Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any other familiar media that is shown in this story. This story is also Rated-M due to swearing, blood/gore, future sexual content, etc. Reader discretion is advised.
~Introduction Arc~
Chapter 7: Konner's Alternate Test
[Location: N/A | Date: Wednesday, Aug 27 | Time: N/A]
Konner's eyes snap open while he lets out a strangled gasp before calming down. He blinks a few times before looking around to find himself...floating in space?
"Ok, when Grandma said for me to reach for the stars I don't think this is what she meant," The hybrid said before realizing something. "Hey wait a minute, if I'm in space...how am I breathing?!"
He was very confused about what was happening, but he soon noticed he was missing his weapons and gear and his bird Betty Swoops, which instantly freaked him out.
"Betty Swoops? BETTY SWOOPS! Where are you girl?!" Konner cried out, scared that he may have lost his first and best friend. "Please don't be messing with me Betty Swoops 'cause it's not funny!"
Suddenly, the space around him began to warp and change until it turned into a massive colosseum that reminded him of the ruined ones in Vacuo from ancient times. As he stared in awe, gravity seemed to take effect again making Konner fall onto his behind but he quickly sprung up to look around. But he was pulled from his stupor when he heard a very familiar thrill. Looking up towards the royal box he sees Betty Swoops trapped in some sort of energy sphere trying to escape with his missing stuff inside.
"Betty Swoops!" He yelled as he rushed over and went to leap into the royal box by springing on his tails...only for him to hit an invisible wall that rebounds him back into the arena. "Gah! What the hell!?"
"Your bird is safe...I just need to speak to you without distractions."
The sudden echoing voice made Konner instantly get on guard as he looked around wildly and his tails looked ready to snap at anything like a quartet of snakes.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" The hybrid demanded with a growl.
"As you wish."
In a flash of light, the owner of the voice appeared and they were...a barn owl? At least it looked like a barn owl but it had pinkish-purple feathers while glittering sparkles like stars shining off its body while its eyes were glowing white. It was also rather big compared to a normal barn owl as it stood a couple of inches taller than him so Konner estimated it was around 5ft in height.
"Hello, child," The owl spoke in a sweet feminine voice.
"...okay this just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Konner commented. "Am I dreaming or something?"
"Afraid not sweetie as this is very real, I did bring you here through the portal after all," The owl answered with a melodious chuckle. "Before I forget, you may call me Noxa and I welcome you, Konner Xandrite, to the Nebula Coliseum."
The now-named Noxa spread her wings wide and the torches surrounding the arena and in the stands ignited with galaxy-colored flames that were somehow bright enough to light up the entire stadium.
"Ok not gonna lie, that's cool...but why did you bring me here?" The boy asked. "I was just about to start my initiation to get into Haven you know."
"I do apologize, my child, but this was probably the only chance I would have for a while to get you here so I had to take it. Don't worry as time moves much faster here so you could be in this place for hours or days and hardly any time would pass back in your world," Noxa explains. "By the time you leave, none of your friends will notice anything amiss and you'll still have plenty of time to complete your initiation."
"Even if what you say is true, why did you take Betty Swoops and put her in that bubble thing along with my gear?" Konner asks, pointing to said bubble.
"That is because this will be about you and you alone with no outside help from your companion or your gear," Noxa spoke.
"What do you mean?" Konner asked cluelessly, his expression making the owl chuckle briefly before becoming serious.
"I will be blunt child...things in Remnant are about to greatly change in the coming future, both good and bad," Noxa said seriously. "While this will affect everyone in the long run, a certain few will be affected much more than others while you and three others will be at the center taking the brunt of the changes. This is why I brought you here, to test your current skills and possibly guide you down the right path you need to go to grow to your full potential. Even though you're highly skilled for someone your age, if you were to try to face what's to come as you are now...you will most definitely die."
Konner gulped audibly, the idea of dying young didn't sound appealing to him so despite being hesitant to be here...he would suck it up and do what he can to prevent himself from dying.
"...when will this big change stuff starts happening exactly and what will they be?" Konner asks after a moment of processing what he heard.
"I cannot give you an exact time but I can tell you the changes will happen as you progress through your time in Haven Academy. Which is an actual boon as you'll be able to ask for the help of both your teachers and peers so don't be stubborn in asking and receiving help from others. Many have met their ends with that mindset and I know you're much smarter than that," Noxa stated firmly. "As for what will cause these changes, I do not know other than the fact they will come in various shapes and sizes as well as having powers and abilities considered otherworldly in some cases."
"Yeah, that isn't cryptic at all," The young hybrid deadpanned, making the space-themed owl giggle. "Ok, so what do I have to do here?"
"What you Hunters have done since the beginning...fight," The owl replied before suddenly vanishing.
Before he could speak, Konner noticed the ground of the arena was shifting all around him before rising were dozens of human-like beings the same size as an average adult. Their bodies were of average build with their 'skin' having the color of a nebula while having glowing gray eyes and some had Faunus traits like thick lizard tails, big feathery or leathery wings, claws, etc. Another thing he noticed was that at least half of them had weapons from sword and shield combos, axes, and war hammers. Even a few had firearms the same color as the creature's bodies but taking on a much lighter shade of color.
"This doesn't seem fair," Konner spoke, seeing he was both outnumbered and outgunned.
"The world is never fair child," Noxa's voice sounded from above and with a glance upward Konner saw that the owl was perched in the royal box with Betty Swoops looking from within her bubble in concern for her pup. "You will be more often than not facing dangers that are not in favor such as being disarmed and outnumbered. This first test is to see how well you can handle yourself with only your skills, Aura, and natural abilities at your disposal. Now, you will be fighting these creatures, these Cluster Goons, so that I may assess your current skills properly."
Konner didn't know if she meant about his ability to fly or his uncontrollable aeromancy and poison abilities but he had a good feeling she meant all of them. Before he could ask he instinctively dodged a sword strike from one of the Cluster Goons before roundhouse kicking it away.
"Oi! What gives?" The hybrid exclaimed.
"Unless it's official tournament rules there are no countdowns in fights, especially when it's a matter of life and death," The space owl explained patiently. "Your enemies won't wait until you're ready and would use this opportunity to strike you down...something you should take advantage of as well."
As she said this, four more Cluster Goons attacked Kon from all sides making him perform a Taillock Hop to spring himself into the air so he can hover. He couldn't stay still for long as Cluster Goons with range weapons began firing at him and those with wings began chasing after him in the air.
'Ok so I don't have my main weapons but maybe I can use…' Konner thought as he tried to focus his magic into the palms of his hands...but found that nothing happened. "What the hell?"
"Oh, I put blockers on your hidden seals dear so you don't cheat!" Noxa cheekily called out, knowing what the hybrid was trying to do.
