Chapter 6: Umbasa
Year after year, Ozpin felt an intense desire to stay and observe Initiation, and the latest batch of the next generation. This year, despite the extended time frame, proved to be no different as he enjoyed in the chilling spring evening with a fresh mug of coffee imported from Mistral, a blend recommended by his fellow Headmaster in Haven. With him was his loyal deputy, Glynda. Her scroll began to sound an alert, which she began to investigate.
Pressing a few buttons, she said, "Sir, we have a problem. Three of the teams have gone missing. I am unable to find their scrolls, or them, in our surveillance."
"Who are the nearest team to their last locations?" He asked, fully alert in an instant in the way that only a veteran truly could,
After a brief moment of searching, she replied, "Two teams are on the opposite sides of the forest, and the closest are a few miles away at minimum. As for the third, it would seem that two teams have collaborated and are fighting a swarm of Arachs."
Feeling a small amount of suspicion, tightening the grip on his cane, he sternly inquired, "Are there Neiths as well?"
Viewing the surveillance of the battle, she confirmed his suspicions. "Then that would mean…"
"I'm afraid so." The headmaster cut her off. He stepped closer to watch the battle for himself.
"This must be handled delicately, but immediately." Sighing as he felt even more weight pile on his shoulders.
Glynda did not seem to agree with him, "You cannot possibly mean to…"
"I do. I believe them to be capable. They are coordinating well, despite having just met."
"Their blood will be on your hands if you're wrong." Glynda still did not look happy with his decision.
"My decision stands. Have some faith in the next generation." As she turned back to observing the other teams in the forest, Ozpin kept his attention on the eight standing as one against the Grimm. He said no more and took another sip. 'If I'm wrong, it'll be yet another on a long list of mistakes I have made. Another stone on the mountain.'
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Jaune's excitement for Grimm extermination was infectious, as the desire for the thrill of battle coursed through their veins. Seeing the torch as a crucial element of the fight, as most of them could not see without it, Ruby called out, "Form a loose semi-circle around the torch! They're only coming from this side of the river."
They rushed into a firing line formation before the wave of Arachs their assault with a flurry of pointy, insectoid limbs and the occasional flying head butt meant to disrupt their defensive line.
Jaune thought about the impracticality of said action, 'Why do they do that? It stuns them for a few seconds' before shrugging off the internal question as he eviscerated his fourth Arach thus far.
He called out, "Hey girls, we're doing a round of Kill Count, with loser buying a round of pancakes at this café I know. You in?"
"I'll take some of that action!" Yang, being the thrill seeker she was, was first to respond.
"There better be strawberries in them!" Ruby, never one to refuse an opportunity for free sweets, was also quick to vocalize her agreement.
Blake, using her Semblance to flank and cleave another Grimm, agreed as well, indifferent to the affair and just decided to go with the flow.
"They better be of sufficient quality." Weiss, feeling a strong desire for competition, did not want to be left out. Knowing that with her allowance from her father, she could easily afford a loss, not that she intended to lose. However, she was feeling a small bit disadvantaged.
As her weapon was a rapier, her strength laid in thrusting attacks, which proved to be of little effect against an Arach's armored head except through the very small eyes. Instead, she slashed and stabbed to the sides of their heads, occasionally cutting of limbs. Not wanting to lose, Weiss began to use her glyphs to zip across and flank them, similar to Blake and her afterimages and shadow clones.
Nora was having a blast, quite literally, and gaining the lead with a dozen kills thanks to her grenade launcher.
"Nora, conserve your ammo! We may need it later." Jaune called out to her. He had a bad feeling as to why so many of these oversized arachnids were here. "That goes for everyone else too!"
Jumping onto an Arach, he crouched as he landed and plunged his dagger into its neck. Pulling it out and raising it for another stab for good measure, he felt an unexpected tug. As he instinctively tightened his grip, he stumbled a bit, rather than losing his weapon.
Looking for what might have caused his sudden loss in balance, he looked at his dagger and saw a thick cable of webbing connecting Yharnam to another Grimm on a tree limb.
"Neiths in the trees!" He called out to warn the others, not having noticed his loss of balance.
"Fuck!" Caught off guard, he felt as sudden pain as an Arach's leg impaled his forearm. To make matters worse, two Neiths worked together to pull him into the center of the horde, as he refused to let go.
"GET OVER HERE!" Pissed off from the injury, Jaune planted his feet firmly as his arms began to glow red with his aura. He violently pulled back, and the Neiths flew towards him, the crossed bow marking on their backs visible. Bisecting the annoyances with a slash using Orion, he used the offending Arach in front of him as a temporary sheath for his dagger. 'All vermin shall be crushed!'
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"Close in! Melee focus in front! Those with longer range attacks, take the Neiths out!" Heeding Jaune's warning about the Neiths, Ruby called for a change in formation.
She stepped back a few feet and slammed the blade into the ground to use as an impromptu stand for increased stability. Next to her were Pyrrha and Weiss. Pyrrha was using her rifle to target the Neiths, and Weiss tapped into her supply of ice dust, sending large icicles to impale the web-spitting Grimm. Thankfully, they were much less heavily armored, and so the dozen Neiths were quickly dispatched.
Ruby did a quick head count, as they seemed to be about halfway done with the horde. She saw the golden mane of her older sister as she pummeled the spiders into dust and vapor with brute strength alone, heeding Jaune's call to conserve ammo. 'Odd, restraint and Yang usually don't mix.'
On either side of the blonde brawler were Ren and Nora, with Ren dispatching spiders with precise palm strikes and sickle blades. His partner seemed to have discarded finesse, or had never had it in the first place, as she was either flattening them or launching them into the air with her hammer.
But one of them seemed to be missing. Frantically, she called out, "Jaune! Where are you?"
"Die you foul vermin!" Instead of behind her or anywhere near the group, she and the rest of them heard him call out from the middle of the diminishing horde, rage evident in his voice.
The three firing squad girls looked, and saw him kick up an Arach by its abdomen like a ball, grab it with both hands, and rip in in twain, covering him and the nearby Grimm in another fresh layer of manifested blood before throwing the halves aside.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Pyrrha seemed relieved.
Ruby looked to her fellow redhead after she shot the last Neith down, "But he's all the way out there, unarmed! We need to help."
"Then cover him! I don't think talking will help right now." Pyrrha offered, shooting an Arach behind her partner.
The blond in question brought out his hammer to, as he had put it earlier, 'crush and burn'. His arms were encased in a thick red aura with a rage and battle frenzy Ruby had only seen in Yang after something damaged her hair, she refocused her thoughts back on the battle and took a few shots on another Arach behind Jaune, her .50 caliber bullets piercing even their thick armor.
Weiss, confirming that all the Neiths had been neutralized, put aside Jaune's brutality and joined the melee group as they pushed towards him, leaving the center open for the redheads to provide sniper cover for Jaune.
"Wait for me!" Nora called to her hammer buddy, who was hogging the horde in her mind.
Feeling a font of hatred, fury, and bloodlust rarely seen outside of their own kind, the Grimm felt the imminent threat within their ranks and attempted to swarm him from all sides, not letting the deaths of their fallen brethren distract them from their hunger and devotion, virtually ignoring the other lights.
'I fucking HATE spiders!' Jaune thought. They provided almost no challenge alone. The only threat they posed was their large numbers. However, that was not the main source of his anger. What truly pissed him off was that he let his guard down. He got cocky, and he paid the price for it and got a minor flesh wound from such a weak creature.
Pushing through the sensation of temporarily having a hole in his arm, Jaune brutally crushed another and burning the three next to it before they could try to overwhelm him. 'They never learn.'
Grabbing a head in each hand, he lifted them up, and used them as makeshift clubs to crush a third spider, the impact of the blow killing all three of them simultaneously.
As he did so, he felt another leg carve a gash on his calf. With a bellow, he impaled the latest offender with his arm, tossing it to crash against a tree. He roared a new challenge to his prey, the red aura spreading further up his arms, only to find a very small few remaining, and they wouldn't last long. 'You're fucking losing it, Jaune. Calm the fuck down, it's over now!'
