Jaune was riding through the forest, looking up to see the trees getting less thick. "Now's a good time."
"Hm? Good time for what," Argent asked.
Jaune placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled.
"That was loud."
A familiar screech was heard, making Argent's face light up in excitement. When the family got out of the forest, it took a few moments for the area around them to get darker. Argent then looked up, a giant smile on his sparkling face.
"SKYSHADOW," he yelled excitedly. The Nevermore screeched back in response.
"Grab on," Jaune went, Argent following the order. Jaune then jumped. As soon as he did, Skyshadow grabbed the Glaive, Jaune landing on the mighty bird's back. "Alright, Skyshadow. We're heading towards Southern Mistral."
"Southern? I thought we were going to Haven?"
"Yeah, I lied. Everyone thinks the Lamp is back in Haven, but I... kinda helped Raven steal it so she could hide it somewhere only she could trust it to be safe. Not even I know where it is now. We need her help, but no one else must know this. If I said we were going to see Raven around Yang, she would have beaten me like a drum to keep me away from her. She REALLY doesn't like her mom and doesn't want anyone near her."
"She disowned Great Aunt Raven?"
"Basically. She was furious when I told you about her. Still, we're going to need her help."
"Just don't flirt with her this time," Nimueh said as she took on her human form, sitting next to Jaune.
"Hey, she came onto me last time, and she was drunk!"
"Excuses," she said as she jabbed the back of Jaune's knee, making him buckle and fall to one knee onto Skyshadow's back.
"Did something happen between you and Aunt Raven, dad?"
"Nothing you need to know, kiddo/sweetie," Jaune and Nimueh went in unison.
Skyshadow screeched before it flew towards its destination.
Arc Resident, sunrise.
"Rise and Shine, Arie," Yang went excitedly, slamming the door open, looking shiny and sparkly due to her "fun time" with Blake last night. "It's time for some early morning... training?" The room was empty. No clothes, suitcases, Crocea Mors, and certainly no Argent. "Arie?"
Yang walked to Jaune's room. "Yo, hero, is Arie in your ro-" She began as she opened the door to Jaune's room, only to see it was empty too. "You've gotta be kidding me."
Ruby was snuggling up against Weiss, the two happy and content in the other's embrace.
"AAAAAARC!"
Ruby jumped and fell out of the bed. "Ow."
Weiss shot up, looking around frantically. "What the- Yang?!" She got out of the bed, quickly grabbing her robe. She looked out of the door, looking down the hallway. "Yang, what's wrong?!"
Yang then came stomping down the hallway, looking furious. "I'm gonna kill him!"
Blake walked out of her room, hair messy, but with skin as shiny as the rest of her team, yawning. "What's wrong, Yang?"
Verde opened the door, grumbling as she rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong, mom?"
"JAUNE! YOU'D BETTER BE IN THE BACKYARD TRAINING, YOU JACKASS!"
"Jaune," Verde asked.
"What about Jaune," Silber asked as she walked out, fully dressed. She had been up for quite some time due to her militaristic training with her Aunt Winter.
"Is breakfast ready," Lyra and Nora asked at the same time as they both left their respective rooms, the mother and daughter yawning at the same time.
"I'll make some pancakes," Ren said as he walked past his wife.
"Yay," the two sleepily went at the same time.
"Seriously, what's this about Jaune and Arie..." Ruby began before she took a moment to think. Her eyes widened as she used her Semblance to rush to Argent's room. She looked into the boy's room. "He didn't..."
"Didn't what," Weiss asked.
Ruby then rushed to Jaune's room. She looked in before looking around. "Nimueh?! Jaune?! Arie?!" Ruby sped around the house. She then sped towards the sound of an opening door.
She saw Yang coming into the house. "Please tell me they're outside training."
Yang didn't respond. Instead, she looked at Ruby with red, angry eyes that began to squint in anger.
Ruby's eyes widened before she got angry.
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM," the sisters went in unison.
"Jeez, what's got you two so worked up," Lyra asked as she scratched the back of her head.
"Jaune's gone and he took Argent with him," the sisters said in perfect unison again. "I'm going to slap/punch his face off!"
"Do you two really need to be so mad," Ren called. "It is a father spending time with his son, after all."
