with a small knife and fixed the covering over the top.

“Great, I’m starving,” Ebon said standing up. “What was for lunch today?”

“It’s dinner at this point,” Rojoe said. “Mashed potatoes and tater tots were on the menu.”

“Ah, play-doh and ursa droppings, my favorite,” Yarrow said as he stood up.

Rojoe made a face and Ebon slapped Yarrow on the back of the head. The three of them went toward the door but stopped when Greeve didn’t follow.

“Go on ahead, I’ll keep Daniel company until you get back.”

“Now I know he’s not well,” Yarrow said. “Greeve is never sentimental.”

“You can stick the thermometer up his ass later Yarrow, I’m hungry,” Ebon said. He pushed his teammates out the door and shut it behind him.

As the clicking of the latch echoed through the room, Greeve bent down to Daniel’s level. “Daniel, I need you to answer me truthfully. What happened between you and Oskar?”

“You know him?” Daniel asked. He tried to sit up only to let out a swear and collapse in pain.

“Don’t move, just answer the question,” Greeve said. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing, we just talked,” Daniel answered. “He wanted me to join his group, said he wanted to use how Grimm ignore me if the generator is off.” Daniel took a deep breath before continuing. “Greeve, I think I know what they want with me and it scares me.”

“It should,” Greeve said. “Oskar’s group is nothing but trouble and I want you to keep your distance if he shows up again. His people talk about shifting the balance but all they want is chaos.”

“He said he could keep you from arriving before he talked with me.”

“I don’t doubt it. He has a way of manipulating events to get what he wants. And once you’re in his pocket there’s nothing you can do until he’s done with you.”

Daniel shifted his weight onto his side to get a better view of his leader. “What’s going on Greeve? I need to know if he tries to come for me again.”

Greeve shook his head. “That’s classified. Need to know basis. I’ll see about getting you access but until then keep this quiet. Not even the rest of the team can know about this, understood?”

Daniel nodded and Greeve stood up. “Then we don’t have anything left to discuss. Get some rest, I’ll begin fabrication for your new battery.”

Greeve strode over to the desk and began pulling out tools. Daniel lay back down and closed his eyes. He tried to do as Greeve instructed, to fall asleep and begin to heal.

But try as he might, sleep refused to come. The day’s events swam through his mind. He had hoped Greeve would give him some answers. All he got was more questions. How did Greeve know Oskar? Why did he seem so secretive about them? And the parting question Oskar had left him; whom did Atlas serve?

@0@0@

Sorry for the delay.  Last week was finals week and a lot of things came up that made updating impossible.  I'd like to say that this won't happen again, but I can't say that for sure.  If you want to stay updated, consider following my Tumblr @the-writing-wrenchinator.  At least for however long Tumblr remains open.

18: Chapter Eighteen

Lunare tore down the streets of Vale as fast as he felt he could get away with. He hoped nothing had happened while he'd been gone. If there was one thing he had learned from leading team LSTRDLN, it was that anything could happen.

As he turned onto the street his garage was on, he saw a ladder propped up over the garage door. Several short wooden structures had been erected on the roof, and his team were crouched around them. They glanced over in his direction and stood up as he thundered down the road before skidding to a stop in front of the garage.

“Lunare! We have plants!” Ryler shouted as Lunare dismounted.

“Let him get up here before you yell at him, geeze Ryler,” Dakota said.

“I, see that the six of you have been busy in my absence,” Lunare said. Things seemed alright, but it could be a ruse to cover up something worse.

“You haven’t seen anything yet boss, get up here and we’ll show you,” Schatten said.

Lunare scaled the ladder and examined the carnage that had been wrought. Empty soil bags piled in the middle, broken boards littered the edges, and almost everyone had dirt underneath their fingernails. Ryler’s new top hat was sitting upside down a pink blossom. But for all the mess the end result was plain to see. Four large square planter boxes filled with rich black soil held small green shoots triumphantly bursting from the ground.

“Impressive,” Lunare commented. “How exactly did you build these while I was gone?” “Impressive,” Lunare commented. “How exactly did you build these while I was gone?”

“I used your tools,” Dakota said. “Tiberius bought the timber, Nick helped me cut them down to size, Lewis and Ryler were in charge of plants.”

Lunare turned to face Schatten. “What was your part in this plan?”

“I made sure they didn’t fight,” Schatten answered.

“Which I am proud to say we did not!” Ryler exclaimed proudly. “Tiberius and I have been on our best behavior.”

Lunare raised an eyebrow and bent down to fondle one of the tiny green leaves. “What plants did you all choose?”

“Well, I’ve got a box all to myself, and I’ve filled it with all kinds of beauties,” Ryler said. “Once they mature, I think I can increase Pixie’s output twofold.”

“You and I are sharing the box on the far left,” Tiberius said, gesturing toward a planter with a wooden trellis stuck into one side. “I have taken the liberty of planting what I hope to be a successful crop of rose bushes. With proper care and maintenance, I am certain they will prove to be quite beautiful.”

“And you made this decision without me?” Lunare asked.

“Well if you wanted a say in the matter, you should not have been on a different continent when we made the decision,” Tiberius said. “As it was we attempted to contact you on multiple occasions.”

“Yes, well, I was preoccupied,” Lunare said.

“Schatten and I got us a little farm goin’” Nick said, pointing towards a box. Neat troughs were dug through the dirt with sticks planted at regular intervals. Empty bags of seeds had been stuck on top of the sticks to show which where the seeds were where

“It was Nick’s idea,” Schatten explained. “I figured he knew more about gardens than I did, so I let him take the lead.”

“Tending the garden wasn’t my job, but I know enough to get by,” Nick said. “Once we got us a harvest, I’m gonna make us the best meal you ever tasted.”

“That leaves Lewis and Dakota does it not?” Lunare asked. “What did you two come up with?”

“Don’t worry, I made sure he didn’t get anything too crazy,” Dakota said. “I don’t think ours will be too good looking though.”

“I planted dandelions,” Lewis said with a grin. “They are going to be the best dandelion crop in Vale.”

“I let him put them in,” Dakota said quickly. “Couldn’t figure out what to plant, figured they wouldn’t do any harm until I decide.”

Lunare took a step back and surveyed the scene once more. For the first time since the highway incident, they had worked together and agreed on something. It was a mess, but it was something he couldn’t help but be proud of.

“So Lunare how was the trip to Atlas?” Dakota asked.

Lunare paused his scan and briefly in Dakota’s direction. “It was certainly eventful,” he said, trying to avoid mentioning Daniel.

“Did they let you keep building your disruptors boss?” Schatten asked.

“I’m afraid not. It seems there are too many problems with their existence. Lunare Industries is over before it even began.”

“Then what was so eventful?” Tiberius asked.

“Was Daniel doing good?” Lewis asked.

Lunare took a step back in surprise and tripped on a planter box. Schatten snatched him by his jacket before he fell on the plants.

“You actually saw him Lunare?” Ryler asked.

Lunare steadied himself before answering. “Yes. Yes I did.”

Team LSTRDLN exploded into questions. Nick and Lewis were the most inquisitive and seemed desperate to hear anything. Dakota took a step back and let the others swarm their leader.

Lunare held up his hands and the clamoring died down. “Lewis,” he asked. “How did you know I met with Daniel?”

Lewis shrugged. “you said eventful man,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything less eventful than seeing Daniel.”

“Well don’t just keep it from us how is he?” Nick demanded.

“He was doing well enough,” Lunare said. “His Aura is in working order, although I have no idea how it works.”

At the mentioning of the Aura Generator, the grins on the team dropped slightly. Schatten reached over and smacked Lunare on the back of the head.

“However, he still misses you all very much,” Lunare said quickly. “He may not have said it outright, but I believe that is how he feels.”

“He really said that?” Ryler asked.

“Not verbally, but even I was able to see how he felt,” Lunare said.

"So what's Daniel been doing?" Lewis asked.

"His time at Atlas has been almost as eventful as ours here in Beacon," Lunare said. "The night I encountered him, he was returning from a raid against gunrunners."

 “Gunrunners?” Schatten said incredulously. “We don’t even get our first mission until for another week, how is he going after arms dealers already?”

“Must be that team they put him with,” Nick said. “Heard Daniel say something’ ‘bout bein’ put with seniors. Must be them.”

“I assume this team is on the top of their class,” Tiberius said. “I met General Ironwood once, he wouldn’t do anything differently.”

Lunare pulled a screw and nut from a pocket and began spinning them together. “You can certainly make a decision on their capabilities Tiberius. You did after all meet them once.”

Tiberius’ brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of Lunare’s comment. When it dawned on him he inhaled in outrage. “Those blundering buffons? They had the gall to throw me into a wine store and destroy a bottle of Chateau M-” he stopped himself and glanced over at Ryler who watched the exchange with unrestrained excitement. “Regardless, I cannot believe General Ironwood would do such a thing. Especially with that yellow coated one; he completely ignored the battle at hand.”

“The yellow coated one repaired Daniel’s generator after a short circuit robbed him of his legs,” Lunare said coolly.

“What?” Ryler gasped. “How did that happen?”

Lunare twisted the nut a turn too far and it fell to the roof with a clatter. “I honestly have no idea. One moment Daniel was perfectly fine, then he collapse to the ground complaining he couldn’t feel his legs.”

"Uh huh, right," Dakota said. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you.  Since you had to give Atlas that cannon back what're you going to replace it with? Something street legal right?"

 

Lunare turned to face his teammate. “Indeed. I am not allowed to mount any weapons to a civilian vehicle, however there is nothing against using the vehicle itself as a weapon,” Lunare said. “Daniel's generator gave inspiration to an interesting workaround.”

 

Team LSTRDLN leaned in and listened to Lunare explain the suggestion with great intent. Dakota stayed where he was however and watched from afar. When Lunare finished he opened his mouth as if to say something else, but seemed to decide against it. Instead he crossed his arms and waited for the excitement to die down. His attempt at changing the subject had failed, he wasn't going to try again. Besides, it wasn't like they were going to drop everything and go visit Daniel right now.

@0@0@

The school week passed in a blur, and Friday saw the gathering of the first year teams in the auditorium. It was time to choose their first official missions.

The teams entered the auditorium in a clamor. They were all talking about the same thing. What mission were they going to get?

A shushing noise rolled across the crowd as Professor Ozpin took to a podium on the stage. He waited until the crowd was completely silent before speaking.

“A Huntsman’s work is never over,” Professor Ozpin began. “Every day is a new challenge, a new obstacle to overcome. To avoid or ignore them is to invite laziness, and endangers the people of this world we swear to protect. A hundred years ago the four kingdoms established the huntsmen academies. Our job is to instill within you the skills and mentality to meet these challenges.” Professor Ozpin paused, and a small smile appeared on his lips. “A colleague of mine has a saying he uses when rising students of his become complacent in their studies. Every day out in the real world is worth a week within the classrooms. In short, you cannot become a huntsmen by studying in the classroom. Which is why we have gathered you all here today. Your teams will select a mission and carry it out over the next week. Some of you will be shadowing licensed Huntsmen. Others will be working on their own or with other teams. Whatever path your team decides, treat your mission with the upmost care.”

With the speech concluded the teams separated and began crowding around large mission boards on the walls of the auditorium. There they looked through the different available assignments and chose one to their liking before moving on. Team LSTRDLN was near the back and got to a board in the rear first. Lunare worked the screen while the rest of the team read the mission descriptions.

“Ooh what about that one?” Lewis asked, pointing to one of the options. “Investigating a possible gang hideout. Sounds really cool.”

Lunare opened the mission brief and read aloud. “Authorities believe to have found the location of Roman Torchwick’s gang in the warehouse district. Torchwick is believed to be armed and highly dangerous.”

“It’s nothing we haven’t done before,” Dakota said. “Even if he’s there this should be a piece of cake.”

“Maybe we should take a look at the other options first,” Schatten said. “This is only the first page.”

“You kidding? This is the perfect time to try out Reaper’s Reach,” Dakota said. “Punch it in Lunare.”

“Are there any other objections?” Lunare asked. when none were voiced Lunare glanced at Schatten who in return shrugged. Lunare accepted the mission and went to type in the team name. His fingers hovered over the keyboards but didn’t type.

“Something wrong boss?” Schatten asked.

“There are only four character slots,” Lunare said. “Our team name has seven.”

“Just put in LSTR,” Tiberius said. “I’m certain Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch will understand.”

Lunare nodded and typed in the letters. When he hit enter however, the screen flashed red and reset at the top of the list.

“Aw, what happened?” Ryler asked. “Did someone beat us to it?”

“What happened was that mission was for a team of four,” a voice said behind them. They turned and saw Professor Goodwitch, tablet in one hand, riding crop in the other. “Yours is too big.”

“Professor Goodwitch,” Lunare said, “I’m not certain I understand. Would a larger team be unable to complete these missions?”

“The opposite,” Professor Goodwitch said. “Your team has an unfair advantage against the others. Any normal mission we give would not be an accurate representation of your skills.” She extended the tablet to the team. “Professor Ozpin has selected a series of missions for your team to choose from.”

Lunare took the tablet from Professor Goodwitch and opened the list as she returned to the stage. He led the way through the crowds into the middle of the auditorium while reading through the options. The rest of the team tried to peer over his shoulders as he did so.

“Do you see anything?” Ryler asked.

“The options are scarce I’m afraid,” Lunare said. “We have five missions to choose from, two of which I fear may be above our abilities.”

“Come on, how bad could they be?” Dakota asked.

“Defend a cruise liner through Lancer and Feilong territory, and eliminating a Beringel whoop during mating season.”

“I have no idea what a whoop is but forget I ever spoke up,” Dakota said.

“What about the other three?” Tiberius inquired.

“Reducing the Creep population at the local dump,” Lunare said.

“No,” Tiberius said before Ryler could speak up.

“Assisting Professor Port in cataloging Griffins for his collection,”

“We could do that,” Nick said. The others nodded and expressed their agreement. “My semblance would keep them calm, y’all could do the cataloging’.”

“And the last one is a joint academy mission to clear a forest of Grimm,” Lunare said.

“Who’s the other academy?” Lewis asked.

“Atlas Academy,” Lunare said.

Tiberius snatched the tablet from Lunare and read aloud to the rest. “Atlas has experienced an increase in the number and strength of Grimm in their initiation forest. In a gesture of goodwill, the three major Huntsmen Academies have offered to supply several teams each to take part in a joint extermination mission. In one day they will clear the forest of large packs and stronger Grimm types for the initiates’ safety.”

“That, is very cool,” Schatten said. “Study abroad, fight bigger badder types of Grimm—”

“Seeing Daniel,” Lewis interrupted.

“Getting to see Daniel,” Schatten added. “Seems like a package deal.”

“It seems this is the most interesting option,” Lunare said. “Are any of you opposed to this mission?” Lunare expected to see no hands raise. In a surprise move, Dakota raised his. “Is there something wrong Dakota?”

Dakota frowned and ran his hand through his long hair. “I’m gonna be honest with you guys, I’m really not feeling this one,” he said.

“Why not?” Lewis asked in shock.

“Guys, our experience with Atlas hasn’t been all that stellar. Why don’t we stick to something a bit closer to home, huh?”

"One battle does not a bad experience make," Nick said. "What we got here Dakota is a once in a lifetime opportunity. A year from now we could be fighting those other teams in the Vytal Tournament. And I know we ain’t getting to go see Atlas any other time before we graduate. And that’s ignoring Daniel altogether.”

“Come on, what’s there to see at Atlas?” Dakota asked. “Snow, ice, asshole Dust companies,”

“Now wait just a minute,” Tiberius exclaimed.

“Plus, the Grimm at Atlas can’t be that different,” Dakota said. “Probably some Beowolves, a polar Ursa or something, we’ve basically got all that here already.”

Tiberius started to argue with Dakota, but Lunare held up a hand. “Dakota, if you do not feel comfortable going to Atlas then we won’t go. But if this is simply a matter of preference, then the larger group has spoken. So then, which is it may I ask?”

“I,” Dakota began. He opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to come up with what to say. Finally, he spoke. “Screw it. You guys want to go to Atlas, that’s fine with me. Let’s go to freaking Atlas.”

Ryler cheered as Lunare nodded and typed in the team’s name into the tablet.

“We’ll have to make some preparations before we go,” Tiberius said. “Winter clothing for everyone. Nicholas, your jacket will not suffice on its own, I recommend something with heavy wool. Dakota, we’ll have to see what your jacket is rated, Dakota?”

Dakota, who had begun to slip away from the rest of the group turned back around. “I’ll catch you all before the flight leaves,” he said. “I, I’ve got some stuff to take care of.” He continued on his path and was soon swallowed up by the other teams reporting to their missions.

@0@0@

It was evening before Lunare saw Dakota again. He was in the garage, working on top of a stepladder to winterize Scrapmetal so it could run in the frigid arctic climate once more. He had begun to remove the winterization over the week, but was now running against the clock to get it reversed before their flight in the morning. If he could get the process done fast enough enough he might be able to also build the arc cannon to replace the atlesian cannon. Most might consider the goal an impossible longshot. Lunare considered it a challenging all-nighter.

Lunare was working on connecting engine heaters to the main battery when Dakota ducked under the garage door. Lunare glanced up to see who it was, then turned his attention back to the job. “We didn’t see you after you left,” he said.

“Like I said, I had some stuff to do,” Dakota said.

“We were concerned,” Lunare said. “Nick thought you might return to the fighting ring.”

“I almost did,” Dakota admitted. He pointed at Scrapmetal. “Do you need help with that?”

“Hm?” Lunare looked up.

“Scrapmetal. I think I know what you’re doing. Do you need help with it?”

