Another calm, quiet, yet dark day in Remnant. There wasn't a soul in sight, not even Grimm. The forests of Sanus was quiet.
Then, four Beowolves ran by. On their backs was Lyra Ren, Mary Tesla, Sun Wukong, and Jaune Arc.
Mary and Lyra were laughing from the sheer rush of riding the fearsome beast.
"This is amazing! I've killed plenty of Beowolves, but riding them is a whole different kind of awesome," Mary laughed.
"I know what you mean," Sun called. "We've spent most of our lives slaying Grimm. Never thought I would ever be riding one. Then again, never thought Jaune would be their King. A lot of great things have happened ever since you got those powers, man!"
"Hm," was Jaune's only response.
"I'm still amazed with how soft their fur is," Lyra said as she gently brushed her hand down the soft pelt. "Who'd a thought the Creatures of Grimm would feel like a cloud?"
"Yeah, we don't get a lot of chances to pet them while they're trying to eat our faces off," Sun went.
"Well, I'm glad they're on our side now," Mary said as she scratched behind the ear of her Beowolf. "They're kinda cute when they're not so vicious," she said before laughing when the Beowolf shook its head in the same cute way a dog would.
"They're not pets," Jaune said.
"Come on, Jaune, let the kids enjoy themselves," Sun said.
"K-KIDS," Lyra and Mary went in unison.
"I'M TWENTY," Lyra yelled.
"I'll have you know I was in my early thirties when I died," Mary yelled.
"Thirties? Well, looking good for your age, considering the current world and all," Sun said genuinely.
Mary smiled proudly, almost smugly. "Well, a girl finds a way to care for herself, you know."
"We do? I'm usually thinking about maintaining my weapons and keeping Jaune safe."
"It's my job to care for you, Lyra," Jaune called.
"Keep tellin' yourself that, old man," Lyra called teasingly.
"Geh, you mean..." Lyra looked at Mary with a confused look. "You're naturally that cute and flawless?"
"Flawless," she asked with a tilt of her head, her skin shining like porcelain. "What are you talking about," she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, uh, nothing," Mary said with a nervous laugh. 'Though, admittedly, I haven't changed much since I was brought back by Papa. Guess I'm stuck looking like this. Maybe being a reanimated corpse has more perks than I thought,' Mary thought.
"You can be kinda weird sometimes, Mary," Lyra said with a giggle.
"Shut up," Mary said lightheartedly.
Lyra just playfully stuck her tongue out at Mary. "So, Jaune, what's Ilia like?"
"You're asking the wrong person," Jaune said. "I don't know much about her at all. All I really know is what Sun told me: she was a member of radical branch in the White Fang before converting and was in love with Blake Belladonna."
"Blake? As in Yang's partner," Lyra asked.
"That's her," Sun answered. "After Blake knocked some sense into her, Ilia joined the remade White Fang under Ghira Belladonna. They did a lot of good for Faunus kind before... all this. She's been leading a faction of the White Fang ever since Ghira and his wife, Kali, were killed in the Menagerie Subjugation. One of the few rebel leaders left in the world before Jaune showed up."
"Is she strong," Mary asked.
"Well, she's pretty tough, at least," Sun said.
"She's still the leader of the largest Faunus Rebel Army in Remnant. We need to find and convince her to aid us in any way she can," Jaune said.
"Not sure she'll warm up to you, Jaune. I heard from a Faunus that she blames you for Blake's death," Sun said.
"WHAT?! THAT'S NOT," Lyra began.
"I don't blame her." Lyra was silenced when Jaune said that.
"Jaune, it's not your fault," Sun said as he rode up next to him. "Just give me a few minutes with her. I'm sure I can make her realize that you don't deserve the blame."
Jaune sighed. "Good luck with that," Jaune said as he patted his Beowolf's neck and whistled, making the beast go faster. Sun just sighed. Lyra looked down in sadness before looking back up and doing the same to her Beowolf, Mary and Sun following the lead.
After a few dozen minutes of riding, they saw the outline of a village. Sun, Lyra, and Mary were hopeful at first, thinking they might be able to get some rest, until they looked at Jaune. He had a more serious expression than usual. They all knew what that meant.
Their fears were confirmed.
The village was destroyed.
There were buildings with slashes, piles of rubble, and destroyed homes. It was a dark and harrowing scene.
The four slowly rode through the village, looking around with sad eyes. Then, Sun, Lyra, and Mary heard the sound of sniffing. They looked to see it was Jaune.
"What's wrong," Sun asked.
"This village... it reeks of blood."
"Jaune, why would that-" Lyra began.
"Fresh blood."
"So what if it's fre-" Lyra began in an annoyed tone before she looked around. Her eyes widened in realization.
Mary also noticed it. "If the blood Jaune is smelling is fresh," she began.
Sun looked around as well, a serious look on his face. "Then where are the bodies," he finished.
Then, the Beowolves began to growl. The group looked around to see they were still alone, but that was the problem for them.
"Everyone, be on your guard," Jaune said as he readied his greatsword.
When he did, Sun took out his staff, Lyra took out one of her Storm Flowers, and Mary coated her fist with spiked stone. Whatever was in the village, they were ready for it.
The four rode through the town, the Beowolves growling from time to time. They were most likely being affected by the negative emotions coming from their riders, but Jaune's presence actually made them more alert to keep their riders safe instead of wanting to tear their faces off.
The negative emotions was due to the state of the town.
Lyra kept looking around. "All this damage, and not one body? Why does that make it worse?"
"Because it means something worse than your average Grimm happened here," Sun answered as he looked around.
There was obviously an attack on the town. Ruined buildings, black wood that still had ember on them, and a few drops of blood were seen. Yet, the fact that none of them saw one body disturbed all of them, even Jaune.
"Dammit," Jaune went. The other three looked to see why he said that. "Four different paths."
Moments passed as the three looked among themselves before looking at their leader.
"What should we do, Jaune," Mary asked.
He took a while to think before he sighed. "I'd rather we stick together, but that's not a viable option right now. We'll each take one rode. Have your scrolls ready at all times. They may be no different from a walkie-talkie without a CCT Tower, but that's all we really need. Keep in radio contact. Call if you find something odd or need help. If you think we need to make a full retreat, a.k.a. get the hell out of this town, make your Beowolf howl. We'll meet you at the end of this ghost town."
"How do we make them howl," Mary asked.
"Point to the air. They'll howl immediately," Jaune answered. "Be safe and be careful. Try not to do anything reckless."
"Look who's talking," the three said in unison with a smile.
Jaune actually chuckled. "Looks like I don't have anything to worry about. See you on the other side," Jaune said as he rode down his chosen path, the others going down theirs.
Mary was looking around her street when she saw something. She clicked at her Beowolf while petting its neck, making it stop. She got off her Grimm and entered the building. She walked around until she found a safe. She grabbed the handles before activating the Electric Dust in her body, strengthening her muscles to the point where she easily ripped off the safe.
She placed the door down with a heavy thud before looking in. She whistled before grabbing her scroll. "Guys?"
'Mary? Found something already,' Jaune asked.
"I found the armory."
'The town had an armory,' Sun asked. 'Wait, I think I do see some bullet holes.'
'Same here,' Lyra said.
'I can smell some gunpowder, too. This town was definitely armed. Wait, I smell something else, too.'
"Is it Dust, cause they have a lot of it," Mary said as she grabbed a vial of Fire Dust.
'How much,' Jaune asked.
"Enough for a militia, I'd say. They have ever type, too. Fire, Ice, Earth, Lightning. Hey, they even have Gravity and Hard Light Dust."
'Seriously? Those are ridiculously rare,' Sun said. 'I thought Winter JUST started to get the Atlas Research Division to start Hard Light Dust production.'
"Must have been before the world went to hell," Mary guessed. "Should I save some, boss?"
'Save the Gravity and Hard Light Dust. I'll need the Gravity for my shield.'
"What about the Hard Dust? No one uses it. Not even me."
'I'm hoping to find an old friend when we get to Ilia's base. Plus, my shield also uses Hard Light, but I rarely use it anyway.'
'Old friend? Wait, do you mean who I think you do,' Sun asked.
'Who does he mean,' Lyra asked.
'Her name is Velvet Scarlatina. She's a Bunny Faunus who uses a camera that can copy weapons using Light Dust.'
'Jaune... we don't know if she or anyone on CFVY is still-' Sun began.
'Maybe, but not even you know if they're dead, right? You never found their bodies during the Vanquish of Vacuo. Even though you found... I'm sorry for bringing that-'
'It's fine. Like you said, I couldn't find them. I'll... just hope they made it out.'
Mary knew this was a heavy topic and decided to change it. "What about the rest of the Dust?"
'Eat it. You're the only one who uses Dust besides me and my shield. Besides, something tells me we need you at your full strength in this town.'
"Couldn't agree more. I don't think I can eat all of it, though. Some of the Dust was made into Bullets. I think the cartridges can fit in your guns, Lyra."
'Neat!'
"Some of them are still in their pure, mined state. Must be a Dust Mine around here. I think I'm going to have to carry some of it."
'Grab as much as you can. Take the cartridges, too. Just because we can't use it doesn't mean someone else can't.'
