Chapter 59

Yang shivered as she felt cold water run down the back of her neck, but as her thoughts grew clearer she realised she was soaked from head to toe. Blake's voice called out to her, "Yang?" Her vision returned to her as she opened her eyes and saw Blake staring down upon her with concern. Of course. They had crashed. Her realization dawned as she pressed her hand against her head.

"Blake...?"

The Faunus smiled down upon her. Something good finally happened, but her frown was quick to return as she glanced elsewhere. "We crashed, the pilot didn't make it," she answered as her golden gaze returned to the blonde. "Can you stand?"

Yang paused to take note that the pilot had perished. It was all the more bitter when she realised what the last words she had said to him were. She placed her right hand behind her as she attempted to push herself up to her feet, "I think... I think I can manage..." The blonde stood as her partner did so with her. Standing firmly she noticed that it was raining down through the dark canopy above and that the light of the sun was dim. She turned and saw Weiss and Neo behind her, they were both soaked to the bone despite Neo's umbrella and they seemed tired. "Where are we?" Yang turned back to Blake as she asked her.

"I wish I knew... The sun is setting behind us though, we need to keep our backs to it as best we can-" The group paused as a branch snapped to their right.

Weiss readied her Myrtenaster as she turned to face the disturbance, "Is it another one?"

"Another what...?" Yang glanced around cautiously as she readied her fists.

"Grimm. Watch out for the tail, it's what it'll use..." Blake held Gambol Shroud in a prepared stance as she glanced towards Neo, "Just like last time."

Neo nodded her head as she placed herself in front of the others, her umbrella low at her side with Weiss directly behind her. In the distance they could see it as it landed upon a thick branch. A bat-like Grimm with two large wings, short stubby legs and a long slender tail that coiled around the support it stood upon. The end of the tail looked like a small fan; but that quickly changed as the two outer spines closed against the main one which formed a spear-like tip. The large ears of the Grimm seemed to twitch as its glowing red eyes locked onto the group, it didn't care about the rain that drenched it. It's jaw opened as it let out a screech before launching itself from its resting place; it's wings reached out to their full span as it dived towards Neo. When it grew close it flapped its wings against the direction it was heading in as it came to a sudden halt. The long slender tail darted forward as it impaled the image of Neo through the chest: she shattered like glass. From behind the shattering image came Myrtenaster. With a single firm stab the silver blade spiked the skull of the Grimm as it let out a shrill shriek and a shudder before falling limp to the ground.

The creature was as large as they themselves were in size as it slowly disintegrated into nothing. Yang's eyes locked onto the creature as it vanished,"What the hell was that...?"

Blake lowered her blades, "We don't know... But this place is full of them..."

Weiss looked to Neo who now stood besides her, ensuring that she was unharmed before peering back towards Yang and Blake. "They're not so bad alone... But it becomes difficult when there is more than one," Weiss stated before the group started moving deeper through the marshlands.

For what seemed like an hour they trudged through bogs and crawled over large roots. The new type of Grimm would often appear to assault them either alone or in groups of two to three. Slowly and surely were the four becoming drained of their stamina as they pushed on and the rain continued to beat down. As the sun moved to its lowest point of the day the shadows were drawn out.

Yang pushed herself up and over a large rotten tree that had fallen, but as she turned to set herself down upon the other side of it her lilac eyes glanced something in the distance behind them. "There's... A really big one over there, in the tree..."

Blake stood besides her to spy what she had seen. There in one of the larger trees was a creature similar to the bat-like Grimm that had been attacking them; but this one was different. Its general scale was larger; the size of a Beowulf at least. Its wings were torn and ragged and it had more bone exposed than its smaller variant. Sharp and large teeth lined its jaw and its legs were longer and no doubt more useful as a result. The most notable features were upon the skull however, it was cracked in places and one socket was simply a dark hole while the other burned red. Blake and the others had seen this one before and so had Yang yet she failed to recall the creature above the canopy that she saw upon arriving in Anima. Whatever the Grimm were, this was without a doubt their alpha.

"It's just... Sitting in the tree...?" Yang narrowed her eyes towards the creature that seemed to stare back, unmoving with its jaw closed firmly. There was almost a sense of superiority from the creature in the way it postured itself, as if it was better than they were as the rain dripped from its skull.

