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Thank you for joining me by the fire.
Chapter 58 Come to Claim
Oto muffled another groan as his entire midsection protested. Yet another less-than-perfect landing jolted his body, and he paid for it. He shoved the hurt aside, though, keeping low as he hid behind an air conditioning unit.
He peaked around the now-dead machinery, the power to this building having been cut with all others; his eyes found Simon quickly as the Faunus continued his mad cackling. The noise was as grating as it was helpful, and Oto was already eager to silence him if only to spare his ringing ears.
Oto nearly gasped out loud as something pounced on Simon, the black blur landing atop the bloodthirsty lunatic. Oto allowed himself to hope that the Grimm would maul the bastard enough to kill him or at least make it all but effortless for Oto to finish the job.
It was not to be.
Simon lifted the writhing black thing off of himself and rolled to get out from under it, then, with more leverage from his position, drove the Grimm's skull into the floor, the sound of a wet crunch ringing out. Simon proceeded to fall atop the Grimm in a flurry of savage blows that left the other Faunus coated in a splatter of black blood.
But Oto didn't care about that.
He cared about the brief flash of light that he saw come from Simon during the melee.
'He still has Aura,' Oto thought furiously as he watched Simon continue to slam his fists into the already dead Grimm.
The fox Faunus quickly ducked behind his cover and looked at his filthy hands; his face scrunched as he tried to call upon his Aura reserves. The result was a flickering pathetic splash of colour barely illuminating his skin, the yellow sandy shade of his Aura sputtering.
Oto cringed.
He was running on fumes; a solid hit would see his Aura shatter, and then he might as well drop dead as the Aura Break would likely render him unconscious. The odds were stacked against him, and as he sat there, his thoughts began to circle the proverbial drain.
'I can't get hit once, or I am fucked; he is a better fighter, and his Aura was brighter; he killed that Grimm so easily. Eury, why didn't I just fucking train with you, gods.' Oto's thoughts continued to spiral as he tugged at his hair, his nails scraping along his scalp as he squeezed his eyes shut and focused on staying quiet.
'I can't just sit here, I can't let that feral fuck get away with-'
His thoughts ground to a halt as a noise prickled in his ears, causing the large sensory organs to twitch toward the sound of scratching stone. Oto turned his head slowly, his night vision allowing him to see the roof layout as he turned to address the noise.
Oto bit the inside of his cheek as he felt his heart skip a beat.
A Grimm, a Beowolf, possibly amongst Sanus's most prolific Grimm. He had seen one before when he was younger, and it had only been at a distance, but even still, it left him feeling uneasy with his hair sticking up.
His younger self had been wise.
Oto didn't so much as twitch as he watched the thing crawl onto the rooftop; its long bone-white claws bit into the concrete as it hauled its large frame up and over the lip of the building. Its baleful eyes glowed red and burning as they searched through the dark. Its skeletal head was raised, nose up as it scented the air.
Oto leaned down and sniffed.
Fertiliser… he smelt of fertiliser.
His eyes widened as he understood what was happening. When he pulled on his Aura before, it must have been enough for his small reserves to be noticeable. Then he let his negative thoughts get out of control… he basically rang the dinner bell.
Luckily, his earlier crash landing had left him covered in a coating of potting mix and fertiliser, perhaps not enough to hide him from the wolf Grimm entirely, but enough to stall it.
'But not for long…'
Time was against him; Oto knew this as he fought against the panic that demanded a place in his mind with as much attention as he spared to plotting.
He knew he had failed when those eyes looked at him, those burning pits set in a skull reminiscent of a canid. Death white on a monstrous inky black bulk with shadowy fur ruffling in the wind that coiled about the roof, the skulls maw opened, revealing teeth. A growl that set his ears in a rigid lock atop his head emanated from the thing, and all pretence of not being afraid fled in response.
But in that state of abject fear… inspiration.
Oto didn't need to plan.
He needed to act.
He needed to run… and he had to do it right fucking now.
He exploded into motion, hurling his body up and over the air conditioning unit, his ribs protesting the jerking movement. The sound of claws scraping on stone made the pain feel like it was all but forgotten.
Oto landed and cleared the space to the edge of the building in two strides. He leapt quickly, recalling the many years he had done so as a Chitter, learning the feel of his body, the limits, and how to move.
Now, he was older, stronger and faster. He had Aura… and he was afraid.
He cleared the gap with ease.
Oto landed, and in the same instance, his leg pushed him forward; he ran with all he had, with everything he could.
A thud behind him only made him wish he had more to give.
He was at the edge of the last building now; there was only the gap between this roof and the one Simon was on.
Oto's ears kept him well aware of where the Beowolf was and how close those claws were. His eyes, blessed with the same excellent night vision many Faunus boasted, allowed him to see Simon still hunched over, his arms coated in the entrails of the Grimm he had bested.
