A/N- SO! Fun fact-This chapter and the next one weren't in my original plan for this story. I was working on the chapter after the next one and noticed a pretty big plot hole. So I figured I'd add a little part here to cover up the hole, maybe just a quick interlude chapter.
Then it turned out to be 16k words...
One chapter became two, nearly three if I'm honest.
I guess I just got into a good rhythm, plus a couple of cool ideas came to mind, not to mention a few cute moments between our leads that I just HAD to throw in, and then I realized we haven't had any action in a hot minute either, and THEN I saw an opportunity to include- look, long story short; this is why the gap between this batch of chapters and the last was so big.
Yea, that's the excuse I'm going with.
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There was a reason most people chose to avoid traveling Anima by road, that airships and trains were the preferred method of transportation across the continent. It wasn't just because of the obvious dangers associated with traversing the wilderness, that could be said for anywhere on Remnant. No, the issue was unfortunately a bit more... political in nature. Let's just say that road maintenance for outside the kingdoms wasn't high on the any of the councils list of priorities.
The transport bucked and rocked aggressively as it passed over what felt like the hundredth or so pothole on the rough patch of gravel and dirt it traveled on that could have been confused for a road at one point, making the occupants inside sway from side to side. The uncontrollable turbulence would have probably had the faunus within tumbling around all throughout the cabin, if they weren't for the heavy seatbelts buckling everyone in place.
For better or worse, the Atlesian heavy troop transport, "H3RM1T class" vehicles- a gracious gift from the kingdom in the clouds years and years ago- were all the Mistralian government had available to transport the large number of faunus that made up the militia on such short notice. They clearly weren't built for civilian transportation, or a smooth ride, but what they lacked in comfort and cup holders, the tank-like, six wheeled vehicles overcompensated for in protection. Every surface was covered in thick armor that was built with the intention to stand up to any claw, fang, or explosion that went up against them, with bulletproof glass on the small, thin windows on each side, and huge, rugged tires capable of conquering any terrain the wilderness of Anima could throw their way. However, such impressive traversal and protective options came at a cost. Namely at the expense of the stomachs of all of the vehicles occupants.
Still though, as bumpy a ride as it was, almost every faunus on board would agree it beat the hell out of walking. The trip from the city to the shore was blissfully short, but considering the entirety of the militia had made the reverse trip on foot when they'd first arrived in Anima (mainly to avoid attracting attention and ruining their surprise attack on the White Fang) no one in the group was complaining about a free, climate controlled ride back to where the S.S. Pride was currently docked and waiting for them. So here they were, six trucks, packed to capacity, with around twenty or so faunus in each one.
In any other scenario, Carmella probably would've found the idea of riding around in such an enormous, cool, military class vehicle completely mind blowing. She would be bouncing off the walls with excitement, asking a million questions, and have to be under constant surveillance to keep her from pressing any buttons in sight.
Instead however, the rabbit girl was uncharacteristically quiet, firmly planted in her seat, looking straight ahead with half lidded, tired looking eyes, and just acting in completely contrast to her usual self. Some of this could probably be attributed to Carmella's complete and utter lack of sleep from the night before, but there was more to her exhaustion than that.
Despite looking around for her all morning, Carm had seen no sign of Ilia anywhere. Not when the crowd of faunus gathered for the trip out of Mistral, not when they'd been herded into their transports, and not even now, after she'd spent a majority of the ride meticulously scanning every inch of the inside of the tank-like vehicle, just on the off chance the stealthy chameleon girl was using semblance to hide from Carmella... again. Her efforts had all been futile unfortunately, and all the rabbit faunus had gotten in return was a few- probably well deserved- confused looks from the other passengers when she'd given scrutinizing stares for too long. Aside from that, there was nothing. Well, "nothing" might've been a stretch. There was one other passenger that grabbed Carmella's attention;
A woman, a human woman to be precise, at least that's what Carmella assumed based on her appearance. Regardless, she definitely seemed to stick out amongst the sea of faunus.
She was seated in the back corner, as if trying to keep out of sight, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The pristine looking, shining silver armor the woman was wearing covered most of her torso and legs, with what looked like a black bodysuit underneath, and a small, gray, half-cape covering her right shoulder. Most of her outfit was fairly bland color-wise, all except for the bright orange scarf wrapped around her neck.
When Carm had first noticed her, the silver haired woman had been looking out the window, but not out of boredom though. There was this quiet focus to her as she watched the passing greenery, as if she was on constant guard for something.
Eventually- much like with most of the other passengers- Carmella stared at her for too long, and the rabbit girl was noticed.
The silverette's head snapped in Carm's direction so fast the half-cape hanging over her shoulder seemed to flutter from the wind force it created, and suddenly the rabbit girl found herself under fire from the most striking and intense looking bright orange eyes she'd ever seen.
With the short haired woman now facing her, the long eared faunus became aware of the scars covering the mysterious armored figures face. There was one over her right ear, going back around her head, cutting a path through the darker colored hair there. Another split her lips on the left side. The last one seemed to gruesomely pass through the woman's right eye, from her forehead to her cheek, although the eye itself seemed undamaged, judging by how it and its twin were staring a hole straight through Carm right now.
The silverette studied the startled looking, but still very much staring, Carmella for a moment before those fiery orange eyes narrowed, raising the heat behind the glare to the point the rabbit girl was forced to look away.
She made a quick mental note to keep her wandering eyes away from that corner of the vehicle for the time being. Carm had no idea why that woman was here- or what had her in such a bad mood- but decided it was probably best not to press the issue by annoying the mysterious human any more than she already had, for her own well being if nothing else.
Anyway, aside from that one incredibly intense looking woman, the rabbit faunus hadn't seen much else of interest, and certainly no sign of Ilia, not on this transport at least. After looking over the entire cabin again for what felt like the hundredth or so time, Carmella was forced to face an incredibly deflating possibility; that maybe Ilia wasn't here, that her spotted friend hadn't come to see her off, that all of her own worst fears from the last several hours were true. Ilia just flat out didn't care she was leaving, and didn't want her around anymore.
...No, Carm refused to accept that. Sure, things were weird between them at the moment, but Ilia would never just let her leave without saying anything.
Such blind optimism was pretty normal for Carmella, she'd wouldn't have made it this far without it, but there was another reason she still had so much faith that Ilia would see her off, and it wasn't exactly easy to explain. There was just this... feeling that the long eared teen couldn't shake. It told her that despite not being able to track her down, that Ilia was near. She'd felt it all morning, and even now when Carm was on the truck, it hadn't faded. Maybe it has something to do with her semblance? She still had barely any idea of its ins and outs, was this just another weird side effect?
... Or maybe she was just sleep deprived and delusional. Yeah, that option made more sense than the brunette faunus cared to admit. Who could blame her though? She just so desperately wanted a chance to talk to the chameleon girl at least one more time.
Granted, the rabbit girl had no idea what she would even say if she did see Ilia again at this point, but thinking ahead had never been her forte to begin with, so why start now?
The gentle nudging of an elbow into Carmella's side pulled her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to see Mata looking down at her with a worried expression.
"You okay?" the giant ram faunus asked.
