I'm back! Did you miss me?
...You did? Huh, you guys are weird. I love it! Just a heads up, as things only devolve from here.
Thanks to all those who reviewed! For those of you that found it a bit 'confusing', if you would, please clarify which parts. Some, obviously, will be expounded later on. But I know there's things I neglected to write down explicitly which is why I'm spacing out the chapters I already have written so I have the ability to go back and edit.
This all makes sense in my head when I'm writing it, but keep in mind I am very much a deranged individual (if you don't know me already, this is your final warning). I'm trying my best to synthesize both sets of Lore, and yes, it will get very confusing if I don't keep it reigned in. So help me keep my thoughts within the bounds of controlled chaos by calling out these missteps.
Or don't. Either way, let the madness continue!
"One more thing: hold this for me, will ya?"
Petrified, Pyrrha had little choice, and the one piece of clothing that wasn't shredded by the unveiling was forcibly shoved into her hands for safe keeping. Though she wanted to understand the significance of what she was entrusted with, she couldn't take her eyes off that which it revealed in its absence.
With the hat and attached veil removed, nothing stood as a buffer between the students and their innate fear. There was hardly a difference between the beastly face smirking at them and the giant one just now reemerging from the pit- except for the smirk itself, which decried a personality, a cunning behind the stark bone and inky flesh.
Which might not have been a good thing.
"What, do I have something on my face?" The smirk widened into a threatening smile, revealing rows of pearly white fangs as sharp as the tongue.
"Y-you're a-a-" Any attempt at a guess was halted as red eyes danced over them with amusement and anticipation.
"A-a-a Grimm? A Monster? Abomination…?" As he flexed his claws, Pyrrha realized how close they had been to her throat. "And, what if I am?"
None of the students had a coherent rebuttal, fearful of offending their savior or else unwilling to give him a reason to be their damnation.
The gigantic Grimm hauled itself over the edge with a roar of effort, reminding them all of their original concerns. Not even the Schnee could retain prejudice in the face of utter destruction.
"Are you…" Absently, the woven hat flexed under Pyrrha's fingers. "Are you really here to help us? Because if you aren't an enemy… what does it matter?"
Considering their desperate situation, there were few who balked at this naively mercenary attitude. However, one of those happened to be the humanoid Grimm himself, who then made them all flinch with a frown which looked like disapproval.
"Bah, you're no fun." While the students were stuck between distress and disbelief, the Three-Tailed Man-Beast turned back to the Five-Tails in hope of a more satisfying reaction. "If you must know…
"… I'm the lesser of two evils!"
The tailed beasts charged one another, mirror images with one only appearing smaller than the other.
Previously, Ruby had judged the behemoth Five-Tails to be capable of three-quarters of her own top speed, based on how quickly it crossed the horizon. Gauging its charge now, she realized estimate had been pretty good.
But HE was faster.
Faster than the beast and possibly her- she couldn't judge. She was one of the few who could even follow the blindingly fast movements as they played out blow for blow on a stage to which the teens had front-row seats.
Scratch that- they were in the splash zone, forced to seek cover as one of the ginormous tails smacked into the ground like a meteor. Squinting through the rocky shrapnel, Ruby never took her eyes off the proceedings. She saw the moment when the smaller of the two leapt up onto his adversary, clawing along the tail like a cat would a scratching post.
The tail might as well have been a highway directly to the great beast's nerve center, and he shot along it until he smacked into the helmeted head with all the force of an artillery round. It was almost comic how the comparatively insect-sized Man-Grimm could whip the mountain-sized monster.
But no one was laughing. Like he said earlier, the fight was far from over.
He didn't so much as land on the ground as bounce off it, just barely ahead of another strike which was hot on his own tails. Not helpless even when suspended in air, he practically swam through the subsequent attacks which tried to swat him out of the sky. Ruby noticed how he used his own extra appendages as a rudder the same way she used Crescent Rose to change trajectory. She might have even been jealous of the natural ease with which he accomplished this, but she was too consumed with amazement to be anything else.
"Move!"
She had also been too distracted to notice when the dangerous game of cat and mouse migrated closer to them. The others had already scattered, justifiably assuming that Ruby would as well. When they finally noticed they were missing their youngest member, there was only enough time to look back in horror as the Five-Tails trampled the area she had just been. Its hooves turned the copse into a clearing and the trees to toothpicks before their eyes, clouds of dust obscuring the girl's fate.
"Ruby!"
She heard her sister's voice but wasn't in a position to respond. Not only because she didn't know where she was, but her breath had been stolen by the strong hold around her.
"Damn brat… what was the first thing I said?"
Perhaps it was just the gruffness in his voice which made it sound so scornful, or it could have been her imagination. The difference hardly mattered to Ruby who was mortified at having to be saved yet again.
"I'm… sorry…"
"What makes you think I care any less than he does?" She hung her head while hanging from one of his surprisingly strong tails, suspended in the tree branches high above the ground. "Tch. Come on, quit your moping. I'm not going to carry you."
"Get your paws off my sister!"
"Ah, good. You can take her then!"
Ruby caught the warning mere moments before she was caught by her blonde sister bounding towards them. It had been a perfect toss, slow enough not to bowl the two of them over but fast enough that it wasn't intercepted by another massive tail which smashed between them and Ruby's black knight.
"Oi! You trying to get me in trouble? I'm supposed to keep these brats alive, ya know?!" A roar responded to the rhetorical-sounding question, blowing away the dust and making the students wonder if he could somehow understand his fellow monstrosity. "Yeah, yeah, quit fucking around!"
As the Grimm-like creatures charged headlong at one another, Yang turned her head away from the battle to the sister in her arms.
"You alright, Champ?"
"How?" Instead of answering her sister or even looking at her, Ruby continued to watch the titanic battle unfold. Somehow, it seemed as if the Five-Tails had acquiesced and upped the tempo, increasing its own speed and tilting the scales back in its favor. Yet, for every time the smaller demon was smacked away like a baseball, he rebounded nearly as fast. "How are we supposed to fight something like that?"
"You might not like it," As the others regrouped with them, Blake herself looked like she wanted to be anywhere else. Yet she stood by, if only as a witness to the destruction. "But I don't think we're meant to. Not that I entirely trust him, but it seems like he was telling the truth when he said that Ozpin wants him to handle it."
"Obviously! But why do insist on calling it a he?" Weiss practically spat as she paced the trampled turf, looking for a pronoun that wouldn't leave such a bad taste in her mouth. "You saw that thing, didn't you? It's a monster! A bloodthirsty Grimm! There's no way we can trust a beast like that to act in anything but its own self-interest. Who's to say once it's had its fun with the other one, it won't come after us? Our mission is to get these relics to Ozpin. I say we do that, then let the headmaster sort out whatever becomes of this debacle!"