They also allowed him to see the bag, his bag, that Simon had stolen earlier in the night.
Oto leapt…
At the same time, the Beowolf let out a ravenous snarl.
Oto was airborne, his legs pulled up and tucked into his chest, and the alley below cleared with ease as he hurtled through the air. His eyes were locked on his target; he shifted slightly, adjusting for his landing as he descended.
Simon saw him, the noise of the Grimm chasing him, having alerted the thug to his presence.
Oto could see it in great clarity, the startlement on Simon's face at the sudden noise, the shock as he saw something flying towards him.
The recognition.
Oto's expression became savage as he saw the flicker of mad rage come to life in the other Faunus's eyes.
Oto would wipe that look off his face.
That expression disappeared as Oto's feet slammed into Simon's face full force, Oto even going so far as to at last kick out his bunched-up limbs. Their collision continued, Oto practically riding the one he desired to kill to the ground, where he once more bent his legs and leapt.
He sprung off Simon not a moment too soon as another body collided with the other Faunus.
Oto heard Simon let out a garbled scream as the Beowolf that had been pursuing him finally managed to latch its jaws onto something. The Grimm seemed uncaring that it wasn't the target that it had been initially chasing, as it began to thrash its head around with Simon's arm lodged in its jaw.
Seeing this, Oto chose not to linger and dived for the bag, ignoring the spent rocket launcher cast to the side. He tore out the map, canteen and the radio, his hands finally finding the lunch box at the bottom.
"Mutt!" a familiar enraged voice bellowed out.
Oto cursed himself for freezing even as he did, a chill racing up his spine as he looked over his shoulder.
His eyes widened when he found himself caught in the furious gaze of Simon, the crazed bastard frothing mad as he wrestled his arm free of the dead Beowolf that had mauled it. Oto's eyes darted down to his right hand and saw the knife coated in Grimm blood shaking in his grip.
Oto ripped the lunchbox from the bag and scrambled to get it open. Simon let out a scream of rage, kicked the Grimm's corpse off, and rolled to his feet.
Oto was too slow, his fingers fumbling as his nerves got the best of him.
He managed to avoid Simon's first crazed swing, but the shorter Faunus drove his shoulder up into Oto's ribs, sending him sprawling.
But it did not flare his Aura.
Oto suppressed a scream of hurt as he hit the floor, tears gathering in the edges of his eyes as a part of him felt relieved that he managed to keep his Aura from taking the blow… even if it did leave him feeling like his ribs were cracked. He didn't have time to dwell on the stars that flashed in his eyes, not with Simon lunging at him, knife ready to plunge down.
"Fuck you!" Oto snapped, swinging his leg around in a wild kick and catching Simon across the jaw, his foot slamming into the Faunus's broken fang. Simon went down screaming through grit teeth and cradling his face.
Oto crawled back from Simon, who, hearing his movements, began to rush him again.
This was enough to make Oto realise he was being an utter idiot.
With a single grunt, Oto remembered his strength and tore the lunchbox in half, causing its contents to spill into his hands.
He then took full advantage of Simon's bringing a knife to a gunfight.
He got two shots off, the handgun jerking in his hand, but both bullets managed to slam home, the impacts causing noticeable damage. Even as Simon's body rammed into him, Oto tried to aim his weapon into the shorter Faunus's body, desperate to see his Aura break.
Oto's back hit the ground at the same time as his arm caught Simon's wrist, keeping the knife from plunging into his chest.
This didn't mean he stopped pulling the trigger of his handgun, however.
The firearm went off three more times, but Oto only knew where the third bullet landed as he watched Simon reel back, his body curling in.
Oto had shot him in the dick.
Simon didn't get the chance to resume his assault as Oto spat a glob of spit in his eye, causing the shorter Faunus to flinch away and blinding him, if only for the moment. Oto freed his arm from where it was caught between them and pressed the muzzle into Simon's diaphragm.
He fired off two more shots before a sharp, violent blow snapped all sense from his mind and left him rolling across the roof, his mind screaming from the strain of his Aura tanking a blow he had not managed to block.
Oto never managed to get back the momentum as Simon threw himself across the short distance separating them and slapped the gun away from his hand, the weapon flying off the roof. Oto tried to struggle, throwing out a punch, but Simon caught it on their arm and retaliated by wrapping a hand around Oto's throat and squeezing.
The point of the knife plunged- and stopped, hovering over his eye… Oto froze, and Simon grinned.
Huffing, the shorter Faunus spat out a greeting, flecks of spittle painting Oto's face, "Hello, mutt."
Oto was done just taking Simon's shit.
"Feral fuck," Oto retorted, uncaring that he felt the knife prod against the area under his eye, the pale light of his Aura faintly lighting up.
Rage danced in Simon's eyes even as he smiled, a cruel, crazed look of conflicting emotions as he let out a huff of forced amusement. "I thought you went splat, mutt?" Simon questioned, pulling the knife back.
