I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter. This one is longer, but much more actiony.
Dmitri and Mark
The two had been traveling for about half the day in general and comfortable silence. They hadn't needed to say much to each other and when they had, Mark had instigated it out of boredom. Another one of those times were coming up.
"Take no offense to this, but you look like you've been on the road for a while now. Exactly how long?" Dmitri wasn't the most comfortable about his past, but also saw no reason to make any large lies to Mark.
"A few years. I've been bouncing around with different company, never staying with them too long."
"Why wouldn't you? You keeping secrets?" Mark meant it good-naturedly, but it hit a little to close. Dmitri chuckled weakly. "Something like that."
"Everyone's got them. Hey, do you know how far it is to See-Ran exactly?" Mark was a very understanding person who didn't pry at people, letting them talk on their own time. Dmitri could appreciate that.
"Probably four days. We can make it two if we want." Mark looked at him strangely. "How do you propose that, because i don't feel like sprinting there?"
"No, nothing like that. It's just that you don't have to sleep every night." Mark pondered this for a moment before nodding. "Well, you're more seasoned than me i guess, but I'll try it. We should at least stop on the second night so that we aren't half conscious when we walk into town."
"That is a good idea." They kept walking, Dmitri really thinking about nothing. Mark on the other hand was thinking about traveling at night and realized the inevitability of running into Grimm. He didn't know Dmitri that well, so the question had to be asked.
"Say, if we are going to travel the night, I'd like to know if you'll be good backup. How good are you with that?" Mark pointed at the sword on Dmitri's side. He pulled it out and let and spun it in his hands, doing a test swipe in front of him using one hand. It was a typical claymore-sword but with a few exceptions. The blade was much thinner, both flat and edged sides. It also had some weird designs on the tip and down on side of the blade for a few inches. It didn't seem large enough to be of a claymore build, but that was just Mark's opinion. "I think I can manage."
"Well then, on the road we... continue to go."
Onyx and Nova
Onyx had been walking silently for a few hours, only speaking to answer some of the questions that her new companion had. Some questions, specifically ones about her past, she either didn't answer or warped the truth on. Nova didn't have to know that Onyx was part Grimm. One of the handy things about that though was the fact that she could sense when other Grimm were near. It had something to do with them being a near kin to her. This ability decided to show it's face in the middle of the trail.
"Stop." Onyx said. Nova had no clue as to why and decided to voice her opinion. "What't the problem?"
"Shh. Listen." They both went completely silent and Nova could just barely hear the scuffle of claws through dirt. She switched Lightning Storm to rifle form but Onyx lowered it. "Too much noise. We don't want to draw more." The girl in purple was about to ask what to do when Onyx took a large leap into the lower branches of the trees. "I guess I'll just hide then."
Nova crouched down in some bushes and waited, the scuffling sound getting closer. A single Beowolf walked out into the trail ahead of them. She was about to take aim again when a hooded figure dropped out of the trees, silently severing it's head by flaying the neck with both katanas. "Well that's one way to do it." Nova started walking again down the trail, following Onyx.
"It would have been easier to shoot it you know." Nova said. "We didn't want to draw the whole pack, only the one that would be in our way." It was very true and she had no argument for it. Instead she looked down the trail for any interesting landmarks. "Do you have any clue how far the next village is?"
"See-Ran is just a few days out. You aren't getting tired are you?"
"No no. I was just curious."
Three days later.
"Let's go for a rematch." Nova said as the two had finished. "This time though we shouldn't hold our semblances back." Onyx looked up at her from her pack. They were only a few hours out from the village, so it was as good a time as any. "Very well."
Onyx drew both her blades this time. The jump to two would no longer surprise Nova since they had already fought. She stood, letting the hooded girl have the first move. Nova started with a simple jab at Onyx's mid-section. It was parried up and she had to dodge a jab from one of the katanas. Onyx swiped the other one at Nova and she blocked it with Lightning Storm. She shoved the blade to the side with enough force to present an opening. Nova swung the staff down and Onyx rolled out of the way, coming up with a guarded stance.
"Why are you defensive this time?" She swung the staff with a slight charge. Onyx did not know this and when she blocked it the electricity jolted her arms. The staff kept going with only half of it's speed lost and slammed into her chest. "I was angry last time." It was still a call for a change in tactic so the katanas became blurs in her hands as she swiped in ways that conserved momentum and guard.
