Venenum - The Silent Screams
The morning sun rose up on Jaune and Ruby. They knew today was the day. They would leave the bunker and return to their journey. Ruby waited outside his room, wearing her crimson cloak and hood once more. She waited for him to step out, which he did after a few minutes.
"Hey, Ruby, can you lend me a hand? I can't get my armor on right."
Ruby nodded her head, only to stop and stare at Jaune's body. She gasped, before her lips curled into a large, toothy smile. He raised his brow as he heard her muffled snorting.
"Ruby?" She snorted, almost sounding like she was choking on air. He stepped closer, only for her head to arch back as she began to laugh. A loud, booming, hollering laugh as Ruby aimed a finger at him. "What?!"
"What is that?" she giggled, pointing at his chest. He looked down, staring at the rabbit's face on his clothes.
"It's Pumpkin Pete. I-it's a cereal mascot," he explained. His cheeks began to turn red as Ruby leaned against the wall, continuing to laugh at him.
"It's a cute, widdle bunny rabbit!"
"I-it's not that funny," he commented, crossing his arms over the hoodie as Ruby continued to laugh. He sighed, before his lips curled into a small smile.
"H-how am I just now seeing that?!" Ruby snickered, shaking her head. "It's so cute!"
"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled. "Laugh it up, Crater Face."
And laugh it up she did as Jaune smiled at her. He never thought he'd see a Grimm laugh like that before. Falling onto her back, legs kicking as she held her belly. Jaune hated to admit it, but it was pretty cute.
Horribly embarrassing for him, but still cute to see.
Jaune and Ruby stepped out of the bunker and stood out in the open. Their car was untouched as they looked around, taking a deep breath of the cool air. Jaune felt his eyes straining against the sun's rays reflected on the field of snow.
"Looks like the blizzard is done," Jaune smiled. "Time for us to-"
"Build a snowman?" Ruby joked, turning her head and smiling at Jaune. He chuckled at the eager gleam in her eyes. "It was nice," she confessed. "Staying here." She wrapped her red cloak around her a little tighter, letting it hug her body.
"Yeah," Jaune agreed. "I made sure to start the signal up again. If people are looking for a home, they'll be safe here."
"I left a thank you card for all the robots," Ruby replied.
"You think they'll be able to appreciate that?"
"Hopefully." The two walked forward, letting their feet crush the snow beneath them as they walked.
"I took some of the food from there too. Not a lot, but enough to help us just in case."
"I uh… I took the dress," Ruby confessed, turning her head away as Jaune raised his brow.
"Really? Never took you as the fashion-focused kind of girl," he teased.
"I don't think I am," she shrugged. "But wearing that dress… I guess it just helped me feel more human."
Jaune smiled at that. He nodded his head as they walked aimlessly, stretching the moment out a little longer. "I get that. You ah… You looked good in it," he added, and Ruby felt warm from the compliment.
"T-thanks."
And Jaune quickly realized he had made things awkward with that compliment. He really hadn't meant to. He groaned quietly, turning his head away from Ruby as he felt his cheeks burn.
When had things with her gotten so awkward? Probably when he stopped seeing her as a Grimm and started seeing her as… a girl.
Jaune rubbed his forehead, mentally shaming himself, before he gasped as something hit his head.
A snowball.
Jaune blinked, before he turned his head to Ruby, who had a snowball in her hand. She smiled, tossing it up and down as her tail waved at him.
Challenge offered…
Challenge accepted.
Jaune chuckled, reaching down to pile some snow into his hands, before another snowball smacked his face. He brushed the snow off his face as Ruby laughed, pointing at him. He quickly retaliated, smacking her right in the face with another snowball. It pelted her, shocking the woman as her eyes widened.
"You're gonna have to do better than that to beat me, Rubes. I had to deal with having a bunch of sisters. This is not-crap!" Ruby's tail smacked into the snow, sending a small wave of snow towards him.
He fell back, coated in snow as Ruby laughed again. Jaune frowned as he laid under his snowy defeat.
"Okay, well… None of my sisters ever did that," he muttered. He watched as Ruby walked over and held a black hand down to him. He grabbed it and she helped him onto his feet. "Well played, Ruby, but-sneak attack!"
Another snowball, thrown right into her face as she fell back with a shrill cry.
"Gyaah!" It was Jaune's turn to laugh as she rolled backwards, only to lay on the snow as the blond grinned. She quickly stood back up, her tail shooting down to knock more snow his way.
It was dumb. It was fun. The two enjoyed themselves, laughing as they pelted the other with snow.
They stretched out the moment for almost an hour. Just to enjoy themselves with one another… It was nice. All either could really ask for.
But it couldn't last forever.
Soon the two were on the road again. Ruby sat in the back, her face aimed towards the sunny sky above. Jaune drove the two closer to Menagerie, focused on the road as Ruby's mind wandered.
