I don't own RWBY. I do however own the original characters.
Man, I am proud of this one! A lot longer than I intended, but god damn is it awesome!
And to make a good thing better, I am happy to announce that Grimm Heir will soon have its own cover art brought to us by long-time follower, Dragon Blitz 85. The completion of the cover art is still unknown, as Blitz will be doing it on his own time, (You don't need to rush the picture, dude.) so DON'T expect it by tomorrow.
And the Chompers, though they won't be called by this name in this chapter, have been given an official Dustling designation. Kokushi, which is Japanese for "black teeth". Description on Chompers will be given in the author's note at the end of the chapter.
Answer Time!
Knight7572: But Yang will still recognize her. Hehehehehe…
Yorushihe:
1. Thanks! I know it was pretty rushed at the end there, I was having a hard time getting it to flow properly and also really wanted to get it done so you all could read it.
2. I'm happy you approve of Rojo. You'll learn even more about his character in this chapter, and in many more.
Dragon Blitz 85:
1. Oh, big time.
2. Sorry man, but I can't give spoilers. Even to my cover artist.
Miner249er: You know, I'm surprised no one's asked that yet. No, they don't. While can still eat and drink, they no longer require physical sustenance to function. The Mask transfers all negativity it senses into energy for the Thrall's body, allowing it to focus on more important things, like killing.
Guest: Good names, but those I feel would be individual nicknames used by other Huntsmen and Huntresses when referring to chompers.
Blub and Guest (I know you are both the same person.): No. Why would you want to a Grimm to have the appearance of a something from the sonic universe? None of their bad guys are scary looking at all (with that one sonic robot being an exception). Now mousers, those are scary. Imagine being swarmed by a pack of those little buggers.
BearNotGrylls: You and me both, pal.
LunaStarrOfFairyTail: I'm sorry to hear you're confused, but happy to hear you're enjoying the story. You and everyone else are waiting for that reunion.
And here it is, chapter ten of Grimm Heir! Enjoy!
THIS IS HAS BEEN EDITTED FROM THE ORIGINAL DRAFT! SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONS WILL BE ADDED IN THE FUTURE!
Grimm Heir
Chapter Ten: Proving Grounds II
Leisurely soaring above the emerald canopy, without a single care in the world, was a small nevermore. Alone, and too small to be regarded as a real threat, this Grimm would most likely watch the carnage of the Beacon initiation from the safety of the peaceful skies.
"EAT IT, PIGEON!"
Until a falling Rojo Toro hit it with such force, it exploded in a cloud of feathers.
He could celebrate getting first blood later, however, right now he needed to land.
He pulled out a dynamite stick, twisted the fuse seven times, gave it a quick pull, and threw it. When the stick made contact with the ground it exploded in a massive plume of dust and debris, ensuring the earth was nice and soft, creating a natural cushion for Rojo to land on.
Not wanting to take any chances though, he tucked his legs in and rolled onto the ground, transferring his momentum into inertia, and preventing him from turning into a messy stain.
Rojo leapt out of the roll and quickly brought out Red Redemption, giving the surrounding area a quick scan for danger before turning his gaze skyward. He watched as other students soared through the air, looking for their own landing spots, but he was on the lookout for only one person right now.
Yang.
He smiled as he picked her yellow form out of the blue expanse. She shot out of his view, the dense branches cloaking her as she blasted her way further north.
'Alright, got my destination.' He thought as he started running in the direction Yang had gone. 'Just need to follow the sound of shotgun blasts and fiery explosions. Piece of cake.'
But as he kept going, the sound of gunfire ceased, and no sign of Yang crossed his path.
'Damnit, where is she? How'd she end up landing after I did? She got launched before me.' Rojo vaulted over a fallen log. 'She just had to show off and shoot herself all the way to the temple.'
The trees were breaking up, there could be a clearing ahead. 'Okay, worst case scenario, someone gets to Yang first. Who else could I pair with? Andy? No, too abrasive. Bernie? We're acquaintances at best. Connie might work, but she always gets so mopey when she doesn't get good grades. I've got no idea how Jaune would do in a fight. And then there's…'
As soon as Rojo broke through the brush and into the small clearing, a certain white-clad heiress entered his field of vision. He skidded to a halt when he saw her, and she turned to see what the commotion was all about.
The two lock eyes for several seconds.
And promptly went their separate ways without either saying a word to the other.
'Just keep walking.' Rojo thought to himself. 'No one saw anything.'
He continued northwards at a much more casual pace than when he first entered the forest. The adrenaline had worn off, and he needed to save as much energy as he could if this place was as dangerous as the headmaster said. But so far Rojo hadn't seen a single Grimm, (excluding the one he squashed while airborne), since entering the forest.
