Abyssal Nest

It keeps playing in my mind, like a record on repeat. Every time I close my eyes I go back to that place. ... That...Mission. It was supposed to be something so straight forward. Retrieving a rumored weapon from a paramilitary group known as "Chernobog". It was supposed to be. But somewhere...Things went wrong. Somewhere I made a mistake.

A black airship flies over a dense forest below, a map in the cockpit marks the location as Southwestern Mistral. A region that's relatively untouched. The destination? A ruined ancient palace that rises above the treeline, a majestic fortress of sand-colored stones threatening to collapse under its own weight. The cabin of the airship is full of people all geared up and looking as though they were ready for a decisive battle...A woman with long black hair stands up, looking among the passengers.


Blake Belladonna, the leader of the Black Ribbon mercenaries. She looked far more mature than she did during her time in RWBY, she looked more sure of herself, more confident. She had learned who she really was years ago. She spoke up calmly, detailing the plan that was to follow.

"This is it everyone. The mission we've been preparing for. As I'm sure you're all already aware, a year ago we received information that Chernobog had acquired an experimental weapon called an "Emotion Bomb". We still don't know what it really is, we never saw a single one back then...But we've finally caught up to them and their weapon. I don't think I need to tell anyone here that if they're bringing it out into the open then they probably plan to use it. That's why we've brought along the best bomb difusal expert in our ranks. There's no one I trust more with disabling experimental weapons than Marcus Alloy."


Blake points to a man wearing a helmet with a black tinted front. The man gives her a simple nod of acknowledgement before allowing her to resume her speech. The rest of the passengers look to him for only a moment before returning their focus on Blake.

"But that's exactly why I want Marcus to stay onboard the ship. There's no telling what we're up against, and if something happens to him before we can reach this..."Emotion bomb" then we run the risk of being in a no-win scenario. Jasper Braun, you're staying with him and the pilot to guard the ship. I need you to stay focused and alert in case Chernobog tries to take out our only means of escape. I can't afford to lose any of you. And...That's why I'm counting on you."


Jasper gives the woman an ever-confident smile, standing up and saluting her. Of course...That is moments before brief turbulence almost causes him to face plant the wall behind the passengers sitting across from him.

"W-Whoa! Hah! You can count on me ma'am! I won't let a single bullet near the ship! Marcus won't even know when the fighting starts if I have a say in it!"

Blake gives him a small smile, motioning for him to sit back down, a request he quickly complies with, lounging in his seat as he sits. From there Blake looks to two other passengers, a bulky man hidden beneath armor, and a timid-looking faunus girl who almost looks like she doesn't belong here.

"Brick, Cherry, you're joining me in the field. I want Brick to be our vanguard, and Cherry, I'm counting on you to use your staff to provide assistance to him. With his guard and your boosting power, we should be able to rush straight through their defenses and take the shortest possible route to that bomb. We know it's in the middle of those ruins...We just have to reach it. Brick, you and I know both know Cherry is a rookie."


The man known as Brick speaks up, cutting her off before she can voice her concern. His own voice is calm and undisturbed. It displays a tone of confidence without being cocky.

"I won't let any harm come to her. I've been doing this since you were a teenager, you can trust me."

He places a reassuring hand on Cherry's shoulder, it was the firm grip of an experienced veteran, one that the poor girl likely needed as she was shaking sitting in her seat. She practically jumps as soon as his hand grips her shoulder.


"Eep-! Um...Sorry Brick, I trust you! I guess I just wasn't expecting to be brought along on such an important mission so soon! I just started a month ago...Misses Belladonna, do you really think I'm the right pick for this?"

Blake smiled at her, giving her a reassuring nod. The woman spoke up with a tone that wasn't so different from Brick's.

"I chose you because I believe you have exactly what we need to do this without suffering any serious harm. Your semblance and weapon are perfect for protecting us in the field. You won't have to do any fighting, so all I need from you is that you focus on keeping your aura going as long as you can. Cherry, you've got this. This whole mission's success is something we're all going to reach as a team."

With that, there was only one passenger left. Blake's son, Nero Belladonna. She turned to him, speaking up calmly. She addressed him like a leader addressing a member of their team, not like a mother speaking to her son. To some it might have seemed cold, but to the Belladonnas it was business. They could speak as a family off the job after all.

