Man have I been procrastinating.
Anyways enjoy the chapter.
The day seemed so promising, being able to see his little girls and meeting their teammates for the first time. And yet, what was with this feeling of restlessness? Taiyang felt like all his senses were on high alter ever since the bullhead pilot informed them that they were pulling up on Ansel. It should have been a relief, a completed mission with no complications whatsoever.
However, knowing Ozpin as well as he did, Taiyang was all but waiting for the other shoe to drop at a moments notice.
Tai thought about why Ozpin even made this request a mission in the first place. After all it seemed like nothing more then just an easy flight home. Sure he had experience in losing a significant other, and learning how to possibly deal with it. But considering how long this mission could last, there just wasn't enough time for that to even come into play here.
No, something else was happening and he just couldn't see it.
"You don't have to be so tense you know. Your starting to make me feel a little worried here," Juniper said from her seat across from his.
Taiyang took a deep breath and freed his mind from the doubts plaguing him. "Sorry, old habits tend to linger when you've done this for as long as I have. I don't mean to alarm you or anything, but I've only lived this long by trusting my gut, as well as my instincts. And right now, I'm getting a really bad feeling about all this."
Juniper didn't say anything after that, worry having started to set in. She knew better then to doubt a huntsmen instincts, especially since her Nicky had told her time and time again of how it saved him in the field. If her escort was on edge, then she worried for her daughters safety. Her fingers linked together and she prayed to any God that would hear, to let this man be wrong.
No God answered her honest prayers, instead the bullheads intercom crackled to life as the pilot's voice came through. "We are near entering the skies above the village of Ansel. I repeat, we have now entered the skies above the village of Ansel, please prepare for landing." The announcement ended with a click, and the bullhead shifted ever so slightly as it came in for it's landing.
Taiyang was the first up, and took point as the back ramp lowered, revealing a small open field on the outskirts of the village. It had been well used, most likely by the hunters who retired to these part. The field itself was cut wide enough to house at least one or two bullheads at most, plus it was clearly maintained for even and safe landing.
A path led the way in between several trees, not heavily forested and allowed the village to remain within eyes sight, and vice versa in case of trouble.
Tai stepped out into the field and had a quick look around, just to be on the safe side of things. The forest was calm but there wasn't any sign of wild life nearby. It was to be expected he supposed, after all what bird or deer would want to be around when a metal monster, like the bullhead was about to land. They were all pretty frightened by the noise, and probably scattered in response.
"How are things looking out here," Juniper asked as she stepped off the ramp and stood next to him.
Tai placed a hand on his hip and nodded his head, with a happy smile. "Everything looks pretty clear from here, so I say we head to the village quickly before that changes. Then it's a short walk to your place, and then mission accomplished."
Juniper smiled at the simple task before them. "Then we'd best be on our way then," she said as she took the lead. Taiyang followed after her down the path, and through the gates once they recognized the wife of Nicholas Arc. It was just as her bodyguard said, the short walk home barely took a few minutes and she was walking up her home's front porch. Juniper turned back to her escort and smiled, "guess your instincts were wrong this time."
Taiyang chuckled at the small jab. "I suppose your right, but between you and me I'd much rather prefer to be wrong in this case. Better then the alternative, anyways."
Juniper could definitely agree with that sentiment. If this little travel adventure of her's remained an uneventful point in her life, then she'd be okay with that. "Thank you for your service mister huntsmen, I appreciate you bringing me home safely."
Taiyang nodded, "just doing the job ma'am." Tai raised a hand and bid her farewell, before turning around and heading on his way. Juniper smiled and turned to her door, grabbing hold of the handle and unlocking the door with her key. As soon as the door lock clicked open, the porch beneath her feet vibrated, causing her to stop and look around. When she looked back it was to see her huntsmen bodyguard staring off into the distance.
Juniper followed the man's gaze, only to see pieces of Ansel's wall dropping from the sky, badly scorched and even some on fire. They say curiosity killed the cat, but when something that can cause an explosion like that goes off, it's often common for people to get curious about it.