"Got it. Well..." Mary said as she opened the vial she was holding. "Guten Appetit." Mary then guzzled the vial down. She then opened and guzzled down a vial of Earth dust, then Ice Dust, and so on and so forth. She was even able to eat an entire shard of Electric Dust before she felt too full to eat any more Dust. That's when she began to fill her pack with whatever remained. She had pretty much cleared out the vault when she heard her Beowolf growl.
She ran to her steed to see it snarling down an alleyway. Following its gaze, she looked to see something stumble across the opposite end of the alley. Whatever Mary saw made her uneasy.
"Guys, there's something still in this town."
'Were you able to see it,' Jaune asked over the scroll.
"It... looked like a person. But there was something off about them. Just looking at it felt wrong," Mary answered.
'Alright. Use your scroll's GPS. Get to the one closest to you. Do NOT engage whatever you saw. Whatever you saw might be what's wrong with this town. Haven't been able to relax since we first came here.'
'I know what you mean,' Sun said. 'I didn't want to mention this, but the hairs on my tail have been standing on end since we got here. My instincts are screaming here.'
'Then the sooner we get what we can and get out, the better,' Jaune said. 'Mary, who's closest to you?'
She checked. "Looks like I'm coming to you, Lyra."
'You'll find me in the hospital.'
"Got it." Mary then hung up. She then clicked her tongue at her Beowolf while patting its neck, making it climb over the building in front of them before racing its way to Lyra.
Lyra was walking through a dark hospital, using the flashlight of her scroll to see while aiming Storm Flower. She carefully walked through the lonely corridors. She had her guard completely up, feeling just as uneasy as everyone else.
She then saw a door with AUTHROIZED PERSONEL ONLY on it. She tried to open it, only to find it locked. So, she kicked the door open. When she saw what was inside, she immediately called Jaune. "Looks like a I hit the jackpot, Jaune."
'You found medicine?'
"Herbs, alcohol, drugs, and plenty of other things that would make even Sarah drool."
'Can you carry it all?'
"Me? Yes. My Beowolf? I have no idea. The room is full of medicine. Oh, hey, aspirin."
'Take as much as you can. Since we known about this town now, we can come back for the rest of it later.'
"Way ahead of you, Jaune," Lyra said as she finished filling her duffle bag. "I've got more than enough meds to make any doc happy," she said as she zipped up her bag and began to close the cabinet. "I'll meet up with Mary as soon as I- WHOA!" She turned around and pointed her guns at the doorway.
'LYRA?! LYRA, WHAT'S WRONG,' Jaune yelled.
"I saw someone! When I closed the door, I saw a reflection! Someone's head was peaking past the door. I think it was a woman with long hair."
'A woman with long hair in a hospital? Yeah, that doesn't sound like a horror movie plot at all,' Sun said.
'Is there a window or something near you, Lyra,' Jaune asked.
"I passed by a few, yeah."
'Smash it open and jump out of it. Don't go after who or what you saw. Meet up with Mary as soon as you can. I'll feel better when you two have your backs.'
'I can already see the hospital, Ly.'
"Alright. See you soon, Tes." Lyra then ran out of the room and ran towards the window. However, she stopped when a chill ran up her spine.
She turned around and turned on her light to see in the hallway. At first, she didn't see anything... until something ran past the light.
"OH, SHIT," she screamed in surprise before taking out Magnhild. She then smashed the window open and jumped out. Standing on her hammer, she fired to blast her towards the front of the hospital. As she fell, her Beowolf ran to the spot she was falling towards, Lyra landing perfectly on its back.
The Grimm growled at the hospital, snarling at it while letting out a few barks.
"Sh-sh-sshhh. It's okay. We're not going to deal with... whatever's in there. Come on. Let's meet up with Mary." She made some kissing noises at the Beowolf while petting it, making it turn towards the direction she wanted, the Beowolf taking off. Had Lyra taken one last look at the hospital, she would have seen a pair of eyes staring at her in the shadows of the third floor window near the end of the left hallway, where she got the medicine.
Then... more eyes appeared in the dark windows moments after her Beowolf jumped across rooftops.
"Ly!"
"Tes!"
Lyra and Mary met up with each other on a higher rooftop.
"You okay," Mary asked.
"Yeah. Got some meds, too. This should help someone that can't be healed with Jaune's Amplification alone. See you made a good Dust haul."
"Yeah. Hopefully I don't use it all before we leave this ghost town. Why is this so creepy? We've seen destroyed towns before."
"I know. What makes this place so unsette- TES!"
Mary looked to see where Lyra was pointing at in time to see someone walk out of view. She immediately pulled pout her scroll. "Jaune, Sun, there's someone still in the town!"
'Impossible. I can only smell the three of you. No one else is alive in this place,' Jaune said.
"We saw someone, Jaune," Lyra yelled into Mary's Scroll.
'Dammit! Could this be a Semblance? Sun, have you found anything?'
'Yeah. And what I found... is seriously weird.'
'What do you mean weird? Where are you,' Jaune asked.
"I'm in a restaurant. I thought I could find us some food for us and Ilia, to get you on her... better side, I guess. Anyway, there's still food on the tables."
'And,' Lyra asked.
"They're... lukewarm."
'They're what,' Mary asked.
'But... that would mean,' Jaune began.
"Whatever happened in this town was recent. The food on the table can still be eaten. No flies in sight and just warm enough to be satisfying. This was hours ago, at most. So whatever did this HAS to be close by. That's why our senses have been on high alert."
'Sun, you should meet up with the girls.'
"Later. This place wasn't exactly a buffet, but it has plenty of good food that will make a lot of people happy." Sun then looked at a ripe apple and sighed. "Must have been a Tributer Town."
'Good food, medicine, Dust; makes sense to me,' Mary said.
'Alright, gather what you can, Sun. Then meet up with the girls.'
'What about you,' Lyra asked.
'I'm almost at the other end of the town. I'll meet you three there.'
'Just be careful, okay," Lyra asked.
'Do you have to keep asking me that?'
"YES," Sun, Lyra, and Mary went; making Jaune flinch from the volume.
"Alright, I've got the chow. Even got a bit of wine, too. I'll meet up with you two in just a s-" Sun looked turned and saw something in the corner of his eye. He pulled out one of his num-chuks and fired in the direction.
'What was that,' Mary asked in concern.
"I thought I saw something. Seriously, this place is messing with our heads. Where are you girls," Sun asked as he ran out of the kitchen. Had he stayed for a second longer or looked down as he ran, he would have seen a hand try to grab his ankle in the dark building.
'We're near a library. We'll wait for you on its roof. Come quick. This place is seriously freaking me out. I feel like I'm being watched,' Lyra said.
"Yeah, you're not alone on that," Sun said as he jumped onto his Beowolf and had it take off. Moments after it jumped from rooftop to rooftop, several figures stood up within the shadowy restaurant.
Jaune was riding down the street, sniffing the air to catch a scent of anything that didn't smell like death. He was even hoping to smell a Grimm, or the metal of a weapon, or anything to explain the recent disappearance of the citizens.
Then, he reached a wide, open area, stopping his Beowolf. "The town square," he said as he made the beast slowly walk forward. He then looked around. "Yeah, this definitely doesn't look like a cliché battle ground," he said sarcastically.
He then saw someone. A man with his head hanging down as he slowly walked towards Jaune. Jaune sniffed the man. 'He smells like... Mary. . . No, Mary has a sweet, almost intoxicating smell,' Jaune thought.
"Uh, Tes, why are you blushing," Lyra asked.
"Hm? Am I," an embarrassed Mary asked.
Jaune glared at the slowly approaching man. 'This man smells rancid in comparison.' Jaune got off his Beowolf, walking towards the man. "Who are you?!"
The man did not answer. He just kept shambling towards Jaune.
"Can you tell me what happened here?"
No answer.
Jaune then noticed the man was holding a hatchet. He glared at the weapon before looking at the man. "Trust me. You don't want to do this."
The man just kept walking.
"This is your last warning, sir."
The man then looked up at Jaune, giving him the most dead-eyed expression. The man then lifted the hatchet and swung at Jaune.
Jaune merely tilted to the side and punched the man in the face with enough force to send him hurling to the ground. "I warned you," Jaune said as he looked down at the man.
Jaune then heard his Beowolf growl. He looked to see people shambling into the plaza. "What? How did I not notice them?" He saw that they were all armed with weapons. Swords, knives, sickles, and even a few guns. Though, none of the blades were also guns. However, one of the townsfolk was carrying... a scythe.
That made Jaune shake a bit. It didn't help that the one holding the scythe was a young woman around Ruby's age when she died. The only saving graces were that her hair was purely black and she had blue brown eyes instead of silver. Still, it triggered his mild case of PTSD, reminding him of how he failed her.
Still, he gripped his fist and reached for his sword before realizing that these were just regular humans, not Grimm or mercenaries. Instead, he decided to use his fighting skills and took his stance. "Get to higher ground," he ordered his Beowolf, which complied and jumped onto the nearest rooftop.
The people were getting closer to Jaune, the man analyzing his surroundings. His ear twitched when one of the townsfolk aimed their gun at him. Jaune dodged the bullet perfectly. "We don't need to do this! If you want me to leave, I will!" They didn't respond.