“I am surprised Dakota. I was unaware you considered Scrapmetal to be anything more than what its name implies.”

Dakota shrugged. “I figured I’d use my hands for something constructive this time around. Scrapmetal seems constructive enough.”

Lunare considered the comment, then nodded toward another stepladder. Dakota grabbed it and set himself up on the other side of the open hood.

“Take the heaters on the engine block and install them on your side,” Lunare instructed. He stepped down and retrieved a handful of O-rings which he began swapping for the current rings around the radiator. “You seemed agitated today.”

“I just don’t get everyone’s fascination with him,” Dakota said.

“Schatten informed me the others believed you had gotten over your anger at Daniel,” Lunare said.

“Yeah, I’m over him. Thing I don’t get is why everyone else isn’t? Six months we don’t hear from him, then you show up with news and suddenly we’re off to Atlas.”

A stream of oil shot out from one of the pipes, narrowly missing Lunare. “There were other benefits to the Atlas mission,” he offered. “Studying abroad is certainly one of them.”

Dakota stopped his work to look at Lunare. “We both know that’s not why we’re going.”

Lunare shook his head. “No, I suppose the experience is the last thing on their minds.”

Dakota groaned and hit the side of Scrapmetal with his fist. Lunare shot him a glare from underneath the chassis. Dakota shifted and muttered an apology before rubbing away the grease stain left by the blow. Lunare nodded and got back on his stool to swap the O-rings on the top.

“What about you Lunare?” Dakota asked. “What’s your opinion on this whole thing?”

“You mean, what do I think?” Lunare asked. “What do I, the one who has to winterize a vehicle, perform a rush job on a new weapon, and still pack think about the situation?”

Dakota shifted on his stool. “Well, yeah.”

“It does not matter what I think Dakota. I had a chance to meet with Daniel, the others did not. When Daniel left Tiberius convinced my team to give Daniel a grace period before talking to him. That period ended months ago, and they want to see Daniel.”

“But he left us!”

“He informed me his actions were what he saw as the only option. If he stayed he feared the attacks would only get worse. Leaving was his way of protecting us.”

Dakota slammed a heater into its housing and leaned over the engine to look at Lunare. “We’re training to be Huntsmen. We don’t need protection. We take every hit thrown at us and return it with vengeance.”

“You and the Faunus girl nearly experienced a vivisection. Glas performed a tracheotomy on Nick. In his rage, Daniel has injured most of our team at least once. Do you see why Daniel is concerned with your safety?”

Dakota opened his mouth but Lunare continued over him. “Schatten informed me that you said you were over Daniel leaving. It seems to me that his information was incorrect and that you continue to harbor feelings for your former leader to this day.”

The heater casing snapped with a large crack under white clenched hands. Lunare looked down in surprise at the ruined part, then yelped as Dakota dragged him over Scrapmetal's front by his collar.

“This conversation, does not go past the two of us,” Dakota in a low fierce whisper. “Understand?” Without waiting for Lunare’s response, he shoved him away. Lunare fell off the stepladder and landed on a nearby workbench. Dakota left his stepladder and stormed out of the garage. “I’m gonna go get a winter coat,” he called back. “Don't wait up for me.”

Lunare got off the workbench but didn’t follow him. He walked over to the other side of Scrapmetal and pulled the destroyed heater from its mount. Examining the handprints, he wondered what exactly had just happened.

19: Chapter Nineteen

“Be honest Daniel, how do you feel?”

Daniel stood up and waited for the generator to kick in. After an extended pause, he felt the familiar energy surround him in a warm embrace. The fresh pink skin covering his burned back receded as normal skin took its place.

“I think it took a little longer to start,” Daniel said.

Yarrow rubbed at the blackened housing. “That’s what I was afraid of,” he said. “I had a feeling the sequencer was damaged but couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Might be past my ability to fix.”

“Is that bad?”

“Any case outside an ambush you should be fine. Don’t go into dark alleys anymore until I can get a new part in.”

Daniel opened his mouth to correct Yarrow but remembered the instructions Greeve had given him. He closed his mouth instead and nodded in understanding.

The door opened and Rojoe and Ebon entered the dorm. “Gear up Yarrow,” Rojoe instructed. “General wants us going after a lead on that gunrunner that escaped.”

“Ugh, finally!” Yarrow exclaimed as he deactivated Daniel’s generator. He grabbed his coat from his bed and slung it over his uniform. “No offense Daniel, but I’ve got cabin fever from you.”

“Same here,” Daniel said. He grabbed his sword to fasten to his waste. Ebon placed a hand on the hilt, stopping him.

“You’re still supposed to take it easy,” Ebon said. “One more day before you’re clear, Greeve’s orders.”

“Oh come on, I’m fine,” Daniel protested. “Yarrow checked my generator, everything’s good to go.”

“I’m with Greeve on this one actually,” Yarrow said. “Your generator was running for a minute, that’s not enough time to stress check it. We’ll run some tests when you get back.”

Daniel sighed, but put down his sword.

“It’s for the best,” Ebon assured him. “You went through Greeve’s portal with an Aura. That’s something Greeve takes seriously, even for him.”

“Because he doesn’t want someone to die from it?” Daniel asked.

Rojoe, Ebon, and Yarrow all glanced at each other with pained expressions. None of them seemed to want to speak.

“Oh,” Daniel said. “Someone did die?”

Yarrow spoke up with air of caution, unusual for him. “We, aren’t supposed to talk about that, but-”

“But nothing,” Ebon said. “Daniel’s a part of the team, he deserves to know. Rojoe, you know this better than us, you tell him.”

“Me? No, I couldn’t,” Rojoe protested. “I think, Greeve should tell Daniel. It’s his story to tell.”

“Greeve ain’t here and we both know he’s not going to tell Daniel,” Ebon said. “He’s too scared about it.”

Rojoe looked at Yarrow for help, but he shrugged noncommittedly. She sighed and began to speak. “Daniel, do you remember what I told you about Greeve’s portals when you were visiting?”

“You told me about his Semblance,” Daniel answered, “that if someone besides Greeve went through the portal that they’d die.”

“The dying wasn’t speculated,” Rojoe said. “And it’s not just a full immersion effect either. If any part of you enters the portal, it drains your Aura and you die. But when Greeve’s Semblance first manifested, he didn’t know about that. So, when he and his older brother were surrounded by Death Stalkers and had to escape, he conjured a portal, and, and,”

“They went through together,” Ebon finished solemnly. “He was nine when it happened.”

Daniel struggled for something to say; anything that could convey what he felt. Instead, Rojoe had the next word. “We’d better get going; Greeve’s waiting on us.”

“Probably already thinking of how he’s gonna chew us out for being late,” Yarrow said. He strode toward the door but stopped and turned back to Daniel. “Don’t run your generator while we’re gone,” he instructed, “And don’t tell Greeve you know what happened, he’s sensitive about it.”

Daniel nodded, and the three older students filed out. The door closed with a click, and Daniel was alone.

Daniel took a deep breath and tried to compose his thoughts. The sudden and abrupt reveal had taken him by surprise. There’d always been an inkling of suspicion in the back of his mind that something had gone wrong, but he’d always assumed it had been a close call. The truth was far worse.

Whispers started echoing in the back of his mind and Daniel instinctively activated the generator. Yarrow had just told him not to use it, but running it for a little bit shouldn’t be a problem. The longer startup time concerned him. A feeling in his gut told him that he needed to get the generator back working at peak performance sooner rather than later.

Daniel scanned the room, searching for something to occupy his mind. They fell on Yarrow’s computer on the desk. He pushed a form off of the keyboard and he opened up the Atlas email service. Lunare had asked him to keep in touch after all.

Dear Team LSTRDLN,

How have you all been?

This is probably the most awkward email in the history of awkward emails. It’s been six months since I contacted you all. I would’ve done it sooner, but I thought that none of you wanted to hear from me after I left. I would have written it after Lunare got back, but I had some stuff I had to do.

My time in Atlas has been amazing. Team GREY has pushed me hard and I’ve made many improvements. I might even be able to take on some of you now!

I do miss Beacon though. If I could make a choice again, I think I woul

A vibration in Daniel’s pocket broke him out of the email. He fished out his Scroll and saw a picture of Yarrow attempting to look scientific with a flaming vial of dust in his hands filled the screen. He scrambled to deactivate the generator before accepting the call. “Hey, Yarrow.”

“Daniel, you doing anything?”

“No! Not at all, what’s up?” Daniel checked again to make sure that the generator had been turned off. Had Yarrow known he turned the generator on?

“Nothing much just; on your left Ro!” Yarrow shouted. There were some sounds of fighting followed by the unmistakable noise of Yarrow firing a stun pellet. “Sorry, guy almost got the jump on Rojoe.”

“Are you guys fighting already?” Daniel asked. “You’ve been gone for fifteen minutes!”

“And Ebon has a unitard in his closet, but let’s not repeat what we know,” Yarrow answered. “Listen, a guy just knocked some papers over and it reminded me about the estimate forms for your repair. Ironwood wants them by noon, and this is gonna tie us up for a while.”

Daniel grabbed the forms he’d pushed aside. “Don’t you send these in before the repairs?”

“Yes you should,” Yarrow said, “but Greeve thinks I’m a bad role model for you anyways so at this point why bother?” There were several gunshots and Yarrow swore. “Okay I need to hang up now; this is worse than drunk texting and driving.” The Scroll beeped and the call ended.

Daniel pocketed his Scroll and tucked the papers under his arm. He glanced at the unfinished email before saving it and powering down the laptop. He could come back to it once Ironwodd had the papers.

He left the dormitory into the courtyard. Icy wind cut through his uniform and threatened to tear the papers from under his arm until he made it to the main building.

Daniel pushed open the thick metal doors and entered the building. Unlike the barren courtyard, the lobby was a bustling thoroughfare. Everyone from officers to cadets were moving through at a brisk pace. Daniel recognized several, but they were moving too fast to talk. Not that they could have heard him if he’d tried. The high stone walls made every sound echo in a cacophony of noise that drowned out even thoughts. It was all because of the weather. The winter months had made the main building a thoroughfare around the connected offices and classrooms. It could take longer but kept you indoors for the most part.

Daniel swerved through the crowd and made his way to General Ironwood’s office. He made it just as the general was leaving, an older mustached man at his side. General Ironwood saw Daniel and nodded in his direction before walking off with the man.

“General!” Daniel called after him.

“Mister Grigio,” General Ironwood replied. He turned back to his companion and continued talking.

“General, I need to give you these papers. They’re the estimates you asked for.” Daniel winced as he realized his mistake. If he wasn’t healed, then there was no reason for him to be running around delivering papers.

“I’m leaving for an important meeting, Mister Grigio,” he said with a hint of irritability. “Put them on my desk, I’ll review them when I return. And slide the key under the door I have a spare.” Before Daniel could reply, he handed Daniel a key and put a hand on the back of the mustached man to usher him away. The man gave the hand a look of revulsion but didn’t say a word. They turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

Daniel retraced his steps back to the general’s office and closed them behind him. He hadn’t been in here since he was first assigned to team GREY. It hadn’t changed much. The only difference was the towers of papers that framed General Ironwood’s computer. They seemed to be even taller. He walked behind the desk and laid the papers down on the keyboard. He’d let General Ironwood decide where he wanted them. He was about to leave when the screen flashed a notification.

Mail

From: Percival Ashen Neil

Subject: Troop mobilization

Daniel frowned at the heading. The parting words of Oskar echoed in his head. His fingers hovered over the mouse button, and hesitated. Despite what the subject line was he had no idea what was in the email. Opening it could unleash a world of trouble for Daniel. If something went wrong and General Ironwood found out, there would be serious consequences. Any chance at becoming a Huntsman would be lost.

The screen darkened as Daniel mused. If it all the way off it would lock him out. Daniel made an impulse decision and shuffled the mouse back and forth. The screen brightened, and he clicked on the notification. A window appeared and displayed the email.

General Ironwood,

The council’s suggestions for resource allocation during the expansion are most troubling. Although I am not in charge of the operation, I cannot recommend the troop deployments. The Grimm recently attacked these areas, and a reduction in men might incite another incident.

I know that my strategy takes longer, but it provides the greatest assurance for the total removal of Grimm. A rapid extermination plan will neglect areas in favor of preserving the resources.

I once again urge you to reconsider and hope that you make the right decision.

P.A. Neil.

Daniel re-read the message, then saw it was the third in an email thread. He opened the other two and read them as well. It seemed the sender was an officer in the Atlesian military. His first email had an attached report on an area Atlas was planning on expanding into. Plenty of land, promising dust deposits, and infested with Grimm. Percival suggested a long-term extermination program that slowly expanded the border over a period of two years. Daniel had a sinking feeling of what General Ironwood’s reply was, but he clicked on the email anyways.

Commander Neil,

Your report and suggestions were reviewed by the council. Your findings in the western peninsula prove more promising than we hoped. You will be highly commended for your work.

Due to the material need of Atlas we have decided upon a rapid extermination plan over the proposal you submitted. Two years is too long for our timetable. The council’s decision is final.

General Ironwood.

“What is going on?” Daniel muttered. He scrolled through the general’s emails, trying to get more context. He found another email between General Ironwood and the commanders of several battalions. It detailed instructions to ready their men for action in the wester peninsula. The most recent email before Commander Neil’s was one to Jacques Schnee, asking him to lunch to discuss the preparations to open another mine. Jacques had replied in the affirmative, but warned he was only available between twelve and twelve thirty.

With a start, Daniel looked up at a digital clock sitting on General Ironwood’s desk. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw it read twelve twenty-fifteen. He had plenty of time, but knew he needed to get out sooner rather than later.

First, he needed to get the emails. He returned to the general’s inbox and was about to renew his search when he heard a rattling of a key at the door. With only seconds left he closed the mail browser and hit the shortcut to send the computer to sleep. He stepped away from the computer just as General Ironwood stepped inside. When he saw Daniel, his eyes narrowed and he raised a protective hand to keep the mustached man from entering.

“What are you doing here Daniel?” Ironwood said in a low voice.

“General Ironwood! I didn’t expect you back so soon,” Daniel said.

“I asked you a question Mr. Grigio. What are you still doing in my office?” General Ironwood’s free arm drifted down toward his coat, where Daniel knew from painful experience lay a powerful revolver.

Daniel inhaled slowly through his nose, taking a moment to compose himself. “I just got in here,” he said. “The key didn’t want to turn.”

For a minute, General Ironwood’s piercing eyes didn’t leave Daniel’s. They seemed to bore through him and into his core. There was no doubt that Ironwood was checking the validity of Daniel’s excuse, and he didn’t like what he saw.

Just when Daniel thought that Ironwood was actually going to shoot him, both of his hands dropped. “I’ve had the same problem,” General Ironwood said. “The winter weather makes it sticky.”

To Daniel, this simple statement was a gift from the gods. He took the offering and ran with it as hard as he could. “Is that what it is? I thought it might be, it’s the winter after all. Doesn’t happen with our dorms, but I think we might have different locks.”

“Daniel, I still have important business with Mister Schnee, I’d appreciate it if you left us alone.”

Daniel nodded and walked toward the door. Mr. Schnee decided to step through the door the same time as Daniel, and both found themselves in each other’s way. They sidled back and forth until Daniel finally stepped to General Ironwood’s left. Mr. Schnee huffed at Daniel as he passed, and Daniel found himself guided out by a powerful hand. Daniel barely had time to hand him the key before the door was shoved closed in his face. A solid knock of metal against wood signaled he’d locked the door behind him.

The interruption frustrated Daniel. If he’d had a bit longer he would have figured it all out. And once he did, maybe he’d know what Oskar meant.

Reality struck him, and he snapped out of his musings. Shaking his head to clear it, he leaned against the wall. What he was doing, what he had done, was dangerous! And why was he doing it? Because someone he’d only met on the street told him? The safest thing to do was go back to the dormitory and forget what he’d seen.

But deep down the musings brewed. They festered with the whispers and combined their strengths. Greeve knew who Oskar was, even if he hadn’t told anyone else. And if the emails were for real, then Daniel had to learn the rest.

Glancing up, Daniel saw an air duct tile in the ceiling. A memory sparked in his mind; one of Lunare emerging from a similar duct with a can of Rage in each hand. Daniel followed the hallway until he found an air duct far enough away from the general’s door that he wouldn’t hear a thing.

Which was good, because Daniel soon learned how bad he was at getting into an air duct.

No matter how hard he tried, Daniel couldn’t get up to the vent. At best he could scrape his fingers along the painted metal. After several minutes, he stopped for fear someone on another floor might hear him. He needed a boost.

Daniel reached back and activated the generator once more. The rush of energy gave him the needed boost to knock the vent off its mounting. The mangled metal flipped into the aluminum tunnel with a crash that reverberated down its length. Daniel waited until it finished echoing before squirming the rest of the way inside.

Faint light from the corridor below illuminated the metal walls. Daniel pushed the ruined vent out of his way and began sliding down the smooth metal. He counted the number of vents until he reached the one outside of Ironwood’s office. As he neared the grated opening, he began to hear the conversation going on below.

“And you’re positive the resources are in the peninsula?”

“I thought it would be clear now General, Schnee industries doesn’t make business decisions on just speculation.”

“I need to know. I don’t know how you convinced the rest of the council to follow your plan, but my advisors and I are against it. Another year, and the new knights will be ready for production. We can make the expansion without compromising our defenses.”

Daniel reached up and massaged his temple. He could feel a headache coming on. Putting discomfort aside, he slid the final length and made it to the vent. General Ironwood was sitting at his desk, reviewing one of the many papers from a mountainous pile. The man, Mr. Schnee, was standing in front of the General’s desk, his arms crossed.

