The Reviews!
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AndrewEMack: It's quite alright, you have nothing to apologize for, I understand, I sort of used to be in the same position as you a long time ago before I started writing.
Reader: Thanks and I always like responding to reviews to let readers know that I hear and see their opinions and suggestions. As for Sun's teacher, that is a really funny idea, that I might actually use it, though, if it happened, It would be during the "Crown Arc" or in the sequel. Also, I'll just say this... Sun will get to show off an amazing power-up this Arc!
Dragon Blaze-X: Indeed~!
X3runner: Jaune has to be the straight man sometimes, after all, Sun is a goofball and very mischievous while Neptune is always trying to catch a girl and is also a small goof in his own way. Though, as with all guys... sometimes Jaune joins in with their games.
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Anyway, onto the chapter!
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The Bullhead landed in Alnwick's docks and coming off the aircraft were Professor Port, Team's CFVY, and ABRN, along with Jaune and Sun.
Once all of them were out of the Bullhead, Port looked and turned to his students, "Now then students, we best be on our way to where we'll be staying, each team will have your own room, but Mr. Arc and Mr. Wukong will be bunking with me," Port told them "Now, once you're all settled, Ms. Adel, Ms. Atlan, Mr. Arc, and Mr. Wukong, you will be coming with me to the towns hall to meet with the Mayor and get all the information from him, as well as details that might not have made it into the report or any new details," Port said
The students nodded and the leaders agreed and then they followed their teacher to the Motel that they would be staying at for the remainder of their mission.
As they walked through Alnwick, Jaune looked around and saw a few people out and about and some children playing, however, he could somehow sense all the negative emotions that swirled around the town, it was almost like he was back in Mt. Glenn, however, when he felt all the negative emotions there it was just a strong overwhelming sense of sadness and dread, but here, it was almost like he could... taste the sadness and fear that resided in Alnwick.
In fact, he's been worried about that recently. Ever since he woke up after falling into that pit... he could feel every negative emotion that was near him, and if there was an overwhelming sense of negative emotions it was like he could feed off it, and a sense of power rose up inside of him.
The only explanation he could think of was when he rose out of that pool of ooze, whatever happened when he rose out of it, it changed him, he knew that much. But what kind of change, what was going on with him?
He was then taken out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his back, he turned to see Sun to his right.
"You ok dude?" Sun asked
Jaune nodded, "Yeah, it's just... can you sense that too?"
Sun seemed a little surprised about what Jaune said but just looked at him, "So you can sense it too huh?" Sun asked
Jaune was now confused, "What do you mean?" Jaune asked
Sun sort of smirked, "You can sense a large number of negative emotions inside the town right? You probably felt something similar during your mission up in Mt. Glenn, right?" Sun asked
Jaune was a bit surprised that Sun knew that, but he nodded, giving the Faunus his answer.
"What do you know, you might have it," Sun said
"Have what?" Jaune asked, more confused
Sun just kept smirking, "During your training with Headmaster Ozpin, did he ever unleash some sort of power? Something that knocked a lot of people? or just felt like an overwhelming amount of Aura pressure?"
Jaune wanted to respond that nothing of the sort had ever happened, but then Jaune was brought back to the first time Jaune had ever trained with Ozpin. He Remembered what Ozpin before he ended the match:
Ozpin use his cane like a cane and looked at him with an expressionless face. Suddenly, a wave of Green aura flowed out of him and all around the arena and flowed out everywhere, almost seemingly making everything green, when the wave of Aura hit Jaune, he felt his body almost collapse due to the sheer pressure that he was releasing.
'Wh-Wh-What the hell is this... overwhelming sense of power!?' Jaune cried to himself in fear.
The wave of green Aura that Ozpin was emitting dissipated and when Ozpin looked at his student, he saw the utter horror and fear that was displayed on Jaune's face. 'Strange... he didn't faint when I used it' Ozpin thought to himself.
"W-What was that...?" Jaune asked, his voice clearly shaken, it sounded like he was about to cry
"A gift from the soul that only a few are born with," Ozpin said "It isn't a normal Aura technique, you have to be born with this gift, and as I said before, only a few are born with it,"
Jaune was still in shock, he couldn't believe that Ozpin had something like this... something that could put the fear of the gods into a person, make them faint from the overwhelming power that they possessed! It was Unbelievable!