Then, Jaune's senses were screaming at him. He looked behind him in time to see an attack. His eyes widened. "WHAT?!" It was the man he had punched earlier. "IMPOSSIBLE!"
He kicked the man hard enough for him to crash into a group of citizens, all of them falling over. He watched in shock as they slowly got up. 'What is this? Even if I was holding back, that should have rendered him unconscious. These should be normal people in a Tribute Town. They can't have Aura.'
Jaune then avoided a woman trying to stab him before punching her in the chin hard enough to send her to the ground before flipping back to avoid a swing of the scythe. He watched as the woman he punched just got back up. Though she did stumble, she still got to her feet. 'What is this?'
A man tried to swing a sword at Jaune, only for Jaune to grab the man's wrist and have him plunge the sword into the ground. Jaune backed up and watched the man vainly tug at the sword in an almost lazy and lifeless manner.
Another man tried to swing a sickle, but Jaune caught his wrist, too, moving his head back to avoid another gunshot.
"Sorry."
Jaune then made the man plunge his sickle into his own leg. Jaune took a few steps back to look at the wound sadly before turning to the mob. "This man needs medical attention! I made sure to avoid any major arteries, but he still needs a doctor! End this now and take him the- WHAT ARE YOU DOING," Jaune yelled at the man.
The man was tugging at the sickle in his leg.
"STOP! IF YOU RIP IT OUT, YOU'LL BLEED OUT!"
The man ignored Jaune and successfully ripped the sickle out of his shin.
"NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! YOU'LL... bleed... out?" Jaune looked at the man's leg in astonishment. "There's... no blood? What is this?"
Jaune then sensed someone behind him. He turned in time to redirect a woman's slash at him. Unfortunately, he accidently had the woman stab another woman in the neck.
"NO!"
He watched in horror as the woman yanked the knife out of the victim's neck. However, his horror turned to shock when the victim just lumbered towards him like nothing had happened, her neck barely bleeding at all.
"What... is this," Jaune asked as he backed up, the mob closing in on him. He then readied his greatsword, prepared to fight the people. "How is this possible? They're like Mary. It's like... these people are already dead."
After a short battle, Jaune was sickened by what he saw. A torso crawling towards him.
Around him were various body parts, some unmoving, others heading towards him. He had slashed the mob to pieces, unable to comprehend his situation. He was in an impossible nightmare. Had he been anyone else, this probably would have broken him. Though his nightmares may increase after this day, he would not surrender.
Instead, he used his sword to block an attack from a sledgehammer before stabbing through the attacker's head with his claws. His eyebrow raised when he saw the attacker go limp. When he ripped out his claws, he watched the assailant fall to the ground, now unmoving.
Jaune looked at his claws before looking at an incoming resident. He was just close enough for Jaune's sword to reach. Testing his theory, he stabbed the man in the head, specifically near the same area he stabbed the last one: the brain.
It didn't take him long to figure out that the only way to kill these seemingly immortal, mindless attackers was by destroying their brains. "I should tell Mary to harden her own skull to keep her safe." Jaune then proceeded to aim at his enemies' heads.
After a while, he didn't know what was more disturbing, the amount of bodies littering the ground, or the fact that his sword barely had any blood on it.
Jaune then saw more hostiles incoming, but some of them were walking away. He quickly and easily dispatched the ones approaching him. He looked at the ones walking away and took a while to think. He wondered if he should let them go or execute them. When he thought of the possibility of nomads or survivors running into those... things, he thought it would be best to get rid of them to save the next unfortunate victim.
Jaune walked up to the one closest to the back of the group. He raised his sword and swung it down with the necessary force to destroy the brain.
Jaune was shocked when the man ducked beneath his swing. The man tired to grab Jaune and stab him with a machete, but Jaune was able to catch the blade.
"Ooh, not bad, not bad at all. You're as good as I was told." The man then laughed before he kicked Jaune into the group or townsfolk.
Jaune immediately held up his sword to block the attacks before kicking one of them away with enough force to make the whole group fall back. He then looked at the man.
He was a black man about as tall as Jaune was, had dreadlocks that reached his shoulder, a well-kept goatee, and a happy-go-lucky smile. He twirled his machete expertly as he walked around. "I must say, I'm impressed, fré."
"What did you call me?"
"Oh, regrét. Sorry. I guess it would be easier for me to say... brother," the man said with a wide smirk.
Jaune's eyes widened. "You. You're a Grimmkind."
"Kórék, fré! My name is Vodou. A pleasure to finally meet you, brother," he went with a bow.
Jaune looked around at the carnage he was forced to cause before glaring at his newest "brother."
"Ooh, scary," Vodou went with a laugh.
"You. You're responsible for this, aren't you."
Vodou chuckled. "Fine work, wouldn't you say," he said as he walked around the corpses. "So many loyal servants, all ready to do as I ask, meaning they would do whatever our manman wishes. Our Mother."
"Is this the work of your Semblance?"
"Hm? Asking for the Semblance instead of the Gift?" Vodou clapped as he laughed. "Smart. Very smart. I like you. Anyway, fré, to answer your question... wi. Yes." Vodou then held up his free palm to his mouth and blew.
A strange powder flew out of nowhere from his palm right at Jaune. Not wanting to take a chance, Jaune jumped out of the way of the dust and howled.
Vodou smiled, never breaking eye contact with Jaune. He didn't even try to look at the Beowolf lunging at him. Instead, he merely swung his machete, cutting off the Grimm's head. "Come now, fré. This is a meeting between brothers. Between kings. No need to bring our subjects into this." He then looked down at a head by his feet. "Well... these don't count," he said as he kicked the head at Jaune.
Jaune caught the head with his Grimm Hand and looked to see the face of a woman, a hole in her head where he stabbed her. "I'm sorry," he said as he gently placed the head down before glaring at Vodou. "I'm going to make you pay for this, 'brother'."
"Ooh, the way you said it, bro. You're gonna hurt my fragile heart," Vodou said as he gestured theatrically.
Jaune growled like a Beowolf before he charged at Vodou, who's smile and eyes widened in anticipation, machete at the ready.
"There's the other gate," Lyra called as she pointed at said gate, riding with Mary and Sun.
"Wait, something's wrong," Sun said.
"What do you mean," Mary asked.
"Where's Jaune?"
"He said he would be waiting at the gate, didn't he," Lyra asked.
"Then why is there no sign of him," Sun asked. "He didn't make it seem like he was checking out any buildings like we were."
Moments passed before Lyra took out her scroll and called Jaune. After two rings, they all thought what she said: "Dammit, Arc!"
Jaune's greatsword clashed with Vodou's machete, Jaune growling while Vodou laughed.
Vodou then slipped past Jaune and slashed his back. Jaune tried to slash him back, only for Vodou to slide beneath his attack and slash his leg.
'He's fast! Dammit, if it weren't for my Semblance, my aura would have been gone by now!'
"What's wrong, brother?" Jaune turned to Vodou, only to receive a kick to the face that made Jaune stumble to the ground. "Having trouble swinging that big sword around?"
Jaune's eyes widened in realization. He looked at his greatsword contemplatively. "You know what... I am."
"Then why not use that shinier sword on your other hip, eh?"
Jaune looked at the Sword of Destruction. "No," he said as he put his greatsword back on his hip, making it turn back into a sheath. "This will do just fine."
Vodou raised an eyebrow before his senses were on high alert. He backflipped in time to avoid Jaune's slash, which created a massive wind blade that practically erased his puppets behind him. He looked behind him to see the damage of Jaune's attack before looking to see what Jaune used to cause it.
He whistled. "Pretty looking steel you have there, fré," he said as Jaune held Crocea Mors out of its sheath.
"This sword has been with me through thick and thin. It's more than enough to take you down, Vodou."
Vodou chuckled. "éske se dwa (Is that right)?"
Jaune glared at his 'brother' as he took out his shield. 'Besides, I couldn't use M'lady now if I wanted to. He's made me too angry. Filled me with too much negative emotions. I can feel my Grimmkind powers flowing throughout my entire body uncontrollably. If I so much as touch my sword now, it will feel like grabbing a white hot iron while sitting on an electric chair,' Jaune thought as he took a familiar stance.
"Oh? Ooh, my, my. Now that's a blast from the past, fré."
"What are you talking about?"
"I was a big fan of hers, you know. Before I became a King, of course. She was a damn good fighter, wasn't she?" Jaune's eyes widened. "If I remember correctly, she was your partner, right? Before you became a King yourself and greatly surpassed her."
"Stop it."
"She was a beauty, wasn't she. Hair red as blood and eyes like emeralds."
"Stop."
"But her beauty and skills were for not, yeah?"
"Stop!"
"So much for the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos, eh, brother," Vodou went with a cruel smirk.
"VODOU!" Jaune then charged at Vodou at impossible speeds.
Speeds that surprised even Vodou. "Whoa," he went as he bent back to avoid Jaune's slash. However, he was struck by Jaune's shield, the blow landing right in Vodou's gut. It was enough to make him gag before Jaune sent him flying with a roundhouse.
