Time Limit
A/N: Just a thought that came to me while walking to and from the store, wrote its original form in less than an hour and pretty happy with that. Have a oneshot dear readers. Editing for this and the previous one done by the fantastic Zirr0h, his/her thoroughness in going through it and helpful directions have certainly made this far better.
The Goliath is not the sort of Grimm that is often trifled with. It's not just for their immense size or tendency to travel in packs, but also for the fact that their existence meant they had survived decades—even centuries— gaining wisdom and survival tactics from such a lengthy lifespan.
Despite this knowledge it didn't stop Headquarters from sending Team JNPR against one that had been separated from its pack near the walls.
After years of deployment, at varying degrees of urgency, the turbulent rocking of the ship had long ago become nothing more than background information. Flying at incredible speeds out of the relative safety of Vale, the turbulence of the ship no longer churned the stomach of the onboard team's blonde leader.
Scratching at the rough stubble growing on his face, Jaune muttered about needing to shave before turning to his team. Each member was going through their own pre-action routines, motions long since committed to memory and habit.
Nora bounced in her seat, the energy from her almost palpable as her music thumped loudly from her headphones. Maginhild was resting on the seat next to her, folded and ready to go at a moment's notice.
Ren, as always, sat on the ships floor with his legs crossed and eyes closed, completely unperturbed by the rocking and bumping of the ship's flight. His breathing came even and deep, the faintest wisps of Aura curling and flowing around him.
As for Pyrrah, dear, dear Pyrrha. She worried over her equipment, checking for even the slightest of defects even though she knew that it'd be perfect. Even after all of these years the champion mentality never left her. It was enough to bring a soft smile to Jaune's face as he stood up from his own seat, breaking the silence over the 4 of them.
"Guys, this is a big one. A solo Goliath, they want it dead naturally. It'll be a bigger blow than most against the Grimm, given the lost firepower and knowledge alone." A wide smile spreads on his face. "Who knows, we kill one and the rest fall all the easier." He then shrugged. "But that's neither here nor there. What is, is that we're getting sent in by ourselves at first. They've got team RWBY and DRGE on standby, ready to jump if need be, but they wouldn't ask us to do this if they didn't think we could, right?" Jaune's confidence shone through in both his tone and his stance. "I'm not against calling for help obviously, but if we do, we don't get to have the victory feast and we'd have to share the parade." That comment gets a few chuckles out of his comrades.
The voice of the pilot crackles over the intercom, putting a pause to Jaune's speech. "Arrival at DZ in 30 seconds. Opening doors now. Good luck team."
"I guess that's my cue for the lightshow." Jaune takes a deep breath, bending a knee as his body is wreathed in a sharp golden light. "We'll make it through this just fine. I trust each and every one of you with my life and I always have." As his words flow, so does the light, snaking out to his standing comrades and wrapping around them. Each one feels a renewed confidence that steels their nerves and shields their minds.
"Team...Drop!"
Stealing a quick kiss from Pyrrha as he strode past, Jaune is the first out of the door. He folds his body in a well-practiced drop maneuver, knowing without needing to look back that his team was only seconds behind him. Instead he focused on the massive beast below, which was only growing larger at his meteoric descent.
Its massive black hide was marred by old wounds and bony protrusions, showing its age, but it was a slightly smaller size compared to the ones Jaune and his team had seen before, which was even more telling in that regard. As if sensing them it turned its gargantuan head skyward, its beady amber eyes seeming to meet Jaune's directly. It was a gaze filled with a malice that would've sent a chill down anyone's spine, triggering the fight or flight instinct in any normal human,
Jaune just smiled even wider, baring his teeth at the beast. "Hi there, ugly." He then called into an earpiece. "Pyrrha now!"
He threw his hands forward, drawing his sword and shield in one swift motion, immediately braking against the raging winds as more than a dozen large rods flew past him. His flaring Aura turned a deep, inky black and began roping out to latch onto the rods.
The rods, each more than 3 meters long, accelerate well past terminal velocity, impacting all along the Goliath's body. Several embed themselves in its thick hide while others spear through its large feet. The rods unfurl like sharp metal flowers, taking hold and pinning the beast to the ground even as the thick wisps of Aura radiate from the impact points.
