A/N: Question- Does anyone else think Jaune is looking and acting a lot like Ironwood?
The team had reached the mountain range, Ilia taking out climbing equipment.
"What are you doing," Jaune asked.
Ilia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "How else are we supposed to get over the mountain?" Jaune stared at her as he slumped over, dumbfounded. "What's with that look?"
Jaune sighed before looking at Nimueh. The beauty sighed. "Fine." She then turned into a sword and returned to Jaune's sheath.
The hero turned towards Yuma. "So, Ilia or Trifa?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jaune then pointed to his back. Yuma looked confused until realization hit him. "Oooh. Seems really obvious when you point it out."
"I'll just blame Ilia."
"Blame me for what?!"
"What are you two even talking about," Trifa asked.
"Honestly, I prefer Trif. She's basically been my partner for a while."
"Alright." Jaune then walked over to Ilia.
"Okay, Jaune, what are you- WHOA," she went after Jaune lifted her princess-style. She turned pink out of embarrassment. "H-Hey! You know very well I don't swing that way!"
"I'm glad you don't honestly. I get in enough trouble with women as it is. Now, hold on tight." Jaune then grew his wings.
Ilia's spots went from pink to blue, her eyes dilating. "Oh, boy. Uh, superhero, can we talk about THIIIIIIIIIIIIS," she screamed as she took to the sky. Her screams then became excited laughter and whooping. "THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME!"
"Whoa," Trifa went after she was lifted by Yuma, also princess-style.
"Can't let an ex-human outdo me in flying," Yuma said with a smirk.
Trifa clung to Yuma. "Please don't go as fast as HIIIIIIIIIIM!"
Ilia was laughing as she had her arms around Jaune.
"I take it you're enjoying yourself?"
"Is this what it's like to be you?! To be Yuma?!"
"I can't exactly speak for Yuma, but this is pretty much what it's like when I fly," Jaune said before flying over the peaks, flapping his wings to stay in place. He then turned to see Yuma reach him. "What took you so long?"
"Don't be a wiseass, hero."
Jaune chuckled before looking around. "There. That looks like a good place to land."
Yuma followed Jaune's gaze. "The two of us can definitely land there and put the girls back on their feet, but isn't it a bit far from the base of the mountain?"
"Can't be helped. There's something I need to ask you three." Jaune then flew down, Yuma following him. Jaune didn't wait to put Ilia back on her feet, the woman looking a bit wobbly. "Takes some getting used to."
"So I feel," she said as she tried to regain her balance.
As soon as Yuma landed and put Trifa on her feet, Ilia accidentally ran into her, the chameleon and spider falling to the ground with a thud, the winged men wincing.
"That sounded nice," Yuma said.
"Pretty sure they'd feel that even WITH Aura," Jaune said.
Ilia groaned as she sat up.
"Um, Ilia?"
"Hm?"
"You do know I'm into Yuma, right?"
"Yeah?"
"So could you please stop groping me?"
Ilia looked down to see her hand on Trifa's modest breasts. "Sorry about that," Ilia said nervously as she got off her teammate, still pink with embarrassment.
Yuma helped Trifa back to her feet, the spider falling onto her boyfriend, the bat not minding at all as he helped her back up. "So, hero, what did you need to talk to us about," Yuma asked Jaune.
"Do any of you have your Auras unlocked?"
"Straight to the point, eh," Ilia asked with her arms crossed.
"Blake told me about her and Sun's adventure on the island. Well, it was mostly a story to entertain Argent, but I was still there to listen. Told me how she knocked you out in one punch, Trifa."
Trifa sighed. "Of course, she would." She glared when she heard Yuma snicker.
"Like you have the right to snicker, Yuma. One of Kali's first stories to Argent was how she took out a 'big bad bat' with a tea tray."
"Urk." Trifa gave Yuma a smug look.
"What about you, Ilia? I was told you gave Blake a pretty good fight in her house."
Ilia sighed. "No. I don't. All Blake needed was one good shot to take me out."
"I see. That's an issue. Even with Aura, a Devil Dragon's bite is extremely dangerous. Without it, it's absolutely fatal."
"You're not telling us to go back are you," Yuma went.
"Jaune, you may have taken on the infestation last time, but this one is even worse. Even you are going to need help," Trifa said.
"I'm aware. That's why I'm unlocking all three of your Auras."
