The Captain's words ended to the tune of tramping boots. Simultaneously the respectively large and fluffy-eared shapes of Abel and Shiro appeared, rounding the corner of the war room building to rejoin their teammates. Both exuded a sense of renewed liveliness, surely stemming from their break, though not one turgid enough to dazzle the others. The sight of Sapphire and Gren out in the open, their manners confident, provided evidence enough for Abel to assume that action lay in his near future. "Right then. How's this gonna go down?"
Gren was making a list of things he'd need, things he wanted, and notes on the situation when Abel and Shiro arrived. As soon as they got close Gren wasted no time doling out orders.
"Abel, you and Sapphire are going to go scout out the last known location of Daisy. Sapphire will be doing most of the recon, but if anything happens I want you near by to help. If you see the Siren, don't engage it unless you have to. I don't want either of you two risking your lives trying to take it on without the team. Me and Shiro are going to head towards the armory where I can try to whip up something to help Shiro deal with the Siren's song, as well as get some equipment that could help us fight it. We'll meet back here within a few hours at most, discuss what we've done, and figure out how to take on the Siren." Sapphire watched Gren dolling out orders. It wasn't that she had a problem with anything that he was actually saying, in fact she agreed with most of it, it was more the fact that he was issuing them as though he was the team leader. Sapphire didn't have a problem with her teammates making decisions for themselves. When it came down to it she didn't want to be responsible for telling them every single thing they had to do, some initiative was called for but Sapphire could sense a brewing storm a mile off. Since day one, which admittedly had only been two weeks ago Gren had considered her appointment as leader a mistake on the part of the administration and was vying to take it from her. While her teammates thinking for themselves was a good thing Gren was setting things up so that in a point of conflict down the line the rest of the team would be more likely to side with him over her because they were more used to hearing his ideas and orders from his mouth.
Without batting an eye Sapphire fixed her gaze on the orc faunus. "Not that I disagree but I'd thank you to remember who's in command of this unit."
Not expecting positive reception from that statement but knowing it had its intended effect of reminding everyone that Gren was
not team leader Sapphire motioned to Abel. "We best get going if we want to wrap this up today. I don't fancy spending my weekend hunting." With that and the location of the attack site gained from Miss Rookwood Sapphire walked through the precinct doors and waited for Abel outside. She assumed that they'd need a couple of minutes to exchange whatever it was Abel and Shiro had discussed with one another that they felt the need to hide from her and for Gren to add his own thoughts to it. She started to whistle.
Gren only smirked at Sapphire. She may not admit it, but the faunus knew she felt threaten by his slowly growing authority. The fact that she needed to keep pointing out that she was the leader of the team only made it clear that even she was having doubts who the boss was. Still, petty power struggles can happen later. They had a job to do.
Once Gren was finished speaking he walked over to Shiro, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a comforting smile.
"I got some ideas how we can help you against the Siren, and some real cool shit I'll need your help with. You down for that buddy?" Gren raised his hand up with his palm out, showing Shiro some of his ideas. A couple of harpoon guns, wasp knives, big-ass speakers, a floodlights, and that was just a few things Gren was skimming through.
Looking over at Abel Gren also kept smiling, though he was also a bit more serious.
"Take care of her Abel. I don't want any problems with Sapphire." Gren purposely voiced that phrase ominously, suspecting that if Sapphire was hearing then it would be confirmation of Gren's motives, which he could play off as a misunderstanding. And if she wasn't, he at least enjoyed it for what it was.
Watching the interaction between the students with a small sigh and a shake of the head, Captain McDougall returned to his War Room and watched them from afar.
About to fight a Siren and having a petty argument about leadership. I guess I'll have to tell the headmaster to speak to them about this in my report. Might as well talk to the big green guy before they do this.Stepping out of his War Room once he was sure Sapphire was gone, Captain McDougall approached the remaining members of Team SASG with a smile. "Gren, was it? Could we speak for a moment?" Gesturing to the War Room with his arm, the Captain gave what could only be described as a congenial smile to the large Faunus.
Gren looked towards the captain, a bit curious. He wasn't sure what the Captain had to say to Gren that he couldn't say right now. The fact that they had very little time, or at least no luxury to waste it, made Gren initially hesitant to follow, or at least ask the Captain to tell him right now. But whatever it was, Gren figured some privacy was needed. Perhaps it was something important that couldn't have been told in front of Sapphire. Or maybe it was something that had to do with Gren specifically.
"Shiro, you know where the armory is? I'll meet you over there soon, gotta chat to the captain for a bit. Confirm details and what not."Gren followed after the Captain, the faunus previously friendly demeanor in front of Team Swansong now replaced with a more serious and professional one. Gren did not want to come off as hostile, though he was hoping that he was intimidating in the event that the Captain was going to try to bully Gren into doing something he wouldn't like. As the green faunus followed behind him, Gren realized that perhaps he wasn't quite subtle enough with his intent on usurping Sapphire. Mentally, he chastised himself for thinking that the Captain was just some country bumpkin fool, and wouldn't be able to pick up on Gren's ambitions. And even if he wasn't that sharp, he'd have to be very ignorant to not think about Sapphire's own little statement about her leadership.
If Gren had to guess, Captain McDougall may be worried about the team's ability to cooperate with each other. Gren was fairly confident that he, Shiro, and Abel can work well as a team. Sapphire too, though only through rehearsed attacks. Working on the fly, being able to think like one another and coordinate moves unpracticed, these were things that needed more than just training. It needed a certain empathy, the ability to look someone in the eyes and go "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Granted, Gren's relationship with the others weren't that close, but sometimes he felt like they were on the same wavelength. Though Sapphire was a signal all of her own.
"Something you need, Captain? Do you need instructions on how to use my Scroll? Forgive me if I seem presumptuous, my device doesn't use the same interface as other models, and I wouldn't mind giving a quick tutorial so you can watch me properly.""No, I believe we'll be alright with the Scroll. I wanted to speak with you about your team. Now, I'm not going to tell you how to handle your issues. I'm sure there's plenty of reason for whatever is going on. But I do know one thing: you're a group of First-year students on, what, your second mission?" Sighing, Captain McDougall turned away before continuing.
"I'm a man of simplicity. I enjoy walks on the beach, helping protect people, doing justice. All that nonsense." A wave of the arm punctuated the Captain's dismissal of his own interests. "I'm also a very patient man. On some occasions, waiting is the proper move. Waiting until your enemy makes a mistake that you can capitalize on. Waiting until that girl you're interested in looks like she's in a good mood before trying to talk to her."
"But sometimes it's the wrong move. Sometimes, quick and decisive action is required." Turning around, McDougall frowned. "Now is not one of those times. A Siren is no walk in the park, young man, but this is hardly the time or the place to be doing this, don't you think? From what I've gathered from your interactions, your leader, the young lady, is not...particularly friendly. She seems rather curt." Nodding at his words, McDougall continued.
"Yes, I would say curt. Now, normally, I'd leave the machinations of a team for that team to work out, but I'm getting the impression that this is less of a difference of opinions and more of a hostile takeover." Bringing a hand up to rub his jaw, the Captain thought on his words for a moment. "It took me a long time to reach my position in this unit. People died to get us where we are. People were hurt, as you saw. I may not particularly like some of the people under my command. But I would never,
not ever, endanger their lives through reckless, negligent, or intended behavior."
"And that is what you are doing with your little game. For now, you're speaking as a leader and putting forward an idea as though it were law, rather than a suggestion. Soon, you'll be confronting your team and your leader about why you, or one of your other teammates, are better fit for command."
Captain McDougall looked to the floor before speaking again, his voice much more somber. "Then you'll be at each other's throats, figuratively if not literally, and decisive action will have to be taken. One or more of you may be removed from the team, and likely the school. So, young man, I would like to simply advise you on something: be patient. You hardly know a person after two weeks. Hell, some days I wonder if I really know my kids or my wife of
twenty years. Maybe you're making the right choice. But you're definitely not doing it in the right way. Now, that was all I had for you. Your friend should be in the Armory, best not to keep him waiting." The pretenses dropped, Captain McDougall gave Gren a small nod, before looking back to the assortment of maps laid out on the table. No argument was to be given, that much was obvious.
