In a small cave hidden away from the surface, a Death Stalker awakens. It senses emotion. Negativity. The feelings that drive it to act. Making its way to the surface of its den, it emerges into the cold desert of Vacuo, lit only by scattered stars and the shattered moon.
There, the Death Stalker sees a lone figure among the wide plains of sand. A beacon among the barren wastes. More of its kind would surely come, attracted by the same negativity. But for now, that lone figure was this Death Stalker's prey.
The Death Stalker quickly approaches the figure, scurrying across the sands as quickly as its eight legs could carry it. Its claws snap open and closed, its mouth clicks, and its stinger draws back, ready to strike.
The figure vanishes. A heavy blow strikes the Death Stalker's belly, sending it reeling back. Claws instinctively grab where the blow came from, but they close around nothing.
Another strike, this time against the Death Stalker's back, rattles its exoskeleton. The Death Stalker senses a weight on its back. It thrusts its stinger down towards it.
The Death Stalker's tail is struck three times in rapid succession. It can no longer feel its own stinger.
As the Death Stalker flails around in a panic, attempting to dislodge what it once thought as prey, innumerable strikes rain down upon its hardened exoskeleton. The thick plating on its back shudders. Cracks. Then, shatters.
One more strike into the soft, exposed flesh of the Death Stalker's body, and it evaporates into the air, leaving only the one who had slain it.
Her breaths are heavy as she clenches her fist.
It isn't enough. She needs more.
She turns her head upwards and shouts into the sky. More creatures of Grimm crawl from their holes, as if to answer her call. They gather around her, each seeking to prey upon the lone challenger in their territory. Eager to tear, stab, and rip through her.
The sounds of fighting continue through the night. Once it all dies down, a figure stands alone in the desert, her muscles burning, her fists bloodied, and her heart still wanting more.
She still isn't strong enough.
Arc 3
Journey of a Bullet
Chapter 33: Two is the Loneliest Number
As the sun rose over the horizon, its light traveled over the desert and slipped through the window of a shack near the edge of the small town of Saguaro. It shone directly on Lin's face.
Lin woke up. She climbed out of her mattress.
Water.
Lin put on her shoes, grabbed a bucket, and stepped outside. The air was still cool. Her limbs still carried a dull ache. Both were from the night before.
The pump was just outside the shack. She put the bucket beneath it and started pumping. Before long, the bucket was full. She drank enough to parch her thirst. Looked down at her reflection. Brushed hair out of her eyes. It went back down. Used the rest of the water to wash herself. Then, she brought the bucket back into the shack.
Bounty office should be open soon.
Lin exited the shack and went down the road into town.
"Hey!"
Lin walked down the road.
"Hey!"
Even though it was only just after dawn, the town had already begun to move. Horse-drawn carts carried goods down the road, merchants peddled their wares, and -
"Hey, Lin!"
Lin turned to see a boy. It was the sheriff's son. He was about eight years old, give or take. At least, that's what Lin assumed. She didn't quite remember his name.
"What is it?"
"You're headed to the bounty office, right? Mama said you would be."
"I am."
"Did you have breakfast yet?"
"No."
"Mama said that'd be the case, too," the boy said, pulling a biscuit and a thick slice of ham out from somewhere. "She told me to give you this."
"Hm." Lin took the food. She bit into the biscuit. Chewed. Swallowed. "Thank you."
"No problem! Just make sure you eat some breakfast next time, cause otherwise Mama's gonna tell me to go out and give it to you again," the boy said, hurrying off to wherever he needed to go.
Meanwhile, Lin continued on her way to the bounty office.
Letra Quence. Wanted for two counts of murder. Last seen near Agave Canyon. Wanted dead or alive; bring proof of elimination or arrest to the office of Sheriff Shimoto. Reward: 10,000 Lien.
The reward was good. There was only a single foe. But the area was large, and Lin didn't know how to track people.
Laborers needed for construction project. 10 Lien per hour. Meet at construction site along West Street and Dusking Road.
Construction work was something Lin could do, but the pay was low. And she couldn't improve herself on labor alone.
Require multiple skilled fighters to clear Grimm infestation. Fair compensation. More details at Tefert Mine. Ask for Milton Thneed.
Fighting Grimm was something Lin could definitely do, and Tefert Mine was only a few miles up north. The only concern was the unlisted pay, but considering what she had gotten from other Grimm extermination jobs -
"Hey, this job looks pretty good! Gillia, take a look at this!"
Someone ripped the job poster off the board. Turning towards the culprit, Lin saw a boy waving the poster at a girl with glasses near the entrance of the bounty office. Both were about Lin's age.
"Grimm extermination, and it isn't too far away!" the boy said, showing the poster to the girl. "This could be a great chance to get some practice in before we go back to Shade!"
"Uh, Jack, I think, uh..." the girl said, pausing for a moment and pointing at Lin. "I, uh, think she was reading that."
"Oh! Sorry about that!" the boy said, turning and handing the poster to Lin. "You were looking at this, right? You wanna come with us for this job? I don't see anything about an applicant limit, so we can all go together!"
"Okay."
"You're, uh, coming with us then?" the girl asked, smiling as she extended a hand. "Nice to, uh, meet you. I'm Gillia, and Jackson is my, uh, partner."
"Lin."
Lin made her way out of the bounty office and up the road towards the northern exit to the town. The boy and the girl followed behind.
Lin walked down the road.
"... and then we decided we'd travel around Vacuo and train ourselves! After all, I'm supposed to be the leader of team JAMM! If I fall behind my teammates, what kinda leader am I?"
The boy was rambling on about something.
"Yeah, and since we're, uh, partners, I came along too. Amara and Raz are doing their own things somewhere else in Vacuo. Hopefully, by the time we come back for our second year, we'll, uh, be a lot stronger than before."
