Took a touch longer than expected, caught a bug last weekend and it suucked. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 8
Suit integrity compromised, severe damage sustained to internal organs, several metal shards imbedded and severe hemorrhaging. Whitback had to act fast, unsure how long the wall of dust would stop the waiting faunus. It needed to repair the damage done to Jaune's body and replace the now severely damaged armor.
It released a large amount of liquid biomass to defend with before detaching itself from the damaged armor and letting it fall to the floor with a crash. As soon as the armor left Jaune's body, the released biomass swirled around to quickly replace the pitch black suit with one of near pure white.
Whitback opted to keep its own body spread throughout the armor to maintain full control of the material, it may have been risky showing off the black veins but Whitback was far more interested in Jaune's safety than Ironwood's secret.
It cleared the dust a moment later with a swipe of its sword, getting used to the way Jaune's body moved within the armor. Both faunus flinched, clearly taken aback by the sudden transformation. Rather than the multitude of moving plates, its armor was now one solid piece from head to toe that almost seemed to pulsate grotesquely. They also could see its weapons now covered in the same black veins as the new armor.
"I would suggest you prepare." Whitback warned them politely, it would rather avoid scaring them as it was more sensitive to negativity than Jaune was. With him recovering it would be far more difficult to regain control though even if it did lose control, it doubted the outcome would change. The Faunus would die either way.
It raised its blade, causing both faunus to fall into combat stances and The bull to start building power knew it couldn't let Jaune get hit with that attack a second time, the more trauma Jaune suffered the longer he would need remain unconscious.
Whitback crouched, acquiring further traction while grabbing his blade with two hands, it planned overwhelm the bull before he could attack. He was by far the bigger threat to Jaune with that energy blast of his.
Just as Whitback lunged forward at high speed the female took a shot at its helmet, having noticed the stance it was taking. The distraction was slight but the delay let the male move out of the way in time, sending Whitback flying towards the far wall unable to stop its forward momentum. Its weight combined with its speed sent it crashing straight through, landing on the grass two stories below with loud thud.
It quickly jumped to its feet while cursing its own stupidity, it should've expected the female to do something, they were a skilled as a team. One would distracted while the other charged that devastating attack to wipe out anything stronger than them. Clever but Whitback wouldn't be surprised a second time, it knew the attack was coming again and soon.
Whitback leapt back inside, a tendril prepared to pull it right back out if it saw that attack coming. Instead he was greeted by an empty room, neither cat nor bull waiting for him. "Escaped…?" Whitback muttered in confusion, it didn't smell the fear on them so why were they running?
With a frustrated growl it gave chase. Following their aura was simple, they might be able to leave the building but there was no way they could outrun Whitback in the open. It would still fix the situation and Ironwood would never have to know, they were on an island after all with no chance of escape so where could the faunus run?
Whitback caught sight of the pair just as they ran out the front door, neither even glimpsing backwards. It followed at a sprint and all but smashed through the door, regretting its decision a moment later. Without the tendril ready to pull back, Whitback might have been hit with the destructive energy hurtling towards the door.
Unfortunately the attack caused a portion of the building to collapse, blocking the exit and giving the faunus more time to run. It growled louder this time, these meatsack were really beginning to annoy it.
With a quick glance around, Whitback decided the rubble would be more difficult to move than just making a new entrance. It placed its shield between it and the wall before lunging forward with a tremendous smash. once outside it quickly noticed they had gotten too far for it to sense their aura, they were definitely faster than he expected.
Whitback let its helmet melt away, letting the air touch Jaune's face and more specifically, his nose. Using Jaune's senses Whitback picked the trail again within the minute and began the chase once more with its helmet regrown.
These faunus were proving more of a difficulty to than Whitback anticipated, it expected to have overwhelmed them by now. Aura was truly a formidable force, granting its bearer strength, speed and even special abilities. It caused Whitback sorrow knowing its "body" absorbed Jaune's aura as quickly as he could generate it.
