Chapter 2 – Blood on the Cobblestones
Jaune
Everything was so peaceful…
Kids were going to school, people headed to work or just living their lives. Picnics in tranquil parks and drinking in bars. But now… it nothing short of chaos. Blood splattered across the cobblestones as a screaming man was being swarmed by a pack of Beowulves. He shrieked as they ripped open his chest, blood pouring everywhere, and jaws clamping down in places. The beasts slashed and dug their claws in deep as they ate him alive, completely ignoring his wails of agony.
If anything… his pain just made his blood taste oh so sweeter.
The Alpha bit down onto his throat and ripped him open, blood sprayed from his wound, silencing his screams, but the agony just continued as they fed on him. Until a bullet shot straight through the eye of one of the Beowulves, killing it instantly. The Alpha turned, and Ren fired the blades of Stormflower forward, and they dug into the soft black muscles of the animal, then the cables retracted, launching the Kuroyurian Huntsman directly at the monster. He slammed both feet directly into the Beowulf's jaw, breaking it. The creature toppled over whilst Ren perfectly secured a landing, spinning his dual pistols through his fingers.
The Beowulf roared monstrously at him with the man's gooey thick blood dangling from its jaws, until Magnhild crushed its skull into the ground. Pyrrha, the one who fired the first shot, also charged ahead, launching Akoúo across the street and nailing the Alpha in the face. It staggered backwards whilst Pyrrha charged at the beast, and she caught the shield as it returned to her forearm. She jumped up and kicked it in the chest, breaking its defence, then proceeded to extend Milo into its Spear form, impaling the creature in the knee. As it fell downwards, she then drove the sword as it collapsed back down into sword form, right up the Alpha Beowulf's skull.
Two more remained, and Jaune ran towards the beast, stopping its claws with his shield, then he swung the shield aside with great force, throwing it up in the air. As it fell, he rammed the blade of Crocea Mors straight through its ribcage. He turned but Neo put down the last Beowulf with Hush, jabbing it in the neck as it jumped towards him. It writhed on the ground, and Neo rested Hush on her shoulder. She cheekily grinned, then the beast attacked her once again, only for her to effortlessly dodge it, and behead the beast as it flew past her.
The head of the Beowulf crashed to the floor in front of Team A.M.F.S.
Team Amethyst were only kids, same age all of them were when all of this began, seventeen years old. But… seeing all of this? It must have been nightmarish for them to even begin to comprehend. Aryl stared at what remained of that poor man who was choking on his own blood. Jaune crouched down next to him and held his mangled hand, feeling the hot sticky blood cling onto his palm. "I'm sorry this happened to you." Jaune softly said to the man he never even knew.
The civilian did not last long before he died.
Jaune just stood back up and walked away with his team. "Wait! We're just gonna leave him?" Aryl questioned, gesturing to the dead man.
Team J.N.P.R and Neo turned to look at the students. "We can't, and there's nothing more we can do. The city has already fallen, we have to get to the school." Jaune explained.
"B-But…" Fleur stammered as she looked around.
"Look… I understand what you're thinking. But we have to keep going, we can't stop to help every single lost cause." Jaune coldly explained, Aryl stared at him with disbelief.
"How… how can you say that? You're a Huntsman, you're supposed to protect people!" She argued.
"Only the ones who can make it, Aryl. He was long dead by the time we got to him." Jaune explained.
"That's cold." Mason stated, Jaune just softly chuckled, closing his eyes as he stared ahead.
"I would have said the same thing when I was in your shoes. But the things we have seen? The things we have had to do? To protect Remnant? All of you?" Jaune paused as he clenched his hand into a fist. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes you have to be cold to do what it takes." Jaune stated.
"He's right. You can't let things like this slow you down. We have more important problems right now." Nora explained as she gestured to the sky, filled with Grimm. Team J.N.P.R and Neo kept walking away, then A.M.F.S caught up to them. They were keeping their weapons unsheathed constantly, in fact this was the longest they had gone without seeing Grimm. But they knew that would change any second.
Like right now.
The ground fractured before their very eyes, and chunks of tarmac plummeted down into the Reality Split that just opened up. It was a small one, but it was already unleashing more and more Grimm. "Incoming!" Ren called out, firing Stormflower ahead. A Manticore dove down through the buildings and blasted a fireball towards them. Neo opened her Umbrella, absorbing the explosion, then she spun it around and fired an explosive shot up towards the beast as it flew over her head.
