Coeur Al'Aran was the beta for the original Auburn and helped me immensely during a period when we were both just getting started. Cover Art drawn by confections101 and a link to it is on my profile page. Jefardi is the one who finally kicked my butt into gear to do something about this story I had almost given up on.
Auburn
Synthetic Life
Jaune closed the gap between himself and Shirou Schnee.
No one had any idea just how strong this guy really was but if they were going to have any chance at all, he was going to have to put every effort he could into creating an opening as quickly as possible.
He reached him and swung his sword in a strong a horizontal slash. Shirou merely held his sword vertically and blocked. A loud clang echoed throughout the canyon. Jaune's arm seized from the sudden stop. Shirou's sword didn't even teeter.
The headmaster pushed back, deflecting his sword to the side and staggering him. As he stumbled to recover the gleam of the katana swinging at him caught his eye. On pure instinct, he held his shield up. Sparks flew as both sword and shield were knocked backwards from the force of the clash.
Shirou's eyebrows raised, showing something maybe akin to shock at the sturdiness of the shield. Which the blond didn't hesitate to use as an opening. He jumped forward and stabbed at his opponent's gut. There should have been no way for him to block, the katana still positioned well above his head and out of range to intercept the strike.
Not that he had to block. Shirou merely twisted to the side and brought his sword down. Once again the shield came up and deflected the attack. There was another burst of sparks and an echoing clang. Jaune pivot and swung horizontally again. Shirou repositioned and met him mid-swing.
Their swords clashed and deflected one another. Only a second later they both swung again. Jaune locked his feet in the ground and gave a determined growl. He thrust forward yet again. Shirou blocked this strike with the broad end of his katana. Movement stopped temporarily as each one tried to overpower the other.
Jaune took just a brief opportunity to study his opponent. The older man was still grinning. It didn't even look like he was trying. This frustrated him to no end. Sure, he knew he was way outclassed here but he would have liked to make him at least look like he was taking this seriously. Lives were on the line with this fight.
He pushed his sword to the left and both their weapons slid away from one another and to their respective sides. Jaune stepped in and swung his shield in an attempt to batter through Shirou's defense.
At the very least he wanted to make him give some ground. Neither one of them had taken a single step backwards since this exchange had begun.
Shirou held up his right hand. Just before the shield crashed into it, his palm glowed bright blue as his Aura began shielding him. With a dull thud, Jaune's shield met Shirou's Aura. Then their swords met and held in place as each man tried to overpower the other. The headmaster clearly had far more upper-body strength and began pushing both Jaune's shield and sword backwards.
The blond grit his teeth and dug his feet even more deeply into the ground. He wasn't going to give this guy any ground! He had to stand fast. Instead, he bent himself backwards as Shirou continued to push down on him. The older man stood almost directly over him, having forced Jaune to bend back so far he was about doubled over. Sweat rolled off his forehead and into his eyes as he struggled to maintain his position but he couldn't even wipe them like this. Instead he fought to glare at Shirou through the sting of his own sweat and continued to push as hard as he could.
Something whizzed through the air. Shirou leapt back and Jaune stumbled at the unexpected shift in weight. Penny's sword flew right past his face and stabbed into the ground a couple feet away. He sent her a quick glare to see her standing with hands flexed in front of and a deep frown on her face.
Seriously, what had taken her so long? He had been in a real bind there for a second.
Her swords pulled themselves out from the ground and flew back to her side. She turned back to Shirou and Jaune did the same.
The older man now stood on the edge of the pillar they were fighting on. If he took one more step back he would fall into the darkness below. For half-a-second Jaune just considered charging into him and knocking them both off the side of the cliff. He had to stop and tell himself that was a stupid idea. It wouldn't surprise him one bit if Shirou wanted him to do that. No, he would keep the same strategy as before.
He had held his ground fairly well during that first exchange and now he and Penny both had a more rough idea of what he was capable of. As long as Jaune didn't get overpowered again they might be able to win with this strategy. At least that was what he hoped.
Raising his shield and sword, he prepared to charge again. Shirou's thumb twisted his hilt-guard. He had six colors on the edge of his hilt: light blue, dark blue, red, green, yellow, and white. It stopped it on the red canister and his blade began glowing as it was filled with Dust inside.
