Happy to see you all again! Hopfully I haven't change too much over such a long break, and hope ya all enjoy!
\~/
"Sal-u-tations, comrade Jaune!" The bright eye'd, orange-haired girl greeted with enthusiasm. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you." While she sounded awkward, as if not used to speaking to people, her cheerful smile seemed to suggest her words were genuine.
James watched as Jaune went to respond, before pausing and cocking his head sideways. Even with a mask, James could easily see his confusion as he looked between the girl and James.
"Is she-" he stopped and turned back to the girl "Are you…?" He paused again, scratching at his head. "You're not human?" He sounded more than a little confused.
The girl didn't react to the rudeness of the comment, instead simply nodding without missing a beat "Correct! I am one hundred percent mechanical in nature."
"Just like you, comrade Jaune, My body contains no human DNA-"
"And you have an aura." Jaune finished while nodding slowly, "And a really strong one at that…" James took a mental note of that, since when could Jaune see the strength of an aura?
"Wait, does she know I'm...?"
Before James or the Orange haired girl could answer, a new voice came from the entrance James and Jaune had entered the lab through.
"Oh! You've already arrived!" An older man with a greying beard and dark skin spoke with an enthusiasm that was uncommon among adults, and nearly unheard of within the Atlesian military. The most noticeable feature, however, was the sleek looking wheelchair the man sat upon.
"I've been looking forward to meeting you!" The man rolled forward with the chair's electric motor whirring quietly.
Jaune, for the most part, looked to have no idea how to respond. Most likely unsure how much these newcomers knew about his physiology.
Clearing his throat, Jame's introduced the two.
"This is Doctor Pietro Polendina, one of our military scientists who was recently promoted, giving him military access on par with my personal specialists. Meaning he does know what you are." He clarified.
"And this is his daughter, as well as Atlas' most advanced AI ever created; Penny Polendina." Penny nodded happily along, while Pietro held a proud smile on his face.
Jaune, who had been silent during the introduction, remained silent. James had figured he must have been listening to Whitback. It was a few extra seconds before Jaune seemed to snap back to reality.
"Ah! Sorry. It's nice to meet you, My name is Jaune, but I guess you know that already" He apologised sheepishly and raised a hand to shake.
Penny looked at the outstretched hand before mimicking the action enthusiastically, outstretching her hand just in front of Jaune's.
"It is nice to meet you as well! Father has told me your name and that you were a friendly Grimm, but I'm surprised to see you have an Aura as well!-"
The moment the last word left her mouth, a second hand sprung from Jaune's own, grabbing hold of Penny's wrist. No actual damage had been done but the sound of creaking metal gave away how hard the grip was.
"Whitback…!" Jaune hissed while Pietro reached for his daughter with a panicked expression. James caught the older man's wrist easily and motioned for him to hold for a moment.
Blackened veins quickly spread over Jaune's chest, giving way to a second head for Whitback to speak from.
"And how would you know about our Aura?" Whitback continued, heedless of Jaune's protest. "You wouldn't happen to be scanning us, would you? Looking for some kind of weakness, hmm?" Its tone was threatening, so much so that James wondered if either Polendina would see through the puffed up act.
"You misunderstand," Penny didn't even blink at Whitback's aggressive behaviour "My heart lets me see the size, strength and general state of a person's Aura. Kind of like a Semblance!" Her joy-filled reaction seemed to give Whitback, and even Jaune, pause.
Blackened veins spread further outwards from the extra limbs, turning the surface of Jaune's armor to liquid and allowing a second body to "step out".
Pietro's panicked expression turned to one of intense shock and awe, his jaw nearly hitting the ground. His scientific curiosity looking more than a little peaked.
Whitback's body was, as usual, an exact clone of Jaune's. Except this time, oddly enough, it was missing any kind of face covering.
"You know, I think I lik-" Whitback was cut off as Jaune slugged it in the arm, just hard enough to interrupt. "Why did you have to be so mean!" He nudged past it "I'm sorry about Whitback, he can be kind of... pushy."
"You mean, grabbing the wrist isn't how you greet someone?" Penny cocked her head as she looked down at her wrist. "Then what are you supposed to do?"
