G.N. Chapter 46 (Patreon)

Chapter 46 Fleeing the Gilded Hole

“We can’t just leave him here!”

Jade, tense with anger, stood defiantly in front of the exit out of the secure room. Her arms were spread wide, a physical barrier to her brother's plans. Her face, a mask of righteous fury, starkly contrasted with Jaune's growing exasperation. He stood, looking up at the ceiling, his lips moving in silent prayer, avoiding the storm brewing in his sister's eyes.

“Yes, we can,” Jaune finally answered, dropping his gaze to meet his sister. His tone was strained.

“Yeah, sorry, kid. I'm going to side with tall and scary here. That guy’s nuttier than a pecan,” Teak said, shuffling on the spot with his newly acquired rifle. He had taken off his flannel and now stood in beaten jeans and a band shirt for some group called the ‘Wolf Pack’.

Keppel also spoke up, “Pear will be safer here; the room is most secure, and we can activate the beacon feature on his Scroll.”

“But what if a Grimm comes?” Ayame spoke up, sitting in the corner with her mother, the older Faunus, embracing her child and looking distinctly discomforted.

No one missed how she flinched when Jaune’s azure gaze trailed over to acknowledge her.

“The door is rated to resist even fervent break-ins. By such, I mean that the door should hold against even explosive yields… I dare say that Pear will be safer than us in that regard,” Keppel explained, nodding to the thick door.

“… Then why don’t we all just stay here?” Ayame pressed.

Salmon, who was holding up a woozy Egg, chose now to interject, “Cause we are too big a group, too much negativity, Grimm will swarm us.”

Seeing an opportunity, Jaune decided to interject, “But should you desire it, you can, of course, stay with this one,” Jaune stated, pointing to the unconscious security guard. “No one is being forced here.”

Salmon grunted in agreement, “Tall one is right. If you ain’t feeling up to it, Cheeks, you two are better off hanging back.”

Jade, at this point, cut in loudly, “Brothers! You are as bad as Jaune! Stop trying to ditch people!”

“I am not ditching him,” Jaune ground out, “I have no obligation to this man; I am even going out of my way to leave him in a secure area for Huntsman to come find later… many would consider my actions altruistic.”

“By Vacuan standards, he is downright saintly,” Salmon cut in, scratching his bushy cheek.

“Why are you on his side?” Tara asked, eyeing the large bear Faunus with a peculiar look.

“Cause he gave me a gun and is fucking terrifying,” Salmon answered honestly.

“W-what about a compromise…”

Everyone turned to the softer voice to find Sky sitting on the table, swinging her legs and fiddling with her newly acquired pistol.

Happy to see his other sister speaking up, Jaune nodded, “What would you recommend?”

“Leave him his gun… we already have mine, Mr Teaks, Mr Salmons, Jades and your two… the others don’t know how to shoot, and this way, he will be somewhere safe, with the beacon and… he will have a weapon.”

Sky looked around the room as she finished speaking, but her gaze returned slowly to Jaune’s as if she were worried about her brother's reaction.

Jaune, however, just smiled.

“That's a fine idea,” Jaune agreed, turning back to Jade. Is that satisfactory for you, sister? This way, you can appease the majority of your little flock.”

“Mine?”

Jaune stared at his sister with an expression of slight disappointment.

“We helped them by your will; they are your responsibility, sister, not mine,” Jaune shrugged.

“But you gave them weapons and took charge and-“

“I only care about you two,” Jaune cut in, gesturing to Jade and Sky. “This lot is only here because you threw yourself into danger to save them, and at the time, it was easier for me to bring them along.”

“Wait… does that mean the kids in charge of us?” Egg asked, looking up at Salmon. His arms were now heavily bandaged, and the lower half of his shirt had been torn off, revealing a few bandages around his hips. He did not look well but proved sturdier than Jaune would have first guessed.

“The kid is the reason the big one gave us guns, so… I guess so,” Salmon answered his pale friend.

“Huh… well then, I would like to ask our leader to please let the scary tall one get on with rescuing us from this hell hole and leave the crazy one in the makeshift panic room,” Egg chuckled, raising a limp arm in a mocking vote.

“Wait, this isn’t a vote-“

“Why not, though, we should vote on it,” Keppel interjected.

“I don’t-“

“We shouldn’t vote on whether someone lives or dies!” Ayame argued.

“Would you listen-“

“Fuck voting, let's ditch him and go, the longer we stay-“

“Shut! The Fuck! Up!” Jade shouted at the top of her lungs, silencing Teak, who leaned away from the aggressive blond. “No one is voting! I’m not in charge! And they are not my group!” Jade finished turning a snarl on her older brother.

“If that were true, I could take you and Sky and leave… but that’s not the case, is it?” Jaune rebutted.

Jade frowned but eventually responded, “They need our help.”

Jaune did not like this.

“Do they? I have armed them, escorted them to a secure room, we have given them medical attention and advised them how to proceed. One could argue that we have already supplied the help,” Jaune argued, rising off the table to stand at his full height.

“We can get them to safety,” Jade declared, looking at her brother with a look that made Jaune’s guts twist.

“We could… we could also die.”

The silence that echoed such a proclamation was enough to make the room feel as if it was submerged in some viscous substance.

“T-that’s-“

“The truth,” Jaune doubled down. He moved to stand before his sister, looking down at her as she continued to block the doorway.

Jade continued to resist.

“You can kill Grimm; I have seen you train with Mum and Dad,” Jade exclaimed.

“They’re armed now, so can they,” Jaune pointed out.

“Not like you… Jaune, I know you can do this; you’ve always been our hero; why can’t you be theirs?” Jade whispered.

Jaune reacted as if Jade had driven a blade into his gut, coiling away from his sister as her words opened up scars he had long since thought sealed.