'No way I'm finding Yang before someone else does.' He thought. 'Guess I'll just have to make due with whoever I see next.'
An approaching noise made him look behind and, (much to his displeasure), see the Schnee princess had returned and was gaining on him fast.
"By no means does this make us friends." She growled out, speed-walking passed him in a manner that screamed frustrated.
Rojo sighed in agitation and pinched the bridge of his nose. 'You can do this, Rojo. If you can deal with Yang's antics, you can deal with a rich brat's bad attitude.'
"Hurry up!" She yells back to him.
"Hold your horses, I'm coming!" He calls back, breaking into a jog to catch up with her.
'How is she walking so fast in those heels?'
Weiss could not believe this.
She was a Schnee. A member of the most wealthy and prestigious bloodline in all of Remnant. Her family's influence ran through every kingdom on the map, their control over the Dust trade was unrivaled, and no sane person dared to even think about crossing them.
So why, in all the world, did she have to be partnered with this rude, foul-smelling nobody!?
Why couldn't it be Pyrrha Nikos like she planned?
"Slow down, will ya?" Her partner complained as he caught up with her. "This isn't a race."
"I'm not failing initiation just because you're too slow to keep up with me." She shot back, carefully navigating herself through the dense foliage to avoid getting scratched by twigs and thorns. "I swear, if I get a bad grade because of this-"
"Oh yeah, because good grades are what really matters in these situations." He interrupted rudely, mocking her with sarcasm.
Weiss huffed, stopped, turned around, and placed her hands on her hips. "Unlike you, I'm taking our initiation seriously. Trust me, if we're not among the first ones there, it will look bad for both of us."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "And you believe this… why exactly?"
Weiss frowned at his ignorance. "Because that's how our standing will be determined." She said slowly, making sure he understood what she was telling him. "How fast you make it to the objective tells the instructors whether you're qualified or not."
He just looked at her for a moment, that stupid bandana preventing her from getting a decent gauge on his reaction. Then, much to her surprise, he starts chuckling and shaking his head back and forth.
"That may be how it works up in Atlas, princess, but here in Vale we do things a little differently." He walked past her, his weapon in hand. "We determine a person's skill by how well they do, not if they're the first ones done. You'd think a kingdom that prides itself on be 'innovative' would do the same."
How dare he mock her kingdom! "Now listen here, you disrespectful delinquent. Atlas is the leading kingdom in Dust application, technological advances and my home. I will not stand idle while you slander its great name!"
RAAAAA-Bang!
Weiss whirled around, Myrtenaster in hand, and was shocked to see an unknown species of Grimm lying on the ground just a few yards away from her, dead. She looked back at her partner, and was greeted with the sight of a smoking gun barrel.
She blinked as she processed what had happened.
He just saved her life.
"Hate to break this to you, princess." Her partner said, approaching the corpse slowly with his repeater still raised. He knelt down in front of it just as it started evaporating and lifted it up to examine it. "But like I told you yesterday, you're not in Atlas anymore."
He threw the body on the ground after a moment, watching as it faded into nothing.
"Wh-what is that?" She managed to say, still slightly shaken.
"New Grimm species." He stood back up and loaded a round into his gun before cocking it. "And it wasn't alone."
No sooner had he said those words, warbled hisses and growls sounded around the pair. Dozens of Grimm, just like the one he had killed, crept out from the bushes and surrounded the two in a slowly shrinking circle.
They were small, but numerous. Several opened their massive jaws to screech, revealing markings that glowed like red Dust lining the insides of their mouths. It was a nerve-racking sight, made much worse by the horrible noises they produced.
"Hey!" Weiss was jolted out of her examination by her partner, his back now to hers. "This isn't the time to freeze up, princess."
Despite the situation, she bristled at his words. "I didn't freeze up." She growled out, getting into her combat stance, Myrtenaster raised and ready. "And my name is Weiss!"
"And mine's Rojo." He replied, Weiss suddenly realized she hadn't even known his name till now. "Listen: I don't like you and you don't like me, but if we don't work together we both die. So let's put the arguing on pause for a while so we can focus on not getting out of this alive. Deal?"
The Grimm charged them with bone chilling screams and jaws open wide.
"Deal."
~o0o~
"Another pair has been lost, sir." Glynda Goodwitch said with a sigh. "That brings the total count up to twenty-six students now."
"Inform the recovery teams to bring body-bags." Headmaster Ozpin told her. "We'll return what we can find to their families once initiation is complete."
"With all due respect, sir, we need to end the initiation. Now." She said firmly.
