Here's chapter 97, everyone.
Winter slashed into another Beowolf, as the two soldiers with her gunned down a Taara, both sighing to themselves about still running into just Grimm in their search. "Ma'am, I'm not sure those tracks are leading us anywhere."
"Your concern isn't being ignored. Honestly it still may be an Ursa Major, but since we haven't run into any, even normal Ursa, we must continue to search." Winter said, keeping an eye out still, even with the Grimm around them dead. "Any word from the other teams yet?"
"The last update was just another Lancer swarm. No Queen as of yet… As for the larger animal sightings, it seems like no one has made any progress."
Winter shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "These tracks are all we have to work with, so if they don't end up leading us anywhere, we'll rendezvous with the other teams and set out for one of the other islands."
While the two soldiers had nodded in response, they themselves were just as tired of the mission as Winter was.
The Atlas Specialist was usually able to handle missions that went nowhere, but there was something in the back of her head that made her find the one she was on at the moment uncomfortable.
"Should I contact the General… He may simply tell me the same thing as before."
The sounds of leaves rustling caught her attention immediately, so the Atlas Specialist kept her blade at the ready, until she saw the bear that made the tracks. Winter's eyes widened as the bear was quite larger than any she's ever seen in her entire life.
Winter jumped away, gasping as the two soldiers were equally shocked, and the bear roared at them. "M-Ma'am, w-what should we do?" The previous order of not firing at the animals was still in their mind.
The bear swiped at the trees around them, and Winter used her semblance, spawning a wall of glyphs to keep the bear back. "Do not fire at it. Lead it away."
Not hearing her, the bear thrashed around, somewhat out of its own control as it continued hitting the glyphs until one broke. The soldiers with Winter were nervous, but they would listen to her orders as they backed up a bit, since it seemed Winter wanted the bear to be out in more open area.
Another glyph shattered and gave the bear enough space to jump through, so Winter and her soldiers began running back to a clearing they could get to. "It's clearly not going to stop trying to attack us, so while I said not to fire at it, don't let it get close either. Precision hits will work just fine."
"Y-Yes, Ma'am." One of the soldiers was continuing to run, while looking back as he took a shot at the leg of the bear, but when it hit, they noticed the bear had an aura, which wasn't too shocking since animals in the world of Remnant did have an aura.
"It's tough." The female soldier noted, biting her lip as she hoped the bear could be quelled in some way.
The bear knocked another tree down, and Winter shook her head. "At least we found it… Now to capture it."
After several minutes of running, they made it to an open enough clearing for Winter to turn around and slam her blade down. A summoning glyph appeared, and a two Ursa Majors appeared.
Winter took a breath, as the cold air around her began to swirl around the Atlas Specialist and her summons. The two Ursa Majors ran at the bear, not to kill it, but to try and hold it down. When both pounced on it, the bear did something shocking to Winter and her two soldiers.
Its body literally gained spikes on it that shot out at the Ursa, impaling them and killing them instantly, as the summoned Grimm dissipated into nothing.
"W-What in the world? That bear just shot spikes out its body… Only things I've seen do that are Grimm." The female soldier commented, as the bear shook a bit, its remaining spikes receding into its body.
Winter examined the bear as much she could. "It doesn't appear to be Grimm… Possibly an Elemental, so keep away from it." She attempted using another summon, that time a swarm of small Nevermore, mostly to keep it distracted as it began swatting at the bird Grimm."
"Maybe we should call in the Knights, Ma'am." The female soldier suggested while keeping her rifled trained on the bear, since they had time to come up with a strategy while the summoned Grimm were pecking at it.
"No need. They'd only get destroyed in an instant." Winter reasoned, as she watched how the bear fought. It was out of control, swinging wildly, until it curled up a bit and shot spikes out of its body again, hitting a few of the Nevermore.
"That thing is crazy. I'm starting to see why they're considered a threat." The male soldier remarked, as more Nevermore were being killed.
Winter tightened her grip on her weapon. "It resorts to using its spikes, but for some reason it isn't trying to overly use them, so it has to have a limit."
"Ma'am, if you keep sending out more of your summons, won't your aura be completely drained?" The female soldier asked in worry, but Winter shook her head.
"Relying only on my summons is not what I plan to do. The way those spikes shoot out," As she said that, the bear used more spikes, which shot out in diagonal lines. "End up going in a diagonal pattern. It has no control or aim."
The soldiers knew what she would suggest, and they gulped.
Winter could see the last two Nevermores being swatted away, so she looked to the two soldiers. "Keep your attacks on it while get in close. Its aura is strong enough to handle your shots."
"What if it ends up running at us?" The male soldier asked.
"As I said, it has no control or aim on its spikes. As long as you can keep away from its claws, judging where the attack will come from should be easy enough." Winter turned back when she heard the last of her Nevermores cry out.
The bear was breathing heavily, even angrier looking at that point since it was tired after being pecked at so much. Winter pointed her blade at it, waiting for it to charge her, and as it did, she used a glyph to jump, and as she flipped over it, she noticed where the spikes receded into its body.
Winter knew when it would curl up was the moment the spikes would shoot out. The bear spun around, surprising Winter as she kept her blade in front of her, blocking the swipe as her aura took the hit, knocking her back.
In response, the bear curled up again, and Winter's eyes widened, since different areas on the bear's body showed where the spikes would shoot out from. Not a moment later, three spikes shot out, directly at the Atlas Specialist, so she slashed at one, knocking it away, while the other two grazed her.
The two soldiers began shooting at the bear, trying to keep it from attacking Winter again. The bear grunted and turned around, growling at the two, but suddenly Winter dashed towards it, slashing its back.