The explosive projectile blew its wing apart. It roared in pain and came crashing down into the ground. Jaune looked ahead as a horde of Grimm came rampaging towards them… hundreds of them. "Oh gods… RUN!" Jaune screamed, there were far too many of them to fight. And they just kept on coming. The team all turned and ran as fast as they could, sprinting into an alleyway between two buildings.
It was like they became a Hivemind, all acting as one. The huge swarm of multiple different species of Grimm smashed into the wall as they tried to attack them. And over the stunned Grimm, the rest just clambered over them, flowing over and into the alley like a great wave. Jaune looked back over his shoulder as they continued to hound them. Beowulves, Sabyrs, Creeps, Sulphur Fish… and countless others were in that massive swarm. They ran out into the street and ran to the left, narrowly dodging a car that was speeding away with Thralls dangling off the side of it. But as the car swerved to miss, it smashed into a lamppost.
Then the Grimm Horde erupted from the alleyway and consumed the car completely, ripping it apart and shredding whoever was trapped inside of it. They could not even hear their screams from how loud the column of Grimm were. The horrors just kept swarming behind them, Nora fired her Grenade Launcher back at the horde, and the explosions killed a couple, but it did nothing. It didn't even slow them all down, they just kept on coming after them.
"Come on!" Pyrrha called, then her eyes widened as she saw a King Wyvern descending towards the street, they were in. Its throat started to glow a bright orange, channelling fire into its gullet. The King Wyvern blasted a pillar of fire down into the street, and the huge flames shattered the windows around it as it grew closer and closer. Entire buildings exploded as the fire made contact, throwing burning rubble everywhere, polluting the air with smoke.
Everyone ran as fast as they could and dove into the next building, and Pyrrha held out her hands, using her Polarity to force the metal shutters down. The Oncoming Shadow were right behind them, but the fire must have hit them, because they vanished. The huge heavy metal shutters bent inwards and starting to glow orange from the sheer heat of the fire outside.
"Nice work, Pyrrha…" Jaune panted, turning to Aryl. She groaned in pain, grabbing her leg, with smoke trailing off it. "Shit, Aryl are you alright?" Jaune inquired.
"Yep… wasn't fast enough." She groaned, and Jaune checked her leg, she wore a skirt similar to the one Ruby used to wear, and he saw the state of her right leg. It was badly burned; the skin was charred black and cracked in places.
"Why didn't you activate your aura?" Ren asked her with concern.
"I did… I'm just bad at keeping it at full strength." She winced.
They are only students… Gods what was I thinking letting them come with us?
But… they knew what we were going into… and they wanted to help…
How many of them are gonna survive this?
Are any of them?
"Can you walk?" Pyrrha asked her, and she was helped up by Sinna and Ren, she limped on her foot and groaned.
"Damn it… I'm just gonna slow you all down." She sighed.
"No, the School is just around the corner, we can make it. There could be some stuff in there to patch that up. We just need to be careful." Jaune explained, turning to Neo. She was already looking for a way out, and she found a door, and carefully opened it. She stared down the alleyway this side door was accessible from… and she saw the street they were just on.
Her eyes widened… the entire street was engulfed in fire, and that huge horde of Grimm were gone.
Yet that somehow made this threat even more terrifying. A massive horde of Grimm like that could easily be sacrificed and have literally no impact on Umbra's side. Because they'd just go back to the Charred Forest and travel through another Reality Split.
She felt the ground start shaking, like an earthquake, then she heard a deafening explosion. Then a massive spire of Shadow Dust rose high into the sky, just like they did back at Salem's Sanctum, and like then… they started spewing Shriekers into the air to attack the air force.
But… despite all this… the area was clear.
Neo gestured to them with her hand "C'mon, it's clear." Sinna rested her leader's arm over her shoulder, and the teenager winced from how badly her leg hurt.
"Damn it… please just leave me… I don't want you all to die because of me." Aryl whimpered.
"We're not leaving you." Mason promised.
"Yeah, you're our leader and friend." Sinna agreed.
"So quit that whining and let's get that leg patched up." Fleur agreed.
They got outside, and the air was thick with smoke and embers, they had to cover their mouths to stop breathing it in. Endless screams howled through the cities as the Grimm slaughtered people, then Nora walked close to Jaune. "How the hell are we gonna get a whole school of kids and other civvies to Beacon? The Grimm are everywhere." Nora asked, Jaune was not a fool, he knew how bad the situation was.
"We call for evac and get them to that evac point. The Vault is still open, so the Airships will ferry them there so they can be safe." Jaune explained as he checked each corner.
