A/N: Hey guys, and welcome back! Guess what? We've got another two-parter on our hands! Man, been a while since we've had one of these, huh? Well, I think you guys can pretty much guess what's gonna happen in this chapter (or CAN you?), so I think we should get underway. Without any further delay, this is…
Chapter 86: Return to Kuroyuri, Part 1
…..
Young Lie Ren still wasn't sure what was going on when he hit the ground. Just a few minutes ago, his mother had barged into his room and got him out of bed. However, it was the sound of screaming that had truly awoken him from his slumber. Soon after, his father had burst in through the front door limping and informed them of some sort of "beast", saying that they needed a Huntsman. After that, Lie's mother had told him that everything would be alright… but after that, all he remembered was a loud crash before everything went black. He woke up being carried in his father's arms as the man sprinted away from the now ruined home. But before they could get much farther, Li Ren had tripped and fell due to his wound, sending both him and Lie tumbling to the ground. "FATHER!" Lie called out as Li painfully tried to sit up.
Li Ren faced his young son, the man's emotions running all at once. He had just lost his wife, his home, and now he was facing the possibility of losing his own son. The Huntsman couldn't let that happen... even if it meant losing his own life in the process. "Lie… you need to run!"
With his fear gripping him, Lie crawled forward and grasped his father's knee, trying desperately to convince him otherwise. "No! No, please! GET UP!" he cried. Suddenly, a loud sound echoed throughout the plaza of Kuroyuri, one that sounded like a combination of a roar and a scream. Lie turned his head to see the silhouette of a terrifying Grimm come slowly stomping through the smoke. It appeared to be that of a horned humanoid fused with that of a horse, and its red eyes were glowing menacingly.
"Listen to me, son." Li spoke up, catching his son's attention. "You have to be brave now—UGH!" The man grunted as he began feeling the full effects of his wounds. He took in a sharp breath before going on. "Do you understand?"
"No, please!" Lie shook his head as he continued to cry. "Please, I CAN'T!"
As his son wept, Li reached down to his waist and took out his knife, putting it in his son's hands before pushing him away. "Yes, you CAN!" As he reached down to his side in pain, Li saw his little Lie look at the knife in shock and wonderment. "Take action, son." With all of the strength he could muster, Li took hold of his bow and stood up, ready to do whatever it took to make sure his son got away alive. With all of the composure he could muster, he gave a few final words to his son. "Your mother and I love you."
"…Father." Lie clenched the knight in his little hands, fighting back the tears as he didn't know what to do at this point. But his decision was quickly made for him when the massive front hoof of the Grimm stomped in front of him and his father, prompting the man to take action.
"RUN!" Li knocked an arrow into his bow before firing it at the creature, allowing Ren to finally get up and run away. With one final battle cry, Li engaged the massive beast with everything he had left, now assured that his son would continue to live on.
Little Lie in the meanwhile was running as fast as his feet could carry him, sprinting beneath a large archway before leaping into the nearby landing where the stream flowed beneath a bridge. The scared boy cowered behind a large crate, his fear beginning to bubble to the surface as he took heavy breaths in and out. A loud screech overhead alerted him to a flock of approaching Nevermores, the giant corvid Grimm divebombing those who were running away. He stood and gazed up to them, ready to try and leave… but then a new sound came to his ears.
"Huh?" Lie focused on the sound even more, and it was then that he could tell it was someone crying. He shifted his eyes around until he found its source; a young girl around his age, weeping while crouched down beneath a house. But it wasn't just any girl, it was a girl that Lie recognized very well. She had red hair and aqua eyes, clad in a pair of pink shorts, a black hoodie, and a white t-shirt with a pink heart directly in the middle. She was also covered in a bit of grime and dirt, indicating that she had lived on the streets for a while. There was no doubt about it, it was the girl he saw getting harassed by the other kids in town. She was helpless to try and move from her spot. She knew what would happen if she did… and Lie did as well.
It was then that a large Nevermore landed on the exact same house, letting out a shrill screech when it did. This only served to make Lie panic more as he glanced around the area, seeing the first monstrous Grimm also approaching from behind the smoke. The boy began crying, unsure of what to do as his emotions ran rampant. However, at that moment, something came over Lie, and he started to feel very calm, almost oddly so. His body shimmered for a moment before he became almost entirely monochrome, and like that, he became as calm as he possibly could. His natural colors returned to him and he moved his eyes back up to the girl, now knowing exactly what to do.
Lie sprang up from the landing and began running toward the little redhaired girl, sliding underneath the house to hasten his progress. Once he was there, he called to her. "Hey!" Lie rested a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. She let out a gasp at first, but when she saw the familiar face, she slightly let down her guard. With a resolute smile, Lie continued to speak to her. "We have to be brave."
The Nevermore leaped to the other side of the house, lowering its head while letting out another shrill cry. The little redhaired girl let out a whimper before focusing back onto Lie. She didn't entirely know who he was, but she DID know one thing in that moment; she was glad to have him by her side. She wrapped him in a hug, hiding her face in his shoulder.
Now, Lie wasn't exactly expecting this, but it was the best way to have him share his gift with her, so he wasn't about to question it. He enveloped her with his arms and activated his gift, calming her down as well. Once the Nevermore was sure it hadn't missed anything, it let out another screech before flying away, leaving Lie and the girl by themselves.
However, as their colors returned to them, Lie and the redhead saw four large hooves go stomping by their hiding space, accompanied by what appeared to be twitching limbs being dragged across the ground. The Grimm horse let out a few nickers before moving on, not even sensing the two children that were right beside it.
As the creature left, the young girl finally spoke, managing to squeak out; "…I'm scared."
Lie turned back to her and gave her a nod. "Me too." After a moment of silence between them, Lie looked out to the street to see a small wooden mallet laying not too far away. He made to get up, but the girl held him back, afraid that he would leave her. "It's okay." Lie reassured. After a few seconds, the girl reluctantly let go, trusting the word of the boy who had saved her life. With that, Lie crawled out from under the house, grabbed the mallet, and came right back, presenting it to the girl with a smile. "We'll keep each other safe."
The girl stared at Lie in awe before moving her gaze down to the mallet, her eyes threatening to cry even more. Not out of fear though, but from joy. She took the mallet and held it close to her chest, keeping a secure hold of it.
"What's your name?" Lie asked gently.
Finally, after another small silence, the redhead faced Lie once again, a smile overtaking her features. "…Nora."
Lie's smile grew wider when he saw hers, finally feeling happy once again. "Hm, my name's Lie Ren."
…..
Ren took a deep breath as he finished his story, keeping himself composed to give a few finishing words. "And… that was pretty much how it all happened. After we were sure the coast was clear, Nora and I fled Kuroyuri and never looked back." The green ninja closed his eyes and lowered his head as everyone in the hospital room kept their eyes solely on him. "Once we did, we traveled across Anima, learning how to fight so that we could become Hunters. …We never thought we'd have to go back there ever again."
Nora reached over and gently grasped Ren's hand, making crane his head back up. "But apparently, our past has found us." The Pink Dynamo faced her large group of friends, craning her head down as well. "So… now you know the whole story. That… thing is the reason why we're here today."
The entire group was standing there stunned, most of all, the teens themselves. Jaune and Pyrrha seemed to be the steadiest of the group, the couple having heard their story before. Still though, this time there was MUCH more detail behind it, and Jaune had closed his eyes solemnly while Pyrrha fought back some tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. Ben and Yang were standing slack-jawed while Coco's sunglasses had moved down the bridge of her nose, allowing everyone to see her widened eyes. Ilia's spots and eyes had turned blue, a strong sense of sadness having overcome her, though she kept her composure.
The same couldn't be said for Ruby and Penny though. Both girls had tears streaming from their eyes and they were choking back saddened sobs. But as much as they tried, they couldn't hold it back for long. Both girls cried and rushed forward, immediately enveloping Ren and Nora in a hug each, taking the duo off guard. "I-I'm SO sorry that had to happen to you guys!" Ruby bawled out as she cried into Ren's shirt.
"That has to be the saddest thing I've ever heard!" Penny added as she too wept into Nora's shoulder.
Ren and Nora glanced to each other awkwardly, somewhat surprised that the two girls were the ones crying instead of them. "Um… there, there?" Nora comforted Penny with a pat on the back. "I know it's sad, but it's okay. We're still here, aren't we?"
However, Ilia came up, stepping in between the two. "Well, yeah, but… you guys lost everything that day. Can you blame us for feeling sad?"
Ren pursed his lips and shifted his eyes down to the floor. "Well, I suppose not."
Once Ruby and Penny were able to pull themselves together, Jaune and Pyrrha stepped up to their teammates, only to offer them their own hugs as well. "Guys, I…" Jaune started. "I don't know what to say. I mean, I know Pyr and I heard the story before but…" The blonde knight let out a breath, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I'm so sorry, guys."
"Indeed." Pyrrha agreed. "I cannot even begin to imagine what was going through your minds at that moment."
Nora shut her eyes as she fell into Pyrrha's hug. "It… it was probably the most scared I've ever been in my entire life. I don't think I've ever been that afraid before or since."
"It was traumatic, yes." Ren said as he pulled away from Jaune and clasped him on the shoulder. "But… we came out alright."
Ben's brows furrowed slightly for just a moment. 'Why don't I feel that's entirely the case with you, Ren?' However, he brushed the thought away from his mind and spoke up. "Well… I have to admit that I wasn't expecting to hear that today." The hero bowed his head to Ren and Nora. "Guys, I gotta say, I'm very impressed with how you came back from these events."
Yang smiled and gave them a nod. "Yeah. I'm glad you guys didn't give up. One question though; if Ren unlocked his Semblance under high-stress…" She pointed over to Nora. "How'd you unlock yours, Nora?"
Nora smirked and let out a laugh. "Ha! Well, not long after… "you know what", I got struck by lightning!" Everyone's jaw dropped, their eyes nearly bugged out of their heads. With all eyes on her, Nora shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, I didn't die, right? I mean, I was out for like a minute and a half, but I came out the better for it! Hehe, that was one craaazy Thursday."
Coco wore an amused smile at that. "Heh, if you say so, Pinkie." The fashionable girl's face grew somber once more. "But still, I can't imagine what that must've been like for you two." In her mind, though, Coco suddenly flashed back to a mission that she and her team had gone on just before the Breach of Vale happened, one where they had found survivors of a Grimm attack in Lower Cairn near Mountain Glenn. However, the mission ended in disaster, as all six had been killed by Grimm shortly after they had been found.
