A Hunt Like No Other Chapter 28: The Cursed Island, a Borderlands + RWBY Crossover fanfic

Jaune was happy. He had the right to be.

Who could even imagine that faking your way into one of the most prestigious schools on Remnant would not only be so easy, but also gift you with many, many benefits? A room, a team of friendly people, being the leader of said team of friendly people, another team of friendly people as neighbors, food and so on. Sure, there were a few problems here and there. For example, his lack of experience with the family heirloom was way too obvious, though nothing that can't be fixed. Cardin used to bully him (yes, he finally said it) but now he was… actually, he had no idea on that one, but he liked the change.

And then there was his other neighbor.

Jaune didn't know much about him, except that he was very rude at the initiation. There wasn't any kind of social bonding between the two or anything like that, except the apology. They both treated each other like that one neighbor you know forever, yet you never speak to them. If you do speak to them, it's usually something unimportant. Today he, Jaune Arc, would change that, more out of necessity than anything else. The guy could be so scary sometimes.

As for why, it was pretty simple. He and his team came to a conclusion; why bother learning how to be a Huntsman if you can't get the feeling of it? And by feeling, they meant practice. What practice? Why, a mission of course! A first ever mission as a team! He needed to thank Pyrrha for encouraging him. Yes, it would be scary. Yes, it would be dangerous. But honestly? He didn't care. He had to start from somewhere, right? Jaune Arc, leader of the Huntsman team JNPR.

Although, he had to admit, they won't be alone. Braylon would come with them too. This idea came from, surprisingly, Pyrrha herself. She said he could help them protecting him. He had nothing against Braylon, but that irritated him so much. Was he destined to be the weakling of his team, despite being the leader? Another reason why he accepted to go on a real mission. It would help him improve his skills.

After they ate some grub, Jaune and his team went towards Braylon's room. As strange as it sounds, Braylon didn't come out from his room for a whole week, as far as they knew. No one even bothered to check if he was alive, only Nora did it once and the reply wasn't pretty. He didn't even go to classes, worrying many professors, who always got the same reply "everything was fine". On his way to there, Jaune and his team encountered their second neighbors, team RWBY. They all wore different outfits from the usual ones.

"Hey." Jaune waved. Yang replied instead of Ruby, as she usually did.

"Hi, Jaune."

"Where are you going?" He asked, checking out each member. Something was wrong, he could feel it. Ruby looked distant, in another world entirely. She barely noticed them. Yang was worried for reasons unknown to him. Only Blake and Weiss acted "normal", with the former being stoic and latter cold and prideful.

"Oh, we..." Yang rubbed the back of her head and smiled weakly. "We're..."

"Going out, as a team." Weiss said for her. "We decided to… have some fun. In Vale."

"Alright." Jaune nodded, oblivious as always. "Have fun, then…?"

"Is everything alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes. Nothing to be worried about." Weiss replied. "Now excuse us, we must go." They went without even saying goodbye.

"Pyrrha?"

"Yes Jaune?"

"Did you notice… anything unusual, with them?"

"Yes. Something is troubling them. I'm not sure what, though."

"I would love to help them..." He looked at his teammates. "But we have a mission to do. As soon as we're done, we are going to help team RWBY. If they want, of course. Alright?"

They all agreed and moved further, reaching Braylon's door. Jaune knocked.

"Uh, Braylon? It's Jaune..." Pyrrha nodded when he turned his head to her. Nora gave him a thumbs up. Ren just watched. "...Jaune Arc."

(Kevin Macleod – Sneaky Snitch)

The person behind that door couldn't be Braylon. Jaune refused to believe it. A comb didn't touch that messy hair for days, Jaune was sure. The bags under those wide eyes, and the smell that came from his body, horrified team JNPR. But the worst was his mouth, from which came an unbearable stench. Jaune had to use all his mental strength to stop his stomach from vomiting out his lunch.

"What?" He said in a quick and frustration-filled voice. They weren't really welcome, were they?