Gren merely bowed his head, his expression never changing between dull professionalism and mild interest. So the captain wasn't dumb enough to not notice the underlying tensions between him and Sapphire, but felt it was necessary for him to comment on it. Was he hoping to change Gren's plan by pointing this out? Because he was going to need to do more than just give a little life story to affect Gren's ambitions.
"I'll take it into consideration. Thank you for your thoughts."As Gren was going to turn to leave, he did feel that he needed to at least respond with his own explanation for his motives. Though there wasn't time to participate in a debate, so Gren made his point short and deliberately vague, so the captain can mull on it.
"How many second chances should someone get? If they can't do it right the first time, how many failures does it take before it gets better?" Actually that's something he should be asking everyone in his team. But once again, now was not the time to be worrying about leadership. There are bigger fish to fry, perhaps even literally, and Gren was more interested in trying to create that revolver-harpoon gun he just thought about.
Nodding at Gren's response, Captain McDougall took a moment to fiddle with Gren's Scroll, finding the function that allowed him to see Gren's view onscreen. "You know...perhaps you should have gone on reconnaissance. Not much good I'm getting from this, here, but I'll trust your team members to relay what they find. Good luck, now. In all your endeavors."
-=-=Sapphire and Abel=-=-
Swansong's leader had very little time to whistle. Abel appeared to her almost instantly, the words exchanged with the other members very few if not nonexistent. Out of the three men on the team, Abel almost certainly objected to her leadership the least. He did not particularly relish her power or company, but acknowledged her ability to get things done and would cooperate willingly with her for the good of the team. Gren's remark to him garnered an interpretation of
don't let anything bad happen to her, which the guardian felt lay right up his alley. When he drew up beside her, glancing down from his great height at her pale features. They gave a slight impression of being taken aback. "What?" He said. "I'm here. Let's get going."
Sapphire's song stopped abruptly as the guardian appeared behind her. She'd expected them to be a bit longer inside and was mildly surprised that he came out so quickly. At his suggestion that they start there recon as soon as possible she nodded. "The beach where Daisy disappeared is over there." She said gesturing to the area. "We'd best get a move on."
"Gotcha." Without delay, Abel set off in Sapphire's indicated direction, walking ahead of his partner to confront first whatever dangers presented themselves to them. Since the bluenette's game plan revolved around stealth, Abel resolved to be the distraction and main fighting force in one, and in order to accomplish this without fear of aural penetration rummaged around in his pockets. From them he produced the earplugs and installed them quickly, making sure their rubber heads were securely lodged in their respective orifices. To be sure, they wouldn't block all noise, but should he be bombarded with the Siren's song he felt confident of his ability to resist.
The guardian's long, purposeful strides set a quick pace, and the two arrived at the beach in very short order.
As the pair arrived at the beach, they would be able to notice a very clearly labelled "DO NOT ENTER BEACH: BY ORDER OF TRAWL POLICE DEPARTMENT" sign near a building that appeared to be used to serve food. Above it was a sign that said "Sandy's Sandy Shack", apparently the name of the store.
Facing the water, they would notice a series of large rocks about a half-mile to their right, along with a large dune system further up the beach in that area. If they consulted their Scrolls, the pair would notice that this area to their right was an approximate match for the map they'd been given. Other than this area, the shop, and a few lifeguard towers, the beach was empty and devoid of mankind's interactions.
Sapphire looked around. According to her scroll they had arrived at the sight of the attack but from all visual signs there had been very little in the way of human disturbances in this area in quite some time. Sapphire turned to Abel. "I think I should take point on this. Miss Rookwood said that Daisy went into a cave system among those rocks over there. My semblance gives me an advantage in staying hidden, especially in dark places. You stand guard at the cave entrance, if I run into anything that warrants investigation or I encounter trouble then I'll text you on your scroll and I'll be engaging noise dampeners so if you need to call me back or have some more information then use your scroll." Sapphire closed her eyes and was about to activate her semblance when she thought that perhaps she should pay some mind to her teammates well being. "I'd look away if I were you, this tends to give people headaches if they're not used to it."
"Guard." Repeated Abel. Not exactly exciting, but not bad either. He nodded in affirmation to his leader. "Can do." With a raised eyebrow he watched her close her eyes, only to stop and issue a warning. "Ah, thanks," he replied, and averted his gaze.
Sapphire closed her eyes again and felt something akin to a click inside her head. When she opened her eyes everything was every so slightly out of focus. Not enough to impair her in any serious way but enough that it was noticeable. Of course once her eyes adjusted to this she was always surprised by how clear everything looked when she finally turned it off.
Sapphire briefly glanced at Abel. Since she was only using her semblance passively he would still be able to perceive her but if he kept looking her ability to remain undetected would send mixed signals to Abel's brain. Some that said she was there, some that said she wasn't. The usual result for most people was a mildly blurry image that wasn't quite stable though it varied from person to person. Some people were more or less immune to it while others it gave glaring headaches to when they tried to keep her in focus. She'd once met an epileptic boy who had experienced a seizure brought on by her semblance, not unlike strobe lights.
Curious, Abel glanced back to where his partner last stood. Only a couple of seconds' worth of staring at her location sent miniature lances of pain through his brain, and the guardian looked away. "Yeesh," he intoned. "Serious jamming you got there." Paying no further heed to her ability, he strolled toward the point where he'd set up.
Sapphire climbed over the rocks and disappeared from sight into the cave.
The cave was rather dark as Sapphire crept along it and the rocks of the wall she touched were slick with water. This wasn't really a problem for Sapphire, she'd always had fairly developed night vision and her training to fight blind because of her semblance side effects applied not too differently in near darkness as they did to total blindness. The Cave she was surprised to see was actually quite roomy. After she had climbed over the rocks and into the structure itself it had widened out, perhaps eight to ten feet in height, with a width at least dozen feet from one side to the other, Even someone of Gren's stature could move about almost unimpaired.
As far as Sapphire could tell the cave was a natural formation which made it the perfect hiding place for a Grimm that wished to remain hidden. After about three minutes of walking the path that Sapphire was following branched in two: one diagonally to the right, and one to the left. She didn't have enough information to make an informed decision about which way the Siren may have gone and any indications left in the cave by the singing Grimm were obscured by the darkness and the hard stone surfaces. Without any other option Sapphire turned down the right path. If it turned out that she was mistaken she could always retrace her steps and take the other one. She just hoped that this cave system didn't turn out to be a labyrinth.
With that thought in mind she took out her scroll and set it into a sort of map making mode. It didn't actually have the capabilities to map the area like an underground surveyor but Sapphire set it to record her own path, distances and direction and every time she encountered another divergence in the tunnel she could mark that part of her path so that she would know where she had and hadn't been and also be able to find her way back.
As Sapphire began to head down the right path, the cave slowly began to widen even further as it started to slope downwards, taking the girl further below the surface. Though Sapphire couldn't hear it through her bluetooth noise cancellers the sound of flowing water had become audible, bouncing off the cave walls all around her, along with an occasional
"SCRTCH SCRTCH" noise that she remained oblivious to. Sapphire was forced to use the cave wall to guide herself down the path for though her night vision was fairly well developed there was so little light in this cave that she couldn't make out more than basic shapes. As she walked along her hands dragging over the side of the cave wall her fingers touched small moving things with hard shells. In fright she pulled her hand back before her rational mind sorted things out. It was just insects crawling along the walls of the cave. Not a surprising feature this deep underground, some of them were darting in and out of various crevices in the walls too small for anything larger than a finger to enter.
