"And you're absolutely certain about this?" Ghira asked as he led his team forward toward the beach house.
"Of course," Willow answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "After your performance in combat and willingness to work with us to take down those grimm? You're welcome to stay the night."
Ghira chuckled softly and rubbed at the back of his neck. He could feel sand and dried blood matted against his flesh.
"…thanks…"
"Yes, thank you," Velvet added with sincerity. "After a fight like that, we're all exhausted…"
Velvet tore through the sand atop her dunecrawler, the unfamiliar, dark-haired man with one arm around her waist holding his razor-shaped broadsword out to the side. She could see the Schnee girl's dust-fueled magic flying through the night sky as she desperately tried to hold back the alpha deathstalker to little success. Time was of the essence, and even with several people from all three teams choosing to stand their ground and fight, it had still become a losing battle…
"Allow us to go about setting up spare mattresses for you in the downstairs area while you wash off upstairs," Bartholomew offered. "It's the least that those of us who couldn't fight can do…"
"If you insist," Ghira replied. "Very much appreciated, but don't feel bad for falling back. Several of you had your auras blown from the first encounter, and others just… haven't dealt with anything quite like those deathstalkers, yet. Sometimes, knowing when to turn and run is more helpful than trying to make a stand against something you're no match for. Had you stayed, it could've endangered more people. None of us blame any of you for retreating."
"I do apologize if I got in the way before turning to run," Willow said sheepishly. "I thought I had improved enough to hold my own, but…"
"It's not a matter of holding your own," Sage rumbled as the party made their way onto the pavement in front of the beach house. "Against grimm like that? It becomes a tandem effort. We've practiced against these sorts of beasts for years. Grew up around 'em. You haven't. It isn't your fault… and remember, I had to retreat, too. My aura was shot."
Willow watched in horror as the massive stinger descended upon her, speeding through the air faster than she could react. Taiyang's trident was the only thing that stopped the hooked protrusion, and only just- he skidded backward through the sand as the tines caught the barb. Hooked bone screeched against the metal as sparks began to fly, and Taiyang shifted his grip upon the trident to keep the grimm's heavy appendage at bay as his muscles screamed in protest.
"Run!" he yelled as he clenched his teeth. "We can't deal with this! I'll be right behind you!"
Willow hesitated for a moment before raising Myrtenaster and encircling the giant scorpion's tail in a series of black glyphs, giving Taiyang time to drop his deadlock and turn to run. The pair fled side by side, joined by Kali as she sprinted in from parts unknown.
"Fuck… we should get back in there, but I can't… my aura's blown!"
"There isn't much we can do!" Taiyang insisted. "Just… make some distance, breathe, and get ready to fight if we need to! We need to get to that second bike!"
"…while that's true… it doesn't make me feel any better," Raven said in a sour tone. "That was a wake-up call I didn't know I needed. I never back down from a fight."
"Grimm… aren't our specialty," Qrow reminded. "We did what we could. Don't beat yourself up over it."
Raven made a noise of displeasure, the scene playing out in crystalline clarity in her mind once again.
The sparking blade descended at a diagonal, clashing against the alpha's claw. Raven had expected the blow to be blocked, but she had never even considered that the beast would be intelligent enough to deflect it. As Raven was unbalanced, the deathstalker's tail came swinging sideways like a great club, its weight crashing into the girl and sending her flying back across the desert. She landed unceremoniously in the sand, rolling and sending a spray of grains up into the air as she desperately held onto her katana. The desert itself seemed to rumble as the giant grimm tunneled beneath it, throwing a fountain of sand up into the sky and a lumpy trail to begin speeding toward her.
"Raven!" Summer called from just above her. "Are you alright!? It's… it's coming! We have to get out of here!"
"I can kill it," Raven insisted as she struggled to her feet. A trickle of blood ran from her bottom lip and around her chin, though she ignored the warm sensation. Summer gripped the taller girl's shoulder and helped her up, only to have her hand brushed aside. "No stupid grimm is going to get the best of us…"
"No, we're outmatched!" Summer insisted as she watched the second deathstalker burrow into the desert, creating another trail beneath the sand that rapidly approached. The two raised trails crossed and wove around the huntresses, each moving at different speeds. "Take us away, now!"