Ozpin looked up from his own scroll to meet her gaze. "You know we can't do that, Glynda."
"We've lost over two-dozen students!" She points out. "It's been almost an hour since initiation began, but only three groups have actually reached the temple and made it back, and half of them are in the infirmary!"
She takes a deep breath to try and calm herself down before continuing. "I know tradition states we can't intervene with initiation, but we have to make an exception this year. We'll lose a third of the first-years if we don't."
Ozpin sighs. "Adaptation is a Huntsman's greatest weapon." He begins. "Those who adapt will survive and become stronger because of it. But if we pull them out now, even out of genuine concern for their safety, then we destroy that adaptability and hamper their progress in the long run."
"Ozpin-"
"I don't like it any more than you do, Glynda." He interrupted with narrowed eyes. "But if we intervene, we go against the very purpose of the initiation."
She glares at him for a moment, but soon softens her gaze and relents. "Weed out the weak?" She spat venomously.
"I know it's barbaric, but it's the most effective way to ensure the next generation is ready for the challenges that lie ahead of them." He turns back to his scroll. "We had to do it too, Glynda, along with every other Huntsman and Huntress in the world."
She did not respond to his words, he didn't expect her to. Glynda was a protective person, even if most people didn't notice it. She hated sending so many children into the Emerald Forest each year, powerless to do anything but watch as they fought for their survival against the monsters they would fight for the rest of their lives.
She understood the necessity of it, but that just made her hate it more.
Attitude aside, her concern held warrant. Only a few pairs had managed to survive their encounters with the new Grimm species and continue on to the temple. But just barely.
One of the camera icons flashed red. He tapped it, and was greeted with the sight of two more students being overwhelmed by dozens of the same Grimm that been eating the initiates for the past forty-five minutes.
He sighed at the sight and closed the tab. The year was starting on a very grim note, but as headmaster he had to find the silver lining in situations like this. The students who survived this year's initiation would prove themselves to be amongst the most skilled and resourceful of their generation. Perfect Huntsman material.
He just prayed enough would make it to the temple.
~o0o~
Silver watched on with glee as her chompers ripped another Dustling pair to pieces. Not an hour into the trial and they had already killed almost thirty Dustlings.
Through the eyes of the ravens she had following each pack, she observed their progress from the safety of her cave. Shifting from one raven to the next each time she heard the telltale call of her little hunters making a kill.
It was an effective method, but an exhausting one. When the cries of their latest victim ceased, she released her control over the raven and returned to her own body.
Once back in her own body Silver immediately clutched her head between her massive claws in a vain attempt to relieve the pounding headache that had manifested as a result of her extensive use of possession.
She hissed in pain as her skull thumped loudly at a steady rate. She prepared her aura to dispel it, but stopped herself. The headache would fade away soon, using her aura to hasten the departure of such a trivial annoyance would be an immature waste of her power.
And she wasn't immature… not at all… not one bi-
Oh, who was she kidding!?
Silver's claws glowed a dull red around her head as she let her aura perform its duty. She let out a sigh of blissful relief as the throbbing halted and the pain vanished. Sadly, the mental fatigue from her actions remained.
Headache dealt with, Silver released her head and relaxed. She was exhausted from all her monitoring, and needed a respite before resuming her assignment. Just a brief resting of the eyes would be enough, then it was straight back to work.
Silver scooted herself further into the cave until her back hit a wall. With her support found, Silver wrapped herself in her cloak, got comfortable, eased her eyes shut, and slowed her breathing to a steady pace.
'Wake me in ten minutes.' She told the scorpion. 'Or if a Dustling shows up.'
It clicked and chittered in acknowledgement, and Silver let herself drift into the realm of sleep.
Splash!
Her eyes shot open at the sound, her fatigue forgotten. Something was in the cave.
The old scorpion's stinger began glowing as the sound of footsteps began echoing through the stony burrow. A sign of approaching danger. It dangled the illuminated appendage in front of itself, a type of warning to whatever was approaching to leave or face death.
Silver just sat where she was in silent anticipation. She would be forced to let the scorpion deal with the Dustlings, father wanted her to avoid killing any of them during the trial. And despite her burning desire to spill blood, she would adhere to his wishes.
After many seconds of waiting, the invaders made themselves known. "That's the relic!" an excited male voice called out.
Silver tilted her head. Relic?
She couldn't see the owner of the voice with the scorpion blocking her view, but she could hear its struggles as it tried to… grab the scorpion's stinger?
"Hey! Bad… relic!" The scorpion was using all its restraint not to impale the Dustling with the very thing it was trying to grab. But it could suppress its instincts for only so long.
