Wraith
Chapter Forty-One
Beta: Smithrooks
All Dreams End
Dorme, many years ago...
Two years, eleven months and one week after the Fall of Amity.
John could admit that there was a certain degree of irony in his current predicament.
The Gleam-Eyes.
Just looking at the beast from afar was enough to make him want to shit his pants.
Judging by the smell around him alone, perhaps some of the other hunters already had.
See, that's the thing about the Gleam Eyes that made it different from other society-ending Grimm; it wasn't the size of a small city, it didn't make skyscrapers fall from its mere footsteps, it couldn't fly or burrow underground.
It was subtler than that.
A Gleam-Eyes was somewhere between a lion, a snake and a person. Only taller - this one coming to about two and a half stories tall. A titan, but barely. The face of a ferocious lion, the torso and limbs of a genderless human, and a tail that was just a really big snake - that was a Gleam-Eyes. Oh, and each of its fingers had fingernails as long and sharp as a claymore.
But that wasn't even the exciting part.
The beast had three special traits - two of which were utterly unique to this particular Grimm.
Firstly, like many True Grimm, the Gleam Eyes could breathe fire. This was a trait shared by most SS class beasts.
Secondly, and uniquely, the Gleam Eyes could survive any wound that didn't immediately kill it. It healed itself so quickly that assuming one was actually able to cause damage in the first place, it simply didn't matter. Cut off its arm? A new one has grown by the time you finish your sword swing.
Thirdly, the reason behind the name and the reason for the irony that now beset John. Anyone that met the red eyes of the beast was struck with an unnatural and alien terror that clawed away at their will. Alike to John's Semblance, only magnified to the absolute end degree. Like comparing a bucket of water to, say, an ocean.
Oh, and it also had the unfortunate side effect of making people so scared that they summoned more Grimm.
That was why the Gleam Eyes was classified as a societal level threat.
And it was currently running towards the walls of Dorme at full speed.
"W-we have to run!" The girl beside him gasped.
A couple dozen hunters, a handful of military aircraft, a small army of soldiers, and every student Beacon could muster on such short notice. Even Ozpin was here…
But it wouldn't be enough.
An army was useless in the face of the fear the Gleam-Eyes would - and already was - inspiring. They would be extremely lucky if a fifth of their force didn't turn tail and run in sheer terror. Far more likely that it'll end up being just a few dozen brave fools - himself unfortunately included - to face the beast alone.
The rest would run.
There should be more - and there would have been, had the Grimm had the decency to wait more than an hour in crossing the distance between Magnis and Dorme. The likelihood of more fully trained hunters coming was slim; the vaunted 'independence' of hunters was something of a detriment when it meant that the most powerful fighters in your army could - and probably did - refuse the call.
Students of Beacon, however, were not fully trained hunters. They were still bound to do whatever Ozpin, and by extension, Vale told them to do.
Better than the average grunt in the military, but only in the sense that most Beacon students were probably still foolish enough to willingly run to their deaths in the name of being a 'hero'.
That being said, John was willing to bet that most of them, right at this very moment, were ready to flee and let Vale burn.
The girl beside him was young, probably one of the students forced into coming. Black hair and fearful yellow eyes that failed profoundly to hide the utter terror she was feeling.
"Fight for Vale!" John roared, his hand raising Crocea Mors high into the sky. Gods, he hoped his hand wasn't shaking - being brave sucked. "Fight to defend your homes!"
Like the good little martyrs they were, those around him roared their approval; some weak and fearful like the girl beside him, others strong and full of conviction. John didn't blame those that couldn't overcome their fear, but he could only hope that they did their part in the battle.
Fight to defend their homes…
Far behind him, the last of the evacuation bullheads began to speed away.
This was it.
The Gleam-Eyes fell upon the short wall like a tidal wave. One moment a ten metre wide section of wall was there, and the next it simply wasn't.
The titan roared defiantly as its blackened skin was assaulted on all sides by a barrage of gunfire and elemental Dust. Great swathes of skin tore away and regrew in a matter of seconds, and yet still the beast didn't look terribly phased. With one lazy swing of its serpentine tail - the tail being fully autonomous apparently - the life of some nameless hunter was snuffed out.
Would being eaten whole by a tail/snake hurt?
"Retreat!"
It was already starting to happen.
"No!" John roared, his voice in sync with another, "Stay and fight!"
From across the writhing mass of the battlefield John caught sight of Ozpin, the elder man trying just as John was to rally the ailing morale of the defenders.