"You... don't know how to shake hands?" It was obvious to James that Jaune wasn't making fun of her. More confused and trying to figure out how to explain it.
Though he doubted Penny would have caught it even if he was making fun of her...
"Well it's easy, you just grab my hand… no, move your thumb here… and your other fingers here… And then you just give it a shake."
"And this is common amongst people? But why?"
"Well I think Whitback said it used to have to do with checking for weapons but now-"
"Whitback." James spoke too quietly to interrupt Jaune and Penny, knowing Whitback would have heard regardless.
Whitback looked back and gave a nod before separating himself from the conversing pair.
"Doctor, don't you have some notes to write about all this?" James encouraged lightly. Pietro almost looked to have a lightbulb appear behind his eyes.
"You're right! Can't miss a single detail…" He scurried off excitedly, presumably to fill a couple journals about Whitback's little duplication trick.
"Been awhile since you wanted to talk to me without Jaune." It started once they were a few steps away. "Going to try and tell me I'm too "heavy handed", like old times?"
James let out a light chuckle "No, I learned to accept your "tests", so long as you don't hurt anyone."
"I actually wanted to talk to you about the training Ozpin is wanting to put Jaune through." Whitback raised an eyebrow at that.
"You know I'm not one to trust people, but I didn't get the impression Ozpin was one to put his students through unneeded pain."
"No, it's not the training itself, but what the training means." He couldn't outright say what he meant, but he still needed to make sure Jaune's oldest guardian was warned about the danger of becoming a "hero".
"You mean how it's meant to turn Jaune into a soldier, not only for Ozpin, but for the city's counsels that Ozpin is forced to adhere to."
James looked to Whitback with a feeling of confusion,
"You... knew? And you're still here going along with it?" that hardly sounded like the logical course of action to go about protecting someone.
"You must understand James, I have experienced much more than you could possibly imagine." It rubbed it's hand on its head, as if it was struggling to think of the right words.
"Even if we only count the missions you sent us on, there were still well over a hundred people for me to consume." It put such an emphasis on the number, it's eyes burning with something more than just it's red sclera.
"Well over a hundred different minds with their own thoughts. Emotions. Memories."
While it spoke, James felt a little voice tickling at the back of his head, Bringing with it a feeling that something was… not wrong, but…. Different.
"As much as some Humans like to think, Faunus have the exact same brain as a regular human, with the exception of some minor changes in activity to compensate for Faunus with opposable limbs."
Whitback continued using his hands to try and get its point across. Motioning to James when speaking about humans, to its head when speaking of the brain and to its thumbs when speaking of the opposable limbs.
"My point being that I understand the human mind better than most humans ever will."
"And I know when someone is preparing for a war."
It knew Ozpin was planning on using Jaune as a soldier in his war, and yet still chose to stick around? That was more strange than Whitback acting as expressive as a drunken Qrow.
"That doesn't explain why you're going along with his plan. I honestly thought you would be convincing Jaune to leave the moment you found out he was going to be used." That's what he would have done in its position.
"Oh trust me, if I thought it would make an ounce of difference I would try to."
"But Jaune has made it clear that he'll gladly injure himself, both physically and mentally, if it means he's helping someone he cares about."
"Whether it be suffering through internal burns and tearing muscle to protect those females he has grown so fond of" It spoke with an almost mournful expression, before it sharpened suddenly
"Or isolating himself for years at a time in order to make life easier for the closest thing he had to a father figure since his accident." The angry glare James received was nothing compared to the shame that pooled within him.
He couldn't apologise, to do so would suggest he wouldn't do the same thing again. He might have regretted needing to take the actions he did, but he had the responsibility of an entire nation to think about.
He couldn't regret the actions that kept his people safe.
"But lamenting the past won't change anything. Jaune wants to help people, and learning the skills Ozpin and you offer will be invaluable in doing so."
Had the mood not been so somber, James might have laughed. The reason Whitback was allowing Jaune and itself to be used was because it was using them in turn. If that wasn't business in a nutshell, he didn't know what was.