"I don't wanna be the bad guy, but someone has to ask it… how long does Aryl have?" Pyrrha softly asked.
"With that leg? Not long… it won't be long til more Grimm show up and if we have to run like last time? She won't make it." Jaune honestly answered.
"What do we do in that situation? Leave her behind?" Nora asked with wide eyes, Jaune didn't even know where to begin with that question.
"I… I don't know. We've never had to… do something like that. I dunno if I could." Jaune admitted.
Neo stopped them quickly, raising her palm and keeping her finger to her lips. They felt tremors in the ground, so they stood still. In the street that was not aflame, they could see it crack and swell as the spines of Blind Worms travelled through the city with ease. Not a normal sight to see, Blind Worms outside of a Desert. "This is insane…" Sinna whispered.
They kept moving and turned the corner, but they stayed low to the ground. The School was right there – Valera's Academy for Youth.
It was Adrien's school, and were mainly little kids went.
Jaune saw a large gang of Grimm there, including a large pack of Thralls, and they were feasting on some dead Police Officers. Blood was everywhere, and a Beringel was smashing the remains of one to pieces, he was screaming for a couple seconds before he finally died from the last few hits. "Gods…" Fleur whimpered, then they saw a Police Officer on the floor, shotgun in hand and shaking erratically.
Jaune and Neo carefully approached him, and he swiftly aimed at them, but Neo grabbed the barrel and disarmed him. "It's okay… we're people." Jaune assured, and the Cop calmed himself down.
"It's the end of the world… oh gods…" He cried.
"The hell happened? Are the people in the school still alive?" Jaune questioned, the man was sweating wildly from fear, it was a miracle that the Grimm were so focused on the dead. But then again… judging by how they were approaching the school? It was possible they could taste a larger presence of fear within the Academy.
"Y-Yeah… but I'm getting out of here. I'm not dying." The Cop whimpered.
"The hell you are, there are kids in there. My nephew is in there." Jaune stated.
"I'm not going out there! It's pointless." The Cop argued, Jaune gritted his teeth with anger at this coward, but Neo stopped Jaune from doing anything. She brought up her scroll and typed a message for him to read.
I'LL CLEAR A PATH, THE REST OF YOU WAIT UNTIL I'M DONE.
"Clear a Path? How?" Jaune asked, so Neo typed something else.
I'LL IMPROVISE :shrug emoji:
Jaune chuckled, then nodded his head and went back to them. Neo turned to the Cop and gestured to the left, and she gave him quite the intimidating glare. He eventually followed her, Jaune quickly lost sight of the two of them. Neo held her hand against the warm bonnet of one of the Police Cars, watching the Grimm as they get closer to the doors of the school.
"Let's just go! They're distracted, we don't have to die for these people." The Policeman whimpered.
An idea popped into her mind.
Distraction.
Her eyes glanced back at the Cop, and she smiled.
Suddenly she covered his mouth and forced him against the wall and stabbed him in the leg so badly it completely paralysed that limb. He screamed in agony, then she grabbed onto him and forced him forward as he wailed in pain. His wound bled bad, and the Grimm could hear his screams, and sense his fear. Neo saw that one of the vehicles that was left here was a Fuel Lorry, and there was fuel pouring everywhere.
She kicked the Cowardly Cop into the Grimm, and they swarmed him immediately as he shrieked. Jaune turned and saw what Neo just did, hearing his agonized shrieking as the Grimm tore into him, splattering blood everywhere as they fed on him. She waited for the Beringel to approach him and drew Hush.
She aimed the barrel at the Lorry, then one of the Thralls stared at her.
Neo smirked, and pulled the trigger, firing an explosive shell into the lorry. The entire tanker erupted into a massive fireball. The flames consumed the Grimm and the Cop, destroying them all. Neo lowered Hush with an emotionless glare in her eyes, then turned to look at Jaune who stared at her in disbelief.
She pointed with a slight hand gesture to the doors and walked in first. Jaune watched her enter and he shuddered, looking at the burning remains of the cop on the ground. The stench of burning flesh was horrible, but they couldn't waste any time, and Neo managed to give them an opening.
But it was still quite shocking to see.
She was on their side… but Neopolitan was still in there.
They entered the school together and Aryl winced again as she limped, Nora and Ren took point and aimed down the halls. "It's… weird to see the school like this." Fleur softly stammered with wide eyes.
The school – which was once bustling with children – now was silent, and the scars of conflict could be seen. Bullet holes in the walls, fresh blood still trickling off the walls. Ren crouched down to the floor, finding the scuffs and scrapes made by claws. "Grimm… some of them got inside."
