RWBY: MRRN
VOLUME 4, CHAPTER 21: Grimm Situations
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.
Ren and Nora hurried into the village, hoping to find Jaune and Ruby to warn them of the incoming Grimm. To their luck, Jaune and Ruby were alive with Qrow slouching against a tree, his hand over his purple-coated bandage.
"Jaune! Ruby!" Nora called out to them.
"Guys!" Ruby responded. "Did you find help?"
"We need to get out of here now!" Ren stated. "A Grimm is coming!"
A loud screech was heard from behind the group. Ren and Nora's eyes widened in horror while Jaune and Ruby were confused at what the Grimm could be, having never heard such a sound before.
The screech was replaced with the sound of hoofbeats approaching them. Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and activated its scythe form, prepared to fight whatever would come their way. Jaune hurried over to Qrow and helped him to safety, far away from the battle that was about to happen. He gently placed him down before leaving, but Qrow grabbed his arm.
"Kid…" he said weakly. "I'm sorry." Jaune frowned and left him as he got Crocea Mors ready.
"Spread out," Jaune told them. "We should catch it by surprise." Jaune and Ruby hid on one side of the village while Ren and Nora hid on the other.
The hoofbeats grew louder and louder as the Nuckelavee appeared, disturbing Jaune and Ruby. It looked like a skeletal horse with a human torso and horned head slouching over it, moaning weakly as its arms dragged behind it. Even as the horse stopped, the upper body didn't bother to move.
"What is that?" Ruby asked herself. Jaune silently attracted everyone's attention and gestured for them to aim for the Nuckelavee's heads. Ruby aimed for the human-like head while Nora aimed for the horse head.
The Nuckelavee finally raised its head and brought its long arms in, sensing negativity in the form of anger. It started to slowly turn its head in Nora and Ren's direction, startling the hammer user. She looked over at Ren to see him barely able to contain his anger.
"Ren, don't," Nora insisted.
"No," Ren refused, gripping StormFlower tightly, remembering the night the village was attacked.
"Ren…" Nora addressed.
"Mother, Father…you took them all away from me," Ren snarled. He leapt onto the roof of the building they were hiding on and fired away at the Nuckelavee.
"What are you doing?" Jaune barked as Ren's bullet barrage ruined their attack plan. The Nuckelavee threw its arm at Ren, but he dodged and jumped onto the ground. The Grimm then gave out a loud screech that made everyone cover their ears to blot it out.
"Go in a circle!" Jaune told them. "Don't give it room to move!" The four students quickly moved from their hiding spots and ran around in a circle, preventing the creature from having any room to charge without losing sight of their prey. Nora and Ruby kept up the assault on the Nuckelavee, shooting its heads and dodging its attacks.
Jaune went in and slashed the Grimm's hind leg, finally causing some damage to it. It screeched in pain before kicking the Arc away and into Ruby, knocking them both to the ground. Ren took advantage of this to get in close with the distracted Grimm; it brought its head up to see the ninja and smacked him away with its arm.
"Ren!" Nora called out as she hurried to her possible boyfriend. "What is wrong with you!?"
"That monster!" Ren roared as he got back up and ran up a tree, opening fire on its back.
"What is wrong with Ren?" Ruby asked as she and Jaune recovered. Jaune sheathed his sword and then pulled the scabbard as blades protruded from the sides.
"It's also a greatsword!?" Ruby asked cheerfully.
"Yeah," Jaune confirmed. "Sorry it's not also a gun." He then rushed forward to slash the Grimm's other hind leg, causing it to screech in pain. Jaune was about to land another blow, but the Grimm smacked him away.
The Grimm then charged at Nora before extending its arm to attack. The hammer user smacked the hand away and leapt forward to bring her weapon down on its horse head, but it raised its front legs and kicked her away.
The Nuckelavee's human torso made the spikes on its back grow larger before twitching several times and then giving out another loud screech, making everyone cover their ears as it was unbearable. The Nuckelavee then spun its extended arms around, knocking everyone down.