“I have never been a hero Jade… I have only ever acted as your brother,” Jaune stated, his words coming out cautiously.

“You’re my hero…” Jade breathed.

“…” Jaune said nothing, staring at his sister with a look that concealed much.

“Please, Jaune,” Jade begged, hugging Jaune, her forehead pressed to his front.

“They are not your responsibility,” Jaune whispered, soft enough that only he, Jade and Tara would have been able to hear.

Jade looked up at him, and Jaune could see the denial in her eyes.

He cast his eyes upward again, but no prayer passed his lips; memories danced in his vision.

Memories of failures… so many failures.

But this was his sister.

Jaune broke free of her hold and stepped back, eyes scanning the group and settling on Sky. His thoughts became filled with how easy it would be to snatch her and Jade and bolt, to sprint until he collapsed.

But Jade… would she ever look at him the same?

Jaune breathed.

Inhale.

…

Exhale.

“So be it,” Jaune mumbled.

Jade lit up immediately, and Jaune beat down the ghosts of his past vehemently.

“We are moving out. Leave the security guard his pistol and the key card to get into the room, as well as a note, something to let him know the situation. Keppel, handle it,” Jaune ordered.

“Right, something short should do it-“

“Just get it done,” Jaune spoke over the manager, picking up Pear’s Scroll and activating the beacon feature included in nearly all modern Scrolls for this exact scenario.

Active beacons were the first thing Huntsman sought out following a Breach. Huntsman parties were sent out to retrieve them even before the Grimm presence was reduced entirely.

Regular search and rescue followed only after the Grimm situation was handled.

“You’re still going to leave him?” Jade questioned, hurt evident in her voice.

“Yes, but only because he jeopardises everyone else's lives; if we are going to move, they all need to feel as secure as possible,” Jaune nodded, gesturing to the others.

“And him?” Jade nodded at his body.

Sky quickly said, “As soon as the Breach is plugged, they will send Huntsmen to get him. Remember we learned about it during all those boring school drills?”

Something danced across Jade’s face before settling into a slight smile dampened by the horrible situation. “Ew, yeah, I remember… I had Dad show up to a few and be super… embarrassing,” Jade shuddered.

“It can't have been that bad,” Sky exclaimed, wanting to defend their father, but her face also wore a weak smile.

“He called me his ‘painter princess’ in front of like… the whole school,” Jade supplied, looking almost happy with the goofy memory.

“Oh…”

“It's actually a tradition of his; he has done it to Scarlett and Saphron as well,” Jaune recalled, remembering both of his elder sisters complaining about similar instances.

“Wait, did he do it to you?” Jade asked, fully smiling, forgetting the horrible situation for a second.

“No. I graduated before he could,” Jaune shrugged.

“Oh boo!”

“That’s bullshit!”

Jaune smiled at his sisters, hoping to keep their spirits up, if only for a couple more seconds. “I suppose the two of you will have to encourage our father to find another way to embarrass me, won't you?”

“I wish Dad was here,” Sky admitted, her smile dimming.

“Yeah… me too,” Jade agreed.

Jaune hugged his sisters tightly before speaking, “I promise we will see him soon. Truthfully, if news has already made it to Reach, there is a solid chance Mother and Father are, in fact, already on their way.”

“Ah, so you are Huntsman brats,” Salmon thought aloud, having overheard their conversation.

“Indeed,” Jaune mumbled, moving from his sisters to face the room and all its occupants. “Before we head off, we need to make something clear… going forward, I cannot assure you of your safety.”

Everyone was looking at him now, and the reactions varied between every person present.

None of them were good.

“Once we start moving, we need to keep moving. Stick together, don’t wander off, try to be quiet, and watch where you are going,” Jaune instructed. “If you don’t think you can keep up, you can remain here. This room is likely to be one of the last safe places in this section of the city, and once we leave, we will not be returning.”

They stared at him as silently as the grave, but that wouldn’t do for this.

Jaune did not want to add to the blood that coated his hands.

“I would hear from each of you what you wish to do. Knowing what you now do, if you would prefer to remain here, travel with us or even go off on your own-“

“Jaune!”

“It needs to be their decision, Jade,” Jaune quickly calmed his sister. “It’s their decision to make, and their lives to risk… I will not be shouldering any undue blame here if they come with us; they do so knowing the risks.”

Salmon was the first to speak, “I’m with you, ya got a killer intuition, and that glare of yours made my blood turn to ice… if ya don’t mind me saying, having that between me and the Grimm sounds like a damn fine idea.”

Teak quickly followed suit with the bear Faunus: “Yeah, and we are kind of a package deal, see? Plus, you gave me this rifle, so…”

“Can we please just get moving? I swear I am only holding up one arm, but I see two,” Egg chimed in from where he was leaning on Teak.

Jaune nodded to the three Faunus before turning to face the others.

“… I don’t like the idea of travelling with someone who was in the White Fang,” Keppel admitted, eyeing Salmon warily. Salmon, for his part, didn’t seem bothered by such a statement at all.

“Fair,” Jaune nodded.

“… But I like the idea of staying with someone who shot at me even less. So I will take my chances with you,” Keppel nodded, primarily to himself.

Jaune finally turned to Ayame and Tara, both of whom were rising from their spot huddled together in the corner. “You are the last; make your decision,” Jaune demanded.

“I think I’m going to-“

“We’re coming.” Tara cut in, silencing her daughter, who seemed surprised by her mother’s declaration. “I’m terrified of the Grimm, terrified of having to face them again… but I am even more terrified of the idea of hiding just for them to find me… I can’t go through that again.”

