Weiss Schnee
The Death Stalker saw Weiss coming, but by then it was too late. As the scorpion-like Grimm sluggishly distended its tail toward her she ducked down, angling her body to create as small a target as possible, and pushed the tip of her sword forward with all the force she could muster. The point found an eye and pierced it deeply, the gel-like consistency of the organ creating a sticky resistance as she pushed the length of metal as far as she could. Once the strike was finished, she ignited the wind dust within the chamber to send her target flying back against the stony wall of the cave.
A cry of pain, a sudden jerk of its long, spider-like legs, and the Grimm fell dead.
"That's three..." She muttered as she relaxed her stance, not bothering to return Myrtenaster to its sheath. They were still in the mouth of the cavern, but had begun to face resistance almost immediately. It wasn't that their presence had been discovered, it seemed, but more that the Grimm spent their time here idly wandering about without direction or intent, and she happened upon them by chance as she approached.
"Indeed! Good job!" Torchwick had gone deeper into the cave while she fought, scouting the area ahead for enemies. As he returned to her now he cast a thoughtful smirk her way. "None of them have complained about being stabbed yet, though, so I don't think we've found our lady."
Weiss looked around. The entryway was the only part of the cave that felt natural. The space was oblong, with uneven stalactites extending downward like rocky teeth, creating makeshift walls and pockets of darkness that helped her to keep herself hidden as she slowly traversed the area, but which invited her worry that enemies may do the same to her each time she rounded a corner.
As she approached the back of the cave, however, everything beyond the entrance suddenly showed hints of the cavern's artificial nature. The halls that led down into the depths were much more narrow, perfectly level, and squared. She could see that the walls here were reinforced at fixed intervals by wooden beams and pillars of carved stone. The wood was heavily rotted and musky, and the stone was visibly eroded- implying decades, if not centuries, of neglect- but there could be no doubt that this was a man-made mine.
A dust quarry? The possibility made Weiss' stomach turn. After the great war, there were countless expeditions into the mountains in search of dust sources, and demand for the miracle resource had existed even before that. Assuming she was right, it even made sense that the villagers were mostly faunus. These mountain villages were likely the descendants of workers who were abandoned here after the veins went dry.
Weiss cast her eyes down, her chest feeling heavy. Even as a huntress the sins of her family haunted her. She couldn't know definitively that the Schnee family was to blame for this mine, specifically, but they had certainly done similar things, and facing another reminder only added strength to the guilt that ever-nagged at the back of her mind.
Now wasn't the time for self-pity, though! She couldn't change what happened to the villagers in the past, but she could save them now. Weiss and Torchwick continued down the passageway, which went on for a few hundred feet before branching into multiple paths.
"Which way should we go?" She asked. Torchwick had once again moved ahead of her as they advanced, but when they reached the fork in the path he came to a stop and fell onto his knees, pressing his ear to the ground.
"Well, I'm no huntsman, but a lot of noise is coming from there." He nodded his head toward the right-most path. "So if you want my professional opinion… anywhere else?" Weiss frowned. With no information to go on, any direction she picked would be arbitrary, so she turned to the left-most path and began to walk down it.
At least they didn't need to worry about light, yet. On the ceiling above each intersection was a set of large mirrors affixed into place by the miners long ago. Each was angled to refract the light of the ones that came before, and poured a diminished, but consistent, supply of the afternoon sun's light into the area. The head of the flashlight Erica had given her still protruded out of the breast pocket of Weiss' coat, though. Just in case.
"I wish I'd asked for a map. I didn't know the area would be so winding." She said. Each time she made a turn or changed direction she would stop and carve an 'X' into the wall, trying her best to track the route they were taking. She'd agreed to the request of the village almost instinctively, and had tried to rush the extermination. Perhaps she really had been a little too careless.
Eventually, the path began to gently curve before opening into another natural cavern. The narrow walls opened into a circular chamber similar to the entrance, with the ovular shape of the space broken into sections by debris and stalactites.
In the very center of this area was a large, foreboding shape. In the dull light the mirrors afforded, Weiss couldn't be sure whether it was a creature or some kind of rock formation. She took a step toward it, but stopped her advance when the outline began to move.
