A Harsh Reality Ch. 46: Lashing Out

Big thing here, stay tuned for the A/N at the end of the chapter. Also, Bifupy is the fly Grimm that I used a few chapters back for those of you that don't remember. Another thing, I've started up a YouTube series that might actually interest readers. It's called Cody Talks Fanfiction, and it's just me talking about Fanfiction. My name on YouTube {URL} is Codynight22, and the channel will say Codyknight22 {Idk why}. So if that interests you, go and give it a watch. Now let's get to the chapter.

Ruby tossed down another card, and looked over at Weiss. The heiress paused and pondered her options. She finally added in another card, and sighed. Ruby tossed down her card, and Weiss was filled with a renewed energy. She placed down her card, and grinned triumphantly. Ruby smiled doubly, and added in her card.

"I win!" Ruby declared.

"How?!" Weiss said angrily.

"You looked disappointed when I threw down one of my cards, so I tried to angle you to my hand." Weiss sighed, and realized two things. One, Ruby had gotten much more observant since their time as a couple. Second, Weiss was absolutely horrible at cards.

"This sucks," Yang complained loudly.

"What gave you that impression?" Weiss asked sarcastically. It was day three of their virtual house arrest, and since then none of them had even left the school. They took frequent walks around campus to help preserve their sanity {along with their classes of course} but it really didn't help. On the bight side of things, Ruby and Blake had been left alone by Grimm. According to Roxanne, it was going to have to reenter their minds. That task wasn't going to be as easy as it had been before.

But every day, they saw a report of another Grimm attack. From a Beowolf pack to the BoarbaDust to the Taurox. It seemed as though Grimm had gotten especially busy, which worried RWBY.

Every move that Grimm made was extremely calculated. What he had done to team RWBY, that wasn't an accident. Now they were out of commission, which had proven to be just as effective as plain murder. The four of them were being forced to sit in their dorm while the world was being attacked by an endless wave of Grimm.

"Well let's recap, shall we?" Yang asked.

"You've done it now," Blake said casually.

"Well we have the world's meanest rain cloud trying to destroy the world. That leads an army of house-pets gone wrong. Plus, it can Inception us and enter our dreams at any point in time. It was in Blake and Ruby's heads for a period of time. Oh right, and it can raise the dead at the same time."

"BoarbaDust," Blake tossed in.

"Oh yeah, and it has a mixture of our strongest asset along with it's strongest. Did I miss anything else?"

"I don't think so," Blake contributed.

"This is why I love you," Yang said happily. She immediately switched back to her angry stare, and focused on the subject at hand. "I don't care what Ozpin says, Grimm's out of your minds. We need to get back out there."

"Grimm is out of their minds currently," Weiss agreed. "But, that means nothing. We go back out there, I'm sure that it can reenter easily enough." Yang growled, but kept quiet.

"No route is ideal," Ruby contributed. "But we have to take this one for right now."

"And what happens when Grimm attacks somewhere of importance?" Yang challenged.

"Then I guess we aid," Ruby said. "But for right now, the more positivity we can build up, the better equipped we'll be."

"How can you be positive when-?" Yang started. She was cut off by Blake grabbing her, and pulling her in for a kiss.

"You talk too much," she said smoothly.

"I have to make up for you, queen of silence," Yang protested. Blake kissed Yang again, and just focused in on her task. Yang's temper was wicked, and when she got up there it took a lot to calm her down. Blake happened to have the magic touch with her girlfriend and partner, and so she always took it upon herself.

"Gross," Ruby complained jokingly. Weiss just sighed, and kissed her partner.

"There," Weiss said after she pulled out. Ruby gave a pouty look at Weiss, and the heiress sighed. She kissed Ruby again, and then looked her in the eyes. "You'll have to earn anything more."

"I can do that," Ruby said happily.

Ancient Ruins

Grimm floated around, and blew out pieces of itself. It's energy was returning to full strength, and that meant good news for it and only it.