Jaune didn't know anything about Shirou's Semblance or if his sword was much different from Weiss'. He had heard from her in one of her famous rants that all Schnee's had the same Semblance but so far Shirou had made no effort to use his. Then again, he hadn't used Dust until just now either. So Jaune had to be careful either way. Shirou was in for a surprise if he thought a little Dust was going to let him get through his shield. It had withstood the blast of a Chimera so a little fire-based Dust was nothing compared to that.
With this thought in mind, Jaune charged. Shirou placed both hands on the hilt of his sword and brought it high over his head. He placed one foot in front of the other and his body tensed. Jaune brought his shield to the front. He would block this strike and make his move when Shirou's sword was deflected. That was the plan.
The katana swung down and the shield did intercept it, just as planned. What he hadn't counted on was for the explosion that followed immediately after. Jaune was enveloped in flames. His ears rang, the roar of the blast washing over him and he was sent flying. With a painful crash, he hit the ground about a yard away.
Yeah- he had not expected that. The katana had reacted more like Cardin's mace rather than Weiss' sword. It was just lucky he hadn't tried to meet it with his own. He'd have been barbecued.
With a groan, he lifted himself off his back and into a sitting position. His Aura had mostly protected what his shield hadn't but if he took another couple hits like that he would be done for. His vision focused back in and the ringing subsided just as Shirou broke free from the smoke that had been left by the explosion. The katana was already coming down.
Oh shit! Reacting on instinct, he rolled to the side. The katana struck where he had just been. It exploded on contact and the blast once again sent Jaune flying through the air. He hit the ground and bounced once before skidding to the edge of the cliff. Had there been just a little more force behind that he would've been knocked clean off.
Quickly he tried to scramble to his feet before Shirou could charge him again. He really would be knocked off this time if he hung out this close to the edge. It took him several moments, his balance still off after being tossed around. By the time he had stable footing, Shirou was predictably after him.
Two of Penny's swords flew through the air and right towards him, forcing him to stop mid-charge and dodge out of the way. Her swords stopped short and spun several times before locking in and whizzing forward.
Shirou swung his katana and it clashed with Penny's first sword. An explosion destroyed her blade and sent it scattering in numerous broken pieces. Only a second later and he did the same to the other. His face and stance then shifted towards Penny and Jaune saw her take a small step back.
What he was supposed to do against a sword that exploded just by grazing you he didn't know, but he couldn't allow Penny to become Shirou's focus either. Their current strategy was dependent on her ranged abilities and that fell apart if the headmaster targeted her. That meant - as much as he hated it - keeping all the attention focused on himself. He slipped the shield off his arm to grip it by the edge and with a heavy grunt chucked it.
Shirou's head whipped around and on what was probably instinct, his katana came up to deflect the shield. It caught it just under the bottom and it was launched skywards as the explosion created a cone shape from the direction of the katana's swing.
In the moment, Jaune understood how Shirou hadn't been getting caught in his own blasts. It was downright bizarre and up close, Jaune hadn't realized the oddity but away from it, he could see what was happening. Now to test his luck and actually apply what he's just learned.
He closed the remaining distance between them. Gripping his sword with both hands, he swung with an upwards diagonal slash. Shirou blocked and just as Jaune predicted the explosion fired off to his right and away from him. Sure, it was still pretty hot and the ringing in his ears returned from being too close, but he was unharmed otherwise. Their swords disconnected and Jaune took a step back.
The older man lunged forward and swung down. The blond stepped to the side.
He was proud to admit he wasn't stupid enough to block if Shirou was the one swinging. As long as he only connected with the katana while he was the one pressing the attack, he could somewhat control the direction of the explosions. He lost that advantage if he only did things like block.
The katana stopped mid-swing and switched from a vertical slash to a horizontal one without warning. Jaune sucked in his gut and leapt backwards as he barely dodged the unexpected shift in attack by an inch. That had been too close!
He jumped back forward and swung again. Just then the headmaster switched the dial on his hilt guard. It landed on the green. Before Jaune could stop, their swords clashed. He flinched, eyes squeezing shut as he waited for whatever adverse effect that was coming.
Nothing happened. They both pulled their swords back and readied for another clash, but Jaune wasn't any worse off than before.