Onyx faked a stab and got a good hit on Nova's aura with a swipe. A good trick that would only work once or twice. Nova pulled her staff around sent a small storm of jabs. She took a few hits before dropping one of fer katanas and activating her semblance. Onyx's palm hardened with a shell of bone and she started catching the jabs with it.
The bone started breaking after only a few blows and when she caught Lightning Storm again, the shell fell away in white dust as she gripped the staff. With her weapon mobilized, was forced to catch the heavy slash. She held up her forearm and the katana drew a thin line of blood as it cut through her aura. It wasn't deep, but it was a sign that she was losing the fight.
A strong charge riddled up Onyx's arm from the staff she had still been gripping. With that arm limp from the shock, Nova sought to attack that side. Onyx pushed what little aura she could into the arm to create a shell. The staff made contact and she jumped forward. She stopped with the blade sideways, a mere inch away from Nova's throat. "I told you I was not giving it my best shot the last time."
"That makes two of us." Nova said. It was true. She could have put out much stronger shocks or even flat-out thrown a lightning bolt if she needed to. It was just more aura than she cared to use.
"Come, we still have half a day ahead of us." Onyx left without waiting for a response, knowing Nova would follow.
Dmitri and Mark,
Not long after dusk.
It wasn't really a mountain, but the two were pretty high up after traversing up the steady incline for an hour. The sun was setting and was barely over the horizon. In the four days they had been traveling together it had only become more apparent that Dmitri was hiding something. When he was asked for his reasons for traveling so much, it showed greatly. He had been dealing with it, but Mark would have to point it out directly soon.
"Not much further, it will be good to refill on supplies." Dmitri said.
"Yeah, I like reaching the new villages, it's like a milestone. And we'll have a place to sleep tonight." The top of the large hill was in sight and just before they reached it, Mark caught an odd and troubling scent. "Do you smell smoke?"
Dmitri focused and took deep breaths. "I do. It could be just another campfire."
"Yeah, maybe. We should be able to get a good lay of the land from up here." Mark picked up his pace to get to the top faster. A sickening feeling would not leave him and when he saw the village, he realized why. "It's not a campfire."
Dmitri ran up alongside him and caught gaze of See-Ran. There was an orange glow in the air from the few buildings that were on fire. Faint screams could be heard along with growls. A single Nevermore circled around. "We have to help them." Dmitri said. Without so much as a nod, Mark drew his daggers and began a sprint down the trail towards the village.
Onyx and Nova
"I smell smoke." Onyx said out of the blue.
"We've been sleeping next to a campfire; we smell like smoke." Onyx shook her head, though it was hard to see past the cloak. "No, this is different." Her sense for Grimm was faintly triggered.
"Different how?" A cry of a Nevermore pierced the nearly black sky. "That's how. Let's hurry." Onyx took off at the same time as Nova. They were both quite fast runners and had rounded the curve to See-Ran in mere minutes. There they saw the fire and heard the screams of defenseless villagers. A Grimm attack. Both of them drew their weapons, but Onyx didn't move forward. "What's wrong?"
Onyx reached into a pouch on her side, pulling out a small red dust crystal. It was unrefined aside from the chipping away of stone. She chipped one into a notch on each one of her Broken Bones. Red streaks outstretched a few inches from the gem. "Watch for crossfire."
She followed Nova into the village, ready to once again defy her Grimm half of joining the carnage. As they ran through the streets a few people yelled at them to go the other way until they saw the weapons. The villagers now had a hope with actual fighters coming to help.
The first Grimm to appear was a simple Beowolf. There were more near, but Nova didn't need to care about drawing them. They were already here. She shifted her staff into a rifle and fired off a single round. A bullet with a hollow tip filled with green dust blew off a chunk of the wolf's skull. It fell dead, but more came from the sound of gunshot.
Not wanting to waste ammo, she shifted Lightning Storm back into a staff and prepared to charge. Onyx beat her to it and started swinging her katana from a distance. Nova now knew why she was told to watch for crossfire. Whips of flame corded off from the blades, constricted into shape from aura siphoned off by the wielder.