The girl with the glasses was talking as well.
"Maybe even strong enough to beat team MELN! I wanna see the looks on their faces when we finally take them out in combat class! Hey, what about you? You a student too? Don't think I've seen you around Shade, but the school's pretty big, so..."
The path curved around a dried riverbed. Lin recognized the area. Tefert Mine wasn't far.
"Hey, did you hear me?"
Lin turned to see the boy looking at her, as if expecting an answer. She didn't quite remember his name.
"I'm not a student."
Lin turned back to the path.
"Oh, okay. Well, then, what do you do? Are you from around here, or - "
"No."
"A - alright."
"I - if you don't mind, what, uh, sort of weapon do you use?" the girl asked. Lin had trouble remembering her name as well. "I figured that if, uh, we're working together on this job, it might be better if, uh, we knew each other's fighting styles..."
"Oh, yeah, Gillia, that's a great idea! Doesn't hurt to share a little," the boy said, reaching down to the weapon on his belt. At a glance, it looked like an ordinary red scimitar, the only difference being a button by the hilt. "This is Rascal Roja! She's a chain scimitar that I made in my dad's workshop. The girl's done me well over the years!"
"I have, uh, this. I call it Pintora Azul," the girl added, pulling a crossbow from her back. Canisters of what looked like various paint colors were attached along the sides of the crossbow, with tubes leading towards where the bolt would rest. "It's, uh, a crossbow that lets me infuse Dust paint into the bolts. I can also turn it into, uh, an axe, but..."
"You should see us fight! Gillia hits the Grimm with her Dust bolts and I slash them and then they go boom!" the boy exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air for dramatic effect. "So, what about you? What weapon do you use? It's always exciting to see what kinda things people can make!"
"I don't have a weapon."
"You don't?" the girl asked. "Not even, uh..."
"We're here," Lin said, spotting the mining camp by the entrance to Tefert Mine. She began walking faster, picking up the pace as she heard the boy and girl behind her quickening to keep up. Before long, they had arrived at the mining camp, which was fairly quiet. Lin wasn't sure if it was because it was still early in the morning, or if it was because there was supposedly a Grimm infestation somewhere around here. She didn't particularly care either way, and made her way over to what looked like the main office for the camp.
Someone was already knocking at the door. A girl in a brown jacket with a large backpack.
"Hey, you needed some Grimm cleared out or something?!" the girl in the jacket shouted, knocking on the door. She turned and saw Lin and the two behind her approaching. "Huh. Y'all here for the job? Don't look like miners to me."
"Yes, we saw the, uh, job on the bounty board in Saguaro," the girl with the glasses said. "Jack and I, uh, came up here to take the job."
"Yup! It's only about a month until Shade starts back up, so I figured Gillia and I would take some jobs, get some extra practice in before we started our second year!"
"Huh. So you're students," the girl in the jacket muttered, turning towards Lin. "You with them?"
"No."
"Figured as much," the girl in the jacket said, turning back towards the door. "Unfortunately, none of us are getting this job unless the guy running this place doesn't open up the fucking - "
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," a voice called out from inside. A man with an unkempt beard opened the door. "You're here for the job? All four of you?"
"Yup! Ready to knock the Grimm back into the hole came from!" the boy exclaimed as the girl with glasses nodded in agreement.
"Tch... I guess you lot will do," the man said, stepping inside and gesturing for them to follow him. As Lin stepped inside, she saw the man pull out a roughly-drawn map and place it on a table in the center of the room.
"So, what's the situation?" the girl in the jacket asked. "Where's the Grimm?"
"Right here," the man said, waving his hand around an area that was shaded in red. "A few days ago, this entire section of Tefert Mines became infested with Grimm. We've sealed it off for now, but I need a more permanent solution to this mess."
"So you, uh, want us to clear out the Grimm from there?" the girl with glasses asked as she raised her hand. "What kind of, uh, Grimm are down there? Do you know?"
"Mostly Rachnaea, from what I've heard. Didn't get a good look myself," the man said. "Shouldn't be a problem for you lot, right?"
"Rachnaea, huh?" the girl in the jacket muttered as a frown came over her face.
"Aren't those, uh, kinda like spiders?" the girl with glasses asked, turning to the boy. "I, uh, don't think we've fought those yet..."
"It'll be fine! As long as they can be sliced apart or blown up, we can take them," the boy said, looking up at the man. "So, where's the sealed area? Can you take us there?"
"Sure. Follow me," the man said, making his way out of the office as the boy and the two girls followed. Lin followed as well.
The mine was dark, for the most part. Dim lamps lined the walls, but their light only illuminated the tunnels partially. The rest was consumed by darkness. The twisting tunnels and branching paths only made the mine that much more confusing to navigate, and Lin couldn't quite tell how far they had gone from the entrance, much less in which direction it was. The tunnel itself was wide enough across that you could fit maybe two vehicles side by side, but no more than that.
"So this is, uh, the infested area?" the girl with glasses asked, nervously looking around and checking her crossbow. "I, uh, wonder when we'll start seeing Grimm."
"Whenever they come, we'll be ready for them!" the boy said. He was leading the group; the girl with glasses was next to him, and Lin walked beside the girl in the jacket. "We've got four people here, so we're like our own makeshift Huntsman team! Let's see, we're team... uh, what's your name?"
"Mud," the girl in the jacket said. She had a rifle resting in her hands. Lin noticed her eyes scanning the walls and ceiling of the tunnels, peering down paths they weren't heading through.
"Let's see... so with Lin, that gets us... team JALM?" the boy said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Not sure if that's a color... what about - "
"Stay sharp," the girl in the jacket interrupted, raising her rifle. "They're nearby. Get ready."
