What is up, dames and dudes?

I have finished viewing Volume 7 and man oh man, it was phenomenal. It completely subverted my expectations and its willingness to go into such dark subject matters has echoes of Volume 3 and really highlights the brilliant writing. All I can say is that come Volume 8, Ironwood's number is up and I eagerly await the next adventure in Vacuo.

Review time!

37: Enjoy the reveal! Sorry to keep you waiting.

METALHELLSPWN: Consider it done and I'm glad you appreciate it. I really wanted to add a sense of urgency to get Ishi help.

Guest #1: Well he wasn't able to get away with it in canon but even if he actually did, where would he go? The Confederacy can easily track the Kingdom and blow it right out of the sky. He'd be shooting himself in the foot and dooming his people.

Elusive Prey: Thanks a ton for your review and comments regarding how I handled Penny. I wanted to emphasize how bad his condition was and the part with the village came to me when I was thinking up ideas. I felt like I handled the sense of mystery well, what do you think?

You bring up a good point about Dust but I have a feeling the Confederate scientists might find a way to subvert that. And visiting a Confederate planet? Oof. I don't know man; sometimes it's better to just visualize how fucked up it is rather than actually show it. The cast would never be the same.

Mr. Medan: I haven't really thought of that much. Their chances might be better on Remnant but they lack Auras and Semblances. I'll keep your suggestion in mind.

Hyde: Thanks, it means a lot to me!

Guest #2: You know, that's sounds like a pretty damn good theory! I could totally see that sort of thing in canon.

Guest #3: Yeah, she wasn't too far off, huh? Nora's probably going to look back on this moment and realize just how right she was.

E: I am checking comments and I do leaves notification about the story's status but please PM me next time.

SilentKnight: Just you wait and see, my friend! Say, you remember that StarCraft idea you told me about a few chapters back? Well if you watched the finale of Volume 7, you totally called it!

Some Random Guy: Yeah, I feel bad for them too but you're right. They are in a better place but who knows how RWBY's afterlife works?

Guest #4:You were spot on with your predictions and we'll never know where the next chapter'll take us.

Sailor Pandora: I really can see him doing that sort of thing in canon but you just know the Confederacy will go back on their word and destroy Atlas anyway. I totally agree with you, Ironwood is not long for this world but keep in mind that this fic starts all the way back in Volume 3 and who knows what might happen to him? It could go a completely alternate route from what we saw.

Bulletstorm and RWBY belong to their respective owners. I do not own any of them.

Chapter 14

Turbulence

EARTHSCAR CANYON-RIVERBANK

(Godzilla 1998-Godzilla Arrives, starts at 1:45)

The vibrations were strong enough to nearly knock everybody off their feet. The rumbling reverberated throughout the canyon, causing pieces of the cliffs to collapse downward into the chasm. Everyone knew that they had get out of there now but they couldn't leave without-

VWWWAAAAAAAMMMMSSSSSHHHH

A burst of smoke erupted out of the cave exit, eliciting a sudden gasp from some of the Huntsmen/Huntresses present. A chilling sense of dread and realization came over Team RWBY and Team JNPR.

"Gray and Ishi are still in there!" Pyrrha gasped in horror. Ruby was about run towards the cave exit but to her elation, the two ex-Confederates stumbled out of the smoke covered in dust.

"RUBY! START THE ENGINE! GET IT UP!" Grayson hollered as he flailed his arms around, Ishi tailing closely behind him. Ruby turned around and started to head back to the Nightingale but Penny was already inside the cockpit, working on activating the start-up procedures. Everyone else began to pile into the cabin as the engines hummed to life. Since she was created in Atlas, Penny had detailed knowledge on how to pilot the Nightingale. Before she could man the controls however, Ishi stepped into the cockpit.

"Let me fly." He offered.

"Are you certain you know how to pilot this?" Penny asked as she got up from her seat, aware that Ishi hailed from another planet and never operated anything like this.

"The controls and flight mechanics are similar to other aircrafts I've operated before." Ishi explained to her before giving her a brief smile as he held the control wheel and operated the throttle levers. "Should be easy."

"Save your bragging for when we're airborne!" Weiss yelled from the cabin.

"You do your fair share of bragging too." Ruby reminded her innocently. Weiss blushed in embarrassment.

The Nightingale lifted off the ground and flew away from the area just in time as a cliff face hanging above the riverbank collapsed and smashed into the ground. Ishi swerved the Nightingale around the falling debris and crumbling canyon walls as the aircraft made its escape.

"Gray, what happened in there?" Jaune asked worriedly as she tried to keep his balance.

"Uh-"

BAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMFFFFFFFFFF

A large section of the canyon suddenly exploded outwards with enough force to send a dozen boulders flying everywhere, forcing Ishi to make a hard right to avoid a particular big one that almost hit the Nightingale! He leveled out the aircraft and flew away from the massive plume of smoke; guiding the Nightingale through the winding canyon.

"Guys? We've got a giant cloud of impending doom right behind us!" Nora announced as she pointed outside the cabin.