Closing his eyes to take a deep breath, he opened his eyes to see Nora squash the last Arach into the dirt. Taking a few more deep breaths, feeling the rush of victory, he put on a smile and laughed joyfully, the red light dissipating entirely. "Well then, that was some jolly cooperation!"
Nora, mimicking his glee, "Indeed my hammer buddy. Magnhild is happy to meet her long lost cousin!"
Jaune took off his hat and bowed in a Hunter's Salutation, "I aim to please."
Ruby rushed towards him with a flurry of rose petals, "Jaune, are you okay? You're covered in blood!"
As if on cue, most of the blood began to evaporate like the rest of the Grimm around them. Smiling, his white teeth in a sharp contrast with the disappearing crimson, "Don't worry, most of it isn't mine."
Looking to the rest of the group, "Was there a washcloth in the med kit? I was tagged a couple of times."
"Most of it?" Ruby was not assuaged with his nonchalance about being injured.
Pyrrha, setting aside her concern to follow Jaune's request, looked in the med kit, found one, soaked it in the creek, and tossed it to her partner. "Catch!"
"Thanks!" Taking off his jacket, revealing his inner coat to be sleeveless, he looked at his white shirt. A large red stain dominated his forearm, though there was no damage to the fabric, or on the leather that was previously over it.
"Damn it, why did I have to pick white? Bloodstains are such a pain in the ass to clean, even enhanced fabric." He complained to himself, rolling up the sleeve in disappointment. With the sleeve rolled up, everyone saw a small puncture wound about as thick as his pinkie.
"Peekaboo~!" Jaune raised the hole up to an eye; he looked through it at Ruby and Weiss.
"What in Oum's name is wrong with you? Why didn't your aura shield you?" Weiss yelled, with her and Ruby looking a bit green in their faces. Needless to say, neither found it funny.
Appearing to ignore the question, he used the washcloth to clean up the wound as best he could, before raising his pant leg and doing the same for a gash on his leg, feeling a distinctive sting on each.
"Pyrrha, did you sneak in some disinfectant?" He asked, and she nodded for indeed she had. Once the wounds were cleaned, and all of the actual blood was off him, he went to retrieve his weapons, picking up and sheathing Orion and Yharnam before sitting down, using Ludwig as a backrest.
"Wait a minute, if you were injured, how come your clothes aren't damaged? And why aren't your wounds still bleeding?" Looking at her new friend, Yang was a bit perplexed. He showed very little reaction to having been injured, even tried to joke about it to minimize the issue. At first glance, she wouldn't have known that he was injured in the first place.
"Arc Threads specialty. They use a special mix of Dust inlaid in the product for minor self-repair, among other comforts. All that's required is a quick burst of aura. It's one reason why they're so popular with Hunters."
Yang 'oohed' "Sounds real handy. I'll have to check them out someday. Maybe you can get me a discount, Lady-Killer."
"Can you please not ignore me, Jaune? Why were you injured if you're using aura?" Weiss, frustrated for being ignored, repeated her question from before he applied first aid on himself.
"Well since you said please, how can I resist?" Jaune smirked, the light from his torch above him casting his face into dark shadows, looking quite menacing as his teeth glinted in the light. "Simply put, my aura can't shield like most people. It's better suited for healing and offensive uses. These scratches will be gone in no time. It's also why I'm not bleeding profusely like a civilian would."
"Those weren't scratches! I could see through your arm. You need medical treatment immediately."
"No, I don't believe he does." Ren cut in. "If he got that wound from an Arach, then it should have been three times at thick, due to the size of their legs." He picked up an evaporating leg to emphasize his point, dropped it, and sat down next to Nora, looking at the tree line in case more come.
Jaune reentered the conversation. "You all saw my scars last night, right? How do you think I got them? Most aura-wielders heal without scars, if they get wounded in the first place. I thought you would know that, with that beauty mark on your face."
"No, I kept it on purpose. Can we please not talk about it?" Weiss requested, feeling uncomfortable with him mentioning that.
Seeing her discomfort on the subject, he nodded. Suddenly, everyone's scrolls buzzed, showing an incoming message.
'Congratulations on your decision to collaborate, as all true Huntsmen and Huntresses should against the forces of darkness. An extra objective has occurred, and as you are the closest available, I wish for you all to investigate. A team has gone missing not far from you. Your objective is to discover their whereabouts and their situation. Their last known location has been added onto your collective map.
"I stand by my previous thoughts. He sounds like a DM, and not a good one." Jaune was amused as he read the note.
That got some chuckles in the group, creating a positive atmosphere, except for Weiss who looked a bit puzzled, "What's a DM?"
Ruby looked at her in shock, "What's a DM? Have you never played Dungeons & Grimm?"
"No, should I have… oomph!"
Her cloaked companion tackled her with a flying glomp, shedding comedic tears, "Oh Weiss, you poor, deprived child! How have you survived?"
"Please get off me." Weiss, with a mildly frosty glare, was not amused with her antics.
Be warned, a Nightmare may be responsible. -Headmaster'
"Oh fuck all the way off!" Jaune cursed at his suspicion being proven correct.
Nora frowned a bit at him, the expression feeling unfamiliar on her face. "Off where? And what's a Nightmare? Ren, is it like that one time I was eaten by a massive stack of pancakes in a cruel sense of irony?"
"I don't know what that is either." Ruby raised her hand, as if she were in a classroom instead of a Grimm-infested forest.
Ren shook his head at Nora's questions. "No, this is much worse. A Nightmare is a Grimm that can spawn other Grimm."
"They covered this a bit in my senior year of Signal. With this many spiders, we're dealing with an Onigumo." Yang added to Ren's explanation, but instead looking to Ruby.
"Which means that team is already dead." Jaune, having reached the same conclusion, cursed again.
Ruby was still confused, as were Weiss, and Nora, having never heard of an Onigumo before. Weiss asked, "Let's not jump to conclusions. How can you be so sure?"
Those who did know why had very solemn faces, with Pyrrha's tinged with melancholy. Jaune explained, "An Onigumo has a… unique way of reproducing Grimm. Most Nightmares can 'sweat' black ooze that forms various Grimm, depending on the type of Nightmare. Onigumo can do that too, but they have a preference for… ugh, egg laying."
"I'm still not seeing the big deal. Why would you think that the team's already dead?" Ruby still looked confused with an innocent expression.
"Well… how to put this?" Taking his hat off to scratch the top of his head, "It's where they lay them that's the issue."
Putting the pieces together, Weiss and Ruby took on a vile shade of green on their faces, before running to the creek and vomiting the part of their dinners that remained undigested. Finished with that, after rinsing their mouths out with water, Ruby said, "That's horrible. How did it even get here, if Initiation is here every year?"
"They mostly dwell in deep caverns, as they avoid sunlight, but this one must have found a surface entrance close by, where it… sorry." Pyrrha answered. She would have continued, but seemed to find it unnecessary to finish her sentence with the grisly details.
"Well, talking about it won't kill it, and we can't leave it alone. A Hunter must hunt, after all." Jaune abruptly stood up; his apparent lack of fear bolstered the others' confidence.
"But you're still wounded!" Ruby did not disagree that they needed to take care of it.
"What wounds?" Jaune, with a flat stare, kept eye contact with Ruby as he stood up and raised his arm to show a healed arm, with only a faint circular scar right next to one of his runic tattoos to show evidence of his former injury. Turning around, he showed that the gash on his leg had also healed.
Curiously enough, the gash sliced right through the tattoo on his calf. However, with it fully healed, the tattoo showed no signs of damage, as if it was tattooed over the fresh scar.
"Or did you just want me to undress to check if I have any more injuries?" He smiled with mischief.
The green on her face quickly shifted to a deep red. "N-No! That's not what I-" Seeing her sister start laughing, "Yang, shut up! It's not funny!"
With a last chortle, Yang said, "Yes it is, Sis. Besides, are you feeling better?"
Taking a deep breath, the green in her complexion had indeed faded away. "Yeah, thanks for that Jaune. I'm ready to go. What's the plan?"
"If we're going in a cave, we're going to need more torches."
Pyrrha went to cut off a few branches of decent thickness, and wrapped some gauze around one end of each to make some.
"While we're fighting, I can activate my semblance. My hair will glow bright enough to put those sticks to shame." Yang ended her offer with a boast she was more than willing to back up.