Oto didn't hesitate, "I thought you got turned into a nice red pulp."
"Nah, your buddy did, though," Simon taunted.
Oto felt a part of him twist as he realised he had not even spared a thought for Sandy or any of the others… he ignored that part.
"More yours than mine considering."
Simon chuckled, this time a little less forced, "Yeah… yeah, there is some truth to that."
Oto clenched his fists at the complete lack of care Simon showed towards the death of those who followed him. "Shame you fucking killed them then, huh?"
Simon's head listed to the side as he pressed down with the hand around his throat, "Dirty little mutt… you always fucking acting so high and mighty, but you showed your colours, siding with the humans."
"You crazy fuck!" Oto raged, dropping his Aura momentarily to avoid worrying about an Aura Break as he lost control. "You caused a Breach, a Breach! I was trying to stop you, not the Fang, you, you crazy rabid feral!"
"I am Fang, more than you! More than that cunt of a bull!"
"You are a rabid fucking mutt!" Oto screamed, his voice cracking as the knife pierced his cheek deeply and scrapped along the bone. "They will kill you for this! Hunt you down and put you in the dirt like the crazy fucking thing you are! But it won't stop there; you don't even know what you've caused!"
Simon's smile grew.
Oto's rage was waylaid as he was stunned by the realisation that Simon did know.
"No…"
Simon laughed, "Look around, Oto! Look at what I caused, what I did, at the blow I struck!" Simon droved his knuckle into the stab wound on Oto's face, forcing him to look toward the Breach. "The Bull can have his Schnee, me? I'll be the one who struck a blow that the humans won't forget for years!"
Oto's rage reignited.
"You crazy bastard! You feral fuck! You are everything they say we are and worse!" Oto bucked and kicked, trying to launch Simon off his torso even as the shorter Faunus squeezed his airway tighter. He continued his tirade despite choking, saying, "You helped the Grimm! You might have cost us a fucking city; no one wins here except them! You aren't even Faunus! You are just another monster!"
Simon jabbed the knife up under Oto's jaw, forcing him to stop speaking.
"You don't fucking get it!" Simon screamed into Oto's ears, the twin sensory organs flattening against the lunatic's screeching. This only pissed Simon off to a whole new degree as he replaced that hand around Oto's throat with the blade of his Knife in a non-too-gentle manner.
Simon pried Oto's left ear up and continued to rant, clutching the furred cone hard enough that Oto had to consciously keep his Aura at bay. "I did this! Me! Everyone, every human, every Faunus, will remember me as the one who reminded the humans that they aren't safe! None of them are safe!"
"I will be the one they whisper about, the one they only dare hint about behind closed doors and in their little anonymous chat rooms, me!" Simon barked, slamming Oto's head back into the unyielding roof.
"You'll be hunted down and shot like the feral howler monkey you are," Oto hissed.
Simon's eyes widened, and the knife in Oto's throat was yanked away and pressed into his ear.
Oto didn't have time to revel in his victory as his Aura, which he had purposefully held back, flared to life, saving his ear as Simon tried to amputate it. With the knife away from his throat, Oto could fight back, and it was not an opportunity he would let slip by.
He swung his legs up and kicked with all his strength, lifting his body despite Simon's weight atop his torso.
Oto was not a fighter; he didn't even know how to do it, and he avoided learning how for no other reason than spite. But he knew his body; he knew how to move; he was fast, agile and acrobatic, and he got that way from falling many, many times.
But that also meant he learned how to get up, and a younger Oto had figured if he had to get up, he might as well try to look cool doing it.
For this reason, he taught himself how to do a kip-up.
Now, his self-taught skill would save his life and get him his revenge.
With the strength of his Aura-enhanced body, he launched off the ground, his arms securely wrapped around Simon's legs and landed on his own two feet. He felt Simon's legs flex, felt how Simon tried to resist his movements, tried to fight back.
Oto wouldn't give the mass murderer a chance.
He hefted Simon up as his legs straightened, lifting the killer into the air and even over his head, where Simon's grip on his ears finally slipped.
Oto bent backwards, arcing his spine in preparation.
It was too late for Simon to realise what Oto had in mind.
By the time he did, Oto was already midway towards slamming him into the solid surface he stood upon.
Crunch*
With tremendous force, Simon's back crashed into the rooftop, the concrete cracking outwards in a spiderweb pattern. Simon let out a prolonged groan intermixed with hacking coughs as his Aura flared brightly and flickered from the tremendous force.
Oto did not doubt that without his Aura to protect him, Simon would likely be suffering from major internal trauma and no lack of broken bones.
But he did have Aura, and though the blow had no doubt hurt, it was not nearly enough to put him out entirely.