Everyone looked outside the open cabin doors with Ishi looking out the side window of the cockpit. A sizable dustbowl was indeed following them and as they all wondered why; they could hear loud booming sounds akin to footsteps-

(2:13)

"HHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"

The color drained from everyone's faces and their mouths hung open in horror as an utterly monstrous Grimm the size of a fucking skyscraper hurled itself out of the smoke and nearly swatted the Nightingale out of the sky! The beast was a lumbering, heavily muscled hulk of a Grimm that resembled a reptile with a hunched over stature and massive spines running along the bony hide of its back. It's stumpy tail ended in a spiky thagomizer while its giant, oversized fists looked capable of hammering a building into pieces. Its stunted head had a maw filled with spire-like teeth that were almost too big for its mouth while its beady little eyes glowed red with unfathomable rancor.

To Grayson and Ishi, it looked like something out of a Japanese monster movie. To the warriors of Remnant, it was like something out of their darkest nightmares. The Hekaton caught the scent of the ones who murdered its unhatched young and it roared again; swinging its fist down at the aircraft!

"HANG ON TO SOMETHING!" Ishi yelled to the others as he swerved the Nightingale to the left just in time to avoid the blow as its fist just barely missed them! Ishi hit the throttle and the aircraft accelerated though the canyon at a breakneck pace but the monstrous Grimm was already hot on their heels! The Hekaton was relentless in its pursuit; nothing got in its way. It surged through the tight walls of the canyon as it furiously swung its fists at the tiny ship like it was a fly. The speed at which the Nightingale was going was already making Jaune's stomach do flip-flops.

"Why is this giant bastard after us?!" Mercury gritted his teeth.

"Gray destroyed its eggs." Ishi revealed without a care in the world as he continued to pilot.

"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed as they looked at Grayson.

"YOU HELPED TOO, DILLWEED!" Grayson angrily shouted at him.

But how is that possible?" Penny pondered. "There have been no documented cases of Grimm ever having the ability to reproduce and they completely lack the necessary organs to-"

Penny's info dump was brought to a halt when Ishi made a tight left to avoid another swing from the Grimm and then swooped under a stone archway. The Hekaton swiftly punched its way through the archway; pieces of debris clipped the right wing of the Nightingale and sent it spiraling through the canyon! Ishi wrestled with the control wheel to get the aircraft out of it's tailspin while every tried the hardest to hold onto the grab handles within the cabin but Ren and Ruby lost their grip and were sent flying out of the cabin!

Luckily for them, Blake and Grayson were already on them with Blake throwing her ribbon around Ren's waist while Grayson grabbed onto Ruby's cloak. "Don't worry, Ruby! I got-OH FUCK!" Grayson cursed when he saw that he had unintentionally tightened the cloak around her neck, strangling Ruby!

"Not like this! Not like this!" Ruby croaked as she pawed uselessly at the rapidly tightening cowl just as Blake managed to reel Ren back into the Nightingale. The Hekaton lunged forward and attempted to bite down on the craft but Ishi dodged it just as its jaws clamped down on another archway! As Grayson finally managed to yank Ruby back inside the cabin, Jaune leaned out the side of the cabin door and vomited.

Emerald ran up to the cockpit area. "GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" She screamed at Ishi. "JUST FLY US OUT OF THIS VALLEY ALREADY!

"I CAN'T! WE'D BE A SITTING DUCK IF WE GO ANY HIGHER! THAT THING'LL KNOCK US OUT OF THE SKY!" He barked back.

(Godzilla 1998-1st Helicopter Chase)

"We've got more company!" Yang alerted from the back. A flock of Nevermore swooped down from above and began to pursue them! At the head of the flock was an Alpha Nevermore which was larger, covered in bone armor and sported a curved beak. It screeched loudly and the other Nevermores grouped up in a formation on each side of the Alpha.

"Damn it all!" Grayson groused as he reloaded Boneduster as everyone else got out their weapons. The Alpha spread its wings apart and prepared to launch its razor-sharp feathers at the aircraft-

CHOMP

But the Hekaton, who was still following them, bit down on the Alpha! Its wings and head were severed between the Hekaton's massive teeth while the gigantic Grimm swung its fist at the other Nevermore, splattering them against the canyon wall! The Hekaton spat out the remains of the Alpha and continued its pursuit, roaring again at earsplitting volume.

"Did you just see that!?" Pyrrha gasped as she covered her ears from the roar. "It just turned on its own kind!"

The Huntsmen and Huntresses all had looks of surprise. Grimm never attacked each other!

"It's not going to stop chasing us." Ren assessed as he tightened his grip on StormFlower. "We have to find some way to fight it off!"

Weiss looked at Ren as if he was insane. "How are we supposed to fight something like that?!"

"YOU MEAN THAT GRIMM SO BIG IT'S BLOCKING OUT THE SUN?!" Jaune shrieked like a little girl.

"No, Jaune, she means a different Grimm." Blake icily corrected him with enough sarcasm to rival Weiss and Ishi.

