Chapter 10: The Legend I Hunted

(Valentine)

I couldn't sleep last night. Again. But it wasn't because Oliver was here. It's because he wasn't there. He didn't show up at all last night. He wouldn't even answer his radio. We begged Ozpin to let us go and look for him, but he reminded us that if we went out there at night, we'd be found by the Grimm in a matter of minutes.

It wasn't until morning that we realized that Yang from team RWBY was gone as well. So we st down at breakfast and talked it over.

"Maybe they didn't make it", Nimbus worried.

"Hey, It's Oliver and Yang we're talking about", Arcee said, "If anyone has even a chance of surviving at night, it's them."

"No one ever said that they'd help each other", I pointed out, "The last we saw of the two was when Yang sucker-punched Oliver. They might have fought each other to exhaustion. Really I don't want to admit it but it is very possible that their apparent rivalry led to some disastrous results."

"Look I know it was after curfew, but why wouldn't they let us go out and at least take a look?" Arcee questioned.

"That's only because they realized that Grimm Boy is a lost cause", Cardin said walking past our table, "Like I said, someone of his kind doesn't belong here. And I don't care if Ozpin allowed it, that freak carries a Grimm around as a pet!"

Nimbus pounded the table with his fist and got up, "All right, that's it!"

"Nimbus! Don't do it!" I tried to stop our leader but he approached Cardin.

"Finally, you're not holding back", Cardin prepared to fight, but Nimbus just kept walking until Cardin threw a punch. Nimbus casually dodged it.

"Step aside", he growled quietly as the off-balance Cardin was shoved aside by an open palm. Nimbus just walked past him to the door.

"That's it? That's all you're gonna do?" Cardin mocked.

"I'm not going to waste my time with you. You're not even worth fighting. And I'm going to have a word with Ozpin, mind you", he let those words sink in. But I beat him to the stairwell to the clock tower.

"I'll talk to him. You're a little on edge as it is." I used my semblance to jump all the way to the top of the spiral steps to the top. But Miss Goodwitch stopped me at the door.

"Miss Vance, Professor Ozpin isn't..." she trailed off as I walked past her.

The doors were locked, but I pulled out Merlin, slashed down the crack between them and broke the lock.

"Professor!" I barked after I flung open the doors. I saw that Ozpin was in fact in the middle of a meeting with a man with black hair with a streak of grey.

"Ah, Princess Valentine Vance. I heard that you were here", the man said. I recognized him as Commander James Ironwood of the Atlesian military.

"Valentine, now is not an appropriate time. We're discussing urgent matters right now", Ozpin said.

"I'll tell you what's an urgent matter!" I said sternly, "Why have we been denied permission to search for Oliver and Yang?"

"I cannot disclose that now, it's too dangerous."

"And I will not tolerate my friends being lost out there if such is truly the case!" snapped.

Ozpin stood up abruptly startling me, "Valentine, do you think I want that to happen? Do you think we have a choice right now?" he raised his voice a little, "If the situation were any different I would have sent you out last night to search for them. But the situation may be far more dangerous than we are prepared to face."

"Then tell me why!" I snapped back, "Ozpin, if the situation out there is that dire, then it might pose a threat to Mistral! And as such I speak to you not as your student, but as the heir the Mistralian throne! Tell me what's wrong! Why was nothing done?!"

After a short pause, Ironwood spoke up, "I think it would be best to tell her. I mean, you called me here from Atlas. If a member of Mistral's royal family is here, even Valentine, they deserve to know."

"And not just her", the doors swung open to reveal the rest of teams NOVA, RWBY, and JNPR, led by Arcee, "We're all getting tired of being held here without an explanation. Either you can tell us why we can't, or we're taking action."

Ozpin sighed, now clearly left with no choice but to come clean, "I'm sure that you all know of Atlesian military presence in Vale. But starting yesterday afternoon, the patrol drones have been disappeared over a place a few miles into the emerald forest, then an entire UAV strike ship disappeared at high altitudes. Finally we sent in a mid-sized manned battleship, they vanished without a trace! At the present time, the cause is still unknown, but we've successfully determined that Yang and Oliver disappeared into that same area. You see, we can't just go blindly into this, and possibly make the situation worse. We plan on making our move the moment that we can get an unmanned visual, or at least some idea of what we're up against. We can't afford the possibility of losing anyone else."