"You know, it's amazing really. Spend six years here and you remain the same stubborn guardian that I found in the Schnee labs. But a couple months in Vale and you're actually compromising with someone other than Jaune."
It made him realize why Whitback had felt so different. It was growing, not just mentally, but emotionally. It was a relieving feeling, thinking it had the potential to actually grow to care for humans.
"Hmm, well it's really the only viable option I have. Jaune can be just as stubborn as anyone, and since I can't stop him, I'll instead focus on helping him achieve his goals. Even if it means fighting a few battles for some old man."
"Do you know who you're going to be fighting?"
"Can you tell me who you're fighting now?"
James remained silent, maybe he could have told him, but it was one thing to encourage a Grimm to protect someone. It was another matter altogether to talk about strictly classified intel.
"Don't ask me something you're not prepared to be asked."
James shrugged and nodded "I suppose that's a fair request."
"On an unrelated note, could you go stop Jaune before he fills Penny's harddrive with the complete history of handshaking?"
Whitback chuckled at that "They've moved on, trying to figure out why people enjoy wearing all kinds of colors."
"Actually, I was hoping he and I could borrow a bullhead for a day or two."
"We're in need of some material, and I believe I can track down that horde we fought." He explained further when James gave him a questioning look.
"Yes, I suppose that could be arranged. But you know I can't let you go on your own, right?" It was less about him running away and more about his horrid luck with running into enemies wherever he went.
"What about her?" It motioned to Penny, who seemed to be drawing more and more enthusiasm out of Jaune with each question.
"They do seem to get along, but she's too inexperienced with the real world." James countered while scratching at his chin thoughtfully. "Actually I was hoping to show the specialist I assigned to train Jaune what you two were capable of."
"And you think this specialist will be able to witness our full abilities without panicking?"
"Oh, I believe she'll be fine."
\-/
Winter suppressed a weary sigh, doing her best to focus on piloting the bullhead and not on the cargo she was ordered to haul.
"I'm surprised you're the one James has training me." Jaune's voice grated on her ears. Such an inhuman sound, why did he insist on speaking so much?
"There are only a few specialists that have access to your files, and even less that actually know of them. I was the logical choice." Even if she desperately wanted to argue it.
She just had to treat it like any other mission. Just another job, her personal feelings were irrelevant. It sounded easy, and yet she couldn't help but remember just what Jaune was.
How could she not? She sparred with him as he acted human, and his raw strength was terrifying. Then there were the videos of his… less than human abilities. Grasping tendrils, reflexes, and speed that could put the best of hunters to shame. Oh, and the shapeshifting, just to name the few that had been documented.
Then there were the countless other abilities the Grimm wouldn't elaborate on. It had been clear, during the few tests it even allowed, that it wasn't going to show or explain more than it chose.
Its ability to consume essentially any person or beast is one it adamantly refused to explain. Debatably, its most terrifying ability and James seemed content to trust it to a child…
"You don't like me very much, do you?" Winter looked up from the controls, looking at the blank faceplate that covered Jaune's face. James claimed he could hear emotion through the rough, almost demonic, hoarseness. She never could tell the difference.
"This is my job, personal feelings don't come into the matter." She deflected, the truth would only make it harder to work together.
"How can personal feelings not come into it?" He asked with a hand scratching curiously at his head. "Aren't personal feelings involved with everything people do?"
"I mean," She corrected while stifling a roll of her eyes. "I won't allow my personal feelings to hinder my mission" Professionalism was something that every Atlesian learned early in life, The Schnees doubly so.
"Ooohh, that makes sense. I guess Whitback does that a lot too." Jaune turned back, his hand moving to under his chin as he looked to be considering what she said.
"Is it hard for you too? Whitback sometimes struggles to keep his distrust of humans under control." His head turned ever so slightly away from her, as if he was listening to someone whisper into his ear.
"I'm not saying that Whitback, she already doesn't like us…" He mumbled quietly, causing her to raise a curious eyebrow. She brushed it off as the Grimm being its rude self.
"I never said I disliked you." And she didn't, he was, for all intents and purposes, a caring individual. She couldn't deny that, considering what he had done to protect his friends.
