GIANT WHIP!~ Hey guys, as usual, another chapter.
Straight to the point, I'll be taking about a week or two off of fanfic for a while as I'm in need of a break. That said, I'd appreciate it if any of my readers, both new and old, would give me any pointers in regards to the new story I've posted: Rotten Punks In City Z.
Anyhow, as of this chapter, there won't be any cuts to Hawkins and his pals for a while as I'm aiming to base the next coming arc solely on Jaune and Emerald. During the next arc, Jaune will also receive his new partner, and I hope it's a big surprise for you all, but the reveal will most likely be at the end of the arc.
As for the Solo-Leveling manga, I did give the first few chapters a read and I did enjoy it. However, I don't think I'll be making any fanfics for it. Sorry to disappoint!
With that, cheers everyone, and happy reading!
"Pick up the pace you guys, unless you wanna die!" Jaune screamed as he narrowly dodged a glowing pincer aimed at his head.
He didn't know why, but for some deranged reason, the Deathstalker's focus appeared to be solely on the boy with blonde hair. In an attempt to shake off his hungry persuer, Jaune swapped with his shadow and positioned himself at the top of a tree. Searching for a new place to fight the Grimm, Jauned hoped to find a restrictive space where the Deathstalker's large body would prove to be a disadvantage.
His prayers answered by an abandoned ruin, it also happened to be in the direction where his sister Emerald should have been.
"Mr. Thrush! Mr. Bronzewing! We need to lure the monster to the northern ruins! We'll have a better chance at beating it there!" Jaune roared to the two flustered students below him.
"Are you crazy?! We need to get to the cliff where we were launched, there's bound to be a few students and teachers capable of killing that Grimm!" Russel yelped.
"Unfortunately Mr. Thrush, there's only a 35% chance that the staffs of Beacon are going to help us, even though that sounds irresponsible and insane in my opinion, as such we need to figure our own way to destroy the Deathstalker!" Jaune said with gusto.
"That punk is insane, Dove." Russel wiped away a river of sweat from his forehead and reluctantly followed Jaune after he jumped down the tree.
With the threat of death nipping at their heels, Jaune, and his fellow students doubled their speeds and made a last-ditch effort to safety.
"So, you're not big on conversation are you?" Emerald rubbed her arm and glanced at her quiet partner.
While she enjoyed the respective silence when they first met, an itch in the back of Emerald's head wished for her ebony-haired cohort to say anything that would disrupt the dull atmosphere between them. It was at moments like these that the younger Hawkins sibling wished to have her brother around. Sure, Jaune could be a bit quirky and clumsy, but his outgoing attitude and kind nature more than made up for his faults.
Blake peeked at her partner with her peripherals. Truth be told, she'd spent so much time working in the shadows and keeping her mouth and actions discreet, that she never bothered to interact with anyone except her ex-boyfriend and his close circle. Not to mention the secret Faunus' attitude leaned towards that of her stoic father's instead of her outgoing mother's.
"I..." Blake pursed her lips. Other than her partner's name, she didn't know anything about her. Then, a universal question that could strike a passionate conversation came to mind.
"I like books... Have you read any of the novels of Sora the warrior of the sea?"
Blake curled a brow as Emerald sighed, but waited patiently for the mint-haired girl to respond.
"Yes, my big brother and papa used to read me those books all the time. They would read me a story whenever I asked them to, and they never complained, though my papa did stop reading when he said it was time to put me to sleep." Emerald said with a thin smile.
Blake nodded. It was nice to have someone who appreciated the arts of literature as her partner, and Emerald didn't seem like the type to pry in one's personal affairs which was a big plus in Blake's book.
"Which novel is your favorite? Jaune's always yammering about the fourth one with Winch Green." Emerald scratched her cheek and crinkled her nose.
"Really? My most adored novel of the series has to be volume six, the one with poisoned pink as the main antagonist, but she eventually gets a redemption arc after Sora defeats her. Much like her other commanders as well." The bow atop the introvert's head twitched like a stuck clock hand.
Emerald peeked up to point it out, but a sudden cry of a familiar voice bellowed past the trees in her general direction. A muddy face with ocean eyes; his ruffled collar flapped in the breeze along with his disheveled golden locks as he swayed from side to side in an attempt to shake off his Grimm pursuer.
His weary gaze landing on a familiar figure, Jaune cheered and called to his sister for assistance.
"What are you doing Jaune?! Don't lead that thing our way!" Emerald cried but it was too late, the distance between her sibling closed, she withdrew Thief's Respite with anxious eyes.