But Oto, already drained, beaten and tired, could do nothing as Simon's boot lashed out in retaliation and flung him back into the metal leg of the roof's water tower. He slammed into the metallic support with a noise somewhat reminiscent of a gong as the air was brutally shoved out of his lungs.
Oto slid down into a crumpled heap, teeth gritting as he struggled to right his winded state while keeping an eye on Simon. His hated foe was in a similar state; one arm stretched behind him to cradle his back as he rolled onto his front.
Simon looked up and spat, "I am going… to carve those pretty ears off your head… and use them to wipe my ass."
"Fuck you… shit slinger," Oto choked, still struggling to get his breathing under control.
Simon snarled, "I'm a baboon Faunus you cunt!"
Otto rolled his eyes, "Who gives a fuck."
Simon dragged his knife along the floor, the scratch of the metal causing Oto's ears to twitch atop his head. Simon was on his knees now, "You are going to wish you died from that fall or with all the other fucking humans from my Breach… by the time I am-"
Splat*
Oto flinched at the wet, meaty impact that occurred right beside his person, Simon cutting himself off as his attention also became captured by the strange substance splattered on Oto's limb.
Oto brought his arm up to his eye level and examined the onyx substance, slowly disintegrating into tiny motes of black dust even as he examined it.
'Grimm blood-'
Oto's head jerked up with utter terror as he expected to see an ivory set of jaws descending to wrap around his skull-
But there wasn't.
Instead, there was a sight that would stick with him for the rest of his natural life.
Perched atop the water tower was an unnaturally sizeable humanoid figure, staring down with a pair of blue orbs that were startlingly visible in the dark.
Oto inhaled sharply in shock when he first spotted the figure, and his nose felt as if drowned in the scent of the ocean. It took him back to when he was just a brat, when he would run along the shore at low tide… when he would see fish dead beneath the sun left behind by the ocean that had long since receded.
The figure moved, their head tilting as the distant glow of fire illuminated the angles of their face for his enhanced vision.
Haunting… the face was haunting, red and black streaked across their pale flesh that seemed to capture those few stray rays of moonlight. He saw hair, thick and slicked back, but any more was impossible to make out as it was drenched in the same filth that decorated his skin…
Red and Black.
Blood.
The figure, tall and haunting, was covered in blood… Oto's eyes drifted to their hands.
One was holding something.
The figure's eyes met his own, and he released what he held.
Thwak*
Oto flinched at the sound and looked at what the silent looming figure had dropped.
A Grimm, or more accurately, something that was once a Grimm. It was dead, mangled, mauled and brutalised, so much so that now it was a heap of disintegrating viscera that was wafting away in the breeze.
Oto looked back up, his heart racing in his chest as he felt his limbs struggle to move despite his desire not to be under this stranger a second longer.
Then they spoke.
Their voice was frigid, the tone as sheer as a glacier as he uttered but two words.
"Your Breach?"
The questioning nature of his words was evident, and with them, Oto suddenly felt less… everything. The figure shifted forward, and in the dark, Oto swore that the blood on his body, Grimm and otherwise, seemed to move independently of his motion.
Oto looked over to glance at Simon, a strange curiosity having taken hold of him, and he saw that he was not alone in the sense of impending doom brought by this stranger. Simon was on all fours, knife held tightly… too tightly.
Simon's hand was shaking.
"Pray tell… what do you mean by 'your Breach'?"
Simon's breath hitched, but then it resumed, and with it came all the rage and bluster that Oto had come to expect.
"Yeah… yeah, it's mine. What of it?"
The distant echo of gunfire and Grimm was all that could be heard as something metallic began to invade Oto's nose.
He brushed it aside as it was likely a nosebleed.
The figure leapt down from their perch, landing with nary a sound and with bent legs, their posture low and primed to move. Slowly, they stretched outward, legs straightening as their back unfurled and revealed their actual height.
Oto had been incorrect in his first assumption.
They were not tall.
They were very tall.
Oto's eyes roamed over their form, his vision revealing that he was indeed coated in a truly ungodly amount of gore. Oto couldn't begin to imagine where it all came from. There was simply so much. He watched in befuddlement as even more Grimm blood disintegrated to reveal crimson red beneath… and markings.
Etched on this haunting giant's back, a mark, a symbol of some sort, embraced by a tiny script that Oto couldn't hope to decipher. Nor would he try as he became hypnotised by the singular symbol that claimed a place of prominence, centred on the stranger's spine.
The longer he stared…, the worse it became.
He tried to look away but- another, different, unique something else and it- moved, they were moving, writhing, shifting, drifting, swel-
"Fox."
A word spoken with all the suddenness of a gunshot had Oto breaking from the chaos of his mind as he looked toward the source.
Blue eyes pinned him as firmly as any grip ever could.
"Is what that one says true?"
Oto didn't have time to respond as Simon spoke up, though Oto had no clue how the mad fool still had use of his tongue when Oto was struggling to breathe properly.