Raven let out a frustrated growl as she opened a portal and leapt through it, landing next to Taiyang in a full sprint. Summer was quick to follow, just barely escaping the stinger that jabbed up out of the sands just behind her.
"Hey, how about we take their advice and stop focusing on our failures?" Roman suggested as he moved to the head of the pack and held open the front door. Though he was mostly untouched compared to his companions, a lengthy bruise had begun to form upon his upper chest. "We did eventually manage to kill both of them, and a whole buttload of those… sand beetle things beforehand, right?"
"Myrmidons," Fox informed as he walked forward through the door and into the beach house. "They're a nuisance, and not particularly easy to deal with. You all did quite well with them."
"Roman's right," Kali agreed as she linked her arm with his and stood at his side. Her hair was tousled into a messy nest of sand and blood, to the point that her feline ears were almost totally obscured. Roman gave her an uneasy look- while he would normally be happy to see her nightgown in tatters and her navel totally exposed, he was less than thrilled to see just how battered, bruised, and bloody she was across most of her body. "We kicked ass out there. It was no big deal."
"Kali, don't you godsdamned dare!"
"I'm going back in! Don't try to stop me!"
"Your aura's fuckin' blown!" Roman cried as he watched his friend hop onto the seat of the dunecrawler and rev the engine. "What are you gonna do, shoot at 'em with your little pistols and piss 'em off? Those things are walking tanks with claws and stingers!"
"I'm going to do something, instead of sitting around with my hand in my panties while they're getting torn apart!" Kali seethed as she narrowed her eyes at the fight going on across the sands. "And you can either whip your dick out and join the party, or stay back and out of my way. Nobody's dying tonight. My aura will be back by the time we get over there again… probably…"
"Probably?" Roman asked incredulously as he hopped onto the bike and put a hand around Kali's waist. "Kal, they said they've got this…"
Kali turned her head to look back at Roman. Her expression was fierce and unfamiliar enough that he was momentarily taken aback. There was a fire in her eyes so intense that he found himself simultaneously entranced and intimidated by it. Roman wasn't entirely sure how he felt seeing Kali so full of determination and recklessness, but he was sure of one thing.
He found it incredibly hot.
"Saying something and actually doing it are two different things, Roman," Kali said with conviction. "Maybe this is a suicidal charge, but they're getting their asses kicked, and Adam's still out there with three members of BASS. I'm not leaving our teammate in a desperate struggle while I'm still standing, aura or no. Last chance to get off the bike."
Roman drew in a sharp breath through his nose and wiped his fringe out of his eyes. His hand was trembling as he readied his combat cane, and yet, he had never been as sure about anything else in his life.
"…fuck that. I'd follow you anywhere, even if it kills me."
Kali merely nodded and revved the throttle once again before the bike took off in a spray of sand.
Willow waited outside of the home as everyone else made their way inside. Once the entire party had made it safely into the structure, she cleared her throat and ran a nervous hand through her hair. She waited for the others to turn to look at her before speaking in a confident tone.
"Well… we're all alive, and that was quite the experience. Somehow, I don't think any of us will be able to sleep right away, so… why not celebrate a bit? I can set up the patio and take out some alcohol while everyone gets cleaned up and arranges the downstairs."
"…now we're talkin'," Fox replied with a grin as he rubbed his hands together.
"…yes, please," Adam said. He wasn't surprised that everyone else in the house turned to look at him, but it still made him feel uneasy. "My hands are still shaking…"
There was an awkward pause as the entire group simply looked at the faunus with varying degrees of worry. Dried blood was splattered across Adam's chest, and a nasty gash was upon his left arm. Around his waist were several puncture wounds, and a line of dark red ran all around his body just below the navel. Somewhere in the fight, he had lost his blindfold, and his other eye had become encompassed by a dark bruise. His pajama pants were torn on one side, and his right hand was indeed quivering subtly.