"Gotcha!" The scorpion lifted its stinger up, revealing an unimpressive looking Dustling male hanging onto it with both hands.
Silver had to smile at the situation. Grabbing its stinger cut the scorpion's already meager patience short, and sealed the foolish Dustling's doom.
"Jaune…?" A second voice spoke up, accompanied with a sense of dread of concern.
So it was a hunting pair that had stumbled upon her hideout. Good, two less Trackers to worry about.
The enraged Grimm lowered its hanger-on so they were face to face. Then, with a menacing hiss, brightened its stinger to reveal to the Dustling it had made the biggest mistake of its life. She could taste the panic and fear that had so brazenly gripped this stupid creature's soul.
Followed by what could possibly be the most pathetic scream she had ever heard a Dustling make.
Spurred on by the noise and fear, Silver's anthropoidic guardian charged forward, crashing through the small cave entrance in an explosion of rock and rubble.
Wanting to see how this highly amusing scene would play out, Sliver zipped after the scorpion. She hid by the edge of the newly enlarged entrance, behind a pile of fresh debris, and watched.
Miraculously, the stupid Dustling that had grabbed the scorpion's tail was alive and still holding fast, screaming for help like an infant wailing for its mother. The scorpion shook its tail back and forth wildly in an attempt to dislodge the annoying creature, but it had a surprisingly strong grip and would not let go.
A second presence of panic and worry made Silver turn her attention to the Dustling's female partner. Clad in bronze and red, it stood there, watching helplessly as its partner was flung around like a rag-doll.
The female called out to the male not to let go, but it was already too late. With a final, mighty swing, the scorpion sent the screaming Dustling flying into the distance. Leaving only Silver, itself, and the bronze female.
With that irritant dealt with, the scorpion turned its eyes to the female. It snapped its pincers threateningly at the remaining Dustling, still angry about having its stinger pulled on. The female offered an apologetic smile before running off in the direction its partner had been thrown.
The scorpion made to pursue, but Silver stopped it.
'You are not to abandon me, mighty one.' She reminded it. 'Your duty this day is to guard, not hunt.'
She could feel the scorpion's disappointment at her words. To deny Grimm the joy of slaughter was always a cruel thing to do, especially when they are wronged in the way this scorpion was. But Silver had a task to perform, and without a guard to protect her she would be extremely vulnerable.
She retreated back into the cave, giant scorpion in tow, and reached out for another raven to possess. The encounter had shaken Silver's exhaustion away, allowing her to return to the mission she was assigned.
But curiosity nipped at her. She wanted to see the look on the female's face when it discovered the male's broken body. The horrified expression and streaming tears as it choked on its own sobs.
It would be hilarious!
She knew where the male was most likely to crash. It was the place that all the Dustlings were trying to reach, but only a few had found. The stone circle.
Silver reached out to the raven she had stationed there, keeping an eye out for any Dustlings lucky enough to get past her Grimm and reach the circle.
As soon as she possessed the Grimm, she began looking for what was left of the body. A soft groaning made her turn to the left, where the male hanged upside down from the leafy branches of a large tree.
But that didn't last too long, as the branches holding it up gave out and it hit the ground with a thud. And somehow, despite being flung hundreds of feet and traveling at high speeds, it didn't look like it had suffered any permanent damage. She couldn't even find a bruise.
Her displeasure at this development passed into the raven, who gave a bird's equivalent to a disappointed sigh.
Now she couldn't see the female make that funny expression.
"YEEEE-HAAAWWW!"
Silver turned the bird to the right to see a bear stumble out of the forest on its hind legs. The Grimm tensed as an explosion sounded behind it, then it fell down dead.
Sliding off its back was another female, this one clad in pink and white. It looked at the dead Grimm like one might look at an interesting bug, making curious sounds as another Dustling emerged next to it.
The new one, a green-clad male, was bent over from exhaustion. When it had caught its breath, it looked up to find the pink female had abandoned the corpse for something new to investigate.
"Did that girl just ride in on an ursa?" A voice questioned from below the raven's perch.
Silver urged it to look down-
….
….
….no…
No…no…
NONONONONONONO!
IT COULDN'T BE!
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE!
HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE!?
Silver cut the connection out of sheer shock from what she saw. Eyes wide with fear, she clasped her claws around herself and started hyperventilating. Her quills quivered like branches in a gall, and her body refused to cease trembling.
'This… this cannot be! It must be a trick!' But what the raven's eyes showed her was no trick, no matter how much she wished it was.
This was terrible! A disaster! A catastrophe! It would jeopardize everything her father has worked so hard to achieve!
