Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
"Hmhmhmhm…" Salem chuckled as she watched a Grimm rise out of the Grimm pools. "Yes, this will make a perfect Grimm to mess with Ozma." She said, watching a massive King Taijitu slither out of the pool. "With it being extremely intelligent and how strong it is, Ozma won't know what'll hit him." She rubbed her chin in thought. "But what to name you… ah, I know, how about Devastator?"
The King Taijitu hissed.
"You like that name, don't you?" Salem smirked. "Now, Devastator… I want you to slither your way over to Ozma and make him pay for what he's done to me!"
Another hiss, this time sounding a bit bored.
"…I beg your pardon?"
More hissing, with the tongue flicking out.
"What do you mean you do not want to do that?"
Another hiss.
"What do you MEAN you're not interested in following my commands?! I created you!"
More hissing.
"Oh, so it's going to be like that? Ozma's MY problem, not yours?"
The Devastator nodded.
"I created you and you will obey me! I will destroy you if-" The Devastator lunged at Salem, biting down at her and shaking its head until Salem's head popped off as her body was flung across a cliff wall. The Devastator munched on her head and then slithered off, letting out a few hisses before disappearing into the darkness.
A few moments later, Salem's head popped up between her shoulders. She let out an annoyed groan. "Note to self: Create less intelligent Grimm to make their obedience more fruit-… wait, did he just tell me to go fuck myself?"
Centuries later…
BGM: World 7 Map (Super Mario 3D Land)
"Soooo, what would make a terrifying Grimm?" Nora asked.
"Oh, that's easy. You gotta make it smart. Make it really intelligent." Weiss added.
"Uh-huh… and if possible, make it horrifingly zombie-ish as possible, like those Grimm that tormented Kokoron. Ah… what were they called again?" Nora wondered.
"I think they were called Apathy…" Ruby said.
Laxus grimaced. "Not a fan of those guys…"
"Oh, you encountered a few?" Yang asked.
"Yeah, me and the Thunder Legion went out to take care of a Grimm problem near Mistral. However, it was overrun with those bastards and if it wasn't for me unleashing a powerful lightning storm, we would've been goners."
"Aye, that'll do it…" Gloria nodded.
"You know what would make it really scary?" Ibuki spoke up. "Make the Grimm actually talk."
"I dunno, seems a bit far fetched." Sarge said.
"No no, she's got a point. I'm pretty sure a talking Grimm would unnerve anyone." Grif said.
"Wouldn't put it past Salem…" Summer mumbled.
"How about a Grimm that grows back their limbs?" Blake spoke up.
"Like an octopus? …No, wait, that'd be a starfish. Octopi grow back their tentacles, do they?" Ruby rubbed her chin. "…Or maybe I'm just thinking of starfish."
"So a really intelligent Grimm that can grow back their limbs and, if possible, make 'em talk…" Yang closed her eyes, imagining such a creature. "Yeeeeah, I can see that."
Behind them, Mario was with Daisy, where the latter was texting Luigi. "Worried about 'em too?" Mario asked.
"Yeah… I just can't help but shake a feeling something's bound to happen." Daisy said. "I know, I never worry about anything and yet…" She sighed. "Considering the Grimm we've encountered, plus what Chiaki had found out yesterday, it's enought to unnerve me."
Mario nodded. "I get that."
Daisy's phone buzzed as she looked at it, seeing Chiaki and Luigi posing together with dorky smiles on their faces with Chiaki doing the peace sign, while also seeing Luigi putting two fingers up behind Chiaki's head, which was enough to make Daisy laugh. "Oh, never change, honey…"
Mario looked over, and let out an amused chuckle. "That's my bro. Always being a lovable doofus."
With the duo…
"Pfffft!" Chiaki snickered. "Rabbit ears, really?"
"I do it to Mario all the time."
Chiaki giggled. "You really are a massive dork." She said, playfully elbowing him.
"What can I say, I'm the life of the party." He chuckled while playfully shrugging.
Back with the heroes…
Mario smiled. "I think those two will be just fine."
Daisy smiled as well. "Yeah…" She nodded, putting her phone away.
