A/N: Allllright! Time for the finale at last! Hope you all enjoy this one HELL of a fight, and like before, I will now take a week break, planning Vol 3, and overall relaxing!
There they stood. All eight of them, against the misshapen monstrosities that wore human skin. Jin was already crouched in a fetal position, shaking in place and refusing to lift a finger, while Melody wasn't far behind her, hiding behind the giant's body. On the other end, the remainder of teams JPLL and ACMM stood with horror and disgust on their faces, watching the six abominations that now looked back at them through human faces, half peeled away and clearly dislocated on the new flesh that now coursed through their body.
Perci, on her part, retracted her fist, jumping back to regroup. "T-They..." She could only mumble, the terror on her eyes speaking volumes, though by now everyone realized it. They weren't just fighting Grimm at that point. The people, the cultists that drank the ichor, somehow lived. Kept alive by the monsters that festered from within them. Forced to witness as their bodies were eaten from the inside and used as nothing more than a weapon.
And with the human life... Came the aura.
Another one of the Grimm screeched, opening it's human mouth and shouting something incoherent, the voice coming out is that of a person, rather than a monster. It then ran at them, rather mindlessly, swinging its tentacle-like arm at the group. Copper reacted first, sending one of her Proto Drives to intercept, hitting it mid-air and holding it at bay. Her head spun in place, still keeping it in check, speaking in the same emotionless tone she had always spoken in. "Step back. Now. I will hold them off." Assuming none of them could fight at the moment, she flicked her drive, lifting the Grimm with ease and smashing it against the ground, though the aura it had protecting the body still cushioned the fall, reducing the damage greatly. Another one lifted an extra brick, throwing it at Copper, who brought out a second Drive, shattering it mid-air.
However, soon enough, all six of them realized she needed to be dealt with first, quickly adapting to the situation. The first broke contact with her Drive, finally freeing itself, and regrouping with the others, they exchanged glances for just a brief moment, starting to dash around her from several different angles, as the mastery over the human form they now held came to them almost naturally. Copper, on the other hand, didn't flinch, remaining as calm as ever, and brought out all six of her Drives, swinging at all of them, assuming she'd hit.
But alas... They learned.
One slid under her attack, while another jumped over it. In a matter of seconds, all of them realized her pattern, as if they thought as one, working around her basic maneuver, approaching her still. In a last ditch effort to evade them, Copper used all of her Drives to launch herself into the air, flying upwards as all six of them clashed into one another, spinning with all of her drives to eviscerate them in one fell swoop.
The next thing that happened managed to catch even her off guard, as the metal of her Drives was met with the clinging sound of another piece of metal. One of them, now holding a rusty pipe, brought it upwards, parrying her crudely, though just hard enough to make her stagger in the air. It took another swing, flailing its arm wildly at her, hitting Copper directly and sending her flying, as she rolled on the ground a good couple of feet away.
Another one of the, with a paw for a hand, walked slowly towards her, raising sharp, black claw to finally rid the Grimm from the only one who so far had the guts not to puke her insides and fight them, despite the revolting nature they held. She glanced just once at the others as if begging for assistance, before her head fell, motionless and hurt.
"NO!" Next to rise to arms was Leila, pulling out Caliborn and spinning the barrel to her favorite type, the red shining crystal reflecting the setting sun above them. She swung it hard, sending the volley of fire upon the foul Grimm that infested her Lord's garden, but to her dismay, by now they got the concept of dodging, moving around the fireballs, and finally heading in their direction. One of them got hit, starting to burn in place and screaming in pain, or at least imitating the action, before it dropped to the ground, rolling in place, ridding itself of the fires.
As the Grimm drew closer, Perci dashed in to defend her friend, raising the Anarchy Melodica and swinging it at one of them. It caught the weapon, though before it could pull it out of her hands, Perci tapped into her massive aura reserve, her enormous strength allowing her to lift the came with the Grimm holding onto it, and slamming it on the ground, shouting in a rage filled frenzy. "DIE!" Once the Grimm hit the ground, she brought her fist, to finish the job, as another one came in just in time, striking her instead, and sending Perci away. She spun mid-air, staggered, as Hue ran to her, catching Perci before she could hit the ground, and putting her down on her feet.
