"You are. Without a doubt. The biggest asshole in the history of the human race."
"And you my friend are far too easily frightened by what was supposed to be a simple yet enjoyable prank."
"A prank? You put a knife to my neck!"
"Bayonet. And you were certainly deserving of something after the trouble you've caused us."
Daniel couldn't think of a counter to Lunare's point and was forced to concede defeat. "It's good to see you Lunare."
"And you too," Lunare said. He folded Nieh Mehr and stowed it underneath his coat before stepping forward and embracing Daniel. Not expecting it, Daniel paused before reciprocating the hug.
"Not that I don't appreciate the visit, but what are you doing here?" Daniel asked as the two of them broke apart.
Lunare glanced up at Scrapmetal and gave a forlorn sigh. "It is one of life's great mysteries Daniel. Shortly after you left, I received notification from Atlas that they wished for me to discontinue production of my Aura disruptors effective immediately."
"No way!"
"Indeed," Lunare said. "It was decided that the disruptors are a dangerous weapon to anyone who uses an Aura. They deemed them 'Huntsman killers'."
"Lunare, that sucks. I don't know what to say," Daniel said.
"Say nothing Daniel, I have gotten all the sympathy I require on this matter. I've spent the past six months petitioning their decision, but I can see now that it's fruitless."
"Well, at least they saved us that one time we fought D, those guys in the gas station."
Lunare raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it did," he said. "And furthermore, it aided in subduing you when you were uncontrollable. Which brings up the question, how is your Aura?"
Daniel considered the question for a moment before answering. "I, don't know. Does it usually feel like you can take a tank to the face and live?"
"Initially, yes," Lunare answered. "When I unlocked my Aura, it was to punch my way through my father's current project."
Daniel's eyes widened in shock. "You're kidding me."
"I kid not," Lunare said with a smile. "My father at the time was ignoring me and I, ah, lost control somewhat."
Daniel snorted, the image of Lunare lobbing Nieh Mehr across a room to nail a guy to a coffee machine coming to his mind. "He must have been pissed."
"Indeed. I didn't speak to my father again for six months afterwards."
Daniel's laughter died off, and the two of them entered into an uncomfortable silence. They shuffled awkwardly together for half a minute before Daniel piped up. "So, do you want to see my generator?"
"Oh gods yes," Lunare said eagerly.
Daniel turned around and lifted up his multiple layers until the implant was unveiled. He turned his head and watched as Lunare quickly tapped the bridge of his glasses into position and bent forward to ogle at it. "The power core is simple enough, it appears to be the standard cores Atlas uses in their mechs." There was a pause, and Daniel felt Lunare tap against the core. "but that can't be right, the core's length would push dangerously against your vital organs. Unless,"
Daniel felt Lunare twist and pull the core out of the generator. His back was illuminated by the glow of the Dust crystals.
"Oh that is brilliant!" Lunare breathed. "Cutting the core in half but redesigning the cells to maintain the charge. Oh, how I'd love to sit in a room with whomever designed this masterpiece."
"And you don't mention the fact that they took out two of my vertebrae for this?"
"Daniel, we discovered spine overrides years ago. It is old news compared to Aura generators."
"Well, let me know when you're done then," Daniel said. The wind had picked up and he shivered as it cut across his exposed back.
"Not quite yet I'm afraid Daniel-san," Lunare said. He rooted around in his pockets and pulled out a dentist's mirror and a flashlight, which he inserted into the power core's socket. "Mhm, yes. Seems to be a modified power system for the core; well done if I must say. I think I can see some devices beyond the socket, I wonder if," Lunare trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished as he inspected the generator.
After a torturously cold minute for Daniel, he finally retracted his tools and reinserted the core. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the Aura kick in and warm him slightly. He lowered his clothes back down and turned around to Lunare. "Is that it?"
"Indeed so Daniel," Lunare said with a grin. "I can tell you with a hundred percent certainty, that I have absolutely no idea how your generator works."
"And you're okay with that?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No Daniel, I am not," Lunare said. "This magnificent device will likely keep me up all night until I understand exactly how it works."