As hard as it was to agree with the Schnee, Blake found it equally difficult to fault the conclusion she came to. Maybe it was the girl's haughty tone she found so distasteful. Though more likely, it was because of how easy it was to substitute the words 'monster' and 'Grimm' for 'Faunus'.
Then again, perhaps Blake was taking this superficial similarity too personally.
"You are right." Everyone was surprised by the redhead's agreement and looked at her as if noticing her presence for the first time. "We're not meant to take on such an impossible task."
"Thank you, Pyrrha. At least I know I can count on someone to-"
"-At least, perhaps not alone…" The white-haired girl went silent with incredulity, along with everyone and everything else as Pyrrha found herself alone with the battle being waged for their fates. Her hands curled around the one tangible connection she had with these veritable deities, not feeling the earthly object so much as the frustration that went along with it. "I mean, why else would we be here? What's the point of attending Beacon if we're just supposed to leave the protection of the world to those that are stronger than us? We're just students, I understand that, and yet…"
Yet all they could do was watch, much like how the others watched her without being able to lift a finger. Maybe they had been thrust into the deep end before they were ready, but surely they could do something more than silently drown in guilt?
"If not now, when do we take that first step?"
Silent now as well, Weiss recounted another time in recent memory where she felt totally outclassed and helpless. Yet, in spite of that- because of her own trial, she was here now, wasn't she?
"Nope!" Jaune flinched at the volume of his own voice, or perhaps how it was punctuated by another crash which made the trees around them quake in fear. "Nu-uh. No way. Look, I don't know about you guys, but this is not what I signed up for!"
Though technically he had not signed up for anything, Jaune was sure that he never would have faked his transcripts if there had been even an inkling that something like this awaited them. This was more than not-normal, this was, was… insane!
"What were the rules we were given?" The partner Jaune had almost forgotten about asked, making his guilt temporarily override cowardice. "At the beginning, before… this."
"Retrieve the relics." Yang fingered the white knight chess piece in her pocket, remembering that it had indeed been earlier today.
"Partner with the first person you make eye contact with." Weiss grumbled, folding her arms and trying to recall her ire which now seemed so paltry.
"Landing strategy…" Jaune rubbed his arm in soreness and chagrin, trying to contribute something.
"Don't get in the way." Over her shoulder Ruby muttered defiantly while fixated on the fight.
"Don't blink." Like Ruby, Blake was fixatedly tracing the dark streaks which decorated the skyline like a daytime meteor shower.
"... And don't hesitate to destroy anything in your path." Pyrrha supplied when it seemed no one else would.
"That's code for: Break his legs! Right?" Nora surged forward; whatever nervousness she'd previously held converted into manic excitement.
Ren tried to placate his friend with a calming hand on the shoulder, but then feared that she was already too heavily invested, and he just would be swept along for the ride. "It seems like it," He sighed.
"Come on, I know you've got more than that!" Picking himself out of a hoofprint, the Three-Tailed Man-Grimm rolled his shoulders and cocked his predatorial head at his opponent. "You've done a good job holding back, buddy. I'm really proud of ya. But now the brats aren't here, so let's cut loose and have some fun!"
"Now!"
"…Of course…"
Of course, the horse-dolphin would finally choose to listen to him the exact moment when the humans (and not-so-hidden Faunus) chose to disregard advice. Her cursed their mulishness along with his own myopathy which kept him from noticing until now. Then he took off towards the redhead with whom he entrusted one of his few remaining possessions.
With the beast being distracted by the flighty Ren and expendable Jaune, Pyrrha threw herself behind her spear and targeted the giant beast's ankle. The beast above recoiled its injured leg more in surprise and curiosity than actual pain, looking to see what kind of thorn it had stepped on during its wanton destruction.
As the Grimm inadvertently unbalanced itself, a crimson blur snuck in beneath its notice and dropped its payload. Weiss unfurled from her partner's slipstream and shot a patch of ice under the other columnar foreleg before she was picked up on Ruby's return trip. Once everyone was out from underneath, the partners collectively attacked the precarious pillar with every bit of explosive power and powder they had left.
The Grimm's overgrown fingernail slid easily on the ice and took the towering limb down with it like a bowling pin. With its front support then gone, the monster collapsed, its shovel-like jaw digging into the ground.
"Yang! Nora!" Pyrrha called out even before making sure that she herself was clear of the falling body.
"One 'Woman-of-Mass-Destruction' inbound!"
Yang hollered above the sounds of her own exertion, digging her heels even further into the dirt and leaning back just that little bit extra to get the elasticity she desired. A similar tactic which they had used in their earlier victory over the Avian Grimm, this time it was Nora who was loaded into the improved slingshot and aimed at the monster's unmissable mug. And instead of the ruins, Blake's nigh-indestructible ribbon was yoked between two elder oaks who were bent backwards like saplings in a typhoon under the stress.
"Let'er- me rip!"
The pint-sized destroyer flew akin to her namesake without the benefit of a winged horse, her Warhammer cocked and loaded with a goodly portion of the students' collective explosive Dust.
Impact was felt by all, though none more than Nora herself and, hopefully, the Grimm. The strike burst against its forehead like a volcanic zit, throwing flame high into the sky and the diminutive huntress back into the waiting arms of Pyrrha. The roar of the explosion mixed in with the one of indignation, and they at least knew they had succeeded in pissing it off.
"Don't stop!" Pyrrha urged as she set down the smaller girl and picked up her weapons. "We have to keep on the pressure!"
"Not going to be enough!"
Pyrrha and the others might have known this subconsciously from the very beginning. But it was against conscious decision that they found themselves suddenly picked up and thrown back into a pile behind the tree line. They were only beginning to figure out whose limbs were whose when three tails landed in front of them. Standing on his hind legs like a person, the Grimm-Man wove his front claws into strange configurations faster than what should have been humanly possible.
Reminding them, again, that this wasn't a fight between humans.
Godly forces were at play as suddenly a forest of colorful rock replaced the greenery around them. Stone-hard walls sprouted just in time for waves of boiling water to be dashed against them. All around, their shelter groaned and cracked under the onslaught. The unfortunate trees never would have lasted a second in defense. The students themselves could hardly put up much of a fight with the boiling fluid stealing all the oxygen and baking them in their shelter like a convection oven.
Mercifully, the assault only lasted a few seconds. A few seconds in which they were simultaneously drowning and burning at the same time, like being at the bottom of an ocean of fire.