"I'M HIS MOTHER!"
"AND I'M HIS AUNT! BESIDES, JAUNE HAD TEN YEARS WITH ARIE!"
"TEN YEARS, REN! IT'S MY TURN TO BE AN AWESOME PARENT!"
"AND MY TURN TO BE AN AWESOME AUNT! I NEED TO GET MY NUMBER ONE AUNT TITLE!" Nora took a breath to speak. "Don't even think about it," Yang went threateningly as she squinted at Nora. Nora snickered at that.
"Oh, don't worry." Everyone looked to see Cereza and Aurum leave their room, looking drowsy. But Aurum was already heading towards the kitchen, the sound of cabinets opening, and water running being heard. It was obvious he was making coffee. "Jaune will take care of his son."
"Besides, we know he's planning on going to Haven," Weiss said. "Let's just get some breakfast, get ready for the day, then we can head over to Haven and beat up Jaune then."
Yang was about to say something before her stomach growled. "Dammit, that's a solid plan."
"Oh, let me help you make breakfast, dear. Since I'm the host, I should be doing this," Cereza said from within the kitchen.
"Thank you, ma'am. I am grateful for your hospitality, so please let me repay you by fixing breakfast."
"My, Jaune has such polite friends and teammates. I really wish I got to know you better, my dear."
"Well, I'm ready to eat. Let's go with Wiess's plan," Nora said as she pretty much skipped into the kitchen, looking forward to her husband's cooking.
Yang grumbled before she trudged towards the kitchen, grumbling and mumbling stuff like, 'take away my Arie time, will he? I'll punch him into the sun next time I see him.'
"Ruby," Weiss went. She was still pouting. "Ruby, Argent will be fine. You'll see him soon."
Ruby crossed her arms. "I wanna see him now," she pouted.
Weiss sighed before she walked up and nibbled Ruby's ear, the easiest way to make the woman laugh. "Okay, okay, I'll be patient."
"Good. Now let's eat and get ready to go to Haven before the blonde dolt gets Argent into trouble."
"YOU'D BETTER MEAN JAUNE," Yang called.
"OF COURSE," Weiss called back. "Besides, Jaune has terrible luck. I don't even want to know what kind of trouble he could get a ten-year-old into," she said as she walked away.
Ruby sighed. "Neither do I," she said under her breath as she followed her wife.
Little did they know that those words of theirs started a chain reaction.
For in the Dark Land, Tyrian was laughing maniacally, while Raudan was screaming in agony. On the border between Vale and Mistral, Kadaj and his gang had slaughtered the border patrol, the gang smirking at their work before looking in the supposed direction of Jaune. Gangs and tribes were preparing for Jaune's arrival, while some Grimm seemed to be getting agitated and feral, as if realizing their territory was being challenged. Then, there was the sky getting darker, the clouds almost looking like an eye, as if looking down at the world.
Indeed, the Arc family was in for quite a bit of trouble.
Within the Land of Darkness, inside of Salem's old castle, Raudan's screams, and roars were heard, along with the sound of crashes.
Tyrian was snickering at the sight. "Why so enraged, my dear? You should be grateful to the boy. Thanks to him, you're closer to the goddess than even I."
Raudan had her massive back turned towards Tyrian, holding onto a sink so tightly that it began to break, a shattered mirror in front of her. She then slowly stood tall. "Grateful? Grateful?! GRATEFUL?! I WAS BEATEN BY A CHILD! SCARRED BY A MERE BOY," she roared as she punched a hole through what was left of the mirror. "And now... I can never forget. I have a constant reminder."
She then turned towards Tyrian, showing that half of her face, starting from her eye, was Grimm. However, unlike Jaune, she was growing a horn. She looked more like a lowly common Grimm, as opposed to Jaune's more royal Grimm demeanor. With Jaune, he had an air of royalty. As if he was meant to lead. For Raudan, she looked as feral as an enraged Beowolf or the imp half of a Nuckelavee.
She put her hand over her infected area. "Why didn't it kill me? Why wasn't I torn apart or melted like the Grimm Pools are supposed to do?! Like the Black Wall was MEANT to do! ANYTHING would have been better than having this constant reminder of my defeat at the hands OF A TEN-YEAR-OLD," she roared as she smashed her fists onto the floor, making the entire castle rumble.