"Really?" the girl with glasses asked as she looked around nervously. "How do you, uh, know? I don't hear - "
An inhuman screech ripped through the air as the four stopped in the middle of the tunnel. Lin's muscles tensed as her hands balled into fists. The boy and the girl with glasses brought up their weapons. Another screech echoed through the tunnels as Lin heard something skittering in the dark.
Lin spotted red eyes glowing in the dark. Three sets of eight eyes each, watching from the shadows between the lanterns..
"There!" the girl in the jacket shouted. By the time she had raised her rifle, Lin had already covered half the distance to one of the sets of eyes. A pair of fangs lashed out as the Rachnaea leapt at Lin, only to bite down on empty air as Lin ducked before striking it directly on the underside of its thorax with her fist. The Rachnaea flew through the air and landed underneath one of the lanterns lining the tunnel, giving Lin a good view of its spider-like body. It was slightly smaller than a Beowolf, with a mostly-black body complemented by fangs and limbs tipped by white, bone-like plating and sharpened to a point. Unsettling red patterns shifted across its abdomen as it raised its two front legs and screeched once again.
Not enough, Lin thought as the Rachnaea stabbed one of its legs towards Lin, who grabbed it and immediately ripped it from its socket. The Rachnaea fell off balance for a moment before rushing forward to bite Lin once again. This time, Lin raised her fist, bringing it down on the Rachnaea's head and smashing it to the ground. Before it could recover, she brought her foot up and then down onto its head, crushing it to a black paste as the rest of the Rachnaea's body went still.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Lin heard the boy shout. Turning around, she saw said boy swinging his scimitar at another Rachnaea, driving it further down the tunnel. He turned and shouted at the girl with glasses. "Alright, Gillia, let's finish this!"
"Uh, okay!" the girl with glasses replied, taking aim and firing her crossbow. The bolt struck the Rachnaea's thorax, and what looked like red paint splashed over the body of the Grimm. A moment later, the boy slashed down at the paint, and the Rachnaea suddenly burst into a fiery explosion.
"Yeah! Nice shot!" the boy shouted, pumping his fist into the air as the Rachnaea burned away, eventually fading into a smoldering pile of black ash. As the ash disintegrated, the boy turned towards the girl with glasses. "That was perfect!"
"Thank you. You, uh, did most of the work though," the girl with glasses said, reloading her crossbow. "I, uh, just..."
"Don't celebrate yet," the girl in the jacket interrupted, stepping past the boy and the girl with glasses. Lin could see the third Rachnaea's slowly-disintegrating corpse behind her, a hole blown through its head. "We ain't close to done. There's gonna be a lot more of them, I'll bet."
"We'll be fine! We handled these guys easy enough, the rest shouldn't be too hard," the boy said as he, as well as the girl with glasses and Lin, followed behind the girl with the jacket. "Besides, you gotta stay positive, right? The Grimm feed on negativity, after all!"
"There's a difference between positivity and blind optimism," the girl with the jacket muttered as she continued scanning her eyes over the tunnels. "You're a Shade student, right? Thought you'd know that by now."
"Man, you gotta stop worrying!" the boy said. "If you keep stressing out, you'll look like an old woman by the time you're thirty!"
"I'm not stressed. Just focused," the girl in the jacket said as the tunnel widened out into a larger area, expanding from a few meters across to over a dozen as the ceiling heightened proportionally. Though this cavern was as dimly lit as the tunnels behind them, Lin could still see mining machinery scattered across the area, from forklifts and minecarts to conveyor belts and odd machines that Lin didn't know the function of. Besides the cavern's four new guests, everything was still.
"They, uh, left a lot of stuff here. Did the miners leave in a hurry?" the girl with glasses asked. As the group made their way further into the cavern, a foul smell licked up against Lin's nose. She sniffed again. Something was rotting. She sniffed once more. Followed the scent.
"If I were a miner, I'd leave in a hurry if I heard there were Grimm down here. But luckily, we're not miners. We're Huntsmen!" the boy said. Meanwhile, Lin followed the foul scent to a large stack of crates. The smell was getting stronger. Much stronger. And slightly acidic, as well. As circled around behind the stack of crates, she saw what was causing the smell.
Dimly lit by a nearby lamp, Lin saw a body slumped up against the crate, almost completely wrapped in black silk-like threads. Only the top of the head was left open.
"Found something," Lin called out, catching the attention of the other three. The first to make their way over to her was the girl in the jacket.
"Huh. Poor bastard," the girl in the jacket muttered, squatting down next to the silk-wrapped corpse. "Guess some of the miners didn't make it out at all."
"What is it? What did you find - oh no!" the boy exclaimed as he saw the body. He reached out, his hands grabbing towards the corpse's head. "We need to get him out - "
"Don't touch that!" the girl in the jacket shouted, slapping the boy's hand away. "Rachnaea silk is basically acid. It'll eat through your aura and skin. Besides, this guy's already dead."
"A... a dead body?" the girl in the glasses asked nervously as she rounded the corner. Upon seeing the body, she jumped back, holding her crossbow close. "Eep! Are, uh, we safe? How long ago did he, uh, pass away?"
"Lemme take a look," the girl in the jacket muttered as she pulled out a knife and cut through the silk encasing the miner. His pale skin was covered in chemical burns; at least, where there was any skin at all. Multiple stab wounds, likely from Rachnaea legs and fangs, adorned his flesh, and a black stain spilled out of his mouth and down his chin. "Damn, took a big hit of Rachnaea venom. Body's in pretty bad shape so it's hard to say, but I'd guess he's been dead for about a day or so."
"So, uh, does that mean they're still around here?" the girl with glasses asked as she looked around nervously. "I know we managed to kill some already, but - aah!"
