Deep in the mountains of Anima, in a place the sun had never touched, there was a cave that had remained undiscovered and undisturbed by humans for hundreds of years, and inside, something stirred.
It's grotesque, bulbous, black body cracked and groaned as it moved for the first time in decades. Something had awakened it, some primordial desire deep down called out to it and told it to go and destroy, and so it would.
It's first steps were unsteady, but still shook the walls of the pitch black cave it called its den with the sheer force of each impact. Four large, heavy hooves cracked the rock beneath its massive form as the beasts body quickly recovered from its long sleep, and instinctually made its way toward the caves exit. The long pair of straight, pointed horns on top of its head scraped against the ceiling as it moved, causing sharp stalactites and other debris to fall harmlessly onto the creatures wide shoulders and thick frame.
In the short time it took the beast to reach the caves opening, it was fully awake, it's movements no longer sluggish and dazed. It was ready to do what its instincts told it to;
Hunt. Kill. Destroy.
However, as the monster reached the caves exit, it found it blocked. A landslide- either natural or man made- had sealed the opening over the course of the beasts long slumber.
The massive creature regarded the wall of rock impeding it's progress with a hint of curiosity. Its masked covered head cocked to the side slightly, before it reared back one of its massive, club-like arms and thrust it forward.
The debris was blasted out of the caves entrance, the mass of rocks and dirt practically obliterated in the face of the massive Grimm's strength.
The way now clear, the monster stepped out of its cave and into the open air for the first time in years. It craned its head upward, looking out of the deep, dark, crevice that was cut into the mountain it had laid dormant in all this time. Then, with a growl of effort- and a startling amount of agility, given is size- it leapt into the air, up and out of the small canyon, and shaking the entire mountain as it landed on a nearby ridge.
With a new vantage point, the Grimm looked out into the sea of trees surrounding its rocky den. There, not far off in the distance, it saw another mountain, not unlike its own, but teeming with life.
Even from so far away, one could make out the enormous human settlement covering the summit and dotting the side of the peaks. The beast stared blankly in the other mountains direction for a long while, it's masked face expressionless. It could sense the mass of humanity there. Their creations, their infastructure, and most of all; their negativity, it was like a beacon to it.
A low, rumbling sound shook the cliff side, like thunder, as black smoke started pouring out of the beasts perpetually open jaw. It had lived long enough to know better than to attack that many humans in one place, but the temptation was undeniable.
Alas, it would have to settle for smaller prey today, and soon found it. It could sense them, in the forest, a few small specks of life that had wandered far from the relative safety of their homes, several of which were radiating their own- not unsubstantial- negativity. They would make a fine appetizer.
With another low growl, the Grimm crouched low and leapt off into the forest.
Carmella heard it first. Off in the distance, there was low rumbling that made her rabbit ears twitch. She wrote it off at the time, more focused on what Blake was saying as the three of them walked down the path.
"... So I ran. Not my proudest moment, to be sure, but at the time it was all I could think to do."
"I thought they were all better off without me. I blamed myself for everything they went through, and rather than face what had happened, I decided it would be easier for everyone if I just... disappeared."
Blake took a break from her tale to let out a harsh sigh. Her cat ears laying flat on top of her head in annoyance. The look on her face a clear indication of the disgust she felt towards herself for her past actions.
"Obviously, I was wrong. I was being childish," the cat eared girl let out a humorless chuckle, "which was a lesson that took me a bit too long to figure out." Blake's posture deflated as she sighed again, "and now I don't even know where to begin to make things right."
"Well, I mean, you showed up again," Sun chimed in optimistically from her right. "Right when they needed you the most too! I think that was a pretty good start, don't you?"
This did manage to drag a tiny smile out of the burdened cat faunus. "I'm glad I was able to help at Haven, even just a little-"
"'A little?' C'mon," Sun interjected, waving off Blake's modesty. "I think showing up leading a giant army that helped change the way a whole kingdom looks at the faunus qualifies as more than just 'a little' help, don't you?"
Blake's hopeful smile grew a little wider. She didn't agree out loud with the tailed faunus' statement, but definitely didn't deny it.
"I'm happy about how things turned out, for everyone, and I'm happy to be back, really, I am," Just as quickly as it appeared, the brightness in Blake's amber eyes faded, and the discouraged look returned to take its place, "but none of that changes what I did. That I left them when they needed me the most."
The cat girl brought a hand to her face to pinch at the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Honestly, you'd think that coming back would be the hardest part, but now that I'm here, it's like... the longer I spend with my team, the more I'm reminded of the problems I caused them."
"It was fine at first, we were so close to being what we were, but then, all the guilt and shame comes back and suffocate me to the point I can't even look her in the-"
Blake's slip of the tongue stopped her mid sentence. Her lips pressed together tightly and her gaze snapped to the ground in front of her. Silence filled the path, with only the sound of the crunching of the dirt beneath their feet filling the dead air.
Several moments passed before Sun finally said; "...You know Yang would never blame you for what happened to her."
