No, I'm not dead. But thank you all for waiting so very patiently for this. It's been something like a month since I've updated.
But between TAFE, and the animation course, and making a costume for PAX AUS, and trying to work on an iPad that's been threatening to shut down because of lack of power... you get the idea.
Chapter 19: Om Nom Nom
"Nora, which way?"
"Through here, Ren! Up ahead is the Wahtani's den!"
Nora was joyfully leading the way through the dozens of trees, skipping and singing like a little girl strolling through a field of flowers. I rolled my eyes: Nora was definitely an enigma. Her boundless energy, coupled with her ruthlessness in battle made me wonder exactly how many screws were loose in that head of hers.
Dropping out of my thoughts, I vaulted over a fallen tree, and continued to sprint, quickly catching up to Pyrrha.
"Darrel, you've had the most contact with this Grimm. Did you notice anything about it that seemed like we we could use? A weakness, or something?" She asked, still looking ahead as she ran.
"To be honest, I didn't see much. Most of my time was spent trying not to get eaten." I replied, slicing a branch away with my outstretched blade. Pyrrha groaned audibly.
"Darrel, you've prided yourself on insane strategies up until now. You need to have a plan of some kind. So think of one before somebody gets hurt, alright?" She asked. I just nodded, diving over a log, and rolling onto my feet, Pyrrha pulling ahead of me. Sprinting through the undergrowth, I tried to analyze the Wahtani in my mind. Forty feet long, by twenty feet high, armoured plating, and extra eyes. From how it had thrashed around when I had trapped it under the trees. It was large, so it would have the advantage of strength over all of us.
Multiple eyes would make it difficult to blind, but it would be possible. And it's ability. Grymfire... Thinking back to what I had read, it seemed that a gland in the back of it's throat secreted a flammable liquid. Only, it was a unique chemical compound: the fire emerged as black as death, and instead of inflicting burns, it did no visible damage. Rather, it ate away at a Hunter's Aura, draining it away, and causing unimaginable pain in the process.
*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR*
"Come on, it should be just-" Weiss started, before a flash of red collided with her, sending both her and the streak of red, which changed quickly into the form of Ruby, tumbling back into a patch of thorns. Crescent Rose left the hooded girl's hands, and was embedded perfectly in a small tree.
"Ow, ow, ow! Ruby, get off!" Weiss cried, as she shoved her partner away, and began to pick thorns out of various parts of her body. Ruby got to her feet, dashed over to Crescent Rose, and plucked it out of the trunk, smiling sheepishly as she did so.
"Sorry, Weiss. Was kind of focused on the Wahtani." She shrugged. As she spoke, the trees behind her groaned and collapsed, revealing the unsightly gaze of that very creature, with Yang hanging onto it's nostril for dear life.
"Hey sis, sorry to break up the reunion, but we got a problem here!" She yelled down to her sister. Ruby turned, and gasped. The monster looked at her hard, and gave a roar.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Weiss yelled, taking off back the way we came, back to the temple, but not before firing a red fire blast at the creature, striking it in the nostril. The creature, now infuriated, threw it's head back and screeched, dislodging Yang in the process. She screamed as she flew threw the air, but it wasn't out of terror. It was because she was having the time of her life.
"Wahoo!"
Right as the jaws of the Wahtani were about to close on her, she fired two rounds from Ember Celica, one down the lizard's throat, and one behind her, propelling herself out of danger, and sending her to the spot next to me, where she landed in a crouch.
"Hey, Darrel! Glad to see you're still in one piece." She began, looking up at me. I said nothing, just grabbed her arm, and began running, alongside the rest of the group. Reunions would have to wait until this monster had been dealt with.
It's difficult to say how long the Wahtani continued to pursue the seven of us, but all I felt was the hot breath on the back of my neck, as I dragged Yang back to the temple. Pyrrha had radioed ahead, and told Blake and Jaune to prepare for a big fight. Jaune had managed to jury-rig a makeshift explosive from most of our flares, which he had hoped would signal for help. But even if it didn't, it would still make for an effective weapon. I hope.
"C'mon, Darrel, pick up the pace!" Yang yelled, as she smacked a branch away, causing it to snap back, nearly striking me in the face. Fortunately, my blades were ready, and I just sliced it off. Thinking back, I smiled. The old me would have likely been smacked. Being in Remnant had really changed me for the better.
