How many times now had they run for their lives in only a night? A night that seemed to never end. Their senses were clouded by perpetual fear and their vision blurred from straining to see in the dark as the moon's light melded into the dull red of the cold mist that sapped at their fleeting energy. Muscles burned from bruises and strain while their lungs fought for cold raspy breaths and their hearts hammered a tempest of beats within their souls.

As for a grave, this was the shittiest place they could imagine. How many hours had it been? Their professor was unconscious and evacuated with a disoriented Neptune, while the rest of Team SSSN was KIA. Despite their disagreements, it was bitter to realize that they had paid the price for ignorance, something that shouldn't have been expected of them in the first place regarding this mission.

The reality that it could have been any of Team CRLN was not lost on the boys. Sage was crippled before being dragged off, Scarlett lost his mind before his body was crushed, or Sun who had lost himself to righteous passion and was perhaps given mercy in a quick death. Each member of CRLN knew it may have been them if not for two things.

Their teamwork, hardened from their training and Caelum's unusual familiarity with life and death situations. But what did it all matter now? That mirror, their last godsend was now shattered, and the thought of finding another a mere pipe dream. The beast was finished playing. Once it healed again, it would pick them apart, figuratively and quite possibly literally.

Amidst these lamentations, Caelum's indignant rage boiled over. Unable to contain himself, he slammed a fist into the wooden wall next to him, sending it through. His three teammates snapped to the sound, lost in despairing thoughts but still on high alert.

"I, am done playing helpless" he declared pulling his fist out of the splintered hole. I have not suffered for years, withstanding hazing and sneers from those lesser than me to meet my end by a bastardized animal."

His teammates shared confused looks, the relief of a new emotion washing over them temporarily as they still gripped their weapons with white knuckles.

"There's no more running, it's made that clear." He turned to Niel. "Once it's done with us, it'll just move on to another village. Repeating the same scene as it has for who knows how long." Niels's eyes dilated at the foresight behind the deduction, the imminent danger never giving him time to think of such a fate.

Caelum turned to Raiden, who was propping himself up on his railgun. "We can't outrun it without my semblance, it will never allow us outside these woods." The declaration was obvious and haunting. Raiden pulled himself closer to the comfort of his pulsating weapon.

Finally, he faced Lukas. "And it will never stop. Nothing outside of our own hands will change that. Either we kill it or it kills us." Lukas wrinkled his nose, displeased with the finality of the concept.

Caelum then continued addressing them all. "We have to strike now while we still have the energy to stand."

"Any bright ideas?" asked Lukas with a small shrug.

"One."

Lukas raised a hand and closed his eyes. "For the love of god don't just say 'kill it."

"Close" answered Caelum turning around as he paced. Pointing a finger at a wall, he explained. I remember the layout of this town from the briefing. To the northeast is a railyard. We make our way there, stocking up on whatever may be useful, and lay a trap. Then ambush it when it follows."

"And if it doesn't reveal itself?" asked Niel.

"The tracks have a wide berth of cleared woods around them. We then have two options, wait till daybreak and move when it's less likely to be active, or move immediately. Regardless, in an open area, it will be harder for it to sneak upon us. In a perfect world, we'd be able to make it to Figura, resupply, and pass word of the situation. If it follows us to that extent… then we'll at least be able to find an intact mirror."

"At the expense of another town. I wouldn't say that's ideal" groaned Raiden. He earned a snicker from Lukas as Niel lowered his head.

Caelum agreed with a nod. "And yet here we are with nothing but the difficult choices of that or die. Realistically, and I say this knowing what it implies, it will notice our intent once we make camp in the railyard and try to assault us before daylight. We take that opportunity to kill it or make the run."

"Still not seeing how we do the whole kill it part" sighed Lukas.

Caelum pointed at Raiden. "We leave it up to our resident marksman and the only weapon that can scare it."

Raiden gave a disappointed chuckle. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but, I'm almost spent." He waved a hand wide. "You all know how this gun works. I charge it with my aura. After all those hits, the running, fatigue, my EM field, and multiple shots without proper rest. It's so depleted that I only have a few more in me at best. I can guarantee two, maybe three shots if I don't take any excessive damage."

The three sets of eyes found no fault with him, quietly blinking in acknowledgment as they turned to each other.