She could already see it. Dustling metal birds raining fire down on the Gulch. Hundreds of Hunters descending into the caverns below, killing all the Grimm in their sights. Pup's lifeless body lying limp on the floor. Flinch slumped against a wall, a bleeding hole in her head.
Daddy… skewered by a thousand pikes…
'KillthemkillthemkillthemkillthemKILLTHEMKILLTHEMKILLTHEMKILLTHEMALL!'
At that moment, every single Grimm in the forest let loose their loudest roar at the same time.
And the Siren's voice was the loudest of them all…
~o0o~
Headmaster Ozpin had seen many things in life as a Huntsman. He had seen men eaten alive by king taijitus, beowolves rip people in half, friends giving their lives to save others, villagers taking up arms to protect their homes, and more death than most men could handle.
And by the time he was appointed headmaster of Beacon, very little surprised or intimidated him.
But when the entirety of the Emerald Forest erupted into a volcano of furious, inhuman noise, the stoic headmaster took a step back in shock.
"What was that!?" Glynda exclaimed jarred by the unexplained roaring that was rattling the sky. Every single bird in the forest flew into the air, as startled by the noise as the two teachers on Beacon Cliff were. "Ozpin!"
He didn't answer. Instead, he watched as the whole forest began rumbling. Even from the top of the cliff, he could feel the ground beneath him shake.
He looked down at his scroll to see nearly every camera showing a stampede of Grimm, all heading in the same direction.
North…
He quickly tapped the camera for the ruins, and the image of eight students popped up. They were looking around with hands over their ears, confused and frightened.
He looked over at the pedestals. Both the white knight and rook pieces had been removed. A quick rewind of the footage revealed the eight students were the ones who took them.
"Glynda." He said, turning to address his friend. "I want every bullhead we have in the air now." He turned his narrowed gaze back to the forest, watching the trails of quivering trees traveling towards the ruins. "Initiation is over."
Tradition specifically dictated that Huntsmen initiates could receive no outside help in reaching the ruins. It was an ancient and sacred rule that not even world's most powerful over-protective parents could hope to change.
But something about these children had every Grimm in the forest gunning for them. Ozpin didn't know if it was all eight, a few, or just one of the children that the Grimm were after, but he didn't care. The Grimm saw them as a threat.
And for Professor Ozpin, that was reason enough to warrant a brief reprieve from tradition.
It's not every day you discover something the Grimm fear.
~o0o~
"Finally, we made it." Weiss said tiredly as the old temple building came into view.
"Don't celebrate just yet, Weiss." Rojo chided, though he was just as relieved as she was to see the structure. "We still need to grab a relic."
"Then let's not dillydally." She responded, already making her way over. "The sooner we get it, the sooner we can leave this wretched place." Rojo didn't need to be told twice.
The pair had been fighting Grimm almost nonstop since partnering up. They were covered in cuts and bruises, their clothes were ripped and filthy, and their ammo reserves were near spent.
But the two had made it. Despite everything that had happened, the pair had somehow managed to work together and reach their objective.
And they weren't the only ones.
Rojo almost couldn't believe it when he saw that familiar waterfall of golden hair standing by the ruins. He raised Red Redemption into the air and called out to his friend.
"Yang!" He cried, gaining her attention. The blonde looked surprised for a second, but a smile soon graced her face and she waved to him.
The pair reached the blonde and discovered she wasn't alone. Standing a few yards from Yang was another girl, a black bow rested atop her raven hair and her calculating yellow eyes shined with mild interest.
"Wow… what happened to you two?" Yang commented with a smirk when she saw the state they were in. "You lose an argument with an ursa major or something?"
"Or something." Rojo responded, giving the new girl a nod of acknowledgement before heading to one of the pedestals and grabbing a relic. He didn't check what it was first; not like it mattered which one he took. "So, how was your day?"
"boooorrriiinnnng!" Yang said, dragging the word out. "All we had to fight were a few ursi and some beowolves. Talk about disappointing. By the way, that's my partner Blake." She jabbed her thumb back towards her partner.
"Are. You. SERIOUS!?" Weiss screamed. "We've spent the last forty-five minutes fighting wave after wave of Grimm, and you're telling me all you had to deal with were a few-!?"
"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Everyone turned to the source of the extremely girlish scream and saw a rapidly approaching dot soaring through the sky.
Rojo squinted. "Is that…?" He brought Red Redemption up and looked through the scope. Sure enough, the dot turned out to be…
"Isn't that Vomit Boy?" Yang asked.
""AAAAAAAHHHHHH-OPH!" Jaune's screaming was cut short when he made contact with a tree's upper canopy.
