Team AERO: Chapter XIV

You hear a sound that threatens to disturb your sleep.

[Check on it.]
[Ignore it.]

You open your eyes and sit up in the dark room.

You see Oliver slip out of the dorm.

[Go back to bed.]
[Train.]
[??]

You get up and quickly change before following Oliver out. You catch him just as he's rounding the school and join him on his run. You're a lap behind him, so he stops after you finish your fourth.

[Do the fifth.]
[Join him for stretches.]

The tiny voice in you head takes the form of a heavily criticized actor, screaming at you to 'just do it.'

You round run past Oliver as he stretches and finish the warm up. By the time you get back to the training field, Oliver's already going through the motions of his training.

You take a moment to catch your breath, but you're not laying on the ground, so that's an improvement.

[Stretch.]
[Straight to training (what kind?)]

You stretch out, better safe than sorry.

Oliver looks about half done with his routine, by your guess.

[What do?]

You train with your new weapon, practicing to control multiple shots again.
It's slightly harder without targets to see if you're doing it, but you feel like you're slightly better than you were yesterday.

You check your scroll.

[AURA: 72%]
[6:47]

[Go shower and stuff.]
[Keep training.]

You give Oliver a wave before heading off to your dorm. You don't think he noticed, but it's the thought that counts.

You slip into your dorm. Everyone's still asleep. You hop in the shower and go through your routine. You dry off and get dressed before exiting the bathroom.

Looks like Regalia's at breakfast.

[??]

You head to the cafeteria and get breakfast, sliding in across from your teammate.

"Good morning~" She says before resuming eating.

[??]

"Do you feel ready for the fight today?" You ask.

She taps her chin, "I suppose~"

The two of you finish you meals before returning to your room.

Crystal gets out of the bathroom just after you shut the door.

[Get ready for class.]
[You haven't tried to beat your high score in a while.]
[??]

You get ready for class, and soon the three of you are sitting in class. Oliver shows up shortly after.

"Good morning class."

You look up from you notes as a vaguely familiar voice fills the room with it's low baritone.

Wait, that's not Marble.

"My name is Professor Grant. I will be filling in for my brother-in-law while he recovers from braving the unknown of the Grimm's domain."

You could have sworn the two looked alike, right down to the curl of his mustache.

Class begins, and Grant picks off right where Marble left off. It's almost as if he was still here.

Soon enough, class ends.

[Talk to Grant?]
[Next class.]
[??]

You head down to the front of the class to speak with Grant. You push your way through the students exiting the class. By the time you reach the bottom, Grant is no where to be found.

[Just head to class.]
[Wait?]
[??]

You decide to just head to class. Your team is standing outside the lecture hall, waiting for you.

"What took you so long?" Crystal asks.

"I went to talk to Professor Grant, but he wasn't there."

"Well, I'm sure he's got other things to take care of." Regalia says.

You head to your next class. It passes quickly and you head to lunch.

[All the food.]
[Most of the food.]
[A normal serving of food.]
[Don't eat.]

You grab an extra plate more than you normally eat and sit with your team.

[Words go here]
[Just eats.]
[??]

"We should make a plan of attack for our fight today!" You exclaim to your team.

"Isn't this a little.. public?" Crystal asks, looking at PINK a few tables over. They don't seem to be interest in your team.

"What did you have in mind?" Regalia asks you.

Oliver is just shoveling food in, though appears to be listening.

[??]

"We should probably focus on keeping things close-quarters. Besides Nikolai, they're all better at range."

"Besides Oliver, we're all better at range too." Crystal says flatly.

"Oh. Yea." You go back to eating, trying to think of something else.

Nothing comes to you, and you head off to class with your team.

DeFleur is standing at the front of the viewing area when you arrive, arms crossed.

"AERO, PINK. So nice of you to attend class today."

["Sorry, Professor."]
["Hey! We saved Professor Marble!"]
[??]

"We're sorry, but rescuing Professor Marble from those Grimm-controlling terrorists just didn't get the blood pumping like coming back to your scolding, Professor."

Her eyes narrow at you.

"Arena. NOW."

[Head in.]
[Refuse?]
[??]

You start to head in, but DeFleur places a hand on your shoulder, stopping you.

She shakes her head, tutting, "It seems Aero was incapacitated by Grimm. Her team will have to fight without her. Take a seat."

[1]
[2]
[3]

You are Regalia Arachnera.

And your leader just got herself ejected from your match with your rivals, Team PINK.

You head to the arena with Crystal and Oliver and take your starting positions and ready your weapons.

"Anyone else have any bright ideas?" Crystal says, annoyance laced in her words.