Daniel sighed. Every skin cell on his back begged him to keep them covered from the wind. But he knew that there was only one way for Lunare to be satisfied. "Well, they take the side panels off when they run my weekly checkups."
Lunare inhaled excitedly and whipped out a screwdriver, looking at Daniel expectantly.
"Ebon? What started the third battle of Mantle during the Great War?" Rojoe asked. She had finished her report to General Ironwood and was preparing a study guide for the team's upcoming test in Great War history. Normally, she'd ask Greeve for the answer, but the team leader was deeply engrossed in his own report and had left her previous questions unanswered.
Ebon sighed from his top bunk and pushed a sleep mask to his forehead. "Faunus recon element accidentally ran into the Mantle National Guard," he answered tiredly. "They had a big fight, and both sides lost a lot of people. I'm pretty sure they took down a couple of Mantle ships too."
"Thank you," Rojoe said as she penciled in the answer. She had moved on to the next question and was about to answer it as well when the implications of Ebon's answer struck her. "Did you say they shot down Mantle ships?"
"Yes Ro, I did."
"And didn't it happen in the south-eastern forest? The one we took Daniel into?"
Ebon considered her question for a moment before answering. "I think so. Why?"
"Oh my gods, we blew up a war grave!" Rojoe cried.
Ebon groaned and sat up. "No Rojoe, you desecrated a war grave. Greeve and I were half a klick out when the ship blew up."
"Oh, this is bad, this is really bad," Rojoe said. "General Ironwood knows, of course he knows. How could he not know that was a war grave? He's probably just keeping me on here until we graduate. Then he'll stick me in some desk job because I can't be trusted not to blow up war graves!"
"Ro, calm down," Ebon interrupted. "I'm certain the sailors wouldn't mind their ship being used to fight the Grimm. You're not going to be at a desk job."
"How can you say that? Of course I'm going to be-"
Before Rojoe could continue her ramble, there was the sound of keys scraping against the door. Two people conversed on the other side as they struggled against the lock.
"No, not that one; the big one." That voice was Daniel's, but it sounded off. Like something was against his face or in his mouth and muffling his words."
"I am using the big key Daniel, I can assure you it's not working." That voice she didn't recognize. Who was this person, and why was Daniel helping them get into the dormitory?
Rojoe glanced up at Ebon and saw that he too heard the voice. His hand had gone underneath his pillow and pulled out one of his Jester Pistols. He thumbed the hammer back and pointed it loosely at the door. He nodded at Rojoe, and she stood up to walk towards the door.
"No, see, the lock is all messed up, you gotta, ah screw it. Prop me up Lunare, I'll get it."
There was the sound of a portal opening, and Rojoe glanced back to see Greeve and his chair disappear into the ground. She heard another portal open on the other side of the door, followed by two screams of surprise. Rojoe yanked the door open and saw Greeve crouching on top of his chair with Haunted Toll wrapped around the wrists of the intruder. His overcoat had changed slightly, but the sight of his bespectacled face was enough to bring back memories of the fight on the highway.
"You? What are you doing here?" Rojoe asked Lunare.
"Attempting to convince your superiors to un-ban my Aural Disruptors, and to return a certain twenty millimeter cannon they requested," Lunare said. "Encountering Daniel and disabling his motor functions was entirely by accident."
"His what?" Greeve demanded.
"Hi Ro. Hi Greeve," Daniel said from near the ground. Lunare held him up by his hand, his keys near where the lock was when the door was closed. "Can we come in?"
Rojoe looked at Greeve, who scowled at Lunare but released him. He grabbed Daniel by his legs, and the two of them carried him into the room. Rojoe retrieved the chair from the hallway and closed the door behind her. Greeve and Lunare set Daniel down gently on the ground.
"What were you doing that disabled him?" Greeve demanded.
"If you must know, Daniel offered to let me view his Aura generator. In my haste and excitement, I may have accidentally tampered with the spinal bypass systems, rendering him unable to walk."
Greeve glared at Daniel, who could only look up at him sheepishly from his place on the ground.
"Daniel, that is extremely classified technology. You can't just show it to anyone who asks about it."
