Disclaimer:

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!


Date Published: 16th Oct 2018

Title: The Grimm Catcher

Genre: Canon AU, based on "The Yellow Death" Fanfic

Description:

There are many stories, myths and legends spanning over the years in Remnant. One such story involves Crocea Mors, the heirloom weapon of the Arcs. But some stories would have been better left forgotten to time.

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The sounds of grass crunching filled the dark forest as the pack of Beowulves moved towards the fallen city that resided in the shadow of the mountain, ignoring the birds flying away or the rabbits scurrying off in fear. The pack had been following a group of humans and Faunus for the past week, taking their time to test them to see if there were any fighters that could repel them, all the while enjoying the fear that grew slowly but steadily as they attacked their camps. They had lost the scent briefly when the storm came, but picked it up soon after, gathering more Grimm on the way as they too sensed the group of travelers.

The pack broke through the forest line and paused to look at the ruined city. There could not be a more extreme contrast of environments than the scene before them; cast under the shadow of the mountain, the ruined city stuck out from the sea of green in the area with the dark tones of broken concrete and rusted steel. It was made more apparent with the dead vegetation that was left in the city, like the dead trees that swayed ominously in the light breeze or the trampled grass that peeked out of the cracked concrete. The city may have been destroyed and abandoned for many years, yet it still reeked of dark emotions that drew all types of Grimm species to it like a moth to a flame.

Fear.

Anger.

Despair.

All those emotions permeated the very grounds where the city was built on, to the point where the humans and Faunus instinctively avoided the area with bowed heads, no animals would stay there, and the Grimm that have lived for many years would use this place as a point of reference for their travels.

The pack stopped just on the outskirts of the city, with the pack leader taking a few steps forward to sniff the air around the area. The leader was quite a sight; as the oldest of the group, it was also the largest of the pack, roughly 8 feet tall and 14 feet long with its bone armor covering almost the entire back, its four limbs and partial portion of the tail. The armor around its neck merged with its mask in a manner that gave the impression of it wearing a crudely made crown meant to intimidate any in its path. Its eyes shone a deep crimson as it raised its snout and sniffed the air for the group they were tracking.

It could tell they were close, and they had again gained a few others on this journey. It had always observed the newcomers for any possible threats, and there were a few skirmishes in finding out, but none were of a great threat. There was however one scent that gave it pause to consider; the scent was contradicting in the manner that it was familiar but foreign, inviting yet repulsive, soothing but deadly.

No matter, this hunt had gone on for long enough, it was time to feed the pack.

The pack leader bared its teeth before letting out a roar that reverberated in the city, to which the other Grimm followed suit with roars of their own, savoring the spike of fear that manifested from their howls. One of the younger pack members was too eager for the upcoming meal and proceeded to leap forward...

'SHRING!'

Only to tumble and collapse a few away with its cleanly removed head flying through the air and hitting the nearest wall hard, surprise quite evident on its face as the head dropped to the ground. Within a few seconds both the head and the body crumbled into dust and scattered to the winds.

The pack roared at the sudden death of one of its own and looked around with snarling mouths and lengthened claws, hoping to find the interloper. The pack leader however remained silent and opened its mouth to get a deeper breath to get the scent while reaching out with its senses. As it has lived through the years, it learned to think alongside using its instincts to test its surroundings. After all it had to deal with other Grimm that pick on Beowulves, the natives of the world, and the most troublesome of the lot, Huntsmen who actively hunt its kind down. In time its intelligence grew to let it understand the threats towards it, learn to form simple tactics to take down prey, and to fight against the Huntsman.

With the intelligence gained from the years of survival and instincts honed from battles, the pack leader learned to become a more effective hunter. It was thanks to that combination that helped it to survive all those years.

And it was thanks to said combination that helped it detect a change in the wind. With a loud bark, it and a few other Beowulves leaped high and used the debris as stepping stones, just in time to avoid sharp golden spikes that erupted from underground and stabbing the majority of the pack that did not move out in time, creating a scene that was quite gruesome for the uninitiated. The few that barely survived the stabbing managed one weak grunt before expiring.

Oddly enough the bodies did not start to disappear. From the point of the stab wounds, the fur started to change color from the darkest black to a bright shade of yellow, while the red markings on the bone fragments changed to either a light green or a deep blue. The moment the last body finished its transformation, the entire group seemed to explode in a bright flash of light, turning into a huge cloud of gold dust that congregated into one spot before drifting slowly to a nearby building, where the figure of a human appeared at the entrance.

The Alpha Beowulf narrowed its eyes to study at the human while its pack roared their rage at the one that destroyed their brethren. Based on its limited understanding and the connection with its 'Queen', the male human was wearing rather rudimentary armor with some old leather strips over some worn-out clothing. He had a hoodie that covered his head partially, showing off his unruly blond hair and blue eyes that seemed to glow menacingly in the dark. He held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, both of which were glowing a faint gold.

But the reason it took the time to examine him as it did was because of his scent. This was the one that had the unusual scent, and now that it was closer to him, it could now understand the oddity.