"Damn. Okay, everyone stay ready. Ren, any idea what's in here?" Jaune asked as he spun Crocea Mors through his fingers.
"Not sure… I think Mandrills… but there is something else. I can't tell what it is. But it's not big." Ren explained, then they looked up and heard the sound of burning wings soaring overhead.
"Alright, remember we need to find them. They're alive… they have to be…" He stammered, feeling a lump of fear in his throat.
No… they're not dead.
They're not.
THEY'RE NOT.
They continued to follow the hallways of the school, seeing some lockers with blood splattered on them. "So much blood… but I don't see any bodies." Pyrrha commented.
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Nora agreed.
The sound of movement echoed down these halls, tables being knocked over and chairs scraping across the floor. The entire Academy shook as an explosion erupted nearby, and the howls of monsters continued to echo through the city. Dust fell from the ceiling and the lights flickered. It was amazing that there was still power from the punishment this city was suffering by the Oncoming Shadow. Jaune stopped by a window, and he gasped as he saw a massive Reaper fly towards a building where the Acolytes of the Rose were firing heavy artillery from. But its serpentine body coiled around the entire building, and it crushed the supports, causing it to come crashing down.
It was… horrifying… how so many years of civilisation could be extinguished and reduced to rubble in merely half an hour.
Half an Hour…
That was how long it had been since this all started.
Half an Hour.
And so many are dead, so much is destroyed.
No wonder Vir Nominis Umbra uses the Oncoming Shadow like this… I can't even imagine how many people are begging us to just give up the Relics to take a painless death over… this.
The dust plumes filled the district where that building collapsed, and he watched as the Leviathan-Class Grimm just floated away without any injuries. Jaune clenched his hand into a fist again and kept on walking through the school. Mason kicked a set of double doors open, aiming his weapon ahead as he walked inside. The classroom was empty… but they found their first body.
"Oh gods… Miss Maeve…" Mason stammered, seeing the state of the teacher they clearly had a good relationship with. Her corpse was ripped up, and there was a lot of pain in her last moments judging by the screaming face left behind. But… there was something else…
Nora looked past the ripped-up innards and puddles of blood everywhere, she instead looked at her burst ears, where blood was rushing out from. "Whatever was in here… it was damn loud…" Nora deduced.
"So it can stun people with a scream? Great." Jaune sighed as he looked around. Team A.M.F.S stared at what was left of the teacher. Fleur began to cry as she looked at the teacher, wiping tears from her eyes.
"She was always nice to us…" Fleur softly said.
"Did you all know each other before you came to Beacon?" Jaune asked them.
"No… only Fleur and I." Mason answered.
"She deserved better." Fleur sniffled, Jaune looked at them and he gently squeezed their shoulders.
"C'mon… we gotta go." Jaune said as he walked away, and he turned around the corner with Pyrrha beside him. She kept Milo shouldered, aiming ahead as she checked every single corner and even some of the larger lockers. Anything could be hiding in a large school like this.
Something dark shot down the hallway, creating a sudden barking sound. "Whoa!" Jaune yelped, raising his sword and shield, Pyrrha nearly took the shot and her eyes shimmered, feeling the Summer Maiden Power within her. But she had to conserve her strength, not broadcast her power.
That was always her greatest strength against her enemies.
"Mandrill…" Pyrrha identified. It was hard to tell due to how fast it was, but judging by its small stature, speed and sound? That was definitely what Ren said was in here. "There's definitely a pack of them here."
But then she stopped when she felt… webbing?
She looked down and saw the tracks of thousands of sharp feet and crouched down. "Centinels too… crap." Jaune sighed. "So we have Mandrills, Centinels and a Screamy Thingy."
"Yep… let's hope they haven't found the kids yet." Pyrrha said as she got up and started to walk ahead. Pyrrha turned the corner with Jaune at her side, and they walked down into the Cafeteria. Apart from the sound of chaos outside, it was bone-chillingly quiet for a cafeteria. Hot food still on the tables, but by the looks of it… not children were dead. But there were some bodies.
Police Officers, killed and ripped up by Grimm. Clearly this Police Officers held them off long enough for the kids to get out of there.
They walked inside, then suddenly one of the tables and benches was thrown up into the air. They all stared ahead and saw a Mandrill. It jumped onto one of the chairs and bellowed at them, pounding its fists against the table, then more of them came hollering. They sprinted under the tables and used it as cover. Pyrrha fired multiple rounds, but the tables were making it hard for her.