Blake raised Gambol Shroud towards the beast as it suddenly positioned itself behind the trunk of the tree. The gunshot fired as the bullet hit nothing but leaves. It was almost like it knew exactly what she was going to do as her expression grew more visibly annoyed. "It's been stalking us since we landed..." Blake growled as she turned to continue on the non-existent path.

Weiss knelt atop the fallen tree as she pulled Neo up. The two of them hopped down as Yang's lilac gaze kept glued to where the creature was still hidden. She saw it's head slowly appear from behind the trunk, its burning eye set upon her as if out of curiosity. "Shouldn't we be more worried?" Yang glanced towards Weiss as she spoke to her.

The woman halted as she peered behind the group towards the beast, "It had a chance to attack us before. It's almost like it's just... Keeping an eye on us?" Weiss frowned at the thought as Neo continued further on after Blake. "We shouldn't stop Yang..."

"I don't like it... But you're right. I don't feel like getting lost with you out here" Yang nodded as she and Weiss continued after the other two.

"What do you mean with me?" Weiss peered at Yang through the corner of her eye suspiciously.

"Uhh... Well you probably have the least experience in walking around in a swamp right?" Yang smirked slyly.

Weiss frowned, "That's not very nice Yang, not wanting to be with me just because of where I'm from..."

"I'm kidding Weiss. We'd be fine and I'd be your knight in shining armour and keep you safe," Yang winked as they walked, picking up her pace to catch up with Blake.

Weiss stared at Yang in an unsure fashion as she moved ahead. She mumbled to herself as she lowered her gaze, "Don't say silly things at a time like this you idiot." When she looked up she saw Neo glancing back at her. Weiss offered her a gentle smile as she caught up to walk by her side.

The four pressed on as they were stalked by the alpha that flew from tree to tree, its intentions still unclear as they encountered smaller variants along the way. Yang had discovered that grabbing the creatures by their tails proved to be an effective strategy; especially when followed up by smashing them into more of their own kind. They also discovered however that they would often whip at their prey with their tails and not just attempt to spear them with a direct single strike.

A few minutes had passed by after the sun left and the rain had stopped, but tensions were beginning to run higher. They were yet to find a suitable place to camp and even if they did, being out in the open meant that they would only suffer more attacks from the Grimm; they wouldn't be able to sleep. A singular burning red dot continued to follow the group and they could hear it constantly. With a growl Blake turned to aim Gambol Shroud at the red eye, firing several bullets towards it before it simply vanished. Yang reached her hand out to grasp Blake's arm, forcibly lowering her firearm, "Stop shooting at it, you're just wasting more bullets!"

"Wasting? I'm not wasting anything! It's Grimm!" Blake narrowed her eyes as she pulled her arm away from Yang's grasp, she turned to keep walking.

Yang seemed shocked by her response before she followed after her, "You haven't hit it once though, what makes you think the next fifteen times will be any different!?"

Both Weiss and Neo glanced to each other with worried expressions as they walked behind the two that were beginning to quarrel. Blake stood to a halt and turned to face Yang which prompted her halt in her tracks. "At least I'm trying!" Blake pointed a finger accusingly at the blonde.

"Oh! Sorry! Am I not doing enough? Should I start shooting trees too?" Yang's voice was mockingly sarcastic.

Weiss hesitated before she spoke out, "Can we keep it down? We don't-"

"Stay out of it!" Blake's eyes snapped to Weiss who took a step back in surprise, Neo only seemed to glare at the Faunus as a result.

"Don't speak to Weiss like that, she's done nothing wrong!" Yang intervened, holding out an arm in front of Weiss and Neo as if trying to block Blake's attention towards them.

Blake's golden eyes stared back upon Yang, her expression frowning as her voice started to tremble somewhat; it was clear she was attempting to hide it however. "Because it's just me messing up, right!?"

"Blake that's not what I-!"

"Just shut up...!" Blake turned on her heel as she hung her head in a dejected manner while continuing to lead the others through the marshland. Yang took on a downcast expression as Weiss placed a hand upon her shoulder.

"It's just the stress... She doesn't-..." Weiss began as she offered words of reassurance to her friend.

Yang looked up to her and gave a nod, "I know... Thanks Weiss..." The blonde offered a weak smile as the three followed Blake's lead.

The group was now stumbling through the dark as the moon was hidden by the clouds. Blake didn't appear to have any issue with it as her eyes adjusted to the low light. Those behind her however, struggled. Both Blake and Yang had been silent since their spat which provided an unwelcome atmosphere. Curiously enough the Grimm had ceased their attacks for the time being; but that did not mean they had halted completely. Still they heard the alpha that followed in their tracks. They heard branches behind them splinter or snap, they heard its wings beating against the air, its sharp claws grasping onto wood.

