Survival is the barest instinct of life. It can unlock hidden power the likes of which none have ever seen, all for the sake of staying alive...

~o~0~o~

Jaune had just situated Dusty in the crook of the his arm and started on his way home when he heard it. A blaring electronic siren coming from the direction of the village. Jaune's heart constricted with fear. He immediately began to run as fast as he could manage without jostling the injured avian clucking with pain in his arms.

Jaune's village was rural by design, being situated in Mistral, so it wasn't exactly a paragon of modern technology. This didn't stop it from posessing modern commodities, like scrolls and household appliances... and weapons. This technology included a town-wide warning siren to warn the locals into the safety of the village borders in case the area was reported to contain sightings of the creatures of Grimm.

The fact that the siren was even used was what had Jaune concerned. As well as being home to several retired Huntsmen and Huntresses, along with aspiring Huntsmen-in-training currently on school break, the village militia itself had a decent general armory, so most small Grimm that wandered too close were easily dealt with...

...But that meant the only reason the siren was ever used was if Mistral proper issued a warning that a particularly powerful Grimm had been seen in the area. One that required at least a 5th tier Huntsman to deal with it.

The only resident Huntsmen above tier 7 were Jaune parents, and they were on a mission in Vale, which was a continent over.

Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap...

Fear pushed him to move faster. His lungs were burning from exertion, but he knew he had to make it back to the village... before the Grimm found him first. As he hurried toward the village, Jaune failed to notice the subtle, ghostly green glow that began to surround his companion... or the ethereal purple mist that began to faintly waft from him...

~o~0~o~

The creature was hungry. The trees around its den had run out of sap days ago, and so it was forced to wander out and find more. Today though, it had felt the subtle, yet so very tantalizing, reek of negative emotion that was shared by all members of the creature's favorite species of prey. However, it seemed that a rather large pack of Beowolves had the same idea.

Well, too bad! It had smelled them first!

The creature been steadily approaching this appealing prize when it suddenly picked up a new scent, one of the creature's personal favorites. Fear. Licking it's chops, the creature trundled off in search of this new prey...

~o~0~o~

Jaune continued to stumble and struggle to the undergrowth in his haste to get to the village. The forest had gone unnervingly quiet a few minutes ago, which was doing absolutely nothing to calm his heart from trying to escape his chest. It didn't help that Dusty kept making noises of discomfort whenever Jaune's arm shifted too much. After a particularly loud squawk, Jaune had finally had enough.

"Would you shut up?! I don't know if you've got death wish or something, but you're gonna get us both killed!"

Hissing desperately through his teeth, Jaune glared at the avian tucked in the crook of his arm. Beak still partially open, Dusty stared back. Jaune strode among the trees, staring the bird down. Dusty's beak abruptly clicked shut. Jaune stumbled over another root, but this time all he heard was a muffled croak through the now tightly shut beak.

He listened to me... huh, maybe he's been around humans before and picked up a thing or-- wait a minute.

Is he glowing??

Now confused as well as terrified, Jaune pushed himself between a pair of trees, still staring at Dusty, who stared rright back at him. Only this time he was enveloped in a ghostly green light, like one of those plastic glowing sticks that were at the seasonal festival last month. Except the light didn't seem to illuminate anything else. He was starting to think this wasn't a normal bird.

"What are you...?"

Suddenly, Jaune heard a twig snap somewhere in front of him. Startled, he snapped his head towards the sound... and froze.

Almost everyone and their pet knew of the creatures of Grimm, and being from a Huntsman family Jaune was no exception. They were monsters born from darkness and vicious beyond all reason. Until now, Jaune had only ever seen photos of the creatures. He had never seen a Grimm in person.

Now he was staring at the back of one just several feet away.

The beast was massive, enormous paws and thick, stumpy back legs attached to an utter hulk of rippling muscle. It was covered in pitch black fur from which an equally black fog seemed to evaporate. Along its back and front paws white, boney protrusions burst forth, augmenting the Grimm's already nightmarish appearance.

To say Jaune was frightened would be an understatement. He was downright terrified. Here he was, standing just a few meters away from a natural-born killing machine. He was sure that this monster would be the last thing he would see in this life.

Then his analytical, observant mind, bless its kind and generous soul, noticed one detail that could potentially save his life.

It hasn't noticed me yet.

The thought didn't get rid of his fear, but it did help him regain just enough of a hold on his sanity to creep sideways to his left, exiting the clearing as quietly as he could. Jaune kept going until he was sure he couldn't hear the snuffling and rustling of the monster he had just left behind. He released a shaky breath he hadn't realized he was holding until now.

"Holy crap, I thought I was gonna die..."

Dusty nipped his hand.

"Ow-- hey! What was that for?"

Dusty leveled a stare that seemed to say "you're an idiot."

"Don't look at me like that! What did you want anyw--"

He looked up just in time to stop himself from striding face-first into a tree. Jaune blinked, then looked back down at the bird.