"Um..." Jaune coughed in his fist. "Is… this a good time to…?"

"No." Braylon cut him off. "What do you want? Make it quick. I'm busy."

Jaune looked his team once more before replying: "We're going on a mission, a real one and..."

"No." Pyrrha, in Jaune's defense, blocked the door before Braylon could close it. "I'm. Busy." He repeated trough clenched teeth. Thanks Pyrrha, Jaune thought.

"Can you at least hear us out?" She asked.

"What part of "I'm busy" you don't understand?"

"But it's your duty." She insisted.

He frowned. "Pardon?"

"To quote the headmaster..."

"Yes. I know that." He interrupted. "But I have the freedom to choose whom I can help."

"We insist." She crossed her arms. Pyrrha was a nice person, but she could be stubborn. He was so glad she was his partner.

"What do I gain from helping you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Everyone else asks my help too. Usually around homework or some chores. It doesn't matter. What does matter is my payment."

Pyrrha was struck, as was Ren. Nora frowned. Jaune was confused.

"You're… asking payment for what you are supposed to do?" Jaune thought out loud.

"Supposed to do?" Braylon laughed. It was a dry laugh, empty of emotions. He then sang: "Ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees. I've got bills to pay, I've got a mouth to feed, ain't nothing in this world for free..."

"That's so selfish." Nora blurted out.

"In the end, what matters to me, is me. Same for you. It's the nature of things."

"But lives are in danger."

"So?"

"A Huntsman is supposed to help people in need..." Pyrrha added.

Braylon sighed loudly as his head moved back. "It's all so tiresome." In the end, he opened the door. "Come in. Don't mind the current state of my room."

It was amazing how one person could do things a team of four people couldn't. Case in point, Braylon's room. Some sheets lay on the floor, stained with things unknown. Books and papers were scattered on a table and the floor around it. There were also some bottles piled up in a corner and that particular smell that only comes when fresh air fails to reach the room trough windows. Jaune was too depressed by the sight to remember its name.

"What's this "mission" about?" He even made the air quotes with his fingers. Was he trying to make them angry?

Jaune took his Scroll and handed it to him. An article on a news website popped up on the screen. Braylon's eyes skimmed trough the text.

"We want to find out what happened on that island."

"Let me get this straight." He started. "You want to find out why a city on an island is silent for quite some time, despite the fact that the actual Huntsmen who went there didn't come back and the fact that any attempt to approach the island with ships or Bullheads resulted in almost catastrophic deaths for everyone on board?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Jaune gulped. His sight casually spotted many photos and blueprints attached to a wall, all connected with red lines. What was Braylon doing all this time?

"I swear, if I had a penny for every… never mind." Braylon facepalmed. "I damn hope you have a lot of money in your pockets for wasting my time like this. Let's go."

"Wait, you want to go now?"

"No, no! I need to take a shower first."

It was all a massive fuck up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our program! This is Cole Henderson and we got some fresh news for you fine folks!"

He knew the show at the police station and the Palace would bring massive problems on a macro level, so much that the following week would be a nightmare. At least no one knew he was the reason behind it, because everyone was either dead or a traumatized wreck.

"Violent crime is expected to rise even more as the recent terrorist attack on the police station and the Palace shocked the kingdom. To combat this threat, the kingdom of Atlas decided to send its soldiers to the city of Vale. General James Ironwood claims this was bound to happen, due to the upcoming Vytal Festival."

All hell broke loose on day One. The media exploded with news about the massacre Braylon commited. Hundreds of shops were robbed in a few hours. Beacon had to send Huntsmen-in-training non-stop. The wall barely held back the horde of insane Grimm that waited for an opportunity to kill a Human being. Vale became Texas.

"More news for you! So you might remember how I talked about some weird things happening in one of the forests in Mistral. The same village now reports that the situation has escalated even further. One anonymous hunter commented: "Two days ago I went deep into the forest in search for animals. The nature around me became really purple. Everything was dead and decaying. That's when I've spotted this strange floating animal with many eyes, green pus and rotten body. I've never seen anything like it." The Mistral government declared they will put the entire zone in quarantine."