The cat faunus didn't even raise her head. "... I think I blame myself enough for both of us."
Even Sun seemed a bit unsure of what to say to that. In desperation, he looked to the third member of their little party, hoping maybe Carmella- who'd been silent for a while now- would have the right words.
Unfortunately, in addition to listening to the other faunus' complicated feelings, the rabbit eared girl was dealing with her own inner conflict. Namely what had transpired this morning between Ilia and herself. They'd never really had a fight like this before; being on completely different sides of the fence on an issue.
Granted, they hadn't been a couple for very long. They were bound to argue about something eventually, every healthy couple did, but still, this felt different. She'd had disagreements before in her past relationships, but this one was more... personal, probably because of the link the two faunus shared, thanks to the rabbit girls annoying semblance. Speaking of which, Carm had already momentarily severed said connection the minute they'd left the kingdom- mostly out of petty frustration- but shocking no one, that only made her feel worse.
She wasn't mad at Ilia for what she'd said... not in any meaningful way at least. Carmella knew the two of them couldn't have had more different upbringings, so the reason they didn't see eye to eye on this was obvious, but helping people was part of who Carm was. Then again, maybe that was part of the problem?
"Compassionate" was the polite word for people like Carmella. "Nosy" was less polite, and then there were about a hundred or so even less polite words for it, many of which had been directed precisely towards the rabbit girl over the years. She'd ruined more than one past relationships by getting involved where she wasn't.
Of course, Simone's puffy, red eyed face appeared in her mind again, as it had been all morning. A constant reminder of the time sticking her nose where it didn't belong cost her the most.
But she hadn't even gotten involved this time! She'd... instead tried to force Ilia too... which didn't sound much better in her head.
Maybe she'd been a bit too pushy. She knew Ilia and Blake's relationship was rocky to say the least, but even without that, Carm should have known the kind of thing she was asking of her was completely out of the chameleon girls comfort zone. She could understand and accept that, but were those things really enough to keep Ilia from wanting to help a friend in distress? That was the part Carmella's brain was stuck on.
After listening to Blake's tale, any lingering feelings of animosity Carm might've had towards the cat girl went out the window. Granted, the rabbit faunus still wasn't thrilled with how Blake had left Ilia high and dry, but further details had at least provided her with some much needed context that she'd been missing. Regardless, Carmella truly believed the darker haired teen regretted what she'd done and wanted to do better, and that was all she could really ask of her.
Didn't that sound familiar? A former member of the White Fang having regrets and trying to improve themselves. Where had Carmella heard that one before? It seemed like this was becoming a common theme as of late. And in Carm's opinion; Blake deserved forgiveness and understanding just as much as Ilia did. How could anyone not feel that way after hearing what they'd both been through? Letting them suffer and stew in their mistakes when a few kind words could lift them out of it and turn their lives around just seemed like common sense to Carmella.
But what if that was just her personal bias talking?
Should she try to help if Ilia wouldn't? The spotted faunus had told Carm this wasn't any of her business, was she right? And if she did get involved despite the warning, would that upset Ilia further? This situation was getting more complicated the more Carmella thought about it. The rabbit faunus felt a dull throbbing beginning to pick up in the front of her skull from the stressful dilemma she now found herself in.
Well, right now, Sun was looking at her for an answer- and had been the entire time the rabbit faunus had been debating the issue inside her own head. Carm took another look at the depressed cat faunus walking alongside her, taking in her hopeless, crestfallen expression, and the answers suddenly became obvious...
She couldn't do it.
She just couldn't sit by while someone looked so completely defeated and worn down by the world around them. Not when she could do something to help. Even if all she had to offer was just words, it was better than nothing. The situation would never change if she didn't at least try.
Sorry, Ilia...
Carmella finally opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when Blake's head shot up, her cat ears standing straight, eyes wide, staring ahead.
"Carmella," she said in a low, quiet voice, "do you hear that?"
The comforting words on the tip of Carm's tongue came out as an exasperated raspberry, before the long eared faunus shook her head and focused on the sounds of the surrounding forest.
At first she heard nothing, but as she tightened her focus more she could make out a series of thudding noises in the distance- coming from the same direction as the booming sound she'd heard earlier- and getting closer.
It sounded like footsteps. Big ones. Whatever this was, it was no Beowolf. It was something huge, and it was making a bee line straight towards them.
Almost instinctually, rather than answering Blake's question, Carmella reached towards Carrot Stix at her hips.
But she didn't even have a chance to grab them before all hell broke loose.
There was a crack like thunder, then a shot of energy came blasting out of the thick woods in front of the three faunus. It was like a lightning bolt, but bright red, and it tore through the trees and bushes lining the path like they were nothing.
Thankfully, Sun was quick to act, having already drawn Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, and connected the two into their staff form. The monkey faunus spun his weapon out in front of the three of them in an effort to block and disperse the lightning, which worked... sorta.
The massive bolt of energy struck his spinning red weapon, but instead of spreading outward, continued to press against Sun and his transformed gunchucks. The tailed faunus grimaced under the weight and force of the attack, before eventually being overwhelmed, and he was pushed backwards, right into Blake and Carmella, and the trio was thrown through the forest.