Ash dealt with another two, Undine assisting her, trying to aim her shots proper. Alas, with the sluggish nature of her pistol, unless the target was big enough and not moving her accuracy proved more than faulty. On her side, Undine transformed Oceanline to its harpoon gun form, charging up a blast of ice dust. "EAT ICE YOU FUCKERS!" She shouted, pulling the trigger and unleashing a blast of pure ice at one of them, that got too close. It jumped into the air, holding a knife, and with unnatural accuracy for a Grimm, brought it down against her head, leaving Undine little to no time to strike back. Instinct kicked in, and she tapped into her semblance, quickly sinking into the ground, but leaving her weapon out in the open. The Grimm picked it up, now aiming it at Ash, and blasted her with the same shot as before, freezing her leg almost entirely.
"Shit!..." Ash tried to move, or at least break the ice holding her down, as the Grimm now holding Oceanline charged right at her, swinging the weapon wildly without transforming it back, luckily enough not knowing how. She pulled out Quick Justice, using the baton to somehow defend herself against the coming threat, backed into a corner while the Grimm wailed on her, striking repeatedly.
Leila attempted to come to her aid, switching to earth Dust, and striking the earth, she unleashed a small tremor on everything around her. The Grimm got shocked, though before letting go, it threw the weapon away to one of its allies, as the Ice over Ash's leg broke free, and she dashed back, pulling out Blind Justice and aiming a shot. She pulled the trigger, though thanks to Leila's tremor still working in the background, she couldn't accurately aim in the small window of opportunity she got, missing entirely, and in fact grazing Leila herself. Already in a full blown panic attack, Leila didn't notice, pumping as much aura as she could into her blade, switching to ice dust and unleashing a huge spread of exploding ice flowers all around her.
As the icy bloom came to a close, Leila's aura finally ran through. Having spent her entire aura on trying to push the Grimm away, she fell to one knee, looking as defiant as ever, about three of them approaching her slowly, killing intent in their eyes. "Oh no you fucking DON'T!" Perci's voice came from the side, as she and Hue intervened, arrows and gunfire pushing them just for enough to allow Perci to pull Leila away back to safety. Laying her on her back, looking over at the exhausted nun, Perci couldn't help but shake her head. "No no no!... We need everyone for this..." She muttered over and over. At the end of the day, they didn't have a limitless supply of aura, and the Grimm seemed to grow smarter, utilizing the human brains in their possession more and more efficiently at a staggering rate. She looked down at Leila, trying to get up but unable to, thinking about what to do.
And then, it clicked.
She brought her hand, pressing it against Leila's face tightly, the nun having little to no say in the matter. The fight with Elaine popped back into her head, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized something. It was something that she never knew she was capable of, but regardless existed within the spectrum of her semblance all along.
She melded their auras, but instead of pull, she pushed.
Leila's eyes flung open, feeling aura pump Into her, refueling her with energy. Once Perci gave her enough, she lifted her hand, Leila quickly getting back up on her feet, looking at Perci both surprised and confused. "P-Perci... How?..."
"Just shut up, alright?" Perci herself didn't really like the idea of just giving aura away, but if it meant winning this god-awful fight and finally going back to Beacon, she would do whatever it took. "Now take your fucking sword and be careful next time, alright? I'm not made out of aura you know..." She lingered in place for just one last second, before running back, cane in hand, to rejoin the fight. Leila looked at her weapon one last time, before nodding, feeling the aura coursing through her, as if it was hers all along, running after Perci.