He hesitated for half-a-second before re-engaging. Sparks flew but still it didn't seem like anything happened. In fact, Crocea Mors slightly overpowered Shirou and he pressed the attack in an effort to keep the momentum going. Their swords connected three more times before Jaune finally realized what was going on.
Crocea Mors was starting to feel heavy in hand. At first he had just assumed it was battle fatigue but that didn't wouldn't explain this drastically increasing difference. The green Dust was making his sword heavier with every strike. It was the only thing that made sense.
It was now unbearably hard to hold due to the incredible increase in weight. Every muscle in his arms screamed as he tried to keep it hefted in the air. He couldn't drop and abandon it now. His shield was still a distance away and if he became completely disarmed, it would only be a matter of moments before Shirou made mincemeat of him.
Or would he? This idea was beyond nuts but he needed to do something quick.
The katana swung horizontally. Jaune dropped Crocea Mors just as it passed under. His sword fell on top of the other and the increased weight sunk both of them to the ground with a loud thunk that splintered the rock surface.
Shirou stumbled forward from the unexpected shift and let out a grunt. Jaune jumped on him. Not even his opponent could have expected that and he suddenly went ramrod, straight, abandoning his own weapon.
Jaune swung himself around so he was on Shirou's back. With his legs wrapped around the older man's waist and arm reached under his armpits, Shirou couldn't possibly strike at him now. At least not hard enough that it would actually hurt. With his free hand, he grabbed some of Shirou's slicked back white hair and pulled and mouth opened wide to bite down into his right shoulder. He wasn't exactly proud of this tactic but at this point he was willing to do whatever worked. To his great pleasure, Shirou let out a yelp as he tried and failed to debunk his unexpected passenger.
The headmaster began thrashing a little more violently and Jaune doubted he was going to be able to hold on much longer. It was about time for Penny to do something here. The shaking stopped as several green flashes blinked to life in front of them. Penny's eight remaining swords had broken into pairs and were spinning rapidly in a circle. Four little green orbs had formed between them. Jaune knew what came next.
The orbs shone even brighter before firing off concentrated beams of Dust. Every single one of them was aimed directly at them. Shirou dropped backwards in an effort to dodge and landed on his back - rather, he landed on Jaune's back.
He groaned from the unexpected move and Shirou managed to elbow him in the ribs. The wind flew from his lungs and he no longer had the strength to hold on. The older man rolled off of him and leapt to his feet, snagging the katana to bring it up with him. He poised with the blade pointed directly above and in between Jaune's eyes. The blond could still do nothing as his lungs struggled for air, arms and legs seized from the pain of the last couple blows.
Shirou was really about to kill him and he couldn't so much as move.
Penny's orbs flashed brightly once again. Shirou had no choice but to retreat from Jaune's prone form as he dodged and weaved around the deadly green matter. He turned his attention once more to Penny. She fired off another round but he was far too quick for her to effectively land anything even close to him. Instead her beams connected to the canyon walls around them and caused miniature explosions that melted holes into the hardened rock.
If they could just get one of those to connect with Shirou's scroll the game was as good as theirs.
Jaune's eyes went to his shield not even a full foot away. He rolled to his stomach and struggled to his knees. Scrambling for it, he hefted it up. Hopefully Penny's Dust beams reacted similar to that Chimera's attack. Only one way to find out.
"Penny! Aim here!" Jaune ducked behind his shield and angled it as best as he could guess for his plan to work. One of the pair of swords turned away from Shirou and pointed directly at him. It fired and when it struck his shield it ricocheted right off.
The Headmaster stopped hard as the beam came at him from the unexpected angle and he ducked just in time. It flew over his head and collided into another beam that was just passing by. They sparked with energy and fizzled, both beams feeding into another and growing brighter. Jaune shielded his eyes just as they erupted in a blinding flash that enveloped Shirou completely.
Several seconds went by as the explosion gave way to dense smoke that he couldn't see through. Shirou didn't come bursting out of it and he couldn't hear him no matter how hard he listened.
Did that... do it?
It was crazy to think anyone would be standing after having been subjected to an explosion that powerful and so close but Shirou was without a doubt someone far beyond ordinary.
"Jaune!" Penny jogged up to his side with her swords trailing just behind.
"I'm fine." He struggled to his feet and ambled over to the fallen sword. He picked it up gingerly at first and was relieved to find it was back to its original weight. He didn't know any of the properties behind Shirou's katana but apparently the heavy-effect wasn't for very long. With a metal clink, he slid it back into his shield.