As she was raging, Tyrian was watching her in fascination. 'Nowhere near as beautiful as His Majesty. It seems only the bloodline of the Goddess can truly use the power at its fullest. Still, this shows much promise.'
Raudan then looked up, her human eye blank but her Grimm eye glowing. "I will kill him."
"Pardon?"
"The boy. I will tear him apart. Rip his limbs off slowly, one by one." She stood up and looked at her huge, shaking hands. "I will bath in his blood as I listen to the music of his screams and the symphony of his tearing flesh. That is how I regain my honor."
"Oh, dear. We can't exactly have you killing the Young Prince."
Raudan looked at Tyrian. "What did you call him?"
"He is His Majesty's son, meaning that the boy is now a prince. If Grimm Pool Water awakened Jaune's power, then it's only natural that the same applies to his son. We may need the boy yet."
"ALL WE NEED IS JAUNE! WE DON'T NEED TWO HEIRS! ONE IS ENOUGH!" She then stormed out of her bathroom, grabbed her bed, and threw it through her bedroom wall, looking out at the Land of Darkness. "This land only needs one ruler. I can kill the boy. I can kill the boy. I have to kill the boy. I Must kill the boy. I NEEED to kill the boy! I WILL KILL THAT BOY!" She then roared, doing something that made Tyrian giddy.
Next, she fired a laser from her eye, the beam line exploding in its path.
"He. Will. Die," she said psychotically.
Tyrian was smiling just as insanely at the entire sight, not even caring that the "prince" was being threatened. Then he caught a glimpse of it. A Grimm Pool... a Death Stalker crawling out. He smiled at the sight, an insane thought creeping into his mind. The mere idea of it caused him to laugh so maniacally, he didn't even notice how Raudan roared in rage and anticipation at her dark and evil goal.
"Eep," Argent went with a shiver.
"Something wrong, Arie," Jaune asked as he looked at his son.
"Huh? Oh, I just got this weird shill down my spine."
"Is it that chilly out," Nimueh asked.
"Well, I can always just wrap myself around dad's wing," Argent said as he did just that. "His feathers are really warm."
"They most certainly are," Nimueh said as she did the same.
Jaune looked at his family with apathetic eyes before sighing and going back to looking for the Branwen Tribe, knowing that finding Raven would be incredibly hard, even in the sky.
Yet, as Argent was calmer in his father's wing, he couldn't help but think back to the chill. 'What was that? It's like I... SENSED negativity... directed towards me,' he thought.
Meanwhile, Ruby was napping on the couch as Silber, Verde, and Lyra were training with Yang to get the blonde beauty's mind off of Argent.
Ruby was tossing and turning, in a cold sweat, hearing an unfamiliar voice repeating the same horrible words over and over again: "I will kill the boy. I will kill the boy. I will kill the boy. I will kill the boy! I will Kill the boy! I Will Kill The BOY! I WILL KILL ARGENT ARC!"
"NOOO," Ruby screamed as she shot up in a cold sweat, panting heavily.
"Ruby?!" She looked to see a worried Weiss run up to her. "Baby, what's wrong?"
"Weiss..." She grabbed Weiss and looked into her eyes with absolute fear. "We HAVE to get to Haven! Argent's in danger!"
"What? What are you-"
"Someone wants to kill him!"
Weiss's eyes widened in horror. "What?! He's a ten-year-old boy! Who would want to-"
"Who would want to kill the son of the Vale Knight," Ruby finished for Weiss. As soon as Weiss heard that question, she remembered the army of criminals Jaune and Argent fought.
Weiss immediately took out her scroll. "Engage autopilot. Destination: Haven Academy, Mistral."
UNDERSTOOD, Klein's voice went from Weiss's scroll, a beeping following. Ruby already heard the airship powering up. She didn't hesitate to use her Semblance to get her Crescent Rose and follow Weiss to the ship.
"Mother," Silber called. "Mother, what's wrong?! What's happening," she asked as she, Lyra, Verde, and Yang ran towards the two.
"We're going to Haven," Ruby answered.
