Fandom RWBY Red Desert Dawn

[Dmitri Tolenka]

The morning sun caresses the land below the ship's keel. The air is almost frigid as the captain leisurely floats the ship upward. After a weeklong journey to pick up the scattered hopeful applicants from designated sites with all smooth sailing, the mood is borderline jovial among the crew. Even the superstitious among the crew, who none too subtly warn against praising their good fortune too much lest devil listens and makes work for idle hands, do so with more of a smile on their face. A few notes play across the deck from a sailor who sits on the very prow. She idly plucks at a small lute she fished out from somewhere.

Off to port, the first few puffs of wind begin to race out from a series of craggy canyons, across the endless rust dunes to the east. A hint of green is just barely visible in once of the canyons, a last vestige of the once great oasis of Shade.

Directly ahead, a brilliant rainbow coloured stream snakes between dead trees and rusted industrial hulks before diving away for the northwest, into the Depths of Greed, the once great Dust mining areas that poisoned the area. Some embers flicker among the ruins, or less poetically put people far below go about the start of their day, somehow able to scrape by in the toxic wasteland. The peaks of Shade just barely make it over the horizon even further ahead.

To starboard the endless dunes turn from a shade of rust to gold, a vast expanse of harsh, biting sandstorms, some just as harsh underground life and little else.

Captain Morris stands at the rear, looking every bit the pirate lord from a historical drama set about five hundred years ago. Down from his tricorn hat, shiny black full beard, red overcoat and enough brass decorations to make a tuba with to the gilded brace of pistols and shiny sabre on his belt. Given the age of his wooden vessel and that it is clearly a family run operation, the option exists his outfit does actually date back to the period. Odd look aside he has been a gracious host and competent sailor all the way. Currently, he stares at something in the distance.

"ME DEAR! Please pass me the spyglass, thank yee." He bellows out as he steps over to the port railing. His wife pokes her head up from down below deck and throws it.

"Aye luv, wot be 'appening?" she asks, head tilted to the side.

"That be a weird ship off the port side." The captain replies as he peers through the scope. "Hmm. I see. Gather them aspirants up on deck would ya?"

A shout quickly travels from crew to crew to helpful aspirant: All aspirant Shade students are to gather on deck. Excited and sometimes nervous chatter fills the air. All fall silent as Captain Morris snaps his spyglass shut and turns to adress them.

"Thank'ee all fer gatherin' round. I'll be quick 'boot this. There be a vessel off to port that be flying the 'Need aid now' signal off to our portside. Near as I can see, they've got a bit o' rigging still up, but they be either drunk or bleedin' oot what with how they be flyin'. There's some louts in the rigging but at this distance I cannea see wot they be doin'. This could be a pirate trick, or a legit trouble case. I need ye ter stand ready for any nasty business we might encounter." The captain explains. "Plan is ter pull alongside and see what's going on. Any questions?"

 

[November Witch]

The aspiring idol was deep inside the ship. It wasn’t to hide from people. To the contrary, she still only had a small following and wasn’t exactly big. The android was down there for two main reasons. Being completely synthetic, she was quite heavy, even for her size. Laipei didn’t want to accidentally bump into someone due to the turbulance and send them flying off the ship, or stumble and fall on someone. As unlikely as that was, she didn’t want to risk it. Adding to that, she wasn’t exactly buoyant. So, if she fell overboard, down would be the only direction she was going.

She sat below deck, away from others and out of sight. Laipei took in the conversations around her, as well as surfing her socials on the internet. Multitasking was one of the things Laipei could do as easily as one could breathe. In fact, even in her daily activities, she was on the internet, replying to fans, business emails, setting up things regarding her shows and songs. However, her main focus returned to reality when the others were called for. She’d wait a moment for everyone to move to the deck before going herself. She didn’t want to draw attention away from whatever announcement may be happening with the presence of a previously unseen android. So, she stood near the back of the group, silent and waiting for the captain to speak.

Her software picked up his explanation as she listened and nodded along. It was simple enough to understand, and there were only a few hundred possible scenarios that could explain the situation. Much less than any situations that could occur on the mainland. The isolation of the ocean, or even a river, limited many factors that could play into such a conundrum.

Laipei shook her head, having no questions. And preparing herself for the odd stares and looks of wonder she would get when everyone else turned around. She hadn’t shown herself to anyone but the crew yet…

 

[Nellancholy]

Dry wind gusted through Lilly's hair as she leaned against the railing of the ship's deck, looking out over the large expanse they had covered, and the distance they still had to cross. The arrangements to be picked up and taken to Shade Academy were simple enough once contact had been established, but she imagined that for all her adventures so far, the real challenges lay ahead.

As the captain called for the aspirants to assemble to address the matter of the ship in distress, Lilly did not move to join them, though she did turn to look at them. Together they seemed quite a motley crew, their varied and often bright panoply of armor, weapons, and other possessions signaling their individual ideals and no small amount of experience. Quite different from the regiments of Atlas or even the preliminary combat students of Vale.

As for the matter before them...

Lilly reached for Southern Comfort on her back, shouldering it with a familiar motion and aiming down its sights at the distressed ship. During her travels, she had seen enough of false distress signals from bandits and conmen, and fought them off each time. If anyone was to be on guard, it would be her.

Her eye narrowed. Anyone else would likely need a scope to make out useful details, but not her.

With a slow exhalation, Lilly gathered her aura, projecting it into an orb about the size of a bowling ball, hovering by her face.