Nora and Ren were visibly worried. They asked Braylon if he could raise the volume on his PDA radio, which he did even if he wasn't listening. His mind returned to day Two, when many Bullheads landed on Beacon grounds. When Braylon saw all those soldiers in white, he seriously thought they were there for him, so he locked himself in the room, guns pointed at the door. It took several hours of hacking into security systems of the academy to find out the real reason why they came. A VIP in a white uniform came to visit the headmaster. He didn't know the reasons why because there were no cameras in Ozpin's office.

"According to a report, Atlas' new threat is, hear this, the dead rising from the grave. Even if these "zombies" were all destroyed, the government has declared that the deceased must be cremated until the scientists figure out the cause for this strange phenomenon which, some theorize, is connected with the strange energy signatures discovered not too long ago. Apocalypse predictors haven't been this excited since the Great War."

Things changed for the worse on day Three. The voice, out of nowhere, began with its speeches about how he should hurry up. It sounded really strange, because never before it cared about time. Actually, it never cared at all, just that he did what it said. And now it was nagging him constantly about time limits. Read faster, write it down, remember. It became unbearable. The nagging stopped two days later, without a warning.

"This is all for now, ladies and gentlemen. It's time for some of your favorite music. Stay tuned."

Another victim was discovered in Beacon. Drained of fluids and all. Braylon knew it wasn't the second, but one of many, many victims. If this was the second corpse they found, that meant it already learned how to either hide the bodies or do it in absolute secrecy. Robots began patrolling the hallways shortly after the discovery. Now he was sure he had to find the Maiden without alerting anyone. A school full of super soldiers was enough of a problem. An army of robots was, de facto, overkill.

"Ren, are we close?"

"I hope so, Nora."

"This ride is bo-ring."

On day Six, he remembered he had forgot to pick up his newest toys at the Forge. The old man was swearing without restraint, but Braylon could feel the pride in his voice when he talked about his new gun and Shield.

The gun was, quite simply, the chimera of modern technology. A rocket launcher with a rate of fire of an assault rifle and low recoil. Not as powerful as Nukem, but twice as effective. Its magazines worked and looked like a revolver's cylinder; rotating with each shot. Rather than having one barrel, it had four, connected in a rotating cylinder, similar to a minigun. It could be held like an assault rifle, but it had no stock. The scope would come out from the gun's body with the push of a button near the trigger. Another button near the first one turned the rocket launcher into a grenade launcher. The idea was to use the rocket launcher mode to mow down enemies in front of the user, while the grenade launcher would either hit those behind cover, or simply bombard groups of enemies. Much like Vulcan, different Dust-based ammunition had different effects, though "normal" ammunition could be used as well, should Braylon ever get out of Remnant again. He called it Leviathan.

"Attention." The pilot's voice rang through the intercom. "We're approaching the island's port. I can see Grimm down there. Landing isn't possible, but I can get you near a roof. You should be able to land from there."

Day Seven was spent drinking and resting. He wanted to spend the whole day doing nothing. And now here he was, wasting his time on some mystery that might or might not be connected to his worst fears.

"Grimm, huh?" Braylon sighed. "So this is just pest control. Awesome."

Everyone had strange looks on their faces. He understood their reaction. But to him, Grimm weren't much of a threat. They were more like pests without a respectable intelligence and the instinct of self-preservation. Paradoxically, this also made them very dangerous. From what he read about Grimm, the only reason they won was because of their relentless assaults. After one wave was over, the survivors became more desperate, which in turn attracted even more Grimm than before. As the Bullhead reached the roof of a building, Braylon materialized Leviathan and prepared for the worst.

"Moving them away from me will be like trying to remove flies from a hunk of shit. I better be careful."

The port was rather small. It had only three buildings, one of them being a small warehouse not far from their location. Aside from some vehicles, the whole place was empty like a ghost town. Apart from the Grimm infestation, nothing else was present, not even corpses.