She was happy. They had so much fun together. They laughed, they joked, things were good…
Things would be better if she was herself. Her true self, whoever that might have been.
Maybe she was a Faunus? That would certainly explain why she looked like a dog. She chuckled at the thought as she took a deep breath of the cool air, sighing as they traveled toward their location…
This town was full of Faunus, apparently. She wondered if any of them would be able to help her. Maybe even recognize her?
Or what if they hated her? Would she have to hide in a room for the whole time they were there? Neither of them had really talked about what they would do when they got there.
Yeah, the people would help them, they hoped, but what if they attacked Ruby? What if she attacked them?
How would Jaune react? Would he defend her against everyone else…? What if she was the threat against them?
Ruby sighed quietly. She closed her eyes for a moment, before her eyes shot open. Something in the air. Something that pulled on her fur. She knew this feeling. Misery. Fear. Pain. The same things she felt from Jaune not long ago, but it was different this time. It didn't come from him.
It was faint, but she could feel it coming from… something. The Grimm part of her felt it calling out to her. Suffering. Agony. Negative emotion.
Then her ears twitched as she heard a familiar sound. Gun shots.
"Jaune!"
"Huh? What is it, Rub-?"
She jumped forward, digging her claws onto the roof of the car. Jaune felt her weight shift the car as she detected that familiar stench.
"I smell Grimm! They're attacking someone!" She sniffed the air, her hair standing up. "They need help!"
"Whoa, a-are you sure? I don't-?"
"Yeah! That way! Come on!" Ruby urged, pointing ahead of them.
"Right!" Jaune didn't need any more convincing. He drove the car off the main road, racing through grass towards the source of the screams and gunshots.
It didn't take long for Ruby to see them. She saw the shape of a large spider in the distance, with multiple legs that stabbed at the ground. It was big. The only Grimm Ruby had seen bigger than it was the Hangman's Tree, but this one was much more active. It was attacking a small convoy of people…
"I see it!"
"What kind?"
"Look like a spider. A big one!"
"Great. Spiders. Yaay," Jaune muttered as the car sped forward. "You should get out of sight."
"No. I'm not just going to stand by and watch innocent people get hurt. I'm helping," she replied, and Jaune knew this really wasn't anything he could argue with.
It didn't take him long to see the Grimm. They were indeed spider-like, but there was more to them. There always was a sick twist to the Grimm they faced, wasn't there? The thing had the body of a spider, but the head of a goat.
A massive head for a massive body. The thing was the size of a large house, with a head the size of a car. Drool dripped from the sharp, fanged teeth as Jaune could see multiple red eyes on the thing's face and two twisted, gnarled horns atop its head.
The front legs were like a spider's, ending in sharp points, but the others ended in large hooves. More legs protruded out of the creature's back, hanging loosely, flopping around with the sound of broken bones sloshing inside.
Jaune felt sick as he saw the creature's black hide, and his disgust only grew as he realized what was on the thing, clinging to the useless, atrophied legs.
Children.
They were leaping off of their massive mother as the Grimm attacked a small convoy. Several cars on the ground, each of them under attack by the swarm of Grimm infants.
The children looked just like their mother, but with small horns and thankfully a small size. They were just as big as a person.
Lucky them.
The children were trapping the line of cars, ramming their bodies against the metal walls of the cars, denting and tearing at them… Peeling them off to reach the screaming humans inside. Even from where they were, Jaune could hear the hysteric screams of the innocent…
"Ruby, I recognize that thing from the book!" Jaune declared. ""It's a Gevaudan Mother. It has a venomous bite."
"Don't let it bite me. Got it," Ruby replied, before he watched a missile made of rose petals shoot over his head, blasting ahead of the car and tearing right through several Gevaudan Infants.
Jaune took a deep breath, before he drove the car forward to join her. The Grimm screeched, screaming with an inhuman cry as Ruby slaughtered its young.
By the time Jaune got there, Ruby was driving her tail through an infant spider's head, killing it.
It bled out a black smoke, before it fell to the ground, dead. She then lunged herself towards another Grimm, slicing it in half as the biggest one, the Mother Gevaudan stared at her. It let out a fearsome roar, fanged teeth dripping with saliva as Jaune drove the car into one of the smaller Gevaudan.
He felt the car climb onto the creature, before the full weight of the car crushed it. The tires tore through what remained of the black flesh, before Jaune leapt out of the car with Crocea Mors in hand.
He let out a roar, carving his sword through one of the infant Grimm, before blocking another's strike. His feet slid along the ground, before he pushed forward and sliced another Grimm, cutting it down, before he moved once more.
The infant Gevaudan were weak alone. He just had to make sure they couldn't surround him. He kept dodging their attacks, outmaneuvering them and cutting them down with his blade. He showed no mercy, but his eyes still drifted towards Ruby.