"Look, I want to punch Jaune as badly as you do, but we should at least wait for Blake, Ren, and Nora to-"
"YANG," Ruby yelled, silencing her older sister. "I JUST had a nightmare about someone threatening to kill Arie."
That got everyone's attention.
"You what," Yang asked as her eyes went red.
"It may be a dumb dream, but-"
"Dumb, nothing! No one threatens my family! Not even in YOUR dreams, Rubes. Girls, get your guns and swords!" Yang punched her palm. "We're going Hunting."
"Yes, ma'am," the girls went as they all collected their weapons and followed Ruby, Weiss, and Yang into the airship.
Jaune was getting frustrated. His eyesight was certainly improved, but not as much as he'd like. He was able to sense negativity now, being a Grimm, but if Raven was one thing, it was controlled. She never let her emotions get the better of her if she could help it, and she made sure her bandits were just as skilled.
Jaune then felt his right wing rustle and heard Argent groan a bit before he yawned. "Enjoy your nap, kiddo?"
"I was napping? Your wing's too comfy, dad."
"Mm."
Argent looked down at the ground and noticed something. He then used his Semblance to enhance his eyesight. His eyes widened. "DAD! DOWN THERE!"
"Hm?" Jaune looked, Nimueh waking up due to her son's yelling. He couldn't quite see what it was, since Argent's enhanced eyesight was much better than his. Jaune then began to concentrate and saw the negative emotions of fear, desperation, and anguish speeding through the forest. "What is that?"
"It's a pack of Beowolves chasing after a car!"
"It's what?!" Jaune then whistled, Skyshadow screeching as it changed directions.
When the Nevermore got close enough, the family could see the Beowolves keeping pace with the car.
"Wait, not even Beowolves should be fast enough to keep pace with a car like that," Jaune said.
They then saw one of the Beowolves slash a tire, making the car lose control.
"Wait, it was aiming for the tire," Nimueh said.
"I thought Grimm weren't that smart," Argent said.
"They're not, except for one type. But Salem was the only one who could make it. The only way a Grimm like a Beowolf could learn at that level would be..."
The car then crashed.
"TALK LATER," Jaune yelled as he jumped off of Skyshadow, followed by Nimueh and Argent.
The father was struggling to get the car started while the mother was trying to take off her seatbelt. The little girl was looking out of the window, shaking in absolute terror as the Beowolves walked menacingly towards the car. The closest one crouched, growling in a terrifying manner as it had its claws out. It then lunged towards the car.
The girl then saw something land atop the beast. She watched as a tall man with the prettiest white hair she had ever seen flow in the wind stand before the pack of Grimm. She then saw a beautiful woman land on another Beowolf that tried to lunge at the man, with one running at the man being stabbed from above by a boy that looked around her age.
The Beowolves looked nervous in front of Jaune, some of them even whimpering and taking steps back. Then, the largest, most muscular, most armored Beowolf stepped forward. It walked towards Jaune, towering over the mighty knight, looking down at him.
Argent prepared Crocea Mors's greatsword mode, ready to fight the large Grimm, before Jaune held out his hand. Argent, knowing his father, turned the sword back into a sheath and put it onto his hip.
The Beowolf didn't take its eyes off of Jaune. It then roared at him, it's howl making the trees shake, the ground tremble, and the already cracked glass on the car form even longer cracks. Jaune wasn't intimidated at all. In fact, he even raised an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed by the Beowolf's show of dominance.
The Alpha Beowolf then raised its massive claw and swiped down at Jaune.
"LOOK OUT," the girl cried.
The next thing she saw amazed her.
Jaune didn't block the attack. He easily caught it, not budging at all. The Beowolf look at its paw at what seemed to be shock before it prepared to slash again, only to whimper and whine in pain as Jaune tightened his grip on its claw, making it fall to its knee. The Beowolf growled as it looked at Jaune, looking ready to bite.
However, Jaune glared at the beast, unleashing whatever power he had within him.
What little control he had over his new powers was more than enough. To the Beowolves, he looked less like a human... and more like a towering god. The Grimm even whimpered, their ears pinning back as they shrunk to the ground. One even turned onto its belly towards Jaune, the ultimate show of submission for any animal.