The girl with glasses suddenly fell back. By the time Lin had turned her head, the girl was already halfway across the cavern, shouting in panic as something dragged her away from the rest of the group. Then, Lin saw what looked like a thin, black cord wrapped around her leg that extended back into the dark corners of the chamber, where a familiar set of eight red eyes was waiting..
"Shit! We're being ambushed!" the girl in the jacket said, raising her rifle and pulling the trigger. The bullet sliced through the cord, which went limp. At the same time, the boy sprinted towards the girl, only to be cut off as two Rachnaea dropped down from the ceiling.
"Gillia! I'm coming!" the boy shouted, slashing his scimitar at the Grimm blocking his path. Lin was about to go and join him when she heard an inhuman shriek from behind her. Turning around, she saw a dozen Rachnaea emerge from a nearby tunnel, their eyes immediately locking onto the group. Half of them broke off towards the glasses girl and the boy, while the rest skittered towards Lin and the girl with the jacket.
"Come here," Lin muttered, raising her fists as she ran to intercept the Rachnaea. The one in front was particularly ambitious, skittering ahead of the rest and leaping up to sink its fangs into Lin's neck. However, Lin ducked down, letting the Grimm sink its fangs into the air above her before thrusting her fist directly into its abdomen. Before it could fall back to the ground, she grabbed one of its flailing legs and swung it around, smashing it into a second Rachnaea that had tried to attack Lin while she was occupied with the first one and flattening them both. As their bodies disintegrated, Lin felt something searing-hot wrap itself around her arm and yank hard, nearly pulling her off balance before she planted both of her feet on the ground and pulled back.
BANG!
Suddenly, whatever was pulling at Lin went limp. Looking up, she saw black Rachnaea silk wrapped around her arm. On the other end of the line of silk was a Rachnaea's disintegrating body, with a bullet hole straight through its head.
"Might wanna get that shit off ya," Lin heard the girl with the jacket mutter behind her. Following her advice, Lin reached over and ripped off the silk, throwing it to the side as the remaining Rachnaea shifted their attention to the girl in the jacket, skittering towards her rather than Lin.
No. You're mine, Lin thought as she leaped towards the nearest Rachnaea, stomping straight onto its abdomen and causing it to collapse to the ground. Before it could recover, she reached down and grabbed its head with both hands before yanking it cleanly off its body. Tossing the already-disintegrating head aside, she ducked just in time to avoid a silk string from one of the remaining Rachnaea. Then, she reached out, grabbed the silk with one hand, pulled the Rachnaea towards her, and -
BANG! BANG!
- watched as the Rachnaea's head was shattered by a bullet, just as she was about to smash it to the ground with her free hand. Looking up, Lin saw the last Rachnaea had suffered a similar fate. The girl with the jacket stood over its disintegrated corpse as she reloaded her rifle.
"Looks like we're done here. Wanna go check on those two?" the jacket girl asked. Lin nodded, and the two made their way across the chamber to where the other two were fighting. Or, at least, where the other two were supposed to be fighting; Lin could only see the boy slashing his scimitar at a Rachnaea while another Rachnaea's corpse was disintegrating nearby. "Huh. Where's the girl?"
"Gillia... dragged into... over there!" the boy shouted between heavy breaths, pointing towards a nearby tunnel as he finished the Rachnaea off with a final slash through its abdomen. He didn't even stop for a moment to catch his breath before he took off running towards the tunnel. "She needs help!"
Lin and the jacket girl followed the boy to the tunnel, only for a trio of screeching Rachnaea to block their path. Lin was about to run to engage with them -
"Fire in the hole!"
- only to stop and fall back as the jacket girl tossed a grenade at the feet of the Rachnaea. The boy didn't lose momentum, sidestepping a bite from one of the Grimm before vaulting over them, making his way further down the tunnel and separating himself from the two girls. One of the Rachnae turned and raised its thorax, but the grenade exploded before it could launch a string of web at the boy, sending all three Rachnae crashing against the side of the tunnel.
"Shit! Don't just go off on your own!" the jacket girl shouted, shooting two of the fallen Rachnae through the head. Lin grabbed the third one, pulling it up against the wall before bringing her fist down on its skull, crushing it.
Too weak. I need something stronger, Lin thought as she watched the Rachnaea disintegrate into the air, sparing it one last glance before following the jacket girl down the tunnel. The dim lighting and many twists and turns caused Lin to lose sight of the boy, but she could discern his location well enough from the commotion ahead as shouting, screeching, and slashing echoed down to her. Occasionally a Rachnaea would pop out from a side tunnel or drop down from the ceiling, but those would be dispatched by either Lin's fists or a bullet from the jacket girl. Lin was somewhat impressed by the jacket girl; she seemed a decent bit more competent than a lot of people she had worked with. Including the girl with the glasses and the boy.
The tunnel widened into another open area, somewhat smaller than the previous cavern but still large enough to fight a decently-sized house. Lin saw the boy standing in the center of the room, swinging his weapon around at a swarm of Rachnaea. The blade of this scimitar had detached and was slashing through the Grimm in wide arcs as a chain kept it attached to the hilt.
"Gillia! I'm here!" the boy shouted. Lin couldn't quite see the glasses girl; considering the boy had said that she had been taken, it was possible that she was somewhere underneath the swarm of Rachnaea, which numbered at least a dozen. Or maybe some of the Rachnaea had dragged her further into the mine, down one of the many tunnels branching out from the chamber. Lin didn't know. She didn't particularly care, either.