As soon as he said that, there was a scratch on the glass behind him and one of the windows of the clock tower office opened. A tiny black and white creature scurried out, heading for the desk.

"Grimm! Everybody back!" Ironwood barked to us as he took out his gun and took aim. But I used Merlin to blast it out of his hands.

"Stop! That's Sly, Oliver's pet slink!" I said picking the creature up.

"You allow one of your students to shelter a Grimm?!" Ironwood turned to Ozpin.

"Oliver is quite a peculiar boy, to say the least. They both grew up in Maze's laboratory and they both appeared to be very attached to each other. I'm pretty sure that Sly might be genetically modified. But he has proven before to be an intelligent little fellow", Ozpin explained.

Sly then leaped out of my hands and onto the desk where he found the radio transmitter. He climbed on top, sniffed the air, and turned the antenna forty-five degree's to the right using his nose. He reached down and clawed at the dial to change the frequency. He found one that had the least static, sniffed the air again, then tapped the antenna two degrees to the left. A voice could be heard, becoming clearer as Sly fixed the frequency.

"This is Oliver and Yang, calling Beacon Academy. Do you read, Beacon?" It was Oliver! They survived!

"Oliver! Thank dust you're still alive!" I rushed over and responded.

"Alright!" he cheered, "Good boy, Sly! I'm going to get you your choice of a treat once we can get out of this place."

"Oliver, this is Ozpin. What happened?"

"Yang and I were sparring out here and we were ambushed by a hoard of Grimm. Yang was wounded in battle, so we had to take shelter in a cave. She's fully healed now", Oliver reported.

"Mr. Oliver, this is Ironwood, from the Atlesian military. Yesterday we suddenly lost several scout drones in your airspace. Right now, you're our eyes on the inside. Did you see anything that could have done it?"

"Yep, in fact that's why Yang was injured in the first place, and why we're still holed up in this cave. Yang was shot by a giant Nevermore, unlike anything I've ever seen! It has to be eight stories tall at least! And it's been waiting outside the cave ever since we hid in here!"

Nimbus' head turned to the radio with a concerned look and rushed in to take control, "Nimbus here. Oliver, what exactly does this one look like? Any distinguishing features?"

"Yeah. There are missing patches of feathers on its chest because of some nasty looking scars, and its wings have some dangerous looking claws on the last joint. Finally, its mask is missing a decent chunk on the left side, and there's a scar on the same side where its left eye should have been."

Nimbus' eyes widened and the blood drained from his face. Then he went stern and said, "Oliver, be prepared to get your butts back to Beacon on my mark. I'm on my way." He gripped his gauntlets tight and went for the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" I said.

"Where else? I'm going to fight it", he replied bluntly.

"Let's go then!" Arcee rushed forward but Nimbus whipped out one of his blades and pointed it at her.

"No. There is no 'we' this time. I must fight alone", he growled.

"Don't be stupid!" I told him, "Going at it alone is suicide! You don't know what you're up against!"

"If I don't fight this thing on my own, then I will have failed!" he snapped.

His face darkened, "I have a personal vendetta against this Grimm. " I saw a flash from within his coat. He grabbed the side and flipped it at us like a matador's cape and a gale force wind blew all of us backwards, except for Ozpin who had ducked behind his desk.

I tried to get out from under the dog pile, but by the time I stood up, Nimbus was at the treeline, speeding outside the boundaries of Beacon. A gale of starry feathers blew behind him.

"Hurry!" Ruby sped ahead, "We have to stop him!"

.

(Nimbus)

I hated to do that to my friends back there, but I had to do this alone. The moment I heard Oliver's description of the Grimm I knew that it was the one I had searched for. Insomnia, the Grimm who slayed my childhood hero, Boreas. And now, the monster finally showed itself, after disappearing for thirteen years.