Perci got back just in time, as Undine popped out of the ground, the Grimm holding her weapon coming to swing at her still rising head. She jump-kicked it from the side, knocking it back, and finally dropping Oceanline, which Undine raised a hand to grab as soon as she could. By now, the rest of the Grimm realized how much of a threat Perci can actually be, as all of them dropped whoever they were fighting with, turning their attention directly to her. "So, you what some of this, eh?..." Perci grinned, raising her cane and getting into position. "Then come get me, you bitches! I'll beat all Y'all!" She called out, hiding her fear behind a thick layer of cocky recklessness, as two of them ran towards her, one holding the pipe and the other swinging it's tentacle arm at her. Hue tried to stop them with her frozen arrows, further aided by Undine, who fully rose up, though each time they missed, Perci having to face all six on her own.
Melody stared in horror, as her girlfriend was doomed from the start. Unlike Copper, Perci never had the capacity to hold herself against many opponents like that, and it wasn't long before she was on the floor, beaten, as one of them came to finally end her life. "No..." Melody murmured, stuck in place, the only option left for her being too frightening to choose. "Perci no..." The tentacle was raised, the Grimm looking down at her with a mad-like expression, or at the very least, the best imitation it could get for one. At that moment, Melody felt something within her. Something calling out, reaching to her very soul, telling her what she needed to do. She rose up to her feet, tapping into whatever it was, as her voice rang out, loud and true.
"PERCIIIII!"
Before the final blow was struck, a hand grabbed it. Perci, now on her knees, smirked as she stood back against the incoming monstrosities, feeling stronger than ever. "Well, then... Seems like I got me a little power up..." She looked the Grimm in the eye, looking almost dauntless, as if all shred of fear was taken away from her, leaving a thoroughly pissed Perci in her wake. "Let's test it out, shall we?"
She started to swing her cane again, far faster than before. The others joined in, but with the Grimm's understanding of each of them, none of them could actually do anything, left in an odd stalemate. Melody, now back on her feet, feeling the same boost Perci got, raised her weapon, aiming it at one of them, and taking a rather simple shot, hitting the head directly. It turned in place, it's body twisting in almost unnatural degrees, running towards her with mad glee, though at that point Melody didn't back down. Alas, she was too far away from the others to help her, and with no other choice, raised her sword, ready for whatever it had in store.
The Grimm brought down its claw, Melody's Swan Song parrying it, but just barely. Despite the bravery she showed, physical force was still not her strongest suit. It swung at her from the side, Melody quickly moving her sword to protect herself. "Love!" Perci called from the side, coming to her rescue, as the Grimm kept herself and the rest of them busy enough. Melody retaliated with a swing of her own, but the Grimm grabbed it by the other end, pulling it out of her hands, now taking her weapon for its own. Her eyes narrowed in fear, standing forth regardless, refusing to just let her fear stop her again, the surge she felt keeping her running.
But before it could swing the blade... A claw pierced its heart. Jin's claw.
The others stood for a brief moment, staring in awe, as Jin's shocked face contradicted her actions. She looked horrified at her own actions, but regardless, her instincts kicked in, telling her what she needed to do. She pulled out her electrified hand from the Grimm, watching the aura around it shatter completely as she managed to kill it, taking out the cultist with it. She still shook in place, knowing she saved Melody's aura, but at the expense of another, still unwilling to fully recognize it.
"Jin..." Melody gazed at her, just as shocked as the giantess was, turning her attention to the remaining five. By now, the other's auras were pretty low, even with Perci trying to use her semblance to balance everyone out. At the end of the day, she was out of aura herself at that point, though the Grimm around them didn't let up, swinging and bashing, focusing on Jin until she couldn't take anymore as well, as both teams ACMM and JPLL finally had nothing more they could do. Copper herself finally recovered, joining the fight, despite having no aura to save her as well.
They gathered together, with weapons raised, the five Eldritchan Grimm coming at them, each one more menacing than the last. They each held some sort of weapon, one of them even getting hold of a knife, forcing the huntresses in training into a corner. Perci looked at the others, nodding once, and raising her weapon. "If we go down... We go down fighting." She tried to put on a brave face, though deep inside, it was clear that fear had a hold on her. They all did, forcing each other and themselves to keep fighting, the rush finally ending as the fear settled in. They looked onwards in despair, not knowing what to do next, Leila praying that someone would come to their rescue, as at that point none of them would survive.