Sapphire swapped to the opposite wall and kept walking. She wasn't afraid of the bugs naturally but in this dark she didn't want to risk crushing any of them by accident as at the moment she couldn't tell if they were poisonous or not. Even if they were unable to notice her. As she drew closer to the sound of running water Sapphire started to feel it in the cave walls. It was subtle but she could feel a soft vibration running through the rock that felt like the natural flow of an underground river. Soon enough the flowing body of water revealed itself on Sapphire's right, with a small formation of stalagmites growing near the underground riverbed, stalactites hanging above them. What little light persisted in the cave sparkled off the water giving Sapphire a better sense of her surroundings. Surreptitiously she took a couple steps closer to the left wall and away from the flowing water. Though she was not actually afraid of it at this distance it made her more nervous than she would care to admit to anyone. She could remember the sensations of fear and panic that had caused her to almost drown in the past and she was in no hurry to ever relive that kind of terror.
Unbeknownst to Sapphire whose ears were still blocked the
"SCRTCH SCRTCH" noises had slowly became more frequent, but the sound also seemed...warped. As though something were garbling its source.
After several minutes the tunnel that Sapphire was walking down opened up, the little river on her right spilling into a great underground lake. With the large expanse of space before her Sapphire was able to see much clearer. The water stirred rhythmically at the point where the river entered it. Small creatures swam inside the lake creating tiny ripples in the water. Near the trainee Huntress's feet a minuscule, pale salamander crawled. At first Sapphire took no notice until she realized something that made her squat down and examine the creature more closely. Sure enough it was missing something very important to most animals: eyes. Sapphire supposed that in such darkness being able to actually see was more of a hindrance to most animals than it was a help.
Stalactites hung above the lake, occasionally dripping water down onto its surface but without more light that was really all that Sapphire could make out. Rather than head back and report the little that she had discovered Sapphire decided to try something rash that in retrospect was likely a bad idea. She pulled a high powered flashlight out of her bag and set it on the ground before turning it on. The beam flashed over the lake spreading light over a comparably small portion of the cave but it illuminated much to the human eye. Sapphire was aware that this would likely attract something that preferred the darkness but since she wasn't holding the flashlight her semblance would still keep her hidden.
Almost as if the water was alive, it began to shift in response to the light, the small currents disappearing. Within seconds, the form of the water began to break.
And out came the Siren. Crawling slowly from the surface of the water, the large serpentine Grimm stared at the light which had intruded on its rest.
Sapphire stared frozen as the Grimm surfaced, slithering out of the water like a leviathan. Well she'd found the intel she was looking for, now all she had to do was make it back to the surface. Retreating from the situation would not be a difficult matter. The Siren was an aquatic Grimm which meant that it's land mobility was not optimal. As long as Sapphire cleared the point were the underground river and the tunnel intersected the Siren would be unable to follow her easily.
For a moment Sapphire considered charging the creature. She was at the moment immune to its song and without that a Siren
was comparable to a single Ursa in terms of raw power. Barring any unforeseen complications Sapphire could deal with it on her own without putting her team in any unnecessary danger. What stopped her from drawing her weapons was an image of Gren's face, of what he would say if she came back having dealt with the threat without consulting any of them.
No respect for us or what it means to act as a unit. She's not capable of working with us. We should take this to Ozpin, get her reassigned.Sighing with disgust at that thought Sapphire decided that it was time to return to the surface. She
did need a team to graduate Beacon regardless of if they stayed together once it was done. At the academy they were being tested not just on their ability to fight but their ability to work together. It wouldn't look good on her transcript if she continued to play the lone wolf.
Sapphire began to back away from the Siren slowly. She didn't want to break the illusion her semblance was casting as it could still traverse the river to catch her. As Sapphire was retreating she pulled her scroll out of her pocket and turned on the sweeping picture mode of the camera. Since the light from the flashlight was illuminating the area she didn't need the flash. With a picture of the underground lake for Gren to examine Sapphire started to back up more quickly trying her best not to disturb any loose rocks.
Cocking its head to the side as it smelled the familiar scent of human, the Siren paused for a moment, before cocking it to the other side and moving to where Sapphire had been moments before. Lowering its head to the ground, the Siren looked along the path Sapphire had taken before seeming to pause for a second.
Sapphire swore under her breath. The major weakness of her semblance had always been smell. She could disguise her sight and any sound she made with ease but she'd never mastered how to keep beasts and faunus from smelling her trail. The Siren might not be able to track her exact location instantly but it could follow her scent right too her. She'd been foolish not to consider this.
And then it
screeched. The sound reverberated off of the cavern walls, filling the cave with a deafeningly loud level of noise. Sapphire would only be able to escape without severe ear damage due to her ear protection. Pausing for a few seconds, the Siren screeched again, this time backing away from Sapphire and moving towards the lake.
The screech of the Siren reverberated around the cave causing the rocks to tremble. Even though Sapphire couldn't hear the screech she could feel the sound waves travel through her body like a punch. It knocked the wind out of her system and she had to hurriedly gulp in air as she turned and ran for the tunnel she'd used to get here. Her semblance was not as effective on beings that operated on a primal level. In humans it acted on the person's natural ability to discount or write off anything they weren't expecting or would have trouble accepting. That same thought process didn't exist in creature such as Grimm which made it infinitely more difficult to remain undetected.
The rocks seemed to have been loosened by the roar of the Siren as it searched for her as she could feel little avalanches of dirt give out below her feet. The cave was obviously stable but it made running for the exit much more difficult.
As Sapphire started to run, her illusion broke, giving the Siren pause. Indeed, the human it smelled was present. However, the Siren was the least of Sapphire's worries. Unseen, Beowolves, Salamanders and Creeps began to scurry out of crevices all around the lake, charging towards Sapphire with angry cries.
Further towards the surface, in the fork of the cave that Sapphire hadn't taken, a pair of Ursa awakened, roused from their slumber by the Siren's screeches. Growling angrily, one Ursa moved to the surface, while the other made its way deeper into the cave, on a direct intercept course with Sapphire's rapid escape.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." Sapphire cursed under her breath. She'd known the Siren was down her but she'd never expected this place to be such a nest of Grimm. As she ran it became apparent that the enemy was on all sides. From the light of her torch she could see the form of a large Ursa barreling down the cave towards her. Sapphire knew she had less than ten seconds before she was converged upon. With a rapid motion she pulled out her scroll and texted
SOS into the group chat. Then she pulled out her shotguns and assembled her polearm before she took off charging at the oncoming Ursa.
Just as she had with Oswald in their first sparring match moments before she would collide with the giant beast Sapphire planted the staff into the ground and used it to propel herself into the air and over the Ursa's head landing squarely on its back. The polearm slipped from her grasp as she landed on the beast and without her melee option Sapphire clamped her wrists together and grabbed the hilts of Somnus and Melinoe as they assembled. She activated the boosters on the back and as they fired she stabbed the blades deep into the Ursa's spine. These were designed to cut through aura and with a little bit of help from the boosters an Ursa's hide wouldn't be much different.
Roaring as Sapphire dodged above it, the Ursa failed to turn in time, the blue-haired girl's daggers lodged themselves into its hide. Turning to swipe at her, the Ursa let out another roar as other creatures of Grimm continued their approach.
Meanwhile, on the surface, the second Ursa managed to reach the entrance to the cavern, coming out into the light. Upon seeing Abel standing there, it let loose a mighty cry and charged.
The beast hadn't far to charge. Even through his earplugs Abel heard the potent bellow of the Siren, echoing up from the cave and into the crisp seaside air. Guessing correctly that his partner had poked the proverbial tiger, he approached the gaping dark orifice into which Sapphire had delved. When a mad Ursa erupted from the entrance, he quickly stepped back, but retreated no further. From the looks of it, no other Grimm followed suit quick enough to reinforce the forerunner.
Bear in a sea cave. Weird, he mused, disinterested, before waiting for the creature to lumber into range. Rumbling like a construction vehicle just heating up, the Ursa reared up to swipe downward with a heavy paw, evidently believing its strength to be the match of Abel's.