For whatever reason, the scent had traces of its own kind but warped differently. 'Purified' would be the word.

"Well, this is surprising." The human tilted his head while the spikes retracted back into the ground. "I knew there was an Alpha Beowulf, but to find one of such a size, you must lived a long time. This could be a problem." The ground behind him cracked and bulged upwards, breaking apart to reveal a creature that was somewhat familiar to the pack leader. It was a porcupine-like creature roughly three-quarters the size of the human with huge spikes that lightly jostled with the small movements. Its armor covered merely the joints of its limbs and portions of its head, which bared blue markings that pulsed every so often, exposing much of the gold fur and white flesh. Its green eyes was currently studying the Grimm before it while its head tilted slightly, its nose twitching every so often.

"Okay then, I will need to bring him out." The human raised his blade which glowed brightly before shooting out a beam of light next to the porcupine creature. The gold dust followed suit and gathered around the beam, rapidly increasing in size before forming a rough shape of an animal that was roughly the same size as the Alpha Beowulf. It did not take long for the features to start showing up in the form of gold fur, white bone and limbs, followed by a snout with sharp teeth. Within a few moments, there stood a Grimm construct of a Beowulf that was the same size and height as the Alpha before them, only this particular one looked like a proper wolf as opposed to the Grimm caricature.

And right now, the construct looked angry at the Grimm.

"Okay, now we are more or less ready." The human turned back to the Grimm with a particular blood-thirsty grin. "Time for the hunt to begin." With that, the porcupine looking Grimm hunched over and fired off its quills, unleashing a storm of spikes that descended on the pack, eliminating a vast number in one stroke. The Alpha who was the furthest was able to escape with a few of its pack members by using some of the rubble as a barrier from the more serious attacks. With a snarl, the Alpha directed some of them to attack the human, clearly registering him as the source of the danger while calling on the others to serve as shields from the constructs. The pack roared out their agreement and rushed forward to charge at the human…

"RRRRROROOOOAAAAARRR!"

Only to have the Beowulf look-alike appear right in front of them and take a huge swipe of its limb to send them crashing into the debris, forcing the others back and taking out a few. The other construct continued the bombardment of quills to eliminate the remaining Grimm, but the Alpha had directed the pack to take shelter in the rubble and made them approach from the back and the sides. It was only the quick action by the human that saved his life when he spotted them and raised his shield on time to block an attack, while the porcupine construct bounded over to him and curled into a ball, creating a tight ball of spikes that started to roll around and over the Grimm, impaling them as they got run over by the quills. The Beowulf construct continued with its own attacks, taking the occasional bite of the Grimm to snap their necks or puncture their hearts.

Soon enough, the two constructs, the human and the Alpha Beowulf were all there was left on the ruined battlefield.

"Well, that was exciting." The human hummed as he crawled out of the porcupine and made to stand closer to the Beowulf construct. "So there is only one of you left. Well I guess we should make this a fair fight." He turned to the construct and gave a nod. "Okay Fenrir, I won't interfere. He is all yours." With that proclamation, the construct let out a roar and leaped forward. The Alpha let out one of its own before raising both front limbs to halt the construct and threw it to the side, following it up with a grapple and a bite to the shoulder where there was less bone armor protecting it. The construct let out a pained yelp and tried to grab the Grimm, but the Alpha was used to tackles by other Beowulves seeking to usurp its authority and went about moving its grip in a manner that would allow it to twist the limb without giving up its hold. The construct struggled for sometime before it decided that it had enough and leaped backwards, crushing the Grimm under its weight and releasing its hold on it.

The Alpha grunted as it hefted the construct off it and threw it to the building nearby. The construct however twisted in the air and landed lightly on its feet before taking a big leap that cratered the ground and taking a big bite of the Alpha's leg, tearing it off in the process. The Grimm roared in pain as it backpedaled, but the construct came after it relentlessly and even started using the torn off limb as an improvised weapon, having the spikes of the armor puncture both the armor and the flesh deeply.

The Alpha let out another roar as the spikes broke its crown and cut its eye. Reaching out with its remaining limb, it grabbed the arm holding its ripped limb and twisted it enough to force the construct to drop it. Without halting, it leaped above and over the construct, using the momentum and leverage to throw the construct far into the air, giving it the chance to turn and chase after the human.

The human on his part lifted a shield ready to block its attack while the porcupine construct raised the quills to prepare for impalement, but in the end both were not needed as the Beowulf construct managed to appear from the side and bit hard on its neck, slamming it to ground with its limbs holding it in place. With a growl, it tightened its grip and twisted hard, cracking the neck of the Beowulf Alpha and stopping its movements, but still keeping it alive.

"Well, looks like the fight is done." The human spoke as he came forward with the porcupine construct following close behind. "If you don't mind me saying, you have been a pain in the ass, following us around just so you can cash in on a big meal." The human stopped just a few feet away from the Grimm, uncaring of the glare that was directed at him or the closeness of its mouth. "What say you?"