"Uh... thanks, I guess. Wow, you're pretty smart for a bird."

~o~0~o~

Rounding the tree, Jaune came upon a very familiar and calming setting. He was standing at edge of the treeline over looking a large lake. Overhead, the light of dusk turned the sky orange. Off to the far right, the lights of the Dust lanterns illuminated the small village fishing wharf and boat dock. Jaune heaved a sigh of relief.

"Whew, looks like I'm living another day!"

Dusty chirped in happy aggreement. Honestly, Jaune was tired, emotionally spent, and a little hungry. He couldn't wait to get home. He began trekking along the beach of the lake toward home.

"Great! Now all I gotta do is head home, get you patched up, and leave this whole nightmare behind m--"

For the third time that evening, Jaune's train of thought was interrupted, this time by a piercing howl. Jaune groaned in exasperation.

"Spoke too soon..."

Jaune tiredly turned to the left to inspect his newest aggressor. The creature seemed to resemble a wolf, with reverse-jointed hind legs and a lupine snout and ears. Its disproportionately large front paws sported long, sharp claws that were segmented to allow for gripping and, oddly enough, each paw had a single appendage grown in the opposite direction to act as apposable thumbs. As with the other Grimm he'd seen the forest, this one had the bone-like growths protruding from its back and arms.

Jaune had seen photos of the wolf creatures before, but this one looked different. It was almost twice as bulky as the ones in the pictures, and its finger segments were serrated. The most terrifying part of the beast was its jaws. As the creature opened its mouth to lick its chops, Jaune caught a glimpse of several short strips of bone place seemingly at random underneath the tougue. He watched, still rooted to the spot, as the writhing muscle disappeared down its gullet, leaving room for the weird bone strips to unfurl into pointy spines of marrow from the creature's jaw. Jaune also noted the tips of what appeared to be several more spines hanging from the roof of the beast's mouth.

Extra teeth.

To make sure it doesn't miss anything important.

Jaune, already emotionally exhausted from laying eyes on the first Grimm, and physically burned out from all the running before, couldn't help but feel somewhat numb to the sight.

My luck CANNOT get any worse.

As if on cue, the monster let out a low, resounding bark as began to lope across the lakeside straight at Jaune.

...Aaaand it just got worse.

Jaune turned and bolted, sprinting as hard as he could without dropping Dusty, pumping his legs as fast as they would go.

The Grimm was faster.

Jaune looked over his shoulder to gauge the beast's distance from him. He saw nothing. Frantic, he looked the other way just as it leaped sideways, claws outstretched.

Jaune was exhausted. He couldn't dodge it, nor would he have been able to. Dusty sqawked in terror.

Jaune then performed possibly the most heroic, or foolish, act of his young life. He turned his back and curled his arms defesively around Dusty.

Utter agony burst from his left shoulder as it shattered from the strike, the sharp points on the back of the paw gouging through his left pectoral. He was thrown off his feet, losing his hold on Dusty, and landed at the edge of the lake. His shirt growing wet with blood, Jaune managed to rise to his knees before before the monster struck for the final time.

As the jaws closed over his left shoulder, one outer fang slicing his throat and the extras mutilating the already mangled area, Jaune had one last, desperate thought.

I don't wanna die here!

The world went black.

wovoosh-KABOOM!

The purple haze faintly wafting from his body suddenly bust forth in an explosion of purple light and power.

The monster died on the spot, the explosion hurling it away to land in a heap. Jaune flopped bonelessly to the dirt at the edge of the water. Silence reigned as the sun set and the moon rose over Mistral.

~o~0~o~

Far away, in a dark, evil place, an embodiment of darkness lounged on a throne, smirking. The newest of her creations had been sent out to hunt, and reports of its ferocity soon would follow.

As if on cue, the door opened and a softly glowing bulb with teeth and tendrils hanging underneath floated in.

"What news of the prototype?"

No one answered, but the figure's brow furrowed, then then her eyes widened slightly as her smirk faded.

"Destroyed? How?"

No response.

The figure leaned back in her seat, narrowing her eyes and pinching her chin.

"It seems an unknown power is now in play..."

~o~0~o~

In his office atop a giant clocktower, a white-haired, middle-aged man sipped his coffee before standing and walking to his window, watching the Vale sunrise as he leaned on his cane.

"... A new piece has been set on the board..."

He took another sip with a small smile.

"... This should be interesting."

~o0o~

(A/N): Admittedly, there's less "Reaper" in this chapter than I would have liked, but it was either this or double the chapter. It worked out, though, 'cause now I can dedicate a full chapter to the final exposition.

Next Time...

Jaune's power finally emerges, but for what purpose does it exist? Two figures from the ancient past appear to explain and pass on a secret Arc legacy, but what do they mean when they say his link with Dusty isn't supposed to exist? Dusty can... talk?!

Once the night is over, boy and bird may be left with more questions than answers...