Unimpressed, the guardian let go of his bladestaff with his left and delivered a crushing backhand to the paw midswipe, using the metal of his vambrace to add extra kick to his own worthy force. With the Ursa off-balance and open, Abel brought his right leg up in an axekick to the creature's unarmored jaw, snapping its head back. From there, he smoothly transitioned into a straight Ampere thrust that tore easily through the spiteful beast's throat and out the back of its thick, fatty neck. Like twin lamps its eyes went dark, and the weighty corpse disintegrated into black ash on the coastal breeze. He remembered joking to his father about his talent for fighting Ursas in a video call a week ago,
"They're basically dumber, slower, short-range versions of me. Of course they're easy." With no one around, Abel had no qualms about smiling a grim grin before penetrating the dark hole himself.
Sapphire activated the dust cartridges loaded inside the daggers: Fire. The blades heated to degrees on par with the flames of Hell as Sapphire slashed them upwards before pulling them free, the heated blades easily coming free from the thick hide.
Sapphire backflipped off the Ursa before it could retaliate landing next to her fallen polearm. She collapsed the daggers and used her foot to kick the melee weapon into the air before grabbing it with both hands and firing two ice rounds at the Ursa. Then she pulled a dust capsule from her bag, with no time to check what type it was, she threw it as hard as she could at the oncoming horde of Grimm.
As the Dust capsule broke, all of the Dust inside activated, filling the cavern with a series of vibrations to rival those of the Siren's shrieks. The cave began to shake, while the Grimm were able to mostly shrug off the effects of the Dust. Small chunks of dirt and rock shook themselves loose from the cave's walls and roof, but the cave managed not to collapse in on itself, thankfully. Undeterred by the attack, the small horde of Grimm charged on, intent to destroy the interloping human.
Sapphire was more than a little grateful for her hearing protection as the sound wave capsule went off though she was a little disappointed with its lack of effect. She resolved to talk to the designers when this was finished.
Her polearm was sharp and her mind was clear. She charged at the oncoming Grimm with a vengeance. Two of the Beowulves lunged at her and Sapphire cut them down clean their bodies dissolving behind her.
The Beowulves were child's play to someone of Sapphire's skill, and they seemed to know it as they backed away from her to let the Salamanders approach. Three advanced to face her, forming a line to block her from their brethren. As though they all knew her inner fears each unleashed a torrent of water from their mouths intent on forcing Sapphire to the ground.
Torrents of water didn't induce the same mind numbing fear that being thrown into deep water did but even so Sapphire's heart skipped a beat as she saw the oncoming attack. The first thought on her mind was to run, no plan, no strategy just run. She forced herself to think and in that moment a desperate though came to her. Sapphire pulled one of the fire capsules out of her bag and threw it as hard as she could at the torrents of water shooting from the Salamander's mouths. The fire collided violently with the water and just like with ice the water vaporized filling the air around Sapphire with a thick fog. Knowing that it would soon dissipate and well aware that with only one fire capsule left she'd couldn't afford to let the Salamanders get off another shot Sapphire charged.
She couldn't be sure where exactly the Salamanders were so guessing the distance as best she could just as she had with the Ursa Sapphire planted her staff into the ground and vaulted into the air. The fog was too thick for her to see accurately but she could see the shadows of the Salamader's as she flew through the air. She landed again in total obscurity and slashed behind her with the polearm balanced on her shoulder. Then she spun round and fired two electric shells where she believed the Salamanders to be standing.
As the cave filled with fog and Sapphire landed behind the Salamanders, the Grimm turned to meet her, more finely attuned to detecting prey than their human counterpart. The Beowulves were held at bay by Sapphire's slash, but as she fired at the Salamanders, stunning one of them, the others pressed the attack. Beowulf claws from behind, and a lunging Salamander bite from the front.
This situation was the very reason that Sapphire wielded a weapon that was both double bladed and double sided. Her polearm flew through the air like lightning cutting down Beowulves behind her and slashing at the Salamanders in the front. She twirled her double blades weapon as she danced through the air using as many acrobatic moves as she could to stay ahead of the Beowulves claws and the jets of water being fired at her by the Salamaders. The Beowulves fell one by one as he weapon pierced their hides and their bodies dissolved into the black goo it must have originated from.
The Salamanders were proving themselves much tougher opponents. They were heavily armoured but despite this quick on their feet. Each hit she managed to land seemed to simply bounce off and she couldn't get close enough to one to land on it before it scuttled away to continue its attack.
At that moment a yell from the passage to the surface announced that Sapphire's backup had arrived. The sudden rush of air brought along by the guardian's hasty entrance ate away at some of the fog, but not nearly enough to give him a complete picture of what lay before him. This much was certain, at least: his teammate needed his help against marauding Grimm. Unable to see too far in front of him, Abel looked down instead, and concluded from the moist shimmer on the stone that the cave floor was soaked. Perfect.
Two shapes dashed from the murky cloud, resolving themselves to be Creeps. Abel did not bat an eye; to him this species of Grimm occupied the lowest spot in the creatures' hierarchy, less powerful than Beowolves and less numerous and irritating than Ratatosks. He stepped quickly to the side to avoid a lunging bite, then again as the second tried the same. Then Abel lunged, thrusting the Ampere forward with great power, and it pierced straight through one to stab the other. One started dissolving, and the other hopped backward before jumping again. Deprived for the moment of his weapon -a rookie mistake-, the guardian threw up a side kick to try and knock the Creep out of the air, but it chomped down on his armored leg. Unable to get through the metal, it could only try and bite harder as Abel retrieved his weapon, hefted it, and then speared it through the head.
By that time, more company arrived. A Beowolf leaped out at him, swiping at his head, and Abel found himself surprisingly hard-pressed to block in time.
I hope I'm helping her not die, he thought as he poked the Beowolf's exposed torso, waited for it to attack again, and then repeated the process. The third opening proved fatal for the beast, and the guardian cut through its heart. He looked down into the cave to see that the fog was beginning to clear, though the peril Sapphire was in had yet to diminish. "Hey!" Though he immediately moved forward to help, he did not relish the prospect of three Salamanders in a confined space with uneven terrain. One trip and either or them might be mincemeat.
Found the Siren, and now fighting for our lives. He jumped into the fray.
Wonder if the others are being as productive.-=-=Gren and Shiro =-=-
Standing in front of the Armory, Shiro curiously peered at the assortment of weapons and equipment that hung on the walls and lay on the shelves. He was mentally kicking himself for not thinking of carrying a different type of Dust Shotshell for this mission. They'd more than likely be near or in water so his Fire-element Dust was almost useless to have. First thing on his grocery list was as many Wind and Lightning element shotshells as he could get, that was for sure. Though he preferred his special blue-colored Fire Dust, he couldn't be so stubborn as to not accept the benefits of using different Dust types. A pressurized wind shotshell would allow him to still use his boosted attacks underwater. An electric shotshell would surely give him a damage boost against any aquatic Grimm or other nasties near bodies of water. As he thought about what else he could use, Shiro reminded himself that he could possibly reverse the effects of his own Semblance to deafen himself. Instead of having to cobble together a prototype pair of ear protection specifically designed for his ears. He didn't know why he didn't mention it in the first place, but he chalked it up to him being simply forgetful. Then again, he only ever really tried to 'debuff' himself once and wasn't pleased with the results. It almost made him feel a little bad for the people he used his Semblance against in a negative way. Maybe Gren would have some better opinions if his Semblance was a more viable option against the Sirens. He hoped Gren had a mirror. He probably did, knowing that junk rat.
Tapping his chin, Shiro walked up to the window of the Armory and undid his bandoleer belts that carried his ammunition. Laying them on the little shelf, he slid his belts of blue shotshells forward.
"Ah, half Wind-element shotshells and half Lightning-element shotshells please. If you don't mind."He flashed a bright grin at the Armory custodian.
Counting the shells on the bandolier carefully before writing the number down and removing each of them, the custodian placed the shells near Shiro. "Hang onto those. I'll get you the rest right now." Turning away, the gentleman gathered the requisitioned ammunition and looked at Shiro. "Would you prefer to load them or can I?" His tone was one that suggested he'd prefer to control the situation, but more in a fashion of routine than mistrust.