"Nero, you're coming out into the field too, but I want you to split off from the group. Find an ideal vantage point without letting anyone see you, somewhere that gives you the clearest view of the ruins. I need you to act both as a lookout to communicate what's ahead of us, and as a sniper that can take out anyone that could ambush us. This isn't anything new for you, so I know you can handle it just fine. It's going to be routine as always."

Nero gave his mother a calm, quiet nod. Nothing else needed to be said. He was going to do the job he most often did, staying at a distance and picking off any troublesome enemies. He was in the least risky position in this entire mission after all. Not in the ship flying in the air, nor rushing through the ruins on the front lines. Ironically some might have seen his job as unfair considering how much safer it was than anyone else's roles here. But he was the only one that could really reach an ideal vantage point without being seen. From a far enough distance his chameleon genetics would render him completely invisible to almost anyone.


Within a few short moments the ruins came into view amidst the deep forest that surrounded it. The ship flew in above a clearing that was a mile away from the palace ruins. No one on board doubted that the ones guarding those ruins saw and heard their vehicle arriving. - Everyone was prepared for a fight. Blake stepped over to the hatch, motioning for Brick, Cherry, and Nero to join her. She glanced back at the pilot and gave him one last instruction.

"I want you to get a safe distance away, but don't land. Keep the ship running, we're going to be making a hot retreat from this place. Don't worry about fuel; we only need ten minutes."

A bold claim...But one the pilot acknowledged with a thumbs up. It seems that despite the difficulty of something like that, he not only believed her but was confident there was no chance of them failing to meet that time. The ship hovered five feet off of the ground within the nearby clearing as all four mercenaries took their positions at the exit. With a hiss the hatch slowly lowered open, revealing the forest floor ahead of them. As Nero approached the exit behind the other three, he was stopped by Jasper who placed a calm hand on his shoulder, turning around to meet the dog faunus.

"Hey, Nero...You better make it out of this in one piece, got it? I'll have a lot of choice words for you if you don't!"

He smiled, pulling Nero into a close embrace. Nero hesitated for a moment, surprised to be hugged so quickly, but finally moved his arms behind Jasper's back, smiling. He stood in silence for only a second before speaking a single word.

"...Yeah."

The caracal faunus placed his forehead against Jasper's, smiling at him before letting go and turning back to the exit of the ship... Blake raised a hand, motioning for them to wait a short second...And then she waved her hand forward, and the team hopped out, each one landing in their own way. With the bomb extraction team safely landed the ship quickly lifted off and flew out of sight beyond the sea of trees.

"You know the plan everyone, let's move! We have ten minutes!"


The Extraction team made their way through the clearing until they arrived at a wall of vegetation, Brick led the way, using his shield to push through brush and vines until they arrived at the second clearing - The one which the ruins rested in. However, the four of them waited behind trees before they stepped out into the field. The moment they did they would be under attack, that much was never in doubt. Blake raised a hand, slowly counting down her fingers from five to one...And then with the last finger counted the cat faunus gave the team a nod. Blake, Brick, and Cherry raced out into the open with the shielded mercenary leading the way. His towering shield was raised as bolts of energy began to fire from several points on the ruins. Dirt was kicked up around them as they raced towards the fallen palace, several struck Brick's shield, some even struck him directly...But thanks to Cherry's semblance, his aura held strong against the energy blasts, never once threatening to knock him down.

Cherry was visibly panicked as they raced, practically clinging to the large man's back as they ran for the nearest cover several yards away. Underneath the hail of gunfire she could be heard shouting.

"Happy thoughts! Happy thoughts!! Have to keep thinking happy thoughts!!! Aaaahhhh!!!!"

... And then the second half of this plan was initiated. With Chernobog's focus entirely on the advancing squad, a cloaked, almost invisible faunus stepped out from behind the underbrush. Nero had been forgotten by the enemy, exactly as the team planned. He quickly made his way over to the palace's eastern tower, completely uncontested by the many soldiers that were hiding inside. With his chameleon cloaking working flawless, he slipped into the tower unnoticed by the few guards stationed there and climbed up until he reached the tower's top. The faunus squinted as he observed the palace from the highest room in the tower...

