A/N: Woo hoo! Another chapter. On that note, I've decided that playing Witcher isn't going to have any adverse effects to my writing... nope. Not even a bit. XD Tell me all what y'all think.
Enjoy!
Steel rang against steel, as the hunters faced off against the girls, as well as the Grimm. With the stark surprise that had ambushed them, the camp was in complete disarray. There was so much screaming coming from everyone that couldn't be deciphered. Some were screams of pain, some were orders from the teachers, some were simply just the howls and growls of the Grimm themselves.
All in all, students, as well as some teachers, were beginning to fall like dominoes. The first one to be surrounded by the Grimm was a nameless first-year, torn apart by the horde. Once he fell, several more people simply ran away, tucking in their weapons and hoping that their speeds would outmatch the Grimm.
With morale at its lowest, it didn't take much longer for the few dozen runaways to become a hundred, two hundred, to the rest of the camp.
Jaune was one of the last to go, trying valiantly to hold off the onslaught, but was grabbed by Yang, who simply snarled for Jaune to pick up the pace. With one last shout that blasted a few of the Grimm and one of the girls into the massive horde, Jaune sheathed Crocea Mors and ran at full sprint along with Yang.
"Where're the others?" Jaune asked quickly, wanting to get any information out as soon as possible, before they had to conserve their breath just for running. Yang shook her head in frustration.
"I have no idea. I got separated from them when the blast hit." Yang said shortly.
With gritted teeth, Jaune nodded and continued to place one foot past the other, getting as much distance between the him and the surging black sea behind him.
"There has to be a way to slow them down!" Yang shouted out, turning briefly to fire a few blasts into the crowd, making some of them stumble when they die.
Jaune bit his lip, before releasing the shout he used yesterday, causing a mass of Grimm to suddenly turn against their own kin. While that helped slow down the mass, it caused Jaune to stumble as his breath squeezed out of his lungs and he lost his balance. Leaving no time to think, Yang grabbed onto Jaune and half carried, half dragged him away, knowing that any moments of hesitation is as good as death for the blonde boy.
"Thanks Yang." Jaune panted out, trying to get his feet back under him. The brawler simply grunted, continuing to focus on moving as quickly away as possible.
With the line held up, even for only a second, Jaune and Yang were able to make their escape behind several other students before a loud voice was heard.
"Everyone stop!"
Professor Port stood in the front, yelling out on the top of his lungs.
"We have a new plan! We're meeting the Mistral ships at the midway point! Everyone follow Professor Goodwitch, she'll show you the way!"
With that, Professor Goodwitch raised her riding crop into the sky and pointed to the direction that they were heading in, and ran, causing everyone else to follow suit. Jaune and Yang slowed down once they reached Professor Port, confusion written on their face as they saw several of their teachers simply standing there, along with Professor Peach and Professor Oobleck.
"Aren't you guys coming?" Jaune asked. The professor gave a sad smile, hefting his axe-gun onto his shoulder before giving a vigorous pat on Jaune's.
"We teachers have a responsibility of protecting our students, Mr. Arc. And if that means we have to hold back thousands of Grimm so that you all will make it to the airships safely…" Professor Port frowned hard, his posture shifting. For once, Jaune could see the Hunter Professor Port—no, Peter Port was, and still is. "Well then so be it." The mustached man said, before turning his attention onto Yang.
"Oh, and your sister was looking for you Miss Xiao-Long. Said to tell you that she's got everyone with her except Jaune, which you've located thankfully."
Yang's expression melted into one of relief, giving a bright smile to the Professor. "Thanks there Prof."
The man nodded, before making a shooing motion with his free hand. "Now go. The further you can get away from the fighting, the better."
The two of them nodded and started to run again, catching up to the group in front of them. Jaune turned around one last time, just in time to see the horde appear among the tree line, and the teachers all ready with their weapons drawn.
"Another story for me to tell when I get back to Beacon! Ah ha!" And with that, the Professors leapt into action.
Jaune turned around again, frustrated that he couldn't help the professors out.
You will be helping them, Maldovah. Once you are ready to fight again, you will strike the heart of Imaar's forces. And be the one to personally take his head.
Keeping those… slightly dramatic, slightly bloodthirsty words in mind, Jaune cleared every other thought in his mind, focusing on ways that would help with their ongoing survival. Taking a deep breath, Jaune let out another shout, turning around to direct it, not at the horde of Grimm, and not at the teachers.
Jaune aimed it at the trees.
"Yol… Toor Shul!" And with that, a blast of rampant fire streamed out from Jaune, striking the leafy parts of the woods and setting it ablaze, making an impassable wall of fire.