"How are we going to beat this thing?" Jaune wondered.
-0-
The Berserkers crashed upon the Huntsmen like an avalanche, roaring savagely.
"Look for a weakness!" Corcra ordered. "Robin, go warn Safirlas; the Iron Knights may be coming back."
"On it!" the archer replied as he left the battlefield and disappeared into cover.
Ruo leapt onto one of the Berserkers, clawing at the gauntlets to try and tear it off their arms, but it was no use. The gauntlets were connected right into their arms, making it impossible for them to be removed. The Berserker roared, grabbed Ruo and threw him into a wall, causing his white Aura to shimmer.
"Their gauntlets are stuck to their arms," Ruo informed.
"Then what do we aim for?" Nebula asked as she dodged an attack from one of the Berserkers.
The heavy attack from the Berserkers left none of the Huntsmen with enough time to examine them for a weakness. Their only option for now was to destroy the gauntlets that injected the Dust into their bodies.
"Destroy their gauntlets!" Dearg told them as he nocked a Lightning Dust arrow and shot at one of their gauntlets. While it did penetrate the gauntlet, it did nothing, along with any damage they were receiving from their opponents. It was if they were immune to any form of pain.
"These Berserkers are just shoving off anything we throw at them," Octavia pointed out as she threw a fire wave from the dust in her weapon, to no effect on the Berserker. "How do we beat them?"
Dearg examined the Berserkers, hoping to find any kind of weakness as all of their attacks were proving fruitless. Fortunately, he caught sight of a small device on their necks was glowing green with a button. On impulse, he leapt over the Berserker and pressed the button. As soon as he did, the Dust-enhanced Iron Knight screamed in pain and fell to his knees, unable to bear the immense pain until he finally passed out.
"The green buttons on their necks!" Dearg pointed out. "Those are nullifying their pain receptors. Turn them off."
"Good catch, Dearg," Corcra complimented.
-0-
"Where's the signal?" Saf wondered. She presumed that they would've told them to rescue their comrades by now. They could hear the loud battle going on, making them fearful of if the plan had awry.
"Saf!" Robin whispered as he approached them.
"Robin?" she addressed. "What's going on back there?"
"The Iron Knights threw some kind of monsters against us," the archer informed. "We need to move now; the Iron Knights may be coming back."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Fox asked. "Let's go." The group hurried to find their captured friends.
Upon arriving, Robin saw two Knights standing watch, but their backs were turned from their group. The archer nocked an arrow and Saf took out one of her daggers, both prepared to take the patrol out.
"I'll take the left, you take the right," Saf suggested. Robin nodded and in one swift motion, they took out the patrolling Knights keeping watch.
"Huh?" Port gasped before the group emerged from the foliage and started freeing their captured friends.
"Robin?" Coco asked as he freed her, looking at her through the lenses of his new glasses. She was very surprised to see her boyfriend again, especially now.
"Coco, I-" he attempted to apologize, but Coco put a finger to his lips.
"Escape now, apologize later," she suggested, to which Robin agreed.
"The Iron Knights are coming back!" Port warned everyone. "We must hurry!"
"What about Goodwitch?" Oobleck asked. "We cannot just leave her, despite what she's done."
"Glaucus is on his way to rescue her," Robin assured. "He's bringing her back. Now let's hurry before the Knights kill us." Everyone hurried into the foliage, Robin and Safirlas bringing up the rear to ensure that the Knights did not see them.
"Now we need to get everyone out of Beacon," Safirlas pointed out.
"I'll go let them know that we've rescued everyone," Robin informed. "Hopefully, they've taken down those Berserkers."
ROOOAAAARRRRRR!
Everyone looked back in the direction of the Academy to see a Tyrannosaur roar, perched atop a hill as it overlooked the battle, the source of negativity in the area. Behind it was a lot of Grimm, consisting of Beowulves, Ursai, Death Stalkers, Raptors and many more, as if prepared to be unleashed like a flood.
"Oh, no," Robin gasped. "I have to warn everyone. We need to get out of here now!"