"All right, Sunshine, that takes care of lighting." Jaune chuckled, and Yang blushed a bit at his nickname; her full name roughly translating into 'Sun Dragon'.
"Will you lose control like you did earlier? Against an enemy of this caliber, that may get us killed." Ren asked with a solemn tone.
Jaune waved off his concern, but did not dismiss it entirely. "That was merely frustration that I got caught off guard by some small fry. I can keep my wits about me against a proper challenge. Before we go, we should come up with a few plans of attack. I'm all for winging it, but this is not the time."
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After investing time into planning and a moment of rest, they trekked into the woods, and to the cave located on the map as the missing teams last location. They kept in a semicircle formation, with the torch wielders at each cardinal point. Weiss was at the front; Jaune and Ren were at the left and right ends respectively.
They were delegated light source duty because of their weapon options. Nora, Ruby, Pyrrha, and Blake used both hands; so keeping one hand occupied for a torch would hinder their combat abilities. Yang would later provide a fourth source of light, and Iosefka was Jaune's.
They kept silent, mentally preparing for the daunting task ahead of them. Suddenly, Jaune felt a familiar itch on the back of his head. Following his instincts, he stomped the ground, and hears a crunch and a squish. At the unexpected noise, the group turned to him as he said, "We've got Recluses in the area."
Quickly shifting their torches, six more Recluses, previously invisible inside their shadows, were revealed and swiftly dealt with as Nora jumped and squished them with a mix of glee and irritation, like a child jumping on a puddle after a rainstorm.
Not all creatures of Grimm were large monstrosities, after all. Some creeped in the shadows, attacking the unsuspecting, and Recluses were notorious in this fashion. Blake added, "If we didn't know if there's an Onigumo, we do now. Recluses with neurotoxin to render their prey helpless; Neiths drag them to their 'queen'. An efficient tactic."
"Yeah, can we just get on with it?" Ruby shivered.
And with that, they had reached the cave entrance, practically carved into the cliff. Hopefully, it would be wide, or narrow, enough for their plan to work.
"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!" Nora shouted, practically vibrating with energy as she began to run in, before Ren called out to her and she stopped immediately.
Ren mildly, "We can't just rush into its lair like that. Remember Xenomorphs 2."
"You're right, sorry Renny! Stupid marines!" She playfully smacked the back of her own head.
"Xenomorphs…2? What is that?" Jaune asked, unfamiliar with the reference.
"How have you not heard of one of the best action movies of all time?" Yang, a film aficionado, was befuddled and almost offended at his ignorance.
"Movies weren't really my interest before training, and then training was pretty much all I did." Jaune shrugged while explaining his ignorance.
Yang, pitying him, put her arm around him, and gave him a tight one-armed hug, "Don't worry, I shall guide you into the light."
"Ummm, okay?" Though a bit flustered by the sudden contact, he hid it well.
"Good, then let's go!" Yang, satisfied with his compliance, let him go. Pumping her fist into the air for emphasis, thinking 'Damn, he's solid muscle.'
Slowly, they all began to enter the cave, keeping a sharp eye on the walls for any movement. Going deeper into the cave, the tunnel began to widen out, and was covered in thick, black webbing.
Holding up an arm to stop, Jaune raised his torch on a hunch and ignited the webbing, providing an almost pleasant ambience to the cave with its orange glow. To Jaune, what was even more satisfying was a few dozen Recluses dropping to the floor, curling up and dissolving into wisps of vapor.
"Well, if it didn't know we're here, it does now." Yang thought aloud.
Once the webbing and the spiders hidden within had been burnt to nothing, they continued on and entered a large, arena-like room with a much higher ceiling. On the other side was another entrance to the cavernous chamber, seeming to have been created by a cave-in.
"That cave in must have been how it found its way to the surface." Jaune voiced his observation. "But where is it?"
Looking above him, he saw a nearly monolithic spider descending to the center of the room on a thick cable of webbing, and it wasn't alone. Alongside the Onigumo were about two-dozen more Arachs, but a quick search of the room thankfully found no Neiths to be present.
The Onigumo certainly lived up to its title of Nightmare. It was an absolutely massive, armored spider the size of a small Bullhead. Six large legs, with two large, jointed mandibles raised to protect its head moved as it moved from side to side slowly, allowing brief glimpses of a second head where its abdomen should have been. Unlike its spawn, it only had two eyes on its head, giving it a vague, if not mocking resemblance of humanity. In some spots, its armor was covered in pale strings and other fungus, giving evidence that it was ancient, and thus an even more dangerous foe.
The opposing forces of Light and Darkness, of hope and nightmare, stood in a brief stalemate, a calm before the storm of battle.
Ruby, noticing the second head, spoke in a low voice to reiterate their plan, "Keep to its sides. Surround it so it'll be distracted while we take out the small fry."
"My team on the left, you take the other side." Jaune agreed with the tactic.
The Hunters brandished their weapons, Jaune brought out Djura after he extinguished Iosefka and strapped it to his leg.
"Squash these bugs!" Jaune yelled out his battle cry. Laughing wildly, he charged with his team right behind him. In response, the Onigumo shrieked with rage and hunger, and the Arachs skittered towards them.
Ruby, the fastest of the group, was the first to resume adding to her kill count, bisecting an Arach with her scythe, fluidly handling her scythe with remarkable dexterity to attack her next target.
Not wanting to be outdone, Jaune jumped and brought his hammer over his head, bringing it down on another Arach with a satisfying squish the splash of flames igniting another Arach. Everyone kept in motion, kept spread out, and were always keeping an eye on the Onigumo as it rotated in place to face them and the team of huntresses on the other side of the room.
With a move similar to a Neith, one head suddenly shot out a silken cable and connected with a crimson cloak. With a quick jerk, Ruby was sent flying towards it. In an impressive display of acrobatics, she recovered midair, sliced the webbing, and used the scythe to circle around the leg intended to spear her, doing little more than scratching the armor. Firing a round, Ruby used the recoil to dash away from the Onigumo and to rejoin her team in killing the rest of its spawn.
The torchbearers of the teams, Ren and Weiss, kept in the rear to providing supporting fire and essential lighting. The Nightmare seemed to realize this, and began to charge at Ren and attempt to extinguish the light that was helping its next meal and or nests put up a fight. What it had failed to realize was that its spawn had already been quickly dispatched.
True to her earlier words, after crushing a few Arachs with her fist and shot gauntlets, Yang's hair began glowing like the sun. The Onigumo head that was facing Yang shrieked in pain, the sound echoing and reverberating off the cavern's walls. Panicking at the sudden brightness, it sought to flee deeper into the cavern, away from the light that it despised. However, it made another mistake to run away from the shining golden mane, and ran out the tunnel that would lead it to the surface. Running, or at least a giant spider's skittering equivalent of running, at a fairly quick pace, not noticing that it had set off a trap.
As its front legs snapped a tripwire, three of Nora's grenades detonated below the practically unarmored underside of its abdomen. The pink explosion caused massive damage as it collapsed from the wound. The following shrill of pain reverberating in the cavern caused a few of the Hunters following it to cover their ears. In the back, no one noticed Blake cover the ears hidden under her bow. It was not quite dead, but it was unable to stand, or turn around in the more compact tunnel, compared to the spacious room.
Weiss remarked, "I still can't believe that explosion didn't cause a cave-in."
Nora explained, "I told you the Onigoo would absorb most of the blast with its mass directly on top of it. Especially since I reconfigured those grenades into shape charges."
Ren had a faint grin of pride for his partner and best friend, "Good job Nora, but we're not quite done yet."
"Right! Jaune-Jaune, let's break its legs!" She sounded quite enthused at the prospect.
"Why, I thought you'd never ask." Jaune gained his near trademark feral grin.
As the two hammer-wielders charged in sync towards the nearly incapacitated Onigumo, it was not quite out of the fight just yet. It thrust it two legs like spears, only to be quickly batted aside due to a lack of force. They both jumped on the large legs, and brought down their hammers directly on the weak points of any armor, its joints. With a sickening crunch, the joints caved in from the impact, and were now bending in the opposite direction. They crashed into the ground, limp and useless.