"Strange."

"What's strange?" Jaune asked.

"There's so many Grimm, yet no bodies. Did everyone escape before they arrived?" Some nearby Beowolves and Boarbatusks sensed them, especially him, and began approaching the building.

"We got company!" Ren warned from the other side.

"They're trying to surround us!" Pyrrha concluded. "We have to go down!"

(Atrium Carceri – Approaching the Coven)

Braylon watched as each member of team JNPR jumped down gracefully and began fighting, everyone except Jaune, who landed awkwardly only to run away as soon as an Ursa went closer. Pyrrha killed three Beowolves with swift attacks of her spear-rifle, counterattacking before they could even respond. Ren used his pistols, although his Aura-enhanced attacks were way more efficient, to the point that he killed one Ursa with a kick to its neck. Nora wasn't unlike the two of them. What she couldn't smash with her hammer, she blew up with the grenade launcher, laughing like a psychopath as pieces of Grimm fell from the sky. Jaune… was okay.

The Vault Hunter jumped after JNPR cleared some of the Grimm. Putting Leviathan to test, he aimed at one young Beowolf and fired.

One detail made Leviathan very unique. Unlike a normal rocket launcher, Leviathan was able to use electromagnetic force to launch rockets at high speed, similar to a railgun. As a result, the fuel that would otherwise be used to propel the rocket forward, was used to make each shot even deadlier than normal. The sharpened tip punched through the young Beowolf's forehead and into the stomach of the older sibling behind it, whose stomach exploded seconds later.

Braylon already knew the problem that Leviathan had. It fired way too fast, so it could easily eat up all ammo, which was hard to make. The only way to prevent this was to fire in short bursts. Each magazine could hold twenty rockets or six grenades, although the latter were another story. He could only use the fully automatic function where precision and carefulness weren't necessary, such as when a group of two Boarbatusks and one Ursa were charging at him from a longer distance.

The other problem was precision. It could hit the desired target in medium distances. On longer distances, not so much. When he fired at the Boarbatusks and Ursa, he blew up their bodies and legs. Only one Boarbatusk had its head destroyed by a rocket.

The third problem were the rockets themselves. They really packed a punch, able to pierce through the bone-like plates of the Grimm like nothing. He had to be careful when using Leviathan because he could hurt himself too. This wasn't a big problem, however, because his Shield was also upgraded. So upgraded, in fact, that Braylon had to invent a new name for it, because the change were drastic, such as bigger Shield battery. So he changed the name of the Shield to "The Bumblebee".

He reloaded Leviathan when Jaune was spotted running away from an Ursa. This Ursa was different from the last. It was larger and better armored, having limbs and back covered in more plates than usual.*

It was a perfect opportunity to test other features. Pressing the trigger rapidly four times, Leviathan loaded one rocket in each barrel. When the trigger was pressed again, it shot all four rockets at once, straight into the Ursa's side. The rockets exploded in perfect synchronicity. It didn't just tore the Grimm in half, it also threw the pieces far away from each other. It was like seeing an animal being hit by one of those high-speed trains.

One Alpha Beowolf lunged at him out of nowhere. It was brought down by Nora's hammer. She even giggled as the Grimm was dying in front of him. He muttered a 'thank you' but he doubted she heard him. The last Grimm in their current area was killed by Jaune. It was a short, bipedal creature without arms and barely any white plates on its back and head. Creep was its name.**

JNPR and Braylon achieved a consensus about going around the port to exterminate the remaining Grimm. Every once in a while, they would find few stragglers, which would be killed immediately and without effort. Most of the work was done from Pyrrha or Ren when it came to lightly-armored Grimm. Nora would jump in where brute force was necessary. Jaune and Braylon felt like they were the third wheel.

"Man. That's the first time I feel unnecessary in a job." Braylon commented, searching for Grimm.

"Yeah..." Jaune said, not having anything useful to add.