The Alpha Beowulf responded by trying to bite the human only to have its gold counterpart press hard on its back, cracking the armor more in the process.

"Yeah, I guess you would say that." The human raised his sword and held it at an opening in the mask. "For what's worth, you are perhaps the most tenacious Grimm I had encountered. May you have a greater purpose with Fenrir as your guide." With that, he plunged the blade deep into the Grimm's skull, making it gasp in pain before relaxing. For some reason, the Grimm merely felt it for a short while before it started feeling something odd but nice. It was trying to find a definition based on its limited intelligence.

If it had to give it a word…

It would be…

Purified...

=()=

"Well that is done." The blond haired teen let out a tired sigh as he watched the Alpha Beowulf complete the transformation and burst into gold dust before it moved to his construct in a densely formed ball. With a small finger movement, the construct opened its mouth to eat the ball, gulping quite loudly as it swallowed. Then with a noticeable shudder, the construct started to glow and grow, obtaining more bone armor and a couple of spikes around the upper leg regions, with the snout becoming more elongated to make it even closer in appearance to that of an actual wolf as opposed to some freakish looking werewolf. Before long its transformation was complete and the construct shook itself lightly before turning to direct its blue eyes on him. With the sun hitting both the trees and the gold construct at at an angle, it certainly gave it a majestic appearance with its fur lightly moving in the breeze and the bone armor lightly bouncing the glare off it as the construct towered above him. The bone armor on its head seemed to accentuate that feeling as it looked like a proper crown for a king unlike the Alpha Beowulf from earlier, since there was very little bone armor covering the actual face to begin with.

"Oh yeah, you are definitely looking good there buddy." The teen grinned at the sight of the gold wolf seemingly preened at the praise. With another shake of its body, small balls of light came out of its body and settled on the ground, upon which they expanded quickly and formed miniature versions of itself, roughly his height based on the closest one which decided to lick his face.

"Okay, looks like you are now able to use this feature of the Beowulf." The teen commented as he patted the head while sheathing his weapon and looking at the scabbard, where stylized designs of a Beowulf Mask, a Hystripine Mask and a Geist Mask adorned it.

"You know, no matter how many times I have seen it on this journey, the constructs are still freaking me out." A voice drew all to a Faunus who came from behind and placed her hands on her hips as she looked at the constructs with a wary eye. She was a fox Faunus with short bob-cut red hair wearing a dirty yellow shirt and worn-out brown jeans, giving her a slightly rough-and-tough look that complemented her somewhat tomboyish look. Her ears kept twitching as she looked at one of the constructs having a rather cheeky expression on it as though it wanted to pull a prank on her.

"Don't even think about it, buddy." The girl pointed a finger at that one, her tone displaying a no nonsense notion. "I have my eye on you."

"Come on Sune, they just want to have fun." An old man spoke out as he made his way behind her with an old shotgun. The old man had notable beer belly that stretched his white sleeveless shirt and spilled over his brown trousers. He had a demeanor that was gentle but firm which matched his appearance when coupled with his thinning gray hair and bushy beard.

"Easy for you to say, you do not have to deal with them climbing all over you every time Jaune uses this particular one." Sune spoke just as that particular construct took the moment to pounce on her, knock her to the ground, and proceeded to lick her face like an eager dog. "GAH! Jaune, call them off!"

"Hmm, I wonder~" Jaune put on a contemplating expression while scratching his chin. "Should I do that, Fenrir?" He directed that to his primary construct who was letting a sound that made it seem it was laughing at the situation before it.

"Jaune..." Sune growled as she managed push the head away from her.

"Okay, I will do so." Jaune laughed as he raised his hand to Fenrir. "Okay mate, that is enough." The Beowulf construct huffed before glowing and disappearing in a cloud of dust, followed shortly by the rest. The one that tackled Sune took its chance to get one last lick of her face before disappearing.

"Bah~ gross." Sune wiped her face with her sleeve.

"You said that, but you are happy with Fenrir, aren't you?" The old man ducked at the playful swipe the girl made at him. "Hey, no hitting the elderly!"

"You kind of ask for that, Moorland." Jaune smirked as he leaned against the wall.

"Hmph! No respect from you youngsters these days." Moorland crossed his arm with such an exaggerated pose that Jaune and Sune burst into laughter, with him following suit. It felt good for them to have a good laugh after having the pack following them for so long.

"How are the others?" Jaune asked after wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Last I checked, they are fine." Moorland answered as he holstered his weapon. "They were still terrified but they are keeping to your instructions if any other Grimm arrived."

"That's good." Jaune sighed in relief. "The pack was a lot bigger than expected."

"Well at least that is done." Sune turned while cocking her head with a tilt and a teasing smirk. "Let's get back to them." With that she walked off with a light sway of her hips, pausing to look at Jaune with a rather saucy smile. "You coming Jaune, we should get moving." She then continued moving on through the doorway.

"Kid, you better get to her before she gets hitched." Moorland lightly elbowed Jaune with a teasing smile.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked with a confused expression. That temporarily knocked Moorland off his pace as he looked to Jaune with a blank expression before shaking his head.