Carmella blinked a few times as she stared at her oldest friend. Honestly she'd been so preoccupied with her own inner turmoil she'd barely noticed Mata occupying the seat next to her.
"I'm fine," She finally managed to say, leaning back into her seat and looking towards the floor in a way that totally made her sound convincing. "Why do your ask?"
"Well, let's see..." Mata replied with a small grin, bringing up his hand to count on his fingers the reasons Carmella was acting weird. "You aren't going crazy about getting to ride in this giant tank thing, you haven't tried to start up any annoying car games the entire ride, and most incriminatingly; we just passed a whole herd of cows and you didn't shout and point at them like an over caffeinated six year old. To be honest, until we started talking just now I was worried I'd sat down next to someone else on accident."
The rabbit girl slumped down into her seat miserably. Mata really did know her way too well.
"I guess I've got a lot in my mind today," Carmella mumbled out.
"I can tell," Mata said with an easy going, warm smile. "Anything you want to get off your chest?"
Carmella groaned and slumped deeper down into her seat until it was mostly her back she was "sitting" on. She wanted to talk about it, she really did, but it was all just so... complicated. Where would she even start?
After letting his friend stew miserably down there for a moment, Mata grabbed Carm by the back of her shirt and pulled her back up to a normal sitting position. The rabbit girl barely reacted however, and slowly began to sink back down until the ram faunus grabbed her by her shirt collar again, this time holding her in place.
"Carm..." the big horned faunus said in a familiar, yet annoyingly parental sounding voice, while Carmella pouted in his grip. "Does this have anything to do with us going home today?"
Finally relenting, and choosing to sit like an adult, the brunette faunus nodded silently.
Mata sighed. "I know all this White Fang stuff meant a lot to you. You wanted to make a difference, to make things better, you've always been that way, and I think that's one of the best things about you," the giant faunus said with a smile, moving his hand from the back of Carmella's shirt to her shoulder. The rabbit girl couldn't help but reciprocate the look, although she could feel the "but" coming.
"... But," Mata said, right on cue, "the fights over now. It's time for things to go back to normal."
The long eared faunus' smile slowly deflated. Back to normal? Was that what Carmella was supposed to do now? Go back to that tiny island, a mere speck compared to the rest of the enormous world which it seemed so detached from? Go back to growing turnips and radishes on her families farm? Or if she was lucky, becoming a guard and patrolling the same peaceful pathways and roads every day for the rest of her life?
Sure, at one point that had been enough for Carmella. She'd welcomed that "normal" future, because it was the only one she thought was available to her. Then this trip happened... then Ilia happened. There was more out there for the young rabbit girl, and once she'd found that out, nothing else could compare.
"... But there's more I could do..." Carm said quietly, wishing she could help her friend understand. "This isn't just about one fight anymore, Mata. This is only the beginning, for the faunus, for everyone, and going home feels like I'm just sticking my head back into the sand, just throwing away everything that I've gained since coming here."
The ram boy gave his friend a confused look. Of course Mata didn't understand, he wasn't like Carmella. He'd been happy on Menagerie. Living a peaceful, mostly care free life with his mom. He hadn't come to Mistral to fight, he came to save Arbol, and now that his brother was safe, and being shipped home with the rest of the White Fang prisoners that had surrendered at Haven, he had everything he wanted. Meanwhile, Carm had only gotten a taste of what she wanted, and that was all it had taken for an addiction to set in.
"And... you're sure none of this has anything to do with Ilia?"
The sudden mentioning of the spotted faunus made both Carmella's rabbit ears shoot up straight.
"O-of course not!" The rabbit girl replied sharply and a bit too loudly, getting the attention of all the faunus on the transport.
Mortified at her own outburst, Carm's face lit up as her ears sagged down. "I mean... not completely...?" she added, much quieter this time.
Ugh. This is what she'd meant by complicated. She had a lot of reasons for wanting to stay, Ilia included, but couldn't help but wonder if her attachment to the chameleon girl was what was influencing her. Ilia was being so... hard to read right now, after just starting to open up, and Carmella was worried that if she made a hasty decision here, and the other faunus girl rejected her, then she might find she'd made that choice for the wrong reasons.
And so that was the core of this issue; Carmella needed to figure out just why she wanted to stay. Was it because she felt it was the right thing to do? Because she wanted to help people? Or was it simply because she wanted to be with Ilia? Honesty, The rabbit girl had no idea, and time was running out for her to make a choice.
While the inner turmoil continued to wreak havoc on Carmella, Mata continued to stare at her, deep in his own thoughts. It was clear to him that his oldest and most loyal friend was facing an important crossroads in her life.
"I don't know what to do, Mata," the rabbit girl admitted despondently, her voice beginning to crack a little, "I know I need to make a choice here, but I'm so scared that I'm going to make the wrong one and end up regretting it, and... and... " She looked at her horned friend with wide, wet eyes. "What do I do, Mata?"
The ram faunus was never great at giving advice, most of the time he was the one asking for it, and it was usually from Carmella too, but right now she was looking at him expectantly, hoping for some magic words that would help her make this choice placed before her. Mata wasn't sure such words existed, but at the very least he could give her his opinion on things.
The tall faunus took a long, drawn out breath before speaking, "Look, Carmella, I think you should-"
BANG
Suddenly, something crashed into the side of the transport, cutting off Mata, and making the entire vehicle lurch, all the wheels on the right side being forced off the ground by whatever hit it. For a moment, the tank like machine teetered on its left tires, before thankfully falling back into place with an enormous, mechanical sounding "CRASH." Fortunately, the heavy straps holding everyone in place protected the occupants inside from being thrown out of their seats.
The transport screeched to a halt. For a moment, the entire truck was quiet, everyone trying to figure out if what had just happened, actually happened.
Then, the impact repeated itself, and immediately after, the entire cabin erupted into panic. Left and right, faunus were screaming and yelling. Some were paralyzed with fear, others struggled to undo their seatbelts so they could get a look out the tiny windows to see what had hit them. Carmella was in the latter group.
As soon as the transport hit the ground again, the rabbit faunus was up, unbuckling quickly, and then her face was immediately pressed against the piece of glass above her seat. She couldn't see much, aside from a thick tree line that the caravan of vehicles had been passing a few hundred yards in the distance, but no sign of whatever had caused the collision... At least at first.
Bursting out from the tree line were what at first appeared to be three rolling, gigantic, black... balls? But then, two of the giant, quickly approaching, spinning spheres veered off course- showing far more intelligence than Carm's initial observations would allow- while the third continued on its path, right towards the vehicle the long eared teen was inside.
There wasn't any time for Carmella to brace herself as the heavy troop transport was slammed into yet again, and the young rabbit girl was sent careening backwards.
"Carm!" Mata yelled as he caught the smaller faunus in his giant arms before she could hit the floor.
A few of the other curious passengers that had unstrapped themselves were not as lucky. The blow sending many toppling onto the unforgiving metal floor. This did little to calm the panic running rampant throughout the cabin, and things only got worse as one of the other passengers came to the same conclusion Carmella had, as she squirmed out of the ram faunus' grip and leapt back up to the window.
"Grimm!"