"That's a big Deathstalker," Blake mumbled and retrieved her trusted Gambol Shroud.
Surging through the trees, a Grimm much larger than your average Deathstalker tore apart the landscape as it made its way to them. Its stinger blinking a golden light, the boney-plated monster narrowed its sights on two more potential meals.
"I don't know what to do, Minty! I've tried everything in my arsenal to slay this Grimm, but not even a bodyslam from Funkreed can keep it dazed for long!" Jaune wailed as he ducked under a clicking pincer.
"So what do you expect me to do about it?!" Emerald yelled. She was happy to see her brother, but the happiness evaporated instantly at the sibling's statement.
"Oh yeah, I got your silver pendant by the way!" The blonde waved the fancy trinket over his head with a goofy smile.
"Now's not the time for that you goofball!" His dear sister retorted.
Meanwhile, the staff atop the cliffs where the bullheads waited for their first-year cargo appeared to be in midst of confusion.
"Ozpin." Glynda flicked through her tablet and crinkled her nose at the scene her screen displayed.
"What is it, Glynda? Did something happen?" Ozpin peeked over her shoulder and sipped from his mug. The contents of the glass near empty, the headmaster waved to Professor Peach to bring him another serving of hot cocoa.
"There appears to be a rather large Deathstalker in pursuit of six students. I can't be sure from the video feed itself, but I'd wager the size of this Grimm is much larger than anything we've recorded. Should I order Port and Oobleck to mobilize? I know the teachers only intervene if a student's life is at stake, but I think this particular situation calls for professional hunter interference." Glynda flicked to another page of her tablet.
The students who'd completed the first half of their initiation were on their way back to the cliffs. However, by the paths the Deathstalker took to chase after the blonde student with the ruffled collar, the Grimm would find its way to many other pairs of teenagers along the way.
"Hm, that is concerning, isn't it? The Deathstalkers goal seems to be on the one odd student out of the bunch." Ozpin pointed to a frantic Jaune as he whipped around a falling tree.
"Which is why we should take initiative, Ozpin. It's good that our first years have proven themselves to be capable hunters, but we cannot overlook this odd Grimm activity. Not to mention a monster this size should have been noted before initiation started." Glynda huffed and adjusted her ovular spectacles.
Ozpin nodded.
"Well, to be honest, I did ask Heracles and a few of the other professors to scout out the forest two weeks prior to the initiation, but nothing along the lines of an enormous Deathstalker came up in Oobleck's reports. Then again, the writing of our coffee-loving friend is a tad difficult to read..."
Glynda shot Ozpin a deadpanned stare. She should have been among the staff who performed the scouting missions, yet once again Ozpin decided to leave it to her peers as she filed through a sea of documents at her desk. Hmph, this was something she needed to sort out with her superior when the day was over.
"Beep~ Beep~" Rang the scroll of the silver-haired headmaster.
Ozpin curled a brow at the one initiating the call.
"Yes, Ann? Is something wrong at the academy?"
The voice on the scroll replied in a polite tone, stating a first year had been left behind at the academy.
"Is that so? I thought we collected all the students at the boarding platform, who did we leave behind?"
Professor Greene described a rough-looking teen with short, spiky brown hair and light blue eyes and was apparently assigned under Heracles' name.
"I see, well, there's nothing we can do about it now. I will arrange an appropriate test for her after we've finished up in Emerald Forest. So please continue to watch over the academy while we're gone. I'll see you in my office later, Ann."
A few words of playful banter later, the headmaster ended the call with a genuine smile.
"Well, Glynda, it looks like today is full of surprises."
The blonde teacher rolled her eyes.
"Yes, well, have you decided what we're going to do about the six students running for their lives?"
"Hm?" Ozpin peeked over Glynda's shoulder again and his brown pupils widened in shock.
"Perhaps we should dispatch a few of our stronger forces. We cannot allow the students to wander too far into the ruins, that area is supposed to be restricted for this initiation. Wait a minute... is that Heracles on the radar?"
"Phew, finally made it!" Jaune fist pumped and furiously wiped the sweat that marred his eyes.
Surrounded by cracked pillars and groups of stone, Jaune and his fellow students huddled to the front of the ruins with their weapons drawn. The cries of the Deathstalker beckoning behind them, the magician in training gulped and took deep breaths. Whatever the Deathstalkers reasons, its pincers and stinger always aimed for him when they could, and maybe this was a secret advantage when he had the power of numbers on his side?
"Alright, Minty, I'm going to lure the Grimm further into the ruins. You and Blake are both nimble and can climb to higher ground with ease. When you see an opening, aim for the Deathstalker's eyes and Mr. Thrush, Mr. Bronzewing, and I will take care of the rest."