The memory only served to bring negative thoughts to Coco's mind. 'They must've been feeling what Ren and Nora felt. Too bad you screwed up.' But she pushed that the thought away as soon as it came, not wanting to remember that event any further. 'Don't think about it, Coco. You have to be better if you wanna make up for it.'
On his hospital bed, Paul let out a heavy sigh as his wife kept a firm grip on his shoulders, helping him sit up. He then lowered his head to Ren. "Young man, you have my sincerest apologies. Li was a good friend of mine, and had I been in Anima to help him fend off the Nuckelavee, I would have gotten to Kuroyuri in minutes."
Ren's eyebrows rose up at this. "Where were you at the time, exactly?"
"On a reunion mission with my team." Paul glanced over to Jessie. "In Vacuo of all places."
Jessie gave him a solemn nod. "Yep, if I recall, that was the mission where we went to Coquina to handle a whole pit-load o' King Taijitiu. We were there for three days handlin' that mission."
With that, Ren cast his gaze to the ground. "I see. Well, I suppose it could not be helped."
Paul reached up and put a hand to Ren's arm. "Son, the moment I came back and heard what had happened in Kuroyuri, I went straight there to search for survivors. The Nuckelavee wasn't there anymore… and neither was anyone else. I can only hazard a guess that you both left before I got there." The two locked eyes, with Paul giving Ren a serious face. "Ren, if I had known that you and Nora had survived… I would've happily taken you in myself."
Ren was taken aback by this, as was Nora. "You… you would have?" Nora asked.
"Of course, we would have." Lucette assured, offering a kind smile. "We already had two boys of our own at the time, but we could've made it work."
"That's awfully kind of you." Ren bowed to the couple. "And thank you, but we made it fine on our own."
Paul grinned and let out a slightly saddened chuckle. "Hehe, yes, that much is evident. Your father would be very proud to see the man you've become." Paul's grip tightened on his bed sheets. "But still, I never forgot seeing the aftermath of what happened that day. I had hoped for years that beast would show its hideous face again so I could avenge the people of Kuroyuri. But when it finally did… well, you can figure out the rest."
Jessie pursed her lips in annoyance and smacked her friend's shoulder lightly. "Yeah, that's 'cause ya went in without back-up! Ya know that a Nuckelavee ain't somethin' to be taken lightly, Paulie!" She stood up from the bed and placed her hands on her hips, clearly upset with her friend. "I don't know WHAT went through that head o' yours when you THOUGHT you could take it on, but goddamn, it was NOT a smart move!"
"Jessie!" Lucette stood up to her full height, glowering down to the shorter woman. "I know this is a stressful situation, but that's no excuse to berate my husband! Paul did what he had to do because—"
"Luce, please." Paul reached up and grasped his wife's hand, bringing her attention back to him. "Let's not make this any worse than it already is." Once the two women had calmed down, Paul went back to Jessie once again. "Besides… you're right. I SHOULD have waited for back up. But like an idiot, I thought I could do it myself." He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a tired breath. "I feel so stupid for what I did."
But then, Jessie came forward and pat her friend on the shoulder. "Hey, yer not stupid. And ya ain't no idiot neither. Ya just did whatcha felt ya had to do." She gave him a shrug. "An' that's just what a Huntsman does, I s'pose. Yer heart was in the right place, Paulie. Ya just had to think things through a little more."
"Yeah, I guess." Paul raise an eyebrow up to his friend. "So, what's the plan now?"
Jessie grinned back down to him and jabbed a thumb behind her, pointing to the squad of teens behind her. "Now? We're gonna go take down that Nuckelavee bastard. We're gonna avenge what happened to you and Kuroyuri." The cowgirl spun around and raised her hand up into the air. "Right ya'll?!"
She got a resounding "YEAH!" from most of the teens… with one very major exception. "Wait." Everyone's eyebrows rose up before they all turned around, seeing a resolute Ren and a nervous Nora standing side by side near the door. "I'm sorry, everyone, but I'm afraid that Paul might be right. This whole thing may be way over our heads."
Everyone was astonished by this, most notably Jaune and Pyrrha. "Ren… what're you saying?" Jaune uttered. "This village is in danger!"
"While I know the safety of Shion is at stake, I don't know if it's wise for all of us to go fight against the Nuckelavee." Ren elaborated. "This is a Grimm unlike any of us have ever faced. The rest were comparable to animals, but this… this creature has intelligence, and it knows how to kill effectively."
"Ren, this is the Grimm that destroyed your hometown… and killed your family." Pyrrha pressed further. "But you're saying you DON'T want to fight it?"
Ren closed his eyes briefly. "…As much as I want to, I have to think realistically about the situation." Ren furrowed his brows at his teammates, taking them aback slightly. "Jaune, Pyrrha, you haven't seen what this thing is capable of…" He gestured to Nora right by his side. "But WE have. Paul said it best, this Grimm is way outside of our skill level. If we were professionals, then maybe all of us could take the beast on. But as it stands, there are only two people here who could possibly beat it by themselves." The green ninja pointed over to Ben and Jessie. "And they're standing right there."
The hero and the Huntress glanced at each other before Ben stepped forward, giving Ren a pleading expression. "Ren, I understand how you and Nora feel about this, I sincerely do. But going by what I've learned about the Grimm, where there's a really powerful one, there's usually a horde of lesser ones not far from it." Ben stood directly in front of Ren, his eyes laser focused onto his friend's. "Though you might think otherwise, Jess and I can't take all of those Grimm by ourselves."
Ren sighed through his nostrils, seeing Ben's point. "I know… I just don't want us to go into a fight we're not ready for."
To that Ben gave a smile, taking Ren by surprise. "Alright then, here's what we'll do; we'll go back to the ship and contact Gwen. We'll tell her what we're facing up against and she, Jessie and Jaune'll come up with an effective plan to combat it."
Jaune's took a step back at this. "W-Wait, me?!"
"Yeah!" Ruby supported, poking the side of Jaune's head. "You've got that big brain up there, remember?"
"She's right." Pyrrha gave her boyfriend a wink. "You ARE a capable tactician, Jaune."
Jaune let out a nervous chuckle at that. "Hehe, oh yeah, right."
Yang placed her hands on her hips and gave Ren a smirk. "So, whaddya say, Ren? Sound like a plan?"
Ren glanced around the room seeing the hopeful gazes of all of his teammates on him. However, a tug on his arm made him crane his head down to see Nora, the redhead still worried at his behavior. "Ren… as much as I'm scared about seeing that thing again… we have to remember why we became Hunters in the first place. So that no more people have to suffer the same things we did. After all the things we've faced in the past couple of weeks… this doesn't even compare." Her face shifted into one of confidence as she stood tall, giving her best friend a slightly miffed look. "I know that you're afraid, because I am too. But like you told me back then… we need to be brave."
At her words, Ren was taken by surprise by his best friend. She was willing to fight the Nuckelavee even though the odds were against them… and she was confident that they could win. "I… hmm." After a few seconds more, Ren finally gave a nod of approval, his calm expression having finally returned. "Alright, let's finish this job."
"I'm right there with you, Ren." Paul said as he made to get up. However, the moment he tried, he let out another pain-filled gasp, his hand going back to the bandages over his stomach. He set himself back on the bed instantly, groaning in aggravation. "GAH! Ugh, dammit!"
Jessie smirked down to her teammate and shook her head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sorry, Paulie. I know ya really wanna help, but ya'll've gotta stay in bed an' just relax right now."
"She's right, dear." Lucette agreed as she put the somewhat undersized hospital blanket over her husband. "With that injury, you won't be going far anytime soon."
Paul let out a frustrated breath as his head hit the pillow. "Gah, well, I suppose that's what I get for running in without back-up." The large lumberjack shifted his eyes back to his teammate. "Jess, can you at least pummel it a few times for me?"
The cowgirl Huntress happily tipped her hat. "Sure as sugar, Paulie. You have my word on that."
"Thank you." However, Paul's eyes suddenly widened when he realized something. His gaze shifted over to his wife and he asked; "Uh… sweetheart? Where's my axe?"
Lucette nudged her head out the window. "Oh, I had the boys come and pick it up. It should be at home waiting for you when you FULLY recover." She pointed a finger right in his face. "And I won't be seeing you working, hunting or even training with our sons until you are at one-hundred percent. Are we clear, honey?"
Paul winced at her tone slightly, knowing how serious she was by just that sentence along. Still, he knew she only did it out of love, so he couldn't blame her for it. "…Yes, dear." Paul set his eyes on the teens once again and gave them a grin. "Well, alright. If you kids wanna prove yourselves as the next generation of Hunters, then let's see you all take down that Nuckelavee!"
Ruby and Penny gave the big man a salute. "We won't let ya down, Mr. Bruno!" the Hooded Huntress proclaimed.
"And THAT is a promise!" Penny assured.
Ben smiled at his team and pointed toward the door. "Well, I guess that settles that, then. C'mon guys, let's give these two some space." The teens all waved to Mr. and Mrs. Bruno as they walked out the door, saying their goodbyes as they did. "We'll stop by once we take the Nuckelavee down, guys." Ben said before he stepped out.
"I'm sure you will." Paul concurred. "Farewell Ben, and be safe." With one last goodbye from Jessie and Ben, the two left Paul and Lucette by themselves in the hospital room, with Paul looking up to his wife when they were gone. "I really hope they know what they're doing."
Lucette gave him a shrug. "They seem pretty sure of what they're doing, dear. I think things will work out alright."
Paul set his eyes out the window, gazing out in the direction of Kuroyuri. "For their sake, I certainly hope so."
…..
To say that Tetrax was surprised that the team was coming back so soon was an understatement. He had figured that they had wanted him to just drop them off here in Shion and then they'd take care of the rest. However, the moment he got their call that they were returning to the Resolute, he had decided to meet them down in the cargo bay. He wasn't alone though as Swift was by his side as well, her arms crossed as the ship's ramp began to lower down once again. "So, you think they found anything?" Swift asked.
"Not sure." Tetrax said. "All Ben told me was that they needed to come back and form a plan of attack." The Petrosapien folded his large arms as he saw the teens and Jessie coming closer, the group climbing up the ramp. "Whatever it is though, it sounds serious."
"Heh, typical Tennyson." Swift commented to herself before her eyes immediately found Ilia. She sent the chameleon girl a wave and greeted; "Hey Freckles, wasn't expecting you guys here for a while."