"Hey! Look at that!" Ruby suddenly spoke up.
End BGM
BGM: Beach (Super Mario 3D Land)
World 7-1: Not As Simple As It Seems
"The flagpole is just right there?" Yang asked.
"Sweet, we don't even have to do much!" Grif said.
"I dunno guys, it feels like a trap." Caboose said.
"…I can't believe I'm agreeing with Caboose here." Tucker said. "It must be the end times!"
"Hmm… why can't Ibuki help but feel like she's forgetting something?" Ibuki wondered.
Ruby ran straight ahead, but as she ran, she would see a massive gap in front of her. "Whoa!" She screeched to a halt, just barely touching the ledge. "Phew…" She sighed with relief, only for Grif to smack into her, and then Pit, Jaune, Nora, Yuffie and Donut hit right after, where they all fell a second later.
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
Splash!
Dark Pit facepalmed. "Great…"
"Oooh, that's right." Ibuki pounded her fist into her palm.
"Well, might as well go after 'em." Tai said as they all jumped down, while Kala used Power Whip to make a makeshift bridge for Oran, who simply walked across while keeping his balance as both Knights, Cloud, Summer, Raven, Maia, Rosalina, JINXY and Umber crossed as well, then Oran took the flagpole with a proud smile.
"I guess we'll just wait for them." Raven said with them nodding.
Down below, Ruby spotted a ? Block and hit it as many Penguin suits came out as everyone put them on. "Okay, something I never understood. Why do the males get actual Penguin suits while the girls get diving gear?" Dark Pit asked.
"Beats me, but it could be worse. You could be Cloud." Pit pointed out.
"Yeah… a frog suit would be more embarrassing."
It makes him look cute though. Tifa thought as they swam underneath where they would see a Blooper engaging in a fight against a Grimm Blooper, where Blake would assist it by cutting it down. The Blooper happily chirped and nuzzled against Blake before swimming off, while Carmen found a P Switch and pressed it, then a rock wall opened up.
"Well, would you look at that." Carmen smiled. I'm still surpsied I'm able to breathe and talk underwater normally with this diving gear, but hey, I'll take it. She thought as they swam through, being careful not to nick themselves against the spiky plants, then they swam ahead and found a Porcupuffer and its Grimm counterpart battling against each other, although unlike the slapfest with the Bloopers, these two were headbutting and goring each other with their spikes.
"Oooh…" Aerith aimed her hand and used Curaga on the Porcupuffer, giving it the upper edge and impaling its Grimm counterpart as everyone swam up, then they were taken up by a current as they were then propelled up into a Spike Eel nest that was currently swarmed by their Grimm counterparts as the Spike Eels were too preoccupied by chomping down on their Grimm counterparts.
Everyone swam around the eels as they would also see a few Maw-Rays going toe to toe against them as they would swim up the current that was taking them where they would find a Warp Pipe, which spat them out where the others were at.
"Sup." Cloud greeted.
"Aw man, Ibuki should've taken the speed run strats…" Ibuki sheepishly admitted while Oran walked over and attempted to pat her on the back. Ibuki chuckled, patting his head as everyone took off their Penguin suits while Gloria transformed back from her Empoleon form.
End BGM
"Alright, now that you're back to being normal, we can-"
"I don't see why you think it's embarrassing." Laxus interrupted Cloud. "Yeah, you feel kinda dumb the first time you wear it, but it grows on ya. Plus it doesn't feel as tight as you'd think."
"Funny, Luigi said that the second time he tried that on." Mario chuckled.
"Personally, I draw the line at wearing outlandish animal costumes." Cloud said and walked off.
"…Was it the frog that did him in?" Ren asked.
"Either that or the Moogle suit." Barret chuckled as they walked ahead, then they would find a cave in front of them, where they would head on in.
World 7-2: Spike Bars Aplenty
BGM: Underground (Super Mario 3D Land)
As they walked, they would see Spike Bars swinging around and rolling across the ground everywhere, and to make matters worse, over the gaps there was lava waiting to burn anyone who was unlucky enough to fall in, and there were also Grimm Chain Chomps snoozing away.