Two hands clamped on Jaune's shoulders. The owner of said hands happened to be Russel and Dove.
"You can't be serious bruh! We hacked and slashed at that monster with everything we had in the forest. What difference does it make now that we're in the ruins?!" Russel balked.
Jaune waggled a finger with a smirk.
"The key here Mr. Thrush is space. Take a look around us, on the narrow bridges leading to the center of the ruins, the Deathstalker can't flail its massive limbs and risk damaging its pathway towards us. If the vile creature does manage to dislodge a supporting beam or pillar, it'll fall to the ground below and I doubt even a Deathstalker can survive an impact of over fifty stories high."
Russel and Dove hated to agree with the blonde student, but they couldn't deny his logic. As for Emerald and Blake, they seemed fully on board with Jaune's plan and got to work in positioning themselves for the ambush.
"Skryeee!" Its eight legs thundering down the stone bridges, the Deathstalker approached its prey with clicking pincers.
"Alright you guys, here it comes, let's give it hell!" Jaune said with his sword raised and led Russel and Dove deeper into the ruins.
The wind in his face, the strong breeze threatened to throw Jaune off the crumbling bridge as he and his cohorts enacted his elaborate plan.
Behind the scenes and conscious of the hungry monster that hunted his son, Hawkins and his pirate colleagues observed the scene with wide grins and speculating eyes.
"Does your brat plan to have your straw puppet fall to its death, Hawkins?" Crocodile smudged the butt of his cigar in the ashtray on his chair and picked up a bottle of red wine from the table.
"It's an understandable choice given the circumstances. Despite Jaune's swordsmanship being leagues ahead of his fellow students, along with his powerful devil fruit, I don't want him to rely on brute force to solve all his problems." The magician sighed.
Crocodile popped the cork off his bottle and guzzled down a couple of large gulps. His stone-colored eyes veering to the clock on the bullhead, he shrugged his shoulders and stood himself up.
"Alright, Hawkins, while it's been fun watching your brat flee for his life through a forest and abandoned ruin, our time in Vale is running out. I've got a schedule to keep and as you know, time is money." The golden-hooked man tapped a few buttons on his scroll and ordered the pilot of the bullhead to depart in thirty minutes.
"Oi, it looks like Jaune's plan is in action-rero." Vito pointed to a poor section of the bridge that seemed shaky even before the Deathstalker ran across it.
Kuma leaned forward and put down his empty plate of biscuits. The bear Faunus curled a brow at the scene, but said nothing and observed the outcome with a short smile.
As for Mr. 1, the former assassin crossed his arms and tilted his head toward the screen. He didn't want to miss an impressive play of strategy, and it would give him a good idea of how high of a bar Hawkins held for his kids.
"Prepare yourself Jaune F. Hawkins, I do not plan on being lenient because you are my son." Hawkins sighed but did so with a hint of a smile.
"Over here you overgrown bug!" Jaune yelled and waved his sword in the air. This proved as a suitable distraction while his doppelman snuck around on the sidelines. Satisfied with his shadow's position, Jaune patted his cheeks and exhaled.
As expected, the Grimm gave chase and snapped its pincers. Halfway across the shoddy bridge, Jaune called for Emerald and Blake to ready themselves as Russel and Dove worked the flanks.
Emerald collapsed her weapon into its scythe and sickle form and spun the chain over her head. Eyeing a stable pillar, she slung her chain over a protruding piece of stone and jumped off the bridge. With the cold wind whizzing past her fluttering green locks, Emerald launched herself at the last second; soared through the sky, and landed on her desired position.
As for Blake, she managed just fine. Quick on her heels and with cat-like reflexes, she climbed a staggered group of fallen pillars and joined her mint-haired partner atop the rubble heap.
Content with his teammates' positions, Jaune flashed them a thumbs up and goofy smile and twirled to face the menacing Deathstalker. Its amber stinger poised for a strike, Jaune smirked and raised his trusty elephant companion at the monster.
"If you want some of this Jauney-goodness you'll have to work for it, you bloody Grimm!"
Jaune hunched over and flexed his arms. He stuck out his chin and widened his eyes for maximum intimidation. Or so he thought, to the others in the ruins, he looked like an idiot poser who knew he was in over his head but was still trying to prove a point.
Nevertheless, the Deathstalker fell for his ruse and charged, ignorant of the weakened foundations it stomped on.
"Now, Minty!" Jaune swapped positions with his shadow and the pieces of his plan fell into place.