“… Very well,” Jaune nodded, reaching to pick up his fire axe. It was starting to show signs of wear, but it was still solid enough to deal harm. At the same time, he grabbed Salmon’s crowbar. The heavy piece of metal looked warped near the tip, but at the end of the day, it was still heavy, and that would suffice for Jaune.

“I want two people on Egg, one under each arm… we are going to be moving as fast as possible,” Jaune paused to look at their injured member, “It will hurt. Sorry.”

“Eh, I’m tough, promise,” Egg smiled, slurring the ‘p’ a little.

“Good man,” Salmon grinned.

“We can take him; between me and my daughter, we should be able to support his weight… and I doubt we would be much use otherwise,” Tara spoke up, pulling Ayame along, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact with anyone.

“Fine, that leaves you,” Jaune spoke, marching over to Keppel and shoving the crowbar into his arms. “If something gets past me or Salmon, you are to keep it away from the others long enough for someone to shoot it.”

“I don’t th-“

“And where will I be!” Salmon spoke over Keppel, wanting to get moving.

Jaune looked at the second-largest group member. “With me, near the front. If I give an order, you will follow it, and if the worst comes to worst, your job is to take charge and lead.”

“Why me?” Salmon asked.

“Because I said so,” Jaune intoned, his voice carrying the absolute will that no one argues his point. The bloody axe only emphasised such a point.

“A-ah and m-me?” Teak asked, popping out from behind Salmon, trying not to seem nervous and failing completely.

“As the back of the group, your job is to shoot at anything we shoot at or anything that tries to get the drop on us. Your main job will be ensuring everyone is keeping up,” Jaune explained before tapping the rifle. “Conserve your shots, and if need be, shout to get either my or Salmon’s attention; keep us informed as we move. You will be tempted to only look at our surroundings, but you must also be aware of the group as you’ll have the best chance to keep track of them all.”

“Which just leaves-“

“My sisters will be behind us,” Jaune continued as if Tara hadn’t spoken. Jaune shot the Faunus a warning look as he took a knee to talk at eye level with his siblings. “Sky, your job is to stick to Jade; I only want you to shoot at something if it gets between you girls and me or attacks you.”

“I can do that,” Jade nodded with false bravery.

Jaune rewarded her with a smile all the same.

“Good, Jade-“

“Keep Sky safe?” Jade sighed dramatically, earning a slap from Sky.

“To start perhaps, but I want you watching the sky; we will have a lot of rooftops around us and by now, Nevermore above us… your job is to keep me appraised of threats from above. Only shoot if you must; we want to avoid drawing too much focus towards us.”

“… I can do that,” Jade nodded.

“Good,” Jaune nodded, rising to stand, “Everyone needs to try and maintain their positions in the group, do your jobs and most importantly, listen when I speak. If I say stop, stop. If I say run, run for your lives.”

Everyone seemed to tense at that but Jaune ignored it.

“Keep chatter to a minimum and do your best not to dwell on the situation. I won't ask the impossible, but remember that negativity will only make our group seem more appealing.” Jaune’s warning was only met with a few shaky nods, but he didn’t want to waste any more time.

“Right, let’s go. Keppel, you're behind the ladies and Egg,” Jaune finished, making the man step away from his sisters and closer to Teach, who gave him a crooked smile.

“Welcome to the back of the bus,” Teak jested.

Jaune leaned over to Salmon and whispered, “He’s flighty.”

Salmon, hearing the warning, nodded but gave no further reaction.

“Right, let's move!”

YVYVYVYVY

The trip back to the kitchens was done with haste. Jaune counted his blessings that they didn’t encounter more people on their trek. Jade seemed comfortable following his lead, and he would like that to continue as long as it may.

He did not care to think of what would happen should they encounter yet another batch of lost souls.

Jaune entered the kitchens with quiet, brisk steps. His movements would have been swift and near silent were it not for the hodgepodge of trampling feet behind him.

“Are we going through the lobby?” Jade asked.

“No, we are getting out of the building,” Jaune answered, moving to the door Salmon’s group had entered through.

“Any particular reason,” Salmon whispered, keeping pace with Jaune, his gun-shouldered.

“Saw a box truck outside,” Jaune answered. “… And I want to get out of this damned building.”

“That would be nice,” Salmon nodded.

They made it about halfway through the kitchen before something metallic clattered to the floor so loud it gave Jaune flashbacks to the echoing, ringing of bells.

Jaune whipped around, pulling back his axe, only to find Keppel standing ramrod straight, hugging his crowbar to his chest, looking at the spilt bowl of spinach with dread.

“I am so sorry! I just-“

Something impacted the doors from the lobby, and they didn’t shudder this time.

They imploded.

The belt he had used to bar them snapped, and the right door crumpled under the weight of an Ursa that got stuck trying to squeeze through the narrow passage.

“Well, that’s a fucking cliché!” Teak complained loudly, bringing his rifle up. However, Jaune stopped him from aiming and directed the party to the rolling door.

“Run! Get the door open!” Jaune ordered, drawing his Challenger and firing a shot at the Ursa as it opened its maw to let loose a baleful roar.

A roar did follow, but it was the subdued roar of the compact explosion decimating the Grimm’s internals as the custom round found its way down the monster's throat. Jaune sneered as the thing refused to die, instead falling to all fours and letting out some shoddy rasping call that caused its black essence to spill over the kitchen tiles.

Though it was gurgling through its ruined throat, the noise still managed to draw attention, and soon, there was the sound of movement approaching the gagging Ursa.

Jaune ignored it, already reloading his Challenger with dextrous fingers.

Dust Rounds were the only resource he had that would allow him to challenge Grimm of such power, and he was by no means going to leave his weapon unloaded if he could avoid it. Seeing a second set of glowing red eyes trying to claw over the back of the wounded Ursa was enough to make Jaune glance at the group to gauge their haste.