Carm wasn't sure who'd said the word, but that yell was the final straw that sent the entire transport into chaos. Sure enough, when the rabbit girl looked back outside, she saw the humongous black ball that had struck the tank-like vehicle uncurl itself into a grotesque boar-looking creature.
It was about half the size of the enormous transport itself, around five feet tall, standing on four legs. It's rough looking, black skin had patches of white, bone-like armor on its back, with a mass of intimidating looking spikes jutting out all over. It's face was covered in the same kind of pale colored protection, with two burning red eyes on each side, just above a pair of massive, curled tusks, as spikey and monstrous as the rest of the creature.
It was a Boarbatusk. A huge one. Wait, scratch that, more than one. A whole herd, actually. Each one launching themselves at the convoy like cannonballs. Carmella was no expert on the subject, but this seemed like a problem.
The Grimm gave its pig-like head a quick shake, as if still stunned from ramming the heavily armored vehicle, which to its credit, had only appeared to suffered minor damage from the heavy strikes the tusked monstrosities had delivered. However, as small as the progress the herd had made was, it was ultimately progress. The armor on the transport would hold, but not forever. To make matters worse, the rabbit girls sensitive ears could hear the sounds of more heavy collisions just outside, as well as being able to just barely pick up the muffled yells coming from the passengers in the other trucks. It wasn't just Carm's transport that was under attack. The whole convoy was at risk.
Someone needed to do something, and as always, Carmella was at the top of her own list of candidates.
The luggage from the traveling faunus was stored behind sturdy cloth netting above the windows. Carmella hopped up onto her seat and began the struggle of removing her bag from the tightly packed collection of them.
Then, while Carmella had her back turned, there was a sudden burst of wind behind her, and the door to the transport was flung open. At first she'd thought one of the Grimm had managed to figure out how to get the door open, but when she looked back there was no sign of one. Then, from outside the giant vehicle, there was an inhuman squeal, making Carm's head spin around yet again.
Outside, the Boarbatusk that had most recently smashed itself into the armored car collapsed onto its side and immediately began dissolving into whatever the hell Grimm were made of. The tip of a spear was ripped out of the beast's thick hide before it vanished completely, revealing a familiar looking woman, the same one that had glared at Carmella just moments ago. The young rabbit girls eyes widened to the size of saucers as she finally realized why the silverette was on the transport full of faunus.
"A Huntress..." Carm said in astonishment.
The woman adorned in shining silver spun her weapon in her arms. The sun glinted off the long, thin spear, as well as the revolving dust dispenser near its tip. The same cold look that had been leveled at Carmella earlier was now directed at the other Boarbatusk's, who'd turned their attention in the woman's direction at the sound of their fallen brethren. Without hesitation- or any sense of self preservation in Carmella's opinion- the Grimm charged the Huntress.
The young faunus continued to watch in awe as the silverette easily sidestepped the first boar's rolling charge, slashing at its side as it passed. The dust dispenser in her weapon began to spin as the woman moved, all different colors and elements displayed on its sides, until it finally settled on the red canister. The huntress gave a yell of exertion as she swung and about a dozen streaks of fire shot out the tip of her spear, swirling through the air before striking down on each member of the hoard of Boarbatusk with pin point accuracy.
The small cape covering the woman's left arm fluttered in the wind as the Grimm howled in pain, some dying instantly, while others scrambled around a few moments longer, their bodies engulfed in flames. Then the huntress spun her spear again, and without even looking back, planted the tip into the ground behind her, making a giant spire of rock explode out of the ground, goring the Boarbatusk that she'd struck earlier as it tried to get a cheap shot in.
Throughout the entirety of the- incredibly impressive- display, the woman's face remained completely stoic, maybe even appearing slightly bored. The silverette pulled her spear from the ground, flicking off the dirt on it as she did.
Then, mostrous growls came from the tree line the Grimm had attacked from, and even more Boarbatusk came bolting out, Beowolves too this time, dozens and dozens of them.
If the huntress was at all phased by any of this, she didn't show it. There was maybe a hint of annoyance in her features, but not an ounce of fear or hesitation, as the silver haired woman cracked her neck and ran straight towards the posse of approaching monsters.
Carmella continued to watch in an almost trance-like state of amazement, her hands having paused while trying to rifle through the collection of bags stored above the windows. Then, she slowly retracted her arms, her wide eyed wonder being replaced with gloom as her doubts reentered her mind.
I'll probably just be in the way...
She wasn't ready for something like this. Maybe someday she would be, but right now, it was best to leave this to a professional. So she resigned herself to merely watching the most amazing thing she'd ever seen, instead of participating.
The Grimm continued to relentlessly pour out of the woods. There were so many. Carmella had only ever seen one up close before, and that had been terrifying all on its own.
The sight made that day replay in her mind again for what felt like about the millionth time. Hiding under that overturned cart, the loud footsteps and growling approaching, the fear and powerlessness Carmella felt that day still haunted her.
There was a sniffle behind the rabbit girl, it'd come from the crowd of faunus that had faded into the back of Carmella's mind as she watched the huntress work outside. She looked back over her shoulder at the group, most of which had huddled to the side of the truck that was opposite of the still open door. Carm saw the barely contained fear in her people's eyes. Some of them were latched onto others for some fleeting sense of security in this horrifying situation. The entire cabin had settled into a tense silence, with only a few hushed whispers among the terrified faunus inside as they waited for their fate to be decided. It reminded Carmella all too well of her own fear in that situation all those years ago, as she waited for someone to save her.
Up at the front of the vehicle, the driver was dealing with his own crisis. The frantic looking volunteer from the MPD was currently trying to restart the transport, which had apparently stalled after the initial attack from the Grimm. Those first heavy hits must have broken something internally, because the truck was clearly going nowhere, despite the driver- who was currently sweating buckets- mashing buttons on the console and slamming down the accelerator.
There was a sudden rush of movement outside, as the cars behind Carmella's tried to veer around the stalled transport. It wasn't exactly the noble thing to do, but considering the situation, the rabbit girl could hardly blame anyone for wanting to make a quick getaway. Besides, the shoreline was only a few miles away. If one of them could make it to town, they could get help for the rest of the convoy, while the Huntress kept the monsters busy.
However, the vehicles fleeing only made them targets, and they were immediately set upon by the crowd of Grimm. Multiple Boarbatusk slamming into the armored plating all at once had the first car that tried to pass falling onto its side and blocking the way. The path was already narrow enough as is, with trees on each side, but now the impromptu escape attempt had turned the whole convoy into a massive traffic jam. There would be no running today.
The growing battle outside regained Carmella's attention, as the silver haired huntress continued to slay the seemingly never ending supply of Grimm from the forest. Her spear sliced through the herd like butter, but even from this distance the rabbit girl could tell the exhaustion was starting to take effect. The way her yells we're becoming more labored, and every time the huntress managed to buy herself a half second of respite, she'd use it to take a quick, ragged breath, before jumping back into the fray. Meanwhile, the flood of Grimm showed no signs of slowing down. This Huntress, for as strong and brave as she was, was really only stemming the tide, keeping the beasts attention off the passengers and on her. This wouldn't- and couldn't- last forever.