Taiyang gritted his teeth in anger, "and there's the other shoe." Tai switch gears instantly and turned to his former client. "Ma'am, the bullhead is still parked in the clearing we just came from. I believe you should gather your kids and make your way there ASAP. And I'd be quick about it if I were you. There's no telling what's going on, but even you can tell it's nothing good."
Juniper nodded and quickly burst through her front door to do as she was told, leaving Taiyang to rush off in the direction of the explosion. He knew this village was home to many retired hunters, that being the case he would be adding his strength to theirs. Tai ran through the streets of Ansel, dodging scared citizens fleeing from whatever it was that caused the explosion.
As he got closer to the epicenter of the blast, the sounds of gun fire and screams grew louder. Was it bandits? It was a possibility seeing as Grimm, by nature couldn't use bombs and the like. But then that brought up a whole new question, like just what kinda idiot bandits would attack a hunters retirement village? They were either really brave, really stupid or incredible
desperate.
Taiyang skidded to a stop upon hearing a pair of voices cry out for help from a nearby house. His eye's scanned the area, trying his best to find where the voices came from amidst the panicked cries of the other villagers. Taiyang's eyes traveled upwards a little and saw a house with a caved in roof, with pieces of Ansel's wall that were still on fire on top.
The fire was starting to spread and Tai bet his life that that was where he needed to get to. The huntsmen ran up to the door and banged on the wood. "HELLO! IS ANYONE IN THERE?! The door was getting warmer, so he moved away from it and went to the nearest window to take a peak inside. Tai strained his eyes to peer into the glass, passed the smoke that was building within, to see a staircase blocked off.
Part of Ansel's wall had broken through and smashed into the bottom half of the staircase, stopping anyone from using it. Taiyang cursed under his breath but saw flames starting to cover the wooden floor of the home. He backed up and saw a nearby tree, and quickly came up with a plan that might work. The huntsmen dashed over and started climbing the tree, hoping that if anyone was still inside, he'd be able to help them.
Once on top of the tree, Tai found the thickness branch he could find and jumped off of it to the roof. The fire within was making it kinda warm, but he pushed on, making sure to steer clear of the whole where the wall fell through.
The house had a second story window that he was able to climb to so he peeked inside. Tai saw a man laying on the floor, a beam from the roof having fallen on top of him, with his wife and young daughter trying to get it off. Taiyang tried to open the window, only to find it locked, so he did the only other sensible thing in this situation and broke it in with one hard kick.
With aura infusing his leg, there was no damage to him. Once he got in, the wife and daughter backed away from him, clearly afraid of what he might do to them. To remedy the situation, Taiyang pulled out his scroll and flashed it to the woman. "My name is Taiyang Xiao Long, I'm a huntsmen here to help," he announced.
Relief wash over the woman's face as she realized that help had arrived. "M-my husband! Please!"
Taiyang gave her a gentle smile, "that's why I'm here ma'am." With that said, Taiyang moved to one side and picked up the wooden beam, leaving the mother and daughter to drag the man out. Once clear Taiyang check the husband to see if he was alive. A pulse confirmed it and with one swift move, Tai pulled the man into a fireman's hold. "This way!"
Taiyang led the mother and daughter back to the window he came through, and with his aura infused arm, cleared the rest of the glass for them to get by. The mother went first and pulled her daughter through when she was on the other side. Tai went last and carried the unconscious man with him through the window and on to the roof, where he led them all towards the edge.
The tree he used was not very far by his standards, but thinking a mother and daughter -to civilians - could make that jumped was not an idea he wanted to entertain. Obviously it was impossible for them to make the jump, so a new path was needed for them. Taiyang laid the unconscious man down and quickly removed his bandana from his arm, then did the same with his vest before tying them both together.
