Team AERO: Chapter XI

<Static. "We're being watched.">

<"Aero. Are you awake?>

[You sure are.]
[Nah, go back to bed. They'll be fiiine.]

You press your finger against the headset, overriding the close-range inhibitor. You whisper, "I'm awake. What's up?"

<"A pair entered my range a few minutes ago. Kelly has visual confirmation of non-Grimm eyes in the distance… The Grimm further in the cave are getting close, but are not an immediate threat."> Must be Phyllis.

You look around the cave. Your team has their eyes open, but they aren't moving. Must be trying not to give away that they're awake to whoever's watching you.

<"What are your orders, ma'am?"> Sounds like Ivory.

[Pretend they aren't there. Don't give anything away.]
[Show them you know and get combat ready.]
[Call them out.]
[??]

"Don't let them know we know. Act as though they aren't there." You whisper.

<"Rodger that.">

<"Understood.>"

You see Crystal give you the slightest of nods.
Your team closes their eyes. It's still dark, and if they're going to fake it, might as well give it all.

[Finish your sleeping shift.]
[Stay up with PINK.]

You stay up. If things go down, you have to know and give orders, after all.

Things go smoothly. Light starts to trickle into the cave after some time.

<"Targets on the move."> That's Kelly.

<"Confirmed. Heading out of range.">

Well, at least they don't seem to want a fight. You sit up, which isn't the easiest with your team sleeping next to you.

Your team slowly moves off and get up as well. Seems you woke them.

You stand up. Your team is looking at you expectantly. PINK is giving you glances as well.

[Orders?]

"Grab a bite, then we follow them."

Everyone nods. You take out a Schneeker bar and break off a third, putting the rest away. You chew on it, watching Ivory fold a few airplanes. She sends them out as Regalia removes the wires from the entrance.

Everyone has their weapons ready as you lead them down the mountain. Down is so much easier than up, you think to yourself. You get to the jungle in about an hour as Ivory's first plane returns.

"The canopy is thick, but there's non-Grimm activity in that direction." She points into the jungle before tossing the plane back into the air.

[How do you go after them?]

"Alright. Let's sneak up on them."

"Uh.. Alright." Ivory says. Sounds like she had something to say about your plan, but decided to keep it to herself.

You lead your group into the jungle, moving through the tall grass and around trees.
Your teams follows behind, forming an awkward group snaking it's way through the jungle.
You slowly walk through the trees for about an hour.

Ivory looks up behind you. "My planes can't land." She mutters sadly as the paper plane circles above your group.

"Well, it can't be helped." Regalia says softly.

You continue on for a few more hours until the grass rustles about 20 feet out. You already have your spear in front of you.

You can't see her, but Phyllis is completely shocked that she didn't detect whatever is in front of you before it moved, as everyone raises their weapons.

[Call out.]
[Shoot the bush.]
[Wait.]
[??]

You wait. You wait for what seems like an eternity. Eventually, you start to inch forward. You take your third step when you see the familiar sight of black smoke rise from the grass.

"Dead Grimm?" Nikolai says as he lowers his weapon slightly.

"But what killed it?" Crystal asks.

"I think it killed itself. Nothing was moving until it did. There were no projectiles in the immediate area.." Phyllis half mumbles, half says. She still seems surprised that it was so close without her knowing.

"Well.. What now?" Regalia asks you.

[Keep going in the direction the watchers were heading.]
[Stop for a bit. It's near lunch time.]
[Try and find a way to get Ivory's planes in?]
[??]

"Keep moving forward." You say before you resume your stealthy march.

The sun reaches it's highest point before Phyllis stops.

"Large group at 10 o'clock. They seem too small to be Grimm."

[Head that direction.]
[Go a different way. (Which one?)]
[??]

"Alright, let's head that way." You say before turning and leading your rag-tag group through the trees.

It takes a while, thanks to your slow movements, but eventually you reach the edge of a clearing. You stick to the tree line as you look around.

There seems to be some sort of camp, with armed guards on patrols and behind barricades, seemingly on high alert. Most of them have some weird mask on, but not everyone. It looks like they're all faunus though.

[What are your orders?]

You take out your scroll and check the settings on your camera. They aren't your target, but you should report this to Alabaster when you get back. You start taking photos.

Crystal seems to have been a step ahead of you, as she's had her scroll out longer than you before she puts a finger to her headset.