"An excellent plan, Jaune. Mister Schnee should be stunned from the blast. I surmise that we can deactivate the whistle ourselves now if the explosion did not do it." Penny patted some of the dirt off his shoulder and he smiled gratefully. The two of them had actually made a really solid pair. He hoped to work with her more in the future too.
"You think I'm finished, do you?" Shirou's voice called out from the smoke full of mirth. He and Penny both whirled just as the smoke started to clear. He stood completely unharmed with a solid wall of ice right next to him. His katana had a light-blue glow as it was without a doubt filled with ice Dust from one of his other canisters. "I must admit, Mister Arc, you are an incredibly interesting combatant. You realize how outclassed you are so you resort to all kinds of petty tactics."
Jaune took a step back in fear as Shirou's eyes finally opened wide enough for him to see into his bright-blue irises. Despite his smug grin and amused tone his eyes shone with unbridled hatred. Hatred that wasn't directed at anyone in particular but rather at the whole world around him. It was so terrifying and cold to look at that Weiss' own glares could only be called a summer breeze by comparison.
"It reminds me a lot of what I used to have to do back when I was forced to fight children sometimes six years older than me and nearly twice as heavy. I would resort to every nasty trick in the book. Ever since I entered the world of Huntsmen, that type of fighting disappeared from my life. It's a little refreshing to come across it once again. Thank you for that." His sword made a clicking noise as he switched it to the yellow canister. His sword began humming as electric Dust filled it now. "If you've got the tenacity to fight like that than I've clearly been taking you too lightly, Mister Arc."
Jaune chuckled, although he didn't know why. Nervous habit, probably. "Is that so? I think you've been plenty hard on us really. No need to up the intensity." His voice cracked towards the end. Man, that sounded really lame but the look in Shirou's eyes right now terrified him to the core.
"Jaune, get behind me!" Penny placed herself between the two. All eight swords spun in a circle in front of her as she charged up a massive Dust beam.
Shirou didn't look afraid at all. That attack had made mincemeat of a full grown Deathstalker and yet the older man simply smirked while staring down the barrel end of a freaking cannon. Smirked and also raised the katana above his head. The dial had switched to the yellow canister and it began to hum even louder than Penny's charging beam.
"Penny!" Jaune had a really bad feeling about this. "I think you should hold off on that attack!"
"I will not lose, Jaune!" She completely ignored his warning and swung her arms forward. Her swords increased their rotational speed and the sound echoed across the canyon. The glowing green orb that had been forming in the middle grew tremendously in size and then fired. The beam traveled at Shirou with incredible speed but he made no move to dodge out of the way.
Instead he swung his sword down and a giant yellow wave crackling with electricity flew from the tip. That wave collided with Penny's beam, each one attempting to gain dominance over the other.
There was no contest.
Shirou's lightning slash won out as the giant yellow Dust blade began splitting her beam apart. Bolts of lightning stretched around the sides and shot to the source, forcing the rest of her beam to exploded violently as they traveled along. They reached her swords and bounced off, the lightning dancing after Penny herself.
"Penny!" She began convulsing and he jumped to help her, not even considering the consequences. A spark leapt off and struck his outstretched hand, singeing and sending him flying. He fell to his butt where he was helpless to do anything but watch as his friend was electrocuted.
Her swords made loud beeps as the electricity overloaded them. Simultaneously all eight exploded. The force of the blast sent Penny flying. By some miracle she landed on the small pathway connecting the pillar to the rest of the canyon floor, just barely skirting tumbling over to the edge on either side. Her body still seized now and again, last spurts of electricity leaving her body.
"Penny!" Jaune bolted to her as quickly as his body would allow. He jumped clear over her and landed on the other side. His arms reached down to grab her under the armpits. They were searing hot and burned Jaune's hands straight through his gloves. Letting out a hiss of surprise, he dropped her.
Not even a second later and Shirou was upon him, katana thrusting forward. Jaune raised his right arm to defend but only then remembered he had yet to unsheath Crocea Mors again. With nothing to block the strike, the katana dug into his forearm and protruded out the other end. The scream that left Jaune's mouth didn't even sound human, let alone like his own voice. On pure reactive instinct, he yanked his arm back and freed it from the steel blade.
