Weird, everyone's in agreement. When you encounter a weird child asking you questions in the middle of the night, you just go 'nope' and get out of there. No one is paying you enough to deal with them. Jaune and Ruby have their work cut out for them. Their normal strategy of just slicing Grimm into pieces might be harder on human Grimm. Mentally if not physically. It's something neither of those two have the experience or resolve to do.
Also, my backstory with Raven and Summer may be closer than we realized. Fascinating. No spoilers in the comments please.
If you like my stories and feel like tossing a few bucks my way, it means a lot. If not, that's fine too. This is NOT to guilt anyone. Regardless of what happens, I'm going to continue to write stuff I enjoy. But if you are interested, see the address down below. (This site doesn't like websites.)
P a treon . com (Slash) Darkbetrayer
Thanks to UrsaMJR and his friend Nbappo for agreeing to Beta this chapter. He always comes through when I need help.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Jaune and Ruby couldn't help but take an apprehensive step backward as the child inched closer to them. Pale skin shone in an unearthly glow below the moonlight, accentuating the boy's jet-black eyes.
"Who- No. What is that!?" Ruby gasped, her eyes unable to leave the pale and ghostly face of the child.
"I don't know." Jaune admitted that his mouth was dry and his hands sweaty. He took a deep, calming breath, trying his hardest not to let the budding fear show on his face. "Stay back!" Jaune raised his blade. "Don't make me do this!"
He was more than certain that it was a Grimm; it had to be. At the same time, it looked way too much like a child for his body to act on his thoughts. Logically, they should strike it down quickly before it attacked them, or worse, escape and kill an innocent person. Even so, aside from the empty black eyes, the snow-like pale skin, and bulging black veins, it resembled the kids of the village far too much. In fact, the raccoon-like tail reminded him of a boy he met recently.
Maybe that was the answer. Was this some kind of Grimm that could disguise itself as a human to lure people away from town? Using a familiar face and voice to disarm anyone it came into contact with?
Was this the Grimm's true form?
Did some of the Grimm evolve into humanoids?
"Stop!" Ruby spoke up beside him, throwing an order at the slowly approaching child. "Don't come any closer!" Jaune glanced over and observed the girl's expression. She must have been fighting the same conflicting emotions as he was. Ruby could annihilate swaths of Grimm in an instant, but she wasn't a killer. That girl was one of the kindest and most good-hearted people Jaune knew. Killing a child, even a Grimm that held the likeness of one, went against everything they stood for.
How could they do something like that?
"WhOoo a-a-aRe yOu?" The creepy, high-pitched voice asked again, the subtle cracks in its speech urging an unnerving feeling from deep within his gut. Was that all it could say? The boy seemed to repeat the same phrase over and over, warped and warbled like a worn-out record stuck on repeat.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
The male voice that came from behind them shocked Jaune and Ruby to their senses. A guard had appeared, drawn to the noise just like them. At first, he probably thought the kids were just talking among themselves, but when his eyes fell on the humanoid Grimm, he couldn't help but voice his surprise. His eyes widened in shock and horror as his mouth fell open. Jaune was about to tell him to go alert the others, but he was barely able to open his mouth when he heard Ruby let out a warning.
"JAUNE!"
Mentally cursing at himself for his distraction, Jaune barely managed to raise his shield in time. A weight collided against it with strength far beyond that of a normal boy. With startling speed, the Grimm child launched itself at him. Not as fast as Ruby, but far surpassing a normal person. Cementing in his mind that this thing had to be a Grimm. The kids' hands were scrambling against the shield, stout nails scraping across its smooth surface, while the young boy's face pressed against the metal, a drooling maw snapping at Jaune with bared teeth.
"Warn the town!" Jaune yelled at the guard, pushing back with his full strength and swinging his shield to put some space between him and the Grimm. The kid stumbled back and hit the house behind him with a dull thud. "Hurry! We got this!"
"Right!" The man turned and ran toward the town hall. He was just a volunteer watchman, not a true guard.
The Grimm child soon stood back up, its body moving unnaturally, as if a toddler was getting used to its first step. It twitched, stumbling forward with loose steps while its eyes remained fixed on the blonde boy. Ruby raised her scythe and was preparing to strike, only to stop herself midway through a step. Jaune saw her face contrast with confusion and then fear. Not sure why, he scanned the kid for anything unusual, like a random tail or tentacle that would shoot out and try to strangle them. There wasn't anything like that. Only a few drops of blood pooled down from its fingers, where a nail was torn from clawing at Jaune's shield.
"Wait… Blood?"
Not black ichor or a dark substance like traditional Grimm, but distinctly red, metallic-smelling blood. Human and Faunus blood. That wasn't right. Grimm blood was pitched black and didn't have this rustic scent. If anything, it was more like tar that slowly vanished into smoke over time as the rest of the Grimm disintegrated.
Yet, this kid was bleeding bright red blood.
"Jaauuunneee…" Ruby spoke with further confusion and uncertainty filling her tone.
"I know, I see it!" Jaune didn't know what to make of it either.
Gritting her teeth, Ruby flickered forward as she rushed the kid. She swung Crescent Rose towards the child, but instead of committing the blade to separate his head from his torso, she instead used the side of the large weapon to land a devastating blow onto the monstrous boy's face. His body pathetically slumped to the ground from the harsh impact. At her speed, the hit would have probably snapped his neck had she not held back. At worst, he had probably sustained a broken nose or some deep bruising. Ruby rolled out the rest of her momentum across the grass, standing up a moment later in preparation to pin the boy to the ground, before she felt his clammy hand grasp around the ankle of her boot.
The creature was still conscious, and its eyes were glued onto her.
"WHo Are yOoUu?