With it now crippled, Weiss and Pyrrha took advantage of the opening and drove their piercing weapons into its bulbous eyes and through its head, instantly finishing it off.
Nora had a bright idea. "Ooooh, time for a group photo. This will look EPIC!"
"I'm up for a photo, anyone got a camera?" Jaune agreed with the idea. After he asked, everyone pulled out his or her scrolls to silently respond to his query.
"Oh… yeah. Well, gather round." Locking Orion into Ludwig, he stabbed the greatsword into the ground, easily cleaving into the stone. Firmly in place, he adjusted the camera settings as everyone else got in formation for the group photo, leaving the slowly evaporating Nightmare visible as evidence of their accomplishment.
With the camera set to go off in fifteen seconds, Jaune rushed back and slid into the open spot on the left between Yang and Ruby clearly meant for him, as shown by them waving their arms at the space. Next to Yang was Pyrrha, standing confidently, as was Weiss on Ruby's opposite side. Blake was feeling theatrical, it appeared, as she was crouching on top of the head. Nora was practically hanging off of Ren on the right, making a 'kuuwah!' sound as she latched onto her grinning friend.
"Smiles, everybody!" Feeling a sudden impulse, Jaune lightly wrapped his arms around the two sisters by their shoulders, bringing them closer to him, just before the camera flashed, capturing the moment and sending it to everyone's scrolls.
Looking at the picture, everyone cold see their smiles of pride, joy, and the two sisters hugging the hunter, and speaking of which… "Uhh, Ruby, Yang, you can let go now."
Blushing an identical red that seemed more commonplace on the younger sister, they hopped away. Yang was beginning to feel a bit frustrated at not having the upper hand.'Payback will be mine, Jauney!'
Ruby's thoughts were going even faster than her semblance, and as such were practically incomprehensible, even to her.
After making sure that she didn't blink in the photo, Weiss addressed the group. "Now that it's dead, we can finish our mission. We still need to find the missing team, even if the worst has happened to them."
"Agreed. By the time we finish searching, it should have evaporated enough for us to leave." Pyrrha offered further reason to not just stand around. For although their plan was a complete success, one thing that had been overlooked was that the carcass of the Nightmare was blocking their exit.
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Returning to the 'arena', they scanned the ceiling and found four human sized bundles of black webbing, hanging precociously by a thread. Yang almost made that pun, but felt like it would have been in bad taste, even for her. Ruby and Pyrrha, as the two with firearms best suited for accuracy at long distances, took aim and shot the threads holding the bundles up, leaving them to be caught by Nora and Yang, and gently set down on the ground. Ren and Jaune took their shorter blades and cut the webbing off of the missing team.
Unfortunately, it would seem that they were too late for three of them. The three corpses were consumed to the bone, leaving not even a scrap of flesh left. One, however, was still alive and was groaning in pain. He was a gaunt-faced looking teenager with short, dark brown hair, light blue-green eyes, and his black-furred wolf ears marked him as a Faunus. Attached to his belt with a hook was an ornate, silver bell that seemed familiar to Jaune. He wore an outfit similar to Henryk's garb, but in various shades of blue instead of yellow, minus the hat and facemask. 'Seems like I wasn't the only one that was inspired by Bloodborne.'
The fallen hunter in blue began to speak in a soft, resigned tone, "Well well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes. Is it dead?"
Jaune kneeled in front of the freed hunter and answered, "Yes, all of the foul vermin have been crushed." His gentle tone, lacking its usual vitriol when speaking about Grimm, instead sounded reassuring.
"Good to hear, comrade. I can still hear their screams as they hatched and…" He almost whispered with a satisfied grin, tinged with fatigue and pain, before he began violently coughing. A bit of blood spattering on Jaune's face, yet he did not wipe it away, and instead kept unflinching eye contact. Everyone else but Jaune kept silent, unsure of how to act in this situation and let him handle it.
"They have been avenged." Jaune referred to the desiccated husks that were once potential colleagues.
"…As have I. Ngh, you're too late, I'm afraid. It decided… to leave me a parting gift just before you arrived. Thank Oedon Recluse venom dulls all sensation of pain, but it's beginning to wear off. Huh, never thought I'd thank a Grimm for something. They'll be hatching soon." At the mention of Oedon, Jaune was speechless, previously holding the belief that he was the only one who followed the path, and he finally recognized the bell on Azure's belt.
"How did you get captured?" Weiss cut off his train of thought with her inquiry.
"Heaven's a bit impatient nowadays. I'm not dead yet, Snow Angel, so you'll have to wait a bit." The boy, as death was certain in moments for him, was unafraid to have a bit of fun. She was a bit flustered by his brazen flirting and wink despite his predicament, but indulged him by exercising restraint instead of giving a harsh retort.
"Came by this cave as shelter for the night. Got a bad feeling in my gut, but the others… didn't heed my warning. We got surrounded, even took a few of filth before we got bitten by Recluses."
"My time is up. I can feel the eggs… squirming. I've got minutes, at most. Do it." The boy turned back to the blonde kneeling over him, pleading for the mercy a quick death.
With a solemn face, Jaune pulled out his dagger, Yharnam. "Do you want me to give you any last rites first?"
With a breathy chuckle, resigned to his fate, "Whatever you want. What do I care now? Then again, I never expected to find another here."
"Neither did I. What's your name, Hunter?"
"Azure Bell."
"Jaune Arc."
Jaune pulled out his pendant and held it in his right hand by his chest, with Yharnam in his left, "Let this hunter be safe, let him find comfort. And let this dream, his captor, foretell a pleasant awakening, and one day, be a fond, distant memory." Finishing his prayer, he put his pendant back under his shirt, but not before Azure caught a glimpse of the glowing stone and sharply inhaled, recognizing its significance.
"One last request, if I might. Use my weapon every once in a while, as I don't want it to go to waste." Pointing to a previously unnoticed nook adjacent to the entrance, "You'll find our weapons over there. You'll know which one is Brador. Don't worry, you'll be able to use it properly." Coughing again, more violently than last time and with a wet sound as some more blood covered his hand, "Take my bell too; it will serve you well."
"More than a few last requests." Jaune grinned.
Azure weakly laughed. "So it would seem. What can I say, I'm a greedy bastard." With that, Jaune quickly stabbed Yharnam into Azure's heart.
"Umbasa" The fallen Hunter uttered with his last, raspy breath, before the light in his eyes faded. He slipped into whatever lay beyond life, whether it is an afterlife or oblivion, with a smile.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Taking a small moment of silence, Jaune pulled out his dagger, coated in red, and cleaned it on Azure's jacket before sheathing it. He then took the bell and attached it to his belt without it making a sound. Calling out as if nothing had happened, "We need to burn the bodies. The eggs will still hatch soon, living host or not."
Turning around as he didn't hear anyone else move, he saw everyone look at him and the body with varying mixes of concern, sympathy, and curiosity. "Come on, help me give them a proper burial."
They paired off to carry the deceased, rather than drag them as a sign of respect, to the center where they constructed a rudimentary funeral pyre. Igniting Iosefka, he used the webbing as kindling, and the bodies were quickly set ablaze, including the yet to hatch arachnids within the most recently deceased.
"Was that the first time you've seen death in the field?" Jaune asked, looking at Ruby's face full of despair as she stared into the fire.
Ruby, ending her staring contest with the flames, replied, "Yes. How were you so calm? Have you ever…" she stopped herself from finishing the question, not wanting to be rude.
"There's nothing wrong with asking. But no, I've never had to do that before. But I knew that I had to, to give him peace. Death will come for us all, one day. A quick, painless death is mercy."
"But if we got here a bit faster, we could have saved him!" Ruby protested, tears were at the corner of her eyes, and Yang came to reassure her with a hug.
"And if we didn't plan out our attack, this could have us." Blake retorted in a serious tone.
"I don't like this any more than you, but it had to be done. Jaune is correct, this was mercy." Weiss added to provide at least a bit of comfort.
"… Let's get their weapons and get out of here." Jaune just wanted to this long night ever with.
"I'll collapse the entrance, so that no more Grimm come up through here." Nora offered, looking to the entrance of the abyss.
She set up the last of her grenades and set them to a remote detonator. With a burst of insight, she gave it to Ruby. "Here, we may not have stopped this, but you can prevent this from happening again. Here, at least."
