She was having the dream again.
She had many dreams – countless lifetimes of dreams she cycled through. This one, she was intimately familiar with, in all its parts clear and all its parts hazy.
Hooves beating on a dirt road. Warm sunlight streaming in through treetops, soft wind brushing her skin. She was on a horse, heading someplace, having left someplace else.
She had a companion with her. A friend. Strong, worldly. Kind eyes that knew their purpose a little too well. Younger than her in many ways, and not so much in others.
They spoke. The exact words were lost to her, but she knew they were happy ones. Stories were shared. Plans were made. It was a kind of conversation she didn't often get to have.
This one was a good dream, but it didn't have a good ending. Things turned bad, she didn't know how or why, but they always did. Even now she felt it coming. She clung to her companion's laughter as if that could somehow stave off the inevitable. Soon there would be searing pain, and then darkness, and then nothing, and then she would drift into another dream.
Except this time, she woke up.
Her eyes opened, and she saw someone else looking back at her. For minutes she stared, waiting for the person to talk to her, to do anything, until realization struck her. It was her own reflection she was staring at, her own face – pale like death, but for a collection of cobweb-like scars that marred the skin under her left eye all the way down to her jaw.
Shuddering, she jerked away from the reflection, but the movement felt sluggish. Bubbles floated up before her eyes. She was floating in a thick, green-tinted liquid, and though it filled her nostrils, it did not drown her.
Her back hit something solid. She turned her head, and a cold hand gripped her heart. She was surrounded by metal – trapped by it – except for a small glass plane in front of her. That was where her reflection came from.
This was a coffin.
Someone had put her in a metal coffin.
She hit the surface in front of her. The metal did not give way. Screaming noiselessly, she tried again and again, beating her hands against it until the skin of her fingers turned raw. She slammed the metal one last time, a desperate sob wracking her body.
She felt the liquid around her agitate, and then suddenly rush forward. Finally the metal plate flew off its hinges, and clattered off somewhere beyond sight. All of the liquid came pouring out at once, and she went with it.
She fell onto a cold, colorless floor, and there she lay for minutes, aware of nothing but the blessed frailty of her waking body.
When she thought herself strong enough, she pushed off the floor and sat with her legs crossed under her. She took in her surroundings. Metal walls and strange machines revealed themselves to her, all cast in a red light that blinked on and off from the ceiling. Filtered air filled her lungs. She knew instinctively that she was deep within the earth, except she was cut off from it by the artificiality of man.
Becoming aware of that tenuous connection, she was forced to confront the question of who she was. She knew what she was, that much she could not forget. If she ever did, the others would remind her. But who she was, that, she could not remember. And perhaps that was not important – but it was very important – and why could she not remember?
She held her head in her hands. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. She was broken. Splintered. Where was she? What had become of her?
A blaring noise sent a painful spike through her head, and suddenly she realized she hadn't been able to hear anything until a second before. Now an alarm rang strident in her ears, accompanied by what she feared were distant screams and gunfire.
She rose to her feet just in time to see a man run into the room, wearing a lab coat and carrying a firearm by his side. This wasn't someone she recognized from a dream, and that realization was as frightening as it was relieving. She was truly awake, then.
The man turned back as soon as he entered the room, frantically looking around the doorway as if searching for a way to block it off – and then he noticed her, and he looked even more startled than she felt. He gave a look to the torn coffin behind her, then at her face, and he turned pale.
"Y-you. How?"
Her throat hurt with the effort to speak. "My name."
"You're supposed to be asleep! How did-"
"My name. Please."
The man looked at the doorway, then back at her. The gunfire and the screaming had ceased, but the alarm went on.
"There's no time," the man said. "You need to get to safety. We're under-"
A massive stinger struck out from beyond the doorway, piercing the man's chest from back to front. He spat blood, eyes still locked on hers, before he was pulled into the corridor.
She backed into the room, looking at the doorway in horror as the man's agonized screams echoed off the walls, until they too turned to silence. For a moment, there was only the alarm again. And then, laughter – a low, raspy sound that slowly built up into a bone-chilling cackle.
Another man walked through the doorway, bent so low so as to almost touch the floor. A scorpion tail swayed behind him, its tip smeared with fresh blood.
"Oh, Maiden, Maiden," he sang. "There you are. Finally, I see you."
He looked at her, his otherwise handsome face twisted by a crooked smile.
"But what is this? You're out of your cage," he said. "That's not right. What would Daddy say if he knew you were misbehaving so?"
She stepped away from the strange man. The sound of his voice sent her into shivers, and she could barely stand to look at him. "Who are you?" she asked.
"Me? I'm just a lowly servant. I live to fulfill my Goddess' every wish. And right now, pretty bird-" The scorpion-man tilted his head forward, his tongue poking out to lick at his lips- "she wants you."
She stopped backing away, struck with a sudden clarity of mind.
"No."
He stared at her, eyes glinting in the red light. "No?"
"You won't be taking me to her," she said. "I am not hers to have."