Jaune then remembered what happened when he left Combat Class:
When Jaune left the classroom and walked into the halls, his eyes widened as he saw many, many students knocked out on the floor or slumped against the walls. Every single one of them seemed to be unconscious.
"What happened!?" Cried Jaune
Jaune looked back to Sun, "Yeah, something like that did happen, the first time Ozpin and me spared before I left to go train in Patch," Jaune told Sun, "He unleashed a huge wave of Green Aura that sort of shook my body, but I didn't fall unconscious like the students that were nearby," Jaune told Sun
Sun smiled, "So you and the good Headmaster really do have it," Sun told him
"Ok, enough vague talk, what are you talking about?" Jaune asked
Sun chuckled a little as he looked at his friend, "Jaune, you ever heard of Kings Aura?" Sun asked
Jaune shook his head, both a bit confused but also intrigued.
Sun nodded in understanding, "I don't blame you, In fact, I never heard about it until my own teacher told me about it before I left for Mistral," Sun told Jaune, "That trick that Ozpin used when he first fought you was him unleashing his Kings Aura, a very rare gift that very few people are born with,"
"But what exactly is it?" Jaune asked
"Well, My teacher told me that Kings Aura is a hidden part of one's soul that holds the aspect of a King and what kind of King they are, those with it are able to unleash it, causing those with weaker aura levels or those with a weaker will to kneel before them or in simpler terms, knocking them out, but that's not all, King's aura allows us to sense emotions, and any trace of emotions," Sun told him "It's so powerful that it can even give a sort of a... let's say boost, to a user's regular aura and even semblance," Sun finished with a smile
Jaune was amazed to hear that something so powerful existed, "Really!?" Jaune asked
Sun nodded, "Though, it takes extreme training in order to manipulate Kings Aura and the same with unleashing it," Sun said "Hell, it's hard to know if you even have it since if you do have it, awakening it is pretty hard,"
Jaune raised his brow, "So you think I have Kings Aura?" Jaune asked Sun
Sun nodded, "Yeah, well that or your soul is strong enough to hold its own against a wave of Kings Aura,"
"Oh, so there are a few ways to not be affected by one's unleashing of Kings Aura?" Jaune asked
Sun nodded once again, "Yeah, you see, you can have a strong enough soul or you don't have a weak Aura level, so in reality, it's either you have Kings Aura or you just have a strong enough soul and/or Aura Level," Sun told him
Jaune nodded, and then he realized something that he didn't catch on when Sun brought this up, and he looked at his Faunus friend with a raised brow, "Sun?" Jaune called
"Yeah?"
"Why do you know so much about Kings Aura?" Jaune asked
Sun just smirked at his friend before walking ahead of him as he rested his Staff behind his neck and rested his hands on the staff. Jaune just stared at his friend with wide eyes, wondering if Sun was being serious.
Meanwhile, Arslan hated to admit it, but she overheard Sun and Jaune's conversation, and when she heard everything Sun told Jaune, she thought back to her little training session with Sun the previous day.
'He mentioned that this "Kings Aura" could boost the user's regular Aura... or Semblance' Arslan thought, 'And that form of his the other day... could it be that Sun has something like that hidden...?' Arslan thought as she continued walking to the Motel
Finally, after a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the Motel. Professor Port led them to their individual rooms and they split up and set their things inside, and began to settle in, though, once most of their things were away, Port, Coco, Arslan, Jaune, and Sun gathered and made their way the mayor's office.
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Dr. Merlot, an elderly man with disheveled gray hair, a matching mustache and beard, and prominent eyebrows, His left eye was robotic and glowed red, around his eyes were noticeable claw marks, likely from a Grimm, and his right arm was also robotic and was dark and metallic and has red inner circuits. He wore a light gray jacket with a high collar and a red shirt underneath, on each sleeve of the jacket was a dark gray hexagon shape.
He walked around the lab and looked over the cages that contained his new Grimm.
