Solitas, International Airspace
Wren slumped back into his seat aboard the airship to Atlas. Gaaahhh, this is so BORING! I wish something would happen here!
As soon as he finished that thought, there was a loud crash as an alarm began blaring. He jolted upright.
"What's goin' on?" He asked aloud.
"There's someone on the wing!" Kira shouted.
"What?" Wren ran to the window and looked out. Sure enough, a man in dark, grimy leather was gripping to the airship's wing with clawed metal arms. Two more extended from his back, prying off the metal plating of the airship's hull. The figure looked up at Wren, locking eyes with him as he brought both the metal arms on his right down on the broken wing, snapping it away from the airship.
The ship plummeted towards the ground.
-VOL 2-
Summer groaned in pain, pulling herself to her feet. Wh-where… what happened? She shook her head, memories of the crash beginning to resurface. We hit the ground, and… we scattered. She looked around. The wreckage was crackling with flames in places, but was otherwise calm. A cold wind whistled through the twisted metal. We got back together, and… I came back, to find… something. What was it?
Summer reached behind her, feeling the familiar weight of her kamas on her back. Must've passed out. But why? She was snapped out of her thoughts by heavy footsteps behind her. She whirled around.
She was met with a massive, bipedal dragon-like Grimm. It looked to be around ten feet tall, long arms almost reaching the ground. It leaned in close to her, close enough that she could feel the heat from its breath. It opened its massive jaws.
"Lost?" It spoke. Its voice was animalistic, growling, and guttural.
"Wha-?" Summer stumbled backwards, falling onto her rear.
"Lost?" It repeated.
"Oh, uh… Yes?" Summer said. "You can… talk?"
"Yes."
"Can you say more than one word at once?" Summer asked.
"Yes."
"Then why don't you?" She pressed further.
"Don't need to."
"Alright, you know what? Nevermind," She said. "What are you?"
"Mutated form of Hound. Better. Faster. Smarter."
Summer scratched the back of her head.
"Come. I show you the way." the creature said.
"Oh… kay…"
The Grimm was surprisingly agile for something so large. It moved with a strange, fluid grace, almost as if it were a mass of viscous liquid. Summer followed pensively.
The two walked in silence for some time. Several times, Summer thought she felt… something watching her. Muffled footsteps, sounds of breathing carried on the wind, and low visibility did nothing to help her.
"Hey…" She called out.
"Yes..?" The Grimm said.
"I was thinking… We're safe out here, right?"
"Most likely."
"Most likely? That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, you know." She snapped back.
"Are you ever truly safe anywhere, Huntress? There are those who resent your power. Hostile Grimm. Criminals. And if you're me," it said. "Huntsmen." It grumbled, a low chattering from deep within its throat.
"Oh… right."
They continued in silence.
"Hey." She called again.
"Yes?" it replied.
"What should I call you?" She asked the Grimm.
It grumbled again. After some time, it opened its mouth to reply, but before it could speak, there was a howling from all around them.
"Beowulves?" Summer asked, drawing her weapons.
"Close." the Dragon Grimm growled.
A large, ice-crusted Beowulf leapt forward, slamming into the ground and scattering snow in all directions. Smaller ice Beowulves shifted into view. It howled at the odd pair.
The Dragon responded by roaring right back at it. It lifted its large clawed arms and swung at the Beowulf. Despite the distance between them, the Dragon's arm stretched, slamming into the side of the giant Beowulf's head. The icy Grimm howled with pain, growling at the Dragon.
They began circling each other, growling deeply. Suddenly, they charged, slamming heavy paws and claws against the other. Suddenly, the Dragon stretched an arm out, bringing it around the Beowulf and binding its torso. Taking advantage of the wolf Grimm's surprise, it grabbed the Beowulf's head with its free claw. Lifting it into the air, the Dragon began pulling the Beowulf apart.
The Beowulf howled and thrashed as it felt several parts of its body crack and pop. It let out a great whine, only silenced as the Dragon finally yanked it in two. It cast the already-smoldering parts of its enemy aside, letting out a massive roar. The other Beowulves whimpered and fled.
"It thought strength was enough to kill me." The Dragon growled. "How wrong it was." It chattered again.
"Wh-what the hell are you!?" Summer stuttered incredulously.
After some time, it replied, "Grimmdark…"
"You are safe, yes?" Grimmdark asked her.
"Oh, uh… yeah! I'm fine." She smiled nervously. "...thanks."
"...come." it said.
"Right!" Summer grinned.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Sooo… Funny story. I originally came up with Grimmdark over the summer. And THEN, I'm watching Volume 8, and the Hound, which already looks kinda like early designs for Grimmdark, actually SAYS "no" exactly like GD does earlier in the story! So I feel a little ripped off, if I'm being honest. But I decided "eh, I can live with this" and made Grimmdark a weirder version of Hound. Anyway, hopefully there's no big secret new world order/assassination plot in upcoming RWBY volumes.
That's it from me! Leave a favorite and a follow, and please review!
097Cyber, out!