"I already told you I did it! That little pet fuck tried to stop me, but you can see how that went… now what are you going to do about it?" Simon taunted, his tongue darting out to run over his broken fang.
Oto watched in dread as the stranger's eyes dipped down and to the right, but his head remained unmoving.
All too soon, they were back on him.
"Fox?"
Oto nodded, his tongue glued to the back of his teeth as he tried to remain as still as possible despite his rapid breathing.
An inhuman sound rumbled from the stranger's body.
A growl.
Oto flinched at the sound as his ears pressed against his head, and his arms twitched as if to raise in a guard. But they didn't; he wouldn't let them, he would not move… not while he felt as if a single mistake would lead to death.
The figure shifted, fingers on his right hand stretching and flexing, and with it, Oto swore the veins under his skin bulged as his fingers twitched and popped. The scent of blood seemed to be all Oto could smell now, and he found himself longing for the odd ocean odour of before.
Then, the stranger spoke once more.
"You made them cry…"
YVYVYVYVY
Jaune had been moving on raw instinct when the scent of freshly spilt blood hit his nose, the fresh waft breaking him from his spree of carnage. He had detoured from his course, the sounds of two different voices aiding him in locating what he was looking for.
When he heard the sound of gunfire, he doubled his pace.
Jaune landed on a building across the street from where all the excitement was occurring, his eyes quickly finding the source of the commotion. There were two of them, and they seemed to be in the middle of a rather violent confrontation; the sudden flash of a dim brown light following the crack of a gunshot alerted him to the fact that they were likely Aura users.
His curiosity was peeked.
Getting closer was easy; they were too embroiled in their scuffle to notice his stealthy and swift approach.
He discovered mid-leap that he was not the only one drawn to this violent struggle as a Nevermore tried to swoop at him. It died for its attempt, Jaune snatching it out of the air and crushing its bird-shaped neck in his grip with but a squeeze.
His feet landed sturdily atop the water tower he chose for his perch, his tall frame squatting to be closer to the action.
A skulking sense of nostalgia wormed its way into his thoughts as he recalled the times he had played audience to a contest between Hunters. Indeed, Hunters were a mad lot, himself included, for he had witnessed more than one duel on that eternal night.
And they were duels, as baffling as such a thing was to consider, with traces of honour to boot… sometimes at least.
This was not one of those.
Jaune further scrutinised the two, sniffing the air softly and finding that both were Faunus, his eyes soon finding the traits that marked them both as such.
The taller had dirty, sandy brown hair, and atop his head were a pair of very prominent ears that shared his hair colour but darkened near the tips. Jaune sniffed again, focusing on the taller of the two, and determined they were some fox Faunus, though it was hard to tell.
They smelt like they had gone rolling through a freshly tended garden with the pungent aroma of fertiliser clinging to them.
'A way to avoid the Grimm, perhaps?' Jaune considered.
The taller of the two combatants was also heavily injured; it seemed that at some point during this hectic night, their Aura had broken and had not had time to recover. There were intense signs of trauma over their person, and their attire of dull grey plain clothes was torn and ripped all over.
But they still had some fight in them.
The fox Faunus, who Jaune could now tell was relatively young, possibly even more so than himself, turned the tables on his opponent. His movements were amateur, wild, and untrained, but Jaune didn't miss the ferocity the boy fought with.
He grappled the smaller Faunus up and, with a flash of Aura, the colour of arid sand, hefted them above his head before spiking them down onto the solid concrete below. The noise and flash of the shorter Faunus's Aura was enough for Jaune to know that the fox had not held back.
But the fox's lack of experience showed when a wild retaliatory kick sent him hurtling into the base of Jaune's perch.
Jaune turned his attention away from the young fox to focus on his more savage adversary, who called to his senses with far more fervour. A cursory examination showed the shorter of the two to be dressed in white and red, and their clothes were far flashier and less bland than the fox's attire.
Jaune scented the air as he stared at the more savage of the pair with a narrowed gaze that sharpened as he processed the knowledge his scent carried. Aside from telling him the kind of Faunus, the shorter of the two was, his scent also brought with it a far more damning piece of information.
The short one, the baboon Faunus, had blood on his hands.
Jaune examined them critically, looking for further clues to explain why it was that he sensed such from the baboon, why it was that he smelt like a killer. He took in the greasy curled hair atop their head, the bloodshot eyes that were the colour of apple flesh left in the air too long. His eyes lingered on the prominent broken fang that did not match its partner, the area around his lip and the tooth itself both still bloody.
It wasn't until he spoke that the pieces fell into place.
"You are going to wish you died in that crash or with all the other fucking humans from my Breach… by the time I am-"
Jaune's hand clenched, and the mangled Grimm corpse slipped between his fingers as his rage slipped its reins.