The hand gripped tightly on the girl's foot as it repeated the same question, and a strength far beyond what a child could muster began to tighten the hold on her boot. Jaune ran forward as Ruby was pulled to the ground, stumbling from the ironclad hold. The kid reached forward with his other hand and began to climb up her legs, soon taking hold of her arm, which held her weapon. Ruby spun the scythe's hilt around and knocked the hand away while Jaune ran up and slammed his shield down onto the boy, managing to loosen the grip the black-eyed child had on Ruby. The frightened girl jumped back as Jaune pinned the boy down with all his might, forcing him to start flailing under the metal with ragged and pained gasps like a cornered beast.
"Don't let it touch you!" Ruby warned in a panic.
''Ngh-! What?" Jaune turned his head toward her as he struggled to hold the Grimm down.
"I felt something when it grabbed me, like a weird pulse on my skin."
"This doesn't make sense!" Jaune growled, struggling to keep the boy from squirming free. Why was it so powerful? "We need-..."
What they needed, he never got to say as an ear-splitting screech blasted out from multiple points around the down, echoing and magnifying each other. Lights flickered on, and questioning shouts were heard in every direction. The guard had finally alerted the town. Hopefully now the citizens would board themselves up in their homes as the guards and Kali's forces helped them stop… whatever this was.
A woman's scream suddenly pierced the night. Slightly muffled, but Jaune and Ruby both looked up in alarm. It hadn't come from a distance. The scream came from within the house next to them. Where this boy presumably came out of. Instantly worried about whether there were more of these Grimm children in there, Ruby prepared to break inside. Until they heard a woman rush towards the front door, close enough that they could make out what she was saying.
"Tobias!? Where are you?! Where's my son!?"
Jaune's blood ran cold as his gaze fell back down onto the small body beneath his shield.
Could this boy be…?
The door to the house burst open as a frantic woman with disheveled hair and frightened eyes stepped out. Regardless of the alarm, her first instinct was to find her child. So as her eyes fell on Jaune, pinning the Grimm child to the ground with Ruby nearby, holding her weapon, the woman opened her mouth, about to say something or more likely scream. That's when the Grimm took advantage of the momentary distraction. Jaune's grip had loosened slightly as his eyes met the woman's. That was more than enough for the kid to turn over from under the shield and kick Jaune in the chest, temporarily knocking the breath out of his lungs.
"AHHHHHHH!" The woman screamed as the now-freed boy leaped at her. He knocked her off her feet, crashing the two of them off the front steps of the house and back onto the ground. The boy was sitting on top of her, his black eyes boring holes into her face. Ruby was the first to find her footing, stepping forward as Jaune started to push himself up, but both of them suddenly forgot what they were doing when they saw what was happening.
The pale, almost glowing skin on the boy was beginning to turn from ashen white back to a healthy tan color. Black veins were receding and vanishing. The boy's hair was turning brown, starting from the roots and moving to the very tip of his hair. His eyes began to turn normal as the white sclera of his eyes cleared themselves of the dark, ink-like substance that previously shadowed them. His brown irises distinctly shone through as the darkness receded. In a span of only a few seconds, the boy was completely normal, though he would collapse atop the woman a moment later.
They couldn't even process what happened before something else caught their attention.
"It… transferred?" Ruby gasped, horrified.
As quickly as the boy turned normal, the woman, his mother, had turned into the same abomination. Her healthy, light skin turned white like marble; her hair lost all of its color; and her eyes began to grow darker than the blackest night. Veins started to run through the white skin, pulsing with an ominous and odd energy. She stood up, a larger and more intimidating presence than the child, one far more threatening in size. The Grimm jerked her head as if a sudden chill ran down its spine before it looked upon Jaune with a menacing expression.
"Jaune…" Ruby continued. "That Grimm… It's possessing people!"
"WHERE'S MY SON!?"
Those three words the woman bellowed made Jaune feel like he had been doused in ice-cold water. They had been the last words that the woman had uttered before being taken over by the Grimm. Now the Grimm was repeating them. Was that all it could do? The kid had kept repeating the same question over and over too.
Jaune could see the entire scene unfold in his mind. A child, asleep in his bed, is woken up by a noise or an unidentified silhouette. The first words he would utter would be 'Who are you?' only to be taken over by a Grimm that would use him as its vessel.
The question that was left in his mind was: How do they kill the Grimm that is taking over innocent people? They couldn't simply kill the host. Along with that question, why was it making people leave the village? Was the cave that they discovered this thing's lair? If so, why did it need to find such a secluded spot to consume its prey? Jaune had no idea as to why, but for now he needed to focus.
At the very least, they found out what the cause of the disappearances was.
Not that it made Jaune feel any better.
"Where's my son!" The possessed woman reached her veiny hand down and grabbed the unconscious kid by the throat.
"NO!" Ruby shouted, darting forward and using the blunt side of her scythe to attack the woman. Metal collided into the side of the woman's face, knocking her back with tremendous force. The impact caused her to let go of the boy, who limply fell to the ground with a thud. Jaune knew his friend, and while she hated hurting an innocent person, it was a small price to pay in comparison to a mother killing her own child.
Grimm were monsters, but this one was in a league of its own. Jaune believed it wasn't as battle-inclined as the other, more beastly Grimm. Yet even so, its power was far more difficult to deal with.
The Grimm pushed itself up on its feet and looked at Ruby. It was hard to tell what those soulless black eyes felt, but Jaune could swear anger radiated from deep within the possessed Faunus. Maybe it was the same rage all Grimm held towards humans and Faunus. Nevertheless, what it did next surprised both of them. The woman turned and bolted down the alleyway away from them, her legs awkwardly pattering against the paved stones of the street as her back began to disappear into the night.
"Jaune, protect the kid!" Ruby yelled, beginning her pursuit. "I'll go after the Grimm!"
"Be careful, it's stronger than it looks!" Jaune shouted at the retreating figure.
"I know!"
What they were going to do to free the host, neither of them knew. They weren't going to discuss that yet until one of them got an idea. There was no point in creating more distracting questions for them to answer. Right now, the main priority was to stop the Grimm from using its hosts to kill other people. Jaune had already hesitated because the first possessed villager was a child; he could only imagine how those who knew the hosts would feel. It was a twisted way to hunt. A monster that prayed on the connections and good will of others. A parent wouldn't want to kill a child, or vice versa, so they would be left defenseless when faced with the monstrous facade of someone they recognized.