And almost on cue, the blade of a scythe connected by a chain flew above them, landing in front of the Grimm.
Leila gasped, watching Elaine descend from the sky on her own, joining the fray. "Elaine, what're you-?"
"Step back!" She called at them, turning her masked face towards the two teams for a split second. "Just stay out of my way, I'll handle this!" She pulled out Deicide, her trusty scythe, fully extending it and holding it against the Grimm. "You are a blemish upon my world..." She whispered, showing no signs of fear, like a true huntress. "Now die."
One of them screeched, feeling a tad cocky, running towards her with a pipe raised. Elaine didn't even falter, moving to the side, and with a quick swing of her scythe, sliced the head apart, watching it fall to the floor and crumble away, leaving scraps of skin where it used to it. The body, now headless, stopped in place for a moment, before turning around, and leaping to her back, swinging regardless. Elaine jumped in the air, dodging it swiftly, only for the tentacled one to grab one of its brethren, lifting it into the air and throwing it at Elaine. It swung a heavy claw at her, Elaine quickly dislodging the blade from the handle, as it flew into the ground, pulling her under and avoiding the attack. She jumped as soon as she landed, keeping the blade flying around her, spinning it around and sending it flying, managing to cut the tentacle right off.
The Grimm screamed in pain, the others joining in, as if they all felt it as one. Elaine didn't miss a beat, dashing at them with great force, drawing her scythe away for another swing. Before any of them could react to her, she fell to her feet, sliding under them. Once she was right in the middle, she pulled out a red crystal, using her aura to activate it and throwing it at them, as a fiery explosion burst in front of their faces, staggering all of them at once. Taking the opportunity, she finished what she started, stabbing the headless one in the chest and hacking it in two, leaving another decaying corpse on the floor, only angering the others further.
Only three left standing, the Grimm rallied, attempting a different approach, keeping their distance away from the Haven Reaper and lifting whatever they could off the ground, throwing it at a rapid pace. Playing their game, she wrapped the scythe around her arm, pulling out two barrels from the tip, and pointing her arm at the trio of Grimm, shooting a barrage of fiery dust at all of them, each crystal exploding in a spectacular fashion, just like before.
When the dust settled, another fell, blown the smithereens. The other two, looking at one another for a quick second, ran around her, weapons raised, waiting for a single window of opportunity to attack. One of them tried running at the other girls, though the moment it did Elaine launched herself at it, doing anything she could to keep them out of the fight. "I'm right here!" She called out, the faceless mask she wore showing nothing of her intent.
Without the ability to read her properly, the Grimm were left with no choice than to keep her occupied, hoping that they'd be able to distract her long enough to rid her of her aura, and then take her out. Now, having roughly watched her movements, they decided to try again, running towards her, pipes in hand, swinging at her from both top and bottom. Elaine jumped into vertical position, spinning midair as the pipes passed above and below her, bringing out her scythe and slicing their makeshift weapons into ribbons, landing on her feet as they fell into pieces.
The Grimm, however, did not let up, running close to hand to hand combat range, sending a flurry of kicks and punches at the masked huntress. Elaine took mere a quick breath, pushing them back and holding her ground, though the barrage of attacks from both of them proved quicker than she anticipated, keeping her with her guard up. Trying to put some distance between herself and her opponents, she jumped back, standing on her scythe and watching them approach, pulling another red crystal, aiming straight for the middle of them. As she threw the red Dust, already setting it to explode, each of them jumped to the side, rolling away from her attack, keeping their advent in her direction.
Elaine didn't let up, preparing her weapon, this time pulling out the barrels as well. One of them came to send a round kick, as she ducked away and brought her blade, firing a small explosion directly towards its crotch area, sending it flying away with a hole between its legs. It stood regardless, brushing off the need for body parts, as the other jumped above, landing with a foot aimed at her mask. Elaine backflipped out of the way, landing a fair bit away from the two.
