Grimm souls 7

(A/N. And were back! End of the holidays mean we are now back to monthly updates, but the updates will be much longer and better, considering I have more time.

Some new peoples have come in pilgrimage of my wondrous fic. Marvellous. Let the Sunbros be born! How incandescent they are! (I'm just Saiyan) (No, it wasn't a spelling mistake) (Yes that was an hint for those of you who actually read these) (Yes there are too many bracket notes)

More additions, some new mechanics will be added now, mainly because I need them to keep track, but I guess you filthy lower plebeians can use it as an indicator of how screwed the main characters are, despite the obvious plot armour.

A prominent question has been asked, mainly by my friends. Can you unlock and lock aura? And in my fic, does it still means they are protected? My answer is that all things have aura, and it always shields them, but requires unlocking to use offensively. This will happen.

Got DS3 on last Thursday, and have completed it today. Damn. Great game, even though I disparaged it earlier in some p.m. I admit it as brilliant, and a true DS1 sequel.

Sorry this chapter took so long, College work and university applications are hard.

Anyway, be sure to leave more reviews and so on, as to help. Also, may have a side project being worked on, if I can get permission from another author. Let's hope.)

Firelink shrine, Lordran

"Wow." Was Jaune's first word upon entering the strange shrine. And Ruby's first thought.

A small bonfire sat in the center, larger in size than the previous ones. It seemed to be more stable than the others, with a coiled sword protruding proudly. It was a symbol of strength, standing against the flames unburnt. The grass around the fire exerted similar resilience, covering what looked slightly like an auditorium, with stairs circling the center.

It was a circular structure, gravitating around the bonfire. Behind what used to be windows covering the top of a tower was a set of stone steps, leading downwards. Presumably, the bottom of the tower was down there, but it was hard to tell from their position. Slightly outside the large bonfire was a pillar, collapsed and acting almost like a bench, with a strange and somewhat memorable figure with a Mohawk sitting passively on it. Next to this was an elaborate stone archway, leading into a small pool of water, with an archway out. The doorway beyond was out of sight, though.

Beside this was another archway, leading to an array of vases. The corners were covered by shadow, and only some of the area could be visible. A figure was hidden in the shadows, but was almost unrecognisable with the poor lighting. Away from the shrine, a long path and mound obstructed a large aqueduct, but also allowed access to the innards of the construct. Beyond this, a large forest covered the landscape, intruding the otherwise bland area, until another crumbling ruin impeded it.

But the true splendour came from the distinctiveness of the landscape. In Remnant, the land would be destroyed by the Grimm, humans and hunters. The only remaining forests were protected by the kingdoms borders, and were still full of Grimm. The emerald forest and forever fall were possibly the only safe forests left in the world, even though only hunters could really call it that, and it was only tiny. But to see such an endless one like this, that probably covered more of the world…

It was beautiful. Neither huntsman had ever seen anything like it. Even the ruins of mountain Glenn and the more recent asylum in the Grimmlands couldn't compare. The infrastructure was old, crumbling and ruinous, yet it still stood. There was simply nothing like it in Remnant, which made it unique. Or perhaps, they simply weren't in Remnant? The archaic masonry clearly showed it was old. Perhaps as old as vale. Or older. The technology that seemed ingrained in Valean society had dominated the land, and the citizens had become dependent on it. With no CCT, they simply scattered. However, the hunters were resourceful, and had used the ridiculous amounts of semblances to their advantage, creating a safe zone using the centre of town. All the surviving teams were withdrawn from beacon, and defended vale. Even team CRDL.

Speaking of which…

"Sky? Is that you?" Ruby noticed the boy from team CRDL, sitting strangely on a broken pillar, almost waiting in this area, as if he knew someone would appear.

"Where are us? a-and you? Jaune stuttered out, aware of his grammatical errors and his poor conversational etiquette. He was always awkward, but he couldn't speak due to the residual shock of jumping into an unknown portal in the middle of an asylum, which they had guessed was in the most feared area in their continent. And then being dropped into a strange land, with a friend and companion, presumably from their world.

"We're in Lordran. Have you heard of the ancient legends, that the dragons lived in trees, and that the lords of light could grow and light a flame big enough to burn the Grimm from the world?" Sky asked flatly, attempting to remember all the details of the legend.

"Yeah, what about it?" Jaune asked, while Ruby stood, confused and unaware. She remembered her uncle telling her of drakes and dragons, and his endless travels.

"Alright Jaune, explain it to Ruby." Sky more told than asked, trying to ensure they both knew of the land they had entered.