<"Look."> She points between two tents. Under the camouflage covering is a smaller transport with Shade's emblem on the side.

Maybe they have Marble?

What now?

[Attack.]
[Sneak in.]
[Just watch.]
[Get the fuck out and evac, there's too many to take.]
[??]

<"Let's lay low. Be ready to retreat."> You whisper as you hold down the proximity override.

You scan the base as the armed group runs around.

"Hey!" You can faintly here one yelling to another. "O's says one of his sentries killed itself."

"Fuck. Ya think the academy's coming for that guy?"

"Hope not. If command wasn't here we wouldn't have been able to handle him.. Anyways, send a team out to E6 and see what's up."

"Rodger that."

Looks like you're going to have company soon.

[Retreat?]
[Attack?]
[Ambush the search party?]
[Move to another location around the base?]
[??]

<"Back to the mountain. Now.">

You start walking backwards before turning around. You sneak through the trees faster than when you came in. You look at your scroll. No signal in the trees.

You move through the jungle, dodging trees and slowly abandoning stealth for speed with a hunting party who knows how far away.

It feels like an eternity's based before Phyllis stops.

<"Slight movement ahead. Like something turning around. 20 feet, straight ahead.>"

[What do?]

"Go around, but be ready." You whisper as you raise your spear in front of you and slowly start to flank the spot.

The grass rustles, then stops as the familiar smoke rises from the bushes.

<"Another one."> Regalia says.

[Keep moving.]
[Adjust course.]
[Stop and ambush your pursuers.]
[??]

"Let's change course a bit. Aim for the side of the mountain instead." You whisper into your headset before pressing forward.

You check your scroll again. Still no signal.

You silently rush through the thick trees and tall grasses. There's a slight break in the tress up ahead, and Ivory rushes to it while the rest of you move.

One of her paper planes glides through the opening and lands in her hand before she tosses it back into the sky.

<"We have a slight lead on our chasers. There's also a pack of Deathstalkers seemingly patrolling the mountain near the cave."

They must both be outside Phyllis' range. That's good, at least.

You're pretty close to the mountain now. Probably another hour of this sneak-walking. Maybe fifteen minutes if you ran.

[What do you do?]

"Let's keep going at this pace."

You lead the team to the edge of the jungle. You can see the Deathstalkers in the distance, on the far side. They don't appear to know you're there.

You look at your scroll. Still no service. Maybe you need to be up higher? Or maybe you're on the wrong side of the mountain?

[Stealth climb the mountain.]
[Run up the mountain.]
[Head back to where you got dropped off at.]
[??]

You slide your scroll back in your pocket and grip your spear.

"Wait here." You whisper into the mic before slipping out of the trees.

You creep towards the mountain, hiding behind any rocks you can as you embark up it's slopes.

You climb, keeping a watchful eye on the Deathstalkers. Doesn't seem like the notice you. Good.

You get a good two stories or so off the ground before taking out your scroll.

One bar.

[Call Alabaster-Reinforcements]
[Call Alabaster-Evac]
[Call Home?]
[??]

You quickly call Alabaster.

"Ah, Aero. How goes the search?"

You hurriedly whisper, "We found Professor Marble's ship, but it's in the possession of some large group of armed faunus. We're requesting reinforcements."

"Reinforcements? What are you planning on doing?"

[What's your plan?]

"They don't expect an attack and said they already had problems fighting against Marble. Our chances that an immediate attack will be successful are pretty good."

"Additionally, it seems like both someone called 'command' and someone they call 'O' are here. With command definitely only temporary, and this 'O' somehow being connected to the strange Grimm behavior. We saw Grimm killing themselves to alarm those faunus, and they call those Grimm 'his sentries'…"

Alabaster is silent for a moment before sighing.

"I wish I could grant your request, but things are starting to unravel here. Since you left, the Grimm attacks on the wall have risen exponentially. There's evidence of sabotage in the defenses, and our forces are being stretched thin to hold the wall.. You're, unfortunately, on your own."

He continues, "We can send a ship to get you, but that is all we can spare."

[Take the ship. Get back and protect Vacuo.]
[Decline the ship, attack their base and disrupt their attack.]
[Gonna have to call you back. (talk it over)]
[??]

"I'll call you back." You say before hanging up. You make your way down the mountain and back to the tree line.

"Vacuo's under attack. It seems like these guys are involved. We can either go back and help defend the city or try and take them out and weaken their attack."