"Then we have to create an opportunity for him" declared Caelum.

"Shouldn't be too hard" sighed Lukas. "Not if we all give up a limb or two."

Niel shook his head with macabre laughter. "I pray it does not come to that. You can barely keep ahead of Raiden in sprints as it is."

"Whoever said it'd be mine? I'm thinking of offering you up on a silver platter."

The two continued their friendly banter undisturbed as Caelum deemed it best to let their minds ease slightly. While they did so Caelum searched for a small reprieve. He found some potable water, stale bread, and a small piece of dried meat in their current hideaway. Not much for a last meal but it would wet their throats and fill their stomachs somewhat. Not wishing to be idle for long, the boys ate and discussed a few more details.

"Taking its head may be the only way" suggested Raiden.

Caelum nodded. "I saw the splintered cracks from Lukas' attack. It only fused together, not fully regenerated."

"So we line 'im up and spill its brains?" asked Lukas.

"Easier said than done," countered Niel.

The boys finished the paltry meal and began to move. Taking an indirect path to not make their intent obvious to their stalker, they made a few pitstops. At Caelum's insistence, they entered a blacksmith's that, with the current situation and blood splatters on the floor and walls, the other boys felt no inclination to explore further and witness the same scenes.

Caelum however, had no hesitation in insisting that they take what he told them to as he rifled through. In their brief interlude, Caelum and Niel strapped bracers to their forearms and shins. Along with it, Caelum handed small bags of railroad spikes to Lukas and Niel while pocketing some for himself before finally grabbing a bale of barbed wire.

The roll of metal had a unique design with notably more barbs on it than a normal fence would require, indicating its use to slow Grim. Yet Caelum began splitting it off into meter-long strips and securing them onto thick steel rebar to make impromptu garrots.

Before anyone could ask why, he spoke as he finished the last of his rigged weapons. "Its throat expands like a snake or frog, whatever. When it speaks it vibrates. When it screeches or bellows it expands outwards, showing thick red veins while it warbles that rotting flesh around it. These won't kill it, but if we can crack some spikes into its unarmored joints or restrict its throat, we can at least cause it some discomfort and panic."

"Sounds to me like you just want to cause it some kind of pain before this is all over." lamented Lukas.

"With our fates unclear, even I am inclined to agree with his train of thought. If we are to die, let us make it suffer" grimaced Niel as he patted the sharp edge of his ramshackle bracer.

"If it's any comfort, I'll save one round for each of us" lamented Caelum.

You two ain't making us feel any better" groaned Lukas as he hiked a thumb at Raiden who remained silent, conserving his energy.

Before they continued on their final movement, Niel offered one of his revolvers to Caelum to which he declined. "It would be best if the man trained with them uses them. Make the most of it. I lost my weapon out of necessity so I'll make the most out of what I can."

Niel nodded and spun the pistol in his hand. "I understand. Before this is over, let me say I am glad that I served with a warrior such as you. My tribe would have no complaints."

"Don't go setting flags for me just yet" scoffed Caelum, earning a chuckle from Lukas.

The resuming trek was as nerve-wracking as ever. The night seemed to scream its silence as their ears strained for any sound, their eyes fought against the white moonlight, dark shadows, and swirling red mist for any sign of movement.

The cool night air, its moisture, and their sweat-covered clothing clung to their bodies as heat steamed from what little of their skin was exposed. Muscles worn from the night's exertion were tense as they carefully made their steps silent and quick. They were drawing near to the rail station where the old stone buildings ended and new wooden homes sprouted.

Then the familiar scent of blood assaulted their nostrils. The smell was familiar, even Raiden having grown used to it over the night yet it had a distinct difference. A difference only few people would ever know, a few such as Lukas having witnessed violent crimes as a child, Niel having hunted all his life, and Caelum having witnessed death more than life in recent years.

It was fresh.

The source was found as they rounded the corner. Stepping onto an old platform that lay before a large ornate stone building by a railroad track, they witnessed a sight that would haunt the most experienced huntsman.

In front of the square rail station entrance, lay three bodies hung across like a sickening banner. Fresh blood splayed around them in large swiping motions from inhuman hands. One body was mangled, crippled in a nearly unrecognizable figure. Another had its arms missing, rammed through its torso. Finally, the centerpiece lay strung up by the wrists, legs dangling loosely with a twisted back. Clothes shredded, and ribbons of flesh dangling off his body as if crudely flayed.