Jaune would have to trust Ruby, as he needed to get the kid to safety. Running over to the unconscious boy, he effortlessly picked up the child and looked around while holding him in his arms. He heard some shouting in the distance, so the Grimm must have run into guards. Jaune wanted to get over there and help, but he had to make sure the kid was secured. The door to the house was open, so without any better option, letting the boy lay out in the open wasn't a choice, Jaune carried the kid inside. He figured he'd prefer the warm comfort of his couch rather than the gravel beneath their feet.
Just as he had stepped into the living space, he felt the boy stir in his arms.
"Ah… ugh… MOM!"
Well, it was good he was fit enough to shout.
"Calm down kid… you're safe." Jaune told him, laying him on the couch in the living room, careful not to agitate any of the wounds he may have received.
"It-It hurts…!" The boy wailed, a little line of blood trailing down his slightly off centered nose. While Ruby had held back, she still smacked him in the face with her scythe. "Moooom…!"
"It's okay, your mom will be back soon, Tobias." Jaune tried to keep his tone calm and reassuring, even using his name. "You're going to be fine, but you need to hold still. Do you remember what happened?"
"You're the Huntsmen…" The boy turned his head slightly and looked at him, finally realizing who he was. "Where's my mom?"
"She's out but will be back soon." Jaune lied again and repeated the question. "My name's Jaune, Jaune Arc. Do you remember what happened? Please, it's important and you'll be helping me out."
Tobias flinched, as a sudden memory invaded his thoughts, his eyes growing wide from recollection.
"There was a Grimm!" Tobias gasped. "In my room!"
"Can you tell me what it looked like?" Jaune asked, trying to get some information quickly before leaving to hunt the Grimm. He trusted Ruby to take care of things, but he couldn't just hide and wait without doing anything. "Please, anything you can tell me will help us find it and stop it from hurting anyone else."
"It was a shadow." Tobius told him. "With red eyes." He flinched and shifted slightly. "My body hurts…" Jaune really wished he could heal the boy and make him feel better, but his Semblance was Amplification, not healing. Only people with unlocked Aura could be healed with it. "I don't remember what happened."
"We're taking care of it." Jaune assured him, putting a hand lightly on his shoulder. He noticed the kid's wrist seemed red and swollen. It might have been sprained, but hopefully not broken. He must have landed on it wrong when they tried to knock him out. "Listen, I know you're hurt, but I need to go out and beat the Grimm. Can you be strong and wait?"
"I'll try." The kid took a deep breath. "I don't think I can really move. I'm really sore."
"Stay here and keep quiet; I'll make sure someone comes to check on you." Jaune held a finger to his lip. "I'm going to go beat the Grimm. You don't have to worry."
"Promise you'll save my village?" Tobias asked.
"I promise." Jaune held out a pinkie, and the boy took it weakly in his own before he stood up and prepared to leave. "You don't know this, but I never go back on my word."
Closing the door behind him, Jaune took off toward the sound of shouting.
"Don't shoot her!" Ruby yelled desperately, she had chased the woman into a corner, a hard task for the quick girl since the unnaturally strong mother kept resisting her bindings. She was now standing between her and several armed guards, the men not fully aware of the situation, evident in their perplexed faces. "She's not a Grimm!"
"Are you serious!?" One of the militia guard members shouted, as he and three others had guns aimed at the woman. "That's obviously a Grimm!"
"No, the Grimm's possessing her!" Ruby raised her weapon and was trying to watch her front and back simultaneously. As the Grimm proved with Jaune, the moment it had an opening, it would strike.
"Where's my son?" The Grimm woman asked. That question seemed to unnerve the guards further, whose guns shook slightly at the cold, high-pitched words.
The supposed commander faltered under the dark and lifeless gaze of the lady. Even for a moment, he hesitated to give an order; nevertheless, his first priority was the safety of the town. "All the more reason to kill it now!" The man countered. "Men, fi-...!"
"STOP!" Ruby screamed, her plea going unheard over the sound of multiple gunshots.
A gurgled shriek rang out as the woman fell, red blood splattering the wall behind her.
Ruby stood there, frozen in horror. Even with her speed, she couldn't react fast enough to shield the woman from the barrage of bullets that rained upon her body. As she lay in a puddle of her own blood, Ruby could only feel the color drain from her face as an innocent woman who did nothing but try to find her son lay riddled with bullets mere feet away from her.
She was dead, used by a Grimm, and killed by the guards who were trying to protect their town. A horrific sight which made her knees nearly buckle from under her very own weight. A bitter yet acidic taste started to well up in her throat as she tried not to vomit.
This… wasn't supposed to happen.
She was a Huntress, a protector, and yet she couldn't save a single person.
"Check the Grimm." The captain told one of the guards, having regained order in his thoughts. Years of being out here probably hardened his heart in situations like this. A good survival instinct, but one Ruby couldn't appreciate. All the poor stunned girl could do was clutch tightly to her weapon as one of the town's militia began to carefully approach the Grimm woman laying on the ground. Keeping his gun aimed at the monster, he got up close and leaned over to look at her face.
"There's not much blood…" The man muttered, confused. Then, as his eyes met the presumably dead face of the woman, he saw her eyes shift to meet his own gaze. "It's still alive! Shi-!"
He didn't get a chance to say anything else as the woman leaped up and a hand grabbed the man's face. This time, not just Ruby saw what happened; everyone else did too. The woman began to turn back to normal. Her skin and hair grew darker, the black veins receded, and her eyes regained their splendor. However, the man she was holding was now becoming an abomination. As the woman collapsed, the possessed guard turned toward the others, raising the gun he held in his now-veiny arms.
"GET DOWN!" The captain yelled.
Gunfire rang out as the Grimm began to shoot.