She was okay so far. The Mother Gevaudan dodged her strikes, keeping Ruby back with its long, sharp legs. It screeched at her as Jaune gritted his teeth.
He hoped she was safe. As soon as he could, he'd go and help her, but right now-
Screams. He whipped his back towards the cars. Two different cars had their doors torn off and the spiders trying to reach inside to devour the families within. Jaune would have charged forward to help, but he found himself frozen. It was for just a moment, but…
Two different families were in danger. If he didn't hurry, both of them would die. One car had a man and a woman inside, the former much older than the other with graying hair and wrinkles. A father and his adult daughter? Jaune's eyes lingered on them for half a second, before he looked at the other family.
A man and a woman. Older than him, but only by a few years. They had a child in their car.
She was in her mother's arms, clutching to her, begging for her parents to save her, but Jaune knew they couldn't stop the Grimm. The father tried, but in moments, it would kill him.
Any longer and Jaune would be responsible for their deaths. Just standing there, watching them die…
Jaune ran forward with his sword in hand. He let out a loud roar, driving his sword into the side of the Gevaudan Infant. He ripped his sword out of it, cutting down another spider's body, before he swung at it once more, ending its miserable life.
He was savage in his attack, cutting down the Grimm left and right, until there was nothing left.
"You okay?" he asked the parents, and they nodded their heads.
Then he looked at the other car, and he saw one of the Gevaudan had its fangs buried inside the woman. The man was already dead, his body ripped and torn apart. His mangled corpse laid beside her as Jaune screamed.
Not out of fear. Not out of disgust, but out of rage. He ran fast, faster than he thought he could, before he slaughtered the Grimm. He tore them apart with his sword until they were nothing but smoke evaporating in the air.
But the empty eyes stared at him. Their bodies were looking at him, asking him why he couldn't have been faster. If he had just been a little faster.
He could have saved them. Why didn't he? Because he was wea-?
"Ahh!"
Ruby.
He pushed the dead out of mind. He focused on the mission at hand. Ruby needed his help, and he ran to give her that. He watched as her tail sliced at one of the legs, damaging it as the monster hissed.
She was fighting the mother all by herself, and from what Jaune had read, those monsters were incredibly dangerous. Comparable to Goliaths in size and power. The book recommended only a full team of Huntsman attack it, and if not a full team, as much as one could put together for the fight.
It opened its mouth, lunging at her with a bite, only for Ruby to dodge the attack. She ran her tail along the cheek of the monster, drawing more black smoke as Jaune watched it raise its head.
"Ruby, look out!" The goat spat out webbing from inside its mouth, and Ruby barely had time to dodge. She felt the webbing hit her leg, and Jaune charged even faster as he realized his friend was caught.
"Ahh!" Ruby tried to pull her leg free, but the webbing was stronger than she thought.
She lifted her tail and sliced at the webbing. In a few cuts, she was freed, but it was too late. A long, sharp leg impaled her chest, pinning her body onto the ground. Her bellowing cry echoed for what felt like miles. All she could do was scream as she felt the large, sharpened tip tear right through her body.
Ruby tried to fight it off, but it just dug in deeper. It crushed her as Jaune felt sick. No human could survive such a large chest wound, but Ruby wasn't human. She'd live with the pain, and somehow that only made it worse.
Her screams… He'd never forget them.
He had never seen Ruby in pain. Not like this. She had always been strong enough to tear through most Grimm, but this…?
He could hear her anguish howling. It broke his heart and tore at his ears as he pulled back his hand and chopped at the spider's leg. His sword dug into it, hacking away at it like a tree, before the Grimm screeched at him and pulled away.
It lifted its leg up, and Ruby was almost taken with it. Her body was impaled, black smoke bleeding from the wound as Jaune dropped his sword. He jumped up, grabbing Ruby's arm and pulling her down.
She screamed with every inch she fell. She felt the sharp tip of the leg slowly retreat from her body, ripping out of her, tearing through more of her flesh to escape her.
Her body hit the floor, and Ruby continued to scream. A gaping chest wound. It bled a black smoke as Jaune begged himself to look away.
If she was human, she'd be dead, but he could already see the wound closing. He knew Grimm could survive a lot. He knew they could heal themselves from wounds humans couldn't, but he had never seen a Grimm heal from such a grievous wound so quickly.
"R-Ruby…"
"Move!" Her tail hit him, knocking him back as a leg slammed down at where he stood. He fell to the ground as Ruby rolled, dodging another strike from the massive Grimm.
The beast roared, shaking the earth around them as it lunged at Ruby. It slammed its face into the dirt, nearly catching Ruby in its maw. It chewed up dirt and rock as it snarled at her, lifting its head out from the ground.