"Yup, that's him." Rojo confirmed with a nod.
A brief rustling later, and Jaune popped out of the leaves with a grunt. He was upside down, his feet likely snagged on a branch. He gave a miserable groan as the blood started rushing to his head. It looked like he was still recovering from being sent flying through skies… again.
"Should we help him down?" Blake asked, speaking for the first time since Rojo and Weiss met her.
"He's a big boy." Yang said with a dismissive tone. "I'm sure he can get down on his own."
At that moment, the branch holding him snapped and Jaune fell to ground like a sack of hammers.
"See?" Yang said with a smirk. "Perfectly capable."
Rojo just sighed at his friend before grabbing another one of the relics and tossing it over to Jaune. It landed next to him and rolled up against the side of his head, enticing another groan from him.
"Ow."
"YEEEE-HAAAWWW!"
Everyone turned from the prone teen to see an ursa burst out of the forest. It was walking about on its hind-legs, swatting its front paws in every direction. An explosion on its back made the beast fall down, revealing its surprising passenger.
The ginger haired girl playfully slid off the ursa like it was a playground slide. "Awwww. It's broken." She said, apparently disheartened by the death of her mount.
Her grief lasted less than a second however, and before anyone could say something, she was back on top of the dead Grimm making sounds of curiosity.
Someone else popped out of the forest next to the girl. An exhausted looking guy wearing green. He placed a hand on the ursa for support as he tried to get his breathing under control.
"Nora…" He gasped out. "Please… Don't ever do that again."
He looked up, only find his partner was already over by the relics.
"Ooooo!" She cooed, eyeing a little gold tower before snatching it. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She sang joyfully.
"NORA!" The boy's exasperated voice jolted her out of her little moment.
"Hehe! Coming Ren!" And she skipped back towards him.
During all this, everyone who had already reached the temple were looking at her with confusion and a bit of shock.
"Did that girl just ride in on an ursa?" Blake asked incredulously.
"Uh…"
"Jaune!" Another voice cried, a bronze and red blur rushing past everyone. "Are you okay?" Pyrrha Nikos asked from her partner's side, a concerned expression gracing her face.
"Oooh, my everything." Jaune moaned out as he finally found the strength to pick himself up. "Hey, look." He said with groggy smile, picking up the relic Rojo had tossed him. "I found the relic!"
"He's fine." Rojo assured her, before raising his voice. "Alright people! We all have our relics, but we still need to get back to the academy." He spoke his words with confidence and authority. "Meaning we'll have to fight through all the Grimm again."
"Of course we do." He heard Weiss grumble, but ignored it.
"We've a better chance of making it back if we stick together. So let-"
What Rojo was about to say was never heard, as the entire forest drowned out his words with the combined force of ten thousand monsters roaring all at once.
Everyone clasped their hands over their ears in an attempt to block out the noise. All except Rojo.
The boy had gone stock still, his body refused to move a single inch. The roaring was loud enough to shake the world around them, but for Rojo it was just white noise. For while the others heard only indistinguishable screaming, Rojo heard a single call.
It was impossible for him not to…
It was the same one that had haunted him for nine years…
It was the Siren's call…
The ground rumbled with the force of an earthquake, but it was not an earthquake that caused this rumbling.
Memories flashed through his mind as Forever Falls came rushing back to him.
His mother, her neck bent at an unnatural angle.
Grimm stampeding towards them.
His father killing any that tried to get into their car.
An opportunity he was forced to take.
His father giving him his hat and weapon.
Picking up a metal stick and telling him to run.
Run…
Run…
Run…
"RUN!" He screamed out, grabbing everyone's attention. "EVERBODY RUN!"
The rumbling was growing stronger, the Grimm were closing in. The eight teens wisely listened to the survivor and ran away from the temple and the approaching horde.
Soon they came across more ruins, along with their salvation.
A massive structure, built over a massive chasm, the only way across being an old bridge. If they could reach it, it could buy them enough time to figure a way out of here.
"Everyone, head for the bridge!" He told them, running at the head of the group. "We need to get over it!"
A crashing sound signaled the Grimm were right behind them, but Rojo didn't look back. He could never look back.
It would only make it worse.
Rojo skid to a stop once they reached the bridge. He didn't want to be the sole survivor again, so he let everyone else across the bridge before him.
Once Ren ran past him, he pulled out his last stick of dynamite and yanked the fuse before dropping it on the ground and running across the bridge himself.
Dust dynamite sticks were designed to detonate at specific times. Each time the fuse is twisted it adds three seconds to the detonation time. But yanking the fuse first, without twisting it, would set the stick to explode in five seconds.