"Seriously!? Crap, this is not how I expected initiation to go," Konner grimaced but gave a fanged grin. "Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained as Uncle Roman says. Bring it on you space cloud freaks!"
Slipping his goggles down over his eyes and turning the brim of his cap backward, the young hybrid made a sharp u-turn to charge back at his pursuers with a battle cry.
'Let's see what you can do little star,' Noxa thought as Konner clashed with the Cluster Goons.
Betty Swoops meanwhile, had calmed down from trying to escape her bubble and watched on with worried eyes.
[-KHGM-]
[Location: Haven Academy - Hard Knock Forest | Date: Wednesday, Aug 27 | Time: 9:17 AM]
Back on Remnant, we find Megumi trudging through the forest alone with a scowl on her face. Initiation wasn't going as she planned and she had no one to blame but the last name she is unfortunately forced to have at birth.
"Screw those assholes, it's not like I had a choice into what family I was born into...if I did it sure as hell wouldn't be a part of the Saisei's," Megumi growled bitterly. "Even though I abandoned them all but my little brother they still drag me down."
Moments after landing in the forest, Megumi wanted to see if she could team up with someone, preferably Konner, Giovanni, or Seraphinite but she didn't mind working with others as Hunters are meant to work together in teams anyway. The problem is that she could not find anyone willing to team up the moment she said her name. Megumi was all too painfully aware of her family's shitty reputation, and at the same time unaware of some of the more rancid details, so she figured that was the case.
"Maybe I'll get lucky and I can find Kon or-OH SHIT!"
A fireball nearly took her head as Megumi rolled to the side as she found herself surrounded by four other initiates, three were boys and one was a girl who appeared to be leading them.
"I don't know why they let some desert hawk trash come into our kingdom, but I can promise you that I'll break your legs for what your mother did to my family!" The lead girl snarled.
"Would it help to point out that I hate my mother as well?" Megumi asked only to receive a death glare she knew all too well and then dryly asked. "Let me guess, an affair?"
"Oh...you…" The girl growled out, her hair turning to water as it waved around angrily.
"Look, if you dickheads have a problem with my old man and mother then go after them on your own time." Megumi snarled. "I have more important shit to do and worry about than your beef with them."
"You know I kinda expected you to act like a princess…" The flame-wielder boy said.
"Oh please, you think they make for GOOD parents?" Megumi asked.
"I still want to kick her ass though," The second one said with a snicker while morphing his hands into light saw blades. "To make an example."
"Nah...if she hates her family...then fighting her for that is pointless...but she'll make for an easy mark for points," The last guy, a kangaroo Faunus said with a thick accent.
He had to quickly jump out of the way from a grenade being shot at him by an irate Megumi which exploded on impact against a boulder, shattering it to pieces. If it's a fight they want then it's a fight they'll get.
"Your funeral, then!" Megumi yelled, leveling [Nurse Knockout] at them while gripping the handle of [Convergence], ready to draw within a moment's notice. "Here's your headstone!"
The woman of water took up her aquatic form to restrain Megumi only for Megumi to threaten to drink her if she did not back off.
"Pfft...you wish, but I don't think you can drink me." The leader mocked
Megumi smirked before activating her Semblance and began to grow in size, not her Berzerker Mode like she used on Paris however but into her new Amazon Mode which was double her normal size and muscle mass before proceeding to suck the other girl in thanks to her increased lung capacity. The leader screamed as Megumi drank her, and the other three watched with both amusement and curiosity.
"I'll forfeit if you swallow her!" The light blade user shouted in glee.
"Don't be stupid, man. Stomach acid would kill her! Even then, I don't want to watch her piss her out." The Kangaroo boy spoke in disgust.
Megumi spat her out at the flame keeper, sending him flying back deeper into the forest before turning to the other two with an unamused look.
"Step on me, please," The light blade user said with total seriousness.
He got punched through a tree for that by a very flustered Megumi.
"Worth it!" He exclaimed through the pain.
Megumi turned to the last boy who stared at her with wide eyes.
"...I'll be going now," He said before grabbing his downed friend and running to where the other two were shot.
"Well that was lackluster," Megumi commented. "But what was with that freak?"
"Well, when you become a walking fetish it's hard for some people to control themselves," A familiar voice teased.
Megumi looks up to find Giovanni lounging on a tree branch with a lazy smirk while Seraphinite was standing on a branch above him.
"Finally! People who don't give a crap about my family name." The Titaness sighed in relief. "Also, how long have you two been up there?"
"Long enough to see you committing vore," Seraphinite answered monotonously as she and Gio jumped down to ground level.
"Hey, it was the only way to get that water chick off of me!" Megumi defended as she returned to normal before noticing someone missing. "By the way, where's Kon? I figured he might have been with either of you."
"We haven't seen him and honestly thought he would have been with you," Giovanni shrugged but gained a grin. "Maybe he's with that little girlfriend of his. What's her name, Elanor Orange?"
"Tangerine you fool...but yes that's a possibility as well," Seraphinite corrected with a roll of her eyes.
"Still, I hope the little guy is alright," Megumi replied in slight worry.
"Eh don't worry about it, the pup is tough, I mean he wouldn't be here if he wasn't," The Grimm Eater assured her nonchalantly. "I'm sure we'll run into him at some point."
"In the meantime, Megumi, would you care to team up with us?" Seraphinite asked the desert dweller. "Figured it would be for the best since we've known each other longer than any of the other initiatives."
"Well that was kind of my plan to begin with so sure," Megumi admitted sheepishly.
"Excellent, now we need to go about and collect points at the fastest convenience," Sera stated before looking at Giovanni. "I apologize for asking...but do you think you can do something in tracking down Grimm better?"
"Oh I can do you one better sweetheart," Giovanni said with a grin as his Aura flared around him. "I've been working on a way to bring Grimm to me and if I'm right…"
Giovanni gives a sharp whistle and his Aura spikes while giving out an invisible pulse that Megumi and Seraphinite barely felt. It wasn't even a full minute before they heard the distant but close roars of Grimm.
"...I can just have them come to us," The Grimm Eater finished with a smirk while cracking his neck.
"You're acting like a literal beacon for Grimm," Megumi commented in amazement while cocking [Nurse Knockout]. "That's both cool yet terrifying at the same time, thank Oum you're on our side Gio."
"Stand firm, here they come," Seraphinite said as the rings on her wrists and ankles started to glow.
It wasn't even a full minute before the three teens found themselves surrounded by various species of Grimm, mostly Beowolves, Ursai, a couple of Ursa Majors, and even a small flock of Nevermores circling above them. If one were to compare these Grimm to the ones from canon they would find that these Grimm were slightly bigger by a few feet and bulkier in both mass and muscle, showing that they were much stronger. The monsters growled and snarled, the energy Gio released while drawing them closer made them more bloodthirsty than usual.
