With his sister missing in an Ash Storm, Grif gets desperate.


Pairings Beyond Grimmons:

~N/A

Other Notes for This Story:

~God Eater AU, set sometime during the GE3 time period.

~Also written for the inspiring_tables comm on Dreamwidth. The prompt was "Romance: #6 First Fight."


Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs. Blue or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.

The End of a Vow

The storm outside banged violently against the sides of the Ash Crawler Blood Gulch, but Dexter Grif could honestly care less about the transport vehicle's damage as he headed towards its exit ramp. "I can't believe they left her out there!" He muttered to himself, referring to Blue Team in the med bay, "Fucking jackasses."

"It couldn't be helped." Simmons tried explaining for the umpteenth time as he struggled to keep up with Grif's unusually fast pace, "The Ash Storm came up faster than we expected, and you know that means more Aragami in the vicinity. They didn't have the capabilities to handle it given..." He trailed off, not really needing to say more to get his point across since the blood still smeared across the walls and floor of the transport corridor said the rest. With Tucker's unexpected injury, Carolina and Wash had no choice but to give the order to pull back when an opening in the storm presented itself.

Unfortunately, at the time of the order, Kai had been separated from the rest of her team by the encroaching Aragami horde. She was still out there. Alone, facing the elements and who knows what kind of man-eating monsters by herself.

Grif had insisted that his little sister join Blue Team because he thought that meant she'd be safe given that two former Freelancer agents were also amongst their ranks. Grif growled to himself as he realized she should have just stayed with Red Team if this was going to be the fucking outcome, "I know that, Simmons!" He wheeled on his fellow Red Team comrade, "But that doesn't change the fact that she's fucking out there all alone right now!"

Tucker had just been stabilized with the huge gash in his arm. What if something even worse had happened to Kai, when she didn't have anyone to help give her medical treatment? Grif turned back around to face the ramp, "I've got to find her."

"But how do you expect to do that in the middle of this storm, fat-ass?" Simmons tried reasoning, "Grif, you're talking suicide!"

"Damn it, Simmons!"

"He's right, Grif." Sarge's voice carried over to the two before Grif could argue more, Lopez and Donut were right on his heels though the pink-wearing Adaptive God Eater had a surprisingly serious expression on his face and was uncharacteristically silent along with Lopez for once. There was a frown on the old standard God Eater's weathered face, as if he was already annoyed at this conversation and the orange-wearing man who had initiated it.

"Oh, fuck you, sir." Grif stated quickly, giving his team leader the finger for added measure.

Normally the insubordination would have caused Sarge to ready his shotgun in the heavyset man's direction, but this time he merely sighed and shook his head, "You really think I would pass up an opportunity to fight a horde of hungry monsters in any other situation? This storm just makes it suicide and I ain't plannin' on dying in anything but a fiery blaze of glory, you hear me?"

"But...!"

"No buts, and that's an order." Sarge declared, "Now let's get ready for when this sucker clears. We'll head out first thing."

Sarge and the rest of Red Team quickly turned and walked back down the hall, no doubt to check on Doc's progress with Tucker and to see what orders had come from Kimball. Simmons paused to regard Grif, the tan-skinned man still stood unmoving in the corridor, his eyes resting on the blood trail there.

"Grif?" Simmons asked hesitantly, not loving the dark look that clouded over the other man's features.

"Yeah, fuck that." Grif stated determinedly as he headed back towards the exit once more, "I'm going with or without help."

"But...!"

Grif turned to glare at Simmons as he reached the door, his hand already at the control panel, "Don't try and stop me, Simmons."

Simmons sighed and grabbed his outstretched arm regardless, "You're going to get yourself fucking killed!" He yelled.

"So?" Grif asked, raising an eyebrow as if he didn't understand how that had anything to do with the redhead next to him.

Simmons' grip was surprisingly tight on his arm, "At least remember your God Arc before you head out there!" He said in frustration, "Or do you want to just make yourself an easy target?"

"Oh." Grif looked down at his bracelets and realized for the first time that his hands were empty of the standard weapon for all God Eaters, "Yeah, that might help." He admitted mostly to himself.

"Dumbass." Simmons rolled his green eyes, "Let's get outfitted before Sarge notices we didn't follow his orders."

"We?" Grif asked, looking at his maroon-wearing teammate curiously.

"Just because it's a monumentally stupid idea, fat-ass, it doesn't mean I'm going to let you go out there alone."