"Whoa. Dad, you just tamed an entire pack of Beowolves. . . Can we-"
"Yes, we can keep them. Might as well, considering I'm supposed to basically own all Grimm now," Jaune went.
"Alright! We got the Shadow Pack!"
"Shadow Pack? Really? That's what you're going to call them?"
"And the Alpha can be White Fang!" Jaune sighed at his son's antics. "You DEFINITELY get that from your mom's side of the family. Freakin' Rose-Xiao Long blood."
Meanwhile.
"Hm? Why do I sudden feel ridiculously proud of Arie right now," Yang asked.
"I don't know, but at least it means he's safe somehow," Ruby said.
"Y-You're Jaune Arc!" The family looked to see the other family coming out of the ruined car. "What's the Vale Knight doing here?!"
"A bit of business, I suppose." Jaune then noticed that the girl was hiding behind her mother, looking at Jaune with terror in her eyes. Jaune sighed in understanding. "Ma'am, please, cover your daughter's eyes. She doesn't need to see me. Not like this." Had Jaune looked, he would have seen the girl's eyes soften, almost looking guilty. The mother still did as the hero told.
She then looked at the Beowolves. "You... you really are their king now."
"To an extent," Jaune said as he looked back at the Alpha. "Looks like I still need to prove myself. I'm not as ruthless as my predecessor, after all."
"A-At least we can believe the world will be safer if they're under your command, Sir Vale Knight," the father said.
"Just call me Jaune. Please."
"Yes, Mr. Jaune."
He sighed. "Good enough."
"So, mind telling us how you ended up being chased by a pack of Beowolves led by an Alpha," Nimueh asked.
"Oh, yes. We were trying to escape."
"From what," Argent asked.
"Our village. It was taken over," the mother began. "By a tribe of bandits."
Jaune took a deep breath to calm himself, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. "Did you see who it was? Which Tribe?"
"No. We were too scared to see, just running away as fast as we could," the father answered.
"How far is your village," Nimueh asked.
"Just a few miles that way," the mother pointed. "Please, we left a lot of friends behind. They're probably being used as hostages. Please save them."
"We'll do what we can. How far are you from the nearest town?"
The parents looked at each other before looking down. "About... ten miles," the father answered.
"Damn. And it would be too dangerous to leave you three here. . . Unless..." Jaune looked at the Beowolves. He then sighed. "I'm losing my mind. I am DEFINITELY losing my mind."
"Hm? What's wrong, dad," Argent asked.
Jaune turned towards the father. "Sir, do you trust me?"
"Huh?"
"Please answer the question: do you trust me?"
"Well, you're one of the greatest Huntsmen in the world, as well as one of Remnant's Heroes. If we can't trust you, who can we trust?"
"Then here's a better, and arguably harder question. Would you trust one of these Beowolves to keep you safe until we take back your village?"
"WHAT," Nimueh went.
"Dad, are you sure?!"
The parents were shaking.
The mother looked at the Beowolves. "Trust... a Grimm?"
"I know. What I'm saying is crazy."
"IT'S INSANE," Nimueh went. "You yourself don't trust your own powers, and now you're asking a family to trust these Beowolves are loyal enough to follow your orders and NOT tear these people to shreds, let alone keep them safe?!"
"Nimueh," Jaune went softly before gesturing. Nimueh followed his sign and looked at the shaking girl hiding behind her mother.
Nimueh's eyes widened before she calmed down. She then squatted and gently patted the girl's head. She jumped at first but stopped shaking, looking calmer and more comforted. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to scare you." She then looked at Jaune. "Jaune, are you sure about this?"
"No." That didn't reassure anyone. "But let's do it anyway."
Nimueh sighed as she stood up. "Jaune-"
"Nimueh, I'm the new Salem." She stopped the moment he said that. "That means I'm going to be the next leader of the Grimm. She was able to do practically whatever she wished with them. Now... it's my turn, and I plan to lead the Grimm MY way. That means that the nightmare of the Grimm is as good as over. They won't be monsters anymore." He then looked at a Beowolf, which calmly walked up to him. "They're going to be heroes," he said as he rubbed the Beowolf's head.
It then did something surprising. It gave a cute, dog whine, looking like it was enjoying Jaune's touch. When Jaune stopped petting it, the Beowolf shook its head like any dog would.