If Whitback turned out weaker than aura, it meant it was not a friend, but a parasite. "I am not a parasite..." It assured itself and it would prove it by catching and disposing of these cowardly faunus. Jaune would have nothing to worry about.
\-/
Blake was glad Adam had listened to her and retreated when they had the chance, anything that survived Adam's Moonslice demanded caution, but they had nowhere to run now. The only bullhead the White fang had on this island was back at the armory towards that thing, the only other one would have to be in town. She shook her head, too many innocent people would be at risk if they started fighting in the small city.
Maybe they could lead it away, circle back and hope the bullhead wasn't destroyed. It almost guaranteed whatever was chasing them would catch up and need fighting off at least once. She didn't like the idea of fighting in the woods, it would draw grimm towards them and make the fight much harder than it already would be.
Adam interrupted her thoughts, grabbing her arm and pulling her into him a moment before a needle like tendril impacted with his aura. The pair were sent flying, smacking against another tree before hitting the ground. Adam staggered to his feet as fast as he could, blocking the follow up attack with Wilt, storing the kinetic energy in preparation for another Moonslice.
Blake was on her feet a moment later, cutting a good foot off the tendril with Gambol shroud before it could pull back. The hiss in the distance was a good sign, at least it felt pain. It closed the distance suddenly, its blade flying towards Adam while its shield blocked the few bullets Blake could fire off.
Again Adam blocked it, storing more energy but being sent flying straight through a tree by sheer force alone. Adam barely registered the pain, his aura blocking the majority of the damage while he jumped back to his feet.
Blake engaged quickly, hoping to give Adam more time to charge his Moonslice. She expected the creature to block her slash but she didn't expect her blade to bite into the shield instead of bouncing.
With a sudden yank her blade was pulled free and a solid punch landed squarely into her diaphragm and sending her flying. Her aura prevented any fatal injury but at a huge cost to its reserves, leaving her winded and vulnerable.
"Blake!" Adam screamed out while releasing his Moonslice to stop the monster from sending more tendrils, kicking up a debris field in the process. He quickly rushed to the injured Blake, using the kicked up debris from his attack to cover them. "I'm fine Adam." She wheezed out with a cough, her lungs recovering from having the wind knocked from them.
"Blake… and Adam…?" The inhuman voice rang out from within the debris cloud. "You are Blake and Adam?" It inquired from within the cloud, followed by an odd noise that sounded like it was having trouble breathing. No, that was… Laughter?
"Ahahaha! You can't be serious!" With a grunt it jumped from the debris, landing just a few feet from the pair. Adam grabbed Wilt and prepared to defend against an attack that didn't come.
"Your voices have changed a bit, I didn't recognize them." It knew them? Blake couldn't remember anyone like the humanoid standing before them, no way she would forget either. Maybe it had read files on them?
Adam didn't dwell one the things words, drawing his blade with lightning speed only for it to stick to the things shield, just like Blake's weapon had. "I doubt either of you care enough, you didn't when he was burning alive" it muttered angrily under its breath while yanking Adams blade away.
"But you have made my night exceptionally better." They couldn't see its face but they could almost here the grin in its voice. Adam gritted his teeth, its superior tone of voice grating on his nerves more than any attack, he despised being looked down on.
He focused his aura into his fists quietly, without a weapon he may have been limited but he wouldn't let himself be defenseless. Behind him Blake was readying her semblance to distract the thing, thinking they might still be able to escape if they focused on a hit and run fight.
"Are you sure you want to continue fighting?" It sounded a bit confused, did it think they would just give in? "An execution would be far less painful. But if you insist, I think I'm starting to enjoy this." It leveled its blade at them, the odd flesh-like material pulsated sickeningly, as if preparing to explode.
"Did you know people usually like to sleep at night!" A new voice interrupted. "But I doubt any of you were thinking about that while making so much noise." A black haired man stood barely twenty feet away, drawing a massive scythe with a series of clicks and ratchets hinting to the complexity of the weapon.