I had made a vow that I would be the one to kill the Nevermore and finish the fight that Boreas started years ago. I might not ever get another chance to fight it.

Then I looked at Pluto. In all truth and honesty, the weapon wasn't entirely mine. It was made using some of the original parts of Boreas' own bow, Apollo. He passed down the broken weapon to me and I re-used the parts to build an even stronger weapon. He had faith in me, that's why he gave my his bow.

That's why I knew I could win.

I put on my Grimm mask, as I always dreamed of doing if this day ever came.

Finally I reached the cliff side that Oliver described. That bird was close. I took in a deep breath and used my Halcyon mock voice to let out an authentic nevermore screech, but slightly higher pitched. A much deeper screech responded.

A set of claws the size of a truck reached up from the cliff and almost skewered me. And at last, Insomnia showed himself. This thing was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It looked me over an then narrowed its one right eye at the sight of Pluto. He recognized it as the former weapon of his late rival.

I dashed forward and Insomnia swiped with one wing to fire a round of feather spears. I snapped out my wings and dodged with ease. I pulled one out of the ground and threw it forward like a javelin, immediately followed by a second. They embedded themselves in its chest, but it used its claws to pull them out, and I saw that they weren't bloodied. It didn't even touch his skin beneath those feathers.

He then took both feathers, one in each hand, and stabbed them into the ground. He then slammed them both to the side. The feathers pried up a large portion of the ground, like an over-sized crowbar. Insomnia then picked his end up and heaved it forward, a wall of rock was now flying at me.

This thing wasn't just strong, it was intelligent.

I sliced through the flying rubble, but failed to notice that Insomnia was speeding along right behind it all! His mask slammed into me in a massive head-butt that sent me tumbling backwards. While I rolled, Pluto changed back into bow form and I fired at his heart. He used his beak to slap away the shot.

He crouched low, folding up his outer fold of his wing. Suddenly, a feather the size of his forearm sprang from his wrist and he slashed forward. I met it with my own blades. BOOM! They made contact. He was holding out! But I realized that this feather was evolved to be a blade, like a giant sword. Sparks flew from my swords as they tried to cut through unsuccessfully, even when my aura powered up the cutting abilities to such an extent. Insomnia pulled back and swung at me in full strength, launching me backwards. I back flipped twice to slow down and I snapped open my wings once I flew over the cliff. I jetted upwards.

I noticed that as I fought him, Insomnia was actually growing smarter in our fight. He must have remembered how Boreas fought, and deduced that I would use a very similar fighting style. He was right. But I had one trick that Boreas couldn't do. I would need to hold him off for one minute longer.

Insomnia came after me, firing feathers at me from time to time before I went up into the low hanging mist above one of the mountain peaks. He was close behind.

Once we reached the center, I turned right on a dime, spiraled around him with my blades, and disappeared. I saw his blood on my blades; a direct hit!

I charged up my feathers and flapped at him. My Stardust flight feathers sent off crescent shaped arcs of energy hurtling towards the Grimm, hitting him from behind. He screeched in pain and anger as I kept firing at him for this direction and that. A bright red light flashed in the fog, giving off Insomnia's silhouette. He roared, and a beam of energy blasted out of his mouth and he swept it to the right narrowly missing my feet.

"Whoa! I did not see that one coming!", I reeled. Twenty seconds left.

A loud voice rang out, "Show yourself, hero!" He spoke. This Grimm was smart enough to learn human and faunus language!

Time was up!

I flew beneath him and fired one last round of Crescent Lights. He roared and opened his mouth to fire once more.

I was beginning to doubt myself. But I reminded myself of who fought beside me in spirit: Boreas. I had to end it now!

"Die running!" Insomnia screeched before I pulled back on my bow for the last time. An arrow formed, now flickering with color brighter and more energetic than ever before. The arrow rocketed away with a loud chirping noise that echoed off the mountains. A colorful flash filled the sky as Insomnia was hit far above me, screaming. Another bright red explosion flashed as Insomnia lost control of his energy beam charge-up and the ball exploded in his face.