As he did this, the little girl was actually watching, peeking past her mother's hand. She couldn't help but mumble, "It's cute." She hid again when Jaune glanced at her.
'Did she just...'
Jaune then looked at the father. "Sir, please come here."
The man looked at the Beowolf and gulped. He bravely, yet shakily, walked forward until he was almost face to face with the feared Grimm.
"Please, pet it."
"Mm?!"
"Please. It's the only way I can think of for you to trust it enough to protect you."
The man looked at Jaune before looking at the Beowolf. He then, against his better judgement, reached out his hand. He looked away as he slowly placed his hand on the Grimm's snout.
Moments passed.
The man opened one eye to see the Beowolf was just standing there, blinking a few times, before shaking its head again, taking the man's hand off its snout.
The man looked at the Grimm before looking at his hand. He then looked back and began to carefully pet the side of the Beowolf's head. He was shocked to see it close its eyes, as if it were enjoying the feeling. He then took a real gamble and brushed his hand against its fangs. Then, he began to pet the creature's fur.
"It's so soft. And so... cool."
"Grimm are pleasantly cool to the touch, aren't they," Jaune asked.
Jaune then noticed that the little girl had walked up, her mother too busy to worry about her husband to notice. The girl didn't hesitate to touch the Grimm's arm. "It is soft." The father and mother looked down in surprise, but both were too afraid to say anything, thinking they might startle and anger the Beowolf. The girl then did something that gave the parents a heart attack.
She hugged the Beowolf's arm.
She snuggled against the creature before looking up at Jaune. "Thank you."
The father's expression softened before looking at Jaune. "Mr. Jaune, we'll trust you. These are your Beowolves, after all."
Jaune nodded. "Still, I'm only giving you one Beowolf for safety reasons."
"I understand."
Jaune patted the beast. "Beowolves are strongest in packs, so don't think it will protect you from everything. It can take down a Boarbatusk easily, but not an Ursa. Beowolves are fast runners and have sharp claws and fangs, but they can be taken down easily. More than likely, it will take you somewhere safe and protect you there until we deal with the bandits at your village."
The family got close to the Beowolf, feeling safer with Jaune's explanation.
"It should be strong enough to carry all three of you, considering that a juvenile Beowolf was able to outrun and easily lift a Thoroughbred Draft horse with its Huntsman rider still on it. Heard that guy was using a mallet the size of a car."
The family then climbed onto the Beowolf, the beast not looking bothered at all as it went on all fours.
"Be safe," Jaune said. He then placed his hand on the Beowolf, closing his eyes, imagining himself ordering the beast that the family on its back was to be protected by all threats against them, to obey them if necessary, and to not abandon them for any avoidable reason. Jaune could sense that the beast sensed all of his orders.
"Good luck," the father said.
Jaune nodded before he whistled. The Beowolf then took off, the little girl giving a surprised yet excited cry as her family rode off into the trees.
Jaune and his family watched before he sighed and turned towards the direction of the village.
"Let's go."
Jaune was about to call for Skyshadow when he thought it would be too risky to fly a giant Nevermore over a village. That would only scare the people even more, and he wasn't confident enough in his control over Grimm. He thinks that his current limit is a pack of Beowolves and maybe Skyshadow with them, but he wasn't going to take a risk. Plus, his hoverbike might be too loud, alerting the bandits.
He then saw a new solution.
He whistled, having the Alpha walk over to him and squat down. Jaune then jumped onto the creature's back, the beast ready to run.
Argent's eyes were practically sparkling. "WE'RE RIDING THE SHADOW SQUAD?!"
"Yup."
"ALRIGHT! DIBS ON BONE MASKER," Argent went as he hopped onto the Beowolf, which shook a bit, making Argent laugh as he held on to the Grimm.
"Did you name ALL of the Beowolves," Jaune asked.
"No. Just the ones we're riding. Like how mom is going to ride the Wolf Queen."
"Speaking of your mom, are you even able to touch these things, Nimueh? Grimm are instinctively afraid of you, right?"
"Well, yeah, but you're their master now. I think they're only as afraid of me as you are."
Jaune scoffed. "The only time I ever need to be afraid of you is if I forget to wash the dishes."