"What… was that?!" Pyrrha gasped as she tried to haul herself to her feet using one of the branch-like crags of their bunker. Grip so hard it began to bleed, she looked down to see what she had grasped. "…Coral?"
"None of your business," He growled from in front of the U-shaped construct, and they suddenly wished that the barrier reef ran between them and him. "You still seem to be under the mistaken impression that this is your fight."
"Remnant is our home!" Ruby protested firmly even as she tried to stand on shaky legs. "And Beacon can be too! We're fighting, trying to earn-!"
"You do not understand," With a quiet voice and screaming eyes he silenced any logical argument. No one could even hear themselves panic within the raging storm that looked back at them.
"He. Is. MINE!"
A crater replaced his footprints as he shot off at the giant Grimm, and the teenagers found they could once again breathe. With the way the day was going, they drunk in the air like it was the last they would ever taste.
"Did we…" Jaune started and stopped, panted as he barely scraped himself to his knees. "Did we just screw up?"
"No," Pyrrha answered despondently as she looked down at her shield and the aged hat tucked behind it. "We don't matter enough to even do that."
"Now, I guess it's my turn to kick it up a notch!"
Weaving another set of mudras while falling downwards through the air towards the Five-Tails, the Man-Beast took a deep breath which seemed to swallow the sun and fuel the pilot-light in his gut. Then from out of his ear-splitting grin came a torrent of blue flame accompanied by a whispered phrase:
"Cat Flame: Roaring Fire."
There were temporarily two stars in the sky over Remnant as the ball of combustion expanded from the size of a baseball to then eclipsing the entire bluffs.
But for as magnificent as it was, an energetic mist stampeded in from the opposing side and smothered the flames before they could reach their target.
"Oh, that hardly seems fair-"
As with his attack, his griping was cut short. Out of the expanding mist barreled the beast like a battering ram, the superheated and expanding steam it produced from its pores further propelling the monstrosity towards him as he fell as helplessly as a clay pigeon. Not even his hardened exoskeleton helped lessen the pain as he all but shattered against the mountainlike skull.
Yet, he managed to hang on, claws digging in and holding more doggedly than what his life was probably worth.
"So, that's why you were goin' easy on me, huh?" Grumbling into the rigid forehead, he knew the beast could hear the reverberations even with the wind rushing past them as they continued to rise in a ballistic arc. " 'Cause you think all I got right now is fire, and you can beat it with water. Heh, I think your Sis'd have something to say about that…"
What had been one infinitesimal weight on its forehead suddenly swamped the Five-Tails as it spread like a plague across its entire body. One voice multiplied into many which boggled the monster's foggy mind, and the multiple Man-Beasts all shouted in unity.
"But for me, I'll say it once here and now: DON'T PITY ME!"
Their combine momentum slowed with the spontaneously added mass, but then the Monster's suddenly reversed as the legion of smaller Grimm kicked downward all at once.
As it tumbled towards the ground, the Five-Tails sucked up more of the ambient moisture. Hoping to use it either to slow its descent, or else retaliate against the enemy which was now pursuing it downwards.
Even with its mind as foggy as the mist, the rampaging Monster realized when the condensation had condensed faster than it had intended. Too much moisture was accumulating around its body and the rushing wind was whisking away the heat faster than it could gather. Water then sat stagnant against its body like lead weight as it fell.
"Water Release: Kelp Forest!" Came the singular shout from above as the clones disappeared into the clouds.
Ropes of liquid grew and dove into the puddles clinging to its hide, binding the Great Beast and keeping it from mitigating its fall. All but hogtied and hurtling towards the ground, the instinctive Monster only had time enough to expunge more heat on its back which ballooned those liquid shackles and provided a buffer as it impacted.
Water and air both burst out from the crash in all directions, spewing gale force winds and a miniature tsunami which smashed against the students' rocky atoll.
"This is getting pretty epic." Anchoring herself to the rough coral, Yang continued to watch the comic-book-like combat while telling herself that the trembling in her hands was excitement rather than terror. It took so much of her concentration to maintain this lie that she didn't even notice as the tropical winds wreaked havoc with her precious hair.
"Is this what being a real huntress is like?" Next to her, Ruby was regarding the same scene but with a decidedly introspective bent. "Or… is this something else?"
"I feel as if we were witnessing something we weren't supposed to." Not daring to look at that extraordinary something, Ren kept his eyes and a placating hand on his friend. Nora was defying her normal fearlessness to simply sit and stare at the dirt, shaking as subtly as the vibrations in the air. "Like, we were intruding on the realms of gods and legends."
"-Or demons." Weiss added with her own shiver. And this time, Blake could not find anything wrong with that statement.
But apart from these reactions and the chaos itself was Pyrrha, who calmly looked for… something. Anything to understand the significance of what they were witnessing. She turned to what she had been given, the hat's woven rattan and silk skin somehow weighing heavier in her hands than her bronzed shield. Yet for all the years she'd devoted into being a warrior of renown, was this it? Relegated to being a squire?
And in turn, Jaune regarded his unfortunate partner, not understanding the crisis of faith because he'd never believed in anything to begin with. Least of all, himself.
"Your siblings' power is mine now, you didn't think I wouldn't learn my own tricks with it?" Geysers of steam shot like laser-beams from the floodwaters now spread throughout the forest, forcing the Three-Tails to take his smirk on the run. "I'm sure you remember how unpredictable and stubborn I was. At least that hasn't changed. So, rest assured, We will win this!"
A bubble of the Man-Beast's own making inflated under his feet and trampolined him towards where the Five-Tails was still trying to pick itself out of its own crater. While the Three-Tails didn't anticipate a straight shot, he wasn't entirely prepared for a thick column of muck to leap out of the ground and swallow him like a moray eel.
It didn't hold him captive for long, but long enough that his black flesh was steaming like hot tar when he finally escaped.
"Oh-ho. You too, huh?" Now able to recognize the omens, he leapt to the side before another living pillar of mud could grab him and degrade any more of his flesh. "Though sometimes, basics are best."
As the swamp became a sand trap with the added dirt, he quit dancing on its surface and took to the canopy. What few trees remaining were actively being swallowed up by the landscape and slumped precariously as he bounded from limb to limb. These islands didn't last for long, but as he blindly leapt off the last branch, a duplicate of himself formed in the position of a steppingstone and actively gave him a boost towards his fellow beast.
The same phenomenon happened again when the Five-Tails spewed a bolt of water at him, and he changed direction mid-air. It then repeated with the subsequent shots until he was directly above the larger Grimm. By that time, the energy which he had been passively gathering into his palm had peaked, and he no longer needed to dodge the water-based attacks.