Slowly it unfurled into the form of a sharp-eyed eagle and took wing, circling around the ship in distress.

Letting her guardian's sensory input into her mind, Lilly relaxed her shoulders, taking in the sight. The occupants of the ship's deck were clambering in the rigging, lumbering across the deck. Urgent, but unfocused.

No.

She peered closer through the eyes of an eagle. Those were no drunken or wounded crewmen. Their forms were unmistakable. Those were-

"Hold yer horses, hoss!" She called to the captain. At the same time, her hand worked the lever on her rifle, cycling the first round into the chamber. "That ain't the crew! Those are Grimm, Beowolves the lot of 'em! The real crew's prob'ly hiding below deck. If I may, we probably oughta move in, but careful-like if we wanna help them take their ship back!"

Surely an audacious bunch of aspiring hunters would have no problem clearing out a wolf pack, right?

 

[Dest]

The dry desert heat beat down upon Flavian's resting form, the music from the crewmate echoing in his ears as he leaned with his back to the rail with his eyes closed. He had spent much of the days before he left Obscuro in parties and gatherings, often extremely late into the night, and he was finally recovering now that he had spent most of a week in the air.

As the captain made his call the electric young man glanced around the group, a grin slowly growing on his face, and took in those who would be fighting with him today. A sniper, a giant of a young man, an heiress looking chick, a familiar looking faunus, and, was that Lapei the idol? Huh, who knew she was planning to be a huntress? Either way, the quintet looked to be the most interesting of the aspirants.

At the sniper's call his grin grew slightly more feral and he began shaking himself out, getting ready for a fight. It was going to be a quick one with this many people so he wanted to make sure he could get in there quick. But for now, time to make some new friends. First, that sniper with the interesting semblance, if only to make sure she wouldn't shoot him in the back as he fought.

He came up behind her slowly, making enough noise that she would know he was coming of course, one only got shot a half dozen times before they learned that lesson, and spoke once he got close enough. "How good are you with that rifle of yours?"
Nellancholy

 

[IG42]

Mare Orcinus
Leaning against the railing near the bow Mare hummed lightly along with the lute as she watched dunes drift by. Between the clear skies, smooth sailing and adventure of a sort as the destination the only way things could be better would be if she were at the helm herself and on the open sea. With a sigh she futilely wet her lips with her tongue for the umpteenth time, it'd been a long time since she'd been both in Vacuo and this far inland and she was definitely missing the sea air.

Hearing the captain call for his telescope she straightened up and looked back at the aft deck, following the man's gaze she pulled out a much more modern looking monocular and examined the other ship. "Aye I see them a full pack of the beasts, they certainly seem too excited for there to be no one left we can save on board." She confirmed the other girl's assessment while drawing Argo from where it was slung across her back and splitting the blade to reveal it's rifle barrel and scope.

"Bring us alongside and ready the grapples captain!" Resting the rifle on her shoulder she pointed towards the other ship with a fierce look blazing in her eyes. "We'll cast those abominations from the firmament in no time!" Casting a glance over her impromptu comrades she faltered slightly at the sight of the android lurking in the back and turned her gaze back out the beleaguered vessel before she showed any other visible reaction. What's that Atlesian propaganda doll doing here?

 

[Megilagor]

Cedric was sitting on the floor inside the deeper part of the ship somewhere in a corner, after all, he hated flying and he feared someone might recognize him which wasn't a good thing.
And To him, it seemed as if another person had a similar idea, but looking at her, it might be for different reasons, hell he wasn't even sure she was human, but knowing what Atlas was capable of, she was probably one of theirs.

Cedric was interested in her, mainly cause for some reason she seemed vaguely familiar to him, and yet he could not put the pin on the reason why she is familiar to him. This train of thought was derailed when they were called on by the captain and crew, without much enthusiasm Cedric gathered plopped his rucksack on his back, and clipped his weapon onto his belt before going onto the main deck. There he awaited to board his way onto the other ship, but hearing the news of Grimm being there made his blood boil a little so he reached for his big thermos, which in fact was his weapon Witch's Brew, and with quick and smooth movements transformed it from its standby mode to its full automatic shotgun mode.

As Cedric was preparing to jump the gun he heard a familiar voice, then he looked towards its source, and his doubts were confirmed, he knew that guy and it wasn't from the good part of his life. Fighting and keeping himself hidden from his sight might be hard, so let's deal the first blow.
"If she wasn't confident with it she wouldn't use one, that's the general rule of thumb. Besides sniper's aim is true it only targets enemies and bad people and you don't seem like either."
Said Cedric loudly trying to make his voice echo so Flavian would have a hard time pinning who said it, but whatever it worked or not is another thing.

Then he ventured closer to the railing of the ship, putting one leg on it as to ready himself to jump onto the other vessel with one hand on his weapon and the other outstretched ready to cast forth his semblance onto the other vessel when they get closer to it.

"When I give the signal get ready to let hell come loose, or in case you are deaf or blind don't be surprised when you start getting pulled towards something."
Cedric gave his riddle of a warning about him being ready to unleash his semblance onto the other ship to hasten their approach and to gather enemies towards it.

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Mars Pallator
The enormous young man emerges from the rear of the ship to draw closer to the port side with heavy, thundering steps. He'd spent his time on the ship napping, mostly, or sitting upon the deck and meditating. Frankly, he'd spent more of his time upon the deck than within the ship, only entering for meals and to attend to bowel movements. The interiors were a touch too cramped for someone of his stature. And besides, he preferred to keep an eye out on the dunes.