To his credit, despite being knocked off his feet and into the air, Sun still maintained his grip on his weapon and continued to hold back the blast of energy with his spinning staff as the three teens were sent flying through the forest. Fortunately for the unwilling passengers on the unplanned trip, they managed to avoid hitting any large trees or skewering themselves on any branches. That didn't keep all the smaller pieces of foliage from whipping against their bodies as they flew though. The speed they traveled made each tiny branch and leaf feel like sharp blades against their skin.
Eventually the trees they were flying past disappeared as the three faunus were thrown into a clearing far from the path they'd started on. With a growl of exertion, Sun finally managed to push the blood red colored bolt off to the side where it sliced through a old looking oak- splitting the heavy tree clean in half like it was a made of toothpicks- before the energy finally dissipated.
With several grunts and groans, the faunus landed in a pile after rolling several dozen feet across the grass. Carmella had the misfortune of being the one on the bottom, with both Blake and Sun's weight on top of her. She let out a breath of relief as the other two faunus scrambled off of her, but the feeling didn't last.
Blake helped the rabbit girl to her feet, while Sun was hunched over trying to catch his breath. Blocking and deflecting such a huge attack had clearly taken a lot out of him, not to mention what it had done to his aura. The state he was in made it clear that he most likely wouldn't be able to pull off a similar stunt any time soon. The monkey faunus looked like he was barely on his feet, but fate wasn't about to allow him to rest.
All three faunus heard the sound this time, rapidly approaching, thunderous footsteps, shaking the ground. Not wasting another moment, Carmella quickly drew her tonfa, the thin blades on their end popping out as she prepared herself for whatever came next. Blake did the same, unsheathing Gambol Shroud and pointing the barrel of its pistol at the shaking trees before her. Sun straightened himself out as best he could while still taking in deep lungfulls of air.
Then the treeline in front of them exploded, multiple giant, thick rooted trees torn out of the ground as the Grimm that had been hunting them charged and leapt into the clearing.
It's massive, round, bulbous, black form blotted out the sun for a moment as it jumped towards the the faunus. It was easily the size of a large truck- not unlike the ones the faunus militia had traveled in- at least ten feet tall.
A few small, bone-like patches of armor covered its chest, the matching pair on each side had three long vertical slits, with red beneath that seemed to glow with a ferocity deserving of such a creature. Across its stomach were a series of jagged, teeth like protrusions, almost resembling a belt of some kind. From this angle, the four giant hooves underneath the beast looked even more intimidating than they probably did on the ground. On the end of each arm- instead of a hand or claw- was a long, club-like appendage, made of bone, with multiple spikes on all sides, both of which were held over its head as the Grimm plummeted downward.
Fortunately, all three faunus were quick on their feet, and nimbly leapt away as the pair of clubs slammed into the ground, shattering the earth and sending dirt and rocks flying in all directions.
For a moment, the Grimm didn't move from the crater it had created, its features clouded by the dust it had kicked up. Then, as the debris began to clear, it slowly raised its head- which was relatively small compared to its pudgy body- to face the trio of teenagers standing across from it.
The mask of bone that covered the beasts "face" was frozen in a gaping smile, with numerous sharp looking teeth jutting out, curving in multiple directions. Out of the monsters maw spewed a constant stream of black smoke- like an old muffler on a car- floating up into the air, before dissipating. Above that, was a small, pig-like nose, and a perpetually furrowed brow, with a pair angry looking eye holes which revealed nothing but darkness beneath.
Then, in the center of the Grimm's forehead, was one glowing, red eye, with a thin, slitted yellow pupil in the middle. It darted around erratically, between Carmella, Blake, and Sun.
Had she been not directly in the sights of this monstrous Grimm, Carm might've made a joke about the glowing, pulsating eye. Something along the lines of; "Oh gee, I wonder what this things weak spot might be?" It probably would have helped lighten the mood, but unfortunately the rabbit faunus was a bit too busy being completely and utterly terrified out of her mind at the moment.
Then, said eyeball focused in on the rabbit faunus and the thin pupil in its center constricted itself to the point it was barely visible. Red veins appeared around the eye, digging into the mask that covered the beasts head, and between the pair of long horns on top of the Grimm, a orb of red energy began to gather.
Immediately recognizing the color of the glowing ball, Carmella dived to the side. Sure enough, half a second later another crack of thunder rang out and a beam of lightning shot out from the concentrating energy right towards where Carm had been standing. The impact exploded the earth, shaking the trees surrounding the clearing. Then the beam began to cut across the ground, leaving a smoldering trail of fire and burnt grass in its wake.
All three faunus moved away from the attack, but unfortunately for Carmella, the Grimm seemed focused on her at moment, and it sent its red energy towards the retreating rabbit eared girl.