The long eared faunus looked from the outnumbered Huntress outside, to the cowering, defenseless faunus that surrounded her. This situation was bad, and with each passing second it threatened to get so much worse. Something needed to happen to change the tide...
... Screw it.
With that thought, Carmella resumed her search and quickly found her bag in the hodgepodge collection of them. She reached inside and pulled out Carrot Stix. She checked to make sure the pair of tonfa were loaded with dust, then ran to the vehicles still open door.
The rabbit eared girl had to do something. She couldn't just sit and watch anymore. Even if she only bought the huntress a few seconds of relief, it would be worth it.
Carm heard Mata calling out to her as she ran by, but ignored him, and leapt out into the Mistralian wilderness, slamming down the door close button on the truck on her way by.
Her feet hit the ground, and the rabbit girl took off running to join the fight...
... until she got about two steps away from the armored transport, and ran face first into a nearly transparent wall of light.
Thankfully the young faunus had already activated her aura at that point, but rushing full speed into a barely visible- but still indisputably solid- object made her stumble back in a daze. She shook her head to regain her bearings, looked around and saw the mysterious wall was surrounding the entire vehicle in a dome. Not only that, but further inspection revealed the several other trucks in the convoy all had similar barriers around them as well.
"You," Carm heard the Huntress call out from ahead of her in an annoyed sounding voice. "Stay. On. The. Truck," the silverette commanded between elementally charged swings of her weapon, looking back over her shoulder to give the rabbit girl another pointed glare, making it clear this was not a request.
Putting together that this barrier must have something to do with the Huntresses semblance, Carmella realized she didn't really have much say in the matter. Despite deflating at the fact she wouldn't get a chance to actually help, the rabbit faunus couldn't help but continue to be impressed by the level of skill being put on display by the silver haired warrior. To be able fight off so many Grimm while also being able to focus your semblance on protecting the convoy, and making it all look so effortless in doing so, it was incredible to witness. Carm had always known Huntresses were impressive, but it was something completely different when witnessed in person.
Unfortunately, that one moment of distraction- provided by Carmella- was all it took for the situation to take a dire turn.
Another huge Boarbatusk shot out from the tree line, curled tightly as it tore across the grass at a breakneck speed, right towards the briefly unaware huntress.
The silver haired woman cried out in pain as the rolling Grimm collided with her from behind, her back arching as a shimmer of gray light cascaded over her entire body as her aura took a massive blow. Carmella let out a horrified gasp as the huntress fell down to one knee, and then, as if they'd been waiting for just this moment, the beasts surrounding her descended upon the armored warrior.
She clearly wasn't about to go down without a fight though. With weapon still in hand, the silverette continued to swing and jab with her spear, even from her weakened position. Dust was sent flying in all directions, scorching, freezing, and electrifying the Grimm. It was all in vain however, and soon the huntress disappeared beneath the sea of blackness and claws.
The barrier trapping Carmella began to flicker, then disappeared, and the rabbit girl shot off without hesitation, towards the downed woman. This was all her fault, she'd been a burden, she'd gotten in the way, just like she'd feared, and now the Huntresses life was in mortal peril. The rabbit girl stowed the discouraging thoughts for later, this mess was hers, and she had to make it right. There'd be plenty of time to hate herself later.
For now? For now she'd fight.
However, just like last time, the brunette's charge was interrupted, this time by something somehow even more bizarre than the wall of light that had stopped her before
A giant, golden comet streaked across the sky, shining bright, standing out even in the daytime. It swung downward, picking up speed as it fell, heading straight for the massive pile of Grimm. Then, just as the object was about to hit the earth, and Carmella braced herself for the no doubt ear shattering impact, the comet sort of... stopped at the last second, or slowed to a crawl at least, as a large pair of muscular legs hit the ground running.
The "comet" turned out to be another woman, easily the tallest and buffest one Carm had ever seen. Her brown, leather armor left her legs and arms bare, showing off the rippling, body builder-esque physique that made up the woman's entire body. Really the only thing larger than her form was the giant club that was currently slung over the woman's shoulder, which was easily as big as she was.
The newly arrived, blonde haired Huntress, reared back and swung the club with both hands at the mass of Grimm. The impact shook the earth, and turned the pile of Beowolves and Boarbatusks into a quickly dissolving black smear across the grass.
With the rest of the Grimm retreating into the forest at the display of raw power, it allowed the blonde woman to pull the silver haired one back up to her feet, who- much to Carm's relief- appeared to be fine. A little beat-up, and covered in dirt, but overall; fine.
"Get in over your head, Nichol?" the blonde huntress asked, the brown, spotted cow ears sticking out on top of her golden hair- tied in a messy bun- bobbing slightly as she cocked her head and gave the other woman a teasing smile.
Nichol- the silver haired woman, apparently- dusted herself off and gave the blonde a look saying she didn't see the same humor in the situation. "I thought we agreed you were going to watch the back of the convoy?" she said with a spike of annoyance in her tone.
The remark did little to extinguish the radiant grin on the other woman's face. "Ouch, don't sound too happy to see me or anything."
With a huff, Nichol finished straightening herself out, before looking away and muttering out; "... Sorry... Thank you, Maybelle."
There was a hint of a smile on the silverette's face as she spoke, but it was instantly wiped away when she noticed Carmella standing there, gawking at the pair of Huntresses, and definitely not back on the transport, like Nichol had ordered moments ago. All the brunette teen could think to do in response was offer a weak wave and a smile that said, 'Please don't kill me?'
"You," the woman's orange eyes sent a ray of heat straight through the rabbit faunus. "I thought I told you-"
Carmella's execution was thankfully put on hold by the interjection of a chorus of terrifying roars and growls coming from the forest. More Grimm came barreling out of the woods, most likely lured by the panic caused by the last attack only seconds ago. Most of this new pack charged wildly at the trucks further in the back, away from the pair of Huntresses that had just effortlessly decimated many of their numbers. An unexpectedly intelligent move for what were usually mindless monsters.
The besieged transports were rocked as multiple Beowolves leapt onto them, clawing and biting at the vehicles armored surfaces, trying to get to the fearful faunus inside, while several giant Boarbatusk slammed their heavy bodies into their sides.
"C'mom, Nichol. We're not done here yet," Maybelle said. "Can you put up your barriers again?"
"No, they're too close now," the silverette fired back, "I'd just be trapping them inside with the truck."
"Oh well, old fashioned way it is then," the tall blonde replied with an eager smile as she hefted her gigantic club up in front of herself. "You know how to use those things, kid?"
It took Carmella a moment to realize the Huntress was talking to her, and referring to Carrot Stix, which were still hanging loosely in her grip. The flapping of the butterflies in her stomach limited the rabbit girls response to a perhaps overly zealous nod.
"Damnit," Nichol muttered, before returning her attention to Carmella. "Fine, you want to help? Stay here and protect this transport. We'll handle the rest. Try not to do anything stupid, like getting yourself killed, for example."
With that helpful(?) bit of advice, the silver haired warrior shot off towards the herds of Grimm, the tip of her spear already alight with burning red dust.
"You got this, kid!" Maybelle offered with a supportive thumbs up and a wink, before almost weightlessly leaping through the air in the same direction as her fellow huntress.