"That… should do it." Jaune wheezed, putting his hands on his knees and trying his hardest not to black out from the near-hyperventilation that he was performing to find any amount of air that would enter his lungs. A pair of arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a staggering walk.
"You know, as cool as that looked, I think you should find something you can do that won't knock you off of your feet every time you use it." Yang said dryly, dragging him along.
"I'll… keep that in mind." Jaune replied back hoarsely.
And once again, the pair of them set off to catch up to the students that had run ahead, hoping that Imaar hadn't decided that a third surprise was necessary to put the students down.
They ran for what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, and constantly looked over their shoulders, afraid that something else might decide to pop out of the forest to maul them to death. Trained Hunters and Huntresses they may be, but after fighting several hundred Grimm and running who-knows-how-many-miles, it was hard for even them to feel confident about fighting off even a handful more of the dark monsters.
"Everyone stop!" While the yell was nowhere near as loud as Professor Port's could be, the authority rang out and caused anyone listening to instantly obey. It was hard to believe that even Professor Goodwitch could become fatigued, but it was evident in the way she paused after shouting the command, heaving deep breaths and being drenched in sweat. Being an experienced Huntress however, allowed her to become functioning in a few seconds.
"This is where the rendezvous point is. Now all we can do is wait." The blonde haired witch checked her scroll, eyebrows furrowing as she read something on the screen.
"We need to hold out for another half hour only! Take a break, but be ready to fight when you hear the Grimm approaching.
"Yang!" A speeding red blur tackled the brawler, knocking the girl over. "You're alive!" Ruby exclaimed happily. Yang gave a soft smile that was different from her usual smirk and rubbed the top of Ruby's head.
"Glad to see you made it as well Rubes." Yang said softly. Jaune smiled at the adorable sight, before getting tackled as well, this time by a certain orange-haired girl.
"Jaune! You didn't get torn apart by the Grimm!" Jaune gave a slight chuckle, before trying to pry himself from the death grip Nora had on him.
"Yeah, I'm fine Nora. I had Yang to watch my back." Jaune glanced over meaningfully at the girl, who gave a quick wink towards him before focusing her attention on her own teammates. Pyrrha also stepped up and gave a shy smile.
"I am also glad to see you're okay, Jaune."
"Thanks Pyrrha." Jaune said, returning her smile.
"So, now that the crowd's all here, what do you think we should do?" Yang said conversationally, keeping an arm around Ruby. For whatever reason, everyone's attention shifted towards Jaune, who balked suddenly at the attention that was being given to him.
"Uh. We should probably rest, like what Professor Goodwitch said. We wanna be ready if the Grimm attack again." Jaune wisely repeated the words spoken earlier, knowing that he didn't really have anything else to add to that. With the reminder of the incoming Grimm, Jaune took a deep breath and used Aura Whisper, glancing around the trees to gather information.
The black swarm was still to the south… but Jaune couldn't really tell distances with the shout. Gritting his teeth, Jaune also realized that he couldn't see any other flames besides the black ones that signify Grimm.
The teachers.
Where were they?
Jaune was so wrapped up in his investigation that when Yang laid a hand on his shoulder, Jaune nearly turned around and clotheslined the girl. Luckily for the both of them, Yang had a great reaction time, and deftly caught his outstretched hand.
"Woah there wild one." Yang said eyebrows high. Jaune froze, face looking a little guilty before he released a shaky breath.
"Sorry. I guess I'm just a little shaky right now." Jaune said sheepishly. Yang grinned, eyes twinkling.
"Don't worry Jauney. I think I may have the solution to your problem."
A brief second went by before Jaune raised a skeptical eyebrow at the girl. "I am not fighting you again."
A pout.
"You can't be serious." Jaune said, exasperation clear in his voice. "We're running away from thousands of Grimm, absolutely smashed, and you wanna fight more?"
Yang shrugged. "It helps calm my nerves."
The blonde boy didn't know whether he should laugh or cry at the statement.
"Can't you just… I dunno, meditate, or something?"
"…" Yang squinted at Jaune, almost as if she didn't believe what he had just said.
"What?" Jaune asked, shuffling backwards a bit under the intensity of Yang's watchful gaze.
"You're asking me to meditate." Yang stated. Jaune nodded, still not understanding the point. "You asking me." Yang repeated, with emphasis. "A crazy hyper girl whose personality is pretty much being energetic… to sit down and calmly not-think."
Jaune opened his mouth. And closed his mouth. And opened his mouth again.
