A young woman walked through the decaying streets, keeping close to the decimated buildings as she quietly approached her target. The smelled of ash, blood and rubble permeated in the air but the ruined city was eerily hushed. The woman's black cape flowed in the breeze behind her, her short black, red tipped hair clung to her forehead from her sweat. She wore a black chiffon vest over a blood red tank- top, her black, red frilled skirt hung down above her knees, tied to her waist with a silver chain belt. Her legs were bare down to her combat boots. At her hips were two long swords with the hilts, guards and blades forming two cross like weapons, similar to the one that hung upside down from her neck.
Her expression was calm and her silver eyes scanned the ruins of the city, one ear listening intently to any subtle sound while the other was focused on the wireless communicator on one side of her head, secured to her ear. She kept her breaths as quiet as she could, her hands ready to reach for her swords at a moment's notice while she approached the end of the street, and her cover.
Pressing her back against the brick wall she took a long, steadying breath and swallowed her nerves. Listening closely for another moment she could hear nothing but the groans of a crumbling, once great city. Steeling herself, she inched a little closer to the end of the only cover she had before peering down the street corner. It's empty… good.
Psssh
"I'm in position." A voice spoke over the radio at her ear. It was another girl, her voice calm but with a hint of tension.
"Same here, I've got you in my sights kid." A much calmer voice laughed, eagerness unmistakable in her tone.
"I'm combat ready!" A third girl proclaimed cheerfully, her positivity eliciting a smile from the woman they were reporting to.
"Alright, Blake and I have been watching this one for a few days, if it's pattern holds we'll be able to ambush it here. You all know what you have to do?" She whispered, holding two fingers to the communication device in her ear.
"We've got this Ruby, don't worry, I'll mow down anything that gets too close." The second woman's cocksure demeanor was just what Ruby needed to calm her nerves.
"Penny and I will flank it while you go in from the front, if we do this right we should be able to take it out quickly and quietly, without drawing much attention to ourselves." Blake's breathing was steady and quiet as she prepared to pounce on their target.
"Don't worry Ruby, everything will be okay! We know what to do!" Penny's unfailing optimism was a refreshing reprieve from the bleak world they were in.
"Okay, as soon as it moves into the center of the intersection I'll go in first and grab its attention while you two pin it down. Be careful, this one used to be a Huntsman, it won't be a pushover like the little ones and remember, whatever you do, do not get bitten." Ruby's voice trembled as her hand moved to her shoulder, her eyes closed and a soft, pain filled sigh escaped her lips.
Her eyes shot open as she heard… something. At first it was faint but as it grew closer and closer, she knew what it was; the footsteps of something very large. She caught herself holding her breath as she crouched down, clutching her upside down cross with one hand while her other hand gripped the hilt of one of her swords, ready to unsheathe it at the instant the battle broke out.
Ruby's eyes grew wide as she saw it… the Grimm Zombie they had been tracking. It was massive, standing as tall as some of the smaller buildings, easily two stories tall as it lumbered on two legs. It's head was grotesque with a gaping jaw wide enough to consume a person in one bite. It's arms were long and trailed limply behind it as its massive claws three on each arm, each half as tall as its body, scraped over the pavement. However, the most horrifying thing was that its entire body was covered in mouths with needle like teeth. Bony like armor covered its head like an external skull and ran down in spikes along its spine.
"Well… this is it." Ruby whispered to herself, tensing her leg muscles as she gripped her sword tight in her right hand. Time seemed to slow as it moved, step after step, quaking the earth with its ambling walk towards the center of the street where they had planned out their ambush. One more step… one more step… now!
Ruby stood up, her eyes burned with intensity as she pulled her sword from its sheath, the blade nearly as tall as herself. With one final breath, she steeled herself, bringing her sword up in front of her.
"Aaaah!" Ruby belligerent scream pierced the silence as she ran forward, the monster taking no time in honing in on the scream, it's burning eyes glaring into the girl that charged at it. It's claws twitched before it dragged them forward, rearing them back like massive sickles, ready to tear into the flesh of Ruby as she reared her sword back.