Vaulting over a log, I saw the familiar grey stone ruin that served as our temporary domicile. We had left Blake and Jaune to guard against any potential threats, but there appeared to have been none whilst we were gone. Pyrrha had moved to the roof to provide overwatch, as had Ruby. Everyone else had gathered at the front of the temple, weapons at the ready, watching for some sort of disturbance. As we broke through the treeline and joined the rest of RWBY and JNPR, I heard some trees creak and snap, revealing the jet-black sleek body of the Wahtani. It stopped about halfway between us and the trees, it's slender tail waving about cautiously. It gnashed it's teeth, the saliva I needed dripping from it's cavernous mouth, causing the ground to smoke as it dripped free.
"Okay, we need a plan. Any ideas, guys?" Yang asked. She was met with a chorus of quizzical vocalizations. Finally, Weiss stepped forward.
"It's clear we need to rush it. Nora, Ren, you're with me!" She yelled, adopting her trademark stance, holding her rapier aloft at eye level, and charging forwards. Nora and Ren looked at each other confusedly, while Yang waved her arm, trying to get the heiress's attention.
"Weiss, that's not going to-"
Too late. Weiss had already conjured a series of glyphs, all leading up to the Wahtani's head. She began sprinting up the makeshift staircase, charging Myrtenaster for a icy blast.
But what she didn't see was the monster's mouth, roaring and burning. As a orb of pure blackness formed in it's mouth, and it aimed at the heiress, who had failed to foresee the attack. As she leapt off of the final glyph, the Wahtani looked up, and blasted a plume of black fire at the soaring heiress.
At that moment, time seemed to slow to a crawl, as a plan formed in my head.
I leaned over, and grabbed ahold of Blake's wayward hand, taking in as much power as I could muster. Then, without thinking, I knelt down, and leapt up, feeling Blake's power flood my body with adrenaline. Focusing on my core, I felt my power run over, and before I knew it, I was lurching towards Weiss at an insane speed, arms outstretched, ready to tackle her out of the way.
Wrapping my arms around the heiress, I felt the flames lick at my heels. The feeling was painful, like a moray eel had wrapped it's jaws around my feet. I gritted my teeth, trying to suppress the urge to scream in pain.
Landing heavily, with Weiss safely in my arms, she looked at me with her icy blue eyes, an angry, but relieved expression on her face.
"You hurt?"
"Just a scratch or two. Nothing to worry about, Darrel."
Hoisting her up to her feet, I looked up to see everybody else ready for a massive onslaught. Nora's permanent smile had twisted into a psychotic imitation as Magnhild rested on her shoulders, while Jaune stood with his family sword and shield at the ready, scowling hard at the lizard. Ren's look was indescribable, but he had drawn his Jade Dragons, while Yang's hair began to ignite, as her Semblance went into overdrive.
"Come on, guys! ATTACK!" Yang bellowed, following up with a ululating war cry, as her bracelets extended into her deadly gauntlets. The dragon turned to Weiss and I, a black orb forming in it's mouth once again, causing us to leap out of the way. Weiss looked at me.
"Darrel, try and go for the soft spots! I'll take care of the eyes!" She yelled over the din, as she readied Myrtenaster for another strike, this time charged with electricity. She dashed forwards towards the dragon's forward left leg, casting a series of glyphs at it, and running up them towards the creatures head, burying the blade deep into the beast's unprotected right anterior eye. It howled in pain for a minute, the screeching causing me to cover my ears, lest I be deafened. The creature thrashed about, it's tail whipping at our knees. Yang sprung backwards on her hands to dodge the wayward attack, while Pyrrha and Blake leapt over the appendage. Jaune wasn't so lucky: he tried to hop over the tail, but it angled up at the last moment, catching him in the stomach, and knocking him back into a nearby tree. Slamming into the bark with a dull thud, he slid down until he sat at the trees roots, dazed.
"Jaune!"
Pyrrha leapt off of her perch and dashed over to the knight, trying to revive him with little success. But what she didn't notice was the beast behind her, turning to face her, snorting hungrily. It leaned forwards, maw open like a cave to hell. Unless we did something, both Pyrrha and Jaune were about to become the creature's lunch.
"Nora, distract it!" Ren yelled, as he charged, guns flaring as he emptied his magazines into the armoured hide of the lizard. Nora complied, firing two heart-tipped grenades at the creature's face, knocking it's head to the side.
