A/N: I don't own RWBY. That goes to Rooster Teeth, with its conception to the late Monty Oum.
"That sounded like Commander Nikos!" Jaune exclaimed, his feet slamming the forest floor.
"Really, I thought it sounded like a baby that just had its lollipop stolen from him." Nora responded.
"Remember how he screamed when Mom… well, stared at him?"
"….oh yeah."
Jaune should've known that Commander Nikos would've looked for him, he seemed like that type. He'd give you crap while he worked for you, and he'd probably give you more crap after he rescued you, but he'd still do both. Typical huntsman trait he admired.
Black vines suddenly sprouted from the ground, weaving and coiling through the foliage. Oum great, this DOESN'T remind me of something else. Every time something sprouted from the ground he couldn't help but remember that damn worm…. From a literal worm to a groundhog to an Oobleck head popping out from an on campus excavation.
"Looks like we have company!" Nora yelled as the vines started bearing fruit of… Grimm? Weird monkey things to Creeps started popping down as if the vines themselves were skinny Parasite nests. Jaune didn't need to ask 'why' to know that he should pull out Crocea Mors and prepare to fight.
Nora was way ahead of him though, shooting Grenades at the roots of the vines, forcing them to limply lay along the ground, then shifting to the hammer to swat Grimm like they were nothing more than insects.
The limp vines suddenly shook like tortured snakes, shuffling along the ground away from them as if in retreat. Good, but Jaune had a feeling he had to keep that direction where the vines were heading.
"Nora, push forward, we need to get to Commander Nikos…. Is Zwei ready?" Jaune swung at his attackers, blocking swipes and swiping at openings.
"….. we're pulling out Zwei in front of Papa Nikos?" Nora looked at Jaune with her eyes widened.
"Wherever he is, he thinks he's in a position to die…. And if Pyrrha's father thinks he'll die…."
"Got it!" Nora looked over her shoulder, jostling her back with aggressive shrugs. Zwei popped up from within, eyes blinking and muzzle yawning. Jaune would've found it cute if it weren't for the fact he was busy decapitating an aggressive inaptly named Creep.
After a moment or two as the dog smacked its lips, it seemed to look around and noticed that it was needed. It hopped from the pack and barked, knocking their minor Grimm opponents away from them. Jaune breathed a sigh of relief as he reveled in the space he finally had to himself, before steeling himself into a running stance. He pointed the blade of Crocea Mors ahead of him. "Charge!"
Nora, Zwei, and himself ran into the forest, towards where they heard Paris cry out. Vines starting jutting out on their sides, but they ignored them. If Commander Nikos was in trouble… well….
Jaune would NOT want the guilt of a Pyrrha crying on his shoulder, because he failed to protect someone when he could.
"The sun's getting low, we should set up camp. Has your father responded to your texts?" Lumen turned to face Pyrrha, who was looking at her scroll with a blush, a dash of regret, and a hope. She didn't respond, so Jaune's mother swiped the scroll from her hand with urgency.
"No wait!" Pyrrha did NOT want Lumen to read through her recent texts, she already had the mild embarrassment of Jaune himself reading them. She extended her arm and activated her semblance, dragging the scroll out of Lumen's hand, "Dad hasn't responded, and I guess Jaune is waiting for me to reply since we were… busy."
"Damn right…." Lumen sighed, seemingly uncaring of Pyrrha's recent action, "stupid Camos." After a grunt she looked around the small clearing they found. "Ren, could you go out and get some dry, combustible wood? Pyrrha and I will set up the tents. Don't stray too far, okay? Fire some shots if you need assistance with something lethal."
Ren silently nodded and went into the trees. Lumen reached into her pack and brought out supplies for tents.
"So…. Your semblance is telekinesis of some kind, since you just yanked that scroll out of my hand."
Pyrrha felt herself blush. Damn. She always tried to keep her semblance a secret. Not only because it allowed her an advantage in every battle, but also because it was such a damn good semblance. Many people would just forfeit if they had to fight her; wouldn't even bother to fight because she could take their tools and make them do a little dance.