No one could have survived them both.

I slowly drifted back to the ground, alone. It was finally over, but I couldn't do it alone, as I said I would. Boreas was there in spirit. Is he hadn't left me with his bow I could never have come so far.

I walked away hiding my wings. Then I heard a faint whistling sound in the air. I ignored it until it began to turn into a screech, growing higher in pitch my the second. I looked around frantically to see where it was coming from. Then I looked up.

It was Insomnia! He was still alive! More than that, he was angry! He was diving at me with his wings tucked like a falcon before exiting his dive, coming at me with blinding speeds. His feather blades extended, one on each arm, and he went into a rapid spin before he sliced at me with both at once. as full force. I met him with my blades with only a second to react and he hit me with full force. The impact jarred me, but I kept my footing.

"Your hatred is strong, as are you", the Grimm hissed at me, "Hatred, sorrow, fear, anger, it all only makes me stronger!"

I have to win. I have to! I focused all of my aura into Pluto. I made him stronger, I made him sharper, I made him a part of me.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUGGGGH!" I howled in determination. Insomnia reared back his head, then struck the back of his blades with the hard of his mask to give him one last burst of strength. I was sent flying back. Then I heard something dreadful that slowed time and made all else in the world go absolutely silent.

With a loud CRACK-SHING that echoed throughout the mountains and forever echoes in my mind, Pluto shattered.

I slammed into the rock wall and my Stardust flight feathers shattered, embedding shrapnel into my back. One single large piece pierced through me just bellow the rib cage, pinning me there in place. I screamed in agony as the pain hit me. But it was the mental and emotional pain that hurt even more than that spike.

I had lost Boreas' weapon and the Stardust crystals a had been destroyed with the gauntlets and blades themselves. I failed to kill Insomnia. My childhood dream, shattered.

But most of all. I had failed Boreas; I had failed my own father.

"I'm sorry...Dad."

.

(Oliver)

I understand that Yang and I were in mortal danger that night. I never imagined that something as pleasant as this could ever come out of it.

Yet, there we were last night, luxuriating in the embrace of each other for hours on end (teetering in between first and second base, mind you). And when we finally decided to go to sleep in the coils of my tail, Yang had generously allowed me to use her as a pillow. The next morning, I had woken up to the pleasant sensation of Yang's luscious lips and tongue passionately exploring my mouth. Wonderful way to start the morning.

After that last exchange we contacted Beacon using the radios, and waited for Nimbus' mark.

"Before anything else," Yang spoke, "If you ever tell a living soul about what happened last night, I'll roast you alive. And this doesn't mean that I'll let you do that to me again."

"Don't worry. I'm completely satisfied in terms of the debt. You don't have to do it again", then I raised an eyebrow, "Unless of course you can't help yourself and ask for more."

"That's highly unlikely", Yang looked away from me with crossed arms, "Yes, I'll admit that I enjoyed it very much, but you only got so far because you caught me in a moment when I was weak." We began to walk to the cave entrance.

"I'm not going to force you into anything again. All I'm saying is that you were very...lovely last night and I might actually like to do it again someday."

A red light flashed in the clouds, and that giant nevermore dove down in a rage with two giant feather blades on its hands. Upon reaching the ground, it sliced and its blades were held off by a burning light. It was Nimbus! His swords were locked with the Grimm!

"He's gonna do it! He can make it!" Yang cheered.

I could hear my team leader roaring in absolute rage, like this Grimm had robbed him of everything. A blizzard of starlit feathers was flying off his coat as he put every last ounce of his power into trying to advance. He genuinely looked like he was going to make it. But I saw a bright white flash and a loud CRAK-SHING as his blades both shattered with an explosion strong enough to send him flying back into the wall behind him and he was skewered by a strange starlit stone.

"NIMBUS!" I screamed and activated a power that I absorbed from that boarbatusk yesterday. I curled up into a ball using my tail and peeled out as I rolled up the mountain, somehow able to see where I was going. I reached the scene and ran right into one of the nevermore's feather blades as I extended my own claws in my spin. My Grimm hunger began to boil. That nevermore went wide eyed as it began to lose its hold.