A mixture of excitement and utter horror filled Carmella as she stood there, staring blankly at the two as they ran away from her, towards the mass of monsters. The sheer weight of the situation had her stomach in knots, her mouth dry, and her heart pounding. This was real, the chance she'd always wanted had finally presented itself, it was time to-
The rabbit girls chain of thought was cut off by another inhuman growl from the forest. Carmella turned her head to see two more Beowolves crawling out of the woods.
Two pairs of red eyes were glowing with unrestrained malice as the pair of Grimm stalked towards the young faunus. They moved slowly, almost deliberately so, as if they were savoring the moment before the kill, all the while eyeing up Carmella as they approached. The Beowolves were looking at her like she was an appetizer, and the main course was the convoy full of defenseless faunus right behind her. A grotesque looking tongue slipped out of one of the Grimm's mouth, and it flicked across its razor sharp teeth in anticipation.
The rabbit ears on Carm's head flopped down at the sight of the monsters getting closer and closer. Just like that, she was a little girl again, too scared to even scream or even run, unable to do anything in the face of the embodiment of destruction before her.
Instinctively, the long eared faunus' hands clenched, and she felt the tough leather that was wrapped around the grips of Carrot Stix. She'd almost forgotten she was even holding them. The feeling of the pair of tonfa's in her hands pulled Carm back to reality.
That's right, she wasn't that person anymore, not a child, not helpless, and definitely not afraid. These things, these... monsters, they were here to kill her, tear her apart in the most excruciating ways possible. Then they'd do the same to the passengers in the transport behind her, Mata included, and even that wouldn't be enough for them. These Grimm would keep killing, eating, and destroying everything and everyone they saw, because that's all they ever did, without mercy or the need to rest. No, these things would never stop... unless someone stopped them- unless Carmella stopped them- right here, right now.
One of the Beowolves apparently lost its patience, and lunged forward. It only got a few inches off the ground before Carm reflexively pointed her weapon at it and pulled the trigger. A screaming red projectile fired out of the end of the tonfa, hitting the Grimm squarely in its fur covered chest before exploding.
Bits of black goo went flying in every direction, pieces of the combusted Grimm landing at Carmella's feet, before quickly evaporating into smoke and disappearing.
The remaining Beowolf looked just as surprised as Carm was at what she'd done. They both stared blankly at the space the recently exploded Grimm had just occupied, the tips of the blades of grass underneath blackened and smoking slightly from the dying embers of the blast.
Carmella had just killed her first Grimm ever, and it felt amazing.
The rabbit girl didn't stay distracted for long though. She spun Carrot Stix in her hands, before getting into a low stance, holding one tonfa out in front of herself, and the other up by her head, just like Ilia had showed her.
She could do this. She really could. One down, one to go.
With a vengeful sounding roar, the other Beowolf pounced, one of its claws extended, ready for a swipe. It was too close now for Carmella to shoot without getting herself caught in her own blast, but that was okay, now that she'd had a taste for destroying Grimm, she wanted to try something new.
The rabbit girl nimbly side-stepped the claw, and then ducked under the back handed strike that followed as the Grimm landed. She gave the grips of her tonfa a twist, and a thin eight inch blade popped out of ends of both weapons. Without hesitation, Carmella jammed those pointed tips straight up into the underside of Beowolves exposed neck.
The Grimm staggered for a moment and it let out a confused gurgle, before one of his monstrous clawed hands grabbed Carm by the wrist. It turned its head so that one of its burning red eyes could focus on the small faunus beneath it, then began to try and pull the weapons out of its throat. Carmella decided to give it a hand with that, and tore both her blades out the sides of the beasts neck, nearly separating its head from the rest of its body.
A spray of whatever grotesque, foul smelling, black substance Grimm were made of splashed onto the rabbit girls face, making her stomach churn. The grip on Carmella's forearm loosened as the Grimm's body went limp. Once she was free, the brunette faunus took step back, coughing and spitting, wiping at her face, not even wanting to think about the consequences of accidentally swallowing whatever this disgusting gunk was. She looked down at her hand, expecting to see a smear of the black residue all over her fingerless glove, but instead just barely saw the remnants drifting off her hand, like ash on the wind, leaving her glove- and hopefully her face as well- completely spotless. Carmella looked back up to see what was left of the Beowolf before her disappearing as well.
It took a moment for the reality of the situation to really set in. Now Carmella had killed two Grimm. All on her own even! There was a flutter of excitement in the rabbit girl chest, as she watched the final bits of Beowolf float away and disintegrate. That whole experience, while terrifying, had also been the most thrilling moment of her young life. It had been a thousand times better than anything she could have ever imag-
There was a blur of movement to Carmella's side, but the faunus was too busy basking in her own afterglow to dodge this time. She felt a white hot streak of pain across her side as a razor sharp claw sliced her. Carm was sent flying from the force of the blow, her body skipping across the grass, like a stone on the waters surface, only stopping when her small form slammed into the unforgiving metal that covered one of the trucks in the convoy, with a sickening "THUD!"
She was dead. She had to be. The Grimm sliced her to ribbons, and her body had exploded into visceral chunks from the impact when she hit the truck. That had to be what just happened. At least, that's what it felt like. Although the amount of pain Carmella was experiencing seemed to scream out in objection to that- perhaps slightly premature- assessment of her condition.
The rabbit girl's body curled in on itself on the ground in front of the transport she'd just collided with, and let a pathetic sounding groan. Okay, so maybe she wasn't dead, but it felt damn close.
It was hard to blame the young faunus for overreacting though. She'd been training for years, with her brother, the militia, and then Ilia, but she'd never actually been hurt that badly before. A few cuts and bruises here and there were something Carmella had long since gotten used to, but this was different. It served as a startling reminder that this wasn't practice anymore. This was a real life or death battle. Grimm were every bit as violent and ferocious as she'd been warned they were.
With great trepidation, Carmella reached over to touch where been slashed to inspect her injury, expecting to feel something... well, the image her imagination was coming up with wasn't great. However, instead her hand touched nothing but the cloth of her shirt, which wasn't even torn. She opened her eyes to see for herself, and sure enough, her insides were still... inside.
Oh. Right. Aura.
She was still getting used to that.
Thankfully, despite forgetting that her souls protection had been unlocked, the long eared faunus had at least subconsciously had her aura up when she'd been hit. She'd let her guard down, fortunately not in a literal sense, and gotten very lucky. Sure enough, the rabbit girl could still feel the familiar tingly sensation of her aura wrapped around herself. Although at the moment it definitely felt fainter than it usually did. The very real thought that if Carmella hadn't shielded herself, she would most certainly be dead did not slip her mind.
Which is what happens when you take your eye off the ball, Carmella, the rabbit girl chided herself internally. Well, if she wasn't going to die, then Carm figured she might as well get up.
The rabbit girl rolled over and sat up, only to come face to snout with the Beowolf that had just clocked her.
Ah. So she'd been mistaken. Now she was going to die.
The Grimm huffed in Carmela's face. The smell of its breath has the small amount of breakfast the rabbit girl had managed to force down threatening to come back up. Then the beast was on her.