"Is that you, child? Are you here? Lovely! I've so longed to meet you for myself." A bored, feminine voice echoed through the cavern. Weiss froze in place, her heart pounding in her chest as her grip on her sword tightened. As the shadow before her began to stir, and her eyes adjusted to the low light, she could see that the shape of the creature was unlike any Grimm she had seen before.
Like all Grimm, this one's body was a deep black. It was huge- about twice the size of an elephant- and carried itself about on all fours, with a long, prehensile tail doubling its length. Its head was wide, long, and reptilian, like that of a dragon, and its face bore the white, mask-like coloration that was common for its race.
As Weiss cautiously resumed her approach, she saw that the creature was curled up on the ground like a sleeping dog. Unlike most Grimm, whose eyes were a soulless glowing mass of red or yellow, this one had eyes of gold, with large black pupils that narrowed into slits as they focused their sight on the huntress. It really did have the look of a dragon from a fairly tale, Weiss thought, with the sole difference being that, in lieu of the wings, this Grimm had two thick tendrils that extended from its spine, stretching even longer than its tail.
"Are you really a Grimm?" Weiss asked. She inched as close to the creature as she felt she could without inviting an attack, and from there began to move in a slow circle around it. The creature's eyes followed her as she moved, a throaty growl sounding in response to her question.
"A Grimm? I seem as a Grimm to you? Such insolence!" The creature spat angrily. When she opened her mouth Weiss could see multiple rows of sharp teeth concealed behind her thin reptilian lips. Sensing the anger, Weiss immediately stopped moving, planting both feet and raising her sword. A moment of stillness passed, but rather than attack, the creature began to laugh… a sound not so dissimilar to a roar, but filled with predatory mirth.
"A jest! Merely a jest, rest assured. 'Tis a reasonable assumption to make. My kin and I were all Creatures of Grimm once, and unlike my highborn siblings, I cannot assume a human form, alas." While she opened her mouth when she spoke, it wasn't in time with the words she produced. Weiss wasn't sure how she could speak so clearly with such a feral maw.
"What are you, then?" Weiss tried to keep the creature talking for now, while she tried to assess the best way to attack. Grimm or not, the thing was large. It would have the advantage out in this open cavern, but maybe she could lure it into the more narrow halls? Her Boarbatusk felt like an inadequate summon against such a large creature, but perhaps her new Arma Gigas would be effective?
"I am Aibell, youngest daughter of the Fabled." The creature said proudly. As Weiss moved, Aibell's gaze followed, but she didn't bother to raise her head or shift her body from her relaxed position. "Is it your wish to chat a spell? Perhaps you aim for time to conjure a strategy? I've no objection. It has been so long since I've had a civil conversation."
"Crap! Headed your way, Ice Queen!" Torchwick shouted from the other side of the cavern. As she'd went in one direction around the creature, he'd headed the other, attempting to forewarn her of enemies attacking from behind.
Another Death Stalker had wandered over from the back of the cavern, and, upon seeing Weiss, began to skitter toward her. It crossed the center of the cavern as quickly as its legs would allow, but as it moved beside Aibell, she growled in anger. One of the tendrils at her back whipped forth, displaced air hissing as the end of it slammed down into the creature. The crunch of a carapace being smashed was followed by a thunderous crack as the tendril followed through the smashed Grimm and dug into the ground beneath it.
"See? I'm surrounded by this lot. They have their uses, to be sure, but they have no talent for stimulating one's intellect." She opened her mouth, darting her neck out to grasp the shattered Grimm within her jaws and raised her head, allowing it to fall into her throat. She swallowed it whole with naught but a sigh.
Weiss was still staring at the tendril that had attacked, watching it return to its position hovering above the Fable's back. Aibell had moved the appendage so quickly that Weiss' eyes could only scarcely follow its arc through the air. If she had been the target, she could dodge it- so long as she saw it coming from the start- but if one of them managed to strike from a blind spot, she would be in trouble.
"So you're the one who controls the Grimm..." Weiss said thoughtfully.
"Control them? You misunderstand. The one who controls the Creatures of Grimm is a force much mightier than I. I merely… borrow the ones who pass into my orbit. Regardless, well met, Huntress of Snow." The beast let out a guttural growl and turned her head back to where Torchwick was standing. "...and to you, Fugitive."