"Well, my family only told me some…" Jaune trailed off, scratching his head nervously. "The tale was that two warriors of light were born, one from a family of great warriors, and the other from the line of silver eyed warriors. They were destined to roam a long lost land, which was the birthplace of life. Aura was supposedly born that day, with millions of figures rising from the dust, and taking the souls from the first flame, which brought aura. However, with light, came disparity, and the ability for the dark to spawn. This meant that the flame was fading as soon as it had begun, and the light had to protect it. They say that the first autumn maiden, the lady of chaos, fought against a great lord, who inherited the soul of light. The battle raged, and the spirits of the flame had been made to fight against the light. But it won, and the champion of light founded our first continent, Vytal. Similarly, the silver soul fought the Grimm monarch, an unknown man who had started the monarchy. According to some legends, the Grimm king was slain, and a daughter took his place, a creature of pure lust, who wanted for the powers of both light and dark, and therefore bonded with both, creating a hybrid of Grimm consciousness, forever altering her body and soul. When they fought, they nearly extinguished the flame, forcing the lord of sunlight to sacrifice himself, killing himself and the Grimm queen, allowing the silver eyed maiden to live." Jaune rounded out his tale, aware that Ruby was hanging on every word, and sky was becoming disinterested, as though he had heard it all before.

"How does it end? Did she save the light knight and marry him and live happily? Or did she find out he didn't die? Oh-oh did she save him from the bad king, and save the day? I need to know!" Ruby enthusiastically yelled, begging for an ending to her fairy-tale.

"Ruby, it's a legend. He died, and she lived until she died. Its real life." Sky stated in a harsh voice, knowing ruby would follow a story, and emphasise the good guys.

Ruby's face visibly dropped, becoming solemn and remorseful. Clearly the illusion she had created kept her happiness, in an otherwise bleak world. It wasn't uncommon for hunters to die in the field, but after the battle of beacon, nothing was safe.

Sky had memorised this, in detail. How else could he remember the dead, dying and mutilated?

It was truly horrifying, with blood soaked injured in one large corner, taking up half of the square in central vale. The medics, doctors, loved ones, and parents looked over the injured, tending to the endless cries and moans for help, while the uninjured were busy being injured by the hordes of grimm drawn to the panic and suffering. Hundreds of people were led by a strange drunk man, Glynda Goodwitch, and the general of atlas. He knew this because they were single-handedly defending half of the entrance to the square, and reaping Grimm as if they were grass. He also saw a few of the people he knew, some of which were ok. Velvet, the faunas he had once bullied, was fighting with a glowing weird minigun, mowing down the sky Grimm her team were similarly mowing down larger land Grimm. Two of the girls from team RWBY, Blake and Yang, were in the wounded pile, bleeding heavily from a stomach wound and severed arm respectively. Weiss was nowhere to be seen. Jaune's team bar Pyrrha were also injured, but were helping the other injured instead of receiving treatment, while he killed a preposterous amount of Grimm, while some white fog obscured him for some reason. A strange monkey Faunus and his team were yelling profusely, mostly obscenities, and were killing some Grimm. Professor's port and Oobleck were also in the fray, with many Grimm kills due to their weapons combining to create a steady stream of death. A strange woman with raven black hair was also seen, but she dissipated into the shadows a second after he had looked.

Other prominent figures were there, but sky paid no attention, rushing to his team. Suddenly, Ozpin appeared beside them, and spoke to him, telling him of Lordran and the journey that the beacon students have been sent on. That was vague, though, and

"Sky, what was that for?" Jaune indignantly stated, disrupting his inner monologue, and annoyed at his snarky remark at Ruby.

"You're in Lordran now. Everything is going to get a lot tougher here, and it's not just the Grimm." Sky told them, confirming the location

"Does this have anything to do with the corpses we fought?" Ruby asked, innocent in voice, but asking a monstrous question

"They're called hollows, Ruby. A curse roams in this land, created by the father of the abyss and the Grimm queen. When your will is broken, and you have no purpose left in life, you will erode, with your aura fading, and be reborn as a hollow. They have no aura, but are strong because they are reincarnations of others. They come in all shapes and sizes. Don't trust anyone with black eyes." Sky finished, seeming ominously angry.

"Where do we go, though? Why are we here?" Jaune asked, hoping for some small amount of direction.

"There are two bells. One above, one below. I don't know where, but I'm sure you can figure it out. Although, someone from before came from down there, and I don't like the sound of it. One of the clerics of a church or some such thing is over in the room there, so best ask him about that Hahahahaha" Sky said depressingly, before laughing disturbingly.

Sky still sat, looking uncomfortable, and nervous.

"Aren't you coming with us? And where's your team?" Ruby asked, optimistically perked up after sky's remark.