This time, he ignored the burning sensation that immediately seared his hands as he dragged Penny across the walkway and hopefully to safety. Shirou hadn't attacked them until they had crossed over to his pillar. It was probably safe to assume that if they left he wouldn't pursue them either. He may have been a twisted person but Jaune was willing to bet he was going to play by the rules of his own game.
Once they were securely on the other side and away from the cliff he dropped to his knees just behind Penny's head. Her chest wasn't rising and falling and he couldn't hear the sound of her breathing. "Penny, hey! Come on, Penny." Ignoring the pain in his forearm and hands, he slapped her cheek but got no response. "No, no no, no. Penny!" He had to choke back tears as he scrambled around to her chest and put an ear against it. There was no heartbeat.
Why? Why did this have to happen to her? What had she ever done to deserve this? She may have been a little odd but she was incredibly kind. She had been so ecstatic when he had called her friend and had pranced around in joy when they met up again. So why?
"Penny. I'm so sorry." He grabbed her hand and held it up to his face as a couple tears rolled down either cheeks. There was so much more he should've done. This wasn't supposed to be how things went. She was far stronger than he was and yet he was the one still alive. How did that even make sense?
He couldn't accept that. He wouldn't accept that! His gaze turned angry and he glared at the one who was truly to blame for this. As he had predicted, Shirou Schnee hadn't left his island and now stood in the very center of it, just watching them. His narrowed blue eyes still shined with hatred but Jaune could almost see another expression in them now.
Was it… pity?
The very thought that this man might be feeling that set Jaune's veins ablaze and he had to fight the urge to go charging at him right this second. There was only a small sliver of logic and fear in the back of his mind holding him back. He wouldn't accomplish anything by doing that and Penny's death would have been for nothing if he just went and died immediately after her.
What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't fight Shirou by himself but it hurt too much to think he had to go back to the others, dragging Penny's dead body with him. That was just something he couldn't bring himself to do.
Several beeps and then a whirring noise as if a computer was booting up brought his attention back to unmoving girl. Her green eyes then shot open and he about leapt to his feet.
Penny was… Penny was alive!
How? Her heart had stopped! He dropped back down and placed an ear up against her chest again but still heard no heartbeat. Instead he heard the sounds of computer chips, fans, and gears coming from inside. "Penny?" He pulled his head back and looked her in the eyes.
"Jaune?" Her voice cracked and sounded to be full of static. "Where am I? Why are you crying?"
"I-I thought that you…" He didn't know how to answer that. Penny was alive! At least, he thought she was. She still didn't have a heartbeat. The girl attempted to prop herself up by the elbows but one of them immediately gave out on her and she collapsed back to the ground. "Penny!" He bent over her elbow to inspect it for injuries but instead saw something he never expected. Her elbow was ripped wide open but instead of blood and bones there were bolts and wires.
Suddenly, it all made sense to him. Penny's personality, her lack of a heartbeat, this elbow. Penny… she wasn't human.
"I am sorry, Jaune." Penny sounded hurt, defeated even, and he realized he was just staring at her without saying anything.
He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to be surprised by something stupid like this. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're alive. I was so worried you had died."
"Y-You were?" She asked, sounding unsure and full of distrust.
"Of course I was. You're my friend."
"You mean that?" Penny's other arm suddenly reached forward and grabbed him by the scruff of his hoodie. "You really mean that, right?"
He nodded. "Of course I do, Penny."
"Even though you know I'm not a human? Even though I'm just a synthetic android capable of producing an Aura?" She sounded desperate to hear his next words. To know she hadn't lost a friend.
"I don't know what any of that is supposed to mean. To me you're just Penny. And Penny is probably one of my best friends." He patted the hand that was pulling on his hoodie reassuringly. If robots were capable of crying he had no doubt Penny would have burst into tears of joy at those words. That was the kind of expression she had.
"Thank you, Jaune. Thank you. I was too afraid to let anyone at this school know even though Uncle Ironwood said it was alright. He said I was not here to make friends as a person but become the ultimate Grimm killing machine. But I still wanted everyone to treat me as a normal girl." She clung to him more tightly and he wrapped his arm around her.
"Come on. It's alright. Let's get you up." He whispered softly and helped her stand. "Do you still want to keep it a secret from everyone else?" She tilted her head at him questioningly and he gestured to her elbow which still had wires sticking out of it. "You don't want anyone else to know, right?"