A roar of pain, and several slashed later, the bear was beginning to cry out. Almost like it was begging for her to stop. Winter dodged a swipe, and when it tried curling up to use its spikes, nothing happened, so it fell on its belly, completely worn out.
"You're out of fuel now." Winter said, and the larger than average bear, which was about ten feet tall on just all fours.
"Please," Winter's eyes widened instantly when it spoke. "Please stop… Please don't kill me…"
Before she could respond, the two soldiers ran over, not hearing it beforehand. "Ma'am, is it down?" She aimed her rifle at it.
"Hold your fire." Winter ordered, and she stared at the downed bear. "It spoke… Just before you two ran over." She took a step forward, and the two soldiers were shocked, as they attempted to reach out and stop her, but Winter shrugged them off. "I know what I heard… Did you just speak?"
The bear was silent, as it was weakened from an earlier encounter it had. It was trying to stand, but was too tired, as it lifted its head up, noticing what Winter was wearing. "You're… Not one of them…"
Hearing it speak shocked the two soldiers as they backed up. "It… It really spoke."
Winter glanced over her shoulder at the soldiers. "Keep an eye out for any Grimm, I won't be able to completely defend this area, but for now," She lowered one hand and summoned two Beowolves. "These two will assist you in keeping a perimeter secured."
"Y-Yes, Ma'am." While the idea of a talking animal was shocking, the two soldiers didn't question her orders and kept watch for them.
The Atlas Specialist looked back at the bear and took a breath. "What are you? A bear, or a human? Or even a Faunus? Someone in my life that is very dear to me has a semblance of turning into an animal, so a talking bear doesn't shock me as much as others."
After she said that, the bear stopped shaking and stared at Winter. "You… Know someone like me?"
"Like you? Explain." Winter waited.
"Being human… Being able to be one." The bear's voice was actually feminine, and how it described herself, Winter wasn't sure what it meant.
"I don't think you understand what I said. The person I know is my sister, and she has the ability to become a wolf with her semblance." Winter explained.
The bear's ears drooped a little. "Oh… So not like me…"
Winter sighed in response. "Why did you attack us? You're begging to not be killed, but you struck first." The Atlas Specialist took a moment to realize what she was doing. "I can't believe I'm interrogating a bear."
"I-I thought you were one of them… The Relentless." The bear answered, as she was shaking again by just saying the name of the group she was afraid of.
"The Relentless? And who exactly are they?" Winter inquired.
A question that truly made the bear shiver, as she didn't wish to recount The Relentless. "Horrible people… They hunt my kind down. Only because of what we can do. Please… Please tell me they didn't send you."
Winter was taken aback. A group of people hunting down animals that could talk. It seemed like she was dreaming, so she sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Listen, this Relentless group, I know nothing about them. All I know is that there have been reports of large and dangerous animals roaming different parts of Mistral."
"Dangerous?" The bear repeated, as she slowly got up, but barely as the two soldiers were alerted and aimed their rifles at her from a distance, but Winter raised her hand to stop them from shooting. "I was defending myself just then… Other than that, my kind is not dangerous…"
"Why should I believe you? You're a ten foot tall bear, that can talk, and you're telling me a group of people hunt you." Winter crossed her arms.
The bear lowered her head, only to get back down on its belly. "There's nothing I can say that would convince you… The Relentless want me and others like me dead."
"And why exactly?" Winter inquired.
"I don't know!" The two soldiers almost pulled the triggers on their rifles, but Winter was quick enough to use glyphs to bind their arms. "All I know, is they're the ones that are dangerous… They killed my friends… The one I love is out there because we got separated… Because of them."
Winter felt like she was going to have a headache, and she looked around. "There doesn't seem to be any Grimm around us… Clearly there is a place for you to hide, so where would that be exactly?"
"Hide… I hide in plain sight," The bear got up again, albeit slowly as she focused on her aura. "I don't have a lot of aura left… So I can only do this once, but I would like for you to please look away, and… Do you have any extra clothes?"
The question confused Winter. "Why would you need to ask for that?"
After a few moments, the bear let out a light chuckle, so she shook her head. "Never mind… Unless your sister has to go through the same thing as me, then I'd suggest you look away."
Winter's eyes widened as the bear's body shined, and she covered her eyes, but as she did, the thought of Weiss filled her mind. Not only did she know the light that covered the bear, what she had said was also another point of information Winter knew about.
A moment later, a woman with long brown hair was where the bear was, and she was covering her body with her arms, as the two soldiers gasped in shock. The female soldier covered the male soldier's eyes, as Winter was still.
She couldn't believe what she had seen. A bear becoming a human, but it wasn't because of that reason alone. It was because she did exactly what her little sister would do when she used her 'semblance'.
The Atlas Specialist took her jacket off and walked over, as the brown haired woman fell on her knees, so Winter threw it over her, as the woman chuckled lightly. "What? Surprised?" She laughed a little more until she fell to her side, and Winter, as well as the two soldiers were in utter shock.
I usually like to swap between characters in chapters, but here was all about Winter and her discovery of yet another Shifter. Someone she's going to learn a little more about soon enough. Hope the single scene in this chapter was something you can all enjoy as opposed to when I swap between others.
To JJ- White Rose moments are indeed worth it, but at the same time, I have other hardships for Weiss to deal with, and her senses taking over isn't gonna be one of them. As for Raven, she knows what Willow wants, and we'll just have to see how much of Raven's advice Willow will take. And with Yang, well she has her own insecurities she's able to talk about, but hey, we know one certain cat Faunus that wants to be close to her after all.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 97. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 98.