"Is it just me or do these guys seem a little more aggro than usual?" Megumi voiced, quickly reloading her weapons.
"Oh my bad I forgot to mention, whenever I do this any Grimm that feels my Aggro Beacon, seem to become much more aggressive than they normally do so they're gonna try to rip us to shreds...well, more so than usual at least," Giovanni explained with a shrug while giving a lazy smile. "Hope you ladies don't mind the challenge."
"Are you kidding? This is probably the best way I can test out [Nurse Knockout] more!" Megumi said excitedly while leveling said weapon before her. "Bring it on you freaky fucks! Oh, no offense Gio."
"None taken," The Grimm Eater snorted before drawing his weapons, [Madness and Mayhem], and crouched down into an aggressive stance. "Hey Seraphinite, care to start us off? I'm kinda curious about what those bracelets of yours do."
"Very well...Side Blaster Deploy." The Seal Faunus said while holding her right arm out.
[Cue BGM: Chrono Trigger OST - Battle 1]
As she spoke this, the bracelet on her arm pixelated before morphing into a sort of small arm cannon before pointing at the nearest Grimm and blowing its head clean off with an electric blue energy blast, enraging the Grimm and making Gio and Megumi stare gobsmacked.
"Holy shit!" Megumi exclaimed. "How did you-?"
"I'll explain later, now FIGHT!" Sees shouted before charging the Grimm and began firing at them.
"Come get some!" Giovanni cackled as he dived headfirst
Megumi chooses to hang back a bit while firing grenades one at a time at groups of Grimm, blowing them to pieces or keeping them at bay. While powerful and having more ammo than normal, it wasn't long until those twelve rounds went dry and she had to reload making the Grimm take the chance to attack her...only to be sent flying back after impacting a light red energy dome made up of magic protecting her which projected from a stone rune the same that Konner has against the bandits only it was slightly bigger and had decorative markings around it.
"Thank you again for the [Old Elk Rune] Nag," Megumi muttered as she reloaded her gun before slinging it on her back. "I think it's time I get up close and personal."
She pulls out [Zealous Drawback] while also drawing [Shank N' Spray]. As a Beowolf and a Ursai were coming to beat down on her shield again, Megumi swiftly cracks her whip around the Beowolf's neck before swinging it into the Ursai, making them both topple over allowing her to unload bullets into their skulls. She smirks while staring down at the Grimm around her while idling swinging her whip from side to side tauntingly.
"Bring it on," Megumi states before charging at the roaring Grimm.
Meanwhile, Seraphinite was seen elegantly using her acrobatic abilities to bob, weave, and soar over the Grimm while dispatching them with perfect headshots with her blaster. The gynoid soon found herself surrounded, but if she was worried she didn't show it on her blank expression.
"Outcaster Deploy: Explosive Rounds," Seraphinite droned as her left arm morphed into a rather large gatling gun.
What came was a chain of explosives tearing through several unlucky Grimm before swapping back to her normal arm. An Ursai lunged at her from the side but Seraphinite casually elbowed it into a tree without even flinching before shooting its head off with her [Side Blaster].
"Ice-cold that one...I like it," Giovanni said with a grin, casually holding back numerous Grimm with just one hand.
It was at that moment a Beowolf managed to slice its claws through the teen's hair, ruining his prized pompadour in the process. This was a mistake as Giovanni turned to look at the mutt with a blank expression and say three chilling words that sent shivers down its spine.
"You're lunch meat."
Faster than the eye could track, Giovanni, tore into the Grimm's neck with his teeth making the werewolf howl agonizingly before a swift yet loud CRUNCH silenced it forever before its essence was absorbed into the teen.
This made the other Grimm back away hesitantly as Giovanni pulled out a wicked-looking comb.
"Grimm, meet your new apex predator," Giovanni casually stated, combing his hair. "Now where the hell is Kon? I wanted to show off to him a bit."
He didn't receive an answer as the girls were busy with their fights and the Grimm surrounding him were still wary of him...until a couple of Alphas roared in rage before charging the Grimm Eater, making him smirk while placing his comb away gripping his swords.
"Come get some, ya soulless bastards!" Giovanni cackled before unsheathing his swords and charging the Grimm himself.
What could be described next is basically when you place a bunch of dark-colored fruit into a blender and put the speed on max. Giovanni was practically a blur of motion as he diced, sliced, and hacked his way through the Grimm, never losing his momentum and never losing his ground as the Grimm were powerless to stop his massacre. Every time a Grimm fell, their essence would immediately be absorbed by Gio's semblance, which steadily increases all of his physical capabilities by large margins making him stronger, faster, and tougher thanks to each Grimm he slew.
"Come on, you little bitches! At least try and make me sweat, I'm starting to get bored!" The teen mocked as he mercilessly slaughtered a pair of unlucky Grimm beneath his feet.
"You should be careful about what you wish for, you just may get it," Seraphinite said while gunning down Grimm in her area.
Giovanni does the mature thing and proceeds to sass her...only to be bitch slapped into a tree by a Beowolf that manages to sneak up on him. This makes the Gynoid give a small smirk of satisfaction.
"You were saying?"
"THIS MEANS NOTHING!"
As Giovanni came back out to slaughter more Grimm, the screeching caws of Nevermore made Seraphinite look up to see that the small flock of six were starting to descend to pick them off while they were fighting. Acting quickly, the gynoid Faunus swiftly kills the Grimm around her before deactivating her [Side Blaster] and [Outcaster].
"Banshee Deploy," Seraphinite droned, pixelating into her hands was a new weapon to replace her former two, a sniper rifle to be exact, which looked similar to an Arctic Warfare Magnum only it was a bit bigger.
With her new gun in hand, Seraphinite aimed at the Nevermores...and proceeded to headshot all of them, killing them instantly in a matter of seconds. Due to being adolescents, they died very easily with her normal rounds, the same couldn't be said if they were Alphas or higher.
Back with Megumi, she decided to stash away her weapons and fight the Grimm in her Amazon Mode to see how well she could kill them with her bare hands. Surprisingly she could kill them almost effortlessly thanks to her enhanced strength and height advantage by simply stomping them into the ground or backhanding Grimm into one another. After throwing an Ursa into a rock, the desert dweller sidesteps a sneak attack before kicking the Grimm, an Alpha Beowolf, between the legs making it give a high-pitched whine as it went flying into the air before disintegrating.
She laughed at the sight before swiftly turning on her heel while also drawing [Convergence] and bisected four Ursai in half trying to jump her in one powerful swipe.
"Who's next, you bitches!?" Megumi bellowed...before realizing there was no more Grimm. "Oh, alright then."
[BGM Ends]
The ranger deactivates her semblance before twirling her sword and then sheathing it on her back before walking back to the others.