"Grimm Chomps… lovely." Blake said.
"I think the spike bars might be a bit much… or it could be the lava." Jaune said.
"Welp, no point in trying not to get through. Let's give it a shot." Ruby said.
"Way ahead of ya, sis!" Yang nodded.
"I feel like someone out there's trying to kill us." Dorothea said with a sweatdrop.
"I can't imagine why." Byleth nodded as they ran ahead, dodging or jumping over the spike bars as a Grimm Chomp was alerted to them and turned around, biting down on its chain to yank it off the spot where it was attached to and lunged at them, only for Laxus to uppercut it and Barret and Red unleashed a Firaga barrage that sent it clear into the lava.
The group rushed ahead while dodging a few more spike bars as another Grimm Chomp lunged at them, only to get disintegrated by silver eyes, something that Kala had to shield her eyes from as she wasn't expecting it, then they went down a narrow passage while also dodgingtwo spike bars, although Rosalina and Xena had enough and froze them in place so everyone could get around safely, then they went through a doorway after climbing up some stairs.
Once they went outside, they would see uneven platforms straight ahead, complete with spike bars on the side of the platforms. To make matters worse, there were spike pits on the bottom. "Oh great, my favorite. Spike pits!" Grif rolled his eyes.
"It's probably stable." Tucker said, as he pressed his foot on the ground, then the platforms started to tilt and caused the spike bars to roll. "…Stable-ish."
"How is that "stable-ish"?" Epsilon wondered. "…You know what, Caboose, walk across the platform."
"Okay!" Caboose walked ahead.
"What?! Are you crazy?!" Shield Knight exclaimed in shock.
"If there's one thing I know about Caboose, he always manages to bullshit his way through anything that should have killed him. You just gotta roll with it." He heard a snicker from Yang and Nyx. "…Oh, shit, I punned."
"One of us~!" Yang grinned.
"No. Absolutely not." Epsilon said.
"It's okay, guys! I'm on the other side!" Caboose waved as the spike bars were still in position.
"See? What did I tell ya?"
"Ooooh! Grimm puppies!" Caboose walked of.
"…Grimm Pup- oh shit." Epsilon chased after him as did everyone else, as they would see Caboose having picked up the chain from the Grimm Chomp and used it as a ball and chain to take out any Beowolves that were nearby, up until the chain snapped off as the Grimm Chomp slammed into a Beowolf and they both fell into the lava nearby.
"Hello~!" Caboose waved.
"…Caboose, you are truly something else." Sarge chuckled as they walked across, dodging more swinging spike bars and going over spike platforms as they would make it toward the end as they walked up more stairs and went through the door, and they would find the uneven platforms near the flagpole, where Rosalina simply teleported everyone as Caboose took the flagpole.
"Weee!" Caboose smiled as he hopped down, then they walked out of the cave where they would come across a forest in front of them.
End BGM
"Looks like we're going through another forest." Mario said.
"Yeah." Ruby nodded as she noticed Oran walking toward the forest. "Oran?"
Kala walked forward, looking at Oran before turning to the others. ["This forest was once his home."]
"Oh… so this was where you lived?" Ruby asked.
"Oh, wonderful! Maybe we can take a look at this abandoned village!" Summer smiled. "Perhaps some people probably found it and refurbished it!"
"…I don't think it's that simple." Raven said.
Summer shrugged. "I'm trying to be optimistic."
Kala shook her head. ["Unfortunately, that is not the case. Come, we'll show you."] She turned around and took off with the others following her.
World 7-3: Sense of Familiarity
BGM: Piranha Creeper Creek (Super Mario 3D World)
They would come across several tightropes with some Fuzzies bouncing along to their hearts content, only to be destroyed by Laxus within seconds as they walked along the tightropes and bounced up, all the while Oran and Kala grabbed onto vines and swung around onto tree branches.
"I wonder…" Ruby said, leaping onto a vine and started swinging.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Blake called out.