More to fight. Good. Lin leapt into the fray, shoulder tackling the nearest Rachnaea and sending it flying across the chamber, where it smashed into the far wall before going still. She ducked low, avoiding an errant swing of the boy's chain scimitar before grabbing a Rachnaea's leg as it tried to attack her. A kick to the Rachnaea's head blew it back and into another, but before Lin could follow up, she heard two gunshots from behind her. The next thing she knew, both Rachnaea were sprawled out on the ground, their heads blown off.
"Your friend's back over there!" the jacket girl shouted, pointing towards the other side of the chamber. Lin looked over to see not the glasses girl, but a human-sized bundle messily wrapped in black threads. Which probably contained the glasses girl.
"Gillia!" the boy shouted, immediately taking off towards what was probably the glasses girl. The remaining Rachnaea turned to chase after him, but Lin cut them off, planting herself firmly between the boy and the oncoming Grimm.
"Ha!" Lin shouted, driving her fist straight into the skull of the Rachnaea in the front and caving it in. An energy started burning in her muscles as she leapt over a lunging bite from a second Rachnaea before landing on its abdomen and crushing it with a hard stomp. Then, she felt something wrap around her arm, immediately eating into her aura as soon as it made contact with her skin. It pulled hard.
It didn't pull hard enough.
Lin yanked her silk-wrapped arm back, pulling the Rachnaea on the other end of the strand of silk to her by its thorax. As it flew through the air, she kicked upwards, her foot landing right against its abdomen and practically splitting the Rachnaea in half. The energy in her muscles burned hotter still as she tore the acidic silk from her wrist, eager to confront the rest of the Rachnaea...
... only to find them sprawled across the chamber, a hole blown through each of their disintegrating skulls.
Huh. As the jacket girl ran to follow the boy, Lin made a mental note to watch her fight at least once, if possible. Then, she hurried behind as they made their way over to the boy, who was kneeling over the bundle of black thread.
"Gillia! Are you okay?!" the boy shouted, using his scimitar to cut open the bundle of thread and revealing the glasses girl. Burns and welts covered her face and wherever her skin was exposed, much like the corpse from the cavern before. Multiple puncture wounds adorned her chest, stomach, and arms; it was clear that her aura had long since broken.
"It... it hurts..." the glasses girl sputtered as she began to shiver, her eyes shifting rapidly as her pupils rapidly dilated. Her body started to spasm as an agonizing scream erupted from her mouth, echoing through the chamber and the tunnels surrounding it.
"Gillia! What - what's happening?! What's wrong?!" the boy asked as the glasses girl continued to scream, her eyes becoming bloodshot as her skin went pale and her spasms intensified. Suddenly, the screaming stopped, and a thick black fluid started frothing from her mouth and nose, dribbling across her face and pouring down her chin. The stench of rot and decay filled the air as the boy turned towards the jacket girl. "What's wrong with her?!"
"I... I'm sorry. Nothing we can do now," the jacket girl muttered with a frown on her face. The glasses girl's gaze shifted rapidly from the boy, to the jacket girl, and to Lin, and while she couldn't speak with the vile black fluid erupting from her orifices, Lin could tell from her eyes that she was pleading for help. Pleading for someone to save her from the agony she was in. More of the black fluid spilled from her mouth as her spasms grew weaker and weaker. Then, after a few weak spasms, her body went still, and her eyes glazed over, staring off into nothingness.
"Gillia? Gillia? Gillia!" the boy shouted, grabbing the glasses girl's shoulder and shaking her. He reached up and placed shaking two fingers on her neck. "No... no... Gillia... what happened? How... how did this... how did she..."
"Rachnaea venom. It liquifies the victim's organs. By the time it's all spilling out of their mouth like that... well, not much you can do," the jacket girl explained, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Sorry. You should probably get her out of here."
"No, no, nonono, this can't be happening, we were supposed to go back to Shade together, no, this isn't real, no, this is..." the boy muttered, looking down at the glasses girl. Then, he turned his head up towards one of the tunnels. "The Grimm... they... they did this... they - they killed her, I need to - "
"Hey, wait!" the jacket girl shouted as the boy took off running, slipping into the tunnel and out of sight. She looked down at the corpse of the glasses girl, and then towards Lin. "Fuck. We should probably go after him."
"What about her?" Lin nodded towards the corpse.
"Leave her. We'll come back later," the jacket girl said, taking off towards the tunnel the boy had gone down. "Chances are, he's gonna get in over his head, considering all the Grimm we've seen."
Lin followed the jacket girl down the tunnel. The two girls passed by the disintegrating bodies of several Rachnaea, all cut through and sliced apart by the boy's weapon. The tunnel started becoming more and more rugged, and the lanterns along the wall grew further and further apart, making the tunnel go dimmer and dimmer as they pushed further along. After about a minute of following the trail of Rachnaea bodies, Lin heard the boy shouting and a blade slashing into Grimm flesh.
"You killed her! You... I'll kill you all!" Lin heard the boy cry out. As she and the jacket girl rounded one last corner, she found herself at the entrance to an immense cavern. Well, she assumed it was immense; though it was quite wide with a ceiling that towered high above, the majority of the cavern was shrouded in darkness, with only a few lamps by the entrance to prevent it from being completely pitch-black. Further into the cavern, where the light of the lamps didn't reach, Lin saw the boy fighting, his weapon ablaze with flames as it whirled around him and slashed through the horde of Rachnaea that surrounded him. It was as if he was a flaming cyclone, raging against the darkness as he tore through the spider-like Grimm. He seemed stronger than before. More interesting than before.
Maybe if he survived this whole ordeal, Lin would challenge him to a fight. Use him to get stronger.