"Rasengan!"
He drilled through them, the spiraling ball in his claws continuing downwards until he was on top of the Five-Tail's skull and doing the same to its rock-hard mask. The larger beast bowed under the force; head being planted into the muddy ground like all the trees they had uprooted.
But it did not break even with continuously applied pressure. And eventually, the Three-Tails was forced to retreat as the body underneath him swelled with a steam-laden breath. Once released, the heat outpaced the moisture and baked all the mud into a playa which stretched from the students' shelter all the way to the cliffside which had once been so close. Now that area was a no-man's land, a walk of death for anyone who dared attempt it.
Perhaps both Ren and Weiss had been right, and they had indeed strayed into hell.
"Ah, Hell."
The Three-Tails swore as he watched the other beast not merely regather itself, but start gathering particles of energy from the ether. Beginning as small and diffuse as the misty dew, soon the droplets of dark matter which were flowing into the Five-Tail's open maw became large enough that even the students could see them. Though they didn't yet comprehend what was going on, they understood well enough their protector's disparaging remark.
"What's it doing?" Ruby asked.
Glancing over his shoulder, the Three-Tails saw how he had been pushed all the way back to the coral mound. He looked at the indominable little girl who was sticking her head up over the side. And as she in turn watched the power-gathering process, her silver eyes reflected all the inky energy like black sand flowing into the pit of an hourglass.
"He's finally pulling out the big guns." The Grimm grunted, turning back to the 'cannonball' for said gun which was growing so large it would soon eclipse the sun. At least, that was before it condensed into a causality which would very likely destroy them all.
"We'll just stick here then, alright?" Yang laughed nervously, trying and failing to drag her sister behind shelter.
"Won't be enough."
They had heard this phrase applied to their own efforts. But to have it be so resignedly given in this situation was not something they had anticipated, nor desired.
"What, so that's it? We're doomed?" Even as he asked though, Jaune couldn't really wrap his head around the concept. What had started as such a promising adventure had rapidly devolved since this morning into something that surely exceeded any reality he could imagine.
"Pretty much, yeah." The students who dared peak their heads over the wall still held out hope because of this blithe response, figuring that the Three-Tailed Man would care for his own existence at the very least. This sliver of optimism found more fuel with this next question. "Question: do any of you have Wind-Dust to spare?"
Like paper in a fire though, their hopes quickly flared and then died just as fast when they realized all their remaining stores of that commodity had been expended with Nora in their last attack.
"Pity,"
Bitterly his claws clenched, trying to feel that power he once held. Everything had been his once- but for a second, and then he had lost it. Now, even his haven in the Emerald forest looked like it was going to be glassed into oblivion. He could save himself, a few of the kids if he really felt like it. But in either case, there was no way Ozpin could overlook this fuckup. His carte-blanche would be revoked and he would be forced once again to wander this scrap-heap of a world.
"Is there anything we can do?"
Withholding the scoff that was on his lips, he turned back to see the young woman he had tasked with holding his personal relic. She was still holding it, grasping onto its promise instead of her shield and looking at him with equal parts desperation and determination.
"Well," He mulled over the possibilities with what he had spied earlier on. "None of you have a Semblance that can ramp up the wind speeds that I need. So, unless you lied and have squirreled away some extra Dust in your panties, I highly doubt it."
"How much do you need?" Even the indominable Three-Tails didn't have a quip ready for Ruby's outburst, and it was only after a handful of awkward and tense seconds that the poor girl realized the insinuation. "I-I meant wind! How much do you need?! Maybe if I ran really fast-"
"Forget it," He kept grinning at the girls' discomfiture despite their collective situation, though he took little pleasure in shooting down her suggestion. "That kind of cartoon shit doesn't happen in real life."
"Why not?!" Combined with her mortification, Ruby's denial was loud enough to be heard over the sound of their universe being ripped apart atom by atom. "…Isn't it worth a try, at least?"
"Hope is wasted on the hopeless," It might have been the first time he had truly lied to them. But he was also possibly lying to himself, so neither noticed. "If you want to try though, you're running out of time."
Not wasting any more, Ruby leapt down from the relative safety of their bunker and over to the Three-Tailed Grimm but skidded to a halt well before she got within reach.
"That's fine," He grunted, sitting down akimbo the best he could with his ungainly-shaped legs. "Do what you must to make a vortex with me at the focus. Got it?"
There was no verbal confirmation, only a slight breeze which soon picked up and became a strong gust swirling around him. He wouldn't have heard her words anyway, tuning out all sounds and concentrating on the feeling of the air as it wandered into his open hand. All he needed was the beginning, the catalyst to jumpstart the natural energy whose disjointed parts still resided inside him.
"Faster."Not enough, the stiff wind didn't have sufficient force to invade his own spiraling energy. "More!" Already at top speed and faster than the naked eye, Ruby didn't have any more to give but did so anyway. She would be dizzy for weeks after this- if they survived.
"Good enough!"
The statement came abruptly along with one of his three tails which lashed out and halted her mid-lap. The last of her momentum threw him for a loop, at the end of which he released the attack that had been building in his palm.
Compared to the Beast-Bomb it was pitted against, and even the grand fireball he had cast earlier, this effort seemed unimpressive. But the onlookers had little choice other than to place their faith in it. Or, if not the screeching ball of havoc flying towards the colossus Grimm, then its creators. One of whom watched with a deranged and fearsome grin, and the other who remained blissfully unresponsive with pupils swirling as rapidly as the vortex at the attack's epicenter.
The conscious students all sucked in their breath at the same time the Five-Tails did, ready to swallow the sphere of energy which had condensed to the size of a beach ball. However, as it was being drawn towards its cavernous gullet, the discus of wind and raw guile sliced in between its teeth and burst on the roof of its mouth like a pea.
The resultant vacuum destabilized the dark ball and caused it to detonate prematurely.
That was as about as much as the students were aware of, as the unfathomably dense energy disseminated through the upper atmosphere at the speed of light. Instantaneous deafness and sunburn, the shockwave luckily knocked them down after only a moment of exposure and saved their skin. Though their eyes clenched automatically, they could still see the x-ray shadows dancing on the back of the lids.
The show ended sometime later.
"Are we… are we dead?" Jaune's stupid remark was, for the first time, a relief after an era of loneliness in a blind, deaf and dumb world.
"If we were, I highly doubt we'd end up in the same place." Weiss sniped, sounding more relieved than truly vindictive.
"Somehow, someway, and for whatever reason," While the others were still prying their eyes open, Blake checked the extra set of ears she had hidden behind the black bow on her head to make sure both were still there. "I think we're going to be okay."