By the time Rojo was a third of the way across the bridge, the stick detonated. The old bridge couldn't withstand the force of the blast, and began crumbling into the chasm it stretched over.
"Rojo, hurry!" Yang called out from the other side. Rojo could feel the stone give way with every step he took. He wasn't going to mak-
FWOOSH!
Rojo felt himself shoot forward like a bullet towards the structure. He stumbled back when he reached the end of the bridge, Yang and Blake ran up and pulled him away before he could fall back.
He placed a hand over his racing heart, the adrenaline of the whole experience still coursing through his veins.
"You okay, cowboy?" Yang asked worriedly.
Rojo nodded. "Yeah… yeah, I'm good. Thanks."
"Don't thank us." She said, gesturing over to Weiss. "She's the one who got you out of there."
Rojo looked over at Weiss, the Schnee met his gaze. Her eyes still had that same coldness to them, but they looked a bit softer to him now.
"Thanks, Weiss." He tipped his hat to her. "I mean it."
She gave him a serious look. "I'm your partner, you idiot." She told him. "You may be rude and infuriating, but we're in this together. Besides…" she starts with her arms over her chest and a sly smile on her lips. "Now we're even."
He didn't understand at first, but suddenly remembered their first Grimm fight. How that one Grimm almost took a bite out of the back of Weiss's head before Rojo sent it flying backwards.
He chuckled at what she implied. "Okay, princess." Weiss gave him a glare.
"Uhm, guys?" Jaune spoke up with a frightened voice, shakily pointing towards where they had just been moments ago. They all turned to look, and went wide-eyed with dread.
The entire ridge was crammed with what looked like every Grimm under the sun. They screamed from their side of the chasm, frustrated their prey was so tantalizingly close. Rojo even saw boarbatusks use their high-speed spinning to try and reach the structure, but they couldn't even make it halfway before plummeting into the chasm.
But it wasn't the daunting horde that Jaune was pointing at. He was pointing at the giant nevermore in their ranks preparing to take off.
"Everybody, find cover!" Rojo ordered. Everyone split up into their decided pairs as they looked for places that would protect them from the nevermore's deadly bombardment.
The Grimm let loose a bone-chilling shriek as it flew higher and higher into the air. The giant bird then gave its wings a mighty flap, shooting hundreds of its deadly feathers at the building.
"Weiss, look out!" Rojo yells, tackling his partner out of the feathers' path.
RAAAAA!
The two looked back to the feathers, and were horrified to see those same stupid Grimm from before had decided to use the nevermore as a personal delivery service. Each feather carried about five of the damned things.
"You got to be…" One leapt at him, but Rojo already had his combat knife out, and shoved it through the sucker's throat. "That damn bird is dropping Grimm on us!"
"How would it know to do that!?" Blake asked, slicing three of the monsters in half and shooting two more.
"Who cares!?" Jaune yelled as he swatted one of them away with his sword.
"Be careful, and don't let these bastards corner you!" Rojo instructed as he and Weiss got back up. "They're smarter than they look."
"And you know this how?" Yang said as she punched one into paste.
"Why do think Weiss was so pissed you only had beowolves and ursi to deal with?" Rojo answered before shooting another varmint.
The teens fought valiantly, but the Grimm's sheer numbers were proving too much. Slowly but surely, the eight were pushed into the center of the structure. The Grimm had completely surrounded the teens, their glowing mouths open wide as they snarled and hissed that them.
"So… this is how it's gonna be?" Rojo murmured, he had long since holstered his spent repeater and was now armed with only his knife. "A heroic last stand against an army of pint-sized Grimm. Not what I imagined."
"Then let us make it memorable." Pyrrha offered, bringing her shield up to block one of the more enthusiastic Grimm.
"Way ahead of you, Nikos." Yang says with a smirk. "If this is gonna be a last stand, it's gonna be the most badass last stand in the history of Remnant!" She cocks her gauntlets to emphasize her point.
The Grimm seemed to take that as an invitation, and with one unified scream charged the-
DAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKA!
In an instant, the entire southern half of the Grimm circle was obliterated under a hail of high-caliber bullets.
The teens, (and Grimm), look to the south and are greeted with the most beautiful sight they had ever seen.
A squad of bullhead personnel carriers flying towards them with nose guns hot.
"YEA! Cavalry's here!" Nora cheered as the aircraft closed in on the structure.
"Nora, look out!" Jaune jumped behind the distracted girl to block an opportunistic feeling Grimm from taking a bite out of her back. Pyrrha fired off a round from her weapon, killing the beast. "We need to get to the bullheads!" Jaune said.