His gaze sweeps the horizon, fixing upon the ship that was flying an aid signal. That sort of thing was exactly why he preferred to keep an eye out. Mars rumbles in acknowledgement at the Captain's explanation, a sound more like moving stone than anything truly human. He draws the enormous metal bow off of his back, 22 hand-widths long(for a normal person's hands, anyway), and draws a string of steel from his belt. With a swift movement, he strings the gigantic weapon, his muscles straining for a moment. Just looking at him, it immediately strikes the casual observer that being on the other side of that bow must be a truly terrifying experience.

The archer then simply waits, one hand upon his quiver and ready to draw a steel arrow once he has his mark. The ships draw closer, the beowolf becoming clearer to the marksman's eyes. Mars could have started taking his shots already, but he simply didn't wish to waste a single arrow. They didn't come that cheap.

The goliath of a warrior looks to Cedric and nods at the warning, before he nocks an arrow to his bow, and draws it back. There's a sound of metal straining and stretching, the steel of the bow distorting as Mars pulls it to its fullest draw. The arrow ignites into flame with a burst of Mars's semblance.

"On your mark."

The moment Cedric's pull begins, the arrow flies forth with a sound more like an explosion than an arrow shot, a lance of burning flame reaching out to skewer multiple Beowolves right off the surface of the ship. A wind sweepsthe deck from the force of the shot to wash over the other aspiring hunters like a desert wind.

And for the giant's part? He simply draws another arrow from his quiver.

 

[Dmitri Tolenka]

“They what?” Morris replies, head tilted to the side as he looks at Lilly and Mare.

“I cannea believe it. Hokay! Crew, make ready the cannons! Give them beasties a whiff o’ the old grapeshot!” he bellows.

The beowulves in line with the arrow flat out explode, as even the dark motes of dust scatter to the four winds instantly. One is blown overboard from it’s perch in the rigging. It’s howls of hate and panic fade into the depths, punctuated by a barely audible thud. All the various wolf creatures lock on to the students, red eyes gleaming. In one case, this is highly problematic - the beowulf in question chewed on the ship’s wheel before it looked up, and accidentally yanked the remains of the wheel with it. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the derelict starts to turn.

“Gods damn them!” Captain Morris curses as he tries to wheel his own ship away from the impending collision.

The derelict is a medium sized cargo hauler, easily twice the size of the student’s own transport. The wulves appear to teleport to and fro on it’s decks, leaving behind a shimmer of red light, eager to get close yet unable to respond to gunfire for now. As the ships close the distance to one another, it is clear that they do not actually teleport. The wulves simply move unnaturally fast, far faster than any of their kind should. Their twitchy, chaotic movement makes them something of a chore to track, but their sheer number mean that there’s simply not enough room for the wulves to dodge incoming fire. Student gunfire and grapeshot from the crew reap a toll - whatever effect boosts the monster’s speed does nothing for their durability.

Then, one zips to the far end of the derelict, sprints towards the students, and crosses the distance between ships with a mighty running leap. It’s talons scrabble for purchase as it lands in a crouch. Several of it’s fellows follow, acting almost as living ammunition… yet the second they land, they seem to lose the speed and the faint red shimmer.

 

[Nellancholy]

As much as Lilly tried to be reassuring to others, a tense situation like this was hardly the time to express doubts about one's abilities.

"Ah can split the mask of one-a those things from here. That good enough for ya?" She mumbled at her interlocutor. Dest

And then they started zipping around, leaving trails of blood red behind them, and suddenly she wasn't so sure.

The situation escalated swiftly, the Grimm moving as one as if they'd picked up the scent of blood. Or more precisely, emotions.

One of them wrenched the derelict's wheel off course before launching itself off deck, hurtling straight at the hunters' ship alongside several other members of the pack like artillery.

She exhaled.

BANGclickBANGclick

In the space of less than two seconds, two shots rang out, shattering the first Beowolf's mask. Bracing herself, Lilly thrusted her bayonet through its dissolving form, deadening the momentum it would otherwise have.

As the others crashed onto deck, she planted both feet and flipped backwards, keeping distance between herself and the assailants.

Landing in a crouch, she held her arm out. Turning sharply in midair, her guardian dove, landing on her arm. With a wave, she bid it transform, allowing it to briefly return to its orb shape before extruding into the gangly form of a greyhound. The beast leapt forward, sinking its teeth into the leg of the nearest Beowolf and drawing out a roar of pain that almost could make one believe the Grimm could feel.

 

[November Witch]

The android, seeing the ships closing in on one another, moved to the closest spot between the two ships after the girl with the rifle flipped back from that spot. The place where the Beowolves were the most likely to cross between the two ships. Eight objects that floated around her waist, as if pretending to be something akin to a skirt, floated to her front, and pointed themselves forward, ready to make quick work of those that followed. Unfortunately, they did just that. Through the hail of gunfire, canonfire, and arrows, some managed to make it through, and those were the ones Laipei took upon herself to deal with.

The muscular black bodies surged forward towards the android, and she stood prepared. The first one jumped straight at her, and was met with a blade straight through the skull, instantly turning to black dust. The second met the flat end of most of Laipei’s glaives mid-air, causing it to lose its momentum and plummet countless feet to its death. A third was able to land near Laipei, which was sliced from all directions by the glaives after they’d returned from the previous grimm.

As Laipei dealt with the Beowolves, the way she moved was something akin to her performances. As if dancing and putting on a show, she moved smoothly and in a way that pleased the eyes. If one of her songs was on, it would seemingly fit her fluid movements.