"That appears to be all of them," Seraphinite stated, deactivating her weapons. "We should still probably relocate before any more Grimm decides to show up."
"Let 'em come, I'm still hungry," Gio grunted while sheathing his swords.
"Wait so you can just eat Grimm Essence and just be full? You don't need to eat regular food?" Megumi asked curiously.
"Well, technically I could, but I do like eating normal food as it tastes better and unless I've eaten a new species of Grimm the taste starts to become bland for me," Giovanni explains. "Plus I'm an excellent cook so I'd rather not have my culinary skills get rusty because I eat Grimm all the time."
"That all good bu-," Seraphinite was cut off by the sound of violent rumbling under their feet.
"What the hell's going on?!" Megumi exclaimed.
As if to answer her question something bursts out from the ground behind the trio making them jump back and draw their weapons. When the dust settled what they saw was a Grimm none of them had seen before. It looked to be a massive Centipede Grimm that was primarily black with rugged white bone-plate armor around it. Its many legs looked to be like giant serrated blades and while it had no visible eyes on its face it did have a strange glowing symbol that glowed a sickly yellow color and looked sorta like a demonic tribal eye.
"What in Oum's name is that?" Megumi squeaked with a shudder.
Seraphinite quickly used the device given to her by Trexler to scan the Grimm for information...what the automatic voice read aloud to them was something that made her usual stoic expression switch to wide-eyed horror.
Broilapede | Hot Water Grimm | Insectoid Type: A sub-species of giant Centipede Grimm that is similar to the Centinels; only bigger in both size and mass, averaging 66ft in length and 20ft in width, and are more solitary, preferring to live on their own. Their bodies are covered by smooth yet rugged exoskeleton armor that protects them from most attacks and allows them to easily tunnel their way underground at insane speeds. They shoot broiling high-pressurized streams of water that can melt the skin and flesh of any unfortunate person or animal it comes across before then slurping up their prey like one does a slushie. If they manage to catch much bigger prey they drag them deep underground into their den before tossing them into a pool of constant boiling water while they're still alive to bring out the flavor before devouring them.
"Oh well, then I'll just be moving into space then, huh?!" Megumi sarcastically snarked.
That snark was for her benefit because her hands were shaking at the info given while the Broilapede calmly watched the trio while making clicking noises from its mandibles.
"Great, we got a smart one," Giovanni grumbled, seeing the Grimm not attacking right off the bat.
"Does anyone have a plan of action?" Seraphinite asked while her cuffs began to glow again.
"Is running a good plan?" Megumi almost begs.
Before anyone could speak, two different roars came from behind the trio, and when they looked...their hearts dropped as a larger-than-average Manticore and a freaking Alpha Beringel jumped out of the flora coverage and blocked their escape route, growling menacingly at the teens. The Broilapede then made sharp clicking noises which made the newcomer Grimm tense up before staying where they were, still growling at the teens but not making any advances towards them until the much stronger Grimm gave the word.
"...it's not anymore," Giovanni deadpans before sighing tiredly. "Ok, here's the plan...I'm gonna take on the giant bug so you two can decide who takes on the cat and monkey."
"Are you nuts?! That thing will kill you if you take it solo!" Megumi exclaimed.
"She's right, even with your Grimm-based abilities fighting the Broilapede by yourself is just suicide," Seraphinite added.
"Look out all of us here I have the best chance in taking this thing on and surviving but I can't fight it and those other two behind us at once so I need you two to keep them busy while I deal with the exterminator's nightmare over here," Giovanni explained while swirling his swords. "And if things start to get too dicey we can make an opening to run or use the emergency call function on the bracelets to get some help."
Each bracelet that an initiate receives has a built-in emergency call function that will have one of the teachers immediately respond to come and rescue the endangered initiate from any life-threatening emergency like fatal wounds or they're going up against powerful Grimm that's too much for them to handle.
"...very well, I will deal with Manticore since I'm faster and I'm immune to its poison," Seraphinite sighs before turning to the desert dweller. "Megumi, do you think you can handle the Beringel?"
"I think so as long as I keep my distance, I'm not confident I can take it in close range even with my Amazon Mode," Megumi shrugs before getting into a battle stance, glaring the ape Grimm down. "Let's do this."
"May the Almighty Oum guide you to victory ladies," Giovanni said solemnly before gaining a psychotic grin and flaring his Aura violently. "NOW COME GET SOME!"
That was all the Broilapede needed to hear as it gave a loud series of clicks and hisses before lunging at Giovanni while the Manticore and Beringel charged at the girls which they, in turn, followed suit.
'I sure hope Kon is having an easier time than the rest of us,' Was Megumi's final thoughts as she had to dodge a wild haymaker from the Beringal while focusing on her fight.
Back with the professors, they were paying extra close attention to the trio of Initiates, the moment the Broilapede made its appearance, more so when the large Manticore and Alpha Manticore appeared. A few wanted to jump in and get them out of there as those were high-level Grimm that even their third years had trouble dealing with on their own but were stopped by the Headmaster as he assured them that he would personally jump in and save them if things went bad. This made the others back off the matter instantly, knowing how powerful their boss is but they couldn't help but worry.
For now, they still had to deal with another problem...locating their sole missing initiate, Konner Xandrite.
[-KHGM-]
[Location: Nebula Coliseum | Date: Wednesday, Aug 27 | Time: N/A]
[Cue BGM: SMBZ Back to Mad (Rearranged, Higher Quality, and MORE Extended!)]
"RAAAH!" Konner shouts as he sends a Cluster Goon flying with a jump kick into the coliseum wall making it dissipate into stardust.
He can't rest yet as when he looks around he sees there are still dozens more surrounding him, making the young teen release a breath of weariness before slipping back into a fighting stance.
"Bring it on."
The hybrid quickly charges at one with a war ax that tries to bisect him with a wide swing that Konner easily dodges, lands on the flat end on the axe, and uses the momentum to launch himself into a flying Cluster Goon and slams his fist into its midsection. It folds in silent pain and Kon uses this chance to grab its face with his tails to spin it around rapidly and then with a strong flip, launches the spinning Cluster Goon into the ground which crashes into a small group of its allies below¹. The force was so great, it formed a rather large spider-cracked crater which sent about seven other Cluster Goons flying into the air, something Kon was waiting for as he hovered in the air with his hands held up to his face like a pair of binoculars.
"L.O.T.," Kon mutters as crosshairs appeared in his vision as they showed up over the airborne Cluster Goons before they turned red. "Gotcha, Ballistic Pinball!"
He then curled up and wrapped his tails around his body forming a perfect sphere of fluff before spinning rapidly in place. Then like a ball out of cannon, Konner rockets into the first Cluster and starts to bounce off Cluster Goons with great force and speed multiple times each like he was in a high-speed pinball machine. Once the attack ends, Kon uncurls and lands on the ground perfectly as his targets hit the ground bursting into stardust.