But hope was not lost as Blake paused and suddenly changed direction. Yang seemed curious but never spoke up to question their altered path. Weiss however felt confident enough to ask on behalf of the others, "Blake?"

"There's a cave..." Blake's voice was quieter than usual as she led the others towards the mouth of a cave which was backed by a large rocky cliff. The ground leading towards the cave moved out from the soggy marshlands and finally it seemed although they had a place they could wait out the rest of the night in.

The cave had a simple dead-end inside. It proved to be more of a deep dent in the side of the cliff but it suited its desired purpose nevertheless as the group prepared to set up as much of a camp as they were able to.

After some time a small fire had been created and the group made themselves as comfy as was achievable upon the hard stone floor. Weiss and Neo sat at the very back, their legs were tucked to their chests as they leaned against one another's side while Yang sat tending to the fire and Blake remained at the entrance; using her gifted sight in the dark to its advantage. Because of the light from the fire the outside of the cave was a black void to the three humans. The only discrepancy being the single red dot that watched them from a distance.

"It's not leaving, is it?" Weiss' voice was soft as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Neo had already fallen asleep against her as she moved to wrap an arm around the smaller woman.

Yang glanced outside at her words while she poke the fire with a long stick, "We really should be happy it's not just attacking, who knows how strong it is."

"It's the first time I've seen Grimm act like that... It's unsettling to assume that it might be... Thinking..." Weiss sighed as she rested her head atop Neo's.

"Thinking? What, like a person?" Yang turned her attention towards Weiss.

"Why else would it not simply be attacking us?" Weiss' blue eyes drifted towards the singular red dot in the distance, "It must be old..."

Yang paused in confusion, "Why would it be old?"

Weiss seemed unimpressed by Yang's lack of knowledge on Grimm, "Did you just sleep during class? Grimm that grow older become... Wiser. I'd never seen one before so I wasn't sure to what extent it went but a Grimm that can pause to think is actually quite... Terrifying..."

"If it lands we'll still kick its ass though, right?" Yang seemed unsure of even her own words.

"For the time being it's probably best if you settle a dispute before you think about taking on anything... We won't get much done being at odds with one another," Weiss' voice had grown to a whisper as she referred to Blake; who had her back turned to the rest of the group. Yang followed her gaze and bit the inside of her cheek as she stood up, taking Weiss' advice as she approached her partner.

Blake remained still as her eyes constantly scanned the darkness outside of the small cave. Her ears twitched beneath her bow as Yang stood to a halt behind her and reached out her hand, gently tapping her finger against her shoulder. "What is it?" Blake didn't turn around as she asked; her voice was devoid of any true emotion.

Yang's voice was quiet as she knelt down behind the Faunus, "Blake... I'm-"

"No" Blake sighed as she closed her eyes. "It was me, so don't apologize..."

"Hey, don't take all the blame for yourself. We're all on edge with what's happened, so come back inside and get some rest okay? You need it," Yang firmly placed her hand upon Blake's shoulder as she rubbed it in a comforting manner.

"I can't. I'm the only one who can see what's out there," Blake opened her shining golden eyes once again.

Yang frowned at her words, "But you can't stay up all night... Come on, if something comes in I'll see it thanks to the fire."

Blake remained silent for several seconds before standing up to her feet. She turned around to see Yang also stand. The Faunus seemed reluctant as her eyes avoided direct contact with her girlfriend's, "Fine..."

The blonde offered Blake a smile as she took her hand into her own, leading her to the back of the small cave before sitting down and patting her lap. Blake paused as she looked to her but Yang was insistent, "I'm not letting you sleep on the floor Blakey." The Faunus smiled weakly and submitted to Yang's request as she sat down in her lap. She felt her partner's arms wrap around her comfortably as she rested her head upon her shoulder. "I got you," Yang whispered as she planted a gentle kiss against her head. Her lilac eyes turned to glare towards the exit of the cave as the single red dot stared right back at her in silence.

Author's note:

Just a quick link drop. A friend of mine drew the smaller bat-like Grimm variant, so if anyone wanted a visual aid here you go.

i-imgur-com/gkl5CZd-png (-'s are .'s. Never knew this site didn't like links.)

She's currently working on the larger variant, so I'll probably throw that in another AN soon.