"We split up, mainly to find another team. We were sure we wouldn't make it, so we looked for the rest of the teams. I am pretty sure Cardin got dragged of by a massive bird. So, I am waiting for him to come back." He stated determinedly, seeming intent on staying for Cardin. Perhaps his team were changing, despite their bullying. "What happened to your aura? I can't sense it." Sky questioned, now aware that the normally rosy aura of Ruby wasn't present, and Jaune's insurmountably pure white void was missing. "It's like it was locked" he stated, drawing the nearest comparison.

"We know, we were stuck in an asylum somewhere, and when we woke up it was locked. I still have my semblance, but I can't use my aura to fuel it properly." Ruby did worry for her condition, as she wouldn't be effective in combat. Sure, she was still good, and could use her aura to defend, but having a dulled down semblance and overall lower speed was something she didn't like. She imagined Jaune wouldn't suffer, as he only used his aura defensively anyway. "Can you unlock it for us?" She asked, hopeful to regain her powers.

"No, but the fire keeper can. Something to do with the fire being connected to the soul, and the keepers being aura specialists that were mutilated." Sky offered "They are all young women for some reason, and all of them are linked to the bonfires. That's all I know." The expression on sky's face became harder. "Not that she has much to say other than that. All she does is moan, I'm not even sure if she can talk. She seems repentant, but other than that and the umbrella, she isn't useful."

"What? I don't see anyone. Who is she?" Jaune once again just questioned, not finding his own answers.

"Go down those stairs, and she is trapped in a small cage. Good luck" He scoffed, pointed to the stairs, and returned to his spot on the collapsed pillar. "Oh, by the way, tell Russel to sharpen his halberd if he is really lost. Oum knows he wouldn't do it if we weren't around." Sky ended, sitting sprawled out.

"O.K. Bye. See you around" Ruby ended their long conversation. Slowly, they walked to the bonfire they had landed next to, which was already lit. They sat down, and began to talk amongst themselves, with sky idly sharpening the blades once again.

Aura restored.

Aural flasks refilled.

Bonfire kindled, aural flasks increased by +5

Current flasks; 10 aural flasks +0

"So… We are in a different world, with our friends from this world inexplicably here with us, our auras somehow locked, and we jumped through a strange portal to get here, where our souls are somehow linked to fires. Anything I missed?" Jaune summarised, hoping to remember all the events that led to their situation.

"There was also Cardin giving us a mystical artefact, fighting a massive demon, the bells we have to ring and the fire women that are near bonfires." Ruby finished, adding more ridiculousness to their already ridiculous situation.

"S-Should we go talk to her? It doesn't seem that sky trusts her."

"Well, there is only one way to find out if we can. Let's go Jaune" Ruby chirped, standing up quickly. Beginning to walk away from the bonfire they were previously sitting at, and down to the carved stone stairs.

Jaune followed, pondering the fire woman. Was it the one that he was told had killed Pyrrha? The one he saw kill the girl in the vault? Or was he simply paranoid? Leaving his thoughts by the wayside, he followed Ruby, hoping his suspicion was wrong.

It was.

Descending the steps, Ruby examined the concrete walls. It was almost exactly the same as Mountain Glenn, but crumbling due to age rather than decay and damage. Clearly, it was nothing like the structure of vale, or even beacon, except perhaps Ozpin's office. The walls looked as if they were carved, or even chiselled. As Ruby's mind wandered, she reached the bottom of the stairs, and saw a cage, containing a women in torn and ruined clothes, with small amounts of bloodstains covering what clothes did remain, thankfully covering her enough to prevent the male brain from straying too far, but leaving little to the imagination. That is, if the blood and gore surrounding the fire keeper didn't deter you.

A pink umbrella stood against the cage bars, but it seemed to be covered black in Grimm blood, presumably in the same incident that had led her here.

The girl inside was short, even hunched over she wasn't as tall as Ruby, and would hardly reach Jaune's chin. The clothes that did cover her were a combination of white, pink and brown, giving her the image of Neapolitan ice cream, despite the tears in her clothes ruining the somewhat silly comparison.

It was then that Ruby noticed the clothes and the face that matched in her memory. The girl she had fought with Torchwick twice before, on the roof and the motorway, both times resulting in major devastation. Ruby's hand edged slightly towards crescent rose.

"U-Uhhhh, hello?" Jaune opened, standing behind Ruby, but obviously not recognising the woman as Ruby had. As he had not yet met her, or faced her, he could have no way of recognising the woman. To him, he simply saw a young girl, not much older than themselves, and injured beyond most repair, except perhaps her aura.