"Okay, so maybe that wasn't the brightest solution." Jaune admitted.
Wait.
Vedrahgol suddenly decided to speak, which surprised Jaune even worse than what Yang had just done, making Jaune jump, stumble, and fall onto his face all in quick succession.
"Dust! Could you give me a warning next time you decide to speak up?!" Jaune said, so surprised that he forgot to convey it to Vedrahgol using his thoughts. Everyone around him looked at Jaune as if he had gone absolutely bonkers, which wasn't really all that far from the truth anyways.
Vedrahgol, being an ancient powerful dragon, completely ignored Jaune's outcry and continued to speak.
Maybe you are not too far off from the right path, Maldovah. I would like for you to ask Krienmon to meditate again. She is much like a dragon, and I would like to impart my wisdom on someone that at least has a shred of powerful grace within them.
Jaune frowned at the backhanded jab, turning to Yang.
Actually, on second thought, that might have to wait.
What do you mean? Jaune asked, confused. Jaune's question was answered quickly, but not by the dragon, nor by the girl standing next to him.
Instead, it was answered by the loud cacophony of roars as the monsters of the night emerged, ready to pursue the Hunters again.
And were quickly cut down by overhead fire, as the Mistralian airships hovered over the group.
As one of the ships laid suppressive fire into the trees, the other two lowered themselves, opening up their hatches.
"Quickly! To the ships!" Professor Goodwitch said, pointing to the transport.
Within seconds the body of students fled the scene, trying to get to safety before the Grimm got too close. A few of the braver students, namely Team RWBY and Team JNPR, slowly moved backwards, making sure to keep the line of Grimm occupied with them.
"Get on, get on, get on!" At last, the two airships rose into the air and took the place of the first, blasting the monsters into oblivion while the last ship opened its insides for the last groups to leave. Professor Goodwitch waved her riding crop and lifted the rest of the students up, practically throwing them into the hull before jumping into the ship herself.
Once the last airship rose to level, they all blasted off, getting as far away from the Grimm as possible.
Jaune looked down at the forest, seeing dots of black, and no blue.
Goodbye teachers. You'll be missed.
OMAKE
BOOM!
The floor shook as Yang and her team cowered underneath a desk. Heavy footsteps echoed through the hallways as an enormous hulking figure stalked around to try and find the girls.
"I can't believe this is happening! Why is this happening?" Weiss hissed lowly, trying not to make too much noise. Unfortunately, the creature still seemed to be able to hear her and knelt down in front of the four, a mop of blonde hair covering his eyes.
"I FIND PRETTY GIRLS!" He roared, ripping the desk off its hinges and making the four girls scream in terror. With no little amount of quick thinking, Yang punched him in the face and let loose a shotgun blast, which did almost nothing except distract the guy long enough so that they could scramble away.
Bursting out of the classroom, the four of them sprinted to the end of the hallway, where Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora were standing, also looking absolutely exhausted.
"Guys! You made it out alive!" Pyrrha said in relief, something that the other two nodded tiredly after.
When even Nora was so pooped that she didn't have anything to add, that's when you know there's trouble.
"How did this happen?" Ruby demanded, everyone looking at Nora. With an injured expression and a little pout, Nora shook her head.
"It wasn't me this time, I swear!" Team RWBY looked over to Ren, who nodded to confirm that Nora was in fact, telling the truth.
"Then how the heck did this happen?" Weiss said, throwing her arms up into the sky. Pyrrha shook her head, recalling the events that had happened just an hour ago.
"I'm not completely sure. Jaune was talking to this strange man that had a mask with horns on it and was nodding excitedly about something… and then he shouted out 'I want to be the strongest man!'… and well." Pyrrha shrugged awkwardly and gestured to the monstrosity, who had simply walked through the wall, ignoring the door that was a few inches to his left.
"WHY PRETTY GIRLS RUN? I SHOW WORLD TO YOU!" With another roar, the being charged forward, making the group of seven scream and scrabble away again.
Several minutes later, they seemed to be cornered by a dead end hallway, with the blond haired ripped monster slowly stalking his way towards them.
"YOU ARE MINE!"
Suddenly, the world seemed to shift into grayscale, and everything around them freezing in time, Jaune seemingly moving the speed of a slug encased in gelatin.
A man appeared in front of them, donning a strange horned mask with carved inscriptions on it. They weren't sure how they could tell, but just knew that whoever was under the mask was smiling.
"I have a feeling that you all need some way to escape?" The man chortled, eyes flashing. "Well, *I might be willing to help."