#team shdo

[team-shdo]

Chapter Four: Nightmare

Gasping for air, Galu snapped upright. A cool breeze chilled the sweat on his skin, but did nothing to subdue is racing heart. If he still had his voice, he’d have woken up screaming. The same memory came back to haunt him again, getting more and more vivid every time.

Galu stood amidst a pile of corpses. But these were no nameless bodies. He knew them. His father, his mother, his sister, and every kind tribe member he knew from his youth all laid bloodied and butchered before him. It was difficult at times to even recognize which parts belonged to which heads. The stench of freshly-spilled blood forced its way into his nostrils and rooted itself wildly in his gut. Galu choked back the vomit to avoid desecrating the scene any further.

A heavy lump of guilt found its way next to the revulsion in his stomach. What could he have done to prevent this? He was only a toddler at the time, but still he felt things might have been different if only he hadn’t gone off to play by the creek, leaving his entire life at the mercy of the Grimm.

Paralyzed by the horror and gore before him, Galu wept silently as the shadows of the forest beyond stood up and turned to face him. Beady red eyes pierced his heart and stark white fangs dripping with the blood of those he loved smiled into his soul. He could do nothing but follow the towering beast as it loomed over him, somehow still hungry.

Its heavy breath warming his face and shoulders, Galu’s eyes were frozen wide. His cheeks raw and his ankles weak, Galu collapsed to his knees. The jagged shadow stopped low to meet his hopeless gaze.

He could see himself in the lifeless eyes of the monster. More so, he could see the similarly empty eyes of those around him flashing into mind. This creature alone killed everyone who laid around him. And now instead of fear, Galu felt rage.

In a flash and without thought, Galu gripped the broke rib protruding from one of the corpses. Staring the beast straight in the eyes, he plunged the bone deep into one of the red pearls. The monster snapped back furiously, lunging forward in retaliation. A razor sharp wind rushed past him, ripped open his throat, and sent him flying into a thatch shack.

Half whimpering and half snarling, the beast raced off into the woods.

Galu doesn’t recall anything after the wind. He only remembers waking with the scars of the attack and without his voice. He has woken up with those scars and the accompanying nightmare every night since. His team, unable to hear the terror in his waking, would never fully know the horrors he’s endured.

What they do know, however, is that somewhere out in this deep, dark forest, there is a vicious monster missing an eye.

[team-shdo]

Chapter Two: Rally

Another long day of tracking came to a close, and the frustration of not feeling any closer to finding the Alpha Beowolf weighed heavily on Galu. It was the only hunt that ever mattered, and the thought of his target slipping away was not a welcome one. This struggle did not go unnoticed by his team, but even they knew that only finding it could boost his morale. Still, Carmen had to try.

“You skipped dinner,” she stated with concern. “You really should eat something to keep up your strengh.”

Sitting on his knees, Galu adjusted to face his leader and began signing, “Strength does not serve me when there is no enemy to fight.”

“We’ll find it, Galu. We just have to keep searching. I know this hunt has been a long one for us, and even longer still for you, but you can’t lose that drive now.

She reached out and lifted his chin, bringing his eyes to hers. “They’re starting to change their tactics. While that may seem like a setback, it means that we must be on to something. And that something is worrying them enough to try throwing us off. We must be close.”

His eyes veered off to the side, then back to hers. “I believe you. I just hoped we’d have found it by now. It feels like we were so close for so long, and now this. What if we never catch it?”

Carmen grabbed his hands and held them together within hers. “Team SHDO isn’t going to stop hunting until we find that Alpha, Galu...no matter how long it takes. You have my word.”

Galu’s eyes widened as he saw the red in Carmen’s intensify. He knew this look, and he knew those words. They meant business. Having Carmen’s word was to have her unwavering dedication and determination.

His doubt was never with her or the team, it was with himself. He feared losing his chance to avenge his family, friends and fellow villagers. That was simply not an option. It was his life’s purpose.

Carmen’s words reignited the fire in him. Looking into her deep red eyes, he saw the fight she was ready to bring to his enemies. Carmen had that about her; the ability to envigorate her comrades with a state or shout. She was the banner and the battlecry.

In a rare moment of vulnerability, Galu broke his hands free and reached around Carmen. Smiling gently, she hugged him back. She didn’t have to see his hands to know what he was saying.

“Thank you.”

[team-shdo]

Chapter One: Prey

Four feet skulked through the forest as one. They’ve been a team long enough to know how each other move, and trained hard enough to have a cadence down internally. It was second nature, and invaluable against an enemy as ruthless and sharp as the Grimm. Even they could not prepare against a team if they only ever thought there was one Hunter in their midst.

The morning chill was wearing off. The mist was wearing thin, and would only aid the team for so long. But the need for stealth would soon be gone, too. At the head of the team, a small gazelle-horned Faunus cloaked in dark azure robes methodically stalked his way along a set of wild tracks. They were hunting Beowolves, and this was his life’s work. Once Galu Hanzo was on their trail, there was simply no escape. And his team knew that, so follow they did.