"It's…. polarity," Pyrrha admitted, earning a smirk from Lumen. She dumped the metal tent stands on the ground.
"Stupid way to say 'ferrokinesis' if I say so myself." She shrugged off her pack, "Well, that would make this easier for you, set up the tents will you?"
"And what will you do?"
"Supervise, that is my job here."
Pyrrha sighed, but she knew better than to challenge her. She was an adult, a respected huntress… well, she was a huntress. Apparently one that fought during the fall of Mantle. While that hadn't been classified as a war, it certainly wasn't a petty squabble done overnight… it was a month of huntsmen and military forces going at it hard. Supposedly, it wasn't pretty.
But she'd never met someone who was actually there….
"So… uh… I understand it's a touchy subject, but…" Pyrrha started as she raised her hands to start setting up the tents. The covers weren't metallic, but the stands were, it was easy enough.
"…I'll talk about Atlas… if you talk about how long you've had a crush on my son…"
Pyrrha felt herself freeze as the tents fell down to the ground with a pathetic 'flap' of the tent covers. "I…. uh…. well…. uh….." Words no longer existed, only the guttural sounds of her throat could be considered real. What were words? Is a dictionary useless? What are thoughts even? She didn't understand her own brain!
"It isn't that difficult to figure out, Pyrrha." Lumen sat down on a log, "your eyes were practically magnetized to him, and Paris's words and actions towards him certainly indicated that you…. were attached to him, and conveyed that to him at an earlier date. I'm not stupid, Pyrrha."
Pyrrha still could only stutter, much to Lumen's amusement. She crossed her arms and legs, never letting that smirk leave her face. "It's fine, I almost feel sorry for you. Jaune doesn't seem like an easy guy to get with. He isn't stupid but he's quick to assume things as 'too good to be true,' and would just attribute it to him overthinking actions."
"He knows," Pyrrha's tongue and voice box finally did their job, "he just… doesn't want to interrupt the team dynamic… or something…" Pyrrha sighed, "he also said, 'I don't know if I love you and I don't know if you love me,' but I do love him! I mean… I…." Pyrrha's red cheeks didn't recede as Lumen raised one eyebrow as far as it could go on her face.
She sighed. "Team relationships… they're… interesting." She leaned forward, uncrossing her arms to rub her eyes. "There was one in MY team, though it only happened in year four, but by Oum was the 'will they won't they' insufferable."
Pyrrha laughed, thinking of her situation, however, there was a question on her mind. "Did… did they work out?"
Lumen's face suddenly got serious. "It's… it's complicated. I don't want to bother you with the details but… no… it didn't."
"Oh…." Pyrrha suddenly looked down, deciding that maybe the tents would be best with her full at-tent-ion….. wait….Dammit Yang.
"But that means nothing in this scenario. You don't seem like an Anise, and I know Jaune is NO WAY like Pluto…. Those two…. Those two did mesh well, but…. You felt either one of them would lead themselves to destruction." Lumen's eyes widened, "not in the way you two would at least," she added quickly. "You would fling yourselves into danger and get yourselves killed…. Those two…. Well, you don't need to know."
"I want to know!" Whatever worries Jaune had that she could put to rest would be great, even if she had to salvage it from relationship problems of two people she had never met or heard of.
"No you don't Pyrrha, trust me, keep all that naiveté that you can. Your father may scoff at it, but it's those days of innocence you cling to keep your sanity… or drugs…. I've heard that's a solution, but as a mother I've decided against it." She chuckled lightly. "So… my son knows you're crushing on him, and is using some 'can't pursue romance within the team,' excuse, right? Or is he?"
"….what do you mean."
"'I don't know if I love you, and I don't know if you love me.' You seem bothered by that line but you fail to observe what it means. Trust me, I raised Jaune… the guy speaks as literal as he can."
"You're telling me I just have to prove I genuinely love him? And…. have him… love me?" Pyrrha started looking into that thought. She had just glossed over that line, hadn't she?