"Kid, you are a dense fool."

"Hey!"

So the trio continued to get to their destination, with the two males bickering in humor as they delved deeper into a tunnel that led to the hiding hole. Jaune paused for a moment to look at the underground city that was dimly illuminated by the rays of light going through the holes of the ground. It was a rather sobering thought that the city was once the dream of expanding out of the kingdom, only to become the nesting ground for despair and Grimm. People gave up in the idea of expansion and just stuck their heads in the kingdoms.

Truly a saddening thing.

"Ha! There it is!" Sune called out as they got to the remains of a low-rise building. "I swear this place is a damn maze!"

"Well at the least it keeps us warm and dry rather than being stuck outside." Moorland remarked while Jaune nodded.

"True, and at least we are safe." Sune walked through a hole in the wall and continued on before stopping with a puzzled expression. "Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"Erm, did we take a wrong turn?" Sune looked around the empty room. "This should be the place right?"

"It should be." Jaune stepped forward only to stop from the pressure of something pressed to the back of his head. Moorland yelled as several figures appeared around them pointing rifles at them. Jaune had to frown at the sight of the black-and-white uniforms with white masks.

White Fang.

"Looks like we found the stragglers." One of them spoke as he looked at the three of them. "These should be the last ones."

"We don't have time for this." Another one grumbled as he lifted his rifle. "We may have been told to find them, but we do not need to bring them back since we have the others. Let's just kill them already."

"Wait, I am one of you!" Sune stepped in front of Jaune and Moorland, shielding them from the rifles with her body.

"You are not a Fang." The second one leered at her in a manner that got Jaune itching to pull out his blade. "Though you are one good-looking lady."

"She is a Faunus." Another interjected in a manner that spoke of his determination to distract his companion from whatever thoughts in his mind, something that Jaune was thankful for. "We do not shoot one of ours."

"We are refugees." Five rifles directed themselves at Jaune when he spoke. "We are trying to get to Vale after the village got destroyed by Grimm."

"Did we ask for your words human?" The aggressive one got closer as he growled.

"We are just trying to get to Vale to get a fresh start in life." Jaune tried to reason with the White Fang with limited success.

"I don't have time for this." The White Fang soldier aimed the rifle at Jaune's head only for Sune to block his aim.

"Wait it is the truth!" Sune hesitated before plowing on. "Take us to the others, don't hurt them. I will join your group if you can help us get to Vale."

"Sune!" Both Jaune and Moorland turned to her in shock while the White Fang soldiers looked to each other thoughtfully.

"We don't turn down possible recruits." The more reasonable member of the group spoke while lowering his weapon. "Very well, we will take you to Mr Torchwick. He will be dealing with the humans more likely. You can meet up with the other Faunus and we will see if you truly want to join us. Mr Torchwick does want to meet the hunter here." He motioned to Jaune with his rifle.

"Better make the right choice, girly." The nasty one roughly pushed her back, making Jaune step forward to catch her while he directed a glare at the soldier. "Now move it." With that, the soldiers make them start walking out of the building and down another tunnel, going deeper into the hidden city that apparently hid more secrets than expected. Along the way, Jaune started to see small crates of ammunition, food supplies and the occasional Dust crates stamped with the familiar logo of a snowflake. If there was any proof that there was a big crime going on in an empty area, this would have to be it.

Further thoughts of that got halted when the trio stopped at a building that was evidently given more attention to than most of the buildings in the area, what with the holes being boarded up with wood and the door being metal-plated heavily with bolts securing it and armed guards standing outside. Upon sighting the group, one of them nodded and moved to unlock the door, standing to one side to let them through.

"In you get." The trio moved through the door to find their remaining group huddled together with a few more White Fang soldiers standing around at different spots and levels, ensuring that no one could get away from their sights. Jaune let out a relieved sigh at the kids stuck in the middle of the group, at least they were okay.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" a drawling voice echoed in the building, making Jaune turned around to find a man dressed immaculately in a tailored white suit with dark pants just entering through one of the bigger holes in the wall. Jaune could not help noting the man had thick eye-liner as he tipped his bowler hat at them, revealing the neatly combed orange hair underneath, before leaning on the cane held in his hand, nonchalantly smiling with a cigar in his mouth.

"Let's see now. A junior hunter, a few kids, and a few farmers with pitch forks. Quite a ragtag group, wouldn't you guys say?" The man raised an eyebrow while the White Fang group laughed lightly.

"They claimed to be travelers coming to Vale, Mr Torchwick." The one closest to Jaune called out while maintaining a close eye on him.

"Do they now?" The man inhaled before removing his cigar and exhaled a steady stream of smoke. "Well they do seem the sort, but this is a bit unusual at this time."

"There is one who wishes to join us." Another motioned with his gun at Sune.

"Hmm, since she asked for it, I can't stop her, it is your bit." Torchwick spoke before looking at the group. "But what to do with the rest of you? My employer is a bit of stickler for her orders, and she made it very clear there can be no witnesses to deal with." The smile dropped off his face at that point as he let out a sigh. "I really do not want to mess this up before she decides to get up-close and personal."