The Faunus looked surprised.
"Best to be prepared, you know? Now, huddle your hands in front of me."
The three did as the Huntsman said, Jaune placing his hand on top. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the three doing the same just in case. Jaune then began to glow, his Aura flowing into the three.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee."
All three Faunus opened their eyes in amazement, feeling their awakened Aura.
"Whoa," Yuma went, seeing the glow of his reddish-black Aura.
"So this is what it's like," Trifa said as she saw her bluish-white glow.
"It feels... nice," Ilia said as she looked at her rainbow-colored Aura.
Jaune groaned as he almost fell to one knee.
"Jaune," Ilia went in worry.
"I'm fine. Most people unlock ONE other person's Aura. Takes a lot out of you since you're using your own Aura to awaken someone else's. I'm probably the only man in the world who can unlock more than one person's Aura at a time. Absolutely exhausting, though. Ow," he went after Nimueh appeared and smacked the back of his head.
"You just love being a reckless showoff, don't you," she chastised.
"Hey, at least they'll be a bit safer now," Jaune said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Your Aura Level's in the red," Nimueh yelled.
"That smack of yours didn't help." Jaune raised his hands in defense of his wife's intense stare. "That reminds me, everyone check your scrolls."
They did as the team leader ordered.
"Everyone can see their Aura levels and their teammates?"
"Yeah," Yuma said. "This is kinda weird, seeing my Aura after all this time of being without one."
"Yours really is in the red, Jaune," Ilia said.
"Ah, don't worry about it." They all watched as Jaune's Aura bar increased, going from red to orange all the way back to green. They looked in time to see him use his Semblance."
"Any chance we can do that," Yuma asked.
"Sorry. Semblances are unique to everyone. I'm sure you'll find yours eventually... maybe."
"Maybe," Trifa asked.
"I met a few Huntsmen who never unlocked their Semblances. They just relied on skill and Dust."
"That actually sounds more my style," Yuma said with a smirk.
"Well, on that note..." Jaune turned towards the ocean of sand the team was preparing to enter. "Everyone ready?"
They all walked up to his side. "Yeah," they said in unison, with no hesitation or negativity in their voices.
They were ready to begin the mission.
The team was jumping down the cliff, being careful not to make any unnecessary noises and stay upwind. The Devil Dragons didn't have the best hearing, their noses were nothing to look down on. It was how they almost killed Jaune in his first encounter... and also how he beat them by using the dung of a Daimono.
They had nearly reached the base of the mountain when Jaune stopped and raised his fist, stopping the others. Jaune looked around and signed for Ilia to check a certain area while camouflaged. She followed the order, turning into the shame shade as the rock. You could only tell where she was as she moved.
Ilia reached the rock, looking around. She then saw it. It was smaller than reported, but the white bone mask, black body, and red features were a dead giveaway about it being a Grimm.
She sent a text to Jaune, the man's scroll giving one small beep. Jaune looked at his scroll and signed for the other two to follow, all three jumping towards Ilia carefully to not alert the Dragon.
The team was now hiding behind the same rock as Ilia, Jaune next to the woman.
'It's a bit smaller than reported,' she whispered.
'That's because it's just a scout,' Jaune whispered back. 'Grimm aren't nearly as dumb as people would hope. A lot of Pack Hunter Grimm are quite brilliant, smarter than most animals, in fact. Devil Dragon Banks all have scouts.'
'Banks,' Trifa asked.
'It's what we call a group of Devil Dragons. They send out scouts to search for human settlements, sources of water, or for signs of Huntsmen to warn the rest. Yuma, where's the closest Devil Dragon sighting.'
'About two miles to the west of our location.'
'Guess that makes this little guy the lookout. Alright then,' Jaune said as he took off his glove.
'What are you planning,' Ilia asked.
'I can tame Grimm through touch. I feel it's best to have my whole hand on them instead of just my fingers.'
'Can you really do it,' Trifa asked.
'It's just a scout. If it was an Apex, you'd need to be worried. I've been having trouble Conquering stronger Grimm.'
'Guess we can't rely on you to tame a Sea Feilong,' Yuma said.
'Not yet. It's definitely getting easier to Conquer Grimm, though.'
Jaune saw his chance to prove himself when the Devil Dragon turned its back on them. Jaune immediately lunged at the car-sized lizard and placed his hand on its head.