Both Faunus froze up as Jaune realised just what he was looking at.
White Fang.
The baboon was dressed in white and red; he reeked of death, of murder, but it didn't carry the perfume of life taken with one's bare hands.
Jaune's mind slipped into the past, his mind recalling the likes of the scholars of Byrgenwerth and the church ministers. Both groups had enough blood on their hands to drown a man, and yet rarely did they dirty themselves directly.
The baboon had called the Breach his.
Jaune's bloodlust, long since stoked by the night's events, cried out for more as he took in the prey beneath him. He felt the old urge to stretch his fingers as he began to crave the feel of a weapon in his hands. So distracted was he that he didn't realise he had released the partially disintegrated corpse of the Nevermore he caught.
Thwak*
They both flinched and Jaune took satisfaction from this, feeling it justified after all the terror that had been heaped upon his-
'Jade… Sky…'
His rage subsided, if only marginally.
Jaune inhaled, closing his eyes and turning his senses to his sisters, their scents well known to him like all he considered his.
They were together and not too far, outside the city limits as they had planned and safe if for at least the moment. But Jaune desired to be at their side all the same and could not afford to linger.
'At least… not for too long…'
"Your Breach?" Jaune pressed murderously if only to take the measure of the one who had managed to invoke his wrath so thoroughly. Jaune observed both and watched how they shifted in their spots, the young fox afraid and cringing at the sound of his voice.
The baboon, though… stiff, tense, ready to attack, his grip on his knife so firm as to cause it to shake, the tip scratching the ground faintly.
'What fun,' Jaune thought, enthused at the prospect of testing his new awareness against one with Aura.
"Pray tell… what do you mean by 'your Breach'?" Jaune asked again, managing to keep his apoplectic rage from bleeding into his tone… mostly.
The baboon bit the inside of his cheek, his breathing faltering as his entire body locked up on the spot. His paralysis, however, was brief, and as it went, it seemed to leave the Faunus with a second wind as Jaune watched him raise his head.
"Yeah… yeah, it's mine. What of it?" The baboon Faunus blustered, daring to meet Jaune's gaze.
Jaune's rage returned with a vengeance at that admission, the sheer gall of this cur to speak of his works as if they were something to take pride in. This thuggish brute, whose efforts saw his sisters put in harm's way, who ruined Sky's night, who surrounded his family with death and terror.
Jaune dropped from the water tower, instinctively landing with cat-like grace, his joints bending to absorb the shock perfectly. Jaune had to dedicate effort to not losing himself in the feel of himself again; the comfort and rightness of once more feeling whole was… addictive.
Jaune looked away from his quarry, instead turning his focus to the young fox Faunus, who seemed far more affected by him than the baboon. Jaune addressed the Faunus, who did not reek of mass murder, his voice cutting through the silence with ease, "Fox?"
The boy's head snapped up, revealing eyes like dark marble, startled and wide.
"Is what that one says true?" Jaune enquired, hoping the younger teen might shed some light on his involvement in this situation. Frustratingly, though, his attempt at procuring information about the fox Faunus was cut short by the raving baboon.
"I already told you I did it! That little pet fuck tried to stop me, but you can see how that went… now what are you going to do about it?"
Jaune felt his control strain; it was only the years he had spent surrounded by those he loved that allowed him to reign in his more instinctive reaction to this scums mouthiness. But despite that, despite his wish not to be the butcher he had once been, it was not an easy battle.
He had to keep himself from turning to face the shorter Faunus.
He knew he could not maintain his control if he did.
He focused on the younger of the pair and posed his question for a second time, "Fox?"
The boy nodded quickly, their body clearly still showing all the signs of abject terror; Jaune considered that the fox Faunus had better survival instincts but also wondered where all his spine had gone.
The fox had shown such fight earlier when he had squared off against the baboon; there had been a real ferocity in him. Now it seemed as if fear had stolen away the fury… or had something else?
'Ahh, hate,' Jaune realised, looking at the state of the young Faunus and the injuries he had sustained despite still having some Aura in the tank. The boy had pushed through the pain, riding high on his hate; Jaune was familiar with the phenomenon.
But now Jaune was present, an impediment between the fox and the baboon, and he had managed to stifle the fox's rage.
Jaune found the fox, if nothing else, a curiosity. The ferocity he had shown him had earned him Jaune's acknowledgment, and the fact that he was seemingly an enemy of the one responsible for the Breach earned him Jaune's neutrality.
Jaune accepted that the boy was unlikely to be any more forthcoming, an aggravation as his presence had dimmed the young man's fire. But as there was no further information to be had… he also had no further reason to practice restraint.
So he didn't.
It came unbidden, flowing from deep in his chest as he finally stopped trying to be something he wasn't. A rumbling growl flowed out of his throat as Jaune turned and put eyes on the pathetic lump of meat responsible for the Breach and all it had wrought. He felt his blood rush in his veins like the rapids of a mighty river, egging him on to commit only the bloodiest of executions.