He drew back, snarling. "How dare you. It isn't for you to decide whom you belong to!" he barked. His tail stopped swaying. "Enough with the appetizers. I'm famished for the main course!"
He pounced at her, his tail swinging around and coming at her neck. She turned, her hands moving of their own accord, and he went flying backwards, carried by the artificial air of the room until he struck the wall behind him.
He stood upright, a growl rumbling in his throat as he scowled at her. She stared back, undaunted.
She remembered her name now.
"You want to put up a struggle, then? Good! So be it!" the scorpion-man declared, wiping his mouth. "It'll only make it tastier when I finally have you!"
She lifted off the floor in a whirlwind of frost, and looked down at him with the fury of a thousand lifetimes.
"If you are so determined to die," Amber said, "then I shall grant you your wish, beast."
THE HUNT
MAIDEN'S WRATH
Ruby checked the barrel of her scythe again. She dismantled and cleaned Crescent Rose at least once every day when she was on the field, and she had done so already this morning, but it never hurt to make sure everything was as it was supposed to be. Atlas was cold all year long, but especially now in the winter, and she was paranoid the frost might mess with the more delicate inner mechanisms.
Her earpiece crackled with static for a second before Weiss' voice came through. "I've confirmed with the local authorities, the evacuation's close to finished. Give it ten minutes and the area will be clear. I'm heading back now."
Seeing nothing wrong with Crescent Rose, Ruby folded it and hung it on her belt. She looked up just in time to catch Weiss flying overhead on one of her glyphs. She floated down to Ruby's level and hopped off, landing gracefully on the snow-covered road.
"So, how much room are we getting exactly?" Ruby asked.
"Six blocks in each direction," Weiss said, brushing some snow off her overcoat. "I tried to get us ten at least, but that stupid mayor wasn't having it. He's more interested in appeasing people who refused to vacate their homes than actually seeing that they're safe. Go figure."
"Oh, well. We'll just have to make do with that, I guess," Ruby said. "Thanks for the help, though. I know I should be the one talking with people, but…"
"We all have our strengths," Weiss said. "And a good leader knows how and when to delegate, right?"
"Yup! That's me, grade-A team leader!"
Ruby looked ahead to where the road widened into an intersection that split into three streets, not including the one she and Weiss were in. The Grimm breach would be opening right there, anytime soon. It was a fortunate starting point in some ways, not so much in others. The team would have a lot of room to work with, but they would also have to contain the Grimm in four different directions. Luckily, they had both the numbers and the experience to pull off the task. It reminded her a lot of their first battle in Vale, actually.
As Ruby watched the sky, a snowdrop landed on the tip of her nose, and she sneezed so hard she almost slid back and fell on her butt. She winced and rubbed her nose, then rubbed her arms for warmth. Weiss grinned at her.
"What are you laughing about?" Ruby said, glaring at her.
"Nothing," Weiss said, clasping her hands behind her back. "I just find it adorable whenever you Valeans step one foot in Atlas and start acting like you're freezing to death."
"You grew up here, of course you're used to it!" Ruby rubbed her nose furiously. "I wouldn't laugh at you if you came to Patch and started overheating."
"Fair enough," Weiss said. "But it's still funny."
Ruby opened her mouth to argue, when she heard approaching footsteps. She turned and saw Yang running down the street towards them, and for a second Ruby thought she'd missed the breach opening, but the sky was still clear – or, well, snowy-clear.
"Yang, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in position! North street – did you not pay attention again?" Ruby said.
"Relax, Rubes. Do you see Grimm anywhere?" Yang said, sliding to a halt next to her and Weiss. "I'll run back the instant they show up."
"You're not the one with super-speed here," Weiss said, wrinkling her nose at her.
"I was bored, okay?" Yang shrugged. "Besides, it's not like I'm the only one out of position."
"If you're referring to me, Ruby put me on air support, as usual," Weiss said. "Therefore, I don't see any issue with me waiting here."
"Therefore, you're a little nerd. I wasn't talking about you, anyway," Yang said. "I was talking about Pyrrha."
She gestured at the nearby supermarket, more accurately at its rooftop. Ruby had assigned Pyrrha to sniper duty there, and though she could see Pyrrha's rifle propped up against the parapet, the woman herself was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, that by itself isn't suspicious," Weiss said. "Maybe she's just sitting down."
"Yeah, but what about Jaune?" Yang said, grinning.
Ruby could run over and check if Jaune was in position herself, but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. She put a hand to her earpiece. "Hey Jaune, you there?"
There was silence for a few seconds, before the comms blew up with a suspicious thump and a lot of shuffling. "Uhm, hi, yeah I can hear ya loud and clear, Ruby!" Jaune said. "What's up? I'm totally in position, by the way."
"Oh, I bet he is," Yang said, elbowing Weiss and wiggling her eyebrows, which earned her a light slap on her arm in return.
Ruby pinched her temples. "Pyrrha, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"Sorry. We were just, er, doing pre-battle strategy! Nothing more than that, I assure you," Pyrrha said, and was silent for some time. "…Does Jaune have to go back now?"