There was no time for Carm to even stand, she only barely managed to get her legs up in time to hold back the ravenous creature. She planted both her feet into the beasts bone-spike covered shoulders, stopping its snapping teeth just short of the long eared faunus' face, and leaving its arms flailing wildly, it's claws tearing up the grass and ground at Carmella's sides.
Thanks to all those years of training- and never skipping leg day- the rabbit girl actually managed to hold the Grimm off... for now anyways. Carmella was strong and determined, but the Beowolf was feral, and while the brunette teen was able to hold the monster at bay, she was also incapable of shoving the monster off of herself. Meanwhile, the Grimm was slowly inching its chomping teeth closer and closer.
Carrot Stix had fallen from the rabbit girls grip when she'd hit the truck, laying just out of reach. The strength in Carmella's legs was beginning to give out. She could smell the death on the Beowolves maw as it greedily bit at the steadily decreasing amount of space between them, and she could see it in its burning red eyes.
With her imminent demise slowly approaching, one would think Carm would be afraid, but as the Grimm let out a deafening roar mere inches away from the rabbit girls sensitive ears, a different emotion began to surface.
Anyone on Remnant who'd had the good fortune to meet a full fledged Huntsmen or Huntress would tell you just how special they were. They were undeniably just made of something different. Something that separated them from the normal riff-raff of the world, as well as from those of their profession that didn't last, the ones that either ended up quitting, or meeting a grisly end early in their careers. Carmella had heard these things before, but right now, she was experiencing that difference in herself firsthand.
Something in Carmella started bubbling just under the surface in this life or death situation, and as her seemingly inevitable death approached, it boiled over and erupted into a volcanic flame.
She wasn't scared, she was... mad, furious even, no, beyond even that, Carm was pissed off, pissed that this... this... thing thought it could just end her like this. So, when that Grimm roared at Carmella, she roared right back.
She was Carmella freaking Lindt, and she'd fought like hell for dreams bigger than the life she'd been given. She'd traveled halfway across the world to fight for her people's future, for her own, for what she believed was right. Now, some crappy, level one, Beowolf thought it could end her story here? Sure, one day she might fall, but it was not going to be like this, not to this soulless abomination.
The Beowolf almost seemed taken aback by this. The Grimm were drawn to fear, one of many negative emotions that attracted them, but in that moment, it sensed no fear in the small girl beneath it.
Unfortunately whatever surprise the beast felt was short lived, and it quickly redoubled its efforts to make a snack out of Carmella. The rabbit girl remained undaunted, putting all of her focus into pushing back with her legs as hard as she could.
Had the young faunus not been so blinded by the adrenaline coursing through her, she might have noticed a strange sort of tingling in her lower appendages. A golden colored light started to gather around the rabbit girls legs, traveling from her thighs down to her feet in a sort of pulse, one that seemed to go faster and faster the more energy Carm exerted in her legs.
Whatever was happening, it seemed to occur too late, as the Grimm finally managed to get close enough. The Beowolfs jaw extended even wider than usual as it prepared to bite into Carmella's face like one would an apple.
SPLICK*
Suddenly, a pointed, metal looking tip shot out of the Grimm's mouth, through the back of its head.
The Beowolf gave a surprised sounding yelp, before it began convulsing in pain as it's body was electrocuted. The monster howled in agony, before the beasts crimson eyes rolled back in its head, and the Grimm collapsed forward onto Carmella. Fortunately, the deceased creatures body began disappearing before it fully landed on the poor rabbit girl, so its weight was a fraction of what it was, and soon after, even that was reduced to nothing as the particles of the monster drifted away, revealing to Carm the face of her savior.
The tip of the weapon that'd burst through the Grimm's mouth had pretty much been a dead giveaway as to their identity, but one look at the long, curled ponytail and stealthy looking outfit only confirmed Carmella's suspicions.
A look of enraged contempt still filled Ilia's expression as she stared at the disintegrating corpse of the Beowolf, her eyes a deep red, as opposed to the usual cool blue. The look sent a chill down Carm's spine, as without the Grimm between them, that glare seemed to be leveled at her now. Not to mention, Lightning Lash remained pointed directly at the rabbit faunus as well. The look on the chameleon girls face quickly changed thankfully, her eyes returning to their normal color as Ilia's anger morphed to concern, which then transitioned to a kind of awkward hesitation, like the ponytailed faunus didn't know what to say. In that moment, Carmella could definitely relate.
The two faunus stared at one another in silence for several moments. There were about a million things running through each of their heads. It was a lot like their first meeting at the Battle for Haven, right after Carmella had saved Ilia, words just seemed to fail both girls. However now, after a week of establishing a budding relationship, and the subsequent fallout that had been the last twenty four hours, there was an added layer of discomfort between the two of them. The feelings of barely restrained passion from just hours ago seemed to go sour, like aged milk.
Eventually, Ilia managed to come to her senses first, remembering the they were still in the middle of a Grimm attack, one that showed no signs of stopping soon. The chameleon girl wordlessly offered Carm a hand to help her stand, which the rabbit eared faunus took, her body moving in a trance like state as a result of Ilia's sudden appearance.
Once at her feet again, the rabbit girl still just stared at Ilia. She... she actually came? Not just to Carmella's rescue just now, but also with the convoy of faunus going back to Menagerie? Carm wracked her brain trying to discern whether there was any secret meaning behind this, but quickly gave up, accepting that everything Ilia did was confusing at this point. There was a hint of frustration at that, but it was completely overshadowed by just how happy Carmella was to see the spotted girl.
The tense feeling reunion was cut short by the sound of more angry and hungry howls from the woods. Both faunus looked to see four more Beowolves come charging towards the convoy.
Without uttering a word, Ilia turned away from Carmella, towards the approaching Grimm, and rushed at them. This left Carm feeling a little put off that apparently fighting bloodthirsty monsters was preferable to the other faunus over just saying what was on her mind.
The closest Grimm ran on all fours at the approaching spotted girl, panting wildly as it charged her. Once it was close enough, the beast reached out with both arms to tackle Ilia to the ground, but grabbed nothing but air as the quick footed faunus leapt over it's head, spinning in midair while striking downward with her weapon. Lightning Lash's long whip-like blade tightly wrapped around the Beowolf's neck, stopping it in its tracks and pulling it back as Ilia landed in a crouch behind it, her weapon still restraining the monsters by the throat. Then with a pull off the trigger, and a small yank, the sharp whip crackled to life with electricity, and the Grimm's head was sliced clean off.
The next wolf-like creature in line reared back it's left claw as it lunged to slash Ilia, but the chameleon girl effortlessly removed the Grimm's arm mid-attack with a single swipe, making it crumple to the ground as it rolled past her. Another tried a similar attack from the opposite side, but ended the same way, with a yelp of pain, and the beasts right arm flopping lifelessly across the grass.
However, losing a limb did little to discourage either Beowolf, and both quickly recovered before simultaneously lunging at Ilia again. The chameleon girls expression didn't even flinch as she quickly began swinging her whip in the air, creating a whirlwind of slices that the already mid leap Grimm had no way of avoiding. A moment later, pieces of Beowolf landed at Ilia's feet, before quickly dissolving into nothingness.