Twirling her scythe and sickle, Emerald switched thief's respite to its dual revolver form and pursed her lips. The word's of uncle Vito echoing in her mind, Emerald closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"The most important thing in an accurate shot is being calm, Emerald. If you panic and rush things when you don't need to, the chances of you hitting your target is greatly diminished-rero."
Nodding at the gunslinger's wise words, Emerald exhaled and lifted the lids over her crimson pupils. The sun reflecting the beady red eyes of the Deathstalker below, the mint-haired girl emptied her gun's rotary chambers and by the high-pitched screech of the bone-plated monster, Emerald knew she hit her mark.
However, that was not the only volley of explosive projectiles the snarling Deathstalker would have to endure. Her amber eyes glowing as they observed her weakened opponent, the secret Faunus mirrored Emerald's actions and doubled the number of volatile dust bullets.
Its eyes blinded and senses staggered, the Deathstalker swayed to the left and nudged a cracked pillar. The carved stone, feeble from years of neglect and natural erosion, its top half broke down and crashed into the skull of the screeching monster.
"This is the best opening I'm gonna get." Jaune hummed.
"Mr. Thrush! Mr. Bronzewing! While the hide of a Deathstalker is durable, the joints which connect its legs to its main body are easy targets for sharp instruments!"
The legs of his blade-wielding cohorts frozen, Jaune called to them to hurry out of their hiding spots and strike the Grimm before it could recuperate. Unfortunately, the blonde's call to arms fell on deaf ears as Russel and Dove refused to reveal themselves.
"Oum, damn it." Jaune cursed. This was a chance in a lifetime and they weren't going to take it?
Though his hands shook and his breath hitched, Jaune forced his feet to move and closed the distance between him and the daunting Grimm.
"Hah!" Sinking his blade in an exposed joint, the scorpion whipped its tail and tried to swat away its human annoyance.
Wrenching the sharp steel deeper into the Grimm's being, Jaune managed to chop off a leg and scramble into a roll before the Deathstalker could skewer him.
"What are those idiots waiting for?" Emerald hissed and pointed an accusing finger at a cowering Russel and Dove.
"I don't think they have the courage to fight a Grimm this big. They were dragged into all this for all we know." Blake grumbled.
"Well, I don't care if those fools won't lend my brother a hand, but Jaune's in a pinch now because of them!" Contorting her weapon to its sickle and chain form once again, Emerald latched the end of her chain to a nearby pillar and swung down to assist her brave sibling.
"Hm, at least my partner cares about family," Blake whispered and followed suit to aid the Hawkins children.
"Huh, Minty?! Don't come down here it's dangerous!" Jaune shouted.
"Don't worry about me Jaune, pay attention to the monster that's trying to clobber you!" Emerald snapped.
"Ah, she's quite the doting sister isn't she?" The blonde teen chuckled and racked his mind for a plan B to defeat the Deathstalker. He thought about having Funkfreed transform and stomp on the bridge and have the giant Grimm fall with the destroyed foundations, but there was the risk his elephant pal would fall too so that was a no-go.
With the sounds of cracked stone and hissing air ringing his eardrums, Jaune's ocean pupils squinted to the lower parts of the bridge which he fought on. All the thrashing from the Grimm had done well to loosen the already feeble foundations, and dinged a cunning lightbulb over Jaune's head. What if he got the Deathstalker to break the bridge instead?
Blocking an incoming stinger with his blade, Jaune skidded along the bridge and stumbled facefirst on the cracked stone. His head peering over the edge, Jaune shook his head and tried to stand.
"Urgh!" His hands clasped his right leg, and to the blonde's horror, his ankle was bruised and swollen. His aura would fix an injury like this no problem, but in order to do so, it needed time and time was not something Jaune had at the moment.
The thumps in his heart pounding on his ribcage like a sledgehammer, the cries of the vengeful Grimm did little to assist his rattled psyche.
"Jaune!" Emerald screamed and swerved to the stumbling Grimm's blindspots and unloaded another dust-filled set of rounds aimed at the monstrous scorpion's face.
With a shriek, the Grimm covered its scarred eyes with its massive pincers and snapped its tail at the approaching human. Blake to the rescue, the ebony-haired girl tackled her partner to the side and dragged her behind a stack of rubble.
Meanwhile, for the hunters who didn't leap at their window of opportunity, the boy with a green mohawk, in particular, seemed to be the most frustrated.
"Come on Russel, that blonde bro saved yo hide for Oum's sake!" His fingers squeezed the handles of his mechanized curved daggers and cursed himself for his cowardice.