"Donkey Kong makes it look easy. It can't be that bad!" Ruby said, propelling herself forward and then swinging back. "One… two…" The vine moved toward the ledge. "THREE!" She leapt off as she reached out toward the ledge… but she was off by just a few inches. "Ack!" She yelped as Oran and Kala caught her wrist and pulled her up, both of them smiling at her in amusement.
How does DK do that? Ruby thought to herself as Oran patted Ruby on the head and walked off as he and Kala swung about on vines.
"You might want to leave that for the professionals." Qrow teased.
"Oh, like you can do better?" Ruby shot back while rolling her eyes, then noticing Gloria trying it out as she made it across easily.
"Eyyy, look at Gloria-chan!" Ibuki grinned.
"What, was she raised by Aipom?" Nora wondered.
"Nah, just thought I'd try it out!" Gloria winked.
"Oh sure, she gets it in one try…" Ruby mumbled as they went the long way around while taking care of some Grimm Fuzzies and Biddybuds as they got to the top and they slid down a small slope before bouncing off on a few Mushroom platforms where Gloria, Kala and Oran were waiting for them, then they continued their journey around the forest until they found another slope where they slid down to the forest floor safely.
Oran and Kala went up ahead as the rest of them followed… until they came across a hidden village in a clearing, and it looked like the vegetation was taking hold of what was left of it.
End BGM
Summer's heart slumped. "Oh… I was hoping it wouldn't have been so bad." She said as Raven patted her on the back as they walked through the village, checking it out while Oran and Kala stared at the mine up ahead. The two of them looked at each other, and with a nod, they walked toward the mine.
While they walked into the mine, Oran's heart raced as he readied his spear while Kala prepared to fight the monster responsible for attacking her surrogate son's home. The two of them moved quietly until they had found the snake.
…However, it was fast asleep.
Kala growled. ["Typical… it's still asleep."] She would hear a frustrated growl coming from Oran. ["Someday, we'll defeat this one."]
"You seem to be hesitating!" A voice said as Dimentio appeared before them, casually sitting on Taijitu's back. "Now why would you hesitate? This is ripe for the killing, the one responsible for the little boy's village, is it not?"
Kala glared. ["How do you know about that?"]
"I'm so glad you asked!"
Flashback!
"And so there I was, freeing myself from that infernal prison and sucking the life out of those losers and I made my escape. I just took the opportunity to kill as many of my fellow Faunus as possible while that snake ate everyone for dinner!" Donovan laughed.
"You must have had an encounter with The Devastator." Salem said, all of them unaware of Dimentio overhearing them. "Unfortunately, I've made the Grimm too intelligent to where it slithered away from my command. However, I had discovered that it sleeps for years after having its fill, only to wake up when he's hungry. I have made a few attempts to try and get him to obey me, however he just destroys any Seer that gets close to him and resumes his slumber."
"That's too bad… we could have a powerful ally on our side." Aria said and turned to Donovan. "He would make a nice appetizer. Or better yet, he could've made a nice dessert if he didn't leave his village!"
"I would say the same to you, but you'd just be a mere chocolate chip. Not as appetizing for a princess."
"Who are you calling a chocolate chip, you mangy skin walker?!"
"What you gonna do about it?" Donovan taunted as the two engaged in another fighting dust cloud.
"Hairy numbskull!"
"Prissy princess!"
"Flea ridden parasite!"
"Little miss bitch!"
"Those two fight like an old married couple." Watts mumbled.
"Indeed. Just get on a bed and make out already. Procreate while you're at it!" Tyrian said.
"WHY WOULD I WANT TO DO THAT WITH THIS ASSHOLE/BITCH?!"
End Flashback
"You see, this big ol' snake is probably in the middle of his slumber." Dimentio said. "So again, why not kill it in front of you?"
["We want a fair fight. There is no honor in killing something in its sleep."]
Dimentio raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Ah, so you fight with honor, even if it's a Grimm?"
["We may live in the wild, but we're not savages."]
"Fascinating… let's see where your silly code of honor gets you!" He turned to the snake. "Bears get quite agitated when you disturb them in their hibernation. I wonder if that holds true for snakes?"
Kala let out a soft growl. "Zaru Zar!"