"I doubt we have anything in our current arsenal that could harm it!" Penny feared.

"What about your lasers?" Nora asked hopefully.

Penny processed the outcome. "I calculate a 96.8% probability that it would only succeed in further agitating it."

"Don't hang up the towel yet!" Grayson told her. "If we could take out the last biggun, then we can handle this one. Let's put our heads together and think."

"Well make it quick cause I don't think our answers are gonna fall out of the sky!" Mercury impatiently complained.

"Then stop interruptin' my train of thought!" Grayson snapped back. Ruby was already hard at work formulating a plan. She looked out of the cabin at the monstrous Grimm and looked for any weak points they could exploit. Its body was heavily armored but the top of its head wasn't.

Wait. Head….fall….train…train!

"I've got it!" Ruby snapped her fingers and she went up to the cockpit. "Ishi, fly us back to the train!"

"What?"

"Just trust me!" Ruby implored. Ishi looked hesitant but complied and turned the Nightingale around. The Nightingale dodged another swing from the Hekaton and flew underneath its legs. The aircraft banked to the left to doge the monster's thagomizer and Ishi then hit the accelerator to quickly fly away from it. The Hekaton had a hard time turning around due its large frame and the cramped space of the canyon; stalling it for a few moments.

"Why are we heading back?" Yang asked, confused about her sister's course of action.

"The top of its head is unprotected. The train is still probably dangling from the bridge so we might be able to drop the whole thing right on top of it!" Ruby explained.

"Taking a page right outta my book, eh?" Grayson grinned. Ruby smiled back at him in confirmation. After a few minutes they had arrived back at the bridge area they started in and thankfully, the train was still suspended.

"Those cables look pretty thick…" Jaune noted, fearing that this plan was a bust.

"Not to worry!" Penny chimed. "I can focus my lasers into a precise cutting beam-"

"HHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKK!"

The Hekaton rounded the corner of the canyon and barreled right towards them! Penny instantly jumped out of the Nightingale, formed Hephaestus into a jetpack and flew upwards. Landing near a cliff beside the bridge, Penny focused her swords together in a tight formation and targeted the suspension cables holding the train aloft.

She fired a thin beam of energy at the cables, severing them like they were made of paper! She swept the laser across the bridge to sever all of them and the train began to fall into the canyon! She flew back down and back into the cabin of the Nightingale as the Hekaton drew nearer.

The Grimm was so single minded in its pursuit that it never saw the train plummet right down of top if it, the damaged, jagged front of it stabbing right into its head!

SKLLUUUUUUUUUUUTCHHHH

The shard of razor sharp metal stabbed deep into the Hekaton's skull, releasing a geyser of black blood as the beast let out a horrific roar of pain! It tripped over its own legs and crashed into the ground, its blood gushing out from its wound and flooding the canyon river. But that wasn't the end as the rest of the train fell on top of it, each bang from the cars driving the blade deeper into its head! The last car fell on top of the Hekaton, dislodging the cargo fastened to it and sending multiple large crates spilling on top of it.

Crates filled with unrefined Energy Dust.

KAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

A humongous ball of turquoise colored energy enveloped the Hekaton and half of Earthscar Canyon in a blinding explosion! The force of the blast nearly sent the Nightingale tumbling to the ground but Ishi managed to level it out as everyone held on for dear life. Parts of the canyon began to collapse and bury the body of the Hekaton while Ishi flew the Nightingale away from the devastation.

After the last of the boulders had fallen on top of the Hekaton, Ishi hovered the aircraft at a level were the passengers could look outside of the open cabin doors. The smoke cleared away to reveal a massive mound of rubble and the tip of the rain poking out from underneath it. Everyone stood still and stared at the pile for what seemed like hours. Nothing happened, nothing moved. There were no cheers or applause, everyone were just relived that they were alive and had just survived an encounter with probably the biggest Grimm in Remnant's history.

Emerald was the first one to break the silence. "Is it dead?"

"If it is not, I would rather not stay around to find out." Ishi said from the cockpit. "I'm getting us out of here." And with that, Ishi piloted the Nightingale away from the devastation and deeper into Earthscar Canyon.

For a few moments there wasn't a sound to be heard until telltale clicking could be heard in the background. Emerging from the woods found at the top of the canyon, the Seer floated towards the end of the damaged cliff and stopped. It tilted its bulbous head down from the cliff and looked at the pile of rubble that buried the Hekaton.

At first, it didn't react. But then it started to quiver and shake…in anger. The Seer's floated back towards the forest and then flew into it like a bullet! It weaved around the trees; seemingly as if it was swimming through water as it picked up speed while its bladed coils twitched reflexively…

The Nightingale cruised through the scenic canyon undisturbed, as everyone in the cabin finally began to relax now that the harrowing ordeal was over. Grayson was up in the cockpit talking to Ishi for a bit before heading back to sit down on his seat with the others.