"That's the thing, how DO you prove it? Not to him. Not to me. But to yourself? What interests you about my son?" Pyrrha suddenly felt put on the spot, only for Lumen to raise her hands as a sign of peace. "I may have… protective tendencies…. But trust me, considering the crap I had to deal with my daughters in that regard, I've toned down on trying to interfere with his love life… I won't scare you off."
Pyrrha sighed. "He… he treats me like a human being. I'm not some champion, I'm not 'the Invincible Girl,' I'm his partner, his friend…. I'm Pyrrha… just Pyrrha to him."
"….First person to treat you like a normal person." Lumen sighed, "that's what Jaune has a problem with."
"What?"
"You're… placing all that love onto Jaune because… well… he's the guy treated you normally. You love him because… he was a friend first."
"So?"
"Love is more complicated than that, it takes time, it takes work. Noah and I weren't love at first sight, sure we dated soon after our meeting but…. Well…. it didn't really become anything I'd call love until a couple months into the relationship.
"And why did we start dating? Because it was a curiosity, we were on equal footing, not necessarily in battle skill but with expectations.
"Jaune treats you like a normal person…. But from what you've told me, and from what I can infer…. You treat Jaune like your fans treat you. And would you date your fans?"
"I do NOT treat Jaune like my fans treat me! My fans put me on a pedestal, remove my flaws and proclaim support for me regardless of what I do! They don't challenge my character! They just praise me and expect that…. Praise in…. return…."
Lumen raised an eyebrow as Pyrrha talked herself into a hole. That…. That IS what I've been doing, hasn't it? How the heck could she deduce this? Does her evil eye also read minds?
"But my fans don't help me! My fans don't try to make me better, reach my potential, they just praise and praise… I've tried to be a meaningful part in Jaune's life!"
"And isn't what all your fans want is to be part of your life? Even if it's not with 'Pyrrha' per say, but that is their goal, their wish… to matter… to you."
"I….I…."
"Look, Pyrrha, you're not a bad person… you're just a fangirl."
At that comment, Pyrrha felt something surge within her. Indignity, embarrassment…. And a hint of fury. She raised her hand and contorted the fencing foil to Lumen's neck. "You… you do NOT talk to me that way…."
"Now I see the Paris in you… can't blame you for your upbringing." Lumen sighed, and stood up, her own sword still pointed at her neck. "Attack me if that makes you feel better, just know your attacking your idol's mother is generally considered a faux pas."
"Jaune is not my idol! Jaune is… Jaune is…. my dream come true….."
Pyrrha released the foil, having it plop down on the ground. "Thank Oum, I thought I'd have to give you the 'stare,' and I don't feel like hearing a girlish shriek." Lumen picked up her foil, a small chuckle in her voice. "Pluto would be so proud of me," she muttered, giving one bemused yet oddly affectionate look towards the blushing and indignant champion.
"Jaune just sees you putting him on a pedestal, the savior that brought the grand Pyrrha Nikos down to the real world where she belonged. He appreciates it like you would but…. Doesn't think that's reason enough to date someone who probably is REALLY important to him. That's what I think, but what do I know, I'm just his mom….
"You know what I'm saying?"
Pyrrha looked down at the ground, then looked back up at Lumen. "Kind of?..."
"I'm not that good a wordsmith, I leave that to Noah."
Pyrrha felt an urge to change the subject. "What was meeting Noah like?..."
"Oh, THAT is a fun story, so it was the Vytal Festival and my team, Team PLUM, just so happened to be going against Team NAME, my husband's team!"
"…team NAME?" Pyrrha couldn't suppress an incredulous chuckle.
"Yeah… they had difficulty naming them, apparently, so they named them 'NAME.'"
"That's not even a color!" Pyrrha started laughing.
"Well… every color has a name. That was Noah's reasoning…" Lumen laughed along with the champion. "So… as I was saying…"
Ren came back to see the camp was not set up at all.