"You made them cry…" Jaune condemned the Faunus in front of him, recalling the looks of terror on his younger sisters' faces. "You… you sicked the Grimm on my sisters, that's twice tonight. The likes of you have put my family in harm's way," Jaune declared as he let his fingers drag along the Mist.
'So many choices.'
"Fuck you and your sister's, cunt!" the baboon cursed, rising slowly on shaky legs.
Jaune's lips peeled back in a grimace of pure abject disgust at this… Beastly thing uttering such. Jaune pulled his hand away from the Mist, closing the connection between himself and his Arsenal.
'Too quick.'
Jaune dragged his tongue across his teeth, the tang of blood dancing on the sensory organ as he came to a decision.
"Count your blessings, meat. Were it so that I had the time, I would take you apart in such a manner that your very blood would echo with your screams… but I am already pressed enough as is," Jaune complained as he clenched his right hand, picturing the baboon's heart betwixt his fingers.
"Is that ri-"
Jaune stepped forward, and the baboon Faunus stepped back on shaky feet, his knife raised, ready to stab. Jaune fought down a smile, "Spare me the aggravation that is your voice; this need not take long… I only ask what I am owed."
The confusion was writ upon the face of his prey as clear as day, and Jaune found his lips peeling back, this time in bloody amusement.
"A pound of flesh… or three. One each for my sisters who have had to fight for their very lives courtesy of your moronic act… the last for me," Jaune snarled, widening his stance as his legs bent.
Like the tide at the shore, he could still feel the Mist brushing his fingers with an almost beckoning quality. He ignored it for the time being, a selfish desire taking hold as he looked at the White Fang thug before him.
'Forgive me, sisters… I'll be along soon,' Jaune thought guiltily as he readied himself, rolling his shoulders as he adjusted his feet.
Of Jaune's many combat-orientated skills it was a matter of fact that one of the weakest of them was his hand-to-hand abilities.
At least, this was so until his mother, Hellebore, began to rectify this shortcoming.
It was not an exaggeration to state that Hella had been stunned by her son's prodigious skills with nearly any weapon he put his hands to. Her amazement had been such that she would end up putting Jaune to task with all manner of weaponry to see just where the limits of his talents lay.
If only so she could then push her son beyond them.
Her and Jaune's experimentation provided rather conclusive results, those being that with a weapon in hand, Jaune was a true genius, the likes of which boggled the mind. Together, they tested his talent with a vast variety of weapons, including entire classical and modern arsenals, but the result was that Jaune proved to be a true master at arms.
However, Hella also noted that Jaune took a little longer to find his footing with the most exotic or advanced weapons. But these too soon appeared to be wielded with an adept hand as Jaune adjusted.
There was only one exception…
The one place where his combat skills took a noticeable dip was when he was forced to fight with no weapons at all.
Jaune, of course, knew this was because the Eternal Night had not been a time one wanted to find themselves bereft of a weapon, and as such, there had been little to no time to train himself in such. His natural instinct and exceptional talent at combat, in general, meant he was by no means poor at hand-to-hand combat… just lacking.
Hella had been overjoyed.
Weapons training with Jaune had become little more than sparring as her boy's talent meant their bouts became shows of raw skill against overwhelming ability. They were by no means lacking as Jaune still boasted a physicality that Cloud admitted was even greater than his before he got Aura.
They were so intense that often Hella would have to begin utilising dangerous levels of strength and speed to push Jaune to the limit. The solution was to throw multiple combatants at Jaune; more foes meant a similar difficulty level without the risk of an enhanced blow shattering her son's ribs.
Hand-to-hand was another matter entirely, though.
More often than not, these were the times when Jaune could truly learn the most, as his mother was one of the preeminent martial artists in Vale. Even her weapons, Bloom and Blight, as hybrid gauntlets meant that she still, more often than not, ended up using her exceptional ability as a fighter.
On a more selfish note, it was when they trained hand to hand that Hella had Jaune nearly entirely to herself as between her and Cloud, she was by far the better fighter.
Hella bestowed on her son as much knowledge and training as he wished, and Jaune took it all in like a sponge. Eventually, though, his skills began to rear their head, and Hella found glimpses of the fighter he was with a weapon in hand bleeding through.
Jaune had come a long way and had refined a style of hand-to-hand combat that was truly his own and one that could proudly hold its own in the ranks of his arsenal.
And, while it was selfish to do so in this exact instance, he was pretty eager to try it out against an opponent he desired to see dead, to give it an earnest test drive.
Jaune looked down at his opponent, looking over his form, his stance…
"Tsk," Jaune was not impressed.
His height aside, the fool was already worn, but beyond that, he also seemed to be as poorly trained as the fox. He was definitely more familiar with fighting, more sure of his footing, and more comfortable facing someone… but that was it.