"There is one thing I don't understand." Pyrrha sighed. "Why are so many Grimm here?"

"Something attracted them, that's for sure." Braylon answered.

"But what?"

"Not Humans or Faunus. That's for sure."

"About that..." Jaune spun around. "...where is everyone?"

"That's what I want to know. Maybe they are in the warehouse? It's the only place we haven't searched."

"Good thinking, Braylon."

"I know."

(Atrium Carceri – A Stroll Through the Ancient City)

They headed for the warehouse. There were few Beowolves and Boarbatusks scratching or hitting the walls. Among them, there were also those bipedal Grimm we mentioned earlier, although some of them had more armor and were slightly taller. ***

The biggest concern for the group of Huntsmen-in-training was one Ursa in front of the hangar door of the warehouse. It stood on its hind legs, revealing two swords stabbed in its back. When it turned around, moaning like a stereotypical zombie, its features received more attention than anything else. Its mask was badly damaged, one eye and ear were missing and some of the teeth were rotten. The black fur was missing on many parts of the body, replaced by corroded skin or simply missing big chunks of meat. In the latter case, they could see pieces of bones sticking out from the wounds. One portion of the rib cage was completely exposed. ****

"Dibs on the Ursa!" Braylon yelled, switching Leviathan for Striker. "I need to save ammo."

JNPR split apart, attacking other Grimm. The Ursa ignored them and focused on Braylon, who fired two shots in its chest. It walked forward, seemingly ignoring hot lead. A raspy sound could be heard coming from its throat as it opened the mouth, releasing brown gas in the form of a jet. Braylon ran away as the ground he stood on began melting and hissing. He shot the Ursa again but to no avail.

"Hmm… what if I shoot the head?" He thought as he avoided another stream of gas. Firing at the head stopped its attack, stunning it. The Grimm moaned again and fell on all fours. "Nothing! Screw it, I am burning it alive!" Vulcan replaced Striker, loaded with fire Dust. Braylon kept the finger on the trigger until it became nothing but smoldering ashes. Meanwhile, JNPR killed all other Grimm.

"Quick, we have to open the door!"

"Leave it to me." Braylon said as he ran forward. Cracking his knuckles, he grabbed the door and pulled it sideways. He heard gasps of horror behind him. "What? What's going..."

His voice stopped in his throat. Braylon quickly spun around, to JNPR. The reactions varied, but all of them were negative. Ren hugged Nora, doing everything he could to stop her from looking. Jaune was few meters away, vomiting. Pyrrha just placed her hands in front of her mouth.

"What happened to these people?" She whispered.

"Try to help your team. I'm going in."

"Why?" She asked, somehow even more scared when she heard him. He was probably mad in her mind.

Nevertheless, he didn't answer. When inside, he was able to take in the macabre display of death. In each corner of the warehouse there was a small pile of skulls, some of them picked clean, with few black candles giving weak light. The centerpiece was one giant pentagram made of glowing blood, where each point had a stake with exactly one corpse impaled on it. Two corpses were mutilated, missing their heads and limbs. One was impaled in such a way that none of his organs were harmed, yet the victim could feel pain until it died of blood loss or pain itself, whichever came first. Some corpses were also hanging from the roof, with one being nothing but a bloody skeleton while another had their chest empty of everything.

It was safe to say that team JNPR received their first traumatic shock events. Just one of many, Braylon thought. One of many they would eventually acquire due to their "careers". But there was no time or place for empathy, for Braylon was scared in his own way. His mind began panicking as it searched for answers where it knew there would be none, because there was nothing that would prove any of his hypotheses. Who could've done this and for what purpose? Was it a Human? If so, does this mean that there was a satanic cult on the island? If that was a yes, then it was safe to say that Remnant had many others scattered all over the planet, which in turn meant that Remnant was doomed from the start and all he had done was just one big waste of time.