Salmon had the door open and was guiding people under it, but they were not far enough yet for Jaune to feel entirely comfortable. Then Jaune glanced at the rolling door and realised that the speed of his group was not the only reason to feel discomfort.  

The Ursa could shred that door to ribbons.

He needed to halt the Grimm… he needed to stop them in their tracks.

His answer came to him in the form of a still-hot, deep fryer.

Jaune hacked at the edge of the machine without hesitation, spilling oil over the floor and hastily covering it in a slippery layer.

But Jaune didn’t stop there as he began to make his way toward the rolling doors, the Grimm still squeezing through the gap between the maimed Ursa and the doorframe. Jaune didn’t panic, though. He continued his pace, hacking into a massive jug of vegetable oil. He hurled it toward the growing spillage from the deep fryer as he went.

He paused to hop over the form of a Beowolf that had slipped on the oil and crashed into a cupboard. Jaune hardly even broke his pace as he avoided the flailing Grimm, the thing failing to find purchase as the oil burned into its ink-black hide.

No sooner had he made it to the rolling doors than Salmon slid through, waving at him to hurry. Jaune exited the hotel, pulling his Challenger out as he dropped into a slide.

In a show of acrobatics, he had no sooner slid beneath the doors than he had his Challenger aimed behind him, a custom round in the chamber ready to fire.

“Close it!” Jaune ordered as he pulled the trigger.

Slamon managed to slam the rolling door closed just as the round exploded on the slicked tiles. Jaune knew what came next, the steaming oil meeting an open flame from the explosion caused by his bullet.

A grease fire.

Jaune heard the roar of flames and the accompanying cry of the Grimm even through the thin metal roller.

“Good thinking with the oil,” Salmon complimented.

“Mm, we need to move,” Jaune commented, moving toward the end of the alley where the vehicle he remembered was still waiting.

Finally, outside the hotel, the group was exposed to the actual environment of a city enduring a Breach.

And they were in the thick of it.

Gunfire could be heard from nearly every direction, ranging from the staccato bursts of automatic fire to the roaring thunder of the cannons. The sky was ablaze with flashes illuminating shadows and shapes beneath the clouds. Buildings were ablaze; in fact, cinders were raining down upon them from a fire in the very hotel they had just left.

Jaune glanced up to see the orange glow glinting off the ‘Gilded’ branded to the front of the building.

But that wasn’t the worst of it.

The distant and near sounds of inhuman things quickly cast an oppressive feel over everyone present. Sky went so far as to whimper as a howl ripped through the blackened sky, bouncing off the highrise buildings to a confusing effect.

There were still distant and unformed screams as people cried out, some from fear but others in communication. Jaune wondered if, somewhere, the remnants of emergency services were doing their best to evacuate stragglers like his group. Or perhaps the Home Guard trying their best to combat Grimm, who had managed to infiltrate the city.

Or even Huntsman.

Jaune breathed in and scented the filth and burning air, the smoke of distant and nearby fires, and the trash of the alley enough to make him want to scratch at his nose. He also smelt blood, a lot of blood, and worst of all, it was nearby.

He had already forsworn trying to keep Sky and Jade from seeing the horrors of death, but that did not mean he revelled in the fact that they were to see even more of it.

Jaune was the first to reach the box truck and found that his earlier glimpse had indeed been misleading. Even before he reached the front, he could see the pool of blood dripping from the driver's side door into a growing puddle.

He held a hand out to stall Salmon, who halted the group.

Jaune was quick to clamber up and found his hopes for an easy escape to die an unceremonious death.

Inside was a scene right out of a slasher film, only horrifically real. A body, or what was left of it, was half merged into the remnants of the chair where something had done its utmost to tear it apart. The gory remains were splattered over the entire interior, but this was not the worst of it.

The hood had a significant dent, and substantial claw marks raked down the front, leaving it lopsided. Jaune hopped down, doing his best to avoid the blood as he inspected the vehicle's underside.

It was gutted. Whatever had clambered up the truck had forced the engine block out of the bottom.

“How is it?” Salmon spoke up from his position at the head of the group.

“Not viable… somethings scrapped the truck. We will need to continue on foot,” Jaune answered, already climbing onto the misshaped hood to exit the alley.

“Fuck,” Salmon commented.

Jaune ignored the man's curse as he took in the sight of the street beyond the alley.

It was not pretty.

The whole street was a mess, as cars littered the way—some crashed, others abandoned. A few smoked, but luckily, there were no fires as of yet. As if to make it worse, bodies, or pieces of them, were thrown about like litter.

Jaune did not think of the cars with bloodstained interiors or blood surrounding them, as those would have been the places people tried to hide.

“Could we take one of these cars?” Salmon asked, looking at the remaining vehicles.

“You know how to hot wire one?” Jaune asked, looking back at the man.

“Eh… maybe?” Salmon offered with a shrug.

At this point, Teak had climbed up and was helping haul Egg onto the vehicle when he heard Salmon’s comment. “Aren’t you, Vacuan?”

“Is now really the time for you to be a racist shit?” Salmon asked, though he did so with a smile.

“I’m just saying it would be convenient at the moment if you could live up to some stereotypes, man,” Teak jested. 

“Wouldn’t matter… if we set off a car alarm, we will be ringing the dinner bell… better to look for a more accessible vehicle to grab,” Jaune sniffed, hopping off the damaged truck, landing almost silently.

“Plus, do any of you think you can drive through that?” Jade asked, looking at the maze of cars and… other things.

“Maybe,” Tara said, her voice firm as if genuinely trying to figure out how to do so.