Ruby darted around the creature to the far side, trying to get to the woman. Bullets weren't something she was unaccustomed to. In fact, it was pretty normal. Back in Beacon, they trained in combat class using live ammunition. Aura helped protect them from projectiles, along with claws and teeth. The guards weren't as lucky and had to take cover. The shots went wide and no one was hit but chunks were taken out of the nearby buildings.
"It's still alive!" The Grimm shouted.
A frown quickly formed on Ruby's face.
'The bullets went too wide.'
Even a child should have been able to aim better than that. It was as if the Grimm only had the capacity to imitate. A crude shadow of what a proper person was able to do. Silver eyes widened as she thought about this. The previous hosts kept repeating the same thing over and over, and now the guard was too. Could the possession only be partial? Not full control, like access to the brain? It had tried to strangle the kid when it possessed the mom, so it had the terrible Grimm instincts to kill helpless people.
That's why Ruby was getting ready to save the injured woman, before the Grimm turned that gun on her. It may not have been able to understand aiming, but a point blank shot would probably end a normal person's life. The Grimm guard kept firing, before the gun began to click. Ruby felt herself smile slightly. Finally, something good came of it. The concept of ammo was lost on the thing. Stepping forward, Ruby vanished in a flood of petals, darting forward and picking up the woman off the ground, before zipping into the distance while the possessed guard had no time to turn around.
"It's still alive!" The guard shouted, finally noticing Ruby taking the unconscious woman.
"Kill him!" The captain ordered, raising his own gun.
"But sir!" One of the other guards argued. "The Grimm's possessing-...!"
"I know, damn it! But it's better to be dead than letting him be a plaything of that monster!"
"Sir, we can't…" Another man said, lowering his weapon slightly. "It really is possessing people."
"I'll do it then!" The captain aimed his gun. "I'm sorry… really. I'll make it up to your family…" The gun sight lined up with the Grimm's head and his finger reached for the metal trigger.
SNAP!
"Ahhh!" The guard gripped his hand as a metal chain cracked against his knuckle. Not hard enough to break bone, but with enough force to make him drop his weapon. "What the hell?!"
"KALI!" Ruby felt relief flood over her at the sight of the tiger Faunus woman.
"That's enough." Sienna ordered, sauntering forward, her voice a declaration to all present. "Enough Faunus lives have been lost due to rash actions. Let us handle this." Behind her, stood her normal body guards, Laz and the man with two axes Ruby didn't yet know the name of. "Call back your troops and save that injured woman you so carelessly shot."
"She's alive, but the bullet is in her arm!" Ruby yelled. "She needs medical attention."
"If you fail and this thing escapes, it's on your head." The captain growled.
"I know." Sienna began to spin her chain. "We will handle this." She glanced at her guards. "You two, flank it. Don't let it escape. No matter what."
"If it possesses us?" Laz asked. "What then?"
"Don't hesitate. Lay down your lives if you must."
"Thought you would say that." The man pulled out his long sword and began to step around, keeping an eye on the Grimm.
"We'll take her." One of the town guards said, rushing over to Ruby. "You're a huntress, right? Can you help them stop the Grimm?"
"Yeah," Ruby felt stronger now that someone relied on her. The woman wasn't dead but the Grimm was still alive. It had to be stopped. "Thanks for standing up to your captain."
"It's not like I don't understand." The man admitted, hoisting the unconscious woman on his shoulder. "But it didn't feel right."
"No, no it didn't." Ruby gulped, standing up straight now that the weight was off her. "We'll find a way to stop it." She left the guard to get the woman to safety and dashed forward, now flanking the Grimm from all sides thanks to the two men aiding her. "Kali! Don't let it touch you! That's how it possesses people!"
"I saw," Sienna assured her, spinning the chain to her side before turning to address her two guards. "Try to immobilize it, if we can't, then take it down."
"Understood!" Laz and the other man agreed without hesitation.
"It's still alive!" The Grimm said again, repeating the guard's last words like a mantra to itself. It eyed each of them in turn, trying to decide which one to attack. Ruby held her weapon up, ready to strike. She felt sorry for the guard, but if they could knock him out, they might be able to remove the Grimm.
"Ruby!"
The familiar voice of her best friend caused Ruby's heart to leap with joy. For some reason, just having Jaune nearby filled her with hope. He had come a long way since first entering Beacon. Ruby always found him a source of comfort, but now his skills let him stand shoulder to shoulder with her. As long as he was here, she felt like they could do anything. The two of them had been through so much and when fighting together, they were far stronger.
However, while Ruby didn't take her eyes off the Grimm, Sienna did. So the Grimm took the chance to charge her.
"Oh, no you don't!" Laz shouted, moving forward and swinging his greatsword. While using the flat of the blade to avoid slicing the poor soul in half, the man was only trying to knock the Grimm out. Sienna's other guard dashed forward too, ready to strike it from behind. They didn't expect the Grimm to bend its knees and leap into the air. Over both of them as its arms reached out toward Kali, teeth flashing in the dim street light.
Metal chains rattled as Sienna's whip was swung forward. The tip wrapped around the guard's arm as it swung the bound man to the side with a single flick of Sienna's wrist. The Grimm man was slammed to the ground with a heavy thud. A resounding crack rang out, making Ruby flinch as Jaune pulled up beside her. A broken bone was a small price to pay to stop that monster.
"I'm here…" His eyes fell on Kali. "Looks like I'm too late. Not that I'm complaining.''
"It's not over yet, kid." Sienna growled.
"It's still alive!" The Grimm hissed as it began to stand up. Funnily enough, it spoke correctly on its very own sturdiness, remaining steadfast in its desire to rip through them. So its hand grabbed the metal chain and yanked it, something Sienna hadn't anticipated.
The monstrous strength it displayed in a single hand easily lifted the woman off her feet. She must've been similarly conditioned like Ruby and Jaune, after Qrow beat it into them to never let go of their weapon. That seemingly sound advice proved to be a detriment, as the Grimm took the woman into its hands and attempted to sink its teeth into the side of her neck.