Vodou landed on his feet with a groan, rubbing his stomach. 'That's the Beowolf King, for ya.' His senses kicked in for Vodou to raise his machete to block Jaune's slash. The ground beneath Vodou cracked beneath the weight of Jaune's blow. Vodou could not block the uppercut from Jaune's shield, which sent him into the air.
Putting his sword back into his shield, Jaune used his Grimm Arm to grab Vodou's leg before slamming him into the ground, creating a crater. Jaune retracted his arm before taking out his sword again.
Vodou jumped out of the crater, moving his neck around to crack the joints before shaking his head to get the rubble out of his hair. "Okay, this wasn't as much fun as before. Let's fix that, yeah?" Vodou then made a gesture.
In the next moment, Jaune heard windows and doors opening. It was followed by the sound of guns being cocked. Jaune looked around and growled at the sound of an entire militia worth of people aiming guns at him. He then growled at Vodou, who was holding out a finger gun at Jaune in a mocking manner, a smile on his face.
"Bang."
A thunderstorm of gunshots was then heard.
The three were on a tall building, looking around the town.
"Where could he be," Mary asked.
The sound of gunshots was heard.
"I've got a good guess," Sun said.
"Let's go," Lyra said as she spurred her Beowolf, the three now riding.
Unfortunately for them, they were being watched.
In a taller building, they were being watched by one of Vodou's servants through a sniper rifle. A few moments passed before she pulled the trigger.
"AH!"
"TES!"
Mary skidded onto her back before she flipped to her feet and jumped onto her Beowolf, rubbing her chest. "I got shot in the damn sternum!"
"In a way, that's seriously impressive, considering those melons you keep carrying around," Sun said.
"Not the time, Wukong! Get into the alleyway," Mary yelled.
"Are we sure that's a good idea," Lyra yelled.
Mary then held her hand in front of Lyra's face, a bullet bouncing off of her hand. "Better than being up here!" the three then rode down onto the streets.
"How did you know I was gonna get shot next?"
"Honestly, that was pure luck."
"Hm?" Vodou turned towards the sound of sniper rounds, which he could pinpoint even in this storm of bullets. "Can't have peasants get involved in this." He then snapped his fingers.
In the shadows of the alley appeared, red eyes glowing as low growls were heard. "Deal with my brother's friends. Don't let them get anywhere near here." Vodou turned towards Jaune as his Grimm ran off. "He's more than enough of a hassle alone."
Jaune was blocking the bullets effortlessly. His shield blocked most of them, but his sword was not only deflecting bullets, but sending them back. Many guns were destroyed, while their shooters were killed as well. However, Jaune was getting tired... and annoyed.
His patience running low, Jaune found an opportunity to howl. As he continued to block bullets, a crash was heard. Then another. Soon the bullets were less frequent. Then they stopped.
Moments later, a Beowolf smashed through a window, a servant's neck in its mouth as they landed. The Beowolf then ripped the poor man's head right off. Later, a Beowolf tackled a heavyset man out of an open door before slamming his head into the ground, ending him. Moments later, the sound of gunshots and roars was heard within the buildings.
Vodou clapped. "Not bad, fré. Sending in your subjects like that. I'm impressed, my fellow King."
"I'm getting tired of this, Vodou," Jaune said as he began to transform. "Let's end this."
Vodou's smile was replaced with indifference. "What, you're not going all the way?" Jaune didn't answer. He just glared at Vodou with his red eyes.
Vodou smiled. "Oh, right. You still reject Mother's Gift to us. You only use a tiny bit. What a waste. Mm, okay." Vodou's brown eyes turned red, his black hair becoming white, and his dark skin turning deathly pale. He and Jaune now looked exactly alike. "I'll play," he said with a smile... as his dreadlocks seemed to take a different shape. A shape that looked almost like... a mane.
The three were riding through the town, not one of them being shot once. Going through the alleys was a good idea after all.
Then, the Beowolves abruptly stopped, growling in the three directions the group could have taken.
"What's wrong with them," Lyra asked.
Sun's tail busheled. "Something big's coming!"
They all readied their weapons, prepared for whatever may come.
Then, something huge walked out of the shadows.
"Oh. Oh, shit," Sun went.
"Sun, are those what I think they are," Lyra asked.
"Leonidases," Sun answered as the massive Lion Grimm, easily twice the size of the Beowolves they rode, walked out.
"Oh, crap. These are some of the deadliest pack Grimm," Mary said. Then, her eyes widened. "Wait, if these things are here..."
"Oh, shit," Sun went in realization.
Lyra's eyes widened as well. "Jaune. He's fighting the King of the Leonidas!"
The Leonidas took a step forward, inhaling as it did so.
"EVERYONE COVER YOUR EARS," Sun yelled as they did so.
Then, all three Leonidases roared. Their roar was like a sonic cannon, hurting the three from the force alone as they fell off their steads, screaming in pain.
Jaune looked behind Vodou when he heard the roar, already knowing why it was happening. "GUYS!"
"Oh, don't worry, brother." Jaune glared at the smirking King of Leon. "My subjects will take good care of them."
Jaune's eyes shot open in rage as he howled at Vodou, a sonic cannon shooting at him.
However, Vodou roared at him, his sonic cannon twice the size of Jaune's.
Their attacks collided, but Vodou's roar overpowered Jaune's howl. The force of the roar sent Jaune slamming into a building, falling to the ground on his side with a groan. He then got up and looked to see Vodou charging at him with an excited smile, the Grimm King pouncing at him, machete at the ready.
Jaune then swung his sword, the blades clashing with enough force to shatter the remaining windows around them, making the street and buildings crack a bit due to the force of their collision.
Thus began the battle between Kings.
Two Leonidases continuously roared, basically torturing the three as a third one walked up to them, unaffected by the roars of its brothers. The large Grimm then opened its jaw, preparing to eat Lyra first.
Then, it was tackled by her Beowolf.
One Leonidas roared as a Beowolf landed on its back, slashing at it; while the other Leonidas roared when a Beowolf plunged its fangs into the neck of the larger beast.
The three slowly got up to see their Beowolves fighting the Leonidas.
The Beowolf that tackled the first Leonidas was kicked off, slamming into a fire escape before falling to the ground with a whine. As it got up, it looked up with a growl when a shadow loomed over it. The Leonidas towered over the Beowolf, growling angrily as it raised its claws to kill the smaller Grimm.
It then roared in pain before turning around. When it only saw Mary and Sun, it looked up to see Lyra falling towards it with her hammer held high. When she swung her Magnhild, the beast easily caught it by the neck with a growl.
"Oh, crap," the dangling Lyra said.
The Leonidas reeled back its claw, preparing to slash Lyra's stomach open, only to roar in pain when the Beowolf it was fighting before chomped onto its arm. Using this as a chance, Lyra let go of Magnhild and started shooting the Leonidas with her Storm Flowers, making sure to avoid her Beowolf.
The Leonidas released the hammer and held its arm over its face to minimize the damage to its face, not caring about the rest of its body, and for good reason.
"WHAT'S WITH THIS GUY'S HIDE?! IT'S AS TOUGH AS YOU ARE, TES!"
"HEY!"
The Leonidas then swung its arm, making the Beowolf slam into Lyra and off of its arm. The two were able to jump onto their feet, getting ready to fight the towering lion.
Meanwhile, Sun heard a crash. He looked to see his Beowolf whining as it was lodged into the side of a building before it cried out in pain when the Leonidas punched it into the building.
It was about to walk in after the wolf when it was shot in the head twice. It growled in the direction of the shots to see Sun aiming his Ruyi and Jingu Bangs at it before combing them to form his staff. "That's my ride, asshole."
The Leonidas roared at Sun, but he was able to jump on the walls to avoid the roar. "NOT FALLING FOR THAT AGAIN," Sun yelled as he lunged at the beast, swinging his staff. Though the Leonidas did catch his attack, Sun merely separated his staff and struck the side of the beast's face with enough force to make it stumble and release his other nun-chuck.
Sun then slid under the beast and jumped into the air, activating his Semblance. Sun's clones then drop-kicked the back of the Leonidas's head, landing in front of the stumbling creature before landing an uppercut and kicking off of the beast. When it stumbled to the hole it made, the Beowolf lunged out of the shadows, stabbing into the side of the beast before spinning around and throwing it into the opposite building, the sound of things crashing and falling much more prevalent than when it was thrown.
Sun landed next to his Beowolf and patted its arm. "Good job, big guy."
The Beowolf whined a bit in what could have been a happy tone before its ears perked up and it growled at the hole.
Sun looked to see the Leonidas's claws grab the sides of the hole before its face appeared from the shadows, growling angrily as its red eyes shined evilly.
"Aw, crap," Sun said as he got ready for round 2.
The Beowolf bit deeper into the Leonidas's neck, wriggling around to make it harder for the Leonidas to catch it. However, the Leonidas was unfortunately able to plunge its claws into the Beowolf's thigh, ripping it off of its neck. The Leonidas then slammed the Beowolf onto the ground several times in a vicious manner before throwing it down the street.
It was about to kill the downed and injured wolf with a roar until it felt someone on its back.