"You idiot! Don't go so far out!" the jacket girl shouted, raising her rifle and tearing through the nearest few Rachnaea. Most of the Grimm were focused towards the boy. Lin guessed that it probably had to do with the passing of his partner; to them, he probably looked like a fountain of negative emotion. "For all we know, you could be walking straight into - "
Before the jacket girl could finish her sentence, a giant spider leg shot out of the darkness, white as bone and twice as long as Lin was tall. Darting past the boy's fiery blade, it stabbed straight through the boy's chest, shattering his aura and passing cleanly out of his back. A weak cry of pain was the last thing Lin heard from the boy before he was dragged out of the light, the flames on his blade extinguishing a few moments later and plunging most of the cavern into darkness.
"Shit. Fuck," the jacket girl swore as she pulled a flare from her pocket, lighting it up and throwing it out as far as she could. The flare lit up the cavern with an orange glow, and now, Lin could see what had been lurking in the darkness: dozens upon dozens of Rachnaea, sitting upon webs of black silk strung across the cavern walls. Several cocoons were scattered across the web, similar to the ones that had contained the dead miner and the glasses girl. Across the cavern and sitting up high along the webs was a giant Rachnaea, its body as large as a bus. Its exoskeleton and legs were covered in thick bone-white plating, with the front two legs holding the body of the boy as its mouthparts chewed through his flesh.
Lin smiled. It looked strong. Something worth fighting.
"Damn... nobody told us there was gonna be a Rachnaea Queen down here," the jacket girl muttered, backing away towards the way they came in. "Come on, let's round up some more firepower and come back later. Maybe an actual Huntsman instead of - "
"No. I'm going to fight it."
"What?"
"I'm going to kill it."
"That's a stupid idea. We're down two guys and you really want to - "
Lin didn't hear the rest of what the jacket girl said, as she was already running across the cavern towards the Rachnaea Queen. Though the boy had cleared out some of the Rachnaea, many still remained, and dozens of Rachnaea swarmed towards Lin, eager for new prey to hunt. One particularly eager one leapt ahead of its brethren towards Lin, its fangs bearing down on her.
Lin's fist smashed straight into its skull, stopping it in its tracks and caving its head inwards. A burning energy grew in her muscles. The other Rachnaea slowed, seemingly hesitant to meet the same fate.
"Come at me!" Lin shouted, dashing towards the nearest Rachnaea. It stabbed a bone-tipped leg at her, but she grabbed the attack out of the air, turning and pulling the Rachnaea over her shoulder and into the air before slamming it down against the ground. Two more Rachnaea tried to take what they saw as an opportunity and attacked Lin from behind. Letting go of the Rachnaea's leg, Lin turned and intercepted the closer Rachnaea with a roundhouse kick, smashing it into the other and sending both tumbling across the cavern. Lin could feel the burning energy in her muscles welling up. It felt good. Most of the Rachnaea had stopped hesitating by now, and dozens of the spider-like Grimm swarmed towards her, threatening to overwhelm her. Lin grit her teeth and raised her leg.
"Hah!" Lin shouted as she brought her foot down, unleashing the burning energy into a powerful stomp that sent a shockwave through the earth, blowing the swarm of Rachnaea off their feet and into the air. She bent her legs, ready to leap up and strike down the dozens of Rachnaea flying through the air -
- only for something to slam into her legs, knocking her to the ground and pinning her down.
What? Lin looked towards her legs to see a mass of wet black silk binding them to the ground. Said silk was already eating away at her aura, threatening to melt her flesh and bone if she didn't free herself soon enough. She reached down to rip off the silk, only for a second glob of black silk to pin that arm against the ground. Looking up, Lin saw the Rachnaea Queen crawling along webs strung over the cavern ceiling, the end of its thorax bent towards Lin as it screeched at her. It leaped off the ceiling straight down towards her, threatening to crush her under its massive body.
BANG!
Suddenly, the side of the Rachnaea Queen burst into flames, the explosion diverting the course of the giant Grimm and causing it to land a few meters to Lin's side. Another explosion forced it further away, and Lin turned to see the jacket girl aiming a shotgun at the Rachnaea Queen as she slowly advanced.
"Thought you were gonna kill it, huh?" the jacket girl said with a frown, firing a third explosive shell from her shotgun and driving the Rachnaea Queen back further. Though the explosions weren't enough to penetrate the Queen's exoskeleton, it still retreated back to the webs along the walls of the cavern as the swarm of smaller Rachnaea shook off Lin's attack. "Idiot. You need help getting outta that too?"
"I'm fine," Lin said, using her free hand to rip off the silk pinning down her arm before reaching down and tearing through the silk wrapped around her legs. She pushed herself onto her feet before turning towards the Rachnaea Queen, which was crawling along the walls and ceiling on the far side of the cavern. "I'm still going to kill it."
"Yeah? How? Unless you've got a way to climb Rachnaea webs, I'm pretty sure you're shit outta luck."
"I'll figure something out."
"No, you won't. You'll just get pinned down again and I'll need to rescue your ass and ugh..." the jacket girl paused for a moment. "Look, just keep them all occupied for a bit and I'll get you that huge-ass spider you wanna fight so fucking bad. You think you can do that?"
"Yes."
"Good. Better not get caught again, cause I might not be able to bail you out a second time," the jacket girl said as the Rachnaea started swarming towards the two girls. She ran off towards the edge of the cavern, and before any of the Rachnaea could split off towards her, Lin leapt towards the swarm, holding their attention as she kicked the mouth of the nearest one, breaking its fangs and launching it away. The rest of the swarm turned towards her. She grinned.
"Hah!" Lin shouted, intercepting a lunging Rachnaea with a fist to the underside of its jaw. Three more replaced it as it tumbled away; Lin ducked underneath a leg swipe from the nearest one before rushing forward and smashing her shoulder into it. As it crashed through the other two, Lin noticed yet another Rachnaea circling around behind her, mouth open and legs ready to pounce. She was ready to intercept it.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a dark shape shooting towards her.