She watched one sprinting under the table, then she narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist, her polarity crushed the Table into itself with the Mandrill inside, killing it instantly.
But the other just kept on coming, flipping chairs out of the way. One of them grabbed a chair and launched it towards Jaune, but he smashed it aside with his shield and rushed towards the Monkey Grimm. It roared and leapt at him, a mouth filled with razor sharp canines, and it went to bite down on his throat, but Jaune caught it with his shield, then slammed it down into the ground. He arced round and drove the blade of Crocea Mors straight through its heart, but then a second threw itself into his side.
Jaune held the beast back as it snapped its heavy jaws at him, the sound was like that of heavy pistons colliding into each other. Their biting force could easily snap steel, and it continuously got closer and closer to him, throwing saliva into his face. Until Milo speared right into the back of its head, and she threw it off her boyfriend. She then spun Milo through her fingers and threw the Spear towards another that jumped towards her, impaling it to one of the pillars. Despite being impaled through the chest the Monkey Grimm still savagely writhed and tried to get free, until eventually dying.
Pyrrha called Milo back into her palm and swung around in a perfect twirl, beheading two of the creatures in one strike. Jaune covered her, beheading another and kicking a second in the jaw. The creature staggered back, and he punched it in the face. As it stumbled backwards, he rammed the blade of his sword through its roaring mouth.
Neo jumped up and ran across the tables, and a Mandrill viciously slashed at her from beneath, but she opened her Umbrella, easily stopping it. The beast erupted through the tables and landed in front of her, nearly the same height as her in comparison. It slashed its claws at her, but she effortlessly dodged its swings, smiling and twirling around as if she were dancing. In fact it looked like she was having a lot of fun. The Mandrill jumped towards her, then she extended her blade and stabbed it in the throat, killing it. Whilst it slid off her blade, she checked her nails and grinned, before shattering as a second thought it could surprise her.
The Mandrill looked around in confusion, then Neo rushed forward, opening Hush's Umbrella to stagger the beast, then she closed it and battered it across the face, then jumping and flipping backwards. Her boot came up and connected into its chin, causing the beast to be thrown back. As it crashed down, Neo landed on its chest and drove the blade of Hush straight through the soft eye.
Ren swung around the room and fired Stormflower at the Mandrills that were using the rafters like they were branches. One of them jumped at him but he kicked it away, sending it crashing down into the tables. Ren then fired both blades into the ribs of a Mandrill, and they launched him forward as the cables retracted, booting it in the head. He spun through the air before landing on the chest of another Mandrill. The Grimm acted as a cushion for his fall, and he finished it off with a quick bullet to the head. The one he kicked aside came rushing towards him, and he ducked under its hand, and slashed the blade of his pistol across the back of its knee. The Mandrill fell upon it, then he spiralled around and cut cleanly through the throat of the creature with the other Pistol's blade.
Nora blasted across the entire cafeteria and smashed Magnhild into three of the creatures, killing all of them in one strike. But more were still coming, dropping down from the vents. She smacked one into a pillar with her hammer and transformed it into Grenade Launcher form, killing three more with the blasts. One of the last came rushing towards her and she caught it by the throat and held it over her head and threw it down into the ground. "EAT THIS!" Nora yelled, burying her Hammer straight into the Mandrill's face, killing it instantly.
The last two came charging towards the students, hollering savagely as they got closer and closer. Sinna fired his pistols at the Creatures, but they just kept coming. Fleur was holding Aryl and keeping her back, whilst Mason charged forward and smashed his hammer into the jaw of the beast, knocking it into the wall. But lacking the strength of a more experienced Huntsman, the Mandrill got back up with a snapped jaw. It still roared at him with blood pouring from its mouth and lunged at him once more, but Sinna spun around and shot it in the side of the head, killing it.
"Ha-Ha! I got it!" Sinna cheered, until the second Mandrill leapt onto his neck and bit down. His aura was keeping him safe, but it was ripping into his protective barrier repeatedly. Then his orange aura broke, and it still sunk its teeth in, he screamed in pain, then Jaune grabbed it by its mane and threw it down into the ground, as it tumbled it went to attack again, but Jaune cut clean through its open jaws, cutting the skull in half.
Pyrrha quickly rushed to Mason. "Are you alright?"
Pyrrha immediately examined his neck, and he winced as she touched it. Blood was leaking from the bite, pretty badly too. "He got you good… but… it's not too deep. We get you a bandage we can sort it out, same for Aryl's leg."