Shiro briefly glanced upward at the ceiling before quickly making his decision. He completely understood where the armory custodian was coming from. Raising his gloved hands, he made a little waving motion implying that it was quite alright for the man to do however he please. Shiro didn't want to step on his toes after all.
"Ah, it's quite alright sir. You go on right ahead I don't mind. But, if I may? Could I have one belt be completely one type and the second a different type? I'd much appreciate that."Nodding at the trainee Huntsman, the Armory attendant began loading the rounds into the belts.
At some point Gren returned. The armory was both unimpressive and surprising. Unimpressive considering that Gren's own weapon locker had more hardware and bullets available, but surprising since it was quite well stocked for a small sea-side town. Then again they did have to take on a Megaladeus at some point, so perhaps they simply upgraded for the occasion. Gren spotted Shiro talking to the armory custodian, seemingly bartering with him.
"Yo Shiro." Gren approached the smaller faunas, looking over the custodian.
"Gearing up?"As the attendant finished, he grabbed the newly loaded belts and fastened them around his waist. Ears twitching, Shiro turned as he was half-way through fastening his second belt to spot Gren. Smiling, he nodded in the affirmative.
"Ah, yeah. I figured that the ammo I had would be a little ineffective so I swapped 'em out." Shiro turned back to peer into the window of the Armory and quickly thanked the attendant before focusing his attention back on his friend.
"Oh, I've been meaning to tell you something. I don't know why I never mentioned it before, but I can actually use my Semblance in an opposite way to dull my own senses. I'll just need a mirror or something reflective to be able to do it. Ya think that'll work better than trying to find or make special hearing protection for me?"Gren raised an eyebrow at Shiro's mentioning of his semblance. The green faunas figured that Shiro could affect himself with his semblance, but he didn't think he'd need a mirror for it.
"I think I could rig something up. Anyways let's get to work. I've been given permission by the captain to use whatever I need from the armory. I see there's the usual under-water fighting equipment, harpoon guns and such, so I'll be using those as well as some boat gadgets. Know anything else that might help us, Shiro?"Shiro shrugged, he honestly couldn't think of much else for them to bring to arm themselves properly. He thought briefly for a moment to make doubly sure he considered everything. An imaginative light bulb flickered to life above his head as he remembered another idea.
"Ah, do you think the Siren's song effect is immediate or takes time to work? I ask because should we wear hearing protection beforehand or after we discover a Siren? My Semblance won't be much help if I use it after a Siren has already gotten into my noggin to fool around. Know what I mean?""Wear them before hand. Your hearing makes you more susceptible since you don't have as many filters as I do. That being said, if the siren is near and doing it's thing, you'd be the first to know... Hmm..." This was something that Gren was considering. Allowing Shiro to be their "Canary" of sorts in order to let them know ahead of time when they were getting closer to the Siren. Gren's own sound filters weren't prepped to do something as complex as being able to both pick up the Siren's song and leave him immune to her singing. Either he can hear it or he can't.
"Anyways, I wouldn't concern yourself over that right now. We need to make sure your lil ears won't turn on you, so I'll be making you a set of headgear to help you with that. That being said... You could always use your semblance." As Gren spoke to his partner he was also working around the armory, picking up useful stuff and getting them ready for crafting. The first thing he picked up was a harpoon gun nearly as big as Shiro himself.
Shiro shrugged again, but nodded in silent agreement. As Gren worked, he didn't really know what to do or how to help. Growing immediately bored, Shiro began to linger about curiously looking at and touching various things. He had decent blacksmithing and forging ability, with some basic knowledge of mechanics and electronics. But, nothing along the level of expertise of Gren. Until his friend voiced his need for assistance, Shiro would just impatiently wait around as he poked his nose into anything that remotely intrigued him.
Gren had finished laying out a series of weapons and equipment he needed to work on. Where he alone, he'd start only on the basic things he could finish off quickly and were more essentially to his operations. But because he had Shiro, he could delegate the tasks to him while Gren worked on more special projects on himself.
"Shiro, could you help me with these?"One of the first projects was a harpoon gun. Simply enough, he needed Shiro to put together a functional grip and trigger, since the base of the harpoon gun was meant to be attached to boats and used on whales. The second project was more subtle; Gren had amassed various knife-like metal spikes, as well as a canister of oxygen and various small canisters about the size of a battery. Combining these things together would allow Shiro to make Wasp Knives; blades that when they are stabbed into an enemy, can release the gas inside the hilt in order to displace internal organs and cause an internal freezing effect. Or for aquatic Grimm, force them onto the surface. The last thing Gren needed Shiro to do was simply to make sea mines. However Gren's sea mines were considerably more crude, consisting of metal barrels, a mixture of explosive agents, igniting agents, and shrapnel. Hardly professional explosives, they would be better used as roadside bombs, but at least they'd be water-sealed.
"If you need help with any just ask me. I'll be working on some things myself over here." Gren seemed to be working on something involving floodlights and speakers, and he seemed quite focused on it. He whistled a jaunty tune to keep himself focused as he started breaking things apart.
Shiro nodded, happy to be finally doing something productive. The tasks Gren assigned him seemed a little too simple and easy to complete, it was slightly insulting. But, brushing aside his feelings he got to work. The first task to create a grip and trigger for Gren's harpoon gun was the fastest to complete. Already familiar with how trigger mechanisms worked, Shiro walked into the Armory and browsed the firearms that already sat on the shelf. Taking a few of them back, Shiro field stripped them and played a sort of mix-and-match game with the parts he had. Most manufacturers followed an industry standard, to allow for parts commonality between models of common and popular weapons. Logistically, it saved a lot of time and money especially on the consumer's end. Proprietary parts tended to not sell well and were expensive to make and sell anyways. So, Shiro was simply discovering which parts fit the best onto Gren's harpoon gun. After finding the one that fit the best, he ground down and sanded off material to perfect it. Done. Easy enough.
The next task Shiro had to scratch his head at a little bit. Removing his Scroll, Shiro tried to search for diagrams and video clips of exactly how 'Wasp Knives' worked. He'd heard of them before, sure. Even seen them in action against some poor and unfortunate melons, but he was never curious enough to dig into a bit of research regarding them. As he studied up on the wasp knives' design, Shiro glanced over at Gren to see what he was doing and tilted his head slightly. Was his friend making some explosive new sound system that would take the music industry by storm? Shaking his head from side to side, he frowned a little.
"Uh, Gren? Are you making explosives?"A little redundant and obvious, but Shiro was the kind of guy to be like that.
"Wouldn't those be a bit...dangerous to everyone if we used those underwater?"Of course explosives were dangerous. Shiro had hoped that someone as intelligent as Gren would understand that using explosive devices underwater were far more lethal. Not just against foes but against any living thing in the waters at the time. Shiro couldn't remember the exact science, but he knew it was bad news to be underwater when a bomb went off. Something about the water molecules amplifying the force of the explosive and causing the resulting shockwave to essentially crush your soft and squishy organs into mush. He knew it was almost certain death. Internal organ ruptures and bleeding was a hell of a thing. Sure, Gren probably would do just fine with all of his artificial body parts and armor, but his teammates wouldn't have that luxury. Unless...Gren intended to include suicide bombing into his list of potential plans.
"Since my rockets won't function well underwater, I'll have to make due. There is some risks involved of course, but obviously I won't be placing these near us. Once Sapphire and Abel come back with more intel, I'll see if I can't set these bombs up at possible escape routes the siren would try to take. That way if we can't kill it wherever it's at, these bombs ought to finish the job. " By this point Shiro could plainly see that Gren had attached the floodlights to a sort of harness about Gren's size, which he intended to wear over his armor. He even tried it on, though it was an awkward fit and needed more work.
"Fighting the siren in the water is the last thing I want us to do. Fighting it in it's element all together is bad, even for our skills. If we can't kill it, it would at least have the advantage of making a quick escape. These bombs will make sure that it can't escape, but if it comes to a point where they're needed things might not be going so well for us either."Gren plugged in the floodlights into a compartment in his chest, causing all the lights on the harness to shine with gross incandescence. It was bright enough that even Gren needed to divert his eyes, but slowly his eyes grew accustomed to the brightness. Now he just needed to make sure the harness was snug.