[??]

"Stand down. We do this together, or not at all." You say calmly.

"HEY!"

Before your teammates can respond, the voice of PINK's loudest member cuts them off. You look over to Kelly as she calls from PINK's half of the arena.

"WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS, BUT WE DECIDED THAT IF YOU'RE GOING TO FIGHT WITHOUT YOUR LEADER, WE'LL FIGHT WITHOUT OURS! WHAT DO YOU SAY?!"

Well?

[Agree.]
[Forfeit the match.]
[??]

"ALRIGHT!" You call out to her.

"Didn't you just say-" Crystal starts.

"Who cares, let's do this." Oliver says as he hops from foot to foot.

You can hear DeFleur sigh audibly as Phyllis joins Aero on the bench.

The horn sounds.

[Assume leadership- do what?]
[Wait for someone else to take the reigns.]
[Do your own thing- do what?]

[[Regalia's weapon is similar in function to Lubbock's Cross Tail from Akame ga Kill with the added functionality of a fully auto .22 in the right gauntlet, and a semi auto .44 in the left.]]

"Alright, Crystal and I will cover the bottom half of the arena in thread and bubbles. I'll also have thread in the top half to confuse them. Oliver, you're going up and over to get behind them. Force them into the thread and bubbles."

Crystal nods and begins blowing bubbles as you weave your threads over the arena.

Shots are coming in from the other side, but Oliver is doing his best to pick the explosive arrows and bolts of electricity out of the air. You wonder how he can fire a delayed weapon like his with such precision, but focus on your own task.

With your trap in play, you weave wires into the upper half of the massive, empty arena. Just in time, as Ivory's fleet reaches full capacity and takes off. Several are immediately torn by your thread, while the rest veer off and begin firing at the bubble field.

You turn to see Oliver is climbing through your thread and is over the middle of the arena, on the left wall. How did he get up there without you noticing?

Nikolai and Kelly continue to fire at you and Crystal. Thankfully, the majority of their shots are hitting your thread or her bubbles, so they aren't getting too close, but every now and then one slips through and nearly hits one of you.

[Keep holding the middle.]
[Do something else.]
[??]

You keep holding the middle, replacing lost threads as Crystal does the same with her bubbles.

Ivory's planes are starting to map out your threads, though, and soon enough a single one slips through, firing at you and Crystal as it makes passes.

In the mean time, Oliver has navigated your threads and disappeared behind the wall of explosions, thread, bubbles, dust and smoke.

The sound of electricity and Kelly's sonic blasts fills the arena.

Ivory's lone plane falling between you and Crystal gives you an idea of what happened as the smoke clears.

[??]

You stay ready, nodding to Crystal. She gets the message.

You decide to ready a trap just in case. A single thread just after the mass of wire and bubble in the middle at just the right height that they shouldn't notice it.

[Nikolai Thistle: Eliminated]
[Oliver Greene: Eliminated]

The announcement is immediately followed by Kelly's sonic blast. It hits the right side of the stadium and knocks your threads loose, causing them to collapse near the blast. Both her and Ivory sprint through the opening.
Kelly's long stride affords her to plant on her right foot leap onto the side of the wall, and kick off with her left as she fires a trio of explosive arrows at you and Crystal. She avoids the trap entirely.

Ivory, flanked by a squadron of planes, rushes in to trip on the thread and fall on her face. The fighters continue on and add their spray to Kelly's volley.

[??]

Your threads sink into the wall behind you and pull you and Crystal out of the blast zone for the arrows. Crystal leaves an expanding trail of bubbles behind her.

You immediately send threads at Ivory to tie her to the ground as well. She struggles a bit, but your threads hold strong.

Kelly lands and pulls her bow apart into her twin blades and runs at you, weaving through the bubbles.

[Try and take her out before she gets there. (How?)]
[Let her come. (close-quarters combat)]
[??]

"Crystal!" You yell as you prepare your threads.

A large inhale next to you is your response before bubbles pour forward from your remaining teammate. Kelly avoids most of them, but some explode before reaching her, sending shard of ice at her.

You lay out a series of traps between you and her as she charges forward, spinning her blades in front of her and bringing down everything Crystal throws at her. Her blades even cut through your thread, and before you know it, she's right in front of you.

Or so she thinks. The moment it looks to be in the clear, your threads tighten around her ankles and wrists, stringing her up and suspending her in the air.

[Ivory Elliot: Unable to Continue]
[Kelly Wolff: Unable to Continue]

"We did it!" Crystal says.

[??]