“Huh, digging the confidence, but save it for when we get our hands on something a little bigger,” Jade smiled before jumping off the truck to land on Jaune’s back. She slid down his frame just as Sky did the same thing, both winding up on the floor behind their brother.

“So do we-“

“I’m not saving you from him if you try Teak,” Salmon warned, clambering down the front of the truck.

“I’m just saying, he didn’t even budge,” Teak sniffed.

“Just pass me Egg before you choose to kill yourself,” Salmon ordered.

“He wouldn’t kill me,” Teak scoffed, passing Egg to Salmon.

“Quick, Sal, get me away from this lunatic before he drags me down with him,” Egg begged his friend jokingly.

“Is now really the time to be making jokes?” Keppel sneered.

Teak looked at the man with complete seriousness, “Yes, yes, it very much is.”

Once everyone was on the ground again, Jaune didn’t waste time before guiding them through the maze of abandoned cars.  

“We got lucky; we’re between waves; we need to make the most of it, though,” Jaune informed the rest of the group, guiding Sky away from a puddle of viscera without even looking.

“Waves?” Salmon asked, looking confused.

“Breaches tend to cause the Grimm to move in a wave-like manner; the first through are scattered and head to densely populated areas, the second set is the mass drawn to the chaos caused by the first, and after that, it stops being a Breach,” Jaune informed the bear Faunus taking a moment to step over a corpse that was half under a van.

“Why does it stop being a Breach?” Ayame asked, looking a little green.

“It becomes an Incursion,” Salmon answered, “The Breach becomes too severe to plug, and Grimm numbers grow too high to stem; when that happens, everything goes to shit.”

“Things can get worse?” Ayame breathed anxiously.

“We’ve seen what? Ten Grimm? That’s nothing,” Salmon shrugged.

“He’s right; we need to hurry,” Jaune called over his shoulder, tracing a Nevermore with his eyes, which was flying further north toward the district barriers. “We don’t want to be on this side of the wall when the second wave arrives.”

YVYVYVYVY

They did not move quickly. Jaune stressed stealth more than anything, as he knew that there were members of their group who would not be able to keep pace. But he could work with stealth. It kept his sisters safe, and for now, they were not yet at the point where they needed to flee for their lives.

Jaune would handle the fallout should that change.

“So this second wave thing,” Salmon spoke up, breaking the silence they had managed to hold onto for nearly half a block.

Jaune grunted in acknowledgement, looking out of an alley, only to pull his head back in when something flew overhead.

“How will we know it's arrived and stuff,” Salmon whispered, looking up at the sky for any more shadows.

“The gunfire behind us will stop…” Jaune answered, gesturing with his chin in the direction in which he was pretty sure the Breach was located.

For the time being, gunfire was still being fired in that direction, and the sound of a few cannons shaking the sky could still be heard. As long as those were keeping the majority of the Grimm at bay, Jaune had time.

“And then?”

“Then every single Grimm that those guns are keeping from entering the city is going to swarm to the most densely packed population area in the city,” Jaune answered, moving out into the street and avoiding the glow of a street light as he went.

“… Wouldn’t that be the-“

“Evacuation points, yeah… It's one of the reasons we are heading to the northernmost part. It keeps us moving away from the Breach and gives us more time to react to the second wave,” Jade answered for her brother.

“Less Grimm, too, because Grimm tends to go for what's closest,” Sky whispered.

An explosion about a block away silenced the discussion. Jaune pulled his Lex from its holster and ushered the group off the road.

“There are people that way,” Tara whispered at Jaune, pointing in the direction of the explosion.

Jaune gave her a look that was lost in the darkness but spoke all the same, “I know.”

“Shouldn’t we go an-“

“They’re looters,” Jaune explained.

“Looting? Now!” Ayame whispered, astounded.

Salmon sucked on his teeth, “They’re cocky, I’ll give 'em that, must have a stash nearby cause there ain’t no way they get any loot past the checkpoints.”

“… They could have a truck,” Jaune muttered, turning the idea over as he looked over their group, giving the thought due consideration.

The sound of automatic gunfire from the same direction, followed by monstrous screeches, had everyone falling silent.

“… Griffons,” Jaune spat, holstering his gun and turning his back to where the noises were coming from.

“G-griffons? What the hell are Griffons?” Ayame hissed, trying to move up the group to grasp Jaune, but Salmon stopped her, shaking his head at her.

“They’re group hunters, the Beowolves of the sky…” Jade answered, a hand resting on her pistol.

“Bigger than the average Nevermore,” Sky added.

“Not worth the risk of encountering for a truck that might not even be there… we keep moving,” Jaune ordered, slinking back into the dark of an alley. At this point, they had all noticed how easy it was for the tall boy to disappear into the shadows, his form fluid in the concealing dark.

Even his hair seemed paler than usual.

They continued for two more blocks in silence when Jaune went still.

“What is it, Grimm?” Salmon asked, gulping loudly.

Jaune shook his head, but it was Jade who spoke.

“Eyes up,” Jade whispered, causing the group to glance upward and watch as a large shadow rushed over the top of the buildings. It was near enough to the ground that Jaune brought his arm up to shield his eyes from the torrent of wind that sent his hair whipping.

“Bullhead,” Jaune observed.

Keppel, hearing Jaune’s words, startles before loudly beginning to declare, “We should wave them-“

Jaune was on Keppel in a flash. His hand slammed over his mouth so hard Keppel was shoved into a bus stop bench. “Keep. Your. Voice. Down.”

Wide-eyed and scared, Keppel nodded so fast his head practically vibrated on his neck.

Jaune sneered as he moved his arm away, “We wave them down. We also wave down anything else nearby… chances are it's providing air support for one of the evacuation points; it wouldn’t stop for us anyway.”