She hesitated before nodding. "I do not think I am ready for more people to know the truth just yet."
"That's alright, Penny. We all have our secrets." He had more than most.
He detached the plate armor around and his hoodie and unhooked the pauldrons on his shoulders. "What are you doing?" Penny asked as he finally started taking his hoodie off, revealing an orange t-shirt underneath.
"You can use this as a sling." He explained as he took her busted arm and began to cover the exposed wires with his favorite article of clothing. He used the sleeves to tie it around her opposite shoulder. "We'll just tell everyone you broke your arm. Just make sure no one tries to inspect it."
"Jaune." Penny wrapped him in a one-armed hug and the very way she said his name conveyed her gratitude.
"Don't mention it, friend." He patted her back awkwardly but otherwise didn't move as he just enjoyed the moment.
Unfortunately for both of them the moment didn't last long as the sound of insistent giggling broke out and echoed horrendously across the canyon wall. Jaune whirled on Shirou but his mouth was firmly locked in its typical grin. It wasn't coming from him.
"What you hear right now are a coyote-based Grimm called Cacklers." The headmaster began to fill him in. "They're among my favorite Grimm species as they have the most amusing habit of laughing hysterically while they hunt down their human prey." He called it amusing, Jaune called it terrifying. He had never heard a more terrible sound in his entire life. "It would sound like like they made it past your friends and are almost down here. I do wonder how you'll manage to get out of this predicament, Mister Arc?"
"Damn!" Jaune clicked his teeth. He couldn't tell how many were coming after them with their cackling echoing all over the place. He looked expectantly at Penny but she shook her head.
"My weapons were all destroyed and I think some of my circuits fried. I am not capable of combat in my present state." Well, so much for that. They were in a real bind with their strongest combatant down. Not to mention he didn't know what was going on with everyone else. He had to make sure they were safe. It was possible these things had just snuck by but on the off-chance they had already killed someone he needed to know.
He pulled out his scroll and flipped the walkie function on. "Pyrrha!"
Nothing. Not a single person responded. He thought about trying again but didn't have time for that, needing to be ready for combat. That just meant fighting through a pack of Cacklers while protecting an injured Penny. No pressure there.
Not to mention his arm was still injured, which he was painfully reminded of when he went to draw Crocea Mors. The wound had sealed thanks to his Aura but he had a nasty scar on either end of his right arm now. Hopefully these Grimm just sounded really scary and were actually really weak.
He had never been more wrong in his whole life. The first Cackler fell through the hole they had created to get down and it was one of the most horrifying creatures he had ever laid eyes on. When it stood up and reached its full height it was easily another half-of-him over his own head.
Emaciated was the only way to describe its body. Its lanky legs and arms looked as brittle as twigs and it was all held together by a torso with ribs that were practically protruding from its jet-black fur that was littered with gray dots. A dog-like face was tilted sideways as it smiled… yes, smiled. Its razor-sharp teeth were completely barred as it gave him a hungry grin while drooling all over itself. Red eyes studied every little movement he made. Finally, and most terrifying, were the claws that hung off its grotesque paws. Five feet long white spikes hung off of its ten fingers. Just one of those would make a shish kabob out of him.
Slowly but surely it crept towards him as it used only its hind legs to walk, dragging those long claws across the ground as it did. Jaune took half a step back as once again it began laughing maniacally. He bumped into Penny and she grabbed the back of his t-shirt with her only usable hand. Even as a synthetic-human he could feel the palpable fear in her touch. She was powerless right now. The only thing she had that she could depend on was him. He couldn't let her down.
He resolved himself to be brave. He had to be brave for her sake. "Penny. Just leave this to me. I'll take care of these things and then Pyrrha will come and get us out of here." His voice wavered despite his best efforts and he gave her a smile that he knew was half-assed. Still, Penny looked a little more relaxed at his words and that would have to do for now.
"What about your armor?" She asked and he cursed internally. He hadn't re-equipped any of it after giving Penny his hoodie. Nothing to do about it now as he had an opponent waiting on him.
"I'm way quicker without all that stuff anyways." That might have been half-true at best. His armor actually wasn't all that heavy to begin with despite being able to take a hit.