She pondered her options. At that rate, they would learn everything she could do, and easily overpower her. Realizing she had no other choice, she closed her eyes behind her mask, tapping into the one power she had that could help her. The desire to rule all fueling her aura, she raised her hand, looking as stern and as cold as ever at the two of them, activating her semblance.
By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late. Her semblance, sapping away their strength and adding it to her own, already kicked into full gear, as the punches they threw became slower and more sluggish, while Elaine herself became even more nimble. She only had a few seconds like this to keep her semblance active, but in those few seconds, she knew she had everything it took to finish the job.
Running at one of them she gave a quick upper swing to the head, tricking it into ducking. Swiping her feet, she caught it off guard, bringing her scythe down, as it rolled away, getting away from her by a slim margin. Regardless, she pushed on, jumping above it again, far faster then it could react, slicing it cleanly in half, and killing it at last.
The other, finally on its own, screamed one last time, as if shouting out a battle cry, as it ran towards her, picking up the knife that fell on the ground. Elaine, on the other hand, didn't miss a single beat, dodging every swing with ease, and before the Grimm knew it. She cut its arm off, her scythe raised to the air, covered in ichor. It shouted at her, opening a revolting mouth filled with mismatched teeth, bellowed in pain at the lost limb, before sending the other from the opposite direction. Elaine shook her head, showing no mercy, spinning Deicide across her body and bringing it on the other arm, taking it down as well.
Left armless, the Grimm stepped back, having no way to attack her. Giving one last ditch effort, it lunged Elaine, opening its jaw to bite her head off, though at that point it was mostly harmless. Elaine naturally brought forth the tip of her weapon, sticking it in the monster's mouth as the dust recharged.
"Now cease." She uttered, pulling the trigger, an explosion tearing the Grimm apart from within, finally ending the horrible nightmare.
The eight of them stared at the decomposing pile of corpses left behind by Elaine, as Perci's face shifted to a rather satisfied grin. "W-We're... Alive." She took a second look, counting heads as if doubting her own perception of reality. "We're all fucking alive!" She ran to Melody, hugging her tightly, almost shaking her in place. "I'm alive! You're alive! Holy fucking shit! WOW!" The adrenaline rush keeping strong in her, Perci couldn't help but shower Melody with kisses, who tried to shy away from her forwardness, though enjoying the gesture regardless.
As the two teams took a breath of fresh air, Leila stepped closer to Elaine, who was busy cleaning her weapon from the ichor that gathered on it in the fight. Elaine stopped for the time being, turning her attention to her friend, as Leila couldn't help but bow to her. "...Thank you, Elaine. If it weren't for you, we'd be all dead..." She couldn't help but muse on her own words. Not that long ago, they all faced certain death. She took another peek at the others, watching Jin still shaken, but standing, and Hue tending to her, trying to hug her to make her feel better.
Elaine turned to Leila fully, a faint grin showing on her face. "...Don't mention it." She muttered. "I only did what I know was right."
"As one would expect from a fourth-year student." Another voice, a male this time, pierced the veil, as Professor Ozpin himself, followed by Port, approached the nine of them. He looked at the still decaying corpses, traces of skin remaining behind, and it didn't take him long to realize what just happened. "And would the nine of you mind explaining to me what happened here? It seemed like you just encountered a..." His eyes narrowed a bit, fixing his glasses with his left hand. "Rather unique type of Grimm..."
Brought back to Beacon, each of them was taken for questioning. Elaine was let out first, having little to nothing to do with the situation beforehand, only there to finish off the fight proper. As for JPLL and ACMM, the secret was out, and by the time Ash came to her interview, Ozpin had a rather clear image of everything they knew about the Grimm cult.
"Ash..." He started, staring at the detective girl as she sat down, looking rather somber. "I hope you understand the gravity of the situation, hiding such information from us." He frowned lightly, taking a small sip of his mug. In truth, he disliked being overly stern with his students, but in times like these, it was a must.