Ruby sighed. "He can stay. But you two better keep your strategy strictly pre-battle!"
"Yeah, we don't want to have a complicated situation on our hands in nine months," Yang said.
"Yang!" Weiss gasped.
"I'm just saying what we're all thinking," Yang said. "Hey, if you two had a baby, would we all have to pitch in to help raise it? Would we be like one big happy family?"
"We already are one big happy family," Ruby said. "But that does bring up a good question. Do all of us get to be godmother? Or will Pyrrha have to choose just one of us? 'Cause I don't want you to feel pressured or anything."
"Oooh, we could make it a competition!" Yang cooed, clapping her hands.
"If being the child's godmother involves changing diapers or anything of the sort, then you can take me out of the running, thank you very much," Weiss said.
"You know," Jaune piped up, "I think I'll go wait for the Grimm outside after all."
"That sounds wise," Pyrrha said.
"Can everyone quiet down?" Blake's voice cut through the comms. "I'm trying to read, and I'd rather not have to turn off my earpiece."
"We're about to fight off a Grimm horde, and you chose this moment to sit down with a book?" Weiss asked.
"It's a good book. And I needed something to keep me warm in this climate."
"How could reading a novel possibly help- Blake Belladonna!"
Yang laughed at Weiss' horrified expression, and Ruby couldn't help but follow, especially when they saw Jaune trying to sneak out of the supermarket and return to his post without being seen. The pressure of being a good leader got to Ruby often when she fought with the whole team, but it was these little moments that made it all worth it.
That, and the fact that they were saving countless lives and making the world a safer place. That was important too.
The attack started with little warning. One moment everything was normal, the next a crackle of energy permeated the area as the air above the intersection split into a widening red gash.
Weiss produced a glyph under her feet and slowly rose above the buildings around her. Uncoordinated talk filled the comms as everyone scrambled into position, though Ruby was blissfully quick to put order to things.
"Alright everyone, we all know the deal. Yang, Blake, Jaune – we're on the ground. Don't let a single Grimm run past your lines of defense. Weiss, you keep the air above us clear. Pyrrha, you help her and keep an eye on everybody. Call out if you think anybody needs support. Everyone clear?"
Weiss expressed her understanding along with everyone else.
"Cool. And remember, this is going to be a big one. Readings were off the charts. Conserve your energy, don't get flashy. And don't forget what we're doing here is protecting people and their homes. You got that, Yang?"
"Hey! Why am I being singled out?"
"You know why. But this applies to everyone. Watch the property damage."
"I always do," Weiss said.
"And don't get snooty! Alright, let's get to work, people!"
Weiss had no time to scoff at the affront, as the breach suddenly tripled in size and the first Grimm started to drop from it.
"That's a lot! That's a freaking lot!" Jaune yelled, and Weiss had to agree with him. The Grimm were pouring out of the portal like water from the ocean, too many for anyone to count at a glance. It was an intimidating sight from where Weiss hovered. She could only imagine how much worse it was from the ground.
The appearance of flying Grimm briefly took her mind off worrying about her teammates. Griffons and Ravagers, the winged creatures were thankfully less numerous than their grounded brethren, but no less dangerous for it. Weiss flew to engage them head-on rather than let them come to her. The chaos of the battle below would likely keep them from straying to the vulnerable parts of town, but her job was to leave nothing left to chance.
As she flew, Weiss held a hand to her belt and charged a glyph with blue Dust, then conjured her rapier from it. The blade shone ephemerally in the wind, frost emanating from it in waves. She darted to the left as a Griffon came charging at her, no doubt thinking her easy prey, but with a spin and a slash she proved the beast wrong. The Griffon kept on flying for a few seconds before it started to drop, its wings encased in ice. It hit the ground and exploded into smoke.
Weiss didn't revel in her victory. She had made herself the center of attention now, as a swarm of a dozen Ravagers closed in on her. She charged another glyph with her free hand, aimed at the Grimm closest to the center, and unleashed the Dust upon it in a fiery beam. The explosion encompassed the whole swarm, wings and talons falling away in smithereens, yet a few Ravagers escaped, leaving blazing trails behind them as they descended on her.
Weiss drew back and readied her sword to meet the Grimm – but they were ripped apart before they ever got to her. She had to blink a couple times before she noticed the trace of Dust rounds dissipating in the air.
"I'll thin out the larger swarms before they get to you," Pyrrha said, "that way you can engage them in close range and conserve your Dust."
"Thank you," Weiss said. "But please don't pay too much attention to me. You should put your focus on helping the others."
"We can watch over them together. Deal?"
It occurred to Weiss that Pyrrha was getting very little from such an agreement, but she wasn't about to argue in the middle of a skirmish. "Deal."
"Good. You can start by assisting Blake."
Weiss sped towards Blake's sector, cutting a swath through the flying swarms on the way there. As she drew near and started picking off Grimm on the ground, she couldn't help but balk at the sheer number of them. And looking at the portal, it seemed like reinforcements wouldn't be stopping anytime soon.