He turned back towards the Cackler and its annoyingly horrifying laughter and raised his shield and sword up. "Be careful, Jaune." Penny's words barely reach him as he charged. She didn't need to tell him twice. Those claws could rip him into pieces if he made even the slightest misstep.
Just when he closed about half the original distance between them it suddenly quit giggling and sprinted. It moved at speeds more than double what he was capable of. "Oh shit!" Jaune doubled over backwards just as a set of claws flew over where his head and torso had been. He stumbled a couple steps away and brought his shield up.
The Cackler closed its hand and pinched the claws together, forming one thick spear that it stabbed at him with. It clashed against his shield and his whole arm went numb from the shock of the blow. He heard the ground splinter apart behind him just from the shockwave of the strike alone.
It began giggling again and opened its mouth unfathomably wide. The maw reached forward to take a bite out of his face. Jaune wanted to run in fear. It took every fibre in his being not to flee and instead grip his sword a little more tightly. He thrust forward and right into the open maw of the Grimm before him. Crocea Mors ripped its throat apart from the inside.
The laughing stopped and was replaced by gurgling as it choked on his blade. He pulled his sword out and it tumbled forward. Just like that it was over. It may have been a brief fight but it was possibly the most terrifying Grimm he had ever, and would ever face. There was just something inexplicably horrific about it.
"Jaune!" Penny shouted and he whirled to see three more of them had cut their way through the roots behind him and were now converging on her.
"Hold on, Penny!" He sprinted for her. This was not going as he had hoped. One of them had been scary enough. Three of them at the same time was almost asking for the impossible. Just as he thought this another two fell down directly behind their fellow Grimm. Oh great. Now it was five of them. "Run! Get away from them!" Penny was only backing away slowly until he shouted these words. After hearing them, she turned and dash towards the cliff and Shirou's pillar.
Two of them immediately gave chase and with their speed they closed the distance almost instantly. "Damn it!" He ran up on the remaining three. For whatever reason they hadn't noticed him yet and were glaring at Shirou Schnee while giggling atrociously.
He would teach them for turning their back on him. The first one never saw him coming and he stabbed it in the middle of its back. It ceased laughing and the other two finally spun around to glare at him. He pulled his sword out and the Cackler collapsed to the ground dead. One down. He spared Penny a quick glance to see her barely dodge the claws of one of them as they continued to chase her.
Crocea Mors was still wet with blood from the one he had killed and the two in front of him charged. He swung his sword and the blood went splashing right into their eyes. They both howled and floundered blindly. It was exactly long enough for Jaune to step forward and decapitate them both with one additional swing.
He ran past them before their heads even hit the ground and beelined it for Penny. She was being pushed into a corner between the two Grimm, the cliff, and the canyon wall. If he didn't make it in the next couple seconds Penny really would die.
Real girl or not he doubted she could survive being sliced into ribbons and he wasn't about to lose her. Not again. The feelings that had brought forth when he thought she was dead once were the worst he had ever felt in his whole life. Far worse than the crushing fear that overcame him whenever he faced the Grimm. That was why he was able to push through it right now and fight these things without fleeing.
Penny ran straight for the wall and began to run up it for five or six good steps. Once she slowed to a stop she kicked off it to flip around and behind both Cacklers. They lost sight of her and paused long enough for her to punch the first one in the back. The force of her blow was so strong it smashed the Grimm into the wall. The rock cracked and broke from the force of the blow but no pieces fell.
The other Cackler turned to her and raised its claws above its head while Penny's fist was still drilling into the first one. "No you don't!" Jaune put on a final burst of speed and ran smack into the Grimm with his shield. He knocked it back and right off the cliff behind it. It let out a loud howl as it disappeared into the darkness below. Without a doubt it would die when it hit the ground down there. Nothing could survive that drop if he had to guess.
"Jaune!" He turned around just in time for Penny to crash into him with a powerful hug. He stumbled and came a step away from falling off the cliff himself.
"Hey, Penny! Watch it!" Despite his words he was laughing. He awkwardly returned the hug as best he could while still wielding Crocea Mors.
"I was so scared. I have never experienced that emotion before." She spoke into his t-shirt and he patted the top of her head, avoiding her pink bow.
"It's alright. I experience fear all the time. The important thing now is that we're both safe." He paused before thinking about it. "For the moment." Once they made it back up top they were going to be heading right into the thick of it again.