The vines were starting to sprout more, and the guttural grunt of a manly man became louder. It wasn't Jaune, she may have started being infatuated with Jaune but Nora wouldn't call him 'manly.' No, that had to be Paris Nikos.
A sweet scent enveloped her nose, and she almost stopped to enjoy it. It smelled like the sap of Forever Fall but…. Better. It was like warm honey straight from the honeycomb, if the smell was more powerful. It was like a freshly baked birthday cake, sweet and warm. Nora was wondering what it was.
She looked down and saw Zwei running alongside them. Zwei wasn't doing anything too special, just barking every once and a while to knock some Grimm back. It was probably wise, conserve some strength for…. The….
Big Fight. Oumly Shit!
Nora thought it looked like the back of a Dinobud, the one starter Flickemon she had yet to find. Except instead of being small and cute, it was large, and oozing, and…. dripping?
Red substance dripped in-between the 'petals,' it glistened in the sun, making it almost beautiful in the most horrifying of ways. Nora would've fixated longer if it weren't for the fact she sensed a vine coming towards her feet. Nora jumped up, aimed Magnhild, and peppered the gigantic bud with grenades. It didn't seem amused, but it did not seem impressed either. The petals opened and showed the rows of teeth, that were laced with the red substance.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Jaune screamed, with Nora giving a brief look to her darling… ahem…. Leader and quickly shrugging her shoulders, without letting her stance with Magnhild slacken. She looked at Zwei, who looked up at her. It was the look of don't expect me to take this thing down on my own.
"What the…. GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Nora was suddenly pulled towards one Paris Nikos, who was currently wrestling with legions of Grimm along with an onslaught of vines. "THIS IS AN APHRODITE! I'LL DISTRACT IT WHILE YOU GUYS RETREAT!"
"WHAT ABOUT YOU?" Nora turned to see Jaune screaming back at the commander. The man mumbled something, Nora could've sworn it was something like 'never flee,' but Nora refused that such a condescending prick could also be that stubborn and stupid.
"I'LL DIE A HUNSTMAN'S DEATH AND… IS THAT THAT STUPID DOG? WHAT'S THAT THING DOING THERE?"
Nora turned to Jaune, who gave a soft nod. Oh, she was going to enjoy this….
The bulb expanded and hissed, and unleashed a volley of vines heading towards Nora and Jaune. That didn't even include the Grimm that were sprouting from the horrid foliage.
….she'll enjoy this if she lived.
"Zwei! BOUNCING LASERZ!"
Nora, before the flurry of highly condensed energy with the movement pattern of a Mexican Jumping Bean was unleashed, heard Paris scream, "BOUNCING WHAT NOW?"
"Woof!"
Zwei's eyes glowed and shot out a series of segmented energy blasts that started ricocheting off the trees and Grimm, knocking them down while leaving smoldering marks on their husks. Nora complimented the barrage with her own wave of grenades, capitalizing on the wounds by opening them up with further explosions. Nora couldn't suppress her giggle as she watched the creatures of darkness thin in numbers and the amount of craters thicken in numbers. She looked over her shoulder to see Jaune making his way to Paris, cutting through thick brush and Grimm alike to make sure that Pyrrha's father came back in one piece.
Nora looked at what she assumed Paris called, 'The Aphrodite.' It wasn't anything TOO intimidating. Yes, it had rows of sharp teeth but it was just a plant. A Grimm plant but what was so scary as simply a giant carnivorous flower?
She received her answer as the petals parted, revealing the full maw in all its dripping glory, and sloshing out the sickly thick red juice that laced its insides. Nora assumed it was just its blood but as it started to extend from the pool the flower puked into…
The sweet smell became all the more potent. That wasn't blood! It was like… the sweet stuff in flowers! The things that hummingbirds sucked up… what was it called?
"Nora! Watch your neck…. ARGH!" Nora heard Jaune call out from his position. Nora shifted her gaze to see a vine whipping towards her like it was attempting to slice her head off. She shifted Magnhild and blocked it with her hammer's extended handle.