The Ash Storm was intense, and neither man could see too far ahead of them. It was an incredibly dangerous situation to be in, what with who knew how many Aragami hiding amidst the Ash. Grif glanced over at Simmons as the redhead tried shielding his eyes, noticing they looked even redder than usual, "You didn't have to come with, you know." He told him, "Kai's my responsibility, not yours."

"We're teammates, fat-ass." Simmons scoffed over the roar of the winds around them, "Besides, I might be able to make finding her easier."

Right. Grif had nearly forgotten that Simmons was actually half-Aragami. His unique biology meant that he attracted the monsters to him more often than not while out on the field, which meant...

"You're offering yourself up as a distraction," Grif realized, "So they won't try surrounding Kai."

Simmons shrugged, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"You idiot, what if...?" Grif paused, shaking his head, "You shouldn't be here, Simmons."

"I wanted to be."

"Why?" Grif asked, feeling tired all of a sudden.

"Because you're here."

Grif turned to regard Simmons incredulously then, the other just seemingly recognizing what it was he said because his pale face was suddenly bright red from more than just the Ash whipping into it, "I mean, Kai's a teammate too and...!"

Fortunately for a stuttering Simmons, he was saved from saying anything else by the sounds of multiple feet heading in their direction. A swarm of Ogretails, their teeth flashing in the dark winds of Ash, bodies already poised to bring their deadly tails smashing down. Grif and Simmons looked at one another and readied their God Arcs, just as the first two creatures came hungrily charging.

"Take that, you assholes!" A familiar feminine voice shouted from a rocky outcrop, a spray of bullets suddenly smacking right into the sides of the two Aragami before they had even reached the pair.

"Kai!" Grif exclaimed gratefully at the sight of the young woman, her God Arc in its Gun Form.

"S'up, big bro? Big bro's boy toy?" Kai stated in way of greeting, hefting her God Arc even closer to her hip, "Let's kick some monster ass and head back home!"


Aside from a few minor cuts and scrapes, Kaikaina Grif was in good shape.

"I managed to hide in a rock outcropping once I lost contact with the rest of the crew." She explained as they sat in the common area close by sleeping quarters after having just finished checking up on Tucker. Kai had taken one look at her teal-wearing companion and laughed before hitting him on the back of the head and stating he better get better soon, much to the rest of Blue Team's amusement. The younger Grif's eyes sparkled in recollection, "So I figured I could just wait the storm out, but those Ogretails did make me a little nervous." She grinned appreciatively at Grif and Simmons sitting on the couch across from her, "Luckily you two dorks distracted them for me!"

"You fucking brat." Grif said, although he looked relieved to see her all the same.

"Please, you love me, bitch." Kai replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

Grif groaned and rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Now that you're safe, I'm going to hit the hay."

"But it's only noon!" Simmons protested.

"And I had to put in more effort than I usually do, so I'd say I've earned it." Grif told him matter-of-factly.

Simmons' nose wrinkled in disgust, "At least take a shower first. You're covered in Ash."

"Afraid it will get all over your clean sheets?" Grif joked.

"I just cleaned them!" Simmons paused at Grif's wording and frowned, "And you'd seriously sleep in my bed again to keep your raggedy blankets clean?"

"Well, since you suggested it!" And with that, Grif was off with a cheerful wave over his back.

"Goddamn it, Grif!" Simmons muttered, jumping up to race after him.

"Hey, nerd?"

The redhead glanced back over at Kai, who was wearing a more serious and contemplative expression on her face than usual, "Oh! Um, yeah, Kai, we're all really glad you're back too and-"

"Thanks." She quickly cut off his rambling.

Simmons paused and blinked at her, "Er, okay? For what?"

"For going out there with my dumbass brother." She told him, smirking slightly, "For having his back despite him doing something stupid."

"Oh, um," Simmons' face heated up and he glanced over at the door that Grif had disappeared through before he softly muttered under his breath, "Always."

Kai, to her credit, pretended like she didn't hear a thing, despite the knowing smile that spread across her face as the Ash Crawler Blood Gulch continued on its way back to Port Chorus.


Author's Notes: I've been toying around with the idea of writing a God Eater AU for awhile now, and this small oneshot is the result. I might do other stories set in this AU because I found writing in this universe quite fun, but I wanted to share this story with everyone in the meanwhile. Thanks for reading! :)