"I don't think we've met you before." He pointed his scythe towards the grotesque "knight" that radiated danger. "The name's Qrow, and I'm afraid I can't let you just execute people all willy nilly. White Fang or not that's against the law." Blake wasn't sure why a human would defend them with their grimm masks giving away their allegiance. She wouldn't complain though, her aura was low and she would take any chance to recover it that she could get.
"You can't let me…? " It didn't turn its head while speaking, keeping its focus on Blake and Adam. "They deserve death a hundred times over!" It hissed angrily, sounding particularly vengeful towards the pair.
"And now that you've seen me." Its armor twitched and pulsed, the black veins making its movement incredibly noticeable. "I'm afraid you must share their fate." Blake could sense the figure building to something and without thinking grabbed Adam while activating her semblance. She wasn't sure what was about to hit them but her senses were screaming at her to move away as fast as possible.
With a howl that could rival beowolves the figure exploded in a mass of spike tendrils shooting outwards into every direction. They tore into the ground, ripped through trees and smashed into stone, destroying everything around it with extreme prejudice.
Then, as quickly as it had started, it was over.
\-/
"If I may speak freely sir?" Winter drew Ironwood's attention to the cockpit where she was seated. Ironwood gave a nod to the young woman, he respected her opinion after all. "Do you think he's ready for this? I mean no disrespect but he still has yet to beat me during our training sessions. What if he runs into a trained aura user?" She sounded almost worried but Ironwood knew that was more for his secret than the child's safety.
"Well if you're asking me if Jaune can handle someone with aura then no, I don't believe Jaune could." He said bluntly, Jaune was simply too gentle a soul to fight another person to the death. "But that isn't who we sent, and it wasn't who was demanding to be sent either." The explanation made little sense but James knew more about Jaune and his "Grande Protector" Whitback than anyone on remnant.
"Do you remember his voice when he asked us?" James could hear it in his head, the way it resonated with itself sent chills down his spine. "Of course sir. It echoed itself in a way I hadn't heard before. I assumed he was trying to sound tough." James had to chuckle at her response, she wasn't fond of the boy but at least she didn't outwardly show it.
"No, Thankfully he is not that aggressive. What you heard was the Grimm inside him." James explained while remembering the first time he heard Jaune use that voice. He had noticed Jaune's hesitation to kill immediately change whenever his voice did.
"So the grimm controls him?" caution entered her voice "Wouldn't that mean he is a threat to humanity?" James couldn't blame her for the line of thinking, even he planned on having Jaune killed during the first year of his residence.
"Well that's where the line blurs. I don't believe the grimm has full control over Jaune but there is no definite way to check." Winter looked uneasy, as if unsure how to react to the information. He was basically saying he didn't know if they were working with a tortured child or an unstable monster.
"To answer your question, yes. Jaune is a threat to mankind." Ironwood knew what he was dealing with, knew how it could grow itself by devouring humans whole. "But Jaune and even the being inside him have shown a willingness to work with us. We can't attempt to dispose of such a powerful ally and risk turning him into enemy."
"I hope you're correct sir." Winter said with the defeated sigh of a person stuck between a rock and hard place. "Do you think we should contact him? He's taking a lot longer than normal to call in." Winter suggested after another extended silence.
James thought about it for a moment, It wasn't like Jaune (or perhaps Whitback) to take their time. "We don't want to distract him if he is still sneaking around, but it's been long much longer than normal…" He scratched his chin, debating the cons for a moment.
"I suppose Whitback would prevent distractions. Go ahead." James said with a nod and Winter tapped at her scroll until it was attempting a connection with the transponder in Jaune's suit.
Silence.
"No answer."