Knowing she couldn't outrun the beam for long, Carmella looked back over her shoulder and waited until the last possible moment before pivoting on her heel and leaping over the attack. She felt the overwhelming heat radiating off the energy as she passed over it, singeing the front of her oversized red t-shirt.
The rabbit faunus rolled as she landed, but immediately felt the same heat creeping up on her again as the Grimm merely redirected its head to send the beam at her once more.
Luckily for Carmella, a sudden barrage of bullets hit the monster in the side of the its small skull, sending its attack off course, over the brunette's head, just barely missing the rabbit girls long ears as she regained her footing.
Blake's attack might have bought Carmella the few precious seconds she needed, but the cat faunus knew better than to hope that it would do anything but annoy a creature of this size. She went to follow up, releasing her weapons trigger and gripping Gambol Shroud by its long ribbon and throwing her sword towards the Grimm's neck for a swift decapitation.
But the monsters attention had already turned towards the darker haired faunus and it- almost casually- leaned away from the sickle like blade as it got close. Blake was undaunted by this though, and used the momentum from her first swing to turn her weapon and body into a whirling dervish as she spun in midair towards her foe.
This strike made contact, but only with the beasts thick hide, which it barely even scratched, but that was the point. One strike might not do it, but that wasn't what Gambol Shroud was built for. Multiple, quick, focused slashes were the specialty of this weapon, and with enough precision strikes, the cat faunus knew she could break through the monsters tough skin. So she kept up her attacks, swinging her weapon around herself and actually even forcing the Grimm to take a step back under the pressure.
It was a sound strategy, and it might've worked against any other Grimm, but this one was old, seasoned in combat, against foes much stronger and faster.
The creature suddenly raised one of its club-like arms, making Gambol Shroud wrap around the spike covered bone. Blake had about a half a second to realize her mistake before she was yanked forward by her own ribbon towards the Grimm who already had its free "arm" reeled back, prepared to swing at the approaching faunus. It was like the monster somehow knew it's prey wouldn't be quick to let go of their precious weapon, and choose to use this to its advantage.
With a massive bone club heading straight for her, Blake quickly used her semblance and "jumped" up out of the way, leaving behind her shadow copy to get obliterated by the hit meant for her. Before she could celebrate though- or mount a counterattack- she was struck by the Grimm's other arm- the one with Gambol Shroud still wrapped around it. There was less wind up behind this swing at least, but it still stuck with a ferocity that spiked the tiny cat faunus to the ground. A flash of purple covered Blake at both the impact of the club and when she struck the grass, signifying the force behind each collision, as well as the toll they took on the teenagers aura.
Understandably dazed from the attack, Blake struggled back up to her hands and knees. At the very least, the clubbing she'd received had released her weapon from the Grimm's grip. She quickly picked it up, but then noticed a shadow looming over her.
The cat faunus looked up to see the monster standing over her with its arm raised again, ready to crush the life out of her with one final blow. Blake quickly brought up her weapon and fired several quick shots into the Grimm's face again... to no effect. The monsters masked head cocked to the side in response- almost mockingly- as it waited until the cat girls weapon fire was eventually replaced by the stomach sinking "click" of an empty chamber.
"Blake!" Carmella cried out, watching the whole scene before her play out in disbelief. She'd assumed Blake and her friends could handle something like this, much like they had at the convoy, but clearly she'd underestimated the threat level here. She rushed back in to help, but her earlier retreat had led her too far away. She wasn't going to get there in time.
The monster went to bring its club down when suddenly Sun- or something shaped liked him at least- collided with the Grimm, and exploded in a golden light.
Again, the damage was minimal at best, but the distraction allowed Blake to roll out of the way as the bone covered weapon slammed against the earth, leaving another small crater in its wake. The monsters attention was once again redirected, this time towards a still exhausted looking Sun who was standing across the clearing with his hands pressed tightly together in front of his face.
"Not so fast, tons of fun," the monkey faunus said in a tired sounding voice, before closing his eyes and focusing again, summoning two more golden colored, slightly transparent clones that rushed towards the Grimm.
A new target found, the Grimm advanced on Sun, galloping towards him with alarming speed. The first of the blonde faunus' clones closed in, but was immediately slapped aside with one swing from the monster arms, and the second was crushed beneath its giant hooves as it ran, barely even slowing it down.
Sun audibly gulped as he re-equiped his staff, preparing for the coming impact, but was shocked when he saw Carmella- who'd finally decided to stop gawking and actually help- jump onto the Grimm's back as it ran by, stabbing both her tonfa's blades into the beasts thick skin to hold on.
Noticing its new passenger immediately, the Grimm's head spun around- a full three hundred and sixty degrees- so its burning red eye was focused entirely on the rabbit girl that had hitched a ride. However, all it saw when it turned was one of the barrels of Carrot Stix pointed right at its tiny head.
With zero hesitation- and a complete lack of self preservation- Carmella pulled the trigger, sending an explosive dust shell right into the Grimm's face, as well as her own. The blast sent her flying, with a golden brown shimmer running across her skin. Carm hit the ground hard, but managed to roll with the fall and sprung back to her feet right away. She looked up, eager to see what damage a solid hit from her weapon had done, only to see the clouds of debris clear to reveal the giant Grimm staring at her, without a scratch on its tiny, stupid head.