Shiro's ears twitched upon mention of Gren's rockets. An idea popped into his head but he waited for Gren to finish talking before voicing it. So Gren intended on using the bombs as control points, as traps. That made a bit more sense but it seemed a little like overkill. Shiro chuckled at the thought. 'Overkill'. Hell, this was Gren he was thinking about. The dude practically screamed 'Overkill' just by looking at the hulking guy as he walked into a room. Then again Shiro used a massive Shield that doubled as a giant explosive axe, so he wasn't really one to talk. The floodlight harness Gren was fitting to his body confused him a little though, what purpose was that for? Shiro and Gren were both faunus and he knew most faunus had enhanced night vision. Not to mention that Gren probably had some tech in his armor that enhanced that even further so he didn't even have the slightest idea why Gren would want to skyline himself as a walking light show. Maybe to act as a beacon of light for their human comrades? Shiro chuckled again. He wasn't sure.
On the subject of fighting Grimm in the water, he already had a bit of experience with that and was probably the best equipped for underwater combat. Not that his paws had webbing, but purely because of his own natural swimming skill and strength. When Gren plugged in the light harness to turn it on, Shiro winced in pain and had to look away. Shaking his head and waiting for the starbursts in his vision to disappear, Shiro raised his forearm to shield his sensitive eyes from the lights as he tried to look at Gren and say his piece. Now was a good time for him to voice his ideas.
"Can't you just convert your rockets into something akin to torpedoes? Like remove the propulsion systems and replace them with some sort of underwater drive or engine? You could also convert them to air-to-surface missiles, couldn't you? Like fire them upwards to have them dive straight down into the ocean to take out any nasties like that? Just an idea. Gotta ask though, what's with the light show boss? Turn that stuff off, it's giving me a headache."Shutting off the floodlights and trying to adjust to the following dimness, Gren chuckled at the idea of converted his rockets into torpedoes. While technically possible, the armory didn't have the things he needed for that to work, and it'd be too time consuming to do with all the rockets he had. He'd need to spend the whole night, or at least a good few hours, dismantling his rockets and putting them into a suitable shell that would flow through water, as well as rig himself pump-jets to propel those torpedoes instead of the conventional chemical propellant that his rockets currently used.
"That's uh... A little bit beyond my abilities, and what I have to work with. Not to mention that even if I had torpedoes, The God Eater isn't suited for underwater combat. It's a tough girl, but I don't want to risk damaging her too much by filling her with water. Hence why I'll be needing that huge harpoon gun and the knives."Gren then proceeded to put the harness back onto himself, trying to fit it once more. He was getting close.
"Sorry for the lights. They're multi-purpose. Obviously Abel and Sapphire will need help seeing in the dark or underwater, but also to distract the grimm. As you might have guessed, I'm making all these weapons because The God Eater won't be effective underwater. Thus I have to compensate with other weapons and tactics. With these lights the Grimm will be targeting me, which makes things easier since I won't have to worry about them aiming for you, Abel, or Sapphire. And if they happen to blind the grimm too, awesome. I'll be making some specialized googles for you and the others to accommodate."Once Gren had the harness properly fitted the harness, there were only a few other projects left. There was Shiro's earmuffs, and a few things that Gren wanted finished if possible. What he wanted done was not simple however, even for him. Daresay, it would be game changing if he pulls it off. He'd need Shiro's help, but first thing's first.
"Alright Shiro, if you're done with the weapons, let's get you fitted for those earmuffs. As an added bonus, I'll see if I can't work in a sort of radio receiver so I can talk to you when you're near me."Grasping the basic design, Shiro looked the knives over in his hands. He wasn't quite finished with them to be honest. To buff out any problems he'd have to test them but they could be considered 'done' for now. Setting the knives down, Shiro walked over to Gren and placed his hands on his hips.
"Alright, sounds good. Let's try and hurry up so we can continue on with this mission. Oh, and if you're going to be adding a transceiver in the ear pro, make sure to have the volume set real low. My ears are really sensitive and I don't need someone screaming in my head every bit of the way." Shiro grinned as he scratched at his ears, his tail energetically swaying from side to side.
Gren grinned.
"Alright buddy. Just hold still so I get it properly fitted. Don't want it to be uncomfortable after all." This appeared to be one of the more complex projects, as the sun was slowly setting by the time Gren was finished getting Shiro's measurements and gathering the necessary materials. Shiro's earmuffs ended up looking more like a helmet due to the fact that, unless he doesn't mind compressing them to his head, simply covering them won't make them stable. That and as Gren was measuring Shiro's head, he noticed Shiro's human ears and stud earrings. They were silver and shiny, but Gren couldn't help but feel.... Questionable towards Shiro. Shaking his head, the boar faunas could sometimes forget that certain faunas types had two-sets. Either way, this made a helmet necessary. But that was just fine for Gren; Shiro's helmet could match with Gren's.
As the big faunas was putting together the base of the helmet, he had Shiro on another job. This one was more mechanical in nature. To put it simply, he needed Shiro to create an underwater jetpack for Gren. As he explains,
"I swim like a dead jellyfish. Too heavy and I won't be able to generate enough push to keep myself afloat. I'd have to... Well, remove most of my armor and heavier cybernetics if I want to even try swimming. And that's not a good idea. With this I'll at least be able to go in a semi-straight direction if I end up underwater, which will be helpful if I like, fall to the bottom of the ocean or something."Shiro frowned severely as Gren started to assemble his headgear on him. He hated head coverings and protective headwear of almost any sort. Grunting and groaning slightly, it was clear that what Gren came up with was uncomfortable. Anything that touched his feline ears and put weight on them and his head was a big fat red 'Nope' in his book. Cocking an eyebrow at Gren's next assigned task, his eyes started scanning around the armory.
"Okay, first. Whatever you're placing on my dome kinda hurts and feels heavy. Secondly, I think you're severely overestimating my technical abilities boss. I don't think I could make you a jetpack in such short time but someone once said 'All that is too complex is unnecessary, and it is simple that is needed.' What you need is something filled with air attached to you for ballast so you can float a little. After that something with enough propulsion underwater to carry you along. Seeing as how this is a police armory near the coastline, I'm sure they have something like an underwater scooter for you that you can pump up on tech steroids." Gren knew what Shiro was talking about but didn't really agree with it. For one thing, those things might not be able to haul someone with his weight unless he supersized it, which is a big endevour on it's own. And he needed some way to keep his hands free so he could fight. He was about to explain this to Shiro when he realized that it actually wasn't a bad idea. It essentially was what he needed. he just needed to figure out a way to stick it on his body fast and easy. And he knew a way.
"Shiro. Get me those water scooters and duct tape. All the duct tape. And super glue."Shiro's ears slowly flattened against his head as his facial expression seemed to sag into a look of horror.
"S-...seriously? L-like you mean...Uhh...Uhm.." Shiro looked around and then back to Gren.
"W-well...alright. Okay, we're doing this." Walking over
to the window of the Armory custodian's window.
"Ah...this is going to sound like an odd request but....Could we borrow your sea scooters, duct tape, and super glue? We'll need all of them." As he waited for the custodian to realize that Shiro was quite serious, Shiro thought of ways to alter the existing ear protection. Maybe just a simple set of ear plugs with a transceiver in them would be more effective than whatever Gren had in mind.
"What." For a moment, that was all that was said. "I...I get the scooters, but...no, ya know what? I don't wanna know." As the custodian went off to get the desired items, he could be heard quietly muttering about "Goddamn Beacon kids taking all our shit. We fought a Megaladeus but do WEEEEE get to play detectives with the god damn water scooters? Noooooo, 'emergency uses only, Quincey', emergencies my ass, there's never an emergency. God damn motherfuckers"
After a minute or two of this, the custodian returned with a clearly fake smile and ALL of their duct tape, super glue, and sea scooters.