Everyone starts look at each other.

"If we take them out here, it could end the attack."

"But we're just students. They look like professionals. It won't be easy."

"Well, we have some element of surprise left."

"But they're looking for us."

"And if we do win, there's no guarantee that their attack in the city will stop. We might be too late by then."

The arguments for and against go on, but people are starting to just turn to you. Looks like it's your decision.

[Defend the city.]
[Attack the base.]

"Vacuo is my home.. But taking out their base and command is the best thing we can do to defend it."

Everyone nods.

Phyllis puts a hand on her head before gasping.

"There they are!"

"They got hunter weapons!"

"Open fire!"

Dust rounds begin cutting into the trees around your group. You're quickly driven out of the jungle and into the relative openness of the mountain side.

Everyone's returning fire as best they can, but you can't see a single soldier, just a torrent of bullets peppering the rocks around you.

"We need a plan!" Crystal yells at you. She's trying to blow bubbles at them, but the hail of bullets is popping them long before they can reach the treeline.

[Any ideas?]

"Crystal! Blow some bubbles in the shape of letters at the trees where they can't shoot them."

"W-what? I can't do shapes like that." She's caught off guard, which causes her to get hit by a couple shots before rolling asside and switching her dial. She blows and the bubble is shot. This time, though, it sends bursts into a dozen shards of ice that shoot out and impale the trees.

"How's that?" She asks as she ducks behind a boulder.

"Good! Phyllis!"

<"Go ahead."> The girl says as she fires her rifle into the trees.

"Focus on navigating our shots using the icicles."

<"Rodger. Kelly, 2 trees right of the farthest icicle. Nikolai, split the 3rd and fourth. Oliver, shoot through the #5.">

The team does as instructed, and shouts can be heard through the gunfire on the other side. Looks like they're getting them, the gunfire is thinning.

"Regalia! Flank around and comb the jungle with your threads!"

"What do you mean?" She asks as she fires the gun under his wrist into the treeline.

"Ya know! Crowd 'em in and tie them up."

"Alright." She says before moving from cover to cover. Seems they aren't paying much attention to her, and she waves her hands as she manipulates her wires. It doesn't take long.

<"Their escape is cut off.">

Now what?

[Charge.]
[Keep picking them off.]
[Hit 'em from the side.]
[??]

Now that you have Phyllis literally calling the shots, and Regalia's threads keeping them from running, you have them pinned perfectly.

You dash out from your cover and start to flank the side opposite Regalia. Crystal spots you and comes with.

"What's the plan?"

"Hit 'em from the side and take them out."

She nods and the two of you dash forward.

You slip into the trees unnoticed. Your group's doing a good job of keeping them occupied. You move up near the group.

There's a dozen soldiers, two of which look done for and are leaning against trees near the back of the group. One more is tending to them. The rest are hugging their cover and firing at PINK and Oliver.

[How do you proceed?]

You ready your spear and take a breath. Crystal is waiting for your go.

You exit the grass and charge forward. You catch the one administering shoulder pats to his incapacitated teammates in the chest and push him into a tree.

Your momentum and surprise catches him off guard, so all he can do is flail before slamming into the tree. The point of your spear is pressed against him, but his aura is keeping it from piercing his body.

His aura flashes as it breaks, and your spear plunges forward slightly.

[Quickly pull out, it's not deep enough to kill, but he's clearly out of the fight.]
[Soak your weapon in the blood of your first non-Grimm kill.]

You quickly pull your weapon back. Oh god. Oh god. There's blood on the tip, and the soldier is pressing his hands to his chest as he slumps down the tree.

"Abby.." He says weakly.

"Huh?" One of the soldiers turns around and sees you. "W-what?!" She starts to freak out when she sees the blood but quickly puts two and two together and fires at you.

You raise your spear and feel the first shot hit your aura before an explosion at 'Abby's' feet sends her flying into a tree. She falls to the ground as the rest of the soldiers abandon PINK-O to focus on your and Crystal.

They have their guns pointed at the two of you.

[Surrender.]
[Fake surrender.]
[Divide and attack.]
[Retreat.]
[??]

==Separate Vote==
[Be more mindful with your weapon.]
[They're attacking your home. Whatever happens to them, happens.]

You give a slightly movement of your hand.

You and Crystal both go in opposite directions as they fire at the spot you just occupied.