No sooner had Jaune explained this than the group witnessed the Bullhead erupt into flames as a colossal shadow crashed into it. The roar of its engines was joined by a harrowing screech as something dragged the vehicle around in a blazing circle before releasing it.

The Bullhead fell from the sky like a meteor crashing with the sound of crumbling architecture and wrenching metal. The whole group stared in paralysed horror as the humungous flying shadow screeched to the heavens before taking off to the west with the beating of giant wings.

“The fuck was that,” Salmon hissed.

“A hint for us to pick up the pace,” Jaune voiced grimly, doing just as he said and hurrying on his way.

The others scampered to keep up questions cascading from their lips as they tried to keep pace with him.

“Hey, could you maybe be a little more descriptive? Like, I don’t know… Tell us what the fuck is big enough to throw a fucking Bullhead out of the sky!” Teak hollered.

This alone made Jaune stop and turn to face the group, his face the picture of barely contained wrath.

“Shut. Up.” Jaune demanded.

But it was too late.

It was only by the grace of the sound of beating wings that Jaune was able to hurl himself forward and save Teak’s life. He crashed his shoulder into the Faunus, sending him to the ground just as the feathers of a Nevermore above impacted where he was.

Or, more accurately, they impacted Jaune.

Jaune, uncaring of the stabbing pain in his right arm, drew his Lex from its holster and dumped three rounds into the hovering Grimm.

They hit with damning accuracy, and the flapping menace plummeted from the sky to crash onto an awning that was unable to support its weight, dumping it onto the sidewalk.

“Jaune!” Sky cried, rushing to her brother's side, eyes locked on the black feathers impaled in his arm.

Jaune looked at his sister though with absolute calm.

“I am fine; can't even feel them,” Jaune informed his sister, rolling his shoulder, uncaring of the jab that ran along his nerves from doing so.

“Bullshit, that’s just your damn pain tolerance,” Jade snapped, looking over the feathers that were deep into Jaune’s limb, distressed by her brother’s injury. A second later, she was glaring at Teak, and something akin to guilt seemed to war against the anger.

“Irrelevant. We need to move now. Fresh blood and gunfire are sure to draw more Grimm our way. We move fast from here on out,” Jaune declared.

“Fuck that! What about the big-“

Jaune levelled his gun with the Faunus, and his silent threat was instantly received as Teak went quiet.

“… Jaune,” Jade intoned, trying to move past Jaune’s wounded arm, but her brother was not letting her.

“You will lower your voice, or you will cease travelling with us; that is final,” Jaune said glacially.

Teak nodded, the gun to his side forgotten as he kept his hands frozen in front of his chest.

“… The big thing is a Nevermore, an Alpha Nevermore… the fact that one is in the city airspace means we are nearly out of time,” Jaune explained, putting his Lex back in his holster before reaching for the feathers.

“Wait! Don’t-“

Jaune didn’t wait, jerking the sharpened black feather out of his arm without flinching. “No time. I need my arm back, and stealth is no longer an option.”

“Jaune-“

“Up above,” Sky shrieked as she saw more shadows fly over them.

“Between the buildings go, stay out of their sight,” Jaune barked, tearing the last two feathers from his arm before hauling Teak off the ground.

“Go!” Jaune roared, kicking up Teak's rifle off the ground and firing a shot with one arm that tore one of the Nevermore from the sky.

Jaune hurried to catch up with the group, slamming the weapon into Teak's arms as he made his way to the front.

They moved between buildings, hugging walls. Even as arrow-like feathers flew down, impaling bricks and the ground, Jaune kept the group moving. It became their sole focus to stay as close to Jaune as possible, even bumping into each other as they tried. Jade, at one point, pulled her gun, firing two rounds that didn’t seem to hit anything.

“It’s too damn dark!” Jade snapped.

Salmon responded by bringing his shotgun up and firing skyward, splattering the wing of a Nevermore and sending the thing careening into a rooftop above.

“As we get to the taller buildings, we will have more cover,” Jaune voiced from the front, where he was bashing his axe into a lock on a chain-link fence.

As the chain hit the ground, Jaune paused, tilting his head upward as he heard something worthy of his notice.

“… New plan, we’re going left to that building,” Jaune declared out of the blue.

“Why?” Keppel half-asked, half-yelped, spotting the building in question and finding it ablaze.

“Transport,” Jaune grunted, reaching for a trash can and using it as a shield.

The thunk of feathers restored the group's panicked urgency as Jaune hurled the impaled trash container into the sky.

It missed its target completely, but Jaune was already moving.

The group moved as fast as they could, running for all their worth. Jaune even resorted to picking up his sisters as they raced. Never was it more apparent of the liability Egg, presented as Salmon was forced to sling him over his back to allow the Cheek women to move faster.

From her brother's back, Jade had yet to pause in her shooting, firing into an approaching pair of eyes she suspected to belong to a Creep.

“My poor fucking ears!” Jade joked as the Grimm she was shooting at stumbled and collapsed, sliding into a car.

“How do you think I feel?” Sky shouted back, clutching onto Jaune. She did not try to shoot as she would likely miss every shot.

Jaune chose not to comment on the fact that, at present, his ears were featuring a light drone and were far closer to Jade’s weapon than her own.

However, as they approached the burning building, Jade found something else to lighten her spirits.

The raging inferno allowed her to see the Grimm up above.

“Well, shit, I could have just shot up, huh!” Jade half laughed, half cried.

“Fucking hell…” Salmon muttered, seeing the swarm of Nevermore beginning to gather around the burning building.

Jaune resisted the urge to pick up the pace, knowing that Jade would demand he wait for the others.

“Into that building!” Jaune hollered, aiming for a supermarket.

“The burning one?” Someone cried out in panic.

“Dumbass, follow us!” Someone else snapped, but Jaune ignored both parties.