Weiss rolled her shoulders.
Today was going to be a long day.
"So, Ruby," Jaune said, "when you said the readings were off the charts, just how off the charts were they?"
He swung his sword down from over his shoulder, cleaving an Ursa nearly in half. He had to put some Aura into it when the blade got stuck partway through. The Grimm went poof right after, thankfully.
"Whaddya mean?" Ruby asked.
"It's been like an hour," Jaune said. "My arms are starting to get sore."
"Well, it is a pretty big town," Ruby said. "Third largest in Atlas, right, Weiss?"
"Fourth."
"Close enough. But yeah, it makes sense that they'd get a lot of Grimm, ya know?"
Jaune shrugged. Knowing the reason there were so many Grimm at once didn't make the task of exterminating them any less tiresome.
A pair of Beowolves dashed towards him, one of them climbing on top of a car before leaping at him. He slashed it in midair and let it fall to the ground in its dying throes, then turned to face the other one.
"You know what I think?" Yang said. "I think the people that live here just have a really bad case of repressed grumpiness. Which is kinda to be expected. No offense, Weiss."
"None taken. That is the Atlesian way."
Jaune stabbed the other Beowolf through the chest and kicked it off his sword. When the smoke settled, he saw another dozen Grimm charging down the street towards him. He sighed and held his sword before him, though only a few Grimm got to him in the end, their numbers cut short by a combination of Pyrrha and Weiss' efforts. He waved to them both in gratitude.
"Hey, stop playing favorites, you two!" Yang yelled. "Where are my assists, huh?"
"I'm sorry, Yang," Pyrrha said. "I thought you were doing fine on your own."
"That's because she is doing fine on her own," Weiss said. "Don't give her the attention, Pyrrha. It's what she wants."
"Hey! I can't help it if I'm an unstoppable goddess of fire and destruction!" Yang said. "I still deserve support like everyone else. Pretty please?"
"Alright, fine," Weiss said. "How do you need help?"
"Well, from you, I could use a shoulder massage."
"I'm ignoring you from now on. If you die, it's on you."
Jaune dispatched the last Grimm to reach him. He barely had a moment to rest before another pair attacked him. Then a lone Ursa. And then…
Nothing.
Lowering his sword, Jaune looked towards the breach above the intersection. He watched it, and for a whole minute only a handful of Grimm fell out of it. Pyrrha picked them off before they got to decide which street to die in. The air was clear of Grimm too.
"Is anyone else not getting any more Grimm?" Blake asked, sounding winded.
"All's clear on my end," Yang said.
"Same," Jaune said. "Man, after all that trouble… This is kinda anticlimactic, huh?"
Suddenly, the breach tripled in size, and a dark shape the size of a house came plummeting down. It crashed into the road, gouging out a deep crater and sending up a plume of debris and dust from the impact.
His ears were assaulted by a collective groan. "Jaune!"
"Okay, yeah, that one's on me," Jaune said. "Uh… Does anyone know what that thing is?"
The portal closed – good news, yay! - and the Grimm rose from the crater. Jaune squinted and tilted his head this and that way, and still he couldn't figure out exactly what he was looking at. There were legs, a lot of legs, like a spider – and the body was a… ball? Just a black sphere, with no eyes or mouth or nose to be found anywhere. It was easily the weirdest Grimm he had ever seen.
"Ooh, I've never fought one of these before!" Ruby said, and Jaune could just picture her jumping up and down in excitement. "Pyrrha, what about you?"
"I can't say I have either," Pyrrha said. "And I'm pretty confident it's not in Beacon's database. This might be the first of its kind to ever invade Remnant."
"Guys, there's no reason to freak out. I know what it is," Yang said.
"You do?" Weiss said.
"Yup," Yang said. "It's an Egg-on-Legs."
A moment of silence passed.
"I should have continued to ignore you."
"Alright, everyone, serious time!" Ruby said. "I know this thing looks weird, but we don't know what it's capable of, so nobody drop your guard! Yang, Blake, Jaune, let's close in, but don't attack yet. Weiss and Pyrrha, see if you can do any damage from range."
Jaune walked towards the Egg-on-Legs, ready to swing his sword at a moment's notice. The Grimm didn't move as he and the others on the ground formed a loose perimeter around it. It was impossible to tell which of them it was looking towards, or if it had any vision to speak of, actually.
"On your cue, Pyrrha," Weiss said, hovering above the Grimm with a charged-up glyph in each hand.
A bang rang through the air as Pyrrha took her first shot. The Dust round exploded in a shower of flames on the Egg-on-Legs' round body, to no visible effect. Weiss followed up with a blast of fire – nothing – and then an icy beam. The latter did encase the Grimm's side, but only for a couple seconds before it shook itself free.
"It seems to have some kind of natural armor," Pyrrha said. "I can't identify any weak spots."