"I am not just anyone!" Lunare said. "Unlike some, I was able to comprehend much of the systems workings!"
"Not helping Lunare," Daniel interrupted.
"However," Lunare corrected, "I was unable to discover how the Aura was actually generated before Daniel collapsed. The only secret I discovered was the circuit system, and I have built much more complex designs for Scrapmetal, which I might add is somewhat illegally parked outside of your dorm."
Greeve sighed. "Daniel, did your old team always act this recklessly?"
"Lunare's from another team. He's just a close friend," Daniel answered.
"Greeve, what do we do?" Rojoe asked.
"Right now, let's get Daniel fixed," Greeve said. "You, kid."
"Lunare Nacht," Lunare said, offering a hand which Greeve didn't accept.
"Lunare. You're supposed to be smart. How come you can't fix it?"
"Ah. Well, to put it simply Greeve, I don't know what I did," Lunare admitted. "I also had somewhat poor lighting in the parking lot.
"Right, let's get him where we can see this," Greeve said. He strode over to the table and began pushing things off and to the side until there was a relatively empty space about the size of Daniel.
"Watch the violin!" Rojoe cried as her violin case was pushed off in Greeve's haste. Before it could hit the ground, a small portal appeared under it and it safely fell onto Rojoe's bed.
"Sorry Ro," Greeve said distractedly as he returned to Daniel's feet. Together, he and Lunare lifted Daniel onto the table. Greeve pushed Daniel's jacket up to view the damage. The right panel that connected to the Aura generator had been removed, and the interior was slightly more cluttered than Greeve knew it should have been.
"Tweezers?" Greeve asked. Immediately, a pair were pushed into his hand. Greeve flipped them around and began picking around in the mess.
"Hey Greeve?" Daniel said. "I don't know what you're doing, but I keep getting feeling in my right big toe but nowhere else. Is that normal?"
"This is hopeless," Greeve said as he extricated the tweezers from the panel. "I'm a Dust chemist, not a biomechanical engineer."
"Well I suppose it's fortunate that you happen to have one on your team, is it not?" Lunare said. "May I ask where Yarrow is?"
"Yarrow is out for the night," Greeve said. "He'll saunter in sometime after four but until then he's radio silent."
"Well, you could try and call him," Rojoe said. "For Daniel's sake?"
Greeve looked over at her, and she gave him a hopeful grin. Greeve gritted his teeth, and pulled out his scroll. "I know exactly how this will turn out, but I'll try for Daniel." He punched in Yarrow's number and held it up to his ear. After a couple of seconds, he lowered it and ended the call. "Straight to voicemail," he said. "We'll have to try him tomorrow or get Daniel to the hospital." He sighed and shook his head. "General Ironwood is going to chew us alive for this."
"Hello? Yarrow?" Lunare said. Everyone turned to Lunare, who had his own scroll up to his ear. "Yes, I know it's been a while since we spoke. No, things aren't particularly good right now. We're in a bit of a situation and need your help. Myself and the rest of your teammates need you. Yes, I am with them. It's a bit of a long story, can you give me your location? O'Malley's Medical Dispensary? Thank you very much. I'll be right over." He ended the call and looked at the rest of the group. "Yarrow is currently at some place called O'Malley's Medical Dispensary, I assume you know where that is?"
"That is incredibly unfair," Ebon said. "He never picks up for us."
"Well, I'm afraid I don't know what to say to you. You can certainly ask him once I pick him up."
"No need," Greeve said angrily. "I'll go get him myself."
Greeve conjured up a portal on one of the wall and stormed through it. the portal closed off several seconds later, leaving the rest of them in silence.
"Well then, I can see that the irritability Yarrow described was not an exaggeration in any part," Lunare said.
Greeve's portal brought him out in an alleyway across the street from O'Malley's. He could have made it closer or even inside the building, but he wanted to lower the risk of some drunk accidentally stumbling through. As it was, he closed it quickly once he noticed an unconscious man less than a foot away from where it opened up.