These whips struck and coiled around two of the Beowolves and burned them to ash. She targeted the third one, but by that time she was close enough to simply lop its head off. "Come on, these aren't the only ones." Nova smiled and followed, hearing screams from inside a house after a roar.
Dmitri and Mark
They made it down the hill in good time and were immediately thrust into a fight. An Ursa for each of them noticed the new souls. Dmitri went in ballistic, slicing at the body and any attacks it threw. Mark stayed back, waving his hands in a circular motion at his Grimm. The ground underneath it trembled before a cluster of brown roots came out like fingers, grasping onto the Ursa. It was strong but it could not break its bonds.
The roots started crushing in, breaking bones and plating alike. Immobilized and defenseless, Mark stabbed Harmony threw its skull. He looked to the side and saw that Dmitri had just run his bear threw the heart. He slung the blood off of his blade before swiveling his head to the side. A villager was running away from something and tripped. A Grunt came charging out from between the buildings. Neither of them would get there fast enough.
A single blade plunged itself into the Grimm's eye socket and it fell limp a few feet from the villager. The dagger was thrown by Mark and he ran to help the woman up. "Hide under a porch or something until the coast is clear."
"Yes, thank you." She ran off towards one of the houses to do as she was told. Mark picked up Justice and stopped, faintly hearing the report of a gunshot. "Hey, someone else is helping."
"Well let's hope they have that side covered, more Grimm are coming this way." Beowolves were starting to come from between the buildings. At least a dozen pairs of glowing eyes set their sights on Mark and Dmitri.
"Then let's put up a fight." Mark held his daggers like swords and charged the pack. The first to attack him had its neck flayed open. The second didn't get the chance for up close combat. Justice and Harmony's blades detached and severed the head due to the extra centrifugal force. Dmitri also decided to step up his fighting. Grimm-Feller's markings extended out from the tip like scales, taking the shape of a crude axe. With the weight shifted, the two handed function of the clay-more build was used.
He split the first skull he saw down the middle and lopped off the second wolfs head. He cut down two more before he saw Mark bind the rest of them by the ankles with roots. He swung his corded blades with ferocity that countered his friendly personality. His blades back to the hilt and picked off two more while Dmitri terminated the rest.
"Look's like you beat my score." Mark said. Dmitri smiled thinly but it was mostly forced due to the current situation. "Let's move forward."
"Yeah, sounds good." Mark followed him and advanced through the huts and houses. They passed an inn and another the same gunshot was heard again from inside. It seems the other fighter or fighters had it covered. The roar they heard earlier turned to a dying rasp and it confirmed that thought.
A clawed hand scraped by the edge of a house and the Alpha strode, looking for prey. It was more armored than the rest of its kin, taller too. It was actually large compared to other Alphas, and that meant he was older.
Most Alphas would have led the charge, but he was old enough to realize that an Alpha alive strengthened lesser wolves. And so the Grimm stood back until the slaughtering of his kin became apparent. Revenge wasn't a method for a Grimm, only destruction. Mark was the first target.
By the time Mark had seen it, the beast was already charging. He was forced to roll to the side, bringing up his weapons readily. Dmitri came up behind it and tried to surprise it, but Grimm-Feller pinged off one of the bone plates, barely chipping it. An arm swung back and clipped his shoulder, going through his aura slightly and bruising him. Mark summoned roots to hold the beast but it jumped to the side and lunged forward at Dmitri again.
This time he brought the axe up and blocked the first clawed strike, but the second scraped across his cheek. It was deflected by his aura, but a hit nonetheless. The Grimm was fast and without revealing his secret, Dmitri was too slow. A corded blade wrapped itself around the arm of the Alpha, digging into the flesh slightly. It tugged back for a second but was overpowered. Justice was wrenched from Mark's grip.
The attack got the Alpha's attention and it turned away from Dmitri. Without a proper defense, Mark was forced to avoid and weave around the wolfs attacks. He got one or two slices in before he was caught squarely in the ribs and thrown to the side. It didn't draw any blood; but he was dazed and had dropped his other dagger. The Alpha was going to advance until a stinging pain flared up its shoulder and it looked to see the axe buried a few inches into its hide.