Ruby stood up on shaky legs as the Grimm growled. It opened its mouth again, spitting wads of webbing at her. Ruby sliced through the attacks, cutting them apart before they even touched her with his tail.
Jaune charged forward, grabbing his sword mid-run as he let out a loud roar. He drove his sword into the monster's hide, cutting it with his blade, before he dodged the large, sharpened legs. He and Ruby attacked from two different sides, forcing the Grimm to try and divide its attention.
It seemed like a good plan until the black fur on the Grimm split apart. Large boils formed on its unused legs, glowing red and with something moving inside. Jaune held down his bile as he watched the boils pop, and more infants came crawling out, screeching and hissing as they leapt at Jaune.
"Ah!" He blocked one with his shield, before he nearly dodged the attack of another. Four of them were attacking him at once, their attention solely on him as the Gevaudan Mother focused on Ruby.
She was fighting it by herself. Dodging every attack, retaliating, matching it blow for blow.
And here Jaune was, struggling against four baby versions of the Grimm. Jaune ground his teeth, swinging his sword to take the head off one Grimm, before he did the same to another, cutting through its head and kicking the body away.
A string of webbing hit his leg, and it pulled on him, knocking him to the ground. He growled, cutting the line with his sword, before he plunged the blade into the Grimm's head. Three down, and the fourth one lunged at him, teeth dripping with venom and saliva as it rammed its head into Jaune's shield.
He heard its neck snap on impact. It laid on the floor, dying as Jaune panted. He looked towards Ruby again. She was starting to wear the larger creature out. She was too fast for it, dodging each attack until it began to slow down. It was barely able to lunge at her now, standing on shaky legs as it bled from its many wounds…
Should he help? Would he just get in the way? Ruby had it, didn't she?
A single moment of hesitation. That was all it took. That's what killed people in a fight. A half second where they stopped and wondered.
That's what killed the people in the car. That's what killed Ruby.
They say Grimm get smarter with age. Jaune wondered how old this one was to know how to play dead. When Ruby readied herself to kill it, it shot up and attacked as if it was still at full strength..
Ruby tried to get out of the way. The Grimm still got her. It bit down on her arm, and Jaune could near the snap as her bone was broken. Then he heard her screams.
It was horrible. The sound was unbearable as he just listened to her scream and howl in pain. Smoke erupted from the maw of the beast as it chewed on her arm, grinding it under its ivory fangs…
Jaune ran forward, screaming with a bloody rage.
He wasn't necessary. It was almost funny. Even with her own arm being crushed and broken, she still had the will to fight.
She drove her fist into one of the creature's eyes. Then her tail tore right through its head, piercing the skull and killing the Grimm with a few strikes. Jaune's sword was just the cherry on top as the monster died and Ruby was able to pull her mangled, and disfigured arm out from between its teeth.
But the bite of Gevaudans was venomous. Even infants had bites that could kill a weakened Huntsmen. A bite from the Mothers was always fatal.
Jaune prayed that the Grimm part of Ruby was enough to save her.
Ruby had never felt pain like this before. She felt it all. Her mind felt like it was being set on fire as the monster shattered her arm with one bite. She felt the large fang pierce through her skin, digging into her.
It hurt. It hurt more than anything Ruby could remember. Nothing prepared her for this. Like her arm had been thrown into a wood chipper. She felt weak as everything began to fade.
Was she going to die?
She almost wanted to, because feeling her arm break again and again was agonizing. One of the worst pains she had ever felt.
Her arm was destroyed.
Why did it feel so familiar?
Ruby screamed, and screamed, and screamed… But she did not give up. She couldn't. She wouldn't. She pushed past the pain. Ruby stared into one of the large eyes of the Grimm. Its eyeball was bigger than her whole fist.
That made it easy to dig her hand into it.
Ruby's tail slashed and cut at the monster's head. Combined with violent strikes from her sharp claws, the Grimm's head was slowly torn apart. Manic attacks. No plan. Just instinct. She tore the Grimm's head apart until it was dead.
Mutually assured destruction. The Grimm was killed, releasing her arm and letting her fall back to the ground as Ruby realized she was still screaming.
It hurt. It hurt so much. Agonizing. Horrible pain. Like someone lit her arm on fire…
She stared at the broken remains of her arm and she fought back bile. Jaune was by her side. He came to a stop, horrified by what he saw. Were those tears in his eyes? She wasn't sure. She was shaking as she laid on the ground, holding her hand out to him.
"Ja… Ja…" It was like how she was before. When Jaune first brought her back, freed her from being a Grimm, speaking was so hard. Almost impossible. She hated it. She didn't want to go back.
"It's okay, Ruby. I've got you." He fell to his knees, holding her hand as they stared at her left arm.