"You came here to school; are we close to the Nurse's Office?" Jaune asked them.
"Yeah, it's just through those doors, third door on the left." Fleur answered, keeping the in-pain Aryl upright. They immediately started moving and Neo took point once again. Neo opened the doors and pointed Hush's Barrel down both ends, making sure nothing was lurking in here for them.
"That's the Mandrills… still got Centinels and that Unknown to worry about." Ren said.
"Yeah, and the millions of Grimm out there killing people and destroying the city." Sinna added.
"Not just here, kid… they'll be everywhere soon enough. Maybe they already are." Nora said, keeping Magnhild in its Grenade Launcher Form aimed down the hall.
Neo approached the Nurse's Office and opened it, she stopped and noticed something, stopping everyone. She walked inside first, and Ren stood beside her. They both approached the wall, finding it smothered in webbing. Alongside fresh footprints. "Centinels… we're close."
Neo spotted something on the floor, some sort of lubricant, and she slid her finger across it. It was gelatinous and stank of decomposition. Repulsed she wiped it on the wall, then glanced at Ren. "Also looks like we could have a Cenitaur in here."
"Great." Nora groaned, they got Mason and Aryl inside and immediately raided the cupboard, desperately looking for something.
"Most of the stuff is gone." Pyrrha said.
"That's a good sign." Jaune sighed with relief.
"How is that a good sign?" Nora asked.
"Last I checked, Grimm don't raid cupboards. And I doubt anyone has the time to steal from a school that still has Grimm in it. Especially with an entire city under siege from them." Jaune explained. "So this means that they are alive, hopefully nearby."
"Well they were in a hurry, looks like they left some behind. A few bandages, disinfectant, that kind of stuff." Pyrrha said as she pulled the bandages out. They quickly tended to them, pouring cold clean water over Aryl's burns and disinfecting the cracked skin, which was bleeding, before bandaging her leg up. They also cleaned and bandaged up Mason's neck, before they kept moving into the school.
As they left the Nurse's Office, a loud screeching sound came from the speakers.
"Everyone! This is Principle Jacobs! If you are still alive and trying to find safety, we are held up in the Gymnasium! Help is on the way! And if you see Grimm, hide! And please… be careful." It was an automated message, but considering how recent all of this was? Odds were that they were all still in the Gym.
"Do you remember where the Gym is?" Jaune asked.
"We have to go through the Science Block, which is right ahead." Aryl answered, Fleur continued to help her walk. But as they turned… they saw a woman stood down the hallway. She wasn't moving, and her hair seemed to be floating around.
"Hey? Ma'am? It's not safe here, we need to get you to the Vault!" Jaune called, but their blood ran cold. The person turned, and their flesh was black and had bony white armour in places. It was shaped like a beautiful woman, and even it's face looked gorgeous. Despite the glowing red eyes and bone plates around the cheeks. Then it hissed, and a serpent's tongue slithered through its lips. The flesh around the cheeks tore and the top half of its head swung all the way back as it screeched.
They all covered their ears in immense pain from how loud it was, then the creature suddenly shot forward. It smashed Jaune against the wall and screeched endlessly into Team A.M.F.S, causing them all to collapse to their knees. Pyrrha managed to fight through the screaming just enough to throw a punch into its split face. The head flopped forward; the once beautiful womanly face was now a nightmarish ghoul.
"It's a Banshee!" Ren called out, he fired Stormflower at the creature but it's body wobbled around, and it darted from side to side to dodge the bullets, before grabbing Ren by its hand. The fingers were foot or two long, and it smashed his head against the wall hard and fast. Nora roared, smashing her hammer into the breasts of the Banshee, and it tumbled across the slippery floor. It drove its sharp hands into the ground, then it shrieked once again. So loud that the windows shattered.
Pyrrha gritted her teeth in anger, then her eyes ignited with emerald flames. She channelled fire into her hands and despite how loud the screech was, she managed to blast a fireball right into the monster's mouth. "SHUT THE HELL UP!" Pyrrha yelled back, and the fireball exploded down the Banshee's gullet. The top half of its head erupted, and the corpse stumbled from side to side, reaching out one last time, before crumbling away into thin air.
"Is everyone okay?" Jaune asked, Nora smacked the side of her ear.
"WHAT?" She yelled, deafened by the ringing. It was starting to recede, but it looked like they found what killed Mrs Maeve.
"I remember reading about them… Banshees are in the Extinct Grimm Category in the Bestiary. Looks like every Grimm that has ever been is coming back." Ren explained, shuddering at the thought.