Ilia smiled back to her friend and nodded. "Yeah, things were a bit more… complicated than we originally thought."
"Yep." Ruby confirmed. "Turns out we're facing a Grimm that's apparently REALLY hard to beat."
Swift tilted her head to the side, a smirk coming to her face. "Ooh, do tell." And so they did. Over the course of the next few minutes, the group gave a brief summary of their talk with Paul, the Nuckelavee situation, and briefly addressed Ren and Nora's past with the beast, not wanting to dwell too much on that for a second time. By the end of it, Swift and Tetrax were standing with shocked expressions, almost speechless at what they had just heard. "Oh… damn." Swift managed to mutter out. "I… I really don't know what to say to that." She sent Ren and Nora a sympathetic look. "While I can't exactly say I know what it's like to lose family, I DO know what it's like to lose a home. I'm sorry, guys."
Nora raised a reassuring hand. "Ah, it's alright, home's where the heart is." She jabbed her thumb over to Ren, Jaune and Pyrrha. "As far as I'm concerned, these guys are my home now."
Ren smiled and let out a small chuckle, a sense of happiness breaking through his remorseful feelings for just a moment. "Heh, right." But just a moment later, his serious face returned, focused back on the mission at hand. "But right now, we have things to plan out."
"I agree." Tetrax nodded. "A beast like this should not be allowed to roam this countryside any further." The bounty hunter craned his head down to Jessie. "Miss Jameson, I don't suppose you have any ideas on how to kill this "Nuckelavee"?"
"I've got a few, sugar." Jessie shrugged. "But here's the thing; killin' a Nuckelavee's no small task. I ain't even sure I could do it myself. If it were me an' my whole team, then it'd be different." She gestured out to the group of teens before her. "But as far as it stands now, it'll take a lotta teamwork from this crew to take that monster to the cleaners."
Swift put a finger to her chin. "Hmm… Nuckelavee. I swear I've heard about something like that before." The Aerophibian hybrid raised an eyeridge to Ben. "Don't we have a mythological creature like that in our world too?"
"I think so." Ben replied. "But honestly, I can't fully remember myself." He brought up the Omnitrix and pointed to it. "Gwen would probably know though, so I'm gonna call her up and see if she knows anything that could help us fight this thing."
Ren raise an eyebrow to the hero. "Do you really believe that your mythical Nuckelavee and our real Nuckelavee can be similar enough to have the same weaknesses?"
Ben gave his comrade a shrug. "Well, we'll never know until we try, right? After all, the myths in our world are always based on some kind of truth."
'Kind of like the ones in OUR world.' Ren added in his head. After a few seconds though, Ren gave Ben a nod, seeing the Omnitrix bearer's logic. "Alright, let's try it out."
"Great, glad you're on board." Ben reached over and pressed down on the Omnitrix, giving the command to call Gwen's Plumber badge. As the call proceeded to go through, however, the sight of the Omnitrix itself reminded Ben about what had happened earlier in the hospital room. "Oh! Yeah, I nearly forgot! I unlocked a new alien at the hospital."
Everyone was taken by surprise at the news, most notably Yang. "Whoa, seriously?! When'd that happen?"
"In Paul's room when I went in to wake him up." Ben explained. "Instead of Swampfire, I became some sort of walking hazmat suit with a window in my stomach that was filled with gas." He put a finger to the side of his head. "The weird thing about it though was that the moment I transformed, I was suddenly a chemistry genius… and that was easily my worst subject in school! I mixed up some smelling salts and I woke Paul up instantly."
"Huh, that IS a bit weird." Jaune commented. "Then again, if you're an alien that's got gassy innards, then I guess knowledge of mixing chemicals probably comes with it."
"Have you decided what to call it?" Pyrrha asked.
"Mmm… not yet." Ben shook his head. "Heck, I'm not even sure WHAT to call a walking hazmat suit with gassy insides."
Coco smirked and titled her head a bit. "Heh, maybe you should name it something like "Chemo", since you're literally just a bunch of walking chemicals."
Ben thought it over for a second before shrugging. "Well… that IS a good name, but there's already a comic book villain named Chemo where I'm from, and I'd rather not get in trouble for copyright."
Penny quickly raised her hand. "Ooh! Perhaps Patho-Gen would be appropriate?"
The hero pointed over to Penny. "Hey, not bad, Pen!"
Then Yang made her suggestion; "Oh! Or maybe Biohazard! It's one word that sounds totally badass!"
"Yeah, that's true, Goldie Locks." Ben put a hand to his chin. "Sure, it's a bit close to Water Hazard, but—" Suddenly, a loud buzzing noise and a red light from the Omnitrix caught Ben's attention, making him shift his eyes down to his watch. There, the call icon had become red and a big red X had appeared in front of it, indicating that the call to Gwen wasn't successful. "Huh? She didn't pick up?" Ben narrowed his eyes. "That's weird."
Coco raised an eyebrow. "How so, Watch Boy? Maybe Gwen's just busy?"
"No, something's up." Ben denied. "Gwen usually has her Plumber's badge on her and she always picks up when it's me." He pressed the middle of the Omnitrix once again, putting his call in a second time. "I'll try again." In his mind though, Ben was starting to wonder what his cousin was up to. 'Gwen… what ARE you doing?'
…..
Gwen was sitting on the front porch of the Xiao Long House with her legs crisscrossed and her eyes closed, meditating in a tranquil state. She had initially gone into the house and spent the last hour doing laundry in the meantime, but she came back out soon after she was finished. The young girl was bothered by something… or rather someone she had seen after Ben and the others had left. The Anodite had spent another hour or so meditating, all while reaching out to feel the mana around her. She felt it in the earth, trees, and even the animals that were skittering about, though they were mostly only birds… and squirrels. 'Ugh, little devils.'
However, there was one bird in particular that had garnered Gwen's attention, one that had finally chosen to return. "I know you're out there." Gwen spoke up. "I want to talk to you."
It took a few seconds for anything to happen, but then a certain corvid landed at the base of the steps, transforming into Raven soon after. "Are you always this good at calling people out?"
Gwen opened her eyes and wore a sly smile at Raven's words. "Comes with the territory. Now, what exactly is going on in the world of Raven Branwen?"
Raven raised a brow. "Why so cordial? You know what I did."
"Yes, I do." Gwen got up and went over to the Spring Maiden, folding her arms over her chest. "But to be fair, I'm no stranger to working with people who've killed before." The redhead glanced off to the side. "Granted, your record's probably HIGHER than those I've worked with, but still."
"Very funny." Raven said, crossing her own arms as well. "Tell me, where exactly did Ben and my daughter go with the others?"
Gwen nudged her head toward the east. "They went off to Anima on a job. There's apparently a really powerful Grimm stalking the village of Shion, so half of the team went off to take care of it."
Raven's eyes widened slightly at this. "Oh… Shion, eh?" In her mind though, she off-handedly thought; 'And to think that place was on my list. Glad I decided to hold off THAT raid.' She shook her head slightly and went back to the topic at hand. "I see. And… just to make sure, did I see Jessica Jameson boarding the Resolute with them?"
Gwen grinned and gave a confirming nod. "That's right. We met her just today. She's actually the one who got the call to go there." She sat down on the front steps of the porch, allowing herself to relax a little bit. "An old friend of hers got hurt by that Grimm, and she let the others tag along with her."
"I see." Raven sat down next to the redhead. "And… she knows about your secret, I take it?"
"Uh-huh, found out during a robbery this morning that Ben and the others helped stop."
The tribe leader blinked at that. "Wow, things were certainly busy this morning, I must say."
"Hmm, I'd say so." Gwen's sly grin returned. "Although… from what I heard, you and Ruby had a little conversation this morning about a certain mutual bond you share with a couple people." At her words, Raven's eyebrows shot up and she whirled her head away, avoiding Gwen's question. But this only served to make Gwen chuckle a bit. "Hehe, thought so."
Raven sighed and lowered her head. "Gwendolyn, I'm trying to right the wrongs that I've done. I don't exactly see this as a laughing matter."
"Of course it isn't." Gwen concurred. "But you've gotta admit, you and Ruby share more things in common than you realized… or like to admit."
Craning her head back up to the sky, Raven let out a breath through her nostrils, pursing her lips in thought. "Maybe so… but still, that's not the point I'm trying to make here." Raven put her focus back on Gwen, wearing a dead serious face. "I want to make up for what I've done and said to my daughter. As well as what I did to… to…" She swallowed hard and continued. "The last Spring Maiden."
"…It hurts to even think of her?" Gwen asked.
Raven closed her eyes and faced away from the Anodite. "Gwendolyn, I see her face in my nightmares. …The same terrified face I saw when I… I…" She clenched her hands on her knees and screwed her eyes shut, fighting back the emotions that were coming over here. "Dear god, how do I make it stop?!" Her hands went to her head and she cried out into the open; "I just wish I could undo it all!"
Gwen stared at Raven in silence for a moment. The Anodite didn't even have to read her mana to know that she was one-hundred percent serious about the whole thing. The utterly saddened face that she wore was enough to convince her. Gwen reached over and put a soft hand to Raven's shoulder, prompting the woman to look over to the girl in surprise. "I can't tell you how many times I've said those words myself." Gwen said as a sympathetic smile came to her face.
The tribe leader gave Gwen a perplexed expression. "This isn't going to be some story about a botched school assignment, is it?"
With a roll of her eyes, Gwen quickly shot that theory down. "No, nothing like that at all." She nudged her head toward the house. "It's actually about my boyfriend."
Raven glanced toward the house with narrowed eyes. "Ah yes, the young ruffian. Let me guess, relationship trouble? Because if it's that, then I know ALL about it."
"Not exactly." Gwen denied. "This is… a bit more complex. See, a few years ago, Kevin and Ben tried to hack into the Omnitrix. As you can imagine, this had disastrous results and Kevin was mutated into a conglomerated mineral mutant."
Staring at the girl incredulously, Raven gestured for the girl to move along. "And the point of all this is… what, exactly?"
"I'm getting to it." Gwen assured. "Anyways, I broke into one of my archenemy's homes and stole a tome that I was hoping to use to travel back in time and tell my past self to stop Ben and Kevin's experiment before it could happen." If possible, Raven's gaze was in even more disbelief after she said that. "Still following?"
"A little." Raven confirmed. "Continue."