"Jaune, watch out. She was Torchwick's henchman. We fought her before breach and at beacon." Ruby voiced, taking half a step back, and drew crescent rose, even knowing that she would only win because Jaune was here.

But then, something unexpected happened.

The Neapolitan girl violently shook her head, trying to gain the attention of the two hunters. She seemed to emit a small, low moan of grief, confirming the thing sky had insinuated. She couldn't talk. Or at least, not properly. The moaning got louder and quieter, before receding, as if she was trying to talk.

"Ruby, we can't just attack her. She is locked in a cage, injured and could be dying. Also, sky said she was linked to this fire. She's not going anywhere."

The girl nodded, although due to her poor communication, both were unsure of what she was nodding at.

"O.K. You're right. Are you O.K?" Ruby asked, trying to give a yes or no question, which the girl could answer

Once again, she nodded, despite the blood that coated her, and the inability to talk and walk.

Jaune asked another question. He seemed to do that a lot lately, and perhaps it was his strategic mind that needed the information. Or, he was just curious and afraid. Either or. "Can we help you?"

She vehemently shook her head, her face screwing up in spite, presumably due to the incapacitation and link that kept her here.

"Do you know where we are going, or where we are supposed to go?" Ruby asked, kindness creeping into her voice now that the paranoia and combat instinct had gone.

She simply pointed up morosely. Clearly, she had much bigger things to think about, besides the endless questions.

"Thank you. We will come back if you want. Or at least visit sometime. Would you like that?" Jaune's instinctual kindness clearly affected him. Though, he could hardly be blamed when met with a girl covered in Grimm and her own blood, crippled and morose.

She hesitate at this question, perhaps contemplating the reason that he had offered, or the offer itself, but this question was somewhat irrelevant. After her hesitancy, she nodded simply.

"O.k. We will see you later Uhhhh…. Whatever your name is." Ruby said, seeming slightly disappointed, leaving a helpless person injured.

"Should we go talk to whoever the cleric guy sky talked about is, or should we explore some more?" Jaune voiced, hoping to see who else was with them, but wanting to leave options to Ruby in conflict. 'She was the one who helped me be a good leader, so it's only right that she should choose' his mind rationalised, despite the evidence that his team had been stronger during their time at beacon, despite Jaune's poor combat scores. Having Pyrrha and Nora in their team defaulted them to the top of the table, edging team RWBY by a few points, despite Yang's score matching them. The only notably low scores were Blake and Jaune's, due to Blake's docile nature, and Jaune's lower quality. However, in the tactical combat scores, Jaune and Ren's score topped the charts, with Ruby and Weiss taking the final podium spot, and fourth respectively, while Yang and Nora brought up the bottom of those tables, quite predictably. In essence, the only thing separating the teams was Pyrrha's semblance and team JNPR's general toughness and durability. However, now…

"Let's go talk to the clerk guy" Ruby interjected.

"Cleric Ruby. A holy warrior. A clerk is someone in a store." Jaune sighed, his thoughts interrupted. Honestly, he wondered how Blake and Weiss managed to put up with Ruby, and it was probably not helped by Yang. He liked Ruby, even going so far as to say she was endearing. But he could only imagine the stupidity that had to happen as a by-product of Weiss and Yang. It might even match Nora's Halloween massacre. All those legs….. He shuddered. "Come on. Let's go see who it is."

They ambled slowly up the stairs, and through the archway, with nothing to add to their previous evaluation. A small set of steps separated the room from the others, and a line of vases adorned the back of the room, some cracked, others mossy, and even more simply lying in shards. But the main focus of the room was the giant man with a giant machete. He seemed to stand against the wall as if waiting, but for what was not obvious at first sight. The gigantic sword rested on his shoulder, which Ruby had to look up to see, despite wearing boots. Even Jaune's figure didn't compare to Yatsuhashi's shocking strength, with the size to match.

"Good to see you again. I see you survived Beacon after all." Yatsuhashi's deep voice rolled, welcoming his comrades. Perhaps his journey would not be as lonely as he had once believed. Pilgrimage always was considered the lone path…

(A/N. So, another chapter, another month of work for college, uni, refereeing and writing. Sorry if this chapter is a little late, but university application thoughts and college work is taxing, and being sport is only more exhausting. Also, I have spell checked this using Microsoft word and the fanfic site. If anything is wrong, it is their fault. Seriously. For those of you who stuck around, Yatsu will not be full traitor, and Neo will speak later, following the Lautrec questline.Other details will follow. For any questions, PM and review. For those who are new, welcome, and feel free to ask any questions you have. Until next time. The Aurora fades.)