The Grimm inside the cage, a Beowulf, roared with anger, however, this Beowulf was different. All of its red features now were green and glowed, even the spikes on its back looked like green luminescent crystals, not only that, its body was a lot bigger and wider than that of a normal Beowulf.
"Such an amazing specimen!" Merlot said with a gleeful smile, "In fact, most of the specimens here have been doing amazing, can't say the same for my human subjects thought, but that is why the Grimm are so much better! The Grimm are a superior species! fascinating in their biology! their unbridled, raw aggression and lack of sentience make them the perfect vessel for what I have planned!" Merlot said with a low chuckle.
Meanwhile, to the side watching the doctor, were Fe, Jericho, and Treygan, making sure that the Doctor didn't get himself maimed or eaten by his own creations.
"Speaking of which Doc, do you want any new human specimens?" Treygan chimed in
Dr. Merlot was taken out of his fascination and looked over to the Rouge Huntsmen/Mercenaries and thought deeply about it. "Yes, however, this time, we'll use a few of the Beowulfs here as a distraction,"
Fe nodded, "Alright, and I assume you will be joining us on this mission?"
Merlot nodded, "correct," Merlot said, I'll also send a drone to watch the progress of my Grimm and see how well they are doing with the drug," Merlot told Fe
"Alright then," Fe said "Treygan will get a Bullhead ready and we'll hitch a large container of Grimm to the bottom and take them with us," Fe told Merlot
"Very good Ms. Feng," Merlot told her with a smile, "Hopefully, we can find a great specimen this time!" Merlot said with a smile.
Fe just nodded as she and Jericho made sure the container was ready while Treygan went to fire up the Bullhead, and Merlot prepared himself as well. Smiling with glee, Dr. Merlot could not wait to see more of his creations at work and wondered how a whole pack would do on such a large scale.
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"And that's as much as I know, Mr. Port," Replied the Mayor of Alnwick
Port rubbed his chin as he contemplated the information he as well as the students with him, received from the mayor. Not many new details, everything was pretty much the same as it was in the reports. However, Port had finally confirmed something that he had been thinking about since he read about the missing people.
"Someone is behind all this," Port said
The mayor was surprised, "A-Are you sure?" he asked
Port nodded, "Yes," Port said "With the Grimm's new appearance and the way described them, they are just like the ones from before,"
"Before?" Coco chimed in
Port sighed, "A long time ago, in my youth, I as well as my team, took a mission here to investigate similar circumstances, however, people didn't go missing that time... so whoever is behind this must be experimenting on the Grimm but this time for some reason now needs people," Port finished
"But why?" Arslan asked as she stepped forth, "And what kind of experiments are they doing on these Grimm and possibly, the townsfolk?"
"That I can't say," Port said "When I and my team investigated long ago we also never found much, however... I did suspect someone,"
"Who Professor?" Coco asked
Port turned to Coco, "A young scientist by the name of Thomas Merlot, owner of Merlot industries," Port told her
"Merlot industries?" Jaune asked
Port nodded, "It was a business that promised to revolutionize Vale's science," Port told him
Sun raised a brow, "Why did you suspect him?" Sun asked the professor
"We'll we all agreed that if someone was experimenting on Grimm, it might be someone at Merlot Industries or even Merlot himself," Port told Sun, "However, we stopped suspecting him after Merlot and the base that was here got attacked by the Green Grimm and he and some of the workers there supposedly died during the attack, and the trailed went cold for awhile thought the Grimm kept attacking until me and my team fought off a huge hoard of them... at a great cost, and no Green Grimm ever showed up around the town again," Port told them
"But what if he survived?" Arslan chimed in, "He faked his death during the attack, hid somewhere deep in the base, and began his work again?"
Port and the others thought about it, and the more they thought about it, the more it made sense, to Port and the rest of them there.
"I SMELL THEM..."
Jaune eye's widened as he was startled and he looked around, wondering where the voice had come from.
"TROUBLE... APPROACHING,"
Jaune looked over to one of the windows that were in the office and looked out of it with a worried look. He couldn't explain it, but now he could sense danger incoming.
The others looked over at Jaune as they noticed his sudden behavior.