With a snap it smacked the axe out of it's shoulder and the user's hand. Dmitri wasn't as fast as Mark and was in a bad position with no weapon. A clawed arm shot towards him and Dmitri already knew he couldn't avoid it, and that it would cause to much damage. With no choice left, he flexed muscles in his back that no human had. Two rips along the sides of his shirt released thin but strong white wings. He jumped backwards and out of reach thanks to them. With another dash he had picked up his weapon and was ready with a changed fighting style.
With its target suddenly becoming much faster, the Alpha turned and preformed another charge. This time Dmitri met it head on, swinging the axe into it's chest and crashing through the bone plate with the added momentum. He dashed again back and forth, opening gashes along the body of the Grimm. While the wings could not achieve Dmitri flight, he could jump higher than most of the rooftops in the village. Launching himself up, he gripped his axe and brought it down, splitting straight through bone place and chopping the beasts head off like a living guillotine.
Mark saw it all through steadily clearing vision. The fight lasted only a few seconds, but it answered most if not all of his questions. He picked up Harmony and walked to retrieve Justice. Dmitri looked to him, expecting the criticism. Mark though, had a smile on his face. "I only wish you would have told me sooner."
"You... Aren't upset?" Mark chuckled then stopped himself. "Nah, like I said, faunus are interesting." Dmitri was about to respond when the same gunshot rang out again and was followed by an angry screech. This time the muzzle flash was visible to Mark and Dmitri. In the middle of the street was a cloaked figure and a girl in purple, the latter of which was chambering a second bullet into a purple.
Even the highest caliber rounds wouldn't do much against the metal-like feathers that a mature Nevermore possessed. "Hey! You're just gonna piss it off." Mark yelled. Another shot fired off and rippled across the feathers with little damage. The cloaked figure turned and spoke with a rasped and deep feminine voice. "What do you suppose we do?" She then noticed the wings on Dmitri's back. She pointed at him. "Can that one fly?"
"I can get high enough. Why do you ask?" Another shot rang out and the cloaked figure grabbed the shoulder of the rifler, stopping her. "Get up there and draw that thing out of town. There we'll take it out." Dmitri nodded and turned to Mark, but he already understood. "Need a boost?"
"I do." Mark knelt on the ground with his hands cupped. Dmitri ran forward and jumped on his hands, getting boosted up several feet before acting with his wings. He managed to get about six stories up into the air before shifting to a steep glide. He had to use a chunk of his aura to strengthen his wings enough for the job. Next he set on getting the Nevermore's attention. Fortunately or not, it was already chasing him because he had entered its territory of the sky.
"Come on big bird. we're going this way." Dmitri whipped his wings once to gain speed enough to stay out of harms way. Within just a few moments they had cleared the rooftops around the edge of the village. The pair kept going until Dmitri was almost fallen to the ground. The white wings folded and he rolled to a stop, facing the Nevermore coming after him.
The large bird swooped upwards, unwilling to come to the ground. Its feathers spread and loosened. Dmitri saw this and took cover behind some trees as missile-like feathers peppered the area he had been standing in just a moment ago. He stepped out and pulled a small white dust crystal from his pocket. Air dust was hard to come by in a none fuel form.
Dmitri tossed the crystal into the air and sliced it down the middle, shattering it and releasing a directed gale force. The winds barreled in a column into the side of the Nevermore, disrupting its flight for just a moment. At the bottom of the hill was Mark and the two strangers. He had to distract the Grimm long enough for them to arrive.
He had no ranged weapons, preferring close-quarters to anything else. He kept smaller air crystals in his pocket in case he needed strong winds for extra glide distance. Dmitri retracted the axe blade part of his weapon, effectively making it a sword again. The only ranged weapons he had was the stuff around him, sticks, rocks, and dirt.
It was a test of time versus how aggressive the bird-Grimm was. Apparently it had its guard up because it did not attack for the two minutes that it took for them to reach his position. However the multiple targets were enough to use another volley on. A rain of razor feathers came down and most everyone managed to avoid it. Onyx was in the center of the group and was therefore dead in the middle of the attack.
Already she knew that she couldn't avoid the attack. She raised her aura around herself and pulled it in. In proper lighting and angle, you would have seen her black skin turn ashy and then white. The rain came down and micro-cracks appeared everywhere they hit and pinged off. It was over in a matter of moments, but a large percentage of her aura was used up.