"Who else wants some?" Konner states as his tails snap like snakes.
His answer came when two Cluster Goons armed with katanas charged him from both sides, making Konner brace himself with Aura, knowing what was about to come. As predicted the Cluster Goons began to attack the hybrid with a flurry of sword slashes but thanks to using the Aegis technique to reinforce his Aura, Konner can tank them just fine but he knows he can't stay still for long.
*CLICK*
Especially when some of the Cluster Goons are cocking their firearms a ways behind him while aiming at him.
'Oh no you don't,' Konner thinks before dodging both sword slashes from the Cluster Goons before grabbing their arms in iron grips and then flipping them behind him, just in time for the gunners to fire and accidentally kill two of their own. "Thanks for the assist fellas."
Suddenly, a Cluster Goon with large arms resembling that of a Gorilla charged at the hybrid before attacking him with a flurry of heavy rapid-fire punches. Konner did his best to dodge and deflect the attacks but he couldn't make his counters as the Goon had too much reach on him so all he could do was endure and wait for an open. Except he made a critical error…
*SHINK*
"ACK!?"
...he forgot he was fighting multiple opponents and paid the price when a trio of Cluster Goons with spears came up from behind and stabbed him in the back. Thanks to his Aura and tougher Komodo skin, the attacks didn't go very deep but they still hurt. What made it worse was that it gave the large armed Goon an opening to land a hard right hook to his head, sending him flying dozens of yards away. Luckily he managed to flip and land on his feet while growling in frustration as this was getting him nowhere...and he was getting surrounded again.
"Ok, so you all want some? I guess I'll just have to share!" The hybrid exclaimed before taking off his hat to hook it around his belt and he hung his goggles around his neck again. 'This is gonna make me burn through a lot of Aura but I need to clear these guys out fast.'
[Cue BGM: A Little Faster by There for Tomorrow]
Konner took a stance, his body arched back, arms at his sides at an angle facing outwards, and legs at full extension about 20 degrees from each other. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth as he felt his Aura rising within him, its platinum color fading in and out around him as the area began to softly rumble around him. The Cluster Goons didn't know what the hybrid was doing but didn't care as they all charged Konner to finish the fight. As they got within a few yards of him they jumped and prepared to strike him down but that was when the hybrid struck.
"SOUL BURST!"
*KRA-KOOM!*
Konner's Aura practically exploded outward, knocking the unfortunate Cluster Goons flying back either into the walls or into their comrades as Kon floated off the ground a few feet while letting out a battle cry that sounded like a mixture of a roar and a howl as his Aura flared wildly and brightly around him. His appearance didn't change much but his irises and pupils were no longer visible as he glared at the Cluster Goons...which made the young hybrid look more intimidating than before.
"Let's end this!" Konner roared before charging them at high speeds, letting off a small sonic boom as he did.
The Cluster Goons jumped into action and met Konner's charge with their own. The closest one tried to smash his head in with it's war hammer only for Kon to blur out of existence at the last second...and then slam his foot into the back of its head making it 'explode' and 'die'. Taking advantage of the fallen comrade's dust remains, one of the spear-wielding Cluster Goons attempted to skewer the hybrid a second time but Konner arched his back, avoiding the spear thrust and catching the shaft between his back and arms, snagging it out of the Goon's hands. With his new weapon in hand, he used the blunt end like a baseball bat, swinging it with enough force to send the other Cluster Goons back and breaking it against the head of the one he stole it from.
Once done he spotted the large armed Goon making him glare at it.
"Round 2 bastard," He then charged right at it.
The two of them sent a straight punch at one another which collided creating a heavy shockwave before going into a slugfest. The shockwaves from the onslaught made it impossible for any Goons to get close or to get a clear shot at Konner. The hybrid was the first to end the onslaught by springing in between the Goon's guard and then delivering a powerful uppercut sending it flying in the air. Kon quickly jumped up and drop kicked the Goon in its midsection, sending flying into another group of Cluster Goons. They didn't have time to react or recover as Kon charged at the group throwing punches and kicks at any that got near him.
As he fought Noxa was observing him with critical eyes. 'Konner sure can hold his own even when he has been disarmed and outnumbered, even pulling out that technique to get an edge on his opponents even with its drawback,' The cosmic owl thought as an unfortunate goon splattered on the barrier in front of her like a bug on a windshield. 'And he is certainly not pulling his punches.'
Betty Swoops was watching from her bubble prison seeing Konner go at it. She knows he can handle himself in a fight even without his weapons but she is still worried about her pup. The Cluster Goons are clearly a challenge for him since they have numbers, and skills and they act like a well-oiled machine. Not to forget that the technique he is using comes with its risks, the main one being it drains the user's Aura faster than normal.
Back with Konner, he was having a better chance with the Goons but they were not letting up on the fight. However, he did notice that fewer and fewer Cluster Goons were spawning, meaning his plan to thin them out had worked.
'Ok good the plan worked...now to finish this fight,' Konner thought before deactivating Soul Burst as he curled in on himself, floating in place. 'Mom told me to never use this technique or anything like it when there are comrades around and thankfully there aren't, so I can go all out with this attack.'
The Goons stopped their assault as strong winds began to whip up around them at an alarming rate, joining around Konner as a rapidly rotating sphere of wind formed around him that was spinning faster and faster by the second. Sensing something was wrong, the Cluster Goons began to attack again as the gunners began firing at the wind sphere around Konner while the melee ones moved in order to bum rush the hybrid. Thanks to the wind sphere the bullets bounced off harmlessly and as the melee Cluster Goons got closer, Konner could only smirk.
"Gotcha suckers, Collateral Havoc!" The hybrid exclaims while spreading his arms out.
[BGM End]
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
An explosion of powerful wind energy bursts out from Konner, the sphere expanding rapidly as it kills the Cluster Goons that got too close, shredding them to nothing. The attack didn't stop there as a multitude of wind bullets and wind missiles of various sizes blasted out from the expanded dome and began to rain down all over the colosseum and decimating the Cluster Goons either from direct impacts or being caught in the various blast zones all over. As the attack had ended, the two observers looked with bated breath waiting to see what happened to Konner as the smoke had filled that colosseum arena.
"Whooo! That was awesome!" Konner's voice rang out followed by some coughs.
The hybrid uses his tails to clear out the area with smoke to see the damage and sure enough, he's standing in a rather large crater with spider-web cracks and bits of purple fire all over the place. His clothes looked a bit ruffled but were still fine. The good news is that he did manage to kill all of the Cluster Goons so that was ok. Bad news he had used up a sizable portion of his Aura with his Soul Burst stunt but did his best not to show it.