Unfortunately as the ships continued to close in, more and more came across. After all, just sitting on the derelict ship was asking to be shot at. Two grimm landed near her, one on either side. They swiped at her at the same time, but she moved incredibly fast. Faster than one would think a robot would move. She stepped onto one of her glaives, launching herself into the air and coming down onto one of the beowulf’s with a graceful landing, her weight immediately crushing it.

Another two landed, making three total. One swung at her, which she met with her arm, blocking it. Though she was forced to a knee by the momentum. The other two tried to attack the preoccupied Laipei from behind, but her 8 glaives would keep them busy. She was locked in a momentary battle with a much larger beast looming over her, pushing down with all its weight. Laipei managed to stand and sweep the legs out from under it, only for more grimm to start making the jump and landing near her.

Even with her many glaives, it was clear the android was slowly, but surely, getting overrun. Besides that, she still moved with fluidity and confidence. Maybe too much confidence, as she had yet to ask for any assistance.

 

[IG42]

Mare Orcinus
Bracing her rifle against the rail Mare began taking shots at the grimm expecting them to be fish in a barrel while stuck on the deck of the other ship but her confident expression quickly turned to a frown accentuated by slight grimaces of irritation whenever one of the abnormally agile beowolves dodged a shot even when the stray round still hit another. Removing her eye from the scope at the sound of flames behind her she admired the arrow as it arced through the air and burst on the deck of the other ship. "Lovely fireworks but do try not to send the entire ship down in flames before we've had the chance to search it for survivors." She commented as she continued firing pausing when more explosive arrows landed to avoid being dazzled.

As the larger ship listed towards them and the beasts jumped the gap Mare reverted Argo most of the way back into it's sword form only leaving the blade split. "And here I was ready to be the one doing the boarding action. Still I'm happy to respond to such enthusiasm in kind." Resting her sword flat across her arm she charged the beowolves firing as she went, when two bounded towards her at once she snapped her blade together and spun on ball of her left foot adding extra weight to her weapon during the motion sending the heavier blade cleaving through them both in the same motion.

Continuing to slash and stab at the beasts she shifted the weight of Argo between lighter and heavier Mare opened up a space around her, taking the free second to glance about she could see that the android was at least making herself useful even managing to block one midjump. Not to be outdone by Atlesian craftsmanship she rushed a beowolf that had just landed by the rail and slammed her blade down through it's mask while reducing her own weight to launch herself into the air and deliver a flying kick to a grimm in midjump increasing it's weight to max causing it to fall short of the deck and bouncing off to land safely.

Seeing the android was getting encircled Mare sighed supposing she shouldn't leave her in the lurch, extending Argo's hilt to wield it as a polearm she waded in. "Head down, now!" Not waiting to see if her call had been heeded she swung Argo in a horizontal arc hopefully overhead slashing a couple of beowolves and battering others with it's enhanced weight driving the creatures back for a moment. "You still functional?" She asked brusquely while retracting her hilt and passing her sword into her other hand, rolling her shoulder she decided that making such a big one handed swing again might be a little risky.

November Witch

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Mars Pallator
"Brace yourselves. Something upon the ship is empowering these Beowolves."

The enormous huntsman trainee strides forward, letting loose a few more arrows, each one reaping a heavy toll in Grimm as they find themselves obliterated by the passage of the massive bolts of flame and steel. But then the ships close, and Mars places the bow upon the deck of the ship, now drawing forth two massive blades. Another man would have difficulty wielding them with both hands, but Pallator wields each one in a single calloused fist. As he strides forward, their edges drag across the deck, throwing sparks up into the air. One group of Beowolves bare their teeth at the goliath, and leap at him.

Then Mars moves, and it's like watching a poem get written on the side of a wall. The first massive slash is a work of art, even as it splits a trio of Wolves into six evaporating clusters of darkness in mid-air. Mars's feet pound the earth as he move, the warrior weaving a deadly web of death around him with his two blades, not even bothering to use his semblance yet. It's like watching leaves get swept away by the wind; the Grimm are scattered and broken upon Mars's assault. Oh yes, some of them do break through, manage to get close enough to bite into his chest, his legs, his shoulders, the sacrifice of their brethren enough to give them a single opening.

But then Mars's blades flash again, and they die.

Upon the deck of the ship, Mars Pallator is a mountain standing against a black ocean. He does not force his way through the horde so much as wades, deft footwork and skilled bladesmanship clearing his path forward as if he was making his way through dense forest brush. Every step measured and sure. Another sweeping cut, another swift stroke. He approaches the android and Mare with all the inevitability of a millstone grinding grain. Mars's dancing blades carve and cleave in a whirlwind of death, Grimm-smoke billowing around him as if he was indeed aflame, and the enormous warrior rumbles in assent with Mare's words. He wasn't one to waste time by repeating something another said.

 

[Megilagor]

Cedric unleashed his gravity vortex upon the Grimm ship, corralling a group of them together. This prompted a barrage of attacks, primarily from the massive man at his side.
Recognizing the danger of the other ship's attempt to ram theirs, Cedric quickly released his semblance, knowing that allowing it to run unchecked could lead to complications.
Sustaining the ability was exhausting, and now, with the Grimm swarming their ship, he had to engage in combat. Despite being fatigued from pushing his ability beyond its limits, he had to think fast.