Though no one else could see it, Jaune's golden Aura dueled the Grimm's purplish-black energy. It was no contest. In not even a second, Jaune's Aura completely Conquered the Grimm.
The Devil Dragon shook as if drying itself off before looking around, not caring at all that Jaune was now riding it.
The hero then turned toward his team. "Alright! It's safe!"
The Faunus were amazed. They all jumped down to meet Jaune, amazed they were able to walk up to such a dangerous Grimm.
"You... You tamed it," Ilia asked, jumping a bit when it looked at her.
"Yup. This guy is now officially on our side."
"I can't believe it," Yuma said as he placed his hand on the Grimm.
"Yuma, be careful," Trifa went when she saw him do this.
"Huh? Oh, crap," he went as he took his hand away from the beast.
"It's alright. He's tamed. Don't worry," Jaune assured.
The Faunus looked nervous before Ilia stepped up. She then began to pet the creature, eyes widening in amazement. "It's so... cool. It's actually soothing, especially in this heat."
Yuma and Trifa looked at each other before walking up and rubbing the lizard.
"Whoa. Do all Grimm feel like this," Yuma asked.
"Kinda. None of them have any real body heat unless they have fire-type magic. Even Beowolves are cool to the touch."
"With all that fur," Trifa asked. Her eyes widened. "Is it... purring?"
"Like I said, Grimm are a lot smarter than animals. I should have also mentioned that they're a lot LIKE animals. Even these guys crave affection," Jaune said as he scratched the bottom of the Devil Dragon's neck, the creature closing its eyes in contentment.
"So, Grimm could have been giant puppies all this time," Yuma asked.
"Why have we been at war since the dawn of time, then," Trifa asked.
Jaune's smile went away before looking up. "You can thank HIM for that."
They all followed his gaze, all confused since all they saw was a clear blue sky.
Then, Ilia's eyes widened in realization. "The God of Darkness. He's a real."
The other two were just as shocked, finding out that the diety they thought was just a human religion was real.
"Wait, does that mean the other gods are real? Like the God of Animals," Yuma asked Jaune.
Jaune shook his head. "I have no idea. All I can say is that the God Brothers are indeed real. I've met both of them. And one of them wants me dead."
Ilia's eyes turned blue, a sign of her being in despair. "You're... you're fighting a god?"
Jaune sighed. "Being the King of the Grimm comes with many burdens, Ilia. Especially when you reject the God who created them in the first place."
The three stared at Jaune in horror, unable to believe what he was up against.
This one human was waging war against an actual god. A god that helped create the world. The creator of Grimm. The creator of magic. The reason the Four Maidens exist. Nimueh's creator.
He was up against the God of Darkness himself.
"That's not important right now," Jaune said. "Come on. We have Devil Dragons to hunt. Get on."
The three looked at each other before following Jaune's order. Ilia got on first, sitting behind Jaune and wrapping her arms around his waist. She turned pink when she felt Trifa's arms around her waist. Yuma was the last to mount the Dragon, one arm on Trifa's shoulder, his free hand on the great lizard.
Jaune then clicked his tongue, making the Devil Dragon take off, the Grimm gliding across the sand to their destination.
Ilia looked down at the sand. "Even Faunus can't travel through the desert this quickly. The sand isn't slowing down the Dragon in the least."
"Shows how big of a disadvantage we are in against Grimm," Trifa said.
"I think I'm only slightly faster than this guy. You sure it's just a scout," Yuma asked Jaune.
"Positive. After all, look."
The three looked to see a bank of Devil Dragons in the distance.
"Damn. I can tell even from here that some of them are bigger than this guy," Yuma said.
"Soldiers and Scouts. . . But no Alpha. Must be a Scouting Party. The main bank must be somewhere else."
"That's still a lot of Devil Dragons," Trifa said.
"About ten, from what I can count," Yuma added.
"Can you take them, Jaune," Ilia asked.
He took off his second glove. "It'll take a while, but I should be able to do it. Might need help from you guys, though."
Yuma chuckled. "The big bad superhero needs help from little 'ol us?"
"Don't get too cocky, Yuma. I just need you guys to lead some away from the group. Try to lead it close to this guy at first. The more I Conquer, the easier it will be to infiltrate the bank and Conquer the rest."
"Hey, I've played video games with Arie before," Ilia began. "You don't have a limit, do you?"