The heat from inside the house was rising, putting pretty much a timer on his rescue efforts. But instead of choosing to panic Tai chose to focus on his preparation. With a heave the blonde huntsmen pulled the unconscious man back into a fireman's carry, then he tied the man's leg to his arm creating a human sized ring around his neck.
The idea freed Tai's hands up and he turned to the mother and daughter next to him. "I'll be going down first, wait by the edge of the roof for me." With his orders given, the mother and daughter moved over to the edge while he turned back to the tree. "Welp, this gonna suck," Tai said before jumping off the house towards the tree. He caught the nearby branch he once jumped off of and swung from it, trying desperately to hold on for dear life.
Not his life per say, but the life of the man currently hanging off his shoulders. If the man was conscious then this would've been a different story, but with him like this the fall would be life threatening. Taiyang's aura flowed through his arms and hands, keeping the worst of the trees bark from cutting into him. The blonde let out a sigh, glad that the tree was supporting his weight, until an audible cracking noise was heard.
Tai let out another sigh before pushing himself with haste to reach the trunk of the tree. "You'd think I had Qrow's semblance with all this crap," he growled as he continued forward. The second he managed to grab the trunk of the tree, the branch he was holding onto snapped completely, dragging his left arm with it as it fell. Taiyang wasn't stupid enough to keep hold of it, but even when he let go he was stuck holding their combined weight with one hand for a moment.
It was an impressive feat to be sure, something he was quick to quit as his left hand gripped the bark of the trunk. "Down we go," he whispered under his breath as he climbed down, setting the man on the floor once they safely had dirt under their feet. Time was of the essence and so Tai ran over to the edge of the building, looking up to see the mother and daughter still safe.
"I know this will seem kinda scary," he warned, "but I need you both to jump down so I can catch you!"
The daughter buried her face in her mother's stomach while the woman tried to calm her fears. Any choice or decision was swiftly taken out of their hands, when flames start coming from the window they had come through. How long could they remain on the roof? How much longer would the wooden home they lived in support their weight? Those questions drove the mother to make her decision.
She pulled her daughter to the side so the young girls back was away from the edge. The mother took a deep breath, closed her eyes and leaned back, pulling her daughter with her over the edge. Taiyang watched from below and arranged himself into the proper position. "I hoped they'd come one at a time, but whatever," he whispered under his breath.
Tai lifted both arms up just in time for the mother and her daughter to drop into them. To soften their landing better, Tai dipped his lower body just as the two hit his arms, the blonde hunter bled off their speed by going so far as to fall on his ass for better effect. "Well, a successful rescue if I don't say so myself."
The mother and daughter rolled out of his arms and smiled happily at the man that saved them. "Right then, let's get the three of you to safety." Taiyang got up and helped the two to their feet, before moving over to the unconscious man and placing him back on his shoulders. "Right, follow me," Tai said as he led the way from the burning buildings.
On the way back to where the Arc house was, they ran into another villager who was helping some of the others escape. "NATHAN," the mother called.
The man named Nathan stopped what he was doing and spun towards them, eyes locking onto the woman before shifting over to the daughter. "Maria, Bethany," the man wasted no time rushing over to them and embracing the two in a hug. "I'm so glad you both are okay, but where's-" Nathan's eyes fell on Tai and the man he was holding. "Robert?!"
"He was out cold when I rescued them from their house," Taiyang said as he gently laid the man he was carrying down.
Nathan stepped past the mother and daughter and knelt next to the unconscious man. "I see." Nathan looked over the man quickly before looking up to Tai. "Thank you friend, for rescuing my brother and his family."
Nathan held out a hand and Taiyang shook it. "There still more trouble near the gates, can I leave these three to you?"
Nathan nodded, "just leave them to me."
Tai returned the gesture and turn on his heel, running back the way he came. He just hoped he made it there to help in time to help.
/
Everything was somehow new, yet also familiar in a very strange sort of way. Ever since it's creation, the world had always felt this way. There were things it recognized like machines, places and words it shouldn't have known, and yet it did. Like most Grimm it felt the intense desire to destroy, but was able to quell that part of itself because of it's ability to think.