Rojo couldn't agree more. "Let's move, people! We are leaving!" He ran through the opening made by their air support, followed quickly by the rest of the students.
The nevermore tried to attack the lead bullhead, but before it could even get within a hundred feet, five streams of purple energy shot out of the aircraft's side and struck the aerial Grimm. They didn't hit the body, but the wings, tearing holes into the appendages and sending the giant monster screaming into the chasm.
The bullhead lowered itself by the structure's edge, the portside door open wide, giving the teens a look at its occupant.
And she was pissed.
Glynda Goodwitch raised her riding crop out with a cold glare, using her semblance to pick up all the pieces of rubble littering the ground. The debris formed into a large, rectangular block that with a flick of her wrist, she sent crashing into the Grimm behind Rojo and the others.
Everyone made it into the aircraft without a problem. "Get us out of here!" Rojo yelled to the pilot.
He felt the bullhead lurch upwards as the pilot did just that. The cries of the Grimm began to grow distant, and Rojo let himself collapse against the closed doors of their deliverance. The rest seemed keen on following his example, and sat themselves down on whatever they could find.
""Are you all alright?" The professor asked them.
"Just winded, Miss Goodwitch. Thanks for the save back there." Rojo answered, pulling his bandana down. "We'd be dead if it wasn't for you."
"Indeed." She agreed with her arms crossed. "Initiation has been canceled."
"What!? D-does that mean…!?" Weiss said with terror etched on her face.
Professor Goodwitch shook her head. "No, you all reached the temple and retrieved a relic as instructed. You've passed initiation."
They all sighed in relief. And after a moment, the full weight of her words hit Rojo. They had passed.
He smiled as his eyes started getting heavy.
They were going to be Huntsmen…
~o0o~
Something was wrong... The Overlord could feel it.
It had expected to sense many things when it saw the raven carrying Silver fly towards the Gulch. Pride, accomplishment, maybe even disappointment if the chompers didn't do well. But it felt none of these emotions as the Grimm began its descent.
Only panic and fear.
Something had happened during the trial. Something bad…
The raven hadn't even touched the ground before Silver was off it, her red cloak flapping in the wind as she fell to the ground. She landed unharmed, but the panic rolling off her just grew stronger and stronger.
'DADDY!' She cried out, using her semblance to crash into the Overlord and wrap her arms around it. 'I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!'
'Silver, calm down!' It pulled her off itself and made her look it in the eye. 'What happened? Were you seen?'
She shook her head, sending tears flying left and right. 'No, daddy! It's worse than that! She's alive!'
Confusion took hold of the Overlord. 'What are you talking about? Who's alive?'
'The Deliverer, daddy!' Silver wailed. 'The sprite that brought me to you! She survived!'
Author's Note: DUN-DUN-DUUUUNNN! Plot-twist! Silver knows about Yang!? WHAAT!?
That surprised a lot of you I bet! Don't worry, I'll explain the reason why she knows in the next chapter. For now, I'll just sit back and read all the theories you guys have about it.
I'm heading out to college in a few days after this is posted, so don't expect speedy updates. I'll be busy with school work and the like.
Like I said last time, the chompers look like the mouser bots from TMNT, the new one.
Chompers-Kokushi: The first Grimm species created by Silver Rose, chompers are very different from many Grimm species. They are surprisingly fast learners, able to learn things at twice the speed of other Grimm, making them extremely cunning.
Chompers are agile and fast. Their sharp, Y shaped feet allow them to climb on many different surfaces, and their low center of gravity gives them excellent balance. Though small, they are fast enough to keep pace with beowolves, and sometimes boarbatusks.
Their head is actually one giant beak. It is razor sharp and strong enough to bite into solid steel. When they scream, their mouth markings, (the only markings on their body), light up to intimidate prey, creating more fear and attracting other Grimm.
Though blind, chompers have no problem navigating the world around them. Like bats, chompers use echolocation to find objects, however this is not the only way they make up for their lack of sight.
Chompers have an incredible sense of smell, and are able to smell a drop of blood or a sliver of fear a hundred miles away. But they are not limited to physical smells. Chompers possess the unique ability to smell aura, something no other creature, Grimm or beast, is capable of. They can determine the strength of one's aura, whether it's waning or not, and even distinguish whose aura is whose.
This makes them excellent as sentries or trackers. Many Thralls use them around their lairs, patrolling the perimeter for intruders.
Chompers are pack Grimm. They use numbers, and sometimes strategy, to overwhelm their opponents. Traveling in large groups, they can sweep over entire towns like waves. When a person sees one chomper, there's like twenty more they don't.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
As always, Please Fav, Follow, and Review! Thank You!
DeadRich18 Out!