"…you did well," Raven praised, finally breaking the silence. "Very, very well. Your training has paid off to an extent that even surprised me. Had I managed what you just pulled off? My hands would be shaking, too. Are you alright…?"
Adam offered a humorless chuckle and shook his head. He could feel the weight of many pairs of eyes upon him, and so, he kept his own on the floor as he made his way to the walk-in closet and began to rummage for supplies.
"…it was nothing. I'm fine. It's just… what I do. Take care of yourselves, I'll get out the spare blankets."
"…hm," Ghira considered as he continued to look the youngest of the group over curiously. "Well. Let's… put it out of our minds, for now, and focus on getting cleaned up and set up."
"Right," Willow agreed. "There's a staircase down to the basement underneath the other set of stairs. We have spare air mattresses down in storage. BASS, head upstairs and get cleaned off, and we'll take care of everything else."
"…with some of you guys lookin' like that?" Sage asked as he eyed Kali.
"Pff," the feline faunus replied with a wave of her hand. "I've had worse. You guys are guests. Go get showered and whatnot, and the rest of us can take care of ourselves afterward. We'll be fine."
"If you insist," Fox said with a shrug. He paused for a few seconds, seemingly concentrating. His usually milky eyes briefly glowed a gentle orange before he turned and made his way over to the staircase with confidence. "I smell like ass, and I'm pretty sure I've got sand in places sand shouldn't be. Sage probably smells like two asses."
Velvet rolled her eyes and smirked as Sage let out a grunt and moved to follow his teammate up the steps. The faunus dipped into a gentle bow and offered the other hunters a warm, apologetic smile.
"…thank you all, again. We won't be long."
"See you soon," Ghira agreed as he added a salute and then moved to follow Velvet to the upstairs floor.
Ghira was unsurprised to see Fox and Sage waiting for him in the main hallway, both looking uneasy. Sage made a beckoning motion and stepped into one of the bedrooms without a word. The rest of the team followed, and Velvet turned to lock the door behind them just as Fox began to speak.
"…alright, so what the hell did he even do?" the young man said nervously. "It was a sensory overload of aura unlike anything I've ever felt before, and then just… nothing…"
"He's dangerous," Sage added in a near whisper. "Totally unhinged. The rest of them seem like capable fighters in their own right, but that boy…"
"I know," Ghira acknowledged as he sat upon the bed and folded his hands in his lap. "Believe me, I'm not sure what to think, either..."
"Adam!"
The bull faunus barely heard Kali's voice, though it wasn't due to the roar of her vehicle's engine or the shrieking of the grimm before him. All the world seemed to fall out of focus, his senses blinded to everything around him but his targets. His entire consciousness was consumed by only one thing as he began to run forward.
Rage.
Every call to retreat had been ignored. All of the warnings that Ghira had directed his way were little more than annoying sounds buzzing around his head like insistent gnats. He had seen enough blood on the sand and heard enough cries of pain from his friends. He would end it before he had to experience any more.
A stinger descended upon him as he charged in, but the stabbing limb seemed to move in slow motion to him. Without a second thought, he unsheathed a fraction of his blade and turned aside the blow. The steel, already a light pink, darkened considerably before he slammed it back into its casing and continued to run. He flipped the scabbard around and fired burning slag from the shotgun on the opposite end straight into the deathstalker's face as he leapt into the air, preparing to draw his katana.
"Adam! On your ri-"
Ghira's warning had come too late, and Adam soon felt a crushing pressure around his waist as he was seized out of midair. From his blind side, the other grimm had erupted from the sand and cinched its claw around him. He could feel his insides being compressed as the small, bony protrusions within the curved bones pierced through his aura and directly into his skin. Adam let out a furious cry of pain as he struggled against the vice grip to no avail. He clenched his teeth so tightly that they felt like they might snap as he watched the stinger fly in toward him, aiming for a killing blow.
Unfortunately for the grimm, he was ready.