"Now!" Ruby yelled, coming to a dead stop in front of it monster, making sure its eyes were on her.
From the right came a barrage of gunfire before a woman in dressed in black and white with cat ears atop her head leaped into the air, her Gambol Shroud slashing out in front of her as she swung it down with its ribbon keeping her at a safe distance! Her blade cut into the Grimm's shoulder, releasing a cloud of black haze from its wound as she fell towards it, the bladed sheath of her weapon held in front of her ready for another strike!
With a defiant roar the Grimm Zombie turned its head to her, raising its mouth covered arm up, smalling its elbow into the faunus, the needle filled mouths biting down the instant they made contact… but her image vanished, the real Blake rolling to a stop on the ground beside Ruby, firing up at it as she sliced at its ankle.
From its left Penny exploded out a window sending shards of glass raining down as she fell down towards the Grimm, her swords following close behind her! With a mid air twirl she commanded her dozen swords to form a circle around her as, each one slashing down like a saw blade with her momentum behind it, cutting into its arm and forcing it to cry out in pain before it swatted her back.
Still, she caught herself, shooting two swords into the building behind her, pulling her back before its arm could hit her and with her remaining blades she released a flurry of green energy beams, drawing its attention squarely on her. Penny gritted her teeth as the small beams seemed to be doing little more than agitating it, doing nothing to slow it down while it lurched towards her.
"Blake, gets its attention!" Ruby commanded as she ran forward, not waiting for her teammate's response as she gripped the hilt of her sword with both hands! With an immensely powerful downward swipe Ruby slashed through half its leg, her blade only finally coming to a stop a good way into the pavement beneath it.
Meanwhile Blake threw up her sword, letting loose a shot from the gun to wrap the ribbon around the Grimm Zombie's arm. She crouched down, pouring strength into her legs before jumping as hard as she could while the monster raised its arm to attack Penny. Blake was airborne, her light, small frame sent flying upwards by the strength of the Grimm… and now she was at eye level with it!
A smug grin formed on her lips as she cut its face with her bladed sheath, slicing its eyes and forcing it to stagger back as it shrieked from the wound. Blake's eyes went wide as its head shot forward, bringing her into biting distance of its massive maw!
"Blake!" Ruby cried out desperately as she watched its jaws slam down onto Blake!
Boom!
A fireball exploded in its mouth leaving it smoking from the damage! Blake appeared beside its head, falling fast but she was lithe as a cat, easily twisting herself to land on her feet as her weapon came untangled from its arm before catching it easily in one hand. She ran to Ruby's right side while Penny took her left, the three girls standing steadfast before the monster.
The sudden sound of a hailstorm of bullets filled the air, echoing throughout the city from above them, sending clouds of dust up from the exploding pavement. Around them the girls could hear the dying screams of lesser Grimm Zombies. Looking up Ruby could see large Nevermore's hungrily circling overhead before they too began falling one by one as a shower of bullets cut them down.
Psssh
"Looks like we can't do this the quiet way, we've been noticed. Kill that thing and let's get out of here, I've got you covered but don't take too long." With a cocksure grin a woman stood at the top of a nearby building, watching the fight go down, her sunglasses lowered as she put one foot up on the edge of the roof, her gatling gun's barrels smoking as it rested at her side.
"Thanks Coco! We'll try to wrap this up now." Ruby smiled as she talked to her earpiece. Her entire team was at her back and her confidence was high. Now all that's left to do is kill this thing!
Ruby's silver eyes became as cold as liquid helium as she reached for her other sword, walking forward towards the monster without hesitation, one cross shaped blade in each hand. The Grimm Zombie stared down at her, seemingly perplexed until its jaw swung open, swaying back and forth from its head as it hunched over Ruby, once hand swinging down behind her, its large claws and mouth covered arm separating her from her friends, but still she was unfazed. The young woman came to a stop, staring up at it, her swords held tight in her hand.
Then its other arm lashed out, its massive claws pointed towards her… but she didn't move. One claw bored through her abdomen, piercing her chest and coming out her back, the width of it almost splitting her in two… but Ruby didn't shed a drop of blood, nor did she drop her swords or yelp in pain. A black miasma emanated from her massive wound as she raised her head slowly up, her silver eyes glowing with a soft white light.