"Okay, so I traveled back in time and did the deed… but I ended up screwing the future in the process." Gwen's shoulders sagged a bit as her head lowered slightly. "Turns out, those archenemies of mine had taken over in that timeline. And… if that weren't enough, that timeline's version of me had died by their hands."
Raven's lips parted in shock. "Well… what did you do?"
"I got the book back and undid everything I had done." Gwen replied. "I even wiped my past self's memory of everything to make sure she didn't stop the experiment." The young girl turned back to Raven with a small smile. "In the end though, Kevin was able to be changed back to normal by natural means soon after. …He ended up mutating AGAIN later down the line, but that's a different story entirely."
"I see." Raven tilted her head. "And I suppose the moral of this story is…"
Gwen bowed her head to Raven. "It's that no matter how much we try to change our pasts, it won't have any effect on our present." She set her eyes out toward the afternoon sky, a bright smile on her face. "But if we focus on bettering ourselves for the future, then we can have a positive effect on our lives going forward."
Raven stared at Gwen again for a few moments before she too had a smile on her face. She set her gaze off into the distance as well and gave a single nod. "You know… that doesn't sound too bad." After another minute or two of silence between them, Raven shifted her sights back onto the Anodite. "…Gwen?" With the girl's attention successfully gained, Raven went on; "Do you think I can still be a good mother? I mean, Yang's eighteen, she's practically an adult, and—"
But she was cut off when Gwen raised a hand. "Raven… I don't think you have to worry about that." She leaned forward and asked; "Let me just ask you this; do you WANT to be a good mother?"
"Yes! Of course, I do." Raven immediately answered.
"Then you're already well on your way." Gwen approved. "But before you can do that, you have to make up with Yang."
"And I want nothing more!" Raven affirmed. "It's just… I'm having trouble finding the right words."
Gwen tilted her head a bit. "Well, that IS often the case with situations like this. But if there was any more advice I could give you, it's this;" She placed her hand over her heart with a sincere smile. "Tell her what you feel in here. Speak with your heart, not with your brain."
Raven wore a deadpan expression. "Seriously? That sounds like something that a kid's cartoon would say."
The redhead wore a prideful smile. "You'd be surprised the moral lessons you can learn from colorful magic ponies."
With a mighty facepalm, Raven let out a sigh, letting Gwen's words finally sink in. 'Speak with my heart, not my mind. …God, that's cheesy, but it might be my only hope. You want your daughter to trust you again, Raven? Then start taking responsibility for your actions and apologize!' Raven took a deep breath and steadied herself, giving Gwen a soft pat on the shoulder. "Thank you, Gwen. You and Ruby have really helped me out here."
"No problem, I'm glad to—" However, Gwen was cut off when the front door suddenly flew open behind the two ladies, making them whirl around. Raven had made to draw Omen from its sheath, but stopped just short when she saw who it was. It was none other than Kevin, the young man breathing in and out while holding a flashing Plumber's badge in his hand. With widened eyes, Gwen exclaimed; "Kevin? What's going on?!"
"Gwen, your Plumber's badge has been—" But then, the Osmosian noticed Raven out of the corner of his eye, making him stop midsentence. "O-Oh, Raven! I didn't know you were here."
"Save it for later, Levin." Raven said as she and Gwen stood up. "What's going on?"
Kevin was snapped back to reality and got back to the issue at hand. "Oh yeah!" He stepped toward the two and presented the Plumber's badge to Gwen. "Babe, your badge has been going off the hook downstairs for at least the past five minutes. I think Ben's tryin' to call you."
The redhead stared at her Plumber's badge in complete befuddlement before reaching for her back pocket, only to realize that it wasn't on her person. "Downstairs, how the—" But then she slapped her forehead. "D'oh, that's right! I took it out while I was gathering laundry!" She quickly snatched the badge out of her boyfriend's hand, quickly apologizing for the sudden move before answering the call. "Ben?!"
"Gwen!" her cousin answered on the other end. "Oh, thank god, I thought something bad had happened!"
"We called your badge at least three times, Red!" Yang added. "What the heck happened?"
Gwen facepalmed in frustration. "Sorry, sorry, I took my badge out of my clothes while I was doing laundry and I left it downstairs." She smacked her forehead soon after. "Gah, I can't believe I was so absent-minded."
"I'd usually try and assure you here, but I'm kinda in agreement." Ben admitted. "You almost ALWAYS have your Plumber's badge on you. Were you distracted by something after you did the laundry?"
The Anodite's eyes shifted over to Raven, the woman shaking her head and mouthing the words "Not now", giving Gwen the only sign she needed. "…You could say that. Let's just say I got caught up in a long conversation." She let out a breath before going back to her cousin. "So, how's the mission going? Was Mr. Bruno awake yet?"
"He was, sugar." Jessie replied on the other end. "Though that Grimm bastard managed to throw him for a loop, I'll tell ya what."
Raven's eyes widened at that. 'This Grimm was powerful enough to injure PAUL BRUNO?!' She shouted in her mind. 'What in the world are they facing over there?"
"Wow, sounds like you guys got some big trouble on your hands." Kevin commented. "So, did he actually SEE what the Grimm was or what?"
There was a brief pause on the other end before Ben continued; "Yeah… and it's also the same one who destroyed Ren's home village of Kuroyuri many years ago."
Kevin's eyes widened while Gwen let out a gasp, covering her mouth in the process. "No! Are… are you serious right now?" Gwen asked.
At that point however, Raven's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. 'Kuroyuri? No… they CANNOT be serious.'
Contradictory to Raven's thoughts though, Ren spoke up on the other end of the line, only confirming her fears. "We ARE serious, Gwen. The Grimm that's been terrorizing the countryside near Shion IS most certainly the same one that destroyed my home. It's called a Nuckelavee and it's VERY powerful."
"We were hoping that you'd have some ideas on how to fight it." Nora added. "Since Ben thinks that you guys have legends about your OWN Nuckelavee in your world."
Gwen's eyebrows rose up. "A Nuckelavee, huh? Well, yes, we DO have legends surrounding them where we're from, but—" However, at that moment, Gwen shifted her eyes up to Raven, only to see the woman's face having twisted in a mixture of emotions. Though most prominent among them were fear, anger, and a bit of disappointment. "Uh… Rav—"
Without warning, Raven whirled around and unsheathed Omen, slashing a portal into existence. Gwen and Kevin were taken aback by the sudden action, though Raven sent the Anodite one last glance over her shoulder, giving her a nod. "Thank you for the talk, Gwen." After those last words, Raven went into the portal, leaving the couple behind as it closed behind her.
As the duo stood there in utter shock, Gwen brought her Plumber's badge back up, speaking into it with a bit of apprehension. "Uh… Ben? Remember how I said that I was talking with someone? She's headed your way. You should see her in a few seconds."
…..
Back in the Resolute, Ben, Yang and the others were all standing together in a somewhat disjointed circle, having gathered around to make sure they heard Gwen as clearly as possible. But the moment she said that they should be expecting company, they couldn't help but be confused. "Uh… Gwen?" Ben hesitantly asked. "What do you mean by—" Just then, a rather familiar red and black portal slashed open right in the middle of their circle, making most of the teens let out yells of surprise. "…Oh. Now I get ya. Gwen, I may have to call you back."
Yang's brows furrowed and her hands went to her hips as she saw her mother storm through the portal, the woman clearly as agitated as she was. "Oh great. This is just what we need right now." Yang muttered to herself sarcastically.
"A NUCKELAVEE?!" Raven hollered as she marched up to Ben and Yang, her voice echoing throughout the cargo hold. "Are you children out of your MINDS?!"
Off to the side, Ruby's began to panic in her own mind. 'Oh no! Raven, this isn't part of the plan!'
On the other end of the circle, Swift did a double take while stumbling back a bit. "Whoa! Where'd the crazy lady come from?!"
"That's Yang's mother, Raven." Ilia answered. "She's the leader of a tribe of thieves and her Semblance allows her to create portals to those she has a bond with."
"Thanks for the intel." Swift muttered as she saw Raven get closer to Yang and Ben. "Remind me to never cross her."
Before Raven could close the gap between her and the couple, the sound of jiggling spurs and stomping boots came forward, resulting in a familiar figure stepping directly into the tribe leader's path. Jessie Jameson glowered at Raven and folded her arms, her piercing glare making Raven stop in place. "Well, well, if it ain't the two-timin' gal who abandoned her team?" Jessie chastised, making everyone reel back slightly. "Raven Branwen. Been a while."
Raven narrowed her eyes further and clenched her teeth. "Jessica Jameson. Here I thought you'd learned to stay in Vacuo."
"You know what they say about too much sun, hon." Jessie countered while raising an eyebrow. "Now what're ya doin' here?"
"I'm here to take the team back home." Raven pointed directly to Jessie's chest. "Because apparently, YOU think it's a-okay to just have them face down a Nuckelavee! Outside of Ben and perhaps even Rex, they aren't ready for this level of Grimm."
Jessie wore a bemused expression at this. "Maybe so… but then again, this wasn't my call to make." She gestured all around the room. "They willingly stepped up to face the Nuckelavee, even when they were given the chance to back out." She gave a smile over to a certain duo. "I'm particularly impressed with Ren an' Nora's bravery in this situation." Jessie then went back to Raven with a stern face. "Besides, if'n I recall, Yang told me that ya'll ain't exactly on good terms right now."
Raven was about to retort when she caught sight of her daughter behind Jessie, and the two ended up locking eyes. They stared at each other for a good while, with Raven's demeanor softening up while Yang remained somewhat irritated by her presence. But it wasn't long before Yang saw a change in her mother's mood, and she glanced away with her arms crossed. Raven let out a breath, finally having calmed down. "Well… you're right about that, Jessica. We had a fight last night and… things didn't go well."
"Hmph, to say the least." Yang mumbled to herself.
"But I want to try and make things right." Raven continued, taking Yang off-guard. "I know that I have done many things in the past that were very wrong, and I'm not proud of what I've done." The Spring Maiden calmly stepped past Jessie and approached her daughter, who was still looking away from her. "Yang, I withheld the truth from you and everyone else even when you trusted me. And for that… I'm ashamed. I was the one who should've trusted you more."
Yang moved her eyes back to her mother, wearing a serious face. "…Yeah, you should have."
Though her simple yet harsh statement stung, Raven pressed onward. "I'm… I'm sure that Ruby told you about the conversation we had this morning."