"But you have a Creature of Grimm inside you. I feel it's only prudent to hold some mistrust." She hoped that would be a sufficient explanation to stop the conversation, but Jaune just continued on with his questions.
"So if I didn't have Whitback with me, you wouldn't dislike-err... distrust me?" He corrected himself to match her previous answer. At least he was listening, though she could feel her annoyance growing as he continued asking questions.
"I suppose so." She tried not to sound too disinterested, but come on, couldn't he just leave her pilot the bullhead? He had a Grimm that could play twenty questions with him if he really wanted to talk.
"What if Whitback had been put into Weiss instead of me?"
The bullhead jerked as Winter turned much too quickly, her first and strongest thought that burned at the forefront of her mind. 'Was he threatening her?'
"What's wr-? Oh! No, nothing's happened to Weiss, I'm just curious if you would distrust her." He tried to explain himself, but didn't fully catch just why Winter had reacted like such.
He was just a curious child, his question didn't have any malicious intention behind it. He wasn't threatening her family, he was just trying to understand her mistrust of him.
So why then, did her heart beat so hard when she thought about it, why did her palms feel so clammy when she thought about the question? It wasn't like he could turn her sister into a Creature of Grimm like himself.
Except, that's exactly what he could do. And more than that, if it was an enemy of mankind, it would be the smartest thing to do.
She had been worried for Weiss' safety before, but now… Should she have been worried about her sister's humanity itself?
"We're getting closer. You should prepare for your mission." She said instead of answering. She could hear just how robotic she sounded, but couldn't bring herself to say anything more to the "boy".
"O-okay…" He responded quietly, leaving Winter in the cockpit with nothing but her thoughts.
\-/
"I said something stupid… didn't I?" Jaune spoke within the Bullhead's cabin, too quietly for Winter to hear.
Well, I don't think stupid is the right word. But yes, I think bringing her sister into the conversation was a mistake. Jaune let out a defeated sigh, seemed like a pretty stupid mistake to him…
"She wasn't angry with me was she? That scent of negativity she gave off, that was fear. Wasn't it?" Even if he couldn't smell negativity, her reaction would have been hard to miss.
I believe so, yes. She most likely took your question as a threat. I doubt she fully believes it though, else I imagine she would have done something. But her reaction is proof enough that at least some part of her believes we would do that.
"... Is that something we would do…?" He would have liked to say there was no way he would allow that to happen. But a few months ago he would have said the same about preventing torture…
And look how that turned out.
I would only do so if I truly believed that was the only way for us to secure our survival. In other words; Yes, it's something they would do…
You don't need to worry so much, I have no intention of ever creating such a creature. Hunters and Grimm are enough of a threat to us on their own, why would I combine that threat?
Jaune nodded his understanding, but he had stopped listening. Instead his thoughts kept swirling around the fear Winter showed. Just like the fear Yang had shown. And yet neither of their sisters shared that fear.
Was there really nothing he could do to persuade them otherwise? Should he even be trying to convince them? It wasn't as if he hadn't acted like a mindless beast before.
Did those mistakes make him a beast, incapable or undeserving of the chance to change? That couldn't be true, right? He had changed. He wasn't the impulsive child that wanted the entire Whitefang to suffer for the actions of one man.
But that wasn't the entire problem was it? Even without the conscious desire to kill, all it would take is a large enough number of people to get angry or all the effort he put into changing turns to nothing.
Winter and Yang would be proven right and he would stop any number of innocent people from ever seeing their families and loved ones again.
"Jaune?"
"Hmm?" He turned from his thoughts to see Winter standing at the exit hatch, looking at him expectantly. "We're overtop the horde now, are you ready to begin?" He pushed his thoughts aside and gave a nod.
"We've only just enough fuel to get back to Atlas, so I'll need to land a distance away. Would three hours be sufficient or will it take most of the day to clear them out?" She asked while hitting the lever to open the hatch.
Hours? Did she think he was going to be fighting them? James must have left out why she was taking him here.
"Actually," He began while moving to look out the hatch down at the swarming horde. "It shouldn't take more than a couple minutes. Maybe a half hour?" He tried to estimate, picturing how fast he normally consumed something and giving a vague enough answer that he shouldn't be too far off.