The damage was horrible, but the mutilated arm was beginning to heal. Ruby's scream turned into a low groan, stuttering, weakening as her hand squeezed Jaune's. She might have hurt him. She wasn't sure. He didn't show it on his face if she did.
"Come on, Ruby. Fight it. It's going to be okay," Jaune growled, squeezing her hand back as they watched the arm heal.
But something was wrong. Ruby went from feeling an intense burning sensation in her arm to feeling ice in her veins. Her eyes widened as she felt cold. She trembled as her body felt like it was being frozen. Her legs began to slow down, like they were moving through sludge, before they stopped moving entirely.
She felt something heavy on her chest. Like a massive Grimm was crushing down on her chest. She opened her mouth, trying to speak.
"Ja… Ja…"
It was hard to breathe. Her hand tightened around Jaune's, but her fingers began to weaken. She was freezing. She was so cold, she wanted to feel the pain again.
Because now she couldn't feel anything at all. Not Jaune's hand. Not the dirt under her feet. Nothing.
"Ja…"
"Ruby?"
Gevaudan were venomous. Jaune had read that the Grimm's venom could paralyze people. Any normal person bit by even an infant would feel their body freeze up until they couldn't even breathe.
"Ruby, come on, speak to me," he begged.
No one survived being bitten by Gevaudan Mothers. Not even Huntsmen. They'd stop breathing in a few minutes after the bite and die, but Ruby couldn't die.
Brothers, please, she couldn't die. Not after everything they'd been through. He squeezed her hand tighter, silently begging her to squeeze back. She didn't. Her eyes were frozen, staring right at him.
"Ruby!"
Moments ticked by, feeling like hours as he stared at her. Then her chest rose. Then fell. Then rose again. He thanked the gods above. She was breathing, at least. "Ruby, the Gevaudan venom is coursing through you. It's paralyzing you. You need to just rest. Huntsmen get bit by the baby ones and heal within a day or so. So will you."
He didn't know that, but what else could he say?
He lifted his head up. He looked around, and he saw the people from the convoy. They stared at him as Jaune forced his body up. His hand slipped out of Ruby's as he quickly ran towards them.
"Y-you saved us," one of them declared, but Jaune pushed past them.
"Are you from a Residential Area?" Jaune asked.
"Y-yeah. We're from-"
"Doesn't matter. If it's safe there, go." Jaune saw the car and he ran towards it.
"A-are you sure? Please, let us thank-"
"Go!" Jaune shouted, not even turning his head to them as he ran to the car. He wished he didn't have to be so short. He wished he could take their thanks with dignity and grace, but all he could think about was Ruby.
He had to help her.
Ruby couldn't move. It took all of her strength just to breathe, but she didn't feel cold anymore. She just felt numb.
Trapped in her own body.
She couldn't even close her eyes. Even her neck was frozen, meaning she couldn't turn her head as she heard voices talking about her.
"What the hell is that?"
"I've never seen a Grimm like that before."
"It attacked the other one."
"Grimm don't attack each other."
"It did. It was fighting the thing."
"It looks paralyzed. Must have gotten bit."
"Where did that Huntsmen go?"
Jaune… Ruby couldn't hear her own heart. Had she been able to before? Was she going to die? What if she couldn't move again?
Questions raced through her mind as she felt… nothing. She felt nothing, but she heard the sound of an engine. A car being driven over to her? It stopped. The engine turned off, and someone stepped out.
"I've got you, Ruby." Jaune. He came to her, bending his body down to help her up. Of course, help implied she was able to move her body at all. She couldn't, and so Jaune was stuck having to lift the taller woman onto the truck. "C-come on, come on! Damn, Ruby, how much do you weigh?!"
She would have laughed if she could…
Jaune placed his hands on her body, trying to lift her onto the car. Of course, his hands were grabbing at different parts of her body and with him more focused on just picking her up, he didn't really think about where he was grabbing.
Ruby wanted to scream as she felt Jaune grabbing certain parts of her. She couldn't even feel it, but she was able to catch it out of the corner of her vision. It was mortifying, made only slightly better as her face slammed into the bottom of the truck's bed.
"Sorry! Damn it, wish I had gotten something with a ramp…"
"What's that Huntsman doing?"
"Capturing the Grimm?"
"He's being offly handsy with it."
Ruby would be blushing if she could. Then again, she was still a Grimm, so blushing really wasn't possible, either way.
Jaune let out a sigh as Ruby laid on the floor of bed. "Okay. You're in. I'm going to get us back on the road. You…. You rest up, okay?" Silence. "R-right…"
The drive was quiet. Jaune had no one to talk to. At first, he'd stop the car to check on Ruby. He closed her eyes for her to prevent irritation, and tried to get her comfortable…
It was like she was dead. She was cold to the touch, and… and so quiet.