"We're on the right track, boys and girls." Grayson announced to the Huntsmen and Huntresses. "We got ourselves a clear path to the Ulysses but Ishi's gonna keep this bird at a low altitude. We don't want to attract any more Grimm."

"Hopefully ones that aren't the size of a multi-story building." Blake said with a little bit of humor. She looked outside the cabin at the canyon walls and vegetation as they went by. "I can't believe Grimm can even reach that size…"

"You think Professor Port would bother to mention something like that during his lectures." Nora folded her arms.

"I don't think he knew it existed, Nora." Pyrrha told her teammate. "I don't think anybody knew it existed."

"Perhaps that Grimm was an undiscovered sub-species of Leviathan that inhabits inland instead of deep in the ocean. Though I am still perplexed." Penny theorized before looking to Grayson. "Are you positive that you saw its eggs?"

"Pretty sure they smelled like eggs." Grayson offhandedly replied, remembering the terrible smell. That confused a lot of the people on board. The Grimm were completely incapable of birthing offspring. Were they…evolving?

"And then you and Ishi had the brilliant idea of destroying them." Weiss heatedly glared at Grayson. "You do realize that whole thing back there was both of your fault, don't you?"

"They were in our way!" Grayson countered.

"And I suppose if you see a nest of bird eggs sitting in front of your path you're just going to crush them instead of walking around them?" Weiss snidely guessed.

"Hey, you let your kid roll around on the floor of a target it's gonna get stepped on." Grayson shrugged as Weiss looked horrified.

"Oh you are simply the worst! "She threw up her hands.

"Think of me however you want but consider this for a moment, Snowflake: do you guys really want a dozen of those fucking things rampaging across your planet?" Grayson pointed out to everyone.

"Gray does bring up a valid point." Ren agreed. "What if that thing's offspring hatched? Its nest was near Vale."

"Yeah…and if the kids grow up to be as big as its mom, I don't want to imagine the kind of damage they could cause." Jaune shivered.

"Well we won't have to worry about that now that the eggs are gone." Grayson remarked. He looked to Weiss with a raised eyebrow. "You're fuckin' welcome."

The heiress turned up her nose and looked away.

"Also, big round of applause for our tactical genius who got big momma bad britches off our asses!" Grayson lauded Ruby, putting her on the spot. Before Ruby could react, her sister grabbed her in a headlock and gave her a noogie.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang said excitedly. "You got bumped up to Professional Huntress status way ahead of schedule!"

"Yang, c'mon quit it!" Ruby struggled in her grip but couldn't stop her giggling or the beaming smile she had. Now that she thought about it, it was a pretty big accomplishment for what she did. Everyone was thoroughly impressed at Ruby's action; Emerald and Mercury not so much.

"I chalk that one up to dumb luck." Mercury whispered to his partner.

Emerald nodded and regarded Grayson. "So, Gray, everyone filled me and Mercury in on the details about how you came to Remnant. Especially how you used to work for the Confederacy."

Grayson sighed. "Yeah, I can already guess you have a pretty low opinion of me…"

'You have no idea.' Emerald thought.

"But I never wanted to get anyone hurt and I broke off from those bastards as soon as my friends and I found out just how corrupt they were. But none of that matters now. All I want now is to help Ishi. If you still have any suspicions about me then I understand and you don't want to help-"

"Don't sweat it, Gray." Mercury began. "We're here to help and besides…" He looked to RWBY and JNPR. "What're friends for?" Mercury felt pretty damn stupid saying that but he had to keep up the illusion that he was their friend. Emerald nodded to them, though it sickened her.

Grayson felt a huge weight get taken off his shoulders, the others included. It was good to have some extra help. Now all that was left was Penny-

"Mr. Hunt, your mission to provide urgent medical care for Mr. Sato should not be without assistance and you will be happy to know that I will support you and friend through this excursion. I am combat ready!" The android saluted.

Grayson's eyes lit up with relief. To hear this coming from an android of all people…it was clear to him that this girl had a soul, human or not. "Glad to have you on board, Pen. I promise you guys, as soon as I get Ishi help; I'm coming back here and making up for the shit-show I put you all into."

"You have our word." Ishi called from the cockpit. Everyone took their word for it, happy to know that he really was taking responsibly. Emerald and Mercury on the other hand, highly doubted that.

"Don't worry, Gray, we'll get you to the Ulysses. We've got your back!" Ruby assured him confidently.

"You've got ten plucky Huntsmen and Huntresses on your side!" Nora struck a heroic pose, much to Emerald's annoyance.

"And one android!" Penny cheerfully added.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're helping us, Penny!" Ruby gushed as she held Penny's hand. "Say, how did you know where to find us back there?"

"I was sent here by General Ironwood to gather information on the ships that crash landed here." Penny informed. Grayson's eye twitched almost instinctively.

"Ironwood sent you out here?" Emerald hesitantly asked. This just kept going from bad to worse.

"Yes. The general assigned me to recon the vessels that came here while he and his forces remain in Vale. But do not worry; I am still committed to helping you all!" Penny said with exuberance.