"Oh, come on," Carmella muttered in disbelief under her breath.
Then the same glowing orb from earlier appeared between the monsters giant horns.
"OH, COME ON!" the rabbit girl shouted this time. Seriously!? Why was she always the one that got targeted by the beam of death?
Sun was having none of that however. He lashed out with his staff, this time targeting the beasts legs, trying at least one cripple of the four.
The limb did crumble under the force of the monkey faunus' swing, but there were four of them, and the Grimm merely raised another and thrust a hoof into Sun's chest with so much strength it made the tailed teen's eyes bulge at impact as he was sent him flying, with a long flare of golden energy from his aura.
Then it was Blake's turn again. The nimble cat girl followed Carmella's lead, hopping onto the massive creatures bulbous body and stabbing her sword into its flesh, with Gambol Shrouds pistol pointing right towards its face. She again emptied her clip, but also used her weapons bladed sheath to slash away at her Grimm's inky flesh while she fired.
This actually got the most reaction from the beast. A low roar seemed to come from the inside of the Grimm and it suddenly released a huge plume of black smoke from its masked maw right in Blake's face.
The black haired faunus coughed and sputtered, trying to expel the noxious gas that'd been forced into her lungs. She was forced to disengage, ripping out her weapon and leaping away just in time to dodge a bolt of red lightning fired at her in retaliation.
Carm watched on in stunned silence as the cat girl recovered almost instantly, throwing out her weapon and wrapped its ribbon around one of the monsters horns, using it to swing away from the persisting beam of energy. The Grimm didn't seem at all hampered by the extra weight as Blake swung by, it merely raised one of its clubs again to try and swat at the raven haired faunus as she passed, but the nimble teen was able to weave around the blows while picking up speed with each rotation. Then, once she'd gathered enough, Blake switched her trajectory, swinging low, and suddenly straight up, using her ribbons elasticity to launch herself into the air above the Grimm, and taking her weapon with her.
The monsters one eye followed the movement intensely, red energy gathering between its horns again as it prepared to shoot the flying faunus out of the sky as she fell. It never got the chance to fire though, as Sun came rushing back in and clocked the unaware Grimm in the side of the head with his staff. The blow seemed to disorient the beast, and the energy it had gathered fizzled out as it turned to the monkey faunus and swung its mighty arms at him.
Sun merely jumped and flipped out of the way, laughing and "whooping" loudly as he did, waiting for an opening. When he found it, the blonde faunus separated his staff again and blasted both Riyu Bang and Jingu Bang's shotguns to take out two of the beasts legs at once this time, actually causing it to stumble a bit as half of its footing crumbled underneath it.
It was far from defeated though. The Grimm raised its head and stared at the monkey faunus, the slitted pupil in its one eye almost seeming to vibrate with an intensity that could only be interpreted as anger.
Sun was undaunted however, he just smiled, chuckling lightly, before casually pointing upwards into the sky. The Grimm followed the faunus' finger, craning its neck upwards to see Blake hurtling down upon it, sword back, poised to strike.
With a roar of exertion, the cat girl brought her weapon down on the monster, a burning streak of purple energy following her blade as it swung, accompanied by a satisfying *Shing* sound as Gambol Shroud sliced through its target.
For a moment after the impact, the forest returned to its serene quiet. Blake remained in the crouched position she'd landed in, sword still out in front of her, now covered in inky black goo. The Grimm continued to stand in place, head still craned upwards, as if it was still waiting for the cat girl to fall.
Then the creature began to wobble in place, before falling over onto its side with a thunderous crash.
Carmella's jaw dropped at the display. She'd been impressed with Ruby and the others at the convoy attack, but this was incredible to witness. Granted, the rabbit girl wished she had been able to do more to help, but clearly she'd been right in thinking Sun and Blake hadn't needed her to take down this massive Grimm... or so it seemed.
Blake let out a long breath, before she rose to her feet, still a little shaky from the intense landing she'd just experience, but before she could even get up all the way, the Grimm began stirring again.
All three faunus stared in disbelief as the monster rolled over and used the elbow joints below its large, bone covered arms to push itself back onto its feet. It was by no means a graceful recovery, but the creature accomplished the task easy enough, and none of the teens could shake themselves out of their shock enough to stop it.
Once it was standing again, a large, vertical gash going from the top of its chest to the bottom was revealed. However, a thick, bubbling black liquid began to cover the wound, and a second later it all fell away to reveal no trace of having suffered any attack at all. Even its pair of wounded legs cracked and popped as they set themselves back into place.
The monster raised both its clubs above its head again and slammed them down in front of it, with Blake only barely managing to use her semblance to slip away, before Sun and her resumed their attacks.
Carm continued to watch. She wanted to jump in there too, but after what they'd witnessed up to this point she couldn't help but wonder what good it would do.