"Hurry then!" Port insisted. "Come on, students." The rescued Huntsmen and students hurried to escape the battleground, knowing they'd be of no use without their weapons.
"Make sure my brother and mom come back," Saf pleaded of her cousin.
"I will," Robin assured as he hurried off back to where the main force was fighting the Berserkers.
-0-
The Lionel clawed at Math, narrowly missing him before following with another attack, hitting Torrach and knocking him back a bit. He then slashed at the Lionel's head, but it moved at the last moment so that he struck its armored mane instead.
Pyrrha rushed up to the Lionel and used her Polarity to strengthen Agapas as she pushed up against it, forcing the Grimm onto its hind legs. She was about to throw Ekdikeo and impale it into the Lionel, but it slashed at Pyrrha, knocking her away and causing her red Aura to shimmer.
"It's catching onto what we're after," Math pointed out, noticing how the Grimm was keeping its underbelly protected from them. The Lionel's armor was simply too strong for their attacks and it was very agile and fast, able to move around with a lot of ease.
As they dodged yet another attack from the Grimm, Math looked around and saw what he felt may be their way of defeating the Lionel.
"Pyrrha!" he called to her, gesturing to some metal pipes in the ruins out of the Lionel's sight. "Can you use your Polarity to make those pipes face outward?"
"Like a spear wall?" she asked, to which he nodded. "Will do."
"I'll keep the Grimm distracted," Math stated. "Let me know you've got enough." Pyrrha nodded her head and went over to some of the ruins to prepare their trap for the Lionel.
The Grimm clawed at Math, roaring as it did, but only succeeded in hitting Torrach and pushed its claws away. The swordsman once again slashed at its face, but it moved its head so that he hit its armored mane instead once more. This left him open to an attack with its claw, throwing him to the ground.
It pounced and tried to bury its fangs into Math; he rolled and dodged the attack. He took advantage of the opening and slashed at the Lionel's face, finally hitting it instead of its armored mane, causing it to roar in anger at the swordsman.
"Math!" Pyrrha called out. "It's ready!" Mathdon quickly hurried and moved to where the Lionel couldn't see the sharpened metal pipes positioned like a spear formation.
"I hope this works," the swordsman hoped. As expected, the Lionel positioned its body to prepare to pounce, its fangs bared and a low growl passing out of its mouth. The swordsman raised his shield to defend himself from the attack as the Grimm leapt at him.
Math moved aside to dodge the Lionel's attack, allowing it to impale itself onto the metal pipes that Pyrrha had prepared. It spasmed a few times before it stopped and disintegrated into black smoke.
"You okay?" Pyrrha asked her beloved.
"I'm fine," he assured. "And you?" She nodded her head smiling.
ROOOOAAAAARRRRRR!
"What was that?" Math gasped as he and Pyrrha hurried to look up. What Math saw terrified him.
The source of the roar was a Tyrannosaur, the same Grimm that he, his team and Forest's team had barely defeated during the train battle on their mission up north. Behind it was countless Grimm of all sorts, having been attracted to the negativity caused by the battle.
"This isn't good," Math stated. "We have to warn everyone. Now!"
-0-
Glaucus and Valkoin traded blows with each other, the wire user constantly changing his weapons in the hopes of throwing his brother off. However, Glaucus was deeply familiar with Valkoin's fighting style and showed no problem keeping up with him.
Valkoin changed his wires into blades and unleashed a frenzy of blade strikes on Glaucus, which he blocked and deflected each of them. After one attack, Glaucus activated the Gravity Dust in his staff and blasted Valkoin into the wall of some ruins.
Upon recovering, his white Aura shimmering from the attack, Valkoin brought his hands together, creating several small portals out of dark matter around the place, some directly facing Glaucus. In a swift motion, he threw his wires into the portals, each of them passing through one into the other. This left Glaucus trapped and with no room to move, just as Valkoin hoped.
"I won't let anything stand in my way," Valkoin growled. "Ozpin will pay for what he stole from us."