"GET AWAY FROM MY WOLF," Mary yelled before she covered her hand in sharpened stone and stabbed the Leonidas in the back. It growled before roaring in pain when Mary sent electricity coursing through its body.
The Leonidas then gritted its teeth before jumping high into the air. It then fell to the ground at breakneck speeds.
"OOOOOH, SHIIIIIIT," Mary yelled when she looked back to see the ground.
The two smashed into the ground, the rode breaking apart.
The Leonidas stood tall over the groaning Mary, raising its massive arms to smash into the downed beauty. It then roared when the Beowolf stabbed its claws into the monster's back.
At the sound of the roar, Mary's eyes shot open, and she breathed a wave of fire in the face of the Leonidas, the Beowolf safe behind its huge back.
The Leonidas, eyes red with rage, grabbed Mary's entire head with its huge paws, covering her mouth. It then grabbed the Beowolf by its tail, and smashed the two together before throwing them down the street.
The Beowolf slammed into a light post while Mary fell onto an iron bench, the two groaning as they got up. They then stood side by side as the angry Leonidas stomped towards them, growling as its claws and fangs grew to a more vicious and terrifying size.
The Beowolf just growled defiantly as its claws and fangs grew as well, while Mary covered her left arm with ice spikes and her right with stone spikes. "Bring it."
The Leonidas roared, but not with a sound cannon. It was a roar of war.
The Beowolf howled back, as if accepting the declaration, charging at it as Mary ran beside it, continuing their fight with the powerful Grimm.
From within an apartment, various sounds could be heard outside. The sound of blades clashing, bullets flying, wolves howling, lions roaring, and blows being traded. One especially loud blow was heard, followed by screaming. Then, Jaune burst through the wall of the apartment, slamming into the ceiling before falling face first onto the floor, Crocea Mors nowhere to be seen. He groaned as he tried to get up.
Vodou jumped into the room as he walked menacingly towards Jaune. "What's wrong, brother? That the best you can do?"
Jaune glared at Vodou with a wolf growl. "Fuck y-ack!"
Vodou was grabbing Jaune by the throat as he lifted him. "Where you about to say something, fré? Come on, finish it." he tightened his grip, making Jaune gag. "What's wrong? CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE," he roared as he threw Jaune to the ground, smashing him through at least three fours of the building they were in.
Vodou laughed before he jumped into the hole he make. When he landed, he was surprised he didn't see Jaune under his foot. He smirked, pleased to see Jaune still had some fight in him. "Fré, soti, soti nenpót kote ou ye (Brother, come out, come out wherever you are)."
Behind Vodou shined bright red eyes, followed by a wolf's growl. Vodou smiled at the sound, looking excited.
The sound of battle was heard within the building, wolf barks and lion roars heard within. Then, Vodou was sent flying out of the building, slamming into lamp post. He groaned as he rubbed his head before he looked up to see Jaune pounce at him. The two slammed through the post, Vodou skidding across the pavement as Jaune punched his face.
When he saw the chance, Vodou bit Jaune's hand. When the Beowolf King cried out in pain, Vodou threw his brother off of him before jumping to his feet.
When he turned to look at Jaune, he received a punch to the face. Jaune followed by punching his liver, then kicking his knee, followed by an uppercut. Jaune was about to land a roundhouse, but Vodou caught his attack and threw Jaune away from him, Jaune landing on his feet with a skid.
Vodou chuckled. "I knew you were good with a sword, fré, but I never heard how good you were with your fists and legs."
"You think I'm dumb enough to rely on only my weapons? I've learned how to fight a long time ago." Jaune stood up and took his stance. "I had to for situations just like this," he said as he saw Crocea Mors stuck in the ground behind Vodou.
Vodou chuckled as he clapped. "Not bad. I'm impressed. A top notch swordsman as well as a damn good brawler. Hm, brawler. Wasn't there a pretty good fighter in your class, brother?"
Jaune's eyes widened. "Don't you fucking dare."
"She was very pretty. As much as your partner. Had golden hair and a pretty Semblance. Cinder used one of her lackeys to frame the beauty, yeah? What was her name again? She was one of the fools who died in the siege against Mother all those years ago. Ah, yes, Yang Xiao Long!"
"YOU," Jaune roared as he landed a gut punch that made Vodou buckled over in pain. "DON'T," he said as he landed a right cross to his cheek. "GET," he roared with an uppercut. "TO SAY," he continued with a knee to Vodou's face. "HER NAME," he finished as he landed a haymaker that sent Vodou smashing into the town fountain.
Jaune glared at the destruction with a growl. He then swatted a piece of rubble.
Vodou chuckled evilly as he walked out of the rubble, brushing some of it off of his shoulder. "Then how about I say the name of her partner?" Jaune growled even more angrily. "What was it again? A weak, pathetic little alley cat, I believe. Weaker than the little goldilocks. Blake Belladonna, was it?"
"She wasn't weak OR pathetic," Jaune roared as he lunged at Vodou, claws at the ready.
He slashed at Vodou, who avoided his slashes before grabbing his wrists. "You're right. She was a COWARD! Only good at running. She tried to run from Mother when it got too dicey, didn't she? Though, that was the smart thing to do. And she even tried to take her golden love with her as well. At least Mother killed them together," Vodou said with a chuckle.
"DAMN YOU!"
"But being a coward is better than being a fool. Something her leader didn't understand."
Vodou's smile grew as he saw the darkness overtake Jaune's body, unknown to the hero. "Don't you ever... EVER... INSULT RUBY IN FRONT OF ME!" Jaune then got out of Vodou's grasp and impaled his claws into Vodou's abdomen before tossing the man away.
However, he landed on his feet. "I speak true, fré! The Silver Eyes led your forces into a massacre! Her foolishness got your loved one killed, didn't it?! Is it not her fault that you're missing an arm, or have a nice scar on your face?!"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"
"And in a way, is it not her fault... that you lost that Schnee girl?" Jaune's eyes shot open. "True, you loved the little Silver Eyes, but you loved the Schnee even more. You loved her first, and the Silver Eyes inability to win is what led to your Weiss's death, right, brother?!"
Jaune went limp, staring at Vodou with blank, empty, cold eyes. Tears then began to flow down his cheeks. "Vodou. . ." The darkness then crawled up Jaune's face. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU," Jaune said in a disturbingly calm tone, his voice echoing in a nightmarish way.
Then, black aura exploded all around Jaune, completely engulfing him.
Vodou chuckled. "Yes. Yeees!" He then laughed heartily. "THAT'S IT, BROTHER! EMBRACE IT! FEEL IT! BE ENGULFED IN IT! BECOME WHAT YOU ARE! BECOME A TRUE KING, BROTHER! THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE BROTHER! A KING!"
Red eyes shined viciously within the darkness.
Then, before Vodou knew it, there was a palm over his face. He was then slammed into the ground before he felt his head being continuously slammed onto the concrete before he was thrown into the wall of a building. Through he didn't break through, it was more than enough force to make him cough up blood as he fell to the ground.
He then looked up to see the angriest Beowolf he had ever seen. Bigger, stronger, more muscular than any before as well. Vodou then chuckled in realization. "Ou sanble bon, fré (you look good, brother)."
Indeed, the powerful Beowolf before Vodou was Jaune in his full Grimmkind form. That is what happens when he fully embraces the Grimm within. He looked like a true, invincible werewolf.
"It guess it's only fair that I make myself look just as good," Vodou said as he got up, already transforming.
He was now a full foot taller than the huge Jaune, no human characteristics left. Even his dreadlocks were now the intimidating mane of a lion.
The massive Grimmkind then walked over to Jaune, looking down at the wolf with a smile, his fangs all visible. "Let's keep going, fré." Jaune just glared into Vodou's eyes. "This fight between Kings."
The two looked into the others eyes, neither moving a muscle. Then, their eyes shot open as they both threw a punch, wolf's howl clashing with lion's roar.
When the two Kings' fists collided, a massive explosion of power occurred.
Sun jumped away from a Leonidas's slash, landing right next to his Beowolf. He was thinking of his next move when he heard a snapping noise. He looked to see his Beowolf standing straight up. It then whimpered before it began to convulse.
"SUN!" He looked to see Lyra backing out of her alley. "THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY BEOWOLF!"
"SAME HERE," Mary called.
Sun looked to see his Beowolf fall to its knees, whimpering and panting as bones grew over its body. It was also growing bigger until it was the same size as the Leonidas. The spikes on its body grew sharper and more numerous as well. The Beowolves then released a glass shattering howl before they stood up.
"It... looks like an Alpha," Sun said in shock and surprise. The Beowolf then looked right at him, growling a bit. "Whoa, there, boy. It's me." It then got closer, Sun readying his staff. "Don't make me do this, boy."
The Beowolf's ears then shot up as it looked towards the Leonidas, its growls more ferocious than before.
Sun looked to see that the Leonidas also grew bigger, its claws and fangs growing with it as its mane grew along with its body. When its transformation was finished, it released a sound cannon. The attack was destroying the buildings as it raced towards Sun.
"Shit," Sun went as he raised his defense in a futile attempt.
However, his Beowolf stepped in front of him and howled back, canceling out the attack.
Sun released a relieved sigh. "Good, you're still on my side."