Coco had a brow raised in confusion, "Jaune?" Coco called out, "What's wrong?" she asked
"I think... we got Grimm heading our way," Jaune said
Now, Port was confused as he looked over at the blonde knight, "What? Mr. Arc, what do you me-?"
Suddenly, the siren of Alnwick blared, catching the attention of everyone.
The Mayor's eyes widened with Horror, "Oh Oum..." he said
The Professor and Students with him quickly raced out of city hall and ran to where the trouble was mostly coming from, it was from the east side gates, and Jaune and the others quickly made their way there.
Suddenly, the gates burst open and the Grimm now entered Alnwick, and the four Huntsmen-in-training finally got a look at the Green Grimm, which they could tell were Bowulfs, and the students couldn't believe how monstrous and terrifying these Grimm could be, it was like these Beowulf's were on steroids!
"Damn!" Port cried "They've breached the gates!"
Jaune and Sun quickly used Aura Step to get closer and when they were near the gates of the Green Grimm, Jaune unleashed an Arcus Mortis, and Sun pushed Aura into the end of his staff and struck the stomach of the Beowulf.
Jaune's Arcus Mortis sliced one Grimm across the chest and in half, while Sun blew a hole in the Grimm's stomach. However, the Grimm seemed to treat these wounds like they were nothing as they still tried to attack the two boys.
Jaune blocked a claw attack from the Beowulf he cut in half, pushing him back a little and rattling his arm, 'What the hell!? Their strength is 5X that of a regular Beowulf!' Jaune thought
Sun saw the Beowulf he blew a hole through going in for an attack with such speed and he was too late to react and got scratched by his Beowulf, but thankfully the scratch was shallow. Sun looked in shock as he backed up, "What the hell!?" Sun cried out
Jaune also backed away from the Beowulf and also looked in disbelief, "How the hell are they still moving!?" Jaune cried out, "And how the hell are they that strong!?"
"Outta the way boys!" Coco cried
Both boys turned around only to see Coco's Minigun beginning to whirl. So with wide eyes and not wanting to be caught in the hellfire, both boys quickly jumped out of the way and Coco began unleashing a hailstorm of bullets.
The Beowulfs charged at Coco as she riddled them with bullets, they did slow down slightly but they didn't stop, angering the fashionista. "Go down you damn mutts!" Coco cried
Coco kept unleashing the bullets, but the Beowulfs kept charging at her, "Arslan!" Coco cried out as she lifted up Gianduja and walked out of the way and behind her, Arslan had her hands in front of her and fire began forming.
Arslan was focusing on creating the largest fireball she could muster with all her power and when it finally formed, it was about the size of a zorb ball.
Arslan smirked, "I hope you freaks of nature like this!" Arslan cried "SUN BOMB!"
Arslan then pushed the giant fireball forward and with great speed, it flew towards the Green Grimm, and stuck the Beowulfs, pushing the pack back, as if they were bowling pins. The Beowulfs roared in pain and anger as they were pushed back to the entrance of the east gate before finally, the great ball of fire exploded. They all turned to the explosion and watched as it died down and the smoke slowly began to clear.
"Please tell me that it's over now," Sun said
Suddenly, a few remaining Beowulfs, some looking injured by Arslan's technique, roared and charged back at the group.
"Me and my big mouth!" Sun cried
Coco glared at the Grimm, "How strong are these fucking things!?" Coco cried
'Damn it! Whatever the hell was done to these Grimm they can't feel pain anymore!' Jaune thought as he growled as he jumped back in front of the Beowulfs and he charged up his Aura into his sword. "I have had enough of you!" Jaune cried, he then swung his sword sideways and unleashed a powerful Arcus Mortis.
The Arcus Mortis cut the Pack in half, but once again, they didn't seem to mind that their bodies were split in two, as they still tried to charge, crawling toward the group.
Jaune growled in anger, as he fell to one knee, tired thanks to the large attack he just unleashed. "How the hell do we put these things down!?" Jaune roared in anger
Arslan formed two large fireballs in both of her hands, both were the size of a beachball and she threw them at the remaining crawling Beowulfs, thankfully, they both hit two in the face and blew up their faces, thankfully ending them.