With a split second to spare, Adam drew his katana free from its sheath and turned away the stabbing limb. The blade glowed a furious crimson and began to seep energy up into the air before he brought it down in one clean stroke, severing the claw from the deathstalker's limb. A furious scream echoed throughout the desert as the claw's grip loosened and the entire end of the limb began to fall. Adam fell along with it and hit the sand hard, his breathing ragged as he glared at the flailing alpha.
"Adam, are you alr-"
"Hit me!" Adam interrupted as he turned to look up at Ghira from his position crouched upon the sand. "Channel your semblance and hit me as hard as you can!"
"What are y-" Ghira began, only to be drowned out.
"Do it! Now!"
Ghira spared only one more glance to the approaching pair of grimm before his gauntleted arm began to glow brightly. He let out a yell as he threw a haymaker directly for Adam's chest, only for the other faunus to again draw his blade and catch the blow. The katana began to emanate an energy so bright that Ghira found himself momentarily blinded, and he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sudden flash. As he blinked away the dots in his vision, he barely managed to see Adam slide his sword back into its sheath, and then, time itself seemed to slow to a crawl.
Adam turned, orienting his weapon behind himself and stooping into a low stance. The young faunus' arms seemed to quake with the effort of containing his blade as furious streaks of red spilled forth from where the steel met the sheath. Ghira wasn't certain if the events he was watching transpired over a span of milliseconds or years, but he was quite sure that when the blade did leave the sheath, it moved so fast that it seemed to almost teleport. One moment, Adam was crouched over and struggling to contain his weapon. The next, the blade was out to the side, and the faunus had let out a yell so guttural and loud that Ghira flinched in surprise.
A crescent beam of energy flew forward with blinding speed as Adam's aura exploded forward in a swirling nova of raw, unrestrained energy. The pulsating, flickering shape spun wildly as it grew to span almost twenty feet, eclipsing a good portion of the sky while it traveled. It tore through the air, effectively creating a whirling blade of wild, scarlet-colored power that screamed through both of the approaching grimm. For a moment, it seemed as though time had stopped entirely, and the pair of beasts had simply chosen to halt their advance. The whirling energy beam continued on its path, impacting the side of a plateau far in the distance. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.
Then, a chain of events occurred so quickly that neither man fully understood what happened in what order.
The alpha deathstalkers collapsed entirely, pieces of each scattering and tumbling down to the sand as they were shredded. Bone, chitin, and everything in between was torn apart as the grimm were totally eviscerated, each falling apart as though they had been squeezed through a giant strainer. An entire section of the far-off plateau began to shift, sliding off the rest as boulders and fragments of varying size tumbled down into the desert. Eventually, an entire diagonal shelf crashed down into the sands, forming a collection of rocky protrusions that hadn't been there mere moments before.
The dunecrawler slowed to a stop just beside Adam and Ghira as the bull faunus fell to his knees in the sand. Ashes swirled up into the sky from the disintegrating grimm as Adam dropped his weapon and blood trailed from his mouth down onto the ground. The boy shook as he closed his fingers around the unstable grains of sand, vaguely aware that Kali and Roman were calling his name. He could briefly tell that he was falling forward and felt hands upon his back before everything went dark.
Fox's shoulders were tense as he listened to Ghira's retelling of events. Though he couldn't see the expression on his teammates' faces, he had a feeling that they were something close to his own of disbelief and discomfort.
"And then he just… woke up?"
"He was out for maybe thirty seconds. A minute, at most," Ghira clarified. "He stood up like nothing happened. Aura completely shattered- it looks like it still is- but totally ignorant of his injuries. He's a walking weapon of mass destruction."
"Then we make sure we stay on his good side," Sage replied with a shrug. "Seems simple enough."
"Perhaps," Velvet considered. "But… all of this feels wrong. You all saw his scar, and yet, he's here working together with a Schnee. There's more to this…"
"There is," Ghira agreed. "And I think I have a plan to find out what. I need to get Adam alone."
Author's Note:
Really wanted to try something different with a fight scene as a flashback that spanned the entire chapter, instead of playing it straight again. Would be interested to hear what people think of it.
-RD