That was something that shouldn't have happened without decades of living, coupled with experience. The fact it even knew that itself spoke of it's differences to regular Grimm it came across.
It was different. A freak even amongst it's own kin. Then, when the one that commanded it had come, all seemed to make sense. Until it didn't. As time went on frustration started to build within, only for broken images to start appearing in it's mind. Images of people, places and things it had started to crave, desired, all to the point that it haunted every second of every moment. It were maddening, and they caused so much pain within it's chest.
In an attempt to drown out all these new feelings and images, the Grimm did something most humans did, it focused on something else entirely. When it's chest began to ache, when that woman's face appeared with her beautiful smile, the Grimm focused on the Grimm Queen that gave it it's order's. The two weren't similar in the slightest because while one was cold and unfeeling, the other from what it could piece together was warm and kind.
Then came the day it was finally time for it to enter the world, only to see a face that had haunted it's mind. A boy. A boy that brought to it's mind a tidal wave of more images, that caused it even more pain. Or was it sadness? Were Grimm even capable of such a thing?
The questions, the feelings, the pain were too much for it to handle; and so it defaulted to it's instincts and chose to attack. The boy had killed it's own and that was enough to turn it to anger, as well as force its feelings to hate. If it managed to destroy the boy then maybe, just maybe these conflicting emotions would die down. It was not to be though.
The boy escape it, and it came out of the whole thing beaten and on the verge of dying. It was missing an arm now, and was forced to cut off it's own leg less it be captured or worse. But what choice did it really have in the end? It had gotten as far away as it could, but the blood loss eventually became too much to handle and it dropped out of the air.
The Grimm never even made it off the content of Atlas. Left to the freezing air and the night sky, the creature crashed into the ground and laid there, ready to bite the dust. It watched the blood continue to spill out of it's arm, and only bothered to move to make itself more comfortable. Just another thing that made it different from any other Grimm.
The Grimm Knight stared up at the shattered moon, taking in it's final moments before the light in it's eyes winked out. It should have dissolved the moment it died, but instead something within it's chest roared to life. Like water flowing through every inch of it's body, something new, yet oddly familiar came to life. In a instant, the wounds on it's arms and legs began to bubble and heal themselves like magic, then as quickly as it came the power within calmed.
The Grimm Knights eyes lit up once more, with new found power the creature pushed itself into a sitting position and shook its head. This new found power didn't come without it's drawbacks. Images it tried to hold at bay flooded it's mind even worse then before. With all it could feel and see, there was one constant. A family, all together with blonde hair and all together with it. Like they belonged together.
But why?! It had to know, had to under why. Even more then that it wanted to understand, understand why it was among them and why it felt like it belonged. Of the faces that it seen, two of them stuck out among the rest. The first was the boy, the one it tried to kill. And the other was the woman, the woman it wanted to grab, to hold more then anything else. But it couldn't do that by sitting there, nor could it in the condition it was in.
With a new found resolve like never before, the Grimm Knight forced itself up on it's only good leg and started flapping it's wings. It had someplace to be, and although the orders from the Grimm Queen persisted in it's mind, this felt more important. It pushed off with it's good leg and returned to the Grimm lands, where it would find the means to heal itself, but also run into the one who commanded it.
It was truly a tough battle, to deny the command to return by the Grimm Queen. But it did, even when she reached into it's mind to force it to comply, it resisted and pushed back. It would put this off no longer, and when the Queen confronted it and demanded to know who it served. It found its voice and shattered the chains holding it, with two simple but powerful words. "No one!"
Healed and restored the Grimm Knight fled the Grimmlands in a hurry. It flew in a random direction, hoping to find something recognizable to give it it's barring. The Grimm Knight soared high and focused inward on the images in it head. They would lead it to where it needed to go, tell it where to find the ones it seeked.