Her small body trembled and beneath her pale skin her veins turned pitch black, writhing beneath her flesh before ripping through to the surface! Black tendrils of blood vessels crawled over her arms from her right shoulder and white, bone light armor rose up from her flesh, covering the backs of her hands and following along her ribs while her teeth grew like those of a beast.
"Aaaah" An inhuman roar erupted from Ruby's throat and with one slash she cut the Grimm Zombie's hand off, leaving the gigantic claw still in her chest. Black veins burst from the skin around her eyes, crawling over her face but her silver eyes only burned brighter.
With one hand Ruby threw her sword, the weapon tearing through the air at blistering speeds before the long blade lodged into the monster's skull! With her free hand Ruby pulled the claw larger than herself from her chest, the gaping hole filling in with a web like matrix of black veins before closing back up… leaving her pale skin pristine like she had never been harmed.
Ruby could feel her blood boiling, crying out hungrily for negativity; hate, suffering, depression… rage. Still, I'm the one in control! Now free and fully healed she stepped backwards, keeping her glowing silver eyes on the beast as it frantically tried to remove the sword from its head.
"Finish it!" Ruby commanded, her voice deeper and much darker, almost beast like as she growled out her words.
"On it!" With that Blake bolted forward, swinging her sword with her ribbon as hard as she could as she jumped into the air. Her blades met its arm with a flurry of slashes, ripping through it and severing its limb.
"Penny, cripple it!" Ruby turned to her android teammate.
"You can count on me!" She gave a firm salute, smiling warmly before turning to the Grimm Zombie. Her eyes narrowed and her smile faded as her swords spiraled in front of her, a glowing mass of energy igniting at the center of her weapons before it shot out in a powerful blast of green light that cut its legs off, sending it falling down face first towards Ruby.
It's over! With a stoic glare Ruby effortlessly slashed her sword as it fell, cutting its head clean off. With her free hand she grabbed her other sword from its head as it flew right over her, its smoking neck laying only inches away from her as its body began to evaporate. The beast was dead.
"Ruby, you shouldn't fight like that, it was reckless." Blake frowned as she looked at Ruby's abdomen, her clothes had a large hole in them but she was otherwise fine, much to Blake's relief.
"I'm sorry but you heard Coco, we had to finish it fast, that was the best way to do it." Ruby gave a gentle sigh and her black veins retreated beneath her skin along with the bone like armor as her eyes ceased to glow.
"She's right, you can only take so much damage, you must be more careful in the future… we can't lose you." Penny took Ruby's hand in her own, her green eyes glistening with worry and caring. "Please, promise us you won't fight like like that again unless its absolutely necessary."
"We don't like seeing you like that and even though you can shrug it off, seeing you getting impaled is never fun for us." Blake took Ruby's other hand into her own, the two girl's standing on either side of their leader, holding her as their hearts filled with both relief and concern.
"I'm sorry… I guess it's hard to control sometimes. I promise I'll be more careful about when I use it. Still, without my aura or my Semblance I'm not much good without my Grimm power." Her eyes softened as she looked down at the Grimm Zombie's corpse as it evaporated into nothingness.
"You're our leader, the team needs you, with or without Grimm power… and we need you Ruby," Blake looked to Penny who gave a firm nod, a small but warm smile on her lips as she held Ruby's hand just a little bit tighter.
Psssh
"Hey, that's adorable and everything but we've got more Grimm coming, Zombie and vanilla so maybe save that for when we're in a safer place, particularly not out in the open in the middle of the city, my ammo isn't limitless you know?" Coco shook her head, but let herself have a genuine smile just a little, after all, it's not like they could see.
"She's right, let's get going. It'll be dark soon and we have to meet up with Weiss and Jaune's groups in about a week, we can't get bogged down fighting Grimm or lesser Grimm Zombies." The girls let Ruby's hands go as she sheathed her swords.
We've got a lot of work to do, but as long as we work together, we'll be able to keep each other safe. After all, we're all we have left.