"Am I the only one who thinks this is extremely silly?" Yang said. "Just look at this thing's body. It's whole… everything! It's so dumb! How's it even supposed to kill-"
The Egg-on-Legs suddenly exploded with movement, one of its legs gaining new length as it extended towards Yang, so fast it was almost a blur. She jumped aside with a fraction of a second to spare, and shards of concrete flew from where the leg hit the road.
"Holy shit!" Yang yelled. "Okay, I take back everything I just said!"
"Everyone, move! See if you can pierce this thing's defenses – and whatever you do, don't get stomped!"
Ruby shot towards the Grimm in a spiral of rose petals, reforming above it and swinging Crescent Rose around to strike it. The scythe bounced right off. She landed on top of the Grimm and wobbled for a moment as it jerked around, before she found her balance and started trying to pierce its hide again.
Jaune took his opportunity as the Grimm tried to shake Ruby off, running in close and taking a swipe at one of the thing's legs. His sword deflected off the Grimm's hide in a shower of sparks, the bones in his arm rattling from the impact. The leg he'd struck rose off the floor and came down in sequence, and Jaune only avoided it because he'd thrown himself out of the way well in advance.
Rolling on the ground, Jaune got back to his feet and took in the scene before him. Blake and Yang had had the same idea as him, taking blows at the Grimm's legs, but they weren't having any more luck damaging them. The Egg-on-Legs had gone into a sort of frenzied dance. Jaune winced every time it struck the ground inches away from his teammates. He knew getting stomped like that would likely put anyone out of the fight, even him with his considerable Aura.
Speaking of. Jaune slid backwards to a safer range and held his sword near his belly. He focused his Aura, pulling it from within him and drawing it into the sword. When the blade was shining brightly, he jerked forward in a stabbing motion. His Aura poured from the tip of his sword in a narrow beam of light, hitting one of the Grimm's legs and diverting around it before fading.
The Egg-on-Legs stopped thrashing as it tilted precariously to the side, and for a second everyone held their breaths as they watched it nearly topple – but it found its balance and started stomping at them again, more furious than ever.
"This thing is too tough!" Jaune said. "I don't think anything we have can penetrate it!"
"Tell me about it!" Ruby shouted from atop the Grimm, bringing Crescent Rose down futilely for the fiftieth time.
"Maybe I can rip one of those off! Watch me!" Yang exclaimed.
Yang stopped dodging and stood perfectly still as the Grimm thrust a leg towards her. She caught it with both hands, her heels digging trails in the road as she was driven backwards, but not overpowered. The movement stopped when the leg reached its full length. The Grimm tried to pull back, but it was stopped by Yang holding onto it.
Jaune saw, even from such a distance, the red in Yang's eyes burn bright as she locked herself in a power struggle with a monster ten times her size. They each pulled in opposite directions, the Grimm digging its other legs into the ground for better purchase, Yang melting the snow around her with her sheer presence.
"Is it working?" Blake asked.
"It doesn't look like it," Weiss said nervously, hovering closer on a glyph. "Yang, maybe you should let go."
"Just give me a second! I can-"
The Egg-on-Legs stirred, and suddenly it changed. A line appeared on the side of its body facing Yang. It opened wide, revealing a lightless chasm within itself.
"Mouth! Mouth!" Yang's left foot slipped and she lost her balance entirely, the Grimm dragging her to it. "Shit!"
"Yang, let go!" Ruby shouted.
"I-I can't! It's got me, I'm stuck!"
Yang's feet lifted off the ground, the creature bringing her swiftly towards its maw. Jaune ran to her, charging up his sword, while at the same time Ruby jumped off and darted towards her sister – but Weiss got to Yang first, rocketing through the air and tackling her out of the Egg-on-Legs' grip.
They fell, Ruby reaching them a half-second later and scattering them all into a swirl of multicolored petals. The trio reformed on the ground, rolling over each other for a bit before they stopped.
"Watch out, it's moving!" Pyrrha called out, taking potshots at the Grimm in an effort to distract it, but all of its attention was still on Yang and the pesky beings that had rescued her. It strode towards them, its mouth opening even wider somehow, as if it intended to swallow all three of them at once.
Ruby got up and, rather than fleeing, unfolded Crescent Rose again. "Weiss?"
Weiss stood beside her, conjuring a glyph on each hand and charging them with red Dust. "On it."
They fired together, straight into the Grimm's insides. The Egg-on-Legs stumbled backwards, releasing a mournful wail as it closed its mouth. It stilled, its body slowly taking on a reddish shade, glowing brighter, brighter-
"Move!" Jaune shouted.
The Grimm opened its mouth again, and from it released an eye-watering beam of incandescent energy. Jaune lost sight of Ruby, Weiss and Yang as the beam struck their position. He felt his breath grow short when the light faded and only a crater remained on that spot – before he saw a cluster of red, white, and yellow petals floating away from the destruction, undetected.
Jaune breathed a sigh of relief, but the trouble wasn't over yet. The Egg-on-Legs was still glowing, and having lost sight of its intended targets, it turned its attention towards Pyrrha up on her perch. She jumped off the rooftop seconds before the beam took off the corner she'd been standing on. She hit the ground and immediately rolled out of sight.