Memory already placed the young blonde boy in Atlas, a place it wasn't planning to go back to any time soon, which left it with the other option. The woman. The one it wanted more than any other, who's soft smile caused an unknown sensation to fester with it's chest. It flew aimlessly for a while until it caught sight of the ocean. There was nothing note worthy about the sea, so it continued on until it reached land once again.
The beach it landed on brought visions of people playing in the sand, of kids running around laughing, and it holding that woman's hand through it all. It was strange. The Grimm Knight raised both of it's hands and stared at the bone like appendages connected to it. This wasn't it. It looked to the sky and took flight once more.
It could fly faster and farther then most other Grimm, which made covering great distances a piece of cake. But just flying everywhere with no direction, would do it no good. If only it had it's scroll...?
The Grimm Knight stopped mid flight. It's scroll?! Why did it think that? Did it even possess such a thing before? It didn't know, but it knew most people normally carried one. And if that was true, then all it needed to do was find someone, and then strip them of such a handy device. Humans were easy to find because of the negativity they gave off, even if they tried not to.
Unlike humans, Grimm possessed a unique sixth sense, that allowed them to perceive negativity as a type of glowing energy. Like a street light in the night. The stronger the negativity, the brighter the light they saw. It made hunting their enemies easier, and was going to help it now. The Grimm Knight focused and could see the glow of negativity shining on the horizon.
It flew in the direction of the brightest light but stopped several miles away, noticing that the light emanated from a village. It was going to have to destroy a lot, and more then likely face tough resistance. It's head turned from left to right and noticed smaller lights, each one moving in different direction. That was perfect. It chose the closest target and decimated a duo of huntsmen named Dee and Dudley.
They were weak and easily beaten, but then came the real problem. With no fingers of it's own it couldn't even take the scroll out of the humans pockets. That didn't mean it didn't try of course, it's just that without hands, grabbing something was a thousand time harder. It realized then that it needed to change, needed to become more then what it was. And luckily for it, it had a teacher who showed it how.
Remembering the feeling the Grimm Queen invoked within was simple, suffering the pain of the transformation was not. If it was going to undergo it's change, it was going to need space and the freedom to do so. After destroying the first scroll from one of the huntsmen, the Knight decided to patiently - if slowly - remove the second scroll from the other humans pants by cutting it free.
The last thing it needed was to waste more time hunting down more humans it didn't need. Once the scroll was free, the Grimm Knight dug it's sword like hand into the ground next to it. With a little force, it flipped the scroll off the ground and onto the back of bone like shield. Then the Knight gently pressed it's bone sword against it to secure the scroll for take off.
While the Knight flew about, it couldn't help but think of the two hunters it killed. They really were idiots. It couldn't fathom why they would travel around at night when Grimm were always present in the wild. The knight shook it's head, because in the end their foolishness made it easier for it to take them down.
After a short flight, the Grimm found the perfect spot for the transformation. In a forest with giant trees. The tall trees worked to it's advantage, as it flew low and found a decent clearing for landing. Once it touched down, the Grimm immediately went to work on it transformation. It had no time to waste, and with the day just beginning judging from the light in the sky, humans would be up and about.
The Grimm chuckled darkly. How easy it was to make sense of the world the more it thought. And what's more, it felt it's own intelligence grow with each decision it made. Maybe there was something to this all, this belief if was different from it's kin. Perhaps it was superior then the rest in some way.
The Grimm Knight pushed those thoughts away, as it realized it was still holding the scroll. With a light toss, the Grimm sent the device sailing a few feet away. Things were going to get a little intense, and it really wouldn't do to have that so close. The Grimm Knight knelt down and focused on it's body. It felt everything there was and took it's time deciding what form it should take.
One that could hold a damn scroll properly was a given, but maybe there was something else too. In each of those images...or possibly memories, it was always there with those humans. Then there was the Grimm Queen and how she too also had a human form. What if that was the best form to take, to better utilize what it had and what it could do? The idea had weight, and more importantly it felt right for some reason.