The last remaining Grimm in this group watched as its comrades fell with its typical unreadable expression. It studied the spotted girl, its head tilting slightly. This one appeared to be smarter than its brethren, but clearly not smart enough, as it quickly launched itself at Ilia just like the others.
With barely any effort, the ponytailed faunus sliced off one of the Grimm's legs as it ran towards her, making it stumble and fall. The Beowolf pulled itself back up though, and raised a claw at Ilia, which she swiftly relieved it of as well. Now down to a single arm and leg, the creature began dragging itself across the grass with its remaining claw, snarling at the chameleon girl before it.
With an aggravated growl, Ilia removed the Beowolf's sole arm, as well as its leg, leaving the Grimm as just as torso and head, still alive, still staring up at her with unrelenting malice in its eyes. It roared at the spotted teen, flecks of thick, sickening, black liquid flying from of its mouth, before she finally finished it off with one finally strike from Lightning Lash.
The drastic display of aggression made it clear Ilia was working through her own stuff this morning. She glared down at the Grimm's disappearing form with contempt. Unfortunately, acts such as that tend to leave openings to be exploited.
Much like with the silver haired Huntress earlier, another handful of Boarbatusk decided to take the advantage and strike the distracted faunus. One came shooting out of the woods like a cannonball, right towards Ilia's exposed back. Luckily the chameleon girl wasn't caught completely unaware, and managed to quickly spin and get her weapon up in time to block the blow. The Grimm sent the ponytailed faunus sliding back on her feet, one hand tightly gripping Lightning Lash' hilt, while the other pressed up against it's blade to hold the beast back as it continued to spin against her weapon. Sparks shot off of the whip-sword as its aura-infused metal grinded against the Grimm's armored hide.
After a brief struggle, Ilia managed to push the Boarbatusk away from herself just enough so that she could step aside, sending it's still rolling body careening past her. However, as she went to regain her balance, yet another boar-like Grimm rocketed from the tree line.
These Grimm... Ilia thought to herself, as time seemed to slow to a crawl, they're too coordinated. It's almost like... like something is guiding or controlling them...
Blake's earlier words echoed in Ilia's head. Could this be what her friend was talking about? Was this the will of... Salem?
... No. This was something else. Ilia was doubtless that something was pulling the strings here, but found it rather unlikely such a powerful being would bother leading around a bunch of weaklings like this. Especially if this "Salem" had her eyes set on taking apart the main kingdoms. Why would she care about taking out a few random faunus on a road in the middle of nowhere?
Well then, that begged the question; if this wasn't Salem, then what was it?
The thought crossed Ilia's mind as she helplessly watched the Boarbatusk spin-dashing right towards her. Unable to mount any kind of defense this time, the chameleon girl braced herself for the inevitably rough hit.
But it never came. Instead, a leg came flying in from outside Ilia's field of view, attached to a familiar looking rabbit eared girl, which struck the spinning Grimm in its side and sent the beast squealing off course, into a nearby tree. The wood splintered at the speed of the collision, and the monster that crashed into it crumpled at its roots. The Boarbatusk stumbled back up to all fours, clearly hurt, but not yet dead... that is, until what was left of the tree fell over on top of it.
Ilia stared at the broken tree, then turned back to Carmella, who was hopping up and down in one foot.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow," the rabbit faunus repeated, continuing to hop and clutching at the foot that she'd just used to kick the heavily armored Grimm. Aura or not, it felt like she'd just kicked a solid brick wall.
The two met eyes after Carmella's impromptu dance finally finished. Again, there was this unseen tension both faunus felt. It was like the two were back to being strangers again, like the last week had never even happened. Then, Carm's look suddenly shifted to panic.
"Ilia, look out!" the long eared girl yelled out, bringing up Carrot Stix and pulling its triggers, while pointed in the spotted teens direction.
The pair of bright red shots sailed just over both of Ilia's shoulders, making her long ponytail flutter in the breeze. She spun as they passed in time to see the projectiles explode against another Boarbatusk that had been moving in to attack the lizard girl from behind. The blast, didn't kill the beast, but it did stop it mid-spin, and gave Ilia all the opening she needed.
She knew the boar-like Grimm had an ungodly amount of armor on their backs and sides- a fact Carmella had learnt the hard way just now- which meant attacks from the bottom were the best bet when dealing with them. However, exposing their vulnerable bits and taking advantage of it all at once was a tall order, even for someone as skilled as Ilia herself, to do alone. Fortunately, she wasn't alone.
Shooting forward, Ilia crouched low and delivered a flipping kick, the tip of her boot catching the Boarbatusk just under its chin, and sending it flailing backwards, and most importantly, exposing its soft underbelly.
"Go for its stomach!" the chameleon girl instructed over her shoulder to her partner.
"On it!" Carmella shot back, the blades of her tonfa popping out as she launched herself forward, catching the Grimm in mid-air and planting both sharpened edges into its stomach.
The boar squealed in pain, then disappeared before it even hit the ground. Carm landed in a crouch, retracting her blades, before standing and turning back to Ilia and offering her teacher a thumbs up. The chameleon faunus couldn't help but smile, half proud, and half completely enamored with the girls display of prowess.
Something familiar flickered in both faunus' chests in that moment. A 'blink and you missed it' second of them returning to what they'd been, but just as quickly as it appeared, the feeling threatened to succumb again. It would have faded completely, but fate had other plans. The ground around the two faunus was torn apart as several more spinning Boarbatusk came flying out of the woodwork, making donuts around the pair and surrounding them.
Without even saying a word, both girls pressed themselves up against each others backs, weapons out and ready. Ilia scanned the enemies surrounding them as they dug their hooves into the grass, threatening to charge again. Carmella did the same, but any trepidation either girl felt was overshadowed by the others presence. There was a... confidence in their proximity, a feeling of comfort and control, like no matter what happened the two of them would overcome it. The unspoken bond that had quickly grown between the faunus had reignited, emboldened by this deadly struggle they faced.
There was no escape, but neither girl was thinking about running in that moment.
Ilia didn't even look back at Carmella as a smirk rode across her face. Somewhere, deep in the back of her mind, a single question drifted, one she didn't even need to be answered.
Got my back?
"Absolutely," Carm replied with her own grin.
The Grimm all around them rolled themselves up and began spinning in place, revving up, charging power, getting ready to obliterate the pair of warriors they believed to have trapped, unaware the situation was about to go in the complete opposite direction.
All at once, the beasts launched themselves at the two young faunus. Some were fortunate enough to just miss their target as Carm and Ilia twisted and ducked their attacks. Others were less lucky, colliding with their brethren as they were knocked off course by the pairs deflecting blows. Needless to say, the preemptive strike by the Grimm was a complete failure. Both faunus remained completely unharmed, while their own forces lay disorganized and battered.
Their coordinated plan foiled, the monsters did what they did best, and reverted into a mindless, bloodthirsty frenzy, attacking blindly. Carmella and Ilia on the other hand had never felt more focused and attuned to their surroundings. It was like the two of them were sharing the same sight, regardless of the fact that they were still back to back, facing opposite directions. Not only that, but it was like they could sense each others movements, their bodies moving in perfect sync as the Boarbatusk seemed to flail wildly.