The Egg-on-Legs turned, and Jaune saw Blake hide before it could see her. It continued to turn, its mouth coming back around Jaune's way, and he hid as well, taking cover behind a ruined car. Careful, he peeked around the corner. The Grimm stood in the middle of the road, legs bent and body still glowing orange. Its mouth opened wider, and Jaune realized it was about to release what burning energy remained inside it.
He followed the Grimm's line of fire, and realized, unless it suddenly changed aim, it would be firing straight into a convenience store. His brain raced with a dozen half-thought-out calculations. How much Aura he had left – how much of Ruby and Weiss' Dust the Grimm had already spat out – how many more buildings would collapse along with the store-
Jaune threw down his sword and ran towards the store, skidding to a halt in front of it. He raised his arms and molded his Aura into a shield, instants before the Grimm fired. He dug his heels into the ground, closed his eyes from the blinding light, and grit his teeth.
The shield held for the duration of the blast – and then it exploded with the leftover energy, and he flew backwards through the store's windows.
Ruby reformed behind the corner of a building, hidden from the Grimm's eyesight. She caught Weiss and Yang by the elbow to keep them from falling, then peeked around the corner to take stock of the situation.
The Egg-on-Legs was rotating slowly in the middle of the road, its body no longer glowing. Everything in its immediate proximity lay in ruins, though thankfully the destruction hadn't spread to the buildings yet – except for a convenience store which front seemed to have been blown apart by something.
"Is everyone okay?" Ruby asked. "Yang and Weiss are with me, we're fine."
"I'm safe," Pyrrha said.
"Me too," Blake said. "Jaune got hit, he's somewhere inside that store. He's not responding."
"What?" Weiss shook free of Ruby's grip and stepped onto a glyph. "I'll go check-"
"Don't!" Pyrrha said. "Jaune will be fine. We have to focus on getting rid of the Grimm first."
Weiss continued to stare at the store, her gaze sharp, until Yang grabbed her by the arm and gently pulled her off her glyph. Yang looked at Ruby then, the red in her eyes fading in a sea of uncertain violet.
"What now, Sis?"
Ruby looked at the Grimm and the destruction around it, and for a moment was much too aware of the silence in the comms – the lack of Jaune's voice. The cold air stung at her skin and burned her lungs.
Then she blinked, and the world became crystal clear.
"I've got something," Ruby said. "Yang, do you think you're strong enough to tank one of those blasts?"
Yang's eyes went wide for a second, before she nodded. "I mean, sure. I'm tired but not really hurt, yeah."
"Then here's the plan. Blake, you and I are gonna get close to that thing and get it to try and chomp us. When that happens, Weiss and Pyrrha, we're gonna load it up with Dust again, then we're all gonna get out of the way except for Yang. You get in position for when it blows, you tank it, and then-"
Yang bumped her fists. "Smash!"
"I don't have much Dust left, maybe I'd be more help up close?" Weiss said.
"Just take what I got left, then," Ruby said, and started removing the Dust magazines from Crescent Rose to hand them over to Weiss. "Is everyone good on the plan?"
"Sounds good to me," Blake said. "But what if it's not enough?"
"Then we'll come up with something else. Ready?"
Ruby waited a moment, then counted down from five. On one, she ran to the road, putting on some decent speed but not activating her Semblance yet. Blake came out of hiding at the same time, meeting her halfway, and they sprinted towards the Grimm.
The Egg-on-Legs detected their movement almost immediately and whirled on them. Soon they were in its range, and legs started to come down towards them, none finding their marks. Ruby dodged by putting on micro-bursts of speed, while Blake made clone after clone to mask her approach.
When she was close enough, Ruby jumped towards the Egg-on-Legs, bringing Crescent Rose around to hit it with all her strength. Like she expected, the blow did nothing but draw the Grimm's attention – which was good, because that was precisely her goal. She landed beside Blake.
"We've gotta get even closer! Make sure it doesn't have room to use its legs!"
Blake nodded, and they pressed forward, stopping just short of getting under the Grimm. If it dropped its whole weight on them, that would be bad news.
At last, Ruby saw a line appear in the Grimm's weird flesh, which soon opened into a mouth. She was so distracted she almost missed as a leg came swerving around to hit her – Blake pulled her out of the way just in time, leaving a cloned pair of them to be dismantled in their stead.
Ruby grabbed Blake and ran back with her, beginning to shed petals. The Grimm closed its mouth where they'd been a split second before. It followed them as they retreated, chomping at their trail.
"Now!" Ruby yelled, and scattered with Blake. The world lost definition as she steered to safety, but she still perceived flares of red coursing through the air as Weiss and Pyrrha unleashed hell upon, and into, the rampaging Grimm.
By the time Ruby and Blake reformed, Weiss and Pyrrha had gone into hiding again. Only Yang stood in the open, smack-dab in the middle of the road. The Egg-on-Legs glowed even brighter than the first time.
"Yo, freak!" Yang's shout echoed through the street. "Barf on me, I dare you!"