"This Ironwood guy. What's he like?" Grayson questioned in a very serious tone. Penny was a bit taken back at Grayson's sudden change in demeanor, as was everyone else. Why did he seem so hostile all of a sudden? Blake slowly began to deduce that this had something to do with General Sarrano. It seemed that Grayson had a history with Sarrano and if his reaction towards the word General was any indication, it was a particularly nasty one that caused him to leave the Confederacy. Again, the similarities between herself and Grayson were piling up and it was making her feel vulnerable and uncomfortable.

"The best way to describe him would be far-thinking, tactical and selfless. He's known to have been a courageous Huntsman in the past and while he does have a stern hand, he's an understanding, courteous man with a strong sense of duty. Why do you ask?" Penny described.

Grayson's expression didn't change. After a few seconds of unresponsiveness, he turned his head away a little. "Just wanted to know." He said dully.

Pyrrha had come to the exact same conclusion Blake had in her head and seeing that they had gone somewhere dark with Grayson, she decided to immediately change the subject. "But Ironwood's someone we can trust, I assure you. How far are we from the Ulysses?"

Grayson checked his leash and brought up the holographic map. "Still a ways to go but this bird'll get us there soon. Although tailing that soldier is gonna be tricky."

"Not a problem. My team and I used to track Torchwick until we got him locked up." Yang reminisced as she looked out the cabin door to admire the beautiful scenery. "And besides, I got a feeling it ain't nothing but clear skies for here on out!"

Grayson looked down at the serene river they flew over. "Helluva fishin' hole. Gotta be some big ones down yonder-"

THUMP

Everyone jumped at the sound of something hitting the Nightingale. All of them looked upwards at the ceiling of the cabin, neither of them saying a word. Nora was about to ask what that was until they heard another sound.

Slrrrrrsssh slrrrrsh slrrrrsh slrrrrrrsh

Everyone slowly got out their weapons, their eyes never leaving the ceiling. Something was on the roof of the Nightingale. The slithering continued for a few seconds until it abruptly stopped. The warriors' hairs were standing on end, their fingers on the triggers of their weapons.

SKKRRRRRRUNNNCH SKRRRRAAAAAAACCCKK SHHHRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIP

The sound of tearing metal penetrated their eardrums as pieces of the Nightingale's hull could be seen falling away from the cabin! Racking a fresh shell into Ember Celica, Yang leaned out the cabin door to look up at what was-

(Conker's Bad Fur Day-Tediz Attack)

SHING

"GAAH!"

A bladed tentacle suddenly shot towards Yang, who ducked back inside the cabin! The appendage slinked into the cabin and began to fail its razor sharp protrusion at the occupants! Shouts of fright and panic could be heard as everyone scrambled away from the swinging tentacle. Its pointed end shot towards Grayson but he managed to catch it before it could spear him through the face! Grayson wrestled with the tentacle but it was proving to be stronger than he thought.

Jaune moved in with Crocea Mors to hack it off but two more tentacles came into view and batted his sword away! Jaune barely had enough time to lift up his shield and block the incoming spike as it punctured his shield while the other one swiped it's stinger at the others! They couldn't use their firearms due to the cramped space of the Nightingale's cabin and they did not want to risk accidently hitting Grayson or Jaune. They were so preoccupied with trying to get the tentacles away from them that they didn't notice another appendage slinking into the other side of the cabin door. Pyrrha was the first to notice the tentacle and saw that it was poised to strike Grayson!

"Look out!" Pyrrha shouted as she drew Milo in its xiphos form and swung it at the appendage. But it proved to be quicker than her as it weaved around her blade and stabbed right into Grayson's shoulder!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" Grayson yelled as the blade dug deeper into his flesh, blood running from the wound!

"GRAY!" Everyone shouted! The barbed tentacle dislodged itself from Grayson's shoulder and reeled itself out of the cabin just before Pyrrha attempted to slash it again. Grayson fell to one knee while still gripping the tentacle but he was losing strength and the bard was mere inches away from his jugular until Blake swung Gambol Shroud in its katana configuration and hacked it off!

SKRAAASH

"AAAAAGGHH!"

The group looked towards the cockpit area and saw one of the tentacles had smashed through the overhead window and wrapped itself around Ishi's throat! His bionic hand was struggling to pry it off him while his free hand desperately reached for HeadHunter which was in the cockpit seat next to him. Running up to the cockpit, Penny threw out one of her swords at the limb and it severed it before it could break Ishi's neck.

A screeching noise could be heard from on top of the Nightingale as the remaining two tentacles slithered out of the cabin. Ruby armed Crescent Rose and leaned out of the cabin to get a shot on what was assailing them only to see a black blur leap off the roof and into an alcove in the canyon wall. Ruby didn't care what it was, it was gone and Grayson needed help. Everyone crowed around him to check over his wound while Penny stayed with Ishi to see if he was okay after being strangled. Suddenly, warning lights and alarms began to blare inside the Nightingale, startling the others while Ishi looked at the console.