Although, no one was going to let that happen.
Ruby and one of Sienna's guards were the fastest, already smacking the Grimm guard and trying to get it off her. It didn't let go, though its neck and head twisted oddly. One hand was firmly attached to Sienna's upper arm, and the other was trying to claw her eyes out. The woman was forced to use her chain in her grip to block the clawing hand. This guard was way stronger than a normal person.
"GET! OFF! HER!" Ruby yelled, prying the possessed man off with her scythe, careful not to cut him or Sienna. With the combined effort of Sienna's men and her, they threw the Grimm off, causing it to roll on the ground. Jaune and Laz jumped between them, weapons raised.
"Is she…?" Jaune asked, without looking around.
"No, she's not possessed!" Ruby answered, observing Kali's face.
"That was disgusting!" Sienna growled, leaping to her feet. "Like maggots were trying to get under my skin."
"It couldn't possess you!" Ruby realized. "Like me. But why not? It possessed the kid, woman, and that guy."
'Why is the Grimm possessing some people and not others?' Jaune thought to himself. The current host was standing up. It's arm hanging at his side in a weird angle, obviously broken. The man had scrapes and cuts over his entire body and was limping slightly. Not that the Grimm cared about its host. 'It would hop as soon as the current body couldn't be used. Like from the kid to the mom. It was upgrading. Ruby or Kali would be a far better body to fight in than a random guard witho-…'
That was it!
"IT'S AURA!" Jaune shouted. "The Grimm can't possess people with Aura!"
"Are you sure?" Laz asked, eyes darting in his direction for a moment.
"It's the only explanation that makes sense!" Jaune countered. "Kali's a fighter, with Aura, while that guy is a normal person. And he's injured."
"Jaune's right!" Ruby's eyes widened. "It grabbed me once and while I could feel it trying something, I was fine. It had to be my Aura!"
"It's only a theory, even if it's likely." Sienna frowned. "Let's put that to a test." She looked at her men. "Pin it down."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Laz and the other guy charged forward. Their leader's orders were absolute. No, Jaune recognized that determination on their faces. It was more than that. Much more. They trusted her with their lives. Whatever they had been through together with Sienna was the same thing he and Ruby had been through with Qrow. Sometimes, the orders were dangerous, didn't make sense, or were ones they didn't want to follow. But to succeed, someone had to make those kinds of calls.
The current Grimm host was badly injured, but it seemed like the possessed could unleash power far beyond what they normally could. The way that normal person pulled Sienna through the air, the child that was able to force Jaune back and hold onto Ruby, and the woman who had fled at speeds that only Ruby could keep up with. That was problematic, but full Grimm were even stronger, so it wasn't something they couldn't handle.
The problem was with the human body itself. Jaune remembered reading about how there are limits to what the human body could do consciously. Subconscious limiters that kept people from destroying themselves by pushing their bones and muscles beyond what they could do normally. In times of crisis, it was not unusual to hear about normal people doing crazy stunts like lifting loads far heavier than themselves. An easy feat for Aura infused fighters like Yang or Nora, but not for others. However, the drawback was that it strained the body and could cause it to destroy itself for the boost of power.
The Grimm had no problem destroying the host to win a fight. That's why it could nearly physically compete with Huntsmen while using stolen civilian bodies. The longer it used them, the worse shape they were in, regardless of whether they had been used to fight or not. Jaune wasn't sure why the Grimm took them outside the city and into that cave, but now wasn't the time to ponder that. They had to stop that monster before it jumped to another host and destroyed them too.
Jaune was prepared to help subdue the Grimm along with Ruby.
But it turned out, that was unnecessary.
The two kids sometimes forgot that there were plenty of people, not just Huntsman, who were capable of fighting. Sienna's bodyguards were two such individuals. The man with the axes that Jaune still never learned the name of darted forward, low to the ground. The Grimm guard tried to grab him but was sidestepped effortlessly. While not moving as fast as Ruby, experience made up for it. The man moved as if he knew the attack was coming and slipped his weapon around the Grimm's ankle. One quick pull was all it took to bring it to the ground.
Laz then pinned it down, using the flat of his blade over the creature's front, pinning both arms down, and using his body to immobilize the legs. The guard struggled violently, looking like it was going to tear its own muscles apart as it refused to hold still. Teeth gashed wildly as the Grimm tried to bite him, but Laz never gave it a chance. He was a full-grown male Faunus with countless years of training and combat experience under his belt. A normal human, even with Grimm enhanced strength, was not going to beat him.
"Woah…" Ruby whispered in awe.
'Woah indeed.' Jaune thought to himself. Those two worked effortlessly together, without even having to exchange a single word. Ruby and Jaune were working to do that and there were times they could tell what the other one was planning, but those two men were at another level. Working side by side through countless missions probably.
Just like he would have been doing back with his team before this all began.
The Grimm gave a weird, gurgly howl, half human and half beast that almost sounded like it was drowning. One of the hands slipped out and grabbed Laz' wrist. The man straightened up and pushed down on his blade, trying to keep the creature pinned.
"I feel it!" Laz reported, gritting his teeth. "Like insects crawling beneath the skin, but it's not possessing me!"
"Seems like your theory was correct." Sienna nodded toward Jaune. "Now, got an idea how to remove the Grimm without killing the host?"
"Do you have any idea what that Grimm is?" Jaune asked.
"A Chill, that's the only one I know that can possess people." Sienna spat.
"Wait… a Chill?" Ruby's eyes widened in shock. "Like the fairy tail?" The moment the girl said that, it clicked in Jaune's mind too. It had been years since he read that story and completely forgotten about it.
The Grimm Child.
A very popular fairy tail. It was about a girl who was afraid of a shadow in a forest. She eventually dared her younger brother to go inside. When he doesn't return, she finally goes and looks for him, only to find him lying on the ground with ashen skin and white hair. Scared, she brings him back to town, hiding his appearance. That night, the girl wakes up to find her village dead, killed by her possessed brother. In the end, she ends up possessed too.