With only one hand available, as ending his semblance prematurely tends to cause him harm, Cedric made a strategic decision. He aimed his weapon at the group of Grimm that had boarded, loading it with combustion dust and keeping a crystal of electric dust between his molars to potentially boost his semblance later.

Observing his companions handling one group of Grimm, Cedric opted not to intervene, focusing instead on a new threat emerging behind him. To steady himself and avoid adding to his team's problems, he secured himself to the ship's railing. Activating his semblance and biting down on the dust crystal, he channeled its power, a risky move that could lead to pain or worse if mistimed. So far, luck was on his side.
Bracing himself against the railing, Cedric countered his semblance's pull, which manifested as a pulsing black orb. Infused with electricity, the orb shocked anything it touched. When the first Grimm from another drop approached the orb's pull, Cedric sprang into action. His weapon's explosive ammo and his semblance's shock worked in tandem.

His strained arm, once numb, was now aching, as if electric eels crawled over it. He endured the pain, never uttering more than a grunt, all while firing at the Grimm and unknowingly keeping the orb's pull at a safe distance from his allies. In this intense battle, Cedric's determination persisted, his shots hitting their mark.

 

[Dest]

"Get shot in the head during training cause your 'teammate' couldn't aim to save their life and you'll ask too," Flavian called back to whoever had spoken within the crowd, a teasing grin still on his face as he turned back to the sniper and gave her a wink. "But that sounds like accuracy enough for me!"

With a light battle cry the teen leaped towards the boarding wulves, drawing his weapons in midair and using them to stab one of the grimm. He was quick to launch his weapon out once more, taking a pair of charging grimm in the throat and killing them near instantly before Flavian begins spinning Cyclone slowly. As the weapon begins to pick up speed he starts moving forward slowly, allowing the chakrams and razor wire that make it up to do their job in repelling any grimm that decide that they want to try to charge him. Once clear enough from any others near him, the teen began to strobe his semblance and allow electricity to flow through the wires in his hands.

As the others began their own attacks Flavian began to laugh lightly, the sound growing louder as more and more grimm began to fall to him. He watched as the giant of a teen slaughtered the grimm like wheat from a chaff and the familiar teen used his semblance to great effect, and as the android began to be overrun he quickly figured out his own plan. With a quick wrench of his weapon he launched himself forward, landing next to the pair of android and heiress and trying to take a bit of the pressure off the pair so that they could recover.​

 

[Dmitri Tolenka]

The wolves know no fear. Heedless of loss after loss, they press on to their doom. The beast near Lilly tries to dodge away but with the semblance of a greyhound in it's thigh all it truly does is stumble back, in the path of an errant swing of Mare's sword.

As for Mars, where he treads the wolves simply cease. Only the youngest of wolves relentlessly hound him now, as the elder variants scrabble around for more vulnerable prey.

On the other ship, the last and largest wave launches itself overboard, to their doom. Mostly due to one person - Cedric.

While those caught in his vortex directly die to his gunfire, the real damage is done by the simple fact that even a brief tug on most of the Wolves is enough to send them wildly off target. There's more howls of confusion and brief panic as regular gravity takes it's toll.

Inspired by their heroics, the larger body of aspirants has formed a gunline guarded by melee specialists - but none come close to the absolute carnage brought on by six remarkable individuals who still dare to stand before the line. The last kills go to Flavian's storm of blades.

Then the captain calls out three words of terror:

"BRACE FER IMPACT!"

The two ships don't strike head on, but more rub against one another in a deafening cacophony of smashed timbers, tangled wires and screams of the crew and students. The rather prominent prow of the other vessel looms over the aspirants. Faded letters declare the other vessel to be the Working Spirit A large rent in the side shows some sort of dark vine roots overgrowing at least the front of the hull. Red eyes peek out from over the railing. A howl sounds out, and a pair of alpha beowolves appear in front of the main six. A trail of red smoke reveals they did not teleport, but just ran straight down with terrifying speed. The pair deliberately yawn, then cock their heads to the side to inspect the huntsman before them, as if to savour the emotions in the air... then one explodes forwards to where Captain Morris is cursing at the wheel, desperate to get his ship under control.

The other makes a break for the gunline of other aspirants.

Lastly, faintly, there's still motion on board the Spirit.

 

[Nellancholy]

The situation erupted into controlled chaos as battles often did, and the aspirants with their peculiar weapons and magnificent abilities did their part in cutting down the pack, like a scythe through wheat...or an industrial mining drill through layers of seemingly unyielding rock. The finely-dressed woman with a broadsword cleaved through the Beowolf staggered by Lilly's guardian, buying it and her a reprieve. IG42

Just when it seemed like the defenders had a decisive advantage, the two hovering craft smashed against each other in a conflagration of wood and iron, inflicting no small damage to Morris' ship and threatening to drag each other out of the sky like a pair of doomed lovers.

"Damn it all..." Lilly grumbled under her breath.

She barely had time to draw her next breath before the alphas of the pack materialized in a red blur, making a show of their disdain before bearing down on the defenders.

"Aw hells..." The one barreling towards the gun line barely flinched beneath the hail of gunfire, continuing inexorably towards them like a landslide. But there was one thing that hit a fair bit harder than most bullets...

With a growl utterly unlike anything a horse would typically make, Lilly's guardian flashed in from beside the Alpha, turning sharply and directing its hind hooves at the beast's head. In its swiftness, it barely managed to duck under the deadly hooves, rendering a decapitating kick down to merely a grazing blow. Moving like an enraged tiger, the Alpha wheeled and clawed at the spectral horse in a split second, sending it staggering.