"Are we sure we're going the right way?" Thistle tilted her head as she followed her leader through the woods while lugging the largest backpack of the group. It was hot and humid and even though the sun was now setting she was still thankful for her skimpy clothes; a denim vest, a single strip of fabric tied around her chest, white shorts and sneakers finally, were the weapons mounted to her wrists, two large metal bracelets painted purple and green. Her bright red hair was also thankfully short and out of her way, all except of a side braid that bumped against her cheek from time to time.
"Of course I know where I'm going!" Weiss huffed, the heat getting to her nerves and she held a map out in front of her, desperately trying to memorize as much as she could before it grew dark. She wouldn't admit it, but they were lost.
"Anyone else getting the sinking feeling that she really doesn't know where we're going?" Sun held his hands behind his head as he trailed behind the two much smaller girls. His feet were sore and his legs were tired, not that he'd ever complain about it considering his company.
"What about you? You have anything to say about it?" Sun turned to his side, a petite woman even shorter than Thistle walked beside him, her parasol unfurled over her head, shielding her pink and brown hair from falling leaves and shading her just a little from the heat of the fading sunlight.
Neo looked up at her faunus teammate with a bemused look in her multi colored eyes before giving a very unhelpful shrug. She looked back to their makeshift team's leader as she struggled with the map and a small smile formed from her lips.
"Yeah, I didn't think so." Sun sighed, letting his arms fall as his shoulders slumped. The newest addition to their unlikely team was quiet and kind of a mystery, however he knew that she was a lot stronger than she looked. Their team had fared pretty well together and they had made it out of a lot of bad situations by working together. He knew Weiss pretty well, Thistle was a tough little firecracker, she and Weiss had grown pretty close over their journey and then there was Neo. What little the diminutive woman communicated outside of gestures and smug looks came in the form of text.
With a twirl of her umbrella over her shoulder Neo bobbed her head back and forth, contemplating something as she stared at Weiss' back. Thistle was by their leader's side looking helplessly at the map, humming as she tried to make sense of any of it. With a small smile Neo shook her head, quickening her pace to pass Sun as she made her way up on the other side of Weiss.
Neo looked up at down at the map, the light was getting pretty low but she could very easily and very immediately see one big problem. With a silent giggle she grabbed the map from Weiss' hands, the former heiress giving her a looking of annoyance for a moment before she realized what was happening as Neo flipped the large paper around and handed it back.
"Oh… heh-he, thanks Neo. I guess I just don't have my head today, last night was rough and I really couldn't sleep." Weiss sighed, a soft blush tinting her cheeks as she scanned the map again, pushing back her embarrassment to focus on the map.
"Okay, now this makes sense!" She proclaimed proudly, smiling thankfully at Neo.
"Geez Weiss, you must be really embarrassed! I can't believe you had it upside down!" Thistle barely stifled a snort of laughter before Weiss' elbow jabbed her side.
"Like I said, I'm really tired! I was up all night last night remember?!" Weiss growled indignantly, looking away from Thistle.
"Okay, then do you want to ride on my back? I can carry you if you want, it's not like you weigh much more than this bag." Thistle smirked, walking faster until she was in front of her leader, offering her back to her with a playful gleam in her soft purple eyes.
"W-what?!" Weiss came to a dead stop, studdering as her blush intensified, beside her Neo looked very amused.
"Well you did say you were tired," Sun laughed, giving Weiss a small shove forward. "We should at least try to cover a little more ground before it gets dark and Thistle is strong enough to carry you. Unless you want me to."
"No!" Weiss blurted out, her hand slapping over her mouth while she held the map tight in her remaining hand. "I- I mean, why does anyone have to carry me?! I can walk just fine on my own!"
"Suit yourself." Thistle shrugged, standing up straight. "We should go a bit further and make camp."
"Yes, thank sounds like a good plan." Weiss concurred, thankful to be out of that embarrassing situation.
Without waiting to give them another opportunity to tease her Weiss marched forward. With the map now properly orientated and her head more focused it was clear where they had to go. They had strayed pretty far off the trail but it wouldn't take long for them to get to their next checkpoint, apparently leaving the beaten path was an unintentional shortcut.