The titanic form of the Gleam-Eyes rumbled as though it were laughing at the fear it inspired, a gout of red - not orange, red - flame pouring of of its mouth like liquid magma. The blast doused a dozen fools who were paralysed by fear - their screams of agony were brief and clipped by how quickly they died.
"It's going to kill us all!"
John, for all his experience as a hunter could only shiver in horror as the beast casually swiped its sword like fingernails through the poor fool stupid enough to shout and draw attention to himself. The hunter was instantly sliced to ribbons.
"RUN!"
They were routed already, over two thirds of the military, students and the hunters 'defending' the village were running in the opposite direction to the Grimm. The ones that remained… they weren't enough.
But even so, John had a promise to keep.
With a roar of his own John charged towards the monstrosity, the blade of Crocea Mors shining brilliantly in the sunlight. He didn't bother with the shield - there was no point.
"Fools!"
A white and red blur shot past John like lightning, a vaguely familiar girl leaping directly atop the Gleam-Eyes' back with a flaming rapier - the thin sword digging deeply into the monster.
Good. Someone who was willing to die for the cause then - John could use the help.
Less than a second behind her, John charged in close to the serpentine tail of the great beast, Crocea Mors easily cutting the snake free of the actual Gleam-Eyes.
For a second John was foolish enough to think that he may have actually hurt it.
He was wrong.
True to the legends, by the time John stopped the swing of his sword the severed snake head had already half regrown, the fangs and hateful red eyes barely sparing a moment to glare balefully at John.
But he wasn't the target anymore.
The snake/tail jerked upwards to the pale, white-clad girl still viciously stabbing the Gleam-Eyes' spine with her flaming rapier. She didn't even see the attack coming, and it was too quick for John to warn her - as quick as lightning, the now-fully formed snake head crashed into the girl and threw her off into the air.
All at once John felt himself being thrown backwards, one of the legs of the beast idly slapping him aside as the titan spun around.
In a single moment the behemoth whirled around and punched the flying form of the pale girl, a terrible crunch marking the impact the both the Grimm's fist and the unforgiving ground as she landed.
"WEISS!"
John bounced and rolled for his own impact with the ground, fairing much better than the foolishly brave girl. She was either dead or had broken every bone in her body. Or both.
Another girl, this one familiar to him rushed to her fallen friend's side. What was her name…? Jaune had spoken of her often… Wait, wasn't that Pyrrha? The one Jaune mentioned in the book…
With a furious jerk of her head, Pyrrha left the side of her fallen friend and raised her weapon to charge their unstoppable enemy-
John didn't let her.
With a rough push, John pushed her back towards the maimed white-haired girl. "Stay with your friend and get the hell out of here!"
Green eyes widened with startled recognition, "Wait! You're Ja-"
Heat washed over them as the Gleam-Eyes spat fire behind them. "No time!" John shouted, "Just leave while you can, run into the forest!"
Were it literally anyone else he wouldn't have cared - just another body to throw between him and the might of the Gleam Eyes. But this was someone - though he wouldn't ever admit it - that Jaune loved. And by God, John was going to protect his children from being hurt, physically and emotionally, as best he could. She would live.
No more words were shared - she gathered her broken friend and fled.
Good.
As John turned back to the fight, it dawned on him in a single instant just how completely they had lost. The veritable army that stood ready to face the mighty Grimm was just gone; most had fled in the first few moments, and the rest had died.
All in less than five minutes.
To his horror John noted that, including himself, the defenders numbered five.
But the ones left were the mightiest: Ozpin, Glynda Goodwitch, Bartholomew Oobleck and Peter Port.
And himself.
They had no hope of winning.
But the Gleam Eyes was wrong if it thought it would be an easy victory.
The funny thing about being a Beacon instructor - most were getting old and beginning to slow down physically, but they were the best of the best. They were the hunters that could smite entire teams of lesser hunters individually. They were the best not only because they were the strongest, but they fought smartly.
John couldn't compare to them physically, but fighting dirty was something he had down to an art form.
John didn't roar or shout as he charged the monster, for its attention was firmly on the four brave hunters arrayed before it. This would have been the perfect moment for him to escape, to run away…
But instead he swung his sword cleanly through both the serpentine tail, and the spine of the Gleam Eyes.
He had a promise to keep.
The wound would heal of course, but it would hurt.
The titan roared and staggered like a broken doll as its spine and tail were briefly severed, its baleful eyes turning on John in an instant. For a moment John felt fear seize through him and his body lock up, it was almost as though death was staring him-
Ozpin's cane twisted deeply in the titan's left eye.
