The green dome that the headmaster had generated vanished just as the R'lyeh Grimm drew back its hand. Jaune was on his back and managed to get a better look on the Grimm. It was as tall as Beacon Academy and far wider than any Grimm he had ever encountered before. He had heard of large Grimm before but he never could have imagined it to be of this size. Worse still was that he felt as though it was still incomplete, like it was still growing. The back of its head had strange spots that looked like if Grimm had pimples with the red coloring.
"…ames! James!" Headmaster Ozpin was screaming on his scroll. "What are you waiting for?" There was an anger in his voice that Jaune had never heard before. Usually, the headmaster was calm and collected. Mysterious but caring of his students, the headmaster appeared to have been hysterical as he kept shouting at his scroll.
After sometime, the main ship of Atlas, most likely the General's, began firing at the Grimm. The other ships that were still in the air also followed suit. It had taken a while before they were in formation. The effect that R'lyeh had on them all was of an unprecedented scale. There were tales of Grimm that attacked more indirectly but it had never been on a scale this massive. Jaune was certain that records of this must have existed somewhere.
The large Grimm reeled back at the sudden force of firepower that had struck it. It was good for morale as some of the frozen huntsmen and huntresses cheered as they got back to their feet. Others were still quivering but were recovering with their senses returning. It was as though the Grimm's abilities were in some respects, self-sustaining. By instilling a terror and fear into the hearts of the people, it deliberately causes them to feel emotions of negativity, drawing the Grimm.
It begged the question, why is Jaune unaffected by this? His eyes drifted to the sword; the gemstone emitted a constant light that had never faded ever since he had laid eyes on it. Stranger still was that he never felt that same level of fear as the others had. Looking around him, it would seem that the sword had the same effect on the others since they were still able to act. In fact, they were trying to get the attention of their nearby allies.
"Miss Winter and Weiss Schnee," Ozpin barked. "Both of you get as many of the affected huntsmen and huntresses out of here." The headmaster was the only one unaffected by this and is in fact moving with more vigor than what Jaune had expected of the old man. It was as though a youth had returned and energized his otherwise old bones.
The two of them did as they were told. They had a marked fear that painted their faces with those that could stand having the wobbliest legs that is unlike the heroic huntsmen that they normally should have been. It was like they were overwhelmed by an irrational fear. Those numbers have decreased when Atlas had begun its assault.
Jaune stood on his feet as the headmaster charged forward. Neither of them may not have the advantage of speed like the Schnees or Ruby who had joined them but they were still going to bring as many of these fearful huntsmen out of harms' way. When he approached them, their senses seemed to return to them either as Atlas was gaining momentum or when he approached them.
Is this what Saint War Order, does? Jaune thought. Does it like take in all of their fear into itself or something? Never heard of that before.
Then, another cry deafened the skies of Vale, causing some of the recovering huntsmen to return to that hysterical state. R'lyeh appeared to be contorting and the black skin that shadowed over the ground below appeared to be boiling. Drops of black liquid splashed on the ground, resulting in the spawning of many other Grimm.
With the huntsmen frozen in fear, their fighting power had been severely impaired as many could barely hold their own weapons. What was going on? It was only with Atlas' cold and unfeeling machinery that were able to hold them back while those who could still muster up courage were doing what they could to carry their comrades.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out amidst the chaos. With her was Ren and Nora. They could still move but he could see the nerves that were getting to them. Ren was the least affected but the fact that his face had more expressions than the usual calm was cause for concern.
Unable to respond quickly, the now reunited team JNPR acted independently as Nevermore dive bombed their way towards them. The other three members all used the gun aspects of their weapons, dwindling the number of Grimm coming their way. Those that came close were sliced by Jaune. Those that got past the blade were grabbed by Jaune's free arm as he used one Grimm to strike another.
Huntsmen and huntresses were now finding their bearings and begun their counterattack. His focus, however was on those pimply things on the Grimm's back. Squinting, Jaune could see that there were shadowy shapes inside thanks primarily to the sunlight shining through them. They appeared to be like those living organisms in laboratories that he had seen in movies once.
"Headmaster," Professor Ann Greene said, rushing to the headmaster's side. "At the back, the missing people are all there. At the back of R'lyeh."
Missing people? Jaune's eyes widened. Those figures at the back of the Grimm were people? Why? What kind of Grimm would do that?
Headmaster Ozpin called for General Ironwood saying, "James, I'll need a Bullhead on my location as soon as you can. That Grimm will continue to regenerate so long as those pods are available." The general had responded but Jaune couldn't hear what it was. "Those people can still be saved, James! That thing needs sustainable aura to feed itself. I'll do it myself if you won't!"
Grimm feeding on aura? Weren't Grimm supposed to be drawn to negativity? There were few Grimm who feed on aura. Most would just rip and tear anyone to shreds and leave nothing behind. Driven only by an unsatiable thirst for death and destruction, the Grimm were meant to be monsters of significant strength and speed, rarely subtlety. Granted, this one wasn't subtle in the slightest.
"Mr. Arc!" the headmaster suddenly called. "It is of upmost importance that you come with me."