But that opening was enough.

Lilly bit back the sensation of her aura draining as her guardian dispersed, its remains returning to her as a wisp. With a twist and a click, she split her rifle, clenching its barrel in her left hand.

"Buck up, varmint!"

Sprinting forward, she leapt up and thrusted the bayonet straight through its neck, whirling upwards to ride on its shoulders. The place where a throat would be emitted snarls of rage as Lilly held on, having created an opening for someone else to deliver a solid blow.

"C'mon! Sparky? Iron Lady?" Dest November Witch

 

[November Witch]

Heeding the command thrown her way, and grateful for some help, the android did more than just duck as one would expect. She instead bent backwards as the blade slashed above her and knocked quite a few nearby beowolves out of commission. She continued the motion backwards, putting her hands down and kicking the beast that was in front of her as her feet left the ground, only to come back down on the other side. Truly a flair only befitting a flashy idol.

“Thanks to you!”

A wink and a thumbs up would accompany her words, before quickly moving onto the task still at hand. Dispatching more grimm. Laipei would look towards the ship after hearing the large man’s words. She didn’t exactly notice anything other than the beowolfs’ oddly fast speed, but it would make sense that these weren’t exactly special grimm, and were just being affected by something on the ship.

The warning was heard loud and clear, however Laipei didn’t brace. She was more than confident in her footwork and agility. Besides, even though she was small, she weighed as much as multiple people. Meaning she wouldn’t be thrown around by the impact as much. What she was more concerned with, however, was the pair of howls heard over the splintering wood and splitting of metal. One leapt away with incredible speed, but one stayed.

Quite quickly another aspirant shot into action with a spectral image of a horse, and the pair attacked the grimm that had stayed to fight them. She seemed quite impressive, and it seemed like a handy semblance. Being able to summon a whole other being to fight with you in perfect sync…

Hearing the girl call out to her, Laipei was already moving. It wasn’t exactly the most threatening of threats at the moment.

“Unfortunately, it’s my time to exit stage right!”

She called, leaving them behind. No, the most important person at the moment would be the captain. Who else knew how to fly one of these, let alone navigate the skies safely? Well, of course Laipei could. She could just read through an incredible amount of data on the subject in mere minutes and become an expert in no time. But that was taxing, and would still leave them adrift for a few minutes while she essentially shut down to focus all her processing power on researching the position.

Unfortunately these alphas were incredibly fast. Laipei wouldn’t be able to intercept the alpha flying through the air towards the captain, even if Laipei considered speed her strong point. She threw all of her blades forward as the Beowolf came down from the apex of its leap. While her programming could account for many things, it couldn’t reliably be trusted with how the ships were rubbing against one another. Meaning the margin of error with hitting her target was far greater than normal. But she had to attempt it at least to save the captain.

Three blades missed, hitting the ship, and embedding themselves in the wood structure. Two missed their mark completely, sailing out into the open air, likely never to be seen again. However, three hit their target, causing the alpha to land a bit to the left of where it wanted to, completely missing the captain. Laipei, only a second later, arrived at where the alpha and captain were.

“Do your thing captain, I’ll keep him off of you.”

Laipei assured him. She was within 3 meters of her blades on the ship and in the wolf, so she was able to regain control of them. Unfortunately, that was the range on them, meaning the ones that had missed their target and flew past the wolf and the ship were lost. Right then and there, she devoted an incredibly small amount of processing power to send a message to her group of guardians asking for some replacements.

The three blades in the wall floated out and towards Laipei. She left the three embedded in the alpha there, as they could be useful in toying with its momentum. [/color]

“This is sure to be one unique performance.”

Laipei said, as if talking to the grimm.

“Show me what you’ve got~”

She hummed. Laipei knew reacting would give her a slight advantage over being proactive. Help her read the speed better and compensate for her movements accordingly. But more importantly, it could give backup an extra moment or two to arrive.

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Mars Pallator

As his fellow students halt the incoming Alphas, crouches down a bit and gathers his strength. With a mighty heave and burst of effort, he leaps from the deck of the ship, the whole vessel trembling a little as Mars soars through the air to land upon the deck of the Working Spirit. What Grimm await him are met with a whirlwind of blades, as Mars scours the ship for any sign of survivors, any sign of life. If need be, he'd cut his way through every bulkhead to search; to say nothing of figuring out whatever that thing was with its accursed tendrils within the ship.

He had a feeling it wasn't anything good for them.

 

[Megilagor]

As the ships hugged each other Cedric's concentration on his semblance broke, The sound of cacophony and him being smashed against the railing with his already hurt hand did not help much, but he somewhat knew what others had done. And it was good knowing that only he was getting hurt so far, albeit most of it was caused by his own errors.
His back got cold when two alpha beowolves appeared ahead of him as if they teleported, what was even scarier to him was the fact he couldn't react when the second one ran past him.
One was in front of him, one ran towards the captain, and of course, the heaviest person in both damage dealing and actual weight type just jumped ship literally.
At this sight, Cedric could not stop himself from saying.
"What the hell happened to not splitting the party... Wait I broke that rule first. Welp, time to get wild."
And as he said he did, Cedric released himself from the binding used to bind himself onto the railing and used it to lessen the load of carrying the witch's brew.
Seeing as the other alpha was still standing there spiteful, Cedric assumed it was cocky enough to let him prepare, and he gladly used that chance by changing the modes on his weapon from the full auto shotgun to what he called a thumper mode, which was essentially the same thing as the other mode but with grenades.
Albeit the magazine for the shotgun was more like a drum mag, as for the thumper it resembled more of a revolver kind of mag with 16 spots for grenades.