The man was like lightning with how fast he moved; one moment he was on the ground and the next he was atop the beast's face, gouging out its eye. Less than a second later, the Gleam Eyes staggered as a broken chunk of stone shattered over its head - Glynda Goodwitch's semblance no doubt.
"You there! With us! We need to kill this monstrosity!"
It was Oobleck's voice that shook John out of his stupor. The sharp green-haired man was ragged and dirty, but he still looked ready to fight.
John didn't bother replying verbally, instead he jumped back atop the titan's back and jammed his sword in its spine.
That was reply enough.
The beast roared in agony as it shook wildly, both John and Ozpin roughly being thrown away from the beast in its jerks.
Ozpin's landing was graceful, but John's was not. Only thanks to aura did John avoid his neck snapping as he dove into the ground face first, pain searing across his mind for a single instant as consciousness shuddered.
One moment.
That was all it took.
Less than two seconds after John landed, he pushed himself up - just in time to see one of his precious allies die.
Glynda Goodwitch screamed and raged furiously even as the jaws and sword-like teeth of the Gleam Eyes clamped down on her. John could only shudder as the beast ripped her in half, the lower torso and legs of the proud huntress thrown aside like they were mere trash.
Perhaps the other three teachers screamed their outrage, but John didn't care to hear it. The death of Glynda Goodwitch was a blow to all of Vale, but it was also his moment to attack.
The enemy was open.
For the barest moment aura pooled in his legs, then John was propelled forwards to the face of the monster as fast as a speeding bullet.
With a single swing of his sword the monster's skull was split in two, John's muscles screaming in agony as he forced his sword downwards with all his might.
This was his death.
"Run!" he roared to the others, "Prepare Vale!"
He honestly didn't care about Vale, but that was where all the evacuation shuttles were heading. So if the beast managed to raze the city to the ground, then his daughters would… they would…
No.
It didn't bear thinking about.
The Gleam Eyes twitched as the two halves of its head came back together, John didn't waste time - the folded sheath that was the shield of Crocea Mors was roughly torn from John's hip and jammed into the titan's eye, John only lingered long enough to engage the mechashift function before jumping off and away.
The Gleam Eyes roared and clutched at its ruined face in obvious agony as John slammed into the ground, black blood gushing from the terrible split in its skin and skull thanks to the shield. The beast thrashed and writhed as it tried to pull the metal from its face, utterly blind for a precious few moments.
John skidded across the ground roughly, his arms and legs burning from the exertion as he panted roughly.
A meaty palm slapped against his shoulder.
"Come with us!" It was Port, Oobleck and Ozpin. Though the Headmaster kept his eyes on the thrashing form of the Gleam Eyes as the portly professor spoke to John. "We should all retreat together!"
John slapped the heavy hand away. "No. I- I'll hold it off." God he hated that, it made him sound like those damn martyrs. "Go. Prepare Vale."
Oobleck stepped forward, his eyes hidden by his glasses. "What's your name?"
"John." He raised his sword, the blade gleaming with streaks of black blood. "John Arc."
He didn't wait to see if they were surprised. He didn't even care anymore, all he wanted was for this Grimm to die.
Aura pooled in his legs, and a moment later he was charging the beast again. He… had a promise to keep.
He only hoped Jane was waiting for him.
Evacuation shuttle, many years ago…
Two years, eleven months and one week after the Fall of Amity.
Grace Arc was scared.
Just like everyone else in the shuttle.
Like her twin sister Sarah, Grace was crying as she huddled closely with what was left of her family.
It was like a nightmare, truly it was. The fear that permeated the small room was almost noxious as the Arc girls huddled in the corner.
Grace was the youngest - if only by mere minutes, just recently having had her sixteenth birthday with her twin.
She told herself to be brave…
But it wasn't working.
It was like her entire life was crumbling away before her eyes - Violet disappearing right when Grace needed her most, and Dad staying behind to die against a monster that was unbeatable. It was like the Vytal Festival all over again, the loss of family to something monstrous. Except this time instead of losing Jaune to himself, she was losing her Father and possibly her eldest sister to an impossible enemy.
"All this fear, all this anguish! It's even better than I imagined!"
Unbidden, Grace's eyes strayed to a tall man on the far side of the overly-cramped cabin, his black hair and golden eyes painfully small compared to the ear-to-ear smile twisting across his face.
"I do so love it when they fear."
What…?
It happened all at once; the quiet sobbing turned into horrified screams of pain as the unknown man leapt into action. Grace herself screamed in terror as blood splattered through the tight room, the black-haired man laughing wildly over the sound of screaming.
It was all happening so quickly; one moment the attacker was on one side of the cabin and the next he was half-way through the room and covered in the blood of the people he was massacring.