Jaune's disappointment must have been evident as the Fang member went to say something.
Jaune did not want to hear his screeching, though, and slid forward half a step as if to attack.
The baboon nearly dropped his knife as he retreated.
Internally, Jaune recognised this as the Faunus having some caution underneath all the bluster, but externally…
Jaune huffed in taunting amusement.
The response was immediate and explosive, the baboon Faunus giving an enraged bark as he rushed forward and lunged.
Jaune… was not impressed.
He effortlessly slapped the approaching knife away and threw a retaliatory light jab to test his opponent.
It collided with the baboon Faunus's cheek and caused a flash of Aura as the thug stumbled.
Jaune felt his disappointment worsen… and his rage flare.
'This… this is the one responsible for my sisters being in harm's way!' Jaune thought, not dropping his guard even as he watched the baboon cradle his cheek where Jaune's fist had impacted.
The Fang member charged back in knife flailing as he swiped wildly, but Jaune was done humouring his prey. Jaune swerved around each wild attack, his feet barely shifting as his opponent relied heavily on his enhanced abilities.
Enraged by his failures, the baboon again tried to go in for a lunge; the knife aimed low towards Jaune's pelvis.
Jaune caught his wrist in a grip so hard his Aura reacted.
He tried to retreat, his feet scraping against the ground, but he couldn't move. He was punching at Jaune's hand, but his attack was lacking and half-assed.
Jaune's disgust worsened as he watched his prey panic.
"Fuck! Let go!" The White Fang member snapped, stopping his attempts to retreat as he instead hopped upward and threw a wild haymaker. The height difference meant his swing could only land as high as Jaune's clavicle, but the shoddy punch flew much lower.
Jaune let it land.
Just before the fist impacted his ribs, there was a flare of crimson, a sheen of red that flashed into existence for merely an instant.
The baboon froze, pure fear overriding his entire body.
The fox was only shaking his head, his expression a wince.
Jaune looked down, his eyes having caught the flash of red and stared at the spot where the White Fang member's fist was frozen. His eyes were bright with curiosity and interest, and his emotions shone through the storm of rage in his mind.
"Intriguing," Jaune mumbled, examining the spot where the fist should have collided but hadn't.
Despite this, he had felt the impact.
Jaune's curiosity was quickly forgotten when the baboon dropped his knife and attempted to grab it with his unrestrained hand.
Jaune's knee put an end to this as he launched it up into his foe's diaphragm, their Aura flaring again but this time spluttering as their whole body was lifted off the ground.
The knife clattered to the floor, but Jaune wasn't done.
Jaune jerked the airborne Faunus toward him as if they were a bag of groceries, his greater height keeping their feet hoisted up in the air. He swung the smaller Faunus about, building momentum before he snapped forward, their body slinging downward.
Concrete cracked again as Jaune finally released his hold on the baboon's wrist, sending his body rocketing onto the ground they stood upon at tremendous speed.
The baboon's Aura was dimming rapidly as his body settled after the violent impact. But before it could fade, Jaune attacked again, stomping down with all his might, his heel driven into the Faunus's skull, shoving his head deeper into the usually unyielding stone.
Then he did so twice more, each giving a thundering impact that cracked the concrete and caused the baboon's Aura to sputter and dim.
His last stomp resulted in the sound he had been waiting for, the crack of an Aura Break ringing out with an edge of finality.
It did nothing to lessen Jaune's fury, though, as the reality of his foe being so underwhelming was inescapable.
'The Grimm made better prey,' Jaune thought as he glared down at the unmoving body of the baboon Faunus.
Jaune reached into the crevice he had stomped the White Fang's skull into, his fingers curling around oily dust-covered hair. With a not-so-gentle tug, he yanked the baboon out of the indent he had beaten him into.
The short Faunus barely came up to his shoulder when standing, so held aloft at eye level, his feet dangled a foot off the ground. A trickle of blood was coming from his nose, but otherwise, he looked wholly unharmed courtesy of Jaune's restraint.
However, due to the Aura Break, he was unconscious.
This would not do.
Jaune grabbed the baboon's knee, his thumb sliding into the space behind his patella.
Then he squeezed.
There was no Aura to flare this time.
The white Fang member woke up screaming a loud, ear-splitting cry of agony as Jaune's thumb pressed into the joint, fracturing bone and splitting cartilage, blood bubbling up over the digit.
Jaune only uttered a single damning phrase.
"You still owe me…"
A.N.
Part one of a two-part upload!
Merry Christmas!
If you want to read ahead or just offer me some further support you can find me over on that PAT-RE-ON site as AceReaper. If you want to and have some cash to burn, please feel free to come join the burgeoning cult I apparently have incited.
We will be sure to save you a spot by the fire.
As always,
Until next time.