ALL OF IT. There had to have been at least a hundred pounds of glue and tape in the various boxes that had been collected. "There you are."
Shiro smiled back and laughed nervously.
"Th-thank you." With outstretched arms, Shiro tried to scoop up as much as he could. A few articles dropped noisily on the ground and Shiro turned his head over his shoulder to Gren.
"Uhh, Gren? I may-" he dropped another roll of tape.
"...-may need some help with th-OOP!" The unevenly distributed weight caused a klutzy moment for Shiro as he tipped over and fell. With a crash, everything he held just buried him. Underneath the supplies, Shiro simple declared his pain.
"...Ow."Walking over to Shiro, Gren lifted his partner to his feet and dusted him off.
"Thanks buddy. I've got a prototype for your helmet, and once we're done we can work on putting all of this together." Showing Shiro the way, Gren had Shiro put on his rebreather before placing the helmet on his head. While bulky and not fitted with any sort of cushions, at least Gren made sure that there was a minimal amount of contact with Shiro's tiger ears. His human ones had a bit of compression, but they'd be softened by cushions once Gren works on the internals.
"How's this Shiro? Just a general shape for now. I'll be using similar materials as the rebreathers to make sure the helmet keeps water out, but don't worry; I'll make sure it's comfortable enough that when you get smacked about the head, it won't hurt."Shiro was still clearly uncomfortable with all of the headgear, but he knew it was all necessary evils he had to cope with.
"I guess this is fine for now, but let's not dilly-dally for too long with the equipment prep. I'm not saying rush, but we don't have the luxury of taking our sweet time. Let's get this show on the road already, boss!" Grinning, he gave Gren a random thumbs-up. It was obvious that he was getting antsy.
"Don't worry about me getting smacked about in the head too much, I've got a thick skull." Looking to the left and right, it was almost as if he knew what he had said would set him up for a stinging remark from Sapphire if she were present. He knew she wasn't there though, for the time being. Turning back to Gren, he smirked and placed his hands on his hips.
"Alright, come on then. Tell me what's left to do and let's get her done!"Once Gren had the information he needed for Shiro's helmet, there was only a few more projects to do: The helmet and the water jetpack.
"Well, you've made those sea mines, right? Otherwise the last thing I need you to do is to attach all those water jets together. It's not the most sophisticated job, but I don't need those aqua jets to be put together very well. My semblance will do the hard part, I just need something that keeps them all together." Gren started working on Shiro's helmet, quickly putting together a new frame and molding the hull using some plastic and a blow torch.
Frowning, Shiro "grumped" and got to work on Gren's last project. Gathering the appropriate materials and setting them neatly in front of him, Shiro sat down cross-legged to begin working. As neatly and cleanly as he could, he started to piece together the water jets. It all felt slap-dash and crude, he wasn't pleased with much of the equipment prep that was being done. Unfortunately, it was logistically impossible to have a mobile workshop with him at all times. He could bring basic smithing tools here and there, but not an entire forge or even a workbench of some sort. Looking over to Gren, he wondered where Gren learned his trade. From what he could tell from his cybernetic parts and organs, the guy was a mechanical and technological genius. And yet, looking at the water jets in his own gloved hands he struggled to understand why everything they were crafting felt like two kids in a playpen slapping together toy bricks and calling their creations ingenious inventions. To be fair, Gren was maybe more like himself than he thought. Maybe he could only really do his best work with the proper materials, equipment, and time. Crudely cramming together some last minute items during a mission hardly seemed like the proper situation to be inventive.
Shaking his head, Shiro shoved all of the doubts of his mind and refocused himself. They would just have to make due with what they have. No use in wasting more precious time fretting over trivial things. What they were making would either work or it wouldn't. He just hoped they would work more than fail. And when they failed to not put a friend's life in jeopardy.
As Gren was in the middle of figuring out how he's suppose to rig a HUD into Shiro's helmet, Gren called out to his partner suddenly.
"So, what's your thoughts about Sapphire?" Gren figured he could try to cannibalize parts from himself, since he always believed in having redundancies for emergencies like this. Whether or not he could do that for a HUD however.... Will certainly test his skills. Gren also noticed that Shiro hasn't made his sea mines yet, and with what little time they had Gren was going to have to improvise even further.
Shiro froze, becoming a tiger-sicle when Gren suddenly inquired about his thoughts on their oh-so-glorious team leader. Blinking furiously, Shiro's eyes nervously looked up at Gren and back to the project he was working on repeatedly. Whatever else Shiro was supposed to do, was all but cleared from his mind and obliterated from memory. Clearing his throat, he willed himself to continue on his tasks.
"What do you mean?" Shiro struggled, but he managed to maintain his composure somewhat. He hadn't mentioned to Gren his intentions to potentially usurp Sapphire from her position and either take it for himself or have someone else fill her seat. Or...had he? Damn his atrocious lack of memory.
"She...is our appointed team leader and...she has blue hair. What of her?" Shiro stated almost matter-of-factly. A slight inflection could be detected on the word 'appointed' indicating Shiro had deeper thoughts on the subject.
Hooking Shiro's helmet directly up to Gren's own head in order to calibrate the HUD, Gren spoke clearly, but didn't look directly at Shiro (since he was preoccupied with something else).
"How do you think of her as a leader? Or even just as a person? I mean, it's no secret that none of us like her. Abel might, though I suspect it's only because she's his partner and Abel... Well Abel is a cool guy like that." Gren didn't want to say that Abel was a pushover when it comes to girls or people in authority. He didn't quite know the guardian well enough to say something like that, but Gren had his suspicions. And while Gren and Sapphire has had their tiffs, Gren was almost certain that the animosity between Shiro and Sapphire was far more volatile. At least Sapphire was aware of Gren's own machinations. But Shiro was something of a wild card, even to Gren. As far as the orc knew, Shiro was just another one of Gren's loyal pawns, albeit one that Gren is particularly fond of.
Shiro attempted to look as busy as he could, but to be frank he wasn't getting anywhere with what he was doing. Why in the hell did Gren have to bring Sapphire up? Every time someone mentioned her or he so much as even saw her he felt a vile stirring in his guts and foul sour taste rising in the back of his throat. Why was Gren asking this now? What did he have to gain from asking Shiro these obviously uncomfortable questions. He tries his best to be a good person around her and give her the chance to be viewed in a positive light in his mind. But he couldn't. She always seemed to bring out the worst parts of himself. She always managed to dreg up uncomfortable feelings and memories of a faded and blurry past. Try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to really 'befriend' her, not that either party cared or was interested in a friendship. So, what could he say to Gren to sufficiently satisfy his question?
"Ah...Sh-...She's...a leader, yes. And...she's definitely a person."Answer? No opinion, no comment.
Shiro was hiding something. That did make Gren curious. Shiro was a nice enough guy, but he wore his heart on his sleeve. While he may not have been the easiest guy to understand, normally he made it pretty clear what was on his mind. But now he was trying to hide something. Perhaps something... Dark? Then again, Shiro did manage to hide the fact he was on meds up until recently. So it only made sense to Gren that Shiro has his own secrets. A secret for a secret then.
"I'm thinking of taking control of leadership away from Sapphire, one way or another. Perhaps it's too early to say, but honestly I just don't trust her judgement, ability, or intentions. The way she looks at us... It's like we're just tools to her. And our little problems are malfunctions, you know? Like we're just things. That makes me uncomfortable, more so considering... You know..."Gren casually detached one of his arms and waved it at Shiro, emphasising his existence as an amalgamation of cybernetic parts. Reattaching the arm Gren got back to work on Shiro's helmet but continued to speak.