"Less than an hour?" Winter's brow furrowed, clearly having her doubts. "How do you plan on pulling that off?" Had she really not known how his consumption of material worked? He thought he had shown that ability off more than most others but thinking about it, he had never actually been caught on camera using it had he?
There was Jacques' lab and that apartment in Vale. Every other time, he realized he had been in the woods with no one around. She must have only heard about it from James. Hadn't Jacques recorded him doing so? He shrugged, it didn't matter.
"Just watch, Whitback is the best at killing Grimm. When we don't have to pretend to be human, not even Qrow could keep up." He couldn't help but let his pride show. It brought a smile to his face when he thought about just how many people would be saved from pain with more than two thousand monsters put down without risk.
With a rough salute, he leapt from the cabin, no weapon in hand nor strategy in mind. He didn't need it. Whitback had assured him the amount of Grimm was "hardly of consequence." In fact, it even seemed pleased with the amount. The more the merrier, right?
As the ground came closer, Jaune could feel his body adjust for the impact. Whitback hardened every single cell possible, making it impossible to move but all but impervious to physical damage.
He landed with a boom, turning the beowolf beneath him into mulch while injuring a few surrounding Grimm. While they growled and snapped at the sudden intrusion, the injured backed away rather than attack. The ones that didn't move looked at him in silence with something odd sparking in their eyes.
"Do they… Recognize me?" He asked while looking around at the Grimm that refused to retreat or attack. I doubt they could forget. From what I remember, they see us as their Alpha.
Huh, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to that. Maybe he should have felt guilty about killing them? But the snapping jaws and spiteful red eyes made it hard to even consider doing such.
Guilt? how could he even consider feeling such towards these beasts. Not a week earlier they had been trying to devour his team, his friends! Hell, it'll probably feel cathartic slaughtering them all like the monsters they were.
"Ready to begin?" Jaune asked, his muscles readjusted to allow for movement once more. Of course, let us "Fill the tank" as it were.
Multiple tendrils exploded from his body, the writing limbs spreading out and drilling into the closest Grimm. From there, with the new material from the recently consumed Grimm, the tendrils split and spread further. Doing so again and again.
The feast had begun.
\-/
The air was thick, almost suffocating. His body felt numb, so much so he couldn't tell if he even had limbs. Trying to move them didn't seem to do anything either.
Where was he? Why couldn't he open his eyes? Or were they already open, and it was just that dark? What even happened? The last thing he remembered was being surrounded by Grimm.
'Whitback!?' Jaune tried to call out, but with no feeling and no sound he had no idea if the words had even left his mouth.
Jaune? Its familiar voice brought about a wave of relief. If Whitback was with him, then he couldn't have died. Did he pass out? This place felt familiar, similar to the few times Whitback needed rest, but somehow… different.
'What's going on? Did I get knocked out? Did something happen?' He was confused to say the least, but found that he wasn't actually afraid. Weirder things had happened, accepting them was almost second nature at this point.
We're… fine Jaune. We're still in the field replenishing our biomass. If that was true, why had it hesitated? Whitback was not in the habit of doubting its words.
'Something's wrong." It wasn't a question 'I've been here before haven't I? Why do you sound nervous?'
Nothing is wrong… per say. It paused again, drawing more worry forward. It's difficult to explain. This feels familiar because it's essentially the same as the "place" you've rested before.
'That… doesn't really explain a whole lot…' Jaune couldn't help but comment. He didn't really know where he went the few times they needed to rest. All he knew was it had something to do with his mind, not body.
I apologise, Allow me to simplify. He swore he could almost see Whitback bowing its head. In the simplest terms, this place is a gateway. On this side of the gate, as you can tell, is us. Our minds, our body and everything you could imagine in between.
On the other side, stands them. The horde, or perhaps specifying Grimm would be more accurate. Here, Let me show you. It continued before he could ask. The feeling that followed was strange but not unfamiliar. Like the feeling of waking from a particularly long nap.
His senses hitting him like a truck, on the other hand, was not very familiar.