As the team walked through the woods the plant life seemed to be growing denser and denser, the canopy above blocking out the setting sun, plunging them into darkness. A bad feeling began creeping down Weiss' spine as her senses were put on high alert, something just didn't seem right. Then, she realized what it was… the forest had fallen silent.
"Sun, you take the front, you can see best in the dark. Neo, you and I will take the middle, listen for any sound and be ready. Thistle, you take up the rear, you're our heavy hitter, don't let anything by you."
Weiss' swift instructions and urgent tone set her team to action as they all followed her orders, Sun's blue eyes darted back and forth as he peered into the dark forest in front of them. Neo and Weiss stood shoulder to shoulder, Weiss pulled out her weapon Myrtenaster from her side, pointing the rapier outwards while Neo brandished her umbrella. Behind them Thistle's weapon deployed, two karambit knives attached to chains spooled up inside her bracelets, her Spite Virtues dangling from her wrists, ready to strike.
The sense of foreboding befell them all, the uneasy silence in the dark trees felt almost unnatural. Their breaths were deliberately hushed as the tension rose, a bead of sweat rolled down Weiss' forehead as she looked fruitlessly for any sign of danger, at that moment finding herself very jealous of faunus night vision.
Crack!
A twig snapped from nearby, to their right! Weiss felt her heart skip a beat as she turned her head towards Neo. A quick glance at the rest of her team told her that she wasn't hearing things… there was something out there, close by but just out of sight. Then, another sound, a rustling of leaves came from Weiss' side, then the sound of dull footsteps came from behind Thistle.
"We're surrounded…" Sun whispered darkly, reaching slowly for his weapon at his back.
"Get ready and whatever you do, don't get bitten. Neo, you stay there, cover my back and stay close." Weiss' hand trembled slightly around the hilt of her rapier, her thumb resting on the revolver. She swallowed back her fear, placing one foot firmly in front of the other.
Then, they all could see them, the glowing red eyes that pierced the darkness with bloodthirsty malice in their gaze that was firmly fixed on the team. Agonized groans filled the woods like a horrifying chorus as they drew closer and closer.
"Don't let them get close!" Weiss screamed with no small hint of fear in her voice as she recognized the hungry growling of the Grimm Zombies.
With an upward swipe of her sword a wall of ice jutted up from the ground between her and the Grimm Zombies and immediately she spun her revolver for another attack. Behind her she could feel Neo pressing her back against her leader's, the petite woman having no long range options and knowing full well what a single bit would mean for her. So, Neo followed Weiss' orders and covered her back.
Boom!
A thunderous concussive wave shook the trees and quaked the ground as Thistle swung her chain toward the Gimm encroaching from behind, the explosion loosing from all over the chain at once, ripping apart the weaker ones while throwing the zombies that could withstand it a great distance back. Gritting her teeth Thistle retracted her chain, the knife coming back just below her wrist, ready for another blow.
In front of them Sun fired shot after shot as fast as he could, being the only one among them with real long range capabilities and the only one who could see well enough to make his shots count. Even so, there were just so many of them, Weiss could hear them banging against her ice wall, clawing at it and she knew it wouldn't hold forever.
I can't use fire Dust here, we don't want to be trapped in a burning forest with these things. My ice walls can buy us time but we need to take a more cautiously offensive approach if we're going to get through this! Weiss slowed her breaths, steadying herself as she raised her sword.
"Everyone fall in!" Weiss commanded. Immediately her team squeezed close, maximizing their defensive capabilities but making them easier targets if the Grimm Zombies broke through. I'm only going to get once chance at this, I have to make it count!
"Sun, where's the thinnest area!? We need to break through!" Their leader clicked another dust round into place before raising another ice wall right along side the first one. I don't have a whole lot of Dust left, but I just need to buy us time so we can get out of here.
"On Neo's side!" He shouted, looking around frantically in between fire. He was already half out of ammo and most of the ones that would go down with one shot were already dead, leaving the tougher ones to bide their time. Clever sons of bitches aren't they?