"Sun," Lyra called. "If our Beowolves transformed, doesn't that mean something happened to Jaune?!"
Sun's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, no. We have to take these things down NOW!" Sun then charged at his enemy with his Beowolf at his side, the sound of battle thundering around.
Jaune was sent flying towards a wall, but was able to land on the wall, jumping off of it towards Vodou. Using his speed, he was able to slash Vodou's shoulder, blood gushing from his shoulder due to the lack of aura over his Grimm body. When Jaune landed behind Vodou, he wasted no time in slashing his back countless times.
Vodou tried back fist Jaune, but he was able to duck in time to avoid the attack, trying to counter by stabbing his claws into the bottom of Vodou's neck. However, Vodou was able to move to the side in time to avoid the strike before chomping down onto Jaune's arm. He then swung Jaune over him before slamming the wolf into the ground and kicking him away.
When Jaune skidded to a halt, he looked up to see Vodou right in front of him, preparing to stab him with both sets of claws.
Jaune then grappled with Vodou, the force crushing the concrete beneath him as he was pushed back by the sheer force of his enemy before stopping.
Vodou laughed. "Yes! THIS! This is it, brother! A true fight between Kings!" Jaune growled back at Vodou before he winced when the sound of his hands cracking was heard. "It's almost a shame that our species are so different. Even as Kings, I outclass you. After all, everyone knows that the Leonidas is stronger than the Beowolf!" Jaune grunted in pain as Vodou pushed him back.
Jaune gritted his teeth as he slowly felt his bones begin to break. "I don't need to be stronger than you, Vodou." Vodou raised an eyebrow before he lost his balance due to Jaune slipping under him. Jaune then used Vodou's own weight to flip him over before slamming him into the ground, making Vodou gag and lose his grip. "I need to be smarter!"
Jaune then flipped his arms over, plunged his claws into Vodou's forearms, and ripped them out through the very tips of Vodou's claws, nearly ripping out Vodou's claws.
Vodou then tried to roar, only to miss completely when Jaune jumped out of the way. "I need to be faster!"
Vodou then jumped onto his feet as his arms already healed thanks to Grimm physiology and Salem's blood.
"But most of all!" Vodou glared in Jaune's direction with a growl. His eyes then shot open when he felt a blade slam into his stomach, just barely but still piercing into his tough hide. "I NEED TO BE BETTER THAN YOU!"
Jaune then stomped forward as he tried to put more power into the Crocea Mors. The force of his strike may not have cut into Vodou, but it was still pushing back much of his organs and damaging them, even pushing back and nearly breaking Vodou's spine.
Then, with a battle cry that turned into a howl, Jaune sent Vodou flying into the air.
Jaune then spun his sword as he prepared the next attack. "IT'S OVER, VODOU!" Jaune then lunged towards Vodou, fully prepared to slice him in half.
As he got closer, Jaune released a howl, almost as if celebrating his victory.
However, Jaune's blind rage prevented him from seeing Vodou partially transform back into a human, specifically around the arms.
Then, when mere inches away, Vodou spun around and blew powder into Jaune's face.
Jaune coughed violently before feeling lightheaded. He then feel to the ground, releasing his sword and falling out of his Grimm King form.
He landed with a heavy thud with a single bounce, groaning as he struggled to push himself up.
Vodou landed behind Jaune, panting as he reverted back to his human form, spitting out blood. "I admit, you had me scared there, fré. You're strong."
Jaune began to wheeze. "What... did you... do... to... me," Jaune asked before coughing.
"Aw, right. So, fré, how do you like my Semblance?"
"Your... Semblance?" Jaune then looked forward and saw one of the corpses of the villagers, his eyes widening in horror. "No."
"That's right, brother. You see, there was once a religion in Remnant. A dark religion. Its practices were called black magic, due to the priests being able to bring back the dead or concoct the most vicious of poisons, or curse someone to death using a doll. My Semblance is based off of that religion, specifically the poison aspect. Voodoo Powder. A simple name, yeah? I can turn my aura into a powder that gives me control... over my victim's mind."
Jaune's hand tightened, crushing the stone beneath it. "The town," he wheezed. "Your Semblance. You... poisoned everyone. Made them... your puppets."
"That's right. It's nice, being able to make an army of the dead."
"Of.. the what?"
"Oh, did I forget to mention? My aura... is quite poisonous." Jaune's eyes widened. "It eats away at the unnecessary parts of the brain, like memory, personality, and free thought. All you need are your motor functions to be useful." Jaune wheezed in worry. "Ah, but don't worry. My powder is no good on Grimm or those with strong wills. Lucky, you have both. It won't kill you... it will break you."
"What?"
"Being resistant to my powder is arguably worse. After all, it's a hell of a drug," he said as he began to contort in Jaune's eyes.
In mere moments, Jaune was looking at a nightmare scape.
"Byenveni nan mond mwen an, fré (Welcome to my world, brother)," Vodou said in a demonic voice as he laughed evilly.
The world was rushing all around Jaune, colors clashing and images twisting around. There was so much to process. Jaune was actually feeling himself go numb. "What... is this?"
He was then tackled.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Yang's angry, yet still lilac eyes. "Dammit, Vomit Boy, keep your head in the game!"
Jaune then put his arm around Yang, his shield preventing a Beowolf from pouncing on her back. He then stabbed it in the neck, killing it.
Yang looked back in surprise before looking at a smirking Jaune. "You should think about taking your own advice, Firecracker."
Yang smirked back at him before flicking his nose. "Don't use my uncle's nickname for me," she said before she jumped off of him.
Jaune then jumped to his feet before following Yang and the rest of Team RWBY and leading his Team JNOR into the final battle.
Both teams and their allies fought like hell through the hordes of Grimm. Their run-ins with Salem's Inner Circle were few and far between. Eventually, they made it to Salem's throne room.
"Alright, let's end this," Ruby said as she and Jaune got ready to break through. With their combined strength, they slashed through her door.
Both leaders looked up with a smile, but Jaune's smile went away immediately when he saw her.
"Well, well, the brave Huntsmen and Huntresses have made it to my room. The door was unlocked, by the way. You merely had to open it. I already knew you were here, so there was no reason to knock."
Each of her words made Jaune shiver. Every syllable cut to his very core, piercing his very soul. At first, he honestly thought he was afraid of her, yet the more he looked at her... the more he realized he felt a sense of longing. Not a lustful longing, but the longing of a boy... wanting to hug his mother. That was what disturbed him the most. It only worsened when she... smiled at Jaune specifically.
Before he knew it, he was helping fight Salem. Never before had he fought such a foe. Not even Cinder was this overwhelming.
While most of his friends were panting and exhausted, Salem merely smiled at her work before turning to Oscar. "It seems you have failed once again, Ozpin," she said as she prepared a spell. The same one she used to kill Ozma for the very first time.
"NO," Jaune yelled as he pushed Oscar away, the spell practically erasing Jaune's arm. The man screamed in agony, not noticing the look of shock on Salem's face.
"NO," Oscar yelled.
"JAUNE," Ruby screamed.
The scenery changed.
Before Jaune... was the sight of Salem's arm... piercing through Ruby's sternum, the girl looking right at Jaune as she coughed up blood, Salem's face hidden from Jaune's eyes, for he could only see Ruby in front of him.
"No. No," Jaune whimpered.
"Jaune... are you... alright," Ruby asked with a smile.
"No, no, no," Jaune sobbed as Salem ripped her arm out, the girl falling before Jaune caught her with his one arm. "Ruby, please. Don't do this. I-I can fix you! I can save you," he said as he activated his Semblance. "Please, stay with me. Don't leave us! WE NEED YOU!" Ruby then closed her eyes. "Ruby! RUBY! NO, NOT AGAIN! NOOO," Jaune screamed as the scenery changed once more. During this time, he heard Yang's screams of anger turn to cries of anguish and pain.
"YANG," Blake's voice echoed before the sound of flesh being torn was heard.
The next thing he knew, he was screaming in pain when Tyrian slashed his left eye.
Tyrian cackled. "Oh, that will develop BEAUTIFULLY!"
Jaune glared at his enemy. "CALLOUS," he roared as he charged at the cackling maniac, he ran towards him as well.
When they clashed, Jaune was surprised to see the Winter Maiden, her eyes hidden by her white hood. However, the woman smiled and giggled before she froze Jaune's arm and leg. "No. No, not again."
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Jaune looked up to see Weiss try to stab the Maiden, only for the woman to jump out of the way of the strike. "NO! WEISS, RUN! PLEASE, RUN!"
"Don't worry, Jaune. This time, I'll save you. I won't lose you either."
"NO! PLEASE, RUN! I'M BEGGING YOU," Jaune screamed through his tears.
However, the scene changed... to the sight of a wheezing Weiss limping over to Jaune before hugging him. Jaune eyes widened... when he felt a warm liquid on his neck, and he could tell it wasn't coming from the wounded Winter Maiden, he was panting in pain and anger.
"W-Weiss," Jaune went in fear.
"I... love... you," Weiss whispered before she went limp.
"No. No. No! Noo! NOOOOO," Jaune screamed. He then shattered the ice holding him, only to fall down but catch Weiss as he did so.