"Survival seldom has a reason. But death never needs one."
One by one they regained their senses and joined them upon the remaining black and white figure as he made his way towards ground zero. At twice the diameter and half the depth of the original crevasse, the new crater was like a wok of earth baked as hard as glass. It was a long walk to what remained of the Five-Tails. But even from that distance, they could see it.
Not a trace of its gargantuan body remained, only a glowing orb the size and luster of one of its eyes. Yet, that sphere was clearly the heart of that giant monster, bleeding a thick steam and pulsating energy which they could feel all the way at the rim of the crater.
"And, to the victors always go the spoils."
And without further ado, he ate it. Swallowed it like the Five-Tails had intended to do with the energy bomb. Dilated eyes widened and the students braced themselves for another explosion which would surely vaporize them along with the remaining rubble.
"*Burp*!" There was a collective baulk and a few whimpers, but nothing else other than his mutter of satisfaction in an ancient tongue, "Gochishousamadeshita…(1)"
Before any of the onlookers could compose themselves enough to make a witty remark or even a sound of relief, their demonic savior collapsed in the center of the crater. Their own silence continued while he elicited a symphony of pained sounds which fell flat as the landscape.
"RRRAAAAARRGHH!"
There came one last bestial cry in which many wondered if Weiss's dower prediction had been correct, if hell really had come to Remnant and they were goners. Even if they were convinced of it though, none could bear to stand and run, much less look away from the gruesome spectacle.
As he was doubled over with tails in the air, one more shot out of his backside to join the bunch. They could both hear the tearing sound it made and see the black blood splatter across the cleansed landscape as it sprouted from his flesh like a blade of grass.
Even when it seemed over, he did not uncoil from the upright fetal position. The only thing which changed in the next few seconds was that the claws clamped over his helmeted head were forcibly shoved aside to make room for two fleshy ears that looked decidedly out of place among the overall threatening guise.
But no one was going to say anything about them (even if Ruby did think they looked like cute bunny ears), least of all when he stumbled over to them drunkenly while practically dragging his expanded set of tails.
"Well…" Picking up where they left off, the eight teenagers struggled to remember whether he had decided to spare them in the end. "…You survived."
"Y-yeah, I guess so, heh, heh… um," It might have been better not to say anything, but Ruby was never one to understand this subtlety and was desperate to find something to appease the ravenous beast in front of them. "N-nice ears?"
"All the better to hear you with, my dear."
That grin. This was it. Having lived out their usefulness, he was going to fill his voracious gullet that even the Five-Tailed Grimm hadn't been enough to satiate. Having consumed their powers, he was going to seek out their friends and families and do the same until everyone they knew was masticated between those smiling teeth. Vale would just be an aperitif, then would come the Kingdoms of Vacuo, Mistral- possibly the isle of Menagerie if he liked gamey faire. Atlas would be last, just because that concentration of rich blood would be a perfect desert-
*BZZZZT! BZZZZZT! BZZZZZT!*
Quotidien life crackled in with an electronic sound of someone trying to make a phone call.
"…I think that's for me."
Reaching past the frozen display of students, he fished his claws into the bowl of his hat which Pyrrha still had a death-grip on. With unbecoming delicacy, he removed an old-style walkie-talkie which looked inappropriately small when held in his paws and placed against his boney skull.
"Moshi-moshi (2)… yeah… yeah, that was me. It's all taken care of… I'm fine thanks…oh! The students. Hang on, let me check." Not setting down the radio, one of his tails perked up and started to point at each of them individually as he silently counted with his deadly mouth. "Meh, seven and a half, if you count the pipsqueak… Are they alright? I guess… wait… you want me to-… no. Uh-un. Why? Gee, do I look like a taxi to you...? Oh, oh, is that how it is? Well, by that same logic, I'd expect 'Little-miss freshman's wet-dream' to be awarding handjobs to every student who needs 'extra motivation'. Don't tell me how to do my job, you color-blind twat-! Hello? Uh, yo, you still there?"
Not believing what they had seen, not believing what they were hearing, not believing their luck, or in truth, anything that had happened in the past hour, the students watched the pantomimed conversation in a daze until the newly knighted Four-Tails dropped the radio to his side and acknowledged them again.
"Huh. She hung up on me. Can you believe that?"
"W-was that Ms. Goodwitch?" Jaune asked, somehow managing to be more horrified by the possibilities.
"I don't know, is she the first one you think of when someone says, 'freshman's wet dream'?"
"I mean, kinda." Everyone turned to the revived Nora in surprise, except for the Four-Tails who did it with a smirk of victory. "Oh please, you're all thinking it!"
If they hadn't been, they were now, if only to forget everything else. Even those amongst them who didn't swing that way could admit that the assistant headmaster was an attractive woman. A veritable caricature of beauty matched only by her strictness; they could only imagine just how angry she was.
"Yeah, well, have fun with that barrel of awkward." Catching their attention and waving them off, the catalyst for their drama had turned around and started to walk away before tossing a careless thumb over his left shoulder. "If you keep walking that way, you'll run into her eventually. Hopefully by then she'll have cooled off a bit. I know I'm going to make myself scarce for the next… oh, say two months?"
"Wait!"
Incredulous stares focused on Pyrrha as she stood up and spoke out, but she ignored them and met the unamused gaze only half regarding her.
"Um…" Never without words on her live-broadcast interviews, Pyrrha would have pointed out that she was a long way from the routine structure of tournament life. "W-With all due respect, the ruins were the best- the only route to overcome the cliff. Now that they're gone, we have no way to get to the staircase. It would take us hours- possibly days to circumvent the bluffs."
"So? Why should I care?" Another flash of fang made Pyrrha ask the same question, along with what she was doing trying to get this brute to linger. "As far as I'm concerned, my job's done. Goodwitch can get fucked. Actually, that might really loosen her up a bit, hmm…"
"-But can't you show us another way around?!" Not to be derailed down that particular track, Pyrrha grasped at straws at the same time the bamboo hat twisted in her hands. It wasn't enough, she needed something… "O-or maybe… I'm sure that with your speed, you could get us there in no time…"
"…You want me to carry you."
"N-No! J-Just a-an escort for us m-maybe…"
"Oh, ho, ho…" Being closer to her than she was aware, half a step was all it took for the distance between them to become uncomfortable. It didn't help when he leaned in with his armored face that she only now noticed had a vulpine and cunning sharpness to it. "You know, escorts usually require payment."
"G-Glynda is already annoyed with you, isn't she?" Putting on the bravest air she could with a stutter, Pyrrha tried to ignore the hot, sulfuric breath tickling her ear as well as the horrified faces of her comrades flashing between the tails now caging them. "I'd imagine O-Ozpin might not be too happy if you were to go through all that trouble only for us to get lost along the way."