Ash frowned as well, looking to the side. "So the others told you everything, huh?..." Her secret out, she leaned on her chair, trying to relax. Regardless, the images of the Grimm, staring at them through human faces still haunted her mind, and while being alive did wonders to lift her mood, it wasn't enough to heal the mental damages she sustained. Some part of her thanked whatever there was out there that she wasn't on team JPLL, or Jin in particular, as she could only imagine the horror of having to take another aura's life, especially when it came to kill another.
Ozpin nodded, taking another sip, keeping his cool all the while. "...Yes, they did. Now, I'm going to ask you the same question, though I am pretty sure at this point that it is not much you know that I still don't." His head leaned a bit closer, looking her in the eyes. "is there anything else you want to tell me about the cultists?"
Ash looked at him, trying to think. "They told you about Merlot, right?" Ozpin nodded. "And... About the first Eldritchan?" Another nod confirmed her suspicion. "Then... I don't think so, no." She sighed, having no other choice but to wait for Ozpin's final verdict on her actions.
"Alright, then..." Ozpin leaned back into his chair, looking at Ash with rather content eyes. "First, I want you to know that I am, to some degree, proud of you for deciding to go above and beyond to protect those around you." A soft grin managed to escape his lips. "It's the mark of a true huntress."
Ash met his grin with a smirk of her own, chuckling without voice briefly before leaning back into her chair, letting one hand fall behind it and her legs to stretch forward. "Thanks." She nodded, happy that at the very least it wasn't all bad.
"However..." Ozpin's tone changed again for the worse, making Ash lose her mood a bit, staring at him rather seriously. "You acted recklessly and foolishly. First-year students shouldn't need to face such things this soon." He swiftly concluded, raising his eyes from his mug to look directly at her. "This is why, on top of having psychological treatment until I am certain you can function fully again... I want you, and team JPLL, away from this investigation. From here on, I will have professional huntsman look for the leader of this small cult, and have him apprehended before he can cause any more harm."
Ash's face fell drastically, having heard the one thing that she least wanted to hear. "So, what you're saying is..." She wanted to make sure, Ozpin nodding once in agreement.
"Yes, Ash..." He figured he'd put things how she wanted to interpret them, just to emphasize his point. "You're off the case."
"Ah man..." She pouted, looking away and falling over a bit, leaning on her chair more heavily. "But we found it first..."
Ozpin shook his head regardless, keeping his stand. "And I am sure that in due time, when you graduate, you will be able to use your skills for the betterment of Remnant, and help a lot more people. But for now, you have your studies to do, and I will not let you, or any of your friends, risk your lives like that again."
Ash took a deep sigh, breathing out and looking at Ozpin wearily. In truth, she was beyond exhausted, and at the moment, she wanted nothing more than just lay in bed for probably forever. "...Fine, I guess..." She muttered, as the sacks beneath her eyes became quite apparent and clear.
Ozpin nodded, finally agreeing to send her away. "Alright, off you go then, Ms. Noir." He concluded, pointing to the door. "I think by now the rest of your friends should be waiting for you in their dorms."
She stepped outside, wobbling a bit, tired but happy. At the very least, the Grimm were dead, and none of them would have to deal with them for a long, long time, possibly forever, if Ozpin would get them in time. Getting to her dorm and opening the door, she already saw all of her team on their beds, Copper included, sleeping peacefully, Melody muttering Perci's name under her breath, Undine seemingly dreaming about eating something, as her chewing of her pillow would have suggested, leaving only one bed vacant. Without even taking her coat off, Ash just wobbled to the softness that awaited, falling over on the sheets, and closing her eyes, succumbing to the confines of sleep at last.
A/N: So, this was quite the thing, wasn't it?...
Anyway, this is it for Volume 2 of JPLL. Now, that I'm taking my week break, I have quite a few things to think about, in regards to the future volume, as I can only go up from here, right? Anyway... This is Arch, signing out, and I'll see you all next week with Volume 3 of JPLL!