“The western peninsula will shorten that time to six months,” Mr. Schnee said. If something happens to the villages, then you send a battalion of the 200s their way as an apology.”

“They won’t forgive us if something happens,” Ironwood said. He put the paper down and put his fingers to his temples. “Destroyed villages, surviving refugees, none of this looks good on the CCTS.”

“Villages disappear all the time General; it’s nothing the people haven’t seen before.” Mr. Schnee said. “If it becomes a problem,” Daniel couldn’t see Mr. Schnee’s face, but he got the feeling the man had a cruel smile on his face, “I understand the western peninsula will soon be needing workers.”

Daniel let a low grunt out as the headache worsened. It felt like a Beowulf was digging its claw into his head. He bit his lip and hoped no one had heard his noise.

Ironwood looked up at Mr. Schnee, then at the ceiling. His eyes grazed over the vent and Daniel instinctively slid backwards. “You’re a cold-hearted bastard Jacques. I pray we don’t live to regret this.”

“I know that I will not,” Mr. Schnee said. “How soon will the operation begin?”

“Our forces are already being in the west,” General Ironwood said. “I’ll send word once the south-eastern forest is cleared this weekend. It’s the least I can do for the villages.”

That was enough for Daniel. An overbearing feeling told him to get out and get out now. With an effort he pushed himself backwards and away from the vent. He didn’t try to mask his noise.

The last thing intelligible thing he heard was Mr. Schnee asking “Very well. Will that, boy be taking part?”

When Daniel reached the opening, he didn’t bother to pull the grate with him. He dropped down and ran. His head was pounding in agony. He needed to get out of there. He needed to find a place to calm down. Every corner he took he expected to collide with a security force waiting to arrest him for espionage. He flew down the stairs and dove into the crowds of the lobby. People cried out in shock as he pushed his way through. He ignored them. He had to get to the dormitories. There he might be in peace.

Daniel was at the front doors. He reached for the handles but they were pulled from his reach. Several people were standing in the doorframe. He couldn’t have stopped if he wanted. There was a shout, a twisting motion, and he was flying through the air with one of them.

They hit the first stair hard. The person under Daniel howled in pain as they went into the air again. Daniel braced for the next landing, but it never came. They spun through the air before separating near the icy hard dirt. Daniel landed face first and skidded to a stop.

 “My tail!” an indignant voice cried as its owner stormed toward Daniel. “Frikking Grimmspawn, the hell were you doing?”

“Ebon?” Daniel gasped.

A hand grabbed Daniel by the shoulder and rolled him over. “Yeah, what’s it to you, you jack-” Ebon stopped, his expression turning from anger to confusion. “Daniel what were you doing?”

By now, the rest of team GREY had made their way down the slippery steps and crowded around their fallen teammate. Daniel went to get up but collapsed when an arc of electricity burst from his generator.

“Dammit, the generator,” Greeve swore. “Yarrow hold him down; I’m pulling the core.”

“No, don’t,” Daniel begged, but it was too late. Greeve shoved his coat up and twisted the core loose. The headache was wiped away as the Aura faded, and the voices roared to life. Daniel screamed with them and became lost in their midst.

Free! Free! Kill the imposters! Kill the liar! Kill them all!

Daniel bucked the two teenagers off his back and went for Yarrow’s eyes. Yarrow ducked under Daniel’s grab and backed away, his eyes darting over Daniel. “Oh, son of a,”

“Take him down!” Greeve ordered. Haunted Toll wrapped around Daniel, pinning his arms to his side. Daniel strained against the wires, vaguely recognizing they were cutting into his skin. Greeve grabbed him by the back of the head and shoved Daniel’s face into the frozen dirt. Daniel struggled and growled, forcing Greeve to pin him down. Greeve shouted something to Yarrow. Rojoe bent down to say something and Daniel lashed out with his teeth, going for her fingers. Someone tugged against his coat, and the generator was reinserted. The voices howled in frustration, but they were soon gone. In their place the headache returned. Greeve released Haunted Toll and got off Daniel’s back, leaving him free to move.

“You with us Daniel?” Yarrow asked.

Daniel dragged himself a few paces across the dirt and threw up on the concrete. He couldn’t help it. The transition between piercing headache, menacing voices, and back again was too much for him. He struggled to lift himself and threw up again. He would’ve collapsed into the steaming puddle of puke had Rojoe and Ebon not dragged him away from it.

Yarrow bent down and offered Daniel a water bottle. “That was the voices, wasn’t it?” he asked.

Daniel nodded, took a swig from the bottle, then spat onto the ground. Every move of his arms was like fire. Haunted Toll’s wires had cut into his skin. He was certain they’d broken the skin.

 “Something must have set them off, what were you doing in there?” Greeve demanded.

“I asked him to get that form to Ironwood,” Yarrow explained, “I’m not sure what caused him to run though.”

“Had, to get, out of there,” Daniel rasped.

“Get out of what?” Greeve asked.

“Greeve, we should return to the dorm,” Ebon warned, “There’s a crowd forming.”

Daniel twisted his head to see a crowd forming outside the building to watch the spectacle. A sense of dread filled him. He’d lost control again; this time in front of an entire building of Atlas personnel. Even here his past was following him.

A silver-gloved hand extended into view. He looked up and saw it belonged to Greeve. A look of weary exasperation was on his face.

“Come on Daniel,” he said. “Lets get you back to the dorm.”

Daniel hung his head in defeat and accepted the hand.

@0@0@

Hello everybody! Just wanted to do a quick update about To Be Human regarding RWBY. For those of you who've seen the finale of Volume 6, we got our first proper look at Atlas. It's, not how I've been describing Atlas' appearance. I've been writing it as some sort of high tech Anchorage Alaska, not a giant floating rock possibly perched over a city full of Faunus rights violations. It's a cool design, just not what I had in mind.
Because Book 2 is so late in development, I've decided to not go back and update the appearance. I've just written the last scene where that might be an issue, and I'd like to keep moving forward so I can write more things, including book 3. It's a bit lazy, but that's how it's going to be unfortunately. 
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Leave a comment and kudos if you did, and I'll see you all next month.
-Noah

20: Chapter Twenty

The flight from Vale to Atlas was uneventful. Apart from a minor reroute due to weather, nothing happened out of the ordinary. For several hours Team LSTRDLN experienced a rare moment where there was nothing to do. No Grimm to fight, no homework to complete, they weren’t even allowed to retrieve their weapons from their bags to clean them. The flight became something of a short vacation for the team. A vacation that was interrupted when it was time to get their luggage.

The moment the doors opened Lunare dashed into the terminal. He had been at the door from the moment they came to a stop. His experience had been less of a vacation than it had for his teammates. Something had seemed to be bothering him the whole flight, and only seemed to worsen as they neared Atlas. The rest of his team went through customs expecting him to show up any moment. He didn’t. In fact, they might have missed him entirely had Schatten not needed to tie his boots

Schatten hated to travel. These days the Faunus were scrutinized more than ever before. Customs agents saw a White Fang member behind every tail, and Atlas was one of the worst about it. While security let the rest of team LSTRDLN through, Schatten was pulled aside and subjected to a thorough strip search. As soon as they were done, they shoved Schatten through the checkpoint, his boots and coat in his arms. Grumbling, he stormed over to a row of chairs set near a window. He dropped his backpack into the seat next to him and laced his boots up. When he finished he leaned back against the glass and closed his eyes. As much as he tried he couldn’t blame the agents, not totally at any rate. There weren’t many things he hated more than what the White Fang was doing to the Faunus. They couldn’t come out on top from their war with mankind. It was only a matter of time before they were wiped out, but not before setting Faunus rights back a century.

The sound of crates crashing against the tarmac pulled Schatten from his musings. Lunare was arguing by the airship with several men down on the tarmac. With one hand he gestured at the three men, the other tucked away in his jacket. Right where he kept Nieh Mehr.

Schatten swore under his breath and went to find his team. They were in a loose circle, talking amongst themselves. They looked up as Schatten approached and beckoned him to come closer.

“Guys, I found Lunare,” Schatten said when he arrived.

“Did he get stopped at security again?” Ryler asked. “I thought the guy back in Vale would have a heart attack when he had Lunare empty his pockets.”

“He didn’t get through security,” Schatten said. “He never left the tarmac.”

Dakota broke from the group and went over to the window where Schatten had tied his shoes. Moments later the metal detector wailed as he forced his way onto the other side of the checkpoint. No security man could stop Dakota, or the other five members of Team LSTRDLN that followed. They gave chase, but keeping up was impossible. The six students were soon on the tarmac and sprinting toward their leader, who by now had Nieh Mehr out and truly looked like he was about to open fire.

“And another thing, if there’s so much as one scratch on her surface I’ll have you buffing them out for hours!” Lunare said. He raised his weapon, and Schatten activated his jump jets to reach his friend before he could fire. He raised Nieh Mehr away from the unfortunate baggage handlers, though no shots came out.

“What the hell are you doing Lunare, you trying to get us arrested?” Schatten asked.

“Ah Schatten, good you’re here. Your claws are better suited to opening crates anyways,” Lunare said. He seemed oblivious to the exclamation his friend had made and made a gesture toward Scrametal’s crate. The crate had an arrow pointed the direction was supposed to be the top, along with a line of text in case the arrow needed further explaining. Both the arrow and the text were upside down.

 “Lunare, Scrapmetal has titanium limbs and a body like a tank,” Schatten said. “I don’t think it’s hurt.”

“It is not the body I fear for, but the arc cannon,” Lunare said. “If you look closely, you may notice how she was handled.”

“dun, epis, siut,” Lewis read aloud. “That’s a wacky way to say this side up Lunare,”

“Don’t be an idiot Lewis,” Dakota said, “you’ll put these dumbasses out of a job.”

The handlers bristled with anger. “You all need to leave immediately,” one of them said, eager to change the subject. “You can submit a complaint with the airline if your baggage was damaged.”

Shatten caught Lunare lowering Nieh Mehr in the handler’s direction and pushed it back up. “Dakota, Nick, open her up,” he said. He fished a key from Lunare’s coat pocket and tossed it their way. Dakota caught it in midair and unlocked a padlock on one side.

“You can’t do that, it’s against regulation!” the handler protested.

“Yeah well, too bad,” Dakota said. He tossed the key to Nick who used it on a similar padlock on the other side. They stepped backwards as the box collapsed out from itself. Scrapmetal sat upside down, intact and unharmed. The knees were in on the body and had lifted the body high enough to protect the cannon.

“It’s okay Lunare, see?” Schatten said. “No harm done.”

Lunare stowed Nieh Mehr and examined his prized ride. “I’ll have to run a complete diagnostic on the system, does anyone by chance have an aux cord on hand?”

“Y’all might consider doing that later,” Nick said. “I think we might be having company.”

From the terminal poured security guards. All had weapons, and all were charging the group.

“Get us out of here Lunare,” Schatten demanded.

“Nah, let ‘em come,” Dakota said while removing Reaper’s Reach from his bag. “I could use a warmup before we go hunting.”

“Dakota!” Tiberius admonished while Lunare crawled into the driver’s seat. “We are fighting for Atlas, not against them.”

Dakota grumbled, but lowered his weapons.

Scrapmetal’s massive engine roared to life as Lunare started the engine. The legs unfolded and dug into the ground. In one swift motion the vehicle lifted itself up on one pair of legs and rolled right-side up. Team LSTRDLN clambered into and onboard while their leader revved the engines. The handlers yelled for them to stop, but Lunare gave them a rude gesture that Dakota and Schatten repeated. Scrapmetal roared and sped through the rows of airships, headed for the fence.

@0@0@

Unfortunately for Team LSTRDLN, escaping the authorities in Atlas proved impossible. Despite Lunare’s best efforts to elude pursuit they were quickly cornered outside the airport and arrested. Anticipating a long interrogation and an even longer prison sentence, they shattered Schatten’s expectations by releasing him soon after. Having a teammate with Schnee lawyers on call had its benefits at times.

Even though they’d been freed, they had lost valuable time. Instead of a couple hours to arrive at the briefing they burst in to the briefing room two minutes late. The room was packed with Huntsmen teams. All were from Atlas, all were in uniform, and all turned to watch team LSTRDLN’s entrance. Most of the seats were already taken, leaving scattered spots the only available spots. A brief glance amongst themselves and team LSTRDLN split up. Schatten found himself squashed next to Lunare near the back in the only pair of free seats next to each other. He shifted in the hard folding chair to get comfortable, and he felt a sharp jab in his side.

“You’re late,” a voice said behind him.

Schatten turned to face his accuser, and saw that they all held the same irritated expression. Before he could investigate further, a hush fell over the room. Schatten turned back around and saw that an older student had taken to the podium. He waited until the room had completely quieted before speaking.

“Now that we’ve all arrived, we can begin the briefing. As you all may have noticed the unfamiliar faces. We have a team from Beacon Academy on special assignment from their headmaster. I’ve been assured of their capabilities and trust they’ll perform at the levels expected of them. Now; on to the sector assignments.”

As the student talked on Schatten studied his face. There was something familiar about him. He had definitely seen the face before. Its reappearance gave no further clues, except for a feeling of dislike toward him. Whenever they had met, it had not been a friendly encounter.

“That, is Greeve Cobel. We fought on the highway,” Lunare whispered.

The memory flooded back to Schatten and he started in his seat. “That’s him?” he asked. “Then that means,”

“Stage right. Behind the panther and the man in yellow.”

Schatten followed Lunare’s instructions and saw a flash of red hair sticking out between the shoulders of the two Huntsmen. It had been over six months and the hair was a different cut, but Schatten recognized his friend like he’d left yesterday.

“Do you think the others see him?” Schatten asked.

“Dakota and Tiberius have already recognized the speaker, it’s only logical they know he’s here. They might not have seen him however, he stepped behind shortly after we arrived.”

“He’s seen us then. Why’d he hide?”

Lunare didn’t have a chance to speak before Greeve Cobel raised his voice and spoke directly to the duo. “Is there something you would like to add to the discussion, Mister,” he petered off, recognition dawning on his face.

“Lunare Nacht sir,” Lunare answered. “My teammate and I were wondering why the plan of attack calls for an oh seven thirty insertion. It would be better to enter earlier in the morning when certain Grimm, are moving between patrolling and resting. The Beowolf for instance would be a prime target at this hour.”

There were a few impressed murmurs amongst the gathered students, and Greeve seemed surprised by the response. He had tried to trap Lunare into admitting he wasn’t paying attention, when he had in fact been alert the entire time. He had no way of knowing that Lunare had only been listening passively, and barely knew anything about Beowolves in Vale much less in Atlas. He’d been drawing the early schematics of the arc cannon when Professor Port had lectured on them.

Greeve recovered and composed himself. “There’s a full moon tonight, and the forest are dark at this hour. Most of you are still freshmen, it was decided the risk of ambush was too great. Now, if there aren’t any other comments, we will continue.”

The rest of the briefing progressed without hitch. The girl, Rojoe, handed out folders to the team leaders while Greeve gave each of them their assigned sectors. Lunare opened his to reveal reconnaissance photos of their sector, a map of the forest, and information about the Grimm they might expect. Schatten read over his shoulder as Lunare flipped through the pages. He tried to keep up with his leader’s rapid pace but to no avail. He would get through the first sentence, a paragraph at most, before Lunare turned the page and he lost his place. Schatten gave up and listened as Greeve finished up the briefing

“Liftoff is at oh seven hundred,” Greeve said. “Your teams are expected at the airships by six hundred. You have until then to prepare. Check your weapons, requisition ammunition from the quartermasters, and get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day for all of you. Dismissed!”

The students rose as one and began filing out of the briefing room. Schatten stood as well and saw that Greeve had left the podium but hadn’t made a move to leave. Nor had the rest of his team, who were still standing to the side. He pointed this out to Lunare who nodded in response. “It seems a reunion is at hand,” he remarked.

“Should we go over now?” Schatten asked.

“No, I believe we should wait,” Lunare answered. “It would be better to regroup with the rest of our team, and I do have a question I wish to ask their leader.”

An arm reached around Schatten’s shoulder and he caught the distinct smell of fertilizer. The strong musky scent invaded his sensitive nostrils and he doubled over and gagged. “Ryler, I told you to stop doing that,” he croaked.

“Schatten did you see? He’s right up there!” Ryler said, unable to contain himself.

“We saw,” Lunare said to his excited teammate. “Schatten and I were about to go and speak with his leader, if you and the others would like to join us.”

Ryler blinked in surprise. “But Lunare,” he said, “Daniel’s his own leader. Team Dandelion!”

“Then we had best ensure he not forgotten that,” Tiberius said, having arrived with the rest of the group. The room had cleared of most other teams, and Greeve was beginning to collect some of the visual aids he’d used during the briefing. He glanced up as the group approached, then did a double take when he saw their size.

“Oh good gods, you’ve multiplied?” he exclaimed, unable to stop himself.

“And a fair afternoon to you too Cobel,” Lunare said. “Allow me to introduce team Lustered Lion. “I myself am their leader, Schatten and Tiberius you have already met, Ryler who is new to you, Dakota who was also at the highway, and lastly Lewis and Nick, new faces as well.”

“A pleasure,” Greeve said. “You’re familiar with my team, so I don’t need to name them.”

Daniel, upon seeing his old friends approach had stepped behind the rest of team GREY. It was a futile gesture, as apart from Lunare the entirety of team LSTRDLN had their eyes on him.

“Hey Daniel,” Lewis said. He had a beaming smile on his face. The grin went from one end to the other and used every single muscle the face had to offer.