Jaune sprinted through the broken sliding door but didn’t stop even as the shop's darkness engulfed them, sprinting toward the back of the building. Eventually, Jade’s eyes adjusted enough to the shoddy emergency lights to see they were in the bread aisle.

“They’re following us!” One of the Faunus women shrieked in a panic.

“Duck!” Jade shouted, sliding around, so she hugged Jaune from the front and shot back into the group, managing to land four shots on a Beowolf that had followed them into the supermarket. The beast stumbled and went down, crashing into a register bay, its body folding oddly as it yelped.

Jade was about to celebrate when she was nearly thrown from Jaune as her brother slid to a stop and leapt back. She looked over her shoulder to find another of the wolf-like Grimm, having missed its pounce and crashed into the milk section of the cold aisle.

Jaune’s quick evasion had saved him, but with his arms pinned by both his sisters and forced to his knees by his last-minute evasion, he was left with only one option. “Jade, Sky, shoot!”

Both sisters were quick to comply, firing multiple rounds into the exposed side of the Grimm, which gave a snarling gurgle as the bullets hit its unprotected meat.

The Beowolf dropped, spasming as its oily black essence mixed with the milk, painting it like oil as it died slowly from the many penetrating wounds.

There was no time to celebrate, though.

“Girls with Salmon! Out the back, go!” Jaune ordered, prying Sky off and placing her next to Jade.

“Jau-“

“Right!” Jade nodded, grabbed Sky, and ran toward the large double doors at the back of the building.

“But Jaune-“

“He’s just buying time!” Jade calmed her sister.

Jade looked back just in time to witness Jaune grab the large shelf of the supermarket and tip the thing over until it crashed into the other shelves. They went down in a series of consecutive crashes that Sky could not watch as Jade tugged her along, but she heard the enrage bellows of several Grimm.

“Ok, seriously, where the fuck do they even make guys like your brother!” Egg slurred as Salmon hauled him around next to the girls.

“Clan Arc!” Jade answered with a savage grin in Mæli.

“Was that some kind of Mistrali or something?” Egg asked bouncily from across Salmon’s back.

“Make way!” Jaune roared, pushing past Salmon to reach the doors out of the building that he then slammed his shoulder into. Everyone heard as the wood that made up the doors splintered under the sudden onslaught of force, allowing Jaune out of the building.

“Everyone out! Now!” Jaune beckoned them to hurry, waving his arm for them to move.

They didn’t need to be told twice as they raced past Jaune, the tall Arc only halting Keppel to snatch his crowbar. The man was lost as to what was happening for a second, but seeing Jaune’s glare cast in the light of a burning building had him smarten up rapidly as he released his grasp and scampered away.

Jaune slammed the double doors shut and barred them with the crowbar, just in time for a wave of monstrous bodies to crash into it sending Jaune stumbling back.

No one needed to be told to keep running.

The crowbar bending had been more than enough of a clue.

Visibility wasn’t an issue now. Burning paper and fabrics fell around them like snow from hell as they hurried out of the parking lot and onto the street adjacent to the burning building. There, the group finally paused as they beheld what Jaune had diverted for in the first place.

It was a fire truck, or more accurately, it was a team of firefighters and police with a fire truck, but one person stood apart from the rest.

There beneath the fiery glow of the burning apartments, fending off the Grimm with their blue hair catching the light and a giant crossbow, was a Huntress.

“Stop standing around!” Jaune roared as he reached past them to sprint towards the emergency vehicle and the Huntress defending it.

The others needed no further encouragement.

YVYVYVYVY

Arrastra Skye was having a really bad day.

After everything she had endured last year, she and her new team decided it was time to leave Mistral for a while and transfer to Vale. Upon arrival, they came across a short-term support contract located in a major city settlement that would be a perfect break after their last mission.

It was supposed to be a breeze; they would be on hand to aid in the shoring up of defences while the city handled some minor construction outside its walls. They weren’t meant to do anything more than help with Huntsman patrols and hang out with the Home Guard for some easy Lien.

That was what they were supposed to do.

But now, having been thrown from a crashing Bullhead with no clue where her team was and helping out some firefighters and police who were braver than they were smart… she was willing to accept that somehow things got out of hand.

“How are we doing on the truck!” Arrastra shouted over her shoulder as she kicked yet another slain Grimm off her weapon.

“Nearly got it free!”

That was not what she wanted to hear.

“Hurry it up!” Arrastra snarled as yet another Grimm charged towards her. She weaved between its swipes and disengaged as a Nevermore tried to take advantage of her turned back.

She moved into action as soon as she saw that Nevermore had left itself vulnerable, and soon, it suffered massive damage from a piercing blow that impaled it on the ground.

Arrastra didn’t stop there; transforming her weapon to its Crossbow form, she fired a Fire Dust-infused bolt into its shoulder, conjuring fire into its chest and killing it swiftly.

She dropped to a knee as soon as they were dead, panting.

She was low on Aura; the Bullhead crashing had sapped a large portion of her already dwindled reserves. She had been near the Breach site when it had been made, serving first to help in the immediate aftermath and then fending off the Grimm.

She had only fallen back when Bastion’s Hunter Commander ordered her to do so.

But now trapped still in the region of the Breach and running on fumes, things were not looking good.

“How are we doing!” Arrastra hollered, forcing herself back to her feet to avoid more flung Nevermore feathers.

“It’s clea- Argh!”

Arrastra looked over to see one of the surviving firefighters pinned to the very vehicle they had been working to free from the building it had crashed into. A feather half the length of his arm was impaled through his chest, pinning it to the side of the large red truck.

Arrastra cursed and began to move towards the truck.

“Load up! We are out of here!” Arrastra shouted for all the remaining people to hear.