"This just gets worse and worse." Jaune sighed, before continuing to make their way through the school. He rubbed his ear, still feeling it throb in pain from the deafening scream of the Banshee. He then entered the Science Block, seeing all the test tubes still sat in their containers and the Burners left too, a couple were still on. But as he entered the room, he stopped them all, and Neo nodded.
Vibrations… I can feel them in the ground…
"We've got incoming." Jaune warned, then everyone saw the webbing. They had just found the Centinel Nest. They had already started building it up, holes in the walls were everywhere, and screeches were growing louder and louder.
"Here they come!" Sinna warned, aiming his pistols forward, and they came scuttling out from their tunnels. One of the huge centipede Grimm reared back, and green acidic saliva leaked from its jaws. Then it spat directly at him. Sinna gasped and rolled out of the way. The acid melted down the metal stand behind him. More and more kept coming and Jaune charged forward with a furious roar, and he slashed Crocea Mors clean through the pincers of one Centinel.
But as he stepped forward, the smooth floor exploded, and two large sharp legs emerged, dragging the hulking body upwards. It was the Cenitaur, a huge grotesque Alpha Centinel, which had a humanoid upper half with spiked forearms, and a huge sack of acid undulating where a belly would be. It roared at him and immediately vomited acid towards him, but Jaune rolled aside, then went to slice open the sack, only for it to hook its sharp arm onto his sword and it threw him across the lab, shattering many test tubes.
Pyrrha threw Akoúo forward and it bounced off the walls and smashed straight into the face of a Centinel. The Arthropod was knocked to the side, then she rolled ahead, extending the blade of Milo and cutting clean through its soft black underside. The armoured creature crumbled away into the air, then another shot out from the wall and closed its pincers around Pyrrha's neck, trying to take her head off. But Pyrrha just managed to catch the sharp pincers and hold them apart, twisting the large creature around and throwing it down against the ground. In that moment she drove Milo down into its face.
Neo cartwheeled backwards as a Centinel snapped its mandibles at her, then she spun Hush through her fingers and rested it over her shoulders, firing an explosive shell into the Centinel. The shell killed it instantly, but more kept on coming, writhing out from different tunnels that they made. One snapped at her face, but she just managed to duck under it, then stabbed it up the mouth with Hush's blade.
Nora swiftly pummelled Centinel after Centinel as they all rushed for her, spiralling Magnhild and striking each of them with immense force. Each broke apart like they were made of porcelain from her powerful weapon, and she buried the axe deep into the head of another creature, killing it instantly. It twitched under the hammer, and as another reared up to attack her from behind, she activated one of her new upgrades. It blasted a jet of pink fire from the rocket on the back of the hammer, throwing the Hammer the other way, and killing the Centinel behind her instantly.
Ren sprinted and fired Stormflower repeatedly into the Centinels that scuttled across the ground. His bullets were doing nothing against the armoured carapace on the upper half of their bodies. One of the Centinels bit at his feet, but Ren jumped and bounced off the walls, firing his blades towards the plates, and they hooked underneath where the plates overlapped. He landed behind the creature and pulled back with all his might. The Centinel screeched in pain, then he ripped the plates right off with the cables.
Black blood sprayed across the floor, and the Centinel shrieked up into the air.
Ren then spun his pistols around, then charged forward, jumping over the reared-up beast, and he fired into its soft underside, before he fired both blades forward and they stabbed into the tissue. He shot forward and slammed it into the table, shooting it in the head. He gasped as another went to attack him over the table, but he grabbed the Bunsen Burner and set the fire to max, jamming it right into its mouth.
It shrieked in pain, writhing around as the flames set it alight from the inside. It eventually crumpled forward and onto the table. Nora on the other hand punched a Centinel across the side of its face, then she grabbed it and threw it against the ground and shattered its head with her hammer. Turning as another spat acid towards her, only for Akoúo to fly between and catch the acid.
Pyrrha rushed to her aid and threw Milo in its spear form straight through its head and yanked it back with her polarity. The spear went straight through another reared up Centinel, killing it instantly. It found her hand and three of the critters rushed towards her, only for her to spin around on the spot, cutting them to pieces as her Spear orbited her via Polarity at great speeds.
She turned and gasped to see Jaune taking on the Cenitaur himself. It slashed its bladed arms at him, but he blocked them with his sword. Sparks flew as the bony spikes collided against the powerful blade of Crocea Mors. It drove its arm down where he was stood, but Jaune showed his skill. He jumped and kicked himself off the wall, cutting clean through that stuck arm, and in the process, he cut open the Cenitaur's Acid Sack. It howled in agony as the acid poured over the floor, melting the ground, but Jaune jumped up onto one of the tables, then jumped straight at the Cenitaur.