With the decision made, the fire in it's eyes winked out as it closed them. Then just as it was about to begin, a face appeared in it's mind and the change began. The image it reached out for was familiar, and it's desire manifested with it's new form being born within the old. Like a caterpillar breaking from it's cocoon, the Grimm ripped and tore itself free, to see a world made new for itself.
It's skin was as pale as paper, with blood red irises set in black pools that made up it's eyes. Hair it didn't have before fell to it's shoulders as white as freshly fallen snow, and just as soft to the touch. It's physical appearance aside, what was happening within itself was more fascinating then even it ever expected. The world felt more vibrant then before, like it's senses were turned up more.
The excruciating pain it went through to get to this point though, that was something it buried within. It decided the pain was the price for what it was going to do next. The Grimm looked down at the husk of it's former form and ran it's fingers over the hard plates it came out of, trying it's best to decide what it should do with these leftover parts. It's eyes followed It's bare arm up to It's chest and realized how unprotected it's new form was, which correlated to how defenseless it was to the rest of the world. Namely it's enemies.
It needed to fix that, and it just so happened to have a way to do that.
The Grimm exerted It's will over It's former body and had it dissolve into mist, then had it return to itself to be refitted for It's newest armor. With It's new battle ready armor complete, it could final continue it search for her. The woman that haunted it. What it would do when it finally found her...?
It hadn't thought about it before. The Grimm shook it's head, it would think about that later when it finally achieved its objective. In that moment a small Nevermore flew by, catching It's attention. It's wings, raven black and far better looking than those bat like wings it used to sport.
It took a knee and scooped up the scroll off the floor first before focusing inward.
Then with a little effort, the black ooze that ran through It's body started to seep through the pores on it's back. Those were normally for humans to sweat from, but worked well for it's purposes. The ooze flowed from the cracks in it's armor and transformed into beautiful, black feathered wings. It rolled it's shoulders a few times to get a feel for the new attachments, then took off into the morning sky for its next destination.
The Grimm flew a few miles away to get a better feel for it new pair of wings before stopping. It held the scroll out and started tapping away with it's index finger. The scroll had no security lock, which made accessing it's features all the more easier. On the scrolls map, the Grimm Knight punch in the village of Ansel name and set its GPS function. Finding the direction it needed to go, the Grimm corrected it's flight path and flew away.
The memories were coming back to it. Even faster and far more clearer then ever, which only made it wonder just what the heck all of this meant for it. As it approached it's new destination at blistering speeds, the Grimm noticed a glow close to it's destination. It closed it's eyes and felt what the glow had to offer. Within it the Grimm found a mixture of anger and hate, along with worry.
They were too close to the village.
It was already gonna have it hands full with the village's defenses, and didn't need even more trouble to deal with. The Grimm knew what it had to do and changed course, striking at the heart of the camp and killed everyone within who sought to fight against it. It's eyes roved over the carnage it unleashed and took note of their clothing. "White Fang," it growled.
Two things began to stir within. Anger and concern. Not for itself but for the woman it was seeking. And if these faunus were a danger to her, then it would remove them and anyone else in it's way. That being said, who knew if there were anymore of these White Fang people still around.
The Grimm moved through the destroyed camp, but chose to stop upon seeing a small bird a few feet away laying on the floor. The negativity it gave off was almost equal to what most humans gave. Strange that such a bird could do the same. Choosing to put the small creature out of it's mind, the Grimm headed in the direction of the village. A large grin spreading under it's mask, finally finding the one it desired to take so close now.
/
In the training room at Atlas Academy, Ciel stared ahead, mouth open and too shocked to speak. She'd only just barely taught the blonde about this martial art technique. And clearly that was a mistake, if the destruction left in his wake was any indication.
"I've created a monster," she whispered.
There, stood amongst a vast number of destroyed practice droids, was her blonde leader barely even tired but with a large smile on his face. Ciel shook her head, "a monster indeed."
And done. On to the next.