After that attack, Arslan stepped forward and looked a little sluggish as she did and she breathed heavily, 'Damn it! Sun Bomb took a lot of energy out of me! I feel like I'm about to fall if I use my semblance again!' Arslan cried to herself
"Jaune! Arslan! are you alright!?" Coco asked as she rushed over to them both
"We're... fine..." Arslan said through ragged breaths
"Damn it! Where the hell are the others!?" Coco cried
'It looks like I may have to step in!' Port thought to himself, readying himself to jump in and fight as hard as he could against these Grimm.
Just then, a giant sword dropped down from the sky and right split one of the Beowulfs right down the middle, shocking the group and stopping Port in his tracks. Suddenly, a board flew right into the face of another Beowulf, stabbing it right in the eyes, before the guns on it unloaded their ammo right into its face, and finally, appearing from behind the Beowulfs was Bolin, and he struck the tip of his staff into the nape of two other Beowulfs before they swelled up and exploded.
Landing on the ground and grabbing his sword was Yatsuhashi and he quickly turned to the remaining Beowulfs and with a single strike, cut their heads off.
Finally putting an end to these seemingly invincible Grimm.
When Coco looked at her fellow teammate, he looked like he had been in a tough fight. "Yatsu! Are you ok!?" She asked
Yatsuhashi turned to his leader and gave her a thumbs up, "I'm fine... What about you guys?" he asked
"We're alright," Coco told them, "What happened?"
"After hearing the sirens, we went over the walls of Alnwick to see where the Grimm were coming from, Me, Reese, and Bolin ran into a few and as you know... had a hard time getting them to stay down," Yatsuhashi told her
"Guys! Look!" Arslan cried
They all turned and looked at the bodies of the Beowulfs, however, they weren't fading, instead, they were melting into a mix of greenish and black ooze.
"What the hell?" Bolin asked as he saw the bodies melt around him
"Things just got a lot more complicated," Sun said "We need to have a meeting with the town as quick as possible... I got a feeling that things are only going to get worse from here,"
unbeknownst to the group, a small drone the size of a bee was watching over the huntsmen-in-training...
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Merlot smiled as he saw the ending of the fight, his eyes landed on Jaune's figure and his smile became wider. "Interesting," Merlot said.
Fe turned to the doctor when she heard him speak, her brow raised, "Did you see anything interesting doc?" Fe asked him
Merlot shook his head, "Indeed, it appears that there are huntsmen-in-training in Alnwick now," Merlot told Fe
Fe was a bit surprised by the news but didn't mind it, as if they were students they didn't stand a chance against her and the rest of her team. "How many?" Fe asked
"10 students plus 1 professor, so 11 in total," Merlot replied
Fe nodded, "Any pique your interest?" Fe asked him
Merlot nodded, "Yes," Merlot said "I'll show you which ones I want, for now, tell your friends, to come back with whatever specimens they were able to capture, and tomorrow, we'll come up with a plan and fetch these new targets," Merlot finished with a chuckle.
"Got it doc," Fe said, she then pulled out her scroll and called Jericho, waiting for him to pick up. and After a few rings, he appeared he did. "Jericho? Are you there?" Fe asked over the call
[Here Fe] Jericho asked [Is there a problem?]
Fe shook her head, "No, the doctor says to come back with whoever you were able to catch, he has new targets, and be careful when leaving, we got Huntsmen-in-training in Alnwick now," Fe told him
[Copy that, see you soon Fe] Jericho said over the call
With that, they ended the call and Fe left with Dr. Merlot back to the Bullhead, while they waited for Jericho and Treygan. Fe hoped that whatever Dr. Merlot had planned, would lead to some breakthrough as she wanted to end this job and give the Doctors research to her actual employer.
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Oh man, it doesn't seem good for our heroes, Merlot now wants Jaune's body (no not that way... I think) and it looks like things might be a lot tougher with these Mutant Grimm and who knows that Fe, Jericho, and Treygan are capable of!
Kings Aura is of course a combination of Conquers Haki and Spitrual Pressure!
Here's what's to come in chapter 23!
Jaune and the teams prepare the town's defenses only for Merlot to send the Fe and her team on their way to destroy the town! Meanwhile, Port comes face to face with Merlot himself! What will happen next!?