\-/
The smell of moisture in the air was completely absent, the feeling on his skin doubly so. All he could hear was the high pitch screeching between his ears, as if a flashbang had gone off. His sight was under a similar effect, a blinding light greeting him whenever he tried to open his eyes.
"Shh sh shh, it's okay child." A caring voice, motherly even, cut through the painful screeching in his ear. "You're alright, see?" A hand, presumably from the woman speaking, brushed against his skin, wiping away the painfully dry feeling with it.
"There you are… Perfect." He felt her rub his head, gently touching his eyelids and easing the blinding light. His newly restored sight allowed him to see the gentle soul that had seemingly healed his ailments.
The pale face with red and black eyes, covered with blacked veins, was not a face most would have expected. He didn't feel any fear however, quite the contrary actually. Something warm filled his being as he gazed upon the eyes that looked so lovingly at him
He felt disappointed when he was placed on the ground, a small whimper escaping his jaw. "Hush now little one, you mustn't fret, you have an important role to play." The pale woman knelt down, her snow white hair gently brushing his face as she leaned in to give him a tender kiss on the forehead.
"Now go my child, join your siblings in the hunt for that which I crave above all." The last word barely left her lips when an uncontrollable feeling overwhelmed him. He wanted to stay there, to protect his mother. But he couldn't, his body demanded obedience, following her orders, he began running.
Four limbs pounding against the scarred earth, he ran. Where to? He wasn't sure, but his body didn't seem to care. Forward it charged, stopping for nothing, even when burnt earth turned to grassy fields and then to forests, his legs refused to halt.
Only when a new, incredibly distinct scent, entered his nose was he able to regain any kind of autonomy.
He was curious where he was, wanting to enjoy the new scents and sounds that he found himself surrounded by. But the scent that had stopped him kept pulling his attention.
It was a… rather pleasant smell. causing him to almost subconsciously start taking in deep breaths through both his nose and mouth. Where was it coming from?
With a slight spring in his step, he followed the pleasant scent, excitement growing in his stomach as to what he might find. Maybe it would be what he was sent out to find? Oh how proud his mother would be.
Eventually the grass was split by a strip of dirt, covered in the strange prints that looked nothing like his own. He was busy inspecting them when a noise caught his ear, causing his eyes to dart in the direction.
The scent he had been following was in the same direction… Should he go? He didn't want to. The thought of encountering whatever could make sounds so different than his own, it drove a sliver of panic through him.
His lips drew back and a low growl escaped his jaws. He was scared, but what truly terrified him was his body pushing forward towards the noise. Heedless of his protests.
It was his mother, it had to be. With a defeated huff, he stopped trying to fight his body and started trotting along. If his mother needed it, he would face whatever monster was ahead.
Up ahead, he finally caught sight of them, three creatures, all of which stood upright on their hind legs. That didn't look comfortable…
The bigger one on the right drew his attention more than the slightly short, and much shorter creatures next to it. The smell he had caught, it was coming from the big one, he was sure of it.
Just as he was getting close, the big one turned suddenly, causing a yelp of surprise to escape him. Recovering quickly he lowered his body and let out the loudest growl he could. Maybe he could just scare them away from whatever was making that scent.
The bigger creature barked something and the other two ran away, just like he had planned. The big one, however, didn't move. Instead it pulled out a shiny looking stick and pointed it at him with an outstretched hand.
He knew he should probably be worried about that, or at least a part of him thought so. But the rest of him was distracted, his eyes trailing after the two smaller creatures that were getting further.
That… was a new scent, wasn't it? He couldn't think straight, something inside was hurting.
No, not hurting, aching. That scent, it called to him. Mother's words were all but forgotten as a new desire burned its way forth.
CONSUME.
The command rang out, and he pounced, leaping right past the larger creature and charging for the smaller ones. The smallest one, conversely, was releasing the strongest scent, it would be the first.
Just as he was about to reach his prey, his claws outstretched while demanding flesh, a loud bang stopped him. To be more specific, it was less the bang and more the hunk of metal that found itself in his flank.