Daniel shrunk back from the acknowledgement. He turned away and hugged himself, refusing to look up at his former teammates. In a small and quiet voice, he replied. “Hey Lewis. Hey guys.”

            Nick put a hand on Lewis’ shoulder to restrain him from approaching. “You doing alright Daniel?”

Daniel gave Nick a look of surprise upon hearing his voice. He didn’t reply to his former teammate, but instead gave a quick nod.

Much like the way Nick had with Lewis, Greeve placed his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “We need to leave the room I’m afraid. A class is scheduled. You understand of course.”

“Of course,” Lunare said. “We can certainly move outside, can’t we?”

Greeve however had already begun escorting Daniel out of the room and didn’t seem to hear them. His teammates offered looks of apology but followed their leader out the door. The enlarged team was left alone in the room, with nothing but their thoughts to occupy them.

“Just what the hell was that all about?” Tiberius demanded.

21: Chapter Twenty-One

"I think something is bothering Daniel and Greeve," Ebon said to Yarrow the next afternoon.

"What makes you say that?" Yarrow asked. "I mean, you're right, but what are we referring to? How Daniel's been quiet ever since we told him about our illustrious leader, or how Greeve acted after Daniel blew his generator? Because I've still got issues over that last one."

"Both of them," Ebon said. "I think the two might be connected."

Yarrow's eyebrows raised into his blond hair. "This should be good."

Down the hall, a door opened. Ebon and Yarrow tried to act natural as an officer with stark white hair exited the room. Both Ebon and Yarrow snapped to attention and gave a salute as the officer approached, which she returned in kind. Yarrow waited until she disappeared past a turn before continuing. "Something spooked them real bad, Greeve especially," Ebon said. "I mean, have you ever seen Greeve like that?"

Yarrow shook his head. "Can't say I have. It was like he was trying to cover something up."

"Exactly. And then when we told Daniel about his brother. An hour later, Daniel's in the snow going all Grimm on us. You're telling me that's not a coincidence?"

Yarrow rubbed his chin stubble. "That's a bit of a reach there Ebon," he warned.

"But you see something's up, right?" Ebon pressed.

The hallway was deserted and had been since the officer passed, but Yarrow still glanced down both sides before answering. "Connected or not, whatever set Daniel off had to have been in Ironwood's office."

Now it was Ebon's turn to be surprised. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

"I've been going over the timing. It's the only thing I can think of. It shouldn't have taken Daniel that long to get my report on his desk. Something delayed him. Ironwood always has those towers of paper on his desk. What if Daniel saw something on one of them and that's what set it off?"

"If that's the case, then what set him off?"

"Hell if I know, Ironwood doesn't leave me in his office alone anymore. But I'm betting that's where it happened."

"Well, whatever it was, maybe he'll loosen up after tonight. Did you get the reservation?"

Yep," Yarrow said proudly. "Four seats at the finest steak restaurant in Atlas. Assuming of course we don't get the black haired one with all that angst, we should have a lovely dinner."

"Still think we should've invited them all instead of giving them that contest," Ebon said."

Yarrow shook his head. The two of them had already argued this point the night before. "You saw Daniel yesterday," he said. "He was as scared as a limp noodle, or however the metaphor goes. Too many old friends jumping him at once. No, we'll be having a calm and collected conversation over a fine dinner to see if we can figure out just what's going on. Also, I don't have the Lien for ten steak dinners," he admitted sheepishly.

"How much did it come up to?" Ebon asked.

Yarrow sucked in air through his teeth. "Don't ask questions I don't want to remember the answers to," he said.

"Fair enough. Until tonight, keep it cool. Don't do anything to upset Greeve or he'll keep us late tonight. Which means going back to the operations room like we were supposed to five minutes ago," Ebon said.

"Ugh, do we have to?" Yarrow complained as he pushed off the wall. "It's boring and they're finishing up anyways. They've got Greeve already, it's not like they need us too."

Greeve pushed off the wall and walked to a door labeled operations room. He slid an ID into a card reader and held the door open for Ebon. They threaded their way through the crowded and dusky rows of computers until they made it to the center. A large holographic table displayed a map of the terrain to the south of Atlas. An armada of transports were being tracked as they flew toward their destination.

At the other side of the table Greeve peered at the transports' location on the map. "What's the status of the transports?"

"Twenty minutes out," a technician answered. "The operation is maintaining the fifteen-minute delay."

"Not like you to let them be late Greeve," Yarrow commented. "Couldn't go egg them on yourself?"

Ebon shot Yarrow a look. They hadn't been in the room for a minute, and he was already trying to antagonize their team leader. Fortunately for them, Greeve seemed engrossed in his job and didn't pay Greeve any attention.

The door opened once more, casting a beam of light that lit up the room. Rojoe and Daniel entered carrying cardboard trays loaded with steaming cups.

"Sorry we're late!" Rojoe exclaimed. "The line was long."

"Ooooh gimmie," Yarrow said, extending his wiggling fingers towards the cups on Rojoe's tray. She walked past him and instead handed a cup to Greeve before taking a sip from the second cup.

"Here you go," Daniel said, placing a cup in Yarrow's hands. "Straight espresso shots. Coco for you Ebon."

Ebon accepted his cup and sniffed at its contents. "No muffin?" he asked.

"Sorry, they only had blueberry."

Ebon made a face and took a long sip, muttering his distaste for blueberries.

Yarrow removed the top of his cup and inhaled the caffeinated steam. He looked Daniel up and down, observing his teammate. Dark circles hung under his eyes and Yarrow noticed an almost imperceptive shake to the cardboard tray.

Daniel caught Yarrow staring at him and gave a smile that did not reach past the corners of his mouth. Yarrow glanced at Ebon and saw his teammate was judging Daniel with the same level of concern.

"Seems everyone's here except General Ironwood," Rojoe said. "Where'd he go?"

"Talking to Schnee," Greeve said. "He'll return shortly. Yarrow, what's the status of the teams?"

"Hm?" Yarrow asked.

Greeve frowned. "The teams, Yarrow," he said. "How are they doing?"

"Uh, just one second," Yarrow said. He chugged down his espresso in two gulps and dropped the empty cup into a trash can. He then tapped his scroll on the edge of the table and expanded it to view the area of engagement. "Still working through their sectors, no one's in any need of assistance."

"Aura levels?"

"Low, but not like we'd be in any better shape in their shoes. Should last until the transports pick them up,"

One of the technicians raised their hand. "The transports have entered the zone sir. Awaiting your command."

Greeve nodded and pressed a button on the table. "Control to all ships. Break for sectors. Repeat, break for sectors. Await your teams request for extraction."

@0@0@

Lewis let out a whoop of excitement as he battered the Beowolf across the face with his guitar. The beast retreated a step and he hit it with a concussive chord. It crashed through a tree and lay still; defeated by the power of rock and roll. "Add another one man!" he called out.

"Give it up Lewis!" Schatten shouted back as he pulled Blast Shard from a Grimm's gut. "That steak dinner is good as mine!" He blasted off toward another creature only to have Royal Pain bisect it before his very eyes. The spinning chakram turned and sailed into Tiberius' hands.

"The rest of you wouldn't know what to do with an Atlesian steak if it struck you in the face," Tiberius said. "I believe that makes thirty-six Grimm to your thirty."

"Have it sent back and demand a complimentary red Chateau Merriweather," Lewis answered.

The response surprised Tiberius and he turned to ask Lewis where and how he learned that when a low rumble came through the forest. The seven students tensed in anticipation, expecting another wave of Grimm. To their relief, a flight of transports roared overhead instead. The time had come for the operation to end.

"Is that it?" Ryler asked. "Man, times flies when you're killing Grimm."

"We should regroup at the landing zone," Lunare said. "Scrapmetal can return us to the clearing."

Before anyone could voice their agreement, a mature Ursa burst from the a cluster of trees. It roared in anger and stood on its back two feet. Dakota charged it from the side and leapt onto its back. He had Reaper's Reach in its extended chain form and whipped it around the Grimm's neck. The Ursa swiped at Dakota, but he ducked out of the way and pulled even harder. The rest of team LSTRDLN rushed to help him but the beast collapsed to the ground before they could reach him. Another Grimm charged the group and Dakota changed Reaper's Reach into a baton, pivoted, and brained the Grimm. He raised his weapon and let out a ferocious yell. "Anyone else?" he called into the forest. "Anyone want a go at Dakota Harding?"

As if to answer Dakota's challenge, glowing red eyes began to burn in the depths of the forest.

"I will inform our pilot we need additional time," Lunare said. "It seems we will be delayed in returning to our landing zone."

"Yeah, you do that," Dakota grinned. "I'm on a roll."

"Your Aura is running low Dakota," Nick warned. "You might want to take a back seat to this one."

"Hell no," Dakota said as he reached into his dust pouch. "I'm good, I'm pumped. I'm ready to kill every damn Grimm left in this forest!"

Dakota's knees buckled as the Dust coursed up his arm. He shook his head and stood up, splitting Reaper's Reach in two. Flames licked over the links as he spun them up, creating a whirring noise.

Nick sighed but raised his pistol and ran to help his friend. Any Grimm that got past Dakota and the flaming Reaper's Reach, Nick took down with rapid fire shots. Soon the only Grimm remaining held back, reluctant to charge the team.

"What's, your count?" Dakota panted.

"I reckon no more than forty," Nick said while reloading the cylinder.

Dakota grinned and wiped sweat from his brow. "You were close, Nick. But that last, Beowolf, was number forty-two." He lowered his head and shook it from side to side. "Maybe you were right. That took a lot out of me."

"Take a step back then," Nick instructed. "Lunare, let's get out of here."

Lunare didn't answer. Nick turned to repeat himself, only to see none of the team were paying attention. They were all staring up at the airship meant to take them back. Or at least, what was left of it.

Smoke and fire billowed from the starboard engine. It rolled and yawed as one of the pilots fought to maintain control. The other was morbidly still, shifting in his seat only as the craft rocked through the air. It passed over team LSTRDLN and sprayed them with oil before disappearing over the trees. A moment later the ground shook and a filthy fireball rolled into the sky.

"Oh my gods," Lewis breathed. "What, what happened to them?"

"Nevermore attack," Lunare announced. "The pilot called as he went down."

"Well, we have to go help them," Tiberius said as he tried to wipe the greasy oil off of his suit. "We can't just leave them—"

The forest growled, silencing the seven. Howls were heard in the distance. Deep thuds echoed in the deep. And all around them, glowing red eyes shone their harsh light.

"Help them?" Dakota asked. "Ty, I'm not sure we can help ourselves on this one."

@0@0@

Five Minutes Earlier

It was deceptively easy to get ahold of an airship, Oskar remarked. The right information entered into the system, the right personality, and no one would think twice about Lucius Filmy, recent transfer from the ninety-ninth squadron. Getting assigned the right team to ferry had been a challenge, but friends in high places had won out and he'd gotten the job of carrying the heavy load. Now the only problem remaining was the copilot sitting next to him.

"Coming up on the landing site," the man, Oskar hadn't bothered learning his name, announced. "You want me to call the team?"

"I'll get it," Oskar said. "You have control of the craft."

"I have control," the copilot responded. Oskar waited until he saw the man had the stick before turning his attention the radio. "Flight ninety-four-thirteen to team Lustered Lion, what's your status, over?"

"Lustered Lion here. We request another quarter of an hour to finish our sector. Grimm activity has been heavy, over."

Oskar smirked. When they'd learned the already larger team had brought their monster of a vehicle, they'd feared the already larger team would finish ahead of schedule and leave him with hardly any time. Fortunately the heavily Grimm infested region had kept them busier than the other teams, even with the extra firepower. "Fifteen minutes it is Lustered Lion. Don't spend too long down there, I don't want to get speared by a Nevermore, over."

"Understood flight. Until then, over."

"Nevermores?" the copilot asked, "Those are rare in Mantle. Where'd you say the ninety ninth was based out of?"

"I didn't," Oskar said as he turned the microphone volumes on the radio down to zero. "But I needed an excuse and they were first on my mind."

"Excuse for what?"

"For why this bird is about to crash," Oskar said.

The copilot started to say something, but Oskar stomped on the control pedals and turned the troop carrier into the sun. He reached over and plucked a bolt of light from the air. A quick jab with the razor-sharp shard and the copilot stopped talking.

"Sorry about that," Oskar told the dead man, "but I can't have anyone knowing what really transpired up here. Dead men tell no tales and all that."

With nothing else to occupy his mind for the time, Oskar took a moment to observe the ground beneath the airship. It wasn't difficult to see where the students had fought the Grimm. The snow was churned up and scorched from Dust and combat. He could see the occasional Grimm corpse that had yet to dissipate. Sloppy handiwork and a poor reflection on Atlas Academy in his opinion. He hadn't been the best during his academy days, but he'd certainly had better handiwork thanks to-

Oskar caught himself, surprised by the thought. It'd been a while since he thought of his time at Beacon. It had been enjoyable while it lasted, but he was glad he left when he did. Oskar would accomplish much more than he ever would as a Huntsman.

Speaking of which, he needed to get their plan in motion. He made an adjustment to the troop carrier's heading so the sun was almost directly on his port side. He then put the aircraft into autopilot and closed his eyes in concentration. His Semblance worked best when he created his light constructs in his hand. He could conjure them from a distance, but they required a larger amount of Aura. If he used too much now he wouldn't have enough for the next bit.

The tips of Oskar's fingers tingled as the shard materialized. His Aura pool took a large dip, but Oskar kept his focus and threw the shard into the port engine. An explosion rocked the craft and Oskar felt the heat wash over his side. Alarms blared, and the dashboard lit up with almost every warning light available. Oskar turned the autopilot off and took ahold of the stick as the troop carrier dipped and threatened to crash. He fought with the craft and forced it into level flight. "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday," he called over the radio, false panic in his voice. "Flight ninety-four-thirteen has taken damage in the port engine. Nevermore attack I repeat, Nevermore attack."

Oskar put the carrier into a steep right bank back toward the students. The radio crackled and fizzled as someone tried to raise him, but Oskar ignored it. The receiver had been damaged by the explosion, he doubted he understand them if he even wanted to. The landing zone came into view and Oskar pulled the lever that dumped the Dust still in his tanks. It was standard operating procedure for a pilot about to crash to empty out their tanks and Oskar wanted the crash to seem as by the book as possible. Not to mention one of the tanks didn't contain any Dust at all.

It had taken a lot of their resources and more than one friend devoured by Grimm, but they'd finally developed a pheromone that would attract those monsters. Apply liberally to any surface, and the Grimm would pour in as if the area was brimming with sadness. With the Dust and debris shedding from the doomed troop carrier, no one would notice the fine mist spewing from one of the tanks. But the Grimm would. And until it washed off they would follow the scent until they were destroyed.

Oskar kept the struggling craft in the air for as long as he could. He needed to get out of sight of the students so that his miraculous escape went unnoticed. The troop carrier just wasn't built to remain aloft on one engine; a horrible design flaw on Schnee Dust's part. A crash was inevitable, it was only up to Oskar to decide when and where it happened.

When the bottom of the fuselage scraped against the tallest of trees Oskar decided the time was nigh. He unbuckled from his seat and shoved the copilot's stick underneath his harness. He then crawled into the back area of the troop carrier and leapt from the open bay. The opposite side that the pheromone was falling from of course. He solidified a beam of sunlight underneath himself and dumped as much of his Aura into it as he dared. It kept him aloft until he landed safely on the frozen ground. In the distance, he heard the troop carrier crash through the trees and explode in a fiery inferno. It seemed the tanks hadn't quite emptied before the craft had landed. The poor pilots didn't have a chance. Burned to a crisp, leaving hardly a trace. At least, that was what the official report would say.

Oskar calmly brushed bits of snow off his flight jacket and set off in a southernly direction. There was a village a dozen kilometers or so away and if he kept a good pace, he should reach it before the day was over.

22: Chapter Twenty-Two

“Mayday from flight nine-four-thirteen! She’s taken an engine hit and going down!”

Greeve’s head shot up from the holographic table. He raced over to the radio station and grabbed a microphone from the table. “Flight nine-four-thirteen, can you read me? What happened?”

Static answered Greeve’s hail. Greeve dropped the microphone and turned to the attendant. “Did they say anything before you lost contact?”

“Nevermore sir,” the radio attendant said. “They got hit in the port engine.”

“Did they have a team onboard?”

“They didn’t say.”

“Keep trying to raise the transport,” Greeve said. He returned to the table and panned to the transport’s last location. “Get the other transports on the horn. Do we have any still in range?”

“What’s going on?” Yarrow asked.

“Airship took a hit,” Greeve said. “It’s going down over the forest.”

“Flights three and eighteen are still in range,” a technician announced. “Should I have them turn around?”

“Yes, do it immediately,” Greeve ordered.

“It’s not going to be enough,” Ebon said.

Greeve tuned to face the faunus. “Why’s that?”

“Nine-four-thirteen had the heavy load,” Ebon said. “The transports won’t fit them.”

“Heavy load, what—”

“I’ve got a hail from team LSTRDLN,” the radio attendant called out. “They weren’t on the ship, but they’re encountering increased Grimm activity. More than they’ve seen so far.”

“The big team,” Greeve swore. Even if they left the strange vehicle, the extra weight would make a return to Atlas impossible. The airships only had enough fuel to pick up the students and return, with a few minutes spent loitering if the landing zone was not yet clear. If it were a four man team in trouble it might be possible. But team LSTRDLN had seven members. Even splitting them up would make the airships far too heavy.

“Their leader wants to make a run for it. He thinks he can get his team out.

“Tell him to run if he can, otherwise stay put,” Greeve commanded. “Get some ships overhead while you’re at it. They’ll need the air support.”