Yang raised a brow over to her sister, who was wearing a cheeky smile and waving over nervously. "Yes, she did." She uncrossed her arms and put her hands to her hips. "Listen… mom, I know that you keep saying you're sorry. And, a small part of me wants to believe you." She furrowed her brows again. "But my trust is something you'll have to earn back."
"And I'm willing to make the effort." Raven assured, a small smile forming on her lips. "I'm ALSO willing to do whatever it takes to do it."
Slowly but surely, Yang's harsh look began to relax before giving her mom a nod. "Alright, then you'll start by letting us take on the Nuckelavee."
Those words sounded like shattering glass in Raven's mind, her jaw nearly dropping to the ground. However, the shock was soon replaced by a sense of pride. Her daughter truly wasn't afraid to take this beast on, and once quick sweep of the crowd revealed that they weren't afraid either. After a few seconds of taking it all in, Raven chuckled and folded her own arms. "Well… I suppose there's no convincing you otherwise. Alright, you're free to hunt down the Nuckelavee." She raised a single finger. "BUT… only if I accompany you on the mission."
The whole team was surprised by Raven's sudden voluntary participation, though Pyrrha was quick to voice her opinion. "You really wish to help? Even under… certain circumstances?"
Raven knew what the girl was referring to. The team would be heading into a heavily infested Grimm area, one that would be prime for an ambush by Salem's forces. If Raven weren't careful, she could be taken back to Salem by force… or worse. The Spring Maiden gave the Invincible Girl a resolute expression, standing firm on the decision. "If it will help in earning back not just by daughter's trust, but all of yours as well, then so be it. I'm not about to run away from a Grimm."
Jaune was impressed by Raven's stance on the matter. "Pyr, I think she's serious about this." Pyrrha's eyes moved to her boyfriend at his words. "I mean… it couldn't hurt to let her come along, right?"
"Well… I suppose not." Pyrrha admitted. 'Though she knows it's not the Grimm I'm worried about…' The redheaded warrior worriedly glanced over to Jessie. 'Then again, Jessie can't know about that.' She moved her sights back to Raven and gave her a nod. "Alright then, if you are truly sure about all of this, then far be it from me to stand in your way."
"Indeed!" Penny raised her hand. "After all, more help would be greatly appreciated."
Raven grinned at the support before eyeing Jessie. "Well, Jameson? Any objections?"
Jessie pursed her lips in contemplation. "Well… I ain't too sure 'bout all this, personally. But, far be it from me to get in between ya'll's family matters." She shrugged her shoulders, finally accepting the idea. "Ah, what the hell? Sure, you can come along, Raven." But Jessie then immediately pointed a finger at her. "But if ya'll try to pull ANY funny business, I'll make sure ya get what's comin' to ya."
"No need, Jessie." Yang assured before returning her stern eye to her mother. "Because I'll be the first to know if she messes up."
Raven winced a bit at that, but she managed to clear her throat and change the topic. "Ahem, y-yes, of course. So, do you have a plan to face the Nuckelavee?"
Ben, who had remained silent to try and avoid making the whole conversation more awkward than it already was, finally spoke up again. "That's actually the reason why we were calling Gwen in the first place." He held up the Omnitrix and began calling Gwen again, this time knowing that she would pick up on the first ring. "We were hoping that she'd have any ideas on how to fight it by going off the Nuckelavee legend from our world."
Raven put a hand on her hip. "And you really believe that'll help?"
Ben simply gave her a shrug. "Can't hurt to try, right?" A blip came from the Omnitrix the moment he said that, meaning that his cousin had picked up. "Hey Gwen, sorry about that."
"No, no, it's fine, I get it." Gwen said on the other end. "So… is everything okay over there? Raven didn't blow her top, did she?"
Yang quirked a brow at her mother. "Well… at first she did, but we managed to work things out a little bit." The blonde put a hand to the back of her neck. "We're not exactly one-hundred percent okay… but we're still hammering out the kinks."
"Well… okay. If you guys say so." Gwen accepted.
Just then, Coco decided to jump into the conversation. "Hey, Red! Is Tech Head still there or did G.I. pick him up already?"
"Oh, yeah, the general came to get him about ten minutes after you guys left." Gwen confirmed. "They should be there pretty soon. I have to say though, whatever this secret project is, it must be pretty important because Coop said he was going to work on it on the way over to where you guys are."
Coco grinned and let out a small laugh. "Hah, yeah, it's pretty big alright. And let me tell ya, it's gonna be a BLAST when he gets here with it."
"I'm sure. Now, what's all this about a Nuckelavee?"
"It's a very powerful Grimm with the humanoid torso of an Imp Grimm fused with that of a whole Stallion Grimm." Pyrrha answered. "They are vicious, relentless, and they can destroy almost anything with ease."
There was a brief pause on the other end before Gwen gave an understanding sound. "Hmm, I see. So what we're dealing with here DOES pretty much sum up the Nuckelavee from our world. But… I'm guessing that yours are probably MUCH more demonic."
"If blood red eyes and a pair of curved horns count as demonic, then yeah, it is." Nora confirmed. "Trust me, you don't easily forget something like that."
"I can imagine." Gwen concurred. "…One question though; does this creature have long arms? And I'm talking REALLY long arms?"
"Yes, it does." Ren replied. "Those are its main forms of attack."
"I thought so. And on the topic of its breath… can it infect plants and animals with deadly toxins?"
The whole group of Hunters-in-training wore confused faces before going to Jessie and Raven, hoping that the more experienced ladies would have an idea. "That ain't known, sugar." Jessie denied. "An' if it can, no one's been able to observe a Nuckelavee for long enough to see it. All it does is kill."
Gwen hummed a little bit on the line, almost as if she were taking notes. "Alright then, we can rule that out for now…" A couple seconds passed before her next question came up. "Okay, one last thing; does it have trouble crossing bodies of fresh water?"
This question served to puzzle the group even further. "Um… that's a negative." Ren answered. "It's able to cross over rivers with relative ease. It lives in the mountains, so I'm assuming that it HAS to live near bodies of water."
"Gwen, where ARE you getting all these weird questions from?" Ilia asked. "These don't exactly seem to correlate with our problem here."
"Oh, but it does." the Anodite countered. "Trust me, Ilia, it's all coming together. According to Orcadian mythology, which is where our Nuckelavee comes from, it's said that it's a creature that originated from the ocean, meaning that it has an aversion to fresh water. But, since this Grimm Nuckelavee obviously doesn't, that means we can't use water in our strategy."
Swift raised an eyeridge. "And the toxic breath? Where'd that come from?"
"Yet another trait of our Nuckelavee, Swift. But since it's unknown if the Grimm version has toxic breath, you guys will just have to try and steer clear from its face as much as possible."
Ben nodded his head to the side. "Alright, fair point. So how should we go about this?"
"Simple; you guys need to restrain its arms." Gwen explained.
Jaune brightened up at the idea. "Hey yeah! If we can restrain it, then we might be able to stop it from moving all together."
"Perhaps," Penny agreed, "but there is one other factor we must take into consideration; the Stallion. If we do not stop it from running, we'll never get it under control."
"Hmm, good point, Penny." Gwen admitted. "Well, how big IS the horse itself?"
Coco mulled it over in her head before giving a rough estimation. "I want to say… at least twice the height of Yatsu. At least from its front legs up to its head."
Ben reeled his head back at his. "Woah, that's a pretty big horse. It's probably gonna take a lot to keep that thing down."
"Sure is, sugar." Jessie lightly knocked her knuckles against her head. "Stallions have a head that's as thick as a steel beam. It'll take quite a bit o' force to drive it's skull in. That's probably the only sure-fire way o' keepin' it down."
Jaune raised his hand to make a suggestion. "Or… we could just try taking out its legs? It'd save us a lot of trouble in the long run."
Pyrrha put a hand to her chin in contemplation. "That IS a good point, Jaune. But in order to get close, we'll need to take out the arms first."
"Sounds like a plan." Ren nodded firmly, his brows furrowing a slight bit. "Arms first, then horse, then the Imp on its back."
Nora was intently focused on her best friend, her eyes showing great concern once again. Sure, she was glad that Ren wanted to take part in the fight after her pep talk, but now, she could see something new behind his eyes beginning to come to the surface. She couldn't tell if it was anger or any other negative emotion, but she DID know one thing; she had to keep Ren grounded. "But we'll have to all work as a team to take it down, right Renny?"
Ren's eyes widened and his attention went to Nora, almost as if he had been brought out of some sort of trance. "O-Oh, right, of course." The green ninja directed his gaze to Jaune and Pyrrha, giving them a small smile. "So, shall we take the beast down together?"
Jaune grinned and put a hand to his friend's shoulder. "Like you even need to ask?"
Pyrrha came over and did the same. "We WILL avenge those that were lost on that day, Ren, including your parents. I promise."
"…Thanks guys." Ren bowed his head slightly before going back to Nora, taking in a deep breath as he did. "Well, are you ready?"
Nora gave him a thumbs up. "Ready as I'll ever be."
It was then that Gwen decided to speak up again. "Um… guys, that's all well and good, but there's just one tiny thing we still don't know; where the Nuckelavee actually IS."
"I can help with that." Raven volunteered. "After all, my tribe is based in Anima, so we make it a point to keep track of where every powerful Grimm is in order to avoid them while making our base camps."
"Heh, well that's handy." Yang chuckled, tilting her head a bit. "So where is it, mom?"
Raven winced a bit, her features growing more nervous. "Well… that's where things get complicated." She directed her focus onto Ren and Nora, a sympathetic expression coming to her face. "You see, when the Nuckelavee isn't roaming the countryside by night, it returns to its mountain lair by dawn. Beyond that mountain is where the kingdom of Mistral begins… but it's also very close to the village of Kuroyuri."
Ren and Nora were stunned, their eyes widening in shock and horror. "Wait…" Nora began, "so if we want to catch the Nuckelavee before it gets too dark… then you're saying we might have to go back to Kuroyuri?"
"That's right." Raven regrettably replied. "The Nuckelavee often still stalks the ruins of the town before it goes on its nightly hunts. My tribe believes that it favors the village as a place to corner its prey."
"Meaning that there's probably more Grimm there, too." Ruby added. "So we'll ALL be in for a fight."
Ben put his sights on Ren once more, the green ninja still somewhat frozen in fear. "…Ren." The hero made sure that he had Ren's full attention before pressing on. "Are you still willing to go through with this? I know that the thought of seeing your home town again might be too much for you, and I don't wanna put you through something that's too stressful. If it's too much, let me know, okay?"