"So is that it?" He asked looking up at Noxa. "Can I get Betty Swoops and my gear back please?"
"In due time, child, you still have one more test to complete," Noxa said, making the hybrid groan audibly. "But I must ask, child...why did you not use your wind abilities? You are a Kysmet, therefore your wind should be incredibly powerful for someone your age."
"I know, but I can't actually use them. My mother tried to train me, but I have a different learning style compared to her so…she can't exactly teach me the works." Konner explained.
As the young hybrid looked sheepish, Noxa couldn't help but frown in worry at this recent development.
'That is...not good to hear. He needs to gain more control of his wind abilities if he is to have a chance against what's to come. I can't directly help him with that but…I can at least give him the tools to help guide him down the right path,' Noxa thinks before clearing her throat and speaking aloud. "Konner, I may have a solution for controlling your wind abilities better."
That makes the hybrid's ears perk up as he jumps to his feet and looked expectantly at Noxa with wide hopeful eyes.
"Please, tell me this isn't a prank? My Mom has done all she could to help me but she doesn't know what else to do in helping me," Konner pleads, making the owl laugh softly.
"I assure you this is no prank child and I believe these tools will help you immensely during your adventures," Noxa says before her eyes shone briefly.
Appearing before the hybrid in a flash, floating in a clear bubble-like orb, were a pair of small golden-colored rings that were so clean and shiny, that Konner could see his reflection in them
"Whoa…these are awesome," Konner breathed as he reached into the orb and pulled the two pieces of jewelry out, examining them. Both were masterfully crafted and felt right in his hands as he slipped them onto his index fingers. "Not that I don't appreciate them Miss Noxa...but what am I using these for exactly?"
"These rings, the [Spirit Rings], are made specifically for you to channel your wind abilities so that you may have much better control over them than you normally do. It can also work for other elements you channel into them to give you more variety for elemental combat," Noxa explained.
"Whoa really? I can't wait to test them out," Konner said gleefully.
"You'll get your chance now, it's time for your final test," Noxa cooly said as her eyes glowed strongly with power. "Now arise...Meteor Cerberus!"
[Cue BGM: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST - Rules of Nature Extended]
Suddenly, the entire coliseum began to shake violently, the sudden actions caught Konner off guard as he was knocked over onto his ass.
"What the heck's happening now?!" The hybrid exclaimed.
The ground of the crater he was in began to shift and expand outwards while strange light and energy began to rise out from the cracks. Realizing what was about to happen, Konner cursed before performing a Taillock Hop to literally bounce out the crater….right when a pillar of light erupted from the spot he was just in. The shockwaves that followed afterward were enough to make most of the coliseum walls start to form large cracks all around and Konner had to dig his claws into the ground to not go flying off.
"THIS...IS...NUTS!" Konner screamed over the roaring winds, wondering what the hell was in that light pillar.
The hybrid received his answer as an inhuman haunting howl began to echo around the coliseum and it originated from the light pillar which Konner managed to see a large shadowy figure coming out from the light. When the light finally died off and the wild winds stopped Konner could breathe a slight sigh of relief...before paling at what was now standing above the crater.
"I have to fight THAT!?" Konner exclaimed in fear.
What stood before the young hybrid was a massive forty-five-foot tall three-headed dog, the dog heads look similar to Dobermans if he had to guess. The monstrous canine had the same 'skin' tone as that of a nebula only it seemed darker and each head had different colored eyes; the middle head had ice blue eyes, the left head had fire red eyes, and the right head had electric yellow eyes. The beast let out a deafening roar, each head releasing ice, fire, and lightning respectively. If they were trying to intimidate the young hybrid they did a perfect job.
'Why is it that I always get stuck in these situations?' Konner whined in his head.
"Yes you do, this test will push you to your limit and use everything within your limited arsenal," Noxa explained. "With any luck, you should come out victorious."
"SHOULD?! Are you trying to send me to an early grave!?" Konner yelled in disbelief.
"You'll be fine. Besides, if you die, you'll just respawn as if nothing happened," The cosmic owl mused.
"DOESN'T MEAN I WON'T REMEMBER THE EXPERIENCE!" The hybrid roared before sighing tiredly and then glaring up at the towering monster. "Alright, let's get this over with."
Konner then flares his Aura briefly to get a feel of how much he has left...which is around 44%, not the best but not the worst either. He then shifts into a fighting stance, fists up as his new rings gleam in the light. Konner's eyes turned to slits while hairs on his ears and tails flared up as he growled in a challenge at the large canine, which the Meteor Cerberus snarled and tensed, preparing to pounce on the smaller Faunus.
The two stared each other down, neither moving a muscle while the two birds watched from the safety of the royal box with bated breath as the entire coliseum was silent, not a sound to be made...until a piece of loose rubble fell from the wall, the impact echoing throughout to coliseum.
[Cue BGM: Max Anarchy OST - My Town, My City]
That seemed to be the starting bell as the Meteor Cerberus roared before pouncing on Konner, intent on ripping him apart. Before it could land on its target the young hybrid slid under the beast while channeling Aura into his hands and claws enlarging them, he dubs this technique his Astral Shredders and did his best to slash at its belly but the most he was able to do was leave a multitude of glowing scratches on it. He skidded to the side as the beast rushed him so he quickly took flight straight to one of its heads to slam his unrefined Aura claws into both its eyes only to get swatted aside almost immediately.
"Oof! Ok, that didn't work as intended!" Konner growls after righting himself in the air, hovering in place. "Alright, I need to figure ou-OH CRAP!"
With a yelp, the hybrid had to dodge a giant flaming fireball coming towards him, courtesy of the left head while the right head blasted him with arcs of high voltage of electricity. The latter Konner was barely able to dodge as the middle head howled to summon thousands of spear-sized ice needles before launching them at the poor hybrid who was doing his best to not get hit.
'Dammit, I'm screwed! If only I had [Omnisynth] I could use it to counter these elements easier!' Konner mentally cursed while dodging another big fireball. 'If I had more Aura I could pull off another Soul Burst to at least close the gap on us to land some hits but I'm already below half and if I try it I'll empty my tanks.'
Konner had to use his rings to channel concentrated wind blasts to destroy a few incoming ice spikes much to his annoyance...only then to remember what Noxa said about what they can do.
"I'm a fluffing idiot!" Konner exclaimed, wanting to punch himself for his stupidity.
'Did he already forget what I said about those rings?' Noxa thought with a sweatdrop. 'Though I can't really blame him, he doesn't really rely on his Aeromancy too much since it tends to bite him in the ass.'
The beast jumped up to pounce on him, but Konner sprang up and double-kicked it back into the air, sending it higher with a powerful wind funnel. He then flew up, grabbing it by the ears of one of its heads to spin around, and threw it to the ground before dropping onto the left head and shooting two razor wind bullets into its eyes, getting a squeal from it.