Nectar! That's it! Nora looked down to see the viscous liquid slowly creeping up on her position, noticing the smoke that it emitted from the ground, and the clear dying of the grass that laid beneath it showcased it was more than just sweet-flower-syrup. It was like… stomach acid… or something.
Trees started to lose their support in the ground, and started falling like the most depressing game of dominos Nora had ever witnessed. She grabbed Zwei and retreated away from the expanding pool of acidic syrup. She looked for Jaune, who seemed hacking away at vines that seemed entangled with Paris's limbs. "JAUNE!" Nora called, "THE FLOOR IS LAVA!"
"WAIT, REALLY?" Jaune looked down to see the approaching nectar. "THAT'S NOT LAVA THOUGH…"
"IT'S THE SAME IDEA!" Nora cried back. "BESIDES, IT'S RED, LIKE LAVA!"
"THIS ALSO ISN'T TECHNICALLY A FLOOR!" While Jaune seemed to simply be continuing a worthless conversation, he was already retreating to Nora's position with Paris slung over his shoulder. The older huntsman's face was rather dazed, his eyes glazing over everything as he just muttered.
"Eye lasers," he seemed to whisper. "Dog bouncing eye lasers."
"We should let him recover," Jaune laid Paris down on a tree as he faced the mountainous plant that seemed to be hacking up for some projectile vomiting, aimed at them rather than the floor directly beneath it. "So…. Zwei, how much energy do you have?"
"Woof!"
"I expected that…" Jaune sighed, he looked at Nora. "The tennis formation?"
"The Tennis formation!" Nora hoisted Magnhild, "but… what about…. That stuff?" Nora motioned to the creeping nectar.
"Oh yeah…" Jaune looked at the dog, "Zwei, cover that stuff up, can you?"
The dog panted, turning around so its rear faced the massive plant, and started digging a hole, shoveling the dirt right into the pulsating juices. It didn't cover the whole field, but it created a wide enough path for Jaune and Nora to walk towards the beast without their shoes being damaged…. That would be sole-crushing.
There was also a giant hole that Zwei now resided in, and that Paris slipped inside, laying almost contentedly in the dirt, his eyes still glazed from visible symptoms of shock. Nora turned to Jaune, who also had turned to her, their eyes locked and they nodded, as Nora whistled and Zwei popped up between them. Nora and Jaune looked forward to see the vines corrupt the canopy, dropping down various Grimm onto their considerate path. Nora and Jaune turned back to each other and they gave a second nod. A third nod was also made, just to make sure they were on the same page.
Nora whistled again, and Zwei jumped up, curling into a ball. Nora struck him with Magnhild towards Jaune, who batted it back with his shield. They started running forward towards the army of Grimm, hitting Zwei back and forth between them.
The 'ball' that was Zwei gained momentum, and also gained some form of energy, as Grimm were caught in its oscillating wake, disintegrating before being properly bludgeoned to death. Nora looked forward for a brief moment to see that the flower of death was fast approaching, she gave Jaune a look, and Jaune gave a short wink before he hit Zwei with his shield as hard as he could towards Nora, who then pivoted her stance, aimed Magnhild, and slammed Zwei into the direction of the Aphrodite.
The sound barrier trembled before the mighty pooch of power punched the air itself with its force. It careened towards the unsuspecting mega-Grimm, it collided with one of the petals and…
It pushed it. The Aphrodite's 'head' did jostle a little bit. It seemed rather annoyed.
Other than that…. Really? REALLY? What IS that stupid thing? It's just a plant!
Zwei himself also seemed to notice that his attack barely did anything as it ricocheted off the Aphrodite's horrid floral body. Zwei immediately started hovering in the air and let out a massive bark, sonic waves emitting from his muzzle, colliding with the Aphrodite's bulb.
It shook, and it let out a mumbling screech to showcase displeasure, but…. This was not the Slaggeater. She looked up to see more vines sprouting from the earth, one that was...