Rise my creatures, Grimm ordered. The BoarbaDust, Nevermore, and Taurox and made their way over to the black cloud. It funneled in it's energy into them, and took over the way they thought. It's view was changed from the two points that it was at that moment {the Bifupy was still under it's watch}.

The colors are out of the way, it thought proudly. So now, we have to make them pay. It's tricky to get to those that'll make an impact on everyone, but I think I have my target. Let us go, my Grimm. You three will lead the attack, and I shall raise a small army to fight with you. Certain tasks require a very personal attack, and this shall do just that.

Team RWBY's Dorm

Weiss tossed down one more card, and held up her arms triumphantly.

"I beat you!" Weiss declared proudly. "Haha!"

"Dang," Ruby said sadly. "I guess that me winning four in a row was pretty unlikely." Yang just groaned again, and put her head in her hands.

"I'm going insane," she stated angrily. "I need to take a walk. Would that be okay with my team?" Everyone else nodded, grateful for their chance to roam around freely. Everyone grabbed their weapons, and opened up the dorm. Ruby walked across, and knocked on JNPR's door.

"Who is it?" Pyrrha called out from inside the dorm.

"RWBY," Ruby called in.

"Hang on," Jaune called back. "We're on our way out." There was a small wait, and then the door opened up. All of team JNPR was at the ready, and they just gestured for RWBY to lead them.

"Thanks again guys," Yang said. "I'm really sorry that you have to do this."

"Eh, it's fine," Jaune said. "We don't get called out on a lot of missions anyways."

"That doesn't make our house arrest much better." Jaune shrugged, and trailed behind the four girls.

"Well we're concerned for your safety," Ren said cryptically.

"And we're willing to help aid in your protection," Nora followed up.

"Thanks guys," Ruby said happily.

The Bifupy buzzed down from it's perch, and analyzed them carefully. All of them were walking along with that team that always seemed to accompany them. Which confirmed one thing for Grimm, this was team JNPR.

I know who to target next time, Grimm thought wickedly. For now, all my energy is needed elsewhere. Bifupy, dispose of yourself. The Bifupy flew down onto Ren's back, and Nora's eyes focused in.

"Don't move," Nora said slowly. Ren was about to turn, but then Nora slammed his back.

"NORA!" Ren said angrily.

"There was a fly," Nora argued. "Now it's gone. Really, you should thank me." Nora skipped away to catch up with the rest of the group {as they had all learned to ignore Ren when he screamed Nora's name}, while Ren just stared at her. His back hurt something awful after Nora slugged it, but he just flexed it out. He caught sight of something, and turned rapidly. He caught sight of what appeared to be a black cloud go into the air, and he narrowed his gaze. After nothing happened, he cautiously stepped forward. But something seemed wrong to him, greatly wrong.

Elsewhere

The BoarbaDust stepped to the treeline, and focused in it's gaze. It could clearly see the target location, but not quite the target that it wanted. The Nevermore rested in the only trees that were dense enough to cover it up. The Taurox merely stood at the ready, and snorted loudly.

Where are you? The BoarbaDust echoed. Finally, there was some movement in a window that gave was clearly by the target. Bring the others forth. A group of Beowolves, Ursai, a few Death Stalkers, some generic Boarbatusks, and Taijitus all moved into position, and waited on anyone to stroll forward.

Some poor girl finally did, and the Beowolves pounced instantly. She only just had enough time to scream before all of them were upon her. The first targeted her throat while the others moved about various parts of her body. Unfortunately for her, she had an aura. That kept her alive for a few moments, and all of them were greatly filled with pain.

Some hunters nearby heard the screams, and pulled out their weapons. They ran at the Beowolves, but none of them noticed the group of Ursai that were coming in from the side. Just as they were about to swing at the Beowolves, the Ursai crashed into them and knocked them to the ground. Both groups of Grimm converged on their bodies, and began to kill.

More hunters poured in as someone had alerted any and all nearby hunters of the Grimm attack. Before any of them could reach the desired location, the Death Stalkers emerged from their hiding point. While they backed away from the larger, and more deadly, Grimm, the group of Boarbatusks burst out from the trees and crashed into their shins. When they were on the ground, the Death Stalkers started to punch holes in them with their stingers.