It didn't matter though, only one thing mattered. He desperately tried to claw his way forward but his limbs did nothing but spasm. He was hurt, fatally so, but he could barely notice. The only thing he could see was the small creature that lit a fire under his skin. He didn't even notice the shiny stick being pressed into the back of his head.
The last thing he remembered before falling unconscious was that damnable scent. What had these hairless, hind walkers done to him?
\-/
The feeling of warm air blowing on his face woke him. With great effort, he opened his eyes and looked up at. What he saw made him panic momentarily.
The snout that looked down at him was connected to a creature that had to be at least four times bigger than himself. The thing was massive! He was about to be devoured, he was sure of it.
But instead of taking a bite out of him, the creature let out another puff of air onto his face before nudging something towards his vision starting to clear up properly, he could see the object being nudged happened to be a large chunk of flesh. It took him a moment to recognize the scent belonging to the hind walking creatures from earlier.
What happened? Had this kind creature saved him? His thoughts were interrupted by the loud rumbling of his stomach. That was the first time that happened. Did it have something to do with how weak he felt? Or how much his body hurt? He shook his head, it didn't matter. All he knew was that he needed to eat.
With a huff, and while trying to suppress a whimper, he pushed himself up and took a shaky step forward. The larger creature, which he was starting to notice looked an awful lot like himself, offered a leg to lean on. Was this one of his siblings Mother had told him about?
His questions faded away as he began to eat, the feeling of weakness and pain beginning to leave him. It wasn't long before he was done with his meal and looking around for more. Unfortunately it looked like his larger sibling had eaten everything else.
His sibling gave his snout a sniff before huffing, seemingly pleased with itself. Then it turned and began walking off the dirt strip, into the woods.
Without a second thought, he followed behind quickly. Was that his body forcing him to? He couldn't tell, he was more than happy to stay with the kind giant. Maybe it could teach him to get bigger?
\-/
As his life went on, he met many other creatures and despite how different many of them looked, most shared his scent. Most were his siblings. And while some tried to challenge his older sibling, none went out of there way to kill them. Some had even joined them to stay safe from those wretched hind legs.
Those monsters were the worst of all. No matter how he or any of his siblings approached them, they would always release some kind of poison. It was hard to remember what happened after the release, but oftentimes he would find much less siblings in his pack afterwards.
Because of this poison, he never once was able to find what made that scent Mother craved so much. As the years dragged on, the lack of success had begun to wear on him.
After decades of hunting, he began to lose confidence that success would ever be found. He wasn't sure exactly when he had stopped searching, all he knew was once he found himself in a pack of thousands, he never saw another hind leg again.
Until the day he found the biggest sibling he had ever laid eyes upon. A hind leg poison attack had struck just prior to its appearance, muddying his memory of the encounter. What he could remember made his legs quake with fear.
It came in the shape of a hind leg, but the size of its presence… It was suffocating to deal with up close. He couldn't remember how or why it was in the middle of his pack, but there it stood, challenging the entirety of his pack.
None but the alpha stepped forward, it had to be just as scared as he was, and yet it chose to fight the impossible. It put up a good fight, but none were surprised to see it flee, broken and bloody.
As the strongest of them stood still, none of his other siblings seemed to know what to do. The one who defeated the alpha normally took over and began leading the pack. But this new Alpha didn't seem likely to lead.
It went so far as to protect one of the hindlegs that entered the clearing. And with nothing else they could do, they left the new alpha with the hindlegs.
He couldn't understand his strongest sibling, choosing to stay with the poisonous hindlegs. Was it still trying to find what Mother craved? Wasn't that what all his siblings were created for?
His questions went unanswered, and a few days later, their strange sibling came back.
\-/
Jaune?
He couldn't tell where he was, he tried to open his eyes or shake his head but found he could feel neither.
Jaune, can you hear me? What was Jaune? How could he even understand these noises? Was it a relative of Mother's?
Jaune! The voice was accompanied by a flash of images. 'W-Whitback? ...What just happened?' His memory felt foggy at best. He was Jaune, he knew this but he was... also this creature, he could see the memories, feel the feelings that came along with it.
One of the Grimm just passed through the gate. It explained You just experienced the life of a Beowolf.