"Oh, I would." He then turned to Oran. "Remember, if she dies, it's your fault~!" He said, snapping his fingers as magic hit the King Taijitu's head.
Meanwhile…
"What in the…" Weiss noticed some containers nearby as she curiously walked over to it. "…SDC?" She let out a gasp. "Oh my gosh, Oran was born in a labor village!"
"He what?!" Jaune exclaimed.
"Yeah! Jacques mentioned he owned a few labor villages… I overheard him say that he lost one due to a Grimm attack and only the Overseers came back alive when Ironwood and Esdeath went to pick them up."
Laxus folded his arms. "That's suspicious."
"I should've known something was off… a man that goes by Honest seemed completely nonchalant about it and the two generals were completely suspicious of him. I heard he was investigated, yet it dropped just hours after."
"Sounds to me this Honest guy bought and paid a few investigators." Blake said.
"Soooo, uh…" Ibuki looked through her phone and put it away. "You want to know how it happened?"
Meanwhile, in Oran's home…
"Goodness, this whole place is a mess…" Byleth said as her family, plus the Knights, Pyrrha, Cloud, Barret, Pit, Mario and the Reds all looked around.
"Hmm?" Pit spotted a note and picked it up, noticing a locket next to it. "…Hey guys, come take a look at this!" He said as the others walked over to him.
"Is that a note?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah." Pit nodded, and started to read it while Dorothea took the locket and examined it.
"Dear Oran:
If you find this note, I just want to let you know that no matter what path in life you choose we will always be proud of you. It doesn't matter what path you choose, make the most of it.
- Mom"
"She probably knew she was going to die and hid the young one for protection…" Shovel Knight sniffed a little. "Truly, a brave and compassionate mother."
"I thought you didn't know how to read." Grif spoke up.
"Sonic helped me out."
"…Hedgehogs can read?"
"Well, of course they do!" Sarge smacked him upside the head.
Dorothea opened the locket. "…Oh, they made such a cute familiy." She said sadly, looking at the photo of Oran's family holding him with smiles on their faces.
"WHAT?!" They heard the group yelling as they walked outside.
"So you mean to say it wasn't a mining accident… but it was deliberate?!" Weiss yelled.
"Yuuuup, pretty much." Ibuki nodded.
Dark Pit clenched his fists. "…I was wrong about that kid." He said. "That said, what happened five years ago is disgusting."
"I agree, especially the one who killed Oran's parents. That animal deserves every bit of-" Weiss stopped herself, realizing what she just said. She turned to Blake. "Sorry Blake, that just slipped out by accident…"
Blake summoned her Belladonna Claws. "Don't worry about it. If I ever meet this Donovan guy myself, I'm skinning that animal myself."
"That's a bit dark for you." Nyx said.
"Well, when you go and face the X-Parasites twice, it changes a person…" Blake said.
"I don't blame her." Weiss said, reaching for Blake's ears and scratched her there to calm her down.
"Aaah… that feels nice…"
"What's going on here?" Ruby approached.
"Ibuki was just telling us the backstory of this place. These three people, Honest, Syura and Zanku deliberately woke a Taijitu up with an explosion and it caused it to destroy this village. At the same time, this Faunus that goes by Donovan pretty much used his semblance to drain anyone he came across, that included Oran's parents which made an easy meal for the Grimm." Tifa explained.
"What?!" The other group exclaimed.
"A man that goes by the name of Honest… that's… horrifyingly ironic." Simmons said.
"All the more proof to adopt them…" Summer said.
"What was that?" Tai asked as he was chattig with Pit. "I didn't quite catch that."
"Nothing, don't worry about it." Summer said as the two went back to their conversation while Ibuki gave her a "WTF" look.
"Is he normally this dense?" She whispered.
"This would explain a few things back at Beacon…" Summer mumbled as they heard a noise as they turned to see Oran and Kala launched out of the mines and landed near the group. "Are you two okay?" She asked with concern as Rosalina healed them up with Aerith helping her out.