... And realized he could get an even better vantage point if he applied himself a little. Without hesitation Nero climbed out of the tower window and onto its slightly sloped roof. With just a few moments of preparation he was able to dig himself into the roof tiles safely and set up his bow. Rhizophora was now trained on the palace's outer walls as he watched the enemy mercenaries stationed on it firing at his team. Nero reached up and activated a communication device fitted to his ear, speaking with Blake on the other end.

"I'm in place, you can continue now."

Meanwhile the advancing team had arrived at the closest wall to the palace, ducking behind it for cover as multiple rounds of energy impacted it, sending dust and debris flying everywhere. Blake held a hand to her ear, giving a nod as she received the message. It was time to enter the ruins for real...The faunus woman took a deep breath...And then gave the other two a thumbs up to signal the green light to move in. In a flash the trio were up and moving once more! The same plan as before was being used here to keep them from being struck by anything serious.

"Black Ribbon on us, look sharp!"


Enemy Mercs in pure black armor...This was the lifeblood of Chernobog. Armor that put even the most average fighter on par with someone who had access to aura. Their gear was as impressive as their numbers, and with the infiltration team now in close range the Cherno soldiers began rushing in, clearly aware their gunfire was simply bouncing off of the shield in front of them. A soldier ran forward and rolled to the side in an attempt to flank Brick... Only for the towering man to swing his shield in a wide arc, striking the soldier directly in the head and knocking him out in a single hit. All the while Cherry's semblance kept him safe from the gunfire he had opened himself up to until he was able to safely bring the shield back to his front. Each time a soldier attempted to flank this process was repeated.

Up until the Chernobog operatives began to make a retreat, hoping to regroup and create a better defense...However, retreating was an even worse option, each merc that turned his back on Brick was met with a painful shield bash powered by aura. To anyone ahead of this warpath it looked like a steamroller blowing through as chernobog units were thrown wildly around them, knocked unconscious at best and heavily injured at worst.

"They're moving in too fast, we need heavier support here! Set up the shield division on the middle layer now!!"

Up ahead of the path the exact thing the soldiers had been calling for stepped into sight and was fully set up in seconds...


The shield units had arrived, far more bulky than the regular mercenaries, these Chernobog operatives stood as tall as Brick, with shields of their own. Shields that could send out shockwaves of energy upon striking something. They were a formidable force that was only brought out when absolutely necessary. Even the mighty Brick would be challenged by them...And that is why Nero separated from the rest of the team for this mission: the very moment he had prepared for arrived. The caracal faunus stood tall on the tower roof, nocking a special blue arrow into Rhizophora...He pulled the string back and let it fly.

"These bastards don't stand a chance against our shield! Stand strong!"

A whistling sound was suddenly carried on the wind...And then the arrow struck the cracked stone floor beneath the feet of the Cherno Shielders. Before they could even react a tidal wave of water appeared from the unique arrow, forcing all of them off of their feet and sending them scattering; some fell over the sides of the palace, some struck walls and were instantly knocked out, others were knocked onto their backs. The two that managed to weather the ambush were now being pincered between an opposing shield and a distant unseen archer. One rushed at Brick, their shields colliding with a metallic clang. The shockwave burst forth from the enemy shield almost pushed him over, but with Cherry in support he was able to stand strong... The second hesitated for a moment as he tried to make sense of the combat before finally resolving to join his ally.

... Unfortunately for him a second arrow was carried on the wind, one with a bright yellow head. It struck the second shielder in the back, electrocuting him and incapacitating him.

"Yaarghhhhh...!"

The sound of his pained yell was enough to draw his ally's attention for only a split second - But a split second was long enough. As the Chernobog shielder turned his attention back to brick he was just in time to see the bottom of the towering man's shield meet his face with an echoing "thunk". It was over. He fell to the floor defeated. Blake let out a sigh of relief, glad that the expected resistance was being met with equal power so far...

"Let's double time it. They're going to go all out against us now that we've taken down their strongest line of defense. I just hope their countermeasure isn't detonating that bomb..."