The next wave of hunters came by, and noticed that there were no bodies of any Grimm, but many unidentifiable ones of people. They came to a dead stop, and looked fearfully at the Grimm. It was clear that none of them were professional, thus the reason for their hesitation. They finally recovered, but that moments hesitation was enough for the Taijitus to converge on them. Some were crushed under their vice grip, while others had holes punched in their neck by the Taijitus.

Finally, someone calmly strolled out to the Grimm. He had a long can resting in his hands, and he was just smiling to himself.

"You have the nerve to attack my school, Grimm?" He challenged. All of the Grimm hesitated, giving the man a little bit more momentum. "Yes, I know that it's you Grimm. Tell me, why attack here?" No response came from the Grimm, and the man just sighed. "The game of silence then. I see how it'll be then." More hunters stepped forward, and the man cracked his cane in half. It split into two different swords, both of them lined with a rifle along the blade. "Let me demonstrate what Signal is capable of," he said confidently. He brushed aside some of his hair, and the sword blade revealed a single word going across both sides of them. Qrow.

He ran forward, and dove into the air. A Taijitu tried to take a snap at him, but Qrow fired off two rounds to stop his momentum. He then fired off two more rounds to send himself into a spin, and he cut the head off of the Grimm. He landed safely, and then looked at the rest of them. One Taijitu lashed out high while a Boarbatusk rolled forward. Qrow raised up his hand, and froze both Grimm in place. He calmly turned around where the Boarbatusk was pointed, and strolled over to the Taijitu. He swung around his blade once and cut off it's head. He then let his hold on the Boarbatusk, and the Grimm was sent towards a Death Stalker. Both of them tried to stop themselves from getting hit, but it was too late. Both Grimm were sent to the sides, and Qrow fired off a killing shot at each of them.

Two Beowolves tried to pounce on him, and Qrow fired off two rounds to propel him into the air. He connected the hilts of both of his swords in midair, and clicked on a small switch. A small chain connected itself to both hilts of the swords, and Qrow swung it around. The connection held true, and he fired off a round that spun around the blades, and he swung them straight at the Beowolves. He cut the arm off one, and then fired off a round to send the second sword into the stomach of the other one.

A small section of Ursai made it's way over to him, and he swung around his swords. The first blade caught an Ursa in the leg, and then Qrow fired off another round. This propelled the second blade into the leg of another one. He fired off both rounds, and watched as the blades were swung up into the stomach of the Grimm. He watched as the Ursai fell to the side, and looked around at the carnage around him.

His staff and some extra hunters had assisted in clearing out the other Grimm, so they were no longer a concern. What was a concern was how many bodies rested there. Some remained as unharmed as a corpse that had received this kind of an end could be, with only small bite marks or a chest that was completely caved in. Others were missing a limb or two, or lacked a throat or stomach. And some, like the unfortunate girl that had been the first victim, were completely defaced. All that remained was strewn pieces of flesh, organs, bones, and blood. Oh, so much blood.

"Report this and find the names of those that fell," Qrow ordered. "We need to give the dead their proper tributes."

"Yessir," one of the hunters said. He went to run off, but suddenly a large Nevermore feather was sent through his chest. He yelled out for a moment in pain, but then slumped over dead. Qrow looked up at the sky, and saw a Nevermore resting in midair.

Showtime, it echoed in a deep and scratchy voice.

"Oh no," Qrow said. It fired off another wave of feathers, and Qrow raised up his hand. All of them froze in the air, and he let them fall harmlessly down. He looked down just in time to be forced to jump from a charging black shape. He landed, and turned around to see three of the hunters and staff that had been aiding him be plowed down by the Grimm. His eyes focused in, and he realized that it was the Taurox that had appeared on the news some time ago. He raised up his hand, but heard a scream of terror. He instinctively rolled out of the way, and felt heat and cold come off of something rolling right next to him. He saw some of his colleagues and hunters get plowed down, and realized that it was the BoarbaDust. Then he realized that the ones that the BoarbaDust had killed were the only ones still alive apart from him, and now he was on his own.