"Oh-ho," Nimueh went as she looked at Jaune with half-lidded eyes.
Jaune (along with the Beowolves) jumped at her expression, all of them shaking, the Beowolves shivering in fear. "Uh... that doesn't change the fact that I love you, sweety."
"Hmmm. Even though you have feelings for other women? Like certain black-haired beauties?"
"OI!"
"Black haired beauties?" Argent took a moment to think. "Mom?"
"Not just me, sweetie?"
"Birth mom?"
"And not ju-"
"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Jaune sighed. "Can you ride the Beowolf?"
"Oh, I can," she said as she hopped onto the Grimm.
Jaune stared at her. "You were messing with me, weren't you."
"Naturally."
"I hate you."
"You love me, and you know it."
Jaune sighed. "Yeah. I do." Jaune then spurred the Beowolf, the Grimm taking off. Argent and Nimueh followed Jaune's example, their Grimm following the Alpha, with the other Beowolves following.
"So, dad, you were really surprised to see these Beowolves attack that family."
"I was."
"I thought you said Grimm were capable of learning. You've told me stories of how some were smart enough to set up traps that almost took even you out."
"Yeah, they're clever... with AGE. They learn from past mistakes and whatever they've survived. However, Huntsmen don't usually do their jobs in cars. No way a normal Beowolf would run into a car, not even this one here," Jaune said as he rubbed his Beowolf's head, making it shake after he was done. "There's no way these Beowolves should have known how to attack a car properly. They would have been trying to shred that car to pieces, meaning it would have been WAY more damaged before we saved them. What's more, these Beowolves are unusually fast. They were able to keep up with that car, which HAD to have been going 60 miles an hour. Most Beowolves should only be fast enough to overtake a horse, but not a freakin' car."
"Are you saying these Grimm were modified," Nimueh asked.
"It's been done before by someone named Dr. Merlot. He found a way to mutate and control Grimm, making them even deadlier than nature intended, some of his creations rivaling even Salem's creativity. Of course, he never reached her level and never can. Teams RWBY and JNPR took him down before he could do any real damage with them."
"So you were a hero as a student, too," Argent asked excitedly.
"I guess. I didn't even have your mother at my side back them. Hell, Crocea Mors didn't even have the greatsword function... for an obvious reason."
Argent looked at his sword, specifically the golden edges. He felt sad for his dad, remembering the stories he told about Pyrrha. He knew his dad really did love Pyrrha. In fact, when he listened to his dad's stories, he realized that Jaune loved Pyrrha before even HE realized it, only for it to be too late.
"So, how is it that these Beowolves are so much stronger and smarter than average," Nimueh asked.
"No idea. They don't look any different from any other breed of Beowolf. They're not mutated like Merlot's. Maybe they're just evolving to keep up with the changing world."
"So they're naturally getting stronger," Argent asked.
"That's my guess. Now that Salem is gone, they're leaderless, while Remnant is growing stronger and smarter, new discoveries and inventions being made nearly every day. Weapons today are even more advanced now than they were when I was your age. There are tons of weapons stronger than Crocea Mors."
"But none of them are being used by an Arc," Argent said proudly.
Jaune and Nimueh laughed. "Damn right," Jaune said. "And besides, no matter how advanced tech gets, nothing will ever be able to compare to your mother."
"Damn right," Nimueh said proudly. "Still, the thought of stronger Grimm doesn't sit well with me. Now that I think about it, Skyshadow is way bigger than even an Alpha Nevermore, and it looks like a juvenile in appearance. It doesn't seem all that natural."
"We'll deal with it if we need to. Right now, we have a village to save."
"Right," Nimueh and Argent went.
Jaune then perked up. "Stop." The Beowolves slid to a halt. "Guess that's the village."
"Wow. Those are some walls. Wonder how the bandits even got in," Nimueh went.
Jaune looked around.
"Maybe through that gap," Argent went as he pointed.
Jaune followed and barely saw the gap. "Your Semblance sure gives you good eyes, kiddo."
"Shi-shi-shi."
"So, Jaune, what's the plan?"
Jaune looked at the city and began to concentrate. His eyes became blurry at first before he began to see what looked like Auras. He then realized that they weren't Auras at all.
They were emotions.