"Depends. Scouts are easy to Conquer. It doesn't tire me out in the least. But if those Soldiers are tough, it might put a strain on me. Conquering the will of another is pretty exhausting. As long as I'm not ready to fall over from exhaustion, I should be able to Conquer every last one of them."
"Good enough for me. At least we don't have to wait for you to charge. There's no stupid time limit to their conquest, is there," Ilia asked.
"Nope. Once they're mine, they're mine. I can sense every Grimm I've ever Conquered. Some were slain, but none of them have ever broken out of my hold."
"You can sense ALL the Grimm you've ever tamed," Ilia asked.
"Not gonna lie, it was incredibly overwhelming at first, but I got used to it," Jaune said as he clicked his tongue, making the Devil Dragon halt to a crawl, now circling the bank.
"Good to know," Ilia said as she jumped off. Jaune looked in time to see her camouflage, vanishing within the sand.
"Alright, you ready to take to the skies, Yuma?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he extended his wings and flew up.
Jaune watched as he soared into the sky before he began to circle around. Jaune turned toward Trifa next. "Can you shoot your webs into balls?" Trifa raised her hand and made some motions before shooting a ball of web past Jaune's face. "Think it's enough to get a Dragon's attention?"
"I broke through a brick wall with one of these things. I heard that Devil Dragon hide is tough, but this should still feel like getting hit by steel the size of a baseball."
"Ouch. That'll help." They looked up and saw Yuma flying a certain way. He looked around and saw a Devil Dragon walking directly below him, seemingly following something. Jaune then saw sand being thrown lightly into the air, catching the Dragon's attention as the van-sized Grimm scurried towards it. "Showtime. Get below the Dragon," Jaune said as he jumped off, Trifa following him.
The two were now below the Devil Dragon, out of the rays of the sun, in a nice cool area, and hopefully out of the sight of the searching dragon.
"Alright, Trifa. Get it ready." She did as she was told. "Wait for it," he whispered. The Dragon then turned its head, completely looking away from Jaune and Trifa. "Now," he whispered.
Trifa shot the ball of web at the dragon's head. A loud THUNK was heard, the Dragon turning towards the one Jaune and Trifa were under, giving a loud and angry hiss before staring at the tamed dragon, the creature just naturally looked around, patiently waiting for an order.
The aggravated Devil Dragon scurried over to its bank member, hissing at it before standing erect. It flicked its tongue, noticing a strange smell in the air.
It didn't notice the hand that shot out from under the scout, barely feeling Jaune's hand on its foot
One second later.
"Two scouts down, nine more to go," Jaune said as he got up from under the Dragon.
"This might take a while," Trifa said as she followed Jaune out into the open, already lovingly rubbing the neck of the Grimm, making it purr and close its eyes in contentment.
It honestly didn't take the team that long. About an hour, tops. After Jaune Conquered at least three Scouts, he was able to use the massive Grimm to sneak into the bank, Conquering the rest. Of course, he started with the Scouts, there being about four in all. The Soldiers were a bit thicker than the Scouts to Conquer, but only a bit. The only real trouble had was how fast the Devil Dragons were, scurrying around, searching for whatever they were smelling.
Jaune was able to trick a Soldier to head toward him by texting Ilia to move closer to him, the Soldier he had his eye on following the chameleon woman's scent. He also had Yuma distract one by flying past it, the great lizard standing on its hind legs to search for whatever flew near it. That was more than enough of a chance for Jaune to Conquer it.
Jaune thought his favorite distraction came from Trifa, the spider woman shooting webbing in the path of the Devil Dragon. When it stepped on the sticky web, it shook its leg in an oddly cute way, like a dog that got its paw wet or something.
Still, with the help of his team, Jaune now had a bank of Devil Dragons under his command.
Ilia deactivated her camouflage, Yuma landing next to her as Trifa crawled out from the Scout she was hiding under. After feeling the sun on her face, she almost went back under the lizard.
"I can't believe all these are on our side now," Yuma said as he rubbed a Devil Dragon Soldier's neck.
"It'll definitely make traversing the desert easier," Ilia said as she jumped onto the back of a Devil Dragon, letting out a surprised yelp when the large lizard sat down.
Trifa was happily rubbing a Devil Dragon, smiling when it began to purr before looking around. "Still, Devil Dragons like to spend their time near water, right? The only water source should be the ocean. Why are there so many around here?"