However, there was another, scarier, hypothesis. What if this carnage was done by demons? But if demons were to blame, that meant they did it some time ago, as some bodies were the proof, decaying beyond something one would want to see. That was impossible, he thought, the voice would warn him if demons came again on Remnant soil.

But what if it didn't?

What if the voice kept this demonic invasion hidden from him? That would be counterproductive, because the voice needed Braylon to find the Maidens before other demons did. That implied some sort of competition or sabotage. Could the whole thing be an act and nothing more? He suddenly remembered those words…

'A house divided against itself cannot stand.'

That meant…

No. He shouldn't jump to conclusions so early. There was one more possibility. What if this invasion went below the voice's "radar"? What if it was done in a manner where the voice would be unable to perceive it? But then why would it hurry him up when it came to finding the Maiden? Why not just tell him about the invasion?

Another thing. What was the purpose of this massacre? Could it be a ritual? What for? He tried to ask, but the voice was quiet.

"Why aren't you answering?"

Gunshots.

(MadWorld – Crazy)

"What now?"

Braylon went outside. He found Pyrrha and her teammates fending off some Boarbatusks. Someone tried to warn him but the growls coming from his left were enough of a warning. Braylon and the Alpha Beowolf grabbed each other by the throat. Then the Vault Hunter decided to materialize Holo Sabre right through the Grimm's head. Forcibly removing the holographic weapon, Braylon cut the Beowolf's head into pieces.

"Fuck off! Damn it!"

He cursed as another Beowolf bit his Shield-protected arm. Braylon took Unforgiven and shoved the barrel into one of its eyes. A bullet through the brain was required for the Beowolf to let go.

Next in line was a Boarbatusk, who charged at him. Braylon jumped away and fired at its back. The bullet went through the bony plates, but it didn't kill the Grimm. Excalibastard appeared in his hands just as the boar-like monster turned around. It evaded the laser beam and quickly spun forward, something a Boarbatusk can do. Braylon immediately jumped away, letting the Boarbatusk hit and kill a Beowolf. The beam hit it this time, freezing its internal organs.

"Nevermores!" Someone yelled. Braylon looked at the sky. A flock of twenty Nevermores the size of a raven was circling above them. Four came down, one of them at Braylon.

"Where they come from?!" Braylon thought nervously as he impaled the bird Grimm with the bayonet. Just then, the answer dawned on him regarding the possible reason for the massacre ritual.

What if it was a method of attracting the Grimm?

"We need to get out of here!" Pyrrha yelled for everyone to hear.

"I agree!" Braylon added as he shot a tiny Grimm shaped like a scorpion. It had a golden stinger and bone plates that covered a large part of its body, covered in red markings. People used to call it "Death Stalker". *****

He needed to destroy the warehouse. Maybe it would stop attracting Grimm. His reason was something else; to destroy any evidence regarding demons. Who knew what would happen if it fell in the wrong hands. Materializing Nukem, he blew up the warehouse, much to both Grimm's and JNPR's surprise.

"Quick! Run!" Braylon shouted as he spun around and ran, JNPR following him.

"Why did you blew up that place?!" Jaune asked.

"Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, yes?"

"I think so?"

"People were were tortured to death inside that warehouse. It's probably what attracted them."

"But the people…!"

"There was nothing left to bury. Now move!"

Team JNPR and Braylon ran towards a fence gate. There was a road that led uphill, their only way to escape from the infested port. At one point, when they were about to reach the gate, the ground shook violently.

"What's going on?!"

In front of the gate, the Huntsmen-in-training were able to see the concrete suddenly cracking and falling apart, followed by very loud buzzing. They noticed a large, cone-shaped drill slowly rising up until the whole thing could be seen. It became apparent that the drill was actually a cross between a barnacle and a shell, covered in red markings. Tentacles with arrowhead tips came out of the shell after the "drill" stopped moving. Something shone red through the mass of black tentacles. Braylon thought it was an eye, since it looked spherical.******

"Gravedrill!" Ren said. "Be careful everyone!"