"Trying to threaten me? You're going to have to do better than that, Invincible Girl." He realized what he was doing, what buttons he was pushing. He realized that he was a cruel and despicable creature. He also realized how much fun he was having and didn't care about anything else. "Do you really think I give a shit about who's pissed at me? Do you really think there's a single damn person that can keep me from taking what I want?"
"You needed us!" Pyrrha hissed at the icy feeling of his claws caressing her bare arm. "I-I can't account for what I saw, and so I don't know if there is anyone who can stop you from… what you want. But I also know that without Ruby, you wouldn't have been able to beat the other Grimm."
"So, you think I owe you? Is that what you're going with?"
For only the second time she met his eyes. Once might have been too much, but Pyrrha was never one to back down from something she felt needed to be done. That might get her in trouble someday- it might get her killed right here, right now. Or worse.
But by the same token, those who dare, win. And Pyrrha had never lost.
"Yes."
Entrapped by his crimson gaze, she no longer noticed the razor-sharp claws playing with her hair or the fact that her hair and his eyes were nearly the same color.
"I'd think again if I were you. The way I see it, you owe me for saving you. And believe me, you do not want to be in debt to a demon."
It was only by doing this that she realized while his mouth and body said one thing, his eyes spoke another language entirely. Weiss was only partly right, the thing looming over her now was a monster and a beast, ravenous for all the earthly comforts which would never sate him. But his soul was still there, somewhere, probably lost as she was in the broken fragments in his eyes. Shards which reflected what he once was, and everything he could have been.
"…So," Pyrrha stirred. Somewhere between her trance and reality, the smile beaming down at her had shifted and become something else.
"Let's just hope we don't regret it, eh?"
Ozpin stood on the same cliffside where, only hours earlier, he had bid good luck to his student candidates and then proceeded to launch them into oblivion. With iconic cane in one hand and infamous mug in the other, he painted the same saintly picture of himself as the one which hung in his office. As he stood, he appeared undisturbed by the afternoon bluster, the scorching sun in his eyes, or even time itself which seemingly overlooked this corner of the world.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Though he put up an implacable front for the sake of his subordinates, Ozpin was every bit as anxious for the fate of said students as Glynda had been. Time had simply made him better able to put up a façade, better at making the tough call if- when the time came.
Unfortunately, he had let Glynda make that call. In retrospect, that was probably a bad idea, as now they had to scrounge up another pre-war walkie-talkie with encrypted coding. It was about time to contact General Ironwood, anyway.
But an apoplectic second in command was the least of his worries, and the matters he had with the Atlas military commander were far in the future, relatively speaking. They had to first survive this veritable disaster- the students had to survive this and come out reasonably unscathed both mentally and physically.
It wasn't that he doubted his (what should he call him? Rabid watchdog? Sometimes-subordinate? Freeloader-who-occasionally-saved-them-from-apocalypse? Associate sounded good, so he'd probably stick with that)'s abilities. Far from it.
Trusting the… man. Understanding him. Those were other matters entirely.
Reverie came from far off. It started out low, a noise like tinnitus in his ear. Then it became the rolling of a distant ocean, the warbling of a bird, the shrieking of that one demented seagull which got trapped in their hallways for about a week.
"yyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
A long shadow shot up over the cliff and was silhouetted in the sunset. Black as the coming night, but its eyes were ablaze as it hung there like the dying star in the background. It was shortly joined in freefall by an identical twin with identical fruits hanging from its four stems. Although the second did nothing to make the scene any more- nor any less- surreal.
Coming down eventually, the identical, unique Grimm landed on all fours in front of Ozpin. Both released their reluctant cargos, and the eight huntsmen prospects fell from the tails' grips to sprawl out against the cool grass. Like newborn pups, the teenagers almost universally struggled to find their feet and gasped for air.
"Woohoo! Again! Again!"
Almost universally, as Nora immediately jumped back on her 'steed's' shoulders and spurred the beast on eagerly. By the second bouncing kick, the Grimm doppelganger had disappeared in a puff of smoke and left the perplexed huntress sitting back on the ground amongst her peers.
"Awww, not again…"
"I take it this is why you can't have nice things."
"Glad you could join us," Ozpin greeted amicably but hid his true relief. Without so much as glancing down at them, he knew that the students would be looking to him for stability after this surely trying day. "I admit, I was beginning to wonder if we'd have to send a search part out for you."
"Yeah, well, I didn't have much of a way to get the message across, did I?" Rattling the now-useless walkie-talkie in his paws, the Grimm-Man indicated the static signal. "Speaking of, where is Dear Old Glynda?"
"Currently with the other professors, placating the students. Earlier, I had some of the more senior years running damage control, and I'd prefer it if they were not exposed to more of the facts than necessary."
"Good thinking."
"Speaking of, I take it you were successful."
It wasn't a question, not only because it would be impossible to hide the new appendages, but because the humanoid Grimm wouldn't answer if he didn't want to and there was nothing Ozpin could do about it.
"I'll send you a report… someday, when I can get these bastards to type on a keyboard." Hands in the air, he clacked his claws against one another, imitating the sound.
"Well, perhaps you'll join me in my office for a drink one of these days, and you can tell me all about it." Though the bittersweet brew in his mug had cooled ages ago, Ozpin would have gladly swilled sewer water if it meant a dribble more information from his 'tenant'.
Neither of these things would happen. It was just a game they played, different but similar to the ones between politicians, between cops and robbers, or jilted lovers.
That had been the truth of their bizarre détente thus far. However, the only thing the two of them truly shared was their duplicitous smiles. And currently, the bestial man did not like the expression growing on Ozpin's face.
"Anyway, so long as you are here…" The headmaster led, taking the taller person by the elbow. "We might as well make introductions, since I am all but sure you neglected to earlier.
"Everyone, this is my associate, Jinchῡriki." (3)
There was nothing but silent confusion, the loudest of which came from the overbearing Grimm-like figure who was more focused on Ozpin than the students.
"…Yo."
Raising a clawed hand and a reserved smirk, 'Jinchῡriki' still stared at the headmaster with a daggerlike shard of one of his red eyes.
"Um, hi," Feeling even smaller than her youth, Ruby also felt compelled to step forward and make up for her previous faux pas. "I'm-uh-I'm Rose- Ruby Rose. And this is my sister, Yang." The latter gave a small wave with uncharacteristic shyness. "So, uh, Ji-erm- Jinchoo-… Jin… that's an interesting name…"
"More of a job description, actually." Folding his arms and a pair of tails in front of his chest, 'Jin' presented the girl with unimpressed scrutiny. "Not a whole lot of point in giving out a name, since none of you are going to remember this, anyway."