Scarlet, Sage, and Sun, had been hung as cruel effigies. As gaping horror stunned the boys, they saw an even worse revelation. Sun's torso lifted slightly. It was faint and he was despondent but he clung to life with each minor breath.

Ghastly thoughts gripped their minds as they came to a series of realizations, unnerving them to their cores. This was intentional. It was smart enough to intimidate them, to keep the bodies in one piece and Sun alive, and to predict where they would go next.

Before the thought of disentangling Sun's limbs crossed anyone's mind, a loud squelching sound caught their ears from further away. Turning to the side they saw the same ominous figure, watching them curiously. It stood tall and still as it had when they first saw it. They knew its features well now and as its visage came into focus in the dark, along with new abnormalities.

There lay the remnants of a corpse in its mouth, during its regeneration it seemed unable to ignore its ravenous hunger any longer or perhaps wished to intimidate them further by showing them their intended fate. In its left hand lay another corpse, being dragged along, and in its right hand, was Caelum's scythe.

As the creature stared at them with pulsating red eyes, its throat expanded slightly. Vibrating a moment it then opened its maw to drop the corpse within and from the agape jaws, spoke in the same voice of a little girl that had lured them further in hours ago.

"Help- me."

In one motion it then raised the corpse in its left hand and raised Caelum's scythe, slashing into the dead flesh like a butcher with a cleaver.

Paralyzed in terror, the boys watched as it stopped its show and dropped the mangled corpse. The Grimm's head snapped left sharply and a harsh chewing sound arose from its twisted neck.

In Caelum's voice, it spoke in broken words.

"TRAP…"

"RAIL…"

"AMBUSH…"

"KILL."

Then its neck snapped twice more, expanding slightly before deflating as if struggling for air, drowning itself in blood. A grating tone of distorted sound then emerged. In its own voice, it spoke, repeating the same words

"TrAP… RAil… AmBUSh… KIlL"

Its words seemed to be accompanied by a myriad of lost languages and tongues speaking at once when a hoarse, scuffed sound emitted from its throat. Unlike any of the howls, screeches, or wails they had heard before.

"HA… Ha"

It was laughing.

The monster's throat expanded as it wheezed out the petrifying laugh. Terror permeated through the young males as a freezing sweat took hold of their bodies. Shattered breaths emitted from their dry mouths. In their vulnerable mental states, Images pervaded their minds all at once. In an instant, the night's entirety was played in their minds from its perspective. It lay just within earshot, smell, eyesight, at times close enough to breathe on them… They had never been outside its grasp and now with its strange ability it let them know. They were never going to leave.

All but one was staunchly frozen. Caelum was infuriated at seeing his weapon desecrated, used as a tool by such a disgusting creature. To even the Grimm's surprise, the boy broke into a sprint at it.

With a bellowing rasp, the Grimm lurched forward and swiped with both arms wide. Caelum narrowly avoided both his own weapon and the swinging corpse, leaping between them as he appeared before the Wendigo and stared into its pulsating crimson eyes. In an instant, he peered into it with hatred and rage as he raised a hand. With all his force he slammed a railroad spike into its eye socket, the feeling of steel implanting itself within solid bone reverberating in his arms as he jumped back and dove away as it thrashed its antlered head, tearing some of the steel tracks below up with it.

A bone-chilling screech emitted, shaking the air and snapping his team awake. The Wendigo slapped a hand against its head, scratching downwards to loosen the spike in its socket as Caelum ran to it once more shouting an order. "Fight!"

His team instinctually followed, getting into their positions. Raiden to a second story in the stone rail station, Niel and Lukas flanking to the sides, as they watched their leader attacking the monster alone in disbelief.

Caelum charged as the Wendigo finally dislodged the spike by having its eye regenerate and expel it. The monster hurled its butchered corpse at him, which Caelum caught before spinning and hurling right back into the air. The Wendigo batted the corpse away as Caelum slid beneath the monster who then dropped its knee, trying to crush him below.