You high five Crystal and blow a kiss to Aero before going over to help Oliver up. He's just been laying there the entire time.

"Guess I did enough that it didn't take much to finish them off, huh?" He says as you and Crystal reach out to him. He takes your hands and pulls himself up.

"You alright?" Crystal asks.

"Yea, I'm fine. Just tired." He smiles and the three of you return to the viewing area.

You are Aero Swann. Your team just beat your rivals, PINK, without you. And without Phyllis, but whatever.

They come back up.

[Greet your team. (How?)]

You jump off the bench and lunge at your team, wrapping your arms around them!

Or you would, if you weren't so much smaller than them. You manage to get an arm around Regalia and Crystal, so Oliver just squeezes between them.

"Great job, guys!"

"Thank you." Crystal says.

Regalia opens her mouth, but is cut off by DeFleur.

"Aero. Get in there."

What?

["By myself?"]
[Just go.]
[??]

You release your friends and retrieve your weapon before making your way to the arena.

You stand, waiting for the hologram projectors to turn on. Instead, the wall at the far end parts. You can't see what lies beyond, only the scratching at metallic walls. Eventually the first paw enters the light, followed by a terrifying roar.

You can faintly hear Regalia speak once it ends. "Professor, is that-"

"Yes."

The Alpha Ursa lumbers forward, exiting it's hold. It sniffs the air and looks at your classmates behind you. Then it focuses on you. It's growls fill the stadium, but it doesn't attack you.

You are
[Scared]
[Excited]
[Nervous]
[Relieved?]
[????]

You feel a mixture of resolve and relief. You've prepared for this. You're ready. You take a defensive stance, holding your spear in front of you.

You see a slight flicker behind the Ursa. It's leash has been released. It charges at you.

[??]

You start moving back and forth, causing the Ursa to slow it's charge slightly. At the last moment, you lunge to the side as it passes where you were.

You roll and quickly get to your feet, firing a shot at the creature's leg. Without your semblance, you would have missed from such a rapid shot, but you quickly adjust the bullet into the back of it's knee.

The Ursa crashes into the ground and skids into the wall as it's leg gives out from your attack. It staggers back up and roars at you as it turns around. It's standing on it's leg, but favoring the other side.

[??]

You try to keep your advantage over it. You move your hand and send your shot into the Ursa's right side in a gap in it's armor before firing two more shots. It swats the one going towards it's upper body away, but the second goes for it's weak knee. The Grimm falls over.

It rolls onto it's remaining legs and charges at you again with a mighty, and pained, roar, glowing red eyes burning more fiercely than ever.

[??]

You wait for it to get close before diving out of the way.

This time, you aren't so lucky. The Ursa pulls up at the last moment and swats you with it's massive claws. It sends you into the far wall as your weapon is dropped somewhere along the way.

Everything hurts.

What happened?

[What /did/ happen?]
[Hello?! Ursa?!]
[You could use a nap...]
[??]

Keep it together Aero!

You lift your head and look around. The Ursa is roaring at you from across the arena. You're weapon is laying on the ground between you and it. Your three shots are scattered about, completely useless to your semblance now.

The Ursa is beginning it's charge again.

[??]

You get up and put your back against the wall. No where left to run. You wait as the Ursa closes in.

At the last moment, you lunge. You put everything you have into the jump as the Ursa crashes into the wall. It slumps over, but is clearly still alive. Or, as alive as Grimm can be.

You run, desperate to reclaim your weapon as the creature staggers back to it's feet, chunks of it's head armor cracking and falling off.

You grab your weapon and turn around as the Ursa roars at you.

You only have one round left before needing to reload.

[??]

You fire your last shot. You direct it straight into the Ursa's skull. The armor cracks further as a large chunk falls off.

You quickly eject the magazine and reach into your satchel for a new one as the creature begins to charge. You fish out the metal casing and jam it in before pulling back a piece of metal and chambering the first round as you crouch.

The Ursa was nearly on you, so you jump, firing at the ground for added 'oomph.'

You aim again, shooting the Ursa in the skull and obliterating the last of it's armor. You spin the spear around and aim at it's skull as you fire the last two rounds. You rocket down faster than the Ursa can react and pierce through it's skull.

It slumps over with you on it's head, clutching to your spear that's sticking out the bottom of it's head. Smoke raises as the Grimm ceases to exist.

You can hear cheering behind you.

[Get up and hold your arms up.]
[Single thumb up.]
[Just lay there.]
[??]

You give a thumbs up before finding Regalia in the crowd and blowing her a kiss.

You close your eyes, deciding to take a nap.

[Chapter XIV: End]