There came another bout of taciturn confusion in which the students tried to figure out what was meant by this. Even those like Jaune who were seriously considering dropping out and never setting foot on Beacon's property ever again knew that for the remainder of their days they would never forget this incident.
Then the breath they had only just recaptured halted as they uncovered an implied threat.
"W-what are you going to do?"
What was already being done without them realizing, the moment they met those sunset eyes they had been captured by an illusion which was more believable than reality. Their minds had long ago grasped onto the lie like a lifeboat to return them to the shoals of the status quo.
"Nothing."
The universe blinked, and the comforting spell was broken. Even the caster started in confusion as he again looked to the headmaster by his side- this consternating person whom the monstrous Man-Grimm could fit between thumb and forefinger, yet never quite crush. "I do not think anything will be necessary this time, Jin."
"Hnnn…" Many of those present shivered and wanted to burrow back into the safety of the illusion at the sound of this non-verbal threat. "I thought that we agreed it would be best if as few people knew about me as possible."
"Yes, we did agree." Ozpin said as he considered the merits like he considered the cold liquid in his cup. "And I am still reasonably certain that the decision was correct… until now."
Like hot cocoa during winter or iced coffee in the sweltering summer, preference lasted only so long before the right choice simply changed.
"What changed?" It took a few seconds for the Four-Tails to recognize that Ozpin's flat stare was not directed at him, rather at the village-sized crater visible off in the distance. "…It's not that bad."
"As the one who has to clean it up, I reserve the right to disagree."
"Liar, you're going to get Glynda to do it."
"Yes, and I'd like to see you do the same."
"…Fair point." He conceded as he lowered the point of his claw. "However, in our deal, I reserve the right to privacy. How am I supposed to trust these twerps to keep quiet without a little mind alteration? This generation can't even handle the Faunus in their midst, so what makes you believe that they'd be okay with something like me in their back yard?"
"Wait, wait, wait!" When Weiss stepped forward, she was fully aware that she was walking on a tightrope stretched to its limits over an unfathomably deep pit. "I have…so many things to say right now and all these questions, 99% of which I'm sure we'll never get a straight answer to. But before you go deciding our ultimate fate or whatever nefariously cryptic plans you have for us, I need to ask one thing: did we pass or not?"
With that said, now Weiss could realize how nervous she was. Everyone was looking at her. Ozpin was looking at her. That thing was looking at her. Ozpin was looking at that thing. That thing shrugged, and Ozpin looked back to her.
"I suppose that all depends on you."
Weiss groaned and slid to her knees in a most undignified manner. "What does that mean?"
"Well," Ozpin began, considering not only his words, but what reality they were about to write. "You all did what I have asked of you and more. Much more. It was an unfortunate situation, literally one in a several-thousandths chance what transpired. However, I cannot say that something like this will never occur in your career as huntsmen and huntresses. In fact, I can guarantee that if you move forward, you will carry this life lesson with you to the grave.
"Sometimes, there are things you simply cannot do. Even for the very strongest of us there exist insurmountable odds which try more than just our abilities, they try our wills to go on. Because all of us will fail, and there is no shame in failure." Very few noticed the surreptitious glance the headmaster gave 'Jin' with the Grimm himself trying to ignore it all and staring off into the distance. "The first step is hard. But despite what you may think, it doesn't get any easier. You will stumble. And the only thing that matters is what you will do when it happens."
The solemnity was punctuated by a snort from the bestial man which Ozpin did his best to overlook.
"I will be honest with you all. When this happened before, I didn't give any choice. The entire incident was wiped from the affecteds' minds just like we did for the video logs. We maintained that there can be no evidence if the world is to continue as normal." Knowing that the authorities had been blind during the whole ordeal was a disturbing thought, but one which the students just piled onto the growing stack in preparation to torch it. "Looking back, I am not sure if this action was a cruelty or a kindness. Which is why today I am passing the decision to you."
"What decision?" Yang asked in frustration as she still struggled to wrap her head around the whole concept. "Whether we want a brain-enema or whether we want to still become huntresses?"
"Both."
The defiance quelled as they realized the headmaster really was putting all the cards in their hands. But the only thing they knew about the game they were playing was what they had learned thus far, and no one was sure what move was the right one.
"I quit." Everyone turned their attention to Jaune who had made his decision back when he realized they had been gambling on real stakes. "I'm done. No offense headmaster, but this is batshit insanity and I want out while I still have my head."
No one said anything, but there were equal numbers of disapproving looks as there were those of complete understanding. The one who answered was somewhere in the middle, unreadable with is poker face.
"I fully understand, Mr. Arc. However, I still must ask: are you sure? If you choose to drop out of the program entirely, I am afraid that the memory-wipe will be necessary." Ozpin related.
This gave Jaune a moment of pause, but by then, he was so fully committed to the bluff that he even fooled himself. Still, there was one thing that had not been addressed.
"Will it- will it hurt?"
"Pus-"
"No," Ozpin preempted any such teasing from the one who would actually be administering the procedure. "I can guarantee that you won't feel a thing."
"A-alright. Then I guess-"
"However," Not to be stopped this time, the spurned Grimm took a single step forward and into Jaune's personal space before anyone could stop him. "Make no mistake, whelp. I can go into your tiny little mind and erase every shred of memory you have of this day. I can pick out all the scary images and replace them with pictures of daisies and scantily clad women (or men, if that's your thing). But even if I do this, everything you've felt until now, that cumulative fear, that'll always be with you.
"You'll wake up in the middle of the night with your heart racing and without having dreamt a thing. You'll see things in the street that will make you sweat uncontrollably and want to run and hide in one of your sisters' skirts. Therapists will take one look at you and write you off as a hopeless case because there won't be a shred of reason as to why you feel this way, other than the fact that you are a coward. At home you'll look up at all the heroic pictures of your daddy and your granddaddy and wonder why out of all the thousands of sperm that died in your mother's snatch, a reject like you made it instead. That thought will continue to haunt you until the day you die because FEAR DOES NOT GO AWAY!"
In the personified face of his fear, Jaune found that he wasn't in control of anything. Not his mouth, his limbs, nor even his bladder and bowls. However, not even these latter two mattered as much as his unresponsive legs which had collapsed underneath him and refused to let him run away even when his tormentor stood up and quit bearing down on him.
"You can't run away." As the beast stepped back to Ozpin, he raised his clawed hands invitingly. "So, whatever your decision, I'll be right here waiting for you."