BGM: Tension (Super Mario Galaxy)
"Ahahahahaha!" A voice laughed as Dimentio appeared. "Ladies and gentleman-" Trees started to fall as they heard loud hissing. "The one… the only-"
The massive King Taijitu lunged into the village and hissed as loud as possible. "THE DEVASTATOR~!"
Laxus took one look at the Taijitu and his eyes widened. "I know that Grimm…" He said.
"You do?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah. Me and the Thunder Legion were tasked to take this bastard down. It nearly killed Evergreen and Fried… we had to get out of there. Not even S-Class huntsmen and huntresses like Erza, Mira and even Gildarts could take this asshole down. Hell, Erza was planning on taking it on a second time before Acnologia did her in."
"What about Mavis? She was a Spring Maiden!" Nora pointed out.
"Not even she could make a dent on this guy."
Raven gritted her teeth. "Seems like we're up for a hell of a fight."
End BGM
"And now, without further ado… let's see if you can all take this lovable beast down while I watch from a tree branch!" Dimentio disappeared before the Taijitu could snap at him, before turning toward the group and let out a massive hiss.
BGM: Forze Del Male (Kingdom Hearts III: ReMind)
Harbinger of Devastation - The Devastator
The Devastator lunged at the group, forcing them all to dodge as Pit, Dark Pit, Ruby and Ren fired arrows at the beast. The Devastator would swing his head, knocking Jaune, Pyrrha and Nyx, but the three of them recovered as Nora quickly fired grenades at the massive Grimm.
The crown on the Devastator's head started to light up and shot out bolts of electricity at JINXY and Umber, forcing them to dodge as the laser-like electricity hit the ground and exploded into an eletric field that paralyzed them, as the Devastator lunged for them to snack on them, but Laxus zipped through and slugged him hard in the face to knock the Devastator away.
"Remember me!" He said as the Devastator turned to its assailant. It let out a hiss, seeming to acknowledge him, then hissed again as if it was mocking him for not killing him all those centuries ago. Laxus tensed up and unleashed a Roar at him as the Devastator fired electricity from his crown, both of them colliding as it resulted in an explosion while JINXY and Umber snapped out of their paralysis as Weiss summoned glyphs and fired icicles at it.
Blake ran ahead and slashed at it while Ibuki strummed her guitar as flames shot out and engulfed the snake's face as the Devastator hissed and then spat out acid, where Ibuki rolled out of the way as the acid struck part of a building where it dissolved within seconds. "Shit, it's got acid!" Ibuki grimaced.
Rosalina floated up as she threw meteors and comets down at the snake, but to her surprise, the Grimm didn't seem all that affected as it shot spikes at her in retaliation, where she teleported out of the way as Oran lunged and stabbed its underbelly while Kala jumped up and used Hammer Arm on the top of its head to slam it into the ground, where Summer and Xion slashed it, then jumped away before the Grimm could headbutt them, Laxus would then throw down a thunderstorm with Nora's help as the Grimm responded by breathing fire at the duo, forcing them to get out of the way.
It would then lunge at Tifa, chomping down at her but she held its jaws open as it hit her as Yuffie threw shurikens into its mouth and it returned right as it was about to spit out acid, forcing Tifa to use an uppercut on its chin to make it spit out acid from above, hitting a roof and melting it where Barret shot at it and Red unleashed Blizzagas with Cloud, then the latter jumped in and cross slashed him until he was knocked away from a head swing.
Carmen closed her eyes and danced around, powering up Laxus. "Alright, you can hit harder. Go!"
"Music to my ears." Laxus jumped in and threw an Iron Fist at the Grimm's head, hitting it hard enough for the Grimm to slam into what was left of the prison as Laxus rained electric hell onto the beast as Pyrrha, Mario, Dorothea and Lea unleashed a firestorm to help him out with Gloria in her Latias form and unleashing Psybeam. Once the smoke disappeared, the snake was gone but noticed a large hole in the ground.
"It dug underground!" Yang exclaimed as Raven immediately activated her Maiden powers as the snake immediately pulled up from behind Raven and bit down, but Maia pushed her away with her wind semblance as Raven turned around and quickly flew to it, slashing through it with an ice and fire sword while Qrow slashed it from behind, then an anchor was thrown and smacked the Taijitu in the head and then Shield Knight threw her shield and hit the Grimm on the snout.