"Hey, ugly! You want some more?!" Nora yelled. The beast turned to look at her, and roared loudly, drops of phlegm splattering on the ground. She took off running, firing two more grenades down the beast's throat, illuminating it's cavernous mouth, showing the saliva I needed dripping at the back of it's throat. Aside from letting myself get swallowed, there would be no way to get it in one of the vials resting in my pocket.
But I had no choice. Firing two explosive arrows down the creature's throat, causing it to roar loudly, I ran forward, flicking my blades to pincers. The beast clacked it's jaws together, putting a gate of dagger-like teeth between me and my goal. But that wasn't going to stop me. I drew one of my blades back, and plunged it deep into the creatures nostril, the same one Weiss had struck earlier. The beast jerked away, nearly dislocating my shoulder as I was sent flying through the air. After a few seconds of soaring and screaming, I landed heavily, bouncing off the ground, and skidding next to Jaune and Pyrrha.
Kimba! Could use some help here!
Finally, you decide to utilize my skills? What has taken you so long?
Oh, you know, imminent death has a way of doing that. Now how do I kill this thing?!
You are the one in combat with it. You should know.
Yeah, class never covered how to kill big effing lizards! You got a suggestion?
...No.
What?!
You've disregarded my advice too often. If you cannot kill an entity you've never seen without help from me, then you clearly have no place here.
C'mon, Kimba, I don't need a play-by-play! Just a hint, something like th-
Figure. It. Out.
And with that, she was gone. I rolled onto my front, and got on my hands and knees. Jaune was still unconscious, and Pyrrha looked at me desperately.
"I can't revive him. He might have a concussion, or something." She said. I looked at the inert knight, and an idea came to mind. I leaned in close to his ear.
"Hey, Jaune. Did you study for Professor Port's test today?" I whispered. Jaune's eyes snapped open, and his face twisted in panic.
"Wh-what?! We have a test today?!" He shouted, throwing himself up, and blearily looking around. Pyrrha stood up, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"No, we don't. But we need to get back in there." Pyrrha said, calm as ever. Jaune nodded, and picked up his weapons, then sprinted off to the temple.
"Hey, where you going?!" I yelled. Jaune looked over his shoulder.
"The flare bomb needs some work! I'll set it off when it's ready!" He shouted back. Pyrrha and I exchanged glances, as the gears began to turn in my head.
Flare bomb...
Grymfire...
Saliva...
A plan had come to me.
"Pyrrha, get on the radio, and tell everyone I have a plan. I'm going to help Jaune!" I said, before dashing off after him. Pyrrha had a worried look on her face, but sprinted away, bringing her finger up to her ear. Entering the temple, I saw Jaune kneeling down in front of a cylindrical device, which had most of our flares taped to it, and a console on the front.
"Jaune, how's it coming?" I asked. He looked at me, confused.
"It's a little way away, but I can't get it to detonate remotely. Basically, all I can do is set it to blow and run like hell." He answered. I nodded. Then, I put my plan into action.
Aiming at the makeshift bomb, I fired a grappling barb at it. Testing to see if the arrow held fast, I yanked it around, feeling it slam into my back as the wire encircled me. Pulling the wire loose from my gauntlet, and tying it securely around my chest, I turned to Jaune.
"How do we activate the bomb?" I asked. Jaune looked at me in shock.
"Wha-what the Grimm are you doing?! I didn't make this so you could make a suicide run!"
I adjusted the bomb on my back, looking at him.
"Jaune, we've been at this for ages. Nothing's working. The only thing we haven't tried is attacking it from the inside." I explained. He nodded, and motioned me to turn around. I did so, and I heard him tapping on the bomb, as it began to rhythmically beep. I turned around to face him.
"I've set the bomb to detonate in five minutes. But Darrel, what if it doesn't work? It was meant to signal for help, not cook a Grimm!" He protested. I growled.
"Trust me. Just get someone to hold it's mouth open." I ordered. Then, grabbing and clenching his shoulders, as he grimaced in pain, I drew in his Semblance. This would be a massive gamble, but if Jaune had repulsion as his Semblance, then this would work. I hoped.
Taking my hands off of his shoulders, I turned, and sprinted. Vaulting over a fallen pillar, I landed, feeling my sides burn as I emerged from the temple, and sprinted towards the trees. Firing two more grappling barbs at two trees, I stopped running, turned to face the Wahtani, and prepared to slingshot myself into it's salivating maw. The wires grew tense, and my arms locked into an outstretched reach, as I continued to drag myself back.