With haste, he scaled its gangly spine and caught the descending corpse. With a shout, he slammed the body into the monster's head. The corpse stopped, being caught in the naked bone mandibles of the creature. As it glared at him atop its shoulders with a deformed eye, it reeled back in surprise as Caelum grabbed the corpse by a leg and an arm, then pulled. With an impromptu rein, he fought the Grimm as it thrashed about.

When it would reach a gnarled hand for him he would rip its head in another direction and use its antlers to prevent being dislodged. Even as it attempted to swing his scythe to pry him off, it instead lodged the blade into its horns.

The Wendigo's throat then expanded as it began gnawing through the corpse eager to be rid of its restraint. Seeing its throat expand once more, Caelum released the corpse and pulled out his makeshift barbed garrot. A sudden tension locked around the monster's strained throat as its flexed neck struggled to bust the barbed wire strangling it. Clawed hands fought to remove the uncomfortable binding only to shear into its own flesh.

Finally, his team took their opportunity. Raiden opened with a shot that removed half the monster's left kneecap, bringing it down to one knee. Niel and Lukas were then upon the monster, beating into its joints even as their hands reverberated from the resistant armor. The monster wished to scream only to feel its airway painfully restricted as it scrambled around thrashing at the boys. Each powerful strike thrown off by panic and pain.

Any chance it took to collect itself it found Niel jamming his lengthy gun blades into chinks of its bone plating, Lukas pitching stones at unbelievable speeds and accuracy at its face, or most vexing of all, the boy riding atop it.

The messy fighting stumbled its way towards Raidens emplacement as Caelum shouted at his partner. "God dammit Raiden! Shoot it!"

"I don't want to kill you! Get off!" he countered taking aim and seeing through the HUD of his glasses, the risk of hitting his friend.

"Shoot!" ordered Caelum again.

Once more, the creature showed its unsettling intelligence. Hearing their exchange it bent itself backwards, ignorant of the two wailing on it and minimilizing its figure. Caelum could hear the muscles in its back snap as it contorted itself to use him as a shield against his partner and showed a disturbingly toothy grin.

It reached for Niel who found himself exposed, unprepared for its counterattack. Another blue beam of light erupted instantly, piercing the monster's extended palm and sending four clawed fingers scattering. With a busted knee and hand reduced to a wrist, the creature unabatedly continued thrashing about. Crawling, twisting its spine, rolling, sickeningly rotating its head. Caelum took the damage in its spastic frenzy unwilling to weaken his stranglehold on its throat.

With a newly disfigured torso and contorted limbs, it fought to rid itself of him. Niel and Lukas were saviors in that regard. Sometimes a hairs breath away from death as claws came to impale him from behind, the two boys would jump in and restrict the Grimm's movement. Unable to deal much damage if at all, the two took the bags of spikes they had been handed and began hammering them into the monster's joints. Soon dozens of eight-inch steel spikes were driven into the monster's knees, wrists, elbows, and ankles. In its deformative craze, the joints bubbled, hot blood oozing from them as the regenerative capabilities formed flesh over the steel, trying to eject the objects only to find the cluster of steel spikes beaten in once more.

Twice Niel had sustained a blow for Lukas and once Lukas had tripped Niel to prevent his head from being ripped off by a javelin-like kick from the beast's crippled leg. The two boys hurt, feeling pain they never had as they strained themselves. Yet as they saw Caelum, enraptured with fury, beaten and ragged atop the monster, they found no will to waver.

Raiden sat atop his nest, feelings of anxiety and guilt permeating as he watched his friends fight for their lives and his, yet he knew his role was crucial. Steadying his breath, he focused his aura. The sensation left his body feeling weakened as the energy flooded into his railgun, letting him know he was running low on aura. His weapon hummed in blue electronic energy as he shouldered it once more.

A set of wild blood strained eyes settled on the nearby glow and electric humm. Amidst its brawl, the Wendigo sensed the impending danger and disregarding its assailants charged head-first into the stone wall beneath Raiden.

The large charging beast twisted mid-air turning Caelum into an impromptu cushion as it battered down the stone wall in its collision and two support pillars inside with it. The corner of the large foyer's ceiling and the second floor came down around the best as it writhed and righted itself on four broken limbs that snapped back into place.