Crystal is blowing bubbles and causing explosions that are thinning their numbers.

You skirt around just inside Regalia's wires before looping to the side of their group.

The first guy raises his rifle at you, but you knock it away with your spear before bringing it around and catching his leg. He falls on his back and slams his head on a rock as you roll forward to avoid getting shot by the next guy.

You pop up and spin your weapon around. You place the barrel against his chest and fire. The shot pushes him into a tree where his aura shatters and he slumps to the ground. You pull back your shot and reload your spear.

Phyllis, Kelly, Nikolai and Oliver have taken out one each while they were distracted by you and Crystal. Crystal has taken out the last pair.

You nod to each other.

==(Optional: Praise her.)==
[Regroup with PINK-RO]
[Finish the enemies off. PINK-RO will get here by the time you finish.]
[??]

"Good job, Crystal."

"Thank you." She smiles.

The two of you exit the jungle and regroup with everyone.

"We should probably let Alabaster know what we're doing."

Everyone nods.

You take out your scroll.

[AURA LEVELS: 73%]
[C.E. 64%]
[R.A. 93%]
[O.G. 87%]
[P.C. 66%]
[I.E. 45%]
[N.T. 67%]
[K.W. 83%]

[Maybe reconsider first.]
[Let him know you plan to attack.]

You quickly redial Alabaster.

"Aero. Have you made a decision?"

"We're attacking their base. It's the best we can do to help the situation."

"Very well. I wish you all the luck. I'm sorry we can't help you more."

You hear and explosion, then the line goes dead. He must have been near the wall. You better hurry.

You put your scroll away and look at the group. Everyone is eating the rest of their Schneekerbar from earlier.

[No time, gotta go.]
[Eat on the move.]
[Rest a minute.]

"Good thinking! Let's eat while we move." You say as you grab your 2/3 of a Schneeker out and start munching.

You lead the group back into the jungle as you eat. You're marching, with Phyllis and Ivory watching closely for more soldiers or Grimm.

From what you remember, you're about half way there. The sun is also about an hour from starting to set.

[Keep up the pace.]
[Start slowing down. Gotta keep the element of surprise.]

You keep up the pace, hoping to arrive before sunset and deny them an advantage. You slip through the trees, luckily not meeting any resistance.

You slow down just before the camp, inching your way to the edge of the treeline. The place is buzzing with activity. Shouts about a missing patrol and someone that's lost or something. Everyone is armed and on edge.

[Plan of attack.]

"So.. Anyone have any ideas?" You whisper.

You can hear Crystal audibly sigh before she presses the button, <"You're the leader here, Aero.">

<"We could try to pick them off, but I don't think we have weapons stealthy enough."> Couldn't tell who that was. Kelly maybe?

<"Whatever we do, we gotta move fast, or we give them the advantage of night.">

[Stealth attacks.]
[Storm the base.]
[Quick recon first.]
[??]

"Alright. Let's just.. Storm in." You grip your spear and wait a moment before charging.

Oliver, Phyllis, Nikolai, and Kelly open fire on the nearest soldiers, quickly dropping their auras and knocking them out of the fight.

Regalia and Crystal are behind you as you rush into the compound of tents. You reach the next group of soldiers and engage them with your spear.

You stab the lead one. His aura is weak and it shatters just as you pull your weapon away and sweep at the legs of the girl running at you with a sword. She falls on the ground and you whack her head with the barrel of the gun. Her aura doesn't break, but she's knocked out.

Explosions and wires echo on your sides as your teammates make quick work of their own opponents.

Paper airplanes fly overhead, their bullets keeping a large chunk of the soldiers occupied and hiding behind cover. You still aren't sure how they work.

Your allies seem to have most of the soldiers occupied.

[Go for one of the tents. (East tent, left/right of the transport (9:00), center of the compound, two tents to the north (12:00), two tents east (3:00), AREO-PINK at 6:00)]
[Take out the soldiers first.]
[??]
[Retreat.]

"Center Tent!" You yell to your companions before rushing forward. A pair of soldiers comes to greet you, so you jump into the air, holding your spear in front of you. It catches them both in the neck and you slam them into the ground.

You land and continue forward, pushing the flaps open.

You look around. Food, dust, weapons, a cell! You quickly cross the dirt floor and and rush to the metal bars. Marble is laying on the metal floor, unresponsive. You try to pull it open, but it's no use.