"Whatever that was severed the fuel lines!" Ishi yelled as he looked back to the others. "We are going down!"

"Aw, don't tell me that shit!" Grayson grumbled as he clutched his still bleeding shoulder. The aircraft began to slowly descend past a waterfall and then eventually spun out of control! With the Nightingale about to crash right into a canyon wall, everybody bailing out of the cabin just as it impacted and exploded into flames!

Using the wires attached to her swords, Penny caught Ruby, Ren, Pyrrha, Emerald and Yang; boosting down towards dry land with Hephaestus while Grayson, Ishi, Weiss, Nora, Blake, Jaune and Mercury fell into a deep pond just below as the flaming wreckage of the Nightingale fell in with them. Ruby and the others rushed over to the edge of the pond and fished out the survivors as they crawled to shore. However, Jaune and Grayson were missing.

"Jaune? Gray?!"Ruby called out, fear evident in her voice.

Grayson burst forth from the pond with Jaune's arm slung around his neck; swimming towards the shore with a coughing Huntsman in tow as the Nightingale sunk beneath the water. Blake and Nora helped them out of the water and Jaune was on his hands and knees, hacking up water. Pyrrha was by his side, gently patting his back. "Easy. Easy, let it all out."

Jaune coughed up the last bit of water and nodded to Pyrrha. He looked up at Grayson, propped up against a boulder, to see Blake sitting next to him and already at work on drying his shoulder and working on the wound, applying adhesive bandages as she did.

"Thank you so much." Jaune breathed as he wiped the water off his face. "I thought I was gonna die."

"Well now you get to enjoy all the glorious fruits life has to offer you: acne, shaving, premature ejaculation and your first divorce." Grayson wisecracked maliciously. Jaune was speechless as he blinked several times at him. How were any of those good things?!

"He's joking, Jaune. "Pyrrha assured him before turning to Grayson with a miffed attitude. "At least I hope he is."

Grayson snickered but then Blake flicked his ear in annoyance as she continued to treat his wound. Ruby and Weiss walked over; the latter wringing out her skirt. "Are you okay?" Ruby asked Grayson out of concern.

"I've felt worse." Grayson shrugged, causing Weiss to roll her eye as the cat Faunus applied the finishing touches to the bandage. "What the hell just attacked us anyway?" Grayson wondered as he looked out to the pond.

"It had to have been a Grimm but if it was, I couldn't get a good look." Ruby replied, noting how fast that thing was.

"I guess we aren't safe anywhere. Never seen the Grimm get this riled up." Mercury commented as he and everyone else joined up with Grayson.

"We should keep moving." Blake advised as she got up. "They'll be back in greater numbers; we need to keep as much distance from them as possible."

I'm with ya on that but I think you're missing something." Grayson pointed out as he waved a finger to the top of his head.

Confused, Blake felt her hair and gasped when she realized she wasn't wearing her bow. She turned around to the pond but there was no sign of it floating on the surface. He gaze shifted to her friends and she averted her eyes to the ground; distressed and anxious.

"Honestly, you look great without the bow." Yang nudged her in assurance, causing Blake to blush and smile a little.

Grayson got himself up and brought up the map on his Leash. "We didn't get completely knocked off course. We can still follow the signal but we're going to have to walk. Let's start heading out as soon as we…Ishi?"

Everyone turned to where Gray was looking and saw Ishi hunched over on his knees as he breathed heavily. The sight of him made some of the sensitive members of the group extremely sympathetic given his condition.

"Mr. Sato, do you require assistance?" Penny inquired as she Ren went over to help him.

"I'm fine." Ishi answered flatly.

"You're obviously not." Ren rebuked adamantly as he helped Penny get him back on his feet. "There's no telling what the water did to your bionics or your sutures-"

Ishi roughly shoved them both down to the ground as he pointed a finger at them and angrily roared, "I'M FINE!"

His voice had taken on a deep, metallic tone while his eye and part of his head glowed a bright red as a dull buzzing noise emanated from it! Penny and Ren looked up at him, utterly terrified as the enraged man looked like he was ready to rip their faces off. The rest of the group looked equally frightened; taking several steps back away from his as Ishi fiercely breathed through his nose, the buzzing noise growing louder and his eye turning redder.

But suddenly his eye and head reverted back to their blue color and the buzzing stopped. Ishi's expression went from infuriated to surprised. Blinking a little, he looked at his hand before eventually seeing the scared looks on everyone's faces. His eyes widening in realization at what he just did, Ishi hung his head in shame and resignation. He walked over to HeadHunter washed up near the edge of the pond, picked it up and walked on ahead of the group with the same expression of guilt plastered on his face.

No one said a word as they watched Ishi venture into the forest and disappear from view. Ruby shakily turned to Grayson. "G-Gray, w-w-was that…?"

"Yeah." Grayson grimly nodded. "That was the AI."