Jaune was caught off-guard. He managed to get his bearings soon after. "Pyrrha, Ren, Nora. Think you guys can trust me at this time?"
"You bet, Jaune-jaune!" Nora saluted. The others nodded, overjoyed and eager to have their team leader back again.
"Good," the headmaster said. "Greene, find the rest team RWBY. If you cannot, Miss Rose will have to do."
Professor Greene looked at him in confusion and asked, "How sure are you about that, headmaster?"
"As sure as I swear that R'lyeh will not take one step into the city," Ozpin replied. The conviction in his voice and eyes were unmistakable. With the effect that the Grimm were having on trained warriors, Jaune didn't want to imagine what it could to an immeasurable number of civilian life.
Team JNPR, led by Ozpin, fought nearby Grimm, assisted other huntsmen and huntresses and kept R'lyeh's attention on them. The last of that was surprisingly easy. Strangely, the Grimm was drawn to Jaune in particular as it would periodically make attempts at his life that if it wasn't for the headmaster and his protective domes, Jaune was certain that he and his team would have been flattened many times over.
"How much longer, headmaster?" asked Jaune. He could see that there were different airships making their descents but he wasn't sure which one was supposed to be theirs.
The answer that they received was General Ironwood's flagship delivering a massive hail of firepower, preventing yet another attempt of R'lyeh on team JNPR. The shooting intensified, keeping the large Grimm at bay. Jaune read the expression on Ozpin's face, it spoke of disapproval. Jaune could see the reason though. By firing that way, Ironwood was putting the lives of those trapped people at risk. However, the trade here was that other lives would be loss. One group over another, the general had to make a decision and if the Grimm needed to feed on the aura of others to regenerate? It might be better to not give it any additional fuel. Still, it was cruel to have to sacrifice the lives of the innocent victims by turning them into martyrs in this way. There was no easy decision to be had here, not one that Jaune could think of anyway.
Metallic soldiers descended and formed a circle, expanding themselves outward. The machines did more at the moment than huntsmen and huntresses, some of which were still frozen in fear. Those who had fared better earlier were starting falter.
Huntsmen and huntresses retreated and kept their distance. It would seem that the Grimm's abilities had a certain range. Jaune could see that those furthest from R'lyeh were the least affected while those closest looked like they could succumb to some kind of fear-induced coma. Even with the unfeeling machines coming to their aid, they are unable to regain their senses and those that approached were also falling on their knees like their bodies had just given out.
Groups of soldiers descended on ropes and grabbed the headmaster and team JNPR. There were few and some had to grab two of them at the same time while they were being held by the cable. Each and every member could only hope that the ropes could take their combined weights while also avoiding any Grimm on the way up.
The ascension felt slow. Despite the haste, Jaune felt that it could move faster. Perhaps it was the fact that down below, there were still fighting to be had on many fronts. A disorganized chaos as huntsmen and huntresses moved just enough to defend themselves but never enough to defeat the Grimm next to them. Atlas' metallic soldiers were also being destroyed. The commands being given to them had a delay which more agile Grimm could easily exploit. Some have thicker hides that could resist the firepower which allowed them to get closer. However, they were machines only. They were sent to this battlefield so that no life would be harmed and that is what mattered in the moment. Considering that said life was being frozen in fear with death looming ever near, it mattered a lot.
Once they were inside, the airship quickly closed its doors and made to keep distance from R'lyeh. The guns and canons continued to fire, shooting down any avian Grimm that sought to go near it. Team JNPR had a better view of the Grimm's image and capabilities. Overall, it was like a sea creature. A four-legged thing with the head of a cephalopod with those red spots on the back of its head causing everyone's skin to crawl. Rather than fur-like, the blackness of the Grimm was more akin to skin and those red spots are like holes in the skin. Tropophobia, it was called. It didn't help that when parts of the Grimm had been blown away, the damage done to it also made them uncomfortable to look at it.
Most of the damage being done to it were being regenerated. The black figures, the victims, inside the red pods were swirling inside. Their auras must have been used to feed it and was the cause that the thing was still alive despite the repeated firepower. The Grimm also managed to grab other victims as well. Those unfortunate enough to have been to close to it were then struck by the Grimm and new red pods began to appear on its back.
"It's actually using their aura," Nora said. Her mouth was covered at the sight of such a thing. "What kind of Grimm is that? Most Grimm that do that sort of thing are the smaller ones."
"The subtle ones, yes," Ren agreed. He looked sick at the sight of it.
"Team JNPR." Headmaster Ozpin wasn't about to let them wallow in whatever emotion they were having. "We can still save what we can. But for those that we cannot, we can only make sure that others do not join their fate. Come."
With the headmaster was Clover Ebi. They were among the fortunate ones, then. Jaune looked down at the sword's hilt; the gemstone still retained that same light.
AN: More of an announcement, but after this fic ends, I do intend to replace it with another. It's taking a while because I'm trying out a different approach to see if it works better for me (that and irl stuff making writing two fics at the same time difficult, nothing too serious it's the portfolio about the internship I went through). Without giving too much away, if Jeanne's time in Beacon is that of a student, this Fate servant is involved with Beacon's Faculty and Staff (other than Astolfo, that is)