Galu raised a fist abruptly, halting his team. Two fingers shot up, pointed right, and another pointed left. His hand formed a knife and chopped forward. The others knew what to do. Quietly, they surrounded the Grimm sniffing their way through the woods.

Their eyes locked across the opening. They had run this play many times before, and it always ended the same way: with dead Grimm.

Galu was the first to move, as always. His speed was unmatched, so no one ever tried to do so. Low and quick, like an eagle swooping for prey, he caught both Beowolves by their ankles with his hook swords, bringing them to the ground.

Suddenly, a great red blur rose from the bushes. One of the Grimm turned onto its back, just in time to see the glint from the golden arm that was now hurtling towards it like a gilded meteor. First her fist hit, as the Beowolf growled defiantly, followed by a loud thud and a yelp, when the pile driver mounted on her arm punctured the beast’s chest. One down, one to go.

The second Beofwolf scurried to its feet, part fury and part fear. Baring its teeth, it poised for a leaping attack. In that same instance, a series of purple flashes cracked against its back until a heavy kick smashed against the monster’s ribcage, sending it reeling to the side. As it recovered and prepared to retaliate, the Beowolf’s chin was shoved up, clamping it’s jaws shut. Underneath, the barrel of a small SMG was pressed against its fur.

One pull of the trigger sent a tar-like substance spraying skyward in a fountain of gore. As many of these creatures the team had killed, they still weren’t sure what it was they were filled with. They only knew that whatever it was, it wasn’t blood.

“These were pups,” proclaimed the trigger woman. “What happened to the big ones?”

“I’m not sure,” the one with the pile driver stated. “But these aren’t the first drones we’ve taken out recently. Seems the soldiers are being held back.”

“Maybe these guys were meant to be fodder,” the purple haze pointed out. “They could be using them to see how we hit them.”

He looked to the woman in the large red coat, as the pile locked back into place with a chunky click. “What do you think, Carmen?

“You might be right, V,” she replied. “They’re testing us just as we test them. Hunting us as we hunt them. And if they’re switching up their tactics, that means they’ve figured something about us out. It’s time to switch things up ourselves.”

Carmen looked over to Galu, who was watching the Grimm dissolve with sneering eyes. Where the mask hid is expressions and feelings, his eyes spoke loud and clear. These weren’t the Beowolves he’d hoped to find. Not even close. She walked up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Galu,” she said, hoping to reassure him. “We won’t stop until we find the alpha.”

Galu closed his eyes and nodded.

[team-shdo]

Chapter Nine: Alpha

Galu plucked a tuft of jagged fur out of a large, deep footprint. The shape matched that of a Beowolf, but at least three times larger. He pulled down his mask as he lifted the fur up to his nose. The scent was a pungent likeness to that of the normal Beowolf as well. Every subtle odor and marking Galu was used to tracking was now screaming out to him. He knew the beast that left this behind.

“This is it,” Galu signed, “the path of the Alpha Beowolf. This is the monster responsible for the death of my family and entire village.”

As anger forced his grip to tighten, the needle-like fur pierced Galu’s palm. Blood oozing from his hand, he released the sheddings. He stood up with his eyes unblinking and fixed on the darkness ahead of him beyond the trees.

“It’s as good as dead, Galu.” Carmen reassured him. “We’ll give you first go at it, but the second things look like they’re going south, we’re jumping in.”

Galu simply turned toward her, eyes ablaze with fury, and nodded. He knew in his heart that her offer would not be necessary. The sheer rage apparent in his soul caught his team off-guard. They had never seen him like this before. He had never been this close to vengeance. They knew what this meant to him, but it didn’t make seeing their silent, loving comrade filled with bloodlust.

The only way to bring peace to his heart would be killing the Alpha. The team pressed forward, following the tracks through the night. Galu’s resolve was enough to fuel them all.

[team-shdo]

Chapter Eight: Contact

-KRAKOOOOOOOM-

An Ursa sailed through the air, splintering several blackbark trees before crashing into a cluster of Beowolves. The large spines on its back penetrated the unluckiest of the bunch, as the once towering Grimm itself dissipated into black smoke. The remaining beast fell silent for a moment, eyes wide with a feeling the were not used to: fear.

-CHHKSSH-

The locking of a golden pile back into its firing position served as the punctuation at the end of the statement Carmen’s fist made. The Grimm snapped their gaze at her, now knowing full well what that sound heralded. She took a single step forward, smiling through the fog of death, causing the creatures to jolt back.

One could only imagine what was going through their minds at this point. A red reaper peered through the darkness with burning eyes and ivory fangs, and Midas arm that glimmered defiantlly under the night sky. Their doom was inching closer by the second, and they knew it.

Desperation forced one of the last Beowolves forth, lunging at the crimson-coated menace with claws and teeth bared. A rippling, bronzed arm snatched it out of its advance, seizing its neck like a vice. Casually avoiding wild swipes, the captor places her golden fist on the monster’s chest.