"Allow me." Regalia very nearly purrs before sticking her clawed finger in the lock. The door swings open a moment later.

You bolt inside and go by his head. "Professor Marble! Are you ok? Say something!" You look at him. His clothes are tattered, and it doesn't look like he's had food or water (or mustache wax) in days.

Crystal is right behind you, though she goes to the other side and grabs his wrist before applying a pair of fingers to it. "He's got a pulse. Let's get him out of here. We should take his transport and send someone back with him while the rest continue the assault."

[Good idea. (Who goes back?)]
[Bad idea. (Why?)]
[Suggest something else. (What?)]

"I don't think that's a good idea. We know they can control Grimm. What if they send Nevermore against the transport? One person couldn't hold them off. Our best solution would be to leave him here, rig the cell so that they can't hurt him, and let Phyllis know to watch the tent and keep them away until we clear the base."

They both think for a moment.

"That's.. Better than my idea." Crystal admits.

"I'll get that set up. You two go on." Regalia smiles.

<"Already heard you on our end. We got it covered." Phyllis says into your ear.

"Let's go to the tents to the right." You say to Crystal before taking off. She follows after you.

You exit the tent, and are met with several of the faunus laying on the ground in various states of pain and consciousness. Looks like the teams are putting in work. You cross the camp and enter the tent on the left first.
Empty barracks. Nothing of note.

You move to the next one and move the flap.

There's a faunus couple on the cots, and it looks like they're.. t-they're... U-uh.

The man moans in satisfaction, "Evolution~"

How the hell did they not realize there's a battle going on?

[Leave them be.]
[Take them out.]
[??]

You immediately reverse out.

"What is it?" Crystal asks before opening the flap. A moment later, there's an explosion inside.

She turns around. "Where next?"

[Tents near the transport.]
[The other two.]

Before you can respond, the sound of the transport starting up can be heard.

You both make your way over to it, Regalia joining you.

<"We can't get a shot, too many-" *Static and screaming*>

There are tiny Nevermore swarming everywhere. Ivory's planes are engaged in dogfights, but most of them are being torn to shreds. Phyllis is firing her explosive rounds at the sky, but the sheer volume of Nevermore keep their numbers up.

Everyone else is more or less taking pot shots or trying to hit the transport, but there's always a Nevermore in the way somehow.

You round the central tent to see Kelly stab a Nevermore with the sword form of her bow.
<"Nevermore."> She finishes her sentence.

You can see in the cockpit, though just hardly with the all the Nevermore. There appears to be a scrawny scientist-looking guy.

<"What do we do, Aero?"> It's Ivory, with a hint of concern as she tries to get the rest of her paper fleet airborne.

[Orders?]

"Everyone but Oliver focus on shooting a corridor through the Nevermore. Oliver shoot through and take out the transport!"

<"I don't think we have the right weapons for that."> Kelly says as she puts her swords together and quickly fires an arrow at the swarm.

<"She's right. Without Oliver we only have two proper guns capable of such a strategy. That's not enough to cover his shots."> Phyllis says.

<"I'm trying to get more planes up. They could add their firepower as well."> Ivory says softly.

[New plan.]
[Try it anyways.]
[??]
[Just let the coward go, take care of the Nevermore and Marble.]

"Regalia, could you use your wires to launch someone at the transport?" You ask.

<"They aren't that kind of wire, so I don't think they'd get very far."> She says as her wires slap a pair of Nevermore to the ground.

<"Two long targets coming in fast."> Phyllis says.

Moments later, two King Taijitus break through the treeline. The transport is also in the air now, and hovering up to get over the trees.

<"Were' gonna need a new plan."> Oliver says half to himself as he fires at the closer of the two Grimm.

[He's right.]

"Regalia, if you pull the strings instead, would it work?" You ask.

There's a slight pause, she must be thinking. <"Possibly. But who are we launching?">

[Who?]

"Oliver, you up for it?"

<"Sure, hang on."> He fires a few more shots before joining Regalia. She's got the system set up.

<"We'll keep the Grimm busy."> Nikolai says as PINK turns their attention to the Taijitus.

Crystal is blowing bubbles in the flight path, thinning out the Nevermore as Oliver and Regalia get ready.

The ship is just under the canopy of the trees now.

["Fire!"]
[Let it go.]
[??]

"Fire!"

Regalia pulls as the sounds of her weapon retracting her wires fills the air.