As stone came down in pieces around the beast who leaned over a recovering Caelum while being blanketed in dust, a blue beam of light pierced through the mixture of moonlight and red mist. As Raiden felt the stone beneath him shift and splinter he aimed down as he fell with the second floor. Firing, his shot penetrated the monster's ribs from behind and sent the tungsten projectile who knows how far into the earth below.

The Grimm froze in place, stunned as it brought a thin shaky hand to the large wound. Chunks of bone and flesh dangled from the wound as black blood gushed out. Raiden eyed the monster in shock as he stumbled up and heard his teammates rushing from outside. He glanced to see Caelum groggily get up, his aura flaring dimly in the red mist pooling in from outside. Looking back to the Grimm, he opened his ejection port and desperately loaded another round, forcing his aura to channel itself into his weapon once more as his body felt the flicker of fading strength reveal that he barely had the energy to stand.

For the first time in its memory, since it gained its level of consciousness, the beast felt within itself the fear of death. In centuries, perhaps millennia, it had never wrestled with such turmoil nor pain rivaling the ravenous hunger cursed upon its body. Yet as it stood and bathed in the pain it still breathed. The round had missed its heart. Flesh restitched itself, bones mended, and its hunger raged once more. With a swift motion, it took its black bloodied hand and dug into its throat disregarding its flesh and additional pain as it snapped the garrot embedded in it.

Its throat, with a new bleeding, raw scar across it, expanded before it contracted and released a mind-flaying howl. The strain of which left even itself unable to move from exertion. Raiden fumbled the tungsten round in his hand which disappeared amongst the rubble and mist before fishing another out of his bandolier with haste.

Caelum's vision returned to the dark building as he saw the familiar silhouette of his weapon, dislodged and discarded before him. Retrieving it and noticing a few new warps to the frame from its abuse, he looked back with a groan to see his partner facing down the stunned creature which sprang to life.

Raiden had closed the ejection port with a new round as he saw the blur of large cracked claws jab at him. He stared at the oncoming strike, unable to move, expecting the impact to be final. The railgun in his hand lowered as he prepared himself, having found solace in doing his part and giving one last chance to his friends.

He didn't have the opportunity to close his eyes before Caelum descended upon the oncoming hand and impaled it clean through the wrist, earning a shriek from the pain-manded monster as he twisted it. The wrist emitted a loud popping sound as it snapped around and the digits went limp. The Wendigo raised its left arm to strike only to have to revert to blocking as Niel and Lukas struck at the extremity.

As Caelum fought to gain his partner time to escape imminent death, He looked back to see Raiden unable to stand any longer. Then he noticed the fingers on the dislocated hand break backward and right themselves. With another ear-bleeding howl, it ripped its broken wrist off his blade and in a cripplingly unnatural manner swung its lengthy arm and batted Raiden away, sending his white railgun clattering against the disintegrating second floor outside.

Raiden was now indisposed but to Caelum's mind, outside of combat, even if his white jacket was doused in red and his chest barely rose with breath. Now in the final stages of what they could do, Caelum retreated. Busting out a window and escaping, he left the Grimm to focus on Niel and Lukas.

As the beast focused on the two partners who were surprised at their leader's flight, they braced themselves for the monster's full attention. The two fled outside unwilling to engage the monster in enclosed quarters and instead divide its attention with more space. The Grimm uncaring for the difference of terrain began launching its limbs and even whole body in a desperate attempt to end them.

With each impact the building shook and crumbled, the boy's breath grew more ragged, and the monster seemingly faster. The two couldn't even find any time to clarify or even ponder on why Caelum had fled between each strike. Eventually, skill and luck would not hold out and they knew this.

With the buck of its gnarled antlers, Niel was struck, having the air beaten out of him as he was sent flying only with the reprieve of a softened landing by Lukas catching him and taking the impact with a roll. The boys landed on the half-destroyed wall of the building where twenty meters within, Raiden lay immobile.

The Grimm let out a hot heavy breath as it stalked forward. The familiar sensation of a finally successful hunt coming to its conclusion. Soon it would find the last of its fleeing prey no matter how far it had fled.

In a way, Lukas hoped it would as he grits his teeth. How long had they held it off after Caelum fled? Seconds? Maybe a minute?" A large task in and of itself yet he was nowhere to be seen. Yet even as he saw wild red eyes stare into his soul, he couldn't bring himself to curse Caelum. His leader had a reason to struggle and fight to such an extent. More importantly to live even at the expense of his friends? Or at least he had thought they were.