Torchwick had been in the process of returning to Weiss' side while Aibell spoke, but he stopped abruptly when she turned her attention to him. Even in the dim light of the cavern Weiss could see the shock on his face.
"You can see me?" He asked, instinctively taking a step back and raising his arms. Aibell cackled wickedly.
"See you? My boy, you're the reason I'm here. I was sleeping quite contentedly before you stirred my Mother. Your offense in worrying her was a grave one."
Weiss closed her eyes for a moment, touching the fingertips of her left hand to her forehead. This was all wrong. It felt surreal. When the foreman had told her of a talking Grimm, she had a sense of who it should have been, despite not knowing why she had it. A vague feeling that there was a way events were meant to unfold, and that destiny had been altered somehow. This beast shouldn't exist, yet here it was.
"What did Roman do? Why are you attacking the villagers?" After a moment she opened her eyes and spoke again. Talking was probably pointless, but she wanted to understand.
"Why am I attacking the villagers? I've done no such thing!" There was clear indignation in the creature's voice. "I've eaten them, to be sure, but on quite amicable terms. Honestly! I rouse from a 400-year slumber and you would begrudge me my appetite? Humans are ever-myopic creatures! Do you not consume the flesh of pigs and chickens?"
Weiss narrowed her eyes, anger welling within her. It felt strange to have a Grimm attempt to rationalize itself, but more than anything Aibell's casual attitude infuriated her.
"'Amicable'!? You forced them to sacrifice themselves!" Weiss put her lead foot forward, sword extended, and tilted her body to an angle with the creature. If she summoned her Gigas could she take it out in one strike? Should she sieze the initiative while this monster's guard was down?
Still, she hesitated. How was this situation related to Torchwick? If she kept her talking, would she find out?
"Such righteous anger!" The beast cackled again, allowing her head to once more rest on the pillow of her clawed foot. "If I may speak honestly, I loathe exertion. Human flesh is a delicacy, but fighting with them to obtain it is a chore. Blessedly, you're a very conniving species. Would your fury on behalf of my victims waver if I told you they offered you as a sacrifice in their stead?"
Weiss felt the anger in her heart tinge with sadness. She wasn't as cynical as Roman, but she wasn't an idiot either. She had a feeling something like this was going on, but she'd wanted to help, anyway. Her thoughts fell back to the look Erica had given her before they'd parted ways. Weiss couldn't bring herself to believe that a girl like that could be motivated by spite.
Torchwick jogged across the cavern, and as Aibell finished her taunt he stood beside Weiss, leaning forward to whisper in her ear.
"You're the Ice Queen, right? Don't let yourself get hot. She's trying to get you worked up" He said. Weiss gave him a curt nod. She knew that this creature couldn't be allowed to survive, but it was also more cunning than a typical Grimm. She had to fight it carefully.
"You say they offered me as a sacrifice, but how? How did they know I was coming?" Weiss decided it was best to keep the conversation going. Thus far, Aibell had only answered one of her first two questions, after all.
"Because you have the 'Fugitive' with you! He escaped from Mother's tower, but the mark of it remains on him. We Fabled will sense him wherever he goes." Aibell responded with a yawn. Weiss subconsciously braced herself. She had to be ready in case the conversation grew so boring to the creature that she began her attack.
"The price I pay for being popular with the ladies. Well, you got me here. Now what? If you want my autograph we're at an impasse. My hands haven't been very cooperative since I started my return tour." Torchwick gave his most charming smile and winked at Aibell, offering an indifferent shrug.
"We'll have you return from whence you came. The 'Stairway of Purification' is a vital part of our Mother's dream. It must remain hidden from the gods on high, and from the rebel who would resist them. Your presence in this world threatens to reveal the tower to their eyes. It's most frustrating: Those eaten by the Creatures of Grimm are meant to stay dead! For you to return to life, even in this form, 'tis like..." Aibell stopped suddenly, eyes glancing up thoughtfully, as if pondering a good comparison.
"Like I'm someone chosen by destiny? Wouldn't be the first time." Torchwick offered. The creature shook her head.
"'Tis like you're a kernel of undigested corn in a pile of excrement." She corrected in a firm tone. Roman's reaction to this was so visceral that Weiss could feel it through their shared bond.