Lightning Lash twisted and shocked the air around both faunus as Ilia swung it, creating a barrier of sorts around Carmella and herself, while the rabbit girl was pointing both her Carrot Stix off in different directions, it's fire dust projectiles exploding against the Grimm as they tried to approach. Then, as the clicking sound of Carmella's weapons running out of ammo rang out, the softened up Boarbatusk began to move in, charging the rabbit girl. The long eared faunus just continued to smile though, as she leapt up to reveal the blade edge of Lightning Lash swinging out in a wide arc, catching all three attacking Grimm with an electrical slash that sent them flying. With the monsters off guard, Carmella followed up with the reinforced, blunt end of her weapon slamming into the beasts skulls. The bones that covered the boar-like monsters heads shattered at the force, sending them toppling over and allowing the rabbit girl to strike at their exposed bellies with her blades. She finished the first two off, but the third she hooked her weapon into and threw the massive Grimm back into another that was moving in to attack Ilia.
Not to be outdone, the chameleon girl looped her whip around the trunk of a nearby tree and swung herself around it, focusing her aura into her legs and delivering a momentum boosted kick that caught two Grimm in their sides. The Boarbatusk went flying together into another tree, one sandwiching the other between the bark and itself. The beasts suffering didn't last long however, as Ilia quickly rushed in and skewered both monsters against the tree at the same time with her blade.
And then there was one, the final remaining Grimm from this utter failure of a wave stood against the pair of seemingly untouchable faunus. The beast's complete lack of fear- or perhaps in this case, survival instinct- compelled it to charge its "prey" without hesitation. Carmella and Ilia shared an incredulous look, before the rabbit girl- who'd taken them time to reload- pointed her tonfa at the ground in front of the rampaging Boarbatusk and pulled the trigger. The explosion of dirt and grass launched the Grimm into the air, where Ilia quickly joined it, wrapping her whips blade around the monsters midsection as she soared past, and then, with the help of a nearby trees branch, pulled herself up and threw the Grimm even higher into the air. The once bloodthirsty and terrifying beast squealed pathetically as it spiraled into the sky, it's vision stabilizing just long enough to see a burning red projectile flying up towards it.
The dust fueled blast shook the air, as Ilia and Carmella stared up in mild awe, like they were enjoying a fireworks show together. It all probably would have been more romantic if it weren't for the bits of Grimm that rained down around them, or maybe that made it more so? Neither really knew, or cared, both were too transfixed on the burning adrenaline still pumping through their veins. Then their gazes drifted back down to Remnant, to each other, both their eyes brimming with an excitement neither had ever felt before.
Then, just as quickly as it started, the connection was cut off again, by Ilia.
Their was a flash of reluctance, but spotted girl looked away from Carmella regardless, turning to head back towards the convoy of trucks behind them. The rabbit girl watched her leave, her look overflowing with confusion.
What... What was all that? That fight, everything she'd just felt, she knew Ilia had felt it too, so why was the chameleon faunus just leaving like this? Again, without so much as a word?
"Ilia!" Carmella's frustration finally boiled over at the other girls flat out refusal to communicate. Her shout surprised even herself, but it accomplished her goal, as Ilia was stopped in her tracks.
The chameleon faunus slowly turned back to face Carm. However, now that the long eared girl had the other teens attention, she really didn't know what to do with it. She was mad, sure, but she was also concerned for Ilia as well, and that was making the 'words' part of her brain stall out, filling her mind with thick smoke.
Unfortunately, Carmella wasn't given enough time to figure out her next move, as it was now Ilia's turn for her eyes to go wide at something behind the rabbit faunus. Carm's long ears twitched at a sudden noise from the woods. It sounded like trees falling over, splintering to pieces as something pushed past them, something big. The rabbit girl turned around, letting out a near silent gasp at what awaited her.
The shadows of the forest all the Grimm had been emerging from seemed to be almost... shifting. Hundreds of birds were noisily squawking as they evacuated from the treetops, there forms blocking the sun, momentarily darkening the sky, and in the middle of the blackness that filled the woods, a pair of humongous red eyes were staring out at Carmella. A giant claw reached out, wrapping around a substantially large tree like it was a toy, and toppling the entire thing over as it stepped out into the daylight.
It was a Beowolf, or at least it looked like one, but around one hundred percent bigger, scarier, angrier, and... point-ier.
Standing at around ten feet tall, the massive Grimm stalked forward on its back two feet, its long arms practically dragging across the ground. Spikes were sticking out of... pretty much everywhere on its body, all of differing lengths and widths, with bone like plating covering almost everywhere else. It's skull-like "mask" wrapped around the beasts entire head and jaw, covered in a Grimm's typical red markings, complete with matching colored eyes that displayed a level of focus and determination that Carmella had never seen in a monster before.
"Alpha..."
The tone of voice when Ilia spoke the word was completely foreign to Carm. She turned back to see the spotted girl was practically trembling with fear at the arrival of the intimidating looking Grimm.
"Alpha!" Ilia repeated, this time in a yell, before reaching forward, grabbing Carmella by the hand, and running, pulling the rabbit girl away, back towards the convoy.
The rabbit faunus was too stunned to resist, not so much because of the chameleon girl suddenly taking her by the hand- well, you know, that too- but mainly because of the sudden retreat. What was an 'Alpha?' And what made it so much scarier than the entire pack of Grimm the two of them had just decimated?
Shaking off her surprise, the rabbit girl looked back as she was being pulled and leveled Carrot Stix at the monster before pulling the trigger. The shot hit the big Beowolf right in the face, resulting in another huge explosion. However, as the smoke cleared, it revealed the gigantic Grimm was completely unharmed and unfazed, but it's beady, red eyes seemed to snap in Carm's direction.
Oh. Okay, yeah. Running sounded good to Carmella now.
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A/N- Bang! 'Nother cliffhanger. Well, more like this chapter got completely out of hand and I couldn't find a satisfying midway point. But at least you won't have to wait several months for the conclusion. Nope. Just a week(ish) this time.
Also, a few keen eyed readers might've noticed me blatantly including my OC's in this story. If you're unfamiliar, than I suppose you were wondering why I spent so much time introducing new Huntress characters that we'll probably never see again after this battle. Well I suppose I was just feeling self indulgent. I doubt anyone will actually care/notice, but I can't deny a good opportunity to plug my stuff.
So, if you just so happen to find yourself so absolutely enthralled with Nichol and Maybelle's incredibly complex narrative in this story, well then maybe you'd be interested in "The Ballad of Team MOON"! Literally the only other story on my account! It deals with their schools days at Vacuo's Shade Academy... also I guess it's technically an AU in this universe? Because they're adults here, but their story is supposed to happen in tandem with the canon RWBY story? Also Shade is different? I don't know. Look, I just needed some Huntsmen to fight some Grimm, and I do still love my OC babies, so I put them in there. Deal with it. (Sunglasses descend onto face)
Right, moving on. Next chapter I promise to leave you all on a real cliffhanger to make up for this one, and then I'll make you wait months for it to be resolved. Sounds good?
Just kidding
Or am I?
Nah, I'm kidding
... Unless?...