Ruby rubbed her eyes on her sleeves, thanked Nora, took the detonator, and pushed the button. With a large explosion, the entire tunnel collapsed, barring entry to the unknown horrors below.
While Ruby's team, plus Nora, was helping her sort out her emotions, Jaune, Ren, and Pyrrha went to collect the fallen Huntsmen's weapons. True to Azure's word, Jaune knew which weapon was Brador.
"My father made this weapon." It was a flanged mace made of a bronze colored alloy, with a familiar rippling in the metal that its new owner for a moment instantly recognized.
"How could…?" Ren began to ask, but his voice trailed off as he looked at Jaune's weapons, all of them carrying a similar red rippling in the metal as the mace. "Oh."
Jaune picked up the mace, leaving the other three weapons; a naginata, a twin blade, and dual pistols for the others to carry. Testing its weight by swinging it a few times, he set it on a free holster on his hip, on the other side from Orion.
"Everybody ready to go? I'm getting a bit sick of this cave, and the forest." Yang called out, and everyone agreed that it was time. They were tired, both physically and mentally, from recent events.
Setting out to leave, they were forced to stop as the Onigumo had yet to decompose enough for them to pass. Even more irritated at it than before, Jaune had an idea. "I believe that I've found a team bonding exercise via this volunteer. Ruby, start us off."
As it happened, this was Jaune's best idea yet. All of them had many feelings to sort through, and most can appreciate the appeal of hitting the cause of said feelings. Every one of them took three turns of theraputic punching, slicing, stabbing, and various other forms of unadulterated violence before they were finally able to leave, feeling a lot better than before. Leaving the cave, they had been in there longer than they had thought, as dawn was breaking.
The Zen-like calm lasted until a familiar vibration was felt from their scrolls.
"Oh what the fuck now?" Jaune cursed. Instead of a text message, his scroll was an actual video call, with Ozpin on the caller ID.
"DM's calling, gather around." He said before answering it.
"Good morning everyone, and thank you for completing your mission. A report, if you please."
"Team's dead, Onigumo got them. Had to give one mercy." Jaune answered curtly.
"I see." Ozpin sighed, rubbing the bridge of his eyes. "I apologize for putting you all though that, but you have saved many lives. Left unchecked, I believe that it would have left with its horde and become a much bigger problem. Did you burn the bodies?"
"Yes. We're bringing back their weapons, but one of them bequeathed his to me."
"Very well. Your Initiation is complete. I've sent coordinates for your pickup. There will be a ceremony upon your arrival." With that, he hung up, and they began trudging through the forest in silence, somehow not attracting any Grimm with their negative emotions, and quickly arrived to see a Bullhead waiting for them.
Exhausted, they all sat down in the transport. A member of another team that had arrived before them began talking to Blake. "Rough night, huh?"
Not at all in the mood for conversation, she gave the boy a flat stare until he became uncomfortable and turned back around to go back to talking with his team.
They all sat there, contemplating the events that had transpired.
'That was awful. I hope I never have to see or do something like that again. I should talk to Jaune. I hope that he's okay. That new weapon he has looks cool. I wonder what else it can do, and what other armaments he has.' With her thoughts back on Jaune's weapons as a distraction, Ruby cheered up a little.
'What did Jaune and that Faunus… no, Azure both talked about? Did they know each other before, and who's Oedon?' Weiss wished to inquire further as to their familiarity with each other, but would hold off for now.
'I'm impressed by Jaune's resolve, but also uneasy. At least he doesn't seem to relish in killing people. I'll have to ask more about this goddess he worships.' Blake was touched by the mutual trust that they now held in each other.
'I'm glad Ruby's found a good friend. He seems like a good guy, even if a bit battle crazy. But hey, so am I. Wonder if he'll agree to a spar? What am I saying, of course he will.' Yang saw new resolve in her sister's silver eyes, and was happy for her.
'Faster, faster, faster! Ugh, bullheads are so boring~. Maybe I can try riding an Ursa? That sounds like a lot more fun!' Nora put the past behind her, having some practice, and looked to the potential fun that awaited her in the future.
'It is good that our plan went without a hitch. I wonder if Nora's doing all right.' Looking to his partner, Ren faintly grinned as he observed her in her default happy place. 'Stupid question.'
Pyrrha was reviewing what she believed to be a bout of good fortune in having Jaune as a partner. 'Even after everything, he still asked if other were okay. He's a good man, and I'm glad that I'm his partner.'
Jaune was also thinking of the past, but also the future. 'This was a good Hunt. If this was just Initiation, I can't to see what'll come next.'
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
After they landed, they reverently handed over the weapons of the fallen team to an older man with a large moustache and a locker standing next to him. The portly man spoke, "Thank you for bringing them. They shall be handled back to their families with the highest of respects and honors. But there are only three."
"The fourth was bequeathed to me." Jaune answered the implied question.
The man nodded sullenly, clearly showing his understanding and experience of such matters. "Very well. Please proceed to the ballroom."
Jaune looked back as they headed to the upcoming ceremony, and saw two other teams doing the same as they had done, but he kept moving forward without a word. 'There's no need to add more dark thoughts.'
Soon, they were back in the ballroom, with Ozpin standing on a platform, the professors standing steadfast behind him, ready to address the students of Beacon, and introducing the new first year students. The eight companions, as well as a few other teams, stood in a line near some stairs that led up to the stage.
"Cardin Winchester, Russell Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, andSky Lark. Henceforth, you shall be known as team CRDL (Cardinal), lead by Cardin Winchester." Said leader was broad chested with heavy armor, orange hair, and an arrogant smirk. Emblazoned on his chest armor was a golden eagle.
Jaune kept a challenging smirk on his face as Cardin spotted him in the crown and gave an ugly sneer. 'Oh great, now I'll have to deal with him at some point. Racist pigeons.'
Hearing his name, Jaune was torn from his thoughts and walked up to the stage as Ozpin called out, "Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren. Henceforth, you shall be known as team JNPR (Juniper), led by… Jaune Arc."
'The fuck?' Jaune was not expecting the announcement for him to be team leader. He expected Pyrrha to have been chosen, or Ren, or even… taking a look at his last teammate abuzz with energy, appearing unable to stand still in a noncombat environment. 'Nope.'
Giving Ozpin a questioning gaze, he merely responded with, "Good luck, young man."
As they walked off the other side of the stage, giving way for, "Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, And Yang Xiao-Long. Henceforth, you shall be known as team RWBY, led by… Ruby Rose."
Jaune and his team clapped, congratulating their friends and their leader, the elder sister giving the newest leader a hug on the stage as they walked off to rejoin them.
Seeing the doubt on her face, Jaune gave Ruby a sarcastic remark. "So, the team's named after you? That won't cause any confusion at all."
She smiled, cheering up immensely, before looking back to the stage as Ozpin finished the ceremony, addressing the new recruits as well as everyone else standing before him.
"Before we all depart to enjoy the weekend ahead before classes begin, let us take a brief moment of silence for those who could not join us here today, and remember that the night is dark and full of terrors. We, as huntsmen and huntresses, shall uphold the light and drive back the dark."
Upon the screen before him, pictures of three teams came up, including Azure's team that JNPR and RWBY all recognized. Four of them were Faunus, and the remaining eight were human, but they were now equal in death. Everyone bowed their heads and fell silent. Taking a brief glance to the side, Jaune saw that even Cardin did so.
'Huh, what do you know? An Eagle is showing respect. I half-expected him to start shit, but I guess he's not that stupid. I suppose time will tell.' Leaving those thoughts be, he maintained his silence, honoring his fallen comrades.
"Your class schedules and dorm locations have been sent to your scrolls. You will find all of your belongings there." After a minute, Ozpin broke the solemn quiet. With his announcement, Ozpin calmly walked off of the stage, and presumably back to his office.
As everyone checked their scrolls for directions, Ruby and Jaune found an additional message.
The two teams headed in another direction from the crowd of students excited for the weekend. Entering the tower and the elevator leading to Ozpin's office, Yang asked, "So sis, how do you feel now that you're a leader?"
"Umm… a bit nervous, but I think that I'll be okay."