Look at their party; Two of them were on the edge of exhaustion- a problem the Grimm didn't seem to be facing anytime soon- and their last member was too inexperienced to do anything aside from getting in the way.
This was too much. They couldn't do this... not alone.
Without wasting another second, Carm reactivated her semblance, funneling all her fear and panic through the link she shared.
...And if that doesn't get her attention...
The long eared faunus raised Carrot Stix and fired a shot into the sky. The red dust charge screamed into the air before exploding above the treetops.
The rabbit girl smiled at the large, crimson signal she'd made in the sky before she heard Blake call out to her. She turned back to the matter at hand just in time to see a massive bone club swinging towards her.
Time slowed down as Carmela's eyes widened. Images of what those giant clubs had proven capable of so far ran through Carm's head. All she could think to do was bring her arms up in front of her in hopes that would help cushion the-
It did not.
Normal Grimm hit like a truck. She knew that much, even with her minuscule amount of experience. This was different. This was... Well, the only thing Carmella could equate this pain to was getting hit with a much bigger truck, but said truck was also full of bricks, anvils, and every other imaginable hard and heavy thing in the universe. Oh, and also the truck was on fire.
After the pain, the rabbit girl felt herself flying through the air, and then everything went dark, but only for a second or two. Then Carmella suddenly found herself running through a forest, almost exactly like the one she'd been fighting in. She felt her lungs and muscles burning as she ran at full speed, a panic induced sweat on her forehead, all the while a constant mantra played in repeat in her head;
She needs me. I have to get to her.
Then, just as quickly, Carm woke up. The long eared faunus opened her bleary eyes to find herself laying on the grass. Not far away, Carmella saw Sun and Blake still fighting to hold off the massive Grimm, no doubt in an attempt to protect her while she recovered.
The slightly delirious faunus got her hands underneath her and tried to push herself up, giving her head a quick shake to help remove the cobwebs. Her head hurt like hell, not to mention her arms, which had taken the brunt of the damage, but all things considered she knew it could have been a lot worse. Thank goodness for aura, otherwise that hit would probably have left her as a red smear on the grass.
But what was that just now? Had she blacked out? Had she been dreaming? That must've been what happened, but at the same time, that... vision, or whatever it was felt like so much more than that.
UGH! Hallucinate later. Fight monster now, Carm berated herself internally. She saw one half of Carrot Stix had landed not far from her and quickly picked it up, firing off a few shots from her down position at Grimm's backside.
This of course, got the monsters attention again. It turned its masked head around towards the source of the exploding shell that just hit it and began charging the energy between its horns once again.
Well... that was probably a bad idea, the rabbit girl thought with dread. Seriously, why was it always her? She knew how fast that things death-laser was, and Carm hadn't even stood up yet. There was no way she'd be able to dodge this time.
But then, the beasts focus shifted off the downed faunus and onto something else. Something that had just burst into the clearing. Carm didn't even have to look to know who it was, somehow she just knew, but still, the rabbit girl couldn't help but turn her head in Ilia's direction.
She was relieved to see her girlfriend, of course- any lingering bitterness over their disagreement this morning all but evaporated at the sight of her- but at the same time, Carmella knew exactly where the Grimm was aiming now.
"Ilia!" Carm yelled as her partner landed on the grass, her cerulean eyes already locked onto the monster that she'd been summoned to assist with.
Out of the corner of her eye, Carmella saw the energy continuing to charge above the beast, until it finally reached its peak.
"RUN!" She commanded, but it was too late.
There was another crack of thunder, and all Carmella could do was watch.
The beam rocketed towards Ilia, her eyes widening as the red light filled her vision.
Just then, two loud booms rang out and something big collided with the chameleon faunus from behind, knocking her to the ground as the bolt of lighting tore a hole through the tree Ilia had just been standing in front of a second ago.
The whole thing had happened so fast, the spotted faunus was convinced she'd been hit. All she saw was darkness, but then she felt the grass and dirt against her cheek, as well as the- not unsubstantial- weight of something pinning her down onto the ground. Whatever it was, it was practically crushing her, and Ilia began to struggle underneath the weight. She managed to turn her head to the side, giving her access to light- and some much needed air- to see a familiar golden prosthetic hand pressed down beside her face.
Turning her head to the other side for a better view upwards, Ilia finally was able to see it was Yang that was currently on top of her. The blondes entire body was pressing the smaller- and scrawnier- chameleon girl into the forest floor.
The blonde must have pushed Ilia out of the way at the last second. The idea that Yang had probably just saved her life did not escape the chameleon faunus. A human had just thrown herself into the literal line of fire to save her.
It was weird to think that as recently as a month ago the very idea of something along those lines happening to Ilia was completely inconceivable to her. Even if it had happened back then, the gesture alone would fill the ponytailed faunus with suspicion, not to mention disgust. Now though? Well... Ilia wasn't sure how to feel.
She was grateful- of course- but also maybe a little embarrassed? Ashamed that she'd been so careless, throwing herself into a situation that required her to be saved in the first place. Bruised ego aside though, she was thankful Yang had the foresight to charge after her when she'd decided to bolt off into the woods like a maniac.