"Grace, get back!" Jade's - or was it Hazel's? - hands pulled Grace behind her, the eldest two Arc daughters putting themselves in the front.
"More, more, more!"
Grace shivered in terror as she heard the man shout joyously, the utter fear and gut-clenching dread in knowing that the madman was getting closer.
Why was he doing this? Who was he? Why-
Warm blood splattered across Grace's face and she jerked against the wall in shock.
Hazel and Jade slumped to the ground.
No, no, no, this couldn't be happening, this can't be happening-
Something wrapped around her neck.
"Aw, it looks like you're the last one left."
Grace's eyes widened as she clawed at the rigid hand holding her neck, her eyes wildly looking for her sisters. Hazel and Jade with matching cuts across their necks, Scarlet and Amethyst slowly bleeding out from holes in their chests, her own twin Sarah's head twisted at a grotesque angle.
Only her left.
"No-" She struggled and gagged against his iron grip, "Please! W-why are you doing this?"
It was a question of desperation, but she needed to know the answer regardless. So much death, her sisters, her family, all these people… all dead.
"Why, sweet thing?" The man laughed, "Because I want you to send a message for me! I want you to tell your brother something for me."
Dark spots danced around her vision and everything became fuzzy. Her brother…? She hadn't seen Jaune in years, she didn't even know if he was still alive. Violet and Dad knew something, but they, they….
"Ah, ah," The man cooed, his grip loosening just enough for Grace to breathe, "no dying before I tell you the message, sweet thing."
"W-What message?" She was so scared, she didn't want to die.
The man leaned in closely, his hot breath flush against her face. "When I send him to see you in hell, I want you to let him know that not only did he fail to protect his home, but he let his family die too!"
"No wai-!"
Grace slumped to the ground. She couldn't finish the last word; a sharp pain blossomed across her throat. It felt like fire had been poured over her neck.
Grace tried to say something, but only a wet gurgle escaped her mouth as her hands clutched at her neck.
"Remember dear, when you see your brother tell him Tyrian sent you. Do that for me, sweet thing?"
It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. Oh Gods why did it hurt so much?
She was afraid, she didn't want to die.
She didn't want to die.
She didn't want to die…
She…
The last thing Grace saw was Tyrian smiling down at her.
Vale, present day…
A fire truck raced past him.
He should probably be feeling guilty.
He didn't.
The air was tinged with just the slightest taste of ash, and the whirr of fire engines rang clearly through the usual ambient noise of the city. Did Jaune feel bad for what he did? Was there any regret, even the slightest twinge of shame for his actions?
"Walk, walk, walk little Betrayer. No matter how far you go, your past will never be far behind."
No. Not particularly.
It actually reminded him of when he first got the fire Dust ring - the army of soldiers and hunters that he wiped out in Nihilus' home world. The smell and sound of a person burning alive was… well, it was many things. None of them particularly pleasant.
Jaune almost felt like laughing.
Burning down that club reminded him of a simpler time. When he first got the ring, when he had his first taste of murder… things were easier. To him there had been a clear right, and a clear wrong. Good and evil. Light and dark perhaps. But now… now Jaune knew.
A fool might say there were many shades of grey. That was wrong too though, for that implied there were some actions that are objectively better than others.
So Jaune burnt down Junior's club. He burnt down Junior's men. And he burnt down Junior.
Because he wanted to. Because to him, family was more important.
What did the lives of a group of random strangers amount to compared to the lives of his family? What made their lives more important? What gave them more value than what he held dear? To others they may be important, but to him? They were no one. Nothing. Barely even a footnote compared to his family. And now he was long overdue in trying to find them and for some reason he felt a sense of… urgency.
"My, my, your hypocrisy knows no bounds you foul roach."
Jaune quickened his pace.
Perhaps it was hypocritical of him. When Nihilus 'died' it was because Jaune chose others over family. But now here he was, choosing family over the lives of others.
Did that make him evil? Did such a thing even exist anymore? The nightmares that Jaune himself had wrought upon others were terrible to behold, but they were nothing compared to the amount of blood Remnant had spilt. And for all Jaune's crimes, those he killed didn't compare to the scale or sheer monstrosity of what Nihilus had undoubtedly done.
But Nihilus is the way he is because he loves his family.
But Nihilus is a monster…
The contradiction made his head hurt.
"You're here, Betrayer. Can you feel it? The anguish? The suffering and the hate?"
Jaune blinked.
Nihilus was right, he had arrived.