Having exchanged his mags, Cedric popped a gravity dust crystal into his mouth and ran off toward the other alpha with as much speed as he could muster.
Finally being close enough to him Cedric shot the first grenade onto its face, to obscure its vision Then he slid beneath the monster's nonexistent crotch while firing another two shots onto its neck and torso before sliding out the other side. Then he released his semblance onto the corner between the wall and floor where the alpha Beowulf stood albeit this time the orb wasn't black, no it was white it did the opposite of what it did before. While the black attracted the white repulsed and with it being infused with extra gravity dust its strength in the very instance of creation was strong enough to launch the alpha up and away from that point although considering its size and speed it wouldn't throw it out of the ship, it would make it hit the railings so it was a win for Cedric as he unloaded the rest of the grenades onto the alphas legs trying to render it immobile without damaging the ship too much, without even knowing if it did any real damage to it.

 

[IG42]

Mare Orcinus
"Hmph, you are most welcome." Mare brusquely replied to the android's thanks, fortunately the robot had had the sense to duck on command and not leave her inadvertently damaging the Atlas hardware. Keeping Argo's weight lowered and wielding it in her left hand to rest her shoulder for a moment she delivered a series of swift stabs like the hefty longsword was a rapier bringing down another beowolf.

Heeding the call to brace she bent her knees to ride shock that raced through the deck and boosted her weight keeping her rooted in place. "Hanging back while your underlings rush into the fray? How craven." She commented judgementally as the alphas arrived. Another large form caught her eye as the largest supposed student jumped onto the stricken ship and continued going to town on the smaller grimm, on it's deck she spotted one of the hatches open and a head poke out then quail and retreat at the sight of a new mysterious masked 'beast' rampaging about.

With a slight sigh of exasperation Mare decided that the others had the alphas well in hand she leaped onto the other vessel with the help of her semblance and knocked tunefully on the hatch. "Hello in there! Huntress (in the making) here, if you're interested in going somewhere a little safer could you open the door?" After a series of thumps the hatch flew open revealing four wild-eyed survivors all frantically talking at once. "Now now, you're going to just fine." Four was more than Mare could effectively carry with her semblance so she looked about for the other prospect that had boarded the ship and whistled loudly at him. "Ho there! Mind lending a strong back to these fine people? Maybe try saying something while you try to help people while you're at it just to make sure they know you're not an ursa with bloodied mask."

ThatWhichShouldBe

 

[Dest]

"Sparky? Really? Thats what you're going with for a nickname?" Flavian calls the words out as he begins to run, not towards the Sniper, but towards the captain. With the situation well in hand there, thanks to the strong duo of gravity and guardian, he was more worried about leaving their android ally alone in facing the one that had attacked the only one he knew for a fact could fly the ship. "Whatever, you and Gravity have that one, I'm helping 'Iron Lady' before we crash!"

With a rapid motion Flavian threw his chakram forwards before yanking them back, wrapping the razor wire that made up the connection around the Alpha's chest and arms before he once more strobed his semblance, electrocuting it as he got closer and closer to it. "Let's finish this thing off!"

 

[Nellancholy]

Ugh.

Both the boy surging with electricity and the android blew off her request for assistance. Well, not so much blown off as triaged properly. The gun line was intact, and she had the Alpha...kind of under control. Made sense that protecting the captain and helmsman took priority when one was on a rapidly-descending airship. In an unruly situation like this, making decisions and committing to them was the top priority.

It certainly ain't the first rodeo she had to tackle alone.

Suddenly, another aspirant burst forth from where he was apparently waiting in the wings, showering the Alpha (that she was still very much clinging to) with explosive gunfire and unleashed his semblance, catapulting the bulky beast straight into the railing of the ship's deck.

That was her cue.

As the beast hurtled towards the sturdy wall of wood, Lilly kicked off its back, launching herself a foot or so upwards. Wrenching her bayonet out of its neck, she made the best use of the space she created. With a butcher's precision, she drew the bayonet's thin point lengthwise over the Alpha in one stroke, and then straight down in another motion. Spinning, she leveled her shortened rifle at the intersection point of her slashes, pulling the trigger.

With a sharp blast, the Grimm almost seemed to come apart at the seams, falling into pieces on the deck and beginning to dissolve before it even hit the ground.

Lilly landed on her feet, reattaching the barrel of her weapon. She gave a glance and a nod to the aspirant who aided her.

"Thank ya kindly for the assist."

She had a few words for him about his willingness to commit friendly fire, but she decided not to hassle him about strike one, least of all in this situation. ( Megilagor )

"Now, we'd better give those survivors some cover."

Reaching under her poncho, she withdrew her hand with a bullet between each finger. With practiced motions, she loaded each one into the feeding tube and shouldered her rifle again, each shot clearing out any residual Grimm that could threaten the survivors being escorted by the swordswoman and the immense warrior. ( ThatWhichShouldBe IG42 )

 

[Dmitri Tolenka]

The fire from the gunline slowed the Alpha down, as it forced the beast to try and dance between the shots. When the horse slams into the beast, it's eyes narrow as if it realises that the end draws nigh. It staggers, blade in throat, unable to dodge the veritable deluge of gunfire, arrows, and a jucidious amount of grenades. It literally scoops a grenade out of the air and throws it forward, towards the gunline.