"Ah dammit," he muttered to Niel as the Grimm stood before them with a drooling maw. "Get off me, you're heavy" he groaned to his partner, pushing him away weakly.

Suddenly a loud clank of steel against stone clattered next to them. The two boys looked to see a steel object tied to a rope. They followed it up to see Caelum on the roof holding the other end draped around a stone statue atop the building's corner.

With determination in his eyes, he glared down and shouted "Up!"

Looking in confusion, Lukas was shocked as Niel threw him up to the roof in one motion as his aura flared and he gripped the rope next to them. Suddenly, the rope went taut as he took off after Lukas upwards. Seeing its prey ascend, the wendigo clawed toward the building exterior and began climbing upwards after them.

Its mouth open, chasing the two it saw another figure descend at the same time. In a moment, Caelum descended, pulling Niel up at the same time, and in the fraction of a second he passed the monster, he exchanged eye contact with it. His wide brown irises filled with hate, looked into the wide pulsating crimson orbs now filled with shock.

The Grimm noticed the white rifle in his hands as he flew down past. With a sudden jerking motion, it lunged outwards to intercept him, missing by a hair and losing its grip on the crumbling stone wall. The creature fell backward, clawing for purchase as it descended. Only to have Niel and Lukas jump upon it and smashed any stone in its grip while each held one side of a barbed wire garrot wrenched against its neck. Using their weight and momentum, they pried the large Grimm off.

Caelum turned in the air and shouldered the railgun. It glowed blue, a charge having been stored in it by Raiden. A static and warm sensation filled his frame, unused to the warm sensation as opposed to his own semblance, he took aim. With the explosion of blue light, A cerulean beam ripped through the monster from its hind quarter and out its skull.

Upon its instantaneous death, a shriek that pierced one's soul, consisting of thousands of voices past and recently deceased burst from its body.

Then Caelum's back struck the concrete below. With a pained groan, he splayed out, dropping the railgun to his side as the fresh pain resounded throughout his body and his aura shattered. Above, he could see the disbelief in his teammate's expressions as they looked down on him while hanging from the building. Soon their weakened states took hold and they too impacted the ground immediately after.

As the Grimm disintegrated, a putrid stench of rotten blood and ancient ash filled the air. Exhaustion took the three boys, adrenaline waning, they realized just how much pain they had been ignoring till now. Soon, Raiden limped over with a small, pained grin.

"Laying down on the job?" he asked with fresh blood on his face.

"It wasn't so bad. Another day in the office" laughed Lukas joining Raidens bemusement.

Niel chuckled before groaning. "It hurts to laugh."

There was a moment of rest, of disbelief that they drew breath and lived. Yet as his responsibility dictated, Caelum bore bad news. Slowly rising, he urged the others to get up. "There's no time to rest. We have to get back to Figura. But first, we need to retrieve and stabilize Sun."

All three paused at the realization of the boy strung up next to his dead friends nearby. Any complaints to differ were instantly hushed as the four limped over and carefully lowered him. With no time and energy to spare, Caelum decided it prudent to leave the deceased members of team SSSN as they were.

Stabilizing him to their best extent, an impromptu stretcher was made, and the team plus one returned to the tracks. With one last swig of water, they began the long trek back to Figura. Following the rail, they tried to remain alert to their best ability yet even so they were lucky there were no stray Grimm as they hadn't even noticed the rising sun on the horizon and dissipating fog about them.

Unknown to the boys they had other worries lying in wait all the way back in Vale where the 'breach' incident had meanwhile occurred. Upon its conclusion, Ironwood stood before an isolated cell aboard his capital ship.

"I'm going to give you one chance. Who's really behind this?"

Roman leaned forward with a serious expression. "Isn't it obvious? Cloud Chaser?"

Ironwood's eyes widened in disbelief. Suddenly Romans cell shut as he heard a loud impact outside, the clear sound of Ironwood punching the reinforced wall. As the man's hasty footsteps echoed off into the distance, Roman leaned back with a deep sigh and stared at the ceiling of his confines.

Muttering to himself he felt the slightest bit of conflict at his decision. "Sorry kids. Gotta see the big picture here and look out for number one."

-First Arc End-