The dark and ominous building before Jaune was a dirty and decaying thing, that much was clear at just a glance. Truthfully, the structure was likely far older than Jaune himself was; this was the area of the city designed specifically to deal with people arriving from settlements that were either under attack or were recently destroyed.
It had seen a lot of use.
But that was just how Remnant worked.
For his father and sisters to be here though… something must be terribly wrong. The Arc family wasn't exactly rich per se, but they were certainly a far cry from being poor. And John wouldn't allow any child of his to live in such squalor - the man would probably invade Atlas just to procure the right type of mattresses for his beloved children.
A rat scurried past Jaune's feet as he stepped into the building.
Something was very wrong.
"I'd hurry if I were you, Betrayer. It's going to happen soon."
Jaune quickened his pace, his sharp footsteps taking him to the front desk - which depressingly had wire mesh between him and the receptionist, as though someone might try and use force to accost the clerk. Not that it would stop Jaune, but it was still disappointing that such a thing was needed.
Not that Jaune had any right to think such things, given that he just murdered at least a dozen innocent people.
He was an utter hypocrite.
"Hey," Jaune greeted quickly, dread pooling in his gut. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a terrible sense of unease putting him on edge. "I need directions to whatever room the Arc family are staying in."
The man looked up at Jaune with a startled expression twisting his face, "The Arc… family? Ah… there's a John Arc in room 2B just down the corridor. I wouldn't go in there if I were yo-"
"Now Betrayer! Run."
Jaune stopped listening, his legs already forcing him into a run towards the specified room. He could feel it, like something was twisting his insides painfully and that something was just intrinsically wrong.
With a crash, Jaune burst through the simple wooden door-
Just in time to see Crocea Mors impale his father.
John looked up from his kneeling position on the floor, his shaking hands clutching the tool of his suicide. "Oh, Jaune… it's you…"
"Dad!" Jaune cried, terror clawing at him as he rushed to his father's side. "No! Why? Why do this!?"
This couldn't be happening, it- it just couldn't. Not to him, not to family - not when Jaune had already lost so much. His father couldn't leave him, not like this.
A shudder passed through John's body, a wet cough hacking out of his mouth as he collapsed into Jaune's arms. "D-Dorme... " he whispered, tears streaming down his eyes. "Escaped, but… too many Grimm. Your sisters…"
Jaune clutched his father closely, his clothes rapidly staining from the blood pouring out of the terrible wound Crocea Mors had created. This couldn't be happening. "Where are they Dad, where are my sisters!?"
John's hand clutched weakly at Jaune's collar, his blood-soaked fingers clinging to his son like a lifeline. "T-The girls… too many Grimm… couldn't protect them all…"
No, no, no, it couldn't be like this. It couldn't go like this. It wasn't true, it just couldn't be. They couldn't be gone, they couldn't leave Jaune alone like this. Not after all he suffered through, not after he finally tried to find a way to be happy once again.
"Could only save Violet… hospital, coma…"
No, this must be a nightmare.
"Can you see me, Jane? I… couldn't keep my promise. I failed, I failed, I failed…"
Jaune held his father tighter. "No, Dad! Please don't die, come on, please!"
"I'm sorry."
He never got an answer.
893
A/N
All dreams end when the dreamer awakens, every last one of them. But whether this dream was a nightmare or not… well, I suppose for John Arc it doesn't really matter now.
Anyway, onto the reviews:
The Powder Keg:
Thanks for reviewing.
That is A-okay.
An interesting question, and not one I expected someone to ask. Bear in mind that the souls that Nihilus has within him are effectively dead - only very specific souls actually had some form of self-awareness (Ozpin, Ironwood, Violet), and this was due to either Nihilus not technically absorbing them or in the case of Violet very unique circumstances. If, let's say Cardin, was to find a book created by Nihilus using the soul of his counterpart he would experience something similar to what Weiss is. The only difference would be that the effect would stop as soon as Cardin stopped touching the book, whereas Weiss isn't quite so lucky.
This would happen because Weiss is effectively a walking and talking version of what Nihilus does to the books - except without the added bonus of having Nihilus use her as, you know, a book.
Good question, I really wasn't expecting it!
ZHsteven:
Thanks for reviewing.
Weiss did kinda get a shit deal out of it all, but the other characters really aren't much better off in that regard. Take Junior for example - people keep busting up his club, the most recent example being that time when someone burnt his club to the ground and killed him.
I think short end of the stick is kind of a given for any character I feature…
Shaded Azure:
Thanks for reviewing.
Yeah, except without the handy respawn function. Very astute given how things are going.
Thank you all for reading, and don't forget to review! Seriously, I'm dying here.