Not this time, Lin thought, dashing to the side just as the Rachnaea lunged at her. At the same time, a great glob of Rachnaea silk came down, hitting the Rachnaea just as it flew across the space where Lin was standing a moment ago and pinning it to the ground. Looking up, Lin saw the Rachnaea Queen crawling along the ceiling, clinging onto black webbing strung between rocks and stalactites. It screeched down at her, shooting down more globs of silk that she was able to dodge with ease.
"Come down here!" Lin shouted as she fought off the swarm of Rachnaea, driving them off and bringing them down one after another. She felt burning energy welling up in her muscles. "Face me!"
"It's a Grimm, you can't just ask it for a duel," Lin heard the jacket girl call out. Looking around, she spotted her by the edge of the cavern holding some sort of switch. "Might wanna close your eyes for a sec."
A blinding flash suddenly illuminated the cavern, too bright for Lin to bear. She shut her eyes for a moment, then slowly squinted them open. As her eyes recovered from the flash, she saw bursts of flame rising up from the edges of the cavern, setting the black webbing that ran along the walls and ceiling on fire and illuminating the cavern far more than the flare was able to. The Rachnaea Queen screeched once more, its many eyes darting back and forth from flame to flame.
"That webbing ain't gonna last long. It'll come down soon enough," the jacket girl said, raising her rifle and blowing holes through a few Rachnaea that had started towards her. "Might wanna clean up the small fry before that happens."
"I can do that," Lin said as her heel came down on a Rachnaea's skull, smashing it in. By now, the burning energy in her muscles had built up considerably, begging for some way to be released. A moment later, she spotted one in the form of the rest of the Rachnaea gathering together, skittering into a large cluster before swarming towards Lin. Dozens of Rachnaea formed a tide of legs, fangs, and eyes.
Lin drew her fist back. She concentrated, pouring the burning energy that had built up throughout her body into her arm.
Then, she drove her fist forward.
The Rachnaea directly in front of Lin didn't even make contact with her fist; in fact, it seemed to crumple from the pressure of the strike alone, deforming into a disintegrating black paste. A moment later, the force behind the strike was fully realized as a shockwave ripped through the swarm of Rachnaea. It tore their bodies asunder, ripped off their limbs, and blew them apart to the far reaches of the cavern, where their already-disintegrating bodies smashed against the walls and ground. Panting hard, Lin brought back her fist as she surveyed the aftermath of the attack.
"Huh. That was fast," the jacket girl said, blowing off the heads of the few Rachnaea that had survived the attack. "Now we just gotta wait for - "
The ground suddenly shook, interrupting the jacket girl. Lin looked up to see the Rachnaea Queen on the other side of the chamber, forced to the ground now that its webs were completely consumed by fire. Flaming strands of black silk lit up the cavern, drifting down from what was left of the webbing.
"Finally."
"So, how you wanna tackle this?" the jacket girl asked as she reloaded her shotgun. "Dunno if my guns can get through that armor, but I can take a shot at - "
"I'm going to kill it. By myself," Lin interrupted, stretching her arm as she stepped towards the Rachnaea Queen. "You can stay back."
"Stubborn about this, huh?" the jacket girl muttered, lowering her shotgun and stepping back. "Fine. Just don't expect me to bail you out again if you fuck up."
"I won't," Lin said as she approached the Rachnaea Queen. The Queen screeched at her before jumping forward, threatening to crush her under its mass once again. Lin dove to the side as the Queen crashed to the ground where she was standing a moment ago, and she was barely back up on her feet when its two front legs stabbed down towards her, threatening to skewer her just as they had skewered the boy.
"Hah!" Lin shouted as she punched one of the legs to the side. However, it was sturdier than she had expected, and she wasn't able to recover in time to avoid the second leg before it struck her side, grazing her hip and causing her aura to shimmer in protest. Sensing an opportunity, the Rachnaea Queen pulled its legs around behind Lin, pushing her forward as it opened its maw to sink its fangs into her.
Not enough, Lin thought as she rolled forward, avoiding the Queen's fangs as she found herself underneath its abdomen. Planting her feet on the ground, she drove her fist straight into the Queen's underside. However, the entirety of the Queen's exoskeleton was covered in thick bone plating, and her strike did little more than agitate it as it let its body fall towards her, trying to crush her once again. Similar to before, Lin leaped out of the way, diving between its legs and out into the open cavern. She felt the burning energy in her muscles building slightly. It wasn't enough.
She needed more.
The Rachnaea Queen screeched at Lin as it skittered back, putting some distance between itself and her. It raised its thorax, and black globs of silk shot out at her like cannonballs. Without any of the smaller Rachnaea to distract her, Lin easily dodged past each of the silk shots, letting them strike the ground behind her as she closed the distance to the Queen. Fifteen meters. Ten meters. Five meters.
Then, the Rachnaea Queen pointed its fangs down at Lin, and a thick black fluid shot out towards her.
What? Lin thought, too close to avoid the fluid. It splashed over her body and she immediately felt it eating away at her aura as its acrid smell nearly made her gag. She stumbled blindly, the fluid getting into her eyes as she tried to wipe it off her face. The Rachnaea Queen screeched. She couldn't tell where it was. Whether it was attacking or not.
An explosion rang out. The Rachnaea Queen screeched again. This time, in pain.
"By yourself, huh? Here, clean yourself off," Lin heard the jacket girl say. She felt something land in her hands, some sort of large cloth, and used it to clear her eyes before wiping the fluid off the rest of her body and throwing the cloth away.
"I thought you said you wouldn't bail me out."