Not a very pleasant story.
So Jaune didn't read it to his younger sisters.
The Grimm possessing the kids in this story was known as the Chill.
"There's a way to save them, Kali. Right?" Ruby asked, almost desperately.
"With specialized Huntsman tools, but I don't know what those are!" Sienna hissed. "And it's too dangerous to leave it alone. All it takes is for one idiot to get too close and this starts all over again."
"Are you seriously going to kill him!?" Jaune demanded as Sienna raised her weapon. "How do you know that won't just free the Grimm. Maybe that's how it kills people!"
For a moment, Sienna paused.
"We'll see." The woman answered, stepping forward.
"Stop, you can't!" Ruby darted forward and grabbed her chain.
"Let go." Sienna warned. "This is your only warning."
"NO!" Ruby shook her head. "We're Huntsmen! Our job is to protect people, not kill them."
"I'm not a Huntress." Sienna grabbed Ruby's arms and tossed her back, forcing Jaune to step forward and catch her. "I'm protecting this town and everyone else. Don't be a child. Think."
Jaune knew what she was referring to too. The needs of the many over the needs of the few. People in her line of work had to be tough. They went from town to town, providing resources and clearing Grimm. If they took too long, or caved into sob stories, they wouldn't have resources for people who really need it. Showing weakness out in the wilds made them easy targets. It was a mindset they saw too many times. From town folks not trusting strangers, to bandits who had to be strong to survive. Killing an innocent person though? That was too much.
Understanding and acceptance were too different things.
"You can't!" Jaune stepped in front of her. "There has to be a better way."
"Move now, or what happens next won't be pleasant for you." Sienna told him.
"Do you really want to kill that guy?" The boy pushed. "A Faunus who was just protecting his home?"
Silence met his statement.
"Well, do-...?" Jaune started to ask again.
"Of course I don't, idiot!" Sienna snapped. "I'm doing what has to be done! One life compared to an entire village! If we don't kill it now, will you accept the consequences? Will you tell the family of those killed by the Chill that you're sorry for hesitating?"
Jaune felt like he had been slapped.
Was he being too idealistic? If the Chill escaped, it could easily kill more people. Possessing family members and killing others who would hesitate to fight back. It was such a horrible thought, made worse if the person possessed was left alive and realized what happened. The guard was someone who willingly put his life on the line to protect others. He would understand the necessity of Sienna's actions.
But he couldn't bring himself to it. Looking at Ruby's expression, neither could she.
Then their choice was made for them.
"DAMN IT!" Laz shouted. "Quick, kill it!"
His companion raised one of his axes and brought it down swiftly. Jaune's eyes widened in horror and Ruby raised a hand while screaming for him to stop. The man didn't and the blade hit the ground with a thud.
The ground, not the body.
Something was moving on the ground, like a living shadow, slithering along the ground toward Ruby, Jaune, and Sienna. Laz jumped up and brought his sword down at the thing, but it did nothing. Like trying to stab the air itself, they were trying to slice a shadow. A living, moving shadow, that wasn't just caused by flickering street lights. It was about a foot or so long, slithering back and forth, and wasn't connected to anything.
Jaune noticed the guard laying on the ground was back to his normal appearance. No longer resembling a Grimm. That only meant…
"RUBY! That shadow is the real body of the Grimm!"
Instantly, rose petals swirled in a vortex next to him as Ruby zoomed forward at full speed. Even Sienna and her men couldn't follow her movements. Her scythe was a blur as she sliced the ground, leaving deep grooves and even sending torn chunks of dirt and grass into the air. The girl was giving her all, using circular slashes to move effortlessly from blow to blow with not a moment of hesitation.
Yet, the shadow kept gliding along the ground like an incorporeal snake.
"Not today!" Jaune raised his sword and plunged it straight down as the shadow flowed toward him. His sword went straight into the main body. Just like the others before him, it achieved nothing. The shadow just kept moving and soon enough it had reached his foot.
Instantly, it felt like insects were crawling across his skin on the inside of his shoe. The Chill was trying to possess him, but like the others, he had Aura, far more than than most. The Grimm was not getting through no matter how hard it tried. When the Chill realized that, it continued fleeing back from the direction it had come from, ignoring a chain strike from Sienna along the way. The shadow forced them to chase it along the empty streets, soon coming close to the original alleyway the two inexperienced hunters first found the Grimm at.
Right beside the house that Jaune had come from, a building in which an injured kid resided.
"SHIT!"
That was the only word Jaune said before taking off after the Chill. There wasn't any time to explain the urgency of his actions. Ruby didn't even consider Jaune's panic unusual. As long as the Chill was running around, none of the civilians were safe. It would possess them, make them do horrible things, and then potentially kill them in the process. Of course, they would all be trying to stop it.
The problem was that the shadow was incorporeal, which meant solid objects didn't impede it. While the Grimm could easily creep through walls, benches, and trees, everyone else had to run around them. The Grimm would pass through everything without stopping, making a beeline toward the house with the lone child inside.
Grimm were attracted to a couple things. One of which was negative emotions. An injured kid, alone in the house, with his mother missing, was probably exuding so much fear and distress that the Chill simply couldn't resist. Not to mention, a weak prey was exactly what it needed right now. While Jaune was trying to draw attention by flaring up his Aura, the Chill seemed to be ignoring him. The little time he bought by cutting off its path did nothing, as it simply continued to press onward.
"Ruby!" Jaune panted. "It's going for the kid again! It has to be! He's in the house!"
"NO!" Ruby's face contorted with fear for a brief moment before steeling her resolve. "I'll get him out!" A flurry of petals was all that was left as she disappeared. Running forward as fast as she could, she passed the Chill with ease and grabbed the handle of the front door, turning the handle and practically throwing herself at the door.
But try as she might, the door was locked.
"Open up!" Ruby yelled, banging on the door. "Get out of there!"