"Frankly I don't know if it's something that can be done officially. Short of Sapphire resigning or dying, I don't think I can just go up to Ozpin and demand a change in leadership. But I'll do it without the title if I have to. You, me, and Abel get along well enough that we work well together. And I think for Sapphire to be a better leader and person, she needs to realize that right now she is a complete bitch. And if she does realize that, then she needs to work on it."Shiro's expression blanked. His ears twitched as if furiously attempting to pick up on every little noise and sound. Was what he heard for real? Did Gren feel the same way as he? He couldn't help but feel a little pleased about himself. This worked out in their favor. If Gren was willing to take Sapphire's spot, then...What? A power struggle between each member? No. Abel didn't have the audacity or the gall to force Sapphire to step down. Gren on the other hand, Shiro could definitely see taking aggressive charge. Either way, he'd support the two of them. If not, Shiro would take it. So, it was pretty much a win-win situation. But, how much would he let on that Gren had his support? How much could he reveal? Aggravating himself, Shiro's 'stripes' began to slowly fade into existence. Darkening more and more the more he got worked up. Damn it though, Gren read him like a book. He had probably figured that once someone shared something relatively private to him, he would feel obligated to share something too. He couldn't keep his fat mouth shut. Anyone could tell him something, say it was the truth and Shiro would believe them. And who could fault him for that? Call him gullible, but he had no real inclination to distrust or disbelieve anyone.
Ears slowly drooping, Shiro had a forlorn look to him. Tracing circles on the ground with his gloved hand, he didn't really know what to say. Only...
"...I agree. With everything. I agree."Synchronizing Shiro's helmet to Gren's optics, he was near in completion. All he had to do was some final fittings on Shiro to make sure it was comfortable and such. He walked over to Shiro who also seemed close to done with what Gren needed him to do, but noticed that the raw materials he left for the sea mines have been untouched still. Sighing, Gren would just have to make due with The God Eater's rockets. Somehow.
"Glad you got my back. But I'll be clear with you Shiro; it's complicated. Even if I do become the leader, Sapphire is still going to be part of the team. Unless she's gone of course, but if she isn't, we'll have to live with that fact. And while I'm more than willing to stand up to her and let her have a piece of my mind, that won't be enough. I'll need support. And not just from our team." Gren handed Shiro the helmet.
Shiro took the helmet and looked at it. Everything Gren said made sense, when had he ever not? Staring at it for a moment, he quietly sighed and fitted the gear over his head. It definitely felt better, not completely comfortable. But, he'll just have to suck it up and make do at this point. Pulling off the helmet, he handed it back to Gren. Unpleasant subjects always caused Shiro to fall quiet, which could be a blessing depending on who you asked. So, he simply grunted at Gren. The grunt noise being both his agreement with Gren and the fact that he helmet was 'Passable'.
With the helmet complete and most of the gear done, Gren figured that they were pretty much done here. He wished he had more materials to make a similar helmet for Abel and Sapphire, but without their heads here to size it would have been a crapshoot. Besides, he didn't have enough material to make them as techy as Shiro's helmet. Gren gathered all the weapons, the harness, and the massive collection of taped/glued together sea scooters, and put them all into a box. Sapphire and Abel should arrive soon and they can gear up and get ready. Before the two would leave, Gren had one more thing to say to Shiro.
"In case I didn't make myself clear, I'm not going to talk about this to Sapphire any time soon. She already knows about it, probs, and I want to see what she does. Maybe she'll try to eliminate me, or maybe she'll change her act. Who knows. Whatever she does however, I have my own plans to establish leadership. And I'll need your help Shiro."Gren went over to the tiger faunas and clasp his arm around Shiro's shoulder, giving the smaller faunas a sort of shoulder hug.
"What we need is more friends. I got some, you know, but the more the merrier. More guys and girls who'll watch out backs and agree that things need to change. Shiro, no matter what people say about you, you're a pretty cool cat. That's good, cause you can make friends easily. So don't be afraid to spend some time away from the team, talking to others, letting them know about this little situation of ours. Get their support, or at least get their advice. You introduce me to your friends, I'll introduce you to mines, and eventually once we get a good group going maybe Sapphire would see that this is how a leader is suppose to be, yeah?" Letting Shiro go Gren turned to his partner and looked him directly in the eyes. While he knew he had Shiro's support, Gren wanted Shiro to know that he was being serious. This wasn't just a whim. Gren wasn't going to be a tool again.
"So, what do you say, buddy? Sound like a plan?"If Gren had a plan, great. Awesome. Super. But when Gren put his arm around his shoulder, Shiro couldn't help but feel that there was something...wrong. Something dirty about this whole ordeal. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but he shook his head and thusly away with his feelings of discomfort. Maybe he was just anxious and nervous. Maybe that was the source of his odd feelings. But, to make more friends? Shiro frowned. Surely, he would continue doing that. It wasn't exactly hard, but at the same time it wasn't easy. What exactly did people say about him? Why did people keep referring to him as a cat when clearly he wasn't a simple feline? Spend more time away from the team? Done. Talk to other people about his team's bind? Done. Get their opinions and advice? Done. While he wasn't really down with blabbing and complaining about how he thought his team leader sucked, it was an odd way to essentially stage a coup d'etat. Shiro wasn't really privy to how history tended to play out. How the same patterns tended to repeat themselves. When Gren locked eye contact with him, that was all that was needed to seal everything that was said into a special part of his memory. Finalizing their unspoken 'contract'. Holding the stare for a few moments, Shiro slowly and silently nodded.
"...Sounds like a plan."Potentially unrelated, Shiro could feel himself growing hungry.
Whatever it was, one thing was clear. Gren had the charisma to lead and get things accomplished. Without making himself look like an ass at that. Whether or not Shiro felt a kinship with Gren as they were both faunus remained to be seen. If that played any part in his decision to agree with Gren's plan, he couldn't know. All he knew was that he would support his friend, and help him with whatever he needed down the line.
Charging down the hall, Captain McDougall pointed at the Armory attendant and started shouting. "Get me a quiver of harpoons, quick!" Turning to Gren and Shiro, he fished out Gren's Scroll and held it up. "SOS, boys! Whatever you've got, grab it and let's go!" Pulling out a pair of headphones from his newly-acquired backpack and hanging them around his neck, the good Captain grabbed the quiver of harpoons from his attendant and made his way to a back exit. "We got a Dune Rover out back, it'll get us there quicker!"
Shiro whirled when he heard a series of rapid, heavy footsteps plod their way towards them. Looking up at the at the frantic captain, his expression immediately grew severe when he heard mention of an emergency message having been sent to them. In the blink of an eye his irises changed color and his stripes became clearly visible. Grabbing what he could load onto his back securely, he shouted at the captain.
"Tell me where!" Stubby black claws poked out from the tips of his gloved fingers as he assumed his quadrupedal running position. Gripping the ground tightly, he shouted again.
"TELL US WHERE, NOW!" Regardless of how he felt about his teammates, he still cared about them deeply. They were still his friends. He would immediately answer their beck and call should they ever need him. A deep and loud rumbling growl vibrated in Shiro's chest. It was combat time.
Pulling up the GPS function on the Scroll, he sighed. "Dammit, girl's in the caves. From here, should be north-northeast. Got your stuff, let's move!"
With a huff and a short snarl, Shiro exploded out of the station. Same as he always did at Beacon Academy, he ripped and tore up the ground as he cut his warpath to wherever he was going. Making sure to control his breathing, on his deep inhales he made doubly sure to try to pinpoint Abel and Sapphire's scent trails to increase the accuracy of where he was going. He had to get there as soon as possible, the sooner the better. He wasn't sure what was going on, but all he needed to know was that the other half of his team was in trouble. Just in his nature to burst in with swinging arms.
Gren dropped the box of gear into the back of the Dune Rover. He had his harness on, four wasp knives on his waist, and two Harpoon Guns on his back. The God Eater was in his hands and the only thing he didn't have on his body was the water jets, and that'll come on later.
"Let's book it Captain!" Gren shouted as he jumped onto the back of the vehicle, using his semblance to hold on tight.
"Don't worry about me, let's go!"Nearly jumping into the Dune Rover, Captain McDougall put the vehicle into drive and hit the gas, pushing the vehicle forward. It wasn't nearly as fast as any of the would-be rescuers could have hoped, but the drive wasn't particularly long, either. After about two to three minutes of driving, they arrived at the cave.
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