Looking up, the battle wasn't going well: Weiss had blood dripping down her scalp, reddening her otherwise colourless hair, Blake was holding onto the creature's tail for dear life as it whipped around and Ruby, who had jumped down and engaged the dragon whilst Jaune and I had discussed my plan in the temple was leaning on Crescent Rose for support.
Team JNPR were faring no better, as Nora was sent flying back into a tree, causing it to snap in half, and land on her leg, pinning her to the ground. Pyrrha kept dodging the Wahtani's strikes, but she was starting to tire, as her movements began to grow sluggish. Ren was situated on top of the creature's head, stabbing it's face with the blades of his Jade Dragons.
Had I been able to reach the comms unit in my ear, I would have told Ren to try and strike somewhere sensitive, like the nose, or the eye. But because my arms were otherwise occupied, I had to use another tactic.
Taunt the beast.
"Yo, ugly! You want a snack?! Then come and get it!" I yelled. The beast looked around, confused, before laying it's eyes on me. It began to approach me, it's feet causing the ground to rumble heavily as it took a step. It gave me a hard look, and then opened it's mouth, the familiar black orb forming in it's throat.
Now!
My feet left the ground, and I began to soar through the air, rocketing towards the salivating mouth. I felt it's hot breath on my face, smelling as if somebody had mixed a skunk's secretion with a liquified corpse, but I ignored the stench, even though it made my eyes water, and prepared to dive into the belly of the beast.
But I didn't get any further, as Yang tackled me aside, right as the beast was about to snap it's jaws shut on me. As I slid across the uneven ground, I looked up at Yang.
"Darrel, what the hell?! Are you trying to get killed?!" She yelled.
"I have a plan! Just let me-"
"No, Darrel! I nearly lost you twice already! I'm not letting it happen again!" She yelled, as the beast roared once again. Looking up, Nora had managed to free herself, and was now smacking it's jaw around with Magnhild in it's hammer mode, while Ren had buried his bladed machine pistols into it's nose. Blake had wrapped her ribbon around the tail of the beast, and was trying to keep it in one place, with little success.
"Yang, trust me! I know what I'm doing!" I argued, throwing her off me, and dashing towards the beast's mouth again. But before I leapt into the beast's gaping maw, a wall of fire rose up, separating me from my destination. My eyes grew wide, as I skidded to a stop, the flames barely licking at my nose. I spun around, to see Yang in a three-point position, knelt down on one knee, and her right fist impacted into the ground, the flames emanating from the point of impact. She looked up, her eyes brimming with angry tears.
"Darrel, don't do it! I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself for some stupid gambit!" She was almost sobbing, begging me not to go. I sighed, and began to walk back to her, deaf to the Wahtani's roars, and my friend's yells. When I reached her, I brushed my finger along her cheek, catching a tear. Looking at it, I remembered back to that night. Where I had done the same action over a sleeping Ruby a million years ago.
"Yang, we're Hunters. We're to protect and sacrifice. " I said. Yang said nothing else, just wrapped her arms around me, and squeezed. It wasn't a bone-crushing hug, just a tender moment that brought a single question into my head.
'Does she...?'
Finally, Yang released me from the embrace, and smiled at me, wiping a tear away.
"You'd better come back, or else I'm gonna kick your ass, Darrel." She smiled. I flashed a thumbs up, and dashed over to the Wahtani. Nora was beside me, still battering the beast.
"Nora, hit me!" I yelled. She complied with a psychotic smirk, and spun her hammer, so that the head faced my back. Before I could deride myself for coming up with such an idiotic plan, Nora had swung into my back, propelling me into the monster's mouth. I looked back between the monster's teeth, as the valkyrie waved to me.
"Good luck, Darrel!" She yelled, right as the beast snapped it's jaw shut, bathing me in darkness. It was tempting to take a flare from the bomb that was stashed on my back, but doing so would most likely waste some of it's power. So as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked up to see what appeared to be the creature's uvula. Jumping up to grab it, my fingers squished against a rubbery mass of doughy flesh. Indeed, it was the uvula. I let go, and immediately began the long trek into the creature's body, my blades at the ready to defend myself against any attack.
As I walked unsteadily down the creatures oesophagus, my radio began buzzing faintly. I put my finger to it, to try and listen for snippets of gossip.