Greeve reached for his coffee cup when he realized his order hadn’t gotten a reply. He glanced around to see the entire room unable to meet his gaze.

“Well? Is there a problem?” Greeve demanded.

“Sir, most of the home fleet is conducting exercises in the western peninsula. All that’s left are transports and a strike squadron.”

“Then get them in the air,” Greeve said. “Give them ordinance if you can, guns if not.”

The technicians shifted in their seats. The radio operator coughed in to his hand.

“Uh, Greeve? are you forgetting that—” Yarrow began.

“Not now Yarrow,” Greeve ordered. He stormed to the radio set and grabbed the man by the shirt. “There are students in danger and I am giving you a direct order. Is there a problem officer?”

The operator gulped in fear. On his free hand, Haunted Toll uncoiled from Greeve’s fingers. The wires reached toward the man’s face when Ebon grabbed Greeve’s hand and pulled it away. “You don’t have clearance to call in the airforce, you know that Greeve,” he said. “Only Ironwood has that power.”

“Why didn’t you say something then?”

“We thought you knew, and Yarrow did try to,” Ebon said. “So how about you drop the him and get the general’s permission?”

Greeve let go of the unfortunate radio operator, who collapsed back in to his seat. Haunted Toll coiled back around his fingers and Greeve watched it with surprise. He hadn’t even noticed it uncoiling. He took several deep breaths before pulling out his Scroll and hitting General Ironwood’s number. The only sound that answered his call was the busy tone.

“He’s still in that call,” Greeve said. The announcement elicited groans from across the room.

“Damn Schnee straight to hell,” Ebon said.

Greeve left the radio station and began circling the holographic table. “Come on, think. Is there anything else we can do to get them some more time?” Greeve asked.

“You could teleport in,” Ebon offered.

“Too far, I’d use too much Aura getting there to be any use,” Greeve said. “Could we send in any more transports?”

“None in reserves sir,” a technician spoke up. “They’re with the rest of the fleet.”

Greeve slammed a fist in to the table, denting the edge and knocking his coffee cup to the ground. The plastic lid burst free and the brown liquid spread across the floor. This couldn’t be happening. Not on his first command. There had to be something that they were forgetting. Something they could send. He looked up, hoping to see someone had an idea. The only things he got was deafening silence and faces as helpless as he was.

 “Oh my gods, where’s Daniel?” Rojoe cried.

@0@0@

Scrapmetal bolted through the dense forest toward Atlas. Lunare’s hands danced over the controls like the conductor of a vast orchestra playing the ballad of their frantic escape. Dodging trees, jumping boulders, the Grimm horde never far behind. Those that couldn’t keep up were soon replaced by those who could. Those that could kept pace no matter what Lunare did. The only thing that stopped them was the constant barrage of fire coming from every member of team LSTRDLN.

A beowolf got a burst of speed and latched on to a spare tire on the rear. It gnawed at the rubber and scratched the back hatch. It clambered its way in to the back until Schatten stabbed it through the head with his claws. The body flapped in the wind as it dissolved, held in place by the teeth still embedded in the tire.

“Why didn’t you take that tire off?” Schatten asked.

“I did, but the white walls went too well with the aesthetic,” Lunare said.

Scrapmetal swerved around a cluster of snow laden trees and Schatten braced himself. “Well, if you’re going for the scratch and dent look it still works.

Up ahead an Ursa burst from a snow flecked bush and charged the team. It roared and stood up to strike Scrapmetal. It never got the chance. A brilliant blue light enveloped the Ursa as the cannon on the roof discharged. Black dust splattered the windshield and Lunare turned the wipers on to remove it.

Dakota put the controller down. “That makes fourteen shots. Ty, get me another can.”

Tiberius handed Dakota a can of Dust. Dakota read the label and tossed it in the back seat. “You think we need more ice right now?”

“You didn’t complain about that last canister,” Tiberius said but he handed Dakota another. Dakota tucked the can under his arm and opened the passenger door. A tree tore the door off its hinges and threw it in to a snow bank. Dakota recoiled and held the can close to his chest. He clambered from the seat and onto the side. Icy wind cut in to his exposed face. He grabbed the roof and started climbing to the roof. A branch snagged the hood of his parka and yanked his head back. He lost his grip and slid toward the back when a gloved hand grabbed his shoulder and hauled him to the roof.

“Seems you needed a hand there,” Nick shouted over the roaring wind.

“Thanks,” Dakota shouted back. “How are you two doing up here?”

“Time of our lives!” Nick said “On your left Ryler!”

Ryler pivoted and fired Vengeful Pixie in to a pack of chasing beowolves. Rose bushes burst from the snow and ensnared the pack.

Dakota steadied himself against the cannon. Like most of Lunare’s designs it wasn’t pretty to look at. But he knew from experience that beneath the exterior it was a feat of engineering. Built overnight and tested today in combat, it was only something Lunare could have created. The only thing he hadn’t perfected was the energy source. The design called for a feed from the fuel tank, but there hadn’t been enough time to build it. For now, the cannon fired from portable cans of Dust. Cans that frequently needed to be replaced.

Dakota yanked the empty can from the cannon and slotted the new one in. As he did, Ryler cried out behind him. A Beowolf had Ryler by the ankle and was dragging him off of the roof. He held Vengeful Pixie in one hand, the roof in the other. Nick moved to help him but another Beowolf pounced at him and he was forced in to a tussle.

Dakota acted on impulse. Reaper’s Reach burst in to links and erupted in flames. Dust scraped through the veins of his left hand. He forced the pain to the back of his mind and whipped the weapon in to the Grimm. The flaming chains wrapped around the Beowolf’s neck and seared through the tissue. The body dropped away, and the head rapidly disintegrated. The chains were whipped up, formed a solid bar, and struck the Beowolf fighting Nick with a backhand blow. Nick ripped the creature’s jaws apart and it too disintegrated.

“Oh thank you Dakota,” Ryler sobbed as Dakota pulled him back on top. “I thought I was a goner.”

“You would’ve done the same,” Dakota said. “How’s the leg?”

Ryler flexed his ankle and grimaced. “I don’t have much Aura left.”

“Get inside and man the cannon. I’ll go a few rounds.”

Ryler nodded and slid off the roof. Dakota stood and connected Reaper’s Reach together. He was running on reserves too, maybe even more than Ryler. But the Grimm were getting bolder and they needed a melee specialist on the roof. Just a bit longer, and then he’d let Schatten take his place. Better to have a rested fighter and an exhausted one than two that were both tired.

“You sure you’re good?” Nick asked.

“Never better,” Dakota said. “You?”

The roar of Scrapmetal’s revving engine drowned out Nick’s response. A heaping snow bank bordering a clearing was approaching and Lunare seemed intent on barreling through it. Dakota braced for the wave of snow that accompanied the last snow bank they forded.

He never got the chance.

The passengers of Scrapmetal would all remember it in slow motion. Right before they hit it, the snow bank shifted and collapsed. Sparkling snow gave way to bleached scales and reptilian eyes. There was no time to evade, no time to jump. Scrapmetal ran headfirst in to the King Taijitu. The front bumper clipped the body and tore from the body. The forward legs pulled free from their solid titanium joints. Everyone became airborne before seatbelts reacted and held them in place. Dakota and Nick were not so lucky. As Scrapmetal flipped over the snake Grimm they launched in to the air. Years of dealing with unruly livestock was enough for Nick to manage a rough landing with minimal loss of Aura. Dakota had none of his experience and his Aura was all but gone. It collapsed when he hit the ground headfirst. Things broke; not the frozen ground.

@0@0@

The Atlesian hangars were in an absolute disarray. As the huntsman teams landed, news of team LSTRDLN’s plight filtered through the pilots and mechanics. Misinformation spread amongst the ranks as everyone tried to make sense of conflicting reports. Some said their strange vehicle had accidentally shot the airship from the sky. Others were convinced the team had been on the airship when a Grimm had taken it down. The silence from the seniors supposed to be in command of the operation did nothing to dissuade the spread of rumors. In the midst of all the chaos, no one paid any attention to the actions of a lone redheaded teenager.

Daniel didn’t know why he was doing this. Every rational part of his mind told him this was a terrible idea. Even if everything worked out, there was no way they wouldn’t expel him or worse when he got back. If nothing else he could say goodbye to ever having an Aura again. And yet he kept on his course.

Daniel approached the area where the fighters were housed. In spite of the emergency none of them were being readied for flight. No bombs or missiles hung from the hardpoints, no way of knowing how much fuel or ammo they held. They had to at least have something in case they needed to scramble, but he had no idea what that might be.

A helmet sat on a bench pushed up against the hangar wall. Daniel picked it up and inspected it. A flaming ninja was emblazoned on the white surface, inspiring a memory he’d forgotten until now. Daniel put the helmet back down. He’d take someone else’s fighter.

“What are you doing here?”

Daniel whirled around to see a fighter pilot standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Listen kid, I know you want to go help that team, but we aren’t authorized to leave yet. You need to get back to your team before—” the pilot paused, his eyes narrowing. “You’re that kid I ferried a few months back aren’t you?”

“I need your starter card,” Daniel said. He pulled his pistol from its holster and pointed it at the pilot. “Sorry I don’t have time to ask nicely.”

The pilot stood still, unconcerned by the gun. “How do you think this will go down? Even if you take off the tank barely has enough to get you there. This is a one way trip.”

Daniel pulled back the hammer. “That’s all I need.”

The pilot raised his hands. He studied Daniel, and recognition dawned across his face. “That’s your team out there isn’t it? The one you were in before you came here.” When Daniel didn’t answer the pilot nodded in understanding. “They’re in sector B7. They tried to run but a Grimm took out their ride. Key card’s in the left pocket.”

Daniel stepped forward and removed the starter card. “Thank you. Sorry about this.” He struck the pilot against the temple and grabbed him before he hit the ground. He dragged the unconscious man in to an empty room before grabbing the helmet and clambering in to the cockpit. The sheer number of buttons and dials worried Daniel, but the words of the pilot he had knocked out came back to him. So long as they had the starter card, a monkey could fly the plane.

Amid all the chaos, the whine of the engines attracted little attention as Daniel strapped in to the seat. It wasn’t until he taxied out of the hangar that people became alarmed.

“Group leader, shut off your engine and exit the cockpit. We do not have clearance to strike.”

“Understood, taking off anyways,” Daniel said in to the mic.

“Who is this? How did you get in that aircraft?”

Daniel ignored their hails and focused on taxiing. He made it to the end of the runway and was about to turn onto it when several airships lifted off and positioned themselves on the runway. Daniel hit the brakes and surveyed the scene. There was no way he could use the runway to take off. Even if there was a clean line he could take, the airships would reposition themselves to block him.

“Unidentified pilot, do not take off. The airships are prepared to prevent your passage using any means necessary.”

Daniel hit the plexiglass canopy in frustration. This couldn’t be the end! He would not leave his team to die out there. There had to be some way to takeoff. Moving to another runway was out of the question, they’d see it coming a mile away. Maybe if he—

“Daniel? This is Greeve speaking. Please respond.”

Daniel took a deep breath before answering. “Hello Greeve.”

“Daniel what are you thinking? Stealing a fighter and trying to go off on your own?”

“Well you didn’t give me much of a choice, did you Greeve?” Daniel shot back. He winced as a headache came on. That was the last thing he needed right now; the beast rearing its ugly head. “What was I supposed to do when you left them to die, sit on my ass and twiddle my thumbs?”

“It doesn’t have to go down this way. Come back and we can talk this out.”

“There is nothing to talk out,” Daniel said, “If you can’t send help then I’ll go myself.”

“You’re not ready for a Grimm swarm,” Greeve said. “This is out of your league,”

“That doesn’t matter! If I don’t go, my team will die. I don’t want their deaths on me. You want more deaths on you?”

A long silence followed. The last sentence hung suspended in the air between them. Waves of pain drummed through Daniel’s skull. He winced at every throbbing pulse. He looked out the canopy toward the hangars, begging for a release. To his surprise, the relief came. And with it, an idea.

“Mister Grigio,” Greeve said. He took a shuddering breath before continuing. “Turn around and return to the taxiway. Don’t make me come out there and stop you.”

Daniel jammed the transmit button. “Fine. I’ll turn around for you, Dad.” He jammed the rudder pedals hard to the right. The fighter pivoted and rolled back the way he came.

“We’ll be discussing this insubordination later,” Greeve said. “Your actions are a poor reflection of what I’ve tried to teach you. We can’t break the rules just because we don’t like them.”

“Save your breath Greeve,” Daniel said. “I don’t blame you for what you did.”

“You don’t?” The surprise in Greeve’s voice almost made Daniel laugh.

You can’t send any fighters after them and you won’t risk any more Huntsmen. Can’t blame you for that.”

“Then why did you do this if we’re on the same page?”

Daniel finished the turn and straightened out. “Because we aren’t. Not in the slightest.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t give a damn what you can’t do,” Daniel said, “Not when there’s something I can.” He shoved the throttle all the way forwards and the jet roared down the taxiway. The g-forces shoved Daniel in to his seat, and the radio lit up with a litany of comms chatter. Huntsmen and ground crews scattered out of his way. The airships lifted off to block him and Greeve’s purple portal materialized infront of the fighter. It was too late. Daniel pulled back on the stick and the jet leapt in to the air. the gear retracted with clunk and he banked toward the forest.

“Daniel, please don’t do this,” Greeve pleaded. “This is too dangerous for you.”

“Sorry Greeve,” Daniel said “but this is goodbye. Tell the others I said thanks for everything.”

“Daniel—”

Daniel turned off the radio. Greeve’s protests died with a squawk. Nothing but the sound of the engines to distract Daniel from his thoughts. He’d burned another bridge today. Whatever happened next, there would be no returning to team GREYD. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel relieved. Six months of regret lifted from his shoulders. He was on his way home.

He just hoped some of those old bridges were still intact.

23: Chapter Twenty-Three

“We have to go after him,” Rojoe demanded.

Team GREY stood outside the operations room. Soon after Daniel stole the fighter, General Ironwood had finally arrived. He received a status report from the team, authorized the remaining fighters to scramble, and then promptly kicked the team out. They had protested, and Ironwood refused. This had become an international incident with a rogue element out of his control. There could be no confusion of who was in charge, no conflicting orders. And so they were removed, thrown from the darkened room like they were little more than accidental intruders. Most of team GREY had resolved to follow in Daniel’s footsteps and provide backup. Greeve had a different plan.

 “General Ironwood was explicitly clear we are not to do anything,” Greeve said. “We’re to remain here until the operation is over.”

“We, aren’t in charge anymore,” Ebon said. “There is nothing stopping us from going to rescue him.”

“Except that General Ironwood forbade us from joining the rescue operation,” Greeve countered. “He thinks we might let Daniel escape.”

“We would never do that,” Rojoe protested.

“Speak for yourself Ro,” Yarrow said.

“Yarrow,” Greeve raised a warning finger, “you are going in to some dangerous territory here.”

“Really? Am I?” Yarrow asked. He took a step forward and got nose to nose with Greeve. “If we were out there and Ironwood told you not to come after us, would you sit on your ass and follow orders?”

“That’s not the question here,” Greeve said.

“The hell it isn’t.”

“Daniel stole a jet, assaulted an officer, and disobeyed direct orders. He made it clear he isn’t part of the team anymore.”

Yarrow stepped back and scoffed. “And? Is that it? I’ve done way worse and you turned a blind eye for the sake of the mission. What makes Daniel different?”

 “We’re not on a mission—”

“Because you won’t let us go after him,” Yarrow interrupted. “Now answer the damn question.”

Greeve glanced away, unable to make eye contact with Yarrow. His clenched fists trembled and he took a shuddering breath.

“You wouldn’t do it,” Yarrow said. “I can’t believe it. I thought we meant more than that to you.”

“And I thought I told you about Clay in confidence!” Greeve roared.

Rojoe and Ebon shrunk back at Greeve’s outburst. After everything that had happened, the fact they’d told Daniel about Greeve’s brother had left their mind. But now it was back. And there was nothing they could do to erase the look of betrayal on Greeve’s face.

“Do you, have any idea how hard I’ve tried to keep that a secret?” Greeve asked. “What I’ve done so no one else knows?”

“Greeve, I’m sorry we told Daniel about your brother,” Rojoe began.

“No.” Yarrow said.

“Yarrow,” Ebon cautioned.

“Shove it Ebon,” Yarrow was shooting daggers at Greeve. “You pathetic excuse of a leader. You’re gonna abandon him over that? You’re so scared the world will know you killed your brother that—”

The fist came at Yarrow like lightning. His head knocked back and he stumbled in to Ebon. He shoved his teammate to the side and pulled out his battle axes. Yarrow surged forwards and struck Greeve in the gut. Before either could continue, Ebon and Rojoe grabbed Yarrow and Greeve. They wrenched the flailing teammates apart and dragged them to opposite sides of the hall. Rojoe turned Greeve around and pushed him against the wall by his shoulders. “Stop this Greeve,” she said. “Just let us help Daniel, please. I—”

SLAP

The terrible sound stopped all struggling. Rojoe’s head snapped to the side. Strength left her legs as she fell to her knees. She didn’t cry out, she was too stunned. A hand raised to cup her cheek came away bloody. Three red lines ran from her jaw to right below her left eye. Blood welled from the gashes and dripped from her face onto the white epaulets of her pristine Atlas uniform.