"You again!" he screeched (HE SPOKE!), "How did you become so strong?! You're just a measly half breed!"

"I prefer the term velocion tri-breed!" I said as I exploded from my ball and threw back the giant's blades. He threw a set of feathers at me, but I caught one in mid flight and absorbed its Grimm matter. I had now absorbed its feather bullet ability.

"I see", it narrowed its eye at me, "You must be a test subject of that wretched Marcus Maze!"

I licked my lips in anticipation, "I've never even heard of such a creature of your kind before. I don't care what it takes, I will consume your remains and take your power! I'm going to enjoy this!" I thrust my fist towards him and fired off feather bullets in a machine gun fashion. "It's high time I got some form of ranged weapon", I said to myself.

"You...stay out of this!" Nimbus said. He was still alive! "That thing is my prey! It killed my father! I have to be the one to kill Insomnia!" He sounded desperate.

"Assuming you live long enough, I'll let you have the killing blow", I growled, "But after that, I'm absorbing whatever's left of your 'Insomnia'."

All of a sudden two forms rocketed down from the clouds and slammed into the back of Insomnia's neck. It was Arcee and Nora, and the force of their blows sent Insomnia to the ground hard. While he was down he quickly charged up a beam of energy and blasted Nimbus. At least he would have if Jaun hadn't been there with his guarding semblance.

"Come on Nimbus! Don't you dare die on us!" he said to my leader. One by one the members of teams JNPR, RWBY and NOVA arrived to confront this monster of a Grimm, weapons primed and at the ready.

Insomnia stood up shaking from the impact of that last attack. He screeched at all of us in anger, then dove off the side of the cliff and took to the clouds to nurse his wounds and fight another day; a smart move on his part.

"Yang! You're alive!" Ruby embraced her sister. But then we all looked to nimbus and everyone gasped.

Nimbus groaned as he lifted himself away from the wall and removed the giant crystal "blade" from his chest. He cursed at that Grimm and he began to collect the pieces of that shattered crystal.

"Stardust", Valentine muttered as she helped him, pick them all up into a small tie up bag. He was reluctant, but he allowed her to help him.

"Thank you", he whispered to her as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. But he fell to his hands and knees in pain. We all tried to help him, but he motioned for us to stop, getting up on his own. One by one he began to seek out the pieces of his broken blades. Pyrah helped him collect the rest with her polarity semblance and he knelt with the shattered pieces in his hands.

He just sat there in silence and slowly, he began to weep, whispering, "I'm sorry Boreas. I'm so sorry." Tears flowed down his cheeks and his blood to the ground as it began to rain, Weiss kept us all dry under one of her glyphs.

Then when he had cried his tears dry, he growled, trudged over to the cliff face and howled, "I will make you pay for this you monster! I won't die until I make you suffer like you've never known!" With that last word he crumpled over and coughed up a massive amount of blood, and he began to wheeze. Jaun rushed over and placed his hand over Nimbus' wound. His semblance slowly made it close.

"That should stop the bleeding, but It's the most I can manage right now", he told us. Blake took Nimbus, now unconscious, in her arms.

"I'll bring him back to Beacon. Arcee, You bring those pieces back to his room", Blake ordered and dashed back to Beacon.

It might be a long time until Nimbus made a full recovery. But I could smell in his aura that his heart had been scarred, with an even less likely chance of repair. I think he may have lost something far more important to him than his swords that day.

(End of Chapter 10)

.

Beowulf here.

A rather dark way to end the chapter, I know. But this is going to play a very important part in the future story line.

Yes, I know that Insomnia is a rather unusual Grimm but that's the idea. Why such is the case will come in much later on.

In other news, for those of you who are big Bleach fans, I need some guidance in my story, Grimlocked. I realized some critical errors in this one and I will be performing heavy modifications to improve it.

If you have any advice, critiques, or input for WOR or any of my stories that you would like to share please review or PM. And if you feel like it, tell your fellow FanFictionians.

Until next time, this is Beowulf signing out.