The Grimm suddenly jumped ten meters high and, somehow, changed trajectory mid-air, towards Braylon. What used to be a drill now was a spike that was falling down with the speed of a cannonball. Someone pushed him away. The Grimm crashed through the concrete and into the dirt below.

"Holy fuck!" Braylon's jaw dropped. "It can do that?!"

"We have to move!" Pyrrha fired at the Grimm horde that was coming their way. Nora grabbed Braylon and helped him get up, before they escaped through the gate.

"They're gonna chase us, aren't they?"

Following the road, JNPR and Braylon entered into a forest. They managed to reduce the number of Grimm following them. There was still to many Grimm.

Braylon knew why there were so many. It wasn't just the warehouse. It was him. He was the one attracting Grimm left and right. A walking bait, so to speak.

Yet this bait lead to their death. He proposed for the team to split into smaller groups, with him going alone, to make more targets which would reduce the horde into small packs. Luckily there were no protests, also because he knew they would have it easy. There was no fear of getting lost, since the path was easy to find.

The only way he could succeed was to go berserk on the Grimm. Traps would take far too much time. Ambushes were impossible since they could track him like a bunch of dogs. Strategies wouldn't be very effective due to the amount of diverse opponents that required different approaches.

He stopped running some moments later. Holo Sabre was materialized and ready.

The first three Grimm that caught up with him were two Beowolves and a Boarbatusk. The latter pushed both Beowolves away and charged. Braylon waited, jumped sideways and swung the Sabre horizontally, slicing the Boarbatusk in two halves. Those Beowolves weren't intimidated. One of them jumped but Braylon chopped it in two mid-air. Others showed up when he beheaded the third Grimm he needed to kill.

"Just in time for your death." Braylon cracked his knuckles. "I could use a punching bag or two."

One Creep tried to bite him, drunk by the sudden surge of anger. He sidestepped and cut its head off. Dematerializing Holo Sabre, Braylon came up to a Beowolf and swiped the legs. As it flew mid-air, he brought down his fist on its snout, brutally crushing its head into the ground.

"You bastards piss me off way too much!"

Braylon grabbed another Beowolf by the fur on its chest and ran towards a big rock, hitting the Grimm that stood in his way. He dropped the howling beast on said rock, grabbed its head and smashed it against the surface of the object. Again and again, until the arms stopped flailing and the rock became red with blood.

Turning around, he saw a Boarbatusk rushing towards him. But Braylon was tired of dodging, so he raised his hands and waited. He grabbed the boar Grimm by its tusks moments before it could hit him successfully.

"Fuck you!"

First he stomped its head once, stunning it. Then, he wrapped his arms around the head, lifted up and suplexed the Grimm, eviscerating it with Holo Ripper afterwards.

"After I'm done with you, people will need to bury you in three separate graves."

A rock smashed against its head.

He was fine, thanks to the Shield, but his head tilted sideways, like when you punch someone really hard. Braylon slowly turned around, staring at the Beowolf who dared to throw that rock.

"You are so dead."

It understood little. He thought it also cared little, because it threw another rock at him. A rock that he broke with his fist. As it crouched to grab another object it could throw, the Vault Hunter ran at the Beowolf, only to jump and deliver a headbutt mid-air, knocking it backwards. He materialized a grenade in his hand, which he shoved into the Beowolf's throat. After that, he switched Ripper for Holo Claw, which he used to stab the Beowolf's chest. He lifted it over his head and threw it at a small group of Grimm. The grenade killed them all.

The ground beneath him began shaking slightly. He immediately jumped away, thus evading being impaled by the Gravedrill. It was the size of a human, but he couldn't care less at the moment. Nothing could intimidate him.

"There you are. Almost thought you wouldn't show up."

Braylon materialized Striker. The two shots he fired at the tentacles had no effect. After he jumped to avoid being hit, he aimed at the red eye slightly hidden under the white shell. Gravedrill positioned one tentacle in front of it before he could shoot.

"Is that so?"