"-rel-can y-nd cu-dis-hur-"
Comms were messed up, and I could barely decipher the voice, or who was speaking. Ignoring it, the oesophagus opened up to a cavernous pool, filled with a bubbling liquid. Clearly, I had arrived at the stomach. Making my way around the edge of the pool, I couldn't help, but look down into the murky lagoon. Within the churning current, I saw the body of the Strekoza, mutilated almost beyond recognition. It's compound eyes had remained untouched, but were glassy, and saw nothing. Without a doubt, the creature was dead. Hopefully, the Wahtani would follow suit.
Finding a fold in the wall, I cut the bomb loose from my back, and jammed it in there, wedging it securely. Looking at the timer, my eyes grew wide.
0:45.
Had I really wasted that much time getting here? I immediately turned, and fired my last grappling barb at the roof of the stomach. Testing to see if it held, I swung towards the oesophagus, using the Strekoza's head as a stepping stone. Landing at the entrance, I began to sprint up the dark passage, removing the crystal vial from my pocket and uncorking it in the process. As I reached the turnoff point from the gullet to the mouth, I heard a faint rumble, as the Wahtani's body gave a low rumble.
Looking back, a massive wall of red and green fire came chasing after me. I wasted no time: scooping the vial into a pool of saliva and quickly corking it up again, the beast opened it's mouth, and roared, as the technicolor flames caught up with me and sent me flying out of the black mouth, landing heavily on my side and skidding across the grass, leaving a trail of slick fluids as I came to a stop near the entrance of the temple. I raised my head, and looked up at the beast.
It was howling in pain, and I saw why: the bomb had shredded most of the creature's side, leaving a clear view of the disgusting organs within. But the flares were working: from the creature's wound to it's nose and mouth, thick red and green smoke clouded up into the sky, leaving an instantly recognizable haze far above the monster.
"DARREL!"
Yang's shout distracted me from the grisly sight, and as I shakily got to my feet, Yang had pulled me in for a bone-splintering hug.
"You're alright! Thank Dust you're okay! I was so worried!" She yelled relievedly. I, meanwhile was trying to pry myself loose from her iron grip.
"Yang... Choking... Can't breathe..." I gasped. Fortunately, she got the message, and released me from her hold. Falling to one knee, and gasping for air, I looked up to see the rest of my comrades running up to us. Ruby immediately pinched her nose.
"Ugh, Darrel, you stink." She groaned. I raised my arm, and was nearly suffocated by how badly I smelt. Being inside a Wahtani's stomach was most definitely an unpleasant experience. Weiss looked from me to the Wahtani's smoking carcass.
"What in the name of all that is holy happened there?" She asked, too confused to begin berating me. I looked up and grinned.
"It ate something that disagreed with it." I snarked. Weiss gave me a small sideways smile.
"That was awful."
"Well, it was either that or 'I must have given it heartburn.'" I shrugged.
"That's worse."
I chuckled, and got to my feet. Then I remembered why we had come to the Blossom Woods in the first place.
"Guys, what about the herbs? Weren't we sent her to gather herbs?" I asked. Yang's face turned from relief to shock.
"Crap, you're right! We've been so busy fighting, I completely forgot!" She panicked. Blake just placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Calm down, Yang. Jaune and I managed to get the necessary plants while everyone else went to get you." She soothed. Yang sighed in relief, as did I.
"Thank Dust for that." She breathed. I smiled: At least somebody had their head screwed on.
*SHHHHWWWHHHIIIIRRRR*
The roar of twin turbines caused me to look up, to be met with the descending form a Bullhead, marked with the symbol of Beacon Academy, watching as it touched down near the Wahtani's corpse. The two teams began to trudge away to the opening jet. Yang patted me on the back.
"Come on, Darrel. Let's go home." She said, before following her teammates. I watched her departing form, then I looked at the vial in my hands, now filled to the brim with deadly liquid. Placing the crystal vial in my pocket, feeling the corrosive liquid slosh back and forth dangerously, I walked to the Bullhead, eager to reach home, have a bath, and indulge in some long overdue peace and quiet.
FINALLY! Now I can get back to working on canon sequences. About time, too. This has gone on long enough, if you ask me. But either way, Jaundice, Forever Fall, The Stray and Black and White will happen before Season 2 premieres.
Am I being too optimistic?