"Then that's where we're going! Neo switch with me! Thistle, clear the path!" Weiss yelled, sending up one more ice wall, this one arcing around them, covering their rear that she ordered Thistle to abandon. In a perfectly choreographed move Weiss spun around Neo while she did the same, twirling into each other's positions ending with Neo holding her small blade in one hand and her umbrella out like a shield in the other while Weiss pointed her sword in the direction they would be running, it was such a smooth and elegant move that it almost looked like a dance.
"Get out of our way!" Thistle screamed as she swung down her chains into the darkness and with all her might she unleashed a powerful explosion that toppled trees and sent the Grimm Zombies flying away.
"Time to go! Sun, you cover our retreat, Neo same as before, stay close! Thistle keep us clear!" Baring her teeth Weiss ignited glyphs around her team, sending spikes of ice shooting out in all directions!
With that, they began running, Sun shooting behind him, barely bothering to look as he turned his head back and forth, making sure the stragglers didn't get to him, a growing dread building in his stomach as he mentally counted down his ammo. Meanwhile Thistle plowed ahead like a force of nature, blowing the path clear whether they could see or not, but each explosion was taking its toll on her aura and she was quickly feeling the fatigue. Meanwhile Weiss protected their middle, moving her revolver and sending out powerful gusts of wind from her rapier, knocking back any unseen zombies that Thistle may of missed.
After running for… well, none of them knew how long, but they were exhausted and weak and tired. Sun's gunfire had ceased, instead he took to frantically swinging his nun-chucks around and using his Semblance to keep any Grimm pursuing them distracted with his duplicates. Weiss was down to one-third of her dust and Thistle was panting in exhaustion, her aura nearly depleted. After a while, they slowed to a tired walk.
"Sun, do you see anything following us?" She asked as, holding out one arm, touching Thistle's shoulder to make sure she was there.
"No… I think we made it out, but I don't think we should stop for the night until we find somewhere safe." He looked deep into the darkness, praying not to find those burning red eyes still following them. In the depths of the forest he could still barely hear their growling, but they were far away, and the normal sounds of the forest were returning.
"I know you're right… but I can't keep going." Weiss sighed, the adrenaline long gone and her body screaming at her to sleep, her eyelids were heavy in the darkness and the warmth of the summer air didn't help at all. However she was immediately snapped into alertness as she nearly tripped over Thistle.
"W-what is it!?" She asked in a panic, keeping her voice hushed as she heard her teammate moving around in the dark in front of her.
"Get on my back." Thistle's tone was hard and commanding as she moved the large backpack to her front, freeing up space for their leader on her back.
"T-this again? Thistle it's fine, you don't have to-"
"We need you Weiss, you didn't sleep at all and we've been walking all day and then we fight those things, if you keep pushing yourself, you'll die. Now, get on my back." The small girl's tone held and edge of impatience that told Weiss she wasn't joking around.
"Just let her carry you, I'm pretty awake after that, I'll keep my eyes out for any trouble okay." Sun smiled, patting Weiss on the back and giving her a little shove forward.
Beside Weiss, Neo smirked, nudging her with her elbow before wrapping on arm around her back and ushering her forward towards Thistle who was still hunched over, waiting to bear the weight of their leader on her back.
"Well… if you really don't mind. T-thank you Thistle." Weiss sheathed her blade at her side, a soft blush tinting her cheeks as she hesitantly climbed onto Thistle's back, the deceptively strong girl easily lifting her as she secured Weiss' legs with her arms.
"I promise, I won't let you fall. Now get some sleep, you'll need your strength for later." None of them could see it, but a content smile brightened Thistle's face as she began to walk forward, her heart warmed as she heard Weiss breathing steadily and peacefully as she fell asleep on her back.
"I can't believe it…" Jaune said slack jawed as he stared at the sight before them. The early morning sun cast long shadows over a small, dusty town. Nothing special about it… except for the lights that were on in a couple of the wood cabins.