He turned her around to see her... closed eyes. Jaune didn't know what was worse, the fact that she looked like she was sleeping or the fact that she was still beautiful in his eyes.
In denial, he gently shook her. "Weiss, wake up. Please, wake up. Open your eyes," he said as his tears fell on her cheek. He then hugged her. "I love you, too, so please open your eyes," he pleaded as he hugged her.
"Jaune."
Jaune's eyes shot open to see Wiess no longer in his arms. He looked up instead... to see Oscar slowly being frozen. "You... have... to... survive," he said before he was frozen solid.
"NO! OSCAR," Jaune screamed as he tried to save the boy, only for Grimm to get in his way. "GET OUT OF MY WAY! OSCAR!" He watched as Oscar's frozen body was taken into the abyss.
Jaune fell to his knees, having lost everything. He then slammed his one fist into the ground. "DAMMIT! DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT," he screamed with each pound. With the third one, he realized he had his Grimm Arm.
"You've betrayed me more than I care to tolerate." Jaune looked to see his mother... using magic to kill someone else he cared about.
"RAVEN," he screamed as he caught the falling woman.
"J-Jaune..."
"No. Not you, too."
Raven smiled at him. "Jaune... I'm... finally... free," she said before she died.
"No. Not like this. Not like this," he cried.
"Jaune."
He looked to see something else to break his heart. "Sarah."
She limped forward before falling to her knees, Jaune holding her up. She had her hand over her... bleeding stomach. She held up the now red appendage before falling onto Jaune's lap. She then chuckled. "You know... I think we would have made great parents."
Jaune's tears kept flowing. "W-We still can. You just have to pull through! You can survive this. I'll just get some booze and you can heal yourself right-"
She weakly grabbed his hand. "Say... it... again."
"W-What?"
"Please..."
". . . We... would have been great parents."
"Thank... you," she whispered before dying.
"Sarah? Sarah?"
"JAUNE!" He was then pushed out of the way.
He looked to see something horrible.
"They... almost got ya... boss," said a skewered Sun.
"NOO!" Jaune ran over to his closest friend. "No, NO, NOOO!"
"Come on, boss. No tears," Sun said with a pained laugh.
"DAMMIT, SUN! WHY?!"
"Because... the world needs you... more than it needs me," Sun said before dying with a smile and eyes open.
"No. No," Jaune sobbed as he fell to his knees, still holding Sun's hand. "You're wrong. The world needed men like you. I need you... my friend... my brother," Jaune wept.
Gunshots were heard.
Jaune looked to see Winter covered in bullet wounds.
"WINTER!" He ran over and held her in his arms.
She chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. I'm a soldier. This is... par for the course."
"No, I can fix this! I can save you, Winter!"
Before he could even try anything, Winter surprised him with a kiss. "You've done... more than enough... for me. I'm ready."
"Winter, please don't leave me. I need you. Atlas needs you! Remnant needs you. . . I need you."
Winter laughed softly. "Aren't you selfish. You mentioned yourself twice."
"Winter, please."
"It's... because you love me, right?"
". . . Yes."
". . . I... love you, too." She then closed her eyes. "But... please... let me... be with... Qrow." Those were her last words before she died.
The sound of lightning was heard.
Jaune looked to see Mary... getting impaled by multiple spikes. "MARY!" He then saw her eyes get stabbed. "NO!" He then ran to her. "MARY!"
"Jaune? They... got my eyes."
"TO HELL WITH YOUR EYES! PLEASE, TELL ME YOU'LL SURVIVE!"
"Are... you worried?"
"WORRIED?! I'M TERRIFIED! PLEASE, TELL ME I CAN SAVE YOU!"
"You... really did care about me."
"OF COURSE I DID," Jaune sobbed.
Mary then... cried. "I'm so happy. I thought you only... Jaune... please, kiss me."
"What?"
"My last request. Please."
"No. Don't say that! You'll pull through! Just tell me how to-"
"Please."
Jaune's eyes widened before he gritted his teeth. He then... kissed Mary, his tears mixing with hers as they did. Jaune didn't want to part from her lips, because of how sweet they were... and due to his fear of losing her.
"Thank you," Mary said softly. "That was... electric."
"Yeah. It was amazing," Jaune said with a smile. "Now, please, tell me how to save you."
"You just did." Jaune's eyes widened. "I love you... Jaune," she hissed out before going totally limp. Jaune then let out some pained cries, hugging the now permanently deceased Mary.
Jaune then heard explosions and looked to see a panting Lyra in front of him. "No. Please, no. Anyone but her." He then saw her... get stabbed. "NOOOO," he screamed as he caught her.
"LYRA! LYRA," he screamed, ignoring Tyrian's cackles.
"Jaune... I'm... sorry," she said as her breathing slowed.
"Don't talk. I can save you. Just please... stay with me."
"I... lo..."
"Lo?"
"Lo..ve..."
"Lyra? Lyra?! LYRA?! PLEASE, NOT YOU, TOO!" Jaune then screamed.
Jaune then slammed his head into the ground, sobbing at what he had seen.
"You've suffered enough, Jaune," Salem's voice rang out. "You have fought for them long enough. You have given more than they have any right to ask. You have bleed for them, been wounded for them, tormented for them, and even killed for them. You have had so much taken from you. It is time for you to rest now, son. You have earned more than enough of a right to rest. Come to me, my child, and this can all be over."
"This can... all be... over," Jaune said softly in a defeated tone.
"Hey, Jaune!"
Jaune's eyes widened at the familiar voice.
"Hello, Jaune," went a familiar, sing-song tone.
"Eh?"
"What are you doing, you dolt," went... a playfully sweet voice.
Jaune looked up, his eyes showing him something unbelievable.
"P-Pyrrha?" His partner smiled at him.
"R-Ruby?" The sweet girl smiled at him.
"W-Weiss?" The matured beauty smiled at him, leaning closer due to being taller than the two, younger women.
Jaune looked up at the three women before he looked down. "I'm so sorry."
"For what," Ruby asked.
"For failing you. All of you. I couldn't protect any of you."
"Jaune, it's not your fault," Pyrrha said.
"How can you say that? You were my partner, and I let you die."
"No, you didn't, Jaune. I made my choice."
"It should have been me. There were so many times I needed you. That WE needed you."
"But we need you now, Jaune," Weiss said.
"No. We needed you, Ruby, and Pyrrha. Not me. I'm a failure."
"Nope."
Jaune looked up at Ruby. "No?"
"Nope." She then knelt down. "You're a hero now, Jaune. You can't afford to be a failure."
"Ruby, I'm a failure as a hero. I only have to look at the three before me for proof."
"Nope."
Jaune chuckled. "You never were the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff."
"Nope. Jaune, I've known you since the first year of Beacon, and I've seen you prove yourself time and time again. How many people do you know could hold back a Nuckelavee at our age back then?"
"Nora, Yang, Pyrrha?"
Ruby giggled. "With the exception of Pyrrha, I'm pretty sure they need their Semblances for that."
"And I'm pretty sure I'm not strong enough to do that," Pyrrha giggled. "Jaune, you were always one of the bravest, strongest, and kindest people I've ever met. You were always so driven to better yourself and to protect others. That's what I liked about you. You put others first before yourself."
"Just like I said at Beacon. You're a hero AND a leader now, Jaune. You put everyone first and yourself second."
"And because of that, you were able to save countless lives," Weiss said.
Jaune sighed. "But I wasn't able to save you. Any of you. Ow," Jaune went after Weiss bonked him.
"You dolt. We made our choice. We decided to fight. To protect. We decided to be Huntresses."
"You don't have to carry the burden of our deaths," Pyrrha said.
"You need to keep moving forward, protect who you can, and keep fighting," Ruby said.
Jaune looked at the smiling women and sighed. "I don't want to forget you."
"We never said you had to," Ruby said.
"Just move forward," Pyrrha said.
"After all, if it were you, we'd never forget about you," Weiss said.
"Besides..." Ruby hugged Jaune's front. "How could I forget my Vomit Boy? I'm your Crater Face, aren't I?"
Jaune chuckled. "Yeah. You most certainly are." He hugged her back. "To the socially awkward."
"The socially awkward," she said with a cracked voice.
Pyrrha hugged him from behind. "We're partners, Jaune. Now and forevermore. As well as best friends."
Jaune held her hand. "I wish I was smart enough to see we could have been more back then."
Pyrrha tightened her hug. "Thank you." You could hear the tears in her voice.
"But don't you dare forget..." Weiss leaned against Jaune's side, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm still your Snow Angel, and you'll always be my White Knight."
A tear fell down Jaune's cheek. "And I will always be loyal, my Queen," Jaune said as he rested his head atop hers.
A tear fell down Weiss's cheek. "You had better, lest you want your Queen to punish you."
"Now, Jaune, wake up," Ruby said as she began to glow.
"Stand tall," Pyrrha said as she began to glow.
"And win," Weiss finished as she began to glow.
Jaune then opened his eyes, filled with strength and resolve. "Thank you. . . I love you. I hope you know that."
Light engulfed the entire world.
"I love you, too," the women said in unison.