But Ren was quick to raise a hand up to the Omnitrix bearer. "N-No, Ben, I'll be okay." he snakingly asserted. "I… I'm willing to do whatever it takes to bring that beast down. I said that I would fight with all of you against it, and I don't plan on changing my mind."
"…Alright then." Ben accepted. "If that's the case, then we'll head out soon." The hero put his hand next to the Omnitrix, ready to end the communication. "Thanks for the help, Gwen. We'll call you as soon as that thing's dead."
"Okay, Ben." Gwen replied. "You all stay safe, and good luck." With that, the communication was ended, leaving the team to contemplate the mission that they would soon set out to do.
After remaining silent throughout the whole call, Tetrax piped up, making the teens direct their attention to him. "Well, now that we're all clear on what the plan is, I think it's time we start heading out." The Petrosapien turned to Jessie, extending a hand to her. "Miss Jameson, do you think you could come up to the bridge with me so that I can successfully take us to Kuroyuri?"
Jessie gladly tipped her hat to him. "I'd be happy to, sugar. Shouldn't take us very long to get ourselves over there."
"Thank you." Tetrax led her over to the elevator before pointing back over to the group. "You kids stay down here, okay? We'll be there in no time, so be ready."
Ben gave his friend a thumbs up. "Got it, Tetrax. We will." The team watched in silence as Tetrax and Jessie went up to the upper floor of the Resolute, before Ben shifted his attention back to a certain tribe leader. "Well… now that we've got some time, I gotta say Raven, I didn't expect you to come here to help us."
Raven pursed her lips and leaned up against one of the large cargo crates, folding her arms in the process. "Well, when I heard the word "Nuckelavee", I felt something just go off in my mind. I wasn't about to let you kids send yourselves off to die."
"Now THAT'S surprising." Yang commented, raising an eyebrow to her mother. "Especially considering you all of the stuff you did."
Raven felt her heart sink and was about to respond when, much to everyone's shock, someone came to the woman's defense. "YANG!" Ruby stormed up to her sister and got right in her face, taking Yang by complete and utter surprise. "…Listen, I know that this isn't exactly the BEST way this meet-up could've happened, but you DID agree that you'd talk to your mom! You promised me that you would!"
Yang's eyes moved between her sister and her mother just as the ship began to lift off the ground, making her stomach slightly more uneasy than it already was. She had never seen her sister this assertive before, and she had to admit, she was both proud and a little afraid at the same time. Yang knew her sister wouldn't hurt her, but the silver-eyed glare she was giving her was more than enough for her. The Blonde Brawler's eyes closed and she lowered her head, letting out a sigh. "You're right, Ruby. I'm sorry." Yang stepped away from her sister and went over to her mother, their eyes meeting in silence.
Seeing this, Swift decided to raise her hand up and get everybody's attention. "C'mon guys, I've got a feeling we aren't needed here."
"Yeah, let's leave them too it." Ilia supported as the two girls led Team JNPR and Penny away from the proceedings, leaving only Ben and Ruby behind as moderators.
To break the ice, Yang decided to bring up a certain topic. "So… Ruby told me that you were at Summer's grave this morning."
"I was." Raven confirmed. "I went to pay my respects… and vent a little."
"I can understand that." Yang agreed. "I've gone there to vent a bit myself."
Raven smiled at that fact. "I'm sure you have. Summer was always a someone I felt comfort in confiding things into… even things I didn't feel comfortable talking about with anyone else."
Slowly but surely, a small smile also formed on Yang's face, the memory of Summer relaxing her a bit. "Yeah…" She reached up and scratched the back of her head awkwardly, wondering exactly where this conversation should go. "Listen, mom… what I said to you last night, I know it was harsh, but I felt it was something I needed to say."
"I understand." Raven acknowledged. "The things that I've done… I'm not proud of them. Abandoning my family, betraying the Spring Maiden's trust and killing her, I often find myself having nightmares over these things." The tribe leader lowered her head a slight bit. "And then… my mind goes back to all of the raids I lead against defenseless villages, and I find myself thinking back to the many other lives I've taken." Her hand clenched around the handle of her sword in frustration. "The very thought of it… disturbs me."
Yang's smile slightly increased at these words. "Well hey, that shows you've got a conscience. I only wish you'd listened to it sooner."
"Yes… so do I." Raven faced her daughter again with saddened eyes, making Yang's smile fall. "Yang… for a long time, I wondered if I could have ever been a good mother. But how can I even think of that when I've taken the lives of so many other mothers and their children?"
The blonde pursed her lips at her mother's words, thinking them over for a good while. Hesitantly, she reached out and put a hand to Raven's shoulder, showing her a bit of comfort. "Mom… I don't know if I can give you a solid answer for that." Her smile then reappeared. "But what we were doing before, just talking to each other after all this time apart? I really liked that. I finally felt like… I had a connection with you." Her smile then disappeared again and she turned away. "I just wish you had been more honest with me from the very start."
"…I do too." Raven said, making Yang face her again. "However, no matter how much we wish the past can be changed, we unfortunately can't." With a resolved expression, Raven clenched her other hand into a fist. "So right here, right now, I promise that I WILL strive to do better in the future. Not just by you, but by everyone."
After a few seconds of simply staring at Raven, a small chuckle escaped Yang's lips, a smirk forming on her face once again. "Heh, ya know, I'm actually really glad to hear that."
"So am I!" Ruby cheered.
"Same here." Ben walked over to the two, giving Raven a smile of his own. "So… how about we start by making sure that Nuckelavee's put in its place?"
Raven was quick to show her support. "Sounds fine by me." A few moments after she said that, the ship began to jostle again before everyone on board could feel it lower back down to the ground. Once it came to a stop, the whole group came back together near the loading ramp as it began to lower, all of them preparing to disembark. "Well, that didn't take long at all." Raven remarked.
"You got that right." Swift said before stepping away from the ramp, giving them all a wave. "Well, this is as far as I can go. Any further and I'm outside the safe zone. But hey…" she pointed to Ilia and gave her a wink. "Stay safe out there, Freckles."
Ilia's spots changed to a soft pink and she grinned nervously, letting out a slight chuckle. "Hehe, y-yeah, of course, Swift. Will do."
Just then, Tetrax and Jessie came back down the elevator, the two walking over to the group as quick as they could. "Alright, we've made the landin'." Jessie announced as she clapped her hands twice. "Now let's get this show on the road, huh?" But then, she stopped and sent her gaze over to Ren and Nora in concern. "At least… if'n ya'll're ready, that is."
The green ninja and Pink Dynamo looked at each other, locking eyes before sharing a nod. "We are." Ren confirmed as the ramp finally hit the ground. "It's time to end this once and for all."
"Very good." Tetrax commended. "I will remain here and guard the ship if any Grimm decide to come and attack us." The Petrosapien faced Ben and put a fist over his right pectoral in his signature salute. "Good luck out there, Ben."
Ben gave his friend the same salute. "Will do, Tetrax. And thanks." The hero turned around, gazing down to the streets below with his team by his side. "Okay guys… it's hero time."
"If ya'll say so." Jessie said before pulling her double-barrel shot gun off of her back. She loaded it up and pumped the action, making sure that it was ready before taking her first steps out of the ship. "Let's get 'er done."
…..
The moment he stepped onto the cobblestone street, Ren could feel himself almost being transported through time. He was back. Back in the place he swore he would never step foot in again. The place where he had once called home was in an even sorrier state than when he had left it, though he wasn't surprised about that. What he WAS surprised by was the fact that it was eerily calm throughout the whole place. He expected to see at least one Grimm stalking the streets. After all, the sun was beginning to set, and even better, it was cloudy out. It was practically the perfect time for them to start coming out. "Something's off." Ren said instantly. "I can feel it."
Everyone's eyes went to him in surprise. Out of all the things Ren could have said after coming back to his home village for the first time in years… THAT was probably the most unexpected thing they had heard. "Ren… what do you mean?" Nora asked worriedly.
"I mean that there's no sign of any Grimm." Ren elaborated. "Don't you find that strange?"
Penny did a quick scan of the area before coming to a conclusion. "I agree. It does seem a little weird. We probably should have seen at least a few wandering around by now."
"Well, mabye." Pyrrha admitted. "But we should not tread simply lightly." She waved her arm out across her, gesturing out toward the village with her weapon. "After all, we have yet to really enter the village itself."
"Pyrrha's right." Jaune said as he pulled out his sword and shield. "They could by hiding anywhere, so be on your guard."
Coco lowered her sunglasses and began scoping out the place, taking in all of the dilapidated buildings and burned architecture. "Well, I know one thing; this IS the perfect place for Grimm to ambush their prey. There's absolutely no where safe to go."
"No kidding." Ilia said as she brushed her hand against a scorched archway, the wood soot rubbing off on her fingers. "But still, it's almost like this place hasn't been touched in years. If there WERE any people that wandered through here… they didn't last for very long."
Up in front, Jessie, Ruby, Yang, Raven and Ben lead the group further into town, with the ladies keeping their weapons at the ready. Meanwhile, Ben held a steady hand on the Omnitrix, ready to transform into an alien at any moment's notice. "Okay, so I'm thinking if we ARE gonna face a large horde, I should probably transform into something that can take 'em out quick." Ben reasoned. "Maybe XLR8 or Gravattack."
Ruby's eyes brightened up as a thought came to her head. "Oh! Or maybe you could transform into that new guy you mentioned! It's be a great opportunity to figure out his powers."
Ben wore a small grin at that. "Eh… maybe. Though to be honest, I'm not exactly sure how a bulky guy like him can be used in battle yet."
"Hey, c'mon, Green Boy," Yang nudged her boyfriend with her elbow, "no time like the present, right? Besides, we still gotta come up with a name for him."
Ben was about to respond when Jessie and Raven both suddenly stopped and simultaneously shushed the couple, catching everyone's attention. The group had made it into the very center of the village, with all of them facing down the street to the opposite entrance. "Did ya hear that?" Jessie whispered.
"I did." Raven said darkly, her eyes still trained forward. "Be ready kids…" She pulled out Omen and went into a combat stance. "We've got company."
"She's right." Ilia said as she pulled her Lightning Lash out. "I hear it too."
Pretty soon, everyone could hear it; the sound of multiple footsteps rapidly approaching from all around them. Suddenly, from down the street, a large pack of Beowolves appeared, running at them voraciously. There were a number of Ursai among the group as well, their blood red eyes boring into the team as they drew closer and closer. "See? What did I tell you?" Pyrrha said as she and Jaune prepared themselves to fight. "Once they're sure their prey is in sight, they just come right out of the woodwork."