A tentacle swatted him into a tree, depleting the Shield's battery by one third. A nearby Ursa wanted to bite his head off, but Braylon shoved Striker's barrel into its mouth and killed it first. The Gravedrill jumped as it did back at the port. Braylon ran into safety, letting the Grimm destroy the tree and go underground. It was so frustrating.

Waiting patiently for it to reappear on the surface, the Vault Hunter shot and killed the few remaining Grimm. The earth erupted somewhere close. It was already out, screeching loudly. He spun around.

It waited for him to come close. Braylon ran towards Gravedrill, towards its eye. He had to duck under a tentacle and jump above another, before he could shoot the eye without interruptions. It shrieked in a high-pitched voice as its eye exploded huge amounts of blood. The Gravedrill fell on the ground like a tree. It was dead.

More Grimm were about to arrive. It was like a never-ending army. Nothing to be worried about. He had lots of ammunition… and a wrath to unleash.

First chapter in and there is already action. The first arc of Volume 2 officially begins! Unlike all previous arcs, this one will be a bit longer, like four or five chapters long. I will try to compress it into four chapters, but I am not really sure how. Hopefully my mind will come up with something. Such is the price of improvising everything on the spot.

When I wrote this chapter I realized the Grimm emit black smoke in the show when wounded. I then said screw it and decided to leave them with guts and blood. Makes them more interesting imo.

About Gravedrill. This one is actually a funny story. I was hitting my head trying to come up with a new Grimm, something that would be interesting and monstrous and so on. I gave up and continued writing. Gravedrill came completely spontaneously, though it had different design. I imagined it to be like a turtle with the head of a mole and a drill on top of the shell. The second form had the drill be a Grimm on its own, much like that parasitic Grimm in the manga that fused multiple King Taijitu and turned them into a hydra. The one in the story is the third version that evolved from the second (the drill part). Hopefully I will come up with more designs in the future.

Lastly, those who read the previous story probably got flashbacks when they read the description of Braylon's new toy; the Leviathan. That's because this weapon is actually a remake of the old Boreas. Not gonna lie, I like how one reader commented about the Bolter. Well, the standard ammo really makes it similar to a Bolter from Warhammer. Things will change with Dust-based ammo and it won't be pretty.

New item acquired!

Item #1: Vault Hunter'sLeviathan

-Pearlescent/Unique item

- "Apocalypse can kiss my ass." (High rate of fire, increased Damage, accuracy decreases with distance)

- Normal ammunition deals Explosive damage

- Dust-based ammunition has different effects on rockets/grenades

- Rockets deal piercing damage (enemies with armor receive as much damage as armorless would)

- Eats up ammo quickly

- Ammunition is scarce

- Can be used outside of Remnant (but can use only normal ammo)

- Rocket Launcher mode: Leviathan fires rockets, up to four rockets can be loaded and fired (additional rocket deals additional damage)

- Grenade Launcher mode: Leviathan fires grenades (grenade types change with ammo)

Item #2: Vault Hunter's Bumblebee

- Pearlescent/Unique item

- "...Sting like a bumblebee!" (High Shield battery, Shield recharge as fast as The Bee)

- At full battery, Bumblebee adds Amplify damage to attacks (zero shot drain)

- When depleted, user receives a speed boost (runs and reloads faster) as well as increased Melee Damage for a brief period of time (Shield recharges after the effect wears off)

Arsenal:

1) HWM: Holo Ripper, Holo Sabre, Holo Claw

2) Pistol: Energy Pistol, Unforgiven

3) Shotgun: Striker, Orphan Maker

4) Assault Rifle: Ajax's Spear

5) Sniper Rifle: Omni-Cannon

6) Rocket Launcher: Nukem, Leviathan

7) Energy Weapons: Excalibastard, Vulcan, Fornax

8) Remnant-only: Vulcan

9) Shield: Bumblebee

10) Artifact/Class mod: Song of Malevolence

PDA Biopedia:

*Entry #74: Ursa Major

Type: Grimm – Beast