"Thank you, gravity!" Konner screamed. He quickly hopped off when the other heads tried to chomp down on him. 'Okay blinded one of them so I should…' He thought before seeing the left head shooting a fireball at him again. 'The hell!? Ho-wait...is it seeing through the eyes of the others?'
Sure enough, the left head managed to launch a fireball with pinpoint accuracy making the hybrid have to dodge again as the Meteor Cerberus continued an unrelenting onslaught, enraged that he managed to blind one of its heads.
'Great, it has a shared vision between its heads and I made it madder!' He shouted mentally as he dodged attacks of fire, ice, and lightning. 'Not like I can do it again now that it knows I'll try something like that...wait what's it doing now?'
The Meteor Cerberus had ceased its attacks before inhaling and letting out a triad of devastating howls, the sound that it created caused the coliseum to shake for a few moments before suddenly stopping. Konner noticed a shine in the sky above, when he looked up he paled. Meteors of three different elements rained as Konner screamed as he ducked under a burning meteor that almost took his head off.
"This owl is trying to kill me," The poor hybrid managed to whimper as he avoided other meteors that got close.
He glanced down at his rings before clenching his fists in determination
"Time to get serious!" Konner focused his wind powers through the rings while forming his hand into a finger gun. "Eat this!"
Much to his surprise, something amazing happened as Konner was able to fire a 'beam' of green pressurized wind that shot right through the meteor, splitting it in half in the process.
"Holy crap it actually worked!" Konner exclaimed, staring at the rings he used in awe. "Guess these things do help my control, I felt almost no resistance with my wind at all. I think I'll call this move...the Razor Laser."
As the two halves of space rock fell, Konner quickly grabbed the halves from the air before using the falling momentum to throw them at the beast before taking two to smash the three heads together to give them a migraine. He just kept using the pieces of the meteor to bash on its heads hoping to give it as much brain damage as possible. Dazed and confused, the Meteor Cerberus stumbled with its vision cloudy and its thoughts fuzzy. Kon saw this as his chance to finally end this fight.
Konner jumped into the air with his tails before forming his Astral Shredders again while channeling his wind into them to make them much more refined and sharper than before. He then began spinning like a human buzzsaw, before flying right through the throats of the beast and bisecting their heads from their bodies. Konner's hands were raw and sore...he was pretty sure he was on fumes of his Aura...but he found it was totally worth it.
[End BGM]
"I…" Konner started before vomiting from motion sickness. "Oh Oum above that's gross, I'm never gonna give Jaune any more crap on motion sickness...still worth it!"
He then fell flat on his back, spread-eagle fashion panting heavily. Noxa meanwhile was smiling at the hybrid below.
"He definitely has a lot to learn but regardless, he did well. With some more training and wisdom, he'll be a force to be reckoned with," The space owl mused to herself before turning to Betty Swoops. "Well, shall we go and see your partner Miss Swoops?"
The dove gave a thrill of approval before Noxa teleported the two of them next to Konner while simultaneously returning all of the hybrid's gear to his person, something he noticed.
"I guess the test is over?" Konner tiredly asked while sitting up, Betty Swoops returning to her rightful spot on his right shoulder while nuzzling him in affection.
"Indeed, I believe I've seen all I need to see...for now at least," Noxa smoothly stated. "You are definitely more gifted than most children your age, Konner but you still have much to learn. As I stated before, you don't stand a chance as you are now to go up against the stronger foes that are to come so I highly urge you to not take your stay at Haven Academy for granted, use this chance to hone your skills and learn new ones."
'Though alternatively, you could have the strongest will to survive thus far. Eh, not that it matters given the end goal.' She thought before really looking the young teen over, seeing how dirty and roughed up his clothes were, she used her powers to freshen him up while rejuvenating his Aura in the process, something the hybrid noticed almost immediately.
"Oh cool, I needed that," Konner mused while standing to his feet before bowing respectfully. "Thank you Miss Noxa.
"You're welcome. Now, I believe it's time to send you back to your initiation. I suggest you prepare a landing strategy." She mused knowingly.
"I...wait, wha?"
Suddenly a hole appeared under Konner, catching him and Betty Swoops off guard and making them fall through.
"You feathery-!"
She closed the hole with a laugh before he could finish.
"Oh that never gets old," Noxa chuckles before teleporting away, the Nebula Coliseum fading away as she did.
[-KHGM-]
[Location: Hard Knock Forest | Date: Wednesday, Aug 27 | Time: 9:31 AM]
[Cue BGM: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST - Collective Consciousness Extended]
The sound of heavy machine-gun fire and the roar of angry Grimm could be heard all throughout the area. The former is coming primarily from Seraphinite as she was using her gatling gun [Outcaster] to gun down the surprisingly elusive Manticore but she knew the only reason it was doing that was due to having a very weak defense.
'I'm gonna have to slow it down or completely halt its movement,' She thought as she dodged out of the way of a stinger strike from the beast. "Time for a more tactical approach, Livewire Deploy."
Her minigun pixelated away and taking its place was a long black tendril-like whip that was attached to her right arm with electric blue markings around it while electricity softly cracked around it. She gave her new weapon a few cracks making it spark harshly.
"Come and get me, you overgrown pussy cat," She mocked.
The Manticore attempted to pounce on the gyroid who dodged out of the way as she wrapped her weapon around the Grimm's neck in a vice. Seraphinite then shocked the monster cat into submission, making the Manticore go limp in pain before she finished it off with a few rounds from her [Side Blaster] into the back of its head.
"...well that was easy," Seraphinite drawled, disappointed at the easy fight.
She watched in fascination as the essence of the Manticore was drawn rapidly over to where Giovanni was holding his own against the massive Broilapede and with the slight power boost he received was able to avoid being torn in two by the insectoid Grimm's mandibles.
"Thanks for the pick-me-up!" Giovanni called out with a smirk as he pulled out his gun [Extinction] and opened fire on the Broilepede's head...with [Pop Rounds].
*BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!*
Small yet potent explosions peppered the Grimm's 'face' making it reel back in shock and anger allowing Giovanni to jump away to make some distance. The insect Grimm responded by quickly spitting out a stream of boiling water making the teen combat roll out of the way as the area he was standing in was melted into a small pond of steaming death.
"Hey, are you sure this thing isn't just spitting acid at me like its counterparts in Solitas?!" Giovanni asked/exclaimed in disbelief.
"According to the data, it isn't! I'm just as surprised as you are!" Seraphinite answered back while taking potshots at the large Grimm, hovering in the air with the rocket function in her boots. "Megumi, how are you holding up?"