Jaune stepped forward at that, making the White Fang soldier in front of him raise his weapon with a growl. Jaune ignored him and looked straight at Torchwick who merely raised his hand to stop the others from shooting the teen.

"We merely wished to pass through this area to get to Vale. The village was destroyed by Grimm a few days ago and no Huntsmen came for us, so we are trying to get a fresh start. We didn't even know why you guys are here, we just want to get out." Jaune spoke while maintaining his eyes on Torchwick who stared back steadily with a cursory eye. After a while the well-dressed man seemed to have come to a decision as he lightly nodded before stepping forward.

"You seemed like a decent kid, getting these people to safety and preparing them with whatever they have to defend themselves, and based on the ones whispering at the back over there" He motioned with his cane, "Killed quite a few Grimm to impress them. What's your name kid?"

"Jaune."

"Nice to meet you, Jaune. My name is Roman Torchwick, at your service." The man actually bowed while introducing himself. "A gentleman of leisure and the occasional outlaw of the kingdom." A few of the soldiers actually snorted at that point while the rest gave a smile.

"Charmed..." Jaune resisted the twitch on his eye though it may have been unsuccessful since Roman chuckled as he straightened himself up.

"Well Jaune, the people back there have been whispering that you can likely take on more of my guards to give them time to leave. And considering that little display you did with the pack of Beowulves and the Alpha Beowulf, I say they may be quite accurate. Yet you claimed to be a traveler?"

Jaune paused at the loaded question and decided to word his answer carefully. "I can kill Grimm despite not having any proper education in the academies. I just take out my blade and stab them before they think lunch."

"Yes, you could stab them… Or you let your odd creations help you out." Roman motioned with his cane as he looked at him thoughtfully. "How curious, you are..." He paused in his pacing before nodding, seemingly coming to a conclusion as he turned back to Jaune.

"Okay then, kid. How about a deal?"

Jaune frowned as he processed those words. "Somehow this deal is not going to be fair, if I am right about you as a shrewd businessman?"

"Aha, I like you more, you are right about me being a shrewd businessman!" Roman replaced the cigar in his smiling mouth. "Now normally the deal would be bad for the person I am dealing with, but in this case, I think I can make an exception by handing you the better end of the bargain – provided that you can follow through with this."

"Big Risk, High Rewards?" Jaune crossed his arms and unconsciously tapping his fingers against his arm. "What happens if I refuse?"

"Not much difference for me. Either way the people behind can leave this ruined city and get to Vale, only difference is how they get there and how safe it would be, since we have so many Grimm just prowling around, and at least one choice would not have you tagging along." Roman gestured with his arm. "And I do not mean to be negative, but I doubt Vale at this point is going to be generous to a bunch of strays waltzing in."

"There is a 'but' coming in." Jaune let out a sigh.

"There is always a 'but' somewhere in a deal kid. You just got to figure it out." Roman raised his cane like it was a teaching tool. "Again I do not usually give the advantage to the person I am doing business with, but for you it is an exception. I admit, I am a businessman who tries to get my hands on whatever merchandise that grabs my eye. I am a robber that takes what I fancy or need. I am on rare occasions a fighter in the event I need to get down and dirty. But one thing I do not want to compromise of all is taking unnecessary risks and lives, especially if there are young children involved." A few of the soldiers around nodded in agreement at that. "I will scare them off, may have to get a tenny~ bit physical, but not to the point of hurting the child or to kill them."

"My employer really does not want any stragglers to know, but what she does not know can't hurt us." Roman mimicked zipping his lips. "I think you can gather what we are dealing with?" He gestured with his arms at the group and some of the crates.

"I am no expert in large-scale crimes." Jaune answered as he looked around. "But I would say you have quite the operation to gather this much Dust and have this much man-power."

"Indeed. So here is the deal I have for you. Help us out with this one favor. Right here, right now. If you can succeed and preferably survive, I can arrange for a Bullhead to fly you all to Vale with record time. If you fail, they can still leave the city, but on foot."

"They can?" Jaune narrowed his eyes at the man.

"They can survive longer with you. Without you, I will give it a couple of days before they become Grimm chow." Roman shrugged as he answered bluntly. "So what is it going to be?"

"Jaune, don't listen to him!" The old man yelled out to the teen seeing that he was thinking hard. "Constant Vigilance in the outback, kid!" Jaune did not listen and focused on the pros and cons of the deal. It was risky considering who he was dealing with, but something in his gut told him that he could actually trust the man, if only a bit.

He would have to take it...

"You are actually considering! That is good!" Roman nodded in approval. "Make sure you think this carefully."

"I just need to confirm something." Jaune looked to the man with a light growl in his tone. "You need me to kill someone or something?"

"Aha, you are good!" Roman clapped with enthusiasm. "Yes I can tell you have to get your hands dirty during your journeys hmm? Don't worry, you are not going to kill a person. We just have a big issue downstairs. An Ursa Major, one of the biggest I have laid eyes on, and that is including that Beowulf Alpha you fought earlier."