Oliver is sent airborne as he pulls his rifle apart. His blades spring forth as he slashes at Nevermore in his path. He flies through the air before slamming into the side of the transport with a thud.

He stabs his swords into the hull and holds himself up as they slowly melt down before pulling one out and kicking off the hull. He slices on of the wings clean off before falling towards the ground.

He lands in a wire net as the ship the goes out of control before crashing into one of the Taijitu. PINK finishes off the other.

[Regroup, make sure everyone's ok.]
[Get to da choppah.]
[Check on Marble.]
[??]

<"Head to the crash. Everyone ok?">

<"I'm fine.">

<"No injuries to report.">

<"All good.">

<"On my way.">

<"Can someone get me down?">

You hear Regalia's wires retracting, then a loud thud.

<"Thanks. Coming.">

Your teams converge on the crash site. The man is crawling from the wreckage.

[Help him.]
[Shout (what?).]
[Fire around him.]
[??]

You step forward and lift your spear.

"No, please!"

You bring the gun end down on his head.

"Regalia, tie him up, please?"

She steps forward and binds the man's wrists and ankles.

"Now what?" Asks Crystal.

[Signal a drop ship and get the fuck out.]
[The two tents where the transport was parked are still there.]
[??]

You take out your scroll. You have a bar of signal in this clearing. Nice! You quickly call Alabaster.

"Ah, Ms. Swann. How went your mission?"

"Good. We need evac for 10. We have Professor Marble and a prisoner."

"A prisoner? We'll have ships your way shortly. Good work. I look forward to your return."

He hangs up.

"Phyllis, can you look in the ship and make sure there isn't anyone else or anything? We're going to go check out the last two tents."

"Oh. Uh. Sure." She says before trying to climb into the wreckage.

You head over to the tents with your team behind you.

[Left tent first.]
[Right tent first.]

You lift the flap to the tent on the right. It looks to be just another set of barracks, only the beds are waaayyy nicer. Like how the hell did they get these here and how come they get special treatment?

There seems to be some footlockers at each one too.

[Look around. (Loot?)]
[Left tent.]

You make a mental note to come back later before going to the left tent.

Before you enter, you call Alabaster again.

"Oh, and maybe a few more transports for all the incapacitated soldiers." You hang up before he can question you.

You push open the flap and step inside. It's just a big empty tent with a table and chairs in the center. It looks like someone recently barried something in the back though.

[Go back and loot.]
[Investigate digging.]
[Regroup with PINK.]

"You two check out that fresh dirt." You point to Crystal and Oliver. They start moving. "We'll go see if there's anything in those chests that can tell us what they want."

You head out with Regalia.

"Oh, bringing me back to the beds alone, hmm~?"

["Not now."]
[(Jeremy's Weiss noise)]
[????????]
["Oh? Hadn't noticed~"]

You grab her arm and pull lightly.

She leans down, "What is it?"

You peck her cheek quickly, "You deserve a reward for all the good work~"

She stands back up, he cheeks starting to match her eyes. She opens her mouth before opening the flap, "W-well, let's get searching."

You step inside. There's five beds and five footlockers.

[Footlocker (#1-5?)]
[Check under the bed. (#)]
[Apply pressure to the affected Spider.]
[??]

"I'll start on this end. We'll meet in the middle."

She nods and crosses the room as you move to the closest bed.

You lean down and look at the footlocker. There's a name crudely carved in with a knife.

[TARA]

You open it up and go through it. Just some clothes.

[Next]
[Take them.]
[??]

You move on to the next one. There's.. Blood. All over the top. You debate about actually opening it for a moment.

<"Aero. You guys should come here."> It's Crystal. They must have found something.

[Go now.]
[After you open the bloody locker.]
[??]

You quickly leave, Regalia close behind. You enter the other tent and find Oliver and Crystal staring at a hole in the ground.

"What's up?" You ask as you cross the tent to examine the hole. There's a metal pipe with an open hatch and a ladder leading into darkness.

"We.. uh.. We can't see in the dark." Crystal says as she looks away.

Regalia chuckles.

[Explore! (With Regalia?)]
[Too bad, that's your job]
[Welp. Pack it in and regroup with PINK.]
[??]


"Alright, we'll go in. Oliver, can you check the footlockers in the other tent? Crystal, stay here in case our headsets don't work underground."