One exceptionally brave student in a knightly armour steps forward to catch it on a kiteshield with a cry of "My faith is-"

His form promptly flies over the railing, a golden glow evident on his shield and not even a singe on him. It would appear his defense is immaculate, however his footing is not.

"I SHALL be fiiiiiiineeee." he shouts, punctuated by the distinct fwoosh of rocket motors.

The Alpha is unable to juggle any more grenades, as shots bite into the eyes of the beast. Staggered, blinded by a particularly good (or lucky) hits and a push courtesy of Cedric, the beast is in no position to resist as Lilly quarters it.

There's a ragged cheer from the gunline as the beast falls.

At the same time, the Captain pulls both sabre and pistol, plants one foot on his ship's wheel, and prepares to fight off the hungering jaws of the Alpha. Only for it to stagger as three blades bite into it's side and throw it off course. With an enviable calm and collected aim, Captain Morris fires his flintlock into the beast, drops the gun and returns his attention to the helm fully.

"Methanks lass!" he says to Laipei. He doesn't even flinch when Flavian's Chakram nearly shaves his beard off, but simply leans to the side so that Flavian is free to entangle the Alpha with the trailing wire.

"OI! LONG-LEGS! PETEY! GRAB BILLHOOKS TER CUT US LOOSE!" Morris bellows into a pipe next to the ship's main wheel.

The Alpha, for it's part, shakes off the effect of electrocution, far too fast for a normal Grimm. It doesn't try to break free from the wire or attack Laipei, what it does is use it's unnatural speed to charge towards Flavian, jaws open. The shocks that run through the wire do nothing to stop it's momentum, instead like it's lesser kin the monster turns itself into a large torpedo of hate, black fur, and wickedly sharp teeth. Perhaps it can sense that the end is nigh, prehaps it knows that the wires constrict it's ability to rip and tear.

Lastly, on board te Spirit the four ragged survivors huddle behind Mare as they rant and rave. They're well fed, but whatever happened had their minds in near tatters.

"The creeping vines-" "Gotta get off, get off this ship-" "Burn it, burn it with the light-" "Stay out of the ballast hold, it's growing in the ballast hold-" "It eats at your soul-" "It ate the rest, we're all that's left, Gods above we're all that's-" "Can't let it get me won't let it get me can't let it get me won't-"

Mare can just about guide them like sheep but they're utterly terrified of the centre of the ship where a container haphazardly is slammed into the large hatch that leads into the bowels of the ship.

Mars sees the thing first. A single, large eye that stares right back at the giant man.

A burning torch thrown in by one survivor that babbles about burning impurities reveals the dark thing, something like tree roots or creeper vine that has grown all over the inside of the ship. Irregular, malformed heart shaped leaves grow all over the thing's body. At the very core it feeds into a large black mass with a single large eye. Various large vines throb ever so faintly, in rythm with how the large mass seems to expand and shrink like a human heart torn out of a body. Two vents on top of the black mass release a steady stream of red mist that falls to the ground.

The eye blinks at Mars, confused. A single vine snakes up like a tentacle, heavy with some rotten black apples the size of a man. The second they draw close they burst to release freshly born beowolves, so fresh they lack even the white bony masks distinct of so many of their fellows.

 

[November Witch]

Laipei was surprised by the beast’s vigor. It seemed even more hellbent on killing than most grimm. Its determination was fierce. She made a mental note and had the recording of this fight saved. Something odd was going on here, and she knew the eggheads in Atlas would be intrigued by this sort of odd grimm behavior.

Putting all that aside however, she had to focus on the here and now. She used the blades to pull the Beowulf towards herself as it began to run at Flavian. The force they could exert on something wasn’t exactly a huge amount or enough to cause it to stop. But if she could slow it down or change its direction, that would be enough. Laipei was to the beast’s left, and her blades were in its right side. Meaning as she pulled the blades towards herself, they would push the beast towards her, or risk the blades cutting deeper and deeper into the beast.

Hopefully it would be enough to, in the best situation, dice up the beowulf along with the wires. Or in the worst good outcome, it would cause the beowulf to miss its target and leave no one injured.

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

​

Mars Pallator
He was focused on getting the survivors out, first and foremost. Bringing them with him up towards a point where they could get on the deck, where his fellow trainees could help cover their escape to the other ship. The survivors' words were concerning, reminding him of old legends, but as long as he got them away from whatever abomination lay in the hold, Mars wasn't too concerned; the ship would be burned out one way other another. But then he sees the eye, and Mars realizes the fullness of what he was facing.

Beware, Beware, the Hangman's Tree.

But he is not a child, that monstrosities from nursery rhymes scare him. He is Mars Pallator, and as the Beowolves burst forth, Mars simply replies in flame. His blades burst into a furious blaze, as Mars cuts through the attacking Beowolves and the Vines in a flurry of motion. Sweat beads his brow as his body heats up, but this was no time to reserve the fullness of his strength. He wouldn't be able to protect the survivors otherwise.

"Run to the deck. Run."

Mars follows the four survivors close behind, covering their flight as they make their way to the semblance of safety. One of them, someone who had once been a pretty young lady before whatever had occurred on that ship, stumbles and falls. Mars practically pushes her to her feet, his other arm cutting through the approaching Beowolves and vines with a flurry of strokes.
His voice rattles up from the bowels of the ship, thundering loud enough for the other Trainees to hear, calling for aid.

"I HAVE SURVIVORS. COVER THEM."