Jaune let out a breath that he unconsciously held. He had bloodied his hands a few times in the past, mostly from bandits. It was a necessary deed, but one he did not enjoyed. This though, he could handle. "Very well, I will do it."

"Excellent!" Roman pointed to a group of White Fang soldiers who happened to return with a box of ammunition. "You guys! When you are done with the crate, help to get some food and a room for these people while I get our friend to deal with our big problem downstairs. If anyone of them decides to bolt, take them out. If any of your buddies decide to make trouble, you also take them out." Roman smirked at the surprise on Jaune's face. "Hey I made a deal, and I will make sure that it is fair and will keep my end of the bargain. Until this bargain is completed, you are with us and that means you are not to be harmed."

Of the group, only Sune and the old man were brave enough to follow Jaune to the entrance, the latter more keen on keeping an eye on his safety in case Roman Torchwick decided to pull a fast one and leave him for dead. Despite Jaune's insistence to have them away, they were stubborn enough to ignore him. After a few twists and turns in the labyrinth of tunnels, they found themselves in front of a tunnel opening where it was clear that something really big resided, based on the claw marks gouged into the rock and rubble spread all over. With a slight concern, Jaune noted the small splatters of blood around the area.

"Don't mind the mess." Roman spoke with a jovial air. "We had quite an issue with this big fellow, so we had to cordon off the area after the first week."

"Can we at least have a gun?" Moorland asked with a glare at the well-dressed man.

"Hmm~ Okay." Roman motioned to a couple of the soldiers who took out their sidearms and passed it to them, with their partners keeping a close eye and a tight finger on their own weapons.

"You do know how to operate one right?" Jaune asked Sune who was gingerly handling hers.

"Can't be that bad. This end point at the enemy right?" She gestured with the gun, making Jaune, Moorland, Roman and a few White Fang shout and back away a few steps.

"Girl, point that gun downwards!" Roman yelled while Moorland reached forward and pushed Sune's arms towards the ground. "You know what, someone please teach her proper weapon handling while the rest get ready for the Grimm." Roman turned to the soldiers for assistance, one of whom came forward to help Moorland teach a sheepish Sune with the weapon.

"Anything I should know about this fellow?" Jaune decided to get the extermination started.

"Only that this fellow is quite the smart Grimm, it will stay in there unless we can force it out in the open. That is where you come in." Roman answered while checking his cane. "I will join in the fight, but you would be the one who deals with the melee range."

"I guess that is good enough." Jaune sighed as he rolled his shoulders and pulled out his sword. "Okay, I will try to get the Grimm out so that you guys can distract it with the guns. Just don't shoot my constructs." At the hesitant nod from the soldiers and a shrug by Roman, Jaune sighed before calling upon his Aura. With a brief burst of light, the Beowulf construct came to life in all its glory. It turned to Jaune, briefly growling at the soldiers who unconsciously held their rifles up.

"Easy there Fenrir." Jaune patted the leg of the construct. "They are currently on our side, so ease up." Jaune paused before continuing and projecting the image in his mind. "I will need a few of your smaller versions, say four?" The Beowulf construct lowered its head to look at him, then with a light glow, five balls shot off its body and dropped to the floor, forming into its smaller counterparts. Three approached the opening while two went to Sune and Moorland, with Fenrir staying put to keep a barrier between Jaune and the White Fang.

"I have seen it earlier, but it is quite something up close." Roman commented with curiosity as he alternated his eyes between Fenrir and the smaller construct nearest to him. "Now I am even more eager for you to survive. I will be very upset if you fall down at this point."

"Whatever." Jaune rolled his eyes at this point. "Just get ready." At their nods and preparation, Jaune cracked his neck once more before letting out a whistle, sending the three smaller constructs into the cave. For a while there was silence, then…

"RROROOOOORAAARRR!"

The tunnel system shook from the roar of rage that reverberated from the opening, making a few trip on their feet as stones and dirt dropped from the ceiling. Jaune kept steady with his sword stabbed to the ground while Fenrir hunched lower and growled in agitation, the smaller constructs following suit as they kept close to Sune and Moorland. Loud thumps echoed from the opening before the three constructs rushed out of the tunnel, followed shortly by red eyes filled with malice gleaming in the dark. For a while they hung there before the darkness took on the form of a bulky bear-like Grimm that had more spikes on its body than any other they have seen before. Just from one look, Jaune could tell that Roman was both telling and understating the truth: the Grimm was almost as tall as the gold construct next to him, and it seemed to be almost covered entirely in bone armor with the paws looking like primitive knuckle busters. Even the underside was covered in a bone ribcage that would probably stop most huntsmen weaponry.

This would mean they had to be very careful with their shots.

"Fire now!" Jaune was pleased that both Sune and Moorland were the first to start shooting, and they made them count by aiming right for the eyes and gaps in the armor. The mask of the Ursa was soon sparkling from all the bullets fired by them and soldiers, with Roman taking a few well-aimed shots at the rib-cage to break them.