"ZWEI LOOK OUT!" Nora was too late in her cry as a vine lashed at the dog, knocking it down with an audible impact into the quivering and torn asunder ruins of the trees. "ZWEI!" Nora cried, stabbing herself with a Taser. She ignored whatever Jaune was saying to her, probably something about being careful, before she leaped upwards, mounted Magnhild, and flew to where Zwei had impacted.
Zwei was curled up in the branches, but otherwise unhurt. His eyes were open, and he continued to pant. "Oum thank Monty!" Nora whispered as she grabbed Zwei into her arms. "Are you okay?"
"Woof!"
"Good…. Now let's get back…." Nora heard slithering and hissing, and not of the anthropomorphic vine variety. It was a very familiar sound, the sound that preceded her infamous sloth call.
A King Taijutu.
Easy Peasy! I could kill this thing without Zwei! Nora looked up to see the two headed snake attempting to encircle her, but she leaped back and shifted Magnhild to grenades. It was time to blow stuff up!
A third head emerged.
Okay…. Are there Three-Headed King Taijutu out there? Maybe Port said something about that….
A fourth head emerged.
…This is going to be like that Deathstalker incident in Emerald Forest isn't it? Where things just keep appearing…
A fifth and seventh head emerged. Nora fancied that there was a sixth head that was simply late or forgot to show up or slept in.
Unfortunately, the sixth head decided to show up, as the mass of snakes started rising into the air… a face appeared beneath it. Two large red eyes, a fanged mouth, a gross nose… but otherwise a humanlike face.
The snakes kept rising into the air, as it continued to show a more humanoid form. It had arms with spiky nails. It had gangly legs with bony feet. It had… a curvaceous torso.
"Huh… a Grimm with boobs. No nipples, but nevertheless boobs. I've seen everything." Nora couldn't help but note aloud.
The tall, giant woman-like Grimm with snakes for hair snarled at her, her red eyes literally beaming, firing lasers from her oculi right at Nora. Nora cupped Zwei and, using the last of the excess electricity from the Taser, leaped out of the way.
Nora set Zwei down, they aren't holding back…. Wait… Nora looked behind her. "JAUNE!"
Jaune knew in life or death situations, the instincts of the individual had a tendency to over-ride logic. Zwei was their lifeline. Jaune KNEW he couldn't beat the Aprhodite without him…
But his odds of SURVIVAL were drastically reduced when Nora did not wait for him to rescue Zwei from the brambles. He also didn't appreciate that Nora didn't immediately come back.
He appreciated the least, however, that the Grimm were once again sprouting from the ground, and that the Aphrodite itself seemed to be going on a more overt offensive. The enzyme riddled nectar that it oozed was now being spewed and outright puked everywhere, their once neat path of supernaturally dug dirt now existing principally as spotted footholds. Jaune was jumping between the platforms, thankful that only the fast yet weak Grimm had come to meet him...
Nora… come back… I need you. Jaune blocked a swipe from a Beowulf and stabbed it in the gut. He pivoted and beheaded a lizard thing that wasn't visible a moment ago…. Jaune really started to need learning Grimm names as he blocked a descending tiny monkey thing.
He turned to see that the massive head of the Aphrodite… would he call it a head? What was the head of a flower called? His side tracked mind suddenly returned to the horror of the 'head…' that was… advancing?
Vines behind the bulb started to grow, granting the Aphrodite a longer 'stem,' allowing it to twist and pursue. The petals opened up once more, its maw now charging towards the hopeless Jaune. The dripping teeth smashed down on Jaune.
GONG!
Jaune raised his shield against the fangs above him, and refused to be bent and ground in the multi-layered expanse of the Aphrodite's insides. He looked down to see the dirt he still stood on glowed like he was, his aura interacting with it. What does that… oh…
OHHH!
Mud track mines were obsolete anyway. Jaune double flipped backwards and jumped onto another foothold as his previous spot exploded beneath the extended petals. The Aphrodite lightly retreated, retracting on it stem away from the in over his head knight.