The Grimm turned towards her and, identifying a target, immediately let loose. Red light flooded the street. For a moment Ruby could see Yang's silhouette inside the storm, before she vanished entirely. The blast lasted for five seconds, ten, fifteen – Ruby started to shake-
The light ceased as quickly as it began. Yang stood, panting hard, burning eyes locked on the Grimm.
"Thanks."
She ran forward, going so fast she appeared to fly, and behind her she left a trail of searing white heat like the tail of a comet. She barreled through the Grimm, fist outstretched, and came out the other side.
The Egg-on-Legs did not go silently. It made a terrible noise that reverberated over and over as its legs folded under its weight. It toppled to the side, red cracks splintering its hide, before it exploded into a smoke curtain that covered the whole street.
Yang reappeared as the smoke cleared, shining with radiant light and very much alive. Ruby almost fainted with relief.
"Hey, Weiss. You better have been watching that," Yang said, smirking, "because I just taught you how to crack an egg."
The comms filled with everyone's groans, Jaune's included.
"I wish I had stayed unconscious for that."
Yang fist-pumped the air. "Good work, team."
The after-battle merriments were plenty. No sooner had the dust settled than the team was swarmed with offers of rewards and recompense for the service they'd done for the town. This was a common occurrence, especially in larger settlements, though they made a policy of refusing such things where they could.
Ruby had managed, with Weiss' assistance, to convince the management of the hotel they were staying at to not give them free lodgings for the night. Free reign of the buffet, however, was another story. Pyrrha found it a little odd just how insistent some people were about giving them free service. It wasn't just gratitude, she thought – maybe they believed it was good publicity?
At the end of the day, the team wasn't complaining too much. Jaune and Yang certainly weren't. They each had already eaten triple what the others had combined. Pyrrha would have been concerned if she weren't already familiar with their frankly outlandish constitutions.
"It really wasn't even that tough, you know? Sure, there was some resistance at first, but then," Yang said, "bam! Went right through that thing, like a hot knife through butter!" She frowned down at her silverware. "Or uh, a big flaming fist through butter? Weird mental image."
"I'm glad you're proud of your accomplishment," Weiss said dryly. "All it took was getting hit by a blast of energy that could very well have killed you. Truly brilliant."
Yang shrugged. "It was a calculated risk."
"Mhmm. Those seem to be in fashion lately."
Weiss glared Jaune's way. He whistled under his breath and picked up two pieces of bacon off his plate, and set about pretending they were a pair of knights fighting each other.
"Anyway, I was only able to do that because of one person," Yang said. "Ruby Rose, team leader and strategist extraordinaire! A toast in her name!"
"Guys, please don't-" Ruby said, but it fell on deaf ears as everyone clinked their drinks together. "I didn't even do that much."
"I have to disagree," Pyrrha said. "You took hold of a bad situation and turned it around expertly. Yours was an excellent plan."
"I dunno, it was kind of stupid," Ruby said. "Like Weiss said, Yang could have died."
"I never said it was stupid. I only said it was risky," Weiss said. "I couldn't have done better."
"Yup, and Weiss has a brain the size of Vacuo, so you know that's not just empty talk," Yang said.
Weiss looked at her over the tip of her nose. "Are you complimenting me, or are you being sarcastic?"
"Hmm. Let me think," Yang said, tapping her chin. "Whichever you like best, baby girl."
She winked, and Weiss slid back in her chair, perhaps the most confused and flustered she'd ever been. "Yes, well, I… will get back to you on that at a later date?" she said, ever refined, before she grabbed her silverware and set about passionately cutting her steak into several very minute pieces.
Yang snickered loudly. Sitting beside her, Blake elbowed her lightly, then turned to look at their team leader.
"Ruby, you seemed very confident about your plan in the moment," she said, swiftly filling the silence.
"No duh," Ruby said. "It's way easier to be sure of yourself when everyone's lives are depending on you."
Jaune turned his bacon-knights towards her. "I don't think that's literally the opposite of how most people work."
"Well, most people are weirdos," Ruby said. She snatched one of the bacon-knights from him and dropped it down her throat. "Ha-ha! You're doomed!"
"But I liked that one," Jaune mumbled.
Pyrrha got up and went to the buffet table to refill her plate. When she got back, a heated discussion had begun – something about Blake's books of choice and the proper time and place to read them, and how was it that Weiss knew so much about these steamy novels anyway?
Pyrrha tapped Jaune on the shoulder and nodded at another table. They moved there, away from all the noise. Only Ruby seemed to take note of their leaving, though she didn't say anything about it.
"You're not gonna yell at me, are you?" Jaune said as they sat down.
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "You don't actually think I'm going to do that, do you?"
"'Course not." Jaune smiled. "It's just that my ears are still ringing from Weiss earlier. She really let me have it."
"She was just concerned after what happened," Pyrrha said. "It might seem unreasonable, since you turned out okay, but can you really blame her?"
"I guess not."