-KRAKOOOOOOOM-

There were no more challengers that night.

[team-shdo]

Chapter Seven: Infatuation

It was rare to have a night like this, where the Grimm were nowhere to be found, the air caressed the earth, and the moonlight rendered everything in a soft blue glow. With the world growing darker with each passing day, beauty was hard to come by. But the team still managed to find it. If not in the world around them, the amongst themselves.

Galu, when not possessed by the hunt, often lost himself in fleeting glances at Vio. He may have thought him a bit abrasive and obnoxious when they first met, but time and tribulations revealed a sweeter, more vulnerable side to him. The overconfidence he so desperately exudes is not for himself, but for those around him. He never wants their spirits to waiver, even if he himself is terrified. Galu knew Vio’s heart, and it sang louder than his attitude or striking looks. Galu saw Vio the way he always tried not to be seen, and he loved him for it.

Vio may very well never know this, as his gaze stays fixated on Colby. Regularly teasing and joking with her just to hear her laugh is his everlasting, if a bit misguided way of courting her. It hasn’t worked, at least not to the effect he desires. To Colby, Vio is like the annoying sibling she never asked for. To him, however, she’s the most beautiful sight this world has to offer and her giggles are the choir of angels.

Likewise, Colby’s gaze is aimed elsewhere. Carmen, the unyielding spear, the red wall, the megaton woman, was all she ever wanted to see. Tall, dark, and gorgeous, and with a mean left hook. Colby was obsessed the second she witnessed Carmen in combat. The way she immediately charged the biggest threat, drew the ire of hundreds, and brought mountains crashing down, all to protect her team, was everything Colby aspired to be. In Colby’s eyes, Carmen was a goddess on the battlefield, and she worshipped her every move.

Carmen, unfortunately, had no desire for such things. Her team was her family, and thus, never allowed for feelings to grow in romantic regard. She loved them, sure, but in the way a Soldier loves their squad. They depended on her, and she on them, to survive the growing onslaught of darkness. She would die for any one of them, but that is where her emotions stayed. Her true love was combat.

[team-shdo]

Chapter Three: Formation

They had been watching the scouts for a few days now. The packs were small...never less than three, never more than five. The routes were organic, reacting to and pursuing stimuli as they roamed. But one thing was always the same. Every morning, just before dawn, they withdrew.

These Grimm were nocturnal. Up till now, the team were lead to believe that the Grimm didn’t require rest. And maybe they still didn’t. But it was evident that the level of activity in this area died down during the day.

Finally, a lead.

Galu stuck to the trees, as per usual, always leaping ahead of his team to assess the areas they were entering. If there was nothing, he waited for them. If not, he’d fall back with a report. In some cases, his team would simply walk up to dead and dissolving Grimm. It all depended on his mood.

Outside of his scouting, Carmen was always on point. She could take any hit, and strike back twice as hard. Less the tip of the spear, more a battering ram. She lived for battle and wouldn’t have it any other way. Plus, this way she would likely be the first to be targeted in the group. And protecting her team was paramount.

Vio was right in the middle of the line. He excelled at close-quarters combat, so anything foolish enough to place itself within the group always received a warm welcome. Sometimes literally, as one Vio’s favorite types of dust polish for his Knuckledusters was fire.

Colby held up the rear. Her petite stature held some surprising advantages. Anything attacking from the front rarely spotted her before it was too late and anything coming from behind pegged her for an easy snack. It never worked out for assailants either way. Colby’s twin uzis gave her the range advantage on forward attackers, and their tonfa form made giving flankers the beatdown all too easy.

Team SHDO was a well-oiled machine. And atop that, one whose components cared deeply for each other. Risking life or limb was a reflex, and the evidence of that was apparent. Carmen’s amputated arm, Galu’s broken horn, Vio’s giant scar, and Colby’s missing eye were all monuments to their love and dedication to one another. It’s what kept them close, and what made them strong.

Their team had shed blood for each other. Both theirs and the enemy’s.

[team-shdo]

Prologue

“Carmen,” a familiar voice called from the void. “Carmen, wake up. It’s time we moved.

Eyes that seldom close snapped open, as trained and alert as ever. Bright red circles scanned the environment, relaxing only once they realized the surrounding was already theirs. They looked over to where the voice was coming from. Recognizing her, they lifted just a little.

“We’re still in the clear,” she said. “But they are getting closer. Galu scouted our perimeter and saw a few of the big ones probing about 100 meters south of us.”

“Got it,” replied Carmen. “Stomp the ashes down and have Vio get the sleepers packed away. I’ll go catch up with Galu. If they’re the only ones onto us, we may be able to take them out without raising any alarms.”

“Right away, boss lady!”

“Thanks, Colby. Catch you in a few.”

A quiet hustle fell upon the campsite. If the enemy was getting close to them, then that meant they were getting close to the enemy. The hunt would be over soon, either way.