Jaune hated it, but he could only imagine what kind of hell Ruby was enduring. Trapped in her own body like that. He kept driving the car forward, his eyes on the road. There were mountains towards the east and a forest of trees before them and it.
That was when he began to notice something in the trees. He had to be on high alert with Ruby unable to watch his back, and if he was right… They were being followed.
The sun was setting. It was almost dark… The Grimm didn't wait, though.
A Beowolf shot out of the forest they were driving by. It tore down a tree on the way over, teeth gleaming, claws aimed at the car. Jaune slammed his foot on the gas, barely dodging the Grimm as Jaune's eyes widened. He kept driving, but he could hear them now. See them.
Dozens of Beowolves leapt out from the trees, running after the car as they roared and howled. Jaune swore under his breath as he pushed the car forward, but the Grimm were fast. They were keeping up…
When Jaune felt the car shaking, he knew the situation was much worse than just being chased by the Grimm. One had actually managed to get onboard.
Ruby rarely showed fear against the Grimm. She knew how dangerous they were. How cruel and relentless they could be. She knew that fighting them wasn't easy, but she was never afraid of them, least of all a Beowolf.
She knew the Beowolves were common Grimm, easily dispatched by a Huntsmen if they just kept their cool and focus.
But here and now, Ruby could do nothing as the Grimm stared down at her, almost mocking her with a wide, toothy grin. It grabbed her arm, digging its claws into her wrist. It lifted her hand right in front of her face, almost like it wanted her to see.
Ruby couldn't breathe. She couldn't even look away. She tried to fight back. She knew she could beat this thing. All she had to do was move.
All she had to do was move!
All she had to do was move, damn it!
But she didn't, and she watched as the Grimm opened its maw and bit down on Ruby's hand. Ruby could hear bones breaking. The snarl and growl of the Grimm as black smoke flooded out of its mouth.
It didn't hurt, but she could hear every broken bone. Watched as its teeth tore at her flesh.
It was almost like an out of body experience. Like it wasn't her hand that was being attacked. She didn't feel anything, after all… But it was her hand, and Ruby wanted to scream as the Beowolf spat her mangled hand to the ground.
Immediately the black flesh began to heal, before the Beowolf lifted its arms up and brought them down. Ruby felt it hit her head, knocking her to the side, before another fist pounded into her chest. Another blow to her head. The chest. Then it stomped on her head. A tooth fell to the ground, before it evaporated away into a black smoke.
The Beowolf lifted its foot, aiming to stomp down on some part of her… Ruby couldn't even see as she struggled to breathe. She had to keep breathing, but it was getting harder with each blow.
And then she heard a roar, and the Beowolf's head fell in front of her, staring into her silver eyes.
Jaune's feet landed in front of her and Ruby wanted to ask the obvious question. Who's driving right now?
Thankfully he seemed to read her mind. "I set it to cruise control. Should keep us going forward in a straight line!" She heard another Beowolf roll, only for its cry to be cut short.
"I won't let them hurt you!" Jaune shouted, holding his sword and shield tightly in his hands. "It's my turn to protect you!"
He stabbed another Grimm, slicing its head apart as it fell back. Another Grimm was cut down, then another, and another.
Jaune stood firmly as Ruby's protector, and even as she felt nothing in her body, she wanted to smile.
She wished she could thank him, warn of when the Grimm were getting close, but she had to make her peace with the situation.
Ruby watched as Jaune protected her, pushing Beowolf back with his shield, before he slashed at their bodies with his sword.
Since the day they met, Ruby had been protecting Jaune. She defended him from some of the most disgusting and dangerous Grimm she could imagine, and now here he was. Protecting her.
Ruby tried to call out to him, but all that came out was the quietest groan. Jaune kept cutting away at the Grimm, fighting them back as he turned around.
"Shit!" Jaune cursed, running towards the fight of the truck.
What?! What?!
"More Beowolves up ahead. How many of these things are there?!" Jaune growled. He quickly helped her sit back up again. "It's going to be okay. I got you." He smiled at her, their faces inches apart as his blue eyes gleamed… and then he was gone.
"Fire in the hole!" Jaune threw one of their bottles of Dust behind the car, and it shattered on the ground. Ruby tried to avert her eyes as an explosion roasted several of the Grimm, leaving their charred bodies on the side of the road to rot.
Then the car swerved. Ruby could see the pack of Beowolves growing larger as a second group joined the first.
"Where did all these things come from?"
Like a river of black flesh and sharpened claws. Dozens of crimson eyes stared back at Ruby, gnashing teeth biting the air, wanting nothing more than flesh to devour. Ruby could feel her heart pounding.
She wasn't sure if that was because the venom was fading or if she was just that scared.
There were so many of them, clawing at one another for the chance to devour them. She watched as one nearly bit into the car itself, before missing. It fell to the ground and was promptly trampled to death by the horde.