The Devastator turned its head to see Iris slashing at it gracefully, but she was smacked away by the tail and then was struck with a point blank acid attack. "AAAGH!" She cried, her aura flickering as a result as her armor melted. "Shit… that thing hits like a tractor trailer!"
"They don't call it the Devastator for nothing." Laxus said as The Devastator lunged for Xion, but it was suddenly frozen in time as Ven lunged ahead, slashing it all around with Time Slicer as Byleth jumped in, slashing it with her sword before switching to Amyr and swinging it down on its head while Isa jumped up and threw his Claymore down, unleashing a Firaga spell while he was at it, where it hit his weapon and caught ablaze, hitting the Grimm and causing a massive explosion, then Dorothea came in with a Meteor spell.
Time resumed for the Grimm as it proceeded to spit out rocks at the group, forcing them to dodge while Daisy punched the ground as crystal stalagmites pierced through it, but all it did was annoy the Grimm while Ruby, Weiss and Yang went into their forms as the latter jumped in with Tai as the two draconically punched it in the cheek as Nyx fired bomb arrows and Iris, who got healed up by Aerith, lunged in and gracefully slashed it again with her Gunblade, jumping back and shooting out fireballs.
"Is this thing ever going down?!" Grif wondered as they were firing at the beast as Caboose gave it the one two punch and Tucker slashed it.
"Rrrrgh… no matter what we do, no one's landing a killing blow on this thing!" Nora said.
"No one could!" Laxus said. "Dammit, what could we be missing?" He wondered as he dodged an acid attack where Oran fired a few makeshift arrows.
"Zaru!" Kala had an idea while Byleth went into her Awakened form and teleported to the snake's chest and slashed it viciously. Kala jumped over to the Devastator and used Power Whip to pry the snake's jaw open. It hissed loudly as a result as it was pelted by lightning shots from Umber and pyrokinetic attacks from both Xena and Yagami. "Rude! Zaru Ru!"
Oran nodded, quickly running over toward the snake as he dodged the spikes thrown at him as Oran jumped inside as the Grimm snapped the Power Whip in half and chomped down, eating Oran alive. "ORAN!" Summer shrieked as everyone stared on in shock, as even Kala was horrified by this. In her mind, she'd have his jaws wide open so he could attack from inside the mouth and get out before the snake could trap him shut.
The Devastator let out a few hisses, shaking off Kala as it flicked its tongue a few times, seeming to mock them. A deep rage overcame Ruby, electricity enveloping her as she clenched her fangs in anger, as she let out an enraged howl that was enough to unnerve Dimentio who was too busy laughing over Oran's demise.
In the blink of an eye, Ruby was already at the Devastator's head and clawed him viciously as everyone slowly joined in, as Ruby actually took a bite out of the Grimm's snout. The Grimm responded by shaking Ruby off of him and slammed its tail on the ground as a shockwave hit them all and leveled several buildings and trees in the process.
The Devastator hissed a few times, seemingly laughing at their futile attempt to take it down as it lunged at them… only to stop just mere inches from Ruby as the Grimm looked down at its body, before it let out a pained hiss and fell to the ground, convulsing… and then a spear ripped through the soft underbelly as Oran ripped his way out and smirked, watching the Grimm fade away.
End BGM
"Oh thank Sothis…" Dorothea breathed a sigh of relief as everyone turned back to normal. Laxus stared at the Grimm that was fading away, before it opened its eyes and attempted to snap at him, but Laxus fired a large bolt of lightning that went through it, completely evaporating.
Laxus would then look to the sky. "Evergreen, Fried, Bickslow, Erza, Mira, Gildarts… that was for you." He said with a soft smile as Nora lunged at him and hugged him, where Laxus patted her on the head, while nearby, Dimentio simply scowled and disappeared.
"Oran!" Ruby lunged for him, happily hugging him. "Oh, my little buddy, I thought you were-" She snifed a few times. "…You stink. Blegh… is that what Grimm guts smell like?"