Greeve stared at his hand, disbelieving what he saw. The wires on Haunted Toll had unraveled at the tips of his fingers. Crimson stained their surfaces. He glanced at Rojoe and, seeing the shocked look in her eyes looked instead to Ebon and Yarrow. The look of betrayal now sat on their faces, not his. He opened his mouth, he had to say something. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it. I want to go after Daniel but can’t. And I can’t let you.

But nothing came.

Greeve took a step backwards. Then another. Then he was running down the hallway, escaping from the destruction he had wrought. He expected any moment for Yarrow, Ebon, or even Rojoe to come barreling after him. He dove in to the crowded lobby and forced his way through the throng. Anyone in his way he shoved to the ground. He wrenched the front doors open and flew down the stairs. Ice caked the last step and he tumbled in to the snow.

Greeve pulled himself free and looked down at Haunted Toll. The form fitting weapon was one of his greatest creations. He had poured thousands of hours in to making it perfect. He hardly ever took it off, it was as much a part of him as any other appendage. But as he looked at the drying blood, the only thing he could think about was how much he wanted to be away from it. His hands scrabbled at the back until he found purchase. The offending glove landed in the snow without sound, soon followed by its twin. Greeve grabbed his hair with his bare hands and curled in to a fetal position.

After what felt like an eternity, Greeve’s Scroll buzzed. He didn’t want to pull it out. As freezing as the snow was against his exposed flesh, doing nothing was preferable to dealing with anyone right now. And yet an incessant voice in the back of his head told him to accept the call. Reluctantly, Greeve snaked his hand through the snow and pulled his Scroll free. It would be the last time he ever listened to voices.

“Oh gods,” Greeve whimpered as he read the number. The last puzzle piece of today’s nightmare fell neatly in to place. And the final picture terrified Greeve.

@0@0@

Any chance of team LSTRDLN escaping the Grimm horde had ended when Scrapmetal crashed. As the stunned and shaken passengers crawled from the wreckage, the Grimm had been on them in an instant. The only reason they had avoided being immediately devoured was Ryler. Thinking quickly, he had scattered seeds through the clearing and created a thick wall of hedgerows. Towering five meters above the ground, the Grimm were stopped in their tracks. His impromptu encirclement was not without cost, however. The action took every last drop of Ryler’s remaining Aura. The rest of the team were equally bruised and battered, their reserves almost depleted as well. The worst off, was Dakota. Landing headfirst on the frozen ground, he had come off with a fractured skull. While the rest of the team regrouped and tried to salvage what they could from Scrapmetal, Lewis and Nick crouched over their fallen friend, administering first aid.

The hedgerow shuddered against the latest onslaught of blows. On instinct, Nick bent over his fallen teammate to shield him from any debris. Dakota’s head rested in his lap, his chest rising and falling with each shallow breath. Lewis wrapped his head in bandages with as much care as he could, but he couldn’t keep Dakota from the moaning in pain every so often.

“Lewis, how’s your Aura holding?” Nick asked.

Lewis glanced back at the hedgerow as the Grimm growled behind it. Nick grabbed him by the jaw and turned his face back. “This ain’t the time to lose focus Lewis, how’s your Aura?”

It took several deep breaths before Lewis answered. “Not too good man. I think I’m better off than you, but I don’t have much left in me. I can’t fly us to Atlas if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“You don’t need to. There seemed to be some sort of wreckage on the other side of this clearing, Nick said. “I got a good look before the Grimm caught up. If those bushes fall, do you think you could get Dakota up there?”

Lewis thought for a minute. “Yeah, I think so. But the Grimm would still come after me.”

“Not if they’ve got a bigger target,” Nick said. “What’s two huntsmen’s emotions to five others clustered in a group.”

Nick’s comment confused Lewis for a moment. Then, his eyes widened as the implications hit him. “I can’t leave you guys alone,” he protested, “You’ll be killed!”

A plume of dirt and snow burst on the other side of the hedgerows. Nick saw a section creak and bend ominously. “No we won’t,” Nick assured Lewis, “Bunch of Grimm ain’t gonna get us. But we’d work a lot better if we didn’t have to watch out for Dakota.” He pulled off his jacket, ignoring the cold that blew straight through his checkered button-down shirt. Careful not to disturb Dakota’s head, he folded the jacket and replaced his lap with it. He stood and pulled his weapon out. “Get ready to move, you hear? I ain’t too sure how much longer this wall will hold.”

Lewis tried to say something, but a roar distracted both of them. The Grimm had forced a small gap through the hedgerows and a Beowolf was squirming its way through. Without hesitation, Nick lined up and killed the beast with one shot. The momentary breach was enough to convince Lewis. He nodded and slung his guitar around to the front, ready to move his teammate at a moment’s notice. Satisfied that Dakota was safe, Nick ran over to team LSTR. They had given up their salvage operation and were getting ready for a fight.

“Anything useful?” Nick asked as he approached.

“Scrap metal from Scrapmetal,” Schatten answered with a humorless chuckle. Lunare thinks he can get the cannon running again, but I don’t think we have that kind of time.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s Lunare,” Nick said. “How’re you four doing? Didn’t get the chance to ask since we crashed.”

“Ryler’s spent, Tiberius lost a chakram in the crash, and I’m running on fumes,” Schatten said. “Lunare’s using his semblance to get the gun working, so pretty soon he’ll be out too. You?”

“I got enough to pacify a pack of Beowolves, or one big one. I’d like to save it for a special occasion though.”

Schatten nodded. “My pack powers can give us a boost for a while but,” he sighed, exhaling a cloudy vapor, “I think you and I are on containment duty.”

Nick shook his head. “What I wouldn’t give for some air cover right about now.”

The ground beneath the two darkened as a figure blotted out the sun. Nick and Schatten looked up to see a winged shape hovering above. It let out a guttural roar and an orange glow emanated from its mouth.

“Manticore!” Schatten yelled. Everyone who could stand stopped what they were doing and focused on the Grimm. The fireball streaked from its mouth and impacted against Scrapmetal. Flames rolled over the body as everyone dove out of the way. Nick was up first, fanning the hammer to his revolver. Bullets poked holes its wings and the monster roared in pain. A sick squelch of metal against flesh accompanied Royal Pain as it severed a wing from the body. The Grimm collapsed to the ground in a heap as Tiberius’ remaining chakram returned to his hand.

Lunare let out an indignant shriek and charged the wounded Grimm as it struggled to its feet. Bullets spat from the barrel of Neih Mehr and peppered the Manticore until it was riddled with holes. He thrust a blade in to the monster’s underside and it howled in pain. The Manticore’s legs gave out, and it collapsed on top of Lunare. Muted reports emanated from underneath as bullets burst from its back.

Schatten and Nick raced over to the side of the beast and tried to push it off of Lunare. It was no use. Even with their combined strength, the body refused to move. It seemed as if Nieh Mehr had it staked to the ground. To make matters worse, the dying Grimm was charging a final fireball attack. In desperation, Schatten stabbed Blast Shard’s claws in to the Grimm’s side. At the same time, several lengths of blade burst from the Manticore’s side. They sliced downwards and created a slit that Lunare pulled himself through.

“-bloody fracking Grimm burning my Scrapmetal,” Lunare complained as he pulled himself free. He turned and stabbed the blades on his forearms in to the Manticore’s side. Electricity coursed through them and the Manticore convulsed in pain. It shut its massive jaw before the fireball could launch. Smoke poured from its nose briefly, then the head burst in a fiery explosion. The rest of the body soon disintegrated, coating the trio in dissolving Grimm matter.

“You okay boss?” Schatten asked.

Luanre pulled his glasses off and tried to wipe them clean of Grimm essence. “That’s the second time today I’ve been coated in some black substance. Normally I wouldn’t mind, but today seems to be an exception.” The blades retracted in to his Corabellum armor, and he retrieved Nieh Mehr from the ground. “How go things with you two?” Lunare asked.

“I told Lewis to move Dakota when the wall falls,” Nick said.

“Splendid,” Lunare said, sarcasm strong in his voice.

“How’s Scrapmetal doing?” Schatten asked.

Lunare glanced at the smoldering wreckage. “Anything of use went up with the fireball I’m afraid. She’ll need a complete overhaul before she drives again. I wonder if—” Lunare paused and cocked an ear to the side. “Do you hear that?”

Schatten and Nick followed suit. A low rumble in the distance brought chills to the two.

“More Grimm?” Nick asked.

“Those are engines.” Schatten looked over at Nick, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

The rumble grew to a roar, alerting those still able to stand. A lone airship howled over the tree line. It passed to the other side of the clearing, then banked hard to turn around. Ryler whooped and cheered as the cannons in the nose lit up. Bullets peppered the ground outside the wall and the Grimm bellowed as the rounds struck home. The fighter continued its run until its belly was scraping the trees, only pulling up at the last second. It streaked high in to the sky, already turning for another pass.

“Yes!” Tiberius shouted in an uncharacteristic display of emotion that wasn’t disdain. “That’s the might of Atlas for you!”

“He did it! He actually came!” Lewis cried.

“Of course they came, Lewis, why wouldn’t they—” Tiberius ducked as the fighter made a low pass over the clearing. Nick was certain one of the taller trees lost a foot off the top. Fireballs streaked from the ground and the fighter made an awkward turn to avoid them.

“Whoever this pilot is, he doesn’t seem that experienced,” Lunare remarked.

“That could be a monkey up there for all I care,” Schatten said. “He’s keeping the Grimm away from us.”

As the pilot lined up another strike, Nick heard Lewis talking to someone in a concerned tone. Before he could turn, a weak hand gripped his shoulder. Dakota stood on shaking legs, his eyes hazy and unfocused.

“Dakota, what in Sam hell are you doing up?” Nick asked. He shot Lewis a disgruntled look.

“Sorry man, he got up when I wasn’t looking,” Lewis said. “I tried to stop him, but he got away.”

Nick took Dakota’s arm and slung it over his shoulder. “Dakota, can you sit down for me?” he prodded gently.

“What, what’s happening?” Dakota asked. “Are we fighting?”

“Yes, but your part is over,” Nick said. “You’ve got yourself a skull fracture.”

Dakota looked at Nick blankly. “Oh. Is that way everything is so loud?”

“No Dakota, that would be the—” Nick stopped and glanced around. “Actually, that’s exactly what it is. Why don’t you sit down and rest a while?”

“Sounds good.” Dakota reached up to prod his bandages. Nick slapped his hand away, then gently forced Dakota to the ground. When Dakota didn’t get back up again, he stood and watched the fighter line up once more. Unlike the last two runs, the Grimm were ready for the attack. Fireballs flashed past the fighter’s sides, scorching the wings. The fire scared the pilot and the fighter pulled up early, ending his attack run before it even began.

It was a mistake. Fire burst against the exposed belly, setting the fuselage ablaze. Another blast broke a wing off. The fighter rolled over and careened toward the ground. At the last moment, the canopy blew off and the seated pilot rocketed from the cockpit. The pilot’s chair skipped through the snow before coming to rest on its side. A moment later, the fighter crashed through the hedgerows and burst in to flames.

Nick stood up from sheltering Dakota from debris and hurried to the pilot struggling with his harness. The straps broke apart with a snap and the pilot clambered out of the seat.

“You alright sir?” Nick asked.

Beneath the tinted visor, the pilot gazed at him for a period Nick felt longer than necessary. Air whooshed from a severed air hose at an accelerated pace and Nick became concerned the pilot might hyperventilate. Finally, they reached up and unbuckled the helmet, pulling it free of cropped red hair and a frightened face.

No one dared to speak. The day had taken plenty of unexpected twists, but this was the last anyone expected. And yet, Daniel was standing in front of them; same uniform as yesterday, same frightened face. But though he still carried himself with an air of apprehension, he stood straighter than before. Whatever had happened between then and now, he seemed to have gotten something off of his back.

Dakota was the first to break the silence. Pushing himself to a standing position, he asked in a slow voice “Daniel?”

Daniel’s eyes darted between his friends. “Guys, I am so sorry for everything that I’ve done. I should’ve never left Beacon, I should’ve never left.” His eyes landed on Dakota and he ran over. “Dakota! What happened?”

“Skull, what was it?” Dakota looked at nick for the word.

“Skull fracture,” Nick supplied. “He took a hit but’ll be alright.”

The assurances fell on deaf ears. “This is my fault, I should’ve left sooner, flown faster, someth— gaack”

Lewis had rushed Daniel, wrapping him in a hug tight enough to crush a leviathan to a pulp. Daniel’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, air coming in brief gasps. Trying to tap out didn’t work either, as Lewis refused to let go.

“I knew you’d come back man!” Lewis cried. “I knew you wouldn’t leave us forever.”

“Lewis, can’t breathe.” Daniel managed to loosen Lewis’ iron grip enough to catch a gulp of air. “Can you, let go of me?”

“Shut up, I’m still mad at you for leaving.” Lewis’ grip tightened and the rest of Daniel’s oxygen rushed from his lungs. In his struggle, Daniel’s flailing legs came close to Dakota’s head. Motion returned to Nick’s frozen limbs, and he broke the two apart.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what the hell are you doing here?” Nick asked.

 “Ironwood was in a call and they couldn’t send anyone without him.”

The news elicited groans from the group. It was not the news they wanted to hear.

“But you’re here,” Ryler said. “The others can’t be far behind.”

Daniel winced. “Maybe, but that’s probably because they want to arrest me. I did steal that fighter from them.”

“You stole Atlas military hardware?” Tiberius asked. The offended look on his face would have been funny had their situation been less dire.

“Well, yeah, but no one else was going! You needed my help!”

Tiberius spoke, but whatever he said was lost in a loud crackling. The flaming hedgerows that the fighter had crashed through were collapsing. On the other side, the blood red eyes of the Grimm.

Daniel kicked the ejection chair over and grabbed his sword. “Okay, eight against fifty. We can do this.”

“Seven,” Nick said. “Dakota’s in no shape to fight.”

Daniel shot a concerned glance at his sitting friend and opened his mouth to say something. Nick stopped him. “Focus. You got any extra firepower? Even in your ride?”

“Yarrow never taught me to raid the armory.”

“And you’re sure Atlas won’t send us anything else?” Schatten asked.

“Not for another fifteen at least. Their airships didn’t have any bombs or anything on them.”

“So let me get this straight,” Tiberius said. “You have no extra weapons, and no hope of rescue for the next fifteen minutes? Is there anything you brought with you?”

“Besides the momentary close air support,” Lunare said.

Tiberius blanched. “Well, yes. Besides the close air support.

Daniel glanced at team LSTR. He glanced at the rest of team DDLN. For once, their roles were reversed. He unholstered his pistol and twirled his sword through the air. “I did bring Atlas’ finest Aura generator and a full charge. Guess that puts me on point for once.”

24: Chapter Twenty-Four

It was odd, Daniel decided, to be with his team again.

The thought came as he slashed open the first Beowolf that jumped the collapsed flaming hedgerow. The beast’s rear paws hadn’t touched the ground when Daniel sliced its neck open. A  shot rang out behind him and ice enveloped the beast’s head. The neck gave way, and the head shattered against the icy ground. Daniel nodded in Nick’s direction and turned to face another onslaught. Team GREY would’ve let him finish it if he could, or had Yarrow brain it with—

Focus. An Ursa was forcing its way through the burning bushes. The black mass of protective fur smoldered and steamed but didn’t catch fire. Daniel pumped bullets in to the Grimm until the magazine was empty and the Grimm staggered to the ground. Shoving the empty pistol in to his belt, Daniel ran forward and plunged his sword through the Ursa’s skull before it could rise again. The blade stuck fast in the ground and the Grimm stopped moving.

He had to reload now, before another Grimm tried its luck. He left his sword in the ground to reached for a new magazine. The Grimm horde had other ideas. The Ursa’s bulk had carved a safe path through the flaming hedgerows. One they chose to take advantage of the moment his hand grabbed a spare magazine.

“Oh shit,” Daniel said. The magazine fell to the ground and he wrenched his sword free. A Beowolf bit down on his arm and shook its head back and forth. Daniel’s Aura flared and crackled underneath the Grimm’s powerful jaws. That was good; he had remembered to turn his generator on. He raised his sword and struck at the shaking head with the pommel until it released his arm. He finished it with a stab through the eye, and turned in time to come face to face with the beak of a Griffon.

“Get back Daniel!” Schatten shouted. Daniel heeded his warning and scrambled backwards. He expected Schatten to rush forward and take his place, but the wolf Faunus held his ground; claws extended from the dusters on his fists, but otherwise passive.

“What happened?” Daniel asked as he slotted a magazine into his pistol. “I thought you had him.”

Schatten’s tail bristled and he shot Daniel a fearful glance. “Jump into the fire? Are you crazy? I was trying to get you away from it.” Before Daniel could ask what he meant, the Griffon entered the clearing. Schatten crouched and activated Blast Shard. The belt shot him over Daniel’s head, landing him claws first on the Griffon. The Griffon gave an indignant roar, and Schatten sliced through its wings like they were made of butter. A final stab in to the base of the Griffon’s neck and Schatten jumped off the dead beast.

Another Beowolf charged through the entrance. It roared, and Ryler fired a grenade in to its gaping mouth. The Grimm’s head exploded in a pink cloying fireball. Ryler fired more shots in to the air and the shells arced over the hedgerow. They exploded on the other side and the Grimm horde howled in pain. He loaded a fresh belt of grenades in to the top opening and kept firing.

“Ryler stop,” Tiberius commanded.

“I’ve got this!” Ryler said. Daniel saw Tiberius grab Ryler’s weapon and wrench it to the side. Ryler gave him a look of pain and anger as the motion put weight on his injured leg. He glared at Tiberius, but Tiberius pointed at Ryler’s ammo satchel. The canvas pouch hung empty and deflated. Ryler looked back up, his anger replaced by worry.