Ruby was at a loss for words. She was now more afraid for Ishi's life than his outburst. She and everyone else had got their first look at the Artificial Intelligence Ishi was fighting and if his reaction towards what happened earlier was any indication, he had no control of his body if the AI took over. Now they all knew what would happen to Ishi if they failed to get him to the jumpship. They all gathered their weapons and the supply backpacks while quickly following Ishi.

They left the pond area deserted and quiet…save for the Seer emerging from a hidden spot from the waterfall, having watched the group silently.

THE LAND OF DARKNESS-SALEM'S CASTLE

(BLOOD Soundtrack-Fate of the Damned)

Seated on her throne in the conference hall, the Queen of the Grimm silently watched the Seer floating on the table in front of her which showed her an image of the Vale region. She leaned back in her seat with a frown. She was not happy.

Not. Happy.

Lowering her head, Salem rubbed her temples as she reflected on recent events.

Today was the beginning of her plan to finally acquire the Relics but it had been transformed into a day of pure madness: a massive ship that surpassed anything the Kindgom of Atlas could create decimated the moon and sent pieces of it raining down upon the surface of Remnant, causing untold havoc throughout the world.

And with that havoc came negativity. It was fuel for the Grimm that would strengthen her children for her attack on the Kingdoms but there was only one problem. There was too much negativity. The Grimm were driven into insanity by the influx of negativity and they went on a rampage, attacking every town, city, and settlement en masse. It was too soon for this to happen and to make matters worse, they had been driven into such an enraged frenzy that they began attacking each other.

Hearing the sounds of roaring, snarling, screeching and braying from outside her windows, Salem grimaced deeply. Her realm was not spared by the disaster, the numerous craters and destroyed crystal formations spoke volumes of how much damage her "Kingdom" had sustained. But it was nothing compared to the violent infighting that was transpiring all across the Land of Darkness.

Beowolves engaged in bloody melees with Beringels.

Goliaths trampled swaths of Creeps.

Geists formed themselves into crystalline golems and brawled with King Taijitus.

Ursas and Deathstalkers savagely tore each other apart.

Scores of Nevermores and Griffons tore away at each other in the dogfights above her castle while Lancers impaled Manticores with their stingers.

Salem clenched her teeth as the increasing sounds of battle assailed her eardrums. One other infuriating result from this insanity was that she couldn't command them to stop. They were so incensed and overstimulated by the planet-wide anarchy that it rendered them unable to follow even the most basic commands.

She had completely lost control.

Another complication was the staggering loss of her Seers who had more than likely been killed by errant moon rocks. There was no way she could get into contact with her followers, Cinder or even Leonardo Lionheart. She was effectively blinded with only a scant few Seers out in the world of Remnant.

SKKRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHHH

A Sphinx smashed through the windows on the far end of the room, pinning a Teryx to the ground with its large paws! The pterodactyl Grimm screeched and snapped its beak at the Sphinx who then bit down on its neck and tore out its jugular, leaving the Teryx to choke to death on its own fluids before it eventually expired. The Sphinx then turned its attention to Salem, growling while its snake tail hissed threateningly.

Salem slowly got up and held up her hand in a stop gesture. "Calm yourself. Stand down." She commanded. The Sphinx let out a snarl as it poised itself to attack its master, the overflow of negativity driving it to madness.

Salem's expression softened and she instead held out her hand. "Please."

"HRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!"

The Sphinx lunged towards Salem with its claws and snake tail poised to strike only for a multitude of clawed hands burst forth from an inky smoke that formed underneath it! The hands wrapped around the Sphinx, slammed it to the ground and then ripped off its wings and tail! The Sphinx's screams of agony were cut off when the hands coiled around its neck and viscously twisted it until its vertebrae snapped like a twig. As the body of the Sphinx disappeared, Salem took no pleasure in what she did. It pained her greatly to harm her children-

Her train of thought was halted when she felt her heartbeat increase. She brought up her hand and looked at it, seemingly transfixed. Her children…

"Mommy, can you read me a story before we go to bed?"

"Mom, would you like to play with us?"

"Mom, I made you something for breakfast!"

"Mother, we can do magic just like you!"

Salem's breathing began to quicken as her hand began to tremble.

"MOTHER,FATHER! STOP FIGHTING! PLEASE!

"MOMMY, DADDY! NO!"

Salem vigorously shook her head, dispelling the images out of her mind. She took a few minutes to compose herself and the shaking in her hand to stop. After she had calmed down, she went back to her throne and sat back down to regain her thoughts.

If there was one silver lining to this disaster, one of her Seers just so happened to be in Vale and near the area where one of the ships first made landfall and sent it to investigate before the bigger airship destroyed the moon. It arrived just in time to see a man beat one of her Grimm to death with a rock. From here on out she ordered the Seer to follow him and the other survivor of the crash as they fought their way into a White Fang encampment, slay the occupants in a creatively brutal fashion and fight more of her Grimm before eventually being assisted by a group of Huntsman and Huntresses (one of which just so happened to be the daughter of the late Summer Rose).