Oliver salutes before leaving the tent.

Crystal nods. "Be careful down there."

You climb down the ladder. You set foot on the ground and look around as you back away from it so Regalia can get down.

There's a few monitors set up and what looks like something between a torture chair and a throne. There's also a switch on the wall.

[Flip the switch.]
[Don't.]

You flip the switch as Regalia touches down. The lights come on, as do the monitors. You look at the screen as Regalia gets her bearings.

[NO SOURCE]

Huh. There doesn't seem to be any way to get past this screen either.

Regalia is examining the chair. "This seems.. Out of place."

"What do you mean?" You ask her as you join her by the chair.

"Why is a torture device hidden away like this? If they wanted to hide it, why have Marble in the middle of the camp?" She taps her chin idly.

<"The ships here!"> Phyllis exclaims. Guess the headsets work.

[Try and find anything useful.]
[Just get home.]

You take out your scroll and take a picture. You glance around. Nope, completely empty.

You climb back up the ladder, Regalia behind you. You climb out of the hole and head to the other tent. Oliver exits just as you get there.

"Search everything?" You ask.

"Yea. Nothing but some fire dust." He hands you the two crystals.

You turn to the sound of the ships landing. A dozen of Vacuo's Civil Defenders get off. Two of them jog over to you.

"You kids get on out of here. We're going to round up these faunus and get them on the next flight to their jail cells."

You nod and go to get Marble. Regalia undoes her traps, and the four of you lift him up and carry him to the ship. You get on, PINK's already sitting on one of the benches.

Your team takes it's own seats.

[How do you spend the flight back?]

Before the doors close, you yell out to the VCD, "Hey! Be careful with that scientist guy! We're not sure what he can do, but we think he can control Grimm."

They nod and wave to the pilot. The door closes and the ship takes off.

"Soooo.." You turn to PINK, "What exactly are your semblances?"

"Trying to get an edge on us in our match, eh?" Phyllis grins, "I mean. It's pretty obvious what most of yours are.."

"Except you." She points at Oliver. "Tell ya what, we'll tell you any one of ours if you tell us his."

[Deal.]
[No deal.]

"It's not my decision." You look to Oliver at the opposite end of the bench.

"Huh? Oh. Uh. I don't care."

"We'd be losing one of our advantages over them." Crystal whispers in your ear.

"Well?" Kelly chimes in.

[Deal.]
[No Deal.]

"No deal. You'll just have to watch the recording when we beat you." You wink.

"In your dreams." Phyllis retorts. "We aren't losing again."

The banter continues until your teams fall silent and start turning in their survival equipment and headests. It doesn't take too long before the ship lands.

The doors open, and medical staff immediately moves on board to get Marble off, wheeling him inside before you can ask a single thing.

You disembark with the others and a single, slow clap is heard. You turn to the source.

"Well done, teams. Thanks to you, Professor Marble is alive and we were able to hold the wall." Alabaster smiles, "I'm sure you're all tired, so why don't you get back to your dorms and rest up. You can take tomorrow off from class to debrief."

[Anything to say to him before you go?]

You take out your scroll and send the pictures to Alabaster before holding it out for him to see. "We found this under one of the tents. The hatch is still open."

He leans forward and looks at your screen while taking his scroll out as it buzzes. He opens them on his own device and inspects it further. "I'll let the VCD know and send someone to look at it personally. Thank you, Aero. Go rest, you and your teams deserve it."

You nod before making your way to the dorms with your team. You wave goodbye to PINK as you go separate ways from the lobby and eventually enter your room.

You push your backpack aside and fall onto the soft sheets. You tilt your head up to see your team had similar ambitions.

[Just go to bed.]
[Order food first.]
[??]

"Who's hungry for something that isn't a Schneeker bar?" You ask as you sit up.

Three tired arms raise before flopping back down.

"Good, because you guys deserve a feast for how awesome you all were."

Twenty minutes later, your team is digging into the same mass of Chinese you ordered on your first night as a team. Everyone's just going to town on their food, so there isn't much discussion.

[Break the silence (with?)]
[Just eat. You missed food.]

You just eat. Man you sure missed the taste of real food, even if it was only for a couple days. Those Schneekers are terrible. You'd think modern science could fix such a horrible taste, but nooo.

You finish your food and lean back into the soft sheets. Your eyes slowly shut as someone flicks the lights off.

[Chapter XI: End]