Vodou smiled in pride at the downed Jaune as his slaves walked up. "Carry him to Mother for me. Make sure nothing happens to him. If anyone tries to rescue or harm him, kill them." The slaves walked up to the shadow eyed Jaune.
Vodou turned and walked away, smirking at his victory. "Mother will be absolutely giddy. Fré Jaune may be her favorite, but I don't mind being the #2 in her heart. I can't wait to see the look on everyone's faces, especially Tyrian's! Ha-ha! This is going to be so much f-"
Strikes were heard, followed by one of the undead servants flying past the now wide-eyed Vodou. He turned around. "WHAT?!"
Jaune was standing tall and proud, almost all of his Grimmkind body reverting entirely back to his arm. Jaune then took a deep breath, exhaling before opening his eyes. His blue eyes were seemingly glowing with power, showing the awesome resolve within the man.
"How?! HOW?! YOU WERE GIVEN ENOUGH POWDER TO SHATTER YOUR VERY SOUL! YOU SHOULD BE BROKEN TO THE POINT WHERE ONLY MOTHER COULD FIX YOU! YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT FOR HER TO MOLD IN HER IMAGE! HOW ARE YOU STILL STANDING?!"
"You yourself said that one with a strong will could resist the mind control. I guess mine is strong enough to resist it entirely," Jaune went with a proud smirk.
Vodou growled like a lion before he blew more dust at Jaune. Jaune merely swung his human arm, creating a gale that blew the dust away, shocking his brother. "What... ARE you?"
Jaune then reached for the Sword of Destruction. "The Last Huntsman, as well as the Hero of Remnant." Jaune then took out the sword, the blade glowing beautifully with power.
"No. No, no, NO!"
'Back to your senses now, are we," Lady of the Lake asked.
'I am. Sorry for not relying on you sooner.'
'It's alright. You wouldn't have been able to use me before anyway. Now that you're back to being a handsome human filled with Aura, I approve. Use my power in any way you see fit, darling.'
'You're too good for me.'
'That's for me to decide.'
Jaune smiled before he activated his Semblance, filling the Sword of Destruction with Aura, the blade already beginning to glow.
"No! This can't be! I won't let this happen!" Vodou then returned back to his Grimm King form. He then began to inhale for his greatest roar yet. It would have had enough power to devastate the entire city, or even a mountain. It was his most powerful attack, which he calls King's Roar. "SLEEP NOW, BROTHER!" He then released the roar.
The roar was so huge and powerful, it was tearing apart everything in its path. It even turned the undead into paste, barely even a red mist left behind in the wake of the roar.
Jaune then looked at Vodou. "Goodbye, brother."
Jaune then slashed towards Vodou. When he did, a massive wave of golden energy raced towards him. Vodou couldn't move due to already using his strongest technique, which wasn't even slowing down the slash in the least. Even if he wasn't, it was coming at him far too fast for him to even try to dodge.
Vodou screamed in anguish as he was engulfed in the light of the slash, vanishing along with the light.
Sun was panting as he and his Beowolf were struggling against the badly wounded Leonidas. With a grit of his teeth, Sun charged at the Leonidas. He slid under its slash, that act alone distracting it enough for the Beowolf to stab it through the heart. Sun then finished it off by shooting it in the back several times.
The Leonidas fell to its knees before the Beowolf ripped out its claws and slashed the lion's neck, thoroughly making sure they had killed the beast. It then fell to its side before fading away.
Sun panted as he watched it fade before hearing explosive lighting mixed with an anguished roar. "WHOO!"
He chuckled. "Sounds like Mary won."
An earthquake that made Sun and his Beowolf stumble occurred, followed by a bright light that sped away from them.
"HOLY CRAP," Lyra yelled.
Sun ran over to her, arriving at the same time as Mary. "You okay, kid," Sun yelled in concern.
"Yeah."
"What was that," Mary asked.
"That was Jaune's Sword of Destruction," Lyra said.
"You think he's alright," Sun asked.
Lyra climbed onto her Beowolf. "Only one way to find out."
The other two climbed onto theirs.
"Think you can still run, big guy," Sun asked. The Beowolf huffed, almost sounding insulted before it and the other two ran.
It didn't take long for them to reach Jaune, who was standing in the middle of a town square, Sword still in hand. "Hm? Yo."
"Yo," Sun asked as his and the other Beowolves skid to a halt in front of him. "That's all you can say," Sun asked with a chuckled.
"Good to see you're all okay."
Lyra scoffed. "Of course we are."
"What do you take us for, wimps," Mary asked with a closed eye, crossed arms, and a sassy smile.
Jaune chuckled before he heard rubble being moved.
The team turned towards a pile of rubble. The fist of a Leonidas punched out of the rubble before moving it off of it. It was revealed to be Vodou.
"Whoa, I've never seen anyone survive that," Jaune said, sounding genuinely impressed.
Vodou ripped himself out of the rubble, falling to his knees. "This isn't possible." He slammed his fist onto the ground. "I SHOULD HAVE WON! YOU INHALED MY SEMBLANCE! HOW COULD YOU HAVE BEATEN ME?! I'M THE KING OF THE FUCKING LEONIDAS, DAMMIT!" He then looked up at the group. "I had an entire town under my control, the strongest of land Grimm under my command, and my Semblance. How did you win?"
Jaune sighed as he pointed his Sword at Vodou. "It's over, brother. You've lost. Just... let me end this quickly... and as painlessly as I can."
Vodou stared at Jaune with blank eyes before he chuckled. "Yeah, I've lost... this day, anyway." He then held up his hand, showing an orb of powder swirling in his palm. "But next time will be different. I know it."
"You really think I'll let any of my friends near that dust of yours?"
Vodou stood up and smirked at Jaune. "It's not for you, fré. Yon lót fwa (Next time)." He then threw the orb at his feet.
"COVER YOUR MOUTHS," Jaune ordered, everyone doing as he said. Jaune then swung his Sword of Destruction, making the dust dissipate. "Tch, he's gone."
"But they're not." Jaune looked to see what Sun meant, only to see they were surrounded by armed undead.
"I was hoping to avoid this," Lyra said as she readied her hammer.
"This won't feel right," Mary said as she spiked her arms.
"We don't have a choice," Jaune said as he took out his Crocea Mors, taking his dual wielding stance.
The undead walked closer, some even aiming their guns... before they all just fell down.
"What? What just happened," Sun asked.
"He's too far." They all looked at Jaune. "Vodou is too far from them. Without the puppet master, the puppets are just lifeless husks on strings."
Mary looked around, a sad look in her eyes. "Could this... have been me?"
"It could have been any of us," Jaune said.
"I can't believe there's a Semblance so... evil out there," Lyra said.
"Well, believe it. And think of it this way: we're the ones who are going to stop it," Sun said with a smile.
Lyra smiled in response. "Yeah, we are."
"Not just Vodou." They looked at their leader. "We're going to stop all of them: Goth, Vodou..." He made sure to look at Mary. "Giza. And especially my mother. We'll put an end to this nightmare. I promise that."
"Heh, that's a promise I plan on sharing," Sun said as he playfully punched Jaune's shoulder.
"Hmph, no need in being the only one to keep it," Jaune said with a smile.
"That's the ticket. Alright, we shouldn't be that far from the New White Fang Headquarters. Let's go tell Ilia what happened in her back yard."
"Right," Mary and Lyra said in unison as Jaune summoned and mounted his Beowolf.
"Let's go," Jaune said. The three then took off.
Jaune was about to follow... until he looked up at the sky. He could only swear he saw small rays of light sneaking past the wall of clouds. He could actually feel the warmth of the sun on his face. "I'll make you three proud. I promise."
"Yo, Jaune, what's the hold-up," Sun called.
"I'm on my way," Jaune said as he rode towards his friends.
When he did, a single red rose petal was flying through the wind. After a while, it was followed by a white rose petal. The petals danced around before landing on a large red leaf that looked to be from the Forever Falls themselves.
'You already are,' echoed three familiar voices in unison before the petals were blown away.
A/N: My first update of 2021!
This one. This chapter. This was one of my favorites, and all because of Vodou. He has to be one of the best villains I've ever made for the OMJ universe. Hell, he's the goddamn title character of this chapter! Please, review this chapter. I want to know what people think of my favorite villain thus far.
Oh, also, like I said before, like all of my other OCs, Vodou is up for grabs. If you think he makes for a good villain for your fan fic, be my guest. Just be sure to tell me. I want to read how you implement him in your story.
If I had one complaint about him... it'd be that he would be ridiculously hard to find a good voice actor for if by some insane twist of fate and OMJ story gets animated. Where would you possibly find a voice actor who speaks Haitian Creole and sounds badass yet weirdly sexy while he speaks? I'm willing to bet none of you could think of so much as a YouTube Voice Actor that could fit the criteria for a character like Vodou.
But if you can prove me wrong, please, by all means do so.
Anyway, my hours have been cut, so I have a lot more free time (until Sunday or unless my boss calls me, of course). I might be able to work on my other stories again! So, if any of you are fans of, say Heirs of Goku or Silver Nightmares, don't be surprised. Well, actually, yeah, be surprised. I'm sinfully lazy.
Until then!