"At what cost?" Glaucus questioned as he activated the Gravity Dust in his staff yet again, blasting all the wires and portals away. "How much needless death must happen before you or Salem are satisfied?"
"I'm not the one who sent inexperienced students to 'secret missions' over the years to fight this war," Valkoin responded. "Do you know how many students died because of Ozpin's war? 568."
"Do you know how many lives you endangered by aiding in the Fall of Beacon?" Glaucus shot back. "Millions. Don't act like Salem is better than Ozpin."
"I never said she was," Valkoin replied. "We're pawns to both of them. But who dragged us into this war in the first place? Who killed our mother? Who drove our father to suicide?"
"I loved them as much as you did," Glaucus answered. "Do you really think this is what they would've wanted? Aiding Salem?"
"They didn't want to die in a war that Ozpin cannot win either," Valkoin pointed out. "You should be fighting with me, not with him. He takes so much from people and gives nothing in return. He demands respect and trust from us when he doesn't return it. And the worst part is, he claims to be Remnant's protector. What kind of protector robs people of their families and demands everything of everyone while giving nothing in return?"
"Do you think I'm blind?" Glaucus questioned. "I don't follow Ozpin out of blind faith. I follow him because I believed that out of all our options, he was our best chance of stopping Salem."
"Don't you understand!?" the wire user roared, his stoic composure completely gone. "Salem cannot be beaten! Everything Ozpin did was for nothing!" He turned his wires into spears and threw them at Glaucus, which he dodged knowing what his brother would've done with them should he have blocked them.
He brought them back and threw them at him once more in a wide circle, which Glaucus responded by blasting them away with his Ice Dust, freezing the weapons. Unable to transform them, Valkoin brought them down from above, only to be smashed to pieces by a strike of Glaucus's sword.
"Invicta metal is susceptible to extreme temperatures, if I recall correctly," the Gray Wanderer brought up.
Valkoin turned his wires into a pair of spears and lunged at Glaucus. The Gray Wanderer deflected the attack with his staff and then retaliated with his sword, landing a hit on Valkoin. The wire user swung at Glaucus's feet, quickly unraveling the tip of his spear to entangle his brother's feet, but Glaucus caught on and flipped over him, striking his head as he did.
"Why did you choose Ozpin over me?" Valkoin snarled.
"You left without a word!" Glaucus reminded his brother. "You disappeared. Don't you dare blame me!"
"You are aiding the man who stole everything from us!" the wire user shouted.
"And you're aiding the monster who wants to destroy Remnant," the Gray Wanderer pointed out. "This isn't what our parents would've wanted!"
"Our parents are dead because of him!" Valkoin roared. "He took everything away from me. But I will take everything from him before I deal with Salem myself!"
ROOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRR!
"Oh no," Glaucus gasped.
-0-
The Berserkers continually and wildly attacked the Huntsmen, having killed two of them. Thanks to Dearg, however, everyone knew where to attack to stop these monstrous soldiers.
However, their wild attacks and constant movement made it hard for anyone to get a good clean hit on the buttons on their necks. Anyone who tried was either swiped away or thrown off.
Corcra managed to get on top of one of the Berserkers, finding the button Dearg had informed them of. She pressed it and, as expected, the Berserker roared in agony; with their pain receptors active, they were able to feel the immense hurt of the Dust being loaded into their veins and muscles. After several moments, it passed out.
When it fell, she noticed something on the Berserker's gauntlet. Near the button that inserted the Dust into their bodies, it showed a percentage gauge with the dial on a green area reading 'Safe' between a white area reading 'Inactive' and a red area reading 'Dangerous'.
"Is there only a specific amount of Dust they can inject into their bodies?" Corcra wondered. Not wanting this Knight to rise back up, she turned the dial into the 'Dangerous' area, which would undoubtedly kill the Berserker with a Dust overdose.
ROOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!
"What was that?" Nebula asked.
"It's a Tyrannosaur!" Ruo answered, being familiar with the Grimm he had encountered on his mission up north. "We have to fall back!"