“You’ll be alright,” Tiberius said, “just save what you’ve got left.”

“I’m on my last shell,” Ryler said. His eyes were drawn to the breach and he let out a cry of alarm.

Daniel turned in time for a charging Ursa to throw him in to the air. Sky and snow spun in his vision. He cartwheeled head over heels until he landed on his back against the hedgerows. Through bleary eyes, Daniel saw the Ursa being set upon by everyone except Lunare, who was still trying to free his cannon from Scrapmetal’s roof. Even Dakota was trying to stand and fight, although every time he rose he abruptly sat back down. The Grimm’s rampage ended with a chord from Lewis. The note ripped through the air and set the Ursa roaring in agony. The howls ceased with an overhead blow from his guitar.

“Good one Lewis,” Daniel groaned as he struggled to his feet. His balance failed him, and he grabbed against the hedgerow for support. Something rumbled on the other side, giving Daniel a sense of worry.

Up until now, the battle had progressed better than anyone might have hoped. The Grimm only had one way in to the clearing through the flaming breach. Those that ran through were soon destroyed. Unless something drastic occurred, they could hold the Grimm back for hours; plenty of time for help to arrive.

The drastic occurrence came in the form of a King Taijitu crashing through the hedgerows Daniel held on to. The force behind the attack sent Daniel sprawling for the second time in less than a minute. Daniel rolled onto his back and fired up at the giant snake’s black head. The glowing red eyes glared down at the diminutive creature peppering them with bullets and reared back to strike. Daniel tried to roll again, but it was too late. Six tons of force crushed Daniel against the ground. His Aura flared, then sparked as the damaged generator overloaded. Daniel arched his back and screamed as electricity burst from the generator, enveloping his body. Without the overhaul Yarrow had promised, the generator began to fail.

Through squinted eyes, Daniel watched the snake pull both heads back for another strike. Weak from the discharge, he raised his pistol in a trembling but defiant hand. A beam of blue energy struck the base of the Grimm’s necks before he could fire. Severed from the scaly body, the lifeless heads fell toward Daniel’s prone form form. It was already disintegrating as it fell, but not fast enough. The Grimm’s corpse smothered Daniel with its weight, pressing him back against the frozen ground. The blow pushed the generator to the breaking point and it began to fail. Electricity sparked against anything metal on his body. His room keys. his belt buckle.

His gun.

Daniel didn’t hear the explosion but rather felt it. The electricity had set off the remaining rounds, rupturing the grip and barrel. Pain seared through his hand as the weapon blew itself to pieces. Then another jolt from the generator hit, and he forgot about his hand.

Lewis and Nick were already by Daniel’s side when the King Taijitu finished dissolving. “You alright Daniel?” Nick asked.

Convulsing, Daniel struggled to get out an answer. “Not really,” he grimaced. He raised his right hand and saw the damage. The explosion had ripped layers of skin from his palm, leaving an ugly red surface with gouges that oozed blood. He tried flexing his hand and only managed a small response and a lot of pain. A shock shot from the generator and for a moment the wound seemed as if it were healing. But then the shock subsided, and the new skin retreated. “That’s not good,” he hissed.

Lewis ripped a sleeve off his shirt and wrapped it around Daniel’s palm to stop the bleeding. Daniel nodded thanks and stood up, only to collapse to his knees with another hit of electricity.

“Lunare; front and center!” Nick called out.

Daniel heard boots thumping across the snow, but he had enough. With a growl, he shoved his good hand under his jacket and grasped the sparking power cell. “I am tired of this stupid thing and its stupid problems!” He twisted the cell free and wrenched it from the socket. The familiar loss of energy followed as the generator shut off for the last time. Daniel saw the frenzied sparks and remembered what Yarrow told him had happened the last time the generator had overloaded. He lobbed the cell through the new breach at a stalking Beowolf. The subsequent explosion destroyed the monster.

Lunare skidded to a stop next to Daniel, already pulling tools from his jacket. “I have been reviewing medical implants since last week Daniel,” he said, “With a bit of work I can have another battery inserted—”

“Save it Lunare.” Daniel batted Lunare’s hands away. “I’m never turning that thing on again.” He raised his sword in his good hand and stabbed through the eye of an Ursa. Without an Aura the Grimm had ignored him, instead charging at the other three teens. The deadweight of the Grimm almost pulled the sword from his hand, but he yanked it free and raised it against the next attacker. Voices whispered through Daniel’s head and he pushed them to the side. He didn’t need any other distractions, not now.

Wave after wave of Grimm tried to force their way through the breaches, blending together in to a mass of black skin and glowing red eyes. The two teams broke in to groups of three and four to defend the breach, but it was a losing battle. There were too many Grimm and not enough Aura to go around. The minutes ticked by, but still no sign of rescue appeared. With growing frustration, Daniel wondered if there would be any rescue at all. If Ironwood decided to cut his losses, there would be no escape for their teams. Even if rescue was on the way, there might not be anything to rescue by the time it arrived. Daniel’s left arm was tiring, numbed by the constant blows he rained on the Grimm. This was nothing compared to what the rest of his team and LSTR had to be feeling. They were fighting for the better part of the day before he arrived. Compared to them he was rested and unhurt.

As Daniel stabbed through a Manticore struggling against Nick’s grasp, a squeal from the other side of the clearing distracted him. A Boarbatusk spun through the breach, bowling over Schatten and Tiberius in the process. Charging in to the clearing, it made a beeline straight for Dakota. The teen sat in the middle of the clearing, looking around in confusion at the battle unfolding. He was oblivious to the deadly force bearing down upon him.

No time to think, only act. Daniel let go of his sword, still embedded in Manticore’s side. Time slowed as he sprinted toward his friend. It should have been impossible, he couldn’t outrun a charging Boarbatusk. But something gave him the speed, No, not just something, it was the voices. If the situation was not so dire, he might have been glad of them for once. He grabbed Dakota by his jacket and slung him toward Lunare, Nick, and Lewis. Dakota sailed to the other side of the clearing, out of harm’s way. Daniel did not.

The black leather collar had just left Daniel’s hands when a powerful force struck him in the back. Oddly he didn’t feel the blow, just the force behind it. Propelled forwards by the Grimm, he faintly heard someone shout his name. Nick appeared next to him and grabbed at the Grimm, forcing it to stop. It was then that Daniel realized something was holding him in place. He looked back and saw a terrified Nick manhandling the Boarbatusk with both hands, neither of which were anywhere near his body. What was keeping him from moving?

The answer came when Lunare arrived. Nick barked an order and Lunare sliced one of the Grimm’s tusks off. The blow curiously forced Daniel to his knees and his gaze dropped down. Jutting from his side was the tusk of a Boarbatusk. The usually bony white appendage was soaked in scarlet red blood. His blood.

“Oh,” was all Daniel could say.

@0@0@

“Daniel!” Nick shouted as the redhead collapsed, his eyes rolling back before closing. A quick wrench of his arms, and the Boarbatusk’s neck was snapped. Nick threw the corpse to the side and dove for Daniel’s prone form. The shattered tusk had already dissolved, and the blood poured unhindered from the wound. A flash of memory tore Nick from the clearing. He found himself on his knees in dry powdery dirt; hunched over another body with a horn jutting from its chest. Then Lunare was by his side and he returned to the snowy forest. Lunare had his hands pressed against the gaping wounds, trying to stem the flow. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” the bespectacled teen muttered. “I should’ve, I should’ve brought it.”

The tramping of snow alerted Nick to Lewis’ fast approach. “Hold the line Lewis,” Nick ordered.

“But I—” Lewis balked.

“Hold the line!”

Lewis flinched but turned back to the breach, casting a worried glance at Daniel over his shoulder. Sensing their fear, the Grimm were squirming through the small hole in the hedgerows. Lewis strummed out a rhythm, and soon the air filled with the sounds of Grimm cries and electric guitars.

“Do we cauterize the wound?” Lunare asked, already pulling out a vial of dust from his jacket.

Nick shook his head, trying to clear the remnants of the vision. It wouldn’t be like last time, he refused to let it be. “Don’t know what the inside looks like,” he answered. “Could do more harm than good.” He wished that Lewis had arrived before Lunare. The blond-haired teen knew a lot about healing, and this was beyond what Nick could fix. But Lunare had been faster on the upbeat, and Lewis was better suited for crowd control than Lunare. “Keep pressure on it while I find some bandages.”

Dakota dragged himself over to Daniel. His already pale face became stark white at the sight of the bloodstained snow. He reached up and began unwinding the bandages over his head. Nick paused his search and pulled Dakota’s hands away.

Dakota gave him an angry look “You mean to tell me, I need them more than him?”

“We’ll find something else,” Nick said. He took Nick’s hands and pressed them against the opening on Daniel’s back. Nick grabbed his coat by a sleeve and ripped it off. The cold air stung his exposed arm as he did his best to wrap the wound with his sleeves. The flow of blood slowed to an ooze, but he had no idea what kind of internal bleeding Daniel faced.

Daniel’s eyes fluttered open and for a moment Nick thought he saw they were crimson. Then he saw the usual brown-green as Daniel hissed in pain. “That, really hurts,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Hang on there, Daniel,” Nick said. “Can’t be much longer before Atlas arrives.”

Daniel grimaced. “Great. Can’t wait to get arrested.”

Nick patted Daniel on the shoulder and stood up. There was nothing else he could do to help Daniel right now, besides make sure the Grimm didn’t get to him and Dakota. He raised a bloodied hand in a thumbs up toward Tiberius, Schatten, and Ryler, who were casting concerned glances in their direction. The three nodded and turned back to the fight. Lunare stood as well and raised Nieh Mehr. “Once more in to the breach then?” he asked.

“Seems like it,” Nick said before running in to help Lewis. He pulled Daniel’s sword from where the Manticore fell and held it in his left hand. With a flick of the wrist, he changed his own weapon in to its dagger form. He raised the two blades and shifted in to a defensive stance. Whichever Grimm came through the breach next, he’d be sure they didn’t live long enough to hurt anyone else. He never got the chance.

An Ursa squirming its way through the gap in the hedges was cut down from behind. The roar of a cannon soon followed as three Atlesian airships flew over the clearing. Exhaust buffeted the eight students as the airships banked and turned back towards them. The mighty Atlesian military had finally arrived.

Two of the airships landed in the clearing while the third continued strafing runs against the Grimm. The sides of the airships were open and gaped invitingly to the exhausted students. Nick motioned at Lewis and Lunare and the two backed up from the breach. Without anyone to hold them back, the Grimm broke through the opening, unhindered by resistance. Daniel and Dakota still lay defenseless on the ground, the Grimm couldn’t be allowed to roam free. Nick fired several of his precious remaining shots at a Beowolf charging the two before helping Lewis and Lunare push the Grimm horde back. As long as their fallen team members remained in the snow, they couldn’t afford to leave their post.

“Get those two on an airship and see about getting us some cover,” Nick instructed Lunare over the whine of the engines. “First chance you get, you and LSTR get out of here.”

“I assume you two will be right behind?” Lunare asked.

Nick cleaved an Ursa in two before answering with a short nod. Lunare turned and raced toward Daniel and Dakota. With Dakota’s help, they propped Daniel on their shoulders and carried him to the nearest airship. Lunare disappeared in to the cockpit for a moment, then raced over to the other breach to help his team with a Manticore. The airship with Daniel and Dakota onboard lifted off and turned toward Lewis and Nick. Bullets whistled over their heads as the front facing cannon cut the Grimm down. Seeing their chance, Lunare had team LSTR dash and hobble to the second airship, staying behind to fend off the Grimm himself. Lunare waited until they were onboard before making the run himself. Grimm running at his sides and nipping on his heels, he barely made it onboard before the airship lifted off.

With the largest of the two breaches unprotected, it was time to finally abandon the clearing. Nick slapped Lewis on the back and they sprinted for the hovering airship. Nick felled a Grimm in their way and opened a clear path to their escape. The airship ceased fire and rotated toward them, but it couldn’t land. If it did, the Grimm would overrun the small craft before they could lift off again.

Lewis stroked notes from his guitar, creating a glowing green platform beneath them. The platform lifted them in to the air and deposited them in the cabin. Nick shouted for the pilot to go, which he did. The lead Grimm had just sunk their teeth and claws in to the airship’s body when the engines roared and the airship lifted from the clearing. Rising sluggishly thanks to the clinging Grimm, the airship cleared the hedgerows by less than a foot. They turned in midair, then picked up speed toward Atlas. Behind them, the green walls collapsed at long last under the force of the Grimm horde. The impromptu wall had lasted just as long as they needed it to.

Despite the danger posed by the clinging Grimm, Nick took a moment to make sure Daniel and Dakota were safe. Dakota sat in a bucket seat covered in so many harnesses it would be impossible for him to injure his head. Daniel lay on the bare metal floor, a trickle of blood staining the surface. His skin was paler than normal, but Nick convinced himself it was mostly from the cold. It was probably best to get the redhead a proper bandage, but Nick first had to deal with the unwelcome passengers. He bent down and pressed Daniel’s sword in to his injured friend’s hand, then grabbed a strap near the door and poked his head in to the icy gale.

Two Beowolves clung to the side, their claws cutting long grooves in to the fuselage. Nick shot the furthest one in the head, then adjusted his aim to the second Grimm. He pulled the trigger, but the hammer fell on an empty cylinder. Grumbling, he stowed the weapon and pressed his free hand against the snarling Grimm’s snout. The last of his Aura flowed through his fingers and in to the Grimm. The Beowolf relaxed, and its grip on the airship loosened. Sliding from under Nick’s hand, it hurtled to the ground below. With it went the last of Nick’s Aura, the reserve he had saved for an emergency. It was a decision he’d never forgive himself for.

Lewis’ cry alerted Nick that something was wrong. He pulled himself inside but didn’t see the blond-haired teammate. What he did see were a pair of hands gripping the edge of the sliding door. Nick ran the two steps it took to get to the other side and saw Lewis’ panic-stricken face whipped by the wind. A third Beowolf hung from his left leg, flecks of blood flying from the leg deep in its jaw.

Nick pulled his gun, then remembered it was out of ammo. He fished in his pockets for something, anything. Just one bullet was all he needed. But before he could find anything, the metal hinges of the door groaned and snapped free. Nick cast the weapon aside and grabbed Lewis’ hands before the heavy door took him to his doom.

Groaning, he tried to haul Lewis in to the cabin. Maybe Dakota or even Daniel could deal with the Beowolf. As much as he struggled, it was a losing battle. He couldn’t keep Lewis’ grip from slowly slipping from his own. Both teenagers noticed it and knew what it meant. Lewis gave Nick a look of sheer panic; one that told Nick they were thinking the same thing. Their grip would fail before Nick could pull him in and there was nothing either could do about it. He was about to die. Nick faintly heard shouting behind him, but he ignored it to fight the losing battle.

Then someone grabbed him under his arms and dragged both of them backwards. From behind him, Daniel stepped sword in hand to the edge of the cabin. Knocked loose by the exertion, the bandages hung from his side. A steady stream of blood poured from his wounds. His eyes squinted in anger and glowed a bright red that enveloped his entire eye. With a growl, Daniel leapt out the cabin and stabbed the Beowolf in the back with his sword. The added weight almost pulled Lewis from Nick’s grasp, and he struggled to hold on by the fingertips. Daniel dangled from the handle of his sword and wrapped his injured hand around the Grimm’s lower jaw. His other hand left the sword grasped its upper jaw. In an instant, Nick knew what Daniel had planned.

“Don’t do it!” Nick shouted over the wind. It was insane. If Daniel pried the Grimm from Lewis’ leg now, he’d—

Daniel’s glowing eyes met Nick’s brown, and for a brief second they faded back to normal. His intense gaze softened, and he gave Nick a pained but knowing look. Then the red returned and Daniel broke eye contact. His muscles rippled and the Grimm’s jaw broke with a sickening crack.

Daniel hung in the air, as if he and Lewis were still connected. Then gravity returned and Daniel was whisked away by the slipstream. The dense forest swallowed his body, and he was gone.

25: Chapter Twenty-Five

With the surviving students out of harms way, Atlas razed the forest. A second wave of airships had remained in Atlas long enough to pick up incendiaries before following after the three that were sent to rescue team LSTRDLN. The sector burned for what it wrought. The glow from the fires were visible even as the airships landed in Atlas. The Grimm there would never hurt anyone again.

But it was too late for Daniel. The third airship had stayed back, circling where he fell until it was running on fumes. But no sign of him ever appeared. Not a smudge on thermals, not a bloodstain on snow. It was the final injustice of the entire mission. They couldn't even bring him back to Vale, back to home.

When the somber airships touched down on Atlas soil, attendants rushed the seven students to the student wing of an Atlesian hospital. The two teams were split up in to stark white rooms with four beds, one for each member of a Huntsman team. At first, the horde of nurses and doctors had pestered them with questions as they bandaged the injured students. That was several hours ago. The hospital room was near silent now. Nothing but the beeping of monitors and whirring of machines to distract the three members of team Dandelion from their own thoughts

Nick was the only one not confined to the bed, although he sat on one given to him. Bandages covered Dakota's head in a thick layer of protection, and Lewis' foot was wrapped and elevated. It was only luck that they hadn't gotten anything worse. Not that any of them felt lucky. Despite the gorgeous sunset that came through a window on the far wall, no one glanced in its direction. That would mean looking at the empty fourth bed.

Sixteen minutes, forty-seven seconds. Atlas had retrieved the crashed fighter's black box and compared its records to that of the rescuing airships. Nick didn't know why they had given them the number, but it echoed through his head. Sixteen minutes and forty-seven seconds was the time from when Daniel first arrived to when he fell. In a quarter of an hour they had regained their friend, and then lost him forever.