"Grimm," Qrow said in a low voice.

Points! The BoarbaDust said in Grimm's voice.

"Any reason you chose to attack this school?" Qrow asked.

We took away the girl's mother, the Taurox said.

And now we take away another's father, the Nevermore cawed out.

And we want to reunite you with your dear dead sister, the BoarbaDust finished up.

"That sounds lovely," Qrow said with false enthusiasm. "But that's really not in my plans. You see, I'd love to see my niece and daughter graduate and get married."

And we'd rather see that none of those things happen, the Taurox called out.

"Then it appears that we're at a crossroads," Qrow stated.

Let's rip these crossroads off, the Nevermore said. It flung off a wave of feathers, and Qrow froze them all. As soon as he let his concentration them go, he had to jump to avoid both the oncoming BoarbaDust and Taurox. He landed safely, and froze both of them. His brow furrowed in concentration as he realized that the hold that he was taking was draining him of aura quickly. Soon, he broke concentration. The Nevermore fired off another round of feathers, and one of them hit him in the knee.

Qrow felt it buckle, and he kneeled down. Instantly, he felt something slam into his back and send him sailing through the air. He landed with a hard thud, and he turned over to watch as the Taurox came to a stop. The BoarbaDust calmly walked over to him, and placed it's hoof squarely on his chest.

And so the man has lost, it said cruelly.

"You are right Grimm," Qrow choked out. "About a few things. First, I have lost. In a fair fight, I don't think that I could have beaten you regardless. Secondly, I will be seeing my sister. Where you're wrong, is thinking that I'd fight fair." Qrow flipped around his sword to point the gun at a point over the BoarbaDust's head, and he pulled the trigger.

While the Grimm wasn't looking, Qrow had floated a small bag of Dust just over it's head. It was far enough to the side of the Grimm where it wouldn't be alarmed by the drawing of a weapon, but close enough to set off all of the volatile Dust that ran through the Grimm's body. Just as he pulled the trigger, Qrow had one final thought. Finish the job, my niece. Your mother believed, and now you have to lead. The bullet went through the air, and punched a hole in the bag. The Dust went off, and triggered a large chain explosion of Dust that took out the BoarbaDust, Taurox, and Nevermore.

A While Later: Around Beacon

RWBY and JNPR walked around Beacon, and laughed at stories and jokes. They all felt good to be around friends, even if it was under unfriendly circumstances. Weiss felt her scroll go off, and she just groaned. She looked down at the name, and realized that it was Ozpin.

"Hang on," Weiss ordered. "It's Ozpin." Everyone went silent, and Weiss picked up the line. "Hello?" She said. "Yes. Wait, what? And you're sure? Yes, I understand. Why me? I'll tell them." Weiss put away her scroll, and looked sadly at her team.

"What?" Ruby asked. "Weiss, I don't like that look."

"There was a large Grimm attack," Weiss started. "They killed a lot of people. A BoarbaDust, Taurox, and Nevermore lead the attack apparently. They would have continued, but someone sacrificed themselves to kill the Grimm. They blew up Dust and took the Grimm with them."

"Okay," Yang said. "Now you're making me worried. Weiss, what happened?"

"The place they attacked was Signal," Weiss stated. "And the one that sacrificed themselves was Qrow." Ruby and Yang both changed posture and facial expression as though they had been shot, and fell to one knee. "I'm sorry, he's gone."

End: Alright, so here's something. While I enjoy writing this story, it's losing some it's charm. So I will be entering a hiatus for this story for a currently undisclosed amount of time. But I want to have enough fun writing this to keep me going for a long time, and so I have to do this occasionally. In the meantime, I have two other ongoing stories with frequent updates to keep you interested. Plus, I have Cody Talks Fanfiction as well. So not the finale for this story, nor is it the finale for the plotline. Just the chapter before a hiatus. So questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.