"No, we must hold the Knights' attention for as long as possible!" Corcra responded. "Our friends are counting on us."
"That is a damn Tyrannosaur!" Nasser pointed out. "If you think these Berserkers were a problem, then that Tyrannosaur is a nightmare!"
A Berserker punched Corcra into the wall of the ruins, damaging her purple Aura. She managed to recover in time to dodge a follow-up punch from that same Berserker. As she took a fighting stance, Nasser leapt onto the Iron Knight and, despite nearly being thrown off, turned off the device that nullified the Knight's pain receptors. The Berserker gave out loud screams of agony before falling unconscious. Corcra then went over to the Berserker and turned the dial up to the red.
"What are you doing?" Nasser asked.
"Finishing the job," she stated, gesturing to the dials on their gauntlets. "We don't want these Berserkers getting back up."
"Mom!" Math called out as he and Pyrrha joined up with the group.
"Math!" she replied.
"We need to go!" Robin shouted as he emerged from the foliage, just as Math was about to say. "Safirlas was able to free our friends. They're safe."
"Then we retreat," Corcra decided before giving a loud "RETREAT!"
The Huntsmen hurried from the area, disregarding the two Berserkers that were chasing after them; in a matter of minutes, Grimm were going to overrun this area and possibly chase after them and no one wanted to face a Grimm as fearsome as the Tyrannosaur.
"Was anyone in the rescue killed or injured?" Corcra asked Robin as they fled.
"No," Robin answered. "We got out of there before the Iron Knights arrived." Corcra breathed a sigh of relief as they hurried. She was thankful that both of her children yet again survived an encounter with the Iron Knights.
-0-
"We're almost there!" Saf pointed out as they got to a large bridge that allowed land travel between Beacon and Vale.
As they approached, Saf's vision turned blue. Before her, she saw a large Grimm, which she recognized as a Troll, jump from the trees and attack someone she couldn't identify. The Troll then proceeded to grab a large boulder and throw it as they attempted to run, but instead destroyed the bridge, trapping them.
"Saf!" Fox called out. "We need to move!"
"I'm waiting for the others!" she told him. "Go on without me!"
"Safirlas-"
"Go!" Fox was hesitant to leave her by herself, but there was no chance of persuading her otherwise. He took off with the others to get their rescued friends to safety.
Saf believed that she had made a huge mistake in disregarding the dreams that foretold the capture of Goodwitch and the destruction of Haven. Now it was a vision in daylight and it was one that she wouldn't ignore.
After several minutes of waiting, she saw her mother and brother lead the retreat from the battle, which was considerably smaller from the deaths of several Huntsmen who had come with them.
As they came closer, she heard tremors, like constant stomping from the forest. It was loud like thunder and could sense from the shakes in the ground that it was coming closer by the second. Finally, the tremors became much more constant, as if something was running.
"Hurry!" Saf called. Right as the group arrived, a Troll leapt from the forest and brought its fists down on the escapees, but they managed to dodge its attack. The whole group hurried across the bridge to outrun the heavily armored Grimm; instead of going for the boulder like it showed in Saf's vision, it got down on all fours and chased after them.
"More of them!" Dew pointed out as she caught sight of salamander-like Grimm climbing the pillars supporting the bridge.
BAM!
The Troll brought its fists down on the bridge, sending a quake throughout it. Parts of the bridge fell down into the water from the Troll's attack; further down, large cracks started to run through the bridge that would eventually cause it to crumble if the Troll slammed into it enough times.
"We need to get across this bridge!" Math stated. "Hurry!"
The Salamander-like Grimm made their way to the top, hissing viciously as they prepared to attack. Despite this, their priority had to be getting across the long bridge in time…or they'd be trapped with countless Grimm.
Author's Notes: I will be very honest. These chapters are becoming harder for me to write. I've been dealing with some issues lately and haven't had the inspiration I feel I need for this series. I still hope you're enjoying it, though. Remember, you can visit my Bio to access the poll for how many stars you'd give the MRRN series. I'll update as soon as I can.