O'Malley's Medical Dispensary was a bar that had originated as a cheap and easy way to get illicit alcohol during the great war when Mantle banned recreational substances along with all the other things that were deemed to increase emotions and bring about further Grimm attacks. It survived the political shakeup as Mantle became Atlas and had been handed down through the generations since. Yarrow had discovered the place seemingly the day he could legally drink and had become one of their most valued customers. Greeve personally considered their alcohol to be distasteful, but secretly enjoyed the atmosphere. Not that he'd admit it to anyone, Yarrow would simply pester him even more to join him.
Greeve crossed the empty street and stepped inside the building. Having once been disguised as a simple dispensary, the floorspace was small and cramped, with hardly enough room for a handful of booths, a pool table, and two battered arcade cabinets crammed into the corner. The lights were dimmed for the customer's consideration, and a slow classic rock tune played faintly over the speakers. Yarrow wasn't hard to pick out, having gotten his yellow labcoat somewhere between splitting off from the group and arriving at O'Malley's. He had draped it over a chair he was sitting at infront of an arcade cabinet. Greeve watched him work the controls with a fervor he rarely expressed outside of combat. A half full glass of dark brown alcohol sat on top of the cabinet, and he occasionally reached up to take a sip.
Yarrow was too engrossed in his game to notice as Greeve made his way through the tightly packed crowd and was only pulled away slightly when Greeve tapped him on the shoulder. "I told you, wait your turn Johnnythan," he said. "I'm a thousand points off from kicking your ass off the scoreboard."
"I'm not Jonathan," Greeve said.
Yarrow froze for a millisecond, and it was enough for a pixelated enemy to catch up to his character. The screen flashed GAME OVER and went back to the title screen. Yarrow lifted a foot up and twisted his chair around so that it faced Greeve. "Yyyyyyyyelow," he said in a slurred tone. "Come to join the party at last?"
"Unbelievable," Greeve said. "You're already drunk?"
"I am not!" Yarrow said, poking Greeve in the gut. "I am, a little buzzed that's all."
"You are completely wasted. Forget this, I'm telling Daniel he'll have to wait," Greeve said. He turned to leave but was restrained by Yarrow grabbing on to his collar. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait," Yarrow said. "What's wrong with Daniel? Something I can do?"
Greeve sighed and turned back around. "One of Daniel's old acquaintances-"
Yarrow interrupted Greeve by putting a finger to his mouth. "Small words G-man, small words."
Greeve gave his teammate a look that would cause other, less drunk members of team GREY to tread very lightly around Greeve. He took a deep breath before continuing. "One of Daniel's old, friends, visited, and Daniel let him insp, look at the generator. They broke something, and now Daniel can't move his legs."
"Hmmmmmmm, spinal bypass system took a hit then? Lunare told me he didn't do biomechanical functions," Yarrow said.
"So you can fix it?" Greeve asked testily.
"Oh sure, no probs," Yarrow said. Just, bring him over and I'll take a looksee."
"Wouldn't it be better if you came to him?" Greeve asked.
Yarrow gave Greeve a look as if he were an idiot. "G-man, I just fought dozens and dozens and dozens of gunrunners tonight. I'm not leaving here; they're gonna have to make me leave."
Greeve took a deep breath. "You know the only reason you're getting away with that name is because you're drunk, right?"
"Awwwww, shucks G-man, stop it!" Yarrow said, covering his cheeks as if he were blushing."
"Fine, say I bring Daniel here, where would I put him?"
"I, shall figure that out," Yarrow said. "You just get him over here."
Greeve nodded and summoned a portal on the wall. "Don't let anyone in here," he warned.
"I got it, I got it," Yarrow said as he eyed the pool table, where two players had just started up a new game.
Greeve turned and walked through the portal, emerging through the wall in the dorm he had just come from. Daniel's friend, Lunare, was still in the room, regaling Daniel with a story he had evidently missed.
"-And that was when the police officers arrived and began the raid. As it was revealed, Lewis had called them to the location in order to prevent another fight from occurring."
Ebon was leaning forward on his bed listening intently, and Rojoe was covering her mouth with her hand. Daniel had no such control and was laughing so hard his body was shaking on the table. "And, and he just accepted it?"