Meanwhile back at the tower...Nero lowered his bow slowly, content with the damage he had done. Although the design of the palace meant his team was now moving out of his line of sight...If he was going to keep supporting them then he had to move to the west tower. The climb back down was uneventful. The foolish Cherno agents that were sent to guard it had no idea he was even ever there. The two arrows he had unleashed were completely silent, their effects on the front lines of battle assumed caused by the team that was rushing in. Nero managed to get safely away from the east tower...And then his ear twitched.

"Hm-?!"

The archer faunus narrowly managed to duck just as unseen force slashed out with a blade sharp enough to decapitate a beast with one strike. The tree that was behind him had been cleanly cut and fell down. Somehow, Nero's hidden ambush had been noticed by someone...And then another powerful blade slash struck out at him, the only warning being the sound of the air shifting as it moved. If not for his greater hearing it would have killed him the first time, to say nothing of the second attack and yet somehow his enemy wasn't there, as if he was being assaulted by a phantom. Thinking as quickly as he could, Nero rolled under a third attack, the faunus stopped on his knees and dipped his hands into a puddle of water.

"You can't hide from me."

The caracal threw his hands open, splashing the water everywhere in a fan pattern in front of him. Unsurprisingly to Nero, the water stopped in midair, seemingly caught on something...Something that soon decloaked with a mechanical hum.


"I warned them you'd be able to figure it out. Well, it's fine after all. It's not like seeing me changes anything. I'm still going to kill you here and now."

The third of Chernobog's operative units; The Assassin...A unit that hadn't made their appearance one year ago, a unit that clearly from this encounter had the ability to turn invisible; likely through a process much like a chameleon. This woman was definitely operating alone, she didn't turn her focus on anything other than Nero himself. The faunus took on a fighting stance as he stood up...And then he transformed his bow into twin blades. The assassin clapped, laughing at him.

"That's definitely new! They didn't have any info on you using swords. Lucky for you I like a man that can surprise me. Let's dance!"


The assassin rushed Nero without a moment's notice. She was fast like a bolt of lightning, but he had trained for something like this. He raised both of his blades in time to block her sword with a metallic clang that echoed through the forest. She rushed from all sides, turning invisible after each strike so as to make predicting her next attack all he could do. She was forcing him to block all around him. If not for carrying two swords he wouldn't have been able to keep up with her speed. The assassin laughed as she remained on the offensive in this fight, an opening impossible to find...

"What's the matter? Already giving up? How disappointing! I was hoping you'd last a lot longer! Ahahaha!"

If he didn't make an opening soon, he'd definitely be killed at this rate...! The faunus took a deep breath...And focused on his hearing. The sounds of the deep forest fell away as he focused only on what was immediately around him...And that's when he heard the assassin's footsteps! Nero's eyes shot open!

"... There!!"

Nero threw his swords into the air, turned to face the woman just as she uncloaked...And grabbed her blade with his right hand before she could even swing it. The assassin gasped in shock as Nero's left arm reeled back...And then he swung it full force right into her stomach! The impact knocked her backwards as she clutched her stomach, gasping for air.

"Y...You...!!"

She couldn't even finish that sentence before Nero grabbed his falling swords and gave the woman a combo of three slashes with his swords, causing her to yell out in anger. He finished by spinning his right blade around and striking her in the stomach with the hilt, knocking her away moments before she cloaked once more.

"You punched me! Bastard, that was a cheap shot!!"

Nero listened for her voice, his face was stoic...But on the inside he was smirking. He only gave her a simple response.

"Finally changed your tone. It was getting annoying."

The grass was crushed behind him...! Nero turned to face his opponent only to find her uncloaked and already moving too fast for him to stop her. Rather than slash at him with her sword however, the assassin opened up her legs, latching onto his head and trapping him there between her thighs. Nero desperately grabbed at her legs, trying to pull them away from his face as she slowly choked him.

"Mmghhhh...! MFGHHH!!!"

"Awww, what's the matter? Cat got your tongue? I'll teach you to make a mockery of me!!"

The woman flipped backwards onto her hands, his head still lodged firmly between her thighs as she used her momentum to swing him into the air and at the apex of the swing she released him. He could finally take in a breath of air, but it was too lately to stop himself as he flew right towards a tree, colliding with it. Nero stood slowly, rubbing his head and baring his teeth.