"Okay boys, go for the legs!" Jaune commanded the smaller constructs to attack the Ursa's limbs before turning to his primary construct. "Okay Fenrir, we would need to change your mode. Switch to Beowulf mode." Fenrir nodded as its body glowed and started to bulk up while the hind legs grew bigger and the front legs started to change into claws that resemble hands. Before long, Fenrir finished its transformation that was more reminiscent to a werewolf but still looked more kingly as opposed to the previous Alpha Beowulf. With a howl, it leaped forward and grapple the Ursa by the head. The Ursa, having its limbs attacked by the smaller constructs, could do nothing against the assault and ended up on the ground, cracking parts of its mask and the rocks around it. With a snarl, Fenrir locked its jaws on the Ursa's neck and held it there while the other constructs attack the limbs again.

The Ursa however made sure that it did not go down without a fight. With another roar, it managed to push itself up and toss Fenrir off its back, using the momentum to throw the two smaller constructs off its front legs. The two burst into dust upon impact on the rocks before the third construct that was still biting on the heel got lifted and slammed into the ground. In its attempt to get back up, the construct did not see the incoming foot descending on its head, crushing it and destroying its form. The Ursa's roar of victory got cut short when Fenrir came back with a vengeance and swiped its legs to send it crashing back to the ground, giving the construct a chance to leap on top and pinned it tightly.

With a snarl, it proceeded to bite whatever it could get its jaws on, with the Ursa Major roaring in pain and rage as it tried to get the construct off it. The Grimm soon found itself smothered with blood and with parts of the bone mask cracked and broken off, revealing one bloodied red eye that glared at Fenrir with hatred evident in it. The construct merely grunted as it grabbed the head and bashed it against the ground, causing it to lose its strength.

"Hold your fire!" Jaune shouted as he rushed forward with his sword, hoping his voice could be heard over the sound of twenty odd weapons firing at the same time. Fortunately they did hear him, that or the sight of him running into their line of fire prompted them to stop their firing. Fenrir grabbed the head of the Ursa and positioned it in time for Jaune to come right next to it. Gripping the sword with both hands, he raised it high into the air and with a yell, plunged it deeply to the hilt into the huge crack of the mask and right through the skull, causing the Ursa to go into a brief spasm before going still.

Everyone kept quiet in the cavern watching the Ursa, with a few having twitchy fingers around the trigger in case the Ursa was playing possum. That soon ended when Jaune let out a breath and pushed a fair amount of his Aura through his sword and into the Ursa. From the point of entry, the process that was done on the Beowulf got repeated as the fur started to change color from the darkest black to a bright shade of yellow, while the red markings on the bone fragments changed to either a light green or a deep blue. It did not take that much time for the body to completely change before the body glowed and exploded into a cloud of dust which gathered into a ball and shot towards the teen, with a smaller ball going for the sheath. Jaune merely held the ball in one hand, admiring the glow of the particles before clenching his fist to absorb the ball. Taking hold of the sheath, Jaune looked at the new symbol that finished etching itself onto it; a stylized Ursa mask just below the Beowulf mask design.

A new Grimm construct for him to use.

The sound of clapping broke his thoughts and drew his attention to a smiling Roman Torchwick.

"Bravo Jaune, Bravo. That was quite the show and best of all you have slayed the beast while impressing me at the same time, and that is something that many have trouble doing. As promised I will get you and your group into Vale."

"Glad to hear it," muttered Jaune, exhausted now that the adrenaline from the battle was leaving his body.

"Come now, you could use a drink. This lot will show your foxy friend and the old man back to your companions, but you and I have some terms to discuss." Roman declared with a smile that made Jaune looked at him with a sinking feeling in his chest. That sounded like there was no way it could end well, but he didn't have the energy to argue. "Oh, don't look at me that way. You're my favorite person today. You are going to love what I have to offer, and I give you my word, our earlier bargain will stand in good faith."

With that, Roman began the long and silent trek up to his private apartments with Jaune quietly tailing him while the White Fang cleared the rubble and moved his two companions back to the group. Jaune could tell he was dying to speak based on the constant furtive glances, but the man remained silent. Out of respect for Jaune's clear need to be quiet right now? Or perhaps an attempt to earn Jaune's good will?

Probably both, Jaune figured wryly. Roman clearly wanted something from him. He was playing a game with every word and every action in his movements. But that didn't mean he was up to something bad. Just that he was up to something.

It seemed to take hours when it was only eight minutes when they arrived at the apartment to which Roman unlocked the door and directed the teen to a rather old but still usable sofa where Jaune collapsed into gratefully. Roman pulled out several glasses from a drinks cabinet along with a bottle of water and a bottle of amber liquid, and poured the water into one glass to hand to Jaune while pouring the amber liquid into the others.

"Hydration is very important after a fight like that," replied Roman when looking at Jaune. "Almost as important as what's in these glasses," he added, holding up two tumblers full of amber liquid with a teasing grin.