The life of a Beowolf? It felt like he was really there, like it was his own life. 'D-does that happen to you every time?' He struggled to wrap his mind around just how real it felt.
Yes, it's how I learn from those I consume.
'Why didn't this happen to me sooner…?'
I… I am not positive. For the most part, your mind is able to sort through the information our body provides into what it can and can't understand and work with.
But sometimes it… Adapts, changes, and learns to make use of information it wasn't normally able to. I believe this is why you're now seeing this… "gate".
That explains why it had been so hesitant and worried before the experience. On the bright side, his memory seemed to be evening out.
'Wait, just how long was I… "walking down memory lane"?'
One minute and eighteen seconds has passed since we dropped from the bullhead. Despite what it may have felt like to you, the memories are passed in an instant. Outside the memories, where we are now, I have sped up our perception of time, so do not feel you need to rush into the next set of memories.
'N-next… set?' He felt a chill. Did he have to go through every one? 'H-how many… are there...?'
Two thousand one hundred and forty six.
\~/
Took me just a bit longer than usual eh? Sorry about that. Honestly I had lost interest in writing for a short time (burnout? doubt it but maybe.) but now im back! Not sure for how long but we shall see how it goes. I look forward to hearing any feedback on this one, considering it kind of felt to me like i might be coming out of the left field here. That being said I enjoyed writing it, so that kind of got me to say "worst case, if it isnt liked than at least ill have learned something to avoid next time.". Hope you all enjoy! and have a wonderful evening/morning.
darkravenknight, More than happy to hear you like it! I'm hoping to show more of the in Atlas academy with the whole team next chapter, and while our little half grimm might be a little less "little" I hope you'll enjoy!
sgtitanwolf, I haven't watched much after the fall of beacon but i looked it up and it's remarkable similar! Maybe rooster teeth had read some of the Grimm/hybride fanfictions that are around this site! probably not but who knows!
DragonTetho, I actually agreed with you when i first began writing, its why i had Jaune killing Whitefang for James. But someone had pointed out to me just how kind hearted Jaune was canonically and i found myself agreeing. While i 100% agree seeing your family die the way i wrote Jaune's going would drive most people insane and the angrier/more capable individuals to seek revenge at all costs. But Jaune had never been a particular angry or vengeful person. At the worst i could see him having a complete breakdown and going more outwardly crazy. But I kind of thought Whitback and its ability to numb the more physical effects of human emotion would keep him from losing it. Sorry for the long read, but I hope it at least explains my motivation behind my writing even if you disagree with it. Thank you for the feedback though! I hope i didn't make it seem like i wanted any less!
0akarigan0, ¡Es bueno saber de ti! Decidí hacer que Winter le tuviera más miedo a Jaune, ya que creía que cualquier persona con el nivel de precaución / previsión que ella posee estaría más que un poco nervioso con un elemento tan desconocido como Jaune. ¡Y me alegro de haber podido explicar adecuadamente a Adam! Estaba en parte preocupado por haber ido por la borda, ¡pero feliz de saber que lo disfrutaste! ¡Gracias de nuevo por el aliento! espero que sigas disfrutando! (Traductor de google)
GeraltRex, honestly I hadn't really thought about it too hard. My main thought would be just how powerful Cinder's semblance, followed quickly by how much political pressure her faction could lend to the whitefang (or threaten them with). And yee I planned on showing the relationship between Adam and Cinder soon (not sure when but ima try to fit it in somewhere soon) But a little spoiler, You are not wrong, Adam is not a happy boi XD. As for the hundred pounds of food, it technically could work, just like any protein rich source could (not a scientist of course, the protein rich is more to limit him from just eating plants.) but it would be woefully inadequate. He had already consumed multiple whitefang bodies which let Whitback repair the serious damage and stabilize their condition. but in order to have the weight he had he would need to eat an equal amount of food. Basically i think of it as an equal trade deal. For evert pound of material that gets cut off, or burned through extreme friction, should be replaced if he wants to remain just as physically strong. I probably mixed something up in that mess of an explanation so please dont hesitate to ask if i missed or made something unclear! Thanks for the support!