With a small ping, the elevator doors reopened, and they entered the Headmaster's spacious office, full with the sounds of clockwork ticking away the time.
"Now that's a nice view." Yang looked out the wall that was one solid window, and whistled in appreciation. One could see the entire campus, as well as the city of Vale in the distance sprawling on both sides of the river's banks.
In his chair, Ozpin replied, "I agree. I often stare out in the distance, both to enjoy the sights and to remember what we fight for. But the view is not why I brought you all here."
Taking another sip from his ever-present mug, he continued. "I wanted to thank you personally for your exceptional work in dealing with the Nightmare, and also commend you on your decision to not squabble over resources. That is why I have decided to enact another decision my father and predecessor had."
Weiss asked, "What do you mean?"
"Tell me, if you, or any one team had faced the Nightmare and its spawn alone, prepared or otherwise, what do you think would have happened?"
Several of them cringed at the possibility. Running it through their ends, the result would not likely have been good. Despite teenage bravado, without everyone there they would most likely have been overwhelmed, and used as fodder for another batch, suffering the same fate as Azure and his team.
"You all survived because you banded together, and all that I ask for is that you continue to do so."
"You wish for us to be a squadron?" Blake asked.
Ozpin smiled, answering yes without saying a word. "Headmaster Gehrman wanted to include the students with higher skill in one squad to handle tougher missions that would be too risky to hand to a single team. In light of veteran huntsmen and huntresses being stretched thin as of late, I wish to lighten their burden, even by a little. It is your decision."
"Are there any other details we should be aware of before we decide?" Jaune, curious about the proposal, inquired.
"Of course. Should you all accept, you will be allotted larger living quarters to accommodate all of you. You will all still be expected to attend classes, and a higher grade will be expected of you from your professors. You can still go on single team missions up to level 4, but together you all will also be allowed to go on missions together up to a level 6, with the possibility for change if successful. However, I will request that you keep this arrangement to yourselves for the time being. You don't have to lie about it, just don't boast or hold it over others."
"Sounds fair. No need to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves. May we have a few minutes to discuss this amongst ourselves?" Jaune felt that this should be a group decision, as it would affect them all.
"Of course. I was about to brew a fresh cup anyway." Ozpin walked through a previously unnoticed door, to perhaps his living quarters.
They all huddled together, and Jaune asked, "So, what do you all think?"
"I don't know. This is happening rather quickly, don't you think?" Ruby looked amenable to the concept, but was unsure.
"Bah, so does life! Go big or go home." Jaune scoffed.
Blake smiled a bit, having seen his father and how the man embodies that ideal in the flesh. "I see no problem with this. We worked together quite well last night."
"Yeah, why ruin a good thing? If something ain't broke, don't fix it!" Yang grinned, showing her approval loud and clear.
Weiss, giving the blonde girl a dirty look for her bad grammar, "It's isn't."
"What isn't?" Yang replied, still grinning.
She sighed in response. "Just… oh never mind, I'm in."
"I'm with Jaune on this." Pyrrha added her thoughts.
Nora jumped for joy. "Oh this will be so much fun. We'll go on many adventures. Eat many pancakes! We'll be LEGENDARY!"
Her partner simply nodded his assent.
"So, have you all decided?" As if on cue, Ozpin walked back in.
Acting as their spokesperson, Ruby nodded formally with, "We accept, Headmaster Ozpin."
"I hoped you would." Slipping back into his ceremony speech pattern, "Teams JNPR and RWBY. Henceforth, you shall be named Squad… BLAX SPRV (Black Supernova) led by Jaune Arc, with Ruby Rose as second in command. You'll find your belongings already in your new living quarters."
Nora asked, "How did you come up with a name so fast?"
Raising his hand to stall her line of questioning, something that impressed Ren as not many people that he'd seen could do that. "As it happens, young lady… I've been Headmaster for twenty years, and teaching for many years before that. I've done this quite a few times. I even have a theme every year to challenge myself. This year was a color theme, a personal favorite, but that is neither here nor there. Go, enjoy your weekend, for you have earned it."
With their polite dismissal clear, they headed to their new home, eager for some R&R. Finally finding their new living quarters on the top floor of the dorm building, they used their scrolls to unlock the single door in front of the elevator as well as to program in each of them the ability to unlock the door, in lieu of a physical key.
The inside was better described as a luxurious apartment than a dorm room. It almost appeared that they had half of the whole floor to themselves. To the left were four bedrooms with doors open, each looking like a dorm room for two people, including desks, dressers, and bunk beds. The latter was met with Ruby's delight as well as Nora's minor disappointment, now being unable to properly ordain her bed as hers by her customary jumping ceremony slash stress test. Based on the luggage in each room, the rooms were assigned to each partner pair.
The common area was quite spacious, and included a fully stocked kitchen with modern appliances, a dining table, and a living room with a large enough couch for everyone to sit in front of an entertainment unit. 'Oh, I'm definitely telling Dad about this. He'll be so jealous about our couch. I need to call him anyway.'
Looking out, there was a glass door leading to a wide balcony porch, with plenty of space. 'Wait, is there…?'
On the verge of panic, he wildly searched the room. Pyrrha, the firs to see him in such a state, asked, "Jaune, what are you looking for?"
Finding what he was looking for, he deeply sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness, there's more than one bathroom!"
"So? What's the big deal about that?" Ren was a bit perplexed.
"Ren, have you ever had to share one bathroom with eight other women? No offense meant, of course." Jaune addressed the only other male in the squad with a flat stare.
"No biggie. I understand. Perfection like this takes work, after all" Yang flipped her hair and striking a glamorous pose as she boasted about her hair's magnificence.
"How did you live like that?" Ruby, having shared a bathroom with Yang for several years, was horrified that someone else had suffered sevenfold worse waits than she had.
"Bathing in a nearby stream was often tempting and necessary. We have three, but some rotten luck left water in two of them out of order during renovations after a Grimm attack. But enough of that, who's up for pizza?"
That brought some cheers, as they had nothing to eat since those MRE's last night. All except for Weiss and Pyrrha, with the latter confessing, "Actually… I've never had it before."
The former nodded, admitting to a similar experience, or lack thereof.
Nora and Yang were quick to hug their teammates, practically crushing them with their brute strength. "Don't worry, we shall cleanse you of your ignorance!"
Chuckling at their antics, Jaune pulled out his scroll. "I'll call it in. I know a good place in Vale that delivers here."
Pushing a number on his contact list, the side being called was quick to answer. "Hey Gramps, it's Jaune… yep, just finished… hold on."
Putting his hand over the speaker, he asked, "What flavors do you want?"
Hearing their orders, some more enthusiastic than others, Jaune returned to his call, "2 large cheese, 2 large meat lovers, and one supreme. Oh, and we've got two pie virgins here."
At that, everyone could hear a loud voice of disbelief as he held the scroll away from his ear to spare his eardrum from rupturing. The two said virgins were visibly flustered by the double entendre, with Ruby joining them while the rest snickered at the joke.
"Probably… bet you they won't… You're on."
Jaune had put it on speaker mode, likely at the other side's request so they could hear the man's voice, young sounding for someone called 'Gramps'. "Don't worry brats, you're in for a good time. I'll be there in 45."
With a click, Jaune hung up. "So my family's really big on pizza, and Gramps started his own pizzeria in Vale. He gets a lot of business from Beacon as he's one of the few places that can delivers here in under an hour."
"While we wait, we might as well redecorate. Make this place our own." Pyrrha pitched an idea to pass the time.
Jaune walked to the dining table to hang his leather duster, hat, and scarf on the wooden chair at the end of the table closest to the patio door. "Well, we've got a while, so why not? We'll definitely be in no mood for it afterwards."
"We should establish some code of conduct as well." Weiss added, which made sense to the others. With eight mostly different personalities under roof, it would be best to establish common ground ASAP.
Separating to do their own rooms first, Jaune opened his dresser to see a few sets of fresh Beacon uniforms, seemingly sized perfectly for him. 'They have a dress code? Fuck! I though I left that behind when I graduated school. How did they get all of our sizes anyway, cause that's not creepy at all.'
XXXX Weiss & Ruby XXXX
As the two girls finished unpacking, Weiss briefly hesitated before asking, "Ruby, can we talk?"