"What?!" James failed to keep the shock from his voice, Jaune had never ignored a call, not once. His suit could have been damaged but that meant that Whitback let something hit Jaune hard enough to damage steel. Several attempts at sparring told him that Whitback would not let this happen unless something went seriously wrong. He had expected Jaune might get injured but nothing that Whitback couldn't brush off. This was the first time the hybrid went completely dark.
"Head to the facility, full speed." Winter was already rotating the bullhead as James spoke, taking off in the direction they had dropped Jaune in. Had Jaune been captured? or could he have abandon their cause? The latter thought should have scared James more but he couldn't think Jaune capable of treason.
Even if he hesitated to kill White Fang James couldn't see Jaune suddenly forgiving them and joining their side over his. The boy still suffered occasional flashbacks and refused to even set foot in a train, there was no way he would work with those terrorists.
The speed of the bullhead brought them to the building in minutes and Ironwood disembarked before Winter could finish setting the Bullhead down. He had his revolver in hand but looking around he could see no sign of life, nor could he sense anything nearby.
James quickly noticed the collapsed entrance to the building and a large hole a few meters to its left. Both were clear signs that Jaune did not remain unseen but the lack of blood and suggested it happened after the majority of the guards were already dead. He glanced back to make sure Winter was following before-
CRASH
James spun towards the noise, revolver cocked and ready but nothing was there, no explosion, fire or smoke. "What on earth was that?" Winter muttered with her saber drawn and glyphs ready.
"I'm not sure. but I've got a hunch."
I'm still feeling the headaches and got a killer cough so please please let me know if I made some silly mistake that I didn't catch in my double check. I tried to make the fight realistic with how i thought Blake and Adam would fight as a pair. I also tried to avoid Whitback being too op, not sure how i did since i do think of it as being much stronger than even a hunter, but i mean that as purely physical strength. We all know that isn't how hunters normally win fights, our little rose teaches us that better than most. I also introduced Qrow! hopefully i did that snarky heart o gold some justice, i am very open to suggestions for improvement. Similiarly with Winter, I thought she probably wouldnt really trust her fathers half grimm creation but i would think she would do what was best for the Atlas military and Ironwood. again, suggestions are always welcome as I miss and forget things often enough.
Sm0keyPanda I would also agree with you're thoughts on Jaune, I tried to explain a bit more about whitback and show him as having a bit more emotion than ealier. Basically I'm going for something of a "give a little take a little" with their personalities. Jaune being a bit more apathatic to humans and Whitback being more prideful while both have anger stemming from trauma Jaune experienced. Though i think at this point Jaune is more unsure what else to do, he had no other goals in his mind at the moment of "destiny". Thank you for the support ! hope i did the fight well.
Artjom435 I am ashamed to admit i had to look up lancaster (I don't know many if any) but you were correct to assume someone from patch would show up! and I am still thinking of how the fight will go so our little rose may show up yet. You know I wasn't going for anything specific when i thought of the plates but I almost definitely got it the idea from crysis as I have played all of them XD. I got a odd memory sometimes. I also tried to explain a bit more about why Jaune seemingly has no aura. I knew right away i wanted it that way as to make Jaune a bit more vulnerable and Whitback a bit less desirable. Jaune's personality is fully intact as well! Jaune usually handles the body but when they want, Whitback can assist Jaune (making there voices lap over eachother giving the resonance effect) like they do in order to kill without the pause a normal person has. I also would like to say I'm not planning on killing anyone from the beacon squad! (least not yet... muhahahaha!) but that isn't to say I'm above killing characters that are in the show. No probs for the mention, I value criticism and feedback more than anything! This is my practicing to maybe write a book one day!
CabooseRvB343 (so it turns out the fanfiction editor I add comments in doesn't like the . in your name, no idea why.) Hope I made it entertaining for ya! Whitback got all of Jaune's memories as its own so he is real proud of itself for finding them and will not let them go easily. I do plan on Jaune having his own moment of revenge at some point, depending how this fight ends will decide if its real soon or just something that can't be forgotten. Thanks for the review!