"Thank you," said Jaune, surprised at the offer, downed the glass of water and accepting the second drink immediately afterwards.

"As I said before, I keep my bargains. You and your friends will all be flown to Vale. But you have put on quite the show down there, and that deserves a reward of equivalent status. I will admit to you, I was going to dump you by the docks with the food you brought in your wagons and a threat to keep quiet, but that seems a touch impolite now. Suitable for refugees and civilians perhaps, but you my friend are a higher class of person than that. Trained or not, you're a Hunter. And a damn good one."

"I grew up alone outside the kingdoms. All these years and I'm still alive. Go figure." muttered Jaune as he took a sip of the amber liquid.

"Indeed, indeed" Roman took a sip of his as he leaned back on the chair. "No formal training, just a will to survive… and the ability to summon Golden Grimm, my word. There aren't even stories about those as far as I can tell. You've found yourself in a realm beyond both myth and science."

"I had promised my parents I'd survive when the Grimm killed them. I wasn't strong enough on my own, so I had to learn on the outside, I had to learn… not to be alone... Until I was strong enough." said Jaune.

"You have the look of an orphan around you. That and the aura of a survivor. I imagine it's what drew those people to follow you, even though you're just a kid." Roman remarked with a complicated expression.

"I've not been a kid since I was ten years old, Torchwick." muttered Jaune.

"You've been fighting Grimm alone all those years?!" Roman let out a whistle of awe and appreciation. "Call me Roman, by the way. You must be, what, eighteen?"

"Seventeen," replied Jaune.

"Well now," Roman let out a pleased smirk, "That is very convenient. I was going to change your age to seventeen if you were any younger. You have impressed me big time Jaune, so much so I am going to do you a big one. I'm not just getting your people into Vale. Oh no, I am going to give them citizen-ships that you have rightfully earned for them. Full legal standing with all the benefits of the city. Nobody can throw them out the gates without getting into trouble with the law. All forged, of course, but the best forgeries around I can guarantee you. Farmers, cooks, shopkeepers, what old jobs they had in their old lives back home, I can give them back in Vale with a whole lot more."

"But I don't have a job to forge papers for myself," said Jaune wryly. "Least of all one that takes seventeen year old."

"Have you ever heard of Beacon?"

"Of course I have. What's your point?"

"The first years start at seventeen. I'm thinking you'd fit right in, not to mention better at a Huntsman academy than a textile factory. You've got no training, that is true, but you've got enough skill to beat most first years and the power to match some of the second years. I'd wager you'd be a top-notch Hunter by the time you get trained up properly and graduate." Roman gave that statement while taking a big gulp of his drink and letting out a content sigh.

Jaune frowned, and took a sip of his drink to consider what Roman said. "I still don't understand why you'd want to do that for me. That sounds difficult, not to mention expensive. And not part of our earlier deal."

"There it is again! You get how business works. You know the game, even if you don't know how to play it yet!" crowed Roman. "You are able to get this far over the years without proper training, I want to find out just how far you can go. You've piqued my interest and that does not happen very often. Call it a favor from a friend."

Jaune gave Roman a dubious look at that statement. "The type of favor that gets paid back?"

"What sort of friend doesn't return a favor?" Roman asked whimsically, raising his palms in the air.

"Debt is hardly friendship," shot back Jaune, to which Roman grinned mischievously.

"That's the thing kid. I'm not offering you a debt to be paid off, I'm offering you my friendship. I'll do you favors, you'll do me favors. No threats or obligation, just mutual gain for both of us. I could use a guy like you in my corner."

"I don't even know what your corner is," said Jaune.

"Neither do I, half the time," Roman let out a laugh at his own words. "But this is between you and me, not my employer and you." He held up his hands at this point. "So in this corner lies the White Fang. It is just business, not friendship. Maybe a few I can get along with, but that is about it." He waved one hand as he spoke before waving the other. "You and me though, that's something between us. Sending you to Beacon will make you better able to help me out. We both win."

"So in other words, you want somebody on your side, not your employer's side?" Jaune raised an eyebrow at that.

"That's the general gist." Roman nodded his agreement. "And on a personal note I am dying to know more about those Grimm creations of yours. What are they, some kind of kinetic Aura projection?"

"That or necromancy" said Jaune flatly.

"Ah, that would be a horror flick worthy performance, won't it?"


0-0-0-0


Hello there, I am back with a new idea. This is actually based GrimmCatcher's [The Yellow Death], a story that I read and liked for its originality. It has been a long time since the author last wrote a chapter, and I had asked with a private message whether the story was up for adoption or abandoned. Considering it has been two-and-a-half years since I sent that message, I think it is safe to say that it may be abandoned, so I tried my hand at it. There will be a fair bit of similarities since I am basing my ideas on the story, but I have changed a few bits and tried to fix some of the spelling, and if I continue this, I will work to alter it further.

This is a rough concept, so please R-&-R. Let me know if you want more one-shot chapters of this or perhaps a full story.

And I put my pen down for now.