"It's a settlement, and it looks untouched by the plague!" Pyrrha smiled brightly, closing her eyes she could hear the subtle sounds of life within the town; Dust generators humming, the minute clatter of dishes being done and a few muffled voices as the town began to awaken.
"Even before the plague, settlements outside the kingdoms didn't tend to fare well, this one looks untouched by any of it. That's such a relief, perhaps more survived than we thought!" Velvet beamed as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest, her heart soaring with hope as she thought about all the people that may still be alive.
"It probably has to do with the local geography, the large rivers surrounding this area along with the quicksands must help keep away the Grimm." Pyrrha postulated as she looked around them. The town was largely marshland and grass. Not the nicest place to live but at least they were alive.
"Can we please not talk about the rivers." Neptune cringed, shutting his eyes tight. "Why don't we just go in and say hi? We need some supplies anyone and a place to stay wouldn't hurt."
"You really think they could helps us out?" Jaune raised an eyebrow at his teammate. "It's not like they have much themselves, I mean, look at this place."
"Jaune, that's rude." Velvet narrowed her eyes at him, placing her hands on her hips. "Though, you do have a point, we can't take what little they have."
"Well maybe they could offer us a place to rest, it couldn't hurt to ask." Pyrrha grinned, her optimism shining through.
"Well, which house do we knock on, I mean, it's not like we know who's in charge, all the buildings look exactly the same." Jaune sighed, scanning over them again. Nope, not a difference. How are we supposed to know who to talk to around here?
"Why don't we just pick a house, knock on the door and ask nicely? I mean, come on, look at us, they'll point us in the right direction, just let me do the talking." Neptune raised his head proudly before taking the initiative, walking up to the nearest house while his teammates all exchanged worried glances before they decided to follow along.
It was a long cabin like the rest of them, pretty much nothing special about it, besides the fact that they could hear actual living people inside. The four of them had been on their own ever since they escaped Vale and had only run into a few survivors since and all of them had been Huntsmen and Huntresses. This was the first intact village they had seen that wasn't overrun with Grimm or Grimm Zombies.
Knock-knock!
Without hesitation Neptune knocked on the door, smiling brightly and coolly as he fixed his collar. Inside the house they could hear footsteps coming closer. Jaune and Pyrrha looked to each other before turning their attention back to the door, behind them Velvet stood waiting impatiently to see other people.
"Hello?" A young boy no older than twelve opened the door, he had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes and wore tattered trousers and a t-shirt.
"Hey there kid, are your parents home? We'd like to ask them something." Neptune squated down to the boy's eye level, smiling amiably… but the child looked nervous.
"Um, hold on." The boy looked around at the four members of the group, his eyes lingering on Velvet… or more specifically, her ears. "Mom! Some weird people are at the door!"
"Well who is it?!" A woman yelled back, they could hear her approaching them.
"I don't know Ma, I've never seen 'em before and they're dressed all funny." He called back to her, Jaune's team ignoring the insult to their attire.
"Who are you?" The woman's expression became instantly cold as she looked at them. She was a heavy set woman with short, curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked over the team suspiciously, bringing her boy close, putting her arms around him.
"Well Ma'am, we're Huntsman and Huntresses, I'm from Haven Academy and my friends here are from Beacon." Neptune had the sneaking suspicion that his charm was useless here.
"We're just looking for whoever is in charge here, we've come a long way and you're the first people we've seen in a long time and, well, we just want to see if there's anything we could do to help or maybe trade some supplies, possibly get a place to rest for a night?" Jaune laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head as he trailed off, unable to keep his gaze on the now angry and defensive eyes of the boy's mother.
"We don't get stranger's in these parts, we've been just fine on our own for as long as I've been alive so maybe you all can just go back to where you came from! We don't want none of your kind here!" She growled, turning her son back into the house and pushing his shoulder, indicating for him to go back inside.
"Well that explains how they've been safe this whole time, they're completely isolated." Velvet frowned, but she already knew that was likely the case. The four of them had to go and get very lost to find this place.
"And that's just the way we like it!" She stomped her foot down with finality. "You wanna see the mayor, his house is the furthest back from here. When he tells you to get your asses out of here, you better well do what he says, we don't want none of your kind around here!"