Onyx raised her katanas and whipped three flurries of fire at the bird, but she didn't have the range. Mark would have asked if she was okay if not for the fact that Onyx was already attacking again. Instead he closed his eyes and vastly threw out his control sphere over nature. Roots and plants alike reacted, but Mark was looking for something else. A more powerful presence was sensed by him and he pulled like he would a root. The ground trembled and a chrysalis of brown and green dust stood in front of him.
He hacked off a piece and batted it towards the Nevermore. Like a missile, it left a trail of dust and slammed into it's side with a small explosion. It was angry, but didn't seem all that hurt. Mark kept lopping and lobbing while Nova contributed by charging them with lightning from her fingertips. Onyx whipped fire at the creature when it flew close enough. Mark however noticed Dmitri just staring at them.
"Come on man, it's all or nothing for this thing. What do you got?"
"I... might have something. Can you get me on the thing?" Mark quit chopping at the dust which was already practically used up. He released the cords on Justice and Harmony. "Grab the ends and watch the blades. Time to try something a little different. Now start running."
Dmitri had absolutely no idea what his friend was planning, but he took off at full speed with the tethers in hand. He reached the maximum distance of the cords and continued to hold on, held in by Mark. He was gaining speed. "Jump!"
Dmitri left the ground and was swung around like a rock on a stick. He kept gaining speed as he watched the strain on Mark's face. After about four rotations in which the angle of the spin was elapsing, Mark yelled at him. "Time to fly buddy!"Dmitri let go of the cords and careened towards the Nevermore. He extended his wings to gain distance and was able to cleanly slam into the side of the creature, hanging by his sword that was stabbed into the side of the Nevermore.
Dmitri's semblance may have been classified as a shield from the way he used it, but the truth was that it was raw aura and power. It was this power that in only a few seconds put Dmitri at his knees because of the drain it took and how uncontrolled it was. It was this power that he started to bring forth. "Is he... Glowing?" Nova asked.
"Yes. Yes he is." Mark said. Onyx silently watched, feeling the air of ballistic power course of of him. "Why didn't he do this before?" Nova asked. This time Onyx did answer. "He has no control over it. For him it is like turning on a reactor with no perception of the outcome."
"Oh." Was all mark had to say. Dmitri got brighter and the temperature around him increased. It was obviously hurting the Nevermore as it screeched and attempted to peck at its side while still flying. He tried to keep a grip on it, but it was like trying to cap the sun. It exploded out of his control and Dmitri went nuclear. The wing and side of the Nevermore were scorched to ash and the rest didn't fair much better. The corpse fell from the air and a fading glow dropped off of it before impact with the hill. "Dmitri!"
With Dmitri
A small group of villagers were gathered around the faintly glowing body of the one who killed the Nevermore. Heat radiated off of him in waves, but it was diminishing. An older man with a branch-cane stepped forward, probably the village Hermit. Every village had one. "You alright there, son?" Dmitri was laying with his eyes closed and was breathing slowly. Upon hearing his voice, his breath hitched and became labored and Dmitri looked around wildly, obviously in some amount of pain. "Fine. Could you help me up?"
He old man reached down and grasped his hand before immediately recoiling. Dmitri's skin was still burning hot from his attack. The hermit reached his cane down and Dmitri grabbed onto that, noticing that once he was up and let go, his hand-print was scorched into the wood. "You're a regular fallen angel, aren't you?" Dmitri was suddenly very aware of the people around him and folded his wings back in. "Don't bother. We aren't one of those villages that outcast faunus. And after what you've done, you're welcome however." Dmitri looked uneasy for a second before he let his wings re-extend.
"Magnificent. They must be a rare trait among faunus." When Dmitri didn't answer, the old man went to shake his shoulder before remembering the burning of his skin. "Hey, you with us?"
"Just a... little low on aura." Dmitri's skin rapidly cooled before he collapsed to the ground. He was unconscious, but breathing evenly. After a cautious touch, the old man and two others picked him up and carried him to a bed. The rest of them showed up at the village and asked where he was. They were taken to the inn where a bed was prepared and he was laying there. Mark stayed in the room with him while Onyx and Nova shared a room to the side. They hadn't properly introduced each ther, but that would wait.
Longer than I wanted, but I just couldn't find a good stopping point. Let's hope everyone enjoys this. It's a long runner. And remember that FloriteFlower is writing the plot and that she owns it. You should check out anything she has on her profile as well.