"No! I reject your simile! Pick a better one!" His visible eye twitched as he sneered, pointing in accusation. Aibell laughed in reply and returned her attention to Weiss.
"So there you have it, child. When you accepted this man's soul into your body, his escape worried Mother, and that worry roused us from centuries of slumber. My Lord Brother commanded us to pursue the Fugitive, but I declined. You were half a continent away, and I hadn't eaten in centuries! No, I was content to leave the matter to my elders, and imbibe myself upon human marrow and blood to my heart's content.
"Imagine my shock, then when I realized you were heading toward me! At high speed, no less. I'm a dutiful daughter: I'll gladly do what my mother wishes of me, if the effort it requires is minimal. So I conferred with the next village in my path. Like the others, they protested the offer I gave them. 'Oh! Our population is so small! You ask us to choose between a swift death or a slow one!' Merciful monster that I am, I offered them an alternative."
"Well, I for one am shocked that they would sell out a stranger to save their own skin. Completely blindsided." muttered Torchwick bitterly. Weiss shook her head.
"She backed them into a corner, then forced them to cooperate. It's not their fault." She replied. Truthfully, she was more than a little hurt that they hadn't trusted her enough to be honest about their situation, and that was in addition to the self-doubt spiral she often found herself in whenever the sins of her family were brought before her. Maybe they really did want her dead because she was a Schnee…
"You heroic types are always so reasonable."He sighed, his gaze stern. Of course he didn't understand. A guy who only cared about himself could never relate to the desperation normal people feel when they risk losing a loved one. "They sent you into an abandoned mine to die, Ice Queen. You realize you're allowed to be upset about that, right?"
"Quite so." Chimed Aibell, not bothering to hide her delight at Weiss' turmoil. "Their aid in cornering you was most invaluable. T'was they who taught me how best to force that queer metal bird of yours to return gently to the ground. I could have crushed it against the mountain, of course- so long as you die, the Fugitive will be returned to the stairway- but if I must go through the trouble of killing you, I will have the pleasure of tasting your flesh."
"You can try." Weiss was a little confused, and a little hurt, but she pushed her feelings back for now. She lowered her center of gravity, cool blue eyes narrowed.
"Such a fearsome girl! Very well... come to your fate. Though I will strip the flesh from your bones, fear not. You will join your soulmate in becoming the foundation for Mother's new garden."
Aibell slowly rose to her feet, and her eyes glowed an ominous red, causing a rush of skittering footsteps to echo through the cavern as six more Death Stalkers heeded her summons. They began to dash toward Weiss, three from each side of Aibell's massive form, but the huntress had already begun her attack.
A large blue glyph formed beside her, starting at her eye level and slowly descending to the ground as the body of a Boarbatusk formed in the space it passed through, as if being scanned into existence. Once the summon was complete, she sent it charging into the group of Grimm attacking from her left. For the enemies to her right, she discharged the ice dust she had chambered within her sword, using more of her glyphs to send the forming spears of ice flying into the crowd.
Only six enemies had appeared for now, but Weiss knew that the rest were on their way. She had to try to strike decisively while the numbers were still manageable. Killing Aibell wouldn't stop the rest of the Grimm from attacking her, most likely, but it would at least prevent them from behaving like an organized army. She didn't hate her odds against regular Grimm, especially ones as sluggish as these. She and her friends had killed plenty of them.
With the advance of the Death Stalkers momentarily broken, Weiss ran toward Aibell. She approached patiently, her eyes fixed on the tendrils at the beast's back. The instant one of them began to slam down, she laid a glyph at her feet, launching herself forward at maximum speed as she ducked beneath the appendage and raced forward like a dart, extending her blade to pierce her target's neck.
-But something stopped her. As she charged forward, a golden light enveloped the creature, and as her attack struck its mark, Weiss could feel that light form a solid barrier that protected it from damage. Weiss' jaw fell open as she realized what had happened. Aura! A Grimm had just used aura to protect itself.
A broad smile drew its way across Aibell's monstrous face, once more revealing the jagged teeth concealed within.