She listened in on their conversations (including the one the two survivors had before heading out) and when they went down the elevator to the mines, the Seer silently followed them down the elevator shaft where it picked up on their story and relayed it to Salem.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Salem felt very, very uneasy.

Another world. These men came from another world. It was impossible. But yet the truth was laid bare before her and the Queen of the Grimm was at a total loss. How was this possible? Could it be that…The Brother Gods started life all over again somewhere else? She turned to the windows on her right and looked up at Remnant's newly formed crescent moon.

This all seemed too familiar to her…

"This planet was a beautiful experiment. But it is merely a remnant of what it once was. We will learn from this failure. I hope you will learn from yours."

"No. You can't leave. You can't leave! COME BACK!"

"Still demanding things of your creators…"

She gritted her teeth and blocked out the memory; returning to the matter at hand. This government of Earth, the Confederacy, had stumbled upon Remnant or to be more accurate, stumbled upon her secret war with Ozpin. The last thing she needed was an interference to her goals and this was a massive complication. She actually dreaded to think what would happen if they discovered the Maidens and the Relics. Did they already know about Remnant? If they did, then how long? Were they sent here by The Brother Gods?

Salem sighed and stopped her hypothesis. She couldn't draw up meaningless theories; she needed concrete evidence. She focused her thoughts back to the two otherworlders. Grayson Hunt and Ishi Sato were only focused on leaving Remnant and were no long affiliated with the Confederacy but they were still a problem that needed to be taken care of. When they left the mines she had the Seer order a nearby Goliath, one of the very few Grimm that hadn't been driven to madness, to kill the humans.

Her Seer had trouble keeping up with them but through it, she could sense the Goliath's death. The Seer continued to follow the trail until it came upon the large canyon where it saw the Hekaton buried underneath a mountain of rubble and a train impaled into its skull, much to Salem's shock.

The Hekaton was her most powerful creation, one that she spent centuries perfecting with her magic. It was the pinnacle of all of her malicious ingenuity: a Grimm whose strength exceeded that of any that came before it, capable of decimating Kingdoms in mere hours and the only one of its kind capable of gestating offspring. But due to its unruly nature, Salem had to put it and its young into a state of hibernation and would awaken them for the final stages of her plan.

But they had defeated it. Not killed it outright but they incapacitated it for the time being. And if it had awoken too early, then it was evident that something had happened to the eggs. In a fit of barely contained frustration, she ordered her Seer to attack the airship they were on. This proved to be a bad move as it nearly resulted in her Seer nearly getting killed and failing to kill a single one of them.

Salem balled her hands into fists. It would be easy. It would be easy for her to forcibly take control of a Griffon, fly it to Vale and kills those interlopers herself. But she couldn't.

Because she couldn't leave the Land of Darkness. After her first battle with Ozpin, she found out that he used a considerable amount of his power to erect a massive dome-like barrier that trapped her within the Land of Darkness before she incinerated him. Grimm and people could freely enter and exit the dome but she couldn't escape from it. She was trapped. Henceforth she had to resort to sending out the Grimm and gathering followers to carry out her plans. For years, Salem was steadily chipping away at the barrier with her own magic so she could finally take direct action herself but it was slow, time-consuming and she was making very little progress in dispelling it.

THWAM

She slammed her fist down upon her armrest, snapping it off like it was piece of dead wood. Salem breathed angrily through her teeth as black smoke started to rise from her figure. After a bit of seething, she closed her eyes and calmed down. Reopening her eyes, she clasped her hands together, leaned in close to her Seer and willed the one over in Vale to follow the group but make sure it stayed out of sight.

She would track them.

She would observe them.

She would learn as much as she could from them.

Only then would Salem decide what must be done about Grayson Hunt, his ailing friend and the Confederacy.

To be continued…

Whew! This chapter was a lot of work but glad I did it!

Had tons of fun doing the Hekaton scene while adding my own spin to it! Also added in more refernces to movies, TV shows and RWBY Chibi. See if you can spot them all!

I also liked giving more depth to Grayson's character by making him wary of anybody who holds the rank of General. I'm looking at you, Volume 7 Ironwood. :(

But the one thing I loved the most about making this was handling Salem and her reaction to the disaster. There are a lot of stories on this site that make Salem all-knowing and infallible. But I want to be one of those writers he doesn't portray her as completely invincible. I wanted to showcase what would happen if Salem was taken by surprise, pulled out of her element and left completely in the dark about what's going on. Sure, she's an ancient unkillable being but people from outer space? She's got no clue how to wrap her mind around to and I had a blast driving her up the wall and making the Grimm attack each other. And keep in mind that she is watching them through the whole adventure so whenever something happens, you already know she's there…

One important note is that I will be doing major deviations from canon and I am having so much fun doing so! For example: In this universe, Salem doesn't have the whale Grimm seen at the end of Volume 7 and it has been replaced by the Hekaton as well as the dome thing I implemented will be AU too. Hope you like em! Also, I'm going on break to get back to writing Wrath of the Ultrabots. It's been a long time coming.

Don't forget to review but please don't flame.