His eyes glowed and so did the Hieroglyphics of Crocea Mors' Blade, and he activated his semblance, granting him the power of his ancestors. He drove the sword downwards, straight through the Cenitaur's head. He cut the beast right through the middle with a flash of white light, and the beast slid apart before disintegrating.
The acid faded away as well, then Jaune sheathed his sword with an exhale of relief. He turned to see Pyrrha's proud smile. They turned to Team A.M.F.S, who just looked amazed by what they saw. "Whoa…" Mason chuckled. "You guys are badass."
"Yeah well… it's kinda our style." Jaune smirked, leaning against the table, only to accidentally knock over the only test tube left intact, making it break on the floor. "Oops."
They all chuckled, then continued.
They exited the Science Block, then Jaune stopped, and his eyes widened when he saw the sign on the wall.
Gymnasium
"There… oh gods… please be okay…" Jaune panted as he ran ahead with Pyrrha beside him. They turned the corner and pushed the doors but found that they were blocked. "Damn it…"
"Leave that to me." Nora assured as she spun Magnhild around, Jaune and Pyrrha stood aside then the Valkyrie swung her huge hammer straight into the door with all her might. The doors exploded into splinters, and tables and chairs used as a barricade were thrown across the room.
Everyone rushed inside, weapons readied, and their eyes widened.
"We're people!" Headmaster Jacobs called out; hands held over his head. Inside of the Gymnasium were the children, alongside some Parents and surviving teachers. Some of the teachers had some small firearms, not enough to put down even some of the simpler Grimm, but it was something.
Jaune looked around and saw her. "Jaune!" Saphron cried out with relief. She and Terra ran to him, with Adrien clutching onto Saphron. He sighed with relief as he hugged the three of them.
"Thank the gods you're okay…" He stammered.
"As soon as we got here… a massive horde of Grimm showed up. The Police were wiped out, we closed the curtains and are staying as quiet and calm as we can. We don't know where they are. But they're close." Saphron warned.
"They're everywhere." Jaune said, then he turned to everyone else. "How many are here, Principle?"
"Nearly all the children… there are some who haven't…" He couldn't bring himself to say it, but Jaune had to make the call.
"We can't wait any longer. I'm going to call in an Evac Airship. When it gets here it will take everyone here to the Vault." Jaune explained, then he turned to all the children. "You hear that? We're arranging for an Airship to take you somewhere the Grimm won't get you. You will all stay down there until we get rid of them, okay?" Jaune explained, crouching down and smiling to one kid. "But… we need to be very quiet… and very brave, okay?"
One of the children shrieked in terror suddenly, it made his blood chill and he stared at the kid who started crying in terror, hiding in his mother's arms. Then Jaune stared at the thing the kid saw…
… the Knight of Fear.
He was stood in the shadows, eyes glowing gold. They felt that same fear in their hearts, that aura he always brought with him, it made their hairs stand on end. But Fear did not attack, he just sinisterly smirked, and suddenly extended his rotten wings, transforming into the Undead Bat. And he flew straight through the roof, blowing a hole through it and leaving.
"What the hell was that?" The Principle gasped.
Jaune stared at Pyrrha, and their eyes widened.
"What's going on? What was that thing?" Aryl stammered.
"Fear… one of the Knights of Grimm. He only was here to scare the kids… which means…" Jaune stammered, then he turned to Pyrrha who was carefully looking through the closed curtains. As she slowly opened them slightly, she saw a massive horde of Grimm barrelling over each other, headed directly for the school.
They sensed the fear…
Pyrrha scowled at them, and her eyes ignited. "They're coming."
Author Note - I can always picture that moment at the end there with the Oncoming Shadow headed straight for the school, just a terrifying shot of a huge horde of monsters rolling over each other to get to you.
Terrifying.
This was a really fun and atmospheric chapter to write, and one of my favourite moments was Neo with that Cop. I wanted to show that, yes she may be on their side, but she is still Neo. And is therefore unpredictable and kinda twisted with her methods. I also got to have some fun with some Grimm! Got to use the Mandrills again, I always like those ones. Can actually imagine them being canon. The Banshee was pretty terrifying, and the Centinals and Cenitaur! One of my favourite Cannon Fodder Grimm.
Things are about to get bloody.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
- Matt