"Become one with me, Child!" Her voice was laced with animalistic bloodlust as she threw open her mouth and threw her head down to where Weiss had landed beneath her. In her shock, Weiss had allowed herself to fall flat-footed, a mistake she noticed a heartbeat too late. She trembled as she looked up at the gaping maw closing in on her. She'd screwed up! She had her own aura, of course, but she couldn't be sure it would save her if she was swallowed whole.
"Why the hell are you freezing up in the middle of a fight!?" A male voice screamed beside her. Before she could even register what was happening she felt someone's back slam into her side, pushing her away. She turned her head just in time to see Torchwick glaring at her, occupying the space she had been standing in just as Aibell's maw came crashing down around him.
The beast let out an audible grunt of frustration, once again attempting to crush Weiss beneath one of her tendrils, but by now the huntress had recovered from her initial shock, and as the whip-like mass of black flesh cut through the air she leaped backward, watching it slam into the rocky ground hard enough to send a long crack through the solid limestone beneath it.
"Roman!" Weiss shouted, turning her eyes toward the place where her partner had been swallowed. Now that she was back outside Aibell's attack range, she was able to process exactly what had just happened, though she'd scarcely had the chance to worry before Torchwick phased through the creature's jaw, visibly hyperventilating.
"You'd better have appreciated that!" He leaned down, resting his palms on his knees as he looked up at Weiss. It seemed that, while Aibell was able to see and hear him, she wasn't able to interact with him any more than any other physical object could. "I just relived one hell of a traumatic memory!"
"I'm so sorry." She said. For just a second there, she had genuinely believed she'd gotten him killed.
...Re-killed? She wasn't sure of the semantics, but her guilt over putting him in that position was the same, regardless. She shook her head and smacked her cheek with her free hand. Aibell had called herself a 'Fable', right? A Grimm with aura… well, that just meant Weiss would have to wear her down.
From behind Torchwick, Aibell raised herself upward and released a loud, primal roar.
"A thousand curses, Fugitive!" Her voice reverberated through the area so viscerally that Weiss could feel the vibrations through the ground. "She looks delicious, but the notion of combat is so tiresome. I was so confident I could catch her by surprise, and you've ruined it!"
"Yeah, well, determined as the Ice Queen is to get herself killed, I'm not going to make it easy for her." Normally a crack like that would elicit a response from Weiss, but she really was lucky she'd had him around, today. Aibell roared again, rearing up into an attack stance. Once more the area around them shook with the force of her cry, so badly that Weiss feared it may trigger a cave-in.
A cave-in? Weiss shot bolt upright as the inspiration hit her. A way to crush the Fable and seal in her army all at once. She looked around the dim cavern once again. Of the six Grimm that had initially come to aid their controller, two were still alive- struggling against the Boarbatusk Weiss had summoned earlier- and more were beginning to pour in from the hallway she'd entered from. It looked like that really was the only entrance to this area. If she could get around them and lure them into the more narrow section of the mine…
She smirked. It wasn't great, but a plan was a plan! She reached into her coat, groping about for the spare dust vials she'd prepared. Her fumbling grew more frantic as she realized she couldn't find them.
Grimm began to close around her again, and she was forced to fight her way back out of range. She tried to keep herself on the outside of the swarm, not letting them fully encircle her, and keeping Aibell in her field of vision at all times. As she did so, she desperately searched the pockets of her coat for her dust.
Where had it gone? She definitely had it when she'd left the village. It was true that she'd been more hasty than usual in setting out on this hunt, but she was always careful when she made preparations. She took inventory of all her supplies before she set off, so the only time when something could have happened was-
...and, I'm really sorry. For everything.
Weiss felt herself grow nauseous as she remembered Erica's last words to her before they'd parted ways. Had the faunus girl gotten close to her while showing them the way to the mine? It was certainly possible.
She continued to strafe along the outer perimeter of the cavern, keeping her back to the wall to limit the directions from which the Grimm could approach. As long as she could maintain this pace, she could strike at whichever one got closest to her and still have time to start running again before getting swarmed by the rest of the pack. Now to just keep this moving until she made it back to the hallway she entered from…
A Death Stalker tore ahead of the others and lunged at her, raising a claw in an attempt to catch her within its pincers. She swayed back to avoid it, severing the appendage with a single slash, and resumed her retreat. Whether it was due to being controlled by Aibell, or a side effect of existing in a climate much colder than they preferred, the movements of these Grimm were incredibly slow and easy to anticipate. It was a lone blessing that helped to mitigate the fact that she was outnumbered twelve-to-one (and a half)- and growing.