A soft tapping on the door alerted Nick to the presence of visitors. Glazed eyes turned toward the door, but his legs refused to respond. After a moment, his eyes returned to staring blankly forwards. The knock repeated, this time louder. To his right, Dakota shifted and swung his feet off the bed. The part of Nick's mind that still registered thoughts told him it wasn't good for Dakota to be moving yet. Nick closed his tired eyes and willed his body to move from its stupor. Left foot off the bed. Right foot off the bed. Push off. Walk to the door. Open, and see who it is. Slide out and close the door before Dakota sees the unwelcome guests.

"What are you doing here?" Nick growled. It was the first full sentence he had uttered since the doctors left. He wanted to be alone with what was left of his team, not dealing with, these people.

"We wanted to see how you were doing," Yarrow answered. He and two others, Ebon and a redhead girl sporting a white bandage taped over her cheek, stood morosely in the corridor. The Faunus' tail dragged against the floor, the girl hugged her arms and traced patterns in the tile. Yarrow held something long and thin wrapped in a cloth. He gestured at the girl and continued. "You've met before, but this is—"

"I know who you are," Nick lied. He had no desire to know the girl's name. The sooner they were gone, the better. He planted his feet wide and planted his hands on his belt. His right thumb brushed against the grip of his weapon. Empty casings still filled the cylinder, but that mattered little to Nick. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Yarrow winced. "We wanted to tell you, how sorry we were. We're," he caught himself, "we were Daniel's teammates."

Nick laughed a low, hollow laugh. "No you weren't," he said.

"Yes, we were," the girl said. "He trained with us for six months."

"Then where were you when he came to save us?" Nick asked. "I don't recall seeing your pretty faces when he crashed."

"We had our orders," Ebon said. "We wanted to, but." He petered off.

"That didn't stop Daniel, did it?" Nick asked. "Maybe if you'd stuck your neck out for him, we wouldn't be having this conversation. If you'd acted like the damn teammates you're supposed to be, he wouldn't—" His eyes fell toward the floor and he had to choke back a sob. "He wouldn't have had to come alone."

The three seniors looked down at their shoes, embarrassed to watch as Nick calmed himself down, ashamed at the truth.

"Nick, right?" the girl, Rojoe, he finally remembered, spoke up. "I, I don't know what to—"

Nick held up a hand. He took a deep breath and spoke. "Just do what you came to do and get out of here."

Yarrow pressed the cloth bound object in to Nick's outstretched hand. Even through the wrappings, the weight and feel told Nick what it was before he tore the fabric loose. Fire had blackened the metal scabbard and the leather wrapped handle was all but burned away, but Daniel's sword sat in his grip. With shaking hands, Nick grasped the handle and pulled the blade halfway out. Untouched by fire, the blade shone from the hours of maintenance Daniel put in to it.

"Our leader, Greeve, went out to look for Daniel himself," Ebon explained. "He didn't find him, but he brought this back. He's not one for," he stopped himself and backtracked, "we think you should have it. Maybe you're right about things."

Nick sheathed the blade and looked the trio. Tears glistened in Ebon and Yarrow's eyes, and Rojoe was sucking in gulps of air, forcing her emotions back under control. Without a word, they turned to leave when Nick finally spoke. His voice felt and sounded like Glas had stabbed him again, like months of therapy never happened. "Thank you," he managed.

Yarrow stopped and wiped at his face before looking over his shoulder at Nick. "Yeah, you're welcome," he murmured in response.

@0@0@

Lunare attacked the wall with a ferocity the most enthusiastic lecturer could only dream of mimicking. His fifth marker was down to the nub, but that hardly mattered. None of the doctors knew what they were talking about. He was completely fine and in no need of medical attention. So was the rest of team LSTR. Ryler was the worst off, and his foot would be healed in a couple of days. They were still in the hospital room, likely in mourning for Daniel. That was all well and good for them, but he had too much to do to be mourning. Calculations, weight distributions, material costs, he had to figure it all out right now.

The door to the shared room opened, and Lunare's marker paused as someone called his name in a hushed tone. His concentration shattered, he cursed whoever entered. He backtraced his thought process and was about to begin again when a hand fell on his shoulder. Heat flushed through Lunare and he fought to remain in control. He gripped the marker like a knife, rose from his crouched position between two beds, and spun to meet the offender. A tired, tanned face and a battered leather hat greeted his gaze.

"Nick," Lunare said, "you're supposed to be under observation." This was not the intruder he expected. It made sense, the two teams shared the same room, but it still dumbfounded him. He peered over Nick's shoulder to see if anyone else was there and became aware of the mess he'd made of the room. All his belongings, and a good deal of his teammates', were strewn across the room. They'd been in the way of his search for markers and blueprints.

"So are you," Nick said. His eyes were red, and tear marks streaked through a collection of dirt and grime. He held up his other hand. Lunare's gaze fell to the long object held reverently in his grasp. Fire and battle had marked the surface, but Lunare could still remember the day he'd met Daniel and pulled it from its sheath.

No! he had to focus. He could mourn later when he was certain it would never happen again. Not on his watch.

With a start, he realized that Nick was talking again, and he forced himself to listen. "—thought you might have something in your kit to take off the soot."

A distraction for a distraction. Under better circumstances Lunare might be elated that he'd found a solution. Right now, all he needed was uninterrupted concentration. He gave short directions to a black snap bag he'd thrown onto Lewis' bed, and returned to his work.

"Tell me you're not making Scrapmetal two point O," Nick said, his tone disapproving. "Not today."

"Very well, I'm not," Lunare said. It wasn't a lie, it would take more than a firebombing to harm Scrapmetal. As soon as the design was complete, he would charter an airship to pick up the pieces and ship them back to Vale. A few supplies, some off the shelf parts he couldn't make on his own, and Scrapmetal would run better than she ever did before.

"Well that sure is what it looks like," Nick countered. He poked Lunare in the back with a blueprint. "Ain't this its cross section on this paper?"

The marker slid down the wall and the tip broke off. Capping it, he turned to face Nick. He didn't understand, he could never understand how Lunare felt right now. He tore the blueprint from Nick's hand and gestured at the drawing. "A reference point, nothing more," he said. "With Scrapmetal unavailable, I am forced to rely on this if I am going to install proximity sensors on the front." He shoved the paper back in to Nick's hands. "Once I have retrieved Scrapmetal, the blueprint will be unnecessary."

Nick frowned. "I still can't believe this is what you're focusing on."

"It is the only thing I can focus on," Lunare said. He couldn't believe he had to explain himself right now. It would have been so much simpler if this could have waited until later, when he had time to explain everything. But if it was happening now, then it was his job to do it right.

"I assumed that my skill with Scrapmetal was enough, when I was instead hindering her." He shook the broken marker at Nick. "This is the only thing I can do right now to prevent it from happening again, but you can be assured, Nicholas Ochre, that it's not the only thing I'll be changing. No more putting off upgrades, no letting my skills plateau, no giving gifts a day later than I can afford!" Anger boiled to the top, and he threw the marker at a pile of clothes. It struck a jean jacket and bounced off with a dull thud.

Lunare's eyes widened. That was a mistake. He'd been trying to avoid noticing it since he accidentally pulled it out. Scrapmetal was only the final mistake he had made since their arrival in Atlas. The jacket was the first, and his greatest. Lunare numbly felt his legs give way and he fell to his knees as Nick moved towards the jacket. He lifted it and grunted under the unexpected weight. Even from this distance, Lunare could see the rough stitching where he mended the gash Yarrow made. The same gash that inspired him in the first place.

"Why do you have this?" Nick asked. "Dakota threw it out the window months ago. Lewis and me, we searched for it."

"Pull the tag," Lunare managed. Oh gods, what a fool he had been. Hot liquid pooled at the corners of his eyes as he fought back tears. Through watery eyes, he watched Nick peel back a layer of denim. A third layer of metal strips was sandwiched between the two layers of denim. The strips laced together to form an uninterrupted sheet of metal. It flexed under Nick's ministrations, but Lunare knew that even the lightest blow would stiffen the metal and prevent anything from getting through. He should know; he could count on one hand the items of clothing made like that, and he wore one of them.

"Corabellum armor," Lunare croaked. "I wanted to give it to Daniel before we left but—"

he couldn't finish. The tears poured freely from his eyes and streaked down his face. His body trembled as he gasped for air between sobs. After seeing how Daniel reacted to their presence, Lunare had thought it best to wait until after the mission to give Daniel his present. Whatever bothered Daniel might be gone, or they could at least talk it out. Too late.

Boots thudded against the ground and Lunare became dimly aware of Nick crouching down next to him. Thick muscled arms wrapped around Lunare and rocked him back and forth.

"I'm sorry," Lunare mumbled. "It's my fault he's gone. You don't, know how it feels. To be, to be why he's not here." He buried his head in Nick's shoulder and sobbed even harder. Nick kept his rocking and added tears of his own.

Nick said nothing, just held his friend tight. It was about the only thing that he could do right now.

@0@0@

For team LSTRDLN, the rest of their time in Atlas remained uneventful. Team GREY made no more appearances, but the steady procession of visitors more than made up for their welcome absence. Huntsmen in training that had been with them on the fateful mission gave condolences for their loss. Doctors and scientists that worked on Daniel, although they kept their positions a closely guarded secret, spoke of how good a patient Daniel was. Even General Ironwood made an appearance, apologizing for the tragedy and promising that the incident would be investigated. No one mentioned the theft of an Atlesian fighter. In the wake of Daniel's sacrifice, the matter was dropped and hidden as if it never occurred in the first place.

When it was time to leave, seven somber silent students boarded their plane without fuss. Lunare gave the loading of Scrapmetal a brief glance before walking through the accordion-like bridge to the airship.

As the airship pulled away from its mooring, Ryler spoke up. He wanted to break up the silent gloom hovering over the team. "So, anyone have any ideas on what they're gonna write about for Oobleck's essay?"

The question did little to clear the gloom, but the groans it elicited were enough to break the silence. The semester was over now, but Professor Ozpin and the rest of Beacon's staff had accommodated their special circumstances. Most of Beacon's professors wrote their exams off, the experience they gained during the mission more than adequate credit. Only Professor Oobleck's final remained. There was little they could learn about the political turmoil of the great war from fighting Grimm. Still, at least he extended the deadline by another week.

"Anything but Atlas," Tiberius answered. I think that I have had my fill of white snow for a good while, thank you."

"You kidding? I'd never skip a chance to take a crap on Atlas," Schatten countered. "Especially after—" he stopped himself, realizing the territory he had treaded in to. But it was too late, and the idea was already out there. They lapsed in to an awkward silence as the airship climbed through the clouds and headed for Beacon.

"What about you Dakota?" Lewis asked.

Dakota stopped looking out the window and turned to his teammate. Bandages still encircled his head, but the doctors anticipated a quick recovery. "Blowing it off," he mumbled.

"What? You can't just blow a final off man," Lewis argued. "I mean, you'll get left behind without us."

"I'm failing anyways," Dakota said. "Oobleck said I needed an A to pass. Never wrote more than a B paper in my life."

"Well this time will be different," Lewis said. "I'm sure we can all help you write the essay, no problem at all man. What's your idea for a topic?"

Dakota frowned in concentration. His head still hurt sometimes, especially when he went deep in thought. Finally, he answered his teammate. The anti-art group, what were their names? I might do something on them and how they tried to kill emotion."

The group exchanged glances amongst themselves. "You sure you want to do that one?" Schatten asked. "I'm not saying that just because I was going to do the same topic."

"I can pick something else," Dakota said, but Schatten waved him off.

"It's fine. I'll write something about the Faunus and how the war kick-started their civil rights."

"What made you want to do that one?" Nick asked.

"I don't know," Dakota said. He looked back out the window at an expanse of clouds and forest rolling underneath the airship. There was an answer, but not one he was ready to bring up. He thought about the movement, how it took over Mantle. Turning an already cold place into one where emotions were something to be feared and shunned. Mankind lost their emotions, but they still lived. If they could live without that, what else could someone do without?

What did it mean to be human?

26: Epilogue

A.N. Ezmerelda's name was changed to Charlene on account of her and Emerald sharing similar names and roles by pure coincidence (she was created before Emerald did, but didn't come into a story until after). So when you see Charlene or Char, that's Emerald.

 

The warehouse sat silent and empty, heaps of snow piling under the broken sunroof. In the weeks since team GREYD busted the gunrunners, the building had sat abandoned. The owner was under investigation for turning a blind eye to the smugglers. Until the Atlas police cleared him of the charges, he was ordered not to lease any more properties. The entrance bolted shut, no one was allowed in or out.

Which made the man inside building a trespasser. He shivered as the icy air blew through a nearby door and ignored his thin grey jacket. Casting furtive glances around the empty interior, he jumped as smoke billowed from underneath a door. It rose in a column, then solidified in to the form of a young woman. On another day, she might have teased him for being startled. Right now however, Charlene Fumee was more concerned with staying warm. Like her compatriot, her sleeveless green hoodie and black jumpsuit did little against the cold.

"Yard's clear Cy," Charlene said through chattering teeth. "We shouldn't have any interruptions."

"Perfect," Syrius, Steele said. Lets hope he arrives with the package soon.

"Can't believe we're out here running delivery ops. This is Oskar's job, not ours."

"Oskar's busy, we're the next best thing," Syrius said. "Besides, you honestly want to be tromping around in the middle of a forest right now?"

"I could've crashed that airship," Charlene continued bitterly. "Wouldn't even need his acting skills. Just play the mute for ten minutes, then snap the guy's neck when he wasn't looking. No one looks twice at smoke near a crash."

"What's done is done. Our leader knows best, that's why we're here and Oskar's out tromping through the forest."

Behind them, the door Charlene had slid under shuddered against the padlocks. The two criminals turned and backed towards the middle, stepping over shattered pipes and a crushed table. A low voice cursed from the other side, then the padlocked chain rattled to the ground and the door swung open. Blinded by setting sun flooding through the doorway, Syrius and Charlene shielded their eyes to make out the figure of the hunched over man. He froze at the sight of two figures, then clenched his fists at recognition.

"You," he growled.

"Us," Charlene replied.

The man took an aggressive step forward, but Syrius raised a hand in warning. Half a dozen turrets rose from the snow bank behind them. Syrius and Charlene stepped aside, and the barrels rotated towards the man. "We know what it took you to get our package, friend," Syrius said, trying to look imposing despite the cold. "You're not just low on Aura, you're all used up. No funny business, just come inside with the package and we'll conduct business."

"After what I just did, they send you two? Where's Oskar?"

"Enjoying a sunset walk through the woods," Syrius said. Now, the door please, you're letting in a draft.

The man unclenched his fists and walked back outside with a defeated gait. He bent down and lifted a black bag from the ground. He carried it reverently inside and kicked the door shut. The sun was cut out, and Greeve Cobel placed the black bodybag on the ground.

"That's it? That's what we came for?" Syrius asked.

"It is," Greeve said. He looked down at the ground, unable to make eye contact with them or the bag.

"Stand aside," Charlene demanded. Greeve did as instructed, and Charlene unzipped the front. Peering inside, she studied the contents intently. She reached in and prodded the inside.

"That him?" Syrius asked.

"If it isn't, our friend here killed an innocent kid that looks a hell of a lot like him," Charlene answered.

"I'm not your friend," Greeve grumbled. "Just take it already."

Charlene zipped the bag shut and stood. "Our leader will be pleased. You won't hear from us again."

"And the drive?" Greeve blurted. "You promised this would be it. That there'd be no more favors or anything. How can I trust you if you still have proof?"

Charlene gave him a sickly sweet smile. "You didn't actually believe there was a drive, did you? That information, how you committed fratricide, it's already out there. We just won't let the rest of the world know it is. Mommy gets her perfect family, and you only have to wear your shame on the inside."

"Don't," Greeve warned. He flexed his fingers, but his bare hands lacked Haunted Toll and the move was much less threatening.

"Cy, what do you think he would have done if his friend hadn't fallen to his death? Would he have taken the shot?"

"You know Char, I think he would've," Syrius said, eager to play along. "Man already has the makings of a cold blooded killer. Besides, he'd only be following orders."

Greeve moved, faster than what should have been possible. He tackled Syrius to the ground and held him by the throat. Syrius squawked and struggled under the iron grip as Greeve applied pressure.

"Drop him Cobel," Charlene ordered. She had her baton drawn; the barbed ends deployed. But she didn't take a step closer, and Greeve saw why. The turrets Syrius controlled had spun up, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"You already brought us the boy; do you want to die too?" Charlene asked.

There was no answer to that, but Greeve let go of Syrius' throat. The gasped and massaged his esophagus, retching against the ground.

"Next time we meet, I won't let go," Greeve said. He then turned and summoned a portal, leaving without another word.

Syrius stood and frowned. "We should've killed him. He's out for blood now."

"He also has more Aura than he let on," Charlene warned. "Besides, our primary job is to deliver the package to our leader." She dialed a number on her scroll and smiled. "And I think he is going to be happier than he thought he was going to be."

End of Book 2

Began: 2:56 PM, 1-14-16

Ended 4:53 PM, 5-8-19

Wordcount: 100379

Book 2 took longer than I ever thought it would

I began in the second semester of college

I finished one week after graduating

This story saw me through three years, two changes in my major, and many more important events

To Be Human, Book 2 was also my first book to cross 100,000 words

My first sequel

My first main character death

The characters and stories created and expanded on will be concluded in the final book of the trilogy

But until then, thank you for getting this far

I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoy writing

I will see you all again soon

-Noah