HNTD

Chapter 87: The Field Trip

Chapter 87: The Field Trip

“What do you mean?” Celeste questioned, “What threat?” Leo sat up in his chair and crossed his arms, “The Vessel, an organisation that had a quick uprising years ago around the time before the war. The group was eliminated, much like a lot of groups and living creatures in the war; however it appears that the group is rising back once again. The Military and any sort of school such as Beacon have practically thrown away their information on The Vessel, assuming they would never pose a problem again. However, groups like the White Fang and my group, the Splitting Spectres have kept our eyes open, especially when people like Roman Torchwick and Mono Krome keep popping out into this world to wreak havoc out of nowhere! I would tell you The Vessel’s motives, however their behaviour now is FAR different from what it used to be, according to Dire Armbruster who I recently spoke with” Celeste turned her head in confusion, “Dire Armbruster?” Leo smirked and nodded, “The legend himself! You will probably know him, or refer to him as your friend Hunter Armbruster’s father; the man has seen it all and conquered it all. There’s very little Dire knows about, he even has foresight- to an extent. He most definitely has foresight, but it’s not very detailed and descriptive in its visions; usually he only sees tiny bits and pieces and usually his foresight only matters when the threat directly affects his safety or his way of life in Vale or whichever of the Kingdoms he travels to. He told me recently that he will occasionally get visions about Hunter, but his visions about Hunter’s safety and even more brief and vague then the ones involving his own. You’d think by that logic Dire would stay close to his son, but not only is Dire busy; he knows Hunter doesn’t need saving or protection unless the visions tell him so” Leo explained. Celeste nodded and grabbed a chair as she sat down in front of Leo’s desk, “So this... Dire, he says that The Vessel’s behaviour greatly differs compared to when they first showed up before the war?”

Leo nodded and sighed, “Surprising, isn’t it? I could chalk that up to a new leader, which is likely since if rumours are true; then the old Leader was murdered and that’s why the group was destroyed or abandoned in the first place. The old Vessel group was known to be involved in some, experimentation that the Military later caught onto after destroying the group and raiding their old base. As Dire told me, he doesn’t know what the Vessel’s experiments were, but if we are to believe that the Military directly used the Vessel’s experimentation ideas, then it involved using Void to alter humans and Faunus, as well as trying to alter people in general. Dire’s foresight is a result of these experiments. I won’t go into full detail, but the basis is that Dire was captured by the Military in which they injected Void into his eye, which is why he is known for that eye patch with the blue star on it and they also somehow gave him the ability of foresight, unintentional or not”. Celeste felt a sense of dread that she had never felt before, especially when she considered that these same people who did all of these strange and disturbing things are not only out there, but no one knows where and why they’re doing this. “Do you know where Dire Armbruster is?” Celeste asked, she figured if anyone could help her discover where The Vessel are now or what else they’re doing, it was him. Finding and stopping this group was crucial, especially after learning about the experiments they would do, Military or Vessel. Leo shrugged and chuckled, “That’s the bad thing about Dire; you never know where that Wolf has run off to. If he stops by here I’ll keep him here until you arrive, but until then all we can do is wait. Speaking of experiments; isn’t that boy that I fought one of them?” Celeste paused as her eyes widened, “W-what do you mean?” Leo cracked his knuckles and glanced down at his desk, “Well, you and I both know that his semblance is Pyrokenesis, so then how do you logically explain the Aura Sensing gift he has? After all, I know what Dire’s semblance is and it’s not Foresight; not to mention the majority of the test subjects from the Militaries experiments who are lucky enough to get some unique power are typically ones that involve sight; Foresight, Aura Sensing, I’ve even heard a few got the power to know one’s fighting style, semblance and their Aura strength just by a quick glance of looking at them” Leo explained. Celeste paused and then mumbled, “H-he does have a history with the Military...” Leo nodded and smirked a bit, “Precisely. If he is indeed an experiment, then his help in finding out about The Vessel or their experimental means or tracking down The Vessel with his Aura sensing would prove of great value”. Leo looked up at Celeste and grinned, “Oh! So is that why you’ve been keeping him around?” Celeste shook her head as she felt nervous at the thought of confessing. She built up her strength as she looked her Father in the eyes and replied, “No, Father. I “keep him around” not for his strength or his versatility, I stay with him because I love him; and he’s the first person to look at me for who I am instead of my power, of the warrior or rather the monster that I am deep inside! I’ve only known him for a little over five months and already he’s been more supporting and caring in that short period of time than you have my whole life!” Celeste exclaimed, “I know you hate him, but I don’t care. You can think what you want; but know that I’d rather be at his side than by yours ever again” Celeste finished saying before leaving her Father in silence.