Coco simply smirked and pulled out Gianduja, the rotary cannon's large barrel already spinning and ready to fight. "Ah, don't worry, Pyrrha. This is just the welcome wagon, we can—" But right then and there, Coco stopped talking when the horde Grimm suddenly came to a stop all at once. The horde simply stood there, baring their teeth at them while growling menacingly, though the team weren't exactly intimidated. In fact, they were more confused than anything.
"Uh… why'd they stop?" Jaune asked.
Right when he asked that however, another new sound graced the team's ears… and it was very distinct; Clip-clop, clip-clop. The sound of large hooves slowly approaching from around the bend, right where all of the Grimm had stopped in their tracks. Yang glowered toward the street that the sound was coming from. "Take a wild guess."
Ren's lips parted and his pupils shrunk in horror as the familiar beast finally began to show itself. It was exactly how he had remembered it from his childhood, and it was just as terrifying now more than ever. He nearly fell to his knees, but he remained steadfast and stayed upright. Instead, he lowered his head to try and keep from making eye contact with it for as long as he could, silently muttering; "No… no." under his breath.
"Ren?" Nora put a hand to her friend's shoulder worriedly.
As Nora attempted to console her friend, the large Grimm finally came around the corner, allowing everyone to see it in full. The Stallion was what everyone had noticed first, the huge horse-like Grimm letting out a breath of black smoke the moment it stopped in place. Its muzzle, lower jaw and ribcage were comprised of the signature exposed white bone that the Grimm were known for, as were its two back hooves. Its forelegs on the other hand had two large claws on either ped, each having a dull nail on their tip. Unlike a regular horse though, this beast didn't have short fur. Rather, it was covered in a black, muscly sinew that kept the body parts together, which managed to gross a few of the team out substantially.
However, what disturbed them all the most was what was on the Stallion's back. As the horse moved around, the humanoid creature on its back remained slumped over, dragging one of its long, two-fingered arms along the ground. The moment it came to a stop though, the fingers began to twitch a bit before the whole body did the same, finally lifting itself up for everyone to see. It was just as skinless as the horse and its upper face and pectorals was made of white bone, with a pair of curved white horns jutting out from its forehead. Its teeth were jagged and its lower jaw almost appeared to be sewn to the upper one, the muscly parts connecting right to the teeth. It also had an exposed rib cage along with long, spinal spikes going down its back giving it an even more morbid appearance. There were also a multitude of arrows and spears sticking out from its back, indicating that it had been in many battles.
The moment the creature raised its head, the Nuckelavee gave out a ragged breath, its head twitching from side to side disturbingly. The team all stared at the creature in utter horror, though Ben seemed to be more shocked than anything. "I expected many things from this thing… but did I expect a weird fusion of Loki, Stretch Armstrong and one of the Four Horsemen? No, no I did not."
Just as those words came out of his mouth, the Nuckelavee reared its upper torso back and let out a blood curdling screech, one that echoed out through the entire area. "REEEAAAAHHH!" Everyone went to cover their ears at the Grimm's scream, many of them even stepping back at the intimidating show.
"Okay, that thing's a screamer!" Yang shouted as she took her hands away from her ears. "Now who wants to shut it up?!"
The team began readying their weapons, with Penny shifting her arms into her Floating Array blades. "Please, allow me to engage first. I can take hits well, so I'll soften it up for you guys."
"Let's not get to hasty here, kids." Jessie warned as she kept her shotgun trained on the Nuckelavee. "Remember, that thing's got a whole horde by its side. Somethin' tells me it's gonna wait until the puppies tire us out before comin' in for the kill."
"Exactly." Raven concurred. "Which means we'll have to split up to take care of them."
At that moment, the Nuckelavee jerked its body around, turning to the Alpha Beowolf that was leading the pack of Grimm. The larger beast gave out a low sound to it and the Beowolf responded in kind, growling in response. Suddenly, the Alpha let out a loud howl and began running forward with six more of its kind, intending to engage the group and take them down. "Here they come!" Ilia hollered.
"Keep steady, guys!" Coco said before shifting Gianduja back into its handbag mode. With one mighty swing, she knocked one of the Beowolves back before leaping up and stomping its chest in with a mighty kick, making it howl in pain. She shifted her bag back to its rotary cannon form, blasting the Beowolf right in the face and killing it. "Like I said, these guys are pushovers!"
Yang and Ruby ran up to two of the Beowolves, the sisters ready to engage their enemies. With one blast from Ember Celica and Crescent Rose respectively, the duo launched themselves forward and into the fray, meeting the beasts as they lunged right at them. With one swing from Crescent Rose, Ruby sliced her Beowolf in half, its two parts dissolving into black mist as they hit the ground. Yang on the other hand took her time with her opponent, wrestling it to the ground before punching it multiple times in the face. With every strike, she unloaded round after round of Fire Dust into it, until the head practically wasn't there anymore.
The Beowolf died and dissolved in Yang's grasp, the Blonde Brawler high-fiving her sister for their work. "Nice take down, Ruby!"
"Hey thanks! So was yours." Ruby commended before seeing another Beowolf go for Ilia. "Ooh, let's see how she handles this! Go, Ilia!"
The chameleon girl couldn't help but grin when Ruby cheered for her. Having someone supporting her in battle was a bit of a new experience for her, and she had to admit, it felt really nice. 'I won't let you down, Ruby.' With her confidence riding high, Ilia whipped her Lightning Lash out toward the Beowolf, with arcs of electricity already charged up. The bladed whip managed to wrap itself around the Grimm's arm and the lightning surged directly into it, making the creature howl in pain. Then, with one strong pull, Ilia retracted the whip back, making it slice cleanly through the Beowolf's arm, making it cry out even more.
"Oh, you thought that was bad?!" Ilia ran forward and dove past the Grimm before whipping her Lightning Lash back around, making it wrap around the Beowolf's right leg. With another pull, she pulled her weapon back and easily amputated the leg, making the Grimm fall in agony. Ilia jumped on its back and then lashed her whip around its neck, silencing the howls before readying herself to finish it off. "Cry about THIS." With one last pull, Ilia decapitated the Beowolf, killing it instantly. The girl raised her weapon into the air in victory and shouted out; "Ha! Too easy!"
"I'll say!" Yang supported with a round of applause. "You brought that one down without breaking a sweat! Nice job, Color Girl!"
Ilia gave Yang a bow. "Thank you very—" Out of the corner of her eye, however, Ilia suddenly saw the last two normal Beowolves making a break toward a certain redheaded android, one who apparently wasn't doing anything about it. "PENNY!"
Ruby craned her head around to see that her friend was indeed doing nothing. Penny simply had her green eyes trained right on the two Grimm as they got closer and closer, seemingly waiting for something. Though what it was, Ruby didn't know. "Penny, what are you doing?!" she called out.
"It's okay, Ruby!" Penny called back just as the Beowolves were about to jump her. Not two seconds after they leapt at her, the android put her swords away and activated her spiked Smack Hands, using them to bash the Beowolves' heads together effortlessly. The beasts fell to the ground and Penny drove the four large spikes into them, killing both without much effort. Penny smiled over to her three friends and gave them a salute. "Now… what am I?"
Ruby smirked right back and rolled her eyes. "Combat Ready." Suddenly, Ruby realized something; "Wait… where's the Alpha?"
Ben came over and pointed behind the group, indicating that the Alpha had gotten past them. "Uh… it's over there." Everyone whirled their heads around to see the Alpha in a stand-off with none other than Jessie, the two opposing forces staring directly at each other. "It's just been staring at her since it ran over here. What IS it doing?!"
Yang grinned and folded her arms. "It's trying to get a beat on her. It's almost like it knows that she's taken on things that are tougher than it."
Over on the other side of the battlefield though, Jessie was beginning to get a little impatient with the staring contest. "So, are ya just gonna stand there an' gawk at me, sugar, or are we actually gonna throw down?" At this taunt, the Alpha grew enraged and gave into its base instincts, jumping at Jessie immediately. "Hm, thought so." Jessie took one hand off of her shotgun and activated her Semblance, reaching up and taking hold of the Beowolf's big furry neck. "Woop, looks like I gotcha!"
As the Alpha Beowolf began to thrash against its captor, nearly everyone held their breath as they watched Jessie go to work. She expertly bobbed and weaved under the arcing swipes that the Alpha was making, all while keeping a firm hold of its neck, choking it with her Iron Grip. In no time at all, the strikes began getting messier before becoming weak and helpless, the Alpha losing its stride along with its breath. Finally, Jessie brought up her shotgun and shot it in the stomach, making the Alpha howl in agony. "It's okay, sugar, it'll all be over soon."
Jessie pulled the beast's head down to her level, took its head in both hands while using her Iron Grip, and then quickly snapped its neck, ending its life in an instant. "And THAT… is how the big girls play."
Everyone's jaws were practically on the ground after witnessing what had happened. Even Ren, who had broken out of his stupor, couldn't help but be impressed despite the situation. "Now… THAT is amazing."
Yang clapped her hands again and let out a laugh. "Haha! No kidding! That was amazing!"
"I don't think I've ever seen a take down as effortless as that!" Pyrrha added. "It was masterful!"
"You said it, Pyrrha." Jaune agreed. "It was really impressive."
Jessie gave the group a shrug as she approached them once more. "Ah, it was nothin', really." She raised a brow to the Alpha's dissolving body. "Honestly, I've faced tougher." It was then that she noticed that the rest of the Grimm pack and the Nuckelavee were still staring directly at them, almost as if they had been just watching the entire time. "…Hold on, has it done anything while we were takin' care o' those things?"
"I don't think so." Coco answered. "Why?"
Raven quickly realized what Jessie was getting at. "That thing's been trying to get a read on us." She whirled around to the team with panicked eyes. "It's been gauging our combat abilities so that it can better fight against us!"
At the news Ren shifted his eyes back to the creature that had killed his parents, his glare set intently onto it. The ninja knew what he had to do, and he promised himself that he was going to see it through. 'You are NOT going to end anymore lives.' he vowed to himself. But right then and there, the Nuckelavee met his gaze, taking him aback. 'Wait, wha—'
"REEEAAAAHHH!" The Nuckelavee let out another terrifying screech before reeling its whole body back, almost as if it was going to lunge off of the horse. Instead, however, it threw its body forward and finally made use of one of its arms, thrusting the extendable appendage out toward Ren. The green ninja's eyes bugged out at the sudden movement, with everyone else letting out a sudden gasp all around him. Just as the large, clawed hand was about to close the distance between them, Jessie jumped in front of Ren and grabbed hold of the large wrist with two hands, using her Iron Grip to keep a hold of it.