Lunare shook his head. "He was incredibly annoyed. However, he had little leeway in the matter as Goodwitch threatened him with expulsion should he become a repeat offender. Which, I am pleased to say is now highly unlikely as of late."
Daniel sobered up at the comment. "Well, that's good at least." He turned as best he could to face Greeve. "Can he help?"
"He believes he can," Greeve said. He threw Daniel's arm over his shoulder and lifted him up.
"Allow me to assist you," Lunare said as he reached for Daniel's other arm.
"No!" Greeve snapped, twisting Daniel out of his grasp. "You can't go through my portals!"
Lunare took a step backwards. "My apologies, I was unaware of any restrictions regarding your semblance."
Greeve took a deep breath, calming his nerves. "Just, go. You've done enough tonight, and my team has morning calisthenics. Enjoy your time in Atlas Lunare." He turned back around and dragged Daniel through the portal. When they reentered the bar, Greeve saw the place had become nearly deserted. Beyond the quiet guitar riff playing from the ceiling, there was hardly a sound. The only remaining people were the bartender and Yarrow, who was calming putting his labcoat back on.
"Where did everyone go?" Greeve asked.
"A magician never tells his secrets," Yarrow said as he handed the bartender a small stack of Lien. "Put him up on the pool table, let's have a look."
Greeve complied, pushing as many balls as he could out of the way before laying Daniel down on the table. He pushed Daniel's clothes up once more, exposing the damaged generator. Yarrow pulled out a pair of gloves from his labcoat pockets and pulled them on with a satisfying smack. "Now then Daniel, what seems to be the problem?"
"Well, I know I'm lying on a pool ball, so I've got some feeling," Daniel said.
Yarrow tilted Daniel to the side and grabbed the offending ball. "So you were," he said. "Eight ball, corner pocket." He carelessly tossed the ball into the correct pocket and let Daniel fall back onto the table.
"Yarrow, are you certain you can operate on Daniel?" Greeve asked.
"Absolutely positively!" Yarrow exclaimed. "I've had four shots of whiskey while you were gone, and I haven't felt this good since that one time in Mistral when we-"
"Alright! Just start already!" Greeve interrupted.
By warm glow of one of the ceiling fan lights, Daniel saw it was nearly three in the morning by the time Yarrow finished. As it turned out, the actual damage was relatively minor. In his excitement, Lunare had accidentally disconnected a circuit from the rest of the system and bent it sideways. The time-consuming element was in the realigning of the circuit before it could be reconnected. Lacking any of his actual tools, Yarrow had improvised with a toothpick and a hairpin he'd found on the floor to maneuver the circuit back into place without disturbing any of the other critical parts. Greeve had tried to call the surgery off multiple times, but Yarrow had waved him off each time. Two hours after they started, Yarrow removed his tools with a triumphant cheer, and Daniel was able to move his legs once more. He got up from the table and took a few cautious steps around it to test things out. Aside from a bit of wobble, his legs were back under his control.
"And, voila," Yarrow said. "The boy walks again!"
"Thanks Yarrow," Daniel said tiredly, yawning deeply
"Don't thank me yet," Yarrow said as he stifled a yawn of his own. "Where is the, ah, thingy?" he asked, seemingly searching for words.
"The thingy?" Greeve asked irritably.
"Yeah, you know, the thingy thing. The thing that goes over the," he gestured at Daniel's back, "thing."
"The cover?" Greeve asked.
Yarrow snapped his fingers loudly. "That's it! The cover thingy!"
"Oh crap, I think I left it with Lunare," Daniel said.
"Well then G-man, you better go talk to the fine gentleman," Yarrow said.
Greeve groaned. "I can't. I told him to leave the room."
"That is unfortunate, and somewhat rude" Yarrow said. "Without that cover, anything from dirt, blood, and various lint particles could enter into the system and cause another seizure." He slapped Daniel's hand away as the teenager tried to pull his shirt back down.
"So, what do you suggest?" Greeve asked.
Yarrow stared out the window of O'Malley's. "Well, you could ask him now I suppose. He is right out there."