As thankful as she was however, Ilia couldn't help but wish the taller girl would get off her already. Most of the chameleon girls tiny form was still pinned beneath Yang's clearly much more muscular body.
I mean, there were worse people the spotted faunus could think of to get stuck underneath, but-
Killing that thought before it could get off the ground- she did have a girlfriend now after all, a fact that was still as bewildering as it ever was- Ilia began trying to squirm out from underneath Yang.
"Uh... guys?"
She only got about halfway out before she Yang's voice from above her.
"...What is that?"
Ilia turned back and then followed Yang's line of sight over to...
Oh. Right.
The Grimm was still standing where it had been when the ponytailed faunus first saw it, and was currently charging up for another attack, but before it could fire, another person entered the clearing.
Neptune leapt up into the air over both Yang and Ilia, his weapon held back over his head, currently in its trident form and crackling with electricity.
Quickly taking aim, he threw Tri Hard towards the Grimm. The aerodynamic weapon cut through the space between like it was nothing, striking the monster right in the center of its one, bulbous eye.
A monstrous, muffled roar exploded from the Grimm as its head recoiled back in pain, grotesquely spinning around a full one hundred and eight degrees as it wailed, Neptunes trident remaining embedded in place as it did. The creatures bone covered arms flailed wildly as it swung mindlessly a few times before its suddenly stopped, its shoulders slumping. Then, one by one, the Grimm's legs gave out from under it, causing it to fall to the ground, where its impaled head slumped forward and the glowing red parts on its body dimmed.
Neptune took a few deep breaths, as his steely blue eyes stared at the fallen Grimm, his arm still outstretched from his throw. Then suddenly, a look of recognition flashed across his face.
"Holy crap," He exclaimed loudly as he pointed at the Grimm with his still outstretched hand. "Is that an Oni?"
Yang finally got up off of Ilia, allowing the chameleon girl to escape. She accepted the blonde's offered hand to help life her to her feet as well, and then began to brush the dirt and grass off her frontside.
"What's an O-" was as far as the ponytailed girl got before she was tackled to the ground yet again, this time by Carmella.
The rabbit faunus' arms wrapped tightly around Ilia's midsection as she buried her face in the other teens torso.
After being reintroduced to the dirt covered forest floor, the spotted teen stared up into the sky with a deadpan expression for a moment, resisting her best to hold in the exasperated sigh building in her throat. Eventually, she craned her neck downward, gently pushing aside the pair of long rabbit ears sticking up into her face- their short, brown hairs tickling her chin- so she could make out the top of Carmella's brunette covered head.
Carm hadn't said a word yet, which Ilia knew was a clear sign that she was upset. If she'd learned anything over these past few weeks it's that her long eared girlfriend was a talker, and that when Carmella didn't want to talk, that meant things were especially bad.
"Hey..." Ilia said, moving a hand down to caress the back of Carm's head- and in the process allowing one of her rabbit ears to flick back up into Ilia's face- "eyes up?" She asked quietly.
Almost reluctantly, Carmella lifted her head out of the other teens chest, her quivering lips and glistening, golden colored eyes making it look like she was ready to burst into tears any minute. Not that Ilia could really blame her. This was the second time in as many weeks that Carm had seen her inches from demise. Of course she was scared, and if the chameleon girl was being honest with herself, she was too.
It was weird. Throwing herself into harms way had never really bothered Ilia before. She did what she had to get the job done, mainly to please her superiors. Taking risks was just a part of the world she lived in, she never thought twice about it. It wasn't entirely her fault, obviously the chameleon girl didn't have a death wish or anything. The idea that the greatest honor she could achieve in life was laying down her life for a cause as noble and worthwhile as her peoples future had been drilled into her brain for years, namely by the kinds of people that viewed her life as just that; Expendable.
Now though? The further Ilia separated herself from the White Fang, the more she found herself surrounded by people that genuinely cared about her and her well being, with one extra special someone at the center of them all. Someone who wanted her to be safe more than anything, someone whose life would be irrevocably changed if something were to ever happen to her, and someone who Ilia could easily say she felt the same way about. That in itself was a little scary, but at the same time, as the spotted faunus looked down at the rabbit eared nuisance that had stumbled into her life- which even Ilia herself had to admit she'd once seen as tiny and expendable- she knew it was worth it.
Ilia smiled as she moved her hand from the back of Carm's head to her cheek, her thumb tracking slow, small circles beneath the other faunus' eye, as if promising to catch any stray tears that might try and escape.
"Still here," the chameleon girl said softly, trying to push away the fear and panic she could still feel racing throughout Carmella.
After a quiet sniffle, Carm smiled back. "Good," she said curtly, before leaning forward and pecking her lips against the bottom of the spotted girls chin.
While all this was going on, the rest of the teenagers were regrouping. Blake and Sun hobbled their way over to where Yang and Neptune were standing. The former group of two was clearly exhausted from their fight with the Grimm, while the blonde brawler and the blue haired boy continued to stare in disbelief as the sheer size of the monster Neptune had just dealt the finishing blow to.