So… I can activate the mines by using my semblance…. I wonder if Nora could too? Jaune looked forward to see the Grimm starting to advance on his position. Thankfully, he had a plan.
He jumped across each pile of dirt, and each time he activated his semblance. It ignited the magic dirt like it was gunpowder, and each explosion like it was a full on powder-keg. Grimm splattered across the ruined tree-line like torn apart chewing toys and smoked in humiliated defeat.
Jaune returned to the massive hole that Zwei dug up, to see that Commander Nikos was starting to stand up once more. "Commander, would you like to skip to the part of your lesson that talks about killing an Aphrodite?"
Commander looked up at him, incredulous but cognizant. "You have to uproot the whole thing. Kill it's 'stem,' and 'decapitate' it… after that, the Aphrodite should be an easy kill…. But…. It simply can't be done without an army of huntsmen, with at least a couple of lives lost…."
"…or without a secret weapon." He needed to reunite with Nora and Zwei, without it, they were all destined to die.
"We don't HAVE a secret weapon!" Commander Nikos exclaimed, "we only have our wits and our corporeal weapons like…" his eyes widened, "wait, was Nora with you?"
"Yes, and the dog, you saw it!"
"….I must be dead, or knocked out and hallucinating…"
Jaune sighed, "we'll talk about it later, but we need to find…"
"JAUUUNEEE!" Jaune turned to the cry as Nora was running frantically, with Zwei under her arm. "THE SITUATION JUST GOT-" Nora couldn't finish her sentence until she was rocketed towards Jaune from a blast, colliding with Jaune's body. Nora laid across Jaune's torso, her face right near his as she pushed herself quickly off.
"You…." Commander Nikos muttered, "….no way, this is…. this isn't possible."
What appeared to be an overly large silhouette of a naked lady emerged. Her eyes were hellishly red and her hair was…. a King Taijutu? Multiple King Taijutus?
Commander Nikos stood in front of Jaune and Nora, his shield out in front. "I'll tell you this twice. You will die if you stay, there are now TWO Class M Grimm here, let me serve you and save the longer life you'll have."
"And I'll tell you this twice…" Nora began, "BOUNCING LASERZ!"
Zwei unleashed a barrage that started doing what it did beforehand. Any Grimm that emerged from the rubble suddenly blasted. The tall lady-Grimm thing seemed angered, but like Zwei's attacks on the Aphrodite, it only seemed to fester, not damage.
"…I wasn't hallucinating…." Commander Nikos breathed.
Jaune looked at Zwei, he had an idea. However, he would have to hope that…
The gigantic flowery maw of the Aphrodite lurched through the smoking rubble, spewing the acidic nectar like a broken sprinkler. Dammit, why does everything have to go…
The massive lady suddenly tripped over the Aphrodite's extended stem, and the Aphrodite reacted poorly to it, jerking backwards but only succeeding in entangling themselves together. Jaune also looked up to see Commander Nikos's massive shield protecting him and Nora from the nectar. …did something just go right? He turned to Zwei, "COAT THESE BASTARDS IN DIRT!"
Zwei obliged, digging and flinging and making their two guests dusty and filthy.
"Nora, leap over there!" And Jaune winked. "Boop it with some electricity… then get back."
Nora saluted, leaped towards the entangled beasts, and tapped the gigantic dirt piles that consumed them with a shocking finger and leapt back.
"NOW WE ALL RUN!" Jaune screamed as he picked up Zwei and fled the opposite direction. Nora followed as did Commander Nikos. Huh… I just gave Pyrrha's dad an order.
Jaune just knew that Nora enjoyed the massive explosion that followed.
As Ren laid down to prepare for rest, a large explosion shook him from his relaxation.
He had a feeling Nora was involved.
A/N: I got busy all of a sudden, so this took longer than I anticipated. Also… action focused chapters always take me more time, it's just not my forte. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!
Fave! Follow! Review! Set up a literal 'Dirty Bomb…..' actually, please, don't. Peace is the way to go!