Daniel and Greeve turned to look where Yarrow was looking. Sure enough, Lunare was sitting across the street in Scrapmetal watching the proceedings through a pair of binoculars. Upon seeing the three of them staring at him, he lowered the binoculars and waved his hand in the air.
"Unbelievable," Greeve said, putting his head in his hand and rubbing his temples. "This night."
"Come along Greeve, time to make the walk of shame," Yarrow said as he put an arm around his leader and steered him towards the door. The three of them bade the bartender farewell and exited the bar. Daniel immediately started shivering, his multiple layers still pulled up above his implant. They hurried across the street and over to Lunare, who exited Scrapmetal and hoped down to the pavement.
"Good morrow Lunare!" Yarrow called out as they neared him.
"Good morning Yarrow," Lunare replied, sticking out a hand which Yarrow ignored to instead disentangle himself from Greeve and wrap Lunare in a big hug.
"Ah, It's been a while, hasn't it?" Yarrow asked.
"Indeed," Lunare said. As he extricated himself from the embrace. "I believe you were looking for this?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the missing cover, which he offered to Yarrow.
"Correctamundo!" Yarrow exclaimed. He took the cover from Lunare and reached behind Daniel to slot it into place. It nestled in with a click, and Daniel quickly pulled his shirt and jacket back over his chest.
"Well, if that is all, it is getting somewhat late," Lunare said. "Daniel, would you care for a ride?"
Before Daniel could answer, Yarrow held up a hand. "Not so fast Lunare! Someone has something they'd like to say." He looked over at Greeve with a sly eye.
Daniel and Yarrow looked over at Greeve, who pursed his lips for a moment before speaking up. "I'm sorry, for kicking you out of our room," he grumbled.
Lunare raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Yarrow who suddenly became very interested in the shattered moon. Lunare looked back at Greeve. "Your reasoning was understandable. Daniel informed me of your eventful night, I can understand if you would desire a respite. I have no issue with you." He stuck a hand out, and Greeve shook it after a moment's hesitation.
"Now then, it is somewhat late, and I am still acclimating to Atlas' circadian cycles. Yarrow, would you care for a ride?"
"Nah, the night is still young for an acclimated Atlesian," Yarrow said, stifling a yawn.
Lunare and Daniel were halfway into Scrapmetal, when Greeve seemed to muster the courage to speak up. "Lunare, do you mind if I join you?"
Lunare started the engine and listened to it intently for a couple moments before answering. "I have no issue with you, Mister Cobel, but Scrapmetal hasn't forgiven you for the names you called her." He gunned the engine, and Scrapmetal roared down the road the wrong way towards Atlas before skittering around and speeding down the road the right way.
"Greeve sighed as he waved away a cloud of exhaust that had been left by Scrapmetal's abrupt departure. "Yarrow," he said.
"Yes G-man?" Yarrow said.
"I'm going on a walk. Do me a favor and tell the team calisthenics are canceled today." Without waiting for Yarrow's reply, Greeve set out at a brisk pace. Yarrow watched him walk down the street for a ways before making a right turn at a stoplight and disappearing from view.
Yarrow pulled out his Scroll and hit the speedial for Rojoe. It rang four times before she picked up. "Hello Rojoe? Yeah, everything's fine. Daniel's friend Lunare is dropping him off. Greeve wanted me to tell you guys he's going for a walk and that calisthenics are canceled. Me? I've got half a pint I gotta finish and a high score to beat before I can go back. Don't wait up."
Yarrow pulled the Scroll from his ear and was about to end the call when something occurred to him, and he raised it back up. "Rojoe? You still there? Yeah, listen; I love you to death as a friend, but if you don't make your move on Greeve here soon people are gonna start to think me messing with him is flirting and that we've got a thing going on. I am not going to take part in a Romcom love-triangle Rojoe, I am not!"
Hello Everyone! Sorry for the delay in the chapter, but I had prior commitments most of last Friday. I had hoped to finish editing the chapter beforehand, but so much happened that weekend I couldn't do much of anything. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed all that! This was a bit of a filler chapter, the next one will have much more to it. Until next time!
-Wrench
ns 15.158.61.48da2