Ren snapped out of his stupor and shook his head, looking to Jessie in bewilderment. "J-Jessie?!"
"Consarn it, Ren, get yer head in the game!" Jessie hollered to him, keeping her attention squarely on the Nuckelavee. "Fall back for now! I got this!"
"REN!" Nora reached out and grabbed her friend's hand. "C'mon, we gotta listen to her!"
"…Right." While he allowed Nora to lead him away, Ren couldn't help but clench his free hand frustratingly. It irritated him that he was getting so sloppy, especially in this critical case. He clenched his teeth behind his lips as he thought; 'This needs to end SOON.'
As the duo fell back, Jessie narrowed her eyes at the Nuckelavee as it tried to pull its arm away. But the cowgirl had planted her feet where she stood and she wasn't about to be dragged along for the ride. "Oh, ya want yer arm back? Well here, be my guest!" As the Nuckelavee gave another REALLY strong tug, Jessie deactivated her Semblance and let go, causing the arm to snap back like a rubber band, managing to take the Grimm by surprise.
Everyone watched as the Nuckelavee's own arm hit it square in the face, making its body slam down against the horse's hindquarters. The blow was so powerful that it caused some of the arrows in its back to break off… and the spikes on its spine to temporarily stick into the horse's rear. The Stallion let out a demonic; "NEEIEIEIGGH!"in pain before bucking its back end, freeing the Imp's body from its flank.
Yang couldn't help but let out a small chortle at this. "Hehe, talk about a pain in the ass."
Ruby laughed as well, pumping a fist into the air. "Ha! And she does it again!"
But the Nuckelavee was far from amused, if anything, it appeared to be even angrier than it was before. "REEEAAAAHHH!" With another soul-crushing shriek, it raised its arm and pointed a single finger toward the group, almost as if it was giving them all a death sentence. And in fact, it was. All at once, the large horde of Beowolves and Ursai began charging at the group, with the Nuckelavee beginning to gallop behind them.
Everyone stared at the scene in uncertainty, unsure of how to handle the incoming horde. "Okay,if we don't engage, we'll get overrun." Jaune laid out. "But if we DO, the Nuckelavee's gonna take advantage of us being distracted by the little guys."
Pyrrha furrowed her brows at the incoming pack, keeping a tight hold of Milo as they drew closer and closer. "Well… I would rather go down fighting than doing nothing at all."
"Right there with you." Ben said as he put his hand on the Omnitrix. "Let's see how these guys like the taste of Echo Ech—huh?" It was then that the Omnitrix itself began to flash, signaling that he had an incoming call. He pressed down on the answer button and immediately said; "Whoever this is, now's NOT a good time!"
"Oh, really?" a familiar voice spoke on the other end. Not a second later, the group began hearing the sound of approaching jet engines, making them crane their heads up to the sky. From right over their heads, a large Bullhead came flying into the airspace over the town, its bright headlights flashing down onto the Grimm. This effectively made them all stop in their tracks in shock, including the Nuckelavee. At that moment the voice stopped coming from the Omnitrix and instead began blaring over the Bullhead's PA system; "Because I think now is the perfect time."
Ben beamed up to the aircraft in relief. "Haha! Ironwood! 'Bout time you made it!"
"Apologies for being late, everyone." Ironwood added. "Here's hoping THIS makes up for it!" As he said that, the Bullheads weapons systems started activating. Two large machine guns suddenly popped out from under the aircraft's chin, opening fire without hesitation. A hail storm of bullets began raining down onto the Grimm, killing many of them on the spot while making others flee, though they didn't get very far before being eviscerated as well. The only one to escape was the Nuckelavee, its quick gallop and impressive gait being enough to save it.
Nora smiled and jumped up and down in celebration, cheering for the general's relentless attack. "WOO! General Ironwood with the save!"
Able to hear her support through the Omnitrix's comm, Ironwood let out a chuckle. "Hah, don't thank me yet, Nora. We've still got one more to deal with." He refocused the guns onto the Nuckelavee and began opening fire. But still, the Nuckelavee proved to be faster than the bullets, circling back around and charging at the group once again. "Hold still you heartless animal!"
But the beast wasn't intent on listening. "REEEAAAAHHH!" With another cry, the Nuckelavee thrust its arms out toward the low-flying aircraft as it passed under it, grabbing hold of both guns as it did. Ironwood attempted to pull away from the Nuckelavee when it did so, but this proved to be a mistake. The force of the Nuckelavee's pull combined with that of the Bullhead jerking away allowed the beast to pull the guns off, tossing them to the side soon after.
"No! Gah, dammit!" Ironwood was able to re-adjust the Bullhead in midair, keeping it aloft enough to fly just a bit higher off the ground, just out of the Nuckelavee's reach. "Alright, it seems like it's time for phase two. Cooper, NOW!"
The moment he said that, Coco's eyes brightened up and she strode over to Ben, making sure that her boyfriend could hear her through the Omnitrix. "Haha! Tech Head, you up there?! Come on down and join the scrap!"
"…Well, he's not exactly on board, Coco." Ironwood replied, both through the Omnitrix and the Bullhead's PA. "He's—"
But right then and there, a new transmission was made to the Omnitrix, cutting off Ironwood's call entirely. Soon after, Cooper's voice came through the Omnitrix, though he didn't address Ben first. "Miss Adel… did you miss me?"
Coco was practically beaming at this point. "Cooper! Where are ya, babe?"
"And how'd you interrupt the call?!" Ben asked.
"I hijacked Ironwood's transmission wirelessly. Piece of cake. Speaking of which…" The moment he said that, the Bullhead's PA gave out a high-pitched whine before it suddenly began blasting out hard rock music, much to everyone's surprise. "Now look up. It's my honor to present you guys with… Project Centurion."
The team did as they were instructed and craned their heads skyward, only for their jaws to drop in astonishment. They knew by what they were seeing that THIS was Cooper's surprise, and it was something that they had NOT been prepared for. The only two who weren't in complete shock were Coco and Ben, though they WERE grinning from ear to ear. Coco wasn't all that surprised because she had seen the project beforehand, and all she was feeling right now was immense pride in her boyfriend for what he had pulled off. As for Ben… well, the moment he heard Cooper blaring AC/DC from the PA system, he had a good feeling about what was instore for them now.
From high in the sky, a high-tech suit of gleaming white armor came swooping down to street level, and everyone knew instantly that Cooper was in it. It somewhat resembled an Atlesian Knight-200, just as Cooper's first makeshift armor had. However, unlike said first armor, this was FAR and away from cobbled together from bits and pieces, plus, it didn't have as many holes in it like the last one had. Plus, the helmet design was completely different. Rather than the blank, black face visor, this one had an angled-out mouth plate with a singular, v-shaped visor right where the eyes would be, and it was glowing a bright blue.
Right in the center of the armor's chest was a cyan Dust crystal that was encased in bullet-proof material, no doubt being the power source of the whole thing. There was also a remarkable improvement to the jet propulsion of the new armor… in that it could actually fly. All thanks to a pair of jet boots and stabilizers in the palms of Cooper's metal gloves. The armor soared past the group and straight toward the Nuckelavee, the genius inside intending to knock the beast over. Ben couldn't help but think to himself; 'Cooper… you magnificent bastard.' before headbanging to the familiar tune.
Shoot to thrill, play to kill!
Too many women, with too many pills!
I said, shoot to thrill, play to kill!
I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will!
The Nuckelavee had seen this and countered by stretching out its arms to the incoming threat, but Cooper was able to bob and weave away from them with ease. He then rammed himself full-force into the Nuckelavee, knocking it over and pushing it against the ground. The beast's arms flailed about as it was pushed through the empty streets, screaming and neighing in pain as it tumbled around. Everyone simply watched in amazement at the strength of Cooper's armor, the young blonde continuing to push the Nuckelavee toward a nearby house.
'Cause I shoot to thrill, and I'm ready to kill!
And I can't get enough, and I can't get my thrill!
Cause I…
SLAM! Cooper smashed the Nuckelavee into the dilapidated house, making the wooden structure crumble even more as the beast continued to shriek in torment. He then suddenly pushed off of the Nuckelavee and landed in a crouch before standing up, raising his arms right at the Grimm. It was then that many different kinds of weapons began popping out of the armor's hidden compartments; a small minigun on the left arm and two missile launchers on the shoulders. To top it all off, Cooper reached toward his thigh and tapped it, revealing yet another hidden compartment. He reached in and something attached to his right arm; a large laser rifle, its barrel glowing blue as he aimed it at the Nuckelavee.
…Shoot to thrill, play it agaaaaain!
With all eyes on him, Cooper finished up with something he only felt appropriate considering the situation; "Make your move, Reindeer Games."
…..
A/N: Woo! Cooper with the save AND the bad ass armor! A marked improvement over the one he ramshackled together in the opening arc of this story, wouldn't ya say? Also, I'm sorry, but I HAD to make this reference. It was too good to pass up. But is the Nuckelavee truly down? …Well, considering there's still a second part yet to come, I think you can take a guess. But hey, other than Cooper's big save, there was a pretty substantial amount of other important things that happened in this chapter too. Of course, Ren and Nora's backstory has finally been touched upon, and the ninja's state of mind seems to be… questionable from his best friend's point of view. Is he truly as alright as he says he is? And it also seems like Yang and Raven might be starting to patch things up a little. How exactly do you think that's gonna go? Well, we'll just have to find out… NEXT TIME! As the Nuckelavee finds its second wind, it ends up calling out to more Grimm for aid… and what it ends up calling ISN'T going to be easy to take down. The team splits up in an effort to bring all of their opponents down, with Team JNPR and Jessie taking on the Nuckelavee itself. In the meantime, Ben brings out his brand-new alien for a second time to fight the Grimm new-comers. But will he fare well in battle? Thanks for reading guys, and I'll see you all next time! See ya later and stay safe!
P.S. I know I said that I'd list every song that I'd feature in this story in case no body knew what it was… but c'mon, who DOESN'T know this song? Aw, alright, it's Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC, but you knew that already, didn't ya?