"Sure Weiss, what's up?" Ruby smiled innocently.
"It occurs to me that I did not… properly apologize to you for my words and actions two days ago. I was out of line, and I apologize to you." She was genuinely contrite.
"It's no big deal, but thank you." Holding out her hand, "Friends?"
"I…" Sighing in relief, she shook Ruby's hand and said, "Yes, friends. Would you mind giving me some privacy? I need to make a call for another apology."
"Sure thing. I'll go check out the balcony. Good luck!"
As she left the room, Weiss pulled out the piece of paper that Jaune had given her and dialed the number. After a few ringing noises, she heard that the call connected, but the other did not answer. Weiss recited, a tad uneasily, "Sometimes there's too much white."
On the other line was Bianca. "Hello Weiss. It's good to finally hear you again. I see that everything worked out."
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jaune unpacked quickly, as he brought only the essentials, with the exception of one framed photo; identical to the one he showed Blake last night. He went outside to the balcony to make a call. Going outside, he saw Ruby standing on the edge, looking out and enjoying the view. His eyes glinting with mischief, he snuck up behind her, and grabbed her as her lifted her off the ground and yelled, "Surprise!"
After a brief squeal, "Jaune, stop doing that! I'll have a heart attack!"
"If you want me to stop, you need to keep a better eye of your surroundings. Think of it as training."
With her request denied, she began pouting adorably before she relaxed into his arms briefly, before realizing that she was still in his arms. Blushing at the extended physical contact, "Umm, you can let go now."
He complied, before asking, "Would you mind if I had some privacy out here? I need to make a call."
"Sure thing. I'm gonna call Dad, let him know the good news." She went back inside to do the same with Yang and their father.
Taking a deep breath of the fresh spring air, Jaune pulled out his scroll and dialed home.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hans had just exited his family's forge, deciding to take a late lunch with his wife, when his scroll starting ringing his custom tone of hammering an anvil. Answering it without looking at caller ID, "Hello, Hans speaking."
"Hey Dad, how's it going?"
"About to have lunch. How was Initiation?"
"Killed an Onigumo, and I'm team leader now, so that's a thing. Everyone on my team and the other team that helped us is fine, by the way. I wanted to ask you about something I came across."
"Shoot."
"Know a kid named Azure? His weapon looked very familiar, as did the metal it was made from."
"Yes. I made it for him. How is he?" Hans sighed, suspecting this would have happened sooner or later.
"Onigumo got him and his team."
He cringed a bit, knowing the grisly fate that had befallen them, "Bad way to go. Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine, but I'm more worried about the others. For some of them, it was their first time seeing death, but back to the weapon. Why did you use that method?"
"He suggested it actually." It had been an odd request, but the stubborn kid had wanted it, and provided the materials necessary.
His son did not seem to expect that, and was silent for a few seconds. "I have it now, and I'll use it in his memory. Could he use it?"
Knowing what Jaune was referring to, "Yes, he could. I also made that little bell of his. Seems you two had similar inspiration."
"He gave that to me as well. He had a few last requests." Hans could hear some apprehension in his voice, "That's sort of what I want to talk to you about. He knew of Oedon. I gave him last rights and said some other things, and one knows. What should I tell them?"
"The truth, of course."
That seemed to do little to assuage his son's anxiety. "But what if…?"
Hans interrupted him, "We both know that you will have to eventually, so you might as well get it out of the way. It's best if they hear it from you."
A sigh of resignation came through the call. "I'm not saying no, I'm just holding off from a full confession until I trust them a bit more. Thanks Dad. Time for me to go. Talk to you later. By the way, we have an amazing couch."
With that, Jaune hung up, and Hans went inside, where Julie was waiting for him at the table. "What took you so long?"
"Jaune called, he needed some advice. He made team leader." Hans smiled with pride in his son's accomplishments.
"Well don't just stand there, you're food's getting cold." She smiled back.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
With the octet not having much to decorate with, or many guidelines to establish as of yet, the task of personalizing their new home passed all too quickly. They didn't have much else to do while waiting for their pizza to arrive. With no clear objective, they weren't too sure of what to do instead of milling about. Yang, ever striving to be the life of the party, came up with a solution in the form of a question. "So Jaune, do you really have seven sisters, or was that a bunch of crap?"
"I'll have you know that honesty is a point of pride for me and my family. So in short, yes I do." He looked offended at the implication of being called a liar.
"I've seen a photo of them all, and yes he does." Blake collaborated, having seen the evidence. Pyrrha, having seen the framed picture on his desk, also supported his claim. To set the record straight once and for all, Jaune sent them all the same photo, for 'seeing is believing'.
Jaune and Blake scanned everyone's reactions for a similar reason. They all showed surprise, but thankfully no one displayed any sign of racism, not even Weiss, which was a pleasant surprise. However, the heiress was still the most startled. "But the big one is… and three of them are…"
"Faunus, yes." He said curtly, but politely.
Yang whistled. "Damn! I thought you were bullshitting on having so many sisters, but it looks like you're telling the truth." Mentally, she was on the verge of drooling from lust. 'These women are HOT! That tall on with the black hair reminds me of Blake a bit, only a bit scary.'
"Really, you're more perplexed about the number of sisters I have, rather than how we look nothing alike?" Jaune was a bit amused.
She shrugged it off with, "Eh, looks aren't everything. Ruby and I don't look alike, but to be fair that's because we have different mothers."
"Ooh, their ears are soo cute~!" Nora squealed a bit at what she considered adorable, before adorning a puppy-eyed expression that rivaled Ruby's earlier attempt of persuasion. "Can I pet them? Pleeeeasse?"
"You'll have to ask them tomorrow. We're meeting Opal and Rouge tomorrow." Jaune answered. The two he was talking about obvious by their hair color.
"Yeah!" Nora looked very satisfied. "Wait, why?"
"I told you we're going for pancakes tomorrow. They make the best in Vale."
Nora became practically comatose, falling on Ren's shoulders and began to drool from pancake daydreaming. Ren did not react besides holding an arm around her to prevent her falling on the floor.
Jaune appreciated the distracting tangent, but he also wanted to plant the seed for his plan. Pulling something out of his pocket, as he had put it in there while unpacking in preparation. "On a new topic, anyone play video games?"
Only the sisters and the Ren and Nora duo said that they did, though the latter elaborated with, "Only arcades every now and then. The one with the dancing is so much fun."
"Well, then…" Sliding his copy of Bloodborne down to the sisters, "I'm challenging one of you to try this out."
"Hey, that guy dresses kind of like you!" Ruby said, looking at the image on the front.
"Actually, I dress kind of like him. I based most of my outfit on various outfits in the game, which in turn were partially designed by my mother. Hell, most of my weapons are based on weapons from the game."
Shaking his head briefly, "Gomez likes to put a lot of history, ancient and recent, into his games to give them a greater sense of reality. He has a team of archeologists and historians hired for research purposes, and he even joins them most of the time for inspiration. It's how he met Noire, after all."
At two familiar names, combined with a familiar face, Weiss asked, "You're telling me that Gomez Addams is your brother-in-law?"
"Just so. Have you met?"
"At a gala last year after my final concert." She confessed. "They have a… rather unique outlook on life. Plus, their marriage was all over the news."
"So I've heard." He gave Blake a brief, knowing glance.
"I recognize it." Yang commented. "When Uncle Qrow came back after a mission, he played this game for a while to relax, and I watched him play once. He even had a pretty cool, if crude by modern standards, scythe in the game. He was happy about that, since he uses a scythe as his weapon."
"Neat."
"Hey, do you mind if I play some time? It looked really hard, and I'd like to take a crack at it." Besides, Yang never backed down from a challenge
"It's why I offered, so be my guest. You can even borrow my console to play it. But delete my characters and I'll punish you, and you won't enjoy it."
"Oooh, kinky~."
Weiss cut into their borderline flirting, after looking in the back and seeing her name in the fine print of the credits, "Hey! My name is on this?"
"Yep. Didn't you know you were on the soundtrack? You were kind of there." Jaune was aware of her singing career, as it had intersected with his own interests.
"Not really. I didn't pay much attention as to what it was for." Weiss dismissed it as no big affair.