"Jaune! Penny! Look out!" Pyrrha's unexpected voice caused energy to jolt through him. The danger became clear as he realized the Cackler Penny punched had now recovered. And it was none too happy. It raised its claws up and pinched them together to form a spear.
Without thinking, he knocked Penny to the side just as the Grimm stabbed forward. Now nothing was between him and the Grimm's claws. He tried to raise his shield or his sword. Neither was quick enough. The muscles in his human body were simply too slow to react.
That spear went right through his gut.
And there wasn't a damn thing he was able to do to stop it. A sick squelching sound reached his ears as his own body was ripped through like it was made of paper.
"Jaune!" Penny and Pyrrha's voices overlapped. They were no more able to save him then he was. There was nothing they could do but watch now.
He felt his legs threaten to give out from under him and just barely managed to maintain his balance. It was only thanks to the claws that still ran straight through his body that he didn't. Blood rushed up his throat and his cheeks puffed out as he fought for a second to keep it inside. He failed and gave a ragged cough, the blood bursting past his lips and onto the ground, adding to the puddle that was already pooling at his feet.
Well... this certainly sucked. The Cackler in front of him began laughing hysterically. It twisted the claws around in his gut and caused his insides to ignite in pain. It felt like someone had just set his organs on fire and he had to fight the urge to cry out. Instead he twisted his mouth in a grimace and glared as fiercely as he could at the Grimm. Its evil red eyes stared right back and he felt his heart freeze.
He was... really going to die.
This wasn't like the other times. It wasn't like when he had lured the Chimera off for the others to escape. Or when Cardin's mace blew him up. It wasn't even like when he had ran in front of that Deathstalker's stinger to save Blake. All the other times he had gotten lucky. His luck had officially run out. He had a freaking hole in his gut! Sun wasn't going to yell at him to rally the others to tell him to live. Blake wasn't going to come running to pull him away. His shield hadn't been quick enough to deflect the strike. The damage had already been dealt and now he was going to die.
He... didn't want to die.
He really, really didn't want to die dammit!
Maybe he could still make it out of this? There had to be a way for him to survive. His Aura was supposedly incredibly large, right? Maybe it would heal him through this? He just had to kill the Cackler in front of him and rip its claws out of his stomach first. He didn't exactly have the strength to do that. The fear had caused his arms to lock up and his shield and sword felt like dead weight in his hands.
He looked to them, as if to will himself to lift them. Only to then realize he wasn't even holding them at all. At one point he must of dropped them. There was nothing he could possibly do to kill the creature of Grimm in front of him.
The Cackler's jaw opened wide. It was prepared to finish the job by ripping his head off. He took half-a-step back and nearly slipped off the cliff immediately behind him. He had nowhere to go even if he could pull himself free. He could only stare helplessly as the Grimm's horrifying teeth got closer and closer to his face. This was really it. He couldn't watch yet he couldn't tear his eyes away at the same time.
When the Cackler got less than a inch away from finishing the job, a shot echoed across the canyon and Milo, in its javelin form, flew into the side of the Cackler's head. It smashed into the wall next to them. The force of the blow was too much for the already damaged rock and a piece of the splintered canyon broke loose. He never even realized it happened.
That rock hit his head and the world turned to nothing. With his consciousness gone, the legs supporting him gave out. Just before he fell, his head turned and the last thing he saw was Penny.
That cute, quirky, robot girl sat on her butt with a dumbfounded expression on her face. It was like she didn't even know what was happening in front of her right now. Such a vivid expression reminded him that she was alive. He had saved her life just now.
He felt relief.
This had been to save her.
There was nothing to regret about that.
The only regret he did have was not being able to talk to his partner one last time.
"I'm sorry... Blake." He wasn't even sure his mouth was able to properly form those words as he fell over the side of the cliff.
And into the darkness below.
Chapter End
AN: So how many of you hate me yet?
The Cackler is a Grimm I came up with myself and it's supposed to just be a demented Hyena, kind of crossed with something straight out of Devil May Cry. I'm not sure how I feel about the name but I wanted it to have to do with their laughing trait and Cackler sounded more intimidating than Laugher or Giggler. So I went with it.
Next time, Blake and the others deal with the idea that Jaune may be dead.