Hyperventilating by himself on the ground, Jaune wasn't about to go anywhere anytime soon. Nora and Ruby bent down to try and help their unfortunate comrade to his feet but found the task to be more difficult than anticipated as Jaune was content to burry himself beneath that grass.
"So…" Glancing first at Ozpin who looked as furious as he'd ever seen the man, the Jinchῡriki next scanned the ranks of students in front of him. "Any takers?"
Each had their turn to look at him but refused to reacquaint themselves with the eyes which would take them back to before they first met. And as he made his way down the line, his malicious smile only grew.
"I'm staying."
Of course, Pyrrha Nikos would be the exception. Except that there was no 'of course' when dealing with something as unexpected and world-shattering as this reveal. School was traumatizing enough on its own. One where the mascot was an avatar of avarice and molded in the form of a monster might have been a little much even for the strongest people to handle.
"Me too." Scrawny and barely coming up to his hip, the little Rose was certainly not one of their strongest. Not physically anyway, even if she did tote around that scythe which was taller than she.
"Dad'd kill me if I left her alone, so I guess you can count me in too." Not one to be outdone, Yang stepped up to her sister.
"Uh, you're acting like there was even a choice! I can't be Queen of the castle without my Black Night and noble steed- and they're one in the same! Schwing!" Nora pumped her fist, and with a long-suffering sigh but nothing else, Ren stepped up to be with his friend. They had been through so much already, what was a bit more?
"It's unseemly for a Schnee to quit what she's started." Though she stepped up for all the wrong reasons, recent events did at least have the benefit of making Weiss's partner seem less insufferable. That would be the only concession going forward.
Seeing that she was one of the last, and that no one had surprisingly picked up on the Grimm's slip of her identity, Blake sighed resignedly and joined the others to draw the least amount of attention to herself.
And Jaune simply sat there.
"Six and a half, huh?" "-Hey! -" "-That might mess with your perfectly crafted teams, huh Oz?" Continuing to ignore him, the headmaster still awaited an answer from the last student. Since it seemed like he would be waiting an eternity, Jin decided that another prod might be necessary. "Well, you know I couldbe persuaded to do you a favor. If blondie's going to quit anyway, I might as well mess around while I'm in there, make him think he's some bigshot. From the way he was acting earlier, wouldn't be too hard. Add a little incentive to train more, associate endorphins with exercise, blondie might actually become valuable as cannon fodder-"
"No!" Many were surprised, but the smug Grimm was not one of them and he watched Jaune rise with a knowing gleam. "No, damnit! I admit, I might be a coward. I'm not strong or skilled at all and I fail all the time and not just this once. But I'm me! Jaune Arc! I don't care if no one else is proud of that name, but they will know that I exist!"
In the wake of his declaration, several gentle touches on his arm let Jaune know that he was right, that others existed too and were there to support him. And with the bravest thing he'd ever done accomplished, Jaune allowed himself to break down in tears that the others respectfully ignored.
"Interesting picks this year, Oz." The Grimm remarked to the headmaster as he shut down his optical weapons. "It always amuses me how you seem to find value in the most defective people."
"Oh, I'm not sure if I would say that," With the release of tension, the aging headmaster allowed his shoulders to slump and the wrinkles in his face to relax. "We all have our problems, but I believe there is hope… for all of us."
"I'd tell you not to get your hopes up, but something tells me that you already know." 'Jin' scoffed and ignored the direction of the headmaster's comment as he turned his back on both. "So, I guess that I'll take my leave."
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, shoot. I kind of shredded my last threads, huh?" Glancing down and remembering his 'nakedness', the beast was fully ready to shrug it off when Ozpin reached behind and handed him a folded bundle that had somehow been hidden before. But there was no mistaking the colorful design which weighed heavier in his hands than the thick cloth alone. "What the fuck is this?"
"If you must, consider it your new uniform." Ozpin propped up his serene smile with the tiny victory he was about to score. "It's the clothes you rejected before. We didn't expect having to order another set of your existing outfit so soon after the last time, and the tailor was quite backed up."
"It won't work." Ozpin lost his smile as his associate donned the garments without protest, tossing this simple dismissal over his shoulder along with the red and white cloak. "Whatever it is you're planning won't work with me. I've seen and been it all. But I'm not one of your kids, Old Man. I'm not your pawn, and I'm definitely not your guardian angel. Probably the closest thing I'd be is your personal demon- but that spot's already filled, ain't it?"
"So long as you won't be my regret."
While slipping a scraggly arm into the voluminous sleeve, Jin paused and let the unbelted garment be battered around his shoulders by the last gasp of a dying day. On the back, the Kanji for fire fluttered like a flag for all those who understood the meaning.
"I make no promises." Not anymore.
"Um, excuse me?" Pyrrha approached, called by the symbol on his back which she didn't understand but recognized as the same one she had held onto for all this time. "Would you- don't you want this back?"
He regarded one of the few relics from his past with the other, red eyes blinking in the coming darkness.
"Yeah, sure." Taking the hat reverently from her, he faltered for a moment before putting it on. "Thanks."
Knowing he didn't deserve it yet committing to the action nonetheless, he nearly laughed out loud when the accoutrement failed to sit on his head. Instead, he merely laughed with appropriate bitterness.
"Damn ears…"
"Why don't you cut some holes in it?" Nora sidled up to the conversation, feeling no fear from her faithful 'steed'.
"This isn't the kind of object you deface." Though wearing it to hide his hideous visage was probably defacement enough.
"Here, why don't you hang on to it." No more prepared to receive it the second time around, Pyrrha was even less ready to understand what it all meant. "I think it suits you more.
"Well, so long kiddies!" Stalking his way up to the edge of the cliff, he turned broadside to the bedraggled group and regaled them with another one of his smiles that made even the thick-skinned people crawl. "Since you're all-in with this thing now, I have one last piece of advice for you. Well, more like a warning, really.
"Remember: There are worse monsters out there than me!"
With that, the monster and his smirk disappeared in a black flash, leaving the students awestruck and all but blind to the stars only now daring to come out with the danger gone.
"Huh," Standing next to Nora who had only this to say, Pyrrha found herself agreeing with the surprised sentiment and staring blankly at the spot where the Jinchῡriki had just stood- if he had been real at all.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I still thought that was pretty cool.
(1) Gochishousamadeshita- Thanks for the food (to the chef)
(2) Moshi, moshi- Hello, used only on the telephone
(3) Jinchuuriki- Lit. 'Power of human sacrifice' (if you don't know this, why are you even here?)
(3a) Jin- Human radical (By itself, pronounced 'Nin', ex: ningen for human).