"Guess it's time for me to find out," Jaune said. The Faunus looked at him in confusion.
Jaune then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His team was surprised when a serpent tongue flicked out of Jaune's lips. Jaune then opened his eyes, his blue eyes replaced with Grimm eyes. The three were stunned.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Y-Your eyes," Trifa went.
"My eyes?" Jaune created ice, making sure it was clear enough to be a mirror. He then saw his eyes. "Damn. This hologram is supposed to hide stuff like this." Jaune looked at his watch. "Maybe it's because I'm using certain abilities more than others? Or maybe it's just malfunctioning," he said as he tapped the watch's face.
"Maybe," Yuma said. "After all, your eyes flickered just now when you tapped your watch."
Jaune sighed. "Gonna have to talk to Dante about that later."
"So, what are you planning," Ilia asked.
"I'm going to use Devil Dragon Biology to see why they were interested in this area," Jaune said as he walked towards the spot they gathered. He then flicked his tongue. "Hm? It tastes... moist."
"What's that supposed to mean," Yuma asked.
"Most of the desert tastes dry, but I taste moisture around here."
Ilia's eyes widened as she jumped off her dragon. "Moisture means water."
The other two's eyes widened, the partners looking at each other before looking at Jaune.
"Are you saying what I hope you're saying, " Yuma asked.
"Only one way to find out," Jaune said as he raised a hand. "Hope this works." Jaune then slammed his fist into the sand.
Moments passed, but nothing happened.
"Uuuh," Jaune went.
"Okay. Now what," Yuma asked, his arms crossed.
"Well, there was supposed to be a-"
BOOM
When the dust cleared, the girls had their arms up while Yuma was shielding himself with his wings. When they felt it was safe, they lowered their defenses, seeing a massive hole in front of them, but no Jaune. Then-
"OOF," he went after landing in front of the three.
Ilia walked up and leaned over him, shielding his face from the sun. "That looked like it hurt."
"It did," Jaune groaned out. He then sat up, hissing in pain. "I hate magic."
"It looks to me like you need more practice with magic than you do with our martial arts," Ilia teased with a smile.
"Shut it," Jaune said as he stood up and walked toward the hole he made. He then looked into it, the rest looking as well.
"Well, you made a bottomless pit," Yuma said. "Now what," he asked as he looked up at Jaune. "Was there supposed to be water spewing out or something?"
"Let me just check it out," Jaune said as he jumped in.
"Want me to follow," Yuma called into the hole.
"I'M GOOD," Jaune called back. "DEEPER THAN I THOUGHT! REACHED THE BOTTOM THOUGH!"
"SEE ANYTHING," Ilia called.
"BEDROCK!"
"Bedrock," Trifa asked as she looked at Ilia.
"Guess he reached the bottom of the island," she shrugged. "WHAT NEXT, HERO?!"
"IT FEELS WET AND A BIT BRITTLE! I'M GONNA SEE IF I CAN BREAK THROUGH!"
"ALRIGHT! BUT BE CAREFUL!"
"NO PROMISES! STEP BACK JUST IN CASE!"
"You heard the man," Yuma said as he stepped back, Trifa and Ilia following his lead.
They heard the crunch of breaking stones.
"Whoa, boy," they heard Jaune go.
BOOM
"WhoooooOOOOOOOAAAAAA," he went after being blasted out of the hole by a geyser of water.
"AAAAAAAAH-OW," he went after landing in front of Ilia.
She wanted to make a snide remark about it but was too mesmerized by the gushing water. "No way."
Trifa walked up and held up her hands, collecting water in them. When her hands were full, she drank it. Her eyes shot open. "It's cold," she said, not even caring that she was getting wet. She then began to laugh before raising her arms towards the sky. "IT'S COLD!"
Yuma laughed before he caught some water and splashed it onto his face, running his now-wet fingers through his hair. "You did it." He then began to laugh. "YOU DID IT! ARC, YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD, YOU ACTUALLY FUCKING DID IT!"
Jaune sat up, rubbing his head. "What did I do?"
He was then tackled by a laughing Ilia, the petite woman hugging him. "YOU FOUND WATER IN THE DESERT! YOU GAVE US AN OASIS!"
She then raised her hand towards the now fully formed, full oasis, not caring at all that the Devil Dragons were relaxing in the water. "AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, MENAGERIE CAN FINALLY EXPAND!"