"Hang on, Ruby! We're going off-roading!"
Ruby saw the scenery change as Jaune drove them into the forest. Large trees hung around them as the Beowolves tried to keep up, but now the terrain was against them. They had to tear through trees or avoid them entirely. There were so many of them that they were getting in each other's way.
The pack began to lose track of them. Jaune drove the car between the trees, and the two of them ignored the loud banging as the sides of the car slammed into the ground. They just kept driving…
Jaune's heart was pounding so loudly he couldn't even think. He drove as fast he could, feeling sick in his gut.
He had to protect Ruby. He had to protect himself. Just keeping going. Hurry.
Eventually he glanced at the rearview mirror. No red eyes. No black fur. Nothing, but trees.
It was dark now. He sighed quietly as his heart finally began to calm down.
They couldn't keep driving. They had to find shelter. Someplace they'd be safe for the night…
Jaune looked around him, and he soon saw something in the dirt. Tracks? Maybe someone else was out here. He hoped so.
"I think we lost them," he declared, hoping Ruby was able to hear him. He drove the car forward, his eyes scanning the area for trouble. "I'm going to find us shelter, Ruby. It's going to be okay." He wished he believed that.
There was fear in his chest. He wouldn't deny it. The twisting in his gut, the worry that the other Grimm would find them… Maybe it was best to just plant their feet somewhere and fight the Grimm off?
He tried not to think about it as they kept driving, and eventually Jaune saw something in the distance.
Light.
There was a cave at the base of the mountain. He let out a sigh of relief as he drove closer. Whoever it was, he hoped he could convince them to let Jaune and Ruby in.
He drove closer,and his lips curled into a wider smile. He smelled warm food. His mouth watered at the thought of bacon, eggs, steak… Sweet fruit and even freshly baked cookies for Ruby.
The closer he drove to the light, the more the smell beckoned him closer.
Ruby screamed inside of her mind. She felt her throat twitch as she tried to scream out to him. Her tongue didn't even move though. All that came out was a harsh sigh as she begged for Jaune to stop.
Jaune! Jaune, stop! We can't go in there! Jaune!
Her words went unheard, though, and Jaune drove them towards the small cave.
The cave was big enough to fit the car and Jaune could see the light was coming from deeper inside the cave. He parked the car and called out to the voice with a smile on his face.
"Hello?!" No response. He stepped out of the car, moving forward as the sweet aroma wafted throughout the cave. "I-I was hoping my friend and I could stay with you for a bit…"
Ruby let out a quiet sigh and Jaune turned to her. He was still smiling, but when his eyes met Ruby's, he felt a twisting in his gut.
Something was wrong. He could tell just from looking at her, but what-?
The light inside of the cave faded, vanishing entirely in just a few seconds. The cave trembled as Jaune's eyes widened. An earthquake?!
He stared at the ground, feeling his feet sinking in. His eyes widened, before he jumped up, grabbing onto the car as the ground trembled. The entire cave was shaking now as Jaune's heart raced, and he looked around.
Should he drive to the entrance? Try and get them out? His eyes turned to the mouth of the cave, and his eyes widened as it began to close. "No!" The cave fell shut. Like the top and bottom of the cave just… smashed into one another. "What…?"
The cave continued to tremble as Ruby and Jaune found themselves completely in the dark. Jaune couldn't see, but he listened to the earth shake… and a loud, booming groan that almost stung Jaune's ears.
"W-what the hell?" He smacked his hand against the car, rubbing against it to find the door handle. Once he found it, he opened it and jumped inside. He turned on the headlights, watching as large, fleshy spikes ripped out of the ground.
The spikes wriggled and moved, almost moving like tendrils now as Jaune screamed. The tendrils smacked against the car, slowly pulling the car deeper into the cave.
Jaune slammed down on the brakes, but the tendrils were practically picking the car up, moving them from one sticky tentacle to the other. Jaune looked at them, staring at the black flesh as his chest felt cold and twisted.
Grimm? But what kind? He had never-
The cave seemed to bend. The ground itself was rising up, bending so that the massive cave was turned into a slide. Rather than pass him along, the tendrils bent down, letting the car slide down them as Jaune felt his body slam against his seat.
He screamed as the flashes of light illuminated dozens, maybe hundreds of undulating tentacles, whipping at the air as the car fell down… He tried to get up, but he could barely lift his body off of the chair.
The car continued to fall, before he heard a loud splash. Jaune's head rocked forward, before it slammed back into the chair. He gasped for air, shaking as he looked around.
What he saw was… It was like some kind of hell.
They were drifting in a sea of bright, green liquid. They weren't the only ones. He saw other cars, even military vehicles.
It was like a graveyard. Almost a dozen other vehicles in a massive black pit. The only reason he was able to see any of it was because of the car's headlights.