No matter how much he wanted to move, he couldn't bring himself to enter the fray and stick his neck on a possible chopping block. He turned to his partner Dove, and like him, he two felt resentment for leaving Jaune to do all the melee fighting.
"R-Russel, we gotta get out of here man, look at the state of the bridge, I don't think it's going to hold out much longer." The bronze-plated teen gulped.
The weight of the bridge shifting to one side, both Russel and Dove clung to each other for support.
"B-But we can't just leave Jaune and the others behind! It's because of that blondie that we got this far, bro!" Russel panted.
"I-I never said we had to leave any of them behind!" Dove blurted.
A spark of admiration in the corners of his indigo eyes, Russel lent an ear to his partner's rescue plan.
"Are you sure that's going to work?" The mohawked-boy curled a brow.
"Do you have any better ideas?" His cohort growled.
"Welp, if this doesn't work bro then it's been nice knowing ya." With a sarcastic salute, Russel and Dove jumped over the fallen pillar they were hiding behind and screamed at the top of their lungs.
Jaune's head snapped to the vocal disturbance and blinked several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Nope, that was definitely Russel and Dove making a mad charge towards him with their weapons drawn. Beaming the two students with a goofy smile, Jaune waved to his allies and cheered.
"Brick Bats!" Jaune summoned the power of his devil fruit and used his shadow pawns to keep the Deathstalker busy.
Adrenaline propelling him forward, Russel jumped into the air and broke into a spinning charge that resembled a pinwheel. His feet thudding against the Deathstalker's raised pincer, the mohawked-boy twirled back and landed next to Jaune. Before the blonde could say anything, Russel picked him up by the shoulders and helped him stand.
"Alright bro, that's all my courage for the entire year gone. If we don't run now we're dead meat ya hear me!" The rogue-like boy trembled.
Dove covered the staggering duo as they made their way across the bridge. Unloading what he had left in the gun section of his mechanized shortsword, the dust bullets did little to deter the angry Grimm of its hungry pursuit.
"Minty, grab your partner, and let's get out of here! The whole bridge is about to collapse!" Jaune yelled.
His sister turned to her cohort and the ebony-haired student nodded. Nimbly weaving their way through the cluttered debris that blocked their way, the duo joined Jaune soon enough and assisted Russel in carrying him out. The last of its shadow pawns dealt with, the Deathstalker slammed its pincer against the ground and let out a cry of fury.
"Hehe, too late scorpion." Jaune grinned as countless vibrations shuddered his spine.
Dust and stone flying into the air, the foul Grimm let out one final screech before plummeting to the abandoned ruins below.
Occupied with getting to the safety of the forest, Jaune and his fellow students failed to notice a soaring man adorned in beetle armor who had witnessed the entire debacle.
The winged section of his armor outstretched, the mighty forest warrior held up a thumb of approval for his soon to be students.
"Hm, these young kids have quite a lot of spunk-un!" Heracles said in a jolly tune as he hummed his own theme song.
"Are you alright Hawkins-rero?" Vito rested a hand on the magician's shoulder and helped him to his chair.
"I'm fine Vito, I didn't expect Emerald and her partner to aim for my puppet's eyes that's all." Flashes of red and yellow blinking in his crimson eyes, Hawkins rubbed his sore pupils and sheathed his longsword.
Vito handed him a dampened cloth to clean the deep cut on Hawkins' forearm, then fetched a small medical kit from one of the cabinets beside the doors.
"I think you went a little easy on them Hawkins. If it were me I would've tested my brats until they couldn't move." Crocodile chuckled.
"You already did that didn't you boss? I think Roman and Neo fear you more than any other person on Remnant after you trained them in Vacuo..." Mr. 1 sighed.
"As they should, I can't have those spoiled brats ruining my name wherever they go. Not to mention they're the prized future of Reptile Dust Industries. So whichever bad habits I can beat out of them early on will only benefit me in the long run." The hooked man said with a smug grin.
"Anyway, thanks for the entertainment, Hawkins. I believe you're satisfied with your son's and daughter's performance?"
The magician nodded, a slight smile weaving through his stoic demeanor, the engines of the bullhead roared from stasis and the aircraft began its long trek to. Little did Hawkins know, he would encounter a challenge he might not be able to pull through unscathed.
His thoughts reeling back to his previous encounter with the friendly Bastion Arc, Hawkins tilted his head toward the window and wondered about his previous discussion with his phantom friend before they were abruptly cut off...
"What did Bastion mean when he said he couldn't speak to me in Mistral because his so-called relic wasn't there? Then again, he didn't speak to me at all in Menagerie, and his contact with me in Vacuo was rather sparse..."