Summer laughed. "Don't worry, I'll clean him up." She said, gently taking Oran's hand as he happily walked with him, proud that he had destroyed the Grimm from within.
Kala breathed a sigh of relief as well. ["That is finally over."]
"So, what are you going to do now?" Ruby asked.
["Honestly? We'll still stick around. I've taken a shine to this group as well."]
"Hey guys?" Yang spoke up as they turned to her. "Apparently the big guy wasn't finished digesting." She said, noticing two pairs of skeletons.
"…These must be Oran-chan's parents. They were probably the last ones eaten alive." Ibuki said.
"Well… let's give 'em a proper burial." Raven suggested.
"Wait… let's wait for Oran first. He probably needs to see 'em first." Shovel Knight suggested.
"Ugh… I liked this armor…" Iris said, seeing it was completely melted away. "Of course, my new armor's at home."
"I can go get it for you." Yagami said, teleporting away and then coming back with brand new armor. "Here ya go!"
"Thanks Yagami." Iris smiled as she went off to go change, and then came back wearing a blue breastplate with gold trim and matching shoulder pads on the upper torso worn over a leather shirt that would hug her body and arms. It came with a pair of blue bracers with gold trim on her forearms with leather fingerless gloves on her hands. On her waist is a leather belt with her symbol as the buckle with a holster to hold her gunblade as well as ammo pouches for various types of dust bullets. On her legs are a blue skirt with tights on underneath that cover her legs while also wearing a pair of blue greaves with gold trim on her feet. To complete the look, there was a golden laurel crown on her head.
"…Is the crown too much? I feel like it is." Iris said.
"No, I think it looks good on you." Pyrrha smiled.
"You sure?" She asked as her team nodded in approval as well. "Well, alright then." She chuckled as Summer came back with a newly cleaned Oran from a nearby river, and then he spotted the skeletons.
BGM: Luma (Super Mario Galaxy)
Oran walked over to them with a curious look that read "Are these my parents?" and frowned in sadness when Rosalina nodded. Oran closed his eyes and gently put his hand on them, a single tear rolling down his cheek as he softly hugged them both.
He pulled away and hugged Summer, softly crying into her legs as she rubbed his head as they started to bury the two, making makeshift graves while Ibuki engraved letters into them.
Here lies Oliver Moss and Ophelia-Chloros Moss
All of them closed their eyes while Summer hugged Oran to comfort him in a moment of silence for them.
End BGM
Meanwhile…
Chiaki stopped walking, turning her head. "I don't know why, but I feel like we missed out on a tender moment…"
"You too?" Luigi rubbed his head.
Chiaki shook her head. "Nothing we can do about it now." She said as she turned around, letting out a gasp. "Luigi, look!"
Luigi turned his head, seeing a red and black pipe in front of them. "What the heck…?" He wondered as they saw a few Grimm Scuttle Bugs crawling out of it and scurrying away. The two of them cautiously moved closer.
"This definitely seems like it leads somewhere."
"A-Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Chiaki nodded. "Once we figure out the source, we can use Hoopa to get back to the others."
"Good idea." Luigi nodded. "Ladies first."
Chiaki nodded, climbing up. "Alright, here goes." She said and jumped in as Luigi jumped in after her.
They popped out on the other side, finding themselves in a Grimm-like world. "Whoa… it's like a… Grimm copy of the Mushroom Kingdom!" Luigi said.
Chiaki summoned the Force-a-Nature. "Let's go. The sooner we find the source, the better."
"Right." Luigi nodded as the two of them walked off, unaware of the Warp Pipe getting sealed shut as small Grimm tentacles wrapped around Luigi's Pokeballs, sealing them up tight.
Apologies for the wait! I had a family commitment on Saturday that left me exhausted and when I came back home, I had no energy to write despite my best efforts... and it kinda just transferred over to Sunday, unfortunately. But hey, the chapter's written now!
Ibuki: Ibuki's getting worried...
Yeah... it's gonna get interesting for those two. Anyway, have a safe and happy 4th of July!