A loud bang was heard inside.
"Ruby, it's already inside!" Jaune yelled, seeing the shadow slip through the window.
"No time for subtlety!" Aiming her gun, Ruby fired a loud high caliber bullet into the locking mechanism. The metal and wood shattered and Ruby kicked open the door.
Ruby dove to the ground the moment her eyes peered into the house as Tobias lunged at her, missing her by a hair's breadth. His skin was devoid of color, his hair white as snow and his eyes once more losing any soul they previously held. The Chill had gotten to him before they could. The boy skidded along the ground, spun around and bared his teeth. Jaune arrived just in time to see it all happen, along with Sienna's group who trailed quickly behind. The tiger woman glanced over at him and he knew what she was silently conveying to him.
'This is what happens when you hesitate. Now we have to kill the boy.'
His fingers clenched his sword so tightly, his own skin was matching the Grimm's host.
"Spread out." Sienna told her men, as Ruby stood up quickly herself. "We do this my way now."
"No!" Jaune shouted. "We can't! That kid's innocent!"
"So is everyone here!" Sienna snapped at him. "Is your indecisiveness going to cost them their lives too!"
Ruby looked like she had been slapped this time. Her eyes were wide, her hands shaking, and her skin pale. Jaune knew exactly how she felt because he felt the same way. He had failed the kid. After promising to save him and his mother. The Chill returned and took him over once more. If they don't stop this monster, everyone else in town who didn't have Aura was nothing more than a toy for this Grimm to play with and discard. Was killing a child really the only way?
"Mom, Jaune! Help!"
The Chill spoke once again, breaking the silence and its words caused even Sienna to pause.
Something inside of Jaune snapped.
Tobias had done nothing to deserve this fate. Sleeping alone in his room, the Chill had snuck in and possessed him, forcing him to fight and exhaust his body against trained hunters. Then it took his mom after he was injured and nearly killed her. In a span of only a few minutes, the boy nearly lost his family and his own life. Supposedly safe in his bed, only to wake up in pain, surrounded by strangers. When he finally thought the nightmare was over, he saw the shadow come at him once more. In desperation, he called out for help from the only two people he believed in.
Jaune had broken his promise.
'NO!'
It wasn't over yet. Tobias was still alive, just controlled by the Chill. There was still a chance to save him as long as they didn't give up. Huntsmen in the past managed to kill Chills, so there had to be a way, right? The moment Sienna took that final step, only then was it truly over. Thinking desperately, as she and her guards surrounded the Grimm child, Jaune ran through what they knew.
The Chill was a Grimm that resembled a living shadow. Outside a body, it was intangible and physical attacks from their weapons couldn't do anything to it. Possessing someone allowed it to attack people and push the limits of its host to the extent of self destruction. It would leave the host if they took too much damage or were too weak to fight. The Chill itself didn't seem to take any damage and was unharmed once it left its battered host. Sienna thought killing the host while the Grimm was possessing them would allow them to kill it, but that was only a guess without basis. Jaune didn't want to do that if any other choice was available. Aura protected them from getting possessed, as the Grimm couldn't move through it. That was their biggest advantage.
If Aura was the key…
Then…
What he was about to do was foolish and insane. Ruby would probably give him a tongue lashing later, but between trying this and letting the boy die? Jaune knew that even a long shot would be a better option. If he failed, Sienna and her team would make sure that Grimm was killed, no matter the cost. He just wanted to do everything he could to fulfill his promise. Metal slid into place as he collapsed his shield into its sheath mode and slipped his sword inside. Once it was attached to his hip, Jaune began to move forward, drawing everyone's attention.
"Jaune! What are you…?"
Ruby's words died in her throat as she saw his face, half lit by the street lamps. His eyes were narrowed, his face hardened. While he held doubt in his eyes his expression remained resolute in his desire to end the night on a positive note. Yet, she didn't understand why he had sheathed his sword. Jaune never did something unnecessary like that in the face of an opponent. Qrow had stressed that to both of them plenty of times. Never let your guard down until absolutely sure the enemy had been defeated. Even if he was determined to try something, it was still a risky decision to make.
Nevertheless, Sienna out of all people gave an order to pause their advance, sensing the boy had a plan.
Now, whether that plan would work or not, even Jaune didn't know. There were a lot of uncertainties in what he was about to attempt. If he could do it, if it would work, if the Grimm was the same as the others fundamentally.
A white glow began to surround him as he flared up his Aura. Light split the darkness around him as he continued to walk toward the possessed child. The boy's pitch black soulless eyes zoomed in and focused on him.
Good, that was a start.
While in its incorporeal form, the Chill had fled from them when it realized it couldn't possess them. Once it found a host, it seemed to act more like a normal Grimm. Focusing on the weak and helpless, or those with powerful Aura. That's exactly what Jaune needed. With no injured civilians around, the Chill would have no choice but to focus on him. The child took a step toward him, then another. Stumbling a little as the body the Grimm inhabited was already injured. If it stayed too much longer, the boy would probably be beyond medical treatment.
The Grimm gashed its teeth and lunged forward, arm outstretched in an attempt at Jaune's throat.
With a quick move of his hand, Jaune grabbed the kid's wrist. Even with the enhanced speed and strength, it was still a child's body. Jaune was pretty much an adult with physical abilities amplified by Aura. Someone who trained with Ruby, the fastest person on Remnant, probably. The Grimm possessed boy could have been moving in slow motion for all he cared. Instantly, when Jaune's fingers clamped down, the Grimm reached up with its other arm, trying to complete its objective.
White light began to flow from Jaune's hand into the boy.
As if all the strength and fight left its body, the Grimm child seemed to go quiet, just standing there, staring at him.
"That's…?" Laz turned to Ruby as Sienna stared in disbelief. "Kid, what the hell is he doing?"