Ren's voice crackles over the connected earpieces. "3 minutes at its current rate."
It lets out a loud, trumpeting noise, deep enough to vibrate in the chest of the 4 Hunters. "You heard him ladies, weapons free! Unleash hell!" Jaune says as the beast trumpets once more before it begins thrashing harshly against the binding spikes.
"BONZAI!" A telltale thump is his only sign before Jaune is bodily grabbed by the energetic Nora and carried at breakneck speed through the ever shortening distance between him and the Goliath's back.
The two collide with its tough black hide in an explosion that would've pulverized any normal human and most Grimm. However it seemed to only crater the aged elephant's skin, doing little else but seeming to piss it off even more.
"Time?"
"For this sucker? I'll need about 2 minutes." The clouds above begin to swirl and darken as a rumble runs through the sky, the orange haired bomber already beginning to crackle with static.
"I'll do what I can to buy you that time." Jaune runs along the toughened skin towards the nearest protruding spike, taking a firm grasp as his Aura wraps around it, funneling into the beast and filling its mind with thoughts of doubt.
That doubt is then escalated as the other two team members crash into its large faceplate, both of them rolling with the impact and already unleashing waves of rounds into its significantly weaker eyes.
It thrashes its head back and forth as another trumpet erupts from its massive trunk, rocking the two veteran Hunters off balance but not off its mask. All the while the beast is wriggling its body harder against its restraints.
"It's tearing through my rods, Jaune!" Pyrrha shouts.
"1 minute, 5 seconds." Ren informs them.
"Nora?!"
"Working on it!" The bomber's body is practically vibrating with the barely restrained energy building in her body, as the skies above darken to a deeper black and rumble almost constantly.
Pyrrha and Ren regain their balance for a brief moment, before focusing onto the beady amber eyes of the beast by unleashing another flurry of rounds into the soft tissue.
The thick trunk of the Goliath curls upwards and releases a torrent of viscous, black fluid over its face, sizzling and eating away at any non-Grimm material on its mask and causing the Hunter's Auras to flare brightly.
"Nora?!" Jaune called with some unease.
"30 seconds!" A fleshy noise fills the air as the Goliath finally rips its feet free from the binding spikes, allowing it more freedom as its hide begins to writhe and reform.
"It's free Jaune! Incoming spray!" Pyrrha yells as she clings onto the now less restrained creature.
"NORA!"
The sky goes silent for the briefest of moments, all rumbling ceasing and even the sounds of battle fade. Nora's form is encompassed with a brilliant pink glow as she raises her hammer to the sky, a toothy grin on her face. "Bringing down the thunder boys!" Her arm falls just as her teammates jump in different directions.
…
…
The sky splits in half as a massive column of pent up energy races down like the ire of a vengeful god, honing in on the metal spikes embedded across the beast's hide. The Goliath jerks and writhes as its hide begins to bubble away. Its pained trumpeting is drowned out by the roaring rage of the heavens and the joyous, maniacal laughter of one small bomber.
Lengthy arcs of lightning jump between the poles, only seeming to amplify the wrath they hold, as they carry out their deadly work. Until finally, the energy of the world spent, it fades, leaving only the distinct smell of burning flesh and ozone.
Nora walks along the length of the giant beast and stops just atop its bony mask, with a little giggle she lightly taps it with her hammer. "Boop."
The massive carcass crumbles as the smoke wafting off of it turns much darker and the beast slowly fades away.
Jaune and the others pick themselves off the ground to briefly dust off their clothes before the jubilant hammer wielder rejoins them, leaning fairly heavily on her weapon.
"HQ, this is JNPR...Target dispatched. Time," Jaune looks down at his watch. "1 minute, 48.3 seconds. Though you did give us a baby one, so we won't demand too much reward. A small parade will do."
"And breakfast, I'm starving!"
A/N: Still not the best at writing fight scenes but I don't feel super awful about this, especially given that it was an idle idea and written in one sitting. Feels good to do that though. I'll leave just how old they are to the imagination. May the night see you safe and the dawn greet you kindly dear readers.