A knock from the glass door paused their discussion. Turning around, Jaune saw his maternal grandfather holding a small tower of pizzas.
"It seems like our dinner has arrived. Hey Gramps! Long time, no see." The delivery man's grandson opened the door for their food, as well as the man carrying it.
He was as tall as Jaune, and if Jaune didn't call him Gramps, no one would have believed that he was older than 25, except for his bright silver, almost lunar, hair. The only family resemblance the two had was their sense of fashion, as both of them favored stylish leather dusters, although the newcomer had his in a deep red.
"Well hello, everyone. Dante, this brat's grandfather, at your service." He gave a stylish bow while still balancing the pizzas, before setting them on the table.
"Getting a bit slower in your old age, are you?" Jaune admonished playfully.
"Not in the slightest."
"Okay, I'm calling bullshit for real this time!" Yang cut in.
"Oh, what about?" Dante gave her a smirk identical to Jaune's, marking them at least close on some level, having a strong idea on what she meant.
"There is no way you're Jaune's grandfather. Older brother or cousin, I would buy, but not that."
"I've got proof." Dante, still smirking as he pulled out his scroll.
"Damn it, Gramps. Do you have to show them that video?"
"But of course, I wouldn't want these seven lovely ladies to think that this old man is a liar. That would just break my heart."
If his earlier smirk didn't identify him as Jaune's family, than his sarcasm and casual flirting certainly did, much to the chagrin of several red faces, minus Nora, who was just staring at the pizza, shaking like a leaf.
"I'm a guy, actually." Ren corrected the man in red, impassive about the misconception of his masculinity,
After an inspecting glance, "Huh, guess so. Whoops. Anyway, feast your eyes on this!"
On the screen was a video showing Dante, not looking a day younger than he did standing in front of them, holding a baby next to Jaune's mother, identifying the baby as Jaune, with his older sisters circling around waiting for their turn to hold their first and only brother.
"Ooh, how cute~!" Yang wanted some payback, and struck while the iron was hot.
He just grumbled, hating that his grandfather brought that up so easily. Especially around the people he would be spending the next four years with.
"Proof enough, Blondie?" Dante asked. "I knew one of you would try to call Grimmshit."
"You couldn't help yourself, could you Sunny? So disappointing." Jaune sighed in resignation.
Dante laughed at the young Arc's expense. "I'm a retired Huntsman. I opened up Grimm may Cry because I was bored. And now, here you are, letting them get cold. So, who are the virgins?"
Everyone there, bar Jaune, choked on his or her own spit, not expecting such a crass question. Weiss asked, "Excuse me. That's a very inappropriate question."
"Oh pull that stick out of your ass." The old man waved her off. Yang laughed loudly at that, liking the man's sense of humor. "Come on; raise your hands, no need to be shy. We were all virgins once, after all."
Reluctantly, Weiss and Pyrrha raised their hands. Dante pulled out some paper plates that were on top of the tower, loaded two plates with a slice of cheese each, and placed them in front of the two. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
"What kind of delivery man are you?" Weiss asked, finding his behavior most unorthodox.
"The best pizza crafter in Remnant, or so he claims." Jaune answered on his behalf. Said crafter scoffed in protest of the doubt, but Jaune ignored him. "To his credit, I've yet to try any better. Also, whenever he finds a pizza 'virgin'… " Emphasizing that last word in air quotation marks, "he insists on seeing their first bite reaction."
"Hey, no different from Hans seeing his clients handle their weapons after he works on them." Turning back to the girls, clapping his hands twice. "Go on, everyone. Eat up!"
As one, the two took their first bites with their audience watching, and moaned in bliss. He smiled, proud of his work, and recited his slogan. "Even Grimm cry tears of joy with a single bite."
Everyone began to eat as Dante left, jumping off the balcony, not that anyone was paying attention to him anymore. For the next fifteen minutes, all that could be heard was the orchestra of a good meal.
An unexpected struggle between Weiss and Nora broke out over the last slice. The heiress somehow held her ground, despite having significantly less muscle mass as they rolled around the floor. Jaune ended their fight by taking advantage and scarfing it down before they knew what was happening to their prize. Both glared at him as he looked away, whistling 'Mergo's Lullaby' with an innocent expression that neither of them took at face value.
"So partner, did the pizza live up to your expectations?" Pyrrha was nearly in a food coma, but she still responded with a satisfied moan of approval. 'Damn that sounded sexy… fucking hormones, and now I have to sleep in the same room as her. Double fuck!'
As it happened, Ruby was even farther into a pizza-induced food coma than the other redhead, and it took her sister snapping fingers in front of her face a few times to refocus. "Huh…whazzat?"
"Ruby, get the movie, just like we planned."
She nodded vigorously, looking like her head could fall off, and dashed to her room with a few rose petals manifesting and scattering about. Yang complained, "Come on, no semblance indoors!"
"Huh, I've never seen a manifestation like that. Seems a lot cleaner looking than 'blood'." Jaune remarked.
Yang, now fully alert, "All righty then, I've got a mission for us. No pizza night must ever be without a movie, and I've got just the one." She brandished the DVD Ruby handed off to her as she talked.
"Yes! Xenomorphs 2! I love that movie, especially when Rip…hgm gghgm ghmffmhmfm…" Nora jumped back to her usual energy levels, before Yang placed her hand over the blabbermouth to stop her, but it seemed that she kept talking.
"Ah ah~, no spoilers." The blonde boxer wagged a finger on her other hand. With a heroic pose and rallying cry usually seen in overdramatic battle sequences, "To the couch!"
They settled in, with Ren trapped between the right arm of the couch and Nora snuggling up to him, not that he really minded, as he was accustomed to Nora's clingy habits during movies. Next to Nora was Pyrrha, sitting close to Jaune, and Ruby sitting just as close on his other side. Yang sat between Weiss and Ruby, and Blake preferring to sit on the floor with crossed legs between Jaune and Ruby.
Over an hour later, as the credits rolled, everyone had already fallen asleep. The lights had already been turned off to impart a fuller cinematic experience. An exhaustive Initiation coupled with a large meal and being in a comfortable position, finally caught up with them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter End
I always thought of Grimm (in RWBY) species as those people have common fears about. And I thought, 'why no spiders?' except in that flashback episode in Volume 3 with that weird bug-glove thing.
I forgot to have Weiss apologize to Ruby after she did so with Jaune before Initiation, so I just waited until after to tie that loose end.
For Azure, this was my first character death. Even though I created him just for this purpose, it was surprisingly more emotional than I thought to write it.
Bestiary:
Neiths
Much like their Arach brethren in appearance and size, but these spiders lack the heavily armored heads, and instead are all black, possessing no armor at all. On their back is a red marking similar to two crossed bows.
These Grimm hide in the back or middle of swarms, and spit cables of webbing to disarm hunters or throw them off balance. This strategy works best if their prey is caught off guard.
Recluses
Despite being only the size of an average human hand, these spiders are no less, and possibly more dangerous than there fellow arachnid brethren. Completely pitch in color, they choose a stealth approach, often sneaking up on the unwary via shadows, especially at night. Their bites release a powerful neurotoxin, paralyzing even the most durable for at least an hour or two, plenty of time for their prey to be carried off by their larger brethren. Be warned, presence of Recluses is a surefire way of determining if an Onigumo is in the area.
Nightmare
These are a rare classification of Grimm with the ability to spawn other Grimm through various methods. Each can secrete black ooze that forms Grimm, but some types have a preference to a method unique to their type.
Onigumo
A large two-headed spider is a simple way of describing this abomination. Preferring the deep caverns rarely seen by those who swell on the surface, most people will never see them. Occasionally, one will find a cave that leads to the surface, and set up a nest. Oozing out a few Recluses, it lies in wait for unsuspecting prey, and Arachs to carry the paralyzed victims. Using a special stinger, it lays eggs inside of its victims, thankfully numb to pain… right up until the moment of hatching arrives, and the fresh batch of several dozen Grimm eat their way out, growing as they do so. Grimm spawned this way grow very quickly, in order to better serve their broodmother.
One known weakness is avoidance, almost a phobia to intense, bright light. They will almost never venture outside their nest willingly.