“But what about our people-“

Arrastra swung Windlass, decapitating a creep as she was forced to dive to avoid a Boarbatusk. From the ground, she roared, “We don’t have time, dammit! Now get in the fucking truck!”

“Look! It's them!”

As if to prove Arrastra wrong, a person began to clamber out of a hole, carrying a body strewn across their shoulders as they stumbled along the cracked road. The hole led into the bowels of the burning building, and it was there that the firefighters and officers had been working to rescue people.

Arrastra didn’t miss how of the three who went in; only two were coming back up this time. Arrastra snarled and clambered back to her feet, getting ready to grab the last survivors, but was stalled when the firefighter began to holler and point behind her.

Arrastra turned, weapon at the ready.

And she had the lower half of her face splattered in the remnants of Boarbatusk’s front left leg.

Arrastra wasted no time slamming Windlass into its eye socket, killing the squealing Grimm, but as she did so, she glanced in the direction she had heard a gunshot.

People… there was a group of eight, no nine, people rushing towards them. The one at the front drew her eyes the most, standing taller than anyone she had ever met.

She watched as he holstered one gun only to draw another from a side holster and began firing at another Grimm that came creeping around the burning apartments. His bullets were soon joined by more as the two shorter figures at his side began to open fire as well.

Arrastra got over her shock when she heard the screech of a Griffon.

“Who are they?” The female firefighter Arrastra couldn’t bother to learn the name of cried out from beside the fire truck as she helped a police officer lift a wounded person into the back.

Arrastra fired two bolts that missed before she deemed to answer, “How the hell should I know!”

The Griffon landed on an upturned car, crushing the vehicle as it screeched violently; its face plate was smeared a deep, bloody red. This was a Grimm that had already claimed a kill tonight.

Arrastra made to attack it but was beaten to the punch.

The tall one had hurled an axe that slammed home in its leg, causing the beastly Grimm to stumble and tip off the car. Arrastra pounced on the opportunity, firing a lightning dust bolt into the fallen Grimm that had it spasming and writhing on the spot.

A small explosion ended its suffering as part of its skull exploded over the car it had landed atop.

“Go for the truck,” She heard a male voice order as the new approaching group split.

Arrastra would have continued to observe but had to keep moving as the Nevermore above harried her. She was given some breathing room when the new group began to fire at the nightmarish flock of Grimm birds.

“You a Huntress?”

Arrastra nearly leapt clear across the street at the unexpected voice, whipping her head around to behold the tallest guy she had ever met standing mere inches behind her.

He was over two meters tall, with a mop of blond hair that was slicked back and startling blue eyes that seemed to hold a cold fury. He wore a tight black sleeveless top that wrapped about him like a second skin and was pitch black. Over that was a chest holster, with the gun missing and a machete still sheathed.

Long dark pants adorned his lower half. She had no hope of guessing the original colour as they boasted a variety of stains and filth, one of which was definitely blood. Around his waist was a second holster for a larger gun that also held individual rounds of ammunition.

All of which had the familiar glow of Combustion Dust.

But all of this was background information to the sight of the boy's arms.

Calling them tattoos didn’t seem to do them justice as she beheld the maze of ink that carved its way over his flesh in a startling pattern that elicited something deep in her bones.

His right arm, cast in flames, was like witnessing flesh parting in an instant, a blade carved through it, slashed and rips dancing around symbols that made the fur on her legs stand up.

His left arm's swirls and twists made words appear on the tip of her tongue, but she had no clue what they could possibly be. It reminded her of rising water creeping up to fill space as it went as if a liquid shadow had been pressed to his skin.

Arrastra was unsure of how much time had passed, only snapping out of it as the tall young man was forced to fire his gun at more approaching Grimm.

“Yeah... yeah, I’m a Huntress!” Arrastra answered, putting her head back on straight.

“We’re trying to get to the northernmost evacuation point,” the tall guy declared, unsheathing his machete as he ducked under a swooping Nevermore. Arrastra caught it in the back as it went with the last of her Water Dust, dropping it.

“Great, so am I!” She answered.

“Can we come with-“ He stopped speaking as he and Arrastra were forced to avoid a Boarbatusk’s rolling charge.

“Damnable swine!” Arrastra heard the blond roar as he holstered his pistol and drew a larger one, firing it into the Boarbatusk as it emerged from its roll.

The thing fell to the ground, nearly decapitated. Its entire lower throat exploded across the road from the explosive round fired by the hand canon.  

“You were saying?” Arrastra continued, moving towards the truck as the last firefighter and their officer escort reached the now-free vehicle.

“We need transport,” the tall blond stated a slight growl in his voice as he did. The sound was enough to put Arrastra on edge, but she had been on edge all night, so this was nothing new.

“You good with a tight fit?” Arrastra asked, looking him up and down.

The blonde looked back at the cabin, where they were sliding one of his group into the cabin and buckling him with the help of the firefighters.  

It was already tight with the injured people that the firefighters had gathered, and with the new group's numbers…

“Some of us can ride on top, myself included,” the blond answered, reloading his hand canon.

“… That should work,” Arrastra nodded.

“I’m Jaune, Jaune Arc,” The blond introduced himself before drawing his smaller pistol and firing up at a hovering Nevermore.

“Arrastra Skye, Leader of team SAFR!” Arrastra introduced herself as she swiped and fired another Electric Dust-infused bolt into the belly of a Griffon that swooped too low.

The giant flying Grimm gave out a half shriek as the electricity made its body lock up and sent it careening into the burning building. It crashed through the wall, demolishing the section it rammed into and causing a gout of fire to erupt as it did in a manner akin to a small explosion.

Arrastra took a moment to admire her kill with a satisfied smile, “Critical hit.”