It was dark. It was hot, and Jaune saw the dead drifting in the green liquid.
He knew what had happened, but thinking about it was insane. He had never heard of such a Grimm before. He was breathing heavily, trying to breathe as he watched one of the bodies drift closer to the car.
Jaune could see the person's body was almost skeletal. Clothes hanging on them in tatters as the bones were slowly… broken down.
A Grimm had eaten them, and now they were going to die. He glanced down at the stomach acid, watching as it slowly ate away at the vehicles locked inside, just like how it was dissolving whatever poor souls had been trapped in here.
"No. No, no, no! No! This is not happening!" Jaune screamed. He slammed his hand on the dashboard of the car as he turned the engine on and slammed his foot on the pedal.
All it did was splash some of the stomach acid around. The car was just floating in it, slowly drifting towards the center of the lake.
How could he have let this happen?
He wanted to protect Ruby, and now… They were going to die.
Jaune punched the dashboard. No. Focus. He had to focus.
This wasn't about his life. This was about him and Ruby. He swore he'd protect her, and he would. He quickly reached into his bag and pulled out a headlamp. He tied it to his head and turned it on, shining a bright light towards whatever he was facing.
Jaune opened the door and he felt a burning in his throat. He couldn't imagine what he was breathing in, especially with the acid bubbling below him, but he tried to keep his wits. He had to be careful climbing onto the car, especially as he felt it sway slightly from the change in weight.
"Ruby, y-you okay?" He looked at the back, and was relieved to find Ruby safe. He wasn't sure if she was able to hold on, or if it was just sheer luck that she was able to stay on the car, but she was okay.
"Okay… Now what?" he sighed, looking around him.
They were stuck on a massive lake of acid, amongst other floating vehicles and Brothers' knew how many bodies. The car would slowly dissolve, meaning they didn't have long to escape. He tried to ignore his racing heart as he looked around.
It was so dark. There was no sun, no stars, no lights beyond the car's and the headlamp. Dark, and hot, and hard to breathe.
"Stop thinking about it. Focus on finding a way out."
His head whipped around, trying to find an exit. His eyes widened when he finally saw it. There was a hole in the fleshy wall of the stomach. An exit on the far side opposite of where he was. He didn't know where it led, but it had to be better than here.
Right by the hole was… a platform? It looked like a bunch of random metal scrap welded together. A bridge to whatever the exit was. He shined his light towards it, but it didn't penetrate the dark.
But it was an exit.
"Got to get over there."
"Need something to push the car."
Jaune looked around again, and he saw something in the acidic lake below him. A metal pole was sticking out of what used to be an armored personnel carrier. Probably used by the military. Now just a piece of scrap, but he could use parts of it.
He reached his hand out towards the metal pole, before he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled as hard as he could.
The metal strained, the car stopped floating for a moment, but Jaune kept pulling… The pole broke apart and Jaune had an oar.
"It's not much."
"But it's enough."
"Got to get out of here."
Jaune stuck the metal pole into the acid, pushing the car towards the exit.
"It's going to be okay, Ruby. I'm going to get us out of here." He hopped off the top of the car, landing in the truck bed with Ruby. He smiled at her as his light shined down on her. "We're going to get you out."
We?
Of course.
He turned his head, and he smiled at Pyrrha. The scarlet-haired woman smiled back at him, before the two pushed the car forward.
"Onward! To freedom!" Nora grinned, helping the two forward.
"You're going to save her." Ren stood on a nearby sinking car, pride in his eyes as Jaune smiled back. Jaune grinned proudly, pushing the car towards the exit.
"Thanks, guys."
Ruby stared at Jaune as he rowed the car forward. She could hear the tires popping, melted and dissolved by the acid below them. She still couldn't move, and her screams were turned into quiet mutters when they flowed past her lips…
She begged for Jaune to hear her as he drove them around in circles. He turned his head to the nothingness, waving at the darkness around them with a smile on his face.
"Thanks, guys."
He kept rowing, steering them around and around in a circle. Ruby knew something in this place must have been causing him to see things, but she couldn't help him.
Fight it, Jaune… Fight it!
END
Some people have commented that Jaune's been have to be saved a lot in this story. That's fair. I intended that a bit, but here's the big moment. Ruby's paralyzed. Only Jaune can save her now, but how can he when he can't even trust what he sees? The closer they get to Menagerie, the more powerful and dangerous Grimm they meet.
Can Jaune escape from inside this beast? More importantly, can he do so with his mind intact?
This was a fun chapter, but I'm really looking forward to the next one as Jaune is mentally tortured by this massive Grimm. No rescue this time. It's up to him to protect Ruby and overcome this challenge.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading, and I wish you all a good day. The support for the story has been fantastic, and I'm very happy to entertain others. Have a good day, and remember, you are loved. Stay safe!