Yang was the first to notice the pair approach, her lavender eyes almost immediately locking onto the cat girls amber colored ones. Blake stared back, looking very much like a deer in headlights. Neither seemed to know what to say, the heavy air of awkwardness only growing with each passing second.
Thankfully Sun was there. The monkey faunus nudged Blake with his elbow as he walked by the pair, making the cat eared girl stumble forward at bit, closer to Yang, before he continued making his way over to Neptune.
The raven haired faunus shot Sun a dirty look that bounced harmlessly off the side of his head as he sauntered by, his tail swinging proudly behind him.
A small chuckle escaped Yang at the cat girls cross expression, which snapped Blake's attention back in her partners direction. Seeing the tiny grin that snuck onto the human girls face, the cat faunus offered her own tentative smile. It wasn't much, but enough to break the ice at least.
"You okay?" Yang asked genuinely.
Blake nodded, her smile growing more confident. "Yeah, it was a little rough. We're uh... we're lucky you guys showed up when you did, thanks to Carmella."
The easy back and forth continued as the two girls seemed to show signs of the familiar rhythm they'd once had with one another. Sun smirked back over his shoulders, clasping his hands behind his head as he walked. Not a bad start.
Finally arriving at his own teammate, the monkey faunus wrapped an arm around the blue haired teenagers neck and pulled him close. Neptune, being too distracted by the "Oni," was caught completely off guard and nearly yanked off his feet.
"Nice work, buddy," Sun said loudly, rocking his partners head back and forth excitedly. "Look at you, swinging in and saving the day. Seriously, you gave me goosebumps back there."
"Yeah. I know. I can feel them." Neptune replied from under his teammates arm, sounding annoyed. "Hey! Hey! Watch the hair!" He added in distress when Sun began shaking him harder in response to his unenthusiastic answer.
Eventually the blue haired teen managed to escape and tried to push Sun away, but this just seemed to egg the monkey faunus on more and soon the two boys struggle evolved into what was essentially a slap fight between them.
"Uhh... you guys?"
Yang's voice pulled Ilia and Carmella out of their usual contest to see who could stare longing into each others eyes the longest. It also put a halt to the "fight" between Sun and Neptune. The boys froze mid scuffle, with the latter having his fingers inside Sun's mouth and pulling at the edges of the monkey faunus' lips, while the other teen was currently squeezing his partner cheeks together making his face pucker. All four teens stopped what they were doing and turned to Yang, who had one of the fingers on her prosthetic hand pointed towards the Grimm.
"I'm no expert," she said anxiously, "buuuut aren't those things supposed to disappear when they die?"
Sure enough, the giant Grimm was still there, with Neptune's trident sticking out of in its forehead, slumped over and unmoving, but not disintegrating like most of its kind did.
Ilia finally decide to untangle herself from Carmella, and the two faunus rose to their feet cautiously. They both eyed the creature warily as black smoke continued to pour out of the mouth of its mask and into the blue sky.
"That... can't be good, can it?" Carm said, and then the forest floor began to shake.
All six teens stumbled slightly from the sudden tremors, which seemed to be radiating from the fallen Grimm. The lines marking its body began to light up again, especially the parts underneath the slits on each side of the monsters chest, which seemed to be glowing with an extra ferocity, different from before. Then the slits began to widen, revealing not only a sea of red, but a burning orange core in the center of each one.
They weren't just markings. They were eyes. A second set on the Grimm's torso.
The newly formed eyes rolled around in the crimson color around them, before finally settling, focusing on the six teenagers standing across from it.
Then the Grimm began to stand.
"Should we-"
"Yes, we should," Yang cut off Carmella mid sentence, before launching herself towards the recovering Grimm.
The rest of the teens went to follow, when the monster suddenly raised its bone-club appendages up into the air, and let out another muffled sounding roar. There was a sickening crackling sound as the weapons it was holding began to spilt down the middle, starting at their spike covered ends and going all the way down to the Grimm's massive, black body, until it's two arms became four.
It swung its weapons down at Yang, attacking with a speed unlike anything it had shown up until this point. The blonde was spiked into the earth, so hard she bounced back up into the air, which left her wide open for another swing by the monster, and then another, and another, and the Grimm capped off the flurry of blows with a heavy kick from one of its hooves, sending Yang flying out of the clearing and into the woods, splintering the trees she crashed into as she disappeared from sight.
All the remaining teens gazes followed the blonde as she shot through the air just over their heads. Once Yang was gone, each one of them slowly looked back towards the Grimm- the Oni- that stood across from them. The beast reared back again and let another massive roar, sounding like thunder in the distance that shook the earth. Then it began dragging one of its back hooves across the ground, looking as if it was preparing to charge its remaining foes.
The five teenagers stared back with a severe lack of confidence on their faces. They were all thinking the same thing, but only Sun vocalized the thought;
"Welp, we're dead."