And with that, she slammed the door in their faces with a bitter huff. Jaune, Pyrrha, Neptune and Velvet looked wearily at each other, all of them feeling very disheartened by the unexpected turn of events. Then, they all looked to Jaune, their de facto leader, for answers and directions on what to do next. With a soft sigh Jaune looked towards the far end of town to the house where the mayor supposedly was and for a long moment, he just stared at it.
"We should at least try to talk to the mayor, who knows, maybe he'll be more agreeable than that lady." Jaune smiled, trying to keep team spirits up… and it seemed to work.
"I think that's a wonderful idea, we won't know until we try!" Pyrrha's support meant a lot to Jaune, more so than the rest of his team.
"It's probably worth a try, can't get much worse of a reception than we just got." Neptune smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Neptune is right, it's worth a shot and if they ask us to leave we'll respect their wishes." Velvet nodded cheerfully, her hope reignited.
"Alright then, let's get going!" Jaune did and about face, pointing towards the house with one hand on his hip before marching on ahead with his team following close behind him. As they walked through the small town the eyes of the villagers were glued to them. The team definitely stood out in their armor and unusual clothes, to people who had never seen Huntsmen or Huntresses before, they were probably a strange sight. Still, most of the looks only regarded them with curiosity rather than hostility. Jaune couldn't help but feel relief as they came up to the door of the mayor's house. This time, I'll do the talking.
Knock-knock
Again they could hear footsteps approaching, but this time, there was something off about them, they were heavy and uneven. Jaune had trouble placing his finger on what it was, right up until the doorknob turned and an old man with a cane stood before him, his hair was white and one of his eyes were clouded over, but the other was a brilliant blue.
"Who might you be?" He asked curiously, reaching for something out of sight behind the wall. For a split second Jaune worried he was grabbing a weapon, but instead, the old man brought up his glasses, placing them on his face to get a better look at them.
"Um, hello Sir, we're Huntsmen from the Academies and we've traveled a long way. This is the first settlement we've seen in a long time that hasn't been destroyed and we wanted to know if we could trade some of our stuff for food, maybe do some work for a place to sleep tonight? We've been almost non stop on our feet with barely any rest so, it'd be cool if you could um-"
"Huntsmen you say?!" He grinned wide, half his teeth were missing and the other half were decaying and yellowed. "I haven't seen a Huntsman is a long, long time, ever since I founded this here village. Oh he and I went way back, he's gone now, rest his soul, but he was a good man. He was from Beacon Academy in Vale, is that where you're all from?"
"Um, actually, yes. I'm Jaune, This is Pyrrha and Velvet and-"
"Oh my, girl, you there, are you by chance a faunus? It's been ages since I've seen one of your kind, it's only humans in this village you see, well you're quite a looker aren't you sweetheart!" He gave a loud, hearty laugh
"Um, thank you?" Velvet tilted her head but smiled courteously nonetheless.
"And I'm Neptune, I'm from Haven Academy, it's nice to meet you Mister?"
"Oh right, I darn near forgot my own name! Yes, I'm Old Calder and I'm the mayor and founder of this little oasis in the swamp! My dear old departed friend was a Huntsman, in his honor I'd be happy to let you stay the night!" He snickered. "I've got a spare guest room, might as well use it, you'll be the first!"
"We'd appreciate that so much sir you have no idea!" Jaune breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at his team who all looked equally thankful to have a place to sleep that wasn't under constant threat of attack.
"Well I'm just fix'n up breakfast, there's some here if you want it! In return you can tell me all about what's going on out there, I know I don't look it, but I've been out here for nearly a century so you'll have to fill me in on everything!" With a bright grin he waved everyone in before he turned around.
However, spirits sunk around Jaune's team and they thought about all they would tell him… about the plague, about the Grimm Zombies, about the fall of the Kingdoms and the Schools. They worried how he'd react to knowing his town may very well be one of the safest bastions of humanity left in the world. With a long, deep sigh Jaune turned from his team and followed him.
"It's a long story… you may want to sit down for this one."