Jaune stared at her, and Pyrrha started to adjust her expression into something more amenable, to put him at ease. She realized what she was doing almost as soon as she began, and stopped. So much time had passed, and yet she still had trouble letting go of her training.
She wiped her mouth and met Jaune's eyes again, doing her best to show him how she truly felt. She wasn't angry or concerned about his decisions, but it was important to her that they talk about this anyway.
"I know it was just a building," Jaune said. "But that store is someone's livelihood, you know? There's no point in saving people's lives if we just let them get screwed over by stuff beyond their control."
"I agree, Jaune," Pyrrha said. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."
Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Okay."
"I know you're not being reckless when you do that kind of thing," Pyrrha said. "You wouldn't put yourself in danger without good reason."
"I mean, yeah. But we all take risks. That's kind of in the job description," Jaune said.
"Yes. But you do that more often than anybody. I can see why some people might look at that and be worried," Pyrrha said. "But I think I know you better than most people."
"Oh, you think?" Jaune grinned.
Pyrrha shook her hand vaguely. "Just a bit."
"Blake said you told the others not to check on me when I disappeared inside a flaming building that might collapse at any second," Jaune said. "Damn, you really trust me. That feels nice."
"I do!" Pyrrha plucked a piece of bacon from his plate and popped it in her mouth. "Besides, it's not like I was going to drop everything and come running to save you. Please. I'm a professional."
They laughed, and their conversation shifted to more inconsequential things. Jaune went to get another plate full of food and returned. The rest of the team continued to talk animatedly at the other table.
"So, Ozpin's hearing is in two days," Jaune said.
Pyrrha nodded. "We should leave early tomorrow if we want to meet up with Nora and Ren. That'll give us a day to catch up with them and show them around Vale."
"We're gonna need a day. I'm sure Nora will be full of stories about their first time abroad," Jaune said.
They ate in silence for a moment.
"Are you anxious about it?" Jaune asked.
Pyrrha frowned. "Yeah. I am."
"Everything will work out, Pyr. I'm sure of it."
"I know."
Pyrrha looked down at her knife. Her green eyes stared back in the reflection.
"Ozpin will be there. That's what I'm anxious about," Pyrrha said. "It'll be the first time I see him since… You know."
"You did the right thing, Pyrrha," Jaune said. "He should be the one feeling guilty, not you."
Pyrrha smiled sadly. "I wish it were that easy."
"Hey, we did our part. We don't have to go if you don't want to," Jaune said.
"No. We- I have to be there," Pyrrha said. "It feels right."
"Okay." Jaune nodded. "But you don't have to talk to him. And if you change your mind, we'll jump out a window and run away!"
Pyrrha put a hand to her chest. "My gallant knight. I am helpless without you."
"Pfft. As if."
A bang came from the other table.
"Hey, you two!" Yang yelled. "Gosh, can you stop making out for one minute?"
"We're not making out, Yang!" Jaune yelled back.
"Then what are you doing sitting apart from us?" Yang threw her hands up. "Come on, you're leaving tomorrow. We gotta party all night while the team's still together!"
"We can't party all night," Weiss said. "We have to be rested for tomorrow. The Grimm aren't going to make accommodations for- Blake!"
Blake looked at Weiss quizzically, a perspirating bottle of beer suddenly in her hand. "What?"
"Where did you get that?" Weiss looked around. "They don't even serve alcohol here."
Blake shrugged. "We've all got tricks up our sleeves."
"Okay guys, we can party a little," Ruby said. "Don't get crazy or anything, though. I'm not holding anyone's hair while they throw up. Not this time."
She sent a meaningful look at Yang, who immediately jumped to her feet on her chair and declared, "Hell yeah, party time!"
Jaune looked at Pyrrha and shrugged. They went back to the others, joining their voices to the cheers of admiration when Blake deftly uncorked the bottle and started filling everyone's glasses. Even Weiss had to give a polite clap to that.
To no one's surprise, they did end up partying all night.
It's finally here! The Hunt 2: The Huntening! How exciting.
Apologies for the long wait. I wanted to take my time writing this one, to give it that extra quality and also avoid unexpected breaks and the inevitable panic-writing at the end of the story. As of right now, I only have the very last chapter left to write, so I figured that was good enough for me to start posting already. I was getting anxious. Plus...
Today, January 4th 2022, marks the fifth anniversary of the RSU. That's right, I've been writing this heccin thing for five years. That's a long time! (I try not to think too much about it) And what better way to celebrate than with the start of the second Big Team-Up Story? Coincidentally, that's why I'm posting on a Tuesday instead of the regular Sunday. Following updates will go as normal.
And on another bookkeeping note: starting with this fic, I've decided to stop leaving author's notes on every chapter. A lot of times I don't have anything very interesting to say and it ends up feeling like bloat to me, plus often I prefer to let the story speak for itself. I might revert this decision for future stories - we'll see how I feel about it then.
Anyway... That's it. I hope you enjoy this story. It's got some big surprises and developments in store! Leave a review if you feel so inclined, that always brightens up my day.
-Zeroan