"You're going to complain when I fight dirty but you do something like THAT? ... I can't stand hypocrites."

The assassin's laugh echoed through the forest as she had vanished yet again... And wasted no time reappearing, her blade striking against his. Nero wasn't going to let her get away this time however! He brought his second blade up and locked her sword in between them. She struggled for a moment, giving him the exact opening he needed! Nero struck out by kicking at her! The assassin abandoned her blade to avoid his kick and gave him what he was looking for. He wasted little time striking out with a flurry of sword slashes! She screamed out and disappeared before he could continue the punishment.

She was gone...But he already knew how to handle this tactic of hers. Nero listened as he calmed his breathing...He heard a sound from in front of him! A direct frontal assault?! The faunus prepared to strike in front of him! But just as he prepared to attack he suddenly felt a heavy pressure against his neck...Nero instinctively dropped his swords and reached up to grab whatever unseen force was slowly choking him. He couldn't see her but he was sure she was now relying on her invisibility to choke him to death. The caracal desperately grabbed at the assassin's arm in an attempt to pry himself free. Despite his best efforts however, she held on tightly, whispering into his ear in a deadly sultry tone of voice that dripped like honey laced with poison.

"Mother warned me about men like you...But I do like it when they get rough! Aww...But it's just too bad this is all over now. If only you could have realized...But don't feel bad! It wasn't like you made a mistake! You were perfect...But a little bird just happened to tell me allll about you, and that little bird told me you'd be right here, exactly where I found you. Hmhmhm...It's almost too bad, I was starting to really have fun. With my heat vision visor I was able to put you at a disadvantage against your own skill! Isn't that incredible? Well...I'm sure it's a little embarrassing, but don't worry, you won't have to feel embarrassed for much longer."

With prying himself free failing, Nero now tried to reach for the weapons he had dropped...But they were too far away for him to grab. Whatever this woman had done to take hold of him, it was somehow keeping him from crouching down as well. There was only one last thing he could do...There was a chance it could fail entirely, or do more damage to himself than her, but it was a risk he had to take. Nero reached back into his quiver of arrows as his vision started becoming blurry...He dug through until he was able to take hold of an arrow shaft. - He had used them thousands of times before, he knew exactly what an arrow felt like in his hand. With little time left before he fell unconscious pulled the arrow from his quiver and jabbed the woman in the stomach with the arrowhead. The sudden burst of electricity that shot through her entire body told him he had found an electric arrow...And it was confirmed when the current shot through him as well, electrocuting them both.

"Yaaaghhhhh!!!"

"Ghhnn...!"

Nero grit his teeth until blood started to seep from his gums, he fought his own body as his muscles convulsed under the course of electricity surging through him...Despite everything he forced himself to move, and pulled himself free of the assassin's chokehold. The surge had short-circuited her cloaking device and she slowly became visible once more as she staggered backwards, stunned by the arrow still protruding from her chest. Nero recovered just in time as she was still in a daze.

"You were good...You almost won, you had me fighting for my life the entire time... But your biggest flaw was that you couldn't ever take this seriously."

Nero quickly reassembled Rhizophora and nocked an arrow against the bowstring.

"Too bad for you, I never kiss and tell."

Nero leapt forward, planting his feet firmly against the assassin's knee. He pushed off of her leg, flipping backwards through the air as the impact forced her onto her knees. Nero drew back the arrow and let go of the bow's string. The arrow flew forward with unrelenting speed...And met its mark as it pierced through the assassin's face mask. As the faunus landed, the woman slumpt over lifelessly.

With a sharp exhale Nero fell backwards, desperately catching his breath as the adrenaline from that battle coursed through him. He couldn't relax for long however...The assassin's words began to play themselves over and over again in his head.

"But don't feel bad! It wasn't like you made a mistake! You were perfect...But a little bird just happened to tell me allll about you, and that little bird told me you'd be right here, exactly where I found you."

... Someone inside Black Ribbon told them everything. Chernobog knew they were coming all along, they knew exactly what was going to go down and worse, if that woman knew where Nero was at in a plan that had been devised only a few moments ago...Nero's eyes went wide as he pieced it all together. The faunus forced himself to stand up despite the pain in his body and he ran for the palace. If he didn't get there in time something very bad was going to happen...