"I said you shouldn't expect me to bail you out. There's a difference," the jacket girl said, looking over at the Rachnaea Queen. Its exoskeleton bore the scorch mark of what was probably an explosion, and it screeched at the two girls as it cautiously backed off. "Saw you hit that swarm of Rachnaea like a tank shell or something earlier. Think you can do that again? Would probably do some good damage."
"Not yet. I need more," Lin said, stretching her arms. She felt the burning energy simmering in her body. It wasn't enough. "I need to fight more. Hit more things. Then, I can do it."
"You ain't gonna ask me to stay back again, are you? Cause I ain't doing that."
"I won't."
Lin rushed towards the Rachnaea Queen. It bared its fangs once again, ready to spew another batch of its acidic venom at her, but a shotgun blast knocked its head to the side, causing the venom to shoot out into the air and nowhere near where Lin was. Before the Queen could regain its bearings, Lin jumped up towards its head and brought her leg u, smashing it into the Queen's left fang and shattering it. Black venom spilled into the Queen's mouth as it screeched in pain and panic, trying to bite at Lin with its remaining fang. However, Lin was already on the ground, away from its mouth, as she drove her fist into the underside of its abdomen. The burning energy in her body was building.
"You ready yet?" the jacket girl shouted as another shotgun blast hit the Rachnaea Queen, this time directly in its mouth. As it stumbled, Lin pummeled its underside further, her fists denting its exoskeleton and even leaving a few cracks. By now, the energy in her body was burning strong, yearning for release. The Queen screeched, skittering back and out of reach of Lin's strikes before launching a glob of black silk at her. It struck her foot, binding her left leg to the floor of the cavern. Then, the Queen leaped towards her in an attempt to crush her under its full weight.
Lin smiled.
"HIYAH!" Lin shouted, pouring her burning energy into her fist as she punched upwards, striking the Rachnaea Queen directly in the abdomen. A shockwave rippled through the Queen's body, exploding out its back as its abdomen ripped in two, along with the rest of the Queen. Both halves of the giant Grimm's body toppled to the ground, already disintegrating as they hit the stone by Lin's feet.
"Huh. Guess that's that," the jacket girl said as Lin reached down and tore off the silk binding her leg. "Considering we took down like a hundred Rachnaea and their Queen, I doubt there's many left, if any. Think we can call this a done job."
"Sure. Let's go."
"Yeah, just gimme a sec," the jacket girl said, walking over to a corner of the cavern and picking up something. It was a scimitar. The boy's weapon. "Not much to bring back for this guy... guess the Queen ate the rest. We still gotta grab that girl, though."
"...fine."
Then, the two girls left the cavern, heading back up the way they came in.
Lin pushed open the door to the pub. It was busy. Probably because it was lunchtime. Everyone was hungry. Lin was hungry.
She sat down by the counter.
"What can I get you - oh, Lin! Nice to see you. How've you been doing?"
Lin nodded at the owner. She liked him. He was nice. Didn't remember his name, though.
"Good, I see. Just got back from a job, I'm guessing? How'd it go?"
Lin shrugged.
"Same old, huh? Ain't too bad, I suppose. So, the usual?"
Lin nodded.
"Alright, coming right up," the owner said, making his way to the kitchen in the back. A minute later, he came back bearing a plate of dried meats and mashed potatoes, setting it in front of Lin. "There you are. Enjoy!"
"Thanks," Lin said, handing the owner a few Lien cards before digging into the food. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone familiar sitting next to her. The jacket girl. From the job earlier.
"Hey, you got a minute?" the jacket girl asked the owner. She pulled a picture from her pocket that Lin couldn't quite see. "Looking for this girl. Goes by the name 'Amber'. Got anything?"
"Hm, let me take a look," the owner muttered, squinting at the photo. "Nope, don't recall that face. Or that name."
"Damn. Well, uh..." the jacket girl said, looking around. She pointed at Lin. "I'll have what she's having. Except, put some actual vegetables on there. Whatever you got."
"Coming right up," the owner said as he went to the back. Lin thought about the jacket girl. She seemed experienced. Smart. Reliable. Someone Lin could depend on. She knew what she was doing back during the job. Unlike those two Shade students.
Maybe it was time.
"Hey," the jacket girl said, turning towards Lin. She pulled out the picture from before. "You recognize this girl? Goes by the name 'Amber'."
Lin looked at the picture. Her eyes widened slightly.
"I've seen her."
"You have?" the jacket girl asked, more excited than before. "When? Where did she go?"
"Not yet," Lin said, turning towards the jacket girl. "I want to make a deal with you. What's your name?"
"Mud. Mud Stone," the jacket girl said. Lin nodded. Mud. She would remember that name. "That Shade student said your name was Lin, right? What do you want?"
"I want you to help me. There are three people I want dead," Lin explained, taking a moment to chew through a bite of potatoes. "In return, you get money. And the information you want."
"A job for information, huh?" Mud asked with a sigh. "Sorry, but I don't like doing hits. Too messy."
"I'm not asking you to kill them. You shouldn't kill them. Just help me find them and get to them."
"Thought you wanted them dead?"
"I do. But you won't kill them. I will."
A/N: And that's chapter 33, and the start of the third arc of the story! This time, we'll be following Lin and her journey with Mud in Vacuo. Who is she? Who does she want to kill, and why? Stay tuned to find out!
Thanks to Zeowolf9, maweg01, Father Alexander Anderson, and DesiCat for the reviews! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story. To address the comment about future events in the story, I can't say much, but in terms of timelines, we're still quite a while from the start of the Beacon school year and the start of volume 1 of the show, let alone the Fall of Beacon. I do have plans regarding how certain events go down in this story though, so stay tuned for that.
Thanks to everyone else for reading and leaving follows and favorites; I really appreciate it. If you've got anything to say at all, whether it's a question, feedback, or a simple comment, please leave a review. Have a nice day!