When she finally completed her lap of the dim cavern she looked down at her sword and gritted her teeth. Knowing now that the dust vials she had chambered were the only ones in her possession, she didn't want to waste them, but she had no choice here. She needed to buy time, and she needed as much space between herself and her pursuers as possible.
"Roman! Head toward the entrance. Now!" She shouted, barely waiting to see his nod of understanding before she erected a large glyph in front of herself. She rotated the cylinder of Myrtenaster toward the chamber of purple dust, and whipped her blade forward like a magic wand as she ignited it.
The explosion of the dust created a small black orb before her, which hit the glyph and accelerated out to the center of the cavern before collapsing in on itself. The Grimm that had been pursuing her continued to move their bodies, but no longer gained ground as an invisible well of gravity caught them in its wake, pulling them backwards. If she was lucky, a few of the Grimm closest to the center would be crushed together, but she wasted no time looking backward to check, instead running through the entryway and back down the narrow hallway from whence she'd come.
She ran for a while at full speed, trying her best to follow the symbols she'd carved into the walls earlier. Torchwick had entered the hall just ahead of her, and remained there until he was satisfied no enemies were coming to meet them head on.
"Alright, so, compliment sandwich time." He said as he returned to her, matching her pace as she slowed down to a jog. "It might shock you to hear this, but I think that could have gone just a little bit better. First o-"
"Roman..." Weiss cut him off, her head lowered. She had wanted to sound firm, but honestly she was just tired. Every time she felt like she was gaining momentum in life, something happened that left her questioning everything. It'd been like this ever since Beacon fell. "Erica stole my dust."
Torchwick had clearly been building up to one of his patented sardonic witticisms, but seeing how sincerely crestfallen Weiss was, he abandoned it there. The smirk that had been playing at the corners of his mouth melted away, and his eyes narrowed in what could almost been interpreted as sympathy.
"I see." He said, his tone more flat and earnest than it had been before.
"You didn't notice anything? When we were coming up the mountain path?" She asked. She released the cylinder of her sword and pulled the blade down, ejecting the spent vials from their chambers. By default, she preferred to have six different types of dust chambered at any given time: fire, lightning, ice, gravity, wind, and light. Of the six, she now only had three, and only one shot of each, besides. Three vials of dust to take on a small army of Grimm.
"I like to think I'm as observant as I am cynical, and as cynical as I am ruggedly handsome, but no. This time it looks like I slipped up as bad as you did. The brat was hanging onto you nonstop ever since you met her, it never felt weird for her to be close to you." He scratched his cheek and brushed his bangs from his eye. "Honestly, I'm in shock! It's hard to get one over on ole' Torchwick. I wonder if she'd be interested in a career as a petty thug? The pay isn't great, but you do get to spend all day with me, and that's not nothing."
Torchwick was no stranger to braggadocio, but this was a bit of a put-on, even for him. It was such an extreme, humorous thing to say that Weiss would almost think he were trying to cheer her up—once more, if he were literally anyone else on the planet. Still, she smiled a bit despite herself.
"I've spent all day with you before. It's an overrated experience." She replied flatly. Torchwick parted his lips, looking at her wide-eyed for a moment, and then burst out laughing.
"Can't say I haven't helped you, though! Your insult game has come a long way. Not great yet, but baby steps." He shook his head, flashed her a grin, and the two of them headed deeper into the cavern together. "Seriously, though, do you have a minute? We need to talk..."
Author's note: This is a chapter I was dreading for a while. As a writer, I'm at my best when I'm writing dialogue or handling slow relationship development between two characters. I've historically struggled with describing physical settings and choreographing fight sequences. Fortunately, it came together reasonably well, by my standards, at least!
Thanks as always for your feedback, folks! I have the kind of social life that makes Emily Dickinson look like Kelsey Grammar, so I don't have access to beta readers. Your detailed reviews have been a big help for me when it comes to seeing how well my planting, payoff, and foreshadowing can be followed.
Also, sorry I somehow missed that the entire last chapter was bolded. I'll look into getting that fixed.