*BO-BO-BOOM!*
Her answer came from the Dune Ranger shooting explosive grenades at the Beringel to keep it at bay, both hurting and angering it. The ape pushed through the pain and lunged at Megumi, but she was too quick and slid right under the Grimm firing two more shots into its back before quickly reloading.
"Doing good so far!" Megumi said. "You guys figured out a way to kill the giant bug yet?"
"Still working on it!" Giovanni called back, ducking under a tail swipe as he did. "Just gotta find the weak spot, every Grimm has one. Problem is, some are harder to find than others."
[End BGM]
As the three teens were fighting their respective battles, a familiar portal opened up high above the sky and Konner fell through with a yelp but was able to right himself with his tails in the air. Betty Swoops gracefully took flight next to her pup.
"I'm gonna smack that bird next time I see her," The hybrid fumed to himself before hearing the sounds of battle and looking down. "Oh cool there they are...wait is that a Broilapede? Guess they don't know about its weak point, better help out or they'll be gumbo."
Konner flicked his right wrist and out from the dispenser was a yellow guitar pick with the picture of a black lightning bolt symbol on it. The hybrid then began to make a sick tune, charging electrical energy into his guitar and then channeling it into the body of the instrument until it was engulfed in a crackling aura of lightning.
"Now we're making music!" Konner smirked before looking down once more. "I'm coming guys, GERONIMO!"
He quickly climbs a bit more in altitude before diving straight down towards Broilapede like a bird of prey, lightning trailing off his guitar as he did so. Once close to his target, Konner flips around with [Omnisynth] over his head sparking with power.
"Bolt Slam!"
With that shout, Konner slams the guitar into the base of the Broilapede's 'neck', striking a certain area that causes the insectoid to screech in pain much to the shock of Giovanni and Seraphinite before it quickly retreats underground. This sends Konner flying into the air and bouncing off the Beringel Megumi was fighting, accidentally shocking it into submission, and allowing Megumi to decapitate it with [Convergence].
"Holy crap! Kon, where did you come from?" The ranger exclaimed.
"The sky...ow," The hybrid groaned while shakily getting to his feet, slinging [Omnisynth] on his back as he did so. "Nice to see you guys doing ok, I would have met up with one of you earlier but...things happened."
"Well, I guess the leader has to be fashionably late." Giovanni jokes, walking over to them.
"Who's to say he would be the leader?" Seraphinite asked, flying down.
"Logically speaking...I can't. I have way too much baggage to be a proper one," Megumi said.
"I sure as hell don't want to be the leader and can you honestly see yourself as the leader, Sera? Think logically." Giovanni said earnestly.
"Did you just ask me to think logically?" Seraphinite said annoyed with him. "You-"
"Uh guys I hate to break up this conversation but we still have a giant centipede Grimm that shoots super hot boiling water at people to deal with," Konner interjects.
"Didn't you just scare it off?" Megumi asked in disbelief.
"No it just pulled a tactical retreat, it'll be back any moment now and it'll stop playing around with you guys and actually try to kill us," The hybrid bluntly states making the girl pale.
"...Fucking shit man," Seraphinite sighs
"How were you able to hurt that thing anyhow?" Giovanni asked.
"I nailed it in its weak point and in doing so I made it go into its second stage of fighting us. The Broilapede will now start to attack us from underground a lot more frequently and start hitting us with super hot steam attacks that can not only blind our vision but chip down our Aura," Konner explains. "Plus since I nailed its weak spot the Broilapede will now reinforce the armor on its back to be much tougher than before but there's a catch… its underbelly armor will be much weaker than before. Not by a large margin but weak enough where we can actually get some real damage on it."
"I think I getcha, it's a trade-off," Megumi guessed. "But...how's a Grimm able to do something like that, to begin with?"
Before anyone can answer, Konner's ears perk up before screaming, "JUMP BACK NOW!"
The teens do it without question and just in time as the ground beneath where they were standing cracks apart and extremely hot steam rises out from it. It didn't just stop there as cracks began to form all around the field with steam rising up from them, thus making the four hunters-to-be dodge out of the way.
"It's changing the battlefield!" Seraphinite shouted.
"Ow!" Megumi yelps as she's grazed by some of the steam...and pales when she sees it took out about 15% of her Aura. "What the fuck it barely even touched me!"
"Careful! If you lose all your Aura to the steam you'll literally start to melt into mush!" Konner warned as they all managed to group up together.
"This is gonna sound weird coming from me but I think we might need to pull a tactical retreat ourselves. This dude seems way above our paygrade to handle ourselves," Giovanni stated.
"Agreed, we're not ready to go against something like this," Seraphinite added with Megumi nodding rapidly in agreement.
"That's not an option any more guys," Konner said and before anyone could speak he continued. "While the Broilapede is in this state it'll keep hunting us down until we're dead and even if we do manage to lose it, it'll go on a rampage and kill every person it sees until it gets us."
"Oh fuckin A man," Megumi groaned. "Ok, so what's the plan?"
"First things first we need to get it to resurface." The Hybrid replied. "Once that's done we can start wailing on it with lightning-based attacks since it'll be weaker to those kinds of attacks due to being in this state.
"That I can manage," Seraphinite stated, blue electricity sparking off her body.
"Guess I can test out my new arrows," Megumi stated while shifting [Zealous Drawback] into its longbow form before spinning the revolver function so that [Lightning Dust] was coursing through the string.
"I...don't have any electric-based skills and I can't use Dust as for some reason it doesn't work for me," Giovanni admitted.
"That's fine you just focus on stunning this guy and creating openings we can exploit," Konner says as the ground begins to tremble. "Brace yourselves guys...here it comes."
At the young hybrid's words, the Broilapede bursts from the ground within the center of the steam-filled field. Hot steam rises off of its body while boiling water drips from its mouth as it 'glared' down at the four teens, its face symbol glowing menacingly.
"Get ready guys!" Konner called as he readied [Omnisynth].
The others did the same and readied their weapons, this would probably be one of the hardest fights they've ever fought but they wouldn't back down. They were to become Hunters after all and real Hunters don't run. The staredown lasted a few more seconds...before the Broilapede screeched and lunged at the four teens with each of them giving their own battle cries and charging themselves.
The fight was on...but who would come out victorious?
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: I hope you guys liked the new Broilapede Grimm I came up with, I promised there would be new Grimm Species and I meant it! You'll be seeing more new Grimm in the coming chapters and if you guys have suggestions for me for new types of Grimm you'd want to see I'd love to hear them in the reviews. Also, I bet you're wondering who Noxa is huh? All I can say is this…she's gonna have a very BIG and very important role in the story in the coming days. That's all for now, on to the next chapter!
A/N 2 (9/14/22): So I had to change the beginning of the Cerberus fight a bit as I messed up on something. It's a small change so don't worry about it too much.