"It's his Semblance," Ruby answered, eyes transfixed on Jaune. "Amplification. It's what allows him to heal people, but it doesn't work on normal people without unlocked Aura. In Atlas, we experimented with it and it caused Grimm to stop fighting if he used it on them. They focus on destroying the Aura he gives them or something."
"So he pacified the Chill to avoid damaging the boy..." Sienna considered. "That's a temporary solution. The moment he stops, it will probably start attacking again."
"I have a plan." Jaune spoke quietly, causing the others to focus on him. He raised his left hand placing it on the boy's head. "It's just… I haven't done this before…"
Taking a deep breath, Jaune remembered when he first arrived at Beacon. Auraless, naive, foolish, reckless, he had been all those things. Unaware of what it truly meant to be a Huntsman. He would have died back in the Emerald Forest if it hadn't been for his partner. The one who gave him a chance, who gave him the power to fight. The girl who had only wanted to protect him.
It had sunk in a while ago as to why she told Ozpin what she did. After what he had seen on his journey with Qrow, Jaune had not been ready. If it wasn't for his talented friends and teammates, he would have died long ago. There were so many dangerous foes besides the Grimm outside the safety of the city walls.
Pyrrha did what she had to to protect him.
Now it was Jaune's turn to do the same for this child.
As he continued to amplify his own Aura, flooding the area around him in light, he kept a constant stream of Aura flowing into the body of Tobias. As long as the Grimm was destroying that power, it wouldn't be harming the kid. Now the next phase of his plan was what Jaune worried about the most. Unknown territory. The kid's life was in his hands and he needed this to work. It just had to. As his Aura flowed through the boy, he could feel the darkness engulfing and snuffing out the light. Concentrating further, Jaune pushed more Aura into the child, trying to overcome the Grimm's destruction.
Then he felt it.
A small light deep within that his Aura finally managed to touch. That was what he was looking for. Taking a deep breath, Jaune turned his thoughts back to Pyrrha during their initiation. That memory was so vivid right now and he hoped he remembered her words correctly. She had changed his fate in an instant, and now it was his turn to do the same for this kid who never even had a choice like Jaune did.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality…"
Ruby gasped and held her hands to her mouth as Jaune spoke.
"He can't be…" Sienna muttered.
"...through this we become a paragon of hope…"
Jaune focused his Aura toward the light within Tobias. He felt it pulse, pushing back against the Aura he was giving. The Grimm began to fidget under his touch, but he held firm. Jaune's hands never wavered in case the Grimm tried to escape.
"...and glory to rise above all…"
A single scream erupted from the Grimm, animalistic, and yet human, pitched low and bone-chilling in nature. Ruby jumped and raised her weapon instinctively. Sienna's eyes narrowed as she watched, her guards preparing to strike. Jaune had flinched himself, but with his concentration solely on what he was doing, the noise did little else.
"...Infinite in strength and unbound by death…"
Maroon light began to cover the boy as Jaune felt the darkness recede.
"He's unlocking the boy's Aura!" Sienna shouted. "Of course! The Grimm can't possess people with Aura!"
"GO JAUNE!" Ruby punched the air.
If he had been listening, Jaune might have smiled at the praise. As circumstances had it, all his concentration was on the task at hand.
"...I release your soul…"
The Grimm began to tug at Jaune, still wailing in desperation to the point its vocal chords might tear apart, trying to escape as the maroon light around its body began to grow brighter. The glowing blonde boy did not let go. He would not let go. This poor child did not deserve his fate and Jaune was going to change it for the better!
"...and by my shoulder, I protect thee!"
White and maroon light exploded around them as Jaune fully unlocked Tobias's Aura. Jaune's hand was still gripped around the boy's wrist, constantly amplifying even the explosion of power from when a soul was first released. Bruises and cuts on Tobias were closing, and color was beginning to return to his complexion. Jaune would not stop amplifying, he could not stop, until the Grimm was destroyed. The boy looked up at the night sky. His mouth, if possible, seemed to open even wider, but no cry came.
Darkness began to spill from his gaping maw. An intense, black shadow trying to flee its flesh prison.
"Don't you dare think about escaping!" Jaune raised his hand from Tobias' head and grabbed at the fleeing Grimm. Logically, it was a pretty stupid reaction, as the Chill was incorporeal.
And yet, his glowing fingers wrapped around the shadow and squeezed. The feeling of crawling insects against his skin was intensifying as he held the squirming Grimm in a firm grip. Chills couldn't possess people with Aura, but it seemed more than that. It seemed that in its normal shadow form, it wasn't able to even pass through Aura. Jaune's hand was flowing with Aura thanks to his Semblance. So the Grimm could do nothing but struggle uselessly as Jaune held it like a slime made of darkness.
"You're not hurting anyone, anymore." Jaune spat out, squeezing with all his strength.
His fingers sank into the Chill, ripping apart the shadow into two halves, of which neither lasted the time it took to fall to the ground. Both simply disintegrated, fluttering out of existence. With the darkness finally gone, Jaune turned off his Semblance, and the white glow surrounding him vanished. Tobias collapsed against his chest, and Jaune held him up with one arm. The kid was breathing, and his outer wounds were all healed, though he was probably exhausted, having passed out in his arms.
"How did you know that would work?" Sienna asked, stepping forward as she began to coil her chain into a loop.
"I didn't." Jaune answered, looking around at the others. "But I had a promise to keep..."
His eyes locked with Ruby, who was beaming at him with a combination of happiness and admiration. She'd been terrified of the prospect of following through with Sienna's plan, and it was threatening to make her want to throw up. Once Jaune had found a way, her respect for him could do nothing else but grow exponentially. In her eyes, he was the coolest person in the world right now.
"...and I think I managed to keep it."
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
UrsaMJR: Evil body snatcher 0. Jauney-boy 1. Let's hope Ruby didn't catch that little bit of frustration that Jaune vocalized at the end there. Or that swear jar is going to fill up pretty fast once Qrow arrives. Nonetheless, let's hope he takes it easy on the two of them. They need a pat on the back after all this, and I need a drink after editing this. Until next time!